in mythology, a divinity worshipped by the ancient Egyptians at Memphis. It was an ox, having certain exterior marks; in which animal the soul of the great Osiris was supposed to subsist. This animal had the preference to all others, as being the symbol of agriculture, the improvement of which that prince had so much at heart.

According to several learned writers on the Egyptian religion, Apis was only a symbolical deity. "Amongst the animals consecrated to ancient rites (says Ammianus Marcellinus), Mnevis and Apis are the most celebrated; the first is an emblem of the sun, the second of the moon." Prophyry tells us, that Apis bore the characteristic signs of the two stars; and Macrobius who confirms this opinion, adds, that he was equally consecrated to them both.

This bull, become the object of public adoration, it may be supposed, could not be born like other animals; accordingly the priests published that his origin was celestial. "An Apis is seldom born, says Pomponius Mela. He is not produced by the ordinary laws of generation. The Egyptians say he owes his birth to celestial fire." Plutarch explains this passage: "The priests pretend that the moon diffuses a generative influence, and as soon as a cow who takes the bull is struck by it, she conceives an Apis. Accordingly we discover in him the signs of that star."

Such were the fables industriously spread by those who presided over the divine institutions. The vulgar, to whom this emblemsatical deity prefigured abundance, received them eagerly, and implicitly believed them. Pliny has described the characters which distinguished this sacred bull: "A white spot, resembling a crescent, on the right side, and a lump under the tongue, were the distinguishing marks of Apis." When a cow, therefore, which was thought to be struck with the rays of the moon, produced a calf, the sacred guides went to examine it, and if they found it conformable to this description, they announced to the people the birth of Apis, and fecundity.

"Immediately (says Ælian), they built a temple to the new god, facing the rising sun, according to the precepts of Mercury, where they nourished him with milk for four months. This term expired, the priests repaired in pomp to his habitation, and saluted him by the name of Apis. They then placed him in a vessel magnificently decorated, covered with rich tapestry, and replendent with gold, and conducted him to Nilopolis, singing hymns, and burning perfumes. There they kept him for forty days. During this space of time, women alone had permission to see him, and saluted him in a particular manner. After the inauguration of the god in this city, he was conveyed to Memphis with the same retinue, followed by an innumerable quantity of boats, sumptuously decked out. There they completed the ceremonies of his inauguration, and he became sacred to all the world. Apis was superbly lodged, and the place where he lay was mystically called the bed. Strabo having visited his palace, thus describes it: "The edifice where Apis is kept, is situated near the temple of Vulcan. He is fed in a sacred apartment, before which is a large court. The house in which they keep the cow that produced him," Apis, him, occupies one of its sides. Sometimes, to satisfy the curiosity of strangers, they make him go out into this court. One may see him at all times through a window; but the priests produce him also to public view." Once a year (says Solinus) they present a heifer to him, and the same day they kill her.

A bull, born in so marvellous a manner, must be possessed of supernatural knowledge. Accordingly the priests published, that he predicted future events by gestures, by motions, and other ways, which they construed according to their fancy. "Apis (says Pliny) has two temples called Buds, which serve as an augury for the people. When they come to consult him, if he enters into a particular one, it is a favourable presage, and fatal if he passes into the other. He gives answers to individuals by taking food from their hands. He refused that offered him by Germanicus, who died soon after." It would be unjust to conclude, that this respectable writer gave credit to such auguries. He relates the opinion of the Egyptians, and contents himself with citing facts without offering his judgment.

Such was the installation of Apis. His anniversary was always celebrated for seven days. The people assembled to offer sacrifices to him, and what is extraordinary, oxen were immolated on the occasion. This solemnity did not pass without prodigies. Ammianus Marcellinus, who has collected the testimonies of the ancients, relates them in these words: "During the seven days in which the priests of Memphis celebrate the birth of Apis, the crocodiles forget their natural ferocity, become gentle, and do no harm to any body."

This bull, however, so honoured, must not exceed a mysterious term fixed for his life. "Apis (says Pliny) cannot live beyond a certain number of years. When he has attained that period they drown him in the fountain of the priests; for it is not permitted, adds Ammianus Marcellinus, to let him prolong his life beyond the period prescribed for him by the sacred books." When this event happened, he was embalmed, and privately let down into the subterraneous places destined for that purpose. In this circumstance, the priests announced that Apis had disappeared; but when he died a natural death, before this period arrived, they proclaimed his death, and solemnly conveyed his body to the temple of Serapis.

"At Memphis was an ancient temple of Serapis, which strangers were forbidden to approach, and where the priests themselves only entered when Apis was interred. It was then (says Plutarch) that they opened the gates called Lethe and Cocytus (of oblivion and lamentation), which made a harth and piercing sound."

Ammianus Marcellinus, and Solinus, paint with great energy the general despair of the Egyptians, who with cries and lamentations demanded another Apis from heaven.

