Text, translated from the 1595 Latin, 1601 Latin, 1602 German, 1603 Latin, 1606 English, 1608/1612 Italian, 1609/1612 Spanish/Latin edition (with identical Latin text for this map in both the 1609/1612L and 1609/1612S edition) and 1624LParergon/1641 Spanish editions (but with text in Latin):
221.1. {1595L{ÆGYPT
221.2. Ægypt is the gift of [the river] Nilus. For in antiquity it was truly believed that the whole area which this country now possesses was formerly a bay of the Mediterranean sea, and by its frequent overflowing was finally so filled up and made into firm land in this manner. For which reason it was perhaps called POTAMITIS by Stephanus, {1606E only{that is, if I may say so brook-land or creek-land}1606E only}. Also the same Stephanus, as well as Dionysius, call it by various other names, [such] as AËRIA, AËTIA, OGYGIA, HEPHÆSTIA, {not in 1606E{MYARA}not in 1606E} and MELAMBOLOS. APOLLODORVS calls it the country of the MELAMPODES [black feet], because it is far more fertile than any other country whatsoever. The same Stephanus and Eusthatius just mentioned call it ÆTHIOPIA because the Æthiopians inhabit [it] and dwell here.
221.3. It was also, a long time ago, called THEBÆ, as Herodotus and Aristoteles testify. In the Holy Script it is called MESRAIM {1606E only{by Misraim the second, son of Ham (Gen. 10.6) who shortly after the confusion at Babel seated himself here, as Josephus writes. By which name it is still known to the Arabs, their next door neighbours all around them. Similarly, as the learned Arias Montanus thinks, it is by some called CUS,}1606E only} or Chus, {1606E only{father of the Æthiopians, eldest son of the Ham just mentioned. Again, Plutarchus in Osiris writes that in the sacred writings of the Ægyptians it was named CHEMIA, after Ham or Cham (for so diversely do foreign writers express the Hebrew letter Hheth, nay, sometimes they wholly omit it, as in Ammon, their chief god they worship, derived, as I think, from that cursed root), son of Noe, and father of the above-mentioned Chus and Misraim.
221.4. And indeed, Isidorus says that the inhabitants, to this day, call this country Kam in their own language. Yet Pinetus and Marmolius jointly state (and that correctly, as we have seen demonstrated before on the other map of Ægypt) that the Ægyptians themselves, as also the Turks, commonly call it [blank space, presumably intended for Arabic lettering] Elquibet, Elchibetz and Chibth. Finally,}1606E only} Honorius {1602G has instead{Herodotus}1602G instead} {not in 1606E{Augustodunensis [of Authun]}not in 1606E} writes that it was once called EUXÆA, but on what authority I do not know. {1606E only{Let him therefore justify the truth of that assertion}1606E only}{not in 1606E{So much about its name. Let us now discuss the country itself}not in 1606E}.
221.5. The bounds of this country are these: on the East it is confined by the Arab gulf {1606E only{(Bahri'lkolzom, {1608/1612{or the Red Sea)}1606E & 1608/1612I only}, Iudæa, and Arabia Petræa. In the West by the mountains of Libya and Marmarica {1606E only{(Barca)}1606E only}, another country belonging to Africa. In the South it is severed from Æthiopia (which they call Æthiopia beneath Ægypt) by the greater cataract of the Nile {1606E only{(Catadupa is what Tullius in Scipios dream calls it, A place where the river is so penned up between two mountains that there it does not run but rather falls and pours down solidly with such a huge and terrible noise that some report that the people who live in the neighbourhood naturally as a result of it are all deaf or hard of hearing)}1606E only}.
221.6. The Mediterranean or, if you like that better, the Egyptian sea (so named after this country) beats upon its North coast. It is divided into THE HIGHER EGYPT also, otherwise, called Thebais. {1606E only{(Avicenna in the 47th chapter of the second part of his second book (and [also] often in various other places) [together] with Nubiensis, my Arab [source], calls it [blank space] Alsahid or Said, after the word Saada I think, which means to ascend or rise up in height)}1606E only}. [then] MIDDLE EGYPT, sometimes called Heptapolis and Heptanomia {1606E only{(after the number of the Nomoi or shires in this part), and}1606E only} by some later writers [it is called] Arcadia. [Then] LOWER EGYPT, which later authors have called Augustamnica is divided in the Novella of Iustinianus into the first and the second.
