Il 
 
.      x.     ■•,Hi 
 
ANCIENT    FAITHS 
 EMBODIED  IN  ANCIENT  NAMES: 
 
 OR  AN   ATTEMPT    TO    TRACE 
 
 THE  RELIGIOUS  BELIEF,  SACRED  RITES.  AND  HOLY  EMBLEMS 
 OF   CERTAIN  NATIONS, 
 
 BY  AN  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  NAMES 
 
 GIVEN  TO  CHILDREN  BY  PRIESTLY  AUTHORITY,  OR  ASSUMED  BY 
 
 PROPHETS,  KINGS,  AND  HIERARCHS. 
 
 THOMAS   INMAN,  M.D.  (London), 
 
 PHYSICIAN    TO   THE    ROYAL   INFIRMARY,    LIVERPOOL  ; 
 
 LATE  LECTURER,  SUCCESSIVELY,  ON  BOTANY,  MEDICAL  JURISPRUDENCE,  MATERIA  MEDICA, 
 
 AND  THERAPEUTICS,  AND   THE  PRINCIPLES   AND  PRACTICE   OF   MEDICINE,  ETC., 
 
 IN   THE   LIVERPOOL   SCHOOL   OF   MEDICINE  ; 
 
 AUTHOR     OF     FOUNDATION     FOR     A     NEW     THEORY     AND     PRACTICE     OF     MEDICINE  ; 
 
 A  TREATISE   ON  MYALGIA';    ON  THE  REAL  NATURE   OF  INFLAMMATION; 
 
 ATHEROMA    IN     ARTERIES;      ON     THE     PRESERVATION     OF     HEALTH,     ETC.; 
 
 LATE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  LIVERPOOL  LITERARY  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY,  ETC. 
 
 VOL.    II. 
 
 PRINTED     FOR    THE     AUTHOR, 
 LONDON    AND    LIVEEPOOL. 
 
 1869. 
 
"Practising  no  evil, 
 Advancing  in  the  exercise  of  every  virtue, 
 Purifying  oneself  in  mind  and  will; 
 This  is  indeed  the  doctrine  of   all  the  Buddhas." 
 
 Journal  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Vol.  six.,  p.  473. 
 
 'Amongst  the  many  wise  sayings  which  antiquity  ascribed  to  Pythagoras, 
 few  are  more  remarkable  than  his  division  of  virtue  into  two  branches  —  to 
 seek  truth,  and  to  do  good." 
 
 Lecky's  History  of  European  Morals,  Vol.  i.,  p.  54. 
 
TO  THOSE 
 
 WHO  THIRST  AFTER  KNOWLEDGE, 
 
 AND  ARE  NOT  DETERRED  FROM  SEEKING  IT 
 
 BY  THE  FEAR  OF  IMAGINARY  DANGERS, 
 
 THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED,  WITH  GREAT  RESPECT, 
 
 THE     AUTHOK. 
 
 "  OvTOi.  8e  rjcrav  evyevecrTepoi  twp  iv  QecraaXovLKr],  oirives  ihi^avro 
 TOP  \6yov  iiera  Trdar]s  irpodvfxlas,  to  KaB"  rjiiepav  avaKplvovT€s  ras 
 ypa(f)as  el  e^oi  ravra  ovtos."  —  Acts  svii.  11. 
 
PEEFACE  TO  YOL.  II. 
 
 Since  the  appearance  of  the  first  volume,  I  have 
 repeatedly  been  asked,  what  my  intention  is  in 
 publishing  the  results  of  my  investigations  to  the 
 world  ?  and  what  good  I  hope  to  effect  ?  These 
 questions  have  been  propounded  by  some,  because 
 they  have  heretofore  considered  that  all  biblical 
 inquiries  are  prejudicial  to  Christian  interests ;  by 
 others,  because  they  believe  that  it  is  right  to 
 suppress  the  knowledge  of  such  truth  as  is  averse 
 to  their  religious  ideas.  When  an  author  is  thus 
 catechised,  he  begins,  possibly  for  the  first  time,  to 
 clothe  in  words  the  motives  of  which  he  has  been' 
 conscious,  though  hitherto  without  defining  them. 
 There  is,  probably,  in  the  mind  of  every  indepen- 
 dent inquirer,  who  finds  upon  investigation  that 
 his  ancient  ideas  are  not  only  untenable,  but  posi- 
 tively wrong,  a  propensity,  almost  amounting  to  an 
 instinct,  to  publish  the  new  results  at  which  he  has 
 arrived.  He  has  the  same  sort  of  enthusiasm  which 
 possessed  Archimedes,  when  he  found  how  to  detect 
 the  adulteration  of  gold,  by  taking  the  specific 
 gravity  of  the  doubted  metal,  and  which  prevented 
 him  from  dressing  when  he  left  the  bath  wherein 
 
Ylll 
 
 that  discovery  was  made,  until  he  had  tested  the 
 truth  of  the  new  idea.  But,  though  the  philoso- 
 pher acknowledges  the  existence  of  the  instinct,  he 
 recognises  a  necessity  to  dominate  over  it,  where 
 it  leads  to  prejudicial  results, — if,  indeed,  a  true 
 "  instinct "  can  do  so, — and  he  should  pause  ere  he 
 gives  way  to  it.  Such  a  pause  I  made ;  and  these 
 were  the  thoughts  which  resulted  therefromo 
 
 All  civilised  nations  have  a  form  of  religion;  but 
 the  faith  and  practice  of  one  people  differ  widely 
 from  those  of  another.  Even  in  those  countries 
 where  union  upon  main  points  is  to  be  found, 
 there  is  acrimonious  controversy  about  matters 
 of  trifling  moment.  It  is  clear,  moreover,  that 
 religion  has  been  the  cause  of  bloody  wars,  hor- 
 rible tortures,  and  frightful  butcheries,  and  that 
 it  still  is  the  source  from  which  much  hatred 
 and  malice  spring.  Indeed,  it  is  evident  that 
 what  many  call  "religion"  has  been  the  greatest 
 curse  which  the  world  has  known.  To  the  truth 
 of  this  proposition  every  one  willingly  assents, 
 provided  only  that  his  own  particular  form  of 
 faith  and  practice  is  excepted  from  the  general 
 rule.  When  noticing  all  this,  it  seems  to  me  that  a 
 logical  mind  can  come  to  no  other  conclusion  than 
 that  some  great  fallacy  must  underlie  the  majority, 
 if  not  all,  of  the  current  religious  notions  of 
 Europe.  The  God  who  is  not  the  author  of  con- 
 fusion, but  of  peace,  could  never  dictate  a  revela- 
 tion, or  found  a  religion,  which  fosters  confusion, 
 
IX 
 
 and  has  repeatedly  led  to  war,  making  the  earth  a 
 hell. 
 
 Indeed  our  newspapers  teem  with  controversial 
 epistles,  which  abuse  "Eomanists,"  "EituaHsts," 
 "Dissenters,"  "Deists,"  "Atheists,"  "Pantheists" 
 and  "Evangelicals"  alike.  Even  the  Church,  said 
 to  be  the  earthly  representative  of  the  Prince  of 
 Peace,  is  a  belligerent,  and  discharges  the  vials  of 
 her  wrath  upon  any  one  of  her  own  body  who 
 ventures  to  cultivate  his  mental  powers,  if  he 
 develops  them  so  as  to  displease  her.  It  is 
 true  that  modern  theologians  only  fight  with  the 
 pen,  tongue,  curses,  excommunications,  and  similar 
 weapons,  rather  than  with  sword  and  gun,  cannon 
 and  bonfire.  Yet  the  hate  between  rivals  is  as 
 deadly  now  as  it  was  when  they  fought  at  the 
 dagger's  point.  Surely,  thought  I,  all  this  fighting 
 must  be  folly.  There  can  only  be  one  true  religion, 
 and  it  would  be  well  for  the  world  if  all  would  unite 
 to  seek  it  with  conscientious  diligence,  rather  than 
 fight  about  its  best  mask. 
 
 The  subject  being  open  to  laymen,  as  well  as  to 
 ecclesiastics,  and  lying,  as  it  were,  in  the  track  of 
 my  inquiry  into  ancient  names  and  faiths,  I  took 
 it  up,  and,  after  patient  inquiry,  came  to  the  con- 
 clusion that  theologians  had  been  fight  ig  for  tinsel, 
 and  knew  little  of  truth.  Yet  it  is  »  ar  that  no 
 hierarch  can  dare  to  propound  such  an  assertion, 
 unless  wealth  has  made  him  "independent"  of  his 
 profession ;  and  even  then,  if  he  does  so,  efforts  of 
 
all  kinds  will  be  made  to  silence  him.  Neverthe- 
 less, an  unknown  controversialist  may  promulgate 
 something  to  which  all  might  listen. 
 
 Such  were  my  earlier  thoughts.  My  mind 
 then  drew  the  picture  of  a  religious  Utopia,  in 
 which  "trumpery"  squabbles  should  find  no  place. 
 I  imagined  that  none  would  fight,  even  in  words, 
 about  the  Trinity,  when  they  knew  that  the  origin 
 of  the  idea  is  grossly  carnal.  Nor  could  I  believe 
 that  any  would  honour  the  Virgin,  if  they  knew 
 that  she  personifies  that  which  even  Venus  veils. 
 I  could  not  conceive  that  Eitualists  would  care  for 
 stoles,  mitres,  albes,  chasubles,  candles,  chalices,  cups, 
 crosses,  and  the  like,  when  they  are  recognised  as 
 Pagan  emblems  of  a  grovelling  idea  of  the  Creator 
 of  all  things.  I  could  not  conceive  that  men  would 
 foster  indolence  as  they  do,  by  setting  apart  one  day 
 in  seven  as  a  rest  from  their  duty  as  men,  prefer- 
 rinsf  instead  to  make  themselves  miserable  in  honour 
 of  God,  if  they  knew  that  the  so-called  sacred  ordi- 
 nance of  the  Sabbath  was  made  by  some  Jewish 
 priest,  or  council.  Moreover,  I  thought  that  it  was 
 not  likely  that  preachers  would  gloat  over  descrip- 
 tions of  the  horrors  of  hell,  over  the  certainty  of 
 ninety -nine  out  of  every  hundred  beings  going 
 there,  under  all  imaginary  circumstances,  and  over 
 the  "eternity"  of  its  torments,  if  they  were  aware 
 that  we  have  no  real  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
 such  a  place;  and  that  our  conceptions  of  it  are 
 due  to  Greeks,  Etruscans,  Eomans  and  Hindoos. 
 
XI 
 
 In  the  Utopia,  such  as  my  vision  saw,  there 
 were  no  hermits,  monks,  nuns,  nor  ascetics  of  any 
 kind.  There  were  none  who  encleavom^ed  to  make 
 themselves  acceptable  to  a  God  of  Purity  and  Love 
 by  wallowing  in  filth,  and  torturing  those  whom  He 
 had  made.  I  rejoiced  in  the  idea  that,  if  con- 
 temptible absurdities  (as  we  are  taught  to  call  them 
 when  practised  by  others)  were  laid  aside,  men 
 might  eat  and  drink,  sleep  and  wake,  don  or  doff 
 garments  according  to  the  dictates  of  reason  and 
 experience,  rather  than  according  to  an  inflexible 
 code,  which  prescribes  fish  for  one  day  and  meat  for 
 another;  which  compels  people  to  wake  from  a 
 refreshing  sleep,  to  pray  in  discomfort,  and  to  wear 
 clothes  conspicuous  for  ugliness  and  nastiness. 
 In  fine,  it  is  my  hope  that  God  may  ultimately  be 
 recognised  as  He  is,  not  the  author  of  confusion, 
 deviltry,  torture,  and  war,  as  man  has  made  Him, 
 but  of  Peace. 
 
 Yet  this  glance  of  Utopia  has  never  blinded  my 
 eyes  to  the  fact,  that  human  nature  has  within  it 
 all  the  elements  for  forming  slaves  and  bigots.  It 
 never  has  been,  and  probably  never  will  be,  other- 
 wise. We  are  told  in  history  of  a  man  who,  after 
 having  lived  in  the  Bastille  for  more  than  fifty 
 years,  was  miserable  when  his  prison  was  destroyed, 
 and  he  became  a  free  agent.  In  like  manner,  there 
 are  many  Christians  who  would  consider  themselves 
 robbed  of  a  great  treasure,  were  they  to  be 
 deprived  of  Hell  ;  and  such  willingly  run  the  risk 
 
xu 
 
 of  going  there,  that  they  may,  in  fancy,  have  the 
 power  of  sending  all  their  enemies  there  too.  To 
 them,  the  delights  of  Heaven  would  he  insipid, 
 unless  seasoned  hy  a  view  of  the  tortures  of  their 
 earthly  opponents.  Others  would  be  equally  miser- 
 able if  they  could  not  believe  themselves  to  be 
 clients  to  certain  hierarchs,  who  would  pass  them 
 into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  their  vassals,  serfs, 
 or  dependents. 
 
 In  rejoinder  to  these  remarks,  the  theologian 
 very  naturally  exclaims,  "Oh,  then,  would  you  have 
 us  to  acknowledge  no  religion  whatever  ?  " 
 
 The  retort  is  worth  consideration,  and  it  leads  us 
 to  ponder  deeply  whether,  in  reality,  the  absence  of 
 all  faith  in  unseen  things  would  not  be  preferable  to 
 that  which  is,  and  has  been,  current  amongst  us. 
 If  we  had  no  respect  for  any  dogma  or  any  creed, 
 we  should  be  deprived  of  the  most  fertile  source  of 
 hatred  and  strife;  the  days  of  those  called  ''pious  " 
 would  no  longer  be  made  wretched,  and  their 
 nights  miserable,  from  fears  of  the  unknown.  We 
 should  then  attempt  to  investigate  the  laws  which 
 God  has  given,  and  by  which  He  rules  the  uni- 
 verse. Without  respect  for  any  religion,  statesmen 
 could  enact  laws,  whose  sole  aim  should  be  the 
 happiness  of  the  many  rather  than  the  supremacy 
 of  the  few.  This  condition  might  be  a  happy  one, 
 yet  it  would,  by  many  moderns,  be  considered  as 
 being  *' humdrum."  Without  such  religion  as  we 
 have  there  would  be  no  thrilling:  sensations  of  hor- 
 
XUl 
 
 ror,  dread,  and  despair,  either  as  regards  our  own 
 selves,  our  friends,  or  our  enemies.  There  would 
 be  no  fluctuations  between  hope  and  misery,  accord- 
 ing as  an  orator  painted  Heaven  or  depicted  Hell ; 
 there  would  be  no  refuge  for  lazy  men,  who,  by 
 turning  themselves  into  "  religion,"  can  make 
 others  support  them  in  comparative  or  absolute 
 idleness  ;  or  for  women,  whose  parents,  or  their  own 
 fanaticism,  consign  them  to  a  cloister  as  to  a  living 
 tomb ;  there  would  be  no  means  by  which  human 
 beings  can  indulge  with  pious  fervour  the  pleasure 
 of  torturing,  killing,  imprisoning,  and  cursing  all 
 those  who  opposed  them  in  this  work,  and  of  wield- 
 ing the  Devil's  trident  over  his  hellish  gridiron  in 
 the  next.  Without  such  religion,  the  weak  would 
 have  no  power  to  dominate  over  the  strong,  or  the 
 poor  to  extract  from  the  rich  a  large  portion  of 
 their  wealth. 
 
 Indeed,  we  scarcely  need  frame  such  an  Utopia, 
 for  we  have  already  seen  something  approaching 
 thereto  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  the  Peruvian 
 Incas.  The  primitive  inhabitants  of  Owhyhee,  and 
 other  barbarous  islands  discovered  by  Cook,  will 
 bear  comparison  with  Ireland,  the  so-called  Isle  of 
 Saints,  and  not  suffer  by  the  contrast.  Wallace^  in 
 his  Malaij  Archipelago,  tells  of  a  colony  in  which 
 there  is  neither  priest,  religion,  magistrate,  nor  law, 
 but  in  which  men  are  orderly  and  proper.  Eeligion 
 is  the  child  of  civilisation,  not  its  parent.  When 
 European   manners  were   brutal,   religionists  were 
 
XIV 
 
 more  merciless  than  soldiers.  It  was  irreligious 
 France  that  suppressed  the  horrible  Inquisition  in 
 Catholic  Spain;  and,  even  in  our  own  day,  it  is 
 only  by  the  power  of  those  who  are  called  godless 
 that  religionists  are  preserved  from  slaughtering 
 or  otherwise  injuring  each  other. 
 
 Rehgion  of  some  sort  is  one  of  the  exigencies 
 of  polite  or  civiHsed  life,  and  takes  its  hue  from  the 
 prevalent  tone  of  manners. 
 
 Yet,  although  we  believe  that  the  absence  of  all 
 religion  currently  so-called  would  be  better  than 
 that  which  is  dominant  in  Europe  at  the  present, 
 we  do  not  advocate  the  total  freedom  from  every 
 form  of  faith.  On  the  contrary,  we  advocate  that 
 which  commends  itself  to  the  minds  of  all  thinking 
 men.  A  reverence  for  the  Creator,  which  shall  be 
 shown  by  a  profound  study  of  all  His  works;  an 
 exaltation  of  the  intellectual  rather  than  of  the 
 sensual  faculties;  a  constant  and  steady  effort  to 
 control  one's  own  temper  and  passions,  so  as  to  be 
 able  to  do  good  and  to  benefit  one's  fellow  creatures 
 to  the  utmost  extent  of  our  power.  Such  a  religion 
 would,  we  conceive,  enable  each  of  its  votaries  to 
 say,  "When  the  ear  heard  me,  then  it  blessed  me, 
 and  when  the  eye  saw  me,  it  gave  witness  to  me. 
 Because  I  delivered  the  poor  that  cried,  and  the 
 fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him. 
 The  blessing  of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came 
 upon  me,  and  I  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for 
 joy.     I  was  eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  was  I  to  the 
 
XV 
 
 lame.  I  was  a  father  to  the  poor,  and  the  cause 
 that  I  knew  not  I  searched  out  "  (Job.  xxix.  11,  12, 
 13,  15,  16). 
 
 I  cannot  expect  to  convert  many  polemical 
 divines  to  my  faith,  yet  I  do  entertain  a  hope  that 
 many  a  sensible  layman  will  be  induced  to  depose 
 all  the  imaginary  terrors  which  have  been  woven 
 around  his  mind  during  youth,  and  which  have 
 reigned  over  him  since,  and  to  realise  somewhat  of 
 the  infinite  mind  of  the  Creator,  whom  theologians 
 have  generally  travestied,  as  if  God  were  a  polemical 
 hierarch.  I  do  not  like  to  use  hard  words,  but  I 
 feel  sure  that,  when  the  mind  of  any  one  becomes 
 imbued  with  large  ideas  respecting  the  Almighty, 
 he  will  look  back  with  horror  at  the  blasphemous 
 notions  which  he  entertained,  when  the  picture  of 
 the  Lord  of  the  Universe,  as  drawn  by  Jewish  and 
 Christian  divines,  was  considered  to  be  the  only 
 correct  one. 
 
 In  presenting  the  present  volume,  it  is  due  to 
 German  authors  to  state  that  I  have  not  quoted 
 them,  except  in  translation,  from  my  ignorance 
 of  the  language.  I  feel  moreover  that  an  apology 
 is  due  to  the  public  for  its  many  imperfections 
 of  arrangement.  Composed  during  intervals  of 
 leisure,  written  at  times  when  interruptions  have 
 been  of  daily,  and  generally  of  hourly  occurrence, 
 and  corrected  under  similar  difficulties,  the  book 
 must  necessarily  exhibit  marks  of  incorrectness. 
 I  have,  however,   endeavoured  to   reduce   them  to 
 
XYl 
 
 a  minimum;  and  I  cannot  conclude  this  preface 
 without  expressing  my  thanks  to  Mr.  Thomas 
 Scott,  of  Kamsgate,  and  Mr.  John  Newton,  of 
 Liverpool,  for  their  kindness  in  looking  over  the 
 proof  sheets  of  this  volume,  and  assisting  me,  not 
 only  to  correct  errors  of  diction  or  of  the  press, 
 but  by  calling  my  attention  to  flaws  in  argument, 
 incorrect  statements,  inconsistencies,  and  other 
 faults  that  beset  an  author  whose  general  avoca- 
 tions prevent  his  composition  from  being  duly 
 sustained.  They,  still  farther,  deserve  my  gratitude 
 for  referring  me  to  books  and  quotations,  either 
 wholly  unknown  to  me  or  else  forgotten.  At  the 
 same  time,  I  am  in  duty  bound  to  observe  that 
 neither  the  one  nor  the  other  is  responsible  for  any 
 statement  that  I  have  made,  or  argument  advanced ; 
 nor  is  the  care  with  which  they  have  examined  the 
 sheets  to  be  regarded  as  evidence  of  coincidence 
 between  their  views  and  my  own. 
 
 12,  EoDNEY  Street,  Liverpool, 
 June,  1869. 
 
DESCKIPTION    OF    THE    PLATES 
 
 IN    BOTH    VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL.    I. 
 
 The  oval  on  the  side  of  Vol.  I.  represents  Assyrian  priests  offering  in 
 the  presence  of  what  is  su^Dposecl  to  be  Baal  —  or  the  representative  of 
 the  sun  —  and  of  the  gi'ove.  The  first  is  typified  by  the  eye,  with 
 wdngs  and  a  taU,  which  make  it  symbohc  of  the  male  triad  and  the 
 female  unit.  The  eye,  with  the  central  pupil,  is  in  itself  emblematic 
 of  the  same.  The  grove  represents  mystically  le  verger  cle  Gypris. 
 On  the  right,  stands  the  king ;  on  the  left  are  two  priests,  the  foremost 
 clothed  with  a  fish's  skin,  the  head  forming  the  mitre,  thus  showing 
 the  origin  of  modern  Christian  bishops'  peculiar  head-dress.  Arranged 
 about  the  figures  are,  the  sun ;  a  bird,  perhaps  the  sacred  dove,  whose 
 note,  coa  or  coo,  has,  in  the  Shemitic,  some  resemblance  to  an  invita- 
 tion to  amorous  gratification ;  the  oval,  symbol  of  the  yoni ;  the  basket, 
 or  bag,  emblematic  of  the  scrotixm,  and  apparently  the  lotus.  The 
 trinity  and  unity  are  carried  by  the  second  priest.  The  other  figures 
 on  the  side  of  the  book  are  explained  elsewhere. 
 
 FEONTISPIECE. 
 This  is  taken  from  a  photograph  of  a  small  bronze  image  in  the 
 Mayer  collection  of  Brown's  Museum,  in  Liverpool.  The  figure  stands 
 about  nine  inches  high,  and  represents  Isis,  Horus,  and  the  fish.  It  is 
 an  apt  illustration  of  a  custom,  stUl  prevalent  amongst  certain  Chris- 
 tians, of  reverencing  a  virgin  giving  suck  to  her  child,  and  of  the 
 association  of  Isis,  Venus,  and  Mary  with  the  fish. 
 
 PLATE  I 
 
 Is  supposed  to  represent  Cannes,  Dagon,  or  some  other  fish  god. 
 It  is  copied  from  Lajard,  Sur  le  Gulte  de  Venus,  pi.  xxii.,  1,  la,  and  is 
 
 b 
 
XVlll 
 
 thus  described,  "  Statuette  iuedite,  de  gres  lioixiller  ou  micace,  d'un 
 brun  verdatre.  Elle  porte  par  devant,  sur  une  bande  perpendiculaive, 
 unlegende  en  caracteres  Syriaques  tres  anciens  {Cabinet  de  M.  Lambert, 
 a  Lyon).     I  can  find  no  clue  to  the  signification  of  the  inscription. 
 
 PLATE  II. 
 
 Figs.  1  and  4  are  ilhistrations  of  the  respect  for  the  antelope 
 amongst  the  Assyrians.  The  first  is  from  Layard's  Nineveh  ;  the 
 second,  showing  the  regard  for  the  spotted  antelope,  and  for  "  the 
 branch,"  is  from  Bonomi's  Nineveh  and  its  Palaces. 
 
 Fig.  2  illustrates  Bacchus,  with  a  mystic  branch  in  one  hand, 
 and  a  cup  in  the  other;  his  robe  is  covered  with  spots  arranged 
 in  threes.  The  branch  is  emblematic  of  the  arbor  vita,  or  tree  of  life. 
 It  will  be  noticed  that  on  the  fillet  round  the  god's  head  are  arranged 
 many  crosses.  From  Hislop's  Two  Bahylons  and  Smith's  Dictionary, 
 p.  208. 
 
 Figs.  3  and  5  are  intended  to  show  the  prevalence  of  the  use  of 
 spots  on  priestly  dresses  ;  they  are  copied  from  Hislop's  Two  Babylons, 
 and  Wilkinson,  vol.  vi.,  pi.  38,  and  vol.  iv.,  pp.  341,  353.  Other  illus- 
 trations of  spotted  robes,  etc.,  will  be  seen  in  other  figures.  For  an 
 explanation  of  the  signification  of  spots,  see  Vol.  i.,  p.  360,  and  Vol  ii., 
 p.  769. 
 
 PLATE   III. 
 
 Fig.  1  represents  an  Assyrian  priest  worshipping  by  presentation 
 of  the  thumb,  which  had  a  pecuhar  signification.  Sometimes  the 
 forefinger  is  iDointed  instead,  and  iu  both  cases  the  male  is  sj'mbolised. 
 It  is  taken  from  a  plate  illustrating  a  paper  by  E.  C.  Ravenshaw,  Esq., 
 in  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  16,  p.  114. 
 
 Fig.  2  is  a  Buddhist  emblem ;  the  two  fishes  forming  the  circle 
 represent  the  mystic  yoni,  the  sacti  of  Mahadeva,  while  the  triad 
 above  them  represents  the  mystic  trinity,  the  triune  father,  Siva,  Bel, 
 or  Asher.  From  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  is,  p.  390, 
 plate  ii. 
 
 Fig.  3  is  a  very  remarkable  production.  It  originallj'  belonged  to 
 Mons.  Lajard,  and  is  described  by  him  in  his  second  Memoire,  entitled 
 Recherches  sur  le  C'ulte,  les  Symholes,  les  Attributes,  et  les  Monumcns 
 Figures  de  Venus  (Paris,  1837),  in  pages  3  2,  et  seq.,  and  figured  iu  plate 
 i.,  fig.  1.  The  real  age  of  the  gem  and  its  origin  are  not  known,  but 
 the  subject  leads  that  author  to  beUeve  it  to  be  of  late  Babylonian 
 workmanship.     The  stone  is  a  white  agate  shaped  like  a  cone,  and  the 
 
XIX 
 
 cutting  is  on  its  lower  face.  The  shape  of  this  gem  indicates  its  dedica- 
 tion to  Veniis.  The  central  figures  represent  the  androgjoie  deity, 
 Baalim,  Astaroth,  Elohim,  Jupiter  genetrix,  or  the  bearded  Venus 
 MyHtta.  On  the  left  side  of  the  cutting  we  notice  an  erect  serpent, 
 whose  rayed  head  makes  us  recognise  the  solar  emblem,  and  its  mun- 
 dane representative,  mentida  arrecta;  on  a  spot  opposite  to  the  centre  of 
 the  male's  body  we  find  a  lozenge,  symbolic  of  the  yoni,  whilst  opposite 
 to  his  feet  is  the  amphora,  whose  mystic  signification  may  readily  be 
 recognised ;  it  is  symbolic  of  Ouranos,  or  the  Sun  fructifying  Terra,  or 
 the  earth,  by  pouring  from  himself  into  her.  The  three  stars  over  the 
 head  of  the  figure,  and  the  inverted  triangle  on  its  head,  are  represen- 
 tations of  the  mythological  four,  equivalent  to  the  Egyptian  symbol  of 
 Ufe  (figs.  21,  32).  Opposite  to  the  female  are  the  moon,  and  another 
 serpent  of  smaller  size  than  that  characterising  the  male,  which 
 may  readily  be  recognised  by  jDhysiologists  as  symbolic  of  tensio 
 clitorklis.  In  a  part  corresponding  to  the  diamond,  on  the  left  side,  is 
 a  six-rayed  wheel,  emblematic,  apparently,  of  the  sun.  At  the  female's 
 feet  is  placed  a  cup,  which  is  intended  to  represent  the  passive  element 
 in  creation.  As  such  it  is  analogous  to  the  crescent  moon,  and  is 
 associated  in  the  Roman  church  with  the  round  wafer,  the  sjanbol  of 
 the  sun.  The  wafer  and  cup  thus  being  s5aionymous  with  the  sun  and 
 moon  in  conjunction.  It  will  be  observed  that  both  serpents  in  the 
 plate  are  apparently  attacked  by  wliat  we  suppose  is  a  dragon.  There 
 is  some  difficulty  in  understanding  the  exact  idea  intended  to  be  con- 
 veyed by  these,  our  own  opinion  being  that  they  symbolise  Eros, 
 Cupid,  or  desire,  whilst  Lajard  takes  them  to  indicate  the  bad  prin- 
 ciple in  nature,  darkness,  night,  Satan,  Ahriman,  etc. 
 
 Fig.  4  is  also  copied  from  Lajard,  plate  i.,  fig.  10.  It  represents 
 the  reverse  of  a  bronze  coin  of  Vespasian,  struck  in  the  island  of 
 Cyprus.  It  represents  the  conical  stone,  under  whose  form  Venus  was 
 worshipped  at  Paphos,  and  a  conjunction  of  the  sun  and  moon  similar 
 to  that  which  may  be  seen  in  the  chapels  of  Mary  in  Papal  chiu-ches. 
 The  framework  around  the  cone  indicates  an  ark. 
 
 Fig.  5  represents  the  position  of  the  hands  assumed  by  Jewish 
 priests  when  they  give  their  benediction  to  their  flock.  It  mU  be 
 recognised  that  each  hand  separately  indicates  the  tiinity,  whilst  the 
 junction  of  the  two  indicates  the  unit.  The  whole  being  symbohc  of 
 the  mystic  Arba.  One  of  my  informants,  who  told  me  that,  being  a 
 "cohen"  or  priest,  he  had  often  administered  the  blessing,  whilst 
 showing  to  me  this  method  of  benediction,  placed  his  joined  hands  so 
 
XX 
 
 that  his  nose  entered  the  central  aperture.  On  his  doing  so,  I 
 remarked,  "bene  nasatus,"  and  the  expression  did  more  to  convince 
 him  of  the  probabilitj'  of  my  views  than  anything  else. 
 
 Fig.  6,  modified  in  one  form  or  another,  is  the  position  assumed 
 by  the  hand  and  fingers,  when  Roman  and  Anglican  bishops  or  other 
 hierarchs  give  benediction  to  then*  people.  The  same  disposition  is  to 
 be  met  mth  in  Indian  m}i;hology,  when  the  Creator  doubles  himself 
 into  male  and  female,  so  as  to  be  in  a  position  to  originate  new  beings  - 
 whilst  the  male  hand  symbolises  the  masculine  triad,  the  female  hand 
 represents  the  mystic  feminine  circle,  and  the  dress  worn  by  the 
 celestial  spouse  is  covered  with  groups  of  spots  arranged  in  triads  and 
 groups  of  four. 
 
 PLATE  IV 
 Is  a  copy  of  a  mediaeval  Vii-gin  and  Child,  as  painted  in  Delia 
 Robbia  ware  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  a  copy  of  which  was 
 given  to  me  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Newton,  to  whose  kindness  I  am 
 indebted  for  many  illustrations  of  ancient  Christian  art.  It  represents 
 the  Vii'gin  and  Child  precisely  as  she  used  to  be  represented  in  Egypt, 
 in  India,  in  Assyria,  Babjionia,  Phoenicia,  and  Etruiia ;  the  accident 
 of  dress  being  of  no  mythological  consequence.  In  the  framework  around 
 the  group,  we  recognise  the  triformed  leaf,  emblematic  of  Asher ;  the 
 grapes,  typical  of  Dionysus ;  the  wheat  ears,  symbolic  of  Ceres, 
 Vahricot  femlu,  the  mark  of  womankind,  and  the  pomegranate  rlmmon, 
 which  characterises  the  teeming  mother.  The  living  group,  moreover, 
 are  placed  in  an  arch-way,  delta,  or  door,  which  is  symboUc  of  the 
 female,  Uke  the  vesica  j'iscis,  the  oval  or  the  chcle.  The  identification 
 of  Mary  with  the  Sacti  is  as  complete  as  it  is  possible  to  make  it. 
 
 FIGUBES  IN  THE  TEXT. 
 
 Figure  1,  page  53,  is  fully  explained,  and  the  authority  whence  it 
 was  drawn  given  in  the  paragraphs  following  it. 
 
 Figures  2,  3,  page  78,  are  taken  fi'om  Ginsburg's  Kabbalah,  and 
 illustrate  that  in  the  arrangement  of  "potencies"  two  unite,  like 
 parents  to  form  a  third. 
 
 Figiires  4,  5,  page  79,  are  copies  from  figures  found  in  Carthage  and 
 in  Scotland,  from  Forbes  LesUe's  Early  Races  of  Scotland,  vol.  i., 
 plate  0,  page  40  (Loudon.  1H6G).  This  book  is  one  to  which  the 
 reader's  attention  should  be  directed.  The  amount  of  valuable  infor- 
 mation which  it  contains  is  very  large,  and  it  is  classified  in  a  philoso- 
 phical, we  may  add,  attractive  manner. 
 
XXI 
 
 Figure  6,  page  90,  is  from  Bonomi,  p.  292,  Nineveh  and  its  Palaces 
 (London,  1865).  It  apparently  represents  the  mystic  yoni,  door,  or 
 delta  ;  and  it  may  be  regarded  as  an  earlier  form  of  the  framework  in 
 Plate  IV.  It  mil  be  remarked  by  those  learned  in  symbols,  that  the 
 outline  of  the  hands  of  the  priests  who  are  nearest  to  the  figure  is  a 
 suggestive  one,  being  analogous  to  the  figure  of  a  key  and  its  shank 
 (Fig.  4,  Vol.  Ti.),  whilst  those  who  stand  behind  these  officers  present 
 the  pine  cone  and  bag,  symbohc  of  Anu,  Hoa,  and  their  residence.  It 
 is  to  be  noticed,  and  once  for  all  let  us  assert  our  belief,  that  every 
 detail  in  a  sculpture  relating  to  religion  has  a  signification  ;  that  the 
 first  right  hand  figure  carries  a  pecuUarly  shaped  staflf ;  and  that  the 
 winged  symbol  above  the  yoni  consists  of  a  male  archer  in  a  winged 
 circle,  analogous  to  the  symbohc  bow,  arrow,  and  target. 
 
 Figures  7  to  13,  pages  98  to  103,  are  representations  of  the  goddess 
 mother,  the  virgin  and  child,  Ishtar,  Mylitta,  Venus,  Sacti,  Mary, 
 Yoni,  Juno,  Mama  OceHo,  etc.  Fig.  7  is  a  copy  of  the  deified  woman  or 
 celestial  mother,  from  Idalium,  in  Cj^prus.  Fig.  8  is  from  Egypt,  and  is 
 remarkable  for  the  cow's  horns  (for  whose  signification,  see  Vol.  i., 
 p.  54),  which  here  replace  the  lunar  crescent,  in  conjunction  with  the 
 sun,  the  two  being  symbohc  of  hermaphroditism,  whilst  above  is  a  seat 
 or  throne,  emblematic  of  roj^alty.  The  two  figures  are  copied  from 
 Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  2,  p.  447,  in  an  essay  by  Sir  Gardiner 
 Wilkinson,  wherein  other  illustrations  of  the  celestial  virgin  are  given. 
 Fig.  9  is  a  copy  of  plate  59,  Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon,  wherein  it  is  entitled 
 ''  Chrisna  niu'sed  by  Devaki,  from  a  highly  finished  pictm-e."  In  the 
 account  of  Krishna's  bii'th  and  early  history  as  given  by  Moor  (Oj).  Cit., 
 pp.  197,  et.  seq.),  there  is  as  strong  a  resemblance  to  the  story  of  Christ,  as 
 the  picture  here  described  has  to  papal  paintings  of  Mary  and  Jesus. 
 Fig.  10  is  an  enlarged  representation  of  Devaki.  Fig.  11  is  copied  from 
 RawUnson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  3,  p.  399.  Fig.  12  is  a  figure  of  the 
 mother  and  child  found  in  ancient  Etruria  at  Volaterrse ;  it  is  depicted 
 in  Fabretti's  Italian  Glossary,  plate  26,  figiu'e  349,  who  describes  it  as 
 a  marble  statue,  now  in  the  Guarnacci  Museum.  The  letters,  which 
 are  Etruscan,  and  read  from  right  to  left,  may  be  thus  rendered  into 
 the  ordinary  Latin  characters  from  left  to  right,  MI  :  GANA  : 
 LARTHIAS  ZANL:  VELKINEI :  ME  — SE.;  the  translation  I 
 take  to  be,  "  the  votive  offering  of  Larthias  (a  female)  of  Zanal,  ( = 
 Zancle  =  Messana  in  Sicily)  (wife)  of  Velcinius,  in  the  sixth  month." 
 It  is  imcertain  whether  we  are  to  regard  the  statue  as  an  efiigy  of  the 
 celestial  mother  and  child,  or  as  the  representation  of  some  devout 
 
XXll 
 
 lady  who  has  been  spared  during  her  pregnancy,  her  parturition,  or 
 from  some  disease  affecting  herself  and  child.  Analogy  would  lead  us  to 
 infer  that  the  Queen  of  Heaven  is  intended.  Fig.  13  is  copied  from 
 Hislop's  Two  Babijlons  ;  it  represents  Indranee,  the  wife  of  Indra  or 
 Indur.  and  is  to  be  found  in  Indur  Subba,  the  south  front  of  the  Caves 
 of  EUora,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vi.,  p.  393.  Indra  is  equivalent  to 
 Jupiter  Tonans,  and  is  represented  as  seated  on  an  elephant ;  "  the 
 waterspout  is  the  trunk  of  this  elephant,  and  the  iris  is  his  bow,  which 
 it  is  not  auspicious  to  point  out,"  Moor's  Pantheon,  p.  ^60.  He  is 
 represented  very  much  as  if  he  were  a  satyr,  Moor's  Pantheon,  p.  264  ; 
 but  his  wife  is  always  spoken  of  as  personified  chastity  and  propriety. 
 Indrani  is  seated  on  a  lioness,  which  replaces  the  cow  of  Isis,  the 
 former  resembling  the  latter  in  her  feminine  and  maternal  instincts. 
 
 Figures  14,  15,  page  105,  are  copies  of  Diana  of  the  Ephesians ;  the 
 first  from  Hislop,  who  quotes  Kitto's  Illustrated  Commentary,  vol.  5,  p. 
 205  ;  the  second  is  from  Higgins'  Anacalypsis,  who  quotes  Montfauqon, 
 plate  47.  I  remember  to  have  seen  a  figure  similar  to  these  in  the 
 Royal  Museum  at  Naples.  The  tower  upon  the  head  represents 
 virginity  (see  Vol.  i.,  p.  144)  ;  the  position  of  the  hands  forms  a  cross 
 with  the  body ;  the  numerous  breasts  indicate  abundance ;  the  black 
 colour  of  Figure  14  indicates  the  ordinary  colour  of  the  lanugo,  or,  as 
 some  mythologists  imagine,  "  Night,"  who  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
 mothers  of  creation,  i  See  Vol.  ii.,  p.  382.)  The  emblems  upon  the 
 body  indicate  the  attributes  or  symbols  of  the  male  and  female 
 creators. 
 
 Figin'e  16,  p.  106,  is  a  complicated  sign  of  the  yoni,  delta,  or  door 
 of  life  ;  it  is  copied  from  Bonomi's  Palaces  of  Nineveh,  p.  309. 
 
 Figure  17,  p.  107,  signifies  the  same  thing ;  the  priests  adoring  it 
 present  the  pine  cone  and  basket,  symbolic  of  Anu,  Hoa,  and  their 
 residence.  Compare  the  object  of  the  Assyrian  priest's  adoration  with 
 that  adored  by  a  Christian  divine,  in  Fig.  47,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  648.  (See 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  83,  et.  seq  ) 
 
 Figure  18,  p.  107,  is  a  fancy  sketch  of  the  linga  and  the  yoni 
 combined.  There  is  infinite  variety  in  the  details,  but  in  all  the  plan, 
 as  given  in  the  figure,  is  observable,  except  in  the  j)ointed  end,  which 
 ought  to  be  open,  so  as  to  allow  the  fluid  poured  over  the  linga  to  flow 
 away. 
 
 Figm'e  19,  p.  112,  is  copied  from  Lajard  (Op.  Git.),  plate  xxii.,  fig.  5. 
 It  is  the  impression  of  an  ancient  gem,  and  rei)resents  a  man  clothed 
 with  a  fish,  the  head  being  the  mitre ;  priests  thus  clothed,  often  bear- 
 
xxm 
 
 ing  in  their  hand  the  mystic  bag,  are  common  in  Mesopotamian  sculp- 
 tures ;  one  such  is  figured  on  the  back  of  the  first  volume  of  this  work. 
 In  almost  every  instance  it  will  be  recognised  that  the  fish's  head  is 
 represented  as  of  the  same  form  of  the  modern  bishop's  mitre. 
 
 Figure  21,  p.  1 19,  represents  two  equilateral  triangles,  infolded  so  as 
 to  make  a  six-rayed  star,  the  idea  embodied  bemgthe  androgyne  nature 
 of  the  deity.  The  pja-amid  with  its  apex  upwards  signifying  the  male, 
 that  with  the  apex  downwards  the  female.  The  line  at  the  central 
 junction  is  not  always  seen,  but  the  shape  of  the  three  parallel  bars 
 reappears  in  Hindoo  frontlet  signs  in  conjunction  with  a  delta  or  door, 
 shaped  like  the  "  grove  "  in  17 ;  thus  showing  that  the  lines  serve  also 
 to  indicate  the  masculine  triad  (see  Fig.  62,  Vol.  n.,  p.  (549). 
 
 Figures  22,  23,  p.  124,  are  other  indications  of  the  same  funda- 
 mental idea.  The  first  represents  Nebo,  the  Nabhi,  or  the  navel, 
 characterised  by  a  ring  with  a  central  moimd.  The  second  represents 
 the  circular  and  upright  stone  so  common  in  Oriental  villages.  The 
 two  indicate  the  male  and  female ;  and  a  medical  friend  resident  in 
 India  has  told  me,  that  he  has  seen  women  mount  upon  the  lower 
 stone  and  seat  themselves  reverently  upon  the  uj)right  one,  having 
 first  adjusted  their  dress  so  as  to  prevent  it  interfering  with  her  perfect 
 contact  with  the  miniature  obelise.  During  the  sitting,  a  short  prayer 
 seemed  flitting  over  the  worshipper's  lips,  but  the  whole  affair  was 
 soon  over. 
 
 Figures  24,  25,  pp.  142,  143,  are  discs,  circles,  aureoles,  and  wheels, 
 to  represent  the  sun.  Sometimes  the  emblem  of  this  luminary  is 
 associated  with  rays,  as  in  Plate  iii.,  Fig.  3,  and  in  Figure  10,  p.  100 ; 
 occasionally,  as  in  some  of  the  ancient  temples  in  Egypt  discovered  in 
 1854,  the  sun's  rays  are  represented  by  lines  terminating  in  hands, 
 sometunes  one  or  more  of  these  contain  objects  as  if  they  were  gifts 
 sent  by  the  god ;  amongst  other  objects,  the  crux  ansata  is  shown  con- 
 spicuously. In  a  remarkable  plate  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Boyal 
 Society  of  Literature  (second  series,  vol  i.,  p.  140),  the  sun  is  identified 
 with  the  serpent;  its  rays  terminate  in  hands,  some  holding  the 
 handled  cross  or  tau,  and  before  it  a  queen,  aj^parently,  worships. 
 She  is  offering  what  seems  to  be  a  lighted  tobacco  pipe,  the  bowl  being 
 of  the  same  shape  as  that  commonly  used  in  Turkey ;  from  this  a  wavy 
 pyramid  of  flame  rises.  Behind  her,  two  female  slaves  elevate  the 
 systrum ;  whilst  before  her,  and  apparently  between  herself  and  her 
 husband,  are  two  altars  occupied  by  round  cakes  and  one  crescent- 
 shaped  emblem.     Figure  24  was  used  in  ancient  days  by  Babylonian 
 
XXIV 
 
 artists  or  sculptors,  when  the_y  mshed  to  represent  a  being,  appa- 
 rently human,  as  a  god.  The  same  plan  has  been  adopted  by  the 
 moderns,  who  have  varied  the  symbol  by  representing  it  now  as  a 
 golden  disc,  now  as  a  terrestrial  orb,  again  as  a  rayed  sphere.  A 
 writer,  when  describing  a  god  as  a  man,  can  say  that  the  object  he 
 sketches  is  divine ;  but  a  painter  thinks  too  much  of  his  art  to  put  on 
 any  of  his  designs,  "  this  woman  is  a  goddess,"  or  "  this  creature  is 
 divine  "  ;  he  therefore  adds  an  aureole  round  the  head  of  his  subject, 
 and  thus  converts  a  very  ordinary  man,  woman,  or  child  into  a  deity  to 
 be  reverenced ;  modern  artists  being  far  more  skilful  in  depicting  the 
 Almighty  than  the  carpenters  and  goldsmiths  of  the  time  of  Isaiah 
 (xl.  18,  19,  xli.  6,  7,  xliv.  9  —  19). 
 
 Figure  25  is  another  representation  of  the  solar  disc,  in  which  it  is 
 marked  with  a  cross.  This  probably  originated  in  the  wheel  of  a 
 chariot  having  four  spokes,  and  the  sun  being  likened  to  a  charioteer. 
 The  chariots  of  the  sim  are  refei*red  to  in  2  Kings  xxiii.  11  as  idolatrous 
 emblems.  Of  these  the  wheel  was  symbolic.  The  identification  of 
 this  emblem  with  the  sun  is  very  easy,  for  it  has  repeatedly  been 
 found  in  Mesopotamian  gems  in  conjunction  with  the  moon.  In  a 
 very  remarkable  one  figured  in  Rawlinson's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii., 
 p.  249,  the  cross  is  contrived  as  five  cii-cles.  It  is  remarkable,  that  in 
 many  papal  pictures  the  wafer  and  the  cup  are  dexncted  precisely 
 as  the  sun  and  moon  in  conjimction.  See  Pugin's  Architectural 
 Glossary,  plate  iv.,  fig.  5. 
 
 Figures  26,  27,  28,  j).  143,  are  simply  varieties  of  the  solar  wheel, 
 intended  to  represent  the  idea  of  the  sun  and  moon,  the  mystic  triad 
 and  imit,  the  "  arba,"  or  four.  In  Figure  27,  the  mural  ornament  is 
 introduced,  that  being  symbolic  of  feminine  virginity.  For  explana- 
 tion of  Figiu*e  28,  see  Figm-es  36,  37. 
 
 Figure  29,  p.  145,  is  copied  from  Lajard,  Op.  Cit.,  jjlate  xiv.  F. 
 That  author  states  that  he  has  taken  it  from  a  drawing  of  an  Egj^Dtian 
 stele,  made  by  M.  E.  Prisse  (Monum.  Egijjn.,  plate  xxxvii.),  and  that 
 the  original  is  ui  the  British  Museum.  There  is  an  imperfect  copy  of  it 
 in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  The  original  is  too  indelicate  to  be 
 represented  fully.  Isis,  the  central  figure,  is  wholly  nude,  with  the 
 exception  of  her  head-dress,  and  neck  and  breast  ornaments.  In  one 
 hand  she  holds  two  blades  of  corn  apparentlj^  whilst  in  the  other  she 
 holds  three  lotus  flowers,  two  betug  egg  shaped,  whilst  the  central 
 one  is  expanded;  with  these,  which  evidently  symbohse  the  mystic 
 triad,  is  associated  a  circle  emblematic  of  the  yoni,  thus  indicating  the 
 
XXV 
 
 fourfold  creator.  Isis  stands  upon  a  lioness ;  on  one  side  of  her  stands 
 a  clothed  male  figure,  holding  in  one  hand  the  crux  ansata,  and  in  the 
 other  an  upright  spear.  On  the  opposite  side  is  a  male  figure  wholly 
 nude,  Hke  the  goddess,  save  his  head-dress  and  collar,  the  ends  of 
 which  are  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  cross.  His  hand  points  to  a 
 flageUimi,  behind  him  is  a  covert  reference  to  the  triad,  whilst  in  front 
 Osiris  offers  undisguised  homage  to  Isis.  The  head-dress  of  the 
 goddess  appears  to  be  a  modified  form  of  the  crescent  moon. 
 
 Figm-es  30,  31,  32,  33,  pages  145,  146,  represent  the  various  triangles 
 and  theii"  union  which  have  been  adopted  in  worsliip.  Figure  30  is  said 
 to  represent  fire,  which  amongst  the  ancient  Persians  was  depicted 
 as  a  cone,  whilst  the  figure  inverted  represents  water. 
 
 Figiu'e  34,  p.  147,  is  an  ancient  Hindoo  emblem,  called  Sri  Jantra, 
 which  is  fully  explained  in  its  place.  It  has  now  been  adopted  in 
 Christian  churches  and  Freemasons'  lodges. 
 
 Figure  35,  p.  148,  is  a  very  ancient  Hindoo  emblem,  whose  real  sig- 
 nification I  am  unable  to  divine.  It  is  used  in  calculation ;  it  forms  the 
 basis  of  some  game,  and  it  is  a  sign  of  vast  import  in  sacti  worship. 
 A  coin,  bearing  this  figure  upon  it,  and  having  a  central  cavity  with 
 the  Etruscan  letters  SUPEN  placed  one  between  each  two  of  the 
 angles,  was  found  in  a  fictUe  urn,  at  VolaterriB,  and  is  depicted  in 
 Fabretti's  Italian  Glossary,  plate  xxvi.,  fig.  358,  bis  a.  As  the  coin  is 
 round,  the  reader  will  see  that  these  letters  may  be  read  as  Supen,  Upens, 
 Pensu,  or  Ensup,  Nsux^e.  A  search  through  Fabretti's  Lexicon  affords 
 no  clue  to  any  meaning  except  for  the  third.  There  seems,  indeed, 
 strong  reason  to  beheve  that  pensu  was  the  Etruscan  form  of  the  Pali 
 2)anca,ihe  '&)&u^cvii  pdncli,  the  BeugaUi^jiaMc/t,  and  the  Greek pc«^a,  i.e. 
 five.  Five,  certainly,  would  be  an  appropriate  word  for  the  pentangle. 
 It  is  almost  impossible  to  avoid  speculating  upon  the  value  of  this 
 fragment  of  archteological  evidence  in  support  of  the  idea  that  the 
 Greeks,  Aryans,  and  Etruscans  had  something  in  common ;  but  into 
 the  question  it  would  be  unprofitable  to  enter  here. 
 
 But,  although  dechning  to  enter  upon  this  ^\ide  field  of  inquiry,  I 
 would  notice  that  whilst  searching  Fabretti's  Glossary  my  eye  fell  upon 
 the  figui-e  of  an  equilateral  triangle  ^rith  the  apex  upwards,  depicted 
 plate  xliii.,  fig.  2440  ter.  The  triangle  is  of  brass,  and  was  found  in 
 the  territory  of  the  Fahsci.  It  bears  a  rude  representation  of  the  out- 
 lines of  the  soles  of  two  human  feet,  in  this  respect  resembhng  a 
 Buddist  emblem ;  and  there  is  on  its  edge  an  inscription  which  may  be 
 rendered  thus  in  Roman  letters,  KAVI :  TERTINEI.  POSTIKNU, 
 
XXVI 
 
 ■which  probably  signifies  "  Ga-vda,  the  -ndfe  of  Tertius,  offered  it."  The 
 occurrence  of  two  Hindoo  symbols  in  ancient  Italy  is  very  remarkable. 
 It  must,  however,  be  noticed  that  similar  symbols  have  been  found  on 
 ancient  sculptured  stones  in  Ireland  and  Scotland.  There  may  be  no 
 emblematic  ideas  whatever  conveyed  by  the  design  ;  but  when  the 
 marks  appear  on  Gnostic  gems,  they  are  supposed  to  indicate  death, 
 i.  e.  the  impressions  left  by  the  feet  of  the  individual  as  he  springs 
 from  earth  to  heaven. 
 
 Figures  36,  37,  p.  151,  are  Maltese  crosses.  In  a  large  book  of 
 Etruiian  antiquities,  which  came  casually  under  my  notice  about  twenty 
 years  ago,  when  I  was  endeavouring  to  master  the  subject  of  the  lan- 
 guage, theology,  etc.,  of  the  Etruscans,  but  whose  name  and  other 
 particulars  I  cannot  now  remember ;  I  found  depicted  two  crosses  made 
 up  of  four  masculine  triads,  each  asher  being  erect,  and  united  to  its 
 fellows  by  the  gland,  forming  a  central  diamond,  emblem  of  the  yoni. 
 In  one  instance  the  limbs  of  the  cross  were  of  equal  length,  in  the 
 other  the  asher  of  one  was  three  times  as  long  as  the  rest.  A  some- 
 what similar  cross,  but  one  united  with  the  circle,  was  found  some  tune 
 ago  near  Naples.  It  is  made  of  gold,  and  has  apparently  been  used 
 as  an  amulet  and  suspended  to  the  neck.  It  is  figured  in  plate  35  of 
 An  Essay  on  the  Worship  of  the  Generative  Powers  during  the  Middle 
 Ages  (London,  privately  printed,  1865).  It  may  be  thus  described : 
 the  centre  of  the  circle  is  occupied  by  four  oblate  spheres  arranged  like 
 a  square ;  from  the  salient  curves  of  each  of  these  springs  a  yoni 
 (shaj)ed  as  in  Figure  18),  with  the  point  outwards,  thus  forming  across, 
 each  ray  of  which  is  an  egg  and  fig.  At  each  junction  of  the  ovoids  a 
 yoni  is  inserted  with  the  apex  inwards,  whilst  from  the  broad  end  arise 
 four  ashers,  which  project  beyond  the  shield,  each  terminating  in  a  few 
 golden  bead-like  drops.  The  whole  is  a  gi-aphic  natural  representation 
 of  the  intimate  uuiou  of  the  male  and  female,  sim  and  moon,  cross  and 
 circle,  Ouranos  and  Ge.  The  same  idea  is  embodied  in  Figure  28,  p. 
 143, but  in  that  the  mystery  is  deeply  veiled,  in  that  the  long  arms  of 
 the  cross  represent  the  sun,  or  male,  indicated  b}'  the  triad ;  the  short 
 ones,  the  moon,  or  the  female  (see  Plate  vi.,  Fig.  4,  Vol.  ir.). 
 
 Figure  38,  p.  151,  is  copied  from  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
 Society,  vol.  xvui.,  p.  393,  plate  4,  It  is  a  Buddhist  emblem,  and  repre- 
 sents the  same  idea  under  different  aspects.  Each  limb  of  the  cross 
 represents  the /rtsci/tM»i  at  right  angles  with  the  body,  and  presented 
 towards  a  barley  corn,  one  of  the  symbols  of  the  yoni.  Each  limb  is 
 marked  by  the  same  female  emblem,  and  terminates  with  the  triad 
 
XXVll 
 
 triangle ;  beyond  this  again  is  seen  the  conjunction  of  the  sun  and 
 moon.  The  whole  therefore  represents  the  mystic  arha,  the  creative 
 four,  by  some  called  Thor's  hammer. 
 
 Figures  39  to  43,  p.  152,  are  developments  of  the  triad,  triangle,  or 
 trinity. 
 
 Figure  44,  p.  1.52,  is  by  Egyptologists  called  the  '  symbol  of  life.' 
 It  is  also  called  the  '  handled  cross,'  or  crux  ansata.  It  repre- 
 sents the  male  triad  and  the  female  unit,  under  a  decent  form. 
 There  are  few  symbols  more  commonly  met  with  in  Egyptian 
 art  than  this.  In  some  remarkable  scixlptures,  where  the  sun's  rays 
 are  represented  as  terminating  in  hands,  tlie  offerings  which  these 
 bring  are  many  a  crux  ansata,  emblematic  of  the  truth  that  a  fruitful 
 union  is  a  gift  from  the  deity. 
 
 Figures  45,  46,  p.  155,  are  representations  of  the  Hindoo  arba,  or 
 the  four  elements  in  creation. 
 
 Figures  47,  48,  p.  155,  are  representatives  of  the  ancient  male  triad, 
 adopted  by  moderns  to  sj^mboUse  the  Trinity. 
 
 Figures  49,  50,  p.  156,  represent  the  trefoil  which  was  used  by  the 
 ancient  Hindoos  as  emblematic  of  the  celestial  triad,  and  adopted 
 by  modern  Christians.  It  mil  be  seen  that  one  stem  arises  from  three 
 curiously  shaped  segments,  each  of  which  is  supposed  to  resemble  the 
 male  scrotum,  "purse,"  "bag,"  or  "basket." 
 
 Figure  51,  p.  156,  is  copied  from  Lajard,  Culte  cle  Venus,  plate  i.. 
 fig.  2.  He  states  that  it  is  from  a  gem  cylinder  in  the  British  Museum. 
 It  represents  a  male  and  female  figure  dancing  before  the  mystic  palm- 
 tree,  into  whose  signification  we  need  not  enter  beyond  saying  that  it  is 
 a  symbol  of  Aslier.  Opposite  to  a  particular  part  of  the  figures  is  to 
 be  seen  a  diamond,  or  oval,  and  a  fieur  de  lys,  or  symbolic  triad.  This 
 gem  is  peculiarly  valuable,  as  it  illustrates  iu  a  graphic  manner  the 
 meaning  of  the  emblems  in  question,  and  how  "  the  lilies  of  France  " 
 had  a  Pagan  origin. 
 
 Figures  52  to  61,  p.  157,  are  various  representations  of  the  union  of 
 the  four,  tlie  arba,  the  andi-ogyue,  or  the  Unga-yoni. 
 
 Figm-e  62,  p.  159,  is  a  well  known  emblem  in  modern  Em-ope ;  it  is 
 equally  well  known  in  Hindostan,  where  it  is  sometimes  accompanied 
 by  pillars  of  a  peculiar  shape.  In  one  such  compound  the  design  is 
 that  of  a  cupola,  supported  by  closely  placed  pillars,  each  of  which  has 
 a  "  capital,"  resembling  "  the  glans  "  of  physiologists ;  in  the  centre 
 there  is  a  door,  wherein  a  nude  female  stands,  resembhng  iu  all  respects 
 Figure  62,  except  in  dress  and  the  presence  of  the  child. 
 
XXVUl 
 
 The  same  emblem  may  be  found  amongst  the  ancient  Italians. 
 
 In  modern  Christian  art  this  symbol  is  called  vesica  jnscis,  and  is 
 usually  surrounded  with  rays.  It  commonly  serves  as  a  sort  of 
 framework  in  which  female  saints  are  placed,  who  are  generally  the 
 representatives  of  the  older  Juno,  Ceres,  Diana,  Venus,  or  other  imper- 
 sonations of  the  feminine  element  in  creation  (see  Vol.  ii..  Fig.  48, 
 p.  648). 
 
 Figure  63,  p.  159,  represents  one  of  the  forms  assumed  by  the 
 systrum  of  Isis.  Sometimes  the  instrument  is  oval,  and  sometimes  it 
 terminates  below  in  a  horizontal  hne,  instead  of  in  an  acute  angle. 
 The  inquirer  can  very  readily  recognise  in  the  emblem  the  mark  of  the 
 female  creator.  If  there  should  be  any  doubt  in  his  mind,  he  will 
 feel  at  rest  after  a  reference  to  Maffei's  Oemmi  Antiche  Figumti 
 (Rome,  1707),  vol.  ii.,  plate  61,  wherein  Diana  of  the  Ephesians 
 is  depicted  as  having  a  body  of  the  exact  shape  of  the  systrum 
 figured  in  Payne  linight's  work  on  the  remains  of  tbe  worship  of 
 Priapus,  etc.  The  bars  across  the  systrum  show  that  it  denotes  a  pure 
 vii-giu  (see  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  743  —  746). 
 
 Figures  64  to  67,  pp.  160,  161,  are  all  di-awn  from  Assyrian  soui-ces. 
 The  central  figure,  which  is  usually  called  "  the  grove,"  represents  the 
 delta,  or  female  "  door."  To  it  the  attendant  genii  ofter  the  pine  cone 
 and  basket.  The  signification  of  these  is  explained  in  the  text.  I  was 
 unable  at  first  to  quote  any  authority  to  demonstrate  that  the  pine  cone 
 was  a  distinct  mascuhne  sj^mbol,  but  now  the  reader  may  be  referred 
 to  Mafi"ei,  Oenwte  Antiche  Ficjurate  (Rome,  1708),  where  in  vol.  iii., 
 plate  8,  he  will  see  a  Venus  Tirsigera.  The  goddess  is  nude,  and 
 carries  in  one  hand  the  tripliform  arrow,  emblem  of  the  male  triad, 
 whilst  in  the  other  she  bears  a  thyrsus,  terminating  in  a  pine  or  fir 
 cone.  Now  this  cone  and  stem  is  carried  in  the  Bacchic  festivities, 
 and  can  be  readily  recognised  as  virga  cum  ovo.  Sometimes  the  thyr- 
 sus is  replaced  by  ivy  leaves,  which  like  the  fig  are  symbohc  of  the 
 triple  creator.  Occasionally  the  thyrsus  was  a  lance  or  pike,  round 
 which  vine  leaves  and  berries  were  clustered,  Bacchus  cum  vino  being 
 the  companion  of  Venus  cum  Cerere.  But  a  stronger  confirmation  of 
 my  views  may  be  found  in  plate  xl.  of  the  same  volimie.  This  is 
 entitled  Sacrafisio  di  Priapo,  and  represents  a  female  off"ering  to 
 Priapus.  The  figure  of  the  god  stands  upon  a  pillar  of  three  stones, 
 and  it  bears  a  thyrsus  from  which  depend  two  ribbons.  The  devotee  is 
 accompanied  by  a  boy,  who  carries  a  inne-  or  fir-cone  in  his  hand,  and 
 a  basket  on  his  head,  in  which  may  be  recognised  a  male  effigy.     In 
 
XXIX 
 
 Figure  65  the  position  of  the  advanced  hand  of  each  of  the  priests 
 nearest  to  the  grove  is  very  suggestive  to  the  physiologist.  Figm-e  66  is 
 explained  on  page  163.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  a  door  is  adopted 
 amongst  modern  Hindoos  as  an  emblem  of  the  sacti  (see  Vol.  ii.,  Fig. 
 34.  p.  49  Ij. 
 
 Figures  68,  69,  70,  page  164,  are  fancy  sketches  intended  to  re- 
 present the  "  sacred  shields "  spoken  of  in  Jewish  and  other  history. 
 The  last  is  drawn  from  memory,  and  represents  a  Templar's  shield. 
 According  to  the  method  in  which  the  shield  is  viewed,  it  appears 
 like  the  os  tincce,  or  the  navel. 
 
 Fi;^iu"es  71,  72,  p.  164,  represent  the  shape  of  the  systrum  of  Isis, 
 the  fruit  of  the  fig,  and  the  yoni.  When  a  garment  of  this  shape  is 
 made  and  worn,  it  becomes  the  "  pallium  "  donned  alike  by  the  male 
 and  female  individuals  consecrated  to  Roman  worship. 
 
 Figures  73,  74,  p.  165,  represent  an  ancient  Christian  bishop  and 
 a  modei'n  nun  wearing  the  emblem  of  the  female  sex.  In  the  former, 
 said  (in  Old  England  Pictorialli/  Illustrated,  by  Knight)  to  be  a 
 drawing  of  St.  Augustine,  the  amount  of  symboHsm  is  great.  The 
 "  nimbus "  and  the  tonsure  are  solar  emblems ;  the  paUium,  the 
 feminine  sign,  is  studded  mth  phallic  ci'osses ;  its  lower  end  is  the 
 ancient  T>  the  mark  of  the  masculine  triad ;  the  right  hand  has  the 
 forefinger  extended,  Uke  the  Assyrian  priests  whilst  doing  homage  to 
 the  grove,  and  within  it  is  the  fruit,  tappiiach,  which  is  said  to  have 
 tempted  Eve.  When  a  male  dons  the  pallium  in  worship,  he  becomes 
 the  representative  of  the  arha,  or  mystic  four.    See  Vol.  i].,pp.  915 — 18. 
 
 Figiu'e  75,  p.  167,  is  a  well  known  Christian  emblem,  called  "a 
 foul  anchor."  The  anchor,  as  a  symbol,  is  of  great  antiquity.  It 
 may  be  seen  in  an  old  Etruscan  coin  in  the  British  Museum,  de- 
 picted in  Veterum  Populorum  et  Begum  Numi,  etc.  (London,  1814), 
 plate  ii.,  fig.  1.  On  the  reverse  there  is  a  chariot  wheel.  The  foul 
 anchor  represents  the  crescent  moon,  the  argha,  ark,  navis,  or  boat ; 
 in  this  is  placed  the  mast,  round  which  the  serpent,  the  emblem  of  life 
 in  the  "  verge,"  ent\vines  itself.  The  cross  beam  completes  the  mystic 
 four,  symbolic  alike  of  the  sim  and  of  androgeneity. 
 
 Figures  76  to  80,  p.  168,  are  Asiatic  and  Egyptian  emblems  in  use 
 amongst  oiu'selves,  and  receive  theii'  explanation  on  the  page  indi- 
 cated. 
 
 Figure  81,  page  202,  is  copied  from  Godfrey  Higgins'  Anacalypsis, 
 vol.  ii.,  fig.  27.  It  is  drawn  from  Montfauson,  vol.  ii.  pi.  132,  fig.  6.  In 
 his  text,  Higgins  refers  to  two  sunilar  groups,  one  which  exists  in  the 
 
XXX 
 
 Egyptian  temple  of  Ipsambul  in  Nubia,  and  described  by  Wilson,  On 
 Buddhists  and  Jeynes,  p.  127  ;  another,  found  in  a  cave  temple  in  the 
 south  of  India,  described  by  Col.  Tod,  in  his  History  of  Rajpootanah 
 The  group  is  not  explained  by  Montfaucon.  It  is  apparently  Greek, 
 and  combines  the  story  of  Hercules  with  the  seductiveness  of  Circe. 
 The  tree  and  serpent  is"  a  common  emblem. 
 
 Figure  81,  p.  27;^,  is  copied  from  Lajard,  Culte  de  Venus,  plate  xix., 
 iig.  1 1 .  The  origin  of  this,  which  is  a  silver  statuette  in  that  author's 
 possession,  is  unknown.  The  female  represents  Venus  bearing  in  one 
 hand  an  apple  ;  her  arm  rests  upon  what  seems  to  be  a  representative 
 of  the  mystic  triad  (the  two  additions  to  the  upright  stem  not  being 
 seen  in  a  front  view)  round  which  a  dolphin  (8eX(^t'?,  '  dolpliin,'  for 
 he\<^vs  '  womb ')  is  entwined,  fi'om  whose  mouth  comes  the  stream  of 
 life. 
 
 Figure  82,  p.  279,  is  from  Lajard  [Op.  Cit.),  plate  xiv.  b,  fig.  3.  The 
 gem  is  of  unknown  origin,  but  is  apparently  Babylonish  ;  it  represents 
 the  male  and  female  in  conjunction :  both  appear  to  be  holding  the 
 symbol  of  the  triad  in  much  respect,  wliilst  the  curious  cross  suggests 
 a  new  reading  to  an  ancient  symbol. 
 
 Figure  83,  page  343,  may  be  found  in  Fabretti's  Corpus  Insorip- 
 tionem  Italicarum  (Turin,  1867),  plate  xxv.,  fig.  308  f.  The  coins 
 which  bear  the  figures  are  of  brass,  and  were  found  at  Volaterrse.  In  one 
 the  double  hjad  is  associated  with  a  dolphin  and  crescent  moon  on  the 
 reverse,  and  the  letters  Velathri,  in  Etruscan.  A  similar  inscrijition 
 exists  on  the  one  containing  the  club.  The  club,  formed  as  in  Figm-e 
 83,  occurs  frequently  on  Etruscan  coins.  For  example,  two  clubs  are 
 joined  with  four  balls  on  a  Tudertine  coin,  having  on  the  reverse 
 a  hand  apparently  gauntleted  for  fighting,  and  four  balls  arranged 
 in  a  square.  On  other  coins  are  to  be  seen  a  bee,  a  trident,  a  spear- 
 head, and  other  tripHform  figures,  associated  with  three  balls  in  a 
 triangle;  sometimes  two,  and  sometimes  one.  The  double  head  with 
 two  balls  is  seen  on  a  Telamonian  com,  having  on  the  reverse  what 
 appears  to  be  a  leg  with  the  foot  turned  upwards.  In  a  coin  of  Poper- 
 lonia  the  club  is  associated  with  a  spear  and  two  balls,  whilst  on  the 
 reverse  is  a  single  head.  I  must  notice  too  that  on  other  coins  a  ham- 
 mer and  pincers,  or  tongs,  appear,  as  if  the  idea  was  to  show  that  a 
 maker,  fabricator,  or  heavy  hitter  was  intended  to  be  symbohsed. 
 What  that  was  is  farther  indicated  by  other  coins  on  which  a  head 
 appears  thrusting  out  the  tongue.  At  Cortona  two  statuettes  of  silver 
 have  been  found,  representing  a  double-faced  individual.     A  Hon's  head 
 
XXXI 
 
 for  a  cap,  a  collar,  and  buskins  are  the  sole  articles  of  dress  worn. 
 One  face  appears  to  be  feminine,  and  the  other  masculine,  but  neither 
 are  bearded.  The  pectorals  and  the  general  form  indicate  the  male, 
 but  the  usual  marks  of  sex  are  absent.  On  these  have  been  found 
 Etruscan  inscriptions  (1)  v.  cvinti  arntias  caLPiANsi  alpan  turoe  ;  (2) 
 V.  cviNTE  ARNTIAS  sELANSE  TEz  ALPAN  TURCE.  Wliicli  may  bc  rendered 
 (1)  "V.  Quintus  of  Aruntia,  to  Culj)ian pleasing,  a  gift";  (2)  "V.  Quin- 
 tus  of  Aruntia  to  Vulcan  pleasing  gave  a  gift,"  evidently  showing  that 
 they  were  ex  voto  offerings. 
 
 Figure  84,  p.  351.  The  figure  here  represented  is,  under  one  form 
 or  another,  extremely  common  amongst  the  sculptured  stones  in  Scot- 
 land. Four  varieties  may  be  seen  in  plate  48  of  Col.  Forbes  Leslie's 
 Early  Races  of  Scotland.  In  plate  49  it  is  associated  mth  a  serpent, 
 apparently  the  cobra.  The  design  is  spoken  of  as  "  the  sj)ectacle  orna- 
 ment," and  it  is  very  commonly  associated  with  another  figure  closely 
 resembling  the  letter  Z-  It  is  very  natural  for  the  inquirer  to  associate 
 the  iwva.  circles  with  the  sun  and  earth,  or  the  sim  and  moon.  On  one 
 Scottish  monumetit  the  circles  represent  wheels,  and  they  probably 
 indicate  the  solar  chariot.  As  yet  I  have  only  been  able  to  meet  mth 
 the  Z  a.nd  "  spectacle  ornament"  once  out  of  Scotland  ;  it  is  figured  on 
 apparently  a  Gnostic  gem  {The  Onostics  and  their  Remains,  by  C.  W. 
 King,  London,  1864,  plate  ii.,  fig.  5).  In  that  we  see  in  a  serpent  car- 
 touche two  Z  figures,  each  having  the  down  stroke  crossed  by  a  hori- 
 zontal line,  each  end  terminating  in  a  circle ;  besides  them  is  a  six 
 raj'ed  star,  each  ray  terminating  in  a  circle,  precisely  resembhng  the 
 star  in  Plate  m.,  Fig.  3,  supra.  I  can  offer  no  satisfactory  explanation 
 of  the  emblem.  But  I  would  strongly  urge  upon  those  who  are 
 intere-ted  in  the  subject  to  read  The  Early  Races  of  Scotland,  quoted 
 above  '2  vols.,  8vo.,  Edinburgh:  Edmonson  and  Douglas,  18(30). 
 
 Figures  85,  86,  page  352,  represent  a  Yorkshire  and  an  Indian 
 stone  circle.  The  first  is  copied  from  Descriptions  of  Cairns,  Crom- 
 lechs, Kistvaens,  and  other  Celtic,  Druidical,  or  Scythian  Monuments 
 in  the  Dehhan,  by  Col.  Meadows  Taylor,  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
 Irish  Academy,  vol.  24.  The  mound  exists  in  Twizell  Moor,  and 
 the  centre  of  the  circle  indicates  an  ancient  tomb,  very  similar  to 
 those  found  by  Taylor  in  the  Dekkan  ;  this  contained  only  one  single 
 urn,  but  many  of  the  Indian  ones  contained,  besides  the  skeleton  or 
 the  great  man  buried  therein,  skeletons  of  other  individuals  who  had 
 been  slaughtered  over  his  tomb,  and  buried  above  the  kistvaen  con- 
 taining his  bones  ;  in  one  instance  two   bodies  and  three  heads  were 
 
XXXll 
 
 found  in  the  principal  grave,  and  twenty  other  skeletons  above  and 
 beside  it.  A  perusal  of  this  very  interesting  paper  wiU  well  repay  the 
 study  bestowed  upon  it.  Figure  86  is  copied  from  Forbes  Leslie's  book 
 mentioned  above,  plate  59.  It  represents  a  modern  stone  circle  iu  the 
 Dekkan,  and  is  of  very  modern  construction.  The  dots  upon  the 
 stones  represent  a  dab  of  red  paint,  which  again  represents  blood. 
 The  figures  are  introduced  into  my  text  to  show  that  Palestine  contains 
 evidence  of  the  presence  of  the  same  religious  ideas  as  existed  in 
 ancient  England  and  Hiiidostan,  as  weU  as  in  modern  India.  The 
 name  of  the  god  worshipped  in  these  modern  shrines  is  Vetal,  or 
 Betal.  It  is  worth  mentioning  in  passing  that  there  is  a  celebrated 
 monolith  in  Scotland  called  the  Newton  stone,  on  wliich  are  inscribed, 
 evidently  with  a  graving  tool,  an  inscription  in  the  Ogham,  and  another 
 in  some  ancient  Aryan  character  (see  Moore's  Ancient  Pillar  Stones 
 of  Scotland). 
 
 Figure  87,  page  359,  indicates  the  solar  wheel,  emblem  of  the 
 chariot  of  Apollo.  This  sign  is  a  very  common  one  upon  ancient  coins  ; 
 sometimes  the  rays  or  spokes  are  four,  at  others  they  are  more  nume- 
 rous. Occasionally  the  tire  of  the  wheel  is  absent,  and  amongst  the 
 Etruscans  the  nave  is  omitted  This  solar  cross  is  very  common  in 
 Ireland,  and  amongst  the  Romanists  generally. 
 
 Figure  88,  p.  360,  is  copied  from  Hyslop,  who  gives  it  on  the  autho- 
 rity of  Col.  Hamilton  Smith,  who  copied  it  from  the  original  collection 
 made  by  the  artists  of  the  French  Institute  of  Cairo.  It  is  said  to 
 represent  Osiiis,  but  this  is  doubtful.  There  is  much  that  is  intensely 
 mystical  about  the  figure,  The  whip,  or  flagellum,  placed  over  the  tail 
 and  the  head  passing  through  the  yoni,  the  circular  spots  with  their 
 central  dot,  the  horns  with  solar  disc,  and  two  curiously  shaped  fea- 
 thers (?),the  calf  reclining  upon  a  plinth,  wherein  a  division  into  three 
 is  conspicuous,  all  have  a  meaning  ui  reference  to  the  mystic  fom*. 
 
 Figure  89,  page  402,  is  co^iied  from  Higgins'  Anacalypsis,  plate  2, 
 fig.  14.  Figure  92,  page  411,  is  from  the  same  source.  That  author 
 appears  to  have  taken  them  from  Mamice's  Indian  Antiquities,  a  coisy 
 of  which  I  have  hitherto  been  unable  to  procure. 
 
 Figure  90,  page  402,  is  also  from  Higgins,  who  has  copied  it  from 
 Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon.  Having  been  able  recently  to  procure  a  copy 
 of  this  work,  I  find  that  Moor  distinctly  expresses  his  opinion  that  it  is 
 of  European  and  not  of  Indian  origin,  and  consequently  that  it  is 
 worthless  as  illustrating  the  life  of  Cristna. 
 
 Figm'e  91,  page  410,  is  stated  by  Higgins,  Anacalypsis,  p.  217,  to  be 
 
xxxm 
 
 a  mark  on  the  breast  of  an  Egyptian  mummy  in  the  Museum  of  Uni- 
 versity College,  London.  It  is  essentially  the  same  symbol  as  the 
 crux  ansata,  and  is  emblematic  of  the  male  triad  and  the  female  unit. 
 
 Figure  93,  page  -ill,  is  from  the  same  authority,  and  I  have  not  yet 
 been  able  to  confirm  it. 
 
 Figure  93,  page  445,  is  the  Mithraic  lion.  It  may  be  seen  in  Hyde's 
 Religion  of  the  Ancient  Persians,  second  edition,  plate  1.  It  may  also 
 be  seen  in  vol.  ii.,  plates  10  and  11  of  Maffei's  Gemme  Antiche  Fijurate 
 (Kome,  1707).  In  plate  10  the  Mithraic  lion  has  seven  stars  above  it, 
 around  which  are  placed  respectively,  words  written  in  Greek,  Etrus- 
 can and  Phcenician  characters,  ZEDCH,  TELKAN.  TELKON.  TEL- 
 KON.  QIDEKH.  UNEULK.  LNKELLP.  apparently  showing  that 
 the  emblem  was  adopted  by  the  Gnostics.  It  would  be  unprofitable  to 
 dwell  upon  the  meaning  of  these  letters.  After  puzzling  over  them, 
 I  fancy  that  "  Bad  spirits,  pity  us,"  "  Just  one,  I  call  on  thee," 
 may  be  made  out  by  considering  the  words  to  be  very  bad  Greek,  and 
 the  letters  to  be  much  transjposed. 
 
 Figure  94,  page  495,  is  copied  by  Higgins,  Anacalypsis,  on  the 
 authority  of  Dubois,  who  states,  vol.  iii.,  p.  33,  that  it  was  found  on  a 
 stone  on  a  church  in  France,  where  it  had  been  kept  religiously  for  six 
 hundred  years.  Dubois  regards  it  as  wholly  astrological,  and  as 
 having  no  reference  to  the  story  told  in  Genesis.  It  is  unprofitable  to 
 speculate  on  the  draped  figures  as  representative  of  Adam  and  Eve. 
 We  have  introduced  it  to  show  how  such  tales  are  intermingled  with 
 Sabeanism. 
 
 Figure  95,  page  497,  is  a  copy  of  a  gem  figm-ed  by  Layard  (Nineveh 
 and  Babylon,  p.  156),  and  represents  a  deity  seated  on  a  lotus,  adoring 
 the  mundane  representative  of  the  mother  of  creation.  I  have  not  yet 
 met  mth  any  ancient  gem  or  sculptiu'e  which  seems  to  identify  the  yoni 
 so  completely  mth  various  goddesses.  Compare  this  with  Figure  48, 
 Vol.  II.,  p.  648,  wherein  the  emblem  is  even  more  stiikingly  identified 
 with  woman,  and  with  the  virgin  Mary. 
 
 Figure  96,  page  529,  is  copied  fi-om  plate  22,  fig.  8,  of  Lajard's  Gulte 
 de  Venus.  He  states  that  it  is  an  unpression  of  a  corneHan  cylinder,  in 
 the  collection  of  the  late  Su-  William  Ouseley,  and  is  supposed  to 
 represent  Bel  and  two  fish  gods,  the  authors  of  fecundity. 
 
 Figure  97,  page  530,  is  copied  from  a  smaU  Egyptian  statuette,  in 
 the  Mayer  Collection  of  the  Free  Museum,  Liverpool.  It  represents 
 Isis,  Horus,  the  fish,  and  the  serpent.  The  figm-e  is  curious,  as  showing 
 the  long  persistence  of  reverence  for  the  vu-gin  and  child,  and  the  iden- 
 
 c 
 
XXXIV 
 
 tification  of  the  fish  with  the  eye  symbol,  both  indicating  the  yoni, 
 whlist  the  serpent  indicates  the  linga. 
 
 Figure  98,  p.  531,  is  a  fancy  sketch  of  the  fleur  de  lys,  the  lily  of 
 France.  It  symboHses  the  male  triad,  whilst  the  ring  around  it  repre- 
 sents the  female.  The  identification  of  this  emblem  of  the  trinity  with 
 the  triphform  Mahadeva,  and  of  the  ring  with  his  sacti,  may  be  seen  in 
 the  next  figure. 
 
 Figure  99,  p,  532,  is  copied  from  plate  i.,  fig.  2,  of  Lajard,  who  states 
 that  it  is  a  copy  of  the  impression  of  a  cylinder  of  grey  chalcedony,  in 
 the  British  Museum.  It  appears  to  be  intensely  mystical,  but  it  is  im- 
 necessary  to  go  into  its  minute  signification.  It  has  been  introduced  to 
 show  the  identification  of  the  ej^e,  fish,  or  oval  shape,  with  the  yoni, 
 and  of  the  fleur  de  lys  with  the  lingam,  which  is  recognised  by  the 
 respective  positions  of  the  emblems  in  front  of  particular  parts  of  the 
 mystic  animals,  who  both,  on  tbeir  part,  adore  the  symbolic  palm  tree, 
 and  its  pistil  and  stamens.  The  similarity  of  the  palm  tree  to  the 
 ancient  round  towers  in  Ireland  and  elsewhere  will  naturally  strike  the 
 observer. 
 
 VOL.  II. 
 
 On  the  side  of  the  cover  is  a  representation  of  Siva,  taken  from 
 Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon,  plate  xiii.  He  is  supposed  to  be  the  oldest 
 of  the  Indian  deities,  and  to  have  been  worshipped  by  the  aborigines 
 of  Hindostan  before  the  Aryans  invaded  that  country.  It  is  thought 
 that  the  Vedic  religion  opposed  this  degrading  conception  at  the  first, 
 but  was  powerless  to  eradicate  it.  Though  Siva  is  yet  the  most  popu- 
 lar of  all  the  gods,  he  is  venerated  I  understand  only  by  the  vulgar. 
 Though  he  personifies  the  male  principle,  there  is  not  anything  indecent 
 in  j)ictorial  representations  of  him.  In  one  of  his  hands  is  seen  the 
 trident,  one  of  the  emblems  of  the  masculine  triad ;  whilst  in  another 
 is  to  be  seen  an  oval  systrum-shaped  loox?,  a  symbol  of  the  feminine 
 unit.  On  his  forehead  he  bears  an  eye,  syinbohc  of  the  Omniscient, 
 the  sun,  and  the  union  of  the  sexes. 
 
 At  the  back  of  the  cover  is  seen  a  figure  of  Venus  standing  on  a 
 tortoise,  whose  symbolic  import  is  explained  on  page  881,  Vol.  ii.  It  is 
 copied  from  Lajard,  Sur  le  Culte  de  Venus,  plate  iii.,  fig.  5,  and  is  stated 
 
XXXV 
 
 by  him  to  be  a  drawing  of  an  Etruscan  candelabrum,  existing  in  the 
 Royal  Museum  at  Berlin.     See  Fig.  74,  infra. 
 
 The  frontispiece  is  a  copy  of  a  small  Hindoo  statuette  in  the  Mayer 
 Collection  (Free  Museum,  Liverpool).  It  represents  Parvati,  or  Devi, 
 the  Hindoo  virgin  and  child.  The  right  hand  of  the  figure  makes  the 
 symbol  of  the  yoni  with  the  forefinger  and  thumb,  the  rest  of  the 
 fingers  typifying  the  triad.  In  the  palm  and  on  the  navel  is  a  lozenge, 
 emblematic  of  woman.  The  child  Christna,  the  equivalent  of  the  Egyp- 
 tian Horus  and  the  Christian  Jesus,  bears  in  its  hand  one  of  the  many 
 emblems  of  the  hnga,  and  stands  upon  a  lotus.  The  monkey  introduced 
 into  the  group  plays  the  same  part  as  the  cat,  cow,  lioness,  and  ape,  in 
 the  Egyptian  mythology,  being  emblematic  of  that  desire  which  even- 
 tuates in  the  production  of  offspring. 
 
 PLATE  I 
 Is  a  copy  of  figures  given  in  Bryant's  Ancient  Mijtiiology,  plates  xiii., 
 xxviii.,  third  edition,  1807.  The  first  two  illustrate  the  story  of  Pale- 
 mon  and  Cetus,  introducing  the  dolphin.  That  fish  is  symbolic  of  the 
 female,  m  consequence  of  the  assonance  in  Greek  between  its  name  and 
 that  of  the  womb.  The  tree  symbohses  the  arbor  vitce,  the  life-giving 
 sprout ;  and  the  ark  is  a  symbol  of  the  womb.  The  third  figure,  where 
 a  man  rests  upon  a  rock  and  dolpliin,  and  toys  with  a  mother  and  child, 
 is  equally  suggestive.  The  male  is  repeatedly  characterised  as  a 
 rock,  hermes,  menhir,  tolmen,  or  upright  stone,  the  female  by  the  dol- 
 phin, or  fish;  The  result  of  the  junction  of  these  elements  appears 
 in  the  child,  whom  both  parents  welcome.  The  fourth  figiu-e  represents 
 two  emblems  of  the  male  creator,  a  man  and  trident,  and  two  of  the 
 female,  a  dolphin  and  ship.  The  two  last  figures  represent  a  coin  of 
 Apamea,  representing  Noe  and  the  ark,  called  Cibotus.  Bryant  labours 
 to  prove  that  the  group  commemorates  the  story  told  in  the  Bible 
 respecting  the  flood,  but  there  is  strong  doubt  whether  the  scriptm-al 
 story  was  not  of  Greek  origin.  The  city  referred  to  was  in  Phrygia,  and 
 the  coin  appears  to  have  been  struck  by  PhUip  of  Macedon.  The 
 inscription  round  the  head  is  AYT.  K.  10 YA  *IAinnoO.  AYr. ;  on  the 
 reverse,  EHMA.  VP.  AA.  ESANAP.  OYB.  APXI  AHAMEON.  See  Vol.  ii., 
 pp.  123,  and  385  —  392. 
 
 PLATE  II 
 Is  a  copy  of  an  original  drawing  made  by  a  learned  Hindoo  pundit  for 
 Wm.  Skapson,  Esq.,  of  London,  whilst  he  was  in  India  studying  its 
 mythology.     It  represents  Brahma  supreme,  who  in  the  act  of  creation 
 
XXXYl 
 
 made  himself  double,  i.  e.,  male  and  female.  In  the  original  the  cen- 
 tral jsart  of  the  figure  is  occupied  by  the  triad  and  the  unit,  but  far  too 
 grossly  shown  for  reproduction  here.  They  are  replaced  by  the  crux 
 ansata.  The  reader  will  notice  the  triad  and  the  serpent  in  the  male 
 hand,  whilst  in  the  female  is  to  be  seen  a  germinating  seed,  indicative 
 of  the  relative  duties  of  father  and  mother.  The  whole  stands  upon 
 a  lotus,  the  symbol  of  androgyneity.  The  technical  word  for  this 
 incarnation  is  "  Arddha  Nari."  See  infra,  Fig.  44,  p.  645,  representing 
 the  same  idea,  the  androgyne  being  however  decently  draped. 
 
 PLATE  III 
 Is  Devi,  the  same  as  Parvati,  or  Bhavani.  It  is  copied  from  Moor'3 
 Pantheon,  i^late  xxx.  The  goddess  represents  the  feminine  element 
 in  the  universe.  Her  forehead  is  marked  by  one  of  the  sjnnbols  of  the 
 fom*  creators,  the  triad,  and  the  unit.  Her  dress  is  covered  with  symbo- 
 lic spots,  and  one  foot  peculiarly  placed  is  marked  by  a  circle  having 
 a  dot  in  the  interior.  The  two  bear  the  same  signification  as  the 
 Egyptian  eye.  I  am  not  able  to  define  the  symbolic  import  of  the 
 articles  held  in  the  lower  hand.  Moor  considers  that  they  represent 
 scrolls  of  paper,  but  this  I  doubt.  The  raised  hands  bear  the  vmopened 
 lotus  flower,  and  the  goddess  sits  upon  another. 
 
 PLATE  IV 
 Consists  of  six  figures  copied  from  Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  vol. 
 vi.,  p.  273,  and  two  from  Bryant's  Mythology ,  vol.  ii.,  third  edition,  pp. 
 203  and  409.  All  are  symbolic  of  the  idea  of  the  male  triad  :  a  central 
 figure,  ei'ect,  and  rising  above  the  other  two.  In  one  an  altar  and  fire 
 indicate,  mystically,  the  linga  ;  in  another,  the  same  is  pourtrayed  as  a 
 man,  like  Mahadeva  always  is  ;  in  another,  there  is  a  tree  stump  and 
 serpent,  to  indicate  the  same  idea.  The  two  appendages  of  the  linga 
 are  variously  described ;  in  two  instances  as  serpents,  in  other  two  as 
 tree  and  concha,  and  snake  and  shell.  The  two  last  seem  to  embody 
 the  idea  that  the  right  "  egg  "  of  the  male  germinates  boys,  whilst  the 
 left  'produces  girls ;  a  theory  common  amongst  ancient  j)hysiologists. 
 The  figure  of  the  tree  encircled  by  the  serpent,  and  supported  by  two 
 stones  resembhng  "  tolmen,"  is  very  significant.  The  whole  of  these 
 figures  seem  to  pomt  unmistakably  to  the  origin  of  the  very  common 
 belief  that  the  male  Creator  is  triune.  In  Assyrian  theology  the  central 
 figure  is  Bel,  Baal,  or  Asshur ;  the  one  on  the  right  Ann,  that  on  the 
 left  Hea.     See  Vol.  i.,  pp.  83  —  85. 
 
xxxvu 
 
 PLATE  V 
 Contains  pagan  symbols  of  the  trinity  or  linga,  mth  or  without  the 
 unity  or  yoni. 
 
 Fig,  1  represents  a  symbol  frequently  met  with  in  ancient  architec- 
 ture, etc.  It  symboHses  the  male  and  female  elements,  the  pillar  and 
 the  half  moon. 
 
 Fig.  2  represents  the  mystic  letters  said  to  have  been  i^laced  on  the 
 portal  of  the  oracle  of  Delphi.  By  some  it  is  proposed  to  read  the  two 
 letters  as  signifying  "he  or  she  is;"  by  others  the  letters  are  taken  to  be 
 symbolic  of  the  triad  and  the  miit.  If  they  be,  the  pillar  is  a  very 
 unusual  form  for  the  yoni. 
 
 Fig.  3  is  a  Hindoo  sectarian  mark  copied  from  Moor's  Hindu 
 Pantheon,  and  is  one  out  of  many  indicating  the  imion  of  the  male  and 
 female. 
 
 Fig.  4  is  emblematic  of  the  virgin  and  child.  It  identifies  the  two 
 with  the  crescent.  It  is  singular  that  some  designers  should  unite  the 
 moon  with  the  solar  symbol,  and  others  with  the  virgin.  We  believe 
 that  the  first  indicate  ideas  Hke  that  associated  with  Baalim,  Ashtaroth 
 in  the  plural,  the  second  that  of  Astarte  or  Venus  in  the  singular. 
 Or,  as  we  may  otherwise  express  it,  the  married  and  the  iromaculate 
 virgin. 
 
 Fig.  5  is  copied  from  Sharpe's  Egyptian  Mrjtlwlogy,  p.  15.  It  repre- 
 sents one  of  the  Egyptian  trinities,  and  is  highly  symboHc,  not  only  indi- 
 cating the  triad,  here  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Nepthys,  but  its  union  with  the 
 female  element.  The  central  god  Osiiis  is  himself  triune,  as  he  bears 
 the  horns  symbolic  of  the  goddess  Athor  and  the  feathers  of  the  god 
 Ea. 
 
 Fig.  6  is  a  Hindoo  sectarial  mark,  from  Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon. 
 The  lozenge  indicates  the  yoni.  For  this  assertion  we  not  only  have 
 evidence  in  Babylonian  gems  copied  by  Lajard,  but  in  Indian  and 
 Etruscan  designs.  We  find,  for  example,  in  vol.  v,  plate  xlv.,  of 
 Antiquites  Etrusques,  etc.,  par  F.  A.  David  (Paris,  1785),  a  draped  female, 
 wearing  on  her  breast  a  half  moon  and  mm-al  crown,  holding  her  hands 
 over  the  middle  spot  of  the  body,  so  as  to  form  a  "  lozenge"  with  the 
 forefingers  and  thumbs.  The  triad  in  this  figure  is  very  distinct,  and 
 we  may  add  that  a  trinity  expressed  by  three  balls  or  three  circles  is 
 to  be  met  with  in  the  remotest  times  and  in  most  distant  coimtries. 
 
 Figs.  7,  8,  9  and  10  are  copied  from  Cabrera's  account  of  an 
 ancient  city  discovered  near  Palenque,  in  Guatemala,  Spanish  Ame- 
 rica (London,  1822).     Although  they  appear  to  have  a  sexual  design, 
 
XXXVUl 
 
 yet  I  doubt  wliether  the  similarity  is  not  accidental.  After  a 
 close  examination  of  the  plates  given  by  Cabrera,  I  am  inclined 
 to  thin  1c  that  nothing  of  the  ling-yoni  element  prevailed  in  the 
 mind  of  the  ancient  American  sculptors.  All  the  males  are  care- 
 fully draped  in  appropriate  girdles,  although  in  some  a  grotesque 
 or  other  ornament,  such  as  a  hmnan  or  bestial  head,  a  flower,  etc. 
 is  attached  to  the  apron  or  "fall"  of  the  girdle,  resembling  the 
 sporran  of  the  Highlander  and  the  codpiece  of  mediaeval  knights  and 
 others.  I  may,  however,  mention  some  veiy  remarkable  sculiDtures 
 copied ;  one  is  a  tree  whose  trunk  is  surroimded  by  a  serpent,  and 
 whose  fruit  is  shaped  like  the  vesica  piscis ;  in  another  is  seen  a  youth 
 wholly  imclothed,  save  by  a  cap  and  gaiters,  w^ho  kneels  before  a 
 sunilar  tree,  being  threatened  before  and  behind  by  some  fierce  animal. 
 This  figure  is  peculiar,  difi'ering  from  all  the  rest  in  ha\dng  an  Euro- 
 pean rather  than  an  American  head  and  face.  Indeed,  the  features, 
 etc.,  remind  me  of  the  late  Mr.  Cobden,  and  the  cap  is  such  as  yachting 
 sailors  usually  wear.  There  is  also  another  remarkable  group,  consist- 
 ing apparently  of  a  man  and  woman  standing  before  a  cross,  propor- 
 tioned like  the  conventional  one  in  use  amongst  Christians.  Every- 
 tliing  indicates  American  ideas,  and  there  are  ornaments  or  designs 
 wholly  uiihke  any  that  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  The  man  appears  to 
 offer  to  the  cross  a  grotesque  human  figure,  with  a  head  not  much  unlike 
 Punch,  with  a  turned-up  nose,  and  a  short  pipe  shaped  Hke  a  fig  in  his 
 mouth.  The  body  is  well  fomied,  but  the  arms  and  tliighs  are  roimded 
 off  like  "  flippers  "  or  "  fins."  Resting  at  the  top  of  the  cross  is  a  bird, 
 like  a  game  cock,  ornamented  by  a  necklace.  The  male  in  this  and 
 the  other  sculptures  is  beardless,  and  that  women  are  depicted,  can 
 only  be  guessed  at  by  the  inferior  size  of  some  of  the  figm'es.  It 
 would  be  improfitable  to  carry  the  description  farther. 
 
 Figs.  11,  12  are  from  vol.  i.,  plates  xix.  and  xxiii.  of  a  remarkably 
 interesting  work,  Recherches  sur  V  origine  V  esprit  et  les  prorfrcs  des 
 Arts  de  la  Grece,  said  to  be  wi'itten  by  D'Harcanville,  pubUshed  at 
 London,  1785.  The  first  represents  a  serpent,  coiled  so  as  to  symbolise 
 the  male  triad,  and  the  crescent,  the  emblem  of  the  yoni. 
 
 Fig.  12  accompanies  the  bull  on  certain  coins,  and  symbolises 
 the  sexual  elements,  le  baton  et  V  anneau 
 
 Fig.  13  is,  like  figm'e  5,  from  Sharpe's  Egrjptian  Mythologij,  p.  14, 
 and  is  said  to  represent  Isis,  Nepthj^s,  and  Osiris.  One  of  the  many 
 Mizraite  triads.     The  Christian  trinity  is  of  Egyptian  oiigin. 
 
 Fig.    14   is   a   symbol   frequently    seen  in    Greek   chiu'ches,  but 
 
XXXIX 
 
 appears  to  be  of  pre-christiau  origin.  The  cross  we  have  ah'eady 
 described  as  being  a  compound  male  emblem,  whilst  the  crescent 
 symboHses  the  female  element  in  creation. 
 
 Figure  15  is  from  D'Harcan^dlle,  Op.  Cit.,  vol.  i.,  p.  xxiii.  It 
 resembles  Figure  11,  supra,  and  enables  us  by  the  introduction  of  the 
 sun  and  moon  to  verify  the  deduction  drawn  from  the  arrangement  of 
 the  serpent's  coils.  If  the  snake's  body,  instead  of  being  curved  above 
 the  8  like  tail,  were  straight,  it  would  simply  indicate  the  linga  and  the 
 sun ;  the  bend  in  its  neck,  however,  indicates  the  yoni  and  the  moon. 
 
 Figure  16  is  copied  fi-om  plate  xvi.,  fig.  2,  of  Recueil  de  Pierres 
 Antiques  Graves,  foHo,  by  J.  M.  Raponi  (Rome,  1786).  The  gem 
 represents  a  sacrifice  to  Priapus,  indicated  by  the  rock,  pillar,  figm'e, 
 and  branches  given  in  our  j)late.  A  nude  male  sacrifices  a  goat ;  a 
 di'aped  female  holds  a  kid  ready  for  immolation  ;  a  second  man,  nude, 
 plays  the  double  pipe,  and  a  second  woman,  draped,  bears  a  vessel  on 
 her  head,  probably  containing  wine  for  a  libation. 
 
 Figure  17  is  from  vol.  i.  Recherches,  etc.,  plate  xxii.  In  this  medal 
 the  triad  is  formed  by  a  man  and  two  coiled  serpents  on  the  one  side  of 
 the  medal,  whilst  on  the  reverse  are  seen  a  tree,  sm-rovmded  by  a 
 snake,  situated  between  two  roimded  stones,  with  a  dog  and  a  conch 
 shell  below.     See  supra,  Plate  iv.,  Fig.  6. 
 
 PLATE  VI 
 — With  two  exceptions.  Figures  4  and  9,— exhibits  Christian  emblems 
 of   the  trinity  or   linga,  and   the  unity  or  yoni,  alone  or  combined; 
 the  whole    being   copied    from    Pugin's   Glossary    of  Ecclesiastical 
 Ornament  (London,  1869). 
 
 Fig.  1  is  copied  from  Pugin,  plate  xvii.,  and  indicates  a  double 
 union  of  the  trinity  mth  the  unity,  here  represented  as  a  ring, 
 I'anneau. 
 
 Figs.  2,  3,  are  from  Pugin,  plate  xiv.  In  figiu-e  2,  the  two 
 covered  balls  at  the  base  of  each  Umb  of  the  cross  ai-e  extremely 
 significant,  and  if  the  artist  had  not  mystified  the  free  end,  the 
 most  obtuse  worshipper  must  have  recognised  the  symbol.  We 
 may  add  here  that  in  the  two  forms  of  the  Maltese  cross,  the  position 
 of  the  lingam  is  reversed,  and  the  egg-shaped  bodies,  with  their 
 cover,  are  at  the  free  end  of  each  limb,  whilst  the  natural  end  of  the 
 organ  is  left  unchanged.  See  Vol.  i.,  Figs.  36,  37,  p.  151.  This 
 foi-m  of  cross  is  Etniscan.  Fig.  3  is  essentiaUy  the  same  as  the 
 preceding,  and  both   may   be  compared  with  Fig.  4.      The  balls  in 
 
xl 
 
 tliis  cross  are  uncovered,  and  the  free  end  of  each  lunb  of  the  cross 
 is  but  slightly  modified. 
 
 Fig.  4  is  copied  in  a  conventional  form  from  plate  xxxv.,  fig.  4, 
 of  Two  Essays  on  the  Worship  of  Priapus  (London,  1865).  It  is 
 thus  described  (page  147) :     "  The  object  was  found  at  St.  Agata  di 
 
 Goti,  near  Naples It  is  a  crux  ansata  formed  by  four  phalli,  A\'ith 
 
 a  circle  of  female  organs  round  the  centre ;  and  appears  by  the  look 
 to  have  been  intended  for  suspension.  As  this  cross  is  of  gold, 
 it  had  no  doubt  been  made  for  some  i^ersonage  of  rank,  possibly  an 
 ecclesiastic."  We  see  here  very  distinctly  the  design  of  the  egg-  and 
 systrum-shaped  bodies.  When  we  have  such  an  unmistakable  bi-sexual 
 cross  before  our  eyes,  it  is  impossible  to  ignore  the  signification  of 
 Figs.  2  and  3,  and  Plate  -vii.,  Figs.  4  and  7.  See  supra,  Figs.  36,  37, 
 p.  151. 
 
 Figs  5,  6  are  from  Pugin,  plates  14  and  15,  and  represent  the 
 trinity  mth  the  unity,  the  triune  god  and  the  vii'gin  united  in  one. 
 
 Fig.  7  represents  the  central  lozenge  and  one  Hmb  of  a  cross, 
 figui-ed  plate  xiv.  of  Pugiu.  In  this  instance  the  Maltese  cross  is 
 united  with  the  symbol  of  the  vii-gin,  being  essentially  the  same  as 
 Fig.   9,  infra.     It  is  a  modified  form  of  the  crux  ansata. 
 
 Fig.  8  is  a  compound  trinity,  being  the  finial  of  each  Umb  of  an 
 ornamental  cross.    Pugin,  plate  xv. 
 
 Fig.  9  is  a  well  Imown  Egyptian  sjTubol,  borne  in  the  hand  of 
 almost  every  divinity.  It  is  a  cross,  mth  one  hmb  made  to  represent 
 the  female  element  in  creation.  The  name  that  it  technically  bears  is 
 crux  ansata,  or  "  the  cross  with  a  handle."  A  reference  to  Fig.  4 
 serves  to  verify  the  idea  which  it  involves. 
 
 Fig.  10  is  from  Pugin,  plate  xxxv.  In  this  figure  the  cross  is 
 made  by  the  intersection  of  two  ovals,  each  a  vesica  jnscis,  an  emblem 
 of  the  yoni.  Within  each  limb  a  symbol  of  the  trinity  is  seen,  each 
 of  which  is  associated  with  the  central  ring. 
 
 Fig.  11  is  fr-om  Pugin,  plate  xix.,  and  represents  the  arbor  vitcs 
 the  branch,  or  tree  of  Ufe,  as  a  triad,  with  which  the  ring  is  united. 
 
 PLATE  VII 
 Contains  both  pagan  and  Christian  emblems. 
 
 Fig.  1  is  from  Pugin,  plate  xviii.,  and  is  a  very  common  finial 
 rej)resenting  the  trinity.  Its  shape  is  too  significant  to  require 
 an  explanation;  yet  with  such  emblems  our  Christian  chxu'ches 
 abound ! 
 
xli 
 
 Fig.  2  is  from  Pugin,  plate  sxi.  It  is  a  combination  of  ideas  con- 
 cealing the  miion  patent  in  Figure  4,  PL  vi.,  supra. 
 
 Fig.  3  is  from  Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon.  It  is  an  ornament  borne 
 by  Devi,  and  symbolises  the  union  of  the  triad  with  the  unit. 
 
 Fig.  4  is  from  Pugin,  plate  xxxii.  It  is  a  double  cross  made  up  of 
 the  male  and  female  emblems.  It  is  a  conventionalised  form  of  Fig.  4, 
 Plate  vi.,  supra.  Such  eight  rayed  figures,  made  Hke  stars,  seem 
 to  have  been  very  ancient,  and  to  have  been  designed  to  indicate  the 
 junction  of  male  and  female. 
 
 Fig.  5  is  from  Pugin,  plate  xvii.,  and  represents  the  trinity  and  the 
 unity. 
 
 Fig.  6  is  a  Buddhist  emblem  from  Bh-moh,  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic 
 Society,  vol.  xviii.,  p.  392,  plate  i.,  fig.  52.  It  represents  the  short 
 sword,  le  bracquemard,  a  male  symbol. 
 
 Fig.  7  is  from  Pugin,  plate  xvii.     See  plate  vi.,  fig.  3,  siqna. 
 
 Figs.  8,  9.  10,  11,  12  are  Buddhist  (see  Fig.  6,  supra),  and  sym- 
 boKse  the  triad. 
 
 Figs.  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  are  fi'om  Pugin,  and  simply  represent  the 
 trinity. 
 
 Figs.  18  and  19  are  common  Grecian  emblems.  The  first  is 
 associated  with  Neptune  and  water,  the  second  with  Bacchus.  With 
 the  one  we  see  dolphins,  emblems  of  the  womb,  the  name  of  the  two 
 being  assonant  in  Greek ;  with  the  other,  the  saying,  sine  Bacclio  et 
 Cerere  friget  Venus,  must  be  coupled. 
 
 PLATE    VIII 
 Consists  of  various  emblems  of  the  triad  and  the  imit,  drawn  almost 
 exclusively  from  Grecian,  Etruscan,  Roman,  and  Indian  gems,  figm-es, 
 coins,  or  sculptures,  MaSei's Gemme AnticJieFiffurate,  B-apoms Becueil, 
 and  Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon,  being  the  chief  authorities. 
 
 FIGUEES  IN  THE  TEXT. 
 Figures  1,  2,  page  191,  represent  the  Buddliist  cross  and  one  of  its 
 arms.  The  first  shows  the  union  of  four  phaUi.  The  single  one  being 
 a  conventional  form  of  a  well-lmo-\-vTi  organ.  This  foiTQ  of  cross 
 does  not  essentially  difi'er  from  the  Maltese  cross.  In  the  latter, 
 Asher  stands  i^ei-pendicularly  to  Anu  and  Hea ;  in  the  former  it  is  at 
 right  angles  to  them.  "The  pistol"  is  a  well-known  name  amongst  our 
 soldiery,  and  four  siich  joined  together  by  the  muzzle  would  form  the 
 Buddhist  cross.     Compare  Figiu-e  38,  Vol.  i.,  p.  151. 
 
xlii 
 
 Figures  3,  4,  5,  page  191,  indicate  the  union  of  the  fom-  creators, 
 the  trinity  and  the  imity.  Not  having  at  hand  any  copy  of  an  ancient 
 key,  I  have  used  a  modern  one ;  but  this  makes  no  essential  difference 
 in  the  symbol. 
 
 Figures  6,  7,  page  191,  are  copied  from  Lajard,  Sur  le  Culte  de  Venus, 
 plate  ii.  They  represent  an  ornament  held  in  the  hand  of  a  great 
 female  figure,  sculptiu-ed  in  bas  relief  on  a  rock  at  Yazili  Kaia,  near  to 
 Bogliaz  Keni,  in  AnatoUa,  and  described  by  M.  C.  Texier  in  1834. 
 The  goddess  is  crowned  -milx  a  tower,  to  indicate  virginity;  ui  her  right 
 hand  she  holds  a  staff,  shown  in  Figm-e  7,  in  the  other,  that  given 
 in  Figure  6,  she  stands  upon  a  lioness,  and  is  attended  by  an  antelope. 
 Figure  6  is  a  compUcated  emblem  of  the  '  four.' 
 
 Figures  8,  12,  pages  220,  222,  are  copied  from  Moor's  Hindu  Pan- 
 theon, plate  Ixxxiii.  They  represent  the  lingam  and  the  yoni,  which 
 amongst  the  Indians  are  regarded  as  emblems  of  God,  much  in  the 
 same  way  as  a  crucifix  is  esteemed  by  certain  modern  Christians. 
 
 Figures  9,  10,  11,  pages  221,  222, from  Moor,  plate  Ixxxvi.,  are  forms 
 of  the  argha,  or  sacred  sacrificial  cup,  bowl,  or  basin,  which  repre- 
 sent the  yoni  and  many  other  things  besides.  See  Moor,  Hindu 
 Pantheon,  pp.  393,  4. 
 
 Figiu-e  14,  page  254.  Copied  fi-om  Rawhnson's  Ancient  Monarchies, 
 vol.  i.,  p.  17G,  represents  Ishtar,  the  Assyrian  representative  of  Devi, 
 Parvati,  Isis,  Astarte,  Venus,  and  Mary.  The  virgin  and  child  are  to 
 be  found  everywhere,  even  in  ancient  Mexico. 
 
 Figures  15,  16,  page  259,  are  copied  from  Lajard,  Sur  le  Culte  de 
 Venus.  The  first  is  from  plate  xiv.  b,  fig.  5,  and  represents  a  male  and 
 female,  the  symbohc  triad  and  imit.  The  star  on  the  left  appears  to 
 indicate  "  the  foui-."  The  staff  below  is  mystical,  and  as  yet  I  have  not 
 met  with  anything  to  explain  its  meaning.  The  second  represents  the 
 male  and  female  as  the  sim  and  moon,  thus  identifying  the  symboHc 
 sex  of  those  luminaries.  The  legend  in  the  Pehlevi  characters  has 
 not  been  intei"preted.     Lajard,  plate  xix.,  fig.  6. 
 
 Figure  17,  page  260,  is  taken  from  a  mediaeval  woodcut,  lent  to 
 me  by  my  friend,  Mr.  John  Newton,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the 
 sight  of,  and  the  privilege  to  copy  many  other  figiu-es.  In  it  the  virgin 
 Mary  is  seen  as  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  nursing  her  infant,  and  identified 
 with  the  crescent  moon.  Being  before  the  sim,  she  ahnost  eclipses  its 
 light.  Than  this,  nothing  could  more  completely  identify  the  Christian 
 mother  and  child  with  Isis  and  Ilorus,  Ishtar,  Venus,  Jimo,  and  a 
 
xliii 
 
 host  of  other  pagan  goddesses,  who  have  been  called '  Queen  of  Heaven,' 
 '  Spouse  of  God,'  the  '  Celestial  Virgin,'  etc. 
 
 Figure  18,  page  261,  is  a  common  device  in  papal  churches  and 
 pagan  symboHsm.  It  is  intended  to  indicate  the  sun  and  moon  in 
 conjunction,  the  union  of  the  triad  with  the  unit.  I  may  notice,  in 
 passing,  that  Mr.  Newton  has  showed  to  me  some  mediaeval  woodcuts, 
 in  which  the  young  unmarried  women  in  a  mixed  assemblage  were 
 indicated  by  weaiing  upon  their  foreheads  a  crescent  moon. 
 
 Figure  19,  page  262,  is  a  Buddhist  symbol,  or  rather  a  copy  of 
 Maitnya  Bodhisatwa,  fifom  the  monastery  of  Gopach,  in  the  valley  of 
 Nepaul.  It  is  taken  from  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xviii., 
 p.  394.  The  horseshoe,  like  the  vesica  piscis  of  the  Roman  church, 
 indicates  the  yoni;  the  last,  taken  from  some  cow,  mare,  or  donkey,  being 
 used  in  eastern  parts  where  we  now  use  their  shoes,  to  keep  off  the 
 evil  eye.  It  is  remarkable  that  some  nations  should  use  the  female 
 organ,  or  an  effigy  thereof,  as  a  charm  against  ill  luck,  whilst  others 
 adopt  the  male  symbol.  In  Ireland,  a  female  shamelessly  exhibiting 
 herself  was  to  be  found  sculptured  over  the  door  of  certain  churches, 
 within  the  last  centmy.  See  Vol.  i.,  p.  114,  and  Vol.  ii.,  p.  262.  The 
 male  in  the  centre  sufficiently  explams  itself. 
 
 That  some  Buddhists  have  mingled  sexuahty  mth  their  ideas  of 
 rehgion,  may  be  seen  in  plate  ii.  of  Emil  Schlagintweit's  Atlas  of 
 Buddhism  in  Tibet,  wherein  Vajarsattva,  "  The  God  above  aU,"  is 
 represented  as  a  male  and  female  conjoined.  Rays,  as  of  the  sun. 
 pass  from  the  group ;  and  all  are  enclosed  in  an  ornate  oval,  or  horse- 
 shoe, like  that  in  this  figure. 
 
 I  may  also  notice  in  passing,  that  the  goddess  Doljang  (a.d.  617-98) 
 has  the  stigmata  in  her  hands  and  feet,  Hke  those  assigned  to  Jesus  of 
 Nazareth  and  Francis  of  Assisi. 
 
 Figm-e  20  is  a  copy  of  the  medal  issued  to  pilgiims  at  the  shrine 
 of  the  vh-gin  at  Loretto.  It  was  lent  to  me  by  Mr.  Newton,  but  my 
 engi-aver  has  omitted  to  make  the  face  of  the  mother  and  child  black, 
 as  it  ought  to  be.  Instead  of  the  explanation  given  m  the  text,  of  the 
 adoption  of  a  black  skin  for  Mary  and  her  son,  D'Harcanville  sug- 
 gests that  it  represents  night,  the  period  dm-ing  which  the  femmine 
 creator  is  most  propitious  or  attentive  to  her  duties.  It  is  unnecessary 
 to  contest  the  point,  for  almost  every  symbol  has  more  interpreta- 
 tions given  to  it  than  one.  I  have  sought  in  vain  for  even  a  plausible 
 reason   for  the  blackness  of  certam  vii-gins  and  children,  in  certain 
 
xliv 
 
 papal  shrines,  which  is  compatible  with  decency  and  Christianity.  It 
 is  clear  that  the  matter  will  not  bear  the  light. 
 
 Figiu-e  21,  page  276,  is  from  Lajard,  O^?.  Cit.,  plate  iii..  fig.  8.  It 
 represents  the  sun,  moon,  and  a  star,  probably  Venus.  The  legend  is  in 
 Phoenician,  and  may  be  read  LNBRB,  the  diamond  being  a  s3rmbol 
 of  Venus  or  the  yoni ;  or  it  may  stand  for  the  letter  j?  ain  =  a,  g, 
 or  0. 
 
 Figure  22,  page  277,  is  from  Lajard,  plate  i.,  figure  8.  It  represents 
 a  priest  before  a  vacant  throne  or  chair,  which  is  surmounted  by  the 
 sun  and  moon,  and  a  curious  cross-shaped  rod  and  triangle  ;  before  the 
 throne  is  the  diamond  or  oval,  which  symbolises  the  female,  and  behind 
 it  is  the  palm  tree,  an  emblem  of  the  male.  In  the  temple  of  the 
 Syrian  goddess  the  seat  of  the  sim  was  empty.     See  Vol.  ii.,  p.  788. 
 
 Figiu-e  23,  page  278,  is  Harpocrates,  on  a  lotus,  adoring  the 
 emblem  of  woman;  see  Figure  95,  p.  497,  ante.  Lajard  and  others  state 
 that  homage,  such  as  is  here  depicted,  is  actually  paid  in  some  parts  of 
 Palestine  and  India  to  the  living  symbol ;  the  worshipper  on  bended  knees 
 offering  to  it,  la  houclie  inferieure,  with  or  without  a  silent  prayer, 
 his  food  before  he  eats  it.  A  corresponding  homage  is  paid  by  female 
 devotees  to  the  masculine  emblem  of  the  scheik  or  patriarch,  which 
 is  devoutly  kissed  by  aU  the  women  of  the  tribe  on  one  solemn 
 occasion  diuing  the  year,  when  the  old  ruler  sits  in  state  to  receive  the 
 homage.  The  emblem  is,  for  many,  of  greater  sanctity  than  a  crucifix. 
 Such  homage  is  depicted  in  Picart's  Religious  Ceremonies  of  all  the 
 2)eople  in  the  World,  original  French  edition,  plate  71.  See  also  The 
 Dabistan,  translated  from  the  Persian  (London,  1843,  vol.  ii.,  pp. 
 148  —  153). 
 
 Figures  24.  25,  pages  325,  320,  are  explained  above.  Figure  18. 
 
 Figiu-e  20,  page  329,  is  copied  from  Bryant's  Ancient  Mythology, 
 3rd  edition,  vol.  iii.,  p.  193.  That  author  states  that  he  copied  it  from 
 Spanheim,  but  gives  no  other  reference.  It  is  apparently  firom  a  Greek 
 medal,  and  has  the  word  CAMIS2N  as  an  inscription.  It  is  said  to  re- 
 present Juno,  Sami,  or  Selenitis,  with  the  sacred  peplmn.  The  figure  is 
 remarkable  for  showing  the  identity  of  the  moon,  the  lozenge,  and  the 
 female.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  attitude  of  the  goddess  is  intended 
 to  represent  the  cross. 
 
 Figure  27,  page  329,  is  a  composition  taken  from  Bryant,  vol.  iv., 
 p.  286.  The  rock,  the  water,  the  crescent  moon  as  an  ark,  and  the  dove 
 hovering  over  it,  are  all  symbolical ;  but  though  the  author  of  it  is  right 
 in  his  grouping,  it  is  clear  that  he  is  not  aware  of  its  full  signification. 
 
xlv 
 
 The  reader  will  readily  gather  it  from  our  articles  upon  the  Ark  and 
 Water.,  and  from  oiu:  remarks  upon  the  dove. 
 
 Figure  28,  page  351,  is  explained.     Fig.  16,  page  106,  Vol.  i.,  antea. 
 
 Figure  29,  page  352.     See  Figui-e  16,  supra. 
 
 Figure  30,  page  354.     See  Figure  9,  Page  99,  Vol.  i.,  ante. 
 
 Figure  31,  page  398,  is  from  Lajard,  plate  xxii.,  fig.  3.  It  is  the 
 impression  of  an  archaic  Babylonian  cyhnder,  and  is  supposed  to 
 represent  Oaunes,  or  the  fish  deity.  It  is  supposed  that  Dagon 
 of  the  Philistines  resembled  the  two  figures  supporting  the  central 
 one. 
 
 I'igure  82,  page  399,  is  from  Lajard,  ]5late  xxii.,  fig.  5,  and  is  sup- 
 posed to  represent  a  priest  of  the  fish  god.  The  fish's  head  appears  to 
 be  the  origin  of  the  modern  bishop's  mitre. 
 
 Figure  33,  page  475.     See  figure  19,  supra. 
 
 Figure  34,  page  491,  is  copied  from  Majffei's  Gemmc  Anticlie  F'uju- 
 rate,  vol.  3,  plate  40.  In  the  original,  the  figure  upon  the  pillar  is  very 
 conspicuously  phallic,  and  the  whole  composition  indicates  what  was 
 associated  with  the  worship  of  Priapus.  This  so-called  god  was 
 regarded  much  in  the  same  hght  as  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damian  were 
 at  Isernia,  and  St.  Foutin  in  Christian  France.  He  was  not  really  a 
 deity,  only  a  sort  of  Saint,  whose  business  it  was  to  attend  to  certain 
 parts.  As  the  Pagan  Hymen  and  Lucina  attended  upon  wedthugs  and 
 parturitions,  so  the  Christian  Cosmo  and  Damian  attended  to  spouses, 
 and  assisted  in  making  them  fruitful.  To  the  last  two  were  offered,  by 
 sterUe  wives,  wax  effigies  of  the  part  cut  off'  from  the  nude  figure  in  our 
 plate.  To  the  heathen  saint,  we  see  a  female  votary  off'er  quince  leaves, 
 equivalent  to  la  feuille  de  sauge,  egg-shaped  bread,  apparently  a  cake ; 
 also  an  ass's  head;  whilst  her  attendant  offers  a  pine  cone,  and  carries 
 a  basket  containing  apples  and  phalli.  This  gem  is  valuable,  inas- 
 much as  it  assists  us  to  understand  the  signification  of  the  pine  cone 
 offered  to  'the  grove,'  the  equivalent  of  le  verger  de  Cijpris.  The  pillar 
 and  its  base  are  curiously  significant,  and  demonstrate  how  com- 
 pletely an  artist  can  appear  innocent,  whilst  to  the  initiated  he  imveUs 
 a  mystery. 
 
 Figures  35,  36,  37,  page  493,  are  various  contrivances  for  indicating 
 decently  that  which  it  was  generally  thought  rehgious  to  conceal,  la 
 bequiUe,  ou  les  instrumens. 
 
 Figure  38,  p.  494,  represents  the  same  subject ;  the  cuts  are  grouped 
 BO  as  to  show  how  the  knobbed  stick,  le  baton,  becomes  converted  either 
 into  a  bent  rod,  la  verge,  or  a  priestly  crook,  le  baton  pastoral.     There 
 
xlvi 
 
 is  no  doubt  that  the  episcopal  crozier  is  a  presentable  effigy  of  a  very 
 private  and  once  highly  venerated  portion  of  the  human  frame. 
 
 Figiu'es  39,  40,  41,  p.  495,  are,  Uke  the  preceding  foiu*,  copied  from 
 various  antique  gems  ;  Fig.  39  represents  a  steering  oar,  le  timon,  and 
 is  usually  held  in  the  hand  of  good  fortune,  or  as  moderns  would 
 say  "  Saint  Luck,"  or  bonnes  fortunes ;  Fig.  40  is  emblematic  of  Cupid,  or 
 Saint  Desii'e;  it  is  synonjmous  with  le  dard,  or  la  pique;  Fig.  41 
 is  a  form  less  common  in  gems ;  it  represents  the  hammer,  le  marteau 
 qui  frappe  V  enclume  et  forge  Ics  enfans.  The  ancients  had  as  many 
 pictorial  euphemisms  as  ourselves,  and  when  these  are  understood 
 they  enable  us  to  comprehend  many  a  legend  otherwise  dim ;  e.  g., 
 when  Fortuna,  or  luck,  always  depicted  as  a  woman,  has  for  her 
 characteristic  le  timon,  and  for  her  motto  the  proverb,  "  Fortune  favoui's 
 the  bold,"  we  readily  imderstand  the  double  entendre.  The  steering  oar 
 indicates  power,  knowledge,  skill,  and  bravery  in  him  who  wields  it ; 
 without  such  a  guide,  few  boats  would  attain  a  prosperous  haven. 
 
 Figm-e  42,  page  612,  is  copied  from  plate  29  of  Pugin's  Glossary  of 
 Ecclesiastical  Ornament  (Lon.,  1868).  The  plate  represents  "  a  pattern 
 for  diapering,"  and  is,  I  presume,  thoroughly  orthodox.  It  consists  of 
 the  double  triangle,  see  Figures  21,  31,  32,  vol.  i.,  pp.  119  — 146,  the 
 emblems  of  Siva  and  Parvati,  the  male  and  female ;  of  Rimmon  the 
 pomegranate,  the  emblem  of  the  fertile  womb,  which  is  seen  full  of 
 seed  through  the  "  vesica  piscis,"  la  fente,  or  laporte  de  la  vie.  There 
 are  also  two  new  moons,  emblems  of  Venus,  or  la  nature,  introduced. 
 The  crown  above  the  j)omegranatc  represents  the  triad,  and  the  number 
 four;  whilst  in  the  original  the  gi'oup  which  we  copy  is  surrounded  by 
 various  forms  of  the  triad,  all  of  which  are  as  characteristic  of  man  as 
 Rimmon  is  of  woman.  There  are  also  circles  enclosing  the  triad, 
 analogous  to  other  symbols  common  in  Hindostan 
 
 Figure  43,  page  642,  is  coj)ied  fi'om  Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon,  pi.  9, 
 fig.  3.  It  represents  Bavani,  Maia,  Devi,  Lakshmi,  or  Kamala,  one  of 
 the  many  forms  given  to  female  nature.  She  bears  in  one  hand  the 
 lotus,  emblem  of  self-fructification,  whilst  in  the  other  she  holds  her 
 infant  Kiishna,  Christna,  or  Vishnu.  Such  groups  are  as  common  in 
 India  as  in  Italy,  in  Pagan  temples  as  in  Christian  chm-ches.  The 
 idea  of  the  mother  and  child  is  pictured  in  every  ancient  country,  of 
 whose  art  any  remains  exist. 
 
 Figm-e  44,  page  645,  is  taken  from  plate  24,  fig.  1,  of  Moor's  Hin- 
 du Pantheon.  It  represents  a  subject  often  depicted  by  the  Hindoos 
 and  the  Greeks,  viz.,  androgjTiism,  the  union  of  the  male  and  female 
 
xlvii 
 
 creators.  The  technical  word  is  Arclcllia-Nari.  The  male  on  the  right 
 side  bears  the  emblems  of  Siva  or  Mahadeva,  the  female  on  the  left 
 those  of  Parvati  or  Sacti.  The  biiU  and  honess  are  emblematic  of  the 
 masculine  and  feminine  ijowers.  The  mark  on  the  temple  indicates 
 the  union  of  the  two ;  an  aureole  is  seen  around  the  head,  as  in  modern 
 pictures  of  saints.  In  this  picture  the  Ganges  rises  from  the  male,  the 
 idea  being  that  the  stream  fi'om  Mahadeva  is  as  copious  and  fertihsing 
 as  that  mighty  river.  The  metaphor  here  depicted  is  common  in  the 
 East,  and  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  quoted  from  some  lost  Hebrew 
 book  in  John  vii.  38,  and  in  Num.  xxiv.  7.  It  will  be  noticed,  that  the 
 Hindoos  express  androgyneity  quite  as  conspicuously,  but  generally 
 much  less  indeHcately,  than  the  Grecian  artists. 
 
 Figure  45,  page  04=7,  is  a  common  EgjqDtian  emblem,  said  to  signify 
 eternity,  but  in  truth  it  has  a  wider  meaning.  The  serpent  and  the  ring 
 indicate  V  andouille  and  V  anneau,  and  the  tail  of  the  animal,  which 
 the  mouth  appears  to  swallow,  la  queue  dans  la  bouche.  The  symbol 
 resembles  the  crux  ansata  in  its  signification,  and  imports  that  life  upon 
 the  earth  is  rendered  perpetual  by  means  of  the  union  of  the  sexes.  A 
 ring,  or  circle,  is  one  of  the  symbols  of  Venus,  who  carries  indifferently 
 this,  or  the  triad  emblem  of  the  male.  See  Maffei's  Gems,  vol.  ui., 
 page  1,  plate  8. 
 
 Figiu-e  46,  page  647,  is  the  vesica piscis,  or  fish's  bladder;  the  em- 
 blem of  woman  and  of  the  virgin,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  two  following. 
 
 Fgiu-es  47  and  48,  page  648,  are  copied  from  a  Kosary  of  the 
 Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  printed  at  Venice,  1582,  with  a  license  from  the 
 Inquisition;  the  book  being  lent  to  me  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Newton. 
 The  first  represents  the  same  part  as  the  Assyrian  grove.  It  may 
 appropriately  be  called  the  Holy  Yoni.  The  book  in  question  contains 
 other  analogous  figures,  all  resembling  closely  the  Mesopotamian 
 emblem  of  Ishtar-  The  presence  of  the  woman  therein  identifies  the 
 two  as  symbohc  of  Isis,  or  la  nature;  and  a  man  bowing  down  in 
 adoration  thereof  shows  the  same  idea  as  is  depicted  in  Assyrian  sculp- 
 tures, Avhere  males  offer  to  the  goddess  symbols  of  themselves.  Com- 
 pare Figs.  02,  64,  65,  67,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  159—161. 
 
 If  I  had  been  able  to  search  through  the  once  celebrated  Alex- 
 andrian Hbrary,  it  is  doubtful  whether  I  could  have  found  any  pictorial 
 representation  more  illustrative  of  tlie  relationship  of  certain  sjonbolic 
 forms  to  each  other  than  is  Figure  48.  A  cii'cle  of  angelic  heads,  form- 
 ing a  sort  of  sun,  having  luminous  rays  outside,  and  a  dove,  the  em- 
 blem of  Venus,  darts  a  spear  {la pique)  down  upon  the  earth  {la  terre), 
 
xlviii 
 
 or  the  virgin.  Tliis  beiiig  received,  fertility  follows.  lu  Grecian 
 story,  Ouranos  and  Ge,  or  heaven  and  earth,  were  the  parents  of 
 creation  ;  and  Jupiter  came  from  heaven  to  impregnate  Alcmena.  The 
 same  mythos  prevailed  throughout  all  civilised  nations.  Christianity 
 adopted  the  idea,  merely  altering  the  names  of  the  respective  parents, 
 and  attributed  the  regeneration  of  the  world  to  "holy  breath"  and 
 Mary.  Every  individual,  indeed,  extraordinarily  conspicuous  for  wis- 
 dom, power,  goodness,  etc.,  is  said  to  have  been  begotten  on  a  vii'gin 
 by  a  celestial  father.  Within  the  vesica  2ns els,  artists  usually  repre- 
 sent the  virgin  herself,  with  or  without  the  child  ;  in  the  figure  before 
 us  the  child  takes  her  place.  It  is  difficult  to  beheve  that  the  eccle- 
 siastics who  sanctioned  the  publication  of  such  a  print  could  have  been 
 as  ignorant  as  modern  rituaUsts.  It  is  equally  difficult  to  believe  that 
 the  latter,  knowing  the  real  meaning  of  the  symbols  commonly  used 
 by  the  Roman  church,  would  adopt  them. 
 
 Figures  49  to  63,  page  649,  are  copied  from  Moor's  Hindu  Pan- 
 theon ;  they  are  sectarial  marks  in  India,  and  usually  traced  on  the 
 forehead.  Many  resemble  what  are  known  as  mason's  marks,  i.  e., 
 designs  found  on  tooled  stones,  in  various  ancient  edifices,  like  our 
 own  '  trade  marks.'  They  are  introduced  to  illustrate  the  various  designs 
 employed  to  indicate  the  union  of  the  "trinity"  with  the  "unity,"  and 
 the  numerous  forms  representative  of  "  la  nature."  A  x>riori,  it  appears 
 absiu'd  to  suppose  that  the  eye  could  ever  have  been  symbolical  of 
 anything  but  sight ;  but  the  mythos  of  Indra,  given  in  note  129,  page 
 649,  proves  that  it  has  another  and  a  hidden  meaning.  These  figures 
 are  alike  emblematic  of  the  "  trinity,"  "  the  virgin,"  and  "  the  four." 
 
 Figure  64,  page  650,  represents  a  part  of  the  Roman  vestments, 
 called,  I  believe,  ?i  ji allium  ;  in  shape  it  resembles  the  systrum  of  Isis, 
 and  is  indicative  of  the  yoni ;  when  donned  by  a  Christian  priest,  he 
 resembles  the  pagan  male  worshippers,  who  wore  a  female  dress  when 
 they  ministered  before  the  altar  or  shrine  of  a  goddess.  Possibly 
 the  Hebrew  ephod  was  of  this  form  and  nature. 
 
 Figure  65,  page  650,  is  taken  from  Pugin's  Glossary  of  Ecclesiastical 
 Ornaments ;  it  represents  the  chasuble,  and  the  yoni.  ^^^len  worn  by  the 
 minister,  "  (he  fom' "  are  completed.  The  priest  also  tlnis  worships, 
 with  the  emblem  of  the  virgin  as  part  of  his  dress.  The  alh,  which  is 
 also  worn  by  Roman  ecclesiastics,  is  a  woman's  chemise  ;  so  that  these 
 priests  arc  clothed  as  far  as  possible  in  garments  intentionally  feminine. 
 Even  the  tonsured  head,  adopted  from  the  priests  of  the  Egj-ptian 
 Isis,  represents  "Vanneau;"  so   that  on  head,  shoulders,  breast,  and 
 
xlix 
 
 body,  we  may  see  in  Christian  clnu-clies  the  rehcs  of  the  worship  of 
 Venus  and  the  adoration  of  woman  !     See  Vestments,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  91-i. 
 
 Figure  6G,  page  650,  is  from  Pugin,  plate  5,  figure  3.  It  is  the  out- 
 line of  a  pectoral  ornament  worn  by  some  Roman  ecclesiastic  in  Italy  ^ 
 A.  D.  1400 ;  it  represents  the  Egyptian  crux  ansata  under  another  form, 
 the  T  signifying  the  triad,  the  O  the  unit. 
 
 Fio-ure  67,  page  050,  is  taken  from  Kiiight's  Pictorial  History  of  Old 
 England,  and  represents  a  mecUaeval  bishop.  The  aureole,  the  tonsure, 
 the  palHum  adorned  with  the  phaUic  cross,  and  the  apple  in  the  hand, 
 are  all  reUcs  of  pagandom,  and  adoration  of  sexual  emblems. 
 
 Figure  68,  page  651,  represents  the  cup  and  wafer,  to  be  found  in 
 the  hands  of  many  effigies  of  papal  bishops;  they  are  ahke  symboUc 
 of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  of  the  "  elements"  in  the  Eucharist.  See 
 Pugin,  plate  iv.,  figs.  5,  6. 
 
 Figures  68*.  69,  pages  744,  745,  are  different  forms  of  the  systnmi, 
 one  of^'the  emblems  of  Isis.  In  the  first,  the  triple  bars  have  one  signi- 
 fication, which  wiU  readily  suggest  itself  to  those  who  know  the  mean- 
 ing of  the  triad.  In  the  second,  the  emblem  of  the  trinity,  which  we 
 have  been  obHged  to  conventionaUse,  is  sho^™  in  a  distinct  manner. 
 The  cross  bars  indicate  that  Isis  is  a  virgin.  The  cat  at  the  top  of 
 the  instrument  indicates  '  desire,'  Cupid,  or  Eros.  The  last  is  copied 
 from  plate  x.,  R.  P.  Knight's  Worship  of,  etc. 
 
 Figure  70,  page  746,  represents  the  various  forms  symboHc  of  Jimo, 
 Isis,  Parvati,  Ishtar,  Mary,  or  woman,  or  the  virgin. 
 
 Figm-es  71,  72,  73,  page  767,  are  copied  fi-om  Audsley's  Christian 
 Symhllism  (London,  1868).  They  are  ornaments  worn  by  the  Vii'gin 
 Mary,  and  represent  her  as  the  crescent  moon,  conjomed  with  the 
 cross  (iu  Fig.  71),  with  the  collar  of  Isis  (in  Fig.  72),  and  with  the  double 
 triangle  (in  Fig.  73). 
 
 Figiire  74,  page  881,  represents  a  common  tortoise,  with  the  head 
 retracted  and  advanced.  Wlien  it  is  seen  that  there  is  a  strong 
 resemblance  between  this  creatiire  and  the  liuga,  we  can  readily 
 understand  why  both  in  India  and  in  Greece  the  animal  should  be 
 regarded  as  sacred  to  the  goddess  personifying  the  female  creator,  and 
 why  in  Hindoo  mythoses  it  is  said  to  support  the  world. 
 
 Figures  75,  70,  page  885,  represent  a  pagan  and  Christian  cross 
 and  trinity.  The  fii-st  is  copied  from  R.  P.  I^igtt  (plate  x.,  fig.  1),  and 
 represents  a  figiu-e  foimd  on  an  ancient  coin  of  Apolloma.  The 
 second  may  be  seen  in  any  of  oiu-  chm-ches  to-day. 
 
 Figure  77,  page  887,  is  from  an  old  papal  book  lent  to  me  by  Uv. 
 
 d 
 
1 
 
 Newton,  Missale  Romanum,  wiitten  by  a  monk  fVenice,  1509).  It  repre- 
 sents a  confessor  of  tlie  Roman  chui'cli,  who  wears  the  crux  ansata,  the 
 Egyptian  symbol  of  life,  the  emblem  of  the  four  creators,  in  the  place 
 of  the  'os.w.dl  x>(dlium.  It  is  remarkable  that  a  Christian  church  should 
 have  adopted  so  many  pagan  symbols  as  Rome  has  done. 
 
 Figm'e  78,  page  887,  is  co])ied  from  a  smaU  bronze  figure  in  the 
 Mayer  collection  in  the  Free  Musemn,  Liverpool.  It  rej)resents  the 
 feminine  creator  holding  a  well  marked  lingam  in  her  hand,  and  is  thus 
 emblematic  of  the  four,  or  the  trinity  and  the  vii'gin. 
 
 Figure  79,  page  887,  represents  two  Egyptian  deities  in  worship 
 before  an  emblem  of  the  triad. 
 
 rigu.re  80,  page  917,  represents  the  modern  palUum  worn  by  Roman 
 priests.  It  represents  the  ancient  systrum  of  Isis,  and  the  j'oni  of  the 
 Hindoos.  It  is  symboUc  of  the  celestial  vii'gin,  and  the  unit  in  the 
 creative  foiu*. 
 
 Figiu-e  81,  page  917,  is  a  copy  of  an  Sincient  jyalUmn,  worn  by  papal 
 ecclesiastics  two  or  three  centuiies  ago.  It  is  an  old  Egyptian  symbol, 
 representing  the  male  and  female  elements  united.  Its  common  name 
 is  crux  ansata. 
 
 Figure  82,  i^age  917,  is  the  albe  worn  by  Roman  and  other  eccle- 
 siastics when  officiating  at  mass,  etc.  It  is  sunply  a  copy  of  the 
 chemise  ordinarily  worn  by  women  as  an  under  garment. 
 
 Figure  83,  page  917,  represents  the  chasuble  worn  by  papal  hierarchs. 
 It  is  copied  from  Pugin's  Glossary,  etc.  Its  form  is  that  of  the  vesica 
 piscis,  oue  of  the  most  common  emblems  of  the  yoni.  It  is  adorned  by 
 the  triad.  When  worn  by  the  priest,  he  forms  the  male  element, 
 and  with  the  chasuble  completes  the  sacred  foiu'.  When  worship- 
 ping the  ancient  goddesses,  whom  Mary  has  replaced,  the  officiating 
 ministers  clothed  themselves  in  feminine  attire.  Hence  the  use  of  the 
 chemise,  etc. 
 
 Figui-e  84,  page  925,  is  a  very  common  form  of  yoni  and  Huga  hi 
 Hindostan.  In  worship,  ghee,  or  oil,  or  water,  is  poiu'ed  over  the 
 pillar,  and  allowed  to  run  off  by  the  spout.  Sometimes  the  pillar  is 
 adorned  by  a  necklace.     See  Moor's  Hindu  Pantheon,  plate  xxii. 
 
INTEODUCTOEY. 
 
 CHAPTEE   I. 
 
 A  fairy  tale  utilised.  Influence  of  fear.  Those  who  are  interested  in  keeping  up 
 a  delusion  may  do  so  at  the  expense  of  truth.  Children  may  ulter  what 
 their  parents  dare  not  speak.  Disadvantage  of  prolonging  make-believe.  The 
 guild  of  weavers  of  false  wehs.  Trade  unionism  in  ecclesiastical  matters. 
 Intolerance  of  correction  evinced  by  the  clergy.  Their  persecution  of  intellec- 
 tual companions.  Their  powerlessness  before  a  free-spealdng  layman.  The 
 last  corresponds  to  the  child  in  the  fairy  tale.  Professions  im2n-oved  by  out- 
 siders. Clerical  denunciations  are  imj)otent  against  thoughtful  minds. 
 The  right  of  private  judgment.  All  books  to  be  treated  alike  by  the  critic. 
 Age  is  not  a  test  of  truth,  A  church  militant  must  expect  blows.  Examina- 
 tion of  foundations  necessary  in  estimating  the  value  of  a  building.  Decadence 
 of  the  influence  of  the  clergy  explained.  Necessity  for  common  ground  in  an 
 argument.  The  current  ideas  respecting  tlie  Bible  as  inspired  and  infallible 
 examined.  The  Sacred  Scriptures  compared  with  others.  Necessity  for 
 caution  in  all  historians.  Difficulty  in  attaining  due  knowledge  of  Shake- 
 speare, Lucian,  and  Homer.  How  the  dates  of  comedies,  &c.,  are  tested. 
 The  value  of  German  criticism.  The  language  unknown  to  the  author.  Dr. 
 Coleuso,  Bishop  of  Natal,  eulogised.  The  author's  researches  independent 
 and  original. 
 
 In  a  charming  collection  of  fairy  tales  from  the  jjen  of 
 Andersseii,  there  is  a  story  which  has  often  recurred  to  my 
 mind  since  I  read  it.  It  tells  of  an  old  king  who  reigned 
 in  the  realms  of  Fancy,  and  who  wished  to  pass  for  heing 
 very  wise  and  peculiarly  excellent  as  a  sovereign ;  hut  he 
 had  some  secret  misgivings  about  himself,  and  some  very 
 strong  doubts  about  the  capacity  and  real  worth  of  his 
 ministers.  To  his  town  there  came  a  set  of  adventurers, 
 who  professed  to  weave   the  most  beautiful  garments  that 
 
 A 
 
had  ever  been  seen,  and  whose  especial  value  was  enhanced 
 by  the  fact  that  they  were  invisible  to  any  individual  who 
 was  unfitted  for  the  station  which  he  held.  The  monarch, 
 hearing  of  the  wonderful  invention,  and  believing  that  it 
 would  be  a  means  of  testing  the  worth  of  his  officers  of 
 state,  ordered  a  handsome  suit  of  this  apparel.  The 
 weavers  demanded  and  obtained  a  large  sum  of  money  for 
 the  purchase  of  the  necessary  material,  and  very  soon 
 announced  that  the  work  had  begun.  After  waiting  a 
 reasonable  time,  the  king  sent  his  house-steward,  of  whom 
 he  had  grave  suspicion,  to  examine  the  dress,  and  to  report 
 progress.  The  man  went,  and,  to  his  horror,  saw  nothing 
 more  than  an  empty  loom,  although  the  weavers  told  him 
 that  the  garment  was  nearly  half  done,  and  asked  him  to 
 notice  its  harmony  of  colour.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  If 
 he  acknowledged  that  he  saw  nothing,  it  was  clear  that  he 
 must  resign  his  post  as  being  unfitted  for  it.  This  he  could 
 not  afford  to  do,  so  he  pretended  to  see  it,  and  then  warmly 
 praised  the  invisible  garment,  and  nodded  profoundly  as  the 
 sharpers  pointed  out  this  colour  and  that  pattern,  declaring 
 that  he  had  never  seen  a  more  lovely  product  of  the  weaver's 
 art.  He  then  told  the  king  of  the  glories  of  the  new  dress, 
 and  the  sovereign  concluded  that  the  man  was  not  such  a 
 fool  as  he  thought  him.  After  each  member  of  the  court 
 had  gone  through  the  ordeal  with  a  like  result,  the  adven- 
 turers declared  that  the  robes  were  completed,  and  they 
 solicited  the  king  to  appoint  a  day  on  which  he  would  parade 
 in  them,  so  that  the  public  might  see  and  admire  the 
 wondrous  apparel.  Relying  on  the  reports  which  had  been 
 made  by  the  courtiers,  the  adventurers  succeeded  in  drawing 
 large  sums  of  money  from  the  monarch  ere  the  new  clothes 
 were  tried  on,  and  thus  were  prepared  to  leave  the  town  as 
 soon  as  the  procession  should  be  formed.  The  day  arrived  ; 
 the  weavers  waited  on  the  king,  bending,  apparently,  under 
 
the  weight  of  the  magic  robes  which  they  carried ;  but,  oh ! 
 what  horror  seized  the  king  when  he  found  that  he  could 
 not  see  them.  Yet  all  his  officers  had  seen  them,  and  had 
 thus  showed  themselves  fitted  for  their  posts,  and  should  he 
 alone  declare  himself  unworthy  to  hold  the  position  which 
 he  occupied  ?  To  proclaim  himself  the  only  fool  in  his 
 court  was  too  much  for  his  magnanimity,  so  he  "made 
 believe"  to  see,  and  greatly  to  admire  the  wonderful  dress, 
 sitting  shivering  in  his  shirt  and  small  clothes,  whilst  the 
 artificers  clothed  him  with  the  gorgeous  robes  of  their 
 making.  He  felt  some  surprise  at  their  lightness,  and  was 
 informed  that  airiness  combined  with  beauty  were  the  special 
 characteristics  of  the  garments,  and  that  the  discovery  of 
 this  showed  how  peculiarly  wise  was  the  wearer  of  the  dress. 
 At  last  the  ceremony  of  robing  was  completed,  and  the 
 monarch  took  his  place  under  the  canopy  of  state.  A 
 procession  through  the  town  began,  so  that  all  might  see 
 the  wondrous  dress  of  which  so  much  had  been  said.  But 
 everybody,  who  saw  the  king,  recognised  the  fact  that  he 
 had  nothing  on  but  his  shirt  and  breeches,  yet  none  dared 
 to  say  so,  lest  he  alone  of  all  the  population  should  be 
 thought  a  fool.  So  the  people  unanimously  applauded  the 
 work  of  the  fairy  labourers,  as  being  something  unheard 
 of  before.  Yet  amongst  the  crowd  there  was  a  little  child, 
 who,  having  no  reputation  for  wisdom,  had  none  to  lose ; 
 and  she,  with  all  the  heartiness  of  youth,  cried  out,  "  But 
 the  king  has  got  nothing  on  him  but  his  shirt."  "  Hear 
 the  voice  of  innocence,"  was  then  the  common  cry,  and  each 
 recognised  how  silly  he  had  been. 
 
 Now  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are  many  such  foolish 
 kings  and  courtiers  amongst  ourselves,  and  that  the  voice 
 of  one  who  dares  to  say  what  he  thinks,  is  often  necessary 
 to  enable  others  to  trust  to  their  own  sense  and  senses. 
 There  have  risen  up  amongst  us  a  set  of  men,  who  declare 
 
that  they  weave  the  robes  which  are  necessary  for  the  court 
 of  Heaven,  and  without  which  none  can  enter  that  august 
 assembly.  They  descant  upon  the  beauty  of  the  material, 
 the  loveliness  of  the  pattern,  the  grace  which  the  garments 
 confer  upon  the  wearers,  and  their  superiority  over  all 
 besides.  Into  that  fraternity  of  weavers  many  an  apprentice 
 enters ;  but  in  it  he  can  only  remain  on  the  condition  that 
 he  consents  to  see  and  to  admire  the  invisible  garments, 
 and  to  induce  others  to  do  so  too.  As  a  result,  the  artisans, 
 and  all  who  put  implicit  trust  in  their  statements,  concur 
 in  praising  garments  which  they  cannot  see,  and  of  whose 
 real  existence  there  is  no  proof  whatever.  Sometimes,  even 
 the  weavers  quarrel  as  to  the  fashion  of  the  cut,  the  excel- 
 lency of  the  pattern,  or  the  colour  of  the  web  which  they 
 declare  to  have  been  woven.  They  all  agree  in  saying  some- 
 thing which  they  do  not  believe,  or  which  they  know  that 
 they  should  disbelieve  if  they  ventured  to  use'  their  judg- 
 ment, which  amounts  to  the  same  thing ;  and  they  all  make 
 the  same  confession,  lest  by  speaking  their  minds  they 
 should  be  thought  unfitted  for  their  station,  and  be  set 
 down  as  fools. 
 
 If  a  bishop,  no  matter  what  his  learning  may  be,  ventures 
 to  doubt  the  value  of  the  raw  material  out  of  which  the 
 magic  robes  are  woven,  an  attempt  is  made  to  remove  him 
 from  the  society  of  weavers,  as  unfitted  for  his  office.  In 
 vain  he  points  to  Huss,  Wicklifie,  Luther,  Latimer,  Ridley, 
 and  others,  whose  memory  is  held  in  the  highest  respect, 
 to  show  that  other  artisans  have  struck  out  new  methods 
 of  weaving,  and  have  dissented  from  the  laws  which  regulated 
 their  trade  union.  In  vain  he  points  out  that  our  Saviour 
 Himself  was  a  heretic  of  the  deepest  dye,  according  to  the 
 judgment  of  the  rulers  of  the  church  in  His  own  times;  and 
 that  the  first  step  towards  improvement  in  dress  is  the  recog- 
 nition of  fiaws  in  the  old  cjarment.     There  was  a  time  when 
 
all  Christendom  recognised  the  apocryi^lial  books  of  the 
 Bible  as  undoubtedly  inspired,  there  are  many  Christians 
 who  do  so  still ;  yet  the  Eeformers,  on  whose  energy  we  now 
 pride  ourselves,  did  not  rest  till  they  expunged  those  volumes 
 from  the  canon  of  Scripture.  As  man  sat  once  in  judgment 
 upon  what  was  said  to  be  the  result  of  a  divine  command,  so 
 may  he  do  again.  The  power  which  was  assumed  by  men 
 three  hundred  years  ago,  may  be  again  wielded  by  other 
 mortals  now,  and  we  may  hope  to  see  in  the  nineteenth 
 century  a  change  analogous  to  that  which  took  place  in 
 the  sixteenth.  Yet  it  is  very  difficult  to  initiate  a  change 
 in  any  profession  from  within;  there  is  scarcely  a  single 
 art,  science,  profession,  business,  or  trade  in  which  the 
 most  conspicuous  improvements  have  not  arisen  from  indi- 
 viduals who  are,  so  to  speak,  "  outsiders."  It  has  certainly 
 been  so  with  the  Established  Church,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
 decide,  in  the  present  day,  whether  she  has  been  most 
 influenced  by  "  Methodism,"  or  by  "  Papism." 
 
 To  such  a  church,  the  utterance  of  a  child  who  has 
 no  reputation  to  lose,  who  has  not  entered  into  the  frater- 
 nity of  weavers,  and  who  ventures  to  express  the  thoughts 
 which  pass  through  his  mind,  may  be  of  service ;  a  saying 
 for  which  a  bishop  or  other  dignitary  of  the  church  is 
 punished,  a  layman  can  enunciate  with  comparative  impu- 
 nity. A  writer  who  is  not  in  the  clerical  trade  union 
 cannot  be  driven  with  ignominy  from  the  weavers'  guild; 
 for  him  excommunication  is  Hke  the  mock  thunder  which 
 he  has  heard  behind  the  stage  of  a  theatre,  it  is  literally 
 vox  et  lyrceterea  nihil,  and  the  ordinary  volley  of  hard  words 
 which  are  hurled  so  copiously  by  priestly  clerks  upon  their 
 adversaries,  are  to  him  evidence  of  weakness  in  argument. 
 
 Now  it  is  impossible,  in  our  country,  at  the  present 
 time,  for  any  one  to  deprive  the  layman  of  the  right  of 
 private  judgment  in  matters  of  faith  ;  it  is  equally  impossible 
 
to  compel  bim  to  treat  one  set  of  writings  upon  a  totally 
 different  plan  to  that  which  is  followed  in  respect  of  all 
 others.  If  a  theologian  demonstrates  that  certain  Grecian 
 oracles  must  have  been  of  human  origin,  because  they  were 
 obscure,  or  capable  of  two  distinct  interpretations,  he  cannot 
 prevent  his  hearer  from  applying  the  same  test  to  utterances 
 which  are  represented  to  have  been  made  and  recorded  in 
 Italy  or  Palestine.  If  a  "  divine  "  asserts  that  all  Scripture 
 which  has  been  believed  in  for  a  certain  number  of  centuries 
 must  be  accepted  as  true,  not  in  consequence  of  research, 
 but  as  a  matter  of  faith,  he  cannot  refuse  credence  to  the 
 Vedas  of  Hindostan  or  to  the  Koran  of  Mahomet.  If,  when 
 arguing  with  the  Brahmin  or  the  Mussulman,  the  British 
 missionary  attempts  to  show  that  the  faith  of  either  one 
 or  the  other  must  necessarily  be  worthless,  in  consequence 
 of  the  absurdities  or  inconsistencies  of  the  sacred  writings 
 on  which  that  faith  is  built,  he  cannot  refuse  to  endure 
 an  attack  upon  his  own  scriptures  and  theology ;  indeed 
 we  have  the  very  highest  authority  for  saying,  "  with  what 
 measure  ye  mete  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again  "  (Matt. 
 vii.  2).  We  must,  then,  be  prepared  to  defend  ourselves, 
 as  well  as  to  attack  others,  and  this  we  cannot  do  satis- 
 factorily unless  we  are  sure  of  our  weapons.  David  trusted 
 more  to  the  sling  which  he  knew,  than  to  the  panoply  of 
 which  he  was  ignorant ;  and  even  Don  Quixote  tried,  by 
 assaulting  his  own  helmet,  to  ascertain  whether  it  would 
 resist  an  attack,  although,  when  he  found  it  to  be  frail, 
 he  did  not  repeat  the  experiment.  Surely,  if  the  temporal 
 warrior  tests  his  armour  and  examines  the  strength  of  his 
 position  ere  he  ventures  to  tight,  the  spiritual  combatant 
 ought  to  do  so  too ;  he  should  not  trust  anything  to 
 assertion,  but,  according  to  the  direction  given  by  the 
 Apostle  Paul  (1  Thess.  v.  21),  he  ought  to  "prove  all 
 things,  and    hold    fast    that  which  is   good."      When    once 
 
an  examination  of  fundamental  points  is  found  to  be 
 necessary,  it  is  far  better  to  make  it  thorough  and 
 complete  than  to  be  content  with  a  careless  or  superficial 
 inquiry ;  and  it  is  wiser  to  originate  such  an  inquiry  one's 
 self,  with  an  earnest  and  friendly  spirit,  if  we  are  really 
 interested  in  the  result,  than  to  be  driven  to  the  inquiry 
 by  an  enemy. 
 
 There  are  few  observers  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  who 
 do  not  recognise  the  fact,  that  the  influence  of  the  clergy, 
 as  a  body  proposing  to  be  leaders  of  religious  thought,  is 
 declining  in  England ;  and  such  observers  are  equally 
 aware  that  the  priestly  order  complain  of  a  gradually 
 increasing  infidelity  amongst  their  flocks.  The  cause  for 
 this  is  readily  discovered,  viz.,  that  the  hierarchy  preach 
 doctrines  which  are  repugnant  to  reason  and  common 
 sense,  but  which  are  declared  to  be  necessary  to  salvation ; 
 and  the  laity,  being  disgusted  at  the  style  in  which  they  find 
 the  Almighty  painted  by  His  ministers,  determine  to  be 
 their  own  priests,  and  to  adore  Him  in  a  mode  which 
 they  think  more  appropriate  and  reverent  than  that  promul- 
 gated by  the  clergy. 
 
 As  in  all  argument  between  opposite  parties  there 
 must  be  some  common  ground  on  which  both  can  agree, 
 so  in  discussion  between  the  priest  and  him  whom  he 
 styles  an  infidel  there  must  be  some  propositions  mutually 
 conceded.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  hierarch 
 takes  his  stand  upon  the  Bible,  as  being  both  "inspired" 
 and  "infallible;"  but  the  philosopher,  declaring  that  the 
 first  disputation  must  be  upon  that  very  point,  does 
 not  allow  that  the  question  shall  be  so  "begged."  The 
 divine  must  then  retire  from  the  contest,  Hke  a  fainting 
 standard  bearer,  or  he  must  be  prepared  to  give  an  answer 
 respecting  his  belief  (1  Pet.  iii.  15).  If  he  elect  the  latter 
 alternative,    he    mil    find    that  his    opponent   will    not    be 
 
8 
 
 content  with,  nor  even  recognise  any  force  in,  those  flimsy 
 arguments  with  which  the  clergy  are  usually  furnished,  as 
 answers  to  difficulties,  and  which  they  deem  to  be  conclusive. 
 Nay,  as  the  priest  himself  proceeds,  he  will  recognise,  if 
 his  mind  has  been  mathematically  trained,  the  necessity 
 of  a  strictly  logical  process  of  induction  from  one  premise 
 to  another.  He  will  have  to  ask  himself  whether  he  must 
 not  do  to  others  as  he  would  be  done  by,  and  whether 
 he  ought  not  to  judge  individuals  who  existed  in  the  past 
 as  he  would  if  they  existed  in  the  present.  He  will  have 
 to  enquire  of  himself  why  he  should  reject  the  ^^sions  of 
 Swedenborg,  Irving,  Brothers,  and  Brigham  Young,  and 
 yet  revere  the  reveries  of  Ezeldel.  Before  prolonging 
 the  controversy,  however,  with  one  who  refuses  to  take 
 the  ijjse  dixit  of  another,  such  a  thoughtful  priest  as  we 
 are  describing  would  probably  shut  himself  up  in  his 
 closet,  and  investigate  the  subject  alone.  Should  he  do 
 so,  he  would  probably  follow  some  such  train  of  reasoning 
 as  the  following. 
 
 There  is  no  a  liriori  reason  for  believing  that  every  man 
 who  assumes  to  be  the  mouth-piece  of  the  Almighty  must 
 ij)So  facto  be  credited  as  a  prophet.  We  have  indeed  very 
 high  authority  for  doubting  each  individual  as  he  arises ; 
 for  St.  John  says,  "  Believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits, 
 whether  they  are  of  God ;  because  many  false  prophets  are 
 gone  out  into  the  world"  (1  John  iv.  1).  If  then  we  are 
 bound  to  examine  all,  we  must  adopt  some  method  by  which 
 to  test  them.     Not  one  is  to  be  taken  upon  trust. 
 
 Now  our  own  common  sense  enables  us  to  investigate  the 
 pretensions  of  a  living  man  whom  we  can  watch,  but  when  we 
 only  know  the  'spirits,'  the  'lawgivers,'  or  the  'prophets'  by 
 their  records,  we  cannot  examine  the  men  themselves,  we  must 
 therefore  interrogate  their  wi'itings.  It  is  then  as  incum- 
 bent  upon   us  to  hold  an  inquest   upon   the    scriptures  of 
 
antiquity,  as  upon  the  mental  condition  of  any  one  who 
 should  now  assume  to  be  that  modern  Ehas,  who  is  expected 
 by  many  to  appear  before  the  second  coming  of  the  Sa\uour, 
 as  indicated  in  Matthew  xvii.  11. 
 
 The  critical  scholar  of  to-day  has  no  scruple  in  examining 
 the  writings  of  Herodotus  and  Livy,  Thucydides  and  Tacitus, 
 Homer  and  Virgil ;  in  investigating  the  documents  used  in 
 compiling  their  volumes,  in  testing  their  acumen,  the  extent 
 to  which  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  warped  by  their 
 feelings,  their  credulity,  their  boasting,  the  period  when 
 they  flourished,  &c.,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  amount  of 
 faith  to  be  accorded  to  their  statements.  The  cautious 
 historian  of  Greece  and  Italy  dissects  with  careful  hand  the 
 writings  from  which  he  draws  his  information ;  and  when  he 
 tinds  the  statement  that  "  an  ox  spoke  with  a  human  voice," 
 he  makes  use  of  the  allegation  rather  to  prove  the  existence  of 
 such  reports,  as  indicating  a  faith  in  omens,  than  to  demon- 
 strate the  fact  that  Roman  beeves  talked  Latin  in  ancient 
 times.  It  is  true  that  some,  of  easy  credence,  might  adduce 
 the  anecdote  to  prove  that  Italian  oxen  were  endowed  \nth 
 powers  as  miraculous  as  Aramaean  asses,  and  proceed  to 
 investigate  why  it  should  be  that  one  animal  spoke  to  some 
 purpose,  whilst  the  other  perhaps  only  said  "  Moo,"  but  we 
 opine  that  the  generality  would  regard  the  one  account  much 
 as  they  do  the  other. 
 
 If  then  the  scholar  is  not  only  allowed  but  obliged  to  be 
 cautious  when  writing  the  history  of  ancient  and  modern 
 kingdoms,  it  surely  behoves  him  to  be  doubly  careful  when 
 investigating  the  records  of  an  ancient  but  numerically  small 
 race,  whose  boastfulness  equals,  if  it  docs  not  exceed,  that  of 
 all  other  orientals.  Now  it  so  happens  that  the  records  of  the 
 Jews  have  come  down  to  us  in  a  certain  definite  order,  and 
 authors  have  been  assigned  to  each  of  them ;  but  we  must 
 not  therefore  implicity    believe    in   the   correctness    of  the 
 
10 
 
 arrangement,  or  of  the  authorship.  Liician  was  a  very 
 voluminous  writer,  and  his  words  have  come  to  us  arranged 
 in  a  certain  way ;  yet  we  do  not  therefore  believe  that  they 
 are  all  from  his  own  pen,  or  that  they  are  arranged  as  they 
 emanated  from  his  brain.  The  same  is  true  of  Homer. 
 Even  our  own  Shakespeare's  work  has  been,  and  still  is, 
 subject  to  a  rigid  examination,,  and  many  a  discussion  has 
 ensued  upon  the  authorship  of  certain  plays  in  the  collection 
 which  bears  his  name.  There  has  been  even  a  lively  debate 
 whether  the  man  whom  we  know  as  the  "swan  of  Avon" 
 was  the  real  author  of  the  works  which  are  attributed  to 
 him. 
 
 Without  entering  upon  questions  of  the  precedence  of 
 one  comedy  of  Shakespeare  to  another,  we  can  readily  under- 
 stand that  playwrights  draw  much  of  their  inspiration  from 
 what  takes  place  in  the  world  around  them ;  and  consequently 
 that,  if  we  have  means  of  ascertaining  the  date  of  certain 
 customs,  we  may  arrive  at  a  good  idea  of  the  period  of  any 
 given  drama.  The  historian  uses  similar  means  to  ascer- 
 tain the  probable  period  when  a  particular  work  was  com- 
 posed, and  he  may  fairly  regard  the  Old  Testament  as  he 
 would  a  collection  of  ancient  "Elegant  Extracts,"  or 
 "  Collectanea,"  made  by  unknown  authors  or  collectors.  In 
 a  criticism  of  the  Bible,  similar  to  that  which  is  undertaken 
 here,  the  Germans  are  believed  to  stand  foremost,  but  from 
 a  total  ignorance  of  their  language  (a  misfortune  which  I 
 deeply  regret)  I  am  unable  to  make  use  of  their  writings. 
 I  only  know  them  through  such  translations  of  their  books 
 as  have  been  introduced  into  the  "  Pentateuch "  of  the 
 Bishop  of  Natal.^      This  reference  to  the   writings    of  Dr. 
 
 1  Since  wiiting  the  above,  I  have  become  acquainted  with  one  of  tbe  volumes  of 
 the  History  of  Israel,  by  llwald,  clothed  in  an  English  dress,  as  edited  by  Professor 
 Knssell  Martinuau.  Loudon,  1807.  After  a  perusal  of  the  book,  I  venture  with 
 diffidence  to  express  my  opinion  of  the  German  savant,  whose  inHuciice  in  the  world 
 
11 
 
 Oolenso  will  suffice  to  show  that  the  author  is  conversant 
 with  his  labours.  Of  the  Bishoi^  and  his  works  it  is  difficult 
 to  speak  without  provoking  controversy,  hut  I  may  perhaps 
 be  permitted  to  say  that  I  regard  him  as  one  of  the  most 
 noble  members  which  the  Church  of  England  possesses ;  he 
 will  stand  in  history  as  one  of  our  distinguished  reformers, 
 who  preferred  obloquy  for  teaching  what  was  right,  to 
 praise  for  preaching  what  he  knew  to  be  wrong.  He  has 
 been  treated  much  in  the  same  manner  as  Jeremiah  was  by 
 the  Princes  of  Judah  (see  Jer.  xxxviii.  6),  except  that  he  has 
 only  been  excommunicated  verbally,  instead  of  being  driven 
 from  men  into  the  mud  of  a  dungeon.  Should  these  pages 
 ever  meet  his  eye,  he  will  find  many  points  in  which  I  cor- 
 dially agree  with  him  ;  and  even  in  otbers  where  I  dissent 
 from  his  published  views,  I  trust  that  he  will  be  unable  to 
 find  the  smallest  evidence  of  captiousness.  Since  my  o^vu 
 views  may  be  regarded  as  supplemental  to  his,  and,  so  far 
 as  I  know,  entirely  original,  it  is  probably  unnecessary    to 
 
 of  letters  is  said  to  be  vei^  great.  I  expected  to  see  a  giant,  but  only  found  a  dwarf. 
 The  logic  of  the  book  is  what  I  should  designate  as  "  contemptible."  It  adopts  the 
 tactics  of  the  cuttle  fish,  which  tries  to  escape  from  a  danger  in  a  cloud  of  blacluiess. 
 "  It  may  be"  is  constantly  used  as  if  it  were  equivalent  to  "  it  is."  The  question  at 
 issue  is  "begged,"  and  then  proved  (?)  by  arguments  of  feminine  feebleness. 
 Ewald,  indeed,  throughout  the  volume  seems  to  me  to  resemble  a  man  who  asserts 
 that  a  fox  is  in  a  ce.taiu  coppice,  and  then  goes  beating  about  the  bush  to  show  his 
 belief,  but  who  is  uuable  to  show  even  the  tip  of  reynard's  tail,  much  less  to  prove 
 his  presence.  Having  formed  such  an  opinion  of  this  German  writer,  I  consider  it 
 quite  unnecessary  to  quote  him.  I  have  no  more  respect  for  his  judgment,  than  I 
 should  have  for  that  of  a  "  blue  stocking,"  who  asserted  that  there  was  a  foundation 
 :n  fact  for  all  the  stories  which  ave  told  of  "  Jack  the  Cxiant  Killer,"  and  the  hero 
 of  the  Bean  Stalk.  Of  Ewald's  classical  attainments,  my  unfortunate  ignorance  of 
 German  forbids  mo  to  form  an  elaborate  opinion.  That  they  are  transcendent  I 
 am  quite  prepared  to  allow.  But  profound  scholars  are  not  ..Iways  the  mo.t  cuul.o.s 
 ■xnd  logical  of  thinkers.  I  have  heard  of  a  learned  m:uhematical  student  who 
 ascertained  by  books  that  a  "starling"  was  a  "crow;"  and  I  can  imagine  an 
 Ewald  proving  the  existence  of  "  fiery  flying  serpents,"  by  demonstrating  the 
 existence  of  "' pterodactyles."  Such  ratiocination,  however,  is  of  the  "forcible 
 feeble"  class,  and  can  only  be  popular  amongst  those  who  deUght  to  cover  the 
 beauteous  Truth  with  the  filthy  rags  of  superstition. 
 
12 
 
 make  any  farther  acknowledgment  of  the  high  respect  I 
 entertain  of  the  Bishop's  labours,  of  my  indebtedness  to 
 them  for  many  valuable  thoughts,  and  for  a  curtailment  of 
 that  labour  which,  had  I  been  obliged  to  undertake  it,  would 
 have  prevented  my  adopting  my  present  line  of  argument, 
 from  the  enormous  amount  of  time  which  would  have  been 
 requisite  to  enable  me  to  clear  the  ground  before  making 
 an  advance. 
 
13 
 
 CHAPTEK  II. 
 
 Names  masculine  and  feminine.    Baal  and  Bosheth.     Jeliovic  names  very  rarely 
 have  reference  to  Mahadeva.     Names  -with  Jah  and  El.     Questions  arising 
 therefrom.       To  be  tested  by  the  law  of  evidence.      One  witness  insufficient  to 
 establish  a  case  in  law.     In  Theology  an  ipse  dixit  is  regarded  as  paramount. 
 This  suits  mental  laziness.      Hence  all  hierarchs  wish  to  teach  their  religion  to 
 the  young.     Sectarianism  kept  up  by  religion  being  taught  in  schools.     Com- 
 pared with  the  stunting  of  woman's  feet  in  China  —  and  this  again  with  bigotry. 
 Some  thinkers  refuse  to  be  stunted  in  iutellectual  growth.        Many  run  from 
 restraint,  into  extremes  of  licentiousness.       Some  are  jihilosophical,  and  only 
 remove  the  trammels.       Judicial  investigation  into  the  case  of   the  Jews  and 
 their   Scriptures.     Testimony  or  silence  of   old  writers.     Jews  not  known  in 
 Egypt.     Not  known  to  Homer  or  Herodotus.     Not  known  to  Sesostris.     Cir- 
 cumcision first  practised  by  Ethiopians,  Egyptians,  and  Colchians.       Then 
 copied  by  Phoenicians  and  Syrians  of  Palestine.     These  the  only  nations  known 
 who  were  cut.      Monuments  of   Sesostris.     The  account  of   Sesostris  incom- 
 patible with  Jewish  history.     The  Jews  not  known  in  time  of  Rameses.     The 
 Jews  a    braggart  nation— their  evidence   of  themselves  analysed— probable 
 population  of   Jerusalem.     Exaggeration  of  historians.     The  Jews  a  cowardly 
 race.      Examples  of   pusillanimity.     Solomon  unknown  to  fame.     Sketch  of 
 Abraham  and  his  descendants  —  longevity  and  fertility  of  Jews  in  Egypt,  and 
 of  Canaanites  — increased  height  of  latter.      Midianites  destroyed.      Jewish 
 conquest,  Jewish  servitude.      Nature  of  ancient  warfare.      Midianites  resusci- 
 tated-their  wondrous  fertility.    The  times  of  the  Judges.    CivH  war.    Duration 
 of  Judges.    Longevity  in  Palestine.    No  law  in  time  of  Samuel.    Saul's  rise  and 
 fall.     Civil  war  again.     David's  rise  — capture  of  Jerusalem  —  civil  war  again. 
 Solomon— no  law  known.     Disruption  of   kingdom.     Shishak  pillages  Jeru- 
 salem.     Population.     Miracles  at  a  distance.       Bad   kings  — introduction  of 
 Kedeshim,  and  serpent  worship.      Babylonish  captivity.     Absence  of  Manu- 
 scripts.    How  history  is  written.     Eeference  to  the  article  on  Obadiah. 
 
 It  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  examine  into  the  meaning 
 of  all  tlie  names  borne  by  individuals  referred  to  in  the 
 Old  Testament,  and  to  go  through  the  varied  reading 
 required  for  their  elucidation,  without  being  struck  with 
 certain  prominent  facts.  Amongst  these  we  may  enumerate 
 the  circumstance  that  the  majority  of  cognomens  are  com- 
 
14 
 
 bined  with  certain  masculine  attributes,  such  as  "  firmness," 
 "strength,"  "hardness,"  "power,"  "might,"  "prominence," 
 "height,"  "endurance,"  "activity,"  and  the  hke,  whilst  a 
 few  are  characteristic  of  such  feminine  qualities  as  "  grace," 
 "beauty,"  "compassion,"  "favour,"  "fertility,"  &c»  Baal  is 
 at  one  period  "lord,"  at  another  time  he  is  bosheth,  "shame." 
 The  most  remarkable,  however,  of  all  the  conclusions  forced 
 upon  us  is  the  fact  that  names  are  divisible  into  those 
 characterised  by  the  use  of  the  word  Jah,  and  those  which 
 are  compounded  with  Al,  El,  or  II.  We  may  divide  the 
 Old  Testament  into  Elohistic  and  Jehovistic,  as  distinctly 
 by  the  cognomens  employed  as  by  the  style  of  the  writer 
 who  records  them.  The  ideas  associated  with  the  one  are 
 distinctly  different  from  those  associated  with  the  other. 
 The  names  into  which  ^^,  el  or  al,  enters  have  reference  to 
 "the  Almighty,"  to  "the  sun,"  and  to  "the  phallus."  There 
 are  very  few  Hebrew  names  compounded  with  Jah  in  which 
 the  phallic  element  is  introduced.  Notwithstanding  this 
 remarkable  distinction,  we  see  that  names  compounded  with 
 ^^  and  1^1,  el  and  jah,  stand,  as  it  were,  side  by  side  in  every 
 part  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  we  find,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
 that  ''^,  el,  survives  '^l,  jali.^ 
 
 Upon  this  arises  the  natural  inquiry,  Did  the  two  ever 
 run  together  ?  If  so,  did  they  originate  at  the  same  period, 
 or  was  one  antecedent  to  the  other ;  and  if  so,  which  was 
 the  oldest  ?  In  other  words,  What  is  the  real  value  of  that 
 which  passes  for   Jewish  history  ?  can  any  inference  worth 
 
 1  Altbongh  the  priority  of  one  of  these  names  over  the  other  appears  to  he,  at 
 first  sight,  of  little  importance,  it  involves  the  question  whether  worship  of,  or 
 veneration  for,  the  Sun  or  the  unseen  God  preceded,  followed,  or  was  co-existeut 
 with  that  of  his  earthly  emblem,  Mahadeva.  If  we  could,  by  the  histoiy  of  one 
 people,  ascertain  to  which  form  we  are  to  assign  priority,  that  of  itself  would  enable 
 us  to  iufcr  the  course  of  the  theological  ideas  of  other  people.  Kre  we  can,  however, 
 trust  the  writings  even  of  the  Hebrews,  we  must  inquire  into  their  claims  to  authen- 
 ticity. 
 
15 
 
 anything  be  drawn  from  the  story  of  the  Old  Testament?  and 
 how  much  real  history  is  to  be  found  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  ? 
 There  are  no  direct  means  b}^  which  we  can  answer  these 
 questions,  and  the  indirect  ones  are  few,  but,  such  as 
 they  are,  we  must  make  the  best  of  them.  In  doing 
 so,  it  will  be  necessary  to  proceed  upon  some  plan ; 
 and  we  shall  not  act  amiss  if  we  endeavour  to  make 
 out  a  case  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  adopted  by  a 
 lawyer,  when  he  is  preparing  for  the  trial  of  an  issue 
 before  a  learned  judge. 
 
 According  to  the  English  laws  respecting  evidence,  it 
 is  necessary  to  adduce  other  testimony  than  that  of  the 
 prosecutor  and  defendant,  to  prove  the  case.  Until  very 
 latel}'^,  indeed,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  was  allowed 
 to  give  evidence  at  all.  In  no  instance  that  I  am  aware 
 of  is  the  allegation  of  an  individual  sufficient  to  procure 
 a  conviction  on  the  one  hand,  or  an  escape  on  the  other. 
 In  other  countries,  France  for  example,  the  defendant  and 
 the  prosecutor  are  not  only  allowed  to  give  evidence,  but 
 the  first  is  cross-examined  with  the  utmost  rigour,  and  it 
 often  happens  that  he  is  condemned  more  from  his  own 
 testimony  than  that  of  other  witnesses.  Whatever  opinion 
 we  may  form  of  the  utility  of  either  plan,  it  is  certain 
 that  very  few  amongst  ourselves  ever  think  of  acting 
 either  upon  the  one  or  the  other  in  matters  of  faith;  nor, 
 indeed,  are  we  encouraged  by  our  spiritual  guides  to 
 investigate  critically  those  things  which  concern  ourselves 
 as  moral,  intelligent,  and  immortal  beings. 
 
 As  a  general  rule  we  are  taught  and  encouraged  by 
 example  to  believe  implicitly  the  testimony  of  an  individual, 
 respecting  himself,  and  to  consider  it  to  be  final,  not  only 
 as  regards  his  own  proceedings,  but  those  of  other  people. 
 Such  practice  is  manifestly  wrong,  and  all  who  have 
 respect   for   the    rational    powers   of  man    should   have   no 
 
16 
 
 scruple  in  denouncing  and  changing  it.  Yet,  though 
 the  judgment  assents  to  this  proposition,  there  is  so 
 strong  a  disinclination  in  the  mind  of  most  men  to 
 trouble  themselves  about  matters  which,  in  childhood, 
 they  have  been  taught  to  believe,  that  the  majority, 
 even  amongst  the  highly  educated,  prefer  to  let  things 
 take  their  course,  rather  than  attempt  to  correct  them. 
 The  clergy  of  all  denominations  are  aware  of  this  ten- 
 dency, and  consequently  strive  with  all  their  might  to 
 dominate  over  the  religious  instruction  of  the  young. 
 They  all  hold,  and  few  scruple  to  avow,  the  belief,  that 
 if  the  religion  they  teach  Avere  to  be  put  off  until  the 
 mind  of  the  individual  had  attained  its  maturity,  the 
 person  would  never  be  taught  dogmatic  faith  at  all. 
 Such  spiritual  enthusiasts,  or,  more  properly,  "enslavers," 
 cordially  agree  with,  and  often  quote,  the  proverb,  *'  Train 
 up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old 
 he  will  not  depart  from  it"  (Prov.  xxii.  6).  By  this  means 
 sectarianism  is  kept  up,  and  the  growth  of  sound  know- 
 ledge stunted.  We  see  a  notable  instance,  in  China,  of 
 the  propensity  of  the  female  to  run  in  the  same  groove 
 into  which  she  was  forced  during  childhood.  In  that 
 country,  we  are  told  that  it  is  fashionable  for  rich  women  ^ 
 to  have  small  feet,  to  insure  which  the  child  is  obliged  to 
 undergo,  during  its  youth,  a  very  painful  process  of  ban- 
 daging. When  maturity  arrives,  we,  as  Englishmen,  should 
 think  it  very  natural  that  the  adult  should  cast  off  the 
 imprisoning  ligatures,  and  allow  the  foot  to  assume  its 
 natural  shape.  Or,  if  this  were  impossible,  we  should 
 fancy  that  the  mother  who  had  endured  the  misery  her- 
 self would  spare  her  child  the  suflcriugs  which  she  had 
 herself  experienced ;  but  no  such  thing  takes  place.  The 
 stunted  foot  of  the  Chinese  damsel  is  as  congenial  to  her 
 as  is  a  contracted  mind  to  the  British  or  other  bigot ;    and 
 
17 
 
 there  is  no  more  inclination  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a 
 natural  understanding  in  a  Pekin  court  lady,  than  there  is 
 in  an  European  Papist,  or  any  other  blind  religionist. 
 
 But  all  minds  are  not  framed  in  the  same  mould,  and 
 some,  recognising  the  trammels  which  have  been  so  dili- 
 gently woven  round  the  free  use  of  their  intellect  in  youth, 
 throw  them  off  as  their  years  advance.  Many  of  these,  acting 
 upon  that  pendulum-like  style  of  action  which  is  so  common 
 amongst  men,  pass  from  an  excess  of  religious  zeal  into  an 
 excess  of  licentiousness,  and  demonstrate  their  hatred  of  the 
 old  restraints  by  throwing  off  all  restrictions.  Others,  more 
 philosophically  disposed,  endeavour  only  to  remove  such 
 fetters  as  are  real  hindrances  to  the  manly  development  of 
 the  mental  powers. 
 
 Guided  by  a  judicial  carefulness,  let  us  now  attempt  to 
 investigate  the  evidence  laid  before  us  in  the  Old  Testament, 
 and  especially  the  testimony  which  it  bears  respecting  the 
 Jews.  We  may,  I  think,  fairly  divide  our  case  into  two 
 parts,  the  one  of  which  is  the  attestation  of  bystanders,  the 
 other  being  the  depositions  of  the  individual. 
 
 We  commence  by  interrogating  history,  and  taking  the 
 data  afforded  by  the  silence  or  the  speech  of  ancient  writers.^ 
 The  monuments  of  Egypt  which  abound  in  sculptures  of 
 all  kinds,  and  writings  without  end,  give  us  no  indication 
 whatever  of  a  great  people  having  resided  amongst  them  as 
 slaves,  and  of  having  escaped  from  bondage ;  but  they  do 
 tell  of  a  nation  which  enslaved  them,  and  which  was  subse- 
 quently subdued.  To  conclude  that  the  Hyksos,  the  people 
 which  we  here  refer  to,  were  Jews,  would  be  as  sensible  as 
 to  call   the    Moors,    who   conquered    Spain,    Carthaginians, 
 
 2  The  reader  who  is  interested  in  this  subject  may  consult  with  profit,  Heathen 
 Records  to  the  Jeicish  Scnpture  Hislory,  by  Kev.  Dr.  Giles.  London.  James 
 Cornish,  297,  High  Holborn,  8vo.,  pp.  172.  Also  Ancient  Fragments  of  the  Phoeni- 
 cian, Chaldcean,  Egyptian,  Tyrian,  and  other  tvriters,  by  J.  P.  Cory.  Loudon, 
 Pickering,  1832,  8vo.,  pp.  358. 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 because  both  came  from  an  African  locality.  Homer,  whose 
 era  is  generally  supposed  to  be  962  b.  c,  and  certainly  prior 
 to  684  B.  c,  does  not  mention  the  Jews,  although  he  does 
 mention  Sidon  {II.  vi.  290),  and  the  Phoenicians  {II.  xxxiii. 
 743).  In  Od.  iv.  227,  615,  we  hear  of  Paris  and  Helen 
 visiting  Sidon,  and  Homer  tells  us  {Od.  xv.  117)  that  Mene- 
 laus  was  for  some  time  in  the  house  of  Phcedimus,  king  of  the 
 Sidonians,  but  the  poet  makes  no  mention  of  the  wonderful 
 Solomon,  the  fame  of  whom,  we  are  told,  went  out  into  all 
 lands,  so  that  ''  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  sought  his  pre- 
 sence" (2  Chron.  ix.  23),  and  whose  reign  was  barely  forty  years 
 before  the  time  assigned  to  Homer,  or  the  Trojan  War. 
 Herodotus,  who  flourished  about  480  b.  c,  and  was  a  close 
 observer  and  an  indefatigable  traveller,  never  mentions  the 
 nation  of  the  Jews ;  and  though  he  gives  us  a  long  account 
 of  the  history  of  ancient  Egypt,  there  is  not  a  word  to 
 indicate  that  its  early  kings  had  once  held  a  nation  captive, 
 though  he  does  tell  us,  book  ii.  112,  how  Tyrian  PhoBnicians 
 dwelt  round  a  temple  of  Vulcan  at  Memphis,  the  whole  tract 
 being  called  the  Tyrian  camp  ;  and  he  remarks,  book  ii.  116, 
 that  Homer  was  acquainted  with  the  wanderings  of  Paris  in 
 Egypt,  for  Syria  borders  on  Egypt,  and  the  Phoenicians,  to 
 whom  Sidon  belongs,  inhabit  S^^ia.  After  visiting  Tyre,  it 
 would  appear  that  the  historian  went  to  Babylon,  of  which 
 he  gives  a  long  account  without  making  any  reference  to  the 
 captive  Jews,  their  ancient  capital,  or  their  peculiar  worship ; 
 although  it  is  probable  that  many  were  then  captive  in 
 Babylon,  and  Daniel  was  scarcely  dead.  In  book  ii.  102,  3,  4, 
 he  gives  an  account  of  the  army  of  Sesostris,  b.  c.  1308- 
 1489,  who  must  have  marched  through  Syi-ia  on  his 
 way  northward  to  the  Scythians,  and  whose  soldiers,  left 
 behind  after  his  return,  became  Colchians,  and  says,  "  the 
 Colchians,  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians  arc  the  only  nations 
 of   the    world    who    from   the   first  have  practised  circum- 
 
19 
 
 cision.  For  the  Phoenicians,  and  the  Syrians  in  Pales- 
 tine, acknowledge  that  they  learnt  the  custom  from  the 
 Egyptians;  and  the  Sjrrians  about  Thermodon  and  the 
 river  Parthenius,  with  their  neighbours  the  Macrones  confess 
 that  they  very  lately  learnt  the  same  custom  from  the 
 Colchians.  And  these  are  the  only  nations  that  are  circum- 
 cised, and  thus  appear  evidently  to  act  in  the  same  manner 
 as  the  Egyptians ; "  the  historian  very  clearly  knowing 
 nothing  about  the  Jews  as  a  nation,  if  they  existed  as  such. 
 "But  of  the  Eg3'ptians  and  Ethiopians  I  am  unable  to  say," 
 writes  the  historian,  "which  learnt  it  from  the  other,  for  it  is 
 evidently  a  very  ancient  custom ;  and  this  appears  to  me  a 
 strong  proof  that  the  Phoenicians  learnt  this  practice  through 
 their  intercourse  with  the  Egyptians,  for  all  the  Phoenicians 
 who  have  any  commerce  with  Greece  no  longer  imitate  the 
 Egyptians  in  this  usage,  but  abstain  from  circumcising  their 
 children."  Respecting  the  expedition  of  Sesostris,  the  same 
 author  remarks,  "as  to  the  pillars  which  Sesostris,  king  of 
 Egypt,  erected  in  the  different  countries,  most  of  them 
 are  evidently  no  longer  in  existence,  but  in  Syrian  Palestine, 
 I  myself  saw  some  still  remaining,  and  the  inscriptions 
 before  mentioned  still  on  them,  and  the  private  parts  of  a 
 woman."  The  inscription  (we  learn  from  book  ii.,  c.  102,) 
 declared  the  name  or  country  of  Sesostris,  or  Rameses  the 
 great,  and  the  male  or  female  organs  were  used  as  an  emblem 
 of  the  manliness  or  cowardice  of  the  peoi^le  whom  he  con- 
 quered. The  date  of  Sesostris  is  not  exactly  ascertained,  but 
 it  is  generally  placed  between  b.  c.  1308  and  1489. 
 
 Let  us  now  consider  what  this  expedition  of  Sesostris 
 involves.  He  could  certainly  not  have  marched  without  an 
 army,  and  we  find  that,  at  a  period  variously  estimated 
 between  the  limits  1491  and  1648  b.  c,  the  whole  of  the 
 Egyptian  army  was  destroyed  in  the  Red  Sea  (Ex.  xiv.  6,  et 
 seq.)    Now  it  is  stated,  in  Exod.  xii.  29,  30,  that  prior  to  this 
 
20 
 
 destruction  of  the  armed  host  there  had  been  a  slaughter  of 
 every  first-born  son,  and  all  the  first-born  of  cattle,  it  is 
 tolerably  clear  that  Sesostris  could  not  have  got  an  army 
 powerful  enough  for  invading  Syria,  immediately  after  the 
 "  exodus"  of  Israel  from  Egypt.  If  then  we  place  the  date 
 of  the  exodus  at  any  earlier  period  than  1491  b.  c,  so  as  to 
 allow  time  for  Sesostris  to  collect  an  army  in  b.  c.  1489,  we 
 arrive  at  the  certainty  that  this  king  must  have  overrun 
 Palestine,  and  conquered  the  Jews,  after  their  settlement  in 
 Canaan.  This  conquest  too  must  have  occurred,  according 
 to  the  ordinary  chronology,  during  the  period  covered  by  the 
 records  in  the  book  of  Judges.  Now  this  book  describes  an 
 enslavement  by  the  kings  of  Mesopotamia,  Moab,  Midian, 
 Ammon,  Canaan  and  Philistia,  but  no  mention  is  made  of 
 the  invasion  of  Rameses.  That  the  expedition  of  Sesostris 
 did  take  place  during  the  time  of  the  Judges,  we  have  the 
 evidence  of  the  book  of  Joshua,  such  as  it  is,  for  therein  all 
 the  cities  of  Canaan  are  described  as  ''standing  in  their 
 strength,"  and  being  full  of  men ;  which  could  not  have  been 
 the  case  after  the  destructive  march  of  the  Egyptian  con- 
 queror. That  the  expedition  did  not  happen  after  the  time 
 of  Samuel,  the  book  which  goes  by  the  prophet's  name 
 abundantly  testifies. 
 
 If  then  we  are  to  credit  the  account  of  Herodotus,  and 
 the  interpretation  of  certain  hierogljTphics,  we  must  conclude 
 (1)  that  the  Jewish  race,  if  it  then  existed,  was  a  cowardly 
 one ;  (2)  that  their  historians  have  suppressed  a  very  impor- 
 tant invasion  and  conquest  of  the  nation ;  or  (3)  that  the 
 Hebrews  as  a  nation  had  no  existence  at  the  time  of 
 Sesostris. 
 
 From  the  preceding  considerations,  we  conclude  that 
 the  Jews  were  of  no  account  amongst  their  neighbours, 
 and  that,  if  they  existed  at  all  in  the  time  of  Rameses 
 the   Great,  they   were    as  cowardly  a  race   as  they  showed 
 
21 
 
 themselves  to    be   in  the  time  of  Kehoboam,    when    their 
 city  was  plundered  by  Shishak.^ 
 
 When  once  we  separate  our  ideas  of  the  Hebrew  nation 
 from  the  bragging  forms  in  which  they  are  presented  to 
 our  notice,  we  readily  see  that  the  people  could  not, 
 by  any  possibility,  be  ever  a  great  or  powerful  nation. 
 The  whole  extent  of  habitable  Palestine  is  scarcely  equal 
 in  area  to  the  county  of  Nottingham ;  and  its  inhabitants, 
 being  purely  agricultural,  could  never  have  greatly  exceeded 
 in  number  those  who  are  now  dwelling  on  its  soil.  Even 
 granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the  modern 
 population  is  only  half  that  of  the  ancient  time,  we 
 should  then  find  that  there  were  only  two  millions  in 
 the  whole  country,  and  when  we  have  deducted  from 
 this  amount  the  inhabitants  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  the 
 Philistines,  whose  numbers,  we  cannot  but  beheve,  were 
 very  much  larger  than  those  of  the  Jews,  we  shall 
 barely  find  a  population  equalling  half  a  million.  This 
 would  scarcely  allow  eighty  thousand  men  who  could 
 fight,  and  not  more  than  forty  thousand  who  could  be 
 drafted  into   an   army   for  aggressive   purposes. 
 
 With  this  modest  estimate  the  size  of  Jerusalem  agrees. 
 The   modern   city,  — which    seems   to   correspond  precisely 
 
 3  There  is  also  anotlier  reference  -wliicli  apparently  points  to  Jerusalem,  Herod, 
 ii.  159,  "  and  Neco,  having  come  to  an  engagement  with  the  Syrians  on  land,  at 
 Magdolon  (compare  Megiddo),  conquered  them,  and  after  the  battle  took  Cadytis, 
 which  is  a  large  city  in  Syria."  The  date  of  this,  we  learn  from  the  context,  was 
 just  prior  to  the  foundation  of  the  Olympic  games,  B.C.  776==  about  150  years 
 prior  to  the  date  ordinarily  assigned  to  Josiah ;  and  it  will  be  noticed,  2  Kings  xxiii. 
 30,  that  no  mention  is  made  by  Jewish  writers  of  the  capture  of  Jerusalem.  Another 
 presumed  reference  to  the  same  place  is  to  bs  found  in  book  iii.  5  ;  "By  this  way 
 only  is  there  an  open  passage  into  Eg^-pt,  for,  from  Phoenicia  to  the  confines  of  the 
 city  of  Cadytis,  which  is  a  city  in  my  opinion  not  much  less  than  Sardis,  the 
 seaports  as  far  as  the  city  of  Jenysus  belong  to  the  Ai-abian  king;  and  again 
 from  Jenysus  as  far  as  the  lake  Serbonis,  near  which  Mount  Casius  stretches 
 to  the  sea,  belongs  to  the  Syrians,  and  from  tlie  lake  Serbonis,  in  which  Typhon 
 is   reported   to  have  been  concealed,  Egypt  begins." 
 
22 
 
 with  the  old  one  in  size,  there  being  geographical  or  physical 
 reasons  why  it  should  do  so,  —  is,  I  understand,  two  miles 
 and  a  quarter  in  circumference,  outside  the  walls,  which 
 would  give,  making  allowance  for  the  space  occupied  by 
 the  temple,  an  average  diameter  of  about  one  thousand 
 yards.  A  town  of  such  a  size,  in  any  densely  peopled 
 British  count}^,  would  show  a  population  of  about  twenty 
 thousand,  of  which  about  four  thousand  would  be  able- 
 bodied  men. 
 
 Having  by  this  means  arrived  at  a  tolerably  fair  conclu- 
 sion as  to  the  real  state  of  matters,  let  us  see  what  is  the 
 result  of  the  census  as  taken  by  the  order  of  King  David ; 
 we  find  that  it  is  given,  in  2  Sam.  xxiv.,  1,300,000,  i.  e., 
 800,000  of  Israel  and  500,000  of  Judah.  In  1  Chron.  xxi.  5, 
 we  have  the  total  given  as  1,470,000,  viz.,  1,000,000  of 
 Israel  and  470,000  of  Judah,  which  would  involve  a  total 
 population  of  about  6,000,000,  which  about  equals  that  of  the 
 whole  of  Ireland.  Still  farther  we  find,  1  Chron.  xxvii.  1-15, 
 that  David's  army  was  about  288,000  men,  a  force  exceeding 
 the  British  regular  and  volunteer  muster  roll.  We  might 
 be  astonished  at  this  boastful  tone  assumed  by  Jewish  writers 
 did  we  not  know  how  constantly  brag  and  cowardice  go 
 together. 
 
