VESTA was the goddess of the household hearth, or rather the fire burning on the hearth. As, according to the old heathen custom, all men were regarded as enemies unless by a special compact they had been made friends, so Vesta presided especially over true and faithful dealing ; and as the household was the centre of all kindly affections, she was represented as always pure and undefiled. The influence of Vesta was perhaps more deeply felt, and wrought more good, than any other Olympian deity. Her worship involved direct and practical duties. She could not be fitly served by men who broke their plighted word, or dealt treacherously with those whom they had received at their hearth ; and thus her worship was almost an unmixed good, both for households and for the State. The word vesta is often put for fire itself, for it is derived from a Greek word which signifies a chimney, a house, or household goods. She is esteemed the president and guardian of houses, and one of the household deities, not without reason, since she invented the art of building houses: and therefore an image of Vesta, to which they sac- rificed every day, was placed before the doors of the houses in Rome, and the places where these statues were set up were cal/ed vestibula, from Vesta. A perpetual fire was kept in her temple, among the sacred pledges of the empire; not upon an altar, or in the chimneys, but in earthen vessels hanging in the air, which the vestal virgins tended with so much care, that if by chance this fire was extinguished, all public and private business was interrupted, and a vacation proclaimed till they had expiated the unhappy prodigy with incredible pains; and if it appeared that the virgins were the occasion of its going out, by carelessness, they were severely punished. In recompense for this severe law, the vestals obtained extraordinary privileges and respect; they had the most honored seats at games and festivals; the consuls and magistrates gave way whenever they met them; their declarations in trials were admitted without the form of an oath; and if they happened to encounter in their path a criminal going to the place of execution, he immediately obtained his pardon. Upon the calends of March, every year, though it was not extinguished, they used to renew it, with no other fire than that which was produced by the rays of the sun. A portion of the sacred fire of Vesta was carried away by the colonists, to be kept 22 VESTA. 24 HOME DISSERTATIONS. alive forever in their new home; and as long as this fire continued burning, they felt they had a common interest with the citizens of their old country. "It was supposed that in the centre of the earth there was a hearth which answered to the hearth placed in the centre of the whole universe."

AI-modernized reading of the original text

VESTA was the goddess of the household hearth, or rather the fire burning on the hearth. As, according to the old heathen custom, all men were regarded as enemies unless by a special compact they had been made friends, so Vesta presided especially over true and faithful dealing ; and as the household was the centre of all kindly affections, she was represented as always pure and undefiled. The influence of Vesta was perhaps more deeply felt, and wrought more good, than any other Olympian deity. Her worship involved direct and practical duties. She could not be fitly served by men who broke their plighted word, or dealt treacherously with those whom they had received at their hearth ; and thus her worship was almost an unmixed good, both for households and for the State. The word vesta is often put for fire itself, for it is derived from a Greek word which signifies a chimney, a house, or household goods. She is esteemed the president and guardian of houses, and one of the household deities, not without reason, since she invented the art of building houses: and therefore an image of Vesta, to which they sacrificed every day, was placed before the doors of the houses in Rome, and the places where these statues were set up were called vestibula, from Vesta. A perpetual fire was kept in her temple, among the sacred pledges of the empire; not upon an altar, or in the chimneys, but in earthen vessels hanging in the air, which the vestal virgins tended with so much care, that if by chance this fire was extinguished, all public and private business was interrupted, and a vacation proclaimed till they had expiated the unhappy prodigy with incredible pains; and if it appeared that the virgins were the occasion of its going out, by carelessness, they were severely punished. In recompense for this severe law, the vestals obtained extraordinary privileges and respect; they had the most honored seats at games and festivals; the consuls and magistrates gave way whenever they met them; their declarations in trials were admitted without the form of an oath; and if they happened to encounter in their path a criminal going to the place of execution, he immediately obtained his pardon. Upon the calends of March, every year, though it was not extinguished, they used to renew it, with no other fire than that which was produced by the rays of the sun. A portion of the sacred fire of Vesta was carried away by the colonists, to be kept VESTA. alive forever in their new home; and as long as this fire continued burning, they felt they had a common interest with the citizens of their old country. "It was supposed that in the centre of the earth there was a hearth which answered to the hearth placed in the centre of the whole universe."

Home dissertations