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• The Religious Pilgrimage.
• ΙΧΘϒΟΦΑΓΙΑ.
• The Funeral.
• Echo.
• ΠΟΛϒΔΑΙΤΙΑ, Or, the Unequal Feast.
• Of Things and Words.
• Charon.
• The Assembly of Grammarians.
• ΑΓΑΜΟΣ ΓΑΜΟΣ, Or, the Unequal Marriage.
• The Imposture.
• Cyclops, Or the Gospel-carrier.
• ΑΠΡοΣΔΙοΝϒΣΑ the Impertinents, Or Crosspurposes.
• The False Knight: Or, ΙΠΠΕϒΣ ΑΝΙΠΠΟΣ·
• ΑΣΤΡΑΓΑΛΙΣΜΟΣ.
• ΓϒΝΑΙΚΟΣϒΝΕΔΡΙΟΝ. the Assembly Or Parliament of Women.
• Diluculum: Or, the Early Rising.
• ΝΗΦΑΛΙοΝ ΣϒΜΠοΣΙοΝ. the Sober Feast.
• The Notable Art.
• The Sermon, Or Merdardus.
• The Lover of Glory.
• Opulentia Sordida, Or the Wealthy Miser.
• The Seraphick Funeral.
• Amicitia, Or Friendship.
• Problema.
• The Epicurean.
• The Conflict Between Thalia and Barbarism.
• Des. Erasmus of Rotterdam to the Reader,: Concerning the Profitableness of Colloquies.
• Erasmus of Rotterdam, of the Method of Study, to Christianus of Lubeck.

ΑΣΤΡΑΓΑΛΙΣΜΟΣ.

The Argument.

QUIRINUS, CHARLES.

QU.

Cato bids us learn of those that are learned; and for that Reason, my Utenhovius, I have a Mind to make Use of you for my Master. For what Reason did the antient Directors in religious Affairs, order the Clergy to wear Ancle-Coats, that is, Vestments reaching down to their Ancles?

Ch.

I am of Opinion it was done for these two Reasons: First, for the Sake of Modesty, that nothing of Nakedness might be exposed: For, in old Time, they did not wear those Sort of Trowsers that reach from the Waist to the Feet; nor did they, in common, wear Drawers or Breeches. And, for the same Reason, it is accounted immodest for Women to wear short Coats, long ones being more agreeable to the Modesty of the Sex. In the second Place, not only for the Sake of Modesty, but also to distinguish them p. 193 from the common People, by their Habit; for, the more loose they are in their Morals, the shorter they wear their Coats.

Qu.

What you say is very probable. But I have learn’d from Aristotle and Pliny, that Men have not the Tali, but only four-footed Beasts; and not all of them neither, but only some of those that are cloven-footed; nor have they them in their hinder Legs. How then can the Garment be call’d a Talarian Garment, which a Man wears, unless in former Days Men went upon all-fours, according to Aristophanes’s Play?

Ch.

Nay, if we give Credit to Oedipus, there are some Men that are four-footed, some three-footed, and some two-footed, and oftentimes they come from a Battle one-footed, and sometimes without e’er a Foot at all. But, as for the Word, you would be more at a Loss if you were to read Horace, who attributes the Tali to Plays. For thus, I think, he writes in his Art of Poetry;

• Securus cadat, an recto stet fabula talo.

Being regardless whether or no the Comedy fall or stand upon its Talus.

Qu.

Poets have a Liberty of speaking as they please; who give Ears to Tmolus, and make Ships speak, and Oaks dance.

Ch.

