If that be the passage referred to be Rollin, nothing is said there about ventriloquism. The Scholiast on Aristoph. (_Plut._ 39.) tells us how the Pythian received the _afflatus_, but says nothing about her _speaking_ from her belly: He only has [Greek: "Ta taes manteias hae mallon manias ephtheggeto hraemata."] In another place of Plutarch (tom. ii., p. 414. E.) we have [Greek: eggastrimuthoi] and [Greek: puthones] used as synonymous words to express persons into whose bodies the god might be supposed to enter, "using their {235} bodies and voices as instruments." The only word in that passage which appears to hint at what we call ventriloquism is [Greek: hupophtheggesthai]. I have very little doubt that amongst the various tricks of ancient divination ventriloquism found a place; but I cannot give that direct evidence which MR. SANSOM asks for. I think it very likely that "_the wizards that peep and mutter_" (Isa. viii. 19.) were of this class; but it is not clear that the [Hebrew: 'obot]--the [Greek eggastrimuthoi] of the LXX.--were so. The English version has "them that have familiar spirits." The Hebrew word signifies _bottles_; and this may mean no more than that the spirit of divination was contained in the person's body as in a bottle, "using his body and his voice as instruments," as in the place of Plutarch quoted above. We have something like this, Acts, xix. 15., where "the evil spirit answered," no doubt in the voice of the demoniac, "Jesus I know," &c. Michaelis (Suppl., p. 39.) gives a different meaning and etymology to [Hebrew: 'obot]. He derives it from the Arabic, which signifies (1) _rediit_, (2) _occidit_ sol, (3) _noctu venit_ or _noctu aliquid fecit_. The first and third of these meanings will make it applicable to the [Greek: nekromanteia] (of which the witch of Endor was a practitioner), which was carried on at night. See Hor. _Sat._ I. ix. I do not think that the damsel mentioned Acts, xvi. 16. was a ventriloquist. The use of the word [Greek: ekraze] in the next verse, would lead us to infer that she spoke in a loud voice _with her mouth open_; whereas the [Greek: eggastrimuthoi] are defined by Galen (_Glossar. Hippocr._) as [Greek: oi kekleismenou tou stomatos phthengomenoi]. Consult Vitringa and Rosenmüller on Isa. viii. 19., Wolf and Kuinoel on Acts, xvi. 16., Biscoe on the Acts, ch. viii. §2; where references will be found to many works which will satisfy Mr. SANSOM better than this meagre note. [Hebrew: B]