221.7. {not in 1602G{The book of Remembrances (liber Notitiarum) divides Egypt into six provinces, namely Libya the Upper, Libya the Lower, Thebais, Ægypt {1606E only{(properly so called)}1606E only}, Archadia and Augustamnica}not in 1602G}. That part of Lower Egypt which is enclosed between the sea, the {1602G, not in 1608/1612I{two mouths or}1602G, not in 1608/1612I} of the river Nile, Heracleoticum and Pelusiacum and from their parting {1606E only{a little beneath Memphis}1606E only} in the South is by all ancient geographers, historians and poets, due to its form, called DELTA {1602G only{[Greek capital]Delta}1602G only}. {1606E & 1608/1612I only{For it is, as you [can] see, of a triangular form like [Greek capital] Delta, the fourth capital letter of the Greek alphabet}1606E & 1608/1612I only}.
221.8. Ptolemæus too {1606E only{(who was born here and therefore knew the situation best)}1606E only} divided it into the Great Delta, Little Delta and {1606E only{Middle Delta, or}1606E only} and the Third Delta. This delta, as Plinius reports, was of all the chief parts of the world once considered the fourth, and counted among the islands, {1606E only{and was not considered [to be] any part of the continent}1606E only}. Egypt also commonly is considered to comprise the three OASITÆ, beyond the Libyan mountains, and LIBYA itself too, if one gives credit to Ammianus.
221.9. This country is watered by no other river than the Nile, of all the rivers in the world the most famous and renowned [one], and therefore known by the greatest variety of names, for the ancients have given this river many titles. Some have called it ÆGYPTVS (from which the whole country took it name), others OCEANVS {1606E only{(the sea, with respect to the large size of it)}1606E only}, AËTUS (an eagle), {1606E only{after the swiftness of the stream)}1606E only}, NIGIR, MELAS, (or Melo), SIRIS, TRITON, CHRYSORRHOAS {1606E only{(golden flood after the goodness and beauty of its waters), and [by] others}1606E only} DYRIS. Orus Apollo writes that the Egyptians in their language called it NOYM, {1606E only{that is, as I think, [empty space] sweet, pleasant, delightful, for this is the way the impostor Mahomet uses this word in the 32nd Azoara of his wicked Alcoran, as also the Arab paraphrast, 2.Pet.2.13.
221.10. And R. Saadias Hagaon, Gen.2.15. calls paradise Phardusi'nnaym, which the beast just mentioned [Mahomet] in his 66th Azoara calls Ginnati'nnaym, the pleasant garden. Josephus calls it GEON, or Gidon, because, as R. Salomon Yarhi thinks, it runs from his fountain, or rather rushes forth with great violence and hideous noise. Arias Montanus confirms that}1606E only} in the Holy Script it is named PHISON, {1606E only{because, as the forenamed Jew says, its waters spread themselves, swell and wax so high that they overflow the banks, and water the whole land. And [they also call this river] SIHOR, that is, black, or troubled, because its waters, issuing forth from a dirty fen, often breaking with great violence into the meadows and marshy grounds, through which its coasts along for many hundreds of miles, these waters are thick and muddy. The Georgians call it MAHARA, that is, swift, or violent. Also BAHARI'NNIL, the sea of the Nile.
221.11. The Africans, as Marmolius writes, commonly call it NIL, that is in my judgment [blank space] Nehil or Neil, after the word Nahal, which in this Arab dialect means to be liquid, thin, dissolved, and apt to flow, from which in the Hebrew tongue is derived Nahal, a stream, or swift water course. And this opinion of mine seems to be shared by Pomponius Mela, the worthy geographer, where he writes that In horum finibus fons est, quem Nili esse aliquibus credibile est, Nuchul ab incolis dicitur & videri potest nonalio nomine appellari, sed a barbaro ore corruptius, &c [it can be believed that the source of the Nile is somewhere within its borders. It is called Nuchul by its inhabitants, and does not seem to be called by any other name, but in the speech of barbarians, it is corrupted, &c].
