\ STUDIA IN
THE LIBRARY
of
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY
Toronto
THE TWO BABYLONS
OR
THE PAPAL WORSHIP
PROVED TO BE
THE WORSHIP OF NIMROD AND HIS WIFE
TKHttb Sf£tB*one IHaoo&cut ^lustrations from
NINEVEH, MBYLON, EGYPT, POftPEH,
BY THE LATE
REV. ALEXANDER HISLOP
OF EAST FREE CHURCH, ARBROATH
popular Edition
LONDON
S. W. PARTRIDGE & CO.
8 & 9 PATERNOSTER ROW
1903
i4-5
4-9ZI9
19-&-32-
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LOED JOHN SCOTT,
AS A TESTIMONY OF RESPECT
FOR HIS TALENTS, AND THE DEEP AND ENLIGHTENED INTEREST
TAKEN BY HIM IN THE SUBJECT OF
PRIMEVAL ANTIQUITY ;
AS WELL AS AN EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE FOR
MANY MARKS OF COURTESY AND KINDNESS
RECEIVED AT HIS HANDS ;
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
BY HIS OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
NOTB BY THE EDITOK, . . . . . . . vii
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, ...... viii
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION, . . . . . . xi
INTRODUCTION, ......... 1
CHAPTER I.
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF THE Two SYSTEMS, ... .4
CHAPTER II.
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Section I. Trinity in Unity, .... 12
„ II. The Mother and Child, and the Original of the Child, . . 19
Sub-Section i. The Child in Assyria, . . . .21
„ IT. The Child in Egypt, . . . .40
,, in. The Child in Greece, . . . .46
„ iv. The Death of the Child, . . .55
„ v. The Deification of the Child, . . .58
„ III. The Mother of the Child, . . .74
CHAPTER III.
FESTIVALS.
Section I. Christmas and Lady-day, ... .91
„ II. Easter, ........ 103
„ III. The Nativity of St. John, ... .113
„ IV. The Feast of the Assumption, . . . .125
CHAPTER IV.
DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
Section I. Baptismal Regeneration, ... .129
„ II. Justification by Works, ... .144
„ III. The Sacrifice of the Mass, . . 156'
„ IV. Extreme Unction, . .165
,, V. Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead, . . .167
vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
RITES AND CEREMONIES.
PA«K
Section I. Idol Processions, . . . . . .171
„ II. Relic Worship, . . 176
„ III. The Clothing and Crowning of Images, . . 181
„ IV. The Rosary and the Worship of the Sacred Heart, . . 187
„ V. Lamps and Wax-Candles, . . . . . .191
„ VI. The Sign of the Cross, . 197
CHAPTER VI.
RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
Section I. The Sovereign Pontiff, ...... 206
„ II. Priests, Monks, and Nuns, . . 219
CHAPTER VII.
THE Two DEVELOPMENTS HISTORICALLY AND PROPHETICALLY CONSIDERED.
Section I. The Great Red Dragon. . ... 225
„ II. The Beast from the Sea, . . 242
„ III. The Beast from the Earth, . . 256
,, IV. The Image of the Beast, . . ... 263
„ V. The Name of the Beast, the Number of his Name— the Invisible
Head of the Papacy, . ... 269
CONCLUSION, . ...... 282
APPENDIX, ... .... 291
INDEX, . . ... . . 325
NOTE BY THE EDITOK.
HAD the lamented Author been spared to superintend the issue of
the Fourth Edition of his work, it is probable he would have felt
himself called upon to say something in reference to the political and
ecclesiastical events that have occurred since the publication of the
last Edition. By the authoritative promulgation of the dogma of
the Pope's Infallibility, his argument as to the time of the slaying of
the Witnesses, and his identification of the Roman pontiff as the
legitimate successor of Belshazzar have been abundantly confirmed.
It is gratifying to the Author's friends to know that the work has
been so favourably received hitherto, and that no one, so far as we
are aware, has ventured to challenge the accuracy of the historical
proofs adduced in support of the startling announcement on the
title page. But it is deplorable to think that, notwithstanding all
the revelations made from time to time of the true character and
origin of Popery, Ritualism still makes progress in the Churches, and
that men of the highest influence in the State are so infatuated as to
seek to strengthen their political position by giving countenance to a
system of idolatry. If Britons would preserve their FREEDOM and
their pre-eminence among the nations, they should never forget the
Divine declaration, "Them that honour ME I will honour, and they
that despise ME shall be lightly esteemed."
It only remains for the Editor to say that the work has been
carefully revised throughout, and a few trifling errors in the refer
ences have, in consequence, been corrected. One or two notes also,
enclosed in brackets, have been added, and the Index has been some
what extended.
R. H.
BLAIR BANK, POLMONT STATION, N.B.,
January , 1871.
vi i
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
SINCE the appearing of the First Edition of this work, the Author
has extensively prosecuted his researches into the same subject;
and the result has been a very large addition of new evidence.
Somewhat of the additional evidence has already been given to
the public, first through the columns of the British Messenger,
and then in the publication entitled " The Moral Identity of Babylon
and Home," issued by Mr. Drummond of Stirling. In the present
edition of " The Two Babylons," the substance of that work is
also included. But the whole has now been re-written, and the
mass of new matter that has been added is so much greater than
all that had previously appeared, that this may fairly be regarded
as an entirely new work. The argument appears now with a com
pleteness which, considering the obscurity in which the subject had
long been wrapped, the Author himself, only a short while ago,
could not have ventured to anticipate as a thing capable of attain
ment.
*****
On the principle of giving honour to whom honour is due, the
author gladly acknowledges, as he has done before, his obligations
to the late H. J. Jones, Esq. — to whose researches Protestantism
is not a little indebted — who was the first that directed his attention
to this field of inquiry. That able, and excellent, and distinguished
writer, however, was called to his rest before his views were matured.
His facts, in important instances, were incorrect; and the conclu
sions at which he ultimately arrived were, in very vital respects,
directly the reverse of those that are unfolded in these pages.
Those who have read, in the Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, his
speculations in regard to the Beast from the Sea, will, it is believed,
readily perceive that, in regard to it, as well as other subjects, his
argument is fairly set aside by the evidence here adduced.
In regard to the subject of the work, there are just two remarks
viii
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. IX
the author would make. The first has reference to the Babylonian
legends. These were all intended primarily to commemorate facts
that took place in the early history of the jt?os£-diluvian world.
But along with them were mixed up the momentous events in
the history of our first parents. These events, as can be distinctly
proved, were commemorated in the secret system of Babylon with
a minuteness and particularity of detail of which the ordinary
student of antiquity can have little conception. The post-diluvian
divinities were connected with the ante-diluvian patriarchs, and
the first progenitors of the human race, by means of the metem
psychosis ; and the names given to them were skilfully selected, so
as to be capable of divers meanings, each of these meanings having
reference to some remarkable feature in the history of the different
patriarchs referred to. The knowledge of this fact is indispensable
to the unravelling of the labyrinthine subject of Pagan mythology,
which, with all its absurdities and abominations, when narrowly
scrutinised, will be found exactly to answer to the idea contained in
the well-known line of Pope in regard to a very different subject : —
" A mighty maze, but not without a plan."
In the following work, however, this aspect of the subject has,
as much as possible, been kept in abeyance, it being reserved for
another work, in which, if Providence permit, it will be distinctly
handled.
The other point on which the author finds it necessary to say a word,
has reference to the use of the term " Chaldee," as employed in this
work. According to ordinary usage, that term is appropriated to the
language spoken in Babylon in the time of Daniel and thereafter.
In these pages the term Chaldee, except where otherwise stated, is
applied indiscriminately to whatever language can be proved to have
been used in Babylonia from the time that the Babylonian system of
idolatry commenced. Now, it is evident from the case of Abraham,
who was brought up in Ur of the Chaldees, and who doubtless
brought his native language along with him into Canaan, that, at
that period, Chaldee and Hebrew were substantially the same.
When, therefore, a pure Hebrew word is found mixed up with a
system that confessedly had its origin in Babylonia, the land of the
Chaldees, it cannot be doubted that that term, in that very form,
must have originally belonged to the Chaldee dialect, as well as to
that which is now commonly known as Hebrew. On this ground,
the author has found himself warranted to give a wider application
to the term " Chaldee" than that which is currently in use.
And now, in sending forth this new Edition, the author hopes he
X PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
can say that, however feebly, he has yet had sincerely an eye, in the
whole of his work, to the glory of " that name that is above every
name," which is dear to every Christian heart, and through which
all tribes, and peoples, and kindreds, and tongues, of this sinful and
groaning earth, are yet destined to be blest. In the prosecuting of
his researches, he has found his own faith sensibly quickened. His
prayer is, that the good Spirit of all grace may bless the work for
the same end to all who may read it.
PKEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
IN giving the Third Edition of this work to the public, I have little
else to do than to express my acknowledgments to those to whom
I am under obligations, for enabling me thus far to bring it to a
successful issue.
To Mr. Murray, of Albemarle Street, London; Mr. Vaux, of the
British Museum ; and Messrs. Black and Messrs. Chambers, Edin
burgh, I am specially indebted for permission to copy woodcuts
belonging to them. Individual woodcuts, from other sources, are
acknowledged in the body of the work. To Mr. John Adam, the
artist, who has executed the whole of the woodcuts, with a few
exceptions, I have to express my obligations for the spirit and
artistic skill displayed in their execution ; and I do so with the more
pleasure, that Mr. Adam is a native of Arbroath, and the son of a
worthy elder of my own.
I have also acknowledgments of another kind to make. Consider
ing the character of this work — a work that, from its very nature,
required wide, and, at the same time, minute research, and the
consultation of works of a very recondite character ; and, taking also
into view not only the very limited extent of my own library, but
the distance of my abode from any of the great libraries of the land,
where rare and expensive works may be consulted, the due prepara
tion of such a work was attended with many difficulties. The
kindness of friends, however, has tended wonderfully to remove these
difficulties. From all quarters I have met with the most disinter
ested aid, of which I retain a grateful and pleasing remembrance.
To enumerate the different sources whence help has come to me,
in the prosecution of my task, would be impossible. There are three
individuals, however, who stand out from the rest whom I cannot
pass over without notice. Each of them has co-operated (and all
spontaneously), though in different ways, in enabling me thus far to
accomplish my task, and their aid has been of the most essential
importance.
Xll PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
To Mrs. Barkworth, of Tranby Hall, Yorkshire (whose highly
cultivated mind, enlightened zeal for Protestant truth, and unwearied
beneficence need no testimony of mine), I am signally indebted, and
it gives me pleasure to acknowledge it.
I have also to acknowledge my deep and peculiar obligations to one
who chooses to be unknown,* who, entirely on public grounds, has
taken a very lively interest in this work. He has spared neither ex
pense nor pains, that, every incidental error being removed, the argu
ment might be presented to the public in the most perfect possible form.
For this purpose he has devoted a large portion of his time, during
the last three years, to the examination of every quotation contained
in the last edition, going in every case where it was at all possible,
to the fountain-head of authority. His co-operation with me in the
revisal of the work has been of the greatest advantage. His acute
and logical mind, quick in detecting a flaw, his determination to be
satisfied with nothing that had not sufficient evidence to rest upon,
and yet his willing surrender to the force of truth whenever that
evidence was presented, have made him a most valuable coadjutor.
" As iron sharpeneth iron," says Solomon, " so doth a man sharpen the
countenance of his friend." I have sensibly found it so. His corre
spondence, by this stimulus, has led to the accumulation of an
immense mass of new evidence, here presented to the reader, which,
but for his suggestions, and objections too, might never have been
discovered. In the prosecution of his investigation he has examined
[* Edward Joshua Cooper, Esq., of Markree Castle, Ireland, the gentleman
here alluded to, died 23rd April, 1863. He was "one of our most distinguished
amateur astronomers. After leaving Oxford, he travelled extensively, with a
sextant, chronometer, and telescope, as his inseparable companions In the
year 1831, he purchased from Cauchoix, of Paris, an object glass of 13'3 inches
aperture, and 25 feet focus, the largest then existing, which, in 1834, was mounted,
with perfect success, at his magnificent mansion of Markree." The labours of
himself and his assistant were rewarded by " the discovery of the planet Metis ;
but his greatest work is his ' Catalogue of Ecliptic Stars.' This (which was
published by aid from the Government grant placed at the disposal of the Royal
Society, and which the Royal Irish Academy honoured with their Cunningham
Medal) contains upwards of 60,000 stars down to the twelfth magnitude, of which
very few had been previously discovered."
Mr. Cooper was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Astronomical
Society, as well as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. " He represented the
County of Sligo in Parliament for many years, and was a kind and good landlord,
making great exertions to educate and improve his numerous tenantry. His
personal qualities were of a high order. Blameless and fascinating in private life,
Jie was a sincere Christian, no mean poet, an accomplished linguist, an exquisite
musician, and possessed a wide and varied range of general information." — See
Obituary Notice in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1864.]
PKEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. xiii
no fewer than 240* out of the 270 works contained in the accom
panying list of "Editions," many of them of large extent, all of
which are in his own possession, and not a few of which he has
procured for the purpose of verification. His object and mine has
been, that the argument might be fairly stated, and that error might,
as far as possible, be avoided. How far this object has been attained,
the references and list of "Editions" will enable each reader
competent to the task, to judge for himself. For myself, however,
I cannot but express my high sense of the incalculable value of the
service which the extraordinary labours of my kind and disinterested
friend have rendered to the cause of universal Protestantism.
But while making mention of my obligations to the living, I may
not forget what I owe to the dead. To him whose name stands on
the front of this work, I am, in some respects, pre-eminently
indebted, and I cannot send forth this edition without a tribute of
affection to his memory. It is not for me to speak of his wit,
and the brilliancy of his conversational powers, that captivated all
who knew him ; of the generous unselfishness of his nature, that
made him a favourite with every one that came in contact with him ;
or of the deep interest that he took in the efforts at present being
made for improving the dwellings of the working-classes, and
especially of those of his own estate, as well as in their moral and
religious improvement. But I should be liable to the charge of
ingratitude if I contented myself, in the circumstances, with the mere
formal dedication, which, though appropriate enough while he was
alive, is now no more so when he is gone.
The time and the circumstances in which his active friendship was
extended to me, made it especially welcome. His keen eye saw at a
glance, as soon as the subject of this work came under his attention,
the importance of it ; and from that time forward, though the work
was then in its most rudimentary form, he took the deepest interest
in it. He did not wait till the leading organs of popular opinion, or
the great dispensers of fame, should award their applause ; but,
prompted by his own kindly feeling, he spontaneously opened up a
correspondence with me, to encourage and aid me in the path of
discovery on which I had entered.
His own studies qualified him to appreciate the subject and
pronounce upon it. For many years he had deeply studied the
* The whole number of works actually examined by the eminent individual
above referred to, in connection with this subject, is upwards of 260 ; but space
does not permit me to avail myself of anything like the full amount of the new
evidence that has been gathered. The above number, therefore, refers only to the
works actually quoted in this edition.
XIV PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
Druidical system, which, with the haze and mystery around it, and
with its many points of contact with the patriarchal religion, had a
strange and peculiar fascination for him. For the elucidation of this
subject, he had acquired most valuable works ; and what he possessed
he was most ready to communicate. In the prosecution of
my inquiries, I had met with what to me seemed insuperable
difficulties. He had only to know of this to set himself to remove
them; and the aid derived from him was at once precious and
opportune ; for through his acquaintance with Druidism, and the
works received from him, difficulties disappeared, and a flood of
light irradiated the whole subject. If, therefore, the reader shall
find the early history of superstition, not only in our native land,
but in the world at large, set in a new and instructive light in these
pages, he must know that he is essentially indebted for that to Lord
John Scott. In one, who was an entire stranger, being thus
prompted to render efficient assistance to me at such a time, I could
not but thankfully recognise the hand of a gracious Providence ; and
when I reflect on the generous, and humble, and disinterested
kindness with which the four years' correspondence between us was
conducted on his part, — a correspondence in which he always
treated me with as much confidence as if I had been his friend and
brother, — I cannot but feel warm and tender emotions, mingling with
the thoughts that spring up in my bosom. Friendship such as his
was no ordinary friendship. His memory, therefore, must be ever
dear to me ; the remembrance of his kindness ever fragrant.
Unexpected was the stroke — now, alas ! near three years ago —
by which our correspondence was brought to an end ; but painful
though that stroke was, and solemnising, there was no gloom
attending it. The " hope full of immortality " cheered his dying bed.
For years back he had found the emptiness of the world, and had
begun to seek the better part. His religion was no sentimental
religion ; his fear of God was not taught by the commandment of
men. His faith was drawn directly from the inspired fountain of
Divine truth. From the time that the claims of God to the homage
of his heart had laid hold on him, the Word of God became his
grand study, and few men have I ever known who held with a more
firm and tenacious grasp the great truth that the "Word of God, and
that Word alone, is the light and rule for the guidance of Christians ;
and that every departure from that Word, alike on the part of
Churches and individuals, implies, as he himself expressed it, "going
off the rails," and consequently danger of the highest kind. As his
religion was Scriptural, so it was spiritual. In one of his earliest
PKEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. XV
letters to me, he avowed that the bond of " spiritual religion " was
that by which he felt himself specially bound to those whose char
acter and spirit showed them to be the true sheep of Christ's
pasture ; and in accepting the dedication of my work, he particularly
stated, that the interest that he took in it was not as a mere matter
of literary curiosity, but as being "fitted to teach great truths,
which the world is not very willing to learn." This, in the connec
tion in which he wrote it, evidently had special reference to the
great doctrine of "regeneration." His mind was deeply penetrated
with a sense of the majesty of God, and the " awfulness " of our
relations to Him, in consequence of the sin that has entered the
world, and has infected the whole human race, and therefore he
vividly realised the indispensable necessity of Mediation and
Atonement, to give hope to sinful man in prospect of the grand
account.
The origin of that earnestness and attachment to spiritual reli
gion which he manifested in his last years, was, as I was assured
by a relative now also gone to his reward, the perusal of the tract en
titled " Sin no Trifle." Deep was the impression that tract had made.
He read it, and re-read it, and continually carried it about with him,
till it was entirely worn away. Under the impressions springing
from such views of sin, he said to an intimate friend, when in the
enjoyment of health and vigour, "It is easy to die the death of a
gentleman, but that will not do." His death was not the death of a
mere gentleman. It was evidently the death of a Christian.
The circumstances in which he was removed were fitted to be pecu
liarly affecting to me. In reply to a letter — the last which I received
from him — in which he expressed deep interest in the spread of
vital religion, I was led, "in pursuance of the theme to which he
himself had specially referred, to dwell more than ever before on the
necessity not merely of having hope towards God, but of having
the question of personal acceptance decisively settled, and the
consequent habitual possession of the "joy of salvation," and as one
special reason for this, referred to the fact, that all would be needed
in a dying hour. "And who can tell," I added, "how suddenly
those who are surrounded with all the comforts of life may be
removed from the midst of them1?" In illustration of this, I
referred to the affecting case of one whom I had known well, just
a short while before, lost along with his family in the Royal Charter.
Having made a large fortune in Australia, he was returning home,
and when on the point of setting foot on his native shores, with the
prospect of spending his days in ease and affluence, suddenly father
XVI PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
and mother, son and daughter, were all engulfed in a watery grave.
My letter concluded with these words : " In view of such a solem
nising event, well may we say, What is man? But oh, man is
great, if he walks with God, and the divine words are fulfilled in his
experience, ' God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' That this may be more
and more the experience of your Lordship, is my earnest desire."
When I wrote this I had not the least suspicion that I was writing
to a dying man. But so it proved to be. Only a few days after he
received this, he was smitten with his death-sickness. From his
dying bed he sent me a kindly memorial of his affectionate remem
brance, and in his painful illness he manifested the supporting power
of faith, when faith has respect to the truth as it is in Jesus, and
appropriates Him as a personal and Almighty Saviour.
EDITIONS OF WORKS
QUOTED OR REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK.
Adam's Roman Antiquities,
^Eliani Historise, .
^Elianus de Nat. Animal,
^Eschylus, ..
Agathias (Corp. Script. Byzant. ),
Alford's Greek Test., ....
Ambrosii Opera, .....
Aminianus .Marcelliniis,
Anacreon, . . ...
Apocalypse, Original Interpretation,
Apocriphi (Diodati, Bibbia),
Apollodorus, ......
Apuleius, ......
Arati Phcenomena, .....
Aristophanes, .....
Arnobius, ......
Athenasus, ......
Athenagoras, .....
Asiatic Journal, .....
- Researches, .....
Augustini Opera Ornnia, ....
Augustine's City of God, with Lud. Vives's Comment.,
Aulus Gellius, .....
Aurelius Victor, .....
Ausonii Opera, .....
Barker aud Ainsworth's Lares and Penates of Cilicia,
Barker's Hebrew Lexicon, ....
Baronii Annales, .....
Bede's Works, .....
Begg's Handbook of Popery,
Bell's (Robert) Wayside Pictures, .
- (John) Italy, .....
Berosus, ......
Betham's Etruria Celtica, ....
— Gael and Cymbri, ....
xvii
London,
1835
Rome,
1545
Tubingen,
1768
Paris,
1557
1552
Bonn,
1828
London,
1856
Paris,
1836
Paris,
1681
Cambridge,
1705
London,
1857
London,
1819
Gottingen,
1803
Leipsic,
1842
Leipsic,
1793
Amsterdam,
171©
Paris,
1836
Lcyden,
1612
Wurtzburg,
1777
London,
1816
London,
1806
Bassano,
1807
London,
1620
Leyden,
1666
Utrecht,
1696
Amsterdam,
1669
London,
1853
London,
1811
Cologne,
1609
Cambridge,
1722
Edinburgh,
1856
London,
1849
Edinburgh,
1825
Leipsic,
1825
Dublin,
1842
Dublin,
1834
b
XV111 EDITIONS OF WORKS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
Bilney (British Reformers), .
Bion (Poet. Grsec. Min.),
Blakeney's Popery in its Social Aspect,
Borrow's Gipsies, ....
Bower's Lives of the Popes, .
Bryant's Mythology,
Bulwark, The, ....
Bunsen's Egypt, ....
Caesar, .....
Callirnachus, .....
Catechismus Romanus,
Catlin's American Indian*, .
Catullus, .....
Cedreni Compendium,
Charlotte Elizabeth's Personal Recollections,
— Sketches of Irish History,
Chesney's Euphrates Expedition,
Chronicon Paschale, ....
Chrysostomi Opera Omnia, .
Ciceronis Opera Omnia,
Clemens Alexandrinus, Opera,
Clemens Protrepticos,
Clericus (Johannes) de Chaldaeis et de Saboeis,
Clinton, Fasti Hellenici,
Codex Theodosiarms,
Coleman's Hindoo Mythology,
Cory's Fragments, ....
Courayer's Council of Trent,
Covenanter, Irish, ....
Crabb's Mythology, ....
Crichton's Scandinavia,
Cumrnianug (Patr. Patrum), .
Daubuz's Symbolical Dictionary,
D'Aubigne's Reformation,
David's Antiquites Etrusques, &c., .
Davies's Druids, ....
Davis's (Sir J. F. ) China, .
Didron's Christian Iconography,
Diodori Bibliotheca, ....
Diogenes Laertius,
Dionysius Afer, ....
Dionysius Halicarn, ....
Dryden's Virgil,
Dupuis, Origine de tous les Cultes, .
Dymock's Classical Dictionary,
Elliott's Horse Apocalypticse,
Ennodii Opera, ....
Epiphanii Opera Omnia,
Eunapius, .....
Euripides, .....
Eusebii Preepar. Evangel.,
London, 8. D.
Cambridge, 1661
Edinburgh, S. D.
1843
1750
1807
1852-53
1848
1770
1697
1659
1841
1659
1838
1847
1844
1850
1832
1738
1740
Wurtzburg, 1778
Lutetian, 1629
Amsterdam, 1700
London,
London,
London,
Edin. ,
London,
London,
Utrecht,
Lyons,
London,,
Utrecht,
Bonn,
London,
Dublin,
London,
Bonn,
Paris,
Paris,
Oxford,
Bonn,
London,
London,
London,
Belfast,
London,
Edinburgh,
Paris,
London,
Brussels,
Paris,
London,
London,
London,
Paris,
London,
London,
Oxford,
London,
Paris,
London,
London,
Paris,
Cologne,
Geneva,
Cambridge,
Lcipsic,
1834
1842
1832
1732
1736
1862
1854
1838
1851
1842
1839
1787
1809
1857
1851
1559
1664
1658
1704
1709
1822
1833
1851
1611
1682
1616
1694
1842
EDITIONS OF WORKS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
XIX
Eusebii Chronicon, ......
Chron., ......
Vita Constantin., .....
Eustace's Classical Tour, .....
Eutropius (Rom. Hist. Script. Grgec. Min.), .
Evangelical Christendom, .....
Do. do., ....
Firmicus, Julius, ......
Flores Seraphici, ......
Furniss's What Every Christian must Know,
Fuss's Roman Antiquities, .....
Garden of the Soul, ......
Gaussen's Daniel, ...
Gebelin, Monde Primitif,
Gesenii Lexicon, ......
Gibbon's Decline and Fall, .....
Gibson's Preservative, .....
Gieseler's Eccles. History, .....
Gill's Commentary, ....
Gillespie's Sinim, ......
Golden Manual, ....
Gregorii Nazianzeni Opera, .
Greswell's Dissertations, .....
Guizot's European Civilisation, ....
Hanmer's Chroriographia ; appended to translation of
Eusebius, &c.,
Hardy, Spence, Buddhism, .....
Harvet, Dr. Gent., Review of Epistle of, .
Hay's Sincere Christian, ....
Heathen Mythology, ....
Herodoti Historia, ......
Hesiodus, . ...
Hesychii Lexicon, . . .
Hieronymi Opera,
Hislop's Light of Prophecy, .....
Homer, . . ....
(Pope's),
Horapollo's Hieroglyphics, .
Horatius, ....
Hue's Voyage dans la Tartarie et Thibet, .
Humboldt's Mexican Researches, ....
Kurd's Rites and Ceremonies, ....
Hyde's Religio Persarum, .....
Hygini Fabulas, ......
Irensei Opera, ......
Jamblichus on the Mysteries, ....
Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary,
Jewell (British Reformers), .
Jones's (Sir W.) Works, .
1818
1529
1677
1813
1590
1853
1855
1678
Venice,
Basle,
Paris,
London,
Frankfort,
London,
London,
Oxford,
c Colonies
\Agrippince,
London,
Oxford,
f Dublin,
( London,
Paris,
Paris,
London,
Dublin,
London,
Edinburgh, 1846
London, 1852-54
Edinburgh, 1854
London, 18fO
Antwerp, 1612
Oxford, 1837
London, 1846
1640
s. D.
1840
1850
S. D.
1848-49
1773-82
1855
1781
1848
London,
1636
London,
1853
London,
1598
Dublin,
1783
London,
S. D.
Paris,
1592
Oxford,
1737
Leyden,
1688
Paris,
1643
Edinburgh,
1846
Cambridge,
1711
London,
1715
A msterdam,
1835
Paris,
1691
Paris,
1857
London,
1814
London,
s. i\
Oxford,
1700
Leipsic,
1856
Leipsic,
1853
G his wick,
1821
Edinburgh,
1808
London,
S. D.
London,
1807
XX
EDITIONS OF WORKS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
Josephus (Gr
Basle,
1544
Justini Hist. (Hist. Rom. Script.), .
Justinus Martyr, .
Justus Lipsius, .
Juvenal, .
Kennedy's Ancient and Hindoo Mythology,
Kennett's Roman Antiquities,
Kitto's Cyclopaedia, .
Kitto's Illustrated Commentary,
Knox's History of Reformation,
Knox (British Reformers), .
Lactantius, .
Lafitan, Mceurs des Sauvages Americains, .
Landseer's Sabean Researches,
Layard's Babylon and Nineveh,
Nineveh, .
Livius, .
Lorimer's Manual of Presbytery,
Lucan. de Bell. Civ.,
Lucianus, .
Lucretius, .
Lycophron (Poet. Graec. Min.),
Macrobius, .
M'Gavin's Protestant,
Maimonides More Nevochim,
Maitland on the Catacombs,
Mallet's Northern Antiquities,
Mallet,
Manilius, .
Martialis Epigrarnmata,
Massy, Memoir of Rev. G., .
Maurice's Indian Antiquities,
Mede's Works, .
Middleton's Letter from Rome,
Milner's Church History,
Milton's Paradise Lost,
Minutius Felix, .
Missale Romanum, .
Do. do., .
Missionary Record of Free Church, .
Moor's Hindoo Pantheon,
Morgan's (Lady) Italy,
Moses of Chorene", .
Miiller's Dorians, .
Mulleri Fragmenta, .
Newman's Development,
Niebuhr's Roman History, .
Nonnus de Phil. Oriental, et Dionysiaca,
Orphic Hymns (Poet. Gra?c.),
Ouvaroff's Eleusinian Mysteries,
(Aurelii, \
[Attobrog. )1609
Wurtzburg, 1777
London, 1698
London, 1728
London, 1831
London, 1696
Edinburgh, 1856
London, 1840
Edin., 1846-48
London, s. D.
Cambridge, 1685
Paris, 1724
London, 1823
London, 1853
London, 1849
Amsterdam, 1710
Edinburgh, 1842
Leyden, 1658
Amsterdam, 1743
Oxford, 1695
Geneva, 1814
Sanct. Colon. 1521
Glasgow, 1850
Basle, 1629
London,
London,
London,
Berlin,
Leijden,
London,
1846
1770
1847
1846
1656
1859
London (See Note}.
London, 1672
London,
London,
London,
Leyden,
Paris,
Vienna,
1741
1712
1695
1672
1677
1506
Edinburgh, 1855
London, 1810
London,
London,
Oxford,
Paris, 1846-51
London, 1846
1855
1857
1556
1817
1824
1736
1830
London,
Leipsic,
Paris,
London,
EDITIONS OF WOEKS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
XXI
Ovidii Opera, .....
Pancarpium Marise, ....
Paradisus Sponsi et Sponsae, .
Parkhurst's Heb. Lexicon, .
Parson's Japhet, ....
Pausanias, .....
Paxton's Illustrations, Geography, .
Persius, .....
Petri Suavis Polani, Concilium Tridentinum,
Pfeiffer's (Ida) Iceland,
Photii Bibliotheca, ....
Lexeon Synagoge,
Pindarus, .....
Pinkerton's Voyages,
Platonis Opera, ....
Plinii Opera, .....
Plutarchi Opera, ....
Pococke's India in Greece, .
Pompeii, .....
Pontificale Romanum,
Do. do., ....
Poor Man's Manual, ....
Porphyrius de Antro Nympharum, .
Potter's Greek Antiquities, .
Prescott's Conquest of Peru,
Mexico, ....
Prisciani Opera, ....
Proclus in Timaeo, ....
on Plat. Theology, .
Propertius, .....
Quarterly Journal of Prophecy,
Quintus Curtius, ....
Redhouse's Turkish Dictionary,
Rome in the Nineteenth Century,
Russell's Egypt, ....
Ryle's (Rev. J.) Commentary,
Salverte, Eusebe, Sciences Occultes, .
Essai sur les Nome,
Sanchuniathon, ....
Scottish Protestant, ....
Septuagint, .....
Servius, .....
Savary's Letters on Egypt, .
Seymour's Evenings with Romanists,
Sinclair's (Sir George) Letters to Protestants,
Smith's Classical Dictionary,
Socrates Ecclesiasticus,
Sophocles, .....
Stanley's History of Philosophy,
Statius, .....
Stephen's Central America, .
Leyden,
1661
Antwerp,
1618
Antwerp,
1618
London,
1799
London,
1767
Leipsic,
1696
Edinburgh,
1842
Leyden,
1696
Cforinchemi,
1658
London,
1853
Berlin,
1824
London,
1822
Oxford,
1697
London, 1808-14
Paris,
1578
Frankfort,
1599
Frankfort,
1599
London,
1852
London,
1831
Venice,
1543
Venice,
1572
Dublin,
S. D.
Utrecht,
1765
Oxford,
1697
London.
1855
London,
1843
Leipsic,
1819
Vratislavic?,
1847
London,
1816
Utrecht,
1659
London,
1852
Amsterdam,
1684
London,
1856
London,
1823
Edinburgh,
1831
Ipswich,
1858
Paris,
1856
Paris,
1824
Bremen,
1837
Glasgow,
1852
Paris,
1628
Gottingen,
1826
London,
1786
London,
1854
Edinburgh.
1852
London,
1859
Paris,
1686
London,
1747
London,
1687
Leyden,
1671
London,
1841
XX11 EDITIONS OF WORKS QUOTED OR REFERRED TO.
Stockii Clavis, .....
Strabo, ......
Suidas, ......
Symmachi Epistolse, .....
Tacitus, ......
Taylor's Mystic Hymns of Orpheus,
Pausauias .....
Tertulliani Opera, .....
Theocritus (Poet. Graec. Min.),
Theopompus (Mullet), ....
Thevenot, Voyages, .....
Thuani Historia, .....
Todd's Western India, ....
Toland's Druids, . .
Tooke's Pantheon, .....
Trimen's Architecture, ....
Trogus Pompeius (Hist. Rom. Script.),
Turner's Anglo-Saxons,
Usher's Sylloge, .....
Valerius Maximus, . .
Vaux's Nineveh, .....
Antiquities of the British Museum,
Virgilius, ......
Vitruvius de Architectura, ....
Vossius de Idololatria, ....
Walpole's Ansayri, .....
Wilkinson's Egyptians, ....
Williams's Missionary Enterprises, .
\Vilson's India 3000 Years Ago,
Parsee Religion,
Wylie's Great Exodus,
Xenophontis Opera, .
Zonaras,
Zosimus (Rom. Hist. Script. Graeci. Min.), .
Note. — Of Maurice's " Indian Antiquities " in the copy quoted, except where
otherwise stated, the 1st, 2nd, and 7th vols. are 1806 ; the 3rd, 1794 ; the 4th
and 5th, 1800, and the 6th, 1812.
Lipsice,
1753
Basle,
1549
Geneva,
1619
Douai,
1587
Dublin,
1730
Chiswick,
1824
London,
1794
Paris,
1844
Cambridge,
1661
Parit,
1853
Paris,
1689
London,
1733
London,
1839
Edinburgh,
1815
London,
1806
London,
1849
f Aurel. ~\
\Allobrog.j
1609
London,
1823
Dublin,
1632
Venice,
1505
London,
1851
London,
1851
Paris,
1675
Leipsic,
1807
A msterdam,
1668
London,
1849
London, 1837-41
London,
1847
Bombay,
1858
Bombay,
1843
London,
1862
Paris,
1625
Bonn,
1841
Frankfort,
1590
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
1. Woman with Cup from Babylon, .... 5
2. Do. do. from Rome, ... 6
3. Triune Divinity of Ancient Assyria, . . 17
4. Do. do. of Pagan Siberians, . . . .17
5. Goddess Mother and Son, from Babylon, . 19
6. Do. do. do. from India, . 19
7. Janus and his Club, ..... .27
8. Diana of Ephesus, ...... 29
9. Three-Horned Head of Togrul Begh, . . 33
10. Assyrian Hercules, or Zernebogus, . 33
11. Horned Head-Dresses, ...
12. Three-Horned Cap of Vishnu, . . 36
13. Tyrian Hercules, ..... .37
14. Winged Bull from Nimnid, . 38
15. Do. do. from Persepolis, . . . 38
16. Centaur from Babylonia, ..... 42
17. Do. from India, ..... 43
18. Osiris of Egypt, . . . 44
19. Egyptian High Priest, . . 45
20. Egyptian Calf-Idol, ..... .46
21. Assyrian Divinity, with Spotted Fallow-Deer, . . 47
22. Bacchus, with Cup and Branch, .... 48
23. An Egyptian Goddess, and Indian Crishna, crushing the Serpent's
Head, 60
24. Baal-Berith, Lord of the Covenant, ... 70
25. Dove and Olive Branch of Assyrian Juno, . . 79
26. Circe, the Daughter of the Sun, .... .38
27. The Yule Log, .... 98
28. Roman Emperor Trajan burning Incense to Diana, . . 100
29. Egyptian God Seb, and Symbolic Goose, . . .101
30. The Goose of Cupid, . . . 102
31. Sacred Egg of Heliopolis, and Typhon's Egg, . 108
32. Mystic Egg of Astarte, . 109
33. Juno, with Pomegranate, .... Ill
34. Two-Headed God, 134
35. Cupid with Wine-Cup and Ivy Garland of Bacchus, . 140
36. Symbols of Nimrod and Baal-Berith, . . . .142
xx iii
XXIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PAGE
37. Ceres, Mother of Bar, " the Son," and of Bar, " the Corn," . . 160
38. Sun- Worship in Egypt, . . . . . . .162
39. Popish Image of "God," with Clover Crown, . . . .185
40. Cupid, with Symbolic " Heart," ...... 189
41. Vishnu, with same, . . . . . . .190
42. Lion of Mithra, with Bee in its Mouth, . . . .194
43. The Cruciform T or Tau of Ancient Nations, . . . .197
44. Ancient Pagans adorned with Crosses, . . . . .198
45. Bacchus, with Head-Band covered with Crosses, .... 199
46. Various Examples of Pagan Crosses, ..... 200
47. Egyptian Pontiff-King (under a Canopy) borne on Men's Shoulders, . 214
48. Assyrian Dagon, with Fish-Head Mitre, ..... 215
49. Maltese God with similar Mitre, ...... 216
50. The Sacrificial Mitre of Chinese Emperor, as Pontifex Maximus of the
Nation, ......... 216
51. Babylonian Crosier, . . . . . .217
52. The Deified Serpent, or Serpent of Fire, . .227
53. Roman Fire-Worship and Serpent-Worship combined, . . . 237
54. Hindu Goddess Devaki, with the Infant Crishna at her breast, . . 238
55. The Rani-Headed God of Egypt, . . . . . .257
56. The Ram-Headed Boy-God of Etruria, ..... 257
57. Indian Goddess Lakshmi, sitting in a Lotus-flower, borne by a Tor-
toif?.-s . 266
58. Virgin and Child sitting in Cup of Tulip, .... 266
59. The Serpent of ^Esculapius, and the Fly-Destroying Swallow, the
Symbol of Beel-zebub, from Pompeii, ..... 279
60. Popish Image of "God," with bandaged Globe of Paganism, . . 301
61. Supreme Divinity of Ancient Persia, with bands of Cybele, "the
Binder with Cords," . 303
THE TWO BABYLONS.
" And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON TEE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." — EEV. xvii. 5.
INTRODUCTION.
THERE is this great difference between the works of men and the
works of God, that the same minute and searching investigation,
which displays the defects and imperfections of the one, brings out
also the beauties of the other. If the most finely polished needle on
which the art of man has been expended be subjected to a micro
scope, many inequalities, much roughness and clumsiness, will be
seen. But if the microscope be brought to bear on the flowers of
the field, no such result appears. Instead of their beauty diminish
ing, new beauties and still more delicate, that have escaped the
naked eye, are forthwith discovered ; beauties that make us appre
ciate, in a way which otherwise we could have had little con
ception of, the full force of the Lord's saying, "Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they
spin : and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon, in all his glory,
was not arrayed like one of these." The same law appears also in
comparing the Word of God and the most finished productions of
men. There are spots and blemishes in the most admired produc
tions of human genius. But the more the Scriptures are searched,
the more minutely they are studied, the more their perfection
appears; new beauties are brought into light every day; and the
discoveries of science, the researches of the learned, and the labours
of infidels, all alike conspire to illustrate the wonderful harmony of
all the parts, and the Divine beauty that clothes the whole.
If this be the case with Scripture in general, it is especially the
case with prophetic Scripture. As every spoke in the wheel of
Providence revolves, the prophetic symbols start into still more
bold and beautiful relief. This is very strikingly the case
with the prophetic language that forms the groundwork and
corner-stone of the present work. There never has been any
difficulty in the mind of any enlightened Protestant in identify
ing the woman " sitting on seven mountains," and having on her
forehead the name written, " Mystery, Babylon the Great," with the
B
2 INTRODUCTION.
Roman apostacy. " No other city in the world has ever been
celebrated, as the city of Rome has, for its situation on seven hills.
Pagan poets and orators, who had no thought of elucidating prophecy,
have alike characterised it as ' the seven hilled city.' " Thus Virgil
refers to it: "Rome has both become the most beautiful (city) in
the world, and alone has surrounded for herself seven heights with a
wall."* Propertius, in the same strain, speaks of it (only adding
another trait, which completes the Apocalyptic picture) as " The
lofty city on seven hills, which governs the whole world, "f Its
"governing the whole world" is just the counterpart of the Divine
statement — " which reigneth over the kings of the earth " (Rev.
xvii. 18). To call Rome the city "of the seven hills" was by its
citizens held to be as descriptive as to call it by its own proper
name. Hence Horace speaks of it by reference to its seven hills
alone, when he addresses, "The gods who have set their affections
on the seven hills."J Martial, in like manner, speaks of "The
seven dominating mountains. "§ In times long subsequent, the same
kind of language was in current use ; for when Symmachus, the
prefect of the city, and the last acting Pagan Pontifex Maximus, as
the Imperial substitute, introduces by letter one friend of his to
another, he calls him " De septem montibus virum " — "a man from
the seven mountains," meaning thereby, as the commentators
interpret it, " Civem Romanum," "A Roman Citizen. "|| Now,
while this characteristic of Rome has ever been well marked and
denned, it has always been easy to show, that the Church which has
its seat and headquarters on the seven hills of Rome might most
appropriately be called " Babylon," inasmuch as it is the chief seat
of idolatry under the New Testament, as the ancient Babylon was
the chief seat of idolatry under the Old, But recent discoveries in
Assyria, taken in connection with the previously well-known but
ill-understood history and mythology of the ancient world, demon
strate that there is a vast deal more significance in the name
Babylon the Great than this. /It has been known all along that
Popery was baptised Paganism ; but God is now making it manifest,
that the Paganism which Rome has baptised is, in all its essential
elements, the very Paganism which prevailed in the ancient literal
Babylon, when Jehovah opened before Cyrus the two-leaved gates of
brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. »
That new and unexpected light, in some way or other, should be
cast, about this very period, on the Church of the grand Apostacy,
the very language and symbols of the Apocalypse might have
prepared us to anticipate. In the Apocalyptic visions, it is just
before the judgment upon her that, for the first time, John sees the
* Scilicet et rerura facta est pulcherrima Roma
Septemqueuna sibi muro circumdedit arces.
— Georg., lib. ii. v. 534, 535.
f Septem urbs alta jugis toto quae prsesidet orbi. — Lib. iii. Eleg. 9, p. 721.
t Diis, quibus septem placuere colles. — Carmen Seculare, v. 7, p. 497.
§ Septein dominos montes. — Lib. iv. Ep. 64, p. 254.
|| SYMMACHUS, lib. ii. Epis. 9, Note, p. 63.
INTRODUCTION. 3
Apostate Church with the name Babylon the Great " written upon
her forehead " (Rev. xvii. 5). What means the writing of that
name "on the forehead" ? Does it not naturally indicate that, just
before judgment overtakes her, her real character was to be so
thoroughly developed, that everyone who has eyes to see, who has
the least spiritual discernment, would be compelled, as it were, on
ocular demonstration, to recognise the wonderful fitness of the title
which the Spirit of God had affixed to her. |Her judgment is now
evidently hastening on ; and just as it approaches, the Providence of
God, conspiring with the Word of God, by light pouring in from all
quarters, makes it more and more evident that Rome is in very deed
the Babylon of the Apocalypse); that the essential character of her
system, the grand objects of her worship, her festivals, her doctrine
and discipline, her rites and ceremonies, her priesthood and their
orders, have all been derived from ancient Babylon ; | and, finally,
that the Pope himself is truly and properly the lineal representative
of Belshazzar. { In the warfare that has been waged against the
domineering pretensions of Rome, it has too often been counted
enough merely to meet and set aside her presumptuous boast, that
she is the mother and mistress of all churches — the one Catholic
Church, out of whose pale there is no salvation. If ever there was
excuse for such a mode of dealing with her, that excuse will hold no
longer. If the position I have laid down can be maintained, she
must be stripped of the name of a Christian Church altogether ; for
if it was a Church of Christ that was convened on that night, when
the pontiff-king of Babylon, in the midst of his thousand lords,
" praised the gods of gold, and of silver, and of wood, and of stone "
(Dan. v. 4), then the Church of Rome is entitled to the name of a
Christian Church ; but not otherwise. This to some, no doubt, will
appear a very startling position ; but it is one which it is the object
of this work to establish ; and let the reader judge for himself,
whether I do not bring ample evidence to substantiate my position.
CHAPTER I.
DISTINCTIVE CHAEACTER OF THE TWO SYSTEMS.
IN leading proof of the Babylonian character of the Papal Church,
the first point to which I solicit the reader's attention, is the
character of MYSTERY which attaches alike to the modern Roman
and the ancient Babylonian systems. The gigantic system of moral
corruption and idolatry, described in this passage under the emblem
of a woman with a "GOLDEN CUP IN HER HAND" (Rev. xvii. 4),
" making all nations DRUNK with the wine of her fornication " (Rev.
xvii. 2 ; xviii. 3), is divinely called " MYSTERY, Babylon the Great "
(Rev. xvii. 5). That Paul's "MYSTERY of iniquity," as described
in 2 Thess. ii. 7, has its counterpart in the Church of Rome, no
man of candid mind, who has carefully examined the subject, can
easily doubt. Such was the impression made by that account on
the mind of the great Sir Matthew Hale, no mean judge of evidence,
that he used to say, that if the apostolic description were inserted in
the public " Hue and Cry," any constable in the realm would be
warranted in seizing, wherever he found him, the Bishop of Rome
as the head of that "MYSTERY of iniquity." Now, as the system
here described is equally characterised by the name of "MYSTERY,"
it may be presumed that both passages refer to the same system.
But the language applied to the New Testament Babylon, as the
reader cannot fail to see, naturally leads us back to the Babylon
of the ancient world. As the Apocalyptic woman has in her
hand A CUP, wherewith she intoxicates the nations, so was it
with the Babylon of old. Of that Babylon, while in all its
glory, the Lord thus spake, in denouncing its doom by the
prophet Jeremiah: "Babylon hath been a GOLDEN CUP in the
Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken : the nations
have drunken of her wine ; therefore the nations are mad "
(Jer. li. 7). Why this exact similarity of language in regard to
the two systems ? The natural inference surely is, that the one
stands to the other in the relation of type and antitype. Now, as
the Babylon of the Apocalypse is characterised by the name of
" MYSTERY," so the grand distinguishing feature of the ancient
Babylonian system was the Chaldean " MYSTERIES," that formed so
essential a part of that system. And to these mysteries, the very
language of the Hebrew prophet, symbolical though of course it is,
distinctly alludes, when he speaks of Babylon as a " golden CUP."
To drink of " mysterious beverages," says Salverte, was indispensable
4
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF THE TWO SYSTEMS. 5
on the part of all who sought initiation in these Mysteries.* These
"mysterious beverages" were composed of " wine, honey, water, and
flour. ;;f From the ingredients avowedly used> and from the nature
of others not avowed, but certainly used,| there can be no doubt
that they were of an intoxicating nature ; and till the aspirants had
come under their power, till their understandings had been dimmed,
and their passions excited by the medicated draught, they were not
duly prepared for what they were either to hear or to see. If it
be inquired what was the object and design of these ancient
" Mysteries," it will be found that there was a wonderful analogy
between them and that " Mystery of iniquity" which is embodied in
the Church of Home. Their primary object was to introduce
privately, by little and little, under the seal of secrecy and the
sanction of an oath, what it would not have been safe all at once and
openly to propound. The time at which they were instituted proves
that this must have been the case. The Chaldean Mysteries can be
traced up to the days of Semiramis, who lived only a few centuries
after the flood, and who is known to have impressed upon them the
image of her own depraved
and polluted mind.§ That
beautiful but abandoned queen
of Babylon was not only her
self a paragon of unbridled
lust and licentiousness, but
in the Mysteries which she
had a chief hand in forming,
she was worshipped as Rhea,||
the great " MOTHER " of the
gods,1I with such atrocious rites
as identified her with Yenus,
the MOTHER of all impurity,
and raised the very city where
she had reigned to a bad eminence among the nations, as the
grand seat at once of idolatry and consecrated prostitution, ff Thus
* EUSEBE SALVERTE, Des Sciences Occultes, p. 259.
t GEBELIN, Monde Primitif, vol. iv. p. 319.
J See SALVERTE, pp. 258, 259.
§ AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. xiv. cap. 6, p. ad. 26, and lib. xxiii. cap. 6, pp.
371, 374, compared with JUSTINUS, Historia, lib. i. cap. 1, p. 615, and EUSEBIUS'S
Chronicle, vol. i. pp. 40, 70, &c. Eusebius says that Ninus and Semiramis
reigned in the time of Abraham. See vol. i. p. 41, and vol. ii. p. 65. In regard
to the age of Semiramis, see further in note on next page.
|| Chronicon Paschale, vol. i. p. 65. IT HESIOD, Thcogonia, v. 453, p. 36.
* The shape of the cup in the woman's hand is the same as that of the cup
held in the hand of the Assyrian kings ; and it is held also in the very same
manner.— See VAUX, pp. 243, 284.
[A correspondent has pointed out a reference by Pliny to the cup of Semiramis,
which fell into the hands of the victorious Cyrus. Its gigantic proportions must
have made it famous among the Babylonians and the nations with whom they had
intercourse. It weighed fifteen talents, or 1200 pounds. — PLINII, Hist. Nat., lib.
xxxiii. cap. 15.]
ft HERODOTUS, Historia, lib. i. cap. 199, p. 92 ; QUINTUS CURTIS, v. 1.
6 DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF
was this Chaldean queen a fit and remarkable prototype of the
" Woman " in the Apocalypse, with the golden cup in her hand, and
the name on her forehead, "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the
MOTHER of harlots and abominations of the earth." (Fig. 1.) The
Apocalyptic emblem of the Harlot woman with the cup in her hand
was even embodied in the symbols of idolatry derived from ancient
Babylon, as they were exhibited in Greece ; for thus was the Greek
Venus originally represented,* and it is singular that in our own
day, and so far as appears for the first time, the Roman Church has
actually taken this very symbol as her own chosen emblem. In
1825, on the occasion of the jubilee, Pope Leo XII. struck a medal,
bearing on the one side his own image, and on the other, that of the
Church of Rome symbolised as a " Woman," holding in her left hand
a cross, and in her right a CUP, with the legend around her, " Sedet
super universum" "The whole world is her seat."f (Fig. 2.) Now
the period when Semiramis lived, — a period when the patriarchal
faith was still fresh in the minds of men, when Shem was still alive,]:
to rouse the minds of the faithful to rally around the banner for the
truth and cause of God, made it hazardous all at once and publicly
Fig. 2.
Woman with cup from Home, on reverse of medal.— (ELLIOTT'S Horce.)
to set up such a system as was inaugurated by the Babylonian
queen. We know, from the statements in Job, that among
* For evidence on this subject, see Appendix, Note A.
f ELLIOTT'S Horce, vol. iv. p. 30.
£ For the age of Shem see Genesis xi. 10, 11. According to this, Shena lived
502 years after the flood, that is, according to the Hebrew chronology, till B.C.
1846. The age of Ninus, the husband of Semiramis, as stated in a former note,
according to Eusebius, synchronised with that of Abraham, who was born B.C.
1996. It was only about nine years, however, before the end of the reign of
Ninus, that the birth of Abraham is said to have taken place. — (SYNCELLUS, p.
170. Paris, 1652.) Consequently, on this view, the reign of Ninus must have
terminated, according to the usual chronology, about B.C. 1987. Clinton, who is
of high authority in chronology, places the reign of Ninus somewhat earlier. In
his Fasti Hellenici (vol. i. p. 263) he makes his age to have been B.C. 2182.
Layard (in his Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 217) subscribes to this
opinion. Semiramis is said to have survived her husband forty-two years. —
(SYNCELL., p. 96.) Whatever view, therefore, be adopted in regard to the age of
Ninus, whether that of Eusebius, or that at which Clinton and Layard have
arrived, it is evident that Shem long survived both Ninus and his wife. Of
course, this argument proceeds on the supposition of the correctness of the
Hebrew chronology. For conclusive evidence on that subject, see Appendix,
Note B.
THE TWO SYSTEMS. 7
patriarchal tribes that had nothing whatever to do with Mosaic
institutions, but which adhered to the pure faith of the patriarchs,
idolatry in any shape was held to be a crime, to be visited with
signal and summary punishment on the heads of those who practised
it. "If I beheld the sun," said Job, "when it shined, or the moon
walking in brightness ; and my heart hath been secretly enticed,
and * my mouth hath kissed my hand ; this also were an iniquity to
be punished by the judge ; for I should have denied the God that is
above " (Job xxxi. 26-28). Now if this was the case in Job's day,
much more must it have been the case at the earlier period when the
Mysteries were instituted. It was a matter, therefore, of necessity,
if idolatry were to be brought in, and especially such foul idolatry as
the Babylonian system contained in its bosom, that it should be done
stealthily and in secret. f Even though introduced by the hand of
power, it might have produced a revulsion, and violent attempts
might have been made by the uncorrupted portion of mankind to
put it down j and at all events, if it had appeared at once in all its
hideousness, it would have alarmed the consciences of men, and
defeated the very object in view. That object was to bind all man
kind in blind and absolute submission to a hierarchy entirely
dependent on the sovereigns of Babylon. In the carrying out of this
scheme, all knowledge, sacred and profane, came to be monopolised
by the priesthood, % who dealt it out to those who were initiated in
the " Mysteries " exactly as they saw fit, according as the interests
of the grand system of spiritual despotism they had to administer
might seem to require. Thus the people, wherever the Babylonian
system spread, were bound neck and heel to the priests. The priests
were the only depositaries of religious knowledge ; they only had the
true tradition, by which the writs and symbols of the public religion
could be interpreted ; and without blind and implicit submission to
them, what was necessary for salvation could not be known. Now
compare this with the early history of the Papacy, and with its
spirit and modus operandi throughout, and how exact was the
coincidence ! Was it in a period of patriarchal light that the
corrupt system of the Babylonian " Mysteries " began ? It was in a
period of still greater light that that unholy and unscriptural system
commenced, that has found such rank development in the Church of
Rome. It began in the very age of the apostles, when the primitive
Church was in its flower, when the glorious fruits of Pentecost were
everywhere to be seen, when martyrs were sealing their testimony
for the truth with their blood. Even then, when the Gospel shone
so brightly, the Spirit of God bore this clear and distinct testimony
by Paul : " THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY DOTH ALREADY WORK "
* That which I have rendered "and" is in the authorised version "or," but
there is no reason for such a rendering, for the word in the original is the very
same as that which connects the previous clause, "and my heart," &c.
•f* It will be seen by-and-by what cogent reason there was, in point of fact, for
the profoundest secrecy in the matter. — See Chapter II.
£ EuBiBE SALVEBTE, DCS Sciences Occultes, passim.
8 DISTINCTIVE CHAEACTER OF
(2 Thess. ii. 7). That system of iniquity which then began it was
divinely foretold was to issue in a portentous apostacy, that in due
time would be awfully "revealed," and would continue until it
should be destroyed "by the breath of the Lord's mouth, and
consumed by the brightness of His coming " (Ibid. v. 8). But at its
first introduction into the Church, it came in secretly and by stealth,
with "all DECEIVABLENESS of unrighteousness." It wrought
"mysteriously" under fair but false pretences, leading men away
from the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus. And it did so
secretly, for the very same reason that idolatry was secretly
introduced in the ancient Mysteries of Babylon ; it was not safe, it
was not prudent to do otherwise. The zeal of the true Church,
though destitute of civil power, would have aroused itself, to put the
false system and all its abettors beyond the pale of Christianity, if it
had appeared openly and all at once in all its grossness ; and this
would have arrested its progress. Therefore it was brought in
secretly, and by little and little, one corruption being introduced after
another, as apostacy proceeded, and the backsliding Church became
prepared to tolerate it, till it has reached the gigantic height we now
see, when in almost every particular the system of the Papacy is the
very antipodes of the system of the primitive Church. Of the
gradual introduction of all that is now most characteristic of Rome,
through the working of the " Mystery of iniquity ," we have very
striking evidence, preserved even by Rome itself, in the inscriptions
copied from the Roman catacombs. These catacombs are extensive
excavations underground in the neighbourhood of Rome, in which
the Christians, in times of persecution during the first three
centuries, celebrated their worship, and also buried their dead. On
some of the tombstones there are inscriptions still to be found, which
are directly in the teeth of the now well-known principles and
practices of Rome. Take only one example : What, for instance, at
this day is a more distinguishing mark of the Papacy than the
enforced celibacy of the clergy 1 Yet from these inscriptions we
have most decisive evidence, that even in Rome, there was a time
when no such system of clerical celibacy was known. Witness the
following, found on different tombs : —
1. "To Basilius, the presbyter, and Felicitas, his wife. They
made this for themselves."
2. " Petronia, a priest's wife, the type of modesty. In this place
I lay my bones. Spare your tears, dear husband and daughter, and
believe that it is forbidden to weep for one who lives in God."* A
prayer here and there for the dead : " May God refresh thy spirit,"
proves that even then the Mystery of iniquity had begun to work ;
but inscriptions such as the above equally show that it had been
slowly and cautiously working, — that up to the period to which they
refer, the Roman Church had not proceeded the length it has done
now, of absolutely " forbidding its priests to ' marry.' " Craftily
and gradually did Rome lay the foundation of its system of priest.
* Dr. MAITLAND'S Church in the Catacombs, pp. 191, 192.
THE TWO SYSTEMS. 9
craft, on which it was afterwards to rear so vast a superstructure.
At its commencement, " Mystery " was stamped upon its system.
But this feature of " Mystery " has adhered to it throughout its
whole course. "When it had once succeeded in dimming the light of
the Gospel, obscuring the fulness and freeness of the grace of God,
and drawing away the souls of men from direct and immediate
dealings with the One Grand Prophet and High Priest of our
profession, a mysterious power was attributed to the clergy, which
gave them "dominion over the faith" of the people — a dominion
directly disclaimed by apostolic men (2 Cor. i. 24), but which, in
connection with the confessional, has become at least as absolute and
complete as was ever possessed by Babylonian priest over those
initiated in the ancient Mysteries. The clerical power of the Roman
priesthood culminated in the erection of the confessional. That
confessional was itself borrowed from Babylon. The confession
required of the votaries of Rome is entirely different from the con
fession prescribed in the Word of God. The dictate of Scripture in
regard to confession is, " Confess your faults one to another " (James
v. 16), which implies that the priest should confess to the people, as
well as the people to the priest, if either should sin against the other.
This could never have served any purpose of spiritual despotism ;
and therefore, Rome, leaving the Word of God, has had recourse to
the Babylonian system. In that system, secret confession to the
priest, according to a prescribed form, was required of all who
were admitted to the " Mysteries ; " and till such confession had been
made, no complete initiation could take place. Thus does Salvert6
refer to this confession as observed in Greece, in rites that can be
clearly traced to a Babylonian origin:* — "All the Greeks, from
Delphi to Thermopylae, were initiated in the Mysteries of the temple
of Delphi. Their silence in regard to everything they were com
manded to keep secret was secured both by the fear of the penalties
threatened to a perjured revelation, and by the general CONFESSION
exacted of the aspirants after initiation — a confession which caused
them greater dread of the indiscretion of the priest, than gave him
reason to dread their indiscretion."! This confession is also referred
to by Potter, in his " Greek Antiquities," though it has been gener
ally overlooked. In his account of the Eleusinian mysteries, after
describing the preliminary ceremonies and instructions before the
admission of the candidates for initiation into the immediate presence
of the divinities, he thus proceeds : — " Then the priest that initiated
them called ' Isgofpavrqe [the Hierophant], proposed certain QUESTIONS,
as, whether they were fasting, &c., to which they returned answers in
a set form." J The etcetera here might not strike a casual reader;
but it is a pregnant etcetera, and contains a great deal. It means,
Are you free from every violation of chastity ? and that not merely
* For Babylonian origin of these Mysteries, see next chapter, first two
sections.
t EusfeBE SALVEKTE, Des Sciences Occultes, chap. xxvi. p. 428.
£ POTTER, vol. i. Eleusinia, p. 356.
10 DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF
in the sense of moral impurity, but in that factitious sense of chas
tity which Paganism always cherishes.* Are you free from the guilt
of murder ? — for no one guilty of slaughter, even accidentally, could be
admitted till he was purged from blood, and there were certain
priests, called Koes, who "heard confessions" in such cases, and
purged the guilt away.f The strictness of the inquiries in the Pagan
confessional is evidently implied in certain licentious poems of
Propertius, Tibullus, and Juvenal. J Wilkinson, in his chapter on
"Private Fasts and Penance," which, he says, "were strictly
enforced," in connection with " certain regulations at fixed periods,"§
has several classical quotations, which clearly prove whence Popery
derived the kind of questions which have stamped that character of
obscenity on its confessional, as exhibited in the notorious pages of
Peter Dens. The pretence under which this auricular confession
was required, was, that the solemnities to which the initiated were to
be admitted were so high, so heavenly, so holy, that no man with
guilt lying on his conscience, and sin unpurged, could lawfully be
admitted to them. For the safety, therefore, of those who were to
be initiated, it was held to be indispensable that the officiating priest
should thoroughly probe their consciences, lest coming without due
purgation from previous guilt contracted, the wrath of the gods
should be provoked against the profane intruders. This was the
pretence ; but when we know the essentially unholy nature, both of
the gods and their worship, who can fail to see that this was nothing
more than a pretence ; that the grand object in requiring the candi
dates for initiation to make confession to the priest of all their
secret faults and shortcomings and sins, was just to put them
entirely in the power of those to whom the inmost feelings of their
souls and their most important secrets were confided 1 Now,
exactly in the same way, and for the very same purposes, has Koine
erected the confessional. Instead of requiring priests and people
alike, as the Scripture does, to "confess their faults one to another,"
when either have offended the other, it commands all, on pain of
perdition, to confess to the priest, || whether they have transgressed
against him or no, while the priest is under no obligation to confess
to the people at all. Without such confession, in the Church of
Rome, there can be no admission to the Sacraments, any more than
in the days of Paganism there could be admission without con
fession to the benefit of the Mysteries. Now, this confession is made
* For the arbitrary prohibitions, in consequence of which guilt might be con
tracted, see POTTER, vol. i. p. 356, a few sentences before the last quotation.
t DOPUIB, De tons les Cultes, vol. iv. Part I. p. 312. Paris. L'an III. de la
Republique.
£ See particularly JUVENAL, Satires, vi. 535, p. 129.
§ WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. v. pp. 335, 336.
|| Bishop HAT'S Sincere Christian, vol. ii. p. 68. In this work, the following
question and answer occur : — " Q. Is this confession of our sins necessary for
obtaining absolution ? A. It is ordained by Jesus Christ as absolutely necessary
for this purpose." See also Poor Man's Manual, a work in use in Ireland, pp. 109,
110.
THE TWO SYSTEMS. 11
by every individual, in SECRECY AND IN SOLITUDE, to the priest sitting
in the name and clothed with the authority of God,* invested with
the power to examine the conscience, to judge the life, to absolve or
condemn according to his mere arbitrary will and pleasure. This is
the grand pivot on which the whole "Mystery of iniquity," as
embodied in the Papacy, is made to turn ; and wherever it is sub
mitted to, admirably does it serve the design of binding men in
abject subjection to the priesthood.
In conformity with the principle out of which the confessional
grew, the Church, that is, the clergy, claimed to be the sole deposi
taries of the true faith of Christianity. As the Chaldean priests
were believed alone to possess the key to the understanding of the
Mythology of Babylon, a key handed down to them from primeval
antiquity, so the priests of Rome set up to be the sole interpreters of
Scripture ; they only had the true tradition, transmitted from age to
age, without which it was impossible to arrive at its true meaning.
They, therefore, require implicit faith in their dogmas ; all men were
bound to believe as the Church believed, while the Church in this
way could shape its faith as it pleased. As possessing supreme
authority, also, over the faith, they could let out little or much, as
they judged most expedient ; and " RESERVE " in teaching the great
truths of religion was as essential a principle in the system of
Babylon, as it is in Romanism or Tractarianism at this day.f It
was this priestly claim to dominion over the faith of men, that
" imprisoned the truth in unrighteousness " J in the ancient world, so
that " darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people."
It was the very same claim, in the hands of the Roman priests, that
ushered in the dark ages, when, through many a dreary century, the
Gospel was unknown, and the Bible a sealed book to millions who
bore the name of Christ. In every respect, then, we see how justly
Rome bears on its forehead the name, " Mystery, Babylon the Great."
* Light of Prophecy, Appendix, Note C.
t Even among the initiated there was a difference. Some were admitted only
to the " Lesser Mysteries ; " the " Greater " were for a favoured few. — WILKINSON'S
Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. pp. 266, 267.
£ Romans i. 18. The best interpreters render the passage as given above. It
will be observed Paul is expressly speaking of the heathen.
CHAPTER II.
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
SECTION I. TRINITY IN UNITY.
IF there be this general coincidence between the systems of Babylon
and Home, the question arises, Does the coincidence stop here 1 To
this the answer is, Far otherwise. We have only to bring the
ancient Babylonian Mysteries to bear on the whole system of Rome,
and then it will be seen how immensely the one has borrowed from
the other. These Mysteries were long shrouded in darkness, but
now the thick darkness begins to pass away. All who have paid the
least attention to the literature of Greece, Egypt, Phenicia, or Rome
are aware of the place which the " Mysteries " occupied in these
countries, and that, whatever circumstantial diversities there might
be, in all essential respects these " Mysteries " in the different
countries were the same. Now, as the language of Jeremiah,
already quoted, would indicate that Babylon was the primal source
from which all these systems of idolatry flowed, so the deductions
of the most learned historians, on mere historical grounds, have led
to the same conclusion.* From Zonarast we find that the con
current testimony of the ancient authors he had consulted was to
this effect; for, speaking of arithmetic and astronomy, he says: "It
is said that these came from the Chaldees to the Egyptians, and thence
to the Greeks." If the Egyptians and Greeks derived their arithmetic
and astronomy from Chaldea, seeing these in Chaldea were sacred
sciences, and monopolised by the priests, that is sufficient evidence
that they must have derived their religion from the same quarter.
Both Bunsen and Layard in their researches have come to substanti
ally the same result. The statement of Bunsen is to the effect that the
religious system of Egypt was derived from Asia, and "the primitive
empire in Babel." J Layard, again, though taking a somewhat more
favourable view of the system of the Chaldean MAGI, than, I am
persuaded, the facts of history warrant, nevertheless thus speaks of
that system : — " Of the great antiquity of this primitive worship
there is abundant evidence, and that it originated among the inhabit
ants of the Assyrian plains, we have the united testimony of sacred
and profane history. It obtained the epithet of perfect, and was
* See HERODOTUS, lib. ii. cap. 109, and DIOGENES LAERTIUS, Proem, p. 2.
f Lib. i. 6, p. 34.
+ BUNSEN'S Egypt, vol. i. p. 444.
12
TKINITY IN UNITY. 13
believed to be the most ancient of religious systems, having preceded
that of the Egyptians (Egyptiis vero antiquiores esse MAGOS
Aristoteles auctor est in primo de Philosophia libro. — Theopompi
Frag.)."* "The identity," he adds, "of many of the Assyrian
doctrines with those of Egypt is alluded to by Porphyry and
Clemens;" and, in connection with the same subject, he quotes
the following from Birch on Babylonian cylinders and monuments :
— "The zodiacal signs .... show unequivocally that the Greeks
derived their notions and arrangements of the zodiac [and con
sequently their Mythology, that was intertwined with it] from the
Chaldees. The identity of Nirnrod with the constellation Orion is
not to be rejected."! Ouvaroff, also, in his learned work on the
Eleusinian mysteries, has come to the same conclusion. After
referring to the fact that the Egyptian priests claimed the honour
of having transmitted to the Greeks the first elements of Polytheism,
he thus concludes: — "These positive facts would sufficiently prove,
even without the conformity of ideas, that the Mysteries trans
planted into Greece, and there united with a certain number of local
notions, never lost the character of their origin derived from the
cradle of the moral and religious ideas of the universe. All these
separate facts — all these scattered testimonies, recur to that fruitful
principle which places in the East the centre of science and civilisa
tion."! ^ thus we have evidence that Egypt and Greece derived
their religion from Babylon, we have equal evidence that the
religious system of the Phenicians came from the same source.
Macrobius shows that the distinguishing feature of the Phenician
idolatry must have been imported from Assyria, which, in classic
writers, included Babylonia. " The worship of the Architic Venus,"
says he, " formerly flourished as much among the Assyrians as it
does now among the Phenicians." §
Now to establish the identity between the systems of ancient
Babylon and Papal Rome, we have just to inquire in how far does
the system of the Papacy agree with the system established in these
Babylonian Mysteries. In prosecuting such an inquiry there are
considerable difficulties to be overcome ; for, as in geology, it is
impossible at all points to reach the deep, underlying strata of the
earth's surface, so it is not to be expected that in any one country
we should find a complete and connected account of the system
established in that country. But yet, even as the geologist, by
examining the contents of a fissure here, an upheaval there, and
what " crops out " of itself on the surface elsewhere, is enabled to
determine, with wonderful certainty, the order and general contents
of the different strata over all the earth, so is it with the subject of
the Chaldean Mysteries. What is wanted in one country is sup
plemented in another; and what actually "crops out "in different
* LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 440.
t Ibid. pp. 439, 440.
+ OUVAROFP'S Eleusinian Mysteries, sect. ii. p. 20.
§ Saturnalia, lib. i. cap. 21, p. 79.
14 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
directions, to a large extent necessarily determines the character of
much that does not directly appear on the surface. Taking, then,
the admitted unity and Babylonian character of the ancient Mysteries
of Egypt, Greece, Phenicia, and Rome, as the clue to guide us in our
researches, let us go on from step to step in our comparison of the
doctrine and practice of the two Babylons — the Babylon of the Old
Testament and the Babylon of the New.
And here I have to notice, first, the identity of the objects of worship
in Babylon and Rome. The ancient Babylonians, just as the modern
Romans, recognised in words the unity of the Godhead ; and, while
worshipping innumerable minor deities, as possessed of certain
influence on human affairs, they distinctly acknowledged that there
was ONE infinite and Almighty Creator, supreme over all.* Most
other nations did the same. " In the early ages of mankind," says
Wilkinson in his " Ancient Egyptians," "the existence of a sole and
omnipotent Deity, who created all things, seems to have been the
universal belief ; and tradition taught men the same notions on this
subject, which, in later times, have been adopted by all civilised
nations."! "The Gothic religion," says Mallet, "taught the being
of a supreme God, Master of the Universe, to whom all things were
submissive and obedient." — (Tacit, de Morib. Germ.) The ancient
Icelandic mythology calls him "the Author of every thing that
existeth, the eternal, the living, and awful Being ; the searcher into
concealed things, the Being that never changeth." It attributeth to
this deity "an infinite power, a boundless knowledge, and incor
ruptible justice."| We have evidence of the same having been the
faith of ancient Hindostan. Though modern Hinduism recognises
millions of gods, yet the Indian sacred books show that originally it
had been far otherwise. Major Moor, speaking of Brahm, the
supreme God of the Hindoos, says : " Of Him whose Glory is so
great, there is no image " (Veda). He " illumines all, delights all,
whence all proceeded ; that by which they live when born, and that
to which all must return " (Yeda).§ In the " Institutes of Menu,"
he is characterised as " He whom the mind alone can perceive ;
whose essence eludes the external organs, who has no visible parts,
who exists from eternity .... the soul of all beings, whom no
being can comprehend." || In these passages, there is a trace of'
the existence of Pantheism ; but the very language employed bears
testimony to the existence among the Hindoos at one period of a far
purer faith.
Nay, not merely had the ancient Hindoos exalted ideas of the
natural perfections of God, but there is evidence that they were well
aware of the gracious character of God, as revealed in His dealings
with a lost and guilty world. This is manifest from the very name
* JAMBLICHUS, sect. viii. chap. ii. MACBOBIUS, Saturnalia, p. 65.
t WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 176.
$ MALLET'S Northern Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 78, 79.
§ MOOR'S Pantheon, p. 4.
|| Col. VANS KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, p. 270.
TRINITY IN UNITY. 15
Bralim, appropriated by them to the one infinite and eternal God.
There has been a great deal of unsatisfactory speculation in regard
to the meaning of this name, but when the different statements in
regard to Brahm are carefully considered, it becomes evident that
the name Brahm is just the Hebrew Rahm, with the digamma pre
fixed, which is very frequent in Sanscrit words derived from Hebrew
or Chaldee. Rahm in Hebrew signifies "The merciful or compas
sionate one."* But Rahm also signifies the WOMBJ or the bowels / J
as the seat of compassion. Now we find such language applied to
Brahm, the one supreme God, as cannot be accounted for, except on
the supposition that Brahm had the very same meaning as the
Hebrew Rahm. Thus, we find the God Crishna, in one of the
Hindoo sacred books, when asserting his high dignity as a divinity
and his identity with the Supreme, using the following words : " The
great Brahm is my WOMB, and in it I place my foetus, and from it is
the procreation of all nature. The great Brahm is the WOMB of all
the various forms which are conceived in every natural womb." §
How could such language ever have been applied to " The supreme
Brahm, the most holy, the most high God, the Divine being, before all
other gods ; without birth, the mighty Lord, God of gods, the uni
versal Lord," || but from the connection between Rahm "the womb"
and Rahm "the merciful one"1? Here, then, we find that Brahm is
just the same as "Er-Rahman," "The all-merciful one," — a title
applied by the Turks to the Most High, and that the Hindoos, not
withstanding their deep religious degradation now, had once known
that " the most holy, most high God," is also " The God of Mercy," in
other words, that he is " a just God and a Saviour." 1T And proceeding
on this interpretation of the name Brahm, we see how exactly their
religious knowledge as to the creation had coincided with the account
of the origin of all things, as given in Genesis. It is well known
that the Brahmins, to exalt themselves as a priestly, half-divine
caste, to whom all others ought to bow down, have for many ages
taught that, while the other castes came from the arms, and body
and feet of Brahma — the visible representative and manifestation of
the invisible Brahm, and identified with him — they alone came
from the mouth of the creative God. Now we find statements in
their sacred books which prove that once a very different doctrine
must have been taught. Thus, in one of the Vedas, speaking of
Brahma, it is expressly stated that " ALL beings " " are created from
his MOUTH." ** In the passage in question an attempt is made to
mystify the matter; but, taken in connection with the meaning of
the name Brahm, as already given, who can doubt what was the
* See PABKHURST'S Hebrew Lexicon, sub vocc, No. V.
t Ibid. No. II.
$ Ibid. No. IV.
§ Moon's Pantheon, "Crishna," p. 211.
|| GITA, p. 86, apud MOOR.
IT For further evidence as to Hindu knowledge on this subject, see near the end
of next section.
** Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 294. London, 1807.
16 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
real meaning of the statement, opposed though it be to the lofty and
exclusive pretensions of the Brahmins 1 It evidently meant that He
who, ever since the fall, has been revealed to man as the " Merciful*
and Gracious One " (Exod. xxxiv. 6), was known at the same time
as the Almighty One, who in the beginning "spake and it was
done," " commanded and all things stood fast," who made all things
by the " Word of His power." After what has now been said, any one
who consults the "Asiatic Researches," vol. vii. p. 293, may see
that it is in a great measure from a wicked perversion of this Divine
title of the One Living and True God, a title that ought to have been
so dear to sinful men, that all those moral abominations have come
that make the symbols of the pagan temples of India so offensive to
the eye of purity. f
So utterly idolatrous was the Babylonian recognition of the Divine
unity, that Jehovah, the Living God, severely condemned His own
people for giving any countenance to it : " They that sanctify them
selves, and purify themselves in the gardens, after the rites of the
ONLY ONE,J eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the
mouse, shall be consumed together" (Isaiah Ixvi. 17). In the unity
of that one Only God of the Babylonians, there were three persons,
and to symbolise that doctrine of the Trinity, they employed, as the
discoveries of Layard prove, the equilateral triangle, just as it is
well known the Romish Church does at this day.§ In both cases
* The word in the original of Exodus is the very same as rahm, only in a
participial form.
f While such is the meaning of Brahin, the meaning of Deva, the generic name
for " God " in India, is near akin to it. That name is commonly derived from the
Sanscrit, Div, " to shine," — only a different form of Shiv, which has the same
meaning, which again comes from the Chaldee, Ziv, "brightness or splendour"
(Dan. ii. 31) ; and, no doubt, when sun-worship was engrafted on the Patriarchal
faith, the visible splendour of the deified luminary might be suggested by the name.
But there is reason to believe that "Deva" has a much more honourable origin,
and that it really came originally from the Chaldee, Thav, "good," which is also
legitimately pronounced Thev, and in the emphatic form is Theva or Thevo, " The
Good." The first letter, represented by Th, as shown by Donaldson in his New
Cratylvs, is frequently pronounced Dh. Hence, from Dheva or Theva, "The
Good," naturally comes the Sanscrit, Deva, or, without the digamma, as it
frequently is, Deo, "God," the Latin, Dens, and the Greek, Theos, the digamma
in the original Thevo-s being also dropped, as novus in Latin is neos in Greek.
This view of the matter gives an emphasis to the saying of our Lord (Matt,
xix. 17) : " There is none good but One, that is (Theos) God " — "The Good."
I The words in our translation are, "behind one tree," but there is no word in
the original for "tree" ; and it is admitted by Lowth, and the best orientalists,
that the rendering should be, "after the rites of Achad," i.e., "The Only One.
I am aware that some object to making " Achad " signify, " The Only One," on
the ground that it wants the article. But how little weight is in this, may be
seen from the fact that it is this very term " Achad," and that without the article,
that is used in Deuteronomy, when the Unity of the Godhead is asserted in the
most emphatic manner, " Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah," i.e.,
II only Jehovah." When it is intended to assert the Unity of the Godhead in the
strongest possible manner, the Babylonians used the term "Adad." — Macrobii
Saturnalia, lib. i. cap. 23, p. 73.
§ LAYARD'S Babylon and Nineveh, p. 605. The Egyptians also used the triangle
as a symbol of their "triform divinity." See MAURICE'S Indian Antiquities,
vol. iv. p. 445. London, 1794.
TRINITY IN UNITY.
17
such a comparison is most degrading to the King Eternal, and is
fitted utterly to pervert the minds of those who contemplate it, as if
there was or could be any similitude between such a figure and Him
who hath said, " To whom will ye liken God, and what likeness will
ye compare unto Him ? "
The Papacy has in some of its churches, as, for instance, in the
monastery of the so-called Trinitarians of Madrid, an image of the
Triune God, with three heads on one body.* The Babylonians had
something of the same. Mr. Layard, in his last work, has given a
specimen of such a triune divinity, worshipped in ancient Assyria f
(Fig. 3). The accompanying cut (Fig. 4) of such another divinity,
worshipped among the Pagans of Siberia, is taken from a medal in
the Imperial Cabinet of St. Petersburg, and given in Parson's
"Japhet."J The three heads are differently arranged in Layard's
specimen, but both alike are evidently intended to symbolise the
same great truth, although all such representations of the Trinity
Fig. 4.
necessarily and utterly debase the conceptions of those, among whom
such images prevail, in regard to that sublime mystery of our faith.
In India, the supreme divinity, in like manner, in one of the most
* PABKHURST'S Hebrew Lexicon, sub voce, " Cherubim." From the following
extract from the Dublin Catholic Layman, a very able Protestant paper, describing
a Popish picture of the Trinity, recently published in that city, it will be seen that
something akin to this mode of representing the Godhead is appearing nearer
home : — " At the top of the picture is a representation of the Holy Trinity. We
beg to speak of it with due reverence. God the Father and God the Son are
represented as a MAN with two heads, one body, and two arms. One of the heads
is like the ordinary pictures of our Saviour. The other is the head of an old man,
surmounted by a triangle. Out of the middle of this figure is proceeding the Holy
Ghost in the form of a dove. We think it must be painful to any Christian
mind, and repugnaot to Christian feeling, to look at this figure." — Catholic
Layman, 17th July, 1856.
t Babylon and Nineveh, p. 160. Some have said that the plural form of the
name of God, in the Hebrew of Genesis, affords no argument for the doctrine of
plurality of persons in the Godhead, because the same word in the plural is applied
to heathen divinities. But if the supreme divinity in almost all ancient heathen
nations was triune, the futility of this objection must be manifest.
$ Japhet, p. 184.
0
18 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
ancient cave-temples, is represented with three heads on one body,
under the name of "Eko Deva Trirnurtti," "One God, three
forms."* In Japan, the Buddhists worship their great divinity,
Buddha, with three heads, in the very same form, under the name of
" San Pao Fuh."f All these have existed from ancient times. While
overlaid with idolatry, the recognition of a Trinity was universal in
all the ancient nations of the world, proving how deep-rooted in
the human race was the primeval doctrine on this subject, which
comes out so distinctly in Genesis. J When we look at the symbols
in the triune figure of Layard, already referred to, and minutely
examine them, they are very instructive. Layard regards the
circle in that figure as signifying " Time without bounds." But the
hieroglyphic meaning of the circle is evidently different. A circle in
Chaldea was zero;§ and zero also signified "the seed." Therefore,
according to the genius of the mystic system of Chaldea, which was
to a large extent founded on double meanings, that which, to the
eyes of men in general, was only zero, " a circle," was understood by
the initiated to signify zero, "the seed." Now, viewed in this light,
the triune emblem of the supreme Assyrian divinity shows clearly
what had been the original patriarchal faith. First, there is the
head of the old man ; next, there is the zero, or circle, for " the
seed;" and lastly, the wings and tail of the bird or dove ;|| show
ing, though blasphemously, the unity of Father, Seed, or Son, and
* Col. KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, p. 211. Col. Kennedy objects to the
application of the name "Eko Deva" to the triform image in the cave-temple at
Elephanta, on the ground that that name belongs only to the supreme Brahm.
But in so doing he is entirely inconsistent, for he admits that Brahma, the first
person in that triform image, is identified with the supreme Brahm ; and further,
that a curse is pronounced upon all who distinguish between Brahmk, Vishnu,
and Seva, the three divinities represented by that image.
f GILLESPIE'S Sinim, p. 60.
+ The threefold invocation of the sacred name in the blessing of Jacob bestowed
on the sons of Joseph is very striking : " And he blessed Joseph, and said, God,
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all
my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the
lads" (Gen. xlviii. 15, 16). If the angel here referred to had not been God,
Jacob could never have invoked him as on an equality with God. In Hosea
xii. 3-5, "The Angel who redeemed" Jacob is expressly called God: "He
(Jacob) had power with God : yea, he had power over the Angel, and prevailed ;
he wept and made supplication unto him : he found him in Bethel, and there he
spake with us ; even the Lord God of Hosts ; The Lord is his memorial."
§ In our own language we have evidence that Zero had signified a circle among
the Chaldeans ; for what is Zero, the name of the cypher, but just a circle ? And
whence can we have derived this term but from the Arabians, as they, without doubt,
had themselves derived it from the Chaldees, the grand original cultivators at once
of arithmetic, geometry, and idolatry ? Zero, in this sense, had evidently come from
the Chaldee, zer, "to encompass," from which, also, no doubt, was derived the
Babylonian name for a great cycle of time, called a " saros." — (BuNSEN, vol. i. pp.
711, 712.) As he, who by the Chaldeans was regarded as the great "Seed," was
looked upon as the sun incarnate (see chap. iii. sect, i.), and as the emblem of the
sun was a circle (BuNSEN, vol. i. p. 335, and p. 537, No. 4), the hieroglyphical
relation between zero, "the circle," and zero, "the seed," was easily established.
|| From the statement in Gen. i. 2, that "the Spirit of God fluttered on the face
of the deep " (for that is the expression in the original), it is evident that the dove
had very early been a Divine emblem for the Holy Spirit.
THE MOTHER AND CHILD.
19
Holy Ghost. While this had been the original way in which Pagan
idolatry had represented the Triune God, and though this kind of
representation had survived to Sennacherib's time, yet there is
evidence that, at a very early period, an important change had taken
place in the Babylonian notions in regard to the divinity ; and that
the three persons had come to be, the Eternal Father, the Spirit of
God incarnate in a human mother, and a Divine Son, the fruit of that
incarnation.
SECTION II. — THE MOTHER AND CHILD, AND THE ORIGINAL
OF THE CHILD.
While this was the theory, the first person in the Godhead was
practically overlooked. As the Great Invisible, taking no immediate
Fig. 6.
Fig. 5.
From Babylon.*
From India.f
concern in human affairs, he was " to be worshipped through silence
alone,"| that is, in point of fact, he was not worshipped by the
multitude at all. The same thing is strikingly illustrated in India
at this day. Though Brahma, according to the sacred books, is
* From KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. p. 31.
+ Indrani, the wife of the Indian god Indra, from Asiatic Researches, vol. vi.
p. 393.
£ JAMBLICHUS, On the Mysteries, sect. viii. chap. iii.
20 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
the first person of the Hindoo Triad, and the religion of Hindostan
is called by his name, yet he is never worshipped, and there is
scarcely a single Temple in all India now in existence of those that
were formerly erected to his honour.* So also is it in those countries
of Europe where the Papal system is most completely developed.
In Papal Italy, as travellers universally admit (except where the
Gospel has recently entered), all appearance of worshipping the
King Eternal and Invisible is almost extinct, while the Mother and
the Child are the grand objects of worship. Exactly so, in this
latter respect, also was it in ancient Babylon. The Babylonians,
in their popular religion, supremely worshipped a Goddess Mother
and a Son, who was represented in pictures and in images as an
infant or child in his mother's arms (Figs. 5 and 6). From Babylon,
this worship of the Mother and the Child spread to the ends of the
earth. In Egypt, the Mother and the Child were worshipped under
the names of Isis and Osiris, f In India, even to this day, as Isi
and Iswara ; J in Asia, as Cybele and Deoius ; § in Pagan Konie, as
Fortuna and Jupiter-puer, or Jupiter, the boy ; || in Greece, as Ceres,
the Great Mother, with the babe at her breast,1!! or as Irene, the
goddess of Peace, with the boy Plutus in her arms ; ** and even in
Thibet, in China, and Japan, the Jesuit missionaries were astonished
to find the counterpart of Madonnaff and her child as devoutly
* WARD'S View of the Hindus, apud KENNEDY'S Researches into Ancient and
Modem Mythology, p. 196.
t Osiris, as the child called most frequently Horns. Bunsen, vol. i. p. 438,
compared with pp. 433, 434.
^ KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, p. 49. Though Iswara is the husband of Isi,
he is also represented as an infant at her breast. Ibid. p. 338, Note.
§ DYMOCK'S Classical Dictionary, "Cybele" and "Deoiua."
|| CICERO'S Works, De Divinatione, lib. ii. cap. 41, vol. iii. p. 77.
IT SOPHOCLES, Antigone, v. 1133.
** PAUSANIAS, lib. i. ATTIOA, cap. 8.
•H- The very name by which the Italians commonly designate the Virgin,
is just the translation of one of the titles of the Babylonian goddess. As Baal
or Belus was the name of the great male divinity of Babylon, so the female
divinity was called Beltis. — (HESYCHius, Lexicon, p. 188.) This name has been
found in Nineveh applied to the " Mother of the gods " — (VAUX'S Nineveh and
Persepolis, p. 459) ; and in a speech attributed to Nebuchadnezzar, preserved
in EUSEBII Prceparatio Evangelii, lib. ix. cap. 41, both titles "Belus and Beltis "
are conjoined as the titles of the great Babylonian god and goddess. The Greek
Belus, as representing the highest title of the Babylonian god, was undoubtedly
Baal, "The Lord." Beltis, therefore, as the title of the female divinity, was
equivalent to " Baalti," which, in English, is "My Lady," in Latin, "Mea
Domina," and, in Italian, is corrupted into the well-known "Madonna." In
connection with this, it may be observed, that the name of Juno, the classical
" Queen of Heaven," which, in Greek, was Hera, also signified " The Lady ; "
and that the peculiar title of Cybele or Rhea at Rome, was Domina or " The
Lady." — (OviD, Fasti, lib. iv. v. 340.) Further, there is strong reason to believe,
that Athena, the well-known name of Minerva at Athens, had the very same
meaning. The Hebrew Adon, "The Lord," is, with the points, pronounced
Athon. We have evidence that this name was known to the Asiatic Greeks,
from whom idolatry, in a large measure, came into European Greece, as a name
of God under the form of "A than." Eustathius, in a note on the Periergesis
of Dionysius (v. 915, apud BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 140), speaking of local names in
the district of Laodicea, says that " Athan is god." The feminine of Athan, " The
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA. 21
worshipped as in Papal Rome itself ; Shing Moo, the Holy Mother
in China, being represented with a child in her arms, and a glory
around her, exactly as if a Roman Catholic artist had been employed
to set her up.*
SUB-SECTION J. THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA.
The original of that mother, so widely worshipped, there is reason
to believe, was Semiramis,f already referred to, who, it is well
known, was worshipped by the Babylonians, J and other eastern
nations,§ and that under the name of Rhea,|| the great Goddess
" Mother."
It was from the son, however, that she derived all her glory and
her claims to deification. That son, though represented as a child
in his mother's arms, was a person of great stature and immense
bodily powers, as well as most fascinating manners. In Scripture
he is referred to (Ezek. viii. 14) under the name of Tammuz, but he
is commonly known among classical writers under the name of
Bacchus, that is, " The Lamented one."U To the ordinary reader
Lord," is Athana, "The Lady," which in the Attic dialect, is Athena. No
doubt, Minerva is commonly represented as a virgin ; but, for all that, we learn
from Strabo (Lib.'x. cap. 3, p. 405. Paris, 1853), that at Hierapytna in Crete (the
coins of which city, says Miiller, Dorians, vol. i. p. 413, have the Athenian
symbols of Minerva upon them), she was said to be the mother of the Corjbantes
by Helius, or "The Sun." It is certain that the Egyptian Minerva, who was the
prototype of the Athenian goddess, was a mother, and was styled " Goddess
Mother," or "Mother of the Gods." — See WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 285.
* CRABB'S Mythology, p. 150. Gutzlaff thought that Shing Moo must have
been borrowed from a Popish source ; and there can be no doubt, that in the
individual case to which he refers, the Pagan and the Christian stories had been
amalgamated. But Sir J. F. Davis shows that the Chinese of Canton find such
an analogy between their own Pagan goddess Kuanyin and the Popish Madonna,
that, in conversing with Europeans, they frequently call either of them indifferently
by the same title. — DAVIS'S China, vol. ii. p. 56. The first Jesuit missionaries
to China also wrote home to Europe, that they found mention in the Chinese
sacred books — books unequivocally Pagan — of a mother and child, very similar
to their own Madonna and child at home. — See LE PERK LAFITAN, Les Mceurs des
Sauvages Ameriquains, vol. i. p. 235, Note.
One of the names of the Chinese Holy Mother is Ma Tsoopo ; in regard to
which, see Appendix, Note C.
f Sir H. Rawlinson having found evidence at Nineveh, of the existence of a
Semiramis about six or seven centuries before the Christian era, seems inclined
to regard her as the only Semiramis that ever existed. But this is subversive
of all history. The fact that there was a Semiramis in the primeval ages of the
world, is beyond all doubt (see JUSTIN, Historia, p. 615, and the historian CASTOR
in Cory's Fragments, p. 65), although some of the exploits of the latter queen have
evidently been attributed to her predecessor. Mr. Layard dissents from Sir
H. Rawlinson's opinion.
+ See DIODORUS SICULUS, lib. ii. p. 76.
§ ATHENAGORAS, Legatio, pp. 178, 179.
|| PASCHAL, Chronicle, vol. i. p. 65.
11 From Bakhah "to weep" or "lament." Among the Phenicians, says
Hesychius, " Bacchos means weeping," p. ] 79. As the women wept for Tammuz,
so did they for Bacchus.
22 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
the name of Bacchus suggests nothing more than revelry and
drunkenness, but it is now well known, that amid all the abomina
tions that attended his orgies, their grand design was professedly
" the purification of souls,"* and that from the guilt and defilement of
sin. This lamented one, exhibited and adored as a little child in his
mother's arms, seems, in point of fact, to have been the husband of
Semiramis, whose name, Ninus, by which he is commonly known in
classical history, literally signified " The Son."f As Semiramis, the
wife, was worshipped as Rhea, whose grand distinguishing character
was that of the great goddess " Mother,"! the conjunction with her
of her husband, under the name of Ninus, or " The Son," was
sufficient to originate the peculiar worship of the " Mother and
Son," so extensively diffused among the nations of antiquity ; and
this, no doubt, is the explanation of the fact which has so much
puzzled the inquirers into ancient history, that Ninus is sometimes
called the husband, and sometimes the son of Semiramis.§ This
also accounts for the origin of the very same confusion of relationship
between Isis and Osiris, the mother and child of the Egyptians ; for
as Bunsen shows, Osiris was represented in Egypt as at once the son
and husband of his mother ; and actually bore, as one of his titles of
dignity and honour, the name " Husband of the Mother."|| This
* SEBVIUS, in Georg., lib. i. vol. ii. p. 197, and in ^Eneid, lib. vi. vol. i. p. 400.
f From Nin, in Hebrew, " A Son."
£ As such Rhea was called by the Greeks, Ammas ; see HESYCHIUS, sub voce
" Ammas." Ammas is evidently the Greek form of the Chaldee Ama, " Mother."
§ LATAKD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 480.
|| BUNSEN, vol. i. pp. 438, 439. It may be observed that this very name
" Husband of the Mother," given to Osiris, seems even at this day to be in
common use among ourselves, although there is not the least suspicion of the
meaning of the term, or whence it has come. Herodotus mentions that when in
Egypt, he was astonished to hear the very same mournful but ravishing "Song of
Linus," sung by the Egyptians (although under another name), which he had
been accustomed to hear in his own native land of Greece (HEROD., lib. ii. cap. 79).
Linus was the same god as the Bacchus of Greece, or Osiris of Egypt ; for Homer
introd\ices a boy singing the song of Linus, while the vintage is going on (Jlias,
lib. xviii. v. 569-571, pp. 725, 726), and the Scholiast says that this song was sung
in memory of Linus, who was torn in pieces by dogs. The epithet "dogs," applied
to those who tore Linus in pieces, is evidently used in a mystical sense, and it will
afterwards be seen how thoroughly the other name by which he is known —
Narcissus — identifies him with the Greek Bacchus and Egyptian Osiris. In
some places in Egypt, for the song of Linus or Osiris, a peculiar melody seems to
have been used. Savary says that, in the temple of Abydos, "the priest repeated
the seven vowels in the form of hymns, and that musicians were forbid to enter
it." — Letters, p. 566. Strabo, whom Savary refers to, calls the god of that temple
Memnon, but we learn from Wilkinson, vol. iv. pp. 344, 345, that Osiris was the
great god of Abydos, whence it is evident that Memnon and Osiris were only
different names of the same divinity. Now the name of Linus or Osiris, as the
"husband of his mother," in Egypt, was Kamut (BUNSEN, vol. i. pp. 373, 374).
When Gregory the Great introduced into the Church of Rome what are now
called the Gregorian Chants, he got them from the Chaldean mysteries, which
had long been established in Rome; for the Roman Catholic priest, Eustace,
admits that these chants were largely composed of " Lydian and Phrygian
tunes" (Classical Tour, vol. i. p. 379), Lydia and Phrygia being among the
chief seats in later times of those mysteries, of which the Egyptian mysteries
were only a, branch. These tunes were sacred— the music of the great god, and
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA. 23
still further casts light on the fact already noticed, that the Indian
God Iswara is represented as a babe at the breast of his own wife
Isi, or Parvati.
Now, this Ninus, or " Son," borne in the arms of the Babylonian
Madonna, is so described as very clearly to identify him with
Nimrod. " Ninus, king of the Assyrians,"* says Trogus Pompeius,
epitomised by Justin, " first of all changed the contented moderation
of the ancient manners, incited by a new passion, the desire of
conquest. He was the first who carried on ivar against his neighbours,
and he conquered all nations from Assyria to Lybia, as they were
yet unacquainted with the arts of war." f This account points
directly to Nimrod, and can apply to no other. The account of
Diodorus Siculus entirely agrees with it, and adds another trait
that goes still further to determine the identity. That account is as
follows : — " Ninus, the most ancient of the Assyrian kings men
tioned in history, performed great actions. Being naturally of a
warlike disposition, and ambitious of glory that results from valour,
he armed a considerable number of young men that were brave and
vigorous like himself, trained them up a long time in laborious
exercises and hardships, and by that means accustomed them to
bear the fatigues of war, and to face dangers with intrepidity." J
As Diodorus makes Ninus "the most ancient of the Assyrian
kings," and represents him as beginning those wars which raised
his power to an extraordinary height by bringing the people of
Babylonia under subjection to him, while as yet the city of Babylon
was not in existence, this shows that he occupied the very position
of Nimrod, of whom the Scriptural account is, that he first "began
to be mighty on the earth," and that the " beginning of his kingdom
was Babylon." As the Babel builders, when their speech was
confounded, were scattered abroad on the face of the earth, and
therefore deserted both the city and the tower which they had
commenced to build, Babylon as a city, could not properly be said
to exist till Nimrod, by establishing his power there, made it the
foundation and starting-point of his greatness. In this respect,
then, the story of Ninus and of Nimrod exactly harmonise. The
way, too, in which Ninus gained his power is the very way in which
Nimrod erected his. There can be no doubt that it was by inuring
his followers to the toils and dangers of the chase, that he gradually
formed them to the use of arms, and so prepared them for aiding him in
establishing his dominion ; just as Ninus, by training his companions
in introducing them Gregory introduced the music of Kamut. And thus, to all
appearance, has it come to pass, that the name of Osiris or Kamut, " the husband
of the mother," is in every-day use among ourselves as the name of the musical
scale ; for what is the melody of Osiris, consisting of the "seven vowels" formed
into a hymn, but — the Gamut ?
* The name " Assyrians," as has already been noticed, has a wide latitude of
meaning among the classic authors, taking in the Babylonians as well as the
Assyrians proper.
f JUSTIN'S Trogus Pompeius, Hist. Rom. Script., vol. ii. p. 615.
£ DIODORDS, Eibliotheca, lib. ii. p. 63. ,
24 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
for a long time " in laborious exercises and hardships," qualified them
for making him the first of the Assyrian kings.
The conclusions deduced from these testimonies of ancient history
are greatly strengthened by many additional considerations. In
Gen. x. 11, we find a passage, which, when its meaning is properly
understood, casts a very steady light on the subject. That passage,
as given in the authorised version, runs thus : — " Out of that land
went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh." This speaks of it as
something remarkable, that Asshur went out of the land of Shinar,
while yet the human race in general went forth from the same land.
It goes upon the supposition that Asshur had some sort of divine
right to that land, and that he had been, in a manner, expelled from
it by Nimrod, while no divine right is elsewhere hinted at in the
context, or seems capable of proof. Moreover, it represents Asshur
as setting up in the IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURHOOD of Nimrod as mighty
a kingdom as Nimrod himself, Asshur building four cities, one of
which is emphatically said to have been "great" (ver. 12); while
Nimrod, on this interpretation, built just the same number of cities,
of which none is specially characterised as "great." Now, it is in
the last degree improbable that Nimrod would have quietly borne so
mighty a rival so near him. To obviate such difficulties as these, it
has been proposed to render the words, " out of that land he
(Nimrod) went forth into Asshur, or Assyria." But then, according
to ordinary usage of grammar, the word in the original should have
been " Ashurah," with the sign of motion to a place affixed to it,
whereas it is simply Asshur, without any such sign of motion
affixed. I am persuaded that the whole perplexity that com
mentators have hitherto felt in considering this passage, has arisen
from supposing that there is a proper name in the passage, where in
reality no proper name exists. Asshur is the passive participle of a
verb, which, in its Chaldee sense, signifies " to make strong"* and,
consequently, signifies "being strengthened," or "made strong."
Read thus, the whole passage is natural and easy (ver. 10), "And
the beginning of his (Nimrod's) kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and
Accad, and Calrieh." A beginning naturally implies something to
succeed, and here we find it (ver. 11) ; "Out of that land he went
forth, being made strong, or when he had been made strong (Ashur),
and builded Nineveh," &c. Now, this exactly agrees with the
statement in the ancient history of Justin : " Ninus strengthened
the greatness of his acquired dominion by continued possession.
Having subdued, therefore, his neighbours, when, by an accession
of forces, being still further strengthened, he went forth against
* See Chaldee Lexicon in Clavis Stoclcii, where the verb"asher" is rendered
"firmavit roboravit." Ashur, the passive participle, is consequently "firmatus,
roboratus." Even in Hebrew this sense seems to be inherent in the verb, as may
be concluded from the noun te-ashur, the name of the box-tree (Isaiah Ix. 13), the
wood of that tree being remarkable for its firmness and compactness. Even in the
ordinary Hebrew sense, the meaning is substantially the same ; for as Asher
means " to prosper," or "make prosperous," Ashur, in the participle passive, must
signify "prospered," or "made prosperous."
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA. 25
other tribes, and every new victory paved the way for another, he
subdued all the peoples of the East."* Thus, then, Nimrod, or
Ninus, was the builder of Nineveh ; and the origin of the name
of that city, as "the habitation of Ninus," is accounted for,f and
light is thereby, at the same time, cast on the fact, that the name of
the chief part of the ruins of Nineveh is Nimroud at this day. J
Now, assuming that Ninus is Nimrod, the way in which that
assumption explains what is otherwise inexplicable in the statements
of ancient history greatly confirms the truth of that assumption itself.
Ninus is said to have been the son of Belus or Bel, and Bel is said to
have been the founder of Babylon. If Ninus was in reality the first
king of Babylon, how could Belus or Bel, his father, be said to be the
founder of it 1 Both might very well be, as will appear if we con
sider who was Bel, and what we can trace of his doings. If Ninus
was Nimrod, who was the historical Bel 1 He must have been Gush ;
for " Gush begat Nimrod " (Gen. x. 8) ; and Gush is generally repre
sented as having been a ringleader in the great apostacy.§ But
again, Gush, as the son of Ham, was Her-mes or Mercury ; for
Hermes is just an Egyptian synonym for the "son of Ham." || Now,
Hermes was the great original prophet of idolatry; for he was
* JUSTIN, Hist. Rom. Script., vol. ii. p. 615. The words of the original are the
following: — "Ninus magnitudinem qusesitse dominationis continua possessione
firmavit. Cum accessione virum fortior, ad alios transiret, et proxima quaeque
victoria instrumentum sequentis esset totius Orientis populos subegit."
f Nin-neveh, "The habitation of Ninus."
+ LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 7, et passim.
§ See GEEGORIDS TURONENSIS, De rerum Franc., lib. i., apud, BRYANT, vol. ii.
pp. 403, 404. Gregory attributes to Gush what was said more generally to have
befallen his son ; but his statement shows the belief in his day, which is amply
confirmed from other sources, that Gush had a pre-eminent share in leading man
kind away from the true worship of God.
|| The composition of Her-mes is, first, from " Her," which, in Chaldee, is
synonymous with Ham, or Khem, "The burnt one." As "Her" also, like Ham,
signified "The hot or burning one," this name formed a foundation for covertly
identifying Ham with the "Sun," and so deifying the great patriarch, after whose
name the land of Egypt was called, in connection with the sun. Khem, or Ham,
in his own name was openly worshipped in later ages in the land of Ham
(BuNSKN, vol. i. p. 373) ; but this would have been too daring at first. By
means of "Her," the synonym, however, the way was paved for this. "Her" is
the name of Horus, who is identified with the sun (BuNSEN, vol. i. p. 507), which
shows the real etymology of the name to be from the verb to which I have traced
it. Then, secondly, "Mes" is from Mesheh (or, without the last radical, which is
omissible, see PARKHURST, sub voce, p. 416), Mesh, "to draw forth" In
Egyptian, we have Ms in the sense of "to bring forth" (BuNSEN, vol. i., Hierogly-
phical Signs, Append., b. 43, p. 540), which is evidently a different form of the
same word. In the passive sense, also, we find Ms used (BuNSEN, Vocabulary,
Appendix i. p. 470, at bottom, &c., "Ms .... born"). The radical meaning of
Mesheh in Stockii Lexicon, is given in Latin " Extraxit," and our English word
"extraction," as applied to birth or descent, shows that there is a connection be
tween the generic meaning of this word and birth. This derivation will be found
to explain the meaning of the names of the Egyptian kings, Harnesses and Thoth-
mes, the former evidently being "The son of Ra," or the Sun ; for Harnesses is
*H\ioi> TTCUS (AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. 17, cap. 4, p. 162) ; the latter, in like
manner, being " The son of Thoth." For the very same reason Her-mes is the
" Son of Her, or Ham," the burnt one— that is, Gush.
26 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
recognised by the pagans as the author of their religious rites, and
the interpreter of the gods. The distinguished Gesenius identifies
him with the Babylonian Nebo, as the prophetic god ; and a state
ment of Hyginus shows that he was known as the grand agent in that
movement which produced the division of tongues. His words are
these : " For many ages men lived under the government of Jove
[evidently not the Roman Jupiter, but the Jehovah of the Hebrews],
without cities and without laws, and all speaking one language.
But after that Mercury interpreted the speeches of men (whence an
interpreter is called Hermeneutes), the same individual distributed
the nations. Then discord began."* Here there is a manifest
enigma. How could Mercury or Hermes have any need to interpret
the speeches of mankind when they " all spake one language " ? To
find out the meaning of this, we must go to the language of the
Mysteries. Peresh, in Chaldee, signifies "to interpret;" but was
pronounced by old Egyptians and by Greeks, and often by the
Chaldees themselves, in the same way as "Peres," to "divide."
Mercury, then, or Hermes, or Gush, "the son of Ham," was the
" DIVIDER of the speeches of men." He, it would seem, had been the
ringleader in the scheme for building the great city and tower of
Babel ; and, as the well-known title of Hermes, — " the interpreter of
the gods," would indicate, had encouraged them, in the name of God,
to proceed in their presumptuous enterprise, and so had caused the
language of men to be divided, and themselves to be scattered abroad
on the face of the earth. Now look at the name of Belus or Bel,
given to the father of Ninus, or Nimrod, in connection with this.
While the Greek name Belus represented both the Baal and Bel of
the Chaldees, these were nevertheless two entirely distinct titles.
These titles were both alike often given to the same god, but they
had totally different meanings. Baal, as we have already seen,
signified "The Lord ;" but Bel signified "The Confounder." When,
then, we read that Belus, the father of Ninus, was he that built or
founded Babylon, can there be a doubt, in what sense it was that the
title of Belus was given to him ? It must have been in the sense of
Bel the "Confounder." And to this meaning of the name of the
Babylonian Bel, there is a very distinct allusion in Jeremiah i. 2,
where it is said "Bel is confounded," that is, "The Confounder is
brought to confusion." That Gush was known to Pagan antiquity
under the very character of Bel, " The Confounder," a statement of
Ovid very clearly proves. The statement to which I refer is that in
which Janus " the god of gods," f from whom all the other gods had
their origin, \ is made to say of himself : "The ancients .... called
me Chaos." § Now, first this decisively shows that Chaos was known
* HYGINUS, Fab. 143, p. 114. Phoroneus is represented as king at this time.
t Janus was so called in the most ancient hymns of the Salii. — MACROS.,
Saturn, lib. i. cap. 9, p. 54, col. 2, H.
$ By Terentianus Maurus he is called " Principium Deorum." — BRYANT, vol.
iii. p. 82.
§ Me Chaos antiqui nam res sum prisca vocabant. — Fasti, lib. i. v. 104, vol. iii.
p. 19.
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA.
27
not merely as a state of confusion, but as the "god of Confusion."
But, secondly, who that is at all acquainted with the laws of Chaldaic
pronunciation, does not know that Chaos is just one of the established
forms of the name of Chus or Gush ? * Then, look at the symbol of
Janus (see Fig. 7 f), whom "the ancients called Chaos," and it will
be seen how exactly it tallies with the doings of Gush, when he is
identified with Bel, " The Confounder." That symbol is a club ; and
the name of " a club " in Chaldee comes from the very word which
signifies "to break in pieces, or scatter abroad"\ He who caused the
confusion of tongues was he who "broke" the previously united
earth (Gen. xi. 1) "in pieces," and "scattered" the fragments
abroad. How significant, then, as a symbol, is the club, as com
memorating the work of Gush, as Bel, the " Confounder " 1 And that
significance will be all the more apparent when the reader turns to
the Hebrew of Gen. xi. 9, and finds that the very word from which a
club derives its name is that which is employed when it is said, that
in consequence of the confusion of tongues, the children of men were
" scattered abroad on the face of all the earth. "§ The word there
used for scattering abroad is Hephaitz, which, in the Greek form
becomes Hephaizt,|| and hence the origin of the well-known but little
understood name of Hephaistos, as applied to Vulcan, "The father
of the gods. "II Hephaistos is the name of the ringleader in the first
* The name of Gush is also Khus, for sh frequently passes in Chaldee into s ;
and Khus, in pronunciation, legitimately becomes Khawos, or, without the
digamma, Khaos.
f From Sir WM. BETHAM'S Etruscan Literature and Antiquities Investigated,
Plate II., vol. ii. p. 120. 1842. The Etruscan name on the reverse of the above
medal — Bel-athri, "Lord of spies," is probably given to Janus, in allusion to his
well-known title "Janus Tuens," which may be rendered "Janus the Seer," or
"All-seeing Janus."
£ In Prov. xxv. 18, a maul or club is "Mephaitz." In Jer. li. 20, the same
word, without the Jod, is evidently used for a club (though, in our version, it is
rendered battle-axe) ; for the use of it is not to cut asunder, but to "break in
pieces." See the whole passage.
§ Genesis xi. 9.
|| There are many instances of a similar change. Thus Botzra becomes in
Greek, Bostra ; and Mitzraim, Mestraiin. For last, see BDNSEN, vol. i. pp.
606-609.
H Vulcan, in the classical Pantheon, had not commonly so high a place, but in
Egypt Hephaistos, or Vulcan, was called "Father of the gods." — AMMIANUS
MARCELLINUS, lib. xvii.
28 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
rebellion, as " The Scatterer abroad," as Bel is the name of the same
individual as the " Confounder of tongues." Here, then, the reader
may see the real origin of Vulcan's Hammer, which is just another
name for the club of Janus or Chaos, " The god of Confusion ; " and
to this, as breaking the earth in pieces, there is a covert allusion in
Jer. i. 23, where Babylon, as identified with its primeval god, is thus
apostrophised : " How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder
and broken ! " Now, as the tower-building was the first act of open
rebellion after the flood, and Gush, as Bel, was the ringleader in it,
he was, of course, the first to whom the name Merodach, " The great
Rebel ,"* must have been given, and, therefore, according to the usual
parallelism of the prophetic language, we find both names of the
Babylonian god referred to together, when the judgment on Babylon
is predicted : " Bel is confounded : Merodach is broken in pieces "
(Jer. i. 2). The judgment comes upon the Babylonian god according
to what he had done. As Bel, he had " confounded" the whole earth,
therefore he is "confounded." As Merodach, by the rebellion he had
stirred up, he had "broken" the united world in pieces; therefore
he himself is "broken in pieces."
So much for the historical character of Bel, as identified with
Janus or Chaos, the god of confusion, with his symbolical club.f
Proceeding, then, on these deductions, it is not difficult to see how it
might be said that Bel or Belus, the father of Ninus, founded Babylon,
while, nevertheless, Ninus or Nimrod was properly the builder of it.
Now, though Bel or Gush, as being specially concerned in laying the
first foundations of Babylon, might be looked upon as the first king,
as in some of the copies of " Eusebius's Chronicle " he is represented,
yet it is evident, from both sacred history and profane, that he could
never have reigned as king of the Babylonian monarchy, properly so
called; and accordingly, in the Armenian version of the "Chronicle
of Eusebius," which bears the undisputed palm for correctness and
authority, his name is entirely omitted in the list of Assyrian kings,
and that of Ninus stands first, in such terms as exactly correspond
with the Scriptural account of Nimrod. Thus, then, looking at the
fact that Ninus is currently made by antiquity the son of Belus, or
* Merodach eomes from Mered, to rebel ; and Dakh, the demonstrative pronoun
affixed, which makes it emphatic, signifying " That" or "The great."
t While the names Bel and Hephaistos had the origin above referred to, they
were not inappropriate names also, though in a different sense, for the war-gods
descending from Gush, from whom Babylon derived its glory among the nations.
The warlike deified kings of the line of Gush gloried in their power to carry con
fusion among their enemies, to scatter their armies, and to " break the earth in
pieces " by their resistless power. To this, no doubt, as well as to the acts of the
primeval Bel, there is allusion in the inspired denunciations of Jeremiah on Baby
lon. The physical sense also of these names was embodied in the club given to
the Grecian Hercules — the very club of Janus — when, in a character quite differ
ent from that of the original Hercules, he was set up as the great reformer of the
world, by mere physical force. When two-headed Janus with the club is repre
sented, the two-fold representation was probably intended to represent old Gush,
and young Gush or Nimrod, as combined. But the two-fold representation with
other attributes, had reference also to another " Father of the gods," afterwards
to be noticed, who had specially to do with water.
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA.
29
Bel, when we have seen that the historical Bel is Gush, the identity
of ISTinus and Nimrod is still further confirmed.
But when we look at what is said of Semiramis, the wife of Ninus,
the evidence receives an additional development.
That evidence goes
Fig. 8.
Diana of Ephesus.*
conclusively to show that the wife of Ninus could be none other than
the wife of Nimrod, and, further, to bring out one of the grand
characters in which Nimrod, when deified, was adored. In Daniel
* From KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. v. p. 205.
30 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
xi. 38, we read of a god called Ala Mahozine* — i.e., the "god of fortifi
cations." Who this god of fortifications could be, commentators have
found themselves at a loss to determine. In the records of antiquity
the existence of any god of fortifications has been commonly over
looked ; and it must be confessed that no such god stands forth there
with any prominence to the ordinary reader. But of the existence
of a goddess of fortifications, every one knows that there is the
amplest evidence. That goddess is Cybele, who is universally repre
sented with a mural or turreted crown, or with a fortification, on her
head. Why was Rhea or Cybele thus represented 1 Ovid asks the
question and answers it himself ; and the answer is this : The reason
he says, why the statue of Cybele wore a crown of towers was,
" because she first erected them in cities."f The first city in the world
after the flood (from whence the commencement of the world itself
was often dated) that had towers and encompassing walls, was Baby
lon ; and Ovid himself tells us that it was Semiramis, the first queen
of that city, who was believed to have " surrounded Babylon with a
wall of brick. "J Semiramis, then, the first deified queen of that city
and tower whose top was intended to reach to heaven, must have been
the prototype of the goddess who " first made towers in cities."
When we look at the Ephesian Diana, we find evidence to the very
same effect. In general, Diana was depicted as a virgin, and the
patroness of virginity ; but the Ephesian Diana was quite different.
She was represented with all the attributes of the Mother of the gods
(see Fig. 8), and, as the Mother of the gods, she wore a turreted
crown, such as no one can contemplate without being forcibly
reminded of the tower of Babel. Now this tower-bearing Diana is
by an ancient scholiast expressly identified with Semiramis.§ When,
therefore we remember that Rhea, or Cybele, the tower-bearing god
dess, was, in point of fact, a Babylonian goddess, || and that Semi
ramis, when deified, was worshipped under the name of Rhea,U there
* In our version, Ala Mahozim is rendered alternatively "god of forces," or
"gods protectors." To the latter interpretation, there is this insuperable objec
tion, that Ala is in the singular. Neither can the former be admitted ; for
Mahozim, or Mauzzim, does not signify "forces," or "armies," but "munitions,"
as it is also given in the margin — that is "fortifications." Stockius, in his Lexi
con, gives as the definition of Mahoz in the singular, robur, arx, locus munitus, and
in proof of the definition, the following examples : — Judges vi. 26, " And build an
altar to the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock " (Mahoz, in the margin
" strong place ") ; and Dan. xi. 19, " Then shall he turn his face to the fort (Mahoz)
of his own land." See also GESENIUS, Lexicon, p. 533.
t OVID, Opera, vol. iii. ; Fasti, iv. 219-221.
I Ibid. vol. ii., Mctam., lib. iv., Fab. Pyramus and Thisbe.
§ A scholiast on the Periergesis of Dionysius, says Layard (Nineveh and its
Remains, vol. ii. p. 480, Note), makes Semiramis the same as the goddess Artemis
or Despoina. Now, Artemis was Diana, and the title of Despoina given to her,
shows that it was in the character of the Ephesian Diana she was identified with
Semiramis ; for Despoina is the G-reek for Dornina, " The Lady," the peculiar title
of Rhea or Cybele, the tower-bearing goddess, in ancient Rome. — OVID, Fasti, lib.
iv. 340.
|| See LAYARD'S Nineveh, &c., vol. ii. pp. 451, 457.
IT See ante, p. 21.
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA. 31
will remain, I think, no doubt as to the personal identity of the
"goddess of fortifications."
Now there is no reason to believe that Semiramis alone (though
some have represented the matter so) built the battlements of Baby
lon. We have the express testimony of the ancient historian,
Megasthenes, as preserved by Abydenus, that it was " Belus " who
" surrounded Babylon with a wall."* As " Bel," the Confounder,
who began the city and tower of Babel, had to leave both unfinished,
this could not refer to him. It could refer only to his son Ninus,
who inherited his father's title, and who was the first actual king of
the Babylonian empire, and, consequently Nimrod. The real reason
that Semiramis, the wife of Ninus, gained the glory of finishing the
fortifications of Babylon, was, that she came in the esteem of the
ancient idolaters to hold a preponderating position, and to have
attributed to her all the different characters that belonged, or were
supposed to belong, to her husband. Having ascertained, then, one
of the characters in which the deified wife was worshipped, we may
from that conclude what was the corresponding character of the
deified husband. Layard distinctly indicates his belief that Rhea or
Cybele, the " tower-crown " goddess, was just the female counterpart
of the "deity presiding over bulwarks or fortresses; " f and that this
deity was Ninus, or Nimrod, we have still further evidence from
what the scattered notices of antiquity say of the first deified king of
Babylon, under a name bhat identifies him as the husband of Rhea,
the " tower-bearing " goddess. That name is Kronos or Saturn. J It
is well known that Kronos, or Saturn, was Rhea's husband ; but it
is not so well known who was Kronos himself. Traced back to his
* CORY'S Fragments, pp. 45, 46.
f LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. pp. 456, 457.
£ In the Greek mythology, Kronos and Rhea are commonly brother and sister.
Ninus and Semiramis, according to history, are not represented as standing in any
such relation to one another ; but this is no objection to the real identity of Ninus
and Kronos ; for, 1st, the relationships of the divinities, in most countries, are
peculiarly conflicting — Osiris, in Egypt, is represented at different times, not only
as the son and husband of Isis, but also as her father and brother (BuNSEN, vol. i.
p. 438) ; then, secondly, whatever the deified mortals might be before deification,
on being deified they came into new relationships. On the apotheosis of husband
and wife, it was necessary for the dignity of both that both alike should be repre
sented as of the same celestial origin — as both superuaturally the children of God.
Before the flood, the great sin that brought ruin on the human race was, that the
"Sons of God" married others than the daughters of God, — in other words, those
who were not spiritually their "sisters." — (Gen. vi. 2, 3.) In the new world,
while the influence of Noah prevailed, the opposite practice must have been
strongly inculcated ; for a " son of God " to marry any one but a daughter of God,
or his own "sister" in the faith, must have been a mesalliance and a disgrace.
Hence, from a perversion of a spiritual idea, came, doubtless, the notion of the
dignity and purity of the royal line being preserved the more intact through the
marriage of royal brothers and sisters. This was the case in Peru ( PRESCOTT, vol.
i. p. 18), in India (HARDY, p. 133). and in Egypt (WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 385).
