Lord, Sir! the Fellow ftole it all; there is not a Page, nor a Line, nor a Word, nor a Syllable, nor a Letter, nor a Comma of it his own; I can turn to the very Book and Place from whence he pilfered it all. Now that I may anticipate this heavy Cenfure, and fave certain ingenious Critics the Trouble of turning back to the good old Writer (Peace unto his Manes, whoever he be) from whom I transcribed this little Treatife, I have determined to produce of my own accord what few Paffages I have accidentally met with upon this Subject, and afterwards I fhall leave the World to decide, whether in fpite of fuch occafional Hints, I may not still be allowed to be the fole Proprietor of this wonderful Hypothefis. Galen, in his celebrated Treatife upon the Meafles, wherein he endeavours to account for the Origin of that Distemper, delivers it as a common Opinion, that it was brought into the World by a Woman, born without the Affiftance of a Father; but he feems to treat this as a vulgar Fable, and calls it a Notion of the Multitude. Hippocrates informs us, that his Mother ufed frequently to tell him, fhe had no carnal Intercourfe with his Father for near two Years before his Birth, but that the found herself strangely influenced one Evening, as fhe was walking in a Garden. His Father obtained a Divorce on this Occafion, and the good Woman fell under the Reproach of all her Acquaintance: But I hope this Treatife will vindicate her her Memory from the Infamy, which has ever fince attended it through all fucceeding Times. If we look back to the fabulous Ages of the World, when every thing was aggrandized by poetic Ornament, we read of many ancient Ladies, got with Child by fuch impoffible Methods, that I believe they must have owed their Pregnancy to what I have been describing, and I hope all Commentators and Mythologists will, for the future, fall in with my Explication. For what else are we to think of Juno's growing big-bellied only with eating a Piece of Cabbage [d], which Flora gathered for her in the Olenian Fields? 'Tis plain the must have swallowed fome Animalcula at the fame Time, and thus became with Child of Mars. How else are we to account for the odd Conception of Danaë in her Imprisonment? Some old Oracle had foretold, that her Father Acrifius fhould have his Throat cut by a Grandfon; and to defeat this Prediction, he locked up his only Daughter in a brazen Tower, under fuch close Confinement, that it was impoffible for any thing but Wind to get Accefs to her; yet in thefe Circumstances the Lady was brought to Bed of the most mighty Perfeus, who accomplished the Oracle in putting Acrifius to Death. The Poets indeed tell us a strange improbable Story of Jupiter's raining himself through the Tiles of the Houfe in a Quod petis, Oleniis, inquam, mihi missus ab arvis Protinus hærentem decerpfi pollice florem, Fitque poteas voti, Maríque creatus erat. Ovid, Faft. v. golden golden Shower; but this is plainly a poetic Fiction, invented to account for a puzzling Phænomenon. The Story of Boreas running away with a young Heiress out of a Garret Window, and getting her with Child (as Ovid defcribes it in his Metamorphofis) is more immediately to our Purpose, and directly points out the Manner of her Conception. We all know, that it is the Profeffion of Poetry to perfonalife all its Objects, and if a Lady found herself impregnated with Wind, nothing was fo natural as to make a God of that Element, and impute the Effects to fupernatural [e] Power; though I confefs there is an Impropriety here according to my System, but that may be owing to the Looseness of poetic Defcription, or, perhaps, the Lady mistook the Quarter of the Wind in telling her Story. In general we may conclude, whenever we read of Virgins got with Child by Rivers, by Dragons, by golden Showers, &c. that it was Wind, nothing in the World but Wind; only for want of knowing the real Cause, they were glad to affign imaginary ones; and the Poets getting hold of fuch improveable Topics, fo overloaded them with Additions of their own, that in the End they were all confidered in the Light of Fable and Romance. [e] In this Manner we must interpret what Ovid puts into the Mouth of Flora, where she tells us fhe was ravished by Zephyrus, Ver erat, errabam; Zephyrus confpexit, abibam: Lib. v. Faft. 201. et dehinc. VOLI M If If we defcend from these allegoric Ages to fucceeding Times, when History had learnt a more fober Style, and was contented to tell Truth without Difguise, we shall find some few Examples here alfo to our Purpose. Diodorus Siculus informs us, in an old Edition of his Works, communicated to me by my learned and induftrious Friend the Rev. Dr. T-r, that a certain Sorcerefs of Egypt, pretended, among other fupernatural Claims, to be able to breed without the Help of Man; and under Colour of these Pretences, would have perfuaded People to believe her the celebrated Ifis, returned to vifit her native Country; but at last a Priest of Taautus, or Mercury, was found in Bed with her, and fo the Affair was at an End. Polybius has a Story more explicitly to our Purpose; but he speaks of it with so much Diftruft himself, that I will not venture to produce it, left it should give an Air of Romance to this Performance [f]. Among the Roman Hiftorians, I can only produce an Example from Livy, of a Woman who was reported to have been delivered of Twins in a defolate uninhabited Ifland, where fhe was caft away, and had not feen a human Face for the Space of Nine Years before her Labour. He tells us fhe was brought to Rome, and examined before the Roman Senate; but the Particulars of this Story are so very prolix and [7] Θεωρων δε τες Κελίας δυσκεραινονίας, κ. τ. λ. Polyb. lib, iii, p. 230. tedious tedious, that I choose to refer the Reader to the Original, in the fiftieth Book of that incomparable Hiftorian. This is all I have been able to meet with in my reading, which I was willing to produce, as it may give fome Light and Confirmation to my Hypothefis; but I appeal to the illuftrious Mr. W-rb-n, that great Decider of old Problems and modern Controverfies, who well knows the Zeal of Authors to have their Works thought original, whether notwithstanding any thing here quoted, the Merit of this great Arcanum does not of right belong to me? I mention that Gentleman's Name, who now unquestionably stands foremost in the Catalogue of British Writers, with the most profound Refpect; and it would afford me infinite Pleafure, if he would give this Subject a Difcuffion in the next Volume of the Divine L-g-ri whenever he pleases to oblige the World with that long-expected Work: Or if, by Chance, he should happen not to have room for it, being already furnished with his Complement of Digreffions (and to be fure one Book can hardly contain every thing) ftill I have the Vanity to expect a Letter from him by the first Poft, to thank me, according to Cuftom, for the honourable Mention I have made of him, and with fome Compliments on my Performance, to make an Overture of his Acquaintance. It now remains, before I conclude, to explain the great Advantages that will flow from the Publication of this Treatife; for this it is, which muft redeem |