For nothing hath been ranked among their sacred
and religious rites that savored of folly, romance, or superstition, as some do suppose; but some of them were
such as contained some signification of morality and utility,
and others such as were not without a fineness either in
history or natural philosophy. As, for instance, in what
refers to the onions; for that Dictys, the foster-father of
Isis, as he was reaching at a handful of onions, fell into
the river and was there drowned, is extremely improbable.
But the true reason why the priests abhor, detest, and
avoid the onion is because it is the only plant whose nature
[p. 71]
it is to grow and spread forth in the wane of the
moon. Besides, it is no proper food, either for such as
would practise abstinence and use purgations, or for such
as would observe the festivals; for the former, because it
causeth thirst, and for the latter, because it forceth tears
from those that eat it. They likewise esteem the swine as
an unhallowed animal, because it is observed to be most
apt to engender in the wane of the moon, and because
that such as drink its milk have a leprosy and scabbed
roughness in their bodies. But the story which they that
sacrifice a swine at every full moon are wont to subjoin
after their eating of it,—how that Typhon, being once
about the full of the moon in pursuit of a certain swine,
found by chance the wooden chest wherein lay the body
of Osiris, and scattered it,—is not received by all, but
looked upon as a misrepresented story, as a great many
more such are. They tell us moreover, that the ancients
did so much despise delicacy, sumptuousness, and a soft
and effeminate way of living, that they erected a pillar in
the temple at Thebes, having engraven upon it several
grievous curses against King Meinis, who (as they tell us)
was the first that brought off the Egyptians from a mean,
wealthless, and simple way of living. There goes also
another story, how that Technatis, father to Bocchoris,
commanding an army against the Arabians, and his baggage and provisions not coming in as soon as was expected,
heartily fed upon such things as he could next light on,
and afterwards had a sound sleep upon a pallet, whereupon he fell greatly in love with a poor and mean life;
and for this reason he cursed Meinis, and that with the
consent of all the priests, and carved that curse upon a
pillar.
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