ARYAN SUN-MYTHS

T H E

O R IG IN O F R ELIGIO N S

WITH AN IN T R ODU C TION BY

CH AR LES M OR R IS

AUT H OR OF A M AN U AL OF CLAS S ICAL LIT ERAT U R E ,

”AN D T H E

AR Y AN R ACE : I'rs OR IGIN AND IT S ACH IEVEM EN T S .

”

T R OY ,N .Y .

N IM S A N D KN IG H T

1 8 89

P R E F A C E.

T H E attention of th e writer having been cal led to

the fact that all Indo-German i c nations have wor

shipped crucified S aviours,an investigat ion of the sub

jcet was made . Overwhelming proof was obtained

that the sun-myth s of the ancien t Aryans were the

origin of the rel igions in all of the countries which

were peopled by the Aryans . T he S aviours wor

sh ipped in these lands are person ifications of the

S un,the ch ief god of the Aryans . T hat Pagan

nations worshipped a crucified man,was adm i tted by

the Fathers of the early Christian Church . T he holy

Father M inucius Felix, i n his Octavius, wri tten as

late as A . D. a n,indignantly resents the supposi tion

that the sign of‘

the cross should be considered as

exclusively a Christian symbol and represents h i s

advocate of the Christ ian argument as retorting on

an infide l opponen t thus : “ As for the adoration of

crosses , which you obj ect to aga inst us, I must tel l

you that we neither ado re c rosses nor desire them .

You i t is, ye Pagans , who worsh ip wooden gods , who

6

are the most l ikely peop le to adore wooden crosses ,as being parts of the same substance with your dei

ties . For what else are your ensigns,flags

,and

standards , but crosses gilt and beautified ? Your

Victorious trophies not only represent a s imple cross ,but a cross with a man upon i t.” T ertull ian

,a

Christian Father of the second and third centuries,

writing to the Pagans,says : “ T he origin of your

gods is derived from figures moulded on a cross.

All those rows of images on your standards are

the appendages of crosses 3 those hangings on your

standards and bann ers are the robes of crosses

(Egyptian Belief, p . Arrian , i n his Aristory 0/Alexander , states that the tr00ps of Porus

,in their

war with Alexander the Great,carried on the ir

standards the figure of a man . Justin Martyr, i n

his Dialogue with T rypho, says that there exist

not a people,Civi l ized or semi-civi l ized , who have

not offered up prayers in the name of a crucified

S aviour to the Father and Creator of all things .

Eusebius,the ecclesiastical historian , says that th e

names of Jesus and Chris t were both known and

honored among the ancien ts (E a t. Ifi st , l ib . i . chap .

We find S aint Paul avowing that he was m ade

a minister of the gospel,which had been preached

to every creature under heaven (Col. i . For

cen tur ies afte r the tim e assigned as the birth of Jesus,

7 .

he was not represented as a man on a cross . T he

earl iest representation of h im was as a lamb (H istoryof our Lera

’in Art

,Vol . T his custom continued

unti l the pon tificate of Agathon (A. D . during

the reign of Constantine Pogonatus. By the S ixth

S ynod of Constantinople (Canon i t was ordained

that instead of the ancien t symbol which had been

the lamb,the figure of a man nai led to a cross

should be represented . All this was confirmed by

Pope Adrian I . (Dupuis’s Or igin of R eligious Belief;

p . 25 2 3 a lso Higgins’s Anaea iypsis, Vol . I I . p .

T he writer makes no cla im to original ity,except

ing in the arrangement of thi s work . T he endeavor

has been s imply to condense what has been obta ined

from other works .

T he original intention was to give a brief sketch,

with an appended l ist of works from which the mate

rial was taken ; but on making an addition to the

book i t was deemed best to give references . T he

references for the origina l sketch wil l be found at

the end of the book .

T he writer has been favored in having an Introduc

tion by one so familiar with the subj ect as Mr. Charles

Morris, author of Tae A ryan R ace.

BOS T ON, February, 1889.

TABLE OF CONTENT S .

PAGE

LIS T OF BOOKS CONS U LT ED o

. 2 1

ARY AN S U N -M Y T HS T H E ORIGIN OF RELIGIONS

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

Reference Notes

Index

I47

1 53

1 58

1 59

I66

I7O

189

IN T RODU CT ION .

IT s e em s , at fi rs t glance , re m arkab l e w i th

what read in ess th e T e u ton i c and C e l t i c t ribe s

d ro pp ed th e i r ances tra l fa i th s and ac cep te d

Ch ris t ian i ty , now th ro ugh th e p e rs uas i o ns of a

m i ss i o nary, now at th e b idd ing of a ch i e f. Bu t

a fu l l e r s tu d y of th e s ubje c t rend e rs th e u nu sua leas e of th is co nve rs i o n m u ch l ess su rp ris ing, by

m ak i n g i t apparen t that th ey rath e r add ed th e

l ead ing dogm as of Ch ri s tian i ty to th e i r old

fa i th s than rep laced th e latte r by th e fo rm e r .T h ey cease d to wo rsh ip Od i n and th e l ess e r

d e i ti e s , and b egan to wo rsh ip Ch ris t , th e V i rgin ,and th e sai n ts ; bu t th e y inves te d th e latt e r w ith

many of th e a tt r ib u te s of th e fo rm e r , re ta i n e d

m os t of th e i r old re l igi o u s dogm as and c e re

m on ies , and co nve rte d p ri m i t ive Ch ri s t ian i ty

qu i t e as mu ch as th ey were conve rte d by i t.T he conve rs i o n was, i n d eed , as much a change

o f names as of be l i e fs . T ho ugh the e th i cs of

Ch ris t ian i ty s l ow ly l eaven ed th is swarm ing m as s

of barbar i s m , th e th eo logy of th e new fa i th

1 2

b ecame so c l ose ly i nte rwove n with that of th e old

that i t i s not easy to th is day to separate th em .

T he n in ete en th- cen tu ry c ri t i ca l s tudy of rel i

gious bel i efs and th e p ro gress of th e s c ie nce of

compa rat ive m y tho lo gy have gone far towards

c l earing u p th is m ys te ry of th e pas t, and are

l ead ing th e way to a s c i en ce of comparat ive

th eo logy , as s tud ents b reak th ro ugh th e art ifi cia l

barri e r of sacredn ess wh ich has b een ra is e d

a ro und th is or that sys tem of be l ief, and dare

to qu esti o n where o lde r s tu dents d eemed i t th e i r

d u ty to ado re . I t i s b e i n g m o re and more

wide ly h e ld that no b e l i ef can b e sac red , that all

fa i th m us t res t e i th e r u po n evidenc e or b l ind

accep tance , and that th ey who bas e th e i r b e l i e f

u p on a s tu dy of fac ts are far sup er io r i nte l

lectually , and ce rta i n ly e qua l m o ral l y , to thos e

who accep t dogmas u p on au th o ri ty . Fa i th has

been cove re d w ith a ve i l wh i ch i t was d eclare d

imp io us to l ift , and th e ve ry wo rd exal ted in to a

k ind of m agi c fo rm u la , which was d eem ed powerful enough to move m ounta i ns . Bu t What i s

fa i th , c ri t i ca l l y co ns ide red ? I t i s e i th e r an un

qu esti on ing acc ep tance of th e ass e rtio ns of an

c i en t books and mode rn teach e rs , wh ich th e

reaso n ing p owe rs of th e i nd iv idua l are au tocratically fo rb idden to d ea l w i th ; or i t i s a

be l i ef reached th rou gh doubt and qu esti o n,

I3

th e p e rs i s te n t s tu d y of facts and th e fu l l es t

exe rc is e of th e in te l l e c t . ln th e latte r case i t i s

th e actua l be l i e f of th e i nd iv i dua l ; i n th e fo rm e r,th e b e l i ef of s o m ebo dy e ls e , wh i ch has b ee n

ins ti l l ed i n to th e re cep ti v e m ind of th e d is c ip l e ,and b efo re whos e sac redne s s ev e ry i n tru s iv e

d o ub t and i rre co n c i lab l e fac t m us t bow th e

h ead in wo rsh ip .

T h is d ogm a i s a re l i c of th e Dark Ages . It

i s bas ed u p o n th e gen e ra l igno rance wh i ch p re

va i l e d i n anc i e n t c o m mun i t i e s and th e i r re s tfu l

d ep ende n ce up o n th e su p e rio r l earn ing of th e i r

teach e rs . It i s u tte rly out of acco rdance wi th

th e gen e ra l ed u cat i o n of mode rn p eop l es , and

th e s p i ri t o f res ea rch wh i ch i s now eve rywh e re

act i v e , and wh i ch i s far too v igo ro u s to b e re

pelled by th e h ighes t fen c e of th eo logi ca l

i n te rd i c t .

T he s tu dy of th e m yth o l ogi ca l s y s te m s o f

anc i en t nat io ns has rev eal e d m any cu ri o u s and

u n lo oked - for fac ts and c o rre sp o nden c es . It has

be en m ad e appare n t , i n th e fi rst p lac e , that th o se

mytho lo gies had th e i r o rigi n i n p ri m i t iv e i d eas

abo u t th e m ovem ents of th e h eaven ly bod i es ,th e var iat i o n s of day and n igh t , s u mm e r and

wi n te r , and o th e r na tu ra l p h eno m ena , wh ic h

we re i n t im e , th ro ugh th e m od ifi cat io n of h uman

ideas , t ransfo rm ed in to th e d o ings of a th ro ng

I4

o f de ific b e ings . T he wo rsh ip p e rs d id not know

wh ence cam e th e i r go ds . W e , who can ap

p roach th e subj e c t w i tho u t p rej u d ic e and big

o t ry, and to whom my tho logy has ceas ed to b e

sacred , can eas i l y t race th e i r o ri gi n , and p o in t

out nearl y eve ry s tep of th e i r u nfo ld ment . It

has becom e evid ent , i n th e s econd p lace , that a

c lo s e affin ity ex i s ts betwe en th e my tho l ogi cal

i deas of d iffe re nt and o fte n w id ely s ep ara ted

countri es,th e res emblance extend ing not on ly

to th e i r b roade r featu res , bu t i n s o m e case s to

th e i r m ino r d e ta i l s of dogm a and b e l i ef. T h is

co rresp onden ce i n b e l i ef i s u ndoub ted ly du e to

two cau ses ; p rimari l y to th e fac t that th e s tep s

of unfo ldm ent of th e h uman in te l l e c t and th e

growth of i d eas hav e be en c lo s e ly s im i la r i n all

c iv i l i z in g p eop l es ; and s e co nd ly to th e inte r

c o u rs e of t rib es a nd nat i o ns , and th e o u tflow of

i d eas ove r th e earth,by th e s eve ra l m ethods of

p eacefu l in te rchange of v i ews , warl ik e conques t

and fo rc ib l e co nve rs ion , and p ropagand ism by

m iss io nary efforts . T h es e va ri o u s influ ences

h ave t ended to b ring i n to som e d egre e of con

fo rm ity th e re l i gio u s sys tem s not onl y of

Eu ro p e , As ia , and A fri ca , bu t a ls o those of th e

Old and th e N ew W o rld , between wh ich som e

communicat io n ve ry p robably ex i s t ed i n anc i en tt i m es .

IS

T he p rim ary re l igi o u s i d eas o f all p eo p l e s

w e re u ndoubted ly m u ch th e same . T he un

qu esti o n ed su p remacy o f th e su n among th e

h eaven ly bod i es , th e s triki ng changes to wh i ch

i t was s ubj e c ted i n th e variat i o n fro m day to

n igh t, and from s u mm e r to winte r ; i ts l ife

, gi v i ng beneficence , and i ts s e e m ing s t ruggl e

w i th th e d em ons of s to rm and co l d ; not o n ly

eve rywh e re exa l te d th is h eaven ly b ody into th e

pos it i o n of k ing of th e gods i n eve ry s ystem of

natu re—wo rsh ip ,b u t gave ris e to nu m ero u s

m y ths , wh ich n e c essari ly i n so me m easu re cor

resp ond ed , s in c e th ey were eve rywh ere bas ed on

th e same ph eno m ena of natu r e . It i s t ru e tha t

natu re -wo rsh ip was not th e so l e p rim i t ive re l i

gious co ncep ti o n of m ank ind . Va ri o u s o th e r

genera l i d eas m ad e th e i r way i n to and influ

enced sys tem s o f be l i e f, p ro m in en t among th es e

b e ing th e cu sto m of ances to r wo rsh ip , wh i ch

w ide ly , p e rhap s u n ive rsa l ly,p reva i l e d i n d e

velop ing nat i o ns,and exe rted a vigo ro u s in

fluence u po n u nfo ld ing re l igi o n s . M y th o l ogy,

howeve r , o ccup i es th e m os t p rom in en t p os it i o n

i n th e growth of re l igi o u s b e l i e fs . An ces tra l

and o th e r syste m s o f wo rsh ip have i nflu en c ed

re l igi o u s p ract i ce and ce remony to a m arked

exten t , bu t have had much l es s to do wi th th e

growth of dogm a than th e i n tri cat e d e ta i l s o f th e

16

h is to ry of th e gods , to wh ich th e num e ro u s

p henom ena o f natu re gave r is e . Ove r re l i gio u s

b e l i e f th e su n has exe rc is ed a dom inant in

fluence , and s ti l l fa i n tly y et d is ti n gu ishab ly

sh in es th ro ugh th e most opaque ly obscu re of

modern th eo lo gi ca l d ogmas .

T he wo rk to wh ich I am grat ifi ed i n b e ingre qu ested to app end th es e intro ducto ry remarks

‘

,

i s d es ign ed to p o in t out i n d e tai l th e co rre

spondences of re l i gi o us do gm a to wh ich I have

a l lu ded . H ow wel l or i l l i t d o es so m ay b e l eft

for read e rs to d ec i d e ; bu t as a reade r havings om e p revio u s ac qua i n tance with th e subj e c t

,

I sh ou ld say that i t has done so remarkabl y

we l l, and that i t wou ld not b e easy to m ak e a

s tro nge r , fu l l e r , and c l eare r p res entat i o n o f th e

facts i n so l i m i te d a sp ace . T he subj e c t i s one

worthy of a much m o re exte nded treatm ent .

T he o n ly bone o f con tenti o n i n th e wo rk i s

i ts i nc l u s ion o f th e d ogmas o f Ch ris t ian i ty

among mytho l ogi ca l o u tgrowths . And ye t

v e ry few of th es e dogmas are th e d i re c t fru i t

of Ch ris t’s teach ings . Ve ry m any o f th e m are

th e wo rk o f late r th eo logians , who were in

fluenced both by th e i r own re l i gio us educa t i o n

and th e d em ands of th e i r co ngregati o ns . Ch ri s

tian ity aro se among th e J ews , a p eop l e whose

re l igi o u s sys te m had n eve r b een s tro ngly m y th

I7

o logi cal , and had b ecom e m u ch l es s so i n the

co u rs e of t i m e . Bu t th e new do ctri n e was not

accep ted by th e J ews . It fo u nd i ts ch i ef con

ve rts among p eop l es of A ryan o rigi n , the

Gre eks , th e R om ans , th e T e u to ns , th e C e l ts ,e tc . ,

— p eop l e s among whom mytho logy had

becom e ext rao rd ina ri l y d eve lo p ed , and whom

i t was s im p ly i mp oss ib l e to co n ve r t i n a mass

to radical ly new i d eas . T hey ac cep te d Ch ris t

and h is m o ra l t each ings , wi th th e sk i l fu l ly o rgan

iz ed chu rch sy s tem of th e p rim i ti v e Chris t ians ;bu t th e i r o l d e r m y tho logi ca l b e l i e f was not wo rn

as a c loak to b e th rown o ff at wi l l , bu t was

rath e r a p lan t whos e ro o ts had p ene trat e d to

eve ry fib re of th e i r be ings , and had b ecom e an

i n tim at e part of th e textu re o f th e i r m i nds . It

s t ro ngly i nflu en c e d th e m ost l earn ed am ongth em W i th th e u n l earn ed i t co nt i nu ed th e

p re va l e n t s ys tem of b e l i e f, and i ns i nuat e d its e lf

i n to th e dogmas of th e new ch u rch w ith a powe r

imposs ib l e to re s is t . It may b e rep eate d that

th e C h r is tian th eo logy of to-day was not b o rn

w ith Ch ris t and h is apost l es . Its growth was

s low. T radit i o ns aro s e , part ly bas ed on old

myth s , part ly on m iscon cep ti o ns of Ch ri st ’s l i fe

and t each ings , wh ich affe c ted eve n th e wri te rs

of th e s eve ra l l ive s o f Ch ris t, and mo re s tro ngl y

tho s e who we re farth e r re m oved fro m Ch ri s t .

1 8

Fro m th e ve ry s tar t l egendary dogmas of myth

o lo gi ca l o ri g in s e em to have ari s en i n th e new

chu rch , to have b eco m e th e fi rm b e l i efs of

congregati o ns , and to have affec te d th e m inds

of th eo logians m uch m o re than th ey th emse lves

were aware of. And as th e new fa i th s p read

th rou gh th e wo rl d , i t b ecame mo re and more

imbued wi th old thou gh t , u nti l m ytho lo gy be

came th e woof of that sys tem of wh i ch m o ral i tywas th e warp .

C hris tiani ty, p rop erl y cons id e red , i s not a

sys tem of b e l i ef, bu t a sys tem of e th i cs . Chris t

taugh t no cre e d . H is l ife was sp ent i n th e in

culcation of l o fty i d eas of mora l i ty . T he few

dogmas wh ich h e d id asse rt are fu l l of evid ence

of th e influ enc e of th e p re ced ing H eb rew fa i th ,

and were do ub tl ess th e o u tco m e of h is earl y

re l i gio us edu ca t i o n . M any of IN S u tte rances

have b e en to rtu red in to c re eds , bu t few of th em

bear th e i n te rp re tat i o ns that have b e en la i d

u po n th em . H e was a mo ra l t eache r , p u re and

s im p l e , and as an i n cu l cato r of mo ra l i d eas h e

s tands at th e summ it of m anki nd . H is t each ings

are th e s imp l es t and l o fti e s t , h is l ife was th e

nob les t and most s e l f-sacr ific ing, that l i te ra tu re

and h isto ry p resen t to our gaz e . Bu t for th e

d ogm as of Chris tianity h e is not resp ons ib l e .

T hey grew up afte r h is d eath , th ro ugh th e s low

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BO O KS

From i onic/z tlze autlzor nas obta ined inf ormation .

Anacalypsi s G. If iggin s, F R A .S .

An Analysis of Egyptian Mythology j. C . P r i tclzara’

,M D.

An Analysis of the Historical Recordsof Ancient Egypt

An Analysis of Religious Belief Viscoun t Am berly .

Ancient Ecclesiastical History of S ocrates S cholasticus

m er , D .D .

Anc ient Egypt under the Pharaohs jonn Ken r ic/é, M A .

Ancient Fa i ths and Modern T /zonzas l um an ,AID.

Ancient Fa i ths embodied in AncientNames Tnomas Inman , M D.

An cient Pagan and Modern Christ ianS ymbol ism Tnonzas Im n a n

, M D.

Ancient S ymbol WorshipAntiqu i t ies of Mexico Lor ri K

'

z'

rigsoorozcgn.

Antiqu ities of the Jews Fla z'iusjosepnus.

Asiatic Researches Asiatic S ociety .

Assyrian DiscoveriesBell’s New PantheonBible Myths T . IcVzlliazn Doane.

B iographies of Words and the Homeof the Aryas

Buddha and Early B uddh ism A r t/zu r L illie.

Buddh ism f] . T itcom b, D .D.

22

Chips from a Germ an WorkshopChristianity in Ch ina , T artary, and

T h ibet E . R . If uc.

Cory’

s Ancient Fragmen ts of the Phoen ician , Carthaginian , Babylonian,Egyptian, and other Au thorsC urious Myths of the M iddle AgesDarwinism in MoralsEastern MonachismEgyptian Belief and Modern T hought f am es Bon n/ice.

Egyptian Mythology and EgyptianChristianityEncyclopaedia Bri tannicaEvidence as to Man

’s Place in Nature

Fai ry T ales : T heir Origin and MeaningFusangGod in HistoryHebrew and Christian RecordsHindu ismHistory of An cient S anscri t Li teratureHistory of ChinaHistory of Cornel ius T acitus C . T aci tu s.

History of HerodotusHistory of HindostanHistory of ou r Lord in Art M rs. jameson and

History of the Conflict betweenRel igionand S cience W

'. Draper , D .D

History of the Conquest of MexicoHistory of the Decl ine and Fall of theRom an EmpireHistory of the Doctrine of the Dei ty ofJesus Christ

E dwa rd Giooon .

Tnomas II. If uxley,

F R E L S .

f . T . Bunce.

C/za rles G. Lela nd .

C. K non Bu nsen .

f . A . Giles.

M on ier VVzl/iams,M A

2 3

India,Ancient and Modern

India , W hat can i t T each us ? [Wax M uller .

Indian Antiqu ities T /zonza s M zu r ice.

Indian W isdom [li on ier I/Vzlliams,M A.

Koran T r an s. by G. S ale.

Lectures on the History of the JewishChu rch Dean S tanley.

Lectures on the Origin and Growth of

ReligionL mtures on the Origin and Growth ofReligionLectures on the Pentateuch and Moabite S toneLectures on the S cience of LanguageL ife and Rel igion of the HindoosMan’

s Earliest History.

Manual of BuddhismManual of MythologyMonumental Christianity j. P . Lnn a

’

y .

Mysteries of Adoni S . E Du n lap .

Mythology among the Hebrews Igna z Goldz iner .

Mythology of Ancient Greece and ItalyMythology of the Aryan Nation S i r George W Cox .

Myths and Myth-Makers f o/zn Fzsé e.

Myths and Rites of the British Dru ids E dwin Davis.

Myths of the Middle Ages R ev. S . Ba r ing-Gould .

Myths of the New World Dan ielBr in ton .

New Researches in Ancient H istoryNorthern Antiqu i tiesOrienta l Rel igions S am uelf obn son .

Persia Fr eder ick S nooerl.

Preh istoric T imes S i r jo/zn Lubbock.

Prim it ive Cul ture Edward /Bu rnett Tylor .

Prolegomena of the History of R e

ligion Aloer t Ee’

ville.

P . Le P age Een ozgf.

j. W Colen so, D.D.

j. C. Gangooly .

R ic/la rd Owen .

24

Religions of IndiaResearches into the Early History of

Mankind

n a Cher-rol-pa ,T hibetan version of

the S anskrit Lal i ta-v istara Foucaux

R ig-Veda-S anh i ta

Rom an An tiqu itiesS od , the S on of the M an S . F . Dunlap .

T a les of Ancient GreeceT aylor’s Fragments C/za r les T aylor .

T he Ancient CityT he Angel-Messiah of Buddhists

,Es

senes, and Christians E rnest de Bu nsen .

T he Aryan RaceT he Celtic Dru ids G. H igg ins,T he Chaldean Account of Genesis George S m itlz .

T he Ch inese f . F. Davis.

T he Christ of Pau lT he Descent of M an C/za rles Darwin .

T he Devi l : his Origin , Greatness, andDecadence

T he Diogesis

T he Epistle of Polycarp to the Philipp ians

T he Essenes . C .D.

T he First Book of H erm as

T he Gnostics and their RemainsT he Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus

T he Great C ities of the Anc ient WorldT he Heathen Rel igionT he Legend of S am sonT he Legends and T heories of the

BuddhistsT he Life of Christ F. W Farra r .

2 5

T he Life of Constantine E usebius.

T he Life of Jesus Critically Exam ined David S trauss.

T he Light of Asia E dwin Ar nold .

T he Li ly of Israel . L’

Abbe‘ Gerbet.

T he Martyrdom of Jesus of N azareth Dr . I. M Wi re.

T he Origin and Developm ent of R eligious Belief

T he Origin of All Religious Worship Cnarles F . a n is.

T he Poem s of ZEschylus T r . by R . P otter,M A .

T he Principles of S ociology H erber t Spen cer .

T he Protevangelion P rotevangelion Apoc.

T he Races of M an Osca r P escbel.

T he Rel igion of the Ancient Greeks enes.

T he Religions of the World F . D . M au r ice.

T he RosicruciansT he S acred Anthology M D . Conway .

T he S cience of ReligionT he S ecret of the EastT he S erpent S ymbol E . G. S qu ire.

T he S trat ification of LanguageT he S ymbol ical Language of AncientArt and Mythology

T he Vishnu Purana T rans. by H If . I/Vilson .

T ravels in‘ Georgia , Persia, etc. S i r R . K P or ter .

T ree and S erpent Worship f ames

T ypes of MankindU panishadsVestiges of the S piri t-History of M an S . F Dunlap .

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28

that they saw or touched or heard,a l ife which was

l ike the ir own in its consciou sness, i ts j oys , and i tssufferings . T he varying phases of that l ife we retherefore described as truthfu l ly as hum an fee l ingsor suffe r ings

,and hence eve ry phase became a pict

ure , which rem ained in tel l igible as long as the conditions rema ined unchanged . In t ime

,however

,the

condi t ion s were changed . M en advanced in knowledge and civi l ization

,and no longer thought of

nature as possess ing life and consciousness l ikethe ir own .

In ancien t times there l ived,i t i s supposed on the

h ighest e levat ion of Centra l Asia,a n oble race of

men, ca l led the Aryan . S peaking a language not

yet S anskrit,Greek

,or German

,but contain ing the

d ialects of all,th i s clan wh i ch had advanced to a

state of agricultu ra l c ivi l izat ion had recogn i zedthe bonds of blood

,and san ctioned the bonds of

marr iage . T hat they worsh ipped Nature,

the

sun , moon , sky , ea rth,— a comparison of ancien t

rel igions and mythology in the lands peopled byAryans

,demonstrates. T heir ch i e f object of adora

t ion was the S un . T o th i s race,i n the infancy of i ts

civil i zation,the S un was not a m e re lum inary

,bu t a

Creator, Ruler, Preserver, and S aviour of the world .

As the re could be no l ife o r vegetat ion wi thoutl igh t

,the S un ,

as a l ight-bringer,becomes Creator

,

and if Creator, then Rule r of the world—theFathe r of all th ings . In d riving away the darkness

,and l ikewise in fe rt i l i zing the earth , the S un

29

becomes the preserver and kind protector of all

l iving th ings—the S aviour of mankind . As the S unsom etim es scorches and withers vegetat ion and driesup the r ivers

,he was conce ived of as a Destroyer

al so . As Creator,Preserver, and Destroyer the S un

was three pe rsons in one—the T r in ity.