Hence the relation of Jupiter to Juno, who gloried that she was " soror et conjux "
— "sister and wife" — of her husband. Hence the same relation between Isis and
her husband Osiris, the former of whom is represented as " lamenting her brother
Osiris." — (BuNSEN, vol. i. p. 419.) For the same reason, no doubt, was Rhea,
made the sister of her husband Kronos, to show her divine dignity and equality.
32 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
original, that divinity is proved to have been the first king of Baby
lon. Theophilus of Antioch shows that Kronos in the east was wor
shipped under the names of Bel and Bal ; * and from Eusebius we
learn that the first of the Assyrian kings, whose name was Belus, was
also by the Assyrians called Kronos. f As the genuine copies of
Eusebius do not admit of any Belus, as an actual king of Assyria,
prior to Ninus, king of the Babylonians, and distinct from him, that
shows that Ninus, the first king of Babylon, was Kronos. But,
further, we find that Kronos was king of the Cyclops, who were his
brethren, and who derived that name from him,j and that the
Cyclops were known as "the inventors of tower-building."§ The
king of the Cyclops, "the inventors of tower-building," occupied a
position exactly correspondent to that of Khea, who "first erected
(towers) in cities." If, therefore, Rhea, the wife of Kronos, was the
goddess of fortifications, Kronos or Saturn, the husband of Rhea, that
is, Ninus or Nimrod, the first king of Babylon, must have been Ala
mahozin, " the god of fortifications." ||
The name Kronos itself goes not a little to confirm the argument.
Kronos signifies "The Horned one." II As a horn is a well-known
Oriental emblem for power or might, Kronos, " The Horned one,"
was, according to the mystic system, just a synonym for the Scriptural
epithet applied to Nimrod — viz., Gheber, " The mighty one." (Gen. x.
8), " He began to be mighty on the earth." The name Kronos, as the
classical reader is well aware, is applied to Saturn as the " Father of
the gods." We have already had another "father of the gods"
brought under our notice, even Gush in his character of Bel the
Confounder, or Hephaistos, " The Scatterer abroad ; " ** and it is easy
to understand how, when the deification of mortals began, and the
" mighty " Son of Gush was deified, the father, especially considering
the part which he seems to have had in concocting the whole idola
trous system, would have to be deified too, and of course, in his
character as the Father of the " Mighty one," and of all the " im
mortals " that succeeded him. But, in point of fact, we shall find, in
the course of our inquiry, that Nimrod was the actual Father of the
gods, as being the first of deified mortals ; and that, therefore, it is
* CLKRIOUS, De Philosophia Oricntali, lib. i. sect. ii. cap. 37.
f EUSEBII, Ckronicon, p. 6.
£ The scholiast upon EURIPIDES, Orest., v. 963, p. 85, says that "the Cyclops
were so called from Cyclops their king." By this scholiast the Cyclops are
regarded as a Thracian nation, for the Thracians had localised the tradition, and
applied it to themselves ; but the following statement of the scholiast on the
Prometheus of JEschylus, p. 56, shows that they stood in such a relation to Kronos,
as proves that he was their king : " The Cyclops .... were the brethren of Kronos,
the father of Jupiter."
§ "Turrcs ut Aristotdes, Cyclopes (invenerunt)." — PLINY, lib. vii., cap. 56, p.
171.
|| For further evidence in regard to the "God of fortifications," see Appendix,
Note D.
IT From Km, a horn. The epithet Carneus applied to Apollo (PAUSANIAS, lib.
iii., Laconica, cap. 13), is just a different form of the same word. In the Orphic
Hymns, Apollo is addressed as the "Two-horned god" (Hymn to Apollo).
** See ante, p. 28.
THE CHILD IN ASSYKIA.
33
Fig. 9.
in exact accordance with historical fact that Kronos, the Horned, or
Mighty one, is, in the classic Pantheon, known by that title.
The meaning of this name Kronos, " The Horned one," as applied
to Nimrod, fully explains the origin of the remarkable symbol, so
frequently occurring among the Nineveh sculptures, the gigantic
HORNED man-bull, as representing the great
divinities in Assyria. The same word that
signified a bull, signified also a ruler or
prince.* Hence the " Horned bull " signified
"The Mighty Prince," thereby pointing back
to the first of those " Mighty ones," who,
under the name of Guebres, Gabrs, or Cabiri,
occupied so conspicuous a place in the ancient
world, and to whom the deified Assyrian
monarchs covertly traced back the origin of
their greatness and might. This explains
the reason why the Bacchus of the Greeks
was represented as wearing horns, and why
he was frequently addressed by the epithet
"Bull-horned," as one of the high titles of his
dignity, f Even in comparatively recent times,
Togrul Begh, the leader of the Seljukian Turks,
who came from the neighbourhood of the
Euphrates, was in a similar manner represented with three horns
growing out of his head, as the emblem of his sovereignty (Fig.
Fig. 10.
9). | This, also, in a remarkable way accounts for the origin of one of
the divinities worshipped by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors under
the name of Zernebogus. This Zernebogus was " the black, malevo-
The name for a bull or ruler, is in Hebrew without points, Shur, which in
Chaldee becomes Tur. From Tur, in the sense of a bull, comes the Latin Taurus ;
and from the same word, in the sense of a ruler, Turannus, which originally had
no evil meaning. Thus, in these well-known classical words, we have evidence of
the operation of the very principle which caused the deified Assyrian kings to be
represented under the form of the man-bull.
t Orphic Hymns : Hymn li., To Trietericus, Greek, p. 117.
J From HYDE'S Religio Veterum Persarum, cap. 4, p. 116.
D
34 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
lent, ill-omend divinity," * in other words, the exact counterpart of
the popular idea of the Devil, as supposed to be black, and equipped
with horns and hoofs. This name, analysed and compared with the
accompanying woodcut (Fig. 10), from Layard,f casts a very singular
light on the source from whence has come the popular superstition
in regard to the grand Adversary. The name Zer-Nebo-Gus is
almost pure Chaldee, and seems to unfold itself as denoting " The
seed of the prophet Cush." We have seen reason already to conclude
that, under the name Bel, as distinguished from Baal, Gush was the
great soothsayer or false prophet worshipped at Babylon. But inde
pendent inquirers have been led to the conclusion that Bel and Nebo
were just two different titles for the same god, and that a prophetic
god. Thus does Kitto comment on the words of Isaiah xlvi. 1 : " Bel
boweth down, Nebo stoopeth," with reference to the latter name :
"The word seems to come from Nibba, to deliver an oracle, or to
prophesy ; and hence would mean an ' oracle,' and may thus, as
Calmet suggests (' Commentaire Literal/ in loc.), be no more than
another name for Bel himself, or a characterising epithet applied to
him ; it being not unusual to repeat the same thing, in the same
verse, in equivalent terms." J " Zer-Nebo-Gus," the great " seed of
the prophet Cush," was, of course, Nimrod ; for Cush was Nimrod's
father. Turn now to Layard, and see how this land of ours and
Assyria are thus brought into intimate connection. In the woodcut
referred to, first we find "the Assyrian Hercules," § that is " Nimrod
the giant," as he is called in the Septuagint version of Genesis, with
out club, spear, or weapons of any kind, attacking a bull. Having
overcome it, he sets the bull's horns on his head, as a trophy of
victory and a symbol of power ; and thenceforth the hero is repre
sented, not only with the horns and hoofs above, but from the middle
downwards, with the legs and cloven feet of the bull. Thus equipped
he is represented as turning next to encounter a lion. This, in all
likelihood, is intended to commemorate some event in the life of him
who first began to be mighty in the chase and in war, and who,
according to all ancient traditions, was remarkable also for bodily
power, as being the leader of the Giants that rebelled against heaven.
Now Nimrod, as the son of Cush, was black, in other words, was a
negro. " Can the Ethiopian change his skin? "is in the original,
" Can the Cushite " do so 1 Keeping this, then, in mind, it will be
seen that in that figure disentombed from Nineveh, we have both the
prototype of the Anglo-Saxon Zer-Nebo-Gus, " the seed of the prophet
Cush," and the real original of the black Adversary of mankind, with
horns and hoofs. It was in a different character from that of the
Adversary that Nimrod was originally worshipped ; but among a
people of a fair complexion, as the Anglo-Saxons, it was inevitable
* SHARON TURNER'S Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 217.
t LATARD'S Nineveh and Babylon, p. 605.
£ KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. p. 53.
§ In Lares and Penates of Cilicia, p. 151, Barker identifies the Assyrian Her
cules with " Dayyad the Hunter," that is evidently Nimrod.
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA.
35
that, if worshipped at all, it must generally be simply as an object
of fear ; and so Kronos, " The Horned one," who wore the " horns,"
as the emblem both of his physical might and sovereign power, has
come to be, in popular superstition, the recognised representative of
the Devil.
In many and far-severed countries, horns became the symbols of
sovereign power. The corona or crown, that still encircles the brows
of European monarchs, seems remotely to be derived from the
emblem of might adopted by Kronos, or Saturn, who, according to
Pherecydes, was "the first before all others that ever wore a crown. "*
* "Saturnum Pherecydes ante omnes refert coronatum." — TERTULLIAN, De
Corona Militis, cap. 7, vol. ii. p. So.
36
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Fig. 12.
The first regal crown appears to have been only a band, in which
the horns were set. From the idea of power contained in the
" horn," even subordinate rulers seem to have worn a circlet adorned
with a single horn, in token of their derived authority. Bruce,
the Abyssinian traveller, gives examples of Abyssinian chiefs thus
decorated (Fig. 11), in regard to whom he states that the horn
attracted his particular attention, when he perceived that the gover
nors of provinces were distinguished by this head-dress.* In the
case of sovereign powers, the royal head-band was adorned some
times with a double, sometimes with a triple horn. The double
horn had evidently been the original symbol of power or might
on the part of sovereigns ; for, on the Egyptian monuments, the
heads of the deified royal person
ages have generally no more than
the two horns to shadow forth
their power. As sovereignty in
Nimrod's case was founded on
physical force, so the two horns
of the bull were the symbols of
that physical force. And, in
accordance with this, we read in
" Sanchuniathon," that "Astarte
put on her own head a bull's
head as the ensign of royalty." f
By-and-by, however, another and
'a higher idea came in, and the
expression of that idea was seen
in the symbol of the three
horns. A cap seems in course
of time to have come to be
associated with the regal horns.
In Assyria the three -homed
cap was one of the " sacred
emblems" J in token that the
power connected with it was of
celestial origin, — the three horns
evidently pointing at the power
of the trinity. Still, we have indications that the horned band,
without any cap, was anciently the corona or royal crown. The
crown borne by the Hindoo god Vishnu, in his avatar of the Fish,
is just an open circle or band, with three horns standing erect from
it, with a knob on the top of each horn (Fig. 12). § All the avatars
* See KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. pp. 280-282. In Fig. 11, the
two male figures are Abyssinian Chiefs. The two females, whom Kitto has
grouped along with them, are ladies of Mount Lebanon, whose horned head
dresses Walpole regards as relics of the ancient worship of Astarte. (See above,
and WALPOLE'S Ansayri, vol. iii. p. 16.)
t EUSEBIUS, Prceparatio Evangelii, lib. i. cap. 10, vol. i. p. 45.
£ LAYABD'S Nineveh, vol. ii. p. 446.
§ MAURICE, vol. iii. p. 353. London, 1793.
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA. 37
are represented as crowned with a crown that seems to have been
modelled from this, consisting of a coronet with three points, standing
erect from it, in which Sir William Jones recognises the ^Ethiopian
or Parthian coronet.* The open tiara of Agni, the Hindoo god of
fire, shows in its lower round the double horn, f made in the very
same way as in Assyria, J proving at once the ancient custom, and
whence that custom had come. Instead of the three horns, three
horn-shaped leaves came to be substituted (Fig. 13);§ and thus the
horned band gradually passed into the modern coronet or crown with
the three leaves of the fleur-de-lis, or other familiar three-leaved
adornings.
Among the Red Indians of America there had evidently been
something entirely analogous to the Babylonian custom of wearing
the horns ; for, in the " buffalo dance " there, each of the dancers
had his head arrayed with buffalo's horns ; || and it is worthy of
especial remark, that the " Satyric dance,"H or dance of the Satyrs
in Greece, seems to have been the counterpart of this Red Indian
solemnity ; for the satyrs were horned divinities, and consequently
those who imitated their dance must Fig< 13
have had their heads set off in imita
tion of theirs. When thus we find a
custom that is clearly founded on a
form of speech that characteristically
distinguished the region where Nimrod's
power was wielded, used in so many
different countries far removed from
one another, where no such form of
speech was used in ordinary life, we
may be sure that such a custom was
not the result of mere accident, but
that it indicates the wide-spread diffu
sion of an influence that went forth in all directions from Babylon,
from the time that Nimrod first "began to be mighty on the earth."
There was another way in which Nimrod's power was symbolised
besides by the " horn." A synonym for Gheber, " The mighty one,"
was " Abir," while " Aber " also signified a "wing." Nimrod, as
Head and Captain of those men of war, by whom he surrounded
himself, and who were the instruments of establishing his power,
was " Baal-aberin," "Lord of the mighty ones." But " Baal-abirin "
* Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 260.
f Ibid. "Agni," Plate 80.
I LAYAKD'S Nineveh, &c., vol. ii. p. 451.
§ From KITTO'S Rlust. Com., vol. ii. p. 301. The groove in the middle
of the central prominence seems to prove that it is not really a horn, but a leaf.
|| CATLIN'S North American Indians, vol. ii. p. 128.
1T BRYANT, vol. iv. p. 250. The Satyrs were the companions of Bacchus, and
"danced along with him" (^Elian Hist., p. 22). When it is considered who
Bacchus was, and that his distinguishing epithet was " Bull-horned," the horns of
the " Satyrs " will appear in their true light. For a particular mystic reason the
Satyr's horn was commonly a goat's horn, but originally it must have been the
same as Bacchus's.
38
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Fig. 14.
Bull from Nimrud. From VAVX, p. 23
Fi
(pronounced nearly in the same way) signified " The winged one,"*
and therefore in symbol he was represented, not only as a horned
bull, but as at once a horned and winged bull — as showing not
merely that he was mighty himself, but that he had mighty ones
under his command, who
were ever ready to carry
his will into effect, and to
put down all opposition
to his power; and to
shadow forth the vast
extent of his might, he
was represented with
great and wide-expand
ing wings. To this
mode of representing
the mighty kings of
Babylon and Assyria,
who imitated Nimrod
and his successors, there
is manifest allusion in
Isaiah viii. 6-8 : " For
asmuch as this people
refuseth the waters of
Shiloah that go softly,
and rejoice in Rezin
and Remaliah's son ;
now therefore, behold,
the Lord bringeth up
upon them the waters
of the river, strong and
mighty, even the king
of Assyria, and all his
glory ; and he shall
come up over all his
banks. And he shall
pass through Judah ;
he shall overflow and
go over j he shall reach
even unto the neck ;
and the STRETCHING OUT
OF HIS WINGS shall FILL
the breadth of thy land,
O Immanuel." When
we look at such figures
Bull from Persepoiis. ibid. p. 320. as those which are here
* This is according to a peculiar Oriental idiom, of which there are many
examples. Thus, Haal-aph, "Lord of wrath," signifies " an angry man ;" Baal-
laskon, "lord of tongue," "an eloquent man;" JJaal-hatzim, "lord of arrows,"
" an archer ; " and in like manner, Baal-aberin, " lord of wings," signifies " a
winged one."
THE CHILD IN ASSYRIA. 39
presented to the reader (Figs. 14 and 15), with their great extent
of expanded wing, as symbolising an Assyrian king, what a vividness
and force does it give to the inspired language of the prophet ! And
how clear is it, also, that the stretching forth of the Assyrian
monarch's WINGS, that was to "Jill the breadth of Immanuel's land,"
has that very symbolic meaning to which I have referred — viz., the
overspreading of the land by his "mighty ones," or hosts of armed
men, that the king of Babylon was to bring with him in his over
flowing invasion ! The knowledge of the way in which the Assyrian
monarchs were represented, and of the meaning of that representa
tion, gives additional force to the story of the dream of Cyrus the
Great, as told by Herodotus. Cyrus, says the historian, dreamt that
he saw the son of one of his princes, who was at the time in a distant
province, with two great "wings on his shoulders, the one of which
overshadowed Asia, and the other Europe,"* from which he imme
diately concluded that he was organising rebellion against him. The
symbols of the Babylonians, whose capital Cyrus had taken, and to
whose power he had succeeded, were entirely familiar to him ; and if
the " wings " were the symbols of sovereign power, and the possession
of them implied the lordship over the might, or the armies of the
empire, it is easy to see how very naturally any suspicions of
disloyalty affecting the individual in question might take shape in
the manner related, in the dreams of him who might harbour these
suspicions.
Now, the understanding of this equivocal sense of " Baal-aberin "
can alone explain the remarkable statement of Aristophanes, that at
the beginning of the world "the birds" were first created, and then,
after their creation, came the "race of the blessed immortal gods."f
This has been regarded as either an atheistical or nonsensical utter
ance on the part of the poet, but, with the true key applied to the
language, it is found to contain an important historical fact. Let it
only be borne in mind that " the birds " — that is, " the winged ones "
— symbolised "the Lords of the mighty ones," and then the meaning
is clear — viz., that men first " began to be mighty on the earth ; "
and then, that the " Lords " or Leaders of " these mighty ones " were
deified. The knowledge of the mystic sense of this symbol accounts
also for the origin of the story of Perseus, the son of Jupiter,
miraculously born of Danae, who did such wondrous things, and
who passed from country to country on wings divinely bestowed
on him. This equally casts light on the symbolic myths in regard
to Bellerophon, and the feats which he performed on his winged
horse, and their ultimate disastrous issue ; how high he mounted in
the air, and how terrible was his fall ; and of Icarus, the son of
Daedalus, who, flying on wax-cemented wings over the Icarian Sea,
had his wings melted off through his too near approach to the sun,
and so gave his name to the sea where he was supposed to have
fallen. The fables all referred to those who trode, or were supposed
* HERODOTUS, lib. i. cap. 209, p. 96.
f ARISTOPHANES Avcs, v. 695-705, p. 404.
40 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
to have trodden, in the steps of Nimrod, the first "Lord of the
mighty ones," and who in that character was symbolised as equipped
with wings.
Now, it is remarkable that, in the passage of Aristophanes already
referred to, that speaks of the birds, or " the winged ones," being
produced before the gods, we are informed that he from whom both
"mighty ones" and gods derived their origin, was none other than
the winged boy Cupid. * Cupid, the son of Venus, occupied, as will
afterwards be proved, in the mystic mythology the very same position
as Nin, or Ninus, "the son," did to Rhea, the mother of the gods.f
As Nimrod was unquestionably the first of " the mighty ones " after
the Flood, this statement of Aristophanes, that the boy-god Cupid,
himself a winged one, produced all the birds or " winged ones," while
occupying the very position of Nin or Ninus, "the son," shows that
in this respect also Ninus and Nimrod are identified. While this
is the evident meaning of the poet, this also, in a strictly historical
point of view, is the conclusion of the historian Apollodorus ; for he
states that "Ninus is Nimrod. ";£ And then, in conformity with
this identity of Ninus and Nirnrod, we find, in one of the most
celebrated sculptures of ancient Babylon, Ninus and his wife Semi-
raniis represented as actively engaged in the pursuits of the chase,§
— "the quiver-bearing Semiramis " being a fit companion for "the
mighty Hunter before the Lord."
SUB-SECTION II. THE CHILD IN EGYPT.
When we turn to Egypt we find remarkable evidence of the same
thing there also. Justin, as we have already seen, says that " Ninus
subdued all nations, as far as Lybia," and consequently Egypt. The
statement of Diodorus Siculus is to the same effect, Egypt being one
of the countries that, according to him, Ninus brought into subjection
to himself,)) In exact accordance with these historical statements,
we find that the name of the third person in the primeval triad of
Egypt was Khons. But Khons, in Egyptian, comes from a word
that signifies " to chase."U Therefore, the name of Khons, the son
of Maut, the goddess-mother, who was adorned in such a way as to
* Aristophanes says that Eros or Cupid produced the "birds " and " gods ' by
'* mingling all things. " This evidently points to the meaning of the name Bel,
which signifies at once " the mingler " and " the confounder." This name properly
belonged to the father of Nimrod, but, as the son was represented as identified
with the father, we have evidence that the name descended to the son and others
by inheritance.
t See Chap. V. Sect. IV.
J APOLLODORI, Fragm. 68, in MULLEB, vol. i. p. 440.
§ DIODORUS, lib. ii. p. 69.
II See BRYANT, vol. ii. p. 377.
^ IT BUNSBN, vol. i. p. 392, and Vocabulary, p. 488. The Coptic for "to hunt " is
KWJ/C, c being pronounced as *.
THE CHILD IN EGYPT. 41
identify her with Rhea, the great goddess-mother of Chaldea,*
properly signifies " The Huntsman," or god of the chase. As Khons
stands in the very same relation to the Egyptian Maut as Ninus
does to Rhea, how does this title of " The Huntsman " identify the
Egyptian god with Nimrod ? Now this very name Khons, brought
into contact with the Roman mythology, not only explains the mean
ing of a name in the Pantheon there, that hitherto has stood greatly
in need of explanation, but causes that name, when explained, to
reflect light back again on this Egyptian divinity, and to strengthen
the conclusion already arrived at. The name to which I refer is the
name of the Latin god Census, who was in one aspect identified with
Neptune,! hut who was also regarded as "the god of hidden coun
sels," or " the concealer of secrets," who was looked up to as the
patron of horsemanship, and was said to have produced the horse.;
Who could be the "god of hidden counsels," or the "concealer of
secrets," but Saturn, the god of the "mysteries," and whose name
as used at Rome, signified "The hidden one"?§ The father of
Khons, or Khonso (as he was also called), that is, Amoun, was, as
we are told by Plutarch, known as "The hidden God;"|| and as
father and son in the same triad have ordinarily a correspondence of
character, this shows that Khons also must have been known in the
very same character of Saturn, ''The hidden one." If the Latin
Census, then, thus exactly agreed with the Egyptian Khons, as the
god of "mysteries," or "hidden counsels," can there be a doubt that
Khons, the Huntsman, also agreed with the same Roman divinity as
the supposed producer of the horse1? Who so likely to get the credit
of producing the horse as the great huntsman of Babel, who no doubt
enlisted it in the toils of the chase, and by this means must have
been signally aided in his conflicts with the wild beasts of the forest 1
In this connection, let the reader call to mind that fabulous creature,
the Centaur, half-man, half-horse, that figures so much in the myth
ology of Greece. That imaginary creation, as is generally admitted,
was intended to commemorate the man who first taught the art of
horsemanship. IF But that creation was not the offspring of Greek
* The distinguishing decoration of Maut was the vulture head-dress. Now the
name of Rhea, in one of its meanings, signifies a vulture. For the mystic meaning
of this name, see Appendix, Note C.
t How Nimrod came to be regarded as the god of the sea will afterwards
appear. See Chap. IV. Sect. I.
+ Fuss's Roman Antiquities, chap. iv. p. 347.
§ The meaning which the Romans attached to the name Saturn is evident
from the account they give of the origin of the name of Latium. It was given,
they said, because "Saturn had safely lain hid in its coasts." VIRGIL, jEneid, lib.
viii. See also OVID, Fasti, lib. i.
II PLUTAECH, De hide et Osiride, vol. ii. p. 354.
M In illustration of the principle that led to the making of the image of the
Centaur, the following passage may be given from PRESCOTT'S Mexico, vol. i. p.
259, as showing the feelings of the Mexicans on first seeing a man on horseback :
"He [Cortes] ordered his men [who were cavalry] to direct their lances at the
faces of their opponents, who, terrified at the monstrous apparition — for they sup
posed the rider and the horse, which they had never before seen, to be one and the
same — were seized with a panic."
42
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Fig. 16.
fancy. Here, as in many other things, the Greeks have only
borrowed from an earlier source. The Centaur is found on coins
struck in Babylonia (Fig. 16),* showing that the idea must have
originally come from that quarter. The Centaur is found in the
Zodiac (Fig. 17),f the antiquity of which goes up to a high period,
and which had its origin in Babylon. The Centaur was represented,
as we are expressly assured by Berosus, the Babylonian historian, in
the temple of Babylon,! and his language would seem to show that
so also it had been in primeval times. The Greeks did themselves
admit this antiquity and derivation of the Centaur ; for though Ixion
was commonly represented as the father of the Centaurs, yet they
also acknowledged that the primitive Centaurus was the same as
Kronos, or Saturn, the father of the gods. § But we have seen that
Kronos was the first King of Babylon, or Nimrod ; consequently, the
first Centaur was the same. Now, the way in which the Centaur
was represented on the Babylonian coins, and in the Zodiac, viewed
in this light, is very striking. The Centaur
was the same as the sign Sagittarius, or " The
Archer." || If the founder of Babylon's glory
was "The mighty Hunter," whose name,
even in the days of Moses, was a proverb —
(Gen. x. 9, "Wherefore, it is said, Even as
Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord ")
— when we find the " Archer," with his bow
and arrow, in the symbol of the supreme
Babylonian divinity, H and the "Archer,"
among the signs of the Zodiac that originated
in Babylon, I think we may safely conclude
that this Man-horse or Horse-man Archer
primarily referred to him, and was intended
to perpetuate the memory at once of his
fame as a huntsman and his skill as a horse-
breaker.
Now, when we thus compare the Egyptian Khons, the " Hunts
man," with the Latin Consus, the god of horse-races, who " produced
the horse," and the Centaur of Babylon, to whom was attributed the
* See Nineveh and Babylon, p. 250, and BRYANT, vol. iii. Plate, p. 245.
t Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 440, Note. The name there given is
Sagittarius. See Note below.
£ BEROSUS apud BUNSEN, p. 708.
§ Scholiast in Lycophron, v. 1200, apud BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 315. The Scholiast
says that Chiron was the son of " Centaurus, that is, Kronos." If any one objects
that, as Chiron is said to have lived in the time of the Trojan war, this shows
that his father Kronos could not be the father of gods and men, Xenophon
answers by saying "that Kronos was the brother of Jupiter." — De Venatione,
p. 973.
|| See coins already referred to, also the figure in the Zodiac. See also Manilius,
i. 270, where he describes Sagittarius as " mixtus equo." Hence, says Smith, in
his Classical Dictionary, Sagittarius is " frequently termed Centaurus."
H LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 448. For the meaning of the
name Centaurus, see Appendix, Note E.
THE CHILD IN EGYPT. 43
honour of being the author of horsemanship, while we see how all
the lines converge in Babylon, it will be very clear, I think, whence
the primitive Egyptian god Khons has been derived.
Khons, the son of the great goddess-mother, seems to have been
generally represented as a full-grown god.* The Babylonian divinity
was also represented very frequently in Egypt in the very same way
as in the land of his nativity — i.e., as a child in his mother's arms.t
This was the way in which Osiris, " the son, the husband of his
mother," was often exhibited, and what we learn of this god, equally
as in the case of Khonso, shows that in his original he was none other
than Xirnrod. It is admitted that the secret system of Eree Masonry
was originally founded on the Mysteries of the Egyptian Isis, the
goddess-mother, or wife of Osiris. But what could have led to the
union of a Masonic body with these Mysteries, had they not had
particular reference to architecture, and had the god who was
worshipped in them not been celebrated for his success in perfecting
the arts of fortification and building ? JSTow, if such were the case,
considering the relation in which, as we have already seen, Egypt
stood to Babylon, who would naturally be looked up to there as the
great patron of the Masonic art ? The strong
presumption is, that Nimrod must have been the Flg>
man. He was the first that gained fame in this way.
As the child of the Babylonian goddess-mother,
he was worshipped, as we have seen, in the charac
ter of Ala mahozim, "The god of fortifications."
Osiris, in like manner, the child of the Egyptian
Madonna, was equally celebrated as " the strong
chief of the buildings. "§ This strong chief of
the buildings was originally worshipped in Egypt
with every physical characteristic of Nimrod. I have already
noticed the fact that Nimrod, as the son of Gush, was a negro.
£vTow, there was a tradition in Egypt, recorded by Plutarch,
that ''Osiris was black"\\ which, in a land where the general com
plexion was dusky, must have implied something more than ordinary
in its darkness. Plutarch also states that Horus, the son of Osiris,
" was of a fair complexion, "H and it was in this way, for the most
part, that Osiris was represented. But we have unequivocal evidence
that Osiris, the son and husband of the great goddess-queen of Egypt,
was also represented as a veritable negro. In Wilkinson may be
found a representation of him (Eig. 18)** with the unmistakable
features of the genuine Cushite or negro. Bunsen would have it that
* See WILKINSON, vol. vi. Plate 20.
f One of the symbols with which Khonso was represented, shows that even he
was identified with the child-god ; "for," says Wilkinson, " at the side of his head
fell the plaited lock of Harpocrates, or childhood.'" Vol. v. p. 19.
$ The above is the Hindoo Sagittarius, as found in the Indian Zodiac, which is
proved by Sir William Jones to be substantially the same as the Zodiac of the
Greeks. See Asiatic Researches, vol. ii. p. 303.
§ BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 425. II PLUTARCH, De hid. ct Os., vol. ii. p. 359.
1[ Ibid. ** WILKINSON, vol. vi. Plate 33.
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Fig. 18.
this is a mere random importation from some of the barbaric tribes ;
but the dress in which this negro god is arrayed tells a different tale.
That dress directly connects him with Nimrod. This negro-featured
Osiris is clothed from head to foot in a spotted dress, the upper part
being a leopard's skin, the under part also being spotted to corre
spond with it. Now the name Nimrod* signifies " the subduer of
the leopard." This name seems to imply, that as Nimrod had gained
fame by subduing the horse, and so making use of it in the chase, so
his fame as a huntsman rested mainly on this, that he found out the
art of making the leopard aid him in hunting the other wild beasts.
A particular kind of tame leopard is used in
India at this day for hunting ; and of Bagajet
I., the Mogul Emperor of India, it is
recorded that in his hunting establishment
he had not only hounds of various breeds,
but leopards also, whose " collars were set
with jewels."! Upon the words of the
prophet Habakkuk, chap. i. 8, " swifter than
leopards," Kitto has the following remarks :
— "The swiftness of the leopard is proverbial
in all countries where it is found. This,
conjoined with its other qualities, suggested
the idea in the East of partially training it,
that it might be employed in hunting
Leopards are now rarely kept for hunting in
Western Asia, unless by kings and gover
nors ; but they are more common in the
eastern parts of Asia. Orosius relates that
one was sent by the king of Portugal to the
Pope, which excited great astonishment by
the way in which it overtook, and the facility
with which it killed, deer and wild boars.
Le Bruyn mentions a leopard kept by the
Pasha who governed Gaza, and the other
territories of the ancient Philistines, and
* " Nimr-rod " ; from Nimr, a "leopard," and rada or rad "to subdue."
According to invariable custom in Hebrew, when two consonants come together
as the two rs in Nimr-rod, one of them is sunk. Thus Nin-neveh, " The habita
tion of Ninus," becomes Nineveh. The name Nimrod is commonly derived from
Mered, " to rebel ; " but a difficulty has always been found in regard to this
derivation, as that would make the name Nimrod properly passive not "the
rebel," but " he who was rebelled against." There is no doubt that Nimrod was
a rebel, and that his rebellion was celebrated in ancient myths ; but his name in
that character was not Nimrod, but Merodach, or, as among the Romans, Mars,
"the rebel ;" or among the Oscans of Italy, Mamers (SMITH, sub voce), " The causer
of rebellion." That the Roman Mars was really, in his original, the Babylonian
god, is evident from the name given to the goddess, who was recognised some
times as his " sister," and sometimes as his " wife " — i.e., Bellona (see Ibid., sub voce),
which, in Chaldee, signifies, "The Lamenter of Bel" (from Bel and onak, to .ament).
The Egyptian Isis, the sister and wife of Osiris, is in like manner represented, as
we have seen, as " lamenting her brother Osiris." — BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 419, Note.
t WILKINSON, vol. iii. p. 17.
THE CHILD IN EGYPT.
45
Fig. 19.
which he frequently employed in hunting jackals. But it is in
India that the cheetah, or hunting leopard, is most frequently
employed, and is seen in the perfection of his power."* This
custom of taming the leopard, and pressing it into the service of
man in this way, is traced up to the earliest times of primitive
antiquity. In the works of; Sir William Jones, we find it stated from
the Persian legends, that Hoshang, the father of Tahmurs, who built
Babylon, was the " first who bred dogs and leopards for hunting." f
As Tahmurs, who built Babylon, could be none other than Mmrod,
this legend only attributes to his father what, as his name imports,
he got the fame of doing himself. Now, as the classic god bearing
the lion's skin is recognised by that sign as Hercules, the slayer of the
Nemean lion, so in like manner, the god clothed in the leopard's skin,
would naturally be marked out as Nimrod, the " Leopard-subduer."
That this leopard skin, as appertaining to the Egyptian god, was no
occasional thing, we have clearest evidence.
Wilkinson tells us, that on all high occa
sions when the Egyptian high priest was
called to officiate, it was indispensable that
he should do so wearing, as his robe of
office, the leopard's skin (Fig. 19). J As it
is a universal principle in all idolatries that
the high priest wears the insignia of the
god he serves, this indicates the importance
which the spotted skin must have had
attached to it as a symbol of the god
himself. The ordinary way in which the
favourite Egyptian divinity Osiris was
mystically represented was under the form
of a young bull or calf — the calf Apis —
from which the golden calf of the Israel
ites was borrowed. There was a reason
why that calf should not commonly appear
in the appropriate symbols of the god he
represented, for that calf represented
the divinity in the character of Saturn, <{ The HIDDEN one,"
"Apis" being only another name for Saturn. § The cow of
Athor, however, the female divinity corresponding to Apis, is
well known as a " spotted cow,"|| and it is singular that the Druids
of Britain also worshipped " a spotted cow. "IT Rare though it be,
however, to find an instance of the deified calf or young bull
represented with the spots, there is evidence still in existence, that
* KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. pp. 271, 272.
-j- Works, vol. xii. p. 400.
£ WILKINSON, vol. iv. pp. 341, 353.
§ The name of Apis in Egyptian is Hepi or Hapi, which is evidently from the
Chaldee " Hap," " to cover." In Egyptian, Hap signifies " to conceal." — BUNSEN,
vol. i. Vocab. p. 462.
II WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 387, and vol. vi. Plate 36.
IF DAVIES'S Druids, p. 121.
46
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
even it was sometimes so represented. The accompanying figure
(Fig. 20) represents that divinity, as copied by Col. Hamilton Smith
" from the original collection made by the artists of the French In
stitute of Cairo. "* When we find that Osiris, the grand god of
Egypt, under different forms, was thus arrayed in a leopard's skin or
spotted dress, and that the leopard-skin dress was so indispensable a
part of the sacred robes of his high priest, we may be sure that there
was a deep meaning in such a costume. And what could that mean
ing be, but just to identify Osiris with the Babylonian god, who was
celebrated as the " Leopard-tamer," and who was worshipped even as
lie was, as Ninus, the CHILD in his mother's arms ?
SUB-SECTION III. — THE CHILD IN GREECE.
Thus much for Egypt.
Fig. 20.
Egyptian Calf Idol.
Coming into Greece, not only do we find
evidence there to the same
effect, but increase of that
evidence. The god worshipped
as a child in the arms of the
great Mother in Greece, under
the names of Dionysus, or
Bacchus, or lacchus, is, by
ancient inquirers, expressly
identified with the Egyptian
Osiris. This is the case with
Herodotus, who had prose
cuted his inquiries in Egypt
itself, who ever speaks of
Osiris as Bacchus, f To the
same purpose is the testimony
of Diodorus Siculus. " Orpheus," says he, " introduced from
Egypt the greatest part of the mystical ceremonies, the orgies
that celebrate the wanderings of Ceres, and the whole fable of
the shades below. The rites of Osiris and Bacchus are the same ;
those of Isis and Ceres (A^Tjr^a) exactly resemble each other, except
in name."J Now, as if to identify Bacchus with Nimrod, "the
Leopard-tamer," leopards were employed to draw his car; he himself
was represented as clothed with a leopard's skin ; his priests were
attired in the same manner, or when a leopard's skin was dispensed
with, the spotted skin of a fawn was used as a priestly robe in its
stead. This very custom of wearing the spotted fawn-skin seems to
have been imported into Greece originally from Assyria, where a
spotted fawn was a sacred emblem, as we learn from the Nineveh
* Biblical Cyelopcedia, vol. i. p. 368. The flagellum or lash — the emblem of the
great Egyptian god — suspended to the yoke about the neck of the calf, shows that
this calf represented that god in one of his different forms.
f HERODOTUS, lib. ii. cap. 42.
£ Bibliotkeca, lib. i. p. 9.
THE CHILD IN GKEECE. 47
sculptures ; for there we find a divinity bearing a spotted fawn, or
spotted fallow-deer (Fig. 21), in his arm, as a symbol of some myste
rious import.* The origin of the importance attached to the spotted
fawn and its skin had evidently come thus : When Nimrod, as " the
Leopard-tamer/'' began to be clothed in the leopard-skin, as the
trophy of his skill, his spotted dress and appearance must have
impressed the imaginations of those who saw him ; and he came
to be called not only the "Subduer of the Spotted one" (for such
is the precise meaning of Nimr — the name of the leopard), but to be
called " The spotted one " himself. We have distinct evidence to
this effect borne by Damascius, who tells us that the Babylonians
called "the only son" of the great goddess-mother "Momis, or
Fig. 21.
Moumis."f JSTow, Momis, or Mournis, in Chaldee, like Nimr, signi
fied "The spotted one." Thus, then, it became easy to represent
Nimrod by the symbol of the "spotted fawn," and especially in
Greece, and wherever a pronunciation akin to that of Greece pre
vailed. The name of Nimrod, as known to the Greeks, was Nebrod. J
The name of the fawn, as "the spotted one," in Greece was Nebros ;§
and thus nothing could be more natural than that Nebros, the
* VAUX'S Nineveh and Persepolis, chap. viii. p. 233.
t DAMASCIUS, in GOBY'S Fragments, p. 318.
+ In the Greek Septuagint, translated in Egypt, the name of Nimrod is
"Nebrod."— (P- 17.)
§ Nebros, the name of the fawn, signifies "the spotted one." Nmr, in Egypt,
\rould also become Nbr ; for Bunsen shows that m and b in that land were often
convertible. See vol. i. p. 449,
48
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Fig. 2-2
"spotted fawn," should become a synonym for Nebrod himself.
When, therefore, the Bacchus of Greece was symbolised by the
Nebros, or "spotted fawn," as we shall find he was symbolised,
what could be the design but just covertly to identify him with
Nimrod 1
We have evidence that this god, whose emblem was the Nebros,
was known as having the very lineage of Nimrod. From Anacreon,
we find that a title of Bacchus was Aithiopais* — i.e., "the son of
JEthiops." But who was ^thiops ? As the ^Ethiopians were
Cushites, so yEthiops was Gush. "Chus," says Eusebius, "was he
from whom came the ^Ethiopians."! The testimony of Josephus
is to the same effect. As the father of the ^Ethiopians, Gush was
^Ethiops, by way of eminence.
Therefore Epiphanius, referring to
the extraction of Nimrod, thus
speaks : " Nimrod, the son of Gush,
the .^Ethiop."J Now, as Bacchus
was the son of ^Ethiops, or Gush,
so to the eye he was represented
in that character. As Nin "the
Son," he was portrayed as a youth
or child; and that youth or child
was generally depicted with a
cup in his hand. That cup, to
the multitude, exhibited him as
the god of drunken revelry; and
of such revelry in his orgies, no
doubt there was abundance; but
yet, after all, the cup was mainly
a hieroglyphic, and that of the
name of the god. The name of a
cup, in the sacred language, was
khus, and thus the cup in the hand
of the youthful Bacchus, the son of
^Ethiops, showed that he was the
young Chus, or the son of Chiis.
In the accompanying woodcut (Fig. 22),§ the cup in the right hand
of Bacchus is held up in so significant a way, as naturally to suggest
that it must be a symbol ; and as to the branch in the other hand,
we have express testimony that it is a symbol. But it is worthy of
notice that the branch has no leaves to determine what precise kind
of a branch it is. It must, therefore, be a generic emblem for a
branch, or a symbol of a branch in general; and, consequently, it
needs the cup as its complement, to determine specifically what sort
of a branch it is. The two symbols, then, must be read together ;
* ANACREON, p. 296. The words of Anacreon are kiovwov 'Ai0io7rcu5a.
t EUSEBIUS, Chronicon, vol. i. p. 109.
£ EPIPHANIUS, lib. i. vol. i. p. 7.
§ From SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, p. 208.
THE CHILD IN GREECE. 49
and read thus, they are just equivalent to — the "Branch of Chus"
— i.e., " the scion or son of Gush." *
There is another hieroglyphic connected with Bacchus that goes
not a little to confirm this — that is, the Ivy branch. No emblem
was more distinctive of the worship of Bacchus than this. Wherever
the rites of Bacchus were performed, wherever his orgies were cele
brated, the Ivy branch was sure to appear. Ivy, in some form or
other, was essential to these celebrations. The votaries carried it
in their hands, f bound it around their heads, J or had the Ivy leaf
even indelibly stamped upon their persons.§ What could be the use,
what could be the meaning of this? A few words will suffice to
show it. In the first place, then, we have evidence that Kissoe, the
Greek name for Ivy, was one of the names of Bacchus ; || and further,
that though the name of Gush, in its proper form, was known to the
priests in the Mysteries, yet that the established way in which the
name of his descendants, the Cushites, was ordinarily pronounced in
Greece, was not after the Oriental fashion, but as "Kissaioi," or
" Kissioi." Thus, Strabo, speaking of the inhabitants of Susa, who
were the people of Chusistan, or the ancient land of Gush, says :
"The Susians are called Kissioi," U — that is beyond all question,
Cushites. Now, if Kissioi be Cushites, then Kissos is Gush. Then,
further, the branch of Ivy that occupied so conspicuous a place in all
Bacchanalian celebrations was an express symbol of Bacchus himself ;
for Hesychius assures us that Bacchus, as represented by his priest,
was known in the Mysteries as " The branch." ** From this, then, it
appears how Kissos, the Greek name of Ivy, became the name of
Bacchus. As the son of Gush, and as identified with him, he was
sometimes called by his father's name — Kissos. ff His actual relation,
* Everyone knows that Homer's odzos Areos, or "Branch of Mars," is the
same as a " Son of Mars." The hieroglyphic above was evidently formed on the
same principle. That the cup alone in the hand of the youthful Bacchus was
intended to designate him "as the young Chus," or "the boy Chus," we may
fairly conclude from a statement of Pausanias, in which he represents " the boy
Kuathos " as acting the part of a cup-bearer, and presenting a cup to Hercules. —
(PAUSANIAS, lib. ii. ; Corinthiaca, cap. 13, p. 142.) Kuathos is the Greek for a
"cup," and is evidently derived from the Hebrew Khus, "a cup," which, in one
of its Chaldee forms, becomes Khuth or Khuath. Now, it is well known that
the name of Gush is often found in the form of Cuth, and that name, in certain
dialects, would be Cuath. The " boy Kuathos," then, is just the Greek form of
the "boy Gush," or "the young Cush." The reader will not fail to notice the
spots on the robe of the figure on opposite page.
[The berries or unopened flower-buds at the end of the twigs (Fig. 22), may
indicate the Ivy plant. This, however, would not invalidate, but rather strengthen
the general argument.]
t SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, "Dionysus," p. 227.
£ EURIPID., in STRABO, lib. x. p. 452.
§ KITTO'S lllust. Com., vol. iv. p. 144.— POTTER, vol. i. p. 75. Edin. 1808.
II PAUSANIAS, Attica, cap. 31, p. 78.
IF STRABO, lib. xv. p. 691. In Hesychius, the name is Kissaioi, p. 531. The
epithet applied to the land of Cush in ^Eschylus is Kissinos — ^EsCHYL., Pers.
v. 16. The above accounts for one of the unexplained titles of Apollo. " Kisseus
Apollon "is plainly " The Cushite Apollo."
* HESYCHIUS, p. 179.
ft See ante, for what is said of Janus, Note, p. 28.
E
50 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
however, to his father was specifically brought out by the Ivy branch,
for " the branch of Kissos," which to the profane vulgar was only
" the branch of Ivy," was to the initiated " The branch of Gush."*
Now, this god, who was recognised as "the scion of Gush," was
worshipped under a name, which, while appropriate to him in his
vulgar character as the god of the vintage, did also describe him as
the great Fortifier. That name was Bassareus, which, in its two-fold
meaning, signified at once "The houser of grapes, or the vintage
gatherer," and " The Encompasser with a wall,"f in this latter sense
identifying the Grecian god with the Egyptian Osiris, " the strong
chief of the buildings," and with the Assyrian " Belus, who encom
passed Babylon with a wall."
Thus from Assyria, Egypt, and Greece, we have cumulative and
overwhelming evidence, all conspiring to demonstrate that the child
worshipped in the arms of the goddess-mother in all these countries
in the very character of Ninus or Nin, " The Son," was Nimrod, the
son of Gush. A feature here, or an incident there, may have been
borrowed from some succeeding hero ; but it seems impossible to
doubt, that of that child Nimrod was the prototype, the grand
original.
The amazing extent of the worship of this man indicates something
very extraordinary in his character ; and there is ample reason to
believe, that in his own day he was an object of high popularity.
Though by setting up as king, Nimrod invaded the patriarchal
system, and abridged the liberties of mankind, yet he was held by
many to have conferred benefits upon them, that amply indemnified
them for the loss of their liberties, and covered him with glory and
renown. By the time that he appeared, the wild beasts of the forest
multiplying more rapidly than the human race, must have committed
* The chaplet, or head-band of Ivy, had evidently a similar hieroglyphical
meaning to the above, for the Greek "Zeira Kissou" is either a "band or circlet
of Ivy," or "The seed of Gush." The formation of the Greek "Zeira," a zone or
enclosing band, from the Chaldee Zer, to encompass, shows that Zero "the seed,"
which was also pronounced Zeraa, would, in like manner, in some Greek dialects,
become Zeira. Kissos, "Ivy," in Greek, retains the radical idea of the Chaldee
Khesha or Khesa, " to cover or hide," from which there is reason to believe the
name of Gush is derived, for Ivy is characteristically " The coverer or hider." In
connection with this, it may be stated that the second person of the Phenician
trinity was Chusorus (WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 191), which evidently is Chus-zoro,
"The seed of Gush." We have already seen (p. 13) that the Phenicians derived
their mythology from Assyria.
f Bassareus is evidently from the Chaldee Batzar, to which both Gesenius, pp.
150, 151, and Parkhurst, p. 77, give the two-fold meaning of "gathering in
grapes," and " fortifying." Batzar is softened into Bazzar in the very same way
as Nebuchadnetzar is pronounced Nebuchadnezzar. In the sense of " rendering a
defence inaccessible," Gesenius adduces Jeremiah li. 53, "Though Babylon should
mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify (tabatzar) the height of her
strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord." Here is
evident reference to the two great elements in Babylon's strength, first her tower ;
secondly, her massive fortifications, or encompassing walls. In making the mean
ing of Batzar to be, " to render inaccessible," Gesenius seems to have missed the
proper generic meaning of the term. Batzar is a compound verb, from £a, " in,"
and Tzar, "to compass," exactly equivalent to our English word "en-compass."
THE CHILD IN GREECE. 51
great depredations on the scattered and straggling populations of the
earth, and must have inspired great terror into the minds of men.
The danger arising to the lives of men from such a source as this,
when population is scanty, is implied in the reason given by God
Himself for not driving out the doomed Canaanites before Israel at
once, though the measure of their iniquity was full (Exod. xxiii.
29, 30) : " I will not drive them out from before thee in one year,
lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply
against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before
thee, until thou be increased." The exploits of Nimrod, therefore,
in hunting down the wild beasts of the field, and ridding the world
of monsters, must have gained for him the character of a pre-eminent
benefactor of his race. By this means, not less than by the bands he
trained, was his power acquired, when he first began to be mighty
upon the earth ; and in the same way, no doubt, was that power
consolidated. Then, over and above, as the first great city-builder
after the flood, by gathering men together in masses, and surrounding
them with walls, he did still more to enable them to pass their days
in security, free from the alarms to which they had been exposed in
their scattered life, when no one could tell but that at any moment
he might be called to engage in deadly conflict with prowling wild
beasts, in defence of his own life and of those who were dear to him.
"Within the battlements of a fortified city no such danger from savage
animals was to be dreaded ; and for the security afforded in this way,
men no doubt looked upon themselves as greatly indebted to Nimrod.
No wonder, therefore, that the name of the " mighty hunter," who was
at the same time the prototype of " the god of fortifications," should
have become a name of renown. Had Nimrod gained renown only
thus, it had been well. But not content with delivering men from the
fear of wild beasts, he set to work also to emancipate them from that
fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom, and in which
alone true happiness can be found. For this very thing, he seems
to have gained, as one of the titles by which men delighted to
honour him, the title of the " Emancipator," or "Deliverer." The
reader may remember a name that has already come under his
notice. That name is the name of Phoroneus. The era of
Phoroneus is exactly the era of Nimrod. He lived about the time
when men had used one speech, when the confusion of tongues
began, and when mankind was scattered abroad.* He is said to
have been the first that gathered mankind into communities,! the
first of mortals that reigned, f and the first that offered idolatrous
sacrifices. § This character can agree with none but that of Nimrod.
Now the name given to him in connection with his " gathering men
* See ante, p. 25, and Note.
t PAUSANIAS, lib. ii. ; Corinthiaca, cap. 15, p. 145.
£ HYGINCS, Fab. 143, p. 114.
§ LUTATIUS PLACIDUS, in Stat. Tkeb., lib. iv. v. 589, a.pud BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 65,
Note. The words are "Primus Junoni sacrificasse dicitur." The meaning of this
probably is, that he first set up the dove (lune) as a material and visible symbol
of the Holy Spirit. See next Section.
52 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
together," and offering idolatrous sacrifice, is very significant.
Phoroneus, in one of its meanings, and that one of the most
natural, signifies the " Apostate."* That name had very likely been
given him by the uninfected portion of the sons of Noah. But that
name had also another meaning, that is, " to set free ; " and therefore
his own adherents adopted it, and glorified the great " Apostate "
from the primeval faith, though he was the first that abridged the
liberties of mankind, as the grand " Emancipator ! " f And hence,
in one form or other, this title was handed down to his deified
successors as a title of honour. | All tradition from the earliest
times bears testimony to the apostacy of Nimrod, and to his success
in leading men away from the patriarchal faith, and delivering their
minds from that awe of God and fear of the judgments of heaven
that must have rested on them while yet the memory of the flood
was recent. And according to all the principles of depraved human
nature, this too, no doubt, was one grand element in his fame ; for
men will readily rally around any one who can give the least
appearance of plausibility to any doctrine which will teach that
they can be assured of happiness and heaven at last, though their
hearts and natures are unchanged, and though they live without
God in the world.
How great was the boon conferred by Nimrod on the human race,
in the estimation of ungodly men, by emancipating them from the
impressions of true religion, and putting the authority of heaven to
a distance from them, we find most vividly described in a Polynesian
tradition, that carries its own evidence with it. John Williams,
the well-known missionary, tells us that, according to one of the
ancient traditions of the islanders of the South Seas, " the heavens
* From Pharo, also pronounced Pharang, or Pharong, " to cast off, to make
naked, to apostatise, to set free." These meanings are not commonly given in
this order, but as the sense of " casting off " explains all the other meanings, that
warrants the conclusion that " to cast off" is the generic sense of the word. Now
" apostacy " is very near akin to this sense, and therefore is one of the most natural.
t The Sabine goddess Feronia had evidently a relation to Phoroneus, as the
'• Emancipator." She was believed to be the " goddess of liberty," because at
Terracina (or Anxur) slaves were emancipated in her temple (Servius, in jEneid,
viii. v. 564, vol. i. p. 490), and because the freedmen of Rome are recorded on one
occasion to have collected a sum of money for the purpose of offering it in her
temple. — SMITH'S Classical Dictionary (the larger one), sub voce " Feronia."
The Chaldee meaning of the name "Feronia," strikingly confirms this conclu
sion. Her contemplar divinity, who was worshipped along with her in a grove,
was, like Ninus, a youthful divinity. He was regarded as a " youthful Jupiter."
— SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, sub voce " Anxurus," p. 60.
+ Thus we read of " Zeus Aphesio" (PAUSANIAS, lib. i. Attica, cap. 44), that is
"Jupiter Liberator " (see also ARRIAN, who speaks of " Jovi Aphesio Liberatori
scilicet," apud BRYANT, vol. v. p. 25), and of " Dionysus Eleuthereus" (PAUSANIAS,
Attica, cap. 20, p. 46), or " Bacchus the Deliverer." The name of Theseus seems
to have had the same origin, from nthes " to loosen," and so to set free (the n
being omissible). "The temple of Theseus" [at Athens] says POTTER (vol. i.
p. 36) . . . . " was allowed the privilege of being a Sanctuary for slaves, and all
those of mean condition that fled from the persecution of men in power, in
memory that Theseus, while he lived, was an assister and protector of the
distressed."
THE CHILD IN GREECE. 53
were originally so close to the earth that men could not walk, but
were compelled to crawl" under them. "This was found a very
serious evil ; but at length an individual conceived the sublime idea
of elevating the heavens to a more convenient height. For this pur
pose he put forth his utmost energy, and by the first effort raised
them to the top of a tender plant called teve, about four feet high.
There he deposited them until he was refreshed, when, by a second
effort, he lifted them to the height of a tree called Kauariki, which
is as large as the sycamore. By the third attempt he carried them
to the summits of the mountains ; and after a long interval of repose,
and by a most prodigious effort, he elevated them to their present
situation." For this, as a mighty benefactor of mankind, "this in
dividual was deified ; and up to the moment that Christianity was
embraced, the deluded inhabitants worshipped him as the * Elevator
of the heavens.3"* Now, what could more graphically describe the
position of mankind soon after the flood, and the proceedings of
Nimrod as Phoroneus, "The Emancipator,"! than this Polynesian
fable 1 While the awful catastrophe by which God had showed His
avenging justice on the sinners of the old world was yet fresh in the
minds of men, and so long as Noah, and the upright among his
descendants, sought with all earnestness to impress upon all under
their control the lessons which that solemn event was so well fitted
to teach, "heaven," that is, God, must have seemed very near to
earth. To maintain the union between heaven and earth, and to
keep it as close as possible, must have been the grand aim of all who
loved God and the best interests of the human race. But this
implied the restraining and discountenancing of all vice and all
those "pleasures of sin," after which the natural mind, unrenewed
and unsanctified, continually pants. This must have been secretly
felt by every unholy mind as a state of insufferable bondage. " The
carnal mind is enmity against God," is " not subject to His law,"
neither indeed is "able to be " so. It says to the Almighty, "Depart
from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways." So long as
the influence of the great father of the new world was in the ascen
dant, while his maxims were regarded, and a holy atmosphere sur
rounded the world, no wonder that those who were alienated from
God and godliness, felt heaven and its influence and authority to be
intolerably near, and that in such circumstances they "could not
walk," but only "crawl," — that is, that they had no freedom to
" walk after the sight of their own eyes and the imaginations of
their own hearts." From this bondage Nimrod emancipated them.
By the apostacy he introduced, by the free life he developed among
those who rallied around him, and by separating them from the holy
influences that had previously less or more controlled them, he helped
them to put God and the strict spirituality of His law at a distance,
* WILLIAM'S Narrative of Missionary Enterprises, chap. xxxi. p. 142.
f The bearing of this name, Phoroneus, "The Emancipator," will be seen in
Chap. III. Sect. I., " Christmas," where it is shown that slaves had a temporary
emancipation at his birthday.
54 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
and thus he became the " Elevator of the heavens," making men feel
and act as if heaven were afar off from earth, and as if either the
God of heaven " could not see through the dark cloud," or did not
regard with displeasure the breakers of His laws. Then all such
would feel that they could breathe freely, and that now they could
walk at liberty. For this, such men could not but regard Nimrod
as a high benefactor.
Now, who could have imagined that a tradition from Tahiti would
have illuminated the story of Atlas 1 But yet, when Atlas, bearing
the heavens on his shoulders, is brought into juxtaposition with the
deified hero of the South Seas, who blessed the world by heaving up
the superincumbent heavens that pressed so heavily upon it, who does
not see that the one story bears a relation to the other 1 * Thus,
* In the Polynesian story the heavens and earth are said to have been "bound
together with cords," and the "severing" of these cords is said to have been
effected by myriads of " dragon-flies," which, with their "wings," bore an import
ant share in the great work.— ( WILLIAMS, p. 142. ) Is there not here a reference to
Nimrod's " mighties " or " winged ones " ? The deified " mighty ones " were often
represented as winged serpents. See WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 232, where the god
Agathodsemon is represented as a " winged asp." Among a rude people the
memory of such a representation might very naturally be kept up in connection
with the " dragon-fly " ; and as all the mighty or winged ones of Nimrod's age,
the real golden age of paganism, when "dead, became daemons " (HESIOD, Works
and Days, v. 120, 121), they would of course all alike be symbolised in the same
way. If any be stumbled at the thought of such a connection between the myth
ology of Tahiti and of Babel, let it not be overlooked that the name of the
Tahitian god of war was Oro (WILLIAMS, Ibid.), while " Horus (or Orus)," as
Wilkinson calls the son of Osiris, in Egypt, which unquestionably borrowed its
system from Babylon, appeared in that very character. — ( WILKINSON, vol. iv. p.
402.) Then what could the severing of the " cords " that bound heaven and earth
together be, but just the breaking of the bands of the covenant by which God
bound the earth to Himself, when on smelling a sweet savour in Noah's sacrifice,
He renewed His covenant with him as head of the human race. This covenant did
not merely respect the promise to the earth securing it against another universal
deluge, but contained in its bosom a promise of all spiritual blessings to those
who adhere to it. The smelling of the sweet savour in Noah's sacrifice had
respect to \\isfaith in Christ. When, therefore, in consequence of smelling that
sweet savour, "God blessed Noah and his sons" (Gen. ix. 1), that had reference
not merely to temporal but to spiritual and eternal blessings. Every one, there
fore, of the sons of Noah, who had Noah's faith, and who walked as Noah walked,
was divinely assured of an interest in "the everlasting covenant, ordered in all
tilings and sure." Blessed were those bands by which God bound the believing
children of men to Himself — by which heaven and earth were so closely joined
together. Those, on the other hand, who joined in the apostacy of Nimrod broke
the covenant, and in casting off the authority of God, did in effect say, "Let us
break His bands asunder, and cast His cords from us." To this very act of severing
the covenant connection between earth and heaven there is very distinct allusion,
though veiled, in the Babylonian history of Berosus. There Belus, that is Nimrod,
after having dispelled the primeval darkness, is said to have separated heaven and
earth from one another, and to have orderly arranged the world. — (BEROSUS, in
BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 709.) These words were intended to represent Belus as the
" Former of the world." But then it is & new world that he forms ; for there are
creatures in existence before his Demiurgic power is exerted. The new world
that Belus or Nimrod formed, was just the new order of things which he intro
duced when, setting at nought all Divine appointments, he rebelled against Heaven.
The rebellion of the Giants is represented as peculiarly a rebellion against Heaven.
To this ancient quarrel between the Babylonian potentates and Heaven, there is
THE DEATH OF THE CHILD. 55
theD, it appears that Atlas, with the heavens resting on his broad
shoulders, refers to no mere distinction in astronomical knowledge,
however great, as some have supposed, but to a quite different thing,
even to that great apostacy in which the Giants rebelled against
Heaven* and in which apostacy Nimrod, " the mighty one," f as
the acknowledged ringleader, occupied a pre-eminent place. J
According to the system which Nimrod was the grand instrument
in introducing, men were led to believe that a real spiritual change
of heart was unnecessary, and that so far as change was needful, they
could be regenerated by mere external means. Looking at the
subject in the light of the Bacchanalian orgies, which, as the reader
has seen, commemorated the history of Nimrod, it is evident that he
led mankind to seek their chief good in sensual enjoyment, and
showed them how they might enjoy the pleasures of sin, without any
fear of the wrath of a holy God. In his various expeditions he was
always accompanied by troops of women ; and by music and song,
and games and revelries, and everything that could please the natural
heart, he commended himself to the good graces of mankind.
SUB-SECTION IV. THE DEATH OF THE CHILD.
How Nimrod died, Scripture is entirely silent. There was an
ancient tradition that he came to a violent end. The circumstances
of that end, however, as antiquity represents them, are clouded with
fable. It is said that tempests of wind sent by God against the
Tower of Babel overthrew it, and that Nimrod perished in its ruins.§
This could not be true, for we have sufficient evidence that the Tower
of Babel stood long after Nimrod's day. Then, in regard to the
death of Ninus, profane history speaks darkly and mysteriously,
although one account tells of his having met with a violent death
similar to that of Pentheus,|| Lycurgus,U and Orpheus,** who were
plainly an allusion in the words of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, when announcing
that sovereign's humiliation and subsequent restoration, he says (Daniel iv. 26),
" Thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, when thou hast known that the HBAVENS
do rule."
* SMITH'S Lesser Dictionary, " Gigantes," pp. 282, 283.
t In the Greek Septuagint, translated in Egypt, the term " mighty " as applied
in Gen. x. 8, to Nimrod, is rendered yiyas, the ordinary name for a " Giant."
£ IVAN and KALLERY, in their account of Japan, show that a similar story to
that of Atlas was known there, for they say that once a-day the Emperor " sits
on his throne upholding the world and the empire." Now something like this
came to be added to the story of Atlas, for PAUSANIAS shows (lib. v. cap. 18,
p. 423) that Atlas also was represented as upholding both earth and heaven.
§ BRYANT, vol. iv. pp. 61, 62.
|| HYGINUS, Fab. 184, p. 138.
if Ibid. Fab. 132, p. 109. Lycurgus, who is commonly made the enemy of
Bacchus, was, by the Thracians and Phrygians, identified with Bacchus, who it is
well known, was torn in pieces. See STRABO, lib. x. p. 453.
** APOLLODORUS, Bibliotlieca, lib. i. cap. 3 and 7, p. 17.
56 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
said to have been torn in pieces.* The identity of Nimrod, however,
and the Egyptian Osiris, ^having been established, we have thereby
light as to Nimrod's death. Osiris met with a violent death, and
that violent death of Osiris was the central theme of the whole
idolatry of Egypt. If Osiris was Nimrod, as we have seen, that
violent death which the Egyptians so pathetically deplored in their
annual festivals was just the death of Nimrod. The accounts in
regard to the death of the god worshipped in the several mysteries
of the different countries are all to the same effect. A statement of
Plato seems to show, that in his day the Egyptian Osiris was
regarded as identical with Tammuz ; f and Tammuz is well known to
have been the same as Adonis, J the famous HUNTSMAN, for whose
death Yenus is fabled to have made such bitter lamentations. As
the women of Egypt wept for Osiris, as the Phenician and Assyrian
women wept for Tammuz, so in Greece and Rome the women wept
for Bacchus, whose name, as we have seen, means "The bewailed,"
or " Lamented one." And now, in connection with the Bacchanal
lamentations, the importance of the relation established between
Nebros, " The spotted fawn," and Nebrod, " The mighty hunter," will
appear. The Nebros, or " spotted fawn," was the symbol of Bacchus,
as representing Nebrod or Nimrod himself. Now, on certain
occasions, in the mystical celebrations, the Nebros, or " spotted fawn,"
was torn in pieces, expressly, as we learn from Photius, as a com
memoration of what happened to Bacchus,§ whom that fawn repre
sented. The tearing in pieces of Nebros, " the spotted one," goes to
confirm the conclusion, that the death of Bacchus, even as the death
of Osiris, represented the death of Nebrod, whom, under the very
name of " The Spotted one," the Babylonians worshipped. Though
we do not find any account of Mysteries observed in Greece in
memory of Orion, the giant and mighty hunter celebrated by Homer,
under that name, yet he was represented symbolically as having died
in a similar way to that in which Osiris died, and as having then
* LUDOVICUS VIVES, Commentary on Augustine, lib. vi. chap. ix. Note, p. 239.
Ninus as referred to by Vives is called " King of India." The word ' ' India " in
classical writers, though not always, yet commonly means ^Ethiopia, or the land
of Gush. Thus the Choaspes in the land of the eastern Cushites is called an
" Indian river" (DiONYSius AFER. Periergesis, v. 1073-4, p. 32) ; and the Nile is
said by Virgil to come from the "coloured Indians" (Georg., lib. iv. v., 293, p.
230) — i.e., from the Cushites, or ^Ethiopians of Africa. Osiris also is by Diodorus
Siculus (Bibliotheca, lib. i. p. 16), called " an Indian by extraction." There can be
no doubt, then, that " Ninus, king of India," is the Cushite or ^Ethiopian
Ninus.
t See WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. v. p. 3. The statement of Plato amounts
to this, that the famous Thoth was a counsellor of Thamus, king of Egypt. Now
Thoth is universally known as the " counsellor" of Osiris. (WILKINSON, vol. v.
c. xiii. p. 10.) Hence it may be concluded that Thamus and Osiris are the same.
it KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. p. 141.
§ Photius, under the head " Nebridz on " quotes Demosthenes as saying that
" spotted fawns (or nebroi) were torn in pieces for a certain mystic or mysterious
reason ; " and he himself tells us that " the tearing in pieces of the nebroi (or
spotted fawns) was in imitation of the suffering in the case of Dionysus " or
Bacchus. — PHOTIUS, Lexicon, Pars. i. p. 291.
THE DEATH OF THE CHILD. 57
been translated to heaven.* From Persian records we are expressly
assured that it was Nimrod who was deified after his death by the
name of Orion, and placed among the stars, f Here, then, we have
large and consenting evidence, all leading to one conclusion, that the
death of Nimrod, the child worshipped in the arms of the goddess-
mother of Babylon, was a death of violence.
Now, when this mighty hero, in the midst of his career of glory,
was suddenly cut off by a violent death, great seems to have been the
shock that the catastrophe occasioned. When the news spread abroad,
the devotees of pleasure felt as if the best benefactor of mankind
were gone, and the gaiety of nations eclipsed. Loud was the wail
that everywhere ascended to heaven among the apostates from the
primeval faith for so dire a catastrophe. Then began those weepings
for Tammuz, in the guilt of which the daughters of Israel allowed
themselves to be implicated, and the existence of which can be traced
not merely in the annals of classical antiquity, but in the literature
of the world from Ultima Thule to Japan.
Of the prevalence of such weepings in China, thus speaks the Rev.
W. Gillespie : " The dragon-boat festival happens in midsummer,
and is a season of great excitement. About 2000 years ago there
lived a young Chinese Mandarin, Wat-yune, highly respected and
beloved by the people. To the grief of all, he was suddenly drowned
in the river. Many boats immediately rushed out in search of him,
but his body was never found. Ever since that time, on the same
day of the month, the dragon-boats go out in search of him." " It is
something," adds the author, " like the bewailing of Adonis, or the
weeping for Tammuz mentioned in Scripture." J As the great god
Buddh is generally represented in China as a Negro, that may serve
to identify the beloved Mandarin whose loss is thus annually be
wailed. The religious system of Japan largely coincides with that of
China. In Iceland, and throughout Scandinavia, there were similar
lamentations for the loss of the god Balder. Balder, through the
treachery of the god Loki, the spirit of evil, according as had been
written in the book of destiny, "was slain, although the empire of
heaven depended on his life." His father Odin had "learned the
terrible secret from the book of destiny, having conjured one of the
* See OVID'S Fasti, lib. v. lines 540-544. Ovid represents Orion as so puffed up
with pride on account of his great strength, as vain-gloriously to boast that no
creature on earth could cope with him, whereupon a scorpion appeared, "and,"
says the poet, "he was added to the stars." The name of a scorpion in Chaldee
is Akrab ; but Ak-rab, thus divided, signifies "THE GREAT OPPRESSOR,'' and this
is the hidden meaning of the Scorpion as represented in the Zodiac. That sign
typifies him who cut off the Babylonian god, and suppressed the system he set up.
It was while the sun was in Scorpio that Osiris in Egypt " disappeared "
(WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 331), and great lamentations were made for his disappear
ance. Another subject was mixed up with the death of the Egyptian god ; but it
is specially to be noticed that, as it was in consequence of a conflict with a
scorpion that Orion was "added to the stars," so it was when the scorpion was in
the ascendant that Osiris " disappeared."
f See Paschal Chronicle, torn. i. p. 64.
£ GILLKSPIE'S Sinim, p. 71.
58 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Volar from her infernal abode. All the gods trembled at the know
ledge of this event. Then Frigga [the wife of Odin] called on every
object, animate and inanimate, to take an oath not to destroy or
furnish arms against Balder. Fire, water, rocks, and vegetables were
bound by this solemn obligation. One plant only, the misletoe, was
overlooked. Loki discovered the omission, and made that con
temptible shrub the fatal weapon. Among the warlike pastimes of
Valhalla [the assembly of the gods] one was to throw darts at the
invulnerable deity, who felt a pleasure in presenting his charmed
breast to their weapons. At a tournament of this kind, the evil
genius putting a sprig of the misletoe into the hands of the blind
Hoder, and directing his aim, the dreaded prediction was accomplished
by an unintentional fratricide.* The spectators were struck with
speechless wonder; and their misfortune was the greater, that no
one, out of respect to the sacredness of the place, dared to avenge it.
With tears of lamentation they carried the lifeless body to the shore,
and laid it upon a ship, as a funeral pile, with that of Nanna his
lovely bride, who had died of a broken heart. His horse and arms
were burnt at the same time, as was customary at the obsequies of
the ancient heroes of the north." Then Frigga, his mother, was
overwhelmed with distress. "Inconsolable for the loss of her
beautiful son," says Dr. Crichton, "she despatched Hermod (the
swift) to the abode of Hela [the goddess of Hell, or the infernal
regions], to offer a ransom for his release. The gloomy goddess pro
mised that he should be restored, provided everything on earth were
found to weep for him. Then were messengers sent over the whole
world, to see that the order was obeyed, and the effect of the general
sorrow was ' as when there is a universal thaw.' "f There are con
siderable variations from the original story in these two legends ; but
at bottom the essence of the stories is the same, indicating that they
must have flowed from one fountain.
SUB-SECTION V. — THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD.
If there was one who was more deeply concerned in the tragic
death of Nimrod than another, it was his wife Semiramis, who, from
an originally humble position, had been raised to share with him the
throne of Babylon. What, in this emergency shall she do ? Shall
she quietly forego the pomp and pride to which she has been raised 1
No. Though the death of her husband has given a rude shock to
her power, yet her resolution and unbounded ambition were in
nowise checked. On the contrary, her ambition took a still higher
flight. In life her husband had been honoured as a hero ; in death
she will have him worshipped as a god, yea, as the woman's promised
* In THEOCRITUS, also, the boar that killed Adonis is represented as baring
done so accidentally. See next section,
f Scandinavia, vol. i. pp. 93, 94.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 59
seed, "Zero-ashta,"* who was destined to bruise the serpent's head,
and who, in doing so, was to have his own heel bruised. The patri
archs, and the ancient world in general, were perfectly acquainted with
the grand primeval promise of Eden, and they knew right well that
the bruising of the heel of the promised seed implied his death, and
that the curse could be removed from the world only by the death of the
grand Deliverer. If the promise about the bruising of the serpent's
* Zero — in Chaldee, "the eeed " — though we have seen reason to conclude that
in Greek it sometimes appeared as Zeira, quite naturally passed also into Zoro,
as may be seen from the change of Zerubbabel in the Greek Septuagint to
Zoro-babel ; and hence Zuro-ashta, "the seed of the woman" became Zoroaster,
the well-known name of the head of the fire-worshippers. Zoroaster's name is also
found as Zeroastes (JOHANNES CLERICUS, torn, ii., De Chaldceis, sect. i. cap. 2, p.
194). The reader who consults the able and very learned work of Dr. Wilson of
Bombay, on the Parsi Religion, will find that there was a Zoroaster long before
that Zoroaster who lived in the reign of Darius Hystaspes. — (See note to
WILSON'S Parsi Religion, p. 398.) In general history, the Zoroaster of Bactria
is most frequently referred to ; but the voice of antiquity is clear and distinct to
the effect that the first and great Zoroaster was an Assyrian or Chaldean (SuiDAS,
torn. i. p. 1133), and that he was the founder of the idolatrous system of Babylon,
and therefore Nimrod. It is equally clear also in stating that he perished by a
violent death, even as was the case with Nimrod, Tammuz, or Bacchus. The
identity of Bacchus and Zoroaster is still further proved by the epithet Pyrisporus,
bestowed on Bacchus in the Orphic flymns (Hymn xliv. 1). When the primeval
promise of Eden began to be forgotten, the meaning of the name Zero-ash ta was
lost to all who knew only the exoteric doctrine of Paganism ; and as "ashta"
signified "fire" in Chaldee, as well as "the woman," and the rites of Bacchus
had much to do with fire-worship, "Zero-ashta " came to be rendered " the seed
of fire ; " and hence the epithet Pyrisporus, or Ignigena, " fire-born," as applied
to Bacchus. From this misunderstanding of the meaning of the name Zero-ashta,
or rather from its wilful perversion by the priests, who wished to establish one
doctrine for the initiated, and another for the profane vulgar, came the whole
story about the unborn infant Bacchus having been rescued from the flames that
consumed his mother Semele, when Jupiter came in his glory to visit her. — (Note
to OVID'S Metam., lib. iii. v. 254, torn. ii. p. 139.)
There was another name by which Zoroaster was known, and which is not a
little instructive, and that is Zar-adas, " The only seed." — ( JOHANNES CLERICUS,
torn. ii. De Chaldceis, sect. i. cap. 2, p. 191.) In WILSON'S Parsi Religion the name
is given either Zoroadus, or Zarades (p. 400). The ancient Pagans, while they
recognised supremely one only God, knew also that there was one only seed,
on whom the hopes of the world were founded. In almost all nations, not only
was a great god known under the name of Zero or Zer, ' ' the seed," and a great
goddess under the name of Ashta or Isha, "the woman ; " but the great god Zero
is frequently characterised by some epithet which implies that he is " The only
One." Now what can account for such names or epithets ? Genesis iii. 15 can
accoxmt for them ; nothing else can. The name Zar-ades, or Zoro-adus, also
strikingly illustrates the saying of Paul : " He saith not, And to seeds, as of
many ; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ."
It is worthy of notice, that the modern system of Parseeism, which dates from
the reform of the old fire-worship in the time of Darius Hystaspes, having rejected
the worship of the goddess-mother, cast out also from the name of their Zoroaster
the name of the " woman " ; and therefore in the Zend, the sacred language of
the Parsees, the name of their great reformer is Zarathustra (see WILSON, p. 201,
and passim)— i.e., "The Delivering Seed," the last member of the name coming
from Thusht (the root being — Chaldee — nthsh, which drops the initial n), "to
loosen or set loose," and so to free. Thusht is the infinitive, and ra appended to
it is, in Sanscrit, with which the Zend has much affinity, the well-known sign of
the doer of an action, just as er is in English. The Zend Zarathushtra, then,
seems just the equivalent of Phoroneus, "The Emancipator."
60
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
head, recorded in Genesis, as made to our first parents, was actually
made, and if all mankind were descended from them, then it might
be expected that some trace of this promise would be found in all
nations. And such is the fact. There is hardly a people or kindred
on earth in whose mythology it is not shadowed forth. The Greeks
represented their great god Apollo as slaying the serpent Pytho, and
Hercules as strangling serpents while yet in his cradle. In Egypt,
in India, in Scandinavia, in Mexico, we find clear allusions to the
same great truth. " The evil genius," says Wilkinson, " of the
adversaries of the Egyptian god Horus is frequently figured under
the form of a snake, whose head he is seen piercing with a spear.
The same fable occurs in the religion of India, where the malignant
serpent Calyia is slain by Vishnu, in his avatar of Crishna (Fig. 23) ;
and the Scandinavian deity Thor was said to have bruised the head
of the great serpent with his mace." " The origin of this," he adds,
" may be readily traced to the Bible."* In reference to a similar
Fig. 23.
An Egyptian goddess piercing the serpent's head, and the Indian
Crishna crushing the serpent's head.f
belief among the Mexicans, we find Humboldt saying, that "The
serpent crushed by the great spirit Teotl, when he takes the form of
one of the subaltern deities, is the genius of evil — a real Kako-
dsemon."! Now, in almost all cases, when the subject is examined
to the bottom, it turns out that the serpent destroying god is repre
sented as enduring hardships and sufferings that end in his death.
Thus the god Thor, while succeeding at last in destroying the great
serpent, is represented as, in the very moment of victory, perishing
from the venomous effluvia of his breath.§ The same would seem to
be the way in which the Babylonians represented their great serpent-
destroyer among the figures of their ancient sphere. His myste
rious suffering is thus described by the Greek poet Aratus, whose
* WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 395.
t The Egyptian goddess is from WILKINSON, vol. vi. Plate 42 ; Crishna from
COLEMAN'S Indian Mythology, p. 34.
$ HUMBOLDT'S Mexican Researches, vol. i. p. 228.
§ MALLET'S Northern Antiquities, Fab. H. p. 453.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 61
language shows that when he wrote, the meaning of the representa
tion had been generally lost, although, when viewed in the light of
Scripture, it is surely deeply significant : —
" A human figure, 'whelmed with toil, appears ;
Yet still with name uncertain he remains ;
Nor known the labour that he thus sustains ;
But since upon his knees he seems to fall,
Him ignorant mortals Engonasis call ;
And while sublime his awful hands are spread,
Beneath him rolls the dragon's horrid head,
And his right foot unmoved appears to rest,
Fixed on the writhing monster's burnished crest."*
The constellation thus represented is commonly known by the
name of "The Kneeler," from this very description of the Greek
poet ; but it is plain that, as " Engonasis " came from the Baby
lonians, it must be interpreted, not in a Greek, but in a Chaldee
sense, and so interpreted, as the action of the figure itself implies,
the title of the mysterious sufferer is just "The Serpent-crusher."!
Sometimes, however, the actual crushing of the serpent was repre
sented as a much more easy process ; yet, even then, death was the
ultimate result; and that death of the serpent-destroyer is so
described as to leave no doubt whence the fable was borrowed.
This is particularly the case with the Indian God Crishna, to whom
Wilkinson alludes in the extract already given. In the legend that
concerns him, the whole of the primeval promise in Eden is very
strikingly embodied. First, he is represented in pictures and images
with his foot on the great serpent's head,! an(^ then, after destroying
it, he is fabled to have died in consequence of being shot by an arrow
in the foot ; and, as in the case of Tammuz, great lamentations are
annually made for his death. § Even in Greece, also, in the classic
story of Paris and Achilles, we have a very plain allusion to that
part of the primeval promise, which referred to the bruising of the
conqueror's " heel." Achilles, the only son of a goddess, was invul
nerable in all points except the heel, but there a wound was deadly.
At that his adversary took aim, and death was the result.
Now, if there be such evidence still, that even Pagans knew that
it was by dying that the promised Messiah was to destroy death and
him that has the power of death, that is the Devil, how much more
vivid must have been the impression of mankind in general in regard
to this vital truth in the early days of Semiramis, when they were
so much nearer the fountain-head of all Divine tradition. When,
therefore, the name Zoroastes, " the seed of the woman," was given
to him who had perished in the midst of a prosperous career of false
* LANDSEER'S Sabean Researches, pp. 132-134.
t From E, "the," nko, " to crush," ar
and nahash, "a serpent," — " E-uko-nahash."
The Arabic name of the constellation, "the Kneeler," is "Al-Gethi," which, in
like manner, signifies " The Crusher."
£ COLEMAN'S Indian Mythology, Plate xii. p. 34. See ante, p. 60.
§ POCOCKE'S India in Greece, p. 300.
62 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
worship and apostacy, there can be no doubt of the meaning which
that name was intended to convey. And the fact of the violent
death of the hero, who, in the esteem of his partisans, had done so
much to bless mankind, to make life happy, and to deliver them
from the fear of the wrath to come, instead of being fatal to the
bestowal of such a title upon him, favoured rather than otherwise
the daring design. All that was needed to countenance the scheme
on the part of those who wished an excuse for continued apostacy
from the true God, was just to give out that, though the great patron
of the apostacy had fallen a prey to the malice of men, he had freely
offered himself for the good of mankind. Now, this was what was
actually done. The Chaldean version of the story of the great
Zoroaster is that he prayed to the supreme God of heaven to take
away his life ; that his prayer was heard, and that he expired, assur
ing his followers that, if they cherished due regard for his memory,
the empire wTould never depart from the Babylonians.* What
Berosus, the Babylonian historian, says of the cutting off of the head
of the great god Belus, is plainly to the same effect. Belus, says
Berosus, commanded one of the gods to cut off his head, that from
the blood thus shed by his own command and with his own consent,
when mingled with the earth, new creatures might be formed, the
first creation being represented as a sort of a failure, f Thus the
death of Belus, who was Nimrod, like that attributed to Zoroaster,
was represented as entirely voluntary, and as submitted to for the
benefit of the world.
It seems to have been now only when the dead hero was to be
deified, that the secret Mysteries were set up. The previous form
of apostacy during the life of Nimrod appears to have been open and
public. Now, it was evidently felt that publicity was out of the
question. The death of the great ringleader of the apostacy was not
the death of a warrior slain in battle, but an act of judicial rigour,
solemnly inflicted. This is well established by the accounts of the
deaths of both Tammuz and Osiris. The following is the account of
Tammuz, given by the celebrated Maimonides, deeply read in all
the learning of the Chaldeans : " When the false prophet named
Thammuz preached to a certain king that he should worship the
seven stars and the twelve signs of the Zodiac, that king ordered
him to be put to a terrible death. On the night of his death all the
images assembled from the ends of the earth into the temple of
Babylon, to the great golden image of the Sun, which was suspended
between heaven and earth. That image prostrated itself in the midst
of the temple, and so did all the images around it, while it related to
them all that had happened to Thammuz. The images wept and
lamented all the night long, and then in the morning they flew away,
each to his own temple again, to the ends of the earth. And hence
arose the custom every year, on the first day of the month Thammuz,
to mourn and to weep for Thammuz. "J There is here, of course, all
* SUIDAS, torn. i. pp. 1133, 1134. f BEROSUS, apud BUNSBN, vol. i. p. 709.
J MORE NEVOCHIM, p. 426.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 63
the extravagance of idolatry, as found in the Chaldean sacred books
that Maimonides had consulted • but there is no reason to doubt the
fact stated either as to the manner or the cause of the death of
Tammuz. In this Chaldean legend, it is stated that it was by the
command of a " certain king " that this ringleader in apostacy was
put to death. Who could this king be, who was so determinedly
opposed to the worship of the host of heaven 1 From what is related
of the Egyptian Hercules, we get very valuable light on this subject.
It is admitted by Wilkinson that the most ancient Hercules, and
truly primitive one, was he who was known in Egypt as having,
" by the power of the gods " * (i.e., by the SPIRIT) fought against
and overcome the Giants. Now, no doubt, the title and character
of Hercules were afterwards given by the Pagans to him whom they
worshipped as the grand deliverer or Messiah, just as the adversaries
of the Pagan divinities came to be stigmatised as the " Giants " who
rebelled against Heaven. But let the reader only reflect who were
the real Giants that rebelled against Heaven. They were Nimrod
and his party; for the "Giants" were just the "Mighty ones," of
whom Nimrod was the leader. Who, then, was most likely to head
the opposition to the apostacy from the primitive worship 1 If Shem
was at that time alive, as beyond question he was, who so likely as
he ? In exact accordance with this deduction, we find that one of
the names of the primitive Hercules in Egypt was " Sem."f
If " Sem," then, was the primitive Hercules, who overcame the
Giants, and that not by mere physical force, but by " the power of
God," or the influence of the Holy Spirit, that entirely agrees with
his character ; and more than that, it remarkably agrees with the
Egyptian account of the death of Osiris. The Egyptians say, that
the grand enemy of their god overcame him, not by open violence,
but that, having entered into a conspiracy with seventy-two of the
leading men of Egypt, he got him into his power, put him to death,
and then cut his dead body into pieces, and sent the different parts
to so many different cities throughout the country. J The real mean
ing of this statement will appear, if we glance at the judicial institu
tions of Egypt. Seventy-two was just the number of the judges,
both civil and sacred, who, according to Egyptian law, were required
to determine what was to be the punishment of one guilty of so high
an offence as that of Osiris, supposing this to have become a matter
of judicial inquiry. In determining such a case, there were neces
sarily two tribunals concerned. Eirst, there were the ordinary
judges, who had power of life and death, and who amounted to
thirty,§ then there was, over and above, a tribunal consisting of
forty-two judges, who, if Osiris was condemned to die, had to deter
mine whether his body should be buried or no, for, before burial,
* The name of the true God (Elohim) is plural. Therefore, " the power of the
gods," and " of God," is expressed by the same term.
t WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 17.
J Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 330-332.
§ DIODOBUS, lib. i. p. 48.
64 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
every one after death had to pass the ordeal of this tribunal.* As
burial was refused him, both tribunals would necessarily be con
cerned ; and thus there would be exactly seventy-two persons, under
Typho the president, to condemn Osiris to die and to be cut in pieces.
What, then, does the statement amount to, in regard to the con
spiracy, but just to this, that the great opponent of the idolatrous
system which Osiris introduced, had so convinced these judges of the
enormity of the offence which he had committed, that they gave up
the offender to an awful death, and to ignominy after it, as a terror
to any who might afterwards tread in his steps. The cutting of the
dead body in pieces, and sending the dismembered parts among the
different cities, is paralleled, and its object explained, by what we read
in the Bible of the cutting of the dead body of the Levite's concubine
in pieces (Judges xix. 29), and sending one of the parts to each of
the twelve tribes of Israel ; and the similar step taken by Saul, when
he hewed the two yoke of oxen asunder, and sent them throughout
all the coasts of his kingdom (1 Sam. xi. 7). It is admitted by com
mentators that both the Levite and Saul acted on a patriarchal
custom, according to which summary vengeance would be dealt to
those who failed to come to the gathering that in this solemn way
was summoned. This was declared in so many words by Saul, when
the parts of the slaughtered oxen were sent among the tribes :
" Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall
it be done to his oxen." In like manner, when the dismembered
parts of Osiris were sent among the cities by the seventy-two " con
spirators " — in other words, by the supreme judges of Egypt, it was
equivalent to a solemn declaration in their name, that " whosoever
should do as Osiris had done, so should it be done to him ; so should
he also be cut in pieces."
When irreligion and apostacy again rose into the ascendant, this
act, into which the constituted authorities who had to do with the
* DIODORUS, lib. i. p. 58. The words of Diodorus, as printed in the ordinary edi
tions, make the number of the judges simply "more than forty,'' without specifying
how many more. In the Codex Coislianus, the number is stated to be "two more
than forty." The earthly judges, who tried the question of burial, are admitted
both by WILKINSON (vol. v. p. 75) and BUNSEN (vol. i. p. 27), to have corre
sponded in number to the judges of the infernal regions. Now, these judges,
over and above their president, are proved from the monuments to have been just
forty-two. The earthly judges at funerals, therefore, must equally have been
forty-two. In reference to this number as applying equally to the judges of this
world and the world of spirits, Bunsen, speaking of the judgment on a deceased
person in the world unseen, uses these words in the passage above referred to :
" Forty-two gods (the number composing the earthly tribunal of the dead) occupy
the judgment-seat." Diodorus himself, whether he actually wrote "two more
than forty," or simply " more than forty," gives reason to believe that forty-two
was the number he had present to his mind ; for he says, that " the whole of the
fable of the shades below," as brought by Orpheus from Egypt, was " copied from
the ceremonies of the Egyptian funerals," which he had witnessed at the judgment
before the burial of the dead. — (DIODORUS, lib. i. p. 58.) If, therefore, there
were just forty-two judges in " the shades below," that even, on the showing of
Diodorus, whatever reading of his words be preferred, proves that the number of
the judges in the earthly judgment must have been the same.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 65
ringleader of the apostates were led, for the putting down of the
combined system of irreligion and despotism set up by Osiris or
Nimrod, was naturally the object of intense abhorrence to all his
sympathisers ; and for his share in it the chief actor was stigmatised
as Typho, or "The Evil One."* The influence that this abhorred
Typho wielded over the minds of the so-called " conspirators," con
sidering the physical force with which JSTimrod was upheld, must
have been wonderful, and goes to show, that though his deed in
regard to Osiris is veiled, and himself branded by a hateful name,
he was indeed none other than that primitive Hercules who over
came the Giants by "the power of God," by the persuasive might of
his Holy Spirit.
In connection with this character of Shem, the myth that makes
Adonis, who is identified with Osiris, perish by the tusks of a wild
boar, is easily unravelled, f The tusk of a wild boar was a symbol.
In Scripture, a tusk is called " a horn ; " J among many of the Classic
Greeks it was regarded in the very same light. § When once it is
known that a tusk is regarded as a "horn" according to the symbolism
of idolatry, the meaning of the boar's tusks, by which Adonis perished,
is not far to seek. The bull's horns that Nimrod wore were the
symbol of physical power. The boar's tusks were the symbol of
spiritual power. As a "horn" means power, so a tusk, that is, a
horn in the mouth, means " power in the mouth ; " in other words,
the power of persuasion; the very power with which "Sem," the
primitive Hercules, was so signally endowed. Even from the ancient
traditions of the Gael, we get an item of evidence that at once illus
trates this idea of power in the mouth, and connects it with that
great son of Noah, on whom the blessing of the Highest, as recorded
in Scripture, did specially rest. The Celtic Hercules was called
* Wilkinson admits that different individuals at different times bore this hated
name in Egypt. One of the most noted names by which Typho, or the Evil One,
was called, was Seth (EPIPHANIUS, Adv. ffceres., lib. iii.). Now Seth and Shem
are synonymous, both alike signifying "The appointed one." As Shem was a
younger son of Noah, being "the brother of Japhet the elder'' (Gen. x. 21), and
as the pre-eminence was divinely destined to him, the name Shem, " the appointed
one," had doubtless been given him by Divine direction, either at his birth or
afterwards, to mark him out as Seth had been previously marked out as the
"child of promise." Shem, however, seems to have been known in Egypt as
Typho, not only under the name of Seth, but under his own name ; for Wilkinson
tells us that Typho was characterised by a name that signified "to destroy and
render desert." — (Egyptians, vol. iv. p. 434.) Now the name of Shem also in one
of its meanings signifies "to desolate" or lay waste. So Shem, the appointed
one, was by his enemies made Shem, the Desolator or Destroyer — i.e., the Devil.
f In India, a demon with a " boar's face " is said to have gained such power
through his devotion, that he oppressed the " devotees " or worshippers of the gods,
who had to hide themselves. — (MooR's Pantheon, p. 19.) Even in Japan there
seems to be a similar myth. For Japanese boar, see Illustrated News, 15th Dec.,
1860.
J Ezek. xxvii. 15 : " They brought thee for a present horns of ivory."
§ Paxisanias admits that some in his day regarded tusks as teeth ; but he argues
strongly, and, I think, conclusively, for their being considered as " horns." — See
PAUSANIAS, lib. v., Eliaca, cap. 12, p. 404 ; also, VARRO, De Lingua Latina, lib. vi.
apud PARKHURST, sub voce " Krn."
F
66 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Hercules Ogmius, which, in Chaldee, is " Hercules the Lamenter."*
No name could be more appropriate, none more descriptive of the
history of Shem, than this. Except our first parent, Adam, there
was, perhaps, never a mere man that saw so much grief as he. Not
only did he see a vast apostacy, which, with his righteous feelings,
and witness as he had been of the awful catastrophe of the flood,
must have deeply grieved him ; but he lived to bury SEVEN GENERA
TIONS of his descendants. He lived 502 years after the flood, and as
the lives of men were rapidly shortened after that event, no less than
SEVEN generations of his lineal descendants died before him (Gen.
xi. 10-32). How appropriate a name Ogmius, "The Lamenter or
Mourner," for one who had such a history ! Now, how is this
" Mourning " Hercules represented as putting down enormities and
redressing wrongs? Not by his club, like the Hercules of the
Greeks, but by the force of persuasion. Multitudes were represented
as following him, drawn by fine chains of gold and amber inserted
into their ears, and which chains proceeded from his mouth, f There
is a great difference between the two symbols — the tusks of a boar
and the golden chains issuing from the mouth, that draw willing
crowds by the ears ; but both very beautifully illustrate the same
idea — the might of that persuasive power that enabled Shem for a
time to withstand the tide of evil that came rapidly rushing in upon
the world.
Now when Shem had so powerfully wrought upon the minds of
men as to induce them to make a terrible example of the great
Apostate, and when that Apostate's dismembered limbs were sent to
the chief cities, where no doubt his system had been established, it
will be readily perceived that, in these circumstances, if idolatry was
to continue — if, above all, it was to take a step in advance, it was
indispensable that it should operate in secret. The terror of an
execution, inflicted on one so mighty as Nimrod, made it needful
that, for some time to come at least, the extreme of caution should
be used. In these circumstances, then, began, there can hardly be a
doubt, that system of " Mystery," which, having Babylon for its
* The Celtic scholars derive the name Ogmius from the Celtic word Ogum,
which is said to denote "the secret of writing ; " but Ogum is much more likely
to be derived from the name of the god, than the name of the god to be derived
from it.
t Sir W. BETHAM'S Gael and Cymbri, pp. 90-93. In connection with this
Ogmius, one of the names of " Sem," the great Egyptian Hercules who overcame
the Giants, is worthy of notice. That name is Chon. In the Etymologicum
Magnum, apud BRYANT, vol. ii. p. 33, we thus read : " They say that in the
Egyptian dialect Hercules is called Chon." Compare this with WILKINSON, vol.
v. p. 17, where Chon is called "Sem." Now Khon signifies "to lament" in
Chaldee, and as Shem was Khon — i.e., "Priest" of the Most High God, his
character and peculiar circumstances as Khon " the lamenter " would form an
additional reason why he should be distinguished by that name by which the
Egyptian Hercules was known. And it is not to be overlooked, that on the part
of those who seek to turn sinners from the error of their ways, there is an
eloquence in tears that is very impressive. The tears of Whitefield formed one
great part of his power ; and, in like manner, the tears of Khon, " the lamenting "
Hercules, would aid him mightily in overcoming the Giants.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 67
centre, has spread over the world. In these Mysteries, under the
seal of secrecy and the sanction of an oath, and by means of all the
fertile resources of magic, men were gradually led back to all the
idolatry that had been publicly suppressed, while new features were
added to that idolatry that made it still more blasphemous than
before. That magic and idolatry were twin sisters, and came into
the world together, we have abundant evidence. " He " (Zoroaster),
says Justin the historian, "was said to be the first that invented
magic arts, and that most diligently studied the motions of the
heavenly bodies."* The Zoroaster spoken of by Justin is the
Bactrian Zoroaster ; but this is generally admitted to be a mistake.
Stanley, in his History of Oriental Philosophy, concludes that this
mistake had arisen from similarity of name, and that from this cause
that had been attributed to the Bactrian Zoroaster which properly
belonged to the Chaldean, "since it cannot be imagined that the
Bactrian was the inventor of those arts in which the Chaldean, who
lived contemporary with him, was so much skilled." f Epiphanius
had evidently come to the same substantial conclusion before him.
He maintains, from the evidence open to him in his day, that it was
" Nimrod, that established the sciences of magic and astronomy, the
invention of which was subsequently attributed to (the Bactrian)
Zoroaster." J As we have seen that Nimrod and the Chaldean
Zoroaster are the same, the conclusions of the ancient and the modern
inquirers into Chaldean antiquity entirely harmonise. Now the
secret system of the Mysteries gave vast facilities for imposing on
the senses of the initiated by means of the various tricks and artifices
of magic. Notwithstanding all the care and precautions of those
who conducted these initiations, enough has transpired to give us a
very clear insight into their real character. Everything was so
contrived as to wind up the minds of the novices to the highest pitch
of excitement, that, after having surrendered themselves implicitly to
the priests, they might be prepared to receive anything. After the
candidates for initiation had passed through the confessional, and
sworn the required oaths, "strange and amazing objects," says
Wilkinson, " presented themselves. Sometimes the place they were
in seemed to shake around them ; sometimes it appeared bright and
resplendent with light and radiant fire, and then again covered with
black darkness, sometimes thunder and lightning, sometimes frightful
noises and bellowings, sometimes terrible apparitions astonished the
trembling spectators." § Then, at last, the great god, the central
object of their worship, Osiris, Tammuz, Nimrod or Adonis, was
revealed to them in the way most fitted to soothe their feelings and
engage their blind affections. An account of such a manifestation is
thus given by an ancient Pagan, cautiously indeed, but yet in such
a way as shows the nature of the magic secret by which such an
* JUSTINUS, ffistoria, lib. i. cap. 1, vol. ii. p. 615.
t STANLEY, p. 1031, col. 1.
I EPIPHANIUS, Adv. ff ceres., lib. i. torn, i., vol. i. p. 7 c.
§ WILKINSON'S Manners and Customs of Egyptians, vol. v. p. 326.
68 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
apparent miracle was accomplished : " In a manifestation which one
must not reveal .... there is seen on a wall of the temple a mass
of light, which appears at first at a very great distance. It is trans
formed, while unfolding itself, into a visage evidently divine and
supernatural, of an aspect severe, but with a touch of sweetness.
Following the teachings of a mysterious religion, the Alexandrians
honour it as Osiris or Adonis."* From this statement, there can
hardly be a doubt that the magical art here employed was none other
than that now made use of in the modern phantasmagoria. Such
or similar means were used in the very earliest periods for present
ing to the view of the living, in the secret Mysteries, those who
were dead. We have statements in ancient history referring to
the very time of Semiramis, which imply that magic rites were
practised for this very purpose ;f and as the magic lantern, or some
thing akin to it, was manifestly used in later times for such an end,
it is reasonable to conclude that the same means, or similar, were
employed in the most ancient times, when the same effects were
produced. Now, in the hands of crafty, designing men, this was
a powerful means of imposing upon those who were willing to be
imposed upon, who were averse to the holy spiritual religion of the
living God, and who still hankered after the system that was put
down. It was easy for those who controlled the Mysteries, having
discovered secrets that were then unknown to the mass of mankind,
and which they carefully preserved in their own exclusive keeping,
to give them what might seem ocular demonstration, that Tammuz,
who had been slain, and for whom such lamentations had been made,
was still alive, and encompassed with divine and heavenly glory.
From the lips of one so gloriously revealed, or what was practically
* DAMASCIUS, apud PHOTIUM, Bibliotheca, cod. 242, p. 343.
t One of the statements to which I refer is contained in the following words of
Moses of Chorene in his Armenian History, referring to the answer made by Semi
ramis to the friends of Araeus, who had been slain in battle by her : " Diis inquit
[Semiramis] meis mendata dedi, ut Araei vulnera lamberent, et ab inferis excitarent.
.... Dii, inquit, Araeum lamberunt, et ad vitam revocarunt ;" "I have given
commands, says Semiramis, to my gods to lick the wounds of Arseus, and to raise
him from the dead. The gods, says she, have licked Araeus, and recalled him to
life."— (MosES CHORONEN, lib. i. cap. 14, p. 42.) If Semiramis had really done
what she said she had done, it would have been a miracle. The effects of magic
were sham miracles ; and Justin and Epiphanius show that sham miracles came
in at the very birth of idolatry. Now, unless the sham miracle of raising the
dead by magical arts had already been known to be practised in the days of
Semiramis, it is not likely that she would have given such an answer to those
whom she wished to propitiate ; for, on the one hand, how could she ever have
thought of sueh an answer, and on the other, how could she expect that it would
have the intended effect, if there was no current belief in the practices of necro
mancy ? We find that in Egypt, about the same age, such magic arts must have
been practised, if Manetho is to be believed. "Manetho says," according to
Josephus, " that he [the elder Horus, evidently spoken of as a human and mortal
king] was admitted to the sight of the gods, and that Amenophis desired the same
privilege." Oewp yeveaQai 6ta.Tyv 'utnrep Op; so it stood in the old copies. —
(JOSEPHUS, contra APION, lib. i. p. 932.) This pretended admission to the sight
of the gods evidently implies the use of the magic art referred to in the
text.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 69
the same, from the lips of some unseen priest, speaking in his name
from behind the scenes, what could be too wonderful or incredible
to be believed 1 Thus the whole system of the secret Mysteries of
Babylon was intended to glorify a dead man ; and when once the
worship of one dead man was established, the worship of many more
was sure to follow. This casts light upon the language of the
106th Psalm, where the Lord, upbraiding Israel for their apostacy,
says : " They joined themselves to Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices
of the dead." Thus, too, the way was paved for bringing in all the
abominations and crimes of which the Mysteries became the scenes ;
for, to those who liked not to retain God in their knowledge, who
preferred some visible object of worship, suited to the sensuous
feelings of their carnal minds, nothing could seem a more cogent
reason for faith or practice than to hear with their own ears a com
mand given forth amid so glorious a manifestation apparently by the
very divinity they adored.
The scheme, thus skilfully formed, took effect. Semiramis gained
glory from her dead and deified husband ; and in course of time
both of them, under the names of Rhea and Nin, or " Goddess-
Mother and Son," were worshipped with an enthusiasm that was
incredible, and their images were everywhere set up and adored.*
Wherever the negro aspect of Nimrod was found an obstacle to his
worship, this was very easily obviated. According to the Chaldean
doctrine of the transmigration of souls, all that was needful was just
to teach that Ninus had reappeared in the person of a posthumous
son, of a fair complexion, supernaturally borne by his widowed wife
after the father had gone to glory. As the licentious and dissolute
life of Semiramis gave her many children, for whom no ostensible
father on earth would be alleged, a plea like this would at once
sanctify sin, and enable her to meet the feelings of those who were
disaffected to the true worship of Jehovah, and yet might have no
fancy to bow down before a negro divinity. From the light reflected
on Babylon by Egypt, as well as from the form of the extant images
of the Babylonian child in the arms of the goddess-mother, we have
every reason to believe that this was actually done. In Egypt the
fair Horus, the son of the black Osiris, who was the favourite object
of worship, in the arms of the goddess Isis, was said to have been
miraculously born in consequence of a connection, on the part of
that goddess, with Osiris after his death, f and, in point of fact, to
have been a new incarnation of that god, to avenge his death on his
murderers. It is wonderful to find in what widely-severed countries,
and amongst what millions of the human race at this day, who never
saw a negro, a negro god is worshipped. But yet, as we shall after
wards see, among the civilised nations of antiquity, Nimrod almost
everywhere fell into disrepute, and was deposed from his original
* It would seem that no public idolatry was ventured upon till the reign of the
grandson of Semiramis, Arioch or Arius. — Cedrcni Compendium, vol. i. pp.
29, 30.
+ Plutarchi Opera, vol. ii. p. 366.
70
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
pre-eminence, expressly ob deformitatem* " on account of his ugli
ness." Even in Babylon itself, the posthumous child, as identified
with his father, and inheriting all his father's glory, yet possessing
more of his mother's complexion, came to be the favourite type of
the Madonna's divine son.
This son, thus worshipped in his mother's arms, was looked upon
as invested with all the attributes, and called by almost all the names
of the promised Messiah. As Christ, in the Hebrew of the Old
Testament, was called Adonai, The Lord, so Tammuz was called
Adon or Adonis. Under the name of Mithras, he was worshipped
as the "Mediator."! As Mediator and head of the covenant of
grace, he was styled Baal-berith, Lord of the Covenant (Fig. 24) —
(Judges viii. 33). In this character he is represented in Persian
monuments as seated on the rainbow, the well-known symbol of
the covenant.! In India, under the name of Vishnu, the Preserver
or Saviour of men, though a god, he was worshipped as the great
" Victim-Man," who before the worlds were, because there was
nothing else to offer, offered himself as a sacrifice. § The Hindu
Fig. 24.
sacred writings teach that this mysterious offering before all creation
is the foundation of all the sacrifices that have ever been offered
since.|| Do any marvel at such a statement being found in the
sacred books of a Pagan mythology? Why should they? Since
sin entered the world there has been only one way of salvation,
and that through the blood of the everlasting covenant — a way that
all mankind once knew, from the days of righteous Abel downwards.
When Abel, " by faith," offered unto God his more excellent sacrifice
than that of Cain, it was his faith " in the blood of the Lamb slain,"
in the purpose of God " from the foundation of the world," and in
* These are the words of the Gradus ad Parnassum, referring to the cause of
the downfall of Vulcan, whose identity with Nimrod is shown in Chapter VII.
Section I.
f PLUTAKCH, De hide, vol. ii. p. 369.
£ THEVENOT, Voyages, Partie ii., chap. vii. p. 514.
§ Col. KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, pp. 221 and 247, with Note.
|| Ibid. pp. 200, 204, 205. In the exercise of his office as the Remedial god,
Vishnu is said to "extract the thorns of the three worlds." — MOOR'S Pantheon,
p. 12. " Thorns " were a symbol of the curse — (Gen. iii. 18).
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 71
due time to be actually offered up on Calvary, that gave all the
" excellence " to his offering. If Abel knew of " the blood of the
Lamb," why should Hindoos not have known of it 1 One little
word shows that even in Greece the virtue of "the blood of God"
had once been known, though that virtue, as exhibited in its poets,
was utterly obscured and degraded. That word is Ichor. Every
reader of the bards of classic Greece knows that Ichor is the term
peculiarly appropriated to the blood of a divinity. Thus Homer
refers to it : —
" From the clear vein the immortal Ichor flowed,
Such stream as issues from a wounded god,
Pure emanation, uncorrupted flood,
Unlike our gross, diseased terrestrial blood."*
Now, what is the proper meaning of the term Ichor ? In Greek it
has no etymological meaning whatever; but, in Chaldee, Ichor
signifies " The precious thing." Such a name, applied to the blood
of a divinity, could have only one origin. It bears its evidence on
the very face of it, as coming from that grand patriarchal tradition,
that led Abel to look forward to the " precious blood " of Christ, the
most " precious " gift that love Divine could give to a guilty world,
and which, while the blood of the only genuine " Victim-Man," is at
the same time, in deed and in truth, "The blood of God" (Acts
xx. 28). Even in Greece itself, though the doctrine was utterly
perverted, it was not entirely lost. It was mingled with falsehood
and fable, it was hid from the multitude ; but yet, in the secret
mystic system it necessarily occupied an important place. As
Servius tells us that the grand purpose of the Bacchic orgies " was
the purification of souls,"f and as in these orgies there was regularly
the tearing asunder and the shedding of the blood of an animal, in
memory of the shedding of the life's blood of the great divinity
commemorated in them, could this symbolical shedding of the
blood of that divinity have no bearing on the "purification" from
sin, these mystic rites were intended to effect 1 We have seen that
the sufferings of the Babylonian Zoroaster and Belus were expressly
represented as voluntary, and as submitted to for the benefit of the
world, and that in connection with crushing the great serpent's head,
which implied the removal of sin and the curse. If the Grecian
Bacchus was just another form of the Babylonian divinity, then his
sufferings and blood-shedding must have been represented as having
been undergone for the same purpose — viz., for the " purification of
souls." From this point of view, let the well-known name of
Bacchus in Greece be looked at. The name was Dionysus or
Dionusos. What is the meaning of that name? Hitherto it has
defied all interpretation. But deal with it as belonging to the
language of that land from which the god himself originally came,
* POPE'S Homer, corrected by PARKHURST. See the original in Iliad, lib. v.
11.339, 340, pp. 198, 199.
t See ante, p. 22.
72 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
and the meaning is very plain. DJion-nuso-s signifies "Tnis SIN-
BEARER,"* a name entirely appropriate to the character of him whose
sufferings were represented as so mysterious, and who was looked up
to as the great " purifier of souls."
Now, this Babylonian God, known in Greece as " The sin-bearer,"
and in India as the " Victim-Man," among the Buddhists of the East,
the original elements of whose system are clearly Babylonian, was
commonly addressed as the " Saviour of the world."! It has been
all along well enough known that the Greeks occasionally worshipped
the supreme god under the title of " Zeus the Saviour ; " but this title
was thought to have reference only to deliverance in battle, or some
such-like temporal deliverance. But when it is known that " Zeus
the Saviour " was only a title of Dionysus, J the " sin-bearing Bacchus,"
his character, as " The Saviour," appears in quite a different light.
In Egypt, the Chaldean god was held up as the great object of love
and adoration, as the god through whom " goodness and truth were
revealed to mankind."§ He was regarded as the predestined heir of
all things ; and, on the day of his birth, it was believed that a voice
was heard to proclaim, " The Lord of all the earth is born."|| In
this character he was styled "King of kings, and Lord of lords," it
being as a professed representative of this hero-god that the celebrated
Sesostris caused this very title to be added to his name on the monu
ments which he erected to perpetuate the fame of his victories. U
Not only was he honoured as the great ''World King," he was
regarded as Lord of the invisible world, and " Judge of the dead ; "
and it was taught that, in the world of spirits, all must appear before
his dread tribunal, to have their destiny assigned them.** As the
* The expression used in Exodus xxviii. 38, for "bearing iniquity " or sin in a
vicarious manner is " nsha eon " (the first letter eon being ayn). A synonym for
eon, "iniquity," is aon (the first letter being aleph).— (See PARKHDRST sub voce
'An,' No. IV.) In Chaldee the first letter a becomes i, and therefore aon,
"iniquity," is ion. Then nsha " to bear," in the participle active is " nusha."
As the Greeks had no sh, that became nusa. De, or Da, is the demonstrative
pronoun signifying "That" or "The great." And thus " D'ion-nusa" is exactly
" The great sin-bearer." That the classic Pagans had the very idea of the
imputation of sin, and of vicarious suffering, is proved by what Ovid says in
regard to Olenos. Olenos is said to have taken upon him and willingly to have
borne the blame of guilt of which he was innocent : —
" Quique in se crimen traxit, voluitque videri,
Olenos esse nocens."
(OviD, Metam., vol. ii. p. 486.) Under the load of this imputed guilt, voluntarily
taken upon himself, Olenos is represented as having suffered such horror as to
have perished, being petrified or turned into stone. As the stone into which
Olenos was changed was erected on the holy mountain of Ida, that shows that
Olenos must have been regarded as a sacred person. The real character of Olenos,
as the "sin-bearer," can be very fully established. See Appendix, Note F.
t MAHAWANSO, xxxi. apud POCOCKE'S India in Greece, p. 185.
£ ATHEN/EUS, lib. xv. p. 675.
§ WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. iv. p. 189.
|| Ibid. p. 310.
IT RUSSELL'S Egypt, p. 79.
** WILKINSON, vol. iv. pp. 310, 314.
THE DEIFICATION OF THE CHILD. 73
true Messiah was prophesied of under the title of the " Man whose
name was the branch," he was celebrated not only as the " Branch of
Gush," but as the " Branch of God," graciously given to the earth for
healing all the ills that flesh is heir to.* He was worshipped in
Babylon under the name of El-Bar, or " God the Son." Under this
very name he is introduced by Berosus, the Chaldean historian, as
the second in the list of Babylonian sovereigns.! Under this name
he has been found in the sculptures of Nineveh by Layard, the name
Bar " the Son," having the sign denoting El or " God " prefixed to
it. £ Under the same name he has been found by Sir H. Rawlinson,
the names " Beltis " and the " Shining Bar " being in immediate jux
taposition^ Under the name of Bar he was worshipped in Egypt
in the earliest times, though in later times the god Bar was degraded
in the popular Pantheon, to make way for another more popular
divinity. 1 1 In Pagan Rome itself, as Ovid testifies, he was
worshipped under the name of the " Eternal Boy. "IF Thus daringly
* This is the esoteric meaning of Virgil's " Golden Branch," and of the Misle-
toe Branch of the Druids. The proof of this must be reserved to the Apocalypse
of the Past. I may remark, however, in passing, on the wide extent of the
worship of a sacred branch. Not only do the Negroes in Africa in the worship of
the Fetiche, on certain occasions, make use of a sacred branch (HoRD's Rites and
Ceremonies, p. 375), but even in India there are traces of the same practice. My
brother, S. Hislop, Free Church Missionary at Nagpore, informs me that the late
Rajah of Nagpore used every year, on a certain day, to go in state to worship the
branch of a particular species of tree, called Apta, which had been planted for the
occasion, and which, after receiving divine honours, was plucked up, and its leaves
distributed by the native Prince among his nobles. In the streets of the city
numerous boughs of the same kind of tree were sold, and the leaves presented to
friends under the name of sona, or " gold."
t BEROSDS, in BUNSEN'S Egypt, vol. i. p. 710, Note 5. The name "El-Bar" is
given above in the Hebrew form, as being more familiar to the common reader of
the English Bible. The Chaldee form of the name is Ala-Bar, which in the Greek
of Berosus, is Ala-Par, with the ordinary Greek termination os affixed to it. The
change of Bar into Par in Greek is just on the same principle as Al, "father,"
in Greek becomes Appa, and Bard, the "spotted one," becomes Pardos, &c.
This name, Ala-Bar, was probably given by Berosus to Ninyas as the legitimate
son and successor of Nimrod. That Ala-Par-os was really intended to designate
the sovereign referred to, as " God the Son," or "the Son of God," is confirmed
by another reading of the same name as given in Greek (in p. 712 of BifNSEN,
Note). There the name is Alasparos. Now Pyrisporus, as applied to Bacchus,
means Ignigena, or the " Seed of Fire ; " and Ala-sporos, the " Seed of God," is
just a similar expression formed in the same way, the name being Grecised. It
is well known that the Greek cnreipd) comes from the Hebrew Zero, both signifying
as verbs to sow. The formation of <nreipu comes thus : The active participle of
Zero is Zuro, which, used as a verb, becomes Zwero, Zvero, and Zpero. " Ala
sparos," then, naturally signifies, "The Seed of God" — a mere variation of
Ala-Par-os, "God the Son," or " the Son of God."
£ Nineveh and Babylon, p. 629.
§ VAUX'S Nineveh, p. 457.
I! BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 426. Though Bunsen does not mention the degradation
of the god Bar, yet by making him Typhon he implies his degradation. See
EPIPHANIUS, Adv. Jfcereses, lib. iii. torn, ii., vol. i. p. 1093.
H To understand the true meaning of the above expression, reference must be
had to a remarkable form of oath among the Romans. In Rome the most sacred
form of an oath was (as we learn from AULUS GELLIUS, i. 21, p. 192), " Per Jovem
LAPIDEM," " By Jupiter the STONE." This, as it stands, is nonsense. But trans-
74 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
and directly was a mere mortal set up in Babylon in opposition to
the " Son of the Blessed."
SECTION III. — THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD.
Now while the mother derived her glory in the first instance from
the divine character attributed to the child in her arms, the mother
in the long-run practically eclipsed the son. At first, in all likeli
hood, there would be no thought whatever of ascribing divinity to
the mother. There was an express promise that necessarily led
mankind to expect that, at some time or other, the Son of God, in
amazing condescension, should appear in this world as the Son of
man. But there was no promise whatever, or the least shadow of a
promise, to lead any one to anticipate that a woman should ever be
invested with attributes that should raise her to a level with
Divinity. It is in the last degree improbable, therefore, that when
the mother was first exhibited with the child in her arms, it should
be intended to give divine honours to her. She was doubtless used
chiefly as a pedestal for the upholding of the divine Son, and holding
him forth to the adoration of mankind \ and glory enough it would
be counted for her, alone of all the daughters of Eve, to have given
birth to the promised seed, the world's only hope. But while this,
no doubt, was the design, it is a plain principle in all"idolatries that
that which most appeals to the senses must make the most powerful
impression. Now the Son, even in his new incarnation, when
Nimrod was believed to have reappeared in a fairer form, was
exhibited merely as a child, without any very particular attraction ;
while the mother in whose arms he was, was set off with all the art
of painting and sculpture, as invested with much of that extraordinary
beauty which in reality belonged to her. The beauty of Semiramis
is said on one occasion to have quelled a rising rebellion among her
subjects on her sudden appearance among them ; and it is recorded
that the memory of the admiration excited in their minds by her ^
appearance on that occasion was perpetuated by a statue erected in ..
Babylon, representing her in the guise in which she had fascinated ,<•*
them so much.* This Babylonian queen was not merely in cffyractet .-^Vi;
late lap idem back into the sacred tongue, or Chaldee, and the oath stands, " By
Jove, the Son," or "By the son of Jove." Ben, which in Hebrew is Son* in
Chaldee becomes Eben, which also signifies a stone, as may be seen in " Eben-
ezer," "The stone of help." Now as the most learned inquirers into antiquity
(Sir G. Wilkinson evidently being included among them, see Egyptians, vol. iv.
p. 186), have admitted that the Roman Jovis, which was anciently the nominative,
is just a form of the Hebrew Jehovah, it is evident that the oath had originally
been, " by the son of Jehovah." This explains how the most solemn and binding
oath had been taken in the form above referred to ; and, it shows, also, what was
really meant when Bacchus, "the son of Jovis," was called "The Eternal Boy."
— OVID, Metam., iv. 17, 18.
* VALERIUS MAXIMUS, lib. ix., cap. 3, leaf 193, p. 2. Valerius Maximus does not
mention anything about the representation of Semiramis with the child in her
arms ; but as Semiramis was deified as Rhea, whose distinguishing character was
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 75
coincident with the Aphrodite of Greece and the Venus of Rome,
but was, in point of fact, the historical original of that goddess that by
the ancient world was regarded as the very embodiment of everything
attractive in female form, and the perfection of female beauty ; for
Sanchuniathon assures us that Aphrodite or Venus was identical
with Astarte,* and Astarte being interpreted, is none other than
" The woman that made towers or encompassing walls " — i.e., Semi-
ramis. The Roman Venus, as is well known, was the Cyprian Venus,
and the Venus of Cyprus is historically proved to have been derived
from Babylon. (See Chap. IV. Sect. III.) Now, what in these
circumstances might have been expected actually took place. If the
child was to be adored, much more the mother. The mother, in
point of fact, became the favourite object of worship. J To justify
this worship, the mother was raised to divinity as well as her son,
and she was looked upon as destined to complete that bruising of the
serpent's head, which it was easy, if such a thing was needed, to find
abundant and plausible reasons for alleging that Ninus or Nimrod,
the great Son, in his mortal life had only begun.
The Roman Church maintains that it was not so much the seed of
the woman, as the woman herself, that was to bruise the head of the
serpent. In defiance of all grammar, she renders the Divine de
nunciation against the serpent thus : "She shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise her heel." The same was held by the ancient Baby
lonians, and symbolically represented in their temples. In the upper
most storey of the tower of Babel, or temple of Belus, Diodorus
Siculus tells us there stood three images of the great divinities of
that of goddess Mother, and as we have evidence that the name, " Seed of the
Woman," or Zoroastes, goes back to the earliest times — viz., her own day (CLERI-
CUS, De Chaldceis, lib. i. sect, i., cap. 3, torn. ii. p. 199), this implies that if there
was any image-worship in these times, that " Seed of the Woman " must have
occupied a prominent place in it. As over all the world the Mother and the child
appear in some shape or other, and are found on the early Egyptian monuments,
that shows that this worship must have had its roots in the primeval ages of the
world. If, therefore, the mother was represented in so fascinating a form when
singly represented, we may be sure that the same beauty for which she was cele
brated would be given to her when exhibited with the child in her arms.
* SANCHUNIATHON, p. 25.
t From Asht-trt. See Appendix, " On the meaning of the name Astarte."
£ How extraordinary, yea, frantic, was the devotion in the minds of the Baby
lonians to this goddess queen, is sufficiently proved by the statement of Hero
dotus, lib. i. cap. 199, as to the way in which she required to be propitiated.
That a whole people should ever have consented to such a custom as is there de
scribed, shows the amazing hold her worship must have gained over them. Non-
nus, speaking of the same goddess, calls her "The hope of the whole world," —
'EXTi-is'oXou KoafjLOLo.— (DIONUSIACA, lib. xli., in BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 226.) It was
the same goddess, as we have seen (pp. 29, 30), who was worshipped at Ephesus,
whom Demetrius the silversmith characterised as the goddess " whom all Asia and
the world worshipped" (Acts xix. 27). So great was the devotion to this goddess
queen, not of the Babylonians only, but of the ancient world in general, that the
fame of the exploits of Semiramis has, in history, cast the exploits of her husband
Ninus or Nimrod, entirely into the shade.
