Orbis miraculum, or, The temple of Solomon pourtrayed by Scripture-light wherein all its famous buildings, the pompous worship of the Jewes, with its attending rites and ceremonies, the several officers employed in that work, with their ample revenues, and the spiritual mysteries of the Gospel vailed under all, are treated at large.

The Windowes.

Concerning the Windows, we neither read of their number, nor the parti∣cular dimension of any: neither their fashion, or of what materials. A Que∣stion might be moved, Whether they were of Glass, seeing the Phoenicians, the first Inventers of it, were Neighbours to the people of Israel, and gave in great assistance to this glorious Work: Besides, it's sufficiently known, that the Glassie Sands of the River Belus, were within the Territories of the Tribe o•• Asher. But whether the Discovery were so ancient as the time of Solomon, I have not yet read. What Herodotus hath spoken in his Thalia of the Aethiopians, burying their Dead in a Tombe of Glass, dug out of a Rock, is mentioned by him, to have been seen by the Messengers of Cambyses, sent to the Aethiopian King: but he doth not tell us of any more ancient use of it. To this about Glass Tombes in Aethiopia, Strabo, in the 17th Book of his Geo∣graphy, p. 822. of Casaubon's Edition, and Diodorus Sic. l. 2. Sect. 15. and lib. 3. Sect. 9. and Ctesias Cnidius in Diodorus, agree with Herodotus, though Ctesias dissent from Herodotus, about the manner of intombing. To this purpose, I remember also in the Arabian Story of the Pyramids, recited by the learned Mr. Greaves. That the King which built the Pyramids▪ put in the Westernmost of them glass, that might be bended, and not broken, p. 82. All which Story, is by him counted little less then a Romance: Yet possibly, there might be Rocks in Aethiopia, like to those in Moscovia, mentioned by M. Fletcher in his History; whose Scalings might be transparent and flexi∣ble (and not so fragile, as our Artificial Glass) which we use for Ship-Lan∣thorns, and other ends. But how ancient the Invention of Glass truly was, I have not yet found, so as to give any real satisfaction. For although Theo∣phrastus (the Successor of Aristotle in his School, in the 114th Olympiad, as Laertius writes, which was about 320 years before our Lords Incarnation) doth recite a story of a Glassie matter made of Earth and Brass mixt, in his Book de Lapidibus: yet he puts a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to it, that he received it but by Tradition, and doth not speak clearly to the point in hand, about the time of its Invention. Yet concerning the Antiquity of Glass, I have one thing more to offer, and that is, what we read of in the relation of Josua's victo∣rious pursuit of his Enemies (as we have it in our Text) even to Sidon, and Misrephoth-Maim; in which places, Arias Montanus renders the Hebrew words thus, [Ʋs{que} combustiones aquarum] unto the place of the burning of Waters. Another Version hath it▪ [Ʋnto the Confluxe of Waters.] Ano∣ther, [unto the place of hot Baths] Another, [to the Salt-pit Waters] But Junius translates it thus [Us{que} ad fornaces vitrarias] that is, to the place of the Glass-Furnaces, which much fancied the Learned Knight Sir Walter Ra∣leigh, conceiving that this place might raise a good conjecture, that the Glas∣sie Sands of the River Belus were in request for that use among the Sidoni∣ans, even in the days of Josuah; as may appear in his Marginal Citation, in the second Book of the first Part of his History, Chap. 2. Sect. 1. † 2. p. 282. But certainly, had this Invention been so anciently in use, Solomon's Temple should have enjoyed the improvement of it, and we should not have found King Ahaziah falling through a Lattice in his Upper-Chamber, but a glasse-window

rather, as being a more excellent Ornament for a Kings Palace, Nay, it is very probable, we should have had famous mention of this rare Invention in Scripture in case it had been in use. For as to the Loo∣king-glasses of women mentioned by Moses, it's clear by the Text, that they were of polished Brass. Neither read I, as to the time of the Invention of our Artificial Glass any determination precisely set down in Pliny, or Panci∣rollus, or his Commentator Salmuth; or in Polydor Virgil, or Rhodiginus, or in Isidorus Hispalensis, who have professedly handled the Inventions of the Ancients: Wherefore, at present, we shall be content with gilded Lattesses for the Temple-windows. I know Procopius Gazaeus, on 1 King. cap. 6. sayes thus: 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. They were of bored stones: But I leave that Author peeping through them. For their form or fashion, it's probable they were of an oblong square, their length being perpendicular to the plane of the Horizon, and according to the mode of ancient sacred Buildings; narrow without, and broad within; partly for the strengths sake of the Building, partly for devotion, which is much distracted by great and glaring Windows. Much like it seems they were to the Windows of some of our ancient Brittish Churches; as particularly, that of Saint Paternus, now Llan-badern vawre, in Cardigan-shire in Wales, or some of the more ancient Saxon Churches in this Land. For their length, we can produce no clear testimony: onely this is certain, the lowest part must be conceived to have been at least fifteen Cubits from the Pavement, because the Cham∣bers on the Out-side of the Temple-Walls did reach so high, if not more, as shall be manifested by and by.

Notes

• Plin. 1. 36. c. 26.
• Jos. 11.8. & 13.6.
• 2 King. 1.2.
• Exod. 38.8.