I t is very hard for man at the present day to rea li ze the feelings with which the firs t dwel lers onearth looked upon the S un “ T h ink of man

,

” saysProfessor M iiller,

“at the dawn of time . Was

not the sunrise to him the first wonder,the first be

ginning to him of all reflection,all thought

,all phi

losophy ? Was i t not to hi m the first revelation,the

first begin ning of all trust,of all re l igion

T he Aryans looked up to the sky and gave it thenam e of Dyaus

,from a root-word which mean s to

sbine ; When , out of the forces and form s of nature ,they fashioned other gods

,this nam e of Dyaus be

cam e Dvaus Pitar,— the Heaven-Father

,or All

Father. T he earth they worshipped as the Motherof Al l .T hey sa id that the S un was the S on of the S ky, or

the Heaven-Fa ther, and that the imm aculate vi rgin,

the Earth (som etimes i t was the dawn or the n ight) ,was the Mothe r of the S un . Hence we have theVirgin , or Vi rgo , as one of the sign s of the zodiac.As the S un begin s i ts apparent annua l northward

journey on the twen ty-fi fth of December,this day

was said to be his birthday,and was observed with

great rej oicings . On thi s day the s ign of the Virgin

3 0

i s ris ing on the easte rn horizon,the S un having

reached the win te r solsti ce .T he division of the fi rst decan of the Virgin rep

resents a beautiful immaculate virgin wi th flowinghai r

,sitting in a cha i r

,with two ears of corn in her

hand,and suckl ing an infant ca l led Iesus (Jesus in

Lat in) , by som e nat ions , and Christ in Greek (fromthe Greek Ch ri stos

,an Anointed One , a Messiah) .

T h i s infant denotes the S un ,wh i ch at the moment

of the winte r solstice,precise ly when the Persian

m agi d rew the horoscope of the new year,was placed

on the bosom of the Virgin . (S ee APPENDIX A. )T he zodiacal sign of Aries was anc iently known

as the Lamb ; con sequen t ly, wh en the S un made thetransi t of the equinox under th is s ign , i t was cal ledthe Lamb of God .

T he bi rth of the S un was said to be hera lded by astar—the Morning-star

,wh i ch rises immediate ly

before the Virgin and h e r Ch i ld . As the S un

appears to start from a dark abode,i t was sa id that

he was born in a cave,or dungeon

,and the splen

dor of the morning sky was said to be the ha loaround his cradle . As the S un scatte rs the darkness

,i t was sa id that he would be the destroye r of

the reigning monarch,N ight. Warned of th is peril

by oracle s,N ight tries to prevent the bi rth of the

S un,and

,fai l ing in that

,seeks to take h i s l ife . For

th i s reason i t is sa id that the S un i s le ft on the bareh i l lside to perish

,as he seem ingly rests on the earth

at his rising. H e meets with temptations on h is

3 1

course,i s beset by foes

,clouds of storm and dark

n ess ; but, i n the struggle which ensues , h e is con

queror, the gloomy army,broken and rent

,i s scat

tered . T he daughters of his foes,the last l igh t

vapors wh ich float i n the heavens , try in va in toclasp and reta in h im

,but he disengages h im se lf

from the i r embraces ; and, as he repulses them ,they

wri the,lose thei r form and vanish . T emptat ions to

sloth and luxury are offered him in vain ; he haswork to do

,and nothing can stay h im from doing it .

He travels ove r many lands , and toi ls for the benefitof others ; he does hard se rvice for a mean and crue lgenerat ion . He is constan tly in company with hisT welve Apostles the twelve sign s of the zodiac .As he approaches m idsummer, he appears in all

his splendor,he has reached the summit of h is

caree r ; henceforth his power dim in ishes, and hemeets wi th an early and a violent death, from whichthe re is no escape . When the extreme southernl im it of his course is reached , h is enem ies—darkn ess and col d , wh i ch have sought in vai n to woundhim—win the victory . T he bright S un of summeris s lain

,crucified in the heavens, and pierced by the

spear (thorn , or arrow) of winter. He who has perform ed such m arve l lous miracle s

,heal ing the s ick

and raising the dead,cannot save him self ; a stern

fate decrees that he must die an ignom in ious death.

As the S un waken s th e earth to l i fe afte r the longsleep of w inter is passed

,i t was sa id that he ra ised

the dead . He is crucified,w i th outstretched a rm s in

3 2

the heavens, —outstretched to bless the wor ld hei s t rying to save from the terro r of darkness

,— to

the tree,o r cross . It was an ancient custom to use

trees as gibbets for crucifixion,or

,if artificia l

,to

cal l the c ross a tree,the tree being on e of the sym

bols of nature-worsh ip,wh i ch denoted the fructify

ing power of the S un . T he S un c rucified was theS un In W i nte r

,when h is fructifying power is gone .

Before the S un dies he sees all h is d iscipleshis retinue of l igh t

,the twelve hou rs of the day or

the twelve months of the year— disappear in thesanguinary me‘lée of the clouds of evening ; but thetender m othe r and the fai r maidens he has lovedthe beautifu l l ights wh ich flush the eastern sky as

the S un s inks in the west—rem a i n with h im ti l lthe las t . T heir tears are the tears of dew. At hisdeath there is darkness over all the land . Hedescends In to H e l l

,or Hades . In ancie n t t imes

Hel l,or Hades

,was a place ne ithe r of reward nor

pun ishmen t,but was s imply the hom e of the dead

,

good and bad al ike,the word prim ari ly sign ifying

noth ing more than the ho l low grave , hole , p i t, cavern , or other receptacle wh ich receives the dead .

By the Aryan s,H ades was supposed to be in the far

we st,wh ich to them was a lways the region of dark

n ess and death,as the e ast was of l igh t and l ife .

On the twen ty-se cond of Decembe r the S un e n te rsthe sign Capricornu s , o r the Goat

,and appears to

rem a in i n the sam e place for th ree days and threen ights , and then begins to ascend . T h i s was sa id

3 3

to be the resurrection of the S un from Hades or thegrave . At the ve rn a l equ inox , at Easte r, the S un

has been be low the equ ator and sudden ly risesabove it. It rise s triumphan t over the powers of

darkness and cold . T he resurrection of the S un

was general ly ce leb rated on the twenty-fifth of

March,when the retu rn of spring m ay be sa id to be

the resul t of the return of the S un ,from the lower

or far-off region s to which i t had departed .

T here we re numerous symbols which were hel das sacred to the S un

,the m ost common be ing the

fish,the lamb

,the cross

,and the serpe n t . T he S er

pent was an emblem of the S un,when represented

with his tai l in his mouth,thus form ing a circl e . He

was an emblem of eternity,when rep resen ted as

casting off h is sk in ; but when represented w i th hisdeadly sting, he was an emblem of evi l . Whenrepresented as crucified on the tree (cross) , the S erpent denoted the S un i n winte r

,when it has lost its

fruct ifying power.T he Aryan s observed various rites and ce remonies

,

among them being Baptism and the sacram en t of theEucharist . Indeed

,the doctrine of T ransubstan ti

at ion is one of the most ancient of doctrines . Baptism was held to be a regenerating rite ; and rivers ,as sources of ferti l i ty and purificat ion

,were at an

early date invested with a sacred characte r. Eve rygreat rive r was supposed to be pe rmeated with th edivine essence

,and i ts wate rs held to cleanse from

mo ra l gu i l t and con tam ination .

3 4

T he doctrin es of Original S in and the Fal lenCondition of M an were n ot unknown to th e prim itive Aryan

,who

,i n order to propi t iate h is gods

,

atone for sin s,or ave rt calam ities

,offe red sacrifices

to them . When m en l ived mostly on vegetables,

they offe red grain,sal t

,fru its

,wate r

, and flowe rs ;but when they began to eat meat and spices

,and

drink wine,they offered these also

,—natural ly sup

posing that the gods would be pleased with whateverwas useful or agreeable to m en .

In the cou rse of time it began to be im aginedt hat the gods d emanded someth ing more sacred as

offerings,or atonemen ts

,for sin . T h i s led to the

sacrifice of human be ings,at fi rst of slaves and

those taken in war, and final ly of the ir own ch i ldren,

even the i r most be loved and fi rst-born . I t came tobe an idea that eve ry sin must have its prescribedamount of pun i shmen t , and that the gods wouldaccept the life of one pe rson i n atonement for thesins of others . From th i s arose a bel ief i n theredemption from sin by the sufferings of a DivineIn carnation

,by death on the cross, or othe rw ise .

Branches of the Aryan race migrated to the eastand to the west. One of the offshoots, at the west ,founded the Persian kingdom ; another bu i l t Athensand Lacedmmon

,and became the Greek nation ; a

thi rd went on to I taly,and reared the city on the

seven h i l l s,wh i ch grew in to imperial R ome . A dis

tan t colony of the same race excavated the silve rmines of preh istoric S pain ; and the first gl impse at

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3 6

that is,the re lation between the S un and the

earth,the succession of day and night

,of summer

and winter,of storm and calm

,of cl oud and tempest

,

of golden sunshine and bright blue sky.

A few of the Aryan nations have preserved intheir ancient poetry some rem nants of the n atura lawe with which the earl ier dwel le rs on the earth saw

the bril l iant sun “ slowly rise from out the darknessof the n ight

,ra is ing itself by its own might higher

and h igher, ti l l i t stood triumphant on the arch of

heaven , and then descended and sank down in itsfiery glory, into the dark abyss of the heaving and

hissing sea .

” One of these nation s is the H indoo.

In the hymns of the Veda the poet sti l l wonderswhether the S un wil l rise aga in ; and asks how hecan cl imb the vault of heaven

,why he does not

fal l back,why there i s no dust on hi s path .

It is to these Vedic hymns—wri tten , i t i s said ,from one thousand to fiftee n hund red years beforethe Christian era— that we must go for the developmen t wh ich changes the S un from a me re lum inaryinto a Creator, Prese rver, Ruler, and Rewarder ofthe world—in fact

,into a Divine or S upreme B e ing.

T hese hymns con ta i n the germ -story of the Virginborn God and S aviour, the great benefactor of m an

kind,who is finally put to death , and rises aga in to

l ife and immo rtal ity on the th i rd day.

In the S anskrit Dictionary , compi led more thantwo thousand years ago, we find a ful l accoun t of the

incarnate de ity Vishnu, who appeared in human form

3 7

as C rishna . Vishnu,being moved to rel ieve the

ea rth of her load of m ise ry and s in,cam e down

from heaven , and was born of the vi rgin Devaki , on

the twen ty-fifth of December. (S ee NOT E

H is birth was announced in the heavens by hisstar, and a chorus of Devatas celebrate d , w ith song,the pra ise of Devaki . “ T he spi ri ts and nymphs ofheaven danced and sang ; and at m i dn ight , whenthe S upport of All was born , the clouds em itted low,

pleas ing sounds , and poured down ra i n of flowe rs .”

T hough of royal descent (he was of the Yadaval ine

,the oldest and noblest of India) he was born

in a cave,his mother be ing on a j ourney with his

foster-father, on the ir way to the city, to pay h isyearly tribute or tax to the k ing.

At Crishna’

s birth the cave was bri l l iantly i l lum in ated

,and the faces of his father and mothe r

emitted rays of glory .

T he divine ch i ld was re cogn ized by cowherds,

who prostrated themselves before h im . He wasrece ived with divine honors

, and presented withgifts of sandal-wood and pe rfumes . S oon afte r hisbirth he was visited by the holy prophet N ared

,

who had heard of the fame of the infan t . N ared

examined the stars,and declared C rishna to be of

celestial descent.C rishn a

’s foster-father was warned by a heavenly

voice to fly with the child to Gokul,

across theRiver Jumna

,as the re ign ing monarch , Kansa

,

sought his life . When the R iver Jumna was

3 8

reached,the wate rs respectful ly retired on each

s ide,to m ake way for the transportation of the

ch i ld . On the m ost an cien t H indoo temples are

sculptured represen tations of the fl ight at m idnight,

wi th the infant saviour Crishna.

In o rde r to destroy C rishna,Kansa ordered the

m assacre of all the m a le infan ts born in h i s realmduring the n igh t on wh i ch C rishn a was born . T he

story of the s laughtered infants is the subj ect of an

immen se scu lpture in the cave-temple Of Elephan ta .

T he fl at roof of th i s cavern-temple , and eve ry otherci rcum stance connected with i t , prove s that i ts o riginmust be refe rred to a very remote epoch

,hundreds

of years before our e ra .

C rishna was p receded by Rama,who was born a

short tim e before h i s bi rth and whose l ife was alsosought by Kan sa .

It is sa id that C rishna aston ished his teachers byhis precociou s w i sdom . Var ious m i racles are re latedas occurring in his ch i ldhood

,som e of them being

sim i lar to those related of the ch i ldhood of JesusChris t in the Apocryphal New T e s tament .One Of C rishn a

’

s first m i racles,in h is m aturity

,

was the heal ing of a leper. H e restored the ma imed,

the deaf,and the bl ind ; be healed the sick and

raised the dead ; he supported the weak aga inst thest rong

,and the oppressed aga in st the powe rfu l . T he

Hindoo sacred books teem with accounts of the

miracles he pe rfo rm ed . T he people crowded hispath and adored him as a god .

3 9

H ehad twelve favorite disciples who accompanied

him on h i s m iss ionary travels.

At one tim e a poor lame woman came with a vesse l fi l led with spi ces

,sweet-sce nted oils , sanda l

wood,saff ron

,cive t , and other perfum es , and

,

making a s ign on C rishna’

s forehead , poured theconten ts of the vesse l upon his head .

He was i n constant strife with the Evi l One inthe ear ly part of his ministry ; but he overcame theT empte r

, and i s represented as bruis ing the head of

the serpent and standing upon him .

“He was the meekest and best-tempered of

beings .” “ He preached ve ry nobly and sublimely. He was pure and chaste in real i ty ; and

,as

a lesson of humility, he even condescended to washthe feet of the Brahmans .”

C rishna had a be loved disciple,Arjuna

,before

whom he was transfigured, and to whom he said“Whate ’

e r thou dost perform , whate’e r thou e atest

,

whate ’e r thou givest to the poor,whate ’er thou

offerest i n sacr ifice,whate ’e r thou doest as an act

of holy presence,do all as if to me

,O Arjuna. I

am the great S age,without beginn ing ; I am the

Rule r and the All-susta i ner .”

Aga in he sa id :“ T hen be not sorrowful ; from all

thy sin s I wi l l de l ive r thee . T hink thou on me,

have fa ith in me,adore and worship m e

,and j oin

thyse lf i n m editation to me thus shalt’

thou come tome , O A rjuna ; thus sha l t thou rise to my suprem eabode , where n e ither sun nor m oon hath need to

4O

shine,for know that all the lustre they posses s is

m in e .” “ I am the cause of the whole unive rse ;th rough m e i t is created and dissolved ; on m e all

th ings with in i t hang and suspend , l ike pearl s upona string .

” I am the l ight in the sun and m oon , far,far b eyond the darkness . I am the b ri l l iancy inflam e, the radiance in all that’s radiant

,and the

l ight of li ghts .” “ I am the susta iner of the wor ld,

its friend and Lord ; I am i ts way and refuge .

” Iam the Goodness of the good ; I am Beginning

,

M iddle,End

,Eterna l T ime , the Birth , the Death Of

All .”

C rishn a was crucified,and is represented with

arm s extended,hanging on a cross

,the na i l-pr ints

being visible in hands and feet,and w ith the spear

wound in h is s ide . One accoun t speak s of h im as

having been shot in the foot with an arrow, by a

hunter,who afte rwards says to h im :

“ H ave pityupon me

,who am consumed by my crime , for thou

art able to consum e m e .

”C rishna repl ies : “ Fear

not thou in the least . Go,hunte r, through my

favor, to heaven , the abode of the gods .”

C rishna descended in to H el l . In three days herose from the d ead and ascended bodi ly into heaven .

All men saw h im,and excla im ed ,

“ Lo'C rishna’s

soul as cends h i s n at ive skies'At h i s death there cam e ca lam ities and om ens of

every kind . A black circle surrounded the m oon , thesun was darkened at noonday ; the sky rained fireand ash es ; flam es burned dusky and l ivid ; demon s

4 1

committed depredat ion s on earth ; at sun rise and

sunset thousands of figures were seen ski rm ishingin the sky

,and sp i r i ts we re Observed on all s ides .

C rishna was the se cond pe rson i n the HindooT rin ity

,

“ the ve ry suprem e B rahm a ; though i t b e a

myste ry how the S uprem e should assum e the formof m an .

”

Vishnu is to come aga i n on earth,in the latte r

days , and wil l appear as an armed warrior,r iding a

winged wh ite horse . At his approach the sun and

moon wil l be darkened , the earth will tremble , and

the stars fal l from the firmamen t. He is to beJudge of the dead , at the last day.

Devaki,the vi rgin mothe r Of C rishn a

,was al so

cal led Aditi , wh ich , i n th e R ig Veda , i s the nam e forthe Dawn . T hu s the legend is explained . Devak ii s Aditi ; Aditi is th e Dawn the Dawn is the Vi rginMother ; and the S aviour of m ankind

,who i s born

of Aditi,i s the S un . Indra

,wo rshipped in som e

parts of India as a crucified god, is represented inthe Vedic hymn s as the son o f Dahana

,who is

Daphn e,a personificat ion of the dawn .

As the S un and all the solar deitie s r ise in the east,

i t i s no cause of wonder t hat Aditi,the Dawn

,came

to be ca l led the Mother of the Bright Gods, the

Vi rgin Mother who gave Birth to the S un,the

Mother wi th Powerful,T e rrible

,with R oyal S on s .

S tatues of C rishna a re to be found in the ve ryoldest cave -temple s throughout India

,and i t has

been proved sati sfactori ly, on the autho ri ty of a

42

passage of Arrian , that the worsh ip of C rishna was

p ractised in the time of Alexander the Great,in a

temp le wh i ch stil l rem a in s one Of th e most famousin India

,—that of Mathu ra

,on the Jumn a River.

C rishna was de ified about th e fourth cen tu ry B . C .,

but the genera l outl ine of h is h i story began , we are

told,wi th the t ime of Home r

,n ine-hundred years

B. C .,or more than a hundred years before Isaiah i s

said to have lived and p rophesied . From the dateOf the second centu ry before our era

,the story of

C rishna was the subj ect of dram at ic represen tationssim i lar to those connected wi th the festivals held inhonor of Bacchus .T he myth s wh ich crystal l i zed around the name of

C rishn a are found in the very earl iest Vedic l i terature,

associated w ith other gods . Indeed, t he Hindooshave had twenty-fou r Avatars, or Divine In carnations . “ Eve ry time

,

”as Vishnu i s represen ted as

saying in the Bbagavad Gitd (the S ong of tbc M ost

“that rel igion is in danger and that iniquity

triumphs , 1 issue forth for the defence of the goodand the suppress ion of the wicked for th e es tablishm ent of just ice I man ifest myself from age to age .

”

T he in carnation of Vishnu is not a transitory man ifestation of the de i ty

,but the presence , at on ce

mystic and real,of the S uprem e Be ing in a human

individual, who is both truly God and truly m an ;

and th is in timate un ion of the two n atures is conce ived of as surviving the death of the indiv idua l i nwhom i t was rea l ized .

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44

leve l of culture,were deeply impressed by two groups

of biologica l problems. In the first place : What isi t that m akes the diff e rence between a l iving and a

dead pe rson ? What causes waking, sleep, trance,disease

,death ? In the second place : What are

those human shapes which appear in dreams and

visions ? “ Looking at the two groups of phenomena

,the ancien t savage ph i losophers ,

” says EdwardBurnett T ylor

,

“ pract ical ly made each help toaccou n t for the othe r

,by combin ing both in a con

ception wh ich we m ay cal l an apparitiona l - sou l ,a ghost-soul .” T o the savage , dreams possess a

real ity wh i ch a civilized man can scarcely appre

ciate . Du ring sleep the spi ri t se em s to dese rt thebody ; and as in dream s other loca l ities and evenothe r worlds appear to be visited

,a part of the

person seems to the savage to possess a separateexistence . T he savage bel ieves the events in hisdream s to be as real as those of his waking hours ,and hence he n atura l ly fee ls that he has a spiri twh ich can quit the body.

T he Hindoos bel ieve in a T riune God : Brahma,

the Fathe r ; Vishnu , the S on ; and S iva, the Destroyer. (S ee NOT E

As man advanced in knowledge,and became

aware of the fact that the S un,al though he appears

to destroy,does not in rea l i ty

,but reconstructs and

regene rates the earth,the th i rd pe rson of the T rin ity

was sa id to be the H oly S pi rit,and was symbol i zed

by the dove . T he second person of the T rin ity

45

came to be cal led the Word,—wisdom

,or Logos

,

i n the Greek .

Brahman i sm from the ve ry earl ie st t imes had itsin it iatory rites

,wh ich included baptism both by im

m ersion and sprinkl ing. Infan t bap tism was prac

tised , the sign of the cross be ing used,and a n ame

be ing given to the ch i ld at that tim e . T he symbolshe ld as sacred by the B rahmans— the c ross

,se r

pent,dove

,m itre

,cros ier

,t riangle

,tripod

,trefoi l

,

key, fish,and sacred heart

,- are n ow venerate d

by Christians,wh i le the teach ings of Brahman ism

are very simi lar to the fam i l iar teachings of the NewT es tam ent. T he following precepts are from Mahabharata

,an Indian epic poem

,written many centurie s

before the Christian era

Conquer a man who never gives by gifts ; subdue an untruthful man by truthfulness ; vanquish an

angry m an by gentleness ; and overcome the evi lm an by goodness .

T o injure none by thought or word or deed,to

give to othe rs and be kind to all— th i s i s the con~

stan t duty of the good . H igh-m inded men del ightin do ing good , without a though t of their own inte rest ; when they confer a benefit on others

,they

reckon not on favo rs in return .

T wo men wil l hereafte r be exa l ted above theheavens—the man with boundless power

,who yet

46

forbears to use it indiscreetly,and he who is not

r i ch,and yet can give .

Just heaven is not so pleased with costly gifts,

offered in hopes of future recompen se,as with the

merest trifle set apart from honest gains and sanctified by fa ith .

T o curb the tongue,and moderate the speech

,i s

held to be the hardest of all tasks . T he words of

h im who talk s too volubly have neither substancenor var i ety .

Even to foes,who visit us as guests, due hospi

tal ity shou ld be disp layed the tree screens with itsleaves the man who fel ls i t.

Before infirm i ties creep o’e r thy flesh

,before de

cay impairs thy strength and mars the beauty of thyl imbs

,—before the Ender

,whose charioteer i s S ick

ness,

.rastes towards thee,breaks up thy fragile

fram e,and ends thy l ife , lay up the only treasure ;

do good deeds ; practise sobriety and se lf-con trol ;amass that weal th wh ich th ieves cannot abstract

,nor

tyrants se iz e,which follows thee at death

,which

never waste s away nor is corrupted .

T h i s is the sum of all true righteousne ss : treatothe rs as thou wou ldst thyse lf be treated . DO no thing to thy ne ighbor wh ich hereafte r thou wouldstnot have thy n e ighbo r do to thee . In caus ing pleas

47

ure or in giving pain,in doing good or injury to

others,in gran ti ng or re fusing a request

,a man

obta ins a prope r rule of action,by look ing on his

ne ighbor as him se lf.

Among the most ancient traditions of the Hindoos i s that of the T ree of L ife, - ca l led S bina , i nS an skri t

,the ju ice of which imparted immor

tal ity. T h is tree was guarded by S pirits .

T hey had a legend Of Paradise which reads as

fol lows :

In the sacred moun ta i n Meru,which is perpetu

a l ly clothed in the golden rays of the S un,and

whose lofty summit reaches into heaven , no sinf ul

man can exist. It is guarded py a dreadf ul dragon .

It i s ado rned with many celestial plants and trees,

and i s wate red byf our r ivers, which thence separateand flow to the four chief d irections .

In the Genesis accoun t i t i s cherubim ‘ whoguarded the Garden of Eden

,and they were sup

posed to be angels ; but we are told,by a recent

writer,that the cherub i s not an ange l but an an i

mal,and a mythologi cal an imal , at that. T he

cherub had the body of a l ion,sometimes the head

of another an ima l o r of a man,and the wings of a

bird . T he cherub that was placed at the Garde n ofEden

,to keep the way of l ife was simply a dragon .

Origen be lieved aright,as i t i s now a lmost uni

versally adm itted , that the stories of the Garden

48

of Eden , the Elysian Fie lds, the Garden of theBlessed , —wh ich we re the abode of the blessed

,

where grief and so rrow cou ld not app roach them,

where plague and s ickness could not touch them,

—were founded on allegory. T hese abodes of

de l ight were far away in the west,where the S un

goes down beyond the bounds o f the earth . T heywere the Golden Islands

,sa i l ing in a sea of blue

tbe burn islzed clouds fl oa ting in thepu re einer . In a

word , tne E lysian Fields a re tbc clouds a t e ven -tide,the

picture be ing suggested by the images drawn fromthe phenomena Of sun set and twil igh t.T he Hindoo legend of the C reation is that S iva

,

as the S upreme Be ing,desired to tempt Brahma

(who had taken human form,and was cal led S way

ambhura — S on of the S e lf-existent) , and for thisreason he dropped from heaven a blossom of thesacred fig

-tree . S wayambhura, instigated by hiswife S atarupa, endeavors to obtain this blossom ,

th inking its possession wi ll rende r him immorta land divine ; but when he has succeeded in doingso

,he is cursed by S iva

,and doomed to m ise ry and

degradation . T he sacred Indian fig-tree is endowed

by both the Brahm ans and the Buddhists with mysterious significance , as the T ree of Knowledge

,or

Intell igence .T he Hindoos have an account of a Deluge simi

lar to the account contained in Genesi s , also an

account of the Babel Confusion of T ongues .T hey have a legend that corresponds to the

49

Hebrew account of Abraham and Isaac , and severa l accou nts of seas and rive rs be ing divided , as

the Red S ea was said to be divide d , for Moses andthe Israe l ites to pass through .

T hey also had their S amson , whose name wasBala-Rama

,the S trong Rama . He was worshipped

at Mutra conj ointly with C rishna ; and the twowere considered as one avatar

,or incarnation of

Vishnu,Vishnu being the S un .

T he H indoo story of S aktideva,whowas swal lowed

by a huge fish and came out unhurt,i s s imi lar to the

Hebrew account of Jonah swal lowed by the wha l e,

which i s undoubtedly a sun-myth,and represents

the S un being swa l lowed up by the earth,

- as i tapparently is when i t sets in the west

,— to be cast

forth by the earth agai n in the morn ing. One of

the names given to the S un was Jona,and the earth

is sometimes represented in mythology as a hugefish . T he three days and three n ights

,mentioned

in the account,represent the S un at the winte r sol

stice,when i t i s apparently stationary for that length

of t ime in the sign Capri cornus .T he Hindoo sacred writings relate many accounts

of the ir Holy Ones being taken up al ive into heaven,

as the Hebrew Elisha was taken,and impress ions

on rocks are shown,as their footprints which last

touched the earth .

Arresting the course of the S un , as Joshua i s saidto have done

,was a common thing among the dis

ciples of Buddha. A holy Buddhist,by the name

50

of Matanga , prevented the S un ,at h is command

,

from rising,and bisected the moon . An Indian

fable relates that the S un stood sti l l to hear thepious ejaculati ons of Arjuna, after the dea th of

C rishn a .

T he Hindoos also have a fable wh ich correspondsto the account of Pharaoh’s two dreams .T he sun-myths final ly cam e to be inte rwoven with

the histories of em inent men,as in the case of the

S akya Prin ce S iddhartha, afterwards cal led Buddha

(the Enl ightened One) , who , the legend says ,“ left

Paradise,and in mercy came down to earth

,because

he was fi l led with compass ion for the sins and mise rie s Of m ankind . He sought to lead them in better pa ths

,and took their suff erings upon himself

,

that he m ight expiate thei r crim es , and mitigate thepun ishmen t they must otherwise inevitably endure .”