In regard to the identification of Rhea or Cybele and Venus, see Appendix,
Note G.
76 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
Babylon ; and one of these was of a woman grasping a serpent's head*
Among the Greeks the same thing was symbolised ; for Diana, whose
real character was originally the same as that of the great Babylonian
goddess,! was represented as bearing in one of her hands a serpent
deprived of its head.\ As time wore away, and the facts of Semi-
ramis's history became obscured, her son's birth was boldly declared to
be miraculous : and therefore she was called " Alma Mater,"§ " the
Virgin Mother." That the birth of the Great Deliverer was to be
miraculous, was widely known long before the Christian era. For
* DIODORUS, Bibliotheca, lib. ii. p. 70. See Fig. 23, p. 60, ante, where an
Egyptian goddess, in imitation of Horus, pierces a serpent's head.
t See ante, pp. 29, 30.
t See SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, p. 320.
§ The term Alma is the precise term used by Isaiah in the Hebrew of the Old
Testament, when announcing, 700 years before the event, that Christ should b«
born of a Virgin. If the question should be asked, how this Hebrew term Alma
(not in a Roman, but a Hebrew sense) could find its way to Rome, the answer is,
Through Etruria, which had an intimate connection with Assyria (see LAYAED,
Nineveh and Babylon, p. 190). The word "mater" itself, from which comes our
own "mother," is originally Hebrew. It comes from Heb. Msh, "to draw forth,"
in Egyptian Ms, " to bring forth" (BuNSEN, vol. i. p. 540), which in the Chaldee
form becomes Mt, whence the Egyptian Maut, " mother." Erh or Er, as in
English (and a similar form is found in Sanscrit), is, " The doer." So that
Mater or Mother signifies "The bringer forth."
It may be thought an objection to the above account of the epithet Alma, that)
this term is often applied to Venus, who certainly was no virgin. But this
objection is more apparent than real. On the testimony of Augustine, himself an
eye-witness, we know that the rites of Vesta, emphatically "the virgin goddess of
Rome," under the name of Terra, were exactly the same as those of Venus, the
goddess of impurity and licentiousness (Aug., De Civitate Dei, lib. ii. cap. 26).
Augustine elsewhere says that Vesta, the virgin goddess, "was by some called
Venus" (Ibid. lib. iv. cap. 10).
Even in the mythology of our own Scandinavian ancestors, we have a remark
able evidence that Alma Mater, or the Virgin Mother, had been originally known
to them. One of their gods called Heirndal, who is described in the most exalted
terms, as having such quick perceptions as that he could hear the grass growing
on the ground, or the wool on the sheep's back, and whose trumpet, when it blew,
could be heard through all the worlds, is called by the paradoxical name, " the son
of nine virgins." — (MALLET, p. 95.) Now this obviously contains an enigma.
Let the language in which the religion of Odin was originally delivered — viz., the
Chaldee, be brought to bear upon it, and the enigma is solved at once. In
Chaldee "the son of nine virgins" is Ben-Almut-Teshaah. But in pronunciation
this is identical with " Ben- Almet-Ishaa," "the son of the virgin of salvation."
That son was everywhere known as the "saviour seed." ' ' Zera-hosha " (in Zend,
"cra-osha"), and his virgin mother consequently claimed to be "the virgin of
salvation." Even in the very heavens the God of Providence has constrained His
enemies to inscribe a testimony to the great Scriptural truth proclaimed by the
Hebrew prophet, that a " virgin should bring forth a son, whose name should be
called Immanuel." The constellation Virgo, as admitted by the most learned
astronomers, was dedicated to Ceres (Dr. JOHN HILL, in his Urania, and Mr. A.
JAMIESON, in his Celestial Atlas, see LANDSEER'S Sabean Researches, p. 201), who is
the same as the great goddess of Babylon, for Ceres was worshipped with the babe
at her breast (SOPHOCLES, Antigone, v. 1133), even as the Babylonian goddess
was. Virgo was originally the Assyrian Venus, the mother of Bacchus or Tammuz.
Virgo then, was the Virgin Mother. Isaiah's prophecy was carried by the Jewish
captives to Babylon, and hence the new title bestowed upon the Babylonian
goddess.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 77
centuries, some say for thousands of years before that event, the
Buddhist priests had a tradition that a Virgin was to bring forth a
child to bless the world.* That this tradition came from no Popish
or Christian source, is evident from the surprise felt and expressed
by the Jesuit missionaries, when they first entered Thibet and China,
and not only found a mother and a child worshipped as at home, but
that mother worshipped under a character exactly corresponding with
that of their own Madonna, " Virgo Deipara," " the Virgin mother
of God," f and that, too, in regions where they could not find the least
trace of either the name or history of our Lord Jesus Christ having
ever been known. J The primeval promise that the "seed of the
woman should bruise the serpent's head," naturally suggested the
idea of a miraculous birth. Priestcraft and human presumption set
themselves wickedly to anticipate the fulfilment of that promise ;
and the Babylonian queen seems to have been the first to whom that
honour was given. The highest titles were accordingly bestowed
upon her. She was called the " queen of heaven." (Jeremiah xliv.
17, 18, 19, 25.)§ In Egypt she was styled Athor — i.e., "the Habita
tion of God,"|| to signify that in her dwelt all the " fulness of the
Godhead." To point out the great goddess-mother, in a Pantheistic
sense, as at once the Infinite and Almighty one, and the Virgin
mother, this inscription was engraven upon one of her temples in
Egypt : " I am all that has been, or that is, or that shall be. No
mortal has removed my veil. The fruit which I have brought forth
is the Sun. "II In Greece she had the name of Hestia, and amongst
the Romans, Vesta, which is just a modification of the same name —
a name which, though it has been commonly understood in a different
sense, really meant u The Dwelling-place"** As the Dwelling-place
of Deity, thus is Hestia or Vesta addressed in the Orphic Hymns ; —
* Asiatic Researches, vol. x. p. 27.
f See Sir J. F. DAVIS'S China, vol. ii. p. 56, and LAFITAN, who says that the
accounts sent home by the Popish missionaries bore that the sacred books of the
Chinese spoke not merely of a Holy Mother, but of a Virgin Mother (vol. i. p.
235, Note). See also SALVERTE, De Sciences Occultes, Appendix, Note A, Sect. 12,
p. 490. The reader may find additional testimonies to the very same effect in
PRESCOTT'S Conquest of Mexico, vol. i. pp. 53, 54, Note. For further evidence on
this fmbject, see Appendix, Note H.
£ PARSON'S Japhet, pp. 205, 206.
§ When Ashta, or "the woman," came to be called the " queen of heaven," the
name "woman" became the highest title of honour applied to a female. This
accounts for what we find so common among the ancient nations of the East, that
queens and the most exalted personages were addressed by the name of " woman."
"Woman" is not a complimentary title in our language; but formerly it had
been applied by our ancestors in the very same way as among the Orientals ; for
our word "Queen " is derived from Cwino, which in the ancient Gothic just
signified a woman.
|| BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 401.
If Ibid. vol. i. pp. 386, 387.
** Hestia, in Greek, signifies "a house" or "dwelling." — (See SCHREVELIUS and
PHOTIUS, sub voce.) This is usually thought to be a secondary meaning of the
word, its proper meaning being believed to be "fire." But the statments made
in regard to Hestia, show that the name is derived from Hes or Hese, " to cover,
to shelter," which is the very idea of a house, which " covers " or " shelters " from
78 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
** Daughter of Saturn, venerable dame,
Who dwell'st amid great fire's eternal flame,
In thee the gods have fix'd their DWELLING-PLACE,
Strong stable basis of the mortal race." *
Even when Vesta is identified with fire, this same character of Vesta
as "The Dwelling-Place" still distinctly appears. Thus Philolaus,
speaking of a fire in the middle of the centre of the world, calls it
" The Vesta of the universe, The HOUSE of Jupiter, The mother of
the gods."f In Babylon, the title of the goddess-mother as the
Dwelling-place of God was Sacca, :[ or in the emphatic form, Sacta,
that is, "The Tabernacle." Hence, at this day, the great goddesses
in India, as wielding all the power of the god whom they represent,
are called "Sacti," or the " Tabernacle."§ Now in her, as the Taber
nacle or Temple of God, not only all power, but all grace and good
ness were believed to dwell. Every quality of gentleness and mercy
was regarded as centred in her ; and when death had closed her
career, while she was fabled to have been deified and changed into a
pigeon, 1 1 to express the celestial benignity of her nature, she was
called by the name of "D'Iune,"H or "The Dove," or without the
the inclemency of the weather. The verb " Hes " also signifies " to protect," to
"show mercy," and from this evidently comes the character of Hestia as "the
protectress of suppliants." — (See SMITH.) Taking Hestia as derived from Hes, " to
cover," or "shelter," the following statement of Smith is easily accounted for: —
" Hestia was the goddess of domestic life, and the giver of all domestic happiness ;
as such she was believed to dwell in the inner part of every house, and to have in
vented the art of building houses." If " fire " be supposed to be the original idea of
Hestia, how could "fire " ever have been supposed to be " the builder of houses " ?
But taking Hestia in the sense of the Habitation or Dwelling-place, though de
rived from Hes, "to shelter," or "cover," it is easy to see how Hestia would
come to be identified with " fire." The goddess who was regarded as the " Habi
tation of God " was known by the name of Ashta, " The Woman ; " while " Ashta "
also signified " The fire ; " and thus Hestia or Vesta, as the Babylonian system was
developed, would easily come to be regarded as " Fire," or "the goddess of fire."
For the reason that suggested the idea of the Goddess-mother being a Habitation,
see Appendix, Note I.
* TAYLOR'S Orphic Hymns : Hymn to Vesta, p. 175. Though Vesta is here called
the daughter of Saturn, she is also identified in all the Pantheons with Cybele or
Rhea, the wife of Saturn.
t Note to TAYLOR'S Orphic Hymns, p. 156,
+ For the worship of Sacca, in the character of Anaitis — i.e., Venus, see
CHESNEY'S Euphrates Expedition, vol. i. p. 381.
§ KENNEDY and MOOR, passim. A synonym for Sacca, "a tabernacle," is
"Ahel," which, with the points, is pronounced " Ohel." From the first form of
the word, the name of the wife of the god Buddha seems to be derived, which, in
KENNEDY, is Ahalya (pp. 246, 256), and in MOOR'S Pantheon, Ahilya (p. 264).
From the second form, in like manner, seems to be derived the name of the wife
of the Patriarch of the Peruvians, "Mama Oe'llo." (PRESCOTT'S Peru, vol. i. pp.
7, 8.) Mama was by the Peruvians used in the Oriental sense ; Oe'llo, in all like
lihood, was used in the same sense.
|| DIODORUS Sic., lib. ii. p. 76. In connection with this the classical reader
will remember the title of one of the fables in OVID'S Metamorphoses. " Semiramis
in columbam" (Metam. iv.) "Semiramis into a pigeon."
IT Dione, the name of the mother of Venus, and frequently applied to Venus
herself, is evidently the same name as the above. Dione, as meaning Venus, is
clearly applied by Ovid to the Babylonian goddess. Fasti, lib. ii. 461-464, vol.
iii. p. 113.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD.
79
article, " Juno," — the name of the Roman "queen of heaven," which
has the very same meaning; and under thejforra of a dove as well
as her own, she was worshipped by the Babylonians. The dove, the
chosen symbol of this deified queen, is commonly represented with an
olive branch in her mouth (Fig. 25), as she herself in her human form
also is seen bearing the olive branch in her hand ; * and from this
form of representing her, it is highly probable that she has derived
the name by which she is commonly known, for ." Z'emir-amit "
means "The branch-bearer."! When the goddess was thus repre
sented as the Dove with the olive branch, there can be no doubt that
the symbol had partly reference to the story of the flood ; but there
was much more in the symbol than a mere memorial of that great
event. " A branch," as has been already proved, was the symbol of
the deified son, and when the deified mother was represented as a
Dove, what could the meaning of this representation be but just to
identify her with the Spirit of all grace, that brooded, dove-like, over
the deep at the creation ; for in the sculptures at Nineveh, as we
have seen, the wings and tail of the dove represented the third
member of the idolatrous Assyrian trinity. In confirmation of this
Fig. 25.
view, it must be stated that the Assyrian " Juno," or "The Virgin
Venus," as she was called, was identified with the air. Thus Julius
Firmicus says: — "The Assyrians and part of the Africans wish the
air to have the supremacy of the elements, for they have consecrated
this same [element] under the name of Juno, or the Virgin Venus." §
Why was air thus identified with Juno, whose symbol was that of
the third person of the Assyrian trinity? Why, but because in
Chaldee the same word which signifies the air signifies also the
"Holy Ghost" The knowledge of this entirely accounts for the
* LAYARD'S Nineveh and Babylon, p. 250.
t From Ze, "the" or "that," emir, "branch," and amit, "bearer," in the
feminine. — HESYCHIUS, sub voce, says that Semiramis is a name for a "wild
pigeon." The above explanation of the original meaning of the name Semiramis,
as referring to Noah's wild pigeon (for it was evidently a wild one, as the tame
one would not have suited the experiment), may account for its application by the
Greeks to any wild pigeon.
J BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 84. The branch in the hand of Cybele in the above cut
is only a conventional branch ; but in the figure given by Layard it is distinctly
an olive branch.
§ FIRMICUS, De Errore, cap. 4, p. 9.
80 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
statement of Proclus, that " Juno imports the generation of soul." *
Whence could the soul — the spirit of man — be supposed to have its
origin, but from the Spirit of God. In accordance with this char
acter of Juno as the incarnation of the Divine Spirit, the source of
life, and also as the goddess of the air, thus is she invoked in the
"Orphic Hymns":—
"0 royal Juno, of majestic mien,
Aerial formed, divine, Jove's blessed queen,
Throned in the bosom of cserulean air,
The race of mortals is thy constant care ;
The cooling gales, thy power alone inspires,
Which nourish life, which every life desires ;
Mother of showers and winds, from thee alone
Producing all things, mortal life is known ;
All natures show thy temperament divine,
And universal sway alone is thine,
With sounding blasts of wind, the swelling sea
And rolling rivers roar when shook by thee." t
Thus, then, the deified queen, when in all respects regarded as a
veritable woman, was at the same time adored as the incarnation of
the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of peace and love. In the temple of
Hierapolis in Syria, there was a famous statue of the goddess Juno,
to which crowds from all quarters flocked to worship. The image of
the goddess was richly habited, on her head was a golden dove, and
she was called by a name peculiar to the country, " Semeion." |
What is the meaning of Semeion? It is evidently "The Habita
tion ; " § and the " golden dove " on her head shows plainly who it
was that was supposed to dwell in her — even the Spirit of God.
When such transcendent dignity was bestowed on her, when such
winning characters were attributed to her, and when, over and above
all, her images presented her to the eyes of men as Venus Urania,
" the heavenly Venus," the queen of beauty, who assured her wor
shippers of salvation, while giving loose reins to every unholy passion,
and every depraved and sensual appetite — no wonder that every
where she was enthusiastically adored. Under the name of the
" Mother of the gods," the goddess queen of Babylon became an
object of almost universal worship. "The Mother of the gods,"
says Clericus, " was worshipped by the Persians, the Syrians, and all
the kings of Europe and Asia, with the most profound religious
* PROCLUS, lib. vi. cap. 22, vol. ii. p. 76.
f TAYLOR'S Orphic Hymns, p. 50. Every classical reader must be aware of the
identification of Juno with the air. The following, however, as still further illus
trative of the subject from Proclus, may not be out of place : — " The series of our
sovereign mistress Juno, beginning from on high, pervades the last of things, and
her allotment in the sublunary region is the air ; for air is a symbol of soul, accord
ing to which also soul is called a spirit, irveviMa" — PROCLUS, Ibid. p. 197.
£ BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 145.
§ From Ze, "that," or " the great," and " Maaon," or Ma'ion, " a habitation,"
which, in the Ionic dialect, in which Lucian, the describer of the goddess, wrote,
would naturally become Meion.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 81
veneration."* Tacitus gives evidence that the Babylonian goddess
was worshipped in the heart of Germany,! and Csesar, when he
invaded Britain, found that the priests of this same goddess, known
by the name of Druids, had been there before him.J Herodotus,
from personal knowledge, testifies, that in Egypt this " queen of
heaven " was " the greatest and most worshipped of all the divini
ties.'^ Wherever her worship was introduced, it is amazing what
fascinating power it exerted. Truly, the nations might be said to be
" made drunk " with the wine of her fornications. So deeply, in
particular, did the Jews in the days of Jeremiah drink of her wine
cup, so bewitched were they with her idolatrous worship, that even
after Jerusalem had been burnt, and the land desolated for this very
thing, they could not be prevailed on to give it up. While dwelling
in Egypt as forlorn exiles, instead of being witnesses for God against
the heathenism around them, they were as much devoted to this
form of idolatry as the Egyptians themselves. Jeremiah was sent of
God to denounce wrath against them, if they continued to worship
the queen of heaven ; but his warnings were in vain. " Then," saith
the prophet, " all the men which knew that their wives had burnt
incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great
multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in
Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast
spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto
thee ; but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of
our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our
fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the
streets of Jerusalem : for then had we plenty of victuals, and were
well, and saw no evil" (Jer. xliv. 15-17). Thus did the Jews, God's
* JOANNES CLERICUS, Philos. Orient., lib. ii., Dt Persis, cap. 9, vol. ii. p. 340.
•j- TACITUS, Oermania, ix. torn. ii. p. 386.
J CJSSAR, De Bello Gallico, lib. vi. cap. 13, p. 121. The name Druid has been
thought to be derived from the Greek Drus, an oak tree, or the Celtic Deru, which
has the same meaning ; but this is obviously a mistake. In Ireland, the name for
a Druid is Droi, and in Wales Dryw ; and it will be found that the connection of
the Druids with the oak was more from the mere similarity of their name to that
of the oak, than because they derived their name from it. The Druidic system in
all its parts was evidently the Babylonian system. Dionysius informs us, that the
rites of Bacchus were duly celebrated in the British Islands — (PERIERGESIS, v. 56.5,
p. 29) — and Strabo cites Artemidorus to show that, in an island close to Britain,
Ceres and Proserpine were venerated with rites similar to the orgies of Samoth-
race. — (Lib. iv. p. 190.) It will be seen from the account of the Druidic Ceridwen
and her child, afterwards to be noticed — (see Chap. IV. Sect. III.) — that there
was a great analogy between her character and that of the great goddess-mother
of Babylon. Such was the system ; and the name Dryw, or Droi, applied to the
priests, is in exact accordance with that system. The name Zero, given in Hebrew
or the early Chaldee, to the son of the great goddess queen, in later Chaldee be
came " Dero." The priest of Dero, " the seed," was called, as is the case in almost
all religions, by the name of his god ; and hence the familiar name " Druid " is
thus proved to signify the priest of " Dero " — the woman's promised " seed." The
classical Hamadryads were evidently in like manner priestesses of "Hamed-dero,'*
— "the desired seed " — i.e., " the desire of all nations."
§ HERODOTUS, Historia, lib. ii. cap. 66, p. 117, D.
Q
82 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
own peculiar people, emulate the Egyptians in their devotion to the
queen of heaven.
The worship of the goddess-mother with the child in her arms
continued to be observed in Egypt till Christianity entered. If the
Gospel had come in power among the mass of the people, the
worship of this goddess-queen would have been overthrown. With
the generality it came only in name. Instead, therefore, of the
Babylonian goddess being cast out, in too many cases her name
only was changed. She was called the Virgin Mary, and, with her
child, was worshipped with the same idolatrous feeling by professing
Christians, as formerly by open and avowed Pagans. The conse
quence was, that when, in A.D. 325, the Nicene Council was sum
moned to condemn the heresy of Arius, who denied the true divinity
of Christ, that heresy indeed was condemned, but not without the
help of men who gave distinct indications of a desire to put the
creature on a level with the Creator, to set the Virgin-mother side
by side with her Son. At the Council of Nice, says the author of
" Nimrod," " The Melchite section " — that is, the representatives of
the so-called Christianity of Egypt — "held that there were three
persons in the Trinity — the Father, the Virgin Mary, and Messiah
their Son."* In reference to this astounding fact, elicited by the
Nicene Council, Father Newman speaks exultingly of these discus
sions as tending to the glorification of Mary. "Thus," says he,
"the controversy opened a question which it did not settle. It
discovered a new sphere, if we may so speak, in the realms of light,
to which the Church had not yet assigned its inhabitant. Thus,
there was a wonder in Heaven ; a throne was seen far above all
created powers, mediatorial, intercessory, a title archetypal, a crown
bright as the morning star, a glory issuing from the eternal throne,
robes pure as the heavens, and a sceptre over all. And who was the
predestined heir of that majesty? Who was that wisdom, and what
was her name, the mother of fair love, and fear, and holy hope,
exalted like a palm-tree in Engaddi, and a rose-plant in Jericho,
created from the beginning before the world, in God's counsels, and
in Jerusalem was her power *? The vision is found in the Apocalypse
* a Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and
upon her head a crown of twelve stars.'"! "The votaries of Mary,"
adds he, "do not exceed the true faith, unless the blasphemers of her
Son came up to it. The Church of Rome is not idolatrous, unless
Arianism is orthodoxy."} This is the very poetry of blasphemy.
* Nimrod, iii. p. 329, quoted in Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, July, 1852,
p. 244.
t NEWMAN'S Development, pp. 405, 406. The intelligent reader will see at a
glance the absurdity of applying this vision of the " woman " of the Apocalypse
to the Virgin Mary. John expressly declares that what he saw was a " sign " or
"symbol" (semeion). If the woman here is a literal woman, the woman that sits
on the seven hills must be the same. " The woman " in both cases is a " symbol. "
"The woman" on the seven hills is the symbol of the false church ; the woman
clothed with the sun, of the true church — the Bride, the Lamb's wife.
t Ibid.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 83
It contains an argument too ; but what does that argument amount
to ? It just amounts to this, that if Christ be admitted to be truly
and properly God, and worthy of Divine honours, His mother, from
whom He derived merely His humanity, must be admitted to be the
same, must be raised far above the level of all creatures, and be
worshipped as a partaker of the Godhead. The divinity of Christ is
made to stand or fall with the divinity of His mother. Such is
Popery in the nineteenth century ; yea, such is Popery in England.
It was known already that Popery abroad was bold and unblushing
in its blasphemies; that in Lisbon a church was to be seen with
these words engraven on its front, " To the virgin goddess of Loretto,
the Italian race, devoted to her DIVINITY, have dedicated this
temple."* But when till now was such language ever heard in
Britain before? This, however, is just the exact reproduction of
the doctrine of ancient Babylon in regard to the great goddess-
mother. The Madonna of Rome, then, is just the Madonna of
Babylon. The " Queen of Heaven " in the one system is the same
as the "Queen of Heaven" in the other. The goddess worshipped
in Babylon and Egypt as the Tabernacle or Habitation of God, is
identical with her who, under the name of Mary, is called by Rome
"the HOUSE consecrated to God," "the awful Dwelling-place/'t
" the Mansion of God,"J the " Tabernacle of the Holy Ghost,"§ the
"Temple of the Trinity." || Some may possibly be inclined to defend
such language, by saying that the Scripture makes every believer to
be a temple of the Holy Ghost, and, therefore, what harm can there
be in speaking of the Virgin Mary, who was unquestionably a saint
of God, under that name, or names of a similar import ? Now, no
doubt it is true that Paul says (1 Cor. iii. 16), "Know ye not that
ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you *? " It is not only true, but it is a great truth, and a blessed one
— a truth that enhances every comfort when enjoyed, and takes the
sting out of every trouble when it comes, that every genuine Christian
has less or more experience of what is contained in these words of
the same apostle (2 Cor. vi. 16), "Ye are the temple of the living
God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people." It must also be
admitted, and gladly admitted, that this implies the indwelling of all
the Persons of the glorious Godhead ; for the Lord Jesus hath said
(John xiv. 23), " If a man love me, he will keep my words ; and my
Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make our
abode with him." But while admitting all this, on examination it
will be found that the Popish and the Scriptural ideas conveyed
* Journal of Professor GIBSON, in Scottish Protestant, vol. i. p. 464.
f The Golden Manual, in Scottish Protestant, vol. ii. p. 271. The word here
used for ' ' Dwelling-place " in the Latin of this work is a pure Chaldee word —
" Zabulo," and is from the same verb as Zebulun (Gen. xxx. 20), the name which
was given by Leah to her son, when she said " Now will my husband dwell
with me."
t Pancarpium Maries, p. 1 41. § Garden of the Soul, p. 488.
|| Golden Manual,, in Scottish Protestant, vol. ii. p. 272.
84 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
by these expressions, however apparently similar, are essentially
different. When it is said that a believer is "a temple of God,"
or a temple of the Holy Ghost, the meaning is (Eph. iii. 17) that
" Christ dwells in the heart by faith." But when Rome says that
Mary is " The Temple "or " Tabernacle of God," the meaning is the
exact Pagan meaning of the term — viz., that the union between her
and the Godhead is a union akin to the hypostatical union between
the divine and human nature of Christ. The human nature of Christ
is the " Tabernacle of God," inasmuch as the Divine nature has
veiled its glory in such a way, by assuming our nature, that we can
come near without overwhelming dread to the Holy God. To this
glorious truth John refers when he says (John i. 14), "The Word
was made flesh, and dwelt (literally tabernacled) among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth." In this sense, Christ, the God-man, is the only
" Tabernacle of God." Now, it is precisely in this sense that Rome
calls Mary the " Tabernacle of God," or of the " Holy Ghost." Thus
speaks the author of a Popish work devoted to the exaltation of the
Virgin, in which all the peculiar titles and prerogatives of Christ are
given to Mary : " Behold the tabernacle of God, the mansion of God,
the habitation, the city of God is with men, and in men and for men,
for their salvation, and exaltation, and eternal glorification Is
it most clear that this is true of the holy church ? and in like manner
also equally true of the most holy sacrament of the Lord's body 1 Is
it (true) [of every one of us in as far as we are truly Christians ?
Undoubtedly ; but we have to contemplate this mystery (as existing)
in a peculiar manner in the most holy Mother of our Lord."* Then
the author, after endeavouring to show that " Mary is rightly con
sidered as the Tabernacle of God with men," and that in a peculiar
sense, a sense different from that in which all Christians are the
" temple of God," thus proceeds with express reference to her in this
character of the Tabernacle : " Great truly is the benefit, singular is
the privilege, that the Tabernacle of God should be with men, IN
WHICH men may safely come near to God become man."f Here the
whole mediatorial glory of Christ, as the God-man in whom dwelleth
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, is given to Mary, or at least
is shared with her. The above extracts are taken from a work
published upwards of two hundred years ago. Has the Papacy
improved since then ? Has it repented of its blasphemies *? No, the
very reverse. The quotation already given from Father Newman
proves this ; but there is still stronger proof. In a recently published
work, the same blasphemous idea is even more clearly unfolded.
While Mary is called "The HOUSE consecrated to God," and the
" TEMPLE of the Trinity," the following versicle and response will
show in what sense she is regarded as the temple of the Holy Ghost :
" V. Ipse [deus] creavit illam in Spiritu Sancto. R. Et EFFUDIT
ILLAM inter omnia opera sua. V. Domina, exaudi," <fec., which is
* Pancarpium Maria;, or Marianum, pp. 141, 142.
t Ibid. p. 142.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 85
thus translated : " V. The Lord himself created HER in the Holy
Ghost, and POURED HER out among all his works. V. O Lady, hear,"
<fec.* This astounding language manifestly implies that Mary is
identified with the Holy Ghost, when it speaks of her "being poured
out " on " all the works of God ; " and that, as we have seen, was
just the very way in which the Woman, regarded as the " Tabernacle "
or House of God by the Pagans, was looked upon. Where is such
language used in regard to the Virgin ? Not in Spain ; not in
Austria ; not in the dark places of Continental Europe ; but in
London, the seat and centre of the world's enlightenment.
The names of blasphemy bestowed by the Papacy on Mary have not
one shadow of foundation in the Bible, but are all to be found in the
Babylonian idolatry. Yea, the very features and complexions of the
Roman and Babylonian Madonnas are the same. Till recent times,
when Raphael somewhat departed from the beaten track, there was
nothing either Jewish or even Italian in the Romish Madonnas. Had
these pictures or images of the Virgin Mother been intended to
represent the mother of our Lord, naturally they would have been
cast either in the one mould or the other. But it was not so. In a
land of dark-eyed beauties, with raven locks, the Madonna was
always represented with blue eyes and golden hair, a complexion
entirely different from the Jewish complexion, which naturally would
have been supposed to belong to the mother of our Lord, but which
precisely agrees with that which all antiquity attributes to the
goddess queen of Babylon. In almost all lands the great goddess has
been described with golden or yellow hair, showing that there must
have been one grand prototype, to which they were all made to
correspond. " Flava ceres," the " yellow-haired Ceres," might not
have been accounted of any weight in this argument if she had stood
alone, for it might have been supposed in that case that the epithet
" yellow-haired " was borrowed from the corn that was supposed to be
under her guardian care. But many other goddesses have the very
same epithet applied to them. Europa, whom Jupiter carried away
in the form of a bull, is called "The yellow-haired Europa. "f
Minerva is called by Homer " the blue-eyed Minerva,"! and by Ovid
"the yellow-haired ;"§ the huntress Diana, who is commonly identi
fied with the moon, is addressed by Anacreon as " the yellow-haired
daughter of Jupiter,"|| a title which the pale face of the silver moon
could surely never have suggested. Dione, the mother of Venus, is
described by Theocritus as " yellow-haired. "5T Venus herself is
frequently called " Aurea Venus," the "golden Venus."** The
Indian goddess Lakshmi, the " Mother of the Universe," is described
* Golden Manual, p. 649. This work has the imprimatur of " Nicholas, Bishop
of Melipotamus,"now Cardinal Wiseman.
t OVID, Fasti, lib. v. 1. 609, torn. iii. p. 330.
I Iliad, lib. v. v. 420, torn. i. p. 205.
§ OVID, Tristium, lib. i. ; Elegia, p. 44 ; and Fasti, lib. vi. v. 652, torn. iii.
p. 387.
'i ANACREON, Od. lx. p. 204.
*[ Idyll vii. v. 116, p. 157. ** HOMER'S Iliad, lib. v. v. 427.
86 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
as of " a golden complexion."* Ariadne, the wife of Bacchus, was
called " the yellow-haired Ariadne."f Thus does Dryden refer to
her golden or yellow hair : —
" Where the rude waves in Dian's harbour play,
The fair forsaken Ariadne lay ;
There, sick with grief and frantic with despair,
Her dress she rent, and tore her golden hair."t
The Gorgon Medusa before her transformation, while celebrated for
her beauty, was equally celebrated for her golden hair : —
" Medusa once had charms : to gain her love
A rival crowd of anxious lovers strove.
They who have seen her, own they ne'er did trace
More moving features in a sweeter face ;
But above all, her length of hair they own
In golden ringlets waved, and graceful shone."§
The mermaid that figured so much in the romantic tales of the north,
which was evidently borrowed from the story of Atergatis, the fish
goddess of Syria, who was called the mother of Semiramis, and was
sometimes identified with Semiramis herself, || was described with
hair of the same kind. " The Ellewoman," such is the Scandinavian
name for the mermaid, " is fair," says the introduction to the " Danish
Tales " of Hans Andersen, " and gold-haired, and plays most
sweetly on a stringed instrument. "1T " She is frequently seen sitting
on the surface of the waters, and combing her long golden hair with
a golden comb."** Even when Athor, the Venus of Egypt, was re
presented as a cow, doubtless to indicate the complexion of the
goddess that cow represented, the cow's head and neck were gilded.^ f
When, therefore, it is known that the most famed pictures of the
Virgin Mother in Italy represented her as of a fair complexion and
with golden hair, and when over all Ireland the Virgin is almost
invariably represented at this day in the very same manner, who can
resist the conclusion that she must have been thus represented, only
because she had been copied from the same prototype as the Pagan
divinities.
NOT is this agreement in complexion only, but also in features.
Jewish features are everywhere marked, and have a character
peculiarly their own. But the original Madonnas have nothing at all
of Jewish form or feature; but are declared by those who have
personally compared both,|f entirely to agree in this respect, as well
as in complexion, with the Babylonian Madonnas found by Sir
Robert Ker Porter among the ruins of Babylon.
* Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. p. 134. f HESIOD, Theogonia, v. 947, p. 74.
$ Heathen Mythology Illustrated, p. 58. § Ibid. p. 90.
II Lucian de Dea Syria, vol. iii. pp. 460, 461. The name mentioned by Ltician
is Derketo, but it is well known that Derketo and Atergatis are the same.
1i Danish Tales, p. 36. ** Ibid. p. 37.
ft HERODOTUS, lib. ii. p. 158, and WILKINSON, vol. i., Note to p. 128.
JJ H. J. JONES, in Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, October, 1852, p. 331.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 87
There is yet another remarkable characteristic of these pictures
worthy of notice, and that is the nimbus or peculiar circle of light
that frequently encompasses the head of the Roman Madonna. With
this circle the heads of the so-called figures of Christ are also
frequently surrounded. Whence could such a device have originated 1
In thejcase of our Lord, if His head had been merely surrounded with
rays, there might have been some pretence for saying that that was
borrowed from the Evangelic narrative, where it is stated, that on the
holy mount His face became resplendent with light. But where, in
the whole compass of Scripture, do we ever read that His head was
surrounded with a disk, or a circle of light? But what will be
searched for in vain in the Word of God, is found in the artistic
representations of the great gods and goddesses of Babylon. The
disk, and particularly the circle, were the well-known symbols of the
Sun-divinity, and figured largely in the symbolism of the East.
With the circle or the disk the head of the Sun-divinity was encom
passed. The same was the case in Pagan Rome. Apollo, as the
child of the Sun, was often thus represented. The goddesses that
claimed kindred with the Sun were equally entitled to be adorned
with the nimbus or luminous circle. We give from Pompeii a
representation of Circe, " the daughter of the Sun " (see Eig. 26), with
her head surrounded with a circle, in the very same way as the head
of the Roman Madonna is at this day surrounded. Let any one
compare the nimbus around the head of Circe, with that around the
head of the Popish Virgin, and he will see how exactly they
correspond.*
Now, could any one possibly believe that all this coincidence could
be accidental. Of course, if the Madonna had ever so exactly
* The explanation of the next woodcut is thus given in Pompeii, vol. ii. pp. 91,
92 : " One of them [the paintings] is taken from the Odyssey, and represents
Ulysses and Circe, at the moment when the hero, having drunk the charmed cup
with impunity, by virtue of the antidote given him by Mercury [it is well known
that Circe had a 'golden cup/ even as the Venus of Babylon had], draws his
sword, and advances to avenge his companions," who, having drunk of her cup,
had been changed into swine. The goddess, terrified, makes her submission at
once, as described by Homer ; Ulysses himself being the narrator : —
" ' Hence, seek the sty, there wallow with thy friends,'
She spake, I drawing from beside my thigh
My falchion keen, with death-denouncing looks,
Rushed on her ; she, with a shrill scream of fear,
Ran under my raised arm, seized fast my knees,
And in winged accents plaintive, thus began :
' Say, who art thou,' " &c. — COWPKR'H Odyssey, x. 320.
" This picture," adds the author of Pompeii, " is remarkable, as teaching us the
origin of that ugly and unmeaning glory by which the heads of saints are often
surrounded This glory was called nimbus, or aureola, and is defined by
Servius to be ' the luminous fluid which encircles the heads of the gods.' (On
^£NEIB, lib. ii. v. 616, vol. i. p. 165.) It belongs with peculiar propriety to Circe,
as the daughter of the Sun. The emperors, with their usual modesty, assumed it
as the mark of their divinity ; and under this respectable patronage it passed, like
many other Pagan superstitions and customs, into the use of the Church." The
emperors here get rather more than a fair share of the blame due to them. It was
not the emperors that brought "Pagan superstition" into the Church, so much
as the Bishop of Rome. See Chap. VII. Sect. II.
88
OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
resembled the Virgin Mary, that would never have excused idolatry.
But when it is evident that the goddess enshrined in the Papal
Church for the supreme worship of its votaries, is that very Baby
lonian queen who set up Nimrod, or Ninus " the Son," as the rival of
Christ, and who in her own person was the incarnation of every kind
of licentiousness, how dark a character does that stamp on the Roman
idolatry. What will it avail to migitate the heinous character of
that idolatry, to say that the child she holds forth to adoration is
called by the name of Jesus ? When she was worshipped with her
child in Babylon of old, that child was called by a name as peculiar
to Christ, as distinctive of His glorious character, as the name of
Jesus. He was called " Zoro-ashta," " the seed of the woman."
But that did not hinder the hot anger of God from being directed
against those in the days of old who worshipped that "image of
jealousy, provoking to jealousy."* Neither can the giving of the
Fig. 26.
name of Christ to the infant in the arms of the Romish Madonna,
make it less the " image of jealousy," less offensive to the Most High,
less fitted to provoke His high displeasure, when it is evident that
that infant is worshipped as the child of her who was adored as
Queen of Heaven, with all the attributes of divinity, and was at the
same time the "Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."
Image-worship in every case the Lord abhors ; but image- worship of
such a kind as this must be peculiarly abhorrent to His holy soul.
Now, if the facts I have adduced be true, is it wonderful that such
dreadful threatenings should be directed in the Word of God against
the Romish apostacy, and that the vials of this tremendous wrath are
* Ezek. viii. 3. There have been many speculations about what this "image
of jealousy " could be. But when it is known that the grand feature of ancient
idolatry was just the worship of the Mother and the child, and that child as the
Son of God incarnate, all is plain. Compare verses 3 and 5 with verse 14, and it
will be seen that the " women weeping for Tammuz " were weeping close beside
the image of jealousy.
THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD. 89
destined to be outpoured upon its guilty head 1 If these things be
true (and gainsay them who can), who will venture now to plead for
Papal Rome, or to call her a Christian Church *? Is there one, who
fears God, and who reads these lines, who would not admit that
Paganism alone could ever have inspired such a doctrine as that
avowed by the Melchites at the Nicene Council, that the Holy
Trinity consisted of " the Father, the Virgin Mary, and the Messiah
their Son " ? * Is there one who would not shrink with horror from
such a thought ? What, then, would the reader say of a Church that
teaches its children to adore such a Trinity as that contained in the
following lines ? —
" Heart of Jesus I adore thee ;
Heart of Mary, I implore thee ;
Heart of Joseph, pure and just ;
IN THESE THREE HEARTS I PUT MY TRUST."t
If this is not Paganism, what is there that can be called by such a
name ] Yet this is the Trinity which now the Roman Catholics of
Ireland from tender infancy are taught to adore. This is the
Trinity which, in the latest books of catechetical instruction is
presented as the grand object of devotion to the adherents of the
Papacy. The manual that contains this blasphemy comes forth with
the express " Imprimatur " of "Paulus Cullen," Popish Archbishop
* Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, July, 1852, p. 244.
t What every Christian must Know and Do. By the Rev. J. FURNI&S. Pub
lished by James Duffy, Dublin. The edition of this Manual of Popery quoted
above, besides the blasphemy it contains, contains most immoral principles,
teaching distinctly the harmlessness of fraud, if only kept within due bounds.
On this account, a great outcry having been raised against it, I believe this edition
has been withdrawn from general circulation. The genuineness of the passage
above given is, however, beyond all dispute. I received myself from a friend in
Liverpool a copy of the edition containing these words, which is now in my pos
session, having previously seen them in a copy in the possession of the Rev.
Richard Smyth of Armagh. It is not in Ireland, however, only, that such a
trinity is exhibited for the worship of Romanists. In a Card, or Fly-leaf, issued
by the Popish priests of Sunderland, now lying before me, with the heading
" Paschal Duty, St. Mary's Church, Bishopwearmouth, 1859," the following is the
4th admonition given to the " Dear Christians " to whom it is addressed : —
" 4. And never forget the acts of a good Christian, recommended to you so often during the
renewal of the Mission.
Blessed be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart, my life, and my soul.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me always ; and in my last agony,
Jesus, Mary, aud Joseph, receive my last breath. Auien."
To induce the adherents of Rome to perform this " act of a good Christian," a
considerable bribe is held out. In p. 30 of Furniss's Manual above referred to,
under the head " Rule of Life," the following passage occurs : — " In the morning,
before you get up, make the sign of the cross, and say, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,
I give you my heart and my soul. (Each time you say this prayer, you get an
indulgence of 100 days, which you can give to the souls in Purgatory) ! ' I must
add that the title of Furniss's book, as given above, is the title of Mr. Smyth's
copy. The title of the copy in my possession is " What every Christian must
Know." London : Richardson & Son, 147 Strand. Both copies alike have the
blasphemous words given in the text, and both have the "Imprimatur" of
" Paulus Cullen."
90 OBJECTS OF WORSHIP.
of Dublin. Will any one after this say that the Roman Catholic
Church must still be called Christian, because it holds the doctrine
of the Trinity ? So did the Pagan Babylonians, «o did the Egyptians,
so do the Hindoos at this hour, in the very same sense in which
Rome does. They all admitted A trinity, but did they worship THE
Triune Jehovah, the King Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible ? And
will any one say with such evidence before him, that Rome does so ?
Away then, with the deadly delusion that Rome is Christian!
There might once have been some palliation for entertaining such a
supposition ; but every day the " Grand Mystery " is revealing itself
more and more in its true character. There is not, and there cannot
be, any safety for the souls of men in " Babylon." " Come out of
her, my people," is the loud and express command of God. Those
who disobey that command, do it at their peril.
CHAPTER III.
FESTIVALS.
SECTION I. — CHRISTMAS AND LADY-DAY.
IF Rome be indeed the Babylon of the Apocalypse, and the Madonna
enshrined in her sanctuaries be the very queen of heaven, for the
worshipping of whom the fierce anger of God was provoked against
the Jews in the days of Jeremiah, it is of the last consequence that
the fact should be established beyond all possibility of doubt ; for
that being once established, every one who trembles at the Word
of God must shudder at the very thought of giving such a system,
either individually or nationally, the least countenance or support.
Something has been said already that goes far to prove the identity
of the Roman and Babylonian systems ; but at every step the
evidence becomes still more overwhelming. That which arises
from comparing the different festivals is peculiarly so.
The festivals of Rome are innumerable ; but five of the most
important may be singled out for elucidation — viz., Christmas-day,
Lady-day, Easter, the Nativity of St. John, and the Feast of the
Assumption. Each and all of these can be proved to be Baby
lonian. And first, as to the festival in honour of the birth of
Christ, or Christmas. How comes it that that festival was con
nected with the 25th of December? There is not a word in the
Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year
when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what
time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th
of December. At the time that the angel announced His birth to the
shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in
the open fields. Now, no doubt, the climate of Palestine is not so
severe as the climate of this country ; but even there, though the
heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December
to February, is very piercing,* and it was not the custom for the
shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than
about the end of October, f It is in the last degree incredible, then,
* London Tract Society's Commentary, vol. i. p. 472. ALFORD'S Greek Testament,
vol. i. p. 412. GRESWKLL, vol. i., Dissert, xii. pp. 381-437.
f GILL, in his Commentary on Luke ii. 8, has the following : — " There are two
sorts of cattle with the Jews .... there are the cattle of the house that lie
in the city ; the cattle of the wilderness are they that lie in the pasttirea.
On which one of the commentators (MAIMONIDKS, in Misn. Betza, cap. 5, sect. 7),
observes, * These lie in the pastures, which are in the villages, all the days
of the cold and heat, and do not go into the cities until the rains descend.' The
first rain falls in the month Marches van, which answers to the latter part of our
91
92 FESTIVALS.
that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of
December. There is great unanimity among commentators on this
point. Besides Barnes, Doddridge, Lightfoot, Joseph Scaliger, and
Jennings, in his " Jewish Antiquities," who are all of opinion that
December 25th could not be the right time of our Lord's nativity,
the celebrated Joseph Mede pronounces a very decisive opinion to
the same effect. After a long and careful disquisition on the subject,
among other arguments he adduces the following : — " At the birth
of Christ every woman and child was to go to be taxed at the city
whereto they belonged, whither some had long journeys; but the
middle of winter was not fitting for such a business, especially for
women with child, and children to travel in. Therefore, Christ
could not be born in the depth of winter. Again, at the time of
Christ's birth, the shepherds lay abroad watching with their flocks
in the night time ; but this was not likely to be in the middle of
winter. And if any shall think the winter wind was not so extreme
in these parts, let him remember the words of Christ in the gospel,
' Pray that your flight be not in the winter.' If the winter was so
bad a time to flee in, it seems no fit time for shepherds to lie in the
fields in, and women and children to travel in."* Indeed, it is
admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties!
that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined,^ and that
October and the former part of November From whence it appears that
Christ must be born before the middle of October, since the first rain was not yet
come." KITTO, on Deut. xi. 14 (Illustrated Commentary, vol. i. p. 398), says that
the "first rain," is in "autumn," "that is, in September or October." This would
make the time of the removal of the flocks from the fields somewhat earlier than
1 have stated in the text ; but there is no doubt that it could not be later than
there stated, according to the testimony of Maimonides, whose acquaintance with
all that concerns Jewish customs is well known.
* MEDE'S Works, 1672. Discourse xlviii. The above argument of Mede goes
on the supposition of the well-known reasonableness and consideration by which
the Roman laws were distinguished.
f Archdeacon WOOD, in Christian Annotator, vol. iii. p. 2. LOKIMER'S Manual
of Presbytery, p. 130. Lorimer quotes Sir Peter King, who, in his Enquiry into
the Worship of the Primitive Church, &c., infers that no such festival was observed
in that Church, and adds — " It seems improbable that they should celebrate
Christ's nativity when they disagreed about the month and the day when Christ
was born." See also Rev. J. RYLE, in his Commentary on Luke, chap, ii., Note to
verse 8, who admits that the time of Christ's birth is uncertain, although he
opposes the idea that the flocks could not have been in the open fields in
December, by an appeal to Jacob's complaint to Laban, " By day the drought
consumed me, and the frost by night." Now the whole force of Jacob's
complaint against his churlish kinsman lay in this, that Laban made him do
what no other man would have done, and, therefore, if he refers to the cold nights
of winter (which, however, is not the common understanding of the expression), it
proves just the opposite of what it is brought by Mr. Ryle to prove — viz., that it
was not the custom for shepherds to tend their flocks in the fields by night in winter.
J GIESELER, vol. i. p. 54, and Note. CHRYSOSTOM (Monitum in Horn, de Natal.
Christi), writing in Antioch about A.D. 380, says : "It is not yet ten years since
this day was made known to us" (Vol. ii., p. 352). "What follows," adds
Gieseler, " furnishes a remarkable illustration of the ease with which customs of
recent date could assume the character of apostolic institutions." Thus proceeds
Chrysostom : " Among those inhabiting the west, it was known before from
ancient and primitive times, and to the dwellers from Thrace to Gadeira [Cadiz]
CHRISTMAS AND LADY-DAY. 93
within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever
hoard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century
was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the
Romish Church fix on December the 25th as Christmas-day 1 Why,
thus : Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian
era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise
time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian
queen of heaven ; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to
conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal
adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the
Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency
on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early
developed ; and we find Tertullian, even in his day, about the year
230, bitterly lamenting the inconsistency of the disciples of Christ in
this respect, and contrasting it with the strict fidelity of the Pagans
to their own superstition. " By us," says he, " who are strangers to
Sabbaths,* and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God,
the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the £rumalia, and Matronalia,
are now frequented ; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day
presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated
with uproar ; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their
religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the
Christians."! Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of
all their efforts, the apostacy went on, till the Church, with the
exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan super
stition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond
all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it
is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the
Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time,
" about the time of the winter solstice."! The very name by which
Christmas is popularly known among ourselves — Yule-day § — proves
at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. " Yule " is the Chaldee
name for an " infant " or " little child ; " || and as the 25th of Decem-
it was previously familiar and well-known," that is, the birth-day of our Lord,
which was unknown at Antioch in the east, on the very borders of the Holy
Land, where He was born, was perfectly well known in all the European region of
the west, from Thrace even to Spain !
* He is speaking of Jewish Sabbaths.
t TERTULLIAN, De Idololatria, c. 14, vol. i. p. 682. For the excesses connected
with the Pagan practice of the first foot on New Year's day, see GIESELER, vol. i.
sect. 79, Note.
J WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. iv. p. 405. PLUTARCH (De hide, vol. ii. p. 377,
B), states that the Egyptian priests pretended that the birth of the divine son of
Isis, at the end of December, was premature. But this is evidently just the
counterpart of the classic story of Bacchus, who, when his mother Semele was con
sumed by the fire of Jove, was said to have been rescued in his embryo state from
the flames that consumed her. The foundation of the story being entirely taken
away in a previous note (see p. 59), the superstructure of course falls to the ground
§ MALLET, vol. i. p. 130.
H From Eol, an " infant." The pronunciation here is the same as in eon of
Gideon. In Scotland, at least in the Lowlands, the Yule- cakes are also called
Nur-cakes (the u being pronounced as the French u). Now in Chaldee Nour
94 FESTIVALS.
ber was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, " Yule-day," or
the " Child's day," and the night that preceded it, " Mother-night," *
long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently
proves its real character. Far and wide, in the realms of Paganism,
was this birth-day observed. This festival has been commonly be
lieved to have had only an astronomical character, referring simply
to the completion of the sun's yearly course, and the commencement
of a new cycle, f But there is indubitable evidence that the festival
in question had a much higher reference than this — that it com
memorated not merely the figurative birth-day of the sun in the
renewal of its course, but the birth-day of the grand Deliverer.
Among the Sabeans of Arabia, who regarded the moon, and not the
sun, as the visible symbol of the favourite object of their idolatry,
the same period was observed as the birth festival. Thus we read in
Stanley's Sabean Philosophy : " On the 24th of the tenth month,"
that is December, according to our reckoning, " the Arabians cele
brated the BIRTH-DAY OF THE LORD — that is the Moon."}: The
Lord Moon was the great object of Arabian worship, and that Lord
Moon, according to them was born on the 24th of December, which
clearly shows that the birth which they celebrated had no necessary
connection with the course of the sun. It is worthy of special note,
too, that if Christmas-day among the ancient Saxons of this island,
was observed to celebrate the birth of any Lord of the host of heaven,
the case must have been precisely the same here as it was in Arabia.
The Saxons, as is well known, regarded the Sun as a female divinity,
and the Moon as a male.§ It must have been the birth-day of the
Lord Moon, therefore, and not of the Sun, that was celebrated by
them on the 25th of December, even as the birth-day of the same
Lord Moon was observed by the Arabians on the 24th of December.
The name of the Lord Moon in the East seems to have been Meni,
for this appears the most natural interpretation of the Divine state
ment in Isaiah Ixv. 11, "But ye are they that forsake my holy
mountain, that prepare a temple for Gad, and that furnish the drink-
offering unto Meni. "|| There is reason to believe that Gad refers to
the sun-god, and that Meni in like manner designates the moon-
divinity.lF Meni, or Manai, signifies " The Numberer," and it is by
signifies "birth." Therefore, Nur-cakes are "birth -cakes." The Scandinavian
goddesses, called " Norns," who appointed children their destinies at their birth,
evidently derived their name from the cognate Chaldee word " Nor," a child.
* SHARON TURNER'S Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 219.
t SALVERTJJ;, Des Sciences Occultes, p. 491.
£ STANLEY, p. 1066, col. 1.
§ SHARON TURNER, vol. i. p. 213. Turner cites an Arabic poem which proves
that a female sun and a masculine moon were recognised in Arabia as well as by
the Anglo-Saxons. — (Ibid.)
|| In the authorised version Gad is rendered " that troop," and Meni, " that
number ;" but the most learned admit that this is incorrect, and that the words
are proper names.
11 See KITTO, vol. iv. p. 66, end of Note. The name Gad evidently refers, in
the first instance, to the war-god, for it signifies to assault ; but it also signifies
" the assembler ; " and under both ideas it is applicable to Nimrod, whose general
character was that of the sun-god, for he was the first grand warrior ; and, under
CHRISTMAS AND LADY-DAY. 95
the changes of the moon that the months are numbered : Psalm civ.
19, " He appointed the moon for seasons : the sun knoweth the time
of its going down." The name of the " Man of the Moon," or the
god who presided over that luminary among the Saxons, was Mane,
as given in the " Edda,"* and Mani, in the " Voluspa."f That it was
the birth of the "Lord Moon" that was celebrated among our
ancestors at Christmas, we have remarkable evidence in the name
that is still given in the lowlands of Scotland to the feast on the last
day of the year, which seems to be a remnant of the old birth festival
for the cakes then made are called Nur-Cakes, or JBirth-csikQS. That
name is Hogmanay. J Now, " Hog-Manai " in Chaldee signifies " The
feast of the Numberer ; " in other words, The festival of Deus Lunus,
or of the Man of the Moon. To show the connection between country
and country, and the inveterate endurance of old customs, it is
the name of Phoroneus, he was celebrated for having first gathered mankind into
social communities. (See ante, p. 51.) The name Meni, " the numberer," on the
other hand, seems just a synonym for the name of Gush or Chus, which, while it
signifies "to cover" or "hide," signifies also "to count or number." The true
proper meaning of the name Gush is, I have no doubt, " The numberer " or
" Arithmetician ; " for while Nimrod his son, as the " mighty " one, was the grand
propagator of the Babylonian system of idolatry, by force and power, he, as
Hermes (see ante, pp. 25, 26), was the real concocter of that system, for he is said
to have " taught men the proper mode of approaching the Deity with prayers and
sacrifice " (WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 10) ; and seeing idolatry and astronomy were
intimately combined, to enable him to do so with effect, it was indispensable that
he should be pre-eminently skilled in the science of numbers. Now, Hermes (that
is Gush) is said to have "first discovered numbers, and the art of reckoning,
geometry, and astronomy, the games of chess and hazard" (Ibid. p. 3) ; and it is
in all probability from reference to the meaning of the name of Gush, that some
called " NUMBER the father of gods and men" (Ibid. vol. iv. p. 196). The
name Meni is just the Chaldee form of the Hebrew " Mene"," the " numberer " for
in Chaldee i often takes the place of the final e. As we have seen reason to con
clude with Gesenius, that Nebo, the great prophetic god of Babylon, was just the
same god as Hermes (see ante, p. 25), this shows the peculiar emphasis of the first
words in the Divine sentence that sealed the doom of Belshazzar, as representing
the primeval god — " MENE, MENE, Tekel, Upharsin," which is as much as covertly
to say, " The numberer is numbered. " As the cup was peculiarly the symbol of
Gush (see ante, p. 49). hence the pouring out of the drink-offering to him as the
god of the cup ; and as he was the great Diviner, hence the divinations as to the
future year, which Jerome connects with the divinity referred to by Isaiah. Now
Hermes, in Egypt as the "numberer," was identified with the moon that numbers
the months. He was called " Lord of the moon" (BuNSEN, vol. i. p. 394) ; and
as the "dispenser of time " (WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 11), he held a " palm branch,
emblematic of a year" (Ibid. p. 2). Thus, then, if Gad was the " sun-divinity,"
Meni was very naturally regarded as " The Lord Moon."
* MALLET, vol. ii. p. 24. Edin. 1809.
t Supplement to IDA PFEIFFEK'S Iceland, pp. 322, 323.
£ See JAMIESON'S Scottish Dictionary, sub voce. Jamieson gives a good many
speculations from different authors in regard to the meaning of the term " Hog
manay " ; but the following extract is all that it seems necessary to quote : —
" Hogmanay, the name appropriated by the vulgar to the last day in the year.
Sibb thinks that the term may be .... allied to the Scandinavian Hoeg-tid, a
term applied to Christmas, and various other festivals of the Church." As the
Scandinavian "tid" means " time," and " hoeg-tid" is applied to festivals of the
Church in general, the meaning of this expression is evidently " festival-time ;"
but that shows that "hoeg" has just the meaning which I have attached to Hog
— the Chaldee meaning.
96 FESTIVALS.
worthy of remark, that Jerome, commenting on the very words of
Isaiah already quoted, about spreading "a table for Gad," and
"pouring out a drink-offering to Meni," observes that it "was the
custom so late as his time [in the fourth century], in all cities
especially in Egypt and at Alexandria, to set tables, and furnish
them with various luxurious articles of food, and with goblets con
taining a mixture of new wine, on the last day of the month and the
year, and that the people drew omens from them in respect of the
fruitfulness of the year."* The Egyptian year began at a different
time from ours ; but this is as near as possible (only substituting
whisky for wine), the way in which Hogmanay is still observed on
the last day of the last month of our year in Scotland. I do not
know that any omens are drawn from anything that takes place at
that time, but everybody in the south of Scotland is personally
cognisant of the fact, that, on Hogmanay, or the evening before New
Year's day, among those who observe old customs, a table is spread,
and that while buns and other dainties are provided by those who
can afford them, oat cakes and cheese are brought forth among those
who never see oat cakes but on this occasion, and that strong drink
forms an essential article of the provision.
Even where the sun was the favourite object of worship, as in
Babylon itself and elsewhere, at this festival he was worshipped not
merely as the orb of day, but as God incarnate, f It was an essential
principle of the Babylonian system, that the Sun or Baal was the one
only God. | When, therefore, Tammuz was worshipped as God in
carnate, that implied also that he was an incarnation of the Sun.
In the Hindoo mythology, which is admitted to be essentially Baby
lonian, this comes out very distinctly. There, Surya, or the Sun, is
represented as being incarnate, and born for the purpose of subduing
the enemies of the gods, who, without such a birth, could not have
been subdued. §
It was no mere astronomic festival, then, that the Pagans cele
brated at the winter solstice. That festival at Eome was called the
feast of Saturn, and the mode in which it was celebrated there,
showed whence it had been derived. The feast, as regulated by
Caligula, lasted five days ; 1 1 loose reins were given to drunkenness
* HIERONYM, vol. ii. p. 217.
f PLUTARCH, De Isidc, vol. ii. sect. 52, p. 372 ; I). MACROB. Saturn., lib. i. cap.
21, P. 71.
£ MACROBIUS, Sat., lib. i. cap. 23, p. 72, E.
§ See the Sanscrit Researches of Col. VANS KENNEDY, p. 438. Col. K., a most
distinguished Sanscrit scholar; brings the Brahmins from Babylon (Ibid. p. 157).
Be it observed, the very name Surya, given to the sun over all India, is connected
with this birth. Though the word had originally a different meaning, it was
evidently identified by the priests with the Chaldee " Zero," and made to coun
tenance the idea of the birth, of the "Sun-god." The Pracrit name is still nearer
the Scriptural name of the promised "seed." It is " Suro." It has been seen, in
a previous Chapter (p. 77), that in Egypt also the Sun was represented as born
of a goddess.
y Subsequently the number of the days of the Saturnalia was increased to
seven. See JUSTUS LIPSIUS, Opera, torn, ii., Saturnal, lib. i. cap. 4.
CHRISTMAS AND LADY-DAY. 97
and revelry, slaves had a temporary emancipation,* and used all
manner of freedoms with their masters, f This was precisely the
way in which, according to Berosus, the drunken festival of the
month Thebeth, answering to our December, in other words, the
festival of Bacchus, was celebrated in Babylon. "It was the
custom," says he, " during the five days it lasted, for masters to be
in subjection to their servants, and one of them ruled the house,
clothed in a purple garment like a king." J This " purple-robed "
servant was called "Zoganes,"§ the "Man of sport and wantonness,"
and answered exactly to the " Lord of Misrule," that in the dark
ages, was chosen in all Popish countries to head the revels of
Christmas. The wassailling bowl of Christmas had its precise
counterpart in the " Drunken festival " of Babylon ; and many of the
other observances still kept up among ourselves at Christmas came
from the very same quarter. The candles, in some parts of England,
lighted on Christmas-eve, and used so long as the festive season lasts,
were equally lighted by the Pagans on the eve of the festival of the
Babylonian god, to do honour to him : for it was one of the distin
guishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted wax-candles on
his altars. || The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was
equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt that
tree was the palm-tree ; in Rome it was the fir ; IF the palm-tree
denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him
as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great
mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into
a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine
son.** If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognised
as the " Man the branch." And this entirely accounts for the putting
of the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas-eve, and the appearance
of the Christmas-tree the next morning. As Zero-ashta, " The seed
of the woman," which name also signified Ignigena, or " born of the
fire," he has to enter the fire on " Mother-night," that he may be
born the next day out of it, as the " Branch of God," or the Tree that
brings all divine gifts to men. But why, it may be asked, does he
enter the fire under the symbol of a Log? To understand this, it
* If Saturn, or Kronos, was, as we have seen reason to believe, Phoroneus, " The
emancipator" (see ante, pp. 51, 52), the " temporary emancipation " of the slaves
at his festival was exactly in keeping with his supposed character.
f ADAM'S Roman Antiquities, "Religion, Saturn." See STATIUS, Sylv., lib. i.
c. vi. v. 4, pp. 65, 66. The words of Statius are : —
"Saturnus mihi compede exoluta
Et multo gravidus mero December
Et ridens jocus, et sales protervi
Adsint."
I In ATHEN^EUS, xiv. p. 639, C.
§ From " Tzohkh," "to sport and wanton," and "anesh," " man," or perhaps
"anes" may only be a termination signifying " the doer," from an " to act upon."
To the initiated, it had another meaning.
|| CRABB'S Mythology, "Saturn," p. 12.
IT Berlin Correspondent of London Times, December 23, 1853.
** OVID, Metam., lib. x. v. 500-513.
H
98
FESTIVALS.
must be remembered that the divine child born at the winter solstice
was born as a new incarnation of the great god (after that god had
been cut in pieces), on purpose to revenge his death upon his
murderers.* Now the great god, cut off in the midst of his power
and glory, was symbolised as a huge tree, stripped of all its branches,
and cut down almost to the ground, f But the great serpent, the
symbol of the life restoring J ^Esculapius, twists itself around the
dead stock (see Fig. 27),§ and lo, at its side up sprouts a young tree
— a tree of an entirely different kind, that is destined never to be cut
down by hostile power — even the palm-tree, the well-known symbol
of victory. The Christmas-tree, as has been stated, was generally at
Rome a different tree, even the fir ; but the very same idea as was
implied in the palm-tree was implied in the Christmas-fir ; for that
covertly symbolised the new-born God as Baal-berith, || " Lord of the
Covenant," and thus shadowed forth the perpetuity and everlasting
nature of his power, now that after having fallen before his enemies,
be had risen triumphant over them all.
Therefore, the 25th of December, the
day that was observed at Home as the
day when the victorious god reappeared
on earth, was held at the Natalis invicti
soils, " The birth-day of the uncon-
quered Sun." IF Now the Yule Log is
the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as
the sun-god, but cut down by his
enemies ; the Christmas-tree is Nimrod
redivivus — the slain god come to life
again. In the light reflected by the
above statement on customs that still
linger among us, the origin of which
has been lost in the midst of hoar antiquity, let the reader look at
the singular practice still kept up in the South on Christmas-eve, of
* See ante, p. 69.
f " Ail," or " II," a synonym for Gheber, the "mighty " one (Exodus xv. 15),
signifies also a wide-spreading tree, or a stag with branching horns (see
PARKHURST, sub voce). Therefore, at different times, the great god is symbolised
by a stately tree, or by a stag. In the accompanying woodcut, the cutting off
of the mighty one is symbolised by the cutting down of the tree. On an Ephesian
coin (SMITH, p. 289), he is symbolised by a stag cut asunder ; and there a palm-tree
is represented as springing-up at the side of the stag, just as here it springs up at
the side of the dead trunk. In SANCHUNIATHON, Kronis is expressly called
"Ilos" — i.e., "The mighty one." The great god being cut off, the cornucopia
at the left of the tree is empty ; but the palm-tree repairs all.
+ The reader will remember that ^Esculapius is generally represented with a
stick or a stock of a tree at his side, and a serpent twining around it. The figure
in the next evidently explains the origin of this representation. For his character
as the life-restorer, see PAUSANIAS, lib. ii., Corinthiaca, cap. 26 ; and VIRGIL,
jEneid, lib. vii. 11. 769-773, pp. 364, 365.
§ From MAURICE'S Indian Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 368. 1796.
|| JSaal-bercth, which differs only in one letter from JBaal-berith, "Lord of the
Covenant," signifies " Lord of the fir-tree."
U" GIESELER, p. 42, Note.
CHKISTMAS AND LADY-DAY. 99
kissing under the misletoe bough. That misletoe bough in the
Druidic superstition, which, as we have seen, was derived from
Babylon, was a representation of the Messiah, " The man the
branch." The misletoe was regarded as a divine branch* — a
branch that came from heaven, and grew upon a tree that sprung
out of the earth. Thus by the engrafting of the celestial branch
into the earthly tree, heaven and earth, that sin had severed, were
joined together, and thus the misletoe bough became the token of
Divine reconciliation to man, the kiss being the well-known token of
pardon and reconciliation. Whence could such an idea have come ?
May it not have come from the eighty-fifth Psalm, ver. 10, 11,
"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have
KISSED each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth [in con
sequence of the coming of the promised Saviour], and righteousness
shall look down from heaven " 1 Certain it is that that Psalm was
written soon after the Babylonish captivity ; and as multitudes of
the Jews, after that event, still remained in Babylon under the
guidance of inspired men, such as Daniel, as a part of the Divine
word it must have been communicated to them, as Avell as to their
kinsmen in Palestine. Babylon was, at that time, the centre of the
civilised world ; and thus Paganism, corrupting the Divine symbol
as it ever has done, had opportunities of sending forth its debased
counterfeit of the truth to all the ends of the earth, through the
Mysteries that were affiliated with the great central system in
Babylon. Thus the very customs of Christmas still existent cast
surprising light at once on the revelations of grace made to all
the earth, and the efforts made by Satan and his emissaries to
materialise, carnalise, and degrade them.
In many countries the boar was sacrificed to the god, for the
injury a boar was fabled to have done him. According to one
version of the story of the death of Adonis, or Tammuz, it was, as
we have seen, in consequence of a wound from the tusk of a boar
that he died.f The Phrygian Attes, the beloved of Cybele, whose
story was identified with that of Adonis, was fabled to have perished
* In the Scandinavian story of Balder (see ante, p. 57), the misletoe branch is
distinguished from the lamented god. The Druidic and Scandinavian myths
somewhat differed ; but yet, even in the Scandinavian story, it is evident that
some marvellous power was attributed to the misletoe branch ; for it was able to
do what nothing else in the compass of creation could accomplish ; it slew the
divinity on whom the Anglo-Saxons regarded " the empire " of their "heaven"
as "depending." Now, all that is necessary to unravel this apparent inconsistency,
is just to understand " the branch " that had such power, as a symbolical expres
sion for the true Messiah. The Bacchus of the Greeks came evidently to be
recognised as the " seed of the serpent ; " for he is said to have been brought forth
by his mother in consequence of intercourse with Jupiter, when that god had
appeared in the form of a serpent. — (See DYMOCK'S Classical Dictionary, sub voce
" Deois.") If the character of Balder was the same, the story of his death just
amounted to this, that the "seed of the serpent" had been slain by the "seed of
the woman." This story, of course, must have originated with his enemies. But
the idolaters took up what they could not altogether deny, evidently with the
view of explaining it away.
f For the mystic meaning of the story of the boar, see ante, p. 65.
100
FESTIVALS.
in like manner, by the tusk of a boar.* Therefore, Diana, who
though commonly represented in popular myths only as the huntress
Diana, was in reality the great mother of the gods,f has frequently
the boar's head as her accompaniment, in token not of any mere
success in the chase, but of her triumph over the grand enemy of
the idolatrous system, in which she occupied so conspicuous a place.
According to Theocritus, Venus was reconciled to the boar that
killed Adonis, because when brought in chains before her, it pleaded
so pathetically that it had not killed her husband of malice prepense,
but only through accident. J But yet, in memory of the deed that
the mystic boar had done, many a boar lost its head or was offered
in sacrifice to the offended goddess. In Smith, Diana is represented
with a boar's head lying beside her, on the top of a heap of stones,§
and in the accompanying woodcut (Fig. 28), || in which the Roman
Emperor Trajan is represented burning incense to the same goddess,
Fig. 28.
VVS /^N Mf -=:ii*%=^ -?•
the boar's head forms a very prominent figure. On Christmas-day
the Continental Saxons offered a boar in sacrifice to the Sun,1T to
propitiate her** for the loss of her beloved Adonis. In Rome a
similar observance had evidently existed ; for a boar formed the
* PAUSANIAS, lib. vii., Achaica, cap. 7.
f See ante, pp. 29, 30.
£ THEOCRITUS, Idyll xxx. v. 21, 45.
§ SMITH'S Class. Diet., p. 112.
|| From KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. p. 137.
II Times' Berlin Correspondent, December 23, 1853.
** The reader will remember the Sun was a goddess. Mallet says, "They
offered the largest hog they could get to Frigga " — i.e., the mother of Balder the
lamented one. — (Vol. i. p. 132.) In Egypt swine were offered once a-year, at the
feast of the Moon, to the Moon, and Bacchus or Osiris ; and to them only it was
lawful to make such an offering. — ^ELIAN, x. 16, p. 562.
CHRISTMAS AND LADY-DAY.
101
great article at the feast of Saturn, as appears from the following
words of Martial : —
" That boar will make you a good Saturnalia."*
Hence the boar's head is still a standing dish in England at the
Christmas dinner, when the reason of it is long since forgotten.
Yea, the " Christmas goose " and " Yule cakes " were essential
articles in the worship of the Babylonian Messiah, as that worship
was practised both in Egypt and at Rome (Fig. 29). Wilkinson, in
reference to Egypt, shows that "the favourite offering" of Osiris
was "a goose, "f and moreover, that the "goose could not be eaten
except in the depth of winter." J As to 'Rome, Juvenal says, "that
Osiris, if offended, could be pacified only by a large goose and a thin
Fig. 29.
The Egyptian God Seb, with his symbol the goose ; and the
Sacred Goose on a stand, as offered in sacrifice^
cake. "| | In many countries we have evidence of a sacred character
attached to the goose. It is well known that the capitol of Rome
was on one occasion saved when on the point of being surprised by
the Gauls in the dead of night, by the cackling of the geese sacred
to Juno, kept in the temple of Jupiter. IT The accompanying wood
cut (Fig. 30)** proves that the goose in Asia Minor was the symbol of
Cupid, just as it was the symbol of Seb in Egypt. In India, the
goose occupied a similar position ; for in that land we read of the
* Iste tibi facietbona Saturnalia porcus." — MARTIAL, p. 754.
t WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 353. J Ibid. vol. ii. p. 380.
§ From WILKINSON, vol. vi. plate 31 ; and goose on stand, from the same,
vol. v. p. 353.
|| JUVENAL, Satires, vi. 539, 540, p. 129.
fi Livius, Historia, lib. v. cap. 47, vol. i. p. 388.
** From BARKER and AINSWORTH'S Lares and Penates of Cilicia, chap. iv. p. 220.
102 FESTIVALS.
sacred " Brahmany goose," or goose sacred to Brahma.* Finally,
the monuments of Babylon show f that the goose possessed a like
mystic character in Chaldea, and that it was offered in sacrifice
there, as well as in Rome or Egypt, for there the priest is seen with
the goose in the one hand, and his sacrificing knife in the other, f
There can be no doubt, then, that the Pagan festival at the winter
solstice — in other words, Christmas — was held in honour of the birth
of the Babylonian Messiah.
The consideration of the next great festival in the Popish calendar
gives the very strongest confirmation to what has now been said.
That festival, called Lady-day, is celebrated at Rome on the 25th of
March, in alleged commemoration of the miraculous conception of
our Lord in the womb of the Virgin, on the day when the angel
was sent to announce to her the distinguished honour that was to be
bestowed upon her as the mother of the Messiah. But who could
tell when this annunciation was made r< The Scripture gives no clue
Fig. 30.
at all in regard to the time. But it mattered not. Before our Lord
was either conceived or born, that very day now set down in the
Popish calendar for the "Annunciation of the Virgin " was observed
in Pagan Rome in honour of Cybele, the Mother of the Babylonian
Messiah. § Now, it is manifest that Lady-day and Christmas-day
* MOOR'S Pantheon, p. 10.
t KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. iv. p. 31.
£ The symbolic meaning of the offering of the goose is worthy of notice. " The
goose," says Wilkinson, " signified in hieroglyphics a child or son ; " and Horapollo
says (i. 53, p. 276), "It was chosen to denote a son, from its love to its young,
being always ready to give itself up to the chasseur, in order that they might be pre
served ; for which reason the Egyptians thought it right to revere this animal." —
WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. v. p. 227. Here, then, the true meaning of the
symbol is a son, who voluntarily gives himself up as a sacrifice for those whom he
loves — viz., the Pagan Messiah.
§ AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. xxiii. cap. 3, p. 355, and MACROB., Sat., lib. i.
cap. 3, p. 47, G, H. The fact stated in the paragraph above casta light on a
festival held in Egypt, of which no satisfactory account has yet been given. That
festival was held in commemoration of " the entrance of Osiris into the moon."
Now, Osiris, like Surya in India, was just the Sun. — (PLUTARCH, De hide et
EASTER. 103
stand in intimate relation to one another. Between the 25th of March
and the 25th of December there are exactly nine months. If, then,
the false Messiah was conceived in March and bom in December,
can any one for a moment believe that the conception and birth of
the true Messiah can have so exactly synchronised, not only to the
month, but to the day 1 The thing is incredible. Lady-day and
Christmas-day, then, are purely Babylonian.
SECTION II. EASTER.
Then look at Easter. What means the term Easter itself ? It is
not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very fore
head. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis,
the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of
Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in
this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian
monuments, is Ishtar.* The worship of Bel and Astarte was very
early introduced into Britain, along with the Druids, " the priests of
the groves." Some have imagined that the Druidical worship was
first introduced by the Phenicians, who, centuries before the Christian
era, traded to the tin-mines of Cornwall. But the unequivocal traces
of that worship are found in regions of the British islands where the
Phenicians never penetrated, and it has everywhere left indelible
marks of the strong hold which it must have had on the early British
mind. From Bel, the 1st of May is still called Beltane in the
Almanac ;f and we have customs still lingering at this day among
us, which prove how exactly the worship of Bel or Moloch (for both
titles belonged to the same god) had been observed even in the
northern parts of this island. "The late Lady Baird, of Fern Tower,
in Perthshire," says a writer in "Notes and Queries," thoroughly
Osiride, sect. 52, vol. ii. p. 372, D.) The moon, on the other hand, though most
frequently the symbol of the god Hermes or Thoth, was also the symbol of the
goddess IsitJ, the queen of heaven. The learned Bunsen seems to dispute this ;
but his own admissions show that he does so without reason. — (Vol. i. pp. 414,
416.) And Jeremiah xliv. 17 seems decisive on the subject. The entrance of
Osiris into the moon, then, was just the sun's being conceived by Isis, the queen
of heaven, that, like the Indian Surya, he might in due time be born as the
grand deliverer. (See note, p. 96.) Hence the very name Osiris ; for, as Isis
is the Greek form of H'isha, " the woman," so Osiris, as read at this day on the
Egyptian monuments, is He-siri, "the seed." It is no objection to this to say
that Osiris is commonly represented as the husband of Isis ; for, as we have seen
already (p. 22), Osiris is at once the son and husband of his mother. Now, this
festival took place in Egypt generally in March, just as Lady-day, or the tirst
great festival of Cybele, was held in the same month in Pagan Rome. We have
seen that the common title of Cybele at Rome was Domina, or "the Lady"
(OviD, Fasti, lib. iv. 340), as in Babylon it was Beltis (EusEB. Prcep. Evang.,
lib. ix. cap. 41, vol. ii. p. 58), and from this, no doubt, comes the name "Lady-
day " as it has descended to us.
* LAYARU'S Nineveh and Babylon, p. 629.
f See OLIVER & BOYD'S Edinburgh Almanac, 1860.
104 FESTIVALS.
versed in British antiquities,* " told me, that every year, at Beltane
(or the 1st of May), a number of men and women assemble at an
ancient Druidical circle of stones on her property near Crieff. They
light a fire in the centre, each person puts a bit of oat-cake in a
shepherd's bonnet; they all sit down, and draw blindfold a piece
from the bonnet. One piece has been previously blackened, and
whoever gets that piece has to jump through the fire in the centre of
the circle, and pay a forfeit. This is, in fact, a part of the ancient
worship of Baal, and the person on whom the lot fell was previously
burnt as a sacrifice. Now, the passing through the fire represents
that, and the payment of the forfeit redeems the victim." If Baal
was thus worshipped in Britain, it will not be difficult to believe
that his consort Astarte was also adored by our ancestors, and that
from Astarte, whose name in Nineveh was Ishtar, the religious
solemnities of April, as now practised, are called by the name of
Easter — that month, among our Pagan ancestors, having been called
Easter-monath. The festival, of which we read in Church history,
under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite
a different festival from that now observed in the Komish Church,
and at that time was not known by any such name as Easter, f It
was called Pasch, or the Passover, and though not of Apostolic
institution,^ was very early observed by many professing Christians,
in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ. That
festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when
Christ was crucified, a period which, in the days of Tertullian,
at the end of the second century, was believed to have been the
23rd of March. § That festival was not idolatrous, and it was pre
ceded by no Lent. " It ought to be known," said Cassianus, the
monk of Marseilles, writing in the fifth century, and contrasting
the primitive Church with the Church in his day, " that the observ
ance of the forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of
that primitive Church remained inviolate."|| Whence, then, came
this observance 1 The forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly
borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a
Lent of forty days, " in the spring of the year," is still observed by
the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan,1T who have
* The Right Hon. Lord John Scott.
•f The name Easter is peculiar to the British Islands.
+ Socrates, the ancient ecclesiastical historian, after a lengthened account of
the different ways in which Easter was observed in different countries in his time
— i.e., the fifth century — sums up in these words : — " Thus much already laid
down may seem a sufficient treatise to prove that the celebration of the feast of
Kaster began everywhere more of custom than by any commandment either of
Christ or any Apostle." — (Hist. Ecclesiast., lib. v. cap. 22.) Every one knows
that the name ''Easter," used in our translation of Acts xii. 4, refers not to any
Christian festival, but to the Jewish Passover. This is one of the few places in
our version where the translators show an undue bias.
§ GIESELER, vol. i. p. 55, Note. In GIESELER the time is printed " 25th of
March," but the Latin quotation accompanying it shows that this is a typo
graphical mistake for " 23rd."
|| Ibid. vol. ii. p. 42, Note.
II LAYARD'S -Nineveh and Babylon, p. 93.
EASTER. 105
inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent
of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, for thus we
read in Humboldt,* where he gives account of Mexican observances :
" Three days after the vernal equinox .... began a solemn fast of
forty days in honour of the sun." Such a Lent of forty days was
observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson's
Egyptians.^ This Egyptian Lent of forty days, we are informed
by Landseer, in his Sabean Researches, was held expressly in
commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god.| At
the same time, the rape of Proserpine seems to have been commemo
rated, and in a similar manner ; for Julius Eirmicus informs us that,
for "forty nights" the "wailing for Proserpine" continued ;§ and
from Arnobius we learn that the fast which the Pagans observed,
called "Castus" or the "sacred" fast, was, by the Christians in his
time, believed to have been primarily in imitation of the long fast
of Ceres, when for many days she determinedly refused to eat on
account of her "excess of sorrow" (violentia mceroris),\\ that is, on
account of the loss of her daughter Proserpine, when carried away
by Pluto, the god of hell. As the stories of Bacchus, or Adonis and
Proserpine, though originally distinct, were made to join on and fit
in to one another, so that Bacchus was called Liber, and his wife
Ariadne, Liberal (which was one of the names of Proserpine),** it
is highly probable that the forty days' fast of Lent was made in later
times to have reference to both. Among the Pagans this Lent seems
to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival
in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which
was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and which, in
many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival,
being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the
"month of Tammuz;" in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in
Britain, some time in April. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal
Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get
the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a compli
cated but skilful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult
matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity — now far sunk
in idolatry — in this as in so many other things, to shake hands.
The instrument in accomplishing this amalgamation was the abbot
Dionysius the Little, ff to whom also we owe it, as modern chrono-
logers have demonstrated, that the date of the Christian era, or of
the birth of Christ Himself, was moved FOUR YEARS from the true
time. Whether this was done through ignorance or design may be
* HUMBOLDT'S Mexican Researches, v. i. p. 404.
f WILKINSON'S Egyptian Antiquities, vol. i. p. 278.
J LANDSEER'S Sabean Researches, p. 112.
§ De Err ore, p. 70.
|! ARNOBIUS, Adversus (Rentes, lib. v. p. 403. See also what precedes in the
same book in regard to Proserpine.
II OVID, Fasti, lib. iii. 1. 512, vol. iii. p. 184.
'* SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, " Liber and Libera," p. 381.
ft About A.D. 525.
106 FESTIVALS.
matter of question ; but there seems to be no doubt of the fact, that
the birth of the Lord Jesus was made full four years later than the
truth.* This change of the calendar in regard to Easter was at
tended with momentous consequences. It brought into the Church
the grossest corruption and the rankest superstition in connection
with the abstinence of Lent. Let any one only read the atrocities
that were commemorated during the " sacred fast " or Pagan Lent,
as described by Arnobius and Clemens Alexandrinus,f and surely he
must blush for the Christianity of those who, with the full know
ledge of all these abominations, " went down to Egypt for help " to
stir up the languid devotion of the degenerate Church, and who
could find no more excellent way to " revive " it, than by borrowing
from so polluted a source ; the absurdities and abominations con
nected with which the early Christian writers had held up to scorn.
That Christians should ever think of introducing the Pagan abstin
ence of Lent was a sign of evil ; it showed how low they had sunk,
and it was also a cause of evil; it inevitably led to deeper degra
dation. Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries
of the Carnival, was entirely unknown ; and even when fasting be
fore the Christian Pasch was held to be necessary, it was by slow
steps that, in this respect, it came to conform with the ritual of
Paganism. What may have been the period of fasting in the Koman
Church before the sitting of the Nicene Council does not very clearly
appear, but for a considerable period after that Council, we have
distinct evidence that it did not exceed three weeks. £ The words of
Socrates, writing on this very subject, about A.D. 450, are these :
"Those who inhabit the princely city of Rome fast together before
Easter three weeks, excepting the Saturday and Lord's-day."§ But
at last, when the worship of Astarte was rising into the ascendant,
steps were taken to get the whole Chaldean Lent of six weeks, or
* GIESELEE, vol. i. p. 54. Gieseler adduces as authorities for the statement in
the text, G. A. HAMBERGER, De Epochce ('hristiante ortu et auctore (in MARTINI
Thesaur. Disscrtat., T. iii., P. i. p. 241) ; Jo. G. JANI, Historia JErce Uionysiance,
Viteb., 1715, 4, and IDKLER'S Chronologic, ii. 366 ff. This is the statement also
commonly made in all the standard English chronologies.
t CLESfENS ALEXANDRINUS, Prolrepticos, p. 13.
£ GIESBLER, speaking of the Eastern Church in the second century, in regard to
Paschal observances, says : " In it [the Paschal festival in commemoration of the
death of Christ] they [the Eastern Christians] eat unleavened bread, probably like
the Jews, eight days throughout There is no trace of a yearly festival of a
resurrection among them, for thia was kept every Sunday" (Catholic Church,
sect. 53, p. 178, Note 35). In regard to the Western Church, at a somewhat
later period — the age of Constantine — fifteen days seem to have been observed in
religious exercises in connection with the Christian Paschal feast, as appears from
the following extracts from Bingham, kindly furnished to me by a friend, although
the period of fasting is not stated. Bingham (Origin. Eccles., vol. ix. p. 94) says :
" The solemnities of Pasch [are] the week before and the week after Easter Sun
day — one week of the Cross, the other of the resurrection. The ancients speak of
the Passion and Resurrection Pasch as a fifteen days' solemnity. Fifteen days
was enforced by law by the Empire, and commanded to the universal Church
Scaliger mentions a law of Constantine, ordering two weeks for Easter, and a
vacation of all legal processes" (BINGHAM, ix. p. 95).
§ SOCRATES, Hist. Eccles., lib. v. cap. 22, p. 234.
EASTER. 107
forty days, made imperative on all within the Roman empire of the
West. The way was prepared for this by a Council held at Aurelia
in the time of Hormisdas, Bishop of Rome, about the year 519,
which decreed that Lent should be solemnly kept before Easter.*
It was with the view, no doubt, of carrying out this decree that the
calendar was, a few years after, readjusted by Dionysius. This
decree could not be carried out all at once. About the end of the
sixth century, the first decisive attempt was made to enforce the
observance of the new calendar. It was in Britain that the first
attempt was made in this way;f and here the attempt met with
vigorous resistance. The difference, in point of time, betwixt the
Christian Pasch, as observed in Britain by the native Christians, and
the Pagan Easter enforced by Rome, at the time of its enforcement,
was a whole month ;| and it was only by violence and bloodshed, at
last, that the Festival of the Anglo-Saxon or Chaldean goddess came
to supersede that which had been held in honour of Christ.
Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still
attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of
history as to its Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good
Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the
* Dr. MEREDITH HANMEB'S Chronogmpkia, subjoined to his translation of
EOSEBIUS, p. 592. London, 1636.
f GlESELER, vol. i. p. 54.
£ CUMMIANUS, quoted by Archbishop USSHER, Sylloge, p. 34. Those who have
been brought up in the observance of Christmas and Easter, and who yet abhor
from their hearts all Papal and Pagan idolatry alike, may perhaps feel as if there
were something " untoward " in the revelations given above in regard to the origin
of these festivals. But a moment's reflection will suffice entirely to banish such a
feeling. They will see, that if the account I have given be true, it is of no use to
ignore it. A few of the facts stated in these pages are already known to Infidel
and Socinian writers of no mean mark, both in this country and on the Continent,
and these are using them in such a way as to undermine the faith of the young
and uninformed in regard to the very vitals of the Christian faith. Surely, then,
it must be of the last consequence, that the truth should be set forth in its own
native light, even though it may somewhat run counter to preconceived opinions,
especially when that truth, justly considered, tends so much at once to strengthen
the rising youth against the seductions of Popery, and to confirm them in the
faith once delivered to the Saints. If a heathen could say, " Socrates I love, and
Plato I love, but I love truth more," surely a truly Christian miud will not dis
play less magnanimity. Is there not much, even in the aspect of the times, that
ought to prompt the earnest inquiry, if the occasion has not arisen, when efforts,
and strenuous efforts, should be made to purge out of the National Establishment
in the south those observances, and everything else that has flowed in upon it
from Babylon's golden cup ? There are men of noble minds in the Church of
Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, who
have felt the power of His blood, and known the comfort of His Spirit. Let them,
in their closets, and on their knees, ask the question, at their God and at their
own consciences, if they ought not to bestir themselves in right earnest, and labour
with all their might till such a consummation be effected. Then, indeed, would
England's Church be the grand bulwark of the Reformation — then would her sous
speak with her enemies in the gate — then would she appear in the face of all
Christendom, " clear as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an army with
banners." If, however, nothing effectual shall be done to stay the plague that is
spreading in her, the result must be disastrous, not only to herself, but to the
whole empire.
108
FESTIVALS.
Chaldean rites just as they do now. The "buns," known too by
that identical name, were used in the worship of the queen of heaven,
the goddess Easter, as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of
Athens — that is, 1500 years before the Christian era. "One species
of sacred bread," says Bryant,* "which used to be offered to the gods,
was of great antiquity, and called Boun." Diogenes Laertius, speak
ing of this offering being made by Empedocles, describes the chief
ingredients of which it was composed, saying, " He offered one of the
sacred cakes called Boun, which was made of fine flour and honey."t
The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering when he
says, " The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the
women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven." |
The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten, on the festival of
Astarte; but this leaves no doubt as to whence they have been
derived. The origin of the Pasch eggs is just as clear. The ancient
Druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. § In the
Fig. 31.
L
Sacred Egg of Heliopolis ; and Typhon's Egg. From BRYANT'S
Mythology, vol. iii. p. 62.
Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one
part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an
egg. 1 1 The Hindoo fables celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden
colour.^I The people of Japan make their sacred egg to have been
brazen.** In China, at this hour, dyed or painted eggs are used on
* Mythology, vol. i. p. 373.
t LABBTIUS, p. 227, B.
£ Jeremiah vii. 18. It is from the very word here used by the prophet that the
word "6u/i" seems to be derived. The Hebrew word, with the points, was pro
nounced Khavan, which in Greek became sometimes Kapan-os (PHOTius, Lexeon
8i/llog£, Part i. p. 130) ; and, at other times, Khabon (NEANDER, in KITTO'S
Biblical Cyclopaedia, vol. i. p. 237). The first shows how Khvan, pronounced as
one syllable, would pass into the Latin panis, "bread, "and the second how, in
like manner, Khvon would become Bon or Bun. It is not to be overlooked that
our common English word Loa has passed through a similar process of formation.
In Anglo-Saxon it was Hlaf.
§ DAVIES'S Druids, p. 208. II Ibid. p. 207.
If Col. KENNEDY, p. 223. ** COLEMAN, p. 340.
EASTER. 109
sacred festivals, even as in this country.* In ancient times eggs
were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and
were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples, f (Fig. 31.)
From Egypt these sacred eggs can be distinctly traced to the banks
of the Euphrates. The classic poets are full of the fable of the
mystic egg of the Babylonians ; and thus its tale is told by Hyginus,
the Egyptian, the learned keeper of the Palatine library at Kome, in
the time of Augustus, who was skilled in all the wisdom of his native
country : " An pgg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from
heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank,
where the doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came
Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess "J — that is,
Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or
Easter; and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the
worship of Venus, or Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was repre
sented on a grand scale. (See Fig. 32. )§
The occult meaning of this mystic egg of Astarte, in one of its
Fig. 32.
aspects (for it had a twofold significance), had reference to the ark|j
during the time of the flood, in which the whole human race were
shut up, as the chick is enclosed in the egg before it is hatched,. If
any be inclined to ask, how could it ever enter the minds of men to
employ such an extraordinary symbol for such a purpose, the answer
is, first, The sacred egg of Paganism, as already indicated (p. 108), is
well known as the "mundane egg," that is, the egg in which the
world was shut up. Now the world has two distinct meanings — it
means either the material earth, or the inhabitants of the earth.
The latter meaning of the term is seen in Gen. xi. 1, "The whole
earth was of one language and of one speech," where the meaning is
that the whole people of the world were so. If then the world is
* My authority for the above statement is the Rev. James Johnston, of Glas
gow, formerly missionary at Amoy, in China.
t WILKINSON, vol. iii. p. 20, and PAUSANIAS, lib. iii., Laconica, cap. lu'.
t HYGINUS, Fabulce, pp. 148, 149.
§ From LANDSEER'S Sabean Researches, p. 80. London, 1823.
I! BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 161.
110 FESTIVALS.
seen shut up in an egg, and floating on the waters, it may not be
difficult to believe, however the idea of the egg may have come, that
the egg thus floating on the wide universal sea might be Noah's
family that contained the whole world in its bosom. Then the
application of the word egg to the ark comes thus : — The Hebrew
name for an egg is Baitz, or in the feminine (for there are both
genders), Baitza. This, in Chaldee and Phenician, becomes Baith or
Baitha,* which in these languages is also the usual way in which the
name of a house is pronounced, f The egg floating on the waters
that contained the world, was the house floating on the waters of the
deluge, with the elements of the new world in its bosom. The
coming of the egg from heaven evidently refers to the preparation
of the ark by express appointment of God ; and the same thing
seems clearly implied in the Egyptian story of the mundane egg
which was said to have come out of the mouth of the great god.J
The doves resting on the egg need no explanation. This, then,
was the meaning of the mystic egg in one aspect. As, however,
everything that was good or beneficial to mankind was represented
in the Chaldean mysteries, as in some way connected with the
Babylonian goddess, so the greatest blessing to the human race,
which the ark contained in its bosom, was held to be Astarte, who
was the great civiliser and benefactor of the world. Though the
deified queen, whom Astarte represented, had no actual existence
till some centuries after the flood, yet through the doctrine of
metempsychosis, which was firmly established in Babylon, it
was easy for her worshippers to be made to believe that, in
a previous incarnation, she had lived in the Antediluvian world,
and passed in safety through the waters of the flood. Now
the Romish Church adopted this mystic egg of Astarte, and
consecrated it as a symbol of Christ's resurrection. A form of
prayer was even appointed to be used in connection with it, Pope
Paul V. teaching his superstitious votaries thus to pray at Easter : —
" Bless, 0 Lord, we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it
may become a wholesome sustenance unto thy servants, eating it in
remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c."§ Besides the mystic egg,
there was also another emblem of Easter, the goddess queen of
Babylon, and that was the Rimmon or "pomegranate." With the
Rimmon or "pomegranate" in her hand, she is frequently repre
sented in ancient medals, and the house of Rimmon, in which the
King of Damascus, the Master of Naaman, the Syrian, worshipped,
was in all likelihood a temple of Astarte, where that goddess with
the Rimmon was publicly adored. The pomegranate is a fruit that
* In the later Chaldee, the name of an egg is commonly Baiaa, or Baietha in
the emphatic form ; but Baith is also formed exactly according to rule from Baitz,
just as Kaitz, " summer," in Chaldee, becomes Kaith, and many other words.
f The common word "Beth," "house," in the Bible without the points, is
"Baith," as may be seen in the name of Bethel, as given in Genesis xxxv. 1, of
the Greek Septuagint, where it is " Baith-el."
£ BONSEN, vol. i. p. 377.
§ Scottish Guardian, April, 1844.
EASTER.
Ill
Fig. 33. J
is full of seeds ; and on that account it has been supposed that it was
employed as an emblem of that vessel in which the germs of the new
creation were preserved, wherewith the world was to be sown anew
with man and with beast, when the desolation of the deluge had passed
away. But upon more searching inquiry, it turns out that the
Rimmon or " pomegranate " had reference to an entirely different
thing. Astarte, or Cybele, was called also Idaia Mater,* and the
sacred mount in Phrygia, most famed for the celebration of her
mysteries, was named Mount Ida — that is, in Chaldee, the sacred
language of these mysteries, the Mount of
Knowledge. " Idaia Mater," then, signifies
" the Mother of Knowledge " — in other
words, our Mother Eve, who first coveted
the " knowledge of good and evil," and
actually purchased it at so dire a price to
herself and to all her children. Astarte,
as can be abundantly shown, was wor
shipped not only as an incarnation of the
Spirit of God, but also of the mother of
mankind.f When, therefore, the mother
of the gods, and the mother of knowledge,
was represented with the fruit of the
pomegranate in her extended hand (see
Fig. 33), inviting those who ascended the
sacred mount to initiation in her mysteries,
can there be a doubt what that fruit was
intended to signify 1 Evidently, it must
accord with her assumed character ; it
must be the fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge "—the fruit of that
very
" Tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe."
The knowledge to which the votaries of the Idaean goddess were
admitted, was precisely of the same kind as that which Eve derived
from the eating of the forbidden fruit, the practical knowledge of all
that was morally evil and base. Yet to Astarte, in this character,
men were taught to look at their grand benefactress, as gaining for
them knowledge, and blessings connected with that knowledge,
which otherwise they might in vain have sought from Him, who is
the Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect
* DYMOCK'S Classical Dictionary, sub vocc.
f For proof on this subject, see Appendix, Note J.
J From BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 276. Bryant gives the title of the above figure as
"Juno, Columba, and Rhoia ; " but from Pausanias we learn that the bird on the
sceptre of Hera, or Juno, when she was represented with the pomegranate, was
not the Columba or Dove, but the Cuckoo (PAUSAN.,lib. ii., Corinthiaca, cap. 17) ;
from which it appears, that when Hera or Juno was thus represented, it was not
as the incarnation of the Spirit of God, but as the mother of mankind, that she
was represented. But into the story of the cuckoo I cannot enter here.
112 FESTIVALS.
gift. Popery inspires the same feeling in regard to the Romish
queen of heaven, and leads its devotees to view the sin of Eve in
much the same light as that in which Paganism regarded it. In the
Canon of the Mass, the most solemn service in the Romish Missal,
the following expression occurs, where the sin of our first parent is
apostrophised : " 0 beata culpa, quce talem meruisti redemptorem."*
" Oh blessed fault, which didst procure such a Redeemer ! " The idea
contained in these words is purely Pagan. They just amount to
this : " Thanks be to Eve, to whose sin we are indebted for the
glorious Saviour." It is true the idea contained in them is found in
the same words in the writings of Augustine ; but it is an idea
utterly opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, which only makes sin the
more exceeding sinful, from the consideration that it needed such a
ransom to deliver from its awful curse. Augustine had imbibed
many Pagan sentiments, and never got entirely delivered from
them. It is wonderful that one so good and so enlightened as Merle
D'Aubignc should see no harm in such words !
As Rome cherishes the same feelings as Paganism did, so it has
adopted also the very same symbols, so far as it has the opportunity.
In this country, and most of the countries of Europe, no pome
granates grow ; and yet, even here, the superstition of the Rimmon
must, as far as possible, be kept up. Instead of the pomegranate,
therefore, the orange is employed ; and so the Papists of Scotland
join oranges with their eggs at Easter; and so also, when Bishop
Gillis of Edinburgh went through the vain-glorious ceremony of
washing the feet of twelve ragged Irishmen a few years ago at
Easter, he concluded by presenting each of them with two eggs and
an orange.
Now, this use of the orange as the representative of the fruit of
Eden's " dread probationary tree," be it observed, is no modern
invention; it goes back to the distant times of classic antiquity.
The gardens of the Hesperides in the West, are admitted by all who
have studied the subject, just to have been the counterpart of the
paradise of Eden in the East. The description of the sacred gardens,
as situated in the Isles of the Atlantic, over against the coast of
Africa, shows that their legendary site exactly agrees with the Cape
Verd or Canary Isles, or some of that group ; and, of course, that
the "golden fruit" on the sacred tree, so jealously guarded, was
none other than the orange. Now, let the reader mark well :
According to the classic Pagan story, there was no serpent in that
garden of delight in the " islands of the blest," to TEMPT mankind to
violate their duty to their great benefactor, by eating of the sacred
tree which he had reserved as the test of their allegiance. No ; on
the contrary, it was the Serpent, the symbol of the Devil, the
Principle of evil, the Enemy of man, that prohibited them from
eating the precious fruit — that strictly watched it — that would not
allow it to be touched. Hercules, one form of the Pagan Messiah —
not the primitive, but the Grecian Hercules — pitying man's unhappy
* MERLE D'AUBIGNE'S Reformation, vol. i. p. 179.
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN. 113
state, slew or subdued the serpent, the envious being that grudged
mankind the use of that which was so necessary to make them at
once perfectly happy and wise, and bestowed upon them what other
wise would have been hopelessly beyond their reach. Here, then,
God and the devil are exactly made to change places. Jehovah, who
prohibited man from eating of the tree of knowledge, is symbolised
by the serpent, and held up as an ungenerous and malignant being,
while he who emancipated man from Jehovah's yoke, and gave him
of the fruit of the forbidden tree — in other words, Satan under the
name of Hercules — is celebrated as the good and gracious Deliverer
of the human race. What a mystery of iniquity is here ! Now all
this is wrapped up in the sacred orange of Easter.
SECTION III. THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN.
The Feast of the Nativity of St. John is set down in the Papal
calendar for the 24th of June, or Midsummer-day. The very same
period was equally memorable in the Babylonian calendar as that of
one of its most celebrated festivals. It was at Midsummer, or the
summer solstice, that the month called in Chaldea, Syria, and Phenicia
by the name of u Tammuz " began ; and on the first day — that is,
on or about the 24th of June — one of the grand original festivals
of Tammuz was celebrated.* For different reasons, in different
countries, other periods had been devoted to commemorate the death
and reviving of the Babylonian god ; but this, as may be inferred
from the name of the month, appears to have been the real time
when his festival was primitively observed in the land where idolatry
had its birth. And so strong was the hold that this festival, with its
peculiar rites, had taken of the minds of men. that, even when other
days were devoted to the great events connected with the Babylonian
Messiah, as was the case in some parts of our own land, this sacred
season could not be allowed to pass without the due observance of
some, at least, of its peculiar rites. When the Papacy sent its emis
saries over Europe, towards the end of the sixth century, to gather
in the Pagans into its fold, this festival was found in high favour in
many countries. What was to be done with it 1 Were they to wage
war with it ? No. This would have been contrary to the famous
advice of Pope Gregory I., that, by all means they should meet the
Pagans half-way, and so bring them into the Roman Church, f The
Gregorian policy was carefully observed ; and so Midsummer-day,
that had been hallowed by Paganism to the worship of Tammuz, was
incorporated as a sacred Christian festival in the Roman calendar.
But still a question was to be determined, What was to be the
name of this Pagan festival, when it was baptised, and admitted into
the ritual of Roman Christianity 1 To call it by its old name of Bel
* STANLEY'S Sabaan Philosophy, p. 1065. In Egypt the month corresponding
to Tammuz— viz. , Epep — began June 25. — WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 14.
f BOWER'S Lives of the Popes, vol. ii. p. 523.
I
1H FESTIVALS.
or Tammuz, at the early period when it seems to have been adopted,
would have been too bold. To call it by the name of Christ was
difficult, inasmuch as there was nothing special in His history at
that period to commemorate. But the subtlety of the agents of the
Mystery of Iniquity was not to be baffled. If the name of Christ
could not be conveniently tacked to it, what should hinder its being
called by the name of His forerunner, John the Baptist ? John the
Baptist was born six months before our Lord. When, therefore, the
Pagan festival of the winter solstice had once been consecrated as
the birthday of the Saviour, it followed, as a matter of course, that
if His forerunner was to have a festival at all, his festival must be
at this very season ; for between the 24th of June and the 25th of
December — that is, between the summer and the winter solstice —
there are just six months. £fow, for the purposes of the Papacy,
nothing could be more opportune than this. One of the many
sacred names by which Tammuz or Nimrod was called, when he
reappeared in the Mysteries, after being slain, was Cannes.* The
name of John the Baptist, on the other hand, in the sacred language
adopted by the Roman Church, was Joannes. To make the festival
of the 24th of June, then, suit Christians and Pagans alike, all that
was needful was just to call it the festival of Joannes ; and thus the
Christians would suppose that they were honouring John the Baptist,
while the Pagans were still worshipping their old god Cannes, or
Tammuz. Thus, the very period at which the great summer festival
of Tammuz was celebrated in ancient Babylon, is at this very hour
observed in the Papal Church as the Feast of the Nativity of
St. John. And the^e of St. John begins exactly as the festal
day began in Chaldea. It is well known that, in the East, the day
began in the evening. So, though the 24th be set down as the
nativity, yet it is on St. John's EVE — that is, on the evening of the
23rd — that the festivities and solemnities of that period begin.
Now, if we examine the festivities themselves, we shall see how
purely Pagan they are, and how decisively they prove their real
descent. The grand distinguishing solemnities of St. John's Eve are
the Midsummer fires. These are lighted in France, in Switzerland,
in Roman Catholic Ireland, and in some of the Scottish isles of the
West, where Popery still lingers. They are kindled throughout all
the grounds of the adherents of Rome, and flaming brands are carried
about their corn-fields. Thus does Bell, in his Wayside Pictures,
describe the St. John's fires of Brittany, in France: — " Every fete is
* BEROSUS, apud BUNSEN'S Egypt, vol. i. p. 707. To identify Nimrod with
Cannes, mentioned by Berosus as appearing out of the sea, it will be remembered
that Nimrod has been proved to be Bacchus. Then, for proof that Nimrod or
Bacchus, on being overcome by his enemies, was fabled to have taken refuge in
the sea (see Chap. IV. Sect. I.), When, therefore, he was represented as reappear
ing, it was natural that he should reappear in the very character of Cannes as a
Fish-god. Now, Jerome calls Dagon, the well-known Fish-god, Piscem mo&roris
(BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 179), " the fish of sorrow," which goes far to identify that
Fish-god with Bacchus, the " Lamented one ; " and the identification is complete
when Hesychius tells us that some called Bacchus Ichthys, or " The fish " (sub
voce " Bacchos," p. 179).
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN. 115
marked by distinct features peculiar to itself. That of St. John is
perhaps, on the whole, the most striking. Throughout the day the
poor children go about begging contributions for lighting the fires of
Monsieur St. Jean, and towards evening one fire is gradually followed
by two, three, four ; then a thousand gleam out from the hill-tops,
till the whole country glows under the conflagration. Sometimes
the priests light the first fire in the market place ; and sometimes
it is lighted by an angel, who is made to descend by a mechanical
device from the top of the church, with a flambeau in her hand,
setting the pile in a blaze, and flying back again. The young people
dance with a bewildering activity about the fires; for there is a
superstition among them that, if they dance round nine fires before
midnight, they will be married in the ensuing year. Seats are placed
close to the flaming piles for the dead, whose spirits are supposed to
come there for the melancholy pleasure of listening once more to
their native songs, and contemplating the lively measures of their
youth. Fragments of the torches on those occasions are preserved as
spells against thunder and nervous diseases ; and the crown of flowers
which surmounted the principal fire is in such request as to produce
tumultuous jealousy for its possession."* Thus is it in France.
Turn now to Ireland. " On that great festival of the Irish peasantry,
St. John's Eve," says Charlotte Elizabeth, describing a particular
festival which she had witnessed, "it is the custom, at sunset on
that evening, to kindle immense fires throughout the country, built,
like our bonfires, to a great height, the pile being composed of turf,
bogwood, and such other combustible substances as they can gather.
The turf yields a steady, substantial body of fire, the bogwood a most
brilliant flame, and the effect of these great beacons blazing on every
hill, sending up volumes of smoke from every point of the horizon,
is very remarkable. Early in the evening the peasants began to
assemble, all habited in their best array, glowing with health, every
countenance full of that sparkling animation and excess of enjoyment
that characterise the enthusiastic people of the land. I had never
seen anything resembling it; and was exceedingly delighted with
their handsome, intelligent, merry faces ; the bold bearing of the
men, and the playful but really modest deportment of the maidens ;
the vivacity of the aged people, and the wild glee of the children.
The fire being kindled, a splendid blaze shot up ; and for a while
they stood contemplating it with faces strangely disfigured by the
peculiar light first emitted when the bogwood was thrown on it.
After a short pause, the ground was cleared in front of an old blind
piper, the very beau ideal of energy, drollery, and shrewdness, who,
seated on a low chair, with a well-plenished jug within his reach,
screwed his pipes to the liveliest tunes, and the endless jig began.
But something was to follow that puzzled me not a little. When the
fire burned for some hours and got low, an indispensable part of the
ceremony commenced. Every one present of the peasantry passed
through it, and several children were thrown across the sparkling
* Wayside Pictures, p. 225.
116 FESTIVALS.
embers ; while a wooden frame of some eight feet long, with a horse's
head fixed to one end, and a large white sheet thrown over it, con
cealing the wood and the man on whose head it was carried, made
its appearance. This was greeted with loud shouts as the 'white
horse ; ' and having been safely carried, by the skill of its bearer,
several times through the fire with a bold leap, it pursued the people,
who ran screaming in every direction. I asked what the horse was
meant for, and was told it represented ' all cattle.' Here," adds the
authoress, " was the old Pagan worship of Baal, if not of Moloch too,
carried on openly and universally in the heart of a nominally Christian
country, and by millions professing the Christian name ! I was con
founded, for I did not then know that Popery is only a crafty adapta
tion of Pagan idolatries to its own scheme. "*
Such is the festival of St. John's Eve, as celebrated at this day in
France and in Popish Ireland. Such is the way in which the votaries
of Rome pretend to commemorate the birth of him who came to pre
pare the way of the Lord, by turning away His ancient people from
all their refuges of lies, and shutting them up to the necessity of
embracing that kingdom of God that consists not in any mere
external thing, but in "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the
Holy Ghost." We have seen that the very sight of the rites with
which that festival is celebrated, led the authoress just quoted at
once to the conclusion that what she saw before her was truly a relic
of the Pagan worship of Baal. The history of the festival, and the
way in which it is observed, reflect mutual light upon each other.
Before Christianity entered the British Isles, the Pagan festival of
the 24th of June was celebrated among the Druids by blazing fires
in honour of their great divinity, who, as we have already seen, was
Baal. " These Midsummer fires and sacrifices," says Toland, in his
Account of the Druids, " were [intended] to obtain a blessing on
the fruits of the earth, now becoming ready for gathering ; as those
of the first of May, that they might prosperously grow ; and those of
the last of October were a thanksgiving for finishing the harvest."!
Again, speaking of the Druidical fires at Midsummer, he thus pro
ceeds : "To return to our cam-fires, it was customary for the lord of
the place, or his son, or some other person of distinction, to take the
entrails of the sacrificed animals in his hands, and, walking barefoot
over the coals thrice after the flames had ceased, to carry them straight
to the Druid, who waited in a whole skin at the altar. If the noble
man escaped harmless, it was reckoned a good omen, welcomed with
loud acclamations ; but if he received any hurt, it was deemed
unlucky both to the community and himself." "Thus, I have seen,"
adds Toland, " the people running and leaping through the St. John's
fires in Ireland ; and not only proud of passing unsinged, but, as if
it were some kind of lustration, thinking themselves in an especial
manner blest by the ceremony, of whose original, nevertheless, they
were wholly ignorant, in their imperfect imitation of it."| We
have seen reason already (p. 51) to conclude that Phoroneus, "the
* Personal Recollections, pp. 112-115. t TOLAND'S Druids, p. 107. J Ibid. p. 112.
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN. 117
first of mortals that reigned" — i.e., Nimrod and the Roman goddess
Feronia — bore a relation to one another. In connection with the
fires of " St. John," that relation is still further established by what
has been handed down from antiquity in regard to these two divini
ties ; and, at the same time, the origin of these fires is elucidated.
Phoroneus is described in such a way as shows that he was known
as having been connected with the origin of fire-worship. Thus does
Pausanias refer to him : — " Near this image [the image of Biton]
they [the Argives] enkindle a fire, for they do not admit that fire
was given by Prometheus, to men, but ascribe the invention of it to
Phoroneus."* There must have been something tragic about the
death of this fire-inventing Phoroneus, who "first gathered mankind
into communities ; " f for, after describing the position of his sepulchre,
Pausanias adds : "Indeed, even at present they perform funeral obse
quies to Phoroneus ; " J language which shows that his death must
have been celebrated in some such way as that of Bacchus. Then
the character of the worship of Feronia, as coincident with fire-
worship, is evident from the rites practised by the priests at the
city lying at the foot of Mount Soracte, called by her name. " The
priests," says Bryant, referring both to Pliny and Strabo as his
authorities, "with their feet naked, walked over a large quantity
of live coals and cinders. "§ To this same practice we find Aruns in
Virgil referring, when addressing Apollo, the sun-god, who had his
shrine at Soracte, where Feronia was worshipped, and who therefore
must have been the same as Jupiter Anxur, her contemplar divinity,
who was regarded as a " youthful Jupiter," even as Apollo was often
called the " young Apollo " :—
" 0 patron of Soracte's high abodes,
Phoebus, the ruling power among the gods,
Whom first we serve ; whole woods of unctuous pine
Are felled for thee, and to thy glory shine.
By thee protected, with our naked soles,
Through flames unsinged we march and tread the kindled coals." ||
Thus the St. John's fires, over whose cinders old and young are made
to pass, are traced up to "the first of mortals that reigned."
It is remarkable, that a festival attended with all the essential rites
of the fire-worship of Baal, is found among Pagan nations, in regions
most remote from one another, about the very period of the month of
Tammuz, when the Babylonian god was anciently celebrated. Among
the Turks, the fast of Ramazan, which, says Hurd, begins on the 12th
of June, is attended by an illumination of burning lamps.H In China,
* PAUSAN., lib. ii., Corinthiaca, cap. 19. f Ibid. cap. 15.
J Ibid. cap. 20. § BRYANT, vol. i. p. 237.
|| DBTDEN'S Virgil, ^fineid, Book xi. 11. 1153-1158. "The young Apollo," when
" born to introduce law and order among the Greeks," was said to have made his
appearance at Delphi "exactly in the middle of summer." — (MULLER'B Dorians, vol.
i. pp. 295, 296.)
IT HURD'S Rites and Ceremonies, p. 346, col. i. The time here given by Hurd
would not in itself be decisive as a proof of agreement with the period of the
118 FESTIVALS.
where the Dragon-boat festival is celebrated in such a way as vividly
to recall to those who have witnessed it, the weeping for Adonis, the
solemnity begins at Midsummer.* In Peru, during the reign of the
Incas, the feast of Raymi, the most magnificent feast of the Peruvians,
when the sacred fire every year used to be kindled anew from the
sun, by means of a concave mirror of polished metal, took place at
the very same period. Regularly as Midsummer came round, there
was first, in token of mourning, " for three days, a general fast, and
no fire was allowed to be lighted in their dwellings," and then, on
the fourth day, the mourning was turned into joy, when the Inca,
and his court, followed by the whole population of Cuzco, assembled
at early dawn in the great square to greet the rising of the sun.
"Eagerly," says Prescott, "they watched the coming of the deity,
and no sooner did his first yellow rays strike the turrets and loftiest
buildings of the capital, than a shout of gratulation broke forth from
the assembled multitude, accompanied by songs of triumph, and the
wild melody of barbaric instruments, that swelled louder and louder
as his bright orb, rising above the mountain range towards the east,
shone in full splendour on his votaries."! Could this alternate
mourning and rejoicing, at the very time when the Babylonians
mourned and rejoiced over Tammuz, be accidental? As Tammuz
was the Sun-divinity incarnate, it is easy to see how such mourning
and rejoicing should be connected with the worship of the sun. In
Egypt, the festival of the burning lamps, in which many have already
been constrained to see the counterpart of the festival of St. John,
was avowedly connected with the mourning and rejoicing for Osiris.
"At Sais," says Herodotus, J "they show the sepulchre of him whom
I do not think it right to mention on this occasion." This is the
invariable way in which the historian refers to Osiris, into whose
mysteries he had been initiated, when giving accounts of any of the
rites of his worship. "It is in the sacred enclosure behind the
temple of Minerva, and close to the wall of this temple, whose whole
length it occupies.§ They also meet at Sais, to offer sacrifice during
a certain night, when every one lights, in the open air, a number of
lamps around his house. The lamps consist of small cups filled with
salt and oil, having a wick floating in it which burns all night. This
festival is called the festival of burning lamps. The Egyptians who
are unable to attend also observe the sacrifice, and burn lamps at
home, so that not only at Sai's, but throughout Egypt, the same
illumination takes place. They assign a sacred reason for the festival
celebrated on this night, and for the respect they have for it."||
Wilkinson,^ in quoting this passage of Herodotus, expressly identifies
original festival of Tammuz ; for a friend who has lived for three years in
Constantinople informs me that, in consequence of the disagreement between the
Turkish and the solar year, the fast of Rauaazan ranges in succession through all
the different months in the year. The fact of a yearly illumination in connection
with religious observances, however, is undoubted.
* See ante, p. 57. t PRESCOTT'S Conquest of Peru, vol. i. p. 69.
£ Historia, lib. ii. p. 176. § Ibid.
U HERODOTUS, lib. ii.c. 62, p. 127. ii WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 308.
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN. 119
this festival with the lamentation for Osiris, and assures us that " it
was considered of the greatest consequence to do honour to the deity
by the proper performance of this rite."
Among the Yezidis, or Devil-worshippers of Modern Chaldea, the
same festival is celebrated at this day, with rites probably almost the
same, so far as circumstances will allow, as thousands of years ago,
when in the same regions the worship of Tammuz was in all its glory.
Thus graphically does Mr. Layard describe a festival of this kind at
which he himself had been present : "As the twilight faded, the
Fakirs, or lower orders of priests, dressed in brown garments of coarse
cloth, closely fitting to their bodies, and wearing black turbans on
their heads, issued from the tomb, each bearing a light in one hand,
and a pot of oil, with a bundle of cotton wick in the other. They
filled and trimmed lamps placed in niches in the walls of the court
yard and scattered over the buildings on the sides of the valley, and
even on isolated rocks, and in the hollow trunks of trees. Innumer
able stars appeared to glitter on the black sides of the mountain and
in the dark recesses of the forest. As the priests made their way
through the crowd to perform their task, men and women passed
their right hands through the flame ; and after rubbing the right
eyebrow with the part which had been purified by the sacred element,
they devoutly carried it to their lips. Some who bore children in
their arms anointed them in like manner, whilst others held out
their hands to be touched by those who, less fortunate than them
selves, could not reach the flame As night advanced, those
who had assembled — they must now have amounted to nearly five
thousand persons — lighted torches, which they carried with them as
they wandered through the forest. The effect was magical: the
varied groups could be faintly distinguished through the darkness —
men hurrying to and fro — women with their children seated on the
house-tops — and crowds gathering round the pedlars, who exposed
their wares for sale in the court-yard. Thousands of lights were
reflected in the fountains and streams, glimmered amongst the foliage
of the trees, and danced in the distance. As I was gazing on this
extraordinary scene, the hum of human voices was suddenly hushed,
and a strain, solemn and melancholy, arose from the valley. It
resembled some majestic chant which years before I had listened to
in the cathedral of a distant land. Music so pathetic and so sweet
I never before heard in the East. The voices of men and women
were blended in harmony with the soft notes of many flutes. At
measured intervals the song was broken by the loud clash of cymbals
and tambourines ; and those who were within the precincts of the
tomb then joined in the melody The tambourines, which were
struck simultaneously, only interrupted at intervals the song of the
priests. As the time quickened they broke in more frequently. The
chant gradually gave way to a lively melody, which, increasing in
measure, was finally lost in a confusion of sounds. The tambourines
were beaten with extraordinary energy — the flutes poured forth a
rapid flood of notes — the voices were raised to the highest pitch — the
120 FESTIVALS.
men outside joined in the cry — whilst the women made the rocks
resound with the shrill tahlehl.
"The musicians, giving way to the excitement, threw their instru
ments into the air, and strained their limbs into every contortion,
until they fell exhausted to the ground. I never heard a more
frightful yell than that which rose in the valley. It was midnight.
I gazed with wonder upon the extraordinary scene around me.
Thus were probably celebrated ages ago the mysterious rites of the
Corybantes, when they met in some consecrated grove."* Layard
does not state at what period of the year this festival occurred ; but
his language leaves little doubt that he regarded it as a festival of
Bacchus; in other words, of the Babylonian Messiah, whose tragic
death, and subsequent restoration to life and glory, formed the
corner-stone of ancient Paganism. The festival was avowedly held
in honour at once of Sheikh Shems, or the Sun, and of the Sheik
Adi, or "Prince of Eternity," around whose tomb nevertheless the
solemnity took place, just as the lamp festival in Egypt, in honour
of the sun-god Osiris, was celebrated in the precincts of the tomb of
that god at Sais.
Now, the reader cannot fail to have observed that in this Yezidi
festival, men, women, and children were " PURIFIED " by coming in
contact with " the sacred element " of fire. In the rites of Zoroaster,
the great Chaldean god, fire occupied precisely the same place.
It was laid down as an essential principle in his system, that " he
who approached to fire would receive a light from divinity,"! and
that "through divine fire all the stains produced by generation
would be purged away."| Therefore it was that " children were
made to pass through the fire to Moloch" (Jer. xxxii. 35), to purge
them from original sin, and through this purgation many a helpless
babe became a victim to the bloody divinity. Among the Pagan
Romans, this purifying by passing through the fire was equally
observed ; " for," says Ovid, enforcing the practice, " Fire purifies
both the shepherd and the sheep." § Among the Hindoos, from time
immemorial, fire has been worshipped for its purifying efficacy.
Thus a worshipper is represented by Colebrooke, according to the
sacred books, as addressing the fire : " Salutation to thee [0 fire ! ],
who dost seize oblations, to thee who dost shine, to thee who dost
scintillate, may thy auspicious flame burn our foes ; mayest thou, the
PURIFIER, be auspicious unto us."|| There are some who maintain a
" perpetual fire," and perform daily devotions to it, and in " con
cluding the sacraments of the gods," thus every day present their
supplications to it : " Fire, thou dost expiate a sin against the gods ;
may this oblation be efficacious. Thou dost expiate a sin against
man ; thou dost expiate a sin against the manes [departed spirits] ;
* LAY Ann's Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. pp. 290-294.
t TAYLOR'S Jamblichus, p. 247.