 That  the  Israelites  were  a  timid  race,  their  history  as 
 told  by  themselves  distinctly  shows.  Abraham  and  Isaac 
 were  both  so  cowardly  in  Egypt  as  to  deny  that  even  their 
 wives  were  their  own  (Gen.  xii.  12,  13,  xxvi.  7).  Again, 
 Jacob  was  a  coward  before  Esau  (Gen.  xxxii.  7).  The  whole 
 body  was  cowardly  in  the  face  of  the  Canaanites  (Num.  xiv. 
 1,  2) ;  and  even  after  Jericho  had  fallen  they  were  equally 
 pusillanimous  (Josh.  vii.  5).  Throughout  the  book  of  Judges 
 we  find  the  cowardice  of  the  people  very  conspicuous ;  see, 
 for  example,  how,  out  of  an  army  of  32,000,  more  than  two- 
 thirds  are  too  frightened  to  remain  and  fight  (Judg.  vii.  3). 
 
23 
 
 Observe  again  tlie  faint-lieartedness  of  the  men  of  Judah  who 
 deliver  their  Judge  Samson  to  be  slain  (Judg.  xv.  11,  12). 
 Again,  in  the  time  of  Saul  (1  Sam.  xiii.  6),  we  find  the  Jews 
 burrowing  to  escape  their  enemies,  like  a  parcel  of  frightened 
 rabbits  ;  and  in  a  later  day  we  find  the  hero  of  Jotapata,  the 
 courtly  Josephus,  hiding  in  a  pit  in  the  hope  of  securing 
 his  life.  The  burly  Saul  is  terrified  at  the  giant  Goliath 
 (1  Sam.  xvii.  11) ;  and  an  army  flies  away  when  a  man 
 nine  feet  and  a-half  in  height  moves  towards  them  (ver.  24). 
 Even  the  brave  David,  who  faced  a  lion  and  a  bear,  cannot 
 face  Achish,  the  king  of  Gath,  and  for  fear  of  him  feigns 
 himself  mad,  scrabbles  on  the  doors,  and  slavers  over  his 
 beard  (1  Sam.  xxi.  13).  Again,  when  apparently  firm  in  his 
 kingdom,  his  heart  fails  him  the  moment  he  hears  of  the 
 conspiracy  of  Absolom  (2  Sam.  xv.  14)  ;  and  the  warrior 
 king  flies  ignominiously  before  a  foppish  son,  who  is  so  proud 
 of  his  hair  as  only  to  cut  it  once  a  year  (2  Sam.  xiv.  26). 
 The  same  monarch,  whose  mighty  arm  laid  low  Goliath, 
 deputes  to  his  peaceful  son,  Solomon  Jedidiah,  the  task  of 
 executing  justice  on  the  murderer  Joab  (1  Kings  ii.  5,  6). 
 We  need  not  complete  the  picture ;  enough  has  been  said  to 
 show  that  Sesostris  did  not  without  reason  stigmatise  the 
 Syrians  of  Palestine  as  "  women,"  much  in  the  same  way  as 
 the  Bed  Indian  of  America  hurls,  with  contempt,  the  epithet 
 of  "squaw"  upon  those  men  who  show  the  feminine  propen- 
 sity to  avoid  a  fight,  or  who,  when  they  have  fought  like 
 warriors  and  been  beaten,  are  as  abject  as  the  whelp  under 
 the  trainer's  whip. 
 
 Not  only  do  we  fail  to  find  any  positive  e\idence  whatever 
 respecting  the  existence  of  a  Jewish  nation  prior  to  the  time 
 of  King  David,  but  we  have  some  evidence  that  none  such 
 could  ever  have  existed.  For  example,  it  is  clear  that  at  the 
 period  of  the  Trojan  war  there  were  numbers  of  vessels  pos- 
 sessed by  the  Grecians  capable  of  bearing  about  one  hundred 
 
24 
 
 and  eighty  men ;  and  as  these  were  the  warriors,  and  the  list 
 did  not  include  the  oarsmen,  we  may  assign  about  two 
 hundred  to  each  ship.  This,  added  to  what  we  know  of 
 Phoenician  merchants,  helps  to  prove  that  a  considerable  trade 
 existed  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  With  commerce 
 came  an  extended  knowledge  of  geography,  and  travellers 
 visited  distant  countries  to  study  their  religion  or  acquire 
 general  information.  The  Greeks  were  always  celebrated 
 for  their  acquisition  of  knowledge  by  voyaging,  and  they 
 were  enabled  to  enrich  their  literature  by  accounts  of  the 
 nations  so  distant  from  them  as  Assyria,  and  of  stories, 
 doubtless  fabulous,  about  Ninus,  Semiramis,  Sardanapalus 
 and  others ;  but,  notwithstanding  all  the  fame  of  Solomon, 
 the  wealth  of  his  treasury,  the  extent  of  his  empire,  the 
 profundity  of  his  wisdom,  his  alliance  with  the  king  of  Tyre, 
 and  the  kings  who  came  from  all  parts  of  the  earth  to  con- 
 sult him,  the  Greeks  seem  to  have  been  wholly  ignorant  of 
 his  existence,  and  even  of  the  name  of  the  nation  over  whom 
 he  ruled. 
 
 We  next  proceed  to  examine  the  account  which  the  Jews 
 have  given  of  themselves.  They  trace  their  descent  to  a 
 Babylonian,  who  is  at  one  time  represented  as  emigrating 
 from  his  native  place  with  his  father's  family,  apparently 
 to  better  his  condition.  That  there  could  have  been  no 
 religious  cause  for  it  we  infer,  from  the  fact  that  he  sends  to 
 his  relatives,  who  remain  behind  and  continue  in  the  same 
 faith  which  Abraham  was  taught,  for  a  wife  for  Isaac.  At 
 another  time  he  is  spoken  of  as  receiving  a  special  call  to 
 leave  his  father's  house,  see  Gen.  xi.  31  and  xii.  1,  for  the 
 sole  purpose  of  seeing  the  land  which  his  posterity  was  to 
 inhabit.  He  is  spoken  of  as  leading  a  sort  of  g}'psy-life, 
 encamping  near  towns,  and  living  in  a  tent  like  an  Arab 
 Sheik  of  the  present  day,  rich  in  animals  and  having  a 
 small  army  of  slaves.     He  is  represented  as  too  old  to  have 
 
25 
 
 children,  yet  he  has  two  nevertheless,  ere  his  first  wife  dies 
 (Gen.  xviii.  12) ;  and  many  years  after  her  death  he  marries 
 again,  and  has  six  sons  hy  his  new  wife.  His  religion  allows 
 him  to  plant  a  'grove,'  ?^^,  eshel,  a  terebinth  tree,  or 
 oak,  as  a  sign  or  emblem  of  Jehovah;  to  give  tithes  to  a 
 Canaanite  priest,  and  to  offer  up  as  a  sacrifice  his  only  son ; 
 for  it  is  clear  that  if  Abraham  had  thought  it  impious  to 
 offer  such  a  victim  he  never  would  have  done  so. 
 
 In  the  next  generation  the  wealth  of  the  patriarch  seems  to 
 have  disappeared,  for  Isaac  and  his  wife  go  as  fugitives  from 
 famine  to  a  town  of  the  Philistines  (Gen.  xxvi.  1)  ;  but 
 whilst  there  he  increases  his  store  and  again  becomes  great 
 (vv.  13,  14).  In  the  next  generation,  a  near  descendant,  the 
 son  of  the  so-called  princes  Abraham  and  Isaac,  leaves  his 
 father's  house  and  goes  to  Syria  with  no  more  wealth  than  a 
 walking  stick  (Gen.  xxxii.  10)  ;  and  though  he  goes  only  as 
 a  herdsman,  with  the  luck  of  his  predecessors  he  amasses 
 wealth ;  but  yet  acknowledges  that  he  is  no  match  for  the 
 Canaanites  and  Perizzites,  should  they  attack  him  (Gen. 
 xxxiv.  30).  Their  great  wealth  in  cattle,  however,  does  not 
 prevent  Jacob  and  his  sons  from  suffering  famine ;  we  are 
 somewhat  surprised  to  find  that  the  men  cannot  subsist  when 
 their  flocks  can  do  so,  and  that  they  send  to  a  distance  to 
 buy  corn,  when  it  would  be  so  very  easy  to  sacrifice  an  ox 
 every  now  and  then  for  human  sustenance  ;  but  so  it  is,  and 
 the  Egyptians  see  with  complacency  an  arrival  of  strangers 
 who  bring  with  them  flocks  and  herds,  into  a  country  already 
 so  eaten  up  with  famine,  that  the  natives  have  had  to  sacrifice 
 all  their  horses,  flocks,  cattle,  asses,  and  even  themselves 
 and  their  land,  for  bare  subsistence ! !  (Gen.  xlvi.  6,  and  xlvii. 
 17  -  20.)  The  number  of  individuals  descended  from  Abraham 
 who  enter  Egypt  are  seventy  souls  (Ex.  i.  5).  They  remain  in 
 Egypt  during  two  generations  only,  for  Levi  the  father  goes 
 down  into  Egypt  and  probably  Kohath  too,  whilst  Aaron,  the 
 
26 
 
 great-grandson  of  Levi,  goes  out  with  the  rest  at  the  exodus. 
 Yet  the  generations  are  of  marvellous  duration,  for  between 
 the  entrance  into  and  the  exodus  from  Egypt,  a  period  of 
 four  hundred  years  elapses  !  (Gen.  xv.  13,  Acts  vii.  6),  or 
 four  hundred  and  thirty  (Ex.  xii.  40).  The  fecundity  of  the 
 people  is  as  remarkable  as  their  longevity,  for  seventy  indivi- 
 duals, of  whom  we  presume  thirty-five  alone  were  men,  become 
 a  nation  numbering  about  three  millions,  of  whom  600,000 
 are  men,  which  allows  somewhere  about  one  hundred  children 
 to  each  male  for  two  successive  generations,  and  about  the 
 same  for  the  third,  allowing  of  course  for  those  that  have 
 died  out.  This  wonderful  people  then  march  through  a 
 desert,  where,  although  there  is  manna  for  the  men  and 
 women,  there  is  nothing  for  the  cattle ;  and  receive  a  code 
 of  laws  —  one  of  the  most  important  of  which  the  lawgiver 
 himself  neglects,  viz.,  circumcision,  the  very  sign  of  the 
 covenant  (Gen.  xvii.  14,  Ex.  iv.  24,  26,  Deut.  x.  16,  Josh.  v. 
 2-9,  John  vii.  22).  When  the  nation  has  emerged  from  the 
 wilderness,  —  in  its  progress  through  which  it  has  annihilated, 
 (Num.  xxxi.  7-18)  the  whole  of  the  Midianites,  who  were 
 males  and  women,  and  absorbed  the  whole  of  the  virgins  of 
 that  nation  (Num.  xxxi.  35),  and  slain  or  captured,  on  the 
 smallest  calculation,  128,000  individuals, —  it  finds  in  Canaan 
 that  the  people  there  have  multiplied  as  miraculously  as  the 
 Jews  themselves  did  whilst  in  Egypt ;  that  vast  towns  have 
 arisen,  protected  by  walls  of  fabulous  height  (Deut.  i.  28);  and 
 moreover  that  the  people  have  not  only  multiplied  in  number, 
 but  have  increased  in  growth  or  stature  (Num.  xiii.  28,  Deut. 
 i.  28).  Nevertheless  the  majority  of  their  towns  are  captured 
 by  the  Jews,  and  their  inhabitants  destroj^ed,  with  the  excep- 
 tion of  a  few  which  were  too  strong  (Jud.  i.  19,  21,  27-35, 
 ii.  21,  23). 
 
 Shortly  after  their  victorious  entry  into   Palestine,    the 
 Jews  are  subject  to  a  king  of  Mesopotamia  for  eight  jears. 
 
27 
 
 and  as  we  are  tolerably  familiar,  thanks  to  the  labours  of 
 Layard  and  Botta,  with  the  details  of  victory  and  servitude, 
 it  is  not  probable  that  any  possessions  worth  having  would 
 be  left  to  the  conquered.  After  a  rest  of  forty  years,  the 
 Moabites  vanquish  and  enslave  the  Hebrews  for  eighteen 
 years.  Again  the  land  has  rest  for  eighty  years,  after  which 
 the  land  of  Palestine  is  harried  by  the  Canaanites  during 
 twenty  years.  At  length  the  power  of  Jabin  is  broken,  and 
 the  Jewish  people  remain  quiet  for  forty  years.  We  then 
 meet  with  a  wondrous  event ;  the  people  of  Midian,  which  a 
 century  or  two  ago  was  destroyed  to  a  man,  has  become 
 resuscitated,  and  as  numerous  as  an  army  of  grasshoppers 
 (Jud.  vi.  5) ;  and  for  seven  years  it  enslaves  the  descendants  of 
 that  people  who  utterly  destroyed  their  ancestors ;  but  after  a 
 while  Israel  again  triumphs  over  the  hydra-like  Midianites, 
 and  kills  about  135,000  men  (Jud.  viii.  10,  12,  21),  which 
 represents  a  population  of  about  675,000,  there  being  one  fight- 
 ing man  on  an  average  to  one  woman,  three  children  and  one 
 infirm  or  senile  man.  Now  as  we  find,  from  Ruthiv.  18-22, 
 that  there  were  only  nine  generations  between  Judah  and 
 David,  —  as  four  must  be  subtracted  for  Egypt,  and  two  for 
 the  period  of  Samuel, — it  follows  that  in  three  generations,  or 
 at  most  in  four,  a  nation  has  increased  from  0  to  675,000, 
 a  rate  of  increase  which  defies  calculation;  however,  the 
 135,000  are  destroyed  just  as  easily  as  the  128,000  were, 
 and  the  victorious  Israelites  have  peace  for  forty  years. 
 After  this  there  follows  a  period  of  internecine  strife,  and 
 the  rule  of  two  judges  who  govern  in  quietness  for  forty-five 
 years  (Jud.  x.  2,  3).  The  Philistines  then  enslave  the  Jews 
 for  forty  years,  and  the  Ammonites  conquer  them,  until 
 Samson  relieves  them  from  the  first,  and  Jephthah  from 
 the  last;  in  very  thankfulness  for  which,  he  ofi'ers  his 
 daughter  for  a  burnt-offering  (Jud.  xi.  30,  31,  35,  36,  39). 
 Jephthah  and  Ibzan  have  peace  for  thirteen  years  (Jud.  xii. 
 
28 
 
 7,  8).  Samsou's  rule  is  stated  to  have  been  for  twenty  years, 
 after  wliich  the  Philistines  again  assume  power,  and  retain  it 
 till  the  time  of  Samuel.  During  this  period  of  the  Judges, 
 (and,  as  we  understand,  at  the  commencement  thereof;  for 
 Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son  of  Aaron,  is  the  priest, 
 Jud.  XX.  28),  there  is  a  fearful  civil  war,  and  twenty-five  thou- 
 sand men,  with,  we  presume,  the  usual  proportion  of  women 
 and  children,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  are  destroyed;  so  fierce 
 indeed  is  the  destruction  that  not  a  single  virgin  wife  can  be 
 found  for  the  six  hundred  men  who  were  allowed  to  escape. 
 To  accommodate  this  miserable  remnant,  another  slaughter  is 
 made,  and  at  least  two  thousand  men  and  women  are 
 murdered,  that  certain  wifeless  Jews  may  marry  four  hundred 
 maidens. 
 
 The  period  covered  by  the  Judges  is  about  three  hundred 
 and  fifty  years,  and  we  may  add  fifty  more  for  the  times  of 
 Eli  and  Samuel.  Now  this  period  has  only  seen  about 
 four  generations,  consequently  the  duration  of  life  was  as 
 extraordinary  in  Palestine  as  it  had  been  in  Egypt. 
 
 When  Israel  comes  under  the  direction  of  Samuel,  we 
 find  no  written  law  for  reference.  Not  a  manuscript  appears 
 to  be  known,  nor  a  sculptured  stone  to  be  in  existence, 
 which  contains  a  legal  code.  No  single  walled  town  belongs 
 to  the  nation  ;  nay,  so  very  abject  is  the  condition  of  the 
 Hebrews,  that  they  dwell  in  burrows,  like  the  wretched 
 "digger  Indians  "  of  North  America,  and  there  is  not 
 amongst  the  whole  people  more  than  two  swords  and  spears. 
 No  smith  even  exists,  to  forge  the  one  weapon  or  the  other, 
 and  even  the  agricultural  utensils  have  to  be  sharpened 
 amongst  their  enemies  (1  Sam.  xiii.  6,  19-22  and  xiv.  11).  A 
 king  is  at  last  appointed  over  the  Jewish  nation,  who  is  able 
 to  inspire  his  people  with  some  valour,  and  to  gain  a  brilliant 
 victory  over  the  Philistines.  But  this  monarch  quarrels 
 with  his  best  captain,   tries  to   engage  him  in  war,   drives 
 
29 
 
 him  to  seek  an  asylum  amongst  bis  enemies,  and  ends  the 
 career  of  himself  and  his  family  in  an  engagement  with  his 
 old  adversaries,  wherein  they  prove  victorious.  The  fugitive 
 David  then  comes  to  the  throne,  and  there  is  again  a  civil 
 war,  Judah,  under  the  son  of  Jesse,  fighting  against  the 
 son  of  Saul,  a  war  which  lasted  for  seven  years  and  three 
 months  (2  Sam.  ii.  11). 
 
 The  new  monarch  brings  with  him  troops  which  we  may 
 consider  mercenaries  —  Cheretbites,  Peletbites,  and  Gittites 
 — and,  being  himself  a  skilful  soldier,  he  succeeds  in  cap- 
 turing Jerusalem,  whose  fortifications  he  increases.  We 
 know  much  of  bis  life,  and  of  bis  respect  for  the  prophets 
 Gad  and  Nathan,  and  for  the  priests  Abiatbar  and  Zadok; 
 but  we  infer,  from  the  history  of  the  days  which  we  find 
 covered  by  the  transactions  in  the  last  two  chapters  of 
 1  Samuel  and  the  first  of  2  Samuel,  that  be  was  unac- 
 quainted with  the  commandment  to  sanctify  the  Sabbath 
 (see  Sabbath).  During  the  reign  of  David,  two  insurrec- 
 tions occur,  and  there  is  again  an  internecine  strife,  first, 
 between  the  father  and  the  son,  and,  secondly,  between  the 
 former  and  Sheba  the  son  of  Bichri  (2  Sam.  xx.  1).  It  is 
 clear,  therefore,  that  the  monarch  is  not  firmly  seated  on 
 his  throne,  yet  we  are  told  that  he  not  only  carries  on 
 distant  wars  successfully,  but  that  he  converts  a  nation 
 of  miserable  cowards  into  one  whose  fighting  men  number 
 1,300,000,  and  this  in  a  space  of  forty  years. 
 
 At  his  death  he  is  succeeded  by  his  son  Solomon,  who, 
 without  fighting  at  all,  reigns  "  over  all  the  kings,  from  the 
 river  even  unto  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  and  to  the 
 border  of  Egypt"  (2  Chron.  ix.  26).  This  monarch,  like  his 
 father,  is  friendly  with  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  and  builds 
 a  temple  according  to  the  pattern  given  to  him  by  David 
 (1  Chron.  xxviii.  11,  12,  19);  and,  as  the  Tyrian  king  blesses 
 him   and    David,    we    must    presume  that  their  faith  was 
 
30 
 
 similar  to  that  of  the  Phoenician.  In  his  reign  two  memor- 
 able occurrences  happen,  the  one  a  grand  feast,  which  lasts 
 for  fourteen  days  (1  Kings  viii.  65,  66),  during  which  the 
 Sabbath  is  not  even  once  hinted  at,  and  a  grand  dedication  of 
 the  temple,  at  which  is  uttered  a  sublime  prayer,  wherein  no 
 reference  is  made  to  anything  in  the  history  of  Israel  which 
 is  earlier  than  David,  except  1  Kings  viii.  16,  21,  51,  53, 
 which  are  evidently  interpolations,  and  which  may  be  readily 
 recognised  as  such  in  2  Chron.  vi.  5,  6,  and  by  the  absence  of 
 the  final  clause  as  given  in  the  book  of  Kings. 
 
 After  the  death  of  Solomon,  the  kingdom  of  David  is 
 rent  asunder,  and  Jerusalem  is  pillaged  by  Shishak. 
 Yet,  notwithstanding  this,  Abijah,  the  son  of  Rehoboam, 
 and  Jeroboam  bring  into  the  field,  against  each  other, 
 two  armies,  which  amount  to  1,200,000  men,  equivalent 
 to  a  population  of  six  millions.  After  this  we  read  much 
 of  prophets,  and  miracles  which  are  performed  in  Israel, 
 at  a  great  distance  from  those  who  wrote  about  them, 
 who  could  no  more  gain  real  knowledge  of  what  occurred 
 among  their  foes  than  we  can  know  what  passes  in  the  court 
 of  Timbuctoo.  We  read  much  of  the  viciousness  of  certain 
 kings  of  Judah,  and  of  some  prophets,  who  do  not,  however, 
 perform  any  miracles,  so  that  it  would  really  appear  that 
 Israel  was  more  cared  for  by  Elohim  than  Judah  was. 
 
 During  the  reigns  of  the  bad  kings  of  Judah,  we  read 
 of  a  queen  who  makes  a  "horror"  in  a  grove  (1  Kings  xv. 
 13) ;  and  in  the  verse  preceding  the  one  quoted,  we  find  that 
 both  idols  and  Kedeshim,  "Sodomites,"  had  become  common. 
 We  find,  too,  that  the  serpent  was  worshipped  until  the  time 
 of  Hezekiah  (2  Kings  xviii.  4),  and  that  human  sacrifice 
 (innocent  blood)  was  common.  Into  these  abominations  it 
 is  unnecessary  to  enter  now. 
 
 After  about  two  hundred  years  had  elapsed,  and  eight 
 difi'erent  rulers  had  borne  sway  in  Jerusalem,  the  city  and 
 
31 
 
 country  around  were  attacked,  overpowered,  and  plundered  by 
 a  confederacy,  which  included  Grecians,  Tyrians,  Philistines, 
 Edomites,  and  others.  After  the  conquest,  the  people  were 
 sold  into  slavery  by  the  victors,  and  were  scattered  westward 
 as  far  as  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  eastward  as 
 far  as  Assyria  and  Petra.  (See  Obadiah,  infra.)  After  this 
 catastrophe,  it  is  probable  that  nothing  of  any  value 
 existed  in  the  city  of  David,  and  Jerusalem  could  only 
 have  been  inhabited  by  the  poorest  of  the  land.  It  is 
 incredible  that  manuscripts,  ark,  altar,  breastplate,  candle- 
 sticks could  have  survived  this  fearful  invasion.  After  a 
 time,  however,  some  of  the  slaves  doubtless  returned  to 
 the  city,  and,  in  one  way  or  another,  Jerusalem  again 
 became  peopled,  and  tolerably  strong. 
 
 At  length  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  invade  the 
 land,  and,  after  a  few  troubled  years,  carry  away  the 
 people  to  Mesopotamia,  leaving  only  the  poorest  of  the 
 country   behind. 
 
 It  is  perfectly  clear,  from  the  history,  and  from  what 
 we  know  of  eastern  conquerors,  that  they  did  not  leave 
 to  the  miserable  Hebrews  anything  which  told  of  their 
 worship  or  their  law.  For  the  captives  to  carry  away 
 bulky  manuscripts  must  have  been  as  great  an  impos- 
 sibility now,  as  for  previous  captives  to  have  preserved 
 them  during  the  time  of  "the  Judges,"  during  the 
 plundering  of  Shishak,  Pharaoh  Necho,  and  the  confede- 
 rate  Greeks. 
 
 The  short  sketch  which  we  have  given  above  will 
 probably  sufdce  to  demonstrate  that  the  Jews,  in  bearing 
 witness  for  themselves,  are  not  to  be  credited.  Throughout 
 their  books  two  dominant  propensities  may  be  seen,  the 
 one  a  braggart  spirit,  which  makes  them  boast,  in  the 
 first   place,    of  warlike   power,    and,    in   the  second   place. 
 
32 
 
 of  being  the  cliosen  of  the  Almighty,  and  thus  doubly 
 preeminent  amongst  men.  The  warrior,  proud  of  his 
 force,  does  not  care  to  claim  a  heavenly  mission,  but 
 the  pusillanimous  or  feeble  priest  gladly  fabricates  his- 
 tories which  tell  of  the  prodigious  might  of  fabulous  fore- 
 fathers, and  he  equally  assumes  to  wield  an  invisible 
 power  as  a  shield  against  physical  force.  The  pretender 
 to  earthly  dominion,  when  he  is  obliged  to  declare  him- 
 self beaten,  naturally  becomes  a  pretender  to  unlimited 
 spiritual  potency.  The  second  propensity  to  which  we 
 refer  is  one  that  is  common  in  every  nation,  viz.,  the 
 desire  of  the  hierarchy  to  make  everything  subordinate 
 to  the  power  of  the  priests,  i.  e.,  those  who  assume  to  be 
 the  ministers  of  a  past  revelation  or  the  propounders 
 of  a   new   one. 
 
 Under  the  influence  of  these  feelings,  histories  have 
 been  written  in  the  Bible,  by  various  individuals,  much 
 in  the  same  way  as  monkish  historians  like  Geoffrey 
 of  Monmouth  wrote  about  the  history  of  England,  or  as 
 Homer  and  Virgil  wrote  of  Troy  and  Eome.  Indepen- 
 dent, at  first,  of  each  other,  these  histories  have,  at  last, 
 been  collated,  but  not  so  cleverly  as  to  make  a  homo- 
 geneous whole.  On  a  foundation  of  fact  a  superstructure 
 of  fancy  has  been  raised,  just  as  a  musician  composes 
 variations  upon  an  "  air."  As  it  would  be  very  difficult 
 for  an  '  artist '  who  only  knows  the  '  variations '  to  discover 
 the  original  composition,  so  it  is  all  but  impossible  for  the 
 historian  to  separate  in  an  incorrect  history  the  truth  from 
 the  fable,  the  fact  from  the  fiction.  Yet  the  attempt 
 may  be  made,  and,  if  it  be  unsuccessful,  it  will  jserve  the 
 purpose  of  a  mental  exercitation,  in  which  the  faculties 
 of  research,  observation,  memory,  and  judgment  will  be 
 drawn    out,   if    not    indeed    strengthened    and    improved. 
 
33 
 
 We  propose  then,  in  our  subsequent  pages,  to  endea- 
 vour to  construct  a  probable  history  of  the  Jewish  nation, 
 and  to  show  the  gradual  development  of  their  religion,  law, 
 festivals,  etc.* 
 
 *  Since  -writing  the  preceding  pages,  the  author's  views  have  heen  largely- 
 developed,  -whilst  prosecuting  his  studies  for  the  completion  of  the  Vocabulaiy. 
 He  -would  respectfully  request  his  readers  to  pass  from  the  present  chapter  to  a 
 perusal  of  the  article  Obadiah  infra,  -wherein  he  will  find  strong  reason  to  believe 
 that  the  case,  as  enunciated  in  this  chapter,  has  been  greatly  understated ;  and  he 
 -will  find  it  to  be  demonstrable  that  the  greatest  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  including  the  Pentateuch,  Joshua,  Judges,  &c.,  is  of  comparatively 
 modern  origin,  that  a  large  portion  was  fabricated  -with  the  definite  intention 
 of  inspiriting  Jewish  captives  scattered  amongst  the  Greeks,  Tyrians,  and 
 Edomites,  and  that  ancient  Jewish  history  is  to  the  full  as  romantic,  and  as 
 fabulous,  as  the  stories  of  Arthur  and  his  knights  of  the  round  table.  It  is,  indeed, 
 doubtful  -(vhether  there  is  a  shadow  of  a  foundation  for  recei-ving  the  Pentateuch 
 and  other  ancient  books  of  the  Hebrews  as,  in  any  sense,  historic  records. 
 
34 
 
 CHAPTER   III. 
 
 Attempt  to  construct  a  history  of  tlie  Jews.  Comparison  of  Kome  with  Jerusalem. 
 Livy  appraised  and  quoted.  Source  of  Eoman  law.  Divine  origin  of  Komans. 
 Comparison  between  Numa  and  Saul  —  between  David  and  Romulus.  David's 
 troop,  before  and  after  his  return  to  Judah,  takes  Jerusalem,  and  founds 
 a  kingdom.  David  knew  no  code  of  laws.  Nathan  is  equally  ignorant. 
 Examples:  David  adopts  the  ark — appoints  a  civil  service,  but  no  keeper  of 
 manuscripts — keeps  no  feasts.  Evidence  of  interpolation.  David  as  a  judge. 
 Solomon  ignorant  of  Moses'  laws.  Decadence  in  power  attributed  to  apostacy. 
 Shewbread.  Names  of  David's  sons.  David's  faith.  Jehovah.  Ancient 
 and  modern  faiths  grow  or  develop.  David's  idea  of  God  and  of  a  king. 
 Worship)  of  the  ark  compared  with  idolatry  and  adoration  of  the  wafer.  Laws 
 of  David.  No  written  records  in  Solomon's  time ;  if  any,  they  were  stolen  by 
 Shishak.  Solomon  and  Numa  compared.  Solomon  tyrannical.  Secession 
 from  Eehoboam.  The  names  Jah  and  El.  Elohistic  and  Jehovistic  writers. 
 Deductions. 
 
 In  attempting  to  construct  the  history  of  a  nation  from 
 doubtful  records,  it  is  advisable  to  compare  it,  if  possible, 
 with  that  of  some  other  people,  whose  footsteps  have  in  some 
 respects  been  similar.  We  have  not  far  to  search  for  a  people 
 whose  origin  is  like  that  of  the  Hebrews,  for  the  history  of 
 Rome  in  very  many  points  resembles  that  of  Jerusalem. 
 The  greatness  of  the  city  of  Romulus  was  brought  about  in 
 the  midst  of  a  number  of  other  towns  ;  it  contained  a  people 
 who  in  language  and  religion  were  precisely  similar  to  those 
 which  inhabited  the  neighbouring  cities,  villages,  or  hamlets; 
 and  we  are  told,  in  Roman  annals,  that  the  infant  days  of 
 the  Empress  of  the  world  were  watched  over  by  kings  of 
 foreign  origin  ;  for  it  is  quite  as  pardonable  to  trust  Livy, 
 as  it  is  to  trust  the  books  of  "Kings  and  Chronicles." 
 Jerusalem,  like  Rome,  first  sprang  into  power  as  a  single  city, 
 
35 
 
 amongst  a  number  of  others  api^arently  speaking  the  same 
 language,  and  its  beginnings  were  as  small  as  those  of  the 
 whilom  Queen  of  Italy.  Now  if  we  turn  to  Livy  for  an 
 account  of  the  birth  of  Rome,  we  find  the  following  words — 
 "  I  would  have  every  man  apply  his  mind  seriously  to  con- 
 sider these  points,  viz.,  what  their  life  and  what  their 
 manners  were;  through  what  men  and  by  what  measures, 
 both  in  peace  and  in  war,  their  empire  was  acquired  and 
 extended.  Then,  as  discipline  gradually  declined,  let  him 
 follow,  in  his  thoughts,  their  morals,  at  first  as  slightly 
 giving  way,  anon  how  they  sunk  more  and  more,  then 
 began  to  fall  headlong,  until  he  reaches  the  present  times, 
 when  we  can  neither  endure  our  vices  nor  their  remedies." 
 (Preface,  page  3,  Bohn's  translation.)  Again  (preface,  chap, 
 viii.,  page  13)  we  read  :  "  Then,  lest  the  size  of  the  city  might 
 be  of  no  avail,  in  order  to  augment  the  population  according 
 to  the  ancient  policy  of  the  founders  of  cities,  who,  after 
 drawing  together  to  them  an  obscure  and  mean  multitude, 
 used  to  feign  that  their  offspring  sprung  out  of  the  earth,  he 
 opened,  as  a  sanctuary,  a  place  which  is  now  enclosed  as  you 
 go  down  to  the  two  groves.  Hither  fled  from  the  neighbour- 
 ing states,  without  distinction,  whether  freemen  or  slaves, 
 crowds  of  all  sorts,  desirous  of  change ;  and  this  was  the 
 first  accession  of  strength  to  their  rising  greatness.  When 
 he  was  now  not  dissatisfied  with  his  strengih,  he  (Romulus) 
 next  sets  about  forming  some  means  of  directing  that 
 strength.  He  creates  one  hundred  senators,  who  were  called 
 Fathers,  and  their  descendants  Patricians."  At  first  there 
 was  no  settled  religion  in  Rome,  and  no  settled  laws  for  the 
 new  city,  and  eveiy  cause  in  dispute  was  referred  to  the 
 senate,  the  ruler,  or  some  other  judge.  Some  time  elapsed 
 before  any  written  code  of  laws  was  promulgated,  and  then 
 they  assumed  the  forms  of  laws  civil  and  laws  religious.  In 
 other  words,  the  state  is  formed,  before  its  laws  are  framed. 
 
36 
 
 After  a  considerable  lapse  of  time,  the  Komans,  through  their 
 poetical  or  historical  writers,  obtained  a  mythic  history,  which 
 made  their  founder  a  son  of  God,  the  incarnation  of  the 
 Creator,  the  Lord  of  Victory ;  and  they  traced  their  earthly 
 pedigree  backwards  until  it  reached  the  pious  ^neas,  the  son 
 of  Venus  herself.  The  Eomans  thus  assumed  themselves 
 to  be  descendants  of  the  father  on  high  and  of  the  celestial 
 princess ;  individuals  who  may  be  recognised  elsewhere  under 
 the  titles  of  Abram  and  Sara.  We  must  also  notice,  that 
 some  of  their  kings,  Numa  Pompilius,  for  example,  were 
 "  God-given,"  i.e.,  selected  by  direct  appeal  to  the  Almighty, 
 just  as  was  the  first  king  of  Israel. 
 
 After  this  sketch,  let  us  turn  to  the  Scripture  story 
 told  in  Jewish  books.  We  find  there  (1  Sam.  xxii.  1-3), 
 that  David  is  described  as  a  fugitive  in  the  cave  of 
 Adullam,  to  which  place  his  brethren  and  all  his  father's 
 house  go  and  join  him ;  farthermore,  we  are  expressly 
 told,  that  every  one  who  was  in  distress,  and  every  one 
 that  was  in  debt,  and  every  one  that  was  discontented 
 gathered  themselves  unto  him,  and  he  became  a  captain 
 over  them,  and  that  there  were  with  him  about  four  hundred 
 men,  which  in  a  short  time  (1  Sam.  xxiii.  13),  became 
 augmented  to  six  hundred.  Whilst  living  in  Ziklag,  this 
 troop  of  David's  increased  still  more  (1  Chron.  xii.  1-40), 
 until  they  attained,  as  we  are  told,  to  about  the  number 
 of  three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  ! !  During  the  period 
 of  his  dwelling  amongst  the  Philistines,  David  appears  to 
 have  acquired  the  friendship  of  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  and 
 of  Achish,  King  of  Gath,  probably  as  being  a  leader  of 
 "free  lances;"  and,  when  he  returned  to  his  own  land,  he 
 took  with  him  a  mercenary  horde,  Cherethites,  Pelethites, 
 and  Gittites,  the  last  of  which  numbered  six  hundred 
 men  (2  Sam.  xv.  18).  Considering  himself  strong  enough 
 for     the    assault,    he     attacked    and     took    an    old    town, 
 
37 
 
 Jerusalem,  and,  when  once  established  there,  he  founded 
 the  kingdom  of  the  Jews.  At  that  period  he  was,  like 
 Komulus,  associated  with  a  priest  and  a  prophet;  but 
 judging,  from  his  murderous  intentions  towards  Nabal 
 (1  Sam.  XXV.  22,  34),  from  his  atrocious  conduct  while  he 
 dwelt  amongst  the  Philistines  (1  Sam.  xxvii.  8-12),  (in 
 which  he  seems  to  have  resembled  the  banditti  of  Italy 
 and  Calabria  and  the  savage  Indians  of  America),  from 
 the  carelessness  with  which  he  regarded  the  murder 
 of  Abner  by  Joab  (2  Sam.  iii.  39),  the  ravishing 
 of  Tamar  by  Amnon  (2  Sam.  xiii.  21),  the  homicide 
 of  the  latter  by  Absalom  (2  Sam.  xiii.  39),  his  own 
 very  flagrant  adultery  with  Bathsheba  and  the  murder 
 of  Uriah,  we  conclude  that  he  was  not  acquainted  with 
 the  code  which  we  call  the  ten  commandments,  nor  with 
 the  law  (Levit.  xviii.  9,  30)  which  enjoins  death  as  the 
 penalty  of  incest,  nor  with  Lev.  xx.  17,  or  Deut.  xxii.  25, 
 which  is  to  a  similar  effect.  Neither  did  David  know 
 the  law  for  the  punishment  of  adultery,  as  enunciated 
 in  Levit.  xx.  10,  nor  that  for  the  punishment  of  murder, 
 given  Numbers  xxxv.  16,  17,  18,  30,  and  31.  It  is 
 clear  that  if  David  had  been  aware  of  these,  as  being 
 laws  imposed  by  the  command  of  that  God  whom  he 
 so  sincerely  adored,  he  could  not  have  passed  by  the 
 offences  which  we  have  named,  as  if  they  were  crimes 
 which  became  venial,  when  performed  by  men  in  an 
 exalted  position  of  life.  It  is,  moreover,  certain  that 
 Nathan  was  equally  ignorant  of  the  same  laws,  for  when 
 he  came  to  reprove  David,  he  told  him  a  pathetic 
 story  of  a  brutal  man,  and  inveigled  the  king  to  give 
 judgment  against  himself  by  a  strong  '  tu  qiioque  ' 
 argument,  rather  than  by  an  appeal  to  the  holy  law  of 
 God.  He  quotes  no  denunciation  of  the  wrath  of  the 
 Almighty   for  neglect   of    the   commandments    given   upon 
 
38 
 
 Sinai,  not  a  single  reference  indeed,  which  is  not  clearly 
 a  modern  fabrication,  to  the  law  of  Moses,  It  is  true 
 that  there  is,  in  2  Sam.  vii.  6,  7,  a  reference  by  Nathan 
 to  the  children  of  Israel  in  Egypt;  hut  the  verses  have 
 about  them  so  much  of  the  character  of  an  interpolation,  that 
 we  need  not  regard  them,  any  more  than  we  should  the 
 prophecies,  put  by  the  vivid  fancy  of  the  poet,  into 
 the  mouth  of  some  of  Virgil's  heroes.  When  once 
 established  in  the  city,  David  brought  up  an  ark  which 
 he  had  some  good  cause  for  respecting,  and  he  proposed 
 to  build  a  temple  for  his  God,  such  as  he  had  seen 
 at  Tyre,  whilst  stopping  at  the  court  of  Hiram,  to 
 whom,  indeed,  he  sent  for  assistance  in  its  construc- 
 tion. 
 
 Another,  and  more  striking  illustration  that  David  was 
 not  acquainted  with  the  Mosaic  law,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
 readiness  with  which  he  sacrificed  seven  of  the  sons  of  Saul, 
 for  some  offence  committed  by  the  father.  A  deliberate 
 murder  of  seven  men  in  cold  blood  was  in  the  first  place 
 directly  opposed  to  the  sixth  commandment;  and,  moreover, 
 it  is  distinctly  declared  in  Deut.  xxiv.  16,  "  neither  shall  the 
 children  be  put  to  death  for  the  fathers,  every  man  shall  be 
 put  to  death  for  his  own  sin."  It  is  impossible  that  either 
 priest,  prophet  or  king  could  have  known  this  order ;  for  if 
 they  had,  they  could  not  so  have  falsified  the  word  of  the 
 Lord,  as  to  have  given  contrary  directions.  That  this  law 
 was  promulgated  between  David's  time  and  that  of  Amaziah, 
 is  exceedingly  probable,  for  we  are  told  that  the  latter 
 respected  this  same  ordinance,  for  "  the  children  of  the 
 murderers  he  slew  not,  according  unto  that  which  is  written 
 in  the  books  of  the  law  of  Moses,  wherein  the  Lord  com- 
 manded, sajdng,"  &c.,  &c.  (2  Kings  xiv.  6.) 
 
 In  this  episode,  we  recognise  the  melancholy  fact  that 
 David,    like   Jephthah,    considered   that   Jehovah   could    be 
 
39 
 
 propitiated  by  liuman  sacrifices,  like  the  gods  of  the  nations 
 around  Jerusalem.  We  may  well  believe  that  he  had  learned 
 a  different  lesson  Avheu  there  was  a  question  of  offering  up 
 his  own  child;  for  David  said,  after  Nathan  had  brought 
 home  to  his  heart  his  flagrant  crime,  "  Thou  desirest  not 
 sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it  thee ;  thou  delightest  not  in 
 burnt-offering"  (Ps.  li.  16).  But  though  the  king  spared  the 
 child,  the  prophet  did  not;  he  announced  the  judgment 
 that  it  should  die  the  death,  and  we  know  the  result.  The 
 prophet,  doubtless  well  knew  how  to  effect  the  decease  which 
 his  judgment  had  pronounced.^ 
 
 Simultaneously  with  the  [establishment  of  a  religious 
 worship,  David  appointed  a  number  of  men  (1  Chron.  xxvii. 
 1-34),  to  be  captains  and  overseers  for  the  army,  and  for 
 what  we  call  "  the  civil  service  ; "  but  we  seek  in  vain  amongst 
 them  for  any  one  who  had  charge  over  the  sacred  writings, 
 or  whose  business  was  to  expound  the  law,  although  we  do 
 find  a  "recorder"  mentioned  (2  Sam.  viii.  16),  and  a  "scribe" 
 (1  Chron.  xviii.  16,  and  1  Chron.  xxvii.  32),  all  of  which  pas- 
 sages seem  to  have  been  added  at  a  late  date.  At  this  period 
 it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  king  himself  was  able  to  read, 
 even  if  there  had  been  anything  to  peruse ;  his  youth  was 
 spent,  firstly,  in  attending  to  his  parent's  flock  as  a  shepherd, 
 
 1  There  are  many  reasons  for  believing  that  the  Psalm  from  which  wc  here 
 quote  was  not  penned  by  David,  nor  by  any  writer  of  his  court ;  in  fact  the  two  last 
 verses  would  prove  this,  if  we  were  certain  that  they  were  not  late  additions.  But 
 the  superscription  assigns,  distinctly,  the  composition  of  Psahn  U.  to  the  "sweet 
 Psalmist  of  Israel,"  I  am  therefore  justified  in  treating  it  as  such.  I  do  this  the 
 more  readUy  because  (as  the  reader  will  see)  there  is  an  under  current  throughout 
 both  of  my  volumes,  whose  "  set "  is  to  disprove  even  the  general  accuracy  of  all 
 that  which  we  meet  with  in  the  Old  Testament.  My  design,  which  is  distinctly 
 stated  in  many  places,  is  to  place  those  whom  some  style  "  bibUolatrists  "  between 
 the  horns  of  a  dilemma,  and  to  drive  them  to  the  conclusion,  either  that  the  Old 
 Testament  is  untruthful,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  unworthy  of  trust,  or  to  aUow 
 that  the  pictures  which  it  draws  of  pious  men  and  of  God  HimseK  are  more  or  less 
 immoral.  In  working  out  this  plan,  it  seems  better  to  take  the  Bible  as  we  have  it, 
 than  to  be  coutinuaUy  referring  to  it,  as  scholastic  critics  know  that  it  ought  to  be. 
 
40 
 
 and,  secondly,  as  a  captain  of  mercenaries  or  freebooters ;  a 
 life  very  mucli  like  that  of  some  of  our  English  monarchs, 
 who  were  unable  to  write  their  names,  or  to  read  the  laws 
 which  they  themselves  enacted.  So  far  from  there  having 
 been  a  code  of  written  law,  we  notice  that  David  himself 
 administered  judgment  in  person,  for  we  find  Absolom 
 saying,  when  any  man  that  had  a  controversy  came  to  the 
 king  for  judgment,  "  See  thy  matters  are  good  and  right, 
 but  there  is  no  man  deputed  of  the  king  to  hear  thee :  oh, 
 that  I  were  made  a  judge  in  the  land,  that  every  man  which 
 hath  any  suit  or  cause  might  come  unto  me,  and  I  would 
 do  him  justice"  (2  Sam.  xv.  2-4,  see  also  2  Sam.  viii.  15). 
 It  is  perfectly  clear  that  David  could  never  have  known 
 the  law  as  laid  down  in  Deut.  xvi.  18,  "  Judges  and  officers 
 shalt  thou  make  thee  in  all  thy  gates;"  nor  the  command 
 in  Deut.  xvii.  18,  which  enjoins  upon  the  king  the  necessity 
 of  making  a  copy  of  the  law,  and  to  read  therein  all  the  days 
 of  his  life.  Nor  could  he  have  known  that  of  Deut.  xix.  17, 
 where  it  is  laid  down  that  the  proper  tribunal  for  controversy 
 is  one  composed  of  the  priests  and  judges ;  nor  that  of  Deut. 
 xxi.  5,  w^here  it  is  enjoined  that  it  is  to  be  by  "  the  priests, 
 the  sons  of  Levi,"  that  every  controversy  shall  be  tried  ;  nor 
 that  of  Deut.  xxv.  2,  where  a  judge,  and  not  a  king,  is  spoken 
 of.  It  is  doubtful  indeed  if  Levites  existed  in  the  days  of 
 David.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  career  of  the  first  king 
 of  Jerusalem,  whose  piety  has  almost  passed  into  a  bye-word, 
 we  find  no  reference  to  Abraham,  nor  to  any  of  his  immediate 
 successors ;  there  was  no  attention  paid  to  Sabbath  or  Pass- 
 over, nor  to  the  assembling  of  all  the  males  three  times  in  a 
 year  before  the  Lord  (Exod,  xxiii.  17).  We  hear  nothing  of 
 the  feast  of  Pentecost,  of  the  feast  of  Trumpets,  of  the  great 
 day  of  Atonement,  nor  the  feast  of  Tabernacles.  There  is, 
 however,  a  reference  made  to  them,  in  2  Chron.  viii.  13,  which 
 is  manifestly  a  modern  fiction,   written  at  a  very  late  date. 
 
41 
 
 Again,  we  find  that  this  monarch,  whose  anxiety  to  keep  the 
 law  of  the  Lord  is  conspicuous  through  those  Psalms  which 
 are  traced  to  his  pen,  seems  to  have  been  utterly  ignorant  of 
 the  law  enunciated  in  Deut.  vii.  3  and  Josh,  xxiii.  12,  13,  in 
 which  marriage  with  strangers,  the  remnant  of  the  ancient 
 inhabitants,  is  strictly  forbidden ;  for  he  made  no  scruple  in 
 marrying  a  daughter  of  Talmai,  king  of  Geshur,  from  whom 
 indeed  sprang  his  rebellious  son  Absolom.  Of  the  country 
 of  Haggith,  Eglah  and  Abital,  we  are  not  informed.  Equally 
 ignorant  with  the  father  was  the  son,  since  Solomon  did  not  fear 
 to  marry  women  from  Egypt,  Moab,  Ammon,  Edom,  Zidon, 
 and  elsewhere  (1  Kings  xi.  1).  It  is  true,  that  the  writer 
 who  has  last  touched  up  the  record  of  events  makes  it  appear 
 that  the  wise  monarch  of  Israel  acted  in  spite  of  the  com- 
 mand; but  the  critic  can  readily  detect  in  this  comment, 
 the  hand  of  one  who  wished  to  account  for  the  loss  of 
 all  the  glorious  possessions,  which  a  preceding  grandiloquent 
 recorder  had  assigned  to  the  son  of  David;  and,  with  the 
 natural  guile  of  an  enthusiastic  priest,  he  has  selected 
 religious  apostacy  as  the  cause  of  Solomon's  decadence. 
 There  are  even  a  few  amongst  ourselves  who  are  fanatical 
 enough  to  assert  that  England  has  fallen  in  the  scale  of 
 nations,  ever  since  the  Reformation,  and  that  every  evil  which 
 she  has  suffered  since  then,  is  due  to  her  apostacy  from  the 
 Pope  of  Rome  and  the  ancient  religion  of  the  land.  Whilst 
 others,  on  the  contrary,  attribute  the  Irish  famine  to  the 
 Catholic  emancipation  act. 
 
 We  see  another  evidence  of  David's  ignorance  of  the 
 laws,  which  we  know  as  those  of  Moses,  in  2  Sam.  xviii.  18, 
 where  we  are  told  that  Absolom  reared  up  for  himself,  in  the 
 king's  dale,  a  memorial  stone  or  pillar,  "^■'^'?,  Mazzeheth, 
 which  the  father  not  only  permitted  during  his  son's  life, 
 but  after  his  death.  Now,  in  Leviticus  xxvi.  1,  we  find  a 
 distinct  command  that  the  Israelites  were  not  to  make  any 
 
42 
 
 idols,  nor  graven  image,  nor  a  standing  image,  '^^-f?',  Mazze- 
 hah,  "a.  memorial  stone,  pillar,  or  obelise,"  in  their  land, 
 and  it  is  not  likely  that  David  would  have  knowingly  tole- 
 rated so  flagrant  a  departure  from  the  divine  command 
 had  he  known  that  such  existed. 
 
 To  these  indications  of  David's  ignorance  of  the  Penta- 
 teuch, we  may  add  the  fact  that  the  name  of  one  of  his 
 wives  was  Eglah,  a  calf  or  heifer.  A  man  of  such  piety 
 as  the  Psalmist  of  Israel,  was  not  likely  to  have  tolerated 
 in  his  household  a  name  which  told  of  the  idolatry  of  his 
 own  ancestors,  the  impiety  of  Aaron,  and  the  fierce  anger  of 
 Moses.  The  modern  Jew  cannot  endure  any  reference  to 
 the  name,  and  we  can  scarcely  assume  that  their  favourite 
 king  was  inferior  to  them  in  reverence.  Of  course,  if  the 
 story  of  the  golden  calf  was  not  in  existence  in  the  time 
 when  Eglah  was  David's  wife,  this  would  explain  the 
 equanimity  with  which  he  bore  it. 
 
 Against  these  evidences  may  be  placed  the  positive  fact 
 that  David  on  one  occasion  ate  of  the  "shew  bread"  (1  Sam. 
 xxi.  3-6),  which  is  supposed  to  be  that  prepared  according  to 
 the  directions  given  in  Exod.  xxv.  30  and  Lev.  xxiv.  5-9. 
 But  this  is  in  reality  a  petitio  pi'incipH  ;  for  if  we  grant  that 
 the  occurrence  happened,  it  only  follows  that  there  was  a 
 sacred  bread  then  in  existence.  The  use  of  sacred  bread, 
 however,  was  very  ancient,  and  was  common  amongst  the 
 surrounding  nations  ;  see,  for  example,  Jerem.  vii.  18,  and 
 xliv.  19,  where  cakes  for  the  Queen  of  Heaven  are  spoken 
 of;  see  Buns  in  the  Vocabulary,  Vol.  I.  p.  378,  and  Shew- 
 BREAD  iiifra.  To  this  may  be  added  the  reference  to  Moses, 
 in  1  Kings  ii.  3,  and  1  Chron.  xxii.  13 ;  but  these  are  such 
 manifest  interpolations  that  they  cannot  bear  down  the 
 overwhelming  weight  of  proof,  contained  in  the  neglect  by 
 David  and  Solomon  of  every  particular  festival,  and  of  the 
 Sabbath  day. 
 
43 
 
 When  we  begin  to  investigate  the  religion  which 
 was  professed  by  David,  the  difficulty  is  considerable. 
 We  find  in  the  list  of  his  sons,  given  1  Chron.  xiv.  4-7, 
 that  some  are  called  after  El,  one  after  Baal,  viz., 
 Beeliadah,  but  none  after  Jah,  although  the  evidence 
 that  David  did  introduce  to  Israel  the  name  of  Jehovah, 
 after  his  return  from  the  Philistines'  land  and  Tyre,  is 
 too    strong   for   us  to   doubt   the   conclusion. 
 
 We  have  already  shown  that  El,  Alah,  Elohim, 
 Bel,  Baal,  Baalim,  were  names  of  the  Creator,  through- 
 out the  Shemitic  races ;  we  presume,  therefore,  that 
 David  was  originally  of  the  same  faith  as  the  people 
 of  Canaan,  but  that  he  subsequently  became  acquainted 
 with  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  Jao,  Jehu,  Y'ho,  Jeve, 
 ZsJj,  or  Ju-pater,  from  the  Greek  or  Phoenician  strangers, 
 whom  he  met  in  Tyre  and  Philistia,  or  who  visited 
 him  when  his  kingdom  was  firmly  established.  There 
 is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Jewish  idea  of  the 
 Creator,  under  His  name  Jah,  was  a  reverent  and  holy 
 one,  very  similar  indeed  to  that  which  prevails  amongst 
 ourselves ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  His  wor- 
 ship w^as  not  at  first  developed,  as  it  subsequently 
 became,  just  in  the  same  way  as  the  religion  of 
 Jesus  and  His  immediate  followers  was  far  more  simple 
 than  that  of  the  Christianity  of  to-day,  especially  in 
 Papal  countries. 
 
 So  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  various  utterances 
 attributed  to  King  David,  his  idea  of  the  Almighty  was, 
 that  He  was  a  high  and  holy  Being,  dwelling  in  every 
 part  of  the  vast  universe,  great  in  power,  wonderful  in 
 operation,  a  patron  of  the  good,  an  enemj'  of  the  bad ; 
 that  He  concerned  Himself  with  the  things  of  earth, 
 on  which  He  had  personal  friendships  and  implacable 
 enmities ;     that    He    chose,    from    time   to   time,    one    or 
 
44 
 
 more  individuals  amongst  men  as  His  vicegerents  upon 
 earth,  through  whom  communications  might  be  made  to 
 Him ;  and  that  He  had  personal  gratification  in  music, 
 leaping,  dancing,  and  sacrifices.  It  is  true  that  the 
 reverse  may  be  gathered  from  Psalm  xl.  6,  "  Sacrifice 
 and  offering  thou  didst  not  desire;"  and  li.  16,  "Thou 
 desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it ;  thou  delightest 
 not  in  burnt  oftering;"  and  cxlvii.  10,  "He  taketh  not 
 pleasure  in  the  legs  of  a  man."  But  these  cannot  outweigh 
 the  practice  of  the  king,  as  shown  in  2  Sam.  vi.  13,  14, 
 16,  21,  where  he  sacrifices,  leaps,  and  dances  indecently 
 before  the  ark,  which  was  in  his  eyes  the  visible  represen- 
 tative of  the  Almighty. 
 
 Yet,  with  all  his  reverence  for  the  great  Being,  David 
 considered  that  royalty  on  earth  ought  to  have  a  certain 
 amount  of  license,  and  he  made  no  scruple  about  allowing 
 one  son  to  commit  incest,  and  another  murder ;  tolerating 
 his  own  adultery  and  constructive  homicide ;  putting  to  a 
 shameful  death  seven  innocent  sons  of  his  royal  predecessor, 
 and  allowing  his  cousin  Joab  to  slaughter  Abner  and  Amasa 
 with  impunity.  Nay,  even  when  he  was  himself  solemnly 
 preparing  to  meet  his  Maker,  he  deliberately  instructed  his 
 son  to  perpetrate  a  murder  which  he  had  himself  been  too 
 timid  or  scrupulous  to  effect  (1  Kings  ii.  9). 
 
 There  is,  however,  only  a  faint  trace  thoughout  the  life 
 and  writings  of  David  that  he  ever  possessed  any  figure  to 
 which  he  paid  worship.  See  vol.  i.,  p.  438.  He  seems  to 
 have  associated  the  ark,  and  the  ephod,  in  some  manner  with 
 the  visible  presence  of  the  Almighty,  but  these  can  scarcely 
 be  included  in  the  category  of  images.  See  1  Sam.  xxiii.  9, 
 and  2  Sam.  vi.  21.  Those  who  talk  of  the  idolatry  for  the 
 wafer,  of  Mariolatry,  and  of  Bibliolatry,  may  perhaps  consider 
 that  the  worship  of  a  box,  and  of  a  gown  or  robe,  is  much  the 
 
45 
 
 same  as  adoration  of  a  statue  like  Diana  of  the  Ephesians ; 
 but  into  this  question  it  is  needless  for  us  to  enter. 
 
 During  his  reign,  David  enacted  certain  laws,  which  seem 
 to  have  been  subsequently  known  as  the  "statutes  of  David  " 
 (1  Kings  iii.  3),  one  of  which  is  given  in  detail,  1  Sam.  xxx. 
 24,  25. 
 
 When  Solomon  at  last  came  to  the  throne,  we  have  evi- 
 dence that  his  worship  in  some  respects  resembled  that 
 offered  by  the  surrounding  nations,  for  he  sacrificed  a 
 thousand  burnt-offerings  on  a  great  high  place — Gibeon  ; 
 just  as  did,  to  a  smaller  extent,  Agamemnon,  king  of  Argos, 
 and  the  Moabite  wives  of  the  Hebrew  monarch.  During 
 his  reign  there  is  no  evidence  of  the  existence  of  any 
 ancient  writings,  or  manuscripts  of  ancient  date,  nor  indeed 
 anything  to  corroborate  the  stories  of  the  Pentateuch,  Joshua 
 and  Judges.  "VVe  are  distinctly  told,  1  Kings  viii.  9,  that 
 there  was  in  Solomon's  time  nothing  in  the  ark ;  a  statement 
 supplemented  by  a  subsequent  writer,  with  the  assertion 
 that  it  contained  only  the  two  tables  of  stone  which 
 Moses  put  there  at  Horeb,  of  whose  very  existence  we  doubt, 
 inasmuch  as  they  are  never  mentioned  afterwards.^  Surely 
 when  Josiah  was  told  of  the  copy  of  the  law  being  found  in 
 
 2  I  am  unable  to  bring  direct  evidence  to  prove  that  the  saving  clause  in  the 
 verse  referred  to  is  a  later  addition  to  the  first  clause.  But  the  indirect  proof  is  as 
 strong  as  circumstantial  evidence  can  make  it. 
 
 1.  There  is  no  record  that  Solomon  ever  examined  the  contents  of  the  ark,  or 
 that  any  one  else  ever  did. 
 
 2.  It  is  tolerably  certain  that  Solomon  know  no  law  about  the  Sabbath  day, 
 ■which  he  must  have  done  had  he  read  the  two  tables  of  stone,  &c. 
 
 3.  It  is  equally  certain  that  if  such  tables  existed  they  would  be  copied,  lest 
 they  should  be  captured  by  enemies,  &c.,  and  exhibited  in  some  conspicuous  place. 
 
 4.  The  results  of  our  examination  into  the  whole  subject  lead  us  to  believe 
 that  the  story  of  Moses  was  not  in  existence  at  an  early  period  of  the  Jewish 
 monarchy. 
 
 It  may  be  that  the  whole  verse  in  question  is  of  comparatively  modem  origin, 
 and  that  the  first  part  is  of  the  same  date  as  the  last ;  if  so.  it  does  not  modify  our 
 argument  in  the  smallest  degree. 
 
46 
 
 the  temple,  neither  he  nor  the  priest  could  have  thought 
 anything  of  it,  if  they  already  had  in  their  temple  a  law 
 written  on  stone  by  God  himself.  Exod.  xxiv.  12  and  xxxiv.  1. 
 Granting,  however,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  there 
 were  many  written  records  in  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon 
 — records  of  their  own  reigns,  and  of  the  occurrences  which 
 had  happened  before  their  own  accession  to  power — 'SUch 
 archives  as  many  a  modern  Oriental  has  destroyed,  when 
 plundering  a  conquered  foe,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
 that  many  of  them,  if  not  all,  must  have  been  swept  away  by 
 the  plundering  Sliishak,  who  comes  in  as  the  Deus  ex 
 machind,  to  explain  to  the  modern  Jews  how  it  comes  to  pass, 
 that  all  the  fabled  magnificence  of  Solomon's  temple  had 
 disappeared  in  the  times  of  his  successors. 
 
 It  is  impossible  for  any  one,  who  uses  his  judgment,  to 
 give  credence  to  the  stories  which  are  told  respecting  the 
 wealth  of  Solomon,  and  the  amount  of  gold  which  he  lavished 
 on  the  temple.  We  are  told  that  the  weight  of  gold  which  came 
 to  this  man  in  one  year,  Vas  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  talents, 
 besides  that  which  came  by  trading  (1  Kings  x.  14,  2  Chron. 
 ix.  13).  We  find  too,  that  the  treasure  fleet  from  Tarshish 
 came  once  in  three  years  (2  Chron.  ix.  21),  so  that,  supposing 
 there  were  only  seven  voyages  in  all,  the  amount  of  gold 
 would  have  amounted  in  round  numbers  to  four  thousand 
 talents.  This  was  not,  however,  the  sole  source  of  the  gold 
 which  Solomon  is  reported  to  have  possessed ;  we  are  told 
 that  his  father  (1  Chron.  xxix.  7)  left  him  five  thousand 
 talents  ;  in  2  Chron.  viii.  18,  we  are  told  of  four  hundred  and 
 fifty  talents  which  came  from  Ophir,  and  one  hundred  and 
 twenty  brought  by  the  Queen  of  Sheba  (2  Chron.  ix.  9), 
 which  would  make  a  total  of  gold  equivalent  to  about  fifty- 
 two  millions  of  English  sovereigns. 
 
 Now,  although  we  may  suppose,  that  David  collected 
 about  twenty-seven  millions  pounds  sterling  of  gold   by  the 
 
47 
 
 plunder  of  all  the  nations  whom  he  conquered, — a  proposition, 
 nevertheless,  which  is  too  utterly  absurd  for  any  one  acquainted 
 with  the  paucity  of  gold  mines  in  the  early  times  to  believe, 
 — unless  of  course  it  can  be  demonstrated  that  Palestine  was 
 as  auriferous  as  Peru  and  Mexico,  we  cannot  conceive  how  it 
 was  possible  for  Solomon  to  gain  anything  like  three  millions 
 of  pounds  sterling  by  trading  to  Tarshish  and  Ophir,  since 
 he  had  nothing  to  send  in  the  place  of  money.  When  a 
 nation  wants  gold,  which  another  nation  is  willing  to  export, 
 there  must  be  something  sent  in  exchange  for  the  precious 
 metal ;  or  adventurers  must  be  sent  out,  like  those  who  now 
 people  the  mining  districts  of  California,  Australia,  Columbia 
 and  New  Zealand.  The  Hebrews,  however,  had  neither 
 materials  for  trading,  nor  any  propensity  to  emigrate  to 
 distant  lands,  as  gold  seekers.  In  the  account  of  Solomon's 
 reign,  there  is  no  mention  made  of  any  manufactures  in 
 Judea — the  productions  of  the  country  were  "cereals"  and 
 "live  stock"  (Ezek.  xxvii.  17),  of  which  the  supply  would 
 barely  exceed  that  sufficient  for  the  wants  of  the  people. 
 Again,  we  know  that  any  trader,  who  conveys  the  goods  of 
 one  country  to  another  for  sale,  becomes  rich  by  the  transac- 
 tion, if  he  have  ordinary  good  luck ;  but  Solomon  was  not 
 even  a  trader,  inasmuch  as  he  had  to  be  dependent  upon 
 Hiram  for  his  ships. 
 
 Putting  all  these  considerations  together,  we  conclude 
 that  the  account  given  to  us  of  the  magnificence  of  Solomon, 
 his  house,  and  temple,  cannot  be  relied  on ;  that  they  are 
 indeed  something  like  the  stories  which  we  meet  with  in  the 
 "  Arabian  Nights'  Entertainment."  It  will  probably  be 
 urged  that  I  am  forgetting  the  accounts  of  the  summer  palace 
 of  the  Emperor  of  China,  of  the  wealth  of  such  Indian 
 rajahs  as  Shah  Jehan,  the  rulers  of  Delhi  and  Lahore,  and 
 of  the  Incas  of  Peru,  who  were  treated  so  rapaciously  by 
 Pizarro.    By  no  means.     Let  the  objector  cast  his  eye  upon 
 
48 
 
 the  map  of  India,  of  China,  and  of  ancient  Peru,  and  then, 
 when  he  compares  their  magnitude  with  that  of  insignificant 
 Palestine,  which  is  not  so  big  as  Yorkshire,  and  did  not 
 wholly  belong  to  Solomon,  let  him  ask  himself,  how  far  it  is 
 right  to  compare  all  these  together,  with  a  view  to  demon- 
 strate the  probability  that  a  little  city  like  Jerusalem,  which 
 occupied  only  one-third  of  the  space  covered  by  the  winter 
 palace  of  the  Emperor  of  China,  and  boasted  of  a  popu- 
 lation of  only  three  million  souls  in  all,  would  be  equally 
 rich  with  the  treasury  of  a  ruler  over  some  two  or  three 
 hundred  millions  of  subjects. 
 
 It  will  be  impossible  for  us  ever  to  attain  to  a  rational 
 understanding  of  the  stories  told  in  the  sacred  books,  until 
 we  strip  from  them  all  exaggerations.  These  are  the 
 natural  methods  adopted  by  writers,  who,  knowing  that  their 
 people  or  state  is  frog-like  in  its  proportions,  endeavour  to 
 make  their  readers  believe,  that  the  nation  once  was  large 
 and  powerful  as  an  elephant,  and  wealthy  beyond  all  others. 
 How  much  ''little  people"  are  given  to  boasting  is  well  known 
 to  the  observers  of  to-day.  It  was  equally  common  in  days 
 gone  by. 
 
 As  the  monarch  Solomon  is  represented  as  being  an 
 unusually  wise  king,  and  a  very  extensive  wi-iter,  literature 
 might  naturally  have  emerged  from  the  darkness  which 
 enveloped  it  in  the  days  of  the  fighting  David.  It  is  possible 
 that  Solomon,  like  the  learned  Numa,  would  himself  draw 
 up,  or  direct  others  to  do  so,  a  code  of  laws  for  his  people ; 
 and,  like  the  Roman,  he  might  possibly  make  it  appear  that 
 the  laws  were  communicated  to  him  by  divine  agency,  or 
 were  sanctioned  by  God,  as  those  of  Lycurgus.  At  first  a 
 few  only  would  be  publicly  proclaimed,  but  they  would  serve 
 as  a  basis  for  others,  a  sort  of  lay  figure,  upon  which  all  suc- 
 ceeding kings  or  priests  could  place  difi'erent  dresses,  and 
 where  each  operator  could  vary  the  appearance  of  any  at  his 
 
49 
 
 own  discretion.  The  first  part  of  the  law  promulgated  by 
 Solomon,  if  indeed  he  really  did  ordain  any,  doubtless  varied 
 from  that  which  emerged  after  the  Babylonian  captivity ;  as 
 much  as  modern  popery,  with  its  gorgeous  temples,  its 
 wealthy  shrines,  its  costly  vestments,  its  glorious  music,  its 
 sumptuous  ritual,  and  its  arrogance  of  universal  dominion, 
 differs  from  the  pure  and  simple  Christianity  which  was 
 founded  by  Christ,  in  which  poverty  and  humility  were  the 
 main  virtues.  Whatever  the  laws  of  Solomon  may  have  been, 
 it  is  clear  that  his  rule  was  excessively  tyrannical,  and  his 
 religion  such  as  was  obnoxious  to  the  mass  of  his  subjects. 
 See  1  Kings  xii.  4,  14,  28.  Their  dislike  of  his  govern- 
 ment was  such  that  they  revolted  from  the  dominion  of  his 
 son,  Rehoboam,  and  from  the  worship  which  his  father  and 
 grandfather  had  adopted  and  endeavoured  to  establish. 
 
 Immediately  after  this  secession,  we  find  that  the  rebels, 
 in  their  proper  names,  revert  chiefly  to  the  use  of  El,  rather 
 than  continue  that  of  Jah.  Their  prophets  are  Elijah 
 and  Elisha.  The  people  readily  fall  into  the  worship  of 
 Baal,  who  is  destroyed  ultimately  by  Jehu,  a  name  supposed 
 to  be  the  same  as  Jah,  Jag  or  Jeue,  a  circumstance  which 
 leads  us  to  doubt  the  truthfulness  of  the  history  which 
 we  read  respecting  him.  The  name  of  Jah  continues  to  be 
 popular  amongst  the  rulers  of  Jerusalem  for  some  consider- 
 able time,  but  the  name  of  El  reappears  amongst  them  at  a 
 late  period,  e.  g.,  we  have  Eliakim  (2  Kings  xviii.  18)  in  the 
 time  of  Hezeldah,  and  we  subsequently  find  it  used  by  our 
 Saviour,  as  Eli,  in  his  dying  cry.  Knowing  as  we  do  from  the 
 Cuneiform  that  II  was  one  of  the  names  of  the  gi-eat  God 
 in  Assyrian  and  Babylonia,  judging  that  Al  or  Allah  was 
 a  common  name  of  the  same  great  Being  amongst  the 
 Greeks,  from  its  entering  into  such  names  as  ^Zabandus, 
 ^Zagonia  (a  daughter  of  Zeus  and  Europa),  Alalcome- 
 neis   and    others;     and    El    another,    from     its    entering 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 into  composition  in  sucli  words  as  Elena,,  Ehgahalns, 
 Ehra,  jEJZasus,  Eleins,  Elensis,  and  others,  we  conclude 
 that  El,  either  as  Al,  Allah,  El,  Elohim,  II,  or  Ilus, 
 was  the  general  name  amongst  some  Eastern  races  for  the 
 Almighty.  We  cannot  tell  with  any  exactness  when  the 
 name  Jah  became  first  used  as  the  nearest  copy  of  the  sacred 
 or  secret  name  of  the  Almighty,  but  there  is  sufficient  evi- 
 dence before  us  to  make  us  believe  that  its  employment  was 
 very  restricted,  being  adopted  chiefly  by  royal  personages, 
 high  priests,  or  other  great  men,  and  consequently  that  El 
 was  the  most  common,  and  possibly  the  most  ancient. 
 
 Now  as  Jah  was  the  sacred  name  which  obtained  amongst 
 the  priests  and  nobles  of  the  Jerusalem  kingdom,  we  must 
 consider  that  the  portions  of  the  sacred  writings  which 
 abound  with  names  derived  from  El  had  very  probably  their 
 origin  in  the  stories  or  writings  of  the  Phoenicians,  Assyrians, 
 or  Babylonians ;  whilst  those  which  abound  with  the  name 
 of  Jah  must  be  referred  to  writers  who  flourished  between 
 the  accession  of  David  and  the  captivity,  or  subsequently. 
 
 German  writers  have,  I  understand,  divided  the  Old 
 Testament  into  portions,  which  they  conceive  to  have  been 
 been  written  by  Elohists  and  Jehovists ;  but,  as  I  know  them 
 only  through  the  works  of  the  learned  Bishop  of  Natal,  I 
 cannot  quote  them  directly,  and  must  restrict  myself  to 
 referring  to  the  labours  of  Dr.  Colenso. 
 
 Now  that  author  demonstrates  that  the  Elohistic  narra- 
 tive is  comparatively  pure,  and  that  it  bears  internal  evidence 
 of  having  been  drawn  from  ancient  times,  before  houses  were 
 common  and  coined  money  existed.  He  shows,  too,  that 
 many  of  the  Jehovistic  additions  are  such  that  if  they  did 
 not  occur  in  the  Bible  we  should  call  them  obscene ;  we 
 conclude,  therefore,  that  the  first  collection  may  have  been 
 made  from  Phoenician  sources,  at  a  time  when  morality  was 
 high,  as  in  the  time  of  Asa,  or  in  the  days  of  Jehoash  and 
 
51 
 
 Jehoiada,  and  that  the  Jehovistic  additions  were  made 
 during  the  dissolute  days  of  Ahaz,  Manasseh,  Jehoiakim, 
 and  others.^ 
 
 In  estimating,  however,  the  probable  period  when  either 
 the  Elohist  or  the  Jehovist  wrote,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the 
 Greek  element  which  is  made  apparent  in  Genesis,  by 
 the  use  of  such  names  as  Tubal  Cain  (f  Vulcan) ;  Lamech, 
 Aajj^ciKYj,  the  warrior ;  Ada  and  Zillah  (see  these  names  in 
 the  Vocabulary) ;  Javan,  [xa^aipa,  &c. ;  all  of  which  point  to  a 
 comparatively  recent  period,  when  Grecian  names,  &c.,  were 
 known  to  Hebrew  writers. 
 
 8  I  must  confess  that  the  more  closely  and  carefully  I  examine  into  what  are 
 called  Elohistic  and  Jehovistic  portions  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  more  difficult 
 does  the  subject  aj^pear  to  be.  In  spite  of  the  most  diligent  analysis  which 
 has  hitherto  been  bestowed  upon  the  chronology  of  the  various  parts  of  the  Hebrew 
 Scripture  writings,  the  philosopher  must  still  feel  that  be  is  but  on  the  threshold 
 of  an  inquiry.  Up  to  the  present  time,  I  cannot  regard  the  result  of  previous 
 investigation  as  being  more  than  a  clearance  away  of  rubbish,  such  as  that  which 
 Belzoni  had  to  effect  ere  he  could  examine  the  temple  of  Ipsambhoul.  It  is  not 
 enough  to  demonstrate,  with  Spiuosa  (Traclatus  Thcologo  Politicus,  translated 
 into  English,  Triibner  &  Co.,  London,  1862),  that  before  the  time  of  the  Maccabees 
 there  was  no  canon  of  Holy  Writ  extant,  and  that  the  books  which  we  have,  were 
 selected  from  amongst  many  others,  by  and  on  the  sole  authority  of  the  Pharisees 
 of  the  second  temple ;  and  to  show  that  the  great  synagogue  which  decided  the 
 canon,  was  subsequent  to  the  subjection  of  Asia  to  the  Macedonian  power.  More 
 than  this  is  required.  We  have  to  discover,  if  possible,  not  only  the  various 
 writers  of  certain  parts  of  the  Hebrew  Bible,  but  to  ascertain  in  what  way  these  or 
 other  individuals  have  altered  history  — or  fabricated  it  — how  they  have  interpo- 
 lated a  chapter  here,  a  verse  there,  and  changed  a  reading  elsewhere.  We  have 
 also  to  ascertain  at  what  period  of   Jewish  history  these  various  writers  lived. 
 
 Though  unable,  at  the  present  moment,  to  do  more  than  express  my  belief  that 
 the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  we  have  it,  was  fabricated  subsequently  to 
 B.C.  600,  or  thereabouts,  and  a  very  large  portion  of  it  at  a  date  not  long  prior  to 
 B.C.  280,  I  hope  to  be  able,  ere  the  printing  of  this  voliime  is  completed,  or  in  a 
 supplementary  issue,  to  give  much  more  definite  information  on  this  head.  When 
 the  subject  is  of  such  vast  importance  to  religion  — for  upon  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
 tures the  New  Testament  Christianity  is  founded  — it  would  be  unpardonable  to 
 advance  statements  which,  if  true,  prove  the  Jewish  Bible  to  be,  wholly,  of  compara- 
 tively recent  human  origin,  and  worthless  as  a  mine  of  religious  or  historic  tmth, 
 unless  the  allegations  are  supported  by  strong  cumulative  evidence. 
 
 The  reader  of  the  foUowing  pages,  and  of  the  preceding  volume,  wiU  see  that  I 
 consider  the  evidence  of  Grecian  influence  in  the  old  Testament  is  too  con- 
 clusive to  be  doubted. 
 
52 
 
 CHAPTER   IV. 
 
 Our  estimate  of  nations  who  profess  to  be  the  sole  favourites  of  God.     Britain's 
 right  to  this  assumption    questioned.  Comparison   between    various    pro- 
 
 fessors. Ancient  and  modern  Jew  and  Gentile.  How  the  judgment  is  to 
 be  framed.  The  fruits  borne  by  religions.  Estimate  of  the  ancient  Jews. 
 Their  cruelty,  sensuality,  and  viudictiveness.  Midianite  slaughter.  Samuel. 
 David,  a  test  of  the  value  of  the  Jewish  religion.  David  owed  his  good 
 character  to  his  deference  to  the  priesthood.  Estimates  of  God  amongst  Jews. 
 Jews  not  missionary  —  the  reason  why.  Egyptian  religion  —  its  ideas  of  a 
 future  state.  Hindoo  religion.  Trinity  in  India.  New  birth.  Character  of 
 Hindoos  in  peace  —  in  war.  Nana  Sahib  and  David  compared.  Value  of  the 
 various  commandments  compared.  Delhi  and  London.  The  ancient  Persians 
 —  their  faith  and  practice —  have  no  temples  or  image  idola.  The  modern 
 Parsees.  Persians  and  Jews  compared.  Character  of  celebrated  Persians. 
 The  Grecian  religion.  Oi-phic  fragments.  Hesiod.  Pythagoras.  Socrates. 
 Plato.  Stobseus.  Euripides.  Character  of  the  Greeks  —  in  advance  of  Jews. 
 Gods,  Demigods,  and  Angels  compared.  Ty]^)hon  and  the  Devil.  The  Koman 
 religion.  Pliny  on  the  gods  and  on  worship  —  his  good  sense.  Lucretius. 
 David  and  Brutus.  Tamar  and  Lucretia  compared.  Rome  and  Jerusalem 
 compared.  London  estimated.  Eevelation  to  all  alike  or  to  none.  Modern 
 tests  of  truth.  Human  ideas  of  God  conspicuous  throughout  the  Old  Testament. 
 Estimate  of  sacred  Hebrew  writings.     An  expurgated  edition  required. 
 
 To  go  through  all  the  items  of  observation  which  would 
 be  required,  ere  it  would  be  competent  for  us  to  draw  a 
 definite  opinion  as  to  the  absolute  age  of  any  part  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  is  far  too  great  a  task  for  any  one  at  the  present 
 time  to  undertake.  We  may  therefore  pass  it  by  for  a 
 period,  and  inquire  into  the  nature  of  the  religion  which  is 
 said  to  have  been  revealed,  by  direct  interposition  of  the 
 Almighty,  to  the  patriarchs,  Idngs,  priests,  judges,  lawgivers, 
 prophets  and  prophetesses  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  examine 
 how  far  it  is  equal,  inferior  or  superior,  to  the  rehgion  of 
 other  nations,  for  which  a   divine  origin  has  been  claimed, 
 
53 
 
 but  not  allowed,  by  those  who  consider  themselves  to  be  the 
 chosen  race. 
 
 Whenever  an  Englishman  of  modern  times  discovers  a 
 nation  or  a  tribe  which  arrogate  to  themselves  the  proud 
 position  of  being  the  chosen  race  of  the  Almighty,  he  smiles 
 with  scorn,  and  pities  the  intellect  of  those  who  can  allow 
 themselves  to  be  so  misled.  We  deride  the  pretensions  of 
 the  barbaric  Emperor  of  China,  who  styles  himself  "brother 
 of  the  sun  and  of  the  moon;"  and,  throughout  our  churches, 
 we  pray  with  fervour,  on  Good  Friday,  that  the  Almighty 
 would  bring  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  who  adore  Him 
 differently  to  ourselves,  like  erring  sheep  back  again  to  His 
 fold.  But  by  what  right  do  we  hold  our  own  heads  so 
 high,  and  assume  that  we  have  a  certain  and  absolute  claim 
 to  be  the  especial  sons  of  God  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others  ? 
 By  what  process  of  reasoning  can  we  demonstrate  that  He 
 who,  we  say,  has  spoken  to  us,  and  who  still,  as  we  are  told, 
 speaks  to  us  through  the  Bible,  and  by  ministers  of  apostolic 
 descent,  has  never  spoken  and  never  will  speak  to  any  others  ? 
 By  what  rule  of  logic  do  we  believe  that  ancient  Hebrew  pro- 
 phets were  inspired  by  God,  and  yet  refuse  credence  to  the 
 statement  that  an  Arabic  prophet  has  been  similarly  imbued 
 with  the  divine  spirit  ?  Or  by  what  means  shall  we  demon- 
 strate that  the  writings  which  were  accounted  sacred  amongst 
 the  Jews  have  a  real  claim  to  a  heavenly  parentage,  whilst 
 other  writings,  probably  of  greater,  or  at  least  of  the  same, 
 antiquity,  and  held  in  equal  reverence  by  nations  of  far 
 greater  magnitude,  are  designated  as  idle  tales?  The  natural 
 answer  of  the  Bible  Christian  would  be,  "by  their  fruits 
 ye  shall  know  them."  Accepting  then  this  dictum,  we 
 inquire  respecting  the  nature  of  the  fruits  borne  by  the 
 religions  of  various  nations,  and,  so  far  as  we  can,  the 
 theoretical  nature  of  their  doctrines. 
 
 It  does  not  require  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  books  of 
 
54 
 
 the  Old  Testament  to  show  that  the  ancient  Jews  were  a 
 turbulent,  pusillanhnous,  savage,  and  sensual  race.  Their 
 writers  describe  the  alleged  conquest  of  Canaan  as  having 
 been  attended  with  frightful  butchery,  which  Jehovah  him- 
 self augmented.  The  slaughter  of  the  Midianites,  recorded 
 in  Num.  xxxi.,  it  is  appalling  to  read,  for  none  of  that  race 
 were  saved,  except  those  who  could  gratify  the  sensual  appe- 
 tites of  the  ruthless  conquerors;  and  many  of  these  were 
 apparently  consigned  to  the  high  priest,  possibly  to  become 
 prostitutes  for  the  tabernacle  (see  Num.  xxxi.  40,  41).^ 
 
 Again,  Samuel,  the  Lord's  prophet,  was  as  vindictive  as 
 the  modern  Nana  Sahib.  The  model  King  David,  the  man 
 after  God's  own  heart,  was  very  like  the  old  moss-troopers  on 
 
 1  Although,  we  shall  see  valid  reasons  for  believing  that  many  of  these  stories 
 are  apocryphal,  if  not  wholly  without  foundation,  our  remarks  are  not  thereby 
 vitiated ;  we  hold  that  the  writers  who  gave  such  accounts  of  the  slaughter  of  the 
 Midianites,  the  Canaanites,  and  the  Amalekites,  described  the  Almighty  in  whom 
 they  believed  as  a  blood-thirsty  demon,  exceeding  in  cruel  ferocity  the  veiy  darkest 
 of  barbarian  Molochs.  Even  the  cannibal  man -sacrificing  Mexicans  were  not  so 
 ruthless  towards  theii-  enemies,  as  the  chosen  race  were  said  to  be  towards  their 
 foes. 
 
 The  common  answer  to  the  objections  raised  against  the  demoniacal  pietiu'e  of 
 the  Creator  painted  by  the  Jews  is,  that  such  things,  though  permitted  in  one 
 dispensation,  are  not  to  be  tolerated  in  another  ;  but  this  reply  is  whollj'  beside  the 
 mark.  The  fact  is,  that  the  Bible,  of  the  Jews,  asserts  that  God  himself  ordered, 
 and  oven  assisted  in,  butcheries  which  vie  with  the  most  horrible  of  the  massacres 
 of  North  American  Indians,  and  other  savages.  It  is  also  alleged  that  the 
 Unchangeable  One  cannot  be  cruel,  malignant,  a  murderer  and  exterminator,  at 
 one  period,  and  the  opposite  at  another.  Hence  we  must  conclude,  either  that  the 
 God  of  the  Jewish  nation  was  not  the  true  God,  or  that  Ho  has  been  maligned, 
 misrepresented,  and  falsified,  by  men  who  have  declared  themselves  to  be  His 
 messengers. 
 
 The  issue  between  the  philosopher  and  the  Bibliolater  is  clear.  The  first  asserts 
 that  the  Jewish  Scriptures  are  not  only  worthless  but  blasphemous,  because  they 
 depict  God  as  they  do  the  Devil ;  the  second  holds  that  the  writings  in  question  are 
 true,  and  is  consequently  comx)elled  to  allow  that  God  did  "  play  the  Devil "  to 
 all  who  wore  not  Jews.  How  the  majority  of  Christians  would  vote  upon  this 
 question  wc  know  too  wcU,  for  they  ever  express  their  hoiTor  of  the  individual  who 
 attemjits  to  show  that  the  persecution  of  a  religious  oi>ponent  is  a  sin. 
 
 Verily,  the  popular  idea  of  God  is  that  he  is  double-faced,  like  the  Templar's 
 shield,  or  the  pillar  of  fire  and  cloud ;  at  the  same  time  light  and  darkness,  loving 
 and  malignant,  gentle  and  furious.     To  this  subject  we  shall  refer  hereafter. 
 
55 
 
 the  Scotch  and  Enghsh  borders.    Can  any  one  read  without  a 
 shudder,  how  this  pious  man  harried  the  Geshurites,  Gezrites, 
 and  Amalekites  ;   how  he  left  neither  man  nor  woman  alive, 
 lest  they  should  bring   tidings  to  Gath ;    and  how  he  then 
 went   with  a  deliberate  lie  to  the  king,    whose   mercenary 
 soldier   he   was,    and   professed    to    have    done    something 
 different  to  what  had  really  happened  ?  (1  Sam.  xxvii.  8-12). 
 Did  any  British  highwayman  or  Indian  thug  ever  do  any- 
 thing worse,  or  even  so  bad  ?     Moreover,  we  find  that  the 
 man  who  had  so  little  respect  for  truth  and  mercy  had  none 
 for  the  laws  of  honour ;  not  content  with  multiplying  women 
 for  his  private  harem,  he  took  the  wife  of  another,  and  deli- 
 berately slew,  with  the  sword  of  the  children  of  Ammon,  her 
 warrior  spouse,  of  whose  worth  we  may  judge  from  2  Sam. 
 xi.  9-11;  and  all  this  without  a  qualm  of  conscience.    Again, 
 was   there  ever   a  siege   in   the   wildest   passages   of  Irish 
 rebellions, —  and  history  tells  us  how  fearful  many  of  them 
 were,  —  more    conspicuous  for   atrocious   cruelty   than  that 
 which  decided  the  fate  of  the  inhabitants  of  Eabbah  and  of 
 the  Ammonites  (2  Sam.  xii.  31)?    At  a  more  advanced  period 
 of  David's  life,  we  find  that  the  king,   who  could  put  his 
 enemies  under  saws,   axes,  and  harrows  of  iron,  and  burn 
 them  in  brick-kilns,  was  as  pusillanimous  as  once  he  was  bold, 
 as  most  tyrants  are.      Though  represented  as  putting  trust 
 in   his   God,  he  dared  not  face  his  rebellious  son,  and  he 
 fled  ignominiously  from  his  capital.      Finally,  when  he  is 
 about  to  die,  is  it  not  awful  to  read  his  testament  of  blood 
 which  he  deliberately  charges  on  Solomon;  "his  hoar  head 
 bring  thou  down  to  the  grave  with  blood"  (1  Kings  ii.  9)? 
 Now  this  king  was  one  of  the  pattern   men   amongst  the 
 ancient  Israelites;  and  can  we  say  that  his   life  bore  testi- 
 mony to  the  goodness  and  value  of  the  law  under  which  he 
 is    said   to   have   lived,   and   to   the   divine   origin    of    the 
 religion  he  is  alleged  to  have  practised?     The  historian,  when 
 
56 
 
 he  notices  that  many  potentates  of  modern  times  who  have 
 been  highly  eulogised  for  their  faith,  piety  and  religion,  have 
 yet  been  guilty  of  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  concludes  that 
 the  good  characters  have  been  given  by  hierarchs,  who  have 
 been  allowed  by  such  kings  to  have  their  own  way ;  and  he 
 consequently  suspects  that  David's  character  has  been  re- 
 corded by  a  priesthood  to  whom  the  king  was  devoted,  whose 
 behests  he  granted,  and  whose  influence  he  allowed. 
 
 We  pass  by  David's  successors  with  the  simple  remark, 
 that  throughout  his  dynasty,  prophets  were  habitually  crying 
 out,  in  vain,  against  the  sins  of  the  people  in  general,  who 
 were  accused  by  them  of  all  sorts  of  abominations.  Judging, 
 therefore,  by  its  fruits,  there  was  nothing  in  the  Jewish 
 religion  or  law  which  made  the  Hebrews  a  better  set  of 
 men  than  were  the  heathen  amongst  whom  they  dwelt. 
 
 When  we  inquire  still  farther  into  the  nature  of  the  reve- 
 lation which  the  Jews  asserted  that  they  alone  possessed,  we 
 find  the  Almighty  described  therein  as  being  like  a  human 
 monarch,  with  throne,  and  court  attendants  on  His  will,  and 
 having  enemies,  whom  He  did  not  or  could  not  subdue.  He 
 was  represented  as  inculcating,  through  prophets,  love, 
 mercy,  and  goodness,  yet  as  practising  cruelty  and  vengeance 
 against  those  who  did  not  venerate  His  priests.  He  re- 
 warded the  Jews,  or  at  least  His  own  followers  amongst  them, 
 with  the  good  things  of  this  world,  and  punished  by  pillage, 
 torture,  or  destruction,  His  adversaries,  the  heathen,  i.  e., 
 about  nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety  out  of  every 
 ten  thousand  souls.  Neither  His  priests  nor  His  prophets 
 told  His  followers  of  a  future  life ;  and  all  alike  connived 
 at  an  exclusiveness  which  prevented  any  idea  of  missionary 
 zeal,  and  barely  of  domestic  prosel3'tising. 
 
 When  we  inquire  closely  into  this  neglect  of  missionary 
 enterprise  amongst  the  Jews,  we  see  reason  to  believe  that 
 it  arose  from  the  contempt  with  which  the  Hebrews  seem 
 
57 
 
 ever  to  have  been  regarded  by  their  neighbours.  Being  origi- 
 nally nothing  more  than  a  horde  of  successful  banditti,  and  the 
 scum  of  the  towns  of  Palestine  and  Greece  ;  they  were  feared 
 perhaps,  while  strong,  like  the  early  Eomans ;  but  they 
 were  contemned  nevertheless,  as  the  descendants  of  convicts 
 are  in  Sydney  to-day.  When  feebleness  succeeded  to  power, 
 the  contempt  of  neighbours  was  shown  openly.  Despised 
 abroad,  the  Jews  boasted  amongst  themselves  at  home,  and 
 "talked  big"  that  they  might  not  feel  little.  In  this  policy 
 the  Hebrews  were  encouraged  by  their  prophets.  For  the 
 Jews  to  have  sent  out  missionaries  would  seem  as  absurd  as 
 it  would  be  if  the  inhabitants  of  Siberia  were  to  send  mis- 
 sionaries to  Spain,  Italy,  England,  or  America. 
 
 The  more  I  examine  into  the  real  history  of  the  Jewish 
 people,  the  more  impressed  I  become  with  their  insignificance 
 as  a  nation.  It  is  even  doubtful  whether  the  Jewish  kings 
 and  people  differed  from  any  of  the  robber  chieftains,  who, 
 with  their  retainers,  inhabited  some  of  the  strong  castles  on 
 the  Khine  or  elsewhere;  or  from  the  Taepings  in  modern 
 China.  I  distrust  the  Jewish  legends,  as  I  doubt  the  roman- 
 tic legends  of  the  Rhine.  To  me  it  would  be  a  marvel  how 
 modern  critics  could  give  any  credence  to  the  Hebrew  stories, 
 did  I  not  know  how  powerful  is  the  effect  of  infantile  cre- 
 dulity upon  the  adult  man  and  woman,  and  how  strongly 
 fear  of  the  unseen  modifies  our  judgment  upon  the  things 
 which  are  visible. 
 
 Such  then  being  the  fruit  of  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  the 
 nature  of  its  doctrines,  and  the  character  of  their  extant 
 books,  let  us  examine  the  same  questions  as  regards  other 
 
 nations. 
 
 The  Egyptians,  ere  the  Jews  existed,  i.  e.,  b.  c.  3100- 
 4,500,  had  a  ritual  for  the  dead,  in  which  the  immortality 
 of  the  soul  was  recognised  in  these  words,  (Bunsen's  Egypt, 
 vol.  5,  p.  94),  ''  I  am  the  sun  in  its  setting,  the  only  being 
 
58 
 
 in  the  firmament,  I  am  tlie  rising  sun.  The  sun's  power 
 begins  when  he  has  set,  (he  rises  again :  so  does  the  justified 
 spirit  of  man) ;  and  again,  I  am  the  great  god  begotten  by 
 himself.  I  am  the  God,  the  creator  of  all  existences  in  the 
 universe."  Again  we  read  in  the  same  author  (vol.  5,  p. 
 129,  note),  "  To  feed  the  hungry,  give  drink  to  the  thirsty, 
 clothe  the  naked,  bury  the  dead,  loyally  serve  the  king, 
 forms  the  first  duty  of  a  pious  man  and  faithful  subject." 
 Once  more  we  read,  {Op.  cit.,  p.  165),  "  Oh  soul,  greatest  of 
 things  created."  We  seek  in  vain  amongst  the  Egyptian 
 hieroglyphs  for  scenes  which  recall  such  cruelties  as  those 
 we  read  of  in  the  Hebrew  records ;  and  in  the  writings  which 
 have  hitherto  been  translated,  we  find  nothing  resembling 
 the  wholesale  destructions  described  and  applauded  by  the 
 Jewish  historians,  as  perpetrated  by  their  own  people.  How 
 obedient  the  Egjqjtians  were  to  the  orders  of  God,  as  given 
 by  his  oracle  at  Meroe,  we  learn  from  the  fact  recorded  in 
 the  note,  p.  57,  vol.  1,  viz.,  that  "  they  were  faithful,  even 
 unto  death." 
 
 Herodotus  tells  us  (ii.  123),  that  "the  Egyptians  main- 
 tain that  Ceres  and  Bacchus  (Isis  and  Osiris)  preside  in  the 
 realms  below."  We  find  also  Diodorus  Siculus  (i.  60,  61)  say- 
 ing, "  The  Egyptians  consider  the  period  of  life  on  earth  to  be 
 very  insignificant,  but  attach  the  highest  value  to  a  quiet 
 life  after  death.  They  call,  therefore,  the  dwellings  of  the 
 living  temporary  habitations  only,  but  the  tombs  of  the 
 dead  are  regarded  as  the  eternal  abode,"  etc.,  etc.  A  proof, 
 if  any  were  needed,  that  the  Jews  were  not  the  first  nation 
 to  recognise  the  existence  of  a  future  life  of  rewards  and 
 punishments ;  and  we  must  therefore  conclude  that,  if  we 
 have  our  knowledge  of  Hell  by  revelation,  other  nations 
 can  lay  claim  to  a  revelation  prior  to  that  given  to 
 Moses.  As  the  Jews  seem  to  have  had  no  conception  of  a 
 future  state,  and  the  existence  of  a  celestial  hierarchy,  until 
 
§9 
 
 long  after  tlie  Egyptians,  Babylonians,  Greeks,  and  Etrus- 
 cans, it  is  preposterous  for  any  one  to  assert  that  they 
 alone  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  have  been  the  depositary 
 of  the  oracles  of  the  Almighty.  Such  a  claim  is  in  itself 
 blasphemous,  as  limiting  both  the  power  and  the  will  of 
 the  Omnipotent. 
 
 From  the  ancient  dwellers  by  the  Nile  let  us  next  turn 
 our  attention  to  those  who  live  near  the  Indus  and  the 
 Ganges.  We  find  the  Eev.  Mr.  Maurice  thus  describing  a 
 portion  of  the  ancient  Hindoo  doctrine.  After  alluding  to 
 the  male  and  female  organs  in  union  as  a  sacred  sign, 
 he  quotes  the  following  from  the  Geeta,  "  I  am  the  father 
 and  the  mother  of  this  world.  I  plant  myself  upon  my  own 
 nature,  and  create  again  and  again  this  assemblage  of  beings ; 
 I  am  generation  and  dissolution  (vol.  1,  p.  560,  note  8),  the 
 place  where  all  things  are  deposited,  and  the  inexhaustible 
 seed  of  all  nature ;  I  am  the  beginning,  the  middle  and 
 the  end  of  all  things.  The  great  Brahme  is  the  womb  of  all 
 those  various  forms  which  are  conceived  in  every  natural 
 womb,  and  I  am  the  father  that  soweth  the  seed"  (Maurice, 
 Indian- Ant'iquitcs,  vol.  iv.,  p.  705).  Again,  the  same  author 
 says  (vol.  iv.  pp.  744,  5),  "  Degraded  infinitely  beneath  the 
 Christian  as  are  the  characters  of  the  Hindoo  trinity,  yet 
 throughout  Asia  there  has  not  hitherto  occurred  so  direct 
 and  unequivocal  a  designation  of  a  trinity  in  unity  as  that 
 sculptured  in  the  Elephanta  cavern ;  nor  is  there  any  more 
 decided  avowal  of  the  doctrine  itself  to  be  recognised 
 than  in  the  following  passages  of  the  Bhagvat  Geeta,  in 
 which  Vishnu  thus  speaks  of  himself,  'I  am  the  holy  one, 
 worthy  to  be  known,  I  am  the  mystic  (triliteral)  figure 
 Cm,  the  Eeig,  the  Yagush,  and  the  Samau  Yedas.' " 
 Sonnerat  {Voyages,  vol.  i.,  p.  259)  gives  a  passage  from  a 
 Sanscrit  "  purana,"  in  which  it  is  stated  that  it  is  God  alone 
 who  created  the  universe  by  his  productive  power  (= Brahma), 
 
60 
 
 who  maintains  it  by  his  all-preserving  power  (=  Vishnu), 
 and  who  will  destroy  it  by  his  destructive  power  (=Siva), 
 and  that  it  is  this  god  who  is  represented  under  the  name 
 of  three  gods,  who  are  called  Trimourti.  Again  Maurice 
 (Op.  cit.,  vol.  v.,  p.  1052)  quotes  from  the  Geeta  the  following 
 words  of  the  Hindoo  deity,  "They  who  serve  even  other  gods, 
 with  a  firm  belief  in  doing  so,  involuntarily  worship  me.  I 
 am  He  who  partaketh  of  all  worship,  and  I  am  their  reward." 
 Colebrook  {On  the  Religion  of  the  Hindus,^  p.  29),  gives  the 
 following  passages  from  one  of  the  ancient  Yedas,  "  But  this 
 is  Brahma,  he  is  Indra,  he  is  Prajapati,  the  lord  of  crea- 
 tures ;  these  gods  are  he,  and  so  are  the  five  primary  elements, 
 earth,  air,  the  ethereal  fluid,  water,  and  light.  These,  and  the 
 same  joined  with  minute  objects,  and  other  seeds  of  existence, 
 and  other  beings  produced  from  eggs  or  borne  in  wombs,  or 
 originating  in  hot  moisture  (like  insect  vermin),  or  springing 
 from  plants ;  whether  horses,  kine,  or  men,  or  elephants, 
 whatever  lives  and  walks  and  fl.ies,  or  whatever  is  immov- 
 able, as  herbs  and  trees ;  all  that  is  the  eye  of  intelligence. 
 On  intellect  everything  is  founded,  the  world  is  the  eye  of 
 intellect,  and  intellect  is  its  foundation.  Intelligence  is 
 Brahme,  the  great  one."^  Again  (p.  28),  we  read,  "This 
 living  principle  is  first,  in  man,  a  foetus,  or  productive  seed, 
 which  is  the  essence  drawn  from  all  the  members  of  the  body; 
 thus  the  man  nourishes  himself  within  himself.  But  when 
 he  emits  it  into  woman  he  procreates  that  foetus,  and  such  is 
 its  first  birth.  It  becomes  identified  with  the  woman,  and 
 being  such  as  is  her  own  body  it  does  not  destroy  her. 
 She  cherishes  his  own  self  thus  received  within  her,  and 
 as  nurturing  him  she  ought  to  be  cherished  by  him.  The 
 woman  nourishes  that  foetus,  but  he  previously  cherished 
 the  child,   and  further  does  so   after  his   birth.     Since   he 
 
 2  Williams  and  Norgate,  London,  1858. 
 8  Compare  Prov.  iii.  19,  viii.  1,  14,  22,  23,  24,  25,  27,  30. 
 
61 
 
 supports  the  cliild  both  before  and  after  birth,  he  cherishes 
 himself,  and  that  for  the  perpetual  succession  of  persons,  for 
 thus  are  these  persons  perpetuated.  Such  is  his  second 
 birth.  This  second  self  becomes  his  representative  for 
 holy  acts  of  religion,  and  that  other  self,  having  fulfilled 
 its  obligations  and  completed  its  period  of  life,  deceases. 
 Departing  hence,  he  is  horn  again  in  some  other  shape, 
 and  such  is  his  third  birth." 
 
 Without  going  into  any  particulars  of  the  way  in  which 
 the  Lingam  and  the  Yoni  are  interwoven  into  the  faith  of 
 the  Hindoos,  we  will  proceed  to  examine  the  fruit  which 
 their  reHgion  bears ;  and  I  quote  the  following  from  a  small 
 pamphlet  by  E.  Sellon,  Esq.  (privately  printed),  "  One  of 
 the  most  accomplished  Oriental  scholars  of  our  times,  to 
 whom  the  public  is  indebted  for  a  Teluga  dictionary  and 
 a  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  same  language,  a  resi- 
 dent for  thirty  years  in  India,  has  recorded  his  judgment 
 that,  on  the  questions  of  probity  and  morality,  Europeans, 
 notwithstanding  their  boasted  Christianity,  as  compared 
 with  the  Hindiis,  have  not  much  to  boast  of.'' 
 
 Let  us  now  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  the  Indian  leaders 
 during  that  eventful  period  when  they  attempted  to  break 
 a  foreign  and  detested  yoke  from  off  their  necks.  All  of 
 the  hated  race  upon  whom  the  oppressed  could  lay  their 
 hand  were  destroyed;  men,  women,  and  children  shared  a 
 common  fate.  There  was  no  sparing  of  the  tender  females 
 for  purposes  of  sensuality,  as  when  the  Jews  destroyed  the 
 Midianites,  nor  such  scenes  of  cruelty  as  were  perpetrated 
 by  David  after  the  capture  of  Kabbah.  It  is  true  that  our 
 newspapers  contained  harrowing  descriptions  of  tortures  and 
 of  refined  cruelty  ;  but  when  one  journal.  The  Times,  more 
 conscientious  than  the  others,  sent  persons  especially  to 
 inquire  into  the  truth  of  these  reports,  not  a  single  one 
 was  substantiated,  all  were  found  to  be  fictions. 
 
62 
 
 In  matters  of  faith,  the  fruit  of  the  Hindoo  belief  is 
 superior  to  that  of  more  fanatical  Europe,  the  majority  of 
 whose  inhabitants  consider  it  an  act  of  religion,  and  a 
 proof  of  zeal  to  the  Deity,  to  slay,  torture,  or  in  some  way 
 to  annoy  all  those  who  differ  from  them  in  their  own 
 peculiar  tenets.  It  is  true  that  the  English  mind  is  scan- 
 dalised by  the  accounts  we  read  of  immorality  in  Hindostan ; 
 but  it  must  ever  be  remembered  that  indulgence  of  the 
 sensual  appetite  is  not  the  only  sin  which  man  commits,  and 
 that  one  who  permits  himself  full  licence  to  break  the 
 seventh  commandment,  and  is  temperate  in  every  other 
 matter,  does  not  materially  differ  from  the  one  who  habi- 
 tually breaks  the  third,  and  is  careful  to  respect  the 
 remainder.  The  temperate  Hindoo  may  as  justly  point 
 the  finger  of  scorn  at  the  beastly  drunkards  of  London, 
 as  can  the  cockneys  of  the  city  point  theirs  at  the  poly- 
 gamous nobles  of  Hindostan.  Ere  the  inhabitants  of  Great 
 Britain  can  fairly  look  with  contempt  upon  heathen  Indians, 
 they  must  be  able  to  show  that  the  conduct  of  their  own 
 aristocracy,  middle  and  lower  classes,  is  such  a  fruit,  as, 
 fostered  by  Christian  dogmatic  teaching,  must,  amongst 
 impartial  judges,  take  the  prize  in  international  exhibitions 
 of  the  products  of  religious  teaching. 
 
 Let  us  next  enter  into  an  examination  of  the  ancient 
 Persians,  a  race  "udtli  which  the  Jewish  people  came  into 
 frequent  contact  after  the  destruction  of  Babylon.  There  is 
 much  difficulty  in  finding  what  was  the  original  form  of 
 belief  adopted  by  the  Persians,  before  they  came  into  close 
 contact  with  other  nations.  The  first  evidence  which  can 
 be  adduced  is  the  Behistun  inscription  of  Darius,  about 
 B.C.  520,  wherein  we  find  {Journal  R.  As.  Soc,  vol.  xv., 
 p.  137),  "  By  the  grace  of  Ormazd  I  became  king.  I 
 revisited  the  temples  of  the  Gods  which  Gomates  the 
 Magian  had  abandoned.      I  reinstitutcd  for  the  state  the 
 
63 
 
 sacred  chaimts  and  (sacrificial)  worship,  and  confided  them 
 to  the  families  which  Gomates  the  Magian  had  deprived  of 
 those  of&ces."  Again,  p.  144,  "  The  god  of  lies  made  them 
 rebel."  Now  the  words,  'temples'  and  'Gods'  are  written 
 in  the  Cuneiform  as  hit  and  ilu,  and  to  each  of  them  is 
 added  a  sign  which  is  read  as  'four.'  If  so,  we  conclude 
 that  Darius  recognised  four  great  gods,  just  as  did  the 
 Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  and  as  the  present  Papists  do, 
 but  that  Ormazd  was  the  chief,  and  that  there  was,  in 
 addition,  "  a  father  of  lies."  Our  next  witness  is  the  book 
 of  Job,  which  is  considered  by  Rawlinson,  and  other  modern 
 critics,  to  belong  to  the  Achemifinean  period  ;  in  that  we 
 find  simply,  two  powers,  God  and  Satan  (ch.  i.  6,  7). 
 
 Next,  Herodotus,  about  b.c.  484,  tells  us  (B.  i.  131),  of 
 his  own  knowledge,  that  "  the  Persians  observe  the  following 
 customs :  they  neither  erect  statues,  temples,  nor  altars,  and 
 they  charge  those  with  folly  who  do  so,  because,  as  I  conjec- 
 ture, they  do  not  think  the  gods  have  human  figures,  as  the 
 Greeks  do.  They  are  accustomed  to  ascend  the  highest  parts 
 of  the  mountains,  and  offer  sacrifices  to  Jupiter,*  and  they 
 call  the  whole  circle  of  the  heavens  by  the  name  of  Jupiter. 
 They  sacrifice  to  the  sun  and  moon,  to  the  earth,  fire,  water, 
 and  the  winds.  To  these  alone  they  have  sacrificed  from  the 
 earliest  times.  But  they  have  since  learned  from  the  Ara- 
 bians and  Assyrians  to  sacrifice  to  Venus-Urania,  whom  the 
 Assyrians  call  Venus-MyHtta,  the  Arabians,  Alitta,  and  the 
 Persians,  Mitra.  It  is  unlawful  to  sacrifice  without  the  Magi, 
 who  sing  an  ode  about  the  origin  of  the  gods  during  the 
 offering,  and  wear  a  tiara  decked  with  myrtle.  The  dead 
 bodies  of  the  Persians  are  never  bm-ied  until  they  have  been 
 torn  by  some  beast  or  dog ;  they  then  cover  the  body  with 
 wax,  and  bury  it." '     Herodotus  also  informs  us  (iii.  16),  that 
 
 *  Compare  Balaam  sacrificing  on  the  tops  of  the  mountains  (Num.  xxii.  41). 
 
 8  The  modern  Parsees,  I  have  been  told,  adopt  a  similar  custom,  under  the 
 idea  that  it  is  right  for  men  to  be  useful  and  profitable  to  others,  not  only  during 
 life,  but  after  their  death. 
 
64 
 
 the  Persians  consider  fire  to  be  a  god.  To  this,  Strabo  adds 
 (B.  XV.,  c.  iii.,  15),  "  The  Persians  have  also  certain  large 
 shrines,  called  Pyrfetheia.  In  the  middle  of  these  there  is 
 an  altar,  on  which  is  a  great  quantity  of  ashes,  where  the 
 Magi  maintain  an  unextinguished  fire.  They  enter  daily, 
 and  continue  their  incantations  for  nearly  an  hour,  holding 
 before  the  fire  a  bundle  of  rods,  and  wear  round  their  heads 
 turbans  of  felt,  &c.  The  same  customs  are  observed  in  the 
 temples  of  Anaitis,  and  of  Omanus  (=  Homa  =  the  moon). 
 Belonging  to  the  temples  are  shrines,  and  a  wooden  statue 
 of  Omanus  is  carried  in  procession." 
 
 Both  Herodotus  and  Strabo  tell  us  that  a  large  family  of 
 children  is  especially  desired,  and  that  the  king  accords  an 
 annual  prize  to  the  parent  who  has  the  greatest  number. 
 
 The  religion  of  Persia,  as  reformed  by  Zoroaster,  so 
 closely  resembles  the  Mosaic,  that  it  would  be  almost  impos- 
 sible to  decide  which  has  the  precedence  of  the  other,  unless 
 we  knew  how  ancient  was  the  teaching  of  Zoroaster,  and  how 
 very  recent  was  that  said  to  be  from  Moses.  Be  this  as  it 
 may,  we  find  that  the  ancient  Persians  resembled  the  Jews 
 in  sacrificing  upon  high  places,  in  paying  divine  honour  to 
 fire,  in  keeping  up  a  sacred  fiame,  in  certain  ceremonial 
 cleansings,  in  possessing  an  hereditary  priesthood  who  alone 
 were  allowed  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  in  making  their  Bummum 
 honum  the  possession  of  a  numerous  offspring.  Like  the 
 Hebrews,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  had  any  definite  notion  of 
 a  future  life,  and  like  them  they  had  a  belief  in  the  existence 
 of  "a  father  of  lies."  In  later  periods,  the  Persians  adopted 
 certain  of  the  forms  of  worship  and  the  tenets  of  faith 
 which  were  common  amongst  the  nations  with  whom  they 
 came  in  contact. 
 
 When  we  proceed  to  judge  of  the  fruit  borne  by  the 
 religion  adopted  by  such  men  as  Cyrus,  Darius,  Artaxerxes 
 and  others,  we  find  that  the  faithful  prided  themselves  upon 
 temperance,  virtue,  and  boldness  in  war.     Any  reader  who 
 
65 
 
 impartially  examines  the  life  and  character  of  Cyrus,  as  pour- 
 trayed  by  Xenophon,  Anabasis,  Book  i.,  109,  will  find  much 
 greater  evidence  of  true  nobility  than  in  those  of  David. 
 Take,  for  example,  sec.  11;  "whenever  any  one  did  him  a 
 kindness  or  an  injury,  he  showed  himself  anxious  to  go 
 beyond  him  in  those  respects;  and  some  used  to  mention  a 
 wish  of  his,  that  he  desired  to  live  long  enough  to  out-do 
 both  those  who  had  done  him  good,  and  those  who  had  done 
 him  ill,  in  the  requital  that  he  should  make."  Sec.  12  ; 
 "  Accordingly,  to  him  alone,  of  the  men  of  our  day,  were  so 
 great  a  number  of  people  desirous  of  committing  the  disposal 
 of  their  property,  their  cities,  and  their  own  persons."  How 
 painfully  this  contrasts  with  the  fearful  charge  of  David  to 
 Solomon ;  the  carelessness  of  the  monarch's  reign  as  indi- 
 cated by  the  rapid  rise  of  rebellion  under  Absolom ;  and  such 
 sentiments  in  the  Book  of  Psalms  as  the  following,  ''  He 
 shall  reward  evil  unto  mine  enemies ;  cut  them  off  in  thy 
 truth"  (Ps.  liv.  5).  "Happy  shall  he  be  that  taketh  and 
 dasheth  thy  little  ones  against  the  stones"  (Ps.  cxxxvii.  9). 
 "  The  Lord  said,  I  will  bring  again  from  Bashan,  I  will 
 bring  my  people  again  from  the  depths  of  the  sea  ;  that  thy 
 foot  may  be  dipped  in  the  blood  of  thine  enemies,  and  the 
 tongue  of  thy  dogs  in  the  same"  (Ps.  Ixviii.  22,  23). 
 
 From  a  consideration  of  these  very  ancient  religions, 
 we  proceed  to  the  more  modern  ones  of  Greece  and  Kome, 
 In  them  we  see  as  many  germs  of  what  is  good  and  beautiful 
 as  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  some  which 
 are  far  more  rational.  Where  the  fountain  is  inexhaustible, 
 it  is  impossible  to  carry  away  all  its  water ;  even  when  the 
 supply  is  restricted,  the  philosopher  contents  himself  with  a 
 copious  draught ;  and  we  shall  imitate  his  practice  by  limit- 
 ing our  quotations  from  Grecian  sources.  Presuming  that 
 the  Orphic  fragments  represent  an  early  form  of  the  rehgious 
 tenets  of  the  Greeks,  we  cull  the  following  lines  therefrom, 
 
 E 
 
66 
 
 using  the  translation  given  in  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  but 
 modifying  and  condensing  it,  so  as  to  save  the  time  of  the 
 reader.  "Zeus  (or  Jupiter)  is  the  first — he,  the  thunderer, 
 is  also  the  last — he  is  the  head  and  the  middle — by  him  all 
 things  were  created;  he  is  male — immortal  and  female  — 
 he  is  the  foundation  of  the  earth  and  of  the  starry  heaven,  he 
 is  the  breath  of  all  things  —  the  rushing  of  indefatigable  fire, 
 he  is  the  root  of  the  sea,  he  is  the  sun  and  moon,  he  is  the 
 king,  the  author  of  universal  life  —  one  power,  one  daemon, 
 the  mighty  prince  of  all  things  —  one  kingly-  frame  in  which 
 this  universe  revolves,  fire  and  water,  earth  and  ether,  night 
 and  day — and  Metis,  wisdom"  (compare  Proverbs  viii.  22-31, 
 also  John  i.  1-3),  "the  primeval  father  and  all  delightful 
 love,  all  are  united  in  the  vast  body  of  Zeus.  Would  you 
 behold  its  head  and  its  fair  face,  it  is  the  resplendent  heaven, 
 round  which  his  golden  locks  of  glittering  stars  are  beauti- 
 fully exalted  in  the  air  ;  on  each  side  are  two  golden  taurine 
 horns,  the  risings  and  settings,  the  tracks  of  the  celestial 
 gods,  his  eyes,  the  sun  and  the  opposing  moon;  his  infallible 
 mind,  the  royal  incorruptible  ether."  Eemembering  the 
 evidence  of  Greek  influence  in  Genesis  (see  Lamech),  we 
 see  with  interest  the  follo^ting  : — "  First  I  sung  the  obscu- 
 rity of  ancient  Chaos,  how  the  Elements  were  ordered,  and  the 
 Heaven  reduced  to  bounds,  and  the  generation  of  the  wide 
 bosomed  Earth,  and  the  depth  of  the  Sea  and  Love  ( =  Aeba, 
 which  see),  "the  most  ancient,  self-perfecting,  and  of  manifold 
 design.  How  he  generated  all  things,  and  parted  them  from 
 one  another."  "I  have  sung  the  illustrious  father  of  night, 
 existing  from  eternity,  whom  men  call  Phanes,  for  he  first 
 appeared.  I  have  sung  the  unhallowed  deeds  of  the  earth- 
 born  giants,  who  showered  down  from  heaven  their  blood, 
 the  lamentable  seed  of  generation  from  whence  sprung  the 
 race  of  mortals  who  inhabit  the  boundless  earth  for  ever." 
 "  Chaos  was  generated  first,  and  then  earth ;  from  Chaos  were 
 
67 
 
 generated  Erebus  and  black  Night ;  and  from  night  again 
 were  generated  Ether  and  Day,  whom  she  brought  forth, 
 having  conceived  from  the  embrace  of  Erebus  ;  and  Earth 
 first  produced  the  starry  Heaven  equal  to  herself,  that  it 
 might  enclose  all  things  around  herself."  "Night,  with  her 
 black  wings,  first  produced  an  aerial  egg,"  "  the  race  of  the 
 Immortals  was  not  till  Eros  (sexual  love)  mingled  all  things 
 together,"  "I  invoke  Protogonus  of  a  double  nature,  great, 
 wandering  through  the  ether,  egg -born,  rejoicing  in  thy 
 golden  wings,  having  the  countenance  of  a  bull,  the  procrcator 
 of  the  blessed  gods  and  mortal  men ;  the  renowned  Light, 
 ineffable,  occult,  impetuous,  all  glittering  strength,  who 
 roamest  throughout  the  world  upon  the  flight  of  thy  wings, 
 who  bringest  forth  the  pure  and  brilliant  light ;  wherefore  I 
 invoke  thee  as  Phanes,  as  Priapus,  the  king,  and  as  dazzling 
 fountain  of  splendour."  "No  one  has  seen  Protogonus"  (the 
 first  begotten)  "with  his  eyes,  except  the  sacred  night  alone." 
 "Metis"  (=  wisdom)  "bears  the  seed  of  the  gods."  "Metis 
 the  seed  bearer  is  the  first  father,  and  all-dehghtful  Eros.'' 
 "The  first  god  bears  with  himself  the  heads  of  animals,  many 
 and  single,  of  a  bull,  of  a  serpent,  and  of  a  fierce  lion,  and 
 they  sprung  from  the  primeval  egg  in  which  the  animal  is 
 seminally  contained  "  (see  Egg).  "  The  theologist  places 
 around  him  the  heads  of  a  ram,  a  bull,  a  lion,  and  a  dragon, 
 and  assigns  him  first  both  the  male  and  the  female  sex." 
 "The  theologists  assert  that  night  and  heaven  reigned, 
 and  before  these  their  most  mighty  father."     Sec  Creation. 
 
 Amongst  Pythagorean  fragments,  Cory  quotes  no  less 
 than  eleven,  from  diflerent  authors,  to  show  that  the  gi-eat 
 Greek  philosopher  recognised  the  principle  of  triplicity  in 
 creation;  and,  whilst  on  the  same  subject,  we  may  notice 
 that  Plato,  when  speaking  of  the  Almighty,  uses  the  word 
 the  Gods,  as  freely  as  the  Hebrews  refer  everything  to 
 Elohim.    In  this  respect  Plato  imitated  Socrates,  whose  views 
 
68 
 
 lie  imbibed  and  developed;  and  perhaps  nothing  affords 
 us  a  better  idea  of  the  religious  tenets  of  a  thoughtful 
 Grecian  than  the  description  which  Xenophon  gives  of  the 
 belief  of  his  philosophical  predecessor ;  "  To  the  Gods," 
 (which  words,  in  conformity  with  the  Hebrew  use  of  the 
 word,  and  to  make  the  comparison  between  one  faith  and 
 another  as  clear  as  possible,  I  shall  in  the  following  sen- 
 tences replace  by  Elohim)  "he  simply  prayed  that  they  would 
 give  him  good  things ;  as  believing  that  Elohim  knew  best 
 what  things  are  good,  and  that  those  who  prayed  for  gold 
 or  silver,  or  dominion,  or  anything  of  that  kind,  were  in 
 reality  uttering  no  other  sort  of  request  than  if  they  were  to 
 pray  that  they  might  win  at  dice,  or  in  fight,  or  do  any  thing 
 else,  of  which  it  is  uncertain  what  the  result  will  be.  When 
 he  offered  small  sacrifices  from  his  small  means,  he  thought 
 that  he  was  not  at  all  inferior  in  merit  to  those  who  offered 
 numerous  and  great  sacrifices  from  ample  and  abundant 
 means;  for  he  said  that  it  would  not  become  Elohim  to 
 delight  in  large  rather  than  in  small  sacrifices,  since,  if  such 
 were  the  case,  the  offerings  of  the  bad  would  oftentimes  be 
 more  acceptable  to  them  than  those  of  the  good ;  nor  would 
 life  be  of  any  account  in  the  eyes  of  men,  if  oblations  from 
 the  bad  were  better  received  by  Elohim  than  oblations  from 
 the  good  ;  but  he  thought  that  Elohim  had  most  pleasure  in 
 the  offerings  of  the  most  pious."  "If  anything  appeared  to 
 be  intimated  to  him  from  Elohim,  he  could  no  more  have 
 been  persuaded  to  act  contrary  to  such  information,  than  any 
 one  could  have  persuaded  him  to  take  for  his  guide  on  a 
 journey  a  blind  man ;  and  he  condemned  the  folly  of  others 
 who  act  contrary  to  what  is  signified  by  Elohim,"  &c. 
 (Xenophon's  Memorahil'ia,  Book  I.,  chap,  iii.,  sees.  2,  3, 4).  In 
 the  PJiccdo  of  Plato,  which  gives  us  another  insight  into  the 
 mind  of  Socrates,  we  find  that  "he  prepared  for  death  as  if  he 
 were  going  into  some  other  world,  at  which  when  he  arrived 
 
69 
 
 be  would  be  liappy,  if  any  one  ever  was"  (sec.  5).  Again,  in 
 sec.  19,  he  remarks,  "  Now  be  assured  I  hope  to  go  amongst 
 good  men,  though  I  would  not  positively  assert  it :  that, 
 however,  I  shall  go  amongst  the  Gods  (to  Elohim),  who  are 
 perfectly  good  masters,  I  can  positively  assert,  if  I  can  any- 
 thing of  the  kind."  In  sec.  24  we  read,  "Does  not,  then  the 
 whole  employment  of  such  a  man  appear  to  you  to  be  not 
 about  the  body,  but  to  separate  himself  from  it  as  much  as 
 possible,  and  be  occupied  about  his  soul?"  "Does  not  the 
 philosopher,  above  all  other  men,  evidently  free  his  soul  as 
 much  as  he  can  from  communion  with  the  body?"  Again, 
 we  read,  "  Nor  did  it  satisfy  Elohim  to  take  care  of  the 
 body  merely,  but,  what  is  most  important  of  all,  they 
 implanted  in  him  a  soul,  his  most  excellent  part.  For  what 
 other  animal  has  a  soul  to  understand  that  Elohim,  who 
 have  arranged  such  a  vast  and  noble  order  of  things,  exist  ? 
 What  other  animal  besides  man  offers  worship  to  Elohim  ?  " 
 (Xeuophou,  Memorahilia,  Book  i.,  s.  13.)  It  would  be 
 unprofitable  to  quote  paragraph  by  paragraph  to  demonstrate 
 the  views  of  Socrates  related  by  Plato;  suffice  it  to  say, 
 that  he  fully  recognised  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a 
 place  of  rewards  and  punishments  after  death.  The  senti- 
 ments also  attributed  to  the  same  writer,  on  cognate  subjects, 
 are  such  that  few  thoughtful  Christians  can  read  them  with- 
 out recognising  the  fact,  that  the  morality  taught  by  these 
 distinguished  Greeks  is  not  materially  difierent,  though  less 
 dogmatic,  than  that  represented  as  being  taught  by  Jesus 
 some  centuries  later."  Again,  let  us  examine  a  few  sen- 
 tences from  Stobseus,  a  Greek  philosopher,  who  quotes 
 sayings  from  Pythagoras  to  the  following  efiect.^     "Do  not 
 
 6  As  the  exact  age  at  -svliicb  tliis  wiiter  flourished  is  nnlmown,  his  -writiiigs 
 do  not  carry  the  weight  they  would  do  if  we  conkl  demonstrate  that  he  lived  before 
 the  Christian  era.  I  use  as  my  authority  Taylor's  translation  of  the  Life  of 
 Pythagoras,  by  lamblichus,  p.  259,  et  seq. 
 
70 
 
 even  think  of  doing  what  ought  not  to  be  done.  Choose 
 rather  to  be  strong  in  soul  than  in  body."  "Despise  all 
 those  things  which,  when  liberated  from  the  body,  you  will 
 not  require,  and,  exercising  yourselves  in  those  things  of 
 which  when  liberated  from  the  body  you  will  be  in  need, 
 invoke  Elohim  to  be  your  hel^Der."  Equally  strong  is  the 
 evidence  of  Euripides  on  this  point  {SujjjjL,  532,  534), 
 "The  body  returns  to  the  earth  from  whence  it  was  framed, 
 and  the  spirit  ascends  to  the  ether." 
 
 Hence  we  learn  that  the  Greeks  were  in  advance  of  the 
 Hebrews  in  their  knowledge  of  a  future  life,  of  a  state  of 
 rewards  and  punishments,  and  of  the  necessity  of  cultivating 
 the  soul  rather  than  the  body,  and  of  paying  more  attention  to 
 the  duties  of  life  than  to  the  names  of  the  deity,  or  to  the 
 method  under  which  he  was  worshipped. 
 
 Of  the  fruit  produced  by  the  Grecian  religion,  we  need 
 not  speak  much.  At  first,  sober,  valiant  and  patriotic,  the 
 Greeks  became  as  licentious  and  effeminate  as  have  been, 
 and  still  are,  certain  inhabitants  of  London  and  Paris, 
 of  Eome  and  Vienna,  of  Constantinople,  Jerusalem,  and  St. 
 Petersburg.  It  will  naturally  be  objected,  that  a  nation  which 
 has  a  multiplicity  of  gods,  and  a  style  of  worship  which 
 encourages  licentiousness,  must  necessarily  be  inferior,  in 
 the  exercise  of  every  virtue,  to  one  which  worships  one  god 
 alone,  and  that  prohibits  everything  which  might  lead  to 
 improper  thoughts  in  divine  rites.  To  make  the  assertion  is 
 an  easy  matter,  to  demonstrate  its  truth  is  impossible.  We 
 cannot  contrast  the  Greeks  with  ourselves  or  any  other 
 Christian  community,  for  we  all  are  polytheists  as  much  as 
 the  Grecians  were,  though  our  tenets  are  not  connected  with 
 demonstrative  acts  of  adoration.  We  believe  in  three  gods 
 who  are  one,  the  Romanist  Christian  believes  in  four,  one 
 of  which  is  female ;  all  consider  that  "  the  devil"  is  an  addi- 
 tional god,  resembling  the  Egyptian  Typhon.     There  are  few 
 
71 
 
 who  do  not  consider  that  angels  exist  in  vast  numbers,  and  the 
 Papists  hold,  as  a  matter  of  faith,  that  departed  Saints  are  as 
 powerful  in  modern  Heaven  as  Mercury,  Hercules  and  Venus 
 were  considered  influential  in  ancient  Olympus.  As  traders, 
 colonisers,  explorers  and  warriors,  the  Greeks  were  certainly 
 not  inferior  to  ourselves;  except  inasmuch  as,  their  country, 
 population  and  resources  being  more  limited  than  those  of 
 Great  Britain,  they  could  not  rival  her  in  the  spread  of 
 their  nation. 
 
 Let  us  now  turn  to  the  Roman  religion,  not  that  which 
 is  presented  to  the  eye,  and  which  so  many  of  our  divines 
 love  to  quote  as  illustrative  of  paganism,  but  that  which  was 
 held  by  such  philosophers  as  Cicero  and  Pliny.  We  con- 
 sider  that  it  would  be  as  unfair  to  judge  the  Ptomans  by 
 testing  the  state  of  morals  during  the  decadence  of  the 
 empire,  as  for  some  future  pure  Christian  men  to  Judge  of 
 the  effect  of  the  rehgion  of  Jesus,  by  taking  the  Roman 
 Catholic  faith  of  to-day,  as  carried  out  in  modern  Italy,  as 
 a  standard  of  comparison.  The  learned  know  that  there  is 
 scarcely  an  ancient  Papal  feast  or  ceremony,  vestment,  etc., 
 which  has  not  legitimately  descended  from  the  pagans,  and 
 the  philosopher  of  to-day  protests  loudly  against  the  allega- 
 tion that  the  mummeries  of  the  mass  offered  to  saints  of 
 all  names,  sexes,  and  qualities  is  a  part  of  Christianity. 
 
 Omitting  the  somewhat  voluminous  testimony  of  Cicero 
 respecting  the  nature  of  the  gods,  let  us  select  a  few  of  the 
 sayings  of  Pliny  (Nat.  His.  B.  ii.,  c.  5,  (7)).  ''I  consider  it 
 an  indication  of  human  weakness  to  inquire  into  the  figure 
 and  form  of  God ;  he  is  all  sense,  all  sight,  all  hearing,  all 
 Hfe,  all  mind,  and  all  within  himself.  To  believe  that  there 
 are  a  number  of  gods  derived  from  the  virtues  and  ^ices  of 
 man,  as  chastity,  concord,  understanding,  hope,  honour, 
 clemency  and  fidehty,  or  that  there  are  only  two,  punishment 
 and  reward,  indicates  still  greater  folly.     Human  nature  has 
 
72 
 
 made  these  divisions  so  that  every  one  might  have  recourse 
 to  that  which  he  supposed  himself  to  be  most  in  need  of. 
 Hence  we  find  different  names  employed  by  different  nations, 
 the  inferior  deities  are  arranged  in  classes,  and  diseases  and 
 plagues  are  deified,  in  consequence  of  our  anxious  wish  to 
 propitiate  them.     It  was  from  this  cause  that  a  temple  was 
 dedicated  to  fever  at  the  public  expense  on  the  Palatine  hill, 
 and  to  good  fortune  on  the  Esquiline.     Hence  it  comes  to 
 pass  that  there  is  a  greater  population  of  the  celestials  than 
 of  human  beings,  each  individual  making  a  separate  god  for 
 himself,  adopting  his  own  Juno  and  his  own  genius.     And 
 there  are  nations  who  make  gods  of  certain  animals,  and 
 even  certain  obscure  things,  swearing  by  stinking  meats  and 
 such  like.     To  suj^pose  that  marriages  are  contracted   be- 
 tween the  gods,  and  yet  no  offspring  has  come  up  to  this 
 time ;  that  some  should  always  be  old  and  grey  headed,  and 
 others  young  and  like  children ;   some  of  a  dark  complexion, 
 winged,   lame,    produced   from  eggs ;    living   and   dying  on 
 alternate  day^,  is  sufficiently  puerile  and  foolish.     But  it  is 
 the  height  of   impudence  to   imagine    that   adultery   takes 
 place  between  them,  that  they  have  contests  and  quarrels, 
 and  that  there  are  gods  of  theft  and  of  various  crimes.    And 
 it  is  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  the  great  head  of  all  things, 
 whatever  it  be,  pays  any  regard  to  human  afi'uirs.     Can  we 
 believe,   or  rather  can  there  be  any  doubt,  that  it  is  not 
 polluted  by  such  a  disagreeable  and  complicated  office.     It 
 is  not  easy  to  determine  which  opinion  would  be  most  for  the 
 advantage  of  mankind,  since  we  observe  some  who  have  no 
 respect  for  the  gods,  and  others  who  carry  it  to  a  scandalous 
 excess.     Some  are  slaves  to  foreign  ceremonies ;  they  carry 
 on  their  fingers  the  gods,  and  the  monsters  whom  they  wor- 
 ship ;  they  think  much  of  certain  kinds  of  food,  and  impose 
 on  themselves  dreadful  ordinances,  not  even  sleeping  quietly. 
 They  do  not  marry  nor  adopt  children,  or  indeed  do  anything 
 
73 
 
 else  without  the  sanction  of  their  sacred  rites.  There  are 
 others,  on  the  contrary,  who  will  cheat  in  the  very  capitol, 
 and  will  forswear  themselves  even  by  Jupiter  Tonans, 
 and  while  these  thrive  in  their  crimes,  the  others  torment 
 themselves  with  their  superstitions  to  no  purpose." 
 
 "  Amongst  these  discordant  opinions,  mankind  have  dis- 
 covered for  themselves  a  kind  of  intermediate  deity,  and  now 
 Fortune  is  the  only  god  whom  every  one  invokes.  To  her 
 are  referred  all  our  losses  and  all  our  gains ;  and  in  casting 
 up  the  accounts  of  mortals,  she  alone  balances  the  two  pages 
 of  our  sheet.  We  are  so  much  in  the  power  of  chance  that 
 chance  itself  is  considered  as  a  god,  and  the  existence  of  God 
 becomes  doubtful.  Some  believe  in  the  influence  of  the 
 stars,  and  suppose  that  God,  once  for  all,  issues  his  decrees, 
 and  never  afterwards  interferes.  This  opinion  begins  to  gain 
 ground,  and  both  the  learned  and  the  vulgar  unlearned  are 
 falling  into  it."  "  The  belief,  however,  that  the  gods  super- 
 intend human  affairs  is  useful  to  us,  as  well  as  that  the 
 punishment  of  crimes,  although  somewhat  tardy,  is  never 
 entirely  remitted."  "  By  these  considerations  the  power  of 
 nature  is  clearly  proved,   and  is  shown  to  be  what  we  call 
 
 God." 
 
 To  these  sayings,  we  may  add  a  few  lines  from  Lucretius 
 (B.  II.,  993-1000).  "  Finally,  we  are  aU  sprung  from  celes- 
 tial seed ;  the  father  of  all  is  the  same  ^ther,  from  which, 
 when  the  bountiful  earth  has  received  the  liquid  drops  of 
 moisture,  she,  being  impregnated,  produces  the  rich  crops  and 
 the  joyous  groves  and  the  race  of  men;  produces  all  the  tribes 
 of  beasts,  since  she  supplies  them  with  food  by  means  of  which 
 they  all  support  their  bodies,  on  which  account  she  has  justly 
 obtained  the  name  of  mother.  That  also  which  first  arose 
 from  the  earth,  and  that  which  was  sent  down  from  the 
 regions  of  the  sky,  the  regions  of  the  sky  again  receive  when 
 carried  back." 
 
74 
 
 Whetlier  the  above  quotations  fairly  expound  the  rational 
 views  of  the  ancient  Koman  religion  or  not,  let  us  proceed  to 
 inquire  into  the  fruit  which  the  system,  whatever  it  was, 
 brought  forth.  What  schoolboy  is  not  familiar  with  the  stories 
 of  Lucretia,  of  Brutus,  of  Ciuciunatus,  of  Horatius  Codes,  of 
 the  Horatii,  of  the  Vestal  virgins,  of  Scipio  Africanus,  and 
 a  host  of  others  who  were  paragons  of  chastity,  justice, 
 morality,  valour,  patriotism,  and  of  virtue  generally  ?  Can 
 David  vie  in  stern  propriety  with  Brutus,  and  his  daughter ; 
 Tamar,  with  Lucretia  ?  If,  again,  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
 we  turn  to  Rome  during  the  times  of  the  Csesai's,  and  con- 
 template the  seething  mass  of  its  corruptions,  and  thence 
 urge  that  the  system  of  religion  which  permitted  such  things 
 must  have  been  radically  bad ;  we  are  met  by  the  fact  that 
 ancient  Jerusalem  was  worse  than  Rome,  and  that  this  place, 
 under  its  Christian  pontiffs,  has  equalled  in  wickedness 
 its  ancient  progenitor.  The  eternal  city  has  been  a  sink  of 
 iniquity  under  the  religion  of  Christ,  just  as  it  was  when 
 Jupiter,  Ceres,  and  Venus  held  sway,  even  the  very  cruel 
 persecutions  of  the  Csesars,  have  been  imitated  and  greatly 
 surpassed  by  the  Popes  and  those  acting  under  the  Papal 
 influence.  Nor  can  we  say  that  London  will  bear  a  closer 
 examination  than  the  ancient  Mistress  of  the  World. 
 
 Now  when  he  joins  all  these  considerations  together,  and 
 adds  to  them  others  which  it  would  occupy  us  unnecessarily 
 to  detail,  the  philosophic  inquirer  after  truth  is  bound  to 
 conclude  either  that  the  Almighty  has  revealed  His  will  to 
 all  nations  alike,  or  that  He  has  revealed  it  to  none.  Such 
 uniformity  in  the  religious  views  of  mankind,  as  is  found  to 
 prevail  in  countries  wide  as  the  poles  asunder,  can  only  result 
 from  a  divine  inspiration  which  is  common  to  all,  or  from  the 
 workings  of  the  human  mind,  which  is  essentially  the  same 
 in  one  country  as  in  another,  and  only  modified  by  dogma- 
 tic  teaching  and  example.       If  we  endeavour  to  ascertain 
 
75 
 
 for  ourselves  which  of  the  two  solutions  involved  in  this 
 question  is  the  nearest  to  the  truth,  let  us  examine  into  the 
 proceedings  of  those  who  must  be  in  the  closest  relationship 
 with  the  Almighty,  supposing  always  that  the  religion  which 
 they  propound  is  the  bond  fide  result  of  a  divine  inspiration. 
 "Do  those,"  we  ask,  "who  tell  us  that  the  Almighty  is  a  God 
 of  love,  of  mercy,  of  truth,  of  peace,  of  gentleness,  &c.,  that 
 He  is  patient,  forbearing,  long-suffering,  &c.,  act  as  if  they 
 believed  their  own  words  ?  Most  certainly  not ;  for  it  is  noto- 
 rious that  amongst  theologians  of  different  sects,  opinions, 
 or  creeds,  there  are  fierce  conflicts,  in  which  the  sixth  and 
 ninth  commandments  are  unhesitatingly  broken  ?  The  poet 
 says — 
 
 Religion  should  extinguish  strife, 
 
 And  make  a  calm  of  human  life; 
 But  they  who  chance  to  differ 
 
 On  points  which  God  hath  left  at  large, 
 
 How  freely  do  they  fight  and  charge. 
 No  combatants  are  stiffer. 
 
 The  odium  theologicum  is  proverbial.  Can  any  prophet 
 believe  that  God  is  almighty,  and  yet  unable  to  put  down 
 heresy?  Can  any  one  believe  that  God  is  truth,  when  His 
 ministers  adopt  the  plan  of  falsifying  facts  in  order  to  make 
 their  own  tenets  seem  to  the  multitude  better  than  those  of 
 their  opponents?  Can  any  one  believe  that  God  is  long- 
 suffering,  and  yet  unable  to  wait  a  few  short  years  till  death 
 shall  bring  before  His  judgment-seat  those  who  offend  Him  ? 
 Can  any  one  believe  that  God  knoweth  those  that  are  His, 
 and  yet  assume  to  dictate  to  the  Almighty  who  are  orthodox 
 and  who  are  heretic  ?  Can  any  one  beheve  that  God's  word 
 shall  not  return  unto  Him  void,  but  shall  accomplish  the 
 thing  for  which  it  was  sent,  and  yet  hedge  round  the  message 
 with  bulwarks  of  defence,  as  if  it  were  really  impotent? 
 Can  any  one  believe  that  the  Creator  is  all  powerful,  and  yet 
 
76 
 
 act  as  if  He  would  be  weak  unless  assisted  by  the  might  of 
 human  arms  ?     Clearly  not. 
 
 If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Almighty  is  always  described  as 
 acting  as  the  particular  individual  who  claims  to  represent 
 Him  does  in  his  ordinary  life,  is  there  not  evidence  that  the 
 God  so  delineated  is  the  work  of  men's  hands  or  of  human 
 brains  ?  Is  it  not  from  this  cause  that  the  Omnipotent  has 
 been  painted  as  loving  and  hating — as  dotingly  fond  and 
 furiously  jealous  —  as  mercy  and  vengeance  personified — as 
 rewarding  liberally  and  punishing  malignantly  ?  And  can  we 
 doubt,  when  we  find  earnest  divines,  in  protestant  England, 
 deliberately  propounding,  or  subscribing  to  the  opinion, 
 ''  that  the  happiness  of  the  blessed  in  heaven  could  not  be 
 perfect  without  they  saw,  eternally,  the  torments  of  the 
 damned,"  that  the  message  upon  which  such  faith  has  been 
 built,  has  emanated  from  some  unfortunate  man,  who,  with 
 an  overweening  sense  of  his  own  goodness  and  worldly 
 misery,  has  contrived  for  his  wealthy  and  wicked  neighbour 
 a  perpetual  hell,  in  which  the  one  shall  "  gnash  his  teeth, 
 and  howl,"  whilst  the  once  despised  prophet  shall  rake  the 
 coals  and  dress  the  burns  produced,  with  boiling  oil  or 
 molten  lead? 
 
 From  all  these  considerations  we  naturally  draw  the  infer- 
 ence, that  the  Old  Testament  is  no  more  the  inspired  message 
 of  God  to  man,  than  are  the  Vedas,  Geetas,  Shasters,  &c., 
 of  the  Hindoo,  the  Zend  Avesta  of  the  Parsee,  the  Koran  of 
 the  Mussulmen,  and  the  book  of  Mormon  for  the  Western 
 Americans.  We  conclude,  also,  that  it  has  no  more  special 
 claim  upon  our  faith,  than  any  other  ancient  or  modern  book 
 which  treats  of  the  moral,  intellectual  and  religious  duties 
 of  man.  We  believe  most  firmly  the  Jewish  bible  is  entirely 
 of  human  invention,  and  that  no  man  is  justified  in  appealing 
 to  it  as  "  divine,"  "  infallible,"  "  unassailable,"  or  even  his- 
 torically valuable. 
 
77 
 
 Nevertheless,    some    of    the    sentiments   which   the   Old 
 Testament  contains  are  sufficiently  sublime,  and  its  teach- 
 ings are  frequently  so  important  for  the  good  of  mankind, 
 that  we  are  led  to  regard  it  with  respect.     We  would  fain, 
 however,  see  it  freed  from  all  those  parts  which  are  offen- 
 sive ;  and  we  most  sincerely  trust,  that  some  modern  reformer 
 will  give   us   an  expurgated  version   of   the    Bible,  similar 
 to  those  editions  of  the  classic  authors  which  are  commonly 
 used  in   schools,    and   thus   do  for  the  Hebrew  writings  — 
 which  greatly  require  it,  for  their  grossness  is  excessive  — 
 that  which  has  been  done  for  the  books  of  Greece  and  Eome. 
 I  have  already  expressed  my  opinion  (see  Vol.  i.,  p.  2G9), 
 of  the  necessity  that  exists  for  a  cleanly  version  of  the  Bible 
 for  family   use;    and  I  have    repeatedly  pondered  why  the 
 work  has  never  been  attempted,  for  the  benefit  of  the  prude 
 and  the  prudent,  and  for  the  discouragement  of  the  prurient 
 and  the  vile.     As  a  child,  as  a  boy,  as  a  youth,  and  as  a 
 father,  I  have  been  repeatedly  pained  by  having  to  read,  and 
 often  unexpectedly,  in  the  presence  of  females  of  various  ages, 
 passages  which  unquestionably  would  be  punishable,  under 
 "Lord  Campbell's  act   against   obscene   publications,"    did 
 they  not  occur  in  the  Bible.     I  have  known  earnest-minded, 
 and  rehgious  female  teachers  of  boys,  with  girls,  suddenly 
 silenced  by  coming  to  some  passage  almost  unutterable ;  and 
 I  know  well  the  effect  of  the  pause,  so  made,  upon  those  boys. 
 I  have  known  such  reticence  in  a  sensible  mother  to  be  the 
 source  of  much  domestic  trouble  ;  for  human  nature  ever  has 
 a  desire  to  pry  into  forbidden  corners,  and  curiosity,  when 
 once   excited,    will    satisfy    itself    secretly,    if    not   relieved 
 openly.     A  long  experience  in  life,  and  a  retentive  memory, 
 would  lead  me  to  say,  that  the  Bible  as  we  have  it,  is  the  first 
 book  which  leads  many  youths  astray.     Were  it  in  my  power 
 I  would   banish  it  from  the  nursery,  the  schoohoom,   the 
 parlour  and  the  Church,  and  substitute  in  its  place  extracts 
 
78 
 
 from  it.  The  Bible  as  it  now  is,  ought,  in  my  opinion, 
 never  to  leave  the  private  closet,  or  the  library. 
 
 When  we  endeavour  to  frame  such  a  modified  edition  for 
 ourselves,  we  readily  see  the  reason  why  our  divines  have 
 shirked  the  duty :  for  we  find  that  to  purify  the  pages  of  the 
 Bible  is  to  destroy  its  unity.  No  one  can  have  an  idea  how 
 completely,  that  which  Lord  Campbell's  act  prohibits,  is  the 
 mainspring  in  the  Jewish  bible,  until  he  endeavours  to 
 remove  it.  If,  on  the  one  side  we  separate  that  which  should 
 be  retained,  and  on  the  other  that  which  ought  to  be  omitted, 
 we  stand  appalled  at  the  utter  insignificance  of  the  one,  and 
 the  magnitude  of  the  other;  and  this  result  occurs  in  spite  of 
 the  carefulness  of  Hebrew  scribes,  who  have  already  softened 
 down  the  the  original  asperities  of  the  earlier  writings. 
 Freely  as  T  have  felt  it  my  duty  to  expose  such  matters  in 
 detail,  I  shrink  from  collecting  them  into  a  mass.  If  any 
 one  will  do  so  in  the  privacy  of  his  study,  he  must  at  once 
 recognise  how  utter  is  the  impossibility  to  make  civilised 
 and  thoughtful  beings,  of  modern  times,  believe  that  the 
 ancient  Hebrew  writings  were  inspired. 
 
 When  the  inquirer  sees  that  to  expurgate  the  Bible  is 
 equivalent  to  demonstrating  its  real  value,  the  choice  remains 
 either  to  attempt  to  make  the  best  of  that  which  is  now 
 recognised  as  a  bad  thing,  or  to  leave  it  as  it  is,  under  the 
 hope  that  few,  if  any,  can  see  aught  but  beautiful  ribbons 
 in  foul  rags,  or  will  discover  the  real  social  position  of  the 
 religious  Cinderella.  To  some,  the  idea  of  '*  sailing  under 
 false  colours"  is  repugnant,  to  many  it  is  congenial;  and 
 there  seems  to  be  a  general  belief  that  fraud,  stratagem,  or 
 artifice  as  it  is  euphemistically  called,  is  pardonable  in 
 business,  war,  love,  and  prc-cmiucutly  so  in  divinity.  There 
 are  other  '*  Jesuits "  than  those  which  are  allied  to 
 Romanism. 
 
79 
 
 CHAPTER  V. 
 
 A  dispassionate  study  of  tho  Old  Testament  adopted.  Difficulties  vanisb  with 
 prejudices.  The  main  features  of  Jewish  history  sketched.  History  of  other 
 lands.  Population  usually  divided  into  families,  septs,  or  clans.  Union 
 of  tribes  under  one  head.  Alexander.  Henry  II.  Louis  IX.  Yictor 
 Emmanuel.  Rome — her  policy  in  war  and  conquest.  Britain — her 
 policy.  Various  religions  in  her  various  divisions.  Tenacity  of  religious 
 belief  a  cause  of  insurrection.  Examples.  Scotland.  Ireland.  Low  Coun- 
 tries and  Spain.  France,  itc.  Chins  in  Palestine.  Rise  of  a  rohber  chieftain. 
 David's  career — ho  consolidates  tribes,  their  religion  a  cause  of  dissension  — 
 examples.  Question  whether  Joab  was  of  tho  same  religion  as  David. 
 David's  faith  not  that  of  the  majority  of  his  subjects.  Nathan's  argument 
 with  David — his  punishment  of  the  king.  Punishment  of  erring  nuns. 
 Two  religions  in  David's  kingdom.  Method  of  amalgamation.  Songs, 
 ballads,  books.  Lost  books  enumerated.  Hj-pothesis  of  ancient  books 
 examined.  Did  Moses  learn  and  write  Hebrew?  Requirements  of  a  scribe. 
 How  to  be  found  in  the  wilderness.  Ink ;  parchment ;  materials  for  making 
 them.  Culture  of  the  Israelites.  Calf  worship.  First  law-wi-iting.  Laws  for 
 Jews  and  for  Israelites.  Human  sacrifice  —  examples.  Abraham.  Modem 
 lunatics.      Note. —  Investigation  of  the  story  of  Israel  in  Egj^it. 
 
 When  once  the  bible-student  has  discarded  that  blind 
 reverence  for  the  Old  Testament,  which  has  been  inculcated 
 on  his  mind  from  infancy,  he  will  be  hkely  either  to  neglect 
 the  book  entirely,  or  to  study  it  more  closely,  to  ascertain,  so 
 far  as  he  can,  how  much  of  it  he  may  depend  upon.  That 
 it  contains  an  ancient  record  and  more  ancient  traditions  he 
 cannot  doubt,  and  he  may  investigate  it,  with  such  care  as 
 he  would  bestow  upon  the  writings  of  Homer,  Hesiod,  and 
 Herodotus,  upon  the  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt,  and  the  cunei- 
 form remains  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh.  Having  adopted 
 the  ordinary  method  of  inquiry,  the  student  will  find  that 
 problems  which  before  seemed  difficult,  and  their  solution 
 all  but  impossible,  now  are  easy,  for  daylight  appears  where 
 
80 
 
 all  before  was  darkness.  To  make  our  meaning  clear,  let  us 
 examine  those  features  of  the  history  of  the  Jews  which  most 
 attract  our  attention.  These  are,  (1)  the  sudden  rise  of  a 
 monarchy,  in  the  midst  of  people  speaking  the  same  lan- 
 guage as  the  rulers  of  the  new  kingdom,  (2)  a  despotic 
 government,  (3)  the  existence  of  tribes,  (4)  the  frequency 
 of  rebelHon  against  the  monarch,  (5)  a  final  separation,  with 
 anarchy  and  a  change  of  religion  amongst  the  seceders, 
 (6)  a  constant  struggle  between  priestly  and  kingly  power  in 
 the  original  dynasty,  (7)  the  rapid  development  of  idolatry, 
 and  increasing  denunciations  against  it,  till  what  remains  of 
 the  nation  is  carried  away,  first  to  Greece,  Tyre  and  Edom 
 (see  Obadiah),  and  then  to  Babylon ;  and  (8)  after  a  return 
 to  their  original  locality  (apparently  by  the  favour  of  the 
 Medes  or  Persians),  a  total  cessation  from  idolatry.  These 
 phenomena  we  may  examine  by  a  reference  to  the  rise  of 
 other  kingdoms,  and  by  comparing  them  with  that  of 
 Judah. 
 
 Any  one  who  \\411  recall  to  his  memory  the  condition 
 of  England,  Scotland,  "Wales,  Ireland,  Franco,  Austria, 
 Prussia,  Italy,  Greece,  and  a  variety  of  other  countries,  must 
 remember  that  their  first  constitution  was  tribal.  Each 
 countiy  was  originally  divided  into  towns,  valleys  or  districts. 
 In  each  of  these,  a  certain  family,  sept,  clan,  people,  or 
 nation  lived,  who  were  usually  hostile  to  their  neighbours, 
 as  the  Marquesans  or  the  Red  Indians  are  to-day.  Each 
 division  had  a  ruler ;  and  there  was  also  some  priest,  medi- 
 cine-, '  obeah-,'  or  '  fetish-'  man,  prophet,  or  seer,  who  had  a 
 spiritual  influence  over  them,  conjointly  with  or  independent 
 of  the  king.  Each  tribe,  though  usually  at  enmity  with  its 
 neighbour,  would  sometimes  join  one,  two  or  more\Ndth  a  view 
 to  overcome  a  third.  So  long  as  septs  were  in  this  condition 
 they  resembled  wolves,  which,  when  single,  can  readily  be 
 evaded  by  the  deer  or  the  buflalo ;  but  when  the  animals 
 
81 
 
 unite  in  packs,  and  arrange  themselves  so  as  to  form  a  vast 
 circle  or  semi-circle,  as  they  often  do  in  America,  they  are  irre- 
 sistible. Such  we  consider  was  the  condition  of  Palestine 
 prior  to  David's  time.  There  were  a  number  of  families 
 equivalent  to  the  early  Roman  gentes,  and  the  Scotch  clans, 
 who  lived  a  life  very  similar  to  that  of  the  ancient  British 
 tribes,  subsisting,  some  by  hunting,  others  by  agriculture, 
 others  by  fishing,  and  some  by  rapine.  Each  family  had  its 
 own  town,  hamlet,  or  locality,  for  which  they  fought. 
 
 But  though  the  early  conditions  of  the  gi-eat  European 
 nations  which  we  have  above  indicated  was  that  of  scattered 
 sections,  each  has  now  become  consolidated  under  one  govern- 
 ment. This  has  been  effected,  in  the  first  place,  by  the 
 dominant  influence  of  a  superior  intellect,  leading  some  by 
 eloquence,  others  by  skill  or  courage  in  the  field,  and  others 
 by  conquest.  Such  an  one  was  Philip  of  Macedon,  such  was 
 his  son,  such  were  our  Henry  II.,  and  the  French  Louis  IX. 
 Under  their  influence  the  various  tribes,  of  their  respective 
 countries,  became  united,  and,  with  a  people  thus  strengthened 
 by  union,  Alexander  could  successfully  invade  and  conquer 
 Persia.  Another  such  union  of  various  scattered  tribes  we 
 see  in  Italy  to-day,  where  Yictor  Emmanuel  of  Piedmont  in 
 the  north,  plays  the  part  of  Philip  in  the  north  of  Greece. 
 But  though  Alexander  was  able  to  conquer,  he  was  not  able 
 to  consolidate  his  dominions,  and  after  his  death  his  vast 
 empire  became  divided. 
 
 The  policy  of  ancient  Rome  somewhat  resembled  our 
 own.  She  united  with  herself  a  vast  number  of  "gentes"  or 
 clans,  Sabines,  Samuites,  Oscans,  Grecians,  Latins,  Etrus- 
 cans, and  others,  who  thus  became  an  iutcgi-al  part  of  the 
 nation ;  and,  whenever  Rome  conquered,  she  endeavoured  to 
 absorb  rather  than  to  destroy.  England,  in  like  manner, 
 first  consolidated  her  tribes  into  one  whole,  and  then  strove  to 
 annex  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Leland;   not  as  captives  chained 
 
 F 
 
82 
 
 to  lier  car,  but  as  integral  parts  of  one  empire,  where  all 
 have  common  interests.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  her  care, 
 insurrections  will  occur,  and  to  this  day,  a.  d.  18G8,  Ireland, 
 which  has  been  the  last  to  unite,  is  in  a  state  of  chronic 
 rebellion.  These  insurrections  in  our  sister  isle  have  been 
 produced,  in  the  main,  from  differences  in  religious  belief, 
 and  by  the  way  in  which  the  faith  and  method  of  worship 
 practised  by  the  strongest,  wealthiest  and  best  organised, 
 although  numerically  fewest  party,  have  been  forced  upon 
 the  weakest  and  most  numerous.  We  conclude,  therefore, 
 that  although  physical  force  may  for  a  time  impose  an  union 
 between  races  of  opposite  belief,  yet  there  is  danger  of  insur- 
 rection, so  long  as  there  is  enmity  between  the  priests  of 
 the  strong  party,  and  those  who  govern  the  minds,  and  very 
 commonly  the  actions  of  the  weak.  Human  beings  some- 
 times bear  patiently  the  punishment  of  their  bodies,  yet  resist 
 strongly  any  attempt  to  coerce  their  minds,  and  to  drive  them 
 from  cherished  faiths.  Even  the  shame  of  slavery  is  light- 
 ened when  the  oppressed  one  feels  that  he  is  a  martp-,  and 
 may  ultimately  be  a  victorious  insurgent. 
 
 In  consequence  of  England  having  chosen  this  policy, 
 and  having  attempted  to  force  Scotland  to  adopt  Episcopacy, 
 Ireland  to  become  Protestant,  and,  we  may  add,  India  to 
 become  Christian,  she  has  had  to  fight  for  her  supremacy  in 
 every  one  of  the  countries  named.  From  a  determination  to 
 coerce  the  Low  Countries  to  be  Roman  Catholics,  Spain  lost 
 one  of  the  finest  of  her  provinces,  and  France  drove  the 
 flower  of  her  enterprising  men  into  foreign  countries  by 
 senseless  dragonnades.  To  this  day  the  South  of  France 
 feels  the  effects  of  the  religious  wars  which  desolated  her. 
 All  Europe  indeed  suffers  from  the  desolating  efforts  of  one 
 set  of  fanatics  to  overcome  another,  so  as  to  bo  able  to  impose 
 upon  the  vanquished  a  new  faith  and  practice.  The  ancient 
 Romans  recognised  this  zeal  for  an   old  faith,  and  left  to 
 
83 
 
 conquered  nations  the  religion  which  they  preferred;  and 
 England  has  at  last  adopted  a  similar  policy  in  India.  But 
 the  modern  Komans  have  attempted  to  impose  their  own 
 peculiar  religious  views  on  every  church  which  became 
 affiliated  to  them,  and  have  thus  brought  about  revolutions, 
 and  in  some  instances  complete  separation.  Various  sects 
 in  the  domain  of  religion  may  unite,  so  long  as  they  can 
 agree  upon  a  common  ground,  or  ritual ;  but  there  is  always 
 danger  of  a  rupture,  so  long  as  either  party  think  more  of 
 their  individual  section  than  of  the  interest  of  the  state. 
 
 Being  guided  by  these  lights,  and  recognising  that  there 
 were  almost  as  many  tribes  in  Palestine  as  in  ancient 
 Scotland,  we  can  easily  understand  that  a  predatory  troop, 
 consisting  of  the  refuse  of  many  clans,  and  led  by  a  man  of 
 no  particularly  high  parentage,  like  the  late  Sir  William 
 Wallace,  sprang  up  amongst  them,  and  gradually  became  a 
 power  obnoxious  to  him  who  was  beforetime  the  head  of  the 
 most  important  sept  amongst  those  nations.^  We  have 
 already  seen  reason  to  believe  that  David  organised  a  robber 
 horde  and  preyed  on  his  neighbours,  but  that,  in  consequence 
 of  antagonism  to  his  previous  chief,  and  of  his  own  com- 
 parative weakness,  he,  with  his  soldiers,  went  to  sell  his 
 sword  to  a  neighbouring  state;  just  as  did  the  Irish  and 
 the  Scotch  in  days  gone  by,  when  both  fought  as  integral 
 parts  of  the  French  army,  against  England.  On  the  death 
 of  his  rightful  king,  David  returned  to  his  own  land,  and 
 brought  with  him  a  body  of  mercenary  troops,  by  whose  aid 
 he  captured  Jerusalem  and  founded  a  d3-nasty.  We  have 
 a  somewhat  parallel  case  in  our  own  history,  in  the  episode 
 
 1  We  have  evidence  of  such  a  Hug,  or  headship,  in  Num.  xxii.  4,  where  we  find 
 Balak  as  King  of  the  Moabites  and  Jlidianite^,  after  whose  death  or  deposition, 
 we  are  told  that  there  were  five  kings  or  chiefs  (Num.  xxxi.  8).  There  is  an 
 indication  of  a  similar  king  in  Jud.  i.  7,  but  the  anachronism  in  the  verse  pro- 
 hibits our  laying  any  stress  upon  it. 
 
84 
 
 of  the  Norman  conquest,  wherein  we  recognise  a  country, 
 enfeebled  by  internal  dissensions,  invaded  by  a  foreign  enemy, 
 who  yet  was  sufficiently  near  to  be  considered  as  a  neighbour, 
 and  to  have  some  pretensions  to  the  throne.  The  Norman 
 William  in  England,  who  founded  our  royal  dynasty,  is,  we 
 conceive,  a  close  copy  of  David  in  Judea,  the  Saxons  being 
 analogous  to  the  Israelites,^  and  the  Normans  to  the  Jews. 
 Under  the  power  of  David,  we  conceive  that  the  various  tribes 
 of  Palestine  were  consolidated  to  a  considerable  degree,  as 
 were  the  Greeks  under  Alexander,  and,  thus  strengthened, 
 the  Jewish  monarch  was  able  to  attempt  foreign  conquest. 
 It  is,  however,  abundantly  evident  that  there  were  elements 
 of  religious  discord  in  the  new  Idngdom  of  David,  which 
 soon  began  to  show  themselves.  The  grounds  for  this  asser- 
 tion are  (1),  the  prevalence  of  El  worship  prior  to  David's 
 time ;  (2),  the  prevalence  of  Baal  worship,  as  indicated  by 
 the  names  Meribbaal  and  Bceliada,  borne  by  sons  of  Saul 
 and  David;  (3),  Michal,  Saul's  daughter,  failing  to  recognise 
 that  a  sacred  worship  was  being  performed  by  her  husband. 
 King  David,  when  he  danced  publicly  and  shamelessly 
 before  the  ark  (2  Sam.  \i.  16) ;  thus  clearly  showing  that 
 the  early  religion  recognised  in  Saul's  household  was  not 
 that  adopted  in  the  Jerusalem  of  David ;  (4),  from  such 
 passages  as  the  following,  which  are  attributed  to  the  Roj'al 
 Psalmist  (Psalm  xlii.  3,  10),  "My  tears  have  been  my 
 meat  day  and  night,"  "while  they  continually  say  unto  me. 
 Where  is  thy  God?"  And  again  (v.  9),  "Why  go  I  mom-ning 
 because  of  the  oppression  of  the  enemy  ?  "  In  Ps.  ci.  3,  6, 
 8,  wo  have  a  stronger  indication  still,  viz.,  "I  hate  the  work 
 
 8  As  a  general  rule,  wo  have  used  the  words  Jews,  Hebrews,  and  Israelites  as 
 Bynonymous,  when  referring  to  periods  prior  to  David's  conquest  of  Jcrnsalem. 
 After  that  event,  we  employ  the  word  "Israelites"  to  designate  the  people  whose 
 desocndauts  revolted  during  the  time  of  Kchoboam  —  those  who  are  usually 
 called  the  ten  tribes  —  whilst  the  name  "Jews"  indicates  the  Davidic  soldiery, 
 their  families  and  their  posterity. 
 
85 
 
 of  them  that  turn  aside,"  "Mine  eyes  shall  be  upon  the 
 faithful  in  the  land,"  "I  will  early  destroy  all  the  wicked 
 of  the  land."  In  cxxxix.  19-22,  we  read,  "  Surely  thou 
 wilt  slay  the  wicked,  0  God:  depart  from  me  therefore,  ye 
 bloody  men.  For  they  speak  against  thee  wickedly,  and 
 thine  enemies  take  thy  name  in  vain."  "  Consider  the 
 trouble  I  suffer  of  them  that  hate  me."  Again  ;  "  Consider 
 mine  enemies,  for  they  are  many,  and  they  hate  me  with 
 a  cruel  hatred,"  Ps.  ix.  13,  and  xxv.  19.  See  also  the  whole  of 
 Psalm  XXXV.,  xxxviii.  19,  xli.  7,  Iv.  3,  Ixix.  4,  14,  Ixxxvi. 
 17,    cxviii.  7. 
 
 And  again,  "  I  have  hated  the  congregation  of  evil 
 doers  "  (Ps.  xxvi.  5),  ''  I  have  hated  them  that  regard  lying 
 vanities,  but  I  trust  in  the  Lord"  (xxxi.  6).  We  can  only 
 refer  this  detestation  of  David,  which  he  thus  complains  of,  to 
 a  political,  personal,  or  religious  cause.  We  cannot  imagine 
 that  the  king  was  personally  disagreeable,  else  he  could 
 never  have  become  a  good  friend  with  Achish  King  of  Gath, 
 Hiram  King  of  Tyre,  Ittai  the  Gittite,  and  Hushai  the 
 Archite.  We  infer,  then,  that  he  was  disHked  on  political 
 or  religious  grounds,  or  on  both,  for  the  two  usually  went 
 together.  At  any  rate,  hatred  towards  the  monarch  shows 
 that  he  was  disliked  by  many  over  whom  he  ruled. 
 
 The  position  of  William,  the  Norman  conqueror  of 
 England,  very  closely  resembled  that  of  David  in  Palestine. 
 Both  alike  led  a  small,  but  very  powerful  war  party,  and 
 the  few  coerced  the  many.  Both  alike  were  detested,  and 
 the  posterity  of  each  frequently  suffered  from  powerful 
 insurrections. 
 
 Again,  let  us  refer  to  David's  words,  "Do  I  not  hate 
 them,  0  Lord,  that  hate  thee,  and  am  I  not  grieved 
 with  those  that  rise  up  against  thee  ?  I  hate  them  with  a 
 perfect  hatred ;  I  count  them  mine  enemies "  (Ps.  cxxxix. 
 21).     In  Psalm  Ixviii.  1,  we  find  again,  "Let  God  (Elohim) 
 
86 
 
 arise,  let  his  enemies  be  scattered :  let  them  also  that  hate 
 him  flee  before  him ;  "  without  multipl3'ing  examples,  in 
 order  to  show  that  there  are  very  many  of  the  compositions 
 attributed  to  David,  in  which  the  writer  gravely  laments 
 the  "power  of  the  enemy,"  and  bitterly  regrets  that  he 
 should  be  so  impotent  to  overcome  it.  Now  it  is  clear 
 that  the  Psalmist  cannot,  in  all  these  cases,  be  referring 
 to  Saul,  after  he  has  himself  come  to  reign  over  Israel  and 
 Judah ;  nor  yet  to  Saul's  son.  We  can  scarcely  conceive 
 that  he  should  bo  in  terror  of  one  or  more  of  his  subjects, 
 unless  he  knew  that  such  men  possessed  a  gi-eat  amount  of 
 influence.  And  it  is  clear,  from  his  sending  out  Joab  and 
 all  Israel  to  battle,  that  he  did  not,  for  his  own  royal  supre- 
 macy, fear  that  redoubtable  captain  of  the  host.  We  infer 
 that  he  was  in  awe  of  Joab  and  his  brother,  on  account 
 of  something  else  than  military  power.  He  felt  "weak, 
 even  though  anointed  King. "  "  The  sons  of  Zeruiah 
 were  too  hard  upon  him."  If  we  inquire  into  the  cause 
 of  this  fear,  we  can  come  to  no  other  conclusion  than 
 that,  though  Joab  was  personally  a  friend  of  the  King, 
 he  was  not  a  co-rcligionist ;  that  he  maintained  and 
 adhered  to  the  ancient  religion  of  his  own  people ;  and 
 this  being  known  to  David,  he  dared  not  interfere  with  him, 
 for  the  same  reason  that  the  scribes  and  pharisees  of  later 
 times  dared  not  even  arrest  Jesus  "  on  a  feast  day,  lest  there 
 should  be  an  uproar  amongst  the  people." 
 
 The  inference  thus  drawn  is  strengthened  by  the  account 
 which  we  have  of  a  conversation  between  Nathan  the  prophet 
 and  the  king ;  for  the  former,  when  he  rebukes  the  latter 
 for  his  adultery  and  murder,  says,  "because  by  this  deed 
 thou  hast  given  great  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord 
 (Jehovah)  to  blaspheme,"  etc.  (2  Sam.  xii.  14.)  The  force 
 of  the  argument  in  this  case  being,  "  You  and  I  are  worship- 
 pers of  Jehovah,  whom  we  declare  to  be  infinitely  superior  to 
 
87 
 
 all  other  gods  ;  and  yet  here,  in  the  presence  of  those  who 
 are  adversaries  to  our  faith,  you  take  another  man's  wife, 
 and  when  you  have  impregnated  her,  you  kill  her  husband 
 that  she  may  escape  detection.  As  the  gods  of  the  people 
 whom  you  rule  over  would  not  tolerate  this,  you  cannot  fail 
 to  see  that  you  must  be  chastised — our  religion  demands  a 
 sacrifice."  It  is  too  much  to  affirm  that  the  infant  was 
 poisoned ;  but  those  who  know  much  of  fanaticism,  and  of 
 the  extraordinary  influence  which  pious  enthusiasm  exercises 
 over  weak  minds,  may  be  pardoned  for  believing  that  the  pro- 
 phet who  foretold  death  did  not  scruple  to  effect  the  fulfil- 
 ment of  the  augury.  Erring  nuns  have,  in  comparatively 
 modern  days,  been  murdered  in  cold  blood,  lest  the  Christian 
 profession  of  virginity  might  be  blasphemed.  Ancient,  and 
 even  recent  rumours,  also,  are  strangely  wrong,  if  certain 
 ministers  of  "the  pure  faith  of  Jesus"  have  not  elected  that 
 **  the  child  should  die,"  rather  than  there  should  be  "  an 
 occasion  for  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  to  blaspheme."  It  is 
 probable  that  some  of  the  Jesuitical  schools  existent  amongst 
 ourselves  would  applaud  the  zeal  of  Nathan  and  of  monks, 
 even  though  it  involved  infanticide,  as  fully  as  they  would 
 the  holy  fury  of  Phineas  the  son  of  Eleazar  the  son  of  Aaron, 
 who  perpetrated  the  murder  of  two  persons  to  punish  the 
 off'ence  of  one. 
 
 When  the  inquirer  has  adopted  the  opinion  that  there 
 existed  two  children,  as  it  were,  in  the  womb  of  David's 
 kingdom,  and  that  there  was  a  determination  that  the  elder 
 faith  should  become  subservient  to  the  younger  (Gen.  xxv. 
 23),  he  proceeds  to  inquire  how  a  clever  ruler,  or  an  astute 
 hierarchy,  would  set  about  the  task  of  inducing  the  mixed 
 multitude  to  think  in  one  way.  Such  an  one  would  have  to 
 show  why  in  such  a  community  there  were  two  sets  of 
 persons,  the  rulers  and  the  ruled ;  just  as  in  Rome  there  were 
 patricians  and  clients,  and  as  in  the  celestial  empire  there 
 
88 
 
 are  Tartar  emperors  and  Chinese  subjects.  He  would  have 
 to  demonstrate  how  many  tribes  could  yet  be  one  family; 
 and  how  those  speaking  a  di£ferent  tongue,  like  the  AYelsh 
 amongst  the  British,  could  yet  have  a  common  interest. 
 We  who  can  turn  to  the  practice  of  the  past,  can  readily  con- 
 ceive how  the  trial  would  be  made.  Ballads  or  songs  would 
 be  framed  and  sung  extensively,  and  few  there  are  who  do 
 not  recognise  their  influence.  Books  would  then  be  com- 
 posed, which  would  either  profess  to  be  written  by  the 
 ancients,  or  be  compiled  from  some  records  that  none  but 
 the  author  knew  of,  just  as  Sanchoniathon  is  quoted  by  Philo 
 only,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  none  can  tell  whether  the 
 quoter  and  the  quoted  is  not  the  same  person,  under  different 
 names.  If  any  books  or  traditions  really  existed,  it  is 
 very  probable  that  they  would  be  woven  into  a  continuous 
 narrative,  in  the  same  way  as  the  mythical  history  of  Great 
 Britain  used  to  be  composed. 
 
 As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  find  that  certain  books  are  quoted, 
 of  whose  existence  we  know  nothing  more,  than  that  they 
 were  spoken  of  as  being  known,  when  the  Bible,  as  we  recog- 
 nise it  at  present,  was  compiled.  They  are  the  following, — 
 (a)  The  book  of  the  wars  of  the  Lord  (Numbers  xxi.  14),  is? 
 nin;  ninn'pp.  (t)  The  book  of  Jashar,  "^fj]  is?  (Josh.  x.  13, 
 2  Sam.  i.  18) ;  (c)  The  book  of  Samuel  the  prophet,  ^i?'!' 
 ^^'^^^  (1  Chron.  xxix.  29)  ;  (d)  The  book  of  Nathan  the 
 prophet,  ]r\:  nn"!  (i  chron.  xxix.  29) ;  (e)  The  book  of  Gad 
 the  prophet,  \i  *13^  (1  Chron.  xxix.  29) ;  (f)  The  book  of 
 the  acts  of  Solomon  (1  Kings  xi.  41);  (r/)  The  prophecy 
 of  Ahijah;  and  (h)  The  visions  of  Iddo  the  seer  (2  Chron.  ix. 
 29) ;  (i)  The  book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel 
 (1  Kngs  xiv.  19);  (j)  The  book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the 
 Kjngs  of  Judah  (1  Kings  xiv.  29);  (A)  The  book  of  the 
 Kings  of  Israel  and  Judah  (1  Chron.  ix.  1) ;  (0  The  book 
 of  Shemaiah  the  prophet  (2  Chron.  xii.  15) ;  {m)  The  book 
 
89 
 
 of  Jehu  the  son  of  Hanani  (2  Chron.  xx.  34);  (n)  The 
 book  of  Hosai  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  19).  Now  the  very  fact  that 
 the  first  of  these  lost  writmgs  is  quoted  in  the  book  of  Num- 
 bers makes  it  clear  that  the  "Wars  of  the  Lord  "  must  have 
 preceded  the  record  attributed  to  Moses.  But  the  passage 
 quoted,  having  reference  to  something  done  at,  apparently,  a 
 late  period,  it  is  impossible  that  the  volume  could  have 
 existed  at  the  period  when  the  book  of  Numbers  was 
 supposed  to  have  been  written  by  Moses.  To  get  over  this 
 difficulty,  it  is  affirmed  that  the  record  of  the  wars  of  the 
 Lord  is  the  same  as  that  which  we  find  spoken  of,  Exod. 
 xvii.  14,  and  that  the  reference  to  this  in  Numbers  xxi.  14, 
 is  the  interpolation  by  some  later  scribe.  Moreover,  the 
 mention  of  the  book  of  Jashar  in  Joshua,  and  again  in 
 2  Sam.  i.  18,  involves  the  idea  that  there  was  a  book  continu- 
 ously written  up,  —  analogous  to  Dodsle5^'s  Annual  Kegister, 
 or  the  Kecords  of  the  British  Parliament,  —  and  that  the 
 commencement  of  the  compilation  began  prior  to  the  time  of 
 Joshua. 
 
 Let  us  examine  for  a  moment  how  much  these  hypo- 
 theses involve.  We  are  told  that  Moses  was  learned  in  all 
 the  learning  of  the  Egyptians;  he  was  taught  by  Egj^^tians, 
 was  brought  up  at  the  Egyptian  court,  and  must  there- 
 fore have  been  famiHar  with  their  tongue  and  their  method 
 of  writing.  How  he  learned  the  tongue  of  the  enslaved 
 Hebrew,  and  how  he  learned  to  write  a  language  which  at 
 that  period  had  not  been  inscribed  at  all,  it  is  impossible  to 
 find  out.  It  is  clear  that  Abraham  did  not  write  when  he 
 sent  to  his  father's  family  for  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac. 
 But  if,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  we  grant  that  Moses  did 
 learn  to  read  and  write  Hebrew,  the  difficulties  involved 
 only  thicken  around  us.  We  have  next  to  inquire  where 
 in  the  wilderness  he  found  the  materials  for  writing?  As 
 an  Egj'ptian,  he  would  require  papyrus,  or  some  sort  of  fine 
 
90 
 
 linen,  or  paper,  if  such  an  invention  was  then  known  in 
 Egypt,  and  none  of  these  could  be  procured  in  the  sandy- 
 desert  of  Ai'abia.  That  no  stores  of  such  materials  were 
 taken  from  Egypt  it  is  clear  from  the  context,  for  the 
 people,  not  knowing  that  they  were  to  meet  with  adven- 
 tures at  all,  would  not  be  likely  to  make  provision  for 
 their  record.  Doubtless  the  flij)pant  student  would  get 
 over  this  difficulty  by  suggesting  that  there  was  abundance 
 of  sheep,  calves,  kids,  and  lambs  from  which  parchment 
 might  be  made,  but  it  is  evident  from  Ex.  xvi.  3  - 12, 
 and  Num.  xi.  4,  that  the  migrating  people  were  not  in 
 the  habit  of  slaughtering  their  live  stock,  even  for  food, 
 and  consequently  there  would  be  no  skins  of  which  to 
 make  parchment.  "We  see,  moreover  (Exod.  xxix.  14, 
 Lev.  iv.  11,  x\d.  27,  Num.  xix.  5),  that  the  skin  of  certain 
 animals  was  to  be  burned.  We  find,  nevertheless,  from 
 Lev.  vii.  8,  that  when  certain  ofierings  are  made  the  priest 
 should  have  the  skin  for  himself.  About  the  use  to  which 
 such  skin  might  be  put,  see  Lev.  xv.  17,  where  we  find  it 
 mentioned  with  garments,  and  as  a  bed  covering.  Through- 
 out the  whole  narrative,  no  reference  is  made  to  the  use  of 
 vellum,  so  that  it  is  clear  that  this  material  was  not  known. 
 But  even  granting,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the  Egyp- 
 tians used  parchment  in  the  days  of  Moses,  and  granting 
 still  further  that  Moses  was  acquainted  with  the  method  of 
 preparing  it,  where,  let  us  inquire,  could  he  find  the  materials 
 which  are  necessary  for  its  manufacture  ?  for  it  is  difficult  to 
 understand  how  a  priest,  whose  ceremonial  cleanliness  was  of 
 the  first  importance,  could  undertake  a  business  which  required 
 constant  contact  with  a  dead  animal.  When,  moreover,  we 
 have  got  over  all  these  difficulties,  we  have  next  to  explain 
 how  voluminous  manuscripts  could  have  existed  amongst  the 
 Israelites,  during  the  long  periods  in    which  they  were  so 
 
91 
 
 dreadfully  harassed,  that  they  had  to  dig  holes  and  seek  out 
 for  caves  wherein  to  hide  themselves  (Judges  vi.  2). 
 
 This  question,  however,  of  Israel's  having  sojourned  in 
 Egjrpt,  and  escaping  from  it,  is  of  too  gi-eat  importance  to  be 
 passed  over  without  a  more  extended  examination.  We 
 therefore  purpose  to  investigate  it  in  a  thoroughly  impartial 
 manner.  Assuming  the  position  of  judge,  we  find  that  there 
 are  two  parties  in  a  suit,  one  affirming  that  their  nation 
 resided  first  as  relatives  to  a  mighty  officer  in  the  Egyptian 
 court,  and  then  as  slaves,  whilst  the  other  declares  that 
 the  whole  story  is  a  fabrication,  without  even  a  grain  of  truth 
 therein.  As  the  case  can  only  be  decided  upon  documentary 
 evidence,  it  behoves  the  judge  to  weigh  the  testimony  closely. 
 The  statement  made  by  No.  1  is  to  the  following  eff'ect :  — 
 That  a  family,  consisting  of  an  aged  father,  ten  sons  and 
 many  grandsons,  seventy  in  all,  including  males  and  females, 
 went  down  into  Egypt,  being  summoned  thither  by  Jacob's 
 son,  who,  from  being  a  bondman,  had  become  prime  minister, 
 and  all  but  absolute  ruler  over  Egj^pt.  That  the  son  so 
 promoted  foretold  a  seven  years'  superabundance,  to  be 
 followed  by  a  seven  years'  famine,  and,  being  empowered  to 
 act  accordingly,  gathered  together  a  huge  store  of  grain,  which 
 enabled  him  to  supply  all  'Egypt  during  the  years  of  famine, 
 and  to  find  an  overplus  for  foreigners.  During  the  continu- 
 ance of  this  terrible  famine,  which  reduced  all  the  common 
 people  of  Eg}-pt  to  poverty  and  slavery  (Gen.  xlvii.  14-26), 
 Joseph,  the  ruler  in  question,  introduced  all  his  own  family, 
 with  their  flocks  and  herds  (Gen.  xlvi.  5,  6,  7),  into  Egjpt, 
 and  treated  them  munificently  (Gen.  xlvii.  1-6).  This 
 people,  so  introduced,  living  in  a  district  specially  assigned  to 
 them,  were  banded  together  by  fiimily  tics,  as  we  presume 
 from  the  previous  exploits  of  Simeon  and  Levi,  who  by  them- 
 selves alone  'sacked'  a  whole  town;  remained  in  Egypt  for 
 
92 
 
 about  three,  or  at  the  most  four  generations ;  for  Kohath,  the 
 son  of  Levi,  went  into  Goshen  with  his  parents,  whilst  Moses 
 and  Aaron,  his  grandsons,  led  the  hosts  of  Israel  out  of 
 'Egypt.  This  interval  covered  four  hundred  years  (Gen.  xv. 
 13,  Acts  vii.  6),  or  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  according 
 to  Exod.  xii.  40,  41.  During  this  interval,  the  Jews 
 scattered,  notwithstanding  their  unanimity,  and  fell  an  easy 
 prey  to  the  pusillanimous  Egj-ptians  (who  were  not  then  a 
 warlike  race),^  and  they  underwent  a  degrading  bondage. 
 Notwithstanding  their  misery,  however,  the  people  were  most 
 extraordinarily  prolific,  and  in  the  three  generations  the 
 thirty-five  men  increased  into  six  hundred  thousand,  which 
 involves  the  necessity  of  every  man  having  at  least  twenty- 
 five  sons,  if  no  death  ever  occurred  during  the  four  hundred 
 years,  but  double  that  number  if  mortality  followed  its 
 usual  laws.  For  the  wives  of  this  vast  multitude  two 
 midwives  sufficed ;  and  as  the  rate  of  increase  towards  the 
 exodus  must  have  been  about  six  hundred  thousand  per 
 annum,  each  of  these  women  must  have  attended  about 
 eight  hundred  midwifery  cases  every  day. 
 
 At  length  a  leader  appeared  amongst  the  miserable  slaves, 
 and  organised  a  system  of  intercommunication  (see  Exod.  v. 
 20,  xii.  3,  31-38).  He  represented  the  necessity  of  the  whole 
 nation  going  into  the  wilderness  for  three  days,  under  the 
 pretence  of  sacrificing  (Exod.  v.  1-3),  and  failing  to  get  per- 
 mission, was  instrumental  in  bringing  about  a  series  of 
 plagues,  which  ended  in  the  king  of  Egypt  being  compelled  to 
 send  the  people  away.  On  the  departure  of  the  nation,  whose 
 males  had  been  scattered  all  over  the  land  of  Eg^-^it  (Exod. 
 v.  12),  not  one  of  them  had  adopted  an  Egj-ptian  name  or 
 
 8  The  Egyptians  are  thus  spoken  of  in  consequence  of  tlicir  long  snpinenoss 
 andcr  the  yoke  of  the  llyksos,  axid  of  the  faLntboartodness  of  their  kings  (see 
 Allien,  Vol.  I.  p.  57,  note).  I  am  quite  aware  that  Egypt  produced  some,  but 
 not  many,  warrior  monarchs. 
 
93 
 
 learned  anything  of  the  Egyptian  language.  This  was, 
 however,  a  matter  of  small  consequence,  inasmuch  as  the 
 leader,  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  Egyptian  court, 
 and  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  country  (Acts  vii. 
 22),  and  who  subsequently  lived  in  Midian  for  forty  years, 
 spoke  Hebrew  fluently,  and  was  intimately  acquainted  with 
 the  geography  of  the  land  of  Canaan  and  with  the  habits 
 of  its  people  (Lev.  xx.  23). 
 
 Without  a  guide,  their  leader  took  them  through  the 
 sandy  wastes  of  the  great  Arabian  desert,  wherein  was  no 
 herbage  either  for  flocks  and  herds,  no  water  to  drink,  nor 
 food  to  eat.  The  cattle,  however,  contrived  to  exist  without  food, 
 and  water  was  procured  by  the  striking  of  a  rock  (Exod.  xvii. 
 6).  On  another  occasion,  there  was  also  a  scarcity  of  water, 
 and  the  leader  was  directed  to  speak  to  the  rock  (Num. 
 XX.  8),  but  instead  of  doing  so  he  smote  it  twice,  and  spoke 
 to  the  people.  One  or  both  of  these  streams,  or  one  or  both 
 of  these  rocks,  we  cannot  absolutely  form  an  opinion  which, 
 followed  the  people  through  their  wanderings,  for  St.  Paul, 
 in  1  Cor.  x.  4,  tells  us  "they  did  all  drink  the  same 
 spiritual  drink,  for  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  rock 
 that  followed  them.  "  The  food  which  was  provided  for 
 the  Israelites  was  equally  miraculous  with  the  supply  of 
 water. 
 
 Again,  we  find  that  this  nation  of  slaves  became  suddenly 
 a  nation  of  fighting  men,  for  they  had  scarcely  left  Egypt  ere 
 they  fought  successfully  against  Amalek  (Exod.  xvii.  8-13), 
 and  unsuccessfully  against  the  Amalekites  and  Canaanites 
 (Num.  xiv.  44,  45).  How  they  procured  weapons  we  have 
 no  information ;  some  have  presumed  that  they  got  them 
 from  the  drowned  Egyptians,  but  this  is  to  suppose  that 
 bronze  and  iron  spears,  darts,  swords  and  shields  can  float 
 as  well  as  men.     The  bodies  of    the  slain  army  may  have 
 
94 
 
 lined  the  sea  shore,  but  the  weapons  would  not  so  easily  be 
 cast  up. 
 
 But  the  wonders  surrounding  the  people  did  not  stop 
 here.  We  are  told  that  "  their  raiment  waxed  not  old  upon 
 them"  during  forty  years  (Deut.  viii.  4).  This  we  can  well 
 understand  was  a  necessary  thing  in  the  wilderness,  where 
 no  stores  of  clothing  could  be  procured,  but  we  cannot 
 see  how  this  would  provide  suitable  dresses  for  the  young 
 folks  as  they  grew  up.  We  can  easily  imagine  that  on  the 
 decease  of  a  parent,  a  son  or  daughter  might  take  their  father 
 or  mother's  raiment,  but  if  no  other  clothing  could  be  pro- 
 cured, this  would  necessitate  in  families  the  nudity  of  the 
 whole  of  the  young  until  the  parental  decease.  After  which, 
 as  only  two  could  be  clothed,  there  would  still  be  a  large 
 number  of  naked  men  and  women.  In  the  case  of  those  who 
 were  of  tender  age  when  they  left  Egypt,  we  must  presume 
 that  the  clothing  gi'ew  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  children 
 did. 
 
 During  the  time  of  the  wanderings  a  law  was  promulgated, 
 and  certain  feasts  appointed,  which  it  was  utterly  impossible 
 for  the  people,  whilst  in  the  desert,  to  keep,  viz.,  the 
 feast  of  tabernacles,  the  feast  of  harvest,  the  feast  of 
 ingathering,  and  the  feast  of  trumpets,  whilst  circumcision, 
 the  sign  of  the  covenant,  was  wholly  omitted. 
 
 The  marvellous  story,  thus  succinctly  told,  is  plentifully 
 garnished  by  miraculous  occurrences,  and  the  truth  of  the 
 whole  narrative  is  guaranteed  by  its  being  found  in  a  book. 
 The  arguments,  when  collected,  may  be  thus  stated :  —  There 
 are  Jews — they  are  an  ancient  people — they  have  a  certain 
 religious  faith,  and  they  have  certain  sacred  books,  whoso 
 most  probable  date  is  about  b.  o.  290 ;  some  of  the  books  are 
 supposed  to  have  originated  about  b.  c.  1500 ;  in  those  a 
 history  is  given  of  the  early  days  of  this  nation ;   the  books 
 
95 
 
 venerated  by  the  Jews  have  been  reverenced  by  Christians, 
 and  many,  in  every  age  of  the  Church,  have  considered 
 them  as  divinely  inspired ;  therefore  they  arc  true  in  every 
 particular. 
 
 After  duly  weighing  all  these  considerations,  the  judge 
 then  proceeds  to  hear  evidence  on  the  other  side.  The 
 testimony  may  be  thus  arranged  :  — 
 
 1.  There  is  no  nation  whose  people  have  been  more  care- 
 ful in  recording  the  daily  and  yearly  events  which  happened 
 amongst  them  than  the  Egyptians,  yet  neither  in  writing  nor 
 in  sculpture  is  there  any  representation  of  the  seven  years  of 
 plenty,  when  the  cities  were  stored  to  overJElowiug  with  the 
 effects  of  the  bounteous  harvest,  nor  yet  of  the  years  of  gaunt 
 famine,  when  the  people  sold  all  that  they  had,  and  them- 
 selves too,  for  bread  to  keep  them  alive. 
 
 2.  The  EgjTptian  records,  as  preseiTcd  by  Manetho,  tell 
 of  "an  ignoble  race,  who  had  the  confidence  to  invade  the 
 country,  and  who  easily  subdued  it  by  their  power  without  a 
 battle."  *  Thus  proving  that  the  Egj-ptians  were  sufficiently 
 honest  to  record  disgraceful  invasion  and  defeat.  Their 
 records  state  further,  that  "  they  made  war  upon  the  Egyp- 
 tians with  the  hope  of  exterminating  the  whole  race.  All 
 this  nation  was  styled  Hyksos,  that  is,  the  Shepherd  kings, 
 and  some  say  they  were  Ai-abians.  This  people,  who  were 
 thus  denominated  Shepherd  kings,  and  their  descendants, 
 retained  possession  of  Egypt  during  the  period  of  five 
 hundred  and  eleven  years. '"^  Now  the  date  of  this 
 invasion  being  about  b.  o.  2-404,*'  and  the  retreat  of  the 
 Hyksos  being  b.  c.  1G34,  it  is  clear  that  these  people 
 could  not  have  obliterated  any  records  about  the  Israehtcs, 
 who  only  entered  Egypt  about  b.  c.  1705,  according  to 
 current    chronology,    or    about    b.  c.   2179,    according    to 
 
 *  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  p.  170. 
 s  O^J.  cil.,  p.  171.  <^  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v.,  p.  29. 
 
96 
 
 Bunsen  {Op.  cit.,  p.  61),  or  b.  c.  1535  (Op.  cit.,  p.  68), 
 and  whose  exodus  was  about  b.  c.  1300. 
 
 It  is  clear  that  the  Israelites  and  the  Hyksos  were  not 
 identical.  But  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  Shepherd  kings 
 subsequently  retreated  to  a  place  called  Avaris,  where  they 
 defended  themselves  ;  they  were  besieged,  and  capitulated, 
 leaving  Egypt  with  all  their  families  and  effects,  in  number 
 not  less  than  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand,  and  bent  their 
 way  through  the  desert  towards  Syria.  In  another  book  of 
 the  Egyptian  histories,  Manetho  says,  "  This  people,  who 
 are  here  called  shepherds,  were  in  their  sacred  books  also 
 styled  captives"  (Op.  cit.,  pp.  172,  3).' 
 
 The  same  author  then  tells  of  a  king  Amenophis,  who 
 collected  all  the  lepers  which  were  to  be  found  in  the  country 
 and  sent  them  to  the  quarries,  these  after  a  time  obtained  per- 
 mission to  live  in  Avaris,  the  place  vacated  by  the  Shepherd 
 kings ;  and  the  story  tells  of  an  Osarsip,  who  consolidated 
 the  power  of  these  lepers,  and  sent  an  embassy  to  the  city 
 called  Jerusalem  {Op.  cit.,  pp.  176,  7,  8).  It  is  clear  that 
 these  lepers  could  not  be  the  Jews,  for  we  find  that  they  were 
 native  Egyptians ;  nor  was  there  a  Jerusalem  until  David's 
 time,  the  city  so  called  being  "  Jebus,"  until  occupied  by 
 the  Jews.  Having  thus  premised  that  the  Egyptians  did 
 not  shrink  from  recording  their  own  misfortunes,  we  turn  to 
 their  remains,  and  find  no  single  evidence  of  the  presence  of 
 such  a  ruler  as  Joseph — of  such  a  nation  of  slaves  as  the 
 Hebrews  —  of  a  king  known  as  Pharoah  —  of  such  calamities 
 as  the  various  plagues,  nor  of  such  an  overthrow  as  the 
 destruction  of  an  army  in  the  Bed  Sea.  I  fearlessly  assert 
 that  no  Egyptologist  could  construct  the  story  of  Israel  in 
 Egypt  by  the  records  of  the  latter  people. 
 
 7  The  -value  of  this  testimony  is  not  very  great,  for  the  next  paragraph  opens 
 with  the  dcpaiiuro  of  this  nation  of  Shepherds  to  Jerusalem,  a  town  not  then  in 
 existence,  so  far  as  we  can  learn. 
 
97 
 
 3.  During  a  very  short  period  of  slaverj-,  seventy  years, 
 in  Babylon,  the  Jews  modified  their  theology  and  their 
 nomenclature  to  a  very  remarkable  degree ;  and  during  the 
 period  of  about  four  hundred  and  thirty  years,  which  elapsed 
 between  the  time  of  Nehemiah  and  the  birth  of  Mary's  son, 
 their  language  was  so  completely  changed  that  it  is  a 
 matter  of  doubt,  amongst  many,  whether  Greek  was  not 
 the  vernacular  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  disciples,  Syro- 
 Chaldee  being  the  language  of  the  higher  classes.^  It 
 seems  to  be  certain  that  the  books  of  Esdras,  Judith,  Macca- 
 bees, and  others  in  the  Apocrypha,  were  written  and  read 
 in  Greek.  Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  Jews,  like  all  other 
 people,  when  brought  into  contact  with  a  dominant  foreign 
 power,  in  a  subordinate  or  enslaved  condition,  learned,  and  to 
 a  certain  extent  adopted,  the  language  of  their  rulers.  But, 
 so  far  as  I  am  able  to  discover,  there  is  no  single  Hebrew 
 cognomen  which  is  traceable  to  the  Egyptian  language,  nor 
 is  there  any  set  of  words,  even  if  there  be  a  single  individual 
 specimen  in  any  Jewish  writing,  which  is  taken  from  the 
 Mizrite  tongue. 
 
 4.  The  Hebrew  records  do  not  give  correctly,  nor  do 
 they  even  approach  to  precision  when  recording,  the  name  of 
 any  of  the  earlier  rulers  in  Egypt.  On  the  contrary,  the 
 appellative  which  they  record  is  not  Egyptian,  but  apparently 
 Scythian.     (See  Phaeaoh.) 
 