221.12. Within the borders of Æthiopia there is a spring which some truly think to be the source of the Nilus, Nuchyl [is what] the inhabitants and country people call it. And it may seem probable that they call it by no other name, only, the barbarous word has been corrupted, and is differently pronounced by foreigners &c. The Abessines, Æthiopians and other nations close to it call it by various different other names}1606E only}, as you may see in greater detail in our Geographical Treasury. It unloads itself, as most people think, and as all antiquity has constantly confirmed, into the Mediterranean sea through seven mouths.
221.13. Ptolemæus in his time made mention of nine, but two of them were false gates, {not in 1602G{(pseudostomata he calls them)}not in 1602G} {1606E only{then almost blocked}1606E only}. Plinius speaks of eleven, of which four were false gates, [whereas] the other seven were great, and more renowned. Herodotus also mentions two false gates, but all in all he speaks of no more than seven {1608/1612I has instead{ten}1608/1612I instead}. Eusthatius agrees with him word for word. And which of these mouths or falls are considered by this man as true, by others are held for false, and the other way around. There is a similar disagreement about the names and proper titles for [each of] these mouths, even in authors considered to be the best. Plinius makes Heracleoticum to be a separate and distinct mouth from Canopicum, in which, it seems, he is much deceived. Yes, and Diodorus Siculus flatly denies it, stating that Canopicum is also called Herculeum {1606E only{or Heracleoticum}1606E only}.
221.14. All these differences in names, [and] number and nature of these mouths, if I am not mistaken in this matter, arose in the course of time, from the changes and alterations of places. For everyone describes them according to the situation at the sea coast, as it was then, in the time when they lived, which by the violence of tides and inundations, and shifting back of it again, in the course of time have sometimes one form, sometimes another, as is very likely, and they who live near the sea know very well that it is no wonder to see rivers change their channel and leave their old course, to see their mouths to be sometimes quite clogged up with sand, and to seek new issues and channels where there were none ever before, or to see those which in former times were not navigable, but full of sand banks and shelves, afterward becoming deep and able to accommodate ships with good cargo.
221.15. {not in 1602G{Galenus says that this river, for the quality of its water, has but few peers. Arethæus the Cappadocean says that the water is thick. Plutarchus in the eighth book of his Convival. calls it turbidam, troubled, muddy. Achilles Statius in his fourth book [of] Amor says that it is sweet and cool, without any unpleasantness in taste and therefore he adds in the same place that the Egyptians never fear any shortage of wine}not in 1602G}. Diodorus Siculus says that in sweetness it surpasses all other rivers in the whole world, which opinion of his is confirmed as true a long time ago by Pescennius Niger, an emperor, when he thus answered his garrison soldiers demanding wine from him: Do you have the Nile, and yet you demand wine? {not in 1602G{A description of this river you may see in Claudianus. About its yearly inundations and overflowing, read among others Strabo and the Panegyric oration pronounced for Traianus, emperor of Rome. Also [in] Achilles Statius and Heliodorus. He that has the inclination may add to these Plutarchus' treatise on the mountains}not in 1602G}.
221.16. Some mountains of Egypt, besides those which Ptolemæus mentions, namely Montes Lybici, Troicus, Alabastrius, {not in 1608/1612I{Porphyritis}not in 1608/1612I}, Smaragdus, Aiaces, Acabes, Niger, Basanites, and Pentadactylus are also called Nitria, Pherme, Sinopius, Climax, Eos, Lacmon, Crophi and Mophi. They have many fens, but only two, Mris and Maria have a name.