J PROCLUS, in Timaeo, p. 805.
§ OVID, Fasti, lib. iv. 785-794 inclusive.
i| COLEBBOOKE'S "Religious Ceremonies of Hindus," in Asiatic Researches,
vol. vii. p. 260.
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN. 121
thou dost expiate a sin against my own soul; thou dost expiate
repeated sins ; thou dost expiate every sin which I have committed,
whether wilfully or unintentionally; may this oblation be effica
cious."* Among the Druids, also, fire was celebrated as the purifier.
Thus, in a Druidic song, we read, " They celebrated the praise of the
holy ones in the presence of the purifying fire, which was made to
ascend on high."f If, indeed, a blessing was expected in Druidical
times from lighting the carn-fires, and making either young or old,
either human beings or cattle, pass through the fire, it was simply in
consequence of the purgation from sin that attached to human beings
and all things connected with them, that was believed to be derived
from this passing through the fire. It is evident that this very same
belief about the "purifying" efficacy of fire is held by the Eoman
Catholics of Ireland, when they are so zealous to pass both them
selves and their children through the fires of St. John.:}: Toland
testifies that it is as a " lustration" that these fires are kindled ; and
all who have carefully examined the subject must come to the same
conclusion.
Now, if Tammuz was, as we have seen, the same as Zoroaster, the
god of the ancient "fire-worshippers," and if his festival in Babylon
so exactly synchronised with the feast of the Nativity of St. John,
what wonder that that feast is still celebrated by the blazing " Baal-
fires," and that it presents so faithful a copy of what was condemned
by Jehovah of old in His ancient people when they "made their
children pass through the fire to Moloch"? But who that knows
anything of the Gospel would call such a festival as this a Christian
festival? The Popish priests, if they do not openly teach, at least
allow their deluded votaries to believe, as firmly as ever ancient fire
worshipper did, that material fire can purge away the guilt and stain
of sin. How that tends to rivet upon the minds of their benighted
vassals one of the most monstrous but profitable fables of their
system, will come to be afterwards considered.
The name Cannes could be known only to the initiated as the
name of the Pagan Messiah ; and at first, some measure of circum
spection was necessary in introducing Paganism into the Church.
But, as time went on, as the Gospel became obscured, and the dark
ness became more intense, the same caution was by no means so
necessary. Accordingly, we find that, in the dark ages, the Pagan
Messiah has not been brought into the Church in a mere clandestine
manner. Cpenly and avowedly under his well-known classic names
of Bacchus and Dionysus, has he been canonised, and set up for the
worship of the "faithful." Yes, Rome, that professes to be pre
eminently the Bride of Christ, the only Church in which salvation is
to be found, has had the unblushing effrontery to give the grand
* COLEBROOKE'S "Religious Ceremonies of Hindus" in Asiatic Researches,
vol. vii. p. 273.
t DAVIKS'S Druids, " Song to the Sun," pp. 369, 370.
£ "I have seen parents," said the late Lord John Scott in a letter to me,
" force their children to go through the Baal-fires."
122 FESTIVALS.
Pagan adversary of the Son of God, UNDER HIS OWN PROPER NAME,
a place in her calendar. The reader has only to turn to the Roman
calendar, and he will find that this is a literal fact ; he will find that
October the 7th is set apart to be observed in honour of " St.
Bacchus the Martyr." Now, no doubt, Bacchus was a "martyr";
he died a violent death ; he lost his life for religion ; but the religion
for which he died was the religion of the fire-worshippers ; for he
was put to death, as we have seen from Maimonides, for maintaining
the worship of the host of heaven. This patron of the heavenly
host, and of fire worship (for the two went always hand in hand
together), has Rome canonised ; for that this " St. Bacchus the
Martyr" was the identical Bacchus of the Pagans, the god of
drunkenness and debauchery, is evident from the time of his festival ;
for October the 7th follows soon after the end of the vintage. At
the end of the vintage in autumn, the old Pagan Romans used to
celebrate what was called the "Rustic Festival" of Bacchus;* and
about that very time does the Papal festival of "St. Bacchus the
Martyr " occur.
As the Chaldean god has been admitted into the Roman calendar
under the name of Bacchus, so also is he canonised under his other
name of Dionysus, f The Pagans were in the habit of worshipping
the same god under different names ; and, accordingly, not content
with the festival to Bacchus, under the name by which he was most
commonly known at Rome, the Romans, no doubt to please the
Greeks, celebrated a rustic festival to him, two days afterwards,
under the name of Dionysus Eleuthereus, the name by which he was
worshipped in Greece. J That "rustic" festival was briefly called
by the name of Dionysia ; or, expressing its object more fully, the
name became " Festum Dionysi Eleutherei rusticurn" — i.e., the
"rustic festival of Dionysus Eleuthereus. "§ Now, the Papacy in
its excess of zeal for saints and saint-worship, has actually split
Dionysus Eleuthereus into two, has made two several saints out of
the double name of one Pagan divinity ; and more than that, has
made the innocent epithet " Rusticum," which, even among the
heathen, had no pretensions to divinity at all, a third ; and so it
comes to pass that, under date of October the 9th, we read this
entry in the calendar: "The festival of St. Dionysius,|| and of his
companions, St. Eleuther and St. Rustic. "II Now this Dionysius,
whom Popery has so marvellously furnished with two companions, is
the famed St. Denys, the patron saint of Paris ; and a comparison of
* See extracts from Legend of St. Peters Chair, by ANTHONY RICH, Esq., in
Dr. BEGG'S admirable Handbook of Popery, pp. 114, 115. See also SALVEBTE,
Essai sur Noms, torn. ii. p. 54.
t Dionysus, as is well known, is the Latin form of the Greek Dioniisos.
£ PAUSANTAS, Attica, p. 46, and TOOKE'S Pantheon, p. 58.
§ BEGG'S Handbook of Popery, p. 115.
[| Though Dionysus was the proper classic name of the god, yet in Post-
classical, or Low Latin, his name is found Dionysius, just as in the case of the
Romish saint.
IT See Calendar in Missale Romanvm, Oct. 9th : "Dionysii, Rustici et Eleutherii
Mart." and Oct. 7th, " Sergii, Bacchi, Marcelli et Apuleii Mart."
THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN. 123
the history of the Popish saint and the Pagan god will cast no little
light on the subject. St. Denys, on being beheaded and cast into
the Seine, so runs the legend, after floating a space on its waters, to
the amazement of the spectators, took up his head in his hand, and
so marched away with it to the place of burial. In commemoration
of so stupendous a miracle, a hymn was duly chanted for many a
century in the Cathedral of St. Denys, at Paris, containing the
following verse : —
" Se cadaver mox erexit,
Truncus truncum cap ut vexit,
Quern ferentem hoc direxit
Angelorum legio."*
At last, even Papists began to be ashamed of such an absurdity
being celebrated in the name of religion; and in 1789, "the office
of St. Denys " was abolished. Behold, however, the march of events.
The world has for some time past been progressing back again to
the dark ages. The Romish Breviary, which had been given up
in France, has, within the last six years, been reimposed by Papal
authority on the Gallican Church, with all its lying legends, and
this among the rest of them ; the Cathedral of St. Denys is again
being rebuilt, and the old worship bids fair to be restored in all
its grossness.f Now, how could it ever enter the minds of men to
invent so monstrous a fable 1 The origin of it is not far to seek.
The Church of Rome represented her canonised saints, who were
said to have suffered martyrdom by the sword, as headless images
or statues with the severed head borne in the hand. "I have
seen," says Eusebe Salverte, " in a church of Normandy, St. Clair ;
St. Mithra, at Aries, in Switzerland, all the soldiers of the Theban
legion represented with their heads in their hands. St. Valerius
is thus figured at Limoges, on the gates of the cathedral, and other
monuments. The grand seal of the canton of Zurich represents,
in the same attitude, St. Felix, St. Regula, and St. Exsuperantius.
There certainly is the origin of the pious fable which is told of these
martyrs, such as St. Denys and many others besides. "J This was
the immediate origin of the story of the dead saint rising up
and marching away with his head in his hand. But it turns out
that this very mode of representation was borrowed from Paganism,
and borrowed in such a way as identifies the Papal St. Denys
of Paris with the Pagan Dionysus, not only of Rome but of Babylon.
Dionysus or Bacchus, in one of his transformations, was represented
as Capricorn, the " goat-horned fish ; " and there is reason to believe
* "The corpse immediately arose ; the trunk bore away the dissevered head,
guided on its way by a legion of angels " (SALVERTE, Des Sciences Occitltes,
Note, p. 48). In Salverte, the first word of the third line of the above Latin
verse is "Quo," but as this does not make sense, and is evidently an error,
I have corrected it into "Quern."
f The statement in the last clause of the above sentence referred to the
position of matters five years ago. Probably by this time the rebuilding of the
Cathedral of St. Denys is finished.
J SALVERT^, Des Sciences Occultes, pp. 47, 48.
124 FESTIVALS.
that it was in this very form that he had the name of Cannes. In
this form in India, under the name " Souro," that is evidently " the
seed," he is said to have done many marvellous things.* Now,
in the Persian Sphere he was not only represented mystically as
Capricorn, but also in the human shape ; and then exactly as
St. Denys is represented by the Papacy. The words of the ancient
writer who describes this figure in the Persian Sphere are these :
" Capricorn, the third Decan. The half of the figure without a
head, because its head is in its hand"^ Nimrod had his head cut
off; and in commemoration of that fact, which his worshippers
so piteously bewailed, his image in the Sphere was so represented.
That dissevered head, in some of the versions of his story, was
fabled to have done as marvellous things as any that were done
by the lifeless trunk of St. Denys. Bryant has proved, in his story
of Orpheus, that it is just a slightly-coloured variety of the story
of Osiris. | As Osiris was cut in pieces in Egypt, so Orpheus
was torn in pieces in Thrace. Now, when the mangled limbs of
the latter had been strewn about the field, his head, floating on the
Hebrus, gave proof of the miraculous character of him that owned
it. " Then," says Virgil : —
" Then, when his head from his fair shoulders torn,
Washed by the waters, was on Hebrus borne,
Even then his trembling voice invoked his bride,
With his last voice, ' Eurydice,' he cried ;
'Eurydice,' the rocks and river banks replied."§
There is diversity here, but amidst that diversity there is an
obvious unity. In both cases, the head dissevered from the lifeless
body occupies the foreground of the picture; in both cases, the
miracle is in connection with a river. Now, when the festivals
* HUMBOLDT'S Mexico, vol. i. pp. 339, 340. For Cannes and Souro, see further
in Appendix, Note K.
t Note to SALVERTE, Des Sciences Occultes, p. 47.
£ BRYANT, vol. ii. pp. 419-423. The very name Orpheus is just a synonym
for Bel, the name of the great Babylonian god, which, while originally given
to Gush, became hereditary in the line of his deified descendants. Bel signifies
" to mix," as well as " to confound," and " Orv " in Hebrew, which in Chaldee
becomes Orph (see PARKHURST'S Chaldee Grammar in Lexicon, p. 40), signifies
also "to mix." But " Orv," or " Orph," signifies besides "a willow-tree ; " and
therefore, in exact accordance with the mystic system, we find the symbol of
Orpheus among the Greeks to have been a willow-tree. Thus, Pausanias, after
referring to a representation of Actaeon, says, " If again you look to the lower
parts of the picture, you will see after Patroclus, Orpheus sitting on a hill, with
a harp in his left hand, and in his right hand the leaves of a willow-tree "
(PAUSANIAS, lib. x., Phocica, cap. 30) ; and again, a little further on, he says :
"He is represented leaning on the trunk of this tree." The willow-leaves in
the right hand of Orpheus, and the willow-tree on which he leans, sufficiently
show the meaning of his name.
§ Georgics, Book iv. vol. i. 11. 759-766, and in original, 11. 523-527. The edition
of Dryden, which I commonly quote, has in the first line, " Then with ; " but as
this does not agree with the construction of the sentence, I have given the
passage as it stands in Baxter's London edition of 1807, which is evidently the
correct reading.
THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 125
of u St. Bacchus the Martyr," and of " St. Dionysius and Eleuther,"
so remarkably agree with the time when the festivals of the Pagan
god of wine were celebrated, whether by the name of Bacchus,
or Dionysus, or Eleuthereus, and when the mode of representing
the modern Dionysius and the ancient Dionysus are evidently the
very same, while the legends of both so strikingly harmonise, who
can doubt the real character of these Romish festivals 1 They are
not Christian. They are Pagan ; they are unequivocally Babylonian.
SECTION IV. THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION.
If what has been already said shows the carnal policy of Rome
at the expense of truth, the circumstances attending the festival
of the Assumption show the daring wickedness and blasphemy
of that Church still more ; considering that the doctrine in regard
to this festival, so far as the Papacy is concerned, was not established
in the dark ages, but three centuries after the Reformation, amid
all the boasted light of the nineteenth century. The doctrine on
which the festival of the Assumption is founded, is this : that the
Virgin Mary saw no corruption, that in body and in soul she was
carried up to heaven, and now is invested with all power in heaven
and in earth. This doctrine has been unblushingly avowed in the
face of the British public, in a recent pastoral of the Popish Arch
bishop of Dublin. This doctrine has now received the stamp of
Papal Infallibility, having been embodied in the late blasphemous
decree that proclaims the "Immaculate Conception." Now, it is
impossible for the priests of Rome to find one shred of countenance
for such a doctrine in Scripture. But, in the Babylonian system,
the fable was ready made to their hand. There it was taught
that Bacchus went down to hell, rescued his mother from the
infernal powers, and carried her with him in triumph to heaven."*"
This fable spread wherever the Babylonian system spread; and,
accordingly, at this day, the Chinese celebrate, as they have done
from time immemorial, a festival in honour of a Mother, who
* APOLLODORUS, lib. iii. cap. 5, p. 266. We have seen that the great goddess,
who was worshipped in Babylon as " The Mother," was in reality the wife of
Ninus, the great god, the prototype of Bacchus. In conformity with this, we
find a somewhat similar story told of Ariadne, the wife of Bacchus, as is fabled
of Semele his mother. "The garment of Thetis," says Bryant (vol. ii. p. 99),
" contained a description of some notable achievements in the first ages ; and
a particular account of the apotheosis, of Ariadne, who is described, whatever
may be the meaning of it, as carried by Bacchus to heaven" A similar story is
told of Alcmene, the mother of the Grecian Hercules, who was quite distinct,
as we have seen, from the primitive Hercules, and was just one of the forms
of Bacchus, for he was a "great tippler;" and the "Herculean goblets" are
proverbial. — (MiJLLKR's Dorians, vol. i. p. 462.) Now the mother of this Hercules
is said to have had a resurrection. "Jupiter" [the father of Hercules], says
Miiller, " raised Alcmene from the dead, and conducted her to the islands of the
blest, as the wife of Rhadamanthus." (Ibid. p. 443.)
126 FESTIVALS.
by her son was rescued from the power of death and the grave.
The festival of the Assumption in the Romish Church is held
on the 15th of August. The Chinese festival, founded on a similar
legend, and celebrated with lanterns and chandeliers, as shown
by Sir J. F. Davis in his able and graphic account of China,
is equally celebrated in the month of August.* Now, when the
mother of the Pagan Messiah came to be celebrated as having
been thus " Assumed" then it was that, under the name of the
"Dove,"t she was worshipped as the Incarnation of the Spirit
of God, with whom she was identified. As such she was regarded
as the source of all holiness, and the grand " PURIFIER," and,
of course, was known herself as the "Virgin" mother, "PuRE AND
UNDEFILED."]: Under the name of Proserpine (with whom, though
the Babylonian goddess was originally distinct, she was identified),
while celebrated, as the mother of the first Bacchus, and known as
" Pluto's honoured wife," she is also addressed, in the " Orphic
Hymns," as
" Associate of the seasons, essence bright,
All-ruling VIRGIN, bearing heavenly light."§
Whoever wrote these hymns, the more they are examined the more
does it become evident, when they are compared with the most
ancient doctrine of Classic Greece, that their authors understood and
thoroughly adhered to the genuine theology of Paganism. To the
fact that Proserpine was currently worshipped in Pagan Greece,
though well-known to be the wife of Pluto, the god of hell, under the
name of " The Holy Virgin," we find Pausanias, while describing the
grove Carnasius, thus bearing testimony : " This grove contains a
statue of Apollo Carneus, of Mercury carrying a ram, and of
Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres, who is called ' The HOLY
VIRGIN.' "| | The purity of this "Holy Virgin" did not consist
merely in freedom from actual sin, but she was especially distin
guished for her "immaculate conception;" for Proclus says, "She
is called Core, through the purity of her essence, and her UNDEFILED
transcendency in her GENERATIONS. "IT Do men stand amazed at the
recent decree 1 There is no real reason to wonder. It was only in
following out the Pagan doctrine previously adopted and interwoven
with the whole system of Rome to its logical consequences, that that
decree has been issued, and that the Madonna of Rome has been
formally pronounced at last, in every sense of the term, absolutely
" IMMACULATE."
* China, vol. i. pp. 354, 355.
t See ante, p. 79.
J PROCLUS, in TAYLOR'S Note upon Jamblichus, p. 136.
§ Orphic Hymns, 28th, p. 109. These hymns are thought by some to have been
composed by Neo-Platonists after the Christian era, who are said to have
corrupted the true doctrine of their predecessors. I doubt this. At anyrate,
I allege nothing from them that is not amply borne out by authority of the
highest kind.
|| PAUSAN., lib. iv., Messenica, cap. 33, p. 362.
IT PROCLUS, in additional note to TAYLOR'S Orphic Hymns, p. 198.
THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. 127
Now, after all this, is it possible to doubt that the Madonna of
Rome, with the child in her arms, and the Madonna of Babylon, are
one and the same goddess1? It is notorious that the Roman
Madonna is worshipped as a goddess, yea, is the supreme object of
worship. "Will not, then, the Christians of Britain revolt at the
idea of longer supporting this monstrous Babylonian Paganism?
What Christian constituency could tolerate that its representative
should vote away the money of this Protestant nation for the
support of such blasphemous idolatry 1 * Were not the minds of
men judicially blinded, they would tremble at the very thought of
incurring the guilt that this land, by upholding the corruption and
wickedness of Rome, has for years past been contracting. Has not
the Word of God, in the most energetic and awful terms, doomed
the New Testament Babylon1? And has it not equally declared,
that those who share in Babylon's sins, shall share in Babylon's
plagues? (Rev. xviii. 4.)
The guilt of idolatry is by many regarded as comparatively slight
and insignificant guilt. But not so does the God of heaven regard
it. Which is the commandment of all the ten that is fenced about
with the most solemn and awful sanctions? It is the second :
" Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them : for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." These words
were spoken by God's own lips, they were written by God's own
finger on the tables of stone : not for the instruction of the seed
of Abraham only, but of all the tribes and generations of mankind.
No other commandment has such a threatening attached to it as this.
Now, if God has threatened to visit the SIN OP IDOLATRY ABOVE ALL
OTHER SINS, and if we find the heavy judgments of God pressing
upon us as a nation, while this very sin is crying to heaven against
us, ought it not to be a matter of earnest inquiry, if among all our
other national sins, which are both many and great, this may not
form " the very head and front of our offending" ? What though we
do not ourselves bow down to stocks and stones ? Yet if we, making
a profession the very opposite, encourage, and foster, and maintain
that very idolatry which God has so fearfully threatened with His
wrath, our guilt, instead of being the less, is only so much the
greater, for it is a sin against the light. Now, the facts are manifest
* It is to be lamented that Christians in general seem to have so little sense
either of the gravity of the present crisis of the Church and the world, or of the
duty lying upon them as Christ's witnesses, to testify, and that practically, against
the public sins of the nation. If they would wish to be stimulated to a more
vigorous discharge of duty in this respect, let them read an excellent and well-
timed little work recently issued from the press, entitled An Original Interpreta
tion of the Apocalypse, where the Apocalyptic statements in regard to the character,
life, death, and resurrection of the Two Witnesses, are briefly but forcibly
handled.
128 FESTIVALS.
to all men. It is notorious, that in 1845 anti-Christian idolatry was
incorporated in the British Constitution, in a way in which for a
century and a-half it had not been incorporated before. It is equally
notorious, that ever since, the nation has been visited with one
succession of judgments after another. Ought we then to regard this
coincidence as merely accidental 1 Ought we not rather to see in
it the fulfilment of the threatening pronounced by God in the
Apocalypse1? This is at this moment an intensely practical subject.
If our sin in this matter is not nationally recognised, if it is not
penitently confessed, if it is not put away from us ; if, on the
contrary, we go on increasing it, if now for the first time since the
Revolution, while so manifestly dependent on the God of battles for
the success of our arms, we affront Him to His face by sending idol
priests into our camp, then, though we have national fasts, and days
of humiliation without number, they cannot be accepted ; they may
procure us a temporary respite, but we may be certain that "the
Lord's anger will not be turned away, His hand will be stretched out
still."*
* The above paragraph first appeared in the spring of 1855, when the empire
had for months been looking on in amazement at the "horrible and heart
rending " disasters in the Crimea, caused simply by the fact, that official men in
that distant region "could not find their hands," and when at last a day of
humiliation had been appointed. The reader can judge whether or not the events
that have since occurred have made the above reasoning out of date. The few
years of impunity that have elapsed since the Indian mutiny, with all its horrors,
was suppressed, show the long-suffering of God. But if that long-suffering is
despised (which it manifestly is, while the guilt is daily increasing), the ultimate
issue must just be so much the more terrible.
CHAPTER IV.
DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
WHEN Linacer, a distinguished physician, but bigoted Romanist, in
the reign of Henry VIII. , first fell in with the New Testament, after
reading it for a while, he tossed it from him with impatience and a
great oath, exclaiming, " Either this book is not true, or we are not
Christians." He saw at once that the system of Rome and the
system of the New Testament were directly opposed to one another ;
and no one who impartially compares the two systems can come to
any other conclusion. In passing from the Bible to the Breviary, it
is like passing from light to darkness. While the one breathes glory
to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good will to men, the other
inculcates all that is dishonouring to the Most High, and ruinous to
the moral and spiritual welfare of mankind. How came it that such
pernicious doctrines and practices were embraced by the Papacy ?
Was the Bible so obscure or ambiguous that men naturally fell into
the mistake of supposing that it required them to believe and practise
the very opposite of what it did 1 No ; the doctrine and discipline
of the Papacy were never derived from the Bible. The fact that
wherever it has the power, it lays the reading of the Bible under its
ban, and either consigns that choicest gift of heavenly love to the
flames, or shuts it up under lock and key, proves this of itself. But
it can be still more conclusively established. A glance at the main
pillars of the Papal system will sufficiently prove that its doctrine
and discipline, in all essential respects, have been derived from
Babylon. Let the reader now scan the evidence.
SECTION I. BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.
It is well known that regeneration by baptism is a fundamental
article of Rome, yea, that it stands at the very threshold of the
Roman system. So important, according to Rome, is baptism for
this purpose, that, on the one hand, it is pronounced of " absolute
necessity for salvation,"* insomuch that infants dying without it
cannot be admitted to glory ; and on the other, its virtues are so
great, that it is declared in all cases infallibly to " regenerate us by
* Bishop HAY'S Sincere Christian, vol. i. p. 363. There are two exceptions to
this statement ; the case of an infidel converted in a heathen land, where it is
impossible to get baptism, and the case of a martyr " baptised," as it is called, "in
his own blood ; " but in all other cases, whether of young or old, the necessity is
"absolute."
129 K
130 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
a new spiritual birth, making us children of God:"* — it is pro
nounced to be " the first door by which we enter into the fold of
Jesus Christ, the first means by which we receive the grace of
reconciliation with God ; therefore the merits of His death are
by baptism applied to our souls in so superabundant a manner,
as fully to satisfy Divine justice for all demands against us,
whether for original or actual sin." f Now, in both respects
this doctrine is absolutely anti-Scriptural ; in both it is purely
Pagan. It is anti-Scriptural, for the Lord Jesus Christ has
expressly declared that infants, without the slightest respect to
baptism or any external ordinance whatever, are capable of admis
sion into all the glory of the heavenly world : " Suffer the little
children to come unto Me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the
kingdom of heaven." John the Baptist, while yet in his mother's
womb was so filled with joy at the advent of the Saviour, that, as
soon as Mary's salutation sounded in the ears of his own mother, the
unborn babe " leaped in the womb for joy." Had that child died at
the birth, what could have excluded it from "the inheritance of the
saints in light " for which it was so certainly " made meet " ? Yet
the Roman Catholic Bishop Hay, in defiance of every principle of
God's Word, does not hesitate to pen the following : " Question :
What becomes of young children who die without baptism ? Answer :
If a young child were put to death for the sake of Christ, this would
be to it the baptism of blood, and carry it to heaven ; but except in
this case, as such infants are incapable of having the desire of baptism,
with the other necessary dispositions, if they are not actually baptised
with water, THEY CANNOT GO TO HEAVEN. "J As this doctrine never
came from the Bible, whence came it 1 It came from heathenism.
The classic reader cannot fail to remember where, and in what
melancholy plight, ^Eneas, when he visited the infernal regions,
found the souls of unhappy infants who had died before receiving,
so to speak, " the rites of the Church " : —
" Before the gates the cries of babes new-born,
Whom fate had from their tender mothers torn,
Assault his ears." §
These wretched babes, to glorify the virtue and efficacy of the
mystic rites of Paganism, are excluded from the Elysian Fields, the
paradise of the heathen, and have among their nearest associates no
better company than that of guilty suicides : —
" The next in place and punishment are they
Who prodigally threw their souls away,
Fools, who, repining at their wretched state,
And loathing anxious life, suborned their fate."||
* Bishop HAY'S Sincere Christian, vol. i. p. 356.
t Ibid. p. 358.
I Ibid. vol. i. p. 362.
§ ^neid, Book vi. 11. 576-578, DRYDEN.— In Original, 11. 427-429.
|| Virgil, Book vi. 586-589, DRYDEN'S Translation. — Original, 11. 434-436.
Between the infants and the suicides one other class is interposed, — that is, those
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 131
So much for the lack of baptism. Then as to its positive efficacy
when obtained, the Papal doctrine is equally anti-Scriptural. There
are professed Protestants who hold the doctrine of Baptismal
Regeneration ; but the Word of God knows nothing of it. The
Scriptural account of baptism is, not that it communicates the new
birth, but that it is the appointed means of signifying and sealing
that new birth where it already exists. In this respect baptism
stands on the very same ground as circumcision. Now, what says
God's Word of the efficacy of circumcision 1 This it says, speaking
of Abraham : " He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had, yet being uncircumcised "
(Romans iv. 11). Circumcision was not intended to make Abraham
righteous ; he was righteous already before he was circumcised. But
it was intended to declare him righteous, to give him the more
abundant evidence in his own consciousness of his being so. Had
Abraham not been righteous before his circumcision, his circumcision
could not have been a seal, could not have given confirmation to that
which did not exist. So with baptism, it is " a seal of the righteous
ness of the faith " which the man " has before he is baptised : " for it
is said, " He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved " (Mark
xvi. 16). Where faith exists, if it be genuine, it is the evidence of a
new heart, of a regenerated nature ; and it is only on the profession
of that faith and regeneration in the case of an adult, that he is
admitted to baptism. Even in the case of infants, who can make no
profession of faith or holiness, the administration of baptism is not
for the purpose of regenerating them, or making them holy, but of
declaring them "holy," in the sense of being fit for being consecrated,
even in infancy, to the service of Christ, just as the whole nation of
Israel, in consequence of their relation to Abraham, according to
the flesh, were "holy unto the Lord." If they were not, in that
figurative sense, "holy," they would not be fit subjects for baptism,
which is the " seal " of a holy state. But the Bible pronounces them,
in consequence of their descent from believing parents, to be " holy,"
and that even where only one of the parents is a believer : " The
unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving
wife is sanctified by the husband ; else were your children unclean,
but now they are HOLY" (1 Cor. vii. 14). It is in consequence of,
and solemnly to declare, that "holiness," with all the responsibilities
attaching to it, that they are baptised. That "holiness," however,
is very different from the " holiness " of the new nature ; and
although the very fact of baptism, if Scripturally viewed and duly
improved, is, in the hand of the good Spirit of God, an important
means of making that " holiness" a glorious reality, in the highest sense
of the term, yet it does not in all cases necessarily secure their spirit
ual regeneration. God may, or may not, as He sees fit, give the new
heart, before, or at, or after baptism ; but manifest it is, that
thousands who have been duly baptised are still unregenerate, are
who on earth have been unjustly condemned to die. Hope is held out for these,
but no hope is held out for the babes.
132 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
still in precisely the same position as Simon Magus, who, after being
canonically baptised by Philip, was declared to be "in the gall of
bitterness and the bond of iniquity" (Acts viii. 23). The doctrine of
Rome, however, is, that all who are canonically baptised, however
ignorant, however immoral, if they only give implicit faith to the
Church, and surrender their consciences to the priests, are as much
regenerated as ever they can be, and that children coming from the
waters of baptism are entirely purged from the stain of original sin.
Hence we find the Jesuit missionaries in India boasting of making
converts by thousands, by the mere fact of baptising them, without
the least previous instruction, in the most complete ignorance of the
truths of Christianity, on their mere profession of submission to Rome.
This doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration also is essentially Baby
lonian. Some may perhaps stumble at the idea of regeneration at
all having been known in the Pagan world ; but if they only go to
India, they will find at this day, the bigoted Hindoos, who have never
opened their ears to Christian instruction, as familiar with the term
and the idea as ourselves. The Brahmins make it their distinguish
ing boast that they are " twice-born "* men, and that, as such, they
are sure of eternal happiness. Now, the same was the case in
Babylon, and there the new birth was conferred by baptism. In the
Chaldean mysteries, before any instruction could be received, it was
required first of all, that the person to be initiated submit to
baptism in token of blind and implicit obedience. We find different
ancient authors bearing direct testimony both to the fact of this
baptism and the intention of it. " In certain sacred rites of the
heathen," says Tertullian, especially referring to the worship of
Isis and Mithra, "the mode of initiation is by baptism."! The term
" initiation " clearly shows that it was to the Mysteries of these
divinities he referred. This baptism was by immersion, and seems
to have been rather a rough and formidable process ; for we find
that he who passed through the purifying waters, and other necessary
penances, "if he survived, was then admitted to the knowledge of
the Mysteries." J To face this ordeal required no little courage on
the part of those who were initiated. There was this grand induce
ment, however, to submit, that they who were thus baptised were,
as Tertullian assures us, promised, as the consequence, " REGENERA
TION, and the pardon of all their perjuries. "§ Our own Pagan
ancestors, the worshippers of Odin, are known to have practised
baptismal rites, which, taken in connection with their avowed object
in practising them, show that, originally, at least, they must have
believed that the natural guilt and corruption of their new-born
children could be washed away by sprinkling them with water,
or by plunging them, as soon as born, into lakes or rivers. || Yea,
* See Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 271.
+ TERTULL., De Baptismo, vol. i. p. 1204.
£ Eliae Comment, in S. GREG. NAZ., Orat. iv. ; GREGORII NAZIANZENI Opera,
p. 245.
§ TERTULL., De Baptismo, vol. i. p. 1205.
|| See MALLET on Anglo-Saxon Baptism, Antiquities, vol. i. p. 335.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 133
on the other side of the Atlantic, in Mexico, the same doctrine of
baptismal regeneration was found in full vigour among the natives,
when Cortez and his warriors landed on their shores.* The ceremony
of Mexican baptism, which was beheld with astonishment by the
Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries, is thus strikingly described
in Prescott's Conquest of Mexico: — "When everything necessary
for the baptism had been made ready, all the relations of the child
were assembled, and the midwife, who was the person that performed
the rite of baptism,! was summoned. At early dawn, they met
together in the court-yard of the house. When the sun had risen,
the midwife, taking the child in her arms, called for a little earthen
vessel of water, while those about her placed the ornaments, which
had been prepared for baptism, in the midst of the court. To per
form the rite of baptism, she placed herself with her face toward the
west, and immediately began to go through certain ceremonies
After this she sprinkled water on the head of the infant, saying,
' O my child, take and receive the water of the Lord of the world,
which is our life, which is given for the increasing and renewing of
our body. It is to wash and to purify. I pray that these heavenly
drops may enter into your body, and dwell there ; that they may
destroy and remove from you all the evil and sin which was given
you before the beginning of the world, since all of us are under its
power.' .... She then washed the body of the child with water, and
spoke in this manner : ' Whencesoever thou comest, thou that art
hurtful to this child, leave him and depart from him, for he now
liveth anew, and is BORN ANEW ; now he is purified and cleansed
afresh, and our mother Chalchivitlycue [the goddess of water]
bringeth him into the world.' Having thus prayed, the midwife
took the child in both hands, and, lifting him towards heaven, said,
' 0 Lord, thou seest here thy creature, whom thou hast sent into
the world, this place of sorrow, suffering, and penitence. Grant
him, O Lord, thy gifts and inspiration, for thou art the Great
God, and with thee is the great goddess.' "| Here is the opus
operatum without mistake. Here is baptismal regeneration and
exorcism too,§ as thorough and complete as any Romish priest or
lover of Tractarianism could desire. Does the reader ask what
evidence is there that Mexico had derived this doctrine from
Chaldea 1 The evidence is decisive. From the researches of
Humboldt we find that the Mexicans celebrated Wodan as the
founder of their race, just as our own ancestors did. The Wodan
* HUMBOLDT'S Mexican Researches, vol. i. p. 185.
t As baptism is absolutely necessary to salvation, Rome also authorises mid-
wives to administer baptism. In Mexico the midwife seems to have been a
"priestess."
+ PRESCOTT'S Mexico, vol. iii. pp. 339, 340.
§ In the Romish ceremony of baptism, the first thing the priest does is to
exorcise the devil out of the child to be baptised in these words, " Depart from
him thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost the Comforter." — (Sincere
Christian, vol. i. p. 365.) In the New Testament there is not the slightest bint
of any such exorcism accompanying Christian baptism. It is purely Pagan.
134 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
or Odin of Scandinavia can be proved to be the Adon of Babylon.*
The Wodan of Mexico, from the following quotation, will be seen to
be the very same : " According to the ancient traditions collected by
the Bishop Francis Nunez de la Vega," says llumboldt, "the Wodan
of the Chiapanese [of Mexico] was grandson of that illustrious old
man, who at the time of the great deluge, in which the greater part
of the human race perished, was saved on a raft, together with his
family. Wodan co-operated in the construction of the great edifice
which had been undertaken by men to reach the skies ; the execu
tion of this rash project was interrupted ; each family received from
that time a different language ; and the great spirit Teotl ordered
Wodan to go and people the country of Anahuac."f This surely
proves to demonstration whence originally came the Mexican
mythology and whence also that doctrine of baptismal regeneration
which the Mexicans held in common with the Egyptian and Persian
worshippers of the Chaldean Queen of Heaven. Prescott, indeed,
has cast doubts on the genuineness of this tradition, as being too
exactly coincident with the Scriptural history to be easily believed.
Fi 34 But the distinguished Humboldt, who had
carefully examined the matter, and who had
no prejudice to warp him, expresses his full
belief in its correctness ; and even from
Prescott's own interesting pages, it may be
proved in every essential particular, with the
single exception of the ^name of Wodan, to
which he makes no reference. But, happily,
the fact that that name had been borne by
some illustrious hero among the supposed
ancestors of the Mexican race, is put beyond
all doubt by the singular circumstance that
the Mexicans had one of their days called Wodansday, exactly as we
ourselves have.J This, taken in connection with all the circum
stances, is a very striking proof, at once of the unity of the human
race, and of the wide-spread diffusion of the system that began
at Babel.
If the question arise, How came it that the Babylonians them
selves adopted such a doctrine as regeneration by baptism, we have
light also on that. In the Babylonian Mysteries, the commemora
tion of the flood, of the ark, and the grand events in the life of Noah,
was mingled with the worship of the Queen of Heaven and her son.
Noah, as having lived in two worlds, both before the flood and after
it, was called "Diphues," or " twice-born,"§ and was represented
as a god with two heads looking in opposite directions, the one old,
and the other young (Fig. 34). || Though we have seen that the two-
* For proof, see Appendix, Note L.
t HUMBOLDT'S Researches, vol. i. p. 320.
£ Ibid. vol. i.p. 319.
§ BRYANT, VOL. iii. p. 21.
Ibid. p. 84.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 135
headed Janus in one aspect had reference to Gush and his son,
Nimrod, viewed as one god, in a two-fold capacity, as the Supreme,
and Father of all the deified "mighty ones/7 yet, in order to gain for
him the very authority and respect essential to constitute him
properly the head of the great system of idolatry that the apostates
inaugurated, it was necessary to represent him as in some way or
other identified with the great patriarch, who was the Father of all,
and who had so miraculous a history. Therefore in the legends of
Janus, we find mixed up with other things derived from an entirely
different source, statements not only in regard to his being the
" Father of the world," but also his being " the inventor of ships,"*
which plainly have been borrowed from the history of Noah ; and
therefore, the remarkable way in which he is represented in the
figure here presented to the reader may confidently be concluded to
have been primarily suggested by the history of the great Diluvian
patriarch, whose integrity in his two-fold life is so particularly
referred to in the Scripture, where it is said (Gen. vi. 9), "Noah
was a just man, and perfect in his generations" that is, in his life
before the flood, and in his life after it. The whole mythology of
Greece and Rome, as well as Asia, is full of the history and deeds of
Noah, which it is impossible to misunderstand. In India, the god
Yishnu, " the Preserver," who is celebrated as having miraculously
preserved one righteous family at the time when the world was
drowned, not only has the story of Noah wrought up with his
legend, but is called by his very name. Yishnu is just the Sanscrit
form of the Chaldee " Ish-nuh," " the man Noah," or the " Man of
rest."j In the case of Indra, the "king of the gods," and god of
rain, which is evidently only another form of the same god, the
name is found in the precise form of Ishnu. Now, the very legend
of Yishnu, that pretends to make him no mere creature, but the
supreme and " eternal god," shows that this interpretation of the
name is no mere unfounded imagination. Thus is he celebrated in
the " Matsya Puran : " " The sun, the wind, the ether, all things
incorporeal, were absorbed into his Divine essence ; and the universe
being consumed, the eternal and omnipotent god, having assumed an
ancient form, REPOSED mysteriously upon the surface of that
(universal) ocean. But no one is capable of knowing whether that
being was then risible or invisible, or what the holy name of that
person was, or what the cause of his mysterious SLUMBER. Nor can
any one tell how long he thus REPOSED until he conceived the
thought of acting ; for no one saw him, no one approached him, and
none can penetrate the mystery of his real essence."^: In conform
ity with this ancient legend, Yishnu is still represented as sleeping
four months every year. Now, connect this story with the name of
* BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 78.
t We find the very word Ish, "man," used in Sanscrit with the digamma
prefixed : Thus Fis/tarapati, " Lord of men."— See WILSON'S India 3000 Years
Ayo, p. 59.
£ Col. KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, p. 228.
136 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
Noah, the man of " Rest," and with his personal history during the
period of the flood, when the world was destroyed, when for forty
days and forty nights all was chaos, when neither sun nor moon nor
twinkling star appeared, when sea and sky were mingled, and all
was one wide universal " ocean," on the bosom of which the
patriarch floated, when there was no human being to " approach "
him but those who were with him in the ark, and " the mystery of
his real essence is penetrated" at once, "the holy name of that
person " is ascertained, and " his mysterious slumber " fully
accounted for. Now, wherever Noah is celebrated, whether by the
name of Saturn,* " the hidden one/' — for that name was applied to
him as well as to Nimrod, on account of his having been " hidden "
in the ark, in the "day of the Lord's fierce anger," — or "Cannes," or
" Janus," the " Man of the Sea," he is generally described in such a
way as shows that he was looked upon as Diphues, " twice-born," or
"regenerate." The "twice-born" Brahmins, who are all so many
gods upon earth, by the very title they take to themselves, show
that the god whom they represent, and to whose prerogatives they
lay claim, had been known as the "twice-born" god. The connec
tion of " regeneration " with the history of Noah, comes out with
special evidence in the accounts handed down to us of the Mysteries
as celebrated in Egypt. The most learned explorers of Egyptian
antiquities, including Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, admit that the story
of Noah was mixed up with the story of Osiris. f The ship of Isis,
and the coffin of Osiris, floating on the waters, point distinctly to
that remarkable event. There were different periods, in different
places in Egypt, when the fate of Osiris was lamented ; and at one
time there was more special reference to the personal history of " the
mighty hunter before the Lord," and at another to the awful
catastrophe through which Noah passed. In the great and solemn
festival called " The Disappearance of Osiris," it is evident that it is
Noah himself who was then supposed to have been lost. The time
when Osiris was " shut up in his coffin," and when that coffin was
set afloat on the waters, as stated by Plutarch, agrees exactly with
the period when Noah entered the ark. That time was " the 1 7th
day of the month Athyr, when the overflowing of the Nile had
ceased, when the nights were growing long and the days decreas
ing."! The month Athyr was the second month after the autumnal
equinox, at which time the civil year of the Jews and the patriarchs
began. According to this statement, then, Osiris was " shut up in
his coffin" on the 17th day of the second month of the patriarchal
year. Compare this with the Scriptural account of Noah's entering
into the ark, and it will be seen how remarkably they agree (Gen.
vii. 11), "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the SECOND
MONTH, in the SEVENTEENTH DAY of the month, were all the fountains
of the great deep broken up ; in the self-same day entered Noah into
* BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 75.
t WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 340.
$ PLUTARCH, DC Iside et Osiride, vol. ii. p. 336, D.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 137
the ark." The period, too, that Osiris (otherwise Adonis) was
believed to have been shut up in his coffin, was precisely the same as
Noah was confined in the ark, a whole year.* Now, the statements
of Plutarch demonstrate that, as Osiris at this festival was looked
upon as dead and buried when put into his ark or coffin, and
committed to the deep, so, when at length he came out of it again,
that new state was regarded as a state of "new life," or " REGENERA
TION."! There seems every reason to believe that by the ark and
the flood God actually gave to the patriarchal saints, and especially
to righteous Noah, a vivid typical representation of the power of the
blood and Spirit of Christ, at once in saving from wrath, and
cleansing from all sin — a representation which was a most cheering
" seal" and confirmation to the faith of those who really believed.
To this Peter seems distinctly to allude, when he says, speaking of
this very event, " The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now
save us." Whatever primitive truth the Chaldean priests held, they
utterly perverted and corrupted it. They willingly overlooked the
fact, that it was " the righteousness of the faith " which Noah " had
before" the flood, that carried him safely through the avenging
waters of that dread catastrophe, and ushered him, as it were, from
the womb of the ark, by a new birth, into a new world, when on the
ark resting on Mount Ararat, he was released from his long confine
ment. They led their votaries to believe that, if they only passed
through the baptismal waters, and the penances therewith connected,
that of itself would make them like the second father of mankind,
" Diphueis," " twice-born," or " regenerate," would entitle them to
all the privileges of " righteous " Noah, and give them that "new
birth" (paling enesia)! which their consciences told them they so
much needed. The Papacy acts on precisely the same principle ;
and from this very source has its doctrine of baptismal regeneration
been derived, about which so much has been written and so many
controversies been waged. Let men contend as they may, this, and
this only, will be found to be the real origin of the anti-Scriptural
dogma.§
The reader has seen already how faithfully Rome has copied the
Pagan exorcism in connection with baptism. All the other peeuli-
* APOLLODORUS, lib. iii. c. xiv., vol. i. pp. 356, 357. THEOCRITUS, Idyll xv.,
11. 103, 104, pp. 190, 191, Poetae Graeci Minores. Theocritus is speaking of
Adonis as delivered by Venus from Acheron, or the infernal regions, after being
there for a year ; but as the scene is laid in Egypt, it is evident that it is Osiris
he refers to, as he was the Adonis of the Egyptians.
f PLUTARCH, De hide ct Osiridc, vol. ii. pp. 356-367, et quce sequuntur. It was
in the character of Pthah-Sokari-Osiris that he was represented as having been
thus "buried" in the waters. (See WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 256.) In his own
character, simply as Osiris, he had another burial altogether.
J PLUTARCH, De hide, vol. ii. p. 364, F.
§ There have been considerable speculations about the meaning of the name
Shinar, as applied to the region of which Babylon was the capital. Do not the
facts above stated cast light on it ? What so likely a derivation of this name as
to derive it from "shene," "to repeat," and "naar," "childhood." The laud of
"Shinar," then, according to this view, is just the land of the "Regenerator."
138 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
arities attending the Romish baptism, such as the use of salt, spittle,
chrism, or anointing with oil, and marking the forehead with the
sign of the cross, are equally Pagan. Some of the continental
advocates of Rome have admitted that some of these at least have
not been derived from Scripture. Thus Jodocus Tiletanus of
Louvaine, defending the doctrine of " Unwritten Tradition," does
not hesitate to say, "We are not satisfied with that which the
apostles or the Gospel do declare, but we say that, as well before as
after, there are divers matters of importance and weight accepted
and received out of a doctrine which is nowhere set forth in writing.
For we do blesse the water wherewith we baptize, and the oyle
wherewith we annoynt ; yea, and besides that, him that is christened.
And (I pray you) out of what Scripture have we learned the same]
Have we it not of a secret and unwritten ordinance 1 And further,
what Scripture hath taught us to grease with oyle 1 Yea, I pray
you, whence cometh it, that we do dype the childe three times in the
water 1 Doth it not come out of this hidden and undisclosed
doctrine, which our forefathers have received closely without any
curiosity, and do observe it still."* This learned divine of Lou
vaine, of course, maintains that " the hidden and undisclosed
doctrine " of which he speaks, was the " unwritten word " handed
down through the channel of infallibility, from the Apostles of
Christ to his own time. But, after what we have already seen, the
reader will probably entertain a different opinion of the source from
which the hidden and undisclosed doctrine must have come. And,
indeed, Father Newman himself admits, in regard to " holy water "
(that is, water impregnated with " salt," and consecrated), and many
other things that were, as he says, "the very instruments and
appendages of demon-worship" — that they were all of "Pagan"
origin, and "sanctified by adoption into the Church."f What plea,
then, what palliation can he offer, for so extraordinary an adoption "?
Why, this : that the Church had " confidence in the power of
Christianity to resist the infection of evil," and to transmute them
to " an evangelical use." What right had the Church to entertain
any such "confidence"1? What fellowship could light have with
darkness 1 what concord between Christ and Belial ? Let the history
of the Church bear testimony to the vanity, yea, impiety of such a
hope. Let the progress of our inquiries shed light upon the same.
At the present stage, there is only one of the concomitant rites of
baptism to which I will refer — viz., the use of "spittle" in that
ordinance ; and an examination of the very words of the Roman
ritual, in applying it, will prove that its use in baptism must have
come from the Mysteries. The following is the account of its
application, as given by Bishop Hay J : — " The priest recites another
exorcism, and at the end of it touches the ear and nostrils of the
person to be baptised with a little spittle, saying, ' Ephpheta, that is,
* Review of Epistle of Dr. GENTIANUS HARVET, p. 19 B, and 20 A.
t NEWMAN'S Development, pp. 359, 360.
£ Sincere Christian^ vol. i. p. 368.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 139
Be thou opened into an odour of sweetness ; but be thou put to flight,
0 Devil, for the judgment of God will be at hand.'" Now, surely
the reader will at once ask, what possible, what conceivable con
nection can there be between spittle and an " odour of sweetness " ?
If the secret doctrine of the Chaldean mysteries be set side by side
with this statement, it will be seen that, absurd and nonsensical as
this collocation of terms may appear, it was not at random that
"spittle" and an "odour of sweetness" were brought together. We
have seen already how thoroughly Paganism was acquainted with
the attributes and work of the promised Messiah, though all that
acquaintance with these grand themes was used for the purpose of
corrupting the minds of mankind, and keeping them in spiritual
bondage. We have now to see that, as they were well aware of the
existence of the Holy Spirit, so, intellectually, they were just as well
acquainted with His work, though their knowledge on that subject
was equally debased and degraded. Servius, in his comments upon
Virgil's First Georgic, after quoting the well-known expression,
"Mystica vannus lacchi," "the mystic fan of Bacchus," says that
that "mystic fan" symbolised the "purifying of souls."* Now,
how could the fan be a symbol of the purification of souls 1 The
answer is, The fan is an instrument for producing "wind" ; f and in
Chaldee, as has been already observed, it is one and the same word
which signifies "wind" and the "Holy Spirit." There can be no
doubt, that, from the very beginning, the "wind" was one of the
Divine patriarchal emblems by which the power of the Holy Ghost
was shadowed forth, even as our Lord Jesus Christ said to Nico-
demus, " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it
goeth : so is every one that is born of the /Spirit," Hence, when
Bacchus was represented with " the mystic fan," that was to declare
him to be the mighty One with whom was " the residue of the Spirit."
Hence came the idea of purifying the soul by means of the wind,
according to the description of Virgil, who represents the stain and
pollution of sin as being removed in this very way : —
"For this are various penances enjoined,
And some are hung to bleach upon the WIND." $
Hence the priests of Jupiter (who was originally just another form
of Bacchus), (see Fig. 35), were called Flamens,§ — that is Breathers,
or bestowers of the Holy Ghost, by breathing upon their votaries.
Now, in the Mysteries, the "spittle" was just another symbol for
the same thing. In Egypt, through which the Babylonian system
* SERVIUS, vol. ii. p. 197.
t There is an evident allusion to the " mystic fan " of the Babylonian god, in
the doom of Babylon, as pronounced by Jeremiah li. 1, 2 : — " Thus saith the Lord,
Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the
midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying ivind ; and will send unto
Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land."
£ DRYDEN'S Viryil, sEneid, Book vi. vs. 1002, 1003 ; in Original, 11. 739-741.
§ From "Flo," "I breathe."
HO
DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
passed to Western Europe, the name of the " Pure or Purifying
Spirit" was "Rekh."* But "Rekh" also signified " spittle"; f so
that to anoint the nose and ears of the initiated with "spittle,"
according to the mystic system, was held to be anointing them with
the " Purifying Spirit." That Rome in adopting the " spittle "
actually copied from some Chaldean ritual in which " spittle " was
the appointed emblem of the "Spirit," is plain from the account
which she gives in her own recognised formularies of the reason for
anointing the ears with it. The reason for anointing the ears with
"spittle," says Bishop Hay, is because "by the grace of baptism, the
ears of our soul are opened to hear the Word of God, and the inspira
tions of His Holy Spirit." J But what, it may be asked, has the
" spittle " to do with the " odour of sweetness " ? I answer, The
very word " Rekh," which signified the " Holy Spirit," and was
Fig. 35.§
visibly represented by the "spittle," was intimately connected with
" Rikh," which signifies a "fragrant smell," or "odour of sweet
ness." Thus, a knowledge of the Mysteries gives sense and a con
sistent meaning to the cabalistic saying addressed by the Papal
baptiser to the person about to be baptised, when the ct spittle " is
daubed on his nose and ears, which otherwise would have no niean-
* BUNSEN, vol. i. pp. 475, 476, and 516.
t PARKHURST'S Lexicon, p. 703.
% Sincere Christian, vol. i. p. 368.
§ From Pompeii, vol. ii. p. 150. The reader will remember that Jupiter, as
" Jupiter puer," or " Jupiter the boy," was worshipped in the arms of the goddess
Fortuna, just as Ninus was worshipped in the arms of the Babylonian goddess, or
Horus in the arms of Isis (see ante, p. 20). Moreover, Cupid, who, as being the
son of Jupiter, is Vejovis — that is, as we learn from Ovid (vol. iii. p. 179, in a
Note to Fasti, lib. iii. v. 408), "Young Jupiter" — is represented, as in the above
cut, not only with the wine-cup of Bacchus, but with the Ivy garland, the dis
tinctive mark of the same divinity, around him.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 141
ing at all — " Ephpheta, Be thou opened into an odour of sweetness."
While this was the primitive truth concealed under the "spittle,"
yet the whole spirit of Paganism was so opposed to the spirituality
of the patriarchal religion, and indeed intended to make it void, and
to draw men utterly away from it, while pretending to do homage
to it, that among the multitude in general the magic use of " spittle "
became the symbol of the grossest superstition. Theocritus shows
with what debasing rites it was mixed up in Sicily and Greece ; *
and Persius thus holds up to scorn the people of Rome in his day for
their reliance on it to avert the influence of the " evil eye " : —
" Our superstitions with our life begin ;
The obscene old grandam, or the next of kin,
The new-born infant from the cradle takes,
And first of spittle a lustration makes ;
Then in the spawl her middle finger dips,
Anoints the temples, forehead, and the lips,
Pretending force of magic to prevent (urentes oculos)
By virtue of her nasty excrement." — DRYDEN.f
While thus far we have seen how the Papal baptism is just a
reproduction of the Chaldean, there is still one other point to be
noticed, which makes the demonstration complete. That point is
contained in the following tremendous curse fulminated against a
man who committed the unpardonable offence of leaving the Church
of Rome, and published grave and weighty reasons for so doing :
" May the Father, who creates man, curse him ! May the Son, who
suffered for us, curse him ! May the Holy Ghost who suffered for us
in baptism, curse him ! " | I do not stop to show how absolutely
and utterly opposed such a curse as this is to the whole spirit of the
Gospel. But what I call the reader's attention to is the astounding
statement that " the Holy Ghost suffered for us in baptism." Where
in the whole compass of Scripture could warrant be found for such
an assertion as this, or anything that could even suggest it 1 But let
the reader revert to the Babylonian account of the personality of the
Holy Ghost, and the amount of blasphemy contained in this language
will be apparent. According to the Chaldean doctrine, Semiramis,
the wife of Ninus or Nimrod, when exalted to divinity under the
name of the Queen of Heaven, came, as we have seen, to be worshipped
as Juno, the " Dove " — in other words, the Holy Spirit incarnate.
Now, when her husband, for his blasphemous rebellion against the
majesty of heaven, was cut off, for a season it was a time of tribula
tion also for her. The fragments of ancient history that have come
down to us give an account of her trepidation and flight, to save her
self from her adversaries. In the fables of the mythology, this flight
was mystically represented in accordance with what was attributed
* THEOCRITUS, Idyll ii. 61, pp. 126, 127.
t PEKSIUS, Satires, ii. v. 30-34, in Original.
£ The above is from the curse fulminated against Mr. Hogan of Philadelphia for
leaving the Church of Rome, and assigning his reasons for doing so. — See BEGG'S
Handbook, p. 152. See also BLAKENEY'S Popery in its Social Aspect, p. 126, and
Note to p. 127.
142
DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
to her husband. The bards of Greece represented Bacchus, when
overcome by his enemies, as taking refuge in the depths of the ocean
(see Fig. 36).* Thus, Homer : —
" In a mad mood, while Bacchus blindly raged,
Lycurgus drove his trembling bands, confused,
O'er the vast plains of Nusa. They in haste
Threw down their sacred implements, and fled
In fearful dissipation. Bacchus saw
Eout upon rout, and, lost in wild dismay,
Plunged in the deep. Here Thetis in her arms
Eeceived him shuddering at the dire event."f
In Egypt, as we have seen, Osiris, as identified with Noah, was
represented, when overcome by his grand enemy Typhon, or the
"Evil One," as passing through the waters. The poets represented
Semiramis as sharing in his distress, and likewise seeking safety in
the same way. We have seen already, that, under the name of
Astarte, she was said to have come forth from the wondrous egg that
was found floating on the waters of the Euphrates. Now Manilius
Fig. 36.
tells, in his Astronomical Poetics, what induced her to take refuge
in these waters. " Venus plunged into the Babylonian waters," says
* From BRYANT : the first figure, the divided bull, is from vol. iii. p. 303 ; the
second, the god on the fish, from the same vol., p. 338. The former is just another
symbol of that which is represented by the mighty tree cut asunder (see ante,
p. 97). That tree represented Nimrod as " the mighty one" cut in pieces in the
midst of his power and glory. The divided man-bull symbolises him as " The
prince " who was cut asunder in like manner ; for the name for a prince and a
bull is the same. The fish over the bull shows the transformation he was supposed
to undergo when put to death by his enemies ; for the story of Melikerta, who
with his mother Ino was cast into the sea, and became a sea-god (SMITH'S Class.
Diet., " Athamas," p. 100), is just another version of the story of Bacchus, for Ino
was the foster-mother of Bacchus (SMITH, sub vocc " Dionysus," p. 226). Now, on
the second medal, Melikerta, under the name of Palaemon, is represented as
triumphantly riding on the fish, his sorrows being over, with the fir-tree, or pine,
the emblem of Baal-berith, "Lord of the Covenant," as his ensign. This, com
pared with what is stated in p. 98 about the Christmas-tree, shows how the
fir-tree came to be recognised in the character of the Christmas-tree. The name
Ghelas above the divided bull and the fish is equivocal. As applied to the fish, it
comes from Ghela, "to exult or leap for joy," as dolphins and such like fishes do
in the sea ; as applied to the divinity, whom both the fish and the bull repre
sented, it conies from Ghela, "to reveal," for that divinity was the "revealer of
goodness and truth " (WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 189).
f HOMER, Iliad, vi. v. 133. See BRYANT'S Mythology, vol. iv. p. 57.
BAPTISMAL REGENERATION. 143
he, " to shun the fury of the snake-footed Typhon."* When Venus
Urania, or Dione,f the " Heavenly Dove," plunged in deep distress
into these waters of Babylon, be it observed what, according to the
Chaldean doctrine, this amounted to. It was neither more nor less
than saying that the Holy Ghost incarnate in deep tribulation entered
these waters, and that on purpose that these waters might be fit, not
only by the temporary abode of the Messiah in the midst of them,
but by the Spirit's efficacy thus imparted to them, for giving new
life and regeneration, by baptism, to the worshippers of the Chaldean
Madonna. We have evidence that the purifying virtue of the waters,
which in Pagan esteem had such efficacy in cleansing from guilt and
regenerating the soul, was derived in part from the passing of the
Mediatorial god, the sun-god and god of fire, through these waters
during his humiliation and sojourn in the midst of them ; and that
the Papacy at this day retains the very custom which had sprung up
from that persuasion. So far as heathenism is concerned, the follow
ing extracts from Potter and Athenaeus speak distinctly enough :
*' Every person," says the former, " who came to the solemn sacrifices
[of the Greeks] was purified by water. To which end, at the entrance
of the temples there was commonly placed a vessel full of holy
water."J How did this water get its holiness? This water "was
consecrated," says Athenseus, "by putting into it a BURNING TORCH
taken from the altar. "§ The burning torch was the express symbol
of the god of fire ; and by the light of this torch, so indispensable
for consecrating " the holy water," we may easily see whence came
one great part of the purifying virtue of "the water of the loud
resounding sea," which was held to be so efficacious in purging away
the guilt and stain of sin,|| — even from the sun-god having taken
refuge in its waters. Now this very same method is used in the
Romish Church for consecrating the water for baptism. The unsus
picious testimony of Bishop Hay leaves no doubt on this point : " It "
[the water kept in the baptismal font], says he, " is blessed on the
eve of Pentecost, because it is the Holy Ghost who gives to the
waters of baptism the power and efficacy of sanctifying our souls,
and because the baptism of Christ is ' with the Holy Ghost, and with
fire' (Matt. iii. 11). In blessing the waters, a LIGHTED TORCH is put
into the font."U Here, then, it is manifest that the baptismal
regenerating water of Rome is consecrated just as the regenerating
and purifying water of the Pagans was. Of what avail is it for
Bishop Hay to say, with the view of sanctifying superstition and
"making apostacy plausible," that this is done "to represent the fire
of Divine love, which is communicated to the soul by baptism, and
the light of good example, which all who are baptised ought to give."**
This is the fair face put on the matter ; but the fact still remains
* MANILIUS, Astronom., lib. iv. v. 579-582, p. 146.
t OVID, Fasti, lib. ii. 461.
£ POTTER'S Antiquities, vol. i. p. 195. § ATHEN/EUS, lib. ix. p. 409.
II " All human ills," says Euripides, in a well-known passage, " are washed away
by the sea."
TT HAY'S Sincere Christian, vol. i. p. 365. ** Ibid.
H4 DOCTKINE AND DISCIPLINE.
that while the Romish doctrine in regard to baptism is purely Pagan,
in the ceremonies connected with the Papal baptism one of the
essential rites of the ancient fire-worship is still practised at this day,
just as it was practised by the worshippers of Bacchus, the Baby
lonian Messiah. As Rome keeps up the remembrance of the fire-
god passing through the waters and giving virtue to them, so when
it speaks of the " Holy Ghost suffering for us in baptism," it in like
manner commemorates the part which Paganism assigned to the
Babylonian goddess when she plunged into the waters. The sorrows
of Nimrod, or Bacchus, when in the waters were meritorious sorrows.
The sorrows of his wife, in whom the Holy Ghost miraculously dwelt,
were the same. The sorrows of the Madonna, then, when in these
waters, fleeing from Typhon's rage, were the birth-throes by which
children were born to God. And thus, even in the Far West, Chal-
chivitlycue, the Mexican "goddess of the waters," and "mother" of
all the regenerate, was represented as purging the new-born infant
from original sin, and "bringing it anew into the world."* Now,
the Holy Ghost was idolatrously worshipped in Babylon under the
form of a " Dove." Under the same form, and with equal idolatry,
the Holy Ghost is worshipped in Rome. When, therefore, we read,
in opposition to every Scripture principle, that " the Holy Ghost
suffered for us in baptism," surely it must now be manifest who is
that Holy Ghost that is really intended. It is no other than Semi-
ramis, the very incarnation of lust and all uncleanness.
SECTION II. JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS.
The worshippers of Nimrod and his queen were looked upon as
regenerated and purged from sin by baptism, which baptism received
its virtue from the sufferings of these two great Babylonian divini
ties. But yet in regard to justification, the Chaldean doctrine was
that it was by works and merits of men themselves that they must be
justified and accepted of God. The following remarks of Christie in
his observations appended to OuvarofFs Eleusinian Mysteries,
show that such was the case : " Mr. Ouvaroff has suggested that one
of the great objects of the Mysteries was the presenting to fallen man
the means of his return to God. These means were the cathartic
virtues — (i.e., the virtues by which sin is removed), by the exercise
of which a corporeal life was to be vanquished. Accordingly the
Mysteries were termed Teletse, ' perfections,' because they were sup
posed to induce a perfectness of life. Those who were purified by
them were styled Teloumenoi and Tetelesmenoi, that is, 'brought
.... to perfection/ which depended on the exertions of the indi
vidual."! In the Metamorphosis of Apuleius, who was himself
initiated in the mysteries of Isis, we find this same doctrine of human
merits distinctly set forth. Thus the goddess is herself represented
* See ante, p. 133. t OUVAKOFF, pp. 183, 184.
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 145
as addressing the hero of his tale : "If you shall be found to DESERVE
the protection of my divinity by sedulous obedience, religious devotion,
and inviolable chastity, you shall be sensible that it is possible for me,
and me alone, to extend your life beyond the limits that have been
appointed to it by your destiny."* When the same individual has
received a proof of the supposed favour of the divinity, thus do the
onlookers express their congratulations : " Happy, by Hercules ! and
thrice blessed he to have MERITED, by the innocence and probity of
his past life, such special patronage of heaven."! Thus was it in
life. At death, also, the grand passport into the unseen world was
still through the merits of men themselves, although the name of
Osiris was, as we shall by-and-by see, given to those who departed in
the faith. " When the bodies of persons of distinction " [in Egypt],
says Wilkinson, quoting Porphyry, " were embalmed, they took out
the intestines and put them into a vessel, over which (after some
other rites had been performed for the dead) one of the embalmers
pronounced an invocation to the sun in behalf of the deceased." The
formula, according to Euphantus, who translated it from the original
into Greek, was as follows : " 0 thou Sun, our sovereign lord ! and
all ye Deities who have given life to man, receive me, and grant me
an abode with the eternal gods. During the whole course of my
life I have scrupulously worshipped the gods my father taught me
to adore ; I have ever honoured my parents, who begat this body ;
I have killed no one ; I have not defrauded any, nor have I done any
injury to any man."J Thus the merits, the obedience, or the inno
cence of man was the grand plea. The doctrine of Rome in
regard to the vital article of a sinner's justification is the very same.
Of course this of itself would prove little in regard to the affiliation
of the two systems, the Babylonian and the Roman ; for, from the
days of Cain downward, the doctrine of human merit and of self-
justification has everywhere been indigenous in the heart of depraved
humanity. But, what is worthy of notice in regard to this subject
is, that in the two systems, it was symbolised in precisely the same
way. In the Papal legends it is taught that St. Michael the Arch
angel has committed to him the balance of God's justice,§ and that in
the two opposite scales of that balance the merits and the demerits
of the departed are put that they may be fairly weighed, the one
over against the other, and that as the scale turns to the favour
able or unfavourable side they may be justified or condemned
as the case may be. Now, the Chaldean doctrine of justifica
tion, as we get light on it from the monuments of Egypt, is
symbolised in precisely the same way, except that in the land of
Ham the scales of justice were committed to the charge of the god
Anubis instead of St. Michael the Archangel, and that the good
deeds and the bad seem to have been weighed separately, and a
distinct record made of each, so that when both were summed up and
* Metam., cap. 11. f Ibid.
+ WILKINSON, vol. v. pp. 463, 464.
§ Review of Epistle of Dr. GENTIANUS HAEVET, Book II. chap. xiv.
L
H6 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
the balance struck, judgment was pronounced accordingly. Wilkin
son states that Anubis and his scales are often represented ; and that
in some cases there is some difference in the details. But it is
evident from his statements, that the principle in all is the same.
The following is the account which he gives of one of these judgment
scenes, previous to the admission of the dead to Paradise : " Cerberus
is present as the guardian of the gates, near which the scales of
justice are erected ; and Anubis, the director of the weight, having
placed a vase representing the good actions of the deceased in one
scale, and the figure or emblem of truth in the other, proceeds to
ascertain his claims for admission. If, on being weighed, he is found
wanting, he is rejected, and Osiris, the judge of the dead, inclining
his sceptre in token of condemnation, pronounces judgment upon
him, and condemns his soul to return to earth under the form of a
pig or some unclean animal But if, when the SUM of his deeds
are recorded by Thoth [who stands by to mark the results of the
different weighings of Anubis], his virtues so far PREDOMINATE as to
entitle him to admission to the mansions of the blessed, Horus, taking
in his hand the tablet of Thoth, introduces him to the presence of
Osiris, who, in his palace, attended by Isis and Nepthys, sits on his
throne in the midst of the waters, from which rises the lotus, bearing
upon its expanded flowers the four Genii of Amenti."* The same
mode of symbolising the justification by works had evidently been in
use in Babylon itself ; and, therefore, there was great force in the
Divine handwriting on the wall, when the doom of Belshazzar went
forth : " Tekel" " Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found
wanting." In the Parsee system, which has largely borrowed from
Chaldea, the principle of weighing the good deeds over against the bad
deeds is fully developed. "For three days after dissolution," says
Vaux, in his Nineveh and Persepolis, giving an account of Parsee
doctrines in regard to the dead, "the soul is supposed to flit round
its tenement of clay, in hopes of reunion ; on the fourth, the Angel
Seroch appears, and conducts it to the bridge of Chinevad. On this
structure, which they assert connects heaven and earth, sits the
Angel of Justice, to weigh the actions of mortals ; when the good
deeds prevail, the soul is met on the bridge by a dazzling figure,
which says, ' I am thy good angel : I was pure originally, but thy
good deeds have rendered me purer ; ' and passing his hand over the
neck of the blessed soul, leads it to Paradise. If iniquities prepond
erate, the soul is met by a hideous spectre, which howls out, ' I arn
thy evil genius ; I was impure from the first, but thy misdeeds have
made me fouler ; through thee we shall remain miserable until the
resurrection ; ' the sinning soul is then dragged away to hell, where
Ahriman sits to taunt it with its crimes."! Such is the doctrine of
Parseeism. The same is the case in China, where Bishop Hurd,
giving an account of the Chinese descriptions of the infernal regions,
and of the figures that refer to them, says, " One of them always
* WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. v. p. 447.
t VADX, p. 113.
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. H7
represents a sinner in a pair of scales, with his iniquities in the one,
and his good works in another." "We meet with several such
representations," he adds, "in the Grecian mythology."* Thus does
Sir J. F. Davis describe the operation of the principle in China : " In
a work of some note on morals, called Merits and Demerits
Examined, a man is directed to keep a debtor and creditor account
with himself of the acts of each day, and at the end of the year to wind
it up. If the balance is in his favour, it serves as the foundation of a
stock of merits for the ensuing year : and if against him, it must be
liquidated by future good deeds. Various lists and comparative
tables are given of both good and bad actions in the several
relations of life ; and benevolence is strongly inculcated in regard
first to man, and, secondly, to the brute creation. To cause another's
death is reckoned at one hundred on the side of demerit; while a
single act of charitable relief counts as one on the other side
To save a person's life ranks in the above work as an exact set-off
to the opposite act of taking it away ; and it is said that this deed of
merit will prolong a person's life twelve years."!
While such a mode of justification is, on the one hand, in the very
nature of the case, utterly demoralising, there never could by means
of it, on the other, be in the bosom of any man whose conscience is
aroused, any solid feeling of comfort, or assurance as to his prospects
in the eternal world. Who could ever tell, however good he might
suppose himself to be, whether the " sum of his good actions "
would or would not counterbalance the amount of sins and trans
gressions that his conscience might charge against him. How very
different the Scriptural, the god-like plan of "justification by faith,"
and "faith alone, without the deeds of the law," absolutely irre
spective of human merits, simply and solely through the " righteous
ness of Christ, that is unto all and upon all them that believe," that
delivers at once and for ever "from all condemnation," those who
accept of the offered Saviour, and by faith are vitally united to Him.
It is not the will of our Father in heaven, that His children in this
world should be ever in doubt and darkness as to the vital point of
their eternal salvation. Even a genuine saint, no doubt, may for a
season, if need be, be in heaviness through manifold temptations, but
such is not the natural, the normal state of a healthful Christian, of
one who knows the fulness and the freeness of the blessings of the
Gospel of peace. God has laid the most solid foundation for all His
people to say, with John, "We have KNOWN and believed the love
which God hath to us" (1 John iv. 16); or with Paul, "I am
PERSUADED that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. viii. 38, 39). But
this no man can ever say, who "goes about to establish his own
righteousness" (Rom. x. 3), who seeks, in any shape, to be justified
* KURD'S Rites and Ceremonies, p. 64, col. i.
f DAVIS'S China, vol. ii. chap. " Keligion — Buddhism."
148 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
by works. Such assurance, such comfort, can come only from a
simple and believing reliance 011 the free, unmerited grace of God,
given in and along with Christ, the unspeakable gift of the Father's
love. It was this that made Luther's spirit to be, as he himself
declared, " as free as a flower of the field," * when, single and alone,
he went up to the Diet of Worms, to confront all the prelates and
potentates there convened to condemn the doctrine which he held.
It was this that in every age made the martyrs go with such sublime
heroism not only to prison but to death. It is this that emancipates
the soul, restores the true dignity of humanity, and cuts up by the
roots all the imposing pretensions of priestcraft. It is this only that
can produce a life of loving, filial, hearty obedience to the law and
commandments of God ; and that, when nature fails, and when the
king of terrors is at hand, can enable poor, guilty sons of men, with
the deepest sense of un worthiness, yet to say, " 0 death, where is thy
sting ] O grave, where is thy victory 1 Thanks be unto God, who
giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. xv. 55,
57).
Now, to all such confidence in God, such assurance of salvation,
spiritual despotism in every age, both Pagan and Papal, has ever
shown itself unfriendly. Its grand object has always been to keep
the souls of its votaries away from direct and immediate intercourse
with a living and merciful Saviour, and consequently from assurance
of His favour, to inspire a sense of the necessity of human mediation,
and so to establish itself on the ruins of the hopes and the happiness
of the world. Considering the pretensions which the Papacy makes
to absolute infallibility, and the supernatural powers which it
attributes to the functions of its priests, in regard to regeneration
and the forgiveness of sins, it might have been supposed, as a matter
of course, that all its adherents would have been encouraged to
rejoice in the continual assurance of their personal salvation. But
the very contrary is the fact. After all its boastings and high
pretensions, perpetual doubt on the subject of a man's salvation, to
his life's end. is inculcated as a duty ; it being peremptorily decreed
as an article of faith by the Council of Trent, " That no man can
know with infallible assurance of faith that he HAS OBTAINED the
grace of God."f This very decree of Rome, while directly opposed
to the Word of G,od, stamps its own lofty claims with the brand of
imposture ; for if no man who has been regenerated by its baptism,
and who has received its absolution from sin, can yet have any
certain assurance after all that "the grace of God" has been
conferred upon him, what can be the worth of its opus operatum ?
Yet, in seeking to keep its devotees in continual doubt and un
certainty as to their final state, it is "wise after its generation.'
In the Pagan system, it was the priest alone who could at all pretend
* Quoted in Edinburgh Review, January, 1839.
t Concilium Tridentinum. Decretum de Justificatione. Articulus ix. See
SARPI'S History of Council of Trent, translated into French by COURAYER, vol. i.
p. 353.
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 149
to anticipate the operation of the scales of Anubis; and, in the
confessional, there was from time to time, after a sort, a mimic
rehearsal of the dread weighing that was to take place at last in
the judgment scene before the tribunal of Osiris. There the priest
sat in judgment on the good deeds and bad deeds of his penitents ;
and, as his power and influence were founded to a large extent on
the mere principle of slavish dread, he took care that the scale
should generally turn in the wrong direction, that they might be
more subservient to his will in casting in a due amount of good
works into the opposite scale. As he was the grand judge of what
these works should be, it was his interest to appoint what should be
most for the selfish aggrandisement of himself, or the glory of his
order; and yet so to weigh and counterweigh merits and demerits,
that there should always be left a large balance to be settled, not
only by the man himself, but by his heirs. If any man had been
allowed to believe himself beforehand absolutely sure of glory, the
priests might have been in danger of being robbed of their dues after
death — an issue by all means to be guarded against. Now, the
priests of Kome have in every respect copied after the priests of
Anubis, the god of the scales. In the confessional, when they have
an object to gain, they make the sins and transgressions good weight ;
and then, when they have a man of influence, or power, or wealth
to deal with, they will not give him the slightest hope till round
sums of money, or the founding of an abbey, or some other object on
which they have set their heart, be cast into the other scale. In the
famous letter of Pere La Chaise, the confessor of Louis XIV. of
France, giving an account of the method which he adopted to gain
the consent of that licentious monarch to the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes, by which such cruelties were inflicted on his
innocent Huguenot subjects, we see how the fear of the scales of
St. Michael operated in bringing about the desired result : — " Many
a time since," says the accomplished Jesuit, referring to an atrocious
sin of which the king had been guilty, " many a time since, when
I have had him at confession, / have shook hell about his ears, and
made him sigh, fear and tremble, before I would give him absolution.
By this I saw that he had still an inclination to me, and was willing
to be under my government ; so I set the baseness of the action
before him by telling the whole story, and how wicked it was, and
that it could not be forgiven till he had done some good action to
BALANCE that, and expiate the crime. Whereupon he at last asked
me what he must do. I told him that he must root out all heretics
from his kingdom."* This was the "good action" to be cast into
the scale of St. Michael the Archangel, to " BALANCE " his crime.
The king, wicked as he was — sore against his will — consented ; the
" good action " was cast in, the " heretics " were extirpated ; and the
king was absolved. But yet the absolution was not such but that,
when he went the way of all the earth, there was still much to be
cast in before the scales could be fairly adjusted. Thus Paganism
* MACGAVIN'S Protestant, p. 841, col. 2.
150 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
and Popery alike "make merchandise of the souls of men" (Rev.
xviii. 13). Thus the one with the scales of Anubis, the other with
the scales of St. Michael, exactly answer to the Divine description of
Ephraim in his apostacy : "Ephraim is a merchant, the balances of
deceit are in his hand" (Hosea xii. 7). The Anubis of the Egyptians
was precisely the same as the Mercury of the Greeks* — the "god of
thieves." St. Michael, in the hands of Rome, answers exactly to the
same character. By means of him and his scales, and their doctrine
of human merits, they have made what they call the house of God to
be nothing else than a "den of thieves." To rob men of their money
is bad, but infinitely worse to cheat them also of their souls.
Into the scales of Anubis, the ancient Pagans, by way of securing
their justification, were required to put not merely good deeds,
properly so called, but deeds of austerity and self-mortification
inflicted on their own persons, for averting the wrath of the gods.f
The scales of St. Michael inflexibly required to be balanced in the
very same way. The priests of Rome teach that when sin is forgiven,
ike punishment is not thereby fully taken away. However perfect
may be the pardon that God, through the priests, may bestow, yet
punishment, greater or less, still remains behind, which men .must
endure, and that to "satisfy the justice of God." Again and again
has it been shown that man cannot do anything to satisfy the justice
of God, that to that justice he is hopelessly indebted, that he " has "
absolutely "nothing to pay;" and more than that, that there is no
need that he should attempt to pay one farthing ; for that, in behalf
of all who believe, Christ has finished transgression, made an end of
sin, and made all the satisfaction to the broken law that that law
could possibly demand. Still Rome insists that every man must be
punished for his own sins, and that God cannot be satisfied { without
groans and sighs, lacerations of the flesh, tortures of the body, and
penances without number, on the part of the offender, however
broken in heart, however contrite that offender may be. Now,
looking simply at the Scripture, this perverse demand for self-torture
on the part of those for whom Christ has made a complete and
perfect atonement, might seem exceedingly strange ; but, looking at
the real character of the god whom the Papacy has set up for the
worship of its deluded devotees, there is nothing in the least strange
about it. That god is Moloch, the god of barbarity and blood.
Moloch signifies " king " ; and Nimrod was the first after the flood
that violated the patriarchal system, and set up as " king " over his
fellows. At first he was worshipped as the " revealer of goodness
and truth," but by-and-by his worship was made to correspond with
* WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. v. pp. 9, 10.
t See what is said about Penance in connection with the Confessional, in Chap-
ter I. pp. 9, 10.
J Bishop HAY'S Sincere Christian, vol. i. p. 270. The words of Bishop Hay
are : " But He absolutely demands that, by penitential works, we PUNISH our
selves for our shocking ingratitude, and satisfy the Divine justice for the abuse of
His mercy." The established modes of " punishment," as is well known, are just
such as are described in the text.
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 151
his dark and forbidding countenance and complexion. The name
Moloch originally suggested nothing of cruelty or terror; but now
the well-known rites associated with that name have made it for
ages a synonym for all that is most revolting to the heart of
humanity, and am ply justify the description of Milton: —
" First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears,
Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,
Their children's cries unheard, that passed through fire
To his -mm idol."*
In almost every land the bloody worship prevailed ; " horrid
cruelty," hand in hand with abject superstition, filled not only "the
dark places of the earth," but also regions that boasted of their
enlightenment. Greece, Rome, Egypt, Phenicia, Assyria, and our
own land under the savage Druids, at one period or other in their
history, worshipped the same god and in the same way. Human
victims were his most acceptable offerings ; human groans and
wailings were the sweetest music in his ears ; human tortures were
believed to delight his heart. His image bore, as the symbol of
"majesty," a whip^ and with whips his worshippers, at some of his
festivals, were required unmercifully to scourge themselves. " After
the ceremonies of sacrifice," says Herodotus, speaking of the feast
of Isis at Busiris, "the whole assembly, to the amount of many
thousands, scourge themselves ; but in whose honour they do this
I am not at liberty to disclose."! This reserve Herodotus generally
uses, out of respect to his oath as an initiated man ; but subsequent
researches leave no doubt as to the god " in whose honour " the
scourgings took place. In Pagan Rome the worshippers of Isis
observed the same practice in honour of Osiris. In Greece, Apollo,
the Delian god, who was identical with Osiris,§ was propitiated
* Paradise Lost, Book I. 11. 392-396, p. 13.
+ See woodcut of Osiris, p. 44.
t HERODOTUS, lib. ii. cap. 61, p. 127, A.
§ We have seen already (p. 69) that the Egyptian Horus was just a new
incarnation of Osiris or Nimrod. Now, Herodotus calls Horus by the name of
Apollo (lib. ii. p. 171, C). Diodorus Siculus, also (lib. i. p. 15), says that
" Horus, the son of Isis, is interpreted to be Apollo." Wilkinson seems, on one
occasion, to call this identity of Horus and Apollo in question ; but he elsewhere
admits that the story of Apollo's " combat with the serpent Py tho is evidently
derived from the Egyptian mythology" (vol. iv. p. 395), where the allusion is to
the representation of Horus piercing the snake with a spear. From divers
considerations, it may be shown that this conclusion is correct : — 1. Horus, or
Osiris, was the sun-god, so was Apollo. 2. Osiris, whom Horus represented, was
the great Revealer ; the Pythian Apollo was the god of oracles. 3. Osiris, in the
character of Horus, was born when his mother was said to be persecuted by the
malice of her enemies. Latona, the mother of Apollo, was a fugitive for a similar
reason when Apollo was born. 4. Horus, according to one version of the myth,
was said, like Osiris, to have been cut in pieces (PLUTARCH, vol. ii., De hide,
p. 358, E). In the classic story of Greece, this part of the myth of Apollo was
generally kept in the background ; and he was represented as victor in the conflict
with the serpent ; but even there it was sometimes admitted that he had suffered
a violent death, for by Porphyry he is said to have been slain by the serpent, and
152 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
with similar penances by the sailors who visited his shrine, as we
learn from the following lines of Callimachus in his hymn to
Delos :—
" Soon as they reach thy soundings, down at once
They drop slack sails and all the naval gear.
The ship is moored ; nor do the crew presume
To quit thy sacred limits, till they 've passed
A fearful penance ; with the galling whip
Lashed thrice around thine altar."*
Over and above the scourgings, there were also slashings and
cuttings of the flesh required as propitiatory rites on the part of
his worshippers. " In the solemn celebration of the Mysteries,"
says Julius Firmicus, "all things in order had to be done, which
the youth either did or suffered at his death, "f Osiris was cut in
pieces ; therefore, to imitate his fate, so far as living men might
do so, they were required to cut and wound their own bodies.
Therefore, when the priests of Baal contended with Elijah, to gain
the favour of their god, and induce him to work the desired miracle
in their behalf, " they cried aloud and cut themselves, after their
manner, with knives and with lancets, till the blood gushed out
upon them."! In Egypt, the natives in general, though liberal
in the use of the whip, seem to have been sparing of the knife ;
but even there, there were men also who mimicked on their own
persons the dismemberment of Osiris. "The Carians of Egypt,"
says Herodotus, in the place already quoted, "treat themselves
at this solemnity with still more severity, for they cut themselves
in the face with swords. "§ To this practice, there can be no doubt,
there is a direct allusion in the command in the Mosaic law, "Ye
shall make no cuttings in your flesh for the dead."|| These cuttings
in the flesh are largely practised in the worship of the Hindoo
divinities, as propitiatory rites or meritorious penances. They are
well known to have been practised in the rites of Bellona,1I the
Pythagoras affirmed that he had seen his tomb at Tripos in Delphi (BRYANT,
vol. ii. p. 187). 5. Horus was the war-god. Apollo was represented in the same
way as the great god represented in Layard, with the bow and arrow, who was
evidently the Babylonian war-god, Apollo's well-known title of " Arcitenens," —
"The bearer of the bow," having evidently been borrowed from that source.
Fuss tells us (pp. 354, 355) that Apollo was regarded as the inventor of the art of
shooting with the bow. which identifies him with Sagittarius, whose origin we
have already seen. 6. Lastly, from Ovid (Metam., lib. i. fab. 8, 1. 442, vol. ii.
p. 39) we learn that, before engaging with Python, Apollo had used his arrows
only on fallow-deers, stags, &c. All which sufficiently proves his substantial
identification with the mighty Hunter of Babel.
* CALLIMACHUS, in Original, v. 318-321, vol. i. p. 134.
t JULIUS FIRMICUS, p. 18.
£ 1 Kings xviii. 28.
§ HERODOTUS, lib. ii. cap. 61, p. 127, A and B.
|| Leviticus xix. 28. Every person who died in the faith was believed to be
identified with Osiris, and called by his name. — WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 167, Note.
1T "The priests of Bellona," says Lactantius, "sacrificed not with any other
men's blood but their own, their shoulders being lanced, and with both hands
brandishing naked swords, they ran and leaped up and down like mad men." —
Lib. i. cap. 2, p. 52.
JUSTIFICATION BY WOKKS. 153
"sister" or "wife of the Roman war-god Mars," whose name, "The
lamenter of Bel," clearly proves the original of her husband to whom
the Romans were so fond of tracing back their pedigree. They were
practised also in the most savage form in the gladiatorial shows,
in which the Roman people, with all their boasted civilisation, so
much delighted. The miserable men who were doomed to engage
in these bloody exhibitions, did not do so generally of their own free
will. But yet, the principle on which these shows were conducted
was the very same as that which influenced the priests of Baal.
They were celebrated as propitiatory sacrifices. From Fuss we learn
that " gladiatorial shows were sacred" to Saturn ; * and in Ausonius
we read that " the amphitheatre claims its gladiators for itself, when
at the end of December they PROPITIATE with their blood the sickle-
bearing Son of Heaven."! On this passage, Justus Lipsius, who
quotes it, thus comments : " Where you will observe two things,
both, that the gladiators fought on the Saturnalia, and that they
did so for the purpose of appeasing and PROPITIATING Saturn. "J
" The reason of this," he adds, "I should suppose to be, that Saturn
is not among the celestial but the infernal gods. Plutarch, in his
book of ' Summaries,' says, that * the Romans looked upon Kronos
as a subterranean and infernal God.' " § There can be no doubt that
this is so far true, for the name of Pluto is only a synonym for
Saturn, "The Hidden One."|| But yet, in the light of the real
history of the historical Saturn, we find a more satisfactory reason
for the barbarous custom that so much disgraced the escutcheon
of Rome in all its glory, when mistress of the world, when such
multitudes of men were
" Butchered to make a Roman holiday."
"When it is remembered that Saturn himself was cut in pieces, it is
easy to see how the idea would arise of offering a welcome sacrifice
to him by setting men to cut one another in pieces on his birthday,
by way of propitiating his favour.
The practice of such penances, then, on the part of those of the
Pagans who cut and slashed themselves, was intended to propitiate
and please their god, and so to lay up a stock of merit that might
tell in their behalf in the scales of Anubis. In the Papacy, the
penances are not only intended to answer the same end, but, to
a large extent, they are identical. I do not know, indeed, that
they use the knife as the priests of Baal did ; but it is certain that
they look upon the shedding of their own blood as a most meritorious
penance, that gains them high favour with God, and wipes away
* Roman Antiquities, p. 359.
t AUSONIUS, Eclog. i. p. 156.
£ LIPSIUS, torn. ii. SaturnaL, lib. i. cap. 5.
§ PLUTARCH, vol. ii. p. 266.
|| The name Pluto is evidently from " Lut," to hide, which, with the Egyptian
definite article prefixed, becomes "P'Lut." The Greek TT\OVTOS, "wealth," "the
hidden thing," is obviously formed in the same way. Hades is just another
synonym of the same name.
154 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
many sins. Let the reader look at the pilgrims at Lough Dergh,
in Ireland, crawling on their bare knees over the sharp rocks, and
leaving the bloody tracks behind them, and say what substantial
difference there is between that and cutting themselves with knives.
In the matter of scourging themselves, however, the adherents
of the Papacy have literally borrowed the lash of Osiris. Everyone
has heard of the Flagellants, who publicly scourge themselves on
the festivals of the Roman Church, and who are regarded as saints
of the first water. In the early ages of Christianity such flagellations
were regarded as purely and entirely Pagan. Athenagoras, one
of the early Christian Apologists, holds up the Pagans to ridicule
for thinking that sin could be atoned for, or God propitiated, by
any such means.* But now, in the high places of the Papal Church,
such practices are regarded as the grand means of gaining the favour
of God. On Good Friday, at Rome and Madrid, and other chief
seats of Roman idolatry, multitudes flock together to witness the
performances of the saintly whippers, who lash themselves till
the blood gushes in streams from every part of their body.f They
pretend to do this in honour of Christ, on the festival set apart
professedly to commemorate His death, just as the worshippers
of Osiris did the same on the festival when they lamented for his
loss.J But can any man of the least Christian enlightenment
believe that the exalted Saviour can look on such rites as doing
honour to Him, which pour contempt on His all-perfect atonement,
and represent His most "precious blood" as needing to have its
virtue supplemented by that of blood drawn from the backs of
wretched and misguided sinners'? Such offerings were altogether
fit for the worship of Moloch ; but they are the very opposite
of being fit for the service of Christ.
It is not in one point only, but in manifold respects, that the
ceremonies of " Holy Week " at Rome, as it is termed, recall to
memory the rites of the great Babylonian god. The more we look at
these rites, the more we shall be struck with the wonderful resem
blance that subsists between them and those observed at the
Egyptian festival of burning lamps and the other ceremonies of
the fire-worshippers in different countries. In Egypt the grand
illumination took place beside the sepulchre of Osiris at Sais.§ In
Rome in " Holy Week," a sepulchre of Christ also figures in
connection with a brilliant illumination of burning tapers. || In
Crete, where the tomb of Jupiter was exhibited, that tomb was an
object of worship to the Cretans. IF In Rome, if the devotees do
* ATHENAGORAS, Legatio pro Christ., s. 14, p. 134.
t HDRD'S Rites and Ceremonies, p. 175 ; and Rome in the 19th Century, vol. iii.
p. 161.
£ The priests of Cybele at Rome observed the same practice. — Ibid. p. 251,
Note.
§ WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 328.
U Rome in the 19th Century, vol. iii. pp. 145, 150.
IF "A vanis Cretensibus adhuc mortui Jovis tumulus adoratur." — FIRMICUS,
lib. ii. p. 23.
JUSTIFICATION BY WORKS. 155
not worship the so-called sepulchre of Christ, they worship what is
entombed within it.* As there is reason to believe that the Pagan
festival of burning lamps was observed in commemoration of the
ancient fire-worship, so there is a ceremony at Rome in the Easter
week, which is an unmistakable act of fire-worship, when a cross of
fire is the grand object of worship. This ceremony is thus graphic
ally described by the authoress of Rome in the 19th Century:
" The effect of the blazing cross of fire suspended from the dome
above the confession or tomb of St. Peter's, was strikingly brilliant
at night. It is covered with innumerable lamps, which have the
effect of one blaze of fire The whole church was thronged with
a vast multitude of all classes and countries, from royalty to the
meanest beggar, all gazing upon this one object. In a few minutes
the Pope and all his Cardinals descended into St. Peter's, and room
being kept for them by the Swiss guards, the aged Pontiff ....
prostrated himself in silent adoration before the CROSS OF FIRE.
A long train of Cardinals knelt before him, whose splendid robes
and attendant train-bearers, formed a striking contrast to the humility
of their attitude." f What could be a more clear and unequivocal
act of fire-worship than this ? Now, view this in connection with the
fact stated in the following extract from the same work, and how
does the one cast light on the other: — "With Holy Thursday our
miseries began [that is, from crowding]. On this disastrous day we
went before nine to the Sistine chapel .... and beheld a procession
led by the inferior orders of clergy, followed up by the Cardinals in
superb dresses, bearing long wax tapers in their hands, and ending
with the Pope himself, who walked beneath a crimson canopy, with
his head uncovered, bearing the Host in a box ; and this being, as
you know, the real flesh and blood of Christ, was carried from the
Sistine chapel through the intermediate hall to the Paulina chapel,
where it was deposited in the sepulchre prepared to receive it
beneath the altar I never could learn why Christ was to be
buried before He was dead, for, as the crucifixion did not take place
till Good Friday, it seems odd to inter Him on Thursday. His body,
however, is laid in the sepulchre, in all the churches of Rome, where
this rite is practised, on Thursday forenoon, and it remains there till
Saturday at mid-day, when, for some reason best known to them
selves, He is supposed to rise from the grave amidst the firing of
cannon, and blowing of trumpets, and jingling of bells, which have
been carefully tied up ever since the dawn of Holy Thursday, lest
the devil should get into them." { The worship of the cross of fire
on Good Friday explains at once the anomaly otherwise so perplex
ing, that Christ should be buried on Thursday, and rise from the
dead on Saturday. If the festival of Holy Week be really, as its
rites declare, one of the old festivals of Saturn, the Babylonian fire-
* Rome in the 19th Century, vol. iii. p. 145.
f Ibid. pp. 148, 149. We shall yet see that the cross is the express symbol of
Tammuz, the sun-god and god of fire. See Sect. VI. of the next Chapter,
t Ibid. pp. 144, 145.
156 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
god, who, though an infernal god, was yet Phoroneus, the great
"Deliverer," it is altogether natural that the god of the Papal
idolatry, though called by Christ's name, should rise from the dead
on his own day — the Dies Saturni, or " Saturn's day." * On the day
before the Miserere is sung with such overwhelming pathos, that
few can listen to it unmoved, and many even swoon with the
emotions that are excited. What if this be at bottom only the old
song of Linus, f of whose very touching and melancholy character
Herodotus speaks so strikingly? Certain it is, that much of the
pathos of that Miserere depends on the part borne in singing it by
the sopranos ; and equally certain it is that Semiramis, the wife of
him who, historically, was the original of that god whose tragic death
was so pathetically celebrated in many countries, enjoys the fame,
such as it is, of having been the inventress of the practice from
which soprano singing took its rise.J
Now, the flagellations which form an important part of the
penances that take place at Rome on the evening of Good Friday,
formed an equally important part in the rites of that fire-god, from
which, as we have seen, the Papacy has borrowed so much. These
flagellations, then, of "Passion Week," taken in connection with the
other ceremonies of that period, bear their additional testimony to
the real character of that god whose death and resurrection Rome
then celebrates. Wonderful it is to consider that, in the very high
place of what is called Catholic Christendom, the essential rites at
this day are seen to be the very rites of the old Chaldean fire-
worshippers.
SECTION III. — THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
If baptismal regeneration, the initiating ordinance of Rome, and
justification by works, be both Chaldean, the principle embodied in
the " unbloody sacrifice " of the mass is not less so. We have evidence
that goes to show the Babylonian origin of the idea of that " unbloody
sacrifice " very distinctly. From Tacitus § we learn that no blood
* The above account referred to the ceremonies as witnessed by the authoress
in 1817 and 1818. It would seem that some change has taken place since then,
caused probably by the very attention called by her to the gross anomaly mentioned
above ; for Count Vlodaiskj^ formerly a Roman Catholic priest, who visited
Rome in 1845, has informed me that in that year the resurrection took place, not
at mid-day, but at nine o'clock on the evening of Saturday. This may have been
intended to make the inconsistency between Roman practice and Scriptural fact
appear somewhat less glaring. Still the fact remains, that the resurrection of
Christ, as celebrated at Rome, takes place, not on His own day — " The Lord's
day " — but — on the day of Saturn, the god of fire !
f A surname of one of the three Linuses was Narcissus (in Greek, Narkissos).
— (CLINTON'S Fasti Eellenici, Appendix, vol. i. p. 343.) Now " Naar " signifies
"child," and "Kissos,"as we have seen (p. 49), is Cueh, so that Nar-kissos is
" The child of Cush."
£ AMMIANUS MARCKLLINUS, lib. xiv. cap. 6, p. xxv.
§ Historia, lib. ii. cap. 3, vol. iii. p. 106.
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 157
was allowed to be offered on the altars of Paphian Venus. Victims
were used for the purposes of the Haruspex, that presages of the
issues of events might be drawn from the inspection of the entrails
of these victims ; but the altars of the Paphian goddess were required
to be kept pure from blood. Tacitus shows that the Haruspex of the
temple of the Paphian Venus was brought from Cilicia, for his know
ledge of her rites, that they might be duly performed according to the
supposed will of the goddess, the Cilicians having peculiar knowledge
of her rites. ISTow, Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, was built by Senna
cherib, the Assyrian king, in express imitation of Babylon.* Its
religion would naturally correspond; and when we find "unbloody
sacrifice " in Cyprus, whose priest came from Cilicia, that, in the
circumstances, is itself a strong presumption that the "unbloody
sacrifice " came to it through Cilicia from Babylon. This presump
tion is greatly strengthened when we find from Herodotus that the
peculiar and abominable institution of Babylon in prostituting virgins
in honour of Mylitta, was observed also in Cyprus in honour of
Venus, f But the positive testimony of Pausanias brings this pre
sumption to a certainty. " Near this," says that historian, speaking
of the temple of Vulcan at Athens, "is the temple of Celestial Venus,
who was first worshipped by the Assyrians, and after these by the
Paphians in Cyprus, and the Phenicians who inhabited the city of
Ascalon in Palestine. But the Cythereans venerated this goddess
in consequence of learning her sacred rites from the Phenicians. "|
The Assyrian Venus, then — that is, the great goddess of Babylon —
and the Cyprian Venus were one and the same, and consequently
the " bloodless " altars of the Paphian goddess show the character of
the worship peculiar to the Babylonian goddess, from whom she was
derived. In this respect the goddess-queen of Chaldea differed from
her son, who was worshipped in her arms. He was, as we have seen,
represented as delighting in blood. But she, as the mother of grace
and mercy, as the celestial " Dove," as " the hope of the whole
world,"§ was averse to blood, and was represented in a benign and
gentle character. Accordingly, in Babylon she bore the name of
Mylitta 1 1 — that is, "The Mediatrix. "1T Every one who reads the
Bible, and sees how expressly it declares that, as there is only " one
God," so there is only "one Mediator between God and man"
(1 Tim. ii. 5), must marvel how it could ever have entered the mind
of any one to bestow on Mary, as is done by the Church of Rome,
the character of the " Mediatrix." But the character ascribed to
* BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 718.
t HEROD., Historia, lib. i. cap. 199, p. 92.
£ PAUSANIAS, lib. i. Attica, cap. 14.
§ Nonni Dionysiaca, in BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 226.
|| HERODOT., lib. i. cap. 199.
IF Mylitta is the same as Melitta, the feminine of Melitz, "a mediator," which
in Chaldee becomes Melitt. Melitz is the word used in Job xxxiii. 23, 24 : "If
there be a messenger with him, an interpreter (Heb. Melitz, "a mediator"), one
among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness, then he is gracious unto
him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit ; I have found a ransom."
For further evidence on this point, see Appendix, Note J.
158 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
the Babylonian goddess as Mylitta sufficiently accounts for this. In
accordance with this character of Mediatrix, she was called Aph
rodite" — that is, "the wrath-subduer "* — who by her charms could
soothe the breast of angry Jove, and soften the most rugged spirits
of gods or mortal-men. In Athens she was called Amarusia f — that
is, " The Mother of gracious acceptance."! In Rome she was called
" Bona Dea," " the good goddess," the mysteries of this goddess being
celebrated by women with peculiar secrecy. In India the goddess
Lakshmi, " the Mother of the Universe," the consort of Vishnu, is
represented also as possessing the most gracious and genial disposi
tion ; and that disposition is indicated in the same way as in the
case of the Babylonian goddess. " In the festivals of Lakshmi,"
says Coleman, " no sanguinary sacrifices are offered"^ In China,
the great gods, on whom the final destinies of mankind depend, are
held up to the popular mind as objects of dread ; but the goddess
Kuanyin, "the goddess of mercy,"|| whom the Chinese of Canton
recognise as bearing an analogy to the Virgin of Rome, is described
as looking with an eye of compassion on the guilty, and interposing
to save miserable souls even from torments to which in the world of
spirits they have been doomed.1T Therefore she is regarded with
peculiar favour by the Chinese. This character of the goddess-mother
has evidently radiated in all directions from Chaldea. Now, thus we
see how it comes that Rome represents Christ, the " Lamb of God,"
meek and lowly in heart, who never brake the bruised reed, nor
quenched the smoking flax — who spake words of sweetest encourage
ment to every mourning penitent — who wept over Jerusalem — who
prayed for His murderers — as a stern and inexorable judge, before
whom the sinner " might grovel in the dust, and still never be sure
that his prayers would be heard,"** while Mary is set off in the most
winning and engaging light, as the hope of the guilty, as the grand
refuge of sinners ; how it is that the former is said to have " reserved
justice and judgment to Himself," but to have committed the exercise
of all mercy to His Mother ! f f The most standard devotional works
of Rome are pervaded by this very principle, exalting the compassion
and gentleness of the mother at the expense of the loving character of
the Son. Thus, St. Alphonsus Liguori tells his readers that the sinner
that ventures to come directly to Christ may come with dread and
apprehension of His wrath ; but let him only employ the mediation
of the Virgin with her Son, and she has only to "show" that Son
* From Chaldee " aph," " wrath," and " radah," " to subdue ; " " radlte " is the
feminine emphatic.
f PAUSANIAS, lib. i., Attica, cap. 31, p. 72.
£ From " Ama," "mother," and " Retza," " to accept graciously," which in the
participle active is " Rutza." Pausanias expresses his perplexity as to the meaning
of the name Amarusia as applied to Diana, saying, "Concerning which appellation
I never could find any one able to give a satisfactory account." The sacred tongue
plainly shows the meaning of it.
§ Hindoo Mythology, p. 61.
|| Sir J. F. DAVIS, vol. ii. p. 67. U Ibid. vol. ii. p. 61.
** Sermon of an Italian Priest, in Evangelical Christendom, May, 1853.
ft British Reformers, "Jewell," p. 209.
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 159
" tlie breasts that gave Him suck,"* and His wrath will immediately be
appeased. But where in the Word of God could such an idea have
been found 1 Not surely in the answer of the Lord Jesus to the
woman who exclaimed, "Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and
the paps that thou hast sucked ! " Jesus answered and said unto
her, " Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God and
keep it" (Luke xi. 27, 28). There cannot be a doubt that this
answer was given by the prescient Saviour, to check in the very bud
every idea akin to that expressed by Liguori. Yet this idea, which
is not to be found in Scripture, which the Scripture expressly
repudiates, was widely diffused in the realms of Paganism. Thus
we find an exactly parallel representation in the Hindoo mythology
in regard to the god Siva and his wife Kali, when that god appeared
as a little child. " Siva," says the Lainga Puran, " appeared as an
infant in a cemetery, surrounded by ghosts, and on beholding him,
Kali (his wife) took him up, and, caressing him, gave him her breast.
He sucked the nectareous fluid ; but becoming ANGRY, in order to
divert and PACIFY him, Kali clasping him to her bosom, danced with
her attendant goblins and demons amongst the dead, until he was
pleased and delighted; while Vishnu, Brahma, Indra, and all the
gods, bowing themselves, praised with laudatory strains the god of
gods, Kal and Parvati/'f Kali, in India, is the goddess of
destruction; but even into the myth that concerns this goddess of
destruction, the power of the goddess mother, in appeasing an
offended god, by means only suited to PACIFY a peevish child,
has found an introduction. If the Hindoo story exhibits its "god
of gods " in such a degrading light, how much more honouring is the
Papal story to the Son of the Blessed, when it represents Him as
needing to be pacified by His mother exposing to Him " the breasts
that He has sucked." All this is done only to exalt the Mother, as
more gracious and more compassionate than her glorious Son. Now,
this was the very case in Babylon : and to this character of the
goddess queen her favourite offerings exactly corresponded. There
fore, we find the women of Judah represented as simply "burning
incense, pouring out drink-offerings, and offering cakes to the queen
of heaven" (Jeremiah xliv. 19). The cakes were "the unbloody
sacrifice " she required. That " unbloody sacrifice " her votaries not
only offered, but when admitted to the higher mysteries, they
partook of, swearing anew fidelity to her. In the fourth century,
when the queen of heaven, under the name of Mary, was beginning
to be worshipped in the Christian Church, this "unbloody sacrifice"
also was brought in. Epiphanius states that the practice of offering
and eating it began among the women of Arabia ; \ and at that time
it was well known to have been adopted from the Pagans. The very
shape of the unbloody sacrifice of Rome may indicate whence it
came. It is a small thin, round wafer ; and on its roundness the
* Catholic Layman, July, 1856.
f LAINGA PUEA.N, apud KENNEDY'S Ancient and Hindoo Mythology, p. 338, Note.
I EPIPHANIUS, Adversus Hcereses, vol. i. p. 1054.
160 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
Church of Rome lays so much stress, that, to use the pithy language
of John Knox in regard to the wafer-god, "If, in making the
roundness the ring be broken, then must another of his fellow-cakes
receive that honour to be made a god, and the crazed or cracked
miserable cake, that once was in hope to be made a god, must be
given to a baby to play withal."* What could have induced the
Papacy to insist so much on the "roundness" of its "unbloody
sacrifice " ? Clearly not any reference to the Divine institution of
the Supper of our Lord ; for in all the accounts that are given of it,
no reference whatever is made to the form of the bread which our
Lord took, when He blessed and break it, and gave it to His disciples,
saying, " Take, eat ; this is My body : this do in remembrance of
Me." As little can it be taken from any regard to injunctions about
the form of the Jewish Paschal bread; for no injunctions on that
subject are given in the books of Moses. The importance, however,
which Home attaches to the roundness of the wafer, must have a
reason ; and that reason will be found, if we look at the altars of
Egypt. "The thin, round cake," says Wilkinson, "occurs on all
Fig. 37.
altars."! Almost every jot or tittle in the Egyptian worship had a
symbolical meaning. The round disk, so frequent in the sacred
emblems of Egypt, symbolised the sun. Now, when Osiris, the sun-
divinity, became incarnate, and was born, it was not merely that he
should give his life as a sacrifice for men,J but that he might also be
the life and nourishment of the souls of men. It is universally
admitted that Isis was the original of the Greek and Eoman Ceres.
But Ceres, be it observed, was worshipped not simply as the discoverer
of corn; she was worshipped as "the MOTHER of Corn."§ The child
she brought forth was He-Siri, "the Seed," or, as he was most fre
quently called in Assyria, " Bar," which signifies at once " the Son "
and "the Corn." (Fig. 37.)|| The uninitiated might reverence
Ceres for the gift of material corn to nourish their bodies, but the
* BEGG'S Handbook of Popery, p. 259.
f WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. v. p. 353.
£ See ante, p. 102, Note, in regard to the symbolical meaning of the goose.
§ "Genitrix, or Mater frugum." See PYPEK'S Gradus ad Parnassum, "Ceres " ;
also OVID, Metam., lib. vi. v. 117, 118.
!l The ear of corn in the above medal from BRYANT (vol. v. p. 384), is alongside
of Ceres ; but usually it is held in her hand. The god on the reverse is the same
as that ear. See page 73, in regard to " Beltis and the Shining Bar."
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 161
initiated adored her for a higher gift — for food to nourish their
souls — for giving them that bread of God that cometh down from
heaven — for the life of the world, of which, " if a man eat, he shall
never die." Does any one imagine that it is a mere New Testament
doctrine, that Christ is the " bread of life " 1 There never was, there
never could be, spiritual life in any soul, since the world began, at
least since the expulsion from Eden, that was not nourished and
supported by a continual feeding by faith on the Son of God, " in
whom it hath pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell"
(Col. i. 19), "that out of His fulness we might receive, and grace
for grace" (John i. 16). Paul tells us that the manna of which the
Israelites ate in the wilderness was to them a type and lively symbol
of "the bread of life;" (1 Cor. x. 3), "They did all eat the same
spiritual meat " — i.e., meat which was intended not only to support
their natural lives, but to point them to Him who was the life of
their souls. Now, Clement of Alexandria, to whom we are largely
indebted for all the discoveries that, in modern times, have been
made in Egypt, expressly assures us that, "in their hidden character,
the enigmas of the Egyptians were VERY SIMILAR TO THOSE OF THE
JEWS." * That the initiated Pagans actually believed that the
"Corn" which Ceres bestowed on the world was not the "Corn" of
this earth, but the Divine " Son," through whom alone spiritual and
eternal life could be enjoyed, we have clear and decisive proof.
The Druids were devoted worshippers of Ceres, and as such they
were celebrated in their mystic poems as "bearers of the ears of
corn." f Now, the following is the account which the Druids give
of their great divinity, under the form of " Corn." That divinity
was represented as having, in the first instance, incurred, for some
reason or other, the displeasure of Ceres, and as fleeing in terror
from her. In his terror, "he took the form of a bird, and mounted
into the air. That element afforded him no refuge ; for The Lady,
in the form of a sparrow-hawk, was gaining upon him — she was just
in the act of pouncing upon him. Shuddering with dread, he
perceived a heap of clean wheat upon a floor, dropped into the midst
of it, and assumed the form of a single grain. Ceridwen [i.e., the
British Ceres] took the form of a black high-crested hen, descended
into the wheat, scratched him out, distinguished, and swallowed
him. And, as the history relates, she was pregnant of him nine
months, and when delivered of him, she found him so lovely a babe,
that she had not resolution to put him to death." J Here it is evi
dent that the grain of corn, is expressly identified with "the lovely
babe /" from which it is still further evident that Ceres, who,
to the profane vulgar was known only as the Mother of "Bar,"
" the Corn," was known to the initiated as the Mother of " Bar,"
"the Son." And now, the reader will be prepared to understand the
full significance of the representation in the Celestial sphere of " the
* CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS, Stromata, v. 7, vol. iii. p. 56.
f DAVIES'S British Druids, p. 504.
J " Song of Taliesin," DAVIKS'S British Druids, p. 230.
M
162
DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
Fig. 38.
Virgin with the ear of wheat in her hand." That ear of wheat in
the Virgin's hand is just another symbol for the child in the arms
of the Virgin Mother.
Now, this Son, who was symbolised as "Corn," was the SUN-
divinity incarnate, according to the sacred oracle of the great
goddess of Egypt : "No mortal hath lifted my veil The fruit
which I have brought forth is the SUN."* What more natural,
then, if this incarnate divinity is symbolised as the " bread of God,"
than that he should be represented as a "round wafer," to identify
him with the Sun 1 Is this a mere fancy ? Let the reader peruse
the following extract from Hurd, in which he describes the
embellishments of the Romish altar, on which the sacrament or
consecrated wafer is deposited, and then he will be able to judge : —
"A plate of silver, in the form of a SUN, is fixed opposite to the
SACRAMENT on the altar ; which, with the
light of the tapers, makes a most brilliant
appearance."! What has that "brilliant"
" Sun" to do there, on the altar, over
against the " sacrament" or round wafer ?
In Egypt, the disk of the Sun was repre
sented in the temples, and the sovereign
and his wife and children were repre
sented as adoring it. Near the small
town of Babain, in Upper Egypt, there
still exists in a grotto, a representation of
a sacrifice to the sun, where two priests
are seen worshipping the sun's image, as
in the accompanying woodcut (Fig. 38)4
In the great temple of Babylon, the golden
image of the Sun was exhibited for the
worship of the Babylonians. § In the
temple of Cuzco, in Peru, the disk of the
sun was fixed up in flaming gold upon
the wall, || that all who entered might bow
down before it. The Paeonians of Thrace
were sun- worshippers ; and in their worship they adored an image
of the sun in the form of a disk at the top of a long pole.^T In the
worship of Baal, as practised by the idolatrous Israelites in the days of
their apostacy, the worship of the sun's image was equally observed ;
and it is striking to find that the image of the sun, which apostate
Israel worshipped, was erected above the altar. When the good
king Josiah set about the work of reformation, we read that his
servants in carrying out the work, proceeded thus (2 Chron.
xxxiv. 4) : " And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his
* BUNSEN'S Egypt, vol. i. pp. 386, 387.
t KURD'S Rites and Ceremonies, p. 196, col. i.
J From MAURICE'S Indian Antiquities, vol. iii. p. 809. 1793.
§ See ante, p. 62.
|| PRESCOTT'S Peru, vol. i. p. 64. IF BRYANT, vol. i. p. 259.
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. 163
presence, and the images (margin, SUN-IMAGES) that were on high
above them, he cut down." Benjamin of Tudela, the great Jewish
traveller, gives a striking account of sun-worship even in compara
tively modern times, as subsisting among the Cushites of the East,
from which we find that the image of the sun was, even in his day,
worshipped on the altar. " There is a temple," says ;he, " of the
posterity of Chus, addicted to the contemplation of the stars. They
worship the sun as a god, and the whole country, for half-a-mile
round their town, is filled with great altars dedicated to him. By
the dawn of morn they get up and run out of town, to wait the
rising sun, to whom, on every altar, there is a consecrated image, not
in the likeness of a man, but of the solar orb, framed by magic art.
These orbs, as soon as the sun rises, take fire, and resound with a
great noise, while everybody there, men and women, hold censers in
their hands, and all burn incense to the sun."* From all this, it is
manifest that the image of the sun above, or on the altar, was one of
the recognised symbols of those who worshipped Baal or the Sun.
And here, in a so-called Christian Church, a brilliant plate of silver,
"in the form of a SUN," is so placed on the altar, that every one
who adores at that altar must bow down in lowly reverence before
that image of the "Sun." Whence, I ask, could that have come,
but from the ancient sun-worship, or the worship of Baal1? And
when the wafer is so placed that the silver " SUN " is fronting the
"round" wafer, whose "roundness" is so important an element in
the Romish Mystery, what can be the meaning of it, but just to
show to those who have eyes to see, that the " Wafer " itself is only
another symbol of Baal, or the Sun. If the sun-divinity was
worshipped in Egypt as " the Seed," or in Babylon as the " Corn,"
precisely so is the wafer adored in Rome. "Bread-corn of the
elect, have mercy upon us," is one of the appointed prayers of the
Roman Litany, addressed to the wafer, in the celebration of the
mass.f And one at least of the imperative requirements as to
the way in which that wafer is to be partaken of, is the very same
as was enforced in the old worship of the Babylonian divinity.
Those who partake of it are required to partake absolutely fasting.
This is very stringently laid down. Bishop Hay, laying down the
law on the subject, says that it is indispensable, " that we be fasting
from midnight, so as to have taken nothing into our stomach from
twelve o'clock at night before we receive, neither food, nor drink,
nor medicine."J Considering that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted
the Holy Communion immediately after His disciples had partaken
of the paschal feast, such a strict requirement of fasting might seem
very unaccountable. But look at this provision in regard to the
"unbloody sacrifice" of the mass in the light of the Eleusinian
Mysteries, and it is accounted for at once ; for there the first question
put to those who sought initiation was, "Are you fasting? "§ and
* Quoted by Translator of SAVARY'S Letters, vol. ii. pp. 562, 563, Note.
f Protestant, p. 269, col. 2. £ Sincere Christian, vol. ii. sect. iii. p. 34.
§ POTTER, vol. i., Elcusiania, p. 356.
164 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
unless that question was answered in the affirmative, no initiation
could take place. There is no question that fasting is in certain
circumstances a Christian duty ; but while neither the letter nor the
spirit of the Divine institution requires any such stringent regulation
as the above, the regulations in regard to the Babylonian Mysteries
make it evident whence this requirement has really come.
Although the god whom Isis or Ceres brought forth, and who
was offered to her under the symbol of the wafer or thin round
cake, as "the bread of life," was in reality the fierce, scorching Sun,
or terrible Moloch, yet in that offering all his terror was veiled, and
everything repulsive was cast into the shade. In the appointed
symbol he is offered up to the benignant Mother, who tempers
judgment with mercy, and to whom all spiritual blessings are
ultimately referred ; and blessed by that mother, he is given back to
be feasted upon, as the staff of life, as the nourishment of her
worshippers' souls. Thus the Mother was held up as the favourite
divinity. And thus, also, and for an entirely similar reason, does
the Madonna of Rome entirely eclipse her son as the "Mother of
grace and mercy."
In regard to the Pagan character of the " unbloody sacrifice " of
the mass, we have seen not little already. But there is something
yet to be considered, in which the working of the mystery of iniquity
will still further appear. There are letters on the wafer that are
worth reading. These letters are I. H. S. What mean these
mystical letters? To a Christian these letters are represented as
signifying, " lesus Hominum Salvator," "Jesus the Saviour of men."
But let a Roman worshipper of Isis (for in the age of the emperors
there were innumerable worshippers of Isis in Rome) cast his eyes
upon them, and how will he read them? He will read them, of
course, according to his own well-known system of idolatry: "/sis,
Horus, Seb" that is, " The Mother, the Child, and the Father of the
gods," — in other words, " The Egyptian Trinity." Can the reader
imagine that this double sense is accidental ? Surely not. The very
same spirit that converted the festival of the Pagan Cannes into the
feast of the Christian Joannes, retaining at the same time all its
ancient Paganism, has skilfully planned the initials I. H. S. to pay
the semblance of a tribute to Christianity, while Paganism in reality
has all the substance of the homage bestowed upon it.
When the women of Arabia began to adopt this wafer and offer
the "unbloody sacrifice," all genuine Christians saw at once the real
character of their sacrifice. They were treated as heretics, and
branded with the name of Collyridians, from the Greek name for the
cake which they employed. But Rome saw that the heresy might
be turned to account \ and therefore, though condemned by the sound
portion of the Church, the practice of offering and eating this
" unbloody sacrifice " was patronised by the Papacy ; and now,
throughout the whole bounds of the Romish communion, it has
superseded the simple but most precious sacrament of the Supper
instituted by our Lord Himself.
EXTREME UNCTION. 165
Intimately connected with the sacrifice of the mass is the subject
of transuhstantiation ; but the consideration of it will come more
conveniently at a subsequent stage of this inquiry.
SECTION IV. EXTREME UNCTION.
The last office which Popery performs for living men is to give
them " extreme unction," to anoint them in the name of the Lord,
after they have been shriven and absolved, and thus to prepare them
for their last and unseen journey. The pretence for this " unction "
of dying men is professedly taken from a command of James in regard
to the visitation of the sick; but when the passage in question is
fairly quoted it will be seen that such a practice could never have
arisen from the apostolic direction — that it must have come from an
entirely different source. "Is any sick among you?" says James
(v. 14, 15), "let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord :
and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall RAISE
HIM UP." Now, it is evident that this prayer and anointing were
intended for the recovery of the sick. Apostolic men, for the laying
of the foundations of the Christian Church, were, by their great King
and Head, invested with miraculous powers — powers which were
intended only for a time, and were destined, as the apostles them
selves declared, while exercising them, to "vanish away" (1 Cor.
xiii. 8). These powers were every day exercised by the " elders of
the Church," when James wrote his epistle, and that for healing the
bodies of men, even as our Lord Himself did. The "extreme
unction" of Rome, as the very expression itself declares, is not
intended for any such purpose. It is not intended for healing the
sick, or " raising them up ; " for it is not on any account to be admin
istered till all hope of recovery is gone, and death is visibly at the
very doors. As the object of this anointing is the very opposite of the
Scriptural anointing, it must have come from a quite different
quarter. That quarter is the very same from which the Papacy has
imported so much heathenism, as we have seen already, into its own
foul bosom. From the Chaldean Mysteries, extreme unction has
obviously come. Among the many names of the Babylonian god
was the name " Becl-samen," "Lord of Heaven,"* which is the name
of the sun, but also of course of the sun-god. But Becl-samen also
properly signifies "Lord of Oil," and was evidently intended as a
synonym of the Divine name, "The Messiah." In Herodotus we
find a statement made which this name alone can fully explain.
There an individual is represented as having dreamt that the sun had
anointed her father, f That the sun should anoint any one is
"Lord of Heaven" is properly " Beel-shemin," but in Sanchuniathon it is
given exactly as the name of the "Lord of Oil" (pp. 12, 13).— EUSEB., Praep.
Evang., lib. i. cap. 10, p. 39.
f HERODOTUS, lib. iii. cap. 124.
