or the cock, the
former being the emblem of wisdom, and the latter of war.

Minerva represents wisdom, that is, skilful knowledge joined with
discreet practice, and comprehends the understanding of the noblest
arts, the best accomplishments of the mind, together with all the
virtues, but more especially that of chastity. She is said to be born of
Jupiter's brain, because the ingenuity of man did not invent the useful
arts and sciences, which, on the contrary, were derived from the
fountain of all wisdom. She was born armed, because the human soul,
fortified with wisdom and virtue, is invincible; in danger, intrepid;
under crosses, unbroken; in calamities, impregnable.

The owl, a bird seeing in the dark, was sacred to Minerva; this is
symbolical of a wise man, who, scattering and dispelling the clouds of
error, is clear-sighted where others are blind.

VENUS was one of the most celebrated deities of the ancients. She was
the goddess of beauty, the mother of love, and the queen of laughter.
She is said to have sprung from the froth of the sea, near the island
Cyprus, after the mutilated part of the body of Ur{)a}nus had been
thrown there by Saturn. Hence she obtained the name of Aphrodite, from
{Aphros}, _froth_. As soon as Venus was born, she is said to have been
laid in a beautiful couch or shell, embellished with pearls, and by the
assistance of Zephyrus wafted first to Cyth{=e}rae, an island in the
AEgaean, and thence to Cyprus; where she arrived in the month of April.
Here, immediately on her landing, flowers sprung beneath her feet, the
Horae or Seasons awaited her arrival, and having braided her hair with
fillets of gold, she was thence wafted to heaven. As she was born
laughing, an emanation of pleasure beamed from her countenance, and her
charms were so attractive, in the assembly of the gods, that most of
them desired to obtain her in marriage. Vulcan, however, the most
deformed of the celestials, became the successful competitor.

One of the most remarkable adventures of this goddess was her contest
with Juno and Minerva for the superiority of beauty. At the marriage of
Peleus and Thetis, the goddess Discordia, resenting her not being
invited, threw a golden apple among the company, with this inscription,
_Let the fairest take it_. The competitors for this prize were Juno,
Venus, and Minerva. Jupiter referred them to Paris, who then led a
shepherd's life on Mount Ida. Before him the goddesses appeared. Jun