221.17. Ancient writers have divided this country into many Nomous, (Plinius calls them prefectures {1606E only{or counties, each commanded by a sheriff or lieutenant)}1606E only},{1608/1612I only{or in Italian Podestarie}1608/1612I only} of which Herodotus mentions 18. {1602G only{Strabo mentions 19}1602G only}{not in 1602G{Diodorus Siculus says that there were 36 of them, and}not in 1602G} Ptolemæus speaks of 46, {1602G & 1606E only{and lists them all by their specific names}1602G & 1606E only}, and Plinius tells us about an equal number, or more. {not in 1602G{Strabo writes of 36, {1608/1612I has instead{46}1608/1612I instead}{1606E only{and generally groups them like this:}1606E only} Thebais, he says, contains 10, Delta as many, and Middle Egypt 16}not in 1602G}. But from all sorts of ancient writers we have found by their names and locations just above 60 {1601L and later instead{66}1601L and later instead}, and have brought them within the range of our map.
221.18. But in Plinius it is our experience that the names [in his writings] are often changed, and that one place name replaces another, about which we have spoken at greater length in our Geographical Treasury. {not in 1602G{Eusebius writes that in this country there were more cities than in all of the rest of the whole world}not in 1602G}. Egypt, besides being proud about its antiquity, boasts that in the time of Amasis, their king, it had 20,000 cities. And now it still has very many, as Plinius says, although they are small, and of no great significance. In Diodorus Siculus' time there were only 3000.
221.19. Although we have most diligently tried to find the names of them from all kinds of writings and monuments of antiquity, yet we could not find many more than 300, as you will see on this map. Thus mighty Iove amuses himself in earthly matters.
221.20. The maps shows the situation of the country {1606E only{and therefore I need not speak about that}1606E only}. How great the fertility and richness of this area was, its worthy recommendation, commonly spoken of, in which it is said to be the common [corn] barn of all the world is sufficiently shown. For although it never rains here, yet it brings forth plenty of men and beasts, and all kinds of cattle. But this is indeed due to their river Nile, by its inundations every year.
221.21. Therefore, as the poet Lucanus writes, this is Terra suis contenta bonis, non indiga mercis, | Aut Iovis. In solo tanta est fiducia Nilo, {1602G, 1606E & 1608/1612I only{[that is:] A land that of itself is rich enough, It needs no foreign aid, Iove's help it scorns, relying as it does on the bounty of the Nile}1602G, 1606E & 1608/1612I only}. Yes, they were used proudly to state, as Plinius reports, that they determined the dearth or plenty of the Romans, those mighty conquerors. The riches and wealth of this country may easily be estimated {not in 1602G{with the help of Diodorus, who writes that the kings of Egypt used to obtain yearly, {not in 1624LParergon & 1641S{from Alexandria only}not in 1624LParergon/1641S}, a tribute of above six {1606E has instead{twelve}1606E} thousand talents {1608/1612I only{or at 600 scudi for one [talent] no less than 3 million and 600,000 scudi}1608/1612I only}. Also [from] Strabo, in whose writings I read that Auletes, father of Cleopatra, yearly levied in Egypt a tribute of twelve thousand and five hundred talents (which amounts, in the estimation by Budeus, to seventy five hundred thousand French crowns) {1608/1612I only{or 7 million and 50,000 scudi}1608/1612I only} and that, as he adds, under a very loose and inefficient kind of government.
221.22. Eusebius in his second book de Præpar. Evang. reports that Osiris their king erected for Iupiter and Iuno, his parents, and for other gods, temples of beaten gold {1606E only{and silver}1606E only}, a marvellous demonstration of their wealth and riches. About the gold mines of this country Agatharcides has written something. But the numerous immortal works still extant, having to this day withstood all the injuries of time, show sufficiently how great their command and power in former times has been}not in 1602G}.
221.23. [Evidence of this] are those {not in 1602G{huge pyramids, the}not in 1602G} many obelisks of solid marble of one whole stone, standing wonderfully high, colosses, sphinxes, statues and labyrinths, so many gorgeous temples, of all these this single country could show more than all other countries in the world whatsoever, as Herodotus, who himself was an eye witness of it plainly states. {not in 1602G[It had] an infinite number of people and inhabitants (as Philo, in his book about Circumcision attributes to it) as can also be gathered from Josephus and Egesippus, who writes that next to the citizens of Alexandria, (who, as Diodorus claims numbered threehundredthousand free men), there were seventeen hundred fifty thousand enrolled and freed citizens of Rome at one time}not in 1602G}.
