The second Pyramid, like the first in respect to its Workmanship, but far inferior in regard of its Magnitude, was built by the Successor to Cheops, who was Cephren his Brother, as Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus agree.

The third Pyramid, less than either of the two former, was built by Mycerinus, Son of Cheops or Chemmis, says Herodotus. Other Writers give different Names to the Founders of these Pyramids; but this is what is most probable among their various Opinions, according to Mr. Greaves. Besides these three now in being, Herodotus mentions a fourth built of Brick by Asychis, who succeeded Mycerinus, and another in which Imandes was bury’d, at the end of the Labyrinth built by the 12 Kings of Egypt. Also long before any of these, Moeris in his wonderful Lake, had erected two Pyramids, one for himself and another for his Wife, both long since gone to ruine; but there are many yet standing in the Lybian Desart, whose Founders none of the antient Writers have ever nam’d. Among these one is no less worthy of Memory than either of the three former, it standing about 20 Miles distant from them, more within the sandy Desart, and appearing to have the same Dimensions, the same Steps without as the first has, to be of the same Colour, and to have an Entrance like it on the North side, which is barr’d up within, and so whatever is said of the first in respect to its out-side may be applicable to this last, therefore one Description may serve for both.

The first and fairest of the three great Pyramids is scituate on the top of a rocky Hill, in the sandy Desart of Lybia, about a quarter of a Mile distant Westward from the Plains of Egypt, the height of the scituation giving Beauty as the solidity of the Rock does firmness to the Superstructure. The Basis is exactly four square, and the North side of it being measur’d by Mr. Greaves with a Radius of 10 Foot, was found to be 693 English Foot, and the Altitude being measur’d by its Perpendicular, was found to be 481 Foot; but if taken as it ascends inclining, then is it equal to the Basis, which is 693 Foot. To give a true Idea of the just Dimensions of this Pyramid, we must imagine on the sides of the Basis, which is exactly square, four equilateral Triangles mutually propending, till they all meet at the top as it were in a point; for so the Perimeter of each Triangle comprehending 2079 Foot, and the Perimeter of the Basis 2772 Foot, the whole Area of the Basis will contain 480249 square Foot, or about 11 English Acres of Ground, which is a Proportion so monstrous, that it might seem incredible were it not attested by the Ancients to be so much, and by some of them more. The Ascent to the top of the Pyramid, from all the sides without, is by Degrees or Steps; the lowermost Degree is near four Foot in height, and three in breadth, which goes about the Pyramid in a level: The second Degree is like the first, only it retires inward near three Foot; after the same manner is the third Row, and so the rest, rising like so many Stairs one above another to the top, which ends not in a point, but in a little flat, and is about 13 Foot broad, being cover’d with nine Stones, besides two which are wanting at the Angles. The Degrees by which we ascend are not of an equal depth, for some are near four Foot, others want of three, and the higher we ascend, the depth grows the less, and so in proportion does the breadth also. These rows of Stones are much impair’d by the Weather, yet every Step, which is but one single Stone, is at least 30 cubical Feet; the number of Degrees from the bottom to the top is 207 or 208. Some of the Ancients have reported, that this Pyramid casts no Shadow, which must be meant in the Summer-Time and at Mid-Day, for in the Winter Mr. Greaves saw it cast a Shadow at Noon. Thus far concerning the out-side or Superficies of the greater Pyramid, with the Figure and Dimensions of it; next Mr. Greaves gives a particular Account of what he found within it, of which, if the Ancients have been silent, he imputes it chiefly to a reverend and awful Regard mix’d with Superstition, in not presuming to enter those Chambers of Death, which Religion and Devotion had consecrated to the Rest and Quiet of the Dead. And first he tells us how he ascended on the North side 38 Foot, on an artificial Bank of Earth, when he and his Company enter’d, "The Entrance." with Tapers in their Hands, thro’ a square narrow Passage three Foot broad and 92 long, the Declivity of which was gradually so strait, that they were forc’d, at the farther end, to creep on their Bellies. After this, having pass’d thro’ a place in which they found ugly large Bats above a Foot long, they enter’d the first Gallery, "First and second Gallery." the Pavement of which was of white and pollish’d Marble, rising with a gentle Acclivity, being about five Foot broad, as many high, and 110 Foot long: At the end of this begins the second Gallery, a very stately piece of Work, and not inferiour, either in respect of the curiosity of Art or richness of Materials, to the most sumptuous and magnificent Buildings. ’Tis divided from the former by a Wall, thro’ which they pass’d stooping along a square hole, much about the same bigness as the entrance of the Pyramid, but of no considerable length yet level: At the end of this Hole on the right Hand, "The Well." they found the Well mention’d by Pliny to be 86 Cubits in depth, into which, he probably imagines, the Water of the River Nile was brought by some secret Aqueduct, and Bellonius thinks, out of this Well the Workmen drew the Water which they drank, as likewise that it serv’d them to dilute the Mortar they us’d in the Masons Work of the Building; but others affirm, that after having descended 67 Foot strait downwards, there is a square Window which leads into a Grot or Cave dug out of a Hill found there, not of living or solid Stone, but of Sand condens’d and press’d together; it extends in length from East to West 15 Foot lower, and consequently 82 from the top. There is a Way dug in the Rock two Foot and half wide, whose descent downwards is very crooked the length of 123 Foot, at the end of which it is fill’d with Sand and Bats nastiness: As ’tis said a Scotch Gentleman found it out, of whom the Sieur Thevenot makes mention in his Travels. Le Bruyn thinks it probable, that this Well was made to let down the Corps into, that were put in the Cavities that are under the Pyramids, but would not venture the Experiment of going down to see. Greaves also thinks this Well was the Passage to those secret Vaults, mention’d, but not describ’d by Herodotus, which were hewn out of the natural Rock, over which this Pyramid was erected. This Well, says the former, is circular and about three Foot over; the sides of it are lin’d with white Marble, and the descent into it is by fixing the Hands and Feet in little open spaces, cut into the sides within, opposite and answerable to one another in a perpendicular. But by his measure, sounding it with a Line, he found it only 20 Foot deep, the rest, as he supposes, has almost been damm’d up and choak’d with Rubbage. Thence going strait forward the distance of 15 Foot, they entred another square Passage, opposite to the former and of the same bigness, the Stones being very massy and exquisitely joyn’d; this led, at the extent of 110 Foot, into an arch’d Vault or little Chamber, standing East and West, about 20 Foot long, 17 broad and 15 high: The Walls were plaister’d over with Lime, but the Roof was cover’d with large smooth Stones, which lay shelving and met above in a kind of Arch or rather Angle. Returning back the same way they came, and being out of this low and square Passage, they clim’d over it, and going strait on in the trace of the second Gallery, on a shelving Pavement (like that of the first) rising with an Angle of 26 Degrees, they at length came to another Partition, being 154 Foot distant from the Well below and the length of the Gallery. Here if we consider the narrow Entrance or Mouth of the Pyramid which descends, and the length of the first and second Galleries that ascend, all of them lying as it were in the same continu’d Line, and leading towards the middle of the Pyramid, one may easily apprehend the Reason of that strange Eccho within of four or five Voices, "A strange Eccho." mention’d by Plutarch, or rather of a long continued Sound, as Mr. Greaves found by experience in discharging a Gun; for the Sound being carry’d thro’ those Passages, and finding no vent outwards reflects on it self, and causes a confus’d noise, which by degrees ceases. This Gallery is built of white Marble, cut very exactly into spacious squares and pollish’d; also the Roof and sides of the Wall are of the same Stone, so closely joynted as scarce to be discern’d by the most curious Eye, and tho’ the acclivity or rising of the Ascent make the Passage more difficult and slippery, yet is it nevertheless very beautiful. The height of this Gallery is 26 Foot, the breadth six, of which three are to be allow’d for the way in the midst, which is set and bounded on both sides with Seats (like Benches) of pollish’d Stone; each of these is above one Foot in breadth and no less in depth. On the top of these Benches near the Angle, where they close and joyn with the Wall, are little Spaces cut in right angl’d parallel Figures, on each side opposite to one another, intended, no doubt, for some other end than Ornament. In casting and ranging the Marble in both the side Walls, all the Courses, which are but seven, (so great are those Stones) lye and flag over one another about three Inches, as is better to be conceiv’d by Figure 2 at p. 314. than by any Description I can give.

Le Bruyn in his Voyage to the Levant, p. 139. writes more particularly of this Gallery, after the following manner: ‘Being return’d, says he, from the Horizontal Way, which is on the right Hand, we enter’d the other on the left, which is six Foot four Inches wide, and rises also the length of 162 Foot. On each side the Wall is a Stone-Bench two Foot and half high, and pretty broad, which serves to take hold by in going up, to which the Holes that are made almost every step in the Wall, are of no small Service, yet are they altogether confus’d and without order. It is not known by whom they were made; but those that go to see the Pyramids are extreamly oblig’d to them however, for without these Holes it would be impossible to get up, and a Man must likewise be very strong and in health that can do so by the help of them, and the Stone-Bench by which one holds fast with one Hand while the other holds the Candle; add to this, that a Man must make large steps, because these Holes are six Hands breadth distant from each other. This Ascent, which cannot be conceiv’d without admiration, may well pass for what is most considerable in the Pyramids; for the Stones which compose the Walls are as smooth as Looking-Glass, and so well joyn’d together, that one would be apt to take them for one single Stone. The same may be said of the Pavement. The Roof is here exceeding high and so very sumptuous, that ’tis better to be represented than describ’d; I therefore made this Draft of it, while my Countryman Adrian van Bierbeck rested himself on the Bench that is on the left Hand, and some of our Company were already got up with their Lights into the Chamber where the Tomb or Sepulchre is, which gave me opportunity to take a view of all the Roof more at large.’

