The INTERPRETER.

1. SAturn is nothing else but Time, which is the son of Coelum and Thetis, because time is measured by the motion of heaven, and likewise by the motion, or ebbing and flowing of the sea. 2. Saturn married his sister Ops, which is the earth, of whom hee begot many children, be∣cause by the heavens influence upon the earth, all things are ingendered; the heaven is as it were the father affor∣ding influence; and the earth the mother, surnishing mat∣ter for generation. 3. Saturn was painted like an old man bare-headed, in a tagged garment, holding a hook and a key in his hand, devouring of his children; by which they did understand the antiquitie and long continuation of Page  234 times and by •is bare •ead they meant that time reveales all things: therefore the priests used to be •are-he•ded in Saturns sacrifices onely. The ragged garment shews that time wears and consumes all things: which was also meant by his devouring of his children, and by the hook or sickle which hee hath in his h•nd: the key may note, that time openeth and discloseth all secrets. 4. This picture of Saturn may have reference to the golden age of the world, i• which men lived till t•ey were very aged, which was expressed by Saturn's gray hairs and worn garment; which garment also shews, that men were not then given to pride and curiositie of apparell: His ba•e head shewed the ho∣nestie and truth that was then, which indeed is naked; whereas lying, falshood, and deceit are still covered. 5. Saturn taught the Italians the use of hus•andry, t•ere∣fore hee was called Sterculius, from dunging of the ground: the hook or •ickle is the instrument of mowing or reaping of corn; the gray hairs, bare head, and ragged garment, shew that husbandmen live long, have hardie bodies, and are not nice in their apparell. 6. Saturn devoured all his children except Jupiter, Juno, Neptune and Pluto, to signi∣fie that all compounded bodies are destroyed by time: but the four elements, to wit, Fire, Air, Water and Earth, be∣cause of their simple nature, are not subject to corruption. 7. I finde Saturn described sometimes with six wings, and yet •low-paced, having feet of wooll, to shew that time seems to goe away slowly and silently, whereas indeed it ••les very swiftly: or this may expresse the slow motion of the planet Saturn, who moves slowly by his own motion, but swiftly by the motion of the Primum mobile; to wit, he spends but four and twenty hours by the common motion; but thirty yeers in his particular motion: this swiftnesse also of time was expressed by that fiction of Saturn transfor∣ming himselfe into an horse, a swift running creature, when hee had carnall commerce with the Nymph Philira, of whom hee begot Chiron the Centaur. 8. Because Saturn Page  235 is a cold planet, and malignant, breeding melancholie, and other •ad effects in mens bodies, therefore they painted him like an old man, sad and carel•sly clothed, and slow∣pac•d, with a serpent in his h•nd biting of its own taile, to signifie the virulencie and biting cares that accompany m•lancholie, or else to expresse the nature of the yeer re∣turning into it selfe like a ring, or a snake with its taile in the mouth: an• because the lion, dog, and wolfe are m•∣l•ncholi• creatures; therefore they expressed Saturn some∣times with the heads of these three beasts. 9. Saturn's genitals were cut off by Jupiter and cast into the sea, and of them and of the se• froth Venus was begot; by this may be meant, that old age, which is called Saturn, is made un∣fit for generation, because Jupiter, that is, wanton and in∣temperate youth hath weakened the body, and as the Ora∣tor saith, Corpus e••oe•um tradit senectu•i: whereas that man who hath been temperate in his youth, is vigorous and lustie in his old age, & nihll habet quod accuset senectu•em, Or else by this may be meant, that the coldnesse of Saturn is tempered by the heat of Jupiter, and so Venus is begot▪ for there can be no procreation where cold is not tempered with heat. Or again, by this may be meant, that Saturn, Jupiter and the sea are required to produce Venus; that is to say, that Time, the Influence of heaven, and Moisture are required for procreation. 10. As Saturn served his father Coelus in cutting off his genitals, so is hee served by his son Jupiter; It is just with God to punish those men with rebellious and cruell children, who have been rebelliou• and cruell themselves against their parents. 11. Wha• a cruell god was Saturn, who defiled himself with the blood of his own father, devoured his own children, and would not be satisfied in his sacrifices but by the blood of inno∣cent infants: Satius est pecudum more vivere, quam deos 〈◊〉 sanguinarios colere, saith Lactantius, lib. 1. de fals. relig. 'Tis better to live like beasts, then to worship such cruell, wic∣ked, and bloody gods. By this wee may see, that the Gen∣tile Page  236 gods were indeed Divels delighting in the destruction of men; whereas the true God whom wee worship, is mer∣cifull and gracious, and delights not in the death of a sin∣ner, who will have mercy and not sacrifice, who would be worshipped by the bloud of beasts, to save the shedding of mans bloud: Had not then the Romans a bloody re∣ligion, who not onely worshipped such a bloody god; but fettered his feet also to their pillars, •xce•• onely in their Saturnals, that hee might not goe away from them. The Egyptians were wiser, who excluded him quite out of their Cities, affording temples to him onely in the Countrey: And at last the Romans themselves began to abhorre such a bloudy god, when in the Proconsulship of Tiberius they crucified his Priests for off•ring infants to him. They were injurious to heaven, when they called such a bloudy butcher the son of h•aven, who should rather have been named the son of hell, to which by Jupiter hee was thru•t downe. His priests, as Tertullian shews, were initiated in a scarlet garment which they used to wear; a sit colour to ex∣presse their sanguinarie disposition: to these (it seems) the Roman Cardinals have succeeded, both in their colour and bloudy mindes, who are guiltie of the bloud of many thousand good Christians; so that at this day Rome is still Vibs Saturnia, and the Popes pallaco may be called Sedes Satu•nia, and his f•stivall dayes Saturnalia. 12. Wax ta∣pers or candles were wont to be burned upon Saturns altars, to shew that hee brought the light of knowledge and civi∣litie into Italie, which before lived in the darknesse of i∣gnorance and ruden•sse: therefore in his Festivall kept in December, the Romans used to send away candles, and o∣ther presen•s (which they called Saturnalia) to each other: from hence (it seems) the Papists borrowed their custome of burning w•x candles on their altars, and the giving of New-•eers gifts. 13. Saturn is so called a Saturando, from filling or satisfying; for hee being the first that taught men the use of corn, did fill or satisfie them: and as hee Page  237 •id fill, so his wife the Earth did help; therefore shee was called Ops. 14. By Saturn wee may understand the trees, •erbs, and plants, with the fruits of which men and beasts •re filled: the cutting off his genitalls is the pulling off the fruit from the trees; the casting of them into the sea, is the drowning of them in the moisture of the stomack, which being digested and converted into bloud, begets Ve∣•us; for without fruits, especially of Bacchus and Ceres, friget Venus, there would be no copulation nor procreation: the covering of Saturns head may signifie (as Fulgentius ob∣serves Myth. l. 1.) that the fruits, or plants and trees are co∣vered with leaves. 15. The binding of Satu•n, and cast∣ing of him into hell, may signifie how the motion of the starre Saturn is slow, and scarce percep•ible by us, by rea∣son of its vast distance, so that it se•ms to stand st•ll; and because it is so far off from our•sight, hee was s•id to be in hell. 16. During the time of the Saturnals, the ser∣vants in signe of lib•rtie put on their caps, and commanded their masters; this custome afforded matter of comfort to servants, and of humiliation to masters: When shall wee see these Saturnals, wherein pride, malice, covetousnesse, and other sins which are now our masters, may at last serve us, and that wee may obtain that freedome which Christ hath purchased for us?

SATYRI, See PAN.