221.24. It is a very prudent and wise nation, as we may understand from various histories, very ingenious in finding out about any kind of arts and sciences, {not in 1602G{very quick in understanding in the search of any invention whatsoever, as Aulus Gellius has left recorded}not in 1602G}. They are fit and able to understand all kinds of divine knowledge, as Macrobius confirms, who also calls Egypt the mother of all arts. {not in 1602G{But Trebellius Pollio, in his life of Æmilianus the tyrant says that it is a furious and outrageous nation, easily moved to sedition and rebellion on any light occasion.
221.25. And Quintus Curtius says that they are a light-headed people, more fit to get matters in disorder than to follow them wisely once they are afoot. Hadrianus the emperor, as Flavius Vopiscus in his life of Saturninus reports, calls it Gentem levem, pendulam & ad omnia famæ monimenta volitantem {1606E & 1608/1612I only{[that is:] A light and inconstant nation, hanging as it were by a twined thread, and moved by the least blast of news that might stir them}1606E & 1608/1612I only}.
221.26. Seneca, [speaking] to Albina {1624LParergon/1641S instead{Heluia}1624LParergon/1641S instead} calls it Infidam, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{a faithless nation}1606E & 1608/1612I only}, ventosam & insolentem, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{a bragging, proud and insolent nation}1606E & 1608/1612I only} is what Plinius in his Panegyric to Traianus the emperor calls them. Nequitias tellus scit dare nulla magis: {1606E & 1608/1612I only{No country in the world, I am sure, more wilder knaves did ere endure}1606E & 1608/1612I only}, says the poet Martialis. Philo in his book on Husbandry says that they have Innatam & insignem iactantiam, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{that is, that it is bred into their bones that an Egyptian should be a famous bragger}1606E & 1608/1612I only}. Yet he says that they are all in all wise and ingenious. Apuleius calls them eruditos, learned Egyptians, and Themistius Euphrada [says] sapientissimos homines, very wise and cunning fellows.
221.27. Philostratus says that they are much given to theology and the study of heavenly things. Strabo has left recorded that they were no warlike people. Of famous knaves they possessed the middle ranks, according to that old proverb Lydi mali, secundi Ægypti, tertij Cares [that is:] {1606E & 1608/1612I only{the Lydians are the great knaves, the Egyptians are mean knaves, the clownish yokels of Caria are the least knaves of the three}1606E & 1608/1612I only}, as Eusthatius reports on [the authority of] Dionysius Afer. About the customs and way of life of this nation Porphyrius speaks much in his fourth book entitled About abstinence from eating meat}not in 1602G}.
221.28. The most famous cities we have read about in the ancient writers in both languages [Greek and Latin] are these, first ALEXANDRIA, {not in 1602G{which Athenæus calls the beautiful and golden city; the council of Chalcedon [calls it] the great city;}not in 1602G} Marcellinus [calls it] the head of all cities in the world; Eunapius [calls it] another world. {not in 1602G{Dion Prusæus says that it is the second city of all that are under the scope of heaven. Its chief temple, called Sebasteum (or Augusteum, {1606E only{that is, princely, or imperial)}1606E only} has no peer. You may see it described by Philo Iudæus in his book De vita contemplativa [On contemplative life].
221.29. {1601L{The Serapium, is another stately building in this city. It is so adorned with various excellent galleries, many gorgeous and lofty columns and pillars, decorated with most lively imagery, the best that the most excellent architects of the world might invent so that immediately after the Capitol, which provides so much glory to reverend Rome, the whole world itself has never seen anything more rich and sumptuous, as Ammianus Marcellinus writes about it}1601L}{1624LParergon/1641S only{in his 22nd book}1624LParergon/1641S only}.