Buddha’s Incarnation i s said to have been aecom

plished th rough the agency of the Holy S pirit.Before h i s birth a heavenly messenger appeared in a

d ream to h is virgin mothe r,Maha-Maya

,and said :

“ Behold,thou shal t bring forth a son bearing the

mystic signs of Buddha,a scion of royal l ineage

, a

son of h ighest kings . When he shal l leave h i skingdom and his country to e n te r the state of devot ion , he shal l become a sacrifice for the dwel lers of

earth , a Buddha who to all men sha l l give joy and

the glorious fruits Of immorta l i ty .

”

(S ee NOT ET he immo rtals of the T usita - heaven decide that

Buddha shal l be born when the Flower-star makes

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52

Buddha,before entering upon his mission , meets

the Brahman R udraka,a m ighty preacher

,who

,

however,offers to becom e h is disciple . S ome of

R udraka’

s fol lowers secede to Buddha, but leaveh im when they find that he does not observe thefasts .Buddha retires to the sol itude of U ruvela, and

fasts and prays i n the desert ti l l hunger forces h imto leave h i s retreat . After h is fast, Buddha takesa bath in the river N eranjara . When he leaves thewate r

,purified

,the devas Open the gates of Heaven

,

and cover h im with a shower of fragrant flowers .During Buddha’s fast in the d e sert

,Mara

,the Prince

of Darkness,

approaches h im with promises of

wea lth and earthly glory. Buddha rej ects h is offers,

by quoting passages of the Vedas . T he tempterflees ; angel s desce nd and salute Buddha,Buddha has frequent interviews with two buddhas

who had preceded him . I t i s in the shade of thesacred fig

—tree that the conversion and ordination of

Buddha’s fi rst disciples take place . T hese d iscipleswere previously fol lowers of R udraka . BeforeBuddha appoints a larger number of apostles

,he

selects five favorite disciples,one of whom i s after

ward styled the Pi l lar of the Fa i th ; another,the

Bosom Friend of Buddha. Among the fol lowers of

Buddha there is a Judas,Devadatta

,who tr ies to

destroy his master,and meets with a disgraceful

death .

Buddha al ludes to an inte rview with several

53

former Buddhas . S ceptics question his statement :“ Only forty years ago you left your nat i ve town :how can you cla im to have seen all those sain ts of

old ? ” Buddha expla ins it by the pre-exi stence of

his soul .Buddha walks on the R i ve r Ganges . He heal s

the sick by a mere touch of his han d ; and, according to Wassiljew,

the M ayana-S utra relates the m i ra

cle of the loaves and fishes . Buddha re peated lyhas a miraculous escape from the snares of hisadversaries . “ But he

,going through the m idst of

them,wen t hi s way.

” Once,when riding on his

horse,Kan taka

,h is path was strewn with flowers

thrown down by Devas . Buddha rema ins homele ssand poor

,and instructs h is disciple s to trave l with

out money,trust ing to the a id of Providence . At

one t ime having no money to pay a boatman whorefuses to carry him without pay, Buddha floatsthrough the air across the stream .

T o convert certa in scepti ca l vi l lagers he showedthem a man walking across a deep and rapid rive r,W i thout imm e rsing his feet . A discipl e had his feethacked Off by an unjust k ing, and Buddha curedhim . At his appearance the sick were healed

,the

deaf cured, and the bl ind had thei r s ight restored .

Even h i s di sciples performed m iracles . T he

brother Of one of them being in imminent dange rof sh ipwreck

,in a

“ black storm,

” the fact was madeknown to the discipl e by spiri ts

,and he at once pe r

formed the miracle of transporting himse lf to the

54

deck of the sh ip,when immediate ly the black tem

pest ceased . S eve ra l of Buddha’s disciple s receivedpower to exorcise evi l spirits . T hey a lso had thegift of speaking in foreign tongues .S ome of the fol lowers of Buddha being impris

oned by an unjust emperor,an angel

,or spi ri t

,came

and Opened the prison-door, and li berated them .

It is re lated of one of his fol lowers that his eyeoffended him

,and that he plucked it out and cast it

away.

One day Buddha’s disciple

,Ananda

,afte r a long

walk in the country,m eets with a woman of the low

caste of the Ké‘ mdalas, near a well , and asks her forsome water. S he tel ls him what she is

,and that she

must not come near him . He repl ies,

“My sister,I

ask not for thy caste or thy family ; I ask only for adraught of wate r.” S he afterwards becomes a disciple of Buddha .

It is said that towards the end of his l ife Buddhawas transfigured on Mount Pandava, i n C eylon .

S udden ly a flame of l igh t d e scended upon h im,and

enci rcled the crown of his head with a circle of l ight.His body becam e “ glorious as a bright

,golden

image,

”and shone as the brightness of the S un

and moon .

“His body was divided into threeparts

,from each of which a ray of l ight issued

forth .

”

It is recorded,in the sacred canon of the Buddh

ists,that the mul t itude requ ired a sign from Buddha,

that they might bel ieve.

5 5

Buddha de lighted in representing himself as

merely a l i nk in a long cha in of teache rs .H e taught h is d isciples to h ide thei r good deeds

,

and confess thei r sins before the world , — to lovetruth and hate the l ie . H e also taugh t that all m en

are brothers,that chari ty should be extended to all,

even to enemies,and that the motive of all actions

should be pity or love for one ’s n eighbor. His disciples were told that they must renounce the world ,give up all the ir ri ches

,and embrace poverty .

'In the Buddhist S omadeva is the fol lowing : “ T o

give away our riches is considered the most diffi cultvirtue in the world ; he who gives away his r iches isl ike a man who gives away his l ife ; for our very l ifeseems to cl ing to our riches . But Buddha

,when his

mind was moved by pity, gave lzis life l ike grass , for

the sake of others .”

Buddha i s reported to have said : I now desi reto turn the whee l of the excel lent law. For thispurpose am I going to the city of Benares

,to give

light to those shrouded in darkness,and to Open the

gates of immorta l ity to man .

”

When his career on earth was about coming to aclose

,he

,

“ foresee ing the things that would happenin future times

,

” said to his discipl e Ananda “WhenI am gone

,you m ust not think there is no Buddha

the discourses I have del ivered,and the precepts I

have en j oined,must be my successors, or represent

at ives,and be to you as Buddha .

”

Aga in he sa id : “ T hough the heaven s were to fa l l

56

to earth,and the great world be swal lowed up and

pass away ; though Moun t S umera were to crack topieces

,and the great ocean be d ried up

,yet

,Ananda

,

be assured the words of Buddha are true.”

At the death Of Buddha,the earth trembled

,the

rocks were spl it and phantoms and spirits appeared .

He descended to hel l and preached to the spirits ofthe damned .

When Buddha was buried, tne coverings of the

body unrol led themse lves,the lid of his cofli n was

Opened by supernatura l powers, and he ascendedbodily to the celestial regions . Marks on the rocksof a high moun ta in are shown

,wh i ch are believed

to be the last imprint of his footsteps in thisworld .

He was ca l led the Lion of the T ribe of S akya, the

King of Righteousness , the Great Physician , theGod among Gods, the Only Begotten , the Word

,the

All-wise,the Way, the T ruth , the Life , the Inter

cessor,the Prince of Peace

,the Good S hepherd

,the

Light of the World,t he Anointed

,the Ch rist

,the

Messiah , the S aviour of the World,the Way of

Life and Immortal ity . Indeed in Ceylon the nameof Buddha has twelve thousand synonym s .When the tim e cam e for h im to depart

,he to ld

h i s d isciples to no longe r rem a in toge ther,but to

go ou t in compan i es , and procla im the doctrines hehad taught them

,to found schools and monaste ries

,

build temples,and pe rform acts of charity

,—that

they migh t Obtain meri t,and gai n access to the

57

blessed abode of N igban , which he told them hewas about to en te r.T he ever-fa ithful wom en were to be found at the

last s cene in the l ife of Buddha . At his deathone of his disciples found the master’s feet soiledand wet

,and

,ask ing the cause of i t

,was told

that a weeping woman had embraced Gautama’s

fee t shortly before his death,and that her tears had

fal le n on h i s feet and left the marks there .

A fte r h is death Buddha was exa l ted to the rankof de ity. He was made equa l to Brahm a ; Demonswe re powerless again st h is word ; angels and a rhatsm i n i stered unto h im .

Buddha taught the efficacy of vicarious atonem ent ;a hel l of fire and cease less torment ; the existenceof a prodigious number of malevolent demons ; thevirtue of ce l ibacy ; the merit of seclusion and a

retired life ; the rej ection of an cient ri tes and ceremon ie s ; the uti l ity of self-sacrifice ; the vanity of

earth ly j oys ; the demerit of wea l th ; the depreciat ion of industry and the pu rsuit of worldly advan

tages ; the m eri t of mendicancy ; the meri t of abandoning wife and children ; love of enemies ; pat ience ,submission , and self-denial ; submiss ion to injusticeand tyranny ; the sinfulness of scepticism ; auricular

confession of s in,and the worsh i p of sai nts .

Buddha’s mercy is compared to a rain-cloud ,wh ich showers blessings upon the just and un j ust .Earthly joys are compared to the grass wh ichbloom s to-day, and to morrow is cast i nto the fire .

58

T rue bel ievers are advised to gathe r treasures whichnei ther th ieves can steal nor fi re and wate r canspoi l . Ignorant teachers are l ikened to the bl indleading the bl ind . T he repen tant sinner i s described in a parable of a prodigal son

,who wastes

his substance in foreign countries,but at last retu rn s

to the house of his father,where

,afte r serving as a

common day-laborer

,the son is pardoned

, and

becomes h is fathe r ’s ch ief heir.T he new rel igion spread extensively all over the

vast con tinent of Hindo stan ; and fina l ly,about

three hundred years afte r Buddha ’s death,foun d an

e nthusiast ic and powerful convert in the pe rson of a

king cal led Asoka . T h is ru ler was imbued with a

miss ionary spirit, and under h i s influence someeighty thousand m issionaries went th roughout India

,

and into Ch ina,Japan

,Ceylon

,Persia

,Babylon ia

,

S yria,Pa le stine

,Egypt

,—to that ve ry populous

and importan t emporium ,Alexand ria . Indeed

,they

seem to have gone into every coun try to whichsh ips

,caravan s, and the flow of comme rce gave

th em access .Buddha’s representat ive o n earth i s the Grand

Lama,the high-priest of the T artars , who is re

garded as the vicegeren t of God . T he T artarshave oecumen ica l council s, m onasteries, nunneries ,the division of temples into a nave and transept ,pulpits

,dalm aticas

,bel l-ringing

,incense

,the censor

suspended from five cha in s,chal ices

,chaplets , rosa

ries,ch an ted services

,l i tan ies

,aspe rsion s with con

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60

that he was the Only Begotten S on of God,who had

come down from Heaven to be a mediato r betweenGod and man

,to save m en from their s ins . T he

twenty-fifth of December was said to be the day onwhich this God-man was born

,and i t was ce lebrated

with gre at rej oici ngs . T he l egend was tha t thewondrous infant was vis ited soon afte r hi s miraculous birth

,by wise men cal led magi

,who brought

gifts of gold,frankincense

,and myrrh . I t was

customary for the magi to ascend a high mounta in ,at early dawn on the twenty-fi fth of December

,and

there,with their faces turned to the east, to wait

anxiously for the first rays of the S un ,wh ich they

hai led with incense and prayer. T he shepherds,also

,

were in the habit of p rostrating them se lves and praying to their god

,the S un . (S ee NOT E

M i thras was sa id to be the Logos,also the

Anointed,or the Ch rist

,and was cal led the Lamb

of God . His worshippers addressed h im in theirl itany

,constantly repeating the words : 0 Lamb of

God tlzat tabet/z away tile sins of tlze world,lzave

mercy upon us. Grant us tlzy peace. It was believed by the inhabitants of Pers ia, Asia M inor, andArmenia that M ithras had been put to death

,been

three days in Hel l,and had risen agai n from the

dead . In the i r mysteries was exhibited the body ofa young man

,apparently dead

,who was pres

ently restored to life . His disciples watche dhis sepu lchre ti l l midnight

,on the twenty-fourth of

March,with wai l ings and i n darkness, when sud

6 1

denly the place would be bri l l ian tly i l lum i nated , andthe priest would cry : R ejoice, O sacred In itiated

,

your God is r isen . H is dea tb,b is pa ins

,bis sajer

ings, bave worbed our salva tion . M i thras’

s symbolwas a se rpent.T he M ithrians had thei r myste rious meetings

,

the i r chapels,

and their ceremony of in itiation,

which included Baptism and the Euchari s t. T he

forehead of the ini tiate was m arked,at the time of

baptism ,with the si gn of the cross . Infan ts a lso

were baptized,—for the pur ification of the soul

,s i n

having been inherited,—a name be ing given to the

child at that time . T he anc1en t Pe rsians be l ievedthat they were tainted with origina l sin

,owing to

the fal l of their fi rst parents,who were tempted by

the Evi l One,in the form of a serpen t . Indeed

,

thei r legends of the Creat ion of H eden , the original abode of man and the R ive r of Life

,are a lmost

iden t ical with the account of the Creat ion and Gar

den of Eden , contained in Genesis . T hey had a

legend of a Deluge,and also a legend that i s simi lar

to the Hebrew sto ry of Jonah . (S ee APPEN DIX D .)T he sto ry of the War i n Heaven was known to

them ; and was simply a myth, which represen tedthe confl ict between day and n ight

,sunshine and

storm .

T he doctrine of the M i l lenn ium was famil iar tothem ,

—a time when , as they bel ieved,the dead

would be ra ised, and “ the sea return again the

remains of the departed .

” At th is time the dead

62

were to be judged before an assemb led world,and

the righteous separated from the wicked .

T hese doctrin e s were contained in the ZendAvesta (the L iving Word) , wh ich , judging from i tslanguage

,i s said by Professor M iiller to be older

than the cuneiform inscriptions of Cyrus (BC .

T he Pers ian s bel ieve that Zoroaste r,the founder of

their religion,rece ived th i s Book of the Law from

the Lord,i n the m idst Of thunders and l ightn ings

,

as he prayed one day on a high mountain . Wh i lethe King Of Persia and the people we re assembledtogether

,Zoroaste r cam e down from the mountain

unharmed,b ringing with h im the Book of the Law.

T he points of resemblance between this account of

the Persian s and the later account of the HebrewMoses

,— bringing the T ables of the Law from

Mount S inai , are very striking.

If we turn to th e Egyptians, we shal l find thatthe Aryan sun-myth s becam e the foundat ion of theirrel igion a lso . One of the ir names for the S un was

Os i ri s . T he facts relating to the incarnation , bi rth ,l ife

,and death of Os i ris are ve ry simi lar to those i n

the legends of the H indoo and Pe rs ian sun-gods .I t was sa id that he was born on the twenty-fi fth of

December,and that he was the son of S eb and Neith,

or N ut, whose common appel lation was the Ladyof th e S ycamore At th e birth Of Osi r i s a voi cewas heard proclaim ing

,

“ T he Ruler of all theearth i s born .

” Like other sun -gods,h e met wi th

temptations over which he triumphed, but was

63

final ly conquered by his foes . At the annual festival

,in early spring

,wh ich commemorated h i s suffer

ings and tragica l death,there was a species of drama

,

i n wh ich the part i cu lars we re exh ibited with loud lam en tations. His im age— covered, as were those inthe temp le , with black vei ls—was carried in a process ion . T he Mourn ing S ong

,whose plainti ve tones

were n oted by Herodotus , and has been comparedto the M ise rere sung in Rome, was fol lowed in

three days by the language of triumph . His tombwas i l lum i nated , as i s the Holy S epulchre at Jerusalem

,and for thousands of years i t was the obj ect Of

pious pilgrimages . (S ee NOT EHis worship was universa l throughout Egypt

,

whe re he was gra teful ly regarded as the greatexemplar of self-sacrifice , i n giving his l ife for others ,—as the Man ifeste r of Good

,as the Opener of

T ruth,—and as being ful l of goodn ess and truth .

T he Egyptian Book of the Dead,the oldes t B ible i n

the world,represents h im as

“ seeing all th ings,

hearing all things ,”

and “ noting the good and evi ldeeds of men

”On the most ancient Egyptian

monuments he is represented as Judge of the Dead,

seated on h is throne of j udgment,bearing a staff

,

and carrying the cr ux ansata (the most commonform of the cross) with the S t. Andrew

’s cross onhi s breast. T hese sculptures were contempo rarywi th the building of the pyramids , wh ich were bui l tce n tur ies before Ab raham i s sa id to have been bo rn .

Osiri s was represented wi th the trefoi l (the leaf of

64

the Vila,or Bel-tree

,wh ich i s triple in form) on his

head,t hat be ing one of the ancie n t symbols of the

tbree-in -one myste ry— the T rin i ty . As second pe rson of the T rin i ty he was ca l led the Word . In one

of the sacred books of the Egypt ians occu rs thefol low ing :

“ I know the myste ry of the DivineWord ; the Word of the Lord of All

,wh i ch was the

maker of i t.” “ T he Word is the first person afterh im self

,—uncreated , infinite, ruling over all th ings

that were made by h im .

”

T he m onogram of Osir i s is X and P in combinat ion , and i s now used as the monogram of JesusChri st. His symbol i s the se rpen t

,wh ich was the

earl iest symbol of Jesus, cen turies later. Amongthe m any h ieroglyph i c t it les wh ich accompany thefigure of Osiri s on the wal ls of temples and tombsare Lord of Life

,Resurrected One

,Eterna l Ru le r

,

Manifester of God,Fu l l of Goodness and T ruth .

T here was great splendor of ritual in the Egypt ian religion

,including gorgeous robes

,m itres

,tiaras,

wax tapers,processiona l se rvices

,and lus trations .

T he priests wore white surpl ices,and were shorn

and beardless . T here were a l so sprinkl ings of holywate r. T he rite of Baptism was obse rved , with the

s ign of the cross , and al so the Euchari st, — the

sacred cake being eaten after i t had been conse

crated by the priest, and m ade ver itable “flesh of

his flesh T he sun,moon

,and five plane ts were

each of them assigned a day of the week , theseventh day being S aturn

’s Day, and kept as a holy

5 5

day. T he Immortal ity of the S oul was bel ieved inand was a very ancient doctrine ; for on a monum ent thousands of years ol d is the epitaph : M ay

thy soul atta i n to th e Creator of all mankind .

”

Like the -Buddhists, the ancient Egyptians were

fam i l iar w i th the War in Heaven myth and the T reeof L ife myth .

Nei th,the mother of Osi ri s

,was worshipped as

the Holy Virgin,the Great Mothe r

,ye t an Immacu

late Virgin . T here was a grand celebrat ion he ldin her honor

,cal led the Feast of Lamps

,which has

come down to the present t ime as Candlemas Day,or the Purificat ion of the Virgin Mary.

Horus,another Egyptian name for the S un

,was

sa id to have been born of the immacul ate virginIsi s (the Moon) , on the twenty-fifth of December.On th i s day th e effigy of the infan t Ho rus , lying in a

manger,was exh ib ited am id great re joicings . Being

of royal descent , his l ife was sought by T yphon

(darkness or nigh t) , and i n con sequence he wasbrought up secretly on the isle of Buto . L ike othersun-gods , he was tempted , but was not vanquished .

He is represented , i n Egyptian art,as overcoming

the Evi l S erpent, and standing triumphantly uponh im . I t was said that he performed many m i racles

,

among them the rai s ing of the dead . He was final lys la in , and descended in to Hell . In three days herose from the dead and ascended into Heaven . Hisdeath and resurrection we re celebrated with greatpomp. He was cal led the Roya l Good S hepherd

,

66

Lord of Life , On ly-Begotten , S aviour, the.

Anoin ted,

or the Christ ; and when represen ted as Horus S neb,

the Redeemer. H e i s general ly represented as an

infan t in the arm s of his mother Isi s,or si tting on

he r knee ; and in m any of these represen tation sboth the mother and ch i ld are black . As the S unseem ingly rests on the earth at his rising, i t was sa idthat he was sitting in the lap of his mother ; and as

the earth is black,or dark

,before the ri sing of the

S un,the mother and child were represented as

black . (See APPEN DIX E .)T he most ancient pictures and statues

,in Italy and

othe r parts of Europe,of what are supposed to be

rep resentations of the Virgin Mary and the infan tJ esus

,are black . T he infan t god i n the arms of h i s

black mother, with wh ite eyes , teeth , and drapery, i sh im self perfectly black . T he images are adornedwith jewe ls

,and in some cases the Virgin is crowned

with a triple crown . T he explanat ion of theseearly representation s of the Virgin Mary and infan tJesus

,- black

,yet c rowned and covered with j ewels,

—i s that they are of pre-Christian origin ; they areIsis and Horus

,—and perhaps, in some cases , D e

vak i and C rishna, bapti zed anew. In m any pa rts

of Italy are to be seen pictures of the Holy Fam i ly,of great antiquity, the groundwo rk often of gold .

T hese pictures represent the mother, with a child onher knee

,and a l i ttle boy by her s ide . T he Lamb

is gene ra l ly seen in the picture . T h ey are in scr ibedDeo S oli

,and are represen tations of Isi s and Horus .

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68

b een vis ited by other than the annual beneficentoverflow of the N i le . Indeed

,Pharaoh Khoufou

cheops was building his pyram id,according to

Egyptian chronicle,when the whole worl d was under

the wate rs of a un iversal Deluge,

according to

Hebrew chronicle . T he Egyptians have no accoun tof the destruction of Pharaoh and his army

,in the

Red S ea,or of the other circum stances attend ing

the Exodus from Egypt. We find,in Egyptian his

tory,that at one time the land of Egypt was infected

with disease ; and,th rough the advice of the sacred

scribe Phritiphan tes, the king caused the infectedpeople to be driven out of the coun try. T he in

fected people were the brick-m aking slaves,known

as the Chi ldren of Israel,who were infected with

leprosy. T he m ost noble of them went under C admus and Danaus to Greece , but the greate r numberfol lowed Moses

,a wise and va l iant leader

,to Pa les

tine .

”

S erapis was another Egyptian sun-god , whose followe rs we re ca l l ed Cbr istians and Bishops of Obr ist.In Grecian fable there are many saviou rs .T he sun-god Hercules , son of Zeus (the sky) andAlcm ene

,was born

,l ike the other saviours

,on the

twen ty-fifth of December—the triple night, as theGreeks named the winter solstice . At h i s b irth ,Zeus

,the God of gods

,spake from Heaven and

said : T his day shal l a ch ild be born , of the race ofPerseus

,who shal l be the m igh tiest of the sons of

men .

” Wh i le an infant in his cradle,Hera

,the l ife

69

long foe of Hercules , sent two serpents to st rangleh im

,bu t he ki l led them . T he posi tion of the spheres ,

on the twenty-fi fth of December, shows the zodiaca l

sign of the S e rpen t, a im ing at,and a lmost touch ing,

the Vi rgin , who has the child Iesus in her a rm s, i nthe constel la t ion Virgo. (S ee APPENDIX F .)Hercules was sa id to have been swal lowed by a

huge fish (in one account i t i s a dag), at Joppa , theplace whe re the Hebrew Jonah was said to have beenswa l lowed by a wha le . Hercules rem a i ned in thefish three days and three n ights (the winte r solstice) ,and. cam e out unhurt

,wi t h the exception of be ing

shorn Of his locks . T he S un i s shorn of his locks bywinte r. An abundance Of hai r and a long beardare mythological attributes of the S un

,denoting its

rays . (S ee'

N OT E

Many of the exploi ts of Hercules are s imi lar to thoseaccredited to the Hebrew S amson . S amson ’s deathrem inds us of H e rcu les , who died at the wintersolst ice , in the far west, where h i s two pi l lars are

set up to m ark h is wanderings . S amson a lso diedat the two pil lars ; but they we re not the Pi l larsof the World , but those which supported a greatbanqueting-hal l , and a feas t was being he ld inhonor of Dagon , the fish-god . T he S un was in thesign of the Waterman

,when S amson

,the sun-god

,

died . S am son was one of the n ames of the S un,the

name sign ifying the sunny,as wel l as the strong.

Hercules rose from the fun era l pi le and ascendedinto heaven in a cloud

,amid peal s of thunder. At

70

his death,Iola (the fai r-ha i red Dawn) again stands

by his s ide,chee ring h im to the last . T hen once

more the face of He rcules flushed w i th a deep joy,

and he said : “ Ah,Iola

,b rightest of m a idens

,thy

voice shal l cheer me as I sink down in the sleepof death . I saw and loved thee in the brigh tmorn ing

-time; and now again thou hast come,in tbc

even ing, fa i r as the soft clouds which gather aroundthe dying S un .

”

T he black m ists were spreading over the sky; butsti l l Hercules sought to gaze on the fai r face of

Iola,and to comfort her in her sorrow.

“ Weepnot

,Iola

,

” he sa id ;“my toi l i s done , and now is

the time of rest. I shal l see th ee aga in,in the

bright land wh i ch i s n ever trodden by the feet of

N igh t.” T hen,as the dying god exp ired

,darbness

was on tbc f ace of tbe ea r tb ; from the highHeaven came down the thick cloud

,and the din

of th e thunder crashed through the air.Hercules was said to be self-produced , the Gener

ator and Ruler of all th ings , and the Father of T ime .He was cal led the S aviour, and the words H ercu

le s the S aviour were engraved on ancient co insand monuments . He was also cal led the OnlyBegotten and the U n ive rsal Word . He was said tohave been re-absorbed in to God .

T he story of H e rcu le s was known in the island of

T hasos,by the Phoen i cian colony settled there , five

centurie s before the Greeks knew of i t ; yet itsantiquity among the Babylon ians antedate s that .

7 1

He is iden tica l wi th I zdubar,the Babylonian l ion

ki l ler.T he ancien t Greeks had a tradi t ion of the

Islands of the Blessed , the Elysium ,on the bor

ders of the earth,

abound ing in every charm of

l ife,and the Garden of the Hespe r ides

,— the Par

adise,in which grew a tree bearing the golden

app le s of Immorta l ity. I t was guarded by threenymph s and a se rpent

,or dragon

,the ever-watch

ful Ladon . I t was one of the labors of Hercule s togather som e of these Apples of Life . When he arrived at the Garden ,

he found it guarded by a

dragon . Ancient m eda l l ions represen t a tree witha se rpent twined around it . Hercule s has gathered an apple

,and n ear h im stand the three

nymphs,ca l led the Hesperides .

T he sun-god Dionysius (Bacchus) , son of Zeus andthe Vi rgin S emele , daughter of Cadmus

,King of

T hebes,was born on the twenty-fifth of December.

As he was destined to bring ruin upon Cadmus,he

was,by the o rder of that monarch

,confined in a

chest and thrown into the N i le . L ike Moses,he

was rescued and adopted . He performed manymiracles , among them being the turni ng of wate rinto wine . He had a rod w ith wh i ch he could perform mi racles, and wh i ch he could change into a serpent at pleasure . He crossed the Red S ea dry-shod

,

at the head of h is army. He divided the waters ofthe r ive rs O rontes and H ydaspes by the touch of hisrod, and passed through them dry-shod . By the same

72

m ightywand he drew water from the rock ; and whereve r he wen t

,the land flowed with wine

,m i lk

,

and honey. It is sa id that while marching with h i sarmy in India he e nj oyed the light of the S un

when the day was S pent,and i t was dark to othe rs .

