Origines; or, Remarks on the Origin of Several Empires, States and Cities Phœnicia. Arabia. 1826

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1826 Excerpt: ...so called from the name thus given to the element over which he ruled. The Latins appear to have obtained the name of Neptune from the Asiatics. Nigidius, says Macrobius, de Diis libro decimo nono requirit, num Dii Penates sint Trojanorum Apollo et Neptunus, qui muros eisfecisse dicuntur; et num eos in Italiam JEneas advexerit. Cornelius quoque Labeo libro de Diis Penatibus eadem existimat. Hanc opinionem sequitur Maro, cum dicit, Sicfatus, meritos arts mactabat honores, Taurum Neptuno, taurum tibi, pulclier Apollo. Sanchoniatho, if we can trust to Philo, makes Sidon the son of Pontus, and the brother of Neptune; and Sidon is said to have been the inventor of singing, because he possessed a fine voice. I cannot help thinking that Philo must have misunderstood the original. Perhaps the Phoenician author called Sidon W2N, ab-sur, for "TETN, ab-Tsur; and wrote the name with an s, instead of ts. The Arabians certainly write Stir, instead of Tsur; and the Phoenicians may have done the same thing. This orthography, however, may have deceived Philo; who may have thought that "Wf, sur, was written for "W, sir, cantus, cantilena, carmen. We find examples even in Hebrew where sur is written for sir, cantus, as at 1 Sam. xviii. 6. The word ab, which properly signifies father, also signifies author, inventor. It may be presumed then hat Sanchoniatho did not call Sidon the inventor of song,. but the father of Sur, or Tsur, which we call Tyre. Isaiah calls Tyre the daughter of Sidon. (64) Melkarthus has been understood by some as equivalent to 1H""f?T2, Melech-arets, rex terra. Bochart prefers NJV)pJD, Melech-karta, rex urbis. Selden reads YTD, Melech-arits, rex robustus, pravalidus. Melkarthus, or Hercules, was worshipped at Tyre from the most r...