 5.  The  Egyptians  had  certain  definite  notions  about  a 
 future  world,  which,  whether  they  were  erroneous  or  not, 
 must  have  been  known  to  Joseph  when  he  had  his  father 
 embalmed.  These  notions,  being  entertained  by  so  powerful 
 a  member  of  Jacob's  family,  could  not  be  lightly  esteemed 
 
 8  I  do  not  wish  to  indicate  any  opinion  on  the  question,  "  Did  Christ  speak 
 Hehre-w,  Greek,  Syro-ChaMee,  Ai-amaic,  Latin,  or  a  lingua  franca^"  Much  may 
 be  said  on  all  sides  in  answer  to  the  query.  It  suffices  my  purpose  to  show  that 
 a  doubt  on  the  subject  exists. 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 by  the  rest.  Consequently  we  infer  that  the  patriarchal 
 twelve,  if  they  occupied  the  place  which  Jewish  history 
 assigns  to  them,  must  have  known  something  of  the  ancient 
 "  ritual  for  the  dead."  Now  it  is  clear  from  the  context  that 
 neither  Moses,  nor  David,  nor  Solomon,  nor  any  other 
 leading  man  amongst  the  Jews,  had  any  definite  notion  of 
 a  future  world;  indeed,  even  at  the  time  of  Christ,  their 
 ideas  on  the  subject  were  very  hazy. 
 
 G.  From  the  minute  description  given  by  Herodotus  of 
 the  general  habits  of  the  Egyptians,  quite  independently  of 
 religious  ideas,  we  are  enabled  to  compare  them  with  the 
 customs  of  the  Hebrews.  On  doing  so  we  find  no  resem- 
 blance ;  and  this  is  the  more  remarkable,  because,  in  a 
 period  of  time  far  shorter  than  that  which  is  said  to  have 
 been  passed  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  the  Jews  adopted 
 Babylonian,  Persian,  and  even  Grecian  ideas  and  customs. 
 
 7.  The  Jewish  nation  were  ever  ready,  during  the  ancient 
 period  of  their  history,  to  adopt  idolatrous  ideas  from  those 
 with  whom  they  came  in  contact.  There  is  not  a  writer 
 or  prophet,  prior  to  the  Babylonian  captivity,  who  does  not 
 deplore  this  state  of  things ;  yet  there  is  no  trace  of  the 
 names,  or  of  the  worship,  of  Egj^tian  gods.  Even  during 
 Solomon's  time,  when  the  king  went  after  the  gods  of  Zidon, 
 Ammon,  and  Moab,  no  mention  is  made  of  any  deity  of 
 the  Mizraim,  although  the  chief  wife  of  the  monarch  is 
 reported  to  have  been  an  Egyptian  j)rincess.  There  seems 
 indeed  to  have  becu  a  total  ignorance  of  the  theology  of 
 the  land  of  Ham. 
 
 The  only  exceptions  to  this  statement  arc,  the  worship 
 of  the  calf,  the  use  of  the  ark,  and  the  custom  of  circum- 
 cision. But  these  exceptions  arc  worthless ;  for  (n)  the 
 Egyptians  did  not  worship  any  calf,  consequently  the 
 Hebrews  could  not  have  copied  from  them ;  (h)  the  ark  was 
 used   by   the   Chaldeans   and  Assyrians  and   Hindoos,  and 
 
99 
 
 probably  by  the  Phoenicians  and  Greeks;  (c)  circumcision 
 was  a  rite  amongst  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Colchians. 
 
 8.  The  whole  of  the  Hebrew  nomenclature  is  allied  to 
 the  Phoenician,  Syrian,  Chaldee,  Assyrian,  or  Greek,  and 
 all  its  myths  are  traceable,  in  one  way  or  another,  to  these 
 sources. 
 
 Though  none  of  these  arguments  when  standing  alone 
 are  sufficiently  cogent  to  induce  the  judge  to  believe  that 
 the  sojourn  of  Israel  in  Egypt  is  a  mythos  or  fable,  yet, 
 when  associated  together,  he  finds  them  irresistible.  In  this 
 respect  they  differ  from  the  considerations  advanced  on  the 
 other  side,  which  are  weakened  by  being  grouped.  There  is 
 nothing  which  is  a  'priori  improbable  in  Jacob's  family  going 
 to  settle  in  Egypt,  nor  in  their  being  enslaved,  nor  in  their 
 escaping ;  but  the  more  this  simple  statement  becomes  a 
 "lay  figure"  on  which  all  sorts  of  bizarre  ornaments,  hand- 
 some dresses,  and  the  like  are  heaped,  the  more  we  distrust 
 its  reality  and  believe  it  to  be  a  sham. 
 
 If  all  the  difficulties  which  are  here  enunciated  stood 
 alone,  they  would  suffice  to  make  the  careful  inquirer  doubt 
 whether  the  Pentateuch  and  the  other  apparently  early 
 writings  of  Hebrews  are  what  they  profess  to  be.  When 
 those,  however,  are  increased  by  the  considerations  adduced 
 by  Colenso,  and  the  fact  that  there  is  no  trace  in  the  nomen- 
 clature of  the  Jews  of  any  Egj-ptian  influence,  whilst  on 
 other  hand  there  is  overwhelming  testimony  of  Babylonian, 
 Asspiau,  and  Phoenician  influence ;  the  student  cannot 
 fail  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  so-called  writings  of 
 Moses  were  produced  a  long  time  after  David's  accession 
 to  the  throne,  by  some  individual,  or  by  some  set  of  men. 
 We  can  readily  assent  to  the  probability  that  Solomon,  or 
 some  other  king,  might  have  had  something  to  do  with 
 the  production  of  books.  Like  the  first  Napoleon,  he  might 
 have  recognised  the  necessity  for  a  code  of  laws,  and  have 
 
100 
 
 ordered  one  or  more  scribes  or  priests  to  draw  up  something 
 which  should  guide  them  and  their  successors.  But  there 
 is  no  evidence  to  show  that  he  did  so.  Presuming  that  he 
 did,  it  is  clear  that  such  a  code  must  have  had  reference  to 
 the  laws  and  customs  of  the  people  then  existing.  If,  as 
 we  think,  the  nation  was  a  compound,  consisting  of  the 
 dominant  race  of  Judah  and  the  subject  race  called  Israel, 
 each  having  separate  customs,  beliefs,  and  methods  of  wor- 
 ship, we  should  expect  to  find  that  there  were  some 
 ordinances  referring  to  the  one  race,  and  others  pertaining 
 chiefly  to  the  remainder.  Now  the  fact  that  the  worship 
 of  the  calves  was  adopted  as  soon  as  Israel  shook  off  the 
 yoke  of  David's  dj'nasty,  is,  we  believe,  a  proof  that 
 such  was  the  original  worship  of  the  people  conquered 
 by  David;  and  thus  we  conclude  that  the  worship  of  Israel 
 was  idolatrous  in  the  eyes  of  David.  ^Ye  presume  also  that 
 it  resembled  the  cult  of  the  people  of  the  lands  around 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Amongst  the  many  and  various  forms  which  that  heathen 
 devotion  included,  was  the  practice  of  human  sacrifice.  We 
 find  reference  made  to  it  1  Kings  xvi.  34,  wherein  we  are 
 told  that  Hiel  the  Bethelite  sacrificed  his  eldest  son  when 
 he  laid  the  foundation  of  Jericho,  and  his  youngest  when 
 he  fixed  the  gate.  Another  illustration  is  to  be  met  with 
 in  2  Kings  iii.  27,  where  we  find  that  Mesha,  the  King  of 
 Moab,  oflcred  up  his  eldest  son  upon  the  walls  of  his  city 
 as  a  burnt  ofi"cring,  the  influence  of  which  on  the  besiegers 
 was  such,  that  they  departed  from  the  city.  It  is  unneces- 
 sary to  recount  the  story  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  daughter 
 by  Jephthah,  who  preferred  committing  murder  to  breaking 
 a  vow.  Again,  we  read  that  the  people  at  Sepharvaim 
 burned  their  children  in  the  fire  to  the  gods,  &c.  (2  Kings 
 xvii.  31.) 
 
 Still  further,  we  find  that  the  example  of  the  Israelites 
 
101 
 
 operated  influentially  upon  even  the  royal  family  of 
 Judah.  In  Jer.  vii.  30,  31,  we  are  told  that  the  children 
 of  Judah  have  built  the  high  places  of  Tophet,  to  burn 
 their  sons  and  their  daughters  in  the  fire.  And  again,  in 
 Jer.  xix.  4,  5,  we  find  that  even  the  temple  was  desecrated 
 with  the  blood  of  innocents,  and  that  sons  were  burnt 
 as  ofierings  to  Baal,  in  2  Chron.  xxviii.  3.  We  find 
 that  Ahaz  and  others  burned  children  in  the  fire  (2  Kings 
 xvi.  3,  xvii.  17,  xxi.  C,  xxiii.  10).  In  Psalm  cvi.  35,  37, 
 we  have  a  distinct  intimation  that  the  heathens  around 
 them  so  acted,  and  that  the  Jews  learned  from  them  to 
 sacrifice  their  sons  and  daughters  to  devils,  ^''7^5  sliedim, 
 or  to  *  the  great  ones,'  El  Shaddai  being  one  of  the  names 
 of  Jehovah.  We  have  farther  corroboration  of  this  custom, 
 in  Is.  Ivii.  4,  5,  Micah  vi.  G,  7,  and  even  of  cannibalism,  in 
 Ezek.  xvi.  20,  21,  xxiii.  37,  39.  This  being  so,  and  the 
 fact  being  apparent  that  these  customs  were  denounced 
 by  the  prophets  of  Jehovah,  we  should  expect  to  find  in 
 the  code  of  laws,  framed  for  the  mixed  peoples,  some  refe- 
 rence thereto. 
 
 For  this  we  have  not  far  to  seek.  The  following  pas- 
 sages are  evidently  addressed  to  the  Jews  of  Judah's  race ; 
 "  Thou  shalt  not  let  any  of  thy  seed  pass  through  the  fire 
 to  Molech "  (Lev.  xviii,  21) ;  "  Whosoever  giveth  any  of 
 his  seed  unto  Molech  shall  surely  be  put  to  death  "  (Lev. 
 XX.  2).  Again  in  Deut.  xii.  31,  we  have  a  reference  made 
 to  the  heathen  around  them  as  having  sacrificed  their  sous 
 and  their  daughters  to  the  gods,  and  a  prohibition  against 
 the  Jews  doing  so,  a  verse  which  is  repeated  almost  ver- 
 batim, Deut.  xviii.  9,  10.® 
 
 But  though  there  was  this  rule  for  the  one  class,  there 
 
 9  It  is,  however,  quite  possible  that  tlie  laws  which  are  here  quoted  are  of 
 a  very  late  date,  and  mark  the  period  when  such  sacrifices  were  first  held  in 
 abhorrence. 
 
102 
 
 was  another  for  those  whom  we  have  called  Israelites,  in 
 contradistinction  to  those  of  Judah,  the  Jews  proper,  for  we 
 find  in  Leviticus  xxvii.  28,  29,  an  injunction  to  the  following 
 effect;  "No  devoted  thing  which  a  man  shall  devote  unto 
 the  Lord,  both  of  man  and  beast,  shall  be  sold  or  redeemed  ; 
 it  is  most  holy  unto  the  Lord,  and  shall  sui-ely  be  put  to 
 death."  Upon  this  direction  Jephthah  is  represented  to  have 
 acted,  for  he  is  said  to  have  made  a  vow  to  ofier  up  as  a 
 burnt  offering  whatsoever  came  forth  from  the  door  of  his 
 house  to  meet  him  (Jud.  xi.  31) ;  the  dominant  feeling  in  his 
 mind  being  that  he  would  devote  to  God  by  fire  the  creature 
 which  showed  the  most  aflection  to  him  by  coming  to  meet 
 him  first  on  his  return.  There  has  been  an  attempt  to  show 
 that  this  sacrifice  of  his  daughter  was  not  consummated, 
 but  no  one  can  read  the  35th  verse,  in  which  the  warrior 
 rends  his  clothes  at  the  sight  of  his  only  daughter,  and  the 
 39th,  in  which  it  is  said  that  he  did  according  to  his  vow, 
 and  doubt  the  fact. 
 
 For  the  benefit  of  the  same  party  we  can  well  under- 
 stand that  the  remarkable  episode  of  the  ofi'ering  up  of 
 Isaac  by  his  father  Abraham  was  recorded.  In  deference 
 to  the  prejudices  of  the  bulk  of  the  people,  the  gi'cat 
 father,  who  was  represented  as  the  progenitor  of  the  whole 
 race,  was  said  to  have  been  commanded  by  God  to  sacri- 
 fice his  beloved  son,  but  in  deference  to  the  views  of  the 
 orthodox  minority,  the  sacrifice  was  not  completed. 
 
 Let  us,  for  a  moment,  linger  over  this  story,  one  which 
 plays  so  important  a  part  in  sacred  writ.  Let  us  suppose 
 that  a  father  of  to-day  hears  a  voice,  which  he  recognises 
 as  that  of  God,  who  tells  him  to  sacrifice  the  object  dearest 
 to  his  heart,  —  aud  of  my  own  personal  knowledge,  as  a 
 physician,    I    am   aware  that  both  men  aud  women   hear'" 
 
 10  I  nso  tho  word  hear  designodly,  for  I  have  conversed  with  those  who  have 
 received    Ruch  mcssn(»os  as  are  described   in   the   text,  and   who  are  so  convinced 
 
103 
 
 such  messages,  whose  origin  they  most  firmly  believe  to 
 be  divine;  —  let  us  imagine,  still  farther,  that  the  command 
 is  fulfilled,  and  a  wife,  a  husband,  a  brother  or  sister, 
 boy  or  girl,  is  murdered  in  consequence,  and  then  ask  if  any 
 jury  of  Englishmen  would  believe  that  the  message  was 
 in  reality  of  heavenly  origin,  and  that  obedience  to  its 
 purport  was  good  evidence  of  faith  in  the  Almighty  ?  Would 
 a  jury  of  any  nation  so  believe,  unless  then-  minds  were 
 familiar  with  human  sacrifice  ?  or  unless,  as  is  still  common 
 in  the  East,  they  regard  the  ravings  of  insanity,  and  the 
 visions  reported  by  the  lunatic,  as  the  voice  of  the  Creator 
 communicating  His  will  to  man?  If  such  would  be  our 
 judgment  now,  how  can  we  justify  ourselves  for  forming  a 
 diflerent  opinion  respecting  a  similar  matter,  simply  be- 
 cause it  happened  long  ago,  and  has  been  recorded  in  a 
 certain  book  ? 
 
 But  there  is  still  another  point  from  which  this  subject 
 may  be  viewed.  We  ask  ourselves  the  question,  "If  the 
 willingness  of  Abraham  to  ofi'er  up  his  son  Isaac,  at  what 
 he  conceived  to  be  the  command  of  the  Almighty,  was 
 counted  to  him  as  righteousness,  ought  not  the  absolute  ful- 
 filment of  the  command  to  be  reckoned  in  a  similar  way?" 
 Now,  we  find  from  the  very  interesting  essay  of  Dr.  Kalisch, 
 upon  Human  Sacrifices,  °  which  has  appeared  since  the  fore- 
 going was  in  manuscript,  that  Erectheus,  the  king  of  Athens, 
 
 of  tbcir  reality  tliat  nothing  can  shako  their  faith.  Amongst  my  informants  13 
 a  gentleman  who  is,  and  always  has  been,  perfectly  sane.  He  tells  me  that  he 
 both  sees  and  hears  persons  and  voices  which  have  no  real  existence.  Yet  the 
 voices  have  often  induced  him  to  seek  for  the  one  who  called  him.  The 
 bystanders  may  know  thoroughly  that  such  an  individual  is  the  victim  of  a 
 delusion,  yet,  so  long  as  the  person  himself  is  convinced  of  the  reality  of  that 
 which  he  sees  and  hears,  they  influence  him  as  much  as  would  a  pain  that 
 he  feels,  but  which  no  bystander  can  hear,  see,  or  perceive  in  any  way. 
 
 fi  Pp.  323-^51,  An  Historical  and  Critical  Commentary  on  the  Old  Testament, 
 by  M.  M.  Kalisch,  Phil.  Doc,  M.A.  Leviticus.  8vo.,  pp.  72t).  London:  Long- 
 mans, 1867. 
 
104 
 
 slaughtered  the  youngest  of  his  four  daughters  to  Persephone 
 at  the  oracle,  the  other  three  killing  themselves  sponta- 
 neously, as  a  sacrifice;  that  Marius,  to  ensure  a  victory, 
 received  in  a  dream  the  assurance  of  success  if  he  sacrificed 
 his  daughter ;  he  did  so,  and  routed  his  enemies.  There  is 
 mention  made  of  Idomeneus,  a  certain  leader,  who  immolated 
 his  son  under  precisely  the  same  circumstances  as  Jephthah 
 offered  up  his  daughter.  We  read  too  of  the  Gauls  sacrificing 
 their  wives  and  children  when  the  auguries  were  unfavourable. 
 It  would  be  impossible,  we  think,  for  any  Christian  to 
 applaud  the  faith  of  those  mentioned  by  Kalisch,  who 
 thus  devoted  themselves,  their  children,  their  wives  or  slaves, 
 as  sacrifices  to  the  great  god ;  and  equally  so  ought  it  to  be 
 to  give  Abraham  praise  when  these  are  blamed. 
 
 Let  us  draw  a  parallel,  to  put  this  matter  in  a  clear 
 light.  Agamemnon,  possibly  a  contemporary  of  the  author 
 of  Genesis,  had  a  daughter  whom  he  dearly  loved,  and  she 
 was  deserving  his  affection.  He  was  commanded  by  the 
 prophet  Calchas,  or  the  Delphic  oracle,  to  sacrifice  her; 
 unlike  Abraham,  he  long  resisted  the  demand,  but  gave  way  at 
 last,  and  permitted  that  she  should  be  immolated.  Messen- 
 gers were  sent  to  fetch  her,  and  she,  who  thought  that  she 
 should  find  a  husband,  found  only  an  altar  or  funeral  pile. 
 The  stern  father  allowed  the  sacrifice  to  proceed,  but  the 
 goddess  (Artemis  or  Ashtoreth)  interfered,  and  carried  the 
 maiden  away,  whilst  in  her  place  was  substituted  a  stag,  a 
 she-bear,  a  bull,  or  an  old  woman,  for  accounts  diflcr."  The 
 will  was  taken  for  the  deed.  Surely,  if  a  deliberate  pre- 
 paration for  murder  suffices  for  a  claim  to  righteousness  and 
 faith,  Agamemnon  of  the  Greeks  ought  to  be  classed  in 
 the  same  register  of  worthies  as  Abraham  and  Jephthah. 
 
 11  It  will  be  showTi  in  a  subsequent  essay  (see  Sackifice),  that  priests  in 
 many  nations  have  sanctioned  i)lans  for  cheating  the  gods  in  the  matter  of  burnt 
 oU'erings  ;  e.g.,  the  Chinese  of  to-day  present  mock-money,  &c.,  to  their  idols. 
 
105 
 
 In  our  next  chapter  we  will  pursue  this  subject,  and 
 continue  our  examination  into  the  circumstances  of  the 
 ancient  Jews,  at  and  after  the  establishment  of  the  mon- 
 archy. 
 
106 
 
 CHAPTEK   YI. 
 
 The  light  which  results  from  sounder  views  of  Biblical  criticism.  Difficulties 
 vanish.  Moses.  The  second  Moses.  The  dominant  and  the  conquered  race. 
 Elohistic  and  Jehovistic  narratives.  Division  of  two  races,  one  blessed  and  the 
 other  cursed,  prominent  in  the  Bible.  Seth  and  Cain.  Japhet,  Shem  and 
 Ham.  Isaac  and  Ishmael.  Jacob  and  Esau.  Judah  and  Israel.  Division 
 into  tribes.  Palestine  and  Scotland  compared.  Saul  probably  united  the 
 Hebrew  clans.  A  history  would  be  made  for  the  new  nation.  Schools  of  Pro- 
 phets. Note  thereupon.  Power  of  priesthood,  augmented  by  union  with  the 
 government.  Overturned  by  revolutions,  by  conquest,  or  by  change  of 
 opinion  in  the  ruler.  Effect  of  conquest  over  an  old  faith.  Fabrication  of 
 documents.  Jesuits  and  Hindoo  writhigs.  Jesuits  and  oysters.  Design  of 
 early  Jewish  history.  Two  versions  of  history  and  of  law.  Time  required  for 
 new  laws  to  "work."  Use  of  the  supernatural.  Stories  invented.  Adopted 
 after  due  repetition.  Many  such  believed  to-day.  Stories  inculcated  by 
 divines  upon  children.  Ancient  writings  amongst  old  Jews  rare  until  time  of 
 Josiah.  Paucity  of  copies  encourages  intei-polation.  Nature  of  interpolations. 
 How  to  be  traced.  Identity  of  sentiment  in  Deuteronomy  and  Jeremiah.  The 
 keys  of  St.  Peter.  The  Kenites.  Composition  of  the  domiaant  race.  A 
 mongrel  robber  troop  ;  Philistines,  Pelethites,  Cherethites,  Carians,  Greeks. 
 Sacrifices.  Jews  and  Greeks  compared.  Trade  with  India.  Various  elements 
 in  the  Bible.  The  question  discussed  whether  the  Bible  is  the  source  of 
 Heathen  stories  of  cosmogony.  Greek  element.  Names.  The  flood  and 
 Deucalion.  No  and  Noah.  Versification  in  law.  Phoenician  element.  Pause — 
 reference  to  Kalisch  on  Leviticus ;  sketch  of  author's  design,  and  reasons  for 
 abandoning  it.     Kecapitulation. 
 
 When  once  we  have  allowed  ourselves  to  believe  it  probable 
 that  the  first  ten  books  of  the  Bible  were  written  by  authors 
 who  flourished  after  Solomon,  and  about  the  period  of  Heze- 
 kiah,  or  at  a  still  later  period,  long  subsequent  to  the  time 
 of  Ezra,  when  the  Jews  had  been  partly  civilised  by  contact 
 with  Babylonians,  Persians,  and  Greeks,  we  are  almost 
 dazzled  with  the  light  which  shines  into  parts  which  once 
 were  dark.  We  can  see  how  it  is  that  Moses,  who  is  repre- 
 sented to  have  lived  all  his  life  in  Egypt,  Midian,  and  the 
 
107 
 
 desert,  yet  knew  so  accurately,  as  he  appears  to  have  done, 
 all  the  secret,  as  well  as  the  open,  vices  of  the  people  who 
 dwelt  in  Palestine.  See  Lev.  xviii.  24,  xx.  23 ;  Deut.  xii.  31, 
 xviii.  9-14.  We  can  also  understand  the  artfulness  of  the 
 writer  of  Deut.  xviii.  15,  who,  under  a  hope  that  he  might 
 be  himself  recognised  as  a  second  Moses,  declares,  "  The 
 Lord  thy  God  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the 
 midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me ;  unto  him 
 shall  ye  hearken."  We  can  readily  recognise  the  hand  of 
 some  Jerusalem  author  in  the  verse  Deut.  xii.  5,  "  Unto  the 
 place  which  the  Lord  your  God  shall  choose  out  of  all  your 
 tribes  to  put  his  name  there,  even  unto  his  habitation,  shall 
 ye  seek,  and  thither  ye  shall  bring  your  burnt  offerings," 
 &c. 
 
 Bearing  in  mind  the  logical  deduction  which  we  drew 
 from  the  political  history  of  the  Hebrew  kingdom  respect- 
 ing the  condition  of  the  ruling  dynasty  and  clan,  and  the 
 position  of  the  ruled  —  which  may  be  compared  to  Normans 
 and  Saxons  —  we  can  see  in  the  Bible  narrative  two  distinct 
 sets  of  ideas,  the  first  being  the  division  into  the  "  chosen  " 
 seed  and  the  family  less  favoured,  the  second  being  the 
 existence  of  twelve  families.  We  can  also  distinctly  discern 
 two  different  narratives,  one  which  served  for  the  dominant 
 party,  the  other  which  served  for  the  more  numerous,  but 
 less  powerful,  septs.  There  was  a  Jehovistic  account  of  every- 
 thing for  those  who  adopted  Jah  as  the  name  of  their  God, 
 and  there  was  an  Elohistic  narrative  for  those  who  wor- 
 shipped El  and  Elohim.  Upon  the  character  of  the  respec- 
 tive narratives  the  reader  may  consult  the  learned  labours  of 
 the  Bishop  of  Natal. 
 
 In  these  narratives  we  are  told  that  man  had  not 
 long  been  formed  before  contests  arose,  and  the  two  sons  of 
 Adam  contended,  even  to  the  death  of  one ;  and  thereafter 
 the  earth  is   peopled  by   the  accursed  brood  of  Cain,    and 
 
108 
 
 the  descendants  of  Seth.  The  whole  world  had  scarcely  been 
 resuscitated  after  the  disastrous  flood  recorded  in  Genesis, 
 before  we  again  find  a  division  into  a  blessed  and  a  cursed 
 race,  Japhet  and  Shem  being  favoured,  and  Ham's  pro- 
 geny blighted/  Then,  again,  the  patriarch  Abraham  has 
 an  eldest  son,  who  for  no  fault  of  his  own  is  degraded  below 
 the  youngest  son.^ 
 
 In  the  next  generation  we  have  the  same  idea  repeated, 
 the  children  of  Isaac  being  only  two,  and  the  younger  being 
 
 1  In  referring  to  the  curse  upon  Ham,  attention  should  be  called  to  the  mistake 
 current  amongst  us,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Africa  are  descended  from  this  jmtriarch. 
 A  reference  to  Gen.  x.  6-20  will  show,  that  the  children  said  to  be  descended  from 
 Ham  are  those  which  are  now  called  Shemitic,  viz.,  the  Phoenicians,  Babylonians, 
 and  Assyrians,  nations  that  in  language  and  in  physiognomy  resemble  the  Hebrews 
 closely.  It  is  diiBcult  to  frame  a  definite  idea  respecting  the  time  when  the  curse 
 said  to  have  been  uttered  against  Ham  and  Canaan  by  Noah  was  really  conceived. 
 A  reference  to  the  expression,  "  a  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be  unto  his  brethren" 
 (Gen.  ix.  25),  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  the  account  was  written  at  or  about  the 
 time  of  Solomon,  when  we  learn  (2  Chron.  ii.  17, 18,  viii.  7,  8)  that  the  people  of  the 
 land  and  strangers  were  made,  as  slaves,  to  be  hewers  of  wood  and  stone  and  drawers 
 of  water.  But  we  remember  that  the  evidence  showing  the  very  late  composition  of 
 the  book  of  Chronicles  diminishes  its  value  as  a  proof  of  this  point.  We  therefore 
 infer  that  the  cursing  of  Ham  and  his  progeny  was  an  episode,  first  imagined  at  the 
 period  when  the  Assyrians  first  came  against  Judea  and  conquered  it.  The  Jews  could 
 not  conquer,  but  they  could  abuse  the  victors  ;  and  this  they  did  by  adding  some- 
 thing to  an  ancient  story,  or  fabricating  a  comparatively  perfect  narrative.  This 
 curse,  like  some  of  the  sayings  attributed  to  Merlin  and  Mother  Shipton  in 
 England,  has  at  length  found  its  way  into  written  history  ;  when  there  recognised 
 by  a  modem  author,  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  demonstrate  the  fulfilment  of  the 
 denunciation.  But  this  could  not  be  effected,  reasonably,  so  long  as  Babylon  and 
 the  Phoenicians,  or  Canaanites,  were  flourishing.  The  so-called  prophecy  then  was 
 said  to  have  been  fulfilled  when  Solomon  used  slaves  in  the  erection  of  the  temple. 
 Hence,  we  presume  that  the  story  of  Noah  and  his  nakedness  was  written  at  a  time 
 when  the  circumcised  member  of  man  was  held  in  veneration,  before  the  period 
 when  the  Babylonian  and  Tyrian  powers  were  destroyed  by  the  Persians  and  the 
 Greeks,  and  after  the  enforced  residence  amongst  the  Grecians  of  Jewish  captives, 
 or  after  the  time  when  Greeks  used  to  mingle  in  trade  and  otherwise  with  the 
 Mesopotamians.  Perhaps  we  shall  not  widely  err  if  we  assign  the  date  of  the 
 Noachian  story  to  the  period  of  the  Babylonian  captivity. 
 
 2  It  is  important  to  notice  here  that  the  son  of  a  bondmaid  by  the  master  was 
 not  necessarily  looked  upon  as  inferior  to  the  son  of  the  mistress.  This  is  clear 
 from  the  history  of  the  twelve  patriarchs,  all  of  whom  are  treated  as  equal  to  each 
 other,  though  two  sets  were  born  from  the  wives  of  Jacob,  and  two  from  theu-  female 
 slaves. 
 
109 
 
 preferred,  before  the  elder.  All  this  is  introduced  apparently 
 to  give  a  divine  right  to  Judali  (who  was,  compared  with  the 
 aborigines,  a  new  importation  from  the  Phoenicians  and 
 Philistines),  to  dominate  over  the  older  dwellers  in  the  land. 
 This  glorification  of  Judah  is  very  clearly  set  forth  in  the 
 forty-ninth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
 
 After  a  certain  time,  Jewish  writers  endeavour  to  prove 
 that  their  nation  consisted  of  twelve  tribes,  corresponding 
 with  the  months  of  the  year,  and  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac  (see 
 ZoBikG  infra).  Now  these  'gentes'  must  either  have  had 
 some  real  existence,  or  the  writer  of  the  story  took  upon  him- 
 self to  divide  the  people  of  the  land  into  twelve  divisions, 
 much  in  the  same  way  as  Napoleon  divided  France  into 
 departments,  or  as  England  is  divided  into  counties.  To 
 these  divisions,  whether  natural  or  the  result  of  policy,  names 
 were  given,  most  of  which,  as  we  have  already  shown,  were 
 of  idolatrous  origin.  The  territorial  extent  covered  by  each 
 tribe  was  scarcely  equivalent  to  a  large  English  "  estate,"  and 
 we  cannot  imagine — the  people  being  purely  agricultural  — 
 that  the  population  of  one  tribe  ever  exceeded  that  of  a  Scotch 
 clan.  We  may,  moreover,  notice  that  our  northern  neigh- 
 bours were  divided  into  Highlanders  and  Lowlanders,  as  well 
 as  into  septs,  just  as  were  the  Hebrews  into  Jews  and  Israel- 
 ites; and  the  Palestinians  into  Amorites  or  Highlanders, 
 and  Canaanites  or  Lowlanders.  Between  these  there  were 
 many  feuds,  but  after  a  certain  period  the  whole  of  the 
 clans  came  under  the  domination  of  one  ruler.  It  was 
 probably  Saul  who  united  the  Hebrew  septs  together  for 
 the  first  time,  and  attempted  to  wield  the  power  of  all  for 
 the  general  good.  It  would  certainly  be  after  this  time, 
 that  an  attempt  w^ould  be  made  to  discover  that  all  had  a 
 common  origin,  and  thus  ought  to  act  as  brethren.  Where 
 all  are  of  the  same  religion,  this  result  may  be  effected 
 by   the  priesthood,   acting  upon   a   settled   plan.      But  the 
 
110 
 
 hierarcliy  cannot  act  in  unison  with  each  other,  and  with 
 the  state  unless  they  have  been  trained  to  do  so ;  con- 
 sequently it  would  be  necessary  to  adopt  some  contriv- 
 ance by  which  a  common  doctrine,  in  accord  with  clerical 
 and  political  government,  should  be  taught.  To  bridge  over 
 this  difficulty,  schools  of  prophets  appear  to  have  been  in- 
 vented, which  we  may  consider  to  be  the  types  of  our  colleges, 
 halls  and  universities.^  The  ruler  of  each  would  doubtless 
 teach,  to  all  below  him,  worldly  wisdom  as  well  as  sacred  lore, 
 and  would  thus  prepare  the  minds  of  his  scholars  for  political 
 revolutions.  The  power  of  the  priesthood,  which  we  take  to 
 be  equivalent  to  that  of  the  prophets,  has  been  recognised  in 
 all  countries,  and  when  it  is  united  with  that  of  the  government, 
 is  almost  irresistible,  although  both  may  be  overturned  by  a 
 revolution  such  as  occurred  in  France  at  the  close  of  the  last 
 century.  By  such  influence  were  the  Crusades  brought  about, 
 in  days  gone  by  ;  and  through  its  means  did  a  haughty  king 
 like  our  Henry  II.  lower  his  head  to  the  memory  of  an  astute 
 
 8  At  tlie  time  wlien  the  above  was  written,  I  entertainecl  the  belief  that  the 
 Biblical  narrative  after  the  reign  of  David  might  be  trusted  as  being  moderately 
 accurate.  Since  then,  I  have  seen  strong  reason  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  any 
 portion  of  Jewish  history,  except  to  a  very  limited  extent.  And  I  have  also  seen 
 strong  reason  for  believing  that  the  great  bulk  of  the  Old  Testament  was  written 
 after  the  Jews  came  into  contact  with  the  Babj'lonians,  Tyrians,  Greeks  and 
 Persians,  and  that  a  very  large  portion  was  fabricated  subsequent  to  the  time  of 
 Ezra.  This  belief  would  lead  me  to  consider  that  the  words,  "  the  great  Sanhe- 
 drim," or  "  Council  of  Priests,"  would  be  more  appropriate  than  the  title,  "  Schools 
 of  Prophets."  My  intention  is  to  show  that  history  and  law  indicate  design,  and  a 
 power  recognised  and  established  ;  that  the  union  of  the  priestly  and  the  jiolitical 
 powers,  whether  brought  about  by  the  two  being  wielded  by  one  man,  or  by  chiefs 
 acting  in  concert,  implies  the  existence  of  a  sacerdotal  education ;  and  that  unity 
 of  design  in  sacred  writings  indicates  a  commo.i  purpose,  which  can  only  be  effected 
 by  an  established  policy  taught  in  youth,  or  adopted  by  priestly  consent  in  afterlife. 
 It  is  clear  that  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim  was  more  politic  and  had  greater  power  than 
 any  Protestant  synod,  and  we  may  fairly  compare  the  Papal  system  of  instructing 
 her  priests  with  that  adopted  in  Jerusalem.  As  modern  Rome  did  not  complete  her 
 plans  until  many  centuries  had  passed  over  her  head,  sj  it  is  probable  that  the  plan 
 of  the  bible  and  the  Jewish  law,  as  we  have  it,  was  not  completed  finally  until  the 
 Jewish  writings  were  reduced,  as  it  were,  to  petrifaction,  by  being  translated  into 
 Greek,  after  which  no  change  could  judiciously  be  made. 
 
Ill 
 
 ecclesiastic.  But  even  the  order  of  priests  is  often  over- 
 whelmed by  the  physical  force  of  a  conqueror,  who  brings  with 
 him  a  hierarchy  whose  tenets  are  inimical  to  the  old  regime  ; 
 and  a  king  like  Henry  VIII.  may  at  his  will  dictate  new 
 tenets,  or  new  forms  of  worship.  On  such  occasions,  some 
 individuals  of  the  old  o-egime  quietly  retire  into  obscurity, 
 some  remain  and  contend  sturdily  for  their  order,  which  they 
 identify  with  the  cause  of  truth,  often  sealing  their  faith  with 
 their  blood ;  others,  on  the  contrary,  will  adopt  the  party  of 
 the  victor,  and  assist  him  in  carrying  out  his  views.  That 
 such  persons  existed  heretofore,  human  nature  alone  would 
 assure  us,  but  we  have  more  positive  evidence  in  the  conduct 
 of  Zadok  and  Hushai  (2  Sam.  xv.  27,  34),  and  conclusive 
 proof  in  1  Kings  i.  7,  ii.  26,  where  we  find  that  Abiathar 
 the  priest  revolted  from  the  rule  of  David  and  joined 
 Adonijah. 
 
 Now  a  clergy  such  as  we  have  described  could  as  readily 
 create  a  history  as  could  Homer  or  Virgil.  They  would  as 
 easily  imitate  the  divine  writings  of  other  nations,  as  Jesuits 
 could  fabricate  books  which  passed  amongst  the  Hindoos  for 
 Shasters  and  Vedas ;  and  could  bore  holes  in  the  shells 
 of  oysters  on  the  coasts  of  China,  that  by  catching  the  crea- 
 tures afterwards,  they  might  prove,  to  the  celestials,  that  even 
 their  own  shellfish  knew  of  the  worship  due  to  the  Virgin  and 
 Child.  Such  a  priest  amongst  the  Hebrews  would  endeavour 
 to  flatter  the  pride  of  the  united  people,  by  telling  them  that 
 they  were,  even  from  their  very  origin,  the  chosen  people  of 
 the  Almighty ;  that  their  progenitors  were  princes  of  great 
 power ;  that  one  indeed  had  ruled  over  Egypt.  He  would, 
 moreover,  —  knowing  well  the  estimation  in  which  that 
 empire,  its  rulers,  and  its  priests  were  held;  knowing  too 
 that  Solomon  was  said  to  have  allied  himself  to  their  royal 
 family,  —  revel  in  the  idea  of  demonstrating  how,  notwith- 
 standing all  the   might  of  kings  and  the  power  of   priests. 
 
112 
 
 the  God  of  Israel  had  triumphed  over  the  enduring  tyranny 
 of  an  Egyptian  potentate.  Then  would  come  a  story  about  the 
 laws  being  given  by  the  great  Jehovah,  or  Elohim,  one  name 
 and  one  story  being  used  for  one  set  of  hearers,  and  another 
 for  a  second ;  just  as  the  Roman  Catholics  have  one  version 
 of  their  religion  for  savages,  another  for  such  individuals  as 
 the  modern  Italians,  and  another  for  hardy  and  educated 
 opponents  like  English  Protestants. 
 
 The  laws  thus  promulgated  would  be  two-fold,  viz., 
 political  and  ecclesiastical.  The  one  having  relation  to 
 the  conduct  of  the  people  as  men  and  women  living  in  a 
 community,  the  other  having  reference  to  matters  of  faith 
 and  ceremony — to  the  religion  of  private  and  of  public  life. 
 But  with  every  desire  to  introduce  a  purer  form  of  worship 
 than  had  prevailed  prior  to,  and  perhaps  in,  their  days,  priests 
 would  be  unable  to  turn  idolaters  aside  from  their  ancient 
 practices  to  new  ceremonials,  unless  there  was  something  to 
 overawe  pagan  minds,  and  to  drive  them  by  spiritual  terrors 
 into  modern  tracks.  To  effect  this,  stories  were  introduced 
 at  various  periods  of  Jewish  history,  in  which  were  described 
 signal  instances  of  God's  vengeance  against  those  who 
 reverenced  graven  images,  &c.  These,  by  frequent  repetition 
 in  places  of  worship,  would  gradually  be  believed,  even 
 by  the  ministers ;  just  in  the  same  way  as  monkish  legends 
 of  Popish  saints  have  become  articles  of  faith,  amongst  devout 
 Eoman  Catholics,  who  believe  them  as  impHcitly  as  some 
 Protestants  beHeve  the  Bible.  At  this  we  need  not  wonder, 
 seeing  that,  even  in  modern  society,  there  are  many  who  repeat 
 lying  stories,  of  their  own  invention,  as  being  strictly  true, 
 and  finally  end  by  themselves  fully  believing  them.  More- 
 over, we  may  ask.  Do  not  our  own  divines  adopt  the  idea,  that 
 the  so-called  truths  of  rehgion,  and  the  infallibility  of  every 
 Bible  saying,  can  only  be  insured  by  instilling  them  pertina- 
 ciously into  the  mind  when  it  is  credulous,  as  in  childhood  and 
 
113 
 
 youth  ?  And  are  they  not  aware  that  the  thoughtful  adult, 
 who  is  allowed  to  exercise  his  mind  in  religious  criticism, 
 rejects  the  matter  which  was  crammed  into  it  during  his 
 early  years  ?* 
 
 *  The  philosopher  may  be  allowed  to  pause  here,  and  consider  whether  it  is 
 really  advisable  that  religious  opinions  should  be  inculcated  during  the  period 
 of  youth ;  or,  in  other  words,  whether  a  child  should  be  taught  to  believe  before 
 being  taught  to  think.  If  we  could  bring  ourselves  to  entertain  the  proposition 
 that  men  were  intended  to  be  a  high  class  of  parrots  or  monkeys,  and  that  they 
 would  please  their  Maker  best  by  repeating  certain  forms  of  words,  and  using 
 certain  gestures,  we  might  adopt  the  conclusion  that  human  beings,  like  dogs, 
 horses,  birds,  &c.,  ought  to  be  trained  thereto  during  their  tender  years.  But  if 
 we  consider  that  man  holds,  from  the  power  of  his  reasoning  faculties,  the  highest 
 place  amongst  terrestrial  creations,  we  may  doubt  whether  it  would  not  be 
 better  to  teach  him  rather  to  use  the  faculty  of  thought,  than  abuse  it  by  putting 
 it  below  dogmatic  teaching.  The  philosopher  will  see  his  way  out  of  the  difficulty 
 sooner  than  the  divine.  The  theologian  of  every  sect  knows  that  he  will  be  power- 
 less, unless  he  can  bind  or  bend  the  minds  of  those  who  are  impressionable,  as,  for 
 instance,  children,  women,  and  weak  men.  The  exigencies  therefore  of  his 
 position  drive  him  to  teach  "  faith,"  blind  and  unreasoning  assent  to,  and  belief 
 in,  dogmatic  assertions.  The  philosopher,  on  the  other  hand,  has  no  personal 
 interest  in  the  question,  and  scarcely  thinks  it  "worth  while"  to  express  his 
 opinion  that  thought  should  be  cultivated  before  dogma,  unless  he  sees  that  the 
 liierophauts  are  becoming  dangerous  tyrants.  It  may  be,  too,  that  he  closes  his  Ups 
 until  he  has  been  able  to  convince  himself  of  the  moral  value  of  doctrinal  teaching, 
 which  he  does  not  desire  to  upset  until  he  has  something  better  to  offer.  After  awhile 
 he  may  recognise  the  fact  that  the  power  of  ruling  by  imaginary  terrors  is  inherent 
 in  some,  and  that  the  desire  to  be  ruled  or  led  by  such  tyrants  is  inherent  in  others. 
 He  will  then  discover  that  the  question  at  issue  between  various  parties  should  be, 
 "  What  system  of  imaginary  terrors  promises  best  for  the  rulers  and  their  subjects  ?  " 
 This  could  soon  be  discovered,  if  all  dogmatists  were  thinkers ;  it  will  never  be 
 ascertained,  so  long  as  divines  of  every  sect  refuse  to  reason  with  those  who  differ 
 from  them. 
 
 Many  opposing  sects  may  consent,  against  their  experience  and  judgment,  to 
 believe  in  the  value  of  the  proverb,  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and 
 when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it  "  (Prov.  xxii.  6).  Yet  they  wiU  fight  over 
 the  words,  "  the  way  he  should  go."  It  is  clear  that  if  a  Jew  acted  upon  this,  his 
 child  could  never  be  a  Christian,  nor  the  offspring  of  a  Papist  be  a  Protestant. 
 Every  thoughtful  hierophant  who  uses  this  text  as  a  weapon  recognises  that  it  is  a 
 two-edged  sword,  or  an  unsafe  breech-loading  gun.  In  one  direction  it  cuts,  or  fires 
 a  shot,  in  favour  of  religious  education  ;  in  the  other  it  cuts,  or  fires  a  shot,  against 
 every  attempt  at  proselytising. 
 
 If,  in  any  State,  people  had  been  trained  to  reason  whilst  at  school,  it  is  doubtful 
 whether  that  piincipality  would,  or  would  not,  possess  the  greatest  proportionate 
 happiness.  We  suggest  the  question  to  debating  societies,  it  is  too  vast  to  be  treated 
 in  a  note. 
 
114 
 
 Now  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  copies  of  the 
 sacred  scriptures  were  very  rare  —  even  if  any  existed  prior  to 
 the  time  of  Josiah — in  Palestine,  from  the  incident  of  finding 
 a  copy  of  the  book  of  the  law  in  the  temple,  in  the  time  of 
 Josiah,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  considered  wonderful,  and 
 worthy  to  be  told  to  the  king.  Hence  we  infer  that  no  copy 
 of  the  law  did  exist  before  that  time,  whether  in  the  king's 
 palace  or  the  high-priest's  dwelling.  Consequently  the 
 people  could  not,  then,  compare  one  edition  of  the  sacred 
 writings  with  another,  as  we  now  can.  There  would  then 
 have  been  perfect  immunity  from  detection  for  any  one 
 who,  being  a  priest  and  scribe,  chose  to  insert  in  what  was 
 called  the  'law,'  a  new  story,  a  fresh  enactment,  or  an  addi- 
 tional denunciation,  or  to  make  a  variation  in  a  narrative  and 
 to  fabricate  appropriate  prophecy.  With  this  power  of  expan- 
 sion the  Pentateuch  could  be  made  to  say  anything,  according 
 to  the  peculiar  views  of  the  priesthood  who  were  its  custo- 
 dians. It  is  clear,  from  the  researches  of  the  learned  Dr. 
 Ginsburg,  that  alterations  similar  to  those  here  indicated  have 
 been  made  by  comparatively  modern  Jews,  even  when  they 
 were  aware  that  the  existence  of  other  versions  would  enable 
 any  scholarly  pupil  to  discover  the  cheat.  We  have  referred 
 to  these  changes,  and  the  reasons  for  them,  at  some  length  in 
 vol.  i.  pp.  184-6,  note  6.  To  what  I  have  there  stated,  I 
 may  now  add  that  there  is  very  strong  evidence  to  show  that 
 the  translators  of  our  Bible  have  been  guilty  of  intentional 
 falsification,  in  their  rendering  certain  parts  of  the  sacred 
 scriptures  into  English.  That  the  Douay  version  contains 
 intentional  perversions  of  the  ancient  text  every  Protestant 
 believes,  and  not  without  just  cause. 
 
 On  this  hypothesis,  we  can  readily  understand  how  at  one 
 time  the  nation  of  the  Jews  is  described  (Deut.  vii.  6-8)  as  a 
 holy  people,  chosen  by  God  to  be  a  special  people,  one  on 
 whom  He  had  set  His  love ;  and  at  another,  as  obstinate  and 
 
115 
 
 vile;  as  in  Exod.  xxxii.  9,  "I  have  seen  this  people,  and 
 behold  it  is  a  stiffnecked  people."  We  can  readily  believe 
 that  the  so-called  prophecy  of  Balaam  was  written  during  the 
 comparatively  prosperous  times  of  Hezeldah  or  Josiah,  and 
 that  the  blessing  of  Jacob  was  composed  perhaps  after  the 
 Babylonish  captivity,  when  it  was  desirable  that  all  Jews 
 should  be  closely  united  together.  On  the  other  hand,  we  can 
 well  believe  that  many  a  chapter,  which  denounces  woe  for 
 disobedience,  was  added  after  the  separation  of  Judah  and 
 Israel,  after  the  raids  of  Shishak  and  the  confederates  under 
 the  leadership  of  Edom,  or  possibly  after  the  desolation 
 brought  about  by  Jehu  and  Athaliah.  Can  any  one,  for 
 example,  read  the  thirty-second  chapter  of  Deuteronomy 
 without  feeling  that  it  has  been  written  towards  the  close 
 of  the  Jewish  monarchy?  and  with  that  thought,  will  he 
 not  associate  the  language  of  the  Pentateuch  with  that  so 
 constantly  used  by  Jeremiah  ? 
 
 The  opinion  which  I  have  enunciated,  respecting  the  exist- 
 ence of  a  double  element  in  the  Jewish  nation  during  the 
 reigns  of  David  and  Solomon,  receives  strong  corroboration 
 from  the  publication  of  The  Keys  of  St.  Peter,  by  Ernest 
 de  Bunsen.  ^  The  book  consists  of  a  critical  inquiry  into  the 
 house  of  Kechab,  or  the  Kenites,  and  in  the  first  chapter  the 
 the  author's  intention  is  foreshadowed  thus — "We  shall 
 point  out  that  the  first  seer  of  Israel's  future  of  whom  we 
 have  any  knowledge  was  a  Kenite,  a  contemporary  of  Moses  ; 
 that  the  prophetic  institutions  were  introduced  in  the  time  of 
 Eli  and  Samuel,  the  Kenites ;  that  David,  foremost  amongst 
 the  first  Hebrew  prophets,  was  a  Kenite ;  that  in  his  time 
 oracles  began  to  be  given  through  prophets,  instead  of  through 
 the  medium  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim ;  that  the  Kenites 
 introduced  Jehovah- worship  into  Israel ;     that  the  leading 
 
 s  The  Keys  of  St.  Peter,  or  the  House  of  Bechab,  by  Ernest  de  Bunsen. 
 8vo.,  pp.  422.    London,  Longmans,  1867. 
 
116 
 
 prophets  of  Israel  were  Kenites.  The  connection  between 
 the  Kenites  and  the  tribe  of  Judah,  which  formed  the  van- 
 guard of  Israel  during  its  wanderings,  rather  confirms  the 
 view"  (pp.  10,  11).  When  two  individuals,  approaching  the 
 same  subject  from  two  such  opposite  points  as  do  Bunsen 
 and  myself,  find  our  views  so  completely  in  accord  respecting 
 the  want  of  homogeneity  in  the  kingdom  ruled  over  by  David, 
 it  is  natural  to  consider  that  those  views  have  a  strong 
 foundation  in  truth. 
 
 Though  associated  with  David,  we  can  scarcely  believe 
 that  the  Kenites  were  included  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  to  which 
 the  sovereignty  belonged ;  and  we  think  that  their  scribes 
 really  indicate  as  much,  when  they  affiliate  themselves  to  the 
 father-in-law  of  Moses,  rather  than  to  any  member  of  the 
 Jewish  race.  Without  however  contending  upon  small  points, 
 we  are  content  to  agree  with  Bunsen,  that  David  and  the 
 Kenites  were  amalgamated,  that  they  differed  from  Israel, 
 and  that  they  introduced  the  worship  of  Jah,  perhaps  in 
 David's  time. 
 
 We  next  proceed  to  examine  into  the  composition  of 
 the  dominant  people  who  under  David  formed  the  chief 
 party  in  the  state.  We  find,  in  the  first  place,  that 
 this  king  had  the  captaincy  over  a  body  consisting  of 
 his  own  family,  and  of  fugitives  from  the  laws  of  other 
 people  or  of  their  own  ruler,  and  those  who  were  discon- 
 tented in  general — a  troop  which  may  fairly  be  likened  to 
 the  banditti  under  Fra  Diavolo  in  Italy,  or  any  other  noto- 
 rious robber.  The  king  is  spoken  of  as  being  friendly  with 
 the  Moabites,  and  we  presume  that  some  entered  into  his 
 band  (1  Sam.  xxii.  1-4).  After  a  time  he  goes  amongst  the 
 Philistines,  from  whose  country  he  returns  at  the  head  of  a 
 powerful  body  of  troops,  which  consist  of  Cherethites, 
 Pelethites,  Hittites,  and   Gittites.     Now  recent  researches® 
 
 6  See  Fiirst's  Lexicon,  s.  v. 
 
117 
 
 have  identified  the  Phihstines  as  emigrants  from  Crete,  being 
 possibly  a  branch  of  the  Pelasgi.  The  Pelethites  are  con- 
 sidered to  be  of  the  same  race,  and  the  Cherethites  are 
 identified  as  Carians,  who  with  the  Cretans  seem  to  have 
 carried  their  swords  to  other  nations  than  their  own,  much 
 like  the  Swiss  of  to-day.  Fiirst  remarks,  "  The  Carians,  as 
 well  as  the  Cretans,  who  were  either  allied  to  or  identical 
 with  them,  a  very  old,  warlike,  migi-atory  people,  were 
 taken  in  the  very  earliest  period  by  African  and  Asiatic 
 rulers  as  body  guards  and  hired  soldiers.  Already  did  they 
 man  Minos'  ships,  and  serve  as  mercenaries  in  Egypt,  in 
 Cyprus,  and  in  the  trading  colonies  of  the  Phoenicians.  Out 
 of  this  warlike  people  King  David  selected  his  body  guard." 
 It  is  clear  that  the  Gittites  were  Philistines.  The  context  of 
 the  story  implies  that  David  must  have  come  into  close  con- 
 tact with  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre.  We  know  that  the  language 
 of  the  Phoenicians  was  identical  with  the  Hebrew,  whilst  the 
 native  language  of  the  Cherethites,  &c.,  was  very  probably 
 Greek.  King  David,  then,  at  his  accession  to  the  throne, 
 and  during  his  long  reign,  must  have  been  surrounded  by 
 Grecian  influences.  Although,  as  condottieri,  his  body 
 guard  would  not  be  very  scrupulous  about  their  religion, 
 and  may  have  adopted  that  which  the  king  himself  most 
 favoured,  it  is  very  likely  that  over  their  camp  fires  in 
 the  bivouac,  or  when  making  distant  expeditions,  they  told 
 their  comrades  and  commander  of  the  religion  of  the 
 Greeks.  Ittai  the  Gittite  seems  even  to  have  been  a  per- 
 sonal friend  of  the  king  throughout  his  life.  Similar 
 influences  surrounded  Solomon,  and  he  and  those  around 
 him  were  probably  familiar  with  many  of  the  Grecian 
 legends. 
 
 Another  evidence  of  the  influence  of  Grecian  customs 
 in  the  early  days  of  the  Davidic  dynasty  is  to  be  seen  in 
 the  lavish  abundance  of  sacrifices  on  great  occasions.      We 
 
118 
 
 can  remember  in  our  school-boy  days  thinking  with  some 
 surprise  of  the  hecatombs  of  oxen  which  Homer  talks  about, 
 as  sacrificed  under  particular  circumstances.  As  the  heca- 
 tomb consisted  of  a  hundred  bulls,  it  must  have  taxed  very 
 severely  the  resources  of  the  army  commissariat ;  but  these 
 offerings  seem  small  in  comparison  with  those  offered  up 
 by  Solomon,  for  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the 
 temple  he  sacrificed  twenty -two  thousand  oxen,  and  a 
 hundred  and  twenty-two  thousand  sheep.  This  frightful 
 slaughter  of  useful  animals  could  only  have  arisen  from  the 
 idea  of  propitiating  the  Almighty  by  numbers  of  victims; 
 and  this  idea  was  current  amongst  the  Greeks  at  the  time 
 of  Homer,  who  is  by  many  considered  to  have  been  a  contem- 
 porary of  Solomon.  There  is  no  evidence  of  the  existence 
 of  such  a  habit  amongst  the  Phoenicians,  or  Assyrians,  or 
 Egyptians,  but  as  this  may  have  arisen  from  an  omission 
 to  notice  the  practice,  the  argument  is  not  conclusive. 
 
 The  same  custom  prevailed  amongst  the  Komans,  and 
 on  one  occasion  the  victims  amounted  to  one  hundred  and 
 sixty  thousand,  chiefly  oxen  and  calves. 
 
 Now  if  this  abundant  sacrificial  expenditure  was  the 
 result  of  a  revelation  of  the  divine  will  to  the  Jews,  we 
 must  infer  that  it  was  equally  so  in  the  case  of  the  Greeks 
 and  Latins ;  or  we  must  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  both 
 in  the  one  instance  and  the  others,  the  offering  was  prompted 
 by  a  human  idea,  that  the  gods  could  be  bribed  to  alter 
 their  plans,  for  the  management  of  the  universe,  by  the  scent 
 of  oceans  of  blood.  How  absurd  was  the  notion,  the  writer 
 of  the  fiftieth  Psalm  shows  in  the  passage,  "If  I  were  hun- 
 gry, I  would  not  tell  thee :  for  the  world  is  mine,  and  the 
 fulness  thereof.  Will  I  eat  the  flesh  of  bulls,  or  drink  the 
 blood  of  goats  ?  Offer  unto  God  thanksgiving,"  &c. 
 
 As  we  have  seen  reason  to  believe  it  probable  that  the 
 writers  of  the  Bible  began  their  labour  in  the  times  of  the 
 
119 
 
 kings,  we  should  naturally  expect  to  find  evidence  of  Greek 
 mythology,  and  even  some  Greek  words,  amongst  their  pro- 
 ductions. We  should  also  expect  that  the  hooks  in  general 
 would  he  a  jumble  of  stories,  picked  up  in  Tyre,  in  Philistia, 
 and  amongst  the  original  inhabitants  of  Judea/  Further- 
 more, there  is  a  strong  evidence  in  the  narrative  of  the  life  of 
 Solomon  that  the  Phoenicians  traded  with  India,  and  conse- 
 quently that  their  seamen  would  recount  at  the  court  of 
 Hiram  particulars  of  the  worship  of  the  Hindoos,  much  as 
 Cortez  told  in  Spain  of  the  cultus  of  the  Mexicans.  David 
 andNathan,  whilst  at  Hiram's  court,  would  be  in  a  position 
 to  hear  of  these  matters,  and  thus  it  is  very  possible  that  a 
 Hindoo  element  would  mingle  with  those  we  have  already 
 adverted  to.     See  Jah,  vol.  1,  pp.  615,  616. 
 
 Before  entering  upon  a  succinct  examination  of  the  sources 
 from  which  we  believe  very  much  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Old 
 Testament  has  been  derived,  we  must  address  ourselves  to  the 
 question  which  is  so  often  used  as  an  argument  against  philo- 
 sophical inquirers,  "  How  do  you  know  that  the  Hebrew 
 writings  are  not  the  source  from  which  all  ancient  writers  have 
 derived  their  cosmogonies,  their  theological  ideas,  and  their 
 sacred  fables?"  In  answer  to  this,  we  will  state  both  sides  of 
 the  subject  with  as  much  fairness  as  we  can,  giving  the  affirma- 
 tive first.  The  arguments  adduced  by  those  who  assert  that 
 the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  the  fountains  from  which  all  other 
 scriptures  have  been  drawn  are,  (1)  we  believe  the  Bible  to 
 be  the  oldest  book  extant ;  (2)  we  believe  that  it  was  begun 
 by  Moses  about  B.C.  1500  (see  Job  i.  marginal  note) ;  (3)  we 
 believe  that  Moses  incorporated  fragments  of  history  referring 
 to  times  long  before  his  own  ;  (4)  we  believe  that  all  the  Bib- 
 
 7  The  reader  mil  be  good  enough  to  rememher  that  this  chapter  was  •written 
 twelve  months  before  the  succeeding  essay  ou  Obadiah.  In  both  he  will  see  that 
 the  evidence  of  Grecian  and  Phoenician  influence  is  recognised,  the  sole  difference 
 between  the  first  and  second  essay  being  in  the  estimation  of  the  precise  period 
 when  Greek  knowledge  prevailed  in  the  minds  of  Hebrew  writers. 
 
120 
 
 lical  narrative  is  inspired,  i.e.,  dictated  by  God  to  man,  and 
 consequently  must  be  absolutely  true ;  (5)  we  believe  that  the 
 history  of  the  flood,  &c.,  must  have  been  known  to  all ;  (6) 
 we  believe  that  the  Jews  alone  retained  written  records  of  past 
 events,  and,  therefore,  that  all  historians  must  have  consulted 
 them,  no  matter  what  was  the  language  in  which  they  com- 
 posed their  history. 
 
 But  it  will  be  seen  that  the  whole  of  these  so-called 
 arguments  rest  upon  assumptions ;  every  one  of  them  begs 
 the  whole  question  at  issue.  It  almost  astounds  the  philo- 
 sopher to  see  the  fatuity  of  rational  beings  in  the  presence 
 of  religious  topics.  What,  let  us  ask,  would  any  examining 
 divine  say  to  a  pupil  who  was  required  to  prove  "  that  in  a 
 right  angled  triangle  the  square  of  the  hypothenuse  is  equal 
 to  the  sum  of  the  squares  of  the  sides,"  and  who  brought  up 
 a  demonstration  like  the  following.  "  From  the  proposition, 
 there  must  be  three  squares  in  all ;  one  must  be  a  big  one 
 and  two  must  be  smaller ;  you  can  therefore  put  both  the  last 
 into  the  first,  and  as  the  two,  when  neatly  packed,  just  fill 
 the  big  one,  it  is  clear  that  the  large  one  is  equal  to  the  two 
 small  ones  combined;  Q.E.D."?  Yet  that  very  examiner, 
 when  he  is  himself  examined,  and  required  to  prove  the 
 antiquity  of  a  certain  book,  has  no  better  demonstration  than 
 "  I  believe  it  to  be  very  old,  so  did  my  father,  and  his  father, 
 and  so  did  other  people  for  some  two  thousand  years ;  there- 
 fore it  is  as  old  as  they  thought  it  was." 
 
 This  being  the  value  of  the  affirmative  argument,  let 
 us  examine  the  negative. 
 
 (1)  There  is  positive  evidence  that  there  were  no  sacred 
 books  known  amongst  the  Jews  in  the  early  days  of  Josiah, 
 and  that  there  was  no  recollection  or  tradition  of  any  hav- 
 ing previously  existed.  There  is  constructive  proof  that  no 
 sacred  books  were  known  to  David  or  to  Solomon,  and  also 
 that  no  sacred  books  existed  in  the  early  times  of  Ezra,  with 
 
121 
 
 the    probable     exception     of    some     prophetical    writings. 
 
 (2)  There  is  positive  proof  that  the  Jews  as  a  nation 
 knew  nothing  of  any  religious  or  sacred  books  until  after  the 
 Babylonish  captivity.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  common 
 people   could   not   divulge   the   contents   of  those   writings. 
 
 (3)  There  is  positive  proof  that  the  Jewish  priests  were 
 despised  and  rejected  by  all  nations  who  came  into  contact 
 with  them.  (4)  There  is  positive  proof  that  the  Hebrew 
 scriptures  were  unknown  to  the  Greeks  until  the  time  of  the 
 Septuagint.  (5)  It  is  certain  that  the  Jews  were  so  insig- 
 nificant, that  they  were  absolutely  unknown  to  other 
 nations,  until  a  few  centuries  before  the  Christian  era ;  and 
 when  known,  they  were  regarded  as  degraded  and  contempt- 
 ible. (6)  The  Hebrew  scriptures  show  such  a  savage,  mean 
 and  despicable  idea  of  the  Creator,  that  it  would  be  morally 
 impossible  for  a  civilised  nation  to  regard  any  of  them 
 as  worth  copying ;  who,  for  example,  in  cultivated  Britain, 
 would  go  to  "  Ould  Ireland"  for  "a  theology,"  even  although 
 Erin  styles  herself  "the  land  of  saints"?  (7)  There  is 
 positive  evidence  that  the  ancient  Jews  did  copy  from  their 
 neighbours  and  conquerors,  in  matters  of  faith,  ritual  and 
 practice.  Even  the  Christian  Paul  averred  that  he  became 
 all  things  to  all  men,  and  thus  openly  avowed  the  morality 
 (in  his  opinion)  of  dissimulation.  (8)  There  is  positive 
 evidence  that  the  Hebrews  were  neither  maritime  traders 
 nor  missionaries.  (9)  There  is  distinct  evidence  that  the 
 Jews  of  old  were  regarded  as  is  a  wasp  in  modern  days — 
 an  insect  indefatigable  in  constructiveness,  vindictive  when 
 attacked,  capable  of  stinging  deeply,  yet  only  a  wasp  after 
 all.  Now  it  is  self-evident  that  were  the  beasts  to  choose 
 a  king,  they  would  not  select  even  a  hornet,  much  less 
 a  flea ;  and  Jerusalem  and  her  inhabitants  were,  as  regards 
 the  world,  in  no  better  a  condition  (Ezra  iv.  13-16). 
 
 From  these  considerations,  it  is  impossible  for  a  thought- 
 
122 
 
 ful  mind  to  believe  that  the  ancient  Vedas  of  the  Hindoos, 
 the  sacred  books  of  Egypt,  the  writings  of  Homer  and 
 Hesiod,  of  Xenophon  and  Plato,  or  of  such  philosophers  as 
 Zoroaster,  Pythagoras,  Confucius,  Socrates  or  Plato,  drew 
 their  ideas  from  a  Hebrew  source.  We  cannot  for  a  moment 
 believe  that  any  nation  of  antiquity,  which  was  not  utterly 
 barbarous,  could  have  either  admired  or  believed  the  Jewish 
 books,  even  if  they  had  known  them,  and  still  less  would 
 they  have  copied  them.  The  Jupiter  of  the  ancient  Greeks, 
 with  all  his  grossness,  was  not  so  utterly  absurd  as  the 
 Hebrew  Elohim  of  Genesis,  who  is  represented  as  changing 
 his  purpose  perpetually.  The  Etruscans  would  never  have 
 tolerated  the  idea  that  the  Creator  made  men  to  destroy 
 them,  and  deluged  the  world  that  He  might  annihilate  man, 
 whom  He  nevertheless  conserved.  After  a  close  examination 
 of  the  theologies  of  various  nations  of  antiquity,  I  am  unable 
 to  find  one  which  is  not  superior  to  that  enunciated  in  the 
 book  of  Genesis.  Surely,  if  reasonable  beings  can  regard 
 that  book  as  inspired,  they  must  equally  regard  as  "  theo- 
 jmeustoi,'^  those  which  are  superior  thereto,  if  indeed  they 
 have  not  been  the  model  from  which  the  imperfect  copy  has 
 been  made. 
 
 When,  as  we  are  now  in  a  position  to  do,  we  try  to  trace 
 out  the  parts  which  are  referrible  to  the  various  sources,  we 
 find  evidence  of  the  Greek  element  in  such  words  as  Lamech, 
 Ada,  and  Tubal  Cain,  the  last  of  which  is  a  Hebraic  form  for 
 "  the  Vulcan,"  both  being  represented  as  artificers  in  brass 
 and  iron ;  the  sister  of  Tubal  Cain  is  Naamah,  equivalent  to 
 va[xa,  nama,  'a  fountain,  spring,  or  running  water.'  To  this 
 we  must  add  that  Lamech  makes  a  speech  to  his  wives  in 
 verse,  the  significance  of  which  we  postpone.  We  find 
 farther  evidence  of  a  Greek  influence  in  the  story  about  the 
 giants,  who  were  a  cross  breed  between  the  daughters  of  men 
 and  the  sons    of  God,  a  tale  analogous  to  that  about  the 
 
123 
 
 Titans,  who  were  said  to  be  the  sons  of  Uranus  and  Ge,  i.e., 
 of  heaven  and  earth,  amongst  whom  we  find  the  name 
 Japetus,  which  closely  resembles  Japhet. 
 
 Amongst  the  Hindoos  also  there  is  a  legend  about  giants 
 being  opposed  to  the  gods,  and  a  similar  one  in  China. 
 There  are  also  somewhat  similar  tales  amongst  the  ancient 
 Persians,  but  these  were  probably  not  in  existence  in  very 
 ancient  times,  but  came  in  with  astronomy. 
 
 Again,  the  story  of  the  flood  is  closely  allied  to  the  Greek 
 myth  respecting  Deucalion,  an  account  of  which  I  condense 
 from  Kalisch  (Genesis,  &c.,  p.  204).  "The  whole  human 
 race  was  corrupted,  violence  and  impiety  prevailed,  oaths  were 
 broken,  the  sacredness  of  hospitality  was  shamelessly  violated, 
 suppliants  were  abused  or  murdered.  Infamy  and  nefarious- 
 ness  were  the  delight  of  the  regenerated  tribes.  Jupiter 
 therefore  determined  to  destroy  the  whole  human  race,  as  far 
 as  the  earth  extends.  The  earth  opened  all  her  secret  springs, 
 the  ocean  sent  forth  its  floods,  and  the  skies  poured  down 
 their  endless  torrents.  All  creatures  perished.  Deucalion 
 alone,  and  his  wife  Pyrrha,  both  distinguished  by  their  piety, 
 were  in  a  small  boat  (Aapva.^  =  a  cofler,  box,  chest,  or  ark), 
 which  Deucalion  had  constructed  by  the  advice  of  his  father 
 Prometheus,  and  which  carried  them  to  the  top  of  Parnassus. 
 They  were  saved.  The  waters  subsided,  and  the  pair  duly 
 sacrificed  to  Jupiter.  Still  farther,  when  Deucalion  went  into 
 the  ark,  boars,  lions,  serpents,  and  all  other  animals  came  to 
 him  by  pairs,  and  all  lived  in  miraculous  concord.  After 
 giving  an  account  of  the  various  Greek  localities  where  the 
 legend  was  believed,  Kalisch  adds  that  coins  were  struck 
 in  Apamea  or  K</3wtoV,  (=  a  box  or  ark),  by  Septimius  Severus 
 and  some  of  his  successors,  representing  a  man  and  woman 
 contained  in  a  chest  floating  on  the  waves ;  on  the  ark  a 
 bird  is  perched,  and  another  is  seen  approaching,  holding  a 
 twig  with  its  feet.     The  same  human  pair  is  figured  on  the 
 
124 
 
 dry  land,  and  on  several  of  those  pieces  even  the  name  NO 
 (Ni2)  is  clearly  visible.     See  Noah,  infra. 
 
 Again,  we  find  the  influence  of  Grecian  custom  in  the 
 adoption  of  verse  in  certain  writings.  Kalisch  says  (Genesis, 
 p.  150),  "  We  know  that  the  ancient  laws  were  generally 
 written  in  verse,  the  laws  of  Charondas  were  sung  at  the 
 banquets  of  the  Chalcidian  cities ;  in  Crete  (the  italics 
 are  our  own,  to  call  attention  to  the  Pelethites  being 
 Cretans),  the  youths  learned  their  laws,  which  were  com- 
 posed in  poetry,  with  musical  accompaniments,  as  was  the 
 custom  of  the  Agathyrsi,  even  in  the  time  of  Aristotle. 
 Hence  we  conclude  that  the  small  legend  in  verse  con- 
 taining the  names  Lamech  and  Ada,  and  the  blessing  of 
 Jacob  which  contains  the  Greek  word  macheirothi,  and  is 
 also  written  in  poetry,  are  due  to  Grecian  influence." 
 
 We  recognise  the  same  influence  in  the  word  Javan, 
 who  is  represented  as  one  of  the  sons  of  Japheth  (Gen.  x.  2), 
 this  being  one  of  the  names  by  which  the  Greeks  went  in 
 early  times,  one  by  which  they  were  known  to  the  Indians 
 at  the  time  of  Alexander,  and  one  apparently  used  also  by 
 Isaiah  in  the  same  way  (Ixvi.  19),  by  Ezekiel  (xxvii.  13), 
 whilst  in  Daniel(viii.  21,  x.  20,  xi.  2),  the  word  is  translated 
 in  our  version  by  "  Grecia,"  and  by  "Greece"  in 
 Zechariah  (ix.  13).  In  Joel  iii.  6,  the  Grecians  are  spoken 
 of  as  ^''?!1*l',  haidvanin;  lH,  javan,  or  yaun,  was  probably  the 
 Hebrew  form  of  Ionia. 
 
 In  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  think  that  Phoenician 
 influence  can  be  detected.  From  Tyre,  as  from  modern 
 London,  ships  went  to  visit  all  parts  of  the  globe  to  which 
 they  could  reach ;  and  to  Tyre  came  merchandise  from  all 
 parts  of  the  continents  of  Europe  and  Asia.  The  pastoral 
 Israelites  could  know  nothing,  without  assistance,  about 
 other  nations  of  the  earth ;  and  when  their  writers  described 
 
125 
 
 the  spread  of  nations,  they  could  only  use  the  names  current 
 amongst  Phoenician  or  other  traders. 
 
 Again  there  is  evidence  of  Babylonian  or  Chaldee  in- 
 fluence in  the  book  of  Genesis,  in  the  account  which  is  given 
 of  Elohim  in  the  eighteenth  chapter,  wherein  he  is  repre- 
 sented as  three  men,  which  are  described  alternately  as  three 
 gods  and  a  single  unit.  Abraham  at  one  time  addresses 
 them  as  "  My  Lord,"  '^"l^,  Aclonai,  and  at  another  he  says, 
 •Ijyij^n^  hishaanu,  ''Rest  yourselves,"  ^^"'-'^f,  raglechem,  "your 
 feet,"  etc.,  etc.  Another  evidence  is  the  determination  of  the 
 composer  to  make  the  Jewish  nation  take  its  very  origin  from 
 the  Chaldeans.  Not  only  is  Abraham,  the  reputed  father  of  the 
 whole  nation,  a  Babylonian  by  birth,  but  his  respect  for  those 
 whom  he  left  is  shown  by  his  sending  to  them  when  he 
 requires  a  wife  for  his  only  son.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find 
 stronger  proof  than  this  of  the  admiration  in  which  the 
 Chaldean  faith  was  held  by  the  writer  of  Genesis.  Through- 
 out its  narrative,  the  emigrant  from  Mesopotamia  is  contrasted 
 with  "the  people  of  the  land"  of  Palestine;  and  at  every 
 turn  of  Jewish  history  the  descendants  of  the  Babylonians 
 are  made  to  appear  superior  to  all  with  whom  they  come  in 
 contact. 
 
 We  have  not  far  to  search  for  a  discovery  whence  this 
 influence  came.  Amongst  the  courtiers  of  King  David  was 
 Hushai  the  Archite,  one  who  was  famed  for  his  wisdom,  and 
 whose  personal  attachment  to  the  king  is  shown  by  his 
 judicious  behaviour  during  Absolom's  rebellion.  It  would 
 be  almost  impossible,  we  conceive,  for  David  to  have  had 
 such  implicit  confidence  in  him  unless  there  had  been  a 
 certain  agreement  in  the  religious  faith  of  the  two;  and  we 
 can  well  imagine  that  the  astuteness  of  the  councillor  would 
 be  more  likely  to  influence  the  pliant  mind  of  the  warrior  in 
 matters  of  religion,  than  the  rough  man  of  war  would  be  to 
 
126 
 
 convert  the  crafty  Archite.  We  may  indeed  suspect  that 
 the  farseeing  Hushai  had  himself  a  hand  in  the  compilation 
 of  the  Hebrew  narrative.  We  can  well  conceive,  that  a 
 man  of  his  sense  would  recognise  the  necessity  for  some 
 mythos  that  should  thoroughly  assimilate  those  discordant 
 elements,  which  were  then  held  together  by  the  mercenary 
 trooj)s  alone ;  and  that  he  would  himself  write,  or  suggest 
 to  some  scribe,  the  outline  of  a  narrative  to  suit  the  pur- 
 pose. 
 
 In  dividing,  or  rather  in  arranging  the  tribes,  a  Babylo- 
 nian, Greek,  or  Phoenician  would  naturally  adopt  some 
 arrangement  which  would  harmonise  with  celestial  notions, 
 and  thus  place,  as  it  were,  the  whole  under  the  patronage 
 of  the  Most  High.  Now  twelve  was  a  mystic  number, 
 arising  from  the  idea  that  the  sun  resided  in  twelve  different 
 houses  in  the  heavens  during  the  year,  as  indicated  by  the 
 signs  of  the  zodiac ;  consequently  the  Hebrews  were  divided 
 into  twelve  gcntes. 
 
 Into  the  question  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  zodiac  and 
 the  names  of  its  various  signs  it  is  unnecessary  to  dive 
 deeply.  We  think  that  there  is  some  evidence  to  show 
 that  the  writer  of  Jacob's  history  had  'the  twelve  signs'  in  his 
 mind  when  he  introduced  'the  virgin,'  Dinah,  into  the  list  of 
 the  patriarch's  family,  and  grouped  together  Ephraim  and 
 Manasseh,  and  Simon  and  Levi.  It  is,  too,  pretty  clear  that 
 the  Jews  themselves  scouted  the  idea  of  astrology,  as  we  find 
 that  those  who  consult  the  stars  are  denounced  by  the  pro- 
 phets, and  we  cannot  for  a  moment  suppose  that  the  zodiac 
 was  a  Hebrew  discovery ;  but  the  sun's  path  was  known  to  the 
 Babylonians  and  Greeks.  Hence  we  conclude  that  the  divi- 
 sion of  the  twelve  tribes  and  the  selection  of  their  crests  or 
 badges  was  the  result  of  a  foreign  element. 
 
 Having  already  pointed  out  that  Hushai  was  a  Chaldfean 
 (see  Archi,  supra),  we  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding 
 
127 
 
 why  he  would  select  the  numher  twelve  into  which  to  divide 
 the  tribes  over  which  his  master  ruled.  Still  farther,  the 
 Archite,  dwelling  on  the  confines  of  Syria,  would  probably  be 
 familiar  with  S}T.-ian  names.  Hence,  we  find  him  attributing 
 to  the  sons  of  the  patriarchs,  and  to  Benjamin  especially, 
 cognomens  derived  from  Syrian  deities.  See  Aed,  Arad, 
 Naaman,  &c. 
 
 At  this  juncture  I  exchanged  the  pen  for  the  reading- 
 stand,  and  resolved  to  peruse  Kalisch's  commentary  on 
 Leviticus,  which  had  only  appeared  a  day  or  two  before, 
 and  whose  essay  on  human  sacrifice  had  so  arrested  my 
 attention  during  the  time  I  was  cutting  the  leaves  of  his 
 book,  that  I  could  not  complete  the  process  until  I  had 
 finished  my  essay  with  his  aid,  especially  as  I  was  at  the 
 time  working  at  the  same  subject. 
 
 On  reading  through  his  work,  I  find  that  he  has  com- 
 pletely anticipated  me,  and  that  he  has  brought  to  the 
 subject  an  amount  of  learning  which  I  cannot  hope  to  equal, 
 still  less  to  excel.  The  exhaustive  method  with  which  he 
 treats  all  his  propositions  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired ;  and 
 the  announcement  that  a  farther  development  of  his  views 
 may  shortly  be  expected,  renders  it  probable  that  I  should  be 
 again  anticipated  were  I  to  transfer  the  continuation  of  my 
 labours  to  a  more  advanced  stage  of  the  argument. 
 
 When  an  occurrence  of  this  kind  haj)pens,  and  two 
 authors,  personally  unknown  to  each  other,  find  that  they 
 have  been  working  in  the  same  vein,  and  that  on  the  whole 
 they  have  come  to  very  similar  conclusions,  it  is  clear  that 
 the  one  who  appears  first  in  print  has  all  the  advantages 
 which  priority  of  publication  can  give;  and  the  one  who  is 
 as  yet  only  working  in  his  closet  and  with  the  printer, 
 very  gladly  yields  them  to  his  precursor.  But  though  con- 
 ceding every  claim  of  originality  to  Dr.  Kalisch,  the  author 
 
128 
 
 may  be  allowed  shortly  to  indicate  the  line  of  his  own 
 argument ;  and  the  reader  may  possibly  rejoice  that  he  can 
 master  in  a  few  minutes  that  which  would,  under  other 
 circumstances,  have  cost  him  many  hours  to  discover.  Some 
 portion  of  the  train  of  thought  which  was  in  the  writer's 
 mind  has  been  indicated  in  the  foregoing  chapters,  and  this 
 is  reproduced  in  the  following  sketch,  to  make  the  steps 
 of  the  intended  deduction  clear. 
 
 The  conclusions  which  forced  themselves  upon  my  mind 
 during  the  investigation  of  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew 
 names,  were  — 
 
 1.  That  the  nation  of  the  Jews  did  not  essentially 
 differ  in  anything  from  other  nations  of  antiquity. 
 
 2.  That  the  Jews  were  a  section  of  the  Shemitic  race,  and 
 partook  of  the  weaknesses,  of  the  goodness,  of  the  idolatry, 
 and  of  the  customs  of  the  Phoenicians,  Assyrians,  Chaldaeans, 
 Syrians,  Edomites,  and  possibly  of  the  Egyptians. 
 
 3.  That  they  had  not  in  reality  any,  even  the  smallest, 
 ground  for  their  pretension  to  be  a  holy,  chosen  and  peculiar 
 people  (Deut.  xiv.  2),  whom  God  had  avouched  to  be  His 
 particular  treasure  (Deut.  xxvi.  18,  Ps.  cxxxv.  4). 
 
 4.  That  the  majority  of  the  Jewish  nation  was  peaceable, 
 pusillanimous,  addicted  to  sensuality,  grossly  superstitious, 
 and  in  reality  polytheistic. 
 
 5.  That  there  were  two  elements  in  the  nation,  the  one 
 a  dominant,  and  at  first  a  warlike  minority,  consisting  of 
 soldiers  of  fortune,  the  other  a  numerous,  but  not  very  pug- 
 nacious majority. 
 
 6.  That  the  former  had  a  different  faith  to  the  latter, 
 and  were  more  learned  in  the  arts  of  civilisation,  in  conse- 
 quence of  having  travelled  and  met  with  other  peoples. 
 
 7.  That  the  worship  of  the  minority  was  more  pure,  and 
 consequently  more  distasteful  to  human  nature,  than  the  wor- 
 
129 
 
 ship  of  the  majority ;  just  as  it  is  amongst  ourselves,  where 
 the  sensuous  idleness  in  which  the  Roman  Catholic  laity 
 indulge  in  sacred  matters,  and  which  is  inculcated  upon  them 
 by  the  hierarchy,  is  far  more  pleasant  to  human  nature  than 
 the  personal  and  individual  'striving  after  holiness'  which  is 
 inculcated  upon  every  man  by  the  pious  divines  of  the 
 Protestant  faith. 
 
 8.  That  the  nation  did  not  exist  as  such  prior  to  the 
 time  of  David,  that  which  was  ruled  by  Saul  not  being 
 identical  with  that  organised  and  governed  by  the  son  of 
 Jesse. 
 
 9.  That  no  written  books  of  any  kind  whatever  existed 
 in  the  early  days  of  the  monarchy. 
 
 10.  That  the  sacred  books  were  fabricated  (a)  so  as  to 
 describe  something  which  suited  the  ideas  of  the  people, 
 and  (h)  to  suit  the  ideas  of  the  priests  and  rulers. 
 
 11.  Hence,  there  were  two  sets  of  books,  one  written  by 
 or  for  those  whom  we  have  termed  Israelites,  i.  e.,  the  j:>Ze&s 
 or  common  people,  the  others  by  and  for  the  dominant 
 race,  amongst  whom  were  Grecian  mercenaries  and  their 
 leaders. 
 
 12.  That  the  whole  of  the  books  so  written  were  never 
 publicly  propounded,  or  generally  known,  prior  to  the  time 
 of  Alexander. 
 
 13.  That  the  Jewish  kings  exercised  no  supervision  over 
 the  books,  if  even  they  knew  of  their  existence,  and  con- 
 sequently that  additions  or  other  changes  could  be  made  in 
 them  with  impunity  by  any  interested  priest,  scribe,  or 
 librarian. 
 
 14.  That  the  books  are  not  what  they  profess  to  be;  that 
 they  were  written  at  various  periods,  for  special  purposes ;  and 
 that  they  were  modified  repeatedly,  so  as  to  suit  passing 
 events. 
 
 15.  That  the  books,  being  factitious,  cannot  be  considered 
 
 I 
 
130 
 
 as  divinely  written,  or  dictated  by  the  Almighty;  consequently 
 that  they  are  not  of  more  authority  than  the  Koran,  the 
 Yedas,  or  the  hook  of  Mormon. 
 
 16.  That  there  is  direct  evidence  that  the  institutions 
 which  are  said  to  he  divine,  are  of  human  origin ;  circum- 
 cision, for  example,  having  been  a  custom  common  amongst 
 the  Egyptians,  the  Colchians,  the  Phoenicians,  and  being  now 
 practised  amongst  the  Malays.  Sacrifice,  including  that  of 
 human  beings,  was  common  amongst  every  ancient  nation, 
 as  well  as  amongst  the  Jews,  and  was  a  contrivance  simply 
 to  ensure  a  festive  meeting  for  priests  and  people.  Festivals 
 were  equally  common  amongst  other  nations  as  with  the 
 Jews,  who  copied  them,  however,  with  such  art  as  to  efface 
 their  parentage.  These  celebrations,  like  sacrifices,  had 
 their  use,  for  they  commemorated  celestial  phenomena, 
 inaugurated  times  and  seasons,  and  formed  important  epochs 
 of  the  year ;  just  as  do  Christmas,  Easter,  Lady  Day, 
 Candlemas  Day,  St.  John's  Day,  and  Whit  Sunday  amongst 
 ourselves.  A  multiplication  of  festivals  involved  a  multiplica- 
 tion of  priestly  fees. 
 
 The  Sabbath  is  the  only  purely  Jewish  institution  known. 
 It  seems  to  have  been  invented  under  the  hope  that  a  day 
 of  rest  would  send  persons  to  worship,  and  thus  afi'ord  to  the 
 teacher,  or  priest,  an  opportunity  either  to  read  aloud 
 something  out  of  the  books  which  had  been  compiled  for 
 this  purpose,  to  multiply  fees,  or  for  both  purposes  com- 
 bined ;  just  as  the  Eoman  Catholics  have  multiplied  saints' 
 days,  on  which  laziness  and  worship,  confession  and  congress, 
 feasting  with  and  ofierings  to  ecclesiastics  are  encouraged. 
 
 Proj)hecy  was  not  a  gift  peculiar  to  the  chosen  race,  for 
 there  has  not  existed  amongst  any  nation,  a  hierarchy  who 
 did  not  make  pretensions  to  it.  Eoman  Catholic  virgins 
 still  appear  to  peasant  children  in  the  Alpine  regions,  to 
 tell  the  same  tales  to  the  moderns,  as  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah 
 
131 
 
 did  to  the  ancients,  and  *  spirit-rapping '  has  replaced  Urim 
 and  Thummim.  Prophets,  so  called,  are  generally  of  the 
 same  stamp,  and  are  partly  charlatans  or  knaves,  and 
 partly  lunatics  or  fools  ;  any  earnest  thinker,  close  observer, 
 and  good  actor  may  assume  successfully  the  character  of  a 
 prophet,  if  it  should  so  please  him.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
 prophets  of  Israel  and  Judah  were  no  better  than  the  oracles 
 of  Delphi. 
 
 17.  That  the  priests  of  a  rude  nation  are  ever  the 
 most  intellectual  amongst  its  denizens ;  sometimes  they 
 are  the  only  individuals  who  can  read  and  write.  G-enerally 
 they  have  the  superintendence  of  education,  consequently, 
 the  power  of  tampering  with  manuscripts,  inventing  history, 
 and  encouraging  the  growth  of  bigotry  and  intolerance  in 
 youth  and  mature  age,  as  we  have  seen  in  Spain. 
 
 18.  That  in  a  nation  where  education  is  general,  the 
 diffusion  of  knowledge  extensive,  religious  freedom  ensured, 
 and  the  development  of  thought  encouraged,  the  priesthood, 
 as  a  body,  are  inferior  in  mental  culture,  in  general  informa- 
 tion, and  in  sound  judgment  to  the  better  classes  of  the  laity. 
 Whenever,  therefore,  the  latter  call  for  inquiry  into  the  faith 
 which  is  held  by  the  former,  their  "  freethinking  "  is  denounced 
 and  persecuted,  rather  than  treated  rationally.  Hence, 
 an  imperfectly  instructed  hierarchy,  and  one  which  like 
 modern  Christianity  shuns  inquiry,  forces  the  community 
 to  divide  itself  into  bigots  and  independents.  But  as  young 
 men  of  education,  who  are  accustomed  to  use  their  reason, 
 can  readily  judge  between  such  parties,  it  follows  naturally 
 that  very  few  of  them  swell  the  ranks  of  the  priesthood; 
 except  indeed  those  whose  mental  powers  are  unable  to 
 detect  an  absurdity  when  it  is  laid  bare  before  their  eyes,  or 
 who  have  been  blinded  when  children  by  bigotry.  It  has 
 long  been  held,  in  England,  that  "  the  Church  "  is  generally 
 the  refuge  of  those  who   lack  learning,  energy,  application 
 
132 
 
 and  mental  power.  The  Church  of  Rome,  the  irrational 
 nature  of  whose  tenets  is  far  greater,  and  whose  formularies 
 of  worship  are  far  more  preposterous  than  those  of  the 
 Anglican  Church,  has  begun  to  experience  so  much  difficulty 
 in  filling  her  ranks  in  England,  that  she  descends  almost 
 to  the  lowest  ranks  of  the  people  ere  she  can  find  the  raw 
 material  fit  to  be  formed  into  priests,  &c.  In  Ireland 
 the  son  of  a  mendicant  frequently  becomes  a  curator  of  souls. 
 With  such  a  state  of  things,  rehgion  has,  to  a  great  extent, 
 become  a  mockery  or  a  solemn  sham ;  and  those  whose  minds 
 are  cultivated,  regard  the  ministers  of  the  Anglican,  and, 
 a  fortiori,  those  of  the  Roman  Church,  much  in  the  same 
 way  as  Socrates  considered  the  priests  of  his  time. 
 
 Having  myself  repeatedly  "  assisted"  at  mass  in  Roman 
 Cathohc  countries,  and  in  the  great  basilicas  of  St.  Peter, 
 St.  John  Lateran,  and  S'*  Maria  Maggiore  at  Rome,  I 
 cannot  help  uttering  the  same  observation  which  Cicero  did 
 respecting  the  Roman  augurs,  for  I  marvel  that  any  two 
 priests  can  go  through  the  service  of  the  mass  -o-ithout 
 laughing  in  each  other's  faces,  and  that  the  people  can 
 look  on  devoutly. 
 
 Thus,  in  every  state,  a  conflict  is  brought  on,  between 
 blind  obedience  to  the  teachings  of  the  hierarchy  and  what 
 is  termed  "infidelity,"  i.e.,  a  determination  not  to  credit 
 everything  which  is  told  as  an  article  of  faith.  This 
 infidelity  at  length  becomes  almost  universal,  as  we  saw 
 during  the  close  of  the  last  century  in  France,  when  every 
 hierarch  disbelieved  his  religion,  and  was  practically 
 an  infidel;  resolving  only  to  remain  in  the  Church  on 
 account  of  the  "  loaves  and  fishes "  which  it  enabled  him 
 to  enjoy,  and  the  power  which  it  gave  him  to  plunder  the 
 people.  To  obviate  the  probability  of  this  state  of  things, 
 a  few  men,  who  have  been  educated  piously  and  have  retained 
 a   love  for  religion,   and   know  the  urgent  necessity  which 
 
133 
 
 exists  for  great  improvement  in  religious  thought,  have 
 attempted  to  lead  the  van  of  progress.  Instead,  however, 
 of  being  followed,  or  even  being  listened  to,  they  have  been 
 persecuted  and  denounced.  The  Anglican  Church  which 
 is  founded  upon  the  Preformation,  now  reprobates  all  thought 
 of  reform,  and  she  whose  watchword  was  "the  right  of 
 private  judgment  in  matters  of  faith,"  who  proved  that 
 every  man  stood  or  fell,  as  to  his  own  master,  and  not 
 through  the  intervention  of  a  priest,  now  alas,  rules  that 
 access  to  the  Almighty  can  only  be  obtained  through 
 herself;  and  recommends  all  classes  of  the  Anghcau 
 hierarchy  to  assume  the  power  of  the  ancient  Apostles. 
 "  The  belief  of  the  Church"  has  become  "the  rule  of  faith," 
 and  though  none  can  define  "the  Church,"  all  use  her 
 authority  to  stifle  inquiry  into  true  religion.  There  was  a 
 time  when  the  young  Apostle  Paul  withstood  the  older 
 Apostle  Peter ;  and  the  latter,  instead  of  casting  into  his 
 teeth  the  epithet  of  "persecutor,"  "Roman  citizen,"  and 
 the  like,  or  even  asserting  that  he  who  had  been  with  Jesus 
 Christ  for  so  many  years,  and  had  been  commissioned  to 
 feed  both  his  sheep  and  lambs,  must  needs  know  much 
 more  than  an  upstart,  like  the  one  who  had  assisted  at  the 
 stoning  of  the  blessed  Stephen,  quietly  gave  way  to  argu- 
 ment. There  was  also,  once  upon  a'  time,  a  man  who  spoke 
 differently  to  all  others,  and  who  said,  "Woe  unto  you 
 when  all  men  shall  speak  well  of  you,  for  so  did  their 
 fathers  to  the  false  prophets"  (Luke  vi.  2G).  Now-a-days, 
 the  followers  of  this  same  '  Son  of  Man'  consider  that  those 
 only  can  be  right  whom  all  men  applaud. 
 
 Far  be  it  from  me  to  allege  that  all  the  Anghcan 
 divines  persecute  their  brethren  from  a  belief  in  their  hetero- 
 doxy. I  have  too  great  a  respect  for  the  education 
 which  most  of  them  have  undergone,  to  credit  the  idea  that 
 they  are  unable   to   understand  a  syllogism.      It  is   their 
 
134 
 
 judgment  rather  than  their  knowledge  which  we  call  in 
 question.  Our  prelates  think  it  right  to  'temporise/  lest  they 
 should  be  denounced  by  the  multitude,  who  count  them  for 
 prophets.  There  is  scarcely  a  priest  who  does  not  feel  that  the 
 present  state  of  things  in  the  Anglican  church  cannot  last, 
 but  they  say  with  Hezekiah  (2  Kings  xx.  19),  "  Is  it  not  good 
 if  peace  and  truth  be  in  my  days?"  These  are  the  very 
 individuals  of  whom  we  spoke  in  the  first  chapter  of  this 
 volume,  men  who  perpetuate,  by  an  ignoble  terror  of  exami- 
 nation, a  system  which  is  known  to  be  doubtful,  if  indeed 
 it  is  not  positively  false  and  wrong.  To  such  the  following 
 words  of  Isaiah  seem  to  be  peculiarly  applicable.  "His 
 watchmen  are  blind :  they  are  all  ignorant,  they  are  all 
 dumb  dogs,  they  cannot  bark ;  sleeping,  lying  down,  loving  to 
 slumber.  Yea,  they  are  greedy  dogs  which  can  never  have 
 enough,  and  they  are  shepherds  that  cannot  understand ; 
 they  all  look  to  their  own  way,  every  one  for  his  gain,  from 
 his  quarter.  Come  ye,  they  say,  I  will  fetch  wine,  and  we 
 will  fill  ourselves  with  strong  drink;  and  to-morrow  shall 
 be  as  this  day,  and  much  more  abundant"  (Isaiah  Ivi. 
 10-12). 
 
 To  the  mind  of  the  thoughtful  layman,  nothing  seems 
 more  deplorable  than  the  present  condition  of  the  State 
 church.  In  an  age  of  progress,  it  alone  refuses  to  advance  ; 
 and,  as  if  that  were  not  enough,  a  large  section  of  it  chooses 
 to  retrograde,  to  follow  the  practice  and  invoke  the  ideas 
 of  a  past  age,  rather  than  to  develop  the  judgment  of  the 
 present.  We  shall  best  induce  the  leaders  of  the  Anglican 
 faith  to  see  themselves  as  others  see  them,  by  bringing 
 under  their  notice  the  practice  of  individual  clerics  towards 
 members  of  the  medical  profession.  Our  journals  have  long 
 teemed  with  the  complaints  of  doctors,  who  have  had  the 
 ground  cut  away  from  under  their  feet,  by  the  clergyman 
 of  the  place,  who  has  adopted  a  homoeopathic  or  some  other 
 
135 
 
 system,  which  is  called  amongst  the  regular  practitioners 
 "  heretical."  To  such  complaints,  the  clerical  answer  is,  that 
 the  surgeon  receives  his  education  when  under  twenty-two  or 
 twenty-three  years  of  age ;  that  when  he  has  become  a  mem- 
 ber of  a  medical  corporation,  he  is  tied  to  practise  in  one  way 
 only ;  consequently,  that  he  is  not  in  a  position  to  inquire 
 into  or  adopt  any  new  idea  which  starts  up,  for  that  if  he 
 did  he  would  be  persecuted  by  his  brethren. 
 
 It  is  the  existence  of  precisely  such  a  state  of  things 
 amongst  the  clergy  that  the  intelligent  laity  complain  of  so 
 greatly.  They  know,  not  only  that  the  priest  -  becomes  such 
 at  an  early  period  of  his  life,  but  that  he  is  obliged  by  law 
 to  take  an  oath  that  he  will  only  promulgate  doctrines  of  a 
 certain  stamp.  They  know  too  that  this  completely  stunts 
 the  mental  growth,  and  keeps  down  the  mind  of  ecclesiastical 
 standard-bearers  to  the  level  of  a  childish  capacity  or  of  an 
 effete  antiquity.  They  see,  too,  that  a  man  of  independent 
 thought,  like  one  who  teaches  a  new  medical  system  amongst 
 the  doctors,  is  persecuted  amongst  the  clergy.  It  is  this 
 which  induces  the  layman  to  appraise  as  fully  as  possible 
 the  real  value  of  the  teaching  in  those  past  ages  which  is 
 so  much  lauded  by  the  priesthood,  and  before  which  so 
 many  learned  pundits  of  our  own  day  prostrate  themselves 
 in  admiration. 
 
 As  soon  as  we  begin  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the 
 early  Christian  church,  we  find  that  it  was  divided  by  faction. 
 Peter  was  rebuked  by  Paul — some  of  the  faithful  were 
 followers  of  Paul,  others  of  Apollos,  others  of  Cephas. 
 Around  the  new  disciples  hovered  the  Essenes,  the  Gnostics, 
 the  Platonists,  the  Greeks,  the  Eomans,  and  idolaters  in 
 general ;  and  one  or  all  had  an  influence  on  the  Chi-istian 
 creed.  Books  were  not  numerous,  the  roads  were  unsafe, 
 locomotion  was  difficult,  and  the  new  faith  was  proscribed. 
 As   a  consequence  of  this,  individual   flocks  became,  as  it 
 
136 
 
 were,  the  property  of  individual  pastors,  each  one  teaching 
 according  to  his  own  views,  rather  than  with  reference  to  any- 
 particular  standard.  In  the  absence  of  authoritative  hooks, 
 certain  biographies,  called  Gospels,  were  put  together,  and  the 
 Epistles,  said  to  have  been  written  by  distinguished  Apostles, 
 were  collected.  In  editing  them,  each  scribe  was  at  full  liberty 
 to  use  his  own  judgment  as  to  what  to  retain,  what  to  avoid, 
 and  what  to  introduce,  and  the  inconvenience  of  the  custom 
 was  scarcely  recognised  during  three  hundred  years ;  many 
 localities  possessing  only  one  copy  of  a  gospel  or  one  epistle. 
 When  the  formation  of  a  **  collection  of  scriptures"  was 
 agreed  upon,  the  business  was  carried  on  by  men,  human 
 beings  like  ourselves,  who  did  not  scruple  to  select  some 
 books  as  genuine,  and  to  denounce  others  as  spurious. 
 But  the  collection  so  made  was  not  permanent,  changes 
 being  often  effected.  The  last  revision  of  the  canon  was 
 made  by  the  Anglican  church  at  the  Reformation ;  and 
 what  man  has  done  once,  man  may  do  again. 
 
 Still  further,  we  know  that  in  the  times  of  "The  Fathers" 
 there  were  controversies  respecting  the  very  same  subjects 
 which  agitate  the  church  now,  and  that  the  victors  owed 
 their  success  to  physical  strength,  rather  than  to  intellectual 
 vigour.  The  power  so  wielded  was  given  by  the  laity ;  and 
 thus  we  see,  even  in  the  last  resort,  that  those  who  are  not 
 of  the  hierarchy  have  to  decide,  with  their  strong  right 
 arms,  upon  the  orthodoxy  or  otherwise  of  the  clergy. 
 
 The  appeal  then  to  antiquity,  instead  of  gi^^ug  support 
 to  dogmatic  teaching,  gives  us  good  reason  for  indulging 
 in  independent  inquiry,  and  a  precedent  for  a  determined 
 inquisition  into  the  thorough  genuineness  of  those  which 
 have  been  called  "the  sacred  books." 
 
 But  if  the  hierarchy  determinately  oppose  such  an  inves- 
 tigation, when  undertaken  by  any  amongst  themselves,  the 
 duty,   if  it  be   fulfilled  at  all,    will  be   performed  by   those 
 
137 
 
 over  whom  priestly  influence  does  not  extend;  and  the 
 laity  will  examine  fearlessly,  perchance  coarsely,  that  which 
 the  clergy  would  have  scrutinised  more  cautiously.  Thus 
 it  is  quite  possible  that  the  inquiry,  which  we  have  under- 
 taken in  these  volumes,  may  appear  too  searching,  and  that 
 our  use  of  the  pruning  knife  may  be  considered  as  ruthless. 
 The  fault  of  this,  however,  does  not  lie  in  the  layman,  but 
 in  the  Church,  who  resolutely  refuses  to  be  taught  by  one 
 of  her  own  body. 
 
 The  use  of  reason  is  as  common  amongst  physicians 
 as  it  is  amongst  divines  ;  both  know  the  value  of  a  syllogism 
 and  of  the  inductive  method  of  inquiry;  and  both  know  that  a 
 fact  is  not  synonjinous  with  an  assertion,  and  that  the 
 latter  does  not  become  a  fact  even  though  it  has  been 
 adopted  and  believed  by  successive  generations  throughout 
 eighteen  centuries.  One  is  justified,  therefore,  in  examining 
 into  all  assertions,  no  matter  what  may  be  their  age ;  and  if 
 compelled  to  reject  any  affirmation  as  false,  he  also  knows 
 that  all  doctrines  which  are  founded  thereupon  must  fall  with 
 it,  unless  they  can  be  otherwise  supported.  All  members 
 of  the  liberal  professions  are  equally  aware  that  universal 
 belief  in  a  certain  statement  does  not  make  it  true ;  and  that 
 in  this  matter  concord  amongst  the  learned  is  not  more 
 infallible,  as  evidence,  than  agreement  amongst  the  vulgar. 
 Moreover,  all  are  cognisant  of  the  endorsement  which  history 
 has  placed  upon  ''shams,"  i.e.,  upon  attempts  to  bolster  up 
 as  truths,  matters  which  are  generally  known  to  be  fictions. 
 
 It  is  true,  on  the  other  hand,  that  there  is  a  wide-spread 
 behef  that  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to  conceal  the  actual 
 state  of  things ;  and  thus  the  exposure  of  truth  is  punished 
 as  severely  as  a  modern  Godiva  would  be  for  riding  through 
 the  streets  of  London.  It  is  held  that  a  clergyman  ought 
 no  more  to  promulgate  his  behef  in  the  weakness  of  his 
 religion  than  a  banker  should  proclaim   to  the   world  his 
 
138 
 
 insolvency,  a  merchant  publish  his  fraudulent  practices,  or 
 trade  unionists  plead  guilty  of  murderous  feats  until  they  are 
 obliged.  Yet  when  the  exposure  is  made,  the  ruin  which 
 ensues  is  terrible.  Such  ruin  may  be  softened  by  timely 
 concessions. 
 
 But  as  the  man  who  brings  down  an  insolvent  bank, 
 causes  the  suspension  of  a  very  reckless  railway  company, 
 or  detects  and  prosecutes  a  fraudulent  tradesman,  is  for  a 
 time  reprobated,  although  he  is  eventually  recognised  as  a 
 public  benefactor,  so  is  the  layman  anathematised,  who  shows 
 the  bankruptcy  of  a  faith ;  and  from  that  censure  he  cannot 
 escape,  until  generations  yet  unborn  have  seen  the  value 
 of  his  labours. 
 
 Now  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  if  the  story 
 of  the  Creation  is  a  mythos ;  if  the  account  of  the  universal 
 flood  is  untrue ;  if  the  story  of  the  patriarchs  is  a  fable ; 
 if  the  scene  upon  Mount  Sinai  and  the  issue  of  the  Mosaic 
 law  is  of  human  invention ;  if  the  miracles,  said  to  have 
 been  performed  in  Israel,  were  fictions ;  and  if  the  utterances 
 of  the  so-called  prophets  were  nothing  more  than  the  ex- 
 pressions of  fervid  religionists,  with  a  spice  of  insanity ; 
 if,  moreover,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  has  taken  its  rise 
 from  the  comparatively  impure  ideas  of  phallic  worship ; 
 and  if  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary  is  identical  with  the 
 adoration  of  Ishtar ;  then  it  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the 
 whole  of  the  current  religious  teaching  requires  alteration. 
 What  that  alteration  will  be,  or  when  it  will  be  efi'ected, 
 none  can  tell ;  but  we  cannot  avoid  believing  that,  when  it 
 does  take  place,  the  text  will  be,  "Ye  shall  know  them  by 
 their  fruits"  (Matt.  vii.  16).®     Whenever  the  Christian  is 
 
 8  Whilst  tbeso  sheets  were  passing  tkrough  tlie  press,  Thomas  Scott,  Esq.,  of 
 Eamsgate,  puhlishocl  a  tract  entitled,  "  Basis  of  a  New  Eeformation."  In  a  few 
 pages,  marked  by  breadth  of  thought  and  depth  of  reasoning,  he  has  demonstrated 
 that  reverence  for  the  Almighty,  such  as  human  beings  of  His  Creation  should  give, 
 
139 
 
 torn  by  doubts  of  doctrine,  reviled  by  those  who  have  more 
 of  the  wolf  in  their  compositions  than  of  the  lamb ;  and 
 when  perchance  he  is  persecuted  by  those  friends  whose  zeal 
 is  more  powerful  than  their  intellect,  it  is  a  relief  to  remem- 
 ber that,  throughout  all  the  scenes  wherein  the  great  Teacher 
 described  the  day  of  Judgment,  the  words,  "What  did  you 
 believe?"  do  not  once  occur.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  the 
 words,  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord, 
 shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that  doeth  the 
 will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Many  will  say  unto 
 me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  in  thy 
 name  ?  and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out  devils  ?  and  in  thy 
 name  done  many  wonderful  works  ?  and  then  will  I  profess 
 unto  them,  I  never  knew  you ;  depart  from  me,  ye  that 
 work  iniquity"  (Matt.  vii.  21-23).  There  is  no  passage  in 
 which  the  Almighty  is  represented  as  catechising  the  being 
 before  Him  upon  his  behef  in  any  of  the  creeds  of  the 
 Anglican  Church,  and  whether  he  was  a  Trinitarian  or  an 
 Unitarian.  Whether  he  paid  divine  honour  to  the  Virgin 
 Mary,  attended  the  "Sacrament"  or  the  "Mass";  whether 
 he  kept  "Sabbath"  or  "Sunday,"  or  whether  he  respected 
 all  days  alike,  seems  a  matter  of  no  importance  to  the  Master. 
 No.  The  question  He  always  puts  is,  "AVhat  did  you 
 do  ?  "  Well  would  it  be  for  us  all  if  we  could  realise  the 
 awful  scene  described,  in  which  the  Son  of  Man  addresses 
 those  on  his  right  hand,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
 inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you,  from  the  foundation 
 of  the  world.     For  I  was  an  hungred,  and  ye  gave  me  meat ; 
 
 and  love  to  all  our  neiglibours  in  tlie  largest  acceptation  of  tlie  word,  sliould  form 
 the  rock  on  •whicii  the  temple  of  religious  truth  should  be  builded.  I  gladly  avail 
 myself  of  this  opportunity  for  recording  the  obligation  I  am  under  to  this  author. 
 It  is  doubtful  whether  I  should  have  dared  to  express  many  thoughts  on  sacred 
 subjects,  which  had  long  harboured  in  my  mind,  had  I  not  read  his  publications. 
 Of  his  "  EugUsh  Life  of  Jesus,"  it  is  impossible  for  a  philosopher  to  speak  too  highly ; 
 and  it  is  a  matter  for  regi-et  that  his  works  are  not  as  well  known  as  household 
 words. 
 
140 
 
 I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink ;  I  was  a  stranger, 
 and  ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me  ;  I  was  sick, 
 and  ye  visited  me  :  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  me." 
 The  righteous,  being  doubtful  if  ever  they  had  done  any  of 
 these  things  to  the  great  King,  reply  accordingly,  but  only 
 to  receive  the  gracious  answer,  "  Verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
 inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
 my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  The  goats  on  the 
 left  are  they  who  talk,  and  do  not  (Matt.  xxv.  31-46). 
 Well,  indeed,  would  it  be  for  human  nature  in  general, 
 if  each  could  see  in  another  "  one  of  the  least  of  these, 
 my  brethren,"  and  act  accordingly. 
 
141 
 
 CHAPTER  VII. 
 
 The  subject  resumed.  Opinion  respecting  the  method  to  be  adopted  in  religious 
 inquiry.  Mathematical  inquiries  precise.  Beductio  ad  alisitrdum  resented  in 
 theology.  Anecdote.  Plan  of  proceeding  fo  discover  the  truth  in  religious 
 matters.  Euclid's  plan.  Definitions  of  bigotry,  credulity,  heterodoxy,  ortho- 
 doxy, error,  thought.  Axioms.  Postulates.  Jerusalem  five  times  pillaged. 
 Propositions  :  certain  current  ones  wholly  incapable  of  proof.  Sketch  of  Jewish 
 history.  Early  state  of  Jews.  Estimate  of  David's  army,  of  the  adult  males 
 in  Jerusalem.  David's  policy.  Policy  of  Jewish  writers.  Glosses  upon  Jewish 
 history.  False  philosophy.  Jews  and  Turks  compared.  Hezekiah  and  the 
 "  sick  man."  Period  of  compilation  of  the  Bible.  Ecclesiastes,  the  book 
 examined.  Its  modern  origin.  Modern  fabrications.  Imitators  of  Shakespeare 
 and  Scott.  Change  of  language  by  time ;  examples.  Antiquity  of  Hebrew 
 questioned.  Golden  and  silver  age  of  Hebrew.  Character  of  Hebrew.  Sum- 
 mary of  Old  Testament  doctrines. 
 
 Since  -writing  the  preceding  chapters,  and  after  having  aban- 
 doned any  intention  of  resuming  them,  I  have  again  altered 
 my  purpose,  having  been  enabled,  during  the  suspension  of 
 active  work,  to  read  the  writings  of  those  who  have  adopted 
 a  different  view  to  my  own  respecting  the  Biblical  narratives, 
 and  having  pondered  deeply  as  to  the  method  which  ought  to 
 be  adopted  by  one  who  is  more  strenuous  in  his  search 
 after  truth  than  in  upholding  his  own  ideas,  or  defeat- 
 ing those  held  by  his  opponents.  Amongst  other  things, 
 it  has  appeared  to  me  that  controversy  is  deprived  of  much 
 of  its  bitterness  when  the  general  propositions  of  an  adver- 
 sary are  not  recapitulated  for  the  purpose  of  refuting  them ; 
 and  I  shall  therefore  content  myself  with  indicating  the 
 faults  which  mar  almost  every  one  of  the  theological  works 
 that  have  fallen  under  my  notice.  They  all  begin  by  begging 
 the   question   at   issue,   and  then   proceed   to   reason   from 
 
142 
 
 assertions  to  ulterior  points  of  doctrine.  Having  been 
 taught  to  believe  a  certain  set  of  statements  to  be  incontro- 
 vertibly  true,  they  conclude  that  they  are  so.  Such  may 
 be  compared  to  those  who,  like  Baron  Munchausen,  charge 
 their  enemies  at  the  head  of  a  troop  which  has  no  exist- 
 ence, and  yet  like  him  succeed  in  frightening  their 
 opponents,  only  becoming  aware  of  their  own  temerity 
 when  they  look  behind,  and  find  that  even  their  favourite 
 horse  has  lost  its  fair  proportions,  and  is  a  "  cheval  de 
 hata'ille^^  no  longer. 
 
 "Whilst  thinking  over  the  matter,  it  occurred  to  me  that 
 mathematicians  cannot  quarrel  over  a  geometric  or  algebraic 
 demonstration.  The  boy  who  first  learns  algebra  may,  by 
 dint  of  stupidity,  consider  that  a^  and  2  a  are  practically 
 the  same,  and  upon  that  may  build  a  theory  that  a^  -{-  a^  i^ 
 equal  to  a*;  having  assumed  his  premises  to  be  true,  with- 
 out due  inquiry,  he  may  be  disposed  to  fight  a  younger  boy, 
 who  tells  him  that  ft^  +  «^  is  not  a^  but  2«^.  If  two  such 
 lads  should  really  come  to  blows,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
 first  might  win  the  battle,  yet  he  would  not  thereby  prove 
 himself  to  be  right  and  his  adversary  wrong.  As  the  intel- 
 lect of  the  elder  youth  developed,  he  would  discover  the 
 folly  of  proceeding  in  any  matter  without  being  sure  of 
 his  ground ;  and  when  he  recognised  that  a^  is  not  identical 
 with  2rt,  he  would  see  how  absurd  it  was  to  fight  about 
 a  subject  capable  of  demonstration.  Now,  when  teaching 
 such  a  lad,  a  master  would  induce  him  to  examine  all  the 
 steps  of  his  demonstration,  by  showing  that  his  results  were 
 wi'ong,  just  as  Euclid  occasionally  adopts  the  reductio  ad  ah- 
 surdum.  But  in  controversy  with  a  theological  adversary,  who 
 refuses  to  see,  and  even  to  think,  such  a  plan  is  dangerous, 
 as  it  stirs  up  hatred  and  malice,  which  eftectually  blind  the 
 eyes  against  the  light  of  reason.  I  well  remember,  whilst  a 
 very  young  man,  taking  a  walk  with  an  Irish  gentleman,  who 
 
143 
 
 was  remarkable  for  eloquence,  good  sense,  and  deep  learning. 
 He  had  been  educated  at  the  Irish  college  at  Eome,  and 
 duly  appointed  a  priest  to  some  flock  in  Ireland  ;  but,  like 
 Luther,  he  did  not  sell  his  reasoning  faculties  when  he 
 took  orders,  and  by  their  use  he  was  led  to  abandon  the 
 Romish  for  the  Anglican  communion.  On  the  day  before 
 our  walk  together,  he  had  been  preaching  as  a  deputation 
 from  the  Bible  Society,  in  a  church  surrounded  by  a  dense 
 colony  of  Romanists,  and  it  was  said  that  the  vast  congre- 
 gation which  met  in  the  church  was  due  to  the  expectation 
 of  hearing  a  scorching  accusation  of  those  whom  the 
 preacher  had  left  behind.  The  sermon  that  he  delivered 
 I  not  only  heard,  but  copied ;  and  whilst  I  saw  with  surprise 
 the  immense  labour  which  the  manuscript  was  witness  to, 
 I  noticed  with  deep  interest  that  there  was  neither  a  word 
 nor  a  phrase  which  had  reference  to  controversy.  On 
 remarking  upon  this  to  him,  the  answer  ran  thus ;  "  Well, 
 Tom,  you  and  I  are  on  the  road  that  leads  to  Liverpool ; 
 suppose  now  we  met  a  man  who  asked  us  the  way  thither, 
 and  I  were  to  hit  him  a  blow  in  the  face,  to  call  him  a  fool, 
 and  then  to  show  him  the  right  track,  don't  you  fancy  that 
 he  would  rather  think  of  fighting  me  than  following  my 
 directions  ?  Well,  so  it  is  with  persons  who  come  to  church 
 to  ask  the  way  to  Heaven ;  if  you  '  let  fly  at  them  right 
 and  left,'  they  will  oppose  you  '  tooth  and  nail ; '  if,  on  the 
 contrary,  you  do  not  rouse  the  bad  passions  at  all,  but 
 point  out  that  which  you  consider  to  be  the  right  path,  it  is 
 probable  that  many  will  adopt  it."  To  carry  out  my  friend's 
 idea,  let  me  sketch  what  I  think  should  be  the  plan 
 followed  by  those  who  are  earnestly  seeking  after  truth.  I 
 would  recommend  them  to  adopt  the  method  which  has 
 been  made  familiar  to  us  by  Euclid,  and  divide  the  process 
 of  inquiry  into  definitions,  axioms,  postulates  and  problems. 
 Just   as  the  mathematician    clears   his   way    by   giving  an 
 
144 
 
 account  of  tlie  signification  of  a  "point,"  "a  right  line," 
 "a  circle,"  "a,  square,"  etc.,  so  the  theologian  ought  to  start 
 by  giving  definitions,  which  will  bear  a  most  rigid  examina- 
 tion, of  such  words  as  Bigotry,  Credulity,  Doubt,  Error, 
 Faith,  Father,  Foresight,  Heterodoxy,  Infallibility,  Inspir- 
 ation, Intolerance,  Logic,  Miracles,  Orthodoxy,  Persecution, 
 Priestcraft,  Prophecy,  Reason,  Rectitude,  Religion,  Revela- 
 tion, Spirit,  Superstition,  Testimony,  Thought,  Truth,  &c. 
 
 When  once  the  logical  theologian  begins  to  write  a 
 definition  of  any  one  of  these  words,  we  cannot  imagine 
 him  to  be  contented  with  such  as  the  following  : — Bigotry, 
 refusing  to  believe  my  doctrine ;  Credulity,  believing  what  I 
 consider  to  be  absurd  nonsense ;  Heterodoxy,  holding  a 
 faith  difi'erent  from  mine ;  Orthodoxy,  my  present  belief ; 
 Error,  anything  which  I  do  not  credit ;  Thought,  taking 
 everything  for  granted  which  my  friends  allege,  etc.  etc. 
 Respecting  some  of  these  we  have  already  treated,  and  we 
 shall  have  to  say  something  more  of  a  few  others.  See 
 Prophecy,  Miracles,  etc. 
 
 We  next  proceed  to  give  a  few  axioms,  which,  indeed, 
 almost  seem  to  be  truisms,  they  are  so  simple.  They  would 
 not,  indeed,  deserve  a  place  here,  but  that  they  are  precepts, 
 one  or  all  of  which  have  been  neglected  by  writers  on 
 divinity. 
 
 1.  To  beg  a  question  is  not  equivalent  to  proving  it. 
 
 2.  Assertion  is  not  proof,  however  pertinaciously  it  is 
 reiterated. 
 
 3.  A  theologian  is  bound  to  permit  himself,  his  tenets, 
 and  his  books  of  reference  to  be  judged  by  the  same  style 
 or  set  of  arguments  which  he  uses  for,  or  against,  those  of 
 others. 
 
 4.  "  It  may  be,"  or  "  it  might  have  been,"  is  not 
 equivalent  to  "  it  is  "  or  "  it  was." 
 
 5.  Credulity  is  inferior  to  reason. 
 
145 
 
 6.  All  priests  and  prophets  are  human. 
 
 7.  All  human  beings  are  subject  to  human  pro- 
 pensities, passions,  and  infirmities. 
 
 8.  Dogmatism  is  not  equivalent  to  argument. 
 
 9.  Abuse  does  not  assist  in  demonstration. 
 
 10.  Assertions  contradicted  by  facts,  are  valueless. 
 
 11.  The  antiquity  of  any  belief  or  legend,  does  not 
 demonstrate  its  absolute  value. 
 
 12.  That  an  assertion  has  been  credited  in  all  ages,  does 
 not  make  it  true. 
 
 13.  That  which  was  a  falsity  at  the  first,  has  not  its 
 nature  changed  by  lapse  of  time. 
 
 14.  Past  history  is  to  be  investigated  on  the  same  prin- 
 ciples which  guide  us  in  the  examination  of  current  events. 
 
 15.  The  reality  of  an  assumed  truth  is  not  demonstrated 
 by  the  small  or  the  great  number  of  those  who  believe  it. 
 
 16.  The  value  of  any  form  of  religion  is  to  be  judged  by 
 its  consonance  with  the  known  operations  of  the  Almighty, 
 and  not  by  the  personal  vigour,  enthusiasm,  mental  power, 
 or  numbers  of  those  who  adopt  it. 
 
 17.  The  Almighty  is  Omnipotent,  Omniscient,  and 
 Omnipresent.  He  is  not  a  man,  nor  does  He  require  the 
 aid  of  man  to  carry  out  His  designs. 
 
 18.  Assuming  that  a  revelation  has  been  made  by 
 God  to  man,  it  follows  that  what  He  has  not  communicated, 
 He  did  not  consider  it  necessary  for  man  to  know. 
 
 19.  A  man  who  asserts  himself  to  be  the  mouth-piece 
 of,  or  an  ambassador  from,  the  Almighty,  is  not  to  be 
 credited  on  his  ijJse  dixit  alone. 
 
 20.  Insanity  is  usually  attended  with  ocular  and  aural 
 delusions,  which  are  considered  as  communications  from  the 
 Almighty.  It  is  often,  also,  coupled  with  religious  enthusiasm. 
 These  manifestations  are  always  to  be  distrusted.  Delusions 
 are  not  realities. 
 
 E 
 
146 
 
 21.  There  is  no  law,  human  or  divine,  which  excludes 
 the  Bible  from  the  same  kind  of  criticism  as  is  ajoplied  to 
 the  sacred  writings  of  such  nations  as  the  Hindoos,  Persians, 
 Chinese,  Egyptians,  Greeks,  etc. 
 
 22.  Similarity  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  indicates 
 a  common  origin. 
 
 23.  If  any  religion  is  of  human  origin,  it  does  not 
 become  divine  by  being  venerated. 
 
 24.  One  form  of  religion  copied  or  adapted  from  another, 
 does  not  become  divine  by  change  of  name. 
 
 25.  The  truth  of  a  legend,  of  an  assertion,  or  of  a  his- 
 tory, is  not  established  by  its  being  reduced  to  writing,  and 
 subsequently  held  as  sacred. 
 
 26.  The  antiquity  of  a  book  is  no  evidence  of  its 
 truthfulness. 
 
 27.  Tradition  may  be  founded  either  on  fact  or  fiction, 
 or  on  both. 
 
 28.  Tradition  is  not  purified  of  its  falsity  by  being  com- 
 mitted to  writing. 
 
 29.  Any  author  can  fabricate  a  legend,  and  call  it  a 
 tradition. 
 
 30.  An  author  may  describe  himself  as  being  difierent 
 to  what  he  is. 
 
 31.  The  name  of  a  booK'^oes  not  prove  its  authorship. 
 
 32.  Foresight  is  not  prophecy. 
 
 33.  A  thing  which  has  no  existence  cannot  be  seen. 
 
 34.  A  real  prophecy  cannot  be  couched  in  ambiguous 
 or  contradictory  terms. 
 
 35.  Figurative  language  does  not  necessarily  relate  to 
 fact. 
 
 36.  What  are  called  miracles  are  not  necessarily  of 
 divine  origin. 
 
 37.  Ancient  miracles  are  to  be  tested  by  the  same  laws 
 as  modern  wonders. 
 
147 
 
 38.  That  which  is  called  history  is  not  necessarily  true, 
 and  it  may  be  wholly  false. 
 
 39.  Writers  in  all  ages  have  from  various  causes  falsified 
 history. 
 
 40.  The  real  value  of  history  is  to  be  tested  by  logical 
 criticism. 
 
 41.  The  presence  of  legends  in  a  history  does  not  prove 
 it  to  be  wholly  untrue. 
 
 42.  A  probable  narrative  is  more  worthy  of  credit  than 
 an  improbable  story. 
 
 43.  A  writer  who  relates  a  physical  impossibility  as  an 
 actual  fact  cannot  be  wholly  relied  on  as  a  historian. 
 
 44.  A  history  which  bears  internal  marks  of  fabrication, 
 may  be  rejected  as  worthless. 
 
 45.  A  history  which  has  been  fabricated,  may  bear 
 internal  evidence  of  the  date  of  its  composition. 
 
 46.  The  fabrication  or  the  publication  of  a  fabulous 
 history,  is  evidence  of  the  political,  religious,  or  social  aims 
 of  the  writer,  and  of  the  condition  of  the  people  for  whom 
 the  composition  was  prepared. 
 
 47.  A  fabricated  history  often  incorporates  legends 
 current  at  the  time  of  its  composition,  and  contains  stories 
 to  account  for  curious  names,  buildings,  ruins,  or  other 
 places. 
 
 48.  A  history  once  fabricated,  may  be  annotated  or 
 enlarged  by  other  hands  than  the  original  authors,  and  then 
 be  regarded  by  many,  with  veneration,  as  true. 
 
 49.  Those  who  modify  a  written  history,  may  copy  the 
 author's  style,  or  use  their  own  diction. 
 
 50.  Discrepancies,  contradictions,  or  varied  peculiari- 
 ties in  style  in  any  history,  are  evidence  of  divided 
 authorship. 
 
 51.  Similarity  in  style,  diction,  etc.,  is  evidence  of 
 unity  of  idea  in  authorship. 
 
148 
 
 52.  Similarity  in  language,  legends,  faith,  and  practice 
 amongst  nations  indicate  a  common  origin,  or  a  commixture. 
 
 53.  It  is  more  probable  that  the  weak  copy  from  the 
 strong,  than  that  the  proud  and  ancient  should  copy  from  the 
 feeble  upstart. 
 
 54.  An  agricultural  people  are  not  likely  to  be  a  mis- 
 sionary nation. 
 
 55.  The  Jews  were  an  agricultural  people,  and  a  very 
 feeble  and  weak  one. 
 
 56.  It  is  more  probable  that  the  Jews  copied  from 
 Phoenicians,  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  than  that  the 
 Hebrews  were  the  originators. 
 
 57.  The  historians  of  any  nation  are  not  to  be  implicitly 
 believed,  until  their  statements  are  compared  with  those 
 of  the  people  with  whom  the  nation  has  come  in  contact. 
 
 58.  When  each  of  two  nations  mutually  opposed,  asserts 
 itself  to  be  victorious  over  the  other,  neither  can  be  trusted 
 implicitly. 
 
 59.  If  misfortune  comes  upon  a  nation,  it  is  not  neces- 
 sarily a  proof  of  the  superiority  of  the  gods  worshipped 
 by  the  conquerors,  over  those  adored  by  the  vanquished. 
 
 60.  There  is  not  one  known  test  of  national  piety  which 
 will  bear  logical  investigation. 
 
 Such  axioms  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  but  we 
 have  given  a  sufficient  number  to  indicate  the  line  of  demon- 
 stration which  it  seems  advisable  to  adopt,  if  theologians 
 are  desirous  to  agree  together. 
 
 From  the  Axioms,  which  we  regard  as  truisms  to  which 
 all  thoughtful  men  must  assent,  we  proceed  to  the  Postulates. 
 
 Upon  this  ground  we  are  necessarily  somewhat  insecure, 
 yet  we  will  endeavour  only  to  advance  such  points  as  we 
 believe  will  be  conceded  after  a  little  thought. 
 1.     There  are  Jews  existent  now. 
 
149 
 
 2.  The  Jews  once  dwelt  in  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  which 
 town  and  country  were  comparatively  diminutive, 
 
 3.  The  Hebrew  language  is  allied  to  the  Phoenician, 
 Assyrian,  and  Babylonian,  and  not  at  all  with  the  Egyptian. 
 
 4.  The  Jews  have  writings  which  they  assert  to  be  of 
 great  antiquity,  and  which  they  consider  sacred. 
 
 5.  The  Jews  practise  circumcision,  and  keep  certain 
 feasts. 
 
 6.  The  Jews  have  still  certain  laws,  political,  moral, 
 social,  and  ceremonial. 
 
 7.  The  Hebrew  writings  contain  legends,  of  whose 
 truth  no  direct  evidence  can  be  procured ;  but-  of  whose  falsity 
 there  is  strong  presumption ;  there  being  always  an  a  'priori 
 probability  that  a  history  founded  Avholly  upon  the  super- 
 natural has  been  fabricated. 
 
 8.  Many  sets  of  scribes,  writing  at  different  times, 
 have  taken  part  in  the  composition  of  the  sacred  books. 
 
 9.  The  Jewish  language  was  materially  modified  by 
 the  captivity  of  the  Hebrews  in  Babylon,  and  by  their  con- 
 tact with  the  Greeks  and  Syrians.  It  was  not  modified  by 
 their  alleged  sojourn  in  Egypt. 
 
 10.  The  duration  of  the  alleged  Egyptian  residence  was 
 nearly  equal  to  the  time  which  elapsed  from  the  Babylonish 
 captivity  to  the  accession  of  Herod. 
 
 11.  Other  ancient  nations  had  as  strong  faith  in  their 
 own  gods  as  had  the  Jews  in  Jehovah. 
 
 12.  It  was  the  custom  of  conquerors  to  destroy,  or  to 
 capture,  the  visible  representations  of  the  gods  of  their 
 enemies,  and  everything  connected  with  their  worship.  See 
 Psalm  Ixxiv.  3-8,  and  Ixxix.  1. 
 
 13.  Jerusalem  was  five  times  pillaged  by  those  of  an 
 opposite  faith  to  the  Jews ;  (1)  by  the  Eg;\'ptians,  under 
 Shishak,  who  took  away  all  the  "treasures  of  the  house  of  the 
 
150 
 
 Lord  and  of  the  king's  house ;  he  took  all"  (2  Chron.  xii.  9); 
 
 (2)  by  Jehoash,  king  of  Samaria,  who  again  despoiled  the 
 house  of  the  Lord,  and  took  away  all  its  treasures,  and  those 
 in  the  king's  house  (2  Kings  xiv.   14,  2  Chron.  xxv.  24) ; 
 
 (3)  by  the  kings  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Edom,  who  again  took 
 away  the  silver  and  gold,  and  the  goodly  pleasant  things 
 (Joel  iii.  3-6,  Amos  i.  9) ;  (4)  by  Pharaoh  Necho  (2  Chron. 
 xxxvi.  3) ;   (5)  by  Nebuchadnezzar  (2  Chron.  xxxvi.  10-19). 
 
 14.  Jerusalem  was  for  six  years  under  the  reign  of 
 Athaliah,  the  daughter  of  Ahab,  an  enemy  to  the  God  of 
 Judah,  and  the  murderer  of  the  seed  royal  (2  Kings  xi.  1-3). 
 
 15.  Writings,  or  books,  were  not  common  amongst  the 
 Jews  prior  to  the  Babylonish  captivity;  they  became  very 
 common  afterwards. 
 
 16.  Christian  persecution  has  destroyed  many,  if  not 
 all,  of  the  most  valuable  Jewish  writings. 
 
 17.  Many  ancient  Hebrew  books  have  wholly  dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 18.  There  is  no  evidence  that  a  single  manuscript,  or 
 book,  was  returned  amongst  the  Temple  treasures,  at  the 
 Restoration  of  the  Jews    (Ezra  i.  7-11,  vi.  5). 
 
 19.  There  is  evidence  that  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment are  not  as  old  as  many  think  them. 
 
 20.  The  names  of  the  Almighty  current  amongst  the 
 Jews  were  the  same  as  those  in  use  amongst  their  neigh- 
 bours. 
 
 21.  The  nomenclature,  generally,  of  the  Jews,  re- 
 sembled that  of  the  nations  round  about  them. 
 
 22.  The  feasts  and  ceremonies  of  the  Jews  can  be  traced 
 to  their  neighbours. 
 
 Without  going  farther  into  Postulates,  we  may  pass 
 on  to  Problems. 
 
 Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  propound  the  proposition  — 
 "  The  whole  earth  was  once  covered  with  water  in  every 
 
151 
 
 part  of  it,"  and,  with  the  aid  of  our  definitions,  axioms,  and 
 postulates,  endeavour  to  demonstrate  it.  We  find  the  task 
 impossible.  "  The  Bible  says  so  "  is  the  only  evidence  on  the 
 one  side,  and  against  it  is  arrayed  all  the  facts  with  which 
 geology,  natural  history,  ship-building,  and  the  arts  con- 
 nected therewith  have  made  us  familiar.  When,  therefore, 
 the  philosopher  sees  that  a  mass  of  testimony  which  cannot 
 lie,  is  weighed  against  a  simple  affirmation  made  in  a  book 
 by  some  author  of  whom  nothing  is  known,  except  that  he 
 lived  in  a  very  dark  age,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable.  The 
 reductio  ad  ahsurdum  proves  the  proposition  to  be  unten- 
 able. 
 
 If  again  we  propound  the  proposition — ''The  laws 
 enacted  by  Moses  are  the  production  of  the  man  to  whom 
 they  are  assigned,"  we  find  ourselves  equally  devoid  of 
 evidence  to  prove  the  problem.  If  again  we  assume  the 
 trustworthiness  of  the  sacred  narrative,  and  ask  the  question, 
 How  could  the  manuscripts  of  Moses  have  escaped  the  very 
 frightful  pillages  recorded  in  the  book  of  Judges  ?  We  are 
 driven  to  reply,  that  the  only  proofs  that  they  did  so,  consist 
 in  assertions  made  some  thousand  years  later,  whilst  the 
 evidence  that  they  did  not  is  overwhelming. 
 
 When  these  problems,  and  others  of  a  similar  nature,  are 
 presented  successively  to  the  minds  of  theologians,  the  last 
 divide  themselves  into  two  classes  ;  "the  bigots,"  who  will  not 
 see  or  allow  themselves  to  think  further  on  the  subject ;  and 
 "  the  earnest,"  who  will  pursue  the  subject  as  far  as  evidence, 
 archaeology,  comparison,  etc.,  can  conduct  them.  Without 
 having  wholly  exhausted  the  subject  in  my  own  mind,  the 
 conclusions  which  I  have  come  to  may  be  thus  summarised : 
 
 1.  The  primitive  inhabitants  of  Palestine  were  Phoeni- 
 cian tribes,  resembling  the  ancient  Britons.  In  time  the 
 several  clans  united  under  one  chief.  Of  the  particulars  of 
 their  early  history  nothing  is  known.     There  were  two  sets 
 
152 
 
 of  people,  highlanders  and  lowlanders,  and  tliey  had  power- 
 ful neighbours  who  harried  both  repeatedly.  Some  became 
 mercenary  soldiers  to  neighbouring  despots ;  and  one  of 
 unusual  address  became  the  leader  of  a  very  powerful  band. 
 We  may  infer  that  this  trained  army  amounted  to  four 
 thousand  men,  about  one  in  fifty  of  the  adult  male  popu- 
 lation of  Palestine.  With  such  a  band,  it  was  easy  to  take 
 the  small  town  of  Jerusalem,  which  contained  about  three 
 thousand  fighting,  but  untrained  men,  i.  e.,  about  one-sixth 
 of  its  probable  population.  When  once  the  soldier  of  fortune 
 had  a  strong  fortress,  as  well  as  a  trained  army,  he  could 
 levy  "black  mail"  upon  all  those  people  who  were  weaker 
 than  himself,  and  thus  become  wealthy,  like  the  quondam 
 Dey  of  Algiers.  With  wealth  would  come  ostentation,  and 
 the  wish  to  found  a  dynasty.  But  power  obtained  by  sheer 
 robbery  is  never  likely  to  make  its  owner  popular  amongst 
 those  who  have  been  despoiled,  and  the  mongrel  followers 
 of  David  would  naturally  be  detested  and  despised  where  they 
 were  not  feared.  The  kings  of  Tyre,  Sidon,  Philistia,  and 
 Egypt  would  look  down  upon  Jerusalem  as  the  men  of 
 Etruria  did  upon  those  of  young  Eome.  To  obviate  this 
 inconvenience,  it  was  natural  that  those  who  directed  the 
 state  should  compose  a  fiction,  wherein  the  followers  of  David 
 were  described  as  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,  one  upon 
 whom  the  Almighty  had  His  eye.  Other  nations  would  not 
 consort  with  the  Jews ;  the  latter,  therefore,  retaliated  by 
 electing  themselves  to  the  post  of  favourites  of  God,  and  by 
 designating  all  other  people  by  the  name  ^\'\^ ,  {/oim ;  ''the 
 other  folks,"  "the  common  people,"  the  "canaille,"  "the 
 heathen,"  or  the  "  Gentiles." 
 
 So  long  as  David  and  Solomon  were  powerful,  it  was 
 their  policy  to  endeavour  to  unite  all  their  tributaries  as 
 children  of  one  family ;  and  to  this  end  an  imaginary  history 
 was   interwoven   with   a   written   law.     But   when,    after   a 
 
153 
 
 period,  the  kingdom,  which  had  been  founded  in  violence, 
 became  se23arated  into  its  component  parts,  and  Samaria 
 became  stronger  than  Jerusalem,  another  set  of  figments 
 became  necessary.  In  course  of  time,  the  Jews  had  neither 
 power  nor  grandeur,  and  all  that  remained  was  the  memory 
 of  the  might,  wisdom  and  wealth  of  David  and  Solomon. 
 
 When  all  is  misery  in  the  present,  it  is  easy  to  magnify 
 the  past ;  the  wretched  spendthrift  delights  to  tell,  amongst 
 his  miserable  cronies,  fabulous  tales  of  the  extent  of  his 
 former  wealth ;  I  have  even  been  told  of  a  bankrupt,  who 
 "framed,"  as  a  picture,  his  protested  "bill"  for  a  quarter  of  a 
 million.  Hence  arose  a  falsification  of  Jewish  history. 
 Again,  the  time  came  when  it  was  impossible  to  justify  the 
 fiction,  that  the  Jews  were  the  chosen  people  of  the  Lord,  for 
 they  were  plundered,  distressed,  murdered,  or  enslaved  on  every 
 side.  To  account  for  all  this,  another  gloss  had  to  be  placed 
 upon  their  annals.  So  long  as  the  people  under  David  were 
 victorious  everywhere,  and  could  plunder  to  their  hearts'  con- 
 tent, there  was  no  necessity  for  any  scriptures  to  threaten 
 "lamentation  and  mourning  and  woe";  but  when  the  descend- 
 ants of  those  favoured  mortals  were  themselves  made  to  sufi'er 
 the  same  miseries  that  they  had  inflicted  upon  others,  a  series 
 of  impeachments  were  introduced  into  the  scriptures,  which 
 attributed  Jewish  misfortunes  to  idolatrous  follies. 
 
 Such  is  ever  the  case  when  superstition  closes  our  eyes 
 against  common  sense.  To  attribute  to  the  wrath  of  the 
 Almighty  every  calamity  which  befalls  mankind,  is  simply  to 
 convert  the  lord  of  the  universe  into  a  demon  —  a  conception 
 which  was  common  to  ancient  Palestine,  and  to  modern  Scot- 
 land. Well  would  it  have  been  for  Jerusalem,  if  her  rulers 
 had  more  reason  and  less  faith.  I  may  illustrate  my  meaning 
 by  one  or  two  small  anecdotes.  A  medical  friend  told  me 
 that,  during  a  time  when  cholera  was  prevalent,  he  spoke 
 to  a  cottager  about  the  filthiness  of  his  dwelUng  and  the 
 
154 
 
 stagnant  water  before  his  door,  telling  him  that  such  was 
 a  spot  that  the  disease  first  visited.  ''Ah,"  was  the  super- 
 stitious reply,  "cholera  just  goes  where  the  Lord  sends  it, 
 and  it 's  a  sin  to  interfere  with  Him; "  and  nothing  was  done. 
 In  a  few  days  the  man's  wife  died,  the  first  patient  in  the 
 district.  Ere  she  was  cold  the  dirty  messes  were  removed, 
 and  the  disease  did  not  spread.  Had  the  man's  bigotry 
 been  greater  than  his  sense,  he  too  would  probably  have 
 fallen  a  victim.  In  like  manner,  I  have  seen  the  bigotry 
 enforced  by  a  reverence  for  the  words  of  the  Bible,  prevent 
 individuals-  from  taking  advantage  of  the  benefit  brought 
 about  by  science.  When  chloroform  was  found  to  relieve, 
 and  in  many  instances  to  annihilate,  the  sense  of  pain  in 
 child-birth,  it  was  at  once  hailed  by  the  many  as  a  w^ondrous 
 boon  to  sufiering  human  nature;  yet  there  were  some  who 
 positively  refused  its  aid,  because  they  believed  that  to  use 
 it  was — to  use  their  expression — "  to  fly  in  the  face  of  Pro- 
 vidence;" and  to  oppose  themselves  to  the  curse  passed  upon 
 Eve,  and,  through  her,  upon  all  her  daughters.  "It  was  im- 
 possible," they  said,  "to  believe  that  Gen.  iii.  16  was  a  divine 
 utterance,  and  then  take  chloroform  to  counteract  the  effects 
 prescribed  by  the  Almighty."  Nor  was  this  style  of  argument 
 confined  to  women  alone,  for  there  were  also  men,  members 
 of  a  liberal  profession,  who  refused  to  administer  chloroform 
 during  parturition,  and  who  positively  gloated  over  the  pains 
 endured  by  the  patients;  this  being  evidence  of  their  own 
 clerico-medical  orthodoxy.  Some  women,  with  pardonable 
 weakness,  bore  their  sufferings  for  a  long  period,  and  when 
 they  thought  that  they  had  borne  their  agonies  long  enough 
 "to  fulfil  the  curse,"  they  gladly  availed  themselves  of 
 a  blessing,  and  passed  through  the  rest  of  their  troubles 
 in  unconsciousness. 
 
 To   one  who  seeks  in  modern  history  a  counterpart  of 
 the  Jews  of  ancient  times,  we  may  recommend  a  study  of  the 
 
155 
 
 Turks.  Both  have  the  same  blind  reverence  for  their  great 
 prophet ;  the  same  devotion  to  ceremonial  observances ;  the 
 same  belief  in  destiny,  or,  as  they  call  it,  the  "  will  of  God  "  ; 
 the  same  forms  of  sexual  excess ;  and,  we  may  also  add,  the 
 same  fanatical  enthusiasm  at  one  time,  and  the  same  hope- 
 less impotence  at  another. 
 
 Who  can  read  of  the  fierce  Ottomans,  who  burst  like  a 
 war-cloud  from  Asia  over  the  Eastern  j)arts  of  Europe  and  the 
 shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  without  thinking  of  David,  who 
 is  said  to  have  carried  his  successful  warfare  from  Jerusalem 
 to  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  ?  and  who  can  think  of  the 
 decrepit  kingdom  of  Judea,  under  Hezekiah,  without  think- 
 ing of  the  modern  ''  sick  man"  on  the  Bosphorus,  and  his 
 present  impotence  ?  I  have  heard  much  from  private  friends 
 of  the  present  condition  of  Constantinople,  and  have  thus 
 been  able  to  compare  it  with  the  condition  of  ancient 
 Jerusalem  prior  to  her  fall.  Though  I  have  no  written 
 documents  to  guide  me,  and  though  I  cannot  now  appeal  to 
 any  one  from  whom  I  have  obtained  my  information, —  for 
 the  majority  are  dead,  and  the  rest  are  so  scattered,  that  I 
 cannot  follow  them, — I  have  no  hesitation  in  averring  my 
 belief  that,  mutatis  mutandis,  modern  Constantinople 
 closely  resembles  ancient  Jerusalem  in  everything,  including 
 its  sacred  books.^ 
 
 It  appears  to  me  that  the  writings  of  the  Jews  have 
 been  partly  fabricated,  and  partly  compiled  from  stories, 
 by  those  of  the  captivity  who  returned  with  Ezra  (if  such  a 
 man  really  existed)  from  Babylon  and  Persia ;  and  that  they 
 were  all  grouped  confusedly,  in  the  same  way  as  our  early 
 English  chroniclers  associated  together  all  the  legends  of 
 Anchises,   iEneas,   Ascanius,    Brut,    Arthur,    Merlin,     etc. 
 
 1  I  cannot  do  more  than  indicate  a  reference  to  Kedeshirn  and  Kcdcsliotli,  and 
 to  the  fact  that  Turkish  Mollahs  or  priests  promulgate  "  sacred  "  books,  to  promote 
 that  which  St.  Paul  attempted  to  effect  by  satire  (Rom.  i.  24,  et  scq.). 
 
156 
 
 When  so  compiled,  the  Hebrews  refused  to  modify  their 
 writings,  as  we  have  for  a  long  period  refused  to  modify  our 
 own  religious  tenets.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  with  cer- 
 tainty the  period  at  which  all  interference  with  the  sacred 
 text  was  brought  to  a  close.  As  there  is  evidence  both 
 of  Persian  and  Grecian,  as  well  as  Babylonian,  influences 
 in  various  parts,  it  is  very  probable  that  the  event  referred 
 to,  occurred  after  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  when  the  enter- 
 prise of  the  Greeks  had  rendered  the  Jews  in  Babylon  and 
 in  Judea  familiar  with  the  philosophy  of  Pi^i-hagoras, 
 Socrates,  Plato,  and  with  the  learning  of  Aristotle ;  most 
 likely  it  was  when  the  translation  called  the  Septuaghit  was 
 undertaken.  Of  the  Grecian  influence  upon  the  religion 
 of  the  New  Testament,  we  shall  treat  hereafter.  Of  the 
 Babylonian  influence  upon  the  religion  of  the  Jews,  as 
 illustrated  in  their  writings,  we  have  already  spoken,  and 
 we  shall  frequently  refer  to  it  again.  The  most  conspicuous 
 form  in  which  we  discover  it  is  the  admission  of  angels 
 into  the  Jewish  theology ;  and  the  critic  can  readily  recog- 
 nise therein,  the  modern  touches  of  a  Babylonian  Jew,  when 
 he  meets  with  angels  amongst  writings  which  purport  to 
 have  been  written  prior  to  the  time  of  David. 
 
 When  the  mind  of  the  inquirer  is  fairly  upon  the 
 track  of  Grecian  influence  in  the  Old  Testament,  he  will 
 notice  that  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  may  be  regarded 
 as  an  attempt  to  imitate  the  philosophy  of  the  Greeks,  in 
 their  search  after  the  summum  homim,  or  chief  happiness  of 
 life.  Turning  to  an  article  upon  this  book  by  the  erudite 
 Dr.  Ginsburg,  in  Kitto's  Cijclopcedia  of  Biblical  Knoivledgc, 
 we  find,  that  the  testimony  of  all  scholars  points  to  the 
 certainty,  that  Ecclesiastes  is  a  product  of  the  iiost-cxile 
 period  of  the  Jews.  One  of  Dr.  G.'s  remarks  is  singularly 
 confirmative  of  my  opinion,  for  he  says,  "  The  admonition 
 not  to  seek  divine  things  in  the  profane  books  of  the  philo- 
 
157 
 
 sophers  (xii.  12),  shows  that  this  book  was  written  when 
 the  speculations  of  Greece  and  Alexandria  had  found  their 
 way  into  Palestine."  The  names  of  Greece  and  Alexander 
 then  recal  to  our  memories  the  powerful  influence  which  the 
 successors  of  the  son  of  Philip  of  Macedon  had  over  the 
 Jews,  an  influence  so  powerful  that  some  maintain  Greek 
 to  have  been  the  vernacular  of  the  Jews  in  the  time  of 
 Jesus,  and  the  "  Septuagint,"  their  bible.  About  three  hun- 
 dred years  of  contact  with  the  Grecians  displaced  the  Chaldee, 
 the  Persian,  and  the  Hebrew ;  and  learned  Jews,  like  Paul, 
 John,  Peter,  James,  and  other  Apostles,  Josephus,  and 
 many  others,  wrote  epistles  and  narratives  in  a  debased 
 form  of  the  language  of  Athens.  Our  thoughts  are  again 
 arrested  for  awhile,  as  we  contemplate  the  sojourn  of  the 
 Jews  in  Egyj^t  during  a  period  of  four  hundred  and  thirty 
 years,  and  find  no  evidence  existent  either  of  the  Egj^jtian 
 faith  or  language  amongst  their  literature.  We  again,  in 
 surprise,  ask  ourselves,  "Is  it  possible  that  seventy 
 years  in  Babylon,  about  two  hundred  years  of  subser- 
 viency to  Persian  rule,  and  three  hundred  of  Grecian 
 subjection,  sufficed  to  tinge  the  whole  of  the  writings,  divi- 
 nity, and  language  of  the  Jews,  with  Chaldean  and  Persian 
 mythology  and  Greek  philosophy ;  and  yet  that  four  hundred 
 and  thirty  years'  residence  in  Egypt  were  powerless  to 
 influence  the  Hebrews  in  the  smallest  particular?" 
 
 Talcing  up  once  more  the  thread  of  our  speculation,  we 
 notice  that  the  book  of  Ecclesiasticus,  which  far  excels 
 that  of  Ecclesiastes,  is  not  admitted  into  the  canon  of 
 scripture.  When  we  seek  the  reason  of  this,  we  can 
 only  find  it  in  the  Greek  philosoi^hy  that  it  contains;  an 
 element  which  was  very  strongly  objected  to  by  devout 
 Jews. 
 
 We  may  next  consider  what  it  was  that  prompted  the 
 Hebrew  authorities  to  declare  the  canon  of  scripture  closed, 
 
158 
 
 and  why  they  adopted  the  meagre  "Ecclesiastes,"  redolent  as 
 it  is  of  the  schools  of  Alexandria  and  Athens,  and  rejected 
 the  more  learned  and  elegant  Ecclesiasticus.  It  is  probable 
 that  the  solution  of  the  mystery  is  to  be  found  in  the  words, 
 "of  making  many  books  there  is  no  end"  (Eccles.  xii.  12). 
 In  these,  we  think  that  we  can  recognise  the  fact,  that  there 
 had  been  many  busy  heads  and  clever  hands,  who,  prior  to  the 
 time  of  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,  had  employed  their  leisure 
 in  forging  ancient  manuscripts,  which  were  discovered 
 much  in  the  same  way  as  those  invented  by  a  modern 
 Simonides.  Even  in  our  own  times,  when  the  acumen  of 
 critics  has  been  sharpened  to  the  utmost  by  repeated  in- 
 stances of  fraud,  we  find  that  the  learned  are  frequently 
 duped  by  false  antiquities,  fabricated  palimpsests,  simulated 
 manuscripts,  and  the  like ;  and  we  can  readily  imagine  that 
 similar  impositions  were  common  in  days  gone  by.  Attempts 
 have  been  made  in  very  recent  times  to  increase  the  number 
 of  the  genuine  plays  of  Shakespeare,  and  of  the  Waverley 
 novels,  and  with  some  the  fraud  has  succeeded.  "With  the 
 majority,  however,  these  attempts  only  produced  disgust ; 
 and,  as  a  natural  result,  all  literary  critics  unanimously 
 declare  that  they  will  never  again  enter  into  an  examination, 
 if  any  one  pretends  to  have  discovered  a  previously  unknown 
 manuscript  of  Shakespeare  or  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  They 
 were  content,  and  many  are  so  still,  to  allow  the  identity 
 of  the  ideal  and  the  real  Shakespeare  to  remain  an  open 
 question,  and  to  treat  with  a  smile  all  those  who  fancy 
 that  the  "  Swan  of  Avon  "  was  not  the  individual  who  wrote 
 the  works  for  which  he  received  the  glory;  they  are  also 
 content  to  allow  that  some  doubt  hangs  over  the  authenticity 
 of  certain  of  the  plays  and  sonnets  which  pass  as  his  handi- 
 work; but  they  will  not  concede  that  any  new  ''play"  or 
 plays,  sonnet  or  sonnets,  should  be  added  to  the  list  usually 
 received.     We  believe  that  a  feeling  precisely  similar  to  this 
 
159 
 
 determined  the  literary  Hebrews  to  refuse  to  introduce  any 
 other  books  into  their  canon,  after  the  translation  of  those 
 recognised  as  sacred  into  the  Greek  tongue.  Hence,  we 
 conclude  that  the  last  straw  which  broke  the  camel's  back 
 was  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  and  that  the  sage  reflection  of 
 the  writer  of  the  last  verses,  is  to  a  great  degree  one  of  the 
 causes  of  the  closing  of  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 These  thoughts  have  led  us  onwards  until  we  have  begun 
 to  recognise  most  fully  the  idea  that  a  very  large  portion 
 of  the  Old  Testament  is  of  comparatively  modern  origin,  and 
 that  many  portions  of  it  were  ^M-itten  at  a  late  period.  The 
 probability  of  this  idea  we  may  readily  test. 
 
 About  eight  hundred  j-ears  ago,  England  r;as  conquered 
 by  the  Normans,  and,  during  the  time  which  has  elapsed 
 from  the  accession  of  William  I.  to  Victoria,  our  own 
 language  has  undergone  such  remarkable  changes  that  books 
 written  in  one  century  have  become  obsolete  in  another. 
 Even  Latin,  one  of  the  dead  languages,  became  barbarised. 
 Yet  during  the  whole  of  the  eight  hundred  years  to  which  we 
 refer,  no  new  conquest  of  the  country  occurred.  Nevertheless 
 our  whole  tongue  has  been  altered,  through  the  operation  of 
 simple  and  natural  laws.  Indeed  the  language  of  every 
 mercantile  community  alters  its  form  incessantly.  The 
 same  phenomenon  occurs  when  a  country  is  successively 
 occupied  or  conquered  by  various  nations.  Modern  Italian 
 is  not  the  same  as  the  ancient  Latin,  nor  is  it  everywhere 
 in  Italy  the  same  as  the  "lingua  Toscana  in  bocca  Romana." 
 Now  Judea  was  far  more  fearfully  troubled  by  invaders  than 
 England  ever  was ;  nation  after  nation,  or  horde  after  horde, 
 conquered  her.  She  had  Canaanites  in  the  midst  of  her; 
 she  is  said  to  have  been  overrun  by  Mesopotamians  for 
 eight  years ;  by  ]\Ioab,  Ammon,  and  Amalek  for  eighteen 
 years ;  by  the  Philistines ;  by  Canaan ;  by  Midian ;  by 
 the  Philistines  again ;    by  Ammon ;  by  the  Philistines  yet 
 
160 
 
 again ;  by  Ammon  a  second  time ;  by  Amalek  a  second  time  ; 
 by  the  Egyptians,  Samaritans,  Edomites,  Ethiopians, 
 Assyrians,  Tyrians,  and  many  others ;  and  yet  the  inhabit- 
 ants of  this  persecuted  land  are  represented  as  having  the 
 same  identical  language  at  the  end  of  all  these  troubles  as  at 
 their  beginning,  a  period  estimated  at  about  nine  hundred 
 years. 
 
 To  test  this  idea  in  a  form  more  readily  recognised, 
 let  me  ask  any  of  my  readers  whether,  on  hearing  a  page  of 
 Shakespeare  read  aloud  to  him,  he  could  mistake  it  as  the 
 composition  of  any  writer  of  the  nineteenth  century  ?  The 
 reply  to  such  a  question  would  doubtless  be  something  like 
 this,  ''I  may  recognise  the  style  of  Shakespeare,  and  I 
 cannot  aver  that  no  one  has  been  able  to  copy  him,  con- 
 sequently I  cannot  answer  categorically."  The  rejoinder  then 
 would  be,  "If  your  only  doubt  is  whether  the  identity  of 
 style  is  the  result  of  copy,  you  at  once  recognise  a  difference 
 of  style  in  different  centuries." 
 
 When  once  an  earnest  enquirer,  who  is  unable  for  himself 
 to  test  the  value  of  differences  of  styles,  determines  to  obtain 
 information  thereupon,  he  will,  in  the  first  place,  examine 
 the  matter  in  the  best  way  he  can;  and  will  then  seek 
 the  opinion  of  books,  and  of  friends.  If  such  an  in- 
 vestigator has  a  foregone  conclusion,  it  is  probable  that 
 he  will  be  misled ;  but  if  he  asks  with  bona  fides,  he  will 
 gain  much  valuable  information.  Now  I  have  never  met  a 
 Hebrew  scholar  without  asking  him,  whether  there  is  any 
 difference  in  the  composition  of  one  part  and  another,  such 
 as  we  recognise  between  Chaucer  and  Tennyson,  and  have 
 been  assured  by  all  that  there  exists  no  greater  difference  in 
 style,  diction,  language,  &c.,  between  the  Pentateuch  and  the 
 Prophets,  than  between  the  works  of  Macaulay,  Gibbon,  and 
 any  writer  of  to-day.  The  testimony  of  books  is  the  same. 
 So  completely  has  this  fact  been  recognised,  that  some  writers 
 
161 
 
 have  brought  forward  the  Hebrew  tongue  as  an  instance  of 
 a  language  which  has  remained  unchanged  for  some  three 
 or  four  thousand  years.  Many  even  beHeve  that  it  was  spoken 
 in  Paradise  by  God,  Adam,  and  Eve ;  whereas  there  is  no 
 other  tongue  that  has  given  itself  up  more  readily  to 
 influences  from  without.  The  short  Babylonish  captivity 
 sufficed  to  vary  it  so  completely,  that  "a  golden  age" 
 of  the  language  is  spoken  of  as  existent  before  that  period, 
 the  post-exile  times  being  'Hhe  silver  age."  Surely,  if 
 fifty  or  seventy  years  sufficed  to  work  such  a  change,  the 
 hundreds  which  intervened  between  Moses  and  Jeremiah, 
 and  the  fact  that  the  Jews  were  enslaved  by  many  nations, 
 must  have  produced  a  far  greater  alteration  in  their 
 language.^ 
 
 We  now  proceed  to  give  our  thoughts  a  somewhat 
 practical  bearing.  Revolving  in  our  mind  the  various  attri- 
 butes assigned  to  the  Almighty, — omniscience,  love,  mercy, 
 etc., —  we  feel  constrained  to  believe  that  a  people  taught  by 
 God  (John  vi.  45),  selected  by  Him  from  all  the  world 
 besides  as  a  holy  nation,  a  pecuhar  people  (Deut.  xiv.  2), 
 and  even  "a  peculiar  treasure"  to  Him,  ought  to  be  not 
 only  a  righteous  and  well-governed  people,  but  one  which 
 abounded  in  all  knowledge,  and  took  a  particular  interest 
 in  every  work  proceeding  from  their  Father's  hand.  So  far, 
 however,  is  this  from  being  the  case,  that  we  have  their  own 
 evidence  to  show,  that  the  Jews  were  a  badly  governed  race, 
 even  their  kings,  David  and  Solomon,  being  unable  to  please 
 their  subjects,  or  to  rule  them  by  beneficent  laws.  Of  their 
 turbulence  we  find  abundant  proof,  in  their  many  insurrec- 
 
 a  With  tho  above  conclusions,  the  well  known  story  told  in  2  Esdras 
 xiv.  21-47,  agrees.  In  that  passage  the  writer  says,  "thy  law  is  hurat, 
 therefore  no  man  knoweth  tho  things  that  are  done  of  thee."  He  then  ^irays  for 
 the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  ho  may  re-write  them ;  the  prayer  is  granted ; 
 and  then  he  and  five  other  men  wrote  two  hundred  and  four  books  in  the  short 
 space  of  forty  days.     See  also  1  Maccabees  i.  21-23,  56,  57. 
 
 L 
 
162 
 
 tions  and  dissensions ;  and  their  ignorance  of  physical  science 
 was  equally  conspicuous.     At  a  period  when  other  nations 
 studied    astronomy    for    astrological    and    other    purposes, 
 the  Jews  seem  to  have  neglected  it  wholly,  until  a  few  years 
 before  their  downfall.     Though   predisposed   to    find  many 
 traces  of  what  is  called  Saheanism  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
 and  to  see  astronomical  facts  couched  in  mythological  stories, 
 I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  prior  to  the  time  of  Jeremiah. 
 The    Jews    were    indeed    warned,    lest,    when    casting   their 
 eyes  up  to  heaven,  they  should,  by  seeing  the  sun  and  moon 
 and   stars,  be   driven  to  worship  them  (Deut.  iv.   19) ;    and 
 in  the  time  of  Isaiah,  we  find  that  the  stargazers  are  spoken 
 of  much  in  the  same  way  as  we  regard  gipsy,  mesmeric  or 
 astrological  fortune-tellers.     Under  King  Hezekiah  there  was 
 perhaps  only  one  dial  in  Jerusalem.      But  after  the  Jews 
 had  become  resident  in  Babylon,  and  mingled  with  Persians 
 and  Greeks,  they  seem  to  have  adopted  the  study  of  astronomy. 
 It  was  probably  about   this  period   that   Psalm  cxlvii.  was 
 composed,  wherein  we  find,  "  He  telleth  the  number  of  the 
 stars,  He  calleth  them  all  by  their  names"  (ver.  4).     But 
 even  when  we  allow  that  the  Hebrews  became  astronomers, 
 we  are  unable  to  find  much  evidence  of  Sabeanism  in  the 
 Bible.     Sir  William  Drummond,  in  (Edijms  Jiulaicus,  pro- 
 pounds the  theory  that  "  the  blessing  of  Jacob,"  in  the  last 
 chapter  but  one  of  Genesis,  is  based  on  the  idea  that  the 
 twelve  sons  of  the  patriarch  represent  the  twelve  signs  of  the 
 Zodiac ;   and  others  have  adopted  a  similar  view.     It  is  also 
 alleged  that  the  division  of  Israel  into  twelve  tribes,  and  the 
 virgin  Dinah,  is  based  upon  the  Zodiacal  division  of  the  je&r. 
 It  is  quite   possible  that    it  may  be  so,  but    if  it    be,  the 
 evidence  is  by  no  means  clear. 
 
 Again,  there  is  yet  another  light  which  is  thrown  upon 
 the  sacred  writings  of  the  Jews,  by  an  investigation  into 
 them  conducted  on  a  logical  basis.      We  shall  most  readily 
 
recognise  this,  by  an  inquiry  into  the  actual  doctrine,  taught, 
 as  the  records  assert,  by  God  to  the  Jews,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, and  its  actual  tendency.  We  may  shortly  sum  up  the 
 first,  by  saying  thai,  it  consists  in  the  assertion,  that  everything 
 which  man  considers  a  blessing,  and  which  he  enjoys  as  such, 
 is  a  proof  of  the  love  and  favour  of  the  Almighty,  and  that 
 everything  which  is  accounted  evil  is  the  result  of  the  divine 
 displeasure ;  indeed  that  everything  which  happens,  arises  from 
 the  direct  interposition  of  the  Almighty;  and  we  must  also 
 add  that  the  Old  Testament  teaches,  that  all  men  receive  their 
 judgment  in  this  present  world.  In  this  respect,  the  ancient 
 Jews  resembled  the  modern  Turks  and  Arabs ;  with  them, 
 everything  is  from  the  will  of  Allah,  and  it  is  equally 
 wrong  to  neglect  a  dream,  to  attempt  to  cure  a  pesti- 
 lence, or  to  subdue  a  conflagration.  Such  a  belief  is 
 repugnant  to  common  sense;  and  Southey  has  well  shown 
 the  absurdity,  of  maldng  freedom  from  misfortune  a  test 
 of  the  benignity  or  otherwise  of  the  Almighty,  for  he 
 puts  the  following  words  into  the  mouth  of  Thalaba,  who 
 retorts  them  to  his  Arab  mother,  when,  after  losing  her 
 husband  and  all  her  children  but  one,  she  utters  the  senti- 
 ment,  "  the  Lord  our  God  is  good." 
 
 "  Good  is  he,  cried  the  boy. 
 Wliy  are  my  brethren  and  my  sisters  slain  ? 
 
 Why  is  my  father  killed  ? 
 Did  we  neglect  our  prayers, 
 Or  ever  lift  a  hand  xmclean  to  heaven. 
 
 Did  ever  stranger  £i-om  our  tent 
 
 Unwelcome  turn  away? 
 
 Mother,  he  is  not  good."  Book  i.  c.  5. 
 
 Moreover,  the  doctrines  of  the  Old  Testament  are  equally 
 repugnant  to  Christianity  as  to  common  sense;  they  take 
 away  from  man  the  right  to  investigate  the  laws  of  nature, 
 and  urge  upon  him  to  pray,  to  sacrifice  beasts,  and  the  like, 
 rather  than  to  strive  to  understand  all  the  phenomena  of  life. 
 
164 
 
 We  of  to-day  do  not  scruple  to  consult  physicians  when  we 
 are  ill,  yet  we  find  that  a  reference  to  them  by  King  Asa 
 (2  Chron.  xvi.  12)  is  objected  against  as  a  positive  sin. 
 
 As,  therefore,  we  are  unable  to  believe  that  the  Almighty 
 can  be  the  author  of  confusion  or  false  morality,  we  conclude 
 that  the  doctrine  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament 
 is  not  only  untenable,  but  positively  derogatory  to  the 
 Christian  conception  of  the  Almighty. 
 
165 
 
 VOCABULAKY. 
 
 In  the  following  Vocabulary  a  very  great  number  of  ancient 
 names,  derived  from  Hebrew  and  other  sources,  have 
 been  suppressed,  in  consequence  of  the  suggestions  of 
 friends  upon  whose  judgment  I  confidently  rely.^  They 
 have  represented  that  no  reader  is  likely  to  care  to  know 
 the  meaning  of  every  name  in  the  Old  Testament  —  many 
 being  used  in  genealogies  only  —  and  that  a  dry  list  would 
 only  serve  to  increase  the  bulk  of  the  volume,  without 
 adding  to  its  importance. 
 
 But,  though  I  withhold  a  great  number  of  cognomens 
 which  are  barren  of  interest,  it  must  be  understood  that  I 
 have  examined  all,  with  the  determination  to  ascertain  the 
 lesson  to  be  derived  from  them,  and  to  discover  whether  any 
 militated  against  the  deduction  derived  from  an  extended 
 observation  of  Shemitic  nomenclature,  viz.,  that  appellatives 
 were  given  or  assumed  with  a  religious  view,  etc.  (See  Vol.  i., 
 p.  139.)  As  my  inquiry  into  Ancient  Faiths  extended,  it 
 was  natural  that  Theolog}-  should  gradually  supersede  simple 
 Philolog}\  It  certainly  has  done  so,  and  my  present  volume 
 may  be  considered  more  as  a  series  of  essays  on  points  of 
 religious  belief  than  a  dictionary  of  proper  names. 
 
 The  general  arrangement  of  this  volume  is  in  con- 
 formity with  that  of  its  predecessor.     And  I  may  be  allowed 
 
 1  Amongst  the  names  thus  omitted,  nro  a  few  to  which  reference  has  been  made 
 in  the  first  volnnie;  nothing,  however,  of  importance  or  interest  has  been  suppressed. 
 
166 
 
 to  repeat  the  remarks  wliicli  I  made  on  a  previous  occasion, 
 viz.,  that  when  statements  made,  or  opinions  expressed,  in 
 the  Vocabulary,  differ  from  those  in  the  preceding  chapters, 
 the  reason  for  the  discrepancy  is,  that  time  and  the  kindness 
 of  friends  have  enabled  me  to  extend  my  inquiries  into  the 
 subject  farther  than  I  had  the  opportunity  of  going  prior 
 to,  or  during,  the  composition  of  the  introductory  remarks. 
 
 K.  The  English  letter  k  has  a  sound  very  similar  to  ch 
 when  pronounced  hard,  as  in  the  words  "hierarch," 
 "  sumach,"  and  others.  As  we  have  two  letters 
 which  have  generally  the  same  pronunciation,  so 
 had  the  Hebrews.  With  them,  '2  is  equivalent  to 
 our  ch,  and  p  represents  our  k.  Those  scriptural 
 names,  however,  which  begin  with  D,  are  spelled  in 
 our  version  with  ch,  whilst  those  that  have  p  for 
 their  first  letter  are  spelled  with  A;.  Occasionally, 
 p  is  rendered  into  English  as  Q.  The  two  letters 
 are  intei'changeable  with  each  other,  and  sometimes 
 with  X  (J,  and  T\,  ch  or  gh. 
 
 In  the  Ancient  Hebrew,  ^  was  written  |j  ;  and 
 the  letters  D  !2  J  resembled  each  other  quite  as  closely 
 as  they  do  in  the  modern  form   of    the   alphabet  ; 
 
 in  the  Phoenician,  -7,^^,^/,     y,    j, 
 
 "*/       y'       /    ;    in   the  Carthaginian,     *^ 
 Tf         L/    ;     in   the    Ancient    Greek,   \j         1/  • 
 in  the  Etruscan,  >| ,    ^  5   i"  tlic  Umbrian,    )  |  • 
 in  the  Oscan  and  Samnitc,  ^   *  ^  . 
 
 p  is  represented  by  P  ,  P,  in  Ancient  Hebrew ; 
 
 ^ 
 
167 
 
 (L>    in  Carthaginian  ;     9   >  ^     i^  Ancient  Greek  ; 
 
 CX      A\     CS     i^  Etruscan. 
 
 I  may  notice,  in  passing,  that  my  authorities  for 
 these  statements  about  the  shape  of  letters  are 
 Gesenius's  Monumeiita  Phoenica,  Davis's  Cartha- 
 ginian Inscriptions,  and  Fabretti's  Glossarium  Itali- 
 cum;  and  I  may  further  explain  that  I  have  been 
 induced  to  add  them,  as  they  are  a  link  in  my  own 
 mind  which  helps  to  form  that  chain  of  evidence 
 by  which  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Tyrians,  Grecians, 
 Carthaginians,  Etruscans,  Romans,  and  Western 
 Europeans  are  connected  together.^  We  may  also 
 conclude  that  alphabets  are  associated  with  litera- 
 ture, and  literature  with  religion,  and  rehgion  Avith 
 fable.  Stories,  legends,  and  fairy  tales  live  longer 
 than  sacred  myths,  and  pious  legends  longer  than 
 scientific  knowledge.  We  can  recover  the  stories 
 and  legends,  sacred  and  profane,  of  the  Shemites 
 and  the  Greeks,  but  we  cannot  equally  trace  the 
 extent   of    their  philosophical  attainments. 
 
 2  It  docs  not  follow  tbat  languages  are  cognate,  because  alphabets  and  methods 
 of  writing  are  so.  But  the  existence  of  the  alphabet  of  one  nation  in  another, 
 speaking  a  different  tongue,  tells  of  the  superior  education  of  the  first,  and  of  their 
 religious  or  commercial  enterprise.  For  example,  the  missionaries  of  Europe  have 
 introduced  the  Roman  alphabet  into  the  most  distant  countries,  and  the  Kew 
 Zealanders  may  read  the  Scriptures  in  their  own  language,  yet  printed  in  the 
 characters  of  ancient  Rome.  A  study  of  the  alphabets  of  antiquity  seims  to  iudi<ate 
 a  similar  fact.  The  Greeks  adopted  the  letters  of  the  PI  oenicians,  and  the  Italians 
 to  a  great  extent  adopted  those  of  Greece  ;  and  we  can  trace  some  of  our  printed  or 
 written  letters  through  Rome  and  Greece  to  the  Tyrians  and  Carthaginians,  It  is 
 probable  that  Greece,  when  it  imported  the  alphabet  ot  Tyre,  was  in  as  inde  a  con- 
 dition as  was  Great  Britain,  when  the  Romans  brought  their  method  of  writing  with 
 them.  It  is  natural  that  with  an  alphabet  many  new  words,  new  ideas,  new  gods, 
 etc.,  should  be  imported  ;  hence  we  find  Phoenician  words  and  notions  amonyst  the 
 Greeks,  Grecian  ideas  in  Rome,  Roman  worship  and  other  matters  in  England, 
 and  a  British  religion  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific. 
 
168 
 
 Kadesh,  £^T  (Gen.  xiv.  7),  feminine,  '^^HP.  This  word 
 introduces  us  to  a  state  of  things  which  shows  that 
 the  resemblance  between  modern  India  and  ancient 
 Palestine  is  far  greater  than  is  generally  believed. 
 We  have  already  stated,  that  throughout  Hindo- 
 stan,'  and  we  may  add  through  every  densely  inha- 
 bited part  of  Asia,  and  I  understand  also  in  modern 
 Turkey,  there  is  a  class  of  females  who  dedicate  them- 
 selves to  the  service  of  the  Deity  whom  they  adore ; 
 and  the  rewards  accruing  from  their  prostitution 
 are  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  temple  and  the 
 priests  officiating  therein.  These  women  at  the 
 present  day  are  looked  upon  with  reverence,  and  are 
 considered  quite  as  holy  as  are  the  nuns,  who,  in 
 Roman  Catholic  countries,  dedicate  themselves  to  a 
 life  of  celibacy.  A  woman  in  India,  who  makes  herself 
 public  for  her  own  gain,  is  considered  as  little  better 
 than  a  brute,  which  seeks  for  personal  gratification 
 alone  ;  but  when  she  does  so  from  pious  motives,  the 
 devotion  which  gives  her  hire  to  the  shrine  of  Yishnu, 
 suffices  to  elevate  her  to  the  position  of  a  religieuse. 
 As  all  female  saints  are  supposed  to  be  lovely  in  their 
 person,  the  priests  of  Hindoo  shrines  take  very 
 effectual  means  for  procuring  none  but  the  most 
 fascinating  women  for  the  use  of  their  worshippers. 
 The  same  practice  prevailed  at  Athens,  Corinth,  and 
 
 8  "  In  the  well  known  Anciennes  Itelations  dcs  Iiides  ct  de  la  Chine  dc  deux 
 voyageurs  qui  y  aUcrenf  dans  Iciicnvicmc  sicch  (Paris,  171^^,  8vo),  translated  from  the 
 Arabic,  by  that  eminent  Orieutnlist,  Ensobins  Rcnauilot ;  the  Arabian  traveller  gives 
 this  account :  "  There  are  in  India  public  women  called  u'07nc»  of  the  Idol,  and  the 
 origin  of  the  castom  is  this :  '  When  a  woman  lias  made  a  vow  for  the  purpose  of 
 having  children,  if  she  brings  into  the  wnrld  a  pretty  daughter,  she  carries  it  to  Bod 
 f  so  they  call  the  idol  which  thcj-  adore),  and  leaves  it  with  him.'  This  is  a  pretty  just 
 account  of  this  custom  as  it  prevails  at  this  day'in  the  Dcccan,  for  children  are 
 indeed  devoted  to  this  profession  by  their  parents,  and  when  they  gi-ow  up  in  it, 
 they  are  cnllcd  female  slaves  of  the  idol."     Asiatic  Jicscaixhcs,  vol.  1,  p.  IGtl. 
 
169 
 
 elsewhere,  where  the  temples  of  Venus  were  supported 
 by  troops  of  women,  who  consecrated  themselves, 
 or  were  dedicated  by  their  parents,  to  the  use  of  the 
 male  worshippers.* 
 
 It  is  lamentable  to  find  a  similar  state  of  things 
 existing  in  ancient  Palestine  generally,  and  even  in 
 Jerusalem  itself.  This  is  indicated  by  the  word  in 
 question,  which  signifies  "  a  pure,  or  consecrated 
 one."  Pointed  as  Kadash,  it  signifies  "  to  be  fresh, 
 new,  young  ; "  "  to  be  pure,  shining,  or  bright ; "  also 
 "  to  be  consecrated  ; "  as  Kedesh,  it  signifies  "  a  sanc- 
 tuary, or  a  seat  of  worship;"  as  Kodesh,  it  signifies 
 "purity,  sinlessness,  and  hohness."  The  plural  of  the 
 word  Kadesh,  Kedeshim,  is  translated  in  our  Bibles 
 'Sodomites,' and  there  is  no  doubt  that  both  males 
 and  females  did  in  the  large  towns  of  Palestine  devote 
 themselves  to  the  service  of  certain  shrines.  It  is 
 in  opposition  to  this  custom  that  we  find  in  Deuter- 
 onomy the  prohibition,  "  Thou  shalt  not  bring  the 
 hire  of  a  whore,  or  the  price  of  a  dog,  i.  c,  a  Sodomite, 
 into  the  house  of  the  Lord  thy  God  for  any  vow" 
 (xxiii.  18) ;  and  though,  in  the  verse  preceding  the 
 one  just  quoted,  there  was  an  express  injunction 
 that  the  sons  or  daughters  of  Israel  were  not  to 
 prostitute  themselves,  yet  we  find,  from  1  Kings 
 xiv.  23,  24,  XV.  12,  xxii.  46 ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  7,  and 
 Hosea  iv.  10-19,  v.  4,  that  the  people  of  Judah  were 
 as  bad  as  their  neighbours.^ 
 
 *  A  very  full  account  of  ancient  Temples  thns  served  by  females,  and  of 
 religious  prostitution  generally  in  old  and  in  comparatively  modem  times,  -will  be 
 found  in  pp.  189-201,  398,  et  seq.,  Tome  ii.,  Ilistoire  AhrCfjtc  dc  DiffCrens  Cultes, 
 par  J.  A.  Dulaure,  Paris,  1825. 
 
 5  It  is  to  be  observed  here  th;U  the  writer  in  Deuteronomy  does  not  say  that 
 there  shall  be  no  Kedeshah  or  Kadesh  amongst  the  Jews,  but  only  that  they  shall 
 not  be  of  the  daughters  and  sons  of  Jacob.  The  verse  tolerates  the  practice,  bat 
 declares  that  the  slaves  of  desire  must  be  of  foreign  extraction.     See  Mamzeb. 
 
170 
 
 Few  can  doubt  that  the  dedication  of  the  body, 
 by  male  or  female,  was  sometimes  made  with  the 
 most  perfect  faith.  There  are  few  who  have  read 
 the  touching  story  of  Hannah,  her  prayer  for  off- 
 spring, and  her  joyousness  at  the  birth  of  Samuel, 
 without  feeling  that  she  was  a  woman  of  fervent 
 piety,  who  could  not  have  done  anything  which  she 
 knew  or  even  believed  to  be  absolutely  wicked ;  yet 
 Hannah  made  no  scruple,  first  to  vow  that  her 
 hoped-for  child  should  be  "a  consecrated  one;"  and, 
 secondly,  to  discharge  that  vow  by  giving  up  her 
 first-born  son  to  the  service  which  the  name  Kadesh 
 or  KodesJi  implies.  The  mind  revolts  at  the  belief, 
 that  one  thus  debased  could  ever  attain  to  a  high 
 political  or  religious  eminence ;  but  history  tells  us 
 of  more  than  one  illustrious  statesman,  who  has 
 grovelled  in  dirt  that  he  might  attain  to  dignity. 
 The  names  of  Alcibiades  and  Julius  Caesar  are  fami- 
 liar to  us  all,  but  their  early  vices  are  known  to 
 few. 
 
 Fiirst,  under  the  word  Kadesh,  makes  the  fol- 
 lowing remarks  : — "  The  word  signifies  a  pure  con- 
 secrated  one  in  the  service  of  Astarte,  or  another 
 heathen  deity,  in  Phoenicia  and  Syria,  and  con- 
 sequently like  the  Levites  or  priests  of  the  Hebrews." 
 This  reminds  the  biblical  student  of  the  story  of 
 Micah  (Jud.  xvii.  7-13,)  who  "  consecrates  "  a  Levite 
 to  become  his  jiriest,  and  of  the  people  of  Gibeah, 
 who,  when  they  heard  that  a  Levite  had  come  to  their 
 town,  desired  to  use  him  as  "  a  consecrated  one  " 
 (Jud.  xix.  22).  The  historian  speaks  of  the  occur- 
 rence with  reprobation,  and  records  the  punishment 
 which  followed  the  crime   of   the   Benjamites ;    but 
 
171 
 
 that  does  not  vitiate  the  fact  that  a  Levite  was  in 
 their  eyes  likely  to  be  a  Kadesh.^ 
 
 The  question  suggested  by  these  words  is  one 
 which  may  well  awaken  the  interest  of  the  moralist, 
 the  physician,  and  the  political  economist.  The  first 
 would  gladly  see  the  human  species  converted  into 
 angels  upon  earth,  the  second  would  rejoice  if  he 
 were  able  to  subdue  and  eradicate  the  scourges  of 
 modern  civilisation,  and  the  third  would  delight  to  be 
 able  to  ensure  the  greatest  happiness  to  the  greatest 
 number.  I  shall,  therefore,  have  no  scruple  in 
 making  a  close  investigation  into  the  subject  which  at 
 present  passes  under  the  name  of  the  social  evil,  and 
 instituting  an  examination  into  the  relations  of  the 
 sexes  towards  each  other  in  the  ordinary  condition  of 
 life. 
 
 It  is  almost  impossible  for  the  physiologist  to 
 deny  that  man  does  not  essentially  differ  from  the 
 brute  creation,  except  in  the  possession  of  an  in- 
 telligence which  is  capable  of  very  superior  training. 
 To  say  that  man  possesses  a  soul,  and  that  the  beasts 
 of  the  earth  do  not,  is  simply  a  "begging  of  the 
 question."  Like  the  dog,  cat,  elephant  and  tiger, 
 the  human  male  is  impelled,  by  instincts  which  are 
 implanted  in  his  nature,  to  couple  with  one  of  an 
 opposite  sex.  The  design  is  obviously  that  the  race 
 shall  be  perpetuated,  for  without  such  propensity  no 
 progeny   would   be   born.      As   a    general   rule,   the 
 
 ^  On  a  subject  like  tliis  the  philosopliical  historian  dislikes  to  dwell  too  par- 
 ticularly; if  he  should  do  so,  he  -would  probably  recognisea  strong  anachronism  in 
 the  story  of  the  men  of  Beujamin  and  the  man  JMicAii,  and  infer  therefrom  that 
 the  tale  was  composed  during  the  later  days  of  the  monarchy,  when  the  Jews 
 deserved  the  character  given  to  them  by  Hosea,  Ezekiel,  and  Jeremiah.  See 
 Jerem.  v.  1-9. 
 
172 
 
 instinct  is  the  fiercest  in  the  masculine,  although  there 
 is  sometimes  a  very  strong  one  in  the  feminine 
 animal.  In  some  instances  we  see  that  the  male 
 fights  determinedly  with  others  of  his  sex,  until  he 
 has  so  materially  reduced  their  number  that  he 
 becomes  the  leader  of  a  herd  of  females  rather  than 
 the  consort  of  one.  Sometimes,  on  the  other  hand, 
 the  number  of  males  so  far  exceeds  that  of  the 
 opposite  sex,  that,  after  a  sanguinary  fight  and 
 destruction  of  many,  only  one  male  remains  for  a 
 single  mate.  The  deer  may  be  taken  as  a  good 
 illustration  of  the  first,  and  the  rat  or  the  wolf  of 
 the  second,  contingency. 
 
 The  same  state  of  things  occurs  amongst  men 
 in  savage  or  comparatively  uncivilised  states.  Some 
 there  are,  who  separate  themselves,  like  birds,  into 
 pairs,  every  couple  remaining  more  or  less  constant 
 to  each  other  for  life,  but  the  male  assuming  to 
 himself  the  power  of  killing  or  discarding  any  wife 
 who  displeases  him ;  just  as  the  female  spider  kills 
 her  mate,  when  he  does  not  suit  her ;  and  as  the  bees 
 kill  the  drones,  as  soon  as  the  last  have  done  their 
 duty,  and  arc  no  more  wanted.  The  moralist  may 
 regret  the  fact,  but  he  cannot  deny  the  instinct.  In 
 some  communities,  on  the  other  hand,  we  find  that 
 a  big  or  powerful  man  will  destroy  many  of  his  fellow 
 mortals  that  he  may  possess  himself  of  their  wives 
 and  daughters,  and  thus  have  as  many  consorts  as  a 
 ten-tined  stag  or  a  barn-door  cock.  Such  a  condition 
 is  common  in  every  part  of  Africa.  In  other  localities, 
 where  the  labour  required  to  obtain  the  food  necess- 
 ary for  life  is  great,  and  requires  all  a  man's 
 energies,  he  cannot  aftbrd  to  bring  up  a  large  family, 
 and   consequently  takes  means  to   keep  the  popula- 
 
173 
 
 tion  low,  by  killing  a  certain  propoi-tion  of  the 
 female  infants  when  they  are  born,  allowing  only  a 
 sufficient  number  to  supply  one  wife  to  a  family  of 
 brothers,  the  whole  living  as  unitedly  together,  and 
 rearing  their  offspring,  as  if  all  had  a  common 
 interest  in  it.  Polyandry  exists  in  fewer  spots 
 than  does  polygamy,  it  is,  however,  to  be  found 
 both  in  the  hot  climate  of  Africa  and  the  cold 
 climate  of  the  mountainous  districts  of  Cashmere. 
 In  these  instances  man  follows  the  instincts  of  his 
 nature,  as  they  are  modified  by  accidental  circum- 
 stances. 
 
 But  although  all  men  are  not  savages,  they  carry 
 with  them  their  animal  propensities  even  into  civilised 
 hfe.  The  effect  of  luxury  is  generally  to  divide 
 society  into  those  whose  prudence,  foresight,  talents, 
 or  bodily  strength  enables  them  to  accumulate  wealth, 
 and  those  whose  feebleness  or  carelessness  obliges 
 them  to  remain  poor.  The  man  who  has  become 
 rich  very  naturally  desires  to  indulge  himself,  and  is 
 enabled  to  purchase  with  his  money  what  the  savage 
 acquires  by  the  might  of  his  right  arm.  The  man, 
 on  the  other  hand,  who  has  become  or  remains  poor, 
 cannot  afford  the  luxury  of  a  wife,  nor  can  he  submit 
 to  the  obligation  to  rear  a  family,  and  only  breaks 
 through  the  instructions  of  prudence,  when  his 
 animal  propensities  are  stronger  than  his  judgment. 
 As  a  necessary  result  of  this  state  of  things,  there 
 is  a  constant  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of 
 unmatcd  men  and  women,  unless  means  be  taken  to 
 check  it.  This  check  has  been  adopted  in  China, 
 where  infanticide  is  said  to  be  common,  and  until 
 lately  in  Rajahpootanah,  a  stronghold  of  Brahminism, 
 where  every  head  of  a  family   killed  all   his  infant 
 
174 
 
 daughters  but  one,  being  able  only  to  afford  a 
 dower  for  a  single  girl. 
 
 When  a  civilised  community  finds  itself  burdened 
 with  a  large  number  of  males  who  feel  that  they 
 cannot  afford  to  marry,  and  an  equal  number  of 
 young  women  who  are  obliged  to  remain  single,  it 
 has  to  decide  whether  it  is  advisable  to  promote 
 polygamy  among  the  wealthy,  and  polyandry  among 
 the  poor,  or  to  organise  a  plan  whereby  the  instincts 
 of  animal  nature  can  be  obeyed,  with  the  least  pos- 
 sible mischief  to  the  commonwealth ;  or  to  shut  its 
 eyes  to  the  facts  before  it,  and  leave  things  to  take 
 their  course. 
 
 It  is  probable  that  there  is  not  a  European 
 capital  in  which  we  cannot  see  one  or  more  of 
 these  alternatives  resorted  to.  The  millionaire  has 
 his  harem,  not  necessarily  under  one  roof;  whilst 
 his  frugal  clerk  unites  with  one  or  two  more  to 
 take  some  female  under  their  joint  protection.  In 
 some  capitals,  vast  foundling  hospitals  and  careful 
 police  supervision  do  their  best  to  diminish  the 
 evils  which  a  prudent  or  enforced  celibacy  entails. 
 In  some  capitals  again,  like  London,  the  authorities 
 resolutely  refuse  to  interfere,  and  thus  become  the 
 promoters  of  infanticide  and  wide-spread  disease. 
 
 Ere,  however,  we  consider  the  present  and  the 
 near,  let  us  examine  the  past  and  the  distant. 
 
 There  is  little  doubt  that  in  primitive  times  the 
 Temples  were  used  to  promote  the  union  of  the 
 sexes,  for  example,  we  read  in  Herodotus,  B.  ii., 
 c.  64,  "  The  Egyptians  were  likewise  the  first  who 
 made  it  a  point  of  religion  that  men  should  abstain 
 from  women  in  the  sacred  precincts ;  and  not  enter 
 unwashed  after  the   use  of  a  female.      For  almost 
 
175 
 
 all  other  nations,  except  the  Egyptians  and  Grecians, 
 have  intercourse  in  sacred   places,   and  enter   them 
 unwashed;    thinking  mankind  to  be  like  other  ani- 
 mals.  And  therefore,  since  they  see  other  animals  and 
 birds    coupling  in  the   shrines  and   temples   of   the 
 gods,  they  conclude  that  if  this  was  displeasing  to 
 the  gods,  the  brute  creatures  even  would  not  do  it." 
 We   have    already   seen   how   such    intercourse   was 
 enforced  in  Babylon  (Bit  Shaggathu,  Vol.   i.),  and 
 the   strong   probability    that   similar   practices   were 
 carried  on  at  Beth  Leapheah,  and  at  the  worship  of 
 Baal  Peoe.^     It  is  certain  that  such   practices  are 
 common  in  India  at  the  present   day.      There   the 
 priests    of  a   temple    not   only    encourage  women  to 
 devote  themselves  therein  to  the  service  of  God  and 
 man,  but  they  positively  rear  and  train  up  children 
 so   as   to    make  them   peculiarly   attractive.      When 
 such   persons    are   once   consecrated,   their  health  is 
 carefully  tended,  and  they  are  treated  with  general 
 respect.     Like    our   nuns,    they   wear  some   peculiar 
 garment.       It   is    unnecessary   to   record   the   plans 
 adopted  in  the  temples  of  Venus  in  Greece,  Rome, 
 and  the  Mediterranean  islands.     We  prefer  rather  to 
 examine  into  the  state  of  things  in  Palestine  amongst 
 the  Jews.     We  find  that  two  distinct  words  are  used 
 to    indicate  prostitution  ;    the    first    which   we   have 
 already  noticed  ^"IP,  kadesh,  signifies  "a  consecrated 
 one,"  the  second  is  '^^^  zanah,  whose  primary  meaning 
 
 7  The  reader  is  bare  rcfcn-ed  to  some  remarks  by  Bollinger,  in  The  Oenlile 
 and  the  Jew,  \ol.  i.,  pp.428,  9,  ed.  Clark,  corroborating  the  remark  made  above.  See 
 also  B.u-ucb  vii.  43  ;  Valer.  Max,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  6,  sec.  15  ;  Lucien  de  Dea  Syria  ; 
 Augustin,  Civit.  Dei,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  10  ;  Eusebius,  Vita  Constantini,  lib.  iii., 
 cap.  53,  56 ;  Tbeodoret,  Hist.  EccJesiasti,  lib.  i.,  cap.  8  ;  Strabo,  lib.  ii. ; 
 Elien,  Hist.  Divers,  liv.  iv.,  cbap.  i. ;  Juvenal,  Sat.  vi.,  ver.  489,  ix.,  ver.  22;  Livy, 
 liv.  xxxix.  chap.  8, !),  10,  11.  I  give  these  quotations  on  the  faith  of  Dulaure.  Des 
 Divinites  Generatrices,  Paris,  1825. 
 
176 
 
 is  semen  emitter e.  The  distinction  between  the  two  is 
 very  much  the  same  as  that  which  obtains  between 
 the  hehis  of  India  and  the  temple  women ;  the 
 *  zanalis '  being  those  who  adopt  the  practice  from 
 love  of  lucre  or  from  passion,  whilst  the  "  kecleshah" 
 adopted  it  mainly  from  a  religious  feeling.  That 
 women  can  be  persuaded  by  designing  men,  and  from 
 pious  motives,  to  do  that  which  their  soul  abhors, 
 we  have  had  many  examples  in  the  scandalous  annals 
 of  bygone  days.  The  word  zanah  was,  however,  also 
 given  to  those  who  left  the  temple  worship  to  go  to 
 the  rites  of  other  deities ;  and  we  infer  that  it  was  as 
 much  a  sin  to  indulge  in  idolatry,  as  to  associate 
 with  one  who  was  not  "  consecrated  to  the  temple." 
 So  far  as  we  can  find,  the  kedesh  and  kedeshah  were 
 not,  or  at  any  rate  ought  not  to  be,  of  Jewish  origin, 
 for  we  find  (Deut.  xxiii.  17)  that  neither  one  nor  the 
 other  should  be  of  the  sons  or  daughters  of  Israel. 
 In  this  surmise  we  are  confirmed  by  the  occurrences 
 narrated  Numbers  xxxi.  35-41,  wherein  we  are 
 told,  that  only  the  virgin  Midianites  were  spared, 
 and  that  of  these  the  Lord's  tribute  was  thirty-two, 
 which  were  given  to  Eleazar,  the  priest,  as  the  Lord 
 commanded  Moses. 
 
 When  the  law  was  enunciated  that  the  hire  of 
 a  whore  and  the  price  of  a  dog  should  not  be  brought 
 into  the  house  of  the  Lord  for  any  vow,  both  being 
 abomination,  the  words  used  are  zanah  and  celeh, 
 so  that  we  do  not  take  it  to  apjjly  to  the  consecrated 
 ones. 
 
 When  once  a  woman  or  man  became  'consecrated,' 
 whether  by  voluntary  vows  or  by  being  purchased 
 with  money  as  slaves,  the  kcdcshim  seem  to  have 
 worn  a  peculiar  dress,  by  which  they  could  be  recog- 
 
177 
 
 nised ;  when  Tamar  wished  to  entice  Jiidah,  she 
 arrayed  herself  like  a  consecrated  one,  and  the 
 patriarch  thought  her  a  kedeshah,  and  consequently 
 one  with  whom  he  might  legitimately  go.  The 
 attire  of  the  zanah  was  also  peculiar,  as  we  see  in 
 Proverbs  vii.  10.  One  of  the  differences  between 
 her  and  the  kedeshah  was,  that  the  latter  veiled 
 herself,  whilst  the  former  could  catch  a  youth 
 and  kiss  him,  and  with  an  impudent  face  address 
 him. 
 
 We  infer,  therefore,  from  these  considerations,  and 
 those  which  have  been  already  advanced  in  the  earlier 
 part  of  this  article,  that  amongst  the  Jews  there  were 
 Kedesliim  attached  to  the  temple,  with  whom  the 
 votaries  could  indulge  their  animal  instincts ;  and 
 we  conclude  that  the  organisation  of  prostitution, 
 however  repugnant  it  may  be  to  Christians,  is  a  duty 
 which  has  the  sanction  of  the  Bible.  That  such 
 organisation  is  warranted  by  common  sense  and  by 
 experience,  none  can  doubt  who  have  investigated 
 the  subject  impartially. 
 