166 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
certainly not an idea that could naturally have presented itself ; but
when the name " Beel-samen," " Lord of Heaven," is seen also to
signify " Lord of Oil," it is easy to see how that idea would be
suggested. This also accounts for the fact that the body of the Baby
lonian Belus was represented as having been preserved in his
sepulchre in Babylon till the time of Xerxes, floating in oil.* And
for the same reason, no doubt, it was that at Rome the " statue of
Saturn" was "made hollow, and. filled with oil." If
The olive branch, which we have already seen to have been one of
the symbols of the Chaldean god, had evidently the same hieroglyphical
meaning; for, as the olive was the oil-tree, so an olive branch
emblematically signified a "son of oil," or an "anointed one" (Zech.
iv. 12-14). Hence the reason that the Greeks, in coming before their
gods in the attitude of suppliants deprecating their wrath and entreat
ing their favour, came to the temple on many occasions bearing an
olive branch in their hands. As the olive branch was one of the
recognised symbols of their Messiah, whose great mission it was to
make peace between God and man, so, in bearing this branch of the
anointed one, they thereby testified that in the name of that anointed
one they came seeking peace. Now, the worshippers of this Beel-
samen, "Lord of Heaven," and "Lord of Oil," were anointed in the
name of their god. It was not enough that they were anointed with
" spittle " ; they were also anointed with "magical ointments " of the
most powerful kind ; and these ointments were the means of intro
ducing into their bodily systems such drugs as tended to excite their
imaginations and add to the power of the magical drinks they received,
that they might be prepared for the visions and revelations that were
to be made to them in the Mysteries. These " unctions" says Salverte,
" were exceedingly frequent in the ancient ceremonies Before
consulting the oracle of Trophonius, they were rubbed with oil over
the whole body. This preparation certainly concurred to produce the
desired vision. Before being admitted to the Mysteries of the Indian
sages, Apollonius and his companion were rubbed with an oil so
powerful that they felt as if bathed with fire "\ This was professedly
an unction in the name of the " Lord of Heaven," to fit and prepare
them for being admitted in vision into his awful presence. The very
same reason that suggested such an unction before initiation on this
present scene of things, would naturally plead more powerfully still
for a special " unction " when the individual was called, not in vision,
but in reality, to face the " Mystery of mysteries," his personal intro
duction into the world unseen and eternal. Thus the Pagan system
naturally developed itself into " extreme unction. "§ Its votaries
were anointed for their last journey, that by the double influence of
superstition and powerful stimulants introduced into the frame by
the only way in which it might then be possible, their minds might
* CLERICUS, Phiiosoph. Orient., lib. i., De Chaldccis, sect. i. cap. 4.
t SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, p. 679.
t SALVERT£, Des Sciences Occultes, p. 282.
§ Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, p. 6, January, 1853.
PURGATORY AND PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD. 167
be fortified at once against the sense of guilt and the assaults of
the king of terrors. From this source, and this alone, there can be
no doubt came the " extreme unction " of the Papacy, which was
entirely unknown among Christians till corruption was far advanced
in the Church.*
SECTION V. PURGATORT AND PRAYERS FOR THB DEAD.
" Extreme unction," however, to a burdened soul, was but a miser
able resource, after all, in the prospect of death. No wonder, there
fore, that something else was found to be needed by those who had
received all that priestly assumption could pretend to confer, to
comfort them in the prospect of eternity. In every system, therefore,
except that of the Bible, the doctrine of a purgatory after death, and
prayers for the dead, has always been found to occupy a place. Go
wherever we may, in ancient or modern times, we shall find that
Paganism leaves hope after death for sinners, who, at the time of
their departure, were consciously unfit for the abodes of the blest.
For this purpose a middle state has been feigned, in which, by means
of purgatorial pains, guilt unremoved in time may in a future world
be purged away, and the soul be made meet for final beatitude.
In Greece the doctrine of a purgatory was inculcated by the very
chief of the philosophers. Thus Plato, speaking of the future judg
ment of the dead, holds out the hope of final deliverance for all, but
maintains that, of " those who are judged," " some " must first
" proceed to a subterranean place of judgment, where they shall sustain
the punishment they have deserved ; " while others, in consequence of
a favourable judgment, being elevated at once into a certain celestial
place, " shall pass their time in a manner becoming the life they have
lived in a human shape, "f In Pagan Rome, purgatory was equally
held up before the minds of men ; but there, there seems to have been
no hope held out to any of exemption from its pains. Therefore,
Virgil, describing its different tortures, thus speaks : —
"Nor can the grovelling mind,
In the dark dungeon of the limbs confined,
Assert the native skies, or own its heavenly kind.
Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains ;
But long-contracted filth, even in the soul, remains
The relics of inveterate vice they wear,
And spots of sin obscene in every face, appear.
For this are various penances enjoined ;
And some are hung to bleach upon the wind,
Some plunged in water, others purged in fires,
Till all the dregs are drained, and all the rust expires.
All have their Manes, and those Manes bear.
* Bishop GIBSON says that it was not known in the Church for a thousand
years. — Preservative against Popery, vol. viii. p. 255.
f PLATO, Pfiaedrus, p. 249, A, B.
168 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
The few so cleansed to these abodes repair,
And breathe in ample fields the soft Elysian air.
Then are they happy, when by length of time
The scurf is worn away of each committed crime ;
No speck is left of their habitual stains,
But the pure ether of the soul remains."*
In Egypt, substantially the same doctrine of purgatory was
inculcated. But when once this doctrine of purgatory was admitted
into the popular mind, then the door was opened for all manner of
priestly extortions. Prayers for the dead ever go hand in hand with
purgatory ; but no prayers can be completely efficacious without the
interposition of the priests ; and no priestly functions can be rendered
unless there be special pay for them. Therefore, in every land we
find the Pagan priesthood " devouring widows' houses," and making
merchandise of the tender feelings of sorrowing relatives, sensitively
alive to the immortal happiness of the beloved dead. From all
quarters there is one universal testimony as to the burdensome char
acter and the expense of these posthumous devotions. One of the
oppressions under which the poor Romanists in Ireland groan, is the
periodical special devotions, for which they are required to pay, when
death has carried away one of the inmates of their dwelling. Not
only are there funeral services and funeral dues for the repose of the
departed, at the time of burial, but the priest pays repeated visits to
the family for the same purpose, which entail heavy expense, begin
ning with what is called "the month's mind," that is, a service in
behalf of the deceased when a month after death has elapsed. Some
thing entirely similar to this had evidently been the case in ancient
Greece ; for, says Miiller in his History of the Dorians, " the
Argives sacrificed on the thirtieth day [after death] to Mercury as
the conductor of the dead."f In India many and burdensome are
the services of the Sradd'ha, or funeral obsequies for the repose of the
dead ; and for securing the due efficacy of these, it is inculcated that
" donations of cattle, land, gold, silver, and other things," should be
made by the man himself at the approach of death ; or, " if he be too
weak, by another in his name."! Wherever we look, the case is
nearly the same. In Tartary, "The Gurjumi, or prayers for the
dead," says the Asiatic Journal, "are very expensive."§ In Greece,
says Suidas,|| "the greatest and most expensive sacrifice was the
mysterious sacrifice called the Telete," a sacrifice which, according to
Plato, " was offered for the living and the dead, and was supposed to
free them from all the evils to which the wicked are liable when
they have left this world. "IT In Egypt the exactions of the priests
for funeral dues and masses for the dead were far from being trifling.
* DRYDKN'S Virgil, Book vi. 11. 995-1012, vol. ii. p. 536 ; in Original, 11. 730-747.
f Dorians, vol. ii. p. 405. MULLER states that the Argives sacrificed also
immediately after death.
$. Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. pp. 239, 240.
§ Asiatic Journal, vol. xvii. p. 143.
11 SUIDAS, vol. ii. p. 879, B.
IT PLATO, vol. ii. pp. 364, 365.
PURGATORY AND PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD. 169
"The priests," says Wilkinson, "induced the people to expend large
sums on the celebration of funeral rites ; and many who had barely
sufficient to obtain the necessaries of life were anxious to save some
thing for the expenses of their death. For, besides the embalming
process, which sometimes cost a talent of silver, or about £250
English money, the tomb itself was purchased at an immense
expense ; and numerous demands were made upon the estate of the
deceased, for the celebration of prayer and other services for the
soul."* " The ceremonies," we find him elsewhere saying, " consisted
of a sacrifice similar to those offered in the temples, vowed for the
deceased to one or more gods (as Osiris, Anubis, and others con
nected with Amenti) ; incense and libation were also presented ; and
a prayer was sometimes read, the relations and friends being present
as mourners. They even joined their prayers to those of the priest.
The priest who officiated at the burial service was selected from the
grade of Pontiffs, who wore the leopard skin ; but various other rites
were performed by one of the minor priests to the mummies, previous
to their being lowered into the pit of the tomb after that ceremony.
Indeed, they continued to be administered at intervals, as long as the
family paid for their performance"^ Such was the operation of the
doctrine of purgatory and prayers for the dead among avowed and
acknowledged Pagans ; and in what essential respect does it differ
from the operation of the same doctrine in Papal Rome *? There are
the same extortions in the one as there were in the other. The
doctrine of purgatory is purely Pagan, and cannot for a moment
stand in the light of Scripture. For those who die in Christ no
purgatory is, or can be, needed ; for " the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanseth from ALL sin." If this be true, where can there
be the need for any other cleansing 1 On the other hand, for those
who die without personal union to Christ, and consequently unwashed,
unjustified, unsaved, there can be no other cleansing; for, while " he
that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son hath not life,"
and never can have it. Search the Scripture through, and it will be
found that, in regard to all who "die in their sins" the decree of
God is irreversible : " Let him that is unjust be unjust still, and let
him that is filthy be filthy still." Thus the whole doctrine of
purgatory is a system of pure bare-faced Pagan imposture, dishonour
ing to God, deluding men who live in sin with the hope of atoning
for it after death, and cheating them at once out of their property
and their salvation. In the Pagan purgatory, fire, water, wind, were
represented (as may be seen from the lines of Virgil) } as combining
to purge away the stain of sin. In the purgatory of the Papacy, ever
since the days of Pope Gregory, FIRE itself has been the grand means
of purgation. § Thus, while the purgatorial fires of the future world
are just the carrying out of the principle embodied in the blazing and
* WILKINSON, vol. ii. p. 94.
t Ibid. vol. v. pp. 383, 384.
+ See ante. p. 167.
§ Cotechismns Rornanus, pars i., art. 5, sect. 5, p. 50.
170 DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE.
purifying Baal-fires of the eve of St. John, they form another link in
identifying the system of Rome with the system of Tammuz or
Zoroaster, the great God of the ancient fire-worshippers.
Now, if baptismal regeneration, justification by works, penance as
a satisfaction to God's justice, the unbloody sacrifice of the mass,
extreme unction, purgatory, and prayers for the dead, were all
derived from Babylon, how justly may the general system of Rome
be styled Babylonian ? And if the account already given be true,
what thanks ought we to render to God, that, from a system such as
this, we were set free at the blessed Reformation ! How great a
boon is it to be delivered from trusting in such refuges of lies as
could no more take away sin than the blood of bulls or of goats !
How blessed to feel that the blood of the Lamb, applied by the
Spirit of God to the most defiled conscience, completely purges it
from dead works and from sin ! How fervent ought our gratitude
to be, when we know that, in all our trials and distresses, we may
come boldly unto the throne of grace, in the name of no creature,
but of God's eternal and well-beloved Son ; and that that Son is
exhibited as a most tender and compassionate high priest, who is
TOUCHED with a feeling of our infirmities, having been in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Surely the thought of all
this, while inspiring tender compassion for the deluded slaves of
Papal tyranny, ought to make us ourselves stand fast in the liberty
wherewith Christ has made us free, and quit ourselves like men,
that neither we nor our children may ever again be entangled in the
yoke of bondage.
CHAPTER V.
KITES AND CEREMONIES.
SECTION I. — IDOL PROCESSIONS.
THOSE who have read the account of the last idol procession in the
capital of Scotland, in John Knox's History of the Reformation,
cannot easily have forgot the tragi-comedy with which it ended.
The light of the Gospel had widely spread, the Popish idols had lost
their fascination, and popular antipathy was everywhere rising
against them. "The images," says the historian, "were stolen
away in all parts of the country ; and in Edinburgh was that great
idol called Sanct Geyle [the patron saint of the capital], first drowned
in the North Loch, after burnt, which raised no small trouble in the
town."* The bishops demanded of the Town Council either "to get
them again the old Sanct Geyle, or else, upon their (own) expenses,
to make a new image, "f The Town Council could not do the one,
and the other they absolutely refused to do ; for they were now
convinced of the sin of idolatry. The bishops and priests, however,
were still mad upon their idols ; and, as the anniversary of the feast
of St. Giles was approaching, when the saint used to be carried in
procession through the town, they determined to do their best, that
the accustomed procession should take place with as much pomp as
possible. For this purpose, " a marmouset idole " was borrowed
from the Grey friars, which the people, in derision, called " Young
Sanct Geyle," and which was made to do service instead of the old
one. On the appointed day, says Knox, " there assembled priests,
friars, canons .... with taborns and trumpets, banners, and bag
pipes ; and who was there to lead the ring but the Queen Regent
herself, with all her shavelings, for honour of that feast. West
about goes it, and comes down the High Street, and down to the
Canno Cross. "J As long as the Queen was present, all went to the
heart's content of the priests and their partisans. But no sooner
had majesty retired to dine, than some in the crowd, who had
viewed the whole concern with an evil eye, " drew nigh to the idol,
as willing to help to bear him, and getting the fertour (or barrow)
on their shoulders, began to shudder, thinking that thereby the idol
should have fallen. But that was provided and prevented by the
iron nails [with which it was fastened to the fertour] ; and so began
one to cry, 'Down with the idol, down with it;' and so without
* KNOX, vol. i. p. 256. t Ibid. vol. i. p. 258.
£ Ibid. vol. i. p. 259.
171
172 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
delay it was pulled down. Some brag made the priests' patrons at
the first ; but when they saw the feebleness of their god, for one took
him by the heels, and dadding* his head to the calsay,f left Dagon
without head or hands, and said, ' Fye upon thee, thou young Sanct
Geyle, thy father would have tarried J four such [blows] ; ' this
considered, we say, the priests and friars fled faster than they did at
Pinkey Cleuch. There might have been seen so sudden a fray as
seldom has been seen amongst that sort of men within this realm ;
for down goes the crosses, off goes the surplice, round caps corner
with the crowns. The Grey friars gaped, the Black friars blew,
the priests panted and fled, and happy was he that first gat the
house ; for such ane sudden fray came never amongst the generation
of Antichrist within this realm before."§
Such an idol procession among a people who had begun to study
and relish the Word of God, elicited nothing but indignation and
scorn. But in Popish lands, among a people studiously kept in the
dark, such processions are among the favourite means which the
Romish Church employs to bind its votaries to itself. The long
processions with images borne on men's shoulders, with the gorgeous
dresses of the priests, and the various habits of different orders of
monks and nuns, with the aids of flying banners and the thrilling
strains of instrumental music, if not too closely scanned, are well
fitted " plausibly to amuse " the worldly mind, to gratify the love
for the picturesque, and when the emotions thereby called forth
are dignified with the names of piety and religion, to minister to
the purposes of spiritual despotism. Accordingly, Popery has ever
largely availed itself of such pageants. On joyous occasions, it has
sought to consecrate the hilarity and excitement created by such
processions to the service of its idols ; and in seasons of sorrow,
it has made use of the same means to draw forth the deeper wail
of distress from the multitudes that throng the procession, as if the
mere loudness of the cry would avert the displeasure of a justly
offended God. Gregory, commonly called the Great, seems to have
been the first who, on a large scale, introduced those religious
processions into the Roman Church. In 590, when Rome was
suffering under the heavy hand of God from the pestilence, he
exhorted the people to unite publicly in supplication to God,
appointing that they should meet at daybreak in SEVEN DIFFERENT
COMPANIES, according to their respective ages, SEXES, and stations,
and walk in seven different processions, reciting litanies or supplica
tions, till they all met at one place. || They did so, and proceeded
singing and uttering the words, "Lord, have mercy upon us,"
carrying along with them, as Baronius relates, by Gregory's express
command, an image of the Virgin. 11 The very idea of such pro
cessions was an affront to the majesty of heaven ; it implied that
* Knocking, f Pavement. £ Abode or withstood. § KNOX, vol. i. p. 260.
j| This is the origin of what is called Litania Septemplex, or "The Sevenfold
Litany."
U BARONIUS, Annales, 590, torn. viii. pp. 6, 7.
IDOL PROCESSIONS. 173
God who is a Spirit "saw with eyes of flesh," and might be moved
by the imposing picturesqueness of such a spectacle, just as sensuous
mortals might. As an experiment it had but slender success. In
the space of one hour, while thus engaged, eighty persons fell to
the ground, and breathed their last.* Yet this is now held up
to Britons as " the more excellent way " for deprecating the wrath
of God in a season of national distress. " Had this calamity," says
Dr. Wiseman, referring to the Indian disasters, " had this calamity
fallen upon our forefathers in Catholic days, one would have seen
the streets of this city [London] trodden in every direction by
penitential processions, crying out, like David, when pestilence
had struck the people." If this allusion to David has any pertinence
or meaning, it must imply that David, in the time of pestilence,
headed some such "penitential procession." But Dr. Wiseman
knows, or ought to know, that David did nothing of the sort, that
his penitence was expressed in no such way as by processions, and
far less by idol processions, as "in the Catholic days of our fore
fathers," to which we are invited to turn back. This reference
to David, then, is a mere blind, intended to mislead those who are
not given to Bible reading, as if such " penitential processions " had
something of Scripture warrant to rest upon. The Times, comment
ing on this recommendation of the Papal dignitary, has hit the nail
on the head. "The historic idea," says that journal, "is simple
enough, and as old as old can be. We have it in Homer — the
procession of Hecuba and the ladies of Troy to the shrine of
Minerva, in the Acropolis of that city." It was a time of terror
and dismay in Troy, when Diomede, with resistless might, was
driving everything before him, and the overthrow of the proud city
seemed at hand. To avert the apparently inevitable doom, the
Trojan Queen was divinely directed
" To lead the assembled train
Of Troy's chief matrons to Minerva's fane."
And she did so : —
" Herself .... the long procession leads ;
The train majestically slow proceeds.
Soon as to Ilion's topmost tower they come,
And awful reach the high Palladian dome,
Antenor's consort, fair Theano, waits
As Pallas' priestess, and unbars the gates.
With hands uplifted and imploring eyes,
They fill the dome with supplicating cries." f
Here is a precedent for " penitential processions " in connection
with idolatry entirely to the point, such as will be sought for in
vain in the history of David, or any of the Old Testament saints.
Religious processions, and especially processions with images, whether
of a jubilant or sorrowful description, are purely Pagan. In the
* BARONIUS, Annales, 590, torn. viii. p. 7.
t Iliad, Book vi. POPE'S Translation, vol. ii.
pp. 455-468.
174 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
Word of God we find two instances in which there were processions
practised with Divine sanction ; but when the object of these pro
cessions is compared with the avowed object and character of
Romish processions, it will be seen that there is no analogy between
them and the processions of Rome. The two cases to which I refer
are the seven days' encompassing of Jericho, and the procession
at the bringing up of the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim to the
city of David. The processions, in the first case, though attended
with the symbols of Divine worship, were not intended as acts of
religious worship, but were a miraculous mode of conducting war,
when a signal interposition of Divine power was to be vouchsafed.
In the other, there was simply the removing of the ark, the symbol
of Jehovah's presence, from the place where, for a long period,
it had been allowed to lie in obscurity, to the place which the Lord
Himself had chosen for its abode ; and on such an occasion it was
entirely fitting and proper that the transference should be made
with all religious solemnity. But these were simply occasional
things, and have nothing at all in common with Romish processions,
which form a regular part of the Papal ceremonial. But, though
Scripture speaks nothing of religious processions in the approved
worship of God, it refers once and again to Pagan processions,
and these, too, accompanied with images; and it vividly exposes
the folly of those who can expect any good from gods that cannot
move from one place to another, unless they are carried. Speaking
of the gods of Babylon, thus saith the prophet Isaiah (chap. xlvi. 6),
" They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance,
and hire a goldsmith ; and he maketh it a god : they fall down,
yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him,
and set him in his place, and he standeth ; from his place he shall
not remove." In the sculptures of Nineveh these processions of
idols, borne on men's shoulders, are forcibly represented,* and form
at once a striking illustration of the prophetic language, and of the
real origin of the Popish processions. In Egypt, the same practice
was observed. In "the procession of shrines," says Wilkinson,
"it was usual to carry the statue of the principal deity, in whose
honour the procession took place, together with that of the king,
and the figures of his ancestors, borne in the same manner, on men's
shoulders." f But not only are the processions in general identified
with the Babylonian system. We have evidence that these pro
cessions trace their origin to that very disastrous event in the history
of Nimrod, which has already occupied so much of our attention.
Wilkinson says "that Diodorus speaks of an Ethiopian festival
of Jupiter, when his statue was carried in procession, probably to
commemorate the supposed refuge of the gods in that country,
which," says he, "may have been a memorial of the flight of the
Egyptians with their gods." J The passage of Diodorus, to which
* LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 451.
f WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 273.
I Ibid. vol. v. p. 274.
IDOL PROCESSIONS. 175
Wilkinson refers, is not very decisive as to the object for which
the statues of Jupiter and Juno (for Diodorus mentions the shrine
of Juno as well as of Jupiter) were annually carried into the land
of Ethiopia, and then, after a certain period of sojourn there, were
"brought back to Egypt again.* But, on comparing it with other
passages of antiquity, its object very clearly appears. Eustathius
says, that at the festival in question, " according to some, the
Ethiopians used to fetch the images of Zeus, and other gods from
the great temple of Zeus at Thebes. With these images they went
about at a certain period in Libya, and celebrated a splendid festival
for twelve gods."f As the festival was called an Ethiopian festival;
and as it was Ethiopians that both carried away the idols and
brought them back again, this indicates that the idols must have
been Ethiopian idols; and as we have seen that Egypt was under
the power of Nimrod, and consequently of the Cushites or Ethiopians,
when idolatry was for a time put down in Egypt, £ what would this
carrying of the idols into Ethiopia, the land of the Cushites, that
was solemnly commemorated every year, be, but just the natural
result of the temporary suppression of the idol- worship inaugurated
by Nimrod. In Mexico, we have an account of an exact counter
part of this Ethiopian festival. There, at a certain period, the
images of the gods were carried out of the country in a mourning-
procession, as if taking their leave of it, and then, after a time, they
were brought back to it again with every demonstration of joy.§
In Greece, we find a festival of an entirely similar kind, which,
while it connects itself with the Ethiopian festival of Egypt on
the one hand, brings that festival, on the other, into the closest
relation to the penitential procession of Pope Gregory. Thus we
find Potter referring first to a " Delphian festival in memory of
a JOURNEY of Apollo; "|| and then under the head of the festival
called Apollonia, we thus read : " To Apollo, at ^Egialea on this
account : Apollo having obtained a victory over Python, went to
yEgialea, accompanied with his sister Diana ; but, being frightened
from thence, fled into Crete. After this, the ^Egialeans were infected
with an epidemical distemper ; and, being advised by the prophets
to appease the two offended deities, sent SEVEN boys and as many
virgins to entreat them to return. [Here is the typical germ of
'The Sevenfold Litany' of Pope Gregory.] Apollo and Diana
accepted their piety, .... and it became a custom to appoint chosen
boys and virgins, to make a solemn procession, in show, as if they
designed to bring back Apollo and Diana, which continued till
Pausanias's time."U The contest between Python and Apollo, in
Greece, is just the counterpart of that between Typho and Osiris
* DIODORUS, lib. i. sect. 97, p. 62.
f EDSTATHIUS on HOMER'S Iliad, lib. i. 11. 423-425, quoted in SMITH'S (larger)
Classical Dictionary, sub voce "Ethiopia."
J See ante, pp. 63-65.
§ HUMBOLDT, vol. i. pp. 381, 382.
II POTTER, vol. i. p. 360.
If Ibid. p. 334.
176 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
in Egypt ; in other words, between Shein and Nimrod. Thus we
see the real meaning and origin of the Ethiopian festival, when the
Ethiopians carried away the gods from the Egyptian temples. That
festival evidently goes back to the time when Nimrod being cut
off, idolatry durst not show itself except among the devoted adherents
of the "Mighty hunter" (who were found in his own family —
the family of Gush), when, with great weepings and lamentations,
the idolaters fled with their gods on their shoulders, to hide them
selves where they might.* In commemoration of the suppression
of idolatry, and the unhappy consequences that were supposed to
flow from that suppression, the first part of the festival, as we get light
upon it both from Mexico and Greece, had consisted of a procession of
mourners ; and then the mourning was turned into joy, in memory
of the happy return of these banished gods to their former exaltation.
Truly a worthy origin for Pope Gregory's " Sevenfold Litany " and
the Popish processions.
SECTION II. — RELIC WORSHIP.
Nothing is more characteristic of Rome than the worship of relics.
Wherever a chapel is opened, or a temple consecrated, it cannot be
thoroughly complete without some relic or other of he-saint or she-
saint to give sanctity to it. The relics of the saints and rotten bones
of the martyrs form a great part of the wealth of the Church. The
grossest impostures have been practised in regard to such relics ; and
the most drivelling tales have been told of their wonder-working
powers, and that too by Fathers of high name in the records of
Christendom. Even Augustine, with all his philosophical acuteness
and zeal against some forms of false doctrine, was deeply infected
with the grovelling spirit that led to relic worship. Let any one
read the stuff with which he concludes his famous " City of God,"
and he will in no wise wonder that Rome has made a saint of him,
and set him up for the worship of her devotees. Take only a speci
men or two of the stories with which he bolsters up the prevalent
delusions of his day : " When the Bishop Projectius brought the
relics of St. Stephen to the town called Aquae Tibiltinse, the people
came in great crowds to honour them. Amongst these was a blind
woman, who entreated the people to lead her to the bishop who had
the HOLY RELICS. They did so, and the bishop gave her some flowers
which he had in his hand. She took them, and put them to her
eyes, and immediately her sight was restored, so that she passed
speedily on before all the others, no longer requiring to be guided. "f
In Augustine's day, the formal " worship " of the relics was not yet
established ; but the martyrs to whom they were supposed to have
belonged were already invoked with prayers and supplications, and
that with the high approval of the Bishop of Hippo, as the following
story will abundantly show : Here, in Hippo, says he, there was a
* In regard to "the flight of the gods," see also Chapter VII.
t De Civitate, lib. xxii. cap. 8, vol. ix. p. 875. B and C.
RELIC WORSHIP. 177
poor and holy old man, by name Florentius, who obtained a living
by tailoring. This man once lost his coat, and not being able to
purchase another to replace it, he came to the shrine of the Twenty
Martyrs, in this city, and prayed aloud to them, beseeching that they
would enable him to get another garment. A crowd of silly boys
who overheard him, followed him at his departure, scoffing at him,
and asking him whether he had begged fifty pence from the martyrs
to buy a coat. The poor man went silently on towards home, and as
he passed near the sea, he saw a large fish which had been cast up on
the sand, and was still panting. The other persons who were present
allowed him to take up this fish, which he brought to one Catosus, a
cook, and a good Christian, who bought it from him for three
hundred pence. With this he meant to purchase wool, which his
wife might spin, and make into a garment for him. When the cook
cut up the fish, he found within its belly a ring of gold, which his
conscience persuaded him to give to the poor man from whom he
bought the fish. He did so, saying, at the same time, " Behold how
the Twenty Martyrs have clothed you!'H Thus did the great
Augustine inculcate the worship of dead men, and the honouring of
their wonder-working relics. The " silly children " who " scoffed " at
the tailor's prayer seem to have had more sense than either the
11 holy old tailor " or the bishop. Now, if men professing Christ
ianity were thus, in the fifth century, paving the way for the
worship of all manner of rags and rotten bones ; in the realms of
Heathendom the same worship had flourished for ages before
Christian saints or martyrs had appeared in the world. In Greece,
the superstitious regard to relics, and especially to the bones of the
deified heroes, was a conspicuous part of the popular idolatry. The
work of Pausanias, the learned Grecian antiquary, is full of reference
to this superstition. Thus, of the shoulder-blade of Pelops, we read
that, after passing through divers adventures, being appointed by the
oracle of Delphi, as a divine means of delivering the Eleans from a
pestilence under which they suffered, it " was committed," as a
sacred relic, "to the custody" of the man who had fished it out of
the sea, and of his posterity after him.f The bones of the Trojan
Hector were preserved as a precious deposit at Thebes. " They "
[the Thebans], says Pausanias, "say that his [Hector's] bones were
brought hither from Troy, in consequence of the following oracle :
1 Thebans, who inhabit the city of Cadmus, if you wish to reside in
your country, blest with the possession of blameless wealth, bring
the bones of Hector, the son of Priam, into your dominions from
Asia, and reverence the hero agreeably to the mandate of Jupiter.' " J
* De Civitate, lib. xxii., cap. 8, vol. ix. pp. 874, 875. This story of the fish and
the ring is an old Egyptian story. — (WILKINSON, vol. i. pp. 186, 187.) Catosus,
"the good Christian," was evidently a tool of the priests, who could afford to give
him a ring to put into the fish's belly. The miracle would draw worshippers to
the shrine of the Twenty Martyrs, and thus bring grist to their mill, and amply
repay them.
f PAUSANIAS, lib. v., Prior Eliaca, cap. 13, p. 408.
£ Ibid. lib. ix., Bceotica, cap. 18, p. 746.
N
178 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
Many other similar instances from the same author might be
adduced. The bones thus carefully kept and reverenced were all
believed to be miracle-working bones. From the earliest periods, the
system of Buddhism has been propped up by relics, that have
wrought miracles at least as well vouched as those wrought by the
relics of St. Stephen, or by the " Twenty Martyrs." In the
" Mahawanso," one of the great standards of the Buddhist faith,
reference is thus made to the enshrining of the relics of Buddha :
" The vanquisher of foes having perfected the works to be executed
within the relic receptacle, convening an assembly of the priesthood,
thus addressed them : ' The works that were to be executed by me,
in the relic receptacle, are completed. To-morrow, I shall enshrine
the relics. Lords, bear in mind the relics.'"* Who has not heard
of the Holy Coat of Treves, and its exhibition to the people ? From
the following, the reader will see that there was an exactly similar
exhibition of the Holy Coat of Buddha : " Thereupon (the nephew
of the Naga Rajah) by his supernatural gift, springing up into the
air to the height of seven palmyra trees, and stretching out his arm
brought to the spot where he was poised, the Dupathupo (or shrine)
in which the DRESS laid aside by Buddho, as Prince Siddhatto, on his
entering the priesthood, was enshrined .... and EXHIBITED IT TO
THE PEOPLE."! This " Holy Coat" of Buddha was no doubt as
genuine, and as well entitled to worship, as the " Holy Coat " of
Treves. The resemblance does not stop here. It is only a year or
two ago since the Pope presented to his beloved son, Francis Joseph
of Austria, a "TOOTH" of "St. Peter," as a mark of his special
favour and regard. J The teeth of Buddha are in equal request
among his worshippers. " King of Devas," said a Buddhist mis
sionary, who was sent to one of the principal courts of Ceylon to
demand a relic or two from the Rajah, "King of Devas, thou
possessest the right canine tooth relic (of Buddha), as well as the
right collar bone of the divine teacher. Lord of Devas, demur not
in matters involving the salvation of the land of Lanka. "§ Then the
miraculous efficacy of these relics is shown in the following : " The
Saviour of the world (Buddha) even after he had attained to
Parinibanan or final emancipation (i.e., after his death), by means of
a corporeal relic, performed infinite acts to the utmost perfection, for
the spiritual comfort and mundane prosperity of mankind. While
the Vanquisher ( Jeyus) yet lived, what must he not have done ? " ||
Now, in the Asiatic Researches, a statement is made in regard to
these relics of Buddha, which marvellously reveals to us the real
origin of this Buddhist relic worship. The statement is this : " The
bones or limbs of Buddha were scattered all over the world, like
those of Osiris and Jupiter Zagreus. To collect them was the first
* POCOCKE'S India in Greece, p. 307.
f Ibid. pp. 307, 308.
£ Original Interpretation of the Apocalypse, p. 72.
§ POCOCKE, p. 321.
|| Ibid. p. 321, and Note.
RELIC WORSHIP. 179
duty of his descendants and followers, and then to entomb them.
Out of filial piety, the remembrance of this mournful search was
yearly kept up by a fictitious one, with all possible marks of grief
and sorrow till a priest announced that the sacred relics were at last
found. This is practised to this day by several Tartarian tribes of
the religion of Buddha ; and the expression of the bones of the Son
of the Spirit of heaven is peculiar to the Chinese and some tribes in
Tartary."* Here, then, it is evident that the worship of relics is
just a part of those ceremonies instituted to commemorate the tragic
death of Osiris or Nimrod, who, as the reader may remember, was
divided into fourteen pieces, which were sent into so many different
regions infected by his apostacy and false worship, to operate in
terrorem upon all who might seek to follow his example. When the
apostates regained their power, the very first thing they did was
to seek for these dismembered relics of the great ringleader
in idolatry, and to entomb them with every mark of devotion.
Thus does Plutarch describe the search : " Being acquainted
with this event [viz., the dismemberment of Osiris], Isis set
out once more in search of the scattered members of her
husband's body, using a boat made of the papyrus rush in order
more easily to pass through the lower and fenny parts of the country.
.... And one reason assigned for the different sepulchres of Osiris
shown in Egypt is, that wherever any one of his scattered limbs was
discovered she buried it on the spot ; though others suppose that it
was owing to an artifice of the queen, who presented each of those
cities with an image of her husband, in order that, if Typho should
overcome Horus in the approaching contest, he might be unable to
find the real sepulchre. Isis succeeded in recovering all the different
members, with the exception of one, which had been devoured by the
Lepidotus, the Phagrus, and the Oxyrynchus, for which reason these
fish are held in abhorrence by the Egyptians. To make amends,
she consecrated the Phallus, and instituted a solemn festival to its
memory." f Not only does this show the real origin of relic worship ;
it shows also that the multiplication of relics can pretend to the most
venerable antiquity. If, therefore, Rome can boast that she has six
teen or twenty holy coats, seven or eight arms of St. Matthew, two
or three heads of St. Peter, this is nothing more than Egypt could do
in regard to the relics of Osiris. Egypt was covered with sepulchres
of its martyred god ; and many a leg and a^m and skull, all vouched
to be genuine, were exhibited in the rival burying-places for the
adoration of the Egyptian faithful. Nay, not [only were these
Egyptian relics sacred themselves, they CONSECRATED THE VERY
GROUND in which they were entombed. This fact is brought out
by Wilkinson, from a statement of Plutarch : | "The Temple of this
deity at Abydos," says he, "was also particularly honoured, and so
holy was the place considered by the Egyptians, that persons living
* Asiatic Researches, vol. x. pp. 128, 129.
f PLUTARCH, vol. ii. p. 358, A.
£ Ibid. sect. 20, vol. ii. p. 359, A.
180 KITES AND CEREMONIES.
at some distance from it sought, and perhaps with difficulty obtained,
permission to possess a sepulchre within its Necropolis, in order that,
after death, they might repose in GROUND HALLOWED BY THE TOMB of
this great and mysterious deity. "* If the places where the relics of
Osiris were buried were accounted peculiarly holy, it is easy to see
how naturally this would give rise to the pilgrimages so frequent
among the heathen. The reader does not need to be told what merit
Rome attaches to such pilgrimages to the tombs of saints, and how,
in the Middle Ages, one of the most favourite ways of washing away
sin was to undertake a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Jago di Com-
postella in Spain, or to the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.! Now, in
the Scripture there is not the slightest trace of any such thing as a
pilgrimage to the tomb of saint, martyr, prophet, or apostle. The
very way in which the Lord saw fit to dispose of the body of Moses
in burying it Himself in the plains of Moab, so that no man should
ever know where his sepulchre was, was evidently designed to rebuke
every such feeling as that from which such pilgrimages arise. And
considering whence Israel had come, the Egyptian ideas with which
they were infected, as shown in the matter of the golden calf, and the
high reverence they must have entertained for Moses, the wisdom of
God in so disposing of his body must be apparent. In the land where
Israel had so long sojourned, there were great and pompous pilgrimages
at certain seasons of the year, and these often attended with gross
excesses. Herodotus tells us, that in his time the multitude who
went annually on pilgrimage to Bubastis amounted to 700,000 indi
viduals, and that then more wine was drunk than at any other time
in the year.J Wilkinson thus refers to a similar pilgrimage to
Philae: "Besides the celebration of the great mysteries which took
place at Philae, a grand ceremony was performed at a particular
time, when the priests, in solemn procession, visited his tomb, and
crowned it with flowers. § Plutarch even pretends that all access
to the island was forbidden at every other period, and that no bird
would fly over it, or fish swim near this CONSECRATED GROUND." ||
This seems not to have been a procession merely of the priests in the
immediate neighbourhood of the tomb, but a truly national pilgrimage ;
for, says Diodorus, " the sepulchre of Osiris at Philae is revered by
all the priests throughout Egypt. "II We have not the same minute
information about the relic worship in Assyria or Babylon ; but we
have enough to show that, as it was the Babylonian god that was
worshipped in Egypt under the name of Osiris, so in his own country
there was the same superstitious reverence paid to his relics. We
have seen already, that when the Babylonian Zoroaster died, he was
said voluntarily to have given his life as a sacrifice, and to have
"charged his countrymen to preserve his remains" assuring them
* WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 346.
t Evangelical Christendom, Ann. 1855, vol. ix. p. 201.
J HERODOTUS, ffistoria, lib. ii. cap. 60, pp. 126, 127.
§ PLUTARCH, vol. ii. p. 359, B.
II WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. iv. p. 346.
IF DIODORUS, lib. i. p. 13.
THE CLOTHING AND CROWNING OF IMAGES. 181
that on the observance or neglect of this dying command, the fate of
their empire would hinge.* And, accordingly, we learn from Ovid,
that the " Busta Nini," or " Tomb of Ninus," long ages thereafter,
was one of the monuments of Baby Ion. f Now, in comparing the
death and fabled resurrection of the false Messiah with the death
and resurrection of the true, when he actually appeared, it will be
found that there is a very remarkable contrast. When the false
Messiah died, limb was severed from limb, and his bones were scat
tered over the country. When the death of the true Messiah took
place, Providence so arranged it that the body should be kept entire,
and that the prophetic word should be exactly fulfilled — " a bone of
Him shall not be broken." When, again, the false Messiah was
pretended to have had a resurrection, that resurrection was in a new
body, while the old body, with all its members, was left behind,
thereby showing that the resurrection was nothing but a pretence
and a sham. When, however, the true Messiah was "declared to
be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead,"
the tomb, though jealously watched by the armed unbelieving soldiery
of Rome, was found to be absolutely empty, and no dead body of the
Lord was ever afterwards found, or even pretended to have been
found. The resurrection of Christ, therefore, stands on a very
different footing from the resurrection of Osiris. Of the body of
Christ, of course, in the nature of the case, there could be no relics.
Rome, however, to carry out the Babylonian system, has supplied the
deficiency by means of the relics of the saints ; and now the relics of
St. Peter and St. Paul, of St. Thomas A'Beckett and St. Lawrence
O'Toole, occupy the very same place in the worship of the Papacy as
the relics of Osiris in Egypt, or of Zoroaster in Babylon.
SECTION III. — THE CLOTHING AND CROWNING OF IMAGES.
In the Church of Rome, the clothing and crowning of images form
no insignificant part of the ceremonial. The sacred images are not
represented, like ordinary statues, with the garments formed of the
same material as themselves, but they have garments put on them
from time to time, like ordinary mortals of living flesh and blood.
Great expense is often lavished on their drapery; and those who
present to them splendid robes are believed thereby to gain their
signal favour, and to lay up a large stock of merit for themselves.
Thus, in September, 1852, we find the Duke and Duchess of Mont-
pensier celebrated in the Tablet, not only for their charity in " giving
3000 reals in alms to the poor," but especially, and above all, for
their piety in "presenting the Virgin with a magnificent dress of
tissue of gold, with white lace and a silver crown." Somewhat about
* SUIDAS, in Zoroastres, vol. i. pp. 1133, 1134. See further on this subject in
Chap. VII. Sect. I., in connection with what is said about Phaethon.
f Metamorphoses, lib. iv. 1. 88, vol. ii. p. 278.
182 KITES AND CEREMONIES.
the same time the piety of the dissolute Queen of Spain was testified
by a similar benefaction, when she deposited at the feet of the Queen
of Heaven the homage of the dress and jewels she wore on a previous
occasion of solemn thanksgiving, as well as the dress in which she was
attired when she was stabbed by the assassin Merino. " The mantle,"
says the Spanish journal JEspana, " exhibited the marks of the wound,
and its ermine lining was stained with the precious blood of Her
Majesty. In the basket (that bore the dresses) were likewise the
jewels which adorned Her Majesty's head and breast. Among them
was a diamond stomacher, so exquisitely wrought, and so dazzling,
that it appeared to be wrought of a single stone."* This is all suffi
ciently childish, and presents human nature in a most humiliating
aspect ; but it is just copied from the old Pagan worship. The same
clothing and adorning of the gods went on in Egypt, and there were
sacred persons who alone could be permitted to interfere with so
high a function. Thus, in the Rosetta Stone we find these sacred
functionaries distinctly referred to : "The chief priests and prophets,
and those who have access to the adytum to clothe the gods, ....
assembled in the temple at Memphis, established the following
decree."! The "clothing of the gods" occupied an equally important
place in the sacred ceremonial of ancient Greece. Thus, we find
Pausanias referring to a present made to Minerva : "In after times,
Laodice, the daughter of Agapenor, sent a veil to Tegea, to Minerva
Alea." The epigram [inscription] on this offering indicates, at the
same time, the origin of Laodice : —
" Laodice, from Cyprus, the divine,
To her paternal wide-extended land,
This veil — an offering to Minerva — sent." £
Thus, also, when Hecuba, the Trojan queen, in the instance already
referred to, was directed to lead the penitential procession through
the streets of Troy to Minerva's temple, she was commanded not to
go empty-handed, but to carry along with her, as her most acceptable
offering —
" The largest mantle your full wardrobes hold,
Most prized for art, and laboured o'er with gold."
The royal lady punctually obeyed : —
" The Phrygian queen to her rich wardrobe went,
Where treasured odours breathed a costly scent ;
There lay the vestures of no vulgar art ;
Sidonian maids embroidered every part,
Whom from soft Sydon youthful Paris bore,
With Helen touching on the Tyrian shore.
Here, as the Queen revolved with careful eyes
The various textures and the various dyes,
She chose a veil that shone superior far,
And glowed refulgent as the morning star."§
* BEGG'S Handbook, pp. 272, 273.
t Line vi. apud WILKINSON, vol. i. p. 265, Note.
+ PAUSANIAS, lib. viii., Arcadica, cap. 5, p. 607.
§ HOMER'S Iliad, Book vi., POPE'S Translation, pp. 466-468.
THE CLOTHING AND CROWNING OF IMAGES. 183
There is surely a wonderful resemblance here between the piety of
the Queen of Troy and that of the Queen of Spain. Now, in ancient
Paganism there was a mystery couched under the clothing of the
gods. If gods and goddesses were so much pleased by being clothed,
it was because there had once been a time in their history when
they stood greatly in need of clothing. Yes, it can be distinctly
established, as has been already hinted, that ultimately the great god
and great goddess of Heathenism, while the facts of their own
history were interwoven with their idolatrous system, were wor
shipped also as incarnations of our great progenitors, whose disastrous
fall stripped them of their primeval glory, and made it needful that
the hand Divine should cover their nakedness with clothing specially
prepared for them. I cannot enter here into an elaborate proof of
this point ; but let the statement of Herodotus be pondered in regard
to the annual ceremony, observed in Egypt, of slaying a ram, and
clothing the FATHER OF THE GODS with its skin.* Compare this
statement with the Divine record in Genesis about the clothing of
the "Father of Mankind" in a coat of sheepskin; and after all that
we have seen of the deification of dead men, can there be a doubt
what it was that was thus annually commemorated] Nimrod him
self, when he was cut in pieces, was necessarily stripped. That
exposure was identified with the nakedness of Noah, and ultimately
with that of Adam. His sufferings were represented as voluntarily
undergone for the good of mankind. His nakedness, therefore, and
the nakedness of the " Father of the gods," of whom he was an
incarnation, was held to be a voluntary humiliation too. When,
therefore, his suffering was over, and his humiliation past, the
clothing in which he was invested was regarded as a meritorious
clothing, available not only for himself, but for all who were initiated
in his mysteries. In the sacred rites of the Babylonian god, both
the exposure and the clothing that were represented as having taken
place, in his own history, were repeated on all his worshippers, in
accordance with the statement of Firmicus, that the initiated under
went what their god had undergone.! First, after being duly
prepared by magic rites and ceremonies, they were ushered, in a
state of absolute nudity, into the innermost recesses of the temple.
This appears from the following statement of Proclus : *' In the most
holy of the mysteries, they say that the mystics at first meet with
the many-shaped genera [i.e., with evil demons], which are hurled
forth before the gods : but on entering the interior parts of the
temple, unmoved and guarded by the mystic rites, they genuinely
receive in their bosom divine illumination, and, DIVESTED OF THEIR
GARMENTS, participate, as they would say, of a divine nature." J
When the initiated, thus "illuminated" and made partakers of a
"divine nature," after being "divested of their garments," were
clothed anew, the garments with which they were invested were
* HERODOTUS, Historia, lib. ii. cap. 42, p. 119, A and B.
t FIRMICUS, I)e Errore, p. 18.
J TAYLOR'S Jamblichui, Note, p. 148. See Appendix, Note M.
184 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
looked upon as "sacred garments," and possessing distinguished
virtues. " The coat of skin " with which the Father of mankind was
divinely invested after he was made so painfully sensible of his
nakedness, was, as all intelligent theologians admit, a typical emblem
of the glorious righteousness of Christ — "the garment of salvation,"
which is "unto all and upon all them that believe." The garments
put upon the initiated after their disrobing of their former clothes,
were evidently intended as a counterfeit of the same. " The garments
of those initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries," says Potter, " were
accounted sacred, and of no less efficacy to avert evils than charms
and incantations. They were never cast off till completely worn
out."^ And of course, if possible, in these "sacred garments" they
were buried ; for Herodotus, speaking of Egypt, whence these
mysteries were derived, tells us that "religion" prescribed the
garments of the dead.f The efficacy of "sacred garments" as a
means of salvation and delivering from evil in the unseen and eternal
world, occupies a foremost place in many religions. Thus the
Parsees, the fundamental elements of whose system came from the
Chaldean Zoroaster, believe that "the sadra or sacred vest" tends
essentially to " preserve the departed soul from the calamities accru
ing from Ahriman," or the Devil; and they represent those who
neglect the use of this " sacred vest " as suffering in their souls, and
"uttering the most dreadful and appalling cries," on account of the
torments inflicted on them "by all kinds of reptiles and noxious
animals, who assail them with their teeth and stings, and give them
not a moment's respite."! What could have ever led mankind to
attribute such virtue to a "sacred vest" ? If it be admitted that it
is just a perversion of the "sacred garment" put on our first parents,
all is clear. This, too, accounts for the superstitious feeling in the
Papacy, otherwise so unaccountable, that led so many in the dark
ages to fortify themselves against the fears of the judgment to come,
by seeking to be buried in a monk's dress. "To be buried in a
friar's cast-off habit, accompanied by letters enrolling the deceased in
a monastic order, was accounted a sure deliverance from eternal
condemnation ! In 'Piers the Ploughman's Creed,' a friar is
described as wheedling a poor man out of his money by assuring
him that, if he will only contribute to his monastery,
' St. Francis himself shall fold thee in his cope,
And present thee to the Trinity, and pray for thy sins.' "§
In virtue of the same superstitious belief, King John of England
was buried in a monk's cowl ; || and many a royal and noble person
age besides, "before life and immortality " were anew "brought to
light" at the Reformation, could think of no better way to cover
their naked and polluted souls in prospect of death, than by wrapping
* POTTER'S Greek Antiquities, vol. i. p. 356.
f HERODOTUS, lib. ii. cap. 81, p. 134, B.
£ WILSON'S Parsee Religion, pp. 164, 441, and 442.
§ British Reformers, "Bilney," p. 258, Note. || Ibid.
THE CLOTHING AND CROWNING OF IMAGES.
185
Fig. 39.
themselves in the garment of some monk or friar as unholy as
themselves. Now, all these refuges of lies, in Popery as well as
Paganism, taken in connection with the clothing of the saints of the
one system, and of the gods of the other, when traced to their source,
show that since sin entered the world, man has ever felt the need of
a better righteousness than his own to cover him, and that the time
was when all the tribes of the earth knew that the only righteousness
that could avail for such a purpose was " the righteousness of God,"
and that of " God manifest in the flesh."
Intimately connected with the "clothing of the images of the
saints " is also the " crowning " of them. For the last two centuries,
in the Popish communion, the festivals for crowning the "sacred
images " have been more and more celebrated. In Florence, a few
years ago, the image of the Madonna with the
child in her arms was "crowned" with unusual
pomp and solemnity.* Now, this too arose out
of the facts commemorated in the history of
Bacchus or Osiris. As Nimrod was the first
king after the Flood, so Bacchus was celebrated
as the first who wore a crown, f When, how
ever, he fell into the hands of his enemies, as he
was stripped of all his glory and power, he was
stripped also of his crown. The " falling of the
crown from the head of Osiris " was specially
commemorated in Egypt. That crown at dif
ferent times was represented in different ways,
but in the most famous myth of Osiris it was
represented as a "Melilot garland."^: Melilot
is a species of trefoil ; and trefoil in the Pagan
system was one of the emblems of the Trinity.
Among the Tractarians at this day, trefoil is
used in the same symbolical sense as it has
long been in the Papacy, from which Puseyism has borrowed it.
Thus, in a blasphemous Popish representation of what is called God
the Father (of the fourteenth century), we find him represented
as wearing a crown with three points, each of which is surmounted
with a leaf of white clover (Fig. 39).§ But long before Tract-
arianism or Romanism was known, trefoil was a sacred symbol.
The clover leaf was evidently a symbol of high import among the
ancient Persians ; for thus we find Herodotus referring to it, in
describing the rites of the Persian Magi — " If any (Persian) intends
to offer to a god, he leads the animal to a consecrated spot. Then,
dividing the victim into parts, he boils the flesh, and lays it upon
the most tender herbs, especially TREFOIL. This done, a magus —
* Bulwark, 1852-53, pp. 154-157.
f PLINY, Hist. Nat., lib. xvi. p. 377. Under the name of Saturn, also, the
same thing was attributed to Nimrod. See ante, p. 35, Note,
t PLUTARCH, De Iside, vol. ii. p. 356, E.
§ From DIDRON'S Iconography, vol. i. p. 296.
186 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
without a magus no sacrifice can be performed — sings a sacred
hymn."* In Greece, the clover, or trefoil, in some form or other,
had also occupied an important place ; for the rod of Mercury, the
conductor of souls, to which such potency was ascribed, was called
" Kabdos Tripetelos," or " the three-leaved roo?."f Among the British
Druids the white clover leaf was held in high esteem as an emblem
of their Triune God,| and was borrowed from the same Babylonian
source as the rest of their religion. The Melilot, or trefoil garland,
then, with which the head of Osiris was bound, was the crown of
the Trinity — the crown set on his head as the representative of the
Eternal — "The crown of all the earth," in accordance with the
voice divine at his birth, " The Lord of all the earth is born." Now,
as that "Melilot garland," that crown of universal dominion, fell
" from his head " before his death, so, when he rose to new life, the
crown must be again set upon his head, and his universal dominion
solemnly avouched. Hence, therefore, came the solemn crowning of
the statues of the great god, and also the laying of the " chaplet " on
his altar, as a trophy of his recovered "dominion." But if the great
god was crowned, it was needful also that the great goddess should
receive a similar honour. Therefore it was fabled that when Bacchus
carried his wife Ariadne to heaven, in token of the high dignity
bestowed upon her, he set a crown upon her head ; § and the remem
brance of this crowning of the wife of the Babylonian god is
perpetuated to this hour by the well-known figure in the sphere
called Ariadncea corona,\\ or "Ariadne's crown." This is, beyond
question, the real source of the Popish rite of crowning the image of
the Virgin.
From the fact that the Melilot garland occupied so conspicuous a
place in the myth of Osiris, and that the " chaplet " was laid on his
altar, and his tomb was " crowned " 11" with flowers, arose the custom,
so prevalent in heathenism, of adorning the altars of the gods with
" chaplets " of all sorts, and with a gay profusion of flowers.** Side
by side with this reason for decorating the altars with flowers, there
was also another. When in
" That fair field
Of Enna, Proserpine gathering flowers,
Herself, a fairer flower, by gloomy Dis,
Was gathered ; "
and all the flowers she had stored up in her lap were lost, the loss
thereby sustained by the world not only drew forth her own tears,
but was lamented in the Mysteries as a loss of no ordinary kind, a
loss which not only stripped her of her own spiritual glory, but
* Historia, lib. i. cap. 132, pp. 62, 63.
t HOMER, Hymn to Mercury, 11. 526, 527.
$ DAVIES'S Druids, p. 448.
§ OVID, Fasti, lib. iii. 1. 513, vol. iii. p. 184.
|| MANILIUS, lib. v. v. 21, p. 164.
IT WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 345.
** Ibid. vol. v. p. 368.
THE ROSARY. 187
blasted the fertility and beauty of the earth itself.* That loss,
however, the wife of Nimrod, under the name of Astarte, or Venus,
was believed to have more than repaired. Therefore, while the
sacred " chaplet " of the discrowned god was placed in triumph
anew on his head and on his altars, the recovered flowers which
Proserpine had lost were also laid on these altars along with it, in
token of gratitude to that mother of grace and goodness, for the
beauty and the temporal blessings that the earth owed to her inter
position and love.f In Pagan Rome especially this was the case.
The altars were profusely adorned with flowers. From that source
directly the Papacy has borrowed the custom of adorning the altar
with flowers ; and from the Papacy, Puseyism, in Protestant
England, is labouring to introduce the custom among ourselves.
But, viewing it in connection with its source, surely men with the
slightest spark of Christian feeling may well blush to think of such
a thing. It is not only opposed to the genius of the Gospel
dispensation, which requires that they who worship God, who is
a Spirit, "worship Him in spirit and in truth ;"| but it is a direct
symbolising with those who rejoiced in the re-establishment of
Paganism in opposition to the worship of the one living and true
God.
SECTION IV. THE ROSARY AND THE WORSHIP OF THE
SACRED HEART.
Every one knows how thoroughly Romanist is the use of the
rosary ; and how the devotees of Rome mechanically tell their
prayers upon their beads. The rosary, however, is no invention of
the Papacy. It is of the highest antiquity, and almost universally
found among Pagan nations. The rosary was used as a sacred
instrument among the ancient Mexicaris.§ It is commonly employed
among the Brahmins of Hindustan ; and in the Hindoo sacred books
reference is made to it again and again. Thus, in an account of the
death of Sati, the wife of Shiva, we find the rosary introduced :
"On hearing of this event, Shiva fainted from grief; then, having
recovered, he hastened to the banks of the river of heaven, where he
* OVID, Metamorphoses, lib. v. fab. 6, 11. 391-395, and fab. 8, 11. 468-473. Ovid
speaks of the tears which Proserpine shed when, on her robe being torn from top
to bottom, all the flowers which she had been gathering up in it fell to the
ground, as showing only the simplicity of a girlish mind. But this is evidently
only for the uninitiated. The lamentations of Ceres, which were intimately
connected with the fall of these flowers, and the curse upon the ground that
immediately followed, indicated something entirely different. But on that I
cannot enter here.
t Lucretius, addressing Venus, says, "Tibi suaveis dsedala tellus suminittit
flores/' — Lib. i. v. 6, 7, p. 2.
£ It is evident that this expression does not mean merely that they should
worship Him in sincerity, but in simplicity, as opposed to the Jewish symbolical
worship.
§ HUMBOLDT, Vol. ii. p. 20.
188 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
beheld lying the body of his beloved Sati, arrayed in white garments,
holding a rosary in her hand, and glowing with splendour, bright
as burnished gold."* In Thibet it has been used from time
immemorial, and among all the millions in the East that adhere to
the Buddhist faith. The following, from Sir John F. Davis, will
show how it is employed in China : " From the Tartar religion of the
Lamas, the rosary of 108 beads has become a part of the ceremonial
dress attached to the nine grades of official rank. It consists
of a necklace of stones and coral, nearly as large as a pigeon's
egg, descending to the waist, and distinguished by various beads,
according to the quality of the wearer. There is a small rosary of
eighteen beads, of inferior size, with which the bonzes count their
prayers and ejaculations exactly as in the fiomish ritual. The laity
in China sometimes wear this at the wrist, perfumed with musk,
and give it the name of Heang-choo, or fragrant beads, "f In
Asiatic Greece the rosary was commonly used, as may be seen from
the image of the Ephesian Diana.J In Pagan Rome the same
appears to have been the case. The necklaces which the Roman
ladies wore were not merely ornamental bands about the neck, but
hung down the breast,§ just as the modern rosaries do ; and the
name by which they were called indicates the use to which they
were applied. " Monile" the ordinary word for a necklace, can
have no other meaning than that of a "Remembrancer." Now,
whatever might be the pretence, in the first instance, for the
introduction of such " Rosaries " or " Remembrancers," the very
idea of such a thing is thoroughly Pagan. || It supposes that a
certain number of prayers must be regularly gone over; it over
looks the grand demand which God makes for the heart, and leads
those who use them to believe that form and routine are everything,
and that " they must be heard for their much speaking."
In the Church of Rome a new kind of devotion has of late been
largely introduced, in which the beads play an important part, and
which shows what new and additional strides in the direction of the
old Babylonian Paganism the Papacy every day is steadily making.
I refer to the " Rosary of the Sacred Heart." It is not very long
since the worship of the " Sacred Heart " was first introduced ; and
now, everywhere it is the favourite worship. It was so in ancient
Babylon, as is evident from the Babylonian system as it appeared in
Egypt. There also a "Sacred Heart" was venerated. The
" Heart " was one of the sacred symbols of Osiris when he was born
again, and appeared as Harpocrates, or the infant divinity ,1T borne
in the arms of his mother Isis. Therefore, the fruit of the Egyptian
Persea was peculiarly sacred to him, from its resemblance to the
* Vaivashi Pur an, KENNEDY, p. 332.
t China, vol. i. p. 391. J See Woodcut, Fig. 8, p. 29.
§ " Dat longa monilia collo." — OVID, Metam., lib. x. 1. 264, vol. ii. p. 498.
|| "Rosary" itself seems to be from the Chaldee "Ro," "thought," and
"Shareh," "director."
U The name Harpocrates, as shown by Bunsen, signifies " Horus, the child"
THE WORSHIP OF THE SACRED HEART. 189
HUMAN HEART."* Hence this infant divinity was frequently
represented with a heart, or the heart-shaped fruit of the Persea, in
one of his hands. f (Fig. 40.) The accompanying woodcut is from
Pompeii; but the following extract from John Bell's criticism on
the antiques in the Picture Gallery of Florence, will show that the
boyish divinity had been represented elsewhere also in ancient times
in the same manner. Speaking of a statue of Cupid, he says it is
" a fair, full, fleshy, round boy, in fine and sportive action, tossing
back a heart." $ Thus the boy-god came to be regarded as the "god
of the heart," in other words, as Cupid, or the god of love. To
identify this infant divinity, with his father F.
" the mighty hunter," he was equipped with
" bow and arrows ; " and in the hands of
the poets, for the amusement of the profane
vulgar, this sportive boy-god was celebrated
as taking aim with his gold-tipped shafts at
the hearts of mankind. His real character,
however, as the above statement shows, and
as we have seen reason already to conclude,
was far higher and of a very different kind.
He was the woman's seed. Venus and her
son Cupid, then, were none other than the
Madonna and the child.§ Looking at the subject in this light, the
real force and meaning of the language will appear, which Virgil
puts into the mouth of Venus, when addressing the youthful
Cupid : —
" My son, my strength, whose mighty power alone
Controls the thunderer on his awful throne,
To thee thy much afflicted mother flies,
And on thy succour and thy faith relies."||
From what we have seen already as to the power and glory of the
Goddess Mother being entirely built on the divine character
attributed to her Son, the reader must see how exactly this is
brought out, when the Son is called " THE STRENGTH " of his Mother.
As the boy-god, whose symbol was the heart, was recognised as the
god of childhood, this very satisfactorily accounts for one of the
peculiar customs of the Romans. Kennett tells us, in his Anti
quities, that the Roman youths, in their tender years, used to wear
a golden ornament suspended from their necks, called bulla, which
* PLUTARCH, De hide, vol. ii. p. 378, C. t Pompeii, vol. ii. p. 177.
£ JOHN BELL'S Italy, p. 269. Edinburgh, 1825.
§ The following lines of Ovid will show that he distinctly identified Venus and
Cupid with the Babylonian " Mother and Child : "
" Terribilem quondam fugiens Typhona Dione
Tune cum pro ccelo Jupiter anna tulit,
Venit ad Kuphraten, comitata Cupidine parvo,
Inque Palsestinfe margine sedit aquae."
Fasti, lib. ii. 461-464, vol. iii. p. 113.
|| JEneid, Book i. 937-940. DKYDEN'S Translation, vol. ii. p. 335 ; in Original,
11. 668-670.
190
RITES AND CEREMONIES.
Fig. 41.
was hollow, and heart-shaped.* Barker, in his work on Cilicia,
while admitting that the Roman bulla was heart-shaped,^ further
states, that " it was usual at the birth of a child to name it after
some divine personage, who was supposed to receive it under his
care ; " but that the " name was not retained beyond infancy, when
the bulla was given up."| Who so likely to be the god under
whose guardianship the Roman children were put, as the god under
one or other of his many names whose express symbol they wore, and
who, while he was recognised as the great and mighty war-god, was
also exhibited himself in his favourite form as a little child 1
The veneration of the " sacred heart" seems also to have extended
to India, for there Vishnu, the Media
torial god, in one of his forms, with the
mark of the wound in his foot,§ in
consequence of which he died, and for
which such lamentation is annually
made, is represented as wearing a heart
suspended on his breast (Fig. 41).||
Is it asked, How came it that the
" Heart " became the recognised symbol
of the Child of the great Mother ? The
answer is, " The Heart " in Chaldee is
" BEL " ; and as, at first, after the check
given to idolatry, almost all the most
important elements of the Chaldean
system were introduced under a veil,
so under that veil they continued to
be shrouded from the gaze of the un
initiated, after the first reason — the
reason of fear — had long ceased to
operate. Now, the worship of the
" Sacred Heart " was just, under a
symbol, the worship of the " Sacred
Bel," that mighty one of Babylon,
who had died a martyr for idolatry ;
for Harpocrates, or Horus, the infant
god, was regarded as Bel, born again. U That this was in very deed
the case, the following extract from Taylor, in one of his notes to
his translation of the Orphic Hymns, will show. "While
Bacchus," says he, was "beholding himself" with admiration "in a
mirror, he was miserably torn to pieces by the Titans, who, not con
tent with this cruelty, first boiled his members in water, and after
wards roasted them in the fire ; but while they were tasting his
* Pp. 300, 301.
t Lares and Penates of Cilicia, p. 147.
J Ibid. p. 166.
§ See ante, in regard to the death of Crishna, one of the forms of Vishnu,
p. 61.
li From MOOR'S Pantheon, Plate 11, Fig. 6.
IF See ante, p. 69.
LAMPS AND WAX-CANDLES. 191
flesh thus dressed, Jupiter, excited by the steam, and perceiving the
cruelty of the deed, hurled his thunder at the Titans, but committed
his members to Apollo, the brother of Bacchus, that they might be
properly interred. And this being performed, Dionysius [i.e.,
Bacchus], (whose HEART, during his laceration, was snatched away
by Minerva and preserved) by a new REGENERATION, again emerged,
and he being restored to his pristine life and integrity, afterwards
filled up the number of the gods."* This surely shows, in a strik
ing light, the peculiar sacredness of the heart, of Bacchus ; and that
the regeneration of his heart has the very meaning I have attached
to it — viz., the new birth or new incarnation of Nimrod or Bel.
When Bel, however, was born again as a child, he was, as we have
seen, represented as an incarnation of the sun. Therefore, to
indicate his connection with the fiery and burning sun, the " sacred
heart "was frequently represented as a "heart of flame." ^ So the
" Sacred Heart " of Rome is actually worshipped as a flaming heart,
as may be seen on the rosaries devoted to that worship. Of what
use, then, is it to say that the " Sacred Heart " which Rome
worships is called by the name of " Jesus," when not only is the
devotion given to a material image borrowed from the worship of
the Babylonian Antichrist, but when the attributes ascribed to that
" Jesus " are not the attributes of the living and loving Saviour, but
the genuine attributes of the ancient Moloch or Bel 1
SECTION V. LAMPS AND WAX-CANDLES.
Another peculiarity of the Papal worship is the use of lamps and
wax-candles. If the Madonna and child are set up in a niche, they
must have a lamp to burn before them ; if mass is to be celebrated,
though in broad daylight, there must be wax-candles lighted on the
altar; if a grand procession is to be formed, it cannot be thorough
and complete without lighted tapers to grace the goodly show. The
use of these lamps and tapers comes from the same source as all the
rest of the Papal superstition. That which caused the " Heart,"
when it became an emblem of the incarnate Son, to be represented
as a heart on fire, required also that burning lamps and lighted
candles should form part of the worship of that Son ; for so, accord
ing to the established rites of Zoroaster, was the sun-god worshipped.}
When every Egyptian on the same night was required to light a
lamp before his house in the open air, this was an act of homage to
the sun, that had veiled its glory by enshrouding itself in a human
form.§ When the Yezidis of Koordistan, at this day, once a-year
celebrate their festival of "burning lamps," that, too, is to the
* TAYLOR'S Mystic Hymns of Orpheus. Note, p. 88.
f See Fig. 4, p. 17, with flaming heart in one of the hands.
+ See third Note.
§ See ante, p. 118.
192 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
honour of Sheikh Shems, or the Sun.* Now, what on these high
occasions was done on a grand scale was also done on a smaller scale,
in the individual acts of worship to their god, by the lighting of
lamps and tapers before the favourite divinity. In Babylon, this
practice had been exceedingly prevalent, as we learn from the
Apocryphal writer of the Book of Baruch. "They (the Baby
lonians)," says he, "light up lamps to their gods, and that in greater
numbers, too, than they do for themselves, although the gods can
not see one of them, and are senseless as the beams of their houses."!
In Pagan Rome, the same practice was observed. Thus we find
Licinius, the Pagan Emperor, before joining battle with Constantine,
his rival, calling a council of his friends in a thick wood, and there
offering sacrifices to his gods, " lighting up wax-tapers " before them,
and at the same time, in his speech, giving his gods a hint, that if
they did not give him the victory against Constantine, his enemy
and theirs, he would be under the necessity of abandoning their
worship, and lighting up no more " wax-tapers to their honour." J
In the Pagan processions, also, at Rome, the wax-candles largely
figured. "At these solemnities," says Dr. Middleton, referring to
Apuleius as his authority, "at these solemnities, the chief magis
trate used frequently to assist, in robes of ceremony, attended by
the priests in surplices, with wax-candles in their hands, carrying
upon a pageant or thensa, the images of their gods, dressed out in
their best clothes ; these were usually followed by the principal
youth of the place, in white linen vestments or surplices, singing
hymns in honour of the gods whose festivals they were celebrating,
accompanied by crowds of all sorts that were initiated in the same
religion, all with flambeaux or wax-candles in their hands. "§ Now,
so thoroughly and exclusively Pagan was this custom of lighting up
lamps and candles in daylight, that we find Christian writers, such
as Lactantius, in the fourth century, exposing the absurdity of the
practice, and deriding the Romans " for lighting up candles to God,
as if He lived in the dark."|| Had such a custom at that time gained
the least footing among Christians, Lactantius could never have
ridiculed it as he does, as a practice peculiar to Paganism. But
what was unknown to the Christian Church in the beginning of the
fourth century, soon thereafter began to creep in, and now forms one
of the most marked peculiarities of that community that boasts that
it is the " Mother and mistress of all Churches."
While Rome uses both lamps and wax-candles in her sacred rites,
it is evident, however, that she attributes some pre-eminent virtue to
* Identified with Sheik Adi. See Nineveh and Babylon, p. 81, and Nineveh
and its Remains, vol. i. pp. 289, 290.
f BABUCH, vi. 19, 20. The above is from Diodati's Translation. The common
English version, so far as the point in hand is concerned, is substantially the
same.
+ ECSEBIUS, Vita Constantini, lib. ii. 5, p. 183.
§ MIDDLETON'S Letter from Rome, p. 189. APULEIUS, vol. i., Metam., cap. ix.
pp. 1014-1016, and cap. x. pp. 1019-1021.
|| LACTANTIDS, Institut., lib. vi. cap. 2, p. 289.
LAMPS AND WAX-CANDLES. 193
the latter above all other lights. Up to the time of the Council of
Trent, she thus prayed on Easter Eve, at the blessing of the Easter
candles : " Calling upon thee in thy works, this holy Eve of Easter,
we offer most humbly unto thy Majesty this sacrifice ; namely, a fire
not defiled with the fat of flesh, nor polluted with unholy oil or
ointment, nor attainted with any profane fire ; but we offer unto thee
with obedience, proceeding from perfect devotion, a fire of wrought
WAX and wick, kindled arid made to burn in honour of thy name.
This so great a MYSTERY therefore, and the marvellous sacrament of
this holy eve, must needs he extolled with due and deserved
praises." * That there was some occult " Mystery," as is here
declared, couched under the "wax-candles," in the original system of
idolatry, from which Rome derived its ritual, may be well believed,
when it is observed with what unanimity nations the most remote
have agreed to use wax-candles in their sacred rites. Among the
Tungusians, near the Lake Baikal in Siberia, "wax-tapers are placed
before the Burchans," the gods or idols of that country. f In the
Molucca Islands, wax-tapers are used in the worship of Nito, or
Devil, whom these islanders adore. " Twenty or thirty persons
having assembled," says Hurd, " they summon the Nito, by beating
a small consecrated drum, whilst two or more of the company light
up wax-tapers, and pronounce several mysterious words, which they
consider as able to conjure him up."J In the worship of Ceylon, the
use of wax-candles is an indispensable requisite. " In Ceylon," says
the same author, " some devotees, who are not priests, erect chapels
for themselves, but in each of them they are obliged to have an
image of Buddha, and light up tapers or wax-candles before it, and
adorn it with flowers. "§ A practice thus so general must have come
from some primeval source, and must have originally had some
mystic reason at the bottom of it. The wax-candle was, in fact, a
hieroglyphic, like so many other things which we have already seen,
and was intended to exhibit the Babylonian god in one of the
essential characters of the Great Mediator. The classic reader may
remember that one of the gods of primeval antiquity was called
Ouranos,|| that is, "The Enlightener." In this very character
* "Office for Easter Eve," in Review of Epistle of Dr. GENTIANUS HARVET of
Louvaine, p. 229, B, and 230, A.
t Asiatic Journal, vol. xvii. pp. 593, 596.
+ Rites and Ceremonies, p. 91, col. 1.
§ Ibid. p. 95, col. 2.
|i From Aor or our, "light," and an, "to act upon" or produce, the same as
our English particle en, " to make." Ouranos, then, is " The Enlightener." This
Ouranos is, by Sanchuniathon, the Phoenician, called the son of Elioun — i.e., as he
himself, or Philo-JByblius, interprets the name, "The Most High." — (SANCH., pp.
16-19.) Ouranos, in the physical sense, is "The Shiner;" and by Hesychius
(sub voce " Akmon ") it is made equivalent to Cronos, which also has the same
meaning, for Krn, the verb from which it comes, signifies either "to put forth
horns," or " to send forth rays of light ; '; and, therefore, while the epithet
Kronos, or " The Horned One," had primarily reference to the physical power of
Nimrod as a "mighty " king ; when that king was deified, and made " Lord of
Heaven," that name, Kronos, was still applied to him in his new character as
"The Shiner or Lightgiver." The distinction made by Hesiod between Ouranos
O
194
RITES AND CEREMONIES.
Fig. 42.
was Nimrod worshipped when he was deified. As the Sun-god he
was regarded not only as the illuminator of the material world, but
as the enlightener of the souls of men, for he was recognised as
the revealer of " goodness and truth." * It is evident, from the Old
Testament, not less than the New, that the proper and personal
name of our Lord Jesus Christ is, "The Word of God," as the
Revealer of the heart and counsels of the Godhead. Now, to
identify the Sun-god with the Great Kevealer of the Godhead, while
under the name of Mithra, he was exhibited in sculpture as a Lion ;
that Lion had a Bee represented between his lips.f (Fig. 42.) The
bee between the lips of the Sun-god was intended to point him out
as " the Word ; " for Dabar, the expression which signifies in Chaldee
a " Bee," signifies also a " Word " ; and the position of that bee in
the mouth leaves no doubt as to the idea intended to be conveyed.
It was intended to impress the belief that Mithra (who, says
Plutarch, was worshipped as Mesites, "The Mediator "),J in his
character as Ouranos, "The Enlightener," was no other than that
glorious one of whom the Evan
gelist John says, "In the begin
ning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God
In Him was life ; and the life was
THE LIGHT OP MEN." The Lord
Jesus Christ ever was the revealer
of the Godhead, and must have
been known to the patriarchs as
such ; for the same Evangelist
says, " No man hath seen God at any time : the only-begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared? that is, He
hath revealed "Him." Before the Saviour came, the ancient Jews
commonly spoke of the Messiah, or the Son of God, under the name
of Dabar, or the "Word." This will appear from a consideration of
what is stated in the 3rd chapter of 1st Samuel. In the first verse of
that chapter it is said, " The WORD of the Lord was precious in those
days ; there was no open vision," that is, in consequence of the sin
of Eli, the Lord had not, for a long time, revealed Himself in vision
to him, as He did to the prophets. When the Lord had called
and Kronos, is no argument against the real substantial identity of these
divinities originally as Pagan divinities ; for Herodotus (Hist., lib. ii. cap. 53)
states that Hesiod had a hand in "inventing a theogony " for the Greeks, which
implies that some at least of the details of that theogony must have come from
his own fancy ; and, on examination, it will be found, when the veil of allegory
is removed, that Hesiod's " Ouranos," though introduced as one of the Pagan
gods, was really at bottom the "God of Heaven," the living and true God. See
what is said in regard to Hesiod's " Titan " in Chap. VII. Sect. V.
* WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 189.
t DUPUIS, De I'origine des tons les cultes, vol. iv. p. 194. The above figure is
from HYDE, De Vetere Rdigione Persarum, p. 113.
£ PLUTARCH, De hide, vol. ii. p. 369.
LAMPS AND WAX-CANDLES. 195
Samuel, this " vision " of the God of Israel was restored (though not
to Eli), for it is said in the last verse (v. 21), "And the Lord
APPEARED again in Shiloh; for the Lord revealed Himself to
Samuel by the WORD of the Lord." Although the Lord spake
to Samuel, this language implies more than speech, for it is said,
"The Lord appeared" — i.e., was seen. When the Lord revealed
Himself, or was seen by Samuel, it is said that it was "by
(Dabar) the Word of the Lord." The " Word of the Lord " to
be visible, must have been the personal "Word of God," that
is, Christ.* This had evidently been a primitive name by which He
was known ; and therefore it is not wonderful that Plato should
speak of the second person of his Trinity under the name of the
Logos, which is just a translation of "Dabar," or "the Word."f
Now, the light of the wax-candle, as the light from Dabar, "the
Bee," was set up as the substitute of the light of Dabar " the Word."
Thus the apostates turned away from the "True Light," and set up
a shadow in His stead. That this was really the case is plain ; for,
says Crabb, speaking of Saturn, "on his altars were placed wax-
tapers lighted, because by Saturn men were reduced from the
darkness of error to the light of truth. "| In Asiatic Greece, the
Babylonian god was evidently recognised as the Light-giving
"Word," for there we find the Bee occupying such a position as
makes it very clear that it was a symbol of the great Revealer.
Thus we find Miiller referring to the symbols connected with the
worship of the Ephesian Diana : " Her constant symbol is the bee,
which is not otherwise attributed to Diana The chief priest
himself was called Essen, or the king-bee ."§ The character of the
chief priest shows the character of the god he represented. The
contemplar divinity of Diana, the tower-bearing goddess, was of
course the same divinity as invariably accompanied the Babylonian
goddess : and this title of the priest shows that the Bee which
appeared on her medals was just another symbol for her child, as the
"Seed of the Woman," in his assumed character, as Dabar, "The
Word " that enlightened the souls of men. That this is the precise
" Mystery " couched under the wax-candles burning on the altars of
the Papacy, we have very remarkable evidence from its own formu
laries ; for, in the very same place in which the " Mystery " of the
wax-candle is spoken of, thus does Rome refer to the Bee, by which
the wax is produced : " Forasmuch as we do marvellously wonder,
in considering the first beginning of this substance, to wit, wax-
* After the Babylonish captivity, as the Chaldee Targums or Paraphrases of
the Old Testament show, Christ was commonly called by the title " The Word of
the Lord." In these Targums of later Chaldee, the term for "The Word" is
"Mimra"; but this word, though a synonym for that which is used in the
Hebrew Scriptures, is never used there. Dabar is the word employed. This is
so well recognised that, in the Hebrew translation of John's Gospel in Bagster's
Polyglott, the first verse runs thus : " In the beginning was the Word (Dabar)."
t Platonis Opera, vol. i. p. 85, E.
£ CRABB'S Mythology, p. 12.
§ MULLBB'S Dorians, vol. i. pp. 403, 404. Oxford, 1830.
196 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
tapers, then must we of necessity greatly extol the original of Bees,
for .... they gather the flowers with their feet, yet the flowers are
not injured thereby; they bring forth no young ones, but deliver
their young swarms through their mouths, like as Christ (for a
wonderful example) is proceeded from His Father's MOUTH."* Here
it is evident that Christ is referred to as the " Word of God ; " and
how could any imagination ever have conceived such a parallel as is
contained in this passage, had it not been for the equivoque between
"Dabar," "the Bee," and "Dabar," "the Word." In a Popish
work already quoted, the Pancarpium Marianum, I find the Lord
Jesus expressly called by the name of the Bee. Referring to Mary,
under the title of "The Paradise of Delight," the author thus
speaks : "In this Paradise that celestial Bee, that is, the incarnate
Wisdom, did feed. Here it found that dropping honeycomb, with
which the whole bitterness of the corrupted world has been turned
into sweetness."! This blasphemously represents the Lord Jesus
as having derived everything necessary to bless the world from His
mother ! Could this ever have come from the Bible ? No. It must
have come only from the source where the writer learned to call
"the incarnate Wisdom" by the name of the Bee. Now, as the
* Review of Epistle of Dr. GENTIANUS HAKVET of Louvaine, pp. 349, B, and 350,
A. This work, which is commonly called The Beehive of the Roman Churcht
contains the original Latin of the passage translated above. The passage in
question is to be found in at least two Roman Missals, which, however, are now
very rare — viz., one printed at Vienna in 1506, fol. 75, p. 2, with which the
quotation in the text has been compared and verified ; and one printed at Venice
in 1522. These dates are antecedent to the establishment of the Reformation;
and it appears that this passage was expunged from subsequent editions, as
being unfit to stand the searching scrutiny to which everything in regard to
religion was subjected in consequence of that great event. The ceremonial of
blessing the candles, however, which has no place in the Pontificate Romanum in
the Edinburgh Advocates' Library, is to be found in the Pontificate Romanum,
Venice, 1543, p. 195, and in Pontificate Romanum, Venice, 1572, p. 183. In the
ceremony of blessing the candles, given in the Roman Missal, printed at Paris,
1677, at p. 181 and following pages, there is great praise of the Bee, strongly
resembling the passage quoted in the text. The introduction of such an extra
ordinary formula into a religious ceremony is of very ancient date, and is
distinctly traced to an Italian source ; for, in the works of the Popish Bishop
Ennodius, who occupied an Italian diocese in the sixth century, we find the
counterpart of that under consideration. Thus, in a prayer in regard to the
" Easter Candle," the reason for offering up the wax-candle is expressly declared
to be, because that through means of the bees that produce the wax of which it
is made, " earth has an image of what is PECULIAR TO HEAVEN " (meretur habere
terra quod cceli est) (ENNOD. Opera, p. 456), and that in regard to the very subject
of GENERATION ; the bees being able, "through the virtue of herbs, to pour forth
their young through their MOUTHS with less waste of time than all other creatures
do in the ordinary way" ("prolem .... quam herbarum lucro, diligentius
possunt ore profligare quam semine "). (Ibid.) This prayer contains the precise
idea of the prayer in the text ; and there is only one way of accounting for the
origin of such an idea. It must have come from a Chaldean Liturgy.
For discovering this first link in the chain of evidence en this important point,
now happily brought to perfection by another hand, I am indebted to my brother,
Mr. Hislop, of Blair Lodge, from whose zealous and recondite researches on many
other points this work has derived no slight advantage.
f Pancarpium, cap. 29, p. 122.
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 197
equivoque from which such a name applied to the Lord Jesus
springs, is founded only on the Babylonian tongue, it shows whence
his theology has come, and it proves also to demonstration that this
whole prayer about the blessing of wax-candles must have been
drawn from a Babylonian prayer-book. Surely, at every step, the
reader must see more and more the exactitude of the Divine name
given to the woman on the seven mountains, " Mystery, Babylon
the Great ! "
SECTION VI. — THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.
There is yet one more symbol of the Romish worship to be
noticed, and that is the sign of the cross. In the Papal system, as is
well known, the sign of the cross and the image of the cross are all
in all. No prayer can be said, no worship engaged in, no step
almost can be taken, without the frequent use of the sign of the
cross. The cross is looked upon as the grand charm, as the great
refuge in every season of danger, in every hour of temptation as the
infallible preservative from all the powers of darkness. The cross is
adored with all the homage due only to the Most High ; and for
any one to call it, in the hearing of a genuine Romanist, by the
Scriptural term, "the accursed tree," is a mortal offence. To say
Fig. 43.
2.f
that such a superstitious feeling for the sign of the cross, such
worship as Rome pays to a wooden or a metal cross, ever grew out
of the saying of Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ " — that is, in the doctrine of Christ
crucified — is a mere absurdity, a shallow subterfuge and pretence.
The magic virtues attributed to the so-called sign of the cross, the
worship bestowed on it, never came from such a source. The same
sign of the cross that Rome now worships was used in the Baby
lonian Mysteries, was applied by Paganism to the same magic
purposes, was honoured with the same honours. That which is now
called the Christian cross was originally no Christian emblem at all,
but was the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans and Egyptians — the true
original form of the letter T — the initial of the name of Tammuz —
which, in Hebrew, radically the same as ancient Chaldee, as found
on coins, was formed as in No. 1 of the accompanying woodcut
(Fig. 43) ; and in Etrurian and Coptic, as in Nos. 2 and 3. That
* From KITTO'S Biblical Cyclopccdia, vol. i. p. 495.
f From Sir W. BETHAM'S Etruria, vol. i. p. 54.
£ From BONSEN, vol. i. p. 450.
198
RITES AND CEREMONIES
mystic Tau was marked in baptism on the foreheads of those
initiated in the Mysteries,* and was used in every variety of way as
a most sacred symbol. To identify Tammuz with the sun it was
joined sometimes to the circle of the sun, as in No. 4 ; sometimes it
was inserted in the circle, as in No. 5.f Whether the Maltese cross,
which the Romish bishops append to their names as a symbol of
their episcopal dignity, is the letter T, may be doubtful ; but there
seems no reason to doubt that that Maltese cross is an express
symbol of the sun ; for Layard found it as a sacred symbol in Nineveh
in such a connection as led him to identify it with the sun.f The
mystic Tau, as the symbol of the great divinity, was called "the
sign of life ; " it was used as an amulet over the heart ; § it was
marked on the official garments of the priests, as on the official
garments of the priests of Rome \ it was borne by kings in their
hand, as a token of their dignity or divinely-conferred authority. ||
The Vestal virgins of Pagan Rome wore it suspended from their
necklaces, as the nuns do now.U The Egyptians did the same, and
many of the barbarous nations with whom they had intercourse, as
the Egyptian monuments bear witness. In reference to the adorn
ing of some of these tribes, Wilkinson thus writes : " The girdle was
sometimes highly ornamented ; men as well as women wore ear-
* TERTULLIAN, DC. Prescript. Hwret. cap. 40, vol. ii. p. 54, and Note. The
language of Tertullian implies that those who were initiated by baptism in the
Mysteries were marked on the forehead in the same way as his Christian country
men in Africa, who had begun by this time to be marked in baptism with the sign
of the cross.
f STEPHEN'S Central America, vol. ii. p. 344, Plate 2.
£ LAYARD'S Nineveh and Babylon, p. 211 ; Nineveh and its Retnaint, vol. ii.
p. 446.
§ WILKINSON, vol. i. p. 365, Plate.
H See woodcut of King in next Chapter, p. 214.
IT PERK LAFITAX, Mceurs des Sauvages Ameriquains, \<»1. i. p. 442.
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 199
rings; and they frequently had a small cross suspended to a
necklace, or to the collar of their dress. The adoption of this last
was not peculiar to them ; it was also appended to, or figured upon,
the robes of the Rot-n-no ; and traces of it may be seen in the
fancy ornaments of the Rebo, showing that it was already in use
as early as the fifteenth century before the Christian era."* (Fig. 44.)
There is hardly a Pagan tribe where the cross has not been
found. The cross was worshipped by the Pagan Celts long
before the incarnation and death of Christ. f " It is a fact,"
says Maurice, "not less remarkable than well-attested, that the
Druids in their groves were accustomed to select the most stately
and beautiful tree as an emblem of the Deity they adored, and
having cut the side branches, they affixed two of the largest of them
to the highest part of the trunk, in such a manner that those branches
extended on each side like the arms of a man, and, together with the
body, presented the appearance of a HUGE CROSS, and on the bark, in
several places, was also inscribed the letter Thau."| It was wor
shipped in Mexico for ages before the Roman Catholic missionaries
set foot there, large stone crosses
being erected, probably to the Fis- *6.
"god of rain."§ The cross thus
widely worshipped, or regarded
as a sacred emblem, was the un
equivocal symbol of Bacchus, the
Babylonian Messiah, for he was
represented with a head -band
covered with crosses (see Fig.
45). 1 1 This symbol of the Baby
lonian god is reverenced at this
day in all the wide wastes of
Tartary, where Buddhism pre
vails, and the way in which it is
represented among them forms a
striking commentary on the language applied by Rome to the Cross.
" The cross," says Colonel Wilford, in the Asiatic JResearcJies,
" though not an object of worship among the Baud'has or Buddhists,
is a favourite emblem and device among them. It is exactly the
cross of the Manicheans, with leaves and flowers springing from it.
This cross, putting forth leaves and flowers (and fruit also, as I am
told), is called the divine tree, the tree of the gods, the tree of life
and knowledge, and productive of whatever is good and desirable,
* WILKINSON, vol. i. p. 376.
t CR ABB'S Mythology, p. 163.
£ MAURICE'S Indian Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 49.
§ PREBCOTT'S Conquest of Mexico, vol. i. p. 242.
y The above figure is the head of that which is given in p. 48, ante, only
magnified, that the crosses may be more distinctly visible. Let the reader turn
back from this point, and read over again what is said in p. 154 about the worship
at Rome on Good Friday of the "cross of fire," and the full significance of that
worship will now appear.
200
RITES AND CEREMONIES.
and is placed in the terrestrial paradise."* (Fig. 46.)f Compare
this with the language of Rome applied to the cross, and it will be
seen how exact is the coincidence. In the Office of the Cross, it is
called the "Tree of life," and the worshippers are taught thus to
address it : " Hail, O Cross, triumphal wood, true salvation of the
world, among trees there is none like thee in leaf, flower, and bud.
Fig. 46.
.... 0 Cross, our only hope, increase righteousness to the godly
and pardon the offences of the guilty. "J Can any one, reading
* Asiatic Researches, vol. x. p. 124.
t The two at the top are Standards of Pagan barbarous nations of the East,
from BRYANT'S Mythology, vol. iii. p. 327. The black one in the middle, "The
sacred Egyptian Tau or Sign of Life," from WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 283. The two
lowest are Buddhist Crosses, from Asiatic Researches, vol. x. p. 124.
£ Review of Epistle of Dr. GENTIANUS HARVET of Louvaine, p. 251, A. The
following is one of the stanzas of the above hymn in the original : —
" O crux, lignum triumphale
Mundi vera salus, vale,
Inter ligna nullum tale
Fronde, flore, germine."
The above was actually versified by the Romanisers in the Church of England,
and published along with much besides from the same source, some years ago, in
a. volume entitled Devotions on the Passion. The London Record, of April, 1842,
gave the following as a specimen of the ' ' Devotions " provided by these " wolves
in sheep's clothing " for members of the Church of England : —
" O faithful cross, thou peerless tree,
No forest yields the like of thee,
Leaf, flower, and bud ;
Sweet is the wood, and sweet the weight
And sweet the nails that penetrate
Thee, thou sweet wood."
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 201
the gospel narrative of the crucifixion, possibly believe that that
narrative of itself could ever germinate into such extravagance of
"leaf, flower, and bud," as thus appears in this Roman Office1? But
when it is considered that the Buddhist, like the Babylonian cross,
was the recognised emblem of Tammuz, who was known as the
misletoe branch, or " All-heal," then it is easy to see how the
sacred Initial should be represented as covered with leaves, and how
Rome, in adopting it, should call it the " Medicine which preserves
the healthful, heals the sick, and does what mere human power
alone could never do." *
Now, this Pagan symbol seems first to have crept into the
Christian Church in Egypt, and generally into Africa. A statement
of Tertullian, about the middle of the third century, shows how
much, by that time, the Church of Carthage was infected with the
old leaven, f Egypt especially, which was never thoroughly evangel
ised appears to have taken the lead in bringing in this Pagan
symbol. The first form of that which is called the Christian Cross,
found on Christian monuments there, is the unequivocal Pagan Tau,
or Egyptian "Sign of life." Let the reader peruse the following
statement of Sir G. Wilkinson : " A still more curious fact may be
mentioned respecting this hieroglyphical character [the Tau], that
the early Christians of Egypt adopted it in lieu of the cross, which
was afterwards substituted for it, prefixing it to inscriptions in the
same manner as the cross in later times. For, though Dr. Young
had some scruples in believing the statement of Sir A. Edmonstone,
that it holds that position in the sepulchres of the great Oasis, I can
attest that such is the case, and that numerous inscriptions, headed
by the Tau, are preserved to the present day on early Christian
monuments." J The drift of this statement is evidently this, that
in Egypt the earliest form of that which has since been called the
cross, was no other than the "Crux Ansata," or "Sign of life,"
borne by Osiris and all the Egyptian gods ; that the ansa or " handle"
was afterwards dispensed with, and that it became the simple Tau,
or ordinary cross, as it appears at this day, and that the design of
its first employment on the sepulchres, therefore, could have no
reference to the crucifixion of the Nazarene, but was simply the
result of the attachment to old and long-cherished Pagan symbols,
which is always strong in those who, with the adoption of the
Christian name and profession, are still, to a large extent, Pagan in
heart and feeling. This, and this only, is the origin of the worship
of the "cross."
This, no doubt, will appear all very strange and very incredible to
those who have read Church history, as most have done to a large
extent, even amongst Protestants, through Romish spectacles ; and
especially to those who call to mind the famous story told of the
miraculous appearance of the cross to Constantine on the day before
* From hymn already quoted.
f TKRTULLIAN, De Corona MHitis, cap. iii., vol. ii. p. 80.
J WILKINSON, vol. v. pp. 283, 284.
202 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
the decisive victory at the Milvian bridge, that decided the fortunes
of avowed Paganism and nominal Christianity. That story, as com
monly told, if true, would certainly give a Divine sanction to the
reverence for the cross. But that story, when sifted to the bottom,
according to the common version of it, will be found to be based on
a delusion — a delusion, however, into which so good a man as Milner
has allowed himself to fall. Milner's account is as follows : — " Con-
stantine, marching from France into Italy against Maxentius, in an
expedition which was likely either to exalt or to ruin him, was
oppressed with anxiety. Some god he thought needful to protect
him ; the God of the Christians he was most inclined to respect, but
he wanted some satisfactory proof of His real existence and power,
and he neither understood the means of acquiring this, nor could he
be content with the atheistic indifference in which so many generals
and heroes since his time have acquiesced. He prayed, he implored
with such vehemence and importunity, and God left him not unan
swered. While he was marching with his forces in the afternoon,
the trophy of the cross appeared very luminous in the heavens,
brighter than the sun, with this inscription, ' Conquer by this,' He
and his soldiers were astonished at the sight ; but he continued
pondering on the event till night. And Christ appeared to him
when asleep with the same sign of the cross, and directed him
to make use of the symbol as his military ensign." * Such is the
statement of Milner. Now, in regard to the " trophy of the cross,"
a few words will suffice to show that it is utterly unfounded. I do
not think it necessary to dispute the fact of some miraculous sign
having been given. There may, or there may not, have been on this
occasion a " dignus vindice nodus," a crisis worthy of a Divine inter
position. Whether, however, there was anything out of the ordinary
course, I do not inquire. But this I say, on the supposition that
Constantine in this matter acted in good faith, and that there actually
was a miraculous appearance in the heavens, that it was not the sign
of the cross that was seen, but quite a different thing, the name of
Christ. That this was the case, we have at once the testimony of
Lactantius, who was the tutor of Constan tine's son Crispus — the
earliest author who gives any account of the matter, and the indis
putable evidence of the standards of Constantine themselves, as
handed down to us on medals struck at the time. The testimony
of Lactantius is most decisive : " Constantine was warned in a dream
to make the celestial sign of God upon his soldiers' shields, and so to
join battle. He did as he was bid, and with the transverse letter X
circumflecting the head of it, he marks Christ or their shields.
Equipped with this sign, his army takes the sword." f Now, the
* Church History, vol. ii. p. 41. Milner refers to EUSEB. Constant, xvii. But
this is an error ; it is De Vita Constant, lib. i. cap. 28, 29, p. 173.
t LACTANTIUS, De mortibus Persecutorum, 44, pp. 565, 566. The exact words
of Lactantius are as follows : — " Cominonitus est in quiete Constantinus, ut coeleste
signum Dei notaret in scutis, atque ita proelium committeret. Fecit ut jussus est
et transversa X litera summo capite circumflexo, Christum scutis notat. Quo signo
armatuB exercitus capit ferrum."
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 203
letter X was just the initial of the name of Christ, being equivalent
in Greek to CH. If, therefore, Constantino did as he was bid, when
he made " the celestial sign of God " in the form of " the letter X,"
it was that " letter X," as the symbol of " Christ" and not the sign
of the cross, which he saw in the heavens. When the Labarum, or
far-famed standard of Constantino itself, properly so called, was made,
we have the evidence of Ambrose, the well-known Bishop of Milan,
that that standard was formed on the very principle contained in
the statement of Lactantius — viz., simply to display the Redeemer's
name. He calls it " Labarum, hoc est Christi sacratum nomine
signum."* — " The Labarum, that is, the ensign consecrated by the
NAME of Christ. ;'f There is not the slightest allusion to any cross —
to anything but the simple name of Christ. While we have these
testimonies of Lactantius and Ambrose, when we come to examine
the standard of Constantino, we find the accounts of both authors
fully borne out ; we find that that standard, bearing on it these very
words, " Hoc signo victor eris" " In this sign thou shalt be a con
queror," said to have been addressed from heaven to the emperor, has
nothing at all in the shape of a cross, but "the letter X." In the
Roman Catacombs, on a Christian monument to " Sinphonia and her
sons," there is a distinct allusion to the story of the vision ; but that
allusion also shows that the X, and not the cross, was regarded as
the " heavenly sign." The words at the head of the inscription are
these : —
"!N Hoc VINCBS {
X."
Nothing whatever but the X is here given as the "Victorious Sign."
There are some examples, no doubt, of Constantine's standard, in
which there is a crossbar, from which the flag is suspended, that con
tains that " letter X ; " § and Eusebius, who wrote when superstition
and apostacy were working, tries hard to make it appear that that
cross-bar was the essential element in the ensign of Constantine. But
this is obviously a mistake ; that cross-bar was nothing new, nothing
peculiar to Constantine's standard. Tertullian shows || that that
cross-bar was found long before on the vexillum, the Roman Pagan
* Ambrosii Opera, vol. iv. p. 327.
f Epistle of Ambrose to the Emperor Theodosius about the proposal to restore the
Pagan altar of Victory in the Roman Senate. The subject of the Labarum has been
much confused through ignorance of the meaning of the word. Bryant assumes
(and I was myself formerly led away by the assumption) that it was applied to the
standard bearing the crescent and the cross, but he produces no evidence for the
assumption; and I am now satisfied that none can be produced. The name
Labarum, which is generally believed to have come from the East, treated as an
Oriental word, gives forth its meaning at once. It evidently comes from Lab, " to
vibrate," or "move to and fro," and dr "to be active." Interpreted thus,
Labarum signifies simply a banner or flag, "waving to and fro" in the wind, and
this entirely agrees with the language of Ambrose " an ensign consecrated by the
name of Christ," which implies a banner.
£ " In this thou shalt overcome."
§ Dr. MAITLAND'S Church in the Catacombs, p. 169.
II Apoloyeticus Adv. Gentes, cap. 16, vol. i. pp. 368, 369.
204 RITES AND CEREMONIES.
standard, that carried a flag ; and it was used simply for the purpose
of displaying that flag. If, therefore, that cross-bar was the ''celestial
sign," it needed no voice from heaven to direct Constantine to make
it ; nor would the making or displaying of it have excited any parti
cular attention on the part of those who saw it. We find no evidence
at all that the famous legend, " In this overcome," has any reference
to this cross-bar ; but we find evidence the most decisive that that
legend does refer to the X. Now, that that X was not intended as
the sign of the cross, but as the initial of Christ's name, is manifest
from this, that the Greek P, equivalent to our R, is inserted in the
middle of it, making by their union CHR. Any one who pleases may
satisfy himself of this by examining the plates given in Mr. Elliot's
Horce Apocalypticce* The standard of Constantine, then, was
just the name of Christ. Whether the device came from earth or
from heaven — whether it was suggested by human wisdom or Divine,
supposing that Constantine was sincere in his Christian profession,
nothing more was implied in it than a literal embodiment of the
sentiment of the Psalmist, " In the name of the Lord will we display
our banners." To display that name on the standards of Imperial
Rome was a thing absolutely new ; and the sight of that name, there
can be little doubt, nerved the Christian soldiers in Constantine's
army with more than usual fire to fight and conquer at the Milvian
bridge.
In the above remarks I have gone on the supposition that Con
stantine acted in good faith as a Christian. His good faith, however,
has been questioned ; f and I am not without my suspicions that the
X may have been intended to have one meaning to the Christians
and another to the Pagans. It is certain that the X was the symbol
of the god Ham in Egypt, and as such was exhibited on the breast
of his image. J Whichever view be taken, however, of Constantine's
sincerity, the supposed Divine warrant for reverencing the sign of the
cross entirely falls to the ground. In regard to the X, there is no
doubt that, by the Christians who knew nothing of secret plots or
devices, it was generally taken, as Lactantius declares, as equivalent
to the name of " Christ." In this view, therefore, it had no very
great attractions for the Pagans, who, even in worshipping Horus,
had always been accustomed to make use of the mystic Tau or cross,
as the "sign of life," or the magical charm that secured all that was
good, and warded off everything that was evil. When, therefore,
multitudes of the Pagans, on the conversion of Constantine, flocked
into the Church, like the semi-Pagans of Egypt, they brought along
with them their predilection for the old symbol. The consequence
was, that in no great length of time, as apostacy proceeded, the X
which in itself was not an unnatural symbol of Christ, the true
Messiah, and which had once been regarded as such, was allowed to
go entirely into disuse, and the Tau, the sign of the cross, the indis-
* Horce, vol. i. pp. 226, 240.
t By GAVAZZI, in his publication entitled The Free Word.
£ See WILKINSON, vol. vi., " Khem."
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 205
putable sign of Tammuz, the false Messiah, was everywhere substituted
in its stead. Thus, by the " sign of the cross," Christ has been cruci
fied anew by those who profess to be His disciples. Now, if these
things be matter of historic fact, who can wonder that, in the Romish
Church, "the sign of the cross" has always and everywhere been seen
to be such an instrument of rank superstition and delusion ?
There is more, much more, in the rites and ceremonies of Rome
that might be brought to elucidate our subject. But the above may
suffice.*
* If the above remarks be well founded, surely it cannot be right that this sign
of the Cross, or emblem of Tammuz, should be used in Christian baptism. At
the period of the Revolution, a Royal Commission, appointed to inquire into
the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England, numbering among its
members eight or ten bishops, strongly recommended that the use of the cross,
as tending to superstition, should be laid aside. If such a recommendation
was given then, and that by such authority as members of the Church of
England must respect, how much ought that recommendation to be enforced
by the new light which Providence has cast on the subject !
CHAPTER VI.
RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
SECTION I. — THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF.
THE gift of the ministry is one of the greatest gifts which Christ has
bestowed upon the world. It is in reference to this that the Psalmist,
predicting the ascension of Christ, thus loftily speaks of its blessed
results : " Thou hast ascended up on high ; Thou hast led captivity
captive ; Thou hast received gifts for men, even for the rebellious,
that the Lord God might dwell among them" (Eph. iv. 8-11). The
Church of Rome, at its first planting, had the divinely-bestowed gift
of a Scriptural ministry and government ; and then " its faith was
spoken of throughout the whole world ; " its works of righteousness
were both rich and abundant. But, in an evil hour, the Babylonian
element was admitted into its ministry, and thenceforth, that which
had been intended as a blessing, was converted into a curse. Since
then, instead of sanctifying men, it has only been the means of
demoralising them, and making them " twofold more the children of
hell " than they would have been if they had been left simply to
themselves.
If there be any who imagine that there is some occult and
mysterious virtue in an apostolic succession that comes through the
Papacy, let them seriously consider the real character of the Pope's
own orders, and of those of his bishops and clergy. From the Pope
downwards, all can be shown to be now radically Babylonian. The
College of Cardinals, with the Pope at its head, is just the counter
part of the Pagan College of Pontiffs, with its " Pontifex Maximus,"
or " Sovereign Pontiff," which had existed in Rome from the earliest
times, and which is known to have been framed on the model of the
grand original Council of Pontiffs at Babylon. The Pope now
pretends to supremacy in the Church as the successor of Peter, to
whom it is alleged that our Lord exclusively committed the keys of
the kingdom of heaven. But here is the important fact that, till the
Pope was invested with the title, which for a thousand years had had
attached to it the power of the keys of Janus and Cybele,* no such
claim to pre-eminence, or anything approaching to it, was ever
publicly made on his part, on the ground of his being the possessor of
* It was only in the second century before the Christian era that the worship
of Cybele, under that name, was introduced into Rome ; but the same goddess,
under the name of Cardea, with the "power of the key," was worshipped in Rome,
along with Janus, ages before. — OVID'S Fasti, vol. iii. 1. 101, p. 346.
206
THE SOVERETGX PONTIFF. 207
the keys bestowed on Peter. Very early, indeed, did the bishops of
Rome show a proud and ambitious spirit ; but, for the first three
centuries, their claim for superior honour was founded simply on the
dignity of their see, as being that of the imperial city, the capital of
the Roman world. When, however, the seat of empire was removed
to the East, and Constantinople threatened to eclipse Rome, some
new ground for maintaining the dignity of the Bishop of Rome must
be sought. That new ground was found when, about 378, the Pope
fell heir to the keys that were the symbols of two well-known Pagan
divinities at Rome. Janus bore a key,* and Cybele bore a key ;f
and these are the two keys that the Pope emblazons on his arms as
the ensigns of his spiritual authority. How the Pope came to be
regarded as wielding the power of these keys will appear in the
sequel ; but that he did, in the popular apprehension, become
entitled to that power at the period referred to is certain. Now,
when he had come in the estimation of the Pagans, to occupy the
place of the representatives of Janus and Cybele, and therefore to be
entitled to bear their keys, the Pope saw that if he could only get it
believed among the Christians that Peter alone had the power of the
keys, and that he was Peter's successor, then the sight of these keys
would keep up the delusion, and thus, though the temporal dignity
of Rome as a city should decay, his own dignity as the bishop of
Rome would be more firmly established than ever. On this policy it
is evident he acted. Some time was allowed to pass away, and then,
when the secret working of the Mystery of iniquity had prepared the
way for it, for the first time did the Pope publicly assert his pre
eminence, as founded on the keys given to Peter. About 378 was
he raised to the position which gave him, in Pagan estimation, the
power of the keys referred to. In 431, and not before, did he
publicly lay claim to the possession of Peter's keys.f This, surely, is
a striking coincidence. Does the reader ask how it was possible that
men could give credit to such a baseless assumption ? The words of
Scripture, in regard to this very subject, give a very solemn but
satisfactory answer (2 Thess. ii. 10, 11) : " Because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved For this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."
Few lies could be more gross ; but, in course of time, it came to be
widely believed ; and now, as the statue of Jupiter is worshipped at
Rome as the veritable image of Peter, so the keys of Janus and
Cybele have for ages been devoutly believed to represent the keys of
the same apostle.
While nothing but judicial infatuation can account for the credu
lity of the Christians in regarding these keys as emblems of an
exclusive power given by Christ to the Pope through Peter, it is not
* OVID'S Fasti, lib. i. 11. 95, 99, vol. iii. p. 18.
f TOOKE'S Pantheon, " Cybele," p. 153.
£ In proof of the fact that this claim was first made in 431, see ELLIOT'S Horcey
Tol. iii. p. 139. In 429 he gave a hint at it, but it was only in 431 that this olaim
was broadly and distinctly made.
208 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
difficult to see how the Pagans would rally round the Pope all the
more readily when they heard him found his power on the possession
of Peter's keys. The keys that the Pope bore were the keys of a
"Peter" well known to the Pagans initiated in the Chaldean
Mysteries. That Peter the apostle was ever Bishop of Rome has
been proved again and again to be an arrant fable. That he ever
even set foot in Rome is at the best highly doubtful. His visit to
that city rests on no better authority than that of a writer at the end
of the second century or beginning of the third — viz., the author of
the work called The Clementines* who gravely tells us that on
the occasion of his visit, finding Simon Magus there, the apostle
challenged him to give proof of his miraculous or magical powers,
whereupon the sorcerer flew up into the air, and Peter brought him
down in such haste that his leg was broken. f All historians of
repute have at once rejected this story of the apostolic encounter
with the magician as being destitute of all contemporary evidence ;
but as the visit of Peter to Rome rests on the same authority, it must
stand or fall along with it, or, at least, it must be admitted to be
extremely doubtful. But, while this is the case with Peter the
Christian, it can be shown to be by no means doubtful that before
the Christian era, and downwards, there was a " Peter " at Rome,
who occupied the highest place in the Pagan priesthood. The priest
who explained the Mysteries to the initiated was sometimes called by
a Greek term, the Hierophant; but in primitive Chaldee, the real
language of the Mysteries, his title, as pronounced without the
points, was "Peter" — i.e., "the interpreter."! As the revealer of
that which was hidden, nothing was more natural than that, while
opening up the esoteric doctrine of the Mysteries, he should be
decorated with the keys of the two divinities whose mysteries he
unfolded. § Thus we may see how the keys of Janus and Cybele
would come to be known as the keys of Peter, the " interpreter " of
the Mysteries. Yea, we have the strongest evidence that, in countries
far removed from one another, and far distant from Rome, these keys
were known by initiated Pagans not merely as the " keys of Peter,"
but as the keys of a Peter identified with Rome. In the Eleusinian
Mysteries at Athens, when the candidates for initiation were in
structed in the secret doctrine of Paganism, the explanation of that
doctrine was read to them out of a book called by ordinary writers
the "Book Petroma;" that is, as we are told, a book formed of
stone.|| But this is evidently just a play upon words, according to
the usual spirit of Paganism, intended to amuse the vulgar. The
nature of the case, and the history of the Mysteries, alike show that
this book could be none other than the " Book Pet-Roma ; " that is,
the " Book of the Grand Interpreter," in other words, of Hermes
* GIESELER, vol. i. pp. 206-208. f See BOWER, vol. i. pp. 1, 2.
£ PARKHURST'S Hebrew Lexicon, p. 602.
§ The Turkish Muftis, or "interpreters" of the Koran, derive that name from
the very same verb as that from which comes Miftak, a key.
|| POTTER'S Antiquities, vol. i., Mysteries, p. 356.
THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF. 209
Trismegistus, the great " Interpreter of the Gods." In Egypt, from
which Athens derived its religion, the books of Hermes were regarded
as the divine fountain of all true knowledge of the Mysteries.* In
Egypt therefore, Hermes was looked up to in this very character of
Grand Interpreter, or " Peter-Roma, "f In Athens, Hermes, as is
well known, occupied precisely the same place, J and, of course, in
the sacred language, must have been known by the same title. The
priest, therefore, that in the name of Hermes explained the Mysteries,
must have been decked not only with the keys of Peter, but with the
keys of " Peter-Roma." Here, then, the famous " Book of Stone "
begins to appear in a new light, and not only so, but to shed new
light on one of the darkest and most puzzling passages of Papal
history. It has always been a matter of amazement to candid
historical inquirers how it could ever have come to pass that the
name of Peter should be associated with Rome in the way in which
it is found from the fourth century downwards — how so many in
different countries had been led to believe that Peter, who was an
"apostle of the circumcision" had apostatised from his Divine
commission, and become bishop of a Gentile Church, and that he
should be the spiritual ruler in Rome, when no satisfactory evidence
could be found for his ever having been in Rome at all. But the
book of "Peter-Roma" accounts for what otherwise is entirely
inexplicable. The existence of such a title was too valuable to be
overlooked by the Papacy ; and, according to its usual policy, it was
sure, if it had the opportunity, to turn it to the account of its own
aggrandisement. And that opportunity it had. When the Pope
came, as he did, into intimate connection with the Pagan priesthood ;
when they came at last, as we shall see they did, under his control,
* The following are the authorities for the statement in the text : — " Jamblichus
says that Hermes [i.e., the Egyptian] was the god of all celestial knowledge,
which, being communicated by him to his priests, authorised them to inscribe
their commentaries with the name of Hermes" (WILKINSON, vol. v., chap. xiii.
pp. 9, 10). Again, according to the fabulous accounts of the Egyptian Mercury,
he was reported .... to have taught men the proper mode of approaching the
Deity with prayers and sacrifice (WILKINSON, vol. v., chap. xiii. p. 10). Hermes
Trisinegistus seems to have been regarded as a new incarnation of Thoth, and
possessed of higher honours. The principal books of this Hermes, according to
Clemens of Alexandria, were treated by the Egyptians with the most profound
respect, and carried in their religious processions (CLEM., ALEX., Strom., lib. vi.,
vol. iii. pp. 214-219).
t In Egypt, "Petr" was used in this very sense. See BUNSEN, vol. i., Hiero
glyph, p. 545, where Ptr is said to signify " to show." The interpreter was called
Hierophantes, which has the very idea of " showing " in it.
% The Athenian or Grecian Hermes is celebrated as " The source of invention.
.... He bestows, too, mathesis on souls, by unfolding the will of the father of
Jupiter, and this he accomplishes as the angel or messenger of Jupiter He
is the guardian of disciplines, because the invention of geometry, reasoning, and
language is referred to this god. He presides, therefore over every species of
erudition, leading us to an intelligible essence from this mortal abode, governing
the different herds of souls " (PROCLUS in Commentary on First Alcibiades, in the
Notes on TAYLOR'S Orphic Hymns, pp. 64, 65). The Grecian Hermes was so
essentially the revealer or interpreter of divine things, that Hermeneutes, an
interpreter, was currently said to come from his name (HYGINUS, Note to page
114).
P
210 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
what more natural than to seek not only to reconcile Paganism and
Christianity, but to make it appear that the Pagan " Peter-Roma,"
with his keys, meant "Peter of Rome," and that that "Peter of
Rome " was the very apostle to whom the Lord Jesus Christ gave
the " keys of the kingdom of heaven " ? Hence, from the mere jingle
of words, persons and things essentially different were confounded ;
and Paganism and Christianity jumbled together, that the towering
ambition of a wicked priest might be gratified ; and so, to the blinded
Christians of the apostacy, the Pope was the representative of Peter
the apostle, while to the initiated Pagans, he was only the repre
sentative of Peter, the interpreter of their well-known Mysteries.*
Thus was the Pope the express counterpart of " Janus, the double-
faced." Oh ! what an emphasis of meaning in the Scriptural expres
sion, as applied to the Papacy, " The Mystery of Iniquity " !
The reader will now be prepared to understand how it is that the
Pope's Grand Council of State, which assists him in the government
of the Church, comes to be called the College of Cardinals. The
term Cardinal is derived from Cardo, a hinge. Janus, whose key
the Pope bears, was the god of doors and hinges, and was called
Patulcius and Clusius, " the opener and the shutter."f This had a
blasphemous meaning, for he was worshipped at Rome as the grand
mediator. Whatever important business was in hand, whatever
deity was to be invoked, an invocation first of all must be addressed
to Janus,| wno was recognised as the "God of gods,"§ in whose
mysterious divinity the characters of father and son were combined,])
and without that no prayer could be heard — the " door of heaven "
could not be opened, IF It was this same god whose worship prevailed
so exceedingly in Asia Minor at the time when our Lord sent, by
his servant John, the seven Apocalyptic messages to the churches
established in that region. And, therefore, in one of these messages
we find Him tacitly rebuking the profane ascription of His own
peculiar dignity to that divinity, and asserting His exclusive claim
to the prerogative usually attributed to His rival. Thus, Rev. iii. 7 :
" And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write : These things
saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David,
he that openeth, and no man shutteth ; and shutteth, and no man
openeth." Now, to this Janus, as Mediator, worshipped in Asia
Minor, and equally, from very early times, in Rome, belonged the
government of the world ; and, " all power in heaven, in earth, and
the sea," according to Pagan ideas, was vested in him.** In this
character he was said to have "jus vertendi cardinis" — the "power
of turning the hinge " — of opening the doors of heaven, or of opening
* For evidence in regard to the title of the interpreter of the Mysteries, see
BRYANT'S Mythology, vol. i. pp. 308-311, 356, 359-362.
f LEMPRTERE, sub voce.
+ OVID, Fasti, lib. i. 11. 171, 172, vol. iii. p. 24.
§ So called in the Hymns of the Salii, MACROS., Sat., lib. i. c. 9, p. 54, col. 2, H.
H See ante, pp. 28 (Note) and 134.
H OVID, Fasti, lib. i. 11. 117-121.
** Ibid. lib. i. 11. 117, 120, 125.
THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF. 211
or shutting the gates of peace or war upon earth. The Pope, there
fore, when he set up as the High-priest of Janus, assumed also the
"jus vertendi cardinis" "the power of turning the hinge," — of open
ing and shutting in the blasphemous Pagan sense. Slowly and
cautiously at first was this power asserted ; but the foundation being
laid, steadily, century after century, was the grand superstructure of
priestly power erected upon it. The Pagans who saw what strides,
under Papal directions, Christianity, as professed in Rome, was mak
ing towards Paganism, were more than content to recognise the Pope
as possessing this power; they gladly encouraged him to rise, step
by step, to the full height of the blasphemous pretensions befitting
the representative of Janus — pretensions which, as all men know, are
now, by the unanimous consent of Western Apostate Christendom,
recognised as inherent in the office of the Bishop of Rome. To enable
the Pope, however, to rise to the full plenitude of power which he
now asserts, the co-operation of others was needed. When his power
increased, when his dominion extended, and especially after he
became a temporal sovereign, the key of Janus became too heavy for
his single hand — he needed some to share with him the power of
the "hinge." Hence his privy councillors, his high functionaries of
state, who were associated with him in the government of the Church
and the world, got the now well-known title of " Cardinals " — the
priests of the "hinge" This title had been previously borne by the
high officials of the Roman Emperor, who, as " Pontifex Maximus,"
had been himself the representative of Janus, and who delegated
his powers to servants of his own. Even in the reign of Theodosius,
the Christian Emperor of Rome, the title of Cardinal was borne by
his Prime Minister.* But now both the name and the power
implied in the name have long since disappeared from all civil
functionaries of temporal sovereigns ; and those only who aid the
Pope in wielding the key of Janus — in opening and shutting — are
known by the title of Cardinals, or priests of the " hinge"
I have said that the Pope became the representative of Janus, who,
it is evident, was none other than the Babylonian Messiah. If the
reader only considers the blasphemous assumptions of the Papacy, he
will see how exactly it has copied from its original. In the countries
where the Babylonian system was most thoroughly developed, we find
the Sovereign Pontiff of the Babylonian god invested with the very
attributes now ascribed to the Pope. Is the Pope called " God upon
earth," the " Vice-God," and "Vicar of Jesus Christ "3 The King in
Egypt, who was Sovereign-Pontiff,! was, says Wilkinson, regarded
with the highest reverence as " THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
DIVINITY ON EARTH." J Is the Pope " Infallible," and does the
Church of Rome, in consequence, boast that it has always been
* PARKHURST, Lexicon, p. 627.
t Wilkinson shows that the king had the right of enacting laws, and of manag
ing all the affairs of religion and the State (vol. ii. p. 22), which proves him to
have been Sovereign Pontiff.
+ WILKINSON'S Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 68.
212 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
" unchanged and unchangeable " ? The same was the case with the
Chaldean Pontiff, and the system, over which he presided. The
Sovereign Pontiff, says the writer just quoted, was believed to be
" INCAPABLE OF ERROR," * and, in consequence, there was " the
greatest respect for the sanctity of old edicts ; " and hence, no doubt,
also the origin of the custom that " the laws of the Medes and Per
sians could not be altered." Does the Pope receive the adorations of
the Cardinals? The king of Babylon, as Sovereign Pontiff, was
adored in like manner, f Are kings and ambassadors required to kiss
the Pope's slipper ? This, too, is copied from the same pattern ; for,
says Professor Gaussen, quoting Strabo and Herodotus, "the kings
of Chaldea wore on their feet slippers which the kings they conquered
used to kiss. "I In fine, is the Pope addressed by the title of " Your
Holiness " ? So also was the Pagan Pontiff of Rome. The title
seems to have been common to all the Pontiffs. Symmachus, the last
Pagan representative of the Roman Emperor, as Sovereign Pontiff,
addressing one of his colleagues or fellow-pontiffs, on a step of pro
motion he was about to obtain, says, " I hear that YOUR HOLINESS
(sanctitatem tuam) is to be called out by the sacred letters."§
Peter's keys have now been restored to their rightful owner.
Peter's chair must also go along with them. That far-famed chair
came from the very same quarter as the cross-keys. The very same
reason that led the Pope to assume the Chaldean keys naturally led
him also to take possession of the vacant chair of the Pagan Pontifex
Maximus. As the Pontifex, by virtue of his office, had been the
Hierophant, or Interpreter of the Mysteries, his chair of office was
as well entitled to be called " Peter's " chair as the Pagan keys to be
called "the keys of Peter;" and so it was called accordingly. The
real pedigree of the far-famed chair of Peter will appear from the
following fact : " The Romans had," says Bower, " as they thought,
till the year 1662, a pregnant proof, not only of Peter's erecting their
* WILKINSON'S Egyptians. The " Infallibility " was a natural result of the
popular belief in regard to the relation in which the Sovereign stood to the
gods : for, says Diodorus Siculus, speaking of Egypt, the king was believed to
be "a partaker of the divine nature" (lib. i. cap. 7, p. 57).
t From the statements of Layard (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. pp. 472-474,
and Nineveh and Babylon, p. 361), it appears that as the king of Egypt was the
" Head of the religion and the state," so was the king of Assyria, which included
Babylon. Then we have evidence that he was worshipped. The sacred images
are represented as adoring him (LAYARD, Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 464),
which could not have been the case if his own subjects did not pay their homage
in that way. Then the adoration claimed by Alexander the Great evidently came
from this source. It was directly in imitation of the adoration paid to the Persian
kings that he required such homage. Quint. Curtius says (lib. viii. cap. 5, pp. 592,
593), "Volebat .... itaque more Persarum Macedonas venerabundos ipsum
salutare prosternentes humi corpora." From Xenophon we have evidence that
this Persian custom came from Babylon. It was when Cyrus had entered
Babylon that the Persians, for the first time, testified their homage to him by
adoration; for, "before this," says Xenophon (Cyropced., lib. viii. p. 215, C),
"none of the Persians had given adoration to Cyrus."
