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Facles of the ancients, in philosophy, morality, and civil policy
Facles of the ancients in philosophy morality and civil policy Author:Francis Bacon Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CRITIQUE CPON THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE THE earliest antiquity lies buried in lilance and oblivion; excepting the remains we hare of it in acred writ. This s... more »ilence was succeeded by poetical fables; and these, at length, by the writings we now enjoy : so that the concealed and secret learning of the ancients, seems separated from the history and knowledge of the following ages, by a veil, or partition-wall of fables, interposing between the things that are lost, and those that remain. Varro distributes the ages of the world into three periods; viz. the unknown, the fabulous, and the historical. Of the former we have no account but in Scripture; for the second we must consult the ancient poets; such as Hesiod, Homer,or those who wrote still earlier; and then again come back to Ovid, who in his Metamorphoses, teems, in imitation, perhaps, of some ancient Greek poet, to have intended a complete collection, or a kind of continued and connected history of the fabulous age; especially with regard to changes, revolutions, or transformations. Many may imagine that I am here entering upon a work of fancy, or amusement; and design to use a poetical liberty in explaining poetical fables. It is true, fables in general are composed of ductile matter, that may be drawn into great variety, by a witty talent, or an inventive genius: and be delivered of plausible meanings which they never contained. But this procedure has already been carried to excess : and great numbers, to procure the sanction of antiquity to their own Motions and inventions, have miserably wrested and abused the fables of the ancients. Nor is this only a late or unfrequent practice; but of ancient date, and common, even to this day. Thus Chrysippus, like an interpreter of dreams, attributed the opinions of the Sto...« less