 Without  going  deeply  into  statistics,  we  may  say 
 that  the  results  from  the  British  system,  of  letting 
 all  matters  connected  with  the  social  evil  take  their 
 course,  are,  first,  a  constant  and  steady  increase 
 of  disease  amongst  the  community  at  large,  entailing 
 a  corresponding  large  amount  of  pauperism,  des- 
 titution, and  death  ;  secondly,  an  equally  steady 
 increase  of  crime ;  and,  thirdly,  a  melancholy  de- 
 generation, because  the  absence  of  all  protective  care, 
 leads  outcast  women  to  become  female  tigers,  or 
 systematic  thieves. 
 
 The  object  of  organisation  is  to  prevent,  as  far  as 
 possible,  the    dissemination   of  disease,   to   promote 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 order,  and  diminish  crime  ;  and  to  secure,  even  to 
 the  lowest,  the  protection  of  the  law,  and,  if  possi- 
 ble, a  comparatively  comfortable  provision  for  old 
 age  or  during  illness.  We  shall  best  see  the  disadvan- 
 tages of  one  plan,  and  the  value  of  another,  by  an 
 appeal  to  experience.  There  was  at  one  time  in 
 Berlin  (I  am  now  quoting,  from  memory,  an  elaborate 
 essay,  which  appeared  about  eight  years  since  in  the 
 Medico-Chirurgical  Review),  a  practice  similar  to 
 that  which  prevailed  in  London  a  long  time  ago,  of 
 persecuting  prostitutes,  and  punishing  them  when 
 they  were  caught.  And  when,  by  reason  of  the  severity 
 of  the  disease  which  they  had  contracted,  they  sought 
 refuge  in  the  hospital,  they  were  whipped,  or  otherwise 
 maltreated,  as  was  also  the  practice  in  France.  The 
 results  which  naturally  followed,  were  a  steady  increase 
 in  the  severity  of  disease, — for  none  would  appeal  for 
 surgical  aid  so  long  as  it  could  by  any  possibility  be 
 avoided, — an  increasing  number  of  cases  to  be  treated 
 in  the  male  wards,  —  for  with  greater  virulence  in  the 
 contagious  malady,  came  the  greater  certainty  of 
 infection ;  and  with  all  this  was  associated  a  steady 
 increase  of  illegitimate  births,  and  the  stealthy  spread 
 of  disease  amongst  the  upper  classes.  The  man  once 
 the  victim  of  disease  naturally  shunned  its  source, 
 but,  driven  forwards  by  his  brute  instinct,  merely 
 sought  to  sliikc  his  desires  at  a  pure  fountain,  and 
 to  this  end  sought  out  some  heretofore  ^drtuous 
 female,  whom  his  wiles  seduced,  and  whom  perhaps 
 his  blood  contaminated.  AMieu  the  French  became 
 the  masters  for  a  time,  the  system  of  their  own 
 country  was  introduced  into  Berlin,  and  with  its 
 usual  results.  Disease  was  checked ;  the  man  unable 
 to  control  his  passions  no  longer  sought  out,  as  the 
 
179 
 
 sole  resort  of  vice,  the  home  of  purity ;  and  virtuous 
 maidens  escaped  from  the  meshes  of  the  nets  woven 
 by  villany.  Again,  however,  the  plan  was  changed, 
 and  lalssez  falre  was  the  order  of  the  day. 
 
 The  result  was  the  same  as  that  we  have  amongst 
 us  now.  Our  daughters  cannot  walk  the  streets  of 
 London,  or  other  largo  town,  without  danger  of  being 
 insulted  by  some  reprobate,  who  pretends  to  mistake 
 them  for  prostitutes ;  a  young  lady  is  unsafe  if  she 
 walks  alone  in  any  of  our  parks  or  suburban  roads ; 
 our  female  servants,  and  every  decent  woman,  can 
 only  pass  along  our  streets  at  night  in  fear  and 
 trembling,  unless  they  are  escorted  by  some  male 
 friend  who  has  strong  thews  and  sinews.  We  take, 
 perhaps  buy,  a  house,  and  then  find  it  all  but  uninha- 
 bitable, in  consequence  of  scenes  occurring  before  our 
 eyes,  or  the  language  that  reaches  our  ears.  Our 
 sons  are  subjected  at  every  turn  to  temptations, 
 which  few  but  the  most  sturdy-minded  can  shun. 
 Places  of  amusement  arc  practically  closed  to  the 
 virtuous,  who  fear  contamination  for  their  offspring 
 from  the  scenes  of  vice  which  are  there  exhibited. 
 To  such  a  pass,  indeed,  have  matters  come,  that 
 many  women,  in  good  position,  envy  the  freedom, 
 and  even  emulate  the  style,  of  those  whose  shame- 
 lessness  has  driven  modest  women  to  the  privacy 
 of  their  inner  chamber,  and  all  but  made  them  close 
 prisoners  to  the  house. 
 
 Once  again,  however,  at  Berlin  the  scene  changed, 
 and  the  social  evil  was  organised,  upon  a  plan  which 
 seemed  to  be  as  nearly  perfection  as  any  scheme 
 designed  to  effect  such  a  purpose  could  be ;  and  the 
 result  has  been  that  which  would  reasonably  be  ex- 
 pected.    Let  us  shortly  consider  what  this  plan  should 
 
180 
 
 be.  In  the  absence  of  temptation,  there  is  no  desire 
 to  steal.  The  burglar  does  not  enter  a  house  when  he 
 knows  that  it  c6ntains  nothing  ;  but  the  sight  of  wealth 
 readily  rouses  the  cupidity  of  the  thief.  So  long  as 
 I  do  not  know  that  my  neighbour  has  wife,  horse, 
 ass,  or  any  other  treasure,  I  shall  not  break  the  tenth 
 commandment ;  and  so  long  as  I  am  alone  in  my 
 study,  in  the  world,  or  with  my  friends,  the  <^p6vYi[xa 
 (rixpxog  is  in  abeyance.  But  if  the  quiet  mare  finds 
 herself  beside  a  horse,  and  the  trusty  dog  suddenly 
 meets  with  a  canine  Syren,  their  natures  seem  for  a 
 moment  to  be  changed,  and  education  proves  itself 
 to  be  utterly  powerless  in  the  presence  of  instinct. 
 With  man  it  is  not  always  thus ;  passions  of  the 
 fiercest  nature  can  be  overcome,  and  let  us  add,  for 
 the  credit  of  morality,  they  very  often  are  so.  The 
 words  of  Joseph  are,  doubtless,  familiar  to  the  mind 
 of  many  a  young  man ;  "  How  can  I  do  this  great 
 wickedness,  and  sin  against  God?"  Yet  we  do  not 
 therefore  advocate  the  opinion  that  men,  often  scarcely 
 so  old  as  Joseph,  shall  be  solicited  in  all  our  streets 
 by  such  shameless  conduct  as  that  of  Potiphar's 
 wife.' 
 
 But  if  the  temptation  to  indulge  our  instincts 
 often  induces  us  to  do  so,  it  is  equally  clear  to  the 
 philosopher  that  diiEficulty  in  their  indulgence  is 
 sometimes  equivalent  to  the  conquering  thereof.  At 
 the  present  moment,  and  for  many  weeks  past,  I 
 have  suffered  from  an  aching  tooth.  It  is  not  very 
 painful,  yet    sufficient    to    interfere    with  everything 
 
 8  It  will  be  rccoguisctl  that  the  oliseiTations  here  made,  closely  resemble  the 
 arguments  nsed  for  abrogating  lotteries,  betting-houses,  and  the  indiscriminate 
 sale  of  liquor ;  for  licensing  marine-store  dealers ;  and  for  otherwise  relieving  weak 
 humanity  from  excessive  temptations. 
 
181 
 
 that  I  do,  giving  a  peculiar  tinge  to  every  enjoyment ; 
 yet  neither  can  I  determine  to  take  the  offending 
 grinder  out  with  my  own  hands,  nor  go  to  a  surgical 
 friend  to  ask  for  his  aid.  How  long  I  shall  remain 
 thus  is  problematical.  Yet  if  accident  were  to  bring 
 the  dentist  to  me,  or  take  me  to  him,  I  should  yield 
 at  once  to  the  occasion.  In  like  manner,  a  man 
 conscious  of  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  will  bear  it  for  an 
 indefinite  time.  To  go  to  a  door,  ring  a  bell,  and 
 choose  an  operator  who  is  to  give  him  relief,  is 
 equivalent  to  going  to  a  dentist  when  a  man  has  the 
 toothache,  for  it  takes  the  sting  away.  Human 
 nature,  like  a  very  bad  toothache,  may  be  so  bad  as 
 to  enforce  a  visit  to  the  mediciner ;  but  for  one  who 
 goes  because  compelled,  nine  will  stop  away  because 
 they  are  not  invited. 
 
 Oh  ye,  whosoever  ye  are,  who  have  the  framing 
 of  our  laws,  purge  from  our  streets  the  foul  blots 
 which  disgrace  humanity ;  cease  to  pander  by  your 
 culpable  prejudices  to  the  drunkenness  and  thievery 
 of  the  whore,  the  folly  and  crime  of  her  dupes,  and 
 to  the  worst  passions  of  our  brutal  natures.  Cease 
 to  discourage  virtue  and  defend  vice.  Be  men,  be 
 statesmen,  be  sensible,  be  just.  Let  every  one  be 
 ^•icious,  if  he  will,  in  his  own  private  rooms ;  but  by 
 all  means  put  down  all  organised  invitations  to  vice  in 
 our  public  streets.  I  have  no  mawkish  sentimentality 
 about  me,  but  I  aver  fearlessly  that,  after  having  been 
 in  most  of  the  capitals  and  very  many  of  the  seaports 
 of  Europe,  I  have  never  seen  anything  so  utterly 
 vile  and  atrocious  as  the  condition  of  our  own  streets 
 at  night.  Yet  we  call  ourselves  Christians,  and  pray 
 every  day,  in  the  words  of  our  Master,  "  Lead  us  not 
 into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil !"     And  who 
 
182 
 
 are  they  who  prevent  the  consummation  which  we 
 have  indicated?  Report  answers,  "The  clergj',  the 
 rehgious  workl,  and  the  pohtical  economist  who 
 prates  about  *  hberty  of  the  subject ! '  "  "  Oh  ye  Wind 
 guides,  which  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  camel." 
 Avaunt. 
 Kenites,  the,  "'^PC,  or  \^P  (Gen.  xv.  19).  These  people 
 possess  great  interest  for  the  Hebraic  archaeologist, 
 inasmuch  as  it  was  whilst  Moses  dwelt  amongst  them 
 that  the  word  Jehovah  was  first  communicated  to  him. 
 In  the  verse  above  referred  to,  we  find  that  the 
 Kenites  are  described  as  one  of  the  nations  whose  land 
 the  Israelites  are  to  inherit,  and  they  are  associated 
 with  Palestinian  tribes.  We  find,  from  Judges  iv.  11, 
 that  Moses  took  to  wife  one  of  the  Kenite  clan ;  and 
 we  see  still  farther,  from  Judges  i.  16,  that  the  Kenites 
 lived  amicably  amongst  the  children  of  Judah.  In 
 Josh.|  XV.  22,  57,  we  find  Kinah  and  Cain  given  as 
 names  to  Canaanite  localities.  In  1  Sam.  xv.  6,  we 
 see  that  the  Kenites  dwelt  amongst  the  Amalekites, 
 but  that  Saul  was  friendly  with  them;  and  from 
 1  Sam.  xxvii.  10,  xxx.  29,  we  also  learn  that  David 
 was  Pequally  favourably  disposed  to  them ;  in  Num. 
 xxiv.  21,  22,  we  are  told  that  the  Kenites  had  a 
 strong  dwelling-place  in  a  rock;  but  in  1  Chron. 
 ii.  55,  certain  Kenites  are  called  "  scribes,"  who  came 
 of  Hemath,  the  father  of  the  house  of  Rechab.  We 
 infer  from  Judges  iv.  11  that  the  Kenites  were  a  tribe 
 or  sub-division  of  the  Midianites  ;  and  we  learn  from 
 verse  17  of  the  same  chapter  that  this  oflset  was 
 friendly  with  Jabin,  the  king  of  Hazor. 
 
 We  find,  therefore,  that  the  Kenites  are  on  good 
 terms  w'ith  the  Canaanites,  Midianites,  Amalekites, 
 and  Jews ;  even  with  Jehovah,  if  we  credit  the  idea 
 
183 
 
 promulgated  in  1  Ohron.  ii.  55,  that  the  Rechabites 
 were  identical  with  the  Kenites  ;  a  deduction,  how- 
 ever, which  singularly  disagrees  with  the  statement 
 in  Numbers,  that  the  Kenites  had  a  strong  dwelling- 
 place,  and  a  nest  in  a  rock,  although  it  tallies  with 
 the  account  of  Heber,  the  Kenite,  who  was  dwelling 
 in  a  tent.  This  people,  called  Kenites,  we  conceive 
 may  have  been  either  a  wandering  race  like  modern 
 gypsies,  consisting  of  individuals  who  were  pedlars, 
 cobblers,  tailors,  smiths,  etc.,  or  a  sect  of  religionists 
 like  Lutherans,  Albigenses,  or  Vaudois,  who  travelled 
 from  place  to  place  according  to  the  state  of  the 
 political  atmosphere.  We  may  indeed  compare  them 
 with  the  Jews  in  modern  Europe,  who  migrate  from 
 one  country  to  another,  according  as  they  are  driven 
 by  persecution  and  attracted  by  toleration.  Possibly 
 the  Kenites  were  a  virtuous  race,  resembling  the 
 modern  Moravian  missionaries,  who  travel  from  place 
 to  place,  and  settle  in  promising  districts,  worldng 
 at  various  handicrafts,  so  as  to  be  able  to  support 
 themselves  by  their  industry,  and  make  themselves 
 respected,  tolerated,  and  valued  by  their  useful- 
 ness. 
 
 We  may  profitably  pass  a  few  minutes  by  investi- 
 gating the  alliances  of  the  Hebrew  words,  which  are 
 translated  Kenites,  Cainan,  Cain,  etc. 
 
 1.  We  find  that  TP,  kin,  or  cain,  signifies  (1) 
 the  iron  point  of  a  lance ;  (2)  smith's  work  in 
 general ;  (8)  something  made  or  produced.  Taking 
 the  last  two  significations  as  a  test,  we  then  find  that 
 one  of  the  sons  of  Cain,  called  Tubal,  is  denominated 
 (Gen.  iv.  22)  "  a  sharpener  of  all  instruments  of 
 brass  or  iron."  It  is,  therefore,  quite  possible  that 
 the  word   Kenites  may  have  been  equivalent  to  our 
 
184 
 
 Cutlers.  Both  having  originally  one  central  locality  ; 
 such  as  Toledo,  Milan,  and  Sheffield  have  been  in 
 later  times.  Their  children  or  their  apprentices  may 
 have  wandered  through  neighbouring  countries  friendly 
 to  all,  because  necessary  alike  to  warriors  and  women. 
 2.  We  know  that  it  has  been  the  custom  in  com- 
 paratively modern  times  for  different  trades  to  adopt 
 peculiar  tutelar  deities.  A  god,  angel,  or  saint  has 
 been  selected,  frequently  from  some  similarity  between 
 his  name  and  that  of  the  handicraftsmen,  sometimes 
 from  accidental  circumstances.  If  we  seek  for  some 
 word  resembling  VP,  or  ^^''P,  Cain  or  Kenite,  we  find 
 that  'I^P,  k,  11,  h,  is  a  root  which  signifies  ''getting," 
 "buying,"  or  "possessing."  In  Gen.  xiv.  19,  we  have 
 this  word  in  association  with  El,  e.  g.,  "^P  li''^)^  ^^ 
 '^'l'}^\  ^!?^j  El,  elyoii  koneh  shammaim  vearetz,  which 
 is  translated,  in  our  version,  "  the  most  high  God, 
 possessor  of  heaven  and  earth ; "  but  by  the  Septuagint, 
 "the  most  high  God,  ivho  made,''  etc.;  and  by  the 
 Vulgate,  "  ivho  created,"  etc.  Thus  showing  that  the 
 root  ^^?^,  knh,  conveyed  the  idea  of  'making,'  'begetting' 
 and  '  acquiring.'  We  find  the  same  root  used  in  Ezekiel 
 viii.  3,  where  it  is  translated  in  our  version,  "  which 
 provoketh  to  jealousy  ; "  the  words  in  Hebrew  are 
 J'i^P^^  nNJpn  pnD^  semel  hakkinah  hammakneh,^  which 
 signify,  "the  image,  the  ardent,  or  strongly  excited,  the 
 glowing,  or  the  acquirer,  or  the  possessor."  Amongst 
 other  meanings  of  the  same  root  are,  "he  procures, 
 appropriates  or  gets,  he  rules,  he  is  the  master,  he 
 mounts,  rises  up,  is  set  up  straight  or  stiff,  or  he  is 
 grown."  Again,  as  a  substantive,  it  indicates  "a 
 rod,   a  cane,  a  staff,  a  reed,   the  stiff  straight   arm 
 
 ^  "There  is  the  place  of  the  similitude  of  jealousy  that  makes  jealous." 
 
 I 
 
185 
 
 bone,"  etc.  ^^P,  k  n  a,  and  PP,  k  n  n,  have,  in 
 like  manner,  the  signification  of  "glowing,"  "being 
 excited,"  "creating,"  "setting  up,"  and  "fitting  up." 
 The  connection  between  the  cane  and  the  idea  of 
 getting  or  acquiring  is  shown  in  the  last  clause  of 
 Gen.  iv.  1,  wherein  Eve  is  made  to  remark  that  she 
 called  her  eldest  son  Cain,  because  she  had  "  gotten 
 ^^Vi??  kanithi,  a  man,"  etc.  That  there  was  a  tutelar 
 deity  recognised  by  the  Kenites,  of  the  name  of  "^^P, 
 kanah,  we  can  well  believe  ;  indeed,  we  see  such  a 
 cognomen  in  Elkanah,  where  Kanah  appears  side  by 
 side  with  El,  as  El  does  with  Ab  in  Eliab. 
 
 What  that  deity  was,  the  following  remarks,  con- 
 densed from  Ilistoire  Ahregee  de  Differens  Ciiltes,  par 
 J.  A.  Dulaure,  Paris,  1825,  will  show.  "Amongst  a 
 warrior  people,  a  lance  or  a  sword  was  a  fetish  god,  and 
 was  usually  suspended  from  a  consecrated  column  or 
 a  sacred  tree.  Plutarch  tells  us  {Vie  de  Cesar)  that 
 whilst  fighting  amongst  the  Gauls,  Cgesar  lost  his 
 sword ;  his  enemies,  finding  it,  and  being  proud  of 
 the  trophy,  hung  it  up  in  their  sanctuary.  Caesar 
 passing  again  by  the  place  saw  his  old  weapon,  but 
 declined  to  take  it  seeing  it  was  consecrated.^"  Again, 
 the  Scythians,  Celts,  Romans  and  others  paid  divine 
 honours  to  a  lance  or  to  a  sword ;  e.  g.,  Herodotus 
 (iv.  62)  tells  us,  that  the  Scythians  pile  up  a  huge 
 heap  of  faggots,  on  which  "an  old  iron  scimetar  is 
 placed  by  each  tribe,  and  this  is  the  image  of  Mars ; 
 and  to  this  scimetar  they  bring  yearly  sacrifices  of 
 cattle  and  horses ;  and  to  these  scimetars  they  ofier 
 more  sacrifices  than  to  the  rest  of  the  gods."  To 
 them  they  sacrifice  one  out  of  every  hundred  captives 
 
 10  Compare  David,  and  his  retaking  tlie  sword  of  Goliath,  which  he  had  pre- 
 viously consecrated  (1  Sam.  xxi.  8,  9). 
 
186 
 
 taken  in  battle,  pouring  the  blood  drawn  from  them 
 over  the  weapon. 
 
 Again,  the  Geti,  Goths,  Alani  and  Sarmatians 
 worshipped  a  sword  even  to  a  later  period ;  for 
 Ammianus  Marcellinus  thus  describes  them  in  his 
 time  (about  a.  d.  350) ;  "  Their  only  idea  of  rehgion 
 is  to  plunge  a  naked  sword  into  the  gi'ound,  with 
 barbaric  ceremonies,  and  then  they  worship  that  with 
 great  respect,  as  Mars,"  etc.  (book  xxxi.,  ch.  ii.,  par. 
 23.)  Again,  the  Romans  adored  a  lance;  it  was  their 
 god  Mars  ;  indeed  his  surname,  Quirinus,  was  derived 
 from  curis,  which  signified  a  lance  amongst  the 
 ancient  Sabines.  Justin  does  not  leave  any  doubt 
 about  the  antique  usage  of  adoring  a  lance,  for  he 
 says  (lib.  xliii.  cap.  3),  "In  the  earliest  times,  men 
 adored  lances  as  they  adore  the  immortal  gods;  and 
 it  is  in  memory  of  this  worship  that  the  statues  of 
 the  gods  are  still  armed  with  lances."  Again, 
 Jornandes  (Tlist.  Goth,  cap.  35)  states  that  Attila, 
 king  of  the  Huns,  having  by  chance  recovered  an  old 
 consecrated  sword,  persuaded  himself  that  it  would 
 give  him  the  empire  of  the  world,  and  nctory  in 
 every  battle. 
 
 It  is,  therefore,  possible  that  the  emblem  of  the 
 god  worshijDped  by  the  Kenites  was  a  lance  ;  but  even 
 if  it  were,  it  must  be  noticed  that  this  was  itself  an 
 emblem  of  Mahadeva,  wherever  the  Creator  was 
 reverenced  under  the  masculine  symbol.  As  we 
 have  evidence  that  the  latlcr  form  of  worship  pre- 
 vailed in  Palestine,  whilst  there  is  no  indication  of 
 swords  and  spears  being  adored,  we  conclude  that  the 
 Kenites  were  analogous  to  the  Saivas  in  Hindostan, 
 viz.,  worshippers  of  the  Linga.  If  so,  we  can  well 
 understand  how  perfectly  they  might  fraternise  with 
 
187 
 
 the  Hebrews   and    other  nations   of  Palestine,   who 
 had  a  similar  religion. 
 
 There  is  still  another  point  connected  with  the 
 word  Cain  and  the  Kenites,  to  which  we  would  call 
 attention,  viz.,  that  in  the  fifth  generation  after  the 
 first-born  of  Adam,  we  find  Lamech,  whose  name  we 
 have  so  often  referred  to  as  of  Greek  origin,  and  that 
 his  son  Tubal  Cain  was  a  worker  in  brass  and  iron. 
 When  the  knowledge  of  iron,  and  its  uses,  first  became 
 prevalent  in  Western  Asia  and  in  Europe,  has  long 
 been  a  problem  amongst  archaeologists,  and  the  Bible 
 has  sometimes  been  appealed  to,  as  if  it  were  really 
 as  ancient  a  record  as  it  professes  to  be.     Instead  of 
 testing  the  antiquity  of  iron  by  the  Jewish  scriptures, 
 it  would  seem  to  be  better  to  reverse  the  plan,  and  test 
 the  age  of  the  writings  by  the  knowledge  of  iron.     If 
 we   may    judge    from    the    observations   of    Egypto- 
 logists, iron  was  not  known  upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
 until  a  comparatively  late  period — bronze  was  used 
 in  its  place ;  and  when  iron  was  common,  it  seems  to 
 have   been   introduced    from   without   and   in   small 
 quantity.     Again,  we  infer  from  1  Sam.  xiii.  19  that 
 the  Hebrews,  or  the  scattered  Palestinians,  had  not 
 any  iron  mines  in  their  land,  nor  any  knowledge  of 
 working  the  ore  if  it  existed,  nor  any  skill  to  forge  the 
 raw  material  if  they  could  get  it.     Still  farther,  we 
 infer  from  Josh.  vi.  19,  24,  xvii.  16,  18,  Judges  i.  19, 
 iv.  3,  13,  that  the  Canaanites  had  iron  and  the  power 
 of  working  it,   whilst  the  Israelites   were   poor   and 
 incapable. 
 
 We  infer  (1  Sam.  xiii.  20)  that  the  PhiKsLines 
 were  artificers  in  iron,  and  had  stores  of  the  metal.  So 
 when  David  and  his  mercenaries  come  into  power, 
 iron  became  more  plentiful.     Barzcl  is  the  Hebrew 
 
188 
 
 name  for  the  metal,  and  Barzillai  takes  his  name 
 therefrom.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  iron  came 
 into  general  use,  except  for  implements  of  war,  until 
 a  later  period ;  for  we  are  told,  1  Kings  v.  6,  that 
 Solomon  could  not  find  amongst  the  Jews,  men  who 
 had  skill  in  hewing  of  timber  equal  to  the  Sidonians ; 
 which  want,  we  presume,  was  caused  by  the  imper- 
 fection of  the  Hebrew  axes,  being  bronze  instead  of 
 steel. 
 
 From  these  premises,  we  conclude  that  the  use 
 of  iron  was  first  introduced  into  Judea  about  the 
 time  of  David,"  whose  first  fighting  weapons  were 
 a  sling  and  a  stone,  resembling  in  this  respect 
 the  Benjamites,  seven  hundred  of  whom  were 
 "  slingers  of  stones.  "  When  once  introduced,  iron 
 became  more  generally  known,  but  we  infer  from 
 the  geological  formation  of  Palestine  that  the  metal 
 was  purchased  from  the  Phoenicians.  Whether 
 we  turn  in  Wigram's  Concordance  to  the  word  harzel, 
 "iron,"  or  harrash,  "a  worker  in  metal  and  other 
 things,"  we  find  that  both  are  used  much  more 
 largely  and  familiarly  in  the  late  days  of  the  Jewish 
 monarchy,  and  that  called  the  post-exile  period, 
 than  at  any  other.  Jeremiah  is  a  connoisseur  in  iron, 
 for  he  speaks  (xv.  12)  of  ''iron  from  the  north,"  and 
 Ezekiel  (xxvii.  19)  says,  that  Dan  and  Javan  were 
 merchants  of  iron,  Dan  being  a  seacoast  of  Palestine, 
 and  Javan  the  Hebrew  name  of  Greece. 
 
 11  This  is  rendered  more  probable  by  tlie  etymology  of  Barzel,  wliicb  seems 
 to  be  derived  from  n3,  bamz,  "  be  inerces  or  cuts  into,"  or  nD,  2)haraz,  or 
 yiQ,  j)harafz,  "he  cuts  or  pierces  through,"  which,  with  the  addition  of  the  meta- 
 phorical ^ii,  would  signify  "the  extraordinary  cutter,  piercer,"  etc.  The  word 
 indicates  that  the  Hebrews  had  at  first  no  particular  knowledge  of  the  origin  of 
 the  metal,  but  recognised  its  superiority  over  bronze.  The  Arabic  word  for  iron , 
 liadid,  signifies  also  (I  have  been  told)  "a  cutter,"  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew 
 ^^^,  hadad. 
 
189 
 
 To  this  evidence  we  may  add  the  strong  proba- 
 bility that  exists,  that,  prior  to  David's  time,  Jewish 
 swords  were  of  bronze,  iron  ones  being  introduced 
 by  foreign  traders. 
 
 The  conclusion  to  which  we  thus  arrive,  viz.,  that 
 those  parts  of  the  Jewish  writings  in  which  the  word 
 iron  is  used  familiarly  are  of  very  late  origin,  tallies 
 with  that  to  which  we  have  come  from  many  other 
 sources. 
 
 In  this  conclusion  we  are  still  farther  fortified 
 when  we  examine  the  Greek  word  a-i^po;,  sideeros. 
 Taking  Liddell  and  Scott's  Lexicon  for  our  guide,  we 
 read  (s.v.),  "Iron  was  the  last  of  the  common  metals 
 which  the  Greeks  found  out  the  way  to  work  for 
 general  use  ;  hence  it  was  called  TroAux^rjroj,  poluk- 
 meetos,  wrought  with  much  toil  {Iliad,  vi.  48, 
 Odyssey,  xxi.  10).  It  was  early  made  an  article  of 
 traffic,  (Odyssey,  i.  148),  and  was  evidently  of  high 
 value,  since  pieces  of  it  were  given  as  prizes  {Iliad, 
 xxiii.  261,  850).  It  mostly  came  from  the  north  and 
 east  of  the  Euxine."  As  the  most  probable  date  of 
 the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  corresponds  nearly  to  the 
 most  probable  date  of  Solomon,  we  can  have  little 
 doubt  that  iron  was  more  scarce  in  Judea,  which  was 
 not  a  trading  country,  than  in  Greece,  which  was  a 
 region  of  merchants.  It  is  worth  while  to  notice,  in 
 addition,  that  Solomon  is  not  represented  as  im- 
 porting iron  from  India,  for  the  navy  of  Tarshish 
 brought  gold  and  silver,  ivory,  apes,  and  peacocks 
 (1  Kings  X.  22).  The  metal  in  question  clearly  came 
 from  the  west  coast,  or  through  Damascus,  which  is 
 still  celebrated  for  its  sword-blades. 
 
 We  have  still  to  learn  how  it  happened  that  Moses 
 is  said  to  have  adopted  the  name  of  Jehovah  or  Jah 
 
190 
 
 when  residing  amongst  the  Kenites  of  Midian. 
 Instead  of  endeavouring  to  solve  the  point,  it  would 
 be  better  to  leave  it  in  its  obscurity.  If,  as  we 
 believe,  Moses  is  a  fictitious  character,  like  our  own 
 King  Arthur,  it  signifies  comparatively  little  what  are 
 the  deeds  assigned  to  him.  We  presume  that  in  the 
 days  when  the  Mosaic  story  was  fabricated  the 
 Kenites  acknowledged  nin'',  Jehovah,  or  Jachveh,  and 
 beyond  this  w^e  think  it  useless  to  inquire. 
 Keys.  We  have  learned  to  consider  it  strange,  if  investi- 
 gation does  not  show  tliat  any  symbol  cherished  by 
 the  Eoman  Church  has  first  descended  from  some 
 preceding  form  of  idolatry,  which  has  been  adopted 
 by  Papal  hierarchs,  and  modified  so  as  to  make  it 
 arrange  itself  with  Christian  dogmas.  Amongst 
 other  symbols,  we  find  the  key  conspicuous.  This 
 key,  or  rather  the  three  keys,  are  carried  by  St.  Peter, 
 when  he  is  painted  or  sculptured;  and  the  fiction 
 associated  with  them  is,  that  they  are  emblematic  of 
 his  power  to  open  and  close  the  gates  of  heaven,  as 
 if  the  celestial  portals  were  furnished  with  locks,  and 
 unprovided  with  gatemeu  !  a  notion  which  is  never- 
 theless entertained  by  writers  in  both  the  Old  and 
 New  Testaments  !  !  But  this  account  of  the  use  of 
 the  key  in  symbolism  is  simply  intended  to  throw 
 dust  into  our  eyes,  for  Juno  —  the  same  as  Cybele, 
 the  great  mother,  Ehea,  Venus,  the  male-female,  the 
 feminine  Androgyne — was  represented  with  a  key  or 
 keys  in  her  hand ;  and  as  her  head  is  usually  crowned 
 with  a  turret  or  fortress,  to  show  that  she  is  a  virgin, 
 we  must  also  identify  her  with  the  celestial  Virgin, 
 "  the  mother  of  the  child,"  the  Isis  of  ancient 
 Egypt,  and  the  "  Mary"  of  the  Romish  Church.  We 
 presume,  therefore,  that  the  key  has  a  mystic  mean- 
 
191 
 
 ing.      In  seeking  for  this,  we  disjoint  the  Buddist 
 
 Figure  1. 
 
 crux  ansata 
 
 cross   ! — I—,    a   sacred   emblem  in   Egypt,  and  else- 
 
 J  Figure  2. 
 
 where,    and   recognise    at    once   in    this    1     the 
 
 portion  of    the   key   that   fits   into   the   lock.      The 
 handle  of  the  key  is  the  counterpart  of  that  in  the 
 
 Figure  3.  pig^^e  4. 
 
 'T      and  we  readily  see  that  '^f^^J 
 
 is    an    emblem    of  the   '?yn"iN,    Arhel,   or  four   great 
 gods  (see  Vol.  i.,  p.   89),    quite  as  effective  as  the 
 
 Figure  5. 
 
 <C'~S^^>^\ borne  by  the  Egyptian  deities.       The 
 
 Figure  6. 
 
 celestial   Virgin    is    represented,    in    an 
 
 ancient  bas-relief  in  Anatolia,  and  figured 
 
 by  F.  Lajard,  in  his  Cidte  de   Vemts,  as 
 
 carrying  an  ornament  of  this  shape  (Fig. 
 
 6),    in  which  the    handle  of  the   cross 
 
 passes  through  a  lotus  flower,  and  divides 
 
 the  oval  which  represents  the  cross-bar 
 
 of  the  key.     It  is  to  be  noticed  further 
 
 that   this    Virgin  bears  in   her   other   hand  a  staff, 
 
 surmounted    by  the     crescent    moon  (Fig.  7),  Fig.  7. 
 
 another  emblem  of  "Arhel;''  that  she  is  standing    ^ 
 
 on    a   lioness  (see  Fig.  13,  Vol.  i.,  p.  102),  is 
 
 accompanied   by  an   antelope,  and    is  crowned 
 
 with  a  turret  or  fortress  (see  Note  5,  Vol.  i., 
 
 p.  52). 
 
 The  key,  then,  represented  the  quadruple 
 godhead  of  the   Assyrians,    the  trinity  in  unity,  and 
 the  Virgin  of  the  Roman  Church. 
 
192 
 
 There  is  another  signification  of  the  keys,  less 
 ancient,  but  no  less  important  than  the  above,  viz., 
 that  amongst  the  Komans  they  were  the  symbol  of 
 the  wife's  authority  in  her  husband's  household. 
 To  her  the  slaves  and  domestics  came  for  their  sup- 
 plies. She  was  the  giver  of  all  good  things  stored 
 within  the  threshold.  Hence  "  the  Church  "  is  said 
 to  possess  "the  keys"  as  the  wife  of  the  bridegroom ; 
 and  the  power  which  "the  bride"  possesses  she 
 delegates  to  another  man  besides  her  spouse,  viz.,  the 
 Pope  of  Kome,  whoever  he  may  be. 
 
 The  key,  moreover,  tests  for  us  the  antiquity  of 
 certain  portions  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  find,  for 
 example,  "a  key"  made  use  of  by  the  servants  of 
 Eglon,  king  of  Moab  (Judges  iii.  25).  We  find  the 
 same  word  used  in  Isaiah  xxii.  22,  and  again  in 
 1  Chr.  ix.  27;  the  Hebrew  word  being  T^^^,  maphteah, 
 "  an  instrument  for  opening  a  door."  Now,  in  the 
 first  quoted  passages,  it  is  possible  that  the  key  may 
 have  been  a  crowbar  or  battering  ram,  so  that  we 
 cannot  lay  much  stress  upon  it ;  but  in  the  second 
 verse  referred  to,  a  key  alone  fits  the  meaning,  viz., 
 "And  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  will  I  lay  upon 
 his  shoulder,  so  he  shall  open  and  none  shall  shut, 
 and  he  shall  shut  and  none  shall  open."  It  is  clear 
 that  this  metaphor  could  only  have  occurred  to  one 
 who  was  familiar  with  the  use  of  keys  similar  in 
 principle  to  those  used  by  ourselves.  Yet  it  is  very 
 doubtful  whether  such  instruments  were  known  to  the 
 Jews  until  a  period  long  subsequent  to  the  time  of 
 the  Babylonish  captivity.  It  is  difficult  to  prove  a 
 negative,  yet  there  is  evidence  that  at  that  period 
 doors  were  closed  with  bars;  and  we  find  that  the 
 Assyrians  and   Babylonians,    when  they    wished   for 
 
193 
 
 secrecy,  shut  the  door  closely,  and  then,  placing  a  piece 
 of  soft  clay  upon  its  junction  mth  the  lintel,  sealed 
 the  plastic  lump  with  a  signet.  If  to  such  monarchs 
 as  Darius  and  Nebuchadnezzar  keys  were  an  unknown 
 luxury,  we  can  scarcely  conceive  them  to  have  been 
 common  amongst  the  Jews.  That  some  keys  have 
 been  found  in  ancient  Thebes  I  know,  but  it  is  clear 
 that  these  were  very  uncommon.  In  Homer's  time 
 the  Greeks  seem  to  have  had  no  keys ;  but  they  pro- 
 bably discovered  them  subsequently,  for  they  were 
 commonly  used  in  Alexander's  time. 
 
 A  critical  examination  of  the  books  of  the  Chronicles 
 leads  us  to  believe  that  they  were  written  after  the  rest 
 of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament;  we  believe  it  like- 
 ly, therefore,  that  the  metaphor  about  "the  key  in  the 
 house  of  David,"  in  Isaiah,  was  introduced  at  a  period 
 not  far  distant  from  that  when  "  Chronicles "  were 
 penned,  and  that  an  editor  of  similar  date  "retouched" 
 the  narrative  of  the  death  of  Eglon.  Thus,  once 
 again,  we  find  that  the  introduction  of  a  certain 
 element  into  the  biblical  narrative  proves  to  be  a 
 clue  to  the  period  of  the  composition  of  that  particular 
 part  wherein  it  is  familiarly  spoken  of.  As  it  is 
 clear  that  keys  could  not  be  used  symbolically 
 before  they  became  generally  known,  so  it  is  certain 
 that  the  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  in  which  keys 
 are  metaphorically  introduced  were  composed  subse- 
 quent to  the  general  adoption  of  locks.  Without  pin- 
 ning our  faith  upon  any  particular  century,  we  are 
 inclined  to  believe  that  the  use  of  keys  did  not 
 become  general  amongst  the  Jews  until  about  b.  c. 
 300 ;  and  we  are  still  farther  disposed  to  believe  that 
 the  portions  of  Scripture  connected  with  them  are  due 
 to  the  ready  pen  of  Esdras  (2  Esdras  xiv.  42,  44). 
 
 N 
 
194 
 
 KiSH,  ^'•p  (1  Sam.  ix.  1),  "a  bow."  The  name  was  borne 
 by  a  Benjamite,  in  whose  tribe  there  were  a  far  larger 
 number  of  names  with  sexual  allusions  than  existed 
 in  all  the  rest  of  the  nation.  But  though  "  the 
 bow "  was  an  euphemism  which  obtained  all  over 
 the  East,  being,  amongst  others,  an  emblem  of 
 Buddha,  it  was  by  no  means  exclusively  so.  It  was 
 an  emblem  of  power,  and  typified  the  might  which 
 enabled  an  individual  to  reach  those  at  a  distance. 
 In  the  highest  flights  of  modern  poetry,  none  have 
 ever  likened  the  Godhead  to  a  rifle  or  a  cannon,  yet 
 the  ancients  wei-e  constantly  comparing  their  deity  to 
 their  chief  instrument  of  projection.  Amongst  the 
 Assyrians  the  tutelar  genius  was  furnished  with 
 a  bow  ready  for  use ;  amongst  the  Greeks  the  Sun 
 god  was  ever  depicted  with  the  same  weapon,  and 
 one  of  his  epithets  was  "the  far-darting  one."  I 
 need  not  remind  the  classic  reader  that  Cupid  is 
 armed  with  a  bow. 
 
 Throughout  the  wars  of  the  Jews  with  their 
 enemies,  ere  they  reached  Canaan,  during  the  battles 
 of  Joshua,  in  those  fights  when  the  Judges  led 
 them  in  warfare,  and  during  those  contests  in  which 
 Saul  gradually  established  his  power  in  Judea,  no 
 mention  whatever  is  made  of  the  bow  as  a  weapon 
 of  offence.  Spears,  swords  and  shields  are  spoken 
 of,  but  the  only  means  of  projection  was  the  sling, 
 and  the  missile  was  the  javelin.  With  the  sling 
 the  Benjamites  were  familiar,  and  with  such  a  weapon 
 David  slew  Goliath.  In  point  of  lime,  putting  aside, 
 for  the  moment,  the  book  of  Genesis  and  the  doubt- 
 ful reference  in  Josh.  xxiv.  12,  the  first  indication 
 we  have  of  the  bow  being  used  is  1  Sam.  xviii.  4, 
 
195 
 
 when  Jonathan  gives  up  to  David  "his  garments, 
 even  to  his  sword  and  to  his  bow  and  to  his  girdle;" 
 hut  we  do  not  find  even  now  that  the  weapon  was  ever 
 used  in  actual  warfare  by  the  Jews.^^ 
 
 From  the  verse  (2  Sam.  i.  18),  ''Also  he  bade 
 them  teach  the  children  of  Judah  the  use  of  the 
 bow  "  (^^/P),  kesheth,  we  infer  that  the  weapon  began 
 to  be  employed  after  the  defeat  of  Saul  and  his  son, 
 which  seems  to  have  been  brought  about  by  its 
 means.  If  this  be  so,  it  is  clear  that  the  Israelites 
 were  not  then  acquainted  with  the  legendary  stories 
 which  told  of  Esau  and  of  Ishmael ;  they  were  also 
 unacquainted  with  the  blessing  which  Jacob  passed 
 upon  Joseph  ;  and  for  them,  at  that  time,  the  verse 
 in  Joshua  (xxiv.  12)  mentioned  above  would  be  without 
 meaning.  If,  again,  they  were  so  ignorant  of  the 
 lives  of  their  ancestors,  it  must  have  been  either 
 because  they  knew  nothing  of  their  predecessors, 
 and  that  the  histories,  such  as  we  have  them,  were 
 not  then  in  existence,  or  that  those  patriarchs  whose 
 story  is  told  in  Genesis  had  no  reality.  We  cannot 
 believe  that  the  weapons  of  Jacob,  Esau  and  Ishmael 
 could  have  been  wholly  ignored  by  their  descendants, 
 and  yet  that  they  were  so  is  evident.  To  the  philo- 
 sophic student  of  history  this  suggests  the  belief  that 
 the  myths  contained  in  the  first  book  of  the  Penta- 
 
 12  It  -will  be  noticed  tliat  all  the  ancient  gods  and  monarclis  who  are  represented 
 as  hearing  bows,  have  weapons  which  appear  to  us  to  be  very  weak  in  their  projectile 
 power.  Their  arrows  also  are  short  and  light.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
 Assyrian  bow,  as  depicted  on  slabs  from  Mesopotamia,  could  have  resembled  in 
 force  the  English  yeoman's  bow,  that  made  our  nation  formidable.  To  archers, 
 the  absence  of  "  finger  stalls"  and  armlets  on  ancient  sculptured  lungs,  etc.,  would 
 seem  to  indicate  a  very  weak  weapon.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  bow  used  was  a 
 seventy  pounder,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  Jews  could  have  drawn  it,  or  used  it  in 
 battle. 
 
196 
 
 teuch  were  written  by  some  author  who  lived  at  a 
 period  when  the  bow  was  so  common  a  weapon  that 
 its  use  in  the  past  never  excited  a  thought. 
 
 KiTTiM,  I2''ri3  and  Q\*Jii^  (Gen.  x.  4,  Num.  xxiv.  24,  1  Chron. 
 i.  7,  Is.  xxiii.  1,  Jer.  ii.  10,  Ezek.  xxvii.  6,  Dan.  xi.  30). 
 The  Island  of  Cyprus,  and  the  Mediterranean  Islands 
 generally.     More  properly  Citium  ;  Greek,  Kj'tjov. 
 
 This  city  was  of  Phcenician  origin,  and  would  be 
 very  little,  if  at  all,  known  by  those  who  were  living  at 
 a  distance  from  the  Mediterranean  seaboard.  There 
 is  reason  to  believe,  that  geography  was  never 
 systematically  taught  amongst  the  ancients ;  even 
 amongst  the  seafaring  inhabitants  of  Tyre  and  Car- 
 thage, the  knowledge  obtained  by  voyaging  was  kept 
 to  a  great  extent  secret.  Amongst  ourselves,  when 
 geography  is  taught  in  every  school,  it  is  doubtful 
 whether  one  out  of  fifty,  of  our  inland  population, 
 could  name  the  chief  seaport  town  in  Sardinia.  We 
 cannot  then  believe  it  possible  that  Balaam,  living 
 amongst  the  mountains  of  the  East  (Num.  xxiii.  7), 
 could  know  any  of  Citium  or  Ki'tjov.  For  a  writer 
 to  put  into  the  mouth  of  such  a  character  a  prophecy 
 about  ships  of  Ghittim  (Num.  xxiv.  24),  is  to  acknow- 
 ledge that  the  story  is  fictitious,  and  that  it  was 
 composed  when  ships  from  Citium  were  known  in 
 Palestinian  harbours. 
 
 KoHATH,  f^Of?  (Num.  iii.  19).  The  usual  explanation  is  that 
 this  word  signifies  "an  assembly,"  but  it  is  difiicult 
 to  believe  that  any  infant  would  be  named  by  so 
 strange  a  title.  Having  reference  to  what  has  been 
 already  said  respecting  the  irregular  plurals  of  Baal 
 and  other  deities,  it  is  a  fair  surmise  to  make,  that  the 
 word  in  question  has  been  an  irregular  plural  from 
 yip  or  y-lp,  koa  or  kiia,  and  intended  to  signify  "the 
 
197 
 
 noble  ones."  This  view  receives  corroboration,  for 
 we  find  a  place  called  Koa  associated  with  Babylonians, 
 Chaldees,  and  Assyrians,  in  Ezekiel  xxiii.  23 ;  and 
 we  know  (1)  that  those  nations  named  persons  and 
 places  after  divine  beings ;  (2)  that  other  early 
 Hebrew  names  have  strong  Assyrian  or  Babylonian 
 affinities.  The  etymology  of  the  words  J'-lp  and  ^-Ip 
 lead  to  the  belief  that  the  plural  would  signify  the 
 tripliform  phallus,  and  if  it  did,  we  can  readily 
 surmise  that  transcribers  would,  according  to  the 
 rabbinical  directions,"  change  an  indecent  into  a  toler- 
 able word. 
 Kronos,  Kpovog.  This  God,  the  son  of  Uranus  and  Gaia, 
 heaven  and  earth,  was  always  spoken  of  as  an  old  God, 
 or  the  father  of  the  Gods.  Sanchoniatho  tells  us^* 
 that  he  was  also  called  llus,  and  that  his  auxiliaries 
 were  called  Eloeim,  'EAcosi/x.  This  clearly  associates 
 him  with  Asshur,  or  Mahadeva.  We  conceive  that 
 he  was  one  of  the  Phoenician  gods,  and  introduced  by 
 them  into  Greece,  as  it  was  only  in  later  times  that 
 he  became  identified  with  Xpovog,  chronos,  or  Time. 
 If  so,  it  is  probable  that  the  name  was  E^'':"ip,  karanis, 
 (compare  the  Greek  names  Charon,  Charondas),  The 
 etymons  for  this  might  be  TV  karan,  "to  point  up- 
 wards," "to  emit  rays,"  "to  shine,"  and  0"?.  keren, 
 "a  horn,"  "might,"  "power,"  "  a  king  "  ;  P^  caran, 
 "to  knot  together,"  "to  unite,"  for  the  root  of  the 
 first  syllable  of  the  word,  and  for  the  second  ^.''.,  is, 
 or  ^''^  isli,  and  in  kran-is,   "the  mighty  being,"  may 
 
 13  "  Oiir  Eabbins  of  blessed  memory  say  tliat  all  the  words  wbicli  are  ■written 
 in  the'  Scriptures  cacophonically  must  be  read  euphemistically,"  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 
 Levita's  exposition  of  the  Massorah,  page  194.  The  Massoreth  Ha-BIassoreth  of 
 Ellas  Levita,  by  C.  1).  Ginsbiirg,  LL.D.     London,  Longmans,  1867.     8vo,  pp.  307. 
 
 1*  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  pp.  10,  11. 
 
198 
 
 be  seen  a  juxtaposition  of  the  ideas  of  the  Sun,  the 
 phallus,  and  antiquity. 
 
 It  is  to  be  noticed  still  farther  that  in  the  Assyrian 
 mythology  there  is  a  god  who  is  designated  the  "old 
 god,"  who  is,  at  one  time,  spoken  of  as  Bel,  at  another 
 as  Asshur.  He  was  also  il,  the  analogue  of  the 
 Hebrew  ^x,  and  Kronos  was  likewise  styled  Ilus  &nd 
 II  (Sanchoniatho,  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  pp.  13 
 and  17).  Consequently  the  surmise  that  Kronos 
 signified  the  same  as  Bel  is  not  an  improbable  one. 
 See  Hubishaga,  Vol.  i.,  p.  55. 
 
 L,  in  Hebrew  lamed,  signifies  an  ox-goad  ;  and  some  have 
 attempted  to  show  that  the  letter  resembled  that  im- 
 plement ;  if  so,  the  ox-goads  of  days  gone  by  were  of 
 very  strange  forms,  and  little  fitted  to  efi'ect  their 
 purpose,  for  in  ancient  Hebrew  the  letter  resembled 
 our  own  L  and  I ;  the  last  of  which  is  far  more  like 
 a  crozier  or  shepherd's  crook  than  an  ox-goad. 
 The  implements  of  husbandry  used  in  Italy  at  the 
 present  time  differ  but  slightly  from  those  of  anti- 
 quity ;  the  spades,  etc.,  exhumed  from  Pompeii,  are 
 counterparts  of  those  in  the  hands  of  modern  peasants ; 
 and  the  ox-goads  used  on  the  Pontine  marshes  and 
 elsewhere,  are  long  straight  pieces  of  some  light  and 
 tough  wood,  armed  with  a  sharp  spike  at  the  end. 
 The  letter  L  was  represented  in  ancient  Hebrew 
 
 as  L  5  in  the  Phoenician  as  /_,/^j  in  the  Cartha- 
 ginian as  ^  J  differing  only  from  7,  n,  by  the 
 relative  length  of  the  upper  and  lower  strokes.  In 
 ancient  Greek  it  was  written  [/^  ,  */  j  t*  ?  ^  5 
 /^  J  /     •     In  the  Etruscan  it  appeared  as  J  j  */  , 
 
199 
 
 in  the  Umbrian    \/  j    in  the    Oscan  and    Samnite 
 
 as      V  J  in  the  FaHscan  ^^   and  in  early  Koman 
 
 as      J/'  ,     K  ?    L    •     In    modern    Greek   it  retains 
 one  of    its   ancient   forms  in  /\      and   a   modified 
 
 one  in     \  , 
 
 L  is  one  of  those  sounds  called  ''liquids;"  and 
 it  is  singular  that  some  nations  and  individuals 
 have  such  difficulty  in  pronouncing  it  normally,  that 
 they  substitute  one  of  the  other  liquids,  m  n  or  r,  in 
 its  place ;  thus,  the  New  Zealander  unable  to  say 
 "  William,"  changes  it  into  "  Wiremu  ;"  and  many  a 
 child,  unable  to  pronounce  "lion,"  renders  it  "nion;" 
 and  "really"  is  changed  into  "reany"  or  "rearry." 
 Piirst,  s.  V.  ^,  informs  us  that  "  the  Samaritans  put 
 h  I  for  "I  r  in  their  alphabetical  poems,  and  vice  versa. 
 The  Chinese  have  no  r,  and  put  for  it  constantly  I. 
 The  reverse  is  the  case  in  the  Japanese.  The  old 
 Egyptians  placed  I  for  r,  and  in  the  Pehlevi  all  {sic) 
 is  represented  by  I,  for  which  the  Zend  has  r." 
 
 "  Like  the  liquids,  T  r  and  J  w,  ^  Z  is  also 
 applied  to  promote  an  internal  strengthening  or 
 intensifying  of  the  verb  idea  by  its  insertion,  and 
 is  used,  not  merely  in  forming  verbs  of  several 
 letters,  but  also  in  making  usual  stems  from  primi- 
 tive themes,  like  the  other  liquid  sounds;  as,  X^J^, 
 P^?,  P^7j  il^,  °'?^,  ^%  &c.,  may  perhaps  be  traced 
 back  to  simple  organic  roots  without  h.  Individual 
 stems  may  also  originate  by  annexing  h  to  the  end," 
 Fiirst,  s.  v.     It  is  interchangeable  with  3,  "i,  ^. 
 
 S  I,  when  prefixed  to  a  noun,  signifies  to  or 
 towards,  being  a  short  form  of  ^^,  and  is  usually  said 
 to  be  the  sign  of  the  genitive  or  dative  case. 
 
200 
 
 Laadah,  "^^V?  (1  Chron.  iv.  21),  "  She  determines,  or  she 
 establishes."  This  name  is  interesting  to  me,  as  it 
 was  the  first  in  which  I  fancied  that  I  recognised 
 the  feminine  idea  of  the  Creator.  It  occurs  in  the 
 family  of  Judah  ;  and  is  borne  by  the  father  of 
 Mareshah,  of  the  tribe  of  Ashbea.  It  is,  however, 
 jDossible  that  it  signifies  "  Jah  determines,"  the  '^  in 
 the  '^\  being  elided. 
 
 Laban,  1?/  (Gen.  xxiv.  29),  ''  The  white  one,  or  he  is  white," 
 the  moon  ? 
 
 Lachish,  ^^2?  (Josh.  X.  3),  ''  Hill,  or  height "  (Fiirst). 
 ''  Obstinate,  i.  e.  hard  to  be  captured "  (Gesenius). 
 As  these  explanations  are  not  satisfactory,  we  may 
 conceive  that  the  word  is  derived  from  '1^^,  lachah, 
 and  ^\  ish,  =  "it  is  attached  to  ish,"  or  Eshmum;  or 
 from  ^i?^,  lakash,  "he  is  hard,"  an  etymon  which 
 suggests  Aa^sc-is,  Lacliesis,  the  name  of  one  of  the 
 inexorable  fates ;  or  it  may  be  an  altered  form  of 
 D''?*?,  lechis,  i.e.  (dedicated)  "to  the  cup,"  i.  e.  the 
 female. 
 
 Lahmi,  ''''r^7  (1  Chron.  xx.  5),  or  Lachmi.  There  is  a  doubt 
 whether  a  person  of  such  a  name  had  any  existence. 
 Whether  this  was  the  case  or  not,  the  observer  cannot 
 fail  to  be  struck  with  the  close  resemblance  between 
 the  cognomen  in  question  and  that  of  Laksmi, 
 Lachsmi,  Lahmi,  or  Lok,  one  of  the  many  names  of 
 the  female  Indian  Creator,  under  the  title  of  Goddess 
 of  Fortune.  She  was  called  the  wife  of  Siva.  If  we 
 give  the  word  a  Semitic  derivation,  ^'^i,  lahom,  and 
 i^J,  jah,  would  appear  to  be  the  etymons,  the  n  being 
 dropped  as  usual,  and  the  word  signifying  "  Jah  is 
 thick  or  fat." '' 
 
 1^  I  have  not  liitlierto  tliought  it  necessary  to  justify  my  introduction  of  the 
 Hindoo  element  into  the  nomenclature  of  the  Jews ;  indeed  I  have  rather  avoided 
 
201 
 
 Laish,  '^l'?  (Jud.  xviii.  7),   ''properly  strength,  lustiness," 
 
 hence  " «.  lion.'" "as  to  the  signification  of  the 
 
 name;  ^.7  (Phoenic.  ^f?,  ^7),  i.e.  the  lion,  was  sacred  to 
 )bti^N^  Eslimun  {i.  e.  Esculapius),  denoting  the  prin- 
 ciple of  warmth  and  life.  Therefore,  as  the  funda- 
 mental condition  of  strength  was  called  ^l^''^?,  ^r-'^? 
 (perhaps  in  the  proper  name,  ^''rH?  =  ^c"''^?)?  ^nd 
 was  worshipped  as  'Ao-jcXtjttjoj  XsovTov-x^oi,  even  in  As- 
 calon.  Since  the  later  appellation,  1^,  dan  ('judge,' 
 or  'ruler'),  is  also  an  epithet  of  Eshmun,  we  perceive 
 in  that  fact,  merely,  a  modification  and  confirmation  of 
 the  old  custom  to  dedicate  localities  to  the  Gods, 
 and  to  call  them  by  their  names."  "  The  words,  ^''i, 
 Phoenic.  ^<.,  reappear  in  Greek  as  aTj"  (Fiirst,  s.v. 
 ^I*?).      These  observations  of  the  lexicographer  give 
 
 the  subject,  since  it  is  difficult  to  treat  it  as  it  deserves  in  a  casual  paragraph  or  a 
 foot-note.  Yet  I  may  now  indicate  the  nature  of  the  evidence  that  Indian  ideas 
 penetrated  into  Palestine,  Western  Asia  generally,  and  Eastern  Europe,  during  or 
 before  the  period  when  the  Jewish  Bible  was  finally  made  up.  (1)  There  is  strong 
 presumptive  evidence  of  a  very  close  union  between  the  ancestors  of  the  Persians 
 and  those  of  the  Vedic  Hindoos.  (2)  There  is  evidence  that  Alexander  and  his 
 successors  became  acquainted  with  Hindoo  mythology.  (3)  Hindoo  sacred  emblems, 
 especially  the  elephant,  were  adopted  by  the  Grecian  monarchs  as  emblems  on  their 
 coins,  see  Plate  xiii.,  figs  7,  8,  9, 11,  of  Payne  Knight's  book,  wherein  (pages  59,  etseq.), 
 the  coins  are  described  as  those  of  Antiochus  viii.,  and  Seleucus  Nicanor;  and  we  find 
 Knight  making  the  remark,  that  "  the  later  Greeks  employed  the  elephant  as  the 
 universal  symbol  of  the  deity."  On  one  of  the  coins,  the  word  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
 is  readily  to  be  distinguished.  Antiochus  the  younger  is  represented  as  using 
 elephants  in  his  army  against  the  Jews  (1  Mac.  vi.  34,  et  seq.),  and  the  presence  of 
 these  creatures  indicates  a  considerable  traffic  with  India.  (4)  Asoka,  grandson  of 
 Alexander's  foeman,  Sandracottus,  sent  Buddist  missionaries  into  various  countries, 
 and  amongst  others  to  Egypt  aud  Alexandria.  (5)  The  similarity  of  the  Buddist 
 and  Essenian  doctrines  lead  to  a  strong  suspicion  of  their  identity.  For  more 
 detailed  evidence  on  this  point,  see  pp.  16-26,  The  Gnostics  and  their  Remains,  by 
 C.  W.  King,  8vo.,  London,  1864.  (6)  There  is  evidence  that  Grecian  philosophers, 
 like  Pythagoras  and  Orpheus,  visited  India.  (7)  The  union  of  the  two  triangles, 
 which  is  called  the  shield  of  David  or  the  seal  of  Solomon,  suggests  a  Hindoo 
 origin.  (8)  The  introduction  of  the  rites,  etc.,  of  the  Lamas  of  Ihibet  into  the 
 Boman  religion,  which  is  based  upon  the  paganism  of  Palestine,  Alexandria, 
 Babylon,  etc.,  is  very  strong  evidence  of  the  truth  of  our  position.  We  do  not  affirm 
 that  there  is  a  large  intermixture  of  Hindoo  names  or  ideas  amongst  the  Jewish 
 remains,  but  that  some  such  infiltration  can  be  detected,  I  think  few  will  deny. 
 
202 
 
 singular  support  to  the  belief  that  the  Hebrews,  in 
 the  early  days  of  their  history,  had  much  the  same 
 Gods,  and  probably  the  same  myths,  as  their  neigh- 
 bours, and  that  they  adopted  the  same  plan  of  calling 
 places  after  their  deities,  as  did  the  Assyrians  and 
 Phens  generally. 
 
 It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  call  the  attention  of 
 the  reader  to  the  very  important  part  played  by  the 
 lion  in  the  ancient  mythology  of  western  and  central 
 Asia,  for  all  must  be  familiar  with  it  through  the 
 works  of  Layard  and  other  writers ;  but  it  is  worth 
 while  to  linger  for  a  moment  on  the  teachings  which 
 the  natural  history  of  the  beast  imparts.  The 
 animal,  we  are  told  by  observers,  resides  during  the 
 day  in  dense  thickets,  so  as  to  avoid  the  light  and 
 heat  of  the  day ;  at  night  it  comes  forth  to  seek 
 its  prey,  generally  stealing  upon  it  whilst  it  sleeps, 
 or  when  it  stoops  to  drink.  We  conclude,  therefore, 
 that  when  a  country  is  cleared  from  all  jungle,  and 
 highly  cultiva4;ed,  lions  cannot  long  exist.  But  we 
 are  told  that  lions  existed  in  Palestine  to  a  com- 
 paratively late  period,  i.  e.  the  time  of  Ahaz  (2  Kings 
 xvii.  25,  26).^^  This  involves  the  idea  that  the 
 country  was  not  as  densely  populated,  or  as  highly 
 cultivated,  as  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures 
 would  lead  us  to  believe.  There  is  also  another 
 point  on  the  subject  of  lions,  which  we  may  notice, 
 viz.,  that  it  is  probable  that  towns  were  first  walled  as 
 a  security  against  beasts  of  prey,  rather  than  against 
 human  enemies.  The  modern  African  surrounds 
 his  towns  with  thick  ramparts  of  thorn,  by  way  of 
 excluding  the  elephants  which  wander  in  the  forests 
 
 16  See  Vol.  I.,  pp.  .502-505. 
 
203 
 
 around    him;    and    we   may   well  believe   that  the 
 ancient   settlers    in    Palestine    did   much  the  same. 
 In    Singapore,  we   see    a   modern    city  of   wondrous 
 growth   and  great   wealth,  yet  whose  outskirts  were 
 so   infested    with    tigers   that  few   ventured    to    go 
 out    at    night;     and   it    is   possible   that    Tyre    and 
 Sidon   in   their  early  days   may   have    been    equally 
 menaced  by  lions.     It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  in 
 India  the  poorer  natives  regard  the  tiger  as  a  deity, 
 whom  they  worship  as  a  spirit  having  power  to  destroy 
 or  spare  them. 
 Lama  is  the  name  given  to  any  one  of  the  priestly  order  in 
 Thibet  and    Tartary.       The   head  of   the    body    is 
 called  the  Grand  Lama ;  and  he  is  especially  interest- 
 ing to  us,   inasmuch  as  the    ritual  which  has  been 
 common    amongst   his   followers   from   the   remotest 
 ao-es  is   now  reproduced   in  modern    Romish    Chris- 
 tianity.    Like  the  Papacy,  the  of&ce  is  not  hereditary, 
 and  the   Grand  Lama,   like  the  Pope,  is  elected  by 
 priests  of  a  certain  order.     The  adherents  of  Lama 
 (like  Abraham)     offer  to  their  god  both  bread  and 
 wine;    they   give  extreme  unction,  bless   marriages, 
 pray  for  the  sick,  make  processions,  honour  the  relics 
 of  their   saints,  have  monasteries,   and  convents  for 
 young  women ;  sing  in  their  temples,  observe  fasts,  use 
 whips  to  discipline  their  bodies,  wear  rosary  and  cross, 
 use  sandals,  consecrate  bishops,  and  send  out  mission- 
 aries ;    they  believe  in  God,  a  Trinity,  Paradise,  Hell, 
 and   Purgatory ;    they  give  alms,  make  prayers,  and 
 offer  sacrifices   for  the  dead. 
 
 The  Lama  priests  have  also  long  litanies,  a 
 sacred  fire  kept  constantly  burning,  and  a  revolving 
 prayer  cyhnder,  a  "  facile  form  for  making  endless 
 repetitions ;  "    have  vows  of  chastity  and  poverty  in 
 
204 
 
 convents ;  have  confessors,  and  use  holy  water,  the 
 cross,  and  chaplets.  (Quoted  at  second-hand  from 
 Father  Gueber,  who  sajs  he  has  seen  all  this ; 
 Remains  of  Jajpliet.)  Compare  this  account  with 
 that  given  by  the  Abbe  Hue  {Travels  in  Tartary, 
 A.  D.  1844-6),  wherewith  it  entirely  tallies. 
 
 In  India,  and  in  ancient  Greece,  monasteries  for 
 monks  and  nuns  are  met  with  at  a  very  early  period. 
 Pilgrimages  in  India  have  long  been  practised,  and, 
 singularly  enough,  the  method  of  printing  in  stereo- 
 type has  been  known  in  Thibet  from  time  immemorial, 
 though  confined  to  sacred  books. 
 
 Similar  accounts  have  been  given  of  the  Lamas 
 in  Siam.  And  in  a  recent  work  on  Japan  there  is 
 pictured  a  monk,  who  might  well  pass  for  one 
 of  those  jolly  mortals  which  our  own  old  writers, 
 painters,  etc.,  have  made  us  familiar  with.  Amongst 
 Japanese  monks,  as  with  others,  vows  of  chastity  and 
 poverty  are  taken. 
 Lamech,  W^.  (Gen.  iv.  19).  This  word  is  possibly  a 
 transposition  of  V^,,  viclech,  "  a  king  or  ruler." 
 Lamachus  was  a  name  borne  by  a  Grecian  general, 
 who  died  b.  c.  414.  Lamech  is  said  to  signify 
 "  overthrower,"  or  "wild  man,"  by  Fiirst;  but  these 
 are  very  improbable  epithets.  There  is,  however,  an 
 interpretation  of  this  word  proposed  by  the  learned 
 Dr.  Donaldson,"  too  important  to  be  omitted  here, 
 and  which  I  may  thus  summarise  : — Assuming  that 
 the  book  of  Jashar  was  put  together  about  the  time 
 of  Solomon,  he  enquires  who  those  men  were  who 
 
 1''  Jashar,  ty  J.  W.  Donaldson,  D.  D.,  etc.,  second  edition,  pages  128,9; 
 Williams  and  Norgate,  London,  p.  390,  8vo. ;  and  again  in  (Jhristiaa  Ortliodoxy, 
 pages  252,3,4,  by  J.  W.  Donaldson,  D.D.,  Williams  and  Norgate,  London,  1857, 
 pp.  476,  8vo. 
 
205 
 
 lived  by  their  swords.  He  points  out  that  the  Philis- 
 tines were  a  nation  of  warriors,  and  that  David,  when 
 he  came  to  the  throne,  had  a  band  of  mercenaries, 
 which  were  called  Cherethites  and  Pelethites,  which 
 scholars  have  identified  with  Cretans.  These,  like 
 the  Philistines,  bore  as  their  arms  '*  swords,"  as  well 
 as  spears.  The  former  were  known  by  the  Greek 
 word,  [Ma^aipixi,  the  Hebrew  form  of  which  '^'^^P, 
 mecherah,  appears  in  Genesis  xlix.  5.  If,  he  argues, 
 the  Greek  sword  then  went  by  a  Greek  name,  it  is 
 probable  that  a  man  who  lived  by  fighting,  might 
 have  a  name  of  similar  origin.  Amongst  the  Greeks, 
 \aixaxo§,  lamachos,  was  a  well  known  name,  from 
 Xoc-jj^a^Y},  and  signifying  "very  warlike,"  or  "  a  great 
 warrior  or  champion."  He  then  analyses  the  word 
 Tubal  Cain,  and  shows  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
 name  is  one  intended  to  represent  the  iron  workers, 
 who  abounded  in  Crete,  Ehodes,  and  other  Medi- 
 terranean islands ;  and  he  concludes  that  Lamech  is 
 a  name  of  Pelasgic  origin,  and  has  reference  to  a 
 warlike  propensity,  agreeing,  in  this  respect,  with 
 Esau,  of  whom  it  was  said,  "  By  thy  sword  thou 
 shalt  live  "  (Gen.  xxvii.  40).  The  same  author  also 
 points  out  that  one  of  David's  mighty  men  was 
 Hepher  the  Mecherothite  (1  Chron.  xi.  3  -  6),  i.  e., 
 Hepher  the  swordsman;  and  that  no  valid  etymon 
 can  be  found  for  Lamech  in  the  Hebrew.  He  has, 
 too,  some  remarks  which  go  very  far  to  support  the 
 views  which  we  have  promulgated  in  the  article 
 Kenite,  supra. 
 
 Assuming  that  there  is  a  vraisciiiblance  in  the 
 above  hypothesis,  we  may  fancy  that  in  Lamech's 
 wife  Adah  we  can  recognise  "I5«,  the  central  and 
 loftiest  point  of  the  mountain  range  which  traverses 
 
206 
 
 the   island   of  Crete ;    and   in   Zillah   that   we   may 
 recognise  Zilia,  a  large  Carthaginian  colony. 
 
 In  Christian  Orthodoxy,  p.  253,  we  read,  "Ewald, 
 who  had  previously  made  the  most  desperate  attempts 
 to  find  a  Semitic  etymon  for  1^^,  has  lately  arrived, 
 independently,  at  the  conclusion  that  this  supposed 
 antediluvian  name  is  merely  a  Greek  epithet  from 
 the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean."  He  writes  as 
 follows;  "The  man's  name,  Aaixa^oc,  recurs  in 
 Pisidia,  Corjnis  Inscr.,  No.  4379 ;  the  woman's 
 name,  "A^a,  likewise  in  that  district ;  Corpus  Inscr. 
 iii.  p.  333.  This  coincidence  is  all  the  more  remark- 
 able, as  neither  of  the  names  occur  again  in  the  history 
 of  Israel."  Again,  at  p.  254,  Donaldson  writes, 
 "  The  Pyrgopolinices  of  Plautus  was  a  later  repre- 
 sentation of  these  soldiers  (swordsmen),  properly 
 so  called,  who  raised  latrones  for  the  Eastern  kings, 
 and  called  themselves  by  the  surname  of  Lamachus, 
 the  son  of  Mars  and  husband  of  Venus,  or  Ada 
 the  lovely." 
 
 Lapidoth,  niT'S?  (Judges  iv.  4).  It  is  said  to  signify  "light- 
 nings" by  Fiirst;  but  it  is  more  consonant  with  ancient 
 nomenclature  to  consider  that  it  means  "the  lumin- 
 ous beings,"  i.  e.,  both  sun  and  moon.  The  name  is 
 borne  by  the  husband  of  Deborah,  "  a  prophetess," 
 and  we  thus  find  that  she  assumed  to  be  the  spouse 
 of  the  rulers  of  the  day  and  night. 
 
 Leah,  '^^2  (Gen.  xxix.  16).  This  word  is  translated 
 "wearied"  by  Gesenius,  and  "weary,  or  dull,"  by 
 Fiirst ;  both  however  are  singularly  inappropriate  to 
 an  infant.  We  may,  more  probably,  consider  that  this 
 word  signifies  "she  languishes,"  and  that  it  has 
 reference  to  Astarte,  or  Ishtar.  The  idea  of  "  lan- 
 guishment "  appears   to   have  been  associated  in  all 
 
207 
 
 hot  countries  witli  that  of  "  desire  " ;  indeed,  we  may 
 see  this  union  in  the  following  Hues  from  Spenser's 
 Faery  Queen,  which  I  quote  from  memory.  The 
 scene  is  laid  in  the  garden  of  bliss,  in  which  a 
 knight  is  subjected  to  a  great  variety  of  temptations, 
 one  amongst  others  being  a  lovely  woman  lying  on 
 a  bank — 
 
 "As  faint  mth  lieat,  or  cliglit  for  pleasant  sin." 
 The  word  may  be  a  variant  of  D?,  leali,  which  signifies 
 "vital  force,  freshness,  and  vigour;"  the  name  being 
 given  with  the  same  idea  as  was  in  the  mind  of  Jacob, 
 when  he  said,  "Reuben,  thou  art  my  might,  the 
 beginning  of  my  strength"  (Gen.  xlix.  3),  or  a 
 variant  of  ^^^,  luh,  "  he  shines,  glitters,  or  burns." 
 
 Lebaoth,  J^""'^?^  (Josh.  XV.  32).  "The  lionesses."  As  the  lions 
 were  emblems  of  strength,  so  their  females  are  em- 
 blems of  salacity.  We  are  told  by  naturalists,  that 
 in  number  the  males  far  exceed  the  females,  and 
 when  the  latter  are  in  heat,  they  remain  at  some 
 spot  in  the  forest  and  roar  with  a  peculiar  note. 
 This  being  uttered,  all  the  males  who  hear  it 
 make  for  the  sound,  and  if  there  be  more  than  one,  a 
 fierce  conflict  ensues,  which  generally  ends  with  the 
 death  of  the  weakest.  After  the  fight  is  over,  the 
 lioness  becomes  the  mate  of  the  strongest ;  and  having 
 brought  forth,  no  animal  is  more  careful  in  the 
 manner  in  which  it  tends  its  young  ones.  She  has 
 been,  therefore,  adopted  as  an  emblem  of  desire  and 
 maternal  love,  in  some  parts,  like  the  cow  in  others. 
 See  supra,  Vol.  i.,  p.  54. 
 
 Lemuel,  ^^-l^-^f  or  ^^)''^\  (Prov.  xxxi.  1,  4).  The  etymology 
 of  this  word,  and  its  meaning,  appear  to  me  to  be  very 
 doubtful;  nor  do  I  find  any  satisfactory  expla- 
 nation of  the  cognomen  either  in  Fiirst  or  Gesenius ; 
 
208 
 
 'to  God,'  or  'towards  him  God,'  being  somewhat 
 barbarous.  A  reference  to  the  chapter  in  which  the 
 name  occurs  (Prov.  xxx.  1,  4),  shows  that  its  primary 
 intention  is  to  recommend  kings  not  to  drink  wine  or 
 strong  drink;  and  as  the  cognomen  seems  to  be  a 
 "fancy"  one,  we  may  possibly  find  that  it  has  refer- 
 ence to  the  precept  inculcated.  Now  ^-0-^,  mahal, 
 signifies  "  to  dikite  wine  with  water,  so  as  to  take 
 away  its  strength;"  and  if  to  this  we  add  {,  as 
 signifying  "  towards,"  we  shall  get  the  meaning, 
 ''towards  diluting  wine."  This  has  been  modified, 
 sufficiently  to  suit  the  circumstances,  by  the  narrator, 
 and  framed  as  we  meet  with  it  above. 
 
 Levi,  '']?.  (Gen.  xxix.  34).  The  word  is  usually  said  to  mean 
 "  the  adherent,"  "  garland  or  crown,"  but  the  ex- 
 planation is  unsatisfactory.  We  may  derive  it  from 
 any  of  the  following  words  without  violating  vraisem- 
 hlance,  viz.,  i^J^,  lava,  "he  joins  closely,  he  unites," 
 or  "winds  in  a  circle,"  or  "writhes"  as  a  serpent;  or 
 from  n-l*?,  Ivah  or  luh,  "  he  lightens,  shines,  or  glit- 
 ters," also  "he  cuts  off,"  "he  separates."  The  idea 
 apparently  intended  to  be  conveyed  is  that  the  tribe 
 of  Levi  were  '  cut  off '  from  the  rest  of  the  Jewish 
 people,  and  consecrated  to  the  service  of  religion ;  that 
 they  were  to  be  a  sacred  caste  like  the  Brahmins  in 
 India.  This,  of  itself,  leads  us  to  believe  that  the 
 names  of  the  so-called  Patriarchs  were  of  com- 
 paratively late  invention,  and  that  some  were  given  in 
 reference  to  the  times  when  the  story  was  concocted. 
 
 There  is  very  strong  reason  for  doubt  respecting 
 the  period  at  which  the  Levites  were  set  apart  for  the 
 priesthood  as  a  separate  class.  In  fact,  an  attempt  to 
 sketch   their    history   shows    how   contradictory   and 
 
 '-  meagre  is  the  knowledge  which  we  have  respecting 
 
209 
 
 them,  and  the  difficulties  which  are  inseparable  from 
 the  Biblical  history  as  it  stands.    The  first  point  which 
 strikes  us  is  the  close  connection  of  the  Levites  Avith 
 the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  and  Judea,  and  their  absence 
 from  Samaria.     Yet,  by  the  division  of  the  tribes  into 
 two  and  ten,  it  is  clear  that  Levi  must  have  joined 
 Jeroboam  and   his   followers.       We  conclude,   then, 
 that  the  historian  who  recorded  the  division  of  the 
 tribes,  and  he  who  recorded  the  origin  of  the  Levitical 
 priesthood,  were  not  in  perfect  accord.     Again,  the 
 institution    of    such     prophets    as    Samuel,    David, 
 Abijah,     Elijah,     Elisha,''     and    others,    who     ful- 
 filled, to  a  very  great  extent,  the   office  of  Priests, 
 seems  to  negative    the    idea  that   there  was  then  a 
 special     family    out    of    which    all     hierarchs    were 
 selected.     Still  farther,  we  find,  upon  making  inquiry, 
 that  the  Levites  arc  only  mentioned  in  one  Psalm, 
 and  that  of  a  late  date,  cxxxv.  20 ;  and  very  rarely  in 
 the  books  of  the  Kings  and  of  the  earlier  prophets. 
 They  are,  on  the  other  hand,  constantly  referred  to  in 
 Ezra   and    Nehemiah,    the    later   writers   in   Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah,    and   Ezekiel,  and   also  in  Zechariah  and 
 Malachi.     They  are  repeatedly  referred  to  in  the  book 
 of  the  Chronicles,  perhaps  the  very  latest  composition 
 in  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 To  this  argument  it  will  very  probably  be  answered 
 that  the  Levites  are  constantly  spoken  of  in  the 
 Pentateuch,  Joshua,  and  Judges.  The  fact  no  one 
 can  dispute,  yet  it  is  an  open  question  whether  this  is 
 not  evidence  of  the  late  date  of  the  composition  of 
 those  books,  rather  than  of  the  antiquity  of  the  Levi- 
 tical tribe.     The  moderns,  who  know  how  the  Jesuits 
 
 18  See  1  Sam.  xii.  9.  xvi.  2,  3,  5.    2  Sam.  xxiv.  25. 
 
 O 
 
210 
 
 have  falsified  history,  can  easily  imagine  that  a  more 
 ancient  priesthood  have  done  a  similar  thing.  The 
 question  thus  raised  is  one  which  cannot  be  answered 
 categorically,  it  can  only  be  weighed  in  the  balance  of 
 probabiHty;  and  every  collateral  evidence,  either  on 
 one  side  or  the  other,  must  be  duly  sifted.  After 
 having  ourselves  gone  through  the  process  of  judicial 
 inquiry,  we  are  inclined  to  believe  that  the  institution 
 of  the  Levitical  class  dates  from  the  period  of  "the 
 captivity;"  that  they  were  originally  a  set  of  men 
 analogous  to  the  modern  "  Scripture  readers,"  visit- 
 ing and  ministering  from  house  to  house ;  that  their 
 utility  was  recognised  by  the  priestly  body,  who  finally 
 incorporated  them  as  a  distinct  caste,  for  whom  subse- 
 quent hieroj)hants  made  a  literature,  a  history,  and  a 
 set  of  laws,  which  were  not  introduced  into  the  canon 
 of  scripture  until  about  b.  c.  300,  a  short  time  prior 
 to  the  collection  of  the  Jewish  writings,  which  were 
 then  translated  into  the  Greek  for  the  benefit  of 
 Ptolemy  Philadelphus  and  his  magistrates.  A  period 
 to  which  we  may  trace  both  the  books  of  Leviticus 
 and  Chronicles. 
 
 Amongst  the  reasons  which  may  be  assigned  for 
 thinking  that  the  Levitical  or  priestly  caste  is  of 
 comparatively  modern  origin,  is  one  derived  from  the 
 following  episode  in  Indian  history. 
 
 We  learn  from  Tlie  History  of  India  from  the 
 earliest  ages,  by  J.  Talboys  Wheeler  (London,  1867), 
 that  when  first  the  Aryans  invaded  that  country,  the 
 military  class  asserted  and  maintained  their  supre- 
 macy over  the  priestly  class ;  or,  in  other  words,  the 
 powerful,  and  the  men  of  action,  despised  the  drones. 
 There,  as  elsewhere,  physical  and  mental  power  came 
 into    collision.      I    may    quote    one    passage    from 
 
211 
 
 Wheeler  (p.  155),  which  shows  that  he  entertains  a 
 similar  idea  to  my  own.  "  The  Kshatriyas  were  a 
 military  class  who  delighted  in  war ;  and  the  blessings 
 of  peace,  as  enabling  the  people  to  perform  their 
 religious  duties,  is  unlikely  to  have  found  a  place 
 in  their  traditions."  On  the  other  hand,  the  per- 
 formance of  a  ceaseless  round  of  religious  duties  (the 
 italics  are  our  own)  and  the  special  observance  of 
 particular  days,  form  the  constant  burden  of  Brah- 
 minical  teaching ;  and  the  eulogies  bestoived  upon  the 
 Raja  and  his  subjects,  and  the  temporal  prosperity 
 ivhich  rewarded  such  piety,  is  precisely  lohat  might 
 have  been  expected  from  a  priest  caste,  labouring  to 
 enforce  the  duties  of  religion  amongst  an  agricultural 
 population.  For  "Brahmin,"  read  "  Levite,"  and 
 for  *' Eajah,"  read  "Jewish  King,"  and  it  will  at 
 once  be  seen  how  close  is  the  resemblance  between 
 the  Vedic  and  the  Hebrew  ideas  on  certain  matters  of 
 religion. 
 
 Again,  we  find  Spinoza,  Tractatus  Theologo-po- 
 liticus^'^  opening  his  book  with  the  remark,  "  Did  men 
 always  act  with  understanding  and  discretion,  or  were 
 fortune  always  propitious,  they  would  never  be  the 
 slaves  of  superstition."  "The  main-spring  of  super- 
 stition is  fear ;  by  fear,  too,  is  superstition  sustained 
 and  nourished."  "Alexander,  for  instance,  first  began 
 to  consult  soothsayers  when  he  learned  to  mistrust 
 fortune  by  reverses  in  the  Cilician  passes.  After  his 
 triumph  over  Darius,  however,  he  no  longer  troubled 
 himself  about  seers  and  oracles ;  but  when  again 
 alarmed  by  the  defections  of  the  Bactrians,  and  the 
 threatened  hostility  of  the  Scythians,  whilst  he  him- 
 
 19  Translated  from  the  Latin.    Trlibner,  London,  1862. 
 
212 
 
 self  lay  sick  on  his  bed,  disabled  by  a  wound,  he 
 once  more,  as  Q.  Curtius  says,  returned  to  the  super- 
 stitious absurdities  of  soothsaying,  and  ordered  Aris- 
 tander,  to  whom  he  had  confided  his  own  scepticism 
 on  the  subject,  to  enquire  into  the  course  of  events 
 by  sacrifice,"   &c.       In   other  words,   when    ancient 
 kings  or  generals  were    "  at  their  wits'   end,"  they 
 called    those    men   to    their    aid,    whom    they   were 
 ashamed  openly  to    call    into  their  councils,   asking 
 advice    from    knaves    and    fools   when    friends    and 
 equals  were  dumbfounded.     Hence  we  conclude  that 
 the  class  of  Levites  were  the  legitimate  offspring  of 
 the  fears  of  the  Jews ;  that  this  priestly  caste  had  no 
 acknowledged    position    in  the  early  age  of  the  mo- 
 narchy  under   David  and    Solomon,  which   we   may 
 designate  as  the  fighting  and  the  prosperous  period 
 of  the  Jews  ;  and  that  they  gradually  arose  into  notice 
 and  favour  during  the  troublous  times  following  the 
 Grecian  captivity. 
 LiLiTH,    ri'''?'''?    (Isaiah  xxxiv.    14).     (Assyrian   Lilat,   e.  g., 
 Sarrat  ha  lilat,  the  Queen  of  Night,  Talbot,  Journal 
 Royal  Asiatic   Society,    new  series.  Vol.  iii.,  p.  9). 
 This  name  occurs  but  once  in  the  Old  Testament, 
 and  is  then  associated  with  wild  beasts  and  satyrs. 
 In   our   authorised   version,    the    word    is    rendered 
 "screech  owl."  The  context,  and  the  termination  of  the 
 word  itself,   indicate  that   Lilith  is  of  the  feminine 
 gender,  and  associated  with  "  satyrs."     A  friend  has 
 furnished  me  with  the  following  information.      The 
 Lilith  of  the  Eabbins  is  a  spectre,  under  the  form  of 
 a  beautiful  woman,  well  attired,  who  follows  children 
 in  particular,  in  order  to  kill  them,  as  the  Lamise  and 
 Stuger.     Lilith  was  Adam's  first  wife,  with  whom  he 
 procreated  demons.     She  stands  by  the  side  of  women 
 
213 
 
 in  child-bed,  for  the  purpose  of  killing  the  infants. 
 The  amulet  inscribed  on  the  bed,  or  worn  by  child- 
 bearing  Hebrew  women,  is  n'''?'''?  |*in  mn  DXs*^   ''Adam 
 Eve,  get  out  Lilith." 
 
 Before  we  inquire  into  the  meaning  of  the  word 
 in    question,    we   will    examine    into    the    significa- 
 tion   of    I'yt?^    sair,    which  is  translated  pilosus,   or 
 "hairy,"  by   the  Vulgate;   ovoxevruupoi,    onokentaurl, 
 "satyrs,"  by  the  Septaagint.     It  is  to  be  borne  in 
 mind  that  the  latter  read,  for  "  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
 desert,"    "  devils."     Now   the   word   sair,    radically, 
 signifies    "hairy."     But   there   is   reason  to   believe 
 that  it  also  signified  a  goat-shaped  deity,  which  was 
 worshipped  on  high  places,  and  was  associated  with 
 the  calves.     Allusion  is  made  to  it  in  Leviticus  xvii. 
 7,  where  it  is  said  they  shall   no  more    offer  their 
 sacrifices  unto  devils  onw  (selrim),  after  whom  they 
 have  gone  a  whoring ;  and  again,  in  2  Chron.  xi.  15, 
 where   we    are  told  that   Jeroboam    "  ordained   him 
 priests  for  the  high  places,  and  for  the  devils  (seirim), 
 and  for  the  calves  which  he  had  made."     The  same 
 are  mentioned  again  in  Isaiah  xiii.  21,  where  they  are 
 spoken  of  as  "  satyrs"  in  our  authorised  version.     In 
 all  the  other  passages  where  the  word  1W,  sair  is 
 used,  it  is  translated  "  a  kid  of  the  goats,  a  he-goat, 
 or  a  rough  goat." 
 
 Now  we  have  already  seen  that  the  goat  was  deified 
 by  some  nations  as  a  representative  of  excessive 
 creative  power.  In  Egypt,  we  learn  that  it  was  vene- 
 rated in  a  very  practical  way  by  some  women,  as  well 
 as  by  men  (Herod,  b.  ii.,  c.  42,  46).  We  also  learn 
 that  Jupiter  was  identified  with  the  form  of  a  ram  • 
 and  we  know  from  ancient  coins,  that  many  of  the 
 gods  and  kings  of  Greece  and  Asia  were  represented 
 
214 
 
 with  rams'  horns.  The  cap  of  the  Assyrian  monarchs 
 is  represented  as  adorned  by  horns  ;  and  in  Daniel 
 viii.  21,  the  king  of  Grecia  is  represented  under  the 
 form  of  a  rough  goat ;  and  we  may  also  notice  that 
 Moses  is  thus  represented  in  mediaeval  art. 
 
 These  considerations  naturally  recal  to  our  mind 
 the  god  which  went  amongst  the  Greeks  by  the  name 
 of  Pan,  and  who  was  represented,  by  the  Egyp- 
 tians and  Greeks,  "with  the  horns,  ears,  and  legs 
 of  a  goat ;  not  that  they  imagine  this  to  be  his  real 
 form,  for  they  think  him  like  the  other  gods."  He 
 was  also  considered  one  of  the  eight  original  deities 
 (Herod,  b.  ii.,  c.  46).  Whenever  Pan  and  the  satyrs 
 have  been  depicted,  whether  by  the  brush,  pen,  or 
 chisel,  they  are  always  described  as  excessively 
 salacious;  to  such  an  extent,  indeed,  that  "satyriasis" 
 is  the  name  adopted  by  physicians  when  describing 
 male  erotomania.  The  idea  associated  with  the  myth 
 is,  that  the  goat  is  excessively  impetuous  in  love  ; 
 whilst  amongst  ourselves  there  is  a  connection 
 between  abundance  of  hair  upon  the  face,  etc.,  and 
 masculine  potency.  As  the  eunuchs  in  Assyrian 
 sculptures  and  elsewhere  are  always  pourtrayed  with- 
 out any  beard,  whisker,  or  moustache,  so  are  the 
 men  depicted  with  huge  beards,  etc.  As  man  does 
 not  become  hirsute  until  he  arrives  at  an  age  in  which 
 his  virile  power  becomes  developed;  and  as  those 
 who  are  effeminate  have  scarcely  any  hair  upon  the 
 face  at  all,  it  was  natural  to  conclude  that  a  creature 
 hairy  all  over,  like  the  goat,  must  be  endowed 
 with  marvellous  creative  energy.  Hence  we  conclude, 
 that  Pan,  the  satyr,  and  the  goat  were  nothing  more 
 than  variants  of  Mahadeva. 
 
 We  have  next  to  explain  why  satyrs  were  supposed 
 
215 
 
 to  haunt  woods,  ruins,  tombs,  and  places,  where  deso- 
 lation reigned.     The  task  is   easy,  to  any  one  who 
 remembers   the   episode   recorded   in  Matt.  viii.  28, 
 Mark  v.  2,  Luke  viii.  27,  where  we  are  told  that  Jesus 
 was  met  by  two  men  coming  out  of  the  tombs,  exceed- 
 ing fierce,   so   that    no  man  might   pass   that   way. 
 In  Mark  we  are  told  of  only  one  man  who  had  an 
 unclean  spirit,  had  his  dwelling  amongst  the  tombs, 
 and  was  so  fierce  that  no  man  could  tame  him;  whilst 
 in  Luke  we  find  farther,  that  he  wore  no  clothes.^" 
 From  the  book  of   Daniel,  we  conclude,  that   those 
 who   became   mad  were   driven   from  amongst  men, 
 and  took  refuge  in  desert  places.      Now,  when  men 
 are  driven  from  society,  and  are  no  more  able  to  pro- 
 cure the  necessities  of  life,  they  must  either  remain 
 naked  or   procure  the  skin  of  some  animals  where- 
 with  to    clothe  themselves,  and   it  is  probable   that 
 goats'    skins   could    be   more   readily  procured   than 
 sheep's  skins,  from  the  propensity  of  goats  to  wander. 
 It  is  natural  to  believe,  therefore,  that  such  unfor- 
 tunate  maniacs   as   dwelt   amongst    tombs   or   ruins 
 would  be  either  clothed  with  goats'  skin,  or  have  a 
 large  development  of  their  own  hair,  like  Nebuchad- 
 nezzar.     Still  farther,  we  can  well  conceive   that  a 
 fierce  lunatic,  when  unable  to  buy  food,  would  have  to^ 
 put  up  with  any  ofi'al  he  could  find,  and  might  even 
 prey  upon  the  bodies  of  the  dead.       Hence  a  story 
 would  naturally  arise  of  fearful  Ghouls,  such  as  we 
 meet  with  in  the  "  Arabian  Nights."     Still  farther, 
 
 201  would  notice  here  that  a  very  common  pi'opensity  during  a  imroxysm  of 
 acute  mania,  the  most  fearful  of  all  the  forms  of  insanity  which  we  know,  is  to  tear 
 up  all  the  clothes  generally  worn  by  the  individual ;  Loth  sexes  are  aifected  by  it, 
 and  both  are  equally  furious  if  they  are  intei-fered  with.  When  the  paroxysm  is 
 over,  the  patients  keenly  feel  the  cold  and  seek  for  garments,  for,  as  a  general  rule, 
 the  lunatic  enjoys  warmth  as  does  the  dog,  cat,  or  other  domestic  animal. 
 
216 
 
 we  can  imagine  that  when  a  man  has,  through 
 insanity,  degenerated  into  a  beast,  he  would  have 
 all  his  animal  passions  aroused  at  the  sight  of  a 
 woman,  and  would,  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity 
 of  satiating  himself,  act  as  none  but  a  maniac 
 would.  We  can  easily  imagine  in  what  manner  a 
 woman  thus  treated  would  describe  her  adventures, 
 after  escaping  from  such  a  creature. 
 
 From  these  considerations,  we  are  led  to  believe, 
 that  the  seiiim  were  a  mythological  personification 
 of  the  powers  of  Mahadeva ;  and  that  'satyrs' was 
 the  name  given  to  poor  lunatics,  who,  driven  from 
 men  by  day,  could  only  prowl  about  at  night ;  or  to 
 marauders  dressed  in  goats'  skins,  who  only  appeared 
 when  night  would  assist  them  in  their  attempts  at 
 plunder.  Such  being  our  opinion  of  seirim,  we  pro- 
 ceed to  consider  Lilith. 
 
 As  the  seirim  were  masculine  demons,  so 
 Lilith  was  a  feminine  devil.  This  Lilith  was 
 supposed  to  haunt  the  same  places  as  the  Ghouls 
 and  Satyrs,  and  appears  to  have  been  sometimes  con- 
 sidered as  a  Werewolf.  By  some,  Lilith  is  identified 
 with  Lamia,  "  a  female  phantom,  by  which  children 
 were  frightened ;  who  is  represented  as  having  been 
 robbed  of  her  children,  and  revenging  herself  by 
 robbing  and  murdering  others.^^  LamifB  were  also 
 conceived  of  as  handsome  ghostly  women,  who,  by 
 voluptuous  artifices,  attracted  young  men,  in  order 
 to  enjoy  their  fresh,  youthful,  and  pure  flesh  and 
 blood  "  (L.  Schmitz,  in  Smith's  Dictionanj  of 
 Myiliolofjy) .  From  this  account  we  turn  our  atten- 
 tion to  a  horrible  anecdote  recorded  in  2  Icings  vi. 
 
 21  Compare  Lady  of  the  Lahe,  canto  iv.,  stanzas  21-27. 
 
217 
 
 28,  29,  whereby  it  appears  that  two  women  mutually 
 agreed  to  kill,  cook,  and  eat  their  respective  offspring, 
 and,  so  fierce  was  their  hunger,  that  the  son  of  the  one 
 woman  did  but  suffice  the  two  mothers  for  one  day, 
 and  on  the  next,  the  one  whose  child  had  been  eaten 
 craved  for  the  promised  repetition  of  the  meal. 
 
 There  is  a  story  still  more  painful  told  by 
 Josephus,  as  occurring  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem 
 {Wars  of  the  Jews,  b.  vi.  c.  iv.),  in  which  a  woman 
 again  figures  as  having  killed,  cooked,  and  eaten  her 
 own  child.  Whilst  I  write,  too,  a  weird  picture  rises 
 before  my  memory,  wherein  is  pourtrayed,  by  the  mar- 
 vellous brush  of  Wiertz,  the  talented  painter  of 
 Brussels,  a  maniac  mother  preparing  to  cook  her 
 offspring.  Such  an  one  might  well  pass  for  a  Ghoul. 
 Now  in  the  cases  before  us,  the  males,  who  are 
 cognisant  of  the  deeds,  express  unmitigated  horror. 
 It  has  not  occurred  to  them  to  resort  to  cannibalism 
 in  order  to  support  life,  although  we  know  that  they 
 have  done  so  occasionally. 
 
 Let  us  now  imagine  a  poor  woman  driven  from 
 the  haunts  of  men  by  madness,  or  by  any  other 
 cause.  Hunted  by  day,  she  can  only  venture  out  at 
 night.  She  must  resort  to  tombs  or  ruins  for  a 
 shelter,  and  seek  for  food  as  best  she  can.  It  may 
 be  that,  with  the  artfulness  of  insanity,  —  for  lunatics 
 are  often  conspicuous  for  the  cleverness  of  their 
 devices,  —  she  succeeds  in  inveigling  a  poor  innocent 
 to  her  cell,  only  to  kill  and  devour  its  tender  limbs, 
 or  in  seducing  with  her  wiles  some  hot-blooded  youth, 
 whose  vigour  she  saps  by  her  mad  importunities. 
 
 It  is  not,  however,  necessary  that  we  should 
 consider  that  seifim  and  lillth  are  invariably  persons 
 affected  by  lunacy.     They  may  equally  be  described 
 
•     218 
 
 as  individuals  who  so  clothe  themselves,  as  to  impose 
 upon  others  the  idea  of  their  being  supernatural. 
 Such  were  the  incuhi  and  succubi  of  the  middle  ages, 
 males  and  females,  who,  entering  the  beds  of  young 
 men  and  women  under  the  guise  of  demons, 
 invited  them  to  have  intercourse,  which,  under  the 
 influence  of  terror  or  other  passion,  was  conceded. 
 Such  a  UUth  would  as  effectually  drain  the  vital  powers 
 of  a  growing  youth  as  would  a  genuine  vampire.  To 
 such  nocturnal  sources,  as  those  indicated  above,  it 
 is,  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  ancient  and  modern 
 myths  repecting  Vampyres,  Lilith,  Lamiae,  Daemons, 
 Fauns  and  Satyrs  are  owing.  I  find,  from  a  "charm" 
 in  the  Norwich  Museum,  that  Hebrew  parturient 
 women  still  require  protection  from  Lilith,  and  wear 
 a  talisman  for  the  purpose,  both  during  their  confine- 
 ment and  the  following  month. 
 
 I  would  notice  here  that  the  stories  of  Ghouls, 
 Satyrs,  WereAvolves,  Liliths,  and  the  like  can  only 
 flourish  when  the  minds  of  a  people  have  been  crowded 
 with  imaginary  horror  by  the  priesthood.  The  child 
 has  no  feeling  of  horror  until  it  has  been  taught 
 to  believe  in  fairies,  bogies,  or  devilries  of  some 
 kind  or  other.  When,  however,  it  has  been  so  in- 
 structed, every  thing  which  appears  to  be  dreadful  is 
 supposed  to  be,  or  to  have  connection  with,  the  mystic 
 individuals  of  whom  it  has  been  told.  In  like  man- 
 ner, when  the  mind  of  a  multitude  is  indoctrinated 
 with  the  belief  that  every  individual  is  surrounded  by 
 angels  and  demons ;  that  lunatics  are  persons  in  whom 
 reside  numbers,  it  may  be  myriads,  of  good  or  of  evil 
 spirits,  see  Luke  viii.  2,  30,  and  Mark  v.  13;  that  not 
 only  the  angels  and  demons,  but  that  Satan,  and  the 
 Almighty  Himself,  have  become  incarnate,  and  may  do 
 
219 
 
 so  again ;  when  we  are  told  that  persons  are  to  enter- 
 tain strangers,  because  they  may  be  angels  in  disguise, 
 Heb.  xiii.  2 ;  that  every  individual  has  a  guardian 
 angel.  Matt,  xviii.  10 ;  that  women  are  not  to  uncover 
 their  head,  when  worshipping,  on  account  of  the 
 angels,  1  Cor.  xi.  10 ;  that  the  devil  goeth  about  like 
 a  roaring  Hon,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour,  1  Peter 
 v.  8 ;  that  the  Virgin  becomes  incarnate,  and  appears 
 as  a  lovely  woman  to  the  faithful ;  and  that  the  devil 
 may  assume  the  form  of  an  engaging  female  or  a 
 frightful  imp;  surely  we  cannot  be  astonished  that 
 the  credulous  should  believe  the  stories  so  diligently 
 impressed  upon  their  minds,  and,  from  feelings  of 
 reverence  or  terror,  consent  to  that  from  which  their 
 senses  revolt. 
 
 We  can  readily  understand  that  such  individuals 
 would  describe  unusual  occurrences  in  a  method 
 consonant  with  their  current  thoughts.  Whilst  we, 
 whose  minds  are  comparatively  free  from  gross 
 credulity,  laugh  at  a  ghost  story,  and  set  a  watch  to 
 detect  the  practical  joker,  our  forefathers  held  the 
 imaginary  individual  in  horror,  never  doubting  his 
 existence.  There  are  abundance  of  old  stories  whose 
 interest  turns  upon  a  human  being,  assuming  to  be 
 an  angel  or  devil,  appearing  to  some  individual,  and 
 thus  obtaining,  through  reverence  or  terror,  whatever 
 he  desired.  It  may  also  be  noticed  that  incuhi  were 
 at  one  time  so  numerous  that  physicians  wrote  long 
 dissertations  upon  them;  and  parties  were  formed 
 which  gravely  discussed  the  question,  whether  such 
 demons  could  impregnate  human  beings  under  any  cir- 
 cumstances, and,  if  so,  what  those  circumstances  were? 
 
 The  philosopher  of  to-day  is  perfectly  justified  in 
 descanting  upon  the  ancient  ideas  which  are  described 
 
220 
 
 in  the  text,  for  they  serve  to  demonstrate  the  gross 
 ignorance  and  degrading  superstition  common  amongst 
 the  masses  who  helieved,  and  the  prophets  and 
 teachers  who  promulgated,  stories  of  Seirim,  Lihth, 
 Devils,  &c.,  and  to  show  how  foolish  it  would  be  for 
 a  rational  theologian  to  accept  such  idle  tales  as  the 
 so-called  inspired  effusions  of  the  only  wise  God. 
 LiNGA.  This  is  the  name  given  in  Hiudostan  to  the  symbol 
 which  characterises  the  male  creator.  If  we  examine 
 the  signification  of  the  word  by  means  of  a  Sanscrit 
 Lexicon,  we  find  that  it  is  used  as  *'  a  mark,  spot,  or 
 sign,  the  phallus,  Siva,  nature,  or  the  creative  power 
 and  the  ^n-imary  body."  Associated  with  the  word 
 stri,  as  in  strilinga,  it  signifies  the  yoni,  i.  e.,  qu(B 
 facit  arrigere.  "  The  means  by  which  the  Linga,  Siva 
 or  Mahadeva  are  symbolised  are  obelises,  pillars  of 
 any  shape,  especially  pyramids,  upright  stones,  stumps 
 of  trees,  trees  denuded  of  boughs,  any  high  trees, 
 especially  palm  trees,  poles,  &c.  Sometimes  it  is 
 represented  by  an  union  of  four  human  heads,  the 
 
 Figure  9. 
 
221 
 
 whole  bearing  a  cap  as  in  Fig.  13,  and  by  a  pillar  en- 
 circled by  a  serpent  as  in  Fig.  9.  In  some  instances 
 Siva  is  represented  as  an  ordinary  man.  The  frequency 
 with  which  the  Linga  is  asssociated  with  the  cobra  is 
 very  great,  and  evidently  symbolises  the  active  con- 
 dition of  the  thing  signified.  The  pillar  is  often  of  a 
 red  colour,  as  this  is  supposed  to  signify  the  creative 
 power  (Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon,  p.  6),  equivalent 
 also  to  Brahma,  to  the  sun,  and  to  fire,  but  the  colour 
 is  not  an  essential  part  of  the  emblem,  for  in  the 
 golden  temple  at  Benares  it  is  pure  white." 
 
 As  far  as  I  can  learn  from  a  study  of  Moor's 
 Hindoo  Pantheon  and  the  accounts  of  those  who  have 
 been  long  resident  in  India,  the  symbol  is  regarded 
 with  as  great  reverence,  by  men,  women,  and  children, 
 as  is  the  cross  in  Papal  Europe.  Before  it  lamps 
 are  lighted  in  worship,  and  for  it  shrines  are  built, 
 much  in  the  same  way  as  they  are  to  the  Virgin  in 
 Italy.  Plate  22  in  Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon  shows 
 "Parvati,"  or  some  holy  female,  at  worship  before  this 
 symbol. 
 
 Now,  although  Siva  is  represented  as  a  stone 
 standing  alone,  the  Linga  is  almost  invariably  re- 
 presented as  standing  in  the  yoni ;  yet,  notwithstand- 
 ing the  ideas  thus  suggested.  Moor  tells  us  that  he 
 never  saw  the  group,  under  any  form,  which  would 
 force  an  indelicate  notion  into  the  mind  of  an  adorer. 
 Associated  with  the  two  is  often  seen  the  Argha,  or 
 sacred  vessel   used  in  making  ofieriugs,  whose  shape 
 
 Figure  10. 
 
 and  which  at  once  reminds  the  reader 
 
 of  the  handles  of  the  crux  ansata,  and  the  systrum 
 of  Isis.     See  Vol.  i.,  Figs.  52,  54,  63.     Two  Arghas, 
 
222 
 
 copied    from    Moor's    Hindoo    Pantheon,    are    seen 
 below. 
 
 FitJure  11. 
 
 Fiffiire  12. 
 
 The  Linga  is,  moreover,  repeatedly  associated 
 with  the  image  of  the  Bull,  the  Lion,  the  Elephant, 
 and    other    symbols   of   great    power   and    strength. 
 
 Figure    13. 
 
223 
 
 When  worshipped,  it  is  presented  with  various  fruits 
 and  flowers,  water  is  poured  over  it,  repetitions  are 
 made  of  the  sacred  names  of  Siva,  giving  to  each 
 name  the  attribute  assigned  thereto,  e.  g.,  **  constant 
 reverence  to  Mahesa,  whose  form  is  radiant  as  a 
 mountain  of  silver,  lovely  as  the  crescent  of  the 
 moon,  resplendent  with  jewels,"  etc.,  etc. ;  then 
 follow  invocations  and  specific  prayers  for  blessings. 
 
 The  Linga  worship  is  spoken  of  in  the  Pu- 
 ranas,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  antiquity, 
 nor  of  the  extent  of  surface  over  which  it  prevails. 
 It  is,  however,  a  moot  point  whether  the  original 
 Vedas  sanction  this  form  of  worship,  or  indeed  if 
 their  writers  knew  of  its  existence.  This  point  is 
 one  of  great  interest,  for  upon  it  hangs  to  a  great 
 degree  the  solution  of  the  question,  whether  reverence 
 for  the  Creator,  under  sexual  emblems,  has  been 
 anterior  or  posterior  to  other  forms  of  faith.  Indeed 
 the  primitive  Hindoo  writings  point  to  a  deification 
 of  the  elements,  especially  fire;  and  the  Linga  is 
 not  spoken  of  until  later  periods.  Some  observations 
 by  Wilford  in  Asiatic  Researches,  and  quotations  by 
 Moor  in  his  Hindoo  Pantheon,  would  lead  to  the 
 inference  that  sects  of  Lingacitas  and  Yonijas  have 
 sprung  up  almost  simultaneously  within  the  historic 
 period  of  India,  and  have  carried  on  bloody  wars. 
 Eepresentatives  of  both  these  divisions  still  exist, 
 each  bearing  about  the  person  or  dress  some  emblem 
 of  their  respective  deities.  Whilst  reading  over  the 
 remarks  of  Wilford  here  referred  to,  the  reader  cannot 
 fail  to  be  struck  with  the  strong  resemblances  which 
 are  to  be  found  in  the  Hindoo  and  Greek  fables 
 respecting  the  gods  of  their  Pantheon ;  resemblances 
 in  many  instances  so  very  striking  as  almost  to  com- 
 
224 
 
 pel  the  inquirer  to  believe  in  their  common  origin. 
 This  observation  is  jiregnant  with  results,  some  of 
 which  Wilford  ably  folloAvs  out,  and  we  feel  sorely 
 tempted  to  supplement  his  labour  by  pointing  to  other 
 results  of  equal  interest ;  but  we  refrain  at  present 
 from  meddling  farther  with  so  intricate  a  subject. 
 
 Now,  it  is  remarkable,  that  the  worship  of  the 
 Linga  is  not  attended  with  any  indecent  rites  or 
 ceremonies ;  nor  is  there  anything,  so  far  as  I  can 
 learn,  which  would  indicate  to  a  bystander  an  indelicate 
 idea  in  the  mind  of  the  devotee.^^  In  this,  the  Hindoo 
 worship  differs  very  greatly  from  that  of  the  more 
 Western  Orientals,  the  Greeks,  Komans,  and  pro- 
 bably the  Egyptians.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  a 
 reverence  for  the  Creator,  under  the  symbol  of  a 
 pillar,  is  not  essentially  an  impure  one,  nor  conducive 
 to  impiety.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  associated  in 
 the  Hindoo  with  deep  devotion  and  childlike  faith ; 
 nor  can  the  most  fastidious  traveller  demonstrate 
 that  the  Lingacitas  of  India  are  morally  worse  than 
 the  Christians  in  Europe  and  America. 
 Looking-glasses,  ^'^"^J^,  maroth  (Exod.  xxxviii.  8).  "When 
 the  student  of  ancient  faiths  is  anxiously  examining 
 every  source  which  is  likely  to  give  him  information, 
 he  very  naturally  fastens  upon  a  statement  so  singular 
 
 22  One  of  tlie  Puranas  is  called  the  Linga  Purana.  It  consists  of  eleven 
 thousand  stanzas,  and  was  called  the  Lainga  by  Brahma  himself.  The  primitive 
 Linga  is  a  pillar  of  radiance,  in  vphich  Maheswara  is  present.  (Compare  the  pillar 
 of  fire  in  vphich  the  Jewish  writers  represented  Jehovah  to  he.)  In  the  hook,  Siva 
 takes  the  place  of  Vishnu  in  creation ;  and  when  Vishnu  and  Brahma  are  fighting 
 for  supremacy  a  fiery  Linga  springs  up  and  jsuts  them  both  to  sliame,  as,  after 
 travelling  upwards  and  downwards  for  a  thousand  years,  neither  could  approach  to 
 its  termination.  Upon  it  the  sacred  monosyllable  oji  was  visible.  The  spirit  of  the 
 worship  is  as  little  influenced  by  the  character  of  the  type  as  can  well  be  imagined. 
 There  is  nothing  like  the  Phallic  orgies  of  antiquity;  it  is  all  mystical  and  spiritual. 
 Adapted  from  The  Vishnu  Purana,  by  H.  H.  Wilson.  Triibner  &  Co.,  Loudon 
 1864. 
 
225 
 
 as  that  given  in  Exod.  xxxviii.  8,  viz.,  "  he  made  the 
 laver  of  brass,  of  the  looking-glasses  of  the  women 
 assembling,  (rib<n-vn^  hazzohotli,)  which  assembled  at 
 the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation."  With 
 this  we  associate  the  statement  that  the  two  sons  of 
 Eli  were  in  the  habit  of  having  intercourse  "with  the 
 women  who  assembled  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle 
 of  the  congregation"  (1  Sam.  ii.  22),  a  circumstance 
 which  was  regarded  as  peculiarly  sinful.  We  hear 
 again  "of  women  sitting  (n''^f*\  yshboth)  before 
 the  gate  of  the  Lord's  house,  which  was  towards  the 
 north,"  where  they  are  seen  in  a  vision  by  Ezekiel 
 (chapter  viii.  14),  "weeping  for  Tammuz."  Since,  in 
 the  cases  first  mentioned,  we  do  not  find  that  the 
 women  are  blamed,  but  only  the  priests,  we  presume 
 that  their  assembling  was  not  a  matter  which  called 
 for  reprobation. 
 
 Having,  on  many  occasions,  seen  reason  to  doubt 
 whether  a  custom,  mentioned  in  the  earlier  books 
 of  the  Bible,  is  not  really  of  late  origin,  we  shall 
 examine,  in  the  first  place,  the  probable  period  when 
 the  verses  in  Exodus  and  Samuel  were  written.  By 
 investigating  the  use  of  the  word  '^J'p^,  mareah, 
 "looking-glass,"  we  find  it  once  in  "Genesis,"  once  in 
 "Exodus,"  once  in  "Numbers,"  once  in  "Samuel,"  but 
 four  times  in  "Ezekiel,"  and  three  times  in  "Daniel." 
 Except  in  "Exodus,"  the  word  is  always  translated  by 
 vision;  a  fact  which  reminds  us  of  the  story  of  Dr.  Dee 
 and  his  serving-man  Kelly,  who  saw  all  his  visions 
 reflected  in  an  orb  of  crystal.  The  word  ^*2^,  zaba, 
 "to  assemble,"  as  a  verb,  occurs  six  times  in 
 "Exodus"  and  "Numbers,"  and  seven  times  in  the 
 later  writers,  "Isaiah,"  "Jeremiah,"  "  Zechariah," 
 "  second  Kings,"  and  once  in  "  Samuel."     Again  the 
 
 p 
 
226 
 
 words  *1J?""^  ^^'^,  ohel  moecl,  'Hhe  tabernacle  of  the 
 congregation,"  quite  disappear  after  1  Sam.  ii.  22, 
 until  we  meet  with  them  once  in  1  Kings  viii.  4,  and  six 
 times  in  "Chronicles."  From  these  data  we  infer,  that 
 the  accounts  in  Exodus  and  Samuel  were  penned  by 
 some  one  after  the  period  of  the  captivity,  during 
 the  reign,  or  after  the  time  of  Amaziah,  which  is 
 described  at  length  in  the  Article  on  Obadiah.  As 
 we  are  distinctly  told,  in  Joel,  that  Jews  were  sold  to 
 the  Grecians,  we  turn  to  Greek  authorities,  to  ascertain 
 if  there  was  a  ceremony  in  which  women  assembled 
 before  the  doors  of  a  temple,  with  whom  intercourse, 
 on  the  occasion,  would  be  a  sin,  and  who  bore  looking- 
 glasses  whilst  worshipping;  further,  we  may  add,  ivlio 
 fasted,  inasmuch  as  the  Septuagint  or  Greek  version 
 of  Exod.  xxxviii.  8  renders  the  passage  quoted  above, 
 "  the  mirrors  of  the  fasters,  who  fasted  by  the  doors 
 of  the  tabernacle  of  witness." 
 
 Now  we  find,  on  inquiry,  that  there  was  a  festival 
 at  Athens  called  Thesmophorion,  in  which  are  to  be 
 found  the  matters  in  question  ;  and  for  the  benefit  of 
 our  readers,  we  will  give  a  condensed  account  of  the 
 feast,  as  described  by  Meursius,  Tom.  ii.  {Opera 
 Omnia,  Florence,  1741),  p.  1176,  et.  seq.  "The  name 
 of  the  festival  is  derived  from  one  of  the  cognomens  of 
 Ceres,  who  first  gave  laws  and  made  human  life 
 orderly,  and  who  is  essentially  the  same  as  Isis,  or 
 female  nature.  Orpheus  is  said  to  have  been  the 
 founder  of  the  ceremonies,  though  this  is  doubted  by 
 others.  The  Thesmophoria  were  imitated  from  rites 
 common  in  Egypt.  The  festival  lasted  either  four  or 
 six  days,  and  it  was  celebrated  in  the  mouth  corres- 
 ponding to  our  October.  It  was  kept  sacred  by 
 women  or  virgins  (TrapQsvoi  yvvoCixss)  distinguished  for 
 
227 
 
 probity  in  life,  who  carried  about  in  procession  sacred 
 books  upon  tbeir  heads.  It  was,  however,  absohitely 
 necessary  that  they  should  abstain  from  all  sexual 
 enjoyments  for  some  days  previously.  But  when  a 
 celebrated  Pythagorean  was  asked  how  long  the 
 abstention  should  be,  he  replied  to  the  effect,  that 
 no  time  need  be  noticed  by  the  married,  who  were 
 faithful,  but  that  infidelity  to  the  husband  was  a 
 perpetual  bar.  When  performing  the  rites,  the  women 
 used  to  lie  during  the  night  upon  the  leaves  of  a  plant 
 named  lur/os,  also  called  by  the  Latins  vitex  agnus 
 castus,  being  a  tall  willow-like  tree,  which  had  the 
 reputation  of  removing  any  brute  desire  from  those 
 who  used  it.  Or,  as  was  said  in  the  customary  veiled 
 language  of  writers,  it  was  inimical  to  the  serpent 
 tribe  (see  Serpent,  infra).  The  pomegranate  was  to 
 be  carefully  avoided  during  the  rites.  On  the  third 
 day  the  women  fasted  entirely,  ^'  mourned  and  wept  for 
 some  imaginary  loss.  On  the  fourth,  they  were 
 joyful."  According  to  one  authority,  the  feminine 
 emblem  received  homage  by  the  initiated  women. 
 The  balance  of  testimony  is  in  favour  of  four  days 
 being  the  duration  of  the  festival ;  and  I  the  more 
 readily  adopt  the  idea,  as  it  is  consonant  with  that 
 which  makes  the  godhead  to  consist  of  four  (see 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  89).  The  food  which  was  eaten  by  the 
 women  were  cakes,  very  similar  to  those  offered  to 
 the  queen  of  heaven,  (see  Buns,  Vol.  i.,  p.  378,  and 
 Jeremiah,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  638,  9)  ;  and  cakes  were 
 offered  by  others,  who  came  to  witness  the  festival. 
 From  Aristophanes'  Thesmojilioriazuzcs  we  find  that 
 
 ^^  Medium  vero  diem  quem  jam  ante  tertium  dixi  totum  jejunio  transficjehunt 
 atque  inde  Nijo-re'ia  ille  dicehattir.  Meursius,  torn,  ii.,  p.  1182.  Dr.  Smith's  Diction- 
 ary of  Antiquities  is  incorrect  on  tlais  point. 
 
228 
 
 Demeter  is  the  first  named  by  the  females,  in  their 
 invocation  to  the  deities  in  whose  honour  the  festival 
 is  kept. 
 
 If  we  now  turn  to  Lucian,  who  gives  us  a 
 tolerably  full  account  of  the  procession  which  was 
 undertaken  in  honour  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven, 
 whose  manifold  names  he  enumerates,  we  find 
 the  words,  "the  procession  proper  of  the  guardian 
 goddess  now  advanced.  Females,  splendidly  arrayed 
 in  white  garments,  scattered  flowers.  Others,  again, 
 with  mirrors  placed  upon  their  backs,  showed  all 
 who  followed  to  the  goddess  "  (Book  xi).  Again, 
 Procopius  says  (I  quote  on  the  authority  of  Spencer, 
 De  Legihus  Hehrmorum,  Cambridge,  1727),  that  in 
 Egypt  the  women  who  are  consecrated  to,  and  called 
 after,  the  goddess  (Isis),  enter  into  the  temple  clothed 
 with  white  robes,  bearing  a  sistrum  in  the  right  hand, 
 and  a  looking-glass  in  the  left.  Lajard  and  others 
 tell  us  that  the  looking-glass  was  one  of  the  emblems 
 of  the  Celestial  Virgin.  Again,  Spencer,  De  Legihus 
 Heh.,  quotes  an  oracle  of  Apollo,  to  the  effect  that 
 Khoea,  the  Mother  of  the  Blessed  and  the  Queen  of 
 the  Gods,  loved  the  assemblages  of  women,  the  box- 
 tree,  and  the  tambourine."  Once  more,  he  quotes 
 from  Seneca,  who  describes  the  worshippers  of  Juno 
 and  Minerva  as  if  they  were  dressing  hair  and  orna- 
 menting it,  adding,  "there  are  others  which  bear 
 mirrors."  Again,  the  same  authority,  quoting  Hero- 
 dotus, states  "  that  the  men  and  women  who  took 
 part  in  the  sacred  rites,  in  honour  of  Isis,  were  accus- 
 tomed to  prepare  themselves  for  the  festival  by 
 fasting."  Without  going  into  the  subject  farther, 
 we   have   given   sufficient  reason  to   show   that   the 
 
229 
 
 captive  Jews,  in  Greece,  would  see  an  annual  festival, 
 in  which  women  with  mirrors  played  an  important 
 part ;  and  that  during  the  ceremonies,  these  women 
 were  required  to  be  corporeally  pure,  and  on  one  day 
 at  least  to  remain  fasting.     We  are  justified,  there- 
 fore, in  believing  the  story,  about  the  assembling  of 
 women  with  mirrors,  which  is  mentioned  in  Exodus, 
 as  being  a  common  occurrence  in  Moses'  time,  to  be 
 an   anachronism,   which  was   fabricated  between  the 
 ''Confederate"    and   the  Babylonian  destruction   of 
 Jerusalem.    We  are  also  equally  justified  in  regarding 
 the   story   of    Eli's   sons    as    a  composition   of  late 
 date,  probably  of  a  time  when  some  dissolute  priests 
 of  the  Jewish   temple,   violated   the  chastity  of  the 
 women   who   were   engaged    in  the  worship    of    the 
 Queen  of  Heaven.     We  are  bound  also  to  conclude, 
 that    the   writer  of   the    two    passages  in  question, 
 resembled    the     Papal     Christians    of    to-day,    and 
 favoured   the   worship  of  the   Celestial  Virgin,    "the 
 Mother  of  gods  and  men,"  in  preference  to,  though 
 in   conjunction   with,    an  adoration  of  the  Heavenly 
 Father.      We   shall  show  many  more  proofs  of  the 
 Grecian    influences    to    be    met    with    in    the    Old 
 Testament   in    subsequent   articles. 
 Luz,   ^1^  (Gen.  xxviii.  19),  "  To  bend  or  curve,  to  enwrap, 
 to  veil ; "  "an  almond  or  nut  tree."     It  is  possible  that 
 this  word  may  have  been  originally  ^-1^,  lush,  "the 
 strong  or  powerful  one,"  or  P'',  luz,  "the  wanton,  or 
 loose  one."     It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  place  origi- 
 nally thus  called  became  afterwards  Bethel,   i.  e., 
 the  house  or  temple  of  El,  a  masculine  God.     In 
 Assyria,  the  name  Laz  is  given  to  one  of  the  many 
 female  incarnations  of  the  Deity. 
 
230 
 
 Cuneiform. 
 
 Li  obed-ela'  bin  Sheb'at  obed  Mitit  bin  Zidqa'.  Inscrip- 
 tion on  Plioenician  seal  found  in  Ireland,  =  "belonging 
 to  Abdallali  (or  the  servant  of  Allah),  the  son  of 
 Sheb'at,  the  slave  of  Mitinta  the  son  of  Zadek."^* 
 This  seal  is  now  in  the  British  Museum,  and  affords 
 an  apt  illustration  of  the  extent  of  Phoenician  traffic. 
 Some  years  ago,  I  remember  to  have  read  an  account 
 of  certain  China  cubes,  covered  with  very  ancient 
 Chinese  writings,  being  dug  up  at  a  great  depth  at 
 Kilmainham,  near  Dublin ;  and  that  the  old  ring 
 money,  so  often  found  in  ancient  bogs,  is  identical 
 in  form  and  composition  with  the  old  ring  money 
 so  highly  valued  in  Western  Africa.  When  such 
 strong  evidence  appears  of  extended  trade  and  travel 
 in  ancient  times,  we  are  prepared  to  see  other  testi- 
 mony to  the  same  effect  in  monuments,  names,  lan- 
 guage, &c. 
 
 Lam-gu,  an  ancient  name  for  the  moon. 
 
 LuLiAH,  the  name  of  a  King  of  Sidon,  whose  name  is 
 apparently  compounded  with  Jah. 
 
 Lord.  This  word  is  rendered  in  the  Cuneiform  by  liu, 
 which  appears  also  in  Allah-/<«,  Eli-A»,  &c. 
 
 LuQU,  a  learned  man,  or  doctor.     Compare  Luke. 
 
 Lash  was  one  of  the  names  of  an  Assyrian  god  =  The  Lion, 
 whence,  probably,  came  the  Palestinian  Laish. 
 
 Li  Hud-Kaspar,  "  The  glory  of  Caspar,  the  Omniscient," 
 is  an  Assyrian  name ;  and  Caspar,  or  Gaspur  has 
 been  a  very  common  Eastern  name  from  the  earliest 
 times.     It  still  survives  in  Germany.  ^^ 
 
 24  Rawlinson,  in  Boyal  Asiatic  Society's  Journal,  Vol.  i.  New  Series,  p.  237. 
 
 25  Ibid.,  p.  -Ml. 
 
231 
 
 M,  called  mem  in  the  Hebrew,  and  written  as  n  at  the  begin- 
 ning, and  Q  at  the  end  of  words,  signifies  "  a  wave ; " 
 but  by  no  possibility  can  the  letters  be  said  to 
 resemble  in  shape  a  billow  of  the  ocean.  "In  the 
 forming  of  stems  from  simple  organic  roots,  m  is 
 applied,  like  other  mutes,  as  an  addition  at  the  com- 
 mencement or  at  the  end,  though  the  meaning  as 
 modifying  the  idea  has  not  been  ascertained  as  yet." 
 Fiirst,  s.  v. 
 
 M  is  interchangeable  with  i,  7,  ^,  3,  and  1  rarely. 
 
 This  letter  was  represented  in  the  ancient  Hebrew 
 
 by    y  ;  in  the  Phoenician,  by  "^  ^  U^    LLj    vA^^ 
 
 'y ;  in  the  Carthaginian,  hj  ^  ^  ^  ^;  in  the 
 ancient  Greek  as  /^^  /^ ^  <^ ^  y^  ^^  . 
 in  the  Etruscan  as  vy^  t^  ^  Yf|  ;    in   Umbrian   as 
 
 VAA'    mI  ,     t\)    ^^  Oscan  and  Samnite,   A// 
 [/jj      in  Volscian  \J[  \    in    Faliscan    as    \A/\  ;    in 
 
 Superior  Italian,  ^^ ;    in   Koman   as     \J[ ;    and   in 
 
 modern  Greek  M  and  jw.. 
 Maacha,  n^yn  and  "Syo  (2  Sam.  x.  6).  This  word  is  said 
 by  Gesenius  to  signify  '  oppression,'  and  by  Fiirst, 
 "depression;"  but  the  latter  adds,  that  it  may  be 
 a  contraction  from  ^i^^.,  malchah,  the  "queen  or 
 princess."  The  explanation  is,  however,  unsatis- 
 factory. The  name  was  a  popular  one,  and  borne 
 by  both  males  and  females ;  and  as  we  find  a  shrine 
 called  Beth  Maacha,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the 
 name  was  borne  by  a  deity.     It  may  be  derived  as  a 
 
232 
 
 participial  noun,  from  tlie  root  ^^l,  whicli  signifies  "to 
 smite,  or  to  strike,"  and  in  this  way  would  be  iden- 
 tified with  Hercules,  the  hammer  that  breaketh  the 
 stony  rock  in  pieces,  or  the  club-bearing  Baal.^®  From 
 this  word,  we  have  probably  the  cognomen  Maccabeus, 
 while,  from  the  idea,  we  see  springing  the  celebrated 
 Martel,  the  hammer  which  broke  the  power  of  the 
 Moors  in  their  advance  upon  northern  Europe. 
 It  is  possible  that  Maacha  is  from  "^^9?  maach,  and 
 •"V,  jah,  the  ^  being  dropped;  and  if  so,  it  would 
 have  the  signification  of  "  Jah  pierces,  compresses." 
 See  Ezek.  xxiii.  3. 
 
 Machir,  "i^^d  (Gen.  1.  23).  "He  pierces,  bores,  or  pushes 
 into  or  through,"  variant  of  "•?'^,  macar;  one  of  the 
 instances  in  which  a  cacophonous  word  has  been  changed 
 into  a  more  decent  one.  The  meaning  assigned  by 
 Gesenius  is  "  sold ; "  by  Fiirst,  "  procurer." 
 
 Madmenah,  ^\^^P.  (Is.  X.  31),  "  a  dunghill.""  Though  both 
 my  authorities  coincide  in  giving  this  curious  signi- 
 fication to  Madmenah,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
 any  priest,  or  people  would  give  such  an  oppro- 
 brious name  to  any  of  their  own  towns.  It  is  much 
 more  in  consonance  with  the  style  of  nomenclature 
 common  amongst  the  Benjamites,  (and  the  last 
 named  town  was  in  the  territory  of  that  tribe),  to 
 consider  that  the  word  is  a  compound  of  "i^^,  meod,  ^® 
 
 26  See  Fig.  83,  Vol.  i.,  p.  313. 
 
 27  Tliere  is  evidently  a  pun  in  the  passage  where  INIahmenah  is  mentioned,  which 
 indicates  that  the  dunghill  idea  existed  in  Isaiah's  time.  That  proj)het  says,  when 
 speaMng  of  the  agitation  caused  hy  the  Assyrian  invasion,  "  Mahmenah  is  removed." 
 
 28  "  In  Sanchoniathon's  Cosmor/oni/  (Cory's  A  ncient  Fragments,  p.  3),  it  is  stated 
 that  Chaos  embraced  the  wind,  from  which  was  generated  Mot  (Mwt),  which  some 
 call  Jlus,  iXvs.  If  it  is  allowable  to  consider  that  Mot  is  a  corruption  from  or  a 
 variant  of  "itVd,  mod,  or  viaut,  and  '  ilus,'  the  same  as  Asshitr,  Ail,  or  Allah,  we  can 
 readily  recognise  the  fact  that  the  myth  of  Sanchouiathon  closely  resembles  the 
 Hindoo  account  of  the  creation,  where  everything  proceeds  from  Mahadeva  and  his 
 Sacti. 
 
233 
 
 which  signifies  ''power,"  ''strength,"  "firmness," 
 and  ^J9>  *'w?«.,  "to  split,  to  divide,  to  separate;" 
 the  whole  word  would  then  mean  "strength  divides," 
 an  interpretation  which  is  all  the  more  probable,  as 
 it  seems  to  veil  a  double  entendre. 
 
 Magdiel,  ^^?^'?  (Gen.  xxxvi.  48).  "  El  is  renown."  We 
 may  notice  here  that  El  and  Ilos  were  Babylonian 
 names  for  the  sun,  and  that  Ilinos  was  another  of 
 his  titles ;  and  as  we  have  Magdi-el  for  a  prince 
 amongst  the  ancient  Edomites  (Gen.  xxxvi.  48),  so 
 we  have  Magda-elene  (M«y8aA>jv^)  amongst  the  later 
 Jews.  In  like  manner,  we  find  Helena  ('EAevyj), 
 associated  with  Ilios  ("lA»yj),  and  Helenus  (EAsvoj  or 
 '^EAsvoj),  a  common  Greek  appellative  for  kings  or 
 princes. 
 
 Magus,  ^^  from  ^""^  (Jer.  xxxix.  3) ;  under  these  two  forms 
 Fiirst  gives  a  great  amount  of  valuable  information, 
 leading  us  to  believe  that  the  origin  of  the  word  is 
 to  be  traced  to  the  Aryan  or  Sanscrit  magh  or  magha, 
 which  signifies  power  and  riches;  or  to  an  old 
 Persian  word,  mag  or  maga,  whose  meaning  is 
 "  might,"  "  force,"  in  a  religious  aspect.  The  word 
 was  known  amongst  the  Phoenicians,  in  whose  tongue 
 P'?,  magon,  was  "a  priest  or  wise  man."  In  the  Greek, 
 we  find  that  Mayog,  signifies  "  one  of  the  priests  and 
 wise  men  in  Persia  who  interpreted  dreams,"  whilst 
 fj^eyag,  signifies  "big  or  great."  The  juxtaposition 
 of  these  words  carries  us  on  to  the  time  of  Simon 
 Magus  (Acts  viii.  9-11),  who  is  described  as  "using 
 sorcery,  and  bewitching  the  people  of  Samaria,  giving 
 out  that  himself  was  some  great  one ;  to  whom  they 
 all  gave  heed,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  saying, 
 This  man  is  the  great  power  of  God,"  etc.  From 
 Simon    we    are    again    carried  on  to  the   false  pro- 
 
234 
 
 phet,  described  so  graphically  by  Lucian ;  and  the 
 mind  then  wanders  to  Jannes  and  Jambres,  whose 
 enchantments  were  said  to  have  rivalled,  for  a  time, 
 the  superior  performances  of  Moses,  to  the  ancient 
 priests  of  Egypt,  to  the  oracle-giving  hierarchs  of  the 
 Jews,  the  sybils  of  the  Italians,  the  miracle-working 
 saints,  virgins,  images  and  pictures  of  the  modern 
 Roman  Church,  and  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Brah- 
 mins, Fakirs,  and  Maharajahs  of  Hindostan.  As  the 
 past  can  be  best  interpreted  by  the  present,  in  so  far 
 as  relates  to  human  strength  and  weakness,  we  may 
 examine,  with  our  modern  lights,  how  it  came  to  pass 
 that  power  and  the  priesthood  have  been,  and  still 
 often  are,  so  firmly  united. 
 
 In  the  first  place,  the  hierarchy  asserted  that  their 
 order  was  of  divine  appointment ;  in  the  second, 
 they  attempted  to  demonstrate  that  it  was  so,  by  the 
 study  of  astronomy,  and  of  those  arts  which  are 
 now  usually  relegated  to  jugglers,  chemists,  presti- 
 digitators, ventriloquists,  and  such  charlatans  as 
 Davenport  brothers.  Home,  and  others  of  a  like 
 stamp.  In  the  third  place,  they  studied  human  nature 
 in  the  mass,  and  especially  every  individual  with 
 whom  they  came  in  contact;  thus  endeavouring 
 to  ascertain  in  what  manner  his  hopes  or  fears  could 
 be  operated  upon,  whilst  they  endeavoured  to  repress 
 in  every  way,  even  with  the  force  of  anathemas, 
 the  influence  of  those  who  refused  to  join  their 
 body,  and  who  persisted  in  throwing  ridicule  on 
 their  claims.  The  power  of  cursing  is  undoubtedly 
 a  mighty  weapon  for  the  CQ^rcing  of  men,  since 
 fools  and  bigots  are  far  more  plentiful  than  philo- 
 sophers. The  first  are  always  a  ready  tool  in  the 
 hands  of  an  unscrupulous  priesthood,  for  they  gladly 
 
235 
 
 lend  themselves,  as  did  the  Spanish  magistrates  in 
 the  palmy  days  of  the  Inquisition,  to  exterminate 
 from  the  face  of  the  earth,  all  those  against  whom  the 
 Magi  point  the  finger.  Man,  like  the  hrute,  delights 
 in  fighting;  and  it  is  a  fine  thing  for  his  animal 
 propensities,  when  what  is  called  a  heaven-sent 
 religion  enables  him  to  commit  murder,  theft,  adul- 
 tery, to  break  the  Sabbath,  to  dishonour  parents,  to 
 bear  false  witness,  and  to  covet  and  obtain  his 
 neighbour's  houses,  lands,  wealth,  etc.,  in  the  name 
 of  the  Lord.  Was  there  a  single  known  crime  in 
 which  the  Crusaders  did  not  indulge,  or  a  single 
 commandment  which  the  Spaniards  did  not  break  in 
 their  wars  against  the  Protestants  in  the  Low  Coun- 
 tries ? 
 
 But  of  all  the  plans  used  by  the  hierarchy  for 
 estabhshing  its  power  over  the  people,  the  most 
 useful  is  that  which  is  called,  in  the  language  of 
 the  day,  religious  education.  By  this  means  the 
 priest  becomes  a  sort  of  necessity  to  every  indivi- 
 dual's existence.  A  layman  or  woman  may  be 
 allowed  to  enter  into  trade  or  commerce,  to  under- 
 take any  enterprise  requiring  skill  and  judgment 
 of  the  highest  order;  he  may  investigate  the  secrets 
 of  nature,  analyse  the  various  substances  of  the 
 globe,  and  speculate  upon  the  condition  of  the  stellar 
 orbs ;  but  on  no  account  must  he  be  allowed  to  use 
 an  independent  mind  upon  rehgious  matters.  In 
 the  afi'airs  between  man  and  God,  each  is  educated 
 to  believe  that  he  must  entirely  be  guided  by  some 
 other  man,  one  who  in  no  respect  differs  from  himself, 
 save  that  he  has  chosen,  or  been  compelled  to  enter 
 into  a  particular  profession,  which  is  characterised 
 by  its  assertion   that   it   has   a   divine   commission 
 
236 
 
 and  which,  like  mesmerism,  is  communicated  from 
 man  to  his  fellow,  by  placing  the  hands  of  one  upon 
 the  head  of  another;  an  imposition,  in  more  senses 
 than  one,  which  serves  for  all  time. 
 
 There  is  no  hierarch,  of  any  discrimination,  who 
 is  not  aware,  that  his  chance  of  inculcating  a  belief  in 
 his  pretensions  would  be  small,  unless  he  were  able  to 
 instil  it  into  the  mind  of  the  young,  ere  it  had 
 attained  its  manly  vigour.  How  true  is  their  con- 
 clusion we  may  see,  from  the  tenacity  with  which 
 the  majority  hold  to  the  faith  which,  as  children,  they 
 were  taught  to  embrace.  The  brilliant  orator,  the 
 careful  statesman,  the  consummate  general,  the 
 erudite  scholar,  and  the  learned  critic  alike  acknow- 
 ledge the  trammels  of  early  religious  teaching,  con- 
 sidering that  faith  in  what  they  have  been  taught,  will 
 cover  breaches  in  all  the  commandments,  if  only  they 
 have  been  effected  in  the  interests  of  their  own  creed. 
 So  long  as  the  hierarchy  have  publicly  practised  what 
 they  preached,  and  have  refrained  from  showing,  in 
 their  own  lives,  an  utter  disbelief  in  the  efl&cacy  of  the 
 laws  which  they  lay  down  for  others,  they  have  almost 
 invariably  retained  their  influence.  When,  on  the 
 contrary,  assuming  to  be  ministers  of  a  holy  God, 
 they  act  as  the  most  sinful  of  men,  and  indulge  them- 
 selves in  malignity,  intolerance,  cruelty,  murder,  and 
 a  host  of  other  crimes,  they  lose  their  power,  only, 
 however,  to  be  superseded  by  others  of  a  more 
 judicious  stamp. 
 
 To  every  set  of  hierarchs  there  must  come  a  time, 
 when  it  is  questionable  whether  it  is  the  most 
 judicious  to  oppose  violence  to  heretics,  or  to  adopt 
 their  creed.  Simon  Magus  is  a  wonderful  example  of 
 one  who  gave  up  his   own  pretensions,  and  adopted 
 
237 
 
 readily  a  system  antagonistic  to  his  own.     St.  Paul  is 
 perhaps  a  still  more   extraordinary  illustration;    but 
 such  instances  are  rare.     If   our  priests  were  really 
 as   great  in  mind,    as  they  assume  to  be  by  office, 
 there   would   be   an    end   to  all  religious   feuds,    for 
 His  ministers  would  recognise  the  fact,  that  He  does 
 whatsoever    pleaseth   Him,    and   cares   not    for   the 
 opinion  of  any  man,   whether   His   sun  is  to   shine 
 benevolently,  or  act  destructively  upon  this  nation  or 
 upon  that. 
 Mahadeva.     This  name,  —  or,  as  we  may  put  it  in  another 
 form,    a   deity  under   this   name, — is  so  frequently 
 referred  to,  both  in  this  volume  and  the  preceding 
 one,  that  it  is  advisable  to  give  some  detailed  account 
 of  the  way  in  which  he  is  regarded  by  the  Hindoo 
 theologians  at  the  present  time.      In  the  following 
 remarks,  the  sentences  between  inverted  commas  are 
 quoted  from  Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon.     "  When  they 
 (the  Hindoos)  consider  the  divine  power  exerted  in 
 creating,  they  call  the  deity  Bkahma,  in  the  masculine 
 gender  also ;  and  when  they  view  him  in  the  light  of 
 a  destroyer,  or  rather  changer  of  forms,  they  give  him 
 a  thousand  names,  of  which  Mahadeva  or  Mahesa, 
 i.  e.,  the  Great  God,  or  the  Great  Lord,  is  one  of  the 
 most   common."       "  Brahma    is    sometimes    called 
 Kamalayoni.    Kamal  is  the  lotos,  Yoni  the  inidendum 
 muliehre  (a  type  of  Brahma,  or  the  creative  power), 
 the  mystical  matrix  into  which  is  inserted  the  equally 
 mysterious  Linga  of  Siva,"  or  Mahadeva  (page  9). 
 It  would  be  impossible  to  quote  any  passage  which 
 shows  more  completely  the  hopeless  entanglement  of 
 the  ideas  of  those  who  have  attempted  to  explain  the 
 general  creation  on  the  basis  of  mundane  reproduction 
 than   the   preceding  passage   from   the   pen    of    Sir 
 
238 
 
 William  Jones.  In  it  we  see  that  Brahma  is  male, 
 is  female,  and  both  combined ;  that  the  maker  is  the 
 same  as  the  destroyer ;  and  practically  that  the  Linga 
 and  the  Yoni  are  equal,  though  not  identical. 
 
 This  idea  Moor  refers  to  thus,  "In  any  lengthened 
 description  of  a  Hindu  deity,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
 avoid  touching  on  the  character  and  attributes  of 
 another.  Siva  (or  Mahadeva)  personifies  destruction  or 
 rather  reproduction,"  for  the  Hindu  philosophy  enun- 
 ciates that  "to  destroy  is  but  to  change,  to  recreate 
 or  reproduce."  "  Siva  represents  also  Fire  "  (p.  35). 
 "He  is  also  Time,  and  the  Sun ;  his  typo  is  the 
 Linga;  he  rides  a  bull,  which  is  white  like  himself;  he 
 is  abundantly  bedecked  with  serpents,  and  bears  a 
 crescent  on  his  forehead,  or  in  his  hair ;  he  frequently 
 holds  a  trident  in  his  hand  "  (p.  36).  The  Ganges, 
 the  fertiliser  of  a  large  part  of  India,  is  supposed  to 
 flow  from  him ;  and  the  myth  is  still  further  carried 
 out  by  the  fact,  that  "towards  its  source  the  river 
 passes  through  a  narrow  rocky  passage,  which  pilgrims 
 who  visit  the  sacred  cleft  (see  ^in^  cliavacli,  Vol.  i. 
 p.  496,  Eve)  imagine  resembles  a  cow's  mouth " 
 (p.  38).  "  Other  mythologists  make  the  Ganges  arise 
 from  water  poured  by  Brahma  on  the  foot  of  Vishnu  ; 
 others,  directly  from  the  feet  of  Brahma"  (p.  41). 
 These  legends,  which  Moor  speaks  of  as  varieties,  are 
 in  reality  all  the  same ;  for  amongst  the  Orientalists 
 "water"  signifies,  not  only  that  which  falls  as  rain, 
 and  forms  rills,  rivers,  lakes  and  oceans,  but  that 
 which  flows  from  Mahadeva.  When  the  word  is 
 used  alone,  it  signifies  the  fructifying  fluid ;  and  when 
 "  water  of  the  feet"''"  is  spoken  of,  it  means  that  which 
 
 29  The  Kcri  of  2  Kings  xviii.  27.  Las  nmba-i  -rS"Q  iustoad  ol'  Qn'VO.     Ditto, 
 Isa.  xxxvi.  12. 
 
239 
 
 we  speak  of  as  in  the  same  way,  without  adding  "  of 
 the  feet." 
 
 Those  who  are  able  to  penetrate  this  mythos  can 
 readily  understand  why  the  Ganges  is  considered  a 
 sacred  river.  Practically,  we  may  say  that  bathing  in 
 its  stream  conveys  the  same  idea  of  regeneration  as 
 possessed  the  mind  of  Nicodemus,  when  he  asked, 
 "  Can  a  man  enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's 
 womb,  and  be  born?"  (John  iii.  4.)  The  Jew 
 thought  of  being  regenerated  in  the  body  of  the 
 mother,  the  Indian  wishes  to  be  regenerate  by  bath- 
 ing in  the  water  of  life  which  proceeds  from  the 
 father.  We  may,  indeed,  even  go  still  further  than 
 this,  and  enquire  how  far  the  idea  of  baptism,  or 
 regeneration  by  water,  has  been  founded  upon  the 
 double  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  '»,  me,  one  which 
 is  not,  as  I  understand,  confined  to  the  Shemitic 
 languages  alone. 
 
 In  illustration  of  the  remarks  above  made,  we 
 may  quote  Moor  still  farther ;  ''  One  of  the  holiest 
 spots  of  the  Ganga;'  he  says,  ''is  where  it  joins  the 
 Yamuna  (Jumna).  The  Saraiswati  (a  name  indica- 
 tive of  the  spouse  of  Mahadeva)  is  supposed  to  join 
 the  two  rivers  underground.  The  confluence  of 
 rivers  is  a  spot  peculiarly  dear  to  Hindus ;  and  this 
 more  especially  of  the  Ganga  and  Yamuna  is  so 
 highly  esteemed,  that  a  person  dying  there  is  certain 
 of  immediate  beatitude"  (p.  43),  i.e.,  he  is  "born 
 again,"  in  a  fiction,  by  the  commingling  as  is  sup- 
 posed of  the  paternal  and  maternal  ^^^  ,;j^^ 
 
 "Obelises  and  pillars,  of  whatever  shape,  are 
 emblems  of  Mahadeva  ;  so  are  the  pyramids "  (pp. 
 45,  46).  "  Mahadeva,  in  pictures  and  sculptures, 
 is    frequently    associated    with    Parvati,    much    as 
 
240 
 
 Jove  is  sometimes  called  mother  as  well  as  father" 
 (p.  46). 
 
 "To  Mahadeva  is  given  three  eyes;  he  has  a 
 crescent  on  his  forehead,  a  serpent  for  a  necklace, 
 a  trident  in  one  hand,  and  a  sand-glass  in  another  " 
 (p.  48). 
 
 The  name  of  his  spouse  is  Parvati,  which  signi- 
 fies ''mountain-born;"  she  is  sometimes  called  Devi; 
 and  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  in  every  representa- 
 tion of  Mahadeva,  whether  he  is  depicted  alone  or 
 with  Parvati,  there  is  nothing  whatever  to  offend  the 
 most  fastidious  eye.  In  some  pictures,  however,  of 
 Devi,  her  waistcloth  is  furnished  with  a  diamond- 
 shaped  brooch,  and  she  is  associated  with  a  rudely 
 formed  linga  yoni,  and  a  fruit  not  much  unlike 
 the  Pine-cone  offered  by  Assyrian  priests  to  the 
 "  Grove." 
 
 Mahavite,  ^'')^]^  (1  Chron.  xi.  46).  There  is  no  meaning 
 attributable  to  this  word,  unless  we  consider  that 
 the  o,  m,  has  the  signification  of  19,  min,  'from,'  or 
 "  out  of,"  and  take  ^'']^,  havim,  as  the  plural  of  '^^.'?, 
 hiveh,  "a  village  or  hamlet."  The  name  would  then 
 signify,  "  of  or  from  the  hamlets,"  and  be  a  variant  of 
 "Hivite."  The  name  occurs  in  1  Chron.  xi.  46,  and 
 in  the  same  chapter  it  will  be  found  that  David  drew 
 his  mighty  men  from  all  sources,  Moabite,  Hittite, 
 Asterathite,  &c.,  and  therefore  there  is  no  a  priori 
 objection  to  the  interpretation  suggested. 
 
 Mahath,  n']^  (1  Chron.  vi.  35),  "Seizing,"  or  "taking 
 hold  of"  (Gcsenius),  "death"  (Fiirst).  Both  these 
 interpretations  are  unsatisfactory,  for  it  is  not  pro- 
 bable that  either  of  these  ideas  would  make  a  name 
 popular.  AVe  can  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that 
 any  one  would  give  so  ill-omened   a   cognomen    as 
 
241 
 
 "Death"  to  au  infant,  although  it  has  happened  that 
 England  once  had  a  captain  of  that  name,  who  was 
 renowned  for  bravery.  Now  Mohath  is  still  a  cur- 
 rent name  amongst  the  Arabs.  Southey  has  made 
 us  familiar  with  it  in  his  Thalaha,  and  we  naturally 
 expect  that  it  will  have  some  pleasant  signification. 
 We  therefore  consider  that  it  is  an  irregular  plural, 
 from  the  verbal  noun  1^0^,  mahah,  and  is  equivalent 
 to  ''the  tender  ones,"  and  therefore  a  variant  of 
 Astoreth,  &c.  Possibly  the  original  form  of  the 
 word  was  "^f?^,  which  signifies,  "  she  is  tender." 
 Mahlah,  l^^no  (Num.  xxvi.  33).  The  usual  interpretation 
 of  this  word  is  "  sickness,"  or  "  disease,"  an  explana- 
 tion which  at  once  leads  us  to  seek  for  another 
 etymon. 
 
 Now  ''™,  mahal,  and  ^l,  jah,  signify  "  Jah  is 
 soft,  mild,  or  tender."  But  this  is  scarcely  a  pro- 
 bable epithet  for  Jah,  a  male  god.  But  if  we  consider 
 that  the  n  is  simply  a  mark  of  the  feminine  singular 
 verb,  we  extract  the  meaning,  ''she  is  tender,  soft, 
 mild,  merciful,  or  forgiving,"  the  name  evidently 
 having  reference  to  Astarte.  The  last  derivation  is 
 by  far  the  most  probable  one,  inasmuch  as  the  name 
 was  borne  by  a  female  (Num.  xxvi.  33),  whose  grand- 
 father was  called  Hepher,  and  whose  sisters  were 
 Noah,  Hoglah,  Milcah,  and  Tirzah.  The  names 
 Mahl/on,  Mahl/i,  MaJd/ath  show  that  the  word  mahl 
 was  a  popular  one,  which  "disease"  certainly  would 
 not  be. 
 
 If  this  signification  of  the  word  be  allowed,  we 
 must  consider  that  the  cognomen  in  question  indi- 
 cates, that  the  celestial  mother  was  worshipped  by 
 some  Jews,  at  the  period  of  their  history  when  this 
 word  was  current. 
 
 Q 
 
242 
 
 Makkedah,  ^"^^^  (Joshua  s.  10),  *'  Place  of  sliepliercls " 
 (Gesenius  and  Fiirst).  This  derivation  seems  to  he 
 preposterous ;  for  a  city  can  scarcely  be  called  hy  any 
 such  title.  The  town  was  originally  Phoenician,  and 
 we  presume  that  its  name  had  some  reference  to  the 
 religious  belief  of  that  people.  Finding  that  i  is  a 
 letter  interchangeable  with  p,  we  turn  to  '^f'^,  magad, 
 which  signifies,  "to  be  noble,  or  distinguished." 
 Adding  now  the  n  as  a  feminine  suffix,  we  get  m3», 
 magadah,  which  may  be  translated,  "she  is  honour- 
 able;" a  title  which  certainly  might  be  applied  to 
 Astarte.  Another  derivation  is  from  the  root  '^P^, 
 which  indeed  Fiirst  adopts;  the  word  would  then 
 signify  "  spotted." 
 
 Malachi,  '3^''?d  (Mai.  i.  1),  "  Messenger  of  Jah,"  from  ^^«^0 
 malach,  and  '^l,  jah,  the  n  being  as  usual  elided. 
 
 Although  there  is  nothing  positively  known  res- 
 pecting Malachi,  there  is  great  reason  to  believe  that 
 he  was  the  last  of  the  prophets  in  Judah  whose  works 
 were  collected.  We  may  therefore  examine  his  writ- 
 ings, in  the  endeavour  to  ascertain  in  what  respect  he 
 differed  from  those  who  lived  before  the  Captivity. 
 
 The  most  conspicuous  idea  which  he  presents  to 
 us  is,  that  Jehovah  is  as  particular  in  His  eating  as 
 if  He  were  the  governor  of  a  province,  and  is  offended 
 when  one  sacrifices  upon  the  altar  anything  but 
 the  very  best.  Now  we  cannot  ourselves  entertain 
 such  a  belief  respecting  the  Almighty,  one  of  whose 
 Apostles  declared,  "For  if  there  be  first  a  wiUing 
 mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to  that  a  man  hath, 
 and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not"  (2  Cor. 
 viii.  12).  It  is  clear,  however,  that  such  an  idea  was 
 current  in  Babylon,  for  not  only  was  a  feast  of  full- 
 grown  sheep  and  sucklings  prepared  for  Jupiter  Belus, 
 
243 
 
 but  a  beautiful  woman  too  (Herod,  b.  i.,  c.  181-183). 
 The  advantage  to  be  derived  from  sacrificing  the  best 
 of  every  kind  is  seen  in  the  Apocryphal  story  of  Bel 
 and  the  Dragon,  wherein  Daniel  shows  that  the 
 offerings  to  the  god  are  really  consumed  by  the 
 priests  who  minister  at  the  altar.  "VVe  can  readily 
 understand  that  the  hierarch  would  grumble  when  he 
 did  not  get  the  daintiest  food  in  the  land,  but  we  do 
 not  believe  that  Jehovah  would  care  whether  a  true 
 worshipper  brought  to  His  altar  a  perfect  or  imperfect 
 lamb. 
 
 We  next  find  that  Jehovah  is  represented  as 
 jealous  of  His  great  name ;  and  we  see  that  it  is  to 
 be  so  far  respected,  that  incense  is  to  be  offered 
 unto  it  in  every  place  (Mai.  i.  11).  It  is  difficult  to 
 understand  how  a  name  can  be  venerated  without 
 becoming  an  object  of  idolatry,  and  equally  difficult 
 to  comprehend  how  the  Almighty  should  think  more 
 of  His  name  than  of  Himself,  but  He  is  frequently 
 described  by  the  prophets  as  doing  so. 
 
 Throughout  the  whole  book  of  Malachi  the  Al- 
 mighty is  represented  as  if  His  law  was  a  lex  tallonis. 
 Because  the  people  have  not  given  the  best  of  their 
 flock  for  offerings,  and  also  "  will  not  give  glory  to 
 my  name,  I  will  curse  your  blessings,  corrupt  your 
 seed,  spread  dung  upon  your  faces,  even  the  dung  of 
 your  solemn  feasts,  and  one  shall  take  you  away  with 
 it"  (ch.  ii.  1-3.)  Then,  again,  " ii  ye  will  bring 
 all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouses,  that  there  may  be 
 meat  in  my  house,  prove  me  now  herewith  if  I  will 
 not  open  unto  you  the  windows  of  heaven,"  &c. 
 (ch.  iii.  10.) 
 
 When  we  find  that  the  prophet  was  so  intensely 
 human  we  cannot  accept  his  utterances  as  divine ;  nor 
 
244 
 
 can  we  allow  ourselves  to  believe  that  the  words, 
 *' Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,"  &c.  (ch.  iii.  1) ; 
 and  "  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet 
 before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of 
 the  Lord,"  &c.  (ch.  iv.  5-6),  are  more  divinely 
 inspired  than  the  vaticinations  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cum- 
 mins, of  which  we  have  had  not  a  few.  We  are 
 surprised  that  there  are  so  many  modern  theologians 
 who  can  discern  the  fulfilment  of  the  above  prophecies 
 in  the  coming  of  John  Baptist  and  Jesus  Christ.  If 
 John  really  were  Elijah,  certainly  he  was  not  followed 
 by  any  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord. 
 Malcham,  03^'?  (1  Chron.  viii.  9).  "  The  Queen  of  Heaven." 
 Ishtar,  the  Celestial  mother  (=  i^^??  and  ^^',  malcah 
 and  em),  equivalent  to  the  ''  virgin  of  the  spheres," 
 ''the  mother  of  all  creation."  Cuneiform,  Malkat, 
 who  was  the  greatest  in  the  Assyrian  pantheon ;  she 
 was  represented  as  the  wife  of  Ashur,  and  is  the  same 
 as  Sacti,  Saraiswati,  Ishtar,  Maia,  and  the  Yoni. 
 
 This  word  is  analogous  to,  and  almost  identical 
 with,  Milcom  and  Malcham  (Jer.  xlix.  3),  which  is 
 written  Melcom  in  the  margin  of  the  Bible.  She 
 was  also  the  spouse  or  Sacti  of  Molech,  with  whom  she 
 is  identified  (1  Kings  xi.  5,  7).  The  celestial  god- 
 dess seems  to  have  had  this  name  amongst  the 
 Ammonites. '  The  cognomen  attracts  our  attention 
 from  the  very  strong  anachronism  which  exists  in  it, 
 the  preceding,  and  the  following  verses.  The  name 
 was  borne  by  a  Benjamite,  who  lived  apparently  a  very 
 ew  generations  after  Benjamin,  consequently,  during 
 the  time  covered  by  Joshua  and  the  Judges,  when 
 the  Moabitcs  are  said  to  have  been  detested,  and  to 
 have  been  destroyed  by  Ehud ;  yet  the  representative 
 of  Benjamin  goes  to  reside  amongst  this  people,  and 
 
245 
 
 there  begets  cliilclren  who  are  named  after  very  modern 
 gods ;  Jeuz,  {^'^'^^J,  being  evidently  a  Hebraic  form 
 of  the  Greek  Zeus ;  whilst  amongst  the  descendants 
 of  these  is  a  "  Sheshak,"  a  variant  of  the  name  of 
 the  king  of  Egypt  who  conquered  Eehoboam.  We 
 may,  therefore,  safely  assume  that  the  genealogy  of 
 Benjamin  given  in  Chronicles  is  factitious. 
 Mamzer,  "'.I^'?  (Deut.  xxiii.  2).  The  opening  of  this  parti- 
 cular chapter  of  Deuteronomy  is  one  which  is  very 
 disgusting  to  the  thoughtful  mind.  It  thrusts  upon 
 us  the  belief  that  the  Almighty  thought  more  of  the 
 representative  triad,  the  emblem  under  which  He  was 
 worshipped  on  earth,  than  He  did  of  the  feelings  of  the 
 heart.  To  our  ideas,  it  is  repugnant  that  one,  who  from 
 the  greed  of  parents,  or  from  the  misfortunes  of  war 
 and  slavery,  has  become  an  eunuch,  should  by  that 
 very  fact  be  deprived  of  all  spiritual  comfort.  The 
 notion  is  itself  contradicted  by  other  portions  of  the 
 Bible,  and  we  shall  not  greatly  err  if  we  attribute 
 the  law  thus  enunciated  to  human  rather  than  to 
 divine  agency. 
 
 We  are  fortified  in  the  \iew  thus  taken  by  the 
 consideration  of  the  second  and  third  verses,  wherein 
 it  is  enacted,  that  a  Mamzer,  an  Ammonite,  and  a 
 Moabite  shall  be  excluded  for  ten  whole  generations 
 from  the  congregation  of  the  Lord.  Modern  Chris- 
 tians believe  that  the  Almighty  rejoices  to  receive 
 into  His  fold  all  or  any  who  were  outside ;  not  so, 
 however,  the  Jews.  They  had  been  told  so  constantly 
 by  their  teachers  that  they  were  a  chosen  people, 
 specially  beloved  of  God,  as  to  believe  thoroughly 
 that  they  stood  in  the  position  of  His  earthly  spouse. 
 They  were,  therefore,  as  jealous  of  admitting  any 
 one  into  their  number,  as   a  wife  would  be  if  she 
 
246 
 
 saw  another  woman   trying  to   steal  lier  husband's 
 love. 
 
 We  shall  see  still  farther  reason  to  believe  in  the 
 human  origin  of  the  law,  when  we  have  ascertained 
 the  real  signification  of  Mamzeb.  In  our  Bible,  the 
 word  is  translated  "'a  bastard,"  but  this,  as  Spencer 
 veryjustlyremarks,^°is  evidently  incorrect;  for  bastards, 
 such  as  were  Pharez  the  son  of  Judah  by  Tamar, 
 Jephthah  the  son  of  a  strange  woman,  and  Amasa 
 the  son  of  a  strange  father  (2  Sam.  xvii.  25),  who 
 seems  not  to  have  been  married  to  Abigail,  were 
 not  excluded  from  the  congregation.  Still  farther, 
 we  are  distinctly  told,  that  there  was  a  portion  of  the 
 Mosaic  law,  which  prevented  children  from  suffering 
 for  the  sins  of  the  fathers.  And  to  exclude  nine 
 generations  from  participation  in  religious  worship, 
 because  a  parent  had  been  adulterous,  was  contrary 
 to  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  institutions.  To  obviate 
 the  difficulties  involved  by  the  ordinary  interpreta- 
 tion, Spencer  inquires  closely  into  the  real  significa- 
 tion of  the  word,  and  concludes  that  it  really  signifies 
 "a  stranger,"  "a  gentile,"  "an  alien,"  or  "a 
 foreigner."  With  this  meaning,  every  difficulty 
 vanishes.  We  see,  as  it  were,  the  ancient  Jews 
 reproduced  in  the  modern  Arabic  Mahometans,  who 
 consider  their  temples  to  be  defiled  if  entered  by  a 
 Christian.  Amongst  the  one,  there  is  as  much  fanatic 
 belief  that  they  are  the  exclusive  people  of  the 
 Almighty,  as  there  was  amongst  the  other ;  and  both 
 Jews  and  Arabs  show  a  similar  impatience  of 
 foreign  invasion  of  their  sacred  soil  or  holy  places. 
 Doubtless,  many  a  giaour,  and  many  a  Mahometan, 
 during  the  wars  of  the    Crusades,   bemoaned   them- 
 
 ""  De  Legihus  Hcbrcconim,  j'P-  105,  et  sey. 
 
247 
 
 selves  in  the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  "Oh  God,  the 
 heathen  have  entered  into  thine  inheritance,  thy  holy 
 temple  have  they  defiled,  and  made  Jerusalem  a 
 heap  of  stones  "  (Ps.  Ixxix.  1). 
 
 We  can  now  readily  understand  the  signification 
 
 of  the  Lament  of  Jeremiah  (Lam.  i.  10),  "  she  hath 
 
 seen  that  the   heathen   entered    into    her    sanctuary 
 
 whom  thou  didst  command  that  they  should  not  enter 
 
 into  thy  congregation;"  and  the   words   of  Ezeldel 
 
 (xliv.  6,  7,  9),  "And  thou  shalt  say  to  the  rebellious, 
 
 even  to  the  house  of  Israel,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  ; 
 
 0  ye  house  of  Israel,   let  it  suffice  you  of  all  your 
 
 abominations,    in    that    ye    have    brought   into  my 
 
 sanctuary  strangers,  uncircumcised  in  heart,  and  un- 
 
 circumcised  in  flesh,  to  be  in  my  sanctuary,  to  pollute 
 
 it."       "Thus    saith    the    Lord    God;    No    stranger 
 
 uncircumcised  in  heart,  nor  uncircumcised  in  flesh, 
 
 shall  enter  into  my  sanctuary,  of  any  stranger  that 
 
 is  among  the  children  of  Israel."     The    same   idea 
 
 is  again  referred  to   by   the   second   Isaiah,  who  is 
 
 attempting   to   modify   the   cold    literality   of    Deut. 
 
 xxiii.  1,  2,  thus,   "Neither  let  the  son  of  the  stranger 
 
 that  hath  joined  himself  to  the  Lord,  speak,  saying, 
 
 The  Lord  hath  utterly  separated  me  from  his  people; 
 
 neither  let  the  eunuch  say,  Behold,  I  am  a  dry  tree  ; 
 
 even  unto  them  will  I  give  in  mine  house  and  within 
 
 my  walls  a  place ;  also  the  sons  of  the  stranger,  that 
 
 join  themselves  to  the  Lord,  even  them  will  I  make 
 
 joyful  in  my  house  of  prayer"  (Is.  Ivi.  3-7).     In  the 
 
 same  way  we  can  understand  the  verse,  Zech.  ix.  6, 
 
 "And  a  bastard''  shall  reign  in  Ashdod,"  as  signifying 
 
 31  The  Mislinali,  DTOT,  4,  13,  says,  "  Wliat  is  a  ITOD,  mamzer?  Every  child 
 bom  ia  that  degree  of  parentage  in  which  cohabitation  is  forbidden;"  but  there 
 are  many  reasons  for  rejecting  this  explanation,' 
 
248 
 
 simply  a  stranger  monarch,  such  as  reigns  in  Algiers 
 and  China  at  the  present  day. 
 
 The  learned  Spencer,  whose  works  have  only 
 recently  come  to  my  knowledge,  then  proceeds  to 
 show  the  reason  why  Mamzer  became  translated  by 
 the  Seventy,  and  by  the  later  Hebrews  themselves,  by 
 the  word  "bastard;"  and  the  explanation  is  equally 
 interesting  with  the  rest  of  his  dissertation.  He  shows, 
 and  I  have  already  deduced  the  same  conclusion 
 from  my  own  investigations  (see  '^'■^"'P,  page  176, 
 supra),  that  amongst  the  Hebrews,  prostitutes  were 
 strangers,  so  that  "a  strange  woman"  was  synonymous 
 with  "  a  strumpet."  This  explains  the  reference,  in 
 Proverbs  ii.  16,  v.  20,  and  xxii.  14,  to  strange  women 
 and  strumpets,  and  in  xxiii.  27,  where  the  two  titles 
 are  put  in  apposition. 
 
 But  when  we  have  reached  this  point,  the  mind 
 reverts  to  the  story  told  in  the  book  of  Numbers, 
 wherein  we  find  that  the  Jews  were  permitted  to  take 
 virgin  Midianite  women  for  their  wives  (xxxi.  18) ; 
 again,  to  the  injunction  that  they  were  not  to  inter- 
 marry with  the  people  of  the  land  of  Canaan ;  and 
 once  more,  to  the  orders  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah, 
 to  those  who  had  married  "  strange  wives,"  that  they 
 should  separate  themselves  from  them.  Putting  all 
 these  considerations  together,  we  conclude  that  the 
 relationship  between  the  Jews  and  "strange  women" 
 was  very  much  the  same  as  that  existing  in  days 
 gone  by  in  the  slave  states  of  America.  The  off- 
 spring of  a  white  man  and  a  black  woman  was  a  sort 
 of  pariah,  and  usually  a  slave,  even  to  his  tenth 
 generation.  And  the  constant  intermingling  of  his 
 offspring  with  white  blood  could  not  wear  off  the 
 shame  of  their  being  black,  and,  as  it  was  thought. 
 
249 
 
 having  degraded  blood  in  their  veins.  Such  people, 
 under  the  title  of  "coloured  persons,"  were  excluded 
 from  all  places  where  the  whites  congregated;  and 
 even  if  by  dint  of  beauty,  or  other  attraction,  one 
 such  female  attracted  a  white  man  for  a  husband, 
 it  was  not  without  great  difficulty  that  she  was 
 allowed  even  to  enter  the  congregation  of  the  white 
 man's  God. 
 
 We  can  easily  understand  that  the  son  of  a 
 degraded  mother  would  naturally  partake  of  her 
 shame,  and  that  he  would  be  shunned  in  direct  pro- 
 portion to  her  infamy,  or  to  the  estimation  in  which 
 her  countrymen  were  held ;  we  can  also  readily 
 imagine  that  where  the  mother  was  a  slave  by  the 
 accident  of  war,  and  was  in  her  own  country  of  good 
 blood,  perhaps  of  royal  birth,  all  her  offspring  would 
 be  recognised  by  the  father  so  long  as  his  paternity 
 was  undoubted.  We  think  that  if  any  sons  had 
 been  born,  in  consequence  of  Alexander  taking  the 
 daughters  of'  Darius  into  his  harem,  none  would 
 have  ventured  to  offer  any  slight  to  them.  Nor  do 
 we  think  that  any  of  the  few  children  that  Solomon 
 had  by  his  strange  wives  would  have  been  forbidden 
 to  enter  the  temple  which  he  built.  In  like  manner, 
 in  more  modern  days,  the  Eussian  nobleman  con- 
 sorted, if  he  chose,  with  any  of  his  serfs ;  all  being 
 of  the  same  nation,  the  difference  between  them  was 
 one  of  station  only ;  and  the  master  could  emancipate 
 his  children  or  retain  them  in  serfdom  according  to 
 his  own  pleasure.  If  he  elected  the  former  alterna- 
 tive, the  offspring  were  regarded  according  to  the  wish 
 shewn  by  his  own  method  of  treating  them ; 
 and  if  he  elected  the  latter,  they  were  as  much 
 despised  as  if  they  were  mere  slaves,  and  without  a 
 
250 
 
 drop  of  his  blood  in  their  veins.  When  all  whores 
 were  strange  women,  and  despised  as  such,  we  can 
 readily  understand  the  law  that  no  daughter  of  Israel 
 should  ever  enter  the  sisterhood. 
 
 Man,  I'?,  in  Ahiman  =  '*  Myjv,  the  male  divinity  of  Mijvr;,  "^^ 
 (Isa.  Ixv.  2).  The  Goddess  *^9  was  amongst  the 
 Phoenicians  called  Onka,  and  was  also  worshipped  as 
 a  male  deity,  I?,  man.  Mene  represented  "  fate  or 
 destiny."  She  was  worshipped  by  libations,  and  was 
 an  associate  of  Bel  and  Gad.  It  is  supposed  that  this 
 was  one  of  the  many  names  for  the  moon."  (Fiirst 
 s.  V.)  It  is  curious  to  find  an  Onclian  in  the  Isle  of 
 Man,  whose  emblem  is  a  singular  triad  of  legs, 
 similar  to  that  used  by  Sicilia  in  the  time  of  the 
 Etruscans. 
 
 Mandrakes,  ^''^^''"'j  duclaim.  These  are  chiefly  interesting 
 to  us  as  an  illustration  of  the  close  attention  paid  by 
 the  ancients  to  those  edibles  which  had,  or  were  sup- 
 posed to  have,  an  influence  upon  the  organs  which 
 are  concerned  in  the  creation  of  a  new  being.  Dudaim 
 are  only  twice  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  i.  e.  in  Gen. 
 XXX.  14,  18,  and  in  Song  of  Sol.  vii.  13.  In  both 
 instances  they  are  connected  with  scenes  of  love. 
 We  may,  indeed,  consider  that  their  name  is  derived 
 from  nn,  dud,  "  love,  that  which  unites  together,"  &c. 
 As  the  word  is  indicative  of  the  effect  produced, 
 rather  than  of  the  appearance  of  the  thing,  there  has 
 been  some  difliculty  in  ascertaining  the  real  plant 
 intended  ;  but  I  find  from  Koyle,  in  Kitto's  Cyclo- 
 pcedia,  that  the  "atropa  mandragora  "^is  the  one  gene- 
 rally identified  with  "love  apples."  He  says,  ''the 
 root  is  generally  forked,  and  closely  resembles  the 
 lower  part  of  the  body  of  man,  including  the  legs ; 
 that  its  fruit   is    about   the    size  of   an  apple,   very 
 
251 
 
 ruddy,  of  au  agreeable  odour,  and  is  still  often 
 eaten  as  exhilarating  to  the  spirits,  and  provocative 
 to  venery." 
 
 Let  us  now  for  a  moment  or  two  recall  the  name 
 of  Issachar  to  our  mind,  and  the  precedents  of  his 
 birth.  Eeuben  finds  mandrakes,  and  brings  them  to 
 Leah,  the  neglected  wife  of  Jacob.  With  the  tempt- 
 ing fruit  the  patriarch  becomes  exhilarated,  and,  as 
 we  conclude,  unusually  tender  to  his  ugly  spouse. 
 Under  the  influence  of  the  charm,  we  must  also 
 imagine  that  the  husband  was  prodigal  in  payment  of 
 the  duties  of  marriage,  and  to  such  a  degi-ee  that  the 
 delighted  wife  names  the  son  who  resulted  from  the 
 union  Issachar  ;  not  because  she  had  received  her 
 hire,  "i^"^,  sachar,  but  because  "  she  had  had  her  fill, 
 had  drunk  to  her  satisfaction,  or  very  abundantly," 
 I35i'j  sliacar.  David,  the  son  of  Jesse's  old  age,  was 
 probably  called  duclai  originally,  on  account  of  his 
 existence  being  attributed  to  diidaim,  and  his  name 
 was  subsequently  changed,  by  transposing  Dudai 
 into  Dauid,  or  David. 
 
 So  far  as  we  can  learn,  there  was  in  ancient  times 
 an  idea  that  any  plant  or  animal,  whose  colour, 
 appearance,  and  sometimes  even  whose  name  re- 
 sembled that  of  any  part  of  the  body,  was  sure 
 to  be  useful  in  affections  of  those  parts.  For 
 example,  the  "euphrasia, "  or  "  ej^e -bright, "  was 
 thought  good  for  ocular  complaints,  because  its  spots 
 resemble  the  "pupil"  and  "iris"  of  the  eye.  Saffron 
 was  equally  used  for  jaundice,  because  it  is  yellow. 
 In  like  manner,  the  "orchis  mascula,"  whose  roots 
 are  very  remarkable  in  their  shape,  was  used  when- 
 ever there  was  "  maleficia,"  or  "  impotentia";  and 
 the  mandrake  was  employed  for  a  similar  purpose. 
 
252 
 
 Amongst  animals,  tlie  ass  was  eaten  on  account  of 
 the  strengtli  of  a  certain  propensity ;  snails,  wliicli 
 are  hermaphrodite,  and  whose  sexual  organs  are 
 enormous  compared  with  their  size,  and  fishes, 
 whose  fecundity  is  amazing,  were  all  introduced 
 into  the  list  of  edibles.  Nor  can  we  wonder  at  all 
 this,  for  the  Jewish  religion  held  out  no  hope  of 
 happiness  in  a  future  state;  on  the  contrary,  it 
 steadily  taught  its  believers  that  all  the  rewards  of 
 God  to  man  were  received  in  this  world ;  conse- 
 quently the  Jews  were  encouraged  to  indulge  in  all 
 those  instincts  which  man  shares  with  brutes,  and  to 
 cherish  their  carnal  appetites.  The  philosopher  may 
 well  doubt  whether  such  a  religion  emanated,  as  it 
 professes  to  do,  from  the  Almighty,  and  was  the 
 only    worship   He  would  recognise. 
 
 Maoch,  "^iy?  (1  Sam.  xxvii.  2).  This  name  was  borne  by 
 a  Philistine  king,  and  its  signification  is  to  be  sought 
 in  some  word  which  tallies  with  the  Phoenician  cult. 
 We  find  that  "^V^,  maacli,  signifies  "  he  presses  upon 
 or  into;"  an  epithet  applicable  to  Baal.  It  is  possible 
 that  the  word  maachah  is  a  variant  from  this. 
 
 Maon,  liy?  (Jos.  XV.  55).  Amongst  the  Hebrews  this  word 
 signifies  "a  dwelling-place,"  whether  of  the  Almighty, 
 of  men,  or  of  beasts.  But  the  word  was  current 
 amongst  the  Phoenicians  and  Arabians,  and  with 
 them  it  appeared  to  have  had  two  distinct  significa- 
 tions, one,  ''the  throne  of  Bel  in  the  heavens," 
 the  other,  "  the  habitation  frequented  by  the  emblem 
 of   Bel   on    the   earth. " 
 
 Mars.  Whilst  passing  in  review  the  names  of  many 
 of  the  comparatively  modern  Gods  of  Rome  and 
 Greece,  it  has  been  my  endeavour  to  ascertain  whether 
 they  could  be  traced  through  the  Hebrew  to  a  Phoeni- 
 
253 
 
 cian  source.  Now  the  God  in  question  was  essentially 
 a  warrior,  the  impersonation  of  manly  vigour,  and  as 
 such  the  favourite  of  Venus ;  for  in  all  the  ancient, 
 and  in  most  vt  the  modern  myths,  Beauty,  personified, 
 is  ever  represented  as  attaching  herself  to  strength. 
 Even  our  own  Shakespeare  makes  the  lovely  Desde- 
 mona  fascinated  with  a  Moorish  warrior,  not  hecause 
 he  is  handsome,  rich,  or  noble,  but  from  the  dangers 
 he  has  met  boldly  and  overcome  bravely.  In  seeking 
 for  a  word  to  fit  this  character,  p^,  maraz,  suggested 
 itself  to  my  mind ;  if  we  write  it  without  the  modern 
 vowel  points,  its  pronunciation  would  probably  be 
 "  marz,"  and  the  assonance  with  Mars  is  as  close  as 
 can  be  desired.  The  word  thus  selected  signifies  "to 
 press  in,"  "  to  break  with  violence,"  and  yet,  though 
 it  has  so  fierce  a  signification,  it  has  also  a  gentle 
 meaning,  viz.,  '"to  be  eloquent,  lovely,  or  pleasant." 
 
 It  is  probable  that  Marutz,  the  name  given  by 
 Arabs  to  one  of  the  Judges  of  Hell,  who  figured  as 
 an  angel,  ere  he  was  seduced  by  a  daughter  of  earth 
 to  tell  to  her  the  incommunicable  name  of  the 
 Almighty,  is  equivalent  to  the  Eoman  Mars. 
 Mary,  M«p/a?,  Mapiu,  Uaplafj,  (Matt.  i.  18).  This  name 
 demands  our  closest  attention.  Though  borne  by 
 the  mother  of  Jesus,  a  woman  who  has  replaced  in 
 Christendom  the  celestial  virgin  of  Paganism,  it  was 
 borne  by  many  others,  both  in  Palestine  and  else- 
 where. We  find  Marisimm.e  or  Mariamiie,  Mapiu^y.'^ 
 and  Moipnx[xvYj,  b.  c.  41,  Mariandynus,  il/«rianus, 
 Marica.,  Maridiaiins,  Marius,  b.  c.  150,  etc.  Myrrha 
 was,  moreover,  the  name  of  a  celebrated  mythic 
 female,  the  mother  of  Adonis,  impregnated  by  her 
 father  Cinyras,  long  prior  to  the  Christian  sera.  We 
 have  aheady  noticed   the  fact  that   Miriam  was  the 
 
254 
 
 female  associated  with  tlie  Hebrew  triad  of  Moses, 
 Aaron,  and  Hur.     (Vol.  i.  p.  95.) 
 
 In  seeking  an  etymon  for  the  name,  we  are 
 assisted  by  noticing  its  connexion  with  am^^  or  amme, 
 the  more  modern  way  of  spelling  ummah,  which  was 
 the  Phen  name  for  ''mother,"  or,  as  we  have  it, 
 ''woman"  =  "umman"  or  "mamma,"  whose  modern 
 Syriac  is  emma.^^  It  seems  clear  that  Mary  is 
 synonymous  with  "  maternity ;  "  but  not  with  the 
 ordinary  maternity  occurring  on  earth,  inasmuch  as 
 throughout  the  ancient  mythologies  the  celestial 
 mother  was  represented  as  a  virgin,  and  the  Mary 
 of  the  Eoman  Catholic  Church  is  to  this  day  wor- 
 shipped as  a  virgin  pure  and  immaculate,  although 
 she  had  four  sons,  James,  Joses,  Simon  and  Judas, 
 by  her  husband  Joseph,  and  some 
 daughters  as  well  (Matt.  siii.  55,  56). 
 Still  farther ;  Ishtar  was  adored 
 in  Babylonia  much  in  the  same 
 manner  as  the  Virgin  is  now,  and 
 as  amongst  her  other  titles  was  "  The 
 mother  of  the  Gods,"  so  it  is  pro- 
 bable that  Mary  is,  under  one  form  or 
 another,  an  appellative  bearing  a 
 similar  meaning.  See  Figure  14, 
 which  is  copied  from  a  figure  of 
 Ishtar,  in  Eawlinson's  Ancient  Mo- 
 narchies, vol.  i.,  p.  176. 
 When  seeking  for  a  Hebrew  etymon,  which  may 
 
 Figure  14. 
 
 82  Am-Astareth,  or  "  Ashtoretli  is  her  raother,"  is  a  name  of  a  Carthaginian 
 ■woman,  who  is  commemorated  in  Davis'  Carthaginian  Inscriptions,  No.  viii,  as 
 offering  a  vow  to  Tanith,  or  Anaitis.  "A  similar  name  is  found  on  the  Sidonian 
 inscription  as  that  of  the  mother  of  Asman  Azer,  the  King  of  Sidon."  Davis, 
 loc.  cit. 
 
 23  It  is  from  this  root  doubtless  that  the  Christian  name  Emma  has  sprung. 
 
255 
 
 be  a  clue  to  others  of  Shemitic  origin,  we  find  with 
 the  following,  from  which  to  make  a  selection  — 
 
 "i^^^,  maor,  "A  light,  or  light  as  of  the  sun  or 
 moon;" 
 
 ^!??,  mara,  ''He  is  fat,  well  nourished,  full  of 
 food."  With  the  addition  of  n,  as  marah,  the  same 
 would  signify  "  she  is  fat,"  &c. ;  ^'^^y  marah,  also 
 signifies  "  she  is  hollow,  or  bellied,"  and  with  the 
 addition  of  DX,  am,  we  should  get,  as  the  signification 
 .    of  MiKiAM,  "the  mother  is  fruitful." 
 
 ^!?9.)  tncire,  and  ID,  mar,  in  the  Chaldee,  signify 
 "  Lord,  the  Lord  or  master ; "  and  ri  signifies  the 
 Celestial  Mother ;  which  would  give  to  Mary  the  idea 
 of  "  the  lady  mother,"  which  is  nearly  identical  with 
 the  title  given  to  the  Virgin  by  Romanists. 
 
 "•V?,  maar,  and  "^^y^,  manor,  signifies  "the  pu- 
 denda," and  '^![}V'?>  marah,  is  "a  cave,  or  hollow 
 place." 
 
 J?'?,  mea,  is  equivalent  to  "  the  womb." 
 
 ^'•79,  m'l'ia,  is  the  name  given  to  a  certain 
 "sacrificial  heifer." 
 
 M»)po»,  meroi,  signifies  "the  pudenda,"  a  portion 
 of  the  victim  which  seems  always  to  have  been 
 burnt  whenever  a  heifer  was  sacrificed  to  the  great 
 goddess.^* 
 
 In  the  preceding  etj^mons,  the  first  element  of 
 Mary,  viz.,  mar,  has  been  chiefly  spoken  of;  we 
 have  now,  therefore,  to  trace  the  second  syllable  ra, 
 ri,  re,  or  ry. 
 
 31  Few  persons,  nnless  they  have  gone  through  a  course  of  investigation  similai* 
 to  my  own,  can  have  an  idea  of  the  curious  punning  contrivances  resorted  to  hy 
 the  hierarchy  for  the  invention  of  particular  modes  of  worship.  The  discovery  of 
 these  "plays  ujion  words"  goes  far  towards  the  identification  of  the  hidden  meaning 
 of  a  name.  Just  as,  when  offering  honbons  to  a  lady,  we  might  say,  "  Sweets  to  the 
 sweet,"  so  Meria  would  be  offered  to  Miriam,  and  Meeroi  to  Mary. 
 
256 
 
 Amongst  the  Assyrians,  Ri  was  a  great  goddess 
 (see  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  i.,  p.  497,  and  the 
 Journal  of  the  Eoyal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i.,  New 
 Series,  p.  194,  note).  Her  name  appears  to  be  the 
 equivalent  of  the  goddess  'Pla  of  the  Greeks.  In  the 
 Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature, 
 p.  24B,  vol.  viii.,  Second  Series,  Mr.  Fox  Talbot 
 presents  us  with  an  Assyrian  line,  "  in  Ri  ummu 
 banit,''  which  he  translates,  "  in  the  holy  name  of  Ri, 
 the  mother  who  bore  me  ;"  and  adds,  in  a  note,  "the 
 king  is  not  speaking  of  his  real  father  and  mother, 
 but  of  the  god  Maeduk,  and  the  goddess  Ri,  whom  he 
 calls  his  father  and  mother."  The  concluding  words 
 of  the  translation  of  an  inscription  of  Khammurabi, 
 by  Fox  Talbot,  quoted  just  above,  are  too  important 
 to  be  omitted.  I  italicise  some  parts,  to  call  attention 
 to  the  ideas  which  presided  over  nomenclature,  &c. 
 "  That  citadel  I  named,"  the  fortress  of  Ri-mardxik., 
 "  thus  uniting  the  names  of  the  mother  who  bore  me 
 and  the  father  ivho  begot  me.  In  the  holy  name  of 
 Ri,  the  mother  who  bore  me,  and  of  the  father  ivho 
 begot  me,  during  long  ages  may  it  last."  The  father 
 thus  spoken  of  was  Ashur,  or  Mar,  the  mother  was 
 Ri,  the  two  united  formed  the  name  Mar-ri.  No 
 wonder  then  that  such  a  name  was  popular  amongst 
 those  who  respected  Babylonian  or  Assyrian  lore ;  and 
 that  it  was  said  to  have  been  the  name  of  the  mother 
 of  one,  to  whom  his  followers  gave  the  title  of  the 
 Son  of  God,  which  mother  some  ancient  and  modern 
 Christians  designate  by  the  title,  "  Queen  of  Heaven," 
 "Spouse  of  God,"  and  other  epithets  resembling  those 
 borne  by  the  Ri-ummah  of  Mesopotamia.  Bar  Muri, 
 or  the  son  of  Muri,  is  the  name  given  to  one  of 
 the  Assyrian  deities. 
 
257 
 
 By  fitting  together  the  information  thus  obtained, 
 we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  word  Mary  signi- 
 fies "the  Mother,"  who,  when  associated  with  "the 
 Father,"  were  represented  by  those  organs  from  which 
 all  created  beings  spring.  Mary  is  the  spouse  of 
 Asher.  She  embodies  also  the  idea  of  the  Celes- 
 tial Mother,  who  produces  everything  by  her  own 
 inherent  power,  and  is  a  virgin,  though  a  prolific 
 parent.  In  Hindoo  myths,  she  is  Malm -Marl, 
 Mrira,  and  Maia. 
 
 Amongst  the  adornments  of  the  virgin  Mother  is 
 a  mural  crown,  which  signifies  in  one  sense  that  she 
 is  virgin,  and,  like  a  fortress,  impregnable  to  tempta- 
 tion ;  ^^  while  in  another  it  recalls  Myrrha  the  father 
 of  Adonis.  Mary  unites  in  herself  the  ideas  of 
 purity,  joyousness,  fecundity,  gentleness  and  mater- 
 nal love.  Amongst  the  titles  of  Ishtar,  in  Assyi-ia, 
 were  "the  celestial  mother,"  "mother  of  the  gods," 
 "the  gi-eat  goddess,"  "  the  beginning  of  heaven  and 
 earth,"  "the  queen  of  all  the  gods,"  "goddess  of  war 
 and  battle,"  "  the  holder  of  the  sceptre,"  "  the  begin- 
 ning of  the  beginning,"  "  the  one  great  queen,"  "  the 
 queen  of  the  spheres."  Amongst  the  titles  of  Mary, 
 the  celestial  mother  in  the  Roman  Church,  are 
 "empress  of  queens,"  "  mother  of  God,"  "morninff 
 star,"  "temple''  of  the  Lord,"  ''virgo  ante  jKirtmn,  in 
 partum,  jjost  2)cirtum,"  etc. 
 
 In  Egypt  the  Virgin  and  Child  (Isis  and  Horus), 
 were  associated  with  the  fish,  as  the  reader  may  see  in 
 the  frontispiece,  on  the  cover,  and  on  page  530  of  our 
 first  Volume.     There  are,  however,  very  few  that  have 
 
 35  See  Ginsbnrg's  Son>j  of  Songs,  p.  189,  note,  9,  10 ;  also  Kgures  14,  15,  p.  105, 
 Vol.  I.,  svpra. 
 
 36  See  Maon,  siijpra. 
 
258 
 
 an  idea  of  the  depth  of  meaning  which  is  associated 
 with  the  figures  of  the  mother  and  the  son,  which  have 
 been  so  common  in  every  age,  from  the  earliest  times 
 of  Egj-pt  to  the  present  day.  Probably  many  are  now 
 wholly  ignorant  of  the  black  depths  from  which 
 modern  Christianity,  as  professed  in  the  Koman 
 Church,  has  emerged,  or  how  completely  it  represents, 
 in  a  modified  form,  the  degrading  ideas  of  heathen- 
 dom. Perhaps  the  best  method  of  demonstrating 
 this  will  be  to  quote  from  Suidas,  who  states,  s.v., 
 YlpluTroc,  that  "  amongst  the  Egj-ptians,  Priapus  is 
 called  Horus,  who  is  represented  in  the  human  form, 
 holding  in  his  right  hand  a  sceptre,  because  he  bears 
 sway  over  everything  on  land  and  sea.  In  his  left 
 hand  he  holds  the  "fascinum,"  because  this  being 
 buried  in  the  earth  brings  forth  seed ;  he  also  bears 
 wings,  to  show  the  rapidity  of  his  movements ;  and  he 
 also  bears  a  disc,  or  circle,  to  show  that  he  is  identi- 
 fied with  the  Sun."  This  child  was  also  called  crwTYjp 
 xoa-fxov,  soteer  kosmou,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  a 
 name  borne  alike  by  Christna  in  India,  and  Christ 
 in  Europe,  and  by  the  fasciuum.  Wherever,  then, 
 the  worship  of  the  Yoni  has  dominated  over  that  of 
 the  Linga,  the  former  is  represented  as  a  Virgin 
 nourishing  and  cherishing  her  sou.  Whenever,  on 
 the  other  hand,  Mahadeva  has  been  considered 
 the  supreme  origin  of  everything,  the  woman  is 
 represented  as  coming  from  him,  as  Eve  did  from 
 Adam,  and  Minerva  from  Jupiter.  I  cannot  conceive 
 that  the  adoration  of  the  Virgin  would  be  tolerated 
 by  a  modern  Mariolater,  however  devout,  if  the 
 real  origin  of  the  supposed  sanctity  was  generally 
 known. 
 
259 
 
 As  Mary  represents  the  virgin,  so  Molly  may 
 possibly  represent  the  matron,  from  the  word  ^^^, 
 mala,  "  to  be  full,"  "  to  have  abundance." 
 
 In  the  following  Figures,  15  and  16,  we  see  the 
 
 Figure  15. 
 
 Figure  16. 
 
 Virgin,  or  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  associated  with  the 
 fother,  or  the  king.  As  these  have  been  derived 
 from  ancient  Babylonian  sources  (Lajard,  sur  le  Ciilte 
 de  Venus),  we  see  that  modern  ideas  of  the  Roman 
 Church  are  in  consonance  with  very  ancient  ones. 
 In  one  of  the  Figures,  16,  it  is  clear  that  the  Virgin 
 is  identified  with  the  moon,  and  her  spouse  with  the 
 
260 
 
 sun.  Just  so  we  see  the  Virgin  associated  both  with 
 the  sun  and  moon  amongst  modern  Eomanists,  as 
 in  Figure  17. 
 
 Figure  17.  / 
 
 In  Plate  iii.,  Vol.  i.,  she  is  surrounded  with 
 such  symbols  as  the  grape,  the  wheat-ear,  the  fig 
 and  the  pomegranate,  precisely  in  the  same  manner 
 as  was  Venus,  Isis,  Ehea,  Ceres,  or  any  other 
 goddess  of  ancient  Greece,  Rome  and  Asia. 
 
 If  there  were  any  other  evidence  required  to  prove 
 the  identity  of  the  modern  virgin  and  child  with  the 
 Ishtar  of  Babylon,  the  Ri  of  Assyria,  the  Isis  of 
 Egypt,  the  Sara  of  Hindostan,  the  Ceres  of  Greece, 
 and  the  Venus  of  Cyprus,  we  should  find  it  in  the 
 style  of  ornaments  which  crowd  the  Romish  churches 
 
261 
 
 on  the  Continent.  Amongst  others,  the  most  conspi- 
 cuous are  the  sun  and  moon  in  con- 
 junction ;  precisely  as  we  see  them  on 
 the  ancient  coins  of  Greece  and  Baby- 
 lon, thus  :  — wherein  the  sun  represents 
 the  triad  of  Mahadeva,  and  the  moon 
 his  natural  consort. 
 
 Compare  also  Figs.  1,  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  13 
 (Vol.  I.,  pp.  98-102),  none  of  which  are  Christian, 
 with  those  that  are  so  common  in  Komish  books  of 
 devotion.  See  also  Fig.  64,  p.  159,  Vol.  i.,  which 
 is  the  shape  of  a  medal  used  in  honour  of  the  virgin 
 at  Amadou;  also  Buns,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  378-380. 
 
 Captain  Wilford,  in  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  iii., 
 p.  365,  remarks,  "  When  the  people  of  Syracuse  were 
 sacrificing  to  goddesses,  they  oifered  cakes  called 
 [/.vXXoi,  shaped  like  the  female  organ  (compare 
 [xvXKog,  jJiidenda  muliehria,  and  fj.iKXo§,  the  mullet)  ; 
 and  in  some  temples,  where  the  priestesses  were  pro- 
 bably ventriloquists,  they  so  far  imposed  on  the 
 credulous  multitude,  who  came  to  adore  the  Vulva, 
 as  to  make  them  believe  that  it  spoke  and  gave 
 oracles." 
 
 We  have  already  mentioned  that  '^^J'P,  m'arah, 
 signified  ''a  cave."  We  have  now  to  observe  that  these 
 cavities  were  considered  to  be  the  ^H^?,  marotli,  or 
 pudenda  of  mother  earth  (see  Cunni  Dliboli),  and 
 were  used  for  curative  and  fortune-telling  purposes. 
 It  will  be  remembered  that  the  celebrated  Cumean 
 sybil  dwelt  in  a  cave ;  that  caves  were  frequently 
 resorted  to  for  purposes  of  incantation ;  and  Grey, 
 in  his  Travels  in  North-u'cst  Australia,  has  described 
 some  caverns  which  had  evidently  been  used  for  a 
 similar  purpose.     In  Ireland,  up  almost  to  the  end 
 
262 
 
 Figure  19. 
 
 of  tlie  last  century,  there  were  three  Christian 
 churches,  over  whose  entrance-doors  might  he  seen 
 the  coarsely  sculptured  figure  of  a  nude  woman, 
 exposing  the  ""y*?,  maar,  in  the  most  shameless 
 manner,  the  idea  being  that  the  sight  brought  good 
 luck.  The  horse-shoe  is  the  modern  representative 
 of  the  organ  in  question.  King  {Gnostics,  p.  219) 
 gives  the  copy  of  a  gem,  in  which  a  figure  sits,  much 
 in  the  same  way  as  the  Irish  females.  She  is  stated 
 to  be  Athor,  one  of  the  Egyptian  goddesses.  In  the 
 explanation  given  of  the  plate,  the  position  is  said  to 
 be  assumed  in  order  to  show  the  androgynous  nature 
 of  the  divinity. 
 
