St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

L. VIVES.

THe (a) actors] There are actors, ab agendo, of acting: plaiers vpon the stage, & Authores, the Authors, the Poets that write these fables: though the name of Author is taken many waies; * 1.1 but this is a Grammer question. (b) Is not Plato] Plato (de rep. lib. 2.) expels al Poets out of a well ordered citty, for the wickednes which they sing of the gods: & (in the tenth booke of the same worke) Socrates hauing spoken much against them, concludeth al in this, y^t he holds that poetry only fit to be excluded, which giues life to vnmanly affections: & that to be allowed,' which is manly, & honest: So y^t he condemnes not all poetry, for sometimes he calls Poets, a diuine kinde of men, namely when they sing himmes to the Deities: more-ouer hee saith that if the Poets doe sing of any good man, though he be pore, he is happy: & againe that an euil man though he bee ritch their songs wil make him miserable: if they exceed not in loosenesse, nor yeeld to rancour nor consent vnto flattery, nor in their songs sowe seeds of corruption, such poets are profitable * 1.2 members in Plato's commonwealth. (c) His humanity] Humanity is not taken here for any natural gentlenesse or courtesie of y^e minde, or mans good wil, called in Greeke 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, not for any

knowledge of y^e liberal arts which the Greekes call 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, but for that nature, by which wee are men: as goodnesse is that by w^t we are good: the sence following proues it, for it is compared vnto diuinity & in this signification it is also vsed elsewere as in Tully (de orat lib. I.) (d) Though hee did not induce] Imaruaile much that our Philosophers & Diuines could not out of this place learn * 1.3 the difference of Suadeo, & Persuadeo. But they (which is very nere a miracle) vnderstand latine without knowing the latine tongue, and are very perfect Grecians, and can read neuer a word of Greeke: indeed in Greek, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is both suadere, to aduise or counsel, and persuadere to perswade or induce. (e) This man did Labeo] Here wil I deliuer the orders of the gods; first out of Uar∣ro, and next out of other bookes of the Platonists. The Romains call some of their goddes Summi, the highest: others Medioxumi middle-most: others Heroes infimi, or earthly ones: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which the ancients (as Capella affirmeth) called Earth. The Medioxumi were such * 1.4 as were taken vppe to heauen by their deserts: as Tulli saith: (in his booke De legibus:) that is Semi-gods, or as it were a kind of Mungrels begot of mortallity and immortallity; such were Romulus, Hercules, Aesculapius, Castor and Pollux, with others. The Heroes were born of mortal parents on both sides, but by their merits got a more aduanced state in desteny then the residue of the vulgar. Some to adde vnto these another kinde, called Semones: but of them else-where. (f) Makes Deities of them both] Such as here in this world liued wel and holily, the old Ro∣mains did stil put into the number of the gods when they were dead, and assigned them feastes called Necya. Cicero de legibus lib. 2. (g) He excludeth Poets] In the old copy of Bruges, and * 1.5 Coleigne, the verbe repellit, is left out, and for Poeticarum here, is talium in them. (h) Froward∣nesse of] By their begun vertue, their proofe and demonstration of goodnesse, though some∣times towardlynesse stands for full vertue it selfe: but here it is as I said, and is declared by * 1.6 that which goes before; What was to be performed. (i) Historian.] As there are that do of Ro∣mulus. (k) Poet.] As do of Hercules. (l) Affirmed.] The Historian did not. (m) Fained.] The Poet did not. (n) That he euer killed his brother] Which Romulus did, in killing of Remus. (o) Or committed any other mischieuous act, as is true of Hercules, who defiled the whole world with whoredomes, rapines, robberies and slaughters: yet they thought y^t the world was purged of such guilts by him. (p) Before Priapus] Diodorus saith that Priapus was made a god * 1.7 vppon this occasion: Osiris King of Egipt beeing murthered by the wicked villeny of his brother Tiphon, the conspirators cutte all his body in peeces, and euery one tooke a share, and because no man would take the priuie members, they threw them into the Riuer Nilus. Afterwards Isis the wife of Osiris hauing ouercome Tiphon, she found all the parts of hir husbands body, but the fore-named, which being lost, shee consecrated them, and instituted their diuine worship with many ceremonies, and such as were admitted to be Priests in Aegipt, offered their first sacrifices vnto this: calling it Priapus by an vnknowne name, which to couer the dishonesty of the thing ment, the honest ancients vsed. The Greeks call this God Phallus, * 1.8 and Ihtyphallus. Of this these verses are extant in Collumella: lib. 11.