£ GAUSSEN on Daniel, vol. i. p. 114.
§ SYMMACHUS, Epistola, lib. vi. 31, p. 240.
THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF. 213
chair, but of his sitting in it himself ; for, till that year, the very
chair on which they believed, or would make others believe, he had
sat, was shown and exposed to public adoration on the 18th of
January, the festival of the said chair. But while it was cleaning,
in order to set it up in some conspicuous place of the Vatican, the
twelve labours of Hercules unluckily appeared on it ! " * and so it
had to be laid aside. The partisans of the Papacy were not a little
disconcerted by this discovery -, but they tried to put the best face
on the matter they could. " Our worship," said Giacomo Bartolini,
in his Sacred Antiquities of Rome, while relating the circum
stances of the discovery, " Our worship, however, was not misplaced,
since it was not to the wood we paid it, but to the prince of the
apostles, St. Peter," that had been supposed to sit in it.f Whatever
the reader may think of this apology for chair-worship, he will surely
at least perceive, taking this in connection with what we have
already seen, that the hoary fable of Peter's chair is fairly exploded.
In modern times, Rome seems to have been rather unfortunate in
regard to Peter's chair; for, even after that which bore the twelve
labours of Hercules had been condemned and cast aside, as unfit to
bear the light that the Reformation had poured upon the darkness of
the Holy See, that which was chosen to replace it was destined to
reveal still more ludicrously the barefaced impostures of the Papacy.
The former chair was borrowed from the Pagans ; the next appears
to have been purloined from the Mussulmans ; for when the French
soldiers under General Bonaparte took possession of Rome in 1795,
they found on the back of it, in Arabic, this well-known sentence of
the Koran, "There is no God but God, and Mahomet is His
Prophet."}
The Pope has not merely a chair to sit in ; but he has a chair to
be carried in, in pomp and state, on men's shoulders, when he pays
a visit to St. Peter's, or any of the churches of Rome. Thus does an
eye-witness describe such a pageant on the Lord's Day, in the head
quarters of Papal idolatry : " The drums were heard beating without.
The guns of the soldiers rung on the stone pavement of the house of
God, as, at the bidding of their officer, they grounded, shouldered,
and presented arms. How unlike the Sabbath — how unlike religion
— how unlike the suitable preparation to receive a minister of the
meek and lowly Jesus ! Now, moving slowly up, between the two
armed lines of soldiers, appeared a long procession of ecclesiastics,
bishops, canons, and cardinals, preceding the Roman pontiff, who
was borne on a gilded chair, clad in vestments resplendent as the
sun. His bearers were twelve men clad in crimson, being imme
diately preceded by several persons carrying a cross, his mitre, his
triple crown, and other insignia of his office. As he was borne
* BOWER'S History of the Popes, vol. i. p. 7.
t BARTOLINI, Antichitd Sacr6 di Roma, p. 32, Ibid.
£ Lady MORGAN'S Italy, vol. iii. p. 81. Dr. Wiseman tried to dispute this ;
but, as the Times, I think, remarked, " the lady had evidently the best of the
argument."
214
RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
along on the shoulders of men, amid the gaping crowds, his head was
shaded or canopied by two immense fans, made of peacock's feathers,
which were borne by two attendants."* Thus is it with the
Sovereign Pontiff of Koine at this day ; only that, frequently, over
and above being shaded by the fan, which is just the " Mystic fan of
Bacchus," his chair of state is also covered with a regular canopy.
Now, look back through the vista of three thousand years, and see
how the Sovereign Pontiff of Egypt used to pay a visit to the
temple of his god. " Having reached the precincts of the temple,"
says Wilkinson, " the guards and royal attendants selected to be the
representatives of the whole army entered the courts Military
bands played the favourite airs of the country ; and the numerous
standards of the different regiments, the banners floating on the
wind, the bright lustre of arms, the immense concourse of people,
and the imposing majesty of the lofty towers of the propylsea, decked
with their bright-coloured flags, streaming above the cornice, pre-
Fig. 47.
sented a scene seldom, we may say, equalled on any occasion, in any
country. The most striking feature of this pompous ceremony was
the brilliant cortege of the monarch, who was either borne in his
chair of state by the principal officers of state, under a rich canopy,
or walked on foot, overshadowed with rich flabella and fans of waving
plumes."f We give, as a woodcut, from Wilkinson (Fig. 47), \ the
central portion of one of his plates devoted to such an Egyptian pro
cession, that the reader may see with his own eyes how exactly the
Pagan agrees with the well-known account of the Papal ceremonial.
So much for Peter's chair and Peter's keys. Now Janus, whose
key the Pope usurped with that of his wife or mother Cybele, was
also Dagon. Janus, the two-headed god, "who had lived in two
* BEGG'S Handbook of Popery, p. 24.
t WILKINSON, vol. v. pp. 285, 286.
± From Ibid. vol. vi. Plate 76.
THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF. 215
worlds," was the Babylonian divinity as an incarnation of Noah.
Dagon, the fish-god, represented that deity as a manifestation of the
same patriarch who had lived so long in the waters of the deluge.
As the Pope bears the key of Janus, so he wears the mitre of Dagon.
The excavations of Nineveh have put this beyond all possibility of
doubt. The Papal mitre is entirely different from the mitre of
Aaron and the Jewish high priests. That mitre was a turban. The
two-horned mitre, which the Pope wears, when he sits on the high
altar at Rome and receives the adoration of the Cardinals, is the
very mitre worn by Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines and
Babylonians. There were two ways in which Dagon was anciently
represented. The one was when he was depicted as half-man half-
fish ; the upper part being entirely human, the under part ending in
the tail of a fish. The other was, when, to use the words of Layard,
" the head of the fish formed a mitre above that of the man, while its
scaly, fan-like tail fell as a cloak behind, leaving the human limbs
and feet exposed."* Of Dagon in this form Layard gives a repre-
Fig. 48.
sentation in his last work, which is here represented to the reader
(Fig. 48) ; and no one who examines his mitre, and compares it with
the Pope's as given in Elliot's Rorce,\ can doubt for a moment
that from that, and no other source, has the pontifical mitre been
derived. The gaping jaws of the fish surmounting the head of the
man at Nineveh are the unmistakable counterpart of the horns of
the Pope's mitre at Eome. Thus was it in the East, at least five
hundred years before the Christian era. The same seems to have
been the case also in Egypt ; for Wilkinson, speaking of a fish of the
species of Silurus, says "that one of the Genii of the Egyptian
Pantheon appears under a human form, with the head of this fish." J
In the West, at a later period, we have evidence that the Pagans
had detached the fish-head mitre from the body of the fish, and used
that mitre alone to adorn the head of the great Mediatorial god ; for
on several Maltese Pagan coins that god, with the well-known
attributes of Osiris, is represented with nothing of the fish save the
* LA YARD'S Babylon and Nineveh, p. 343.
t 4th Edit, vol. iii. pt. 4, Plate 27.
+ WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 253.
216
RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
mitre on his head (Fig. 49) ; * very nearly in the same form as the
mitre of the Pope, or of a Papal bishop at this day. Even in China,
the same practice of wearing the fish-head mitre had evidently once
prevailed ; for the very counterpart of the Papal mitre, as worn by
Pig. 49.
Fig. 50.
the Chinese Emperor, has subsisted to modern times. "Is it
known," asks a well-read author of the present day, in a private
communication to me, "that the Emperor of China, in all ages, even
to the present year, as high priest of the nation, once a-year prays
for and blesses the whole nation, having his priestly robes on and
his mitre on his head, the same, the very
same, as that worn by the Roman Pontiff
for near 1200 years ? Such is the fact." f
In proof of this statement the accompany
ing figure of the Imperial mitre (Fig. 50) %
is produced — which is the very facsimile
of the Popish Episcopal Mitre, in a front
view. The reader must bear in mind,
that even in Japan, still farther distant
from Babel than China itself, one of the
divinities is represented with the same
symbol of might as prevailed in Assyria
— even the bull's horns, and is called
"The ox-headed Prince of Heaven." §
If the symbol of Nimrod, as Kronos,
"The Horned one," is thus found in Japan, it cannot be surprising
that the symbol of Dagon should be found in China.
But there is another symbol of the Pope's power which must not
be overlooked, and that is the pontifical crosier. Whence came
the crosier? The answer to this, in the first place, is, that the
* From BRYANT, vol. v. p. 384. See also woodcut of Ceres and the ear of corn,
Fig. 37, p. 160, of this vol.
t A. TRIMEN, Esq., the distinguished architect, London, author of Church and
Chapel Architecture.
+ From HAGER, on Chinese Hieroglyphics, B xxxv. in British Museum, copied
for me by Mr. Trimen's son, Mr. L. B. Trimen. The words of Hager, are : — " In
like manner the sacrificial mitre of the Chinese Emperor (the Pontifex Maximus
of his nation), which was of old represented under this form [and then the above
figure is given] ( — Philos. Transact, at tab. 41 — ), bearing a strong resemblance to
the Roman Episcopal Mitre," &c., &c.
§ KEMPFEK'S Japan, in PINKERTON'S Collection^ vol. vii. p. 776.
THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF.
217
Pope stole it from the Roman augur. The classical reader may
remember, that when the Roman augurs consulted the heavens, or
took prognostics from the aspect of the sky, there was a certain
instrument with which it was indispensable that they should be
equipped. That instrument with which they described the portion
of the heavens on which their observations were to be made, was
curved at the one end, and was called " lituus" Now, so manifestly
was the " lituus" or crooked rod of the Roman augurs, identical
with the pontifical crosier, that Roman Catholic writers themselves,
writing in the Dark Ages, at a time when disguise was thought
unnecessary, did not hesitate to use the term "lituus" as a synonym
for the "crosier."* Thus a Papal writer describes a certain Pope
or Papal bishop as "mitrd lituoque decorus" adorned with the mitre
and the augur's rod, meaning thereby that he was "adorned with
the mitre and the crosier" But this lituus, or divining-rod, of the
Roman augurs, was, as is well known, borrowed from the Etruscans,
who, again, had derived it, along with their religion, from the
Assyrians. As the Roman augur was distinguished by his crooked
Fig. 51.
rod, so the Chaldean soothsayers and priests, in the performance
of their magic rites, were generally equipped with a crook or crosier.
This magic crook can be traced up directly to the first king of
Babylon, that is, Nimrod, who, as stated by Berosus, was the first
that bore the title of a Shepherd-king, f In Hebrew, or the Chaldee
of the days of Abraham, "Nimrod the Shepherd," is just Nimrod
" He-Roe"; and from this title of the " mighty hunter before the
Lord," have no doubt been derived, both the name of Hero itself,
and all that Hero-worship which has since overspread the world.
Certain it is that Nimrod's deified successors have generally been
represented with the crook or crosier. This was the case in Babylon
and Nineveh, as the extant monuments show. The accompanying
figure (Fig. 51) i from Babylon shows the crosier in its ruder guise.
* See Oradus ad Parnassum, compiled by G. PYPER, a member of the Society
of Jesus, sub vocibus Lituus Episcopus et Pedum, pp. 372, 464.
t BEROKUS apud ABYDKNUS, in CORY'S Fragments, p. 32, See also EUSEB.,
Chron., Pars. i. pp. 46, 47.
I From KITTO'S Biblical Cyclopaedia, vol. i. p. 272. — See also KITTO'S Illustrated
Commentary, TO!, iv. p. 31, where another figure from Babylon is given with
a similar crosier.
218 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
In Layard, it may be seen in a more ornate form, and nearly
resembling the papal crosier as borne at this day.* This was the
case in Egypt, after the Babylonian power was established there,
as the statues of Osiris with his crosier bear witness,! Osiris himself
being frequently represented as a crosier with an eye above it.|
This is the case among the negroes of Africa, whose god, called the
Fetiche, is represented in the form of a crosier, as is evident from
the following words of Hurd : " They place Fetiches before their
doors, and these titular deities are made in the form of grapples
or hooks, which we generally make use of to shake our fruit trees."§
This is the case at this hour in Thibet, where the Lamas or Theros
bear, as stated by the Jesuit Hue, a crosier, as the ensign of their
office. This is the case even in the far-distant Japan, where, in
a description of the idols of the great temple of Miaco, the spiritual
capital, we find this statement : " Their heads are adorned with rays
of glory, and some of them have shepherd's crooks in their hands,
pointing out that they are the guardians of mankind against all the
machinations of evil spirits. "|| The crosier of the Pope, then,
which he bears as an emblem of his office, as the great shepherd
of the sheep, is neither more nor less than the augur's crooked
staff, or magic rod of the priests of Nimrod.
Now, what say the worshippers of the apostolic succession to all
this? What think they now of their vaunted orders as derived
from Peter of Rome ? Surely they have much reason to be proud of
them. But what, I further ask, would even the old Pagan priests
say, who left the stage of time while the martyrs were still battling
against their gods, and, rather than symbolise with them, "loved
not their lives unto the death," if they were to see the present aspect
of the so-called Church of European Christendom? What would
Belshazzar himself say, if it were possible for him to "revisit the
glimpses of the moon," and enter St. Peter's at Rome, and see the
Pope in his pontificals, in all his pomp and glory ? Surely he would
conclude that he had only entered one of his own well-known
temples, and that all things continued as they were at Babylon,
on that memorable night, when he saw with astonished eyes the
handwriting on the wall : "Mene, niene, tekel, Upharsin."
* Nineveh and Babylon, p. 361. Layard seems to think the instrument referred
to, which is borne by the king, "attired as high priest in his sacrificial robes,"
a sickle ; but any one who attentively examines it will see that it is a crosier,
adorned with studs, as is commonly the case even now with the Roman crosiers,
only, that instead of being held erect, it is held downwards.
t The well-known name Pharaoh, the title of the Pontiff-kings of Egypt,
is just the Egyptian form of the Hebrew He-Roe. Pharaoh in Genesis, without
the points, is "Phe-Roe." Phe is the Egyptian definite article. It was not
shepherd-fctngrs that the Egyptians abhorred, but Roi-Tzan, "shepherds of cattle"
(Gen. xlvi. 34). Without the article Roe", a " shepherd," is manifestly the
original of the French Roi, a king, whence the adjective royal ; and from Ro,
which signifies to "act the shepherd," which is frequently pronounced Reg —
(with Sh, which signifies " He who is," or " who does," affixed) — comes Regsh,
" He who acts the shepherd," whence the Latin Rex, and Regal.
£ PLUTARCH, vol. ii. p. 354, F.
§ HUBD, p. 374, col. 2. U Ibid. p. 104, col. 2.
PRIESTS, MONKS, AND NUNS. 219
SECTION II. PRIESTS, MONKS, AND NUNS.
If the head be corrupt, so also must be the members. If the
Pope be essentially Pagan, what else can be the character of his
clergy ? If they derive their orders from a radically corrupted
source, these orders must partake of the corruption of the source
from which they flow. This might be inferred independently of
any special evidence ; but the evidence in regard to the Pagan
character of the Pope's clergy is as complete as that in regard to
the Pope himself. In whatever light the subject is viewed, this
will be very apparent.
There is a direct contrast between the character of the ministers
of Christ, and that of the Papal priesthood. When Christ com
missioned His servants, it was " to feed His sheep, to feed His
lambs," and that with the Word of God, which testifies of Himself,
and contains the words of eternal life. When the Pope ordains
his clergy, he takes them bound to prohibit, except in special
circumstances, the reading of the Word of God "in the vulgar
tongue," that is, in a language which the people can understand.
He gives them, indeed, a commission ; and what is it ? It is couched
in these astounding words : " Receive the power of sacrificing for
the living and the dead."* What blasphemy could be worse than
this ? What more derogatory to the one sacrifice of Christ, whereby
" He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified " ? (Heb. x. 14).
This is the real distinguishing function of the popish priesthood.
At the remembrance that this power, in these very words, had been
conferred on him, when ordained to the priesthood, Luther used,
in after years, with a shudder, to express his astonishment that
" the earth had not opened its mouth and swallowed up both him
who uttered these words, and him to whom they were addressed."!
The sacrifice which the papal priesthood are empowered to offer,
as a "true propitiatory sacrifice" for the sins of the living and
the dead, is just the " unbloody sacrifice " of the mass, which was
offered up in Babylon long before it was ever heard of in Rome.
Now, while Semiramis, the real original of the Chaldean Queen of
Heaven, to whom the " unbloody sacrifice " of the mass was first
offered, was in her own person, as we have already seen, the very
paragon of impurity, she at the same time affected the greatest favour
for that kind of sanctity which looks down with contempt on God's
holy ordinance of marriage. The Mysteries over which she presided
were scenes of the rankest pollution ; and yet the higher orders of the
priesthood were bound to a life of celibacy, as a life of peculiar and
pre-eminent holiness. Strange though it may seem, yet the voice of
antiquity assigns to that abandoned queen the invention of clerical
celibacy, and that in the most stringent form.}: In some countries,
* D'AUEIGNE'S Reformation, vol. i. B. ii. cap. 4, p. 171.
t Ibid. vol. i. p. 171.
£ AMMIANUS MARCKLLINTO. "Semiramis teneros mares castravit omnium
prima," lib. xiv. cap. 6, p. xxvi.
220 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
as in Egypt, human nature asserted its rights, and though the general
system of Babylon was retained, the yoke of celibacy was abolished,
and the priesthood were permitted to marry. But every scholar
knows that when the worship of Cybele, the Babylonian goddess,
was introduced into Pagan Rome, it was introduced in its primitive
form, with its celibate clergy.* "When the Pope appropiated to
himself so much that was peculiar to the worship of that goddess,
from the very same source, also, he introduced into the priesthood
under his authority the binding obligation of celibacy. The intro
duction of such a principle into the Christian Church had been
distinctly predicted as one grand mark of the apostacy, when men
should " depart from the faith, and speaking lies in hypocrisy, having
their consciences seared with a hot iron, should forbid to marry"
The effects of its introduction were most disastrous.! The records of
all nations where priestly celibacy has been introduced have proved
that, instead of ministering to the purity of those condemned to it,
it has only plunged them in the deepest pollution. The history of
Thibet, and China, and Japan, where the Babylonian institute of
priestly celibacy has prevailed from time immemorial, bears testimony
to the abominations that have flowed from it.J The excesses com
mitted by the celibate priests of Bacchus in Pagan Rome in their
secret Mysteries, were such that the Senate felt called upon to expel
them from the bounds of the Roman republic.§ In Papal Rome the
same abominations have flowed from priestly celibacy, in connection
with the corrupt and corrupting system of the confessional, insomuch
that all men who have examined the subject have been compelled to
admire the amazing significance of the name divinely bestowed on it,
both in a literal and figurative sense, " Babylon the Great, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. "{( Out
of a thousand facts of a similar kind, let one only be adduced,
vouched for by the distinguished Roman Catholic historian De Thou.
When Pope Paul V. meditated the suppression of the licensed
brothels in the u Holy City," the Roman Senate petitioned against
his carrying his design into effect, on the ground that the existence
of such places was the only means of hindering the priests Jrom
seducing their ivives and daughters ! f H
These celibate priests have all a certain mark set upon them at
their ordination ; and that is the clerical tonsure. The tonsure is the
* PAUSANIAS, lib. vii. cap. 17, p. 566 ; and KENNETT, Book ii. chap, vii., "Of
the Duumviri," &c.
t See Light of Prophecy, chapters i. p. 28, and iv. p. 114 ; and British Reformers,
" Jewell," p. 228.
£ HAMEL'S Travels in Corea, in PINKER-TON'S Collection, vol. vii. pp. 536, 537.
See also Description of Tibet in same Collection, p. 554 ; GABON'S Japan, Ibid. p.
630 ; and KEMPFER'S Japan, Ibid. p. 747.
§ LIVY, lib. xxxix. 8 and 18, vol. v. pp. 196-207.
|| Rev. xvii. 5. The Rev. M. H. Seymour shows that in 1836 the whole num
ber of births in Rome was 4373, while of these no fewer than 3100 were found
lings ! What enormous profligacy does this reveal ! — " Moral Results of the
Romish System,51 p. xlix. in Evenings with Romanists.
H THUANUS, Historia, lib. xxxix. cap. 3, vol. ii. p. 483.
PRIESTS, MONKS, AND NUNS. 221
first part of the ceremony of ordination ; and it is held to be a most
important element in connection with the orders of the Romish
clergy. When, after long contendings, the Picts were at last brought
to submit to the Bishop of Rome, the acceptance of this tonsure as
the tonsure of St. Peter on the part of the clergy was the visible
symbol of that submission. Naitan, the Pictish king, having
assembled the nobles of his court and the pastors of his church, thus
addressed them : " I recommend all the clergy of my kingdom to
receive the tonsure." Then, without delay, as Bede informs us, this
important revolution was accomplished by royal authority.* He
sent agents into every province, and caused all the ministers and
monks to receive the circular tonsure, according to the Roman
fashion, and thus to submit to Peter, "the most blessed Prince of
the apostles." f " It was the mark," says Merle D'Aubigne, " that
Popes stamped not on the forehead, but on the crown. A royal pro
clamation, and a few clips of the scissors, placed the Scotch, like a
flock of sheep, beneath the crook of the shepherd of the Tiber." J Now,
as Rome set so much importance on this tonsure, let it be asked what
was the meaning of it ? It was the visible inauguration of those who
submitted to it as the priests of Bacchus. This tonsure cannot have
the slightest pretence to Christian authority. It was indeed the
" tonsure of Peter," but not of the Peter of Galilee, but of the Chal
dean " Peter " of the Mysteries. He was a tonsured priest, for so
was the god whose Mysteries he revealed. Centuries before the
Christian era, thus spoke Herodotus of the Babylonian tonsure :
" The Arabians acknowledge no other gods than Bacchus and Urania
[i.e., the Queen of Heaven], and they say that their hair was cut in
the same manner as Bacchus's is cut ; now, they cut it in a circular
form, sbaving it around the temples. "§ What, then, could have led
to this tonsure of Bacchus ? Everything in his history was mystically
or hieroglyphically represented, and that in such a way as none but
the initiated could understand. One of the things that occupied the
most important place in the Mysteries was the mutilation to which
he was subjected when he was put to death. In memory of that, he
was lamented with bitter weeping every year, as " Rosh-Gheza,"
"the mutilated Prince." But " Rosh-Gheza "|| also signified the
"clipped or shaved head." Therefore he was himself represented
either with the one or the other form of tonsure ; and his priests, for
the same reason, at their ordination had their heads either clipped or
shaven. Over all the world, where the traces of the Chaldean system
are found, this tonsure or shaving of the head is always found along
with it. The priests of Osiris, the Egyptian Bacchus, were always
distinguished by the shaving of their heads.H" In Pagan Rome,** in
India, and even in China, the distinguishing mark of the Babylonian
* BEDE, lib. v. c. 21, p. 216. t Ibid. J D'AUBIGNE, vol. v. p. 55.
§ HEKODOTUS, lib. iii. cap. 8, p. 185, C.
|| Gheza signifies either "shearing" or "shaving."
If MACROBIUS, lib. i. c. 23, j>. 189.
** TERTULLIAN, vol. ii., Carmina, pp. 1105, 1106.
222 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
priesthood was the shaven head. Thus Gautama Buddha, who lived
at least 540 years before Christ, when setting up the sect of Buddhism
in India which spread to the remotest regions of the East, first shaved
his own head, in obedience, as he pretended, to a Divine command,
and then set to work to get others to imitate his example. One of
the very titles by which he was called was that of the " Shaved-
head."* "The sliaved-head" says one of the Purans, "that he might
perform the orders of Vishnu, formed a number of disciples, and of
skaved-heads like nimself." The high antiquity of this tonsure may
be seen from the enactment in the Mosaic law against it. The
Jewish priests were expressly forbidden to make any baldness upon
their heads (Lev. xxi. 5), which sufficiently shows that, even so early
as the time of Moses, the " shaved-head " had been already intro
duced. In the Church of Kome the heads of the ordinary priests are
only clipped, the heads of the monks or regular clergy are shaven,
but both alike, at their consecration, receive the circular tonsure,
thereby identifying them, beyond all possibility of doubt, with
Bacchus, "the mutilated Prince."! Now, if the priests of Rome
take away the key of knowledge, and lock up the Bible from the
people ; if they are ordained to offer the Chaldean sacrifice in honour
of the Pagan Queen of Heaven ; if they are bound by the Chaldean
* Col. KENNEDY, "Buddha," in Hindoo Mythology, pp. 263, 264.
f It has been already shown (p. 18, Note) that among the Chaldeans the one
term "Zero " signified at once " a circle " and " the seed." "Suro," ''the seed,"
in India, as we have seen, was the sun-divinity incarnate. When that seed was
represented in human form, to identify him with the sun, he was represented with
the circle, the well-known emblem of the sun's annual course, on some part of his
person. Thus our own god Thor was represented with a blazing circle on his
breast. — (WILSON'S Parsi Religion, p. 31.) In Persia and Assyria the circle was
represented sometimes on the breast, sometimes round the waist, and sometimes
in the hand of the sun-divinity. — (BRYANT, vol. ii., Plates, pp. 216, 406, 409 ; and
LAYAKD'S Nineveh and Babylon, p. 160.) In India it is represented at the tip of
the finger. — (Moon's Pantheon, Plate 13, "Vishnu.") Hence the circle became
the emblem of Tammuz born again, or "the seed." The circular tonsure of
Bacchus was doubtless intended to point him out as " Zero," or " the seed," the
grand deliverer. And the circle of light around the head of the ao-called
pictures of Christ was evidently just a different form of the very same thing, and
borrowed from the very same source. The ceremony of tonsure, says Maurice,
referring to the practice of that ceremony in India, " was an old practice of the
priests of Mithra, who in their tonsures imitated the solar disk." — (Antiquities, vol.
vii. p. 851. London, 1800.) As the sun-god was the great lamented god, and had
his hair cut in a circular form, and the priests who lamented him had their hair
cut in a similar manner, so in different countries those who lamented the dead and
cut off their hair in honour of them, cut it in a circular form. There were traces
of that in Greece, as appears from the Electra of Sophocles (line 52, pp. 108, 109) ;
and Herodotus particularly refers to it as practised among the Scythians when
giving an account of a royal funeral among that people. "The body," says he,
" is enclosed in wax. They then place it on a carriage, and remove it to another
district, where the persons who receive it, like the Royal Scythians, cut off a part
of their ear, shave their heads in a circular form," &c.— (Jfist., lib. iv. cap. 71, p.
279.) Now, while the Pope, as the grand representative of the false Messiah,
received the circular tonsure himself, so all his priests to identify them with the
same system are required to submit to the game circular tonsure, to mark them
in their measure and their own sphere as representatives of that same false
Messiah.
PRTESTS, MONKS, AND NUNS. 223
law of celibacy, that plunges them in profligacy ; if, in short, they are
all marked at their consecration with the distinguishing mark of the
priests of the Chaldean Bacchus, what right, what possible right, can
they have to be called ministers of Christ 1
But Rome has not only her ordinary secular clergy, as they are
called ; she has also, as every one knows, other religious orders of a
different kind. She has innumerable armies of monks and nuns all
engaged in her service. Where can there be shown the least
warrant for such an institution in Scripture 1 In the religion of the
Babylonian Messiah their institution was from the earliest times.
In that system there were monks and nuns in abundance. In
Thibet and Japan, where the Chaldean system was early introduced,
monasteries are still to be found, and with the same disastrous
results to morals as in Papal Europe.* In Scandinavia, the priest
esses of Freya, who were generally kings' daughters, whose duty it
was to watch the sacred fire, and who were bound to perpetual
virginity, were just an order of nuns.f In Athens there were
virgins maintained at the public expense, who were strictly bound
to single life. J In Pagan Rome, the Vestal virgins, who had the
same duty to perform as the priestesses of Freya, occupied a similar
position. Even in Peru, during the reign of the Incas, the same
system prevailed, and showed so remarkable an analogy, as to
indicate that the Vestals of Rome, the nuns of the Papacy, and the
Holy Virgins of Peru, must have sprung from a common origin.
Thus does Prescott refer to the Peruvian nunneries : " Another
singular analogy with Roman Catholic institutions is presented by
the virgins of the sun, the elect, as they were called. These were
young maidens dedicated to the service of the deity, who at a tender
age were taken from their homes, and introduced into convents,
where they were placed under the care of certain elderly matrons,
?namaconas,§ who had grown grey within their walls. It was their
duty to watch over the sacred fire obtained at the festival of Raymi.
From the moment they entered the establishment they were cut off
* See ante, Notes to p. 220, and also History of Tonquin, in PlNKERTON, vol. ix.
p. 766. There are some, and Protestants, too, who begin to speak of what they
call the benefits of monasteries in rude times, as if they were hurtful only when
they fall into " decrepitude and corruption " ! Enforced celibacy, which lies at
the foundation of the monastic system, is of the very essence of the Apostacy,
which is divinely characterised as the "Mystery of Iniquity." Let such Protest
ants read 1 Tim. iv. 1-3, and surely they will never speak more of the abomina
tions of the monasteries as coming only from their "decrepitude" !
t MALLET, vol. i. p. 141.
£ POTTER'S Antiquities, vol. i. p. 369.
§ Mamacona, "Mother Priestess," is almost pure Hebrew, being derived from
Am a " mother," and Cohn, " a priest," only with the feminine termination. Our
own Mamma, as well as that of Peru, is just the Hebrew Am reduplicated. It is
singular that the usual style and title of the Lady Abbess in Ireland is the
" Reverend Mother." The term Nun itself is a Chaldean word. Ninus, the son
in Chaldee is either Nin or Non. Now, the feminine of Non, a " gon," is Nonna,
a "daughter," which is just the Popish canonical name for a "Nun," and
Nonnus, in like manner, was in early times the designation for a monk in the
East. — (GiESELER, vol. ii. p. 14, Note.)
224 RELIGIOUS ORDERS.
from all communication with the world, even with their own family
and friends Woe to the unhappy maiden who was detected
in an intrigue ! By the stem law of the Incas she was to be buried
alive" This was precisely the fate of the Roman Vestal who was
proved to have violated her vow. Neither in Peru, however, nor in
Pagan Home was the obligation to virginity so stringent as in the
Papacy. It was not perpetual, and therefore not so exceedingly
demoralising. After a time, the nuns might be delivered from their
confinement, and marry ; from all hopes of which they are absolutely
cut off in the Church of Rome. In all these cases, however, it is
plain that the principle on which these institutions were founded
was originally the same. " One is astonished," adds Prescott, " to
find so close a resemblance between the institutions of the American
Indian, the ancient Roman, and the modern Catholic."*
Prescott finds it difficult to account for this resemblance ; but the
one little sentence from the prophet Jeremiah, which was quoted at
the commencement of this inquiry, accounts for it completely :
" Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that hath
made ALL THE EARTH drunken " (Jer. li. 7). This is the Rosetta
stone that has helped already to bring to light so much of the secret
iniquity of the Papacy, and that is destined still further to decipher
the dark mysteries of every system of heathen mythology that
either has been or that is. The statement of this text can be proved
to be a literal fact. It can be proved that the idolatry of the whole
earth is one, that the sacred language of all nations is radically
Chaldean — that the GREAT GODS of every country and clime are
called by Babylonian names — and that all the Paganisms of the
human race are only a wicked and deliberate, but yet most instruc
tive corruption of the primeval gospel first preached in Eden, and
through Noah, afterwards conveyed to all mankind. The system,
first concocted in Babylon, and thence conveyed to the ends of the
earth, has been modified and diluted in different ages and countries.
In Papal Rome only is it now found nearly pure and entire. But
yet, amid all the seeming variety of heathenism, there is an astonish
ing oneness and identity, bearing testimony to the truth of God's
Word. The overthrow of all idolatry cannot now be distant. But
before the idols of the heathen shall be finally cast to the moles and
to the bats, I am persuaded that they will be made to fall down and
worship " the Lord the king," to bear testimony to His glorious
truth, and with one loud and united acclaim, ascribe salvation, and
glory, and honour, and power unto Him that sitteth upon the throne,
and to the Lamb, for ever and ever.
* PRESCOTT'S Peru, vol. i. p. 103.
CHAPTER VII.
THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS HISTORICALLY AND PROPHETICALLY
CONSIDERED.
HITHERTO we have considered the history of the Two Babylons
chiefly in detail. Now we are to view them as organised systems.
The idolatrous system of the ancient Babylon assumed different
phases in different periods of its history. In the prophetic descrip
tion of the modern Babylon, there is evidently also a development
of different powers at different times. Do these two developments
bear any typical relation to each other? Yes, they do. When we
bring the religious history of the ancient Babylonian Paganism to
bear on the prophetic symbols that shadow forth the organised work
ing of idolatry in Rome, it will be found that it casts as much light
on this view of the subject as on that which has hitherto engaged our
attention. The powers of iniquity at work in the modern Babylon
are specifically described in chapters xii. and xiii. of the Revelation ;
and they are as follows : — I. The Great Red Dragon ; II. The Beast
that comes up out of the sea ; III. The Beast that ascendeth out of
the earth ; and IV. The Image of the Beast.* In all these respects
it will be found, on inquiry, that, in regard to succession and order
of development, the Paganism of the Old Testament Babylon was the
exact type of the Paganism of the New.
SECTION I. — THE GREAT RED DRAGON.
This formidable enemy of the truth is particularly described in
Rev. xii. 3 : " And there appeared another wonder in heaven, a great
red dragon." It is admitted on all hands that this is the first grand
enemy that in Gospel times assaulted the Christian Church. If the
terms in which it is described, and the deeds attributed to it, are
considered, it will be found that there is a great analogy between it
and the first enemy of all, that appeared against the ancient Church
of God soon after the Flood. The term dragon, according to the
associations currently connected with it, is somewhat apt to mislead
the reader, by recalling to his mind the fabulous dragons of the Dark
Ages, equipped with wings. At the time this Divine description was
* I purposely omit the consideration of the "Beast from the bottomless pit"
(Rev. xvii. 8). The reader will find an argument on that subject in the Red
Republic.
225 Q
226 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
given, the term dragon had no such meaning among either profane or
sacred writers. " The dragon of the Greeks," says Pausanias, " was
only a large snake ; " * and the context shows that this is the very
case here ; for what in the third verse is called a " dragon," in the
fourteenth is simply described as a " serpent." Then the word ren
dered " Red " properly means " Fiery " ; so that the " Red Dragon "
signifies the "Fiery Serpent" or "Serpent of Fire." Exactly so
does it appear to have been in the first form of idolatry, that, under
the patronage of Nimrod, appeared in the ancient world. The " Ser
pent of Fire " in the plains of Shinar seems to have been the grand
object of worship. There is the strongest evidence that apostacy
among the sons of Noah began in fire-worship, and that in connec
tion with the symbol of the serpent.
We have seen already, on different occasions, that fire was
worshipped as the enlightener and the purifier. Now, it was thus
at the very beginning ; for Nimrod is singled out by the voice
of antiquity as commencing this fire-worship, f The identity of
Nimrod and Ninus has already been proved; and under the name
of Ninus, also, he is represented as originating the same practice.
In a fragment of Apollodorus it is said that " Ninus taught the
Assyrians to worship fire."| The sun, as the great source of light
and heat, was worshipped under the name of Baal. Now, the fact
that the sun under that name, was worshipped in the earliest ages
of the world, shows the audacious character of these first beginnings
of apostacy. Men have spoken as if the worship of the sun and of
the heavenly bodies was a very excusable thing, into which the
human race might very readily and very innocently fall. But how
stands the fact ? According to the primitive language of mankind,
the sun was called " Shemesh " — that is, " the Servant " — that name,
no doubt, being divinely given, to keep the world in mind of the great
truth that, however glorious was the orb of day, it was, after all, the
appointed Minister of the bounty of the great unseen Creator to His
creatures upon earth. Men knew this, and yet with the full know
ledge of it, they put the servant in the place of the Master ; and
called the sun Baal — that is, the Lord — and worshipped him accord
ingly. What a meaning, then, in the saying of Paul, that, " when
they knew God, they glorified Him not as God ; " but " changed the
truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more
than the Creator, who is God over all, blessed for ever." The begin
ning, then, of sun-worship, and of the worship of the host of heaven,
was a sin against the light — a presumptuous, heaven-daring sin. As
the sun in the heavens was the great object of worship, so fire was
worshipped as its earthly representative. To this primeval fire-
worship Vitruvius alludes when he says that " men were first
formed into states and communities by meeting around fires."§
* PAUSANIAS, lib. ii., Corinthiaca, cap. 28, p. 175.
t JOHANN. CLERICUS, torn. ii. p. 199, and VAUX, p. 8.
J MULLER, Frag., 68, vol. i. p. 440.
§ VITBDVIUS, lib. ii. cap. 1, vol. ii. p. 36, &c.
THE GREAT RED DRAGON.
227
Fig. 52.
And this is exactly in conformity with what we have already
seen (p. 117) in regard to Phoroneus, whom we have identified
with Nimrod, that while he was said to be the " inventor of fire,"
he was also regarded as the first that " gathered mankind into com
munities."
Along with the sun, as the great fire-god, and, in due time, identi
fied with him, was the serpent worshipped. (See Fig. 52.)* " In
the mythology of the primitive world," says Owen, " the serpent is
universally the symbol of the sun."f In Egypt, one of the com
monest symbols of the sun, or sun-god, is a disc with a serpent
around it.J The original reason of that identification seems just to
have been that, as the sun was the great enlightener of the physical
world, so the serpent was held to have been the great enlightener of
the spiritual, by giving mankind the " knowledge of good and evil."
This, of course, implies tremendous depravity on the part of the ring
leaders in such a system, considering the period when it began ; but
such appears to have been the real meaning of the identification. At
all events, we have evidence, both Scriptural and profane, for the fact,
that the worship of the serpent began side by side with the worship
of fire and the sun. The inspired
statement of Paul seems decisive on
the subject. It was, he says, "when
men knew God, but glorified Him not
as God" that they changed the glory
of God, not only into an image made
like to corruptible man, but into the
likeness of " creeping things " — that is,
of serpents (Rom. i. 23). With this
profane history exactly coincides. Of
profane writers, Sanchuniathon, the
Phoenician, who is believed to have
lived about the time of Joshua, says
— " Thoth first attributed something
of the divine nature to the serpent
and the serpent tribe, in which he was followed by the Phoenicians
and Egyptians. For this animal was esteemed by him to be the
most spiritual of all the reptiles, and of a FIERY nature, inasmuch
as it exhibits an incredible celerity, moving by its spirit, without
either hands or feet Moreover, it is long-lived, and has the
quality of RENEWING ITS YOUTH .... as Thoth has laid down in
the sacred books ; upon which accounts this animal is introduced in
the sacred rites and Mysteries. "§
Now, Thoth, it will be remembered, was the counsellor of Thamus,
that is, Nimrod.|| From this statement, then, we are led to the
* From Phoenician Coin, in MAURICE'S Indian Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 368.
London, 1796.
t OWEN, apud DAVIES'S Druids, in Note, p. 437.
$ BUNSEN, Hieroglyphics, vol. i. p. 497.
§ SANCHUNIATHON, lib. i. pp. 46-49. || See page 56.
228 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
conclusion that serpent-worship was a part of the primeval apostacy
of Nimrod. The " FIERY NATURE " of the serpent, alluded to in the
above extract, is continually celebrated by the heathen poets. Thus
Virgil, " availing himself," as the author of Pompeii remarks, " of
the divine nature attributed to serpents,"* describes the sacred
serpent that came from the tomb of Anchises, when his son ^Eneas
had been sacrificing before it, in such terms as illustrate at once
the language of the Phoenician, and the "Fiery Serpent" of the
passage before us : —
" Scarce had he finished, when, with speckled pride,
A serpent from the tomb began to glide ;
His hugy bulk on seven high volumes rolled,
Blue was his breadth of back, but streaked with scaly gold.
Thus, riding on his curls, he seemed to pass
A rolling fire along, and singe the grass ."t
It is not wonderful, then, that fire-worship and serpent-worship
should be conjoined. The serpent, also, as "renewing its youth"
every year, was plausibly represented to those who wished an excuse
for idolatry as a meet emblem of the sun, the great regenerator, who
every year regenerates and renews the face of nature, and who, when
deified, was worshipped as the grand Regenerator of the souls of
men.
In the chapter under consideration, the " great fiery serpent " is
represented with all the emblems of royalty. All its heads are
encircled with " crowns or diadems ; " and so in Egypt, the serpent
of fire, or serpent of the sun, in Greek was called the Basilisk, that
is, the " royal serpent," to identify it with Moloch, which name,
while it recalls the ideas both of fire and blood, properly signifies
" the King" The Basilisk was always, among the Egyptians, and
among many nations besides, regarded as " the very type of majesty
and dominion."! As such, its image was worn affixed to the head
dress of the Egyptian monarchs ; and it was not lawful for any one
else to wear it.§ The sun identified with this serpent was called
" P'ouro,"|| which signifies at once " the Fire " and " the King," and
from this very name the epithet " Purros," the "Fiery," is given to
the " Great seven-crowned serpent " of our text,5T
Thus was the Sun, the Great Fire-god, identified with the Serpent.
But he had also a human representative, and that was Tammuz, for
whom the daughters of Israel lamented, in other words Nimrod.
We have already seen the identity of Nimrod and Zoroaster. Now,
* Vol. ii. p. 114.
t DRYDEN'S Virgil, Book v. 11. 111-116, vol. ii. pp. 460, 461 ; in Original,
11. 84-88.
£ WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 239.
§ Implied in Ibid. vol. iv. p. 239.
|| BONSEN, vol. i. pp. 407, 457.
IT The word Purros in the text does not exclude the idea of " Red," for the sun-
god was painted red to identify him with Moloch, at once the god of fire and god
of blood.— (WILKINSON, vol. iv. pp. 288-296.) The primary leading idea, however,
is that of Fire.
THE GREAT BED DRAGON. 229
Zoroaster was not only the head of the Chaldean Mysteries, but, as
all admit, the head of the fire- worshippers.* The title given to Nim-
rod, as the first of the Babylonian kings, by Berosus, indicates the
same thing. That title is Alorus,f that is, "the god of fire."J As
Nimrod, "the god of fire," was Molk-Gheber, or, " the Mighty king,"
inasmuch as he was the first who was called Moloch, or King, and the
first who began to be " mighty " (Gheber) on the earth, we see at once
how it was that the " passing through the fire to Moloch" originated,
and how the god of fire among the Romans came to be called " Mulki-
ber."§ It was only after his death, however, that he appears to have
been deified. Then, retrospectively, he was worshipped as the child of
the Sun, or the Sun incarnate. In his own life-time, however, he set up
no higher pretensions than that of being Bol-Kahn, or Priest of Baal,
from which the other name of the Roman fire-god Vulcan is evidently
derived. || Everything in the history of Vulcan exactly agrees with
that of Nimrod. Vulcan was "the most ugly and deformed" of all
the gods.U Nimrod, over all the world, is represented with the
features and complexion of a negro. Though Vulcan was so ugly,
that when he sought a wife, "all the beautiful goddesses rejected him
with horror ; " yet " Destiny, the irrevocable, interposed, and pro
nounced the decree, by which [Venus] the most beautiful of the god
desses, was united to the most unsightly of the gods."** So, in spite
of the black and Cushite features of Nimrod, he had for his queen
Semiramis, the most beautiful of women. The wife of Vulcan was
noted for her infidelities and licentiousness ; the wife of Nimrod was
the very same.ff Vulcan was the head and chief of the Cyclops, that
is, "the kings of flame."!! Nimrod was the head of the fire-worship
pers. Vulcan was the forger of the thunderbolts by which such
havoc was made among the enemies of the gods. Ninus, or Nimrod,
in his wars with the king of Bactria, seems to have carried on the
conflict in a similar way. From Arnobius we learn, that when
the Assyrians under Ninus made war against the Bactrians, the war
fare was waged not only by the sword and bodily strength, but by
magic and by means derived from the secret instructions of the
* In regard to Zoroaster as head of the fire worshippers, see Appendix, Note N.
t BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 710.
T BRYANT, vol. i. p. 10, and vol. iv. p. 152. Bryant derives the name Alorus
from Al-Aur, "god of fire." I incline to think that, from the analogy of the
name that succeeds it, it cores from Al-Hor, "The burning god;" but the
meaning is the same either way.
§ Commonly spelled Mulciber (Ovin, Art. Am., lib. ii. 1. 562, vol. i. p. 535);
but the Roman c was hard. From the epithet "Gheber," the Parsees, or fire-
worshippers of India, are still called "Guebres."
II OVID, DeArt. Am., Ibid., Nota.
if Heathen Mythology Illustrated, p. 66.
** Ibid. p. 75.
ft Nimrod, as universal king, was Khuk-hold, " King of the world." As such,
the emblem of his power was the bull's horns. Hence the origin of the Guckhold's
horns.
+£ Kuclops, from Khuk, " king," and Lohb, " flame." The image of the great
god was represented with three eyes — one in the forehead ; hence the story of the
Cyclops with the one eye in the forehead.
230 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
Chaldeans.* When it is known that the historical Cyclops are, by
the historian Castor, traced up to the very time of Saturn or Belus,
the first king of Babylon,! and when we learn that Jupiter (who was
worshipped in the very same character as Ninus, "the child "),J when
fighting against the Titans, "received from the Cyclops aid" by
means of "dazzling lightnings and thunders," we may have some
pretty clear idea of the magic arts derived from the Chaldean
Mysteries, which Ninus employed against the Bactrian king. There
is evidence that, down to a late period, the priests of the Chaldean
Mysteries knew the composition of the formidable Greek fire, which
burned under water, and the secret of which has been lost ;§ and
there can be little doubt that Nimrod, in erecting his power, availed
himself of such or similar scientific secrets, which he and his associ
ates alone possessed.
In these, and other respects yet to be noticed, there is an exact
coincidence between Vulcan, the god of fire of the Romans, and
Nimrod the fire-god of Babylon. In the case of the classic Yulcan,
it is only in his character of the fire-god as a physical agent that he
is popularly represented. But it was in his spiritual aspects, in
cleansing and regenerating the souls of men, that the fire-worship
told most effectually on the world. The power, the popularity, and
skill of Nimrod, as well as the seductive nature of the system itself,
enabled him to spread the delusive doctrine far and wide, and he
was represented under the well-known name of Phaethon,|| as on the
point of " setting the whole world on fire," or (without the poetical
metaphor) of involving all mankind in the guilt of fire-worship.
The extraordinary prevalence of the worship of the fire-god in the
early ages of the world, is proved by legends found over all the
earth, and by facts in almost every clime. Thus, in Mexico, the
natives relate, that in primeval times, just after the first age, the
world was burnt up with fire.H As their history, like the Egyptian,
was written in Hieroglyphics, it is plain that this must be symboli
cally understood. In India, they have a legend to the very same
effect, though somewhat varied in its form. The Brahmins say that,
in a very remote period of the past, one of the gods shone with such
insufferable splendour, "inflicting distress on the universe by his
effulgent beams, brighter than a thousand worlds,"** that, unless
another more potent god had interposed and cut off his head, the
* ARNOBIUS, lib. i. p. 327, col. 1.
t EUSEBIUS, Ohronicon. Armenian Translation, Pars. i. p. 81.
J See ante, p. 139.
§ SALVERTE, Des Sciences Occultes, p. 415.
|| Phaethon is called an Ethiopian — i.e., a Cushite. For explanation of his
story, see Appendix, Note O.
IT HUMBOLDT'S Mexico, vol. ii. pp. 21, 22.
'* SKANDA PDRAN, and PADMA PURAN, apud KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology,
p. 275. In the myth, this divinity is represented as the fifth head of Brahma ;
but as this head is represented as having gained the knowledge that made him so
insufferably proud by perusing the Vedas produced by the other four heads of
Brahma, that shows that he must have been regarded as having a distinct
individuality.
THE GREAT BED DEAGON. 231
result would have been most disastrous. In the Druidic Triads of
the old British Bards, there is distinct reference to the same event.
They say that in primeval times a "tempest of fire arose, which split
the earth asunder to the great deep," from which none escaped but
"the select company, shut up together in the enclosure with the
strong door," with the great " patriarch distinguished for his
integrity,"* that is evidently with Shem, the leader of the faithful —
who preserved their " integrity " when so many made shipwreck of
faith and a good conscience. These stories all point to one and the
same period, and they show how powerful had been this form of
apostacy. The Papal purgatory and the fires of St. John's Eve,
which we have already considered, and many other fables or
practices still extant, are just so many relics of the same ancient
superstition.
It will be observed, however, that the Great Red Dragon, or
Great Fiery Serpent, is represented as standing before the Woman
with the crown of twelve stars, that is, the true Church of God, " To
devour her child as soon as it should be born." Now, this is in exact
accordance with the character of the Great Head of the system of
fire-worship. Nirnrod, as the representative of the devouring fire to
which human victims, and especially children, were offered in sacri
fice, was regarded as the great child-devourer. Though, at his first
deification, he was set up himself as Ninus, or the child, yet, as the
first of mankind that was deified, he was, of course, the actual
father of all the Babylonian gods ; and, therefore, in that character
he was afterwards universally regarded. f As the Father of the
gods, he was, as we have seen, called Kronos ; and every one knows
that the classical story of Kronos was just this, that, "he devoured
his sons as soon as they were born." I Such is the analogy between
type and antitype. This legend has a further and deeper meaning ;
but, as applied to Nimrod, or " The Horned One,"§ it just refers to
the fact, that, as the representative of Moloch or Baal, infants were
the most acceptable offerings at his altar. We have ample and
melancholy evidence on this subject from the records of antiquity.
"The Phenicians," says Eusebius, "every year sacrificed their
beloved and only-begotten children to Kronos or Saturn,|| and the
Rhodians also often did the same." Diodorus Siculus states that the
Carthaginians, on one occasion, when besieged by the Sicilians, and
sore pressed, in order to rectify, as they supposed, their error in
having somewhat departed from the ancient custom of Carthage, in
this respect, hastily " chose out two hundred of the noblest of their
children, and publicly sacrificed them" to this god.lf There is
* DAVIKS'S Druids, p. 226.
t Phaethon, though the child of the sun, is also called the Father of the gods.
— (LACTANTIU8, De Falsa Rdiyione, lib. i. cap. 5, p. 10.) In Egypt, too, Vulcan
•was the Father of the gods. — (AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. xvii. cap. 4, p. 163.)
+ LEMPRIERK, " Saturn."
§ See woodcut, Fig. 10, p. 33.
I! EUSEB. De Laud. Constantini, cap. xiii. p. 267, A, C.
IT DIODORUS, lib. xx. pp. 739, 740.
232 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
reason to believe that the same practice obtained in our own land in
the times of the Druids. We know that they offered human sacri
fices to their bloody gods. We have evidence that they made " their
children pass through the fire to Moloch," and that makes it highly
probable that they also offered them in sacrifice ; for, from Jeremiah
xxxii. 35, compared with Jeremiah xix. 5, we find that these two
things were parts of one and the same system. The god whom the
Druids worshipped was Baal, as the blazing Baal-fires show, and the
last-cited passage proves that children were offered in sacrifice to Baal.
When " the fruit of the body " was thus offered, it was " for the sin
of the soul." And it was a principle of the Mosaic law, a principle
no doubt derived from the patriarchal faith, that the priest must
partake of whatever was offered as a sin-offering (Numbers xviii.
9, 10). Hence, the priests of Nimrod or Baal were necessarily
required to eat of the human sacrifices; and thus it has come to
pass that " Cahna-Bal,"* the "Priest of Baal," is the established
word in our own tongue for a devourer of human flesh, f
Now, the ancient traditions relate that the apostates who joined
in the rebellion of Nimrod made war upon the faithful among the
sons of Noah. Power and numbers were on the side of the fire-
worshippers. But on the side of Shern and the faithful was the
mighty power of God's Spirit. Therefore many were convinced of
their sin, arrested in their evil career; and victory, as we have
already seen, declared for the saints. The power of Nimrod came
to an end, f and with that, for a time, the worship of the sun, and the
* The word Cahna is the emphatic form of Cahn. Cahn is "a priest," Cahna
is " the priest."
•}• From the historian Castor (in Armenian translation of EUSEBIUS, pars. i.
p. 81) we learn that it was under Bel, or Belus, that is Baal, that the Cyclops
lived ; and the Scholiast on yEschylus (p. 32, ante, Note) states that these
Cyclops were the brethren of Kronos, who was also Bel or Bal, as we have else
where seen (p. 32). The eye in their forehead shows that originally this name
was a name of the great god ; for that eye in India and Greece is found the
characteristic of the supreme divinity. The Cyclops, then, had been representa
tives of that God — in other words, priests, and priests of Bel or Baal. Now, we
find that the Cyclops were well-known as cannibals, Referre ritus Cyclopum, " to
bring back the rites of the Cyclops," meaning to revive the practice of eating
human flesh. — (OviD, Metam., xv. 93, vol. ii. p. 132.)
+ The wars of the giants against heaven, referred to in ancient heathen writers,
had primary reference to this war against the saints ; for men cannot make war
upon God except by attacking the people of God. The ancient writer Enpolemus,
as quoted by Eusebius (Prceparatio Evang., lib. i. cap. 17, vol. ii. p. 19), states,
that the builders of the tower of Babel were these giants ; which statement
amounts nearly to the same thing as the conclusion to which we have already
come, for we have seen that the "mighty ones" of Nimrod were "the giants" of
antiquity (see ante, p. 54, Notes). Epiphanius records (lib. i., vol. i. p. 7) that
Nimrod was a ringleader among these giants, and that " conspiracy, sedition, and
tyranny were carried on under him." From the very necessity of the case,
the faithful must have suffered most, as being most opposed to his ambitious and
sacrilegious schemes. That Nimrod's reign terminated in some very signal
catastrophe, we have seen abundant reason already to conclude. The following
statement of Syncellus confirms the conclusions to which we have already come as
to the nature of that catastrophe ; referring to the arresting of the tower-
building scheme, Syncellus (Chronographia, vol. i. p. 77) proceeds thus: "But
THE GREAT RED DRAGON. 233
fiery serpent associated with it. The case was exactly as stated here
in regard to the antitype (Rev. xii. 9) : " The great dragon," or fiery
serpent, was " cast out of heaven to the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him ; " that is, the Head of the fire-worship, and all
his associates and underlings, were cast down from the power and
glory to which they had been raised. Then was the time when the
whole gods of the classic Pantheon of Greece were fain to flee and
hide themselves from the wrath of their adversaries.* Then it was,
that, in India, Indra, the king of the gods, Surya, the god of the sun,
Agui, the god of fire, and all the rabble rout of the Hindu Olympus,
were driven from heaven, wandered over the earth, f or hid them
selves in forests,! disconsolate, and ready to "perish of hunger. "§
Then it was that Phaethon, while driving the chariot of the sun,
when on the point of setting the world on fire, was smitten by the
Supreme God, and cast headlong to the earth, while his sisters, the
daughters of the sun, inconsolably lamented him, as, "the women
wept for Tammuz." Then it was, as the reader must be prepared to
see, that Vulcan, or Molk-gheber, the classic "god of fire," was so
ignominiously hurled down from heaven, as he himself relates in
Homer, speaking of the wrath of the King of Heaven, which in this
instance must mean God Most High : —
" I felt his matchless might,
Hurled headlong downwards from the ethereal height ;
Tossed all the day in rapid circles round,
Nor, till the sun descended, touched the ground.
Breathless I fell, in giddy motion lost.
The Sinthians raised me on the Lemnian coast. "j|
The lines, in which Milton refers to this same downfall, though he
gives it another application, still more beautifully describe the
greatness of the overthrow : —
" In Ausonian land
Men called him Mulciber ; and how he fell
From heaven, they fabled. Thrown by angry Jove
Sheer o'er the crystal battlements ; from morn
Nimrod would still obstinately stay (when most of the other tower -builders were
dispersed), and reside upon the spot ; nor could he be withdrawn from the tower,
still having the command over no contemptible body of men. Upon this, we are
informed, that the tower, being beat upon by violent winds, gave way, and by the
just judgment of God, crushed him to pieces." Though this could not be
literally true, for the tower stood for many ages, yet there is a considerable
amount of tradition to the effect that the tower in which Nimrod gloried was
overthrown by ivind, which gives reason to suspect that this story, when properly
understood, had a real meaning in it. Take it figuratively, and remembering that
the same word which signifies the wind signifies also the Spirit of God, it becomes
highly probable that the meaning is, that his lofty and ambitious scheme, by
which, in Scriptural language, he was seeking to " mount up to heaven," and " set
his nest among the stars," was overthrown for a time by the Spirit of God, as we
have already concluded, and that, in that overthrow he himself perished.
* OVID, Metamorphoses, lib. v., fab. 5, 11. 321-323.
t KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, p. 336. J COLKMAN, p. 89.
§ KENNEDY'S Hindoo Mythology, p. 350.
POPE'S Homer, Iliad, Book i. 11. 750-765, vol. i. p. 39.
234 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,
A summer's day ; and, with the setting sun,
Dropped from the zenith, like a falling star,
On Lemnos, the ^Egean isle."*
These words very strikingly show the tremendous fall of Molk-
gheber, or Nimrod, "the Mighty King," when "suddenly he was
cast down from the height of his power, and was deprived at once of
his kingdom and his life."f Now, to this overthrow there is very
manifest allusion in the prophetic apostrophe of Isaiah to the king
of Babylon, exulting over his approaching downfall : " How art
thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning ! " The
Babylonian king pretended to be a representative of Nimrod or
Phaethon ; and the prophet, in these words, informs him, that, as
certainly as the god in whom he gloried had been cast down
from his high estate, so certainly should he. In the classic story,
Phaethon is said to have been consumed with lightning (and, as we
shall see by-and-by, ^Esculapius also died the same death) ; but the
lightning is a mere metaphor for the wrath of God, under which his
life and his kingdom had come to an end. When the history is
examined, and the figure stripped off, it turns out, as we have
already seen, that he was judicially slain with the sword. I
Such is the language of the prophecy, and so exactly does it cor
respond with the character, and deeds, and fate of the ancient type.
How does it suit the antitype ? Could the power of Pagan Imperial
Rome — that power that first persecuted the Church of Christ, that
stood by its soldiers around the tomb of the Son of God Himself, to
devour Him, if it had been possible, when He should be brought
forth, as the first-begotten from the dead,§ to rule all nations — be
* Paradise Lost, lib. i. 11. 738-745.
t The Greek poets speak of two downfalls of Vulcan. In the one case he was
cast down by Jupiter, in the other by Juno. When Jupiter cast him down, it
was for rebellion ; when Juno did so, one of the reasons specially singled out for
doing so was his "malformation," that is, his ugliness. — (HOMER'S Hymn to
Apollo, 11. 316-318, p. 37 of Hymn.) How exactly does this agree with the story
of Nimrod : First he was personally cast down, when, by Divine authority, he was
slain. Then he was cast down, in effigy, by Juno, when his image was degraded
from the arms of the Queen of Heaven, to make way for the fairer child. — See
ante, p. 69.
£ See pages 62-65. Though Orpheus was commonly represented as having
been torn in pieces, he too was fabled to have been killed by lightning. —
(PAUSANIAS, Bceotica, cap. xxx. p. 768.) When Zoroaster died, he also is said in
the myth to have perished by lightning (SuiDAS, vol. i. pp. 1133, 1134) ; and
therefore, in accordance with that myth, he is represented as charging his
countrymen to preserve not his body, but his "ashes." The death by lightning,
however, is evidently a mere figure.
§ The birth of the Man-child, as given above, is different from that usually
given : but let the reader consider if the view which I have taken does not meet
all the requirements of the case. I think there will be but few who will assent to
the opinion of Mr. Elliot, which in substance amounts to this, that the Man-child
was Constantino the Great, and that when Christianity, in his person sat down on
the throne of Imperial Rome, that was the fulfilment of the saying, that the child
brought forth by the woman, amid such pangs of travail, was "caught up to God
and His throne." When Constantine came to the empire, the Church indeed, as
foretold in Daniel xi. 34, " was holpen with a little help ; " but that was all. The
THE GREAT RED DRAGON. 235
represented by a "Fiery Serpent"? Nothing could more lucidly
show it forth. Among the lords many, and the gods many, wor
shipped in the imperial city, the two grand objects of worship were
the "Eternal Fire," kept perpetually burning in the temple of
Christianity of Constantine was but of a very doubtful kind, the Pagans seeing
nothing in it to hinder but that when he died, he should be enrolled among their
gods. — (EuTROPius, x. pp. 131-133.) But even though ithad been better, the descrip
tion of the woman's child is far too high for Constantine, or any Christian emperor
that succeeded him on the imperial throne. " The Man-child, born to rule all
nations with a rod of iron," is unequivocally Christ (see Psalms ii. 9 ; Rev. xix. 15).
True believers, as one with Him in a subordinate sense, share in that honour (Rev.
ii. 27) ; but to Christ alone, properly, does that prerogative belong ; and I think
it must be evident that it is His birth that is here referred to. But those who
have contended for this view have done injustice to their cause by representing
this passage as referring to His literal birth in Bethlehem. When Christ was born
in Bethlehem, no doubt Herod endeavoured to cut Him off, and Herod was a sub
ject of the Roman Empire. But it was not from any respect to Caesar that he did
so, but simply from fear of danger to his own dignity as King of Judea. So little
did Caesar sympathise with the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, that it is
recorded that Augustus, on hearing of it, remarked that it was "better to be
Herod's hog than to be his child," — (MACROBius, Saturnalia, lib. ii. cap. 4, p. 77, B.)
Then, even if it were admitted that Herod's bloody attempt to cut off the infant
Saviour was symbolised by the Roman dragon, ' ' standing ready to devour the
child as soon as it should be born," where was there anything that could correspond
to the statement that the child, to save it from that dragon, "was caught up to
God and His throne " ? The flight of Joseph and Mary with the Child into Egypt
could never answer to such language. Moreover, it is worthy of special note, that
when the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was born, in a very important
sense only as " King of the Jews.''' " Where is He that is born King of the Jews 1 "
was the inquiry of the wise men that came from the East to seek Him. All His
life long, He appeared in no other character ; and when He died, the inscription
on His cross ran in these terms : "This is the King of the Jews." Now, this was
no accidental thing. Paul tells us (Rom. xv. 8) that "Jesus Christ was a minister
of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the
fathers." Our Lord Himself plainly declared the same thing. " I am not sent,"
said He to the Syrophoanician woman, " save to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel ; " and, in sending out His disciples during His personal ministry, this was
the charge which He gave them : "Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into
any city of the Samaritans enter ye not." It was only when He was "begotten
from the dead," and "declared to be the Son of God with power," by His victory
over the grave, that He was revealed as " the Man-child, born to rule all nations."
Then said He to His disciples, when He had risen, and was about to ascend on
high : " All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth : go ye therefore, and
teach agnations." To this glorious "birth "from the tomb, and to the birth-
pangs of His Church that preceded it, our Lord Himself made distinct allusion on
the night before He was betrayed (John xvi. 20-22), "Verily, verily, I say unto
you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice ; and ye shall be
sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail
hath sorrow, because her hour is come ; but as soon as she is delivered of the child,
she rernembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a MAN is born into the world.
And ye now therefore have sorroiv ; but I will see you again, and your heart shall
rejoice." Here the grief of the apostles, and, of course, all the true Church that
sympathised with them during the hour and power of darkness, is compared to
the pangs of a travailing woman ; and their joy, when the Saviour should see
them again after His resurrection, to the joy of a mother when safely delivered
of a Man-child. Can there be a doubt, then, what the symbol before us means,
when the woman is represented as travailing in pain to be delivered of a "Man-
child, that was to rule all nations," and when it is said that that " Man-child was
caught up to God and His throne " ?
236 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
Vesta, and the sacred Epidaurian Serpent. In Pagan Rome, this
fire-worship and serpent-worship were sometimes separate, sometimes
conjoined ; but both occupied a pre-eminent place in Roman esteem.
The fire of Yesta was regarded as one of the grand safeguards of
the empire. It was pretended to have been brought from Troy by
^Eneas, who had it confided to his care by the shade of Hector,* and
was kept with the most jealous care by the Vestal virgins, who, for
their charge of it, were honoured with the highest honours. The
temple where it was kept, says Augustine, " was the most sacred and
most reverenced of all the temples of Rome."f The fire that was so
jealously guarded in that temple, and on which so much was believed
to depend, was regarded in the very same light as by the old Baby
lonian fire-worshippers. It was looked upon as the purifier, and in
April every year, at the Palilia, or feast of Pales, both men and
cattle, for this purpose, were made to pass through the fire.J The
Epidaurian snake, that the Romans worshipped along with the fire,
was looked on as the divine representation of /Esculapius, the child
of the Sun.§ ^Esculapius, whom that sacred snake represented, was
evidently, just another name for the great Babylonian god. His fate
was exactly the same as that of Phaethon. He was said to have
been smitten with lightning for raising the dead.|| It is evident
that this could never have been the case in a physical sense, nor
could it easily have been believed to be so. But view it in a spiritual
sense, and then the statement is just this, that he was believed
to raise men who were dead in trespasses and sins to newness
of life. Now, this was exactly what Phaethon was pretending
to do, when he was smitten for setting the world on fire. In the
Babylonian system there was a symbolical death,H that all the
initiated had to pass through, before they got the new life which
was implied in regeneration, and that just to declare that they
had passed from death unto life. As the passing through the fire
was both a purgation from sin and the means of regeneration, so
it was also for raising the dead that Phaethon was smitten. Then,
as ^Esculapius was the child of the Sun, so was Phaethon.**' To
symbolise this relationship, the head of the image of >3j]sculapius
was generally encircled with rays. ft The Pope thus encircles the
heads of the pretended images of Christ; but the real source of
these irradiations is patent to all acquainted either with the litera
ture or the art of Rome. Thus speaks Virgil of Latinus : —
* VIRGIL'S JZneid, Book ii. 11. 296, 297, p. 78.
t De Civitate, lib. iii. cap. 28, vol. ix. p. 110.
£ OVID, Fasti, lib. iv. 11. 722-743.
§ Ibid. Metam., lib. xv. 11. 736-745.
|| Ibid, and Jlneid, lib. vii. 11. 769-773, pp. 364, 365.
•H WILKINSON, vol. i. p. 267, and APULEIUS, Metam., cap. xi.
** The birth of ^Esculapius in the myth was just the same as that of Bacchus.
His mother was consumed by lightning, and the infant was rescued from the
lightning that consumed her, as Bacchus was snatched from the flames that
burnt up his mother. — LEMPRIKRE.
ft DYMOCK, sub voce.
THE GREAT RED DRAGON.
237
" And now, in pomp, the peaceful kings appear,
Four steeds the chariot of Latinus bear,
Twelve golden beams around his temples play,
To mark his lineage from the god of day."*
The " golden beams " around the head of ^Esculapius were intended
to mark the same, to point him out as the child of the Sun, or the
Sun incarnate. The "golden beams "around the heads of pictures
and images called by the name of Christ, were intended to show the
Pagans that they might safely worship them, as the images of their
well-known divinities, though called by a different name. Now
^Esculapius, in a time of deadly pestilence, had been invited from
Epidaurus to Rome. The god, under the form of a large serpent,
entered the ship that was sent to convey him to Rome, and having
safely arrived in the Tiber, was solemnly inaugurated as the guardian
god of the Romans, f From that time forth, in private as well as in
public, the worship of the Epidau-
rian snake, the serpent that repre-
sented the Sun-divinity incarnate,
in other words, the " Serpent of
Fire," became nearly universal.
In almost every house the sacred
serpent, which was a harmless sort,
was to be found. " These ser
pents nestled about the domestic
altars," says the author of Pompeii,
" and came out, like dogs or cats, to
be patted by the visitors, and beg for
something to eat. Nay, at table,
if we may build upon insulated
passages, they crept about the cups
of the guests, and, in hot weather,
- 53-
ladies would use them as live boas, '
and twist them round their necks
for the sake of coolness ..... These sacred animals made war on
the rats and mice, and thus kept down one species of vermin ; but as
they bore a charmed life, and no one laid violent hands on them,
they multiplied so fast, that, like the monkeys of Benares, they
became an intolerable nuisance. The frequent fires at Rome were
the only things that kept them under."! The reader will find, in the
accompanying woodcut (Fig. 53), a representation of Roman fire-
worship and serpent-worship at once separate and conjoined. § The
reason of the double representation of the god I cannot here enter
into ; but it must be evident, from the words of Virgil already quoted,
that the figures in the upper compartment, having their heads
encircled with rays, represent the fire-god, or Sun-divinity ; and what
* DRYDEN'S Virgil, Book xii. 11. 245-248, vol. iii. p. 775 ; in Original, 11. 161-164.
t LACTANTIUS, De Origine Erroris, p. 82.
+ Pompeii, vol. ii. pp. 114, 115.
§ Ibid. vol. ii. p. 105.
238
THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
Fig. 54.
is worthy of special note is, that these fire-gods are black* the colour
thereby identifying them with the ./Ethiopian or black Phaethon ;
while, as the author of Pompeii himself admits, these same black fire-
gods are in the under compartment represented by two huge serpents.
Now, if this worship of the sacred serpent of the Sun, the great fire-
god, was so universal in Rome, what symbol could more graphically
portray the idolatrous power of Pagan Imperial Rome than the
" Great Fiery Serpent " 1 No doubt it was to set forth this very thing
that the Imperial standard itself — the standard of the Pagan
Emperor of Rome, as Pontifex Maximus, Head of the great system
of fire-worship and serpent-worship — was a serpent elevated on a
lofty pole, and so coloured, as to exhibit it as a recognised symbol of
fire-worship.f
As Christianity spread in the Roman Empire, the powers of light
and darkness came into collision (Rev. xii. 7, 8) : — " Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon ;
and the dragon fought and his
angels, and prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more
in heaven. And the great dragon
was cast out; .... he was cast
out into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him." The
"great serpent of fire" was cast
out, when, by the decree of Gratian,
Paganism throughout the Roman
empire was abolished — when the fires
of Vesta were extinguished, and the
revenues of the Vestal virgins were
confiscated — when the Roman Em
peror (who though for more than a
century and a-half a professor of
Christianity, had been "Pontifex
Maximus," the very head of the
idolatry of Rome, and as such, on
high occasions, appearing invested
with all the idolatrous insignia of Paganism), through force of con
science abolished his own office. | While Nimrod was personally and
literally slain by the sword, it was through the sword of the Spirit
that Shem overcame the system of fire-worship, and so bowed the
hearts of men, as to cause it for a time to be utterly extinguished.
In like manner did the Dragon of fire, in the Roman Empire,
receive a deadly wound from a sword, and that the sword of the
* " All the faces in his (MAZOIS'S) engraving are quite black." — (Pompeii, vol.
ii. p. 106.) In India, the infant Crishna (emphatically the black god), in the arms
of the goddess Devaki, is represented with the woolly hair and marked features of
the Negro or African race (see Fig. 54 ; from MOOR, Plate 59).
t AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. xvi. cap. 12, p. 145. (See Appendix, Note P.)
t ZOSIMI Hist., lib. iv. p. 761.
THE GREAT RED DRAGON. 239
Spirit, which is the Word of God. There is thus far an exact
analogy between the type and the antitype.
But not only is there this analogy. It turns out, when the
records of history are searched to the bottom, that when the head of the
Pagan idolatry of Rome was slain with the sword by the extinction
of the office of Pontifex Maximus, the last Roman Pontifex Maximus
was the ACTUAL, LEGITIMATE, SOLE REPRESENTATIVE OF NIMROD and
his idolatrous system then existing. To make this clear, a brief
glance at the Roman history is necessary. In common with all the
earth, Rome at a very early prehistoric period, had drunk deep of
Babylon's "golden cup." But above and beyond all other nations,
it had had a connection with the idolatry of Babylon that put it in
a position peculiar and alone. Long before the days of Romulus, a
representative of the Babylonian Messiah, called by his name, had
fixed his temple as a god, and his palace as a king, on one of those
very heights which came to be included within the walls of that
city which Remus and his brother were destined to found. On the
Capitoline hill, so famed in after-days as the great high place of
Roman worship, Saturnia, or the city of Saturn, the great Chaldean
fod, had in the days of dim and distant antiquity been erected.*
ome revolution had then taken place — the graven images of
Babylon had been abolished — the erecting of any idol had been
sternly prohibited,! and when the twin founders of the now world-
renowned city reared its humble walls, the city and the palace of
their Babylonian predecessor had long lain in ruins. The ruined
state of this sacred city, even in the remote age of Evander, is
alluded to by Virgil. Referring to the time when ^Eneas is said to
have visited that ancient Italian king, thus he speaks : —
" Then saw two heaps of ruins ; once they stood
Two stately towns on either side the flood ;
Saturnia and Janicula's remains ;
And either place the founder's name retains."!}!
The deadly wound, however, thus given to the Chaldean system, was
destined to be healed. A colony of Etruscans, earnestly attached to
the Chaldean idolatry, had migrated, some say from Asia Minor,
others from Greece, and settled in the immediate neighbourhood of
Rome.§ They were ultimately incorporated in the Roman state,
but long before this political union took place they exercised the
most powerful influence on the religion of the Romans. From the
very first their skill in augury, soothsaying, and all science, real or
* AURELIUS VICTOR, Origo Gent. Roman., cap. 3.
t PLUTARCH (in Hist. Numce, vol. i. p. 65) states, that Numa forbade the
making of images, and that for 170 years after the founding of Rome, no images
were allowed in the Roman temples.
£ JBneid, lib. viii. 11. 467-470, vol. iii. p. 608.
§ DIONYSIDS HALICARN., vol. i. p. 22, Sir W. Betham (Etruria Celtica, vol. i.
p. 47) opposes the Lydian origin of the Etrurians ; but Layard (Nineveh and
Babylon, chap. xxiv. p. 563) seems to have set the question at rest in favour of
their Oriental extraction, or at least their close connection with the East.
240 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
pretended, that the augurs or soothsayers monopolised, made the
Romans look up to them with respect. It is admitted on all hands
that the Romans derived their knowledge of augury, which occu
pied so prominent a place in every public transaction in which they
engaged, chiefly from the Tuscans,* that is, the people of Etruria,
and at first none but natives of that country were permitted to
exercise the office of a Haruspex, which had respect to all the rites
essentially involved in sacrifice.! Wars and disputes arose between
Rome and the Etruscans ; but still the highest of the noble youths
of Rome were sent to Etruria to be instructed in the sacred science
which flourished there. | The consequence was, that under the
influence of men whose minds were moulded by those who clung to
the ancient idol-worship, the Romans were brought back again to
much of that idolatry which they had formerly repudiated and cast
off. Though Numa, therefore, in setting up his religious system, so
far deferred to the prevailing feeling of his day and forbade image-
worship, yet in consequence of the alliance subsisting between Rome
and Etruria in sacred things, matters were put in train for the
ultimate subversion of that prohibition. The college of Pontiffs, of
which he laid the foundation,§ in process of time came to be sub
stantially an Etruscan college, and the Sovereign Pontiff that pre
sided over that college, and that controlled all the public and private
religious rites of the Roman people in all essential respects, became
in spirit and in practice an Etruscan Pontiff.
Still the Sovereign Pontiff of Rome, even after the Etruscan
idolatry was absorbed into the Roman system, was only an offshoot
from the grand original Babylonian system. He was a devoted
worshipper of the Babylonian god ; but he was not the legitimate
representative of that God. The true legitimate Babylonian Pontiff
had his seat beyond the bounds of the Roman empire. That seat,
after the death of Belshazzar, and the expulsion of the Chaldean
priesthood from Babylon by the Medo-Persian kings, was at Per-
gamos, where afterwards was one of the seven churches of Asia.||
There, in consequence, for many centuries was " Satan's seat " (Rev.
ii. 13). There, under favour of the deifiedll kings of Pergamos, was
* KENNETT'S Antiquities, Part ii., Book ii. chap. 3, p. 67, and ADAM'S Anti
quities, "Ministers of Religion," p. 255.
f KENNETT'S Antiquities, Book ii. chap. 4, p. 69.
£ CICERO, De Divinatione, lib. i. cap. 41, vol. iii. pp. 34, 35.
§ LIVY, lib. iv. cap. 4, vol. i. p. 260.
I) BARKER and AINSWORTH'S Lares and Penates of Cilicia, chap. viii. p. 232.
Barker says, " The defeated Chaldeans fled to Asia Minor, and fixed their central
college at Pergamos." Phrygia, that was so remarkable for the worship of Cybele
and Atys, formed part of the kingdom of Pergamos. Mysia also was another, and
the Mysians, in the Paschal Chronicle, are said to be descended from Nimrod.
The words are, " Nebrod, the huntsman and giant — from whence came the
Mysians." — (Paseh. Chron. vol. i. p. 50.) Lydia, also, from which Livy and
Herodotus say the Etrurians came, formed part of the same kingdom. For the
fact that Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia were constituent parts of the kingdom of
Pergamos, see SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, p. 542.
U The kings of Pergamos, in whose dominions the Chaldean Magi found an
asylum, were evidently by them, and by the general voice of Paganism that
THE GKEAT RED DRAGON. 241
his favourite abode, there was the worship of ^Esculapius, under the
form of the serpent, celebrated with frantic orgies and excesses,
that elsewhere were kept under some measure of restraint. At first,
the Roman Pontiff had no immediate connection with Pergamos
and the hierarchy there ; yet, in course of time, the Pontificate of
Home and the Pontificate of Pergamos came to be identified.
Pergamos itself became part and parcel of the Roman empire, when
Attalus III., the last of its kings, at his death, left by will all his
dominions to the Roman people, B.C. 133.* For some time after
the kingdom of Pergamos was merged in the Roman dominions,
there was no one who could set himself openly and advisedly to lay
claim to all the dignity inherent in the old title of the kings of
Pergamos. The original powers even of the Roman Pontiffs seem
to have been by that time abridged,! but when Julius Caesar, who
had previously been elected Pontifex Maximus,| became also, as
Emperor, the supreme civil ruler of the Romans, then, as head of
the Roman state, and head of the Roman religion, all the powers and
functions of the true legitimate Babylonian Pontiff W&TG supremely
vested in him, and he found himself in a position to assert these
powers. Then he seems to have laid claim to the divine dignity of
Attalus, as well as the kingdom that Attalus had bequeathed to the
Romans, as centring in himself ; for his well-known watchword,
" Venus Genetrix," which meant that Venus was the mother of the
Julian race, appears to have been intended to make him " The Son "
of the great goddess, even as the "Bull-horned" Attalus had been
regarded. § Then, on certain occasions, in the exercise of his high
pontifical office, he appeared of course in all the pomp of the
Babylonian costume, as Belshazzar himself might have done, in robes
of scarlet, | with the crosier of Nimrod in his hand, wearing the mitre
of Dagon and bearing the keys of Janus and Cybele.H Thus did
sympathised with them, put into the vacant place which Belshazzar and his pre
decessors had occupied. They were hailed as the representatives of the old Baby
lonian god. This is evident from the statements of Pausanias. First, he quotes
the following words from the oracle of a prophetess called Phaennis, in reference
to the Gauls : "But divinity will still more seriously afflict those that dwell near
the sea. However, in a short time after, Jupiter will send them a defender, the
beloved son of a Jove-nourished bull, who will bring destruction on all the Gauls."
— (Lib. x., Phocica, cap. xv. p. 833.) Then on this he comments as follows :
"Phaennis, in this oracle, means by the son of a bull, Attalus, king of Pergamos,
whom the oracle of Apollo called Taurokeron," or bull-horned. — (Ibid.) This
title given by the Delphian god, proves that Attalus, in whose dominions the Magi
had their chief seat, had been set up and recognised in the very character of
Bacchus, the Head of the Magi. Thus the vacant seat of Belshazzar was filled,
and the broken chain of the Chaldean succession renewed.
* SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, p. 542.
t NIEBUHB, vol. iii. p. 27.
J DYMOCK, sub voce "Julius Caesar," p. 460, col. 1.
§ The deification of the emperors that continued in succession from the days of
Divus Julius, or the "Deified Julius," can be traced to no cause so likely as their
representing the " Bull-horned" Attalus both as Pontiff and Sovereign.
|| That " scarlet " was the robe of honour in Belshazzar 's time, see Dan. v.
7, 29.
IT That the key was one of the symbols used in the Mysteries, the reader will
R
242 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
matters continue, as already stated, even under so-called Christian
emperors ; who, as a salve to their consciences, appointed a heathen
as their substitute in the performance of the more directly idolatrous
functions of the pontificate (that substitute, however, acting in their
name and by their authority), until the reign of Gratian, who, as
shown by Gibbon, was the first that refused to be arrayed in the
idolatrous pontifical attire, or to act as Pontifex.* Now, from all
this it is evident that, when Paganism in the Roman empire was
abolished, when the office of Pontifex Maximus was suppressed,
and all the dignitaries of paganism were cast down from their seats
of influence and of power, which they had still been allowed in some
measure to retain, this was not merely the casting down of the Fiery
Dragon of Rome, but the casting down of the Fiery Dragon of
Babylon. It was just the enacting over again, in a symbolical sense,
upon the true and sole legitimate successor of Nimrod, what had
taken place upon himself, when the greatness of his downfall gave
rise to the exclamation, " How art thou fallen from heaven,
0 Lucifer, son of the morning ! "
SECTION II. — THE BEAST FROM THE SEA.
The next great enemy introduced to our notice is the Beast from
the Sea (Rev. xiii. 1) : — "I stood," says John, "upon the sand of the
sea-shore, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea." The seven heads
and ten horns on this beast, as on the great dragon, show that this
power is essentially the same beast, but that it has undergone a cir
cumstantial change. In the old Babylonian system, after the worship
of the god of fire, there speedily followed the worship of the god of
water or the sea. As the world formerly was in danger of being
burnt up, so now it was in equal danger of being drowned. In the
Mexican story it is said to have actually been so. First, say they, it
was destroyed by fire, and then it was destroyed by water, f The
Druidic mythology gives the same account ; for the Bards affirm that
the dreadful tempest of fire that split the earth asunder, was rapidly
succeeded by the bursting of the Lake Llion, when the waters of the
find on consulting TAYLOR'S Note on Orphic Hymn to Pluto, where that divinity is
spoken of as "keeper of the keys." Now the Pontifex, as " Hierophant," was
" arrayed in the habit and adorned with the symbols of the great Creator of the
world, of whom in these Mysteries he was supposed to be the substitute." —
(MAURICE'S Antiquities, vol. iii. p. 356.) The Primeval or Creative god was mystic
ally represented as Androgyne, as combining in his own person both sexes (Ibid.
vol. v. p. 933), being therefore both Janus and Cybele at the same time. In open
ing up the Mysteries, therefore, of this mysterious divinity, it was natural that the
Pontifex should bear the key of both these divinities. Janus himself, however,
as well as Pluto, was often represented with more than one key. The edition of
Maurice above referred to is London, 1793-94.
* The original authority of Zosimus has already been given for this statement.
The reader may find the same fact stated in GIBBON, vol. iii. p. 397, Note.
t HUMBOLDT'S Researches, vol. ii. pp. 21, 23.
THE BEAST FROM THE SEA. 243
abyss poured forth and " overwhelmed the whole world."* In
Greece we meet with the very same story. Diodorus Siculus tells us
that, in former times, " a monster called ^Egides, who vomited flames,
appeared in Phrygia ; hence spreading along Mount Taurus, the con
flagration burnt down all the woods as far as India; then, with a
retrograde course, swept the forests of Mount Lebanon, and extended
as far as Egypt and Africa ; at last a stop was put to it by Minerva.
The Phrygians remembered well this CONFLAGRATION and the FLOOD
which FOLLOWED it."f Ovid, too, has a clear allusion to the same
fact of the fire-worship being speedily followed by the worship of
water, in his fable of the transformation of Cycnus. He represents
King Cycnus, an attached friend of Phaethon, and consequently of
fire-worship, as, after his friend's death, hating the fire, and taking to
the contrary element that of water, through year, and so being trans
formed into a swan. | In India, the great deluge, which occupies so
conspicuous a place in its mythology, evidently has the same symboli
cal meaning, although the story of Noah is mixed up with it ; for it
was during that deluge that " the lost Yedas," or sacred books, were
recovered, by means of the great god, under the form of a FISH.
The u loss of the Vedas " had evidently taken place at that very time
of terrible disaster to the gods, when, according to the Purans, a
great enemy of these gods, called Durgu, " abolished all religious
ceremonies, the Brahmins, through fear, forsook the reading of the
Veda, .... fire lost its energy, and the terrified stars retired from
sight ; "§ in other words, when idolatry, fire-worship, and the worship
of the host of heaven had been suppressed. When we turn to Baby
lon itself, we find there also substantially the same account. In
Berosus, the deluge is represented as coming after the time of Alorus,
or the "god of fire," that is, Nimrod, which shows that there, too,
this deluge was symbolical. Now, out of this deluge emerged Dagon,
the fish-god, or god of the sea. The origin of the worship of Dagon,
as shown by Berosus, was founded upon a legend, that, at a remote
period of the past, when men were sunk in barbarism, there carne up
a BEAST CALLED CANNES FROM THE RED SEA, or Persian Gulf — half-
man, half-fish — that civilised the Babylonians, taught them arts and
sciences, and instructed them in politics and religion. || The worship
of Dagon was introduced by the very parties — Nimrod, of course,
* DAVIES'S Druids, Note at p. 555, compared with p. 142.
f DIODORUS, lib. iii., cap. 4, p. 142.
t Hie relicto
Imperio, ripas virides, amnemque querelis
Eridanum implerat, silvamque sororibus auctam,
nee se coeloque Jovique
Credit, ut injuste missi memor ignis ah illo,
Stagna petit, patulosque lacus ; ignemque perosus,
olat, elegit contraria flumina flam mis.
Metam., lib. ii. v. 369-380, vol. ii. pp. 88, 89. The reader will notice the
ambiguity of colat, as signifying either "to worship" or "to inhabit."
§ GOLEM AN' s Hindu Mythology, p. 89.
|| BEROSUS, lib. i. p. 48.
244 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
excepted — who had previously seduced the world into the worship of
fire. In the secret Mysteries that were then set up, while in the first
instance, no doubt, professing the greatest antipathy to the prescribed
worship of fire, they sought to regain their influence and power by
scenic representations of the awful scenes of the Flood, in which Noah
was introduced under the name of Dagon, or the Fish-god — scenes in
which the whole family of man, both from the nature of the event
and their common connection with the second father of the human
race, could not fail to feel a deep interest. The concocters of these
Mysteries saw that if they could only bring men back again to idolatry
in any shape, they could soon work that idolatry so as substantially
to re-establish the very system that had been put down. Thus it
was, that, as soon as the way was prepared for it, Tammuz was intro
duced as one who had allowed himself to be slain for the good of
mankind. A distinction was made between good serpents and bad
serpents, one kind being represented as the serpent of Agathodsemon,
or the good divinity, another as the serpent of Cacodsemon, or the
evil one.* It was easy, then, to lead men on by degrees to believe
that, in spite of all appearances to the contrary, Tammuz, instead of
being the patron of serpent- worship in any evil sense, was in reality
the grand enemy of the Apophis, or great malignant serpent that
envied the happiness of mankind, and that in fact he was the very
seed of the woman who was destined to bruise the serpent's head.
By means of the metempsychosis, it was just as easy to identify
Nimrod and Noah, and to make it appear that the great patriarch, in
the person of this his favoured descendant, had graciously conde
scended to become incarnate anew, as Dagon, that he might bring
mankind back again to the blessings they had lost when Nimrod was
slain. Certain it is, that Dagon was worshipped in the Chaldean
Mysteries, wherever they were established, in a character that repre
sented both the one and the other, f
In the previous system, the grand mode of purification had been
by fire. Now, it was by water that men were to be purified. Then
began the doctrine of baptismal regeneration, connected, as we have
seen, with the passing of Noah through the waters of the Flood.
Then began the reverence for holy wells, holy lakes, holy rivers,
which is to be found wherever these exist on the earth ; which is not
only to be traced among the Parsees, who, along with the worship of
fire, worship also the Zereparankard, or Caspian Sea,J and among
the Hindoos, who worship the purifying waters of the Ganges, and
who count it the grand passport to heaven, to leave their dying rela
tives to be smothered in its stream ; but which is seen in full force
at this day in Popish Ireland, in the universal reverence for holy
wells, and the annual pilgrimages to Loch Dergh, to wash away sin
in its blessed waters ; and which manifestly lingers also among our-
* WILKINSON, vol. iv. pp. 239 and 412. In Egypt, the Urseus, or the Cerastes,
was the good serpent, the Apophis the evil one. — ( WILKINSON, vol. v. p. 243.)
t DAVIES'B Druids, p. 180. Davies identifies Noah with Bacchus.
£ WILSON'S Parsi Religion, pp. 192, 251, 252, 262, 305.
THE BEAST FKOM THE SEA. 245
selves, in the popular superstition about witches which shines out in
the well-known line of Burns —
" A running stream they daurna cross."
So much for the worship of water. Along with the water-worship,
however, the old worship of fire was soon incorporated again. In the
Mysteries, both modes of purification were conjoined. Though water-
baptism was held to regenerate, yet purification by fire was still held
to be indispensable ; * and, long ages after baptismal regeneration had
been established, the children were still made "to pass through the
fire to Moloch." This double purification both by fire and water was
practised in Mexico, among the followers of Wodan.f This double
purification was also commonly practised among the old Pagan
Romans ; J and, in course of time, almost everywhere throughout
* The name Tammuz, as applied to Nirarod or Osiris, was equivalent to Alorus,
or the " god of fire," and seems to have been given to him as the great purifier by
h're. Tammuz is derived from tarn, "to make perfect," and muz, "fire," and sig
nifies " Fire the perfecter," or "the perfecting fire." To this meaning of the name,
as well as to the character of Ninirod as the Father of the gods, the Zoroastrian
verse alludes when it says : "All things are the progeny of ONE FIRE. The FATHER
perfected all things, and delivered them to the second mind, whom all nations of
men call the first." — (CORY'S Fragments, p. 242.) Here Fire is declared to be the
Father of all ; for all things are said to be its progeny, and it is also called the
" perfecter of all things." The second mind is evidently the child who displaced
Nimrod's image as an object of worship ; but yet the agency of Nimrod, as the
first of the gods, and the fire-god, was held indispensable for "perfecting" men.
And hence, too, no doubt, the necessity of the fire of Purgatory to "perfect " men's
souls at last, and to purge away all the sins that they have carried with them into
the unseen world.
t HUMBOLDT'S Researches, vol. i. p. 185.
t OVID, Fasti, lib. iv. 11. 794, 795, vol. iii. p. 274. It was not a little interest
ing to me, after being led by strict induction from circumstantial evidence to the
conclusion that the purgation by fire was derived from the fire-worship of Adon
or Tammuz, and that by water had reference to Noah's Flood, to find an express
statement in Ovid, that such was the actual belief at Rome in his day. After
mentioning, in the passage to which the above citation refers, various fanciful
reasons for the twofold purgation by fire and water, he concludes thus : "For my
part, I do not believe them ; there are some (however) who say that the one is
intended to commemorate Phaethon, and the other the flood of Deucalion."
If, however, any one should still think it unlikely that the worship of Noah
should be mingled in the ancient world with the worship of the Queen of Heaven
and her son, let him open his eyes to what is taking place in Italy at this hour [in
1856] in regard to the worship of that patriarch and the Roman Queen of Heaven.
The following, kindly sent me by Lord John Scott, as confirmatory of the views
propounded in these pages, appeared in the Morning Herald, Oct. 26, 1855 : "AN
ARCHBISHOP'S PRAYER TO THE PATRIARCH NOAH. — POPERY IN TURIN. — For several
consecutive years the vintage has been almost entirely destroyed in Tuscany, in
consequence of the prevalent disease. The Archbishop of Florence has conceived
the idea of arresting this plague by directing prayers to be offered, not to God,
but to the patriarch Noah ; and he has just published a collection, containing
eight forms of supplication, addressed to this distinguished personage of the
ancient covenant. ' Most holy patriarch Noah ! ' is the language of one of these
prayers, ' who didst employ thyself in thy long career in cultivating the vine,
and gratifying the human race with that precious beverage, which allays the
thirst, restores the strength, and enlivens the spirits of us all, deign to regard our
vines, which, following thine example, we have cultivated hitherto ; and, while
246 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
the Pagan world, both the fire-worship and serpent-worship of
Nimrod, which had been put down, was re-established in a new
form, with all its old and many additional abominations besides.
Now, this god of the sea, when his worship had been firmly
re-established, and all formidable opposition had been put down,
was worshipped also as the great god of war, who, though he had
died for the good of mankind, now that he had risen again, was
absolutely invincible. In memory of this new incarnation, the 25th
of December, otherwise Christmas Day, was, as we have already
seen, celebrated in Pagan Rome as " Natalis Solis invicti" "the
birth-day of the Unconquered Sun."* We have equally seen that
the very name of the Roman god of war is just the name of Nimrod ;
for Mars and Mavors, the two well-known names of the Roman war-
god, are evidently just the Roman forms of the Chaldee "Mar" or
"Mavor," the Rebel, f Thus terrible and invincible was Nimrod
when he reappeared as Dagon, the beast from the sea. If the reader
looks at what is said in Rev. xiii. 3, he will see precisely the same
thing : " And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded unto death ;
and his deadly wound was healed : and all the world wondered after
the beast. And they worshipped the dragon, which gave power unto
the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto
the beast 1 who is able to make war with him ? " Such, in all respects,
is the analogy between the language of the prophecy and the ancient
Babylonian type.
Do we find, then, anything corresponding to this in the religious
history of the Roman empire after the fall of the old Paganism of
that empire? Exactly in every respect. No sooner was Paganism
legally abolished, the eternal fire of Yesta extinguished, and the old
serpent cast down from the seat of power, where so long he had sat
secure, than he tried the most vigorous means to regain his influence
and authority. Finding that persecution of Christianity, as such,
thou beholdest them languishing and blighted by that disastrous visitation, which,
before the vintage, destroys the fruit (in severe punishment for many blasphemies
and other enormous sins we have committed), have compassion on us, and, pros
trate before the lofty throne of God, who has promised to His children the fruits
of the earth, and an abundance of corn and wine, entreat Him on our behalf;
promise Him in our name, that, with the aid of Divine grace, we will forsake the
ways of vice and sin, that we will no longer abuse His sacred gifts, and will
scrupulously observe His holy law, and that of our holy Mother, the Catholic
Church,' &c. The collection concludes with a new prayer, addressed to the Virgin
Mary, who is invoked in these words : ' 0 immaculate Mary, behold our fields and
vineyards ! and, should it seem to thee that we merit so great a favour, stay, we
beseech thee, this terrible plague, which, inflicted for our sins, renders our fields
unfruitful, and deprives our vines of the honours of the A'intage,' &e. The work
contains a vignette, representing the patriarch Noah presiding over the operations
of the vintage, as well as a notification from the Archbishop, granting an indul
gence of forty days to all who shall devoutly recite the prayers in question. —
Christian Times." In view of such rank Paganism as this, well may the noble
Lord already referred te remark, that surely here is the world turned backwards,
and the worship of the old god Bacchus unmistakably restored !
* GIESELER, vol. ii. p. 42, Note.
f The Greeks chose as their war-god Arioch or Arius, the grandson of Nimrod.
— (CKDRKNUS, vol. i pp. 28, 29.)
THE BEAST FROM THE SEA. 247
in the meantime would not do to destroy the church symbolised by
the sun-clothed Woman, he made another tack (Rev. xii. 15) :
" And the serpent cast out of his mouth a flood of water after
the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood."
The symbol here is certainly very remarkable. If this was the
dragon of fire, it might have been expected that it would have been
represented, according to popular myths, as vomiting fire after the
woman. But it is not so. It was a flood of water that he cast out
of his mouth. What could this mean ? As the water came out of
the mouth of the dragon — that must mean doctrine, and of course,
false doctrine. But is there nothing more specific than this 1
A single glance at the old Babylonian type will show that the water
cast out of the mouth of the serpent must be the water of baptismal
regeneration. Now, it was precisely at this time, when the old
Paganism was suppressed, that the doctrine of regenerating men by
baptism, which had been working in the Christian Church before,
threatened to spread like a deluge over the face of the Roman
empire.* It was then precisely that our Lord Jesus Christ began to
be popularly called Ichthys, that is, "the Fish,"f manifestly to
identify him with Dagon. At the end of the fourth century, and
from that time forward, it was taught, that he who had been washed
in the baptismal font was thereby born again, and made pure as the
virgin snow.
This flood issued not merely from the mouth of Satan, the old
serpent, but from the mouth of him who came to be recognised by
the Pagans of Rome as the visible head of the old Roman Paganism.
When the Roman fire-worship was suppressed, we have seen that
the office of Pontifex Maximus, the head of that Paganism, was
abolished. That was " the wounding unto death " of the head of
the Fiery Dragon. But scarcely had that head received its deadly
wound, when it began to be healed again. Within a few years
after the Pagan title of Pontifex had been abolished, it was
revived, and that by the very Emperor that had abolished it, and
was bestowed, with all the Pagan associations clustering around
it, upon the Bishop of Rome,J who, from that time forward,
became the grand agent in pouring over professing Christendom,
first the ruinous doctrine of baptismal regeneration, and then all the
other doctrines of Paganism derived from ancient Babylon. When
this Pagan title was bestowed on the Roman bishop, it was not as a
mere empty title of honour it was bestowed, but as a title to which
formidable power was annexed. To the authority of the Bishop of
Rome in this new character, as Pontifex, when associated " with five
* From about A.D. 360, to the time of the Emperor Justinian, about 550, we
have evidence both of the promulgation of this doctrine, and also of the deep
hold it came at last to take of professing Christians. See GIESELKR, vol. ii.,
Second Period, k' Public Worship," p. 145.
f AUGUSTINE, De Civitate, lib. xviii. cap. 23, vol. ix. p. 665.
£ Codex Theodosianus, lib. xvi. tit. 1, leg. 2. See also leg. 3. The reader will
notice, that while the Bishop of Rome alone is called Pontifex, the heads of the
other churches referred to are simply " Episcopi."
248 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
or seven other bishops " as his counsellors, bishops, and even metro
politans of foreign churches over extensive regions of the West, in
Gaul not less than in Italy, were subjected; and civil pains were
attached to those who refused to submit to his pontifical decisions.*
Great was the danger to the cause of truth and righteousness when
such power was, by imperial authority, vested in the Roman bishop,
and that a bishop so willing to give himself to the propagation of
false doctrine. Formidable, however, as the danger was, the true
Church, the Bride, the Lamb's wife (so far as that Church was found
within the bounds of the Western Empire), was wonderfully pro
tected from it. That Church was for a time saved from the peril,
not merely by the mountain fastnesses in which many of its devoted
members found an asylum, as Jovinian, Vigilantius, and the Wal-
denses, and such-like faithful ones, in the wilderness among the
Cottian Alps, and other secluded regions of Europe, but also not a
little, by a signal interposition of Divine Providence in its behalf.
That interposition is referred to in these words (Rev. xii. 16) : "The
earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the
dragon cast out of his mouth." What means the symbol of the
" earth's opening its mouth " ? In the natural world, when the
earth opens its mouth, there is an earthquake; and an "earthquake,"
according to the figurative language of the Apocalypse, as all admit,
just means a great political convulsion. Now, when we examine the
history of the period in question, we find that the fact exactly agrees
with the prefiguration ; that soon after the Bishop of Rome became
Pontiff, and, as Pontiff, set himself so zealously to bring in Paganism
into the Church, those political convulsions began in the civil empire
of Rome, which never ceased till the framework of that empire was
broken up, and it was shattered to pieces. But for this the spiritual
power of the Papacy might have been firmly established over all the
nations of the West, long before the time it actually was so. It is
clear, that immediately after Damasus, the Roman bishop, received
his pontifical power, the predicted "apostacy" (1 Tim. iv. 3), so far
as Rome was concerned, was broadly developed. Then were men
" forbidden to marry,"f and " commanded to abstain from meats. "{
Then, with a factitious doctrine of sin, a factitious holiness also was
inculcated, and people were led to believe that all baptised persons
were necessarily regenerated. Had the Roman Empire of the West
remained under one civil head, backed by that civil head, the Bishop
* Rescript of Gratian, in answer to application of Roman Council, in GIESELER,
vol. i., Second Period, div. i. chap. 3, "Hierarchy in the West," p. 434, Note 12.
See also BOWEK, "Damasus," A.D. 378. For the demands of the Roman Council,
see Ibid. vol. i. p. 209. This rescript was prior to the decree in the Codex above
referred to, which decree runs in the name of Valentinian and Theodosius, as well
as of Gratian, who had associated them with himself.
f The celibacy of the clergy was enacted by Syricius, Bishop of Rome, A.D. 385.
— (GIESELER, vol. i., Second Period, div. i. chap. 4, " Monachism," vol. ii. p. 20 ;
and BOWER'S Lives of the Popes, vol. i. p. 235.)
J Against the use of flesh and wine, see what is said at the same period by
Jerome, the great advocate of the Papacy. — (HiERONYMUS, Adv. Jovin., lib. ii.,
throughout the book, vol. i. pp. 360-380.)
THE BEAST FROM THE SEA. 249
of Kome might very soon have infected all parts of that empire with
the Pagan corruption he had evidently given himself up to propagate.
Considering the cruelty* with which Jovinian, and all who opposed
the Pagan doctrines in regard to marriage and abstinence, were
treated by the Pontifex of Kome, under favour of the imperial
power, it may easily be seen how serious would have been the con
sequences to the cause of truth in the Western Empire had this
state of matters been allowed to pursue its natural course. But
now the great Lord of the Church interfered. The " revolt of the
Goths," and the sack of Rome by Alaric the Goth in 410, gave that
shock to the Roman Empire which issued, by 476, in its complete
upbreaking and the extinction of the imperial power. Although,
therefore, in pursuance of the policy previously inaugurated, the
Bishop of Rome was formally recognised, by an imperial edict in
445, as " Head of all the Churches of the West," all bishops being
commanded " to hold and observe as a law whatever it should please
the Bishop of Rome to ordain or decree;"! the convulsions of the
empire, and the extinction, soon thereafter, of the imperial power
itself, to a large extent nullified the disastrous effects of this edict.
The " earth's opening its mouth," then — in other words, the breaking
up of the Roman Empire into so many independent sovereignties —
was a benefit to true religion, and prevented the flood of error and
corruption, that had its source in Rome, from flowing as fast and as
far as it would otherwise have done. When many different wills
in the different countries were substituted for the one will of the
Emperor, on which the Sovereign Pontiff leaned, the influence of
that Pontiff was greatly neutralised. " Under these circumstances,"
says Gieseler, referring to the influence of Rome in the different
kingdoms into which the empire was divided, " under these circum
stances, the Popes could not directly interfere in ecclesiastical
matters ; and their communications with the established Church
of the country depended entirely on the royal pleasure."! The
Papacy at last overcame the effects of the earthquake, and the
kingdoms of the West were engulfed in that flood of error that
came out of the mouth of the dragon. But the overthrow of the
imperial power, when so zealously propping up the spiritual despotism
of Rome, gave the true Church in the West a lengthened period of
comparative freedom, which otherwise it could not have had. The
Dark Ages would have corne sooner, and the darkness would have
been more intense, but for the Goths and Vandals, and the political
convulsions that attended their irruptions. They were raised up to
scourge an apostatising community, not to persecute the saints of the
Most High, though these, too, may have occasionally suffered in the
common distress. The hand of Providence may be distinctly seen,
in that, at so critical a moment, the earth opened its mouth and
helped the Woman.
To return, however, to the memorable period when the pontifical
* See BOWER, " Syricius," vol. i. p. 256. f BOWER, vol. ii. p. 14.
£ GIESELER, vol. ii., Second Period, div. ii. c. 6, " German Nations," p. 157.
250 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
title was bestowed on the Bishop of Rome. The circumstances in
which that Pagan title was bestowed upon Pope Damasus, were such
as might have been not a little trying to the faith and integrity of a
much better man than he. Though Paganism was legally abolished
in the Western Empire of Rome, yet in the city of the Seven Hills
it was still rampant, insomuch that Jerome, who knew it well, writing
of Rome at this very period, calls it "the sink of all superstitions."*
The consequence was, that, while everywhere else throughout the
empire the Imperial edict for the abolition of Paganism was respected,
in Rome itself it was, to a large extent, a dead letter. Symmachus,
the prefect of the city, and the highest patrician families, as well as
the masses of the people, were fanatically devoted to the old religion ;
and, therefore, the Emperor found it necessary, in spite of the law, to
connive at the idolatry of the Romans. How strong was the hold
that Paganism had in the Imperial city, even after the fire of Vesta
was extinguished, and State support was withdrawn from the
Vestals, the reader may perceive from the following words of
Gibbon : " The image and altar of Victory were indeed removed from
the Senate-house ; but the Emperor yet spared the statues of the
gods which were exposed to public view ; four hundred and twenty-
four temples or chapels still remained to satisfy the devotion of the
people, and in every quarter of Rome the delicacy of the Christians
was offended by the fumes of idolatrous sacrifice."! Thus strong
was Paganism in Rome, even after State support was withdrawn
about 376. But look forward only about fifty years, and see what
has become of it. The name of Paganism has almost entirely
disappeared ; insomuch that the younger Theodosius, in an edict
issued A.D. 423, uses these words : " The Pagans that remain,
although now we may believe there are none."j The words of
Gibbon in reference to this are very striking. While fully admitting
that, notwithstanding the Imperial laws made against Paganism,
" no peculiar hardships " were imposed on " the sectaries who
credulously received the fables of Ovid, and obstinately rejected the
miracles of the Gospel," he expresses his surprise at the rapidity of
the revolution that took place among the Romans from Paganism.
to Christianity. "The ruin of Paganism," he says — and his dates
are from A.D. 378, the year when the Bishop of Rome was made
Pontifex, to 395 — " The ruin of Paganism, in the age of Theodosius,
is perhaps the only example of the total extirpation of any ancient
and popular superstition ; and may therefore deserve to be considered
as a singular event in the history of the human mind." .... After
referring to the hasty conversion of the senate, he thus proceeds :
" The edifying example of the Anician family [in embracing
Christianity] was soon imitated by the rest of the nobility
The citizens who subsisted by their own industry, and the populace
who were supported by the public liberality, filled the churches of
* Comment, in Epist. ad Galat., iv. 3, torn. iii. p. 138, col. 1.
+ Decline and Fall, chap, xxviii., vol. v. p. 87.
J Codex Theodosianus, xvi. 10, 22, p. 1625.
THE BEAST FROM THE SEA. 251
the Lateran and Vatican with an incessant throng of devout
proselytes. The decrees of the senate, which proscribed the
worship of idols, were ratified by the general consent of the Romans ;
the splendour of the capitol was defaced, and the solitary temples
were abandoned to ruin and contempt. Rome submitted to the yoke
of the Gospel The generation that arose in the world, after
the promulgation of Imperial laws, was ATTRACTED within the pale
of the Catholic Church, and so KAPID, yet so GENTLE was the fall of
Paganism, that only twenty-eight years after the death of Theodosius
[the elder], the faint and minute vestiges were no longer visible to
the eye of the legislator."* Now, how can this great and rapid
revolution be accounted for 1 Is it because the Word of the Lord
has had free course and been glorified 1 Then, what means the new
aspect that the Roman Church has now begun to assume 1 In exact
proportion as Paganism has disappeared from without the Church,
in the very same proportion it appears within it. Pagan dresses for
the priests, Pagan festivals for the people, Pagan doctrines and ideas
of all sorts, are everywhere in vogue, f The testimony of the
same historian, who has spoken so decisively about the rapid
conversion of the Romans to the profession of the Gospel, is not less
decisive on this point. In his account of the Roman Church, under
the head of " Introduction of Pagan Ceremonies," he thus speaks :
" As the objects of religion were gradually reduced to the standard
of the imagination, the rites and ceremonies were introduced that
seemed most powerfully to affect the senses of the vulgar. If, in
the beginning of the fifth century, Tertullian or Lactantius had been
suddenly raised from the dead, to assist at the festival of some
popular saint or martyr, they would have gazed with astonishment
and indignation on the profane spectacle which had succeeded to the
pure and spiritual worship of a Christian congregation. As soon as
the doors of the church were thrown open, they must have been
offended by the smoke of incense, the perfume of flowers, and the
glare of lamps and tapers, which diffused at noon-day a gaudy,
superfluous, and, in their opinion, sacrilegious light. "J Gibbon
has a great deal more to the same effect. Now, can any one
believe that this was accidental 1 No. It was evidently the result
of that unprincipled policy, of which, in the course of this inquiry,
we have already seen such innumerable instances on the part of the
Papacy. § Pope Damasus saw that, in a city pre-eminently given to
idolatry, if he was to maintain the Gospel pure and entire, he must
be willing to bear the cross, to encounter hatred and ill-will, to
endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. On the other
hand, he could not but equally see, that if bearing the title, around
which, for so many ages, all the hopes and affections of Paganism had
* Decline and Fall, chap, xxviii., vol. v. pp. 90-93, and p. 112.
f GIESELEE, vol. ii. pp. 40, 45.
£ Decline and Fall, chap, xxviii., vol. v. pp. 121, &c.
§ Gibbon distinctly admits this. " It must ingenuously be confessed," says he,
" that the ministers of the Catholic Church imitated the profane model they were
so impatient to destroy."
252 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
clustered, he should give its votaries reason to believe that he was
willing to act up to the original spirit of that title, he might count
on popularity, aggrandisement and glory. Which alternative, then,
was Damasus likely to choose ? The man that came into the
bishopric of Rome, as a thief and a robber, over the dead bodies
of above a hundred of his opponents,* could not hesitate as to the
election he should make. The result shows that he had acted in
character, that, in assuming the Pagan title of Pontifex, he had
set himself at whatever sacrifice of truth to justify his claims to that
title in the eyes of the Pagans, as the legitimate representative of
their long line of pontiffs. There is no possibility of accounting
for the facts on any other supposition. It is evident also that he
and his successors were ACCEPTED in that character by the Pagans,
who, in flocking into the Roman Church, and rallying around the
new Pontiff, did not change their creed or worship, but brought
both into the Church along with them. The reader has seen how
complete and perfect is the copy of the old Babylonian Paganism,
which, under the patronage of the Popes, has been introduced into
the Roman Church. He has seen that the god whom the Papacy
worships as the Son of the Highest, is not only, in spite of a Divine
command, worshipped under the form of an image, made, as in the
days of avowed Paganism, by art and man's device, but that
attributes are ascribed to Him which are the very opposite of those
which belong to the merciful Saviour, but which attributes are
precisely those which were ascribed to Moloch, the fire-god, or Ala
Mahozim, " the god of fortifications.''! He has seen that, about the
very time when the Bishop of Rome was invested with the Pagan
title of Pontifex, the Saviour began to be called Ichthys, or "the
Fish," thereby identifying Him with Dagon, or the Fish-god ; \ and
that, ever since, advancing step by step, as circumstances would
permit, what has gone under the name of the worship of Christ, has
just been the worship of that same Babylonian divinity, with all
its rites and pomps and ceremonies, precisely as in ancient Babylon.
Lastly, he has seen that the Sovereign Pontiff of the so-called
Christian Church of Rome has so wrought out the title bestowed
upon him in the end of the fourth century, as to be now dignified,
as for centuries he has been, with the very "names of blasphemy"
originally bestowed on the old Babylonian pontiffs.§
* BOWER'S Lives of the Popes, vol. i., "Damasus," pp. 180-183 inclusive.
t See Chapter IV. p. 154.
I Bacchus himself was called by the very name " Ichthys." — (HESYCHius,
p. 179.)
§ The reader who has seen the first edition of this work, will perceive that, in
the above reasoning, I found nothing upon the formal appointment by Gratian of
the Pope as Pontifex, with direct aiithority over the Pagans, as was done in that
edition. That is not because I do not believe that such an appointment was made,
but because, at the present moment, some obscurity rests on the subject. The
Rev. Barcroft Boake, a very learned minister of the Church of England in
Ceylon, when in this country, communicated to me his researches on the subject,
which have made me hesitate to assert that there was any formal authority given
to the Bishop of Rome over the Pagans by Gratian. At the same time, I am
THE BEAST FROM THE SEA. 253
Now, if the circumstances in which the Pope has risen to all this
height of power and blasphemous assumption, be compared with a
prediction in Daniel, which, for want of the true key has never been
understood, I think the reader will see how literally in the history
of the Popes of Rome that prediction has been fulfilled. The pre
diction to which I allude is that which refers to what is commonly
called the "Wilful King" as described in Dan. xi. 36, and succeed
ing verses. That " Wilful King " is admitted on all hands to be a
king that arises in Gospel times, and in Christendom, but has
generally been supposed to be an Infidel Antichrist, not only oppos
ing the truth but opposing Popery as well, and every thing that
assumes the very name of Christianity. But now, let the prediction
be read in the light of the facts that have passed in review before
us, and it will be seen how very different is the case (ver. 36) :
"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt
himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak
marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished : for that that is determined shall be
done. Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the
desire of women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself
above all." So far these words give an exact description of the
Papacy, with its pride, its blasphemy, and forced celibacy and
virginity. But the words that follow, according to any sense that
the commentators have put upon them, have never hitherto been
found capable of being made to agree either with the theory that the
Pope was intended, or any other theory whatever. Let them,
however, only be literally rendered, and compared with the Papal
history, and all is clear, consistent, and harmonious. The inspired
seer has declared that, in the Church of Christ, some one shall arise
still convinced that the original statement was substantially true. The late
Mr. Jones, in the Journal of Prophecy, not only referred to the Appendix to the
Codex Theodosianus , in proof of such an appointment, but, in elucidation of the
words of the Codex, asserted in express terms that there was a contest for the
office of Pontifex, and that there were two candidates, the one a Pagan, Sym-
machus, who had previously been Valentinian's deputy, and the other the Bishop
of Rome. — (Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, Oct. 1852, p. 328.) I have not been
able to find Mr. Jones's authority for this statement ; but the statement is so
circumstantial, that it cannot easily be called in question without impugning
the veracity of him that made it. I have found Mr. Jones in error on divers
points, but in no error of such a nature as this ; and the character of the man
forbids such a supposition. Moreover, the language'of the Appendix cannot easily
admit of any other interpretation. But, even though there were no formal
appointment of Bishop Damasus to a pontificate extending over the Pagans, yet
it is clear that, by the rescript of Gratian (the authenticity of which is fully
admitted by the accurate Gieseler), he was made the supreme spiritual authority
in the Western Empire, in all religious questions. When, therefore, in the year
400, Pagan priests were, by the Christian Emperor of the West, from political
motives, "acknowledged as public officers" (Cod. Theod. , xii. 1, ad POMPEJANUM,
Procons. Africce, p. 1262), these Pagan priests necessarily came under the
jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, as there was then no other tribunal but his
for determining all matters affecting religion. In the text, however, I have made
no allusion to this. The argument, as I think the reader will admit, is sufficiently
decisive without it.
254 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
who shall not only aspire to a great height, but shall actually reach
it, so that "he shall do according to his will;" his will shall be
supreme in opposition to all law, human and Divine. Now, if this
king is to be a pretended successor of the fisherman of Galilee, the
question would naturally arise, How could it be possible that he
should ever have the means of rising to such a height of power ?
The words that follow give a distinct answer to that question : " He
shall not REGARD* any god, for he shall magnify himself above all.
BUT, in establishing himself, shall he honour the god of fortifications
(Ala Mahozim), and a god, whom his fathers knew not, shall he
honour with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant
things. Thus shall he make into strengthening bulwarks! [for
himself] the people of a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge
and increase with glory ; and he shall cause them to rule over many,
and he shall divide the land for gain." Such is the prophecy. Now,
this is exactly what the Pope did. Self-aggrandisement has ever
been the grand principle of the Papacy; and, in "establishing"
himself, it was just the "God of Fortifications" that he honoured.
The worship of that god he introduced into the Roman Church;
and, by so doing, he converted that which otherwise would have
been a source of weakness to him, into the very tower of his
strength — he made the very Paganism of Rome by which he was
surrounded the bulwark of his power. When once it was proved
that the Pope was willing to adopt Paganism under Christian names,
the Pagans and Pagan priests would be his most hearty and staunch
defenders. And when the Pope began to wield lordly power over
the Christians, who were the men that he would recommend — that
he would promote — that he would advance to honour and power ?
Just the very people most devoted to " the worship of the strange
god " which he had introduced into the Christian Church. Gratitude
and self-interest alike would conspire to this. Jovinian, and all who
resisted the Pagan ideas and Pagan practices, were excommunicated
and persecuted.^ Those only who were heartily attached to the
apostacy (and none could now be more so than genuine Pagans) were
favoured and advanced. Such men were sent from Rome in all
directions, even as far as Britain, to restore the reign of Paganism —
they were magnified with high titles, the lands were divided among
them, and all to promote "the gain " of the Romish see, to bring in
" Peter's pence " from the ends of the earth to the Roman Pontiff.
But it is still further said, that the self-magnifying king was to
" honour a god, whom his fathers knew not, with gold and silver
and precious stones." The principle on which transubstantiation
* The reader will observe, it is not said he shall not worship any god ; the
reverse is evident ; but that he shall not regard any, that his own glory is his
highest end.
f The word here is the same as above rendered "fortifications."
J GIBBON, vol. v. p. 176, states that he was persecuted and exiled, and that as
the enemy of celibacy and fasts, that is, such fasts as Rome enforced. See
also in regard to his excommunication, BOWER, vol. i. p. 256 ; and MlLNER,
Church History, cent. 5th, cap. 10, vol. ii., Note, p. 476.
THE BEAST FROM THE SEA. 255
was founded is unquestionably a Babylonian principle, but there is
no evidence that that principle was applied in the way in which it
has been by the Papacy. Certain it is, that we have evidence that
no such wafer-god as the Papacy worships was ever worshipped in
Pagan Rome. " Was any man ever so mad," says Cicero, who
himself was a Roman augur and a priest — " was any man ever so
mad as to take that which he feeds on for a god ? " * Cicero could
not have said this if anything like wafer-worship had been estab
lished in Rome. But what was too absurd for Pagan Romans is
no absurdity at all for the Pope. The host, or consecrated wafer, is
the great god of the Romish Church. That host is enshrined in a
box adorned with gold and silver and precious stones. And thus it
is manifest that "a god" whom even the Pope's Pagan "fathers
knew not," he at this day honours in the very way that the terms of
the prediction imply that he would. Thus, in every respect, when
the Pope was invested with the Pagan title of Pontifex, and set
himself to make that title a reality, he exactly fulfilled the predic
tion of Daniel recorded more than 900 years before.
But to return to the Apocalyptic symbols. It was out of the
mouth of the " Fiery Dragon " that " the flood of water " was
discharged. The Pope, as he is now, was at the close of the fourth
century the only representative of Belshazzar, or Nimrod, on the
earth ; for the Pagans manifestly ACCEPTED him as such. He was
equally, of course, the legitimate successor of the Roman "Dragon
of fire." When, therefore, on being dignified with the title of
Pontifex, he set himself to propagate the old Babylonian doctrine of
baptismal regeneration, that was just a direct and formal fulfilment
of the Divine words, that the great Fiery Dragon should " cast out
of his mouth a flood of water to carry away the Woman with the
flood." He, and those who co-operated with him in this cause,
paved the way for the erecting of that tremendous civil and spiritual
despotism which began to stand forth full in the face of Europe in
A.D. 606, when, amid the convulsions and confusions of the nations,
tossed like a tempestuous sea, the Pope of Rome was made Universal
Bishop ; and when the ten chief kingdoms of Europe recognised
him as Christ's Vicar upon earth, the only centre of unity, the only
source of stability to their thrones. Then by his own act and deed,
and by the consent of the UNIVERSAL PAGANISM of Rome, he was
actually the representative of Dagon ; and as he bears upon his head
at this day the mitre of Dagon, so there is reason to believe he did
then.f Could there, then, be a more exact fulfilment of chap. xiii. 1 :
" And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out
* CICEHO, De Natura .Deorum, lib. iii. cap. 16, vol. ii. p. 500.
f It is from this period only that the well-known 1260 days can begin to be
counted ; for not before did the Pope appear as Head of the ten-horned beast,
and head of the Universal Church. The reader will observe that though the
beast above referred to has passed through the sea, it still retains its primitive
characteristic. The head of the apostacy at first was Kronos, " The Horned One."