But to return to Mr. Greaves’s Account, he says, That after having pass’d this Gallery, they enter’d another square Hole of the same Dimension with the former, "Two Anti-Closets." which brought them into two Anti-Closets lin’d with a rich and speckl’d sort of Thebaic Marble. The first of these had almost the same Dimensions as the second. The second was thus proportion’d: The Area was level, the Figure of it oblong, the one side containing seven Foot, the other three and a half, and the height was of 10 Foot. This inner Anti-Closet was separated from the former by a Stone of red speckl’d Marble, which hung in two Mortices (like the Leaf of a Sluce) between two Walls, more than three Foot above the Pavement, and wanting only two of the Roof. Out of this Closet they enter’d another square Hole of the same wideness and Dimensions with the rest, and near nine Foot long, all of Thebaic Marble most exquisitely wrought, which landed them at the North end of a very sumptuous Room. The distance from the end of the second Gallery to this Entry is 24 Foot. "A spacious Chamber" This rich and spacious Chamber, in which Art may seem to have contended with Nature, the curious Workmanship being not inferiour to the rich Materials, lies about the Center of the Pyramid. The Floor, Roof and Sides of it are all compos’d of vast Tables of Thebaic Marble, very gracefully siz’d and plac’d. The nine Stones which cover the Roof are of a prodigious length, like so many huge Beams traversing the Room, and supporting the prodigious mass of the Pyramid above: The length of this Chamber is about 34 Foot, the breadth 17, the height 19 and a half. "wherein stands Cheops’s Tomb." Within this glorious Room stands the Monument of Cheops or Chemmis, of one piece of Marble, hollow within, uncover’d at the top, and sounding like a Bell, without any Sculpture or Embossment. But ’tis the common Opinion, after Diodorus Siculus, that neither Chemmis nor his Successor Cephren were bury’d in their Pyramids, because, says he, the People being over work’d by them with hard Labour, threatned to tear their dead Bodies to pieces, and throw them out of these Sepulchres, therefore they on their Death-Beds commanded their Servants to bury them in some obscure Place, Diod. Lib. 1. This Monument is of the same Thebaic Marble with the whole Room, being speckl’d with black, white and red Spots, and resembling two Cubes finely set together, and hollow’d within. ’Tis seven Foot three Inches and half long, in breadth and depth three Foot three Inches and three quarters on the out-side, but within ’tis something less, which shows that the Men of this Age are of the same Stature with those that liv’d near 3000 Years ago, tho’ some famous Men have thought the contrary. If any ask how this Monument could be convey’d into this Chamber, since ’tis impossible for it to enter by those narrow Passages in the Pyramid which lead to it, I answer, It must have been rais’d and convey’d up from without by some Engine, before the Chamber was finish’d and the Roof clos’d: Thus far Greaves. Sandys, p. 99. says, This Pyramid which is the greatest of the three, "How many Workmen employ’d in the Building it." and chief of the Worlds VII Wonders, employ’d 366000 Workmen continually in building it for the space of 20 Years, in which Time they consum’d in Radishes, Garlick and Onions only, 1800 Talents. Nor has Time, which devours the proudest Structures, humbl’d this lofty Edifice, tho’ ’tis very probably conjectur’d to have stood 3300 Years, and is now rather old than ruinous, yet the North side is most worn by reason of the humidity of the Northern Winds, which are here the moistest.

The second Pyramid is hardly distant the flight of an Arrow from the first, and is all built of Stones of a whitish colour, nothing so large as those of the first. The sides rise not by Degrees or Steps like those of the former, but are smooth and equal, and the whole Fabrick seems very entire, except on the South-side. Tho’ this Pyramid is generally thought to be inferiour to the first in Magnitude, yet by Mr. Greaves’s Observation, the height and sides of the Basis are in both equal. There is no Entrance into it, and therefore none can tell what Chambers it contains; ’tis bounded on the North and West by two very stately and elaborate Structures, being 30 Foot deep, and more than 1400 long, cut out of the hard Rock, and squar’d by a Chizzel, "Lodgings of the Priests." which are suppos’d to be the Lodgings of the Priests. They run along at a convenient distance, parallel to the two sides of this Pyramid, and meet in a right Angle. The Entrance into them is by square Openings, hewn out of the Rock, and much of the same bigness with those of the first Pyramid. The hollow space within is somewhat like a square and well proportion’d Chamber, cover’d and arch’d above with the natural Rock: In most of these there was a Passage opening into some other Apartment.

The third Pyramid is from the second about a Furlong, and tho’ it appears at a distance to be of an equal height with the two former, by reason of the advantage of its Scituation upon a higher rise of the Hill, yet is it really much lower, each side of the Basis being but 300 Foot long, which wants near 400 of the two others. All the antient and modern Writers generally agree, this Pyramid was made of black Ethiopic Marble, whereas Mr. Greaves assures us, on his own Inspection, the whole Mass seems of a clear and white Stone, somewhat choicer and brighter than that in either of the two other Pyramids; but what the Stone within may be no Body can tell, since there never was any Entrance into it. At some distance South-East of the biggest Pyramid stands the Sphinx, so famous among the Ancients: "The Sphinx." ’Tis a Statue or Image cut out of the main Rock, representing the Head of a Woman with half her Breast, but is at present sunk or bury’d in the Sand to the very Neck: It is an extraordinary great Mass, but withal proportionable, altho’ the Head of it self be 26 Foot high, and from the Ear to the Chin 15 Foot, according to the Measure the Sieur Thevenot took of it. At a distance it seems five Stones joyn’d together, but coming nearer one may discover what was taken for the Joynings of the Stones, was properly nothing but the Veins in the Rock. Pliny says, this serv’d for a Tomb to King Amasis, which is not improbable, since it is in a Part which was formerly a kind of Burying-Place, and near the Pyramids and Caves, which were nothing but Places of Sepulture; and that according to his Calculation it was 102 Foot in compass about the Head, 62 high and 143 in length, for the Body of it is suppos’d to resemble a Lion or Dog. Some will have it a certain Egyptian King caus’d this Sphinx to be made in Memory of Rhodope of Corinth, with whom he was passionately in Love. They say, among other Things, that when they consulted it at the rising of the Sun, it answer’d like an Oracle; yet most believe this was done by the cunning of the Priests, thro’ means of some hidden Pipes or Conduits under Ground, and that the Well we describ’d in the great Pyramid was made use of for the same purpose; but what makes this appear to be fabulous is, that there is no perforation or opening either at the Mouth, Nose, Eyes or Ears. Many other the like Stories Authors have rais’d of this Statue, affirming that by the Figure of a Sphinx, was represented the Goddess Momphta, "It represented Momphta." who presided over all the Waters, and chiefly preserv’d and supply’d the Causes of the Over-flowing of the River Nile; as also that thereby was signify’d the State or Condition of that River, for as the Over-flowing of the Nile continues all the Summer, and during the Time of Harvest, viz. in the Months of July and August, and that in those two Months, the Sun commonly runs thro’ the two Signs of Leo and Virgo, it was natural enough for the Egyptians, who had a great inclination for Hieroglyphics and misterious Representations, to make a Monster of a Virgin and Lion, which they call’d Sphinx, and consecrated to the River Nile; the representing of which lying on its Belly, was to explain the Over-flowing of that River.

But to return again to the Pyramids, near which this Sphinx stands, "Observations on the Pyramids." we shall add these few Observations of Father Vansleb concerning them, viz. That they are not built with Marble, but with a white sandy Stone exceeding hard; that none of them are perfectly square, but have all two sides longer than the others, which is plainly visible in the greater and the lesser Pyramid: The North side is longer than that which stretches from East to West, yet are they nevertheless built in very good Order, and each of the three largest stand at the head of 10 lesser, which are not well to be distinguish’d, by reason of heaps of Sand that lye before them. They have all an Entrance that leads to a low Alley, which is exceeding long, and has at the end a Chamber, where the antient Egyptians plac’d the Bodies of those Persons for whom the Pyramid was design’d, tho’ this Entrance is not to be seen in every one of them, because the Wind has stopp’d it up with Sand. On the top of the largest Pyramid was antiently a Statue or Colossus: This appears in that it is not so sharp as the others, but rather plain, and there are yet to be seen great Holes, which were to keep the Colossus from falling; but at present there is nothing to be seen at top but many Letters of the Names of Persons of all Nations, who had left them to witness they had been there. Lastly, He makes no question but that this Place where the Pyramids are built, was the Burying-Place of the old City of Memphis, by reason all the Arabian Histories inform us that this City stood where the Pyramids now are, over against old Cairo. He also imagines the Sphinx to be a Tomb, First, From its scituation in a Place which was in former Ages a Burying-Place, and near the Pyramids and mortuary Caves. Secondly, That it appears to be a Sepulchre from its Building; for in the hinder part is a Cave under Ground, of a bigness answerable to that of the head, into which he look’d by an Entrance that led into it, so that it could serve to no other purpose than to keep a dead Corps.

From the Pyramids, Vansleb went to take a View of the Caves that are adjoyning, which formerly serv’d for Places to bury the Dead in: Of these there are several hollow’d or cut in the side of a Rock, in bad Order and without Symmetry on the out-side, but very even and well proportion’d within: All of them have a square Well cut likewise out of the Rock, in which the Egyptians laid the Bodies of those for whom the Cave had been made, it serving them for a Tomb. The Walls of some of these are full of Hieroglyphic Figures, cut also in the Rock; in some they are but small, in others very lively. In one, says he, I counted 16 great Figures, eight Men and as many Women, holding each other by the Hand, with some other small Figures on each side.

But to speak more particularly of the Subterranean Caves, near the Borough of Sacara in Egypt, we shall observe, that among the most remarkable Things that were found, as well in the City of Memphis, as some Miles round about it, the Caves or Tombs under Ground were the most considerable, and worthy the search of the Curious. It is on these Subterranean Caves that this City and several Places thereabouts were built, as on so many Vaults, as the Ancients have written, and those Caves do by far surpass the Catacombs of Rome both in Grandeur and Beauty; for the antient Egyptians, who maintain’d the Metempsychosis or Transmigration of Souls from one Body to another, took care not only to preserve their Dead from Putrifaction, but also endeavour’d to lay them up in a secure and quiet Place of Burial: That they might therefore take all manner of precaution against any alteration that might happen to them from the Injuries of Air, Fire, or the length of Time, they did not place their Dead in Places where the River Nile might overflow, nor in the open Fields, but either in Pyramids of a more durable continuance, or in Subterranean Vaults built with great care of Stones, or lastly, in Caves cut out of the Rock it self, for which the Region of Memphis and Places adjoyning were very proper, because they consist of a Rock, which is hid under the thickness of about a Foot and half of Sand. "Their Burying-Places." Their Burying-Places then were Subterranean Caves divided into several Apartments, roof’d like great Halls, and with so many Windings, which went from one to the other, that they resembl’d real Labyrinths or Meanders. According to the report of the antient Egyptians, there was such a vast number of those Subterranean Apartments which butted one against another, that they extended some Miles in length, even to the Temple of Jupiter Ammon, and the Oracle of Serapis, which was a great conveniency to the Priests, who might hold a Correspondence with each other without being scorch’d by the heat of the Sun, or incommoded by the Sands; so that all those vast sandy Plains of Egypt were hollow underneath, and divided into numberless Apartments and Places for dead Corps. This seems surprizing and almost incredible, but they that will consider the other prodigious Works of the Egyptians, and make some Reflections on what the antient Historians have wrote of the great and most antient City of Memphis, and the almost infinite number of that People, will not find this so impossible; besides what the Arabian Authors say, that there was formerly a Subterranean Communication between this City of Memphis and that of Heliopolis, being several Miles assunder, and which pass’d also under the Bed of the River Nile. The greatest part of the Inhabitants of the Borough of Sacara, "How those of Sacara get their Livelyhoods." which is nearest those Caves of the Mummies or Embalm’d Bodies, and three good Hours Journey from the Pyramids, get their Livelyhoods by digging into those Caves, and taking out the Mummies, because their Tillage is not able to maintain them by reason of the sterrility of the Soil, wherefore whoever has occasion for their Service, may easily hire them for Money, to conduct them into Caves that are already open, to see them, or to dig for new ones in the Sand, which have not hitherto been remov’d, for some of these Caves have not yet been discover’d, being hid in such manner under the Sand, that there is no Stranger, nor hardly any Inhabitant of the Country, that can be certain before-hand where any Mummy may be found: Besides, the Europeans have from Time to Time caus’d so many to be open’d, that they are become exceeding scarce.

