And elswhere,
When wicked men the rivers do passe by
With hands unwash'd, then are the gods angry
With them, and them afflict -----
Hence in Virgil, Aeneas thus speaks to his father,
O Father, take the household gods, and hold
Them in thy sacred hands; to be so bold
As them to handle after so great fights
I dare not till that washed in streams most bright.
It was also a custom amongst the Gentiles, when they were wont to perform any holy services to the gods, to cleanse their bodies by washing; and when they were to contend with the infernall gods, sprinkling only did suffice. Hence in Virgil, Dido, when she did perform any solemnities to the gods, saith,
Cause that my sister Ann (my nurse most dear:)
Come, and my body wash with water clear.
And in another place where Aeneas is brought in amongst the infernals bringing a bough to Proserpina, he sings thus,
The passage doth Aeneas keep, and wash
His body with fresh water -----
Also when he relates of Misenas to be buried, he sings,
His friends he thrice did wash with water new,
And with an Olive branch, wett in the dew,
He did them sprinkle -----
Now man being made thus clean becomes celestiall, and spirituall, and is fitted for the sight of and union with God, whilest he ministers to God with a clean body, and pure mind, and delights in the cleanness of all things, as inwards, skin, garments, houses, utensils,