But your own Aristotle could have taught you this, that there are half Tali, which he calls ἡμιαστραγάλους, that he attributes to those Beasts that are of the Lynx Kind. And he says, that Lions have that which is instead of the Talus, but it is crooked, or turned to and fro; and that which he calls λαβυρινθωˆδες, Pliny translates tortuosum [full of Turnings and Windings.] And in the last Place, Bones are every where inserted into Bones, for the Conveniency of bending the Joints; and there are Cavities for the receiving the Prominencies that answer to them, that are defended on each Side with a slippery Cartilage, the Parts being so inviron’d, or kept in, that they can’t hurt one another; as the same p. 194Aristotle teaches us. And there is, for the most Part, in these, something that answers pretty near, both in Form and Use, to the Talus: In the lower Part of the Leg, near the Heel, where is the bending of the whole Foot, there is a Prominence which resembles the Talus, which the Greeks call σθυρόν. Again, we see in the bending of the Knee a Vertebra, which, if I am not mistaken, they call ἰσχίον. And we also see something like this in the Hips, in the Shoulders, and, lastly, in the Joints of the Toes and Fingers. And, that it may not seem strange to you, the Greeks write, that the Word ἀστράγαλος is, in approved Authors, applied to the Bones, of which the Spine is compos’d, especially in the Neck. For they quote you this Verse:

• Ἐκ δέ μοι ἀυχὴν
• Ἀστραγάλων ἐάγη.

My Neck-Bone was broke on the outside the Tali.

And, as Aristotle says, the fore Legs are given to Animals, upon the Account of Swiftness, and for that Reason are without the Tali; the hind Legs for Firmness, because the Weight of the Body bears upon that Part: as also it contributes to Strength in those Creatures that kick. Horace, to signify that the Play was not cut short, but acted quite to the End, says, Stetit fixo talo; and uses the Word Talus in a Play, in the same Sense as we apply the Word Calx to a Book; and also says, the Umbilicus voluminis, or Navel of a Volume.

Qu.

In Troth, you play the Part of a Grammarian very cleverly.

Ch.

But to confirm it, the more learned Greeks will have Ἀστράγαλος deriv’d of στρέθω, and the privative Particle α, because it is never bended, but is immoveable. But others chuse to derive ἀστράγαλος from ἀστάγαλος, by inserting the Letter ρ, because it can’t stand by Reason of its slippery Volubility.

Qu.

If you go that Way to Work, you may make a great many more Guesses: But I think it a fairer Way to confess Ignorance in the Matter.

Ch.

This Guess will not seem so very absurd, if you consider what great Obscurity there is in the primitive Origin of Words: And besides, there is nothing contradictious in the Matter, if you look narrowly into it. The Talus is voluble, but it is voluble after such a Manner, that it renders that Part to which it is inserted, the more firm for standing; and then it joins one Bone to another.

Qu.

I find you can play the Part of a Sophister, when you have a Mind to it.

Ch.

But there is nothing in the Word Talus, that the Etymology of it should perplex us; for that which the modern Greeks call ἀστράγαλος, the Antients, of which Callimachus was one, call’d ἄστριον, to whom this Hemistich is ascribed Δέκα δ’ ἄστρια αἴνυτο λύτρον; whence, as the Greeks us’d the Word ἀστραγαλίζειν, so they also used the Word ἀστρίζειν, to play at Cock-all.

Qu.

What then is that which is properly the Talus?

Ch.

It is that which now-a-Days the Girls play with; it was formerly a Boy’s Play, as Cob-Nuts was; concerning which there is this Greek Sentence, Ἀμϕ’ ἀστραγάλοισι χολωθείς, when they would intimate that Persons were angry for a Trifle. Again Horace in his Odes has Nec regna vini sortiere talis. And also in his Sermones; Te talos Aule nucesque, &c. And lastly, that Saying of the Lacedemonian, if I am not mistaken, Pueros esse fallendos talis, viros jurejurando. They deny that the Talus is found in any Animal that is μώνυχον, that is, that has a solid Hoof, except the Indian Ass that has but one Horn; or that is πολυσχιδὲς, that has its Foot divided into many Toes or Claws; of which Sort are the Lion, the Panther, the Dog, the Ape, a Man, a Bird, and a great many others: But those Animals that are δίχηλα, that have a Hoof divided into two, many of them have the Talus, and that, as you said very rightly, in their hinder Legs. Man only has not the Talus for two Reasons: First because he is two-footed; and secondly, because his Foot is divided into five Toes.

Qu.

That I have heard often; but I should be glad to hear where the Talus was situated, and what Form it has described; for that Sort of Play is quite out of Doors even with Girls now-a-Days, and they rather affect Dice, Cards, and other masculine Plays.

Ch.