According to Plutarch, the term prescribed for the life of Apis was 25 years; which number marked a period of the sun and of the moon, and the bull was consecrated to these two bodies. Syncellus, in his Chronography, when he comes down to the 32d Pharaoh, called Aeth, says, "Before Aeth, the solar year consisted of 360 days. This prince added five to complete its course. In his reign a calf was placed amongst the gods, and named Apis." And in the Bibliotheca of Fabricius we have the following passage: "It was customary to inaugurate the kings of Egypt at Memphis, in the temple of Apis. They were here first initiated in the mysteries, and were religiously invested; after which, they were permitted to bear the yoke of God, through a town to a place called the Sanctuary, the entrance of which was prohibited to the profane. There they were obliged to swear that they would neither infect months nor days in the year, and that it should remain composed of 365 days, as had been established by the ancients."—From these facts Mr Savary, in his letters on Egypt, infers, that Apis was the tutelary divinity of the new form given to the solar year, and of the cycle of 25 years, discovered at the same time. This deity, besides, had a marked relation to the swelling of the Nile, as is testified by a great number of historians. The new moon which followed the summer solstice, was the era of this phenomenon, on which the eyes of every body were fixed: And Pliny speaks as follows on this subject: "Apis had on his right side a white mark, representing the crescent. This mark (continues Ælian) indicated the commencement of the inundation." If Apis possessed the characteristic signs which proved his divine origin, he promised fertility and abundance of the fruits of the earth. It seems demonstrated, therefore, Mr Savary adds, that this sacred bull, the guardian of the solar year of 365 days, was also regarded as the genius who presided over the overflowing of the river. The priests, by fixing the course of his life to 25 years, and by making the installation of a new Apis, concur with the renewal of the period above mentioned, had probably perceived, as the result of long meteorological observations, that this revolution always brought about abundant harvests. Nothing was better calculated to procure a favourable reception of this emblematical deity from the people, since his birth was a presage to them of a happy inundation, and of all the treasures of teeming nature.

The solemnity of this inauguration was called Apparition. That which was renewed every year towards the 12th or 13th of the month Payn, which corresponds with the 17th or 18th of June, was called the birth of Apis. It was a time of rejoicing, which Ælian describes in the following manner: "What festivals! what sacrifices take place in Egypt at the commencement of the inundation! It is then that all the people celebrate the birth of Apis. It would be tedious to describe the dances, the rejoicings, the shows, the banquets, to which the Egyptians abandon themselves on this occasion, and impossible to express the intoxication of joy which breaks forth in all the towns of the kingdom."

These observations Mr Savary thinks further confirmed by the name of this respectable bull; Api, in the Egyptian tongue, signifying number, measure. This epithet perfectly characterizes an animal established as the guardian of the solar year, the type of the cycle of 25 years, and the presage of a favourable inundation.

Monsieur Heut, Bishop of Avranche, has endeavoured to prove that Apis was a symbolical image of the Patriarch Joseph, and has supported his opinion with with all his erudition. Dr Bryant apprehends that the name of Apis was an Egyptian term for a father; that it referred to the Patriarch Noah; and that the crescent which was usually marked on the side of the animal, was a representation of the ark.

Bee, in zoology, a genus of insects belonging to the order of insects hymenoptera. The mouth is furnished with two jaws, and a proboscis infolded in a double sheath; the wings are four in number, the two foremost covering those behind when at rest. In the anus or tail of the females and working bees there is a hidden sting.

These insects are distinguished into several species, each of which has its peculiar genius, talent, manners, and disposition. Variety prevails in the order of their architecture, and in the nature of their materials. Some live in society, and share the toils; such are the common bee and the drone. Others dwell and work in solitude, building the cradles of their families; as the leaf-cutter bee does with the rose-tree leaf; the upholsterer with the gaudy tapestry of the corn-rose; the mason-bee with a plaster, the wood-piercer with sawdust. All are employed in their little hermitage, with the care of providing for the wants of their posterity.

The species enumerated by Linnaeus are no fewer than 55; of which the following are the most remarkable:

1. The florifomnis, or black bee with a cylindrical incurvated belly, having two tooth-like protuberances at the anus, and a kind of pricks on the hind-legs. This bee sleeps in flowers. 2. The dentata, or shining green bee, with black wings, and a kind of teeth on the hind thighs. The tongue of this bee is almost as long as its body. 3. The variegata; the breast and belly are variegated with white and black spots; the legs are of an iron colour. It is a native of Europe. This species sleeps in the geranium phæum, or spotted crane's-bill. 4. The rostrata is distinguished by the upper-lip being inflected and of a conical shape, and by the belly being invested with bluish belts. They build their nests in high sandy grounds, and there is but one young in each nest. 5. The ferruginosa, or smooth black bee, with the feelers, mouth, belly, and feet of an iron colour. This is a small bee, and supposed to be of an intermediate kind between the bee and wasp. It is a native of Europe. 6. The cariosa is a yellowish hairy bee; and the feet and front are of a bright yellow colour. It builds in the rotten trees of Europe. 7. The brasiliarum, or pale-red hairy bee, with the basis of the thighs black. This is a very large bee, everywhere covered with a teataceous skin. It is a native of America. 8. The lapidaria, or red hairy bee, with a yellow anus, builds in holes of rocks. 9. The teretitris is black and hairy, with a white belt round the breast, and a white anus; it builds its nest very deep in the earth. 10. The violacea is a red bee, and very hairy, with bluish wings. It is a native of Europe. The violacea is said to perforate trees, and hollow them out in a longitudinal direction; they begin to build their cells at the bottom of these holes, and deposit an egg in each cell, which is composed of the farina of plants and honey or a kind of gluten. 11. The mucorum, or yellow hairy bee with a white belly, builds in mossy grounds. The skill displayed by these builders is admirable. In order to enjoy the pleasure of seeing their operations, let a nest be taken to pieces, and the moths conveyed to a distance. The bees will be seen to form themselves into a chain, from their nest to the place where the moths have been laid. The foremost lays hold of some with her teeth, clears it bit by bit with her feet (which circumstance has also given them the name of carding-bees), then, by the help of her feet, she drives the unravelled moths under her belly; the second, in like manner, pushes it on to the third. Thus there is formed an uninterrupted chain of moths, which is wrought and interwoven with the greatest dexterity by those that abide by the nest; and to the end, their nest may not be the sport of the winds, and may shelter them from rain, they throw an arch over it, which they compose with a kind of wax, tenacious, though thin in substance, which is neither the unwrought bees-wax nor the real wax. Dissolved in oil of turpentine, it may be used in taking off impressions.

12. The centuncularis, leaf-cutter, or black bee, having its belly covered with yellow down. The nests of this species are made of leaves curiously plaited in the form of a mat or quilt. There are several varieties of the leaf-cutting bees, all equally industrious. They dig into the ground, and build their nests, of which some have the form and size of thimbles inserted one within another, others the shape and size of goose-quills. These nests are composed of pieces of leaves. Each sort of bees cut into its own materials; some the rose-tree leaf, others the horse chestnut. A careful observer may discover rose-tree leaves cut as it were with a pinking iron; and there he may procure himself the pleasure of seeing with what dexterity a bee, destitute of any mathematical instrument, cuts out a circular piece, fit to be either the bottom or the lid of one of those nests; others it cuts out into ovals and semi-ovals, which form the sides of the nests, into each of which it deposits one egg with ready prepared victuals.

13. The mellifica, or domestic honey-bee. But the particulars concerning this valuable species are so numerous and interesting as to require a separate article for their detail; which the reader will therefore find at due length under the English or popular name Bee.

In the Philosophical Transactions, No. 172*, we have an account of a species of honey-bee found in some parts of America, very different in form and manners from the common bee of Europe. Their combs are composed of a series of small bottles or bladders of wax, of a dusky brown or blackish colour; and each of these is much of the size and shape of a Spanish olive. They hang together in clusters, almost like a bunch of grapes, and are so contrived, that each of them has its aperture, while the bees are at work upon it; but as soon as it is filled with honey, this aperture is closed, and the bees leave it, and go to work upon another vessel. Their lodgings are usually taken up in the hollow of an old tree, or in some cavity of a rock by the sea-side. They are gregarious in choosing the most secure retreats, because their honey is so delicious a bait, that they are hunted after by many animals; and they have no power of defending themselves, having no flings as our bees have. The combs are brittle; and the honey is clear and liquid like rock-water. It is used by the natives rather as a drink with their food than as honey. They use it also in medicine as a purge, drinking half a pint of it in the morning fasting. The Abbé Clavigero, in his history of Mexico, mentions a species similar in every respect to ours, but without the sting. This is the bee of Yucatan and Chiapa, which makes the fine clear honey of *Ephaben-ten*, of an aromatic flavour, superior to that of all the other kinds of honey with which we are acquainted. The honey is taken from them five times a-year, that is, once in every other month; but the best is that which is got in November, being made from a fragrant white flower like jessamine, which blows in September, called in that country *Ephaben-ten*, from which the honey has derived its name. This honey is said to be in high estimation with the Europeans who touch at the ports of Yucatan. According to our author, the French of Guatrico buy it sometimes for the purpose of sending it as a present to the king. Another species described by the same author, resembles in its form the winged ants, but is smaller than the common bee and without a sting. This insect, which is peculiar to warm and temperate climates, forms nests in size and shape resembling sugar-loaves, and even sometimes greatly exceeding them in size, which are suspended from rocks, or from trees, and particularly from the oak. The populousness of these hives are much greater than those of the common bee. The nymphs of this bee, which are eatable, are white and round, like a pearl. The honey is of a greyish colour, but of a fine flavour.