 Fig.  19,  a  Buddist  emblem,  represents  Mary  as  a 
 
 horse  -  shoe,  instead 
 of  a  crescent.  The 
 whole  figure  indi- 
 cates the  mystic  four, 
 the  Mar  and  Ri  of 
 the  Chaldeans. 
 
 I  must  now  again 
 call  my  readers'  at- 
 tention to  Fig.  1 
 (p.  53,  Vol.  I.),  Fig. 
 6  (p.  90,  ih'id.)  Figs. 
 16  and  17  (pp.  106, 
 107,  ibid.)  Fig.  62  (p. 
 159,  ibid.)  and  Fig. 
 5  (Plate  iii.,  ibid.) 
 
 There  is  yet  an- 
 other subject  connec- 
 ted with  Mary,  the 
 modern  virgin,  and  the  ancient  celestial  goddesses, 
 which  is  as  curious  as  it  is    significant.      The   old 
 
263 
 
 Egyptians,  Hindoos,  Greeks  and  Romans  represented 
 certain  deities  as  black.      Diana  of  the  Ephesians, 
 whose  figure   is   represented  on  page   105,    Voh    i., 
 was  black.      Juggernaut's  face,  Narayen  and  Cristna, 
 in  India,  are  painted  black,  and   Cneph,   Osiris  and 
 his  bull,  Isis  and  Horus,  Buddha,  Mercury  and  the 
 Eoman  Terminus  were  also  typified  by  black  stones. 
 The  Thespians  had  a  temple  to  Jupiter  the  Saviour, 
 and  to   Venus    Melainis,    who   were   represented   by 
 black  stones.     Ammon's  oracle  was  founded  by  black 
 doves,  and  one  founded  a  shrine  at  Dodona.     There 
 was  a  black  Venus  at  Corinth.     Venus,  Isis,  Hecate, 
 Diana,  Juno,   Metis,   Ceres,  and  Cybele  were  black; 
 and  the  Multimammia,  at  the  Campidogiio  at  Eome, 
 is  so  too.     "In  the    Cathedral  at  Moulins  ;    at  the 
 chapel  at  Loretto;  at  the  churches  of  the  Annun- 
 ciation, St.  Lazars  and  St.   Stephens,  at  Genoa;  of 
 St.   Francisco,  at  Pisa ;  at  Brisen  in  the  Tyrol ;  and 
 in    one   at   Padua;     in    St.    Theodore,    at    Munich; 
 in  the  cathedral  and  the 
 church   at   Augsburg ;    in 
 the    Borghese    chapel    of 
 Maria   Maggiore ;    in   the 
 Pantheon,  and  in  a  small 
 chapel  of  St.  Peter's,"  are 
 to  be  seen  (in  Augsburg, 
 as  large  as  life)    a  black 
 virgin  and  a  black  child. 
 The    much    reverenced 
 "Bambino"   of   Rome   is 
 also    black.      To   this  we 
 may  add  that  Jupiter  and 
 
 -IT  1      11  ,  This  cut.  in  which  the  faces  and  feet 
 
 Venus    were     both     at    one      shouW  be  Wack,  represents  the  cele- 
 
 time  represented  as  black,    ''oretto"'"'  ^^^"^  """^  ^^^^  ^* 
 
 Figure  20. 
 
264 
 
 Christna,  in  his  mother's  arms,  was  sometimes  white, 
 but  mostly  black.  Buddah  and  Brahma  were  both 
 represented  as  black  more  frequently  than  white,  pos- 
 sibly from  the  idea  that  they  were  coloured  by  the 
 sun.  The  Koman  and  Grecian  Emperors,  who 
 claimed  to  be  gods,  had  their  statues  made  in  black 
 marble,  with  coloured  drapery. 
 
 To  this  we  may  add,  that  at  the  Abbey  of  Einsie- 
 delen,  on  Lake  Zurich, — which  is  the  most  frequented 
 pilgrimage  church  in  Europe,  150,000  being  the 
 annual  average, — the  object  of  adoration  is  an  ugly 
 black  doll,  dressed  in  gold  brocade,  and  glittering 
 with  jewels.  She  is  called,  apparently,  the  Virgin  of 
 the  Swiss  Mountains  (page  29,  Siviss  Pictures,  by 
 Tract  Society,  1866).  My  friend  Mr.  Newton  also 
 tells  me  that  he  saw,  over  a  church  door  at  Ivrea,  in 
 Italy,  twenty-nine  miles  from  Turin,  the  fresco  of  a 
 black  virgin  and  child,  the  former  bearing  a  triple 
 crown.  We  have  already  referred  to  another  Black 
 Virgin,  at  Amadou,  Vol.  i.,  page  159,  where  the 
 emblem  pretty  plainly  shows  that  the  surmise  in 
 the  following  paragraphs  is  a  correct  one. 
 
 The  conclusion  which  Higgins,  who  is  my  au- 
 thority for  the  foregoing  statements,  draws  from 
 the  facts  above  mentioned "  is,  that  a  negro  nation, 
 at  one  period,  reigned  over  all  the  countries  where 
 black  gods  are  to  be  found ;  but  the  philosopher  who 
 has  studied  human  nature  as  it  is,  will  doubt  whether 
 any  negro  race  has  had  power  to  cultivate  art,  even 
 if  it  could  effect  a  conquest.  Ancient  as  the  African 
 tribes  may  be,  they  have  neither  managed  to  learn 
 sculpture  nor  painting,  nor  to  write  nor  read  largely. 
 
 87  See  Anacahjpsia,  pp.  135-7. 
 
265 
 
 Until  they  come  into  contact  with  the  white  man, 
 they  are  httle  better  than  brutes  with  human  form, 
 having  wisdom  below  that  of  the  elephant.  But,  even 
 if  they  were  at  one  time  powerful,  we  should  still 
 demur  to  the  idea  that  Eoman  Emperors  and  Greek 
 gods  would  be  fashioned  after  a  manner  resembling 
 Nubians  or  negroes.  We  must  look  farther,  then,  for 
 an  elucidation  of  the  mystery  involved  in  the  colour. 
 We  may  possibly  find  it  in  the  fact,  that  meteoric 
 stones  are  generally  black  upon  the  outside,  and 
 coming,  as  they  seem  to  do,  from  heaven  direct,  it  is 
 natural  that  the  dark  hue  should  be  thought  jiro- 
 pitious  to  the  celestial  Court.  It  may  be  doubted 
 whether  this  is  an  adequate  reason  for  the  selection, 
 and  we  naturally  seek  for  another.  Now  the  ex- 
 perience of  those  concerned  in  opening  Etruscan 
 tombs  shows  that  whenever  the  phallus  is  found 
 therein  it  is  painted  red.  Adam,  means  to  be  red 
 or  ruddy.  "Brahma  is  often  painted  red,  being  the 
 colour  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  the  creative  power  " 
 (Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon,  p.  6) ;  i.  e.  his  image  is 
 painted  red,  as  being  the  natural  hue  of  the  organ 
 which  represents  paternity  or  creation. 
 
 The  vulva,  on  the  other  hand,  the  portal  through 
 which  life  passes  in,  and  emerges  out  into  the  world, 
 is  black  amongst  all  Oriental  nations.  Its  colour, 
 therefore,  is  appropriate  to  the  female  creator,  the 
 mother  of  gods  and  men,  from  whom  all  things  spring. 
 If  we  turn  to  the  Hebrew,  we  see  that  it  supports 
 us  in  the  idea.  We  find  the  word,  ""l]^,  shahar, 
 or   skacliar,^^  which   signifies    "to  be  black;"    and 
 
 38  Purclias,  in   Hs   Pilgrimage    (tliird   edition.    London,    1  617),    qnoting  D. 
 WUlett's  comment  upon  Daniel,  and   apparently  Justin  Martyr,  says,  inter  alia,  f 
 "the  first  goddesse  (of  the  Babylonians)  was  SIuicIm,  which  was  the  earth.      In  / 
 
266 
 
 fwith  a  slight  variation  in  the  pointing,  shaliar  is  the 
 "dawn,"  "morning; "  shahor  also  means  "black"  (used 
 of  hair) ;  also  "to  break  forth  as  light."  As  Aurora 
 emerges  from  "black  night,"  so  does  each  child  from 
 "  the  black  forest."  Our  investigation,  however,  does 
 not  end  here.  The  word  sliahar  has  reminded  us 
 r  of  Sherulia,  the  Celestial  Princess,  —  the  Sara  or 
 ^  Sarai  of  old  times,  and  the  Sarah  of  to-day.  We 
 findW,  sair,  "hairy,"  "a  he-goat,"  "wood  satyrs;" 
 as  seir,  the  meaning  is  "hairy,"  "rough;"  "^y^,  sear, 
 signifies  "hairs;"  ^'^'^}^.,  saarah,  is  "a  hair,"  and 
 seorah  is  "barley,"  so  called  from  its  " hairiness ;  " 
 '"^t"^)  Sarah,  is  "a  princess  or  noble  lady,"  and  '^1^, 
 sarai,  means  " my  nobility ;  "  "^^^j  sheer,  is  "flesh," 
 and  with  the  addition  of  n,  we  have  shareeh,  "female 
 relations  by  blood;"  "^Jf^,  shaar,  is  "to  cleave,"  or 
 •"divide;"  differently  pointed,  but  still  shaar,  it 
 ■mesi-ns  a, gate ;  '''}^,sha7r(i,  means  "beginning."  In  all 
 these  we  see  a  connection  of  ideas  between  'black- 
 ness,' 'hairiness,'  a  'cleft,'  'agate,'  '  a  beginning,' 
 and  '  a  princess ; '  and  when  we  remember  that 
 "  Saraiswati  "  was  the  wife  of  Mahadeva,  we  are 
 constrained  to  believe  that  the  black  hue  represents 
 the  female,  as  the  red  does  the  male  creator;  and 
 we  thus  find  another  proof  of  parts  pertaining  to 
 the  renovation  of  mankind  being  introduced  into  the 
 religious   mysteries    of  ancient  faiths.^^ 
 
 the  honour  of  this  godclesse  they  used  to  keep  a  feast  five  days  together,  in 
 Babylon.  This  festivall  time  was  called  Sliache,  whereof  Babylon  was  called 
 Sheshach  (Jerem.  xxv.  26;  li.  41)."  I  am  wholly  unable  to  verify  this  statement, 
 but  I  am  disposed  to  refer  my  readers  to  the  "  Sacarum  Festa,"  or  Sacoean 
 festivals,  observed  for  five  days  by  the  Persians  and  Syrians  in  honour  of  the 
 goddess  Anaitis  (Lempriere,  Clas.  Diet.,  quoting  Berosus'  Hisfory  of  Babylon 
 (Athen.  14,  c.  44),  Coil.  Bhod.,  18,  c.  29).  Compare  also  the  names  Sichwus, 
 ZaccJiens,  and  Sicca  Veueria. 
 
 89  Long  after  the  preceding  article  was  in  manuscript,  and  whilst  these  sheets 
 
267 
 
 Maschith,  JT'Sti'D  (Lev.  xxvi.  1).  This  word,  which  is  used 
 in  connection  with  a  stone,  occurs  only  six  times  in 
 the  Old  Testament.  In  Leviticus,  it  it  translated, 
 "image  of  stone,"  "picture,"  or  "figured  stone"; 
 in  Numbers  xxxiii.  52,  it  is  translated,  '  pictures '  ; 
 In  Psalm  Ixxiii.  7,  it  is  translated,  "  could  wish,"  or 
 " the  thoughts  "  ;  in  Proverbs  xviii.  11,  "in  his  own 
 conceit,"  xxv.  11,  as  "pictures";  and  in  Ezekiel 
 viii.  12,  "imagery."  This  word  attracts  our  atten- 
 tion, because  we  find  it  used  in  a  particular  sense  in 
 "Leviticus,"  "Numbers,"  and  in  "Ezekiel"  only, 
 and  we  infer  from  the  fact,  that,  another  signification 
 being  given  in  other  parts,  there  are  two  roots  for  the 
 word,  one  Hebraic,  which  gives  the  meaning  found 
 in  Proverbs  and  Psalms,  the  second  Grecian,  which 
 gives  the  signification  of  something  idolatrous.     We 
 
 were  passing  through  the  press,  I  met  with  the  following  passage  in  "  The  Gnostics," 
 by  C.  W.  King,  London,  1864,  which  singularly  confirms  my  views.  Speaking  of 
 an  engraved  gem,  he  says,  p.  71,  "  Before  Serapis  stands  Isis,  holding  in  one  hand 
 a  sistrum,  and  in  the  other  a  wheatsheaf,  with  the  legend,  in  Greek,  Immaculate  is 
 our  lady  Isis  ;  the  very  terms  applied  afterwards  to  that  personage  who  succeeded  to 
 her  form,  titles,  (the  black  virgins  so  highly  reverenced  in  certain  French  cathedrals 
 during  the  long  night  of  the  middle  ages  proved,  when  at  last  examined  critically, 
 basalt  figures  of  Isis),  symbols,  rites  and  ceremonies  even  with  less  variation  than  in 
 the  interchange  above  alluded  to.  Thus  her  devotees  carried  into  the  new  priesthood 
 the  former  badges  of  their  profession,  the  obligation  to  celibacy,  the  tonsure,  and 
 the  surplice,  omitting  unfortunately  the  frequent  ablutions  prescribed  by  the  ancient 
 creed.  The  sacred  image  still  moves  in  procession,  as  when  Juneval  laughed  at  it 
 (vi.  530),  grege  linigero  circumdatus  et  grege  calvo,  escorted  by  the  tonsured,  sur- 
 pliced  train.  Her  proper  title,  Domina,  the  exact  translation  of  the  Sanscrit  Isi, 
 survives  with  a  slight  change  in  the  modern  Madonna  (Mater  Domina)  .... 
 The  tinkling  sistrum  is  replaced  by  the  Buddist  bell.  It  is  astonishing  how  much 
 of  the  Egyptian  and  the  second-hand  Indian  symbolism  passed  over  into  the  usage 
 of  following  times.  Thus  the  high  cap  and  hooked  staff  of  the  god  became  the 
 bishop's  mitre  and  crozier;  the  term  nun  is  purely  Egj-ptian,  and  bore  its  present 
 meaning ;  the  erect  oval,  symbol  of  the  Female  Principle  of  Nature,  became  the 
 Vesica  Piscis  and  a  frame  for  divine  things ;  the  Crux  Ansata,  testifying  of  the 
 union  of  the  Male  and  Female  Principle  in  the  most  obvious  manner,  and  denoting 
 fecundity  and  abundance,  as  borne  in  the  god's  hand,  is  transformed  by  a  simple 
 inversion  into  the  orb  surmounted  by  the  ci'oss,  and  the  ensign  of  royalty." 
 
268 
 
 may  pass  by  the  first,  to  concentrate  our  attention  on 
 the  last.  We  find  that  ^o(txo§  signifies,  amongst 
 other  things,  "  a  calf,  or  young  bull,"  the  form  of 
 which  the  god  Apis  was  wont  to  assume.  We  find 
 also  that  oc-^^,  which  is  the  same  as  ix6(rxo;,  signifies, 
 
 f  "a  young  branch,  also  the  scrotum."  We  presume, 
 therefore,  that  the  word  in  question  might  refer  in 
 Ezekiel's  time  to  small  images,  which  were  intended 
 to  represent  Apis,  or  the  bull,  with  which  the  Jews 
 became  familiar  in  the  last  days  of  the  monarchy; 
 when  Pharaoh  Necho  took  Jerusalem,  and,  very  pro- 
 bably, introduced  Egyptian  worship  ;  inasmuch  as  we 
 find  that  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  in  every 
 instance  which  we  can  trace,  were  very  apt  at  embrac- 
 ing the  style  of  worship,  and  the  gods,  of  those  who 
 conquered  them.  If  our  surmise  be  correct,  it  would 
 go  far  to  demonstrate  that  the  parts  of  Leviticus 
 and  Numbers  in  which  "Maschith"  is  spoken  of, 
 were  written  after  the  Grecian  captivity,  and  probably 
 after  the  second  Egyptian  conquest  of  Jerusalem. 
 It  is  very  probable  that  the  stone  image,  or  cut  stone, 
 had  reference  to  the  Hermai,  which  were  very  common 
 wherever  the  Greeks  penetrated.  These  were  invaria- 
 bly emblematic,  and  often  very  coarsely  so,  of  the 
 male  creator,  and  were  particularly  abundant  on  high 
 roads;  they  also  served  as  termini,  or  landmarks. 
 Ebn  Maschith  would  then  be  equivalent  to  the  graven 
 image  (jjesel)  of  Exod.  xx.  4. 
 Mash,  ^^  (Gen.  x.  23),  called  ^^^,  meshech  (1  Chron.  i.  17), 
 the  name  given  to  a  son  of  Aram,  and  to  a  city 
 in  Assyria,  for  which  no  etymon  can  be  found.  It 
 is  possible  that  the  word  is  formed  from  ^^9^,  by 
 dropping  the  initial  K'. 
 
 Kalisch  {Historical  and  Critical  Commentary  on 
 
269 
 
 Genesis,  London,  1858)  considers  that  Mash  is  a 
 Hebraic  form  of  Mysia,  or  Moesia ;  and  if  so,  tlie 
 name  affords  us  another  evidence  of  the  Greek  in- 
 fluence which  is  perceptible  in  Genesis. 
 Mazzaeoth,  n'nm  (job  xxxviii.  32).  This  word  is  essen- 
 tially the  same  as  ^^•'i'?,  mazzaloth,  and  we  may 
 treat  the  two  as  one.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt 
 that  the  words  signify  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac 
 (see  Zodiac,  infra),  the  habitations  or  palaces  of  the 
 sun,  in  his  journey  through  the  heavens  during  the 
 year.  But  Selden  (De  Diis  Syriis)  and  Fiirst  show 
 reason  to  believe,  that,  in  the  passage  where  Mazza- 
 roth  is  named,  reference  is  made  to  some  particular 
 constellation,  in  which  when  the  sun  remained  he 
 was  supposed  to  be  especially  lucky.  Selden  con- 
 siders that  there  is  a  connection  between  Gad  and 
 Mazala,  both  signifying  good  fortune ;  and  it  is 
 possible  that  one  signified  the  planet  Venus,  and  the 
 other  Jupiter ;  the  one  being  the  lesser  the  other  the 
 greater  bestower  of  good  fortune.  ''Hence  we  find 
 Tji''^,  mazzarach,  "thy  lucky  star,"  on  Cilician  coins. 
 Sanchoniathon  makes  mention  of  Misor  *°  i.  e.,  "^-T^, 
 mizzar,  a  brother  of  Sadyk  (P''*]^  =  ?"})>)  or  Jupiter. 
 In  like  manner,  ^^"i'!?,  mazzaroth  {=  Phoenician  "';T9, 
 misor,  or  P''"]^'  =  P"3^'),  appears  to  have  been  worshipped 
 under  the  name  3313^  cocab,  "a  star,"  as  a  deity, 
 cojipled  with  I'''"'?,  chiun,  and  others  (Amos  v.  26), 
 which  was  all  the  easier,  since  ^^"'1,  cocah,  also 
 denotes  "a  prince"  or  "ruler"  (Num.  xxiv.  17),  as  in 
 Arabic  and  Ethiopic."     (Fiirst,  s.  v.) 
 
 Selden  states,  that  the  name  Mazaloth  is  given 
 by  the   Cabalists  to  a  certain  order  of  angels,  and 
 
 *"  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  p.  8. 
 
270 
 
 quotes  "  Dogmata  Cahalistica,  ii.,  vii.  and  xlvii.,  et  in 
 ea  Archangeli  Commentarios^'  (De  Dm  Syriis, 
 Leipsic  edition,  1672,  p.  78). 
 Matthew,  MutSouos  (Mat.  ix.  9).  Under  tlie  word  Ahimoth, 
 we  stated  that  there  was  some  reason  to  believe  that 
 ''death"  was  deified  in  the  Hebrew  mythology,  for 
 the  word  Ach  is  considered  by  Fiirst  to  be  one  of  the 
 names  of  the  Creator.  In  the  word  before  us,  Ach 
 is  replaced  by  the  Greek  0s6g,  Theos  =  god  ;  and 
 Ahimoth  and  Matthew  signify  "Ach  is  Moth," 
 and  "Moth  is  God."  In  the  Arabic,  the  word 
 MoATH  is,  I  understand,  a  common  one ;  and  from 
 these  considerations  we  are  led  to  infer  that  niD, 
 moth,  was  a  name  which  was  held  in  much  reve- 
 rence. 
 
 When  we  investigate  the  word,  we  find  that 
 there  is  a  Sanscrit  root,  math,  miUh,  mith,  meth,  '  to 
 kill ; '  that  in  the  Phoenician,  ^'^  signifies  death ;  and 
 that  in  Hebrew,  ^]}^,  maveth,  has  the  same  significa- 
 tion. In  the  fragment  attributed  to  Sanchoniathon, 
 we  have  the  statement  that  MoJS,  mouth  or  muth, 
 was  a  son  of  Cronus  by  Rhea;  and  that  the  Phce- 
 nicians  esteem  him  the  same  as  Death  and  Pluto." 
 Bunsen  remarks  {Egypt,  vol.  iv.,  p.  274),  "  Muth  is 
 the  word  for  death.  In  the  previous  case,  it  was  a 
 daughter ;  and,  without  doubt,  the  Phoenician  Per- 
 sephone, the  queen  of  the  lower  world.  Mtjth  in  the 
 masculine  gender  expresses  the  same  idea ;  the  god 
 become  man  is  the  mortal  king  of  the  spiritual 
 world."  In  Vol.  i.,  p.  366,  we  find  Mut  is  one  of 
 the  eight  gods  of  the  first  order,  and  that  she  is  "  the 
 mother,"  "  the  temple  consort  of  Khem  and  Ammon." 
 
 *i  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  pp.  15  andl.    We  also  find,  in  the  same  autliority, 
 that  Chaos  and  the  wind  generated  Mair,  mot,  which  yome  call  Ilus. 
 
271 
 
 In  p.  378,  we  find  that  another  of  her  names  is 
 Amenti,  one  of  the  words  expressive  of  the  lower 
 world  and  the  west ;  but  the  name  Mut  is  given  to 
 all  the  goddesses;  again,  she  is  the  only  one  who 
 has  the  title  of  "the  mistress  of  darkness."  In  the 
 Greek  we  have  ^uttos,  muttos,  =  'mute'  or  'dumb.' 
 On  the  other  hand,  we  find  Plutarch,  de  Is'ide  et 
 Osiride,  ch.  56,  remarking,  "  As  to  Isis,  she  is  some- 
 times called  by  them  muth,  sometimes  atliyri,  and 
 at  other  times  metliuer.  Now  the  first  of  these 
 names  signifies  mother ;  the  second,  Osiris'  mundane 
 habitation  (or,  as  Plato  expresses  it,  the  place  and 
 receptacle  of  generation,  otherwise  maon  or  meon)  ; 
 and  the  third  is  composed  of  two  other  words,  one 
 of  which  imports  fullness,  and  the  other  goodness.'^ 
 King,  in  The  Gnostics,  and  their  Remains,  remarks, 
 p.  104,  that  onuth  was  originally  the  same  as  our 
 mud,  and  contains  an  evident  allusion  to  the  earth 
 out  of  which  man  was  formed.  Again,  we  have 
 "mata"  (Sanscrit),  "  matu "  (Pah),  "  matha  " 
 (Russian),  "mathair"  (Irish  and  Gaelic),  "mater" 
 (Greek  and  Latin),  "mader"  (Persian),  "moder" 
 (Swedish  and  Danish),  "  mutter "  (German),  and 
 "moeder"  (Dutch),  to  represent  the  word  which 
 we  know  as  "mother."  From  these  considerations, 
 we  conclude  that  there  is  some  connection  of  ideas 
 between  death  and  maternity. 
 
 Now  Buusen  shows,  in  his  work  on  Egypt,  vol.  v.. 
 Introduction  to  Ritual  for  the  Dead,  that  the  death  of 
 an  individual  was  considered  as  equivalent  to  the 
 going  down  of  the  sun,  and  that  as  surely  as  that 
 luminary  rose  again  so  would  regenerated  man.  It 
 is  evident  that  the  sun  goes  down  apparently  into  the 
 earth,  and  it  was  thought  that  it  traversed  the  dark 
 
272 
 
 unknown  regions  of  Erebus,  or  night,  ere  it  rose  again. 
 As  the  sun  at  the  dawn  appears  to  rise  from  the 
 earth,  so  man  was  supposed  to  rise  again  from  the 
 earth  in  some  new  form.  Death  thus  became  a 
 return  to  the  bosom  of  the  mother,  viz.,  the  earth. 
 Hence  the  declaration  in  Eccles.  v.  15,  "  As  he  came 
 forth  from  his  mother's  womb,  naked  shall  he  return 
 to  go  as  he  came ; "  and  the  remark  in  Job  i.  21, 
 "Naked  came  I  out  of  my  mother's  womb,  and 
 naked  shall  I  return  thither."  In  Job.  xv.  22, 
 death  and  darkness  seem  to  be  associated.  Death, 
 moreover,  is  usually  repesented  as  a  female ;  and 
 in  some  Gnostic  gems,  figured  by  King,  it  would  be 
 easy  to  mistake  Death  for  Venus.  She  was  some- 
 times depicted  as  transformed  into  a  Cupid  holding 
 a  reversed  torch ;  and  sometimes  she  was  typified 
 under  the  symbol  of  a  horse's  head,  a  pair  of  legs 
 crossed,  or  the  soles  of  two  feet. 
 
 Having  then  gone  far  towards  demonstrating  the 
 relationship  between  death,  the  earth,  and  the  mother 
 of  all,  we  may  proceed  to  investigate  the  associations 
 of  death.  We  first  notice  that  amongst  the  Egyp- 
 tians sacrifices  were  ofi'ered  to  the  dead  very  frequently 
 during  the  year  (Bunsen,  l.c.ii.  69).  We  then  find  a 
 very  remarkable  passage  in  Psalm  cvi.  28,  "  They 
 joined  themselves  unto  Baal-Peor,  and  ate  the  sacri- 
 fices of  the  dead."  When  we  turn  to  the  account 
 given  in  Num.  xxv.  2-8,  we  find  no  mention  made 
 of  any  special  sacrifices  to  the  dead,  and  we  should 
 be  tempted  to  consider  that  '  the  dead  ; '  in  the  verse 
 alluded  to,  are  dumb  idols ;  and  the  idea  is  the  same 
 as  that  conveyed  in  Isaiah  viii.  19,  where  "the  dead" 
 must  be  taken  as  the  opposite  to  "the  living  God." 
 But  it  is  more  probable  that  it  refers  to  some  custom 
 
273 
 
 analogous  to  the  Irish  "  wakes,"  to  which  we  referred 
 in  Vol.  I.,  p.  641.  See  also  Jeremiah  xvi.  6-8,  and 
 1  Cor.  XV.  29. 
 
 Talbot,  in  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society 
 (vol.  iii.,  New  Series,  p.  37),  states  that  in  the  Assyrian 
 mut  signified  ''a  man,"  and  especially  "a  husband." 
 This  would  make  it  equivalent  to  the  riD,  math,  of  the 
 Hebrews,  and  the  analogue  of  Osiris,  Asher,  Asshur, 
 Adam,  and  the  like.  Indeed  Fiirst  quotes  {s.v.  ^^), 
 two  Phoenician  names  preserved  in  Polybius,  Math- 
 BAL  and  Matgeenos,  in  the  first  of  which  Math  is  put 
 into  apposition  with  Baal,  and  in  the  latter  with  gan, 
 '  a  garden  or  a  virgin.'  But  riD  and  niD  are  similar, 
 the  one  signifying  '  a  man,'  the  other  '  death ; '  which 
 would  lead  us  to  believe  that  Death  was  personified 
 as  male  by  the  Hebrews,  Arabs  and  Phoenicians. 
 But  as  the  word  Matthew  is  more  likely  to  embody 
 Grecian  than  Chaldean  ideas,  we  conclude  that  the 
 math  therein  was  one  of  the  names  given  to  the  Earth, 
 and  to  Death,  as  god  or  goddess,  and  that  the  name 
 Matthew  signifies  that  belief. 
 Meni,  *^'^.  (Isa.  Ixv.  11).  This  word  does  not  occur  in  our 
 authorised  version,  being  rendered  therein  as  "  that 
 number."  The  verse  runs  thus,  "  But  ye  are  they 
 that  forsake  the  Lord,  that  forget  my  holy  mountain, 
 that  prepare  a  table  for  that  troop,  and  that  furnish 
 the  drink-offering  to  that  number."  The  words  in 
 italics  are  in  the  Hebrew  "  Gad  "  and  ''  Meni."  The 
 Seventy  replace  them  by  tc2  dui[/,ovico.  Ho  the  demon,' 
 and  T^  T^XV)  '^0  fortune,'  and  the  Vulgate  renders 
 them  'Fortune,'  and  'her,'  respectively.  The  word 
 *^''P'?,  manithi,  in  the  next  verse  is  a  punning  allu- 
 sion to  ^^P,  meni. 
 
 That  Meni  was  a  divinity  we  infer  from  the  fact 
 
274 
 
 that  worship  was  paid  to  her.  That  she  was  a  Baby- 
 lonian deity  we  also  conclude  from  her  being  spoken 
 of  by  the  second  Isaiah  as  familiar  to  the  Jews  in 
 Chaldea.  Fiirst  remarks  (s.  v.)  "  that  Meni  was  a 
 female  Babylonian  deity,  representing  fortune  and 
 fate.  By  it  is  understood  the  moon,  as  the  goddess 
 of  fortune,  called  in  Isaiah  xvii.  8,  "'^'f,  ashair,  and 
 worshipped  with  P^^  liamman.  The  Egyptians  also 
 called  the  moon  aya^  tukyj  (Macrob.  i.  19).  Per- 
 haps it  should  be  combined  with  M>]vr]." 
 
 Taking  up  the  name  at  a  more  recent  period,  we 
 find  Strabo,  when  writing  of  Pontus,  saying,  "  She 
 (the  queen  Pythodoris)  has  also  the  temple  of  Meen, 
 Myjv,  surnamed  of  Pharnaces,  at  Ameria,  a  village  city 
 inhabited  by  a  large  body  of  sacred  menials,  and 
 having  annexed  to  it  a  sacred  territory,  the  produce 
 of  which  is  always  enjoyed  by  the  priest.  The  kings 
 held  this  temple  in  such  exceeding  veneration,  that 
 this  was  the  royal  oath,  '  by  the  fortune  of  the  king 
 and  by  Meen  of  Pharnaces.'  This  is  also  the  tem- 
 ple of  the  moon,  like  that  amongst  the  Albani  and 
 those  in  Phrygia,  namely,  the  temple  of  Meen  in  a 
 place  of  the  same  name,"  pp.  556-7,  book  xii.  c.  3, 
 sec.  31.  We  find  also,  that  at  Antioch,  near  Pisidia, 
 "  there  was  established  a  priesthood  of  Meen  Arcseus, 
 having  attached  to  it  a  multitude  of  sacred  attend- 
 ants, and  tracts  of  sacred  territory."  Ibid.,  Casaub., 
 p.  577. 
 
 Menes  is  the  name  assigned  to  one  of  the  earliest 
 monarchs  of  Egypt,  and  Mendes  was  a  god  in  that 
 country ;  and  Homer  (Hymn  xii.  50),  speaks  of 
 Meene  being  a  female  deity,  presiding  over  the 
 months. 
 
 Now  Mrjv,  meen,  is  a  month  ;  and  Mjjvjj,  meenee,  is 
 
275 
 
 the  moon  in  the  Greek  language ;  and  we  may 
 readily  conceive  how  great  was  the  reverence  in 
 which  she  was  held,  by  finding  her  name  entering 
 freely  into  compound  Greek  nomenclature. 
 
 From  these  considerations,  we  conclude  that  Meni 
 was  one  of  the  names  given  to  the  moon,  the  celestial 
 virgin,  queen  of  heaven.  If  we  allow  the  Vedic 
 origin  of  the  name,  it  becomes  associated  in  our 
 minds  with  Nebo,  whose  name  and  worship  came 
 into  Babylonia  from  India.  Still  farther,  we  notice 
 that  the  Sanscrit  iiiina  enables  us  once  again  to  see 
 the  close  resemblance  between  Fish  and  the  Virgin, 
 the  same  name  positively  describing  them  both.  It 
 is  quite  possible  that  the  fish  became  worshipped 
 in  consequence  of  this  identity,  rather  than  because 
 of  its  fecundity,  which  would  be  scarcely  known  to 
 the  inhabitants  of  Babylonia. 
 
 When  once  we  have  identified  Meni  with  Ishtar, 
 we  endeavour  to  ascertain  what  association  there 
 was  between  her  and  Gad.  We  have  already  seen 
 that  Gad  was  considered  amongst  the  Phoenicians 
 as  the  goddess  of  good  fortune,  and  that  she  was 
 also  identified  with  Venus.  The  star  called  Venus, 
 amongst  ourselves,  is  the  one  which  next  to  the 
 moon  shines  the  brightest  during  the  long  night. 
 We  who  live  in  England  can  scarcely  appreciate  the 
 wondrous  beauty  of  this  lovely  planet ;  but  I  can 
 well  remember  the  first  time  it  dawned  upon  me. 
 Weary  with  many  a  day's  previous  journeying,  I  rose 
 grumbling  from  my  bed  one  morning,  in  Italy,  and 
 stumbled  sleepily  into  our  dark  breakfast-room,  to 
 await  the  advent  of  the  carriage  which  was  to  take  us 
 onwards.  Mechanically,  I  groped  my  way  to  the 
 window,  to  take  a  farewell  look  at  the  lovely  bay  of 
 
276 
 
 Spezzia,  and  as  I  drew  the  curtains  asunder,  I  almost 
 shouted  with  delight  on  seeing  the  planet  Venus  a 
 few  degrees  above  the  horizon  ;  its  brilliancy  was 
 more  that  of  a  small  sun,  or  of  a  shining  diamond, 
 than  that  of  a  miniature  moon,  and  I  felt  that  it 
 would  be  impossible  for  any  warm-hearted  Oriental 
 not  to  speak  of  such  a  sight  with  rapture,  and  think 
 of  that  lovely  star  as  an  object  of  adoration.  If 
 we  turn  our  attention  to  such  Babylonian  gems  as 
 contain  more  than  the  two  great  luminaries,  we  find 
 that  one  star  is  associated  with  them,  and  there  is 
 every  reason  to  believe  that  it  represents  Gad  or 
 Venus,  that  star  being  still  considered  by  the  Arabs 
 as  the  star  of  good  fortune. 
 
 Figure  21.  The    accompanying  wood- 
 
 cut, is  copied  from  Lajard, 
 who  states  that  the  medallion 
 was  found  at  Cnidus,  and  is 
 now  in  the  Imperial  Library 
 at  Paris ;  we  conclude  that 
 Venus  is  the  star  which  ap- 
 pears between  the  sun  and 
 moon ;  under  them  is  an  in- 
 scription in   Phoenician   characters,    which    may    be 
 
 read  thus:—  (C}\  n-aj;, 
 
 Inhrb,  which  I  take  to  denote,  "  at  the  high  place,  or 
 
 sanctuary,  (of)  the  great   ((}\  ,"  whilst  below  the 
 
 inscription  are  the  bull  and  cow,  emblems  of  the  sun 
 and  moon,  Osiris  and  Isis. 
 
277 
 
 But  this  inscription  may  be  read  in  another  way, 
 if  we  give  a  literal  rather  than  a  figurative  meaning 
 to  the  lozenge.  The  letters  of  the  inscription  are 
 Phcenician,   yet  there    is  not   in   that  old   language 
 
 a  single  sign  u)y  doing  duty  for  a  letter ;  but  if  we 
 
 turn   to  the  ancient  Hebrew  alphabet,  as   given  by 
 Gesenius  in  his  Monumenta  Phoenicia,  we  find  that 
 
 0 
 
 stands  for  y,  and  that  another  form  of  the  same 
 
 Figure  22. 
 
 letter  is  0 ,  which  is  sometimes  used,  though  not  a 
 typical  form  of  the  same  letter,  in  the  Phoenician. 
 U  is  its  most  common  form  in  the  Carthaginian 
 inscriptions.  Assuming,  then,  that  the  lozenge 
 represents  the  V,  the  inscription  reads  ymnj'?,  Inhrha, 
 which,  taking  the  Hebrew  for  our  guide,  we  read  "  at 
 the  high  place  (Nob)  of  the  four,"  ym,  rahba,  being 
 equivalent  to  ymx  or  ymj?,  arha  or  erba.  Kabbah, 
 we  remember,  was  the  name  of  a  capital  city  of  the 
 children  of  Ammon. 
 
 A  reference  to  Fig.  3,  Plate 
 III.,  Vol.  I.,  shows  that  the 
 lozenge  is  the  emblem  of  the 
 female ;  the  same  is  also  typified 
 in  Fig.  51,  Vol  I.,  p.  156.  We 
 notice  the  same  emblem  in  the  ac- 
 companying design,  found  sculp- 
 tured on  an  agate,  which  is  copied 
 by  Lajard  from  the  original  in 
 Calvet's  Museum,  at  Avignon. 
 
 In  this  design  we  see  the  sun  and  moon  in  con- 
 junction, and  the  priest  adoring  the  male  trinity,  in 
 the  form  of  a  triangle ;  whilst  on  either  side  the 
 sacred  chair  are  the  mystic  palm  tree  and  the  lozenge, 
 
278 
 
 together  forming  the  great  four,  the  male  and  female 
 creators.  Having  prosecuted  our  enquiries  thus  far, 
 we  find  that  there  is  no  very  essential  difference 
 between  the  reading  "  at  the  high  place  or  sanctuary 
 
 [of]   the  great  (O)"  and  "at  the  high  place  of  the 
 
 four."  We  may  remember,  too,  that  the  Venus  of 
 Cnidus  was  not  only  represented  as  the  personification 
 of  all  the  charms  of  woman,  whose  emblem  is  to  be 
 Figure  23.  recogiiiscd  as  an  object  of  worship  in  Fig. 
 23  (or  95,  Vol.  i.,  p.  497),  but  also  as  an- 
 drogynous (see  Fig.  3,  Plate  iii.,  Vol.  i.,) ; 
 and  the  idea  of  a  double-sexed  being 
 involves  the  idea  of  the  triune  male 
 and  the  female  single,  which  together  make  the 
 sacred  four.  Hence  we  conclude  that  in  the  inscrip- 
 tion which  we  have  examined,  there  is  an  intentional 
 pun,  in  which  the  designer  has  used  a  rare  form  of  a 
 particular  letter  to  enable  the  reader  to  understand 
 the  motto  in  whichever  way  he  chose. 
 
 We  thus  have  been  led  to  the  belief  that  Meni 
 was  one  of  the  many  names  of  the  moon,  who  divided 
 with  Venus,  the  star,  the  empire  of  night.  We  be- 
 lieve the  name  to  have  been  originally  Vedic,  in 
 which  we  are  confirmed  by  finding  the  name  V?  '??^:5 
 Abaci  meni,  borne  by  one  of  the  Armenian  Persian 
 satraps  of  the  Achemsenidoe  (Fiirst,  s.  v.  "'^P')  From 
 the  Aryans  it  passed  both  to  the  Phens  and  to  the 
 Greeks,  and  finally  to  the  English,  where  meen  has 
 become  month,  and  munee  moon.  By  the  fact  that 
 the  moon  is  still,  as  it  always  has  been,  a  measurer 
 of  time,  we  can  understand  how  the  root  jd,  m  n,  or 
 
279 
 
 men,  became  associated  with  'weighing  and  weight,' 
 '  measuring,  sharing,  treasuring,'  &c. 
 
 By  identifying  the  moon  with  Astarie,  Venus,  &c., 
 we  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  festivals  to  her 
 honour,  and  the  reason  why  they  were  denounced  by 
 the  pure-minded  prophet;  and  we  may  compare  the 
 words  of  Isaiah  which  stand  at  the  head  of  this 
 article  with  Jeremiah  vii.  18,  et  seq.,  and  xliv.  9-19. 
 See  Buns,  Vol.  i.,  p.  378. 
 
 Meri-baal,  ^V2  no  (i  Chron.  ix.  40),  the  first  half  of  this 
 word  is  also  spelled  ^''^'^,  inerih;  and  the  interpre- 
 tation given  by  Gesenius  is,  *'  contender  against 
 Baal,"  and  by  Fiirst,  "  strife  of  Baal."  Neither  of 
 these  can  be  considered  as  correct,  and  in  seeking 
 for  the  original  etymon,  we  may  select  between  ^!?^, 
 7nare,  "a  lord  or  ruler;"  "lixo,  maor,  "light  or 
 brightness^"  and  ^y?,  mere,  "he  is  powerful,  or 
 strong."  It  is  possible  the  particular  word  was 
 selected,  because  it  might  mean  "  Baal  is  strong,"  or 
 "is  light,"  or  "is  lord." 
 
 Merodach-Baladan,  17?^?  "^INio  (Isa.  xxxix.  1),  signifies 
 "Marduk  Bel,"  or  "Bel  Merodach  is  my  lord." 
 Marduk  or  Merodach  seems  to  have  been  an  Assyrian 
 god,  and  is  supposed  to  be  equivalent  to  the  Latin 
 Mars.  There  is  great  difficulty  however  in  finding 
 a  satisfactory  etymon  for  the  name.  In  the  place 
 of  those  suggested  by  others,  the  following  may  be 
 proposed  :  ^.7^,  mare,  in  the  Chaldee,  signifies 
 "Lord,"  "the  great  or  high  one;"  and  i\n,  duch, 
 signifies  "  he  pounds  or  beats  to  powder ; "  and  p-n, 
 duk,  may  be  interpreted  "  he  looks  around,"  "  he 
 sees  about."  Since  it  is  quite  clear  that  many  other 
 names  were  of  a  punning  character,  we  conclude 
 that  MxiEDUK  is  equivalent  to   "My  Lord  the  ham- 
 
280 
 
 mer,"  also  "My  Lord  the  sun."  His  memory  will 
 readily  furnish  the  reader  with  a  number  of  biblical 
 instances  in  which  the  idea  of  'bruising,'  'breaking,' 
 *  destroying  utterly,'  '  beating  to  powder,'  is  associated 
 with  the  Almighty ;  and  of  other  passages  in  which 
 His  omniscience  is  spoken  of ;  e.  g.,  "  The  God  of 
 peace  shall  bruise  Satan  shortly"  (Kom.  xvi.  20); 
 "  Thou  shalt  bruise  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and 
 break  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel"  (Ps.  ii.  9, 
 Prayer-book  version) ;  "  Break  their  teeth  in  their 
 mouth"  (Ps.  Iviii.  6);  "He  shall  break  it  as  the 
 breaking  of  a  potter's  vessel "  (Isa.  xxx.  14) ;  "  Is 
 not  my  word  like  a  hammer  that  breaketh  the 
 rock  in  pieces?"  (Jer.  xxiii.  29.)  Even  the  very 
 Babylon,  whose  king  was  Merodach  Baladan,  and 
 one  of  whose  deities  was  Marduk,  is  spoken  of  by 
 a  contemporary  thus,  "How  is  thfe  hammer  of  the 
 whole  earth  cut  asunder  and  broken "  (Jer.  1.  23). 
 Kespecting  the  all- seeing  power  of  God  we  need  not 
 quote  a  single  sentence.  If  our  surmise  be  correct, 
 Marduk  would  be  the  equivalent  of  Siva  the  terrible. 
 MiOAH,  MiCAiAH,  f^3^?,  ^^'^^^  (Jud.  xvii.  5 ;  2  Kings  xxii. 
 12).     "Whoislike  Jah?" 
 
 There  are  two  individuals  bearing  the  name  of 
 Micah,  who  figure  conspicuously  in  the  sacred  writ- 
 ings. One  is  mentioned  as  having  a  house  of  Gods, 
 and  a  Levite  for  his  priest.  The  narrative  is  curious, 
 from  the  peculiarities  of  its  details.  We  find  that  a 
 mother  blesses,  in  the  name  of  Jehovah,  an  only 
 son,  who,  having  restored  her  stolen  property,  enables 
 her  therewith  to  make  an  image.  Micah  appears 
 to  have  had  the  power  of  consecrating  priests ;  and 
 a  Levite,  having  entered  his  service,  undergoes  con- 
 secration:   and  when  this  ceremony  is   over,  Micah 
 
281 
 
 claims  good  from  the  hand  of  Jehovah,  inasmuch  as 
 he  has  a  Levite  for  a  priest.  (See  Jud.  xvii.)  We 
 need  not  pursue  his  story;  we  prefer  rather  to  ex- 
 amine the  writings  which  pass  for  those  of  a  prophet 
 bearing  the  same  name. 
 
 This  individual  seems  to  have  been  born  shortly 
 after  the  fearful  devastation  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem 
 on  which  we  commented  under  Joel,  and  shall  more 
 fully  refer  to  under  Obadiah.  The  three  first  chap- 
 ters are  almost  incomprehensible.  There  seems  to 
 be  some  reference  to  the  captives  sold  into  slavery  in 
 ch.  V.  5-9,  but  even  this  is  doubtful.  The  rest  is 
 very  like  the  scoldings  which  we  get  from  pulpits 
 now,  but  far  more  incoherent.  The  fourth  chapter 
 opens  with  the  often  repeated  assertion,  that  all  will 
 come  right  in  the  end,  that  Jerusalem  shall  be  the 
 cynosure  of  every  eye,  and  that  a  town  which  could 
 only  number  some  thirty  thousand  inhabitants  shall 
 be  superior  to  every  other  capital  city  in  the  world. 
 Of  the  truth  of  the  prophecy  we  can  judge,  when 
 we  find  that  the  Jews  number  only  three-tenths 
 per  cent,  of  all  the  faithful  in  the  religious  world. 
 To  say  that  the  prophecy  will  certainly  be  accom- 
 plished some  time  or  other,  is  only  the  same 
 figure  of  speech  which  assures  us,  that  if  a  stone 
 is  boiled  long  enough  it  will  become  as  soft  as  a 
 potatoe.  In  the  fifth  chapter  we  meet  with  an  utter- 
 ance, which  is  said  to  indicate  the  Saviour  Jesus 
 Christ;  it  is  indeed  quoted  as  a  fulfilled  prophecy, 
 by  many  divines  of  the  present  day.  But  if  we 
 examine  closely  what  Micah  means,  when  he  says, 
 "  But  thou,  Beth-lehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be 
 little  amongst  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of 
 thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler 
 
282 
 
 in  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old, 
 from  everlasting"  (ch.  v.  2),  we  find  that  he 
 refers  to  some  one  who  is  to  relieve  the  Jews  from 
 the  Assyrians,  and  to  waste  the  land  of  Nimrod. 
 Then  follows  a  promise  that  the  Hebrew  slaves  shall 
 be  lions,  their  masters  sheep,  and  as  a  result,  that 
 the  Jews  shall  be  victorious.  After  this  comes 
 another  scolding  against  the  sins  of  the  people,  which 
 are  much  the  same  in  every  nation,  whether  victors 
 or  vanquished  ;  and  again,  an  assurance  that  all  Vvill 
 come  right  in  the  end. 
 
 The  more  we  examine  the  writings  which  are 
 attributed  to  Micah,  the  greater  difficulty  we  find  in 
 understanding  their  drift.  When  we  endeavoured 
 to  ascertain  the  signification  of  the  allusions  con- 
 tained in  the  book  of  Joel,  we  compared  them  with 
 those  of  Amos,  and  with  the  historical  account  of 
 Judah  and  Jerusalem  given  in  "  Chronicles."  It 
 will  be  remembered  that  we  found  that  the  annalist's 
 record  told  of  triumphant  victories,  whilst  the  pro- 
 phetic narratives  told  only  of  despair,  and  of  the 
 passion  for  revenge.  Our  necessary  inference  was, 
 that  either  the  one  or  the  other  account  of  the  events 
 described  must  be  untrue.  In  the  same  way  it  will 
 now  be  our  business  to  collate  the  book  of  Micah 
 with  that  of  Kings  and  Chronicles. 
 
 The  prophet  tells  us  that  he  saw  his  visions  in 
 the  days  of  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah.  Of  these 
 monarchs,  both  "  Kings "  and  "Chronicles"  remark 
 that  Jotham  was  a  good  king,  but  that  in  his  reign 
 the  people  still  sacrificed  and  burned  incense  upon 
 high  places. 
 
 Respecting  Ahaz,  both  books  tell  us  that  he  was 
 a   bad   man,    sacrificing   on  high   places  and  on  the 
 
283 
 
 hills, — apparently  proving  that  a  high  place  was  not 
 necessarily  a  hill ;  and,  as  we  also  meet  elsewhere 
 with  the  fact  that  high  places  were  built,  we  con- 
 clude that  they  had  some  similarity  with  the  round 
 towers,  which  are  now  recognised  as  ancient  creative 
 emblems.  We  are  also  informed  that  Ahaz  sacrificed 
 under  every  green  tree.  ''Chronicles"  informs  us 
 that  he  caused  his  children  to  pass  through  the  fire, 
 and  imitated  the  heathen  in  their  abominations.  As 
 the  consequence  of  such  disorders,  the  same  book 
 tells  us  that  Ahaz  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of 
 the  King  of  Syria,  who  smote  him,  and  took  a 
 great  multitude  of  captives,  and  brought  them  to 
 Damascus  (2  Chron.  xxviii.  5).  The  same  king  was 
 also  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  King  of  Israel, 
 "  who  smote  him  with  a  great  slaughter ;  for  Pekah 
 the  son  of  Eemaliah  slew  in  Judah  a  hundred  and 
 twenty  thousand  in  one  day,  and  the  children  of 
 Israel  carried  away  captive  of  their  brethren  two 
 hundred  thousand  women,  sons,  and  daughters, 
 and  took  also  away  much  spoil  from  them,  and 
 brought  the  spoil  to  Samaria "  (2  Chron.  xxviii. 
 5-8). 
 
 After  this  we  learn  that  Ahaz  sacrificed  unto  the 
 gods  of  Damascus,  which  smote  him  (a  very  natural 
 process,  and  one  arising,  necessarily,  from  the  doc- 
 trines inculcated  upon  the  Jews,  that  power  and 
 prosperity  are  the  tests  of  true  religion,  and  of  the 
 favour  of  the  true  God);  for  he,  like  other  persons 
 under  similar  circumstances,  said,  "Because  the  gods 
 of  the  kings  of  Syria  help  them,  therefore  will  I 
 sacrifice  to  them,  that  they  may  help  me.  And  Ahaz 
 gathered  together  the  vessels  of  the  house  of  God, 
 and  shut  up  the  doors  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and 
 
284 
 
 he  made  him  altars  in  every  corner  of  Jerusalem  " 
 (2  Chron.  xxviii.  23,  24). 
 
 The  same  authority  informs  us  that  in  the  time 
 of  Ahaz  the  Edomites  came  and  smote  Judah,  and 
 carried  away  captives,  and  that  the  Philistines  had 
 successfully  invaded  the  low  country  and  settled 
 therein  "  (2  Chron.  xxviii.  17). 
 
 We  are  then  told  that  Ahaz  applied  to  the  kings 
 of  Assyria  for  assistance,  and  that  Tiglath  Pileser 
 came  to  him  and  distressed  him,  but  strengthened 
 him  not  (2  Chron.  xxviii.  16-20). 
 
 When  we  turn  to  the  writer  of  the  book  of  Kings, 
 we  find  (2  Kings  xvi.  5)  that  "Rezin,  King  of 
 Syria,  and  Pekah,  the  son  of  Remaliah,  King  of  Israel, 
 came  up  to  Jerusalem  to  war;  and  they  besieged 
 Ahaz,  but  could  not  overcome  him !  "  Still  farther, 
 the  same  authority  informs  us  that  Ahaz  induced 
 Tiglath  Pileser  to  assist  him;  that  the  King  of 
 Assyria  took  Damascus,  and  carried  its  people  away  to 
 Kir ;  that  Ahaz  went  to  the  captured  city  to  meet  the 
 monarch  of  Nineveh;  that  he  saw  there  a  curious  altar, 
 whose  model  he  sent  to  Urijah  at  Jerusalem  for  adop- 
 tion in  the  temple.  We  notice  also  that  in  the  reign  of 
 Ahaz  over  Judah  the  whole  of  Israel  were  carried  away 
 captive  into  Assyria  by  Shalmaneser.  When  we  find 
 two  such  discordant  accounts  of  the  events  occurring 
 in  the  reign  of  one  king,  it  is  quite  impossible  to  give 
 implicit  credit  to  either,  unless  one  or  other  of  them 
 be  corroborated  from  other  sources.  Whether  we  can 
 believe  the  account  of  the  deportation  of  Israel  from 
 Samaria  is  discussed  elsewhere.  For  the  present,  we 
 content  ourselves  with  investigating  the  testimony  of 
 Micah.  We  find  him  saying  (eh.  i.  6,  7),  "There- 
 fore, I  will  make  Samaria  as  a  heap  of  the  field, 
 
285 
 
 I  will  discover  the  foundations  thereof.  All  the 
 graven  images  thereof  shall  be  beaten  to  pieces,  and 
 all  the  hires  thereof  shall  be  burned  in  the  j5re,  and 
 all  the  idols  thereof  will  I  lay  desolate ;  for  she 
 gathered  it  of  the  hire  of  an  harlot,  and  they  shall 
 return  to  the  hire  of  an  harlot." 
 
 There  is  something  remarkable  in  the  expressions 
 here  made  use  of,  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand 
 whether  they  are  wholly  symbolical  or  coldly  literal ; 
 the  words  in  the  original  (Micah  i.  7)  are  ^^1^  l^'?^^, 
 which  signify  "the  price  paid  to  a  harlot  as  a  fee  by 
 her  client";  but  in  some  passages  it  would  appear  to 
 designate  "  any  offering  made  to  a  god  whom  the 
 writer  called  a  false  one."  Whenever  a  congre- 
 gation of  people  are  spoken  of,  by  their  priests,  as 
 "  espoused  "  by  God,  or  as  the  bride  of  the  Saviour, 
 all  rebellion  against  its  hierarchs  is  designated 
 adultery  or  whoredom.  If  the  phrase  were  not  scrip- 
 tural, it  would  be  called  coarse,  perchance  blasphe- 
 mous. If  we  appeal  to  the  experience  of  the  past,  we 
 are  not  relieved  from  our  dilemma ;  for  we  find  there 
 were  in  ancient  days  courtezans,  whose  charms  were 
 purchased  so  largely,  and  at  so  dear  a  rate,  that  one 
 could  build  a  pyramid,  and  another  a  splendid  portico 
 for  the  citizens  of  Sicyon.  Cnidus  was  enriched  by 
 the  charms  of  the  temple  "Kedeshoth,"  whose  beauty 
 was  as  renowned  as  the  Venus  of  Praxiteles,  to  whom 
 they  devoted  themselves;  whilst  Delphi  was  enriched 
 by  the  gifts  of  those  who  sought  the  oracle  for  its 
 prophetic  powers. 
 
 It  is  probable  that  Micah  is  in  reality  referring,  in 
 the  expression,  "hires,"  etc.,  to  worship  of  the  false 
 gods  in  one  sense  and  the  nature  of  that  worship  in 
 another.     So  long  as  men  partake  of  the  nature  of 
 
286 
 
 the  lower  animals,  they  are  more  readily  captivated 
 by  sensual  than  by  mental  attractions;  and  those 
 shrines  are  generally  the  best  paid,  and  commercially 
 most  successful,  which  attract  votaries  by  the  physical 
 beauty  of  the  kedeshoth,  the  grandeur  of  the  temple, 
 the  charms  of  the  sacred  music,  the  gorgeousness  of 
 the  priests,  and  the  comforts  of  the  doctrines  they 
 teach.  In  days  gone  by,  the  hierarchs  of  one  temple 
 looked  upon  and  acted  towards  those  of  another,  as  a 
 tradesman  of  to-day  regards  an  opposition  shop  across 
 the  road,  or  near  his  door. 
 
 We  may  fairly  conclude,  from  the  preceding  para- 
 graphs, that  Samaria  had  not  been  destroyed  in  the 
 time  of  the  Prophet,  for  if  it  had,  he  would  assuredly 
 have  added  a  note  of  exultation  as  a  postscript.  The 
 last  verse  in  the  same  chapter  indicates  that  many 
 captives  had  been  taken  from  Jerusalem.  Beyond  this 
 it  is  impossible  to  get  any  definite  idea  of  what  the 
 prophet  Micah  intends  to  signify.  His  efi"usion 
 resembles  the  confused  rhapsody  of  one  who  is  just 
 touched  by  insanity  without  being  wholly  mad ;  or  we 
 may  liken  it  to  the  books  collected  from  that  machine 
 invented  in  the  kingdom  of  Laputa,  wherein  words 
 were  so  manipulated  as  occasionally  to  produce  sen- 
 tences, every  one  of  which  was  recorded,  and  from 
 them  the  history  of  art,  science,  and  religion  was  to 
 be  compiled.  It  is  true  that  there  are  isolated  pas- 
 sages in  Micah  of  great  beauty  and  depth.  For 
 example,  there  is  scarcely  an  utterance  in  the  whole 
 of  the  Old  Testament  more  sublime  in  its  simplicity 
 than  the  following  (ch.  vi.  6-8) ;  "  Wherewith  shall  I 
 come  before  the  Lord,  and  bow  myself  before  the  high 
 God  ?  shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt  offerings, 
 and  calves  of  a  year  old  ?    Will  the  Lord  be  pleased 
 
287 
 
 with  thousands  of  rams,  or  with  ten  thousands  of 
 rivers  of  oil  ?  shall  I  give  my  firstborn  for  my  trans- 
 gression, the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul  ? 
 He  hath  showed  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good;  and  what 
 doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to 
 love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God." 
 
 As  a  contrast  to  this,  let  us  take  ch.  v.  8,  et  seq. ; 
 "And  the  remnant  of  Jacob  shall  be  amongst  the 
 Gentiles  in  the  midst  of  many  people  as  a  lion 
 amongst  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  as  a  young  lion 
 amongst  the  flocks  of  sheep ;  who,  if  he  go  through, 
 both  treadeth  down  and  teareth  in  pieces,  and  none 
 can  deliver.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
 saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  cut  off  thy  horses  out  of 
 the  midst  of  thee,  and  I  will  destroy  thy  chariots ; 
 and  I  will  cut  off  the  cities  of  thy  land,  and  throw 
 down  all  thy  strongholds;  and  I  will  cut  off  witch- 
 craft out  of  thine  hand,  and  thou  shalt  have  no  more 
 soothsayers.  Thy  graven  images  also  will  I  cut  off, 
 and  thy  standing  images  out  of  the  midst  of  thee ; 
 and  thou  shalt  no  more  worship  the  work  of  thine 
 hands.  And  I  will  pluck  up  thy  groves  out  of  the 
 midst  of  thee ;  so  will  I  destroy  thy  cities."  In  this 
 passage,  the  prophet  declares  that  Hebrew  slaves  shall 
 become  lions,  and  their  masters  lambs,  and  that  their 
 prowess  shall  be  rewarded  by  a  destruction  of  their 
 horses,  chariots,  and  cities,  possessions  which  none 
 of  the  captives  can  have  ! 
 
 There  is  a  curious  coincidence  to  be  found  in 
 Micah  and  in  Chronicles,  to  which  attention  should 
 be  directed.  With  the  exception  of  four  passages  in 
 Deuteronomy  and  Joshua,  all  of  which  seem  to  be 
 the  production  of  some  very  late  writer,  Balaam  is 
 not  mentioned  after   "Numbers,"  until  the  time  of 
 
288 
 
 Micali,  who  refers  to  him.  The  pecuHarity  of 
 Balaam's  offering  was,  that  it  consisted  of  "  seven 
 bullocks  and  seven  rams."  This  was  also  character- 
 istic of  the  sacrifices  in  the  land  of  Uz,  at  the  time 
 when  Job  was  written.  But  it  was  nowhere  ordained 
 in  the  Mosaic  law  that  such  should  be  the  number; 
 yet  such  were  said,  in  1  Chronicles  xv.  26,  to 
 have  been  offered  by  the  Levites  at  the  dedication  o^ 
 the  ark;  and  on  the  occasion  of  the  re-opening  of  the 
 temple  by  Hezekiah  (2  Chron.  xxix.  21).  Hence 
 we  conclude  that  the  story  of  Balaam  and  that  in 
 the  Chronicles  were  written  about  the  period  when 
 seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams  were  considered  an 
 appropriate  sacrifice.  We  find  that  they  were  so 
 in  Job's  time,  and  in  the  time  of  Ezekiel ;  and  Job 
 is  supposed  by  Sir  H.  Eawlinson  to  have  been 
 written  during  the  time  of  the  Archaemenian  dynasty 
 of  the  Persians,  and  Ezekiel  wrote  only  a  short  time 
 before  the  rise  of  the  Persian  power  under  Cyrus. 
 
 If  we  entertain  the  idea  that  the  effusion  of  Balaam 
 is  the  composition  of  an  individual  living  about  the 
 time  of  "the  captivity,"  there  are  many  things  which 
 strengthen  the  belief.  We  have  already  seen  that  in 
 the  time  of  Joel,  Jerusalem  and  Judah  had  been 
 conquered  by  the  Philistines,  Tyrians,  and  others;  and 
 the  inhabitants  sold  to  the  Grecians  and  Edomites. 
 The  former  were  scarcely  in  a  position  to  be  buyers 
 in  the  Tyrian  market,  unless  they  had  come  thither 
 in  ships.  Very  possibly  their  sailors  or  marines 
 assisted  in  the  expedition  against  Jerusalem.  To 
 this  we  may  fairly  refer  the  saying,  "  And  ships  shall 
 come  from  the  coast  of  Chittim,  and  shall  afilict 
 Asshur,  and  shall  afflict  Eber;"  a  verse  which  is  ren- 
 dered by  the  Septuagint,  "  And  one  shall  come  forth 
 
289 
 
 from  the  hands  of  the  Citians,  and  shall  afflict  Assur, 
 and  shall  afflict  the  Hebrews,  and  they  shall  perish 
 together ; "  and  by  the  Vulgate,  "  They  shall  come  in 
 triremes  from  Italy,  and  shall  overcome  the  Assyrians 
 and  lay  waste  the  Hebrews,  and  in  the  end  they  also 
 shall  perish." 
 
 From  this  we  infer  that  Grecian  mercenaries  took 
 part  in  the  war  that  eventuated  in  the  destruction  of 
 Nineveh,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  celebrated 
 Ten  Thousand  Greek  soldiers  served  with  Cyrus,  be- 
 fore Babylon,  some  two  hundred  years  later ;  and,  with 
 that  revenge,  which  seemed  more  than  any  other 
 spirit  to  inspire  the  Hebrew  prophets,  the  soldiers 
 from  Citium,  and  the  whole  nation  of  Javan,  were 
 consigned  to  the  same  fate  which  they  had  brought 
 upon  Nineveh  and  Jerusalem.  This  consideration 
 seems  to  limit  the  composition  of  the  story  of 
 Balaam  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  destruction  of 
 Nineveh.  This  occurred,  so  far  as  we  can  judge, 
 during  the  reign  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  and 
 whilst  Jeremiah  was  assuming  to  have  prophetic 
 powers. 
 
 When  we  have  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  we 
 remember  that  Balaam  is  mentioned  incidentally 
 in  Numbers,  and  is  referred  to  subsequently  only 
 in  Deuteronomy  and  Joshua,  books  whose  authorship 
 is  attributed  to  the  era  of  Jeremiah,  if  not  to  his 
 own  hand.  It  is  not  impossible  that  Micah  and 
 Jeremiah  were  for  a  time  contemporaries,  and  the 
 former  may  have  heard  the  story  of  the  son  of  Beor 
 from  the  latter.  We  do  not  think  Micah  clever  enough 
 to  have  invented  it;  but,  it  may  be  that  the  short 
 allusions  to  Balaam,  Mic.  vi.  4,  5,  are  interpolations  by 
 a  later  hand,  as  indeed  they  appear  to  be.     Which- 
 
 T 
 
290 
 
 ever  of  these  hypotheses  we  adopt,  it  is  not  incom- 
 patible with  the  conclusion  that  the  story  of  Balaam 
 was  fabricated,  or  at  least  promulgated,  about  the 
 period  of  Hezekiah  or  Josiah. 
 
 Whenever  the  school-boy  wants  to  prove  the  cor- 
 rectness of  his  results,  he  reverses  the  order  of  his 
 former  proceedings,  and  works  back  to  the  point 
 from  which  he  started.  The  theorist,  if  he  professes 
 to  be  a  philosopher,  attempts  to  do  the  same  thing. 
 In  the  case  before  us  he  asks.  What  were  the  motives 
 for  the  promulgation  of  the  fable  of  Balaam  ?  He 
 then  sees  that  the  moral  of  the  story  is,  that  Israel 
 is  certain  to  be  victorious  over  all  enemies  some  time 
 or  another.  The  writer  knew  that  the  people  around 
 him  were  depressed  by  the  blows  which  they  had  met 
 with  on  every  side,  and  he  wanted  to  inspirit  them,  by 
 showing  that  all  had  been  foreseen  from  the  begin- 
 ning. If  this  was  once  credited,  the  prophecy  of 
 ultimate  glory  would  be  readily  believed.  But  the 
 story-teller  had  himself  a  theory.  He  held  that  pub- 
 lic misfortunes  are  a  punishment  for  public  sins  ;  and 
 he  looked  around  him,  striving  to  recognise  the  parti- 
 cular offences  against  morality  which  had  called  down 
 the  vengeance  of  the  Almighty.  He  saw  that  the 
 Jews,  once  powerful  heroes  under  David,  had  become 
 enervated  and  cowardly.  He  found  the  cause  of  this, 
 in  the  gross  excesses  to  which  the  religion  that  they 
 adopted  drove  them.  "  A  people  of  unbridled  lust " 
 (Tacitus,  Fl'ist.  b.  v.,  c.  5),  they  had  brothels  at  every 
 street  corner  (Ezek.  xvi.  24,  marginal  reading),  and 
 had  Sodomites  in  their  land,  and  even  close  to  the 
 house  of  the  Lord  (2  Kings  xxiii.  7),  with  whom 
 resided  the  sacred  women  who  prostituted  themselves 
 for  the  benefit  of  the  temple.      (See  Kadesh  supra.) 
 
291 
 
 Judea  aboTindecl  with  pillars,  or  phallic  emblems  of 
 every  variety.  The  great  men  of  Jerusalem  *'  were 
 as  fed  horses  in  the  morning ;  every  one  neighed  after 
 his  neighbom-'s  wife  " ;  "  they  fed  themselves  to  the 
 full,  committed  adultery,  and  assembled  by  troops  in 
 the  harlots'  houses"  (Jerem.  v.  7,  8).  Here  then 
 was  the  sin  that  made  the  people  weak,  deprived  them 
 of  power,  and  sapped  the  foundation  of  their  manli- 
 ness. This  was  represented  as  the  habit  into  which 
 Balak  once  inveigled  their  forefathers.  To  worship 
 Baal  Peer  reduced  a  hero  to  the  condition  of  an 
 eunuch.  It  was  then  a  sin  to  be  denounced.  It 
 was  a  crime  which  a  holy  man  was  justified  in 
 punishing  by  transfixing  the  members  which  offended. 
 (See  Baal  Peoe,  Vol.  i.,  p.  325,  and  Aholah,  Vol.  i. 
 p.  211.)  Having  put  all  these  considerations  before 
 himself,  I  think  that  the  philosopher  is  perfectly 
 justified  in  believing  that  the  exigencies  of  the  fable 
 or  story  of  Balaam  and  Baal  Peor  are  completely 
 fulfilled  by  the  theory,  that  it  was  written  about  the 
 time  of  Ahaz,  Amon,  or  Manasseh,  when  the  strength 
 of  Judah  was  at  its  lowest  ebb,  and  its  licentiousness 
 at  the  most  fearful  height. 
 
 MiDiAN,  1^7^?  (Gren.  xxv.  2).  This  name,  borne  alike  by  one 
 of  the  sous  of  Abraham,  and  a  nation  of  formi- 
 dable size,  is  most  probably  derived  from  ''^,  mi, 
 water  or  "seed,"  and  D,  dan,  "the  judge,"  which 
 was  one  of  the  names  of  Eshmun,  one  of  the  chief 
 Phoenician  deities.  Thus  it  signifies  "the  seed  of 
 Dan."     See  Moab,  infra. 
 
 Miracles. —  So  much  has  been  said  and  written  concerning 
 miracles,  by  writers  who  have  preceded  me,  that  little 
 is  left  for  me  to  remark.  Yet  I  cannot  pass  the 
 subject  by  without  a  reference  to  it.     It  is  one  which 
 
292 
 
 must  constantly  thrust  itself  on  the  notice  of  him 
 who  investigates  Ancient  Faiths.  To  a  great  extent 
 he  recognises  that  it  forms  a  sort  of  turning  point, 
 on  which  each  individual  must  oscillate  ere  he  adopts 
 faith  or  reason  as  his  guide.  The  philosopher, 
 in  the  first  place,  allows  that  miracles  (in  the 
 usual  acceptation  of  the  word)  may  have  occurred, 
 and  may  occur  again ;  he  may,  in  the  second  place, 
 concede  the  point  that  they  are  required,  when  any 
 new  revealed  religion  is  propounded  by  a  man 
 to  other  men.  The  enthusiastic  person,  on  the 
 other  hand,  who  is  guided  by  faith  alone,  i.  e.,  who 
 believes,  unhesitatingly,  everything  which  he  is  told 
 to  believe,  by  those  whom  he  considers  to  be  guides 
 sent  specially  to  instruct  him,  crushes  all  mental 
 freedom,  and  boldly  asserts  that  miracles  have 
 happened,  happen  still,  and  will  happen  again.  To 
 such  an  one,  "wonders"  are  a  proof  of  direct  inter- 
 ference with  man's  affairs  on  the  part  of  the  Almighty. 
 Such  as  we  here  describe,  the  majority  of  man- 
 kind are  found  to  be.  It  is  far  pleasanter  to  be  led, 
 than  to  lead ;  to  be  fed,  than  to  raise  our  own  food ; 
 and  to  trust  our  salvation  to  others,  than  to  work 
 it  out  for  ourselves. 
 
 So  far  as  I  am  able  to  observe  mankind,  the 
 bigots  (I.  e.,  those  blindly  attached  to  some  special 
 set  of  opinions,  inculcated  rather  than  adopted),  never 
 attempt  to  convince,  by  argument,  the  philosophers 
 (i.  e.,  those  who  habitually  exercise  their  reason  upon 
 everything  which  comes  under  their  notice).  On  the 
 contrary,  they  support  themselves  in  their  own  faith, 
 by  reviling,  persecuting,  tormenting,  and  if  possible 
 killing,  those  who  disturb  their  complacent  repose, 
 by  denying  the  truth  or  value  of  their  creed.     When 
 
293 
 
 such  appeal  to  the  public,  they  claim  the  position  of 
 rulers.  They  assume  still  farther  that  the  axiom,  "the 
 king  can  do  no  wrong,"  is  true.  These  two  assertions 
 are  supposed  to  be  sufficient  for  the  discomjature 
 of  their  opponents.  But  the  philosopher  is  not  con- 
 tent to  adopt  his  faith  without  inquiry,  and,  when  he  is 
 not  assailed  by  others,  he  argues  with  himself.  He 
 first  examines  the  ideas  with  which,  as  a  Christian 
 youth,  and  one  reverencing  the  Bible,  he  was  brought 
 up,  and  then  carries  his  inquiry  to  the  utmost  limits 
 of  his  power. 
 
 1.  He  finds  that  all  recorded  miracles  have  their 
 value  established,  by  the  capacity  of  their  historio- 
 grapher to  collect  and  sift  evidence,  to  report  facts 
 truly,  and  to  abstain  from  all  colouring  or  invention. 
 This  capacity  must  necessarily  vary  according  to  the 
 scientific  knowledge  current  amongst  men  at  the  time 
 when  the  writer  lived.  To  many,  for  example,  who 
 only  knew  of  "  ships,"  "  steam-boats"  moving 
 against  the  wind  were  "wonders,"  though  they  are 
 not  so  to  us.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  similar 
 result  would  follow  if  the  recorder  of  a  marvel  had 
 little  analytical  power;  e.  g.,  some  distinguished 
 literary  men  amongst  ourselves  have  described,  in 
 forcible  language,  clairvoyance,  mesmerism,  spiri- 
 tualism, etc.,  as  real  miracles,  although  they  have 
 been  disproved  and  derided  by  men  of  science, 
 accustomed  to  rigid  investigation,  and  ascertained 
 by  them  to  be  nothing  more  than  tricks,  feats  of 
 sleight  of  hand,  etc. 
 
 Consequently,  we  may  affirm  that  evidence  to 
 prove  the  actual  occurrence  of  a  miracle  is  of  little 
 value,  when  the  recorder  of  it  is  weak  in  intellectual 
 criticism,  and  uneducated  in  science. 
 
294 
 
 2.  The  philosopher  notices  that  all  recorded 
 miracles  have  occurred  a  long  time  ago,  or  else  a  very 
 long  way  off.  In  neither  case  is  there  any  oppor- 
 tunity, for  one  who  doubts  the  story,  to  examine  into 
 its  reality.  Even  if,  by  chance,  a  reputed  wonder  of 
 modern  date,  happen  under  circumstances  when  it 
 can  be  enquired  into,  and  an  investigation  is  made, 
 the  report  will  be  believed  or  disbelieved,  according 
 to  the  prepossessions  of  the  individual  who  hears  it. 
 Thus,  for  example,  it  was  stated  in  the  newspapers 
 that  a  certain  man  at  Oxford,  standing  in  front  of 
 upwards  of  a  thousand  scientific  men,  members 
 of  the  British  Association,  turned  a  lump  of  ice 
 out  of  a  red  hot  crucible,  into  which  he  had  a  few 
 moments  before  thrown  water.  Having  heard  of 
 this  miracle,  a  lady  once  inquired  as  to  its  pro- 
 bable truth,  and  the  experiment  was  described  to 
 her  by  one  competent  to  do  so.  Yet  unable  to 
 believe  that  a  hot  vessel  could  have  water  frozen 
 within  it,  she  asserted  as  her  belief  that  the 
 phenomenon  was  unreal,  and  due  to  a  species  of 
 ventriloquism  !  *^  Of  similar  stuff  the  majority  of 
 dupes  are  made. 
 
 If,  then,  the  philosopher  finds  that  miracles  on 
 which  a  certain  faith  has  been  apparently  esta- 
 blished, are  distant  in  point  of  time  and  geographical 
 space  from  those  who  hear  of  them,  he  is  unable 
 to  accept  them  as  reliable  evidence. 
 
 3.  The  philosopher  observes  that  almost  every 
 religion  has  been  originally  based  upon  miracles 
 reported  by  writers  who  have  adopted  the  faith 
 propounded.      Hence   it   is   thought  (a)    that    every 
 
 *2  A  fact. 
 
295 
 
 religion  supported  by  the  occurrence  of  wonders 
 is  God-given,  and  consequently  true  —  a  conclu- 
 sion impossible  to  be  upheld  when  the  religions 
 so  based  oppose  each  other ;  (h)  that  miracles  are 
 valueless;  or  (c)  that  some  miracles  are  truly  sent 
 from  God,  and  others  are  lying  wonders,  sent  by 
 the  Devil.  Possibly  he  may  observe,  by  the  way, 
 that  the  very  existence  of  the  Devil  is  a  miracle ; 
 but  as  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  such  a  being 
 is  doubtful,  the  philosopher  reverts  at  once  to  the 
 argument  before  him.  He  then  inquires  if  it  be  pos- 
 sible to  distinguish  between  one  set  of  miracles 
 and  another.  If  two  individuals,  for  example,  "  cast 
 out  devils,"  is  there  any  means  by  which  bystanders 
 can  tell  who  invoked  God  and  who  appealed  to 
 Beelzebub  ?  —  clearly  not ;  (d)  the  philosopher  be- 
 lieves that  the  nature  of  things  requires  that  a 
 religion  founded  upon  miracles  shall  be  supported 
 by  a  repetition  of  them,  so  that  all  its  votaries  may 
 have  the  same  opportunity  as  the  first  believers  of 
 recognising  the  divine  finger.  Now  it  is  a  very 
 remarkable  fact  that  the  priests  of  some  religious 
 systems  have  practically  given  evidence  of  their 
 belief  in  this  dogma,  by  assuming  the  power  to 
 perpetuate  miracles  throughout  all  time.  Thus, 
 for  instance,  the  Papal  hierarchy  contrive  that  St. 
 Januarius  shall  annually  cause  his  blood  to  be  lique- 
 fied in  Naples.  Up  to  a  few  years  ago,  the  Saints 
 Cosmo  and  Damian  asserted  their  power  to  heal  the 
 infirm,  once  every  year,  at  Isernia.  Another  good 
 example  is  the  continued  miracle  of  transubstantia- 
 tion,  wherein  every  Eomish  priest  habitually  asserts 
 his  power  to  convert  bread  and  wine  into  flesh  and 
 blood,   by   the    simple    utterance    of    a    few    words. 
 
296 
 
 This  miracle  of  transubstantiation  is  rendered  yet 
 more  wondrous,  by  the  bread  and  wine  appearing 
 to  have  undergone  no  change;  a  'prb^os  of  this 
 we  may  mention,  that  a  preacher  in  Liverpool 
 designated  the  ceremony  of  the  Mass  as  a  miracle 
 performed  to  enable  all  good  Eoman  Catholics  to 
 become  cannibals ! 
 
 Popish  records  abound  with  accounts  of  miracles 
 performed  by  such  holy  men  as  Francis  of  Assisi, 
 Ignatius  Loyola,  Francis  Xavier,  Charles  Borromeo, 
 and  others.  Indeed  there  is  scarcely  a  saint  in  St. 
 Peter's  calendar  whose  power  to  work  wonders,  against 
 the  course  of  nature,  has  not  been  proved  by  evidence 
 satisfactory  to  "  the  faithful. "  We  ought  to  con- 
 clude, therefore,  that  the  Church  of  Rome  is  supe- 
 rior to  that  of  England,  from  the  fact  that  mira- 
 culous powers  are  possessed  by  the  former,  and  not 
 even  claimed  for  the  latter.  But  this  conclusion 
 is  seen  at  once  to  be  unsatisfactory.  Consequently, 
 the  Anglicans  deny  the  authenticity  of  the  Roman 
 miracles ;  and  they  do  so  effectually.  Yet  there  is 
 not  a  single  miracle  recorded  in  our  Bible  which 
 is  based  upon  evidence  superior,  in  any  way,  to  that 
 which  attests  the  genuineness  of  the  miracles  nar- 
 rated of  Roman  saints  by  Papal  writers. 
 
 From  these  premises  the  philosopher  draws  the 
 conclusion  that  miracles,  to  be  of  real  and  substan- 
 tial benefit  to  religion,  must  be  rigidly  investigated 
 and  perfectly  authenticated. 
 
 4.  The  inquirer  into  the  facts  of  reported 
 miracles  finds  that  those  who  have  recorded  them, 
 have  an  idea  of  the  reason  why  each  particular 
 wonder  was  performed.  For  example,  we  are  told 
 distinctly  why   the   Egyptians   were   plagued  ;    why 
 
297 
 
 various  and  great  miracles  were  performed  in  the 
 desert  in  tlie  sight  of  all  Israel;  why  Elijah  did 
 wondrously  in  the  Samarian  district ;  why  Daniel 
 was  such  a  marvellous  example  to  the  kings  of  Baby- 
 lon ;  and  why  Jesus  Christ  did,  amongst  the  Jews, 
 things  which  no  man  had  ever  done  before.  The 
 philosopher  then  asks  himself,  Were  the  desired  results 
 obtained  ?  for  it  is  self-evident,  that  if  the  end  de- 
 signed by  the  subversion  of  nature's  laws  (to  use  a 
 common  phrase,  without  intending  to  dogmatise 
 thereby)  was  not  attained,  either  the  designer  was  a 
 bungler,  or  the  chronicler  of  the  so-called  miracle  was 
 a  fabricator. 
 
 In  other  words,  we  believe  that  a  marvel  inef- 
 ficient to  bring  about  the  end  desired,  is  not  of  divine, 
 but  of  human  origin.  Their  own  history  informs 
 us  that  the  intention  of  the  miracles  in  the  wilder- 
 ness was  never  effected,  for  the  Jews  were  never 
 convinced  by  them  of  the  superiority  of  their  God 
 over  all  other  gods  ;  consequently,  the  rigid 
 inquirer  is  driven  to  select  one  or  other  of  two  pro- 
 positions, either  that  Jehovah  did  not  know  the  best 
 means  of  effecting  His  designs,  or  that  he  who 
 narrated  the  miracles,  and  assigned  them  to  divine 
 agency,  was  an  untruthful  or  a  fraudulent  historian. 
 I  conceive  that  no  one  would  adopt  the  first  horn 
 of  the  dilemma,  or  refuse  to  choose  the  second.  By 
 this  test  every  miracle  which  has  been  reported  may 
 be  judged. 
 
 We  must  add,  however,  that  there  is  another  way 
 by  which  thaumaturgy  may  be  judged,  viz.,  the  com- 
 parison of  one  miracle,  which  is  of  very  doubtful 
 character,  with  another  which  would  be  unquestionably 
 a  contravention  or  alteration  of  nature's  laws.     For 
 
298 
 
 instance,  let  us  examine  into  the  reputed  wonder  of 
 a  donkey  talking  to  a  human  being,  and  of  an  angel 
 twice  opposing  himself  to  the  same  individual,  seen 
 by  the  ass,  yet  unnoticed  by  the  man.^^  Here  we 
 find  three  distinct  miracles,  whose  aim  is  to  persuade 
 a  prophet  to  renounce  a  design  offensive  to  God,  yet 
 they  fail  in  their  purpose.  Now  all  who  have  a  reverent 
 idea  of  the  Creator,  feel  that  it  is  as  easy  for  Him  to 
 do  one  thing  as  another,  and  that  He  has  power  to 
 mould  the  intentions  of  His  creatures  according  to 
 His  will.  This  would  as  assuredly  be  a  miracle,  as 
 would  be  the  directing  an  ass  to  talk  Hebrew  or 
 another  language.  God  might  then,  without  any  effort 
 whatever,  have  accomplished  His  purpose  with 
 Balaam,  by  an  unseen  yet  deeply  felt  mental  influ- 
 ence. When,  therefore.  He  is  represented  as  choos- 
 ing an  inadequate  rather  than  a  certain  means  to  an 
 end,  it  is  clear  that  the  reputed  miracles  had  no 
 existence,  save  in  the  mind  of  a  clumsy  inventor, 
 who  was  unable  to  concoct  his  stories  with  even  the 
 appearance  of  truth.  It  is  impossible  for  a  thoughtful 
 mind  to  read  this  and  other  wonders  recorded  in  the 
 Bible,  without  believing  them  to  have  been  invented, 
 and  described  by  individuals  who  thought  that  the 
 Almighty  was  a  Being  of  like  passions  to  themselves, 
 and  only  differing  from  men  in  the  extent  of  His 
 power  of  indulging  His  wishes. 
 
 To  all  these  considerations,  the  man  who  "walks  by 
 faith,"  instead  of  by  reason,  replies  with  the  question, 
 "  Do  you  think  to  persuade  any  one  that  the  stupen- 
 dous miracles  which  established  Christianity  were 
 nothing  more  than    fables  ?    or   the   fond   invention 
 
 «  Numbers  xxii.  22 -3i. 
 
299 
 
 of  writers  who  resemble  early,  mediaeval,  and  modern 
 Eomanists  ?"  To  this  query,  we  respond  by  another, 
 in  which  we  use  precisely  the  same  form  of  words, 
 but  substituting  Brahminism  and  Buddism  for 
 "  Christianity,"  and  Hindoos  for  "  Eomanists." 
 The  thaumaturgy  of  the  Indian  religion  is  far  more 
 wonderful  than  that  of  the  Christian,  and  based  on 
 evidence  equally  good,  or  bad. 
 
 The  philosopher,  passing  in  review  the  preceding 
 and  many  other  considerations  which  have  been  urged 
 by  writers  more  systematic  than  myself,  concludes 
 that  there  is  no  real  evidence  in  support  of  the 
 existence  of,  what  may  be  called,  genuine  miracles  in 
 ancient  times.  There  is  not  a  single  argument 
 adduced  by  divines,  in  favour  of  the  truth  of  the 
 Biblical  stories  of  thaumaturgy,  which  does  not  beg 
 the  whole  question  at  issue.  For  example,  when  theolo- 
 gians lay  stress  upon  the  statement  that  Moses  and 
 Christ  performed  their  wonders  in  the  sight  of  the 
 very  people  and  their  descendants  who  read  habitu- 
 ally the  books  wherein  an  account  of  those  miracles 
 was  written,  they  assume  (a)  the  existence  of  Moses, 
 etc.  (h)  that  the  Pentateuch  and  Joshua  were  wiitten 
 in  and  just  after  the  time  of  that  lawgiver,  (c)  that 
 the  original  writing  has  never  been  altered,  (d)  that 
 the  gospels  were  written  and  generally  read  amongst 
 the  contemporaries  of  Jesus,  and  (e)  have  never  been 
 altered  since. 
 
 Having  at  length  arrived  at  this  conclusion, 
 the  inquirer  examines  the  subject  from  another 
 point  of  view.  He  fully  allows  the  possibility 
 that  miracles  may  occur  ;  for  he  is  profoundly 
 impressed  with  the  truth  of  the  first  aphorism  of 
 Bacon's   Novaui    Organoii,    "  Homo  naturce  minister 
 
300 
 
 et  interpres,  tantum  facit  et  intelligit,  quantum,  de 
 natures  ordine,  re  vel  mente  observaverit ;  nee  amplius 
 scit,  aut potest; "  which  we  may  fairly  paraphrase  thus  : 
 ''No  man  ought  to  jump  to  conclusions  ahout  nature, 
 but  must  reach  them  by  the  bridge  of  close  observa- 
 tion and  thought."  Granting  this,  the  philosopher 
 inquires,  secondly,  what  the  conception  of  a  miracle 
 comprehends.  He  sees  at  once  that  it  involves  the  idea 
 of  an  alteration,  temporary  or  otherwise,  of  the  laios  of 
 nature.  But  the  words  which  we  italicise  arrest  his 
 thoughts,  and  he  seeks  to  understand  them.  In 
 attaining  to  a  comprehension  of  their  meaning,  his 
 mind  follows  probably  this  course.  There  is,  he  will 
 say,  an  universe  which  exists  in  and  around  us ; 
 human  knowledge  cannot  tell  whence  it  came  :  but  our 
 reason  recognises  that  everything,  which  we  are  able 
 to  examine,  was  made  with  a  definite  purpose — lions 
 to  eat  lambs,  sheep  to  eat  grass,  and  men  to  do  and 
 be,  what  ?  A  plan  necessarily  involves  a  belief  in 
 a  designer.  The  idea  of  the  existence  of  a  designer 
 carries  us  farther  still,  for  we  know  that  there  are  on 
 earth,  silly  bungling  inventors,  and  consummate 
 geniuses,  whose  schemes  are  all  but  perfect.  The 
 human  mind  cannot  conceive  of  an  Almighty  Creator 
 who  has  not  been  perfect  throughout  eternity.  A 
 perfect  Being  who  is  imperfect,  an  Almighty  who  is 
 not  mighty  in  all,  a  Being  who  is  Omniscient  yet 
 ignorant  of  the  results  of  His  designs,  are  contra- 
 dictions in  terms,  and  the  mind  refuses  to  recog- 
 nise the  possibility  of  such  existences.  Hence  the 
 reflecting  man  concludes,  that  God  made  all  things 
 with  a  definite  object ;  that  every  form  of  matter,  and 
 every  "force"  associated  therewith,  have  been  deter- 
 
801 
 
 mined  by  His  perfect  intelligence.  Into  the  designs 
 of  that  Essence  man  cannot  penetrate.  "Who  hath 
 known  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  or  who  had  been 
 his  counsellor?"  (Rom.  xi.  34,  Is.  xl.  13-17.) 
 Yet  though  man  can  only  look  below  the  surface 
 of  creation,  he  recognises  the  fact  that  a  study  of 
 the  universe  is  an  attempt  to  penetrate  into  the 
 mind  (the  infirmities  of  language  obliging  us  to  speak 
 anthropomorphically)  of  the  great  Originator  of  all 
 things.  An  investigation,  then,  into  the  designs  of 
 the  Almighty,  as  exhibited  in  the  world  around  us, 
 is  an  attempt  to  fathom,  however  imperfectly,  the 
 counsels  of  the  omnipotent.  The  philosopher  uses  the 
 terms,  "counsel,"  "decrees,"  "purpose,"  "design," 
 "intention,  of  the  Creator,"  and  the  like,  as  synonymous 
 with  the  terms,  "laws  of  nature."  For  instance,  man 
 sees,  as  a  result  of  observation,  that  no  creature  is  born 
 in  that  perfect  condition  which  it  afterwards  attains. 
 This,  he  concludes,  is  an  expression  of  the  divine  will, 
 which  is  said  in  other  words  to  be  "a  law  of  nature," 
 expressed  thus,  "  the  germ  must  appear  before  the 
 perfect  being." 
 
 When  the  "  law  of  nature "  is  thus  recognised 
 as  a  term  equivalent  to  "  the  design  of  the  Creator," 
 it  will  be  seen  that  "a  contravention  of  the  laws 
 of  nature,"  or  "a  miracle,"  is  equivalent  to  "an 
 imperfection  of  purpose  in  a  perfect  Creator."  And 
 we  are  forced  to  the  deduction,  that  to  believe  in  a 
 real  miracle  is  to  believe  that  the  Creator  is  not 
 perfect;  that  He  has  been  a  bungler  in  His  design- 
 ing ;  One  who  did  not  know  His  own  mind  —  a 
 proposition  blasphemous  in  the  extreme.  By  no 
 possible  logic  can  we  refute  the  assertion,  that  every 
 
302 
 
 change  in  plan  indicates  a  change  of  purpose  in 
 the  original  planner,  and,  consequently,  ignorance 
 of  tlie  future. 
 
 These  arguments  are  fully  upheld  by  the  fact,  that 
 we  find  our  Bible  abounding  in  passages  which  tell 
 us  of  change  of  purpose  in  the  Almighty.  Hence 
 we  recognise  that  a  belief  in  miracles  has  been 
 associated  with  the  very  weakness,  which  we  allege 
 that  it  involves,  viz.,  a  gross  anthropomorphism. 
 In  other  words,  a  credence  in  thaumaturgy  is  the 
 expression  of  dissent  from  the  dogma  expressed 
 in  1  Cor.  xiv.  33,  "  God  is  not  the  author  of  con- 
 fusion." It  is  the  distinct  assertion  of  the  votary 
 of  the  Christian  faith,  that  He  who  is  the  same 
 yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever  (Heb.  xiii.  8)  is 
 repeatedly  changing  and  altering  His  plan ;  and  this, 
 too,  it  must  be  observed,  not  in  consequence  of 
 something  which  has  occurred  in  His  own  inten- 
 tion, but  in  the  persons  or  circumstances  of  those 
 whom  He  has  designed ;  in  other  words,  the  Creator 
 is  influenced  by  the  creature. 
 
 Without  giving  up,  then,  our  belief  that  the 
 Omnipotent  can  do  anything  He  pleases  ;  without 
 resigning  the  idea  that  we  do  not  know  the  plans 
 of  the  Almighty ;  without  denying  that  we  are  His 
 creatures,  upheld  by  His  hand  and  dependent  upon 
 Him  for  all  things,  and  with  the  full  notion  that 
 men  are  like  clay  in  the  hands  of  an  Almighty 
 potter,  we  still  adhere  to  the  conclusion  which  philo- 
 sophy and  reason  alike  compel  us  to  adopt,  viz.,  that 
 no  miracle  hitherto  recorded  is  anything  more  than 
 a  libel  upon  the  Creator.  Each  one  bears  the  stamp 
 of  human  invention,  and  all  are  equally  tainted  by 
 an  anthropomorphic  idea  of  the  Maker  of  the  Uni- 
 
303 
 
 verse,  which  has  flowed  from  the  tainted  mind  of 
 some  scheming  man. 
 
 It  is  difficult  for  an  author,  who  has  heen  hrought 
 up  hy  religious  and  sensible  parents  in  his  young 
 days,  hy  a  devout  relative  in  his  maturer  time,  and 
 who  has  for  many  years  listened  to  the  discourses 
 of  men  of  high  intellectual  attainment  in  theological 
 literature,  to  write  thus,  without  a  qualm  of  con- 
 science. It  is  indeed  quite  possible  that  the  depth 
 to  which  the  writer  felt  himself  drawn,  by  the  blind 
 faith  which  was  once  inculcated  in  him,  has  been 
 one  of  the  elements  that  made  him  wish  to  rise 
 above  the  low  mean  level  of  Christianity,  as  soon 
 as  he  felt  impelled  upwards  by  the  use  of  his 
 own  reason.  The  issue  raised  in  the  mind  of  faith- 
 guided  youth,  and  of  age  led  by  reason,  it  would 
 be  improper  to  disguise,  to  neglect,  or  to  misre- 
 present. Of  its  momentous  character  none  can 
 doubt.  Such  an  issue  I  have  mentally  tried,  and 
 I  now  assert  my  conviction  that  the  interests  of 
 morality,  Christianity,  nay,  even  the  fundamental 
 points  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  (by  which  I  do 
 not  mean  the  religion  taught  by  Roman,  Anglican, 
 or  Scotch  divines),  require  us  to  remodel  our  sacred 
 books,  upon  a  plan  in  which  the  occurrence  of 
 apocryphal  miracles  shall  hold  no  place  whatever. 
 
 But  with  this  conviction  there  arises  the  thought, 
 that  a  radical  change  in  the  mind  and  practice  of 
 professed  theologians  would  be  a  miracle,  the  like 
 of  which  has  never  been  heard  of,  and  one  which 
 would  be  as  much  opposed  to  "the  laws  of  nature  " 
 as  the  sun  appearing  to  stand  still,  or  to  go  back- 
 wards. It  is  indeed  remarkable  how  completely,  yet 
 how  innocently,  all  the  upholders  of  miracles  have 
 
304 
 
 recognised  the  hopelessness  of  converting  their 
 priestly  or  official  opponents.  The  Moses  who  could 
 turn  a  stick  into  a  serpent,  who  could  convert  the 
 waters  of  the  mighty  Nile  into  blood,  could  make 
 frogs  spring  up  from  the  earth  like  mushrooms, 
 and  cause  the  air  to  swarm  with  flies,  —  as  an 
 American  wood  does  occasionally  with  moths, — who 
 could  direct  the  cruel  lightning  to  fall  upon  his 
 enemies  and  to  spare  his  friends,  and  who,  finally, 
 could  destroy  hundreds,  and  perhaps  even  thousands 
 of  men  and  animals  by  a  word  or  a  gesture,  —  such 
 an  one,  I  say,  could  not  alter  the  mind  of  one  single 
 being  who  was  professionally  antagonistic.  So  power- 
 ful an  influence  over  nature,  and  so  small  a  potency 
 against  man,  attracted  the  minds  even  of  the  Jewish 
 writers,  who  invented,  as  an  explanation  of  the  pheno- 
 menon, that  the  same  God,  who  enabled  Moses  to 
 perform  miracles,  hardened  the  heart  of  Pharaoh, 
 so  that  no  effect  should  be  produced  upon  his  mind 
 (Exod.  ix.  16).  In  other  words,  it  is  a  harder  task 
 for  the  Great  Creator  to  modify  the  spirit  of  man 
 than  to  reverse  the  laws  of  nature  ! 
 
 Again,  let  us  stand  in  imagination  beside  Jesus 
 of  Nazareth.  We  see  him  heal  the  sick,  give  sight 
 to  the  blind,  restore  the  dead  to  life,  conquer  the 
 emissaries  of  Satan,  order  the  winds  to  obey  him 
 and  the  waves  to  bear  him.  In  his  company  we 
 see  Moses  and  Elias  (men  of  whose  existence  there 
 is  strong  doubt),  who  have  left  the  realms  of  light 
 above  (a  region  whose  existence  the  orthodox  Saddu- 
 cees  denied),  to  converse  with  him.  At  his  death  we 
 find  the  sun  in  mourning,  the  temple  rent,  and 
 sundry  graves  open.  After  a  time  (Matt,  xxvii. 
 53)  wc  hear  of  his  resurrection,  and  that  many  of  the 
 
305 
 
 saints  who  slept  have  risen  too,  and  gone  into  the 
 city,  and  been  recognised  by  their  friends.  When  a 
 few  days  more  have  passed  we  are  told  that  the  Christ 
 who  has  risen  from  the  tomb  rises  still  higher,  until 
 his  shape  is  lost  in  the  empyrean.  Yet  this  man, 
 who  was,  we  are  told,  "Very  God  of  very  God," 
 who  could  direct  the  spirits  sent  from  Satan  to  leave 
 man  and  to  take  up  their  residence  in  pigs,  cannot 
 change  the  bent  of  the  minds  of  his  opponents. 
 With  such  examples  before  us,  it  would  be  absurd 
 for  a  modern  philosopher  to  hope  for  success  in 
 opening  the  minds  of  professional  opponents,  who 
 refuse  "  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  charmer,  charm 
 he  never  so  wisely."  When  thaumaturgy  is  power- 
 less, logic  is  not  likely  to  prevail. 
 
 Yet,  —  and  the  thought  is  somewhat  reassuring, — 
 sons  will  entertain  and  reason  upon  facts  which  their 
 fathers  very  determinedly  ignore;  and  that  which 
 would  appear  as  a  miracle  in  the  present  generation 
 may  be  a  'thing  of  course'  in  a  succeeding  one. 
 Jesus,  who  could  not  during  his  lifetime  attract  more 
 than  a  few  hundred  followers,  has  now  millions, 
 calling  themselves  Christians,  who  hail  him  as  Lord 
 and  Master ;  and  Buddah,  who  was  despised  and 
 rejected  by  men,  can  now,  if  he  exists  in  any  form, 
 boast  of  a  larger  following  than  Jesus. 
 
 The  increase  in  numbers  of  any  religious  body 
 follows  natural  laws,  and  is  not  the  result  of  divine 
 intervention ;  consequently  we  must  admit  that  law 
 is  more  powerful  than  miracle ;  a  conclusion  precisely 
 similar  to  the  one  which  was  drawn  before  from 
 another  train  of  reasoning. 
 Miriam,  ^IJ^  (Exod.  xv.  20).  The  signification  which  we 
 assign    to    this    word    depends    entirely    upon    the 
 
306 
 
 etymology  supposed  ;  if  with  Fiirst  we  consider  it 
 to  be  correctly  spelled  as  it  is,  the  meaning  is  simply 
 ''the  fat  or  strong  one;"  if  we  spell  it  ^f!' '''??,  mari  em, 
 we  may  consider  that  the  first  part  is  equivalent  to 
 ^'?.^,  mare,  or  ^"^P,  mire,  "  to  be  well  fed  and  power- 
 ful," also  "the  Lord,"  whilst  in  the  Chaldee  '^^, 
 mart,  would  signify  "  my  Lord."  The  final  syllable 
 ^^,  em,  represents  the  celestial  mother,  or  "  the 
 mother."  We  may  then  interpret  the  word  "  my 
 lord's  mother,"  or  '  the  powerful  mother.'  At  the 
 present  day  the  Virgin  Mary  receives  both  appella- 
 tions, for  she  is  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  and  "Mother 
 of  the  Creator;"  at  least  that  is  the  title  given  by 
 the  devout,  to  a  picture  of  Eaffaelle's,  in  which  the 
 Virgin  is  represented  as  praying  to  her  infant. 
 
 Or  we  may  derive  it  from  ^''"?P,  meria,  a  word 
 surviving  to  the  present  day  under  the  form  Maeia,  a 
 cognomen  of  "the  Virgin."  The  name  in  the  Hebrew 
 signifies  a  particular  kind  of  heifer,  supposed  to 
 be  of  the  buffalo  tribe,  and  remarkable  for  its  strength. 
 The  final  ^  may  represent  either  an  elided  form  of 
 ^^,  em,  the  mother,  or  it  may  be  simply  a  formative 
 letter.  If  this  last  etymology  be  acknowledged, 
 we  then  recognise  that  Miriam  is  identical  with  Isis, 
 who  was  represented  as  a  cow  caressing  her  calf;  she  is 
 equally  to  be  identified  with  the  celestial  Virgin  of  the 
 ancient  faiths,  and  that  of  modern  times,  to  whom  the 
 Komanists  still  address  devotionally  "  Ave  Maria." 
 
 We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  fact,  that 
 the  Jewish  Miriam  is  represented  as  a  virgin,  amongst 
 a  people,  too,  who  thought  perpetual  virginity  was  a 
 thing  to  be  deplored.**  It  is  clear,  from  the  Bible,  that 
 
 **  See  Judges  xi.  37,  38. 
 
307 
 
 the  Hebrew  laws  did  not  attempt  to  promote  celibacy 
 amongst  the  priests.  That  those  who  aspired  to  be 
 prophets,  were  equally  free  to  marry,  is  certain  from 
 the  book  of  Hosea.  There  is,  therefore,  reason  to 
 belieye  that  Miriam  was  associated  by  the  narrator  of 
 the  story  of  the  Exodus,  with  Moses,  Aaron  and 
 Hur,  from  an  idea  that  it  was  advisable  to  make 
 the  great  leaders  of  the  people  identical  with  the 
 Assyrian  Arba-il,  the  four  lesser  gods.  See  Vol.  i., 
 pp.  95-97. 
 
 MiSHAEL,  ^^^^'^  (Exod.  vi.  22,  Dan.  ii.  17).  ''El  is  firm- 
 ness, or  is  powerful,"  or  "  El  is  Mish,  or  the  sun." 
 See  Vol.  I.,  p.  96.  The  name  of  this  man  was  after- 
 wards changed  to  Meshach,  "  properly  a  ram, 
 Sanscrit  Meshah,  then  the  name  of  the  sun  god  of 
 the  Chaldeans,"  Fiirst,  s.  v.  Mesha  is  brother  of 
 Malcham  and  Jeuz  (Zeus  ?),  1  Chron.  viii.  9. 
 
 This  word  has  a  still  farther  interest  for  us,  as  it 
 serves  to  indicate  the  possible  time  when  certain 
 portions  of  the  Pentateuch  were  written.  The  name 
 first  appears  in  Exodus  vi.  22,  and  is  borne  by  a 
 cousin  of  the  lawgiver,  Moses ;  and  it  never  comes 
 before  us  again  until  we  meet  with  it  in  the  time  of 
 Nehemiah  (ch.  viii.  4),  and  in  the  canonical  story  of 
 Daniel  (ch.  i.  6),  wherein  the  name  is  assigned  to  one 
 of  the  Hebrew  princely  captives.  An  isolated  fact  like 
 this  proves  nothing  when  it  stands  alone,  but  it 
 arrests  the  attention  of  the  inquirer,  and  ultimately 
 forms  a  link  in  that  chain  of  evidence  which  proves 
 the  Pentateuch  to  be  a  comparatively  modern  com- 
 position. 
 
 Missionaries.  Whilst  investigating  the  characteristics  of 
 ancient  faiths,  amongst  which  that  entertained  by 
 the  Jews  holds  a  very  prominent  place,  the  inquirer 
 
308 
 
 cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  many  considerations 
 which  jar  upon  the  prejudices  sedulously  instilled 
 into  his  mind  by  his  early  Christian  instructors. 
 One  amongst  the  dogmas  which  he  has  been  taught  to 
 believe  is,  that  the  Jews  were  the  peculiar  people 
 of  God,  especially  selected  by  Him  from  amongst 
 all  other  nations,  to  be  the  depositaries  of  His  com- 
 mands, and  the  custodians  of  the  only  Eevelation 
 of  Himself,  which  He  has  vouchsafed  to  make  to 
 man.  It  has  been  farther  taught,  and  many 
 divines  still  teach  the  same  doctrine,  that  the 
 descendants  of  Abraham  have  ever  been,  and  yet 
 are,  tenderly  watched  over  by  the  Almighty  ;  that 
 all  their  triumphs  and  trials  have  been  rewards 
 and  punishments  for  religious  constancy,  or  infi- 
 delity; that  the  Jews  are  now  scattered  in  conse- 
 quence of  their  denial  of  Jesus,  but  that  in  the  end 
 they  will  be  restored  to  God's  favour  and  to  their  own 
 land.  It  is  moreover  held,  that  when  the  Israelites 
 become  Christians,  and  again  form  an  indepen- 
 dent race  in  Palestine,  the  millennium,  the  long 
 talked-of  era  of  universal  happiness,  the  real  golden 
 age,  will  arise  for  all  the  earth. 
 
 Thus  we  see,  that  in  the  mind  of  a  great  number 
 of  Christian  divines,  the  condition  of  the  whole 
 habitable  globe  is  thought  to  be  dependent  upon  the 
 now  scattered  race  of  Israel.  Statesmen  are  encou- 
 raged to  build  their  policy  upon  the  certainty  of  the 
 restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  to  anticipate  the  mighty 
 influence  of  Abraham's  race,  when  once  more 
 they  dwell  in  the  small  territory,  which  erst  they 
 owned  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan.  The  momen- 
 tous nature  of  this  consideration  has  not,  it  is  alleged, 
 been  recognised  by   potentates,  who  generally  prefer 
 
809 
 
 to  trust  their  own  observation  and  judgment,  more 
 than  that  which  they  consider  as  the  ravings  of 
 Hebrew  visionaries.  But  the  idea  has  been  recog- 
 nised by  the  rehgious  world  from  the  times  of  St. 
 Paul  until  now,  forming  an  incubus  upon  the  minds 
 of  the  pious,  preventing  them  from  soaring  to  the 
 sublime  heights  of  true  piety,  and  clogging  them 
 with  the  dead  weight  of  an  effete  Hebraism.  To 
 these  we  now  address  our  observations. 
 
 There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  idea  of  the 
 Jews  being  "  an  holy  nation  "  rests  upon  their 
 own  assertions  (Exod.  xix.  5,  6,  Deut.  xiv.  2,  xxvi. 
 18,  Psalm  cxxxv.  4)."^  The  presumption  that  they 
 alone  are  depositaries  of  a  direct  revelation,  can 
 be  tested  readily  and  satisfactorily  by  a  logical  method. 
 It  is  clear,  if  the  Hebrew  claims,  thus  indicated,  be 
 tenable,  that  the  theology,  theosophy,  divine  nomen- 
 clature, style  of  worship,  nature  of  emblems,  character 
 of  festivals,  and  the  like  must  be  peculiar  to  the 
 children  of  Abraham  ;  or,  if  the  same  religion  is  to 
 
 45  I  am  quite  aware  that  some  reader  may  allege  from  the  texts  quoted,  that 
 God  Himself  gave  the  title  iu  question  to  the  Hebrews.  That  the  passages  do  so  I 
 readily  allow.  I  join  issue  with  such  an  one,  upon  the  identity  of  ''reality"  and 
 "appearance,"  and  of  "assertion"  and  "proof."  I  may  refuse  to  believe  an 
 emissary  who  comes  to  me  without  any  other  credentials  than  his  own  word ; 
 another  may  credit  the  same  man  implicity,  because  the  message  brought,  tickles 
 his  own  vanity.  I  decline  to  see,  in  the  verses  quoted,  any  divine  stamp,  for  every 
 part  is  intensely  human ;  another  may  recognise  the  Creator's  very  words,  because 
 he  is  intensely  human,  and  therefore  vain- glorious.  I  have  seen  a  poor  lunatic  make 
 a  telegraph  with  his  arms,  legs,  and  a  bedstead,  and  heard  him  declare  that  he 
 received  thereby  telegrams  from  the  Queen,  and  the  Governor  of  the  Bank  of 
 England,  to  the  effect  that  he  was  heir  apparent  to  the  throne,  and  might  "  draw'' 
 upon  the  national  coffers  to  his  heart's  content.  On  the  same  day,  a  true  message 
 came  by  an  actual  telegraph  to  A.  B.  that  he  was  to  honour  the  "drafts"  of  C.  D. 
 The  maniac  believed  the  imaginary  missive,  the  banker  refused  credence  to  the  real 
 one  until  it  was  confirmed.  The  caution  exhibited  by  the  financier,  respecting 
 money  matters,  may  be  adopted  judiciously  by  the  devotee,  when  receiving  messages 
 alleged  to  be  sent  by  the  Almighty.  I  have  looked  in  vain  for  confirmation  of  the 
 aviso  contained  in  the  texts  quoted,  and  consequently  disbelieve  their  divine  origin. 
 
310 
 
 be  found  in  other  countries,  and  amongst  distant 
 nations,  we  must  be  able  to  show  that  it  was  taught 
 to  those  individuals  through  Jewish  means.  This, 
 therefore,  involves  two  distinct  inquiries,  (1)  Does 
 the  Israelitic  religion,  so  far  as  it  and  others  can  be 
 examined,  resemble  that  of  other  nations  ?  and  (2)  If 
 so,  (a)  did  the  Jews  derive  that  faith  from  their 
 neighbours  ?  (b)  did  they  and  their  neighbours  derive 
 it  from  a  common  source  ?  or  (c)  did  the  Jews 
 instruct  their  neighbours  in  the  tenets  of  their  own 
 theology  ?  or,  in  other  words,  "  were  the  Hebrews  at 
 any  time  a  missionary  race  ?" 
 
 So  far  as  I  am  able  to  ascertain,  there  is  not, 
 amongst  the  learned  in  such  matters,  any  doubt  that 
 the  religion  of  the  Jews  did  not  differ,  materially, 
 from  that  held  by  the  Tyrians,  the  Carthaginians,  the 
 Babylonians,  the  Assyrians,  and  the  Persians.  The 
 reverence  for  El,  II,  Elohim,  Baal,  Azee,  Melech, 
 Adon,  Jah,  Jehu,  Jaho,  Jag,  or  Jahve,  which  was 
 shown  by  the  Hebrews,  was  not  perceptibly  discordant 
 with  that  entertained  by  the  other  Shemitic  races. 
 The  men  of  Palestine,  like  those  of  Egypt,  Mesopo- 
 tamia and  Hindostan  adored  an  Ark.  All  equally 
 recognised  the  existence  and  potency  of  Angels,  or  of 
 inferior  deities ;  all  equally  trusted  in  the  efficacy 
 of  Sacrifice,  to  turn  away,  from  themselves  on  to 
 other  creatures,  the  wrath  of  an  offended  God  ;  all 
 equally  depended  upon  omens,  oracles,  prophets, 
 priests  and  miracles,  for  direction  in  worldly  and 
 spiritual  matters.  All  believed  in  a  direct,  constant 
 interference  with  mankind  of  a  Creator,  who  par- 
 celled out  gifts  or  losses  to  men  according  to  the 
 piety  or  otherwise  of  each  individual.  All  had  a 
 similar    respect    for   certain   celestial    changes,    and 
 
311 
 
 commemorated  them  by  festivals,  in  which  all  the 
 Shemitic  nations  performed  analogous  rites.  In  fine, 
 it  is  difficult  to  discover  any  observance,  of  a  religious 
 nature,  amongst  the  Jews,  except  the  sanctification 
 of  the  Sabbath,  which  is  not  found  to  be  identical 
 with  one  of  heathen  origin. 
 
 If  this  point  be  conceded,  we  are  forced  to  the 
 conclusion,  that  the  religious  faith  and  practice  of  the 
 Hebrews  were  not  unique.  We  pass  by  the  question, 
 whether  all  the  Shemitic  races  derived  their  theology 
 from  sources  common  to  all,  and  proceed  rather  to 
 ask  ourselves,  "  Did  this  community  in  theosophy 
 arise  from  the  descendants  of  Abraham  being  mis- 
 sionaries, anxious  to  diffuse  their  own  God-given  faith 
 to  others,  who  were  said  to  be  benighted  Gentiles,  or 
 from  an  adoption  by  the  Jews  of  the  religious  systems 
 of  their  neighbours  ?"  The  last  part  of  this  enquiry 
 will  be  treated  in  subsequent  essays  ;  I  now  attend  to 
 the  first  part,  and  endeavour,  from  their  own  writings, 
 to  ascertain  if  the  Hebrews  were  at  any  time  endowed 
 with  a  missionary  spirit. 
 
 To  the  Bible  reader  it  is  clear  that  Abraham,  who 
 was  directed  to  go  out  of  his  own  land  into  another, 
 was  not  'called'  with  the  intention  of  converting  the 
 Palestinians ;  and  we  do  not  find  a  single  attempt  on 
 his  part,  nor  on  that  of  Isaac,  nor  Jacob,  to  convert 
 the  Canaanites  to  the  knowledge  of  Israel's  God. 
 Joseph,  again,  with  all  his  power  in  Egypt,  never 
 endeavoured  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  'Elohim' 
 of  his  fathers.  Moses,  the  alleged  law-giver,  was 
 equally  reticent,  and  made  no  attempt,  either  to  con- 
 vert Pharaoh's  household  in  Egypt,  nor  his  own  in 
 Midian.  Throughout  the  code  which  has  been 
 assigned  to  him,  a  broad  demarcation  is  habitually 
 
312 
 
 drawn  between  the  Hebrews  and  the  heathen,  and  all 
 intercourse  between  the  one  and  the  other  is  rigidly 
 prohibited.  The  latter,  indeed,  are  invariably  spoken 
 of  as  if  they  were  without  the  Jewish  pale,  and  only 
 existed  to  be  plundered  and  exterminated  by  the  race 
 of  Israel.  Even  when  foreigners,  slaves  from  other 
 nationalities,  or  hired  servants  resided  amongst  the 
 Hebrews,  they  were  not  allowed  to  share  in  the 
 holy  mysteries,  until  they  had  become,  as  it  were, 
 incorporated  into  the  Jewish  community. 
 
 Again,  at  a  much  later  period,  we  learn  that  the 
 Samaritan  woman  was  astonished  that  Jesus  spoke  to 
 her,  for,  as  she  remarked,  "  the  Jews  have  no  deal- 
 ings with  the  Samaritans"  (John  iv.  9)  ;  and,  as  if  to 
 make  this  matter  still  clearer,  St.  Peter  says,  ''Ye 
 know  that  it  is  an  unlawful  thing  for  a  man  that  is  a 
 Jew  to  keep  company,  or  to  come  unto  one  of  another 
 nation  "  (Acts  x.  28) ;  and  when  the  Apostle  returns 
 to  Jerusalem,  he  is  rebuked  because  he  went  in  to 
 men  uncircumcised,  and  did  eat  with  them  (Acts 
 xi.  3) ;  clearly  referring  to  Deut.  vii.  1-5,  in  which 
 the  Hebrews  are  commanded  to  destroy,  and  not  to 
 try  to  convert,  the  heathen  around  them. 
 
 Yet  it  would  appear,  from  such  passages  as  those 
 recorded  in  Matt,  xxiii.  15,  Acts  ii.  10,  vi.  5,  xiii.  43, 
 that  some  sort  of  missionary  zeal  had  become  deve- 
 loped about  the  time  of  Christ ;  but,  so  far  as  we  can 
 learn,  it  expended  itself  upon  Jews  living  in  distant 
 lands,  and  perliaps  upon  those  who  had  made  affinity 
 by  marriage  with  the  heathen,  or  upon  others  who 
 were  descendants  of  mixed  unions. 
 
 The  evidence,  then,  against  the  Hebrews  being 
 disseminators  of  their  own  religious  tenets,  is  over- 
 whelming, and  we  cannot,  with  any  show  of  reason, 
 
313 
 
 assign  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  Carthaginians, 
 Tyrians,  Babylonians,  Assyrians,  Persians,  and  Greeks 
 to  the  missionary  enterprise  of  the  Jews.  We 
 realise  this  fact  more  strongly,  when  we  contrast  the 
 Hebrews  with  the  Buddhists,  who  sent  messengers 
 from  their  seat  in  Hindostan  to  almost  every  part 
 of  Eastern  Asia,  and  won  millions  to  believe  their 
 teaching.*® 
 
 When  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the  descendants 
 of  Abraham  had  identity  of  faith  and  practice  with 
 other  nations,  and  that  the  former  have  not  taught 
 the  latter,  it  must  follow,  either  that  all,  holding  the 
 same  religion,  have  been  taught  of  God,  or  have  ob- 
 tained their  religion  through  human  agency.  It  is 
 utterly  impossible  to  believe,  that  only  a  small  section 
 of  worshippers  are  the  recipients  of  a  Divine  revela- 
 tion, when  there  is  no  perceptible  difference  between 
 the  religion  of  that  section  and  the  rest  of  the 
 faithful. 
 
 Once  again,  this  subject  may  be  followed  up  by 
 an  enquiry  as  to  the  estimation  in   which  the  Jews 
 
 ^  There  is  much  reason  for  the  belief  that  Buddhist  missionaries  found  their 
 ■way  to  Alexandria,  following  in  the  track  of  Grecian  commerce  with  India,  in 
 the  time  of  the  Ptolemies.  It  is  probable  that  the  Essenes  were  Jewish  Buddhists. 
 It  is  certain  that  the  asceticism  of  the  later  Jews,  differed  materially  from  the 
 sensuality  of  their  fathers.  This  change  may  be  traced  to  the  time  when  the 
 traffic  between  Greece  and  India  was  at  its  height.  Many  think  that  Jesus  was 
 an  Essene ;  if  so,  we  can  understand  both  the  self-denyiug  nature  of  his  doctrines, 
 and  the  zeal  which  he  showed  for  missionary  labour.  Of  the  similarity  between  pure 
 Buddhism  and  Christianity,  as  regards  moral  teaching  and  religious  practice,  none 
 can  doubt ;  and  although  the  direct  evidence  of  the  advent  of  missionaries  from 
 India  to  Grecian  Egypt  is  small,  the  indirect  proofs  that  Buddhism  was  imported 
 into  Alexandria  are  very  numerous.  We  cannot  dweU  upon  the  subject  at  greater 
 length  here,  but  we  may  state  our  conviction,  that  the  religion  which  passes  under 
 the  name  of  Christianity,  was  in  its  origin  very  closely  allied  to  Platonism,  or 
 Grecian  philosoj)hy,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  doctrines  of  Buddha  on  the 
 other.  We  cannot  be  surprised  that  the  offspring  has  been  as  successful  in  its 
 missionary  zeal  as  the  parent  was. 
 
314 
 
 were  held,  by  those  nations  who  came  into  contact 
 with  them.  "Did  the  Jews,"  we  may  ask,  "when 
 amongst  the  heathen,  possess  such  a  character  as 
 would  lead  those  who  knew  them,  to  pay  heed  to 
 their  preaching,  supposing  that  they  had  discoursed 
 of  Israel's  Jehovah?"  We  will  not  answer  this 
 query  at  length,  but  refer  our  readers  to  Heathen 
 Records  to  the  Jeivish  Scripture  History,  by  the  Kev. 
 Dr.  Giles  (London  and  Liverpool,  Cornish,  1856,  8vo., 
 pp.  170),  wherein  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Hebrews 
 were  esteemed  in  old,  as  they  are  in  modern  times. 
 They  have  been  despised,  hated,  and  reviled  by  turns  ; 
 persecuted  by  the  many,  encouraged  by  the  few ;  the 
 majority  of  the  people  being  enslaved  and  miserable, 
 the  few  being  honoured,  as  were  Nehemiah,  Ezra, 
 Esther,  Mordecai,  and  Josephus.  Perhaps  indeed  we 
 ought  to  add  to  these  names  the  apocryphal  Daniel, 
 Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego.  Then,  as  now, 
 the  influential  Jews  looked  after  their  poorer  bre- 
 thren, but  never  attempted  to  make  converts.  They 
 had  in  former  days  no  "  Association  for  promoting 
 Judaism  amongst  the  Christians;  "  nor  have  they  yet, 
 although  during  the  Apostles'  times  there  were 
 individuals  who  attempted  the  task. 
 
 Finally,  let  us  pause  awhile,  to  ponder  over 
 'missionary  enterprise  and  success,'  as  evidence  of 
 the  divine  origin  of  the  religion  thus  propagated. 
 We  have  often,  in  our  younger  years,  when  listening 
 to  the  discourses  of  men  "  who  have  been  labourinof 
 in  foreign  lands  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  a  cruci- 
 fied Redeemer,"  heard  'the  zeal  with  which  our  Lord 
 ordained  the  necessity  for  extending  his  teaching 
 over  all  the  world,'  given  as  an  argument  for  the 
 truth  of  Christianity,  and  all  its  tenets ;  and  the  fact 
 
315 
 
 that  '  liis  name  is  now  revered  wherever  a  white  man 
 lives,  and  amongst  nations  of  varied  hue,  whose 
 very  locality  was  unknown  when  that  teacher  lived,' 
 is  used  in  the  same  manner.  For  a  long  period 
 we  saw  no  objection  to  the  evidence  thus  advanced, 
 nor  to  the  conclusion  drawn.  Yet  when,  in  the 
 course  of  time,  we  found  that  Buddhist  missionaries 
 had  been  quite  as  zealous,  and  even  more  successful, 
 than  Christians,  in  making  and  preserving  converts, 
 we  recognised  the  weakness  of  the  logic.  For  the  two 
 sets  of  facts  prove,  either  that  Buddhism  is  equally 
 divine  with  Christianity,  or  that  missionary  zeal  and 
 extended  conversion  are  no  mark  of  the  divine  origin 
 of  a  religion. 
 
 The  considerations  here  advanced  have  a  wider 
 application  than  appears  at  first  sight.  If,  for 
 example,  the  current  idea  of  our  enthusiastic  theolo- 
 gians,— that  the  course  of  events  as  foreshadowed  by 
 Hebrew  vaticinators  must  be,  (1)  the  conversion  of 
 all  the  world  to  the  Protestant  faith  of  England, 
 (2)  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  own  land,  (3)  a 
 reign  of  perpetual  love  and  harmony,  in  which  wolves 
 will  eat  grass,  lions  will  eat  straw,  and  serpents  con- 
 tent themselves  with  dust  (Is.  Ixv.  25),— be  incorrect 
 in  every  detail,  it  should  induce  our  philanthropists 
 to  adopt  an  entirely  different  style  of  missionary 
 labour  to  that  adopted  now,  and  one  more  consonant 
 with  common  sense.  Into  this  part  of  our  subject, 
 however,  it  would  be  injudicious  to  enter  farther. 
 MiTHREDATH,  J^"37^P  (Ezrai.  8),  "given  by  Mithra;""  a  name 
 
 ii  I  have  not  dwelt  upon  ]\Iitlira  and  the  religion  of  the  Ancient  Persians,  firstly, 
 because  the  subject  has  abeady  been  widely  discussed  by  others,  and,  secondly, 
 because  it  would  indefinitely  expand  this  volume.  A  short  reference  will  be  made 
 to  Persian  faith  in  the  article  of  Heligion. 
 
316 
 
 known  to  the  Romans  as  "  Mithridates."  Cog- 
 nomens like  these  introduce  us  into  the  epoch 
 when  Persian  or  Aryan  myths  and  literature  began 
 to  mingle  with  those  of  Phoenician  origin  amongst 
 the  Romans  and  the  Greeks. 
 MoAB,  '^^^^  (Gen.  xix.  37).  As  this  word  stands,  it  signi- 
 fies "  the  seed  of  the  father,"  and  the  word  is  clearly 
 associated  with  the  legend  of  Lot  impregnating  his 
 two  daughters  on  two  successive  nights,  himself 
 being  on  both  occasions  insensible  from  intoxication. 
 There  are  many  reasons  for  discrediting  the  story  of 
 Lot  and  his  children,  and  the  most  prominent  of 
 them  are  the  details  which  envelop  the  main  facts. 
 The  Bible  tells  us  that  when  the  occurrence  took 
 place,  Lot  and  his  remaining  offspring  had  just 
 escaped  with  their  life  from  Sodom  ;  all  their  wealth 
 was  destroyed ;  the  country  around  them  was  burned 
 up;  the  family  lived  miserably  in  a  cave,  yet  the 
 daughters  could  find  wine  enough  to  make  the  old 
 man  drunk  !  This  involves  the  necessity  of  their 
 having  had  their  own  wine-store,  or  money  to  buy 
 wine  of  the  merchant, — and  certainly  for  their  pur- 
 pose a  goodly  quantity  would  be  required. 
 
 Moreover,  the  story  tells  us  that  women,  without 
 means  of  sustaining  their  own  life,  endeavoured  to 
 increase  their  burdens  by  having  a  family  to  rear; 
 for  we  are  distinctly  told  that  they  desired  inter- 
 course solely  for  the  purpose  of  having  offspring. 
 Again,  it  is  certain  that  the  daughters  believed  their 
 father  would  not  knowingly  consent  to  their  proposals; 
 and  we  learn  from  the  proceedings  of  Judah  (Gen. 
 xxxviii.  24),  that  a  pregnancy  by  whoredom  was 
 punished,  in  Patriarchal  families,  by  burning  to 
 death.     If,  then,  his  offspring  became  pregnant,  and 
 
317 
 
 Lot  knew  nothing  about  the  paternity  of  the  expected 
 son  or  daughter, —  and  we  are  told  that  he  was  totally 
 ignorant  of  the  actions  of  his  children,  — it  is  certain 
 that  he  would  adjudge  them  worthy  of  death.  And 
 if  Lot's  daughters  lived  alone  with  their  parent,  they 
 could  not  reasonably  hope  to  elude  his  wrath ;  for 
 if  they  contrived  to  escape  his  notice  during  the 
 period  prior  to  their  confinement,  they  could  not 
 possibly  do  so  afterwards.  Coupling  these  con- 
 siderations with  the  doubtfulness  attaching  to  the 
 occurrence  in  a  physiological  point  of  view,  we  draw 
 the  conclusion  that  the  tale  was  invented  by  some 
 historian  as  a  means  of  throwing  discredit  upon 
 Moab  and  Ammon ;  and  that  the  celestial  father, 
 whose  seed  the  Moabites  claimed  to  be,  was  replaced 
 by  Jewish  writers  with  a  drunken  Lot. 
 
 Mr.  Talbot,  writing  in  the  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic 
 Society,  vol.  iii.,  New  Series,  p.  33,  states,  that  Moab 
 is  mentioned  by  Sennacherib,  and  that  its  king  at 
 the  time  was  Kammuzinatbi,  which  Mr.  T.  translates 
 as  "  Camus  spoke  a  prophecy,"  Camus  being  the 
 name  of  Moab's  god,  which  is  ordinarily  rendered 
 in  our  version,  Chemosh,  Hebrew  ^1^3,  Greek  Sept. 
 ^afjiMc,  Vulgate  Chamos.  The  interpretation  of  the 
 king's  name  is  analogous  to  such  other  names  as 
 Ikhi-Bel,  "Bel  spoke,"  and.  Nebo-titsii-ikbi,  "Nebo 
 spoke  good  luck."  Another  similar  name  is  "  Ca- 
 nmsu  -  sa7'us  -  sur,"  i.  c,  "  Camusu  protect  the 
 king." 
 MoLADAH,  i^^T '^  (Josh.  XV.  26),  "properly  'birth,'  hence 
 Mylitta  {i.e.,  'dedicated  to  her';  from  Hif.  of ''?^)  n.p. 
 of  a  city  of  the  south  of  Judah  .  .  nnViro  or  ^^j^'^^ 
 is  the  name  of  a  Babylonian  goddess  (Herod,  i.  199), 
 as  well  as  of  a    Carthaginian  one,   symbolising   the 
 
318 
 
 procreative  principle,  for  which  ^"]?^/^  Tyhtta,  was 
 also  said.  The  city  names,  ^"f^P  Moledeth,  ^7!?P"^^^, 
 Megar  moledeth,  Mulita  and  Megarmelita  in  Libya 
 (Harduin,  Acta  Cone.  L,  p.  1103)  confirm  the  fact  that 
 cities  were  consecrated  to  the  goddess  "  (Fiirst  s.  v.). 
 To  this  we  may  add  that  Hiddah  the  prophetess 
 has  a  name  suspiciously  similar  to  the  same  goddess, 
 the  n  being  used  in  place  of  D,  and  that  the  Turkish 
 priests  are  still  called  mollahs.  It  is  also  a  fact 
 worthy  of  remark,  that  the  modern  name  for  "  Keda- 
 shim"  is  "Mollies,"  and  Molly  is  a  name  given 
 to  a  well-worn  woman  ;  that  mollis  in  Latin  signifies 
 " effeminate,"  and  that  ixvXXocg,  midlas,  is  "a  prosti- 
 tute," [/.uXKog,  midlos,  is  "the  female  organ,"  and 
 l^uXXog,  midlos,  "the  midlet  "  (compare  midier),  a  fish 
 whose  name  is  associated  with  Mylitta,  with  the 
 origin  of  her  name,  and  with  the  signification  of  the 
 fish  as  an  emblem.  Whilst  from  the  word  jauAAco, 
 mullo,  'Lo.tmmolere,  we  have  the  obsolete  form  "mell," 
 which  is  occasionally  used  by  Shakespeare  to  indicate 
 actio  futuendi.  The  town  of  Mehtus  and  the  island 
 of  Malta  or  Melita  take  their  names  from  the  goddess 
 Mylitta,  to  whom  cakes,  [x-uXXoi,  were  offered  in 
 adoration,  shaped  like  the  pudenda.  See  Mylitta, 
 infra. 
 MoLECH,  i^P  (Lev.  xviii.  21),  "The  King"  (of  Heaven). 
 The  fire-king,  in  whose  worship  children  were  made 
 to  pass  through  or  between  fires,  and  sometimes  were 
 really  sacrificed.  We  find  that  the  practice  of  immo- 
 lating living  ofi"spring  was  common  to  the  Hebrews 
 and  to  the  heathen  around  them.  Abraham  appears 
 to  have  been  the   first  to  prepare  such  a   sacrifice, 
 
 *8  This   word   Uterally  reads    Toledeth,    at  once   recalling   the    Spanish  city 
 Toledo,  which,  Hke  Cadiz,  was  probahly  of  Phoenician  origin. 
 
319 
 
 though  he  did  not  Ccarry  it  out;  Jephthah  was  the 
 seeond ;  a  certain  King  of  Moab  the  third.  In  the 
 days  of  some  of  the  later  kings  of  Judah,  such  occur- 
 rences were  not  uncommon.  Micah,  who  wrote  in 
 the  time  of  Ahaz,  Jotham,  and  Hezekiah,  evidently 
 has  in  view  these  human  sacrifices,  when  he  says 
 (Mic.  vi.  7),  "Shall  I  give  my  first-born  for  my 
 transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of 
 my  soul  ?  " 
 
 It  would  be  useless  to  reproduce  here  the  labours 
 of  W.  A.  Wright,  who  has  written  a  most  able  article 
 on  Molech,  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
 and  of  Nicholson,  who  has  penned  an  interesting 
 essay  upon  the  god  in  Kitto's  Cyclopcsdia  of  Biblical 
 Literature.  I  prefer  rather  to  summarise  the  conclu- 
 sions which  they  have  drawn,  mingling  them  with  &uch 
 considerations  as  have  suggested  themselves  to  my 
 own  mind,  when  thinking  upon  the  matter  and  perus- 
 ing the  accounts  of  previous  authors.  In  acting  thus 
 I  must  necessarily  pass  rapidly  over  from  one  point 
 to  another,  without  laboriously  proving  that  every  step 
 taken  treads  upon  perfectly  stable  ground. 
 
 MoLECH  is  a  name  essentially  the  same  as  Me- 
 LECH,  MiLCOM,  and  Malcham,  and  it  simply  signifies 
 "the  king." 
 
 The  deity  passing  by  this  name  was  extensively 
 worshipped  amongst  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Shemitic 
 races  generally.  He  represented  the  destructive 
 attribute  of  the  Almighty,  and  may  be  regarded  as 
 analogous  to  the  Hindoo  "  Siva  the  terrible."*^  As  the 
 heat  of   the  sun  and   fire  are  the  most  destructive 
 
 49  Although  the  god  bears  this  name,  he  is  not  generally  regarded  with  fear. 
 On  the  contrary,  next  to  Vishnu  or  Christna,  he  is  the  most  popular  of  the 
 Hindoo  deities. 
 
320 
 
 agencies  known  to  those  living  in  hot  countries, 
 it  was  natural  that  they  should  be  personified  as  a 
 dreadful  deity.  Amongst  the  Parsees,  to  the  present 
 time,  a  bright-burning  or  luminous  object  is  used  as 
 a  means  of  kindling  reverential  thoughts  respecting 
 the  power  of  the  Almighty,  which  is  quite  as  rational 
 as  to  regard  a  statue,  a  crucifix,  or  a  morsel  of  bread 
 with  adoration. 
 
 As  fire  and  heat  burned  up  the  crops  in  hot 
 countries,  it  is  natural  that  the  god  who  was  so 
 destructive  should  be  propitiated.  To  effect  this,  he 
 was  personified  as  an  image  which  was  associated  with 
 material  fire;  and  was,  still  further,  worshipped  by 
 the  actual  destruction  of  life,  even  of  human  life. 
 Of  the  adoration  paid  to  Molech  by  the  Jews,  we  have 
 in  the  Bible  many  evidences,  which  would  be  largely 
 increased,  were  we  able  to  restore  all  the  passages  that 
 have  been  altered,  to  obliterate  the  idea  that  the  god 
 was  widely  regarded  as  a  deity  by  the  Hebrews.  Molech 
 may  be  called  essentially  the  fire-king.  But  fire  is 
 not  only  a  destructive  agent,  it  is  also  a  "  purifier," 
 a  word  which  embodies  the  idea  that  we  wish  to 
 convey.  As  heat  brings  the  pure  metal  from  the  ore, 
 so  it  was  supposed  that  it  would  sublime  the  soul 
 from  the  human  clay.  Yet,  when  there  was  no  thought 
 of  futurity,  the  notion  of  distilling  an  eternal  prin- 
 ciple from  man's  mortal  elements  could  not  have 
 existed.  That  the  Hebrews  had  no  idea  of  a  life 
 after  death  is  clear  from  their  writings.  Sacrifices  to 
 Moloch,  therefore,  had  only  two  ends,  one  of  which 
 was  to  propitiate  the  ''terrible"  god,  the  other  to  get 
 rid  of  those  who  might  prove  to  be,  or  really  were 
 encumbrances  on  the  living.  For  the  present  we 
 shall  postpone  what  we  have  to  say  upon  sacrifices  in 
 
321 
 
 general,  and  confine  ourselves  here  to  the  immolation 
 of  children. 
 
 Now,  so  far  as  we  can  learn  from  the  Bihle,  the 
 Hebrews  disposed  of  their  dead,  by  deposition  in 
 caves,  by  sepulture  in  the  earth,  or  by  burning. 
 We  have  evidence  of  this  in  Gen.  xxiii.  3-19,  1  Kings 
 xiv.  18,  2  Chron.  xvi.  14,  xxi.  19.  It  is  possible, 
 therefore,  that  burning  infants  in  the  fire  to 
 Molech  was  a  form  of  sepulture.  This  involves 
 the  idea  that  the  innocents  were,  in  some  way  or 
 other,  killed  before  being  sacrificed.  It  is  quite  con- 
 sonant with  our  knowledge  of  Grecian  usages  to 
 assert  that  all  animals,  whether  brute  or  human,  that 
 were  used  in  sacrifices,  were  slaughtered  prior  to 
 incremation.  Death  by  fire  was  reserved  as  a  punish- 
 ment for  Criminals.  In  this  beHef  we  are  confirmed 
 by  the  passage,  "  slaying  the  children  in  the  valleys 
 under  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  "  (Isa.  Ivii.  5),  wherein 
 the  murder  of  babies  is  unconnected  with  the  cere- 
 mony of  burning  the  bodies.  I  can  find  no  reliable 
 evidence  that  infants  were  ever  burned  alive  to 
 Molech.  There  is,  I  know,  a  story  to  that  effect, 
 but   it  is  apocryphal. 
 
 Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  condition  of 
 Palestine  generally,  and  of  the  Jews  in  particular,  as 
 recorded  in  the  sacred  writings.  Lawgivers,  prophets, 
 priests,  diviners,  &c.  all  promised  to  their  votaries 
 abundance  of  children,  as  a  reward  of  their  faithful- 
 ness to  the  god  whom  they  worshipped.  The  Old 
 Testament  teems  with  passages  in  which  a  large 
 family  is  spoken  of  as  a  special  mark  of  divine  favour. 
 To  procure  the  desired  end,  or  rather  under  covert  of 
 obtaining  fertility,  the  form  of  worship  adopted  was 
 eminently  sensual.    Men  and  women  were  encouraged 
 
322 
 
 to  indulge  in  frequent  intercourse,  and,  as  a  natural 
 result,  the  number  of  births  was  in  excess  of  the 
 means  for  their  support. 
 
 When  once  a  man  finds  that  his  family  is  so  large 
 that  he  cannot  procure  food  for  the  mouths  which 
 are  dependent  upon  him,  he  has  the  option  of  starving 
 himself  to  feed  them,  allowing  them  to  starve,  or 
 making  away  with  the  superfluous  young  ones.  The 
 Jews,  whose  country  was  extremely  small,  whose 
 personal  fertility  is  represented  as  having  been  very 
 great,  and  whose  land  could  not  by  any  possibility 
 support  an  ever  -  increasing  population,  must  have 
 been  particularly  pressed  by  hunger  whenever  the 
 population  materially  increased. 
 
 No  sooner  do  the  directors  of  the  public  mind 
 see  that  abundance  of  offspring  becomes  a  curse  upon 
 parents,  and  upon  the  state  generally,  than  they 
 consider  whether  it  is  desirable  to  prevent  the  union 
 of  the  sexes,  to  kill  off  the  old  folks,  or  to  make  away 
 with  the  very  young  ones.  The  first  alternative  is 
 opposed  by  all  the  instincts  of  our  nature ;  the  second 
 is  equally  opposed  by  the  old,  although  in  many 
 instances  adopted;  the  third  may  be  accomplished 
 either  by  procuring  abortion,  —  the  plan  adopted  by 
 ancient  Koman  and  modern  American  ladies,  —  by 
 wilfully  preventing  conception,  as  was  practised  of  old 
 by  Ouan,  and  is  in  modern  times  by  the  French  and 
 others,^"  or  by  making  away  with  the  children  after 
 birth,  (a)  by  sending  them  to  a  foundling  institution  or 
 
 ^"In  tlie  present  year  (1868),  and  in  the  presence  of  a  certain  scientific  society, 
 Lord  Amberley,  the  eldest  son  of  a  distinguished  British  statesman,  propounded  as 
 his  opinion  that  it  was  desirable  for  men  whose  means  were  limited  to  take  steps  for 
 insuring  to  themselves  a  small  family,  and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  physicians  and 
 surgeons  to  assist  them  iu  their  efforts ! 
 
323 
 
 parish  workhouse,  where  they  are  almost  sure  to  die, 
 a  plan  adopted  in  Christian  Europe ;  (b)  by  killing 
 them  outright,  a  plan  adopted  in  China,  India,  Eng- 
 land, and  elsewhere,  with  or  without  the  sanction  of 
 the  law ;  or  (c)  by  sacrificing  them  devotionally  to  the 
 god  of  the  land,  as  was  done  by  the  Phens  generally, 
 including  the  Hebrews ;  see  Wisdom  of  Solomon, 
 ch.  xiv.  23-27.  The  philosopher  is  equally  horror- 
 struck  at  the  mortality  amongst  infants  which  is 
 brought  about  by  the  profligacy  of  our  countrymen, 
 and  that  induced  by  the  religion  which  ordained 
 sacrifice  of  superfluous  offspring  to  Moloch. 
 
 Were  I  to  write  metaphorically,  and  as  strongly 
 as  the  subject  deserves,  posterity  would  see  that  we 
 have  in  Europe,  and  even  in  the  very  metropolis  of 
 Christian  England,  a  Moloch  as  horribly  destructive 
 to  infant  life  as  the  idol  to  which  Solomon  gave  a 
 local  habitation,  viz.,  baby-farms,  wherein  children 
 are  expected  by  their  parents  slowly  to  pine  away  to 
 death. 
 
 The  idolatrous  Jews,  when  children  were  born 
 too  fast,  were  encouraged  by  the  Priest^^  to  kill  and 
 burn  them,  as  "  innocent  blood,"  fit  for  a  holy 
 sacrifice.  El  the  creator  had  given  them,  and  the 
 Great  King  asked  for  them  back.  It  was  easy  for 
 a  lawgiver,  who  directed  warriors  to  spare  virgin 
 women  amongst  their  enemies,  that  they  might  be 
 used  in  the  harem,  to  invent  a  religious  form  of 
 infanticide,     by    which     the    superabundant     family 
 
 61  There  is  no  doubt,  from  Jerem.  xxxii.  34,  35,  that  the  worship  of  Moloch  was 
 not  opposed  by  the  Temple  Priests,  although  it  was  denounced  by  the  prophets.  It 
 is  very  probable  that  the  law  forbidding  the  sacrifice  of  offspring.  Lev.  xviii.  21, 
 XX.  2-5,  was  introduced  into  the  Pentateuch  with  the  express  intention  of  opposing 
 the  practice.  The  modern  Jews  do  not  requii-e  such  a  command,  for  they  are 
 peculiarly  tender  and  loving  to  their  children. 
 
324 
 
 ensuing  might  be  duly  pruned  to  a  convenient 
 dimension.  Tlie  Jews,  during  the  later  part  of  the 
 monarchy,  when  they  were  very  heathenish  and  very 
 poor,  their  territory  being  exceedingly  small,  appear 
 to  have  made  child-murder  a  pious  act  or  a  quasi 
 religious  duty.  "We  execrate  it  publicly,  but  too  many 
 encourage  it  privately. 
 
 It  would  be  well  if  those  who,  professing  to  hold 
 the  doctrines  of  Christ,  think  it  right  to  abuse,  as 
 foul  idolaters,  the  nations  whose  practice  differs  from 
 their  own,  would  remember  the  teachings  of  Jesus, 
 who,  when  the  woman,  found  in  the  very  act  of 
 adultery,  was  brought  before  him  for  judgment,  said, 
 "He  that  is  without  sin  amongst  you,  let  him  first 
 cast  a  stone  at  her." 
 
 And  ye  who  execrate  Moloch,  remember  that  he 
 reigns  supreme  yet !  We  do  not  subscribe  to  pay  for 
 fires  wherein  the  innocents  can  be  burnt>  we  only 
 patronise  burial  clubs,  and  houses  where  unwelcome 
 children  may  die,  and  where  others  may  be  blighted 
 ere  they  see  the  light.  Moloch  is  simply  the  avenger 
 of  lust  and  luxury,  and  it  matters  little  whether  he 
 is  represented  by  the  bonfire  or  that  premature  grave 
 which  wilful  neglect  prepares. 
 
 MoLiD,  'i^'pi^  (1  Chron.  ii.  29)  "a  begetter."  This  word 
 reappears  in  another  form  in  jU.uA-o§oyj,  mulodoiis, 
 "  one  who  grinds  in  a  mill."  It  is  possible  that  it  is 
 an  altered  form  of  '^!|';^'-',  moladah  =  Mylitta.  In 
 the  Assyrian,  alad  signifies  "to  beget  or  bring  forth," 
 and  Alitta  frequently  replaces  Mylitta. 
 
 Months.     See  Time,  infra. 
 
 MooN,  nn^  yarcah  (Gen.  xxxvii.  9),  i.  e.,  "  that  which  makes  a 
 circuit,  or  walks  majestically;"  she  is  also  called  'l^^f, 
 
325 
 
 lebanah,  'the  pale  shiner,'  to  distinguish  her  from  the 
 burning  sun. 
 
 We  have  an  interesting  reference  to  the  moon  in 
 Job  xxxi.  26,  et  seq.,  "  If  I  beheld  the  sun  when  it 
 shined,  or  the  moon  walking  in  brightness ;  and  my 
 heart  hath  been  secretly  enticed,  or  my  mouth  had 
 kissed  my  hand;  this  also  were  an  iniquity  to  be 
 punished  by  the  judge ;  for  I  should  have  denied  the 
 God  that  is  above."  This  passage  distinctly  proves 
 that  the  sun  and  moon  were  reverenced  by  some,  but 
 that  Job  was  a  monotheist  looking  beyond  these 
 objects  to  the  God  who  made  them. 
 
 That   the    sun    and   moon   were  at  a  very  early 
 period  worshipped,  none   who   has  studied  antiquity 
 can   deny.       But  there   has  been    diversity  in   the 
 manner    in    which    the    latter   has   been   regarded ; 
 sometimes  the  moon  has  been  considered  as  mascu- 
 line; more  generally,   however,  she  has  been  figured 
 as  a  female.     Amongst  the  ancients,  the  two  lumi- 
 naries were  usually  re-  Figure  24. 
 presented  thus :  Fig.  24. 
 In  the  same  way  they 
 are     still     represented 
 over  many  of  the  altars 
 of  the  Roman  Catholic 
 temples.     By  a  fiction, 
 it  was    supposed    that 
 the    sun    impregnated 
 the    moon,  and    when 
 the   latter   luminary   was  new,  and  the  one  quarter 
 was  shining  with  reflected  sun-light,  and  three  quar- 
 ters with  reflected  earth-light,  it  was  easy  to  adopt 
 the    idea    that    the    moon    was    pregnant,    or    had 
 
326 
 
 Figure  25.  the  young  moon  in  her 
 
 arms.  When  these 
 myths  prevailed,  it  was 
 very  natural  that  the 
 moon  should  be  iden- 
 tified with  the  celestial 
 Virgin,  the  consort  of 
 Mahadeva.  That  the 
 Virgin  with  her  Child 
 is  still  identified  with 
 the  moon,  a  visit  to  any  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  or 
 a  reference  to  such  pictures  as  are  represented  in  Fig. 
 17,  page  260,  will  show.  Fig.  16,  page  259,  indicates 
 very  clearly  how  completely  the  sun  and  moon  were 
 regarded  as  male  and  female ;  whilst  Plate  iii,,  fig.  3, 
 Vol.  I.,  shows  the  identification  of  the  two  luminaries 
 with  Mahadeva  and  the  yoni ;  The  serpent  crowned 
 with  rays,  typifying  the  erectile  organ  of  the  male, 
 whilst  the  other  represents  the  smaller,  but  corre- 
 sponding structure  in  the  female.  The  androgyne 
 figure  is  symbolic  of  the  sun  and  moon  in  conjunc- 
 tion. 
 
 That  the  moon  was  an  object  of  worship  in 
 Palestine,  there  is  no  doubt ;  ^^  and  there  is  abundant 
 evidence  that  it  was  equally  revered  in  Mesopotamia  ; 
 but  I  entertain  some  doubt  whether  the  moon  was 
 ever  extensively  adored  in  Egypt  or  Hindostan.  The 
 fact  is,  that  this  luminary  has  been,  and  still  is, 
 regarded  in  two  distinct  fashions.  By  some  she  is 
 considered  the  guardian  of  night,  enabling  the 
 denizens  of  houses  heated  by  the  sun  to  enjoy  the 
 coolness  of  evening  without  being  pounced  upon  by 
 
 '2  See  Deut.  xxxiii.  14 ;   Judges  viii.  21  (marginal   reading) ;    1  Sam.  xs.  5 ; 
 1  Chron.  xxiii.  31 ;  Psalm  Ixxxi.  3  ;  Isaiah  iii.  18  ;  Ezek,  xlvi.  6  ;  Amos  viii.  5. 
 
327 
 
 unseen  foes,  who  can  approach  any  group  in  the 
 darkness  stealthily,  being  guided  by  the  voices  of 
 speakers ;  by  others,  residents  for  the  most  part  in 
 intensely  hot  climates,  the  moon  is  regarded  as  a 
 destructive  agent,  which  deprives  people  of  their 
 health,  or  of  their  senses.  We  have  embodied  the 
 last  of  these  ideas  in  the  word  "lunacy,"  which  is 
 now  synonymous  with  insanity.  There  is  also  a 
 condition  which  is  called  "moon-blindness,"  — 
 happily  not  very  common. 
 
 There  is  much  reason  for  regarding  the  moon  as 
 a  source  of  evil,  yet  not  that  she  herself  is  so,  but 
 only  the  circumstances  which  attend  her.  With  us 
 it  happens  that  a  bright  moonlight-night  is  always  a 
 cold  one.  The  absence  of  cloud  allows  the  earth  to 
 radiate  its  heat  into  space,  and  the  air  gradually  cools, 
 until  the  moisture  it  contained  is  precipitated  in  the 
 form  of  dew,  and  lies  like  a  thick  blanket  on  the 
 ground  to  prevent  a  farther  cooling.  When  the  quan- 
 tity of  moisture  in  the  air  is  small,  the  refrigerating 
 process  continues  until  frost  is  produced,  and  many 
 a  moonlight  night  in  spring  destroys  half  or  even  the 
 whole  of  the  fruit  of  a  new  season.  Moonlight,  there- 
 fore, frequently  involves  the  idea  of  frigidity.  With 
 us,  whose  climate  is  comparatively  cold,  the  change 
 from  the  burning,  blasting  or  blighting  heat  of  day 
 or  sun-up,  to  the  cold  of  a  clear  night  or  sun-down, 
 is  not  very  great,  but  within  the  tropics  the  change  is 
 enormous.  To  such  sudden  vicissitudes  in  tempera- 
 ture, an  Indian  doctor,  in  whom  I  have  great  confi- 
 dence, attributes  fevers  and  agues.  As  it  is  clear 
 that  those  persons  only,  whose  business  or  pleasure 
 obliges  them  to  be  out  on  cloudless  nights,  sujffer 
 from  the  severe  cold  produced  by  the  rapid  radiation 
 
328 
 
 into  space  of  the  heat  of  their  own  bodies  and  that 
 of  the  earth,  those  who  remain  at  home  are  not 
 likely  to  suffer,  from  the  effects  of  the  sudden  and 
 continued  chill.  Still  farther,  it  is  clear  that  people 
 in  general  will  not  care  to  go  out  during  the  dark- 
 ness of  a  moonless  night,  unless  obliged  to  do  so. 
 Consequently  few  persons  have  experience  of  the 
 deleterious  influences  of  starlight  nights.  But  when 
 a  bright  moon  and  a  hot  close  house  induce  the 
 people  to  turn  out  and  enjoy  the  coldness  and  clear- 
 ness of  night,  it  is  very  probable  that  refrigeration 
 may  be  followed  by  severe  bodily  disease.  Amongst 
 such  a  people,  the  moon  would  rather  be  anathema- 
 tised than  adored.  One  may  enjoy  half-an-hour  or 
 perhaps  an  hour  of  moonlight,  and  yet  be  blighted 
 or  otherwise  injured  by  a  whole  night  of  it. 
 
 In  Palestine,  however,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  the 
 moon  was  a  popular,  and  supposed  to  be  a  beneficent 
 goddess.  Being  identified  with  Astarte,  Ishtar,  Juno, 
 Ceres,  or  woman  generally,  —  as  the  following  figure 
 (Fig.  26)  will  show,  —  the  ceremonials  connected  with 
 her  worship  were  eminently  sensual,  and,  being  so, 
 were  very  likely  to  captivate  the  minds  of  "  a  nation 
 of  unbridled  lust."     See  New  Moon. 
 
 She  is  also  represented  sometimes,  as  in  a  pretty 
 tail-piece  by  Bryant,  in  his  Mythology,  as  an  ark  or 
 ship  of  safety,  associated  with  the  dove ;  whilst  a 
 rock  in  the  back  ground  stands  for  the  male,  the 
 water  typifying  the  means  of  union  (Fig.  27). 
 Morality.  When  testing  the  value  of  any  religious  doc- 
 trines, we  of  the  present  day  usually  act  upon  the 
 idea,  "men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns  or  figs 
 of  thistles,"  "a  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil 
 fruit,    neither  can  a  corrupt   tree   bring   forth   good 
 
Fignre  27. 
 
33a 
 
 fruit "  (Matt.  vii.  16,  18) ;  and  hence  any  system 
 of  faith  may  be  measured  by  the  results  which  it 
 produces.  If  the  plan  be  considered  a  right  one  at 
 the  present  time,  we  cannot  disallow  its  propriety  in 
 the  past.  It  is  true  that  the  philosopher  may  object 
 to  the  dictum  altogether,  and  aver  that  bad  fruit  does 
 come  from  good  trees,  and  very  good  fruit  from  bad 
 ones.  In  fact  the  gardener  knows  that  the  finest 
 looking  plants  are  often  barren,  and  that  the  sweetest 
 apples  come  from  very  poor  looking  stocks.  But, 
 though  the  sage  may  doubt  the  saying,  the  Christian 
 preacher  must  be  bound  by  it,  as  being  among  the 
 utterances  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Here  we  have 
 a  test  by  which  we  can  measure  the  real  value  of  the 
 Ancient  Faith  held  by  the  Jews,  founded,  as  we  are 
 told,  upon  a  direct  revelation  from  the  Almighty. 
 Thus,  too,  we  can  ascertain,  by  a  rule,  undeniable 
 by  "  the  orthodox,"  whether  the  seers  who  spoke  to 
 the  Hebrews  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  were  false 
 prophets  or  not. 
 
 Ere,  however,  we  can  use  our  measure,  we  must 
 obtain  some  standard  of  goodness  upon  which  all 
 may  agree.  It  is  quite  possible,  for  example,  that  what 
 is  thought  to  be  very  immoral  in  England,  is  judged 
 differently  in  the  East  Indies  ;  and,  contrariwise,  that 
 what  is  adjudged  to  be  a  virtuous  action  in  Bombay 
 may  be  regarded  an  atrocious  offence  in  London. 
 But,  though  there  is  difficulty  in  finding  a  standard 
 to  which  all  can  assent,  we  may  approximate  thereto, 
 by  adopting,  as  our  foundation,  such  moral  precepts 
 as,  "thou  shalt  do  no  murder,"  "thou  shalt  not 
 adulterise,"  " thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "thou  shalt  not 
 bear  false  witness ; "  or,  in  other  words,  "thou  shalt 
 do   unto  others  as   thou  wouldest  wish   them  to  do 
 
331 
 
 unto  thee."  Such  a  code  excludes  all  religious  dogma- 
 tism; prevents  men  from  fighting  in  support  of 
 opinions  entertained  about  a  Being  of  whom  nothing 
 is  with  certainty  known ;  and  it  judges  the  actions 
 of  mankind  solely  according  to  their  results.  In 
 this  arbitrament  the  question  of  motive  finds  no 
 place,  for  experience  has  taught  that  the  most  horrible 
 offences  against  morality  are  often  perpetrated  with 
 the  best  of  motives,  zeal  for  the  god  worshipped. 
 
 Omitting  here  those  passages  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment which  describe  the  Almighty,  as  historians  would 
 depict  a  powerful  and  bad  earthly  monarch,  inasmuch 
 as  we  have  already  adverted  to  them  under  the  head 
 Anthropomorphism,  Vol.  i.,  p.  216,  let  us  examine 
 the  direct  injunctions  given  by  certain  prophets,  who 
 alleged  that  they  drew  their  inspiration  from  the 
 Creator. 
 
 The  first  such  command  which  attracts  our  notice 
 is  the  direction  of  Moses  to  the  Israelite  in  Egypt, 
 which,  being  deprived  of  all  gloss,  ran  thus ;  "  Thou 
 shalt  steal  everything  thou  canst;  thou  shalt  plunder" 
 (Exod.  xi.  2).  We  next  notice  the  prophet's  order, 
 said  to  be  given  by  God  to  the  Levites,  viz.,  "  Slay 
 every  man  his  brother,  his  companion,  and  his  neigh- 
 bour" (Exod.  xxxii.  27),  with  an  immediate  and 
 bloody  result.  It  is  quite  true  that  in  the  first 
 example  the  individuals  who  were  despoiled  were  ene- 
 mies, Egyptians,  and  that  in  the  second  they  were 
 heretics.  But  this  really  makes  no  difference,  a  strict 
 morality  does  not  teach  us  to  plunder  those  we  hate, 
 or  to  murder  those  who  difi'er  from  us  in  opinion. 
 That  Moses  habitually  perpetrated  murder  on  the 
 largest  scale  no  one  can  deny.  For  example,  we  see 
 the  order  to  the  Judges,  "  Slay  ye  every  one  his  men 
 
332 
 
 that  were  joined  unto  Baal  Peor "  (Num.  xxv.  5). 
 We  find  him,  even  like  an  ancient  Nana  Sahib  at 
 Cawnpore,  directing  the  slaughter  of  women  and 
 children  (Num.  xxxi.  17) ;  but,  unlike  that  much 
 abused  chief  of  India,  Moses  retained  the  young 
 maidens  alive,  that  his  followers  might  adulterise 
 with  them.  There  is  not  a  single  law  of  the  moral 
 code  assigned  to  him  which  this  prophet  did  not 
 violate.  We  even  find  him  bearing  false  witness 
 before  Pharaoh,  and  soliciting  for  one  thing,  when 
 he  intended  another ;  who,  for  example,  can  recognise 
 in  the  words,  "  let  us  go  three  days'  journey  into 
 the  desert,  and  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  our  God " 
 (Exod.  V.  3),  anything  but  a  distinct  misrepre- 
 sentation ? 
 
 The  whole  career  of  Joshua,  the  reputed  follower 
 of  Moses,  is  marked  by  continued  offences  against 
 morality.  He  and  all  his  soldiers,  call  them  by  what 
 name  we  will,  were  nothing  more  than  a  horde  of 
 banditti,  who  entered  a  country  to  plunder,  to 
 murder,  and  to  exterminate  men  who  had  done  them 
 no  wrong.  Let  us,  indeed,  measure  his  proceedings 
 with  those  of  the  Danish  and  Saxon  invaders  of, 
 England.  Can  any  of  us  assert  that  either  the  one 
 people  or  the  other  were  justified  in  their  ruthless  and 
 murderous  outrages  upon  life  and  property,  because 
 some  of  their  seers  had  declared  that  Thor,  Odin,  or 
 any  other  god,  had  doomed  Britain  to  destruction  ? 
 Or  can  we  justify  the  desolation  wrought  by  Mahomet 
 and  his  followers,  by  alleging  that  Allah  gave  the  con- 
 quered races  over  to  plunder  and  to  death  ? 
 
 When  we  examine  the  morality  of  Samuel,  we 
 find  that  it  was  as  low  as  that  of  Moses.  He  reports, 
 in  the  name  of  Jehovah   Sabaoth  —  Him  who  gave 
 
333 
 
 the  command,  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder  —  a  message 
 to  Saul,  "  Go  and  smite  Amalek,  spare  them  not, 
 but  slay  both  man  and  woman,  infant  and  suckling, 
 ox  and  sheep,  camel  and  ass  "  (1  Sam.  xv.  8).  We 
 may  pass  by  the  immoralities  of  David  and  of  Solo- 
 mon, and  of  the  various  writers  in  the  book  of  Psalms, 
 who  consider  that  murder,  vengeance,  robbery,  and 
 the  like  are  quite  justifiable,  against  the  enemies 
 of  the  King,  and  the  priests  whom  he  favours.  We 
 will  equally  omit  to  make  farther  mention  of  the 
 pious  murders  which  are  assigned  by  Jewish  writers 
 to  the  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha.  The  later  pro- 
 phets give  us  an  abundant  mine  whence  we  can 
 judge  of  their  moral  code ;  they  abound  in  denun- 
 ciations of  the  Almighty's  wrath  against  every  nation 
 that  has  oppressed  or  conquered  Jerusalem,  not 
 because  those  people  were  bad  in  morals,  nor  because 
 they  had  showed  themselves  bad  citizens,  bad  sol- 
 diers, bad  husbands,  bad  fathers,  bad  brothers,  or 
 the  like,  but  solely  because  they  had  vexed  the 
 Jews,  and  because  they  worshipped  the  Creator 
 under  a  different  name  to  that  adopted  by  Israelites. 
 The  law  of  revenge  is  everywhere  inculcated,  from 
 Genesis  to  the  end  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  seek 
 in  vain  for  a  passage  in  which  the  Jews  are  exhorted 
 to  eschew  the  murder  of  enemies  and  heretics ;  whilst 
 in  the  books  of  Hosea  and  Ezekiel,  as  we  have 
 already  observed,  we  find  an  amount  of  adultery 
 and  obscenity  so  great,  as  to  make  us  believe  that 
 both  the  one  and  the  other  must  have  revelled  in 
 breaking  the  seventh  commandment,  or  in  describing 
 those  who  did. 
 
 Again,  if  we  are  to  suppose  that  the  Jews  knew  the 
 tenth  commandment,  how  can  we  clear  the  prophets 
 
334 
 
 from  the  charge  of  systematically^teaching  the  Jews 
 to  covet  that  which  was  not  theirs?  The  men  of 
 Jerusalem,  when  that  city  was  taken  from  them,  had 
 no  more  right  to  act  as  if  it  was  their  own,  than  had 
 the  Jehusites,  after  David  had  stolen  it  by  force  of 
 arms,  as  a  robber  plunders  a  sheepfold ;  yet  the 
 Jews  in  captivity  are  urged,  by  their  so-called  pro- 
 phets, to  covet  perpetually  their  force-gotten  state. 
 In  fact,  the  whole  of  the  Hebrew  story  is  nothing 
 more,  than  a  continuous  demonstration  of  how  much 
 the  Jews  coveted  everything  that  was  their  neigh- 
 bour's. 
 
 But  there  is  a  saying,  viz.,  "  Even  the  Devil  is 
 not  so  black  as  he  is  painted ; "  and  however  dark  may 
 be  the  crimes  of  the  ancient  Jews,  the  historian  is 
 bound  to  ascertain  whether  there  are  not  some  bright 
 spots  in  the  vast  pall  of  evil  deeds  that  spreads 
 over  their  history.  Yet  to  me  the  task  is  hopeless; 
 I  cannot  find  one  single  redeeming  trait  in  the 
 national  character  of  the  ancient  Hebrews.  It  is 
 difficult  to  find  a  people  in  the  olden  times,  whereof 
 we  have  a  history,  which  were  not  superior  to  the 
 inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  prior  to  the  Babylonish 
 captivity.  Taking  even  their  own  writers,  such  as 
 Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel,  as  witnesses,  we  can- 
 not think  of  a  crime  which  was  not  common  in  the 
 capital.  What  picture  is  more  frightful  than  that 
 drawn  in  Ezekiel  xxii.,  whose  horrible  imputations 
 are  unfit  for  our  pages?  What  accusation  could  be 
 more  keen  than  the  expression  in  ver.  80?  "I  sought 
 for  a  man  among  them  that  should  stand  in  the  gap 
 before  me  for  the  land,  that  I  should  not  destroy  it ; 
 but  I  found  none." 
 
 With  the  immorality  thus  depicted,  we  find  that 
 
335 
 
 there  was  a  vast  amount  of  ignorance  conjoined.  We 
 seek  in  vain  for  evidence  of  commerce,  of  an  idea 
 of  political  economy,  of  a  desire  for  geographical 
 knowledge,  and  the  like.  On  the  contrary,  the  burden 
 of  the  exhortations  addressed  by  the  prophets  is  this  ; 
 "  Keep  yourselves  to  yourselves,  and  to  the  God 
 whom  we  preach  ;  shun  your  neighbours,  hate  them, 
 and,  when  you  can,  plunder  and  kill  them !  Agree 
 amongst  yourselves  and  treat  your  priests  well,  and 
 then  you  shall  be  great  and  glorious,  princes,  kings, 
 and  potentates  in  every  land,  and  your  enemies'  necks 
 shall  be  your  footstools." 
 
 Can  any  one,  unless  blinded  by  prejudice,  believe 
 that  a  nation,  such  as  we  here  describe,  could  be 
 the  only  God  -  selected  one  in  the  whole  world  ? 
 that  it  alone  had  received  a  direct  revelation  from 
 Heaven  ?  and  that  from  it  all  future  generations  ought 
 to  draw  their  code  of  moral  laws  ?  Yet  such  is  the 
 teaching  of  the  state  religion  of  Great  Britain  and 
 Ireland ;  such  is  the  teaching  which  Missionary  and 
 Bible  societies  diffuse  over  the  world.  The  wild 
 Maori  of  New  Zealand  draws  from  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment an  exemplary  support  for  his  most  murderous 
 propensities.  The  Mohammedan  and  the  Mormon 
 draw  from  the  same  source  a  valid  defence,  against 
 charges  of  flagrant  violations  of  the  seventh  command- 
 ment. The  murderous  Christian  has,  under  the  aus- 
 pices of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  converted  himself 
 into  a  demon,  and  revelled  in  anger,  revenge,  torture, 
 murder,  and  every  abomination,  in  the  name  of  the 
 Lord  of  Hosts  and  the  Prince  of  Peace.  To  sustain 
 the  power  of  hating,  bearing  false  witness  against 
 our  neighbour,  coveting  his  possessions,  spoiling 
 his  goods,  torturing  his   mind,  murdering  his  body, 
 
336 
 
 cursing  his  soul,  and  of  enjoying,  during  a  stay  on 
 earth,  the  luxury  of  indulging,  in  imagination,  an 
 eternal  revenge  against  all  adversaries,  will  ever  be 
 motives  sufficiently  powerful  to  induce  Christian  hier- 
 archs  to  uphold  the  plenary  inspiration  of  the  Bible. 
 
 Without  such  a  book,  bishops  could  not  con- 
 tend successfully  with  presbyters,  nor  deprive  clerks 
 of  a  living;  without  it,  the  parson  in  his  hungry 
 cure  could  not  solace  himself  by  his  power  of  sending 
 the  neighbouring  squire  to  a  hot  place  ;  nor  could 
 a  hermit  clad  with  dirty  garments  enjoy  the  luxury 
 of  consigning  city  fops  and  belles  to  dresses  of  fire, 
 and  to  eternal  balls,  where  every  waltz  would  be  on  a 
 heated  floor,  and  every  partner  a  fiery  devil. 
 
 We  cannot  interfere  with  the  luxuries  of  others 
 in  a  future  world;  nor  shall  we  ever  envy  those 
 anticipated  by  Christian  divines.  Nay,  so  strongly 
 do  we  feel  respecting  the  immorality  of  the  doctrines 
 drawn  from  the  utterances  of  ancient  Jewish  writers, 
 that  we  would  gravely  propound  the  question  to  all 
 the  disciples  of  Jesus,  no  matter  of  what  sect  they 
 may  be,  viz.,  "Which  individual  comes  nearest  in 
 your  opinion  to  '  a  damned  soul '  ?  an  immaterial 
 essence  burned  perpetually  by  spiritual  fire,  yet  never 
 consumed?  or  a  being  brimful  of  eternal  revenge 
 who  sits  looking  at  the  flames  and  their  victim?" 
 When  Jesus  described  the  scene  between  Dives 
 and  Lazarus,  he  did  not  depict  the  latter  as  indulg- 
 ing in  delight  at  seeing  the  rich  man  miserable. 
 His  followers,  however,  have  learned  more  since  his 
 time,  and  the  indulgence  of  human  hate  is  superadded 
 to  the  charms  of  delicious  music,  to  attract  modern 
 Christians  to  the  realms  of  bhss.  (See  Vol.  i.,  pp. 
 562,  563,  note.) 
 
337 
 
 We  may,  therefore,  assert  that  our  sacred  writings 
 require  to  be  remodelled,  on  the  ground  of  the  immo- 
 rality, which  they  at  present  inculcate  or  encourage, 
 as  well  as  on  the  ground  of  their  grossness.  Nor 
 can  we  imagine  any  individual,  cognizant  of  the 
 existence  of  such  foul  blemishes  in  the  Bible,  yet 
 preferring  it,  as  it  stands,  to  an  expurgated  edition 
 in  which  nothing  objectionable  could  be  found. 
 MoRiAH,  ^n^  or  nnio  (Gen.  xxii.  2).  The  origin  of  the 
 word  is  most  probably  from  ^'^^,  marah,  and  n'',  jah, 
 signifying  "Jah  is  strong,"  or  from  ^l  *11^,  ''my 
 lord  Jah."  In  the  Greek,  we  have  some  words  which 
 suggest  other  ideas ;  jaop/a  are  "  the  sacred  olives," 
 which  recall  to  our  mind  "  the  Mount  of  Olives  in 
 Jerusalem  ;  "  Zsv;  Mapios  is  "  one  of  the  names  of 
 Jupiter,"  and  /aojcjov  =  "the  pudenda;"  and  to  these 
 organs,  hills  or  eminences  were  frequently  compared. 
 The  celebrated  Mount  Mem,  the  seat  of  the  Gods 
 in  the  Hindoo  theology,  has  a  name  singularly  like 
 Moriah,  its  signification  is  '  excellent,'  a  name  given 
 by  the  Psalmist  to  the  hill  of  Jerusalem,  which  he 
 also  says  is  "the  joy  of  the  whole  earth." 
 
 By  some  this  word  is  derived  from  *^l  '''^'P  "i!],  har 
 mori  jah,  "mount  of  my  lord  Jah."  If  we  accept 
 this  etymon,  it  involves  either  that  the  word  Jah 
 was  known  to  Abraham,  and  to  the  heathen  before 
 his  time,  or  that  the  passage  in  Genesis  was  written 
 after  the  period  when  the  worship  of  Jehovah  had 
 become  general.  From  2  Chron.  iii.  1,  we  infer  that 
 the  name  Moriah  is  of  very  modern  date.  There  is 
 strong  reason  to  doubt  the  identity  of  Abraham's 
 Moriah,  Araunah's  threshing  floor,  and  the  hill  on 
 which  the  temple  was  built ;  but  it  would  be  unpro- 
 fitable to  discuss  the  subject.     My  inclinations  lead 
 
338 
 
 me  to  prefer  the  Greek  (/.oplst,  moria,  for  the  original 
 etymon,  and  iT"  nio  "in  for  the  secondary  one. 
 Moses,  "^^^  (Exod.  ii.  10).  I  have,  on  a  preceding  page 
 (Vol.  I.,  pp.  95,  96),  given  my  views  respecting  the 
 origin  of  this  word.  That  it  is  not  derived  from  the 
 etymon  given  in  Exod.  ii.  10,  is  shown  by  Fiirst, 
 inasmuch  as  the  name  required  for  "drawn  out," 
 would  be  '"i^'^,  mashui.  He  suggests  that  the  name 
 may  have  been  of  Egyptian  origin,  and  that  it  signi- 
 fied "the  son  of  Isis";  but  "mo  cese"  is  too  much 
 unlike  mosheh,  the  Hebrew  pronunciation  of  our 
 Moses,  for  us  to  accept  the  etymology.  Josephus 
 tells  us  that  7no  in  Egyptian  signified  "water,"  and 
 uses  "drawn  out."  It  may  be  so,  but  that  is  a  very 
 poor  etymon  for  Msheh.  Another  possible  but  im- 
 probable etymon   is  the  Assyrian  wzws/ii,  "night." 
 
 In  examining  the  history  of  Moses,  we  may 
 begin  by  a  comparison,  and  remark  that  if  an 
 enthusiastic  believer  from  Salt  Lake  City  were  to 
 preach  to  us,  about  the  value  of  the  book  of  Mormon, 
 written  on  plates  of  gold,  in  such  mysterious  charac- 
 ters that  some  angelic  intervention  was  required  to 
 decipher  them,  our  first  impulse  would  make  us 
 deny  that  such  a  lawgiver  had  any  existence.  If  then, 
 changing  his  tactics,  the  missionary  alleged  that  the 
 evidence  in  favour  of  the  existence  of  Mormon  was 
 analogous  to  that  of  Moses,  we  should  probably 
 answer,  with  supreme  contempt,  that  Moses  had  been 
 credited  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  and  that  it 
 would  be  sufficient  to  talk  of  the  American  prophet, 
 when  his  sect  had  lasted  equally  long.  "  Well,  then," 
 would  be  the  rejoinder,  "it  is  clear  that  the  law 
 which  we  assert  to  be  true,  and  which  you  reject,  is 
 becoming  more  worthy  of  the  world's  regard  as  every 
 
339 
 
 century  passes  by,  and,  in  time,  will  be  as  authori- 
 tative as  the  books  of  Moses  !  " 
 
 In  a  similar  manner,  if  any  one  were  to  quote 
 the  prophecies  of  Merlin,  and  the  laws  of  King 
 Arthur  of  England,  the  logician  would  consider  it 
 necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  inquire  into  the 
 evidence  that  such  persons  ever  existed.  The  modern 
 philosopher  does  not  take  a  thing  for  granted,  simply 
 because  he  was  told,  in  his  childhood,  that  it  must  be 
 true,  since  it  is  to  be  found  in  a  book.  He  does  not 
 believe  that  the  celestial  Venus  descended  to  enjoy 
 the  company  of  Anchises,  because  ^neas  was  said  to 
 be  her  child.  Nor  does  he  believe  that  Orion  was 
 made  ab  urind  deorum,  before  life,  and  that  after 
 death  he  was  translated  to  the  sky,  even  though 
 there  is  a  constellation  bearing  his  name,  which 
 tallies  with  his  alleged  origin. 
 
 Neither  does  the  name  Moses,  because  associated 
 with  a  legal  code,  demonstrate  the  existence  of  the 
 man.  Even  if,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  we  grant 
 that  such  a  man  as  Moses  did  really  exist,  it  does 
 not  follow  that  he  was  what  we  are  required  to 
 believe  him  to  be. 
 
 When  an  historian  is  in  doubt  whether  the  subject 
 of  his  story  had  real  existence,  he  will  probably 
 examine  —  1,  his  history,  as  recorded  ostensibly  by 
 himself,  and  credited  by  those  who  believe  in  his 
 mission ;  2,  the  evidence  of  his  existence  drawn  from 
 collateral  sources ;  3,  the  evidence  respecting  the 
 mythical  element  in  the  story. 
 
 Ere  we  attempt  to  follow  out  this  plan,  we  must 
 premise  that  Moses  is  considered  to  be  a  real  man, 
 who  led  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  into  Canaan,  and 
 who,  during  the  journey,  received  from  God  a  code  of 
 
340 
 
 laws  which  were  to  bind  the  people  in  all  futurity. 
 It  is  supposed  still  farther  that  he  wrote  these  laws 
 in  books,  and  that  the  volumes  which  we  know  as 
 the  Pentateuch  are  copies  of  the  works  of  Moses. 
 
 Without  any  further  preface,  we  take  up  the  his- 
 tory of  Moses   as   he   is   drawn   in   the   Bible.      Of 
 Jewish  parentage,  an  accident  removed  him  from  his 
 father's  house,  and  transferred  him  to  a  royal  mansion 
 of  Egypt,  where  he  became  learned  in  all  the  wisdom 
 of  the  Egyptians  (Acts  vii.  22).       Under  such  cir- 
 cumstances, the  Egyptian  language  would  be,  as  it 
 were,  his  mother  tongue,  for  his  wet  nurse  would  not 
 remain  long  enough  with  him  to  instruct  him  in  the 
 Hebrew.     Though  living  in  a  palace,  and  in  Egyptian 
 style,  he  was  aware  of   his  own  Hebrew  origin,  and, 
 with  a  strong  esprit  de  corps,  he  left  the  mansion, 
 when  about  the  age  of  forty  years,  to  contemplate  the 
 burdens  imposed  on  his  race.     Seeing,  accidentally,  a 
 Jew  struck  by  an  Egyptian,  without  making  enquiry 
 as  to  the  justice    or   otherwise   of    the   punishment, 
 Moses  gave  a  glance  around  to  ascertain  that  the  three 
 were  alone,  and  then,  hoping  for  immunity,  he  killed 
 and  buried  the  Egyptian.     On  the  next  day,  he  inter- 
 fered between  two  Hebrews,  and  on  listening  to  their 
 story,  which  he  perfectly  understood,  he  assumed  the 
 office  of  judge ;   but  his  assistance  was  spurned,  and 
 the  murderous  deed  of  the  previous  day  is  cast  in  his 
 teeth.      Being  terrified  at  the  probable  punishment 
 of  his   crime,    Moses  fled   to    Midian,  a   pretty  con- 
 siderable distance.      When  there,  he  met    with  the 
 daughters    of   a   country    priest,  and  married  one  of 
 them.        After    residing   some    forty   more   years   in 
 Midian,  he  received  a  revelation,  and  the  power  to 
 work  miracles.     But  the  miraculous  endowment  did 
 
341 
 
 not  extend  to  his  tongue,  and  he  had  to  use  his 
 brother  for  a  mouth-piece,  whilst  a  rod  was  his 
 miracle  worker.  Intent  on  his  mission,  he  went  to 
 the  king  of  Egypt ;  but,  with  all  his  zeal,  he  forgot 
 to  circumcise  his  son  Gershom,  and  his  wife  helped 
 him  to  escape  from  the  dilemma,  into  which  his 
 carelessness  had  brought  him.  After  a  series  of 
 miraculous  phenomena,  Moses  led  the  whole  Jewish 
 nation  from  Egypt,  into  a  country  which  he  knew, 
 from  his  travelling  experience,  contained  neither  food 
 nor  water  for  man  or  beast.  These  necessaries  were, 
 however,  procured  from  the  storehouses  of  the  angels 
 (Ps.  Ixxviii.  25).  A  successful  fight  with  Amalek 
 then  occurred.  Moses  again  met  Jethro,  his  own 
 Midianite  wife,  and  his  two  sons,  and  at  length 
 reached  Sinai  with  the  fugitives.  On  a  moderate 
 calculation,  the  number  of  the  Jews  amounted  to 
 two  millions  and  a  half,  about  the  population  of 
 London;  consequently  Moses  organised  messengers, 
 by  whom  he  could  disseminate  rapidly  the  orders 
 which  he  received  from  Jehovah.  After  giving  the 
 necessary  directions,  Moses  ascended  Sinai,  amongst 
 wondrous  phenomena,  smoke,  fire,  earthquakes  and 
 thunders. 
 
 We  cannot  exactly  tell  what  happened  next,  for 
 Exod.  xix.  states,  that  no  sooner  had  Moses  arrived 
 on  Sinai  than  the  Lord  sent  him  down,  and 
 ordered  him  to  come  up  again  at  a  future  time  (vv. 
 21-25) ;  and  ch.  xx.  states  that  God  spake  the  com- 
 mandments to  the  people  whilst  Moses  was  still 
 amongst  them  (w.  18,  19,  20,  21).  After  this,  Moses 
 drew  near  to  the  thick  darkness  where  God  was,  and 
 received  many  other  laws.  This  account  is  irrecon- 
 cileable  with  that  given  in  ch.  xxiv,  wherein  we  are 
 
342 
 
 told  that,  after  the  clouds,  &c.,  had  been  upon  Smai 
 for  seven  days,  God  called  for  Moses  on  the  seventh. 
 This  again  is  incompatible  with  the  idea  that  the 
 Sabbath,  or  seventh  day,  was  to  be  holy,  because  God 
 rested  on  that  day  (Exod.  xx.  11).  We  are  then  told 
 that  Moses  was  in  the  mount  forty  days  and  forty 
 nights,  during  which  he  received  a  code  of  laws,  one 
 of  which  was  (Exod.  xxxi.  15-17),  that  Sabbath- 
 breaking  should  be  punished  with  death,  because  it 
 was  the  sign  of  the  covenant  between  God  and  Israel 
 —  not  between  God  and  all  people. 
 
 During  this  very  mysterious  disappearance  of 
 Moses  for  six  weeks,  the  people,  fresh  from  the 
 wonders  of  Sinai,  and  Aaron,  who  had  just  seen, 
 eaten,  and  drunk  with  the  God  of  Israel  (Exod.  xxiv. 
 9  —  11),  craved  for  some  other  idea  of  God  than  a 
 thunder-storm.  Amongst  them  they  made  a  calf, 
 and  the  people,  whom  the  presence  of  the  clouds 
 of  Sinai  had  kept  free  from  all  sexual  intercourse 
 whatever  (ch.  xix.  15),  now  revelled  in  sight  of  the 
 gloomy  mountain  in  the  most  unbridled  lust.  The 
 Almighty,  becoming  suddenly  aware  of  this,  —  for 
 it  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  nothing  said  to  Moses 
 during  the  collection  of  the  earrings,  the  making 
 of  the  furnace,  or  the  fashioning  of  the  calf  with 
 a  graving  tool ;  and  the  philosopher  may  well  think 
 how  long  it  would  take  the  two  million  people  to 
 collect  firewood  where  none  existed,  to  make  a  furnace 
 where  there  was  no  clay,  nor  sand  of  requisite  quality 
 to  make  a  mould  for  "  casting,"  and  to  find  a 
 graving  tool  where  there  were  neither  shops  nor 
 traders, — commanded  Moses  to  descend  to  the  plain. 
 But  the  Almighty  is  represented  as  not  ordering  the 
 descent  until    His    prophet    could   catch   the  people 
 
343 
 
 "in  iiagrante  delictu."^^  Ere  Moses  leaves  the  pre- 
 sence, God  is  described  like  a  gladiator,  preparing 
 himself  for  the  execution  of  *'  canaille,"  but  suffi- 
 ciently peaceable  to  be  soothed  by  Moses,  who  then 
 went  down  the  mountain  with  the  two  tables  of 
 testimony,  which  were  written  by  the  finger  of  God 
 (Exod.  xxxii.  16).  When  he  neared  the  people,  — 
 and  how  near  he  could  come  to  the  calf,  considering 
 the  immensity  of  the  assemblage,  it  is  difficult  to 
 say,  —  he  brake  the  tables  by  casting  them  down. 
 In  other  words,  Moses  vented  his  anger  against  God's 
 people,  by  destroying  the  actual  handiwork  of  Jehovah; 
 and  then  he,  who  had  heard  amidst  the  thunders  of 
 Sinai  the  words,  "  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder," 
 directed  all  the  sons  of  Levi  to  put  every  man  his 
 sword  by  his  side  (we  cannot  help  wondering  where 
 they  procured  them,  for  the  ancient  Egyptians  did 
 not  use  such  weapons,  even  if  they  did,  all  would  have 
 sunk  in  the  Red  Sea  when  the  waters  overwhelmed 
 the  army),  and  to  go  in  and  out  from  gate  to  gate 
 throughout  the  camp,  and  slay  every  man  his  brother, 
 his  companion,  and  his  neighbour  (vv.  26,  27).  A 
 slaughter  which  comprised  three  thousand. 
 
 After  this,  Moses  was  ordered  to  depart  (Exod. 
 xxxiii.    1)    from    Sinai ;    but,    to    our    surprise,   we 
 
 63  This  recalls  to  my  mind  an  anecdote  of  a  date  about  1825.  A  new  coinage 
 of  sovereigns  was  being  disseminated,  and  a  vast  number  of  small  barrels  of 
 them  were  sent  into  the  country  by  Pickford's  vans.  My  father,  who  was  one 
 of  the  partners  in  the  concern,  was  informed  of  a  plot  to  blootade  the  highway, 
 and  plunder  the  vans.  The  firm,  therefore,  applied  to  the  police  authorities  of 
 the  day,  for  a  force  to  resist  the  anticipated  attack.  The  reply  was  a  polite 
 refusal,  the  head  man  declaring  that  the  duty  of  the  police  was  to  punish 
 crime,  not  to  prevent  it.  As  a  boy,  I  execrated  such  a  doctrine,  but  when  I 
 found  from  the  chapter  in  question  that  the  Lord  is  represented  as  acting  on  the 
 same  principle,  I  was  staggered.  I  now  believe  that  Jehovah  does  not  act  in 
 every  case  as  He  is  said  to  do. 
 
344 
 
 find  that  the  ornaments  which  had  gone  to  make  the 
 golden  calf  were  still  in  existence  (w.  5,  6).  The  same 
 chapter  (v.  11)  tells  us,  that  "  the  Lord  spake  unto 
 Moses,  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  unto  his 
 friend ; "  yet,  a  few  verses  farther  on  (v.  20),  we 
 find  the  words,  ''  thou  canst  not  see  my  face ;  for 
 there  shall  no  man  see  me,  and  live."  Arrived  at 
 Mount  Horeb  (Exod.  xxxiv.  2),  Moses  is  again  ordered 
 to  ascend  the  mountain,  where  he  remains  for  forty 
 days  and  nights,  during  which  he  wrote  the  ten 
 commandments  upon  the  two  tables  (v.  28);  whereas 
 we  are  told  (v.  1),  that  God  himself  would  do  so. 
 When  Moses  descended  from  the  mountain,  we  are 
 informed  that  his  face  shone  (v.  29).  Here  we  may 
 profitably  consider  what  would  have  been  the  effect 
 upon  the  worshippers  of  the  golden  calf,  had  the 
 shining  face  of  Moses  burst  upon  them  when  he 
 came  down  from  Sinai.  Surely,  when  all  fled  from 
 the  brilliant  countenance  of  the  lawgiver,  no  fratricide 
 or  homicide  would  have  been  required  to  vindicate 
 the  law.  Yet,  perhaps,  after  all,  in  matters  of  faith, 
 murder  is  better  than  fright ;  and  it  is  more  judicious 
 to  kill  an  opponent  than  to  show  him  a  radiant  coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 We  pass  by  the  contradictory  laws  enunciated 
 in  the  various  "  books  of  Moses,"  because  they  have 
 already  been  sufficiently  noticed  by  Colenso,  Kalisch, 
 and  other  writers,  and  turn  to  the  time  when  Moses 
 directed  his  vengeance  against  the  kindred  of  his  wife 
 Zipporah.  We  do  not  believe  that  the  lawgiver  did 
 this  because  he  had  married  an  Ethiopian  woman, 
 (Num.  xii.  1),  but  on  account  of  the  general  character 
 of  the  Midianites.  They  are  described  as  being 
 essentially  licentious,  and  their  god  was  luxury  per- 
 
345 
 
 sonified  ;  yet  Moses  directed  that  all  the  young  virgins 
 of  the  accursed  tribe  shall  be  preserved.  His  objection 
 was  to  the  worship  of  Baal  Peor,  not  to  indulgence  in 
 sensuality,  if  combined  with  orthodoxy. 
 
 Without  going  into  details,  we  may  say  that, 
 throughout  the  Pentateuch,  Moses  is  described  as  one 
 man,  and  Jehovah  as  another  ;  the  latter  being  so 
 immeasurably  great  and  high,  that  no  comparison 
 could  be  drawn  between  the  messenger  and  the  sender. 
 In  no  place  did  Moses  seem  to  recognise  the  idea, 
 that  the  Omniscient  can  make  a  perfect  law  at  once  ; 
 nowhere  did  Moses  indicate  the  idea  of  a  future 
 life  ;  in  no  case  did  he  appear  to  believe,  that  there 
 is  a  better  test  of  orthodoxy  than  worldly  prosperity. 
 He  was  meek,  murderous,  and  angry  by  turns,  and 
 treated  the  Almighty  as  if  he  could  be  cajoled  (Num. 
 xiv.  13,  16).  At  length  Moses  died,  and  myste- 
 riously, without  any  evidence  of  his  decease,  was 
 buried  by  the  Almighty,  so  secretly  that  none  of  the 
 children  of  Israel  ever  knew  of  his  sepulchre  (Deut. 
 xxxiv.  6). 
 
 The  history  of  the  alleged  lawgiver,  thus  sum- 
 marised,—  and  it  is  capable  of  indefinite  extension, — 
 does  not  give  us  an  exalted  view  of  his  character  as 
 a  man,  a  legislator,  a  soldier,  or  a  prophet.  We  do 
 not  admire  him  so  much  as  we  respect  Buddha, 
 Zoroaster,  Confucius,  or  even  our  own  Alfred;  in 
 mental  power  he  was  below  Socrates,  Plato,  and  pro- 
 bably Pythagoras,  Orpheus,  Hesiod  and  Homer.  In 
 knowledge  of  natural  history,  he  was  far  inferior  to 
 Aristotle. 
 
 Putting  these  considerations  together,  we  conclude 
 that  Moses,  if  he  existed,  cannot  be  regarded  as  a 
 veritable  ''  theopneustos,"  or  even  as  a  man  of  average 
 
346 
 
 ability,  for  a  leader  of  fugitives.  Moreover,  if  he 
 is  a  fictitious  character,  we  think  that  he  could  only 
 have  been  drawn  by  individuals,  who  were  anthro- 
 pomorphists  in  religion,  intolerant  in  faith,  sensual 
 in  habits,  and  ignorant  as  men. 
 
 When  we  examine  the  testimony  to  the  existence 
 of  Moses  from  heathen  sources,  we  are  compelled 
 to  confess  that  there  is  literally  none.  The 
 Egyptian  records,  so  far  as  they  have  been  deci- 
 phered, and  the  Egyptian  sculptures,  so  far  as  they 
 have  been  examined,  give  no  evidence  whatever  of 
 the  residence  in  their  land  of  a  ruler  like  Joseph, 
 of  men  like  the  Jews,  or  of  the  occurrence  of  such 
 miracles  as  "  the  plagues "  of  which  we  read  in 
 Exodus.  Even  Ewald,  with  all  his  learning,  is 
 unable  to  bring  one  single  valid  witness  to  the  truth- 
 fulness, or  even  the  probability,  of  the  Mosaic  story. 
 It  is  true  that  there  are  records  of  the  invasion  of 
 Egypt  by  the  Hyksos,  and  the  expulsion  of  a  band  of 
 lepers ;  but  these  have  no  more  resemblance  to  the 
 history  of  the  Jews  in  Egj^pt,  and  their  exodus,  than 
 they  have  to  the  flight  of  the  Etruscans  from  Lydia, 
 and  their  settlement  in  Italy. 
 
 It  is  true  that  we  have  books  which  purport  to 
 to  be  the  books  of  Moses  ;  so  there  are,  or  have  been, 
 books  purporting  to  be  written  by  Homer,  Orpheus, 
 Enoch,  Mormon  and  Junius ;  yet  the  existence  of 
 the  writings,  and  the  belief  that  they  were  written 
 by  those  whose  name  they  bear,  are  no  real  evidence 
 of  the  existence  of  the  men,  or  the  genuineness  of  the 
 works  called  by  their  names.  It  is  true  also  that 
 Moses  is  spoken  of  occasionally  in  the  time  of  the 
 early  kings  of  Jerusalem ;  but  it  is  clear  that  these 
 passages  are  written  by  a  late  hand,  and  have  been 
 
347 
 
 introduced  into  the  places  where  they  are  found,  with 
 the  definite  intention  of  making  it  appear  that  the 
 lawgiver  was  known  to  David  and  Solomon. 
 
 It  is  true  that  Moses  is  repeatedly  referred  to  by 
 Jesus  and  his  Apostles,  as  a  real  individual,  and 
 his  writings  were  regarded  as  genuine.  But  the  value 
 of  this  observation  as  an  argument  is  absolutely 
 nothing ;  for  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  never  professed 
 to  be  a  critic  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  but  accepted 
 them  like  any  other  Jew.  Even  if  he  had,  we 
 should  doubt  the  fidelity  of  the  dicta  assigned  to 
 him,  just  as  we  doubt  the  truth  of  the  prophecy 
 which  is  placed  in  his  mouth  in  Matthew  xxiv. 
 1-44,  and  in  corresponding  passages  in  the  other 
 gospels;  and  the  reality  of  the  memorable  scene  called 
 "the  transfiguration."  The  evidence  drawn  from 
 the  acknowledgment  of  Moses  by  the  Apostles  is 
 of  no  value  whatever.  It  is  clear  that  they  knew  no 
 more  about  the  remote  past  than  they  did  of  the 
 approaching  future.  There  was  scarcely  a  day  in 
 which  they  did  not  expect  the  second  coming  of  the 
 Saviour;  and  they,  who  were  so  grossly  wrong  on 
 such  a  point,  can  no  more  be  considered  as  testimony 
 for  the  reality  of  Moses  and  his  mission,  than  is  the 
 Rev.  Dr.  Gumming  for  the  truth  of  the  history  of 
 Balaam    and    of    the    disobedient   prophet. 
 
 Worthless  as  these  evidences  are  when  taken 
 separately,  they  do  not  gather  strength  by  being  alKed 
 together,  so  long  as  they  are  opposed  to  so  many 
 other  evidences  which  are  diametrically  contrary  to 
 them.  These  we  shall  now  proceed  to  examine  and 
 array,  much  in  the  same  manner  as  a  lawyer  would 
 prepare  a  brief,  in  a  case  where  the  testimony  is 
 wholly  circumstantial. 
 
