GOLGOTHA, (y) who lives in Heaven; and they, who to be certain of going to PARADISE, put on the Weeds of Saint DOMINIC (z) when they are dying, or think to flip in, difguis'd in the Habit of Saint FRA Ñcis: (a) They pass the feven Planets, (b) and the fix'd Stars, and all that is talk'd of, of Chriftaline Spheres and Primum Mobile: And now Saint PETER at the Entrance of Heaven feems to wait for them with his Keys, and now they lift their Feet as at the Afcent of Heaven, when a violent crofs Wind from either Coast, blows them tranfverfe through the pathlefs Air, ten Thousand Leagues awry: Then Cowles, Hoods, and Habits, with their Wearers, are flutter'd into Rags: Then Reliques, (c) Beads, (d) Indulgencies,

(y) Golgotha; Heb. Syr. i. e. A Scull: Becaufe of the Sculls and other Bones of Criminals executed there. The Place where Chrift was crucify'd on Mount Moriah, upon the North Side of Jerufalem, Mat. 27. 34. It was the fame Spot whereon Ifaac was to be offered zoco Years before, and was a lively Type of this.

(x) Dominic; Sp. Ital. Fr. Lat. i. e. The Lord. Dominicus, a Spaniard, was the Author of that Order, call'd Dominican Friars, inftituted A. D. 1205. The Inquifitors are of this Order. Some ignorant Creatures put upon dying Perfons a Prieft's Robe of thefe Orders, to carry them fafe through Purgatory.

(a) St. Francis was an Italian Merchant, firft call'd John, who inftituted the Order of Francifcan Friars, A. D. 1192.

(b) Planets; Lat. Gr. i. e. Wandering Stars; because of their various Motions. An A.

ftron. T. They are feven in Number, viz. Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, and and the Moon.

(c) Reliques, or Relicks, Fr. Ital. Sp. Lat. i. e. Remains or Fragments of the Bodies and Cloths of Saints, preserved by Roman Catholicks, with great Veneration, viz. A Finger, a Toe, a Tooth, a Girdle, &c. and all worshipped by them.

(d) Beads; Teut. Sax. Dut. i. e. Prayers, round Balls made of Amber, Wax, Woods, Glass, Silver, Gold, commonly of 15 Tens, &c. which the Romanifes count at Prayers, by reckoning of which they know how often they have repeated their Paternofter, Ave-mary, Credo, &c. as they are enjoined by their Priests, even in the Streets and at Work; like the old Pharifees, Turks, and Hypocrites. The Heathens of Malabar ufe Beads made of

the Bark of Trees, as powerful Antidotes against Satan, Sin and

Dangers,

cies, (e) Difpenfations, (f) Pardons, Bulls, (g) are all the Sport of Winds: All thefe whirl'd upwards, fly over the Backfide of the World into a large and broad LIMBO, (b) fince call'd the PARADISE OF FOOLS; which though now unpeopled and untrod, in Procefs of Time became unknown to few.

CHA P. IV.

Satan comes to the Gates of Heaven; his Paffage thence to the Orb of the Sun, where he finds Uriel the Regent thereof, and upon Inquiry is directed to the Habitation of Man.

ATAN paft on and wander'd a great while, 'till at laft a Gleam of Light caus'd him to direct his Steps towards it; far diftant he difcovers a high Structure, afcending by magnificent De grees

grees up to the Wall of Heaven, at the Top of which (but far more fumptuous) appear'd what feem'd to be a Royal Palace Gate, with a Front fet off with Gold and Diamonds; the Portal fhone thick with fparkling Jewels, impoffible to be imitated upon Earth, either in Model or Picture. The Stairs were fuch as those were whereon JACOB (i) faw Angels afcending and defcending, Bands of bright Guardians, when he fled from ESAU (k) as far as PADANARAM, () and the Field of Luz, (m) as be by Night lay dreaming under the open Air, and waking from his Sleep cry'd out, THIS IS THE GATE OF HEAVEN: Each Stair was myfteriously meant, nor always ftood there, but fometimes was drawn up to Heaven out of Sight; and underneath there flow'd a bright

(i) Facob; Heb.i. e. Holding the Heel; or tripping up his Brother's Heels; because he laid hold of his Brother's Heel in the Birth, as if he would deprive him of his Birthright at first, Gen. 25. 26. A Supplanter or De ceiver, because he outwitted his Brother Efau more than once. Gen. 25. 27, 36. Hof. 12. 2. The fecond Son of Ifaac and Rebecca, and Father of the twelve Patriarchs. He was born about A. M. 21 30, and died in Egypt, 147 Years of Age. He was a grand Mafter of Aftronomy, Aftrology, & and alfo a Divine Prophet.

(k) Efau Heb. i. e. Wrought, or Perfeded; becaufe he was more complete at his Birth than other Children, being covered all over with Hair, as one that is old, and of a stronger Conftitution. Gen. 25.25..

(Padan-Aram, Heb. i, e. A Pair of Rivers, viz, the Euphra and the Tygris. It is called

>

Padan only, i. e. A Pair: Sometimes, Aram, i. e. A River of Aramia or Syria, fometimes Naharajim, i. e. Rivers; and Padan Aram. By the Greeks, Mefopotamia, i. e. In the middle of Rivers. By the Arabs, All Gezira, i. e. The Ifland. By the Latins, Interamnia: Because it lies along the Banks of two Rivers: And by the modern Arabians, Diarbee or Diarbech; i. e. The Duke's Country. To this Country Jacob was fent by: his Mother, to avoid the Revenge of his Brother, and dwelt 213 Years.

