288

HERALDRY.

little reason to be over confident in matters of pedigree andarms beyond 400 years,” from his time; and he even ex-presses his doubt, whether they are entitled to that antiquity,by adding, “ Nescio au ea profus antiquitate.”

Herald .—Because we shall unavoidably perceive more ofthe antiquity of “ armorial bearinijs” under this considera-tion, we now enter upon this part of our subject. Theautiquity of this officer, is indeed very remote in most na-tions of the earth. In the theology of the ancient world itappears, for as such is Alercurv to be regarded to Jupiter,Isis to Juno, &c. That beautiful and deathless poem, theIliad , opens with a priest assuming that character from agod to the sovereigns of united Greece . Chryses, thefather of Chryseis, a beautiful female, whom Agamemnon had received as his share of the plunder of Chrysa, a neigh-bouring town, appears to implore the restoration of his lost,his darling child; ornamented with the insignia of his deity,a golden sceptre and a laurel crown.

“ Suppliant the venerable father stands,

“ Apollo ’s awful ensigns grace his hands;

“ Hy these he begs, and lowly bending down,

“ Extends the sceptre and the laurel crown.

“ He sued to all, but chief implor’d for grace“ The brother kings, of Atreus' royal race.”

Pope, II. i. 1. 13.

Stentor, whose voice was of strength equal to those of fiftymen together, is said to have been the herald of the united Gre-cians. Talthybius appears to have been the special herald -of Agamemnon , and as such we perceive him engaged infetching the lamb for a sacrifice to Jupiter, on the first trucebetween the belligerent forces.

“ Talthybius hastens to the fleet to bring“ The lamb for Jove, th’ inviolable king.”

Pope, II. iii. 1. 103.

The antiquity of this office is unquestionable; it is pre-sumed that it had being coeval with the original associationof mankind, and is equally as ancient as governments; asthe proper appendage to sovereign authority. In Greece ,in particular, very frequent mention is made of them;as we perceive in Homer , that amidst the din of con-tending armies their persons were regarded as sacred,being the ministers of peace, as well as the harbingers ofwar. This sacredness of their persons the poet often ex-presses in similar terms to “ sacred to gods and men.”They were the first lawfully constituted ambassadors, whence