hich
they substituted for the original word. This they did uniformly in all
parts of the world; and always invented some story to countenance their
mistake. Hence, whenever we meet with an idle account of a navel, we may be
pretty sure that there is some allusion to an oracle. In respect to Delphi,
they presumed that it was the umbilicus, or centre of the whole earth. The
poets gave into this notion without any difficulty; Sophocles calls it
[730][Greek: mesomphala Ges manteia]: and Euripides avers that it was the
precise centre of the earth:

[731][Greek: Ontos meson omphalon gas]
[Greek: Phoibou katechei domos.]

Livy, the historian, does not scruple to accede to this notion, and to call
it [732]umbilicum orbis terrarum. Strabo speaks of it in this light, but
with some hesitation. [733][Greek: Tes Hellados en mesoi POS esti tes
sumpases--ENOMISTHE de kai oikoumenes; kai ekalesan tes ges OMPHALON].
Varro very sensibly refutes this idle notion in some [734]strictures upon a
passage in the poet Manilius to the purpose above.

O, sancte Apollo,
Qui umbilicum certum terrarum obtines.

Upon which he makes this remark: Umbilicum dictum aiunt ab umbilico nostro,
quod is medius locus sit terrarum, ut umbilicus in nobis: quod utrumque est
falsum. Neque hic locus terrarum est medius; neque noster umbilicus est
hominis medius. Epimenides long before had said the same:

[735][Greek: Oute gar en gaies mesos omphalos, oude thalasses.]

But supposing that this name and character had some relation to Delphi, how
are we to account for other places being called after this manner? They
could not all be umbilical: the earth cannot be supposed to have different
centres: nor could the places thus named be always so situated, as to be
central in respect to the nation, or the province in which they were
included. Writers try to make it out this way: yet they do not seem
satisfied with the process. The contradictory accounts shew the absurdity
of the notion. It was a term borrowed from Egypt, which was itself an
Omphalian region. Horus Apollo not knowing the meaning of this has made
Egypt the centre of the earth: [736][Greek: Aigupton ge mese tes
oikoumenes]. Pausanias mentions an Omphalus in the Peloponnesus, which was
said to have been the middle of that country. He seems however to doubt of
this circumstance, as he well may[737]. [Greek: Ou porro de estin ho
kaloumenos Omphalos, Peloponnesou de pases meson,