Like Moses,Bacchus was represented as horned .

H e was ca l led the Law-giver,h is laws be ing written

on two tables of stone. (S ee NOT E

It is related that on one occasion Pantheus,King

of T hebes , sen t h i s attendants to seize Bacchusthe Vagabond Leader of a Faction

,as he ca l led h im .

T h is they were unable to do,as h i s fo l lowers were

too num erous . T hey succeeded,however

,in cap

turing one of h is d isciples,wh o was led away and

shut up fast in pri son ; but , wh i le they were gettingready the instrumen ts of execution

,the prison doors

came open of the i r own accord , and the cha ins fe l lfrom his l imbs

,and when they looked for him he

was nowhere to be found .

Bacchus was called the S lain One , the S in -Bearer,

the On ly-Begotten S on , the S aviou r, and the R e

de em er. H is death,resurrection

,and ascen sion were

comm emorated in early spr ing by festival s s im i larin ch aracter to those hel d by the Persians , Egyptians ,Chald eans , and others .T he G reeks had the ir Holy Mysteries . T he i r

Eleusin ian Myste r ies,or the S acram ent of the ir

Lo rd’s S upper, was the most august of all thei rceremonies. I t was celeb rated every fifth year, inhonor of Ceres, the goddess of corn , who, in a l le

73

gorical language , bad given tbem berfl esb to eat ; and

Bacchus,the god of wine

,who

,i n l ike sense

,bad

give n tbem bis blood to dr inb. T hese myste ri es wereaccompanied with r i te s wh i ch were con s ide red to bean expiation of sin . T hroughout the whole ce remony the n ame of their God was m any tim es re

peated . His brightness , or glory , was not on ly exhibited to the eye , by the rays wh ich surrounded his

nam e (or his monogram ,I . H . but was made the

pecul iar theme of their triumphant exultat ion . T he

monogram of Bacchus , I . H . S .,i s now used as the

monogram of Jesus Christ, and i s wrongful ly supposed to stand for jesu H ominum S alvator

,or In

H oe S ign o.

T he stories of Prometheus, Achil le s, and Meleagros represent the short-l ived S un . Ixion

,bound

on the wheel,was the god S ol crucified in the

heavens . T he crucified dove , worshipped by theancients , was none other than the crucified S un as

i t i s we l l known that the ancie nts person ified the

S un as fem a le as well as mal e .

T he ancient Etruscans worshipped a VirginMother and S on

, the latte r represented , in pictures , i n the arms of his mothe r. T his was thegoddess Nutria . T he goddess Cybele was anotherVirgin Mother, and was cal led Queen Of He avenand Mother of God . T he Galli

,now used in the

churches of Italy,were anciently used in the wor

ship of Cybele . T hey were ca l led Galliambus, andwere sung by her priests . Our Lady Day, or the

74

Day of the Blessed Vi rgin , of the Roman Church ,was first dedicated to Cybele .

T he ancient S candinavians had a sun-god,or

S aviour, Ba ldur the Good, son of the Al-fade r, Odinor Woden (Heaven) , and the Vi rgin goddess Frigga .

Ba ldur was s la in by the sharp thorn of winter,de

scended into Hell,and rose aga in to life and immor

tal ity. T he goddess Frigga was worshipped, and the

n ight of the greatest festival of all the year—at thewinte r solstice—was cal led Mother-nigh t.T he S candinavians worshipped a triune God

, and

consecrated one day i n the week to h im ,the day

be ing ca l led to the present time Odin ’s,or Woden ’s

,

day, which is our Wednesday. T hey observed therite of Bap t ism . T hey had a legend of an Eden

,

or Golden Age,wh i ch lasted unt i l the arrival of

woman out of J'

otunheim , the region of giants .

T hey a lso had a legend of a de luge,from which

on ly one m an and his family escaped , by means of abark . T hey had a legend corresponding to theHebrew story of David and Goliath , in which thei r

hero T hor (the S un) throws a hamm e r at H ungn ir,

striking h im in the forehead . T he hammer was a

cross. T hey also worshipped a god cal led Frey,

who was fabled to have been ki l led at the wintersolst ice , by a boar (winter) ; therefore , a boar was

annual ly offered at the great feast of Yule , nowcal led Christm as . (S ee NOT E

T he a'ncient Germans worshipped a virgin mother

and child. T he Vi rgin’s name was Ostara, or

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76

ments,in the Great Absolute .” “He was the origi

nal ancestor of the prime breath of l ife,and gave

form to the heavens and the earth .

” He descendedto earth and was born of a virgin , black i n complexion

,and

'

described as“marve l lous and beautifu l as

jasper.” When hi s mission of benevolence wasfin ished on earth

,he ascended bodily into the Para

dise above . S ince then he has been worshipped asa god

,and splendid temples have been erected to

him . He taught the doctrine of One God , who i sal so a T rin ity . His disciples are cal led HeavenlyT eachers . What i s now known as the Easte rce lebration was observed in Ch i na, and cal led a

Festiva l of Gratitude to T ien . (See NOT E t o .)T he Ch inese have , i n thei r sacred books, a story

of a Golden Age and a mysterious “ del iciou s ”

garden,where in grew a tree bearing “

apple s of

immortal i ty,

” guarded by a winged serpent,ca l led a

Dragon . T he garden was moistened by four rivers,

which flowed from a source cal led the Foun ta in of

Immortal ity. One of the rivers was cal led the R iverof the Lamb . In this blissful abode there was nocalamity

,s i ckness

,or death .

In one of the Chinese sacred volumes, cal led theChi-King

,i t i s written

Al l was subject to man at first,but a woman

threw us into slavery. T he wise husband ra ised upa bulwark of wal ls but the woman

,by an ambitious

desire for knowledge,demol ished them . Our misery

77

did not come from Heaven,but from a woman .

S he lost the human race . Ah , unhappy POO S ee'thou kindledst the fire that consum es us

,and wh ich

is every day augmenting. Our misery has lastedmany ages . T he world i s lost. Vice overflows all

things,l ike a m ortal poison .

T he Chinese have a l egend of the S un stand ingsti l l

,and a legend of the Deluge . Accounts of the

ascent to Heaven of holy men,without death

,are

found in their mythology. T hey bel i eve that inthe latter days there w i l l be a mil lennium ,

and that adivine m an wil l establ ish himself on earth

,and

everywhere restore peace and happiness . Fromtime immem orial the Chinese have worshipped a

virgin mothe r and ch i ld . T he m other i s cal ledS hin-moo , or the Holy Mothe r

,and is represen ted

with rays of glory surrounding her head . T ape rsare kept con stantly burn ing before her images

,

which are elevated i n alcoves behind the al tars ofthe i r temples .In the mythological systems of Ameri ca

,a virgin

born god,or saviour

,was not l ess clearly recognized

than in those o f the O ld World . Among the savagetribes his origin and character were

,for obviou s

reasons , much confused ; but among the more ad

vanced nat ions he occupied a wel l-defined position .

T he Mexican sun-god, or saviour

, Quetz alcoatle ,born in the land of T ulan in Anahuac

, was the sonof T ezcatl ipoca

,the S upreme God of the ancient

78

Mexicans,and the virgin S och iquetz al, who was

worsh ipped as the Virgin Mothe r,the Queen of

Heaven . T ezcatl ipoca was styled Xiule ticu tle,an

epithet s ign ifying the Lord of Heaven . (Xiuletlsign ifies blue ; and therefore was a name which the

Mexicans gave to Heaven .)Quetz alcoatle

’

s birth was hera lded by a star,and

the Morn ing-star was his symbol . He taught metallurgy

,agr iculture

,and the art of gove rnment . He

was'

tempted by the Devil , and a forty days’ fastwas observed by his d isciples . He was put to deathby EOpuco , and died for the sin s of mank ind , afterhaving been placed on a beam Of wood

,wi th his

arm s outstret ched . He was represented in someinstances as crucified in space

,in the heavens

,within

a circle of nineteen figures,the number of the me/

ton i c cycle,— a serpent (the serpent, when repre

sented in connection with a crucifixion,denoting

evil,darkness

,and w inter) being in the picture .

He was occasional ly represen ted as crucified be

tween two other victim s . T his denoted the threequal itie s

,or personal i ties, of the S un

,as Creator

,

S aviour,and Reconstructor, - the T rin ity. In other

pictures he is crucified on a cross of Greek form,

wi th the impressions of nai l s on the feet and hands,

and with the body strangely covered with suns . Inthese pictures many of the figures have black faces

,

and the visage of Quetz alcoatle is strangely distorted.

At th e death of Quetz alcoatle,

“ the S un was darkened

,and withhe ld he r l ight .” He descended into

79

Hell,and rose from the dead . His death and resur

rection we re celebrated in early spring, when victimswere na i led to a cross and shot with an a rrow.

T he cross was said to be the T ree of Nutriment

,or T ree of Life , —epithets applied by the

Rom an Cathol ics to the cross . T he rite of Baptismwas observed

,and was bel ieved to cleanse from sin .

Infants were baptized,that s in , which tai nted the

ch i ld before the foundation of the world , might bewashed away

,and the chi ld be born anew. T he

sacramen t of the Eucharist was Observed , the breadbeing m ade of co rn-mea l mixed with blood ; which ,after consecrat ion by the priest

,was given to the

people as the flesh of the i r S aviour. (S ee NOT ET he Mex ican idea of the S upreme God was s im

ilar to the Hebrew. Like Jehovah,T ezcatl ipoca

dwelt in the “midst of thick darkness .” N O man

ever saw h is face,for he appeared only as a shade .

When he descended upon the Mount of T ezcatepec,darkness overshadowed the earth , while fire and

water,i n mingled streams

,flowed beneath his feet

,

and from the summ i t. He was omnipresent and

omn iscient,a being of absolute pe rfection and per

fect purity. T he Mexicans paid h im great reverence and adorat ion

,and addressed

,him

,i n the ir

prayers,as

“ Lord,whose servants we are.

”

In the annal s of the Mexicans,the first woman

,

whose name was tran slate d by the old S panishwrite rs “ the woman of our flesh

,

” is a lways repre

sented as accompanied by a great mal e serpent,who

80

seems to be talking to her. By the Mexican s , she iscal led s extli

,wh ich sign ifies eyes bl ind with ashes .

By s inning, she lost Paradise, her crim e being the

plucking of roses,cal led Fruta del arbal , the fruit

of the tree . T hey declare that they are sti l l unableto look up to heaven on account of this fal l .T he ancient Mexi cans had a

'

trad ition of a deluge,

from wh i ch a person corresponding to Noah wassaved

,with six others

,i n an ark

,wh ich landed on

a mountain,a bird be ing sent out to ascertain when

the waters had subsided . T hey a lso had a legendof the building of a tower

,which would reach to the

skies,thei r obj ect be ing to see what was go ing on in

Heaven,and also to have a place Of refuge in case

of another de luge . T he gods beheld with wraththis edifice

,the top of which was nearing the clouds

,

and they hurled fire from heaven upon it,wh ich

threw it down and ki l led m any of the workmen .

T he work was then discontinued,as each family

inte rested in the bu i lding of the tower rece ived a

language of i ts own,and the bui lders could not

understand each othe r. T he ancient Mexicanspointed to the ruins of a tower at Cholula

,as evi

dence of the truth of the ir story .

T he disciple s of Quetz alcoatle expected his secondadvent. He told the inhabitants of Cholu la that hewould return to govern them . T h i s tradition wasdeeply cherished by them and when the S paniards

,

with Cortez at the ir head , came to subdue the land,the Mexicans impl icitly bel ieved that Quetz alcoatle

8 1

was return ing, bringing his temple s (the ships) withhim .

T he annunciat ion of the Vi rgin S och iquetz al wasthe subject of a Mexican h ieroglyphic. In thi s sheis represen ted as rece iving from the ambassador

,or

ange l,a bunch of flowers . T his brings to m ind the

lotus,the sacred plant of the East

,which is placed

in the hands of Pagan and Ch ri stian madonnas .T he resurrect ion of Quetz alcoatle is represented inhie roglyphics . T he cross was a very sacred symbolwith the Mexicans .Heaven they located in the S un

,and the blessed

were perm i tted to reve l amongst lovely clouds .T here was a hel l for the wicked

,and a sort of “ quie t

l imbo for those who were in no way distinguished .

”

Amongst the ir prayers or invocat ions were theformulasWil t thou blot us out

, 0 Lord , forever ? Is thispun ishment intended not for our reformation

,but for

our destruction ? ” Agai n : “ Impart to us,out of

thy great mercy,thy gifts, wh i ch we are not worthy

to receive through ou r own merits .”“ Keep peace with all.

” “ Bear in j urie s withhumil ity ; God , who sees , wil l avenge you .

”T hese

were among the i r maxim s . Al so : “ Clothe then aked and feed the hungry

,whatever privation s it

m ay cost thee ; for, remember, thei r flesh i s l ikethine .

” A S panish wri ter remarks that the Devi lhad pos itively taught the Mexicans the same th ingswhich God had imparted to Christendom .

6

82

T he Mexican temp les—teocallis,or Houses of

God— were very num e rous,the re being seve ra l

hundreds in each of the principa l citie s of the kingdom . T he re we re long processions of priests

,and

nume rous fes t iva l s of unusua l sacredness,as wel l as

app ropriate monthly and da i ly ce leb rat ions of worship. T he grea t ci t ies were d ivided into districts

,

each of wh ich was placed under the charge of a sortof paroch ia l c lergy, who regulated every act of rel igion within their pre cincts

,and who admin istered the

r ites of Confession and Absolution . T he form of

absolut ion contained , among other things,the fol

lowing

Oh,merciful Lord

,thou who knowest the secrets

Of all hearts,le t thy forgiveness and favor descend

,

l ike the pure wate rs of Heaven,to wash away the

stains from the sou l . T hou knowest that th is poorman has sinned , not from his own free wi l l , but fromthe influence of the sin under which he was born .

T he Mayas,of Yucatan

,had a virgin-born god,

corresponding entirely wi th Quetz alcoatle, if he wasnot indeed the same under another name . T he

Muyscas,of Colombia

,had a similar god

,who was

the incarnat ion of the Great Father,whose sover

e ign ty and pate rnal care he emblematized . T he

inhabitants of N icaragua cla imed that the son of

their pr in cipal god came down to earth and in

structed them . T here was a corresponding character in the traditionary h istory of Peru . T he S un

,

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84

T he ancient Chaldees bel ieved in a celestial vi rgin

,to whom the erring sinner could appeal . S he

was represen ted as a mother with a ch i ld in herarm s . T he ancien t Assyrians and Babylon ians worshipped a goddess-mothe r and son . T he mother’sname was Myl itta , and the son was T ammuz

,or

Adon is,the S aviour

,who was worshipped as the

Mediator. T ammuz was born on the twenty-fi fthof December, and, l ike other sun-gods, suffered and

was s lain . T he accounts of his death are confl ict

ing. One,however

,states that he was crucified.

He descended into Hell ; he rose from the dead onthe th ird day, and ascended into Heaven . His worshippers celebrated annual ly, in early spring, a

feast in commemoration of his death and resurrec

t ion,with the utmost d isplay . An image

,intended

as the representat ion of the i r Lord, was la id on a

bier and bewai led in mournful ditt ies ; precisely asthe Roman Catholics , at the present day, lament thedeath of Jesus

,i n their Good Friday mass . During

the ceremony the priest murmured : “ T rust ye inyour Lord

,for the pains which he endured our sal

vation have procured .

”T his image was carried

with great solemnity to a tomb . T he large woundin the side was shown , j ust as, centurie s later, thewound was displayed wh i ch Christ received from thespear-thrust . (S ee NOT E I

After the attendants had for a long time bewai ledthe death of th is just person , he was at lengthunderstood to be restored to life, —to have experi

85

enced a resurrection , sign ified by the readmiss ionof l igh t. T he people then exclaimed Ha i l to theDove'the Restore r of Ligh t . ”T he worsh ippers of T ammuz be lieved in the

T rin i ty,observed the rite of Baptism and the s acra

men t of the bread and wine . T he symbol of thecross was honore d by the ancient Babylon ians, andi s found on their o ldest monuments .T he Cha ldeans had the ir M em ra

,or Word of

God,corresponding to the Greek Logos . In thei r

oracles the doctrine of the On ly -Begotten S on,1 .

A . O . (as Creator) i s pla in ly taught .T he Babylon ians had a myth Of the Creation

and Fal l of M an,which is a lmost identica l with the

account conta ined In Genesi s . As they had thisaccount fifteen hundred years or more before theHebrews heard of i t, th e accoun t in Genesi s wasunquestionably taken from the Babylonians . Cune iform inscription s , discovered by M r. George S mith ,of the Brit ish Museum , show conclus ive ly that theBabylon ians had this myth two thousand yearsbefore the t ime assigned as the bi rth of Christ .T he myth appears to be a combinat ion of thephases of sun-worship which denoted the generat ingpower of the S un . (See NOT ET he Babylon ians had an account of a deluge

,

which was ve ry simi lar to the Hebrew account .T h i s was al so on the terra-cotta table ts d iscoveredby M r. S mith ; and is supposed to be a solar myth

,

written , apparently, with a View to make a story.

86

fitt ing to the sign of the zodiac,cal led Aquar ius .

T he Chaldean s we re skil led astronomers,and

,i t i s

sa id,they asserted that wheneve r all the planets

met in the sign Capricornus,the whole earth must

be overwhelmed wi th a de luge of wate r.T he Babylonians had a legend f the Building

of the T ower of Babel , which antedates t heHebrew accoun t . A tower in Babzmia, which wasevidently built for astronomical purposes

,appears to

have been the foundation for the legend . T his wasa lso described on the terra-cotta tablets discoveredby Mr. S m ith . T he tower was cal led the S taggsof the S even _§pheres ; and each one of thesestage s was consecrated to the Snn , M 029 , S aturn ,Jupiter

,Mars , Venus , and Mercury. N ebuchado

nazai says of i t, in his cyl inders

T he bui lding, n amed the S tages of the S even

S pheres , wh ich was the tower of Borsippa [Babel],had been bui lt by a former king. He had com

ple ted forty-two cubi ts , but did not finish its head .

From the lapse of t ime it had becom e ruinedMe rodach

,my great Lord, incl ined my heart to

repa ir the bui ld ing.

T here is not a word in these cyl inders touchingthe confusion of tongues

,or of anything perta in ing

there to . It appears from other sources that theword Babel , which is real ly Bab-il (the Gate of God) ,was erroneously supposed to be from the root babal—to conf use ; and hence arises the mystica l ex

87

jplanation that Babel was a place where humanspeech became confused .

T he ancien t Babylonians had a legend,som e two

thousand years B.C . ,of a mighty m an

, Izdubar, whowas a l ion-S layer. From this legend the Hebrewsprobably obta ined the ir story of S am son . T he

legend i s without doubt a sun-myth . T he Assyrians worsh i pped a sun-god named S andon , who wasbe l ieved to be a l ion-ki l le r

,and was frequently

figured as struggl ing with the l ion , or standing uponthe sla in l ion .

T he Chaldeans had an account of one Zerban

(r icb in gold ), wh i ch corresponds in many respectsto the account of Abraham . T he Assyr ians had an

account of a War in Heaven,wh ich was l ike that

described in the Book of Enoch and the Apocalypse .

“ I t seems,

” says M r . George S m ith,

“ from theindicat ions in the inscript ions [the cuneiform], thatthere happened

,in the interva l between 2 0 0 0 and

1 850 BC ,a general col lection [by the Babylon ians]

of the development of the various traditions of theCreation

,Flood

,T ower of Babel

,and other s im i lar

legends . T hese legends were,however

,tradit ion s

before they were comm i tted to writing,and were

common,in some form

,to all the country .

”

T he Hebrews undoubtedly be cam e familiar withthese legends of the Babylonians

,during the i r cap

tivity in Chaldea, and afte rwards wrote them as

the ir own history .

I t i s a fact,demon strated by history

,that when

88

one nation of antiquity came into contact withanothe r

,each adopte d the other’s myths W i thout

hesi tation . T he tendency of myths to reproducethem se lves

,with differences only of names and

loca l colo ring,becomes especial ly manifest as we

pe ruse the legendary h istoryp f antiqu ity.

I t is sa id of the anci ent Hebrews,that they adopted

forms,te rms

,ideas

,and myths of other nations ,

with whom they cam e in contact,and cast them all

in a pecul iar Jewish re l igious mould .

“ T he Opinion that the Pagana relwg ions were corruption s of the rel igion of the O ld T estament, oncesupported by men of h igh au thority and great learning, i s now,

” i n the words of Professor M ii ller,“as

completely surrendered,as the attempts of expla in ing

Greek and Latin as the corruptions of Hebrew .

”

T he Hebrew was a S emi t i c race,and con sequently

had inherited none of the Aryan myths and lege nds .From the t ime of Moses til l the time of the

prophet Hezekiah,a pe riod of seven hundred years

or more,the Hebrews were idohaters, as their records

S how. T he se rpent was reverenced as the Healerof the Nat ion ; they worshipped a bull ca l led Apis

,

as did the Egyptians ; they worsh ipped the sun ,moon

,stars

,and all the hosts of heaven ; they wor

shipped fire,and kept i t burn ing on an a l tar

,as

-

d id

the Persians and othe r nations ; they worsh ippedstones, revered an oak-tree

,and bowed down to

images ; they worshipped a vi rgin mother and

child ; they worshipped Baal , Moloch , and Chemosh

89

(names given to the su n) , and Offered up humansacrifices to them

,afte r which

,i n some' instances

,

they ate the victim . T he Hebrews only began toabandon the ir gfpss Syr ian idolatries after thei rEaste rn captivity . T hen a lso they began to col latethe lege nds they had _ acqu i red , and write whatthey te rmhistory. I t was not until thi s time thatthe dogmas about S atan , the ang el s M ichael , U rie l ,Y

/a_r, N iggp , the RebeLAngels, the Battle in Heaven ,the Immortg lity of the 'SOul

,and the Resurre ction

of the D e ad, were introduced and natural ized amongthe Jews .T he theory that m an was original ly created a per

feet be ing,and i s now on ly a fal len and depraved

remnant of his origina l self,must be abandoned

,

with the bel ief that the account of the creat ion i nGenesis was not a reve lation direct from God to theHeb rews .With the abandonment of this theory

,the whole

O rthodox schem e must be abandoned ; for upon thi s

myth the theo logy of Christendom is built . T he

doctrines of the Inspirat ion of the S cripture s,the

Fal l of M an,his T ota l Depravi ty

,the Incarnation

,the

Aton em en t,the Devi l

,Hell

,in fact

,the entire the

ology of the Christian church,— fal l to pieces with

the inaccuracy of th i s story .

According to Chri stian dogma,the Incarnati on of

Chri st had becom e necessary,on account of S in

,

which was introduced into the world by the Fa l l of

M an . T hese two dogmas cannot be separated. If

90

there was no Fal l , there was no need of an Atonement

, and no Redeemer was required .

Jesus Christ saves men as he helps them,by his

teachings and example, to l ive pure and uprightl ives .As far as we can j udge

,Jesus himself did not as

sert that he was equa l to,or a part of

,the S upreme

God . Indeed,whenever occasion arose

,he asserted

his inferiori ty to the Fa the r. He made h im self inferior i n knowledge , when he declared, that of theday and hour of the Judgment, knew

,

neither the angels in H eaven nor the. S on ,—n

’

o on e

except the Father. He m ade him self inf erior i npower

,when he sa id that seats on his right hand and

on h i s left,in the Kingdom of Heaven

,were a his

to give. He m ade himself inferior in vi rtue, whenhe desu ed a certai n m an not to address him as

Good /M aster

,for there was none good buLfi od .

T he words of his prayer at Gethsemane, all th ingsare possible unto thee ,

” imply that all things were notpossible to h imse lf wh i le its conclusion , not what Iwill, but what thou wil t,

” indicate s subm ission to a

superior. T he cry of agony,

“My God'My God lwhy hast thou forsaken m e i would have been qui teunmean ing

,if the pe rson forsaken and the person

forsaking had been on e and the same .

AS was the case with S akya Muni,and many

othe rs,the sun-myths were incorporated in to the

history of Jesus Chri st.T here i s m uch circum stantial evidence to S how

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92

they would have others do to them . T hey l ived incommunities o r monasteries

,and had all things in

common , m erely appointing a steward to manage thecommon bag.

T hey advocated ce libacy,but had no law prohibit

ing marriage ; though if any among them wedded,

they were obl iged to enter another class of thebrotherhood . T heir numbers were continual ly being augm ented by additions from outside . Whena person wished to en ter the commu n ity

,he was

taken upon trial ; and, if app roved,he was obl iged

to take an oath that he would fear God and be justtowards all men . He sold all that he possessed

,

and gave the proceeds to the brotherhood . T heyresembled

,i n thei r habits and customs

,a fratern i ty

of monks—of a working,rather than a mendicant

order. T hey were all upon the sam e level,the

exercise of au thority one over another being proh ibited . T hey abhorred slavery

,and cal led no man

on earth Master,yet they served one another.

When going upon m issions of mercy, they providedneither s i lver nor gold

,but depende d entirely upon

the hospital ity of othe r members of the brotherhood .

When going upon peri lo us journeys,they took

weapons of defence,but repudiated offensive war.

T hey abj ured swearing. T hey conversed on suchparts of philosophy only as concerned God and

m an,and conversed not at all on secular subjects

before the rising of the S un,but prayed devoutly,

with the ir faces turneLu htu ag: T hey did not

93

lay up treasures on earth , and despised money,fam e

,and pleasures , as they thought these things

had a tendency to m ohafi men to earthly enj oym ents

,—a pecul iarly Buddhist tene t. T hey consid~

ered the use of oin tment as defiling, which was ce rtainly not a Hebra i c doctrine . T hey gave thanksbefore and afte r eat ing ; and before entering therefectory they bathed in pure wate r and put onwhite garments . T hey ate only enough to susta i nl ife . T hey put the greate st stress upon beingmeek and lowly in heart

,and commended the poor

in spiri t, those who hunger and thi rst afte r right

eousness, the merciful , the pure in heart, and thepeacem aker .T he Essenes combined the heal ing Of the body

with that of the soul ; and the Greek name bywhich they were known

,T he rap eutae (Essene is the

Assyrian word for T herapeutae ) , s ignifies bealer , or

doctor,and designated the sect as professing to be

endowed with the m iraculous gift of heal ing,—more

especial ly with respect to disease s of the mind .

T hey did not offer anima l sacrifices,but strove to

present the i r bod ies “a l iving sacrifice

,holy and

acceptable unto God .

” It was the i r great aim tobecom e so pure and holy as to be temples of th eHo ly S pi ri t

,and to be able to prophesy. T hey

reverenced Moses and had respect for the S abbath .

