Visiones Rerum The Visions of Things. Or Foure Poems. 1. Principium & Mutabilitas Rerum. Or, The beginning and Mutabilitie of all things. 2. Cursus & Ordo rerum. Or, Art and Nature. 3. Opineo & Ratio rerum. Or, Wealth and Pouertie. 4. Malum & finis rerum, Or, Sinne and Vertue, concluding with the last Iudgement and end of all things. Wherein the Authour expresseth his inuention by way of dreame. By John Hagthorpe |
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2. The Altar to Ignorance and Idolatry.
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2. The Altar to Ignorance and Idolatry.
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These and their ceremonies scarce were past,When in there came another hideous crew,
Which to the second Altar went in hast,
And on the same their seuerall Incense threw:
Most of them differing both in speech, in hue,
In face and habit, being seuerall Nations,
And some in new, and some in antick fashions.
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Then here my kind Interpreter I praidT'enstruct me of this second company:
Who kindly granted my request, and said,
All these brought Incense to Idolatry
From euery Coast and Region farre and nigh,
Both old and new. But since so many liue,
She meant of both but short accounts to giue.
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She shewd me first vpon this Altar plac't,The Idols worshipt by each seuerall Nation,
Whereby Iehouahs worship is defac't,
And Stocks and Stones cut after differing fashion,
Men, Beasts, Fish, Foule by vaine imagination
Are deified; yea, Satan visibly,
Not pleasde alone with types inuisibly.
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She nam'd th'Egyptians, leaders of the rest,Seeking for Isis and Osiris lost,
And for their sacred Bull but late disseast,
Lamenting sore, meaning to be at cost
With's Obsequies: for euen those things that most
Harm'd them, they worshipt; th' Aspe, the Dragons fell;
Both Birds and Beasts within their Phanes did dwell.
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Th'Ichuewmon, and the Crocodile they fed,And feeding, with great humblenes ador'd;
And Beetles (blinded Beetles they indeed,
That so the death of Dogs and Cats deplor'd)
(Whose strange zeale that from Onions aide implor'd)
Me thought now hauing found Osiris ran,
And sacrifiz'd thereto a red hair'd man.
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The Romans here sought out their rurall Pan,Ioue, Saturne, Hercules, Mars, Liber, Play,
Mercury, and two-fronted Linus then;
Pallas and Iuno, Venus and Flora,
With their blest Mother Berecinthya,
Chance, Vesta, Victory, and Priapus,
With thousands such, to number friuolus.
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She showde me then th'old EthiopiansWhich Hammon sought, and those oraculous trees;
Diana then serued by th'Ephesians,
And Eckrons, Baalzebub, God of Flies;
Sydmans, busie with the mysteries
Of their deare Sheepe god, Asterti Tirians
Bowing to Apollo; and to Rimmon th' Syrians.
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Then those ador'd the Sunne, the fond Phœnicians,Here in great numbers sought their loued stone
(So much enricht, and serued by seuerall Nations)
Which was Piramed all form'd like a cone.
And here the men of Carras made great mone
To Luna, to whose Temple those ouercome
By their curst wiues, with offrings vsde to run.
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Next these came such whom amorous fires did moueBy paires to seeke the shades, and burbling streames,
And sacred beauties of the Daphnean Groue
Where Cypresse boughes forbid th'ennamourd beames
Of glorious Phœbus, in his hottest gleames
To kisse their Mother-earth, or to discouer
The secret ioye, of any melting louer,
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The Persians here ador'd their holy Fire:The Laodiceans to Minerua paide
(According as her cruell Rites require)
Yeerely oblation of a spotlesse Maide.
Diuers there were likewise, that offerings laid
To Dagon th'Syren of the Phylistines.
But here from these she past to neerer times.
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And shew'd me first the vaine Tartarians,Offering vnto their felten Deitie,
Mares-milke and Flesh. Next them the Chynians,
And Iapons, people of great policie,
Yet in Religion full of vanitie,
And who (as'ts easiest alway to doe euill
Through Ignorance) giue worship to the Deuill.
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Next these came Peguaus as wise as they,That Incenc't Idoll-Deuils of strange shape;
As doth Cambaia to, and Bengalæ.
The Cidambarans here sought out their Ape,
And those of Cothyne, and along to th' Cape
Comorin, of Narsinga, Callicut,
That bow to an Apes Tooth, and doe worship to't.
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Then shewd she diuers did IdolatrizeToth, Sunne and Moone, the Moores of Angola,
And Congo; some to Serpents, some to Trees.
Canibals of Anzitthi, Zanfara,
Then show'd she me the Witches of Medra,
Which worshipt Deuils, and doe offer them
Lou'd sacrifice of humain bodies slaine.
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She past not byth' tawny Tenustitans,That millions to their Vitzliputzly slew:
Seconded by th'as fond Peruuïans,
Who did their Virachocha all bedew
With blood of slaughtred men. But let me view
Brasillians seruing Aignan and's Maracca:
Virginians offering theirs Blood and Tobacca.
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The next that vnto me she did display,Of Turkie pilgrims seemd a Carrouan,
Passing the Desarts of Arabia,
Who seemd as if to Meccha now they came,
Their Prophets graue (and th' house of Abraham)
These at this Altar sought mongst other things
His Tombe thereon to pay their offerings.
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Next these came some that brought a world of trash,Beade, Relick; holy Crucifixes, Coffers,
Gold, Iewels, Siluer and pure Ciprian brasse,
Vowe, Prayers, Teares, to wood and stone, vaine offers
To gods that cannot helpe, the wrongs wormes proffers:
A dull conceit that sencelesse clogs adores,
More grosse then theirs that actiue sprights implores.
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After all these I fortun'd to espieAn Idoll mongst the rest of fearefull forme:
Like humain face it had, but ne'er an eie
To see: vpon the brow a mightie horne;
Elephants eares, yet vse did none returne:
An eare-wide mouth, with Boare-like sangs beset,
And th' Purples tongue, as sharpe as needles wher.
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A Ianus face it had, a morions hew,Two wings, and many coloured plumes she wore,
The vpper parts did Giants members show,
And armes, whose fingers Griffens tallents bore,
But Pygmies leggs it had, so small therefore,
That much adoe they had to make it stand,
For still it tumbled downe on euery hand.
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Those that did worship this, brought waters sweete,Thinking to wash it faire: but all in vaine,
In vaine they stroue to make their Ethiope white,
Pure waters were polluted by the same;
I crau'd my Faire to let me know their name:
But she vnwilling was to grant me this,
Onely she calld their Idoll Dokesis.
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All these past on, amongst them diuers wereWhom I had seene, and diuers other to
I neuer knew; whom this my Virgin-faire
For breuitie omitted me to show:
But all with humble reuerence did goe
Toth' second Altar, and did lowly lowre,
While they thereon did their libations powre.
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