221.30. Strabo in the seventeenth book of his Geography describes the whole city most diligently. So does Statius {1624LParergon/1641S instead{Tatius}1624LParergon/1641S instead} Alexandrinus in his fifth book on Love, as does Diodorus Siculus in the 17th book of his history. The same for Hirtius in his book De bello Alexandrino}not in 1602G}. THEBÆ was the next city of great importance, famous for the multitude of gates it once had, {1606E only{and therefore it was also called Hecatompylos, Hundred gate [city], as well as Diospolis, Gods town, and also Busyris or Thebestis, as St. Hieronymus states}1606E only}.
221.31. MEMPHIS, an ancient town {1602G{well known because their kings ordinarily kept court there}1602G} was considered as one of the great cities of this kingdom. COPTOS [is] a great market town, well frequented by Arab and Indian merchants. {1606E only{The whole province was named after this city, as we have discussed elsewhere before.}1606E only} ABYDVS [is the] court of Memnon, their king, famous for its temple of Osiris. I omit SYENE as well as various others for it would be more than is needed to list them all, because they offer themselves to anyone who casts an eye on the map.
221.32. Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, Plinius, {not in 1602G{Josephus}not in 1602G}, Marcellinus, {not in 1602G{Philostratus, Eusebius and various other good authors, [their books] still extant and in many hands, have most eloquently and diligently described them}1602G ends here}.
221.33. The situation of this country, its rivers, mountains, cities, and miracles there to be seen we have already described, as the page size would permit. Now it remains that {1606E only{with a similar brevity}1606E only} we speak about their religion on the basis of Diodorus, Herodotus, Strabo, Athenæus, Ælianus, Plutarchus, Philo, Eusebius, Plinius, Heliodorus, Lucianus, Ammianus, Clemens, Athanasius, Prudentius and others.
221.34. Eusebius in his first book De Præpar. Evang. tells me that the Egyptians were the first men that ever honoured the sun, moon and the rest of the stars as immortal Gods. But not only the Holy Script, but even profane authors also testify plentifully that they were always, from the beginning, the most religious people in the world in their divine service and choice of gods, most fond and foolish [compared to other religions].
221.35. For besides the gods of the gentiles, such as Jupiter, Juno, Vulcanus, Venus, Bacchus and other such [gods], which they had and worshipped as did the whole world (but by different names, as Isis, Osiris &c.) they also, as Artemidorus and Cicero in his third book of the Nature of gods shows, worshipped all kinds of beasts and [other] living creatures.
221.36. {1601L{Herodotus states that they considered all kinds of animals which they had in Egypt as sacred and holy. As a result,}1601L} as Dion reports, they far surpassed all other nations in the world in the multitude and variety of their gods. And they did not only worship these [animals we mentioned] as gods, but also Anubis, Orus, Typhon, Pan (whom they called Mendon and [whom they] painted with a goat's head) as Suidas writes, and the satyrs.
221.37. The same for another who, as Plutarchus writes in his Osiris, they called Cneph. {1601L{Moreover, Minutius Felix says that}1601L} they worshipped a man, and in the city of Anabis performed all kinds of divine services for him, as to an immortal god, as Eusebius assures [us], who furthermore adds that they had another peculiar god who they called Canopus given shape in the form of a pot. (This has been described by Bembus in his Hieroglyphical Ægyptian Table).
221.38. Anasthasius {1606E, 1608/1612 & 1624LParergon/1641S instead{Athanasius}1606E, 1608/1612I & 1624LParergon/1641S instead} and Heliodorus testify that they considered water, but especially [water of the river] Nile as a god. Of four-legged animals, the crocodile, ox, mnevis [bull], lion, bear, cat, he-goat, monkey, ape, bull, ram, she-goat, hog, dog, Ichneumon [Indian rat], wolf, sheep, weasel, shrew-mouse, [all these animals] they put into their inventory of gods. Of fishes, [they worshipped] the oxyrinchus, the lepidotus, latus, phagrus, mæotis {1606E only{(fish belonging to the river Nile)}1606E only} and eel, {1601L, not in 1608/1612I{next to the Cantharus, as Porphyrius writes in his book De sacrifijs}1601L, not in 1608/1612I}.