T hey practised e ndurance as a duty,and bore all

tortures with equanim i ty . T hey ful ly bel ieved in a

future state of existence,i n which the soul

,l iberated

94

from the body, mounts upwards to a Paradise wherethere

,

are no storms,no co ld

,no in ten se heat

, and

where all are con s tantly refreshed by gen tl e oceanbreezes . Pliny te l ls us that the usages of the Essenesdiff ered from those of all other nations .It wil l be evident to those fam i l iar with the Gos

pels that the tenets of the Essenes and the teachings of Jesus are almost identical . Jesus d ifferedfrom them

,however

,in some respects

,as any large

nature is apt to differ from others . He repg i iated

the extre/me s of the Essenes . T hey were asgztics,

but he ate and drank the good things of l ife . T heyconsidered themselves defiled by contact with thoseless holy than them selves ; but he associated withpubl icans and s inners .Every Jew was obl ige d to be a m ember of one of

the three sects n am ed above , and i t i s but naturalto suppose that Jesus would have been more insympathy with the Essenes than with the other twoJewish sects . I t i s a s ignificant fact that he tre

quently rebuked the S adducees and Pharisees , butnever denounced the Essenes .As we have seen

,the Essenes were ascetics and

cel ibates,wh i le the pure ly Mosai c of Jews were

ne ithe r. I t is true that fasting is occasional ly mentioned in the O l d T estament, as a sign of grief orof abasement

,but n ever as a means of gain ing

sa lvation in a future l i fe,— for immo rta l ity was

unknown to Moses and the Jews ; while ce l ibacy iseve rywhere spoken of i n the O ld T estament as. a_ _

95

mi sfortune , and an abundance of wives i s regardedas a proofT he Jews were encouraged in having a plural ity

of wives, but they were nowhere directed or, recommended to live on charity. T he Priests and Leviteswere not ordered to go about the country expoundingor teaching the Law. Consequently, when asceticism

,preaching, and celibacy began to be advocated,

between the time of An tiobhus and c us, the inference is that they were introduced from without, andby those of the only rel igion which inculcated themas articles of faith and practice .I t appears s ingular that there should be no men

tion of the Essenes in the New T estament, considering the fact that the other two Jewish sects were sofrequently spoken of.

'

T his can only be accountedfor on the ground that

/

the multitude of references inthe N ew T estamen t to a class cal l ed the Brethren

,

refer to the Essenes . T he Essen es were a brotherhood, and knew each other as brethren , as the Free

W ,who cla im descent from the Essenes , do at

the present day. We are to ld that the disciples werefirst ca l led Christians at Antioch . T hey must havehad a name previous to that , and we know they ad

dressed each other as brethren .

As De Quincey says :“ If the Essenes were not the

early Christians in disguise,then was Christianity,

as a bnowledge, taugh t independently of Christ , nay,

i n oppos ition to Chri st . ” 1 T h i s would expla i n the

1 H istorical and Critical Essays, p . 1 16. Boston : 1853 .

96

very s ingular fact that Josephus has not mentionedChr ist or the ear ly Christians . T he Essenes d isappeared from history shortly after the time ass ignedas the crucifixion of Christ, and i t is supposed thatthey have come down in h istory as Christians. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea , the ce lebrated eccles ias t ical h isto rian

,conside red th em Chr istians. H e says :

I t i s very l ikely that the commentaries [S criptures]wh ich were among them [the Essenes] we re theGospels

,and the works of the apos tles, and certa in

expositions of the anc ien t prophets, such as part lythat Epistle un to the Hebrews and a lso the otherEpistles of Paul do conta in .

” 1

Eusebius,i n quoting from Ph i lo concerning the

Essenes,seems to take i t for granted that they and

the Christians were one and the same and from them anner i n which he writes, i t would appear that i twas general ly understood so . He says that Philocal led them “ worshippers ,

”and concludes by say

ing : But whether he h im self gave them th is name,

or whether at the beginning they were so cal ledwhen as yet the name of Christians was not everywhere publ ished

,I think it not needful curios ity to

s ift out.” 2

Ep iphan ius, a Christian bishop and writer of thefourth century

,i n speaking of the Essenes , says :

T hey who believed on Chris t were cal led Jessaei [orEssenes] before they were cal led Christians. T hey

1 Hist. Eccl ., lib. 2, ch . xvi i . London : 163 7.2 Ibid .

97

derived the i r consti tution from the signification of

the name ‘ Jesus,

’ which i n Hebrew sign ifies the sameas T herapeutes, that is, a saviour or phys ician .

” 1

Godfrey Higgins says

T he Essenes were cal l ed physician s of the soul,

or T herapeutm being resident both in Judze a and

Egyp t, they probably spoke or had their sacredbooks in Cha ldee . T hey we re Py thagorean s

,as i s

proved by all their forms,ceremonies

,and doctrines

,

and they cal led themselves sons of Jesse. If thePythagoreans

,or Conenobitae

,as they were cal led

by Jamblicus, were Buddh ists , the Essenes wereBuddh i sts . T he Essenes cal led Koinobi i l ived inEgypt

,on the lake of Parembole or Maria

,in mon

aster ies. T hese are the very places in which weformerly found the Gymnosopbists or S amaneans, orBuddhist priests

,to have l ived

,which Gymnosophists

are placed a lso by Ptolemy in northeastern India.

T hei r [the Essenes] parishes, churches , bishops,priests

,deacons

,festival s are all identical ly the same

[as the Christians] . T h ey had apostol ic founders,

the manners which distinguished the immediate apostles of Christ, scriptures d ivinely in sp ired , the samea l legorica l mode of interpret ing them which has

s ince obta ined among Christians,and the same or

der of performing public worship . T hey had missionary stations or colonies of their communityestablished in Rome

,Corinth

,Galatia

,Ephesus

,

1 Doane, Bible Myths, p. 426. N ew York : 1 883 .

98

Phi lipp i,Colosse

,and T hessalon ica

,precise ly such

and in the sam e circums tances , as were those towhom S aint Paul addressed h is le tte rs in thoseplaces . Al l the fine mora l doctrines wh ich are

at tributed to the S am aritan Nazari te,and I doubt

not j ustly attributed to him,are to be found among

the doctrines of the ascetics .1

In reference to this subj ect, Arthur Li l l ie says

It i s asserted by calm thinkers l ike Dean Manse],that w i th i n two ge neration s of the time of Alexanderthe Great

,the m issionaries of Buddha made their

appearance at Alexandria . T h i s theory is confirmedin the east by the Asoka monumen ts

,in the west

by Ph i lo . He expressly m aintain s the identi ty increed of the h igher Judaism and that of the GymnosoPhists of India who absta ined from the sacrifice of l iv ing animal s,

” —in a word,the Buddhists .

I t would fol low from th i s that the pr iestly re l igions ofBabylonia, Palestine, Egypt , and Greece we re undermined by certa i n kindred mystical societies organiz ed by Buddha’s m issionaries u nder the variousnam es of T herapeutes, Essenes , N eo-Pythagoreans ,Neo-Zoroastrians

,etc . T hus Buddhism prepared

the way for Christianity.

2

We find S a int Paul , the first Apostl e of the Gent iles

,avowing that he was made a minister of the

1 Anacalypsis, vol. i . p . 747 , vol. i i . p. 43 . London : 1 827.2 Buddha and Early Buddhism , p. vi . London : 188 1 .

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IOO

Messiah had been appl ied to Gautama-Buddha, whopredicted that another Avatar would come upon earthin six hundred years after h is death . T h is t ime had

nearly expired ; so Jesus of Nazareth was proclaimedas the expected Mess iah by these Buddhist Jews,and the sun-myths were interwoven with his realh istory. Jesus unquestionably possessed a natureas divine as i t i s possible for a human being to possess

,or he would not otherwise have been received

as the AngeLM essrah by a sect so pure and holy as

were the Essenes .Justin Martyr

,in h is dialogue with T rypho, says

that there exist not a people, civil ized or sem i-civiliz ed

,who have not offered up p rayers in the n ame

of a crucified S aviour to the Father and Creator of

all things .1

Eusebius says that the names of Jesus and Christwere both known and honored by the ancients .2

T he Rev. Robert T aylor, i n writing upon this

subj ect,says :

What short of an absolute surrender of all pretence to an existence d istinct ive and separate fromPaganism is that never-to-be—forgotten , never-to-be

overlooked,and I am sure never-to-be-answered ca

pitulation of their [the Christians’

] Mel ito, Bishop

of S ardis , in wh ich in an apology del ivered to the

emperor,Marcus Antoninus , i n the year 1 70 , he com

1 H ist . Eccl. , l ib. i . ch . iv.2 Ibid.

IOI

plain s of certain annoyances and vexations whichChristians were at that time subj ected to , and for

which he cla ims redress from the j ustice and pie tyof that empe ror : first

,on the score that none of h is

ancestors had ever persecuted the professors of theChristian fa i th ; Nero and Dom itian only

,who had

been equal ly hosti le to their subj ects of all persua

s ions , having been disposed to bring the Christiandoctrine into ha tred

,and even tbeir decrees had

been reversed,and their rash ente rprises rebuked,

by the godly ancestors of Antoninus h imself.And secondly

,the good bishop claim s the patronage

of the emperor for the Christian rel igion , which hecal ls our pb ilosopby,

on accoun t of i ts b igb antiqu ity,as having been imported from countri es lying beyondthe limits of the Rom an empire, i n the reign of hisancestor Augustus

,who found its importation omi

nous of good fortune to h is governm ent .l

S a in t Augustine says : “T hat in our times is the

CHR IS T IAN RELIGION,which to know and fol low i s

the most sure and certa in heal th,cal l ed according to

that name, but not according to the th ing itself, of

which i t i s the nam e ; for the thing itself which isnow cal led the CHRIS T IAN RELIGION real ly was

known to the ancien ts,nor was wanting at any t ime

from the beginn ing of the human race un ti l the timewhen Chris t came in the flesh

,from whence the true

rel igion , which had previous ly existed, began to be

1 Diegesis, p . 249. Boston : 1 872 .

102

call ed Cbr istian ; and th is in our days is the Ch ristian rel igion

,n ot as having been wanting in former

times,but as having in later t imes received th is

nam e .” 1

Eusebius, the great champion Of Christianity

,

adm its that “ that wh ich is cal led the Christianreligion is neither new nor strange , but—if i tbe lawful to testi fy the truth—was known to theancients .

” 2

Ammon ius S accus (a Greek ph ilosopher, founderof the Neoplatonic school ) taugh t that Chr is t ianityand Paganism ,

when righ tly u nde rstood,differ in no

essen tia l po in ts, but had a common origin, and are

rea l ly on e and the same rel igion .

3

Celsus, the Epicurean ph i losopher, wrote thatthe Chris tian rel igion conta ins nothing but whatChristians hold i n common wi th heathen ; nothing

new.

” 4

Justin explains this in the fol lowing manner

I t having reached the Devil ’s ears that the prophetshad fo retold that Christ would come he [theDevi l] se t th e heathen poets to bring forward a greatmany who shou ld be ca l l ed sons of Jove [that is, thesons of God] the Devi l laying h is scheme in th is toget men ‘ to imagine that the true h istony of Christ

1 Opera Augustini , vol. i . p. 1 2. Quoted in T aylor’s Biegesis, p. 42 .

2 H ist. Eccl . , lib. 2, ch . v.

3 T aylor,Diegesis, p . 3 29.

4 Justin, Apol . 2 . S ee Bellamy’

s trans.

,p . 49.

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104

Eusebius,who is our ch ief guide for the early his

to ry of the Church , confesses that he was by no meansscrupulous to

’

reco rd the whole truth concern ing theearly Christ ians in the various works wh ich he hasleft behind him .

1 Edward Gibbon, speaking of him,

says :

T he gravest of the ecclesiastica l h istorians, Euse

bius h imself,indirectly con fesses that he has related

what might redound to the glory, and that he hassuppressed all that cou ld tend to the disgrace, of

rel igion. S uch an acknowledgment wil l n atura l lyexcite a susp icion that a write r who has so open lyviolated one of the fundamenta l laws of h is toryhas not paid a very strict regard to the observanceof the other ; and the suspicion w i l l derive additional credi t from the character of ‘ Eusebius

,which

was less tinctured with credul ity,and more practised

in the arts of courts,than that of almost any of his

contemporaries.

2

Isaac de Casaubon,the great ecclesiastical scholar,

says

It mighti ly aff ec ts m e to see how many there werein the earl ie st tim es of the Church

,who considered i t

as a capital exp lo i t to lend to heaven ly tru th the

help of the i r own i nven tions , i n order that the new

doctrine m ight be more readily received by the wise

1 Eusebius , H ist . Eccl. , ch . viii . p . 2 1 .

2 Gibbon, Rome, vol. i i . pp . 79, 80 . Ph iladelph ia : 1876.

105

among the Genti les. T hese ofli cious l ies , they werewont to say, we re devised for a good end .

1

Caecilius, i n the Octavius of M inuciusFelix, says

Al l these fragments of crack-bra ined Opiniatry ands il ly solaces played off i n the sweetness of song bydeceitful [Pagan] poets, by you too credulous creatures [that is, the Christians] have been shameful lyreformed and made over to your own god .

Faustus, wri t ing to S a in t Augustine , says

You have substituted your agapae for the sacrifices of 'the Pagans for thei r idols your martyrs,whom you serve w i th the very sam e honors . Y ou

appease the shades of the dead with w ine and feasts ;you celebrate the solem n festivals of the Gen ti les

,

their calends, and their sol stices and as to their

manners,those you have reta ined wi thout any a l te ra'

tion . Nothing distinguishes you from the Pagans,except that you hold your assemblies apart fromthem .

2

T he l earned Christian advocate,M . T urretin

,in

describing the state of Chr istianity i n the fourth century, says “

that i t was not so much the empi re thatwas brought over to the fa i th

,as the fa ith that was

1 Quoted in T aylor’s Diegesis , p . 44 .

2 Quoted by Draper in S cience and Religion, p . 48. NewYork : 1 876.

106

brought over to the empire not the Pagans who wereconve rted to Ch ristianity

,but Christian ity that was

converted to Pagan ism .

” 1

Edward Gibbon says in regard to this matter

I t m ust be confessed that the ministers of theCathol ic Church im i ta ted the profane model wh ichthey we re impatient to destroy. T he most respectable bishops had persuaded them se lves that the ignoran t rustics would more cheerful ly renounce thesupe rsti t ions of Pagan ism if they found some re

semblance,som e compensation , in the bosom of

Christianity. T he rel igion of Constantine ach ievedin less than a century the final conquest of the Roman

empi re ; but the victors themselves we re insensiblysubdued by the arts of their vanquished rivals .

2

T ertullian,one of the Christian Fa thers (A. D .

original ly a Pagan,and at one time Presbyter of the

Christian Chu rch in Afr ica, reasons in the fol lowingmanner on the ev idences of Chri stianity

I find no other means to prove myself to be impudent with success

,and happ i ly a fool , than by my

con tempt of shame,—as

,for i nstance

,I m aintain

that the S on of God was born . Why am I notashamed of ma in ta in ing such a th ing ? Why

,but

because i t i s itse lf a shameful thing. I m aintainthat the S on of God died . Well

,that i s whol ly

1 T aylor,Diegesis, p . 50 .

2 Gibbon,Rome, vol. i ii . p . 163 .

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108

In regard to the charge of sun -worsh ip,Mr. Bon

wi ck obse rves : “ T here were m any ci rcumstancesthat gave color to the accusat ion

,since in the second

cen tury they had left the s imple teaching of Jesusfor a host of assimilations wi th surrounding Paganmyths and symbols . S ti l l

,the defen ce m ade by T er

tul lian , one of the Fathers of the Church,was, to

say the least of i t, rather obscure . O thers,

’ wrote he,

‘ bel ieve the sun to be our god . If th is be so,we

must not be ranked with the Persian s ; though we worsh ip not the sun painted on a p iece of l inen ,

becausein truth we have h im in our own hem isphere . Lastly

,

th is susp icion arises from hence because it is wellknown that we pray toward the quarter of the eas t.

’ 1

T he Essenes always turned to the east to pray .

T hey m et once a week , and S pent the n ight in singing hymn s

,e tc.

,un ti l the rising of the sun . T hey

then reti red to the i r cel ls, afte r saluting one another .

Pl iny says the Christians of Bithyn ia m et before it wasl ight

, and sang hymns to Christ, as to a God . Afterthe i r service they sa l uted one another. I t i s j ustwhat the Pers ian Magi

,who were sun-worshippers ,

were in the hab i t of doing.

T here are not m any circumstances more strikingthan that of Chris t being original ly worshipped underthe form of a lamb . T he worship of the constellat ion Aries was the worship of the sun i n his passagethrough that S ign .

2 T h i s constel lat ion was cal led by

1 Egyptian Bel ief, p . 282 . London : 1 878.

2 Bible Myths, p . 503 .

109

the ancients the Lamb,or the R am . I t was a l so cal led

“ the S aviour,”and was said to save m ankind from

their sin s . I t was a lways honored with the appellat ion of Dom inus

,or “ Lord .

” I t was cal led by theancients “ the Lamb of God wh ich taketh away th esins of the world .

”T he devotees addressed it i n

their l itany, constan tly repeating the words . 0 Lambof God

,that taketh away the s ins of the world, have

mercy upon us g ran t us thy peace .

”

On an ancien t m eda l of the Phcen icians, broughtby Dr. Clark from Citium (and described in his“ T ravels

,

” vol . i i . ch . this “ Lamb of God isdescribed with the cross and rosary.

Yearly the sun-god , as the zodiacal horse (Aries) ,was supposed by the Vedic Aryans to die to save allfl e sh . Hence the practice of sacrificing horses . T heguardian spiri ts of the Prince S akya Buddha s ingthe following hymn

Once , when thou wast the white horse,In pity for the sufferings of m an ,

T hou didst flyacross heaven to the region of the evil demons,T o serve the happiness of mankind.

Persecu tions withou t end,Revilings and many prisons

,

Death and murder,T hese hast thou suffered with love and patience,Forgiving thine execu tioners.

1

Although Buddha i s said to have expired peacefullyat the foot of a tree

,h e is nevertheless described as

1 Buddha and Early Buddhism ,p . 93 .

1 10

a suffering S aviour,who

,when h is m ind was moved

wi th pity,gave h is l i fe l ike grass for the sake of

others .

1

T he oldest rep resentation of J esus Christ i s a

figure of a lamb, 2 to wh ich sometimes a vase wasadded

,into which the blood of the lamb flowed . A

S imple cross,wh ich was the symbol of eternal l ife

among the ancients , was sometimes placed alongsideof the lamb . In the course of time the lamb was puton the cross

,as the ancien t Israel ites had put the

Pascha l lamb cen tu ries before . Jesus was al so repre

sented in ear ly art as the “ Good S hepherd ,” that

is, as a young man w i th a lamb on his shoulders,justas the Pagan Apollo

,Mercury

,and o thers were

represented centuries before .

Ear ly Christian art,such as the has-rel iefs on sar

c0phagi, gave but o ne soli tary incident from the storyof Our Lord ’s Passion

,and that utterly divested of

all ci rcumstances of suff ering. Our Lord is repre

sented as young and beautifu l , free from bonds , withno accursed tree on his shoulders . 3

T he crucifixion i s not one of the subjects of

early Ch ristiani ty. T he death of our Lord was rept esented by various types

,but never in its actual form .

T he earliest instances of the.

crucifixion are foundin i llustrated m anuscr ipts of various countri es

,and

in ivory and enamelled images . S ome of these are

1 M axMuller, S cience of Religion, p . 224. London : 1 873 .

2 Jam eson, Our Lord in Art, vol. i i . p . 1 3 7 . London : 1 864.

3 Ibid .

, vol. i i . p. 3 1 7.

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1 1 2

on an infidel Opponent thus : AS for the adorationof crosses which you [Pagans] object to aga inst us

[Christians], I mus t tel l you that we neither adorecrosses nor des ire them ; you it is, ye Pagans , whoworsh ip wooden gods

,who are the most l ikely people

to adore wooden crosses , as being parts of the sam esubstance as your de iti es . For what else are youren signs

,flags

,and standards, but crosses , gil t and

beautified ? Your victorious troph ies not on ly rept esen t a cross , but a cross w i th a man upon i t.” 1

T ertul l ian , a Christ ian Father of the second and

th ird cen turies,in writing to the Pagans

,says :

T he origin of your gods i s derived from figuresmoulded on a cross . All those rows of im ages onyour standards are the appendages of crosses thosehangings on your s tandards and banners are therobes of crosses .2

I t would appear that the crucifixion was not commou ly bel ieved in among early Christians . I t iscontrad icted three times in the Acts of th e Apostles .“Whom ye slew and hanged on a tree ”

(Acts v.says Pe ter of Jesus. He states aga in (x. 3 9)

Whom they slew and hanged on a tree ;”

and re

peats (xii i .“ T hey took h im down from the tree

and la id him in a sepu lchre .

”T here is no crucifix

ion, as common ly understood , i n these statemen ts .

1 T aylor,Diegesis, pp . 1 98, 199.

2 Bonwick,Egyptian Belief, p . 2 1 7.

1 1 3

Outs ide of the N ew T estam ent, there i s no evidence whatever in book

,inscription

,or monum ent

,

that Jesus was ei ther scourged or crucified underPon tius Pilate . Josephu s, T aci tus , Plin ius , Philo , norany of their con temporaries, have refe rred to the factof th is crucifixion, or exp ress any bel ief thereon . Inthe Jew ish T a lmud

,Jesus i s not referred to as the

crucified one,but as the “ hanged on e .

” 1 Elsewhereit i s narrated that he was stoned to death .

2

S aint Iren zeus (A.D. one of the most celebrated

, mos t respected , and most quoted of theChri stian Fathers, tel l s us on the authority of hismaster, Polycarp, who had i t from S a int John h imself, and from others , that Jesus was not crucified at

the tim e stated in the Gospels,but that he l ived to

be nearly fifty years old .

T he fol lowing is a port ion of the passage

As the chief part of thirty years belongs to youth,

and every one wi l l con fess h im to be such ti l l thefort ieth year ; but from the fortieth he decl ines in toold age , wh ich our Lo rd [Jesus] having attained

,he

taught us the Gospel , and all the elders who,in Asia

assembled w i th John , the discipl es of th e Lord testify; and as Joh n h im self had taugh t them .

Andhe [John ?] remai ned with them ti l l the tim e ofT raj an . And some of them saw not only John but

1 Wise , T he Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth,p . 100 .

2 Ibid .,p . 1 06.

8

1 14

other Apostles,and heard the same thing from them

,

and bear the same testimony to th is revelation .

1

In John vi i i. 56, Jesus is m ade to say to the Jews :Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and

he saw it and was glad .

”T hen sa id the Jews un to

him :“ T hou art not yet fif ty years old, and hast

thou seen Abraham If J e sus was then only th irtyor thereabouts

,the Jews would natura lly have said ,

“ T hou art not yet f orty years of age .

”

T here was a trad i tion among the early Christiansthat Annas was h igh pr iest when Jesus was crucified .

T h is is evident from the Acts (iv. Now,Annas

,

or Annias,was n ot h igh-priest un ti l the year 48 A . D.

2

T herefore,if Jesus was crucified at that time , he

must have been about fifty years of age . I t is truethere was ano ther Annas , h igh-priest at Jerusalembut that was when Gratus was procurator of Judaea ,som e twelve or fifteen years before Pontius Pilateheld the same ofli ce.

3

Accord ing to Dio Cassius,Plutarch

,S trabo , and

oth ers,there existed i n the time of He rod among the

Roman-S yrian heathen a widespread and d e ep sym

pathy for a“ crucified King of the Jews . ” T h i s was

the youngest son of Aristobulus,the h eroic Maccabee .

In the year 43 B . c . we find this young m an Ah

tigonus in Palestine claim ing the crown , his cause

1 Quoted in Anacalypsis, vol. i i . p . 1 2 1 .

2 Josephus , An tiqu ities , bk . xx. ch . v. p . 2 .

3 Ibid., bk . xvii . ch . i i . p . 3 .

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1 16

crucifixion , conside red it to have been in some mysti cway, perhaps what might have been cal led spir itu

aliter,as i t i s regarded in the Revelation but, not

w i thstanding the d ifferen t Opinions they h e ld,they

all denied that the Chri st d id real ly die , in the l itera lacceptation of the term , on the cross . M r . King

,i n

speaking of the Gnostic Christi ans, says :

T heir chief doctrines had been held for centu ri esbefore in many of the cities in Asia M inor. T here,i t i s probable

,they first came into existence , as

M ystce, upon the establ ishment of direct intercoursewi th India, under the S eleucidae and Ptolemies . T he

college of Essenes and M egabyzae at Ephesus,the

Ophites of T hrace , the Cretans of Crete, are allmerelybranches of one an tique and common religion , and

that originally Asiatic.1

S evera l of the texts of the Gospe l histories werequoted with great plaus ibility by the Gnos tics insupport of their doc t rines . T he story of Jesuspassing through the midst of the Jews when th eywere about to cas t h im headlong from the brow of a

hi l l (Luke iv . 29, and when they were going tostone him (John ii i . 59 ; x . 3 1 , were not eas ilyrefuted .

T he re are those who consider Jesus Christ, not as

a person , but as a S pi ri tual principle, personified bythe Essenes , as the ancien ts person ified the sun ,

and gave to it an experience sim i lar to their own .

1 K ing, Gnosti cs , p . I.

1 1 7

According to Josephus and Philo,1 the Essene doctrines were kept secret with the grea tes t possibl ecare . T he m embers of the brotherhood were ad

m itted into the assembly on ly after a three years’

novi tiate,and they were then not only swo rn to

secrecy,but were sworn a l so not to comm i t any por

t ion of their doctrine to writing, except in al legoryand symbol ism ,

“as they received i t ;

”for they

were instructed only by m eans of al legories and sym

bol io representat ions . I t was their custom to as

semble and l isten to interpretations of the Hebrewsacred writings from the elders among them . In re

gard to this practice Philo says

And these explan ations of the S acred S cripturesare del ivered by mystic express ions in a l legories for

the whol e of the LAW appears to these men to re

semble a l iving an im al,and i ts exp ress command

ments seem to be the BODY , and the invis ible m eaningunde r and lying beneath the plain words resemblesthe S OUL, i n which the rationa l soul begins most excellen tly to contemplate what belongs to itself, as ina mirror

,beholding in these very words the exceed

ing beauty of the sentiments, and unfolding and explain ing the symbols and bringing the secret meaningto the l igh t of all who are able

,by the l ight of a

1 S ee Josephus, Antiqu ities, bk . i i . 8 also Wars,bk . xv i i i .

1 . Philo on the Virtuous being also Free (Bohn’

s ed .,vol. ii i .

pp . 523 et also Fragments (vol. and Essay on theContemplative Li fe (vol.

1 1 8

S l ight intimation,to perce ive what is unseen by what

i s visible .

In another place the Essenes are said “ to take upthe S acred S criptures and ph i losoph i ze concern ingthem , investigating the a l legories of the i r na t ionalph i losophy

,since they look upon thei r l i teral ex

press ions as symbol s of som e secret m ean ing of

nature , intended to be conveyed by those figurativeexpressions .T hey are sai d also to have writings of ancient

men , who, having been the founders of one sect oranother

,have left beh ind th em many m emorial s of

the a l l egoric system of writing and explan ation ,and they im itate the general fashion of their sect, sothat they do not occupy themselves sole ly in contemplation , but they l ik ewise compose psalms and

hymns to God in every k ind of metre and melodyimaginable .