The head of the apostacy is Kronos still, for he is the beast "with seven heads
and ten Aorns."
256 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten
crowns, and upon his heads the names of blasphemy And
I saw one of his heads as it had been wounded to death ; and his
deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the
beast " ?
SECTION III. THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH.
This beast is presented to our notice (Rev. xiii. 11): "And
I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth ; and he had two
horns like a lamb, and he spake as a serpent." Though this beast
is mentioned after the beast from the sea, it does not follow that he
came into existence after the sea-beast. The work he did seems to
show the very contrary ; for it is by his instrumentality that man
kind are led (ver. 12) "to worship the first beast" after that beast
had received the deadly wound, which shows that he must have
been in existence before. The reason that he is mentioned second,
is just because, as he exercises all the powers of the first beast, and
leads all men to worship him, so he could not properly be described
till that beast had first appeared on the stage. Now, in ancient
Chaldea there was the type, also, of this. That god was called
in Babylon Nebo, in Egypt Nub or Nurn,* and among the Romans
Numa, for Numa Pompilius, the great priest-king of the Romans,
occupied precisely the position of the Babylonian Nebo. Among
the Etrurians, from whom the Romans derived the most of their
rites, he was called Tages, and of this Tages it is particularly recorded,
that just as John saw the beast under consideration " come up out
of the earth," so Tages was a child suddenly and miraculously born
out of a furrow or hole in the ground, f In Egypt, this God was
represented with the head and horns of a ram (Fig. 55). J In
Etruria he seems to have been represented in a somewhat similar
way ; for there we find a Divine and miraculous child exhibited
wearing the ram's horns (Fig. 56).§ The name Nebo, the grand
distinctive name of this god, signifies "The Prophet," and as such,
he gave oracles, practised augury, pretended to miraculous powers,
and was an adept in magic. He was the great wonder-worker, and
answered exactly to the terms of the prophecy, when it is said
(ver. 13), "he doeth great wonders, and causeth fire to come down
from heaven in the sight of men." It was in this very character
that the Etrurian Tages was known ; for it was he who was said
* In Egypt, especially among the Greek-speaking population, the Egyptian
6 frequently passed into an ra. — See BUNSEN, vol. i. pp. 273, 472.
f AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, lib. xxi. cap. 1, p. 264.
£ From WILKINSON, Plate 22, " Amun." By comparing this figure with what
is said in WILKINSON, vol. iv. pp. 235, 238, it will be seen, that though the above
figure is called by the name of " Amun," the ram's head makes it out as having the
attributes of Noub.
§ From AnliquiUs Etrusqn.es. Par. F. A. DAVID. Vol. v. Plate 57. I am
indebted for the above, and many other things that have helped to elucidate this
work, to my friend and neighbour, the Rev. A. Peebles, of Colliston.
THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH.
257
to have taught the Romans augury, and all the superstition and
wonder-working jugglery connected therewith.* As in recent times,
we hear of weeping images and winking Madonnas, and innumerable
prodigies besides, continually occurring in the Romish Church,
in proof of this papal dogma or that, so was it also in the system
of Babylon. There is hardly a form of "pious fraud" or saintly
imposture practised at this day on the banks of the Tiber, that
cannot be proved to have had its counterpart on the banks of the
Euphrates, or in the systems that came from it. Has the image
of the Virgin been seen to shed tears ? Many a tear was shed by the
Pagan images. To these tender-hearted idols Lucan alludes, when,
Fig. 55.
Fig. 56.
speaking of the prodigies that occurred during the civil wars,
he says : —
" Tears shed by gods, our country's patrons,
And sweat from Lares, told the city's woes."t
Virgil also refers to the same, when he says : —
" The weeping statues did the wars foretell,
And holy sweat from brazen idols fell."t
When in the consulship of Appius Claudius, and Marcus Perpenna,
Publius Crassus was slain in a battle with Aristonicus, Apollo's
statue at Cumse shed tears for four days without intermission. § The
* OVID, Metam., lib. xv. 11. 558, 559, p. 760.
t LUCAN, Civ. Bell., lib. i. v. 356, 357, p. 41.
£ Georyics, Book i. 1. 480, p. 129.
§ AUGUSTINE, De Civitatc, lib. iii. cap. 11, vol. ix. p. 86.
s
258 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
gods had also their merry moods, as well as their weeping fits.
If Rome counts it a divine accomplishment for the sacred image
of her Madonna to " wink," it was surely not less becoming in the
sacred images of Paganism to relax their features into an occasional
grin. That they did so, we have abundant testimony. Psellus tells
us that, when the priests put forth their magic powers, " then statues
laughed, and lamps were spontaneously enkindled."* When the
images made merry, however, they seemed to have inspired other
feelings than those of merriment into the breasts of those who beheld
them. "The Theurgists," says Salverte, "caused the appearance
of the gods in the air, in the midst of gaseous vapour, disengaged
from fire. The Theurgis Maximus undoubtedly made use of a secret
analogous to this, when, in the fumes of the incense which he burned
before the statue of Hecate, the image was seen to laugh so naturally
as to Jill the spectators with terror."^ There were times, however,
when different feelings were inspired. Has the image of the Madonna
been made to look benignantly upon a favoured worshipper, and
send him home assured that his prayer was heard *? So did the
statues of the Egyptian Isis. They were so framed, that the goddess
could shake the silver serpent on her forehead, and nod assent
to those who had preferred their petitions in such a way as pleased
her.J We read of Romish saints that showed their miraculous
powers by crossing rivers or the sea in most unlikely conveyances.
Thus, of St. Raymond it is written that he was transported over the
sea on his cloak. § Paganism is not a whit behind in this matter ;
for it is recorded of a Buddhist saint, Sura Acharya, that, when
" he used to visit his flocks west of the Indus, he floated himself
across the stream upon his mantle." || Nay, the gods and high
priests of Paganism showed far more buoyancy than even this.
There is a holy man, at this day, in the Church of Rome, somewhere
on the Continent, who rejoices in the name of St. Cubertin, who
so overflows with spirituality, that when he engages in his devotions
there is no keeping his body down to the ground, but, spite of all
the laws of gravity, it rises several feet into the air. So was it also
with the renowned St. Francis of Assisi,H Petrus a Martina,** and
Francis of Macerata,ff some centuries ago. But both St. Cubertin
and St. Francis and his fellows are far from being original in this
superhuman devotion. The priests and magicians in the Chaldean
Mysteries anticipated them not merely by centimes, but by
thousands of years. Coelius Rhodiginus says, "that, according to
the Chaldeans, luminous rays, emanating from the soul, do some
times divinely penetrate the body, which is then of itself raised
* PSELLDS on Demons, pp. 40, 41.
f EUNAPIDS, p. 73.
£ JUVENAL'S Satires, vi. 1. 537.
§ NEWMAN'S Lectures, 285-287, apud BEGG'S Handbook of Popery, p. 93.
|| TODD'S Western India, p. 277.
II EUSEBE SALVERTE, p. 37.
** Flores SerapUci, p. 158.
ft Ibid. p. 391.
THE BEAST FKOM THE EARTH. 259
above the earth, and that this was the case with Zoroaster."*
The disciples of Jamblichus asserted that they had often witnessed
the same miracle in the case of their master, who, when he prayed
was raised to the height of ten cubits from the earth, f The
greatest miracle which Rome pretends to work, is when, by the
repetition of five magic words, she professes to bring down the body,
blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven,
to make Him really and corporeally present in the sacrament of
the altar. The Chaldean priests pretended, by their magic spells,
in like manner, to bring down their divinities into their statues,
so that their " real presence " should be visibly manifested in them.
This they called " the making of gods ; " | and from this no doubt
comes the blasphemous saying of the Popish priests, that they have
power "to create their Creator." There is no evidence, so far
as I have been able to find, that, in the Babylonian system, the thin
round cake of wafer, the " unbloody sacrifice of the mass," was ever
regarded in any other light than as a symbol, that ever it was held
to be changed into the god whom it represented. But yet the doctrine
of trans ubstantiation is clearly of the very essence of Magic, which
pretended, on the pronunciation of a few potent words, to change
one substance into another, or by a dexterous juggle, wholly to
remove one substance, and to substitute another in its place.
Further, the Pope, in the plenitude of his power, assumes the right
of wielding the lightnings of Jehovah, and of blasting by his
" f ulminations " whoever offends him. Kings, and whole nations,
believing in this power, have trembled and bowed before him,
through fear of being scathed by his spiritual thunders. The priests
of Paganism assumed the very same power; and, to enforce the
belief of their spiritual power, they even attempted to bring down
the literal lightnings from heaven ; yea, there seems some reason
to believe that they actually succeeded, and anticipated the splendid
discovery of Dr. Franklin. § Numa Pompilius is said to have done
so with complete success. Tullus Hostilius, his successor, imitating
his example, perished in the attempt, himself and his whole family
being struck, like Professor Reichman in recent times, with the
lightning he was endeavouring to draw down. || Such were the
wonder-working powers attributed in the Divine Word to the beast
that was to come up from the earth ; and by the old Babylonian type
these very powers were all pretended to be exercised.
* SALVERT^, p. 37. The story of the above-mentioned Francis of Macerata,
is the exact counterpart of the story of Zoroaster ; for not only was he raised
aloft in prayer, but his body became luminous at the same time, " flainmamque
capiti insidentem," a "flame resting on his head" (Flores Ser. p. 391).
t Ibid.
J AUGUSTINE, De Civitate, lib. viii. cap. 26, vol. ix. p. 284, col. 2.
§ See SAI.VERTE, p. 382.
|| Ibid. p. 383 ; LIVY, Historia, lib. i. cap. 31, vol. i. p. 46 ; PLINY,
lib. xxviii. p. 684. The means appointed for drawing down the lightning were
described in the books of the Etrurian Tages. Numa had copied from these
books, and had left commentaries behind him on the subject, which Tullus had
misunderstood, and hence the catastrophe.
260 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
Now, in remembrance of the birth of the god out of a " hole in the
earth," the Mysteries were frequently celebrated in caves under
ground. This was the case in Persia, where, just as Tages was said
to be born out of the ground, Mithra was in like manner fabled to
have been produced from a cave in the earth.* Numa of Rome
himself pretended to get all his revelations from the nymph Egeria,
in a cave, f In these caves men were first initiated in the secret
Mysteries, and by the signs and lying wonders there presented to
them, they were led back, after the death of Nimrod, to the worship
of that god in its new form. This Apocalyptic beast, then, that
" comes up out of the earth," agrees in all respects with that ancient
god born from a " hole in the ground ; " for no words could more
exactly describe his doing than the words of the prediction (ver. 13) :
" He doeth great wonders, and causeth fire to come down from
heaven in the sight of men, .... and he causeth the earth and
them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly
wound was healed." This wonder-working beast, called Nebo, or
"the Prophet," as the prophet of idolatry, was, of course, the "false
prophet." By comparing the passage before us with Rev. xix. 20, it
will be manifest that this beast that " came up out of the earth " is
expressly called by that very name : " And the beast was taken, and
with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with
which he deceived them that received the mark of the beast, and
them that worshipped his image." As it was the "beast from the
earth " that " wrought miracles " before the first beast, this shows
that "the beast from the earth" is the "false prophet;" in other
words, is "Nebo."
If we examine the history of the Roman empire, we shall find that
here also there is a precise accordance between type and antitype.
When the deadly wound of Paganism was healed, and the old Pagan
title of Pontiff was restored, it was, through means of the corrupt
clergy, symbolised, as is generally believed, and justly under the
image of a beast with horns, like a lamb ; according to the saying of
our Lord, "Beware of false prophets, that shall come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." The
clergy, as a corporate body, consisted of two grand divisions — the
regular and secular clergy answering to the two horns or powers of the
beast, and combining also, at a very early period, both temporal and
spiritual powers. The bishops, as heads of these clergy, had large
temporal powers, long before the Pope gained his temporal crown.
We have the distinct evidence of both Guizot and Gibbon to this
effect. After showing that before the fifth century, the clergy had
not only become distinct from, but independent of the people, Guizot
adds : " The Christian clergy had moreover another and very different
* JDSTIN MARTYR, vol. ii. p. 193. It is remarkable that, as Mithra was bow,
out of a cave, so the idolatrous nominal Christians of the East represent our
Saviour as having in like manner been born in a cave. — (See KITTO'S Cyclopaedia,
" Bethlehem," vol. i. p. 327.) There is not the least hint of such a thing in the
Scripture.
t LEMPRIERE.
THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH. 261
source of influence. The bishops and priests became the principal
'municipal magistrates If you open the code, either of
Theodosius or Justinian, you will find numerous regulations which
remit municipal affairs to the clergy and the bishops." Guizot
makes severel quotations. The following extract from the Justinian
code is sufficient to show how ample was the civil power bestowed
upon the bishops : " With respect to the yearly affairs of cities,
whether they concern the ordinary revenues of the city, either from
funds arising from the property of the city, or from private gifts or
legacies, or from any other source ; whether public works, or depots
of provisions or aqueducts, or the maintenance of baths or ports, or
the construction of walls or towers, or the repairing of bridges or
roads, or trials, in which the city may be engaged in reference to
public or private interests, we ordain as follows : — The very pious
bishop, and three notables, chosen from among the first men of the
city, shall meet together; they shall each year examine the works
done ; they shall take care that those who conduct them, or who
have conducted them, shall regulate them with precision, render
their accounts, and show that they have duly performed their
engagements in the administration, whether of the public monuments,
or of the sums appointed for provisions or baths, or of expenses in
the maintenance of roads, aqueducts, or any other work."* Here is
a large list of functions laid on the spiritual shoulders of " the very
pious bishop," not one of which is even hinted at in the Divine
enumeration of the duties of a bishop, as contained in the Word of
God. (See 1 Tim. iii. 1-7 ; and Tit. i. 5-9.) How did the bishops,
who were originally appointed for purely spiritual objects, contrive
to grasp at such a large amount of temporal authority *? From
Gibbon we get light as to the real origin of what Guizot calls this
"prodigious power." The author of the Decline and Fall shows,
that soon after Constantino's time, " the Church " [and consequently
the bishops, especially when they assumed to be a separate order
from the other clergy] gained great temporal power through the
right of asylum, which had belonged to the Pagan temples, being
transferred by the Emperors to the Christian churches. His words
are : " The fugitive, and even the guilty, were permitted to implore
either the justice or mercy of the Deity and His ministers."! Thus
was the foundation laid of the invasion of the rights of the civil
magistrate by ecclesiastics, and thus were they encouraged to grasp
at all the powers of the State. Thus, also, as is justly observed
by the authoress of Rome in the 19th Century, speaking of the
right of asylum, were " the altars perverted into protection towards
the very crimes they were raised to banish from the world. "J This
is a very striking thing, as showing how the temporal power of the
Papacy, in its very first beginnings, was founded on " lawlessness,"
and is an additional proof to the many that might be alleged, that
* GUIZOT, History of Civilisation, vol. i. sect. ii. pp. 36, 37.
t GIBBON, vol. iii. chap. xx. p. 287.
+ Rome in the 19th Century, vol. i. pp. 246, 247.
262 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
the Head of the Roman system, to whom all bishops are subject, is
indeed 6 avopos, " The Lawless One " (2 Thess. ii. 8), predicted in
Scripture as the recognised Head of the " Mystery of Iniquity." All
this temporal power came into the hands of men, who, while profess
ing to be ministers of Christ, and followers of the Lamb, were
seeking simply their own aggrandisement, and, to secure that
aggrandisement, did not hesitate to betray the cause which they pro
fessed to serve. The spiritual power which they wielded over the
souls of men, and the secular power which they gained in the affairs
of the world, were both alike used in opposition to the cause of pure
religion and undefiled. At first these false prophets, in leading men
astray, and seeking to unite Paganism and Christianity, wrought
under-ground, mining like the mole in the dark, and secretly per
verting the simple, according to the saying of Paul, " The Mystery of
Iniquity doth already work." But by-and-by, towards the end of the
fourth century, when the minds of men had been pretty well pre
pared, and the aspect of things seemed to be favourable for it, the
wolves in sheep's clothing appeared above ground, brought their
secret doctrines and practices, by little and little, into the light of
day, and century after century, as their power increased, by means
of all " deceivableness of unrighteousness," and "signs and lying
wonders," deluded the minds of the worldly Christians, made them
believe that their anathema was equivalent to the curse of God ; in
other words, that they could " bring down fire from heaven," and
thus " caused the earth, and them that dwelt therein, to worship the
beast whose deadly wound was healed."* When "the deadly
wound " of the Pagan beast was healed, and the beast from the sea
appeared, it is said that this beast from the earth became the recog
nised, accredited executor of the will of the great sea beast (v. 12),
" And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,"
literally " in his presence " — under his inspection. Considering who
the first beast is, there is great force in this expression " in his
presence." The beast that comes up from the sea, is "the little
horn," that " has eyes like the eyes of man " (Dan. vii. 8) ; it is
Janus Tuens, "All-seeing Janus," in other words, the Universal
Bishop or " Universal Overseer," who, from his throne on the seven
hills, by means of the organised system of the confessional, sees and
knows all that is done, to the utmost bounds of his wide dominion.
Now, it was just exactly about the time that the Pope became
universal bishop, that the custom began of systematically investing
the chief bishops of the Western empire with the Papal livery, the
pallium, "for the purpose," says Gieseler, "of symbolising and
* Though the Pope be the great Jupiter Tonans of the Papacy, and
"fulminates" from the Vatican, as his predecessor was formerly believed to do
from the Capitol, yet it is not he in reality that brings down the fire from heaven,
but his clergy. But for the influence of the clergy in everywhere blinding the
minds of the people, the Papal thunders would be but " bruta fulmina" after all.
The symbol, therefore, is most exact, when it attributes the " bringing down of
the fire from heaven," to the beast from the earth, rather than to the beast from
the sea.
THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST. 263
strengthening their connection with the Church of Rome."* That
pallium, worn on the shoulders of the bishops, while on the one hand
it was the livery of the Pope, and bound those who received it to act
as the functionaries of Rome, deriving all their authority from him,
and exercising it under his superintendence, as the " Bishop of
bishops," on the other hand, was in reality the visible investiture of
these wolves with the sheep's clothing. For what was the pallium
of the Papal bishop ? It was a dress made of wool, blessed by the
Pope, taken from the holy lambs kept by the nuns of St. Agnes, and
woven by their sacred hands, f that it might be bestowed on those
whom the Popes delighted to honour, for the purpose, as one of
themselves expressed it, of "joining them to our society in the one
pastoral sheepfold"l Thus commissioned, thus ordained by the
universal Bishop, they did their work effectually, and brought the
earth and them that dwelt in it, " to worship the beast that received
the wound by a sword and did live." This was a part of this beast's
predicted work. But there was another, and not less important,
which remains for consideration.
SECTION IV. THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST.
Not merely does the beast from the earth lead the world to
worship the first beast, but (ver. 14) he prevails on them that dwell
on the earth to make " an IMAGE to the beast, which had the wound
by a sword, and did live." In meditating for many years on what
might be implied in " the image of the beast," I could never find the
least satisfaction in all the theories that had ever been propounded,
till I fell in with an unpretending but valuable work, which I
have noticed already, entitled An Original Interpretation of the
Apocalypse. That work, evidently the production of a penetrating
mind deeply read in the history of the Papacy, furnished at once the
solution of the difficulty. There the image of the beast is pro-
* GIKSKLKR, vol. ii., 2nd Period, Division 2nd, Sect. 117. From Gieseler we
learn that so early as 501, the Bishop of Rome had laid the foundation of the
corporation of bishops by the bestowal of the pallium ; but, at the same time, he
expressly states that it was only about 602, at the ascent of Phocas to the imperial
throne — ^hat Phocas that made the Pope Universal Bishop — that the Popes began
to bestow the pallium, that is, of course, systematically, and on a large scale.
f Rome in the 19th Century, vol. iii. p. 214. In the present day, the pallium is
given only to the Archbishops ; Gieseler, in passage already quoted, shows that it
was given to simple bishops as well.
+ GIKSELER, vol. ii., " Papacy," p. 255. The reader who peruses the early letters
of the Popes in bestowing the pallium, will not fail to observe the wide difference
of meaning between "the one pastoral sheepfold" ("uno pastorali ovili"), above
referred to, and "The one sheepfold" of our Lord. The former really means a
sheepfold consisting of pastors or shepherds. The papal letters unequivocally
imply the organisation of the bishops, as a distinct corporation, altogether
independent of the Church, and dependent only on the Papacy, which seems
remarkably to agree with the terms of the prediction in regard to the beast from
the earth.
264: THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
nounced to be the Virgin Mother, or the Madonna.* This at first
sight may appear a very unlikely solution ; but when it is brought
into comparison with the religious history of Chaldea, the unlikeli
hood entirely disappears. In the old Babylonian Paganism, there
was an image of the Beast from the sea ; and when it is known what
that image was, the question will, I think, be fairly decided. When
Dagon was first set up to be worshipped, while he was represented
in many different ways, and exhibited in many different characters,
the favourite form in which he was worshipped, as the reader well
knows, was that of a child in his mother's arms. In the natural
course of events, the mother came to be worshipped along with the
child, yea, to be the favourite object of worship. To justify this
worship, as we have already seen, that mother, of course, must be
raised to divinity, and divine powers and prerogatives ascribed to
her. Whatever dignity, therefore, the son was believed to possess
a like dignity was ascribed to her. Whatever name of honour
he bore, a similar name was bestowed upon her. He was called
Belus, "the Lord;" she, Beltis, "My Lady."f He was called
Dagon,| the "Merman"; she, Derketo,§ the "Mermaid." He, as
the World-king, wore the bull's horns ; || she, as we have already
seen, on the authority of Sanchuniathon, put on her own head
a bull's head, as the ensign of royalty. If He, as the Sun-god, was
called Beel-samen, " Lord of heaven ; "** she, as the Moon-goddess,
Melkat-ashemin, " Queen of heaven."! f He was worshipped in
Egypt as the " Revealer of goodness and truth ;"|J she, in Babylon,
under the symbol of the Dove, as the goddess of gentleness and
mercy,§§ the "Mother of gracious acceptance,"|||| "merciful and
benignant to men."1HF He, under the name of Mithra, was
worshipped as Mesites,*** or " The Mediator ; " she, as Aphrodite, or
the " Wrath-subduer," was called Mylitta, " the Mediatrix."! ff
He was represented as crushing the great serpent under his heel jj j j
she, as bruising the serpent's head in her hand.§§§ He, under the
name Janus, bore a key, as the opener and shutter of the gates of
the invisible world. ||j|[| She, under the name of Cybele, was invested
* Original Interpretation of the Apocalypse, p. 123.
t See ante, p. 20, Note. £ See ante, p. 114, Note.
§ KITTO'S Cyclopedia, vol. i. pp. 251, 252. || See ante, pp. 32-36.
H EUSEBIUS, Prceparatio Evanyelii, lib. i. cap. 10, vol. i. p. 45. This statement
is remarkable, as showing that the horns which the great goddess wore were really
intended to exhibit her as the express image of Ninus, or " the Son." Had she
worn merely the cow's horns, it might have been supposed that these horns were
intended only to identify her with the moon. But the buWs horns show that the
intention was to represent her as equal in her sovereignty with Nimrod, or
Kronos, the " Horned one."
** See ante, p. 165.
ft Jeremiah vii. 18, and PARKHURST'S Hebrew Lexicon, pp. 402, 403.
Jt See ante, p. 72. §§ See ante, p. 78.
III! See ante, p. 158. The Chaldean meaning of the name Amarusia, signifying
" Mother of gracious acceptance," shows it to have come from Babylon.
HU Lucius AMPELIUS, in BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 161.
'* See ante, p. 194. fff See ante, p. 158. $# See ante, p. 60.
§§§ See ante, p. 75. |||||| See ante, p. 210.
THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST. 265
with a like key, as an emblem of the same power.* He, as the
cleanser from sin, was called the " Unpolluted god ; "f she, too, had
the power to wash away sin, and, though the mother of the seed, was
called the " Virgin, pure and undented."! He was represented as
"Judge of the dead;" she was represented as standing by his side,
at the judgment-seat, in the unseen world.§ He, after being killed
by the sword, was fabled to have risen again, || and ascended up to
heaven. 1T She, too, though history makes her to have been killed
with the sword by one of her own sons,** was nevertheless, in the
myth, said to have been carried by her son bodily to heaven,f f and
to have been made Pambasileia, "Queen of the uni verse. "JJ
Finally, to clench the whole, the name by which she was now known
was Semele, which, in the Babylonian language, signifies " THE
IMAGE."§§ Thus, in every respect, to the very least jot and tittle,
she became the express image of the Babylonian " beast that had the
wound by a sword, and did live."
After what the reader has already seen in a previous part of this
work, it is hardly necessary to say that it is this very goddess that is
now worshipped in the Church of Rome under the name of Mary.
Though that goddess is called by the name of the mother of our
Lord, all the attributes given to her are derived simply from the
Babylonian Madonna, and not from the Virgin Mother of Christ. 1 1 1 1
* TOOKE'S Pantheon, p. 153. That the key of Cybele, in the esoteric story,
had a corresponding meaning to that of Janus, will appear from the character
above assigned to her as the Mediatrix.
t Proclus, speaking of Saturn, says, " Purity therefore indicates this ....
transcendency of Saturn, his undefiled union with the intelligible. This purity
and the undefiled, which he possesses," &c., in Notes to TAYLOR'S Orphic Hymns,
p. 176.
+ See ante, p. 125. § WILKINSON, vol. iv. pp. 314, 315.
|| Ibid. vol. iv. p. 190. IF Ibid. p. 256. See also ante, p. 57.
** MOSES OF CHORENE, lib. i. cap. 16, p. 48. " Ninyas enim occasionem nactus
matrem (Semiramida) necavit." In like manner, Horus, in Egypt, is said to have
cut off his mother's head, as Bel in Babylon also cut asunder the great primeval
goddess of the Babylonians. — (BtJNSEN, vol. i. pp. 436, 708.)
ft See ante, p. 125. Jt Orphic Hymns, "Hymn to Semele," No 43.
§§ Apollodorus states that Bacchus, on carrying his mother to heaven, called her
Thuone (APOLLODORUS, lib. iii. cap. 5, p. 266), which was just the feminine of his
own name, Thuoneus — in Latin Thyoneus. — (OviD, Metam., lib. iv. 1. 13.)
Thuoneus is evidently from the passive participle of Thn, "to lament," a
synonym for " Bacchus," " The lamented god." Thuone, in like manner, is
" The lamented ;/oddcss." The Roman Juno was evidently known in this very
character of the " Image " ; for there was a temple erected to her in Rome, on the
Capitoline hill, under the name of " Juno Moueta." Moneta is the emphatic form
of one of the Chaldee words for an " image " ; and that this was the real meaning
of the name, will appear from the fact that the Mint was contained in the
precincts of that temple. — (See SMITH'S "Juno," p. 358.) What is the use of a
mint but just to stamp "images"? Hence the connection between Juno and
the Mint.
Illl The very way in which the Popish Madonna is represented is plainly copied
from the idolatrous representations of the Pagan goddess. The great god used
to be represented as sitting or standing in the cup of a Lotus-flower. (See
BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 180, where Harpocrates is thus represented ; and VAUX'S
Handbook of British Museum, p. 429, where Cupid is sitting on a flower.) In
India, the very same mode of representation is common ; Brahma being often seen
266
THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
There is not one line or one letter in all the Bible to countenance the
idea that Mary should be worshipped, that she is the "refuge of
sinners," that she was " immaculate," that she made atonement for
sin when standing by the cross, and when, according to Simeon, " a
sword pierced through her own soul also ; " or that, after her death,
she was raised from the dead and carried in glory to heaven. But
in the Babylonian system all this was found ; and all this is now
incorporated in the system of Rome. The " sacred heart of Mary "
is exhibited as pierced through with a sword, in token, as the
apostate Church teaches, that her anguish at the crucifixion was as
true an atonement as the death of Christ; — for we read in the
Devotional office or Service-book, adopted by the " Sodality of the
Fig. 57.
Fig. 58.
sacred heart," such blasphemous words as these, " Go, then, devout
client ! go to the heart of Jesus, but let your way be through the
heart of Mary ; the sword of grief which pierced her sold opens you a
passage ; enter by the wound which love has made ; "* — again we
seated on a Lotus-flower, said to have sprung from the navel of Vishnu. The
great goddess, in like manner, must have a similar couch ; and, therefore, in
India, we find Lakshmi, the " Mother of the Universe," sitting on a Lotus, borne
by a tortoise (see Fig. 57 ; from COLKMAN'S Mythology, plate 23). Now, in this
very thing, also. Popery has copied from its Pagan model ; for, in the Pancarpium,
Marianum, p. 88, the Virgin and child are represented sitting in the cup of a
tulip (see Fig. 58).
* Memoir of Rev. Godfrey Massy, pp. 91, 92. In the Paradisus sponsi et sponsce,
by the author of Pancarpium Marianum, the following words, addressed to the
Virgin, occur in illustration of a plate representing the crucifixion, and Mary, at
the foot of the Cross, with the sword in her breast, " Dilectus tuusfilius carnem tu
vero animam immolasti : immo corpus et animam " (p. 181) ; " Thy beloved son did
THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST. 267
hear one expounder of the new faith, like M. Genoude in France, say
that " Mary was the repairer of the guilt of Eve, as our Lord was
the repairer of the guilt of Adam ; " * and another — Professor Oswald
of Paderbon — affirm that Mary was not a human creature like us,
that she is "the Woman, as Christ is the Man," that "Mary is
co-present in the Eucharist, and that it is indisputable that, accord
ing to the Eucharistic doctrine of the Church, this presence of Mary
in the Eucharist is true and real, not merely ideal or figurative ; " f
and, further, we read in the Pope's decree of the Immaculate Con
ception, that that same Madonna, for this purpose " wounded with
the sword," rose from the dead, and being assumed up on high,
became Queen of Heaven. If all this be so, who can fail to see that
in that apostate community is to be found what precisely answers to
the making and setting up in the heart of Christendom, of an
" Image to the beast that had the wound by a sword and did live " ?
If the inspired terms be consulted, it will be seen that this was to
be done by some public general act of apostate Christendom ; (ver. 14),
" Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an
image to the beast ; " and they made it. Now, here is the important
fact to be observed, that this never was done, and this never could
have been done, till eight years ago : for this plain reason, that till
then the Madonna of Rome was never recognised as combining all
the characters that belonged to the Babylonian " IMAGE of the
beast." Till then it was not admitted even in Rome, though this
evil leaven had been long working, and that strongly, that Mary was
truly immaculate, and consequently she could not be the perfect
counterpart of the Babylonian Image. What, however, had never
been done before, was done in December, 1854. Then bishops from
all parts of Christendom, and representatives from the ends of the
earth, met in Rome ; and with only four dissentient voices, it was
decreed that Mary, the mother of God, who died, rose from the dead,
and ascended into heaven, should henceforth be worshipped as the
Immaculate Virgin, "conceived and born without sin." This was
the formal setting up of the Image of the beast, and that by the
general consent of "the men that dwell upon the earth." Now, this
beast being set up, it is said, that the beast from the earth gives life
and speech to the Image, implying, first, that it has neither life nor
voice in itself; but that, nevertheless, through means of the beast
from the earth, it is to have both life and voice, and to be an effective
agent of the Papal clergy, who will make it speak exactly as they
please. Since the Image has been set up, its voice has been every
where heard throughout the Papacy. Formerly decrees ran less or
more in the name of Christ. Now all things are pre-eminently
done in the name of the Immaculate Virgin. Her voice is every-
sacrifice his flesh ; thou thy soul — yea, both body and soul." This does much
more than put the sacrifice of the Virgin on a level with that of the Lord Jesus,
it makes it greater far. This, in 1617, was the creed only of Jesuitism ; now
there is reason to believe it to be the general creed of the Papacy.
* Missionary Record of the Free Church, 1855.
f Ibid.
268 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
where heard — her voice is supreme. But, be it observed, when
that voice is heard, it is not the voice of mercy and love, it is
the voice of cruelty and terror. The decrees that come forth
under the name of the Image, are to this effect (ver. 17), that
"no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the
name of the beast, or the number of his name." No sooner is
the image set up than we see this very thing begun to be carried
out. What was the Concordat in Austria, that so speedily followed,
but this very thing ? That concordat, through the force of unex
pected events that have arisen, has not yet been carried into
effect ; but if it were, the results would just be what is predicted —
that no man in the Austrian dominions should "buy or sell" without
the mark in some shape or other. And the very fact of such an
intolerant concordat coming so speedily on the back of the Decree of
the Immaculate Conception, shows what is the natural fruit of that
decree. The events that soon thereafter took place in Spain showed
the powerful working of the same persecuting spirit there also. During
the last few years, the tide of spiritual despotism might have seemed
to be effectually arrested ; and many, no doubt, have indulged the per
suasion that, crippled as the temporal sovereignty of the Papacy is,
and tottering as it seems to be, that power, or its subordinates, could
never persecute more. But there is an amazing vitality in the
Mystery of Iniquity ; and no one can ever tell beforehand what
apparent impossibilities it may accomplish in the way of arresting
the progress of truth and liberty, however promising the aspect of
things may be. Whatever may become of the temporal sovereignty
of the Roman states, it is by no means so evident this day, as to many
it seemed only a short while ago, that the overthrow of the spiritual
power of the Papacy is imminent, and that its power to persecute is
finally gone. I doubt not but that many, constrained by the love
and mercy of God, will yet obey the heavenly voice, and flee out of
the doomed communion, before the vials of Divine wrath descend
upon it. But if I have been right in the interpretation of this
passage, then it follows that it must yet become more persecuting
than ever it has been, and that that intolerance, which, immediately
after the setting up of the Image, began to display itself in Austria
and Spain, shall yet spread over all Europe ; for it is not said that
the Image of the beast should merely decree, but should " cause that
as many as would not worship the Image of the beast should be
killed" (ver. 15). When this takes place, that evidently is the time
when the language of verse 8 is fulfilled, "And all that dwell on the
earth shall worship the beast, whose names are not written in the
book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." It
is impossible to get quit of this by saying, " This refers to the Dark
Ages; this was fulfilled before Luther." I ask, had the men who
dwelt on the earth set up the Image of the beast before Luther's days?
Plainly not. The decree of the Immaculate Conception was the deed
of yesterday. The prophecy, then, refers to our own times — to the
period on which the Church is now entering. In other words, the
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 269
slaying of the witnesses, the grand trial of the saints, is STILL TO
COME.*
SECTION V. THE NAME OF THE BEAST, THE NUMBER OF HIS NAME,
THE INVISIBLE HEAD OF THE PAPACY.
Dagon and the Pope being now identified, this brings us naturally
and easily to the long-sought name and number of the beast, and con
firms, by entirely new evidence, the old Protestant view of the sub
ject. The name " Lateinos " has been generally accepted by Protestant
writers, as having many elements of probability to recommend it.
But yet there has been always found a certain deficiency, and it has
been felt that something was wanting to put it beyond all possibility
of doubt. Now, looking at the subject from the Babylonian point of
view, we shall find both the name and number of the beast brought
home to us in such a way as leaves nothing to be desired on the point
of evidence. Osiris, or Nimrod, whom the Pope represents, was
called by many different titles, and therefore, as Wilkinson remarks,!
he was much in the same position as his wife, who was called
" Myrionymus," the goddess with " ten thousand names." Among
these innumerable names, how shall we ascertain the name at which
the Spirit of God points in the enigmatical language that speaks of the
name of the beast, and the number of his name 1 If we know the
Apocalyptic name of the system, that will lead us to the name of the
head of the system. The name of the system is " Mystery " (Rev.
xvii. 5). Here, then, we have the key that at once unlocks the
enigma. We have now only to inquire what was the name by which
Nimrod was known as the god of the Chaldean Mysteries. That
name, as we have seen, was Saturn. Saturn and Mystery are both
Chaldean words, and they are correlative terms. As Mystery signi
fies the Hidden system, so Saturn signifies the Hidden god.J To
those who were initiated the god was revealed ; to all else he was
hidden. Now, the name Saturn in Chaldee is pronounced Satur ;
but, as every Chaldee scholar knows, consists only of four letters, thus
— Stur. This name contains exactly the Apocalyptic number 666 : —
S - 60
T = 400
U = 6
R = 200
666
* See Appendix, Note Q.
f Vol. iv. p. 179.
+ In the Litany of the Mass, the worshippers are taught thus to pray : "GoD
HIDDEN, and my Saviour, have mercy upon us." — (M'GAViN's Protestant, vol. ii.
p. 79, 1837.) Whence can this invocation of the "God Hidden" have come, but
from the ancient worship of Saturn, the "Hidden God"? As the Papacy has
canonised the Babylonian god by the name of St. Dionysius, and St. Bacchus, the
"martyr," so by this very name of "Satur" is he also enrolled in the calendar ;
for March 29th is the festival of " St. Satur," the martyr.— (CHAMBERS'S Book of
Days, p. 435.)
270 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
If the Pope is, as we have seen, the legitimate representative of
Saturn, the number of the Pope, as head of the Mystery of
Iniquity, is just 666. But still further it turns out, as shown above,
that the original name of Rome itself was Saturnia, " the city of
Saturn." This is vouched alike by Ovid,* by Pliny, f and by
Aurelius Victor. J Thus, then, the Pope has a double claim to
the name and number of the beast. He is the only legitimate repre
sentative of the original Saturn at this day in existence, and he
reigns in the very city of the seven hills where the Roman Saturn
formerly reigned ; and, from his residence in which, the whole of Italy
was " long after called by his name," being commonly named " the
Saturnian land." But what bearing, it may be said, has this upon the
name Lateinos, which is commonly believed to be the "name of the
beast " ^ Much. It proves that the common opinion is thoroughly
well-founded. Saturn and Lateinos are just synonymous, having pre
cisely the same meaning, and belonging equally to the same god.
The reader cannot have forgotten the lines of Virgil, which showed
that Lateinos, to whom the Romans or Latin race traced back their
lineage, was represented with a glory around his head, to show that
he was a "child of the Sun."§ Thus, then, it is evident that, in
popular opinion, the original Lateinos had occupied the very same
position as Saturn did in the Mysteries, who was equally worshipped
as the " offspring of the Sun." Moreover, it is evident that the
Romans knew that the name " Lateinos " signified the " Hidden
One," for their antiquarians invariably affirm that Latium received
its name from Saturn "lying hid" there. || On etymological grounds,
then, even on the testimony of the Romans, Lateinos is equivalent to
the " Hidden One ; " that is, to Saturn, the " god of Mystery."H
* Fasti, lib. vi. 11. 31-34, vol. iii. p. 342. f Hist. Nat., lib. iii. 5, p. 55.
J AUREL. VICT., Origo Gent. Roman, cap. iii. § See ante, p. 236.
|| OVID, Fasti, lib. i. 1. 238, vol. iii. p. 29 ; also VIRGIL, Jlneid lib. viii. 1. 319,
&c., p. 384.
IT Latium Latinus (the Roman form of the Greek Lateinos), and Lateo, " to lie
hid," all alike come from the Chaldee " Lat," which has the same meaning. The
name "Lat," or the hidden one, had evidently been given, as well as Saturn, to
the Great Babylonian god. This is evident from the name of the fish Latus,
which was worshipped along with the Egyptian Minerva, in the city of Latopolis
in Egypt, now Esneh (WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 284, and vol. v. p. 253), that fish
Latus evidently just being another name for the fish-god Dagon. We have seen
that Ichthys, or the Fish, was one of the names of Bacchus ; and the Assyrian
goddess Atergatis, with her son Ichthys is said to have been cast into the lake of
Ascalon. — ( Vossius de Idololatria, lib. i. cap. xxiii. p. 89, also ATHEN^EDS, lib. viii.
cap. viii. p. 346, E.) That the sun-god Apollo had been known under the name of
Lat, may be inferred from the Greek name of his mother- wife Leto, or in Doric,
Late, which is just the feminine of Lat. The Roman name Latona confirms this,
for it Bignifies " The lamenter of Lat," as Bellona signifies "The lamenter of Bel."
The Indian god Siva, who, as we have seen, is sometimes represented as a child at
the breast of its mother, and has the same bloody character as Moloch, or the
Roman Saturn, is called by this very name, as may be seen from the following
verae made in reference to the image found in his celebrated temple at Somnaut :
" This image grim, whose name was LAUT,
Bold Mahmoud found when he took Sumnaut."
— BORROW'S Gypsies in Spain, or Zincali, vol. ii. p. 113.
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 271
While Saturn, therefore, is the name of the beast, and contains the
mystic number, Lateinos, which contains the same number, is just as
peculiar and distinctive an appellation of the same beast. The Pope,
then, as the head of the beast, is equally Lateinos or Saturn, that is,
the head of the Babylonian " Mystery." When, therefore, the ^ Pope
requires all his services to be performed in the " Latin tongue," that
is as much as to say that they must be performed in the language of
" Mystery " ; when he calls his Church the Latin Church, that is
equivalent to a declaration that it is the Church of "Mystery."
Thus, by this very name of the Pope's own choosing, he has with his
own hands written upon the very forehead of his apostate communion
its divine Apocalyptic designation, "MYSTERY — Babylon the great."
Thus, also, by a process of the purest induction, we have been led on
from step to step, till we find the mystic number 666 unmistakably
and " indelibly marked " on his own forehead, and that he who has
his seat on the seven hills of Rome has exclusive and indefeasible
claims to be regarded as the Visible head of the beast.
The reader, however, who has carefully considered the language
that speaks of the name and number of the Apocalyptic beast, must
have observed that, in the terms that describe that name and
number, there is still an enigma that ought not to be overlooked.
The words are these : " Let him that hath understanding count the
number of the beast — for it is the number of a man" (Rev. xiii. 18).
What means the saying, that the "number of the beast is the
number of a man " ? Does it merely mean that he has been called
by a name that has been borne by some individual man before *?
This is the sense in which the words have been generally under
stood. But surely this would be nothing very distinctive — nothing
that might not equally apply to innumerable names. But view this
language in connection with the ascertained facts of the case, and
what a Divine light at once beams from the expression. Saturn, the
hidden god, — the god of the Mysteries, whom the Pope represents,
whose secrets were revealed only to the initiated, — was identical
with Janus, who was publicly known to all Rome, to the uninitiated
and initiated alike, as the grand Mediator, the opener and the
shutter, who had the key of the invisible world. Now, what means
the name Janus ? That name, as Cornincius in Macrobius shows,
was properly Eanus;* and in ancient Chaldee, E-anush signifies
As Lat was used as a synonym for Saturn, there can be Httle doubt that Latinus
was used in the same sense. Virgil makes the Latinus, who was the contemporary
of ^Eneas, third in descent from Saturn :
" Rex arva Latinus et urbes
Jam senior longa placidus in pace regebat.
Hunc Fauno et Myunpha genitum Laurente Marica
Accipimus. Fauno Picus pater, isque parentem
Te, Saturne, refert."
— sEneid, lib. vii. 11. 45-49, p. 323.
The deified kings were called after the gods from whom they professed to spring,
and not after their territories. The same, we may be sure, was the case with
Latinus.
* Saturnalia, lib. i. cap. 9, p. 54, G.
272 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
"the Man." By that very name was the Babylonian beast from the
sea called, when it first made its appearance.* The name E-anush,
or " the Man," was applied to the Babylonian Messiah, as identifying
him with the promised seed of the Woman. The name of " the
Man," as applied to a god, was intended to designate him as the
" god-man? We have seen that in India, the Hindoo Shasters bear,
that in order to enable the gods to overcome their enemies, it was
needful that the Sun, the supreme divinity, should be incarnate, and
born of a Woman, f The classical nations had a legend of precisely
the same nature. " There was a current tradition in heaven," says
Apollodorus, " that the giants could never be conquered except by
the help of a man." I That man, who was believed to have conquered
the adversaries of the gods, was Janus, the god-man. In consequence
of his assumed character and exploits, Janus was invested with high
powers, made the keeper of the gates of heaven, and arbiter of men's
eternal destinies. Of this Janus, this Babylonian " man," the Pope,
as we have seen, is the legitimate representative j his key, therefore,
he bears, with that of Cybele, his mother-wife ; and to all his
blasphemous pretensions he at this hour lays claim. The very fact,
then, that the Pope founds his claim to universal homage on the
possession of the keys of heaven, and that in a sense which empowers
him, in defiance of every principle of Christianity, to open and shut
the gates of glory, according to his mere sovereign will and pleasure,
is a striking and additional proof that he is that head of the beast
from the sea, whose number, as identified with Janus, is the number
of a man, and amounts exactly to 666.
But there is something further still in the name of Janus or
Eanus, not to be passed over. Janus, while manifestly worshipped
as the Messiah or god-man, was also celebrated as " Principium
Deorum,"§ the source and fountain of all the Pagan gods. We have
already in this character traced him backward through Gush to
Noah ; but to make out his claim to this high character, in its proper
completeness, he must be traced even further still. The Pagans
knew, and could not but know, at the time the Mysteries were
concocted, in the days of Shem and his brethren, who, through the
Flood, had passed from the old world to the new, the whole story of
Adam, and therefore it was necessary, if a deification of mankind
there was to be, that his pre-eminent dignity, as the human " Father
of gods and men" should not be ignored. Nor was it. The
* The name, as given in Greek by Berosus, is O-annes (p. 48) ; but this is just
the very way we might expect "He-anesh," "the man," to appear in Greek.
He-siri, in Greek, becomes Osiris ; and He-sarsiphon, Osarsiphon ; and, in like
manner, He-anesh naturally becomes Oannes. In the sense of a " Man-god," the
name Oannes is taken by Barker (Lares and Penates, p. 224). We find the
conversion of the H' into O' among our own immediate neighbours, the Irish ;
what is now O'Brien and O'Connell was originally H'Brien and H'Connell. —
(Sketches of Irish History, p. 72.)
t See ante, Chapter III. p. 96.
£ Bibliotheca, lib. i. in PARKHURST, sub voce " aaz," No. v. ; see also MACROBIUB,
Saturnalia, lib. i. cap. 20, in regard to " Hercules the man."
§ TERENTIANUS MAURUB in BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 82.
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 273
Mysteries were full of what he did, and what befel him ; and the
name E-anush, or, as it appeared in the Egyptian form, Ph'anesh,*
" The man," was only another name for that of our great progenitor.
The name of Adam in the Hebrew of Genesis almost always occurs
with the article before it, implying "The Adam," or "The man."
There is this difference, however — "The Adam" refers to man
unfallen, E-anush, " The man," to " fallen man." E-anush, then, as
" Principium deorurn," " The fountain and father of the gods," is
" FALLEN Adam."f The principle of Pagan idolatry went directly
to exalt, fallen humanity, to consecrate its lusts, to give men license
to live after the flesh, and yet, after such a life, to make them sure of
eternal felicity. E-anus, the " fallen man," was set up as the human
Head of this system of corruption — this "Mystery of Iniquity."
Now, from this we come to see the real meaning of the name, applied
to the divinity commonly worshipped in Phrygia along with Cybele
in the very same character as this same Janus, who was at once the
Father of the gods, and the Mediatorial divinity. That name was
Atys, or Attis, or Attes,| and the meaning will evidently appear
from the meaning of the well-known Greek word Ate, which signifies
" error of sin," and is obviously derived from the Chaldean Hata,
"to sin." Atys or Attes, formed from the same verb, and in a
similar way, signifies "The Sinner." The reader will remember
that Rhea or Cybele was worshipped in Phrygia under the name of
Idaia Mater, " The mother of knowledge," and that she bore in her
hand, as her symbol, the pomegranate, which we have seen reason to
conclude to have been in Pagan estimation the fruit of the
" forbidden tree."§ Who, then, so likely to have been the
contemplar divinity of that "Mother of knowledge " as Attes, "The
sinner," even her own husband, whom she induced to share with her
in her sin, and partake of her fatal knowledge, and who thereby
became in true and proper sense, "The man of sin," — "the man by
* WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 191.
t Anesh properly signifies only the weakness or frailty of fallen humanity ; but
any one who consults OVID, Fasti, " Kal. Jun.," 11. 100, &c., vol. iii. p. 346, as to
the character of Janus, will see that when E-anush was deified, it was not simply
as Fallen man with his weakness, but Fallen man with his corruption.
£ SMITH'S Classical Dictionary, "Atys," p. 107. The identification of Attes
with Bacchus or Adonis, who was at once the Father of the gods, and the
Mediator, is proved from divers considerations. — 1. While it is certain that the
favourite god of the Phrygian Cybele was Attes, whence he was called "Cybelius
Attes," from Strabo, lib. x. p. 452, we learn that the divinity worshipped along
with Cybele in Phrygia, was called by the very name of Dionusos or Bacchus.
2. Attes was represented in the very same way as Bacchus. In Bryant there is an
inscription to him along with the Idaean goddess, that is Cybele, under the name
of "Attis the Minotaur" (MythoL, vol. ii. p. 109, Note). Bacchus was bull-
horned ; it is well known that the Minotaur, in like manner, was half-man, half-
bull. 3. He was represented in the exoteric story, as perishing in the same way
as Adonis by a wild boar (PAUSAN., lib. vii., Achaica, cap. 17). 4. In the rites of
Magna Mater or Cybele, the priests invoked him as the " Deus propitiu*, Deus
sanctus," "the merciful God, the holy God" (AKNOBIUS, lib. i. in Maxima Biblioth.
Patrum, in Ed. Adv. Lib., torn. iii. p. 435, Lugd., 1677), the very character which
Bacchus or Adonis sustained as the mediatorial god.
§ See ante, p. 111.
T
274 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
whom sin entered the world, and death by sin, and so death passed
upon all, because all have sinned."* Now to Attes, this " Man of
sin," after passing through those sorrows and sufferings, which his
worshippers yearly commemorated, the distinguishing characteristics
and glories of the Messiah were given. He was identified with the
sun,f the one only god ; he was identified with Adonis; and to him
as thus identified, the language of the Sixteenth Psalm, predicting
the triumph of our Saviour Christ over death and the grave, was in
all its greatness applied : " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." It is sufficiently known
that the first part of this statement was applied to Adonis ; for the
annual weeping of the women for Tammuz was speedily turned into
rejoicings, on account of his fabled return from Hades, or the
infernal regions. But it is not so well known that Paganism applied
to its mediatorial god the predicted incorruption of the body of the
Messiah. But that this was the fact, we learn from the distinct
testimony of Pausanias. "Agdistis," that is Cybele, says he,
" obtained from Jupiter, that no part of the body of Attes should
either become putrid or waste away." J Thus did Paganism apply to
Attes " the sinner," the incommunicable honour of Christ, who
came to " save His people from their sins " — as contained in the
Divine language uttered by the "sweet psalmist of Israel," a thousand
years before the Christian era. If, therefore, the Pope occupies, as
we have seen, the very place of Janus " the man," how clear is it,
that he equally occupies the place of Attes, " the sinner," and then
how striking in this point of view the name "Man of sin," as
divinely given by prophecy (2 Thess. ii. 3) to him who was to be the
head of the Christian apostacy, and who was to concentrate in that
apostacy all the corruption of Babylonian Paganism "?
The Pope is thus on every ground demonstrated to be the visible
head of the beast. But the beast has not only a visible, but an
invisible head that governs it. That invisible head is none other
than Satan, the head of the first grand apostacy that began in heaven
itself. This is put beyond doubt by the language of Rev. xiii. 4 :
" And they worshipped the Dragon which gave power unto the
beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast 1 Who is able to make
war with him 1 " This language shows that the worship of the
dragon is commensurate with the worship of the beast. That the
* The whole story of Attes can be proved in detail to be the story of the Fall.
Suffice it here only to state that, even on the surface, his sin was said to be
connected with undue love for "a nymph, whose fate depended on a tree " (OviD,
Fasti, lib. iv., Ludi Megalenses). The love of Attes for this nymph was in one
aspect an offence to Cybele, but, in another, it was the love of Cybele herself ; for
Cybele has two distinct fundamental characters — that of the Holy Spirit, and also
that of our mother Eve (see Appendix, Note G). "The nymph whose fate
depended on a tree " was evidently Rhea, the mother of mankind.
t BRYANT, vol. i. p. 387, Note. The ground of the identification of Attis with
the sun evidently was, that as Hata signifies to sin, so Hatah, which signifies to
burn, is in pronunciation nearly the same. In illustration of the name Attes, or
Attis, as "The Sinner," see Appendix, Note R.
£ PAUSAN., lib. vii., Achaica, cap. 17.
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 275
dragon is primarily Satan, the arch-fiend himself, is plain from the
statement of the previous chapter (Rev. xii. 9): "And the Dragon
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world." If, then, the Pope be, as we have seen,
the visible head of the beast, the adherents of Rome, in worshipping
the Pope, of necessity worship also the Devil. With the Divine
statement before us, there is no possibility of escaping from this.
And this is exactly what we might expect on other grounds. Let it
be remembered that the Pope, as the head of the Mystery of
Iniquity, is "the son of perdition," Iscariot, the false apostle, the
traitor. Now, it is expressly stated, that before Judas committed his
treason, " Satan," the prince of the Devils, " entered into him," took
complete and entire possession of him. From analogy, we may
expect the same to have been the case here. Before the Pope could
even conceive such a scheme of complicated treachery to the cause of
his Lord, as has been proved against him, before he could be
qualified for successfully carrying that treacherous scheme into
effect, Satan himself must enter into him. The Mystery of Iniquity
was to practise and prosper according " to the working " — i.e.,
literally, " according to the energy or mighty power of Satan "
(2 Thess. ii. 9).* Therefore Satan himself, and not any subordinate
spirit of hell, must preside over the whole vast system of consecrated
wickedness; he must personally take possession of him who is its
visible head, that the system may be guided by his diabolical
subtlety, and "energised" by his super-human power. Keeping
this in view, we see at once how it is that, when the followers of
the Pope worship the beast, they worship also the " dragon that gave
power to the beast."
Thus, altogether independent of historical evidence on this point,
we are brought to the irresistible conclusion that the worship of
Rome is one vast system of Devil-worship. If it be once admitted
that the Pope is the head of the beast from the sea, we are bound,
on the mere testimony of God, without any other evidence whatever,
to receive this as a fact, that, consciously or unconsciously, those who
worship the Pope are actually worshipping the Devil. But, in truth,
we have historical evidence, and that of a very remarkable kind,
that the Pope, as head of the Chaldean Mysteries, is as directly the
representative of Satan, as he is of the false Messiah of Babylon.
It was long ago noticed by Irenaeus, about the end of the second
century, that the name Teitan contained the mystic number 666 ;
and he gave it as his opinion, that Teitan was "by far the most
probable name" of the beast from the sea.f The grounds of his
* The very term "energy " here employed, is the term continually used in the
Chaldean books, describing the inspiration coming from the gods and demons to
their worshippers. — (TAYLOR'S Jamblichus, p. 163, et passim.)
f IREN^US, lib. v. cap. 30, p. 802. Though the name Teitan was originally
derived from Chaldee, yet it became thoroughly naturalised in the Greek language.
Therefore, to give the more abundant evidence on this important subject, the
Spirit of God seems to have ordered it, that the number of Teitan should be
found according to the Greek computation, while that of Satur is found by the
Chaldee.
276 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
opinion, as stated by him, do not carry much weight ; but the
opinion itself he may have derived from others who had better and
more valid reasons for their belief on this subject. Now, on inquiry,
it will actually be found, that while Saturn was the name of the
visible head, Teitan was the name of the invisible head of the beast.
Teitan is just the Chaldean form of Sheitan,* the very name by
which Satan has been called from time immemorial by the Devil-
worshippers of Kurdistan ;f and from Armenia or Kurdistan, this
Devil-worship embodied in the Chaldean Mysteries came westward
to Asia Minor, and thence to Etruria and Rome. That Teitan was
actually known by the classic nations of antiquity to be Satan, or the
spirit of wickedness, and originator of moral evil, we have the
following proofs : The history of Teitan and his brethren, as given in
Homer and Hesiod, the two earliest of all the Greek writers,
although later legends are obviously mixed up with it, is evidently
the exact counterpart of the Scriptural account of Satan and his
angels. Homer says, that " all the gods of Tartarus," or Hell,
" were called Teitans."J Hesiod tells us how these Teitans, or
" gods of hell," came to have their dwelling there. The chief of
them having committed a certain act of wickedness against his
father, the supreme god of heaven, with the sympathy of many
others of the " sons of heaven," that father " called them all by an
opprobrious name, Teitans, "§ pronounced a curse upon them, and
then, in consequence of that curse, they were " cast down to hell,"
and "bound in chains of darkness "in the abyss. || While this is
the earliest account of Teitan and his followers among the Greeks,
we find that, in the Chaldean system, Teitan was just a synonym
for Typhon, the malignant Serpent or Dragon, who was universally
regarded as the Devil, or author of all wickedness. It was Typhon,
according to the Pagan version of the story, that killed Tammuz, and
cut him in pieces ; but Lactantius, who was thoroughly acquainted
with the subject, upbraids his Pagan countrymen for " worshipping a
child torn in pieces by the Teitans. "U It is undeniable, then, that
Teitan, in Pagan belief, was identical with the Dragon, or Satan.**
* The learned reader 'has no need of examples in proof of this frequent
Chaldean transformation of the Sh or S into T ; but for the common reader, the
following may be adduced : Hebrew, Shekel, to weigh, becomes Tekel in Chaldee ;
Hebrew, Shabar, to break — Chaldee, Tabar ; Hebrew, Seraphim — Chaldee,
Teraphim, the Babylonian counterfeit of the Divine Cherubim or Seraphim ;
Hebrew, Asar, to be rich — Chaldee, Atar ; Hebrew, Shani, second — Chaldee,
Tanin, &c.
f WALPOLE'S Ansayri, vol. i. p. 397. LATARD'S Nineveh, vol. i. pp. 287, 288.
See also REDHOUSE'S Turkish Dictionary, sub voce " Satan," p. 303. The Turks
came from the Euphrates.
I HOMER, Iliad, lib. xiv. 1. 279, p. 549.
§ HESIOD, Theoyonia, 1. 207, pp. 18, 19.
|| Ibid. 11. 717, 729, pp. 56-59. I think the reader will see that Ouranos, or
Heaven, against whom the Titans rebelled, was just God.
IF LACTANTIUS, De Falsa Rdiyione, p. 221 ; CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS also,
vol. i. p. 30.
** We have seen that Shem was the actual slayer of Tammuz. As the grand
adversary of the Pagan Messiah, those who hated him for his deed called him for
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 277
In the Mysteries, as formerly hinted, an important change took
place as soon as the way was paved for it. First, Tammuz was
worshipped as the .bruiser of the serpent's head, meaning thereby
that he was the appointed destroyer of Satan's kingdom. Then the
dragon himself, or Satan, came to receive a certain measure of
worship, to "console him," as the Pagans said, "for the loss of his
power," and to prevent him from hurting them;* and last of all
the dragon, or Teitan or Satan, became the supreme object of
worship, the Titania, or rites of Teitan, occupying a prominent place
in the Egyptian Mysteries,! and also in those of Greece. J How
vitally important was the place that these rites of Teitan or Satan
occupied, may be judged of from the fact that Pluto, the god of Hell
(who, in his ultimate character, was just the grand Adversary), was
looked up to with awe and dread as the great god on whom the
destinies of mankind in the eternal world did mainly depend ; for it
was said that to Pluto it belonged "to purify souls after death. "§
Purgatory having been in Paganism, as it is in Popery, the grand
hinge of priestcraft and superstition, what a power did this opinion
attribute to the "god of Hell"! No wonder that the serpent, the
Devil's grand instrument in seducing mankind, was in all the earth
worshipped with such extraordinary reverence, it being laid down in
the Octateuch of Ostanes, that "serpents were the supreme of all
gods and the princes of the Universe. "|| No wonder that it came
at last to be firmly believed that the Messiah, on whom the hopes of
the world depended, was Himself the "seed of the serpent" ! This
was manifestly the case in Greece ; for the current story there came
to be, that the first Bacchus was brought forth in consequence of a
connexion on the part of his mother with the father of the gods, in
the form of a " speckled snake."1F That " father of the gods " was
manifestly "the god of hell;" for Proserpine, the mother of
Bacchus, that miraculously conceived and brought forth the wond
rous child — whose rape by Pluto occupied such a place in the
Mysteries — was worshipped as the wife of the god of Hell, as we
have already seen, under the name of the "Holy Virgin."** The
that very deed by the name of the Grand Adversary of all, Typhon, or the Devil.
" If they called the Master of the house Beelzebub," no wonder that his servant
was called by a similar name.
* PLUTARCH, De hide, vol. ii. p. 362. t Ibid. vol. ii. p. 364.
% POTTER'S Antiquities, vol. i., sub voce "Titania," p. 400.
§ TAYLOR'S Pausanias, vol. iii. p. 321, Note.
|| EUSEBIUS, Prceparatio Evang., lib. i. vol. i. p. 50.
*l OVID, Metam., lib. vi. 1. 114. So deeply was the idea of ''the seed of the
serpent " being the great World-king imprinted on the Pagan mind, that when a
man set up to be a god upon earth, it was held essential to establish his title to
that character, that he prove himself to be the '' serpent's seed." Thus, when
Alexander the Great claimed divine honours, it is well known that his mother
Olympias, declared that he was not sprung from King Philip, her husband, but
from Jupiter, in the form of a serpent. In like manner, says the authoress of
Rome in the 19th Century, vol. i. p. 388, the Roman emperor, " Augustus,
pretended that he was the son of Apollo, and that the god had assumed the form
of a serpent for the purpose of giving him birth." — Vid. SUET. AUGUSTUS.
** See ante, p. 126.
278 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
story of the seduction of Eve* by the serpent is plainly imported
into this legend, as Julius Firmicus and the early Christian apolo
gists did with great force cast in the teeth of the Pagans of their
day -, but very different is the colouring given to it in the Pagan
legend from that which it has in the Divine Word. Thus the grand
Thimblerigger, by dexterously shifting the peas, through means of
men who began with great professions of abhorrence of his character,
got himself almost everywhere recognised as in very deed " the god
of this world." So deep and so strong was the hold that Satan had
contrived to get of the ancient world in this character, that even
when Christianity had been proclaimed to man, and the true light
had shone from Heaven, the very doctrine we have been considering
raised its head among the professed disciples of Christ. Those who
held this doctrine were called Ophiani or Ophites, that is, serpent-
worshippers. "These heretics," says Tertullian, "magnify the
serpent to such a degree as to prefer him even to Christ Himself ;
for he, say they, gave us the first knowledge of good and evil. It
was from a perception of his power and majesty that Moses was
induced to erect the brazen serpent, to which whosoever looked was
healed. Christ Himself, they affirm, in the Gospel imitates the
sacred power of the serpent, when He says that, ' As Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up.'t They introduce it when they bless the Eucharist." These
wicked heretics avowedly worshipped the old serpent, or Satan, as the
grand benefactor of mankind, for revealing to them the knowledge
of good and evil. But this doctrine they had just brought along
with them from the Pagan world, from which they had come, or
from the Mysteries, as they came to be received and celebrated in
Rome. Though Teitan, in the days of Hesiod and in early Greece,
was an " opprobrious name," yet in Rome, in the days of the Empire
and before, it had become the very reverse. "The splendid or
glorious Teitan" was the way in which Teitan was spoken of at
Rome. This was the title commonly given to the Sun, both as the
orb of day and viewed as a divinity. Now, the reader has seen
already that another form of the sun-divinity, or Teitan, at Rome,
was the Epidaurian snake, worshipped under the name of " ^Escu-
lapius," that is, " the man-instructing serpent. "| Here, then, in
* We find that Semele, the mother of the Grecian Bacchus, had been identified
with Eve ; for the name of Eve had been given to her, as Photius tells us that
" Pherecydes called Semele, Hue." — (PHOT. Lex., pars ii. p. 616.) Hue is just the
Hebrew name for Eve, without the points.
t TERTULLIAN, De Prescript, adv. Hcereticos, cap. 47, vol. ii. pp. 63, 64.
+ Aish-shkul-ape, from Aish, " man " ; shkul, " to instruct ; " and Aph6, or Ap6t
"a serpent." The Greek form of this name, Asklepios, signifies simply "the
instructing snake," and comes from A, "the," ski, "to teach," and heft, "a
snake," the Chaldean words being thus modified in Egypt. The name Asclepios,
however, is capable of another sense, as derived fromAaz, " strength," and Khlep,
"to renew;" and, therefore, in the exoteric doctrine, Asclepios was known
simply as "the strength -restorer," or the Healing God. But, as identified with
the serpent, the true meaning of the name seems to be that which is first stated.
Macrobius, giving an account of the mystic doctrine of the ancients, says that
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 279
Eome was Teitan, or Satan, identified with the " serpent that taught
mankind," that opened their eyes (when, of course, they were blind),
and gave them "the knowledge of good and evil." In Pergamos,
and in all Asia Minor, from which directly Rome derived its know
ledge of the Mysteries, the case was the same. In Pergamos,
especially, where pre-eminently " Satan's seat was," the sun-divinity,
as is well known, was worshipped under the form of a serpent and
under the name of ^Esculapius, "the man-instructing serpent."
According to the fundamental doctrine of the Mysteries, as brought
from Pergamos to Rome, the sun was the one only god.* Teitan,
or Satan, then, was thus recognised as the one only god ; and of that
only god, Tammuz or Janus, in his character as the Son, or the
woman's seed, was just an incarnation. Here, then, the grand
secret of the Roman Empire is at last brought to light — viz., the
real name of the tutelar divinity of Rome. That secret was most
jealously guarded ; insomuch that when Valerius Soranus, a man of
the highest rank, and, as Cicero declares, "the most learned of the
Romans," had incautiously divulged it, he was remorselessly put to
death for his revelation. Now, however, it stands plainly revealed.
Fig. 59.
A symbolical representation of the worship of the Roman people,
from Pompeii, strikingly confirms this deduction by evidence that
appeals to the very senses. Let the reader cast his eyes on the
woodcut herewith given (Fig. 59). f We have seen already that it
is admitted by the author of Pompeii, in regard to a former repre
sentation, that the serpents in the under compartment are only
another way of exhibiting the dark divinities represented in the
upper compartment. Let the same principle be admitted here, and
it follows that the swallows, or birds pursuing the flies, represent
the same thing as the serpents do below. But the serpent, of which
there is a double representation, is unquestionably the serpent of
^sculapius. The fly-destroying swallow, therefore, must represent
the same divinity. Now, every one knows what was the name by
which "the Lord of the fly," or fly-destroying god of the Oriental
world was called. It was Beel-zebub4 This name, as signifying
yEsculapius was that beneficent influence of the sun which pervaded the souls
of men. — (Sat., lib. i. cap. 23.) Now the Serpent was the symbol of the
enlightening sun.
* MACKOBIUS, Saturnalia, lib. i. cap. 17, 23, pp. 65, C, and 72, 1, 2.
f From Pompeii, vol. ii. p. 141.
£ KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary, vol. ii. p. 317.
280 THE TWO DEVELOPMENTS CONSIDERED.
" Lord of the Fly," to the profane meant only the power that
destroyed the swarms of flies when these "became, as they often did
in hot countries, a source of torment to the people whom they
invaded. But this name, as identified with the serpent, clearly
reveals itself as one of the distinctive names of Satan. And how
appropriate is this name, when its mystic or esoteric meaning is
penetrated. What is the real meaning of this \ familiar name?
Baal-zebub just means " The restless Lord,"* even that unhappy one
who "goeth to and fro in the earth, and walketh up and down in
it," who " goeth through dry places seeking rest, and finding none."
From all this, the inference is unavoidable that Satan, in his own
proper name, must have been the great god of their secret and
mysterious worship, and this accounts for the extraordinary mystery
observed on the subject. f When, therefore, Gratian abolished
the legal provision for the support of the fire-worship and serpent-
worship of Rome, we see how exactly the Divine prediction was
fulfilled (Rev. xii. 9): "And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent called the DEVIL, and SATAN, which deceiveth the whole
world : he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him."J Now, as the Pagan Pontifex, to whose powers and
* See CLAVIS STOCKII, sub voce "Zebub," where it is stated that the word
zebub, as applied to the fly, comes from an Arabic root, which signifies to move
from place to place, as flies do, without settling anywhere. Baal-zebub, therefore,
in its secret meaning, signifies, " Lord of restless and unsettled motion."
t I find Lactantius was led to the conclusion that the ^Esculapian serpent was
the express symbol of Satan, for, giving an account of the bringing of the
Epidaurian snake to Rome, he says : "Thither [i.e., to Rome] the Demoniarches
[or Prince of the Devils] in his own proper shape, without disguise, was brought ;
for those who were sent on that business brought back with them a dragon of
amazing size." — (De Origine JErroris, lib. ii. cap. 16, p. 108.)
J The facts stated above cast a very singular light on a well-known supersti
tion among ourselves. Everybody has heard of St. Swithin's day, on which, if it
rain, the current belief is, that it will rain in uninterrupted succession for six weeks.
And who or what was St. Swithin that his day should be connected with forty
days' uninterrupted rain ? for six weeks is just the round number of weeks equi
valent to forty days. It is evident, in the first place, that he was no Christian
saint, though an Archbishop of Canterbury in the tenth century is said to have
been called by his name. The patron saint of the forty days' rain was just
Tammuz or Odin, who was worshipped among our ancestors as the incarnation
of Noah, in whose time it rained forty days and forty nights without intermission.
Tammuz and St. Swithin, then, must have been one and the same. But, as in
Egypt, and Rome, and Greece, and almost everywhere else, long before the
Christian era, Tammuz had come to be recognised as an incarnation of the Devil,
we need not be surprised to find that St. Swithin is no other than St. Satan.
One of the current forms of the grand adversary's name among the Pagans was
just Sytan or Sythan. This name, as applied to the Evil Being, is found as far
to the east as the kingdom of Siam. It had evidently been known to the Druids,
and that in connection with the flood ; for they say that it was the son of Seithin
that, under the influence of drink, let in the sea over the country so as to over
whelm a large and populous district. — (DAVIES'S Druids, p. 198.) The Anglo-
Saxons, when they received that name, in the very same way as they made Odin
into Wodin, would naturally change Sythan into Swythan ; and thus, in St.
Swithin's day and the superstition therewith connected, we have at once a
striking proof of the wide extent of Devil-worship in the heathen world, and of
the thorough acquaintance of our Pagan ancestors with the great Scriptural fact
of the forty days' incessant rain at the Deluge.
THE NAME OF THE BEAST, ETC. 281
prerogatives the Pope had served himself heir, was thus the High-
priest of Satan, so, when the Pope entered into a league and alliance
with that system of Devil-worship, and consented to occupy the very
position of that Pontifex, and to bring all its abominations into the
Church, as he has done, he necessarily became the Prime Minister
of the Devil, and, of course, came as thoroughly under his power as
ever the previous Pontiff had been.* How exact the fulfilment of
the Divine statement that the coming of the Man of Sin was to be
"after the working or energy of Satan." Here, then, is the grand
conclusion to which we are compelled, both on historical and
Scriptural grounds, to come : As the mystery of godliness is God
manifest in the flesh, so the mystery of iniquity is — so far as such a
thing is possible — the Devil incarnate.
If any one thinks it incredible that Satan should thus be canonised by the
Papacy in the Dark Ages, let me call attention to the pregnant fact that, even in
comparatively recent times, the Dragon — the Devil's universally recognised
symbol — was worshipped by the Romanists of Poictiers under the came of "the
good St. Vermine" ! ! — (Notes of the Society of the Antiquaries of France, vol. i.
p. 464, apud SALVERT&, p. 475.)
* This gives a new and darker significance to the mystic Tau, or sign of the
cross. At first it was the emblem of Tammuz, at last it became the emblem of
Teitan, or Satan himself.
CONCLUSION.
I HAVE now finished the task I proposed to myself. Even yet the
evidence is not nearly exhausted ; but, upon the evidence which has
been adduced, I appeal to the reader if I have not proved every
point which I engaged to demonstrate. Is there one, who has
candidly considered the proof that has been led, that now doubts
that Rome is the Apocalyptic Babylon? Is there one who will
venture to deny that, from the foundation to the topmost stone, it is
essentially a system of Paganism. What, then, is to be the practical
conclusion from all this 1
1. Let every Christian henceforth and for ever treat it as an out
cast from the pale of Christianity. Instead of speaking of it as a
Christian Church, let it be recognised and regarded as the Mystery
of Iniquity, yea, as the very Synagogue of Satan. With such over
whelming evidence of its real character, it would be folly — it would
be worse — it would be treachery to the cause of Christ — to stand
merely on the defensive, to parley with its priests about the lawful
ness of Protestant orders, the validity of Protestant sacraments, or
the possibility of salvation apart from its communion. If Rome is
now to be admitted to form a portion of the Church of Christ, where
is the system of Paganism that has ever existed, or that now exists,
that could not put in an equal claim ? On what grounds could the
worshippers of the original Madonna and child in the days of old be
excluded "from the commonwealth of Israel," or shown to be
" strangers to the covenants of promise " ? On what grounds could
the worshippers of Vishnu at this day be put beyond the bounds of
such wide catholicity? The ancient Babylonians held, the modem
Hindoos still hold, clear and distinct traditions of the Trinity, the
Incarnation, the Atonement. Yet, who will venture to say that
such nominal recognition of the cardinal articles of Divine revelation
could relieve the character of either the one system or the other from
the brand of the most deadly and God-dishonouring heathenism]
And so also in regard to Rome. True, it nominally admits Christian
terms and Christian names ; but all that is apparently Christian in
its system is more than neutralised by the malignant Paganism that
it embodies. Grant that the bread the Papacy presents to its
votaries can be proved to have been originally made of the finest of
the wheat ; but what then, if every particle of that bread is combined
with prussic acid or strychnine 1 Can the excellence of the bread
overcome the virus of the poison 1 Can there be anything but death,
spiritual and eternal death, to those who continue to feed upon the
poisoned food that it offers 1 Yes, here is the question, and let it be
282
CONCLUSION. 283
fairly faced. Can there be salvation in a communion in which it is
declared to be a fundamental principle, that the Madonna is " our
greatest hope ; yea, the SOLE GROUND OF OUR HOPE " 1 * The time is
come when charity to the perishing souls of men, hoodwinked by a
Pagan priesthood, abusing the name of Christ, requires that the
truth in this matter should be clearly, loudly, unflinchingly pro
claimed. The beast and the image of the beast alike stand revealed
in the face of all Christendom ; and now the tremendous threatening
of the Divine Word in regard to their worship fully applies (Rev.
xiv. 9, 10): "And the third angel followed them, saying, 'If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the
wrath of God, poured without mixture into the cup of His indigna
tion ; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.' "
These words are words of awful import ; and woe to the man who
is found finally under the guilt which they imply. These words, as
has already been admitted by Elliott, contain a " chronological
prophecy," a prophecy not referring to the Dark Ages, but to a period
not far distant from the consummation, when the Gospel should
be widely diffused, and when bright light should be cast on the
character and doom of the apostate Church of Rome (ver. 6-8).
They come, in the Divine chronology of events, immediately after
an angel has proclaimed, " BABYLON is FALLEN, is FALLEN." We
have, as it were, with our own ears heard this predicted " Fall of
Babylon " announced from the high places of Rome itself, when the
seven hills of the " Eternal City " reverberated with the guns that
proclaimed, not merely to the citizens of the Roman republic, but
to the wide world, that " PAPACY HAD FALLEN, de facto and de jure,
from the temporal throne of the Roman State. "f Now, it is in the
order of the prophecy, after this fall of Babylon, that this fearful
threatening comes. Can there, then, be a doubt that this threatening
specially and peculiarly applies to this very time ? Never till now
was the real nature of the Papacy fully revealed ; never till now
was the Image of the beast set up. Till the Image of the beast
was erected, till the blasphemous decree of the Immaculate Con
ception was promulged, no such apostacy had taken place, even
in Rome, no such guilt had been contracted, as now lies at the door
of the great Babylon. This, then, is a subject of infinite importance
to every one within the pale of the Church of Rome — to every one
also who is looking, as so many at present are doing, towards the
City of the Seven Hills. If any one can prove that the Pope does
not assume all the prerogatives and bear substantially all the
blasphemous titles of that Babylonian beast that "had the wound
by a sword, and did live," and if it can be shown that the Madonna,
* The language of the late Pope Gregory, substantially indorsed by the
present Pontiff.
t The Apocalypse announces two falls of Babylon. The fall referred to above
is evidently only the first. The prophecy clearly implies, that after the first fall
it rises to a greater height than before ; and therefore the necessity of the warning.
284 CONCLUSION.
that has so recently with one consent been set up, is not in every
essential respect the same as the Chaldean " Image " of the beast,
they may indeed afford to despise the threatening contained in these
words. But if neither the one nor the other can be proved (and
I challenge the strictest scrutiny in regard to both), then every one
within the pale of the Papacy may well tremble at such a threatening.
Xow, then, as never before, may the voice Divine, and that a voice
of the tenderest love, be heard sounding from the Eternal throne
to every adherent of the Mystic Babylon, "Come out of her, My
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not
of her plagues."
2. But if the guilt and danger of those who adhere to the
Eoman Church, believing it to be the only Church where salvation
can be found, be so great, what must be the guilt of those who,
with a Protestant profession, nevertheless uphold the doomed
Babylon 1 The Constitution of this land requires our Queen to
swear, before the crown can be put upon her head, before she
can take her seat on the throne, that " she believes " that the essential
doctrines of Rome are " idolatrous." All the Churches of Britain,
endowed and unendowed, alike with one voice declare the very same.
They all proclaim that the system of Rome is a system of blasphemous
idolatry And yet the members of these Churches can endow
and uphold, with Protestant money, the schools, the colleges, the
chaplains of that idolatrous system. If the guilt of Romanists,
then, be great, the guilt of Protestants who uphold such a system
must be tenfold greater. That guilt has been greatly accumulating
during the last three or four years. While the King of Italy, in
the very States of the Church — what but lately were the Pope's
own dominions — has been suppressing the monasteries (and in the
space of two years no less than fifty-four were suppressed, and their
property confiscated), the British Government has been acting on a
policy the very reverse, has not only been conniving at the erection
of monasteries, which are prohibited by the law of the land, but has
actually been bestowing endowment on these illegal institutions
under the name of Reformatories. It was only a short while ago,
that it was stated, on authority of the Catholic Directory, that in
the space of three years, fifty-two new convents were added to the
monastic system of Great Britain,* almost the very number that the
Italians had confiscated, yet Christian men and Christian Churches
look on with indifference. Now, if ever there was an excuse for
thinking lightly of the guilt contracted by our national support
of idolatry, that excuse will no longer avail. The God of Providence,
in India, has been demonstrating that He is the God of Revelation.
He has been proving, to an awe-struck world, by events that made
every ear to tingle, that every word of wrrath, written three thousand
years ago against idolatry, is in as full force at this day as when He
desolated the covenanted people of Israel for their idols, and sold
them into the hands of their enemies. If men begin to see that it
* Quoted in Irish Covenanter, February, 1862, p. 52.
CONCLUSION. 285
is a dangerous thing for professing Christians to uphold the Pagan
idolatry of India, they must be blind indeed if they do not equally
see that it must be as dangerous to uphold the Pagan idolatry of
Rome. Wherein does the Paganism of Rome differ from that of
Hindooism ? Only in this, that the Roman Paganism is the more
complete, more finished, more dangerous, more insidious Paganism
of the two.
I am afraid, that after all that has been said, not a few will revolt
from the above comparative estimate of Popery and undisguised
Paganism. Let me, therefore, fortify my opinion by the testimonies
of two distinguished writers, well qualified to pronounce on this
subject. They will, at least, show that I am not singular in the
estimate which I have formed. The writers to whom I refer, are
Sir George Sinclair of Ulbster, and Dr. Bonar of Kelso. Few men
have studied the system of Rome more thoroughly than Sir George,
and in his Letters to the Protestants of Scotland he has brought
all the fertility of his genius, the curiosa felicitas of his style, and
the stores of his highly cultivated mind, to bear upon the elucidation
of his theme. Now, the testimony of Sir George is this : " Roman
ism is a refined system of Christianised heathenism, and chiefly
differs from its prototype in being more treacherous, more cruel,
more dangerous, more intolerant." * The mature opinion of Dr.
Bonar is the very same, and that, too, expressed with the Cawnpore
massacre particularly in view : " We are doing for Popery at home,"
says he, "what we have done for idolaters abroad, and in the end the
results will be the same ; nay, worse ; for Popish cruelty, and thirst
for the blood of the innocent, have been the most savage and merci
less that the earth has seen. Cawnpore, Delhi, and Bareilly, are
but dust in comparison with the demoniacal brutalities perpetrated
by the Inquisition, and by the armies of Popish fanaticism." f
These are the words of truth and soberness, that no man acquainted
with the history of modern Europe can dispute. There is great
danger of their being overlooked at this moment. It will be a fatal
error if they be. Let not the pregnant fact be overlooked, that,
while the Apocalyptic history runs down to the consummation of
all things, in that Divine foreshadowing all the other Paganisms of
the world are in a manner cast into the shade by the Paganism of
Papal Rome. It is against Babylon that sits on the seven hills that
the saints are forewarned ; it is for worshipping the beast and his
image pre-eminently, that " the vials of the wrath of God, that liveth
and abideth for ever," are destined to be outpoured upon the nations.
Now, if the voice of God has been heard in the late Indian calamities,
the Protestantism of Britain will rouse itself to sweep away at once
and for ever all national support, alike from the idolatry of Hindo-
stan and the still more malignant idolatry of Rome. Then, indeed,
there would be a lengthening of our tranquillity, then there would
be hope that Britain would be exalted, and that its power would
* First Series, p. 121.
f British Messenger, Dec., 1857.
286 CONCLUSION.
rest on a firm and stable foundation. But if we will not " hear the
voice, if we receive not correction, if we refuse to return," if we
persist in maintaining, at the national charge, "that image of
jealousy provoking to jealousy," then, after the repeated and ever-
INCREASING strokes that the justice of God has laid on us, we have
every reason to fear that the calamities that have fallen so heavily
upon our countrymen in India, may fall still more heavily upon
ourselves, within our own borders at home ; for it was when " the
image of jealousy " was set up in Jerusalem by the elders of Judah,
that the Lord said, " Therefore will I also deal in fury ; mine eye
shall not spare, neither will I have pity ; and though they cry in
mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." He who let
loose the Sepoys, to whose idolatrous feelings and antisocial pro
pensities we have pandered so much, to punish us for the guilty
homage we had paid to their idolatry, can just as easily let loose the
Papal Powers of Europe, to take vengeance upon us for our criminal
fawning upon the Papacy.
3. But, further, if the views established in this work be correct,
it is time that the Church of God were aroused. Are the witnesses
still to be slain, and has the Image of the Beast only within the last
year or two been set up, at whose instigation the bloody work is to
be done ? Is this, then, the time for indifference, for sloth, for luke-
warmness in religion 1 Yet, alas ! how few are they who are lifting
up their voice like a trumpet, who are sounding the alarm in God's
holy mountain — who are bestirring themselves according to the
greatness of the emergency — to gather the embattled hosts of the
Lord to the coming conflict ? The emissaries of Eome for years
have been labouring unceasingly night and day, in season and out of
season, in every conceivable way, to advance their Master's cause,
and largely have they succeeded. But " the children of light " have
allowed themselves to be lulled into a fatal security ; they have
folded their hands ; they have gone to sleep as soundly as if Rome
had actually disappeared from the face of the earth — as if Satan
himself had been bound and cast into the bottomless pit, and the
pit had shut its mouth upon him, to keep him fast for a thousand
years. How long shall this state of things continue ? Oh, Church
of God, awake, awake ! Open your eyes, and see if there be not
dark and lowering clouds on the horizon that indicate an approaching
tempest. Search the Scriptures for yourselves ; compare them with
the facts of history, and say, if there be not reason after all to
suspect that there are sterner prospects before the saints than most
seem to wot of. If it may turn out that the views opened up in
these pages are Scriptural and well-founded, they are at least worthy
of being made the subjects of earnest and prayerful inquiry. It
never can tend to good to indulge an uninquiring and delusive feeling
of safety, when, if they be true, the only safety is to be found in a
timely knowledge of the danger and due preparation, by all activity,
all zeal, all spirituality of mind, to meet it. On the supposition
that peculiar dangers are at hand, and that God in His prophetic
CONCLUSION. 287
Word has revealed them, His goodness is manifest. He has made
known the danger, that, being forewarned, we may be forearmed ;
that, knowing our own weakness, we may cast ourselves on His
Almighty grace ; that we may feel the necessity of a fresh baptism
of the Holy Ghost; that the joy of the Lord being our strength, we
may be thorough and decided for the Lord, and for the Lord alone,
that we may work, every one in his own sphere, with increased
energy and diligence, in the Lord's vineyard, and save all the souls
we can, while yet opportunity lasts, and the dark predicted night
has not come, wherein no man can work. Though there be dark
prospects before us, there is no room for despondency; no ground
for any one to say that, with such prospects, effort is vain. The
Lord can bless and prosper to His own glory, the efforts of those
who truly gird themselves to fight His battles in the most hopeless
circumstances ; and, at the very time when the enemy cometh in like
a flood, He can, by His Spirit, lift up a standard against him. Nay,
not only is this a possible thing, there is reason, from the prophetic
word, to believe that so it shall actually be ; that the last triumph
of the Man of Sin shall not be achieved without a glorious struggle
first, on the part of those who are leal-hearted to Zion's King. But
if we would really wish to do anything effectual in this warfare, it is
indispensable that we know, and continually keep before our eyes,
the stupendous character of that Mystery of Iniquity embodied in
the Papacy that we have to grapple with. Popery boasts of being
the " old religion ; " and truly, from what we have seen, it appears
that it is ancient indeed. It can trace its lineage far beyond the
era of Christianity, back over 4000 years, to near the period of the
Flood and the building of the Tower of Babel. During all that period
its essential elements have been nearly the same, and these elements
have a peculiar adaptation to the corruption of human nature.
Most seem to think that Popery is a system merely to be scouted
and laughed at ; but the Spirit of God everywhere characterises it
in quite a different way. Every statement in the Scripture shows
that it was truly described when it was characterised as "Satan's
Masterpiece" — the perfection of his policy for deluding and en
snaring the world. It is not the state-craft of politicians, the
wisdom of philosophers, or the resources of human science, that
can cope with the wiles and subtleties of the Papacy. Satan, who
inspires it, has triumphed over all these again and again. Why,
the very nations where the worship of the Queen of Heaven,
with all its attendant abominations, has flourished most in all
ages, have been precisely the most civilised, the most polished,
the most distinguished for arts and sciences. Babylon, where it
took its rise, was the cradle of astronomy. Egypt, that nursed
it in its bosom, was the mother of all the arts ; the Greek cities of
Asia Minor, where it found a refuge when expelled from Chaldea,
were famed for their poets and philosophers, among the former
Homer himself being numbered ; and the nations of the European
Continent, where literature has long been cultivated, are now pro-
288 CONCLUSION.
strate before it. Physical force, no doubt, is at present employed
in its behalf ; but the question arises, How comes it that this system,
of all others, can so prevail as to get that physical force to obey
its behests 1 No answer can be given but this, that Satan, the god
of this world, exerts his highest power in its behalf. Physical force
has not always been on the side of the Chaldean worship of the
Queen of Heaven. Again and again has power been arrayed against
it ; but hitherto every obstacle it has surmounted, every difficulty
it has overcome. Cyrus, Xerxes, and many of the Medo-Persian
kings, banished its priests from Babylon, and laboured to root it
out of their empire ; but then it found a secure retreat in Pergamos,
and " Satan's seat " was erected there. The glory of Pergamos and
the cities of Asia Minor departed ; but the worship of the Queen of
Heaven did not wane. It took a higher flight, and seated itself on
the throne of Imperial Rome. That throne was subverted. The
Arian Goths came burning with fury against the worshippers of the
Virgin Queen ; but still that worship rose buoyant above all attempts
to put it down, and the Arian Goths themselves were soon prostrate
at the feet of the Babylonian goddess, seated in glory on the seven
hills of Rome. In more modern times, the temporal powers of
all the kingdoms of Europe have expelled the Jesuits, the chief
promoters of this idolatrous worship, from their dominions. France,
Spain, Portugal, Naples, Rome itself, have all adopted the same
measures, and yet what do we see at this hour 1 The same Jesuitism
and the worship of the Virgin exalted above almost every throne
on the Continent. When we look over the history of the last
4000 years, what a meaning in the words of inspiration, that " the
coming of the Man of Sin " is with the energy, " the mighty power
of Satan." Now, is this the system that, year by year, has been
rising into power in our own empire 1 And is it for a moment to be
imagined that lukewarm, temporising, half-hearted Protestants can
make any head against such a system ? No ; the time is come when
Gideon's proclamation must be made throughout the camp of the
Lord : " Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart
early from Mount Gilead." Of the old martyrs it is said, "They
overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony,
and they loved not their lives unto the death." The same self-
denying, the same determined spirit, is needed now as much as ever
it was. Are there none who are prepared to stand up, and in that
very spirit to gird themselves for the great conflict that must come,
before Satan shall be bound and cast into his prison-house 1 Can
any one believe that such an event can take place without a
tremendous struggle — that " the god of this world " shall quietly
consent to resign the power that for thousands of years he has
wielded, without stirring up all his wrath, and putting forth all his
energy and skill to prevent such a catastrophe. Who, then, is on
the Lord's side 1 If there be those who, within the last few years,
have been revived and quickened — stirred up, not by mere human
excitement, but by the Almighty grace of God's Spirit, what is the
CONCLUSION. 289
gracious design of this I Is it merely that they themselves may
be delivered from the wrath to come 1 No ; it is that, zealous for
the glory of their Lord, they may act the parts of true witnesses,
contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, and
maintain the honour of Christ in opposition to him who blasphemously
usurps his prerogatives. If the servants of Antichrist are faithful
to their master, and unwearied in promoting his cause, shall it be
said that the servants of Christ are less faithful to theirs 1 If none
else will bestir themselves, surely to the generous hearts of the
young and rising ministry of Christ, in the kindness of their youth,
and the love of their espousals, the appeal shall not be made in vain,
when the appeal is made in the name of Him whom their souls love,
that in this grand crisis of the Church and of the world, they should
"come to the help of the Lord — the help of the Lord against the
mighty," that they should do what in them lies to strengthen the
hands and encourage the hearts of those who are seeking to stem
the tide of apostacy, and to resist the efforts of the men who are
labouring with such zeal, and with so much of infatuated patronage
on the part of "the powers that be," to bring this land back again
under the power of the Man of Sin. To take such a part, and
steadily and perseveringly to pursue it, amid so much growing
lukewarmness, it is indispensable that the servants of Christ set
their faces as a flint. But if they have grace so to do, they shall
not do so without a rich reward at last ; and in time they have the
firm and faithful promise that "as their day is, so shall their strength
be." For all who wish truly to perform their part as good soldiers
of Jesus Christ, there is the strongest and richest encouragement.
With the blood of Christ on the conscience, with the Spirit of Christ
warm and working in the heart, with our Father's name on our
forehead, and our life, as well as our lips, consistently bearing
u testimony " for God, we shall be prepared for every event. But
it is not common grace that will do for uncommon times. If there
be indeed such prospects before us, as I have endeavoured to prove
there are, then we must live, and feel, and act as if we heard every
day resounding in our ears the words of the great Captain of our
Salvation, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me
on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My
Father on His throne. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will
give thee a crown of life."
Lastly, I appeal to every reader of this work, if it does not
contain an argument for the divinity of the Scriptures, as well as
an exposure of the impostures of Rome. Surely, if one thing more
than another be proved in the previous pages, it is this, that the
Bible is no cunningly devised fable, but that holy men of God of
old spake and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. What
can account for the marvellous unity in all the idolatrous systems
of the world, but that the facts recorded in the early chapters of
Genesis were real transactions, in which, as all mankind were
involved, so all mankind have preserved in their various systems,
u
290 CONCLUSION.
distinct and undeniable memorials of them, though those who have
preserved them have long lost the true key to their meaning ?
What, too, but Omniscience could have foreseen that a system, such
as that of the Papacy, could ever effect an entrance into the
Christian Church, and practise and prosper as it has done1? How
could it ever have entered into the heart of John, the solitary exile
of Patmos, to imagine, tuat any of the professed disciples of that
Saviour whom he loved, and who said, " My kingdom is not of this
world," should gather up and systematise all the idolatry and super
stition and immorality of the Babylon of Belshazzar, introduce it
into the bosom of the Church, and, by help of it, seat themselves
on the throne of the Csesars, and there, as the high-priests of the
Queen of Heaven, and gods upon earth, for 1200 years, rule the
nations with a rod of iron 1 Human foresight could never have
done this ; but all this the exile of Patmos has done. His pen, then,
must have been guided by Him who sees the end from the beginning,
and who calleth the things that be not as though they were. And
if the wisdom of God now shines forth so brightly from the Divine
expression "Babylon the Great," into which such an immensity
of meaning has been condensed, ought not that to lead us the more
to reverence and adore the same wisdom that is in reality stamped
on every page of the inspired Word ? Ought it not to lead us to
say with the Psalmist, " Therefore, I esteem all Thy commandments
concerning all things to be right " 1 The commandments of God,
to our corrupt and perverse minds, may sometimes seem to be hard.
They may require us to do what is painful, they may require us to
forego what is pleasing to flesh and blood. But, whether we know
the reason of these commandments or no, if we only know that they
come from " the only wise God, our Saviour," we may be sure that
in the keeping of them there is great reward ; we may go blindfold
wherever the Word of God may lead us, and rest in the firm
conviction that, in so doing, we are pursuing the very path of safety
and peace. Human wisdom at the best is but a blind guide ; human
policy is a meteor that dazzles and leads astray ; and they who
follow it walk in darkness, and know not whither they are going ;
but he " that walketh uprightly," that walks by the rule of God's
infallible Word, will ever find that " he walketh surely," and that
whatever duty he has to perform, whatever danger he has to face,
" great peace have all they that love God's law, and nothing shall
offend them."
APPENDIX.
NOTE A, p. 6.
Woman with Golden Cup.
IN Pausanias we find an account of a goddess represented in the very
attitude of the Apocalyptic " Woman." " But of this stone [Parian marble]
Phidias," says he, " made a statue of Nemesis ; and on the head of the
goddess there is a crown adorned with stags, and images of victory of no
great magnitude. In her left hand, too, she holds a branch of an ash
tree, and in her right A CUP, in which ^Ethiopians are carved." —
(PAUSANIAS, lib. i., Attica, cap. 33, p. 81.) Pausanias declares himself
unable to assign any reason why " the Ethiopians " were carved on the
cup ; but the meaning of the ^Ethiopians and the stags too will be apparent
to all who read pp. 48, 49, and 50, &c., ante. We find, however, from
statements made in the same chapter, that though Nemesis is commonly
represented as the goddess of revenge, she must have been also known in
quite a different character. Thus Pausanias proceeds, commenting on the
statue : "But neither has this statue of the goddess wings. Among the
Smyrneans, however, who possess the most holy images of Nemesis, I
perceived afterwards that these statues had wings. For, as this goddess
principally pertains to lovers, on this account they may be supposed to have
given wings to Nemesis, as well as to love," i.e., Cupid. — (Ibid.) The
giving of wings to Nemesis, the goddess who "principally pertained to
lovers," because Cupid, the god of love, bore them, implies that, in the
opinion of Pausanias, she was the counterpart of Cupid, or the goddess of
love — that is, Venus. While this is the inference naturally to be deduced
from the words of Pausanias, we find it confirmed by an express statement
of Photius, speaking of the statue of Rhamnusian Nemesis : " She was at
first erected in the form of Venus, and therefore bore also the branch of an
apple tree." — (PHOTII, Lexicon, pars. ii. p. 482.) Though a goddess of love
and a goddess of revenge might seem very remote in their characters from
one another, yet it is not difficult to see how this must have come about.
The goddess who was revealed to the initiated in the Mysteries, in the
most alluring manner, was also known to be most unmerciful and
unrelenting in taking vengeance upon those who revealed these Mysteries ;
for every such one who was discovered was unsparingly put to death. —
(POTTER'S Antiquities, vol. i., " Eleusinia," p. 354.) Thus, then, the cup-
bearing goddess was at once Venus, the goddess of licentiousness, and
Nemesis, the stern and unmerciful one to all who rebelled against her
authority. How remarkable a type of the woman, whom John saw,
described in one aspect as the " Mother of harlots," and in another as
" Drunken with the blood of the saints " !
291
292 APPENDIX.
NOTE B, p. 6.
Hebrew Chronology.
Dr. Hales has attempted to substitute the longer chronology of the
Septuagint tor the Hebrew chronology. But this implies that the* Hebrew
Church, as a body, was not faithful to the trust committed to it in respect
to the keeping of the Scriptures, which seems distinctly opposed to the
testimony of our Lord in reference to these Scriptures (John v. 39 ; x. 35),
and also to that of Paul (Rom. iii. 2), where there is not the least hint of
unfaithfulness. Then we can find a reason that might induce the
translators of the Septuagint in Alexandria to lengthen out the period of the
ancient history of the world ; we can find no reason to induce the Jews in
Palestine to shorten it. The Egyptians had long, fabulous eras in their
history, and Jews dwelling in Egypt might wish to make their sacred
history go as far back as they could, and the addition of just one hundred
years in each case, as in the Septuagint, to the ages of the patriarchs, looks
wonderfully like an intentional forgery ; whereas we cannot imagine why
the Palestine Jews should make any change in regard to this matter at all.
It is well known that the Septuagint contains innumerable gross errors and
interpolations.
Bunsen casts overboard all Scriptural chronology whatever, whether
Hebrew, Samaritan, or Greek, and sets up the unsupported dynasties of
Manetho, as if they were sufficient to over-ride the Divine word as to a
question of historical fact. But, if the Scriptures are not historically true,
we can have no assurance of their truth at all. Now it is worthy of
notice that, though Herodotus vouches for the fact that at one time there
were no fewer than twelve contemporaneous kings in Egypt, Manetho, as
observed by Wilkinson (vol. i. p. 148), has made no allusion to this, but
has made his Thinite, Memphite, and Diospolitan dynasties of kings, and
a long etcetera of other dynasties, all successive !
The period over which the dynasties of Manetho extend, beginning with
Menee, the first king of these dynasties, is in itself a very lengthened
period, and surpassing all rational belief. But Bunsen, not content with
this, expresses his very confident persuasion that there had been long lines
of powerful monarchs in Upper and Lower Egypt, " during a period of
from two to four thousand years " (vol. i. p. 72), even before the reign of
Menes. In coming to such a conclusion, he plainly goes upon the supposi
tion that the name Mizraim, which is the Scriptural name of the land of
Egypt, and is evidently derived from the name of the son of Ham, and
grandson of Noah, is not, after all, the name of a person, but the name of
the united kingdom formed under Menes out of " the two Misr," " Upper
and Lower Egypt " (Ibid. p. 73), which had previously existed as separate
kingdoms, the name Misrim, according to him, being a plural word. This
derivation of the name Mizraim, or Misrim, as a plural word, infallibly
leaves the impression that Mizraim, the son of Ham, must be only a
mythical personage. But there is no real reason for thinking that Mizraim
is a plural word, or that it became the name of " the land of Ham," from
any other reason than because that land was also the land of Ham's son.
Mizraim, as it stands in the Hebrew of Genesis, without the points, is
Metzrim ; and Metzr-iin signifies " The encloser or embanker of the sea "
(the word being derived from Jm, the same as Yam, " the sea," and Tzr,
" to enclose," with the formative M prefixed).
If the accounts which ancient history has handed down to us of the
original state of Egypt be correct, the first man who formed a settlement
there must have done the very thing implied in this name. Diodorug
Siculus tells us that, in primitive times, that which, when he wrote, " was
APPENDIX. 293
)t, was said to have been not a country, but one universal sea" — (DiOD.,
libl "hi. p. 106.) Plutarch also says (De Iside, vol. ii. p. 367) that Egypt
was sea. From Herodotus, too, we have very striking evidence to the same
effect. He excepts the province of Thebes from his statement ; but when
it is seen that "the province of Thebes" did not belong to Mizraim, or
Egypt proper, which, says the author of the article "Mizraim" in Biblical
Cyclopedia, p. 598, " properly denotes Lower Egypt ; " * the testimony of
Herodotus will be seen entirely to agree with that of Diodorus and
Plutarch. His statemant is, that in the reign of the first king, " the whole
of Egypt (except the province of Thebes) was an extended marsh. No
part of that which is now situate beyond the lake Moeris was to be seen,
the distance between which lake and the sea is a journey of seven days." —
(HERODOT., lib. ii. cap. 4.) Thus all Mizraim or Lower Egypt was under
water.
This state of the country arose from the unrestrained overflowing of the
Nile, which, to adopt the language of Wilkinson (vol. i. p. 89), " formerly
washed the foot of the sandy mountains of the Lybian chain." Now,
before Egypt could be fit for being a suitable place for human abode —
before it could become what it afterwards did become, one of the most
fertile of all lands, it was indispensable that bounds should be set to the
overflowings of the sea (for by the very name of the Ocean, or Sea, the Nile
was anciently called, — DIODORUS, lib. i. p. 8), and that for this purpose
great embankments should enclose or confine its waters. If Ham's son, then,
led a colony into Lower Egypt and settled it there, this very work he
must have done. And what more natural than that a name should be
given him in memory of his great achievement ? and what name so exactly
descriptive as Metzr-im, "The embanker of the sea," or as the name is
found at this day applied to all Egypt (WILKINSON, vol. i. p. 2), Musr or
Misr ? Names always tend^to abbreviation in the mouths of a people, and,
therefore, " The land of Misr " is evidently just " The land of the embanker."
From this statement it follows that the "embanking of the sea" — the
" enclosing " of it within certain bounds, was the making of it as a river, so
far as lower Egypt was concerned. Viewing the matter in this light, what
a meaning is there in the Divine language in Ezekiel xxix. 3, where
judgments are denounced against the king of Egypt, the representative of
Metzr-im, " The embanker of the sea," for his pride : " Behold, I am
against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the
midst of his rivers, which saith, My river is mine own, I have made it for
myself."
When we turn to what is recorded of the doings of Menes, who, by
Herodotus, Manetho, and Diodorus alike, is made the first historical king
of Egypt, and compare what is said of him, with this simple explanation of
the meaning of the name of Mizraim, how does the one cast light on the
other ? Thus does Wilkinson describle the great work which entailed fame
on Meues, " who," says he, " is allowed by universal consent to have been
the first sovereign of the country." " Having diverted the course of the
Nile, which formerly washed the foot of the sandy mountains of the Lybian
chain, he obliged it to run in the centre of the valley, nearly at an equal
distance between the two parallel ridges of mountains which border it on
the east and west ; and built the city of Memphis in the bed of the
ancient channel. This change was effected by constructing a dyke about a
hundred stadia above the site of the projected city, whose lofty mounds
and strong EMBANKMENTS turned the water to the eastward, and effectually
CONFINED the river to its new bed. The dyke was carefully kept in
~ The same view of the extent of Mizraim is taken by the Rev. II. JAMIESON in PAXTON'S
Illustrations of Scripture, vol. i. p. 198 ; and in Krrro's Illustrated Comment., vol. iv. p. 110.
294 APPENDIX.
repair by succeeding kings ; and, even as late as the Persian invasion,
a guard was always maintained there, to overlook the necessary repairs,
and to watch over the state of the embankments." — (Egyptians, vol. i.
p. 89.)
When we see that Menes, the first of the acknowledged historical kings
of Egypt, accomplished that very achievement which is implied in the
name of Mizraim, who can resist "the conclusion that Menes and Mizraim
are only two different names for the same person? And if so, what
becomes of Bunsen's vision of powerful dynasties of sovereigns " during a
period of from two to four thousand years " before the reign of Menes, by
which all Scriptural chronology respecting Noah and his sons was to be
upset, when it turns out that Menes must have been Mizraim, the grandson
of Noah himself ? Thus does Scripture contain, within its own bosom, the
means of vindicating itself ; and thus do its minutest statements, even in
regard to matters of fact, when thoroughly understood, shed surprising
light on the dark parts of the history of the world.
NOTE C, p. 21.
Shing Moo and Ma Tsoopo of China.
The name of Shing Moo, applied by the Chinese to their " Holy
Mother," compared with another name of the same goddess in another
province of China, strongly favours the conclusion that Shing Moo is just
a synonym for one of the well-known names of the goddess-mother of
Babylon. Gillespie (in his Land of Sinim, p. 64) states that the Chinese
goddess-mother, or " Queen of Heaven," in the province of Fuh-kien, is
worshipped by seafaring people under the name of Ma Tsoopo. Now,
" Ama Tzupah " signifies the " Gazing Mother ; " and there is much reason
to believe that Shing Moo signifies the same ; for Mu was one of the forms
in which Mut or Maut, the name of the great mother, appeared in Egypt
(BUNSEN'S Vocabulary, vol. i. p. 471) ; and Shngh, in Chaldee, signifies
" to look " or " gaze." The Egyptian Mu or Maut was symbolised either
by a vulture, or an eye surrounded by a vulture's wings (WILKINSON, vol. v.
p. 203). The symbolic meaning of the vulture may be learned from the
Scriptural expression : u There is a path which 110 fowl knoweth, and which
the vulture's eye hath not seen " (Job xxviii. 7). The vulture was noted
for its sharp sight, and hence, the eye surrounded by the vulture's wings
showed that, for some reason or other, the great mother of the gods in
Egypt had been known as " The gazer." But the idea contained in the
Egyptian symbol had evidently been borrowed from Chaldea ; for Rheia,
one of the most noted names of the Babylonian mother of the gods, is just
the Chaldee form of the Hebrew Rhaah, which signifies at once " a gazing
woman" and a "vulture." The Hebrew Rhaah itself is also, according to
a dialectical variation, legitimately pronounced Kheah ; and hence the
name of the great goddess-mother of Assyria was sometimes Rhea, and
sometimes Rheia. In Greece, the same idea was evidently attached to
Athena or Minerva, whom we have seen to have been by some regarded as
the Mother of the children of the sun (see ante, p. 20, Note). For one of
her distinguishing titles was Ophthalmitis (SMITH'S Classical Dictionary,
"Athena," p. 101), thereby pointing her out as the goddess of "the eye."
It was no doubt to indicate the same thing that, as the Egyptian Maut
wore a vulture on her head, so the Athenian Minerva was represented as
wearing a helmet with two eyes, or eye-holes, in the front of the helmet. —
(VAUX'S Antiquities, p. 186.)
Having thus traced the gazing mother over the earth, is it asked, What
can have given origin to such a name as applied to the mother of the gods ?
APPENDIX. 295
A fragment of Saiichuniathon (pp. 16-19), in regard to the Phenician
mythology, furnishes us with a satisfactory reply. There it is said that
Rheia conceived by Kronos, who was her own brother, and yet was known
as the father of the gods, and in consequence brought forth a son who was
called Muth, that is, as Philo-Byblius correctly interprets the word,
" Death." As Sanchuniathon expressly distinguishes this " father of the
gods" from "Hypsistos," The Most High,* we naturally recall what Hesiod
says in regard to his Kronos, the father of the gods, who, for a certain
wicked deed, was called Titan, and cast down to hell. — (Theogonia, 1. 207,
p. 18.) The Kronos to whom Hesiod refers is evidently at bottom a
different Kronos from the human father of the gods, or Nimrod, whose
history occupies so large a place in this work. He is plainly none other
than Satan himself ; the name Titan, or Teitan, as it is sometimes given,
being, as we have elsewhere concluded (pp. 275, 276), only the Chaldee
form of Sheitan, the common name of the grand Adversary among the
Arabs, in the very region where the Chaldean Mysteries were originally
concocted, — that Adversary who was ultimately the real father of all the
Pagan gods, — and who (to make the title of Kronos, "the Horned One,"
appropriate to him also) was symbolised by the Kerastes, or Horned
serpent. All " the brethren " of this father of the gods, who were
implicated in his rebellion against his own father, the " God of Heaven,"
were equally called by the "reproachful" name "Titans" ; but, inasmuch
as he was the ringleader in the rebellion, he was, of course. Titan by way of
eminence. In this rebellion of Titan, the goddess of the earth was
concerned, and the result was that (removing the figure under which
Hesiod has hid the fact) it became naturally impossible that the
God of Heaven should have children upon earth— a plain allusion to
the Fall.
Now, assuming that this is the " Father of the gods," by whom Rhea,
whose common title is that of the Mother of the gods, and who is also
identified with Ge, or the Earth-goddess, had the child called Muth, or
Death, who could this " Mother of the gods " be, but just our Mother Eve ?
And the name Rhea, or " The Gazer," bestowed on her, is wondrously
significant. It was as " the gazer " that the mother of mankind conceived
by Satan, and brought forth that deadly birth, under which the world has
hitherto groaned. It was through her eyes that the fatal connection was
first formed between her and the grand Adversary, under the form of a
serpent, whose name, Nahash, or Nachash, as it stands in the Hebrew of
the Old Testament, also signifies " to view attentively," or " to gaze : "
(Gen. iii. 6) " And when the woman saw? that the tree was good for food,
and pleasant to the eyes," &c., " she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat ;
and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." Here, then, we
have the pedigree of sin and death ; " Lust, when it had conceived, brought
forth sin ; and sin, when it was finished, brought forth death " (James i. 15).
Though Muth, or Death, was the son of Rhea, this progeny of hers came to
be regarded, not as Death in the abstract, but as the god of death ; there
fore, says Philo-Byblius, Muth was interpreted not only as death, but as
Pluto. — (SANCHUN., p. 24.) In the Roman mythology, Pluto was regarded
as on a level, for honour, with Jupiter (OviD, Fasti, lib. vii. 578) ; and in
Egypt, we have evidence that Osiris, " the seed of the woman," was the
" Lord of heaven," and king of hell, or " Pluto " (WILKINSON, vol. iv.
p. 63 ; BDNSEN, vol. i. pp. 431, 432) ; and it can be shown by a large
induction of particulars (and the reader has somewhat of the evidence
presented in this volume), that he was none other than the Devil himself,
" In reading Sanchuniathon, it is necessary to bear in mind what Philo-Byblius, his
translator, states at the end of the Phenician History — viz., that history and mythology were
mingled together in that work.
'2 96 APPENDIX.
supposed to have become incarnate ; who, though through the first trans
gression, and his connection with the woman, he had brought sin and
death into the world, had, nevertheless, by means of them, brought
innumerable benefits to mankind. As the name Pluto has the very same
meaning as Saturn, " The hidden one," so, whatever other aspect this name
had, as applied to the father of the gods, it is to Satan, the Hidden Lord of
hell, ultimately that all came at last to be traced back ; for the different
myths about Saturn, when carefully examined, show that he was at once
the Devil, the father of all sin and idolatry, who hid himself under the
disguise of the serpent, — and Adam, who hid himself among the trees of
the garden, — and Noah, who lay hid for a whole year in the ark, — and
Nimrod, who was hid in the secrecy of the Babylonian Mysteries. It was
to glorify Nimrod that the whole Chaldean system of iniquity was formed.
He was known as Nin, "the son," and his wife as Ehea, who was called
Arnmas, " The Mother." The name Rhea, as applied to Semiramis, had
another meaning from what it had when applied to her, who was really the
primeval goddess, the "mother of gods and men." But yet, to make out
the full majesty of her character, it was necessary that she should be
identified with that primeval goddess ; and, therefore, although the son she
bore in her arms was represented as he who was born to destroy death, yet
she was often represented with the very symbols of her who brought death
into the world. And so was it also in the different countries where the
Babylonian system spread.
NOTE D, p. 32.
Ala-Mahozim.
The name " Ala-Mahozim " is never, so far as I know, found in any
ancient uninspired author, and in the Scripture itself it is found only in a
prophecy. Considering that the design of prophecy is always to leave a
certain obscurity before the event, though giving enough, of light for the
practical guidance of the upright, it is not to be wondered at that an
unusual word should be employed to describe the divinity in question.
But, though this precise name be not found, we have a synonym that can
be traced home to Nimrod. In SANCHUNIATHON, pp. 24, 25, " Astarte,
travelling about the habitable world," is said to have found " a star falling
through the air, which she took up and consecrated in the holy island
Tyre." Now what is this story of the falling star but just another version
of the fall of Mulciber from heaven (see ante, p. 233), or of Nimrod from
his high estate ? for as we have already seen, Macrobius shows (Saturn.,
lib. i., cap. 21, p. 70) that the story of Adonis — the lamented one — so
favourite a theme in Phenicia, originally came from Assyria. The name
of the great god in the holy island of Tyre, as is well known, was Melkart
(KiTTo's Illus. Comm-ent., vol. ii. p. 300), but this name, as brought from
Tyre to Carthage, and from thence to Malta (which was colonised from
Carthage), where it is found on a monument at this day, casts no little
light on the subject. The name Melkart is thought by some to have been
derived from Melek-eretz, or "king of the earth" (WILKINSON, vol. v.
p. 18) ; but the way in which it is sculptured in Malta shows that it was
really Melek-kart, " king of the walled city."— (See WILKINSON'S Errata
prefixed to vol. v.) Kir, the same as the Welsh Caer, found in Caer-narvon,
&c., signifies " an encompassing wall," or a " city completely walled
round ;" and Kart was the feminine form of the same word, as may be
seen in the different forms of the name of Carthage, which is sometimes
Car-chedon, and sometimes Cart-hada or Cart-hago. In the Book of
APPENDIX. 297
Proverbs we find a slight variety of the feminine form of Kart, which
seems evidently used in the sense of a bulwark or a fortification. Thus
(Prov. x. 15) we read : "A rich man's wealth is his strong city" (Karit),
that is, his strong bulwark or defence. Melk-kart, then, " king of the
walled city,5' conveys the very same idea as Ala-Mahozim. In GRUTER'S
Inscriptions, as quoted by Bryant, we find a title also given to Mars, the
Koman war-god, exactly coincident in meaning with that of Melkart. We
have elsewhere seen abundant reason to conclude that the original of Mars
was Nimrod (p. 44, Note). The title to which I refer confirms this con
clusion, and is contained in the following Roman inscription on an ancient
temple in Spain : —
" Malacse Hispanise
MARTI CIRADINO
Templum communi voto
Erectum."
(See BRYANT, vol. ii. p. 454.) This title shows that the temple was
dedicated to " Mars Kir-aden," the lord of " The Kir," or " walled city."
The Roman C, as is well known, is hard, like K ; and Adon, " Lord," is
also Aden. Now, with this clue to guide us, we can unravel at once what
has hitherto greatly puzzled mythologists in regard to the name of Mars
Quirinus as distinguished from Mars Gradivus. The K in Kir is what in
Hebrew or Chaldee is called Koph, a different letter from Kape, and is
frequently pronounced as a Q. Quir-inus, therefore, signifies " belonging
to the walled city," and refers to the security which was given to cities by
encompassing walls. Gradivus, on the other hand, comes from "Grah,"
"conflict,''' and "divus," "god," — a different form of Deus, which has been
already shown to be a Chaldee term ; and therefore signifies " God
of battle." Both these titles exactly answer to the two characters
of Nimrod, as the great city builder and the great warrior, and that
both these distinctive characters were set forth by the two names referred
to, we have distinct evidence in Fuss's Antiquities, chap. iv. p. 348. "The
Romans," says he, " worshipped two idols of the kind [that is, gods under
the name of Mars], the one called Quirinus, the guardian of the city and its
peace; the other called Gradivus, greedy of war and slaughter, whose
temple stood beyond the city's boundaries."
NOTE E, p. 42.
Meaning of the name Centaurus.
The ordinary classical derivation of this name gives little satisfaction ;
for, even though it could be derived from words that signify "Bull-killers"
(and the derivation itself is but lame), such a meaning casts no light at all
on the history of the Centaurs. Take it as a Chaldee word, and it will be
seen at once that the whole history of the primitive Kentaurus entirely
agrees with the history of Nimrod, with whom we have already identified
him. Kentaurus is evidently derived from Kehn, "a priest," and Tor,
"to go round." "Kehn-Tor," therefore, is "Priest of the revolver," that
is, of the sun, which, to appearance, makes a daily revolution round the
earth. The name for a priest, as written, is just Khn, and the vowel is
supplied according to the different dialects of those who pronounce it, so
as to make it either Kohn, Kahn, or Kehn. Tor, " the revolver," as applied
to the sun, is evidently just another name for the Greek Zen or Zan applied
to Jupiter, as identified with the snn, which signifies the "Eiicircler" or
" Encompasser," — the very word from which comes our own word "Sun,"
298 APPENDIX.
which, in Anglo-Saxon, was Sunna (MALLET, Glossary, p. 565, London,
1847), and of which we find distinct traces in Egypt in the term snnu
(BUNSEN'B Vocab., vol. i. p. 546), as applied to the sun's orbit. The
Hebrew Zon or Zawon, to " encircle," from which these words come, in
Chaldee becomes Don or Dawon, and thus we penetrate the meaning of the
name given by the Boeotians to the " Mighty hunter," Orion. That name
was Kandaon, as appears from the following words of the Scholiast on
Lycophron, quoted in BRYANT, vol. iv. p. 154 : " Orion, whom the
Bceotians call also Kandaon." Kahn-daon, then, and Kehn-tor, were just
different names for the same office — the one meaning " Priest of the
Encircler," the other, " Priest of the revolver " — titles evidently equivalent
to that of Bol-kahn, or " Priest of Baal, or the Sun," which, there can be
no doubt, was the distinguishing title of Nimrod. As the title of Cen-
taurus thus exactly agrees with the known position of Nimrod, so the
history of the father of the Centaurs does the same. We have seen
already that, though Ixion was, by the Greeks, made the father of that
mythical race, even they themselves admitted that the Centaurs had a
much higher origin, and consequently that Ixion, which seems to be a
Grecian name, had taken the place of an earlier name, according to that
propensity particularly noticed by Salverte, which has often led mankind
"to apply to personages known in one time and one country, myths which
they have borrowed from another country and an earlier epoch " (Des
Sciences, Appendix, p. 483). Let this only "be admitted to be the case here
— let only the name of Ixion be removed, and it will be seen that all that
is said of the father of the Centaurs, or Horsemen-archers, applies exactly
to Nimrod, as represented by the different myths that refer to the first
progenitor of these Centaurs. First, then, Centaurus is represented as
having been taken up to heaven (DYMOCK, sub voce " Ixion "), that is, as
having been highly exalted through special favour of heaven ; then, in that
state of exaltation, he is said to have fallen in love with Nephele, who
passed under the name of Juno, the " Queen of Heaven." The story here is
intentionally confused, to mystify the vulgar, and the order of events
seems changed, which can easily be accounted for. As Nephele in Greek
.signifies "a cloud," so the offspring of Centaurus are said to have been
produced by a "cloud." But Nephele, in the language of the country
where the fable was orginally framed, signified " A fallen woman," and it
is from that " fallen woman," therefore, that the Centaurs are really said to
have sprung. Now, the story of Nimrod, as Ninus, is, that he fell in love
with Semiramis when she was another man's wife, and took her for his
own wife, whereby she became doubly fallen — fallen as a woman* — and
fallen from the primitive faith in which she must have been brought up ;
and it is well known that this " fallen woman " was, under the name of
Juno, or the Dove, after her death, worshipped among the Babylonians.
Centaurus, for his presumption and pride, was smitten with lightning by
the supreme God, and cast down to hell (DYMOCK, sub voce " Ixion "). This,
then, is just another version of the story of Phaethon, ^Esculapius, and
Orpheus, who were all smitten in like manner and for a similar cause. In
the infernal world, the father of the Centaurs is represented as tied by
serpents to awheel which perpetually revolves, and thus makes his punish
ment eternal (DYMOCK, Ibid.). In the serpents there is evidently reference
to one of the two emblems of the fire-worship of Nimrod. If he introduced
the worship of the serpent, as I have endeavoured to show (p. 228), there
was poetical justice in making the serpent an instrument of his punishment.
Then the revolving wheel very clearly points to the name Centaurus itself,
* Nepheltt was used, even in Greece, as the name of a woman, the degraded wife of Athamas
being BO called.— (SMITH'S Class. Diet., tub voce " Athamas," p. 110).