221.39. Of birds, [they worshipped] the eagle, the ibis and the hawk, as well as the blackbird, if we may believe Hyginus, and the vulture and raven, as Ælianus confirms, and also the sparrow, as Porphyrius wants us to believe in his treatise De Abstinentia. Josephus in his second book says to Appianus that they worship the ferret {1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon/1641S only{(in the Latin manuscript, for the Greek version is to the present day defective)}1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon/1641S only}. Next to these, they had the dragon (or serpent), the aspis (which they named thermatis) and the scarabee. The images of all these they adored and worshipped as gods, yet some enjoyed to honour the very beast itself alive, so that it was a felony for a man to kill any of them, even if it happened by accident.
221.40. {1601L{And if it came to pass that one of them died of some disease, they used to bury it in mourning, and with great solemnity. Also certain inanimate things such as onions, leek and garlic they worshipped with divine honour, as St. Hieronymus says to Iovinianus about the Pelusiotæ}1601L}. {1595L only{Herodotus writes that all who live in Egypt have gods}1595L only}. {1606E{No, they did not content themselves with these natural things}1606E only}, but they also [worshipped] certain monsters as were never seen in the world, [which] they honoured as gods in the same way, as the Cynocephalus, {1606E only{with a dog's head}1606E only}, was worshipped by the Hermopolitans, and Cepus by the Babylonians.
221.41. To these you may add, out of Athanasius, the serpenticipites, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{idols with serpents heads}1606E & 1608/1612I only}, and the asinicipites, {1606E & 1608/1612I only{with asses heads}1606E & 1608/1612I only}. Moreover, in the villages and upland towns, Lucianus reports {not in 1606E{in Jupiters Tragedy}not in 1606E} (I do not know whether in jest or in earnest) that some considered their right shoulder as a god but those that lived opposite to them, their left shoulder. Some made sacrifices to half of their head, others to a Samian cup or dish. Diodorus Siculus reports {1606E only{(I blush to say it)}1606E only} that they considered their private parts as a god.
221.42. Eusebius in his second book De præparat. Evang. seems to limit [worship] only to Osiris. Clemens in the fifth book of his Recognitium adds {1606E only{(blush, foolish idolaters, for I will tell it, and let another accuse me of irreverence)}1606E only} that the Egyptians worshipped the anus and fart as their gods, which is also confirmed as the truth by Minutius Felix. What Lactantius reports about them {1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon/1641S only{which seems credible)}1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon/1641S only} is that they worshipped certain beastly and shameful things, {not in 1606E{such as soft onions and cattas, Clemens mentions them as well, which I ignore, since the texts may be corrupted, for which they may mean cats}not in 1606E}. Philo Iudæus, if we may believe him, says that all things under the arch of heaven, {not in 1606E{whether ignorant, friendly or savage}not in 1606E} are worshipped and enrolled among their gods.
221.43. And Sextus the philosopher says about them that there was not anything which they did not consider to be sacred, which though ironical seems to be the truth. So much about their gods. {1606E only{You may see more about this matter in Clemens, but especially in Juvenalis the Poet}1606E only}.
221.44. They consider themselves to be the first and most ancient nation in the world to have had knowledge about God[s], and to have built temples, groves and convents in honour of them, as Lucianus reports {not in 1606E{in his Syrian Goddess}not in 1606E}. Afterwards, when the light of the Gospel began to shine, great swarms of monks and hermits were bred here, and from here spread and scattered over all of Christianity, as we find in the records of the primitive church, so that a man may justly call this country the seminary of all religions.
221.45. About the philosophy and hieroglyphic secrets of the Egyptians, read the sixth book of Clemens Alexandrinus his Stromaton. Also, Orus Apollo}1595L, 1601L, 1603L, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612S/L & 1624LParergon/1641S end here}. {1606E only{and Pierius in his Hieroglyphs}1606E ends here}.