1

In the Visions, Commands, and S im ilitudes of H er

mas—one of the Apocryphal New T estament booksthat was discarded by th e Athanasian Council , butwhich was previously accepted by Chr istian s — we

find the Law of God spoken of as the S on of God .

In the eighth S im i li tude a mystica l shepherd is in

troduced as expounding a Vision in these words

T his great tree wh ich covers the plains and mounta ins

,and all of the earth , is the LAW OF GOD, pub

1 Hitchcock , Christ the S piri t, pp. 3 4—3 7.

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1 20

races were to call brother was not to be too closelyassociated with the particular l ineaments of any one.S a int John , the be loved disciple , could l ie

'

on thebreast of Jesus with all the freedom of fel lowsh ip

,

but not even he has left a word to indicate whatm anner of man was the Div ine Master after the flesh .

We are therefore left to imagine the expression mostbefitting the character of h im who took upon himselfour l ikeness, and looked at the woes and s ins of

mankind through the eyes of our mortal ity.

1

T he Rev . Mr. Geikie says , in his Life of Christ :

No hint i s given in the New T estament of Chri st’sappearance and the early Church

,in the absence of

all guiding facts, had to fal l back on imagination .

In the first years the Christian Church fancied itsLord’s visage and form marred more than those of

other men ; and that he must have had no attraetions of persona l beauty. Justin Martyr (A. D . 1 50

1 60) speaks of him as without beauty or attractiven ess

,and of mean appearance . Clement of Alex

dria (A. D . 200) describes h im as of an un invi tingappearance

,and a lmost repulsive . T ertull ian (A . D .

2 0 0—2 1 0) says he had not even ordinary humanbeauty, far less heaven ly. Origen (A . D. 2 3 0) wentso far as to say that he was sm al l i n body and deform ed

,as wel l as low born , and that his on ly beauty

was in h is sou l and l ife .

” 2

1 History of Our Lord in Art, vol. i . p . 3 1 .2 Geikie

,Life of Christ, vol. i . p . 1 5 1 .

1 2 1

One of the favorite ways of depicting h im fina l lycame to be under the figure of a beautiful and adorable youth , of about fifteen or eighteen years of age ,beardless , with a sweet express ion of countenance

,

and long and abundant ba i rfl owing over b is sboulders.

His brow is som e times encircled by a diadem orbandeau, l ike a young priest of the Pagan gods thatis,i n fact

,the favorite figure . On scu lptured sar

cOphagi, in fresco paintings and mosaics,Chris t i s

thus represented as a graceful youth, j ust as Apol lowas figured by the Pagans , and as angels are

represented by Christians .1

T he fol lowing letter, addressed to the senate of

Rome,is sa id to have been written by Publ ius Len

tulus,Roman Procurator of Judma i n the reign of

T iberius Cmsar.

T here has appeared in these days a man of ex

traordinary virtue, named JESUS CHRIS T , who i s yetl iving among us, and by the people, generally, ac

cepted of as a prophet, but by some he is cal led the

S ON OF GOD. He rai ses the dead and cures all man

ner of diseases . A man ta l l and comely of stature ,with a very reverend countenance, such as the beholders cannot but love and fear ; his hai r of thecolor of a chestnut ful l ripe, and plain down to hisears ; but from

‘

thence downward m ore o rient of

color,waving about his shoulders . In the midst of

his head goeth a seam , o r partition of his hai r, after

1 J . P. Lundy,Monumental Christianity, p. 23 1 .

1 22

the manner of the N azar i tes ; his forehead very plainand smooth

,his face wi thout spot or wrinkle

,beauti

ful with a comely red,his nose and mouth so formed

that nothing can be found fault with h i s beardsom ewhat thick , agreeable to the hai r of h i s head ,n ot of any great length , but forked in the midst of

an inoffen s ive look his eyes blue, clear, and quick .

In reproving he is severe in admonishing courteousand friendly ; pleasant in speech , but m ixed withgravity . I t cannot be remembe red that any haveseen h im laugh

,but many have observed him to

weep . In proportion of body wel l shaped, and

a man for s ingular beauty exceeding the rest of

mankind .

1

ItWi l l be observed that the reddish , waving, abundant ha ir resembles the sun-gods , n early all of thembeing represented with an abundance of long

,wav

ing red or yel low hair,denoting the rays of the

sun .

T he Imperial Russian Col lection boasts of a headof Christ which is sa id to be very ancient. I t i s a

fine intaglio on emerald . Mr. King says of i t : “ Iti s real ly a head of S erapis, seen in front and crownedwith Persia boughs , easily mistaken for thorns , thoughthe bushel on the head leaves no doubt as to the realpersonage .” 2

“ T here can be no doubt,” says Mr. King, “

that

1 T he Vernon Gallery of Bri tish Art, No. xxxvnI.

2 King’s Gnostics, p . 1 3 7.

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1 24

being, the Life to come. ” 1 T hey certa in ly adoredthe cross with profound venerat ion . T his sacredsymbol i s to be found on many of their ancientmonum ents, some of wh ich m ay be seen at theBritish Museum . In the London U niversity a crossupon a Calvary is to be seen upon the breast ofone of the Egyptian mummies . Many of the Egypt ian images hold a cross in their hand . T here isone now extant of the Egyptian S aviou r, Horus,holding a cross in his hand, and he i s representedas an infant on hi s mother’s kn ee

,wi th a cross on

the back of the seat they occupy.

2

T he commonest of all the Egyptian crosses , thecrux ansata

,was adopted by the Chr i stians. When

the S aviour Os iris is represen ted hold ing out thecrux ansata to a mortal , i t s ign ifies that the personto whom he presents it has put off mortal i ty and

entered on the life to come .8

T he Greek cross and the cross of S aint Anthony

are al so found on Egyptian monuments . A figure of

a S hari from S ir Gardner Wilkinson ’s book (fig. 1 4)has a n ecklace round h i s throat, from which depends

a pectoral cross . Anoth er Egyptian cross which is

appare n tly in tended for a Latin cross r ising out of

a heart,l ike the m ediaaval emblem of cor in cr uce

,

cr ux in corde,is the h ieroglyph of goodness .‘

1 H isf. Eccl ., i i . ch . 29 .

2 R . P . Knigh t , Ancient Art and Mythology , p . 58 .

3 Curious Myths, p. 3 85 .

4 H . M . W estrop ,in Gentlem an’

s Magazine, N . S . vol. xv .

p . 80.

1 25

T he'

ancient Egyptian s were in the habit of puttinga cross on their sacred cakes , j ust as Christians ofthe pres

'

éfi f day on Good Friday. T he plan of thechamber of som e Egypt ian sepulchres has the form

of a cross . T he cross was worn by Egyptian womenas an ornament as i t i s worn to day by Christ ians .T he ensign s and standards carried by the Persians

during their wars with Alexander the Great (B . C .

3 3 5 ) were m ade in the form of a cross .1

S ir Robert Ker Porter, i n h is very valuable workentitled T ravels in Georgia , P ersia , Armen ia

,

2and

Ancient Babylon ia , gives a representation of a bas

rel ief of very ancient antiquity,wh ich he found at

Nash i-R oustam,or the Mounta in of S epulch res. I t

represents a combat between two horsemen—Ba

haram-Gour,one of the old Persian kings, and a

T arta r prince. Babaram-Gour i s in the act of

charging h i s opponent with a spear,and beh ind h im

,

scarcely visible , appears an almost effaced fo rmwh ich must have been his standard-bearer

,as the

ensign i s very plain ly to be seen . T his ensign i s across. T here is another represen tation of the samesubj ect to be seen i n a bas-rel ief

,which shows the

standard-bearer and his cross -ensign very plain ly.

T his bas-relief belongs to a period when the Arsacedian k ings governed Pers ia

,which was withi n a

century after the t ime of Alexander,and consequently

more than two centuries B . o.

s

1 Bonwick , Egyptian Bel ief, p . 2 17.2 Vol. 1. p . 545, pl . xxi .

3 P. 529, pl . xvi .

1 26

S ir Robert also found at th is place sculptures cutin the so l id rock wh ich are i n th e form of crosses .T hese belong to the early race of Pe rsian monarchs

,

whose dynasty term inated under the sword of Alexander the Great .1 At the foot of Mount NakshiRaj ab he also found bas-rel iefs , among which weretwo figures carrying a cross-standard . I t is coevalwith the sculp tures found at Nashi-R oustam

,and

th erefore belongs to a period before Alexander’sinvasion .

T he ancient Babylon ians honored the cross as a

re l igious symbol . It is found on their oldest monu

m en ts . Anu,a deity who stood at the head of

Babylon ian mythology, had a cross for h i s S ign orsymbol. I t i s a lso the symbol of the Babylonian

god Bal.2 A cross hangs on the breast of T iglath

Pileser, i n the colossal tablet from N imrood,now in

the Bri t i sh Museum . Another k ing from the ruinsof N ineveh wears a Mal tese cross on h i s bosom ;and another from the hal l of N i sroch carries an

emblem atic necklace to wh ich a Mal tese cross i sattached .

’3 T he cr ux ansata was also a sacred symbol among the Babylonian s . I t occurs repeatedly ontheir cyl inders

,bricks , and gem s .

T he c ross has been honored in India from timeimm emorial, and was a symbol of mysterious sign ificance i n Brahm in ical iconography. I t was the

1 Pl . xvi i .2 Egyptian Bel ief, p . 2 18.

3 Bonom i , N ineveh and i ts Palaces, pp . 3 03 , 3 3 3 , 404.

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1 28

Mr. Doane,i n his Bible lliytbs (p . 1 86

,fig.

gives a represen tation of a pre-Christian crucifix of

Asiatic o rigin , wh ich is eviden tly in tended to represent the Hindoo crucified S aviour, C rishna, thePardoner of S ins” and “Liberator from the S erpent

of Death .

” 1 Plate number vii i .,sam e page

,is with

out doubt Crishna crucified . Instead of the crownof thorns usual ly put on the head of the ChristianS aviour i t has the turreted coronet of the EphesianDiana .

In the earl ier copies of Moor’s H indu P antbeonare to be seen representations of Crishna (as Wittoba) with marks of holes in both feet, and in othersof holes in the hands . Figure vi . has a round holei n the side . T o the col lar hangs the emblem of a

heart .T he monk Georgius

,in his T ibetinum Alpbabetum

(p. has given plates of a crucified god worshipped at Nepal . T hese crucifixes were to be seenat the corne rs of roads and on eminences . He cal l si t the god Indra .

No sooner i s Indra born than he speaks to hi sm other. Like Apol lo and all othe r sun-gods, he has

golden locbs, and , l ike them ,he is possessed of an in

scrutable wisdom . He is also bo rn of a virgin , theDawn . Crishna and Indra are one.2

1 Child,Progress of Rel igious Ideas, vol. i . p . 72 . Lon

don : 1 87 1 .

2 C ox, Aryan Mythology, vol. I. pp. 88, 3 04 ; vol. i i . p . I3 1 .

London : 1 870 .

1 29

T he sun -gods were general ly sa id to speak to theirmothers as soon as they were born . T his myth waswoven into the . l ife of Buddha, and the Apocrypbal

lVew T estament makes the same statement in regardto Christ. 1

P. Andrada 1a Croz ius, one of the first Europeanswho went to Nepa l and T h ibet, in speaking of thegod whom they worshipped there , Indra, tel ls us thatthey sa id he S p i l t h i s blood for the salvation of thehuman race

,and that he was pierced through the

body with nai l s . He further says that,al though they

do not say he suffered the penal ty of the cross , yetthey find

,nevertheless, figures of i t i n their books .

2

Monsieur Gu ign iaut, i n his R eligion de l’

Antiqu ité,

tel ls us that the death of Cr ishn a i s very differentlyrelated . One tradition makes h im perish on a tree ,to which he was na i led by the stroke of an arrow .

3

Dr. Inman says : Crishn a, whose h is tory soclosely resembles our Lord ’s

,was al so l ike h im in

his being crucified.

” 4

On the p romontory of India, in the S outh at T an

j ore , and i n the North at Oude or Ayoud ia , wasfourid the worship of the crucified god Bal laj i orWittoba. T h is god , Who was beli eved to have beenan incarnation of Vishnu

,was represented with holes

in his hands and s ide .

5

1 S ee the Gospel of the Infancy of Christ .2 Quoted in Higgins

’

s Anacalypsis, vol. i i . p . 1 18.

3 Ibid ., vol. i . p . 144.

4 Ancient Fa i ths,vol. i . p . 4 1 1 . London : 1872 .

5 Higgins, Anacalypsis, vol. i . p . 147 .

9

1 3 0

T he cross has been an obj ect of profound venerat ion among the Buddh ists from the earl iest t im es .One is the sacred swastica . I t is seen on Buddhistzodiacs

,and is one of the symbols in the Asoka in

scriptions.

1 I t is the sectarian m ark of the Ja ins,and

the distinctive badge of the sect of Xaca Japon ieus.

T he Vaishnaves of India have also the same sacredsign .

2 According to Arthur Li l l ie,the only Christian

cross in the Catacombs is th is Buddh ist swastica .3

T he cross is adored by the fol lowe rs of the Lam a

of T h ibet. T he Buddh ists,and indeed all of the

sects of India, marked their fol lowers on the headwith th e S ign of the cross . T h is ceremony was undoub tedly practiced by a lmost all heathe n nat ions .T he resemblance between the ancien t rel igion of

T h ibet and that of the Christian s has been noticedby many European travell ers and missionaries , amongwhom may be m en tioned Pete Grebillon , Pere Grueber , Horace de la Paon , B

’

Orville,and M . l

’

Abbé

Huc.

Mr . Doane gives us a representation of the Crucified Dove worshipped by the ancients

,

‘1—the sun of

noonday crucified in the heavens,who

,in the words

of Pindar (5 2 2 B .

“ is seen writhing on his wingedwheel in the highest heaven .

” 5

1 King, Gnostics, p . 2 3 .

2 Buddha and Early Buddhism ,pp . 7, 9, 22.

3 Ibid .,p . 2 27 .

1 B ible Myths,p . 485 .

5 T he Extant Odes of Pindar , translated by Ernest Myers,M .A .

, p . 59. London : 1 874.

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1 3 2

T his brings to mind the doctrine of certain Christian heretics (so cal led) , who mai nta ined that J esusChrist was crucified in the heavens .T he crucified Iao Divine Love person ified) i s

the crucified Adon is,or T ammuz (the Jewish Adona i) ,

the S un , who was put to death by the wild boar of

Aries,one of the twelve s igns in the zodiac . T he

crucifixion of Divine Love is often found amongthe Greeks . Hera or Juno

,according to the I liad

,

was bound with fetters and suspended in space , between heaven and earth . Ixion , Prometheus , and

Apol lo of M i l etus were all crucified .

1

T he story of the crucifixion of Prometheus was allegorical for Prometheus was only a titl e of the sun

,

expressing providence or foresight,wherefore his be

ing crucified in the extremities of the earth signifiedoriginal ly no more than the restriction of the power

of the sun during the winter mon ths .2

A great number of the solar heroes, or sun-gods,are forced to endure being bound, which indicatesthe tied-up power of the sun i n winter.3

Ach illeus and M eleagros represent al ike the shortl ived sun

,whose course is one of toi l for others , end

ing in an early death , after a series of wonderfulvictories

,al ternating with periods of darkness and

1 S ee S m i th’

s Dictionary of Greek and Roman B iographyand Mythology, under art. Hera.

2 Knigh t, Ancient Art and Mythology, p . 88 . New York :1 876.

3 Goloz iher, H ebrew Mythology, p . 406. London : 1 877.

1 3 3

gloom .

1 In the tal es of the T rojan war i t i s re

lated of Achilleus that he expires at the S kaian,or

wes tern gates of even ing. He is sla in by Paris,who

here appears as the Pani,or dark power

,who blots

out the sun from the heaven .

We have the C rucified Rose,which i s il lustrated

in the j ewel of the Ros icrucians . T his j ewel i sform ed of a transparent red stone

,with a red cross

on one s ide , and a red rose on the other ; thus i t is acrucified rose . “ T he Rossi

, or Ros i-crucians, ideaconcerning th is emblematic red cross

,

” says H ar

grave Jennings, i n his E'

story of tbc R osicrucians,

“ probably came from the fable of Adonis beingchanged into a red rose by Venus .” 2

T he emblem of the T emplars i s a red rose on across . When it can be done , i t i s surrounded wi tha glory and placed on a ca lvary. T h is i s the Naurutz , N atsir

,or Rose of Isuren

,of T amul , or S haron ,

or th e Water Rose,the L i ly Padma

,Pena

,Lotus

,

crucified in the heavens for the salvation of m an .

3

T he principal s i lver coin among the Romans, ca l ledthe denarius

,had on one s ide a person ification of

Rome as a warrior with a he lmet, and on the reversea chariot drawn by four horses . T he driver had a

cross-standard in one hand . T his i s a representationof a denarius of the earl iest kind

,which was first

1 G . W. Cox, T ales of Ancient Greece, p. xxxi i . London1870 .

2 T he Rosicrucians, p. 260. London : 1 879.

3 Ibid .

1 3 4

co ined 296 B . c .

1 T he cross was u sed on the roll ofthe Roman soldiery as the S ign of l ife . T he labarumof Constantine was the X and P in combination

,

wh ich was the monogram of the Egyptian S aviourOsiris

,of Jupiter Ammon, and afterwards of Christ.2

T he monogram of Mercury was a cross .

8 T he

monogram of the Egyptian T aut was fo rm ed bythree crosses .‘1 T he monogram of S aturn was a

cross and a ram ’s horn i t was a lso a monogram of

Jup i te r.5 T he monogram of Venus was a cross anda ci rcle .

6 T he Phoen ician Astarte, the BabylonianBal

,Freya

,Holder

,and Aphrodite , all had the same

monogram .

7

An oval seal of white chalcedony engraved in theM e

'moires de l

’

Acade’

m ie royale des Inscr iptions et

Belles Lettres (vol . has as subj ect a standingfigure between two stars

,benea th which are handled

crosses. About the head of the deity is the triangle,

or symbol of the T rin i ty. T h i s seal i s supposed tobe Phoenician . T he Phoen icians a l so regarded thecross as a sacred S ign . T he goddess Astarte ,—the

moon , —the presiding divin i ty over the watery ele

ment, i s represented on the coins of Byblos holding

1 Chambers’ Encyclopaedia, art. Denarius .

2 Celtic Dru ids,p . 1 27 (London : and Bonwick

’

s

Egyptian Belief, p . 218.

3 Ibid. p . 1 0 1 .4 Ibid . p . 1 0 1 .

5 Ibid . p . 1 27 .3 Ibid. p. 1 27 .

7 Bonwick’

s Egyptian Belief, p . 2 18 ; also Cox, Aryan M ythology, vol. i i . p . 1 1 5 .

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1 3 6

accompanies the de i ty, in t he same manner as thehandled cross is associated with the Persepol itan

,

Babylonish , and Egyptian gods, it i s supposed that i thad the same sign ification of “ Life E ternal .” I t i sa lso thought that i t symbol ized regeneration throughwater. On Babylonish cylinders i t is general ly employed in conj unction wi th the hawk or eagle

,either

seated on it or flying above it. T h i s eagle is N isroch, whose eyes are a lways flowing wi th tears forthe death of T ammuz . In Greek iconography Zeusthe heaven— is accompanied by the eagle to

symbol ize the cloud. On several Phoen ician or uncertai n coins of Asia M inor the eagle and the cross

go together. T herefore it is thought that the crossmay symbolize l ife restored by rain .

1

An inscription i n T hessaly is accompanied by a

calvary cross , and Greek crosses of equal arm s adornthe tomb of Midas . C rosses of diff erent shapes are

common on ancien t cinerary urns in I taly . T heseform s occur under a bed of volcan ic tufa on theAlbion Mount

,and are of remote ant iquity.

But long before the Romans , long before theEtruscans

,there l ived in the plains of Northern Italy

a people to whom the cross was a relig ious symbol ,the S ign beneath wh ich they laid the i r dead to rest,—a people of whom h i story te l l s noth ing

,knowing

not their name , but of whom antiquar ian research

1 S ee Baring-Gould’

s Curious Myths of the Middle Ages,p . 3 63 . London : 1 872 .

I3 7

has l earned thi s, that they l ived in ignorance of the

arts of civi lization , that they dwelt in vi l lages bui lt onplatform s over lakes , and that they trusted in thecross to guard , and m ay be to revive , their lovedones whom they comm itted to the dust.1

T he ancient cemeteries of Vil lanova, near Bologna,and Golaseca, on the plateau of S omma, at the ex

trem ity of Lake Maggiore,S how conclusively that

above a thousand years before Chris t the cross was

al ready a rel igious emblem of frequent employment.2

T he most ancient coins of the Gauls were circular ,with a cross in the middle, l ike l ittle wheels, as i twere

,with four large perforations . T hat these

rouelles were not de signed to represent wheel s is apparen t from there being only four spokes , placed at

right angles . Moreover, when the coins of the Greektype took their place the cross was continued as the

ornamentation of the coin .3

T he reverse of the coins of the Volcm T ectosages,

who inhabited the greater portion of Languedoc, wasimpressed with crosses

,the ir angles fi l led with pel

l ets,so l ike those on the silver coins of the Edwards

that, were i t not for the qual i ty of the meta l , onewould take these Gaul ish coin s to be the productionof the M iddle Ages . T he LeucI, who inhabited thecoun try round the modern T oul

,had simi lar coins .

1 Curious Myths, p . 3 64.

2 De M ortillet, Le S igne de la Croix avant le Christianisme .Paris : 1866.

3 Curious Myths, p . 3 48.

1 3 8

Near Paris,at Choisy-le-Roy, was discovered a Gaul

ish coin representing a head,i n barbarous im i tation

of that on a Greek medal,and the reverse occupied

by a serpent coi led round the c ircum ference,enclos

ing two birds . Between these birds i s a cross,with

pellets at the end of each l imb , and a pellet in eachangle .1

A sim i lar coin has been found in numbers nearArthenay, i n Loiret, as well as others of analogoustype . O ther Gaul ish coins bear the cross on bothobverse and reverse . About two hundred pieces of

this description were found in 1 83 5 in the village ofC rem iat-sur-Yen , near Quimper, in a brown earthenurn , with ashes and charcoal , i n a rude kistvaen of

stone blocks , —proving that the cross was used onthe coins in Armorica at the time when incinerationwas practised .

2

Just as the S a int George’s cross appears on theGau l ish coins

,so does the cross cramponné e , or

T hor’s hamm er, appear on the S candinavian moneys .In ploughing a field n ear Bornholm ,

in Fyen , i n1 83 5 , a discovery was made of severa l gold coin sand ornam en ts belonging to ancient Dan ish civi l iz ation . T hey were impressed with a four-footedhorned beast

,girthed and mounted by a monstrous

hum an head, intended in barbaric fash ion to represent the rider . In fron t of the head was the signof T hor’s hammer. S ome of these specimen s exhibited l ikewise the name of T hor in Runes .

1 Curious Myths,p . 3 49 .

2 Ibid .,p. 3 50 .

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140

as a magica l s ign in connection with storms of windand ra in . T he German peasantry use the S ign of

the c ross to d ispel a thunder-storm,the cross being

used because i t resembles T hor’s hammer,T hor

being th e T hundere r. For the sam e reason bel lswe re often m arked with the “ fylfot,

” or cross of

T hor,especial ly where the Norse settl ed , as in

L incolnshire and Yorkshire. T hor’s cross is on thebel ls of Appleby, S cothern , Waddingham , Bishop

’sNorton , and Barkwith , al so those of Hathersage inDerbyshire , Mexborough i n Yorkshire, and manymore .T he fylfot is the sac red swastica of the Buddhists

,

and the symbol of Buddha. T he early Aryan na

t ions cal led the cross a ran i . Its two arms weren amed pramatba and swastica . T hey were merelytwo pieces of wood with handles, and by rubbingtogether they kindled the sacred fire agn i .

From pramatba comes the Grecian myth of Prometheus

,who stole the fire of heaven from Zeus in a

hol low staff and kindled the divine spark of l ife inm an formed of clay. Hence in worshipping thecross

,the Aryans were but worshipping the element

fi re .

1

On the reverse of a coin found at U gain i s a crossof equal arms

,with a circle at the ex tremity of each ,

and the fylfot in each circl e .

T he sam e pecul iar figure occurs on coins of Syra

1 W. B . Wilson, T he Cross Ancient and Modern , p. 1 1 .

N ew York : 1 888.

14 1

cuse,Corinth

,and Cha lcedon , and i s frequently em

ployed on Etruscan cinerary urns . I t appears onthe dress of a fossor

,as a sort of badge of his offi ce,

on one of the paintings in the Roman Catacombs .

1

T he cross was found among the ru ins of Pompeii .2

In the depths of the forests of Central Americai s a ruined ci ty, Pa lenque , founded, according totradition , by Votan , i n the n inth century before theChristian era . T he principa l bui lding in Pa lenqueis the palace . T he eastern facade has fourteen doorsOpening on a terrace

,with bas-rel iefs between them .

A noble tower ri ses above the courtyard in thecentre . In this bui lding are severa l smal l temples

or chapels, with al tars standing. At the back of oneof these al tars i s a slab of gypsum

,on wh ich are

sculptured two figures standing one on each side ofa cross , to which one is extending h is hands with an

offering of a baby or a monkey . T he cross i s surrounded with rich feather-work and ornamental chains .T he style of sculpture and the accompanying

hieroglyph i c i nscriptions leave no room for doubtingi t to be a heathen representation . Above th e crossi s a bird of pecul iar character

,perched l ike the eagle

of N i sroch on a cross upon a Babylonish cyl inder.T he same cross i s represented on old

'

pre-MexicanM S S .

,as i n the Dresden Codex

, and that i n the possession of Herr Fejé rvary, at the end of which is aco lossal cross

,i n the midst of which is represented

1 Curious Myths, p. 3 54.

2 Pentateuch Exam ined, vol. vi . p. 1 1 5.

142

a bleeding deity, and figures standing round a T au

cross , upon which is perched the sacred bird .

1

A very fine and h igh ly pol ished cross which wastaken from the Incas was placed in the RomanCathol ic cathedra l at Cusco .

2

T he cross was used in the north of Mexico . I toccurs amongst the M ixtecas and i n Queredaro .

S iguenza mentions an Indian cross which was foundin the cave of M ixteca Baj a. Among the ruins on

the is land of Z aputero in Lake N icaragua werea lso found old crosses reverenced by the Indians .White m arble crosses were found on the island of

S t. U l loa, on its d iscovery. In the S tate of Ooxaca,the S paniards found that wooden crosses were erectedas sacred symbols , so also in Aguatolco, and amongthe Z apatecas. T he cross was venerated as far as

Florida on one s ide,and Cibola on the other. In

S outh America the same s ign was considered sym

bolical and sacred . I t was revered in Paraguay.

Among the Muyscas at Cumana the cross was regarded with devotion and was believed to be en

dowed with power to drive away evi l spirits ;consequently new-born children were placed underthe sign .

3

T he cross was the central obj ect in the greattemple Cogames.

1 Klemm,Kul turgesch ichte , v . 142, I43 .

2 Higgins, Anacalypsis, vol. i i . p . 3 2.

3 S ee l ist of authori ties in M iiller , Geschichte der Ameri~kan ishen U rreligionen (Basi l , pp . 3 7 1 , 42 1 , 498, 499.