They enter these Caves by an opening at top even with the Ground, into which they are let down, as into a Well, by means of a Rope and the assistance of a Servant with a Light in their Hands, tho’ in some few they can climb up and down, by setting their Feet in certain gaps in the Wall, as appears by the Plate at p. 203. Letter E. This Well or Descent into these Caves is about 16 or 18 Foot deep, and at bottom, the Passage of it is so low, they are forc’d to stoop and creep thro’, where they arrive in a four-square Chamber or Repository, "The Chamber." 24 Foot every way, on each side of which, next the Wall, stand Bases or Tables cut out of the Rock, about five Foot long, two and a half broad, and one high, whereon are plac’d the dead Bodies, Embalm’d and adorn’d after the manner before describ’d, and put into Coffins of Wood or Stone, carv’d after their own similitude. Many times, besides the number of Coffins just mention’d, there lye round about upon the Floor several other little ones, which seem to be the Coffins of Children. Sometimes there are abundance of these Caves near each other, as you may imagine by the Plate before-mention’d; but that you may have a more clear Idea of all that is here describ’d, I have added another, the Description of which is as follows: "Description of the Ichnography and Scenography of these Caves." A. A. A. A. shows the Ichnography of a Burying-Place, wherein are nine Chambers or Apartments all of an equal bigness, mark’d with the Letters, B. B. B. Each of these has four Bases whereon the Coffins are set, as appears by the Figures 1. 2. 3. 4. The Walls or Partitions are represented by the Letters C. C. C. but these are all more exactly seen in the Scenography, in which D. and E. shows two Caves with their Walls turn’d over with Arches. Adjoyning to the Walls lye four Bases in each Cave, whereon the Coffins are set, mark’d by the Letters F. G. H. I. K. L. &c. At the Head of the Coffin, stands a Figure like a Boy in Swadling-Clouts, and at the Feet a Hawk, being their Tutelar Gods, by whose Presence and Assistance they thought the Bodies would be defended from all kinds of Violence, and over these, against the Wall, were cut in an oval form Hieroglyphics, mark’d M. N. O. P.

This may suffice for a general Description of these Caves, "Observations on the Subterranean Caves." yet it may not be amiss to add a few Observations made by Father Vansleb on this Subject: He tells us he went on purpose to see these Caves, and gives us every particular Instance that happen’d to him; but this we must also take notice of, that Le Bruyn attributes the very same Remarks to one Milton an English Man, and he that pleases to give himself the trouble to read both, will find them much of a piece. They are as follows: After having said that first an Agreement must be made with the Arabians of the Borough of Sacara, about the number and quality of Wells one would have open’d, as also what was to be given them for their Trouble, and that for better security 12 Arabian Horsemen ought to be brought along with one; he adds, That the first Well he went to see was that of Embalm’d Birds, "Wells of Embalm’d Birds." and that having caus’d the Sand that cover’d the Mouth of the Well to be remov’d, thro’ which he was to go down, and from thence to enter into the Cave, he caus’d himself and his Companions to be let down one after another, by tying a double Rope about their Middles. So soon as they were at the bottom, and that every one had lighted his Flambeau, and several Matches they had brought along with them, they crept on their Bellies into a Cave, which was an Entry cut thro’ the Rock about a Man’s height, a Fathom wide, and extraordinary long. On each side they found other Entries, cut also into the Rock, where were several Chambers full of a great number of Earthen-Pots, with Covers of the same. In these were contain’d Embalm’d Birds of all kinds, every Bird having a Pot to it self. They found there also several Hen-Eggs whole, but which were empty, and consequently had no ill Smell.

Having sufficiently view’d this Cave, they were drawn up again in like manner as they were let down. Then having commanded their Arabians to open a Virgin-Well "A Virgin-Well." (for so such are call’d as have never been open’d) they were immediately let down into it, in the same manner as before describ’d; but being come to the bottom, they found such a horrid Stench, and so close an Air, that they were not only not able to breath, but it also put out their Flambeaus, as likewise their Matches every time they endeavour’d to light them, so that they were thereupon forc’d to cause themselves to be drawn up again with all speed, without having been able to advance one step. Our Author says, that all he could say of this Well was, That it was much deeper than the former.

After this he caus’d another Cave to be open’d, which was not a Virgin-Well as the former. Being let down into it he found there two Mummies, one greater and the other lesser of a Child, both in Coffins: The biggest was of Marble, cut after the likeness of him for whom it was made. He caus’d them to be open’d but found nothing extraordinary in them, therefore took no Account of them, but left them where he found them.

He went down next into a Cave call’d the Church, which, he says, was the shallowest of all he had seen, it being nothing but a long Entry under Ground, well Plaister’d and Painted every-where with Hierogliphics. He tells us there was so great a quantity of Sand in this Cave, that he and his Company were forc’d to creep along on their Knees; for as soon as any one has seen these Wells, the Arabians are wont to fill them up again with Sand, if the Wind does not do it for them, that they may get more Money by them another Time; for this is the greatest Livelihood these miserable Creatures have, and the least they take for opening a Virgin-Well is 30 ^[6]Piasters. The reason of this high Price is, that those which cause them to be open’d, have the liberty to carry away all the Curiosities and Mummies they find there.

Now to give a perfect Idea of this Plain of Mummies, the antient Burying-Place of the Egyptians, you must represent to your self a vast and boundless Champion Country, cover’d all over with Sand, where there are neither Trees, Plants, Grass, Houses, nor any thing like them to be seen, but the whole Surface is strew’d with dry Bones of Arms, Legs, Feet, Heads, old Linnen Rags, broken Tombs or Coffins, and a great many little Idols, some of Wood, and others of Earth glaz’d with a green colour, and mark’d before and behind with Hieroglyphics: In some places you may see great Tomb-Stones, engrav’d with Cyphers and Ænigmatical Figures, that represent something of Chymistry and other Sciences and Mysteries of the antient Egyptians, as also some strange Characters that are no Hieroglyphics. These are the remains of their Pride and Vanity, as likewise sad Proofs that all Men are subject to Death: This causes Horrour to those that come first into the Plain, and if one considers attentively the number of Bones wherewith it is strew’d, one would be apt to think that Place had formerly been a Field of Battel. So much for the Pyramids and Subterranean Caves, now there only remains to speak of the Sepulchral Lamps, which some assert to have burnt perpetually, and have therefore been the Subject of much Discourse among the Virtuosi of all Ages.

Clemens Alexandrinus, Appian, Burattinus, Hermolaus Barbarus, CostÆus, Citesius, CÆlius, Casalius, Cedrenus, Delrius, Ericius, Foxius, Gesnerus, Jacobonus, Leander, Libavius, Lazius, Langius, Licetus, Maiolus, Maturantius, Baptista Porta, Pancirollus, Ruscellius, Scardeonius, Tassonius, Ludovicus Vives, Volateranus and many other learned and ingenious Authors, who have written of these Sepulchral Lamps, do most of them believe and strenuously assert, that they burn’d for several Hundreds of Years, and would have so continu’d, perhaps for ever, had they not been broken by the unadvis’d Irruptions of Rustics and Husbandmen, by diging up the Ground, or otherwise extinguish’d by the like Accidents. ’Tis true, there are not many that affirm that they themselves saw any of these Lamps burning, but then they give you abundance of Instances of such as did, and where they were found, which being too many to be inserted here, we shall only mention a few, after having inquir’d to what End and Purpose they were invented and made use of; of what Matter and Fashion they were compos’d, and whether it were possible for any of them, when once lighted, to burn perpetually without any addition or supply of fresh Aliment.

First then we are to understand, that as the Egyptians (thro’ a firm belief they had of the Metempsychosis) affected to procure a Perennity to the Body by Balsamation or Embalming, and the security thereof by Pyramids, Subterranean Vaults, &c. so they endeavour’d to animate the Defunct by perpetual Fire, which answer’d the Nature of their Souls: "Fire an Emblem of the Soul." For with them Fire was the Symbol of an Incorruptible, Immortal and Divine Nature, and hence some will have it, they erected Pyramids (^[7]the Symbols of Fire) of that Solidity as easily to overcome the Injuries of Time, and by their Figure to demonstrate the Immortality of the Soul. And whereas flaming Fire was more corruscating and enlightning than any other Matter, they invented Lamps to hang in the Sepulchres of the Rich, which would burn perpetually without any assistance or addition. This as it was a Symbol of the Immortality of the Soul, so did it likewise serve for a Symbol of their grateful Intentions towards the Manes and Guardian Gods, who protected the Bodies in their Sepulchres, thereby both venerating, honouring and respecting the Souls of the Deceas’d, and also rendring what was very grateful and acceptable to them. "And of Eternal Life." Now whereas the Egyptians signify’d Life by a Lamp, and also believ’d that their Immortal Souls tarry’d in the Grave with their Bodies, so after having Embalm’d those Bodies to prevent the Souls forsaking them, by reason of their Corruption and Dissolution, they deposited them in Subterranean Caves, where they had provided Lamps that would burn perpetually, to the end that their Souls might not lye miserably imprison’d in darkness, and thereby any hurt befal them; but on the contrary, enjoy eternal light and be free from all evil, or that when the Soul should wander, it might not mistake its Residence, but be by the light of the Lamp guided and conducted to return to its former Habitation.

These are the absur’d Opinions of the Superstitious Egyptians, and the Reasons why they plac’d burning Lamps with the Dead in their Subterranean Vaults, as Jacobonus, Foxius, Scaliger and others relate; therefore the next Thing which we shall consider, is, whether there ever was or can be such a Thing made as a perpetual burning Lamp. Most of the before-mention’d Authors believe there were such Lamps: Licetus particularly has writ a whole Folio to prove it, and Kircher produces a Story out of Schiangia, an Arabian Author, which he thinks will solve it; but however, whether there have been any perpetual burning Lamps or not, since no Author of good Credit ever saw one, it is nevertheless very certain that Lamps are frequently found in the Sepulchres and Subterranean Caves of the Dead, which, to what end and purpose they were there plac’d, will still remain a great Quere, unless it were for the above-alledg’d Reasons, since Licetus and other Authors say, These were the proper Places for them, asserting they might be extinguish’d by the admission of Air in the breaking up of such Places. Greaves at the end of his Description of the first Pyramid, p. 99. takes notice of two Inlets or Spaces in the South and North side of the Chamber, just opposite to one another, very evenly cut and running in a straight Line about six Foot into the thickness of the Wall, "Lamps suppos’d to have been in the first Pyramid." which, he says, by the blackness within, seem to have been a Receptacle for the burning of Lamps. T. Livius Burattinus would gladly have believ’d it had been an Hearth for one of these perpetual Lamps which we now are speaking of; but Greaves imagines the Invention not to be so antient as this Pyramid: However, Burattinus in his Italian, and Michael Schatta in his Arabic Letter to Kircher, which you may read in Oedipi Ægyptiaci Theatrum Hierogliphicum, p. 544. affirm that they found many Lamps in the Subterranean Caves of old Memphis, "Lamps in the Subterranean Caves of Memphis." some having three, four, eight or 12 Lights, and made in the shape of Dog, Man, Bull, Hawk, Serpent and the like. Also Casalius tells us he had some Lamps of Brass which represented a Dog, Ox, Sphinx, &c. and some made of Earth. Seeing therefore they are so different in their matter, shape and number of Lights, I have given you the Sculptures of 15 of them, with their Description more at large.