(m) Lux; Heb. Arab. i. e. A Nut Tree, or rather the Almond Tree: because many of those Trees grew thereabout, an antient City in Canaan. In Memory of the glorious Vision that Jacob had near to it, he called it Bethel, i. e. The House of God, which Name it kept for many Ages after.

bright Sea of Jafper, or of liquid Pearl, whereon whoever came after from the Earth, arriv'd failing and wafted over by Angels, or else flew over the Lake, caught fwiftly away, and drawn in a fiery Chariot by fiery Steeds, as ELIJAH the Prophet was. At that Time the Stairs were let down, whether it were to dare SATAN by the Eafinefs of the Afcent, or to make his Exclufion from the Gates of Happinefs more grievous; directly against which from beneath, juft over the happy Seat of PARADISE, there open'd a wide Paffage down to the Earth, (wider by far than that of After-times over Mount SION, or than that, though it was large, which was over the promis'd Land fo dear to GoD, by which his Angels pafs'd frequently to and fro to perform his great Commands, to them whom he beheld with a choice Regard, being those who inhabited as far as from PANEAS, (n) faid to be the Fountain of the River (0) JORDANS

(a) Paneas; Heb. from Pane and im, i. e. The Mouth of the Waters: because a vaft Flood of Waters flow out of it. See Gen. 32. 30.And theSource of the Nile A Fountain in Paleftina,near the old Town Lais or Lifhem. Heb. i. e. A roaring Lion, and the Panean Cave; from which that Country was called Paneas. It becomes a Rapid River, running thro' a fat Soil. Pliny and other Geographers of old thought it was the Source of Jordan, but later Travellers have discovered the contrary; for that is in Mount Lebanon, four Leagues above this. It is the outmostBounds of the Promised Land to the North, as Beerfeba is to the South.

(0) Jordan or Jarden; Heb. Componded of For.i. e. De

fcending or rapid; or from Jarad: Heb. i. e. He defcended: because of its rapid Current from the Mountains. And Dan: because it ran by the old City, Dan, from Dan the Patriach, i. e. A Judge. These two Fountains uniting there, make the River Jordan, fo famous for many Miracles; as the Tame and fis or Oufe uniting their Streams, a little below Dorchefter in Oxfordshire, make the River Thames. It is the chief River of Canaan, rifing at the Foot of Mount Lebanon, runs by the Borders of it on the Eaft, whence to the South in a Course of fifty Leagues, 'till it looseth itself in the dead Sea. By the Way it makes two Lakes, ift. The Lake of Semechon or Merom, i. e. A Harp, and Bitter; because

that

DAN, quite to BEERSABA, (P) where the Holy Land borders upon EGYPT and the Coaft of AR A BIA, (q) fo wide feem'd the Opening where Bounds were fet to Darkness, fuch as ate fet to the Waves of the Ocean, that they can go no farther.

SATAN now upon the lower Stair, that leads up by Steps of Gold to the Gates of Heaven, looks down with Wonder at the fudden View of all this World at once; juft as when a Scout has gone all Night in Danger through dark and defart Ways, at laft at the Break of chearful Day climbs up to the Top

that Lake teprefents a Harp, and the Waters are bitter; it is dry in the Summer, Joh. 11. 5. 2dly, The Lake of Genefa reth, called the Sea of Galilee, or the Sea of Tiberias, Joh. 6. 1. Forty-four Miles from Jerufalem Northward, four Miles broad and twelve Miles long. Jordan overflows the Banks in March and April, from the Snow and Rains that fall upon the Mountains, Job. 3. 15. Now it is not above twenty Yards at the broadeft, and about three or four Yards deep, unless when it overflows, which Mr. Maundrel could not observe, tho' he was there at the proper Time, viz. in March 30. A. D. 1697. which he fuppofes to be either, because its Channel is deeper than it was of old; or because the Waters of it may be diverted fome other Way. It is covered all along with Trees, which make a pleafant Sight, but a dangerous and difficult coming at it.

(p) Beerfaba, or Beersheba Heb. ie. The Well of the Oath or Comenant : because there Abra

K

bam and Abimelech made an Alliance upon Oath, Gen. 21. 31. A Town fituated upon the ut moft Bounds of the holy Land, forty Miles from Jerufalem Southward; and built upon that Account. It belonged to the Edomites, then to the Simeonites. It was a great Town in the Days of St. Jerom, the Chriftians in the holy War, fortified it against the Turks and Arabs ; fince thatTime it belongeth to the Turks, and is much decayed. It is now called Gallim or Giblim.

(9) Arabia; Heb. i. e. Black, mixed, a Robber: because the Inhabitants of it are fuch: rather from Ereb, Heb. i. e. the Weft: because it lies on the Weft of Judea. A large Country in Afia, between Egypt and Judea, the Red Sea and the Perfian Gulf, divided into the Stony, the Defart, and Happy. It was firft peopled by Joktan and his thirteen Sons; by Ifmael, Founder of the Hagarens or Saracens then by Efau, and from him came twelve grand Princes, and as many Nations.: