appeared unto me a divine and venerable face, worshipped even
of the Gods themselves. Then by little and little I seemed to see the
whole figure of her body, mounting out of the sea and standing before
mee, wherefore I purpose to describe her divine semblance, if the
poverty of my humane speech will suffer me, or her divine power give me
eloquence thereto. First shee had a great abundance of haire, dispersed
and scattered about her neck, on the crowne of her head she bare many
garlands enterlaced with floures, in the middle of her forehead was a
compasse in fashion of a glasse, or resembling the light of the Moone,
in one of her hands she bare serpents, in the other, blades of corne,
her vestiment was of fine silke yeelding divers colours, sometime
yellow, sometime rosie, sometime flamy, and sometime (which troubled my
spirit sore) darke and obscure, covered with a blacke robe in manner
of a shield, and pleated in most subtill fashion at the skirts of her
garments, the welts appeared comely, whereas here and there the starres
glimpsed, and in the middle of them was placed the Moone, which shone
like a flame of fire, round about the robe was a coronet or garland
made with flowers and fruits. In her right hand shee had a timbrell of
brasse, which gave a pleasant sound, in her left hand shee bare a cup
of gold, out of the mouth whereof the serpent Aspis lifted up his head,
with a swelling throat, her odoriferous feete were covered with shoes
interlaced and wrought with victorious palme. Thus the divine shape
breathing out the pleasant spice of fertill Arabia, disdained not with
her divine voyce to utter these words unto me: Behold Lucius I am come,
thy weeping and prayers hath mooved mee to succour thee. I am she that
is the naturall mother of all things, mistresse and governesse of all
the Elements, the initiall progeny of worlds, chiefe of powers divine,
Queene of heaven! the principall of the Gods celestiall, the light of
the goddesses: at my will the planets of the ayre, the wholesome winds
of the Seas, and the silences of hell be diposed; my name, my divinity
is adored throughout all the world in divers manners, in variable
customes and in many names, for the Phrygians call me the mother of the
Gods: the Athenians, Minerva: the Cyprians, Venus: the Candians,
Diana: the Sicilians Proserpina: the Eleusians, Ceres: some Juno, other
Bellona, other Hecate: and principally the Aethiopians which dwell
in the Orient, and the A