That is not to be wonder’d at, when they affect Divinity itself: But if I were a Mathematician, or a Painter, or a Founder, I could not represent it more clearly to you, than by shewing you the Talus itself; unless you would have me describe it algebraically, as they do.

Qu.

Have you got e’er a Talus?

Ch.

Here’s one out of the right Leg of a Sheep, you see it has but four Sides, when a Cube and a Dice has six, four on the Sides, one at the Top, and one at the Bottom.

Qu.

It is so.

Ch.

And forasmuch as the upper and lower Part of the Talus is crooked, it has but four Sides, one of which, you see, rises like a Ridge.

Qu.

I see it.

Ch.

On the opposite Side there is a Hollow; this Aristotle calls πρανὲς, that is, prone; and this ὕπτιον, that is, supine: as when in the Act of Copulation, for the Sake of Procreation, the Woman is supine, and the Man is prone: And the Hand, if the Palm of it be held towards the Ground, is prone; if you turn it up, it is supine; tho’ Orators and Poets do sometimes confound the Use of these Words, but that is nothing to the Matter in Hand.

Qu.

You have demonstrated this very plainly to my Sight; but what’s the Difference between the two other Sides?

Ch.

One of them is hollowed a little, to make it answerable to the Bone to which it is joined; the other has no Hollow at all to speak on, and is not so much defended with a cartilaginous Coat, but is only cover’d with a Nerve and a Skin.

Qu.

I see it very plain.

Ch.

The prone Side has no Nerves at all; but to the Concavity of the supine Part a Nerve adheres, to the Top of the right Side and the Bottom of the left.

Qu.

You make it out very plain; but how must I know the right Side from the left?

Ch.

That’s very well minded; for I had instructed you very illy, except you suppose me to mean the Talus of the right Leg: I will tell you, and at the same Time I’ll shew you the Situation of it, which you desired to know. The Talus is in that Bending of the Leg beneath the Hip.

Qu.

A great many are of Opinion it is near the Foot.

Ch.

They are under a Mistake: That which is properly call’d the Talus, is in the Bendings of the Joints, which the Greeks call καμπὰς; but those of the hinder Legs, as I said before, between your Foot and your Knee, is the Tibia.

Qu.

Why, so I think.

Ch.

Behind the Knee, καμπή.

Qu.

I allow it.

Ch.

For those Bendings which Men have in their Arms, four-footed Beasts have in their hinder Legs; but I except the Ape, which is but half Man: and so that which is the Knee in the Leg, is the Elbow in the Arm.

Qu.

I take it in.

Ch.

And so one Bending answers to another.

Qu.

You mean of the fore Legs and the hinder Legs.

Ch.

You have it: So that in that Bending which answers to the Bending which is behind the Knee, the Talus stands upright when a four-footed Beast stands, the upper and lower Part of which is a little bended, but not altogether after the same Manner; for the upper Part is folded back into a Sort of Horns, as it were, which Aristotle calls κεραίας; Theodorus translates the Word Antennas; near to which the prone Side gives Way; the Bottom has no such Thing.

Qu.

I perceive it very plainly.

Ch.

Therefore Aristotle calls that Side which is towards the fore Legs, supine; and that which is contrary to it, prone. Again, there are two Sides, one of which inwardly, is towards the hinder Leg, either the right or left, suppose which you will; the other looks outwards: that which looks p. 198 inwards Aristotle calls κωˆλον, and that which looks outwards, ἰσχίον.

Qu.

I see it plainly with my Eyes: but still here’s this to be done, to inform me what was the antient Manner of playing with these Tali: for the Play, as it is us’d now-a-Days, is quite different from what we find in antient Authors concerning this Sort of Play.

Ch.

And truly that’s very likely, as we in like Manner now pervert the Use of Cards and Dice from the antient Manner of playing with them.

Qu.

What you say is very probable.

Ch.