The first Figure represents Serapis sitting in a Chair, having a Basket made of Rushes on his Head; he rests his right Hand on a Staff or Scepter, and lays his left on a tripple-headed Monster, such a one as is joyn’d to the Statue of Serapis at Alexandria: "and first of Serapis." This Lamp was found between the Walls, near one of the Gates of Rome call’d Capena, and is in the Custody of Pietro Santo Bartoli, as Bellori informs us, from whom we have taken the three first and the sixth Figures. "Lamp of a tripple-headed Monster." The second Figure shews the tripple-headed monstrous Representation of Serapis at Alexandria: It is an Image of Brass with the Heads of three several kinds of Animals, viz. In the middle the Head of a Lion, on the right Hand that of a fawning Dog, and on the left that of a rapacious Wolf, which signifie the three Times, the present, past and to come. The Body is environ’d with two Serpents in four Wreaths or Circumvolutions from the Legs to the Neck, perhaps to denote the four Seasons, turn’d about by the Sun; for by the Figure of Serapis the Egyptians denoted the Sun: See a fuller Description of it in Macrobii Saturnalibus. This is kept at present in the Royal Collection of the King of Prussia, together with the whole MusÆum of Bellori, which that Prince purchas’d. "Another Lamp of Serapis." The third Figure is the Head of Serapis, with a Basket and Crown upon it like the Rays of the Sun: These express the Nature of that God, whom the Egyptians believ’d to be the same with the Sun, viz. The Beginning and Ending of all such Things as proceed from and return back to it. The Basket on the top of the Head shows, says Macrobius, the height of this Planet and the virtue of its Influence, in that all earthly Things return to it, whilst they are drawn up by the Heat it immits; for which Reason this God is thought to be the same with Pluto, and was not rarely added to the Sepulchral Lamps, as these two testifie; the latter of which, being of excellent Workmanship, is in the Custody of Raphael Fabrettus. Before we proceed to give any farther Description of these Lamps, it may be necessary to remark, that some were also kept in the Egyptian Temples and other Places, as well as in the Caves of the Dead; but then, says Kircher, they were made in the similitude of that God who was worshipp’d in that Temple. Thus in the Temple of Anubis, the Lamp was in the likeness of a Dog’s Head, or else in the shape of his whole Body; in the Temple of Osiris it was in the form of a Hawk’s Head, or of the whole Bird; in the Temple of Isis, of a Half Moon, and so of the rest. The Lamps were wrought in the same fashion with those Numina represented in each particular Temple or Place, as all those testifie which have been brought from Egypt, and are at this Day kept in the Cabinets of the Curious. Moreover you must observe that the Egyptians set up Lamps not only to those Gods that were beneficial to them, but likewise to such as were mischievous, to the end they might more readily have recourse to the one and avoid the other. Of this last kind Johannes Nardius sent one out of his MusÆum to Kircher, in the form and shape as is express’d by Figure the fourth, viz. "A Lamp of Typhon." Under the Symbol of an Ass, Typhon was represented, because, as Plutarch observes, his Voice was like the braying of that Animal, and which he likewise resembl’d in colour, ignorance and stupidity. This Typhon was thought to bring Sterility, Droughts, Contagion, and the like kind of Evils upon the Egyptians, therefore to prevent his obstructing the fruitful overflowing of the Nile, they form’d his Lamps in the manner you see, that knowing himself by his Image, he might cease from perpetrating of Evil: Silenus likewise, who is the Symbol of the Nile’s Fertility, and constant Attendant on Bacchus or Osiris, rides astride on his Head, and thereby restrains his power of doing Mischief: This Lamp moreover stands on the Foot of an Eagle or Hawk, thereby, says Kircher, to represent how Typhon’s destructive and flagrating Power lying hid in the Sun, was made more temperate by a Humour which Silenus, the Page of the aforesaid Bacchus, had the Command of; for, as Plutarch well observes, Isis would never have Typhon quite destroy’d, but only conquer’d, because tho’ his adust and fiery Nature, by reason of its too great Siccity, was pernicious, nevertheless being temper’d with much moisture, it was sometimes useful. The fifth Figure represents a Lamp, whose bigger Foramen on the middle of its Superficies, where they pour’d in the Oil, is cover’d with a large Heliotrope inverted, "A Lamp of a Heliotrope." a Flower so call’d by the Greeks from its ever inclining towards the Course of the Sun; for in the Morning it turns to the East, at Noon is erect, towards the Evening faces the West, and at Night inclines to the Earth, enquiring, as it were, for the Sun bury’d under Ground, and waiting for its Resurrection the next Morning. This may serve to teach us what Affinity, Temper and Agreement Things of an inferior Nature have with those that are Celestial; and if Aristotle confesses that the Winds, Waters and other inanimate Things follow the heavenly Circuit, why should we question the Heliotrope’s subsequency to the Course of the Sun, or the Seliotrope’s to that of the Moon? Surely he who form’d this Flower turn’d downwards on a Sepulchral Lamp, seems thereby to intimate the Night of Death which Bodies suffer under Ground, and withal to show, according to the Opinion of the Ancients, that the Souls of the Deceas’d tarry together with their Bodies in the Grave. This Lamp, as likewise those at Figure the 7th, 10th, 12th, 13th and 15th were first publish’d by Casalius, and explain’d by Licetus. The next Lamp, mark’d with Figure six, "Lamp of the Alexandrian Pharos." seems to represent the Pharos of Alexandria, into whose Haven a Ship is just entring, the Seamen being furling up their Sails, and for want of a better Reason, is suppos’d to have been plac’d in the Sepulchre of a certain Merchant of that City; but is now in the MusÆum of Pietro Santo Bartoli, as Bellori informs us. As concerning the following Lamp, with a big Belly and Handle, and standing upon three Feet, as you may see at Figure the seventh, Licetus believes Casalius is under a mistake in reckoning it for a Lamp, and that it was rather a certain Vessel in form of a Cucumber, in which the Ancients were wont to heat Water; but I cannot be of his Opinion, since by its shape it looks very much unlike a Cucumber, and from the smallness of its Mouth at top, and the appearance of a Place for the Wiek, it seems most probably to have been a Lamp. "The Lamp of an Ox with a Boy on his Back." The eighth Lamp, made in the shape of an Ox couching on the Ground, with a Boy sitting on his Back, and holding a Fig-Leaf in his Hand, was sent by the Great Duke of Tuscany out of his MusÆum, to Kircher: The Ox being the Figure of Apis, and Apis signifying the chief Numen or Patron of Agriculture, wherefore this Lamp was plac’d in the Temple of Apis in Honour of that God, denoting by the Vessel, the pious and religious Affection the antient Egyptians had for that Deity; and by the Fire the vital Heat, thinking that if he were absent from their Husbandry, all would run to the last Destruction. Under that Symbol therefore they tacitely sollicited this Numen to grant warmth and vital Heat to the Fields and Meadows, hoping, by the religious Ceremony of Fire, that he would be more vigilant and take greater care of Things committed to his Trust. By the Boy and Fig-Leaf they denoted the vital Heat and vegetable Life communicated to this Deity, whereby all Things are fructify’d, and seem as it were to grow young again. The ninth Figure or Lamp represents a very fair and entire Sphinx with a Womans Face, "Lamp of a Sphinx." having her Head bound about with a Fillet or Hair-Lace, the hinder part cover’d with a Coif, and two Horns rising out of her Forehead; the Body and Legs were like a Lion’s, and on the top of the Back was a great Foramen, thro’ which they pour’d the Oil: The Breast was very protuberant and somewhat like a Scollop-Shell, at the top of which is seen a lesser Foramen for the Wick. This Kircher positively believes to have been a Sepulchral Lamp, forasmuch as the antient Egyptians were wont to place Sphinx’s about their Sepulchres, and Pliny moreover witnesses, that an entire Pyramid was built in Egypt of that shape, whom you may consult more at large, Lib. 36. cap. 12. The tenth Lamp has two Wieks, "Lamp of the Moon." and may either be hung up or set upon its Foot: From the form of a Crescent at the other extremity or handle, it is thought to have been dedicated to the Moon, or else to have burn’d in the Sepulchre of some Person of Rank, as a Symbol of his Nobility, of which this was an Hieroglyphic, and therefore they antiently wore one in their Shoes, &c. to distinguish them from inferior Persons, and perhaps might also Sup by a Lamp made in that form in token of their Quality and Grandure. As this had two, so the following Lamp at Figure eleven had four Wieks or Lights, "Lamp with four Lights." being, as Nardius tells us, brought out of Egypt, with some Mummies, to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, by which, says Kircher, nothing seems more to be meant than the Worship of those Deities which went before the four Seasons of the Year; for seeing the Prosperity of the whole Republic depended on the Plenty of those Things, to which the abovesaid Deities were distributed, in the Circle of the four Seasons of the Year, they aptly apply’d the Lamp with four Lights to complete these mysterious Ceremonies; for the Egyptians erected their Lamps with so many Lights as the number of that Deity, consecrated to any one, contain’d of Unities. "Lamp with an Ox’s Head." The Lamp at Figure the twelfth, with the Head of an Ox, which as Valerianus, Lib. 3. Hierogl. plainly demonstrates to be the Symbol of the Earth, was Sepulchral and depicted Hieroglyphically, to show that the Body of Man was resolv’d into Earth from whence it was first form’d. "Lamp of a wing’d Sphinx." Figure the thirteenth is a Lamp on whose Superficies a wing’d Sphinx grav’d or wrought, which as it was among the Egyptians the Symbol of secret Wisdom, so it denotes that this Lamp was plac’d in the Sepulchre of some Learned Man, whose Sayings were wont to be Ænigmatical, and were represented by the Image of a Sphinx; or perhaps more particularly to denote the Depositum of some Noble Poet; for it is the property of a Poet, under the cover of a Fable, to contain the mysterious Secrets of Divine Matters, and to enlighten the hidden Senses of honest Actions, that they may be imitated. "Lamp with two beaked Ships." The next Lamp at Figure the fourtenth was purchas’d of the Arabians, by that excellent Physician John Baptista Bonagente Vicentinus, who saw them take it out of one of the Caves of the Mummies near the Pyramids, and after his Death Fr. Sanctus a Plebe Sacci bought it out of his Collection at Cairo, and brought it to Padua, where he presented it to the most illustrious Sertorio Ursatto, who afterwards show’d it to Licetus, and he gave the following Figure and Description of it, viz. That it had twelve Lights or Wieks, and on it was represented two beaked Ships with many Oars, as it were mutually going into a hostile Engagement, which denotes, says Licetus, that this Lamp was plac’d in the Sepulchre either of a certain famous Pirate, Commander of 12 Gallies, with three Oars on a side, and who infested the Egyptian Seas, or, on the contrary, of some Captain who defended their Coasts from their Enemies; to which he adds, that this Lamp being but small, and having 12 large Wieks, it must undeniably have consumed away in a very short Time, unless it were fill’d with incombustible Oil. "Lamp with a Dog’s Head." By the fifteenth and last Figure of a Lamp, on the extremity of whose handle is a Dog’s Head, Pierius and Ambrosius think is signify’d, that Men are faithfully to keep their Words and Trust in all Things committed to their Charge; and that a Dog’s Head had a chief Place in Sepulchral Lamps, inasmuch as it was the Hieroglyphic of a Sexton or Libitinarius; for as a Dog by firm and stedfast looking on, watches and defends the Images both of Gods and Men, so the Libitinarii were to keep and look to the Embalm’d Bodies, and all Things appertaining thereunto or Funeral Ceremonies.

