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: