Romæ antiquæ descriptio a view of the religion, laws, customs, manners, and dispositions of the ancient Romans, and others : comprehended in their most illustrious acts and sayings agreeable to history / written in Latine by ... Quintus Valerius Maximus ; and now carefully rendred into English ; together with the life of the author.

FORRAIGN EXAMPLES.

1. The Dream also of Annibal, as it was detestable to the Roman bloud, so the prediction thereof was cer∣tain, whose waking not onely, but his sleeping was fa∣tal to our Empire. He had a Dream apposite to his purpose, and fitted to his wishes: fo•• he fancied a young man of humane shape, taller than ordinary, was sent to him by Iupiter, to be his Guide and Conductor in his Invasion of Italy; by whose command at first he followed his Foot-steps, without casting his eyes ei∣ther one way or another: afterwards, out of the eager desire in mortals to do what is forbidden, looking be∣hind him, he saw a Serpent of an immense magnitude destroying all before it: After that he beheld prodigi∣ous

showers of Hall, with Thunder and dark Clouds. Being astonish'd, he asked, What that Monster meant? to which his Conductor, Behold, said he, the waste and devastation of Italy; therefore be silent, and commit the rest to Fate.

2. How gently was Alexander King of Macedon warn'd to take more care of his life, had Fortune ad∣vised him so well to avoid the danger! for he knew that the right hand of Cassander would be mortal to him, long before he felt it by the event: for he belie∣ved he should be slain by him, although he had never seen him. After some time, upon sight of him, ••e∣holding the resemblance of his nocturnal fear, so soon as he found him to be the Son of Antipater, re∣peating the Greek Verse so much in favour of the cre∣dit of dreams, he banish'd from his thoughts all suspi∣tion of the Poyson prepared for him as was publickly believed by Cassander.

3. More indulgent were the Gods to the Poet Si∣monides, confirming their admonition by the strength of repeated advice: For he coming ashore and finding a dead body of a man, buried it; whereupon he was by the same body admonished, that he should not set sail the next day: which he believing, staid ashore, but those that went to Sea were all cast away. He was not a little glad that he had trusted his life to the security of a Dream, rather than to the mercy of the Sea: And being mindful of the benefit receiv'd, eter∣niz'd the memory of the person in a living Poem, rai∣sing him up a better Sepulchre in the memories of men, than that which he had bestowed upon him on the shore.

4. Of great Efficacy also was that apparition to Craesus in his sleep, which first occasion'd in him great fear, afterwards greater grief: For it seemed to him that Atys, one of his Sons, the most excellent for

strength of Body, and endowmen••s of Mind, and his design'd Successor, was violently murder'd. Th••re∣upon the Young-man, though he were usually sent to the Wars, was kept at home. He had also an Armo∣ry stor'd with all sorts of Weapons, and that was re∣mov'd from him. He had Companions that us'd to go armed: They were also forbid to come near him. Yet Necessity gave access to grief. For there being a Wild-Boar, of an incredible bigness, that wasted the till'd fields of Mount Olympus, and kill'd several of the Countrey-people, and the Royal aid being implo∣red, the Son extorted from his Father leave that he might be sent to deliver the people from their Cala∣mity: which he the more readily granted, because the mischief was not threatned from Teeth, but from Iron. But while every one was intent and eager in killing the wild beast, obstinate Destiny p••rsisting in her in∣tended violence, directed a Spear in••o his Body, which was intended against the Boar, and chose particularly that the right hand of him should be only guilty of the Murder, to whose charge and tuition the Father had chiefly committed his Son: which being conta∣minated with the blood of Chance-medley, fearing his Country-god, at the prayer of the person, was re∣purify'd by Sacrifice.

5. Neither was Cyrus a small argument of the ine∣vitable necessity of Fate; whose Birth, to which the Empire of all Asia was promis'd, Astyages his Grand∣father by the Mothers side sought in vain to hinder, by the predictions of a Dream. He married his Daughter Mandane, for that he had dreamt that she had over∣whelm'd all the Nations of Asia with her Urine, not to one of the Nobles, left the Right of Dominion might fall to his family, but to one of a small fortune among the Persians. When Cyrus was born he caus'd him to be expos'd, having dreamt that a Vine grow∣ing

out of the Secret Parts of Mandane, should cover all his Dominions. But he was frustrated in all his endeavours and humane Counsels, not being able to hinder the felicity of his Nephew, which the Gods had so fully determined.

6. While Dionysius of Syracuse liv'd a private life, Himera, a wom••n of no mean parentage, fancied in her Sleep that she ascended into Heaven, and having there view'd the Seats of all the Gods, that she saw a strong man yellow-hair'd, scurfie countenanced, bound in Iron Chains to the Throne of Iove, and lying at his feet: and asking a young man who was her guide the meaning thereof, she was told that he was the ill fate of Sicily and Italy; and when his chains should ••e taken off, many Towns would be ruin'd: which Dream she declared the next day. Afterwards seeing Dionysius, by the help of Fortune, an enemy to the Liberty of Syracuse and the lives of the Innocent, freed from his Celestial Chains, entring the Walls of the Himeraei, she cryed out, This was he that she had seen in her Dream. Which being related to Dionysius, he caused her to be put to Death.

7. Safer was the Dream of the Mother of the same Dionysius; who, when sh•• had conceived him, fancied that she was brought to bed of a great Satyr: and con∣sulting the Interpreter of Prodigies, she understood that he should be the greatest and most powerful of all the Greeks of his time.

8. But Amilcar General of the Carthaginians, while he was besieging Syracuse, thought that he heard a voice proclaiming to him, that he should Sup the next day in that City. With great joy, as if Victory were promis'd him from Heaven, he prepared his Army for the Assault; at which time dissention arising between the Carthaginians and Sicilians, the Syracusans fallied o••t, took his Camp, and brought him bound into the

City. Thus deluded by his Hope, not his Dream, he supp'd a Captive in Syracuse, not, as he had conceiv'd, a Victor.

9. Alcibiades also beheld his lamentable end in a Dream, no way fallacious. For being slain and unbu∣ried, he was covered with the same Apparel of his Concubines, which he had seen himself cloathed in, in his Sleep.

10. The following Dream, for its manifest certain∣ty, though somewhat longer, craves not to be omit∣ted. Two familiar Arcadians travailing togethe•• came to Megara; one of which went to lye at his Friends house, the other at a common Inne. He that lay at his Friends house dreamt, that he heard his com∣panion intreating his help, for that he was abused by the Innkeeper, which he might prevent by his speedy presence. Leaping out of his Bed, he endeavoured to finde the Inne where his friend lay. But Fate con∣demning his humane purpose as needless, and be∣lieving what he had heard to be but a Dream, he went to Bed again and to sleep. Then the same person came wounded and beseech'd, that since he had neglected to assist him in his life-time, he would not delay to re∣venge his Death; for that his body slain by the Inne-keeper, was carrying out at the Gate in a Cart, cover'd with Dung. His friend, mov'd by his Prayers, made haste to the Gate, and stopt the Cart which was de∣scribed to him in his sleep, apprehended the Inne-keeper, and brought him to condign punishment.