Thus Licetus, Bellori and Kircher have given you their Opinions of the Hieroglyphical Signatures and Significations of some Egyptian Lamps, which we have just now mention’d, to which we will add two more very well worth the taking notice of, the one a particular Ceremony of burning sweet-smelling Lamps and Incense to the deceas’d Daughter of King Mycerinus, and the other a general lighting of Lamps throughout all Egypt, call’d The Feast of Lamps.

The first was instituted by Mycerinus, one of the Kings of Egypt, who, being depriv’d of Heirs, by the Death of his Daughter and only Child, endeavour’d to immortalize her Memory by the most sumptuous Structure he could devise: For this end instead of a Subterranean Cave or Sepulchre, he erected a very fine Palace, with a Hall in the midst of it, beautifully adorn’d with abundance of Statues and Figures. In this Hall he deposited her Corps in a Coffin made after the similitude of an Ox in a kneeling posture, and cover’d over with Plates of Gold and a Purple-Mantle: The Ox had between its Horns a Sun of massy Gold, and before it there burn’d a Lamp, whose Flames were fed with most odoriferous Oils. Round about the Hall stood Perfuming-Pans and Censers, which continually threw up Clouds of sweet-smelling Odours; but this being more fully describ’d before, p. 200. we will refer you thither for a more particular Account, where it is also lively represented by a Plate or Figure.

The second, viz. The Feast of Lamps, is describ’d by several Authors, tho’ they differ in their Opinions concerning its Origin; some will have it that the Egyptians celebrated this Feast on certain Days of the Year, that Osiris, or the Sun, might not be wanting to preserve them by his Plenty and Benevolence, therefore they made a Sacrifice of Lamps, or a general Illumination to him throughout all Egypt, by reason they thought Fire the best Symbol or representation of the Sun, whom they worshipp’d and call’d Osiris, but whom the Greeks term’d Pluto or Vulcan, which last some think the first Inventor or God of Fire. Moreover, Macrobius says, Osiris was nothing else but the Sun, and Isis the Earth and Nature, made fruitful by him, and Mother of all Productions, which are form’d in her Bosom. Others say Osiris and Isis were King and Queen of Egypt, who reign’d with extraordinary mildness, conferring many great Benefits on their Subjects; also that they hindred Men from eating one another as they were formerly wont to do, and taught them Agriculture and the Use of Corn and Wine; moreover that they made excellent Laws, wherefore Plutarch says, from their being such good Genii, they became Gods, as a just Reward to their Virtue, and that Osiris was Pluto and Isis Proserpina. Herodotus in his Euterpe speaks thus of the Feast of Lamps, having told us in another place, as Casalius observes, that the Egyptians were more religious than all others in the care of their Lamps. ‘But when they had assembl’d together at Sais, the City of Sacrifice, they took their Lamps, prepar’d with good Wieks, fill’d with Oil, and season’d with Salt, and in the Evening lighted them in the open Air before their Houses, burning them all the Night, whence this lighting of Lamps came to be call’d a Feast of Lamps. Now tho’ all the Egyptians might not come to this Convention, yet did they all observe the Night of Sacrifice, and all lighted their Lamps, so that they were not only lighted in Sais, but also throughout all Egypt; but for what cause this Night obtain’d so much Glory and Honour, a certain holy Reason is given;’ yet which Herodotus does not declare.

Some think the Egyptians were wont to light up these Lamps in the Night, to find Osiris out with Isis, he being kill’d, as they say, by his Brother Typhon. Moreover, Lactantius tells us, the Priests beat their Breasts, and lamented with great Howlings, just as Isis did when she had lost Osiris, but rejoyc’d again when they had found him, so that from this often loosing and finding him, Lucan thus expresses himself on that Subject:

Also by observing this Worship or Celebration of the Feast of Lamps, they promis’d themselves great Plenty of all Things; for as Pausanias relates, the Nile’s beginning to encrease in those Days that they celebrated this Feast to Isis, in bewailing Osiris, induc’d them to believe, that the increase of that River, and Inundation of the Fields, was occasion’d only by the Tears which Isis shed for the Death of Osiris, and some will have Osiris to be the Nile, and Isis Egypt.

But the true and Sacred Reason why the Egyptians celebrated this Feast of Lamps with Tears and Lamentations, Casalius thinks to have been in Memory of that doleful Night, in which GOD slew all the First-Born of Egypt, as well Men as Beasts (among whom was Osiris) to the end that he might bring the Children of Israel out of that Country; for then King Pharaoh and all the Egyptians rose out of their Beds in the midst of the Night, and lighting their Lamps, lamented their slain Sons, thereby suffering the Sons of Israel to go free out of the Land, as appears by Exodus the 12th Chapter and the 12th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32d and 33d Verses, where it is thus written: I the Lord will pass thro’ the Land of Egypt this Night, and will smite all the First-Born, both Man and Beast; and against all the Gods of Egypt will I execute Judgment. And it came to pass that at Midnight the Lord smote all the First-Born of Pharaoh, that sat on his Throne, unto the First-Born of the Captive that was in the Dungeon, and all the First-Born of Cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the Night, he and all his Servants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great Cry in all Egypt; for there was not a House where there was not one dead. And he call’d for Moses and Aaron by Night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from amongst my People, both you and the Children of Israel, and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your Flocks and your Herds, as ye have said; and be gone, and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the People, that they might send them out of the Land in haste; for they said, we be all dead Men. So that this true History of the Nightly Bewailings of the Egyptians, every one over his First-Born that was dead, and of their Joy by reason of their being freed from the fear of the Death of their other Children, at GOD’s People going out of their Land, was the true occasion why the Egyptians did afterwards celebrate it with the Feast of Lamps, describ’d by Herodotus, and which the Egyptian Priests, who conceal’d all their Mysteries under Hieroglyphics like to Fables, did to shew the wonderful and miserable Bewailings of Isis for slain Osiris, who some think was the First-Born of Pharaoh. On the contrary, so soon as this Night was over, the Egyptians worshipp’d the Rising Sun, with rejoycings and leaping about, and a great number of both Sexes, says Apuleius, appeas’d the Celestial Bodies with Lamps, Torches and other kind of Lights; but the Chief Priest carry’d a very famous burning Lamp, not like those commonly us’d at Evening-Banquets, but like to a Golden Boat, out of the middle of which issu’d forth a very large and bright Flame. But neither of these Lamps describ’d by Herodotus, to wit, that of Mycerinus, or those us’d at the Feast of Lamps, are said to have burn’d perpetually, without ever going out, or any addition of new Matter being made to them: Nevertheless, some affirm, there have been such Lamps as endur’d for many Ages, and probably might have been perpetual, had they not been accidentally broken or extinguish’d: "Lamp of Tulliola." Of these, the most remarkable is that which Erasmus Franciscus produces out of Pflaumerus, Pancirollus and others, viz. That under the Reign of Pope Paul III. in the Appian Way to Rome, where many of the chief Heathens were formerly bury’d, a Tomb was open’d in which there was found the entire Body of a very fair Lady, swimming in a wonderful Liquor which preserv’d it from Putrifaction in such manner, that the Face was no ways sunk, but seem’d exceeding beautiful and like to the Life it self: Her Hair was yellow, wreath’d about with an artificial Ligature, and connected with a Circle or Gold-Ring. Under her Feet burn’d a Lamp, whose Flame vanish’d upon opening the Sepulchre; from some grav’d Marks it appear’d the Body had been there bury’d above 1500 Years, but whose it was is not yet known, tho’ many have suppos’d it to have been the Body of Tulliola, Daughter of Cicero, from this short Inscription said to have been found grav’d on the Tomb, viz.

Some say this Body, so soon as it was touch’d, immediately turn’d to Ashes and disappear’d; but the truth of this Story is very much to be question’d, "Refuted." and if we enquire strictly into each particular Circumstance, it will appear altogether fabulous: For, First, if it had been kept with any Balsamic Liquor, it could not so soon have turn’d to Ashes, and if it had not been Embalm’d, then for it to have been kept uncorrupt so many Hundreds of Years, would have been as great a Miracle as the burning of the Lamp. Secondly, The Argument from the Inscription, that it was the Body of Tulliola, is as doubtful as the matter of Fact can be true, for any one never so indifferently vers’d in the Monuments of the Antients, will believe it ought then to have been written in this manner, and according to their usual Custom: M. Tullius Cicero, TerentiÆ Uxori, TulliolÆ FiliÆ, &c. if either the Father had been bury’d there, or had built it for his Wife and Children: Also the word MeÆ is needless, forasmuch as she was the Daughter, not of another but of the Person that built the Tomb for himself and Family; but who it was that either built the Tomb, or was Father to the Daughter, the words of the Inscription do not show, whereby they appear in all respects to be, not the Truth and Elegancy of those Times, but meer Novelties and Follies: Besides, it could not be any of Cicero’s Family (and therefore the Assertion and Title must be false) because in his Time and long before, the Romans were wont to burn all Bodies, and thereby reduce them to Ashes, except those of Infants that had not had their Teeth cut, and a few particular Families; but of this number we do not read that Cicero was one who was exempted from the Flames of the Funeral Pyre. Some therefore who deservedly suspect the Title, will have it to be the Body of Priscilla, Daughter of Abascantus; but whoever it was, JudÆus Apella thinks it not to have been reduc’d to Ashes by burning, but by the immission of the Air or contact of the Body, and that it had without Embalming, remain’d incorrupt 1500 Years, whereas both Iron and Marble are consum’d in much lesser Time. But CÆlius Rhodiginus, Antiq. Lect. Lib. 3. cap. 24. relates it quite otherwise, viz. That it suffer’d not the Injuries of Time, by reason of its being condited with Aromatics, until three Days after it was brought into the City, when the Medicament being remov’d or vitiated it putrify’d. Lastly, This Author as well as Aresius, Alexander ab Alexandro, and Raphael Volateranus, who liv’d the same Time at Rome that this Tomb is reported to have been found, do not so much as mention one word of a Lamp found burning, whereas that being a Thing so very wonderful and miraculous, it could not easily be conceal’d, seeing that even common and frivolous Things are so easily listn’d to by such as are desirous of and expect Novelties: Nay Alexander plainly enough lays down, that there was no Inscription; and Licetus himself does not affirm, that there was any Lamp found burning in that Sepulchre, so that as Ferrarius observes, it appears to be a meer Invention of Pancirollus, who out of an innate desire of relating wonderful Things, and pleas’d with the sweetness of Fables, first receiv’d it for a Truth, and afterwards communicated it to Posterity.