348 
 
 The  first  witness  whicli  we  call  in  this  case  is  the 
 man  himself,  who,  being  for  forty  years  accustomed 
 to  talk  Egyptian,  and  for  forty  years  more,  the  tongue 
 of  Midian,  suddenly  learned  to  speak  Hebrew  at  eighty 
 years  of  age.  Throughout  the  Pentateuch,  there  is 
 not  an  idiom  which  is  not  Jewish,  not  a  cognomen 
 that  is  not  Hebrew,  and  only  one  epithet  that  is 
 Egyptian,  though  even  of  that  there  is  some  doubt. 
 The  writings  attributed  to  Moses  are  full  of  inconsis- 
 tencies and  contradictory  laws ;  circumcision  was 
 enforced  by  penalties,  yet  systematically  evaded ;  the 
 ordinances  attributed  to  the  Lord  are  imperfect ;  and 
 it  is  physically  impossible  that  the  details  of  the 
 history  said  to  be  given  by  him  can  be  correct. 
 Moreover,  we  believe  that  the  existence  of  this  law- 
 giver was  wholly  unknown  to  Samuel,  to  David, 
 and  to  Solomon  ;^*  and  that  he  is  only  spoken  of 
 in  those  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
 bear  internal  evidence  of  being  composed  at  a  very 
 late  date. 
 
 Still  farther,  we  have  evidence  of  Greek  influence 
 
 ^*  It  may  be  asserted  that  this  statement  is  opposed  to  such  passages  as  1  Kings 
 ii.  3,  wherein  David  refers  to  Moses  in  his  dying  charge,  and  1  Kings  viii.  53-56. 
 But  we  think  that  there  is  very  strong  evidence  to  prove  that  the  first  is  an  inter- 
 polation into  the  original  chronicle  of  David's  death ;  the  speech  of  the  departing 
 king  reads  better  without  the  verse  in  question  than  with  it.  Without  the  reference 
 to  Moses,  the  advice  to  Solomon  tallies  with  everything  which  we  learn  of  David's 
 life ;  whilst  for  that  king  to  refer  to  Moses  and  his  laws,  only  on  his  deathbed,  is  an 
 improbability  so  great  that  we  cannot  accept  it.  A  similar  remark  may  be  made 
 respecting  Solomon's  dedicatory  prayer.  We  have,  indeed,  no  evidence  that  this 
 composition  was  really  due  to  the  monarch  to  whom  it  is  attributed.  Throughout 
 the  story  of  the  building  of  the  temple,  no  reference  is  made  to  the  pre-existing 
 tabernacle,  or  to  the  plan  of  its  formation.  On  the  contrary,  we  learn  from 
 1  Chrou.  xxviii.  19,  and  from  the  general  tenour  of  1  Chron.  xxviii.  and  xxix.,  that 
 David  learned  the  plan  of  the  temple  by  divine  revelation,  and  prepared  for  it 
 accordingly.  Again,  Solomon,  at  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  sacrificed  on  a  high 
 place  at  Gibeon  (1  Kings  iii.  4);  and,  in  the  verse  preceding  this,  we  learn  that 
 "Solomon  loved  the  Lord,  walking  in  the  statutes  of  David  his  father,"  apparently 
 not  knowing  any  other  statutes  to  walk  in. 
 
349 
 
 in  Genesis/^  and  of  Babylonian  in  Joshua;®®  whilst 
 the  laws  respecting  kings  and  temple  worship,  found  in 
 the  Pentateuch,  could  only  have  been  composed  when 
 both  the  one  and  the  other  existed.  Again,  we  find, 
 that  names  of  modern  places,  unknown  in  the  early 
 times  form  part  of  the  Mosaic  narrative  ;  and  still 
 farther  we  see  that  all  the  kings,  both  of  Judah  and 
 Israel,  prior  to  the  time  of  Josiah,  knew  nothing  of 
 any  law  save  that  of  their  own  will. 
 
 As  we  have,  however,  already  written  much,  and 
 shall  have  to  say  more  on  this  subject,  we  will  sum 
 up  by  remarking,  that  it  is  our  belief  that  Moses  is  an 
 entirely  mythical  character,  who  played  amongst  the 
 Jews  precisely  the  same  role  as  Mormon  now  does 
 in  Salt  Lake  city.  I  believe  that  astute  priests 
 considered  it  would  be  better  for  the  nation,  and  for 
 their  own  order,  that  there  should  be  a  written  rather 
 than  a  despotic  law,  and  a  history  rather  than  pass- 
 ing legends.  When  such  a  resolution  was  taken, 
 there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  carrying  the  design 
 into  effect,  for  the  scribes  alone  practised  writing,  and 
 could  manufacture  a  story  just  as  easily  as  a  modern 
 noveHst;  a  very  little  chicanery  would  suffice  to 
 make  a  credulous  people  believe  that  a  new  manuscript 
 was  an  old  one;  and,  by  dint  of  reading  it  re- 
 peatedly, even  the  scribes  would  convince  themselves 
 of  the  truth  of  the  fiction  which  they  had  made.  See 
 Sabbath,  Pentateuch,  Kevelation,  Religion,  etc. 
 
 But  there  is  one  more  consideration  connected 
 with  Moses  and  his  writings  which  we  cannot  pass 
 by  in  silence,  inasmuch  as  it  is  most  intimately 
 connected  with  the  subject  of  revealed  religion.     It 
 
 **  See  Lamech  supra,  and  ^6  Joshua  vii.  21. 
 
350 
 
 is  this;  if  we  allow  ourselves  to  believe  that  *'the 
 law"  was  revealed  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai  by  the 
 Almighty  Himself,  we  must  either  conclude  that  He 
 did  not  then  know  what  was  best  for  man,  or  that 
 "the  second  dispensation"  does  not  come  from  Him. 
 I  see  no  means  whatever  whereby  to  escape  from 
 this  dilemma,  all  the  laboured  utterances  of  Paul 
 notwithstanding.  The  Apostles  quibble  upon  this 
 point,  but  they  are  nowhere  logical.  We  leave  our 
 readers  to  decide  upon  which  horn  of  the  dilemma 
 they  choose  to  take  their  seat. 
 Mylitta  is  the  name  given  by  Herodotus  to  a  Babylonian 
 goddess.  There  is  much  difficulty  in  understanding 
 the  strict  etymology  of  the  word  and  its  significa- 
 tion. The  Greek  historian  tells  us  that  it  is  the 
 same  goddess  as  the  Arabians  call  Alitta,  and  the 
 Persians  Mitra  (b.  i.,  c.  131).  Allata  is  the  name 
 given  (Ptawlinson's  Herod.,  vol.  i.,  p.  526)  to  one  of 
 the  Assyrian  goddesses,  and  Kawlinson  (vol.  i.,  p. 
 217)  considers  that  the  latter  name  may  simply  be 
 the  feminine  of  ^^,  i.  e.,  ^^''^,  altJia,  He  surmises 
 also  that  Mul  is  equivalent  to  Bel  or  Nin,  i.  e.,  a 
 Lord,  and  that  Muh  may  be  a  variant  of  Gula. 
 The  goddess  is  pictured  as  the  Virgin  and  child.  We 
 have  already,  under  the  word  Moladah,  given  some 
 reasons  for  the  belief  that  Mylitta  signified  the 
 celestial  virgin,  who  was  coarsely  typified  under  the 
 form  of  the  female  part,"  as  the  male  Creator  was 
 depicted  under  the  shape  of  the  male  organ.  When 
 prolonging   our    search   after   a    probable  origin,   we 
 
 If  the  reader  turns  to  p.  366,  Vol.  i,  Le  will  see  good  reason  for  accepting  this 
 surmise ;  for  the  style  of  worship  therein  depicted,  as  being  paid  to  Mylitta,  clearly 
 shows  that  she  was  identified  with  the  yoni,  since,  in  honouring  that,  the  goddess 
 was  supposed  to  be  propitiated. 
 
351 
 
 find   that   '^7t '^j    moladah   signifies    ** birth,"    and 
 nV70^  malatzah,  "she  is  lovely,  pleasant,  eloquent." 
 
 We  notice  also  "^^Y^,  melitzah,  "eloquence," 
 whence  we  may  derive  Melissa  (MeXjcrcra),  "  the  soother, 
 or  propitiator,"  whose  name  would  read  MsXtTTo.,  if  we. 
 made  the  exchange  so  common  amongst  the  Greeks 
 from  cro-  to  rr.  Melissa  was,  moreover,  a  surname  of 
 Artemis,  as  the  moon  goddess,  in  which  capacity 
 she  alleviated  the  sufiering  of  women  in  child-bed. 
 The  nymphs  who  nursed  the  infant  Zeus  were 
 called  "  Melissse,"  and  were  often  figured  as  bees ; 
 and  the  same  appellative  was  given  in  general  to  the 
 priestesses,  especially  those  of  Demeter."  (Smith's 
 Diet,  s.  V.)  Many  names  are  to  be  found  in  the 
 classical  writings  compounded  both  from  Melissa 
 and  Melite  (MsA/rrj),'^®  or  as  we  presume  from  Mylitta. 
 It  is  probable  that  the  myth  of  Melissa  being  the 
 discoverer  of  honey,  and  the  resemblance  of  her 
 name  to  that  of  the  goddess,  has  been  the  reason 
 why  bees  were  adopted  as  a  sacred  Figure  28. 
 
 emblem    by  the   Roman   Catholic 
 pontifi's.^^ 
 
 Associating  these  remarks  with 
 those  which  have  preceded.  Vol.  i. 
 pp.  89,  101,  102,  et  supra,  the 
 identification  between  this  goddess 
 and  the  Yoni  is  incontestable,  and 
 there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
 mystic  grove  (Figs.  1,  6, 16, 17,  vol. 
 I.)  represented  her  to  worshippers. 
 
 58  In  Plioenician,  tcbD,  malat,   signifies  a  refuge,  whence  MeKCrrt^  name  of  the 
 island  Malta,  which  means  KaTa<j)vyi^,  refuge,  as  Diodorus,  v.  12,  relates  (Fiirst,  s.v., 
 
 59  I  find  from  Norris,  Assyrian  Dictionary,  page  32,  that  alad  signifies  "  to 
 beget,  or  bring  forth;  "  Hebraice,  ir,  yalad.     We  may  presume  that  alaclah  would 
 
352 
 
 In    Figure   16,   reproduced    here,    the    goddess, 
 Figure  29.  standing  immediately 
 
 before  the  male  god, 
 is  Mylitta,  nnbiD,  60 
 the  first  being  at- 
 tended by  the  sun, 
 the  last  by  the  moon, 
 as  an  emblem.  It 
 is  copied  from  a  gem 
 in  the  collection  of 
 Mons.  Lajard,  plate 
 xix.,  fig.  6.  The 
 legend  is  in  the  Pehlvi  characters.®^ 
 Myrrh.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  we  find  throughout  the 
 worship  of  the  heathen  deities,  a  number  of  objects 
 which  are  consecrated  to  certain  gods,  for  no  other 
 reason  than  because  there  is  some  similarity  in  name 
 between  the  one  and  the  other ;  e.  g.,  "  The  mullet 
 is  attributed  to  Hecate  as  her  fish,  on  account  of  the 
 common  derivation  of  their  name;  for  Hecate  is 
 called  TpioSjTjj,  trioclitis,  as  presiding  over  places 
 where  three  roads  meet ;  and  TplyKr^vos,  trigleenos,  as 
 having  three  eyes ;  one  name  of  the  mullet  is  TplyoXa. 
 
 be  equivalent  to  "  she  produces,"  and  be  the  same  as  Alitta,  which  with  O,  m, 
 formative,  would  make  Ma-  or  My-litta,  Mylitta. 
 
 60  Mul-ta,  "  before  the  driving  one." 
 
 61  Since  writing  the  above,  Norris's  Assyrian  Dictionary,  part  first,  has 
 appeared,  and  on  p.  86  I  find  that  helit,  hilat,  hilti,  biltUja,  signify  "  Lady- 
 goddess,"  "my  lady;"  and  it  is  interesting  to  see  that  the  ancient  Assyrians 
 spoke  of  their  "  Lady  "  just  as  do  modern  Romanists  to-day.  In  one  inscription 
 Istar  or  Ishtar  is  called  "the  Lady  of  Warka;  "  in  another  she  is  called  "chief 
 of  the  great  deities,  the  lady  of  war  and  battle;"  in  another  she  is  "goddess" 
 or  "lady  of  heaven  and  earth,"  "the  lady  of  (?)  Warka,  Nana,"  etc.  Now  she 
 is  "my  lady,"  e.g.,  "I  built  a  house  for  my  lady,  hilti-ya ;"  and  again,  p.  117, 
 "in  honour  of  Istar  of  Agani,  my  lady  (Ulat-ya),  wells  {bin)  I  dug."  It  is 
 very  probable  that  this  hilit,  or  hilat,  or  hilti-ya  was  the  origin  of  the  word 
 which  Herodotus  rendered  Mylitta,  the  B  and  the  M  being  interchangeable 
 labials. 
 
853 
 
 trigola,  another  TplyKrt,  triglee.  And  on  similar 
 principles  they  assign  to  Apollo  the  fish  xl^apos, 
 kitharos,  from  xiQapa,  kithara  (harp),  and  the 
 /3oa^,  hoax,  to  Mercury  from  (Soaco,  hoao  (to  speak) ; 
 and  the  xittos,  kittos,  to  Bacchus,  from  kkto-os, 
 kissos,  ivy;  and  the  <$«A«p<j,  'phalaris,  to  Venus, 
 as  Aristophanes  in  his  Birds  says,  from  the 
 similarity  of  its  name  to  the  word  <$)aAAof,  phal- 
 los,  etc."  (Athenaeus.  Bohn's  edition,  pp.  511, 
 512.) 
 
 Amongst  sacred  offerings  was  myrrh,  the  Greek 
 word  for  which  is  a-fji^upvuv,  smurnan,  which,  though 
 it  gives  us  an  idea  about  the  origin  of  Smyrna, 
 conceals  the  reason  why  nb,  or  "lio,  mor,  myrrh, 
 was  one  of  the  offerings  made  to  the  Celestial 
 Virgin,  Miriam,  Mary,  or  Myrrha,  and  her  son 
 (Matthew  ii.  11).  But,  amongst  other  things  which 
 were  presented  to  such  gods  as  Asher  and  Ishtar, 
 were  cakes  or  effigies  in  wax,  which  were  repre- 
 sentatives of  the  male  or  female  organs ;  these  are 
 represented  in  Hebrew  by '^y'?,  maar ;  and  "myrrh" 
 was  sacred  to  the  goddess  or  god,  just  as  <^uXa.pis, 
 phalaris,  was  sacred  to  Venus.  No  one  can  for  a 
 moment  suppose  that  the  Magi,  who  came  to  adore 
 Jesus  and  his  mother,  were  Christians,  making 
 Christian  offerings ;  the  context  indeed  paints  them 
 as  Eastern  Asiatics,  and  they  are  represented  as 
 making  the  same  oblations  as  they  would  to  Mi- 
 thra,  Mylitta,  Mai-Mri,  or  Mriam,  in  their  own 
 district.  Such  offerings  were  made  to  the  infant 
 Christna  when  in  the  arms  of  his  mother  Maia,  as 
 in  Figure  30,  which  is  copied  from  Moor's  Hindu 
 Pantheon, 
 
 z 
 
N.  In  Hebrew  3  nun,  a  fish,  is  also  written  },  when  it 
 occurs  at  the  end  of  a  word.  The  letter  is  the  soft- 
 est of  the  nasal  sounds,  and  is  in  pronunciation 
 sometimes  dropped.  Being  a  liquid,  it  is  interchange- 
 able with  h  I  and  "<  y  or  j.  This  is  also  the  case  in  our 
 own  language,  for  I  have  met  with  individuals  who 
 pronounced  yes  as  na,  and  lion  as  nion.  "  The 
 letter  appears  to  be  largely  used  in  the  formation  of 
 nouns  and  verbs,  especially  in  its  prefixing  and  post- 
 fixing,  seldom  in  its  insertion In  noun  building, 
 
 nun  is  used  as  a  formative  and  prosthetic  only  in 
 proper  names,  as  in  ^0^^?,  Nlhhaz It  also  ap- 
 pears  as    a    postfix    to    form    adjectives,    concretes 
 
on   m 
 
 855 
 
 and  abstracts,  as  an  in  P^N  and  others;  as 
 P\n^^,  Aharon,  and  others;  sometimes  as  en,  e.g., 
 in  1^3,  hoshen.  More  rare  is  the  ending  p  hi,  e.  g. 
 V'^P,  kazln.  To  the  terminations  ])  and  }i  belong 
 the  function  of  diminishing,  as  in  l-nf;,  jeshurun. 
 With  respect  to  the  building  of  stems  out  of  organic 
 roots,  the  liquid  nun  is  used,  (1)  to  enlarge  the  root 
 at  the  beginning,  (2)  to  enlarge  it  at  the  end,  (3) 
 in  the  middle,  by  which  means  naked  simple  roots 
 become  stems"  (Fiirst). 
 
 In  the  ancient  Hebrew,  this   letter  was  written 
 
 y ;  in  Pha^nician,  ^ ?  ^?  V?  /7,  ^  ;  in  the 
 
 Carthaginian,     /  )  /  j    /    ;    in    ancient   Greek, 
 /'/      iA^',  in  Etruscan,  "^  ,h  ,H ,/?  ,li\ 
 
 in   Umbrian,  H,  V\;  in   Oscan   and   Samnite,  1h  , 
 
 y\i  f] ;  in   Volscian,   Fahscan   and  Roman,  /SJ  ; 
 
 in  Italia  Superior  ^ ;  in  modern  Greek,  N  v. 
 Naaman,  i^W  (Gen.  xlvi.  21),  "the  gi-acious  one."  The 
 persistence  of  this  name  unchanged  from  the  times 
 of  Jacob,— for  it  is  borne  by  a  son  of  Benjamin  during 
 the  life  of  that  patriarch,— down  to  the  times  imme- 
 diately preceding  the  dispersion  of  Israel,  when 
 it  was  borne  by  a  Syrian  captain,  is  of  itself 
 a  very  suspicious  occurrence,  and  leads  us  to  infer 
 that  the  portion  of  Genesis  in  which  the  cognomen 
 occurs,  and  the  very  pretty  story  of  Naaman,  his 
 wife,  the  little  maid,  and  Elisha,  were  written  about 
 the  same  period,  if  not  by  the  same  hand. 
 
 I  can  well  remember  the  time  when  I  beo-an  to 
 
356 
 
 recognise  the  fact  that  fairy  tales  were  fictitious.  To 
 this  conclusion  I  was  driven  by  the  impossibility  of 
 the  occurrences  recorded,  and  by  repetitions  of  con- 
 versations in  them  which  the  interlocutors  only  could 
 have  heard.  Again,  when  promoted  in  my  class,  and 
 obliged  to  read  Virgil  and  Livy,  I  can  remember 
 asking  the  '  master,'  how  either  one  or  the  other 
 could  record  the  conversations  of  individuals  which 
 took  place  hundreds  of  years  ago,  and  many  a  long 
 league  away  from  the  chronicler  ?  I  was  then  told 
 that  poets  and  historians  allowed  themselves  to  fabri- 
 cate such  dialogues,  or  speeches,  as  they  imagined  the 
 characters  ought  to  have  made.  When  I  pursued  the 
 matter  farther,  I  found  that  every  novel  reader 
 regarded  the  conversation  between  the  various  cha- 
 racters introduced  into  the  story,  simply  as  a  means 
 of  making  the  individuals  life-like.  No  one  sup- 
 poses a  romance  to  bo  real,  because  the  confidential 
 utterances  of  Romeo  and  Juliet  are  circumstantially 
 reported.  Still  farther,  the  majority  recognise  the 
 truth  of  the  proposition,  that  a  narrative  whose  inte- 
 rest is  built  on  conversations,  which  could  not  have 
 been  overheard  or  reported  must  be  regarded 
 as  untrue.  My  next  remembrance  is  of  asking  my 
 parents,  and  every  clergyman  who  ever  stayed  with 
 my  father — and  they  were  very  numerous — how  they 
 could  explain  the  introduction  of  a  conversation  be- 
 tween a  Syrian  lady  and  her  maid,  into  the  narrative 
 of  Naaman  and  his  cure  ?  I  could  readily  recognise 
 that  my  question  was  a  puzzling  one ;  but  I  was 
 uniformly  answered  that  the  inspired  writer  of  the 
 story  was  told  all  the  particulars  of  the  case  by  God 
 Himself.  With  this  answer  I  was  obliged  to  be 
 content. 
 
357 
 
 When  farther  advanced  in  years,  my  faith  in  the 
 story  of  the  Koman  kings  was  rudely  shaken ;  and 
 I  felt  at  length  compelled  to  abandon  my  belief 
 in  the  courageous  William  Tell,  whose  valour  every 
 schoolboy  used  to  admire.  But  a  long  time  passed 
 before  I  ventured  even  to  suspect  the  Bible  stories  of 
 Joseph  and  his  brethren,  and  of  Naaman  and  the  little 
 maid.  There  is  something  so  touching  in  these  rela- 
 tions, that  we  cannot  help  wishing  them  to  be  true. 
 The  Jewish  slave,  chatting  with  her  Syrian  mistress, 
 perchance  whilst  dressing  her  hair  after  a  visit  of 
 Naaman  to  his  harem,  is  constantly  given  as  an 
 example  of  the  effect  of  faith  upon  a  heathen ;  and 
 the  interview  between  the  Syrian  captive  and  the 
 Hebrew  prophet  is  regarded  as  being  sublime  in  its 
 simplicity.  But,  alas !  our  interest  is  wholly  destroyed 
 when  we  recognise  the  narrative  as  a  fiction,  made 
 in  Judea,  to  demonstrate  that  Jehovah,  whose  power 
 did  not  appear  in  Jerusalem  to  be  great,  had  been 
 showing  wondrous  deeds  in  Samaria.  Elisha  was 
 to  Jerusalem,  what  Prester  John  was  for  Kome  in 
 modern  times.  We  see  the  evidences  of  fiction  in 
 the  following  minute  particulars.  The  Jewish  maid, 
 when  talking  with  her  Syrian  mistress,  must  have 
 used  the  Syriac  tongue,  which,  we  know,  was  difierent 
 from  the  Hebrew,  and,  as  we  learn  from  2  Kings 
 xviii.  26,  not  understood  by  the  common  people. 
 This  conversation  then  is  given  in  Hebrew,  and,  as 
 it  is  clear  that  no  Judsean  was  either  in  the  chamber 
 of  Naaman 's  wife,  or  in  the  court  of  the  Syrian 
 Idng,  it  is  certain  that  no  report  of  the  respective 
 speeches    of    the   interlocutors    could    be   given. 
 
 Again,  it  is  improbable  in  the  highest  degree  that 
 the  Judsean  narrator   had   any  spy  at   the  court   of 
 
358 
 
 Samaria,  who  could  read  the  Syrian  letter®^  so  as  to 
 listen  to  and  know  its  contents,  and  report  the  rend- 
 ing of  the  king's  clothes,  and  all  the  words  which 
 he  uttered.  Still  farther,  our  credulity  is  taxed  by 
 the  details  of  the  interview  between  Naaman  and  his 
 attendants.  We  cannot  conceive  how  any  Hebrew 
 could  hear  the  colloquy  which  took  place,  in  Syriac, 
 between  the  captain  and  his  servants,  nor  his  subse- 
 quent conversation  with  Elisha.  Nor  can  we  credit  the 
 details  of  the  scene  between  Elisha  and  Gehazi.  It 
 is  true  that  at  the  end  of  the  story  EHsha  appears  as 
 if  he  were  omniscient,  and  might  have  been  able  to 
 recite  these  details ;  but  we  cannot,  even  then, 
 see  how  they  would  reach  a  writer  in  Jerusalem. 
 There  is  yet  another  objection  to  be  noticed.  In  the 
 last  verse  of  the  story,  Gehazi  is  blasted  with  leprosy, 
 which  is  to  continue  in  his  descendants.  But, 
 not  long  after  this,  we  are  told  that  this  leprous 
 Gehazi  was  intimate  with  Israel's  king,  who  conversed 
 with  him  gossipingly  (2  Kings  viii.  4).  But  when 
 we  consider  the  detestation  in  which  lepers  were  held 
 (see  2  Kings  vii.  3,  4),  and  the  strict  law  which 
 excluded  them  from  society  (Lev.  xiii.  46, ''^  Num.  v. 
 2  and  7),  we  cannot  imagine  that  one  afflicted  with 
 such  a  complaint  as  leprosy,  and  who  had  always 
 been  in  a  servile  condition,  would  be  admitted  to 
 the  royal  presence. 
 
 Adding  all  these  considerations  together,  we  are 
 inclined  to  place  no  more  faith  in  this  religious  tale, 
 than  we  put  in  the  pathetic  narrative  of  Beauty  and 
 the  Beast,  or  the  White  Mouse,  where  eating  a  rose,  an 
 
 62  2  Kings  V.  1-27. 
 
 63  This  involves  the  idea  either  that  the  Mosaic  law  against  leprosy  was  not 
 known,  or  was  disregarded,  by  the  Iring  of  Israel. 
 
359 
 
 apple,  or  some  other  esculent  replaces  a  bath  in  the 
 river  Jordan.  As  fairy  tales  are  said  to  have  occurred 
 "  once  upon  a  time,"  and  a  long  way  off,  no  one  can 
 examine  their  truth.  So  it  is  with  religious  mira- 
 cles; they  are  always  represented  to  have  been 
 performed  at  such  a  distance  of  time  and  place,  that 
 no  one  can  either  verify  or  refute  them,  except  upon 
 internal  evidence. 
 Nahash,  £^™  (1  Sam.  xi.  1).  This  word  gives  us  an 
 insight  into  the  association  of  ideas  which  prevailed 
 in  ancient  times.  It  signifies  "a  serpent."  Yet 
 there  is  nothing  very  particular  about  serpents  in 
 general ;  but  some,  the  cobra  in  India,  and  the 
 asp  in  Egypt,  for  example,  have  the  peculiarity 
 of  being  able  to  raise  and  distend  themselves,  thus 
 becoming  erect.  Hence,  either  or  both  of  these 
 creatures  were  emblematic  of  male  activity,  and 
 covertly  represented  the  phallus.  The  same  word 
 signifies  "a  serpent,"  and  "to  be  hard  or  firm;" 
 and  this  again  is  associated  with  nahash,  "to  be 
 unclean,  or  adulterous."  Moreover,  the  serpent,  being 
 an  emblem  of  divine  power,  neither  roars,  bleats,  nor 
 sings ;  it  simply  hisses.  As  we  find  from  the 
 account  given  by  Lucian,  of  "  Alexander,  the  false 
 prophet,"  that  serpents  were  supposed  to  utter  oracles, 
 those  who  taught  the  credulous  to  believe  so  uttered 
 words  of  their  own  therefore,  in  a  hissing  manner; 
 hence  the  same  nahash  expressed  "to  whisper,"  "to 
 give  an  oracle,"  and  "an  omen."  It  also  signified 
 "brass,  or  copper,"  possibly  from  there  being  some 
 similarity  in  the  varying  tints  which  those  metals 
 assume  whilst  cooling  after  being  melted,  and  the 
 hues  on  the  scaly  surface  of  snakes. 
 
 A  propos  of  the  serpent;  the  mind  of  the  thought- 
 
360 
 
 ful  reader  of  Scripture  is  struck  by  the  fact  that 
 the  same  Moses,  who,  amidst  the  thunders  of  Sinai, 
 was  forbidden  to  make  any  graven  image,  or  likeness 
 of  anything  in  the  heaven  above,  or  in  the  earth 
 beneath,  or  in  the  water  under  the  earth  (Exod.  xx.  4), 
 should  be  told  by  the  same  authority  to  make  a  ser- 
 pent of  brass,  which  was  not  only  the  emblem  of 
 life,  but  was  to  become  itself  a  life-giver,  and  remain 
 for  many  succeeding  centuries  an  object  of  veneration 
 to  the  faithful.^*  Amongst  heathen  nations  we  are  not 
 surprised  at  the  deification  of  the  serpent ;  but  we  do 
 wonder  at  its  promotion  amongst  the  worshippers  of 
 Jehovah.  We  strongly  suspect,  however,  that  the 
 episode  mentioned  in  Num.  xxi.  6-9,  had  no  real 
 existence,  and  was  introduced  into  the  narrative  to 
 account  for  the  worship  of  some  brazen  serpent ;  the 
 historian  forgetting,  in  his  zeal,  that  the  means  for 
 making  the  effigy  of  such  a  creature  in  brass  could  not 
 readily  be  found  in  the  desert. 
 
 There  is,  however,  another  point  connected  with 
 this  serpent  of  Moses,  which  we  cannot  pass  by  in 
 silence.  Let  us  take  for  granted  that  "Nehushtan" 
 existed  in  the  time  of  Hezekiah,  and  that  it  was  said 
 to  be  the  serpent  which  Moses  made  in  the  wilderness. 
 We  next  transform  ourselves  in  idea  into  archae- 
 ologists of  the  time  of  the  son  of  Ahaz.  Before  us 
 we  see  something  that  passes  for  a  venerable  relic. 
 It  is  said  to  have  been  fabricated  by  Moses,  at  the 
 direct  command  of  God.  It  is  a  witness  for  the  truth 
 of  the  Mosaic  narrative,  and,  as  a  relic,  to  the  full  as 
 valuable  as  a  bit  of  the  wood  of  the  true  cross,  the 
 nails  which  pierced  the  feet  and  hands  of  Christ,  or 
 
 W  2  Kings  xviii.  4. 
 
361 
 
 the  handkerchief  which  wiped  his  face  on  his  way  to 
 Calvary.  Yet  though  of  such  value,  as  a  relic  of 
 Moses,  it  was  ruthlessly  destroyed  by  Hezekiah, 
 the  king ;  thus  indicating,  either  that  he  did  not  know 
 the  Mosaic  story,  or,  knowing  it,  disbelieved  the  narra- 
 tive of  the  brazen  serpent. 
 
 We  ask  then  is  the  tale  of  Nehushtan  trust- 
 worthy? In  the  original  story,  we  find  that  Moses 
 made  a  serpent  of  brass  in  the  wilderness  (Num. 
 xxi.  6-9),  and  the  words — "brass  in  the  wilderness," 
 arrest  our  attention.  We  pass  in  review  the  travels 
 in  the  track  of  the  Israelites  which  have  been  pub- 
 lished ;  but  cannot  recal  a  single  spot  where  brass, 
 materials  for  a  furnace  and  for  a  mould  could  be  pro- 
 cured. Mount  Hor  and  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea 
 are  hot,  but  the  sun's  rays,  even  in  India,  will  not 
 melt  brass.  The  first  consideration,  therefore,  which 
 staggers  the  archseologists  is  the  improbability  that 
 serpents  of  any  kind,  a  furnace,  or  materials  for 
 a  casting  in  brass,  could  be  found  along  the  shores 
 of  the  Red  Sea,  or  in  the  desert. 
 
 In  the  next  place,  our  imaginary  committee  ask 
 themselves,  whether  Moses  sanctioned  the  removal 
 of  the  brazen  serpent  from  the  place  where  he  set  it 
 up?  If  the  law -giver,  during  his  life -time,  and 
 Joshua  after  him,  carried  the  wonderful  effigy  about 
 with  them  in  their  wanderings,  and  both  were 
 equally  taught  of  God,  what  right  had  a  modern 
 Hezekiah  to  destroy  a  relic  which  Moses  himself  had 
 consecrated  ?  Such  an  act  would  resemble  the  solemn 
 degradation  of  the  cross  in  modern  days  as  an  emblem 
 of  the  Saviour.  What  was  right  in  Moses'  time  could 
 not  be  wrong  in  the  time  of  the  son  of  Ahaz. 
 
 The  probable  answer  to  this  would  be,  that  the 
 
362 
 
 relic  was  destroyed  because  it  had  become  an  object 
 of  veneration,  thus  calling  attention  away  from  the 
 one  invisible  Creator.  But,  although  we  do  not 
 object  to  the  tenor  of  this  reply,  we  think  that  there 
 is  another  reason  for  the  destruction  of  the  serpent, 
 far  more  cogent,  which  we  may  thus  present. 
 
 Assuming,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  Moses 
 gave  Nehushtan  into  the  hands  of  Joshua,  and  that  he 
 safely  kept  it,  we  cannot  proceed  farther,  and  believe 
 that  it  was  preserved  during  the  numberless  plunder- 
 ings  of  the  Jews  for  some  hundreds  of  years  in  the 
 time  of  the  Judges.  We  cannot  for  a  moment  sup- 
 pose that  it  could  have  escaped  the  ravages  of  the 
 Midianites.  We  find  no  mention  made  of  such  a 
 relic  in  the  days  of  David  or  of  Solomon ;  nor, 
 indeed,  do  we  hear  of  its  existence  until  it  is  de- 
 stroyed by  Hezekiah.  But,  between  the  time  of 
 Solomon  and  that  of  Hezekiah,  idolatrous  practices 
 of  every  kind  had  grown  up,  and,  as  a  certain  accom- 
 paniment to  an  increase  of  superstition,  the  priest- 
 hood had  augmented  their  numbers.  When  ignor- 
 ance and  superstition  gradually  fix  their  hold  upon 
 the  mind,  there  is  a  steady  demand  for  materials  for 
 veneration,  and  relics,  charms,  and  amulets  come 
 into  use.  We  have  seen  this  in  Europe,  during  the 
 middle  ages ;  and  the  propensity  still  exists  amongst 
 the  Christian  heathens  of  Italy  and  Spain.  At  the 
 bidding  of  the  Church,  the  earth  has  disclosed  the 
 identical  cross  upon  which  Jesus  Christ  was  crucified, 
 the  nails  that  pierced  his  hands,  and  the  thorns 
 which  tore  his  brow.  Yea,  so  very  powerful  has  been 
 the  Christian  hierarchy,  that,  at  their  command,  the 
 staircase  of  Pilate's  house  in  Jerusalem,  up  which 
 the  weary  feet  of  the  Saviour  trod,  came  through  the 
 
363 
 
 air,  and  settled  down  at  Rome,  where  it  may  now  be 
 seen  covered  by  the  kneeling  bodies  of  the  faithful. 
 How  many  relics  there  were  in  Scotland,  at  or  before 
 the  days  of  John  Knox,  we  cannot  say ;  but  we  are 
 told  that  there  was  an  image  of  St.  Giles,  which  was 
 held  peculiarly  sacred ;  and  this  we  know  to  have  been 
 ruthlessly  destroyed  by  the  followers  of  that  reformer.  ^^ 
 Amongst  other  things,  these  same  iconoclasts  de- 
 stroyed numberless  crosses,  not  because  they  were 
 in  themselves  unchristian,  but  from  the  feeling  that 
 it  was  not  right  for  men  to  have  any  visible  image  of 
 the  invisible  God.  It  does  not  require  a  great 
 amount  of  imagination  to  believe  that  the  Protestants 
 of  England  would  gladly  purge  Kome  of  her  fictitious 
 relics.  Scant  respect  would  any  one  feel  for  a  rusty 
 nail,  because  some  monk  or  other  had  said  that  it  had 
 been  brought  to  him  by  an  angel. 
 
 From  the  foregoing  considerations,  we  are  induced 
 to  believe  that  Nehushtan  was  a  fabricated  image, 
 found  by  some  priest,  much  after  the  same  fashion 
 that  St.  Helena  discovered  the  true  cross.  Those  that 
 hide  can  always  find  what  they  conceal,  and  he  who 
 fabricates  an  idol  can  readily  invent  a  story  whereby 
 to  give  the  figment  honour.  We  do  not  doubt  that 
 some  Jewish  hierarch,  knowing  the  sanctity  of  the 
 serpent  emblem  in  Egypt,  determined  to  introduce  it 
 into  Judea,  and  to  this  end  either  purchased  one  in 
 that  country,  or  made  one  himself;  and  tbat  he  then 
 buried  it  in  some  convenient  spot.  Whilst  the 
 idol  lay  there,  its  maker  added  to  the  existing  writings 
 a  new  episode,  which  has  come  down  to  us,  in  the 
 guise  of  a  sacred  story,  in  the  twenty-first  chapter  of 
 
 ^5  See  Tico  Bahylons,  or  Nivirod  and  the  Papacy,   p.  248,   et  seq.,  by  Kev. 
 A.  Hislop,  Ediubui-gh,  1862;  a  book  which  will  well  repay  perusal. 
 
364 
 
 Numbers.  When  this  had  been  promulgated,  the 
 priest  dreamed,  and  in  his  vision  saw  where  lay  the 
 miraculous  figure,  which,  like  the  scala  santa,  had 
 come  through  the  air,  from  the  desert  to  the  Holy 
 City.  To  that  spot  he  would  go  with  some  witnesses, 
 and  find  what  he  had  hidden,  looking  even  as  new  as 
 when  Moses  made  it,  which,  of  course,  heightened 
 the  miracle.  To  this  serpent,  doubtless,  many  an 
 impotent  man  would  resort.  But  when  the  high 
 priest,  under  whose  influence  Hezekiah  acted,  found 
 that  the  worship  of  Nehushtan  interfered  with  him,  he 
 ruthlessly  ordained  its  destruction.  Such  is  the  view 
 we  entertain  of  the  story  and  the  relic. 
 Nahbi,  ^?'7-  (Num.  xiii.  14).  We  meet  with  this  name  as 
 existent  amongst  the  Israelites  in  Egypt,  for  it  is 
 borne  by  one  of  the  spies  sent  by  Moses  to  view 
 the  promised  land.^®  We  have  already  dwelt  fully 
 upon  the  derivation  of  this  word  and  its  signification, 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  124,  and  pointed  out  that  the  word  is 
 apparently  of  Aryan  origin,  and  adopted  by  the 
 Babylonians.  How  it  could  have  entered  into 
 Jewish  nomenclature  while  the  people  were  in 
 Egypt,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  if  we  consider  the 
 current  history  of  the  Bible  to  be  true.  It  is  not 
 difficult,  however,  to  surmise  how  the  word  did 
 appear,  if  we  adopt  the  theory,  more  consonant 
 with  sound  sense  than  with  orthodoxy,  viz.,  that 
 a  large  part  of  the  early  history  of  the  Hebrews 
 was  written  at  a  late  period  of  their  existence,  and 
 when   the   authors  were  so  familiar  with  the  use  of 
 
 66  Fiirst  remarks  that  this  name  is  generally  derived  from  njn, /laJaA, '  pro- 
 tector;' but  better  from  in:  nahah,  and  n\  "  Jah  is  consolation  ;"  but  he  also  says 
 s.  V.  inj,  naliab,  that  this  word  signifies  '  to  breathe  out,  to  groan  aloud,  to  snort,' 
 transfeiTed  to  the  expression  of  strong  sensuous  feelings,  as  repentance  and  conso- 
 lation.    Not  being  able  to  accept  this  explanation,  I  propound  the  one  in  the  text. 
 
365 
 
 certain  Babylonian  words,  that  they  had  no  thought 
 of  the  significance  which  the  subsequent  critic 
 might  attach  to  them.  Anachronisms  are  fatal  to 
 the  pretensions  of  an  infallible  historian,  and  few 
 can  doubt  that  the  name  in  question  must  come 
 into  the  category.  The  following  is  an  extract 
 from  one  of  Wilford's  Essays,  Asiatic  Besearches,  vol. 
 iii.,  p.  363,  "  The  navel,  nahhi,  of  Vishnu,  by  which 
 the  OS  tincce  (the  mouth  of  the  womb)  is  meant, 
 is  worshipped  as  one  and  the  same  with  the 
 sacred  Yoni.  This  emblem,  too,  was  Egyptian, 
 and  the  mystery  seems  to  have  been  solemnly 
 typified,  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  by  the 
 vast  iimhilicus,  made  of  stone,  and  carried  by  eighty 
 men  in  a  boat,  which  represented  the  fossa  navi- 
 cularis.  Such,  I  believe,  was  the  mystical  boat 
 of  Isis,  which,  according  to  Lactantius,  was  adored 
 in  Egypt.^^  An  umbilicus  of  white  marble  was 
 kept  at  Delphi,  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  temple, 
 where  it  was  carefully  wrapped  up  in  cloth.  "®^ 
 
 Amongst  the  Greeks,  'oiM<pc>K\6§,  omphallos,  signi- 
 fied the  navel ;  but  it  also  was  the  name  given  to 
 the  round  boss  on  the  shields  commonly  worn. 
 The  first  we  have  seen  was  a  sort  of  euphemism  for 
 the  yoni.  Hence  the  myth  that  Hercules  was  in  his 
 youth  a  slave  to  Omphale,  who  prevented  him  from 
 putting  forth  his  strength  in  war  ;  which  reads 
 to  moderns  the  advice,  that  indulgence  of  passion 
 in  early  life  saps  the  strength  and  vigour  of  man- 
 hood. The  second  gives  us  a  clue  to  the  use  of 
 certain  sacred  shields  ;  see  Figs.  68,  69,  70,  p.  164, 
 Vol.  I.     We  are  told  (1  Kings  x.  17)  that  Solomon 
 
 67  Lactant.,  Divin.  Instit.,  1.  i.,  c.  2. 
 68  Strabo,  b.  ix.,  420. 
 
866 
 
 made  three  hundred  shields  of  beaten  gold,  a  strange 
 material  for  a  warlike  implement ;  but  when  we 
 find,  from  2  Chron.  xii.  9,  10,  11,  that  they  were 
 used  only  when  the  king  went  to  worship,  we  can 
 recognise  their  mystic,  rather  than  their  defensive 
 value. 
 
 If  we  turn  to  ancient  Rome,  we  see  a  some- 
 what similar  use  of  shields.  Livj^  tells  us,  that,  in 
 the  earliest  days  of  that  city,  there  were  certain 
 sacred  shields,  "  ancilia,"  which,  were  given  into  the 
 especial  keeping  of  the  priests  of  Mars  (Liv.  1.  25, 
 v.  52).  In  later  times,  we  find  the  Templars, 
 amongst  whom  there  was  a  vast  amount  of  know- 
 ledge as  to  ancient  mysteries,  using  shields  of  very 
 peculiar  shape.  In  form  they  resembled  the  sistrum 
 of  Isis,  without  the  bars  (Fig.  70,  p.  164,  Vol.  i.),  and 
 in  their  centre  was  placed  an  umbo,  or  'oiu^uXKoc, 
 which  typified  the  sacred  navel.  It  is  tolerably 
 certain,  that  one  form  of  shield  had  a  strong  resem- 
 blance to  the  abdomen  and  navel  of  a  pregnant 
 woman,  while  another,  with  the  central  boss,  resem- 
 bled the  OS  tincfE.  The  navel,  or  nalibi,  is  connected 
 with  another  symbol,  the  boat  or  ark.  Both  in 
 India  and  Egypt,  the  lotus  flower,  shaped  some- 
 what like  a  boat,  has  been  held  as  a  representative 
 of  the  divinity,  ' '  the  whole  plant  signifying  both  the 
 earth  and  the  two  principles  of  its  fecundation.  The 
 germ  is  both  Mcru  and  the  linga,  the  petals  and 
 filaments   are   the   mountains   which   encircle  Meru, 
 
 and  are  also   a  type  of  the  yoni." "Another  of 
 
 the  Hindoo  and  Egj'ptian  emblems  is  called  Argha,^^ 
 which  means  a  cup  or  dish,   or  any  other  vessel  in 
 
 See  Figs.  11,  12,  page  222,  supra. 
 
367 
 
 which  fruit  and  flowers  are  offered  to  the  deities, 
 and  which  02<///<i  always  to  be  shaped  like  a  boat.''... 
 "Iswara  has  the  title  of  Arganatha,  or  'the  Lord  of 
 the  boat-shaped  vessel ; '  a  rim  round  the  argha 
 represents  the  mysterious  yoiu,  and  the  navel  of 
 Vishnu  is  commonly  denoted  by  a  convexity  in  the 
 centre,  while  the  contents  of  the  vessel  are  symbols 
 of  the  linga,"  etc.,  etc.  Asiatic  Researches,  Vol.  iii., 
 p.  364. 
 
 It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  all  the  conceits 
 which  have  been  associated  with  the  navel,  the  ship, 
 the  ark  and  the  anchor,  and  how  an  anchor,  whose 
 stock,  encircled  by  the  serpent  originally,  was  a 
 mystic  emblem  of  the  yoni  and  the  linga,  has,  under 
 modern  manipulation,  become  a  Christian  sjinbol : 
 but  we  have  not  space  sufiicient  at  command  to 
 indulge  in  them.^° 
 
 Nahor,  I'^n:  (Gen.  xi.  22),  "  Light."  Gesenius  gives,  as  the 
 meaning  of  this  word,  "breathing  hard,  or  snorting," 
 and  Fiirst,  "a  piercer,  or  slaj'er."  It  is  more  con- 
 sonant with  probability  to  read  it  as  '^'^^},  nahor, 
 a  Chaldee  word  signifying  "Hght." 
 
 Naphtali,  ''l^^l  (Gen.  xxx.  8).  There  is  great  difficulty  in 
 assigning  a  probable  meaning  to  this  word.  The 
 usual  interpretations,  "  my  strife,"  or  "  wi-estlings," 
 
 70  Since  writing  the  above,  my  friend  ^Ir.  Newton  has  been  good  enough  to  copy 
 the  following  statement,  fi-om  the  Journal  of  Sacred  Lit eratitre,  October,  1866. — 
 "  About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  a  sei-ious  heresy  arose  in  the  Greek 
 Church.  Its  authors  were  certain  weak-minded  Monks  of  Mount  Athos,  whose 
 brains  were  turned  by  long  and  frequent  fastings.  They  imagined  that  they  saw 
 upon  their  navel  the  light  of  Mount  Tabor,  and  spent  their  time  in  contemplating 
 it !  They  pretended  further  that  this  light  was  uncreated,  being  no  other  than  God 
 himself.  The  famous  !Monk  Bai-laam  opposed  them,  and  got  an  assembly  convened 
 at  Constantinople  against  them,  little  aware  that  he  himself  would  be  condemned 
 there.  The  Emperor  Andronicns  Paleologus  harangued  the  pretended  council  with 
 so  much  vehemence,  that  he  died  a  few  hours  after;  an  exit  worthy  such  an 
 Emperor  !  " 
 
368 
 
 or  "wrestling  of  Jali,"  cannot  be  adopted  by  any 
 unbiassed  critic.  In  seeking  for  another,  we  are 
 guided  by  the  fact  that  Eeuben,  Dan,  Gad,  and 
 Asher,  are  names  similar  to,  or  compounded  with, 
 those  of  Phen  deities.  Now  amidst  the  offspring  of 
 Mizraim,  given  in  Genesis  x.  13,  was  Naphtuhim, 
 D'^nns:^  or  'N£(pQu\sljx,  Nephtlialim  ;  and,  assuming  the 
 father  to  be  Egyptian,  we  seek  for  an  Egyptian  root 
 for  the  name  of  the  descendant.  Under  this  name, 
 Gesenius  tells  us,  on  the  authority  of  Bochart,  Jab- 
 lonski,  and  Michaelis,  that  there  was  a  goddess 
 amongst  the  Eg}^3tians,  called  'Ns/^Svg,  Nephthus,  who 
 was  represented  as  the  wife  of  Typhon,  and  to  whom 
 those  parts  of  Egypt  bordering  on  the  Red  Sea  were 
 consecrated.  Under  the  word  ^^^l  naphtoh,  Fiirst 
 tells  us  that  it  signifies  "  middle  Egypt,"  where  the 
 deity  Ptach,  or  PJitach,  was  worshipped,  i.e.  "the 
 habitation  of  Ptoach,"  ^^^,  which  symbolised  the  pro- 
 ductive generating  world-power."  Naphtoach  may  be, 
 he  adds,  a  Coptic  formation,  Na-phthah,  i.  e.  that 
 belonging  to  Phtha ;  so  that  it  would  be  people  and 
 land  together.     Neptoah  was  a  Hebrew  name. 
 
 From  these  considerations,  we  come  to  the  conclu- 
 sion that  Naphtali  is  a  variant  of  some  Egyptian 
 name  resembling  that  which  the  LXX  translate  Ns^- 
 flaXelju,.  Or,  taking  Neptoah  for  "  the  vulva,"  we  may 
 presume  that  the  addition  of  7^,  eli,  would  be  abbre- 
 viated into  neptohll,  naphtali,  or  napthali,  which 
 would  be  equivalent  to  "  The  Yoni  is  my  God,"  =  "I 
 worship  the  Celestial  Virgin." 
 Ner,  ■>?.  (1  Sam.  xiv.  50),  "A  light-giving  thing,"  or  "light," 
 possibly  a  variant  of  the  Sanscrit  noor,  or  nour.     A 
 
 71  HE,  2J0f/t,  signifies  "a  hole,"  "thevuZfa." 
 
369 
 
 name  witli  whicli  we  are  familiar,  as  Nourmahal,  "  the 
 light  of  the  harem,"  is  the  title  of  a  story  in  the 
 Arabian  Nights ;  and  Koh-i-noor,  ''the  mountain  of 
 light,"  is  the  name  of  a  very  celebrated  diamond. 
 We  meet  with  the  word  in  composition  with  ah,  in 
 Abner  =  ''the  father  is  light."  A  meaning  very 
 commonly  assigned  to  the  word  "•?.  is  "  a  lamp."  And 
 we  cannot  remember  without  interest  that,  when  the 
 emblems  of  the  Almighty  appeared  to  Abraham  (Gen. 
 XV.  17),  they  are  described  as  a  "  smoking  furnace," 
 i-IS^,  tannur,  and  "a  burning  lamp,"  ^''r'i,  lap'id, 
 words  which  tally,  both  in  name  and  in  idea,  with 
 Abner,  and  Ner,  and  Nour. 
 Nergal,  ^5^?.  (2  Kings  xvii.  30).  This  name  is  given  by 
 the  historian  to  one  of  the  numerous  gods  amongst 
 the  Assyrians ;  or,  perhaps,  with  greater  propriety, 
 we  might  designate  it  as  one  of  the  many  appellatives 
 of  the  Supreme  Being.  It  is  supposed  that  Nergal 
 was  equivalent  to  the  Koman  Mars,  who  was  himself 
 identical  with  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  and  who  recalls  the 
 passage  to  our  mind,  "  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war ; 
 the  Lord  is  his  name;"  Jehovah  being  the  Lord 
 spoken  of  (Exod.  xv.  3).  We  conclude,  therefore, 
 that  Nergal  no  more  differs  from  II,  Jahu,  Ashee, 
 &c.,  than  "the  Omnipresent"  is  a  different  Being 
 from  "  the  Omnipotent,"  and  the  "  Omniscient." 
 
 Amongst  Nergal's  titles,  as  read  by  Rawlinson, 
 is  "  the  strong  begetter,"  which  leads  us  to  the  belief 
 that  his  name  is  derived  from  words  resembling 
 the  Hebrew  ^'}1,  narag,  and  '*?  el,  signifjiug  "El 
 bores,  or  thrusts,"  also  "El  crushes,  or  murders." 
 It  will  also  be  recollected  that  Mars  is  represented 
 as  being  equally  powerful  in  love,  as  relentless  in 
 battle.      Nergal's    wife  was  luz,  the  almond-shaped, 
 
 A  A 
 
370 
 
 i.e.,  the  "Yoni;"  often  called  Ishtar,  and  thus  we 
 identify  him  with  Asher  or  Mahadeva,  El  or  II, 
 and  Jahu. 
 
 Nergal-Sharezer,  ■'.^^7'^"  -??•  (Jei*'  xxxix.  3),  "  Nergal 
 protects  the  king."  In  the  Cuneiform,  the  reading 
 seems  to  be  nir  =  "  a  hero,"  giila  =  "great." 
 Sar,  "the  king,"  uzar,  "protects,"  i.e.,  "Nergal 
 protects  the  king,"  or  "my  lord  Nergal  protects." 
 
 New  Moon,  ^^in  ^ii'\,  or  simply  K^^in,  or  ^^.^n  (1  Sam.  xx.  18). 
 The  festival  of  the  new  moon  should  engage  the  atten- 
 tion of  every  thoughtful  reader  of  the  Old  and  even  of 
 the  New  Testament,  inasmuch  as  it  is  repeatedly  asso- 
 ciated with  the  Sabbath-day  (2  Kings  iv.  23,  Isa.  i. 
 13,  Ezek.  xlvi.  i.,  Hos.  ii.  11,  Amos  viii.  5,  Col.  ii. 
 16). 
 
 According  to  Dr.  Ginsburg,  Kitto's  Encyclopcedia, 
 s.  v.,  the  new  moon  festival  is  spoken  of  in  — 
 Num.  X.  10.  Isaiah  Ixvi.  23. 
 
 Num.  xxviii.  11-15.  Ezek.  xlvi.  1,  3. 
 
 1  Sam.  XX.  5,  24.  Hos.  ii.  11. 
 
 2  Kings  iv.  23.  Amos  viii.  5. 
 Isaiah  i.  13.  Judith  viii.  6. 
 
 But  that  writer  does  not  intimate  that  these  are  the 
 only  places. 
 
 Cruden's  Concordance  gives  references  to  the  new 
 moon  — 
 
 1  Sam.  XX.  5,  18,  24.  Prov.  vii.  20. 
 
 2  Kings  iv.  23.  Isaiah  i.  13,  14. 
 
 1  Chron.  xxiii.  31.  Isaiah  Ixvi.  23. 
 
 2  Chron.  ii.  4.  Ezek.  xlv.  17. 
 
 2  Chron.  xxxi.  3.  Ezek.  xlvi.  1,  3,  6. 
 
 Ezra  iii.  5.  Hosea  ii.  11. 
 
 Neh.  X.  33.  Amos  viii.  5. 
 
 Psalm  Ixxxi.  3.  Col.  ii.  16. 
 
871 
 
 On  examining  these  texts,  we  shall  find  a  marginal 
 direction  to  Numbers  xxviii.  and  xxix.,  where  "  the 
 beginning  of  the  mouth"  is  the  title  used.  This 
 again  enables  us  to  expand  our  inquiry,  and  we  find 
 the  first  day  of  the  month  spoken  of  Exod.  xl.  2,  17  ; 
 Num.  i.  1,  18,  xxxiii.  38 ;  Deut.  i.  3  ;  2  Chron. 
 xxix.  17 ;  Ezra  iii.  6,  vii.  9,  x.  16,  17  ;  Neh.  viii.  2  ; 
 Ezek.  xxvi.  1,  xxix.  17,  xlv.  18. 
 
 When  contrasting  the  frequent  notice  of  "new 
 moons "  in  the  later  days  of  the  monarchy,  with 
 the  almost  total  silence  about  them  in  the  Penta- 
 teuch and  the  books  of  Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth, 
 Samuel  and  Kings,  we  shall  probably  come  to  the 
 following  conclusions ;  (1)  that  the  festival  of  the 
 new  moon  was  not  known  to  the  wi-iter  of  Exod.  xl. 
 2,  17,  Num.  i.  1,  18,  and  xxxiii.  38,  and  Deut.  i. 
 3;  (2)  that  Num.  x.  10,  xxviii.  11-15,  xxix.  1-6, 
 were  written  by  some  one  after  ''the  new  moon"  had 
 become  a  common  feast ;  (3)  that  the  book  of  Chroni- 
 cles was  written  by  a  late  hand ;  (4)  that  the  festival 
 of  the  new  moon  was  adopted  from  the  neighbours  of 
 the  Jews,  not  very  long  before  the  time  of  Isaiah ; 
 (5)  that  it  Avas  originally  kept  as  a  day  of  uninter- 
 rupted conviviality;  (6)  that  as  such  it  was  repudiated 
 as  a  Divine  institution ;  ^^  (7)  that,  like  the  Sabbath, 
 it  became,  under  the  teaching  of  men  similar  to 
 Isaiah,  a  day  on  which  sacred  instruction  was  given  ;" 
 
 (8)  that  it  was,  like  the  Sabbath,  a  human  institution ; 
 
 (9)  that  the  new  moons  and  the  Sabbaths  were  con- 
 sidered Jewish  institutions,  or  shadows,  and,  being 
 so,  are  not  binding  upon  any  but  Jews ;  ^*  never- 
 theless, Christians  keep  up  the  Jewish  emblem,  the 
 
 ■72  Isa.  i.  13,  U.     Hosea  ii.  11.  73  ign.  Ixvi.  23.  74  Col.  ii.  16. 
 
372 
 
 Sabbath  (see  Sabbath,  infra),  by  their  veneration  for 
 Sun-day,"  and  perpetuate  the  festival  of  the  new 
 Moon,  by  administering  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
 Supper  on  the  first  Sunday  of  the  mouth. 
 
 New  Year,  or  Feast  of  Trumpets.  "V^Tiilst  writing,  as  I  am 
 at  present,  in  the  very  early  part  of  a  new  year,  I 
 cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  facts,  that  the 
 period  is  one  of  joyousness  and  friendly  intercourse 
 between  neighbours,  but  that  it  is  also  a  time  of  cold 
 and  gloom.  Though  residing  in  the  country,  and 
 sleeping  in  an  eastern  chamber,  clouds  prevent  my 
 seeing  the  sun  rise,  sometimes  for  a  fortnight  or  three 
 weeks  together,  and  were  we  dependent  upon  that 
 luminary  alone,  few  of  us  in  England  would  know 
 with  certainty  which  is  really  "New-year's  day."  We 
 are  practically  dependent  upon  our  almanacs  for  the 
 information.  In  Palestine,  however,  with  its  com- 
 paratively clear  sky,  I  can  easily  imagine  that  no 
 such  difficulty  would  exist,  and  that  those  who  were 
 interested  in  celestial  phenomena  could  study  them 
 closely.  But  a  phenomenon  may  be  visible  without 
 being  noticed.'"'  The  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
 are  constant,  but  our  individual  knowledge  of  them 
 varies  with  our  inclination  and  opportunities  for 
 observation.  It  is  very  probable  that  not  a  single 
 Turk,  at  the  present  time,  Imows  anything  of  the 
 Zodiac ;  and  I  strongly  doubt  whether  one  English- 
 man in  a  hundred  is  able  to  demonstrate  to  his 
 child,  without  using  a  celestial  globe,  in  what  parti- 
 es It  is  curious  that  the  Hehrews  should  keep  the  seventh  day,  that  dedicated 
 
 to   Saturn,  as  the  most  holy,  because  the  track  of  Saturn   is   apparently   higher 
 
 in  the  sky  than  the  course  of  the  sun  ;  whilst  the  Christians  respect  Sun-day,  which 
 
 is  dedicated  to  the  sun  as  the  greatest  luminary. 
 
 ■'*'  The  reader  will  probably  remember  the  story  of  Eyes  and  no  Eyes,  and 
 
 recognise  what  the  author  refers  to. 
 
373 
 
 cular  sign  of  the  Zodiac  the  sun  is.  Those  who 
 are  occupied  in  business  do  not  concern  themselves 
 about  astronomy,  and  depend  upon  almanacs  for 
 their   knowledge   of  astral   phenomena. 
 
 The  Jews  indeed  were  forbidden,  apparently  by 
 Moses,  to  cast  up  their  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  to  study 
 the  sun,  moon  and  stars  (Deut.  iv.  19) ;  consequently 
 neither  the  lawgiver  himself,  nor  any  of  his  follow- 
 ers, could  have  known  the  time  of  the  new  year  by 
 astronomical  observations.  Nor,  if  we  consider  that 
 the  true  history  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Jews,  is  such 
 as  we  have  sketched  it,  in  the  introduction  of  this 
 volume,  can  we  believe  that  David,  and  his  troop  of 
 soldiers  of  fortune,  would  be  more  disposed  to  think 
 of  the  sky,  than  of  their  sensual  gratifications.  We 
 conclude,  therefore,  that  the  festival  of  the  new  year 
 could  not  have  been  appointed,  until  sufficient  experi- 
 ence had  been  collected,  to  enable  those  who  could 
 read  and  write,  to  make  something  like  a  calendar. 
 But  it  is  clear,  from  the  horror  with  which  the 
 orthodox  Jews  were  taught  to  regard  the  study  of  the 
 heavens,  that  they  could  not  have  framed  an  almanac 
 in  the  early  part  of  their  career;  and  that  even  in 
 the  later  days  of  the  monarchy,  they  must  have  been 
 dependent  upon  the  astronomical  Icnowledge  of  their 
 neighbours.  Amongst  these,  the  Phoenicians,  who 
 were  mariners,  held  a  conspicuous  place.  There  is, 
 therefore,  a  priori  reason  for  believing  that  the  Feast 
 of  Trumpets,  or  the  New  Year,  was  an  institution 
 of  comparatively  late  adoption.  Having  arrived  at 
 this  conclusion,  we  may  carry  on  the  investigation 
 by  inquiring  into  the  probable  origin  of  the  trumpet, 
 and  its  use  amongst  the  Jews. 
 
 Nothing    has    surprised    me    more,    during    my 
 
374 
 
 investigation  into  the  signification  of  proper  names, 
 than  to  find  myself  launched  into  a  dissertation  on 
 musical  instruments,  and  their  antiquity;  but,  as 
 this  bears  very  decidedly  upon  the  ancient  Jewish 
 faith,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  attempt  to  under- 
 take it.  As  far  as  I  can  charge  my  memory,  the 
 trumpet  has  not  been  recognised  in  any  ancient 
 Egyptian"  or  Assyrian  sculpture.  The  most  ancient 
 instruments  employed  are  such  stringed  instruments 
 as  the  guitar,  the  lyre,  the  harp,  or  the  dulcimer; 
 such  wind  instruments  as  the  pandean  pipes,  the 
 common  whistle  pipe,  the  double  whistle  pipe,  and 
 the  flute;  such  resonant  instruments  as  the  tam- 
 bourine, the  drum,  possibly  the  triangle,  and  musi- 
 cal stones;  and  such  clashing  instruments  as  the 
 castanets   and    the   cymbals. 
 
 Smith's  Dictionary  of  Grecian  and  Roman  Anti- 
 quities, s.  V.  Tuba,  states  that  "  the  invention  of  the 
 Tuba  is  usually  ascribed  by  ancient  writers  to  the 
 Etruscans,"  for  which  Mr.  Kamsay,  the  writer,  gives 
 ample  authorities,  and  proceeds  to  remark  that  Homer 
 never  introduces  the  o-aATTjy^,  salpingx,  in  his  narra- 
 tive, except  in  comparisons.  For  the  benefit  of 
 readers,  we  may  add  the  words  referred  to  {II.  xviii. 
 219),  "  And  as  the  tone  is  very  clear  when  a  trumpet 
 sounds,  while  deadly  foes  are  investing  a  city,  so 
 distinct  then  was  the  voice  of  the  descendant  of 
 Eacus ;  "  "  which  leads  us  to  infer  that,  although 
 known  in  his  time,  the  trumpet  had  been  but  recently 
 introduced  into  Greece;  and  it  is  certain  that,   not- 
 
 "  My  friend,  Mr.  Newton,  tells  me  that  "  EosseUini  twice  figm-es  straight 
 brass  trumpets  in  his  Monumenti  dcW  Egitto.  In  one  battle-scene  from  an  Egyp- 
 tian tomb,  a  trumpeter  vehemently  blows  a  trumpet,  whilst  ho  has  another  under 
 his  left  arm."  It  is,  however,  probable  that  the  tomb  is  of  comparatively  late  date 
 —  after  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the  Greeks. 
 
375 
 
 withstanding  its  eminently  martial  character,  it  was 
 not  until  a  late  period  used  in  the  armies  of  the 
 leading  states.  By  the  tragedians  its  Tuscan  origin 
 was  fully  recognised."  We  need  not  pursue  the 
 article  farther,  enough  has  been  adduced  to  show 
 that  the  trumpet  was  a  new  instrument  in  the  time 
 of  Homer,  which  we  may  consider  as  about  b.  c.  962, 
 and  that  it  became  common  b.  c.  about  500,  or  before 
 the  period  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 
 
 Having  gone  thus  far  in  what  aj)pears  to  be 
 positive  evidence,  our  memory  reverts  back  to  the 
 scene,  where  Tartan  and  Eabsaris  and  Kab-shakeh 
 stand  before  the  gate  of  Jerusalem  (2  Kings  xviii.  17), 
 and  call  to  the  king.  There  is  no  record  of  trum- 
 peters, cornets  or  heralds ;  and  we  infer  that  no 
 trumpet  was  then  in  use  to  summon  an  enemy  to  a 
 parley,  or  friends  to  a  rendezvous. 
 
 The  only  reference  which  I  can  find  to  a  trumpet 
 amongst  the  Assyrians  is  in  Bonomi's  Nineveh, 
 London,  1865,  in  which,  when  describing  a  certain 
 scene,  he  says,  "  in  the  hands  of  one  there  is  something 
 like  a  trumpet"  (p.  379).  Whilst  at  pages  406,  410, 
 there  is  a  description  of  the  instruments  of  music 
 mentioned  in  the  book  of  Daniel,  wherein  the  cornet 
 is  introduced ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
 instrument  was  the  same  as  our  trumpet,  as  *'  it  is 
 called  "i?^^,  shophar,  from  "isti',  sapliar,  to  be  bright." 
 We  may,  however,  grant  that  the  word  in  question 
 is  equivalent  to  the  "horn,"  for  there  is  no  doubt  that 
 the  date  of  the  book  of  Daniel,  though  uncertain, 
 is  to  be  placed  subsequent  to  the  rise  of  the  Greeks 
 to  power. 
 
 We  now  proceed  to  examine  the  Hebrew  words, 
 which  are  translated  trumpets,  etc.,  in  our  authorised 
 
376 
 
 version.  The  first  of  these  which  we  will  name  is 
 '^?Y^1j  chazosraJi,  which  is  equivalent  to  ''the  shrill 
 sounder,"  "  the  clear  ringer,"  also  "  the  hright  or 
 glittering  one;"  the  second  is  ^^"i*,  Tjohel,  which  is 
 associated,  on  the  one  hand,  with  "  Juhilee,"  and  on 
 the  other  with  '?•'■'',  yuhal  or  Jubal  (Gen.  iv.  21),  who 
 is  represented  as  the  father  of  all  such  as  handle  the 
 harp  and  the  organ,  ^f  i')  "•"'3?,  i.  c,  "  stringed  and 
 wind  instruments."  After  making  a  reference  to  the 
 father  of  Jubal,  and  finding  that  he  was  the  Greek 
 KoL^ayoc,^  "  the  warrior ; "  and  another  to  the  Jewish 
 Jubilee,  a  festival  that  we  never  meet  with  except  in 
 the  Pentateuch,  and  whose  history  we  must  omit,  at 
 least  for  the  present ;  we  pass  on  to  the  next  word, 
 which  is  rendered  "  trumpet,"  and  find  that  it  fs 
 "•^1^,  shopliar,  which  is  explained  a  few  lines  above. 
 There  is  still  another  form,  ^''P^,  takoah,  that  is  used 
 in  Ezra  vii.  14,  and  is  said  to  signify  a  wind  instru- 
 ment, i.  e.,  something  struck  up  or  blown  into.  We 
 find  also,  under  the  title  "  cornet, "  the  Hebrew 
 word  ll?i^,  keren,  which  signifies  "  a  horn,"  and 
 "cornets"  are  rendered  ^''Vj'^5?:>  mananclm,  the  mean- 
 ing of  which  is  doubtful.''^ 
 
 If  we  now  analyse  the  number  of  times  these 
 names  occur  in  the  Old  Testament,  we  find  that 
 n^v:^n  appears  four  times  in  the  tenth  chapter  of 
 Numbers,  and  once  in  the  thirty-first;  three  times 
 in  the  second  book  of  Kings,  chapters  xi.  and  xii.; 
 sixteen    times    in    the    books    of   Chronicles ;    three 
 
 78  This  word  is  considered  by  Fiirst  to  be  equivalent  to  the  sistrum.  I  scarcely 
 venture  to  lay  much  stress  upon  tbis  interpretation,  for  the  sistrum  was  a  musical 
 instrument  (?)  of  modern  date,  and  of  late  Egyjjtiau  origin.  Its  use  camo  in  with 
 the  worship  of  Isis,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  David  would  have  used  it  before 
 the  ark  had  he  known  its  heathen  origin.  The  verse  in  which  the  word  occurs 
 (2  Sam.  vi.  5)  was  probably  written  by  a  modern  scribe. 
 
377 
 
 times  in  Ezra  and  Nehemiah ;  once  in  the  Psalms, 
 xcviii.  6 ;  and  once  in  Hosea.  From  which  facts  we 
 infer  that  the  word  in  question  was  very  familiar 
 to  the  writer  of  the  Chronicles,  who  is  supposed  to 
 have  lived  in  the  post-exile  period,  and  that  the 
 account  in  "Numbers"  has  been  introduced  about 
 the  same  period,  when  the  feast  of  trumpets  was 
 ordained. 
 
 The  information  which  we  get  from  an  analysis 
 respecting  ^5^''  is  very  remarkable.  We  meet  with 
 it  Exod.  xix.  13,  where  it  is  translated  'trumpet,'  and 
 again,  thirteen  times  in  Lev.  xxv.,  where  it  is  always 
 translated  jM^iZee,  and  five  times  in  Lev.  xxvii.,  where 
 it  is  also  translated  jubilee ;  once  in  Num.  xxxvi. 
 4,  where  it  is  also  translated  jubilee ;  and  five  times 
 in  Josh,  vi.,  where  it  is  translated  "  rams^  liorns"  f 
 in  our  authorised  version,  the  words  in  the  original 
 being  D^^^V^n  nnpits^^  which  the  Vulgate  and  the 
 Septuagint  translate  "  trumpets  used  in  jubilee." 
 The  word  does  not  appear  in  any  other  passage. 
 We  pass  on  to  the  word  "'?^^,  and  find  it  used 
 three  times  in  Exodus,  in  ch.  xix.  and  xx. ;  twice 
 in  Leviticus  xxv.  ;  fourteen  times  in  Josh.  ch.  vi. ; 
 ten  times  in  Judges,  eight  of  which  are  in 
 ch.  vii. ;  seven  times  in  Samuel,  in  one  of  which 
 it  is  associated  with  Saul ;  four  times  in  the  Kings ; 
 twice  in  Chronicles ;  twice  in  Nehemiah ;  twice  in 
 Job ;  four  times  in  the  Psalms ;  three  times  in 
 Isaiah ;  seven  times  in  Jeremiah ;  four  times  in 
 Ezekiel ;  and  eight  times  in  the  minor  prophets. 
 In  other  words,  forty-two  times  after  the  rise  of 
 David ;  twenty-four  times  in  Joshua  and  Judges ; 
 and  five  times  in  the  Pentateuch.  This  result 
 is    very    remarkable,    when    we  add    to    it   the   con- 
 
378 
 
 sideration  that  the  books  of  Joshua  and  Judges 
 are,  by  the  majority  of  scholars,  attributed  to 
 writers  in  the  last  days  of  the  monarchy,  or 
 even  in  the  post-exile  period.  J^IP^  only  occurs 
 once,  Ezek.  vii.  14 ;  ''^  HP  occurs  eleven  times  in 
 Daniel,  and  in  ten  of  the  eleven  it  is  translated 
 "horns,"  and  once  "cornet;"  whilst '^'^ypVip  occurs 
 only  once,  2.  Sam.  vi.  5,  and  is  then  translated 
 "  cornets." 
 
 Ere  we  are  in  a  position  to  form  anything  like 
 a  rational  conclusion  respecting  the  feast  of  trumpets,' 
 we  must  investigate  the  subject  of  jubilee,  ^?''"',  yo- 
 hel,  a  jovial  festival,  of  which  we  read  an  account  in 
 Leviticus,  but  nowhere  else ;  in  every  other  part 
 of  the  Bible  it  is  utterly  ignored.  Even  Jesus  and 
 the  Pharisees,  so  strict  in  legal  observances,  never 
 commemorated  the  jubilee;  nor  can  the  philosophic 
 student  of  the  Bible  regard  the  account  given  in 
 Leviticus  as  anything  but  the  day-dream  of  some 
 sentimental  scribe,  at  a  very  late  period  of  Jewish 
 history,  possibly  about  the  period  when  the  fiftieth 
 year  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon  was  drawing  near. 
 We  can  readily  enter  into  his  views.  According  to 
 his  idea  the  seventh  day  being  a  day  of  rest,  the 
 seventh  year  should  be  so  too,  and  the  seventh 
 seventh  should  be  especially  sacred.  But  whence 
 did  he  draw  the  name  which  he  selected  for  the 
 festival  ?  To  answer  this,  we  must  request  our 
 readers  to  pause  and  examine  all  the  signs,  emblems, 
 symbols,  ideas,  practices,  ritual,  dogmas  and  creeds 
 
 '^  The  different  parts  of  the  verb  l^pn,  tala,  signifying,  amongst  other  things, 
 "to  blow  a  trumpet,"  occurs  more  frequently,  but  it  is  only  to  be  found,  in  this 
 sense,  in  those  portions  of  the  Bible  which  are  considered  by  scholars  to  be  of  the 
 most  moleru  date. 
 
379 
 
 which  we  have  inherited  from  our  pagan  forerun- 
 ners. Christmas,  Easter,  Lady  Day,  St.  John's 
 Day,  Michaelmas  Day,  are  all  modern  forms  of 
 ancient  festivals,  in  honour  of  some  astronomical 
 god.  The  Eomish  church  did  not  like  openly  to 
 worship  Dionysus,  but  she  canonised  St.  Denis,  and 
 transferred  to  him  the  insignia,  etc.  of  Bacchus.  In 
 like  manner  she  converted  Astarte  into  Mary,  and 
 transferred  to  her  the  symbols  of  the  pagan  god- 
 dess. In  similar  fashion  she  alters  her  doctrines 
 in  heathen  countries,  so  that  her  tenets  may  not  be 
 diametrically  opposed  to  the  prejudices  of  the  people. 
 Such  has  ever  been  the  custom  of  judicious  hier- 
 archs. 
 
 Although    we    have   no    detailed   account    of    the 
 worship  of  Bel,  in  Babylon,  we  have  learned  enough 
 of  the  customs  of  many  oriental  nations  to  know  that 
 there   was   a   general   belief,    that   the    sun   was   re- 
 generated, or  born  again,  as  soon  as  he  had  attained 
 his  extreme  southing,  and  again  entered  on  his  path 
 towards  the  north.     The    occurrence  was  marked  by 
 festivity;    it  is  so  in  China   at  the  present,    equally 
 as  in   France,  England,  and    Europe  generally.     In 
 congratulation    to   the    sun,    the   whole    earth,    and 
 vsdth    each   other,    the   devout    then   sang    their    lo 
 paeans,    or    simply   lo,  in  sign  of  joy;    much  as  we 
 utter  our  senseless  "  hurrah,"  the  harsh  representative 
 of    EvoE.      At  the   new  jeox  many  an    "  lo   Bel " 
 would  be  uttered  in  Babylon,  just  as  "lo  Dionysus'' 
 was   in    Greece;     and    lo   Bel   would   be   associated 
 in  the  mind  of  the  Jews  with  a  season  of  rejoicing. 
 Hence,    we    believe,    came    ??!'',    yohel,    or    Jubilee. 
 It    is    to   be    noticed,    still   farther,  that  the    music 
 or    discord    which    accompanied  the  feast  was    pro- 
 
380 
 
 duced  by  rams'  horns;  ''Aries"  at  that  time  being 
 the  representative  of  the  sun  at  the  vernal  equinox. 
 
 The  practice  of  employing  loud  barbaric  music 
 to  bring  about  solar  phenomena  may  be  found  in 
 almost  every  country.  Savages  make  some  horrible 
 noises  whenever  an  eclipse  occurs ;  and  the  Chinese 
 mandarins  consider  themselves  bound  to  help  the 
 sun  or  moon,  when  eclipsed,  by  the  beating  of  gongs 
 and  drums.  In  like  manner,  when  the  sun  made 
 its  extreme  northern  sunset,  there  was  the  fear  that 
 it  might  not  rise  again,  that  its  journey  was  finally 
 over,  and  that  the  world  would  be  in  darkness,  not 
 only  during  the  longest  sleep  the  sun  took,  but 
 for  ever  afterwards.  Hence,  all  sorts  of  contriv- 
 ances were  adopted,  to  prevent  the  repose  of  the 
 sun  being  protracted  to  eternity.  Nor  can  we 
 afford  to  laugh  at  this  idea,  who  ourselves  continue 
 the  practice  of  making  noises  on  new-year's  eve, 
 modifying  the  ancient  customs  by  ringing  bells 
 instead  of  clanging  cymbals,  beating  drums,  and 
 blowing  rams'  horns.  "  Such  blowing  of  trumpets 
 was  used  by  the  Gentiles,  particularly  in  the  solem- 
 nities they  observed  in  honour  of  the  mother  of  the 
 gods,  one  whole  day  (which  was  the  second)  being 
 spent  in  blowing  of  trumpets,  as  Julian  tells  us  in 
 his  fifth  oration  upon  this  subject."  (Lewis'  Grigines 
 Hehrcd.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  592.)  There  is  no  evidence  of 
 the  feast  of  trumpets  having  been  celebrated  during 
 the  early  days  of  the  Jewish  monarchy,  nor  is  there 
 reliable  evidence  of  the  use  of  the  trumpet  prior  to 
 David's  time.  But  as  we  have  already  seen  that  this 
 captain  passed  a  large  portion  of  his  early  days  in 
 Philistia  and  Tyre,  and  had  in  his  band  of  soldiers 
 a  number  of  men  of  Grecian  extraction;   and  as  it 
 
881 
 
 is  very  probable  that  he  was  contemporary  with 
 Homer,  we  can  understand  that  he  became  acquainted 
 with  its  use  whilst  in  Phoenicia,  and  then  introduced 
 it  into  Judea. 
 
 We  are  now  in  a  position  to  draw  deductions 
 from  the  preceding  considerations,  and  to  form  the 
 following  opinions  :  The  feast  of  trumpets  was  not 
 instituted  till  a  late  period  in  the  Jewish  history, 
 after  the  priests  had  learned  to  make  astronomical 
 calculations  from  the  Grecians  or  Babylonians.  It 
 was  a  Hebrew  form  of  a  Gentile  festivity,  just  as 
 Christmas  is  a  Christian  form  of  the  Eoman  Satur- 
 nalia. That  the  passages  in  Leviticus,  which  have 
 reference  to  the  festival,  are  of  very  modern  fabrica- 
 tion. That  the  book  of  Joshua  was  written  sub- 
 sequently to  the  period  when  the  use  of  rams'  horns 
 was  introduced  into  worship.  That  the  books  of 
 Judges  and  1  Samuel  are  not  reliable,  quoad  the 
 introduction  of  trumpets  into  warfare.  That  the 
 book  of  "Chronicles"  was  written  with  the  intention 
 of  making  the  ancient  history  of  the  Jews  '  square ' 
 with  the  modern  practices  adopted  after  the  capti- 
 vity. That  the  heathen  origin  of  the  feast  of 
 trumpets  was  recognised  by  the  influential  Jews 
 before  the  time  of  Herod,  and  that  it  was  con- 
 sequently abandoned.  Lastly,  we  are  driven  to 
 conclude  that  the  details  of  the  story  of  the  giving 
 of  the  law  on  Sinai  are  apocryphal,  and  written 
 after  the  use'  of  trumpets  had  become  common. 
 NiBHAZ,  ^[i?^  (2  Kings  xvii.  31).  The  name  given  to  a  deity 
 of  the  Avites ;  but  what  were  the  nature  of  the 
 deity,  the  signification  of  the  cognomen,  and  the 
 nationality  of  the  Avites,  there  is  not  sufficient  evi- 
 dence to  show. 
 
882 
 
 Night.  —It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  that  all  nations,  whose 
 cosmogony  has  survived  to  the  present  day,  make 
 night,  darkness,  and  obscurity  to  play  a  very  impor- 
 tant part  in  creation.  Amongst  the  Egyptians,  we 
 are  told  by  Hesychius,  that  Venus  was  adored  in 
 Egypt  under  the  name  of  Scotia,  and  she  is  still 
 known  by  the  name  of  Atlior  amongst  the  Copts. 
 Amongst  the  Egyptians,  night  was  considered  the 
 origin  of  all  things,  and  was  elevated  into  the  position 
 of  a  goddess,  whose  name  may  have  been  Nelth,  the 
 goddess  of  wisdom ;  for,  even  to-day,  we  have  the 
 proverb  that  "Night  gives  counsel.'  This  Night  was 
 mother  of  all  the  gods  ;  in  the  sacred  songs,  the  expres- 
 sion was  used,  'Oh  night,  mother  of  everything.' 
 As  a  divinity,  night  had  its  temples  ;  during  the 
 darkness  the  mundane  egg  was  produced.  Love  was 
 the  offspring  of  night,  and  had  thereafter  much  to 
 do  with  the  creation  of  beings.  Sanchoniathon  tells 
 us,  that  night,  chaos,  or  darkness  existed  for  some 
 time  before  desire  arose.  Orpheus,  in  one  of  his 
 hymns,  says,  "  I  will  sing  to  thee,  0  night,  mother  of 
 gods  and  men ;  sacred  night,  principle  of  everything, 
 and  who  art  often  called  Venus.  (Nutrix  deorum- 
 summa  nox  immortalis,  etc.) "  Aristotle  also  remarks, 
 "  as  the  theologians  say,  who  produce  everything 
 from  night."  (Compare  Rccherches  sur  le  Culte  cle 
 Bacchus,  par  P.  N.  Rolle,  Paris,  1824,  3  vols.  8vo.) 
 
 The  biblical  student  cannot  read  this  without 
 remembering  the  part  which  darkness  plays  in  the 
 Mosaic  account  of  the  creation,  where  the  earth 
 is  described  as  being  without  form  and  void,  and 
 when  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep  (Oen. 
 i.  2). 
 
 The  intention  of  the  myth  is  clearly  to  show,  that 
 
883 
 
 it  is  during  the  obscurity  of  the  night  that  most 
 human  beings  are  begotten,  and  that  they  continue 
 in  the  dark  interior  of  their  mother  until  they  emerge 
 into  day.  It  is  chiefly  during  the  quiet  of  the  night 
 that  man  thinks ;  during  the  bright  day,  with  thou- 
 sands of  objects  to  distract  his  mind,  he  notices,  rather 
 than  reflects.  When,  however,  all  is  dark  and  quiet 
 around  him,  should  he  awake  from  a  quiet  slumber 
 unpricked  by  pain,  he  begins  to  meditate  on  the 
 past,  the  present,  or  the  future;  on  every  subject 
 indeed  in  which  he  touches  a  fellow  mortal.  It  is 
 during  such  converse  with  himself,  that  the  monarch 
 decides  on  war  or  peace,  the  merchant  on  action,  the 
 author  on  the  method  of  treating  his  subject,  the 
 parent  on  education,  and  the  malignant  on  revenge. 
 Night  will  sometimes  calm  down  the  fiercest  passion 
 in  one,  while  in  another  it  will  originate  an  undying 
 hate.  Happy  is  the  individual  to  whom  the  dark 
 watches  of  obscurity  bring  no  recollections  of  mis- 
 deeds, or  phantoms  of  unpunished  crime  ! 
 
 NiMRAH,  nn?pj  (Num.  xxxii.  3),  "she  is  indented,  cut  in, 
 or  notched ; "  an  altered  form  of  nipj.  This 
 epithet,  which  appears  to  refer  the  celestial  goddess 
 under  the  form  of  the  Yoni,  conveys  precisely  the 
 same  idea  as  the  word  nnpJ^  n'kehah.  By  a  figure 
 of  speech,  the  stripes  or  spots  of  the  tiger,  or 
 leopard,  or  antelope  are  said  to  be  "  cut  in ; " 
 hence  striped  or  spotted  creatures,  D'?pj,  nimrim, 
 {nimrah  being  the  singular),  were  adopted  by  the  hier- 
 archy as  symbols  of  the  female  creator.'"  See  Beth 
 Leaphrah,  supra,  Vol.  i.,  Plate  ii..  Fig.  4. 
 
 NiMROD,  Tn»3  or  ^^^^,   (Gen.  x.  8).     This  word  has  never 
 
 80  These  pnns.  vile  though  we  may  consider  them,  seem   to   have  been  vei7 
 common  in  ancient  times.     See  the  article  Paramoneasia. 
 
884 
 
 yet  been  satisfactorily  explained,  and  the  following 
 attempt  may  probably  be  considered  as  faulty  as 
 any  of  the  extant  interpretations.  We  notice 
 (1)  That  the  name  belongs  to  the  founder  of  the 
 Assyrian  empire ;  (2)  That  the  religion  of  the 
 Assyrian  people  was  adoration  of  the  Celestial 
 Mother;  it  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  cog- 
 nomen will  be  associated  with  the  female  creator. 
 Now  the  meaning  of  nimrah  we  have  already  con- 
 sidered, viz.,  that  it  is  an  euphemism  for  the  "  Yoni." 
 It  remains,  then,  for  us  to  search  for  some  word 
 whence  the  final  od  may  have  been  taken.  We  find 
 that  "^V,  (id,  signifies  "  eternity,"  or,  as  we  often 
 use  the  word  indefinitely,  "time."  iv,  od,  for 
 ^^y  od,  also  signifies  "continuance,"  "duration." 
 n-iy,  ud,  signifies  "  to  circle,"  "  to  repeat,"  "  to 
 increase,"  "to  surround,"  etc.  If  we  take  any  of 
 these,  we  shall  find,  I  think,  a  sensible  signifi- 
 cation to  Nimrod,  e.  g.,  "  the  Eternal  Mother, " 
 "  the  womb  of  time, "  "  the  perpetual  mother,  " 
 "the  circling  mother,"  "or  the  teeming  womb." 
 The  word  is  stated  to  signify  also  "the  rebel;" 
 it  may  be  so,  and  may  have  been  applied  in  con- 
 sequence of  the  king  abandoning  the  worship  of 
 the  male  for  that  of  the  female  creator.  It  was 
 my  intention  to  have  entered  into  the  history  of 
 this  individual,  or  rather  to  have  made  an  analysis 
 of  the  chapter  in  which  his  name  occurs,  but  this 
 is  rendered  unnecessary  by  Kalisch  having  done  it 
 so  fully  in  his  commentary  on  Genesis. 
 NiNiP  is  the  name  given  to  one  of  the  minor  gods  of 
 Assyria,  or  rather  is  one  of  the  names  of  the  Creator. 
 He  is  also  called  Nin,  and  is  associated  with  the 
 fish.      I    select     from    Rawlinson's    Essay    on    the 
 
385 
 
 Religion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  and  his 
 Herodotus,  vol.  i.  p.  508,  a  few  of  his  titles:  ''the 
 champion,"  "  the  first  of  the  gods,"  "  the  powerful 
 chief,"  "the  supreme,"  ''the  favourite  of  the  gods," 
 "he  who  incites  to  everything,"  "the  opener  of 
 aqueducts.  "  All  these  point  unequivocally  to 
 "Mahadeva,"  "Asher,"  or  the  Creator,  under  the 
 emblem  of  the  male  organ.  We  may  still  farther 
 corroborate  the  deduction,  by  deriving  his  name 
 from  some  such  words  as  pj,  nin,  and  3N*,  ah 
 (or  ajj),  which  would  make  Ninap  equivalent  to 
 "the  father  of  posterity."  He  is  essentially  the 
 same  as  Nergal,  and  like  him  has  Luz,  "  the 
 almond-shaped,"  i.e.,  the  "Yoni,"  for  a  consort. 
 Noah,  ni^  ni,  and  nyj  (Gen.  v.  29,  Num.  xxvi.  33), 
 signify    "  rest,    quiet,    or   tranquillity." 
 
 When  collecting  the  scattered  threads  of  evidence 
 from  which  the  cord  of  certainty  is  formed,  we 
 find  valuable  circumstantial  testimony  in  places  where 
 it  is  least  expected.  For  example,  few  would 
 anticipate  the  probability  of  meeting  in  the  book 
 of  Ezekiel  any  light  upon  the  reality  of  the  exist- 
 ence of  Noah,  or  of  the  probable  period  when  the 
 story  of  the  ark  first  became  introduced  into  the 
 sacred  narrative.  We  have  already  stated  our  belief 
 that  the  tale  about  Noah  was  adopted  by  the  Hebrews 
 from  the  Grecian  story  of  Deucalion,  and  the  many 
 other  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Babylonian  myths 
 respecting  the  ark,  which  was  the  salvation  of  man- 
 kind. But,  on  turning  to  Bryant's  Ancient  Mythology , 
 I  find  that  he  gives  priority  of  invention  to  the  Jews, 
 and  considers  that  all  other  accounts  are  drawn  from 
 the  story  found  in  Genesis.  Thus  demonstrating  very 
 clearly  his  own  appreciation  of  the  similarity. 
 
 B£ 
 
386 
 
 When  the  priority  of  a  legend  is  thus  disputed, 
 the  philosopher  naturally  turns  his  attention  to  the 
 question  as  to  the  references  to  the  myths  found, 
 and  their  comparative  antiquity.  If,  for  example,  he 
 finds  abundance  of  allusions  made  to  the  story  by 
 many  writers  in  one  country,  and  this  not  only  in 
 one  century,  but  in  a  longer  series  of  years,  he  con- 
 cludes that  the  tale  was  as  generally  current  in  that 
 land,  as  is  the  story  of  Jack  the  Giant-killer  in 
 Britain.  Still  farther,  if  he  finds,  in  the  literature 
 of  another  of  the  aspirants  to  antiquity,  no  reference 
 whatever  made  to  a  mythos  until  its  people  have 
 had  an  opportunity  of  learning  the  story  from  those 
 who  first  adopted  it,  he  will  draw  the  inference  that 
 the  last  named  race  cannot  substantiate  their  claim. 
 Now  this  is  precisely  what  has  happened  in  respect 
 to  the  story  of  the  Deluge,  and  of  Noah.  Bryant 
 shows  us  clearly  that  the  mythos  of  the  ark,  in  one 
 form  or  another,  was  repeatedly  referred  to  by  the 
 ancient  Greek  writers,  and  that  it  constantly  appeared 
 on  old  Egyptian  monuments.  But  we  seek  in  vain 
 for  any  reference  to  the  ark  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
 until  the  time  of  the  later  Isaiah,  and  the  period 
 when  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  Ezekiel  was  penned. 
 The  value  of  this  fact  we  must  closely  investigate. 
 
 Of  all  the  stories  which  are  to  be  met  with  in 
 the  Hebrew  writings,  few,  if  any,  are  more  striking 
 than  that  of  the  Flood.  Whether  we  regard  the 
 wholesale  destruction  of  plants,  animals,  and  fowls  — 
 the  marvellous  rain-fall — the  enormous  collection  of 
 creatures  shut  up  in  an  unventilated  ship  for  nearly  a 
 whole  year  —  the  incredible  supplies  of  provisions 
 necessary  for  the  sustenance  of  all  —  the  wonderful 
 unanimity  with  which  the  beasts  so  long  caged,  dis- 
 
887 
 
 persed  —  and  the  extraordinary  rapidity  with  which 
 the  dead  vegetation  revived,  so  as  to  feed  elephants, 
 oxen,  sheep,  deer,  and  the  like ;  or  whether  we 
 regard  the  miraculous  preservation  of  Noah  and  his 
 family  from  the  'perils  of  foul  air,  carnivorous  beasts, 
 hunger,  and  the  like,  the  freedom  from  disease  in  his 
 family,  and,  we  may  add,  the  absence  of  newly-born 
 children  during  the  voyage  —  the  birth  of  the  rain- 
 bow —  the  first  giving  of  the  law,  etc. ;  everything  is 
 so  captivating  in  its  place,  and  the  whole  is  so 
 attractive  to  a  people  of  lively  imagination,  that  we 
 cannot  conceive  that  it  could  be  known  to  a  long 
 series  of  writers,  law-givers,  psalmists,  kings,  and 
 prophets,  without  being  alluded  to.  We,  who  are 
 familiar  with  the  mythos,  can  see,  in  the  early  por- 
 tions of  the  Old  Testament,  innumerable  instances  in 
 which  reference  to  the  deluge  might  have  been  appro- 
 priately made.  Yet  all  are  silent.  After  Genesis  we 
 find  no  allusion  made  to  Noah,  except  in  1  Chron. 
 i.  4,  Isa.  liv.  9,  and  Ezek.  xiv.  14,  20.  In  our 
 opinion,  nothing  could  show  more  clearly  the  igno- 
 rance about  the  deluge  on  the  part  of  the  earlier 
 writers  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 If  we  now  prosecute  our  inquiries  into  the  pro- 
 bable date  of  the  passages  in  which  Noah's  name 
 is  introduced,  we  find  that  modern  criticism  places 
 the  composition  of  the  books  of  Chronicles,  at  a 
 period  between  two  and  three  centuries  before  our 
 era.  At  what  exact  period  the  second  part  of 
 Isaiah  was  wi-itten  is  doubtful,  but  it  was  later 
 than  the  commencement  of  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 But  when  we  think  over  the  time  that  Ezek.  xiv. 
 was  composed,  we  feel  compelled  to  place  it  subse- 
 quently to  the  promulgation  of  the  books  of  Job  and 
 
388 
 
 Daniel.  Now  it  has  been  considered,  by  modern 
 critics,  that  the  former  was  written  during  the 
 Acheemenean  dynasty  of  the  Persians  subsequent  to 
 about  B.  c.  500,  and  we  feel  bound  to  place  the 
 composition  of  the  book  of  Daniel  subsequent  to  the 
 conquest  of  Alexander,  and  at  a  later  period  than 
 about  B.  c.  300.  Hence  we  conclude,  that  the  story 
 of  Noah,  Daniel  and  Job  were  only  known  to  the 
 Jews  after  their  connexion  with  the  Greeks  and 
 Babylonians,  and  not  before. 
 
 When  we  have  attained  this  result,  we  find  our 
 conclusion  corroborated  by  another  witness,  of  con- 
 siderable importance.  In  a  subsequent  article,  upon 
 the  division  of  time  into  weeks,  we  shall  see  that  the 
 division  of  days  into  seven,  did  not  prevail  amongst 
 the  Jews  or  Greeks,  until  they  came  into  contact 
 with  the  learning  of  the  Babylonians ;  consequently, 
 as  Noah  seems  to  have  observed  weeks  (Gen.  viii. 
 10,  12),  and  to  have  laid  great  stress  upon  the  mys- 
 tical number  seven, —  a  Babylonian  fancy, — we  must 
 conclude  that  he  was  a  character  invented  after  the 
 Jewish  captivity,  in  a  city  of  Nebuchadnezzar  or  the 
 Greeks.  Bryant's  Antiquities  tell  us  that  a  certain 
 Philip  struck  coins  at  Apamoea  or  Kibotos.  On  one 
 side  of  these  is  a  medallion  of  himself,  crowned 
 with  laurel,  and  the  letters  ATT.  K.  IOTA. 
 4>IATnn02.  ATr. ;  on  the  other  is  a  square  box 
 floating  on  water,  containing  a  draped  man  and 
 woman;  on  the  higher  side  of  the  box  a  bird  sits, 
 and  to  it  comes  another  (both  being  apparently 
 doves),  bringing  a  leafy  twig  in  its  claws.  On  the 
 box  NX2E  is  engraved,  and  in  front  of  it  we  see  the 
 man  and  woman,  as  if  they  had  just  emerged  on  dry 
 land.  The  legend  around  reads  thus :  EFIMA.  TP. 
 AA.   EHANAP.  OTB.  APXI.  AnAMEiiN ;  and  there 
 
389 
 
 was  a  local  story  to  account  for  the  pictorial  repre- 
 sentation. The  city  was  in  Phrygia,  and  was 
 founded  by  Antiochus  Soter.  Three  similar  coins 
 are  known.     See  Plate  I. 
 
 We  find  a  story  of  a  somewhat  similar  kind  to 
 that  of  Noah  in  Berosus  (Cory's  Ancient  Fragments, 
 p.  21),  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Alexander,  the  son 
 of  Philip.  According  to  the  account  of  this  writer, 
 whose  cosmogony  reminds  us  strongly  of  the  Jewish 
 mythos  of  creation,  there  was  a  deluge  in  the  time 
 of  Xisuthrus,®'  who  was  forewarned  of  it  by  Cronus, 
 declaring  that  the  flood  would  occur  on  the  fifteenth 
 day  of  the  month  Daesius  ;  that,  to  escape,  he  was 
 to  build  a  vessel,  take  with  him  into  it  all  his 
 friends  and  relations,  and  to  convey  on  board  every- 
 thing necessary  to  sustain  life,  together  with  all  the 
 different  animals,  both  birds  and  quadrupeds,  and 
 trust  himself  fearlessly  to  the  deep.  The  rest  of  the 
 story,  including  the  birds  and  the  mountain  side,  and 
 
 81  Xisuthrns,  EoVov^pos,  having  a  dream  sent  to  him  by  Crouus,  a  god  with  a 
 Greek  name,  leads  us  to  suppose  that  Polyhistor  has  Grecised  the  name  of  the 
 Babylonian  Noah,  as  he  did  that  of  the  god  who  warned  him.  Presuming  that  the 
 name  is  of  Chaldee  origin,  we  feel  disposed  to  believe  that  it  originally  stood  some- 
 thmg  like  immc>2  ;  and  if  we  attempt  to  analyse  this  name,  we  see  that  it  may 
 be  made  up  of  ':J,  zi,  "a  ship,"  i;:^,  siit,  "firm  and  strong,"  and  nn,  tharaz, 
 " strong  or  firm,"  the  whole  signifying  "a  very  strong  ship."  But  there  is,  I  think, 
 even  a  deeper  meaning  in  the  word  chosen  to  designate  the  hero  of  the  Babylonian 
 ark,  which  tallies  wonderfully  with  the  eonclusions  which  we  have  already  arrived  at 
 respecting  the  mystical  signification  of  "the  Ark,"  (see  Ark,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  285,  et  seq.) 
 to  which  signification  we  may  thus  attain:  'S  si,  signifies  "a  thing  fitted  together, 
 arched,  or  bent,"  and  n'S,  zili,  signifies  "to  estabHsh,"  "to  glow,"  "to  shine"  [ 
 which,  by  the  system  of  punning  upon  names  in  sacred  mysteries,  may  be  taken  to 
 signify  "the  navis,  or  concha"  and  "the  crescent  moon,"  the  whole  word  meaning 
 "the  strong  powerful  womb,"  or  yoni,  being  emblematic  of  the  mother  of  all.  Or 
 we  may  take  TiiiC,  sut,  to  signify  "a  pin,  or  verge,"  and  nn,  thrz,  or  cin,  thrs  to 
 be  "  firm  and  strong."  We  may  reasonably  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  name  of 
 Xisuthrns  would  then  refer  to  the  mystic  bNliN,  arhel,  the  four  great  gods  of  crea- 
 tion, the  quadruple  godhead  of  Assyria;  the  counterpart  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  Maha- 
 deva  and  Sacti,  and  of  the  NabM  and  Nebo,  as  well  as  to  the  mystic  argha,  the 
 navia,  or  a  good  ship. 
 
390 
 
 the  stranding  in  the  land  of  Armenia,  where  there 
 is  still  some  part  of  the  ark  to  be  seen  on  the  Corcy- 
 rean  mountains ;  the  people  occasionally  scraping 
 off  the  bitumen,  with  which  it  was  covered  on  the 
 outside,  to  use  as  an  amulet ;  closely  resembles  the 
 tale  told  in  the  book  of  Genesis.  The  same  author 
 also  gives  an  account  of  the  building  of  the  tower  of 
 Babel,  the  confusion  of  tongues,  and  the  war  between 
 Cronus  and  Titan. 
 
 Hence  we  conclude  that  the  Jews  in  Babylon  had 
 ample  opportunity  of  adopting  the  Chaldsean  and 
 Greek  legends.  On  the  other  hand,  we  can  safely 
 affirm  that  the  conquering  heroes  of  Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, Darius,  or  Alexander  would  never  care  to 
 copy,  even  if  they  had  a  chance,  from  the  childish 
 legends  of  the  miserable  Jews ;  contemptible  as 
 slaves  and  ignorant  bigots,  as  well  as  for  the  vice  of 
 braggartism.  That  the  Greek  conquerors  of  the  Jews 
 cared  very  Httle  about  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  we 
 infer,  from  the  statement  in  Esdr.  xv.  21,  that  they 
 were  systematically  destroyed;  and,  secondly,  (see 
 also  1  Maccabees  i.  11-64,)  from  the  fact  that  these 
 Scriptures,  or  such  as  passed  current  for  them,  were 
 translated  for  Greek  use  at  a  subsequent  period,  in 
 order  that  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  might  understand 
 the  history,  laws,  and  customs  of  the  Jews  which 
 dwelt  in  Alexandria  and  other  important  towns.''^ 
 
 82  In  a  work  recently  published,  and  which  I  have  only  just  now  seen,  by  the 
 Rev.  Joseph  Baylee,  D.  D.,  entitled  A  Complete  Course  of  Biblical  and  Theological 
 Instruction,  published  at  St.  Aidan's,  Birkenhead,  1865,  the  author  attempts  to 
 show  that  there  is  no  d  priori  improbability  in  the  story  of  Noah  and  the  Ark.  In 
 treating  his  subject,  he  proceeds  upon  the  plan  common  amongst  theologians,  who 
 assume  the  truth  of  a  statement  first,  and  then  endeavour  to  prove  it  by  unsupport- 
 able  evidence.  Presuming  that  the  story  of  the  Ark  is  correctly  given,  he  points  out 
 that  its  cubical  contents  were  2,730, TSl^'^  feet.  To  obtain  this,  he  assumes  the 
 Jewish  cubit  to  be  1'82'i  feet,  equivalent  nearly  to  22  inches,  whereas  the  cubit  of  an 
 
891 
 
 If  our  deductions  be  right,   we  see  in  the  story 
 of  Noah,  the  deluge,  the  ark,  the  beasts  in  couples, 
 
 ordinary  man,  i.  e.,  tlie  distance  from  the  point  of  the  elbow  to  the  tip  of  the 
 longest  finger  is  about  18  inches.  Again,  he  measures  the  cubical  contents  of  the 
 inside  by  the  dimensions  of  the  outside,  and  makes  no  allowance  for  the  pyramidal 
 shape  of  the  Ark,  —  the  "  tumble  home"  of  the  ship-builders, — which  reduces  the 
 actual  dimensions  internally  by  one-half;  i.e..  Dr.  Baylee  calculates  as  if  the  chest 
 was  a  gigantic  parallelogram,  making  no  account  of  the  words,  "in  a  cubit  shalt 
 thou  finish  it  above,"  Gen.  vi.  16.  He  makes  no  allowances  for  the  thickness  of 
 floors,  and  the  like.  When  we  endeavour  to  rectify  the  calculation  upon  a 
 more  probable  plan,  we  find  that  the  available  cubical  space  is  about  901,234 
 feet. 
 
 Into  this  space,  Dr.  Baylee  stows  about  ten  thousand  species,  and  he  very  care- 
 fully enumerates  5600,  which  will  give  twenty  thousand  indi^dduals  of  unclean 
 beasts.  About  an  extra  thousand  for  the  additional  six  pairs  of  clean  animals,  like 
 cattle,  sheep,  deer,  buffaloes,  bisons,  &c.,  would  give  a  total  of  twenty-one  thousand, 
 leaving  out  of  the  question  the  creatures  required  as  food  for  the  carnivorous  animals. 
 The  Doctor  then  assumes  that  the  average  size  of  the  animals  is  that  of  a  rabbit, 
 and  of  the  birds  that  of  a  pigeon,  and  he  considers  that  six  cubic  feet  will  suifice 
 for  each,  including  the  bulk  of  the  nest  or  cage.  Then,  packing  the  cages  as 
 closely  as  bottles  in  a  bin,  he  states  that  120,000  cubical  feet  are  all  that  are 
 required. 
 
 But  experience  has  shown  that  about  fifty  times  its  own  bulk  of  air  is  necessary 
 to  keep  animals  in  a  good  state  of  health  ;  and  if  we  assume  that  the  average  of  the 
 creatures  is  a  cubic  foot  of  bulk,  we  see  that  more  than  one  million  cubic  feet  will 
 be  required. 
 
 Again,  we  find  the  Doctor  placing  the  animals  above  IheLr  fodder,  which  neces- 
 sitates the  daily  fouling  thereof,  unless  the  utmost  amount  of  cleanliness  is  prac- 
 tised ;  but  he  makes  or  supposes  no  provision  for  keeping  vegetable  or  animal  food, 
 (of  which  he  gives  two  and  a,  quarter  tons  to  each  animal), from  putrefying.  Let  us 
 consider  for  a  moment  what  this  implies.  If  we  take  our  estimate  from  the  weight  of 
 the  fodder  allowed  to  each,  we  must  regard  the  mass  of  creatures  to  weigh  about 
 fifteen  thousand  tons,  each  animal  being  about  a  third  of  the  weight  which  it  consumes 
 in  a  twelvemonth,  often  even  more  (twenty  thousand  creatures  consuming  two  and  a 
 quarter  tons  each  in  a  year,  would  eat  forty-five  thousand  tons ;  and  one-third  of 
 this  gives  fifteen  thousand  for  the  weight  of  the  mass  of  beasts,  &c.)  This  estimate, 
 however,  is  unreliable.  We  prefer  to  assume  that  the  average  weight  of  each  of  the 
 twenty  thousand  creatures  is  ten  pounds ;  this,  in  round  numbers,  will  yield  a  total 
 of  about  a  hundred  and  eighty  tons,  a  particularly  modest  calculation,  seeing  that 
 the  animals  include  four  elephants,  two  hippopotamuses,  fourteen  rhinoceroses,  eigh- 
 teen swine,  eighteen  horses,  twenty-four  bears,  four  camels,  eighty-two  deer,  ninety- 
 six  antelopes,  and  twenty-six  crocodiles.  The  weight  of  ordure  produced  by  the 
 creatures  would  amount  daily  to  about  two  tons  and  a  quarter.  As  there  were  only 
 four  men  and  four  women  to  keep  the  ark  in  order,  each  would  have  to  remove 
 upwards  of  five  hundredweight  of  filth  per  day  from  the  various  cages,  and  throw 
 it  overboard.  They  would,  iu  addition,  have  to  draw  a  corresponding  weight  of 
 food  from  the  stores  and  distribute  it,  a  similar  quantity  of  water  to  give  the  ani- 
 mals drink,  and  perhaps  double  the  amount  to  wash  the  decks ;  in  all,  each  indi- 
 
392 
 
 and  the  like,  an  old  legend,  which  was  far  more 
 likely  to  emanate  from  a  Babylonian  than  a  Hebrew 
 source,  copied  under  a  new  form. 
 
 vidual  in  tlie  ark  would  have  to  remove  twenty-eight  hundred  pounds  weight  per 
 day. 
 
 When  we  inquire  still  farther  into  the  number  of  cages  to  be  attended  to,  we 
 find  that  each  person  would  have  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  under  his  charge ;  and  as 
 there  are  fourteen  hundred  and  forty  minutes  in  a  day  of  twenty-four  hours,  it 
 follows  that,  worldng  incessantly,  one  minute  and  a  few  seconds  only  could  be  given 
 to  the  cleansing  of  each  den,  and  the  supplying  its  inhabitants  with  food  and  water. 
 But  as  darkness  or  sleep  would  necessarily  put  a  stop  to  work,  we  can  only  allow 
 about  three  quarters  of  a  minute  to  each  pair  of  animals. 
 
 But  the  Doctor  is  discreetly  silent  upon  the  length  of  time  required  by  Noah 
 and  his  emissaries  for  collecting  together  the  birds,  beasts,  and  fishes ;  his  method  of 
 obtaining  and  storing  food  for  the  coming  occasion  (see  Gen.  vi.  19-21,  vii.  2,  3); 
 and  how  he  could  accomplish  in  seven  days  (Gen.  vii.  4)  the  embarkation  of  forty 
 thousand  tons  of  fodder,  which,  seeing  that  he  had  only  seven  individuals  to  assist 
 him,  would  give  an  average  of  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty  tons  per  man  per  day, 
 involving  the  necessity  of  each  person  carrying  and  stowing  two  hundredweight 
 (avoirdupoise)  every  twelve  seconds  throughout  the  twenty-four  hours  of  every  day, 
 we  cannot  understand. 
 
 It  is  lamentable  to  see  that  the  Principal  of  a  theological  college  can  permit 
 himself  to  believe  that  the  cause  of  true  religion  can  be  promoted  by  such  attempts 
 to  bolster  up  the  respectability  of  a  stoiy,  whose  absurdity  would  be  recognised  in  a 
 moment  were  it  to  be  found  in  any  other  book  than  the  Bible.  The  Kev.  Dr. 
 Baylee,  however,  throughout  the  three  volumes  of  his  work,  evidently  regards  it  as 
 part  of  his  mission  to  make  the  whole  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures  har- 
 monise with  fact,  morality,  and  each  other.  In  this  aim,  according  to  our  judg- 
 ment, he  signally  fails.  By  his  want  of  logic  and  of  scientific  knowledge,  he 
 repeatedly  lays  himself  open  to  be  refuted  by  any  thinker,  whether  he  is  acquainted 
 with  Hebrew  or  not.  To  our  fancy,  nothing  could  be  more  deplorable  than 
 the  paragi-aphs  in  vol.  ii.,  pp.  269,  270,  respecting  the  hare  chewing  the  cud.  In  one 
 he  says  that  Dr.  Colenso  and  Professor  Owen  are  careless  when  they  say  "that  the 
 hare  cannot  chew  the  cud,  because  (1)  they  have  not  shown  that  ni]n«  is  the  same 
 as  the  English  hare ;  and  because  this  is  not  shown,  the  inquiry  about  the  latter 
 creature  is  irrelevant ;  (2)  that  they  have  not  understood  that  chewing  the  end, 
 m?  rhVG,  is  Bimply  bringing  up  a  cut  thing."  Well,  this  Dr.  Baylee,  who  accuses 
 two  very  distinguished  authors  of  carelessness,  writes,  "now  this  the  ordinary 
 English  hare  does"  {i.e.,  the  hare  eructs  food  already  cut  and  swallowed),  "as  any 
 one  can  see  who  observes  the  working  of  the  animal's  mouth  "  1 !  It  is  clear  that 
 Dr.  Baylee  knows  no  more  why  the  hare  moves  its  mouth  than  did  the  writer 
 in  the  Pentateuch ;  neither  does  he  know  logic,  for  a  working  of  an  animal's 
 mouth  is  not  a  proof  of  its  bringing  up  a  cut  thing."  Surely  the  Principal  of  a 
 theological  college  ought  to  know  that  a  cow's  jaws  are  immoveable  whilst  she  brings 
 up  the  cropped  grass  grass  from  her  stomach;  and  that  a  hare  moves  its  jaws  to  keep 
 its  teeth  sharp,  and  never  brings  up  to  its  mouth  the  food  it  has  once  swallowed!  If 
 the  Doctor  wishes  to  be  really  logical,  he  must  catch  a  hare  in  the  act  of  bringing  up 
 
893 
 
 Nymph. — I  introduce  this  word  that  I  may  have  an  oppor- 
 tunity of  recording  an  opinion  upon  a  contemporary 
 writer,  and  my  gratitude  to  him  for  having  induced 
 me  to  reperuse  Bryant's  Ancient  Mythology,  which 
 I  had  not  seen  during  the  last  twenty  years.  The 
 best  plan  of  introducing  what  I  have  to  say  is  to 
 make  a  personal  statement.  After  the  publication  of 
 the  first  volume  of  this  book,  and  after  completing 
 the  MS.  of  the  second,  a  friend  was  good  enough  to 
 send  me  a  copy  of  a  work  entitled  The  Book  of  God, 
 the  Apocalypse  of  Adam  Oannes,  small  8vo.,  pp.  647, 
 Reeves  &  Turner,  London.  No  date,  but  apparently 
 published  about  1867.  The  author,  who  is  anony- 
 mous, was  subsequently  good  enough  to  send  me,  in 
 exchange  for  one  of  my  volumes,  another  copy  of 
 The  Book  of  God,  and  a  second  one,  called  Introduc- 
 tion to  the  Apocalypse,  Triibner  &  Co.,  London, 
 small  Bvo.,  pp.  752.  No  date,  but  ai5parently  pub- 
 lished 1868.  On  reading  through  these  works,  I 
 was  interested  to  find  that  their  author  and  I  had 
 been  working,  as  it  were,  in  the  same  mine,  without 
 hearing  the  sound  of  each  other's  "picks."  The  con- 
 clusions arrived  at  by  each  are,  so  far  as  critical  results 
 are  concerned,  all  but  identical;  and  the  difierences 
 in  other  matters  are  really  too  small  to  be  worthy  of 
 
 what  it  has  eaten,  or  in  chewing  the  cud,  and  show  that  it  has  some  food  in  its 
 mouth  that  has  been  already  swallowed. 
 
 The  Eeverend  Doctor's  observations  on  "the  fiery  flying  serpent,"  vol.  ii.  p.  267, 
 are  perhaps  more  to  be  regretted  than  those  already  mentioned  ;  for  he  declares  that 
 the  words  thus  translated  in  Isa.  siv.  29,  and  xxs.  6,  signify  "  a  flying  seraph."  For 
 this  implies  that  seraphs  are  the  offspring  of  the  cockatrice  or  adder;  and  that 
 they  live  in  a  land  of  trouble  and  anguish,  amongst  vipers  and  lions  !  After  this, 
 what  idea  can  the  theological  Principal  have  about  the  words,  "  To  thee  cherubim 
 and  seraphim  continually  do  cry  ;  "  "Above  it  stood  the  seraphims  "  (Isa.  vi.  2); 
 "  Then  flew  one  of  the  seraphims  "  (Isa.  vi.  6) ;  "  The  Lord  sent  fiery  serpents  " 
 (serapJiim)  (Num.  xsi.  6) ;  "  Make  thee  a  fiery  serpent,  or  seraph  1 "  (Num.  xsi.  8)  ; 
 Or  "  fiery  serpents,"  niiy  ^''7J>  aii<l  scori)ions  '  (Deut.  vui.  15). 
 
394 
 
 discussion.  Whilst  going  through  his  pages,  it 
 seemed  as  though  I  were  reading  my  own.  Thus  it 
 happened  that  there  was  not  an  author  quoted  by  my 
 contemporary  which,  if  not  familiar  to  me,  I  did  not 
 immediately  seek  for.  During  this  perusal,  the  fol- 
 lowing text  by  Y.  L.  —  for  thus  I  translate  his  cypher, 
 which  is  analogous  to  Fig.  46,  Vol.  i.,  p.  155  — 
 attracted  my  attention.  The  words  within  brackets 
 are  my  own  additions  in  explanation. 
 
 ''  The  union  of  Zeus  [Mahadeva]  with  the  Holy 
 Spirit  [the  yoni]  is  hinted  at  by  Diodorus  Siculus 
 who  says  that  Jupiter  and  YIvsv[j,a,  Pneuma,  or  the 
 Spirit,  are  the  same.  Bryant,  in  his  Mythology, 
 i.  346  [edit.  2,  vol.  i.,  p.  277],  has  a  significant 
 note.  *  Young  women  were,  by  the  later  Greeks,  and 
 by  the  Komans,  styled  Nymphse,  but  improperly, 
 Nympha  vox  GrcECorum  'Nv[x<pa,  non  fait  ah  origine 
 Virgini  sive  Puellce  propria  ;  sed  solummodo  partem 
 corporis  denotahat.  [Compare  Zacliar  and  Nekehah 
 of  the  Hebrews.]  ^gyptiis,  sicut  omnia  animalia, 
 lapides,  frutices,  atque  herhas,  ite  oinne  memhrum 
 atque  omnia  corporis  humani  loca  aliquo  dei  titido 
 mos  fiiit  denotare.  Hinc  cor  nuncupahant  A tli ,  uterum 
 [the  womb]  Mathyr  vel  Mether  [compare  IMother]  et 
 fontem  faemineum  sicut  et  alios  fontes  nomine  Ain, 
 omph,  Grace  vuju,<$>),  insignibant ;  quod  ah  JEgyptiis  ad 
 GrcBcos  derivatum  est'  (Suidas).  The  sacred  cakes 
 of  the  Assyrians  and  Hebrews,  which  they  offered  to 
 the  Queen  of  Heaven,  were  called  D^jiS,  cunim.  [See 
 supra,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  378-380,  and  638.]  The  Chris- 
 tians use  hot  cross  buns  on  (Tshtar  or)  Frigga's  day ; 
 both  having  the  same  signification  as  the  Nympha  of 
 Suidas.  So  also  have  the  holy  wells  of  ancient 
 paganism  and  modern  Christianity,  which  are  usually 
 
395 
 
 surmounted  by  a  cross,  or  accompanied  by  a  pillar. 
 The  circular  colonnade  of  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome, 
 viewed  from  above,  is  an  immense  patera,  or  yoni, 
 shaped  exactly  like  those  of  Hindostan,  with  the 
 lingaic  obelise  in  the  centre.  There  were  certain 
 temples  in  Africa,  called  Aiu  el  G'lnim,  which  the 
 scholiasts  foolishly  translate  Fountain  of  Idols, 
 though  it  really  conveys  the  same  idea  as  D''j"iD, 
 cunim.  Here  were  certain  agapcs  [love  feasts]  held, 
 and  the  children  were  brought  up  as  priests  and 
 priestesses  of  the  temple."  Introduction  to  the 
 Apocalypse,  pp.  150,  151. 
 
 On  turning  to  Bryant,  I  find  the  quotation  given, 
 but  on  referring  to  Suidas,  Bernhardy's  edition,  I 
 can  only  trace  Bryant's  last  line,  omitted  by  L.  Y., 
 viz.,  Nu[/,^Yj  TTYiyYj,  Koi  r)  vs6ya.[xog  yuvr)  Nu/x-^^^v  Se  x.u\ov(ti, 
 xa»  TO  kvoi  TTSdov  tmv  yovsiKsluiv  aldoloov.  The  rest  of 
 the  note,  then,  rests  upon  Biyant's  own  authority. 
 But  he  quotes  likewise  from  Suidas,  "  Tlap  A9>]va<o»j  rj 
 Tov  Alos  (j-YiTYip,  Nujw.^>j,"  which  I  am  also  unable  to 
 find. 
 
 The  remarks  of  Bryant  on  this  subject  are  too 
 interesting  to  be  omitted  ;  "I  have  mentioned,"  he 
 says,  Vol.  i.,  p.  276,  2ud  edit.,  "  that  all  fountains 
 were  esteemed  sacred,  but  especially  those  which 
 had  any  preternatural  quahty,  and  abounded  with 
 exhalations.  It  was  an  universal  notion  that  a  divine 
 energy  proceeded  from  these  effluvia ;  and  that  the 
 persons  who  resided  in  their  vicinity  were  gifted  with 
 
 a  prophetic  quality The  Ammonians  styled  such 
 
 fountains  Ain  Omphe,  or  fountains  of  the  oracle  (o/ai^i^, 
 ompliee),  in  Greek,  signifying  '  the  voice  of  God, 
 *  an  oracle,'  etc.  These  terms  the  Greeks  contracted 
 to  Nuja^r;,  a  nymph,  and  supposed  such  a  person  to  be 
 
896 
 
 an  inferior  goddess,  who  presided  over  waters.  Hot 
 springs  were  imagined  to  be  more  immediately  under 
 
 the  inspection  of  the  nymphs The  term  Nympha 
 
 will  be  found  always  to  have  a  reference  to  water *' 
 
 Another  name  for  these  places  was  Ain  Ades,  the 
 fountain  of  Ades  or  the  Sun,  which  in  like  manner 
 was  changed  to  NaiaSej,  naiades,  a  species  of  deities 
 
 of  the    same    class Fountains    of  bitumen   were 
 
 termed  Ain  Aptha,  or  the   fountain   of  the   god   of 
 
 fire,  which  by  the  Greeks  was  rendered  Naptha" 
 
 As  from  Ain  Ompha  came  Nympha,  so  from  Al 
 Ompha,  Al's  divine  voice,  was  derived  Lympha. 
 This  differed  from  Aqua,  or  common  water,  as  being 
 of  a  sacred  and  prophetic  nature.  The  ancients 
 thought  that  all  mad  persons  were  gifted  with 
 divination,  and  they  were  in  consequence  of  it 
 styled  Lymphati."  If  my  readers  will  now  consult 
 our  articles  on  Cunni  Diaboli,  Earth,  and  Water, 
 they  will  see  the  root  of  the  myths  above  referred  to. 
 They  indicate  that  the  earth,  as  the  universal 
 mother,  sends  forth  streams  equivalent  to  the  milk 
 from  her  divine  breast,  or  to  the  fluid  from  the 
 characteristic  part;  ''D,  mi,  was  the  word  used 
 equally  for  rain,  seed,  and  water,  all  having  appa- 
 rently a  fertilising  or  life-giving  power.  Hence  water 
 from  springs,  especially  thermal  ones,  might  be 
 mystically  considered  as  an  emanation  from  the 
 celestial  mother,  the  heavenly  father,  or  from  both. 
 Hence,  again,  the  fable  that  Jupiter  was  nursed  by 
 nymphs,  which  finds  a  counterpart  in  the  fabulous 
 
 83  I  would  point  the  reader's  attention  to  another  of  the  pnns  or  plays  upon 
 words  BO  common  amongst  the  ancient  priesthoods.  Nympha  signifies  a  young 
 nubile  woman,  a  certain  part  of  the  yoni,  and  the  caljTC  of  roses ;  the  lotus  is  a 
 Nymphsea.  Hence  a  maiden  is  symbolised  as  being  and  having  a  rose,  and  the 
 lotus  typifies  Isis  aud  Sacti. 
 
397 
 
 relation  between  Isis  and  Horus,  the  Virgin  and 
 Child  in  our  day.  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind 
 that  in  some  places  it  was  positively  believed  that, 
 oracles  of  a  peculiarly  sacred  nature  were  delivered 
 by  or  through  the  vulva,  i.  e.  la  bocca  inferiore,  of 
 sybils,  pythonesses  or  statues,  or  through  chinks  in 
 the  earth  as  at  Delphi. 
 
 0.  In  the  Hebrew  there  is  no  letter  which  answers  strictly 
 to  our  British  0.  The  vowel  is  indicated,  and  its 
 sound  marked,  in  modern  Hebrew,  by  a  dot  placed 
 over  a  letter,  thus,  j,^,  y,  ^,  o,  o,  mo,  which  resembles 
 the  oe  in  toe ;  or  by  \,  which  is  equivalent  to  our  ou 
 in  soul,  and  by  a  mark  t  under  a  consonant,  )b,  mo, 
 
 T 
 
 having  a  sound  like  the  o  in  shock,  according  to 
 the  Polish  and  German  Jewish  pronunciation, 
 which  is,  in  fact,  the  Syriac.  It  is,  however,  to 
 be  remarked,  that  the  Portuguese  pronunciation  is 
 long  a,  as  in  father,  which  also  is  the  pronun- 
 ciation of  our  Universities.  Yet,  though  I  thus 
 follow  grammarians  generally,  I  may  be  permitted 
 to    guess    that     0    is    really    represented    by    the 
 
 Hebrew  y.     This  sign  replaces  Q  j  O  ?  V  j  VV  > 
 (J^  of  the  Phoenician ;    Q  ^    Q  ^   (  )  ^  of  the  Car- 
 thaginian ;    O  ,  of  the  ancient  Greek  ;    ( )      0 
 
 of  the  Old  Italian;  0  ,  (D  ,  0,  0>  0  j  ^  J 
 of  the  Etruscan  ;    \J  ,  <(^  ^  ^  of  the  ancient  Hebrew ; 
 
 O  ,  0?  of  the  old  Roman.     Nor  is  this  surmise 
 
 weakened  by  the  assertion,  that  the  true  pronuncia- 
 tion   of   the   letter  y  is    not    rightly  known.      It  is 
 
898 
 
 difficult  to  conceive  any  alphabet  existing  without 
 some  sign  to  mark  so  very  common  a  sound  as  0 
 represents,  and  equally  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
 Phens  never  marked  it  before  the  vowel  points  were 
 used. 
 Oannes,  '£lavvYig,  —  This  name  is  chiefly  interesting  on 
 account  of  its  being  inserted  in  the  Greek  name 
 'Icuavvrjj,  John,  in  which  Jah,  or  Y'ho,  or  Jao 
 seems  incorporated  with  Oannes.  This  god  is  only 
 spoken  of  by  Berosus ;  but  as  we  know  his  works  solely 
 by  fragments  which  have  come  down  to  us  through 
 later  authors,  and  these  do  not  entirely  agree  in 
 their  statements,  it  will  save  the  reader's  time  if  I 
 condense  the  various  accounts  into  one  narrative.  In 
 a  very  early  period  of  the  existence  of  Babylonia  as  a 
 state,  a  being  called  a  semi-demon  appeared,  as  the 
 gift  of  Anu  (Annedotus).     He  is  stated  to  have  come 
 
 Figure  31. 
 
 from  the  Erythraean  sea,  to  have  been  foul  or 
 dirty  (iMvo-Sipog),  destitute  of  reason,  and  to  have  been 
 called  Oannes.  His  whole  body  was  that  of  a  fish, 
 but  under  the  fish's  head  he  had  another,  with  feet 
 below  similar  to  those  of  a  man,  and  conjoined  with 
 the    fish's  tail.     His  voice   too,   and  language,  were 
 
B99 
 
 articulate  and  human;  and  a  representation   of  him 
 was  preserved  up  to  the  time  Figure  32. 
 
 of  Berosus.  This  being  was 
 accustomed  to  pass  the  day 
 amongst  men,  but  took  no  food 
 at  that  season;  and  he  gave 
 them  an  insight  into  letters 
 and  sciences  and  arts  of  every 
 kind.  He  taught  them  to  con- 
 struct cities,  to  found  temples, 
 to  frame  laws,  and  explained 
 to  them  the  principles  of  geo- 
 metric knowledge.  He  made 
 them  distinguish  the  seeds  of  the  earth,  and  showed 
 how  to  collect  the  fruits ;  in  short,  he  instructed  man- 
 kind in  everything  which  could  tend  to  soften 
 manners  and  humanise  their  lives.  From  that  time 
 nothing  material  has  been  added  by  way  of  improve- 
 ment to  his  instructions.  And  when  the  sun  had 
 set,  this  being,  Oannes,  retired  again  into  the  sea,  and 
 passed  the  night  in  the  deep,  for  he  was  amphibious. 
 After  this,  there  appeared  other  animals  like  Oannes,  of 
 which  we  have  no  account,  except  that  one  was  called 
 Odacon.  Moreover,  Oannes  wrote  concerning  the  gene- 
 ration of  mankind,  and  of  their  civil  polity.  (Abridged 
 from  Cory's  Ancient  Fragments,  pp.  22-43.)®* 
 
 8*  The  reader  will  probably  associate  the  above  description  with  that  which  a 
 modern  New  Zealander  may  be  supposed  to  give  to  his  children  of  the  first  coming 
 of  Captain  Cook  amongst  them.  The  stoi-y  of  Oannes  is  remarkably  suggestive. 
 Amongst  other  things,  it  points  to  the  probability  that  the  fish-god  and  the  Baby- 
 lonians were  of  a  cognate  race,  the  latter  being  old  colonists  who  had  forgotten 
 the  arts  of  their  parent.  England  with  all  her  power  has  not  been  able  to  civilise 
 such  races  as  the  Eed  Indians,  Maories,  Hottentots,  etc.  We  doubt,  therefore, 
 whether  those  instructed  by  Oannes  (supposing  the  story  to  have  any  foundation  in 
 fact)  were  what  we  call  savages.  These  considerations  take  our  thoughts  backwards, 
 and  eastwards,  to  the  possible  cradle  of  the  Shemitic  family.     See  Scythia. 
 
400 
 
 Up  to  the  present  time,  there  has  not  been  a 
 more  satisfactory  etymon  for  the  name  than  the 
 combination  of  Hoa  and  Ann  ;  it  is  doubtful  whether 
 we  ought  to  accept  it,  except  provisionally.  We  learn 
 from  history  that  Berosus  was  a  Babylonian  by  birth, 
 and  a  priest  of  Belus ;  that  he  resided  for  some  time 
 at  Athens,  but  generally  at  Babylon,  where  he  pro- 
 bably composed  his  history,  in  the  time  of  Alexander 
 the  Great ;  but  at  that  period,  the  old  theology  of 
 the  ancient  Chaldaeans  had  doubtless  been  modified 
 by  the  Modes  and  Persians,  and  possibly  by  the 
 influence  of  the  Greeks  ;  and  we  may  well  imagine 
 that  a  word  like  Cannes  was  a  corrupted  form  of  some 
 precedent  one.  It  strongly  resembles  Jonas,  'Iwva^, 
 the  story  of  whose  connection  with  a  certain  great 
 fish  which  spued  him  out  from  its  belly,  on  a  mission 
 to  go  and  preach  at  Nineveh,  has  come  down  to  us  in 
 our  sacred  writings.  Of  the  alliance  between  the 
 dove,  the  yoni,  the  fish  and  Joannes,  we  have  spoken 
 before. 
 
 The  impression  which  the  above  considerations 
 leave  upon  the  mind  is,  that  Berosus  wove  together 
 a  number  of  the  stories  which  were  current  in  his 
 days,  amongst  Jews,  Chaldees,  Modes,  Persians, 
 Phoenicians  and  Greeks,  into  a  whole,  which  appeared 
 to  him  sufficiently  in  harmony  with  the  varied 
 mystic  forms  that  adorned  the  shrines  of  the  gods. 
 When  this  idea  is  entertained,  we  can  see  much 
 to  corroborate  it.  Cannes  is  called  "  Misurus,"  and 
 "Annedotus, "  both  of  which  are  Greek  words. 
 Whilst  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  Bibles,  we 
 find  that  Johanan,  l^'^l'',  is  equivalent  to  'Iwvav  and 
 'Icoavvav.  There  are  no  less  than  ten  Hebrews  who 
 have  the  name  Johanan  ;  and  one  with  the  full  name 
 
401 
 
 Jehohanan,  pnin'',  is  reproduced  by  the  Septuagint  as 
 'IcouvYig.  This  certainly  would  lead  us  to  the  belief 
 that  Oannes  was  a  corrupt  form  of  Joannes,  which 
 was  itself  an  altered  form  of  Johanan,  and  which 
 ultimately  settled  into  John,  etc.  But  the  interest 
 attaching  to  this  fragment  of  progressive  inquiry  does 
 not  stop  with  the  establishment  of  the  identity 
 between  John  and  Oannes ;  it  goes  on  to  the  question, 
 how  far  the  cosmogony  given  by  Berosus  was  copied 
 from  that  adopted  amongst  the  Jews.  There  is  a 
 wonderful  resemblance  between  the  accounts  of  the 
 deluge  given  by  Berosus  and  in  Genesis;  and  we 
 naturally  inquire  which  of  the  twain  had  the  prece- 
 dence. It  is  of  course  an  easy  matter  to  assume  that 
 the  Jewish  story  must  have  preceded  by  many  cen- 
 turies that  which  was  written  in  the  time  of  Alex- 
 ander; but  to  prove  that  the  writer  in  the  Bible 
 and  the  G-reek  author  had  not  a  common  stock 
 from  which  both  might  draw,  is  a  very  difficult 
 matter,  and  one  into  which  we  will  not  at  present 
 enter. 
 
 Fiirst  remarks,  Lexicon,  s.  v.  ]]l,  javan  :  The 
 form  of  the  name  is  closely  connected  with  the  Greek 
 'Icov,  'lav,  'lavsg,  etc.,  for  the  basis  of  all  seems  to 
 have  been  laovsg,  with  the  digamma,  'la  Fovsg.  As 
 to  the  meaning,  that  of  "the  young"  has  been 
 adopted,  as  opposed  to  Tpaixoi,  '  the  old  ; '  the  Greeks 
 themselves  relating  that  the  Hellenes  were  formerly 
 called  Fpaixol,  graikoi.  Compare  Sanscrit,  javan  ; 
 Zend,  jaivan  ;  Latin,  juvenis. 
 Obadiah,  -innly  (i  Kings  xviii.  3),  "  Servant  of  Jah." 
 ♦  The    syllable  abd,   servant,   slave,    or  worshipper  of, 
 
 was    a   common   ingredient   in   Chaldean,    Assyrian, 
 Tyrian    and    Carthaginian    names;   and    it  is   still 
 
 CO 
 
402 
 
 in   use    in   the    East,    e.   g.,   in  Abdallah,     Abdul- 
 malich,  Abdulaziz,  etc. 
 
 Although  some  doubt  exists  as  to  the  actual 
 date  of  the  book  called  "  Obadiah,"  there  is  inter- 
 nal evidence  that  it  was  written  about  the  same 
 period  as  Joel  and  Amos.  Though  very  short,  the 
 document  contains  much  information  respecting  the 
 sack  of  Jerusalem,  to  which  we  referred  in  our  article 
 Joel.  I  have  been  myself  so  much  surprised  to 
 find  that  Jerusalem  was  sacked,  and  its  inhabitants 
 carried  away  captive,  long  before  the  time  of  the 
 Babylonish  captivity,  that  I  think  it  will  interest 
 others  if  I  bring  together  everything  which  can  be 
 found  to  illustrate  it.  The  accounts  in  2  Kings  xiv. 
 7-14,  and  in  2  Chron.  xxv.  11-24,  are  only  reliable 
 in  so  far  as  they  acknowledge  that  Jerusalem  was 
 taken  and  plundered  in  the  days  of  Amaziah.  Our 
 chief  evidence  is  drawn  from  the  minor  prophets. 
 Hosea  is  wholly  silent  upon  the  point.  Joel  declares 
 that  Tyre  and  Zidon  conquered  Jerusalem,  and  sold 
 her  inhabitants  to  the  Grecians  (ch.  iii.  4  -  6). 
 Amos  pronounces  vengeance  on  Syria  and  the  Philis- 
 tines, on  Tp'us  also,  and  Edom,  even  including 
 Ammon  in  his  denunciation  (ch.  i.  3-15).  In  the 
 next  chapter,  the  same  prophet  denounces  Samaria, 
 because  they  sold  the  righteous  for  silver,  and  the 
 poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes.  In  the  next  few  chapters, 
 there  are  utterances  of  vengeance  against  Israel  and 
 Samaria,  and  a  forecast  of  a  time  (ch.  ix.  11-15) 
 wherein  "  I  will  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of  David 
 that  is  fallen,  and  close  up  the  breaches  thereof;  and  I 
 
 will  raise  up  his  ruins And  I  will  bring  again  the 
 
 captivity  of  my  people  of  Israel And  I  will  plant 
 
 them   upon   their   land,   and  they  shall  no  more  be 
 
403 
 
 pulled  up  out  of  their  land  which  I  have  given  them." 
 This  last  verse  is  remarkable,  for  it  is  generally 
 believed  that  the  Jews  were  never  removed  from 
 their  own  land  until  the  time  of  the  Babylonian 
 Nebuchadnezzar;  whereas  Amos  clearly  refers  to  a 
 past  captivity,  still  existent  in  his  time,  and  to  a 
 permanent  restoration. 
 
 Obadiah  commences  by  the  utterance  of  spite 
 against  Edom,  who,  nevertheless,  is  described  as  being 
 in  a  flourishing  condition.  The  reason  for  the 
 prophet's  dislike  is  thus  given;  "For  thy  violence 
 against  thy  brother  Jacob,  shame  shall  cover  thee,  and 
 thou  shalt  be  cut  off  for  ever.  In  the  day  that  thou 
 stoodest  on  the  other  side  (i.  e.,  in  opposition  to  him), 
 in  the  day  that  the  strangers  carried  away  captive  his 
 forces  (or  his  substance),  and  foreigners  entered  into 
 his  gates,  and  cast  lots  upon  Jerusalem,  even  thou 
 wast  as  one  of  them,"  vv.  10,  11.  This  verse  is  an 
 illustration  of  another  in  Joel  iii.  3,  "  And  they  (all 
 nations,  who  scattered  Israel  among  the  heathen  and 
 parted  my  land,  verse  2)  have  cast  lots  for  my  people ; 
 and  have  given  a  boy  for  an  harlot,  and  sold  a  girl  for 
 wine,  that  they  might  drink."  Again,  Obadiah  says  to 
 Edom  (verse  12),  "Thou  shouldest  not  have  looked  on 
 the  day  of  thy  brother  in  the  day  that  he  became  a 
 stranger;  neither  shouldest  thou  have  rejoiced  over 
 the  children  of  Judah  in  the  day  of  their  destruction ; 
 neither  shouldest  thou  have  spoken  proudly  in  the 
 day  of  distress.  Thou  shouldest  not  have  entered 
 into  the  gate  of  my  people  in  the  day  of  their 
 calamity;  yea,  thou  shouldest  not  have  looked  upon 
 their  calamity,  nor  have  laid  hands  upon  their 
 substance  (or  forces)  in  the  day  of  their  calamity. 
 Neither  shouldest  thou  have  stood  in  the  crossway, 
 
404 
 
 to  cut  off  those  of  his  that  did  escape  (or,  at  the 
 opening  of  their  passages,  to  destroy  utterly  those  of 
 them  that  were  escaping) ;  neither  shouldest  thou 
 have  deKvered  up  those  of  his  that  did  remain  in  the 
 day  of  distress  (or,  neither  shouldest  thou  have  shut 
 up  his  fugitives  in  the  day  of  affliction)  "  vv.  10-14. 
 The  rest  of  the  chapter  is  taken  up  with  those  pro- 
 mises of  retaliation  which  are  so  common  amongst 
 the  Hehrew  prophets. 
 
 In  Zephaniah,  who  flourished  at  a  later  period 
 than  Obadiah,  we  find  denunciations  against  Gaza, 
 Ashkelon,  Ashdod,  and  Ekron ;  against  the  inhabi- 
 tants of  the  sea  coast  (the  Tyrians  and  Zidonians)  ; 
 against  the  nation  of  the  Cherethites;  against  Canaan, 
 the  land  of  the  PhiHstines,  and  against  Moab  and 
 Ammon  ;  because  all  these  have  reproached  and 
 overcome  the  people  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  (ch.  ii. 
 4-10);  and  this  is  followed  by  the  usual  promises 
 of  Judah's  retaliation.  Even  in  Zechariah,  there  is 
 a  remembrance  of  the  grudge  which  Jerusalem  bore 
 to  Grecia ;  e.  g.,  "  when  I  have  bent  Judah  for  me, 
 filled  the  bow  with  Ephraim,  and  raised  up  thy  sons, 
 0  Zion,  against  thy  sons,  0  Greece"  (ch.  ix.  13).  To 
 this  testimony  we  must  add  the  verse,  ''  Remember, 
 0  Lord,  the  children  of  Edom  in  the  day  of  Jeru- 
 salem ;  who  said,  Rase  it,  rase  it,  even  to  the  founda- 
 tion thereof"  (Ps.  cxxxvii.  7).  Passing  now  to  the 
 greater  prophets,  we  find  Isaiah  referring  to  the  first 
 captivity,  in  the  following  words ;  "  In  that  day,  the 
 Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again  the  second  time  to 
 recover  the  remnant  of  his  people  which  shall  be  left, 
 from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pathros, 
 and  from  Cush,  and  from  Elam,  and  from  Shinar, 
 and  from  Hamath,  and  from  the  islands  of  the  sea'' 
 
 I 
 
405 
 
 (Is.  xi.  11) ;  and  in  verses  13,  14,  the  prophet  evi- 
 dently refers  to  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  Samaria, 
 the  Philistines,  Edom,  Moab,  and  Ammon.  Towards 
 the  end  of  the  same  book  (ch.  Ixiii.),  there  is  evidence 
 of  the  revengeful  feeling  against  Edom,  entertained 
 by  Judah,  having  been  at  length  satiated. 
 
 Jeremiah,  like  Isaiah,  denounces  the  king  of 
 Egypt,  the  kings  of  Uz,  the  Philistines,  Edom, 
 Moab,  Ammon;  the  kings  of  Tyre  and  Zidon,  and 
 the  kings  of  the  Isles  which  are  beyond  the  sea  (Jer. 
 XXV.  18-22);  but  no  particular  reason  for  it  is  given. 
 A  somewhat  similar  grouping  is  made  in  ch.  xxvii., 
 but  that  the  vengeance  threatened  against  this  people 
 came  from  the  prophet,  and  not  from  the  Almighty, 
 is  demonstrated  by  the  falsification  of  the  vaticination 
 in  the  course  of  events,  for  the  king  of  Babylon  did 
 not  conquer  Tyre.  We  meet  with  farther  denuncia- 
 tions against  Ammon,  Moab,  and  Edom  in  ch.  xlix. 
 2-8,  17,  20;  and  Damascus  is  joined  in  the  sentence, 
 vv.  23-27.  We  find  a  repetition  of  these  denuncia- 
 tions in  Ezekiel  xxv.,  wherein  the  Ammonites, 
 Moabites,  Edomites,  Philistines,  Cherethims,  and 
 the  Tyrians  and  Zidonians  are  grouped  together, 
 the  two  last  being  designated  under  the  "  head,"  the 
 remnant  of  the  sea  coast  or  haven  of  the  sea. 
 
 In  the  twelfth  verse  of  this  chapter,  the  cause  of 
 the  denunciation  is  hinted  at,  thus;  "  Because  that 
 Edom  hath  dealt  against  the  house  of  Judah  by 
 taking  vengeance,  and  hath  greatly  offended  and 
 revenged  himself  upon  them;  therefore,  I  will,"  etc. ; 
 and  again,  in  v.  15,  "  Because  the  Philistines  have 
 dealt  by  revenge,  and  have  taken  vengeance  with  a 
 despiteful  heart,  to  destroy  it  for  the  old  hatred; 
 therefore,    thus    saith   the  Lord,"    etc.  ;    or,  as  the 
 
406 
 
 Septuagint  renders  them,  "because  of  what  Idumea 
 has  done  in  taking  vengeance  on  the  house  of  Juda, 
 and  have  remembered  injuries,  and  have  exacted  full 
 recompense  ;  therefore,  thus  saith,"  etc.  "  Because 
 the  Philistines  have  wrought  revengefully,  and  raised 
 up  vengeance,  rejoicing  from  their  heart  to  destroy 
 (the  Israelites)  to  a  man  ;  therefore,"  etc.  The 
 conclusion  being,  that  though  it  is  very  wrong  for 
 Edom  and  Philistia  to  indulge  in  vengeance,  it  is 
 quite  proper  for  the  Jews  to  do  so !  A  similar 
 denunciation  of  Edom  is  to  be  found  also  in  Ezek. 
 xxxii.  29. 
 
 If  we  now  give  our  attention  to  certain  Psalms 
 without  heeding  their  superscription,  we  see  in  the 
 sixtieth  an  evidence  of  the  catastrophe  of  which  we 
 are  speaking.      *'  0  God,"  the  writer  says,    ''  thou 
 
 hast  cast  us  off,  thou  hast  scattered  us, thou  hast 
 
 shown  thy  people  hard  things ;  thou  hast  made  us  to 
 drink  the  wine  of  astonishment ;  "  then  follows  a  sort 
 of  claim  to  sovereignty  over  Gilead,  Ephraim,  Moab, 
 Edom,  and  Philistia;  and  the  question,  "  Who  will 
 bring  me  into  the  strong  city  ?  who  will  lead  me  into 
 Edom  ?  Wilt  not  thou,  0  God,  which  has  cast  us 
 off?  and  thou,  0  God,  which  didst  not  go  out 
 with  our  armies  ?  Give  us  help  from  trouble,  for 
 vain  is  the  help  of  man."  Words  strangely 
 antagonistic  to  the  idea  that  the  Psalm  is  one  of 
 victory !  It  is,  we  consider,  clear  that  the  super- 
 scription over  this  composition  in  our  Bibles  was 
 written  in  precisely  the  same  spirit  as  2  Chron.  xxv. 
 11,  12,  if  not  by  the  same  hand. 
 
 But  there  is  yet  another  Psalm,  which  we  consider 
 as  being  more  illustrative  of  the  pillage  of  Jerusalem 
 of  which  we  are  treating,  than  any  other.    "  Keep  not 
 
407 
 
 thou  silence,  0  God  ;  hold  not  thy  peace,  and  be  not 
 still,  0  God  !  For  lo  thine  enemies  make  a  tumult  ; 
 and  they  that  hate  thee  have  lifted  up  the  head. 
 They  have  taken  crafty  counsel  against  thy  people, 
 and  consulted  against  thy  hidden  ones.  They  have 
 said,  Come,  and  let  us  cut  them  off  from  being  a 
 nation ;  that  the  name  of  Israel  may  be  no  more  in 
 remembrance.  For  they  have  consulted  together 
 with  one  consent ;  they  are  confederate  against  thee. 
 The  tabernacles  of  Edom,  and  the  Ishmaelites,  of 
 Moab,  and  the  Hagarenes,  Gebal,  and  Ammou,  and 
 Amalek ;  the  Philistines  with  the  inhabitants  of  Tyre ; 
 Assur  also  is  joined  with  them ;  they  have  holpen 
 the  children  of  Lot  "  (Ammon  and  Moab),  Ps. 
 Ixxxiii.  1-8.  After  which  follow  prayers  for  ven- 
 geance, in  which  the  Israelites  are  always  encouraged 
 to  indulge. 
 
 Our  last  testimony  is  the  wiiter  in  Chronicles, 
 who  always  appears  to  be  very  reluctant  to  admit  any- 
 thing to  the  disgrace  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem.  In 
 2  Chron.  xxviii.  17,  he  allows  that  the  Edomites 
 did  smite  Judah,  and  carried  away  captives ;  or  a 
 captivity ;  and  in  other  parts  of  the  same  chapter, 
 he  also  concedes  that  the  Syrians,  the  Samaritans,  and 
 the  Assyrians  made  sad  havoc  with  Judea,  and  carried 
 away  captives  from  Jerusalem ;  but  as  if  he  could  not 
 endure  to  acknowledge  as  much  as  Joel,  Amos,  and 
 Obadiah,  that  the  captivity  was  sold  to  distant  lands, 
 he  contrives  a  Deus  ex  machind,  who  induces  the 
 victors  to  renounce  the  vanquished  as  slaves,  and  to 
 permit  them  to  return  home. 
 
 From  the  evidence  thus  laid  before  the  reader, 
 we  conclude  that  the  weakness  of  Jerusalem,  subse- 
 quent to  the  reigns  of  Athaliah  and  Joash,  became 
 
408 
 
 known  to  her  neighbours;  and  they,  feehng  a  dislike 
 towards  a  city  whose  strength,  compared  with  that 
 of  the  towns  of  Phihstia,  Moab,  Ammon,  Edom, 
 etc.,  was  once  very  great,  determined  to  humble  her 
 power.  To  this  end  a  league  was  formed  amongst 
 all  those  who  had  revenge  to  gratify.  The  history  of 
 David  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  nature  of  such  a 
 list  of  enemies.  We  conceive  that  Tyre  and  Zidon, 
 with  Greek  mercenaries,  Philistines,  Syrians,  Samari- 
 tans, Edomites,  Moabites,  Ammonites,  and  perhaps 
 many  others,  became  confederate  against  Jerusalem ; 
 just  as  a  certain  number  of  nations  united  them- 
 selves together  to  capture  and  destroy  the  ancient 
 Ilion,  if  such  a  place  as  Troy  ever  really  existed. 
 A  league  thus  formed  would  certainly  be  successful 
 against  a  very  self-confident  people,  who,  despising 
 all  others,  considered  themselves  invincible  ;  whose 
 conceit  was  fostered  by  priests  and  prophets,  who 
 invented  stories  designed  to  show  to  the  Jews  that 
 they  were  special  favourites  of  the  Almighty,  and  that 
 He  was  bound  by  honour  and  for  His  Name's  sake 
 to  deliver  them.  Even  their  so-called  historians 
 confess  that  Jerusalem  was  captured,  her  wall  beaten 
 down,  and  her  treasures  carried  away ;  e.  g.,  "  Joash 
 brake  down  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  from  the  gate  of 
 
 Ephraim  to  the  corner  gate and  he  took  all  the 
 
 gold  and  silver,  and  all  the  vessels  that  were  found 
 in  the  house  of  God  with  Obed-edom,  and  the  trea- 
 sures of  the  king's  house,  the  hostages  also,  and 
 returned  to  Samaria"  (2  Chron.  xxv.  23,  24).  See 
 also  Isaiah  xi.  11,  quoted  p.  404,  supra. 
 
 At  this  point  we  pause  to  consider  the  import  of 
 our  words,  and  the  evidence  of  Obadiah.  Jerusalem 
 plundered,  and  Edomites  standing  at  the  end  of  every 
 
409 
 
 avenue  of  escape,  so  as  to  treat  the  Jews  inhabiting 
 the  city,  as  Saul  is  said  to  have  treated  the  Ama- 
 lekites !  Samuel's  directions  seem  to  have  actuated 
 the  leaders  of  the  confederates,  "  Slay  both  man  and 
 woman,  infant  and  suckling;"  nay,  even  the  command 
 was  given,  "Rase  the  city  to  the  ground."  We  are 
 driven  to  infer  that  every  individual  captured  within 
 the  walls  was  killed  or  reduced  to  slavery,  that  every- 
 thing of  value  became  the  prey  of  the  victors,  and 
 that  everything  worth  destroying  was  destroyed. 
 We  have  some  idea  of  the  ancient  practices  adopted 
 by  conquerors  from  the  words  of  Benhadad  to  Ahab  ; 
 '*  Thy  silver  and  thy  gold  is  mine,  thy  wives  also  and 
 
 thy  children,  even  the  goodliest,  are  mine ; thou 
 
 shalt  deliver  me  thy  silver,  and  thy  gold,  and  thy  wives 
 and  thy  children,  and  I  will  send  my  servants  unto  thee, 
 and  they  shall  search  thine  house,  and  the  houses  of  thy 
 servants ;  and  it  shall  be  that  whatsoever  is  pleasant 
 in  thine  eyes,  they  shall  put  it  in  their  hand,  and  they 
 shall  take  it  away"  (1  Kings  xx.  3-6).  This  being 
 the  principle  upon  which  war  was  carried  on,  it  is 
 not  probable  that  writings  of  any  kind,  sacred  em- 
 blems, or  hallowed  dishes,  basons,  bowls,  candle- 
 sticks, snuffers,  and  the  like,  could  have  remained  in 
 Jerusalem.  Hence,  we  infer  that  everything  which 
 Nebuchadnezzar  subsequently  found,  and  every  manu- 
 script existing  at  the  period  of  his  conquest  of 
 the  city,  must  have  been  of  comparatively  modern 
 origin. 
 
 There  is,  however,  another  question,  to  which 
 we  must  give  attention,  viz..  How  did  Jerusalem 
 become  re-peopled  after  its  desolation  ?  This  opens 
 for  us  a  wide  inquiry,  over  which,  however,  we  need 
 not  linger  long.     We  have  only  to  ask  ourselves  what 
 
410 
 
 used  to  be  the  policy  of  ancient  conquerors,  and  what 
 is  the  poHcy  of  modern  rulers,  when  they  are  success- 
 ful in  war. 
 
 We  first  pass  rapidly  in  review  the  practice  of  the 
 Jews,  as  recorded  by  their  own  writers.     In  the  time 
 of   Moses,    defeat   of   an   enemy  was   attended  with 
 extermination,  those  only  being  allowed  to  live  who 
 were  females,  virgins,  and  thus  able  to  contribute  to 
 the  sensual  gratification  of   the    captors.      In  some 
 instances,  the  slaughter  was  attended  with  what  we 
 should  now  designate  atrocious  cruelty.      David,  for 
 example,  when   he   conquered  the  cities  of  Ammon, 
 is  said    to   have  brought    out  the   people,   and    put 
 them  under  saws,    axes,    and  harrows  of   iron,   and 
 made   them   pass   through   the   brick-kilns   (2    Sam. 
 xii.  31).       With  Moab,   David  acted  on  a  different 
 plan.     He  appears,  so  far  as  I  can  understand  the 
 words  of   2   Sam.  viii.  2,  to  have  marched  all  the 
 people  out  into  a  plain,  and  forced  them  to  stand  or 
 lie  in  form  of  a  parallelogram.     He  then  divided  them 
 by  means  of  transverse  lines,  into  four  equal  parts,  and 
 ordered  the  destruction  of  two  of  them,  allowing  the 
 other  half  to  remain  alive  ;  a  boon  more  gracious  than 
 that  accorded  by  French  Kevolutionists  to  the  unfor- 
 tunate warriors  of  La  Vendee.      At  a  later  period,  we 
 find  Josiah  capturing  what  was  left  of  Samaria,  and, 
 not  content  with  conquering  the  living,  wreaking  his 
 vengeance  upon  dead  men's  bones ;  as  did  the  English 
 authorities,  when  they  burned  the  remains  of  Wick- 
 liffe,  and  ejected  the  corpse  of  Cromwell  from  West- 
 minster Abbey.     When  the  EgjqDtians  sacked  a  town, 
 they   castrated   the    men,    and    took    them   and   the 
 women  for  slaves.     See  swpra,  Vol.  i.,  p.  &5,  note  2. 
 When  Samaria  was  taken  by  the  Assyrians,  her  popu- 
 
411 
 
 lation  was,  as  we  are  told,  carried  away  and  replaced 
 by  others.  Such  was  the  policy  carried  out  by  the 
 Incas  of  Peru,  if  the  information  collected  by  Pres- 
 cott  is  reliable.  Darius,  on  taking  Babylon,  impaled 
 a  great  number  of  the  principal  citizens ;  and  when 
 Nebuchadnezzar  finally  conquered  Jerusalem,  he 
 emasculated  the  youth  of  the  royal  family,  and 
 carried  away  into  slavery  everybody  who  was  worth 
 having.  Yet  if  we  are  to  put  any  credence  whatever 
 in  the  writers  of  "Kings"  and  "Chronicles,"  neither 
 the  Egyptian  Necho,  nor  the  Assyrian  monarch  who 
 captured  Jerusalem  after  the  death  of  Josiah,  and 
 during  the  reign  of  Manasseh,  was  blindly  or  indis- 
 criminately destructive. 
 
 Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  the  best 
 conclusions  that  we  can  draw  may  be  thus  stated. 
 The  united  adversaries  regarded  Jerusalem  as  a 
 powerful  frontier  town,  which  it  was  not  desirable  to 
 destroy,  and  the  Jews  as  turbulent  neighbours, 
 too  vain  to  enter  into  any  defensive  league.  It  was 
 therefore  desirable  to  curtail  their  aggressive  power. 
 Such  a  policy  was  followed  by  England  with  the  state 
 of  Sweden  at  the  battle  of  Copenhagen,  —  total 
 destruction  not  being  designed.  Thus  Jerusalem  was 
 weakened  by  deportation  of  her  war  material,  and  by 
 the  destruction  of  some  of  her  defences ;  but  the 
 fortifications  were  left  in  such  a  condition  that  they 
 might  readily  be  repaired,  and,  if  necessary,  manned 
 by  the  allies,  who  had  previously  injured  them. 
 Modern  historians  might  thus  feel  disposed  to  com- 
 pare the  city  of  David  with  the  towns  of  Luxembourg, 
 Bologna,  Civita  Vecchia  and  Kome ;  or  the  small 
 country  of  Switzerland,  which  is  too  weak  to  excite 
 jealousy,  but  too  important  strategically  for  any  one 
 
412 
 
 great  power  to  bold  it  exclusively  as  its  own  appa- 
 nage. We  conceive,  then,  that  Jerusalem  was  plun- 
 dered by  the  allies  of  whom  we  have  spoken,  denuded 
 of  treasures  and  impoverished  in  men ;  a  miserable 
 remnant  only  being  left  behind,  very  probably  under 
 the  rule  of  some  scion  of  the  royal  house. 
 
 But,  small  though  the  remnant,  they  had  the 
 propensity  to  vaunt  themselves.  It  is,  indeed,  pro- 
 bable that,  upon  paper,  the  largest  part  of  Jewish 
 history  was  invented  after  this  period.  Therein  the 
 remnant  left  by  Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  Tyre,  Sidon, 
 Philistia,  Syria,  and  Samaria  could  demonstrate 
 that  once  their  nation  was  heroic ;  just  as  we  see 
 in  modern  times  an  old  and  powerless  man,  who 
 never  had  anything  but  the  heart  or  courage  of  a 
 hare,    boast   himself   of  his    prowess   in    days  gone 
 
 by- 
 
 Once  again  we  pause  to  consider  the  condition  of 
 the  Jewish  people  at  the  period  of  the  accession  of 
 Uzziah.  The  glories  of  David  and  Solomon  have 
 passed  away,  even  if  they  had  any  real  existence, 
 and  were  not  oriental  fables  founded  upon  very  small 
 facts.  The  capital  city  and  the  massive  temple 
 yet  remain,  but  the  former  is  in  ruins,  and  the 
 latter  has  been  pillaged,  first  by  Shishak,  and  now 
 by  a  confederacy,  headed  probably  by  Edom  (Obad. 
 ver.  7)  ;  all  her  treasures  are  gone ;  the  spoilers 
 have  not  respected  any  of  the  paraphernalia  of 
 worship  ;  golden  pots,  basons,  snufi"ers,  candle- 
 sticks, ark,  mercy -seat,  everything  overlaid  with 
 gold,  or  made  of  that  metal,  or  silver,  has  been 
 carried  away ;  nothing  of  any  value  has  been  left. 
 Even  the  manuscripts,  if  any  existed,  must  have  been 
 destroyed  ;    for   we   cannot   imagine   that    Orientals, 
 
413 
 
 when  plundering  in  the  name  of  their  gods,  would  be 
 more  lenient  than  Christians  have  been  when  plun- 
 dering in  the  name  of  the  gentle  Jesus ;  and  we  know 
 that  the  latter  collected  all  Jewish  manuscripts  or 
 books  which  could  be  found,  and  burned  them  by 
 waggon-loads.®^ 
 
 In  connection  with  this  subject,  the  evidence  of 
 the  Apocryphal  book,  the  second  of  Esdras,  or  Ezra, 
 is  very  important.  We  find,  for  example  (ch.  xiv.  21), 
 "  For  thy  law  is  burnt,  therefore  no  man  knoweth  the 
 things  that  are  done  of  thee,  or  the  works  that  shall 
 begin.  But  if  I  have  found  grace  before  thee,  send 
 the  Holy  Ghost  into  me,  and  I  shall  write  all  that 
 hath  been  done  in  the  world  since  the  beginning, 
 which  were  written  in  thy  law,  that  men  may  find  thy 
 
 path."  He  answered,    "When  thou  hast  done, 
 
 some  things  shalt  thou  publish,  and  some  things  shalt 
 
 thou  show  secretly  to  the  wise With  five  scribes, 
 
 in  forty  days,  Esdras  got  two  hundred  and  four  books 
 written,  seventy  of  which  were  only  for  the  wise 
 amongst  the  people." 
 
 If  we  had  any  authentic  knowledge  of  Esdras,  the 
 writer  of  the  book  referred  to  in  the  Apocrypha,  he 
 would    be    a   very   powerful   witness    respecting   the 
 
 85  Even  the  learned  Ximenes  was  gnilty  of  such  a  destruction,  as  we  read : 
 "  Effectually  to  extirpate  heresy,  and  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  the  converts 
 I'etuining  to  their  former'^rrors,  he  caused  all  procurable  Arabic  manuscripts  to  be 
 piled  together  and  burned,  in  one  of  the  gi'eat  squares  of  the  city,  so  as  to  exter- 
 minate the  very  characters  in  which  the  teachings  of  the  infidels  were  recorded. 
 This  outrageous  burning  of  the  most  valuable  MSS.  relating  to  all  branches  of 
 literature  was  effected  by  the  learned  Prelate  at  the  very  time  that  he  was  spending 
 a  princely  fortune  in  the  publication  of  the  stupendous  Complutensian  Poli/r/lott, 
 and  in  the  erection  and  endowment  of  the  University  of  Alcala,  which  was  the 
 most  learned  in  Spain.  From  the  thousands  of  MSS.  destined  for  the  conflagra- 
 tion, Ximenes,  indeed,  reserved  three  hundred  relating  to  medical  science,  for  his 
 University."  Introduction  to  the  JRabbinic  Bible,  second  edition,  by  C.  D.  Ginsburg, 
 LL.D.,  Longmans  &  Co.,  London,  1867. 
 
414 
 
 composition  of  the  writings  which  form  the  Old 
 Testament.  We  could  then  recognise  readily  in  him 
 the  existence  of  the  idea,  that  it  was  perfectly  right  to 
 compose  a  narrative,  and  a  code  of  laws  in  the  place  of 
 those  which  had  been  destroyed,  and  to  write  two 
 classes  of  manuscripts,  one  for  the  benefit  of  the  few, 
 and  the  other  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  many. 
 We  might  moreover  see  how  it  happened  that  the 
 Pentateuch  contained  accounts  of  ceremonies  and 
 observances  which  were  never  known  to  have  been 
 promulgated  ;  e.  </.,  the  Jubilee,  and  the  observances 
 connected  with  it. 
 
 Indeed,  an  examination  of  the  second  book  of 
 Esdras,  even  as  it  stands,  is  very  fascinating.  As  it 
 was  originally  written  in  Hebrew,  and  most  probably 
 half  a  century  at  least  before  the  Christian  era,  it 
 exhibits  the  views  of  a  pious  Jew  upon  many  points; 
 and,  amongst  others,  it  introduces  us  to  a  conception 
 which  I  have  not  recognised  elsewhere.  We  find,  for 
 example,  the  idea  shadowed  forth,  that  as  the  sun 
 completes  his  circuit  in  the  heavens  when  he  has  gone 
 through  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  so  that  the 
 "fulness  of  time,"- — the  coming  of  Messiah,  and  a  new 
 mystical  cj'cle,—  were  near  at  hand,  for  ten  of  the  twelve 
 tribes  of  Israel  had  been  taken  away,  and  only  a  short 
 time  would  elapse  before  the  two  remaining  ones, 
 then  subject  to  the  Romans,  should  see  the  completion 
 of  the  holy  circuit,  and  hail  a  fresh  avatar. 
 
 If  history  taught  us  that  the  Jews  were  eminently 
 devout  in  Amaziah's  time,  and  regarded  the  law  of 
 Moses  with  veneration,  we  could  imagine  that 
 some  few  manuscripts  might  have  been  secreted  and 
 saved ;  l)ut  the  very  reverse  was  the  case.  Neither 
 priest  nor  people  cared  foV  the  law  of  the  Lord,  but 
 
415 
 
 thought  far  more  of  saving  gold  than  of  secreting 
 papers.  Jerusalem  then,  after  the  first  captivity,  would 
 be  wholly  dependent  upon  her  priests  for  doctrine  and 
 for  precept;  and  when  we  call  to  mind  the  copy  of  the 
 book  of  the  law  found  in  the  time  of  Josiah,  we  can 
 readily  understand  how  it  was  that  the  code  was 
 wholly  unknown  before.  Nor  must  we  ignore  the 
 opinions  of  critics,  that  Deuteronomy,  or  the  second 
 record  of  the  law,  was  written  prior  to  the  other 
 books  of  the  Pentateuch.  We  can  even  understand 
 why  it  obtained  its  name.  The  ancient  law  had 
 been  destroyed  by  invaders ;  the  second  one  attempts 
 to  replace  it.  We  can  also  see  the  strong  probability 
 of  the  view  adopted  by  Kalisch,  that  Leviticus  is  of 
 very  late  date.  We  can  moreover  recognise  how  it 
 came  to  pass  that  there  is  so  much  evidence  of 
 Greek  influence  in  the  books  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  and 
 Numbers.  We  can  likewise  understand  why  it  is  that 
 the  styles  of  the  various  books  resemble  each  other  as 
 much  as  Brougham's  resembles  .Macaulay's,  and  that 
 all  are  free  from  archaisms.  We  can  also  under- 
 stand, when  we  contemplate  the  misery  and  poverty 
 of  the  remnant  left  behind,  that  their  language  and 
 ideas,  just  like  those  of  our  own  poor  people,  would  be 
 coarse  and  gross,  rather  than  courtly  and  grand,  like 
 the  style  adopted  in  stately  palaces. 
 
 Now  when  all  old  manuscripts,  if  any  existed,  were 
 destroyed,  and  the  memoi-y  of  them  alone  remained, 
 it  was  natural  that  those  who  wished  to  mould  the 
 religious  belief  of  the  Jews  should  compose  books  of 
 history,  or  of  law,  or  of  narratives  professing  to 
 be  facts.  In  doing  so,  they  would  di*aw  upon  their 
 recollection,  their  observation,  and  their  imagination  ; 
 and  in  the  end   these   books  would   gain  a  certain 
 
416 
 
 amount  of  credence,  and,  where  many  existed,  they 
 would  if  possible  be  amalgamated.  Thus  it  was,  we 
 believe,  that  at  least  four  writers  are  recognised  in 
 the  early  scriptural  books,  two  of  whom  go  by  the 
 names  Elohist  and  Jehovist.  Without  going  into 
 any  controversy  upon  this  matter,  I  may  express  my 
 opinion  that  the  Elohist  wrote  in  Babylon,  where  El 
 was  the  common  name  for  the  Almighty,  and  that  the 
 Jehovist  wrote  in  Judaea  whilst  Jehovah  was  yet 
 adored  there;  and  that  the  narrative  of  the  first  has 
 taken  precedence  amongst  the  post-exile  or  Baby- 
 lonish redactors,  in  consequence  of  the  name  of  El 
 or  Elohim  being  then  the  most  orthodox. 
 
 We  need  not  pursue  the  subject  farther,  but  will 
 leave  the  reader  to  exercise  his  own  ingenuity,  in 
 recalling  the  various  difficulties  which  he  has  expe- 
 rienced in  framing  even  a  plausible  theory  about  the 
 composition  of  the  Bible,  and  in  judging  how  far  the 
 observations  herein  made  assist  in  removing  them. 
 To  ourselves,  the  elaboration  of  this  article  has  been  a 
 series  of  surprises.  When  we  began  to  write  it,  we 
 gave  ourselves  uj)  wholly  to  the  Bible  and  its  mar- 
 ginal references,  to  the  Hebrew  and  the  English  Con- 
 cordance, to  the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate.  Little 
 by  little  the  magnitude  of  the  misfortunes  of  Jerusalem 
 assumed  greater  proportions,  and  we  were  driven  to 
 think  of  the  sack  of  Rome  by  Goths,  Huns,  and 
 Christian  Emperors.  Then,  as  we  advanced  slowly, 
 step  by  step,  we  began  to  recognise  the  important 
 deductions  which  flowed  as  a  matter  of  necessity  from 
 the  historical  facts.  These  tallied  in  a  most  extra- 
 ordinary manner  with  deductions  which  we  had 
 drawn  from  other  sources,  and  at  length  we  recog- 
 nised the  fact,  that  an  essay  from  which  nothing  was 
 
417 
 
 anticipated  had  become  the  most  important  in  all  our 
 labours. 
 
 There  still  remains  to  be  drawn  an  explana- 
 tion of  a  subject  over  which  I  have  pondered  during 
 the  last  three  or  four  years.  After  discovering  the 
 fact,  that  not  a  single  Eg5'ptian  name  exists  amongst 
 the  thousands  of  Israel  who  wandered  out  from  the 
 land  of  the  Pharaohs,  I  feel  convinced  that  the  story 
 of  the  sojourn  of  the  Jews  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
 for  four  hundred  years  is  a  fabrication.  Bishop 
 Colenso  did  much  to  implant  the  doubt,  whether  the 
 story  had  any  foundation;  and  every  examination 
 I  made  into  Egyptian  lore  deepened  the  feeling  of 
 uncertainty.  When  the  culminating  fact  brought 
 conviction,  I  sought  for  some  consideration  which 
 would  seem  to  account  for  the  composition  of  the 
 biblical  story.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  monstrous, 
 that  a  Jewish  historian  should  compose  a  tale  in 
 which  his  countrymen  were  represented  as  a  set  of 
 slaves,  unless  there  was  some  good  reason  for  it ;  nor 
 could  I  see  why  any  one  should  fabricate  all  the 
 incidents  of  the  desert  marches,  and  make  the  people 
 under  Moses  to  be  an  excessively  wicked  lot,  whilst 
 their  successors  under  Joshua  were  painted  as  a  race 
 of  heroes.  In  vain  I  sought  to  account  for  this,  by 
 referring  to  the  story  of  the  Hyksos,  and  of  the 
 lepers,  who  were  collected  and  expelled  from  Egypt; 
 there  is  nothing  in  the  account  given  of  either 
 which  can  fairly  be  twisted  into  union  with  the 
 Mosaic  story.  As  article  after  article  engaged  my 
 attention,  I  thought  I  could  see  a  valid  reason  why 
 later  Jewish  enthusiasts  should  interpolate  stories 
 into  the  Pentateuch ;  and,  under  the  word  Aholah, 
 Vol.  I.,  p.   210,    I  ventured   to  specify  an   incident 
 
 DD 
 
418 
 
 which  I  believed  to  have  been  so  introduced  ;  and 
 under  the  article  of  Joel,  I  stated  my  opinion  (see 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  692),  that  the  episode  of  Balaam  was 
 added  to  the  book  of  Numbers,  after  the  time 
 of  the  prophet  just  named.  I  had,  too,  been  in- 
 duced by  sundry  considerations  to  believe  that  the 
 Pentateuch  was  written  subsequently  to  the  time  of 
 David  and  Solomon ;  but  I  was  wholly  unable  to 
 frame  any  adequate  reason  why  the  story-teller  should 
 have  traced  the  grandeur  of  the  later  Jews  to  so 
 miserable  an  origin  as  a  set  of  brick-making  slaves. 
 From  this  state  of  uncertainty,  I  only  emerged  during 
 the  few  minutes  of  contemplation  which  I  allowed 
 myself  on  the  point  above  indicated.  The  whole 
 matter  then  appeared  to  be  clear  to  me,  and  assumed 
 the  following  form.  The  Pentateuch  and  the  book 
 of  Joshua  were  written  some  time  after  the  sack  of 
 Jerusalem  by  the  confederate  states,  at  a  period  when 
 the  great  bulk  of  the  nation  had  been  taken  captive, 
 and  sold  into  foreign  slavery.  The  first  demonstrate 
 that,  in  a  former  part  of  the  history  of  the  nation, 
 the  Jews  had  been  in  a  more  melancholy  condition 
 than  that  in  which  they  then  were  placed.  Its  aim 
 is  to  prove  that  the  Almighty  had  especially 
 selected  the  Jews  as  His  own ;  and  that,  in  spite  of 
 their  troubles.  He  will  bring  them  out  into  a  wealthy 
 place.  It  endeavours  to  show  that  there  are  cer- 
 tain God -given  laws,  and  that  disobedience  to  these 
 invariably  brings  down  the  anger  of  the  Almighty, 
 which  manifests  itself  in  various  kinds  of  punishment. 
 It  shows,  that  even  in  the  darkest  moments  of  misery 
 Jehovah  will  intervene.  The  same  frame  of  mind 
 dictated  the  story  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  and  the 
 following  verse   in    Micah    (v.    8),    "  And  the   rem- 
 
.419 
 
 nant  of  Jacob  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  many  people 
 as  a  lion  among  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  as  a 
 young  lion  amongst  the  flocks  of  sheep  ;  who,  if  he 
 go  through,  both  treadeth  down  and  teareth  in  pieces, 
 and  none  can  deliver."  Then,  after  the  composer 
 has  introduced  a  sufficient  number  of  episodes  into 
 his  history,  to  let  the  people  see  how  much  the 
 Almighty  detests  certain  crimes,  and  how  severely 
 he  punishes  them, — even  sending  a  pestilence  upon 
 them  for  simply  "  murmuring  in  their  hearts  against 
 Him," — he  passes  on  to  the  time  when  Israel  was 
 triumphant  over  every  foe.  Having  done  this, 
 the  composer  again  shows  how  closely  misery  fol- 
 lows upon  idolatry,  and  how  essentially  piety  is 
 allied  to  prowess.  This  design  is  very  conspicuous 
 in  the  books  of  Chronicles,  in  which  the  writer,  who 
 appears  to  have  compiled  his  history  after  the  return 
 from  Babylon,  makes  every  successful  monarch  to 
 appear  as  exceptionally  pious,  and  every  unfortunate 
 one  as  particularly  bad ;  not  in  a  moral,  but  in  a 
 religious  point  of  view. 
 
 Upon  the  hypothesis  thus  shadowed  forth,  we 
 can  understand  why  Moses  does  not  figure  in  the 
 books  of  Judges,  Ruth,  or  Samuel,  though  he  is 
 familiar  to  Hezekiah,  Josiah,  and  the  prophets. 
 We  can  understand  why  David  and  Solomon  knew 
 nothing  of  the  various  festivals  of  the  Jewish  church, 
 and  we  can  see  how  it  happens  that  the  Mosaic 
 directions  were  followed  by  the  later  Jews  far  more 
 strictly  than  by  the  earlier  people,  who  had  in  reality 
 heard  nothing  of  them. 
 
 When  once  such  a  composition  was  made  public, 
 as  having  been  found  in  the  temple,  it  could  not  fail 
 to  have  great  weight,   inasmuch  as  it  seemed  to  have 
 
420 
 
 foretold  everything  that  had  happened.  After  the 
 compilers  of  the  history  had  succeeded  in  what  we 
 feel  compelled  to  regard  as  a  pious  fraud,  there  would 
 be  great  temptation  for  others  to  follow  their  example, 
 and  the  history  of  Israel  became  amplified,  doubtless  by 
 the  discovery  of  many  new  manuscripts,  having  all  the 
 marks  of  age.  Some  of  these  would  be  wholly  new, 
 others  would  be  modifications  of  the  first  composition. 
 
 The  hypothesis  which  we  herein  enunciate,  goes 
 far  to  explain  all  difficulties  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  if  indeed  it  does  not  remove  them 
 wholly.  We  can  see  a  reason  for  the  strange  and 
 horrible  story  of  Lot  and  his  two  daughters,  in  a 
 desire  to  throw  contempt  upon  the  conquering  Am- 
 monites and  Moabites.  We  can  see  a  reason  for  the 
 episodes  about  Jacob  and  Esau,  in  the  fact  that  the 
 vanquished  wished  to  make  out  that  they  were  more 
 clever,  although  not  so  strong,  as  the  victorious 
 Edomites.  At  this  period,  probably,  the  prophecy  was 
 penned,  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  thou  shalt 
 have  the  dominion,  that  thou  (Edom)  shalt  break  his 
 (Jacob's)  yoke  from  off  thy  neck"  (Gen.  xxviii.  40). 
 The  story  of  Amalek,  that  race  so  strangely  resus- 
 citated, is  evidently  meant  to  show  that  another  of  the 
 people  associated  with  Edom  is  under  the  curse  of 
 Jehovah,  and  must  finally  fall. 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  we  fail  to  recognise  any  valid 
 objection  to  the  conclusions  at  which  we  have  arrived. 
 The  hypothesis  is  the  result  of  a  careful  consideration 
 of  facts  ;  and,  so  far  from  being  influenced  by  pre- 
 vious theory,  our  deductions  were  as  unexpected  to  us 
 as  they  doubtless  will  be  to  the  reader.®^ 
 
 After  the  preceding  article  was  in  type,   a  friend  called  my    attention  to 
 
421 
 
 Obed-edom,  Ci'^?:?  ^^P  (2  Sam.  vi.  10).  This  name  was  borne 
 by  sundry  Levites.  (See  2  Chron.  xv.  and  xvi.)  It 
 was,  however,  also  borne  by  a  Gittite,  or  a  man 
 belonging  to  Gath  (2  Sam.  vi.  10).  Its  signification 
 is  simply  "servant  of,"  or  "worshipper  of  Edom,"  or 
 "  the  red  one."  Now  we  cannot  suppose  that  any  one 
 of  the  seed  of  Jacob  would  call  himself  a  worshipper 
 of  his  elder  brother ;  still  less  can  we  conceive  that 
 those  living  in  Gath  knew  or  cared  anything  about 
 
 a  book,  entitled  Moise  et  Le  Talmud,  par  Alexandre  Weill  (Amyot,  Paris,  8vo., 
 pp.  349,  AD.  1864).  This  work  is  so  remarkable,  that  I  gladly  introduce  it  to  the 
 notice  of  my  readers.  The  author  is  a  philosophical  Jew,  who  writes  much  in  the 
 same  manner  as  Spinoza,  although  he  regards  his  subject  from  a  different  point  of 
 view.  He  gives  a  remarkably  clear  account  of  what  he  conceives  to  be  the 
 aim  of  the  author  of  the  Mosaic  law  ;  and  he  distinctly  shows  how  the  Pharisees 
 and  the  Talmudists  have  falsified  the  original  text,  so  as  to  introduce  into  it  the 
 doctrines  held  by  the  Jews  subsequent  to  the  Persian  and  Grecian  supremacy. 
 He  also  plainly  points  out  the  influence  of  the  Talmudists  upon  Mosaicism  on  the 
 one  hand,  and  Christianity  on  the  other,  and  enables  his  readers  to  see  how  small 
 is  the  essential  distinction  between  the  doctrines  of  the  Talmudists  and  the  early 
 followers  of  Jesus,  and  how  completely  these  differ  from  those  of  the  Mosaic  law. 
 The  latter  enacts  that  reparation  must  be  made  for  every  offence ;  and  that,  when 
 such  is  effected,  the  offender  can  claim  to  be  purified.  Pardon,  pure  and  unadul- 
 terated, he  asserts  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  law  of  Moses.  According  to  it,  every 
 man  is  the  ruler  of  his  own  destiny ;  it  seeks  to  found  a  republic,  in  which  each 
 individual  is  to  do  his  duty  in  every  respect  to  his  neighbour,  and  to  be  punished 
 or  rewarded  according  as  he  neglects,  violates,  or  fulfils  this  duty.  Reparation 
 and  purification  are  to  foUow  ill-doing ;  but  expiation  without  reparation  is 
 unknown  to  it.  The  idea  of  pardon  without  reparation  is  a  Talmudic  idea,  and 
 it  is  carried  so  far  that  an  individual  who  had  been  a  grievous  offender,  and  at 
 length  "repented,"  has  a  higher  place  in  Heaven  assigned  to  him  than  is  given  to 
 one  who  had  been  unifornrly  just. 
 
 From  these,  and  many  other  soui-ces,  Weill  shows  the  comparatively  modern 
 date  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  especially  of  the  day  of  Atonement ; 
 a  conclusion  to  which  we  have  ourselves  arrived  from  a  different  line  of  argument. 
 But  the  author  nowhere  addresses  himself  to  the  question,  whether  the  Mosaic  law 
 was  written  by  him  whom  we  know  by  the  name  of  Moses.  He  very  distinctly  shows 
 that  much  has  baen  attributed  to  that  lawgiver,  which  is  clearly  of  modern  origin  ; 
 he  insinuates  that  Mosaism  was  not  founded  on  miracles;  but  nowhere  is  the  sub- 
 ject of  the  reality  of  the  early  Jewish  history  and  the  Exodus  discussed. 
 
 It  would,  however,  be  difficult  to  state  all  the  author's  arguments  without  writ- 
 ing an  epitome  of  the  whole  work,  for  which  we  have  no  space.  We  must  therefore 
 content  ourselves  with  recommending,  which  we  do  very  cordially,  a  perusal  of  this 
 remarkable  book. 
 
422 
 
 Esau.  We  therefore  presume  that  Edom  means  '  the 
 red  one.'  Fiirst  tells  us,  s.  v.  Obed-edom,  that  the 
 red  was  a  designation  of  Mars,  like  "^^.V,  esar,  amongst 
 the  Phoenicians,  to  whom  the  ass  was  sacred  C^^% 
 the  red).  See  Strabo,  xv.  2.  See  also  Hamor  supra. 
 But,  although  "the  red  one"  was  a  name  of  Mars, 
 it  had  another  meaning,  which  will  be  apparent  to 
 those  who  have  read  the  preceding  articles,  Adam, 
 Edom,  Mars,  Nergal,  and  Ninip ;  i.  e.,  it  was  Maha- 
 deva,  who  is  often  painted  red  amongst  the  Hindoos. 
 We  can  readily  understand  a  citizen  of  Gath  bearing 
 a  name  of  Phallic  origin  ;  but  we  cannot  understand 
 how  an  Israelite,  and  one  of  the  priestly  tribe,  could 
 bear  such  a  cognomen,  except  on  the  supposition 
 that  the  religion  he  professed  involved,  like  that  of 
 the  Gittite,  the  adoration  of  the  male  organ  as  an 
 emblem  of  the  Creator.®'' 
 Og,  jiy  (Num.  xxi.  33).  The  usual  interpretation  of  this 
 cognomen  is  'long-necked,'  or  ''gigantic;"  but  it  is 
 difficult  to  believe  that  any  such  name  would  be 
 given  to  an  infant.  It  is  much  more  probable  that 
 the  word  is  equivalent  to  j-iy,  iig,  "  he  goes  in  a 
 circle,"  i.  e.  the  sun. 
 
 I  do  not  know  any  ancient,  and  indeed  any 
 modern  history,  in  which  there  has  not  been  a  descrip- 
 tion given  of  some  king,  prophet,  or  great  man,  of 
 superhuman  wealth,  power,  and  wisdom,  or  of  super- 
 natural piety,  or  of  potency  over  the  powers  of  good 
 and    evil,    or    of    gigantic    stature    and    enormous 
 
 87  Some  ancient  figures  of  Bacchus,  the  Greek  personification  of  Mahadeva, 
 have  been  found,  painted  red.  The  sacred  bull  in  the  pagoda  of  Surat  is  simi- 
 larly coloured.  In  the  Townley  collection  a  bisexual  figure  of  Bacchus  was  con- 
 served, which,  like  those  of  the  god  generally,  and  his  analogue  Priapus,  were 
 painted  red.  See  pages  75,  76,  LSI,  Recherches  sur  V  origene  et  les  progrSt  des 
 Arts  de  la  Grice,  2  vols.,  4to,  with  plates,  London,  1785. 
 
423 
 
 strength.  If  universal  belief  in  any  figment  avails 
 to  establish  it  as  a  fact,  we  must  certainly  believe  that 
 a  race  of  giants  existed  in  the  olden  time.  So 
 strong  is  this  belief  in  the  minds  of  some  of  our 
 modern  writers,  that  I  have  seen  in  a  book,  whose 
 name  I  have  forgotten,  written,  if  I  remember  rightly, 
 by  Mr.  Urquhart,  who  was  at  the  time  a  member  of 
 the  British  Parliament,  an  argument  to  the  effect 
 that  the  huge  blocks  of  stone  found  amongst  such 
 Oriental  ruins  as  those  of  Palmyra,  and  others 
 to  which  no  name  is  given,  could  only  have  been 
 devised,  hewn  out,  and  moved  by  a  race  of  giants, 
 and  consequently  must  have  been  of  antediluvian 
 origin.  Nor  are  we  without  some  apparent  justifica- 
 tion in  our  idea  of  a  preceding  gigantic  race,  if  we, 
 like  Ewald,  consider  that  tradition  with  a  circum- 
 stance is  of  real  worth  in  establishing  the  truth  of  a 
 statement;  for  we  have  throughout  England  many 
 giants'  graves,  and  walking  sticks,  and  stones  said  to 
 be  hurled  by  giants  from  the  summit  of  a  hill  into  the 
 neighbouring  plain.  We  have  a  giant's  causeway, 
 giant's  castle,  giant's  tank,  giant's  tomb,  giant's  tower, 
 &c.  One  of  the  British  heroes  of  old  was  Jack  the 
 Giantkiller;  and  have  we  not  a  warrant  in  his  veracious 
 history  for  asserting  that  the  race  was  more  abundant 
 in  Wales  anH  Cornwall  than  in  the  rest  of  Britain  ? 
 But,  apart  from  such  testimony,  we  have  evidence 
 from  ancient  rocks  to  prove  that  animals  once  existed 
 on  our  earth,  of  far  greater  bulk  than  any  which  we 
 meet  with  now. 
 
 Notwithstanding  all  these  evidences  respecting  the 
 existence  of  a  race  of  giants,  we  must  consider  them 
 as  wholly  mythical  persons,  and  flourishing  only  in 
 the   realms   of   fancy ;    for   geological   investigations 
 
424 
 
 have  told  us  that  primeval  man  closely  resembled  the 
 modern  Esquimaux,  whilst  the  spread  of  geographical 
 knowledge  has  taught  us  that  no  races  deserving  of 
 the  name  of  gigantic  are  anywhere  to  be  found.  I  do 
 not,  of  course,  deny  the  existence  of  very  tall  men  ; 
 indeed  I  once  saw  a  young  Irishman  who  stood 
 between  eight  and  nine  feet  high,  and  I  was  told  that 
 he  was  the  shortest  of  a  family  of  four ;  but  none  of 
 them  would  have  required  a  bed  thirteen  and  a  half 
 feet  long  and  six  feet  broad.  I  need  not  also  explain 
 to  my  reader  that  a  great  many  tall  men  exist  in 
 England  and  Scotland ;  but  I  may  call  his  attention 
 to  the  fact  that  some  Scotch  regiments  were  regarded 
 by  the  comparatively  short,  and  almost  hairless,  Hin- 
 doos, as  a  race  of  hairy  giants. 
 
 Now  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  a  comparatively 
 miserable  and  degenerate  race  has  a  tendency  to  be- 
 come stunted  in  growth.  Excess  of  luxury,  like 
 excessive  poverty,  takes  away  the  natural  vigour  of 
 parents ;  and  when  the  puny  grandson  thinks  of  the 
 stalwart  father  of  his  sire,  he  may  well  say  '  that  there 
 were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days,'  or  talk  with 
 Homer  of  '  the  men  of  these  degenerate  days.' 
 
 We  conclude,  therefore,  that  writers  who  speak  of 
 giants  in  the  past  have  themselves  degenerated  below 
 some  of  their  ancestors.  But  there  is  yet  another 
 way  in  which  we  may  regard  the  mention  of  Og  being 
 a  giant.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Saul  was 
 selected  by  Samuel  as  king,  on  account  of  his  being 
 a  head  and  shoulders  taller  than  the  rest  of  the 
 people.  It  was  evidently  considered  that  the  chief, 
 who  ever  leads  in  battle,  should  be,  not  only  conspi- 
 cuous to  his  followers,  but  of  enormous  strength. 
 This  notion,  the  celebrated  missionary  Williams  found 
 
425 
 
 to  exist  in  some  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific. 
 The  chief  in  esse  always  selected  the  tallest  women 
 of  the  tribe  as  his  wives ;  and  when  sons  were  born, 
 they  were  nursed  by  the  mother,  and  any  other  tall 
 woman  who  had  milk.  As  the  children  grew,  they 
 were  fed  well,  but  at  the  same  time  trained  in  every 
 athletic  sport.  When  they  rose  up  to  manhood,  their 
 budding  propensities  were  closely  restrained,  and  no 
 indulgence  whatever  was  allowed  until  their  growth 
 had  entirely  ceased.  They  were  then  allowed  to 
 marry,  but  only  the  tallest  woman  that  could  be 
 found.  By  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  Mr.  Williams 
 says  the  chiefs  were  as  fine  specimens  of  men  as 
 could  be  found  anywhere  in  Great  Britain.  We  can 
 conceive  that  such  a  plan  may  have  been  followed  by 
 some  of  the  chiefs  in  old  Canaan  ;  and  if  so,  then  we 
 should  conclude  that  the  deterioration  of  the  race  of 
 tall  people  indicated  the  period  when  luxury  became 
 paramount,  and  the  delight  of  royalty  was  to  excel  in 
 the  harem  rather  than  on  the  battle-field. 
 
 There  is  only  one  other  observation  which  we 
 desire  to  make,  ere  we  close  our  remarks  on  giants, 
 viz.,  that  all  individuals  of  unusual  height  are  gene- 
 rally short-lived.  Not  one  who  has  ever  deserved  the 
 name  of  giant  has  reached  a  greater  age  than  forty- 
 five  years.  None  of  them  have  any  stamina,  and, 
 though  strong,  are  not  enduring. 
 
 Respecting  the  name  of  Og,  it  is  evidently  a  solar 
 title,  resembling  in  this  respect  the  titles  assigned  by 
 Berosus  to  the  kings  of  ancient  Babylonia.  (See  Sir 
 William  Drummond's  Origines,  pages  22  et  seq. 
 London,  1824.) 
 Oretn,  P.>5  (1  Chron.  ii.  25).  "  The  sacred  pine  tree  or 
 cedar;"  also  "he  is  firm  or  hard."     Tall  trees  were 
 
426 
 
 adopted  as  emblems  of  the  male,  and  their  wood  was 
 used  for  the  making  of  all  those  images  which  were 
 intended  to  embody  the  idea  of  masculine  vigour. 
 
 Orion  (Amos  v.  8),  the  word  thus  translated  in  our  autho- 
 rised version  of  the  Bible  (Amos  v.  8)  is  written 
 ^■•DS,  chesil,  which  signifies  "  the  firm  strong  one,  the 
 giant."  The  words  Arcturus  and  Pleiades  are  in  like 
 manner  written  ^V,  ash,  and  '"'?''?,  chima  (Job  ix.  9). 
 In  eh.  xxxviii.  31,  Orion  is  spoken  of  as  being  bound 
 in  the  sky.  It  is  clear  from  this  that  the  patriarch 
 was  familiar  with  some  such  legend  as  we  know  that 
 the  Greeks  possessed.  We  do  not  venture  to  assert 
 that  a  small  indication  like  this  suffices  to  show  the 
 influence  of  Hellenism  in  Job  and  Amos,  for  both 
 figments  may  have  had  a  common  source ;  but  when 
 joined  to  other  evidences,  which  we  have  already  seen, 
 it  has  a  great  significance. 
 
 Oracle.  There  is,  probably,  not  a  boy  in  England,  who 
 leaves  school  without  the  knowledge  that  oracles 
 were  consulted  in  by-gone  days,  in  Greece,  Kome, 
 and  all  ancient  nations ;  and  there  are  very  few  men 
 indeed  who  do  not  cease  to  think  about  Delphi  and 
 Dodona  as  soon  as  they  place  their  lesson-books  on  the 
 shelf,  and  read  the  classics  no  more.  Yet,  in  truth, 
 the  subject  deserves  the  closest  attention.  The 
 desire  to  read  the  future  is  implanted  in  us  all ;  and 
 the  royal  David,  the  beloved  of  the  Lord,  sought  for 
 an  omen  to  tell  him  whether  to  undertake  a  battle 
 (2  Sam.  V.  19,  23),  just  as  the  wild  denizens  of  the 
 American  forests  of  to-day  consult  their  "medicine 
 men,"  whether  the  fates  may  be  considered  as  pro- 
 pitious. Now  there  are  maxims  in  trade,  that  a 
 demand  will  always  meet  with  a  supply;  and  that  a 
 large    supply,  disproportionate  to  the    demand,    will 
 
427 
 
 necessarily  cause  competition.  What  is  true  in  trade 
 is  true  in  morals ;  and  therefore  we  believe  that  if 
 human  beings  are  weak  enough  to  believe  that  another 
 mortal  can,  by  the  sheer  force  of  his  will,  become 
 equal  in  knowledge  to  the  Almighty,  there  will  be 
 always  a  number  of  individuals  proclaiming  themselves 
 to  be  divinely  inspired,  so  as  to  accommodate  the 
 willing  dupe. 
 
 It  is  clear  that  a  deep  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
 of  the  laws  that  govern  the  world,  of  legerdemain  or 
 sleight  of  hand,  or  of  ventriloquism,  greater  than 
 that  possessed  by  the  generality  of  men,  must  exist  in 
 those  who  succeed  in  deceiving  their  fellow-mortals. 
 The  pythons,  mediums,  or  gypsies  well  know  the 
 deep  workings  of  the  human  mind;  and  they  must 
 ever  feel  that  they  will  be  themselves  exposed  to  con- 
 dign punishment,  if  any  dupe,  driven  by  failure  to 
 desperation,  asserts  the  power  which  he  possesses 
 and  destroys  the  lying  seer. 
 
 When  on  the  one  hand  riches  are  the  certain 
 appanage  of  success,  and  a  violent  death  the  penalty 
 of  failure,  the  astute  prophet  will  necessarily  study 
 how  to  gain  credit  for  successful  prediction  if  a  happy 
 result  follows,  and  how  to  avoid  disgrace  if  his 
 votaries  are  disappointed  by  things  turning  out 
 badly.  The  problem,  how  to  make  the  same  words 
 descriptive  of  two  different  classes  of  events,  has  ever 
 been  the  main  difficulty  amongst  soothsayers ;  and 
 it  was  solved  much  in  the  same  way  by  the 
 priestesses  of  Delphi,  and  the  "  mediums "  of 
 British  and  American  spiritualists ;  i.  e.,  words  are 
 so  adopted  and  arranged,  that  their  signification  is 
 vague,  and  the  construction  of  the  sentence  is  so 
 framed  that  it   may  be  read  in  two  different  ways. 
 
428 
 
 When  the  oracle,  which  uttered  such  a  response,  was 
 asked  to  explain  the  dictum  of  the  god,  he  naturally 
 refused,  alleging  for  a  reason  that  the  deity  was 
 angry  when  any  one  cross-examined  him.  The  most 
 remarkable  of  these  sayings  may  thus  be  rendered 
 into  English.  "  I  tell  thee,  Pyrrhus,  that  you  the 
 Romans  are  able  to  overcome."  So  constantly  were 
 the  words  of  the  oracle  of  double  meaning,  except  in 
 cases  where  a  mere  exercise  of  judgment  was 
 required, —  as,  for  example,  Avhether  A.  B.  was  a 
 good  man  to  rule  over  the  tribe  of  C.  D.,  —  that  the 
 designation  of  *  an  oracular  response '  is  equivalent  to 
 a  safe  prophecy,  which  has,  intentionally,  a  double 
 meaning. 
 
 We  have  said  that  oracles  existed  in  ancient 
 Greece ;  that  they  did  so  in  ancient  Palestine,  the 
 remarks  which  we  made  under  the  word  Giddalti 
 abundantly  proves ;  and  that  they  existed  amongst 
 the  Jews  is  equally  evident,  from  Gen.  xxv.  22,  where 
 the  expression,  "  enquire  of  the  Lord,"  is  em- 
 ployed by  the  Hebrew  writer,  where  it  is  clear  that 
 the  words,  "  visiting  the  oracle,"  etc.,  would  be  used 
 by  Grecian  authors.  It  is  probable  that  the  use  of 
 the  convenient  phrase  above  referred  to  has  blinded 
 the  eyes  of  modern  observers  to  the  existence  of 
 oracles  amongst  the  so-called  people  of  God. 
 
 Now  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  go 
 through  the  accounts  which  Herodotus  gives  of  the  fre- 
 quency with  which  Croesus  and  the  ruling  authorities 
 amongst  the  Greeks  sent  to  consult  '  the  oracle '  at 
 one  locality  or  another,  must  see  that  the  individuals 
 had  a  perfect  belief  in  the  divinity  of  the  god  whom 
 they  sought,  and  a  profound  trust  in  the  message 
 which  he  delivered.     It  is  equally  true,  that  the  Jews 
 
429 
 
 had  a  similar  trust  in  the  oracles  of  their  country. 
 Like  Croesus,  they  sometimes  even  sent  to  foreign 
 shrines  in  hope  of  getting  a  favourable  reply ;  e.  g., 
 Ahaziah  sends  to  inquire  of  Baal  Zebub,  the  god  of 
 Ekron  (2  Kings  i.  2).  But  is  there,  we  ask,  any  means 
 by  which  we  can  ascertain,  logically,  whether  the  Jews 
 were  exclusively  right,  and  their  oracles  inspired 
 by  Jehovah  ;  or  whether  all  ancient  nations,  both  Jew 
 and  Gentile,  are  not  equally  obnoxious  to  the  charge 
 of  credulity,  and  of  confounding  an  astute  python  or 
 priestess  with  an  incarnate  god  ?  The  natural  reply 
 to  this  question  is,  that  all  the  clear  and  compre- 
 hensible responses  which  are  recorded  in  the  Bible 
 were  proved  to  be  correct  by  the  sequel,  and  that  the 
 event  contemplated  must  have  been  foreseen  by  the 
 prophets  when  they  uttered  the  words,  as  their  diction 
 was  not  double-faced.  But  this  at  once  raises  another 
 difficulty,  viz..  Does  not  the  very  absence  of  the 
 "  oracular  "  element  suffice  to  show  that  the  so-called 
 prophecy  was  uttered  aftei'  the  event  occurred,  and 
 was  simply  a  figment  of  the  annalist  ?  Such  fictions 
 form  part  of  the  storehouse  from  which  the  poet,  the 
 panegyrist,  the  novelist,  and  the  lively  historian  draw 
 their  most  powerful  resources. 
 
 Again,  if  we  are  to  regard  clearness  of  dic- 
 tion, or  an  absence  of  the  mysterious  and  incom- 
 prehensiblCi  as  evidence  of  the  really  divine  origin 
 of  any  given  utterance,  what  shall  we  say  to  the 
 following  oracle  ?  "  Woe  to  the  land,  shadowing 
 with  wings,  which  is  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia ; 
 that  sendeth  ambassadors  by  the  sea,  in  vessels  of 
 bulrushes  upon  the  waters,  saving.  Go,  ye  swift 
 messengers,  to  a  nation  scattered  and  peeled,"  etc. 
 (Is.  xviii.  1.)     Surely  this  is  as  absolutely  unintelli- 
 
430 
 
 gible  as,  "  If  Croesus  should  make  war  on  the  Persians 
 he  will  destroy  a  mighty  empire"  (Herod.,  i.  53). 
 
 But  if  we  are  to  take  the  fulfilment  of  the  oracular 
 vaticination  as  a  proof  of  the  divine  origin  of  the 
 message,  what  shall  we  say  to  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel 
 (xxvi.  1-21),  which  declares  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
 shall  take  Tyre  and  ruin  it  completely,  making  its 
 remains  little  better  than  rugged  rocks ;  which  is 
 supplemented  by  another  utterance  (xxix.  18-20),  to 
 the  effect  that,  as  Nebuchadnezzar  tried  to  take  Tyre 
 and  could  not,  he  shall  have  Egypt  instead  ?  Can 
 any  man  of  sane  mind  and  sound  judgment  see  in 
 this  anything  else  than  the  fact,  that  the  words  "  thus 
 saith  the  Lord"  signify  ''thus  saith  the  prophet,"  or 
 '*  thus  saith  the  oracle  "  ? 
 
 Speaking  for  ourselves,  we  can  only  say  that,  after 
 years  of  thought,  the  origin  of  which  dates  from  the 
 days  of  childhood,  we  can  see  no  essential  difi'erence 
 between  the  ancient  magi,  astrologers,  sorcerers, 
 Jewish  prophets,  diviners,  dreamers,  soothsayers, 
 ephod  -consulters,  urim  -  and  -  thummimites,  augurs, 
 seers,  necromancers,  et  hoc  genus  omne,  and  the 
 modern  spirit-rappers,  spiritualists,  mediums,  gypsies, 
 fortune-tellers,  and  the  like.  No  amount  of  sophistry 
 can  draw  any  essential  distinction  between  the  one  set 
 of  impostors  and  another,  except  in  degree ;  some  are 
 transcendently  clever,  others  are  contemptibly  silly; 
 some,  like  a  modern  Home,  can  deceive  minds  of 
 whom  better  things  might  have  been  expected,  others 
 can  only  enrol  amongst  their  dupes  country  bump- 
 kins and  fond  women,  amongst  whom  I  almost  blush 
 to  include  the  accomplished  Harriet  Martineau.  Some 
 profess  to  draw  their  inspiration  from  the  devil, 
 others  cantingly  declare  that  their  spirit  is  orthodox  ; 
 
481 
 
 some  are  true  wolves,  too  fiercely  rapacious  to  disguise 
 themselves,  others  have  the  grace  to  put  on  sheep's 
 clothing,  and  bleat  blatantly,  whilst  they  gorge  them- 
 selves with  the  spoils  of  their  eager  dupes.  There  are 
 indeed  few,  who  live  and  ponder  long,  who  do  not 
 recognise  the  fact,  that  the  human  race,  like  the 
 animal  world,  is  divided  into  the  oxen  who  eat 
 grass  and  become  fat,  and  the  carnivora  who  eat 
 them ;  the  graminivorous  are  always  in  excess,  and 
 the  hawks  will  ever  be  fewer  than  the  pigeons. 
 
 As  some  may  be  interested  in  examining  speci- 
 mens of  the  ancient  oracles ;  we  record  some  from 
 Lucian.  Here,  for  example,  is  an  account  of  a  set  of 
 mendicant  priests  of  Isis,  the  predecessors  of  the 
 modern  mendicant  friars  of  Christendom.  "  After 
 staying  a  few  days  in  this  town,  where  they  were 
 pampered  by  the  bounty  of  the  public,  and  made  a 
 great  deal  by  their  soothsaying,  these  pious  priests 
 bethought  them  of  a  new  device  for  getting  money. 
 They  composed  a  singular  oracular  response,  which 
 would  fit  a  variety  of  cases ;  and  thus  they  gulled 
 a  great  number  of  persons,  who  came  to  consult 
 them  upon  all  sorts  of  subjects.  The  oracle  was  as 
 follows. 
 
 The  steers  are  yoked  and  till  the  ground, 
 That  crops  may  rise  and  joys  abound. 
 
 Suppose,  now,  that  a  person  consulted  the  oracle  with 
 regard  to  his  marrying,  to  him  it  said  plainly  that  he 
 should  take  upon  him  the  yoke  of  matrimony,  and 
 raise  a  fine  crop  of  children.  Suppose  it  was  one 
 who  had  a  mind  to  buy  land,  the  yoked  oxen  and  the 
 abundant  harvest  were  quite  to  the  point.  If  the 
 applicant   was   anxious    about  a  journey  he    had  to 
 
432 
 
 take,  the  meekest  of  quadrupeds  were  read}-  yoked, 
 and  the  produce  of  the  soil  signified  a  lucrative  result. 
 If  he  was  one  who  had  to  go  into  battle,  or  to  pursue 
 a  gang  of  robbers,  the  priests  declared  that  the  oracle 
 promised  him  victory,  and  that  he  should  bring  the 
 necks  of  his  enemies  under  the  joke,  and  reap  a  rich 
 harvest  of  booty.  My  masters  had  gained  no  little 
 money  by  this  cheating  method  of  divination ;  but, 
 exhausted  at  last  by  perpetual  interrogations,  for 
 which  they  had  but  one  answer,  they  again  departed." 
 {The  Golden  Ass  of  Ajnileius,  b.  ix.,  p.  172,  Bohn's 
 edition,  1853.)  There  is  perhaps  no  other  author 
 who  has  held  up  to  ridicule  the  pretensions  of  various 
 oracles  more  than  Lucian,  whose  works  are  con- 
 spicuous for  their  bold  and  deep  thought.  "  He 
 flourished  during  the  reign  of  the  Roman  emperor 
 Trajan,  and  died  a.  d.  182.  An  Assyrian  or  Syrian 
 by  birth,  he  seems  to  have  been  Greek  by  education, 
 and  Latin  by  adoption ;  he  taught  rhetoric  in  Gaul, 
 pleaded  at  the  bar  in  Antioch,  and  then  went  to 
 Macedon ;  in  his  old  age  he  was  received  into  the 
 imperial  family  at  Rome,  and  had  the  place  of  intend- 
 ant  of  Egypt,  after  he  had  travelled  through  almost 
 all  the  known  countries  of  that  age,  to  improve  his 
 knowledge  in  men,  manners,  and  arts."     (Dryden.) 
 
 In  his  time  there  existed  a  wonderful  amount  of 
 bold  research  amongst  the  Greek  and  other  philoso- 
 phers. The  thoughtful  Platonists  had  boldly  thrown 
 off  all  belief  in  the  old  fables  of  mythology,  and 
 ridiculed  the  pretensions  of  heathen  priests,  oracles, 
 sybils,  and  pythonesses.  But  there  was  at  the  same 
 time  a  mass  of  ignorant  and  half-instructed  indivi- 
 duals, who  believed  profoundly  in  the  truth  of  every- 
 thing which  had  been  instilled  into  them  in  childhood  ; 
 
433 
 
 who  clung  to  all  the  old  stories  told  of  the  gods 
 in  the  sacred  books ;  and  accorded  implicit  reverence 
 to  their  own  hierarchs.  Being  convinced  of  the  anti- 
 quity and  orthodoxy  of  their  faith,  they  refused  even 
 to  examine  it,  and  vehemently  urged  their  teachers 
 forward,  so  as  to  confound  all  heretics.  We  may 
 indeed  compare  the  time  of  Lucian  to  our  own. 
 Amongst  ourselves,  we  have  Christian  heathenism  and 
 heathen  Christianity,  which  are  regarded  with  a  super- 
 stitious reverence  by  the  majority ;  whilst  both  are 
 opposed  by  modern  Platonists,  or  men  of  independent 
 minds.  As  a  result,  the  Christian  heathens  and  the 
 heathen  Christians  become  very  energetic  in  their 
 denunciations  of  heresy,  and  are  determined  opponents 
 to  the  exercise  of  thought.  But  whilst  heathendom 
 was  making  a  last  spasmodic  effort  to  avoid  her  fate, 
 a  class  of  Christians  was  steadily  advancing,  who 
 mingled  all  that  was  lovely  in  the  doctrines  taught 
 by  thoughtful  Buddhists,  Grecians,  Egyptians,  Gnos- 
 tics and  Jews,  declaring  that  a  life  of  goodness,  virtue 
 and  piety,  love  to  our  fellow-creatures,  and  a  constant 
 desire  to  treat  others  as  we  would  wish  others  to  treat 
 us,  was  superior  to  an  existence  passed  in  offering 
 sacrifices  and  endeavouring  to  credit  absurdities. 
 Such  another  school  is  quietly  forming  now,  whose 
 doctrines  do  not  essentially  differ  from  the  Christian 
 Platonism  oL  the  writer  called  John. 
 
 We  may,  indeed,  carry  the  parallel  still  far- 
 ther, and  allege  that  there  are  as  many  and  as  deep 
 superstitions  in  the  minds  of  the  Christian  heathens 
 and  heathen  Christians  of  to-day,  as  there  were 
 amongst  the  pure  heathens  of  the  time  of  Lucian. 
 There  are  those  around  us  who  believe  in  wanking 
 pictures,    in   apparitions   of  the  celestial  Virgin,    in 
 
 E  E 
 
434 
 
 miraculous  cures  by  mesmerists,  in  conversation  with 
 the  dead  by  means  of  rapping  tables,  in  divining  the 
 future  by  a  study  of  the  stars,  in  the  power  of  the 
 human  will  to  make  a  human  body  float  in  the  air,  in 
 the  power  of  a  bit  of  old  bone  to  cure  disease,  and  in 
 the  ability  of  some  invisible  agent  to  tie  and  untie 
 knotted  cords.  I  remember  to  have  heard  of  a  cer- 
 tain Alexis,  who  professed  to  answer  questions  which 
 were  enclosed  in  sealed  envelopes ;  and  of  a  barrister, 
 one  very  learned  in  the  law,  who  continued  to  believe 
 in  this  impostor,  even  after  his  being  convicted  of 
 fraud.  On  the  other  hand,  there  never  were  in 
 England  so  great  a  number  of  bold  thinkers,  who 
 refuse  to  allow  their  minds  to  be  trammelled,  and  who 
 investigate  the  subject  of  ancient  miracles,  with  the 
 same  scientific  carefulness  as  they  examine  into  such 
 modern  marvels  as  table-turning,  the  resuscitation  of 
 ancient  celebrities,  and  the  movement  of  the  eyes  in 
 the  picture  of  a  woman,  as  there  are  now. 
 
 The  present,  then,  does  not  essentially  differ  from 
 the  past,  except  that,  when  we  go  and  consult  a  char- 
 latan, we  do  not  call  him  a  prophet  or  an  oracle.  I 
 know,  at  the  present  time,  a  lady,  who  went  to  a  mes- 
 meric woman  to  learn  who  had  stolen  a  bracelet 
 that  was  missing,  and  who  lost  a  valuable  servant 
 by  condemning  her  to  the  indignity  of  a  search,  on  no 
 other  ground  than  the  dictum  of  the  sybil ;  and  I  know 
 an  orthodox  divine,  who  loudly  expressed  his  belief  in 
 the  inspiration  of  a  certain  Jewish  damsel,  'who  could 
 tell  him  all  the  things  that  ever  he  did,  and  what  the 
 people  in  his  house  were  doing  during  his  absence.' 
 Charlatans  now  procure  dupes  by  trickery,  which  is 
 generally  transparent  enough  to  those  who  have  inde- 
 pendent minds,  and  exercise  them.     How  impostors 
 
435 
 
 succeeded  in  days  gone  by,  Lucian  has  told  us,  in  his 
 history  of  Alexander  the  false  prophet,  which,  as  it 
 has  a  very  direct  bearing  upon  ancient  faiths  and 
 oracles,  I  shall  reproduce  in  a  somewhat  condensed 
 form;  premising  that  my  authorities  are  an  English 
 translation,  by  John  Drj^den  (London,  1711),  and  a 
 French  one,  by  Eugene  Talbot  (Paris,  1857),  both 
 of  which,  having  compared  them  with  the  original, 
 I  consider  sufficiently  correct  to  be  trusted. 
 
 After  describing  his  person  as  attractive,  Lucian 
 says,  "  But  as  to  his  soul  and  mind,  rather  let  me 
 fall  into  the  hands  of  my  greatest  enemies  than  con- 
 verse with  such  a  fellow,  for  in  understanding  and 
 acuteness  of  wit  he  far  excelled  all  others  ;  and  as  for 
 curiosity,  docility,  memory,  and  inclination  to  learn- 
 ing, all  these  were  inherent  in  him,  even  to  admira- 
 tion, although  he  made  so  bad  an  use  of  them.  He 
 was  a  man  of  most  various  temper  of  mind,  composed 
 of  falsehood  and  tricks,  perjuries  and  impostures ; 
 prompt,  bold,  daring,  and  industrious  to  effect  what 
 he  had  contrived ;  plausible  and  persuasive ;  professing 
 in  appearance  the  best  things,  and  such  as  are  most 
 opposite  to  his  inw^ard  inclinations.  There  was  no 
 one  who,  upon  the  first  acquaintance  with  Alexander, 
 did  not  go  away  with  the  opinion  that  he  was  more 
 civil  and  courteous  than  any  other,  nay  the  most  plain- 
 hearted  and  sincere  person  in  the  world.  Moreover, 
 he  was  of  sifch  a  temper  that  he  never  amused  him- 
 self with  any  trivial  matter,  but  still  set  his  heart  on 
 high  and  great  attempts.  Like  Samuel,  he  was  ^1p, 
 and  became  attached  to  a  certain  individual  who  pro- 
 fessed magic,  i.  e.,  to  make  love  philtres,  to  recover 
 money,  to  restore  health,  and  obtain  inheritances. 
 The   two   worked    together,    and,    when   the   master 
 
436 
 
 died,  the  disciple  inherited  his  secrets.  Being,  how- 
 ever, yet  young,  he  associated  with  another  man  of 
 kindred  mind,  and  the  two  lighted  upon  a  rich  old 
 woman,  whom  they  imposed  upon  largely,  but  who 
 regarded  them  much  as  an  old  maid  is  said  to  cherish 
 a  "beast  of  a  dog,"  or  a  cat,  and  took  them  with  her 
 to  Pella.  In  this  place  were  very  many  tamed  snakes, 
 and  the  two  confederates  became  purchasers  ;  for 
 these  two  villains  perceived  that  men  were  tpannised 
 over  by  hope  and  fear;  that  he  who  knows  how  best  to 
 play  upon  these  would  soon  grow  rich ;  that  foresight 
 is  necessary ;  that  Delphos,  Delos,  Claros,  Branchidse 
 grew  rich  by  these  means,  because  men,  always 
 impelled  by  hope  and  fear,  came  to  their  temples  to 
 know  the  future,  and  for  this  end  were  willing  to 
 sacrifice  hecatombs.  Perceiving,  then,  these  things, 
 the  confederates  determined  to  establish  an  oracle. 
 After  a  discussion  as  to  the  spot  where  the  shrine 
 should  be  founded,  Alexander  preferred  his  own 
 country,  alleging  that,  for  setting  on  foot  such  a 
 design,  a  soft-headed,  silly  people  was  necessary,  to 
 give  them  a  decent  reception.  Such  a  people  were 
 the  Paphlagonians,  who  were  for  the  most  part  super- 
 stitious and  foolish ;  so  much  so,  that  if  a  man  did 
 but  bring  with  him  a  musician,  and  pretend  to 
 divine  with  a  sieve,  they  would  honour  him  as  a  celes- 
 tial being.  Having  then  agreed,  they  came  to  Chal- 
 cedon,  and  hid  under  ground,  in  the  ancient  temple  of 
 Apollo,  certain  little  tables  of  brass,  intimating  that 
 Esculapius,  with  his  father  Apollo,  would  very 
 speedily  come  to  Pontus,  and  settle  himself  within  the 
 walls  of  Abonus.  The  tables,  being  purposely  found 
 (compare  this  with  the  finding  of  the  law  in  the 
 temple  of  Jerusalem,  in  Josiah's  time,  and  with  the 
 
437 
 
 plates  of  the  book  of  Mormon  found  more  recently 
 in  America),  occasioned  a  great  sensation,  and  the 
 people  of  Ahonus  began  to  build  a  temple,  by  excava- 
 ting ground  for  a  foundation. 
 
 The  older  of  the  confederates  now  died ;  but  Alex- 
 ander, attired  much  like  a  grand  modern  mountebank, 
 went  to  Abonus  alone,  and,  although  amongst  those 
 who  knew  that  his  parentage  was  humble,  uttered  the 
 oracle,  "  The  descendant  of  Perseus,  issue  of  Poda- 
 lirius,  a  sou  of  Phoebus,  whose  power  inspires  him, 
 Alexander  counts  gods  amongst  his  illustrious  ances- 
 tors." There  had  been  found,  before  this,  another 
 oracle,  which  ran  thus  — 
 
 "  Near  to  Sinope,  by  the  Euxine  strand, 
 At  Tyrsis  an  xVusonian  priest  shall  stand, 
 Whose  name  by  nmnbers  that  you  all  may  know. 
 One,  thrice  ten,  five,  and  three  times  twenty  show." 
 
 i.  e.,  Alex;  a  =  1,  A  =  30,  s  =  5,  ^  =  60. 
 
 This  man,  reentering  his  country  with  so  much 
 pageantry,  became  famous.  To  enhance  his  merit  he 
 sometimes  feigned  himself  mad  (as  if  j)ossessed  by  a 
 spirit),  and  foamed  at  the  mouth,  which  was  easily 
 done  by  chewing  madder.  He  also  modelled  a 
 serpent's  head,  so  as  to  resemble  a  man's.  Its 
 mouth  was  opened  and  closed  by  horsehair,  and  this, 
 with  the  s&rpent  of  Pella,  was  made  very  useful. 
 \Yhen  he  thought  the  time  had  come  for  beginning 
 his  oracle-giving  career,  he  went  secretly  to  the 
 foundations  of  the  proposed  temple,  and  in  the  water 
 which  stood  therein  he  placed  a  goose  egg,  which  he 
 had  previously  manipulated,  so  that  it  contained  a 
 newly  hatched  snake.  Then  in  the  morning  he 
 rushed  into  the  market,  without  other  covering  than 
 
438 
 
 a  very  small  golden  apron,  holding  a  sword  in  his 
 hand,  and  shaking  his  head  like  a  madman.  He 
 then  got  upon  an  altar,  and  made  a  sjjeech,  to  the 
 effect  that  the  city  must  needs  he  a  very  holy  one 
 since  a  god  would  speedily  be  exposed  to  the  inha- 
 bitants. At  this  all  the  people  began  to  admire, 
 pray,  and  worship.  Alexander  then,  mumbling  a  few 
 words  like  those  of  the  Hebrews  or  Phoenicians,  did 
 very  much  amaze  the  people,  who,  not  knowing  what 
 he  said,  could  only  understand  that  he  named  Apollo 
 and  Esculapius.  Then  he  ran  to  the  proposed  temple, 
 went  into  the  water,  sung  hymns  to  Apollo  and  Escu- 
 lapius, inviting  them  to  come  to  the  city.  Then  ask- 
 ing for  a  vessel  from  a  by-stander,  he  filled  it  under 
 water,  and  di-ew  up  the  egg,  which  he  had  made  im- 
 permeable by  wax  and  white  lead.  Its  shell  he  broke 
 in  the  sight  of  the  people,  who  saw  the  snake  which 
 it  contained,  and  began  to  adore  and  pray.  Alexander 
 then  went  home  with  the  egg,  and  the  people  followed 
 him,  wonderingly.  But  during  daylight  the  prophet 
 refused  to  be  seen.  In  the  evening,  however,  by  the 
 dim  light  of  an  obscure  lamp,  he  allowed  people  to 
 see  him  in  his  house,  dressed  as  a  priest,  whilst  the 
 tame  serpent  wriggled  his  tail  about  his  body,  and 
 the  false  head  appeared  near  his  shoulder.  The 
 crowds  who  came  to  visit  him  were  amazed  to  see 
 the  small  snake  from  the  goose  egg  suddenly  grown 
 large,  tame,  and  human,  and  very  naturally  were 
 impressed  with  awe  of  the  man.  This  spectacle  cre- 
 ated such  sensation,  that  almost  all  Bythinia,  Galatia, 
 and  Thrace  heard  of  it,  and  sent  admiring  crowds 
 to  see  Alexander.  Every  one  who  heard  the  story, 
 saw  the  prophet,  and  felt  the  snake,  believed  that  he 
 saw  an  incarnate  god ;  and  pictures  and  effigies  were 
 
439 
 
 made  of  him  in  brass  and  silver,  inscribed  with  the 
 divine  name  Glycon.  This  name  was  given  to 
 Alexander  by  command  of  an  oracle,  i.  e.  himself. 
 When  the  people  were  imbued  with  reverence,  and  the 
 temple  for  the  oracle  was  built,  Alexander  announced 
 that  the  god  intended  to  prophesy  on  a  certain  day.  If 
 any  one  wished  to  appeal  to  Glycon,  he  was  to  write 
 down  the  question  on  a  piece  of  paper,  then,  folding  it 
 up  closely,  to  seal  it  with  wax  or  clay,  etc.  After  which 
 he  was  to  hand  it  to  the  prophet,  who  retired 
 behind  the  screen  into  the  sanctum,  promising  to 
 summon  in  rotation  those  who  confided  their  writ- 
 ing to  him,  as  soon  as  the  god  had  answered  their 
 questions.  By  a  contrivance  well  known  in  modern 
 post-offices,  he  could  readily  break  open  the  pa- 
 pers, read  their  contents,  reseal  them  as  before, 
 and  then  return  them,  apparently  untouched,  with 
 an  appropriate  answer.  About  a  shilling  was  the 
 charge  to  every  questioner,  and  so  successful  were 
 Alexander's  plans,  that  he  received  in  a  year  about 
 seventy  or  eighty  thousand  inquiries.  As  this  is  at  the 
 rate  of  two  hundred  per  day,  or  seventeen  per  hour, 
 taking  the  working  time  of  the  day  at  twelve  hours, 
 it  is  probably  too  large  an  estimate.  To  enable  him  to 
 get  through  his  work,  he  had  in  his  pay  intelligencers, 
 oracle  makers,  oracle  keepers,  secretaries,  sealers,  and 
 interpreters,  whom  he  paid  according  to  their  deserts. 
 Alexander  also  sent  emissaries  into  other  countries  to 
 spread  his  fame.  At  length,  when  his  imposture 
 was  discovered  by  some,  he  vilified  his  adversaries, 
 and  tried  to  terrify  them  by  calling  them  Atheists  and 
 Christians  ;  for  Christians  in  those  days  were  both 
 atheists  and  infidels  in  the  eyes  of  the  orthodox.  He 
 also   ordered   his   votaries   to   stone   them.      As  the 
 
440 
 
 Epicureans  were  his  chief  assailants,  they  being  a 
 very  thoughtful  sect,  he  contrived  a  punishment  in 
 Hell  for  their  founder — just  as  the  Romanists  did 
 for  Luther,  only  Alexander  was  far  more  merciful 
 than  Clement ;  for  the  sole  torture  he  assigned  to 
 Epicurus  was  to  sit  in  the  dirt  of  Hell  with  leaden 
 slippers  on !  To  show  his  own  generosity,  the  prophet 
 now  uttered  the  oracle:  "I  order  all  men  to  honour 
 my  prophet.  I  love  my  interpreter  far  more  than  the 
 offerings  you  bring  to  me." 
 
 To  increase  his  reputation,  he  made  a  contrivance 
 by  which  the  oracle  seemed  to  come  from  the  mouth 
 of  the  serpent,  using  the  windpipes  of  cranes,  fastened 
 lengthways  together,  as  a  speaking  tube.  For  these 
 oracles  from  the  god  direct,  a  high  price  was  charged. 
 When  much  puzzled  for  an  answer,  he  gave  unintelli- 
 gible replies.  For  example,  to  one  who  sought  a  cure 
 for  a  diseased  stomach,  he  said,  "  Take  some  Lipydneas, 
 and  then  cuminate  the  malbax  of  a  swine."  But  he 
 had  another  plan,  on  which  we  must  fix  our  attention. 
 Like  Ezekiel,  he  supplemented  one  oracle  by  another ; 
 thus,  when  Severianus  asked  concerning  his  expedition 
 into  Armenia,  the  prophecy  ran,  "  Parthians  and  Arme- 
 nians, bowing  under  thy  power,  follow  thee  to  the 
 flowery  borders  of  the  Tiber ;  and  Rome,  proud  of 
 your  success,  shall  crown  your  labours  and  your  suc- 
 cess with  a  radiant  wreath."  But  when  it  happened 
 that  the  leader  was  killed,  and  his  army  worsted, 
 Alexander  withdrew  from  the  catalogue  of  his  oracles 
 the  above  dictum,  and  substituted  the  following,  "Take 
 heed  how  thou  attackest  the  warriors  of  Armenia  ; 
 fear  lest  a  soldier,  clad  in  a  feminine  suit,  shooting  at 
 you  with  good  arrows  and  a  steady  aim,  should  with 
 his  bow  take  away  your  life  and  light."     Many  similar 
 
441 
 
 recantations  were  made  by  Alexander.     To  propitiate 
 other  oracles,  he  sent  some  clients  to  them. 
 
 At  length  the  fame  of  Alexander  reached  Kome, 
 and  it  affected  Rutillianus,  whose  character  closely  re- 
 sembled that  of  certain  Britons  in  our  day.  He  was 
 estimable  in  every  way,  and  distinguished  in  many 
 positions  of  the  Roman  administration,  but  he  was 
 affected  by  superstition,  and  ready  to  admit  any 
 religious  dogma,  however  absurd.  At  the  sight  of  a 
 stone,  oily  on  the  top  and  crowned  with  flowers,  he 
 would  fall  prostrate,  and  adore  it  for  a  considerable 
 time  (quite  as  sensible  an  act  of  worship,  we  may  say, 
 as  to  kneel  down  in  the  street  when  a  bit  of  bread,  over 
 which  a  man  has  muttered  some  words,  is  borne  in 
 procession) ;  and  to  the  same  stone  he  would  offer 
 prayers  and  vows.  This  man,  so  clever  in  war,  first 
 sent  his  servants  to  see  for  themselves,  and  report 
 upon  the  oracle ;  and  when  they,  being  worthy  of 
 their  superstitious  master,  came  back  and  told  of  all 
 the  marvels  of  the  place,  he  then,  on  their  return, 
 determined  to  leave  the  army,  and  repair  to  Abonti- 
 cus,  where  the  prophet  dwelt.  With  him  went  many 
 others.  When  Alexander  discovered  their  quahty,  he 
 treated  them  judiciously,  and  sent  them  away  devoted 
 to  his  interests.  Rutillianus  remained  behind,  and 
 consulted  the  oracle  on  many  points.  He  asked,  for 
 example,  what  preceptor  he  should  give  to  his  son, 
 who  was  old  enough  to  go  to  school ;  and  was  answer- 
 ed, "Pythagoras,  and  the  immortal  bard  of  combats." 
 When  the  youth  died  a  few  days  after,  the  father 
 at  once  believed  that  the  oracle  foretold  his  son's 
 decease,  as  it  recommended  him  to  go  to  men  long 
 since  dead.  When  the  same  votary  asked  about  his 
 own  marriage,  the  oracle  replied,  "  Take  the  daughter 
 
442 
 
 of  Alexander  and  the  moon ; "  the  prophet  having 
 given  out  that  the  moon  had  come  down  to  him  as 
 she  did  to  Endymion,  and  had  a  daughter  in  conse- 
 quence. This  young  woman  Rutillianus  married  when 
 sixty  years  okl.  When  this  fond  old  man,  believing 
 clearly  in  metempsychosis,  inquired  whose  soul  it 
 was  that  possessed  his  body,  the  oracle  replied  — 
 
 "First,  the  son  of  Peleus,  and  then  Menander; 
 now  you  are  in  the  ranks  of  man,  but  after  a  time 
 you  will  become  a  sunbeam ;  but  your  life  shall 
 last  a  hundred  and  eighty  years."  But  Rutillianus 
 died  at  seventy. 
 
 Alexander  next  did  a  stroke  of  business  which 
 reminds  us  closely  of  the  "  pardons,  "  "  relics, " 
 "indulgences,"  "  agnus  deis, "  "blessed  candles," 
 etc.,  etc.,  that  were  sent  from  Rome  for  sale  all  over 
 Christendom.  The  astute  Greek,  when  he  found 
 out  that  his  fame  had  spread  to  Italy,  sent  emis- 
 saries thither,  with  oracles  for  sale;  and  "unshaved 
 Apollo  drives  away  the  plague  "  was  to  be  seen  in 
 every  street  of  Italian  towns,  so  large  was  the  sale 
 of  the  charmed  talisman.  But,  unfortunately,  the 
 houses  thus  protected  from  the  plague  were  the  seats 
 of  the  greatest  mortality ;  for  the  people  who  relied 
 upon  the  god  took  no  human  means  of  precaution. 
 
 So  it  ever  will  be,  when  men  give  up  the  use  of 
 their  own  faculties,  and  rely  upon  a  power  of  which 
 they  can  know  nothing,  and  of  whose  existence  there 
 is  doubt.  In  times  of  pestilence,  the  Papist  has 
 recourse  to  dead  men,  whom  some  Pope  has  dubbed 
 "  saints  "  ;  masses  also  are  said  for  the  cure  of  cho- 
 lera, and  for  the  quiet  repose  of  the  dead.  There  is 
 scarcely  an  Irish  Papist,  of  the  lower  orders,  who  does 
 not  wear  a  blessed  medal  next  his  skin,  to  chase  away 
 
443 
 
 the  devil ;  or  a  Neapolitan  gentleman,  who  does  not 
 carry  a  pair  of  horns,  or  other  talisman,  in  his  waist- 
 coat pocket,  as  a  protection  against  the  evil  eye. 
 Nor  are  Protestants  wholly  blameless,  for  we  have 
 seen  priest-ridden  Scotland  attempt  to  drive  away  the 
 cholera  by  prayer  and  fasting.  I  never  read  anything 
 with  greater  admiration  than  the  reply  of  a  late 
 premier  to  the  Scotch  Presbytery,  who  urged  him  to 
 order  a  national  humiliation  in  the  hopes  of  avert- 
 ing the  cholera  ;  and  I  here  reproduce  it,  quoting 
 from  Buckle's  History  of  Civilisation  in  England. 
 "  Lord  Palmerston  would  therefore  suggest  that  the 
 best  course  which  the  people  of  this  country  can 
 pursue,  to  deserve  that  the  further  progress  of  the 
 cholera  should  be  stayed,  will  be  to  employ  the  inter- 
 val that  will  elapse,  between  the  present  time  and  the 
 beginning  of  next  spring,  in  planning  and  executing 
 measures,  by  which  those  portions  of  their  towns  and 
 cities  which  are  inhabited  by  the  poorest  classes,  and 
 which,  from  the  nature  of  things,  must  most  need 
 purification  and  improvement,  may  be  freed  from 
 those  causes  and  sources  of  contagion,  which,  if 
 allowed  to  remain,  will  infallibly  breed  pestilence, 
 and  be  fruitful  in  death,  in  spite  of  all  the  prayers 
 and  fastings  of  a  united,  but  inactive  nation."  I  do 
 not  apologise  for  this  digression,  feeling  sure  that 
 my  readers  will  be  interested  to  recognise  the  simi- 
 larity of  thought  which  existed  in  the  minds  of  the 
 philosophic  Lucian,  and  the  practical  Palmerston. 
 We  will,  however,  now  return  to  Alexander. 
 
 When  he  found  that  Eoman  clients  came  to  consult 
 him,  he  established  spies  in  the  imperial  city,  who 
 told  him  of  those  who  were  coming,  and  what  they 
 sought  to  know ;    so  that  he  could  sometimes  answer 
 
444 
 
 a  question  which  was  only  framed  mentally  by  the 
 inquirer.  He  then  instituted  mysteries,  wherein 
 were  celebrated,  during  three  days,  very  gorgeous 
 and  yet  very  indecent  tableaux  vivaiis.  To  these 
 none  but  the  faithful  were  admitted,  and  from  them 
 Atheists,  Christians,  and  Epicureans  were  exclu- 
 ded by  name.  During  one  part  of  the  day,  the 
 prophet  had  a  contrivance  by  which  he  made  the 
 audience  believe  that  he  had  a  golden  thigh,  like 
 Pythagoras ;  and  an  oracle  affirmed  that  Alexander 
 was  a  restored  appearance  of  that  great  philosopher. 
 Resembling  the  Maharajah  priests  in  India,  Alex- 
 ander's private  practices  were  detestable.  Yet,  like 
 them,  he  was  so  greatly  esteemed  by  his  followers, 
 that  intercourse  with  him  was  coveted  by  women ; 
 and  each  family  was  considered  enriched  and  lucky 
 who  could  boast  of  containing  a  real  son  of  the 
 prophet. 
 
 On  one  occasion  Alexander  was  confuted  thus. 
 He  had  been  consulted  by  a  nobleman  about  his 
 son,  who  had  disappeared  from  his  retinue  whilst 
 travelling  in  Egypt ;  and  they,  fearing  that  he  was 
 drowned,  returned  home  and  told  their  story.  The 
 prophet,  declaring  that  the  slaves  had  killed  their 
 master,  ordered  them  all  to  be  exposed  to  wild 
 beasts  ;  which  was  done.  But  the  young  man  came 
 safe  home  again,  and  the  prophet  knew  it.  Una- 
 bashed, however,  by  such  a  public  refutation  of  his 
 power,  Alexander  denounced  his  accusing  votary, 
 who  barely  escaped  with  his  life ;  it  being  always  far 
 easier  to  kill  an  adversary  than  to  disprove  his  asser- 
 tion, if  it  happens  to  be  true.  So  infatuated  were 
 his  followers,  that  if  Alexander,  from  his  oratory, 
 refused  to  give  to  any  one  an  oracle,   except   "  Away 
 
445 
 
 with  him  to  the  crows," —  which  was  equivalent  to 
 the  anathema  or  ban,  such  as  was  passed  upon 
 Luther  and  Colenso, — that  man  became  practically 
 excommunicated ;  no  one  would  harbour,  have  any 
 dealings  with,  or  even  speak  to  him. 
 
 By  means  of  Rutillianus,  Alexander's  prophecies 
 were  received  at  the  Roman  court,  and  when  he 
 forwarded  the  following  oracle,  it  was  obeyed  to  the 
 letter. 
 
 "  Into  the  waves  of  Ister,  that  impetuous  stream, 
 throw  two  servants  of  the  mother  of  the  gods ;  two 
 terrible  lions,  fed  upon  the  mountains ;  join  to  them 
 that  which  India,  on  its  rich  plains,  grows  richest 
 amongst  perfumes  and  choicest  amongst  flowers.  At 
 this  price  you  will  be  victorious  in  the  fight,  peace 
 shall  crown  the  success  of  your  arms,  and  you  shall 
 taste  the  charms  of  a  glorious  repose."  Thus  spake 
 the  prophet,  but  he  spoke  in  vain.  The  lions  swam 
 ashore  and  were  killed ;  the  enemy  routed  the 
 Romans,  who  lost  twenty  thousand  men,  and  very 
 nearly  the  important  town  of  Aquileja.  To  account 
 for  so  gross  a  mistake,  Alexander  copied  the  plan  of 
 old  Delphi,  when  taunted  about  an  oracle  given  to 
 Croesus  ;  and  said  that  the  god  truly  foretold  a  vic- 
 tory, but  did  not  fully  explain  whether  it  belonged  to 
 the  Romans  or  their  adversaries. 
 
 As  a  very  natural  result  of  his  fame,  the  town 
 wherein  Alexander  dwelt  was  much  crowded,  and  he 
 had  to  resort  to  night  oracles  to  keep  the  applicants 
 in  good  humour.  He  took  their  papers  sealed,  pre- 
 tending to  sleep  upon  them,  and  answer  in  his  dreams, 
 generally  concocting  some  gibberish  which  had  very 
 scant  meaning.  This,  not  being  understood,  was 
 taken  to  interpreters  appointed  by  him  for  the  pur- 
 
446 
 
 pose,  each  man  paying  a  royalty  for  the  permission  to 
 charge  fees.  Sometimes  he  was  consulted,  in  their 
 own  language,  by  Syrians  and  Gauls,  and  he  had  no 
 interpreter.  After  vainly  trying  to  get  one,  he 
 answered  in  such  an  incomprehensible  jargon  as 
 "Morphi  ebargoulis  for  the  shade  Chnenchicrangc 
 will  abandon  the  day."  Lucius  himself  determined 
 to  test  the  oracle,  and  asked  a  question  of  the  night 
 oracle,  to  which  the  answer  was,  "  Sabar,  Dalachi, 
 Malach " ;  and  to  another  query,  "  What  country- 
 man was  Homer?"  the  reply  was,  "Anoint  with 
 Cytmis  and  Latorias  dew."  Lucian  then  played  Alex- 
 ander many  such  tricks  as  clever  Englishmen  have 
 played  upon  Alexis,  Home,  "  The  Fox  Girls,"  the 
 Davenports,  and  others,  and  clearly  demonstrated  his 
 imposture.  The  prophet  consequently  sought  to 
 murder  Lucian,  and  he  almost  succeeded.  Lucian, 
 desirous  to  revenge  himself,  and  expose  the  impostor, 
 prepared  to  accuse  him  at  a  Roman  tribunal ;  but  was 
 dissuaded  by  his  friends,  who  knew,  better  than  him- 
 self, the  hold  that  Alexander  had  upon  the  minds  of 
 the  Romans,  who  would  be  judges  in  the  case.  Such 
 was  the  greatness  of  the  man's  assurance,  that  he 
 demanded  of  the  Roman  Emperor  that  a  new  coin 
 should  be  stamped,  with  Alexander  the  prophet  on 
 one  side,  and  the  serpent  Glycon  on  the  other  ! 
 
 At  length  the  impostor,  who  had  promised  himself 
 a  life  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  years,  came  to  die. 
 When  aged  seventy,  one  leg  mortified  up  to  the 
 gi'oin,  and  he  consequently  succumbed.  It  was  then 
 found  that  he  was  bald,  and  that  his  fine  hair  was 
 nothing  but  a  wig.  Not  having  foreseen  so  near  an 
 end,  he  made  no  arrangement  for  a  successor. 
 
 From  such  a  history  we  learn,  that  an  unlimited 
 
♦ 
 
 447 
 
 amount  of  faith  in  a  prophet  does  not  prove  that  he 
 is  divinely  inspired;  and  that  his  own  assertion  of 
 revelations  heing  made  to  him  in  visions,  or  dreams, 
 is  worthless  as  evidence.  We  gain,  moreover,  a 
 clue  towards  a  correct  method  of  analysing  facts. 
 Guided  hy  this,  we  shall  take  occasion  shortly  to  test 
 the  utterances  of  the  Jewish  prophets. 
 
 P,  S.  This  letter  represents  two  distinct  sounds,  much  in 
 the  same  way  as  does  our  English  S,  which  is  at 
 one  time  like  c  in  rice,  as  in  the  word  so,  and  at 
 another  time  like  z  in  zone,  as  in  the  word  rose. 
 For  3  sometimes  rej)resents  our  F,  or  PH,  as  in 
 Josef,  or  Joseph ;  and  at  another  it  represents  a 
 sharper  sound,  as  in  "Pi  beseth."  It  is  not  used  in 
 grammatical  inflections,  and  is  only  interchangeable 
 with  i  and  12. 
 
 In  the  Ancient    Hebrew,    this  letter  appears  as 
 
 1  ;    in  the  Phoenician,  as       ]  ,     C-    j      /   J    in    the 
 
 Carthaginian,   as    V    ^  ^    /9 ;    in    Ancient   Greek, 
 
 I ,  r* ,  C"  ;  ii^  Etruscan,  ( ,  ^  . ;  in  Umbrian, 
 •A  ;  in  Oscan,  |  |,^  ;  in  Samnite,  77"',  in  Vol- 
 scian,  j>  ;  in  FaHscan,  '^  ^  p  ;  in  Itaha  Superior, 
 -^  J    in  Roman,  P;    in  Modern  Greek,  IT,  tt. 
 
 Pallu,  or  Phallu  ^I^  (Gen.  xlvi.  9),  "  a  distinguished 
 one."  We  meet  here  with  two  words  which  are 
 closely  allied  with  that  which  we  meet  with  in 
 Greece ;  as,  ^saAAoj,  phallus.  This  may  have  its 
 root   in     any   of    the    following   words:    ^^3,    pala. 
 
448 
 
 "he  splits,  or  divides,"  also  "he  is  distinguished, 
 or  wonderful  beyond  measure;"  ^2^,  palah,  "he 
 divides,  cleaves,  or  furrows,"  or  "he  ploughs,  or 
 cultivates,  the  ground;"  ^i^,  pallal,  whose  meaning 
 is  similar  to  D??,  palas,  "  he  tears,  or  cuts  into, 
 or  breaks  through ; "  ^)^,  palash,  "  he  breaks 
 through ; "  or  tl^,  palach,  "  he  is  round  and 
 plump." 
 Palm-tree,  "i^^,  Tamar  (Gen.  xxxviii.  6).  In  our  exami- 
 nation of  ancient  faiths,  as  embalmed  in  ancient 
 names,  we  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  remark 
 that  certain  objects  in  nature  have  been  pressed  into 
 the  service  of  nomenclature,  apparently  from  no  other 
 reason  than  that  something  in  their  name  or  their 
 general  appearance  could,  by  a  little  ingenuity,  be  as- 
 sociated with  one  or  other  of  the  symbolic  creators  of 
 the  world.  Thus  "  a  bee  "  was  chosen  as  the  cogno- 
 men of  a  prophetess,  Deborah,  who  retailed  "the 
 word,"  and  the  insect  has  been  adopted  by  Christians 
 as  an  emblem  of  "the  word"  and  the  "Trinity."  The 
 fig  was  sacred,  on  account  of  the  shape  of  its  leaves ; 
 the  leopard  and  other  spotted  animals  were  symbolic, 
 on  account  of  the  markings  on  their  skins  resembling 
 in  name  the  characteristic  feature  of  the  yoni ;  and 
 loNAH,  or  the  dove,  became  emblematic  because  the 
 columbal  note  invited  all  to  the  practical  worship 
 of  Ishtar. 
 
 In  like  manner  the  palm-tree  has  become  a  cog- 
 nomen and  a  symbol.  On  ancient  coins  it  figured 
 largely,  alone,  or  associated  with  some  feminine  em- 
 blem. It  typified  the  male  creator,  who  was  repre- 
 sented as  an  upright  stone,  a  pillar,  a  round  tower, 
 a  tree  stump,  -an  oak-tree,  a  pine-tree,  a  maypole,  a 
 spire,  an  obelise,  a  minaret,  and  the  like.     From  the 
 
449 
 
 root,  tamar,  it  is  probable  that  we  get  such  names  as 
 Damaris,  Thomyris,  Thamyras,  i.  e.,  ryion,  "  the 
 strong  palm-tree,"  and  possibly  Tammuz. 
 
 It  is  very  curious  that  the  Jews  use  the  palm- 
 branch  and  the  tappuach  on  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 
 (see  Apple,  Vol.  i.  p.  272) ;  that  Jesus  is  represented 
 as  having  been  adored  with  branches  of  the  palm- 
 tree  in  the  hands  of  his  worshippers ;  and  that  in 
 Rome,  at  the  present  day,  branches  of  the  palm  are 
 used  in  worship  on  one  particular  occasion,  called 
 Palm  Sunday.  Having  been  present  myself  at  St. 
 Peter's  on  that  day,  I  can  testify  that  the  palm- 
 branches,  blessed  upon  the  occasion,  bear  no  outward 
 resemblance  whatever  to  that  which  they  really  are ; 
 they  appear  rather  like  gigantic  golden  sausages,  and 
 if  they  were  associated  with  two  melons,  as  a  carrot 
 is  associated  with  two  turnips,  in  the  hand  of  many  a 
 roysterer  during  the  carnival  at  Rome,  the  most 
 obtuse  modern  could  not  fail  to  see  how  close  is  the 
 resemblance  between  Pagan,  and  Christian  heathen- 
 ism. For  ample  particulars  on  this  point,  see 
 Hislop's  Tioo  Babylons,  or  Nimrod  and  the  Papacy. 
 
 In  a  curious  dra^^dng,  which  is  copied  from 
 Maurice's  Indian  Antiquities,  vol.  vi.,  p.  273,  and 
 which  represents  a  Phoenician  coin,  a  tree,  resembling 
 the  palm,  is  depicted,  surrounded  by  the  serpent,  and 
 standing  between  two  stones  ;  below  is  an  altar,  appa- 
 rently to  the  sacred  triad.      (See  Plate  ii.,  Figure 
 
 1.) 
 Parah,  nna  (Josh,  xviii.  23),  '*  She  brings  forth,"  "  she  is 
 fruitful,"  "a  heifer,"  "a  pit,  or  hole."  The  word 
 clearly  has  reference  to  the  Yoni,  the  symbol  of  the 
 celestial  Virgin.  From  this  word  we  have  the  Greek 
 ^spco,  phero,  and  the  Latin /e?*o. 
 
 FP 
 
450 
 
 Paranomasia,  puns,  plays  upon  words,  etc.  Amongst 
 modern  Englishmen,  there  is  a  saying,  that  one  who 
 makes  a  pun  will  pick  a  pocket ;  and  in  society  we 
 find  some  who  are  inveterate  in  seeking  after  plays 
 upon  words,  whilst  others  afi'ect  to  despise  all  such 
 facetiousness.  Amongst  our  writers,  too,  there  are 
 some  who  indulge  in  verbal  conceits,  whilst  others 
 avoid  them  carefully.  As  a  rule,  we  may  say,  that 
 those  who  are  thoroughly  in  earnest,  whether  in  con- 
 versation or  in  composition,  do  not  stoop  to  seek  for 
 paranomasia,  but  enunciate  what  they  have  to  say  in 
 language  whose  sole  intention  is  to  influence  the 
 mind,  rather  than  to  tickle  the  ears,  of  those  whom 
 they  address.  Yet  it  was  not  always  thus,  for  ancient 
 authors  sought  frequently  to  aid  their  hearers  by 
 preaching  in  terms  that  pleased  the  fancy  whilst  they 
 stirred  the  heart ;  and  punning  contrivances  found  a 
 place  in  the  poem,  the  essay,  the  oration,  and  the 
 dialectics  of  Hindoos,  Greeks  and  Eomans.  Even  so 
 far  was  this  carried,  that  it  entered  into  religion,  and 
 certain  things  were  stated  to  be  consecrated  to  one  or 
 other  deity  in  consequence  of  some  fancied  resem- 
 blance between  the  names  borne  by  each,  or  by  some 
 other  similarity. 
 
 Before,  however,  we  illustrate  by  examples  the 
 extent  to  which  punning  contrivances  have  been 
 adopted  by  other  nations,  it  will  be  advisable  to 
 enquire  whether  such  have  found  their  way  into  our 
 Bible.  We  might  very  naturally  suppose  that  the 
 Lord  of  the  Universe,  when  employing  a  human  hand 
 to  write  down  a  revelation  of  His  will  to  mankind, 
 would  not  condescend  to  seek  out  plays  upon  words, 
 but  that  the  message  would  be  distinct  and  plain, 
 appealing  to  the  reason,  and  not  to  the  ear.     But, 
 
451 
 
 upon  investigation,  we  find  that  the  Scriptures,  called 
 sacred,  abound  with  fond  conceits,  which,  though 
 apparent  enough  in  the  original,  are  wholly  lost  in  the 
 translation.  For  example,  we  have  in  some  passages 
 words  closely  following  each  other,  where  there  is 
 great  similarity  between  two  of  them,  in  sound,  but 
 not  in  sense,  as  in  the  line,  •'''^^^  '^<^^  i^^V^  P^O^* 
 Ve  ha  aretz  hayitha  tohu  va  holm,  "  and  the  earth 
 was  dreariness  and  emptiness"  (Gen.  i.  2);  and 
 again  in  the  words,  "^JJ  ^l,  na  va  nacl,  "  a  fugitive 
 and  a  vagabond "  (Gen.  iv.  12) ;  "^^^^.l  ""^y,  aphar 
 va  aiphei',  "  dust  and  ashes  "  (Gen.  xviii.  27) ; 
 Tian  Ti2ni  pxn  pian  pian,  mbbok  tibbok  haaretz, 
 ve  hibboz  tibboz,  "  the  land  shall  be  utterly 
 emptied  and  utterly  spoiled  "  (Isa.  xxiv.  3).  Again, 
 l^nxn  n^33  nbx,  avlah  navla  ha  aretz,  "  the 
 earth  mourneth  and  fadeth  away"  (Isa.  xxiv.  4); 
 npi  nnsi  ins^  pahad,  va  phahath,  va  phach,  "  fear, 
 and  the  pit,  and  the  snare  "  (Isa.  xxiv.  17) ; 
 m  lyr   m  lyr   ip"?  ip  ip'?  ip  iv"?  i:»*   iv"?   i^*   *3   rhi 
 
 T  ":  T  TTT  TT  T  -  -r  -  "T  -  '> 
 
 zav  lazav,  zav  lazav,  kav  lakav,  kav  lakav,  zeair 
 sham,  zeair  sham,  "  for  precept  must  be  upon 
 precept,  precept  upon  precept,  line  upon  line,  here 
 a  little,  and  there  a  little  "  (Isa.  xxviii.  10). 
 Similar  passages  are  to  be  found  in  Isa.  xliv.  8, 
 liv.  6;  Jerem.  xlviii.  33,  34,  Lam.  iii.  47,  Ps.  xviii. 
 8,  Job  XXX.  19,  Eccles.  vii.  16. 
 
 Sometiraes  the  catch  words  are  separated  by  a 
 few  others,  but  not  sufficiently  far  for  the  assonance 
 to  be  lost  to  the  ear.  Of  these,  the  following 
 verse  is  perhaps  the  best  which  I  can  select ; 
 nnn  pw  \^^  isx  nnn  ixs  dh^  nn^  p»y  ''hiifh  D-ib'? 
 pi'in  *'p\s  nn!?  m'ipi  nn:^  n-n  nnn  n^nn  nDyo  bax 
 "iNsnnp  n'^n"",  ytao^     Lasum     laabailai     tziyon    lateth 
 
452 
 
 lahcm  peair  tachath  aipher  shemen  sason  tachath 
 aibel  maataih  tehillah  tachath  ruach  caiah  vekorah 
 lahem  ailai  hatzzedek  mata  yelwvah  lehithpaair, 
 "  To  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,"  etc. 
 (Isa.  Ixi.  3.)  Passages  wherein  similar  conceits  occur 
 may  be  found  in  Isa.  v.  7,  vii.  9  ;  Hos.  viii.  2, 
 Amos  V.  26,  Zech.  ix.  5,  Ps.  lii.  8,  Ixviii.  3. 
 
 To  produce  these  assonances,  the  ordinary  forms 
 of  certain  words  are  sometimes  actually  changed. 
 For  example,  we  have  in  Isa.  xxxii.  7,  ''7-  --l*  ^^ 
 cheilai  cheilav,  "  the  instruments  of  the  churl," 
 wherein  the  word  ^^5,  clieilai,  is  used  instead 
 either  of  '??^,  nechaili,  or  T?,  chilai,  as  Fiirst 
 remarks,  for  the  sake  of  assonance  with  ^Y-'  chailav. 
 In  Ezek.  vii.  11,  not  only  is  the  word  ^\j^\}J->., 
 mehemaihem,  coined,  but  the  »,  Joel,  is  dropped  from 
 it,  so  that  there  may  be  assonance  with  ^\j^,  maihem, 
 and  °^""^l!9,  maihamonam  ;  and  the  words  run, 
 Dna  r\':  ith)  nnnnD  i6)  D^iono  nS     Iq    mehiemonajn 
 
 V  T      -  :  V  ■■  ::• "  :         t     1 1-:  ■•  ' 
 
 ve  lo  maihamihem,  ve  lo  noah  hahem,  "nor  of  their 
 multitude,  nor  of  any  of  theirs,  neither  wailing  for 
 them."  Again,  in  2  Sam.  viii.  18,  and  xv.  18,  '^f?^, 
 pelishthi,  is  changed  into  ''^.?S,  pelaithi,  for  the  sake 
 of  assonance  with  ^0"?.?,  cheraithi. 
 
 In  other  parts,  the  play  upon  words  resembles 
 that  involved  in  what  we  understand  as  a  pun.  For 
 example,  we  find  ^'''^yiD  T.1^,  saraich  sorerivi,  "  thy 
 rulers  are  rebels"  (Isaiah  i.  23);  °7?  ^'^?  ':"?), 
 ve  cailai  calaiv  raim,  "  the  armour  of  the  crafty  is 
 evil"  (Isaiah  xxxii.  7);  ^'-^^l'!  ^'y,  ^^^^  '^^^'^l  ve 
 shillathi  lehahel  zarim  ve  zairna,  "  I  will  send 
 into  Babylon  barbarians,  and  they  shall  be  scat- 
 tered" (Jerem.  li.  2);  ^P^n  bn:  ^"5^n3,  behallekai 
 nahal   helchaich,  "  in   the   smooth   of  the   valley  is 
 
453 
 
 thy  lot"  (Isa.  Ivii.  6);  J^.?n  T^N  rP[}  TPJ]  «3  N2  yp, 
 •^^JS  Jcaiz  ha,  ha  ha  kaiz  haikitz,  ailaich  hinnaih 
 baah,  "the  end  is  come,  come  is  the  end,  it  is 
 come  up  against  thee,  behold  it  is  come  "  (Ezek.  vii. 
 6).  A  still  more  remarkable  pun,  and  one  of  great 
 importance  to  us,  is  to  be  found  in  Amos  viii. 
 1,  2,  wherein  a  basket  of  apples,  or  summer 
 fruit,  is  put  as  a  type  for  something  having  a  simi- 
 lar sound.  In  this  instance  we  may  mingle  the 
 Hebrew  and  the  English  thus :  "  The  Lord  showed 
 unto  me  y.P  ^■"'"^^^  cheloh  kaiz  (a  basket  of  fruit), 
 and  he  said,  Amos,  what  seest  thou?  and  I  said, 
 r?  ^'•''1,  Cheloh  kaiz;  then  said  the  Lord  unto  me, 
 yp'},  Ha  kaiz  (The  end)  is  come  upon  my  people," 
 etc.  A  similar  pun  is  to  be  found  in  Jerem.  i.  11, 
 12  :  "  And  the  word  came  unto  me  saying.  What 
 seest  thou  ?  and  I  said,  I  see  a  rod  of  "^P^,  shakaid 
 (the  almond  tree).  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  me, 
 Thou  hast  seen  well,  for  I  "li?^,  shakaid  (watch  over) 
 my  people."  And  another,  somewhat  resembling 
 this,  is  to  be  found  in  the  next  two  verses,  where 
 a  pot  facing  the  north  indicates  that  danger  threatens 
 the  country  from  that  quarter. 
 
 We  find  another  play  upon  words  in  Jud.  x.  4, 
 where  it  is  said  that  Jair  had  thirty  sons,  who  rode 
 upon  thirty  ^'''}%  ajarim  (ass  colts),  and  had  thirty 
 ^''?tH'  ojarim  (cities),  called  Havoth  Jair,"  etc.;  in 
 which  case  the  writer  has  gone  out  of  his  way  to  write 
 Cl^y  for  ^''")Vj  aarim  for  arim.  We  have  another  exam- 
 ple of  this  form  of  paranomasia  in  Jud.  xv.  16,  in  which 
 Sampson  says,  ^""'OnD  '^)^  ^'.'07^1^.  "''''°-'?  '^'"'"-"-^  '^)'^> 
 hilchi  hachamor,  chamor  chamorathayim,  bilchi  ha- 
 chamor,  "  with  the  jawbone  of  an  ass  I  have  slain 
 one  heap,  two  heaps." 
 
464 
 
 Sometimes  the  play  upon  words  relates  to  proper 
 names;  for  example,  in  Gen.  xxv.  26,  Jacob's  name 
 appears  to  be  given,  because  in  his  birth  his  hand 
 took  hold  of  his  brother's  heel  [ipv,  akab) ;  whilst  in 
 Gen.  xxvii.  36,  his  brother  says.  Is  he  not  rightly 
 called  Jacob,  for  he  has  supplanted  (3py,  akah)  me? 
 In  2  Sam.  i.  20  we  find,  "J^  n^n  *?«,  al  tag'idu  he 
 gath,  where  gath  is  for  gadath  ;  and  the  conceit 
 runs,  "in  information,  inform  it  not."  Again,  in 
 Micah  i.  10,  we  have  the  same  play  upon  words, 
 "isy  ri-^pp  n\n3  -lann  ^n  133  •n*5n  bs  njs,  begath  al 
 
 tagg'idu,  bacho  al  tibchu,  be  beth  leaphrah  aphar ; 
 which  we  may  paraphrase  thus,  "  in  Gath  do  not 
 gab ;  in  Accho,  do  not  ache ;  in  the  house  of  Rollo, 
 roll."  Again,  in  verse  14  of  the  same  chapter,  we 
 have,  "the  houses  of  Achzib  (^^I^N)  are  {^\?^)  achzab 
 (liars)."  Compare  also  Gen.  ix.  27,  xlix.  8,  16,  19; 
 Num.  xviii.  2,  xxiv.  21;  Ruth  i.  20;  Isa.  x.  3,  xxi.  2; 
 Jerem.  vi.  1,  xlviii.  2  ;  Ezek.  xxvi.  16 ;  Hos.  ii.  25, 
 ix.  16,  xiii.  11 ;  Amos  v.  5. 
 
 Another  form  of  pun  was  made  by  transposition  of 
 letters,  which  resembles  exactly  the  facetious  question 
 and  answer,  "Is  friend  Ow-en  within;"  "N-o." 
 We  see  specimens  of  this  in  Gen.  vi.  8,  where  we 
 are  told  that  ru,  n  h  (Noah),  found  )n,  h  n,  grace  ; 
 and  in  Gen.  xxxviii.  7,  where  we  are  told  that  ly,  e  r, 
 was  y^,  r  e,  wicked.  Even  the  Apostle  Paul  did 
 not  scruple  to  make  puns ;  and  we  have  a  very  extra- 
 ordinary specimen  of  this  propensity  in  Galatians  v. 
 11,  12,  in  which  he  says  literally,  "And  I,  brethren,  if 
 1  ipvesich  peritomeen  (circumcision),  why  yet  diokomai 
 
 (am  I  persecuted)  ? I  wish  that  they  who  trouble 
 
 you  (about  cutting  off  the  foreskin  from  the  member) 
 had  the  whole  apparatus  cut  off.  sivoxo\1/ovtxi."     Again 
 
455 
 
 (Phill.  ii.  2,  3)  we  find  him  saying,  "  Beware  of 
 katatomeen  (the  sHtting  or  notching),  for  we  have 
 the  peritomeen  (cutting  all  round)." 
 
 As  we  thus  discover  that  punning  contrivances 
 are  not  only  used  in  the  Bible,  but  are  said  even  to 
 be  adopted  by  Jehovah  Himself,  we  cannot  be  sur- 
 prised if  we  see  the  same  propensity  amongst  His 
 reputed  ministers.  It  is  indeed,  probable,  that  if 
 our  knowledge  of  the  language  spoken  by  nations, 
 who  represented  certain  things  to  be  sacred  to  one 
 or  other  deity,  was  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  study 
 the  subject,  we  should  discover  that  some  conceit, 
 resembling  paranomasia,  was  the  cause  of  the  selec- 
 tion being  made.  A  few  of  these,  we  may  shortly 
 refer  to.  As  a  pun  essentially  consists  in  some 
 similarity  of  sound  in  two  or  more  words,  so  there 
 may  be  another  form  of  it,  the  essential  feature  of 
 which  is  similarity  in  outward  appearance  or  shape. 
 
 Thus,  for  example,  we  find  the  fig-tree  sacred  to 
 Mahadeva,  and  that  it  was  used  in  Paradise  to  cover 
 the  organ  to  which  its  leaves  bear  so  close  a  resem- 
 blance. The  fig-leaf  is  still  used  as  an  euphemism 
 for  the  triad,  which  it  typifies  ;  and  the  ivj',  whose 
 leaves  have  a  somewhat  similar  form,  is  said  to 
 be  sacred  to  Dionysus  or  Bacchus,  one  of  the  Greek 
 representatives  of  the  male  Creator.  With  a  similar 
 idea,  a  pillar  and  a  heap  of  stones,  a  tree  between 
 two  rocks,  a  club  between  two  pine  cones,  a  trident, 
 a  man  between  two  serpents,  a  pillar  raised  on  two 
 steps,  a  rod  entwined  with  two  snakes,  a  thyrsus  tied 
 round  with  a  ribbon,  and  the  two  ends  hanging 
 down,  a  tree  with  three  branches,  or  a  simple  sprout, 
 a  thumb  and  two  fingers,  three  feathers  joined  to- 
 gether, a  Jleur-de-lys,  a  trefoil  leaf,   the  letter  T>  a 
 
456 
 
 knobbed  or  curved  stick,  a  hook  or  crozier,  a  two- 
 handled  amphora,  and  a  variety  of  other  things,  were 
 considered  as  symbolical  of  the  male  triad,  or  the 
 sacred  trinity :  whilst  a  simple  stone  placed  upright, 
 the  stump  of  tree,  a  torch  burning  upwards,  an 
 obelise,  tower,  spire,  minaret,  pole,  pine,  poplar, 
 palm-tree,  cypress,  arbor  vit®,  steering  oar,  typified 
 one  part ;  eggs,  apples  or  citrons,  a  purse,  a  bag, 
 a  basket,  pine  cones,  plums,  grapes,  and  the  like, 
 represented  the  other  portions  of  the  triad. 
 
 In  like  manner,  a  door,  a  ring,  a  myrtle  leaf,  a 
 lozenge,  a  fish  of  oval  form,  a  fruit  cleft  like  the 
 apricot,  a  cavern,  a  fissure,  a  spring  of  water,  a 
 ship,  an  ark,  a  dish  or  plate  of  certain  form,  a  cup, 
 a  half  moon,  an  eye,  a  systrum,  a  speculum,  a  barley- 
 corn, a  wheat-ear,  a  fig,  a  pomegranate,  were  con- 
 trivances for  indicating  the  "  Mother  of  gods  and 
 men,"    as    the  celestial  Virgin  was   designated. 
 
 By  analogous  contrivances,  the  quadruple  creator, 
 the  mystic  unit,  was  symbolised ;  and  a  triply- 
 branched  sprout  within  a  ring  is  still  used  in  the 
 Roman  Church  as  an  ecclesiastical  symbol.  A  num- 
 ber of  similar  emblems  will  be  found  in  our  article 
 on  the  Trinity. 
 
 Sometimes  a  certain  animal  would  be  considered 
 sacred  in  consequence  of  its  having  a  form,  or  habit, 
 supposed  in  a  special  way  to  typify  an  attribute  or 
 propensity  with  which  "the  father"  or  "the  mother" 
 were  endowed.  For  instance,  as  strength,  endur- 
 ance, swiftness,  power,  and  vigour  of  a  certain  class 
 were  supposed  to  be  characteristic  of  the  father  on 
 high,  so  the  horse,  the  bull,  the  elephant,  the  lion,  the 
 eagle,  the  ram,  and  the  ass  were  sacred  to  and  svm- 
 
457 
 
 bolical  of  him.  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  celestial 
 Virgin  was  supposed  to  be  lovely,  attractive  to  all, 
 especially  to  her  mate,  prolific,  desirous  of  progeny, 
 always  careful  over  her  offspring,  and  having  abun- 
 dance for  them  all,  several  animals,  such  as  the 
 monkey,  the  cat,  the  cow,  and  the  lioness,  which  are 
 conspicuous  for  certain  propensities,  were  considered 
 as  sacred  to  her.  The  sow  was,  as  it  were,  an 
 especial  favourite,  in  consequence  of  the  number  of 
 its  mammae,  and  the  tortoise,  from  the  shape  and 
 movement  of  its  head  and  neck.  Where  worshippers 
 were  unable  to  procure  any  of  these  creatures  for 
 sacrifice,  effigies  of  those  parts  which  symbolised  the 
 creative  deities  were  offered  in  their  place. 
 
 The  idea  running  throughout  this  symbolism  was, 
 that  ''like  loves  like."  As  we  have  thus  seen  that  a 
 resemblance  in  physical  and  other  qualities,  between 
 the  supposed  deity  and  the  offering  made  to  him, 
 determined  the  selection  of  appropriate  sacrifices,  or 
 symbols,  so  we  shall  be  prepared  to  find  that  verbal 
 resemblances  were  sometimes  sufficient  to  induce  a 
 hierarch  to  declare  certain  animals  as  consecrated  to 
 certain  deities.  Thus,  for  example,  we  find  that  the 
 oak  was  a  sacred  tree,  both  amongst  the  orthodox 
 and  the  idolatrous  Jews.  Deborah,  Rebecca's  nurse, 
 was  buried  under  one  (Gen.  xxxv.  8).  Joshua  set  up 
 a  stone  pillar,  and  wrote,  and  read  aloud  a  book  of 
 the  law  under  an  oak,  close  to  which  was  the  sanc- 
 tuary of  the  Lord  (Jos.  xxiv.  26).  See  also  Jud.  vi. 
 11,  1  Kings  xiii.  14,  1  Chron.  x.  12,  Ezek.  vi.  13. 
 Moreover,  when  it  is  desired  to  make  some  image 
 which  shall  represent  the  father  on  high,  the  oak  or 
 the  cypress  was  selected  (Tsa.  xliv.  14).      The  most 
 
458 
 
 probable  reason  for  this  is  the  fact  that  nha,  ailah, 
 or  alah,  "the  oak,"  was  considered  as  sacred  to  ^n, 
 ail,  or  to  Allah. 
 
 The  most  remarkakle  of  these  puns  which  we  are 
 acquainted  with,  is  that  involved  in  the  selection 
 of  the  tiger  as  a  representative  of  the  Hindoo  celes- 
 tial Virgin,  and  the  constant  attendant  upon  Bacchus, 
 or  the  masculine  creator.  The  Hindoo  name  for  this 
 animal  is  hagh,  and  the  same  word  signifies  the  yoni. 
 The  tiger,  then,  is  as  significant  of  one  thing,  as  the 
 ivy  leaf  or  thyrsus  is  of  the  other.  In  like  manner, 
 Siva,  or  the  male  creator,  is  accompanied  by  a  Brah- 
 min bull,  whose  name  is  Nanda,  which  also  signifies 
 "perfect  joy,  or  fruition."  Thus,  when  we  see  Maha- 
 deva  and  his  Sacti  seated  on  a  tiger  skin,  and  a 
 representation  of  the  Ganges  at  his  side,  we  are  able 
 at  once  to  recognise  the  myth,  and  to  see  that  the  god 
 is  described  as  Abraham  is  in  one  of  the  stories  of 
 the  Talmud.  (See  Num.  xxiv.  7,  wherein  the  same 
 idea  is  embodied.) 
 
 Again,  we  find  Egyptian  priests  wearing  a  spotted 
 robe  in  worship ;  a  similar  dress  covers  a  sacred 
 image.  Bacchus  is  often  represented  in  a  covering 
 marked  by  triangular  groups  of  dots.  Assyrian 
 priests  bear  in  their  arms  a  spotted  or  a  striped 
 antelope.  In  India,  Devi  wears  a  dress  covered 
 with  two  sets  of  spots,  and  Indra  is  represented  as 
 covered  with  eyes,  which  the  mythos  tells  us  are  the 
 representatives  of  the  yoni.  Amongst  the  Shemitic 
 nations  the  apparent  reason  for  selecting  spots  as 
 sacred  or  emblematic  is,  that  the  same  word  "103, 
 namar,  signifies  both  spotted  and  notched ;  and  I 
 scarcely  need  explain,  to  those  acquainted  with  vulgar 
 English,  the  verbal  conceit  which  is  here  enshrined. 
 
469 
 
 Namar  is  indeed  almost  identical  with  nekevah;  and 
 when  we  examine  the  ideas  associated  with  the  latter, 
 and  with  zachar,  the  male,  we  can  see  how  completely 
 certain  ideas  were  associated  in  the  minds  of  the 
 ancient  Jews  with  greatness,  renown,  and  everything 
 that  was  admirable.  Similar  ideas  prevailed  amongst 
 the  Greeks  (see  Myreha,  supra).  Amongst  the  ani- 
 mals consecrated  to  the  celestial  Virgin  in  consequence 
 of  a  verbal  pun,  not  one  is  more  conspicuous  than  the 
 dove,  which,  throughout  the  Shemitic  races,  and  sub- 
 sequently amongst  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  was  re- 
 garded as  the  especial  favourite  of  "the  mother." 
 We  have  elsewhere  explained  that  this  arose  from 
 its  peculiar  note  or  call  being  analogous  to,  or  very 
 closely  resembling,  an  invitation  to  intimate  love. 
 As  this  invitation  would  not  be  recognised  in  the 
 Vedic  language,  we  do  not  find  that  the  pigeon  is 
 sacred  in  the  Hindoo  religion.  Yet  it  requires  some 
 effort  not  to  recognise  in  Yonah,  nil*,  the  dove, 
 some  association  with  Yuno  (Juno),  Ionia  and  the 
 Yoni. 
 
 Again,  frankincense,  '^j''^'?,  lehonah,  was  an  offering 
 for  the  moon,  "^J^*^,  lehanah.  CflS,  cunim,  cakes,  was 
 an  offering  for  Cun,  or  Chiun,  Saturn ;  and  salt,  ^^9, 
 melah,  to  'i^,^,  Melech,  the  king.  See  also  Vol.  i., 
 Beth  Baal  Meon,  page  350,  Mary  and  Myrrh, 
 supra,  pp.  255  and  352. 
 
 Another  curious  Greek  pun  is  very  commonly 
 found  upon  gems,  coins,  and  the  like,  i.  e.,  the 
 dolphin  is  frequently  associated  with  an  upright  male 
 figure  riding  upon  it ;  sometimes  with  three  cupids ; 
 occasionally  a  tree  springs  from  its  back;  sometimes 
 it  appears  in  conjunction  with  a  boy,  a  tree,  and  an 
 ark ;  sometimes  with  a  man,  woman,  and  child ;  and 
 
460 
 
 the  dolphin  is  described  as  carrying  a  certain  being 
 through  the  waters  to  land.  (See  PI.  i.,  Fig.  2.)  These 
 conceits  arise  from  the  fact  that  ^sX<^lc,  delphis, 
 "the  dolphin,"  resembles  closely  in  sound  SsA^Jj, 
 delphus,  "the  womb;"  and  to  this  we  may  add,  that 
 U\<^ci^,  delphax,  "  a  young  pig,"  was  occasionally 
 offered  to  Juno,  or  other  goddess  representing  the 
 female   creator.  *' 
 
 Amongst  other  paranomasia  we  must  class  the 
 conceits  connected  with  the  letter  Tau,  which  was 
 originally  written  in  the  Phoenician  and  ancient 
 Hebrew  as  "J".     This  sign  indicated  the  male  trinity 
 
 «8  Keightley,  in  his  Mythology  of  Ancient  Greece  and  Italy  (London,  1854),  has 
 the  following  apposite  remarks,  p.  8;  "  Casual  resemblance  of  sound  in  words,  and 
 foreign,  obsolete  or  ambiguous  terms,  were  an  abundant  source  of  legends.  In  Greek, 
 Xaas,  laas,  is  a  stone,  and  A.o6s,  laos,  a  people  ;  hence  the  legend  of  Deucalion  and 
 
 Pyrrha  restoring  the  human  race  by  flinging  stones  behind  them Apart  of 
 
 the  province  of  Seeston,  in  Persia,  is  named  Neem-roz,  i.  e.  half  day,  and  the 
 popular  tradition  is  that  it  was  once  covered  by  a  lake  which  was  drained  by  the 
 Jinn  {i.  e.  Genii),  in  half  a  day,  ....  but  Neem-roz  is  also  mid-day,  a  term  which 
 in  several  languages  denotes  the  South,  and  this  district  lies  due  south  of  Balkh, 
 the  first  seat  of  Persian  dominion." 
 
 I  find  another  legend  arising  from  paranomasia  in  Sir  John  Malcolm's  History 
 of  Persia,  4to.,  London,  1815.  The  writer  states,  pp.  192,  193,  that  the  historians 
 who  record  the  life  of  Zoroaster  are  anxious  to  establish  that  their  prophet  was  pro- 
 duced, not  only  without  siu,  but  without  pain,  or  death  to  either  the  animal  or 
 vegetable  creation.  Zoroaster  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  offspring  of  the  tree  of 
 knowledge,  appearing  first  as  a  leaf  or  leaves,  which  were  eaten  by  a  cow,  who  never 
 afterwards  ate  any  other  food ;  this  cow  belonged  to  the  prophet's  father,  who  lived 
 entirely  upon  her  milk ;  to  the  use  of  thisdiet,  the  pregnancy  of  his  wife  is  assigned; 
 her  name  was  Daghda,  which  in  the  Sanscrit  signifies  milk. 
 
 A  note  adds,  "  When  he  (Zoroaster)  was  born,  he  burst  out  into  a  loud  laugh, 
 and  such  a  light  shone  from  his  body  as  illuminated  the  whole  room.     This  ancient 
 
 tradition is  mentioned  by  Pliny."     From  such  a  source,  it  is  probable  that  early 
 
 Christian  painters  have  represented  the  infant  Jesus  as  welcoming  three  kings  of  the 
 east,  and  shining  as  brilliantly  as  if  covered  with  phosphuretted  oil.  It  would 
 certainly  have  been  sad  if  the  prophet  of  Nazareth  had  not  been  as  supernatural  in 
 his  infancy  as  the  prophet  of  Persia.  The  parallel  is  the  more  strange,  because  we 
 find  that  Daghda  dreamed  of  the  greatness  of  Zoroaster  while  yet  he  was  unborn  ; 
 that  when  on  earth  he  went  to  heaven,  where  he  received  the  holy  Zend-a-vesta, 
 and  to  hell,  where  he  bearded  Satan;  that  he  retired  for  twenty  years  to  the 
 desert,  performed  miracles  to  prove  his  mission,  etc.  From  a  punning  source  similar 
 to  that  above  described,  we  may  attribute  the  stories  about  Jacob  holding  his 
 brother's  heel,  and  cheating  him  out  of  bis  pottage. 
 
461 
 
 amongst  the  Egyptians  on  the  west,  and  amongst  the 
 Japanese  in  the  east,  of  our  hemisphere.  Standing 
 on  a  T  platform,  the  bull  may  be  seen  represented 
 breaking  the  mundane  egg  in  the  midst  of  water, 
 in  ancient  pictures  in  Japan.  {See  Recherche s,  etc.)*' 
 Associated  also  with  the  same  symbol,  we  see  in 
 Egyptian  sculptures  the  emblem  of  the  yoni,  else, 
 where  replaced  by  the  mundane  egg.  Taic  thus 
 became  a  very  significant  word  or  letter,  having  a 
 decided  '' double  entendre^  To  indicate  one  of  its 
 meanings,  a  gazelle,  iNn,  or  xin,  to,  was  carried  by 
 the  priests  of  Astarte  or  Ishtar,  as  an  appropriate 
 offering  to  the  virgin  or  yoni.  The  same  letter 
 elsewhere  signified  lin,  tor,  "the  wild  bull  "  (probably 
 the  same  as  Thor,  the  Saxon  deity)  ;  whilst  a  word 
 of  like  sound,  "^J^^,  taavah,  indicated  "desire," 
 "lust,"  etc.  This,  again,  was  associated  with  "ih,  or 
 "lin,  tor,  "a  dove;"  a  word  used  as  affectionately  in 
 days  gone  by  as  moderns  sometimes  use  the  word 
 "duck,"  which  was  allied  to  "i-in,  tiir,  "'to  travel 
 over,"  or  "spy  out,"  and  "tin,  tor,  "the  ox,"  one  of 
 the  symbols  of  the  Creator,  and  '^|?''^,  thorah, 
 "  divine  instruction,  law,"  etc.  These  were  still 
 further  linked  with  H^,  toren,  "a  mast,  or  pole," 
 which  is  still  used  as  an  emblem  of  7",  tau,  "  the 
 sign."  This  was  the  mark  with  which  (see  Ezekiel 
 ix.  4)  the  true  people  of  Jehovah,  like  modern  Hin- 
 doos, whondopt  the  triad,  monad,  or  four  combined, 
 according  to  the  particular  sect  to  which  they  belong, 
 were  marked  upon  their  foreheads. 
 
 Another  verbal   conceit   appears   in   Gen.    iii.    7, 
 where  we  are  told  that  Adam  and  Eve,  when  they  knew 
 
 ®9  Becherches  sur  I'  origine,  V  esprit  tt  les  progri^  des  Arts  dc  la  Orlce,  pro- 
 bably by  D'Harcanville,  8  vols.  4to.    London,  1785. 
 
462 
 
 that  they  were  naked,  sewed  ^''^^^,  teainim,  or  "  fig- 
 leaves,"  together ;  for  not  only  do  the  leaves  of  this 
 tree  indicate  the  triad,  and  the  fruit  the  monad,  but 
 the  word  n3Xn,  taanah,  which  is  the  singular  of 
 "figs,"  signifies  also  the  union  of  the  sexes,  the 
 mystical  arha.  Nor  can  the  mythologist  pass  by 
 in  silence  the  connection  of  ideas  symbolised  in  the 
 ivy  and  the  fig-leaf  emblems  of  Priapus,  and  the 
 words  n3Kn  and  ths,  taanah  and  pachaz ;  Bacchus, 
 being  amongst  others  the  equivalent  to  the  deity  of 
 Lampsacus,  and  the  fact  being  that  in  Italy,  at  pre- 
 sent, the  expression  "far  la  fica,'^  "  to  make  the 
 fig,"  or  "to  give  one's  figs,"  indicates  both  taanah, 
 pachaz,  and  Bacchus. 
 
 Having  thus  seen  the  prevalence  of  punning  con- 
 trivances in  matters  of  faith  and  worship,  the  philo- 
 sopher is  able  to  tolerate,  perhaps  even  to  regard  with 
 complacency,  some  etymologies  which  would  other- 
 wise be  repugnant.  For  example,  we  find  the  word 
 Ishtar,  Astarte,  Ashtoreth,  etc.,  as  representing  the 
 celestial  Virgin ;  and  we  find  also,  in  Assyrian  sculp- 
 ture, that  she  is  associated  with  a  tower.  Taking 
 then  the  Hebrew  as  our  guide,  we  see  that  ^''^,  ish, 
 and  nh,  to7',  signify  the  Being  Dove,  ish,  and  '^^^'?, 
 tarah,  gives  us  "  the  strong  being,"  whilst  the  tower 
 shows  that  she  is  a  Virgin.  And  when  we  further 
 consider  that  Venus  is  always  represented  as  the 
 conqueror  of  Mars,  we  can  easily  understand  that 
 Ishtar  was,  by  a  play  upon  words,  intended  to  signify 
 "that  which  subdues  all  men  unto  itself." 
 
 I  have  already  (see  Vol.  i.,  p.  55,  et  seq.)  expressed 
 the  opinion,  that  the  names  given  to  the  deities,  of 
 whom  men  were  told  by  priests,  originated  in  punning 
 contrivances,    or   "double   entendres."      The  farther 
 
463  . 
 
 I  am  able  to  examine  the  subject  in  different  lan- 
 guages, the  more  convinced  am  I  of  the  truth  of 
 the  deduction  made  from  inquiries  into  the  Hebrew 
 tongue,  and  from  a  knowledge  of  human  nature  as  it 
 is.  The  main  difficulty  in  tracing  the  paranomasia 
 to  which  we  refer,  is  the  necessity  of  discovering  the 
 language  in  which  the  cognomens  of  "father"  and 
 "mother"  were  originally  given.  Without  such  infor- 
 mation, the  investigator  has  to  examine  whether  any 
 name,  say,  for  example,  Turan,  the  Etruscan  Venus, 
 is  an  indigenous  or  imported  one.  Whether  Mylitta 
 of  the  Greeks  fairly  represents  the  name  of  the 
 Babylonian  goddess,  etc.  Uranus  or  Ouranos  may 
 be  altered  forms  of  Varuna,  and  Jupiter  of  Jah, 
 pateer. 
 
 But  these  difficulties  do  not  exist  in  cognomens 
 known  to  be  of  Shemitic  origin.  We  are  then 
 bound,  in  the  case  of  such  important  appellatives  as 
 Mary  and  Miriam,  Sarah  and  Sarai,  to  inquire  into 
 every  idea  which  might  have  passed  through  the 
 mind  of  the  hierophant  who  first  adopted  those 
 names.  What  those  ideas  have  been,  any  facetious 
 school-boy  may  guess.  One  individual,  Ulysses  for 
 example,  called  himself  on  one  occasion  oudeis,  = 
 "nobody;"  another  designated  himself  nemo,  or 
 "nobody."  In  like  manner,  the  son  of  a  fugitive  father 
 may  say  that  his  parents  were  Henry  Harris  and  Anne 
 Neah,  signifying  spcus,  herose,  and  avi'a,  ania,  or  '  love 
 and  sorrow.'  To  some,  Gautama,  Sommonocodom, 
 Mahesa,  Hanuman,  and  Unkulunkulu,  are  alike 
 unknown ;  yet  when  we  are  able  to  comprehend  the 
 meaning  veiled  by  the  cognomen,  we  may  recognise 
 the  notions  current  in  the  minds  of  those  who  gave 
 the  names. 
 
464 
 
 This  again  involves  the  questions,  Did  language 
 exist  before  the  idea  of  a  God  ?  Did  the  conception  of 
 a  deity  enter  the  human  mind  after  man  had  attained 
 full  age?  Was  the  belief  in  the  existence  of,  and 
 the  knowledge  of  the  name  of,  an  Almighty  syn- 
 chronous with  the  knowledge  of  language  ?  and 
 Was  the  name  intended  to  convey  any  definite  idea 
 or   not  ? 
 
 We  can  scarcely,  with  our  present  knowledge  of 
 history,  believe  that  an  idea  of  God,  such  as  we 
 believe  Him  to  be,  has  been  coeval  with  the  human 
 race.  A  nation,  tribe,  or  family  who  had  no  idea  of 
 justice,  goodness,  truth,  mercy,  long-suffering,  par- 
 doning, and  the  like,  could  have  no  conception  of  a 
 deity  in  whom  these  attributes  and  other  similar  ones 
 were  personified.  Moreover,  so  far  as  we  can  learu) 
 each  nation  has  had  a  difi'erent  notion  of  the  power 
 which  they  acknowledge.  With  one  He  is  the  rain- 
 maker, the  storm-king,  the  lightning-sender;  with 
 another  He  is  intelligence,  wisdom,  power,  might, 
 goodness ;  with  another  He  is  brightness,  excellence, 
 gloiy,  the  great  Spirit ;  with  another  He  is  the  Lord 
 of  the  sky,  the  ruler  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars ; 
 with  others,  again,  He  is  the  father  of  all,  or  the 
 mother  of  all  Creation.  In  all  cases,  however,  a 
 name  is  contrived  by  man  for  such  a  Being,  and 
 often  adopted  from  other  nations,  but  in  such  a 
 manner,  that  the  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed  may 
 be  so  veiled,  that  ordinary  worshippers  would  ignore  its 
 human  origin.  Around  the  name  so  selected,  all 
 sorts  of  stories  would  be  woven;  just  as  amongst  the 
 Greeks  the  story  of  Orion's  conception,  ah  urind,  was 
 suggested  by  his  name.  But  into  these  matters 
 it  is  unnecessary  to  enter  farther ;  we  have  already 
 
465 
 
 spoken  of  them  at  considerable  length  in  the  fifth 
 chapter  of  the  first  volume.  We  would  rather  con- 
 clude with  the  expression  of  our  belief,  that  every 
 religion,  whose  worship  or  ritual  is  intimately  inter- 
 woven with  punning  contrivances,  is  not  of  divine, 
 but  of  human  origin. 
 Passovee,  The,  and  other  Jewish  Feasts.  The  more  closely 
 I  investigate  the  history  of  ancient  faiths,  through 
 the  medium  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  the 
 more  difficult  do  I  find  it  to  winnow  the  wheat 
 from  the  chaff",  or  fact  from  fiction.  There  is  such 
 strong  evidence  that  all  the  books  are  fragmentary ; 
 such  good  reason  to  believe  that  they  contain  many 
 narratives  which  are  wholly  fictitious,  not  having  even 
 a  gi-ain  of  truth  for  a  foundation ;  and  so  many  others 
 which  have  been  falsified,  that  no  dependence  can 
 be  placed  upon  them,  individually  or  collectively.  At 
 first  sight,  nothing  seems  to  be  simpler  than  the  nar- 
 rative which  records  the  institution  of  the  Passover,  on 
 the  eve  of  the  departure  of  the  Hebrews  from  Egypt. 
 But  when  we  examine  the  story  in  detail,  as  the  Bishop 
 of  Natal  has  done,  we  are  not  only  dissatisfied  with  it, 
 but  are  imbued  with  the  idea  that  the  tale  is  a  fabri- 
 cation. Again,  when  we  see  reason  to  believe  that 
 the  whole  of  the  Pentateuch  is  of  comparatively 
 modern  origin,  and  historically  worthless,  we  ask 
 ourselves,  j'  Was  the  fable  of  the  Egj-ptian  deaths 
 suggested  by  the  feast  of  the  vernal  equinox,  when 
 the  sun  *  passed  over  '  from  Pisces  to  Aries  ;  and  was 
 the  story  of  the  Passover  framed  to  meet  the  word?" 
 or  "  Was  the  tale  about  the  death  of  Egj-pt's  first-born 
 antecedent  to  the  institution  of  the  vernal  festival  ?  " 
 
 To  solve  these  questions,  the  evidence  is  scanty,  and 
 by  no  means  strong.     For  example;  (1)  We  have  seen 
 
 QQ 
 
466 
 
 reason  to  believe  that  the  story  of  the  Exodus  dates 
 from  a  period  subsequent  to  the   Grecian   captivity. 
 
 (2)  "We  see  reason  to  beheve,  from  the  history  in 
 Kings  and  Chronicles,  that  the  Passover  was  appa- 
 rently   first    promulgated    in    the    time    of    Josiah. 
 
 (3)  Assuming  that  Deuteronomy  was  written  in  his 
 reign,  we  find,  on  consulting  that  book,  only  one  refe- 
 rence made  therein  to  the  Passover  (ch.  xvi.),  and  that 
 bears  evidence  of  having  been  introduced  during  the 
 time  of  the  Kings.  The  passage  Josh.  v.  11 
 is  historically  valueless,  like  the   rest  of  that  book. 
 
 (4)  The  element  of  "seven"  and  "sevens"  in  the 
 Passover  indicate  the  existence  of  a  current  division 
 of  time  into  weeks.  (5)  The  use  of  a  lamb,  or  kid, 
 as  an  article  of  diet,  points  to  a  knowledge  that  the 
 sun  at  the  vernal  equinox  had  entered  Aries ;  or,  in 
 other  words,  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  Zodiac.  (6) 
 The  shape  and  nature  of  the  unleavened  bread  are 
 suggestive  of  the  cakes  to  the  Queen  of  Heaven.  (7) 
 The  time  of  the  vernal  equinox  corresponds  to  our 
 Lady  Day,  and  our  Easter,  both  of  which  are  comme- 
 morative of  the  celestial  Virgin  Ishtar,  the  Grecian 
 and  Roman  Cybele.^^  (8)  The  Zodiac,  and  the  division 
 of  time  into  sevens,®'  were  not  accepted  until  a  con- 
 siderable period  after  the  Babylonish  captivity ;  and 
 it  must  have  been  long  subsequent  to  that  date  when 
 a  writer  would  think  so  very  little  of  them,  as  not 
 to  regard  the  anachronism  of  introducing  them 
 into  early  Jewish  history.     (9)  The  learned  and  care- 
 
 30  See  pp.  146,  ct  seq.,  The  Two  Bahylons,  by  Rev.  A.  Hislop.  Third  edition. 
 Edinburgh  and  London,  186'2. 
 
 "1  To  this  it  may  be  objected,  that  such  a  division  is  indicated  in  Gen.  ii.  3,  and 
 consequently  that  it  was  coeval  with  the  Creation ;  but  the  reply  is  simple,  viz., 
 that  the  story  in  Genesis  was  written  at  a  very  much  later  period  than  is  generally 
 supposed. 
 
467 
 
 ful  Spinosa,  —  with  whose  work,  Tractatus  Theo- 
 logico-PoUticus,  I  only  became  acquainted  after  the 
 greatest  part  of  the  present  volume  was  in  MS.,  and 
 after  I  had  begun  to  prepare  the  present  essay, — 
 remarks,  p.  216  of  the  English  translation  (Triibner, 
 
 London,  1862), "I  presume  to  conclude,  from  all 
 
 that  precedes,  that  before  the  time  of  the  Maccabees 
 there  was  no  canon  of  Holy  Writ  extant,  but  that 
 the  books  we  have  were  selected  from  amongst  many 
 others,  by  and  on  the  sole  authority  of  the  Pharisees 
 of  the  second  temple,  who  also  instituted  the  formula 
 for  the  prayers  used  in  the  synagogue  ;  "  to  which  the 
 translator  appends  the  following  note.  ''The  grand 
 synagogue,  which  decided  the  canon  of  Scripture,  did 
 not  assemble  till  after  the  subjection  of  Asia  to  the 
 Macedonian  power.  To  its  authority  the  Pharisees 
 always  refer,  when  they  invoke  what  they  call  their 
 Traditions."  (10)  The  Passover  is  never  mentioned 
 in  the  book  of  Daniel,  and  only  once  by  the  prophets, 
 in  a  passage,  Ezek.  xlv.  21,  which  appears  to  have 
 been  written  by  a  late  hand.®^  (11)  The  feast  of  the 
 Passover  is  largely  referred  to  in  the  book  of  Chro- 
 nicles, which  I  find  that  Spinosa  {Op.  Cit.  p.  204), 
 like  many  other  scholars,  refers  to  a  date  long 
 after  the  time  of  Ezra,  and  perhaps  even  after  the 
 restoration  of  the  temple  by  Judas  Maccabeus.  More- 
 over, in  the  book  of  Maccabees  the  Passover  is  not 
 once  mentioned,  though  the  Sabbath  receives  frequent 
 notice.  (12)  The  Passover  is  not  once  commemorated 
 in  the  book  of  Psalms,  which  contains,  apparently, 
 
 92  Any  one  who  will  examine  closely  the  last  chapters  of  Ezekiel,  i.  e.,  from  xl.. 
 to  the  end  of  the  book,  will  recognise  that  they  were  written  after  the  Babylonish 
 captivity. 
 
468 
 
 some  of  the  more  modern,  as  well  as  the  most 
 ancient,  of  the  Hebrew  compositions. 
 
 These  scraps  of  evidence  seem  to  indicate,  but 
 they  do  not  absolutely  prove,  that  the  Passover  is  an 
 institution  of  comparatively  late  origin,  and  subse- 
 quent to  the  period  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews 
 after  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 
 At  this  point  let  us  pause,  to  consider,  whether 
 it  is  probable  that  the  festival  in  question  was  an 
 ancient  one,  long  lost,  but  again  restored.  We  re- 
 member well  how,  after  centuries  of  Protestantism, 
 there  are  many  who,  after  embracing  that  faith,  have 
 retrograded  to  the  Papal  church.  We  then  recal  how 
 the  converts  to  Christianity  gradually,  but  steadily, 
 returned  to  the  Pagan  institutions,  until  they  at 
 length  incorporated  heathen  doctrines,  rites,  and 
 ceremonies  into  Christian  worship.  Then,  recollect- 
 ing how  the  Jews,  even  as  represented  by  their  own 
 historians,  copied  from  the  heathen  around  them, 
 we  recognise  the  triviality  of  the  question,  whether 
 the  Passover,  as  kept  in  later  years,  was  the  renova- 
 tion of  an  old,  or  an  entirely  new  festival.  We  are 
 content  to  see  that  the  Passover,  like  our  own  May- 
 day and  Christmas,  are  heritages  from  Paganism,  and 
 nothing  more  than  a  modernised  plan  for  keeping  up 
 the  practice  of  associating  certain  epochs  with  religious 
 worship.  It  would  be  as  unprofitable  for  us  to 
 enter  into  the  details  to  be  observed  by  the  Jews  on 
 the  occasion  of  the  vernal  equinox,  as  it  would  be  to 
 descant  upon  the  due  celebration  of  the  feast  of  St. 
 Valentine,  the  mysteries  of  the  Christmas  goose,  of 
 the  yule  log^  or  of  April  fool  day.  Those  who  are 
 interested  in  the  subject  will  be  much  pleased  with 
 
469 
 
 the  perusal  of  Hislop's  Tivo  Babylons,  before  referred 
 to.  They  may  also  profitably  consult  the  very  learned 
 but  ill  arranged  Anacali/psis,  by  Godfrey  Higgins, 
 pp.  260-264,  in  which  he  shows  that  a  feast  similar 
 to  that  of  the  Passover  is  common  in  Hindostan ; 
 and  that  a  lamb  is  sacrificed  on  this  occasion,  and 
 eaten  by  Brahmins,  who  upon  all  other  occasions 
 abstain  from  eating  flesh.  The  author  also  indi- 
 cates a  connection  between  fire,  the  lamb,  and 
 purity ;   ignis,  agnus,  and  uyvo§. 
 
 The  feast  of  Pentecost,  or  myutJ^n  JPi,  chag  hasha- 
 buoth,  came  seven  weeks,  or  fifty  days,  after  the  Pass- 
 over, and  seems  to  have  marked  the  termination  of 
 the  harvest.  I  am  unable  to  find  any  evidence  what- 
 ever of  the  existence  of  this  festival  in  the  times  of 
 the  ancient  Jews,  and  I  conclude  that  it  was  adopted 
 as  a  sort  of  "harvest  home"  from  neighbouring  na- 
 tions. To  give  it  something  like  a  sacred  character,  the 
 priesthood  declared  that  it  commemorated  the  giving 
 of  the  law  from  Mount  Sinai.  This  plan  of  adopting 
 certain  celebrations  from  the  heathen,  and  sanctifying 
 them  afterwards,  has  prevailed  amongst  the  Christians, 
 as  well  as  amongst  the  Jews,  and  we  have  still  our 
 own  Pentecost,  under  the  title  of  A^Tiitsuntide,  and 
 the  Eornan  Saturnalia,  as  the  modern  Christmas. 
 A  minute's  consideration  will  tell  us,  that  if  Moses 
 had  wished  to  commemorate  by  a  feast  the  giving 
 of  the  law,  or  if  Christ  had  intended  his  followers 
 to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  birth-day,  both 
 would  have  instituted  the  festivals  during  their  life 
 time.  The  adoption  of  a  festival  to  fit  a  story,  or 
 vice  versa,  may  be  eschewed  by  the  philosopher  ;  yet 
 it  is  readily  adopted  by  the  Churchman,  who  lays  no 
 claim  to  be  considered  judicial,  or  even  judicious. 
 
470 
 
 After  Pentecost,  the  other  great  feast  amongst 
 the  Jews  was  that  of  Trumpets,  which  marked  the 
 new  year ;  for  an  account  of  which,  see  supra,  page 
 372. 
 
 Another  important  celebration,  the  day  of  Atone- 
 ment, was  associated  with  the  autumnal  equinox, 
 and  was  attended  by  a  complete  and  prolonged  fast ; 
 for  a  more  particular  account  of  it,  and  an  estimate 
 of  its  probable  date,  see  Scape  Goat,  infra.  The 
 institution  of  the  day  was  clearly  unknown  to  the 
 Jews  prior  to  their  sojourn  in  Babylon. 
 
 The  feast  of  Tabernacles  was  one  of  the  three 
 important  festivals  on  which  the  Jews  were  bound  to 
 assemble  at  Jerusalem ;  Passover  and  Pentecost  being 
 the  others.  This,  like  the  other  feasts,  seems  to 
 have  been  unknown  to  the  Hebrews  during  the  days 
 of  David  and  the  Kings,  and  to  have  been  established 
 at  some  period  after  the  "Restoration."  It  appears 
 to  have  been  more  intimately  connected  with  the 
 autumnal  equinox  than  was  the  preceding  feast.  I 
 have  been  unable  to  trace  the  original  from  which 
 it  has  been  copied ;  nor  can  I  find  any  valid  reason 
 why,  at  this  particular  time  of  the  year,  the  town 
 should  be  at  night  forsaken  for  the  country.  The 
 fact  that  the  palm  tree  and  the  citron  bore  a  very 
 important  part  in  the  ceremony  of  celebration,  and 
 that  a  palm  branch  and  a  citron  were  waved  three 
 times  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  clearly  shows 
 that  a  phallic  element  existed  in  the  festival. 
 
 The  reason  assigned  for  the  nature  of  the  cele- 
 bration, viz.,  **that  your  generations  may  know  that 
 I  made  the  children  of  Israel  to  dwell  in  booths, 
 when  I  brought  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt"  (Lev. 
 xxiii.  43)  is  simply  preposterous;  1.  because  the  Jews 
 
471 
 
 could  not  find  material  wherewith  to  make  booths  when 
 in  the  desert ;  2.  because  we  are  distinctly  told  that 
 the  Israelites  then  dwelt  in  tents.  My  impression 
 is,  that  this  feast  of  ingathering,  as  it  is  sometimes 
 called,  was  associated  with  the  worship  of  the  Baby- 
 lonian Mylitta,  or  Succoth  Benoth;  that  it  was 
 adopted  from  the  Chaldees,  and  sanctified  by  the 
 Hebrew  Priests,  as  Romish  hierarchs  have  Chris- 
 tianised Beltane  and  Dionysiac  festivities. 
 
 There  are  other  Jewish  feasts,  such  as  that  of 
 wood-carrying,  water-drawing,  Purim,  etc. ;  but  we 
 need  not  dilate  upon  them.  Full  accounts  of  each 
 may  be  found,  written  by  the  erudite  Dr.  Ginsburg, 
 in  Kitto's  Cyclopaedia  of  Biblical  Literature. 
 Peor,  ■''lys^  ""ys  (Num.  xxiii.  28),  signifies  "to  open,"  also 
 "to  uncover  the  pudenda,"  "to  give  oneself  up  to 
 fornication;"  ^"^^j  para,  signifies  "to  cause  to  bear 
 fruit;"  and  |^^2^  jjrtrrt/j,  is  to  be  fruitful  (see  Parah, 
 supra),  Peor,  like  ^Ir'.,  signifies  "a  pit  or  hole,"  or 
 rather  "  an  opening,"  "  properly  the  opening  of  the 
 maiden's  hymen."  It  was  also  the  name  of  a 
 Moabite  deity,  in  whose  honour  virgins  prostituted 
 themselves.  Compare  Jerome  on  Hos.  iv.  14  :  Colen- 
 tihiis  maxime  feminis  Beelphegor  oh  ohscoeni  magni- 
 tuditiem  quem  nos  Priapum  possumus  appellere,'" 
 "  Phegor  in  lingua  Hehrcea  Priapus  appellatur." 
 Fiirst,  s.  ih  The  name  is  translated  by  the  Seventy  as 
 <poyoop,  and  Baal  Peor  is  written  as  BBs\<^Bycup,  or 
 Belphegor.  (See  Baal  Peor.)  There  are  very  few 
 references  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors  to  the 
 sacrifice  of  virginity  made  to  a  figure  of  the  male- 
 god ;  but  there  has  been  found  in  Pompeii  a  very 
 remarkable  bas-relief,  in  which  an  elderly  woman, 
 apparently  a  matron,  is  bringing  a  younger  female, 
 
472 
 
 who  is  perfectly  nude,  to  the  "Hermes;"  a  youngish 
 female  flute-player  is  piping  during  the  ceremony, 
 which  is  being  watched  at  a  little  distance  off  by 
 another  matronly-looking  woman ;  the  two  elders 
 possibly  representing  the  mother  and  mother-in-law 
 of  some  virgin  spouse. °^  Now  it  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
 that  there  are  no  indications  of  the  worship  of  Bel- 
 phegor  until  we  come  to  the  comparatively  modern 
 period  of  the  Greeks ;  and  it  is  a  question  worthy  of 
 consideration,  whether  the  episode  about  the  worship 
 of  that  god,  which  is  related  in  the  book  of  Numbers, 
 may  not  be  the  addition  of  a  modern  writer,  who, 
 knowing  of  the  unholy  custom,  and  its  possible  intro- 
 duction amongst  the  Jews,  took  this  means  of  blighting 
 its  growth.     See  Aholah,  Vol.  i,  p.  210. 
 
 Pesel,  ^9?  (Exod.  XX.  4).  The  careful  inquirer  has  his 
 attention  frequently  arrested  by  strange  coincidences, 
 which  are  too  remarkable  to  be  neglected,  though 
 their  value  may  be  doubtful.  The  word  in  question 
 signifies  "to  shape,  or  form";  also  any  image  "graven 
 or  molten,"  but  principally  an  idolatrous  figure.  A 
 vast  majority  of  these  were  phallic  emblems  ;  and 
 the  organ  of  the  bull,  which  formerly  was  used  to 
 inflict  punishment,  as  the  bamboo  and  cat-o'-nine- 
 tails are  now,  goes  by  the  name  of  "pizzle"  at 
 the  present  time  with  us,  and  amongst  the  Germans 
 by  that  of  "  pesel,"  the  presumption  being  that  they 
 are  the  modern  representatives  of  the  ancient  ''?S. 
 
 Phallus,  <^aK\os,  memhrum  virile.  This  ancient  emblem  of 
 creation  was  usually  made  of  the  wood  of  the  fig 
 tree,  under  the  name  <pa\'^c.  He  was  considered  an 
 inferior    deity,    and    companion    of    Bacchus.      His 
 
 »8  Herculanum  et  Pompei,  par  M.  lioun  Aine,  Mniscc  secret,  plate  'i?. 
 
473 
 
 name  survives,  as  pains  in  Latin,  ^j/h//?  in  German, 
 and  pole  in  English,  The  May-pole  was  one  of 
 his  emblems,  and  ho  was  frequently  adorned  with 
 bells ;  the  reason  for  which  will  be  seen  in  Vol.  i., 
 page  53.  The  word  may  take  its  origin  in  the 
 Plurnician,  in  some  such  word  as  t^^3,  palash,  or 
 Rr?,  pains,  "he  breaks  through,  or  presses  into; "  or 
 we  may  derive  it  from  the  Greek  ttuW-jo,  pallo,  "to 
 brandish  preparatory  to  throwing  a  missile,"  etc., 
 Pallas,  or  Minerva,  coming  from  the  same  root,  and 
 being  the  Sacti  of  Phallos.  In  the  Sanscrit  we 
 have  many  words  to  which  the  name  may  be  traced ; 
 e.  <j.,  phal  signifies  "to  burst,"  "to  produce,"  "to 
 be  fruitful ";  2)hdla  is  "a  ploughshare,"  and  it  is  also 
 a  name  of  Siva,  or  Mahadcva,  and  Balarama ;  and 
 plinl  signifies  "to  blossom;  "  all  covering  the  idea  of 
 a  fully  ripe  fruit  or  pod,  ready  to  eject  the  seed  which 
 it  contains. 
 
 We  have  repeatedly  called  attention  to  the  vene- 
 ration with  which  this  object  Avas  regarded  amongst 
 the  ancients ;  how  it  formed  the  main  foundation 
 for  religious  myths  ;  and  how  certain  Christian 
 doctrines  have  been,  and  still  are,  built  upon  it. 
 Indeed  it  is  very  probable  that  all  forms  of  temple 
 worship,  attended  by  ritual,  sacrifice,  mysteries,  etc., 
 have  been  constructed  upon  sexual  and  mundane 
 ideas.  Yet  we  feel  bound  to  express  a  doubt  whether 
 certain  religions  have  not  been  in  their  origin  wholly 
 free  from  this  taint.  There  is  some  reason  to  be- 
 lieve that  the  early  Yedic,  the  Zoroastrian,  the 
 Buddhist,  and  the  Christian  were  pure  in  their  con- 
 ceptions of  the  Almighty,  and  of  man's  duty  in  this 
 world.  Some  faiths  seem  to  have  been  founded,  we 
 may  say,  upon  the  complete  abnegation  of  all  bodily 
 
474 
 
 propensities ;  and  amongst  the  Buddhists,  Essenes, 
 Christians  and  others,  the  absolute  celibacy  of  both 
 sexes  was  regarded  as  the  highest  act  and  fruit  of  "a 
 saving  faith."  But  it  is  to  be  observed  that  amongst 
 these  sects  neither  images  nor  temples  were  originally 
 tolerated.  They  believed  that  God  dwelleth  not  in 
 buildings  made  with  hands;  that  heaven  was  His 
 throne,  and  that  to  worship  under  a  ceiling  was  to 
 insure  that  a  veil  should  prevent  their  prayers  being 
 heard,  and  their  persons  being  seen. 
 
 Although  certain  religions  may  have  been  origi- 
 nally pure,  it  would  appear  that  they  have  gradually 
 been  corrupted  by  pressure  from  without,  or  by  their 
 professors  adopting  many  of  the  symbols  and  mytho- 
 logical ideas  of  a  more  ancient  cult.  We  see,  for 
 example,  how  Christianity  has  become  tainted  with 
 the  doctrines  and  practices  of  Paganism ;  how  Protes- 
 tantism has  gradually  become  disgraced  by  a  return 
 to  Papal  practices ;  how  Presbyterianism  is  being 
 influenced  by  Episcopacy;  how  Evangelicalism  and 
 Wesleyism  are  drawing  nearer  together;  and  how 
 much  there  is  in  common  with  the  Parsee,  the  Jew, 
 and  the  Unitarian. 
 
 Yet,  although  so  many  religionists  have  thus 
 modified  the  original  principles  and  practices  of  the 
 authors  of  their  faith,  some  inquirers  have  gone  so 
 far  as  to  affirm  that  Buddhism  never  adopted,  as  a  part 
 of  its  worship,  the  ideas  and  the  symbols  associated 
 with  the  belief  that  the  sexual  organs  might  be 
 regarded  as  emblems  of  the  Creator  of  the  universe. 
 This  assertion,  however,  cannot  be  sustained,  for  those 
 who  are  conversant  with  Buddhist  emblems  will 
 recognise  in  them  various  forms  of  the  trinity  and 
 the   unity,    singly   and    combined.       In    figure    38, 
 
475 
 
 for  example  (Vol.  i.,  p.  151),  we  recognise  the  linga 
 and  the  yoni,  and  the  sun  and  moon  in  conjunction ; 
 and  in  Figure  33  we  Figure  33. 
 
 recognise  the  male 
 standing  within  the 
 oval,  or  horse  shoe, 
 the  emblem  of  the 
 unit.  Again  in  fig. 
 2,  Plate  3,  of  Vol.  i., 
 we  notice  the  union  of 
 a  triform  male  with 
 a  monad  circle  com- 
 posed of  two  fishes, 
 symbols  of  fecundity. 
 A  reference  to  an 
 important  essay,  by 
 B.  H.  Hodgson, 
 Esq.,  in  the  Journal 
 of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
 Society,  vol.  xviii.,  page  392,  will  not  only  intro- 
 duce the  reader  to  many  symbols  which  are 
 eminently,  though  of  course  covertly,  indicative  of 
 the  mysterious  triad  and  monad,  but  will  enable  us 
 to  recognise,  in  the  oriental  fly-flapper,  the  probable 
 origin  of  the  shape  of  Hymen's  conventional  torch; 
 and  in  plate  iii.,  fig.  4,  of  Hodgson's  essay,  we  recog- 
 nise the  possible  prototj-pe  of  the  triple-feathered 
 coronal  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Again,  in  the 
 frontispiece  and  other  parts  of  the  Abbe  Hue's 
 account  of  his  travels  in  Thibet,  etc.,  we  see 
 Buddha  represented  with  three  circles  arranged 
 triangularly;  whilst  in  the  second  plate  of  the  Atlas 
 of  Schlagintweit's  Buddhism  in  Thibet  (Leipsig, 
 1863),  he  will  see  the  "god  above  all"  represented 
 
476 
 
 by  a  human  couple,  most  intimately  united.  We 
 recognise  a  similar  union  of  the  mysterious  four  in 
 Plate  III.,  which  represents  a  dagopa,  or  an  erection 
 usually  conical,  surmounting  sacred  relics  amongst 
 the  Buddhists.  It  occurs  in  the  Junnar  cave,  in 
 the  Bomhay  Presidency  of  India,  and  was  copied 
 for  an  Orientalist  by  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Sellon. 
 See  Plate  iii. 
 
 It  is  important  for  the  student  of  mythology  and 
 of  ancient  and  modern  history  to  know,  that  as  the 
 Phallus  has  been  regarded  as  an  emblem  of  the 
 Creator,  so  the  bull,  the  ram,  the  serpent,  the  torch, 
 fire,  the  thyrsus,  the  sceptre,  the  caduceus,  the 
 knobbed  stick,  the  crozier,  the  letter  T>  the  cross, 
 tall  trees,  upright  stones,  or  stumps,  spires,  towers, 
 minarets,  poles,  spears,  arrows,  swords,  bows,  clubs, 
 and  a  vast  variety  of  other  emblems,  have  been 
 employed  as  symbolic  of  the  Phallus.  Again,  as 
 this  organ  represented  the  Creator  and  the  sun,  all 
 were  typified  under  such  characters  as  Bacchus,  Dio- 
 nysus, Hercules,  Hermes,  Mahadeva,  Siva,  Osiris, 
 Jupiter,  Molech,  Baal,  Ashur,  and  innumerable 
 others. 
 
 Of  the  real  veneration  in  which  the  symbol  is 
 held  by  Orientals,  we  have  many  examples  in  the 
 reports  of  modern  travellers.  An  Arab  is  reported  by 
 a  French  general  in  Palestine  (but  I  have  unfortu- 
 nately mislaid  the  reference),  to  have  sworn  an  oath 
 in  the  manner  used  by  Abraham's  servant  in  former 
 times  (see  Vol.  i.,  p.  79,  note  2),  as  being  the  most 
 binding  upon  his  conscience.  Amongst  the  Druzes, 
 on  a  certain  day,  the  chief  Scheik  attends  at  some 
 sacred  place  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  the  females 
 of  the  tribe  devoutly  to  Idss  the  symbol  in  question ; 
 
477 
 
 a  process  which  exists  also  in  India,  as  may  be  seen 
 in  plate  Ixxi.  of  Picart's  Ceremonies  Religieiises  des 
 Peuples  die  Monde,  Paris,  1729.  An  anecdote  of 
 more  modern  date,  illustrating  the  same  thing,  will 
 be  found  in  Vol.  i.,  p.  219,  supra. 
 
 Respecting  the  style  of  worship  rendered  to  the 
 divinity  by  those  who  regarded  the  Phallus  as  his 
 mundane  emblem,  we  may  say  that  it  has  been  as 
 varied  in  its  nature  as  Christianity.  It  has  been  in 
 some  cases  pure  and  exalted,  free  from  all  vicious 
 developments,  and  associated  with  propriety  of  con- 
 duct and  morals  ;  in  others,  it  has  been  allied  with 
 gross  ignorance,  superstition,  and  sensuality.  Such 
 a  result  happens  in  all  religions,  when  the  symbol  is 
 regarded  more  than  that  which  it  symbolises.  With 
 many  Christians  a  crucifix  is  venerated,  and  female 
 devotees  carry  effigies  of  "Jesus"  about  their  persons, 
 as  a  charm  against  the  evil  one  and  his  emissaries. 
 In  like  manner,  and  for  the  same  purpose.  Pagan 
 women  bore  emblems  of  "  the  Father."  Sometimes 
 the  handled  cross,  which  was  borne  by  Egyptian 
 women  thousands  of  years  ago,  is  worn  as  an  amulet, 
 to  place  the  bearer  under  the  protection  of  "  the 
 creators."  Superstition  exists  equally  in  all ;  and 
 though  we  pride  ourselves  upon  Christian  civilisa- 
 tion, it  is  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  there  is  not 
 proportionally  a  greater  amount  of  crime,  cruelty, 
 superstition,  and  immorality  on  the  banks  of  the 
 Thames,  the  Mersey,  the  Loire,  and  the  Tiber,  than 
 there  was  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  of 
 the  Nile,  of  the  Euphrates,  and  within  the  walls  of 
 ancient  Athens  and  Rome. 
 Phaeaoh,  "^^7?  (Gen.  xii.  15).  There  is  considerable  diffi- 
 culty in  explaining  the  use  of  this  word  by  the  sacred 
 
478 
 
 writers,  to  designate  almost  all  the  kings  of  Egypt 
 which  are  mentioned  in  the  sacred  writings.  Shishak 
 (1  Kings  xiv.  25)  is  the  only  monarch  of  that  country 
 to  which  the  generic  term  is  not  applied.  But  no  such 
 name  as  Pharaoh  has  been  deciphered  by  hieroglyphic 
 scholars  as  existing  in  Eg^'pt.  There  is  only  one  name, 
 in  the  list  of  the  kings  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  viz., 
 Pheron,  t'spcov,  which  at  all  resembles  it ;  and  there 
 is  not  even  one  name  like  it  in  the  list  of  Manetho. 
 Etymologists,  in  the  absence  of  certainty,  have 
 derived  the  word  from  the  Coptic,  in  which  jiouro 
 signifies  "  the  king  " ;  it  has  also  been  supposed  that 
 it  stands  for  phra,  one  of  the  names  for  the  sun  in 
 Egyptian ;  others  derive  it  from  the  Hebrew  '"'V'l'f , 
 par  ah,  "  the  prince,  or  leader."  It  is,  however, 
 difficult  to  understand  why  the  Hebrew  writers  should 
 depart  from  their  ordinary  rule  of  naming  specifically 
 all  the  kings  to  whom  they  refer,  only  in  the  verj^ 
 case  of  those  with  whom,  during  the  youth  of  the 
 nation,  they  ought  to  have  been  most  familiar. 
 Besides  this  we  farther  find,  that  Pharaoh  is  spoken 
 of  as  king  of  Egypt ;  and  it  would  be  preposterous  to 
 write  "the  king,  the  sun-king  of  Egypt;"  inExod.  i., 
 the  monarch  is  alternately  called  the  king  of  Egypt 
 and  Pharaoh,  and  in  ch.  xiv.  8,  he  is  spoken  of  as 
 "  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt."  The  critic  is  surprised 
 that  the  names  of  the  kings  with  whom  Abraham 
 came  in  contact  (Gen.  xiv.  1,  2,  18)  should  be  given 
 in  detail,  whilst  the  monarch  of  Egypt,  with  whom  he 
 becomes  acquainted,  bears  no  name  at  all,  except  "the 
 Sun,"  or  "the  King,"  a  cognomen  given  equally  to  the 
 ruler  who  patronised  Joseph,  and  to  another  signally 
 punished  during  the  time  of  Moses."*    When  the  diffi- 
 
 Josephus  states  very  distinctly,  Antiq.,  b.  viii.  ch.  vi.  2,  that  Pharaoli  sig- 
 
479 
 
 culties  which  surround  a  subject  seem  to  be  insuper- 
 able on  the  old  h}T5othesis,  it  is  advisable  for  a 
 philosophic  student  of  history  to  ascertain,  whether 
 any  can  be  found  more  consonant  with  truth.     Now 
 
 nifies  Kinri  in  the  Egyptian  tongne  (of  which  there  is  strong  reason  to  believe 
 the  historian  was  wholly  ignorant)  ;  and  that  the  title  was  used  instead  of  his 
 first  name,  when  each  monarch  came  to  the  throne  ;  thus  resemhling  Augustus, 
 CsBsar,  Ptolemy,  Emperor,  etc.  But  Josephus  nowhere  shows  whence  he  draws 
 his  inspiration.  Rossellini  and  Wilkinson  derive  "  Pharaoh "  from  Phre,  or 
 Phra,  which  indicates  the  sun-god  Ka;  but  this  is  objected  to  by  Bunsen,  Egyptf 
 vol.  ii.  p.  14,  who  remarks  that  the  king  is  not  called  Phre,  but  Son  of  Phbe, 
 and  the  learned  Baron  believes  that  the  word  in  question  must  be  derived  from 
 the  "Demotic,"  and  not  from  the  sacred  language,  and  that  in  the  modern 
 erro,  or  uro,  with  the  article  pe,  or  phe,  prefixed,  i.e.  "the  Mng,"  we  have  the 
 real  original  of  "Pharaoh."  Bunsen  closes  his  paragraph  with  the  words,  "After 
 the  foregoing  remarks  upon  tlie  origin  and  pronunciation  of  the  prwnomen,  we 
 think  that  there  will  be  no  farther  attempt  to  pro\e  that  the  Egyptian  kings  were 
 called  Phre,  merely  because  their  prsenomens  usually  began  wth  Ea."  To  us, 
 it  seems  difficult  to  believe  that  " Pe,  or  Plie,  +  urro,  or  uro,"  are  the  origi- 
 nals of  "Pharaoh";  equally  difficult  is  it  to  believe,  rf  the  word  really  signified 
 "king,"  that  the  particular  monarch  referred  to  by  a  Scriptural  writer  would  only 
 be  mentioned  once,  viz.,  Pharaoh  Hophra,  whilst  Shishak  has  no  such  title  given. 
 Again,  we  must  call  attention  to  the  apparent  absurdity  of  using  the  expression, 
 "  Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt,"  if  the  first  word  was  the  equivalent  of  the  second.  If 
 a  number  of  English  captives  were  in  France,  as  once  happened,  "L'Emperenr" 
 would  be  spoken  of,  or  else  "the  Emperor ;  "  or  if  they  were  in  liussia,  they  would 
 speak  of  the  "  Czar,"  or  "  the  Emperor;  "  they  could  not,  knowing  that  the  two  were 
 practically  identical,  talk  or  write  of  "  Czar  the  Emperor."  Even  we,  who  are  not 
 familiar  with  Roman  terms  or  titles,  never  think  of  any  other  monarch  than  Julius 
 when  we  speak  of  "  Caesar,"  or  of  any  other  but  the  first  Augustus  when  we  use 
 that  title.  In  like  manner,  if  the  writer  of  the  story  of  Israel  in  Egypt  knew 
 that  Pharaoh  signified  "king,"  there  was  no  necessity  for  him  to  use  both 
 Pharaoh  and  Melech  as  different  terms.  If  he  did  not  Imow  that  the  two  terms 
 were  convertible,  it  is  clear  that  he  knew  little  about  the  actors  in  the  scenes 
 which  he  described. 
 
 Again,  we  ascertain  that  the  name  for  king  amongst  the  Persians  is  written, 
 K'hoJuhjatJiia.  (Behistan  inscription,  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  x. 
 p.  23.)  Amongst  the  Assyrians,  ribitii,  biln,  sar,  itsri,  or  ashri,  were  the  words 
 used  to  signify  "king,"  or  "ruler,"  Sar  was  the  most  common.  Whilst  amongst 
 the  Greeks,  ^aaiAcvs,  or  rupavvoi,  basilens,  or  turannos,  was  the  title.  Yet  the 
 Hebrew  writers,  when  they  speak  of  Cyrus,  Sennacherib,  the  King  of  Grecia, 
 etc.,  do  not  use  any  of  these  terms,  but  give,  as  nearly  as  they  can  catch  it, 
 the  name  of  the  monarch,  with  the  Jewish  title  of  Melech. 
 
 It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  evidence  is  very  strong  that  the  author 
 of  Genesis  and  Exodus,  did  not  know  the  names  of  Egyptian  monarchs  likely  to 
 be  regnant  at   the  period   he  described,  and  that  he  selected  in  their  place  some 
 
480 
 
 we  have  already  pointed  out  (Vol.  i.,  p.  135),  that 
 there  is  no  Egyptian  name  whatever  to  be  found 
 amongst  the  Jews ;  all  Hebrew  cognomens  having, 
 apparently,  a  Phoenician  or  Chaldaean  source.     We 
 
 foreign  cognomen,  wliicli  might  pass  current.  I  cannot  find  any  other  writer 
 who  uses  the  word  Pharaoh  to  indicate  the  King  of  Egypt,  except  Bar  Hehrseus, 
 who  was  born  a.  d.  1226,  died  1286,  and  wrote  therefore  very  long  after  the  times 
 of  the  Pharaohs.  Of  his  iguonince  we  may  form  some  idea  from  the  following 
 table,  copied  from  Cotj's  J  ncient  Fragments,  p.  165,  wherein  the  most  amusing 
 mistakes  are  made  about  contemporary  kings  or  dynasties. 
 
 Clialdwan  Kings. 
 
 1.  Nmrud  —  years. 
 
 2.  Qmbirus 85      „ 
 
 3.  Smirus  72      ,, 
 
 4.  Bsarumus  Phrthia,  or  the 
 
 Parthian    
 
 5.  Arphazd,     conquered     by 
 
 Bilus,  the  Assyrian. 
 
 Assyrian  Kings. 
 
 1.  Bilns 62  years. 
 
 2.  Ninus 52      „ 
 
 3.  Smirm    46      „ 
 
 4.  Zmarus 38      „ 
 
 5.  Aris    30      „ 
 
 Egyptian  Kings. 
 
 1 .  Phanuphis 68  yeara. 
 
 2.  Auphiphanus 46  ,, 
 
 3.  Atanuphus 
 
 4.  Pharoun  Brsnus 35  „ 
 
 5.  Pharoun  Karimun    4  „ 
 
 6.  Pharoun  Aphintus   32  „ 
 
 7.  Pharoun  Auruukus 33  „ 
 
 8.  Pharoun  Smnnns 20  „ 
 
 9.  Pharoun  Armnis 27  „ 
 
 10.  Pharndus,  the  Theban     . .   43  ., 
 
 11.  Pliaroun  Phanus 
 
 12.  Pharoun  Aisqus    21  ,, 
 
 13.  Pharoun  Susunus 44  ,, 
 
 14.  Pharoun  Itcjus 44  „ 
 
 1.  Satis,  the  Shepherd 
 
 2.  „ 
 
 3.  „ 
 
 4.  Aphphus 14  years. 
 
 Mphrus    12      ,, 
 
 Tumuthus    18      ., 
 
 Amnphathis,  also  called  in  the 
 
 narrative  Pharoun,  and  whose 
 daughter  was  called  Tomu- 
 -^.  thisa,   also   Damris    by   the 
 
 Hebrews,  and  saved  Moses. 
 Pharoun  Psuni. 
 A  comment  like  this  is  very  suggestive. 
 After  the  preceding  was  in  type,  I  became,  by  the  merest  accident,  acquainted 
 with  The  Proper  X'ames  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  expounded  and  illustrated, 
 by  the  Rev.  Alfred  Jones.      Bagster,  London,  1856.      I  much  regret  not  having 
 heard  of  the  existence  of  the  book  before.     I  find  that  the  author  has  equal  difE- 
 culty  with  myself  in  finding  an  acceptable  etymon  for  Pharaoh ;  but  his  final  deduc- 
 tion is  more  consonant  with  Biblical,  than  with  logical  orthodoxy. 
 
481 
 
 conclude,  then,  that  it  is  possible  that  the  title  given  . 
 by  the  sacred  writers  to  the  monarchs  of  Egypt  is 
 equally   fictitious  with   the   detailed  account  of   the 
 Jews'  sojourn  in  Eg}^it.     If  one  portion  of  the  story 
 be  a   fiction,  another  probably  is   so   too ;    and  the 
 writer  may  have  selected  the  names  of  the  Egs'ptian 
 monarchs  hostile  to  the  ancient  Jews,  from  other  out- 
 landish ones  which  he  knew.    Now  it  so  happens,  that 
 amongst  the  kings  of  Parthia  were  four  of  the  name 
 Phraates,  who  lived  about  250  B.C.,  and  a  Phraortes, 
 who  was  a  king  in  Media,  and  flourished  B.C.  656- 
 634,    and   who   was,    therefore,    a    contemporary   of 
 Jeremiah.     We  also  notice,  that  names  compounded 
 with  Phar  were  common  amongst  the  Greeks ;  that 
 Pharis,  c^a/sjc,  was  a   son  of  Hermes,    and   that   he 
 built  Pharae  in  Messenia,  and  which  may  be  allied 
 to  <^sf>(jo  or  ^fsw,  and  the  Hebrew  '^7?'  P'(rah. 
 PniLisTiEA,  ^^^^  (Exod.  XV.  14).      There  is  great  diflaculty 
 about  the  derivation   of  this  name,  some  considering 
 that  it  has  affinity  with  the  n=Aao-yoj,  Pelasgoi,  and 
 others  that  it  means  "the  emigrants."    When  a  doubt 
 has  to  be  examined,  it  is  well  for  the  philosopher  to 
 arrange  his  premises  before   he  draws  an  inference. 
 We  find   apparently  that  "the   Philistines"   was   a 
 generic   name  for  the   Phcenicians ;    for  we  are  told 
 (1  Sam.  xxvii.  7),  that  David  dwelt  in  the  country 
 of  the  PhiHstines  a  full  j^ear  and  four  months.     As 
 it  must^have  been  during  this  time  that  he  became 
 friendly   with   Hiram    of    Tn-e,    we    conclude    that 
 Ascalon,  Gaza,  Gath,  etc.,  were  affiliated  with  Zidon 
 and   Tyre.      The   country   of    the    Phoenicians   was 
 named  Palestine,  YlaXuio-TlvYi  by  the  Greeks.     In  all 
 the  Scriptural  accounts  of  the  Philistines,  they  are 
 described  as  a  nation  of  warriors ;  some  are  gigantic 
 
 HH 
 
482 
 
 in  stature,  and  all  are  represented  as  being  so  fierce, 
 that  the  proverb  is  still  current  amongst  ourselves, 
 that  the  worst  thing  which  can  happen  to  a  man  is 
 "to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines." 
 
 With  the  recollection  in  our  mind  of  Donaldson's 
 ingenious,  and  we  may  say  unanswerable,  remarks 
 upon  Lamech,  Hepher,  and  the  Cherethites,  we 
 cannot  help  associating  the  name  of  this  redoubted 
 nation  with  a  Greek  source.  In  Liddell  and  Scott's 
 Greek  Lexicon,  TraXajo-rJj^  is  translated  "  a  wrestler, 
 a  rival,  an  adversary,  a  fighting  man,  a  soldier." 
 Having  got  thus  far,  we  remember  that  it  is  not 
 until  David  returns  from  the  land  of  the  Philistines 
 that  he  has  a  guard  of  mercenary  soldiers  (Cherethites 
 and  Pelethites),  which  resembled  the  Swiss  Guard  of 
 Louis  XV.,  and  of  the  Roman  Pontifi"s,  and  perhaps 
 the  Zouaves  of  the  present  French  Emperor,  and 
 we  think  that  it  is  probable  that  the  towns  called 
 "Philistine"  were  those  wherein  the  mercenary 
 soldiers  and  their  families  settled.  As  we  write  the 
 word  mercenaries,  we  remember  that  they  are  always 
 selected  from  a  foreign  country,  and  are  essentially 
 "  emigrants  ; "  and  therefore  conclude  that  our 
 etymon  for  "Philistia"  does  not  differ  from, — 
 although  it  largely  expands,  —  that  given  by  previous 
 inquirers.  The  idea  thus  enunciated  receives  corrobo- 
 ration from  what  we  read  in  the  prophetic  writings. 
 Jeremiah  xlvii.  4,  speaks  of  them  as  "  helpers"  of 
 Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  says  that  they  were  the  remnant 
 of  the  country  of  Caphtor.  Ezekiel  xxv.  16,  asso- 
 ciates them  with  the  Cherethims.  Amos  ix.  7,  says, 
 that  the  Philistines  came  from  Caphtor.  Zephaniah 
 ii.  5,  says.  Woe  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea  coast,  the 
 nation  of  the  Cherethites;   and  again,  "O  Canaan, 
 
483 
 
 the  land  of  the  Philistines."  Now  Caphtor  is  by 
 some  supposed  to  be  Crete/^  whose  inhabitants  hired 
 themselves  out  as  "  mercenaries."  We  therefore  pre- 
 sume that  these  soldiers  may  have  been  taken  into 
 the  pay  of  certain  of  the  coast  towns  of  Phoenicia,  or 
 have  established  themselves  as  a  colony.  We  find, 
 moreover,  that  David's  mercenaries  are  called  Chere- 
 thites,  Pelethites,  and  Gittites ;  the  last  being  led 
 by  Ittai,  a  citizen  of  Gath.  It  is  clear,  therefore, 
 that  the  Philistines  did  serve  as  "  soldiers  of  fortune." 
 
 95  'J'here  is  some  difficulty  in  identifying  tlie  Caphtor  from  which  the  Philis- 
 tines came.  To  a  great  extent  this  depends  npon  the  helief  that  the  individual 
 who  wrote  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis  was  a  good  geographer,  and  historian,  and 
 that  his  testimony  must  override  that  of  other  ohservers.  To  me  it  seems  extraor- 
 dinary that  any  one,  who  knows  the  real  lustory  of  the  Jews,  can  imagine  that  they 
 possessed,  prior  to  their  acquaintance  with  the  Greeks,  any  scientific  knowledge  of 
 distant  lands.  Whatever,  then,  we  learn  from  Hehrew  historians  must  be  regarded 
 as  "  hearsay  evidence."  A  moment's  thought  will  convince  the  most  careless 
 inquirer  of  this,  when  he  finds  that  the  author  of  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis 
 declares  that  the  Tyrians,  Zidonians,  Assyrians.  Phoenicians,  and  the  Mizraim,  or 
 Egyptians,  are  of  the  same  family.  He  will  see  that  such  a  writer  had  no  more 
 real  knowledge  than  the  royal  Turkish  lady,  who  thought  that  "  Spain  was  an  island 
 near  Morocco,  betwixt  Egypt  and  Tangier"  {Do)i  Juan,  canto  vi.,  stanza  44). 
 
 If  we  put  aside,  as  doubtful,  the  Jewish  legend  in  Genesis,  and  endeavour  to 
 build  a  theory  about  Caphtor  and  the  Philistines  for  ourselves,  we  notice  (1)  that  the 
 Philistines  were  'nffi'jD,  pelaslithi,  "  strangers,  wanderers,  or  emigrants  "  (Amos  ix. 
 7) ;  (2)  their  name  seems  to  associate  them  with  the  Pelasgi,  but  upon  this  assonance 
 we  do  not  rely;  (3)  their  language,  so  far  as  we  dare  judge  from  Gen.  xxi.  32,  and 
 the  doubtful  lustory  of  Samson  and  David,  was  such  that  it  was  readily  understood 
 by  the  Jews ;  (4)  they  were  settlers  in  Palestine,  and,  as  we  conclude  from  the 
 silence  of  Homer  respecting  them,  they  entered  their  locations  subsequently  to  the 
 Trojan  war;  (5)  they  were  associated  with  the  Carians  in  a  war  with  Egypt,  B.C. 
 1200  (see  C.vphtor,  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible) ;  (6)  they  appear  to  have 
 come  from  the  north-east  into  Palestine  (Dent.  ii.  "23),  and  to  have  been  a 
 cognate  race  with  the  people  of  Tyre  and  Zidon  (Jer.  xlvii.  4) ;  (7)  they  formed 
 a  part  of  the  fighting  inhabitants  of  the  Davidic  Jerusalem  (2  Sam.  xv.  18) ; 
 (8)  Caphtor  has  been  identified  by  various  authors  as  Cappadocia,  Cyprus,  Crete, 
 and  Coptos,  or  Egypt ;  (9)  Poole,  in  Smith's  Dictionary,  s.  v.  Caphtor,  con- 
 siders that  Caphtor  is  identical  with  one  of  the  names  of  Egypt,  thus  assigning 
 to  the  Philistines  a  Coptic  origin  ;  (10)  but  there  is  reason  to  believe,  from  monu- 
 ments, that  the  dominant  race  of  Egypt  was  not  indigenous,  but  came  from  the 
 north ;  (11)  their  colour,  their  oblique  eyes,  and  nome  of  their  gods,  have  led 
 D'HarcanvlUe  to  consider  them  identical  with  the  ancient  Scythians,  just  as  Tartars 
 now  rule  in  China ;  (12)  the  story  of  the  Hyksos  leads  us  to  believe  in  an  emigra- 
 
484 
 
 Still  farther;  the  philologist  knows  that  nothing  is 
 more  common  amongst  the  Oriental  languages  than  to 
 soften  the  sound  of  s  into  that  of  t ;  e.  g.,  we  have 
 (pa\a.TTa      for     ^aAacrtra,     and     yXaoTTCi    for     yKih<J<Ta, 
 
 Mylitta  for  Mylissa,  etc. ;  and  if  we  change  the  name 
 
 ^7\vh^^  jylisti,  into  j^litti,  ^n^r>  or  ^^P"???  names  essen- 
 
 tion,  either  warlike  or  peaceable,  from  the  north,  along  Palestine,  into  Egypt ;  (13)  the 
 history  of  modern  emigrations  demonstrates  that  successive  migrations  are  more 
 common  than  one  single  national  removal ;  (14)  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
 Palestine  was  peopled  by  Phoenicians  coming  from  the  Red  Sea,  by  a  people  who 
 came  from  the  north,  via  Damascus,  and  by  a  race  of  navigators,  via  the  islands  of 
 the  Mediterranean,  who  started  in  their  ships  from  the  mainland  of  Asia  Minor  and 
 Greece ;  (15)  on  this  view  it  is  indifferent  whether  we  assign  a  Cappadocian,  Cretan, 
 or  Cypriote  origin  to  the  Philistines,  and  regard  Caphtor  as  an  African,  an  Asiatic, 
 or  a  European  locality;  (IG)  if  we  endeavoiir  to  ascertain  how  far  the  names  of  the 
 Philistine  towns  may  help  us,  we  find  that  there  is  apparently  a  Grecian  origin  for 
 them  ;  for  example,  my,  commonly  called  Gaza,  but  probably  equivalent  to  Ozza, 
 reseipbles  the  Greek  6cr<ra,  Ossa,  the  name  of  a  Greek  mountain,  also  "  an  omen." 
 Ashkelon  may  be  associated  with  ao-KeArjs,  "the  di'ied-up  one.  "  Ekron  may  be  iden- 
 tified with  eKpoof,  "the  embouchure;  '"  Gath  with  yi^^'",  or  yridvovj  "the  joj'ful  one," 
 or  "  the  leek  garden,"  or  ve'yaea,  gegatha;  whilst  Ashdod  may  be  traced  in  a|'o5,  a 
 Cretan  form  for  av/xos,  "  a  precipice."  Again,  Ahuzzoth  (Gen.  xxvi.  26)  may  be 
 derived  from  ao^os,  aozos,  "an  attendant,  or  minister,"  and  Phichol,  the  captain  of 
 the  army  of  Abimelech,  may  be  a  Hebraic  form  of  <#>uAa(cos,  phulakos,  "the  guar- 
 dian," "watcher,"  or  "protector."  Goliath  may  be  fairlj' derived  from  x°^°°l'-<"-, 
 choloomai,  "to  be  angry  or  enraged."  Saph  from  cra(|)a,  or  a-o<j>ia,  saplt,  or  sophia, 
 both  of  which  imply  "  clearness,  cleverness,  or  skiU."  Acliish  may  possibly  be 
 derived  from  oKi's,  aids,  "an  arrow,  or  dart."  Sippai  can  bo  traced  to  fi<^os,  "a 
 sword,"  re.sembling  ii-axaipa.,  machaira,  whence  the  name  I\Iecherothite.  Lahnii 
 seems  to  fit  the  Greek  word  Ajj^ia,  leenia,  also  written  A.a/ia,  lama,  "courage,"  or 
 "resolution."  Even  that  rcfractorj'  word  Ishbibenob,  for  which  it  is  so  difficult  to 
 find  an  etymon  in  the  Shemitic,  may  be  traced  to  a  Hebraic  form  of  eUat'o/Saii-ei, 
 eisanahaiiei,  "he  goes  up;"  and  Delilah  may  come  from  AjjAid,  Delia.  This 
 involves  the  idea  that  the  wandering  Pelasgi  or  Pelishthi  were  members  of  the 
 Indo-Germanic  family,  who  came  to  the  shores  and  islands  of  the  Mediterranean, 
 subsequently  to  the  people  who  colonised  Greece.  Of  their  later  migrations  Hero- 
 dotus gives  us  a  short  account,  b.  i.,  ch.  56,  57  ;  he  also  indicates  a  change  in  their 
 language,  showing  that  they  could  adapt  themselves  to  new  circumstances. 
 
 There  is  yet  another  circumstance  connected  with  the  Philistines,  which  seems 
 to  indicate  a  Pelasgic  or  Grecian  origin,  rather  than  an  Egj-ptian,  viz.,  their  skill 
 in  forging  such  weapons  as  swords,  shields,  armour,  and  in  the  use  of  the  bow,  in 
 neither  of  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  Nilotic  plains  excelled,  although  the 
 Grecians,  and  even  the  Scythians,  were  expert  in  both.  (See  Description  of 
 Cairns,  &c.,  by  Colonel  Meadows  Taylor,  vol.  xxiv.  Transactions  of  the  lloyal  Irish 
 Academy.) 
 
485 
 
 tially  the  same  as  ''^Z^.  Hence  we  identify  the 
 PhiHstines  with  the  Pelethites.  In  this  view  I  am 
 supported  by  Fiirst,  whose  observations  on  the 
 Pelethites  escaped  my  notice  until  I  had  concluded 
 the  above  article. 
 PiLEGESH,  ^.^i:?  (Gen.  xxii.  24),  usually  translated  "  a  con- 
 cubine." Amongst  a  nation  so  much  addicted  to 
 the  gratification  of  their  animal  passions  as  the  Jews 
 were,  —  in  which  they  were  encouraged  by  the  law, 
 and  by  prophets  who  promised  them  nothing  but 
 earthly  joys,  as  the  rewards  which  they  would  receive 
 if  they  were  duly  obedient  to  what  the  priests  or- 
 dained,—  we  can  well  understand  that  the  class  called 
 "concubines"  would  be  one  of  considerable  impor- 
 tance. 
 
 From  the  earliest  days  of  my  Bible  reading,  I  have 
 endeavoured  to  form  some  accurate  idea  of  the 
 domestic  position  of  these  women,  and  that  of  the 
 children  which  they  bore  to  their  master.  What  was 
 at  first  a  matter  of  curiosity,  became  subsequently 
 a  subject  of  deep  interest,  when  I  was  a  silent 
 listener  to  discussions  between  Christian  men,  of  deep 
 piety,  and  possessing  boundless  respect  for  the  Bible, 
 whether  it  was  lawful  (Scripturally)  to  take  a  concu- 
 bine, for  the  purpose  of  bearing  offspring,  when  a  wife 
 from  any  cause  was  barren.  In  my  own  person,  the 
 desire  of-having  at  least  one  child,  that  I  could  call 
 my  o^vn,  was  a  dominant  instinct ;  I  thought  that 
 no  misery  could  be  gi-eater  than  to  have  a  sterile  wife. 
 Presuming  that  my  Maker  had  not  implanted 
 such  an  instinct  for  the  sole  purpose  of  its  being 
 thwarted,  I  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  no 
 divine  law  prohibited  a  man  taking  a  second  or 
 third  consort,  for  the  purpose  of  having  children,  if 
 
486 
 
 the  first  was  not  fertile.  An  opinion  still  retained, 
 although  it  has  been  unnecessary  for  me  to  act 
 upon  it. 
 
 But  we  know  that  union  of  the  sexes  is  not 
 sought  solely  for  the  purposes  of  having  offspring ; 
 consequently  it  became  a  subject  with  careful  fathers 
 in  days  gone  by,  and  it  is  still,  I  understand,  a 
 practice  amongst  Jewish  families  to-day,  to  provide 
 for  the  natural  desires  of  sons,  ere  they  are  wealthy 
 enough  to  support  a  family,  by  engaging  a  concubine 
 for  their  use.  This  plan  is  resorted  to  under  the 
 idea,  that  every  means  should  be  adopted  to  save 
 young  men  from  the  strange  women  so  well  described 
 by  Solomon.^® 
 
 Again,  we  have  seen,  in  modern  times,  concubines 
 adopted  for  the  sole  purpose  of  breeding  slaves  for 
 the  master's  estate.  In  Russia,  the  lords  of  the 
 soil  had  many  young  female  serfs  in  their  houses,  or 
 on  their  estates,  for  the  double  purpose  of  satisfying 
 their  own  animal  propensities,  and  raising  up  a 
 superior  breed  of  servitors.  In  such  cases,  the  off- 
 spring could  be  enfranchised  by  the  father;  but  if 
 he  failed  to  do  so,  they  were  obliged  to  follow  the 
 fortunes  of  the  mother.  In  consequence  of  this  law, 
 many  peculiarly  distressing  instances  have  been 
 known,  where  the  offspring  have  been  educated  as  his 
 own  children  by  the  father,  who  died  suddenly  ere 
 he  signed  their  freedom.  Then,  being  given  up 
 to  the  heir-at-law,  they  became  slaves  of  the  most 
 wretched  type.     A  similar  state  of  things  existed  in 
 
 •^  I  make  this  statement  from  a  police  report  in  a  London  newspaper.  A  young 
 woman  accused  a  Jewish  lad  of  rape,  and  the  mother  swore  that  she  had  engaged 
 the  female  for  the  purpose  hinted  at.  Since  then  I  have  learned,  from  reliahle 
 sources,  that  this  custom  is  sanctioned.  It  grieves  me  to  add  that  some  Christian 
 parents  have  followed  a  similar  plan. 
 
487 
 
 the  West  Indian  Islands,  in  all  of  which  European 
 planters  took  concubines  from  amongst  the  negroes, 
 for  no  other   reason  than  to  increase  the  number  of 
 their  slaves ;  a  practice  which  was  also  largely  carried 
 on  in  the  "  Southern  States"  of  America.     In  France, 
 and  even  in  England,  when  it  was  customary  for  the 
 monarch  to  have  a  concubine  as  well  as  a  wife,  it 
 was  common  for  him  to  ennoble  the  offspring,  and 
 sometimes  even  to   legitimate   them   by  law.      But 
 this  was  only  when  the  mother  herself  was  of  noble 
 birth,  or  had  become  one  of  the  nobility  by  marriage 
 or  "  letters  patent."     The  children  of  those  who  were 
 harboured  at  the  pare  aux  cerfs  followed  wholly  the 
 fortunes  of  the  mother. 
 
 Common  custom,  then,  would  lead  us  to  infer  that 
 the  concubine  has  always  occupied  an  inferior  position 
 to  the  wife.  Everything  which  we  can  glean  from  the 
 sacred  writings  points  to  the  same  fact ;  and  there  is 
 good  reason  to  beUeve  that  the  concubine  was  a  slave, 
 whom  the  master  could  use  for  any  purpose  he  chose  ; 
 whilst  the  wife  was  one  whose  parents  were  in  as 
 good  a  social  position  as  the  husband,  who  was 
 united  to  her  by  some  legal  bond. 
 
 If  we  next  examine  a  few  instances  in  which  the 
 concubines  and  the  wives  had  offspring,  we  shall  be 
 able  to  form  some  opinion  of  the  practice  adopted. 
 There  are  two  forms  in  the  Bible  for  the  word  in  ques- 
 tion. One  ^^O'?,  lechena,  a  Chaldee  term,  resembling 
 the  Greek  Mvui  leenai,  Xrivuiog  leenaios,  and  Xtivoj 
 leenos,  —  words  connected  with  jolUfication,  and  the 
 wine-press,  and  with  the  Latin  leno,  lenus,  Una,  etc., 
 which  are  all  associated  with  scortation.  We  are  in- 
 clined to  the  belief  that  this  particular  Chaldee  word 
 has  indeed  been  adopted  from  the  Greeks,  for  we  find 
 
488 
 
 it  used  only  in  Dan.  v.  2,  3,  23.  Fiirst  remarks,  that 
 the  true  signification  is  "the  sporting  one,"  i.  e.,  one 
 who  passes  the  time  in  music  and  dancing,  at  parties 
 or  in  public  ;  analogous  to  the  Nautch  girls  or  Baya- 
 deres in  India.  If  these  had  children,  they  would 
 clearly  follow  the  mother's  fortunes.  The  other  is  the 
 Hebrew  word  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this  article, 
 or  ^^.?.''?,  ^)i^(?^cs/«,  and  which  signifies  puella  cui 
 officium  est  magistrum  favere,  toties  quoties  ardescit, 
 aut  semen  emittere  vult,  from  ^P  or  biQ,  and  ^i  or  na. 
 Such  were  Hagar  and  Keturah  to  old  Abraham ;  and, 
 though  he  aclmowledged  their  ofi'spring,  he  sent  them 
 away  from  his  only  legitimate  son,  Isaac.  Such  were 
 Bilhah  and  Zilpah,  whose  children  were  reckoned 
 equally  legitimate  with  the  offspring  of  Leah  and 
 Rachel.  But  though  we  understand  that  their  chil- 
 dren were  regarded  as  equals,  it  is  clear  that  all  the 
 mothers  had  not  equal  rights ;  for  when  Reuben 
 went  to  his  father's  concubine,  he  was  not  punished  as 
 he  doubtless  would  have  been  had  she  been  his  father's 
 wife.  We  next  see  that  the  sons  of  Gideon  seem  to 
 have  dwelt  peaceably  together  during  their  father's 
 life,  though  one  out  of  the  number  was  the  son  of  a 
 concubine,  and  all  the  rest  were  legitimate  (Jud.  viii. 
 30,  ix.  1,  et  seq).  The  episodes  recorded  in  Judges 
 xix.  and  xx.  I  pass  by,  for  they  simply  tell  of  a  fright- 
 fully dissolute  state  of  society,  wherein  a  Levite,  one 
 of  the  priestly  tribe,  is  sympathised  with  by  all 
 Israel  for  losing,  and  who  enlists  nearly  all  of  his 
 compatriots  on  his  side  to  avenge  the  insult  ofi'ered 
 to,  not  a  wife,  but  a  concubine.  We  can  only  parallel 
 the  case  by  imagining  what  would  be  the  condition 
 of  England,  if  a  clergyman  was  condoled  with  and 
 
489 
 
 assisted,  because  a  woman  whom  he  *'  protected"  had 
 been  brutally  treated. 
 
 We  next  find  (2  Sam.  iii.  7),  that  a  concubine 
 of  Saul  is  regarded  by  his  son  as  equally  inviolate 
 with  his  father's  own  legal  wife ;  and  we  see  a  some- 
 what similar  idea  in  the  mind  of  Solomon,  who  refuses 
 permission  to  Adouijah  to  marry  Abishag  (1  Kin.  ii. 
 20-25).  Moreover,  we  find  a  reference  which 
 enables  us  to  a  considerable  extent  to  classify  concu- 
 bines with  female  slaves  or  servants ;  for  we  are  told 
 (2  Sam.  xvi.  21),  that  David  left  ten  women,  concu- 
 bines, to  keep  the  house,  just  as  any  great  man  now, 
 on  closing  his  domicile  for  a  time,  would  leave  his  ser- 
 vants upon  board-wages  to  maintain  the  place  in  good 
 order.  But  we  see,  in  the  sequel,  that  every  woman 
 who  had  once  been  used  by  a  king  was  held  to  be 
 sacred  to  him ;  and  thus,  when  Absalom  went  into 
 the  same  tent  with  his  father's  domestic  servants 
 (2  Sam.  xvi.  22),  he  was  considered  to  have  fulfilled 
 the  vaticination  of  Nathan,  "he  shall  lie  with  thy 
 wives  in  the  sight  of  this  sun"  (2  Sam.  xii.  11). 
 
 We  do  not  find  any  other  reliable  evidence  about 
 the  position  of  concubines'  sons,  until  we  come  to 
 1  Chronicles  i.  32,  ii.  46,  48,  iii.  9,  vii.  14  ;  in  all 
 of  which  we  see  that  the  sous  follow  their  father's 
 fortunes. 
 
 When  we  attempt  to  ascertain  the  class  of  indivi- 
 duals to  whom  the  concubines  were  allied,  we  find 
 that  they  were  slaves  taken  in  war,  or  purchased 
 with  money.  Thus,  for  example,  taldng  the  account 
 for  what  it  is  worth,  we  conceive  that  the  Midianites 
 left  alive  for  the  use  of  the  Jewish  warriors  could 
 only  have  been  concubines  (see  Num.  xxxi.  18,  also 
 
490 
 
 Lev.  XXV.  44-46).  We  find,  moreover,  that  some  of 
 the  poor  Hebrews  sold  their  daughters  to  be  concu- 
 bines, for  we  can  give  no  other  interpretation  to  Exod. 
 xxi.  7-11;  but  that  these  were  not  regarded  in  the 
 same  light  as  nnir,  zonoth,  or  harlots,  we  conclude 
 from  Lev.  xix.  29,  xxi.  7,  9,  and  Deut.  xxiii.  17. 
 
 From  these  considerations  we  draw  the  inference, 
 that  the  concubine  had  no  legal  status,  but  was 
 a  domestic  servant,  or  a  kept  mistress.  This  con- 
 clusion is  strengthened  by  the  significations  given  to 
 TiaKKuytTi  and  TTuXXa.x.lg,^''  ixdlcikee  and  pallakls, — the 
 Greek  equivalent  to  j)elegesh, — by  Liddell  and  Scott, 
 viz.,  "a  concubine,  commonly  a  captive,  or  bought 
 slave ;  distinguished  both  from  the  lawful  wife  and 
 from  the  mere  courtesan ;  a  concubine,  as  opposed  to  a 
 lawful  wife,  often  a  bought  slave,  SouA^j,"  e.  g.,  Briseis 
 was  concubine  to  Achilles.  In  like  manner,  pellex, 
 the  Latin  equivalent  to  pelegesh,  was  a  name  given,  by 
 the  laws  of  Numa,  to  a  woman  v/ho  became  united  to 
 a  man  who  already  had  a  wife  ;  but  in  later  times  the 
 distinction  between  jtellex  and  meretrix  was  not  better 
 marked  than  at  the  present  day  is  the  difference 
 between  one  who  is  "protected"  and  one  who  is 
 "  common." 
 Pine  Cone  and  Thyrsus.  In  the  previous  volume,  when 
 speaking  of  the  so-called  Assyrian  "  grove,"  I  stated 
 my  conviction  that  the  pine  cone,  offered  by  priests  to 
 the  deity — represented  by  that  curiously  shaped  em- 
 blem— was  typical  of  the  "  testis,"  the  analogue  of 
 the  mundane  egg.     The  evidence  upon  which  such 
 
 "7  It  is  extremely  piolmble  thut  the  Hebrew  wonl,  like  the  Chaldee,  comes  from 
 the  Greeks,  and  that  1  'aviil  with  his  wiirriors  introdncod  the  practice  of  concubinage 
 amongst  his  subjects.  In  that  case,  we  recognise  an  additional  evidence  to  the 
 very  late  origin  of  Genesis,  Judges,  2  Samuel,  and  Chronicles,  in  which  the  use  of 
 the  word  is  connnon. 
 
491 
 
 assertion  is  founded  may  be  shortly  summed  up,  by 
 reproducing  a  copy  of  an  ancient  gem,  depicted  by 
 Maffei  {Gemme  Anticlie  figurate,  tome  iii.,  pi.  40). 
 
 Figure  34. 
 
 In  this  we  notice  the  peculiar  shape  of  the  altar, 
 the  triple  pillar  arising  from  it,  the  ass's  head  and 
 fictile  offerings,  the  lad  offering  a  pine  cone  sur- 
 rounded with  leaves,  and  carrying  on  his  head  a 
 basket,  in  which  two  phalli  are  distinctly  to  be  re- 
 cognised. '  The  deity  to  whom  the  sacrifice  is  offered 
 is  Bacchus,  as  figured  by  the  people  of  Lamp- 
 sacus.  On  his  shoulder  he  bears  a  thyrsus,  a  wand 
 or  virga,  terminating  in  a  pine  cone,  and  having 
 two  ribbons  dangling  from  it.  We  see,  then,  that 
 amongst  certain  of  the  ancients,  the  ass,  the  pine 
 cone,  the   basket,    and   the   thyrsus  were   associated 
 
492 
 
 with  Bacchus,  or  the  solar  deity  under  the  male 
 emblem. 
 
 I  cannot  remember  seeing  a  thyrsus  amongst 
 Assyrian  sculptures,  but  those  who  are  familiar  with 
 the  varied  forms  of  the  Assyrian  grove,  figured  by 
 Layard,  will  remember  some  in  which  the  emblem  of 
 the  yoni  is  represented  as  being  surrounded  on  two 
 sides,  sometimes  on  three,  by  rods,  each  of  which 
 terminates  peripherally  in  a  pine  cone.  Each  may  be 
 regarded  as  a  thyrsus,  without  the  dual-ended  ribbon ; 
 consequently  there  is  a  'priori  reason  for  associating 
 the  thyrsus  carried  by  Satyrs,  Maenades,  and  others, 
 in  Bacchic  rites,  with  Dionysus,  the  sun,  and  the  mas- 
 culine symbol.  In  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Antiquities, 
 this  emblem  is  thus  described;  "It  was  sometimes 
 terminated  by  the  apple  of  the  pine,  or  fir  cone,  that 
 
 tree    being   dedicated  to    Dionysus ; sometimes, 
 
 instead  of  a  pine-apple,  a  bunch  of  vine  or  ivy  leaves, 
 with  grapes  and  berries  arranged  as  a  cone,  was  sub- 
 stituted  Veiy   frequently  a  white  fillet  was  tied 
 
 to  the  pole  just  below  the  head The  thyrsus  of 
 
 Bacchus  is  called  a  spear,  enveloped  in  vine  leaves, 
 and  its  point  was  thought  to  incite  to  madness." 
 This  testimony  of  itself  would  indicate  that  the  stafl' 
 of  the  thyrsus  was  emblematic  of  the  rirga,  whilst 
 the  pine  cone  and  fillet,  with  two  ends  depending, 
 indicated  the  other  two  parts  of  the  masculine  triad. 
 But  we  meet  with  stronger  evidence,  when  we  analyse 
 the  circumstances  under  which  the  thyi-sus  is  found. 
 Out  of  twenty-seven  gems  figured  by  Raponi  (Recueil 
 de  pierres  antiques  Gravees,  concernant  V  kistoire  la 
 Mythologie,  etc.,  Rome,  178G,  fol.),  in  which  the 
 thyrsus  occurs,  in  all  it  either  indicates  Bacchus,  or 
 else  is  associated  with  such  surrounding  circumstances 
 
493 
 
 as  to  suggest  an  idea  of  licentious  enjoyment.     It 
 is  one  of  the  emblems  introduced  into  a  representation 
 of  a  female,  offering  sacrifice  to  the  god  of  Lampsacus. 
 In  two   pictures,    where   the   actors   are  drunk,   the 
 thyrsus   has  fallen   down    ahbattu.     A  study   of  the 
 gems  contained  in  Raponi's  work  will,  I  think,  con- 
 vince the  observer  that  the  thyrsus  is  the  analogue  of 
 the  cornucopia,  or  horn  of  abundance,  of  the  torch  of 
 hymen,    and  the  club    of   Hercules.       It   is    Fig.  35. 
 occasionally  replaced  by  a  curved  stick,  which 
 represents  the  origin  of  the  pontifical  staff  of 
 modern  bishops,  and  the  hook  worn  by  the 
 priests  of  Osiris.     Sometimes  the  thyrsus  is 
 replaced  by  the  caduceus  of  Mercury,  the  rod 
 entwined  and  supported  by  two  serpents,  the  signifi 
 cation  of  which  is  very  evident,  being  dis-     Fig.  36. 
 tinctly  indicated  in  fig,  viii.,  plate  8,  of  the 
 above  work.    In  Bacchic  scenes,  the  thyrsus 
 is  occasionally  associated  with  the  ring,  the 
 emblem    of   the  female ;   and    in  one  very 
 significant  scene,  wherein  Bacchus  and  Ariadne  are 
 seated  upon  a  lioness,  the  pine  cone  and   fillet   are 
 being  caressed  by  the  female. 
 
 In  Gemmce  et  Sculptiwce  AntiqiKe,  ab  Leonardo 
 Augustino  Senensis,  edited  by  Gronovius  (Amsterdam, 
 1685),  the  thyrsus  appears  six  times.  In  one  it  is 
 simply  associated  with  the  tigress  =  hacih  =  yoni ; 
 in  another  the  emblem  is  rendered  more  emblematic 
 by  a  figure  being  added  to  the  fillet;  in  FigrireS?. 
 a  third  it  is  held  by  a  nude  Venus,  who 
 is  attended  by  two  Cupids,  and  bears  on 
 her  head  a  triangle  with  point  ujiwards, 
 three  darts  in  her  right  hand,  and  a 
 thyrsus  in    her    left,    which    is  a  compound  of    the 
 
494 
 
 three  wheat  ears  of  Ceres,  the  caduceus  of  Mercury, 
 and  the  vine  of  Bacchus. 
 
 Amongst  the  gems  depicted  in  this  work,  the 
 thyrsus  seems  to  be  occasionally  replaced  by  the  cor- 
 nucopia, caduceus,  etc. 
 
 In  the  Miisee  Secret  (Hercidanum  et  Pompei,  par 
 Roux  Aine,  Paris,  1840,)  of  the  celebrated  Museum 
 of  Naples,  the  thyrsus  is  present  in  most  of  the  amor- 
 ous scenes  pourtrayed.  In  plate  i.  it  is  associated 
 with  a  patera,  which  bears  upon  it  the  figure  of  a 
 systrum ;  whilst  in  another  part  of  the  scene  there 
 is  the  curved  rod  (Fig.  38),  and  the  circlet  or  ring, 
 
 Figure  38. 
 
 emblems  respectively  of  the  linga  and  the  yoni. 
 In  plate  x.,  Bacchus  is  represented  with  the  thjTsus 
 in  one  hand,  whilst  with  the  other  he  pours  a 
 libation  from  a  cornucopia  into  an  arfiJia.  Plates 
 xix.,  xxvii.,  xxix.,  xxx.,  xxxi.,  xliv.,  liv.  and  Ux.,  which 
 we  cannot  judiciously  either  copy  or  describe,  all  indi- 
 cate an  association  of  ideas  between  the  thyrsus, 
 i.  e.,  the  virga,  the  pine  cone,  the  curved  or  knobbed 
 stick,  the  cornucopia,  the  hymeneal  torch,  and 
 Mahadeva. 
 
 An  examination  of  Gcmme  Antiche  Figurate,  by 
 Maflfei,  Rome,  1707,  leads  us  to  a  similar  conclusion; 
 and  though  we  have  diligently  searched  through 
 Pierres  Antiques  Gravees,  by  Picart  (Amsterdam, 
 1724),     Signa  Antiqua   e    Museo   Jacohi   de    Wilde 
 
495 
 
 (Amsterdam,  1700),  and  Antiquities  Explained,  etc., 
 by  George  Ogle  (London,  1737),  we  have  found 
 nothing  to  militate  against  our  views,  that  the 
 thyrsus  represents  the  Linga,  and  the  pine  cone 
 its  appendages.  Indeed  it  is  difficult  to  examine 
 copies  of  the  many  gems  which  have  come  down 
 to  modern  times,  without  recognising  the  great 
 number  of  symbols  which  existed  for  indicating  a 
 hidden  doctrine  to  those  who  were  initiated  in  the 
 mysteries,  without,  at  the  same  time,  pointing  the 
 attention  of  the  world  in  general  to  the  inter- 
 pretation. Amongst  such  pictorial  euphemisms,  we 
 must  class  the  rudder,  or  steering  oar  (Fig.  39),  the 
 
 Figure  39. 
 
 Figure  40. 
 
 Figure  41. 
 
 dart  (Fig.  40),  and  the  hammer  (Fig.  41),  in  addition 
 to  those  to  which  we  have  already  directed  attention. 
 Ere  we  finish  this  essay,  we  must  call  the  attention 
 of  our  readers  to  the  fact,  that  the  emblems  of  which 
 we  speak -are  not  uniformly  used  as  symbols.  They 
 were  often  quite  as  harmless,  so  to  speak,  as  they 
 are  with  us.  It  is  only  when  we  find  such  designs 
 habitually  introduced,  as  typical  of  a  deity,  that  we 
 investigate  what  was  the  idea  the  artist  intended  to 
 convey.  To  the  ordinary  reader,  a  torch  is  simply 
 a   "  light,"  whereby  the  wayfarer  may  escape  pit-falls, 
 
496 
 
 explore  a  cave,  or  assist  in  illuminating  a  city ;  but 
 the  torch  when  attending  the  marriage  processions 
 by  day  had  another  meaning.  In  the  woods  of 
 Bengal,  a  tiger  would  be,  to  me,  a  beast  to  be 
 shunned,  or  to  be  hunted  and  killed ;  but  the 
 picture  of  that  animal  in  a  temple  of  the  Hindoos 
 conveys  to  my  thoughts  a  widely  different  idea.  In 
 like  manner,  a  pine  cone,  when  used  in  common 
 life,  is  simply  a  good  material  wherewith  to  light 
 a  fire,  but  when  offered  by  a  priest  to  a  symbol,  it 
 becomes  emblematic. 
 
 Since  writing  the  preceding  sentences,  I  have 
 become  acquainted  with  a  very  remarkable  and  learned 
 work,  entitled  Recherches  sur  V  origine,  V  esprit,  et 
 les  ijrogres  des  Arts  de  la  Grece,  published  in  London, 
 1785,  and  written,  I  understand,  by  D'Harcanville. 
 This  book,  consisting  of  two  quarto  volumes,  is  a  most 
 philosophical  production  ;  and  I  greatly  regret  not 
 to  have  heard  of  its  existence  at  an  earlier  period. 
 Amongst  other  topics,  the  author  discusses  the  signi- 
 fication of  the  pine  apple,  and  the  thyrsus,  as  well  as 
 the  nature  of  the  deity  called  Bacchus.  He  considers 
 that  the  coniferous  fruit  signifies  an  altar-fire,  one  of 
 the  mystical  representations  of  Asher,  to  which  we 
 need  not  particularly  refer;  and  he  gives  a  copy  of 
 an  ancient  Persian  symbol,  wherein  a  pine  cone  and 
 an  oval  ring  represent  a  deity,  who  was  subsequently 
 depicted  as  a  king,  standing  on  the  tan  f,  emerging 
 from  a  circle,  and  having  a  chaplet  in  his  hand. 
 After  showing  that  the  bull  represented  the  masculine 
 Creator  amongst  the  Scythians,  but  became  replaced 
 by  a  human  being  (Bacchus)  amongst  the  Greeks  ; 
 and  tracing,  by  means  of  sculptures  and  medals,  the 
 transition  from  the  bovine  to  the  manlike  form  of  the 
 
497 
 
 god,  he  depicts  (plate  xiii.,  vol.  i.),  and  describes 
 (pp.  143  and  261)  a  very  curious  statuette  of  a  man, 
 with  bovine  feet,  ears,  and  tail — the  male  symbol 
 being  very  conspicuous — and  a  thyrsus  being  held  in 
 the  left  hand.  This  thjTsus  is  explained  as  indicat- 
 ing the  masculine  emblem,  whilst  the  ribbon  around 
 its  upper  part  indicates  a  crown  worn  by  divinities 
 and  kings.  The  thyrsus  was  originally  used  as  a 
 sceptre,  and  it  indicated  that  he  who  bore  it  was  the 
 son  of  the  supreme  father,  whose  emblem  it  was. 
 In  few  words,  the  author  (p.  263,  vol.  i.)  sums 
 up  thus :  "  There  are  then  three  things  to  consider  in 
 the  thyrsus — the  sceptre,  which  is  the  symbol  of 
 authority ;  the  bandelette,  which  marks  its  conse- 
 cration ;  and  the  pine  cone,  which  indicates  the  god  of 
 which  it  is  the  symbol." 
 
 In  a  curious  gem,  of  which  a  copy  is  given,  vol. 
 I.,  plate  xviii.,  a  sleeping  nymph  is  attended  by  a 
 satjT^-  and  three  other  males ;  and  they  bear  amongst 
 them  a  thyrsus,  a  flaming  torch — both  having  bande- 
 lettes  —  and  a  stick  nobbed  at  one  end. 
 PiTHON,  I  in '3  (1  Chron.  viii.  35).  Fiirst  translates  this 
 name  "  a  harmless  one,"  from  n-1S,  jmth ;  but  this 
 word  signifies  the  female  pudenda.  We  may,  with 
 greater  probability,  derive  it  from  ^^3,  patJiah,  and 
 p,  on,  "On  parts  asunder,  opens,  or  expands."  The 
 name  is  borne  by  a  grandson  of  Meribbaal,  a  son  of 
 Jonathan,  the  friend  of  David,  and  one  of  his  brothers 
 is  named  Melech.  It  is  possible  that  the  word  comes 
 from  the  Greek  ttuScov,  python,  the  gi-eat  serpent ;  but 
 it  is  just  as  likely  that  the  Greek  came  from  the 
 Phoenician.  The  serpent  was  an  emblem,  because  it 
 could  erect  and  distend  itself;  it  was  also  considered 
 to    be    very   wise,    and    to    give    oracles;    and    nn3, 
 
 I  I 
 
498 
 
 variously  pointed,  signifies  "  he  expands,"  "  cleaves 
 asunder,"  and  "he  decides,  or  judges." 
 Planets.  There  is  very  little  reason  for  doubting  the  asser- 
 tion, that  the  ancient  Hebrews  had  no  knowledge 
 whatever  of  the  planetary  system.  Deut.  iv.  19^*  not 
 only  demonstrates  that  the  Jews  had  not  any  know- 
 ledge, but  distinctly  ordains  that  they  shall  not 
 obtain  any.  We  find,  moreover,  that  the  worship 
 of,  or  reverence  for,  the  "  host  of  heaven,"  was 
 denounced  as  a  great  crime  in  the  days  of  Manasseh  ; 
 and  it  would  appear  that  such  an  ofi'ence  was  one 
 of  the  sins  that  occasioned  the  destruction  of  Sa- 
 maria.    See  2  Kings  xvii.  16. 
 
 The  planets  and  their  orbits  were,  however,  known 
 very  early  to  the  Chaldseans.  The  evidence  of  this 
 is  to  be  found  in  the  "Birs  Nimroud,"  of  which  Sir 
 H.  Rawlinson  has  given  a  description  in  the  eigh- 
 teenth volume  of  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
 Society,  from  which  the  following  account  is  con- 
 densed. The  tower  consisted  of  seven  stages,  built 
 upon  a  raised  platform  of  crude  brick.  The  first,  or 
 lowest  stage,  was  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-two 
 feet  square,  and  twenty-six  feet  high,  and  was  covered 
 with  bitumen,  to  represent  the  sable  hue  of  Saturn. 
 The  second  stage  was  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet 
 square,  and  about  twenty-six  feet  high,  and  the  sur- 
 face was  covered  with  some  tint  resembling  orange,  to 
 represent  Jupiter.  The  third  stage  was  one  hundred 
 and  eighty-eight  feet  square,  and  twenty-six  feet  high, 
 
 88  "  .And  lest  thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  when  thou  seest  the  sun, 
 and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  even  al.  the  host  of  heav.n.  shouldest  he  driven  to 
 worship  them  and  serve  them,"  etc.,  A.  V.  Septnaf;int  version ;  "  And  lest  having 
 looked  up  lo  the  sky,  and  having  seen  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars,  and  all 
 the  heaveuly  bodies,  thou  shouldest  go  astray  and  worship  them  and  serve  them." 
 
499 
 
 the  surface  colour  being  red,  to  represent  Mars. 
 The  fourth  stage  was  about  one  hundred  and  forty-six 
 feet  square,  and  twenty-six  feet  high,  and  there  is 
 reason  to  beheve  that  it  was  coated  with  gold,  to 
 represent  the  sun.  The  fifth  stage  was  about  one 
 hundred  and  four  feet  square,  about  fifteen  feet 
 high,  and  coloured  light  yellow,  to  represent  Venus.®^ 
 The  sixth  stage  was  about  sixty-two  feet  square, 
 fifteen  feet  high,  and  coloured  dark  blue,  so  as 
 to  represent  Mercury.  The  seventh  stage  was  about 
 twenty  feet  square,  about  fifteen  feet  high,  and 
 covered  with  silver.  Above  all  this  there  was  very 
 probably  a  chapel,  or  temple,  containing  the  ark,  or 
 tabernacle  of  the  god.  This  temple  was  restored  by 
 Nebuchadnezzar,  who  says  that  a  former  king  had 
 builded  it,  but  that,  from  extreme  old  age,  it  had 
 crumbled  down.  I  would,  moreover,  notice  in  pass- 
 ing, that  Nebuchadnezzar  entreats  the  heavenly  king 
 to  grant  "  plenty  of  years,  an  illustrious  progeny, 
 a  firm  throne,  a  prolonged  life,  a  triumph  over 
 foreign  nations,  and  a  great  victorj^  over  my  ene- 
 mies;  grant  these  to  me,"  he  says,  "abundantly, 
 and  even  to  overflowing";  and  that  he  styles  him- 
 self "The  King  obedient  to  the  Gods";  thus  pro\dng 
 that  astronomy,  or  even  astrology,  does  not  prevent 
 a  man  being  both  prayerful  and  pious. 
 
 From. the  apparent  fact  that  these  seven  planets 
 
 99  Rawlinson  says  that  he  has  found  the  hue  of  Venus  depicted  as  white,  light 
 blue,  or  as  light  yellow.  I  would  suggest  that  his  surmise  of  light  yellow  is  the 
 true  one,  and  that  the  light  blue  and  white  being  seen  is  due  to  the  bleaching  effect 
 of  the  sun's  rays,  which  will  discharge  the  yellow  tint,  and  leave  a  bluish  white,  and 
 ultimately  a  pure  white.  Venus,  we  know,  is  often  represented  wilh  flaxen  or 
 golden  hair;  her  votaries,  when  venal,  were  frequent  y  obliged  by  law  to  wear  vrigs, 
 or  dye  their  hair  of  a  similar  co  our;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  modem 
 Italy,  and  elsewhere,  the  Virgin  JIary  is  represented  in  paintings  as  an  auricomons 
 ■  blonde,  rather  than  as  a  Jewess  with  dark  hair  and  eyes. 
 
500 
 
 went  wandering  through  the  regions  of  space,  and 
 amongst  the  stars,  a  vast  variety  of  mythoses,  and 
 quaint  ideas,  originated.  Thus  the  host  of  heaven 
 became  a  myriad  of  angels,  managed  by  seven  arch- 
 angels, each  archangel  being  a  messenger  of  the 
 Supreme.  There  were  seven  churches  spoken  of  in  the 
 Apocalj^pse,  each  having  an  angel.  There  were,  and 
 still  are,  seven  heights  in  heaven,  and  seven  depths  of 
 hell.  Balaam  builded  seven  altars,  and  offered  on 
 every  altar  seven  bullocks  and  seven  rams.  Seven  days 
 were  occupied  in  creation  and  repose ;  seven  pairs  of 
 clean  beasts  went  into  the  ark.  Pharaoh  saw  seven 
 kine,  etc. ;  the  priest  of  Midian  had  seven  daughters ; 
 Jacob  served  seven  years.  Seven  years  brought  about  a 
 feast  or  a  rest  for  the  land ;  and  the  year  of  Jubilee,  of 
 which  we  see  no  proof  in  history,  was  the  seventh 
 seventh  year.  Before  Jericho  seven  priests  bare  seven 
 horns.  Sampson  was  bound  with  seven  green  withes. 
 In  fact,  it  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  all  the 
 instances  in  which  the  number  of  the  planets,  as 
 known  to  the  ancients,  has  influenced  the  world. 
 
 Amongst  other  things  cited  on  the  authority  of 
 Dupuis'  BcUfjion  Vniverselle,  a  work  containing  abun- 
 dance of  satisfactory  references,  I  find  that  each 
 planet  was  represented  by  a  vowel  ;^°''  and  that,  in  the 
 worshij?  rendered  on  different  days,  the  particular 
 vowel  sacred  to  the  presiding  planet  was  chanted. 
 Hence  came  the  seven  notes  of  the  musical  scale. 
 
 Si  corresponded  to  the  Moon. 
 Ut  ,,  ,,  Mercury. 
 
 Re  ,,  „  Venus. 
 
 100  "  Qq  fnt  pjjj.  y^g  giute  j^  lenr  respect  snperstitienx  pour  le  nombre  sept  qne 
 les  Egyptiens  .  .  .  avaient  anssi  consacrc  sept  voycUos  aux  sept  planetes" 
 (Demetr.  I'bal.,  sec.  71,  Jabl.  Prol.,  p.  55,  etc.)     Dnpuis,  torn,  i.,  p.  75. 
 
501 
 
 Mi  corresponded  to  the  Sun. 
 
 Fa  „  „  Mars. 
 
 Sol  ,,  ,,  Jupiter. 
 
 La  ,,  ,,  Saturn. 
 
 Upon  all  these  notes  all  sorts  of  changes  were  rung, 
 and,  as  Dubois  remarks,  they  did  not  make  perhaps 
 very  excellent  music,  but  it  was  sacred,  and  that 
 answered  for  everything ;  it  was,  iu  truth,  the  music 
 of  the  spheres.  Then,  again,  seven  of  the  well  known 
 metals  became  associated  with  the  planets  ;  thus  gold 
 became  the  representative  of  the  Sun,  silver  of  the 
 moon,  lead  of  Saturn,  iron  of  Mars,  tin  of  Jupiter, 
 quicksilver  of  Mercury,  and  copper  of  Venus ;  an  idea 
 which  still  lingers  amongst  us,  iu  the  names  which 
 physicians  give  to  certain  things.  Thus  we  have  lunar 
 (or  moon)  caustic,  for  nitrate  of  silver;  "saturnine 
 washes,"  is  a  term  for  "lead  lotions;"  "martial 
 ethiops,"  describes  an  oxide  of  iron ;  a  "  cupreous  or 
 "  cyprian''  salt,  stands  for  a  copper  compound;  and 
 "mercurials''  describe  the  preparations  of  quicksilver. 
 The  first  indication  which  we  meet  with  of,  even,  an 
 apparent  recognition  of  the  seven  planets  by  the 
 Hebrews,  is  in  Amos  v.  8,  where  the  seven  stars  are 
 spoken  of;  but  even  this  reference  loses  its  value 
 on  consulting  the  Hebrew,  where  we  find  that  '^P"'?, 
 cimah,  i^  the  word  used,  which  signifies  "  the  Plei- 
 ades." We  turn,  therefore,  to  the  ancient  and  modern 
 names  of  the  planets,  to  ascertain  whether  we  may  get 
 any  information  from  this  source. 
 
 We  find  that  in  the  Bible  the  word  "^^r!,  chammah, 
 or  "the  heating  one,"  is  used  for  the  sun  five 
 times  only ;  ^y],  chcrcs,  three  times ;  whilst  ^^^, 
 shemesh,    the    equivalent    of    the    Babylonian    and 
 
502 
 
 Assyrian    Shamas,    occurs    one    hundred    and    fifty 
 times. 
 
 The  moon,  in  the  Bible,  is  spoken  of  as  C-*, 
 yareach,  about  twenty  times  ;  and  we  find  that  the 
 root  of  the  word  is  connected  with  "  glowing  or  burn- 
 ing," "founding,"  and  "  shining,"  which  associates 
 the  moon  with  Ishtak  ;  it  is  also  called  '^?^r,  lebanah, 
 which  signifies  "  the  white  one."  Now  it  is  a  very 
 remarkable  circumstance,  that  the  moon  is  only  men- 
 tioned thirty  times  in  the  whole  Bible,  and  we  have 
 difficulty  in  explaining  the  fact,  unless  we  believe 
 that  the  name  was  shunned  by  the  orthodox  priests, 
 who  knew  that  the  moon  symbolised  "  the  great 
 Mother,"  whose  worship  was  heterodox  to  those  who 
 adored  "  the  Father." 
 
 Mars,  whose  week-day  follows  that  of  the  moon, 
 is  now  designated  ^'^'^f^,  rnaadim,  probably  from 
 Mars,  Martis,  or  from  '2"'^,  adorn,  "  red." 
 
 Mekcury,  who  follows  Mars,  is  designated  2?^^, 
 cochah.  Respecting  this  word,  there  is  room  for  much 
 discussion.  I  feel  myself  disposed  to  read  it  as  3Nni3^ 
 cochah,  "the  strong  father;"  and  in  doing  so,  I 
 am  guided,  first,  by  the  idea  that  Mercury,  being 
 nearest  to  the  sun,  is  supposed  to  have  the  most 
 abundant  portion  of  his  vigour ;  and  secondly,  because 
 Hermes  is  associated,  both  philologically  and  actually, 
 with  the  upright  stone,  the  pillar,  and  Mahadeva. 
 This  surmise  is  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that  in 
 later  periods,  this  planet  has  been  called  by  the 
 name  ^f*?,  cathah,  "  the  engraver,  writer,  or  re- 
 corder." 
 
 Jupiter  goes  by  the  name  ^If?  ^Sis^  cochah  haal, 
 "  Lord  of  the  circle,"  which  points  clearly  enough 
 to  an  Assyrian,  Babylonian,  or  Phcsnician  source. 
 
503 
 
 Venus  passes  at  present  by  the  names  ^'}[}.l  ^\^, 
 nogah  zaharah,  "the  bright  or  shining  luminary."    It 
 was  also  called  ^i"^^^,  moledeth,  or  KFi'J^i^,  molidtha, 
 i.  e.,   "one  that  produces,"   "  a  mother,"  or  "Mary 
 the  Virgin  become   old  Molly."      Venus  the  planet 
 must  ever   be  associated  with   beauty  ;   loveliness  is 
 always  associated  with  female  youth ;    and  there  is 
 not    one,    having   a   charming    wife,    who   does  not 
 associate  her  with  the  graceful  fascinations  of  mater- 
 nity.    It  is  doubtful  whether  there  are  any  pleasures 
 more  intense  than  being  able  to  call  a  fascinating 
 young  woman  "  my  wife,"  and  then,  after  a  period, 
 to  peep  over  her  shoulder  and  see  the  little  stranger 
 whom  she  has  introduced  into  the  world.     It  may  be 
 that  first  torturing,  and  then  burning  an  individual  who 
 has  opposed  us,  is  productive  of  more  pure  delight 
 than  is  instinctive  human  love;  but  that  experience 
 few   dwellers   in   civilised   countries  can  now  enjoy. 
 The  power  of  inflicting  enduring,  and  excessive  agony 
 has  been  reserved,  by   modern   theologians,    as  the 
 special  appanage  of  the  God  of  mercy  and  goodness ; 
 man  only  doing  his   best  to   instruct  his  Maker  in 
 the  art  of  tormenting  His  creatures.    I  stand  appalled 
 before  the  two  pictures  thus  called  up.     On  the  one 
 side,  there  are  the  Pagan  notions  of  loveliness,  gen- 
 tleness, benevolence,  affection,  and  longsuffering   in 
 the  mother;  on   the   other,   there  are   the  strength, 
 fury,    vindictiveness,    and   ferocity   of  an    American 
 Indian  father ;  and  yet,  0  tempora  /  0  mores  !  Chris- 
 tians prefer  to  contemplate  the  last.     Gladly  would 
 I  use  the  wings  of  a  dove,  to  fly  away  from  all  contact 
 with  saintly  wolves  who  wear  sheep's  clothing,  and 
 pass  unctuous  sentences  in  words  like  the  poet's — 
 
 "  Sister,  let  thy  sorrows  cease, 
 Sinful  brother,  part  in  peace," 
 
504 
 
 preliminary  to  inflicting  as  "painful  a  death  of  linger- 
 ing pain"  as  nature  e'er  can  know. 
 
 It  is  singular,  and  the  thought  has  had  much  to 
 do  with  our  previous  remarks,  that  in  the  order  of  the 
 planets,  as  represented  by  the  days  of  the  modern 
 week,  Saturn,  the  grave  and  merciless  old  father  of 
 gods,  comes  after  Venus.  He  was  described  by  the 
 ancients  as  a  stern  parent,  who  ate  his  own  children, 
 and  yet  could  be  easily  cajoled  by  vicarious  offerings. 
 But  this  vein  we  will  not  pursue.  We  prefer  to  call 
 attention  to  the  fact,  that  the  apparent  orbit  of  Saturn 
 is  higher  in  the  heavens  than  that  of  any  other  star ; 
 consequently,  the  day  dedicated  to  him  may  be  con- 
 sidered, in  one  sense  at  least,  as  dedicated  to  the 
 Most  High.  Now  we  are  all  aware  that  the  Sabbath, 
 our  own  Saturn's  day,  or  Saturday,  was  by  the  Jews 
 made  sacred  to  Jehovah ;  whilst  the  Christians,  adopt- 
 ing another  estimate  of  the  Creator,  have  assigned  the 
 Sun's  day  to  His  sou.  The  philosopher  may  con- 
 sider that  St.  Paul  had  some  such  contrast  in  his 
 mind  when  he  wrote  Rom.  xiv.  5,  "  One  man  esteem- 
 eth  one  day  above  another,  another  esteemeth  every 
 day ; "  and  he  may  fail  to  see  that  the  Sun's  day  has 
 greater  claims  upon  him  than  Saturn's  day,  or  that 
 Venus'  day  ought  to  be  marked  by  a  diet  of  fish. 
 Yet  he  will,  nevertheless,  find  that  habit  'hath 
 bred  such  second  nature'  amongst  us,  that  days  are 
 regarded  by  many  with  the  same  superstition  as  they 
 were  before  Jesus  of  Nazareth  emancipated  his  follow- 
 ers from  "  the  beggarly  elements."  But  to  return, 
 Saturn's  day  was  made  sacred  to  God,  and  the  planet 
 is  now  called  ^^^  ^313^  cochah  shahbath,  "  The  Sab- 
 bath star,"  or  '^^}^,  shabbathi,  and  *ri^^,  shabbetha, 
 "  Jah  is  Saturn."  ^ 
 
 The  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath  is  clearly  connect- 
 
505 
 
 ed  with  the  word  V-l^^  or  V?^,  shahua  or  sheba,  i.  e., 
 seven,  and  we  have  seen  reason  to  connect  the  orbit  of 
 Saturn  with  the  "  Most  High."  There  is  also  reason 
 to  associate  "the  father"  of  the  Jews  with  "the 
 father"  of  the  Assyrians  and  Greeks;  in  other  words, 
 the  planet  highest  in  the  heavens  is  supposed  to  be 
 the  progenitor  of  those  whose  orbit  is  lower.  But  we 
 find  that,  both  in  the  Hebrew  and  in  the  Greek,  the 
 Sun,  the  son  of  Saturn,  superseded  his  parent ;  and 
 we  notice  that  1^7^,  elion,  or  a  contracted  form  )?y,  illai, 
 which  are  the  equivalents  of  *)X»oj,  lielios,  are  the  most 
 common  words  in  the  Hebrew  to  indicate  the  Most 
 High ;  in  other  words,  Saturn  may  be  in  his  apparent 
 orbit  above  the  sun,  yet  the  latter,  being  the  brightest, 
 takes  his  place  and  receives  his  titles. 
 
 It  now  remains  to  notice  shortly,  what  may  be 
 called  the  chronology  of  some  of  the  articles  which 
 appear  in  the  present  volume.  Being  arranged 
 alphabetically,  the  reader  might  imagine  that  the 
 essays  were  consecutively  composed ;  but  this  is  far 
 from  being  the  case.  For  example,  the  article  on 
 Sabbath  was  written  two  full  years  before  the  present 
 one  was  even  thought  of ;  and  the  essay  on  Time  was 
 finished  ere  this  upon  the  planets  was  begun.  In  all 
 my  work,  I  have  endeavoured  to  multiply  "check  upon 
 check."  Being  apprehensive  lest  I  should  be  riding  a 
 hobby,  and  that  wildly,  it  has  been  my  aim  to  test 
 my  results  in  every  possible  way.  To  enable  me  to 
 do  this,  I  have  never  allowed  myself  to  enter  upon 
 any  matter  with  a  foregone  conclusion  in  my  mind. 
 Each  essay  has  been  studied  and  worked  out  as 
 honestly  as  if  it  were  the  only  one  that  I  had  evei: 
 attempted,  and  the  results  of  an  impartial  inquiry 
 have  been  fearlessly  recorded.     But  when   the   con- 
 
506 
 
 elusions  have  been  drawn,  it  has  often  been  impossible 
 for  the  mind  to  allow  itself  to  repose  until  the  subject 
 in  hand  has  been  fathomed  to  its  utmost  depth.  As 
 a  natural  consequence,  one  subject  has  led  to  another  ; 
 and  an  investigation  into  the  historj'  of  the  know- 
 ledge of  the  planets,  led  to  an  inquiry  into  the 
 knowledge  of  the  Zodiac.  The  two  again  led  to  an 
 examination  of  the  prevalence  of  twelve,  as  a  sort  of 
 sacred  number.  When  once,  indeed,  the  "trail"  of 
 astronomy  in  history  is  struck,  it  is  difficult  to  know 
 whither  it  may  lead. 
 
 But  it  is  obvious  to  the  reader,  that  if  the  author 
 were  to  allow  himself  to  pass  thus  from  one  subject 
 to  another,  he  would  be  weaving  an  endless  chain, 
 and  demonstrating  his  own  industry,  restlessness,  or 
 scrupulosity,    rather    than    developing   the   student's 
 interest   in    the   subject.       In   these   days,    vigorous 
 sketching  is  often  more   appreciated   than   elaborate 
 detail ;  consequently,  many  essays  have  been  worked 
 out  that  have    never   appeared   even   in  manuscript. 
 Yet  in   no  single  instance  has  the  author  suppressed 
 a  thought,  a  fact,  an  argument,  or  a  deduction,  which 
 militates  against  his  views.     He  would  without  reluc- 
 tance  suppress   the   first,    and    suspend    his    second 
 volume,  if  he  were  to    meet   with   any   trustworthy 
 argument,    etc.,    which    demonstrated   that    he    was 
 wrong.     Sometimes  he  may  regret  'that  he  has  found 
 what  appears  to  be  the  truth,  for  some  really  like  to 
 be  deceived,  and  he  feels  sorry  to  interfere  with  their 
 pleasure ;  but  he  has  no  inclination  to  stifle  it,  for 
 he   believes   in    the  scriptural   declaration,   ''Magna 
 est  Veritas,  et  j^reralebit."     1  Esdras  iv.  41. 
 PoTiPHAR,    iQ^t^iB    (Gen.    xxxvii.  36) ;   Potiphera,  W^?  '^"'^ 
 (Gen.    xli.    45).       These    names,    which    are    simple 
 
507 
 
 variants  of  each  other,  are  said  to  signify,  in  the 
 Coptic,  "Belonging  to  the  Sun,"  Fiirst,  s.  v. 
 Although  it  is  very  natural  for  the  philologist  to  refer 
 to  the  Coptic  to  explain  certain  words  which  purport 
 to  be  ancient  Egyptian,  the  philosopher  will  suspect 
 that  some  curious  facts  lie  concealed  in  the  use  of 
 modern  names  amongst  an  ancient  people.  When 
 we  find  a  Greek  name  in  the  antediluvian  world,  we 
 ought  not  perhaps  to  be  surprised  to  find  a  Coptic 
 name  in  the  court  of  the  old  Pharaohs. 
 Prayer.  The  modern  pietist  can  form  no  idea  how  the 
 anthropomorphic  idea  of  the  Creator  has  possessed 
 his  mind,  until  he  investigates  rigidly  the  subject 
 of  Prayer.  Throughout  the  Bible,  we  find  that 
 prayers  and  supplications  are  constantly  referred  to ; 
 and  we  see,  from  other  histories,  that  the  same  kind 
 of  pleadings  with  an  invisible  deity  have  prevailed 
 among  by  all  nations  professing  to  worship  a  god. 
 The  Hindoo  of  to-day  is  as  careful,  and  we  may  add 
 as  orthodox,  in  his  prayers  as  any  devout  Christian, 
 duly  reciting  the  names  and  attributes  of  his  deity 
 before  he  tells  him  what  the  petition  is,  to  which  a 
 gracious  reply  is  expected. 
 