Theodorus Gaza, or as others rather chuse to call him, of Thessalonica, in translating Aristotle’s second Book of his History of Animals, says, That the Side of the Talus that looks outwardly transverse, was call’d Canis; and that which looks inwardly to the other Leg, Venus: and then he adds to it this of his own, for Aristotle said no more; Τὸ μὲν πρανὲς ἔξω, τὸ δε ὕπτιον εἴσω, καὶ τὰ μὲν κωˆλα ἐντὸς ἐστραμμένα πρὸς ἄλληλα, τὰ δε ἰσχία καλούμενα ἔξω, καὶ τὰς κεραίας ἄνω. But since it is certain that the Throw is call’d Venus’s by other Persons, as often as in four Dice the uppermost Sides of them all are different one from another; I wonder by what Example Theodorus calls one Side Venus. Our Erasmus, who is our common Friend, who is no negligent Observer of these Things, in some of his Proverbs upon the Authority of the Antients, intimates some Things of the Play of the Tali; as in the Proverb, Non Chius sed Cous; he says, that the Cous and the Size were the same that the Greeks call’d ἑξίτην. He relates the same in the Proverb Chius ad Cous, (adding, that Chius was the same with Canis, the Ace.) That the Cast of the Cous was a lucky Cast, but of the Canis an unlucky one, according to the Testimony of Persius.

• —Quid dexter Senio ferret
• Scire erat in votis, damnosa canicula quantum
• Raderet.—

And likewise Propertius;

• Semper damnosi subsiluere canes.

And Ovid, in his second Book de Tristibus, calls them, damnosos canes.

And Martial adds, that the Size by itself is a lucky Cast; but if an Ace comes up with it, unlucky; for so he speaks,

• Senio nec nostrum cum Cane quassat ebur.

And now as to Venus’s Cast, as it is what happens but very seldom, so it is a very lucky Throw: As Martial writes in his Apophoreta;

• Cum steterit vultu nullus tibi talus eodem,
• Munera me dices magna dedisse tibi.

For they play’d with so many Tali as every one had Sides: for as to Dice, they used to play but with three. But that which Suetonius writes of Octavius Augustus comes nearer to the Method of Play, reciting out of a certain Epistle of his to Tiberius; At Supper we play’d, both Yesterday and to Day, like old, grave Men, at Tali: And as every one threw an Ace or a Size, he laid down a Piece of Money for every Talus; and he that threw Venus took up all.

Qu.

You told me before, that it was a very fortunate Throw when any one threw four different Sides, as at Dice-Play the most fortunate Cast is Midas; but you did not tell me that this Cast was call’d Venus.

Ch.

Lucian will make that Matter plain to you: Thus speaking concerning Cupids, καὶ βαλὼν μὲν ἐπὶ σκοπονˆ, μάλιστα δὲ εἴ ποτε τὴν θεὸν αὐτὴν εὐβολήσειε. Μηδενὸς ἀστραγάλου πεσόντος ἴσω σχήματι, προσεκύνει, τη̂ς ἐπιθυμίας τεύξεσθαι νομίζων. He there speaks of Venus.

Qu.

If Theodorus is mistaken, his Words only make Mention of two Sides.

Ch.

It may be, he follow’d the Authority of some Author that is out of my Memory; but I have quoted what I find in Authors: For, there are some that speak of the Stesichorian Number, as to the Tali, which they take to be the Number Eight; and also of the Euripidian, which contain’d 40.

Qu.

But it remains, that you lay down the Rules of the Play.

Ch.

I am not of the Opinion, that Boys make Use of the same Rule that Octavius writes he observ’d: Nor is it probable, that this Game which he speaks of was a common one; if that had been so, it had been enough for him to have said, After Supper we play’d at the Tali. But he seems by this to hint, that it was a new Method that they had invented among themselves, as one that was fit for Persons of Age, not puzzling their Minds by a careful Thoughtfulness, as a great many of our modern Games do; so that it is much less Fatigue to the Mind to study hard, than to play.

Qu.

Prithee, pull out the rest of the Tali, that we may try an Experiment with them.

Ch.

But we have no Turret, nor Box to throw them in.

Qu.

Why, this Table will do well enough to try any Experiment with them; or this Cup, or Cap, will supply the Place of a Turret.

Ch.

Nay, hussling them in the Palm of one’s Hand may do well enough. A Throw oftner turns up the supine Face than the prone Face; and the prone Face, oftner than a Size or an Ace.

Qu.

So it seems.

Ch.