Yet was this not so strange and wonderful a Lamp as that of Pallas, "Lamp of Pallas," which Martinus the Chronologer relates, and to which Boccatius, Philippus Bergomas and Volateranus assent, viz. That in the Year 1501, when Henry III. was Emperor, a Countryman digging deep in the Earth, near the City of Rome, discover’d a Tomb of Stone, wherein lay a Body so tall, that being erected, it over-top’d the Walls of that City, and was as entire as if it had been but newly bury’d, having a very large Wound on the Breast, and a burning Lamp at its Head, which could neither be extinguish’d by Wind nor Water, so that they were forc’d to perforate the bottom of the Lamp, and by that means put out the Flame. This was said to be the Body of Pallas slain by Turnus, these Verses being inscrib’d on the Sepulchre:

This Lamp is said to have burn’d 2511 Years, and perhaps would have continu’d so to the end of the World, had it not been broke and the Liquor spilt. "Ridicul’d." Now as this Story appears very fabulous, so Ferrarius de Lucernis Sepulchralibus, p. 17. as wittily ridicules it, thinking it a fitter Tale for an old Grannam in a Chimney-Corner to quiet a peevish and froward Child with, than for a Man of Sense to give credit to; nay, he declares, that for his part, he is almost asham’d to reherse it: Can any one think, says he, that Pallas was so tall a Giant as to surmount the Walls of Rome, or that any one should be so foolish to measure the Body by the Wall, and not by a Foot-Rule, Cubit or Yard? That the Orifice of the Wound should be four Foot wide, and proportionably big to his Body, so that a little Man might jump in and out at it? Surely in this Case Turnus’s Lance must have been as big as that of Polyphemus or the Philistian Goliah’s. Besides, if Pallas were but a Lad when he was slain, as the Poet make him, and yet taller than the Turrets of the Roman Walls, what would he have come to if he had liv’d? Would he not, think you, have encreas’d in height ’till he had equall’d the Obelisk of the Sun? Besides, it must have been more than an Egyptian Embalming that could have preserv’d a Body of that bulk entire for about 26 Ages: Yet, grant all this, the Poet says expresly, the Body of Pallas was burn’d and not bury’d. No less absurd and barbarous are the Verses of the Inscription, which, instead of being elegant and sublime, are mean and poor, undoubtedly compos’d in some Cottage or Ale-House; for what can be meant by more suo, unless he lay in a different posture from what other Bodies are wont to do, or by mole sua, but his being of an unsizeable bulk? However both are as ridiculous and foolish as the Latin is trivial. Nevertheless Licetus endeavours to defend both, alledging by more suo is meant, that there is no other situation of Bodies more proper than lying, either when they are asleep, which is the Emblem of Death, or when they are sick, which is the way to it, but what need he then mention that which every Body knows? The other words mole sua, he says, were to describe the bulk of his Gigantic Body, or else by reason the Ancients thought the Soul tarry’d with the Body in the Sepulchre, or wander’d about it, yet could not either stand, sit or lye, as being an incorporeal Substance, it was said of his Body, as separated from the Soul, and laid up in a Sepulchre, Mole sua jacet hic; so that ’tis the Opinion of this great Philosopher and Critic, that mole sua was added to the Verse, lest any one should suspect the Body and Soul of Pallas did lye together in the same Cave. As to the Lamp, which exceeds all Faith and Belief, for it is affirm’d to have burn’d 2611 Years, and that whereas other Lamps were but small, and soon extinguish’d by the immission of Air, or the blast of Winds, this great and contumacious Flame, well befitting a Giant, defy’d both the light of the Day or darting of the Sun-Beams, and the rushing in of Air or blasts of Wind, and, as they tell you, would have continu’d so for ever, if it had not been broken, whereas they might have better said, if the Liquor had not been spilt, seeing it might have been easier extinguish’d, by inverting the Lamp, and pouring out that precious Oil, which yielded Aliment to the Eternal Fire; nay every one knows, who has seen these Lamps, that they were wont to have several holes at top, wherein they pour’d the Oil: These are foolish and absurd Stories both committed to Print and Posterity, as if they were only to come into the Hands of Boys, or Cucumber-headed Men, as Ferrarius expresses himself. There are several other Relations of this kind, as the Golden Lamp in the Temple of Minerva at Athens, "Lamp of Minerva," which, says Pausanias, burn’d a whole Year, and was the workmanship of Callimachus. "Of Jupiter Ammon," The Lamp of Jupiter Ammon, which Plutarch, Lib. de Def. Oracul. speaks of, and which is affirm’d by the Priests to have burn’d continually, yet consum’d less Oil every Year than the former, and tho’ it burn’d in the open Air, neither Wind nor Water could extinguish it. A Lamp in the Fane of Venus, "Of Venus," which St. Austin speaks of, being of the same Nature with the fore-going, unextinguishable either by Wind or Water. "A Lamp found at Edessa." A Lamp at Edessa, that Cedrenus mentions, which being hid at the top of a certain Gate, burn’d 500 Years. Another very wonderfull Lamp was that of Olybius Maximus of Padua, "Lamp of Olybius." found near Atteste, which Scardeonius, Lib. 1. Class. 3. cap. ult. thus describes: In a large Earthen-Urn was contain’d a lesser, and in that a burning Lamp, which had continu’d so 1500 Years, by means of a most pure Liquor contain’d in two Bottles, one of Gold and the other of Silver. These are in the Custody of Franciscus Maturantius, and are by him valu’d at an exceeding Rate.

Abundance of other Lamps of the like Nature are describ’d by Licetus, and confuted by Ferrarius, whither we refer you; for seeing they are but improbable Stories, and the Fictions of Poets, we think it not worth while to spend our Time in repeating them; but in the next place will proceed to enquire after what manner Authors do suppose perpetual burning Lamps to have been made.

These, says Licetus, Kircher and others, were order’d divers ways, First, Miraculously and Preternaturally, as was that at Antioch, which burn’d 1500 Years in an open and public Place, over the Door of a Church, preserv’d by that Divine Power who hath made so infinite a number of Stars to burn with perpetual Light. Secondly, "By the wiles of the Devil," By the wiles of the Devil, who, as St. Austin tells us, deceives such a thousand ways, who, out of Curiosity and Avarice, consult Oracles or worship false Gods, so that when Men sought for the Sepulchres of these Gods, nothing was more easie than for the Devil to represent a flash of Light or Flame to them at their first entring into such Subterranean Caves. Others assign Natural Reasons for this, as that which Countrymen imagine to be a burning Lamp, at their first finding those Sepulchres, may be only a kind of Ignis fatuus, or pellucid Matter which shines in the dark; "Or from a Natural Cause." for such glimmering Coruscations are frequently seen in Church-Yards and fat marshy Grounds, especially at the breaking up of old Tombs, where no Air has been immitted for many Ages. Also Miners observe, that at the first opening of a new Vein of Ore, such flames or flashes of Light break forth; yet are these not sufficient Arguments for criticizing Philosophers, for some believe a Lamp may be made with such Art as to burn perpetually, and others as absolutely deny it, alledging that whatever is resolv’d into Vapour or Smoak cannot be permanent, but will consume, and the oily Nutriment of a lighted Lamp is exhal’d into a Vapour, therefore the Fire cannot be perpetual for want of a Pabulum. On the contrary, those that defend the possibility of making a perpetual Lamp, deny that all the Nourishment of kindl’d Fire must of necessity evaporate into a Damp or Vapour, asserting, that there are things in Nature, which not only resist the force of Fire, and are inconsumable by it, but also inextinguishable either by Wind or Water: Such as these are some peculiar Preparations of Gold, Silver or Mercury; Naptha, Petroleum, and the like bituminous Oils; also Oil of Camphir, Amber and Bricks; the Lapis Asbestos seu Amianthus, Lapis Carystius, Cyprius and Magnesius and Linum vivum seu Creticum, &c. of all which in their Order. First, They affirm such Matter might be prepar’d either of Gold, Silver, or the like Metal, "Or can be made with Gold, Silver," made fluid after a particular manner, and Gold they thought the fittest Pabulum for such an inconsumable Lamp, because, of all Metals, that wastes the least when either heated or melted, yet what Oily Humidity can that or any other Metal afford which will catch Fire and continue its Flame? But that these perpetual Lamps, if ever there were any such, were not prepar’d of Metals, is sufficiently confuted by Licetus, p. 130 and 132. and by Ferrarius, p. 16. tho’ Licetus in another place, viz. p. 44. makes mention of a Preparation of Quicksilver purged seven Times, thro’ white Sand by Fire, of which, he says, Lamps were made that would burn perpetually; and that this Liquor was variously nam’d by the Chymists, "Or Mercury." as Aqua Mercurialis, Materia Metallorum, perpetua Dispositio, Materia prima Artis, Vitrum perenne incorruptumque, Oleum Vitri, and the like. Nevertheless, how fabulous soever this may seem, both Maturantius and Citesius aver they firmly believe, that to make a Lamp which will burn perpetually, must of necessity be a Chymical Work, tho’ perhaps not made from any Preparation of Metal. "Two Chymical Experiments for making Eternal Fire." This appears from the Chymical Experiments of Tritenhemius and Bartholomeus Korndorferus, who both made Preparations for Eternal Fire after the following manner.