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148

conceive and bring forth ”; in other words, that she shal l

give birth to the God S un , l ike the Virgi n of S ais .From

this idea are derived the pictures , which are delineated inthe sphere of the Magi , of which Abulmazar has given usa descr iption , and of which Kirker

, S eldon , the famousPic, Roger . Bacon , Albert the Great , Blae

'n, S toffler , and

a great many o thers have spoken. We are extracting herethe passage from Abulmaz ar .

“We see ,” says Abulmaz ar,

“ in the first decan , or i n the first ten degrees of the S ignof the Virgi n , according to the traditions of the ancientPersians, Chaldeans , Egyptians , of Hermes and of [Esculapius , a young m a iden

, called i n the Persian languageS eclen idos de Darz ama , a nam e when transla ted intoArabian by that of Aderen edesa , signifies a chaste , pu re ,and immacu late virgin , of a handsom e figure , agreeablecountenance , long hai r , and modest m ien . S he holds inher hand two ears of corn ; she si ts on a throne ; she

nourishes and suckles a babe , which som e cal l Jesus , andthe Greeks cal l Christ .” T he Persian sphere publishedby S cal iger as a sequel of his notes on Manil ius , givesabou t the sam e description of the celestial Virgi n ; butthere is no m ent ion made of the child which she suckles .

It places alongside of her a man , which can only be Boo'tes

,

call ed the foster-father of the son of the V i rgin Isis , or of

Horus .

T he S un is nei ther born nor does i t die ; but, i n therelat ion which the days engendered by i t have with thenights , there is i n this world a progressive gradation of increase and decrease , which has origi nated some veryingenious fict ions amongst the ancient theologians. T heyhave assim ilated this generat ion , th is periodical increaseand decrease of the clay , to that of man , who , after havingbeen born, grown up , and reached manhood , degenerates

149

and decreases until he has finally arrived at the term of the

career allotted to h im by Nature to travel over. T he God

of Day, personified in the sacred al legories , had thereforeto subm i t to the whol e destiny of man he had h is cradleand his tomb. He was a child at the winter solstice , atthe mom ent when the days begin to grow . U nder thisform they exposed his image in the ancien t temples, i norder to rece ive the homage of h is worshippers ; “ be

cause ,” says Macrob ius , the day be ing then the shortest ,th is god seem s to be ye t a feeble child .

” T his is the childof the mysteries, he whose image was brought out fromthe recesses of the ir sanctuaries by the Egyptians everyyear on a certa in day.

T his is the child of which the goddess of S a'

i'

s cla imedto be the mother, i n that famous inscription, where thesewords cou ld be read : T he fru i t wh ich I have broughtforth is the S un .

” T his is the feeble child, born i n them idst of the darkest night, of which this Vi rgi n of S ais

was del ivered abou t the winter solst ice, accordi ng to

Plu tarch .

In an ancient Christ ian work , called the Cbron icle ofAlexandr ia , occurs the following :

“ Watch how Egypthas constructed the child birth of a virgin , and the bi rthof her son , who was exposed in a crib to the adoration of

her people .

”(S ee Bonwicb

’s Egyptian Belief , p .

T he S un being the only redeem er of the evi ls whichwinter produces , and presumed in the sacerdotal fict ionsto be born at the solstice , must rem a in ye t three monthsmore i n the inferior regions , in the regions affec ted by eviland darkness, and there be subject to their ru ler before i tmakes th e famous passage of the vernal equ inox , whichassures its triumph over night, and which renews the faceof the earth . T hey must, therefore , make him l ive during

1 50

all that time exposed to all the infirm ities of mortal l ife ,until he has resum ed the rights of divini ty in his triumph .

( S ee Or igi n of All R eligions , pp . 2 3 2 ,

In the national l ibrary there is an Arabian manuscriptconta i ning the twelve signs, del ineated and colored , i nwhich is a young chi ld alongside of the Virgin , beingrepresented i n abou t the sam e style as our Virgins, andl ike an Egyptian Isis and her son .

“ In the first decade of the Virgi n rises a ma id, calledi nArabic ‘Aderenedesa ’ that is , pure , immacu late virgin ,graceful i n person , charm ing i n countenance , modest i n

habit , with loosened hair , holding i n her hand two ears ofwhea t , si tting upon an embroidered throne , nursi ng a boy,

and rightly. feeding h im i n the place called H ebraea . Aboy Isay, nam ed Iessus by certa i n nations, which signifiesIssa ,

whom they also cal l Christ in Greek .

”(Kircher ,

'd ipus E gypticus.)“ T he celest ial Virgin was represen ted in the Indian

zodiac of S ir Will iam Jones with ears of corn i n one handand the lotus i n the other. In Kircher’s zodiac of Herm esshe has corn i n both hands . In other planispheres of theEgyptian priests she carri es ears of corn in one hand ,and the infant Horus in the other . In Roman Cathol iccountries she is general ly represented with the child i n onehand and the lotus, or l i ly, in the other . In M on tfaucon

’s

work (vol. i i .) she is represented as a female nursing a

child , with ears of corn in her hand and the legend IAo .

S he is seated on clouds . A star is at her head. T he

reading of the Greek le tters from right to left show this tobe very anci ent.” (Bible M ytbs , pp . 474 ,

Mr . Cox tells us (Aryan M ytbs , vol. i . , p . thatwith scarcely an except ion , all the names by which theVirgin goddess of the Akropol is was known, point to the

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1 52

is even l ike the wind. H is l ight is powerfu l , and his

mother , the Dawn , gives him the best share , the firstworship among men .

In the R ig-Veda he is spoken of as str etching out his

arms ” i n the heavens to bless the world , and to rescueit from the terror of darkness .

”

All of the S un-

gods forsake their hom es and Virginmothers , and wander through different countries do ingmarvellous things . F i nally, at the end of their career , themother , from whom they were parted long before, is bytheir side to cheer them in their last hours . Also thetender ma idens are there , the beau tiful l ights which flushthe Eastern sky as the sun sinks in the West. T he S un

is frequently spoken of as having been born of the duskymother , the early dawn being dark or dusky .

T he Mexican Virgin goddess, S ochiquetz al— the Holding up of Roses—is represented by Lord Kingsboroughas rece ivi ng a bunch of flowers from the embassador inthe picture of the annunciat ion . T his brings to mind acurious tradi tion of the Mahome tans respecting the birthof Christ . T hey say that he was the last of the prophetswho was sent by God to prepare the way for Mahomet ,and that he was born of the Virgi n by the sm ell ing of a

rose . (Antiquities of M exico, vol. vi . , pp . 175 ,

APPENDIX B.

T H E LEGENDARY LIFE OF BUDDHA AND IT S RELAT ION T O

T H E INDIAN ZODIAC .

T HAT the Buddhist zodiac plays a very prom inent part i nthe legendary life of Buddha is very evident . Buddha wasborn on Christmas day, the new birth of the sun . T he

zodiacal sign for December is an elephant issu ing from a

Makara or Leviathan. Levia than is one of the symbols of

the first person of the triad . T he elephant (M arttanda of

the R ig-Veda) is the symbol of his son , the solar God-man ;therefore Buddha com es to earth in the form of an elephant . We are told that i n spring, when appears the constellat ion V isakha (Apri l-M ay) , the Bodhisatwa , underthe appearance of a young white elephant of sixdefences ,with a head the color of cochineal , with tusks S hining l ike

gold , perfect in his organs and l imbs , entered the rightside of his mother Mali a-Maya ; and she , by m eans of a

dream , was conscious of the fact . T he night on which theBodhisatwa entered his mother’s side , on that sam e night ahuge white lotus , springing from the waters and partingthe earth for sixty-e ight m i ll ions of yoganas [a yogana isseven m i les] , rose up i nto the m iddle of the world of

Brahma . T his lotus , only the gu ide of men [Bodhisatwa]and Brahma are able to rece ive . All that there is of l ifeand crea t ive essence i n the three thousand grea t thousand worlds [the earth] is assembled in the dewdrops of

th is mighty lotus.

i s4

Very early in Buddha’s career the R ishi or Brahm in

Asi ti ( the constellationAquarius, the Waterman) pays hima visi t , and immediately upon h is presentation , begins toweep—weeps because he is old and stricken in years,and consequently will not l ive to see all the marvels theinfant is to perform . Nanda and U pananda ( the constel

lation Pisces— the two crossed fish or serpents of Bud

dhism , the sign S wastica) , the two heavenly serpents, symbols of the father and mother of the universe , m anifest themselves also at an early period . It is to be observed thatMaya , the Virgin of the sky, at the mom ent of Buddha’

s

birth,m idnight , December 25 , was just r isi ng above the

horizon , i t be ing the beginning of the new solar revolu t ion .

T he celest ial mother dies i n seven days in all the Indianepics , and goes up to heaven , simply because the sun had

e ntered Aquarius, and Virgo is rising up i n the heavens .

T wo thousand years before Christ the sun passed the equ inox under T au rus , but at the tim e of Buddha’

s birth i tpassed i t under Aries . Hence the solar horse with thetwo serpents upon his head ( the Buddhist Aries) is

Buddha’s symbol . As Makara wi th Aries i n h is mou th

was the celestial sign in Palest ine at the date of Christ’sbirth

,Aries is h is symbol also .

T his expla ins the at tempt made to kill the S un-

god by awicked king (Bimbasé ra i n the Chinese version) . Whenthe sun is i n Aries, the Buddhist S haft of death (S agi ttarins) is just rising above the horizon at m idnight .Whilst i n the ear l ier mansions of his career , the sevenR ishis (U rsa Major) are near the zodiacal monarch . Hencethe Rishis at the ploughing festival , the dispu te wi th theR ishis , etc .

When the S un-king approaches the pa ir (Gem in i) , he hasto prepare for marr iage . On the meridian at m idnight

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T he fancy of the myth-monger is tremendously exercisedby the s ign Virgo . S ujata , with the rice and m i lk of im

mortal i ty , is plainly Virgo . M fiya , the Queen of Heaven ,com es also down , in an episode of the T ibe tan version , tocomfort her son . T he tree represents the mansion Virgoin som e Buddhist zodiacs . T he baptism of the Princebrings in tree , water , woman , all the i ntrica te symbol ismof the subject ; and that there may be no m istake , all theheavenly gods are brought in, i n another episode , to

adm inister the Abhisheka , or formal ri te . T he Bul l is i nthe ascendant , when the sun is i n Virgo . Hence , also ,

the cows wi th their celest ial m i lk . After h is baptism ,the

sun reaches the Mani , the triad symbol ; so Buddha isaddressed as, O Blessed T RINIT Y '” T he serpentM unchalinda twines round h im and form s a canopy overhis head . T he tree overshadows him . He shines l ikethe S un .

S corpio is represented by womanly tempters, by earthlyappeti te , the disease of the sou l . And as the zodiacalking adm i ts of no rival near h is throne , he vanqu ishes andconverts Papiyan (S agi t tarius) , also called Mara or Death .

T hen the Chakravartin turns the Chakra of Dharma, thespiri tual zodiac . T he white elephant has h is new birth inCapricorn , h is whole b irth according to the Buddhists,and commences the sp iri tual l ife . He m arches along theway of which Buddhists make so much . H is path, i n

fact , is the path of heaven . In the old zodiac the bloodysacrifice and dual ism were accentuated . From above2000 B.C . the sun passed the equ inox under Aries , and so

the solar horse in India , and the ram or lamb in the West ,died for the world once a year . At the au tum nal equ inox ,the Osiris, the Orpheus , the White Horse , entered thewintry half-year imaged by the ancients as the realms of

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Pluto . Hence the great Aswamedha (horse sacrifice) ofthe Aryans . At the spring equ inox (Easter) , the sun

having been wept over by virgins, rose again . But as

Buddhism was a protest agai nst the an imal sacrifice , thestory of the spiri tual awakening of an ascetic was substituted . Al l this disposes , I think , of M . S tenert

’s theory

that Buddha never lived . A new sun-myth had to be

made for Buddha, and not a Buddha for a sun-myth .

(Buddba and Early Budd/tism , pp . 1 10- 1

APPENDIX C .

BUDDHA AS A REFORM ER.

FIVE hundred and sixty years before Christ a rel igiousreform er appeared in Bengal Buddha .

T he following are som e of the resu l ts due to the sojournof this man upon earth

1 . T he most form idable priestly tyranny that theworld had ever seen crumbled away before h is at tack, andthe followers were paramount i n India for a thousand years.

2 . T he i nst i tut ion of caste was assai led and overturned .

3 .

“ Polygamy was for the first time pronounced immoral and slavery condem ned .

4 .

“ Woman , from being considered a chattel and a

beast of burden , was , for the first t im e , considered man’s

equal, and allowed to develop her spiri tual l ife .

5 . Al l bloodshed , whether with the knife of the priestor the sword of the conqueror, was rigidly forbidden .

6 .

“ Also, for the first t im e i n the rel igious history ofmanki nd, the awakening of the spiri tual l ife of the individual was subst i tu ted for religion by the body corporate .It is certa i n tha t Buddln was the first to procla im tha t du tywas to be sought i n the eternal principles of moral i ty andjustice , and not i n animal sacrifices and local formal i ties,i nvented by the fancy of priests.

7 .

“ T he principle of rel igious propagandism was for

the first t im e i ntroduced , with i ts two grea t i nstrum ents,the m issionary and the preacher .” (Buddbo and Early

Buddbism , pp . v . , vi .)

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Ormuzd , the God of Light and of the good principle ,inform s Zoroaster that he had given to man a place of

del ight and abundance . “ If I had not given him thisplace of delight , no other being wou ld have done so. T hisplace was called Biren , which at the begi nning was morebeau t ifu l than all the world , which my power had calledi nto existence. Nothing could equal the beau ty of thisdelightful place which Ihad granted. I was the first whoacted , and afterwards Petiare [which is Ahriman , or thebad principle] : this Petiare Ahriman , full of death and

corruption, m ad e in the river , the great‘ Adder

,

’ themother of winter , which congealed the water , the earth ,and the trees.

”

It is evident that the quest ion here is only of the physical and periodical evi l which the earth experiencesannually by the re treat of the S un , which is the source ofl ife and of l ight for all that l ive on the face of the globe .

T he cosmogony conta i ns, therefore , only an allegoricalpicture of the phenom ena of Nature , and of the influenceof the celestial signs ; because the serpent or the greatAdder

,which ushers winter into the World, is, l ike the

Balance , one of the constellat ions placed on the boundaries which separate the dom inion of the two principles ,or, i n other words, i n the present instance , on the equ inoxof au tumn .

T his is the celestial S erpent or the S tar S erpent. It is

i n the heavens that Ahriman is made to creep along underthe form of a serpent. T he Boundesb , or the Genesis ofthe Persians, holds the following language :

“ Ahriman ,the principle of Evil and of Darkness , he from whom all

the evi l i n thisworld is proceeding, penetrated i nto Heavenunder the form of a serpent , accompanied by Dews , or badGenii

,whose only business is to destroy.

” And in another

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place we read : “And when the bad Geni i desolated theworld , and when the S tar S erpent made i tself a road between Heaven and Earth, or , i n other words, when i t roseon the horizon ,” etc.

N ow at what epoch of the annual revolu tion rises thecelestial S erpent , uni ted to the S un , on the horizon wi ththa t lum inary ? When the S un has arr ived at the con

stellation of the Balance , over which the constella t ion of

the S erpent is extended , in o ther words, at the seventhS ign , counting from the Lamb , or at the sign under which ,as we have seen above , the Magi had fixed the comm encem ent of the re ign of the evil principle , and the introduction of Evil i nto the U niverse .

T he cosm ogony of the Jews ,”says Mr . Dupu is, “ in

troduces the S erpent wi th a man and a woman . In i t theS erpent is m ade to speak ; but one feels tha t th is is peculiar to the Oriental genius, and belongs to the characterof the allegory. T he foundat ion of the theology is absolutely the sam e . It is qu i te true there is no m ention madeby the Jews abou t the S erpen t having introduced winter,which destroyed all the blessings of Natu re ; but i t is sa idthere that man fel t the necessi ty of covering himself, andthat he was compelled to t i ll the ground , an operat ionwhich is perform ed in and which corresponds to au tum n .

It is not sa id that i t was at the seventh thousand or underthe seventh S ign when the change happened in the si tuat ion of man ; but the action of the good principle is theredivided into six t im es , and i t is on the seven th that i ts restor the cessation of i ts energy is placed, as well as the fa l lof man i n the season of fru i ts , and the introduction of theEvil by the S erpent, the form of which was taken by thebad principle , or the Devil , i n order to tempt the firstmortals. T hey fix the local i ty of the scene in the same

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countries which are comprised under the name of Eiren,or Iran , and towards the sources of the great rivers Eu'

phrates, T igris , Ph ison , or of the Araxes : only instead ofBi ren the Hebrew copyists have put Eden , as the twole tters r and d in tha t language have a remarkable resemblance .

”

T his cosmogonical idea has been expressed by the Magiin another form . T hey suppose tha t from tim e withou tend or from eterni ty , a l im i ted period has been created ,which incessantly renews i tself. T hey divide this periodinto twelve thousand smal l parts , which they cal l years i nal legorical style . S ix thousand of these fractions belongto the principle of Good , and the other six to that of Evil ;and that there may be no m istake , they make each one of

these m i llesimal divisions , or each one thousand , correspond to one of the signs through which the S un makesthe transi t during each one of the twelve m onths. T he

first one thousand , they say, corresponds to the Lamb,the second to the Bull , the thi rd to the T wins, etc .

U nder these first six signs , or under the signs of the firstsix months of the equ inoct ial year , they place the re ignand the beneficent act ion of the principle of Light , and

under the other six signs they place the act ion of the principle of Evil . It is at the seventh S ign , corresponding to

the Balance , or at the first of the signs of au tumn , of theseason of frui ts and of winter , that they place the com

m encement of the re ign of Darkness and of Evil . T hisre ign lasts t ill the return of the S un to the sign of the Lamb,which corresponds to the month of March and to Easter .T his is the foundation of the ir theological system abou t thedistribut ion of the opposing forces of the two principles,to the action of which man is subject , during each solarrevolution ; this is the tree of Good and Evil near which

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It is then , when fecunded by the immortal and spiri tual

(intelligen t) action of the fire Ether, and by the heat of

the S un of the equ inoct ial Lamb , that Earth becom es a

delightful abode for man .

But when the S tar of day, reaching the Balance and theCelest ia l S erpent, or the signs of au tumn , passes i nto theother hem isphere , then i t consigns our regions, by itsre treat, to the hardships of winter, to the impetuous winds,and to all the devasta t ions which the destruct ive Geniusof Darkness comm i ts i n the world . T here is no morehope for man , except the re turn of the S un to the S ign ofS pring or to the Lamb , being the first of the signs. T hisis the Redeem er which he expects .

T he Hebrew doctors them selves, as well as the Christian doctors , agree that the books which we attribu ted toMoses were wri tten i n the allegorical style , that they fre

quently represent qu i te a different m eaning than the l i teralsense would indica te , and tha t i t would lead to false and

absurd notions of the Dei ty if we shou ld hold on to therind which covers sacred sc ience . It is principal ly thefirst and second chapters of Genesis that they haveacknowledged to conta in a hidden and allegorical sense ,of which they say we must carefully absta in from givingthe interpre ta t ion to the vulgar. Maimonides , the wisestof the Rabbies , says :

We must not understand or take in a l i teral sensewhat is wri tten i n the book on the creation , nor form of

i t the sam e ideas which are partic ipated by the general i tyof m ankind ; otherwise our ancien t sages would not haveso much recomm ended to us to hide the real meaning of

i t, and not to l ift the allegorical veil which covers the tru th

conta ined there in . When taken in its li teral sense , that

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work gives the most absurd and most extravagant ideasof the De ity. Whosoever shou ld divine its true m eaningought to take great care in not divulging it. T his is a

maxim repeated to us by all our sages , principally concerning the understanding of the work of the six days . It

is possible tha t som ebody, e i ther through himself or bym eans of the l ight obta i ned from others, m ay succeed todivine its m eaning ; then le t him be si lent , or if he speaksof i t, le t i t be done only in as veiled a manner as I do ,

leaving the remai nder to be guessed by those who can

hear me.

Ma imonides adds that the enigmatical talent was not

pecul iar to Moses or to the Jewish doctors , but that theyheld i t i n common wi th all the wise m en of antiqu i ty.

Philo , a Jewish wri ter , held the sam e opinion of thecharacter of the sacred books of the Hebrews (see h istreat ise on the Allegor ies) .

“ It is acknowledged by all,”

says Origenes,“ that everything there is wrapped up under

the vei l of enigm a and parable .

” Augustine, i n his Cityof God , acknowledges tha t many people saw i n the incident of Eve and the S erpent , as well as i n the terrestrial Paradise, only an a llegorical fict ion . (S ee Or igin

of All R eligious Beliéf , pp 2 19, 226.

APPENDIX E .

T H E LEGEND OF T H E T RAVELS OF ISIS , OR T H E M OON.

T H E ancient Egyptians associated the Moon in the un iversal adm inistra tion of the World wi th the S un , and i t isthe form er which plays the part of Is is i n the sacred fableknown as the history of Osiris and Isis . We are i nform edby Diodorus, of S ici ly, that the first i nhabi tants of Egypt,while adm iring the spectacle of the heavens and the wonderful order of the world , thought to perce ive in heaventwo principal and eterna l causes , or two grand divini tiesand one of them they cal led Osiris , or the S un , and theother Isis , or the Moon . T his is confirmed by Porphyrius,Chaeremon , and by other au thors. T he legend of Osirisand Isis has com e down to us i n a mu tilated form , and thefollowing is what Plu tarch supposes i t to have been :After h is return from his travels i n Egypt , Osiris wasi nvi ted by T yphon , his brother and rival , to a banquet .He was put to dea th by the latter, and h is body throwninto the N i le . T he S un ,

”says Plu tarch , occupied then

the sign of the S corpion , and the Moon was ful l ; thelatter was therefore in the sign oppos i te to the S corpion ;i n o ther words , i n the Bull , which lent its form to theequ inoct ial vernal S un , or to Osi ris, because at that remote period the Bu l l was the s ign which corresponded tothe equ inox of spring.

” As soon as Isis was informed ofthe dea th of Osiris , she went i n search of his body . S he

is inform ed by children that the cofli n conta in ing the body

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168

terror . Isis took the oldest one w i th her, and embarked

on board of a vessel , taking with her the precious coffin ;but towards morn ing, a som ewha t strong wind having risenon the river Phaedrus , i t made her stop suddenly. Isisre tires aside , and supposing herself alone , she opens thecoffin, and pressing her l ips on those of her husband , she

kisses and bedews h im with her tears . T he young prince ,whom she had brough t along with her , approached hersteal thily from behind wi th as l i ttle noise as possible , andspied her movem ents. T he goddess perceived i t, and

turning around suddenly , she gives him such a terriblelook that he dies of terror . S he embarks agai n , and

re turns to Egypt, near her son Orus (Horus) , who wasbrought up at Bu tos, and she deposi ts the corpse in a re

t ired place . T yphon , having gone hunting at night , discovers the coffi n , and having recognized the corpse , hecu ts i t i nto fourteen pieces , which he throws around in alldirections . T he goddess having seen i t , goes to collectthese sca ttered pieces . S he buries each one in the placewhere she had found i t . However , of all the parts of thebody of Osi ris , the only one which she cou ld not find wastha t of genera tion . In place of i t she substi tu tes thephallus , which was its image , and which was consecratedto the mysteries .

S om e t im e afterwards , Osir is re turned from the i nfernalregions to the rescue of h is son Orus, and placed h im i n acondition to defend him . He mounted him , som e say on

a horse , others on a wolf. T yphon was vanqu ished ; Isisle t h im escape . O rus felt indignant on that account andtook from h is mother her diadem ; but Mercurius gaveher in its place a helmet i n the shape of a bul l’s head .

Dupu is gives comparat ive pictures of the legend and thes tate of the heavens from the time when the sun has

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qu i tted our hem isphere , and left to the Moon, then full , there ign of the long nights , until the t im e when i t repassesto our cl imes . (S ee Or igi n of All pp .

99

APPENDIX F.

AN EXPLANAT ION OF T H E HERACLEID , OR OF T H E SACRED

POEM ON T H E TWELVE M ONT HS AN D ON T H E S U N ,

WORSHIPPED UNDER T H E NAM E OF HERCULES .

T H E following comparison of the legend of Herculeswi th the constellations which preside over the twelvemonths is from Dupu is. (S ee Or igi n of All R eligi ons, pp .

87

Whatever may have been the opinions abou t Hercules ,he was surely not a petty Grecian prince , renowned for h isromantic adventures . It is the m ighty lum inary , whichanimates and fructifies the universe , the divinity whichhas been honored everywhere by the erection of templesand al tars , and consecrated in rel igious song by all nations.

Frorn Meroe'

i n Ethiopia , and T hebes i n U pper Egypt , tothe Bri tish Isles and to the snows of S cythia ; from ancientT aprobane and Palibothra in the Indies to Cadiz and theshores of the Atlantic Ocean ; from the forestsofGermanyto the burning sands of Lybia ,

—wherever the blessings ofthe S un were experienced , there the worship of Herculesis found establ ished , there are sung the glorious deeds of

this i nvincible God . Many centuries before the epochwhich is assigned to the son of Alcmena or to the sup.

posed hero of T irynthia , as the t im e when they made himl ive

,Egypt, Phoenicia ,

which surely did not borrow their

gods from Greece , had erected temples to the S un underthe nam e of Hercules, and had carried his worship to the

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It is evident that if Hercules is the S un , as is shown bythe above-c i ted au thori ties, the fable of the twelve laborsis a solar fable which can have reference only to the twelvemonths and to the twelve signs, of which the S un travelsover one i n each month . T his i nference shal l becom e ademonstration by the comparison which we shall make of

each of the labors with each one of the months , or withthe signs and constellations which mark the division of

tim e in the heavens during each of the months.

Amongst the difleren t epochs at which form erly the yearbegan, that of the summ er solst ice was one of the mostremarkable . It was on the re turn of the S un to this po intthat the Greeks fixed the celebra tion of the ir Olympicfeas ts , the establishm ent of which was attribu ted to Hercules ; th is was the origi n of the most ancient era of theGreeks. We shall therefore fix the departure of the S unHercules there , i n i ts annual rou te . T he sign of theL ion, dom ici l of that star which furnishes i t wi th i ts attribu tes, having form erly occupied that poi nt, his firstlabor shall be his victory over the L ion ; and i t is indeedthe one which has been placed at the head of all the others.

But before we shal l compare month for month , theseries of the twelve labors wi th that of the stars , whichdeterm i ne and mark the annual rou te of the S un , i t is wellto observe that the ancients , i n order to regulate theirsacred and rural calendars , employed not only the signs ofthe zodiac , but more frequently also remarkable stars ,placed ou tside of the zodiac , and the various constellat ions, which , by their rising and setting, i nd icate the placeof the S un i n each sign . T he proof of this will be foundi n the Fastes of Ovid , i n Colum ella , and chiefly in theancien t calendars which we have publ ished as a sequel toour larger work.

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CALENDAR.

