e here and
there towards the fens, which make a low dull noise: but as for any
harmony, a rook or a jackdaw, in comparison of them, may be looked upon as
a nightingale.

Such are the witty strictures of Lucian upon the story of Phaethon and
Cycnus, as described by the poets. Whatever may have been the grounds upon
which this fiction is founded, they were certainly unknown to the Greeks;
who have misinterpreted what little came to their hands, and from such
misconstruction devised these fables. The story, as we have it, is not
uniformly told. Some, like Lucian, speak of swans in the plural; and
suppose them to have been the ministers, and attendants of Apollo, who
assisted at his concerts. Others mention one person only, called Cycnus;
who was the reputed brother of Phaethon, and at his death was transformed
to the bird of that name. The fable is the same whichever way it may be
related, and the purport of it is likewise the same. There is one mistake
in the story, which I must set right before I proceed; as it may be of some
consequence in the process of my inquiry. Phaethon is represented by many
of the poets as the offspring of the Sun, or Apollo: [151]Sole satus
Phaethon. But this was a mistake, and to be found chiefly among the Roman
poets. Phaethon was the Sun. It was a title of Apollo; and was given to him
as the God of light. This is manifest from the testimony of the more early
Greek poets, and particularly from Homer, who uses it in this acceptation.

[152][Greek: Oudepot' autous]
[Greek: Eelios Phaethon epiderketai aktinessin.]

In respect to Cycnus and his brotherhood, those vocal ministers of Apollo,
the story, which is told of them, undoubtedly alludes to Canaan, the son of
Ham; and to the Canaanites, his posterity. They sent out many colonies;
which colonies, there is great reason to think, settled in those places,
where these legends about swans particularly prevailed. The name of Canaan
was by different nations greatly varied, and ill expressed: and this
misconstruction among the Greeks gave rise to the fable. To shew this, it
will be proper to give an account of the rites and customs of the
Canaanites, as well as of their extensive traffic. Among the many branches
of the Amonian family, which settled in various parts of the world, and
carried on an early correspondence, the Canaanites were not the least
respectable. They traded from Sidon chiefly, before that city was taken by
the king