The first was thus made: ? Sulphur. Alum. ust. a ? iv. sublime them into Flowers to ? ij. of which add of Christalline Venetian Borax pouder’d ? j. upon these affuse high rectify’d Spirit of Wine and digest it, then abstract it and pour on fresh: Repeat this so often ’till the Sulphur melt like Wax, without any Smoak, upon a hot Plate of Brass, and this is for the Pabulum, but the Wiek is to be prepar’d after this manner: You must gather together the Threds or Thrums of the Lapis Asbestos, to the thickness of your middle, and length of your little Finger, which done, put them into a Venice Glass, and covering them over with the aforesaid depurated Sulphur or Aliment, set the Glass in Sand for the space of 24 Hours, so hot that the Sulphur may bubble all the while. The Wiek being thus besmear’d and anointed, is to be put into a Glass like a Scallop-Shell, in such manner, that some part of it may lye above the Mass of prepar’d Sulphur; then setting this Glass upon hot Sand, you must melt the Sulphur, so that it may lay hold of the Wiek, and when ’tis lighted it will burn with a perpetual Flame, and you may set this Lamp in any Place where you please. The way of making the other Eternal Fire is thus:

?. Salis tosti, lb. j. affuse over it strong Wine-Vinegar, and abstract it to the consistency of Oil; then put on fresh Vinegar and macerate and distill it as before. This repeat four Times successively, then put into this Vinegar Vitr. Antimonii subtiliss. lÆvigat, lb. j. set it on Ashes in a close Vessel for the space of six Hours, to extract its Tincture, decant the Liquor, and put on fresh, and then extract it again; this repeat so often ’till you have got out all the redness. Coagulate your Extractions to the consistency of Oil, and then rectifie them in Balneo MariÆ: Then take the Antimony, from which the Tincture was extracted, and reduce it to a very fine Meal, and so put it into a glass Bolthead; pour upon it the rectify’d Oil, which abstract and cohobate seven Times, ’till such time as the Pouder has imbib’d all the Oil, and is quite dry. This extract again with Spirit of Wine, so often, ’till all the Essence be got out of it, which put into a Venice Matrass, well luted with Paper five-fold, and then distill it so that the Spirit being drawn off, there may remain at bottom an inconsumable Oil, to be us’d with a Wiek after the same manner with the Sulphur we have describ’d before.

These are those Eternal Lights of Tritenhemius, adds Libavius’s Commentator, which indeed tho’ they do not agree with the Pertinacy of Naptha, yet these things can illustrate one another. "Lamp made with Naptha," Naptha is not so durable as not to be burn’d, for it exhales and deflagrates, but if it be fix’d by adding the Juice of the Lapis Asbestinos, it can afford Perpetual Fuell, so says that Learned Person upon this Matter. Moreover, Naptha is a sort of Bitumen so very hot, that it presently burns every Thing it adheres to, nor is it easily extinguish’d by any moist Thing; and Pliny says it has such Affinity with Fire, that it presently leaps to it wherever it finds it. Thus ’tis reported Glauca was burnt by Medea, when she came to Sacrifice, for approaching the Altar the Fire immediately caught hold of her: This was because Jason, being in Love with Glauca, the Daughter of Creon King of Corinth, had forsaken Medea, when she to be reveng’d on that Princess, wetted her Vail and Crown with Naptha, by which means she might be the sooner set on Fire, as Plutarch has it in the Life of Alexander the Great. Thus as Naptha is very inflamable and ready to catch Fire, so is it not easily extinguish’d either by Wind or Water, but burns more violently if cast into the Water, or agitated by the Wind. Of this kind also are some other sorts of Bitumen, such as Petroleum, Amber, Camphir, &c. therefore may be proper Ingredients for these sorts of Lamps we are speaking of. Now in Egypt there were many Places full of Bitumen and Petroleum, as Bellonius, Radzivillus, VallÆus, Burattinus, and other Searchers into Egyptian Antiquities testifie, which were constituted by the hidden Counsels of Nature, with an inexhaustible store of Matter; wherefore the Learned among them, who were great Naturalists, having discover’d these bituminous Wells or Fountains, "With liquid Bitumen or Petroleum." laid from them secret Canals or Pipes to the Subterranean Caves and Sepulchres of the Dead, where, in a convenient Place, they set a Lamp with a Wiek of Asbestos, which was constantly moisten’d and supply’d with Oil by means of this Duct from the afore-said Places: Seeing therefore the flowing of the Oil was perpetual, and the Wiek of Asbestos inconsumable, it must of necessity follow, that the Light also endur’d perpetually. And that this was so, "Confirm’d by Schiangia." fully appears from what Schiangia an Arabian Author relates in his History of the memorable Things of Egypt, in much the same Words as follow: ‘There was a Field in Egypt whose Ditches were full of Pitch and liquid Bitumen, whence the Philosophers knowing the force of Nature, dug some Canals to their Subterranean CryptÆ, where they set a Lamp, which was joyn’d to the afore-said Canals, and which having a Wiek of incombustible Flax, by that means being once lighted, it burn’d perpetually by reason of the continual afflux of Bitumen, and the incombustible Wiek.’ The same thing might perhaps be effected with Naptha, which flow’d at Mutina in Italy, as also with Petroleum and Sicilian Oil. "And believ’d by Kircher, &c." This Kircher and several others are of Opinion is the true way of making perpetual Lamps, seeing it is a Thing purely natural, where such Bituminous Oils do abound, and has no other difficulty in it, but preparing the Wiek of Asbestos, or the like, which comes next under our Consideration.

First Asbestos, call’d by the Greeks ?sest??, i. e. inextinguibilis, a kind of Stone, which being set on fire, cannot be quench’d, as Pliny and Solinus write. Albertus Magnus describes it to be a Stone of an Iron colour, found for the most part in Arabia, and of such strange Virtue, as was manifest in the Temples of the Heathen Gods, that being once lighted it was never to be extinguish’d, by reason of some small quantity of oleaginous Moisture, which was inseparately mix’d with it, and which being inflam’d cherish’d the Fire: Now could any expert Chymist rightly extract this indissoluble Oil, we need not question but it would afford a perpetual Pabulum for these Eternal Lamps which the Ancients boast of; but many Experiments of that kind have been made in vain, some affirming, "Its Oil." the Liquor chymically extracted from that Stone was more of a watry than oily Nature, and withal so fÆculent, that it was not capable to receive Fire and exist. Others again have said, that this Oil was of so thick and solid a Substance that it would hardly flow, and for the most part burn’d not at all or but very indifferently, emitting no Flame, or if it did, it shone not with a bright splendor, but cast up thick and dark Fumes, whereas on the contrary, those Lamps of the Ancients, which burn’d so many Ages, yielded a clear and bright Flame without any Smoak to soil the Vessel and circum-ambient Places, and which in time might both obscure, stop up and put out the Light: Hence Kircher is of Opinion, that tho’ the Mistery of extracting this Oil be not impracticable, yet it is very difficult to be attain’d to by any Humane Art, and as Ferrarius also observes, that as the Stone Asbestos, if once lighted is inextinguishable, so much more must its Oil be both incombustible and inextinguishable, wherefore it does not appear that the Lamps of the Ancients were made either of one or the other, seeing for the most part they are said to have gone out immediately on the opening of the Sepulchre where they were plac’d.

Secondly, The very same is said of Asbeston sive Asbestinum, which the Greeks call ?sest??, i. e. inextinguibile, & est genus Lini quod Ignibus non absumitur, a kind of Flax of which they made Cloth that was to be cleans’d by burning, as Tobacco-Pipes are. Pliny calls it Linum vivum and Indian Flax, and says it was so dear it was esteem’d equal to Pearl and Precious Stones, for it was hard to be met with, and then very difficult to be woven, by reason of the shortness of it. Also he tells us the Bodies of Kings were wont to be wrapp’d in this sort of Cloth, when they were to be burn’d, to the end the Ashes might be preserv’d unmix’d from those of the Funeral Pile, in order to the laying them up in Urns, as the Custom then was when they burn’d their dead Bodies. Moreover Pliny says, he saw some Napkins of this sort of Cloth in his Time, and was an Eye-Witness of the Experiment of purifying them by Fire.

One Podocattarus, a Cyprian Knight, who wrote de Rebus Cypriis in the Year 1566, had both Flax and Linnen of this kind with him at Venice, which Porcacchius says, in his Book of Antient Funerals, he and many others that were with him, saw at that Knight’s House. Also Ludovicus Vives saw a Towel of this kind at Lovain in Brabant, and several Wieks of it at Paris, as he himself relates in his Commentary upon St. Austin’s Treatise de Civitate Dei. Likewise Baptista Porta, says he saw the same thing at Venice in the hands of a Cyprian Woman, and which he terms Secretum optimum, perpulchrum & perutile, a very useful, beautiful and profitable Secret. Several other Authors testifie they have seen the same, but Henricus Salmuthius, in his Commentary upon Pancirollus, p. 16. will have this sort of Linnen to be call’d Asbestinum, from its likeness to Chalk, which he says the Greeks term’d ?sest??, for as that is wont to be purify’d by Fire, so is this Linnen made clean and white by burning. "Two Objections against this Asbeston." Now the chief Objections Ferrarius makes against Pliny’s Account of this incombustible and inextinguishable Flax are, first, That if Wieks had been made of it, they would never have been consum’d or extinguish’d, or when once the Funeral Pile was lighted, the incombustible Linnen, wherein the Bodies were wrapp’d, as also the Napkins and Towels, which Authors mention, would never have been quench’d, but have burn’d perpetually, whereas, he says, this kind of Linnen burn’d only so long as either Grease, Fat, or the like Sordes afforded the Flame a Pabulum, wherefore that being consum’d which had occasion’d the Spots or Dirt, the Linnen appear’d more white and clean than if it had been wash’d with Water and Soap. From this it appears also that those Funeral Shrouds of Kings, often mention’d in Authors, burn’d only so long upon the Pile as the Fat or Sanies of the Body afforded Aliment, and when that fail’d, the Flame ceas’d likewise; for otherwise, if this sort of Flaxen Linnen had been inextinguishable, as Salmuthius seems to imply by the word ?sest??, how could those Napkins or Funeral Shrouds, when once burn’d, be ever handl’d or made use of any more without burning whatever they came near or touch’d? The second Objection is taken from Pliny’s own Words, who tells us, this sort of Flax was very scarce and of great Price, being preserv’d for the Kings of that Country only, so that ’tis highly probable the Egyptians might make use of another sort of Cloth, "Lapis Amiantus." made of the Stone Amiantus, for burning their Bodies, and which, Pliny says, they had the Art of Spinning at that Time. Plutarch also assures us that in his Time there was a Quarry of that Stone in the Island of Negropont, and that the like was to be found in the Isle of Cyprus, Tines, and else-where. Moreover, ’tis the common Opinion of the Learned, that both Funeral Shrouds or Sheets, Table-Cloths, Napkins and the Wieks of the Perpetual Lamps of the Ancients, were made of this Lapis Amiantus, which Linnen, &c. Porcacchius and Ludovicus Vives have particularly spoken of before: Besides, as Dasamus relates, the Emperor Constantine caus’d Wieks to be made of this Flax for those Lamps which burn’d perpetually in his Bathing Place, and Agricola affirms, that both Napkins, Table-Cloths, &c. were made at Rome, and at Vereberge in Bohemia, of this Lapis Amiantus, which instead of washing when dirty, they were wont to cleanse and purifie by Fire. The best sort of this Stone was to be had in Cyprus and India, from the former of which Countries it came to be call’d Lapis Cyprius and Linum Cyprium; "Lapis Cyprius and Linum Cyprium." but of late there has been very good found in some Mines of Italy, of which see Philosophical Transact. No. 72. This Stone being beaten with a Hammer, and the Earth and Dust shaken out, appears like to Flax with its Filaments, and then is spun and woven into Cloth, which Art, says Dr. Grew in his Description of the Rarities in Gresham-College, as well as the Use is thought to be utterly lost, tho’ it be not really so; for Septalius in his MusÆum has or lately had, both Thread, Ropes, Paper and Net-work, all made of this Flax, and some of them with his own Hand. But Grew seems to make Asbestinus Lapis and Amiantus all one, and calls them in English the Thrum-Stone; he says it grows in short Threads or Thrums, from about a quarter of an Inch to an Inch in length, parallel and glossy, as fine as those small single Threads the Silk-Worm spins, and very flexile like to Flax or Tow. There are several pieces of this kind in the aforesaid MusÆum, both white and green, of which the latter has the longest Threads and the most flexile.