FIRS T MONT H .

Passage of the S un under thesign of the celestial Lion, calledthe Lion of Nemea, fixed by thesetting i n the morning of th e

Ingen i cu lus, or the constellation of the celestial Hercules.

SECOND MONT H . SECOND LABOR .

T he S un enters the sign of Hercules stays the Lerneanthe Virgin, m arked by the total Hydra, the heads ofwh ich grewsetting of the celestial Hydra, again, wh ilst he is cramped incalled the Lernean Hydra, the his labor by a crawfish or Can

head of wh ich r ises aga in in cer.

the morning with the Can cer.

T HIRD MONT H . T HIRD LABOR.

Passage of the S un at the A Centaur gives hospitalitycommencement of Autumn to to Hercules; his figh t with the

th e sign of the Balance, fixed Centaurs for a cask of wine ;by the r ising of the celestial v ictory of Hercules over them ;Centaur, the same whose hos he slays a terrible wild Boar

pi tali tyHercules enjoyed . T h is wh ich devastated the fields of

constellation is represented in Erymanthia .

the Heavenswith a leather bottle , filled with wine , and a

thyrsus adorned wi th vineleaves and grapes, image of

the season’s product . T hen

r ises in the evening the celestial Bear, called by others theBoar and the animal of Ery

m anth ia.

POEM.

T IT LE OF T H E FIRS T CANT O OR

OF T H E FIRS T LABOR .

Victory of Hercules over theNemean Lion .

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FOU RT H MONT H.

T he S un en ters the sign of

the S corpion, fixed by the set

ting of Cassiope, a constellationwh ich was formerly representedby a Hind.

FIFT H MON T H .

T he S un enters the S ign of

the S agi ttar ius, consecrated tothe goddess Diana, whose temple was at S tymphalia, in wh ichthe S tymphalian b irds were tobe seen . T h is passage is fixedby the rising of three birds,the Vulture , the Swan, and theEagle, —pierced by the arrowof Hercules.

S IXT H MONT H .

Passage of the S un to the

S ign of the Goat or the Capricorn, the son of Neptune , according to som e, and grandsonto the S un , according to others.

T h is passage is m arked by thesetting of the r iver of the Aquar ius, wh ich flows under the sta

ble of th e Capricorn, and the

source of wh ich is in the handsof Aristeus

,son of the river

Peneus.

FOU RT H LABOR.

T riumph of Hercules over aHind with golden horns and

feet of brass, wh ich Herculestook on the seashore

,where it

was reposing.

FIFT H LABOR.

Hercules gives chase, nearS tymphalia, to the B irds of theS tymphal ian Lake, wh ich are

represented in N o . 3 in the

medals of Perin thus.

S IXT H LABOR .

Hercules cleans the stablesof Augias, the son of the S un ,

or,according to others, the son

of Neptune . He makes the

river Peneus run through it.

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ting of Andromeda, or of the

celestial Woman and of her

Girdle ; by that of theWhale ;by the r ising of Medusa, and

by the setting of the QueenCassiope .

T ENT H MONT H .

T he S un leaves the ram of

Phrixus and enters the sign of

the Bull . T his transit is markedby the setting of Orion , whowas in love with the Atlantidesor Pleiades; by that of Bootes,the driver of the Oxen of Ica

rus; by that of the r iver Eridanus ; by the rising of the

Atlantides, and by that of theGoat, the wife of Faunus.

ELEVENT H MONT H.

T he S un enters the S ign of

the T wins, wh ich transit is indicated by the setting of the

Dog Procyon, by the cosm icalr ising of the Great Dog, followed by the stretch ing out of

the Hydra and by the rising inthe evening of the celestialSwan .

TWELFTH MONT H .

T he S un enters the S ign of

the Cancer, wh ich correspondswith the last month , indicated

T ENT H LABOR.

ELEVENT H LABOR .

Hercu les conquers a terribleDog, the tai l of wh ich was a

S erpent, and the head of wh ichwas bristl ing with serpents; hedefeats also Cygnus, or the

Prince Swan, at the time inwhich the Dog-star scorchesthe Earth with i ts fire.

TWELFT H LABOR .

Hercules travels in Hesperiain order to gather Golden Apples guarded by a Dragon ,

m agn ificent girdle, and liberates a Maiden exposed to a

Whale or a S ea-monster,l ike

the one to wh ich Andromeda,

the daughter of Cassiope, wasexposed.

Hercules, after his voyagewi th the Argonauts, in order toconquer the R am , returns to

Hesperia to make the conquestof the Oxen of Geryon ; he

also kills a tyrannical Princewho persecuted the Atlantides ,and arr ives in Italy at the houseof Faunus at the rising of the

Pleiades .

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by the setting of the S treamof the Waterman and of the

Centaur ; by the rising of the

S hepherd and his S heep , at

the tim e when the constellation of the Hercules Ingenienlus is descending towards theoccidental regions called H es

peria ; followed by the PolarDragon, the guardian of the

Apples growing in the gar

den of the Hesperides; wh ichdragon he puts under his feet,as m arked in the sphere , and

wh ich falls near him towardsthe setting.

wh ich, in our spheres, is nearthe pole ; according to others,to carry off sheep with a GoldenFleece . He is preparing to

make a sacrifice , and puts on a

robe dyed in the blood of a

Centaur whom he had slain atthe passage of a river. Bythis robe he is consumed withfire ; he dies, and ends thus hism ortal career, in order to re

sum e his youth in Heaven, andto enjoy there immortal i ty.

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rice, Indian Antiqu i t ies, vol. i . , pp . 1 25—1 27 ; vol. iv . , p .

3 72 ; London, 1 867. T od , History of R ajapoutane , p . 58 1 .

Colenso , T he Pentateuch Exam ined , vol. iv. , p . 1 5 3 .

Chambers’ Encyclopaedia , art. Cherubim . S m i th, Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible , art. Cherubim .

Priestley , Comparison of the Insti tu tes of Moses with theH indoos and O ther Ancient Nations , pp . 3 5

—49 ; North

umberland , 1 799. Fergusson , T ree and S erpent Worship ,p . 1 3 ; London , 1 868 . Wake

,Phall icism i n Ancient R e

ligions , pp . 46, 47 . Baring~Gould , Legends of the

Patriarchs and Prophets, p . 148 ; New York , 1 872 . M au

rice , History of Hindustan, vol. i . , p . 408 ; vol. i i . , pp . 227

ci seq . Child , Progress of Rel igious Ideas , vol. i . , p . 3 ;

Mahabhara ta.

NOT E 3 . For accounts of Buddha , see n a-Cher-rol

pan , pp . 61 , 63 , 69—82 , 8 1 , 97, 1 1 3 ,

I78 , 2 14 ,259 , 3 55 ,

3 74 ; W asseljew, p . 95 ; Lo tus, pp . xiv . , xv ., 82 , 1 02 , 1 04,

1 3 0 ; v . , p . 1 06. Bunsen , T he Angel Messiah , pp . 45—48 ;

London , 1 880 . M iiller , An Introduction to the S cienceof Rel igion , pp . 28 , 244 . Hardy, Eastern Monarchism ,

pp . 6, 62 , 2 3 0 ; London , 1 860 . Hardy , T he Legends and

T heories of the Buddhists compared wi th History and

S cience, pp . 40 , 50 , 52 , 1 3 4 ; London, 1 866. Beal, R omantic History of Buddha, pp . 244

—256 ; London , 1 875 .

Rhys-Davids, Buddhism , pp . 3 6, 53 , 1 29- 204 ; London,

1 88 1 . Lill ie , Buddha and Early Buddhism , pp . 68—1 79 ;London, 1 88 1 . Lefmann , pp . 2 1 , 5 1 , 1 24. Buddhist BirthS tories , vol. i . , pp . 69 , 74 , 1 1 3 . Matra , KOppen , vol.

pp . 88, 94 , 1 14 . S eydel , pp . 163 , 28 1 . Dhammapada,vol. vi i . , pp . 3 3 , 3 3 4 . H uc

’s T ravels. Burnouf, Divya

Avade‘

rna. Oswald , S ecret of the East , pp . 1 3 5 , 1 3 7 ;

Boston , 1 883 . Foucaux,p . 3 04 . S u t ta-N apatha , vol. i i i . ,

1 8 1

p . 1 1 . S t. Hila ire , p . 44 . Higgins, Anacalypsis, vol. ?

.p . 1 59 . Bulfinch , Age of Fable , p . 43 2 ; Boston , 1870 .

Doane , Bible Myths , pp . 202 , 3 7 1 . Asiat ic Researches ,vol. i i i . , pp . 285 , 286. King, Gnostics and the ir Rema ins ,p . 167 ; London, 1 884. M ahfivagga, p . 16. Gatha, pp .

5 3 , 143 , 1 65 . Plath , vol. i i . , p. 2 . Fuman , Anci ent Fa i thsand Modern , pp . 82 ci seq . New York, 1 876. M iiller , AHistory of Ancient S anscri t L i terature ; London, 1 860 .

Fergusson , T ree and S erpent Worship , pp . 56, 1 1 3 ; Lon

don , 1868 . Bunsen, T he Angel Messiah , p . 3 3 ; London ,1 880 .

NOT E 4 . For accounts of M i thra , see Lundy, Monum ental Christ iani ty, p . 167 ; New York , 1 876. Dupu is ,T he Origin of Al l Rel igious Belief, pp . 246, 247 ; trans .

from the French , New Orleans, 1 872 . Higgi ns , Ana

calypsis , vol. i . , p . 2 18 ; vol. i i . , pp . 58 , 59 , 65 , 99. Renan ,Hibbert Lectures, p . 3 3 . Bonwick , Egyptian Belief, p .

240 . King, Gnostics and the ir Rema ins, pp . 47 , 5 1 .

H iggins, Celtic Dru ids, p . 163 ; London , 1 827. Child ,Progress of Rel igious Ideas, vol. i . , pp . 3 , 272 , 279 . T he

Angel Messiah , p . 287. Colenso, T he Pentateuch Exam ined, vol. iv. , p . 1 5 3 ; London , 1 863 . Doane , B ibl eMyths , 3 76. Bunce , Fa iry T ales , p . 1 8 ; New York , 1878.

Dunlap , Mysteries of Adoni , p . I3 9 ; London , 1 861 . Bar

ing-Gould , Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets, pp . 1 7,

1 8 ; New York , 1 872 . M iiller , A History of Ancient S anscri t L i terature , pp . 405 ci seq . Asiatic Researches , vol. v.,

p . 270 . William s, H indu ism , pp . 24 , 176, 2 14. R awlin

son , Herodotus, p . 1 7 1 . W estropp , Ancient S ymbol Wor

ship , pp . 25, 47 . M illler , Chips from a German Workshop,vol. i i . , pp . 277 , 290 ; London , 1876. Knight , AncientArt and Mythology , p . 1 56 ; Boston , 1876.

1 82

NOT E 5 . For accounts of Osiris , Horus, Isis , Neith , andS arapis , see the following au thori ties : Prichard, AnAnaly

sis of Egyptian Mythology , pp . 55- 1 09. Bonwick , Egyp

t ian Bel ief, pp . 140—1 86, 261 , 287 , 3 96, 404 , 4 1 2 . Renouf

,

Rel igion of Ancient Egypt, pp . 83—93 . Kenrick , Ancient

Egypt under the Pharaohs, vol. i . , pp . 283 , 424 ; NewYork , 1 852 . Higgins , Anacalypsis, vol. i . , pp . 1 3 8 , 3 04 ;

vol. i i . , pp . 99 , 1 02 . Maurice , Indian Antiqu i t ies , vol. i . ,p . 1 27 ; vol. i i ., pp . 14 , 2 19. Rawlinson , Hibbert Lectu res,p . 1 05 . T he History of Herodotus , book ii . , pp . 1 70 , 1 7 1

New York , 1 87 1 . Baring-Gou ld , Legends of the Patriarchsand Prophets , p . 19. S epthenes , T he Religion of theAncient Greeks , p . 2 14 ; trans . from the French ; London,1 788. King, Gnostics and the ir Remai ns, p . 7 1 , note,p . 1 09 . Draper , History of the Confl ic t between Rel igionand S cie nce , pp . 47 , 48 ; New York, 1 876. Cory , AncientFragments , pp . 80 ,

8 1 ; London , 1 876. T he History ofCornel ius T aci tus, book v . , ch . i i i . ; London , 183 1 . Knight,Anc ient Art and Mythology , p . 98 ; New York , 1 874 .

Goldz iher , Mythology among the Hebrews, pp . 22 , 1 27 ,

3 20 , 3 22 , 3 92 , 44 6 ; London, 1 877 . Rawlinson , T he R eligions of the Anc ient World, pp . 1 7 et seq . London .

Fergusson , T ree and S erpent Worship , p . 5 . Inman,

Ancient Fa i ths embodied in Ancient Nam es, vol. i . , p .

1 59 ; vol. i i ., pp . 284 , 679, 767, 83 1 ; London , 1 872 .

S qu i res, T he S erpent S ymbol , pp . 3 9, 78 ; New York ,1 85 1 . Oort , Bible for Learners, vol. i . , p . 3 0 1 ; Boston ,1 878. M ii ller , Origin and Growth of Rel igion , p . 1 3 0 ;

London , 1 873 . Cox, T he Mythology of the Aryan Nations,vol. i i . , pp . 1 1 5 , 1 25 , 1 57 ; London , 1 870 . Dupu is, T heOrigin of Al l Rel igions , pp . 73 , 256, 263 , 3 97 . Child ,Progress of Rel igious Ideas, pp . 257 , 259. Renouf, T heS tory of Ancient Egypt , pp . 3 4 , 3 5 ; New York , 1 887 .

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1 84

Mythology of Ancient Greece , p . 2 1 5 ; New York , 1843 .

King, Gnost ics and their Rema ins,pp . 48

-

70 . Prichard ,An Analysis of Egyptian Mythology , pp . 49, 5o , 75 , 95 ,1 1 3 , 1 19. G iles, Hebrew and Christian Records, p . 86 et

seq .; London , 1 853 . S ocrates , Ecclesiastica l H istory ,book v . , ch . xxi i . , London, 163 0 . Higgins, Anacalypsis ,vol. i . , pp . 23 7

—243 . T aylor , Diegesis , pp . 2 14 , 23 2 . Du

pu is, Origin of All Rel igious Belief, pp . 2 3 7—257. Lundy

,

Monum ental Christiani ty , p . 3 99 . Dunlap , Mysteries of

Adoni , pp . 94—96. Cox, T he Mythology of the Aryan

Nations , vol. i . , pp . 84 , 1 07 ; vol. i i . , pp. 47 , 48. Child,

Progress of Rel igious Ideas, vol. i . , p . 2 14 . Inman , Anc ient Fa i ths and Modern , p . 3 04 ; New York, 1 876. Faber ,Origi n of Pagan Idola try, vol. i ., p . 443 ; Fergusson , T reeand S erpent Worship , pp . 10

,1 3 , 3 1 .

NOT E 7 . For accounts of Bacchus, see Dupuis, Originof Al l Religious Bel ief, pp . 80—1 75 , 257 , 3 52 . Higgins,Anacalypsis, vol. i . , pp . 22 1 , 3 05 , 3 22 , 3 28 ; vol. i i . , pp . 19,

1 02 . Prichard , An Analysis of Egyptian Mythology , pp. 3 ,

2 1 , 63 , 70 . T aylor , Diegesis , pp . 1 2 ,I87 , 191 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 3 .

Hym ns of Orpheus. King, Gnostics and the ir Remains,p . 49. Oort , Bible for Learners , vol. i i i . , p . 67 . Bell’sPantheon , vol. i . , p . 1 1 8 , art . Bacchus. Montfaucon,l’An tiqu ité Expl iqué e, vol. i . , p . 2 1 1 ; Paris, 1 722 . Faber ,Origi n of Pagan Idola try , vol. i . , p . 443 . Inman , AncientFa i ths and Modern , p . 3 04 ; London, 1 876. Bulfinch ,

Age of Fable, p . 220 ; Boston, 1 870 . Cox, T ales of

Ancient Greece , p . xxxi i . ; London, 1 876. Higgins , Celtic Dru ids , p . 1 27 ; London , 1 827 . Bonwick , EgyptianBel ief, p . 2 1 2 ; London , 1 878 . Lundy, Monumenta l Christian ity, p . 1 25 . Dunlap , Vestiges of the S piri t History ofM an ,

p . 2 17 ; New York , 1858. T aylor , Eleusinian and

1 85

Bacchic Mysteries . Rawlinson , T he Rel igions of theAnci ent World .

NOT E 8 . For accounts of the S candinavian gods and

goddesses , see Malle t , Northern Antiqu i t ies . Goldz iher,

Mythology among the Hebrews, p . 43 0 . Knight , AncientArt and Mythology , p . 85 . Chambers’ Encyclopeedia , art.

Yule . Bulfinch , Age of Fable .

NOT E 9 . For accounts of Ostara and the AncientDru ids , see Higgi ns , Anacalypsis , vol. i i . , pp . 59, 99, 1 08 ,

1 09—2 59 . Chambers’ Encyclopaedia , art. Easter . Dupu is,

Origin of Al l Religious Bel ief, pp . 2 3 7 , 257. Higgins, CelticDru ids, p . 163 ; T aylor , Diegesis , pp . 167, 1 84. Lundy ,Monumental Christ iani ty, p . 167 . Forlong, R ivers of Life ,or Fa i ths of M en, vol. i ., p . 3 55 London , 1883 . Bulfinch,Age of Fable .

NOT E 1 0 . For au thori ties on Ch ina , see S emedo , H is

tory of China, p . 289. T hornton , History of China, vol. i .,pp . 3 0 , 1 3 7 ; London, 1 844 . Higgi ns, Anacalypsis, vol. i i .p . 227 . Child , Progress Rel igious Ideas , vol. i . , pp . 206

2 10 . Colenso , Pentateuch Exam i ned, vol. iv . ,p . 1 52 .

Baring-Gould , Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets,p . 28 . Doane , Bible Myths , p . 14 . Gross, T he HeathenReligion , p . 60 ; Boston, 1 856. Cutzlaff ’

s Voyages, p . 1 54.

Legge , T he Religions of China .

NOT E 1 1 . For accounts of Quetzalcoatle, see Kingsborough , Mexican Antiqu i t ies, vol. vi ., pp . 5 , 166, 1 67 ,

1 76, 220 , 3 61 , 3 69 ; London, 1 83 1 . Amberly,Rel igious

Bel ief, pp . 49 et seq .; New York, 1 877 ; S qu i res, T he S erpent S ymbol, pp . 161 , 1 75 ; Brinton , Myths of the N ew

1 86

World , pp. 95 , 1 80 , 18 1 , 20 3 , 204 ; New York , 1868 .

Lundy, Monum ental Chr istiani ty, p . 3 93 . Inman , AncientFa i ths and Modern , pp . 3 3

—3 7 ; New York , 1 876. Bar

ing-Gou ld, Legends of the Pa triarchs and Prophets, p . I19.

W estropp , Ancient S ymbol Worship . Humbold t , R esearches, vol. i . , p . 91 London, 1 8 14 . Prescot t , Historyof the Conquest of Mexico, vol. i . , p . 60 ; Philadelphia ,

1 873 . Fergusson , T ree and S erpent Worship, p . 3 7 ; Lon

don ,1868. Acosta, T he Natural and Moral H istory of the

Indies, p . 5 1 3 ; London, 1604. Forlong, R ivers of Life ,vol. i . , pp . 94 , 143 , 242 ; vol. i i . , pp . 94 , 490 , 499 , 50 1 .

Reville , T he Nat ive Religions of Mexico and Peru .

NOT E 1 2 . For accounts of Indian S aviours, see S qu ires,S erpent S ymbol , pp . I87

—192 . S choolcraft , Notes of theIroquois. Forlong, R ivers of L ife , vol. i ., pp . 496, 497 , 50 1 .

NOT E 1 3 . For accounts of T ammuz or Adonis (Adonaii n Hebrew) , see Prichard, Ancient Egyptian Mythology,pp . 64- 66. King, Gnost ics, p . 102 . Cox, T he Mythologyof the Aryan Race, vol. i i . , pp . 84, 1 1 3 , 1 25 . Inman ,Ancien t Fa i ths embodied i n Ancient Nam es, vol. i i . , pp.

2 1 3 , 3 50 . Lundy , Monum ental Christ ianity , pp . 2 16, 224.

Doane , Bible Myths, p . 220 . Colenso , Lec tures , pp . 297 .

Higgins, Anacalypsis , vol. i i . , pp . 99 , 1 14 . Colenso, T hePentateuch Exam i ned , vol. i . , p . 1 1 5 , App . Dupu is,Origi n of All Religious Bel ief, pp . 161 , 2 3 3 . T aylor ,Diegesis, pp . 162—164. Gross , T he Heathen Rel igion , p .

287. Dunlap , Vestiges of the S piri t History of M an , p . 2 16.

Dunlap , T he Mysteries of Adoni , p . 2 3 . Dunlap , S od theS on of the M an , pp . vi i . , 3 9 ; London, 1 861 . M illler , In

troduction to the S c ience of Rel igion, p . 1 86. Ezekielvi i i .

, I4 ; Jerem iah xl iv . 16- 22 . King, Gnost ics , p . 9 1 .

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IN DEX.

Abraham , 49 , 63 , 87.

Ach illes , 73 , 1 3 2 , I3 3 .

Achyuta, 1 5 1 .

Aditi , 4 1 .

Aderenedesa, 148, 1 50 .

Adona i, 1 3 2 .

Adon is, 84, I3 2 , 1 3 3 .

Afrasiab, I63 .

Agathon, 1 1 1 .

Agni, 1 27, 140 .

Ahriman , 1 59- 1 65 .

Ai thra, 1 5 1 .

Alcm ene , 68, 1 70 .

Alexander, 42 , 98, 1 25 , 1 26.

Algonqu ins, 83 .

Ananda , 54 , 56.

Andromeda , 1 76.

Apis,88 .

Aquarius, 86, I54, 1 74, 1 75 .

Ar ies, 3 0 ,

108, 1 3 2, I54, 1 56.

Aristeus, 1 74.

Ar istobu lus, 1 14, 1 1 5 .

Arjuna, 3 9, 50 .

Arusha , 1 5 1 .

Aryans) 28 ) 29’ 3 2 ,

43 . 59. 62. 88. 109. 140.

1 57.

Asita, 5 1 , I54 .

Asoka, 58, 9 1 , 98, 1 3 0 .

Augeas, 1 74 .

Baal, 88.

Babel , 48, 80 , 86, 87o

Bacchus, 7 1—73 .

Bala-Rama, 49.

Baldur, 74, 1 3 9.

Ballaji , 1 29.

79) 85’1 56'

Brahma. 44. 48: 57: 1 27: 1 5 3 °

Buddha , 49—59, 98. 1 00.1 09.

- 1 58

Buddh ists, 48, 49, 54, 9 1 . 93 :

97: 1 08) 1 3 0 1

Cadmus, 71 .

Capricornus, 3 2 , 49, 86, 1 55 ,

Cassiope, 1 75 .

Ceres, 72 .

Chandragupta, 91 .

Chemosh,88.

Christ, 3 0, 56, 6o, 66, 68, 148,

I50 .

crishna: 3 7-43 , 49’ 50 : 66

)

190

cross: 3 2-34 : 40 : 45 : 63 : 741

79. 8s. 99. 109. 1 1 2. 1 1 5.

1 24- 143 .

Crucified. 3 1-

3 3 . 40. 73 . 78.

Cybele, 73 , 74.

Cyrene, 1 75 .

Dahana, 4 1 .

Danae, 1 5 1 .

Daphne, 4 1 .David

, 74.

Deluge : 48 1 61 : 67’68’ 74’ 77’

Devadatta , 52 .

Devaki, 3 7, 4 1 , 66, 1 5 1 .

DEVI] , 43 , 78, 8 1 , 89, 102 ) 10 3 :

Diana,1 74.

Diomedes, I75 .

Dionysius, 7 1 .

Dove. 4s. 85 . I3 0 .

Easter, 75 , 76, 1 62 .

Eden, 47, 61 , 74, 76, 85 , 1 62 .

Edues, 83 .

Elisha, 49.

Eopuco , 78.

Essenes, 9 1—100 , 108, 1 1 6—1 19.

Eucharist, 3 3 , 59, 61 , 64, 72 ,79. 85

Faunus , I76.

FIS1} , 3 3 , 45 , 49, 69 : 1s4s 1 55 ’

Frey. 74.

Frigga. 74.

Jesus, 3 0 , 6o, 69 , 148, I5O .

Jesus Christ, 3 8 , 66, 84, 85,89—1 22 , 1 27, 1 29, I3 2, 1 34,

Gautama , 57, 100 .

Geryon , 1 76.

Gethsem ane, 90 .

Gnostics,1 1 5 .

Goliah , 74 .

Gymnosoph ists, 97,

Hebrews,88, 89.

Hell or Hades, 3 2 , 3 3 , 4o, 56,

59, 60 , 65 , 74. 79. 84. 89.

Hera,68 .

Hercu les, 68—70 , 1 5 1 , 1 70—1 77.

Hom er, 42 .

Horus, 65 , 66, 1 24, I4S , 1 50 ,

1 68 .

Incarnation, 3 4, 42, 49, 50 , 82,

83 , 89.

Indra , 4 1 , 1 28, 1 29.

Iokaste, 1 5 1 .

Iroquo is, 83 .

Isaac, 49.

Isaiah , 42 .

Isis,65—67, I48, 1 50 , 166—169.

Ixion , 73 , 1 3 1 , 1 3 2 .

Izdubar, 87.

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192

S akya S ufiha, I55 .

S amson , 49, 69, 87.

S andon, 87.

S andracottus, 9 1 .

S aviour, 28, 3 6, 4 1 , 43 , 5 1 , 56,66—79, 84, 1 00 , 1 27, 1 28.

S corpio, 1 56, 1 74.

S em ele , 7 1 .

S erapis, 68, 107, 1 22, 1 23 . U pananda, I54.

S iddhartha, 5o, 9 1 . U riel, 89.

S iva, 44, 47, 48, 1 27.

S och iquetz al, 78—8 1 , 1 52 .

S oma, 47.

S ujata, 1 56.

S wastica, 1 3 0, 140, 1 54, I55 .

Swayambhura, 48.

W ittoba, 1 29.

T almud, I1 3 .

T ammuz , 84 , 85, 1 3 2 , 1 3 6. Y ar, 89.

T aurus, I54. Yule, 74.

T ezcatl ipoca, 77

—79.

T hasos, 70 , I71 .

T herapeutae, 93—98 .

T heseus, 1 5 1 .

T hor, 74, 1 3 8, 1 3 9, 140 .

T ien, 75 , 76.

T refoil , 45 , 63 .

T riangle, 45 , 1 3 4.

T r in ity, 29: 4 1 : 44: 64’ 74’ 769

78, 83 , 85 , I3 4 , 1 56.

T ripod, 45 .

T yphon, 168.

Virgin : 29: 3 O: 3 6: 41 : 65- 84;

Vishnu; 3 6: 3 7: 4 1 1 42 : 44 ) 4921 29. Iss

Zetban, 87.Zeus, 68, 1 3 6, 1 5 1 .

Zomo, 83 .

Zoroaster, 62, 1 60 .