vours their opinion; others fuppofe it to be a victory, and think they have discovered another figure of the fame kind upon an Etrufcan vafe; the vafe upon which it is reprefented, they fuppofe alludes to the facred libations and the facrifices offered by way of thankfgiving for a victory. The blood which is fhed in the obtaining of a victory, makes it abfolutely neceffary to wash before any facred, function is performed; and the practice of washing before facrifice was more fcrupulously practifed by the ancients on fuch occafions than on any other. The other figure is agreed to be a victory by all parties; the right hand holds a buckler, and the left a crown of oak-leaves, enriched with gold, that is, painted of a golden colour. This wreath was called by the Romans a civic crown, and beftowed upon those who had p preferved the life of a citizen, by killing an enemy; under the emperors, this crown was frequently decreed to princes, ob cives ferva

tos.

5. Two pieces that reprefent two religious ceremonies in use among the Egyptians; thefe are very curious: in the firft of them there is a quadrangular altar with a Hame afcending from it, and two Ibifes upon the pedestal; the altar is furrounded by 11 figures, of different fexes, ages, and dreffes: on the right fide is a woman kneel ing, holding a fiftrum in one hand, and in the other a plate of fruit; her head is crowned with a wreath, that seems to confift of a branch of palm, the leaves of which are placed fo as to form rays, in the manner defcribed by Apuleius, when he speaks of initiation into

the mysteries of Ifis. Behind this figure is that of a girl, with a vafe in her hand, and a bafket upon her head; by her fide are two women, one of which is naked to the girdle, and has her head close fhaved, holding a branch in her left-hand, and a fiftrum in her right; the other has dishevelled hair, but her action cannot be diftinguished. On the left-fide of the altar there is an old man kneeling; he is bald and half naked, and his hands are extended as in an attitude of prayer; behind this figure is that of a woman holding a flower in one hand, and in the other an inftrument very little different from the common fiftrum ; alfo a man, who is either founding a trumpet or playing on a flute; and a man holding in one hand a kind of crotalum, confifting of a circle furnished with little bells, and croffed diametrically by a small bar; in his left-hand he holds a chain, confifting of four links, each gradually lefs than another; five fteps, two columns and an epiftylium, form the entrance of the temple, in the front of which ftands the altar, and in the middle beyond the altar, upon a ground a little raifed, there are fix other perfons; two women playing upon a fiftrum, and accompanied by a third with a tabor; the fourth woman holds up the fore-finger of her right-hand, as if to enjoin filence, and a girl befide her feems to be in motion with her hands as if playing upon fome inftrument which cannot be diftinguifhed; the fixth figure is that of a man with a bufhy beard, crowned with a wreath, and dreffed in a kind of clofe jacket, which leaves his arms, his feet, his legs and thighs

naked.

raked. This figure appears by his attitude to be dancing.

In the other piece there is an altar like that juft described, near which are two Ibises. One of the minifters of Ifs fans the fire upon the altar, with an inftrument not unlike the fans now worn by the ladies two other minifters ftand befide him, one of them is cloathed in a long white robe, with fhort fleeves, holding in his right-hand a long wand or rod, and in the left fomething pointed, which may be either a fword or a feepter. An inftrument of the fame kind appears in the elevated right-hand of another minister, who holds a fiftrum in his left; on each fide the altar is a group of figures, of different ages and fexes; at the head of one of thefe groups, is a man fitting and playing upon a long flute; at the head of the other is a minister of the mysteries standing up, with a fiftrum in one hand, and near him is a woman alfo holding a fiftrum; the greatest part of these figures appear to be gefticulating with their hands. Eleven, fteps lead to the gate of the temple, which is guarded by two fphynxes, the head of which terminate in the lotus: at the entrance of the temple appear three figures on one fide is a woman with dishevelled hair, cloathed in a long robe, with a fiftrum in her right-hand, and in her left a fmall pail or bucket with its cover; and over-againft this figure, is an afliftant at the Ififian myfteries, with a filtrum in his right-hand; and between them is another affiftant in a robe that reaches to his heels, over which

which is a kind of fringed scarf; both hands are wrapped in this fcarf, but, notwithstanding, they prefent a cruise (hydria) to the veneration of the affiftants.

It is remarkable, that all these figures have naked feet, and it was the custom to enter bare-footed into the temple to pray. The habit of the minifters is a long white robe, which was worn by all the priefts of Ifis, and was of linen, whence the name Linigeri. Herodotus relates, that every third day they shaved all the hair of the body, that they might with more propriety appear before the god whom they ferved.

It has been conjectured by a very learned and ingenious perfon in Italy, that the first of these paintings reprefents a vow made by the Ififian college of Herculaneum, upon the fickness of Pompey the Great, about the 705th year of Rome, when the inhabitants of Naples, and of all the other cities of Italy, offered up public prayers for his recovery. This conjecture accounts for the mixture of Greek and Roman perfonages with Egyptian priests; and we have the teftimony of Apuleius, that an Ififian college was established at Rome from the time of Sylla; and it is probable that the worship of Ifis was introduced into Greece in the time of Alexander the Great.

The rod which one of the figures holds in his hand, calls to mind a paffage of Artaphanes*, whọ teftifies, that the Egyptians feeing the miracles which Mofes performed with a rod, made themfelves a rod alfo, and preferved it

twelve hundred marks of gold, and this fum was paid off and the pledge withdrawn twelve years after. This feems to prove, that the great value of the matter of this depofit was at that time without fufpicion.

I fee not what prefumption in favour of the matter of this veffel. can be drawn from the circumftance of one of its handles being cracked; nor how this proof, which is fuppofed to have been made in the prefence of the emperor Charles V. could afcertain the genuineness of the emerald. *The princes Corfini, grand nephe vs to pope Clement XII. whom I had the honour of accompanying "from Marseilles to Genoa, having obtained from the fenate the neceffary decree to fee this monument, I availed myfelf of the opportunity in order to examine it. I viewed it attentively, oppofing it to the light of a large taper. The colour appeared to me of a very deep green: I perceived not in it the leaft trace of thofe icicles, Itraws, clouds, and other defects *of tranfparence fo common in eme ralds and other precious ftones of the leaft thicknefs, even in rock cryftal; but I diftinguished very evidently feveral little voids, refembling fmall bubbles of air, of a round or oblong form, fuch as are commonly found in cryftals, or glafs, whether white or coloured.

One would not expect that a prejudice of the twelfth century hould be blindly refpected in the eighteenth; nevertheless I know

not that any modern traveller has combated it; and the Geographical Dictionary of Martinere, edition 1740, fays pofitively, " that they preferve at Genoa a precious veffel of ineftimable value," which af fertion I am the more aftonished at, as my doubt is by no means new. It is clearly indicated in the expreffions employed by William archbishop of Tyre, about four centuries ago, where he fays, that at the taking of "* Cæfarea this veffel fell by lot, for a large fun of money, to the Genoefe, whe believed it to be an emerald, aęd who fhew it ftill as fuch, and ai fomething wonderful, to ftrang ers." For the reft, it belongs only to thofe whom thefe fufpicions may difpleafe, to deftroy them, if they are not well founded; and I have not entered into this detail, but in the hope that a fact, the clearing up of which is fo eafy, will not remain any longer in obfcurity; or that this obfcurity, if it fhould continue, will change thefe fufpicions into certainty."

I drew the figure and dimenfions of the veffel of Genoa, fuch as I now lay them before this affembly, from a work published at Genoa in 1726, by a religious of the Auguftine order, and filled with hiftorical refearches on this fubject. The author leaves undecided the queftion which he proposes to himfelf, whether this precious moveable was brought by the Genoese from the fiege of Cæfarea in Paleftine, in the year 1101 (as appears evident by the teftimony of Wil liam of Tyre) or from the fiege

of Almeria, taken by the Moors 11475 but he difcuffes with great erudition through what hands the veffel has paffed, fince the queen of Sheba made a prefent of of it to Solomon, to the time wherein it was employed to ferve up the pafchal lamb to our Saviour on the eve of his paffion: this is a point on which our author has not the leaft doubt. As for what refpects the matter of it, he maintains that is certainly an emerald; and his ftrongest argument is, that the matter of a veffel which ferved for the fupper wherein our Lord inftituted the auguft facrament of the Eucharift, could not be too precious. This principle once admitted, would lead the author farther than he defires, and prove that the difh ought to be a diamond.

gave room to the fable, that two pigeons having taken wing from Thebes, one of them fled into Lybia, where it occafioned the establishing of the oracle of Jupiter Hammon; and the other, having ftopped on the oaks of the foreft of Dodona, informed the inhabitants of the neighbouring parts, that it was Jupiter's intention there should be an oracle in that place. Herodotus has thus explained this fable: there were formerly two priefteffes of Thebes, who were carried off by Phenician merchants. She that was fold into Greece, fettled in the forest of Dodona, where great numbers of the ancient inhabitants of Greece went to gather acorns. She there erected a little chapel at the foot of an oak, in honour of the fame Jupiter, whose pricftefs fhe had been; and here it was this oracle was established, which in after-times became fo famous, The manner of delivering the oracles of Dodona was very fingular. There was a great number of kettles fufpended from trees near a copper ftatue, which was alfo fufpended with a bunch of rods in its hand. When the wind happened to put it in motion, it ftruck the firft kettle, which communicating its motion to the reft, all of them tingled, and duced a certain found which continued for a long time, after which the oracle fpoke...

pro

The oracle of Jupiter Hammon was in the defert, in the midft of the burning fands of Africa. This oracle declared to Alexander, that Jupiter was his father. After feveral queftions, having afked if the death of his father was fufficiently revenged, the oracle answered, That the death of Philip was re

venged,

twelve hundred marks of gold, and this fum was paid off and the pledge withdrawn twelve years after. This feems to prove, that the great value of the matter of this depofit was at that time without fufpicion.

I fee not what prefumption in favour of the matter of this veffel. can be drawn from the circumftance of one of its handles being cracked; nor how this proof, which is fuppofed to have been made in the prefence of the emperor Charles V. could afcertain the genuineness of the emerald.

The princes Corfini, grand nephe vs to pope Clement XII. whom I had the honour of accompanying "from Marseilles to Genoa, having obtained from the fenate the neceffary decree to fee this monument, I availed myself of the opportunity in order to examine it. I viewed it attentively, oppofing it to the light of a large taper. The colour appeared to me of a very deep green: I perceived not in it the leaft trace of thofe icicles, itraws, clouds, and other defects * of tranfparence fo common in emeralds and other precious ftones of the leaft thicknefs, even in rock crystal; but I diftinguished very evidently feveral little voids, refembling fmall bubbles of air, of a round or oblong form, fuch as are commonly found in crystals, or glafs, whether white or coloured.

One would not expect that a prejudice of the twelfth century hould be blindly refpected in the eighteenth; nevertheless I know

not that any modern traveller has combated it; and the Geographical Dictionary of Martinere, edition 1740, fays pofitively," that they preferve at Genoa a precious veffel of ineftimable value," which af fertion I am the more aftonished at, as my doubt is by no means new. It is clearly indicated in the expreffons employed by William archbishop of Tyre, about four centuries ago, where he fays, that at the taking of " Cæfarea this veffel fell by lot, for a large fum of money, to the Genoese, who believed it to be an emerald, and who fhew it ftill as fuch, and as fomething wonderful, to ftrangers. For the reft, it belongs only to thofe whom thefe fufpicions may displease, to destroy them, if they are not well founded; and I have not entered into this detail, but in the hope that a fact, the clearing up of which is so easy, will not remain any longer in obfcurity; or that this obfcurity, if it fhould continue, will change thefe fufpicions into certainty.

I drew the figure and dimenfions of the veffel of Genoa, fuch as I now lay them before this affembly, from a work published at Genoa in 1726, by a religious of the Auguftine order, and filled with hiftorical researches on this fubject. The author leaves undecided the queftion which he proposes to himfelf, whether this precious moveable was brought by the Genoefe from the fiege of Cæfarea in Paleftine, in the year 1101 (as appears evident by the teftimony of William of Tyre) or from the fiege

of