APPENDIX. 299
as denoting the " Priest of the revolving sun." To the worship of the sun
in the character of the " Revolver," there was a very distinct allusion not
only in the circle which, among the Pagans, was the emblem of the sun-
god, and the blazing wheel with which he was so frequently represented
(WiLSON's Par si Religion, p. 31), "but in the circular dances of the Bac
chanalians. Hence the phrase, "Bassaridum rotator Evan" — "The wheel
ing Evan of the Bacchantes" (STATIUS, Sylv., lib. ii., s. 7, v. 7, p. 118).
Hence, also, the circular dances of the Druids as referred to in the
following quotation from a Druidic song : — " Ruddy was the sea beach
whilst the circular revolution was performed by the attendants and the
white bands in graceful extravagance" (DAVIES'S Druids, p. 172). That
this circular dance among the Pagan idolators really had reference to the
circuit of the sun, we find from the distinct statement of Lucian in his
treatise On Dancing, where, speaking of the circular dance of the ancient
Eastern nations, he says, with express reference to the sun-god, "it consisted
in a dance imitating this god " (LuciAN, vol. ii. p. 278). We see then,
here, a very specific reason for the circular dance of the Baccha3, and for
the ever-revolving wheel of the great Centaurus in the infernal regions.
NOTE F, p. 72.
Olenos, the Sin-Bearer.
In different portions of this work evidence has been brought to show
that Saturn, "the father of gods and men," was in one aspect just our first
parent Adam. Now, of Saturn it is said that he devoured all his children.*
In the exoteric story, among those who knew not the actual fact referred to,
this naturally appeared in the myth, in the shape in which we commonly
find it — viz., that he devoured them all as soon as they were born. But
that which was really couched under the statement, in regard to his
devouring his children, was just the Scriptural fact of the Fall — viz., that
he destroyed them by eating — not by eating them, but by eating the forbidden
fruit. When this was the sad and dismal state of matters, the Pagan story
goes on to say that the destruction of the children of the father of gods and
men was arrested by means of his wife, Rhea. Rhea, as we have already
seen, had really as much to do with the devouring of Saturn's children, as
Saturn himself ; but, in the progress of idolatry and apostacy, Rhea, or
Eve, came to get glory at Saturn's expense. Saturn, or Adam, was repre
sented as a morose divinity ; Rhea, or Eve, exceedingly benignant ; and, in
her benignity, she presented to her husband a stone * bound in swaddling
bands, which he greedily devoured, and henceforth the children of the
cannibal father were safe.f The stone bound in swaddling bands is, in the
sacred language, "Ebn Hatul ;" but Ebn-Hat-tul J also signifies "A sin-
bearing eon." This does not necessarily mean that Eve, or the mother of
mankind, herself actually brought forth the promised seed (although there
are many myths also to that effect), but that, having received the glad
tidings herself, and embraced it, she presented it to her husband, who
received it by faith from her, and that this laid the foundation of his own
salvation and that of his posterity. The devouring on the part of Saturn
* Sometimes he is said to have devoured only his male children ; but see SMITH'S (Larger)
Clc.ssicaJ- Dictionary, sub voce "Hera," where it will be found that the female as well as the
male were devoured.
t HESIOD, ThKogonia, 11. 485, <fec., pp. 38-41.
J Hata, "sin," is found also in Chaldee, Hat. — (See CLAVI& STOCKII, p. 1329.) Tul is from
Ntl, "to support." If the reader will look at Horus with his swathes (BRYA.NT, vol. iii.
plate 22); Diana with the bandages round her legs (see ante, p. 29); the symbolic bull of the
Persians swathed in like manner (BRYANT, vol. i. plate 5, p. 367), and even the shapeless log
of the Tahitians, used as a god and bound about with ropes (WILLIAMS, p. 31); he will see,
I think, that there must be some important mystery in this swathing.
300 APPENDIX.
of the swaddled stone is just the symbolical expression of the eagerness
with which Adam by faith received the good news of the woman's seed ;
for the act of faith, both in the Old Testament and in the New, is symbol
ised by eating. Thus Jeremiah says, "Thy words were found of me, and I
did eat them, and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart" (Jer. xv. 16). This also is strongly shown by our Lord Jesus
Christ Himself, who, while setting before the Jews the indispensable
necessity of eating His flesh, and feeding on Him, did at the same time say :
" It is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing : the words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life " (John vi. 63).
That Adam eagerly received the good news about the promised seed, and
treasured it up in his heart as the life of his soul, is evident from the name
which he gave to his wife immediately after hearing it : " And Adam
called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living ones "
(Gen. iii. 20. See Dr. CANDLISH'S Genesis, p. 108).
The story of the swaddled stone does not end with the swallowing of it,
and the arresting of the ruin of the children of Saturn. This swaddled
stone was said to be " preserved near the temple of Delphi, where care was
taken to anoint it daily with oil, and to cover it with wool" (MAURICE'S
Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 348). If this stone symbolised the "sin-
bearing son," it of course symbolised also the Lamb of God, slain from the
foundation of the world, in whose symbolic covering our first parents were
invested when God clothed them in the coats of skins. Therefore, though
represented to the eye as a stone, he must have the appropriate covering of
wool. When represented as a branch, the branch of God, the branch also
was wrapped in wool ( POTTER, vol. i., Eeligion of Greece, chap. v. p.
208). The daily anointing with oil is very significant. If the stone repre
sented the "sin-bearing son," what could the anointing of that "sin-bearing
son" daily with oil mean, but just to point him out as the "Lord's
Anointed," or the "Messiah," whom the idolaters worshipped in opposition
to the true Messiah yet to be revealed ?
One of the names by which this swaddled and anointed stone was called
is very strikingly confirmatory of the above conclusion. That name is
Baitulos. This we find from Priscian (lib. v., vol. i. p. 180, Note, and
lib. vi., vol. i. p. 249), who, speaking of " that stone which Saturn is said
to have devoured for Jupiter," adds, " quern Greed 'BaiTvXov vacant," whom
the Greeks called " Baitulos." Now, " B'hai-tuloh " * signifies the " Life-
restoring child." * The father of gods and men had destroyed his children
by eating ; but the reception of " the swaddled stone " is said to have
" restored them to life" (HESIOD, Theogon., 1. 495, p. 41). Hence the name
Baitulos ; and this meaning of the name is entirely in accordance with
what is said in Sanchuniathon (lib. i., cap. 6, p. 22) about the Baithulia
made by the Phenician god Ouranos : " It was the god Ouranos who
devised Baithulia, contriving stones that moved as having life." If the
stone Baitulos represented the "life-restoring child," it was natural that
that stone should be made, if possible, to appear as having "life" in itself.
Now, there is a great analogy between this swaddled stone that repre
sented the "sin-bearing son," and that Olenos mentioned by Ovid, who
took on him guilt not his own, and in consequence was changed into
* From Tli, Tleh, or Tloh, " Infans puer" (CLAVIS STOCKII, Chald., p. 1342), and Hia, or
Haya, "to live, to restore life."— (&ESENIUS, p. 310.) From Hia, " to live," with digamma
prefixed, comes the Greek Bios, life. That Hia, when adopted into Greek, was also pro
nounced Haya, we have evidence in the noun Hiiro, "life," pronounced Hayyim, which in
Greek is represented by at/ma, "blood." The Mosaic principle, that " the blood was the life,"
is thus proved to have been known by others besides the Jews. Now Haya, "to live or
restore life," with the digamma prefixed, becomes B'haya ; and so in Egypt, we find that Bai
signified "soul," or "spirit" (BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 375), which is the living principle. B'hai-
tulos, then, is the " Life-restoring child." F'haya-n is the same god.
APPENDIX.
301
Fig. 60.
a stone. We have seen already that Olenos, when changed into a stone,
was set up in Phrygia on the holy mountain of Ida. We have reason to
believe that the stone which was fabled to have done so much for the
children of Saturn, and was set up near the temple of Delphi, was just
a representation of this same Olenos. We find that Olen was the first
prophet at Delphi, who founded the first temple there (PAUSANIAS, lib. x.,
Phocica, cap. 5, p. 321). As the prophets and priests generally bore the
names of the gods whom they represented (Hesychius expressly tells us
that the priest who represented the great god under the name of the
branch in the Mysteries was himself called by the name of Bacchus,
p. 179), this indicates one of the ancient names of the god of Delphi.
If, then, there was a sacred stone on Mount Ida called the stone of Olenos,
and a sacred stone in the precincts of the temple of Delphi, which Olen
founded, can there be a doubt that the sacred stone of Delphi represented
the same as was represented by the sacred stone of Ida 1 The swaddled
stone set up at Delphi is expressly called
by Priscian, in the place already cited, " a
god." This god, then, that in symbol was
divinely anointed, and was celebrated as
having restored to life the children of
Saturn, father of gods and men, as identified
with the Ida3an Olenos, is proved to have
been regarded as occupying the very place
of the Messiah, the great Sin-bearer, who
came to bear the sins of men, and took
their place and suffered in their room and
stead ; for Olenos, as we have seen, volun
tarily took on him guilt of which he was
personally free.
While thus we have seen how much
of the patriarchal faith was hid under
the mystical symbols of Paganism, there
is yet a circumstance to be noted in regard
to the swaddled stone, that shows how the
Mystery of Iniquity in Rome has con
trived to import this swaddled stone of
Paganism into what is called Christian
symbolism. The Baitulos, or swaddled
stone, was arpoyyvKos Xi0os (BRYANT, vol.
ii. p. 20, Note), a round or globular stone.
This globular stone is frequently represented swathed and bound,
sometimes with more, sometimes with fewer bandages. In BRYANT,
vol. iii. p. 246, where the goddess Cybele, is represented as " Spes
Divina," or Divine hope, we see the foundation of this divine hope held
out to the world in the representation of the swaddled stone at her right
hand, bound with four different swathes. In DAVID'S Antiquites Etrusques,
vol. iv. plate 27, we find a goddess represented with Pandora's box, the
source of all ill, in her extended hand, and the swaddled globe depending
from it ; and in this case that globe has only two bandages, the one
crossing the other. And what is this bandaged globe of Paganism but just
the counterpart of that globe, with a band around it, and the mystic
Tau or cross, on the top of it, that is called " the type of dominion," arid
is frequently represented, as in the accompanying woodcut (Fig. 60),*
in the hands of the profane representations of God the Father. The reader
does not now need to be told that the cross is the chosen sign and mark
* From DIDRON'S Iconography, vol. i. p. 301.
302 APPENDIX.
of that very God whom the swaddled stone represented ; and that when
that God was born, it was said, " The Lord of all the earth is born "
(WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 310). As the god symbolised by the swaddled
stone not only restored the children of Saturn to life, but restored the
lordship of the earth to Saturn himself, which by transgression he had
lost, it is not to be wondered at that it is said of " these consecrated stones,"
that while " some were dedicated to Jupiter, and others to the sun,"
" they were considered in a more particular manner sacred to Saturn,"
the Father of the gods (MAURICE, vol. ii. p. 348), and that Rome, in
consequence, has put the round stone into the hand of the image, bearing
the profaned name of God the Father attached to it, and that from this
source the bandaged globe, surmounted with the mark of Tammuz, has
become the symbol of dominion throughout all Papal Europe.
NOTE G, p. 75.
The Identification of Rhea or Cybele and Venus.
In the exoteric doctrine of Greece and Rome, the characters of Cybele,
the mother of the gods, and of Venus, the goddess of love, are generally
very distinct, insomuch that some minds may perhaps find no slight
difficulty in regard to the identification of these two divinities. But that
difficulty will disappear, if the fundamental principle of the Mysteries
be borne in mind — viz., that at bottom they recognised only Adad, " The
One God" (see ante, pp. 14, 15, 16, Note). Adad being Triune, this left
room, when the Babylonian Mystery of Iniquity took shape, for three
different FORMS of divinity — the father, the mother, and the son ; but all
the multiform divinities with which the Pagan world abounded, whatever
diversities there were among them, were resolved substantially into so
many manifestations of one or other of these divine persons, or rather of
two, for the first person was generally in the background. We have distinct
evidence that this was the case. Apuleius tells us (vol. i. pp. 995, 996),
that when he was initiated, the goddess Isis revealed herself to him as
" The first of the celestials, and the uniform manifestation of the gods and
goddesses .... WHOSE ONE SOLE DIVINITY the whole orb of the earth
venerated, and under a manifold form, with different rites, and under
a variety of appellations ; " and going over many of these appellations, she
declares herself to be at once " Pessinuntica, the mother of the gods
[i.e., Cybele], and Paphian Venus " (Ibid. p. 997). Now, as this was the
case in the later ages of the Mysteries, so it must have been the case from
the very beginning ; because they SET OUT, and necessarily set out, with
the doctrine of the UNITY of the Godhead. This, of course, would give
rise to no little absurdity and inconsistency in the very nature of the case.
Both Wilkinson and Bunsen, to get rid of the inconsistencies they have
met with in the Egyptian system, have found it necessary to have recourse
to substantially the same explanation as I have done. Thus we find
Wilkinson saying : " I have stated that Amun-re and other gods took the
form of different deities, which, though it appears at first sight to present
some difficulty, may readily be accounted for when we consider that each
of those whose figures or emblems were adopted, was only an EMANATION,
or deified attribute of the SAME GREAT BEING to whom they ascribed
various characters, according to the several offices he was supposed
to perform " ( WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 245). The statement of Bunsen is to
the same effect, and it is this : " Upon these premises, we think ourselves
justified in concluding that the two series of gods were originally identical,
and that, in the GREAT PAIR of gods, all these attributes were concentrated,
APPENDIX. 303
from the development of which, in various personifications, that mytho
logical system sprung up which we have been already considering"
(BDNSEN, vol. i. p. 418).
The bearing of all this upon the question of the identification of Cybele
and Astarte, or Venus, is important. Fundamentally, there was but one
goddess— the Holy Spirit, represented as female, when the distinction
of sex was wickedly ascribed to the Godhead, through a perversion of the
great Scripture idea, that all the children of God are at once begotten
of the Father, and born of the Spirit; and under this idea, the Spirit
the waters." This goddess, then, was called Ops, " the flutterer," or Juno,
" The Dove," or Khubele, " The binder with cords," which last title had
reference to " the bands of love, the cords of a man " (called in Hosea xi. 4,
" Khubeli Adam "). with which not only does God continually, by His
providential goodness, draw men unto Himself, but with which our first
parent Adam, through the Spirit's indwelling, while the covenant of Eden
was unbroken, was sweetly bound to God. This theme is minutely dwelt
on in Pagan story, and the evidence is very abundant ; but I cannot enter
Fig. 61.
upon it here. Let this only be noticed, however, that the Eomans joined
the two terms Juno and Khubele — or, as it is commonly pronounced,
Cybele — together ; and on certain occasions invoked their supreme goddess,
under the name of Juno Covella — (see STANLEY'S Philosophy, p. 1055) —
that is, " The dove that binds with cords." In STATIUS (lib. v. Sijlv. 1,
v. 222, apud BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 325), the name of the great goddess occurs
as Cybele —
" Italo gemitus Almone Cybele
Ponit, et Idfeos jam non reminiscitur amnes."
If the reader looks, in Layard, at the triune emblem of the supreme
Assyrian divinity, he will see this very idea visibly embodied. There the
wings and tail of the dove have two bands associated with them instead
of feet (LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 418 ; see also
accompanying woodcut (Fig. 61), from BRYANT, vol. ii. p. 216 ; and KITTO'S
Bib. Cyclop., vol. i. p. 425).
In reference to events after the Fall, Cybele got a new idea attached to
her name. Khubel signifies not only to " bind with cords," but also
" to travail in birth ; " and therefore Cybele appeared as the " Mother
of the gods," by whom all God's children must be born anew or regenerated.
But, for this purpose, it was held indispensable that there should be a
union in the first instance with Rheia, " The gazer," the human " mother
304 APPENDIX.
of gods and men," that the ruin she had introduced might be remedied.
Hence the identification of Cybele and Rheia, which in all the Pantheons
are declared to be only two different names of the same goddess (see
LEMPRIERE'S Classical Dictionary, sub voce), though, as we have seen, these
goddesses were in reality entirely distinct. This same principle was applied
to all the other deified mothers. They were deified only through the
supposed miraculous identification with them of Juno or Cybele — in other
words, of the Holy Spirit of God. Each of these mothers had her own
legend, and had special worship suited thereto ; but, as in all cases, she
was held to be an incarnation of the one Spirit of God, as the great Mother
of all, the attributes of that one Spirit were always pre-supposed as
belonging to her. This, then, was the case with the goddess recognised
as Astarte or Venus, as well as with Rhea. Though there were points
of difference between Cybele or Rhea, and Astarte or Mylitta, the Assyrian
Venus, Layard shows that there were also distinct points of contact
between them. Cybele or Rhea was remarkable for her turreted crown.
Mylitta, or Astarte, was represented with a similar crown (LAYARD'S
Nineveh, vol. ii. p. 456). Cybele, or Rhea, was drawn by lions ; Mylitta,
or Astarte, was represented as standing on a lion (Ibid.}. The worship of
Mylitta, or Astarte, was a mass of moral pollution (HERODOT., lib. i.
cap. 199, p. 92). The worship of Cybele, under the name of Terra,
was the same (AUGUSTINE, De Civitate, lib. vi. cap. 8, torn, ix.,
p. 203).
The first deified woman was no doubt Semiramis, as the first deified man
was her husband. But it is evident that it was some time after the
Mysteries began that this deification took place ; for it was not till after
Semiramis was dead that she was exalted to divinity, and worshipped under
the form of a dove. When, however, the Mysteries were originally
concocted, the deeds of Eve, who, through her connection with the serpent,
brought forth death, must necessarily have occupied a place ; for the
Mystery of sin and death lies at the very foundation of all religion, and in
the age of Semiramis and Nimrod, and Shern and Ham, all men must have
been well acquainted with the facts of the Fall. At first the sin of Eve may
have been admitted in all its sinfulness (otherwise men generally would
have been shocked, especially when the general conscience had been
quickened through the zeal of Shem) ; but when a woman was to be deified,
the shape that the mystic story came to assume shows that that sin was
softened, yea, that it changed its very character, and that by a perversion
of the name given to Eve, as " the mother of all living ones," that is, all
the regenerate (see Note I), she was glorified as the authoress of spiritual
life, and, under the very name Rhea, was recognised as the mother of the
gods. Now, those who had the working of the Mystery of Iniquity did not
find it very difficult to show that this name Rhea, originally appropriate
to the mother of mankind, was hardly less appropriate for her who was the
actual mother of the gods, that is, of all the deified mortals. Rhea, in the
active sense, signifies " the Gazing woman," but in the passive it signifies
" The woman gazed at," that is, " The beauty," * and thus, under one and
the same term, the mother of mankind and the mother of the Pagan gods,
that is, Semiramis, were amalgamated ; insomuch, that now, as is well
known, Rhea, is currently recognised as the " Mother of gods and men "
(HESIOD, Theogon., v. 453, p. 36). It is not wonderful, therefore, that the
name Rhea is found applied to her, who, by the Assyrians, was worshipped
in the very character of Astarte or Venus.
* In Esther ii. 9, we find the plural of Rhea evidently used in the sense of "beautiful." As
applied to the "maidens" given to Esther, the Vulgate renders it " speciositsimas," and
Parkhurst, *u6 voce, does the same.
APPENDIX. 305
NOTE H, p. 77.
The Virgin Mother of Paganism.
"Almost all the Tartar princes," says Salverte (Des Sciences Occultes,
Appendix, Note A, sect. xii. p. 490), " trace their genealogy to a celestial
virgin, impregnated by a sunbeam, or some equally miraculous means."
In India, the mother of Surya, the sun-god, who was born to destroy the
enemies of the gods (see ante, p. 96), is said to have become pregnant in
this way, a beam of the sun having entered her womb, in consequence of
which she brought forth the sun-god. Now the knowledge of this widely
diffused myth casts light on the secret meaning of the name Aurora, given
to the wife of Orion, to whose marriage with that "mighty hunter " Homer
refers (Odyssey, lib. v. 11. 120, 121). While the name Aur-ora, in the
physical sense, signifies also " pregnant with light ;" and from " ohra," " to
conceive " or be " pregnant," we have in Greek, the word 'oap for a wife.
As Orion, according to Persian accounts, was Nimrod ; and Nimrod, under
the name of Ninus, was worshipped as the son of his wife, when he came to
be deified as the sun-god, that name Aurora, as applied to his wife, is
evidently intended to convey the very same idea as prevails in Tai tary and
India. These myths of the Tartars and Hindoos clearly prove that the
Pagan idea of the miraculous conception had not come from any inter
mixture of Christianity with their superstition, but directly from the
promise of " the seed of the woman." But how, it may be asked, could the
idea of being pregnant with a sunbeam arise ? There is reason to believe
that it came from one of the natural names of the sun. From the Chaldean
zhr, "to shine," comes, in the participle active, zuhro or zuhre, "the
Shiner ; " and hence, no doubt, from zuhro, " the Shiner," under the
prompting of a designing priesthood, men would slide into the idea of zuro,
" the seed," — " the Shiner " and " the seed," according to the genius of
Paganism, being thus identified. This was manifestly the case in Persia,
where the sun was the great divinity ; for the Ck Persians," says Maurice,
"called God Sure" (Antiquities, vol. v. p. 22).
NOTE I, p. 77.
The Goddess Mother as a Habitation.
What could ever have induced mankind to think of calling the great
Goddess-mother, or mother of gods and men, a House or Habitation ? The
answer is evidently to be found in a statement made in Gen. ii. 21, in
regard to the formation of the mother of mankind : " And the Lord caused
a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God
had taken from man, made (margin, literally BUILDED) he into a woman."
That this history of the rib was well known to the Babylonians, is manifest
from one of the names given to their primeval goddess, as found in Berosus
(lib. i. p. 50). That name is Thalatth. But Thalatth is just the Chaldean
form of the Hebrew Tzalaa, in the feminine,— the very word used in
Genesis for the rib, of which Eve was formed ; and the other name which
Berosus couples with Thalatth, does much to confirm this ; for that name,
which is Omorka,* just signifies " The Mother of the world." W7hen we
have thus deciphered the meaning of the name Thalatth, as applied to
* From " Am," "mother," and " arka" "earth." The first letter aleph in both of these
words is often pronounced as o. Thus the pronunciation of a in Am, " mother," is seen in the
the Greek w/ios, a " shoulder." Am, " mother," comes from am, " to support," and from am,
pronounced ora, comes w/xos, the shoulder that bears burdens. Hence also the name Oma, as
one of the names of Bona Dea. Oma is evidently the " Mother." See Note K.
X
306 APPENDIX.
the "mother of the world," that leads us at once to the understanding,
of the name Thalasius,* applied by the Romans to the god of marriage,
the origin of which name has hitherto been sought in vain. Thalatthi
signifies " belonging to the rib," and, with the Roman termination, becomes
Thalatthius or " Thalasius, the man of the rib." And what name more
appropriate than this for Adam, as the god of marriage, who, when the
rib was brought to him, said, " This is now bone of my bones, and flesh
of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
man." At first, when Thalatth, the rib, was builded into a woman, that
" woman" was, in a very important sense, the " Habitation" or " Temple
of God ; " and had not the Fall intervened, all her children would, in
consequence of mere natural generation, have been the children of God.
The entrance of sin into the world subverted the original constitution
of things. Still, when the promise of a Saviour was given and embraced,
the renewed indwelling of the Holy Spirit was given too, not that she
might thereby have any power in herself to bring forth children unto God,
but only that she might duly act the part of a mother to a spiritually
living offspring — to those whom God of His free grace should quicken, and
bring from death, unto life. Now, Paganism willingly overlooked all
this ; and taught, as soon as its votaries were prepared for receiving it,
that this renewed indwelling of the Spirit of God in the woman, was
identification, and so it deified her. Then Rhea, " the gazer," the mother
of mankind, was identified with Cybele " the binder with cords," or Juno,
" the Dove," that is, the Holy Spirit. Then, in the blasphemous Pagan
sense, she became Athor, "the Habitation of God," or Sacca, or Sacta,
" the tabernacle " or i( temple," in whom dwelt " all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily." Thus she became Heva, "The Living One ; " not in the
sense in which Adam gave that name to his wife after the Fall, when the
hope of life out of the midst of death was so unexpectedly presented
to her as well as to himself ; but in the sense of the communicator of
spiritual and eternal life to men ; for Rhea was called the "fountain of the
blessed ones." f The agency, then, of this deified woman was held to be
indispensable for the begetting of spiritual children to God, in this, as
it was admitted, fallen world. Looked at from this point of view, the
meaning of the name given to the Babylonian goddess in 2 Kings xvii. 30,
will be at once apparent. The name Succoth-benoth has very frequently
been supposed to be a plural word, and to refer to booths or tabernacles
used in Babylon for infamous purposes. But, as observed by Clericus
(lib. i. De Chaldceis, sect. 2, cap. 37), who refers to the Rabbins as being
of the same opinion, the context clearly shows that the name must be the
name of an idol : (ver. 29, 30), " Howbeit every nation made gods of their
own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans
had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men
of Babylon made Succoth-benoth." It is here evidently an idol that is
spoken of ; and as the name is feminine, that idol must have been the
image of a goddess. Taken in this sense, then, and in the light of the
Chaldean system as now unfolded, the meaning of " Succoth-benoth," as
applied to the Babylonian goddess, is just " The tabernacle of child-bear
ing." £ When the Babylonian system was developed, Eve was represented as
the first that occupied this place, and the very name Benoth, that signifies
" child-bearing," explains also how it came about that the Woman, who,
as Hestia or Vesta, was herself called the " Habitation," got the credit of
"having invented the art of building houses" (SMITH, sub voce "Hestia").
* CATULLUS, Epithalamium, p. 98.
t Orphic Fragment, in BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 238.
J That is, the Habitation in which the Spirit of God dwelt, for the purpose of begetting
spiritual children.
APPENDIX. 307
Benali, the verb, from which Benoth comes, signifies at once to "bring forth
children" and "to build houses ;" the bringing forth of children being meta
phorically regarded as the "building up of the house," that is, of the family.
While the Pagan system, so far as a Goddess-mother was concerned, was
founded on this identification of the Celestial and Terrestrial mothers of the
"blessed" immortals, each of these two divinities was still celebrated as
having, in some sense, a distinct individuality ; and, in consequence, all
the different incarnations of the Saviour-seed were represented as born of
two mothers. It is well-known that Bimater, or Two-mothered, is one of
the distinguishing epithets applied to Bacchus. Ovid makes the reason
of the application of this epithet to him to have arisen from the myth, that
when in embryo, he was rescued from the flames in which his mother died,
was sewed up into Jupiter's thigh, and then brought forth at the due time.
Without inquiring into the secret meaning of this, it is sufficient to state
that Bacchus had two goddess-mothers ; for, not only was he conceived by
Semele, but he was brought into the world by the goddess Ippa (PROCLUS in
Timceum, lib. ii. sect. 124, pp. 292, 293). This is the very same thing, no
doubt, that is referred to, when it is said that after his mother Semele's death,
his aunt Ino acted the part of a mother and nurse unto him. The same thing
appears in the mythology of Egypt, for there we read that Osiris, under the
form of Anubis, having been brought forth by Nepthys, was adopted and
brought up by the goddess Isis as her own son. In consequence of this, the
favourite Triad came everywhere to be the two mothers and the son. In
WILKINSON, vol. vi., plate 35, the reader will find a divine Triad, consisting
of Isis and Nepthys, and the child of Horus between them. In Babylon, the
statement of Diodorus (lib. ii. p. 69) shows that the Triad there at one period
was two goddesses and the son — Hera, Rhea, and Zeus ; and in the Capitol
at Rome, in like manner, the Triad was Juno, Minerva, and Jupiter ; while,
when Jupiter was worshipped by the Roman matrons as "Jupiter puer," or
"Jupiter the child," it was in company with Juno and the goddess Fortuna
(CICERO, De Divinatione, lib. ii. cap. 41, vol. iii. p. 77). This kind of divine
Triad seems to be traced up to very ancient times among the Romans ; for it
is stated both by Dionysius Halicarnassius and by Livy, that soon after the
expulsion of the Tarquins, there was at Rome a temple in which were wor
shipped Ceres, Liber, and Libera (DiON. HALICARN., vol. i. pp. 25, 26 ; and
LIVY, vol. i. p. 233).
NOTE J, p. 110.
The Meaning of the name A start e.
That Semiramis, under the name of Astarte, was worshipped not only as
an incarnation of the Spirit of God, but as the mother of mankind, we have
very clear and satisfactory evidence. There is no doubt that " the Syrian
goddess" was Astarte (LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 456).
Now, the Assyrian goddess, or Astarte, is identified with Semiramis by
Athenagoras (Legatio, vol. ii. p. 179), and by Lucian (De Dea Syria, vol.
iii. p. 382). These testimonies in regard to Astarte, or the Syrian goddess,
being, in one aspect, Semiramis, are quite decisive. 1. The name Astarte,
as applied to her, has reference to her as being Rhea, or Cybele, the tower-
bearing goddess, the first, as Ovid says (Opera, vol. iii., Fasti, lib, iv. 11. 219,
220), that " made (towers) in cities ; " for we find from Layard, at the page
above referred to, that in the Syrian temple of Hierapolis, " she [Dea Syria
or Astarte] was represented standing on a lion crowned with towers" No,w,
no name could more exactly picture forth the character of Semiramis, as
queen of Babylon than the name of "Asht-tart," for that just means "The
308 APPENDIX.
woman that made towers." It is admitted on all hands that the last
syllable " tart " comes from the Hebrew verb " Tr." It has been always
taken for granted, however, that "Tr" signifies only "to go round." But
we have evidence that, in nouns derived from it, it also signifies "to be
round," "to surround," or "encompass." In the masculine, we find "Tor"
used for " a border or row of jewels round the head" (see PARKHURST, sub
voce No. ii., and also GESENIUS). And in the feminine, as given in
Hesychius (Lexicon, p. 925), we find the meaning much more decisively
brought out : Tvpis 6 TreptjSoXos TOV reixovs. Turis is just the Greek form of
Turit, the final t, according to the genius of the Greek language, being con
verted into s. Ash-turit, then, which is obviously the same as the Hebrew
"Asbtoreth," is just "The woman that made the encompassing wall"
Considering how commonly the glory of that achievement, as regards
Babylon, was given to Semiramis, not only by Ovid (Opera Metam., lib. iv.
fab. 4, 1. 58, vol. ii. p. 177), but by Justin, 'Dion ysius, Afer, and others, both
the name and mural crown on the head of that goddess were surely very
appropriate. In. confirmation of this interpretation of the meaning of the
name Astarte, I may adduce an epithet applied to the Greek Diana, who at
Ephesus bore a turreted crown on her head, and was identified with
Semiramis, which is not a little striking. It is contained in the following
extract from Livy (lib. xliv. cap. 44, vol. vi. pp. 57, 58) : "When the news
of the battle [near Pydna] reached Amphipolis, the matrons ran together to
the temple of Diana, whom they style Tauropolos, to implore her aid."
Tauropolos, from Tor, "a tower," or "surrounding fortification," and Pol,
" to make," plainly means the " tower- maker," or "maker of surrounding
fortifications ; " and to her as the goddess of fortifications, they would
naturally apply when they dreaded an attack upon their city.
Semiramis, being deified as Astarte, came to be raised to the highest
honours ; and her change into a dove, as has been already shown (p. 79,
ante}, was evidently intended, when the distinction of sex had been blas
phemously attributed to the Godhead, to identify her, under the name of the
Mother of the gods, with that Divine Spirit, without whose agency no one
can be born a child of God, and whose emblem, in the symbolical language
of Scripture, was the Dove, as that of the Messiah was the Lamb. Since
the Spirit of God is the source of all wisdom, natural as well as spiritual,
arts and inventions and skill of every kind being attributed to Him (Exod.
xxxi. 3, and xxxv. 31), so the Mother of the gods, in whom that Spirit was
feigned to be incarnate, was celebrated as the originator of some of the useful
arts and sciences (DIODORUS SICULUS, lib. iii. p. 134). Hence, also, the
character attributed to the Grecian Minerva, whose name Athena, as we
have seen reason to conclude, is only a synonym for Beltis, the well-known
name of the Assyrian goddess (see ante, pp. 20, 21, Note). Athena, the
Minerva of Athens, is universally known as the "goddess of wisdom," the
inventress of arts and sciences. 2. The name Astarte signifies also the
" Maker of investigations,;" and in this respect was applicable to Cybele or
Semiramis, as symbolised by the Dove. That this is one of the meanings
of the name Astarte may be seen from comparing it with the cognate names
Asterie and Astrsea (in Greek Astraia), which are formed by taking the
last member of the compound word in the masculine, instead of the
feminine, Te i, or Tri (the latfer being pronounced Trai or Tree), being the
same in sense as Tart. Now, Asterie was the wife of Perseus, the Assyrian
(HERODOTUS, lib. vi. p. 400), and who was the founder of Mysteries
(BRYANT, vol. iii. pp. 267, 268). As Asterie was further represented as the
daughter of Bel, this implies a position similar to that of Semiramis.
AstrsBa, again, was the goddess of justice, who is identified with the
heavenly virgin Themis, the name Themis signifying " the perfect one,"
APPENDIX. 309
)t justice, than Asn-trai-a, Tne mater 01 investigations, ana
te could move appropriately shadow forth one of the characters
Hvine Spirit, who " searcheth all thing, yea, the deep things of
As Astraea, or Themis, was "Fatidica Themis," "Themis the
and sometimes identified ; but both have the same character as goddesses of
justice (see Gradu-s ad Parnassum, sub voce, " Justitia"). The explanation of
the discrepancy obviously is, that the Spirit has sometimes been viewed as
incarnate, and sometimes not. When incarnate, Astrsea is daughter of
Themis. What name could more exactly agree with the character of a
goddess of justice, than Ash-trai-a, "The maker of investigations," and
what name
of that Divine
God"? As
prophetic," this also was another characteristic of the Spirit ; for whence
can any true oracle, or prophetic inspiration, come, but from the inspiring
Spirit of God ? Then, lastly, what can more exactly agree with the Divine
statement in Genesis in regard to the Spirit of God, than the statement of
Ovid, that Astraea was the last of the celestials who remained on earth, and
that her forsaking it was the signal for the dowiipouring of the destroying
deluge I The announcement of the coming Flood is in Scripture ushered in
with these words : (Gen. vi. 3), " And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not
always strive with man, for that he also is flesh : yet his days shall be an
hundred and twenty years." All these 120 years, the Spirit was striving ;
when they came to an end, the Spirit strove no longer, forsook the earth,
and left the world to its fate. But though the Spirit of God forsook the
earth, it did not forsake the family of righteous Noah. It entered with the
patriarch into the ark ; and when that patriarch came forth from his long
imprisonment, it came forth along with him. Thus the Pagans had a
historical foundation for their myth of the dove resting on the symbol of
the ark in the Babylonian waters, and the Syrian goddess, or Astarte — the
same as Astrsea — corning forth from it. Semiramis, then, as Astarte,
worshipped as the dove, was regarded as the incarnation of the Spirit of
God. 3. As Baal, Lord of Heaven, had his visible emblem, the sun, so she,
as Beltis, Queen of Heaven, must have hers also — the moon, which in another
sense was Asht-tart-e, " The maker of revolutions,; " for there is no doubt
that Tart very commonly signifies " going round." But, 4th, the whole
system must be dovetailed together. As the mother of the gods was equally
the mother of mankind, Semiramis, or Astarte, must also be identified with
Eve ; and the name Rhea, which, according to the Paschal Chronicle, vol.
i. p. 65, was given to her, sufficiently proves her identification with Eve.
As applied to the common mother of the human race, the name Astarte is
singularly appropriate ; for, as she was Idaia mater, " The mother of know
ledge," the question is, " How did she come by that knowledge ? " To this
the answer can only be : " By the fatal investigations she made." It was a
tremendous experiment she made, when, in opposition to the Divine
command, and in spite of the threatened penalty, she ventured to "search''
into that forbidden knowledge which her Maker in His goodness had kept
from her. Thus she took the lead in that unhappy course of which the
Scripture speaks — " God made man upright, but they have SOUGHT out
many inventions" (Eccles. vii. 29). Now Semiramis, deified as the Dove,
was Astarte in the most gracious and benignant form. Lucius Ampelius
(in Libro ad Macrinum apud BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 161) calls her " Deam
benignant et misericordem hominibus ad vitam bonam," " The goddess
benignant and merciful to men " (bringing them) " to a good and happy
life." In reference to this benignity of her character, both the titles, Aph
rodite and Mylitta are evidently attributed to her. The first I have else
where explained as " The wrath-subduer " (ante, p. 158), and the second is in
310 APPENDIX.
exact accordance with it. Mylitta, or, as it is in Greek, Mulitta, signifies
"The Mediatrix." The Hebrew MeLitz, which in Chaldee becomes Melitt,
is evidently used in Job xxxiii. 23, in the sense of a Mediator ; " the
messenger, the interpreter" (Melitz), who is "gracious" to a man, and saith,
" Deliver from going down to the pit : I have found a ransom," being
really " The Messenger, the MEDIATOR." Parkhurst takes the word in this
sense, and derives it from " Mltz," "to be sweet." Now, the feminine of
Melitz is Melitza, from which comes Melissa, a "bee "(the sweetener, or
producer of sweetness), and Melissa, a common name of the priestesses of
Cybele, and as we may infer of Cybele, as Astarte, or Queen of Heaven,
herself ; for, after Porphyry has stated that " the ancients called the priest
esses of Demeter, Melissae," he adds, that they also "called the Moon
Melissa" (De antro Nympharum, p. 18). We have evidence, further, that
goes far to identify this title as a title of Semiramis. Melissa or Melitta
(APOLLODORUS, vol. i. lib. ii. p. 110) — for the name is given in both ways
— is said to have been the mother of Phoroneus, the first that reigned, in
whose days the dispersion of mankind occurred, divisions having come in
among them, whereas before, all had been in harmony arid spoke one
language (Hyginus, fab. 143, p. 114). There is no other to whom this can
be applied but Nimrod; and as Nimrod came to be worshipped as Nin, the
son of his own wife, the identification is exact. Melitta, then, the mother of
Phoroneus, is the same as Mylitta, the well-known name of the Babylonian
Venus ; and the name, as being the feminine of Melitz, the Mediator, con
sequently signifies the Mediatrix. Another name also given to the mother
of Phoroneus, " the first that reigned," is Archia (LEMPRIERE ; see also
SMITH, p. 572). Now Archia signifies " Spiritual " (from " Rkh," Heb.
" Spirit," which in Egyptian also is "Rkh" (BDNSEN, vol. i. p. 516, No. 292) ;
and in Chaldee, with the prosthetic a prefixed becomes Arkh).* From the
same root also evidently comes the epithet Architis, as applied to the Venus
that wept for Adonis. t Venus Architis is the spiritual Venus. £ Thus, then,
the mother-wife of the first king that reigned was known as Archia and
Melitta, in other words, as the woman in whom the "Spirit of God" was
incarnate ; and thus appeared as the "Dea Benigna," "The Mediatrix" for
sinful mortals. The first form of Astarte, as Eve, brought sin into the
world ; the second form before the Flood, was avenging as the goddess of
justice. This form was " Benignant and Merciful." Thus, also, Semiramis,
or Astarte, as Venus the goddess of love and beauty, became " The HOPE of
the whole world," and men gladly had recourse to the "mediation " of one
so tolerant of sin.
NOTE K, p. 124.
Oannes and Souro.
The reason for believing that Oannes, that was said to have been the
first of the fabulous creatures that came up out of the sea and instructed
the Babylonians, was represented as the goat-horned fish, is as follows :
First, the name Oannes, as elsewhere shown, is just the Greek form of
He-anesh, or " The man," which is a synonym for the name of our first
The Hebrew Dem, blood, in Chaldee becomes Adem ; and, in like manner, Ekh becomes
Arkh.
t MACROBIUS, Saturnal., lib. i., cap. 21, p. 70, F.
J From OUVAROFF (Sect. 6, p. 102, Note) we learn that the mother of the third Bacchus was
Aura, and Phaethon is said by Orpheus to have been the son Trepi/xTy/ceos depos of the " wide
extended air" (LACTANTIUS, lib. i. cap. 5, p. 10). The connection in the sacred language
between the wind, the air, and the spirit, sufficiently accounts for these statements, and shows
their real meaning.
APPENDIX. 311
parent, Adam. Now, Adam can be proved to be the original of Pan, who
was also called Inuus (see DYMOCK, sub voce "Inuus"), which is just another
pronunciation of Anosh without the article, which, in our translation of
Gen. v. 7, is made Enos. This name, as universally admitted, is the
generic name for man after the Fall, as weak and diseased. The o in Enos
is what is called the van, which sometimes is pronounced o, sometimes u,
and sometimes v or w. A legitimate pronunciation of Enos, therefore, is
just Enus or Enws, the same in sound as Inuus, the Ancient Roman name
of Pan. The name Pan itself signifies " He who turned aside." As the
Hebrew word for " uprightness " signifies " walking straight in the way,"
so every deviation from the straight line of duty was Sin; Hata, the word
for sin,' signifying generically " to go aside from the straight line." Pan,
it is admitted, was the Head of the Satyrs — that is, " the first of the
Hidden Ones," for Satyr and Satur, " the Hidden One," are evidently just
the same word ; and Adam was the first of mankind that hid himself.
Pan is said to have loved a nymph called Pitho, or, as it is given in
another form, Pitys (SMITH, sub voce " Pan ") ; and what is Pitho or Pitys
but just the name of the beguiling woman, who, having been beguiled her
self, acted the part of a beguiler to her husband, and induced him to take
the step, in consequence of which he earned the name Pan, " The man
that turned aside." Pitho or Pitys evidently come from Peth or Pet, " to
beguile," from which verb also the famous serpent Python derived its
name. This conclusion in regard to the personal identity of Pan and
Pitho is greatly confirmed by the titles given to the wife of Faunus.
Faunus, says Smith (Ibid.), is " merely another name for Pan." * Now,
the wife of Faunus was called Oma, Fauna, and Fatua (Ibid., sub voce
" Bona Dea"), which names plainly mean " The mother that turned aside,
being beguiled." f This beguiled 'mother is also called indifferently " the
sister, wife, or daughter " of her husband ; and how this agrees with the
relations of Eve to Adam, the reader does not need to be told.
Now, a title of Pan was Capricornus, or " The goat-horned " (DYMOCK,
sub voce " Pan "), and the origin of this title must be traced to what took
place when our first parent became the Head of the Satyrs, — the " first of
the Hidden ones." He fled to hide himself; and Berkha, "a fugitive,"
signifies also "a he-goat." Hence the origin of the epithet Capricornus,
or " goat-horned," as applied to Pan. But as Capricornus in the sphere is
generally represented as the " Goat-fish," if Capricornus represents Pan, or
Adam, or Cannes, that shows that it must be Adam, after, through virtue
of the metempsychosis, he had passed through the waters of the deluge ;
the goat, as the symbol of Pan, representing Adam, the first father of
mankind, combined with the fish, the symbol of Noah, the second father of
the human race ; of both whom Nimrod, as at once Kronos, " the father of
the gods," and Souro, " the seed," was a new incarnation. Among the
idols of Babylon, as represented in KITTO'S Illust. Commentary, vol. iv.
p. 31, we find a representation of this very Capricornus, or goat-horned fish ;
and Berosus tells us (" Berosiana," in BUNSEN, vol. i. p. 708), that the well-
known representations of Pan, of which Capricornus is a modification,
were found in Babylon in the most ancient times. A great deal more of
evidence might be adduced on this subject ; but 1 submit to the reader if
the above statement does not sufficiently account for the origin of the
remarkable figure in the Zodiac, " The goat-horned fish."
* In Chaldee the same letter that is pronounced P is also pronounced Ph, that is F, there
fore Pan is just Faun.
t The name Fatua evidently conies from the same verb as Pitho or Pitys, that is Pet, or
Phet. In the active sense we find Fatuus in common use in the well-known expression Ignis
fatuus. In the passive sense it is seen in the phrase " A fatuous person."
312 APPENDIX.
NOTE L, p. 133.
The Identity of the Scandinavian Odin and Adon of Babylon.
1. Nimrod, or Adon, or Adonis, of Babylon, was the great war-god.
Odin, as is well known, was the same. 2. Nimrod, in the character of
Bacchus, was regarded as the god of wine ; Odin is represented as taking
no food but wine. For thus we read in the Edda : " As to himself he
[Odin] stands in no need of food ; wine is to him instead of every other
aliment, according to what is said in these verses : The illustrious father of
armies, with his own hand, fattens his two wolves ; but the victorious Odin
takes no other nourishment to himself than what arises from the uninter-
mitted quaffing of wine" (MALLET, 20th Fable, vol. ii. p. 106). 3. The
name of one of Odin's sons indicates the meaning of Odin's own name.
Balder, for whose death such lamentations were made, seems evidently just
the Chaldee form of Baal-zer, " The seed of Baal ; " for the Hebrew z, as is
well known, frequently, in the later Chaldee, becomes d. Now, Baal and
Adon both alike signify " Lord" ; and, therefore, if Balder be admitted to
be the seed or son of Baal, that is as much as to say that he is the son of
Adon ; and, consequently, Adon and Odin must be the same. This, of
course, puts Odin a step back ; makes his son to be the object of lamenta
tion and not himself ; but the same was the case also in Egypt ; for there
Horus the child was sometimes represented as torn in pieces, as Osiris had
been. Clemens Alexandrinus says (Cohortatio, vol. i. p. 30), "they lament
an infant torn in pieces by the Titans." The lamentations for Balder are
very plainly the counterpart of the lamentations for Adonis ; and, of course,
if Balder was, as the lamentations prove him to have been, the favourite
form of the Scandinavian Messiah, he was Adon, or "Lord," as well as his
father. 4. Then, lastly, the name of the other son of Odin, the mighty
and warlike Thor, strengthens all the foregoing conclusions. Ninyas, the
son of Ninus or Nimrod, on his father's death, when idolatry rose again,
was, of course, from the nature of the mystic system, set up as Adon, " the
Lord." Now, as Odin had a son called Thor, so the second Assyrian Adon
had a son called Thouros (Cedrenus, vol. i. p. 29). The name Thouros
seems just to be another form of Zoro, or Doro, " the seed ; " for Photius
tells us that among the Greeks Thoros signified " Seed " (Lexicon, pars i.
. 93). The D is often pronounced as Th, — Adon, in the pointed Hebrew,
eing pronounced Athon.
p
b
NOTE M, p. 183.
The Stripping of the Clothes of the Initiated in the Mysteries.
The passage given at the above page from Proclus is differently rendered
by different translators. As I have quoted it, it is nearly the same as
rendered by Taylor in his translation of Proclus. Taylor departs from
the rendering of the Latin translator of the edition of Hamburgi, 1618, in
regard to the word rendered " divested of their garments." That trans
lator renders the word, which, in the original, is yv^viras, by " velites," or
" light armed soldiers." But, on a careful examination of the passage, it
will be found that Taylor's version, in regard to the meaning and application
of this word, is perfectly correct, and that to interpret it as " light armed
soldiers" entirely confounds the sense. In DONNEGAN'S Greek Lexicon,
yvfjiviTrjs is made synonymous with yv/j.vr)s, which in its primary signification
is said to mean naked. In LIDDELL and SCOTT'S Lexicon, yvfjLvtTTjs is not
given, but 717^777775 j and there yvfiv-nr^ is said, when a noun, to mean a
APPENDIX. 313
light armed soldier, but when an adjective, to signify naked. Now, the
context shows that yv/j-viTas, or yvfMvtjras, must be used as an adjective.
Further, the context, before and after, makes it evident that it must mean
" stripped " or " divested of garments." The sentence itself states a com
parison. I give the words of the comparison from the Latin version already
referred to : Et quemadmodum. . . . [and then here come in the words I
have quoted in the text] eodem modo puto et in ipsa reruin universarum
contemplatione rem se habere." Now, in the sentence before, the soul or
person who properly gives himself to the contemplation of the universe and
God, is said to do so thus : " Contrahens se totam in sui ipsius unionem, et
in ipsum centrum universa? vita3, et multitudinem et varie^atem omnigenarum
in ea comprehensarum facultatem AMOVENS, in ipsam summam ipsorum
Entium speculam ascendit." Then, in the passage following the sentence
in question, the same idea of the removing of everything that may hinder
perfect union of soul is represented, " et omnibus OMISSIS atque NEGLECTIS,"
&c. Here the argument is, that as the initiated needed to be stripped
naked, to get the full benefits of initiation, so the soul needs to divest itself
of everything that may hinder it from rising to the contemplation of things
as they really are.
There is only one other thing to be noticed, and that is the doubt that
may arise in regard to the parenthetic words, ;' as they would say," whether,
as they stand in the original, and as they are given by Taylor, the}7 qualify
the words preceding, or that follow after. As given in Taylor's translation,
the words appear thus : " divested of their garments, as they would say,
participate of divine nature." Here it is not clear which clause they must
be held to affect. This can be ascertained only from the usus loquendi.
Now, the usus loquendi in Proclus is very decisive in showing that they
qualify what follows. Thus, in lib. i. cap. 3, p. 6, we find the following,
r-rjv dKpoTrjTa TOV vov, /ecu (ws <pa.(n) TO avdos — a The summit of the soul, and as
(they say) the flower ; " and again (Ibid. cap. 7, p. 16), /ecu Traces (ws enreiv)
rrjs evdeov <ro0ias ^ereiATj^cKri — " and all (so to speak) have partaken of the
inspired wisdom." From these passages the usage of Proclus is clear, and,
therefore, while keeping the wards of Taylor's translation, I have arranged
the last clause so as to bring out more clearly the real meaning of the
original author.
NOTE N, p. 228.
Zoroaster, the Head of the Fire- Worshippers.
That Zoroaster was head of the fire-worshippers, the following, among
other evidence, may prove. Not to mention that the name Zoroaster is
almost a synonym for a fire-worshipper, the testimony of Plutarch is of
weight : " Plutarchus agnoscit Zoroastrem apud Chaldseos Magos instituisse,
ad quorum imitationem Persa? etiam sus habuerimt.* Arabica quoque
Historia (ab Erpenio edita) tradit Zaradussit non primum instituisse, sed
reformasse religionem Persarum et Magorum, qui divisi erant in plures
sectas" (CLERICUS, lib. i., De Chaldceis, sect. i. cap. 2, vol. ii. p. 195) ;
" Plutarch acknowledges that Zoroaster among the Chaldeans instituted
the Magi, in imitation of whom the Persians also had their (Magi). The
Arabian History also (edited by Erpenius) relates that Zaradussit, or
Zerdusht, did not for the first time institute, but (only) reform the religion
' The great antiquity of the institution of the Magi is proved from the statement of
Aristotle already referred to, as preserved in Theopompus, which makes them to have been
" more ancient than the Egj-ptians," whose antiquity is well known. — (Theopompi Fragmenta
in MttLLER, vol. i. p. 280.)
314 APPENDIX.
of the Persians and Magi, who had been divided into many sects." The
testimony of Agathias is to the same effect. He gives it as his opinion that
the worship of fire came from the Chaldeans to the Persians, lib. ii. cap.
25, pp. 118, 119. That the Magi among the Persians were the guardians
of " the sacred and eternal fire " may be assumed from Curtius (lib. iii.
cap. 3, pp. 41, 42), who says that fire was carried before them " on silver
altars ; " from the statement of Strabo (Geograph., lib. xv. p. 696), that
" the Magi kept upon the altar a quantity of ashes and an immortal fire,"
and of Herodotus (lib. i. p. 63), that " without them, no sacrifice could be
offered." The fire-worship was an essential part of the system of the
Persian Magi (WILSON, Parsee Religion, pp. 228-235). This fire-worship
the Persian Magi did not pretend to have invented ; but their popular
story carried the origin of it up to the days of Hoshang, the father of
Tahmurs, who founded Babylon (WILSON, pp. 202, 203, and 579)— 'i.e., the
time of Nimrod. In confirmation of this, we have seen that a fragment of
Apollodorus (Miiller, 68) makes Ninus the head of the fire-worshippers.
Layard, quoting this fragment, supposes Ninus to be different from
Zoroaster (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 443, Note) ; but it can be
proved, that though many others bore the name of Zoroaster, the lines of
evidence all converge, so as to demonstrate that Ninus and Nimrod and
Zoroaster were one. The legends of Zoroaster show that he was known
not only as a Magus, but as a Warrior (ARNOBIUS, lib. i. p. 327). Plato
says that Eros Armenius (whom CLEHICUS, De Chaldceis, states, vol. ii.
p. 195, to have been the same as the fourth Zoroaster) died and rose again
after ten days, having been killed in battle ; and that what he pretended
to have learned in Hades, he communicated to men in his new life (PLATO,
De Republica, lib. x. vol. ii. p. 614). We have seen the death of Nimrod,
the original Zoroaster, was not that of a warrior slain in battle ; but yet
this legend of the warrior Zoroaster is entirely in favour of the supposition
that the original Zoroaster, the original Head of the Magi, was not a priest
merely, but a warrior-king. Everywhere are the Zoroastrians, or fire-
worshippers, called Guebres or Gabrs. Now, Gen. x. 8 proves that
Nimrod was the first of the "Gabrs."
As Zoroaster was head of the fire- worshippers, so Tammuz was evidently
the same. We have seen evidence already that sufficiently proves the
identity of Tammuz and Nimrod ; but a few words may still more
decisively prove it, and cast further light on the primitive fire-worship.
1. In the first place, Tammuz and Adonis are proved to be the same
divinity. Jerome, who lived in Palestine when the rites of Tammuz were
observed, up to the very time when, he wrote, expressly identifies Tammuz
and Adonis (vol. ii. p. 353), in his Commentary on EzeJciel, viii. 14, where
the Jewish women are represented as weeping for Tammuz ; and the
testimony of Jerome on this subject is universally admitted. Then the
mode in which the rites of Tammuz or Adonis were celebrated in Syria
was essentially the same as the rites of Osiris. The statement of Lucian
(De Dea Syria, vol. iii. p. 454) strikingly shows this, and Bunsen (vol. i.
E. 443) distinctly admits it. The identity of Osiris and Nimrod, has been
irgely proved in the body of this work. When, therefore, Tammuz or
Adonis is identified with Osiris, the identification of Tammuz with Nimrod
follows of course. And then this entirely agrees with the language of
Bion, in his Lament for Adonis, where he represents Venus as going in a
frenzy of grief, like a Bacchant, after the death of Adonis, through the
woods and valleys, and " calling upon her Assyrian husband " (BiON, Idyll,
Id. i. v. 24, in Poetce Minores Greed, p. 304). It equally agrees with the
statement of Maimonides, that when Tammuz was put to death, the
grand scene of weeping for that death was in the temple of Babylon (see
APPENDIX. 315
ante, p. 62). 2. Now, if Tammuz was Nimrod, the examination of the
meaning of the name confirms the connection of Nimrod with the first
fire-worship. After what has already been advanced, there needs no
argument to show that, as the Chaldeans were the first who introduced the
name and power of kings (SYNCELLUS, vol. i. p. 169), and as Nimrod was
unquestionably the first of these kings, and the first, consequently, that
bore the title of Moloch, or king, so it was in honour of him that the
" children were made to pass through the fire to Moloch." But the
intention of that passing through the fire was undoubtedly to purify. The
name Tammuz has evidently reference to this, for it signifies " to perfect,"
that is, "to purify'3* "by fire;" and if Nimrod was, as the Paschal
Chronicle (vol. i. pp. 50, 51), and the general voice of antiquity, represent
him to have been, the orginator of fire-worship, this name very exactly
expresses his character in that respect. It is evident, however, from the
Zoruastrian verse, elsewhere quoted (ante, p. 245), that fire itself was wor
shipped as Tammuz, for it is called the " Father that perfected all things."
In one aspect this represented fire as the Creative god ; but in another,
there can be no doubt that it had reference to the " perfecting " of men by
" purifying " them. And especially it perfected those whom it consumed.
This was the very idea that, from time immemorial till very recently, led
so many widows in India to immolate themselves on the funeral piles of
their husbands, the woman who thus burned herself being counted blessed,
because she became Suttee^ — i.e., " Pure by burning." And this also, no
doubt, reconciled the parents who actually sacrificed their children to
Moloch, to the cruel sacrifice, the belief being cherished that the fire that
consumed them also "perfected" them, and made them meet for eternal
happiness. As both the passing through the fire, and the burning in the
fire, were essential rites in the worship of Moloch or Nimrod, this is an
argument that Nimrod was Tammuz. As the priest and representative of
the perfecting or purifying fire, it was he that carried on the work of per
fecting or purifying by fire, and so he was called by its name.
When we turn to the legends of India, we find evidence to the very same
effect as that which we have seen with regard to Zoroaster and Tammuz as
head of the fire-worshippers. The fifth head of Brahma, that was cut off
for inflicting distress 011 the three worlds, by the " effulgence of its dazzling
beams," referred to in the text of this work, identifies itself with Nimrod.
The fact that that fifth head \vas represented as having read the Vedas, or
sacred books produced by the other four heads, shows, I think, a
succession.^ Now, coining down from Noah, what would that succession
* From tarn, "to perfect," and muz, " to burn." To be "pure in heart " in Scripture is just
the same as to be " perfect in heart.1' The well-known name Deucalion, as connected with the
flood, seems to be a correlative term of the water-worshippers. Dukh-ka'.eh signifies "to
purify by washing," from Dukh, " to wash " (CLAVIS STOCKII, p. 223), and Khaleh, "to com
plete," or " perfect." The noun from the latter verb, found in '2 Chrou. iv. 21, shows that the
root means " to purify,'1 "perfect gold " being in the Septuagint justly rendered "pure gold."
There is a name sometimes applied to the king of the gods that has some bearing on this sub
ject. That name is " Akmon." What is the meaning of it ? It is evidently just the Chaldee
form of the Hebrew Khmn, "the burner," which becomes Akmon in the same way as the
Hebrew Dem, "blood," in Chaldee becomes " Adem." Hesychius says that Akmon is Kronos,
sub voce "Akmon." In Virgil (/Eneid, lib. viii. 1. 425) we find this name compounded so as
to be an exact synonym for Tammuz, Pyracmon being the name of one of the three famous
Cyclops whom the poet introduces. We have seen that the original Cyclops were Kronos and
his brethren, and deriving the name from " Pur," the Chaldee form of Bur, " to purify," and
" Akmon," it just signifies " The purifying burner."
t MOOR'S Pantheon, " Siva," p. 43. The epithet for a woman that burns herself is spelled
" Sati," but is pronounced " Suttee," as above.
J The Indian Vedas that now exist do not seem to be of very great antiquity as written
documents ; but the legend goes much further back than anything that took place in India.
The antiquity of writing seems to be very great, but whether or not there was any written
religious document in Nimrod's day, a Veda there must have been ; for what is the meaning
of the word "Veda"? It is evidently just the same as the Anglo-Saxon Edda with the
digamma prefixed, and both alike evidently come from " Ed" a " Testimony," a " Religious
316 APPENDIX.
be ? We have evidence from Berosus, that, in the days of Belus — that is,
Nimrod — the custom of making representations like that of two-headed
Janus, had begun.* Assume, then, that Noah, as having lived in two
worlds, lias his two heads. Ham is the third, Gush the fourth, and
Nimrod is, of course, the fifth. And this fifth head was cut off for doing
the very thing for which Nimrod actually was cut off. I suspect that this
Indian myth is the key to open up the meaning of a statement of Plutarch,
which, according to the terms of it, as it stands, is visibly absurd. It is as
follows : Plutarch (in the fourth book of his Symposiaca, Qiuest. 5, vol. ii.
p. 670, B) says that " the Egyptians were of the opinion that darkness was
prior to light, and that the latter [viz., light] was produced from mice, in
the fifth generation, at the time of the new moon.'' In India, we find that
" a new moon " was produced in a different sense from the ordinary
meaning of that term, and that the production of that new moon was not
only important in Indian mythology, but evidently agreed in time with
the period when the fifth head of Brahma scorched the world with its
insufferable splendour. The account of its production runs thus : that the
gods and mankind were entirely discontented with the moon which they
had got, '• because it gave no light" and besides the plants were poor and
the fruits of no use, and that therefore they churned the White sea [or, as
it is commonly expressed, " they churned the ocean "], when all things
were mingled — i.e., were thrown into confusion, and that then a new
moon, with a new regent, was appointed, which brought in an entirely
new system of things (Asiatic liesearches, vol. ix. p. 98). From MAURICE'S
Indian Antiquities (vol. ii. sect. 6, pp. 264-266), we learn that at this very
time of the churning of the ocean, the earth was set on fire, and a great con
flagration was the result. But the name of the moon in India is Soina, or
Som (for the final a is only a breathing, and the word is found in the name
of the famous temple of $omnaut, which name signifies " Lord of the
Moon 3;), and the moon in India is male. As this transaction is symbolical,
the question naturally arises, who could be meant by the moon, or regent of
the moon, who was cast off in the fifth generation of the world ? The name
Som shows at once who he must have been. Som is just the name of
Shem ; for Shem's name comes from Shorn, " to appoint," and is legiti
mately represented either by the name Som, or Sem, as it is in Greek ; and
it was precisely to get rid of Shem (either after his father's death, or
when the infirmities of old age were coming upon him) as the great
instructor of the world, that is, as the great diffuser of spiritual light, that
in the fifth generation the world was thrown into confusion and the earth
set on fire. The propriety of Shem's being compared to the moon will
appear if we consider the way in which his father Noah was evidently
symbolised. The head of a family is divinely compared to the sun, as in
the dream of Joseph (Genesis xxxvii. 9), and it may be easily conceived
how Noah would, by his posterity in general, be looked up to as occupy
ing the paramount place as the Sun of the world ; and accordingly
Bryant, Davies, Faber, and others, have agreed in recognising Noah as so
symbolised by Paganism. When, however, his younger son — for Shem
was younger than Japhet — (Genesis x. 21) was substituted for his father, to
whom the world had looked up in comparison of the " greater light,55
Shem would naturally, especially by those who disliked him and rebelled
against him, be compared to " the lesser light," or the moon.f Now, the
Record," or "Confession of Faith." Such a "Record" or ''Confession," either "oral" or
" written," must have existed from the beginning.
* Berosiana in BUNHEN, vol. i. p. 708.
t " As to a kingdom, the Oriental Oneirocritics, chap. 167, jointly say, that the sun is the
symbol of the king, and the moon of the next to him in power." This sentence, extracted
from DAUBUZ'S Symbolical Dictionary (p. 115), illustrated with judicious notes by iny learned
APPENDIX. 317
production of light by mice, at this period, comes in exactly to confirm
this deduction. A mouse in Chaldee is "Aakbar" ; and Gheber, or
Kheber, in Arabic, Turkish, and some of the other eastern dialects, becomes
" Akbar," as in the well-known Moslem saying, " Allar Akbar," " God is
Great." So that the whole statement of Plutarch, when stripped of its
nonsensical garb, just amounts to this, that light was produced by the
Guebres or fire-worshippers, when Nimrod was set up in opposition to
Shem, as the representative of Noah, and the great enlightener of the world.
NOTE O, p. 230.
The Story oj Phaethon.
The identity of Phaethon and Nimrod has much to support it besides
the prima facie evidence arising from the statement that Phaethon was an
Ethiopian or Cushite, and the resemblance of his fate, in being cast down
from heaven while driving the chariot of the sun, as "the child of the
Sun," to the casting down of Molk Gheber, whose very name, as the god of
fire, identifies him with Nimrod. 1. Phaethon. is said by Apollodorus
(vol. i. p. 354) to have been the son of Tithonus ; but if the meaning of
the name Tithonus be examined, it will be evident that he was Tithonus
himself. Tithonus was the husband of Aurora (DYMOCK, sub voce). In
the physical sense, as we have already seen, Aur-ora signifies "The
awakener of the light ; " to correspond with this Tithonus signifies " The
kindler of light," or " setter on fire." * Now " Phaethon, the son of
Tithonus," is in Chaldee " Phaethon Bar Tithon." But this also signifies
" Phaethon, the son that set on fire." Assuming, then, the identity of
Phaethon and Tithonus, this goes far to identify Phaethon with Nimrod ;
for Homer, as we have seen (Odyssey, lib. v. 1. 121, p. 127), mentions the
marriage of Aurora with Orion, the mighty Hunter, whose identity with
Nimrod is established. Then the name of the celebrated son that sprang
from the union between Aurora and Tithonus, shows that Tithonus, in his
original character, must have been indeed the same as "the mighty hun
ter" of Scripture, for the name of that son was Memnon (MARTIAL, lib. viii.,
s. 21, p. 440, and OVID, Metam. lib. xiii. 1. 517, vol. ii. p. 467), which
signifies " The son of the spotted one," f thereby identifying the father with
Nimrod, whose emblem was the spotted leopard's skin. As Ninus or
Nimrod was worshipped as the son of his own wife, and that wife Aurora,
the goddess of the dawn, we see how exact is the reference to Phaethon,
when Isaiah, speaking of the King of Babylon, who was his representative,
says, " How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning "
(Isa. xiv. 12). The marriage of Orion with Aurora ; in other words, his
setting up as "The kindler of light," or becoming the "author of fire-
worship," is said by Homer to have been the cause of his death, he having
in consequence perished under the wrath of the gods (Odyss, lib. v. 1. 124,
p. 127). 2. That Phaethon was currently represented as the son of Aurora,
the common story, as related by Ovid, sufficiently proves. While Phaethon
claimed to be the son of Phoebus, or the sun, he was reproached with
being only the son of Merops — i.e., of the mortal husband of his mother
Clymene (OviD, Metam. lib. ii. 11. 179-184, and Note). The story implies
that that mother gave herself out to be Aurora, not in the physical sense
friend, the Rev. A. Forbes, London, shows that the conclusion to which I had come before
seeing it, in regard to the symbolical meaning of the moon, is entirely in harmony with
Oriental modes of thinking. For some excellent remarks in regard to Babylon, see the same
work, p. 38,
* From Tzet or Tzit, " to kindle," or '• set on fire," which in Chaldee becomes Tit, and Thon,
" to give."
t From Mem or Mom, " spotted," and Non, " a son."
318 APPENDIX.
of that term, but in its mystical sense ; as " The woman pregnant with
light ; " and, consequently, her son was held up as the great " Light-bringer ;'
who was to enlighten the world, — " Lucifer, the son of the morning," who
was the pretended enlightener of the souls of men.* The name Lucifer,
in Isaiah, is the very word from which Eleleus, one of the names of
Bacchus, evidently comes. It comes from " Helel," which signifies " to
irradiate " or " to bring light," and is equivalent to the name Tithon. Now
we have evidence that Lucifer, the son of Aurora, or the morning, was
worshipped in the very same character as Nimrocl, when he appeared in his
new character as a little child ; for there is an inscription extant in these
words : —
" Bono Deo
Puero Phosphoro."
(See WILKINSON, vol. iv. p. 410.)
This Phaethon, or Lucifer, who was cast down, is further proved to be
Janus ; for Janus is called " Pater Matutinus " (HORACE, Sat. ii. 6, 20,
p. 674) ; and the meaning of this name will appear in one of its aspects when
the meaning of the name of the Dea Matuta is ascertained. Dea Matuta
signifies " The kindling or Light-bringing goddess," f and accordingly, by
Priscian, she is identified with Aurora : " Matuta, quce significat Aurorame "
(PRISCIAN, ii. p. 591, apitd Sir WILLIAM BETHAM'S JEtruria, vol. ii. p. 53).
Matutinus is evidently just the correlate of Matuta, goddess of the morn
ing ; Janus, therefore, as Matutinus, is " Lucifer, son of the morning."
But further, Matuta is identified with Ino, after she had plunged into the
sea, and had, along with her son Melikerta, been changed into a sea-
divinity (Gradus ad Parnassum, sub voce " Ino"). Consequently her son
Melikerta, " king of the walled city," is the same as Janus Matutinus, or
Lucifer, Phaethon, or Nimrod.
There is still another link by which Melikerta, the sea-divinity, or Janus
Matutinus, is identified with the primitive god of the fire-worshippers.
The most common name of Ino, or Matuta, after she had passed through
the waters, was Leukothoe (OviD, Metam. lib. iv. 11. 541, 542). Now,
Leukothou or Leukothea has a double meaning, as it is derived either from
" Lukhoth," which signifies " to light," or " set on fire," J or from Lukoth "to
glean." In the Maltese medal given (ante, p. 160), the reader will see both
of these senses exemplified. The ear of corn, at the side of the goddess,
which is more commonly held in her hand, while really referring in its
hidden meaning to her being the Mother of Bar, " the son," to the unin
itiated exhibits her as Spicilega, or " The Gleaner," — " the popular name,"
says Hyde (De Religions, Vet. Pers., p. 392), "for the female with the ear
of wheat represented in the constellation Virgo." In Bryant (vol. iii.
p. 245), Cybele is represented with two or three ears of corn in her hand ;
for, as there were three peculiarly distinguished Bacchuses, there were con-
* The reader will see, from the following extracts from the Pancarpium Marianum that the
Virgin of Rome is not only called by the name of Aurora, but that that name is evidently
applied to her in two distinct sexes specified in the text: "O Aurora Maria, qua} a lumine
incepisti, crevisti cum lumine, et nunquam lumine privaris. Sicut lux meridiana clara es.
Dominutn concepisti, qui dixit, Lux sum mundi " (cap. 41, p. 170). "Numquid sol justitise
Christus, qui dixit. Lux sum mundi, operamini, dum dies est? Numquid hanc solis aeterni
lampadem aurora Maria consurgens invexit; surgite soporati ? " (Ibid. p. 171.) These words
contain both of the ideas in the name of the Pagan Aurora.
t Matuta comes from the same word as Tithonus — i.e., Tzet, Tzit, or Tzut, which in Chaldee
becomes Tet, Tit, or Tut, " to light " or " set on fire," From Tit, " to set on fire," comes the
Latin Titio, "a firebrand;" and from Tut, with the formative M prefixed, comes Matuta —
just as from Nasseh, "to forget," with the same formative prefixed, comes Manasseh, "for
getting," the name of the eldest son of Joseph (Gen. xli. 51). The root of this verb is
commonly given as " Itzt" ; but see BAKER'S Lexicon (p. 176), where it is also given as " Tzt."
It is evidently from this root that the Sanscrit " Suttee " already referred to comes.
t In Hebrew, the verb is Lhth, but the Hebrew letter " He" frequently becomes in Chaldee
Heth, with the power of Kh.
APPENDIX. 319
sequently as many " Bars," and she might therefore be represented with
one, two, or three ears in her hand. But to revert to the Maltese medal
just referred to, the flames coming out of the head of Lukothea, the
" Gleaner," show that, though she has passed through the waters, she is
still Lukhothea, "the Burner," or " Light-giver." And the rays around
very place of " Ala-Mahozim," whose representative the Pope is elsewhere
(ante, p. 252) proved to be. But he is equally the Sea-divinity, who in that
capacity wears the mitre of Dagon (compare woodcuts, pp. 160 and 216,
where different forms of the same Maltese divinity are given). The fish-
head mitre which the Pope wears shows that, in this character also, as the
" Beast from the sea," he is the unquestionable representative of Melikerta.
NOTE P, p. 238.
The Roman Imperial Standard of the Dragon a Symbol of
Fire-worship.
The passage of Ammianus Marcellinus, that speaks of that standard,
calls it "purpureum signum draconis" (lib. xvi. cap. 12, p. 145). On this
may be raised the question, Has the epithet purpureum, as describing the
colour of the dragon, any reference to fire ? The following extract from
Salverte may cast some light upon it : " The dragon figured among the
military ensigns of the Assyrians. Cyrus caused it to be adopted by the
Persians and Medes. Under the Koman emperors, and under the emperors
of Byzantium, each cohort or centuria bore for an ensign a dragon " (Des
Sciences Occultes, Appendix, Note A, p. 486). There is no doubt that the
dragon or serpent standard of the Assyrians and Persians had reference to
fire-worship, the worship of fire and the serpent being mixed up together
in both these countries (see LAYARD'S Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. pp.
468, 469). As the Romans, therefore, borrowed these standards evidently
from these sources, it is to be presumed that they viewed them in the very
same light as those from whom they borrowed them, especially as that light
was so exactly in harmony with their own system of fire-worship. The
epithet purpureus or " purple " does not indeed naturally convey the idea
oi fire-colour to us. But it does convey the idea of red; and red in one
shade or another, among idolatrous nations, has almost with one consent
been used to represent fire. The Egyptians (BUNSEX, vol. i. p. 290), the
Hindoos (Moon's Pantheon, "Brahma," p. 6), the Assyrians (LAYARD'S
Nineveh, &c., vol. ii. chap. 3, p. 312, Note), all represented fire by red. The
Persians evidently did the same, for when Quintus Curtius describes the
Magi as following "the sacred and eternal fire," he describes the 365
youths, who formed the train of these Magi, as clad "puniceis amiculis,"
in " scarlet garments " (lib. iii. cap. 3, p. 42), the colour of these garments,
no doubt, having reference to the fire whose ministers they were. Puniceus
is equivalent to purpureus, for it was in Phenicia that the purpura, or
purple-fish, was originally found. The colour derived from that purple-fish
was scarlet (see KITTO'S Illustrated Commentary on Exodus xxxv. 35, vol. i.
p. 215), and it is the very name of that Phenician purple-fish, " arguna," that
is used in Daniel v. 16 and 19, where it is said that he that should interpret
the handwriting on the wall should "be clothed in scarlet" The Tyrians
had the art of making true purples, as well as scarlet ; and there seems no
doubt that purpureus is frequently used in the ordinary sense attached to
our word purple. But the original meaning of the epithet is scarlet ; and
320 APPENDIX.
as bright scarlet colour is a natural colour to represent fire, so we have
reason to believe that that colour, when used for robes of state among the
Tyrians, had special reference to fire ; for the Tyriaii Hercules, who was
regarded as the inventor of purple (BRYANT, vol. iii. p. 485), was regarded
as " King of Fire," ava£ -n-vpos (NONNUS Dionysiaca, lib. xl. 1. 369, vol. ii.
p. 223). Now, when we find that the purpura of Tyre produced the scarlet
colour which naturally represented fire, and that puniceus, which is equiva
lent to purpnreus, is evidently used for scarlet, there is nothing that forbids
us to understand purpureus in the same sense here, but rather requires it.
But even though it were admitted that the tinge was deeper, and purpureus
meant the true purple, as red, of which it is a shade, is the established
colour of fire, and as the serpent was the universally acknowledged symbol
of fire-worship, the probability is strong that the use of a red dragon as
the Imperial standard of Rome was designed as an emblem of that system
of fire-worship on which the safety of the empire was believed so vitally
to hinge.
NOTE Q, p. 268.
The Slaying oj the Witnesses.
Is it past, or is it still to come ? This is a vital question. The favourite
doctrine at this moment is, that it is past centuries ago, and that no such
dark night of suffering to the saints of God can ever come again, as hap
pened just before the era of the Reformation. This is the cardinal principle
of a work that has just appeared, under the title of TJie Great Exodus, which
implies, that however much the truth may be assailed, however much the
saints of God may be threatened, however their fears may be aroused, they
have no real reason to fear, for that the Red Sea will divide, the tribes of
the Lord will pass through dry shod, and all their enemies, like Pharaoh
and his host, shall sink in overwhelming ruin. If the doctrine maintained
by many of the soberest interpreters of Scripture for a century past, includ
ing such names as Brown of Haddington, Thomas Scott, and others, be
well founded — viz., that the putting down of the testimony of the witnesses
is still to come, this theory must not only be a delusion, but a delusion of
most fatal tendency — a delusion that by throwing professors off their
guard, and giving them an excuse for taking their ease, rather than standing
in the high places of the field, and bearing bold and unflinching testimony
for Christ, directly paves the way for that very extinction of the testimony
which is predicted. I enter not into any historical disquisition as to the
question, whether, as a matter of fact, it was true that the witnesses were
slain before Luther appeared. Those who wish to see an historical argu
ment on the subject may see it in the Red Republic, which I venture to
think has not yet been answered. Neither do I think it worth while par
ticularly to examine the assumption of Dr. Wylie, and I hold it to be a
pure and gratuitous assumption, that the 1260 days during which the
saints of God in Gospel times were to suffer for righteousness' sake, has any
relation whatever, as a half period, to a whole, symbolised by the "Seven
times" that passed over Nebuchadnezzar when he was suffering and chas
tened for his pride and blasphemy, as the representative of the "world
power." * But to this only I call the reader's attention, that even on the
* The author does not himself make the humiliation of the Babylonian king a type of the
humiliation of the Church. How then can he establish any typical relation between the
"seven times" in the one c»se, and the "seven times" in the other? He seems to think it
quite enough to establish that relation, if he can find one point of resemblance between
Nebuchadnezzar, the humbled despot, and the "world-power" that oppresses the Church
during the two periods of "seven times " respectively. That one point is the " madness " of
the one and the other. It might be asked, Was, then, the "world power" in its right mind
before "the seven times" began? But waiving that, here is the vital objection to this view :
APPENDIX. 321
theory of Dr. Wylie himself, the witnesses of Christ could not possibly have
finished their testimony before the Decree of the Immaculate Conception
came forth. The theory of Dr. Wylie, and those who take the same general
view as he, is, that the " finishing of the testimony " means " completing
the elements" of the testimony, bearing a full and complete testimony
against the errors of Rome. Dr. Wylie himself admits that " the dogma
of the 'Immaculate Conception' [which was given forth only during the
last few years] declares Mary truly ' divine,' and places her upon the altars
of Rome as practically the sole and supreme object of worship " (The Great
Exodus, p. 109). This was NEVER done before, and therefore the errors
and blasphemies of Rome were not complete until that decree had gone
forth, if even then. Now, if the corruption and blasphemy of Rome were
"incomplete" up to our own day, and if they have risen to a height which
was never witnessed before, as all men instinctively felt and declared, when
that decree was issued, how could the testimony of the witnesses be " com-
plete," before Luther's day ! It is nothing to say that the principle and the
germ of this decree were in operation long before. The same thing may be
The madness in the case of Nebuchadnezzar was simply an affliction; in the other it was sin.
The madness of Nebuchadnezzar did not, so far as we know, lead him to oppress a single indi
vidual ; the madness of the " world-power," according to the theory, is essentially characterised
by the oppression of the saints. Where, then, can there be the least analogy between the two
cases? The "seven times" of the Babylonian king were seven times of humiliation, and
humiliation alone. The suffering monarch cannot be a type of the suffering Church ; and still
less can his "seven times" of deepest humiliation, when all power and glory was taken from
him, be a type of the "seven times" of the " world-power," when that "world-power" was to
concentrate in itself all the glory and grandeur of the earth. This is one fatal objection to this
theory. Then let the reader only look at the following sentence from the work under con
sideration, and compare it with historical fact, and he will see still more how unfounded the
theory is: "It follows undeniably," says the author (pp. 184, 185), "that as the Church is
to be tyrannised over by the idolatrous power throughout the whole of the seven times, she
will be oppressed during the first half of the 'seven times,' by idolatry in the form of Paganism,
and during the last half by idolatry in the form of Popery." Now, the first half, or 1260 years,
during which the Church was to be oppressed by Pagan idolatry, ran out exactly, it is said, in
A.I). 530 or 532 ; when suddenly Justinian changed the scene, and brought the new oppressor
on the stage. But I ask where was the "world-power" to be found up to 530, maintaining
"idolatry in the form of Paganism"? From the time of Gratian at least, Avho, about 376,
formally abolished the worship of the gods, and confiscated their revenues, where was there
any such Pagan power to persecute? There is certainly a very considerable interval between
376 and 532. The necessities of the theory require that Paganism, and that avowed Paganism,
be it observed, shall be persecuting the Church straight away till 532 ; but for 156 years there
was no such thing as a Pagan "world-power" in existence to persecute the Church. "The legs
of the lame," says Solomon, "are not equal ;" and if the 1260 years of Pagan persecution lack
no less than 156 years of the predicted period, surely it must be manifest that the theory halts
very much on one side at least. But I ask, do the facts agree with the theory, even in regard
to the running out of the second 1260 years in 1792, at the period of the French Revolution?
If the 1260 years of Papal oppression terminated then, and if then the Ancient of days came to
begin the final judgment on the beast, He came also to do something else. This will appear
from the language of Daniel : Dan. vii. 21, 22, " I beheld, and the same horn made war with
the saints, and prevailed against them ; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of thb Most High ; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom."
This language implies that the judgment on the little horn, and the putting of the saints in pos
session "of the kingdom" are contemporaneous events. Long has the rule of the kingdoms of this
world been inthe hands of worldly men, thatknewnot God nor obeyed Him ; butnow, when He to
whom the kingdom belongs comes to inflict judgment on His enemies, He comes also to transfer
the rule of the kingdoms of this world from the hands of those who have abused it, into the hands
of those that fear God and govern their public conduct by His revealed will. This is evidently
the meaning of the Divine statement. Now, on the supposition that 1792 was the predicted
period of the coming of the Ancient of days, it follows that, ever since, the principles of God's
Word must have been leavening the governments of Europe more and more, and good and holy
men, of the spirit of Daniel and Nehemiah, must have been advanced to the high places of
power. But has it been <o in point of fact? Is there one nation in all Europe that, acts on
Scriptural principles at this day? Does Britain itself do so? Why, it is notorious tbat it was
just three years after the reign of righteousness, according to this theory, must have commenced
that that unprincipled policy began that has left hardly a shred of appearance of respect for the
honour of the "Prince of the Kings of the earth " in the public rule of this nation. It was in
1795 that Pitt, and the British Parliament, passed the Act for the erecting of the Roman
Catholic College of Maynooth, which formed the beginning of a course that, year by year, has
lifted the Man of Sin into a position of power in this land, that threatens, if Divine mercy dp
not miraculously interfere, to bring us speedily back again under complete thraldom to Anti
christ. Yet, according to the theory of The Great Exodus, the very opposite of this ought to
have been the case.
Y
322 APPENDIX.
said of all the leading errors of Rome long before Luther's day. They were
all in essence and substance very broadly developed, from near the time
when Gregory the Great commanded the image of the Virgin to be carried
forth in the processions that supplicated the Most High to remove the
pestilence from Rome, when it was committing such havoc among its
citizens. But that does in nowise prove that they were " complete," or
that the witnesses of Christ could then " finish their testimony " by bearing
a full and " complete testimony " against the errors and corruptions of the
Papacy. I submit this view of the matter to every intelligent reader for
his prayerful consideration. If we have not "understanding of the times,"
it is vain to expect that we " shall know what Israel ought to do." If we
are saying " Peace and safety," when trouble is at hand, or underrating the
nature of that trouble, we cannot be prepared for the grand struggle when
that struggle shall come.
NOTE R, p. 274.
Attes, the Sinner.
We have seen that the name Pan signifies " to turn aside," and have
concluded that as it is a synonym for Hata, " to sin," the proper generic
meaning of which is " to turn aside from the straight line," that name was
the name of our first parent, Adam. One of the names of Eve, as the
primeval goddess, worshipped in ancient Babylon, while it gives confirma
tion to this conclusion, elucidates also another classical myth in a somewhat
unexpected way. The name of that primeval goddess, as given by Berosus,
is Thalatth, which, as we have seen, signifies " the rib." Adam's name, as
her husband, would be " Baal-Thalatth," "Husband of the rib ;" for Baal
signifies Lord in the sense frequently of "Husband." But "Baal-Thalatth,"
according to a peculiar Hebrew idiom already noticed (p. 38, Note), signifies
also " He that halted or went sideways."* This is the remote origin of
Vulcan's lameness ; for Vulcan, as the "Father of the gods,"t needed to be
identified with Adam, as well as the other " fathers of the gods," to whom
we have already traced him. Now Adam, in consequence of his sin and
departure from the straight line of duty, was, all his life after, in a double
sense "Baal-Thalatth," not only the "Husband of the rib," but "The man
that halted or walked sideways." In memory of this turning aside, no
doubt it was that the priests of Baal (1 Kings xviii. 26) " limped at the
altar," when supplicating their god to hear them (for that is the exact
meaning in the original of the word rendered " leaped " — see KITTO'S Bib.
Cyclop., vol. i. p. 261), and that the Druidic priests went sideways in per
forming some of their sacred rites, as appears from the following passage of
Davies : — "The dance is performed with solemn festivity about the lakes,
round which and the sanctuary the priests move sideivays, whilst the
sanctuary is earnestly invoking the gliding king, before whom the fair one
retreats upon the veil that covers the huge stones" (Druids, p. 171). This
Davies regards as connected with the story of Jupiter, the father of the
gods, violating his own daughter in the form of a serpent (p. 561). Now,
let the reader look at what ia on the breast of the Ephesian Diana, as the
Mother of the gods (ante, p. 29), and he will see a reference to her share in the
same act of going aside ; for there is the crab, and how does a crab go but
sideivays ? This, then, shows the meaning of another of the signs of the
Zodiac. Cancer commemorates the fatal turning aside of our first parent
from the paths of righteousness, when the covenant of Eden was broken.
* The Chaldee Thalatth, " a rib " or a " side," comes from the verb Thalaa, the Chaldee form
of Tzalaa, which signifies " to turn aside," " to halt," " to sidle," or "to walk sideways."
t For Vulcan as " the first of all the gods," see MINUTIUS FELIX, Octavius, p. 163.
APPENDIX. 323
The Pagans knew that this turning aside or going sideways, implied
death — the death of the soul — (" In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt
surely die ") ; and, therefore, while at the spring festival of Cybele and Attes,
there were great lamentations for the death of Attes, so on the Hilaria or
rejoicing festival of the 25th of March — that is, Lady-day, the last day of
the festival — the mourning was turned into joy, "on occasion of the dead
god being restored to life again" (Dupuis, Origins de tous les Cultes, torn. iv.
pt. 1, p. 253, Paris, L'an iii. de la Republique [1794]). If Attes was he that
by " his turning aside " brought sin and death into the world, what could
the life be to which he was so speedily restored, but just that new and
divine life which enters every soul when it is " born again," and so " passes
from death unto life." When the promise was given that the seed of the
woman should bruise the serpent's head, and Adam grasped it by faith,
that, there can be no doubt, was evidence that the divine life was restored,
and that he was born again. And thus do the very Mysteries of Attes,
Avhich were guarded with special jealousy, and the secret meaning of which
Pausanias declares that he found it impossible, notwithstanding all his
efforts, to discover (Lib. vii., Achaica, cap. 17), bear their distinct testi
mony, when once the meaning of the name of Attes is deciphered, to the
knowledge which Paganism itself had of the real nature of the Fall, and of
the essential character of that death, which was threatened in the primeval
covenant.
This new birth of Attes laid the foundation for his being represented as
a little child, and so being identified with Adonis, who, though he died a
full-grown man, was represented in that very way. In the Eleusinian
Mysteries, that commemorated the rape of Proserpine, that is, the seduction
of Eve, the lamented god, or Bacchus, was represented as a babe at the
breast of the great Mother, who by Sophocles is called Deo (Antigone, v.
1121, Oxon. 1808). As Deo or Demete, applied to the Great Mother, is
evidently just another form of Idaia Mater, "The Mother of Knowledge"
(the verb " to know" being either Daa or Idaa), this little child, in one of
his aspects, was no doubt the same as Attes, and thus also Deoius, as his
name is given (ante, p. 20). The Hilaria, or rejoicing festival of the 25th
of March, or Lady-day, owed its gladness to the Annunciation of a birth
yet to come, even the birth of the woman's seed ; but, at the same time,
the joy of that festival was enhanced by the immediate new birth that very
day of Attes, " The sinner," or Adam, who, in consequence of his breach of
the covenant, had become dead in " trespasses and sins."
INDEX.
Abel's Sacri6ce, 70.
Abraham, contemporary of Ninus, 5, 6.
Abydos, temple of, 179 : music at, 22.
Achad, ''the Only One," 16.
Achilles, 61.
Adad, 302.
Adam, clothed, 183; "the Man," 273;
the "Hidden One," 296.
Adi Sheik, 120.
Adon, 20, 70, 245, 312.
Adonai, 70.
Adonis, 56, 65, 67-70, 97, 99-105, 118,
137, 274, 314.
yEgides, monster vomiting flames, 243.
yEneas, 228, 236, 239, 271.
^Esculapius, 98, 234-6-7, 241 ; deriva
tion of name, 278-9.
vEthiops = Gush, 48.
Agapenor, 182.
AgdistisrzCyhele, 274.
Agnes, St., Nuns of, 263.
Agni, Hindoo god of fire, 37, 233.
Ahel-Ahalya, 78.
Ahriman, the Devil, 146, 184.
Aithiopais, 48.
Akmon, king of gods, "the Burner."
315.
Ala-Bar, Ala-Par-os, 73.
Ala-Mahozim, 30, 32, 43, 252-4, 296,
319.
Ala-Sparos, 73.
Alcmene, mother of Hercules, 125.
Alea, Minerva, 182.
Alexander the Great, 277.
Al-Gethi, the Crusher, 61.
Alma Mater, 76.
Alma, or Ammas, 22.
Alorus, god of fire, 229, 243, 245.
Ama-Tzupah, 294,
Amarusia, "Mother of gracious accept
ance," 158, 264.
Amenophis, 68.
Amenti, genii of, 146, 169.
America, Red Indians of, wearing horns,
37.
Amoun, 41.
Amun-re, 302.
Anahuac, country of, peopled by Wodan,
134.
Androgyne, 242.
324
Anglo-Saxons, Zernebogus, worshipped
by, 33 ; Wodan, 280.
Anubis,- Egyptian god, 146, 149-50, 153,
169, 307.
[ Aor or Our light — hence Ouranos, 193.
Aphrodite, 75; "the Wrath Subduer,"
158, 264, 309.
Apis, the Calf, meaning of name, 45.
Apollo, 32, 60, 87, 117, 151-2, 175, 191 ;
statue of at Cumse shed tears, 257.
Apophis, 244.
\ Apostate, the Great, 52 ; slain, 66.
Apta, sacred tree, so called, in India, 73.
Arabia, women of, and " unbloody sacri
fice," 159-64.
Arabians, Zero or Cypher, from, 18 ;
tonsure, 221.
Arteus, 68.
Archer, Sagittarius, 42, 152.
Archia, 310.
Architic Venus, 13 ; meaning of Epithet,
310.
Argives, fire worshippers, 117 ; sacrifice
to Mercury as conductor of the dead,
168.
Ariadne, 86, 105, 125 ; crowned, 186.
Arioch or Arius, 69, 246.
Aristoteles on the Magi, 13.
Artemis, 30.
Aruns, his address to Apollo, 117.
Ashtoreth, 308.
Ashur or Asshur, 24.
Assurah, 24.
Assisi, Francis of, 258.
Assyrian kings, 23-4; doctrines, 12;
supreme divinity, 18 ; Hercules, 34 ;
monarch's wings, 38 ; Venus, 157.
Astarte, 36, 75, 103, 106-8-9-10, 141-2,
187, 296, 302-4 ; meaning of the name,
307—10.
| Asterie, daughter of Bel, wife of Perseus,
308.
I Astraea, goddess of justice, 308.
I Atergatis, 86, 270.
! Athan, 20.
Athana or Athena =Beltis, 20, 308.
Athenagoras on flagellations, 154.
Athens, 20 ; Dionysiaca at, 108, 244 ;
Virgins at, 223.
Athon, 20, 312.
INDEX.
325
Athor, cow of, spotted, 45, 77, 86.
Athyr, month, Osiris disappears, 136.
Atlas, 54, 55.
Attalus III., 241.
Atys, Attis, Attes, "the Sinner," 99,
240, 273-4, 322.
Augustine, 176.
Augustus, pretended son of Apollo, 277.
Aura, mother of third Bacchus. 310.
Aurelia, council of, decreed observance
of Lent, 107.
Aurora, 305 ; applied to Virgin Mary,
318.
Baal-Abarin, " Lord of the mighty ones,"
37.
Baal-Aberin, "the Winged one," 37.
Baal-Aph, "Lord of wrath;" Baal-
lashon, " Lord of tongue ; " Baal-
hatzim, "Lord of arrows," 38.
Baal, Bel or Belus, 25-6-7-8-9, 20, 31-4,
40, 50-4, 62, 71, 103, 1 14, 124, 152, 153,
190, 226, 230-1-2.
Baal-bereth, Lord of the Fir-tree, 98.
Baal-berith, Lord of the covenant, 70,
97, 142.
Baal-fires, 104, 115, 121, 170.
Baal-peor, 69.
Baal-tamar, Lord of Palrn-tree = Pagan
Messiah, 97.
Baal-thalatth, Lord or husband of the
Rib, 322.
Baalti, Beltis, 20.
Babel, tower of, 55.
Bacchus, 21-2, 33, 37, 46-7-8-9, 55-6-9,
71_2_5_6, 81, 93-7, 105, 114, 120-2,
125, 139, 142-4, 185, 190, 221-2, 270-
3, 277.
Bacchus, "Eternal Boy," 73-4.
Bactrian Zoroaster, 67.
Bagajet I., 44.
Baitulos, the swaddled stone, meaning
and derivation of, 300-1.
Balder, Icelandic god, 57, 99-100 = Baal-
zer, 312.
Bard, or Pard, the spotted one, 73.
Bassareus, the "vintage-gatherer," and
" encornpasser with a wall," 50.
Batzar gathering grapes or fortifying, 50.
Bee, the, 194 (an Assyrian symbol, Isaiah
vii. 18 ; and symbol of Hindoo God
Crishna, Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p.
261).
Beel-Samen, "Lord of Heaven," and
"Lord of Oil" = Sun-god, 165, 264.
Beel-zebub, " Lord of the Fly," 279.
Bel, Sacred, " Sacred Heart,'" 190.
Bel-Athri, " Lord of Spies," 27.
Bellona, " Lainenter of Bel," 44, 152, 270.
Belshazzar, 3, 95, 146, 240-1, 255.
Beltane, 103.
Beltis, My Lady, 20, 103, 264.
Beltis, and " the Shining Bar," 73.
Ben-Almet-Ishaa, " the Son of the Virgin
of Salvation," 76.
Ben-Almet-Teshaah, "the son of nine
Virgins," 76.
Bimater, epithet of Bacchus, 307.
Boar's head at Christmas dinner, why ?
101.
Bol-Kahn or Vulcan, priest of Baal, 229,
298.
Bona Dea, the good goddess, 158.
Brahm, 15-6-8.
Brahma", 15-8, 19, 159, 230, 265.
i Branch of Gush, 49 ; of God, 97.
' Buddh, 57.
Buddha, 18 ; his relics, 178-9, 193, 222.
Bulla, 189.
Burchans, gods of the Tungusians, 193.
Cacodsemon, 244.
j Calyia, 60.
j Cannibal = Kahna-Bal, priest of Baal,
232.
i Cancer, sign of Zodiac, meaning of, 322.
• Capricornus, the Goat Horned Fish, 123,
311.
I CardearrCybele, with power of the key,
207.
I Cardinals, 210-11.
! Carneus Apollo. 126.
j Carthage, 296.
Castus, the Sacred Fast, 105.
Catosus, the Cook, story of, by Augustine,
177.
| Celibacy, 8, 219. See Hue's Tartarie,
vol. i. p. 301.
! Centaur, 41-2, meaning and derivation
of, 297.
i Cerastes or Kerastes, horned Serpent,
244, 295.
! Ceres, 20, 46, 81 ; flava, 85, 105, 126,
160-1.
I Ceridwen, 161.
{ Chalchivitlycue, Mexican goddess of
Water, 133, 144.
• -haos, 26-7-8-9.
i Chinevad, bridge of, connects heaven aiid
earth, 146.
: Chiron, 42.
I Chon, 66.
Christmas Goose, <kc., 101-2.
Chusorus, 50.
Circe, 87.
! Clymene", 317.
Colly ridians, 164.
j Confession, 9, 10.
I Constantine, 192, 201, 202-4, 234.
| Census, 41-2.
' Core", 126.
Corybantes, 21, 120.
326
INDEX.
Crishna, 60-1 ; Black, 238.
Cross of Fire, 155.
Crown, first worn by Saturn, 35 ; by Bac
chus, 185.
Crux Ansata, or Sign of Life, 201.
Cup, the Golden, 4, 5.
Cupid, 40, 101 ; Statue of, 189, 291.
Cush, 25-30, 32-4, 43-8-9, 50-1, 56, 73,
95, 124, 135, 316.
Cybele, 20, 30-1, 78-9, 99-103, 111, 154,
206-8, 240-1, 264 ; Phrygian, 273 ;
Magna Mater, 273 = Rhea and Terra,
304.
Cyclops, 32, 229-30, 232; Cannibals,
315.
Cycnus, King, 243.
Cyprian Venus, 75, 157.
Cyrus, 2, 5, 39.
Dabar, the Bee, the Word, 194-5-6.
Daedalus, 39.
Dagon, 114; his Mitre, 215, 241-3,
252-5 ; the Merman, 264, 270, 319.
Damasus, Pope, 248-50, 251-2.
Danae, 39.
Darius, Hystaspes, Modem Parseeism
dates from his time, 59.
Dayyad, the Hunter, 34.
Demeter, 310.
Delos, Hymn to, 152.
Delphi, 9, 117 ; Sacred Stone of, 301.
Deoius, 20.
Derketo, the Mermaid, 86, 264.
Despoina, 30.
Deucalion, 245 ; derivation of, 315.
Deus Lunus, 95.
Deva, God, derivation of, 16,
Devaka, Indian goddess, 238.
Devas, King of, owner of Buddha's tooth,
178.
Devil-worship, Roman, 275 ; in Kurdi
stan, &c., 276.
Diana, 30, 76, 85, 100, 175, 188, 195,
299 ; Tauropolos, 308.
Dione, 78, 85, 143.
Dionusos, the " Sin-Bearer," 71, 122,
273.
Dionysiaca, 108.
Dionysus, or Bacchus, 46, 52, 56, 71-2,
121, 123, 190, 273.
Diphues, twice-born, 134, 136-7.
Disappearance of Osiris, 136.
Dis, gloomy, and Proserpine, 186.
D'lun^, 78.
Dove, the, an emblem, 18, 51, 78, 126,
141-4.
Dragon-boat festival, 57, 118.
Druidical fires, 114.
Druidic triads, 231.
Drtiidic Custom in Scotland, 103 ; in
France, 114 ; in Ireland, 114-6, 121.
Druids, 45, 81, 103, 108, 115-6, 121, 151,
186, 199, 232.
Durgu, 243.
Eanush, "the Man," = Janus, 271.
Egg, sacred, 108-10.
Egeria, nymph, 260.
El-Bar, ''God the Son," 73.
Eleleus, 318-9.
Elephanta, cave of, triform image in,
18.
Eleusinian Mysteries, 9, 13, 144, 163,
184, 323.
Elioun, the Most High, 193.
Ellewoman, 86.
Bngonaisis, " the Kneeler," and " the Ser
pent-crusher," 61.
Enos, 311.
Ephesian Diana, 30, 188, 195.
Epidaurian Serpent, 236-7, 280.
Era, Christian, changed, 105.
Eros, 40.
Er- Rahman, the all-merciful one, 15.
Etrurians, from Lydia, 239-40.
Europa, 85.
Eurydice, 124.
Fan, the Mystic, 139.
Fauna = Fatua and Oma, 311.
Feronia, goddess of liberty, 52, 117-9.
Fetiche, 73, 218.
Fir-tree, symbol, 97-8.
Flamens, 139.
Flagellants, 154.
Fortuna, 20, 140, 307.
Freya, Priestesses of, 223.
Frigga, 58, 100.
G-ad, 94.
Gamut or Kamut, 22.
Geyle, Sanct, 171.
Gladiatorial shows, sacred, 153.
Gods, flight of the, 174-5.
Goose, symbol, 101.
Gorgon Medusa, 86.
Gradivus, Mars, 297.
Guebres or Gabrs, 33, 98, 229, 314-7.
Ham, 25, 204, 316.
Hamadryads, priestesses of Hameddero,
81.
Harpocrates, 43, 188, 190, 265.
Heang-choo, or fragrant beads, 188.
Hector, 236.
Hecuba, 182.
Heimdal, 76.
Hela, goddess of Hell, 58.
Helius, 21.
Hephaistos, 27-8, 32.
Hera or Juno, 20, 110, 307.
INDEX.
He-Roe whence Hero and Pharaoh,
217-8.
Hercules, 28, 34, 45-9, 60, 63-6, 112,
125 ; Tyrian, 320.
Hermes, 25-6, 95, 103, 208-9.
Hermod, the Swift, 58.
He-Siri = Osiris, "the Seed," 103, 160.
Hesperides, 112.
Hestia- Vesta, 77, 306.
Heva, "the Living One," 306.
Hierophant, 9, 208, 212, 242.
Hilaria, 323.
Hoder, the blind, 58.
Hogmanay, derivation of, 95.
Holy Coats, 178.
Holy Week at Rome, 154.
Horns, symbol, 32-7, 54, 65.
Horus, 20, 25, 43, 60, 68-9, 140, 146,
151, 188, 190, 204, 299, 307.
Hoshang, 45.
Hostilius Tullus, imitating Numa, per
ishes, 260.
Hue = Eve and Semele, 278.
Hypsistos, the Most High, 295.
Icarus, 39.
Ichor, 71.
Ichthys, applied to Christ, 252 ; son of
Atergates, 270.
Ida Mount, 72, 111.
Idaia, Mater, mother of knowledge, 111 ;
Cybele and Khea, 273, 310.
Ignigena, 59, 73, 97.
I.H.S., original meaning of, 164.
Immaculate Virgin, 265-8.
Indra, king of the gods, and god of rain,
135, 159, 233.
Indrani, 19.
Infallibility, 212.
Ino, aunt of Bacchus, 142.
Inuus, or Pan, 311.
Irene, 20.
Ippa, mother of Bacchus, 307.
Iscariot, 275.
Isi, 20, 23.
Isha, the Woman, 103.
Ishtar, 103-4.
Isis, 20-2, 31, 43, 44-6, 69, 93, 103, 132,
136, 140-4-6, 151-2, 160-4, 178-9,
302-7.
Iswara, 20, 23.
Ivy branch, 49, 50.
Ixion, 42, 298.
Jamblichus, 259.
Janicula, 239.
Janus, 26-7-8, 135-6 ; his key, 206—10,
241, 264;-Eanus, the Man, 271-3.
Janus Tuens, 27, 262.
Japhet, 65.
Jeyus, the Vanquisher, 178.
Joannes, 114.
John, fires of St., 114, 170.
Jove or Jovis, 26 ; Jovis Lapis, 73.
Jovinian, 248-9.
Juno, 20, 31, 79, 80, 101, 111, 141, 175,
234, 298.
Juno Moneta, 265 ; Covella, 303.
Jupiter, 32, 39, 52 ; Anxur, 117, 125 ;
tomb of, 154, 174 ; Zagreus, 178, 191,
234 ; Tonans, 262.
Jupiter-puer, 20, 140, 230, 307.
Kali, wife of the god Siva, 159.
Kandaon, " priest of the Revolver," 297.
Khon or Kohn, 66.
Rhone, 40, 42-3.
Khubele, "the binder with cords,'1 -
Cybele and Juno, 303-6.
Khubeli, Adam, "the cords of a man,"
303.
King, the Wilful, 253.
Kissos, Kissaioi, Kissioi, 49.
Knox, John, on the Wafer-god, 160 ; his
account of Sanct Geyle, 171.
Koes, 10.
Ivronos = Saturn and Nimrod, 31 — 5,
42-3, 97-8, 153, 193, 216, 231, 255,
264, 294-5, 315.
Ivuanyin, goddess of mercy, 21, 158.
Kuathos, 49.
Lakshini, mother of the universe, 85, 158,
266.
Loadice, daughter of Agapenor, 182.
Lateinos, "the Hidden On e," = Saturn,
269—71.
Latinus, 236.
Latopolis, now Esneh, 270.
Latona, 151 ; "lamenter of Lat," 270
Leopards for hunting, 45.
Leto, or Lato, 270.
Leukothoe = Ino, double meaning of name,
318.
Liber and Libera, 105.
Licinius, 192.
Linacer on the New Testament, 129.
Linus, 22, 156.
Litany, Sevenfold, of Pope Gregory, 172
-6.
Llion, Lake, bursting of, 242.
Loki, spirit of evil, 57.
Louis XIV. and Pere La Chaise, 149.
Lucifer — Nimrod and Phaethon, 234,
242, 318.
Lycurgus, 55, 142.
Madonna, 21, 43, 83, 86, 126, 143-4, 164,
189, 191, 264-5.
Magi, Chaldean, 12 ; Persian, 313.
Magic Lantern, 68.
Magus, Simon, 208.
328
INDEX.
Mamacona, mother priestess in Peru,
223.
Man of the Moon, 95.
Manes, the, 167.
Manicheans, their cross, 199.
Mars, Mavors, or Mamers, 44, 153, 246 ;
Gradivus and Quirinus, 297.
Ma-Tsoopo, 21.
Masonry, Free, 43.
Matuta and Matutinus — Aurora and
Janus, 318.
Maut, the goddess mother, 40, 76, 294.
Medusa, 86.
Melchites, their trinity, 89.
Melikerta, 142, 318-9.
Melilot garland, 185.
Melissa, priestess of Cybele, 310 ; name
of the Moon, 310.
Melkart = Quirinus, 296.
Melkat, Ashemin, queen of heaven, 264.
Memnon, 22 ; derivation of, 317.
Mene, 95 ; Merii, the Lord Moon, 94-5.
Menes - Mizraim, 292—4.
Mercury, 25-6, 87, 150, 168.
Merodach, 28, 44.
Merops, 317.
Mesites, 194, 264.
Messiah, Babylonian, 239.
Miaco, in temple of, idols bear crosiers,
218.
Minerva, 21, 85 ; Alea, 182, 191 ; Egypt
ian, 270 ; 307-8.
Misletoe, 58, 73, 99, 201.
Mithra, or Mithras, 70, 123, 132, 194,
222, 260-4.
Mizraiin, meaning and derivation of,
292—4.
Molk-gheber, 229, 233, 317.
Moloch, 103, 116, 120, 150, 154, 164, 190,
229, 231, 245, 270, 315.
Momis, or Moumis, 47.
Monile, meaning of, 188.
Mother of Bar, corn, and of Bar, son,
161-2.
Mother of the gods, Rhea — Semiramis, 5.
Mulciber, 229, 233.
Mufti, and interpreter, 208.
Muth, Death, 294-5.
Mylitta, or Melitta, the Mediatrix, 157-S,
264, 304, 309.
Myrionymus, Isis, 269.
Mystery, 4 ; " Hidden system," 269.
Mysteries, the, 4, 7—11, 13-4, 66-7, 68-9,
144.
Nahash, the Serpent, 295.
Nanna, Bride of Balder, 58.
Narcissus, 22 ; meaning and derivation of,
156.
Nebo, 26, 34, 256, 260.
NebrodrzNimrod, 47, 56, 240.
Nemesis, goddess of love and revenge,
291.
Nephele, queen of heaven, 298.
Nepthys, mother of Anubis, 146, 307.
Neptune, 41.
Newman, Father, on the Virgin, 82 ; on
holy water, 138.
Nimbus, The, 87-8.
Nimrod, 13, 23-5, 26-8, 31—98, 114-7,
135-6, 141-4, 150, 174-5-6, 183-5,
190-3-4, 216-7, 226-7-8-9, 231-2-3-4,
240-3-5-6, 260-9, 304.
Nimroud, 25.
Nineveh, meaning of, 25, 44.
Ninus, 5, 6, 22-3-5-6-9, 31-2, 40-6, 50-5,
69, 75, 88, 125, 140-1, 181, 226-9.
Nito, " the Devil," 193.
Noah, 54, 134—7, 183, 244 ; Worship of,
245, 311.
Norns, Scandinavian goddesses, 94.
Numa Pompilius, forbids image worship,
239-40, 256-9.
Nur-Cakes, 94-5.
Oannes, 114, 121, 124, 136, 164 ; = He-
Anesh, the man, 243,272 ; = Adam, 311.
Odin, 58, 132-3, 312.
Oello, Mama, 178.
Ogmius, Hercules, 66.
Olenos, "the Sin Bearer," 72, 300-1.
Oma, 311.
Omorka, " Mother of the World," deriva
tion of, 305.
Ophiani or Ophites, serpent worshippers,
278.
Ophthalmitis, Title of Athena, 294.
Ops, " the Flutterer,"^ Juno and Cybele,
303.
Orion = Nhnrod, 13, 56-7, 305, 317.
Orpheus, 46, 55, 64, 124, 234.
Osiris = Nimrod, 20-2-3, 31, 43-4-6,
50-4-5-6, 62—9, 101-3-5, 118-9, 124,
136-7, 142-5-6-9, 151-2-4, 160-9,
175-8-9, 185-6-8, 215, 221, 245, 269,
312.
Ouranos, "the Enlightener," 193-4.
Palaemon, riding on Dolphin, 142.
Pales, Feast of, 236.
Palm-tree, symbol, 97.
Pan^Faunus, Adam and Noah, 311 ;
meaning of, 322.
Pandora's box, 301.
Paris, 61.
Parvati, 23, 159.
Patulcius and Clusius, " the Opener and
Shutter," 210.
Pelops, the Shoulder Blade of, 177.
Pentheus, torn in pieces, 55.
Persea, Fruit of, 188.
Perseus, 39.
INDEX.
329
Pessinuntica = Cybele and Venus, 302.
Peter-roma, "the grand interpreter,"
209-10.
Phaennis, A Prophetess, 241.
Phaethon = Nimrod, 230-3-4-6; Black,
238, 401 ; Story of, 317—9, 245.
Phocas, 263.
Phoebus, 317.
Phoroneus, 26, 51-2-3-9, 95-7, 116-7,
227, 310.
Pilgrimages, 180, 245.
Pluto, 105, 126, 153, 242, 277.
Plutus, 20.
Polynesian Fable, Explanatory of Atlas,
52.
Proserpine, 81, 105, 126, 186, 277.
Puseyism, 187.
Pyracmon, 315.
Pyrisporus, 59, 73.
Pytho or Python, 60, 151, 175 ; deriva
tion of, 311.
Quirinus, Mars = Nimrod, 297.
Rabdos Tripetelos, three-leaved rod, 186.
Ramesses, meaning of, 25.
Raymi, Feast of, 118, 223.
Rekh, " the Holy Spirit," 140.
Rhadamanthus, 125.
Rhea or Rheia — Semirarnis and Eve, 5,
20-1-2, 30-1-2, 41, 69, 74-8, 274,
294-5-6, 303-4.
Rimmon, 111-12.
Rosh-Gheza, "the mutilated prince " and
"the shaved head," 221.
Rosary, meaning of and derivation, 188.
Sacca, Sacta, Sacti, worship of, 78, 306.
Sadra, or sacred vest, 184.
Sagittarius, 42, 152.
San-Pao-Fuh, 18.
Sati, wife of Shiva, 187.
Saturn = Nimrod, 31, 32-5, 41-2, 45, 78,
96-7, 101, 136, 153, 155, 166, 195, 230,
261 — 71 = Adam devouring his child
ren, 299 ; children restored to life, 302.
Saturnalia, 93-6, 101, 153.
Saturnia, ancient name of Rome, 239,
270.
Satyrs, 37, 311.
Seb, 101.
Sem, 63-5, 316.
Semeion, 80.
Semele, 59, 93, 125, 265, 307.
Semiramis, 5, 6, 21-2-9, 30-1, 40, 58,
61-8-9, 74-5, 86, 141-4, 156, 229 ;
first deified woman, 304-7-10.
Serpent, a symbol, 98-227.
Sesostris, 72.
Seth, 65.
Sheik- Adi, 120-192.
Sheik-Shems, 120, 192.
Shem, 6, 63 — 6, 176 ; overcomes fire- wor
shippers, 238 ; slayer of Tammuz or
Nimrod, 276, 304, 316.
Shinar, meaning of, 137.
Shing-Moo, " the Holy Mother," 21, 294.
Shiva or Siva, Indian god, 159, 187, 270.
Soma, the Moon ; Somnaut, " Lord of
the Moon," 316.
Soprano, singing, 156.
Souro, 124, 222.
Spicilega — Virgo and Cybele, 318.
Spittle, an emblem, 138.
St. Alphonsus Liguori, 158.
St. Bacchus the Martyr, 122—5, 269.
St. Ciair, 123.
St. Cubertin, 258.
St. Denys, 122—5.
St. Dionysius, 122-5, 269.
St. Eleuther, 122, 125.
St. Exsuperentius, 123.
St. Felix, 123.
St. Francis of Assisi and of Macerata, 258.
St. Jean, fires of Monsieur, 115.
St. Lawrence O'Toole, 181.
St. Michael, scales of, 145-9, 150.
St. Mithra, 123.
St. Paul, 181.
St. Peter, his tooth, 178 ; keys, 206—9 ;
chair, 212.
St. Raymond, 258.
St. Regula, 123.
St. Rustic, 122.
St. Satur, the Martyr = Saturn, 269.
St. Stephen's relics, 176—8.
-St. Swithin^St. Satan ! 280.
St. Thomas a-Beckett, 181.
St. Valerius with his head in his hand, 123.
| St. Vermine, " the good," 281.
i Succoth-benoth, Babylonian goddess, 306.
I Sun-image on Romiah altar, 162.
Surya, the Sun-god, 96, 233 ; derivation
of, 305.
Sura-Acharya, 258.
Suttee, 315.
Syricius enacts celibacy of clergy, 248.
Symmachus, prefect of Rome, 250, 253.
Tages, 256-9.
Tahmurs, 45, 314.
Tammuz = Bacchus, Nimrod, and Osiris,
21, 55—61, 62, 67—70, 76, 88, 96-99,
105, 113-4, 117-8-9, 121, 155, 170, 197,
201-5, 222-8, 244 ; etymology of, 245 ;
bruiser of serpent, 277-9, 314.
Tauropolos, the goddess of towers or
fortifications = Diana, 308.
Teotl, " the great Spirit," 60, 134.
Terra, 76.
Thalasius, Roman god of marriage,
306.
330
INDEX.
Thalatth, the primeval goddess of Baby
lon, and who she was, 306.
Thainus, King of Egypt, 56 = Nimrod, 227.
Themis, goddess of justice, 309.
Theseus, 52.
Theurgists, 258.
Thor, tiOrzThouros, meaning of, 312.
Thot, 56, 103, 146, 227.
Thothmes, meaning of, 25.
Thuone. Thuoneus, " the lamented ones,"
265.
Titan, or Teitan, 275 — Typhon and
Satan, 27tf-7, 295.
Titans, 190, 230, 277.
Tithonus, meaning and derivation of, 31 7.
Tonsure, 220.
Triangle, the, a symbol, 17.
Tusks of boar, symbolical, 65, 99.
Typho, 64-5, 175-9.
Typhon, 73, 142-3-4, 276.
Tyrannus, etymology of, 33.
Ulysses, 87.
Urania, Venus, 80, 143, 221.
Veda = Edda, 315.
Vejovis— young Jupiter, 140.
Venus z=Semiramis, 5, 13, 40, 56, 74-5-
6-8-9, 85 ; Aurea, 109. 137, 157, 187
-9 ; Genetrix, 241 ; Paphian, 302 ;
Assyrian, 304 ; Architis, 310.
Vesta, 76-7, 236-8, 246, 306.
Vestal Virgins, 223, 236-8, 250.
Virgo, 76.
Vishnu, 18, 36, 60, 70, 135, 158-9, 190,
222, 266.
Volar, Evil Spirits, 58.
Vulcan = Nimrod, 27-8, 70, 157, 229, 233.
Wafer, the, why round, 160.
Wings, symbol, 37—40.
Wodan of Mexico and Scandinavia, 133,
245.
! Wut-yune, 57.
Yezidis, 104, 119, 191.
| Yule-log, 97-8.
i Zaradas, " the only seed," 59.
1 Zarathustra, 59.
; Z'emir-amit, 79.
Zen, or Zan — 8un, 297.
1 Zera-hosha, 76.
; Zernebogus, 33-4.
; Zero, " the seed," and " a circle," 18, 50-9,
73, 81, 96, 222.
' Zero-ashta, 59, 88, 97.
! Zeus, 52, 175 ; " the Saviour," 72, 307.
Zoganes— " Lord of Misrule," 97.
Zoroadus, or Zarades, 59.
Zoroaster, 59, 61-2-7, 71, 120-1, 170,
180, 191, 228, 234, 259, 313.
Zoroastes, 75.
LORIMEK AND CHALMERS, I'RINTEKS, EDINBURGH
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
"The volume before us 011 the subject of Romanism is able and interest
ing. The author is a ' full man.' His scholarship is ripe, and his histori
cal research deep and accurate. Classical and Oriental literature and the
records of antiquity, he employs with the skill and readiness of a master,
to make good his positions. Rarely, indeed, within the same space, have
we seen such a rich variety of learned and curious information arrayed in
evidence against the assumptions, usages, doctrines, and pretended apostoli
cal origin of Romanism. The tinsel garments of pretended sanctity he
strips off, and the charm of sacred association he scatters to the winds."—
Evangelical Magazine.
" This is a work of no common-place character. It clearly proves that
the religion of the Church of Rome is the religion of ancient Babylon,
tinted and varnished with the name of Christianity." — Achill Herald.
" Mr. Hislop's work entitles him to a place in the first ranks of those
who have been honoured, by their discoveries, to throw intensely interest
ing light, in different ways, on some of the darkest pages of the world's
history." — Original Secession Magazine.
" Mr. Hislop has displayed no small amount of historical and philologi
cal lore, which stamps him as a scholar of no mean rank. His felicity in
tracing analogies is very remarkable." — Scottish Press.
" These papers (on the Moral Identity of Babylon and Rome) produced
at the time a powerful impression : and their learned author has since
prosecuted his inquiries more fully, and in a most interesting volume, just
published, has set forth in ample detail the whole proofs and illustrations
of his interesting and striking theory. ... It gives one a strange and vivid
idea of the inspiration of Scripture to read these remarkable pages." —
Dr. Begg, in Bulwark.
"One of the most valuable contributions towards the settlement of the
great controversy which we hold with Antichrist that has appeared for
years. . . . The relation which mythology bears to mythology, and which
all bear to Christian Theism, is beautifully, though apparently uncon
sciously, developed in Mr. Hislop's ' Two Babylons.' " — Stanyan Bigg, in
Devonshire Protestant.
[SEE OVER.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS— Continued.
" Mr. Hislop has collected a large mass of materials (many of them new
;ind very striking) in proof of his position ; and has arranged and stated
his argument with a calmness, precision, and force, that greatly impress the
reader." — Christian Treasury.
" This work is of no common erudition. . . . We have not for a con
siderable time met with any volume that presents the subjects in lights so
striking and original. The author has performed a noble service to our
common Protestantism, and is entitled to the thanks of every section of
the true Church." — Dr. Campbell, in British Standard.
" We venture to say, no reader will rise from its perusal without a loftier
reverence for God's truth, and a deeper conviction of the indelible brand
that truth has stamped upon the Papal system. There is a touch of the
sublime in finding the predictions of the seer of Patmos unloosed from their
enigmatic mystery, when we bring together the early idolatrous worship of
Chaldea, arid the latest dogmas of Rome. The simple narrative of the two
developments completes the circle — a luminous ring, which lights up the
dark page of prophecy until it reads like a history written but yesterday."
— Northern Warder.
" The vast amount of learning, and the philological research and com
parison so fascinating to many minds, coupled with the striking analogies
every now and then made apparent, render the book as attractive as a
novel, and the reader is drawn on irresistibly to the end. Its pages form a
mine of historical wealth, or rather a depository of ores and fossils dug
from a vast number of sources, and labelled, classified, and arranged until,
like specimens from the various strata of the earth's crust similarly laid out
in a museum, and pieced together by the hands of a master in geology, the
oneness of the source whence sprang the many systems of religion of
ancient times is made manifest, as are the corruptions which in later ages
have crept into the Church of the primitive Christians." — Arbroath Guide.
" This is a book of literary curiosities — of laborious researches and in
genious discourses. ... A more able exposure of the abominations of
Romanism has not appeared since the days of Luther. . . . Our author
has evidently received a commission to apostate Rome similar to that of
Ezekiel to apostate Jerusalem ; and he has executed it with equal fidelity."
— Mr. Spurgeon, in Sword and Trowel.
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