Now, if there be an Ace turn’d up in the four Tali, you shall lay down one Piece of Money; if there are two, two Pieces; if three, three Pieces; if four, four Pieces: and as often as you throw a Size, you shall take up one Piece.

Qu.

But what if I should throw Size Ace?

Ch.

Why, if you will, both of us shall lay down, and neither of us take up; and he that throws four different Spots shall take up all.

Qu.

What if we throw upper, or under, blank?

Ch.

That Throw shall go for nothing, and either you shall throw again, or I’ll take it.

Qu.

I had rather the other should take the Cast.

Ch.

Now down with your Money.

Qu.

Let’s play for nothing.

Ch.

Would you learn such an Art as this for nothing?

Qu.

But it is an unequal Match, for one that knows nothing of the Game to play with a Gamester.

Ch.

Well, but the Hope of Winning, and the Fear of Losing, will make you mind your Game the better.

Qu.

How much shall we play for?

Ch.

If you have a Mind to get an Estate quickly, let’s play for 100 Crowns.

Qu.

I wish I had them to lay down. But ’tis the safer Way to grow rich gradually. See, here’s a whole Half-Penny.

Ch.

Well, come on, we’ll add a little to a little, as Hesiod advises, and this will in Time make a large Heap. Shake them, and throw away. A good Beginning: You have thrown an Ace; lay down your Money, and acknowledge you’re on the losing Side. Give me the Tali.

Qu.

That’s a better Beginning, there’s three Aces; lay down.

Ch.

Fortune is laying a Trap for you; throw away, but hussle them first. O good Man! you have got nothing at all, there is an upper Blank and an under one. ’Tis my Throw, give me the Tali.

Qu.

Well done again, I see three Aces.

Ch.

Well, don’t reckon your Chickens before they be hatch’d. Well, Fortune has a Mind to make a Gamester of you; but mind, this is my Way of learning. But I am of the Opinion, that Octavius play’d after a different Manner.

Qu.

How was it?

Ch.

He that threw an Ace, laid down a Penny, as we said; he that threw a Size took up nothing, but the other laid down.

Qu.

But what if he threw Doublets?

Ch.

Then the other laid down so many Pieces; and when there was a good Heap of Money down, he that threw Venus took up all; and you may add this, if you will, That he that throws neither Size nor Ace, shall only lose his Throw.

Qu.

I agree to it.

But I look upon this to be better, That he that holds the Dice shall throw thrice, and then give the Throw to the other.

Qu.

I like that well enough. But how many Venus’s will you make up?

Ch.

Why three, if you will; and after that, you may make a new Bargain, or play who shall take all: For a Size comes up but seldom, and but to very few neither. Now let us make a lucky Beginning.

Qu.

Well; let it be so; but we had best have the Doors shut, lest our Queen of the Kitchen should happen to see us playing at Childrens Play.

Ch.

Nay, we rather play at old Mens Play. But have you got a Blab of a Servant then?

Qu.

So great a Gossip, that if she can’t find any Body else to tell what’s done at Home, she’ll hold a long Discourse with the Hens or Cats, about it.

Ch.

Soho Boy! shut the Door and lock it, that no Body come and surprize us; that we may play our Belly-full.

The Chapel Officers19

Lit., “The Mystagogues,” who in Greece initiated worshippers into the sacred mysteries.

Ἀστραγαλισμός192

From ἀστράγαλος, Latin Talus,—the ball of the ankle-joint, used by Greeks and Romans as a die. Cock-All, or cockal appears to be the same as the German kugel, a ball.

Talarian Garment193

Talus is used in Latin for the ankle, the heel, the foot generally. The quibbling on the word in the text seems devoid of wit. “Thus Horace writes:” Ep. ii., 1, 176.

Poets . . . . give ears to Tmolus193

Tmolus was a mountain in Lydia. To the god identified or associated with the mountain was ascribed the decision of the musical contest between Apollo and Pan.

Ἀστράγαλος, derived of στρεϕω194

A specimen of the clumsy attempts at derivation before the subject was understood. I am not aware that the etymology of the word has yet been traced.

198

Those who are curious concerning the details of the game here discussed may consult Eustathius, Od. i., p. 1397, 34 sq.; Smith’s Dict. Ant., art Talus. In English the name is huckle-bones.