Others think the Funeral Shrouds, wherein the dead Bodies of Kings were burn’d, as also the Wieks of those Perpetual Lamps were made of the Lapis Carystius, "Lapis Carystius." a Stone so call’d from the City Carystos, and which signifies, Ardens Tela, quod ex Lapide Carystio texeretur; Tela cujus sordes Igne purgabantur. The Inhabitants kemb’d, spun and wove this downy Stone into Mantles, Table-Linnen and the like, which when foul they purify’d again with Fire instead of Water, as Mattheus Raderus mentions in his Comment on the 77th Epigr. of the IX. Book of Martial. Also Pausanias in Atticis, and Plutarch Lib. De Oraculorum defectu, deliver that the Wieks of Lamps made hereof, and burn’d with Oil, never consum’d, tho’ the latter says the Stone was not to be found in his Time. "Linum Carpasium." Others say it was the Linum Carpasium which was apply’d to all these Uses, so call’d a Carpaso, Cypri Urbe, and that Linnen made thereof was call’d Carbasa, which Solinus says, would endure Fire without consuming. Sometimes also ’tis call’d Linum Cyprium, "Cyprium." of which kind of Flax it was made, and they report the before-mention’d Podocatterus, a Cyprian Knight, shew’d a piece of it to the Venetians, and which he cleans’d by burning in the Fire. Franciscus RuÆus, Albertus Magnus, CÆlius Rhodiginus, Camillus, Leonardus, Isiodorus, and many other famous Writers alledge, if a Wiek be made of this kind of Flax, it will not consume with Fire, and Pausanias particularly says, the Wiek of the Golden Lamp of Minerva was made hereof. Much like this, if not directly the same, was the Flax call’d Linum Creticum; "Creticum." for, as Solinus asserts, those Carbasa, that would endure the Fire, were made in Crete. Also Strabo says this Linum Creticum was made out of a Rock, beaten into Threads, and the Earthy Matter shaken out, after which ’twas kemb’d and woven into Cloth which was not to be consum’d, but might be cleans’d by burning.

Other Authors say inconsumable Cloth, and the Wieks of Perpetual Lamps were made of the Stones Magnesia, Alumen Sciscile, and the like; "Magnesia, Alumen Sciscile, &c." but whether under different Denominations one thing might be meant, I can by no means pretend to determin, altho’ Hieronymus Mercurialis thinks Linnen made of the Lapis Carystius to be the same which Pliny calls Linum vivum, Pausanias, Carpasium, Solinus, Carbasum, Zoroaster, Bostrichitem, others Corsoidem, some Poliam or Spartopoliam, and the common People Villam SalamandrÆ. Tho’ after all, the Ancients might very probably have some other Invention for burning Bodies, such as to set them on the Fire in a Coffin of Stone, Brass or Iron, from whence it was very easie to gather the Ashes and Bones that were not consum’d; and as for the Lamps some are of Opinion they had no Wieks at all: Among these was Licetus, who believes the antient Lamps wanted Wieks, because few or none of them have been found, and Ludovicus Vives is the only Person that affirms he has seen any; but this is nevertheless a conjectural Opinion, since they might have been destroy’d either by Time, Fire or any other Accident. However, he at least affirms the Wiek of a Lamp not to be absolutely necessary towards its burning, by reason Camphir, Naptha, Oil of Bricks, liquid Bitumen, and the like, will for the most part take Fire without any addition of a Wiek. Ferrarius, on the contrary, does not deny but rather confirm the use of Wieks, making the Question dubious, "Whether the Perpetuity of a Lamp proceeded from the Oil or Wiek." whether the perpetuity of Light in Lamps proceeded mostly from the Oil or Wiek? If from the Oil, says he, why did they generally go out upon the admission of Air into the Sepulchre at its first opening? For Air or a gentle gale of Wind is not commonly found prejudicial to the flame of Oil, but only violent Blasts or Storms, which if absent, the Flame or Light will continue so long as the Aliment lasts. But how then came the Lamps of Minerva, Pallas and others not to be extinguish’d by the rushing in of Wind or sprinkling of Dust, and only by breaking the Lamp? Surely there must needs have been two kinds of inconsumable Oil, one which fear’d any admission of Air, and another which defy’d the most violent storms of Rain or Wind; or perhaps one might be the effect of an Oil-Lamp without any Wiek, and the other of a Lamp which had both Oil and Wiek, which certainly must have been the most permanent. For grant there are some Oils so spirituous and inflammable, that they will of themselves catch Fire at a great distance, yet must these needs be too volatile to occasion a Lamp to burn perpetually, unless they are fix’d with some more permanent Matter, "Both Wiek and Oil in a Lamp." and then they cannot be so easily lighted without a Wiek; neither can we understand how it should burn so above the Lamp, unless the Flame be supported by a little Cord or Wiek, the Vehicle of the Oil: Besides, What can that little Foramen at the Beak of all the Lamps mean, but only to thrust the Wiek and Light out at? ’Tis plain therefore they had Wieks, but what they were made of, whether of Asbestos, Amiantus, or any of the before-mention’d Things, is somewhat difficult to decide; forasmuch as they being reported both to have been inconsumable and inextinguishable, when once lighted, they must needs have burn’d perpetually, and consequently the Lamps have had no occasion for any Oil; but this is certainly false, for both the Lamps and Funeral Shrouds burn’d only so long as there was any Oil, Fat, or oleaginous Moisture remaining, which being consum’d they likewise ceas’d, yet might perhaps remain unconsum’d, but that without any Flame. However, we must not deny there were any Wieks in Lamps, because they could not, as most are of opinion, continue to burn of themselves without any oily inflammable Matter, but rather all believe both the Oil and Wiek had a Virtue to assist each other, and on the contrary could not burn separately for any duration or considerable Time. But some have thought quite otherwise of this matter, viz. That what Country-Peasants imagine they see at the first breaking up of such Sepulchres are only the sudden irradiations and reflections of the Sun in those dark Caves, or else some sparks of Light rais’d by the percussion or attrition of their Iron-Tools against the Stones, a glimmering Vapour of the Earth, or the like Appearances, which being heightn’d by the strength of their prepossess’d Fancy, they easily take to be one of the Perpetual Lamps of the Ancients, which had burn’d ’till then, but was immediately extinguish’d upon the rushing in of the Air, or accidental breaking of the Lamp. But Gutherius thinks the contrary; he imagines it was some Liquor or Pouder which took fire at the entring in of the Air: And Johan. Sigism. Elholtius, in his Observations de Phosphoris, p. 9. obs. 2. Sect. 4. compares his liquid Phosphorus or Cold Fire, as he terms it, with the Lamps of the Ancients in these Words: "Perpetual Burning Lamp thought to be liquid Phosphorus." Plura circa frigidum hunc Ignem Phoenomina hactenus non observavimus, in posterum tamen istis experimentis plus operÆ sumus impensuri, & postea communicaturi. Profecto, si conjectura quorundam de Lucernis Veterum Sepulchralibus vera est, quod scilicet non Mille vel amplius Annos illa arserint, sed quod apertÆ demum ardere cÆperint, tum utique ab Oleo illo Antiquorum, non multum obfuerit hic Phosphorus liquidus. Qui enim quiescens & obturatus haud nitet, apertus & inter aperiendum motus, corruscare atque flagrare incipit: restauratÆq; hoc pacto forent LucernÆ illÆ, multis retro Seculis inter Deperdita ab omnibus relatÆ. We have not hitherto observ’d more Phoenomena concerning this Cold Fire, nevertheless intend for the future to spend more Time and Labour in these Experiments, and then will communicate them to the Public. But surely if a certain Conjecture concerning the Lamps of the Ancients be true, viz. That they burn’d not a Thousand or more Years, but at length when they came to be discover’d began to burn, then certainly this liquid Phosphorus cannot differ much from that Oil of the Ancients, which lying quiet and stopp’d up, hardly shines; but being open’d, in the motion of opening begins to corruscate and burn, and after this manner those Lamps would be restor’d, which are related by all to have been lost for many Ages.

Nevertheless, Licetus endeavours to persuade us that a Pabulum for Fire may be given with such an equal Temperament, as cannot be consum’d but after a long Series of Ages, and so that neither the Matter shall exhale but strongly resist the Fire, nor the Fire consume the Matter, but be restrain’d by it, as it were with a Chain, from flying upward. This, says Sir Thomas Brown in his Vulgar Errors, p. 124. speaking of Lamps which have burn’d many Hundreds of Years, included in close Bodies, proceeds from the Purity of the Oil, which yeilds no fuliginous Exhalations to suffocate the Fire; for if Air had nourish’d the Flame, then it had not continu’d many Minutes, for it would certainly in that case have been spent and wasted by the Fire.

But the Art of preparing this inconsumable Oil is lost, having perish’d long since, as Pancirollus assures us, but neither he nor any other Learned Man has given us any convincing Proof that there ever was such a Thing, but only think to amuse us with a wonderful Art, and then tell us only it is quite lost. And for my part I cannot see hitherto that all that has been wrote or said on this Subject is sufficient to prove there ever was any such Thing, and much more that it ever could be made. Licetus, who has argu’d most on this Head, is confuted by Aresius, and in a word, all that can be alledg’d is, that if this Art be not impossible to be effected, it is nevertheless as difficult to be attain’d to, by any Human Invention, as the Perpetual Motion or Philosophers Stone, therefore I shall not trouble my Thoughts any farther about these Lamps, but only look on them as so many Hieroglyphics or Symbols of the Immortality of the Soul, and heartily pray that we may not want Oil in our Lamps when the Bridegroom shall come, but be prepar’d to enjoy Eternal Light with him, which is the devout Prayer of,