arch between.

When these mighty Monarchs and Men of Fame went off the Stage, the World
had their Memories in esteem many Ages after; and as their great Actions
were no otherwise recorded than by oral Tradition, and the Tongues and
Memories of fallible Men, Time and the Custom of magnifying the past
Actions of Kings, Men soon fabl'd up their Histories, _Satan assisting_,
into Miracle and Wonder: Hence their Names were had in Veneration more
and more; Statues and Bustoes representing their Persons and great
Actions were set up in public Places, till from Heroes and Champions
they made Gods of them, and thus (_Satan_ prompting) the World was
quickly fill'd with Idols.

This _Nimrod_ is he, who according to the received Opinion, tho' I do
not find Satan's History exactly concurring with it, was first call'd
_Belus_, then _Baal_, and worship'd in most of the eastern Countries
under those Names; sometimes with Additions of Sir-names, according to
the several countries, or People, or Towns where he was particularly
set up, as _Baal Peor_, _Baal Zephon_, _Baal Phegor_, and in other
Places plain _Baal_, as _Jupiter_ in after Times had the like Additions;
as _Jupiter Ammon_, _Jupiter Capitolinus_, _Jupiter Pistor_, _Jupiter
Feretrius_, and about ten or twelve _Jupiters_ more.

I must acknowledge, that I think it was a Master-piece of Hell to bring
the World to Idolatry so soon after they had had such an eminent Example
of the infinite Power of the true God, as was seen in the Deluge, and
particularly in the Escape of _Noah_ in the Ark, to bring them (even
before _Noah_ or his Sons were dead) to forget whose Hand it was, and
give the Homage of the World to a Name, and that a Name of a mortal Man
dead and rotten, who was famous for nothing when he was alive but Blood
and War; I say, to bring the World to set up this Nothing, this meer
Name, nay the very Image and Picture of him for _a God_, it was _first_
a Mark of most prodigious Stupidity in the whole Race of Men, a
monstrous Degeneracy from Nature, and even from common Sense; and in the
next Place 'twas a token of an inexpressible Craft and Subtilty in the
_Devil_, who had now gotten the People into so full and compleat a
Management, that in short, he could have brought them, by the same Rule,
to have worship'd any thing; and in a little while more, did bring many
of them to worship himself, _plain Devil as he was_, and knowing him to
be such.

As to the Antiquity of this h