ham, and They offered Sacrifices on them. Among the Ifraelites, Every one feems to have had a right to offer unto God his Sacrifice, till by a particular Law the Priesthood was confined to the family of Aaron. The First-born in every Family were wont to facrifice Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings to the Lord, Exod. xxiv. 5, till the Levites were taken in their ftead, and a peculiar Priesthood was confined to a particular family in that Tribe, Numb. iii. 12, 45. The Occafion of this was owing to a particular circumftance, mentioned Exodus xxxii. 26, 29. And when once the Priesthood was thus annexed to a particular Tribe and Family, it became a crime in that Country for any one else to do the Priest's Office; and an exemplary punishment was inflicted on all such as tranfgreffed this pofitive Law.

There certainly was a particular, and a very good reason for confining the Priesthood to one fet of men among the Jews, and for not permitting any body to facrifice but the Priests appointed. Idolatry was guarded against most effectually, by reftraining and confining the Priesthood to

N 3

one

one Family, as the Learned Dr. Spencer has fully proved in his excellent Treatife De Legib. Hebræor. lib. i. c. 8. § 2. But in Other Nations the modes of Worship were different. They had in some Nations, Public Gods, and Private ones; and tho' They had established Public Priefts for their public Worship, and These were to facrifice to the Public Gods, yet Every man was a Prieft to his Penates, or Houshold Gods, and could himself do the whole office of Sacrifice to them. Where Family Sacrifices were made, and all of the fame Family who had the fame Gods met together at their Anniversary Festival, the Public Prieft feems to have done the Service. But when any private perfon was difpofed to facrifice for himself, He might be his own Prieft, and do the Service to the God whom he defired to invoke. We have a remarkable Direction of this Sort in Cato. He advises that whenever any perfon goes to his Villa, or Country Seat, *hefhould falute his Houfhold God",

*Pater familias, ubi ad villam venit, ubi Larem familiarem falutavit, fundum eodem die, fi poteft circumeat. Cato, de R. Ruf, c. 2.

i. l..

i. e. afk a bleffing from him. This indeed implies no Sacrifice: But then in another place he describes the manner of Private Sacrifices at large. * "Before

you begin to cut down your Corn, in "this manner should you Sacrifice a "Porker. You are in this manner to "offer the Porker that is to be facrificed "before you cut down your Corn: it "must be a female Porker to Ceres be

* Priufquam Meffem facias Porcam præcidaneam hoc modo fieri oportet. Cereri porca præcidanea, Porco fœmina, Priufquam hafce fruges condantur [1. condas] far, triticum, ordeum, fabam, Semen rapicium. Thure, Vino, Jano, Jovi, Junoni, præfato. Priufquam porcum fœminam immolabis, Jano ftruem commoveto fic; Jane pater, te hac ftrue commovenda bonas preces precor, uti fies volens propitius mihi liberifque meis, domo familiæ. que meæ. Ferctum Jovi moveto, et mactato fic: Jupiter, te hoc fercto obmovendo bonas preces precor, uti fies volens propitius mihi, liberifque meis, Domo, Familiæque meæ, mactus hoc fercto. Poftea vinum dato Jano fic: Jane pater, uti te ftrue commovenda bonas preces bene precatus fum, ejufdem rei ergo mate vino inferio efto. Poftea Jovi fic: Jupiter macte fercto efto, macte vino inferio efto. Poftea Porcam Præcidaneam immolato. Ubi Exta profecta erunt, Jano Struem commoveto, mactatoque item uti prius obmoveris. Jovi ferctum obmoveto, maɛtatoque uti prius feceras. Item Jano vinum dato, et Jovi vinum dato, ita uti prius datum ob ftruem obmovendam, et ferctum libandum. Poftea Cereri Exta et Vinum dato. Cato de Re Ruft. c. 134.

"fore Harveft; a Female Porker, before

you lay up in your Barns or Granaries

any of thefe Fruits, viz. Bread-corn, "Wheat, Barley, Beans, Rape Seed. "Address your Self to Janus and to Jupiter, and Juno with an Oblation "of Frankincenfe and Wine. Before you

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put the Salted Meal upon the Porker, "offer to Janus a Cake, [Strues] and fay, Father Janus in offering to you "this Cake I humbly beg that you would readily be propitious and kind to me, my Children, my Houfe, and Family. Pre"fent to Jupiter a Cake made of Meal " and Wine, and Frankincense, and say, "O Jupiter, By my giving you this Cake "I beg that you would be readily propitious "to Me, and my Children, my House and

Family. Afterwards give wine to Janus, " and fay, Father Janus, as I have offer"ed you a Cake, and have afked a Bleffing of you, for the fame purpose be thou pleafed to accept this Wine that is now offered to you. Then fay to Jupiter, "Be thou pleafed to accept this Cake, and “this Wine now brought and offered to

you. Then Sacrifice the præcidaneous "Porker.

« Porker.

" him.

As foon as the Entrails are

cut in pieces, Wave the Cake to Janus " and give it to him, praying in the fame manner as when you first gave it to Do the fame with Jupiter's Cake, and give it to him, praying as "before. Then give Wine to Janus, "and give Wine to Jupiter in the Same "manner as you gave it when you pre"fented the refpective Cakes. After"wards give the Entrails, and Wine to " Ceres."

There are in this paffage many Sacrificial Terms and Cuftoms which it cannot be amifs to explain. And

1. I muft obferve that thefe directions are not given to any Public Priest, or Curie, but to a Private Person, and contain an Inftruction How he was to Pray, and How He was to proceed in the whole Form of his Sacrifice. This was, as Livy, calls it, Ars Sacrificandi confcripta, a written Form of Sacrificing, which any or every Private man might follow for Himself, and for his Family, in order to obtain the kind Affiftance of his Gods, without employing any Priest.

2. Cate