—Sed truncm forte dolatum Arboris antiquae nun on Uencrare Ityphally, Terriblis membri, medio qui semper in horto, Inguinibus puero, praedoni falce minetur.

—That peece of ancient tree. Adore, as Ityphallus Deitie, That ougly thing: which in the garden stands Gainst bo•…•…es & theeues, with armed gro•…•…ne and hands.

For he was the Keeper of gardens: Diodorus saith he was also called Tiphon, and makes him the son of Uenus and Dionysius: borne (as Seruius and Ualerius Flaccus say) at Lampsacium, a citty in Hellespont and that therefore was named Lampsasenus, and Hellespontiacus. Virgill Georgi•…•….

Et custo furum et{que} •…•…uium, cum falce saligna Hellespontiaci seruit tutela Priapi.

And Priap us of Hellespont, with his hooke, Of Willow, wel to birds and the eues will looke,

And in the Lusus in Priapum, Priapus speaketh thus.

—Patria m•…•…ctaber, et olim Ille •…•…uus ciuis Lampsace, Gallus •…•…o.

Ile loose my country: Lampsacus euen hee That was borne thine, now Cibels Priest will bee.

Some say hee was borne in the citty Priapus, not farre from Lampsacus, neare vnto the vine∣yeards. Strabo thinks his deification was first from Hellespont. But a new God he is, for Hesiod knew no such in his time: Fulgentius makes him one of y^• Semones, & saith he is not yet taken vp * 1.9 into heauen, his deserts ar so slender. (q) Cynocephalus] y^• is indeed, Dogs-head. Diodorus (lib. 4.)

saith that the Cynocephali were a people of humane shape and voyce, but headed like Dogges: a Barbarous and cruell kind of creatures, and many of them liued in the Ilands of Nilus. Osiris had a Sonne called Anubis, who following his father in his trauells, bore the Dogge for his armes: and hence it came that he was worshipped in Egypt in the shape of this creature, * 1.10 and called (by Virgil Aenead. 8) Latrator, the barker, as also because he was held the keeper of the bodies of Osiris and Isis. Some thinke that this was Mercurius, and called thus for his quicke capacity and apprehention. (r) Febris] The Romaines erected many altars vnto Febris: Cicero maketh mention of one ancient one that stood in the mount Palatine (de legib. lib. 2.) * 1.11 and of the same Valerius also (in Antiquanstitut.) and Plinye lib. 2. do speake: as also of ano∣ther that was placed in the Court of Marius his monuments, and a third at the vpper end of the long street (s) Gods from strangers] Lucan speaketh to Egypt.

Nosin templa tuam Romana accepimus Isim, sc•…•…icanesque Deos & sistra mouentia luctum,

We in Romes temples now thine •…•…is place. thy Halfe-dog Gods, and hornes that woes do raise.

(t) There owne in peculiar as Febris] (u) who being to speake of Poets] in some bookes, the words of Tully begins at Accessisset, and not at Clamor. The whole sentence I take it is out of the booke of his common-wealth, in the third of his Tusculane questions, speaking of the causes which corrupt the seeds of vertue, which are naturally sowne within vs; he saith: Hereunto also may Poets be added, who pretending a great deale of doctrine and wisdome, are learnd, read, heard, and borne away in the mind of euery man. But when that great maister, the multitude is added also, and the whole company swarming on euery side vnto vices, then chiefely are we infected with depra∣ued opinion, and drawne from our very expresse nature. Like vnto this also he hath in his second and fourth booke, and that at large: which we but touch at, to avoyd the ouer-charging of the reader, or the booke, with tediousnes.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Actor, Au∣thor, Plaier. What Po∣ets Plato expells.
• * 1.2

  Humanity. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.3

  Suadere. Persuadere.
• * 1.4

  Medioxumi. Heroes.
• * 1.5

  Nesci•…•…
• * 1.6

  Toward∣lynesse.
• * 1.7

  Priapus.
• * 1.8

  Phallus, seu Ihyphallus.
• * 1.9

  Cynocephae∣lus.
• * 1.10

  Anubis.
• * 1.11

  Febris a goddesse.