les of
justice and equity, but the world growing corrupt, she re-ascended
thither, where she became the constellation in the Zodiac called Virgo.

This goddess is represented with a serene countenance, her eyes bound or
blinded, having a sword in one hand, and in the other a pair of
balances, equally poised, or rods with a bundle of axes, and sitting on
a square stone. Among the Egyptians, she is described with her left hand
stretched forth and open, but without a head. According to the poets,
she was conversant on earth during the golden and silver ages, but in
those of brass and iron, was forced by the wickedness of mankind to
abandon the earth and retire to heaven. Virgil hints that she first
quitted courts and cities, and betook herself to rural retreats before
she entirely withdrew.

NEMESIS, daughter of Jupiter and Necessity, or, according to some, of
Oce{)a}nus and Nox, had the care of revenging the crimes which human
justice left unpunished. The word Nem{)e}sis is of Greek origin, nor was
there any Latin word that expressed it, therefore the Latin poets
usually styled this goddess Rhamnusia, from a famous statue of
Nem{)e}sis at Rhamnus in Attica. She is likewise called Adrastea,
because Adrastus, king of Argos, first raised an altar to her.
Nem{)e}sis is plainly divine vengeance, or the eternal justice of God,
which severely punishes the wicked actions of men. She is sometimes
represented with wings, to denote the celerity with which she follows
men to observe their actions.

CHAPTER V.

_Gods of the Woods._

_Pan_, the god of shepherds and hunters, leader of the nymphs, president
of the mountains, patron of a country life, and guardian of flocks and
herds, was likewise adored by fishermen, especially those who lived
about the promontories washed by the sea. There is scarcely any of the
gods to whom the poets have given a greater diversity of parents. The
most common opinion is, that he was the son of Mercury and Penel{)o}pe.
As soon as he was born, his father carried him in a goat's skin to
heaven, where he charmed all the gods with his pipe, so that they
associated him with Mercury in the office of their messenger. After this
he was educated on Mount Maen{)a}lus, in Arcadia, by Si{)o}ne and the
other nymphs, who, attracted by his music, followed him as their
conductor.

Pan, though devoted to the pleasures of rural life, distinguished
himself by his valor. In the war of the giants he entangled