 There  is  indeed  no  better  test  of  the  human  or 
 divine  idea  of  the  Omnipresent  and  Omnipotent 
 Deity,  than  the  way  in  which  prayer  is  regarded. 
 If  we  think  of  the  Creator  as  a  Being  who  fills  all 
 space ;  as  One  who  has  made  the  world,  and  given  to 
 all  His  creatures,  both  organised  and  unorganised, 
 definite  and  fixed  laws ;  One  who  is  too  wise  to 
 err,  and  too  self-contained  to  require  advice; 
 we  cannot  conceive  Him  to  be  actuated  by  deference 
 to  mankind,  and  to  vacillate  in  His  plans  according 
 to  the  desires  of  men.      We  cannot  conceive  that  His 
 
508 
 
 laws  will  be  modified  in  favour  of  one  or  other  nation, 
 because  there  are  more  supplications  uttered  by  one 
 than  another.  Nor  can  we  believe  that  if  diseased 
 parents  have  delicate  offspring,  they  can  make  their 
 children  robust  by  the  most  continuous  supplications 
 for  health  to  the  Most  High. 
 
 If,  on  the  contrary,  the  Almighty  is  regarded  as 
 a  great  king,  living  in  gi-eat  state,  surrounded  by 
 ministers,  guards,  and  soldiers,  having  angels  for 
 messengers  in  the  air,  and  certain  men  for  vicegerents 
 on  earth,  we  can  easily  imagine  that  He  will  be 
 treated  by  His  subjects  as  they  would  treat  an  earthly 
 monarch. 
 
 How  completely  the  latter  idea  of  the  Infinite 
 God  prevails  amongst  mankind,  we  see  around  us 
 in  every  locality  and  in  every  religion.  Orthodox 
 prayer  first  recites  the  names  and  attributes  of  the 
 Creator,  to  show  that  the  suppliant  entertains  correct 
 views  of  His  majesty  and  titles  ;  an  attitude  is  chosen 
 of  abject  humiliation,  such  as  is  still  adopted  by 
 subjects  in  semi-barbaric  states  when  the  monarch  is 
 approached.  In  some  countries,  wherein  the  deity 
 is  represented  under  diverse  emblems  or  idols,  this 
 reverence  corresponds  to  the  reply  supposed  to  be 
 given  or  withheld ;  and  the  image  is  whipped,  broken, 
 and  deposed,  or  painted,  patted,  and  greased,  accord- 
 ing to  the  unfortunate  or  happy  issue  to  any  matter 
 in  hand.  When  Ahaz,  the  Jew,  found  no  favourable 
 answer  to  his  prayers  for  deliverance  ofiered  to  his 
 own  god,  he  turned  to  the  gods  of  Damascus  (2  Chron. 
 xxviii.  23).  Wlien  the  modern  Mariolater  prays  for 
 relief  to  the  virgin  of  Loretto,  de  la  Garde,  or  else- 
 where, he  loads  her  image  with  gold  and  jewels  if 
 success    follows    his    supplications,    but   if    all    his 
 
509 
 
 petitions  and  vows  are  useless  with  her,  he  addresses 
 St.  Jago  of  Compostello,  or  some  other  saint. 
 
 The  Papal  Church  especially  favours  the  anthro- 
 pomorphic idea  of  the  Almighty,  for  it  has  created  a 
 crowd  of  saints,  whose  special  business  it  is  to  see 
 that  the  prayers  of  the  faithful  duly  reach  the  ears  of 
 the  King  of  Heaven ;  and  the  Protestant  Church  has 
 so  far  adhered  to  the  Roman,  that  her  votaries  believe 
 that  none  of  their  supplications  can  reach  the  ear  of 
 the  Omniscient  unless  presented  and  supported  by 
 Jesus.  Amongst  all  Christians  in  ancient  times,  and 
 amongst  the  majority  of  them  in  modern  days,  the 
 anthropomorphic  estimate  of  the  Creator  has  reigned 
 supreme.  Ideas  such  as  we  here  describe  have 
 existed  in  the  minds  of  various  writers  in  the  Bible; 
 but,  mingled  therewith,  we  find  a  grand  conception  of 
 God,  as  in  Ps.  cxxxix.  2,  4,  "  Thou  understandest 
 my  thoughts  afar  off;"  "there  is  not  a  word  in  my 
 tongue  but  thou,  0  Lord,  knowest  it  altogether "  ; 
 Matt.  vi.  8,  "  Your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye 
 have  need  of  before  ye  ask  him."  We  see  the  same 
 thought,  but  very  dimly  shadowed,  in  the  Epistle  to 
 the  Piomans,  especially  in  ch.  viii.  29,  30,  and  ch.  ix. 
 15-22,  wherein  Paul  is  labouring  to  amalgamate 
 a  reverent  conception  of  God  with  the  anthropomor- 
 phism of  the  Jews.  But,  although  this  Apostle  is 
 constantly  speaking  of  predestination  and  election  as 
 the  necessary  result  of  a  divine  will  operating  accord- 
 ing to  His  own  plan,  he  habitually  urges  the  duty  of 
 prayer,  so  as  to  bend  that  Supreme  Being  to  man's 
 exigencies. 
 
 The  gi-ovelling  view  of  the  Maker  of  the  universe 
 occurs  in  the  Bible  far  more  frequently  than  the  sub- 
 lime.    For  example,  we  find  (Gen.  xviii.  23,  et  seq.) 
 
510 
 
 Abraham  approaching  God  in  prayer,  as  if  he  hoped 
 to  circumvent,  cajole,  or  persuade  Him.  Again,  God 
 is  represented  (Gen.  xx.  7)  as  telling  Abimelech  that 
 if  he  can  induce  Abraham  to  pray  on  his  behalf.  He 
 will  pardon  him.  A  similar  idea  is  shown  in  1  Kings 
 xiii.  6,  wherein  the  king,  whose  hand  was  withered, 
 entreats  the  prophet  to  pray  to  God  for  him.  It  is 
 also  very  conspicuous  in  2  Chron.  xxx.  27,  where 
 we  are  told  the  prayers  of  the  Levites  "came  up  to 
 His  holy  dwelling-place,  even  unto  heaven." 
 
 To  one  whose  reasoning  powers  are  cultivated, 
 there  is  no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  the  anthropo- 
 morphic idea  associated  with  prayer  entirely  vitiates 
 its  value.  For  one,  on  the  other  hand,  who  refuses 
 to  employ  his  understanding,  and  builds  his  conclu- 
 sions upon  the  words  of  beings  like  himself,  men 
 whom  he  has  been  told  by  others,  and  whom  he 
 therefore  believes,  to  be  inspired,  it  is  difficult,  if  not 
 impossible,  to  estimate  praj-er  at  its  true  value. 
 
 Such  a  man  naturally  points  to  the  touching 
 story  of  Hannah,  her  suiDplication  for  a  son,  the 
 favourable  answer  that  she  received ;  and  considers 
 that  the  dicta  in  James  v.  13-18  are  conclusive ;  for 
 in  them  we  read,  "  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the 
 sick,"  "pray  for  one  another,  that  ye  may  be  healed," 
 "  the  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous  man 
 availeth  much.  Elias  was  a  man  subject  to  like 
 passions  as  we  are,  and  he  prayed  earnestly  that  it 
 might  not  rain ;  and  it  rained  not  by  the  space  of 
 three  years  and  six  months.  And  he  prayed  again, 
 and  the  heaven  gave  rain."  Without  multiplying 
 examples,  we  readily  allow  that  there  have  been  many 
 instances  in  which  prayer  has  seemed  to  be  followed 
 by   a   certain   remarkable    result.      Roman    Catholic 
 
511 
 
 saints,  indeed,  have  ever  been  famous  for  the  conspi- 
 cuous efficacy  of  their  supplications. 
 
 But  though  we  grant  this,  for  the  sake  of  argu- 
 ment, we  wholly  deny  the  value  of  the  so-called  fact ; 
 and  aver  that  the  alleged  answers  to  prayer  have 
 nothing  to  do  with  the  petition  per  se.  Lord  Bacon 
 has  already  alluded  to  this  fault  in  human  reasoning, 
 in  his  Novum  Organum,  thus,  "  A  man  was  once 
 shown  in  a  certain  temple  the  names  of  all  those  who, 
 having  vowed  to  its  god,  lived  to  pay  their  vows  ;  and 
 the  priest,  asking  him,  '  Can  you  not  now  see  the 
 power  of  our  deity  ?  '  the  reply  was,  '  You  must  first 
 show  to  me  the  names  of  those  who  vowed,  and  never 
 lived  to  pay.'"  Bacon  thus  clearly  shows  his  appre- 
 ciation of  the  distinction  between  a  coincidence  and  a 
 consequence. 
 
 We  shall  recognise  this  difference  more  clearly  if 
 we  examine  a  few  more  examples;  e.g.,  Hannah,  a 
 married  woman,  had  no  child.  She  prayed  devoutly 
 for  one,  and  afterwards  she  had  a  family.  But  this 
 proves  nothing;  everybody  knows  wives  who  have  been 
 barren  for  years  and  then  had  sons,  without  praying 
 at  all.  Others  again  have  prayed  earnestly  for  off- 
 spring and  never  seen  it,  or  for  boys  and  only  had 
 girls.  Supposing  that  Hannah  had  not  prayed  at  all, 
 the  probability  of  her  having  a  child  was  six  to  one. 
 When  the  cholera  invades  a  country,  and,  in  terror 
 thereat,  prayers  are  offered  up  by  the  nation  collec- 
 tively, and  the  disease  passes  away ;  this  is  no  evi- 
 dence of  the  efficacy  of  a  nation's  supplication,  for 
 it  passes  off  in  the  same  way  in  other  countries, 
 where  no  prayers  are  offered  on  the  subject.  Still, 
 farther,  two  armies  meet  in  the  shock  of  battle.  Call 
 the  combatants  Austrians  and  Prussians  ;    both  are 
 
612 
 
 Christians ;  both  appeal  to  the  God  of  battles  in 
 prayer,  and  one  to  the  Virgin  in  addition.  The  war- 
 riors fight,  one  side  wins,  but  neither  the  victors  nor 
 the  vanquished  attribute  the  result  to  the  superior 
 prayers  of  the  conqueror.  On  the  other  hand,  both 
 armies  study  how  far  the  result  was  influenced,  (1)  by 
 generalship,  (2)  by  numbers,  (3)  by  the  soldiery, 
 (4)  by  the  Aveapons  used,  (5)  by  the  locality,  (6)  by 
 celerity  of  communication  between  the  commander 
 and  his  officers.  In  no  treatise  whatever,  upon  the 
 history  of  the  war,  would  the  respective  value  of  the 
 nation's  prayers  be  admitted  as  a  disturbing  agent. 
 
 There  is  yet  another  matter  which  we  would  sub- 
 mit to  the  Anthropomorphist,  viz.,  if  the  favourable 
 answer  to  prayer  is  to  be  considered  a  proof  of  the 
 efficacy  thereof,  it  must  follow  that,  whenever  such  a 
 reply  can  be  demonstrated,  the  prayer  was  proper, 
 and  the  deity  to  whom  it  was  addressed  was  a  true 
 one.  To  ascertain  the  value  of  this  we  have  recourse 
 to  Hindostan,  Thibet,  and  other  Oriental  countries, 
 where  there  are  litanies,  etc.,  much  as  there  are  in 
 Europe.  Men  there  pray  to  Brahma,  or  to  Buddha, 
 as  fervently  as  a  Spaniard  to  St.  lago,  or  an  Italian  to 
 the  Virgin,  and  all  seem  to  be  equally  successful  or 
 disappointed  at  the  results.  Hence  we  conclude  that 
 all  the  prayers  are  equally  worthless,  or  all  the  deities 
 invoked  equally  god-like. 
 
 Although  ideas,  such  as  we  here  depict,  have 
 doubtless  passed  through  the  minds  of  practical 
 Englishmen,  they  have  not  so  presented  themselves 
 to  the  more  devotional  or  bigoted  thoughts  of  those 
 who  are  called  "  priest-ridden."  It  is  not  long  since 
 Lord  Palmerston  rebuked  the  Scotch,  for  opposing 
 prayers  rather  than  cleanliness  to  the  cholera.     Nor  do 
 
513 
 
 I  wonder  at  his  remark.    A  few  days  only  have  elapsed 
 since  I  visited  the  capital  of  their  country,  and  heard, 
 from    a    personal    friend,    of    the    almost   incredible 
 amount  of  filth  and  garbage  accumulated  in  the  cel- 
 lars of   two  houses,  both  of  which  were  inhabited, 
 ere  my  acquaintance   rented  them,    by   Presbyterian 
 ministers.     One  of  these  preachers  was  considered  "  a 
 shining  light,"  but  he  had  been   "  sorely  tried"  by 
 the  death  of  his  wife  and  family.     Doubtless,  he  often 
 prayed  for  them  fervently;  but  the  filth  in  his  domi- 
 cile remained;    death  took  its  dues;    godliness  and 
 supphcation    were    powerless    when    cleanliness   was 
 absent.     Had  the  man  prayed  less,  and  acted  sen- 
 sibly, his  domestic   afflictions  would  most  probably 
 have'  ceased.     Wherever  filth  and  piety  go  together, 
 similar  results  will  generally  occur. 
 
 The   sturdy   Briton   has   long   been    taught  that 
 prayer  without  action  deserves  to  be  refused.     If  he 
 goes  to  war,  though  he  may  pray  for  success,  he  yet 
 looks  carefully  to  his  weapons.     Though  he   suppli- 
 cates  against  cholera    and  murrain,  he  cleanses  his 
 drains  and  his  shippons.     If  his  child  is  ill,  though 
 a  fanatic   may   trust  in  prayer  and  unction,  fathers 
 generally,  while  entreating  the  Lord  for  their  offspring, 
 engage  a  doctor  too,  and  watch  closely  his  practice. 
 In  other  words,  each  one  does  everything  in  his  power 
 to  command  success,  and  " prays"  in  addition.     And 
 who  thatr  knows  human  nature  can  affirm  that  the  last 
 proceeding  is  not  a  comfort  to  many  ?     I  can  imagme 
 some  who,    under    the    most   trying   circumstances, 
 keep  their  heads  clear,  eagerly  watching  every  event 
 which  tells  for  good  and  ill,  sitting,  standing,  or  lying 
 the  while  in  stolid  silence,  awaiting  "the  inevitable." 
 Others,    on   the   contrary,  unable    to   bear  the   pro- 
 
 EK 
 
514 
 
 tracted  agonies  of  suspense,  throw,  as  it  were, 
 their  whole  soul  into  the  arms  of  the  unseen  God. 
 None  can  deny  His  power ;  none,  therefore,  can 
 reasonably  object  to  such  silent  homage  paid  by  a 
 suffering  creature,  and  to  his  urgent  supplications  for 
 help,  commiseration,  or  courage.  Into  that  inward 
 communing  between  a  human  being  and  his  Maker 
 let  none  intrude,  to  us  such  scenes  are  sacred. 
 
 There  are  yet  some  other  aspects  of  prayer  to 
 which  I  would  allude,  viz.,  that  it  is  the  height  of 
 folly  for  any  public  or  private  individual  to  pray  for 
 anything  whatever,  which  the  supplicant  does  not 
 endeavour  to  obtain  by  other  means.  For  example, 
 can  our  people  pray  in  sincerity,  "  from  all  blindness 
 of  heart,  from  lightning  and  tempest,  from  battle, 
 false  doctrine,  heresy,  etc.,  good  Lord  deliver  us," 
 yet  never  attempt  to  enlighten  their  own  understand- 
 ings, or  take  precaution  against  thunderbolts,  storms, 
 narrow-mindedness,  etc.  ?  Can  we  credit  prelate  or 
 priest  with  piety,  who  prays  in  the  reading  desk  "  for 
 unity,  peace,  and  concord,"  yet  in  the  pulpit  propa- 
 gates discord,  religious  war,  and  hot  sectarianism '? 
 
 Finally,  let  us  ask  ourselves  what  expectation  can 
 any  rational  community  form  from  assemblages  to 
 pray ;  or,  in  other  words,  what  perceptible  good  has 
 ever  been  attained  by  such  meetings.  We  grant 
 that  those  who  delight  in  music  may  enjoy  a  choral 
 office,  believing  that  such  a  high  church  service  is  a 
 human  imitation  of  that  described,  in  the  Apocah'pse, 
 as  practised  in  heaven  ;  that  those  who  cannot  frame 
 wants  and  wishes  for  themselves  may  be  glad  to  have 
 such  invented  for  them ;  and  that  it  is  necessary  for 
 some  ceremony  to  be  performed  for  enabling  such 
 individuals    to    endure    the    miseries   of    a    British 
 
515 
 
 Sabbath.  Yet  we  would  ask,  with  all  seriousness, 
 how  such  meetings  accord  with  the  direction  (Matt.  yi. 
 6),  '•'  when  thou  prayest  enter  into  thy  closet,  and 
 when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  father 
 which  is  in  secret."  We  are  also  told  (verse  5), 
 that  it  is  the  "hypocrites'*  who  love  to  pray  in  the 
 synagogues;  and  (in  verse  7)  that  it  is  the  ■"heathen" 
 who  use  vain  repetitions,  and  think  they  shall  be 
 heard  for  their  much  speaking.  To  one  who  con- 
 siders prayer  a  communing  between  man  and  his 
 Maker,  a  pubHc  meeting  is  the  worst  place  which 
 can  be  conceived  for  such  intercourse,  and  a  drawl- 
 ing tone  or  musical  chanting  the  most  inconsistent 
 modes  that  can  be  adopted.  Yet  the  last  was  in  days 
 gone  by  a  heathen  practice  :  and  has  been  transferred 
 to  one  of  the  ancient  churches  of  Christendom.  Hav- 
 ing thus  the  appearance  of  a  reverend  age,  it  is  adopted 
 in  modern  AngHcanism,  and  flourishes  amongst  those 
 who  respect  a  sensuous,  although  they  revile  a  sensual 
 worship. 
 Prophets,  Pbophecy,  ^vc.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the 
 divines  of  our  church  have  not  adopted  as  one  of  their 
 o^iiding  rules  the  saying  of  their  Master,  "  with  what 
 measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again" 
 (Matt.  vii.  '1).  Had  they  done  so,  the  study  of  theo- 
 loijv  would  be  far  less  repugnant  to  common  sense 
 than  it  is.  and  the  teachers  of  the  people  would  be 
 enabled  te  preach  a  doctrine  in  which  they  could  them- 
 selves believe,  rather  than  have  to  utter,  as  truths, 
 statements  on  which  they  feel  the  gravest  doubts. 
 Amongst  the  difficulties  and  trisUs  which  beset  the 
 orthodox  priest  of  to-day,  there  are  none  greater  than 
 being  forced  to  uphold  the  dicta  of  his  church 
 aa&iust  the  assaults  of  artisans,  who  have  learned  to 
 
516 
 
 think  for  themselves,  and  who,  with  their  rough  but 
 strong  sense,  recognise  the  shallowness  of  the  argu- 
 ments which  the  parson  enunciates  from  the  pulpit. 
 Many  of  the  dissentients  from  ecclesiastical  teaching, 
 derive  their  arguments  solely  from  the  Bible,  which 
 is  perhaps  the  only  book  they  read  ;  others  adopt  the 
 views  of  preceding  thinkers,  and  perhaps  improve 
 upon  them.  The  clergyman,  so  situated,  makes  the 
 best  fight  he  can  for  the  doctrine  to  which  he  has 
 subscribed ;  but  he  necessarily  feels  at  a  disadvantage, 
 when  he  finds  that  he  must  be  illogical  if  he  hopes 
 to  retain  even  a  semblance  of  victory.  To  a  man 
 accustomed  to  reflection,  such  a  state  of  things  is 
 very  galling ;  and  he  wishes,  when  too  late,  that  he 
 had  been  taught  to  view  the  dogmas  of  his  church 
 in  the  same  light  in  which  others  see  them.  To  the 
 mind  of  youth,  which  generally  takes  upon  trust  every- 
 thing told  to  it,  by  those  in  whom  it  reposes  con- 
 fidence, the  Anglican  church  looks  like  a  brilliant 
 ancient  mirror  seen  from  afar ;  to  the  adult  it  appears, 
 like  that  same  glass  when  close  to  him,  full  of  im- 
 perfections, and  of  such  wavy  lines  as  to  be  useless 
 for  giving  a  correct  counterpart  of  the  features.  The 
 thoughtless  bigot,  when  he  discovers  that  flaws  exist 
 in  that  which  he  imagined  to  be  perfect,  will  very 
 probably  endeavour  to  shut  his  eyes  to  them  ;  but  the 
 more  matured  mind  would  prefer  to  have  the  reflector 
 repolished  and  resilvered ;  for  it  would  then  be 
 renovated,  and  he  could  regard  it  with  complacency, 
 even  though  its  size  should  be  diminished. 
 
 Of  all  the  spots  which  deform  the  mirror  of 
 celestial  truth,  none  are  more  conspicuous  than 
 those  which  cluster  round  "  prophecy."  Without  due 
 consideration,  divines  have  laid  down  doctrines  which 
 
517 
 
 have  no  real  basis,  and  can  only  be  bolstered  up  by 
 the  most  transparently  absurd  platitudes.  The 
 syllogism  upon  which  they  rely  runs  thus  :  "  God 
 speaks  to  man  by  man,"  "some  men  say  that  God 
 speaks  by  them,"  ergo,  ''those  men  are  the  messen- 
 gers of  God."  This  reasoning  is  too  shallow  for  any 
 one  to  respect  it  in  its  naked  sense,  and  sundry  quali- 
 fications are  therefore  added ;  c.  g.,  that  the  message 
 must  be  "  a  revelation,"  and,  being  '' a  revelation," 
 must  be  supported  by  miraculous  agency.  But  no 
 amount  of  miraculous  power  is  held  to  be  competent  to 
 uphold  a  prophecy,  or  message,  which  is  not  "ortho- 
 dox;" and  consequently,  by  this  rule,  it  is  clear  that 
 Jesus  Christ  could  not  have  been  inspired,  because  at 
 the  time  of  his  uttering  his  doctrine  he  was  very  "  hete- 
 rodox." As  such  a  conclusion  naturally  staggers  any  one 
 adopting  such  reasoning,  a  sort  of  tacit  understanding 
 is  adopted,  to  the  effect  that  the  prophecies  in  the  Bible 
 are  to  be  received  without  inquiry,  and  that  the  less 
 the  subject  is  talked  about  the  better.  Like  Don 
 Quixote's  helmet,  which  only  "looked"  strong,  the 
 faith  in  the  inspiration  of  Biblical  prophecy  only  ap- 
 pears to  be  robust.  That  it  is  not  really  so  is  shown 
 when  it  is  attacked,  for  the  first  blow  shatters  it. 
 Now,  we  hold  that  it  is  befitting  for  a  warrior  to  dis- 
 card from  his  armour  everything  which  is  found  to  be 
 faulty,  and  that  it  is  equally  prudent  to  reject,  from 
 the  sacre'd  books,  all  those  parts  which  cannot  sub- 
 stantiate their  claim  to  religion  and  truth. 
 
 Let  us  ask  ourselves,  for  example,  what  reverence 
 we  should  pay  to  our  favourite  preacher,  were  he 
 to  enunciate,  from  the  pulpit,  that  he  had  received  a 
 divine  command  to  search  for  some  prostitute,  by 
 whom   he   was  to  have  children ;   and  who,    ere  his 
 
518 
 
 congi'e<?ation  had  forgotten  bis  first  revelation, 
 announced  that  he  had  received  a  second  message 
 from  the  Almighty,  ordering  him  to  seek  out  some 
 adulterous  wife,  and  take  her  for  his  mistress  ?  Can 
 any  one  doubt  what  would  be  the  fate  of  such  a 
 minister?"^  I  know  what  was  the  fate  of  a  young 
 woman,  who  came  to  the  house  where  I  "  served  my 
 time "  as  an  apprentice,  with  a  message  from  God, 
 that  England  could  only  be  saved  from  utter  ruin  by 
 a  son  of  hers,  of  whom  I,  whom  she  had  only  once 
 seen  at  a  distance,  was  to  be  the  father !  My  master 
 saw  her,  and  heard  the  solemn  utterance  delivered, 
 as  he  told  me,  with  perfect  good  faith;  but  he,  though 
 a  devout  believer  in  the  ancient  prophets,  at  once  took 
 immediate  steps  to  lodge  the  poor  maid-servant,  for 
 such  she  was,  in  a  lunatic  asj'lum.  Yet  such  mes- 
 sages as  these  were  proclaimed  by  Hosea  to  the 
 ancient  Jews,  and  modern  Christians  have  adopted 
 them  as  true  communications  from  God  to  man  ! 
 
 There  are,  again,  many  who  read  with  profound 
 horror  those  pages  of  history  which  tell  of  the  execu- 
 tion of  Charles  the  First  of  England,  and  Louis 
 the  Sixteenth  of  France  ;  who  shudder  at  the  death 
 of  the  princes  in  the  Tower  of  London,  and  at 
 the  decapitation  of  Queen  Mary  of  Scotland ;  yet 
 they  read  with  complacency  that  melancholy  chapter 
 2  Sam.  xxi.  1-14,  which  tells  us  that  God  selected, 
 through  some  prophet,  seven  innocent  men,  and 
 ordered  them  to  be  mm-dered  ere  he  would  restore 
 
 101  Wo  may  equally  nsk  ourselves  what  judgment  is  now  passed  by  doctors  aud 
 women  Rt-nerally,  when  a  damsel,  being  uumnrried,  has  a  baby,  and  declares  that 
 it  has  uo  father.  Surgeons,  in  the  course  of  their  practice,  meet  with  many  such 
 cases,  but  they  never  believe  that  the  conception  has  been  supernatural.  Those 
 who  lived  in  the  middle  ages  sometimes  attributed  such  results  to  I'jicuii,  or  demons ; 
 none  venturing  to  ascribe  such  au  event  to  the  spirit  of  the  great  Creator. 
 
519 
 
 fertility  to  the  land  of  Israel ;  and  they  do  not  quail  at 
 the  conduct  of  Samuel,  who  hewed  a  man  in  pieces, 
 as  a  modern  Chinese  executioner  would  do.  More- 
 over all,  who  are  familiar  with  the  Bible,  know 
 how  particular  the  law,  which  was  given,  as  we  are 
 told,  directly  by  God  to  Moses,  was,  as  regards  clean- 
 liness. See,  for  example,  Deut.  xxiii.  13,  14,  wherein 
 the  Israelites  are  directed  to  bury,  as  a  cat  does  natu- 
 rally, that  which  passes  from  them,  so  that  God  may 
 not  see  it ;  we  are  nevertheless  asked  to  believe  that 
 the  same  Creator  directed  Ezekiel  to  bake  a  cake,  with 
 dung  that  cometh  out  of  man  "  (Ezek.  iv.  12).  Two 
 commands  such  as  these  'can  neither  be  reconciled 
 with  each  other  nor  with  the  verse,  "  I  am  the  Lord, 
 I  change  not "  (Mai.  iii.  6). 
 
 But  there  is  still  another  light  in  which  the  sub- 
 ject may  be  regarded,  which  may  be  illustrated  thus. 
 There  are  amongst  ourselves  a  religious  sect,  denomi- 
 nated "Quakers,"  or  "Friends."  Amongst  other  of 
 their  tenets,  they  hold  that  none  can  preach  unless 
 he  feels  inspired  at  the  moment  to  do  so;  and,  in 
 consequence,  they  occasionally  receive  some  lively 
 blows  from  outsiders,  whenever  they  announce  before- 
 hand that  any  particular  person  is  coming  to  address 
 them  religiously.  The  Quakers  feel  the  absurdity  of 
 dictating  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  the  preacher 
 equally  feels  how  silly  it  must  be  to  prepare  before- 
 hand a  discourse,  of  which  the  theory  is,  that  it  is  a 
 sudden  message  put  into  his  mouth  (Matt.  x.  19,  20). 
 But  the  matter  is  reconciled  somehow,  and  quietly 
 hushed  up.  Now  it  is  preposterous  to  suppose  that 
 man  could  coerce  the  Spirit  of  God,  two,  three,  or 
 four  thousand  years  ago,  better  than  he  can  to- 
 day; consequently,    the   very   fact    that    there    were 
 
520 
 
 schools  of  prophets  under  Samuel  (1  Sam.  xix.  20-24), 
 and  under  Elijah  and  Elisha  (2  Kings  ii.  3-5,  iv.  38, 
 vi.  1-3),  shows  that  there  was  then  an  attempt  to 
 manage  the  Spirit,  and  buy  the  gift  of  God  with 
 money,  or  study,  which  we,  of  to-day,  repudiate.  Where- 
 ever  we  recognise  that  the  hierophantic  manner  alone 
 can  have  been  taught,  instruction  given  as  to  the 
 doctrine  to  be  propounded,  the  best  form  in  which 
 to  clothe  an  oracular  answer,  the  best  method  of 
 treating  disease,  and  of  appearing  to  perform  mira- 
 cles, we  cannot  believe  that  the  scholars  so  taught 
 possessed  any  real  prophetic  power;  even  although 
 they  asserted  themselves  to  be  inspired. 
 
 Leaving  these  general  considerations,  we  learn 
 that  there  was  a  distinct  body  of  prophets  amongst 
 the  Jews,  just  as  there  were  oracles,  sybils,  pythons, 
 diviners,  soothsayers,  magicians,  and  astrologers, 
 amongst  the  Greeks,  Romans,  Egyptians,  Phoenicians, 
 Philistines,  Assyrians,  and  Chaldeans;  and  that  these 
 prophets  assumed  to  possess  powers  equivalent  to  all 
 or  any  of  the  Hebrews.  Jewish  pi-ophets  had  three 
 names  given  to  them ;  (1.)  '^^'^,  rock,  "  a  seer,"  one 
 who  professes  to  have  a  gift  similar  to  that  claimed 
 by  some  in  Scotland,  viz.,  "  second  sight,"  i.  c,  the 
 power  of  seeing  what  is  present,  in  point  of  time, 
 though  at  a  distance,  in  point  of  space,  and  what  is 
 past,  distant,  or  future ;  another  name  given  to  a 
 prophet,  in  other  words,  one  who  can  see  occurrences 
 which  have  happened,  are  happening,  and  have  never 
 happened  at  all  ;  (2.)  ^ip,  ckozc,  "  a  beholder,"  one 
 who,  like  Stephen,  could  sec,  in  the  opened  heaven, 
 the  glory  of  God,  and  the  occurrences  which  took 
 place  in  His  court.  Of  this  class,  doubtless,  was 
 Micaiah,  the  son   of  Imlah.  who  saw  the  Lord  sitting 
 
521 
 
 on  His  throne,  with  the  heavenly  host  all  around 
 Him,  a  Being  who  was  represented  as  puzzled  to 
 know  how  to  effect  the  fall  of  Ahab  (a  problem  that 
 even  the  heavenly  host  could  not  solve,  but  which 
 a  foul  spirit  effected  readily,  by  becoming  a  liar — 
 see  1  Kings  xxii.  19-22).  In  the  same  category 
 we  must  place  Isaiah,  who  also  saw  the  Lord  upon 
 His  throne  (Isaiah  vi.  1-13),  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  and 
 others;  (3.)  ^''^l,  nah'i,  '^^''?t',  nehiali,  "a  male  or  a 
 female  utterer  of  words,"  in  abundance,  and  some- 
 times in  poetic  measure.  It  may  seem  strange 
 to  us,  who  are  familiar  with  St.  Paul's  prejudice, 
 which  did  not  "  suffer  a  woman  to  teach"  (1  Tim. 
 ii.  11,  12),  to  believe  that  females  could  ever  have 
 been  successful  in  the  position  of  prophets.  We 
 cease,  however,  to  wonder,  when  we  remember  how 
 very  keen  an  observer  is  a  clever  woman,  and  how 
 vast  are  her  powers  of  deception.  Medical  journals 
 teem  with  cases,  in  which,  from  some  mere  caprice, 
 fragile  girls  have  deceived  very  astute  doctors  during 
 many  years,  either  by  pretending  to  fast  entirely,  and 
 yet  survive  ;  or  by  using  a  strange  device  to  enable 
 them  to  produce  some  curious  symptom.  Our  daily 
 newspapers  tell  of  female  "  media,'"  who,  by  rapping, 
 or  other  mysterious  methods,  assume  to  be  mes- 
 sengers from  the  world  of  spirits ;  whilst  in  private 
 life  we  hear  of  many  a  merchant,  barrister,  doctor, 
 lawyer,  and  even  many  a  cleric,  who  is  deceived  by 
 the  cleverness  of  "clairvoyantes."  I  have  myself  heard 
 the  merits  of  a  clairvoyant  girl  discussed  admiringly 
 in  a  large  mixed  company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
 in  which  none  but  myself  doubted  her  power.  I  have 
 seen  grave  philosophers  and  shrewd  men  of  business 
 applaud  the  tricks  of  a  mesmerised  woman,  and  have 
 
522 
 
 heard  them  assign  to  her  some  mysterious  power ;  just 
 as  the  Jews  of  old  did  to  Deborah  and  Huldah,  and 
 probably  without  better  cause. 
 
 The  prophets,  then,  in  our  opinion,  were  a  body 
 of  men  and  women,  who  professed,  like  Alexander  of 
 old  (see  Oracle),  and  mesmerists  of  to-day,  to  see 
 and  hear  things  which  were  hidden  from  other  people, 
 but  which  the  multitude  wanted  to  know ;  and,  as 
 their  profession  was  an  overstocked  one, —  (we  are  told 
 that  there  were  no  less  than  four  hundred  in  Israel, 
 1  Kings  xxii.  6), —  there  was  necessarily  much  com- 
 petition for  credit  and  for  cash.  Some,  upon  the 
 occurrence  of  any  great  event,  a  war,  for  example, 
 would  persistently  promise  success.  Another  party 
 would  adopt  the  contrary  plan,  and,  like  Micaiah 
 the  son  of  Imlah,  predict  failure.  The  seers  whom 
 the  event  proved  to  have  been  correct,  would  natu- 
 rally receive  both  credit,  and  reward.  During  the 
 later  days  of  the  Jewish  kingdom,  there  was  similar 
 competition ;  and,  with  that,  there  was  as  much 
 vituperation  as  exists  to-day  amongst  rival  theo- 
 logians. The  ardent  Jeremiah  accuses  all  those  who 
 difler  from  him,  whether  priest  or  prophet,  of  being 
 false  (vi.  13,  viii.  10,  xxiii.  11,  25-27).  He  seems 
 to  have  had  one  particularly  powerful  adversary  in 
 Hananiah,  and  an  interesting  episode  of  their  quarrel 
 is  given  Jerem.  xxviii.  1-17.  When  different  parties 
 prophesy  oppositely,  it  is  probable  that  one  will  be 
 correct.  If,  therefore,  any  particular  event  has 
 occurred  according  to  the  prediction  of  one  man, 
 he  naturally  receives  the  honour  which  he  claims. 
 Thus  it  happens  that  the  writings  of  Isaiah,  Jere- 
 miah, and  Ezekiel,  foretelling  the  destruction  of 
 Babylon,     Jerusalem,     and     Tyre,    receive    general 
 
credit,    whilst    the    predictions    of    their    nameless 
 opponents  are  consigned  to  oblivion. 
 
 We  believe  that  the  individual  whose  observa- 
 tion is  the  keenest,  and  whose  judgment  is  the 
 soundest,  is  more  likely  to  become  a  successful 
 prophet,  than  one  whose  mind  is  contracted,  or  badly 
 trained,  and  whose  powers  of  observation  are  limited. 
 If  a  man  declares  that  he  sees  supernatural  visions, 
 and  hear?  voices  from  on  high,  it  is  clear,  to 
 the  modern  psychologist,  that  the  brain  of  such  an 
 one  is  in  an  unhealthy  condition,  or  that  the  pheno- 
 mena are  alleged  for  a  purpose.  If  the  individual  is 
 simply  an  impostor,  it  is  probable  that  he  will  not  be 
 much  above  the  level  of  his  fellow  men  in  sagacity 
 and  thought ;  he  will  have  very  little  of  the  real  fire 
 of  the  enthusiast,  and,  being  conscious  of  deception, 
 will  always  fear  detection.  If,  however,  the  brain  be 
 really  affected,  and  the  condition  of  the  individual 
 borders  upon  insanity,  there  is  so  much  of  the  true, 
 and  captivating  earnestness  of  lunacy,  so  large  a 
 capacity  for  observation  and  judgment,  such  a  strange 
 mixture  of  right-mindedness,  and  wrong-headedness, 
 such  a  profound  belief  in  the  reality  of  his  visions, 
 and  voices,  and  of  the  mission  which  they  enforce,  that 
 such  an  individual,  by  the  sheer  force  of  fanaticism, 
 compels  a  belief  in  the  pretensions  he  makes. 
 Amongst  modern  characters  of  this  kind,  we  may 
 enumera'te  Swcdenborg,  Irnng,  Johanna  Southcote, 
 Brothers,  Thom,  and  others.  There  is  scarcely  a 
 lunatic  asylum  in  Great  Britain  where  such  prophets 
 do  not  abound;  and  scarcely  a  county  in  which  there 
 are  not  others  of  a  similar  stamp,  whose  insanity  is 
 yet  not  sufiicient  to  warrant  their  removal  fi'om  home. 
 Such  are  generally  notorious  for  astuteness.     So  com- 
 
524 
 
 monly,  indeed,  does  high  intellectual  power  border 
 upon  lunacy,  that  it  attracted  the  attention  of  Pope, 
 who  says  — 
 
 "  Great  wit  to  madness  nearly  is  allied, 
 And  faint  diNdsions  do  the  bounds  divide." 
 
 If  a  physician,  familiar  with  the  phenomena  of 
 insanity,  and  the  various  phases  of  mental  aberra- 
 tion, were  to  examine  critically  the  books  of  the 
 prophets,  he  would  probably  pronounce  that  Isaiah 
 was  an  earnest  enthusiast,  Uke  Swedenborg ;  and  Jere- 
 miah, a  fanatic  priest,  who  used  the  prophetic  garb 
 for,  what  he  considered  to  be,  praiseworthy  political 
 objects.  "We  do  not,  however,  wish  to  insinuate, 
 nor  do  we  think,  that  Jeremiah  was  a  hypocrite, 
 but  we  believe  that  he  was  a  man  of  close  obser- 
 vation and  deep  thought,  ha\dng  full  confidence  in 
 himself;  yet  that  he  felt  powerless  to  enforce  his 
 opinions,  unless  he  professed  them  to  be  revelations 
 from  Jehovah.  But  we  believe  that  Ezekiel  was 
 undoubtedly  a  lunatic ;  and  that  Hosea  was  one  of 
 that  class  who  are  alternately  fanatical  and  licentious. 
 
 When  it  was  found  that  one  so-called  prediction 
 of  any  prophet  appeared  to  be  correct,  it  very  natu- 
 rally followed  that  every  other  utterance  which  he 
 had  committed  to  writing,  or  which  others  could 
 remember,  should  be  regarded  with  equal  respect. 
 As  a  result,  everything  proclaimed,  or  written  as 
 a  prophecy,  by  a  man  who  has  once  been  right,  is 
 supposed  to  contain  a  prediction  which  must  as 
 certainly  be  fulfilled  as  the  correct  one.  But  there 
 are  many  biblical  sayings,  which  once  were  thought 
 '  prophecies,'  that  have  been  unequivocally  refuted  by 
 
525 
 
 time.  For  example;  we  see  Ezekiel  predicting  the 
 capture  of  Tyre  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  but,  though  the 
 monarch  tried  to  do  so,  he  was  unsuccessful  in  the 
 effort."^  Still  more  recently,  we  read  in  Luke  xxi. 
 7-33,  an  account  of  a  conversation  said  to  have 
 been  held  between  Jesus  and  his  disciples,  conse- 
 quent on  a  question  which  is  asked  in  Matthew 
 xxiv.  3,  "  Tell  us  when  shall  these  things  be,  and 
 what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  coming,  and  of  the 
 end  of  the  world?"  In  that  colloquy,  the  prophet 
 of  Nazareth  tells  of  dreadful  troubles,  and  concludes 
 with  the  words,  "  This  generation  shall  not  pass 
 away  till  all  these  things  be  fulfilled "  (Matt,  xxi 
 V.  34,  Luke  xxi.  32).  The  first  Evangelist,  when 
 reporting  this  interview,  states  that  Jesus  told  his 
 disciples  that,  immediately  after  the  trouble  which 
 he  foretells,  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be  seen  "coming 
 in  the  clouds  of  heaven "  (Matt.  xxiv.  29,  30) ; 
 and,  that  no  man  might  mistake  the  closeness  of 
 the  sequence,  he  uses  the  example  of  the  fig-tree, 
 and  asserts,  that  as  summer  is  certainly  heralded 
 by  the  vegetation  of  that  tree,  so  would  his  coming 
 be  notified  by  the  total  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
 Luke  xxi.  20,  22,  24,  25,  27,  29  -  36.  In  Matthew's 
 gospel  (xvi.  28),  our  Lord  declares  that  some  of  the 
 then  bystanders  shall  not  die  until  they  see  the  Son  of 
 man  coming  in  his  kingdom.     Again,  we  find  in  John 
 
 102  See  Ezek.  xsvi.-ssviii..  and  xsix.  17-20.  I  Lave  never  felt  greater  surprise 
 than  on  the  occasion  of  reading,  or  hearing  the  fall  of  Tjro  under  Alexander,  and  her 
 subsequent  ruin,  quoted  as  a  proof  of  the  perfect  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  of 
 Ezekiel.  The  fact  is  just  the  reverse ;  for  the  ''seL-r"  is  too  precise  to  allow  any 
 doubt  about  his  meaning,  and  he  asserts  that  Nebuchadnezzar  should  utterly 
 destroy  the  city ;  yet  the  same  book  tells  us  that  this  event  did  not  happen ;  and 
 history  informs  us  that  another  king,  of  whom  the  Prophet  had  not  the  faintest  idea, 
 did  that  which  the  monarch  of  Babylon  failed  to  effect. 
 
526 
 
 xxi.  22,  the  expression,  "  if  I  will  that  he  tarry  till 
 I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?" 
 
 From  these  quotations,  it  is  clear  that  Jesus' 
 words  point  to  the  belief  in  his  second  coming,  with 
 power  and  great  glory,  after  a  brief  interval  of  sorrow ; 
 in  which,  however,  not  a  hair  of  the  head  of  any  of 
 the  Apostles  should  perish  (Luke  xxi.  18).  That 
 this  should  be  so,  was  evidently  the  belief  of  St.  Paul, 
 when  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians  an  account  of  the 
 end  of  all  things  (1  Cor.  xv.),  for  ho  says  (v.  51), 
 "We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed; " 
 and  when  writing  to  the  Thessalonians  (1  Thes.  iv. 
 15),  "  For  this  we  say  to  you,  by  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
 that  we  which  are  alive,  and  remain  unto  the  coming 
 of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep. 
 For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with 
 a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with 
 the  trump  of  God,  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise 
 first.  Then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be 
 caught  up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds  to  meet 
 the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  shall  we  be  ever  with  the 
 Lord;"  and  this  thought  was  to  be  a  consolation 
 for  all  existing  trouble.  Moreover,  we  find  the  same 
 idea  enunciated  by  John  ;  '*  Little  children,"  he  says, 
 "it  is  the  last  time ;  and  as  yc  have  heard  that  anti- 
 christ shall  come,  even  now  there  are  many  anti- 
 christs;  whereby  we  know  that  it  is  the  last  time" 
 (1  John  ii.  18);  and  again,  "abide  in  him;  that, 
 when  he  shall  appear,  we  may  have  confidence,  and 
 not  be  ashamed  before  him  at  his  coming"  (ver.  28). 
 Compare  also  1  John  iii.  2.'"^ 
 
 los  It  must  be  apparent  to  every  thonRhtful  render  of  the  New  Testament,  that 
 Jeans  never  intended,  or  even  thought  of,  founding  "a  church"  or  sect  which 
 should  have  a  long  endurance.     His  preaching  was  as  distinct  as  language  could 
 
527 
 
 That  all  the  early  Christians  believed  in  the 
 immediate  return  of  Mary's  sou,  no  one  familiar 
 with  history  can  doubt.  We  see  this  clearly  exem- 
 plified in  what  purports  to  be  the  second  epistle  of 
 St.  Peter  (iii.  3,  4)  ;  "  There  shall  come  in  the  last 
 days  scofi"ers,  saying,  Where  is  the  promise  of  his 
 coming?  for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all  things 
 continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the 
 creation;"  but  these  scoflers  are  rebuked,  and  the 
 writer  assures  his  readers  (verses  9-14),  that  the 
 coming  is  certainly  close  at  hand,  and  that  when 
 Jesus  comes  they  ought  to  be  found  "  in  peace,  with- 
 out spot  and  blameless." 
 
 It  is  impossible  that  anything,  purporting  to  be  a 
 prediction,  could  be  clearer  than  the  words  of  the 
 prophet  of  Nazareth,  and  of  his  Apostles.  The 
 diction  was  plain,  it  was  understood  literally ;  and, 
 from  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  its  temple  to 
 the  present  day,  Christians  have  been  foretelling  the 
 second  coming  of  Jesus  Christ.  Even  in  England, 
 where  pretensions  to  sound  sense  are  high,  there 
 have  been  sundry  times  in  which  an  immediate  dis- 
 solution of  the  world  has  been  predicted  to  a  day. 
 Indeed,  in  our  own  time,  an  eminent  Loudon  divine, 
 the  Rev.  Dr.  Cumming,  whose  credulity  is  equal  to 
 his  eloquence,  foretold  that  the   destruction    was   to 
 
 make  it,  ami  enunciated  that  the  destruction  of  the  world  was  imminent ;  that  it 
 would  occur  during  the  life-time  of  some  of  liis  followers ;  that  all  men  should  pre- 
 pare themselves  for  the  impending  catastrophe  ;  that  purity  of  life  and  conduct  ought 
 to  be  diligontlj-  cultivated ;  and  that  personal  love  for  himself  would  be  the  surest 
 means  of  escape,  when  the  Almighty  poured  upon  the  earth  the  vials  of  His  wrath. 
 The  inhabitants  of  the  world  were  then  first  terrified  by  the  idea  of  a  cataclysm, 
 which  might  occur  the  next  day,  the  next  week,  month,  or  year  ;  and-  then  pacified 
 by  the  assurance  that  repentance  for  the  past,  a  holy  life  for  the  future,  and 
 faith  in  the  prophet,  would  suffice  to  make  their  own  salvation  sure.  Such  was  the 
 rise  of  Christianity,  such  are  its  doctrines  still. 
 
528 
 
 occur  in  1865  or  1866,  and,  failing  that,  he  says 
 that  it  will  take  place  this  or  next  year.  When  I 
 was  a  youth,  and  living  with  a  pious  man,  to  whom 
 the  examination  into  the  meaning  of  prophecy  was 
 a  constant  source  of  delight,  the  year  which  he 
 fixed  upon  as  the  commencement  of  the  millennium 
 was  1864. 
 
 We  must  now  notice  a  very  remarkable  man, 
 named  Bar-Cochba,  or  Bar-Cochab,  who  made  a 
 singular  commotion  in  Palestine  during  the  time  of 
 Hadrian,  about  a.  d.  131-5,  and  who  was  regarded 
 by  the  Jews  for  a  long  period  as  the  true  Messiah. 
 It  is  the  more  necessary  that  we  should  notice  him, 
 because  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  some  of  the 
 utterances  attributed  to  the  prophet  of  Nazareth  were 
 in  reality  introduced  into  the  Grospels  by  some  indi- 
 vidual desirous  of  comforting  and  advising  his  fellow 
 Christians,  during  the  transient  reign  of  this  sup- 
 posed Messiah. 
 
 At  the  time  we  speak  of,  Jerusalem  had  been 
 taken,  and  its  temple  destroyed.  On  the  very  place 
 where  the  once  sacred  edifice  stood,  Hadrian  raised 
 a  temple  to  Jupiter  (see  Dion  Cassius  —  reign  of 
 Hadrian).  With  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem  the  same 
 monarch  built  another  city,  ^Elia  Capitolina.  The 
 Jews  were  everywhere  discontented,  a  special  tax 
 had  been  laid  upon  them,  and  circumcision  was  the 
 test  of  their  nationality.  To  avoid  this,  some  endea- 
 voured to  obliterate  the  sign  (compare  1  Mac.  i.  15). 
 After  a  time,  the  renowned  E.  Akiba,  a  man  of  won- 
 derful parts  and  influence,  prepared  for  an  insurrection 
 against  the  Roman  power.  He  went  about  through 
 Judea,  Parthia,  Asia  Minor,  Sicily  and  Egypt,  stir- 
 ring up  both   Jews   and   Gentiles  to  throw   off"   the 
 
529 
 
 Roman  yoke.  Jewish  artificers,  who  made  arms  for 
 the  Romans,  fabricated  them  so  badly,  that  they 
 were  thrown  back  upon  their  makers,  who  thus 
 could  retain  and  store  them.  Caves  were  formed  or 
 adapted,  so  that  the  insurgents  could  use  them  for 
 retreat,  ambush,  and  arsenals.  Messengers  were 
 organised,  and  everything  was  prepared  for  war. 
 At  this  period,  when,  as  Dion  Cassius  {loc.  cit.) 
 says,  "the  Jews  were  up  in  arms  in  all  parts  of 
 the  world "  a  leader  suddenly  arose.  Of  his  birth 
 and  parentage  no  one  knew  anything,  but  so  great 
 a  majesty  was  in  him,  that  when  R.  Akiba  saw  him 
 he  at  once  announced  that  he  was  the  true  Messiah, 
 which  had  been  so  long  foretold.  Originally,  this 
 man's  name  was  Bar-Chozeba,  but  Akiba  gave  him 
 the  name  Bar-Cochba,  or  the  son  of  the  star,  and 
 applied  to  him  the  prophecies  of  Balaam  (Num.  xxiv. 
 17-19),  *'  There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob,"  etc., 
 and  of  Haggai  (ii.  21). 
 
 For  such  a  Messiah  the  Jews  were  prepared. 
 Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  other  prophets  had  foretold  the 
 coming  of  a  heaven-sent  being,  who  should  crush  the 
 enemies  of  Israel,  and  raise  the  kingdom  of  David  . 
 to  its  pristine  splendour.  It  was  said  that  he  would 
 arise  after  a  time  of  dreadful  trouble.  Daniel  had 
 spoken  of  the  daily  sacrifice  being  taken  away, 
 and  the  abomination  of  astonishment,  or  desolation, 
 set  up,  jis  signs  of  the  coming  end.  All  these 
 had  come  to  pass;  Bar-Cochba  was  hailed  as  the 
 Messiah  ;  and  the  Jews,  whose  ancestors  had  despised 
 the  humble  Jesus,  flocked  in  myriads  to  the  standard 
 of  the  Messianic  warrior.  To  them,  the  Samaritans, 
 whose  enmity  to  the  Hebrews  had  hitherto  been 
 irreconcilable,   joined  themselves,    and  thousands  of 
 
 LL 
 
530 
 
 heathens,  who  hated  the  Roman  yoke,  also  associated 
 with  the  children  of  Jacob.  To  inspirit  his  followers, 
 Bar-Cochah  performed  miracles,  and  contrived  a  plan 
 for  seeming  to  vomit  fire  and  smoke  ;  he  also  took 
 measures  for  testing  the  strength  and  endurance 
 of  his  soldiers.  It  is  estimated  that  his  armj-  was 
 not  much  less  than  two,  but  some  say  five  hundred 
 thousand  men.  With  these  he  successfully  fought 
 against  the  Romans  in  Palestine,  and  tradition 
 reports  that  he  carried  his  arms  into  Egjq^t  and 
 Cyprus,  destroying  an  incredible  number,  both  of 
 Greeks  and  Romans.  In  less  than  twelve  months 
 he  had  completely  routed  his  opponents,  and  esta- 
 blished himself  at  Jerusalem.  Though  unable  to 
 rebuild  its  walls  and  the  temple,  from  want  of  proper 
 materials,  he  was  regarded  as  the  true  Messiah ;  and 
 those  Hebrews  who  had  done  away  with  the  '  sign 
 of  the  covenant'  again  underwent  circumcision,  from 
 the  belief  that  it  would  no  longer  entail  taxation 
 upon  them.  Bar-Cochba  now  assumed  sovereign 
 power,  and  coined  money.  He  also  rcstampcd  with 
 a  design  of  his  own  the  money  of  the  Roman 
 emperors.  The  letters  employed  by  him  were  the 
 ancient  Hebrew  or  Phoenician  (see  Madden's  Jeicish 
 Coinage,  200-210).  He  now  possessed  fifty  fortified 
 places,  and  nearly  a  thousand  villages,  and  made 
 a  fortress  called  Bitta  his  head-quarters. 
 
 In  his  dealings  with  his  enemies,  he  pei*petra- 
 ted  no  cruelties,  and  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
 made  converts  by  the  sword's  point.  His  relations 
 with  the  Christian  Jews  that  dwelt  in  Palestine 
 were  peculiar.  They  could  not  recognise  him 
 as  the  Messiah,  and  retain  their  faith  in  Jesus ; 
 they  must,  therefore,  perforce  renounce  allegiance  to 
 
531 
 
 him.  Bar-Cochab,  on  the  other  hand,  regarded  them 
 as  enemies  in  the  midst  of  his  kingdom,  and  as 
 natural  allies  to  the  Romans,  who  had  tolerated 
 their  religion.  With  the  endeavour  to  attach  these 
 to  his  party,  he  ordered  them  to  become  Jews ;  and 
 if  they  refused,  each  was  scourged  with  forty  stripes 
 save  one.  At  this  period,  the  gi'eat  Sanhedrim  was 
 re\dved,  which  contrived  a  new  test  whereby  to  dis- 
 tinguish the  Christians,  for  the  Tetragrammaton, 
 which  no  Jew  was  permitted  to  pronounce  up  to 
 this  time,  was  now  made  the  watchword  of  Judaism, 
 and  this  name  Jehovah  the  followers  of  Jesus  refused 
 to  utter. 
 
 When  Bar-Cochba  had  become  firmly  established 
 in  power,  and  many  Christian  Jews  had  been  pu- 
 nished, it  became  a  momentous  question  with  them 
 whether  they  should  join  the  Messianic  warrior,  and 
 abjure  their  allegiance  to  the  Prince  of  Peace, — thus 
 taking  their  proper  position  in  the  new  Jerusalem, 
 that  was  to  be  built,  alongside  with  the  other  sur- 
 viving children  of  Israel, —  or  whether  they  would 
 remain  faithful  to  him  who  had  died  upon  the  cross. 
 To  influence  them  in  their  decision,  it  is  highly 
 probable  that  certain  additions  were  made  to  then 
 existing  narratives  of  the  life  of  Jesus.  This  prophet 
 had  distinctly  foretold  the  approaching  end  of  the 
 world.  That  item  was  consequently  a  necessary  part 
 of  Christfan  belief.  It  was,  therefore,  comparatively 
 easy  for  those  in  charge  of  teaching,  and  of  preser\-ing 
 manuscripts,  to  add  to  the  doctrine  the  assertion  that 
 the  second  coming  of  their  Lord  should  be  preceded 
 by  fearful  portents,  such  as  wars  and  the  rise  of  false 
 Christs.  Nothing  probably  would  describe  the  condi- 
 tion of  matters,  under  the  rule  of  Bar-Cochab,  better 
 
532 
 
 than  such  verses  as  the  following;  "  Many  shall  come 
 in  uxy  name,  saying,  I  am  Christ,  and  shall  deceive 
 many;  nation  shall  rise  against  nation,  and  kingdom 
 against  kingdom ;  then  shall  they  deliver  you  up 
 to  be  afflicted,  and  shall  kill  you ;  and  ye  shall  be 
 hated  of  all  nations  for  my  name's  sake.  And  then 
 shall  many  be  ofleudcd,  and  shall  betray  one  another, 
 and  shall  hate  one  another;  and  many  false  prophets 
 shall  rise  and  shall  deceive  many ;  and  because  iniquity 
 shall  abound,  the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold;  but  he 
 that  shall  endure  to  the  end  the  same  shall  be  saved." 
 "When  ye  shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 
 spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet,  stand  in  the  holy 
 place  (whoso  readeth,^^*  let  him  understand),  then 
 let  them  which  be  in  Judea  flee  unto  the  moun- 
 tains," etc.  "  Then,  if  any  man  shall  say,  Lo ! 
 here  is  Christ,  or  there,  believe  it  not;  for  there  shall 
 arise  false  Christs,  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show 
 great  signs  and  wonders,  insomuch  that,  if  it  were 
 possible,  they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect "  (Matt.  xxiv. 
 5-24).  These  passages,  we  conceive  to  have  been 
 introduced  by  some  faithful  Christian  in  the  time  of 
 Bar-Cochba ;  who  thus  gave  it  out  to  his  fellows  as 
 his  belief,  that  the  time  of  the  end,  spoken  of  by 
 their  Lord  and  Master,  was  ajiproaching ;  that  his 
 followers  ought  not  to  be  seduced  by  the  soi-clisant 
 Messiah ;  that  they  ought  to  escape  to  the  mountain 
 district,  and  endure  the  misery  under  which  they 
 groaned. 
 
 This   opinion   is   strengthened  by  a  reference  to 
 corresponding   passages   in   Mark  xiv.,   wherein   the 
 
 1"*  I  call  especial  attention  to  the  italicised  word,  for  it  indicates  that  the  verses 
 wo  refer  to  were  circulated  in  manuscript,  not  altered  alond,  as  the  initial  versea 
 of  the  chapter  (Matt,  xxiv.)  tell  us  that  they  were. 
 
533 
 
 verse  9  seems  specially  introduced  for  the  benefit  of 
 the  Christian  sufferers,  as  it  runs  thus ;  "  Take  heed 
 to  yourselves ;  for  they  shall  deliver  you  up  to  councils 
 {crvvsdpKx.  or  sanhedrim),  and  in  the  synagogues  ye 
 shall  be  beaten,  and  ye  shall  be  brought  before  rulers 
 and  kings,  for  my  sake  ; "  again  we  read  (w.  12,  13), 
 "  brother  shall  betray  the  brother  to  death,  and  the 
 father  the  son,  and  children  shall  rise  up  against 
 their  parents,  and  shall  cause  them  to  be  put  to 
 death;  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  men,  for  my 
 name's  sake ;  but  he  that  can  endure  unto  the  end 
 shall  be  saved."  We  must  notice,  moreover,  the  14th 
 verse  of  the  same  chapter,  wherein  the  expression, 
 "let  him  that  readeth  understand"  is  used,  which, 
 as  we  before  remarked,  is  incompatible  with  the  idea 
 that  the  chapters  under  consideration  are  bond  fide 
 reports  of  a  conversation  between  Jesus  and  his 
 immediate  disciples. 
 
 A  comparison  with  Matthew  x.  16-42,  and  Luke 
 xxi.  5-19,  and  20-36,  confirm  us  in  the  belief,  that 
 the  parts  in  question  were  introduced  to  show  the 
 supposed  connexion  ^vith  Christ's  prediction  of  a 
 final  cataclysm,  in  which  the  whole  world  should 
 perish,  and  the  time  of  Bar-Cochab,  in  which  the 
 tribulation  of  the  Jews  was  excessive.  Through 
 much  tribulation  it  was  that  the  disciples  were  to 
 enter  the.  kingdom  of  God  (Luke  xiv.  22)  ;  this  un- 
 questionably was  upon  them,  and  therefore  it  was 
 argued  that  the  end  was  near. 
 
 We  are  more  strengthened  in  the  results  to  which 
 we  have  thus  come  by  the  testimony  of  St.  Jerome, 
 who  remarked  that  Matt.  xxiv.  15  evidently  alluded 
 to  the  image  of  Jupiter  set  up  by  Hadrian,  rather 
 than   to   the   statue  of  Ctesar  which  Pilate  only  pro- 
 
534 
 
 posed  to  erect.  The  former  stood  upon  the  site 
 of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  remained  till  the  time 
 of  Jerome's  wi-iting.  His  words  are,  **  Potest  autem 
 simpliciter  aut  de  Antichristo,  accipi  ant  de  imagine 
 Ccesaris  quam  Pilatus  posuit  in  templo  aut  de 
 Hadriani  equestri  statud  quce  in  ijoso  sancto  sancto- 
 rum loco  usque  in  prcesentem  diem  stetit  "  (Comment 
 on  Matt.  xxiv.  15,  vol.  iii.  p.  720,  ed.  Paris,  1609). 
 
 To  return  to  Bar-Cochba,  we  may  say  that  he 
 taxed  the  energies  of  the  Romans  to  the  utmost ; 
 that  Hadrian  sent  for  his  best  general,  Julius  Severus, 
 from  Britain,  and  then  directed  him  to  assume  the 
 head  of  a  Roman  army  against  Palestine.  This 
 warrior,  fearing  to  meet  the  Jewish  forces  in  the  open 
 field,  besieged  them  in  detail,  taking  fortress  after 
 fortress,  chiefly  by  famine,  until  at  length  Bitta  alone 
 remained ;  this  at  length  succumbed,  and  the  Jewish 
 Messianic  king  was  killed.  The  Roman  forces  suf- 
 fered fearfully,  but  of  the  Hebrews  and  their  allies, 
 there  perished  in  battle  a  number  of  men  estimated 
 by  Dion  Cassius  at  580,000,  whilst  those  who 
 perished  by  famine,  sickness  or  fire  were  innumerable, 
 and  Judea  remained  a  very  desert.  It  thus  became 
 evident  that  Bar-Cochba  was  not  the  true  Messiah, 
 however  cordial  his  followers  were  in  believing  him 
 to  be  so. 
 
 When  it  is  clear  that  predictions  have  failed, 
 as  in  the  case  of  Bar-Cochba,  two  courses  are  open 
 to  the  faithful,  viz.,  to  abandon  the  belief  enter- 
 tained as  to  the  divine  origin  of  the  prophecy,  and 
 consider  it  as  of  human  invention ;  or  to  discard 
 the  apparent  meaning  of  the  words  employed,  and 
 to  give  to  them  some  other  interpretation,  more  con- 
 sonant with  the  facts  of  the  case.     As  few  who  have 
 
535 
 
 grown  up  in  any  faith,  no  matter  what  its  nature 
 may  be,  ever  desire  to  alter  it,  and  fewer  still  do 
 change  the  belief  of  their  childhood,  we  naturally 
 expect  to  find  that  theologians,  in  general,  prefer  to 
 put  a  gloss  upon  the  plainest  language,  rather  than 
 allow  it  to  be  worthless.  The  cheapest  metal,  when 
 gilded,  will  pass  for  gold,  and  an  incorrect  prediction 
 may  be  so  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  words,  as  to 
 assume  the  garb  of  divine  truth. 
 
 When  once  theologians  adopted  the  idea,  that  it 
 is  proper  to  read  biblical  language  figuratively,  a 
 door  was  opened  wide  to  a  host  of  commentators, 
 who  twisted  the  words  of  Scripture  to  a  form  which 
 suited  their  fancies,  and  the  exigencies  of  the 
 period  in  which  they  lived.  Nor  can  one  who  asserts 
 that  the  word  "  immediately,"  £u9;wj  (Matt.  xxiv.  29), 
 signifies  a  period  of  time  uncovered  even  by  1800 
 years,  and  apparently  indefinite,  object  with  force  to 
 any  interpretation,  however  fanciful,  of  other  parts 
 of  Scripture. 
 
 By  this  plan  of  interpretation,  Mahomet  is 
 proved  to  be  "the  false  prophet"  of  the  Revelation, 
 and  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  "  the  whore  of  Baby- 
 lon." England  is  "  the  land  shadowing  with  wings  " 
 (Isa.  xviii),  and  the  first  Napoleon  was  "  the  beast," 
 whose  number  was  666,  a  mystic  triplet,  which  has 
 turned  the  brain  of  many  a  man  already,  and  will 
 probably  continue  to  be  a  fertile  source  of  absurd 
 theories  so  long  as  the  Bible  lasts. 
 
 Without  examining  the  strange  rules  drawn  up  by 
 earnest-minded  but  illogical  theologians,  to  assist  in 
 the  interpretation  of  what  is  supposed  to  be  inspired 
 prophecy,  we  will  turn  to  the  main  point,  viz.,  the 
 means  by  which  inquirers  attempt  to  determine  what, 
 
536 
 
 in  the  sacred  writers,  is  really  to  be  taken  literally, 
 and  what  metaphorically.  Judging  from  the  practice 
 of  divines  of  all  denominations,  I  presume  that  the 
 answer  runs  thus  :  Whatever,  if  taken  in  the  ordinary 
 sense  of  the  words,  favours  our  ideas,  must  be  taken 
 literally  by  all  men ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  which 
 appears  directly  to  contradict  those  views,  must  be 
 considered  as  "figurative  language,"  and  be  taken 
 in  a  non-natural  sense.  Than  this  canon  of  criticism 
 nothing  could  be  more  convenient.  It  enables  the  Jew 
 and  the  Unitarian  alike  to  point  to  the  verse,  "  Hear, 
 0  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord "  (Deut. 
 vi.  4),  as  proof  that  there  is  but  one  God ;  whilst  the 
 same  verse  equally  enables  the  orthodox  Christian  to 
 demonstrate  that  the  Godhead  is  composed  of  three 
 individuals.  The  Arian  points  to  the  command, 
 **  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  besides  me,"  as 
 justifying  his  refusal  to  adopt  two  others  besides  the 
 One  who  spake  on  Mount  Sinai.  The  Trinitarian 
 adopts  the  same  words  as  a  proof  that  the  Great 
 Being  meant  that  three  were  to  be  adored.  Again, 
 when  Jesus  took  bread  and  brake  it,  and  wine  and 
 drank  it,  saying,  "This  is  my  body,"  and  "This 
 is  my  blood"  (Mark  xiv.  22-44),  some,  like  the 
 Roman  Catholics,  see  in  the  words  a  literal  significa- 
 tion, and  claim  to  be  able  to  convert  flour  and  water 
 into  human  flesh  and  blood ;  whilst  others  contend 
 that  a  literal  interpretation  of  these  words  is  so  im- 
 possible, as  to  make  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation 
 absurd.  The  former  point  to  the  punishment,  which, 
 in  St.  Paul's  time  befel  the  Corinthians  (,1  Cor.  xi.  29, 
 30),  who  drank  damnation  to  themselves,  and  died, 
 because,  when  they  partook  of  the  eucharist,  they  did 
 not  perceive  the  Lord's   body,  as  a   proof  of  tenets 
 
537 
 
 held  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  latter,  fully 
 believing  in  the  value  of  the  Apostle's  words,  inter- 
 pret them  as  signifying  that  the  punishment  was 
 sent,  not  because  the  individuals  did  not  discern  the 
 Lord's  body,  but  because  they  recognised  it  too  hter- 
 ally,  and  thus  became  cannibals,  or  eaters  of  human 
 flesh  and  drinkers  of  human  blood,  as  the  Romanists 
 profess  themselves  to  be.  Surely  these  considerations 
 should  lead  us  to  pull  down  the  present  edifice  of 
 prophetical  criticism  altogether,  and  endeavour  to 
 construct  a  system  on  a  sure  basis. 
 
 If  we  now  attempt  to  get  some  precise  ideas  of 
 prophecy,  or  those  things  which  claim  to  be  prophetic 
 utterances,  we  begin  by  eliminating  from  them  all 
 those  opinions  that  are  based  upon  a  simple  obser- 
 vation of  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  nature.  When 
 the  astronomer  tells  us  that  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  will 
 occur,  at  such  a  time  and  place,  a  hundred  years  hence, 
 we  know  his  data,  can  test  his  statement,  and  then 
 credit  the  result.  When  the  mathematician,  observ- 
 ing certain  perturbations  in  the  orbit  of  a  planet,  can 
 only  explain  it  by  the  hypothesis  that  some  unknown 
 "  wanderer  "  exists  in  the  starry  sphere,  other  than 
 those  already  known,  and  directs  the  astronomer  to 
 turn  his  telescope  in  a  particular  direction  and  find  a 
 Neptune,  we  do  not  consider  that  he  utters  a  pro- 
 phecy, noj'  do  we  regard  him  as  tlicojyncustos  when  the 
 new  planet  is  found.  Neither  did  I  ever  consider 
 myself  inspired  because,  on  one  occasion,  I  announced 
 to  some  friends  that  the  system  of  telegi-aphy,  then 
 in  its  infancy,  would  be  extended  beyond  the  sea.  It 
 is  true  that  I  was  jeered  as  a  visionai*y  at  the 
 time,  but  knowing,  as  I  did,  the  energy  of  our  nation, 
 and  being  intimately  acquainted  with  all  the  principles 
 
538 
 
 involved  in  insulation,  etc.,  I  felt  perfect  confidence  in 
 my  own  opinion.  And  now,  when  the  result  has 
 shown  the  truth,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  think  that  the 
 only  one  in  the  company  who  heard  me  with 
 patience  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  (now  Dean)  Howson, 
 whose  liberal  mind  enables  him  to  draw  conclusions 
 long  before  the  majority  even  understand  his  pre- 
 misses. 
 
 In  like  manner,  we  eliminate  from  prophecy  all 
 such  political  forecasts  as  are  common  in  every  age. 
 It  is  not  the  result  of  inspiration  to  declare,  that 
 Scotland  will,  some  time  or  other,  possess  a  religious 
 ministry  endowed  with  a  larger  amount  of  sound 
 sense,  and  showing  less  distressing  bigotry,  than  her 
 present  clergy ;  that  Ireland  will  ultimately  become 
 practical,  and  her  inhabitants  rather  anxious  to 
 help  themselves,  than  always  expecting  some  other 
 people  to  do  their  business  for  them ;  and  that 
 England  will  know  that  she  has  hard  work  before 
 her,  if  she  is  to  succeed  in  keeping  her  present  place 
 amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth.  It  would  be  no 
 heaven-sent  warning  were  I  to  denounce  the  intole- 
 rance and  narrow-mindedness  of  all  religious  sects, 
 and  to  utter  anathemas  against  teachers  whose  aim  is 
 to  enslave  the  minds  of  their  pupils. 
 
 But,  when  we  have  eliminated  all  these  things 
 from  prophecy,  what  is  there  which  remains  ?  We 
 may  well  ask  the  question,  for  if  vaticination  is 
 neither  the  result  of  calculation,  deduction,  nor  guess- 
 ing, what  is  it?  The  only  reply  we  can  give,  by 
 consulting  both  the  past  and  the  present,  is  that 
 "prophecy"  is  a  name  given  to  utterances  that  have 
 no  distinct  sense,  nor  certain  meaning,  and  framed, 
 like    ancient    oracles,     in     an    ambiguous    manner. 
 
539 
 
 How  is  it  possible  that  prophecy  can  be  anything 
 else  but  such  as  is  here  described?  A  thing  which 
 is  non-existent  cannot  be  seen ;  a  negation  cannot  be 
 an  entity ;  that  which  is  not,  cannot  have  parts  ;  nor 
 can  a  person  describe  accurately  something  which 
 neither  he  nor  any  other  person  ever  saw.  If,  there- 
 fore, a  person  tries  to  do  that  which  is  impossible,  he, 
 being  a  fool,  is  likely  to  speak  as  one. 
 
 Yet  they  whose  mental  capacity  does  not  exceed 
 that  of  men  who  formerly  described  things  which  had 
 no  existence,  will,  nevertheless,  recognise  in  the 
 utterances  of  ancient  prophets  a  description  of  some- 
 thing like  the  occurrences  happening  now.  Thus  the 
 Rev.  Dr.  Gumming,  and  a  host  of  others,  contrive  to 
 discover  anything  they  please  in  the  incomprehensible, 
 and  incoherent  vaticinations  in  Ezekiel,  Daniel  and 
 the  Apocalypse. 
 
 To  test  the  question,  whether  anything  may  not 
 be  made  out  of  a  set  of  words  taken  at  random,  I 
 open  the  book  nearest  to  me,  and  select  the  first  sen- 
 tence which  catches  my  eye,  viz.,  "  Here's  evidence 
 enough,  pull  off  his  purple,  that  we  may  see  the 
 number,  therefore  shall  he  be  punished."  Now  it 
 does  not  require  a  very  profound  acquaintance  with 
 the  writings  of  biblical  expositors  to  see  that  this 
 may  be  regarded  as  applicable  to  a  variety  of  persons 
 and  circumstances.  "  The  number,"  of  course,  iden- 
 tifies the  individual  with  "the  beast,"  and  666;  the 
 purple  points  to  the  Pope,  the  cardinals  or  other 
 papal  dignitaries,  and  the  last  words  depict  the 
 approaching  fall  of  the  man  of  sin.  Yet  none  of  these 
 describe  the  meaning  of  the  writer. 
 
 Investigations  into  the  records  of  ancient  faiths 
 force    us   to    believe,    that    the    past    resembles   the 
 
540 
 
 present ;  that  some  men  were  as  readily  duped  four 
 thousand  years  ago  as  others  are  now,  and  were  as 
 often  dehided.  Consequently  we  put  no  more  confi- 
 dence in  the  utterances  of  ancient  prophets,  whether 
 Hebrew,  Greek,  Babylonian,  Christian,  or  Latin,  than 
 in  the  outpourings  of  Dr.  Cumming,  Joe  Smith, 
 or  Brigham  Young.  A  conclusion  like  this  has  not 
 been  drawn  without  having  given  the  subject  a  close 
 consideration.  From  the  earliest  days  of  my  child- 
 hood, I  have  heard  numberless  expositions  of  pro- 
 phecies, and  have  attempted  to  frame  them  myself : 
 endeavouring,  logically,  to  demonstrate  that  the 
 oracles  of  Isaiah,  and  others,  were  far  superior  to 
 those  of  Delphi ;  and  carefully  comparing  all  alleged 
 fulfilments  with  written  prophecies.  As  a  result,  the 
 belief  has  been  forced  upon  me,  that  the  Scriptural 
 prophecies  are  as  valueless  as  the  utterances  of  Do- 
 dona,  or  the  sentences  of  that  Alexander,  whose  history 
 we  have  given.     See  Oracle,  sui^ra,  p.  42G,  ct  scq. 
 
 There  is  yet  another  aspect  of  prophecy  which 
 remains  to  be  considered,  viz.;  the  morality  incul- 
 cated in  the  writings  of  those  who  assumed  to  be  the 
 mouthpieces  of  the  Almighty,  and  to  represent  His 
 ideas  of  justice  and  propriety  upon  earth.  Beginning 
 with  Moses,  we  find  that  the  law  of  retaliation  was 
 that  which  the  Jews  were  to  take  for  their  standard ; 
 i.  e.,  life  for  life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for  tooth,  hand 
 for  hand,  foot  for  foot,  burning  for  burning,  stripe 
 for  stripe  (Ex.  xxi.  23  -  25,  Lev.  xxiv.  20,  Deut. 
 xix.  21).  We  pass  on  to  1  Sam.  xv.  1-3,  where 
 we  find  that  Samuel  declares  that  the  Almighty  has 
 been  harbouring  vengeance  in  His  mind  for  more 
 than  four  hundred  years ;  that  finding  an  oppor- 
 tunity for    glutting    it,  He  is  determined  to   do  so ; 
 
541 
 
 and  consequently  commissioned  Saul,  as  His  lieu- 
 tenant, to  exterminate  a  whole  people  who  had  done 
 him  no  injury  whatever. 
 
 Surely  the  gi-eat  Being,  who  sent  plagues  upon 
 Egypt,  and  killed  in  one  night  all  the  first-horn  of 
 men  and  cattle  in  that  land,  could  as  readily,  had 
 He  chosen,  have  destroyed  the  host  of  Amalekites,  as 
 He  is  represented  to  have  slaughtered  the  hosts  of 
 Canaan  by  casting  great  stones  from  heaven  upon 
 them  (Jos.  x.  11).  That  He  let  the  Amalekites  live 
 so  long  is  a  proof  that  He  did  not  require  them 
 to  be  destroyed,  yet  Samuel  announced  that  the 
 Almighty  wanted  the  arm  of  man  wherewith  to  wreak 
 his  vengeance.  We  next  contemplate  Nathan,  who, 
 in  retaliation  for  David  having  given  his  ecclesias- 
 tical enemies  occasion  to  blaspheme,  caused  the  death 
 of  the  son  of  Bathsheba.  Again,  we  turn  to  the 
 Psalms,  and  especially  to  the  hundred  and  thirty- 
 seventh,  in  which  the  writer  breathes  the  pure  spirit 
 of  vengeance;  e.g.,  "happy  shall  he  be  who  rewardeth 
 thee  as  thou  hast  served  us  ;  happy  shall  he  that 
 taketh  and  dasheth  thy  children  against  the  stones." 
 
 The  same  spirit  breathes  throughout  Isaiah  and 
 the  other  prophets.  Their  writings  teem  with  scold- 
 ings, threatenings,  and  denunciation  of  wrath  against 
 their  enemies.  They  resemble  indeed  helpless 
 women,  whose  homes,  hearths,  families,  and  honour 
 have  been  injured,  but  who  are  powerless  to  revenge 
 themselves.  They  rave  against  the  ruthlessness  of  the 
 oppressors,  designating  them  by  every  foul  epithet 
 which  they  think  of;  yelling  out  that  a  time  shall 
 come  in  which  those  who  are  now  stricken  shall 
 be  in  the  ascendant,  and  gloating  over  an  imaginary 
 revenge,    in  which  those  who  now  grieve  shall  glut 
 
542 
 
 their  savage  passions  to  the  full.  The  captive  Jews 
 are  alternately  bemoaned  as  blessed  martyrs,  and 
 objurgated  for  then-  want  of  piety.  Other  Jews  are 
 exliorted  to  be  stronger,  more  religious,  and  less  lazy. 
 But  this  docs  not  last  long,  the  spirit  of  vaticination 
 again  comes  upon  the  seers,  and  they  take  refuge 
 in  a  brilliant  castle  in  the  air,  or  a  mansion  in  the 
 sky,  into  which  those  only  shall  enter  who  have 
 been  punished  on  earth  by  people  stronger  than 
 themselves. 
 
 Let  me,  with  gi-avity  and  earnestness,  ask  if 
 this  description  does  not  exactly  depict  the  so-called 
 prophecies  of  the  greater  and  minor  Prophets  ?  And 
 if  it  does,  can  any  one  reasonably  receive  the  ravings 
 of  disappointed  hope,  and  anticipated  vengeance,  as 
 the  utterances  of  that  Great  Being,  "whose  tender 
 mercies  are  over  all  His  works,"  and  who  maketh 
 His  sun  to  shine  gloriously  upon  the  good  and  the 
 bad  alike  ?  Can  any  one  adopt  as  a  portion  of  his 
 faith,  the  belief  that  the  All-wise  and  the  Good  God 
 preached  for  two  thousand  years  to  His  chosen  people 
 the  doctrine  of  vengeance,  — one  which  was  never 
 superseded  until  Jesus  came,  and  proclaimed  that 
 men  should  love  their  enemies,  etc., — without  feeling 
 that  he  has  the  sanction  of  "  the  Father,"  for  indulg- 
 ing in  hate,  revenge,  and  cruelty,  even  although  "the 
 Son"  docs  not  agree  therewith?  Nay,  it  is  unne- 
 cessary for  us  to  ask  the  question  h^iiothetically. 
 "We  have  read  accounts  of  Covenanters  in  Scot- 
 land, Maories  in  New  Zealand,  Spaniards  in  the 
 Low  Countries,  French  in  the  Ccvennes,  Irish  in 
 their  rebellions,  and  English  in  London,  indulging 
 themselves    in    a   vengeance   against   their   enemies. 
 
543  \^ 
 
 which  resembles  that  attributed  to  the  Devil  in  Hell. 
 Yet  they  have  justified  brutality  by  appealing  to  the 
 Law  and  to  the  Prophets,  declaring  that  man  is  at 
 liberty  to  prefer  the  teaching  of  "  the  Father,"  and 
 His  messengers,  to  that  of  "  the  Son  ;  "  by  asserting 
 that  no  divided  counsels  exist  in  heaven,  and  that 
 it  is,  upon  the  whole,  more  judicious  to  take  the 
 side  approved  of  by  the  Great  Judge,  than  that  of 
 any  of  His  relatives,  however  dear.  To  such  an 
 alternative  all  must  come,  who  believe  that  the  pro- 
 phets of  Israel  were  inspired  men,  speaking  and 
 writing  those  words  only  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
 dictated  to  them.  As  neither  the  Father  nor  the 
 Holy  Ghost  has  announced  to  man  a  change  of 
 purpose,  he  may  select  any  part  of  that  which  is 
 called  "  God's  word  "  upon  which  to  base  his  actions. 
 It  is  perhaps  fortunate  for  ecclesiastics  that  such  is 
 the  fact,  since,  were  it  not  so,  they  could  not  gratify 
 their  human  instincts,  indulge  themselves  by  abuse 
 of  enemies  in  Scriptural  terms,  and  invoke  vengeance 
 from  heaven  upon  everybody  who  ventures  to  differ 
 from  them.  Let  us,  however,  hope  that  our  modern 
 laity  will  gradually  advance  in  Christian  charity 
 beyond  their  avowed  leaders,  compel  their  standard- 
 bearers  to  displace  the  colours  that  all  are  ashamed 
 of,  and  force  them  to  assume  others  under  which 
 thoughtful  gentlemen  may  honourably  array  them- 
 selves. Improvements  in  every  trade,  business,  or 
 profession  almost  invariably  originate  from  without ; 
 and  we  feel  convinced  that  our  British  faith  and  prac- 
 tice will  never  be  materially  reformed,  until  the 
 clergy  are  forced  by  their  hearers  to  propagate 
 rational  views  of  the  duiv  of  each  individual  to  the 
 
544 
 
 Almighty  and  to  man.  To  the  accomplishment 
 of  such  a  result,  the  author  hopes  that  this  book 
 will  contribute. 
 
 PuHiTES,  *^-l3  (1  Chron.  ii.  53).  This  word,  j^i^thi,  describes 
 a  certain  family  (1  Chron.  ii.  53).  Now  n-IQ,  jmth, 
 signifies  the  female  pudenda  ;  nb,  poth,  has  the  same 
 meaning,  and  ^^^,  potliah,  does  not  materially  differ. 
 We  might,  therefore,  imagine  that  the  family  in 
 question  were  analogous  to  the  "  Yonigas"  of  India. 
 But  it  would  perhaps  be  more  consonant  with  pro- 
 bability to  derive  the  word  from  '""^^i^  pthah,  and 
 ^\,  jail,  eliding  the  n,  i.  e.,  p)ethai,  which,  in  sound, 
 resembles  puthi.  The  word  naturally  reminds  us  of 
 the  Greek  ^Hlu,  PJdhia. 
 
 PuL,  ^-13  (Isa.  Ixvi.  19),  "  The  strong  or  vigorous  one." 
 There  is  some  difficulty  in  deciphering  the  name  in 
 Assp'ian  which  is  supposed  to  represent  him.  Mr. 
 Talbot  says  {Journal  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xix., 
 p.  181),  "  The  name  consists  of  three  elements.  The 
 first  is  the  name  of  the  god  Hu,  or  Yu,  the  god  of 
 the  sky ;  the  second  is  Zab,  a  warrior ;  the  third  is 
 uncertain,  but  perhaps  means  dan,  or  idan,  'he  gave.' 
 Thus  the  name  would  be  You  Zabdau,  or  '  Yu  has 
 given  a  warrior.' "  The  interest  of  this  reading 
 chiefly  consists  in  the  introduction  of  the  name  of 
 Hu  or  Yu,  which  appears  to  be  the  same  as  Ju  in 
 Jupiter,  lao,  Y'ho,  Jah,  Yahu,  Jehu,  etc.  See 
 Jah,  Vol.  I.,  p.  G08. 
 
 PuNiTES,  ^^is  (Num.  xxvi.  23).  }-lB,  piiri,  signifies  "  he  splits, 
 divides,  or  separates,"  also  "he  is  intelligent,"  etc. 
 It  might  be  inferred,  therefore,  that  the  Puui 
 may  have  been  *'  Liugacitas  ;  "  but  when  we  recol- 
 lect that  one  of  the  names  of  the  Carthaginians 
 was  Posni,  and  that  Punicus  was  also  descriptive  of 
 
R. 
 
 545 
 
 them,  we   may  conceive  that  the  name  in  question 
 had  some  cognate  meaning  to  those  words. 
 
 1,  resh,  in  modern  Hebrew,  is  similar  in  shape  to 
 the  letter  1,  daleth.  Indeed  the  resemblance  is  so 
 close,  that  Hebrew  scribes,  when  copying  old  manu- 
 scripts, have  often  mistaken  one  for  the  other. 
 Even  in  small  modern  type  it  requires  the  aid 
 of  a  good  magnifying  glass  to  see  the  distinction. 
 It  is  singular  that  the  very  same  similarity  between 
 these  two  letters  should  exist  in  the  Phoenician 
 letters.  According  to  the  inscriptions  exhumed  by 
 Davis  at  Carthage,  the  1,  daleth,  or  d,  is  repre- 
 sented in  the  same  way  as  our  figure  4>  whilst 
 the  *1,  resh,  r,  is  represented  in  the  same  manner, 
 only  with  a  longer  down  stroke.  The  Greeks,  who 
 borrowed  their  alphabet  from  the  Phoenicians,  used 
 their  Q,  so  long  as  they  wrote  from  right  to  left, 
 but  when  they  adopted  the  opposite  plan,  they 
 reversed  the  figure,  thus  making  their  P,  r,  the 
 same  as  our  p. 
 
 This  letter  is  interchangeable  with  S,  J,  y,  T, 
 and,  by  accident,  with  1.  "  It  also  appears  as  a 
 very  old  noun  appendage,  or,  as  we  might  call  it 
 a  derivative.  Thus,  for  example,  "'^'^fj  semadar, 
 comes  from  "J^O,  samad ;  and  "'SpV,  achhar,  from 
 3?y  "  (Fiirst,  s.  v.). 
 
 In  the  ancient    Hebrew,  this   letter  appeared   as 
 
 H  ?      7  ;  in  the  Phoenician,  as    ^   '  |  '     ^  > 
 
 ^  ;     in    the    Carthaginian,    as      ^j 
 
 CL  ;     in 
 
 M   M 
 
546 
 
 ancient  Greek,  as  ^  ?  Zj-  j  |^  ?  p.  ?  "P  ?  K  ;   in 
 
 Etruscan,      ^  ?     <J    '  Q  '    CIj  5     ^"    Umbrian, 
 
 ^\  )   O;     in  Oscan  and    Samnite,     ^  ,   ^  , 
 
 ^  ;     in    Volscian    R, ;    in    Faliscan,     5)  '  "R  ' 
 
 in    Italia    Superior,    (^  ;     in    Roman,       pv;     in 
 
 modern  Greek  P,  p. 
 Ra  is  an  Assj-rian  word,  which  was  at  one  time  considered  by 
 RaM'linson  as  equivalent  to  II  or  Ilu,  an  identifica- 
 tion which  he  tells  us  (Journal  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
 N.  S.,  vol.  i.,  p.  216)  originated  in  a  mistake,  his 
 opinion  now  inclining  to  the  belief  that  it  simply 
 signifies  a  "god,"  and  not  any  particular  one.  An 
 observation  like  this  helps  us  forward  in  the  inquiry 
 whether  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  individual  deities 
 were  not  simply  attributes  of  the  male  and  female 
 creator.  We  speak  of  "God"  and  the  "Omniscient" 
 in  many  a  theologic  essay,  so  as  to  make  those  not 
 thoroughly  intimate  with  our  language  believe  that 
 the  two  are  separate  essences.  Now,  taking  II  or  Ilu, 
 El  or  Allah,  to  signify  the  same  as  our  "  God,"  let 
 us  examine  whether  ra  may  not  be  a  sort  of  attribute. 
 We  find  it  coincident  with  '  he  sees,'  in  Syriac  and 
 Chaldee  ;  whilst,  in  the  Hebrew,  '"i^^,  raah,  signifies 
 "  he  beholds,"  equivalent  to  the  Greek  opaco,  orao.  It 
 also  indicates  a  certain  bird  of  prey,  very  probably  an 
 eagle,  or  vulture,  whose  keen  sight  has  been  a  source 
 of  admiration  amongst  the  observers  of  nature, 
 wherever  those  birds  are  known.  Hence  we  find  both 
 '  God '  and  the  king  very  frequently  attended  by, 
 or   represented    with,    the    head  and  wings    of    the 
 
547 
 
 eagle.  i"'^"',  roeh,  also  signifies  "a  seer,  or  pro- 
 jibet,"  also  "  the  all-seeing  one."  ^'S^,  roi,  indicates 
 "the  being  seen."  This  is  the  word  which  stands 
 for  'God'  in  Gen.  xvi.  13.  We  find,  moreover,  that 
 this  word,  i^^^,  raah,  is  associated  with  Jehovah,  in 
 Gen.  xxii.  14,  where  Abraham,  himself  a  Chaldee, 
 calls  a  place  "^^T.  ^)p'],  Jehovah  Jireh,  and  which  is 
 translated  in  the  margin  of  our  Bible,  "  the  Lord 
 will  see." 
 
 A  similar  word  may  be  recognised  in  the  Egj-p- 
 tian,  where  we  find  it  associated  with  the  god 
 Amon,  "his  name  being  read  on  enchorial  inscriptions 
 as  Amun  ra,  ra  meaning  sun"  (Kosegarten,  De  Prisca 
 Mgypt'iorum  Literatura,  p.  31)."' 
 
 There  is  an  analogous  word  in  the  Sanscrit,  viz. 
 raj,  "to  shine,  to  govern,"  "illuminated,  splendid, 
 and  manifested,  "  from  whence  is  derived  the  name 
 i?(TJah,  or  ruler. 
 
 We  have  a  descendant  of  the  word  Ra  in  rex,  a 
 king,  and  ?T-gina,  =  re-yuvjj,  a  queen;  also  regaUs, 
 etc. ;  and,  in  the  Italian,  re,  reale,  etc.,  in  the  French 
 roi,  and  in  our  own  tongue  refial.  The  word  is  pro- 
 bably allied  to,  if  not  the  feminine  of,  the  Assyrian 
 Rl.  (See  Ri,  infra.)  It  enters  into  nomenclature 
 largely,  but  there  we  need  not  pursue  it. 
 
 From  these  premises,  we  may  conclude  that  the 
 word  ra,  as  signifying  "  God,"  is  akin  to  some  others, 
 such  as  "  He  is,"  "  I  am,"  "  He  lives,"  "  He  is,  he 
 has  been,  he  will  be,"  "  the  Omniscient,"  "  the  All- 
 seeing,"  etc.,  whilst  Ri  is  probably  a  variant  of  the 
 same,  signifying  "she  sees,"  etc.  An  imitation  of 
 the  eye,  in  one  form  or  another,  was  a  favourite  form 
 
 l"«  J.  Nicholson,  in  Kitto's  Cyc'tojxrdia,  s.  r.  Amoh. 
 
548 
 
 of  amulet,  as  being  descriptive  of  "the  androgyne 
 All-seeing  One." 
 
 Raamah,  '^!f'V']  (Gen.  x.  7).  This  is  the  name  assigned  to 
 one  of  the  uncles  of  Nimrod  the  Assyrian.  See  Gen. 
 X.  7,  8  ;  we  may,  therefore,  expect  to  find  that  it 
 has  an  Assyrian  origin.  As,  in  that  language, 
 lanmah,  or  umimi,  signifies  "  mother,"  and  ra  is 
 either  "  god,"  "  goddess,"  or  "  sun";  the  above  cogno- 
 men may  signify  "  Ri,  or  Ra,  is  the  mother,"  or  "Ra 
 and  the  mother,"  or  simply  "the  mother  sees."  It 
 is  possible  that  it  is  an  elided  form  of  '""^'f--'  -R^«- 
 miah ;  and,  if  so,  we  conclude  that  the  writer  in 
 Genesis  and  in  Nehcmiah  flourished  about  the  same 
 period. 
 
 RabshaivEH,  ^^^^Ti  (2  Kings  xviii.  17).  This  is  usually 
 translated  "the  chief  cup-bearer,"  and  the  interpre- 
 tation is  probably  correct,  for  we  find,  from  Nehe- 
 miah's  account  of  himself,  that  the  officer  who  bore 
 this  office  was  one  of  great  consequence,  and  veiy 
 generally  must  have  possessed  the  king's  full  confi- 
 dence. There  is  strong  reason  to  believe,  from  the 
 account  given  by  Nehemiah,  that  this  officer  was 
 always  an  eunuch ;  for  we  find  him,  in  Assyrian 
 sculptures,  speaking  to  the  king  while  the  queen 
 is  sitting  beside  him  ;  and  it  was  very  unusual  for 
 any  male  to  witness  such  a  tfte  a  ti'te  of  the  royal 
 couple,  except  a  cast  rat  o.  Some  of  the  Babylonian 
 and  Persian  sculptures,  which  represent  the  cup- 
 bearer as  a  beardless  man,  lead  us  to  the  same 
 conclusion. 
 
 Rachel,  ?0^  (Gen.  xxix.  6),  "An  ewe,  a  nursing  mother." 
 
 Ramoth,  r\]m  (Jos.  xxi.  38  (36).  "  The  high  or  powerful 
 ones,"  in  the  feminine  plural.  In  a  previous  page, 
 it   has  been  stated   that   some   ancient   theologians, 
 
549 
 
 considering  that  the  Almighty  was  androgyne,  were 
 in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  him  in  the  plural,  using 
 the  masculine  or  feminine  plural  according  to  the 
 nature  of  the  doctrine  most  favoured.  Since  writing 
 the  article  referred  to,  I  have  found  the  following  line 
 in  one  of  the  Orphic  fragments,  published  by  Cory, 
 p.  289 ;  Zsuj  apcDjv  ysviTo.  Zsyj  u^'^noi  (or  a^^poTos) 
 'iirKsTo  vv[/,<prj.  "  Zeus  is  male,  indestructible,  or 
 immortal;  Zeus  is  female." 
 Kapha,  ^^'j  (1  Chron.  viii.  2),  signifies  "to  heal,"  "to 
 darken,"  "  to  excite  fear,"  "to  be  faint  or  weak,"  "a 
 giant,"  "terrible,"  etc.  The  word  is  apparently 
 met  with  even  before  the  time  of  Abraham  in  "  the 
 Rephaims  ;  "  it  is  also  found  in  the  name  Amraphel, 
 one  of  the  five  kings  conquered  by  the  patriarch 
 (Gen.  xiv.  1).  We  see  the  name  again  as  Bethrapha, 
 a  great-grandson  of  Shuah's  brother  (1  Chron.  iv. 
 12).  We  next  meet  with  it  as  a  Philistine  name, 
 Raplia  being  the  father  of  the  various  gigantic  men 
 slain  by  David  and  his  servants  (2  Sam.  xxi.  16,  18), 
 marginal  reading.  The  same  name  was  borne  by  a 
 descendant  of  Saul  (1  Chron.  viii.  37).  We  also  find 
 Rephael,  as  one  of  the  porters  of  Israel  in  David's 
 time  (1  Chron  xxvi.  7)  ;  and  again  we  meet  with  the 
 name  in  Tohlt  as  'Vw^uyiK.  As  Baphu,  we  find  it 
 borne  by  the  father  of  one  of  the  twelve  spies  (Num. 
 xiii.  9). 
 
 The  persistence  in  time,  and  the  extensive  district 
 over  which  this  word  has  been  spread,  indicate  the 
 fact  that  the  language  of  the  Philistines,  the  inhabit- 
 ants of  Shinar,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Palestine, 
 the  Jews  in  Egj-pt  and  in  Juda?a,  and  the  more 
 modern  Babylonians,  had  certain  words  in  common  ; 
 or  that  the  storv  in  which   we   find  this  name   intro- 
 
550 
 
 duced  so  often  is  of  late  origin,  and  written  by  one 
 individual  or  more,  to  whom  Rapha  was  a  common 
 Avord,  so  common  indeed,  as  to  be  used  without 
 thought.  As  EajSaele  the  word  survives  till  now, 
 and  possibly  in  Raffles,  Ralph. 
 
 Raphael,  or  Rephael,  'xsn  [\  Chron.  xxvi.  7,  Tobit  v.  4). 
 "  El  is  a  giant,"  or  "  El  is  a  healer." 
 
 Reba,  y?.^  (Num.  xxxi.  8).  This  name  was  borne  by  one  of 
 the  five  kings  of  Midian,  who  were  slain  by  the  Jews 
 ere  they  entered  Canaan  (Num.  xxxi.  8).  There  is 
 something  curious  about  the  word,  in  connection 
 with  the  story  of  Baal  Peor,  and  the  w^horedoms  to 
 which  the  Israelites  were  seduced  by  the  Midianites, 
 whilst  acting  under  the  instruction  of  the  prophet 
 Balaam  (Num.  xxxi.  16).  It  therefore  will  probably  be 
 useful  to  examine  into  the  names  of  the  other  allied 
 kings.  We  shall  then  be  in  a  better  position  to 
 describe  the  signification  of  Reba.  The  monarchs 
 in  question  were  Evi,  Rekem,  Hur,  and  Zur.  Now 
 Evi  signifies  "lustful  desire."  Rekem  signifies  "a 
 variegated  garden  ; "  and,  I  presume,  by  implica- 
 tion, "  a  painted  harlot."  Hur  appears  as  a 
 variant  of  Hor,  "the  hole  or  cavern;"  and  Zur  is 
 "a  rock  or  stone,"  an  euphemism  for  the  Phallus. 
 After  this,  we  are  prepared  to  find  that  Reba  signifies 
 "  sexual  congress,"  and  especially  "promiscuous  copu- 
 lation." The  word  is  intimately  connected  with  '^*?"^'5, 
 arha,  "four,"  a  name  which  we  have  previously 
 described  as  indicative  of  the  union  of  the  triune 
 Adam,  with  the  single  Eve,  or  Asher  with  Asha. 
 
 Now  we  cannot  for  a  moment  suppose  that  names, 
 similar  to  those  above  described,  could  have  been 
 given  by  priests  to  kings  so  very  appropriately,  as 
 to  make  the  sentence,  "the  hole  of  a  painted  harlot 
 
551 
 
 causes  desire  in  the  rock,  and  the  two  unite."  If 
 we  concede  the  improbabihty  of  such  names  being 
 naturally  held  by  the  five  kings  of  Midian, —  and  the 
 very  fact  of  the  Midianites  having  five  kings  is  quite 
 as  singular  as  the  names  they  bore, —  we  naturally 
 conclude  that  they  have  been  given  by  the  historian, 
 either  because  he  knew  no  better,  and  so  selected 
 opprobrious  epithets,  or  because  he  was  desirous  to 
 teach  a  moral  lesson  to  those  Avho  should  come 
 after  him,  by  showing  how  much  the  promiscuous 
 prostitution  which  attended  Baal  worship  was  repro- 
 bated by  the  Almighty.  If  we  believe  that  such  was 
 the  case,  then  every  part  of  his  story  is  evidently 
 artistically  framed,  since  the  names  are  appropriate 
 to  the  subject-matter. 
 
 Rebekah,  i^P??  (Gen.  xxii.  23).  This  word  is  translated 
 "  a  noosed  cord"  by  Gesenius;  who  adds,  it  is  not 
 "  unfit  for  the  name  of  a  girl  who  ensnares  men 
 by  her  beauty;"  and  he  takes  the  idea  from  an 
 Arabic  source.  Fiirst  translates  it  "  fettering  "  by 
 beauty.  Now  both  of  these  are  so  unsatisfactory, 
 that  we  necessarily  seek  another  interpretation.  "A 
 cord  with  a  noose"  would  certainly  remind  us  more 
 of  hanging  a  dog,  or  ourselves,  than  of  a  fascinating 
 woman;  we  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  name  comes 
 from  2^,  rah,  great,  and  v>^'^,  bahak,  white,  and 
 equivalent  to  "  the  great  white  one,"  i.  e.,  the  moon, 
 the  celestial  virgin,  the  embodiment  of  loveliness. 
 
 Reelaiah,  "^^^V."?  (Ezra  ii.  2).  The  natural  interpretation  of 
 this  would  be  "  Jah  trembles  ;"  but  this  is  so  impro- 
 bable that  we  must  reject  it ;  the  word  occurs  (Ezra 
 ii.  2)  in  conjunction  with  other  names,  which  tell 
 of  Babylonish  origin,  e.  g.,  Jeshua,  Seraiah,'  Mordecai, 
 Bilshan,  Bigvai,   etc.,  and  without  difficulty  we  cau 
 
552 
 
 resolve  it  into  ra,  al,  el  or  U,  and  jah,  which  may 
 signify  "the  God  II  is  Jah,"  thus  expressing  the 
 opinion  of  the  priest  who  gave  the  name,  that  Jehovah 
 was  the  same  as  the  all-seeing  Al,  II  or  El.  It  is 
 to  he  noticed  that  ra  signifies  *  god '  in  Assyrian  and 
 Babylonian,  as  well  as  in  the  Eg}-ptian  tongue. 
 
 Regem,  C)n  (1  Chron.  ii.  47),  a  noun,  from  the  root  ^l"}, 
 ragam,  which  signifies  "he  loves,"  is  "friendly  or 
 united  with,"  or  "to  inscribe,"  "to  be  inscribed 
 with  the  name  of,"  and  thus  equivalent  to  Obed,  or 
 Abd  or  Abda. 
 
 Rehabiah,  '"'tt"]7  (1  Chron.  xxiii.  17).  This  name  is  borne 
 by  one  of  the  grandsons  of  Moses  (1  Chron.  xxiii.  17), 
 and  is  one  of  the  very  few  in  which  the  word  Jah  or 
 Y'ho  appears  prior  to  the  time  of  David's  accession 
 to  the  crown.  Literally,  it  signifies  '  Jah  is  broad,  or 
 wide,  or  large;'  but  we  may  also  derive  it  from  ra, 
 ah,  and  jah,  which  would  signify  "  Jah  the  father 
 is  God,  or  is  omniscient. "  If  we  admit  the  pro- 
 bability of  this  signification,  it  assists  us  in  drawing 
 the  conclusion  that  other  Jewish  names,  besides  those 
 of  the  leaders  of  the  Israelites  during  the  Exodus, 
 are  of  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  origin.  The  mystery 
 of  its  appearance,  here,  is  explained  in  our  article  ou 
 Obadiah. 
 
 Rehoboam,  ^if?D?  (1  Kings  xi.  43).  This  word  is  translated 
 by  Gesenius  "  who  enlarges  the  people,"  and  by 
 Fiirst  "  the  family  founder  is  a  deliverer,"  neither 
 of  which  interpretations  we  can  accept.  Now  the 
 king  who  bore  this  name  was  a  son  of  Naamah,  an 
 Ammonitess  (1  Kings  xiv.  31).  His  father  had  so 
 many  wives  that  he  was  unable  to  pay  much  attention 
 to  their  religious  belief,  so  that  each  of  them  might 
 follow  out  her  own  doctrinal  ideas ;  nav,  we  are  even 
 
653 
 
 told  that  certain  of  the  spouses  had  so  much  influence 
 over  Solomon,  that  they  converted  him  so  far  to  their 
 faith  as  to  induce  the  king  to  worship  Ashtoreth  and 
 Milcom,  and  Clieniosh  and  Molech.  Hence,  we  infer 
 that  the  name  Rehoboam  may  have  an  Ammonite 
 signification.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  word 
 Ammon  signifies  either  "the  mother  is  strong," 
 or  that  "  the  mother  is  the  father."  Taking  Am 
 to  represent  the  celestial  mother,  Rehoboam  would 
 signify  "  the  mother  is  ample,  large,  or  fruitful,"  an 
 interpretation  far  more  probable  than  those  to  which 
 we  have  objected. 
 Rekem,  Op!!'  (Josh,  xviii.  27),  "  a  variegated  garden."  The 
 consonants  making  up  this  word,  with  their  various 
 pointings,  convey  the  idea  of  "  various  colours, " 
 "  embroidery  with  many  tints, "  etc.  Before  we 
 deduce  the  meaning  of  this  metaphor,  we  will  cast 
 our  eyes  over  some  other  words  of  similar  signifi- 
 cation. M,  gan,  is  "  a  garden,"  and  we  have  already 
 seen  that  the  metaphor  is  used  to  represent  a 
 woman  (see  Vol.  i.,  p.  52).  |-"I5,  gun,  signifies  "  to 
 colour,"  or  "to  dye;"  and  ^'''^  r/"»'j  signifies 
 "  painted  with  colours  "  (Gesenius) ;  which  so  closely 
 resembles  the  Greek  yuv:^,  gune,  "  a  woman,"  that 
 we  can  scarcely  doubt  the  connection.  There  is  no 
 doubt  that  painting  was  adopted  to  make  the  coun- 
 tenance more  attractive,  and  that  a  variegation  of 
 colours  In  dress  was  intended  to  have  a  corre- 
 sponding efi'ect.  For  example,  we  find  Jezebel 
 painting  her  face,  and  tiring  her  head,  ere  she 
 looked  out  on  Jehu  (2  Kings  ix.  30).  Again,  we 
 see  Ezekiel  (xxiii.  40)  describing  how  the  whores 
 (Aholah  and  Aholibah)  wash  themselves,  paint  their 
 eyes,  and  deck  themselves  with  ornaments,  for  their 
 
554 
 
 visitors.     And  again,    in  verses  14  - 17  of  the  same 
 chapter,   the  prophet  tells  us  how  the  same  harlots 
 are   captivated    by  the    "images  of   the  Chaldeans, 
 pourtrayed  with  vermilHon,  exceeding  in  dyed  attire 
 upon    their    heads,"    etc.      From    Prov.  vii.   10  we 
 learn  that  harlots  had  a  peculiar  attire  ;    whilst   in 
 Rev.  xvii.   1-4  there  is  a  description  of    the  great 
 whore  Mystery,   or    Babylon   the    Great,    Mother  of 
 Harlots,   etc.,  who  rides   upon  a  scarlet   beast,   and 
 is  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet  colour,  and  decked 
 with  precious  stones  and  pearls,  and  having  in  her 
 hand  a  golden  cup.     In  2  Sam.  xiii.  18  Ave  find  that 
 royal  virgins  wore  robes  of    divers  colours;    and  in 
 Gen.  xxxvii.  3  it  is  stated  that  a  coat  of  many  colours 
 was    made    by   Jacob   for   Joseph,    as    his    especial 
 favourite.     It  requires  little  research  in  modern  times 
 to  know  the  attire  of  our  courtesans,  or  to  recognise 
 their  painted  faces.     The  intention  of  the  class  is  to 
 make  themselves  as  attractive  as  possible  to  every  excit- 
 able man ;   and  as  it  happens  to  be  a  weakness  of  our 
 nature  that  many  of  us  are  more  captivated  by  bright 
 colours  than  by  sombre  tints,  it  follows  that  "  a  varie- 
 gated garden,"  and  "  a  gay  woman,"  are  synonymous. 
 Bekem   thus   appears   to   be   a   strange   name   for  a 
 king,   rendering   the   surmise    probable   that   it   has 
 been  selected  by  the  historian  for  a    particular  pur- 
 pose.    See  Reba,  supra. 
 Religion.     It  is  impossible  for  one,  who  has  been  working 
 for  a  long  period  on  a  subject  like  ancient  and  modern 
 forms  of  faith,  not  to  propose  to  himself  the  question, 
 *' What  is  really  meant  by  the  word  'religion'?"  and 
 what  ideas  are  implied  in  the  words,  '  good,'   '  pious,' 
 'God-fearing, "holy,'  'righteous,'  'religious,'  and  the 
 Hke.    It  is  clear  to  the  philosopher  that  a  modern  Chris- 
 
555 
 
 tian  would  not  allow  Mneas  the  Trojan  to  have  been  a 
 'pious'  man,  although  Virgil  constantly  designates 
 him  as  such ;  and  it  is  equally  certain  that  a  '  good 
 Churchman '  in  London  and  a  '  good  Churchman '  in 
 Madrid  are  not  the  same  things.  That  we  may 
 have  a  definite  idea  of  our  subject,  we  will  pursue 
 the  word  in  a  few  languages,  and  inquire  into  the 
 meaning  assigned  to  "  religion." 
 
 We  find  that  there  is  no  word  exactly  corre- 
 sponding to  it  in  the  Hebrew.  The  nearest  approach 
 thereto  is  in  Dan.  vi.  6,  where  the  words  "^D^^  ^'^^, 
 beclath  elahaih,  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  pn,  ckok, 
 are  translated  "in  the  law  of  his  God,"  but  might 
 equally  be  rendered  "  in  his  rehgion."  The  same 
 word  may  be  similarly  rendered  in  Ezra  vii.  12, 
 14,  21,  25,  26.  In  other  parts  the  usual  translation 
 of    n^,    dath,    is    "law,"    or    "decree." 
 
 In  Greek,  the  Avord  Sprio-xe/a,  threeskia,  which 
 appears  in  Acts  xxvi.  5,  James  i.  26,  27,  is  used  for 
 "religion,"  but  in  Col.  ii.  18  it  is  translated  "wor- 
 shipping;" ^pYjo-Koc,  threeskos,  "religious,"  appears 
 in  James  i.  26.  In  the  Greek,  this  word  signifies 
 "to  introduce  and  hold  religious  observances,"  "to 
 worship  or  adore  the  gods,"  also  "  rehgious  fanatic 
 superstitions,"    "to  mutter  prayers." 
 
 Relhjio,  in  the  Latin,  signified  the  sum  of  cere- 
 monies and  institutions  estabhshed  in  honour  of  the 
 gods,  UQt  including  the  idea  of  a  code  of  doctrines, 
 precepts,  or  superstition,  giving  the  idea  of  "  a  religious 
 person  "  as  a  being  thoroughly  bound  by  a  sacred  in 
 the  place  of  a  natural  tie. 
 
 Religieux  has  a  meaning  akin  to  the  Latin,  as  it 
 signifies  one  who  is  a  worshipper  of  the  "  estabhshed" 
 God,  and  also  who  has  tied  himself,  or  herself,  to  the 
 
556 
 
 same    God   by   vows.      Religioso,    in   Italian,   has    a 
 similar  signification. 
 
 Amongst  ourselves,  "  religion "  is  defined  to  be 
 "  the  recognition  of  God  as  an  object  of  worship,  any 
 system  of  faith."  The  idea  embodied  in  these  difi'erent 
 words  is,  that  "  religion "  is  an  attempt  to  unbind 
 oneself  from  natural  ties,  and  unite  oneself  by  new 
 bonds  to  a  spiritual  being.  In  all  these  instances, 
 the  belief  is  recognised  that  there  is  a  God  to 
 whom  homage  is  to  be  paid,  and  that  there  are 
 observances  which  He  accepts  as  worship  that  must 
 be  carefully  attended  by  His  votaries. 
 
 A  reference  to  the  history  of  man  shows  that 
 all  educated  nations  have  reverenced  a  God.  They 
 have  given  various  names  to  this  Great  Being, 
 and  have  represented  Him  under  various  emblems. 
 They  have  regarded  him  as  triple,  or  her  as  single, 
 or  the  whole  as  four.  Yet,  whatever  the  symbol, 
 whatever  has  been  the  appearance  of  polytheism, 
 the  absolute  unity  of  the  Almighty  has  been  the 
 key-stone  of  their  religion.  There  is,  then,  no 
 absolute  distinction  between  the  heathen,  the  Jew, 
 and  the  Christian,  upon  this  fundamental  point  of 
 faith.'*'^ 
 
 But  though  they  unite  in  adoring  a  Creator,  men 
 have  not  agreed  upon  the  mode  of  worship  most 
 acceptable  to  Him  ;  consequently,  there  have  arisen  a 
 great  variety  of  individuals,  who  have  attempted  to 
 lead  opinion  by  announcing  that  they  have  had  a 
 special  communication  from  the  Almighty,  to  which 
 their  fellow  mortals  must  give  credit.  As  might 
 naturally  be  expected,  these  pretended  revelations  do 
 
 108  Xo  (lemoiistratc  the  i>roof  of  this  assevtiou  hy  detailed  evidence  would 
 require  a  long  treatise,  too  voluminous  for  our  preseut  work.  In  ii  subsequent 
 book  we  hoiie  to  enter  upon  the  subject  fully. 
 
557 
 
 not  agree  amongst  themselves.     Being  distinct  from, 
 and  often  directly  opposed  to,  each  other,  it  is  clear 
 that  all  cannot  emanate  from   the  same   authority. 
 Yet  each,  beUeving  his  religion  to  he  correct,  thinks 
 that  of   others  untrue  or  unrehahle.     To  assert  the 
 superiority  of  his  own,  each  prepares  to  contend  with 
 his  rivals,  and  to  estabhsh  the  faith  which  he  adopts 
 as  the  only  orthodox  one.      To  this  end  all  schemes 
 are  tried,  whether   peaceful  or   warlike.     Books  are 
 written,   containing  accounts  of   wondrous  miracles; 
 stones,   and  even  oyster  shells,   are  found  inscribed 
 with  mystical  characters,  which  none  but  an   angel 
 can  read ;  hollow  voices  come  from  rocks  ;  and  even 
 thunder  gives  a  message  which  some  can  distinguish. 
 Or  it  may  be  that  poison  carries  off  an  adversary,  and 
 this  passes  for  a  judgment  from  on  high;  or  the  more 
 vulgar  art  of  war  is  appealed  to,  and  he  who  kills  the 
 greatest  number  of  his  opponents  is  thus  proved  to  be 
 an  emissary  from  God.    The  extermination  of  heretics 
 was  once  an  important  part  of  the  religions  of  the 
 churches  of  Europe  and  Western  Asia.     This  tenet 
 was  the  chief  one  held  by  the  Crusaders,   and  the 
 succeeding   Inquisitors.       Such   an    one  exists   even 
 in  our   own  Church,    and  bishops    of    narrow  mind 
 excommunicate  another  ^v■ho  ventures  to  think  inde- 
 pendently. 
 
 A  philosopher,  who  witnesses  these  quarrels, 
 sometimes  feels  that  "  the  Lord  "  knows  his  own 
 more  surely  than  men  do,  and  that  human  beings 
 might  let  tares  and  wheat  grow  together  until  the 
 harvest ;  but  such  is  not  the  idea  of  Christendom."*' 
 
 107  Tlie  Greets  and  Romans,  generally,  and  the  Hindoos,  do  not  appear  to  have 
 heen  naturally  perseoutin-  races  for  roli^ion's  sahe;  and  the  Komans  only  became 
 so  when  they  fonnd  themselves  anathematised  by  the  Christians,  whose  zeal 
 exceeded  their  discretion.    The  foUowers  of  Jesus  and  of  St.  Paul  are  necessarily 
 
658 
 
 Having  persuaded  themselves  that  there  is  no  salva- 
 tion for  any  one  who  has  not  adopted  their  own 
 way  of  thinking,  all  who  do  not  embrace  it  are  to 
 be  cajoled,  scolded,  punished,  or  executed.  As  a 
 result,  we  see  religion  a  more  common  cause  of  ani- 
 mosity than  anything  else.  Cowper  has  expressed 
 this  pointedly  in  the  following  lines  — 
 
 "Religion  should  extinguish  stiife, 
 And  make  a  calm  of  himian  life  ; 
 
 But  those  who  chance  to  differ, 
 On  points  which  God  hath  left  at  large, 
 How-  freely  do  they  meet  and  charge, 
 
 No  combatants  are  stiffer." 
 
 The  philosopher,  when  he  sees  such  a  result,  very 
 naturally  concludes  that  the  assertion  of  powers  given 
 by  revelation  is  the  sole  cause  of  the  religious  con- 
 tests  which    scandalise  the  world.       Priests  are,    in 
 every  denomination,  nothing  more  than  men  fighting 
 for  their  own  supremacy,  for  all  men  know  that  the 
 power  of  governing  the  mind  "religiously"  is  equi- 
 valent to  governing  the  will  and  the  body.    Hierarchs 
 are,  indeed,   like    opposing  claimants    for  an  empty 
 throne,  who  hold  out  every  inducement  they  can  to 
 draw  men  to  their  standard ;    or  like  the  barons  of 
 old,   who  sought  to  increase  their  power  by  attract- 
 ing   a    number    of    retainers     around    them.       So 
 long   as   men    are    pugnacious,    so    long    they    will 
 always  be  ready   to  fight   on  the  side  of  the  party 
 they   have   joined,    whether   by   accident   or   design. 
 But  a  man  who  does  not  love  fighting  for  its  own 
 sake  will  consider,  first,  whether  he  ought  to  engage 
 
 more  or  less  persecutors,  for  the  latter  ordains  that  a  recusant  is  to  bo  delivered 
 unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  tlie  flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  be  saved.  Compare 
 1  Cor.  V.  5,  1  Tim.  i.  20. 
 
559 
 
 in  battle  at  all,  and,  if  so,  on  which  side  the  justice 
 of  the  quarrel  lies. 
 
 I  can  imagine  a  man  like  Archimedes  being 
 solicited  to  join  the  army  of  the  king  of  A,  and  the 
 opposing  king  of  B.  To  either  of  them  his  presence 
 would  ensure  a  victory  ;  but  the  philosopher,  having 
 an  option,  considers,  firstly,  what  is  the  cause  of  the 
 quarrel  ?  secondly,  what  will  be  the  advantage  of  a 
 victory  on  one  side,  and  a  defeat  on  the  other  ?  and, 
 thirdly,  whether  the  thing  is  worth  fighting  for  ? 
 Such  an  idea  Swift  embodied,  when  Gulliver  was 
 asked  to  fight  in  the  great  contest  at  Lilliput,  between 
 the  Bigendian  and  Littleendian  forces. 
 
 The  modern  thinker  sometimes  imagines  that  he 
 holds  a  similar  position  himself.  He  is  assailed  by 
 opposite  parties,  who  array  their  wares  so  as  to  catch 
 his  eye;  for  the  adhesion  of  a  philosopher  to  either 
 one  of  rival  creeds  is  like  a  Gulliver  in  the  camp. 
 Hence  the  Eomish  Church  fabricated  the  statement 
 that  Yoltaire  joined  it  on  his  death-bed ;  and  some 
 zealous  Protestants  declared  that  the  accomplished 
 author  of  the  History  of  CivUisat'wn  in  England 
 signified  his  adhesion  to  the  Church  of  England  faith 
 ere  he  left  our  world.  The  accidents  of  birth  and 
 education  made  me  join  the  party  commonly  styled 
 in  the  present  day  "Low  Church,"  or  ''Evangelical." 
 For  two  3'ears,  accident  made  me  attend  a  "Wesleyan 
 Chapel.  'Another  accident  brought  me  into  contact, 
 during  three  years,  with  High  Churchmen  and  Ro- 
 man Catholics,  the  former  being  met  with  in  the 
 Chapel  of  my  College  (King's,  London),  the  latter  in 
 the  haunts  of  poverty  to  which  my  medical  position 
 called  me.  Once  again  I  went  through,  by  accident, 
 a  course  of  High  Church  preaching,  with  a  sprinkling 
 
560 
 
 of  Scotch  Kirkism,  Quakerism,  Unitarianism,  and  a 
 great  number  of  otlier  sections.  Having  thus  been 
 able  to  see  and  study  all  divisions  of  our  Christian 
 Church,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  all  are 
 alike  worshippers  of  the  Almighty  and  of  the  devil. 
 They  pay  homage  to  the  first  by  the  practice  of  every 
 Christian  grace,  except  the  charity  that  suffereth  long, 
 and  is  kind.  They  pay  homage  to  the  latter  by 
 indulging  in  "  envy,  strife,  railings,  evil  surmisings, 
 perverse  disputings  (or  trumpery  discussions)  about 
 words,"  etc.,  and  by  exalting  their  own  leaders  so  that 
 they  "as  God  sit  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing 
 themselves  to  be  God  "  (2  Thess.  ii.  4). 
 
 Now,  as  Paul  exhorted  his  followers  not  to  be 
 troubled  by  such  as  these,  so  does  the  thoughtful 
 phlosopher  of  to-day  decline  to  join  them ;  not  that 
 he  loves  Caesar  less,  but  that  he  loves  Rome  more. 
 A  man  is  not  irreligious,  because  he  does  not  assist 
 strenuously  to  uphold  a  particular  section  of  Chris- 
 tianity. Nor  is  he  infidel,  because  he  refuses  to  see 
 in  human  inventions  the  finger  of  God.  The  observer 
 who  recognises  the  fact,  that  human  frailties  are  the 
 damnable  spot  in  all  our  current  religions,  may  well 
 be  excused  for  not  leaning  on  a  human  power,  pre- 
 ferring rather  to  feel  that  '*  underneath  him  are  the 
 everlasting  arms"  (Deut.  xxxiii.  27). 
 
 If  the  Church,  through  her  ministers,  upholds 
 the  doctrine  that  the  Almighty  changes  His  mind 
 from  time  to  time,  and  anathematises  all  who  do 
 not  at  once  recognise  the  fact  that  such  an  alteration 
 of  purpose  has  been  adopted,  —  thus  punishing  a 
 Jew  for  believing  in  Moses,  and  favouring  a  Chris- 
 tian who  thinks  that  God  "winked  at"  the  ignorance 
 of   Paul's   predecessors    (Acts  xvii.  30),  —  we    think 
 
561 
 
 it  best  to  regard  the  Church  as  wrong,  and  ignorant 
 of  "  the  mind  of  the  Lord  "  (Rom.  xi.  34),  and 
 repose  confidently  in  such  texts  as  the  following;  "  I 
 am  the  Lord,  I  change  not"  (Mai.  iii.  6).  "Hast 
 thou  not  known  ?  hast  thou  not  heard,  that  the  ever- 
 lasting God,  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the 
 earth,  fainteth  not,  neither  is  weary?  there  is  no 
 searching  of  His  understanding"  (Is.  xl.  28). 
 
 When  these  considerations  pass  through  the 
 mind  of  the  observer,  he  recognises  the  fact,  that 
 there  are  two  principal  forms  of  religious  doctrine; 
 one  which  is  framed  wholly  upon  the  observation  of 
 God's  operations  in  nature,  irrespective  of  human 
 ideas;  the  other  which  is  based  upon  the  fond  fancies 
 of  men,  and  generally  of  those  who  are  not  the  best 
 specimens  of  humanity,  quite  irrespective  of,  and 
 often  in  opposition  to,  the  laws  of  the  Creator,  as 
 recognised  in  his  creation.  To  the  first  of  these, 
 the  name  of  "natural,"  to  the  second  the  name  of 
 "revealed"   religion  has  been  given. 
 
 Leaving  the  consideration  of  revelation  and 
 natural  religion  for  the  present,  let  us  endeavour  to 
 ascertain,  as  best  we  may,  the  idea  of  "rehgion" 
 current  in  the  world.  It  consists  of  three  elements  ; 
 a  behef  in  God,  an  acknowledgment  of  the  inspira- 
 tion of  certain  writings,  and  obedience  to  the  direc- 
 tion of  priests.  Practically,  the  last  is  considered 
 to  be  the*  most  important  element,  and  an  individual's 
 religion  is  tested  by  the  attention  which  he  pays  to 
 his  spiritual  advisers.  Viewing  the  subject  in  this 
 light,  there  are,  in  every  part  of  the  world,  religious 
 and  irreligious  men  ;  for  it  is  in  the  nature  of  things 
 that  there  shall  ever  be  many  who  refuse  to  let  other 
 persons  think  for  them,  under  any  circumstances. 
 
 N  N 
 
562 
 
 When  the  philosopher  passes  in  review  the  various 
 directions  given  by  the  soi-disant  ministers  of  God, 
 he  finds  them  to  be  divided  into  two  classes,  viz., 
 thoughts  which  are  to  be  entertained,  and  deeds 
 which  are  to  be  done.  Some  care  little  for  the 
 former,  and  lay  great  stress  upon  the  latter,  and  rice 
 versa.  Some,  on  the  other  hand,  insist  on  attention 
 to  both.  If  we  pass  by  the  doctrines  which  are  laid 
 down  by  various  hierarchs,  and  fix  our  attention 
 upon  the  actions  which  they  have  inculcated,  we  find 
 them  to  be  pretty  similar  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
 nations.  Men  have  ever  been  directed  to  honour  their 
 parents,  to  refrain  from  murder,  theft,  adultery,  and 
 lying.  The  manner  of  life  recommended  by  Socrates, 
 Plato,  Xcnophon,  Epicurus,  Cicero,  and  others,  is 
 very  much  the  same  as  that  which  prevails  to-day. 
 Some,  of  more  moody  disposition  than  the  generality 
 of  mankind,  have  thought  that  rehgion  consists  in 
 a  rigid  asceticism ;  and  Ave  find  a  development  of  this 
 idea  in  Buddhist  hermits,  Indian  fakirs,  papal  monks, 
 macerating  and  flagellating  saints,  fasting  ritualists, 
 sisters  of  mercy,  and  covenanting  Scotchmen.  A 
 still  stranger  development  is  to  be  seen  occasionally 
 in  the  indulgence  of  sensuality  as  a  form  of  religion ; 
 for  we  have  seen  the  orgies  of  the  ancients  repro- 
 duced in  later  days  by  Pre-adamites,  or  some  such 
 sect,  who  act  like  primeval  man,  and  comport  them- 
 selves in  every  way  like  human  beasts. 
 
 The  general  axiom  of  Jesus,  "  Love  your  neigh- 
 bour as  yourself,"  seems  nevertheless  to  be  the  basis 
 of  all  religions,  so  far  as  the  teaching  of  their  votaries 
 how  to  act,  in  their  way  through  the  world,  is  con- 
 cerned; and  a  better  one  it  is  impossible  to  find. 
 Into  the  consideration  of  religious  doctrines  we  shall 
 
563 
 
 enter  shortly,  in  our  articles  on  Revelation  and 
 Theology,  and  at  greater  length  in  a  succeeding 
 volume. 
 
 The  following  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Hindoo 
 religion  is  condensed  from  an  essay  by  J.  D.  Pater- 
 son,  Esq.,  in  the  eighth  volume  of  the  Asiatic  Re- 
 searches, A.  D.  1803  ;  and  it  is  added  here,  inasmuch 
 as  his  remarks  are,  in  many  instances,  applicable  to 
 the  particular  development  of  religious  thought  and 
 doctrine  which  exists  amongst  modern  sects  of 
 Christians. 
 
 The  author  commences  by  expressing  his  belief 
 that  the  modern  Hindoo  system  is  an  improved  form 
 of  a  more  ancient  and  a  ferocious  religion,  represent- 
 ing the  united  effort  of  a  society  of  sages,  who 
 retained  the  priesthood  amongst  themselves,  by 
 making  it  hereditary  in  their  families ;  the  hier- 
 archy being  supported  by  regal  authority,  which  it 
 both  controlled  and  supported.  The  amended  religion 
 "was  promulgated  in  all  its  perfection  at  once,  as  a 
 revelation  of  high  antiquity,  to  stamp  its  decrees 
 with  greater  authority,"  and  was  founded  upon  pure 
 deism  ;  but,  to  comply  with  the  gross  ideas  of  the 
 multitude,  who  required  a  visible  object  of  their 
 devotion,  the  inventors  personified  the  three  great 
 attributes  of  the  deity.^'^ 
 
 "  The  founders  of  the  Hindoo  religion  did  not 
 intend  to' bewilder  their  followers  ;  they  described  the 
 Deity  by  those  attributes  which  the  wonders  of  crea- 
 tion attest,  viz..  His  almighty  power  to  create.  His 
 
 108  It  requires  great  self-control  not  to  take  advantage  of  opinions  thus  enun- 
 ciated, and  to  show  that  the  practices  of  the  moderns  are  closely  allied  to  those  of 
 the  ancients.  I  may,  however,  presume  that  my  readers  will  exercise  their  own 
 mental  powers  in  recognising  analogies,  and  thus  excuse  me  from  pointing  attention 
 to  every  striking  coiucidence. 
 
564 
 
 providence  to  preserve,  and  His  power  to  change  or 
 annihilate  that  which  He  had  created."  In  fact,  no 
 idea  of  the  Deity  can  be  formed  beyond  this.  It  is 
 simple,  but  it  forces  conviction  upon  the  mind. 
 This  simplicity,  however,  was  destroyed  when  the 
 priesthood  attempted  to  describe  these  attributes  to 
 the  eye. 
 
 To  impress  on  men  their  dependence  on  Him  by 
 whom  they  live,  the  hierarchs  invented  figures  of 
 
 Brahma,  Vishnu,  Siva, 
 as  emblematical  of 
 
 Creation,  Preservation,  Destruction, 
 which  are  referred  to  as 
 
 Matter,  Space,  Time, 
 and  painted 
 
 (1)  Red,  (2)  Blue,  (3)  White, 
 
 (1)  to  represent  substance,  (2)  to  represent  the  appa- 
 rent colour  of  space,  (3)  in  contrast  to  the  black 
 night  of  eternity. 
 
 The  sub-division  of  the  Godhead  led  to  the  per- 
 sonification of  each  deity,  and  some  sects  chose  to 
 prefer  one  name  to  another.  These,  quarrelling 
 amongst  themselves,  gave  origin  to  religious  warfare 
 amongst  the  followers  of  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva. 
 
 At  first,  everything  introduced  into  the  system  of 
 faith  had  a  distinct  meaning;  but  the  "mass  of  man- 
 kind lost  sight  of  morality  in  the  multiphcity  of 
 rites;  and,  as  it  is  easier  to  practise  ceremonies  than 
 to  subdue  the  passions,  ceremonies  gradually  became 
 
565 
 
 substitutes  for  real  religiou,  and  usurped  the  place  of 
 virtue." 
 
 In  the  worship  thus  described,  each  god  had 
 something  associated  with  him,  symbolical  of  purity, 
 truth,  and  justice,  respectively;  the  swan,  the  eagle, 
 the  sacred  bull,  the  dawn  of  day,  or  the  light. 
 After  describing  the  resemblance  between  Grecian, 
 Egyptian,  and  Hindoo  ideas,  Mr.  Paterson  proceeds: 
 "When  the  personified  attributes  of  the  Deity 
 ceased  to  be  considered  as  figurative,  and  mankind 
 viewed  them  as  distinct  persons,  people  divided  into 
 sects.  The  followers  of  Siva  introduced  a  dogma,  the 
 substance  of  which  was,  that  matter  was  eternal, 
 although  change  took  place  therein  ;  that  this  change 
 was  brought  about  by  "force;"  that  "force"  was 
 masculine,  and  "matter"  feminine;  and  that  creation 
 was  the  efiect  of  the  union  of  these  principles.  This 
 union  was  called  Bhava  and  Bhavani,  Mahadeva  and 
 Maha  Maya.  "SMien  Siva  displaced  Brahma,  his 
 worshippers  again  subdivided,  one  deifying  the  female 
 power,  or  "  nature ;  "  the  other  regarding  the  male 
 creative  energy  as  the  eternal  first  cause.  After  a 
 time,  a  third  sect  arose,  which  adored  the  union 
 of  the  two  principles,  which  they  represented  as 
 androgynous,  and  called  Hara  Gauri'.  It  is  pro- 
 bable that  the  idea  of  obscenity  was  not  originally 
 attached  -to  these  symbols,  but  profligacy  eagerly 
 embraces  what  flatters  its  propensities,  and  ignorance 
 follows  blindly  wherever  example  leads.  As  a  con- 
 sequence, improper  mirth  became  the  main  feature  in 
 the  religion,  and  was  frequently  mingled  with  gloomy 
 rites  and  bloody  sacrifices.  A  heterogeneous  mixture, 
 which  can  only  be  understood  by  tracing  the  steps 
 which  led  to  it. 
 
566 
 
 After  a  time,  a  superstition  arose,  which  rapidly 
 spread.  It  represented  the  Deity  as  an  implacable 
 tyrant,  and  filled  its  votaries  with  imaginary  terrors, 
 exacting  from  their  fears,  penances,  mortifications, 
 and  expiatory  sacrifices.  This  was  the  worship 
 of  Cal  and  Cali,  introduced  by  the  sect  of  Siva, 
 which  caused  a  separation  from  that  of  Vishnu,  and 
 brought  about  fierce  religious  wars.  Cal  represented 
 "time,"  the  creator,  preserver,  and  destroyer,  and 
 was  represented  as  white,  corresponding  to  day  and 
 summer.  Call  was  black,  to  symbolise  night  and 
 winter.  She  also  represented  eternity,  from  whom 
 "Time"  sprung,  and  into  whose  bosom  he  returns. 
 
 If  the  contemplation  of  the  consummation  of  all 
 created  things  awed  the  mind  of  the  initiated  Brah- 
 min, the  people  were  still  more  aflected  with  the  very 
 dreadful  appearance  and  character  assigned  to  this 
 deity.  To  appease  and  reconcile  so  tremendous  a 
 being  became  an  object  of  the  greatest  importance. 
 The  metaphorical  description  of  all-devouring  Time 
 presented  to  their  eyes  a  divinity  delighting  in  blood 
 and  slaughter.  The  unenlightened  mind  dwells  with 
 awe  upon  the  horrors  of  its  own  creation,  and  super- 
 stition ever  takes  its  form  from  the  objects  which 
 excite  it.  Hence  arose  those  bloody  rites,  those  con- 
 secrated cruelties,  and  those  astounding  penances, 
 which  not  only  prevailed  in  India,  but  pervaded  almost 
 the  whole  of  the  ancient  world.  Thus  new  super- 
 stitions are  constantly  engrafted  upon  the  old,  which 
 are  as  much  adapted  to  degrade  the  mind  as  the 
 former  were  to  corrupt  morality. 
 
 A  subsequent  set  of  men  had  the  astuteness  to 
 write  the  name  of  the  Almighty  God,  whom  every 
 one  adores,  and  so  to  modify  the  letters  that  they 
 
567 
 
 appeared  as  a  triuue  divinity,  to  which  the  names  of 
 Bal  Earn,  Sabhadra,  and  Jaga-nath  were  given  respec- 
 tively. The  cognomen  involving  no  theory,  all  could 
 adore  the  idea  personified,  and  thus  Jaga-nath  became 
 more  popular  than  any  other. 
 
 When  we  attempt  soberly  to  compare  this  descrip- 
 tion of  the  history  of  religion  in  Hindostan  with 
 modern  Christianity  or  ancient  Judaism,  we  find  in 
 all  the  same  ideas.  There  is,  in  the  first  place,  a 
 striving  after  some  knowledge  of  the  Most  High, 
 a  recognition  of  failure  owing  to  man's  infirmity, 
 an  earnest  desire  to  implant  in  others  the  deep 
 thoughts  which  agitate  the  mind  of  the  profound 
 divine,  an  efi"ort  to  put  into  language  sentiments 
 which  words  cannot  convey,  and  an  attempt  to  use 
 natural  phenomena  to  explain  inexplicable  mystery. 
 But  the  taught  have  not  been  able  to  grasp  the  full 
 nature  of  the  teaching,  and  have  regarded  the  illus- 
 trations, given  for  examples,  as  if  they  were  the  main 
 object  respecting  which  instruction  was  aftbrded.  Hence 
 a  descent  has  ensued  from  mental  sublimity  to  the 
 depths  of  human  infirmity.  A  few  leading  thoughts 
 have  remained,  nevertheless, —  the  greatness  of  God 
 and  His  unlimited  power,  —  and  these  have  been 
 developed  into  thousands  of  forms,  amiable,  pure 
 and  grand,  or  hateful,  obscene  and  paltry.  In  direct 
 proportion  to  the  prevalence  of  the  bestial  over  the 
 intellectual  nature  of  man,  religion  has  degenerated, 
 until  it  has  become  a  means  of  pandering  to  human 
 passions.  In  some  climates  it  has  encouraged  sen- 
 suality, in  others  it  has  developed  ferocity ;  and  it  is 
 difficult  for  the  moralist  to  decide  whether  the  reli- 
 gious obscenities  of  some  Hindoos,    or  the  devilish 
 
568 
 
 cruelty  of  some  persecuting  Christians  is  most  to  be 
 reprobated. 
 
 As  we  believe  that  the  form  of  religion  which 
 nearest  approaches  to  ideal  truth  has  been  taught 
 by  men  of  a  high  order  of  intellect,  gi-eat  profundity 
 of  thought  and  accuracy  of  observation.  As  we  hold 
 the  opinion  that  the  form  has  been  deteriorated  by 
 human  frailties  and  men  of  grovelling  propensities ; 
 so  we  maintain  that  men  still  exist  who  are  able  to 
 restore  it  to  its  proper  condition.  They  who  are  best 
 able  to  recognise  human  infirmities  can  point  them  out 
 to  their  fellows,  better  than  can  those  who  see  in  the 
 contemptible  inventions  of  men  the  finger  of  the 
 Almighty.  Before  Truth  can  appear,  all  the  rags  of 
 superstition  which  veil  her  should  be  removed;  and 
 it  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  pre- 
 sent day,  that  there  is  an  abundance  of  workers  to 
 this  end.  There  is,  moreover,  this  to  encourage 
 them,  viz.,  that  they  do  not  fall  out,  as  other  reli- 
 gionists do.  Being  honest  in  their  search,  they  have 
 no  prejudices  to  support ;  and  as  a  natural  result, 
 they  find  that  the  results  at  which  they  arrive  are  in 
 the  main  identical.  The  maxim  to  which  all  their 
 researches  point  is  very  simple,  and  one  which  has 
 already  been  enunciated  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  *'  Do 
 unto  others  in  all  matters  as  you  would  wish  others 
 to  do  to  you."  (Compare  Matt.  vii.  12.)  There  are 
 many  who  believe  this  to  be  the  substance  of  "  the  law 
 and  the  prophets."  If  every  one  were  to  conform  to 
 such  a  rule,  how  difierent  would  be  the  general  con- 
 dition of  society. 
 Remaliah,  •'i'^^'??'!  (2  Kings  xv.  25).  This  is  rendered  "  whom 
 Jehovah  adorned,"  by  Gesenius,  and  as  "Jah  is  an 
 
569 
 
 increaser,"  hy  Fiirst.  It  seems  more  consonant  with 
 probability,  however,  to  derive  the  name  from  ^^1, 
 raam,  •1'^),  yhu,  '??,  cl,  i.e.,  "the  great  or  high  El 
 is  Yahu." 
 Reuben,  I^-^^"!  (Gen.  xxix.  32).  This  is  usually  translated 
 "see  a  son,"  and  a  story  is  given  to  account  for  the 
 selection  of  such  a  name.  Such  accounts  we  have 
 learned  to  distrust ;  and  when  we  find  such  names  in 
 Jacob's  family  as  Asher,  Gad,  and  Dan,  all  of  which 
 are  Phoenician  or  Babylonian,  we  are  more  disposed 
 to  seek  for  an  interpretation  in  the  language  of  those 
 nations  than  in  late  Jewish  writers.  Now  i^^^,  raaJi, 
 ra,  and  P,  hen,  in  the  Assyrian  language,  would 
 signify  '  the  son  of  the  All-seeing,'  or  "  the  sun's 
 son,"  in  which  case  it  would  not  be  very  unlike 
 our  own  "Benson."  Yse  may  also  trace  it  to 
 rah,  Hebrew  ^"],  and  on,  {"ix,  and  thus  find  "  great 
 strength,"  or  '  my  great  strength,'  for  its  signifi- 
 cation. It  is  tolerably  clear  that  the  writer  of  Gen. 
 xlix.  3  had  some  such  idea,  when  he  designated 
 Reuben  "my  might,  the  beginning  of  my  strength." 
 It  is  curious  to  notice  that  both  parents  amongst  the 
 Jews  named  children.  Rachel,  for  example,  assigned 
 "Benoni"  as  the  name  of  her  youngest  son;  but 
 his  father  controverted  the  Avishes  of  his  dying  wife, 
 and  called  him  "Benjamin."  Eve,  we  are  told,  gave 
 the  name  to  Cain  and  Seth;  but  Abraham  selected 
 cognomens  for  Isaac  and  Ishmael.  Lot's  daughters, 
 glorying  in  their  shame,  are  said  to  have  called  their 
 sons  by  appellatives  suggestive  of  their  origin. 
 Jacob's  spouses  all  named  their  own  children,  even 
 the  dying  Rachel,  who  was  thwarted.  Joseph  named 
 his  own  offspring,  as  Moses  also  is  represented  to 
 have  done.     Hence  we  may  infer  that  the  account  in 
 
570 
 
 which  the  appellations  herein  noticed  are  narrated  was 
 written  at  a  time  in  which  it  was  the  custom  for  the 
 parents,  rather  than  the  priests,  to  prescribe  the 
 name ;  a  period  which  may  be  placed  about  the 
 time  of  the  Grecian  followers  of  Alexander  the 
 Great. 
 Revelation.  It  is  doubtful  whether  there  is  any  word  in 
 our  English  language  that  is  regarded  with  so  much 
 veneration  by  the  many,  and  so  contemptuously  by 
 the  few.  It  has  become,  indeed,  the  watchword  of 
 a  party ;  and,  amongst  all  those  composing  the  class, 
 "  Revelation, "  or,  as  it  is  designated,  "  the  revealed 
 will  of  God,"  forms  the  court  of  final  appeal.  Of 
 the  regard  in  which  it  is  held,  I  have  been  a  daily 
 witness  from  my  earliest  years,  and  have  repeatedly 
 heard  the  words,  "  it  is  written  in  the  Bible,"  used 
 to  demonstrate  the  absolute  certainty  of  a  fact.  I 
 have  heard  a  professional  man,  in  every  other  respect 
 sensible  and  observing,  decline  to  argue  a  subject 
 with  another  unless  the  words  of  the  Bible  were  to 
 be  taken  as  true  verbatim  et  literatim.  He  would 
 not  even  hsten  to  a  geologist,  who  wanted  to  show 
 him  that  death  existed  in  the  world  before  the  time 
 of  Adam ;  nor  discuss  the  question  whether  lions 
 could  live  on  grass,  and,  if  so,  how  they  could  nibble 
 and  masticate  it,  their  teeth  not  meeting  like  those 
 of  the  graminivorous  animals. 
 
 As  my  mind  developed,  I  repeatedly  asked  my 
 friends, — very  many  of  whom  were  great  preachers 
 and  earnest  ministers, — how  they  knew  that  everj'- 
 thing  in  the  Bible  was  true,  for  it  was  clear  that  it 
 contradicted  facts  in  some  parts,  and  itself  in  others. 
 To  this  question,  the  replies  were,  "I  feel  its  truth 
 within  me ;  "   "It  professes  to  be  God's  word,  and  He 
 
571 
 
 cannot  lie;"  "The  Church  and  all  good  men  believe 
 it;"  "  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  quoted  it,  and  He 
 knew  all  about  it ;  "  or  else,  "  You  must  take  it  upon 
 trust;  "  "You  are  bound  to  believe  it  as  a  matter  of 
 faith  ;  "  "  Shun  all  thoughts  which  lead  you  to  doubt 
 the  truth  of  the  Bible,  for  every  doubter  will  be 
 damned."  With  such  assertions  I  was  discontented, 
 and  sought  for  light  from  men  of  mathematical  and 
 logical  training ;  but  the  utmost  I  could  gather  was, 
 "  The  Bible  has  been  always  believed  by  the  Church, 
 whether  Jewish  or  Christian,  to  be  the  word  of  God ; 
 because  no  one  can  make  another,  or  get  along  with- 
 out it,  therefore  it  is  and  it  must  be  infallible  and 
 inspired." 
 
 Replies  such  as  these  showed  the  weakness  of 
 the  assertion  that  the  Bible  must  be  true ;  but  a 
 belief  in  its  verbal  inspiration  is  so  interwoven  with 
 "  religion,"  that  the  belief  in  the  one  is  the  keystone 
 of  the  other ;  and  that  which  is,  in  itself,  a  matter  of 
 doubt,  has  become  magnified  into  one  of  extreme 
 importance,  by  being  made  the  pillar  upon  which  a 
 vast  edifice  is  supported.  If  any  Samson  should 
 break  it  down,  it  would  involve  in  its  fall  a  mass  of 
 sects  who  have  no  other  foundation  than  a  book,  a 
 chapter,  an  expression,  or  perhaps  a  single  word  in 
 the  Bible. 
 
 Ere  Jwe  build  anything  upon  such  a  pillar,  let  us 
 examine  into  its  trustworthiness  for  ourselves.  For 
 want  of  such  an  examination,  a  terrible  accident  once 
 occurred  near  Edinburgh.  An  architect  assumed  as 
 a  fact  that  certain  masses  of  stone  would  act  like  rock, 
 when  under  pressure.  So  he  erected  a  gi-eat  building, 
 whose  main  supports  were  iron  columns,  based  upon 
 large   blocks   of    stone.      As    the    weight    increased 
 
572 
 
 above,  so  did  the  pressure  augment  below,  and,  at 
 length,  it  reached  a  point,  when  the  solid  rock  was 
 crushed  to  powder,  and  down  fell  the  superstructure. 
 To  avoid  a  similar  catastrophe,  it  is  advisable  to 
 inquire  (1)  Into  the  probability  of  a  revelation ;  (2) 
 Its  probable  characteristics ;  (3)  The  nature  of  that 
 which  passes  for  such  amongst  ourselves ;  (4)  The 
 difference  between  revealed  and  natural  religion. 
 
 1.  We  acknowledge  at  once  that  we  see  no  valid 
 reason  for  the  assertion  that  God  never  did,  and  never 
 can,  reveal  His  will  to  man  by  direct  means.  We 
 can  well  understand  that  He  who  implants  instinct 
 in  animals,  by  which  they  unknowingly  bring  about 
 the  ends  which  He  has  designed,  may  implant  in  man 
 a  similar  propensity.  We  believe  that  He  may  have 
 communicated  with  individuals  in  former  times,  and 
 with  those  of  the  present  day ;  and  there  is  no  reason 
 to  doubt  that  He  may  communicate  with  our  suc- 
 cessors. He  who  made,  and  who  sustains,  the 
 universe,  can  do  anything  which  seemeth  good  to 
 Him.  But,  though  we  allow  that  God  may  have 
 spoken  to  man,  we  do  not  therefore  concede  the  fact 
 that  He  has  done  so.  To  assume  that  He  has  done 
 a  certain  thing,  because  He  could  do  it  if  He  pleased, 
 is  absurd.  The  Almighty,  who  made  our  world, 
 could  destroy  it ;  yet  it  does  not  follow  that  He  will. 
 Even  a  man  may  possess  a  power  which  he  never 
 exercises.  I  can  destroy  the  writing  which  has  just 
 left  my  pen,  yet  I  abstain  from  doing  so. 
 
 The  assumption,  therefore,  that  the  Almighty 
 may  have  revealed  Himself  to  man,  does  not  bring 
 us  in  reality  any  nearer  to  an  answer  to  the  ques- 
 tion, "  has  He  done  so  ?  "  than  we  should  have  been 
 without  it.     But,  inasmuch  ns  there  are  certain  per- 
 
673 
 
 sons  who  have  declared  that  such  a  revelation  has 
 been  made  to  them,  and  they  thus  apparently  prove 
 that  He  has  spoken  to  man,  we  must  either  accept 
 their  testimony  without  investigation,  and  credit  all 
 they  tell  us,  or  we  must  test  the  evidence,  and  credi- 
 bility of  the  witnesses. 
 
 Proceeding  cautiously,  we  first  examine  such 
 revelations  as  men  assert  they  have  received.  We 
 study  the  rehgious  books  of  Buddhists,  Brahmins, 
 and  Mahometans.  We  collect  the  vaticinations 
 of  Delphi,  Dodona,  Ammon,  and  the  like.  We 
 examine  into  the  book  of  Mormon,  and  the  visions 
 of  Swedenborg.  We  visit  the  scenes  of  modern 
 revivals,  and  the  meetings  of  the  Quakers.  We  con- 
 sult the  almanacs  of  Moore  and  Zadkiel,  and  attend 
 mesmeric  and  spiritual  seances.  We  pore  over  the 
 utterances  of  Jewish  seers,  the  writings  of  Chris- 
 tian saints,  and  every  other  effusion  which  we  can 
 inquire  into,  that  professes  to  be  a  revelation  from 
 God  to  man.  On  collating  all  these,  we  find  that, 
 though  opposed  to  each  other  in  detail,  they  agree 
 in  describing  the  Almighty  as  a  God -king,  with 
 the  feelings,  desires  and  affections  of  a  man. 
 Some,  indeed,  like  the  Buddhists,  describe  Him  as 
 a  Supreme  Intelhgence,  much  in  the  same  way  as 
 Wisdom  is  spoken  of  in  the  eighth  chapter  of 
 Proverbs,  and  the  Logos  by  the  Platonists.  In 
 other  words,  it  is  clear  that  nothing  has  been  re- 
 vealed, concerning  God  and  the  universe,  but  what 
 the  unaided  intellect  of  man  could  have  readily  con- 
 ceived without  any  special  revelation  at  all.  In  sup- 
 port of  this  proposition  I  would  add,  that  the  doctrines 
 of  Buddha  and  those  of  Jesus  are  so  remarkably 
 similar,  that  it  is  logically  impossible  to  believe  the 
 
674 
 
 latter  to  be  inspired  without  conceding  a  like  belief 
 to  the  former.  If  we,  then,  are  logically  compelled  to 
 grant  that  God  revealed  Himself  to  the  Indian  sage, 
 we  are  equally  compelled  to  withdraw  our  adhesion 
 to  the  Bible  as  the  only  record  of  God's  will  revealed 
 to  man — a  subject  on  which  I  hope  to  dwell  more 
 at  length  hereafter. 
 
 2.  When  we  proceed  farther  to  investigate  the 
 the  alleged  message,  and  test  the  messenger's  credi- 
 bility— or,  in  other  words,  the  character  of  the  revela- 
 tion,— we  must  adhere  closely  to  the  laws  of  evidence. 
 Amongst  other  maxims,  we  should  enunciate  that  a 
 revelation  must  be  uniform  in  its  descriptions,  and  its 
 teaching;  must  not  contradict  the  evidence  of  natural 
 history ;  and  must  contain  that  which  the  human 
 mind  unaided  could  not  otherwise  know.  All  its 
 alleged  facts  must  also  be  unimpeachable,  and  its 
 doctrines  consonant  with  those  drawn  from  an  inquiry 
 into  the  workings  of  the  Creator  in  the  world  at 
 large. 
 
 With  these  axioms  before  us,  let  us  now  examine 
 a  few  of  the  "revelations"  which  have  been  pro- 
 pounded. We  select,  first,  the  dicta,  "  by  man  came 
 death"  (1  Cor.  xv.  21),  "by  one  man  sin  entered  into 
 the  world,  and  death  by  sin"  (Eom.  v.  12),  "the 
 creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity  not  willingly" 
 (Rom.  viii.  20).  These  assert  unequivocally  that 
 death  did  not  exist  prior  to  Adam's  fall,  and  the 
 Bible  chronology  forces  us  to  believe  that  this  occur- 
 rence took  place  less  than  six  thousand  years  ago. 
 But  the  testimony  of  the  rocks  tells  us  that  death 
 occurred  myriads  of  years  before  the  era  of  Adam  ; 
 and  investigation  of  the  teeth  of  carnivorous  animals 
 shows  that  they  were  made  solely  to  eat  flesh,  and 
 
675 
 
 consequently  that  the  exigencies  of  their  life  always 
 involved  the  death  of  others.  Still  farther,  the 
 phenomena  of  human  existence  demonstrates  that 
 man  was  originally  made  to  live  only  for  a  certain 
 time,  and  then  to  die  like  a  flower. 
 
 Another  "revelation"  is  to  the  efiect  that  the  earth 
 was  covered  with  water  for  nearly  twelve  mouths,  and 
 that,  when  the  waters  subsided,  a  dove  found  an  olive 
 branch.  By  implication,  we  also  learn  that  grass 
 was  gi-owing,  and  trees  flourishing,  as  if  nothing  had 
 happened ;  for  the  animals,  when  they  had  emerged 
 from  the  ark,  would  otherwise  have  perished  from  want 
 of  adequate  food  (Gen.  vii.  11,  viii.  14,  viii.  11,  ix.  3). 
 But  the  testimony  of  nature  tells  us  that  a  depth  of 
 some  twenty-five  thousand  feet  of  water,  ^  and  this 
 would  be  required  to  submerge  the  tops  of  the 
 mountains,  —  would  necessarily  kill  all  *vegetable 
 life,  except  that  which  floated  on  the  surface  ;  and 
 thus,  once  more,  revelation  and  nature  are  at  vari- 
 ance. 
 
 Again,  a  revelation,  narrated  by  Matthew,  Mark, 
 Luke,  and  Paul  told  the  ancients  that  the  world  was 
 to  come  to  an  end  somewhere  about  eighteen  hundred 
 years  ago.  (See  siqjra,  pp.  525-7.)  Nothing  could  be 
 plainer  than  the  specification  of  the  fiict,  of  the  time 
 of  its  occurrence,  of  the  phenomena  which  would 
 happen,  and  the  signs  which  would  precede  it.  Yet 
 it  is  patent  to  all  men  that  the  world  still  exists. 
 
 Another  revelation  is  said  to  have  exhibited  to 
 certain  disciples,  Jesus,  radiant  with  supernatural 
 brightness,  conversing  with  Moses  and  Elias  respect- 
 ing his  approaching  decease  at  Jerusalem.  Yet  the 
 context  tells  us  that  these  disciples  did  not  believe 
 in    his   approaching    death     (compare,    for   example. 
 
676 
 
 Luke  ix.  31,  with  xxiv.  20-26.  See  also  Matt.  xvi. 
 22,  and  Mark  viii.  31,  32) ;  and  our  previous  investi- 
 gation makes  us  question  the  existence  of  either 
 Moses  or  EHjah. 
 
 We  will  not  repeat  what  we  have  already  advanced 
 under  the  heads  Al,  Angels,  Antheopomorpiiism, 
 HosEA,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Joel,  Jonah,  Micah, 
 Obadiah,  etc.,  but  proceed  to  inquire  what  was 
 the  nature  of  the  revelation  vouchsafed  to  the  Jews  ? 
 It  taught  them  to  believe  that  God  selected  Abraham 
 from  all  the  world  besides,  although  there  was  a 
 Melchizedek  greater  and  holier  than  he ;  ^"^  that  God 
 suspended  the  operations  of  nature  to  aggrandise  the 
 Jews  ; ""  that  He  would  alwaj^s  bless  them  if  they 
 behaved  well,  and  obeyed  the  priests ;  that  the  bless- 
 ings should  be  political,  individual,  and  sexual  power, 
 IJng  life,  and  every  other  temporal  advantage ;  that 
 the  curses  should  be  the  total  deprivation  of  every 
 earthly  good  ;  that  God  permitted  cruelty  to  enemies, 
 the  ravishment  of  foreign  maidens,  and  the  wholesale 
 butchery  of  men  and  women,  but  promised  that 
 they,  the  chosen  people,  should  never  suffer  from 
 the  lex  talionis,  if  they  were  obedient.  As  a  result, 
 the  Jews  were  notorious,  —  if  we  are  to  believe  Eze- 
 kiel,  Hosea  and  others,  —  for  their  dissolute  habits 
 and  their  cruelty  to  enemies.  (See  2  Sam.  xii.  31.) 
 Revelation  did  not  teach  the  Jews  the  doctrine  of  a 
 future  life;  it  taught  them  nothing  of  the  joys  of 
 heaven,  nor  of  the  miseries  of  hell ;  and  we  lay  the 
 greater  stress  upon  this  point  from  a  remark  which  we 
 have  often  heard  from  the  pulpit,  viz.,  ''the  silence 
 of  the  Bible  is  quite  as  significant  as  its  speech." 
 
 iM  Heb.  vii.  1-7.  no.Tosb.  x.  11  - 11 
 
577 
 
 But,  whilst  the  God-taught  Hebrews  were  thus 
 kept  in  ignorance  of  the  very  existence  of  a  future 
 world,  the  Hindoos,  Egj^^tians,  Greeks,  Etruscans, 
 early  Romans,  Babylonians,  and  Assyrians  had  all 
 received  plenary  revelations  regarding  both  heaven 
 and  hell.  Each  of  these  unseen  regions  was 
 mapped  out  by  skilful  idealists,  and  the  dead  were 
 duly  instructed  what  to  do  in  the  various  courts  of 
 the  lower  world,  whilst  the  living  were  told  how  to 
 help  deceased  relatives  through  their  difficulties. 
 The  Eg}-i)tian  religion  had  a  purgatory  far  more 
 elaborate  than  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
 
 The  philosopher  now  feels  himself  on  the  horns 
 of  a  dilemma,  for  he  has  the  following  questions  to 
 solve :  If  Jehovah  revealed  Himself  to  the  Jews, 
 why  did  He  omit  to  tell  them  about  a  future  world, 
 unless  He  thought  it  a  matter  of  no  consequence  ? 
 yet,  would  the  Almighty  have  revealed  it  to 
 other  nations  unless  it  had  been  a  matter  of  impor- 
 tance ?  and  would  the  Jews  have  adopted  a  revela- 
 tion from  the  Babylonians  unless  they  recognised 
 its  value  ?  Granting  the  importance  of  the  revela- 
 tion, it  is  clear,  either  that  the  Jews  were  not  "  the 
 chosen  people "  they  professed  to  be,  or  that  the 
 Hindoos,  etc.,  were  more  favoured  than  they;  or, 
 by  denying -the  reality  of  the  revelation,  we  must 
 believe  that  man  does  actually  know  nothing  of  hell 
 or  heaven.  If  we  accept  a  doctrine  on  the  faith  of  a 
 revelation  made  to  Hindoos,  Greeks,  Etruscans,  and 
 Egyptians,  how  can  we  deny  the  superior  sanctity  of 
 their  writings  to  those  of  the  Jews  ?  If,  moreover, 
 we  gi-ant  that  all  the  above-mentioned  nations  had  a 
 revelation,  as  well  as  the  Jews,  we  are  driven  to  con- 
 clude that  the  God  of  India  taught  his  worshippers  the 
 
 00 
 
678 
 
 oxtrcmc  importance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Resnrrec- 
 tion  of  tbo  dead,  wliilst  the  God  of  Israel  did  not 
 think  it  worth  mentioning !  To  which  of  these  Gods 
 shall  the  Christian  trust  ? 
 
 I  am  quite  aware  that  the  rejoinder  to  these 
 considerations  will  ho,  the  statement  that  Jesus 
 demonstrated  that  a  future  world  was  known  to  Moses 
 and  the  Jews  of  old,  hy  quotiu}^  the  passjif^e,  "I  am 
 the  God  of  Ahraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacoh,"  said 
 to  have  been  uttered  to  Moses  by  a  burning  bush, 
 or  the  Almighty;  adding.  "God  is  not  a  God  of  the 
 dead,  but  of  the  living."  But  a  moment's  reflec- 
 tion will  show  that  these  words,  which  have  lK?en  put 
 into  that  teacher's  mouth,  are  a  mere  quibble,  and 
 wholly  valueless,  except  to  show  to  what  shifts  the 
 Pharisaic  Jews  were  driven  when  this  was  the  only 
 text  that  could  be  found  in  the  Pentateuch,  whereby 
 a  doctrine  borrowed  from  the  Babylonians  could  be 
 definded. 
 
 It  may  also  be  asserted  that  Job  xix.  25-27 
 shows  that  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  Resurrection ; 
 but  any  one  who  will  consult  the  Hebrew,  or  the 
 S«'ptungiiit,  will  see  that  the  words  do  not  contain 
 any  reference  whatever  to  a  future  life,  but  rather 
 emlKxly  Ute  idea,  that  he,  the  miHerablc  Job,  though 
 fearfully  diseaseil  and  with  skin  ulcered,  still  be- 
 lirv.H  that  his  Almighty  Father  will  look  kindly 
 U]><>n  him,  so  that  he  may  once  again  worship 
 with  an  unblemished  Inxly.  The  words  of  the  Sep- 
 tuagint  are  thus  translated  by  Sir  L.  C.  L.  Brcnlon, 
 "  For  I  know  that  ho  is  eternal  who  is  al>oul  to 
 deliver  me,  atul  to  raise  upon  the  earth  my  skin  that 
 endures  these  »ujTrrin{}$,  for  these  things  b«TO  been 
 accompli  shed  to  me  of  the  I»rd." 
 
579 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  we  have  some  very  distinct 
 assertions  of  a  belief  that  death  was  equivalent  to 
 absolute  annihilation ;  see,  for  example,  Ps.  vi.  5, 
 xlix.  8-15,  cxlvi.  4;  Isaiah  xxxviii.  18,  Eccl.  ix. 
 9,  10 ;  which,  with  the  silence  of  Moses,  induced  the 
 orthodox  Sadducees  to  deny  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 
 rection and  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits. 
 
 Whilst  we  allow  that  a  revelation  may  have  existed 
 for  the  Jews,  we  assert  that  it  was  supplemented  by 
 the  adoption  of  another  revelation  given  to  nations 
 called  heathen.  We  must  therefore  take  the  doctrine 
 as  we  find  it,  and  believe  that  pagans,  gentiles,  or 
 heathen  have  been  as  much  favoured  by  God  as  the 
 Hebrews  were;  or  reject  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 
 rection, because  it  was  not  revealed  originally  to  the 
 Jews.  If  we  adopt  the  current  ideas  about  heaven, 
 hell,  angels,  devils,  etc.,  because  Mary's  son  pro- 
 pounded them,  we  do  but  assent  to  the  belief  that 
 the  Babylonians  received  more  important  revelations 
 from  the  Almighty  than  did  the  ''chosen  nation, 
 the  pecuKar  people."  Such  considerations  cannot, 
 or  at  least  they  ought  not,  to  be  lightly  regarded. 
 
 3.  We  now  enter  into  the  characteristics  of 
 that  which  passes  for  revealed  religion  amongst  our- 
 selves. Guided  by  this,  one  Church  asserts  that  the 
 Almighty  is  triple;  that  a  mediator  is  necessary 
 between  God  and  man;  that  the  one  appointed  to 
 this  office  is  both  God  and  man,  not  God,  yet  God, 
 and  not  man,  yet  man ;  not  interceding  with  himself, 
 yet  pleading  with  a  Being,  of  whose  essence  he  forms 
 a  third,  etc.  To  this  mediator  the  name  of  "the  Son" 
 is  given.  Another  Church  affirms  that  there  are  four 
 potencies  in  the  Almighty,  and  that  the  chief  inter- 
 cessor with   the    Father   is    "the   Mother,"    "the 
 
580 
 
 Virgin  spouse."  A  third  section  asserts  tliat  tlie 
 Almighty  is  One,  and  that  it  is  blasphemy  to 
 attempt  to  divide  Him.  One  Church  considers 
 government  by  bishops  as  the  only  true  method ; 
 another  regards  this  as  heresy,  and  contends  for 
 government  by  elders.  One  Church  prescribes  celi- 
 bacy for  her  ministers ;  another  favours  marriage ; 
 and  a  third,  the  Greek  communion,  steers  a  middle 
 course,  allowing  her  priests  to  marry  freely,  though 
 under  no  circumstances  are  they  permitted  to  have 
 a  second  wife ;  and  if  a  priest,  elevated  to  the 
 position  of  a  bishop,  should  already  have  a  spouse, — 
 no  matter  how  long  the  union  may  have  lasted, — 
 she  must  be  separated  from  him,  and  secluded 
 from  the  world  within  the  walls  of  a  convent.  One 
 declares  its  power  to  convert  bread  and  water  into 
 veritable  flesh  and  blood,  and  that  a  diet  of  such  ma- 
 terials is  necessary  to  salvation  ;  another,  referring  to 
 the  same  revelation  as  the  first,  asserts  this  doctrine 
 to  be  damnable.  One  section  of  the  Church  con- 
 siders it  essential  to  speak  to  the  Almighty  in 
 Latin ;  another  considers  it  wrong  to  use  any  other 
 language  than  the  vernacular.  One  set  "  ministers  " 
 in  garments  covered  with  gold,  lace,  embroidery,  and 
 precious  stones ;  another  officiates  in  simple  robes 
 of  white  or  black;  and  others  use  their  common  dress. 
 One  class  regards  the  Sabbath  no  more  than  it  honours 
 a  day  set  apart  for  the  laudation  of  some  mortal, 
 whom  their  predecessors  have  placed  in  the  celestial 
 court;  whilst  another  party  respects  it  as  divine.  One 
 section  declares  that  it  is  necessary  to  salvation  to  hold 
 the  Catholic  faith,  a  proposition  thrice  repeated  in  the 
 Athanasian  Creed.  As  a  portion  of  this  faith,  we 
 arc  told  that  the  Father,   Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  are 
 
581 
 
 "  incomprehensible  ;  "  yet  we  are  taught  to  beheve  in 
 the  description  given  of  them.  We  are  bound  to 
 credit  the  fact  that  a  Son  is  as  old  as  his  Father,  and 
 yet  that  the  former  was  "begotten"!  Another  class 
 believes  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  of  pagan 
 origin,  and  has  no  warrant  whatever  in  Scripture. 
 
 Drawing  their  inspiration  from  the  so-called  reve- 
 lation, I  have  heard  preachers  declare  that  there  is  no 
 real  fire  in  hell,  and  no  material  devil;  and  many 
 others  descant  upon  the  nature  of  the  flames,  of 
 the  fuel,  of  the  Satanic  stokers,  of  the  form  of 
 the  Evil  One,  and  the  delights  which  the  blessed 
 will  experience  at  witnessing  the  tortures  of  the 
 damned.  Again,  the  hierarchy  are  divided  upon  the 
 question  whether  the  word  "everlasting"  signifies  in 
 the  Scripture,  "lasting  for  ever,"  or  simply  marks 
 an  undefined  period  of  time.  Some  furnish  the 
 future  world  with  a  place  for  repentance,  and  others 
 declare  that  everything  is  as  fixed  and  stable,  beyond 
 the  grave,  as  things  are  fleeting  and  uncertain  here. 
 Some,  again,  there  are  who  consider  beautiful 
 churches,  gorgeous  vestments,  and  sensuous  music 
 essential  to  all  true  worship ;  whilst  others  favour 
 barns,  hill-sides,  or  open  moors,  and  execrate,  as 
 sinful  beyond  description,  any  instrument  of  music 
 more  elaborate  than  a  pitch  pipe.  Again,  there  are 
 some  who,  relying  upon  revelation,  consider  that 
 there  are  no  such  things  as  angels,  any  more  than 
 there  were  such  gods  as  Mercury,  Pan,  Pluto,  Nep- 
 tune, Venus,  Minerva,  Bacchus,  and  Hercules ; 
 and  that  the  idea  of  the  existence  of  such  intelli- 
 gences arose  amongst  the  Babylonians.  Another  order 
 of  preachers,  also  relying  upon  revelation,  declare 
 that  these    do   exist;    and  they  pray,  respecting  St. 
 
582 
 
 Michael  and  all  angels,  that  "  as  Thy  angels  always 
 do  Thee  service  in  heaven,  so  hy  Thy  appointment 
 they  may  succour   and   defend   us   on   earth." 
 
 One  church,  reljdng  upon  the  "  revealed  will  of 
 God,"  institutes  the  rite  of  ''confession,"  and  or- 
 dains that  all  its  votaries,  without  exception,  shall 
 confess  to  one  or  other  of  the  priestly  order.  An- 
 other section  of  the  Christian  Church  does  all  in  its 
 power  to  discourage  such  a  practice.  In  fine,  for  it 
 would  be  unprofitable  to  carry  our  criticism  farther, 
 the  only  single  item  of  belief  which  is  held  by 
 everybody  alike,  as  a  consequence  of  revelation,  is 
 that  there  is  a  God  who  is  gi-eat  beyond  conception. 
 I  do  not  know  one  other  article  of  belief  upon  which 
 all  sections  of  the  Christian  Church  are  perfectly  in 
 accord.  But  no  one  who  is  conversant  with  the  ancient 
 history  and  theology  of  Hindostan,  China,  Persia,"^ 
 will    assert    that    this    fundamental    creed    required 
 
 1^  To  this  assertion  may  be  opposed  the  expression  of  Paul  in  First  Epistle  to 
 Corinthians  i.  21,  "The  ■world  bj-  -nisdom  knew  not  God;"  and  that  of  Zophar, 
 Job  xi.  7,  "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  Canst  thou  find  out  the 
 Almighty  unto  perfection?"  The  objection  would  be  valid  if  it  were  proved  that 
 the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  was  infallible,  and  the  Naaniathite  an  inspired  conver- 
 Bationalist.  But  as  Paul  knew  nothing  of  the  doctrines  of  Buddliism,  and,  more- 
 over, avowedly  addressed  his  assertions  to  the  illiterate  and  the  vulgar,  those 
 indeed  whose  minds  were  wholly  untrained,  wo  cannot  regard  his  opinion  as  of 
 paramount  value.  When  the  Apostle  writes,  "  Wo  preach  C'luist  crucified,  unto 
 the  .lews  a  scandal  (<r(to>'ioAo>),  and  unto  the  Greeks  an  absurdity  (/iwpi'ar) ; "  "  Yo 
 SCO  how  that  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble 
 are  called ;  but  God  hath  chosen  the  absurdities  (m<«P«)  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
 wise,"  etc.,  it  is  clear  that  he  does  not  desire  to  establish  his  ]iosition  by  argument, 
 but  aims  to  carry  it  by  the  sheer  force  of  assertion.  If  a  modem  philosopher,  such 
 an  one  as  Paul  affected  to  det-pise,  were  now  to  compare  the  God  whom  Paul 
 preochcd,  with  that  which  Uuddha  is  said  to  have  propounded,  and  to  whom  in  all 
 prol.ubilily  the  very  doctrines  enunciated  by  Paul  arc  due,  he  would  find  the  Indian 
 thi'DsojiliiHt  in  advance  of  the  Jndean  t<acher.  It  would,  however,  l)e  inipossilile,  in 
 the  conrse  of  a  '  note,'  to  compare,  effectually,  the  conceptions  of  God  promulgated 
 by  the  leaders  of  the  two  sects  who  almost  divide  the  religions  empire  of  the  world, 
 and  wr  must,  tboreforo,  poHtitone  the  gnbject  to  a  Rnccccding  volume. 
 
583 
 
 the  interposition  of  a  special  message  to  man  ;  and 
 that  a  special  envoy  was  required  to  teach  us  how 
 to  organise  laws,  and  to  endeavour,  as  far  as  possible, 
 to  encourage  all  those  propensities  which  lead  in 
 society  to  the  greatest  happiness  for  the  greatest 
 number,  and  to  repress  those  vices  which  injure  the 
 individual,  or  bring  harm  upon  the  body  corporate. 
 Yet,  when  we  separate  ceremonial  from  practical 
 revelation,  the  whole  gist  of  the  latter  lies  in  such 
 truisms  as  that  it  is  wrong  to  kill,  to  steal,  to  com- 
 mit adultery,  to  lie,  and  to  covet.  Surely  it  did  not 
 require  an  angel  from  heaven  to  tell  us  this ;  and,  if 
 it  did,  we  must  believe  that  a  similar  angel  has 
 visited  every  nation,  and  taught  them  the  same 
 truths.  We  may  sum  up  the  matter  thus:  that 
 which  passes  current  amongst  Christians  for  a  divine 
 revelation  is  so  indistinct,  that  hundreds  of  opposing 
 sects  can  be  established  upon  its  foundation  ;  it  is  so 
 insufficient,  that  it  is  consulted  in  vain  on  certain 
 points  by  those  living  in  highly  civilised  communities; 
 it  is  useless  to  afford  the  basis  of  good  government; 
 whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  both  by  precept  and 
 example,  it  encourages  bigotry,  fatalism,  fanaticism 
 and  ferocity  (see,  for  example,  Deut.  xiii.  1-10), 
 it  foretels  the  imminent  destruction  of  the  world,  and 
 it  not  only  makes  the  majority  of  those  who  put  faith 
 therein  miserable,  but  it  limits  the  power  of  the 
 Creator. 
 
 From  considerations  like  the  preceding,  we  con- 
 clude that  there  is  no  trustworthy  evidence  for  the 
 statement  that  God  has  revealed  His  will  to  man 
 by  means  of  human  agency;  still  less  for  the  asser- 
 tion that  He  has  done  so  to  only  one  set  of  men, 
 and  allowed  it  to  be  recorded  in  only  one  collection 
 
584 
 
 of  writings.  We  do  not  deny  the  existence  of  testi- 
 mony as  to  Divine  revelation  altogether,  but  we  assert 
 that  it  is  for  the  most  part  worthless,  being  con- 
 troverted by  evidence  of  greater  weight  and  higher 
 authority. 
 
 4.     When   we    attempt  to  contrast,    or   to   com- 
 pare,  that  which   is  called  "  natural,"  with  what  is 
 designated  "revealed"   religion,   we  are  met  on  the 
 threshold  by  the  difficulty,  that  the  latter  has  so  many 
 forms  that  we  cannot  fairly  describe  it  at  all.     If,  as 
 the   most  ancient  form  of  faith,  I  assume  that  the 
 Greek  Church  represents,  in  doctrine,  etc.,  the  purest 
 form  of  revealed  religion,  the  Roman  and  the  Angli- 
 can Churches  will  complain  ;  and  if  I  assume  the  lat- 
 ter to  represent  the  religion  of  revelation,  the  Scotch 
 divines   will    protest    against    the    doctrine;    and  if 
 I  were  to  describe  the  Scotch  as  representatives  of 
 a   revealed    faith,  Unitarians    will  protest,  and   Ply- 
 mouth Brethren  will  probably   join  them.       Yet    it 
 is  to  be  remarked,  that  all  these  sects  profess  to  be 
 builded  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Bible  as  an  infalli- 
 ble revelation,  but  which  is  evidently  valueless,  even 
 if  true,   from  the  want  of   an  infallible    interpreter. 
 Being   hopeless,    therefore,    of  finding    any    reliable 
 standard  of  comparison  between  natural  and  revealed 
 religion,  we  must  content  ourselves  with  sketching  the 
 former. 
 
 Natural  religion  is  a  name  given  to  the  doctrines 
 which  a  thoughtful  man  would  draw  from  the  con- 
 templation of  nature,  and  the  course  of  action 
 resulting  therefrom.  Such  an  one  sees  the  Al- 
 mighty's will  in  everything  around  him;  and,  in 
 studying  the  phenomena  of  the  universe,  he  seeks  to 
 understand    the    design    of    its    Creator.      We    find 
 
585 
 
 that  numberless  worlds,  of  various  forms,  exist,  and 
 that  in  our  own  sphere  there  is  an  infinite  variety  of 
 existences.  We  can,  by  starting  from  a  monad, 
 pass  through  a  series  of  gradations  in  form,  to  the 
 tall  tree,  which,  like  the  WeUingtonia  gigantea,  rears 
 its  head  aloft  throughout  thousands  of  years ;  or  to  the 
 huge  mastodon,  the  sagacious  elephant,  and  the  noble 
 man.  An  examination  into  the  process  of  reproduc- 
 tion shows  us  a  wondrous  similarity  in  form  be- 
 tween the  embryo  of  the  eagle  and  of  the  barn-door 
 fowl,  between  the  rudiments  of  the  human  being  and 
 of  other  creatures.  Yet,  though  alike  in  form,  all 
 such  elements  differ  in  that  mysterious  property 
 called  ''vitality."  One  set  of  elements  has  a  propen- 
 sity to  grow  only  in  one  direction,  whilst  another 
 will  only  develop  in  a  different  fashion.  Such  a  power 
 or  propensity  can  only  be  given  by  a  higher  power 
 than  man ;  and  whether  it  is  bestowed  by  the  opera- 
 tion of  certain  laws,  fixed  and  determined  by  the 
 Creator,  or  by  His  constant  operation,  we  know  that 
 it  is  by  His  will  that  certain  animals  are  lions,  others 
 wolves,  others  sheep,  and  others  deer.  It  is,  more- 
 over, clearly  the  intention  of  the  Great  Founder  of  the 
 universe,  that  the  graminivorous  animals  shall  feed 
 upon  vegetable  diet,  and  that  the  carnivorous  shall 
 live  upon  flesh.  Consequently,  the  philosopher  sees 
 no  deed  contrary  to  the  will  of  God  and  the  design 
 of  Providence  when  a  tiger  commits  murder. 
 
 Again,  when  the  philosopher  sees  that  at  certain 
 seasons  the  males  and  females  of  every  class  of  living 
 things  seek  each  other's  company,  he  cannot  conceive 
 that  "love"  is  a  passion  distasteful  to  the  Creator. 
 Nor  when  he  sees  wolves,  rats,  lions,  and  other  crea- 
 tures fight  for  their  females,  can  he    consider  such 
 
586 
 
 contests  as  "  sins  against  God."  When  such  an  ob- 
 server passes  through  the  forest  and  field,  and  sees 
 young  animals  disporting  themselves  in  all  manner  of 
 gambols,  notices  dogs  and  cats,  elephants  and  deer, 
 ducks  and  sparrows,  racing,  or  otherwise  amusing 
 themselves  with  one  another,  and  yet  notices  the 
 wariness  with  which  one  and  all  recognise  danger,  he 
 concludes  that  the  Almighty  has  provided  even  for  the 
 recreation  and  enjoyment  of  His  creatures.  We  seek 
 in  vain  for  a  lion  who  fasts  voluntarily ;  for  a  cow  who, 
 being  hungry  and  having  grass  before  it,  refuses  to 
 eat,  or  wanders  into  a  sandy  desert ;  for  a  cat,  or  rat, 
 which  cultivates  dirt,  and  does  not  attend  to  the  clean- 
 liness of  its  fur ;  or  for  a  rabbit  that  shuns  its  com- 
 panions. From  the  total  absence  of  asceticism  in  the 
 brute  creation,  we  infer  that  God  has  not  enjoined 
 it  upon  men,  and  that  vows  of  poverty,  with  habits  of 
 filth,  are  not  of  celestial  origin. 
 
 We  see,  moreover,  that  every  creature  enjoys  itself 
 whilst  it  can,  and  dies  when  it  must.  Sometimes, 
 as  when  too  many  birds  are  in  a  nest,  the  destruction 
 comes  from  a  parent.  Occasionally,  as  happens  with 
 the  hedge-sparrow  and  cuckoo,  it  comes  from  an 
 apparent  comrade.  Frequently  death  comes  on  the 
 wings  of  the  wind,  or  from  the  lightning;  from 
 the  ferocity  of  hawk  or  eagle,  wolf  or  tiger.  At  one 
 time  the  destruction  seems  all  but  universal,  resem- 
 bling the  Oriental  plague ;  and  at  another  it  is  only 
 partial;  yet  death  comes  at  last,  in  one  form  or 
 another.  Now  in  none  of  these  instances  does  the 
 misfortune  —  if,  indeed,  wc  may  cull  the  occurrence 
 by  that  name  —  depend  upon  the  misdeeds  of  an 
 individual  or  of  the  community.  A  murrain  amongst 
 cuttle,    the     bhght     upon     tubers,    and    the    uidiuin 
 
587 
 
 destroying  fruits  are  not  regarded  as  marks  of  God's 
 displeasure  with  cows  and  oxen,  potatoes  and  grapes. 
 In  like  manner,  the  earnest  student  of  nature  refuses 
 to  see  in  the  cholera  a  visitation  of  the  sins  of  man- 
 kind, or  in  the  hurricane  and  earthquake  the  scourges 
 of  a  taskmaster,  who  is  punishing  his  slaves  for 
 indolence  or  mischief. 
 
 When  the  observer  turns  his  eyes  in  another 
 direction,  he  discovers  that  all  animals  which  have 
 power  to  move  are  always  on  the  look-out  for  danger. 
 The  deer  will  not,  knowingly,  allow  the  approach  of 
 a  sportsman,  but  it  will  feed  quietly  whilst  the  herds- 
 man passes  him.  The  crow  carries  this  fear  of 
 enemies  into  a  system ;  and  when  he  associates  with 
 others,  so  as  to  form  a  community,  he  places  sentries, 
 which  can  see  danger  from  afar,  and  give  timely  warn- 
 ing, thus  allowing  the  rest  to  feed  in  quiet.  If  we 
 could  understand  better  than  we  do  that  which  passes 
 amongst  animals,  we  should  probably  find  to  what 
 extent  they  carry  their  organisation  amongst  them- 
 selves, and  thus  be  able  to  institute  comparisons 
 between  gangs  of  wolves  and  pirates,  hordes  of  pec- 
 caries and  savages,  and  societies  of  elephants  and 
 men. 
 
 Furthermore,  when  the  natural  historian  seeks 
 for  traces  of  Sabbath  observance  amongst  the  brute 
 creation,  or  some  evidence  of  the  presumed  necessity 
 for  the  rest  of  one  day  in  seven,  he  is  wholly  unable  to 
 find  any.  Every  creature  seeks  its  food,  and  takes 
 its  repose,  on  every  day  alike.  It  has  neither  saints' 
 days  nor  holidays.  Consequently  we  infer  that  the 
 laziness  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  the  irksome 
 theological  activity,  combined  with  the  unnatural  rest 
 of  an  English,  and  still  more  of  a  Scotch  Sunday, 
 
588 
 
 upon  which  divines  so  much  insist,  are  matters  on 
 which  the  Almighty  sets  very  little  store. 
 
 Without  going  farther,  we  may  say  that  natural 
 religion  teaches  us  that  there  are  no  sins  against 
 God  except  those  which  manifestly  interfere  with  His 
 designs  or  providence.  He  teaches  a  mother  to  love 
 her  offspring ;  it  is  therefore  a  sin  to  endeavour  to 
 make  her  desert  it.  He  teaches  males  and  females 
 to  unite  ;  it  is  therefore  a  sin  to  ordain  universal 
 celibacy.  He  teaches  all  His  creatures  to  be  as 
 happy  as  they  can ;  it  is  therefore  a  sin  against  God 
 to  encourage  men  to  be  miserable.  It  is  no  sin 
 against  God  when  a  bird  or  beast  kills  one  or  more 
 of  its  superfluous  offspring ;  nor  can  we  logically  say 
 that  it  is  an  offence  against  the  Almighty  when  a 
 M'oman  kills  a  child  which  she  is  unable  to  rear. 
 
 Such  a  doctrine  as  that  last  mentioned  appears 
 at  first  sight  to  be  horrible ;  and  doubtless  it  is  so, 
 to  everyone  who  confounds  the  laws  of  man  with 
 those  of  God."~     We  can  readily  understand  any  one 
 
 112  By  "tlie  laws  of  God,"  in  relation  to  mankind  and  the  creation  generally,  we 
 mean  those  instincts,  propensities,  passions,  method  of  growth  and  uicrease  that 
 form  a  necessary  part  of  the  living  being;  by  "  the  laws  of  man,"  we  wish  to  indicate 
 those  regulations  which  have  been  made  by  human  beings  living  in  societies,  for  the 
 presumed  good  of  the  commonwealth,  or  for  the  exaltation  of  a  particular  man, 
 family,  class,  tribe,  or  kingdom.  The  inconvenience  of  confounding  these  two  is 
 considerable.  If,  for  example,  it  is  alleged  that  laws  made  by  men  do  in  reality 
 emanate  from  God  direct,  it  must  follow  that  the  hiws  which  permit  the  murder  of 
 the  aged  and  the  infant,  and  those  which  punish  such  as  a  crime,  emanate  from 
 the  same  divine  source.  Logically,  we  must  allow  that  there  is  in  creation  a  law 
 providing  for  the  destruction  of  superfluous  organisms.  Rut  the  statutes  made  by 
 Christian  civilisation  endeavour  to  contravene,  as  regards  mankind,  this  natural 
 law.  Yet  in  every  age  nature  shows  herself  to  be  stronger  than  man.  Even  now, 
 Senators  in  civilised  England  uphold  fa-ticido,  denounce  a  large  family  in  a  poverty- 
 stricken  house  as  a  crime,  or  encourage  devices  for  getting  rid  of  useless  members 
 of  society.  Our  workhouses  may  almost  be  designated  as  contrivances  for  ridding  the 
 working  bees  of  the  drones.  I  have  heard  that  in  war,  when  any  mnu  engaged, 
 before  an  enemy,  in  making  a  pontoon  across  a  stream  is  shot,  and  becomes  helpless 
 to  aid  in  ".ouBtructiou,  he  is  thrown  overbuurd,  whttlior  dead  or  alive  ;  and,  such  being 
 
589 
 
 averring  that  the  toleration  of  infanticide  would 
 depopulate  the  world ;  yet  we  do  not  find  the  race  of 
 pigs  defunct  because  a  mother  occasionally  eats  a 
 superfluous  suckling.  Nor  do  the  sparrows  diminish 
 because  the  old  bird  is  allowed  by  her  neighbours 
 to  turn  a  chick  out  of  the  nest.  We  cannot  legiti- 
 mately consider  that  to  be  a  sin  against  God  in  man, 
 which  is  ordained  by  Him  to  the  brutes ;  "^  for  we 
 must  ever  consider  that  man,  so  far  as  he  knows, 
 only  differs  in  degree  from  the  lower  animals. 
 Indeed,  in  some  few  spots  upon  the  globe,  man  him- 
 self must  be  classed  amongst  the  brutes. 
 
 When  we  thus  express  ourselves,  we  are  speaking 
 
 recognised  as  a  necessary  evil,  is  tolerated  as  justifiable.  Few  governments  Lave 
 dared  to  act  thus  in  tlie  battle  of  life.  Yet  our  police  courts  tell  us  only  too 
 plainly  bow  many  of  the  feeble  are  sacrificed  by  stealth  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
 strong. 
 
 We  may  shortly  notice  an  evident  recognition  of  the  existence  of  these  two  sets 
 of  laws  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  Jews.  Self-preservation  is  the  law  of  nature 
 {i.  e.  of  the  Creator)  ;  and  during  the  time  of  the  ]\Iaccabees  (see  B.  i.  c.  ii.,  vv. 
 32-41),  this  was  opposed  to  a  human  ordinance,  supposed  to  have  a  divine  origin, 
 viz.,  the  fourth  commandment.  Eeligious  training  for  once  overrode  the  human 
 instinct ;  yet  after  reflection  the  manly  intuition  to  protect  one's  wife,  children,  and 
 oneself  prevailed  over  the  priestly  law,  which  prohibited  all  manner  of  work  uj)on 
 the  Sabbath.  If  this  episode  stood  alone,  it  would  induce  us  to  deny  the  divine 
 origin  of  the  seventh  day's  rest. 
 
 In  speaMng  thus,  it  must  be  understood,  that  we  do  not  object  in  any  way  to 
 man  making  laws  which  controvert,  curb,  or  punish  the  indulgence  of  natural 
 instincts.  On  the  contrary,  we  wish  and  hope  to  see  human  laws  for  the  benefit  of 
 society,  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  word,  far  more  nearly  allied  to  perfection  than 
 they  are ;  and  this  we  believe  they  never  will  be  so  long  as  statesmen  allow  them- 
 selves to  be  trammeled  by  the  requirements  of  so-called  "revelation." 
 
 113  To  this  it  may  be  objected,  that  Paul  the  Apostle  held  the  belief  that  the 
 whole  creation  suffered  for  the  sin  of  man,  and  that  all  the  universe  would  ulti- 
 mately be  redeemed  or  saved  (Rom,  viii.  19-23).  We  see  no  force  in  the  objection, 
 however,  for  Paul  was  neither  a  geologist  nor  a  natural  historian.  He  was,  like 
 many  another  theologian,  ignorant  of  the  ways  of  God  in  the  world  at  large.  In 
 one  part  he  avers  that  death  came  into  the  world  by  the  sin  of  one  man  (Rom.  v. 
 12)  ;  whilst,  in  another  (1  Cor.  xv.  36,  et  seq.),  he  declares  that  a  seed  must  die  ere 
 a  plant  can  grow  from  it.  If,  therefore,  his  argument  is  worth  anything,  it  follows 
 that  sinless  men  could  not  have  crops  of  various  fruits,  for  seeds  would  not  fnictify  ; 
 or  that  death  is  a  necessary  ingredient  in  the  economy  of  the  world.  We  certainly 
 cannot  pin  our  faith  on  such  a  logician. 
 
590 
 
 of  man  at  the  bar  of  his  Maker,  not  before  the 
 tribunal  of  his  fellow-man.  We  have  as  yet  made 
 no  reference  to  human  law.  It  is  important  now  that 
 we  should  consider  it.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
 the  origin  of  human  law  has  been  patriarchal ;  the 
 father  has  had  wife  and  children  under  his  own  care, 
 and  his  will  has  been  law.  When  famihes  united, 
 each  had  its  own  head;  but  when  quarrels  arose 
 between  members  or  dependants  of  two  distinct  fami- 
 lies, they  required  settlement  by  the  sword,  or  by 
 arbitration.  The  arbitrators  would  naturally  be  the 
 heads  of  the  famihes  interested.  This  would  suffice, 
 so  long  as  all  were  equal ;  but  when,  by  dint  of  bodily 
 strength  and  personal  vigour,  one  man,  or  one  family, 
 dominated  over  the  rest,  he  would  become  the  law 
 giver.  But,  though  a  chief  may  desire  to  govern 
 solely  by  his  own  will,  his  subjects  might  unite  to 
 oppose  such  an  arbitrary  proceeding,  and  demand  a 
 code  of  laws  which  all  could  understand. 
 
 Or,  in  communities  where  no  such  superior  man 
 arose  as  tyrant  or  monarch,  it  would  be  found  desir- 
 able to  have  some  understood  principles  according  to 
 which  justice  should  be  administered ;  or,  failing 
 this,  some  observing  man  might  frame  a  code  which 
 he  thought  just,  and  propound  it  for  adoption,  pro- 
 bably as  the  result  of  a  divine  revelation.  At  any 
 rate,  in  all  civilised  societies  there  is  something  like 
 a  code  of  laws;  and  in  barbarous  states  the  will  of 
 the  sovereign,  whoever  he  may  be,  is  supreme. 
 
 Now,  whenever  a  code  of  laws  is  promulgated  or 
 adopted  as  binding  upon  all,  whether  judges,  monarch 
 or  subjects,  it  is  clear  that  some  machinery  must 
 be  used  to  make  it  respected.  Offences  against 
 the  law  cannot  be  punished  as  the  code  directs,  unless 
 
591 
 
 the  offender  is  recognised,  found  and  brought  before 
 a  tribunal.  But  a  culprit  will  not  be  detected  unless 
 he  is  informed  against,  or  else  accuses  himself ; 
 consequently  there  must  be  a  body  of  men  appointed 
 by  their  fellows  to  discover  the  law  breakers,  or  every- 
 body must  become  an  amateur  constable.  Either  of 
 these  alternatives  involves  trouble  and  expense,  and 
 justice  is  neglected  in  consequence.  By  such 
 supineness,  many  formidable  offenders  escape  with 
 impunity.  When  the  thoughtful  have  seen  that  mur- 
 derers, violators,  robbers  and  the  like  escape  from 
 human  punishment,  they  have  naturally  imagined 
 that  God  rules  in  the  world  as  man  does  in  a  city, 
 and  concluded  that  all  who  are  left  unpunished  here 
 will  be  punished  hereafter ;  and  that  the  good  who 
 are  overborne  by  the  bad  in  this  world  will  be  blessed 
 hereafter.  So  long,  however,  as  this  idea  exists 
 in  the  minds  of  the  few,  it  is  practically  worthless  ; 
 means  have  therefore  been  taken  to  disseminate  it  as 
 a  religious  truth,  or  revelation.  Whenever  this  is 
 done,  offences  against  men  become  confounded  with 
 sins  against  God,  and  are  punished,  either  corporeally 
 by  the  magistrate,  or  ecclesiastically  by  the  priest. 
 
 When  once  a  superstitious  dread  of  the  unseen 
 world  arose,  ecclesiastical  punishment  became  more 
 formidable,  both  in  idea  and  in  reality  ;  and,  on  the 
 whole,  this  effect  has  been  salutary,  for  the  hierarchy 
 have  been,  in  general,  better  educated  than  the  majo- 
 rity of  the  people  of  days  gone  by. 
 
 When  the  plan  of  enforcing  justice  by  ecclesiasti- 
 cal terrors  had  been  once  adopted,  it  was  found  of  too 
 great  importance  to  be  laid  aside.  Even  in  the  best 
 policed  modern  towns,  a  large  amount  of  crime  would 
 remain  unpunished,   if  there  were  not  a  wide-spread 
 
592 
 
 dread  of  the  unseen,  and  a  fear  of  being  visited  here- 
 after for  a  fault  committed  here ;  expiation  for  a 
 fault  in  this  life  being  generally  supposed  to  svipe  the 
 offence  out  of  the  book  kept  in  heaven.  Yet  though, 
 as  philosophers,  we  may  doubt  whether  the  fact  be  so, 
 we  must,  as  political  economists,  support  the  idea  of 
 temporal  expiation  insuring  perpetual  forgiveness. 
 "  Old  Bogy,"  or  any  other  creature,  said  to  dwell  in 
 a  closet  which  none  can  open,  has  far  more  influence 
 on  those  who  believe  in  him,  than  a  loaded  cannon 
 standing  openly  in  the  market-place.  The  power  of 
 the  last  is  known  to  be  limited,  that  of  the  first  is 
 unknown;  Omne  ignotum  pi'o  magnijico,  or  ''igno- 
 rance and  fear  are  brothers,"  has  almost  passed  into 
 a  proverb. 
 
 It  is  to  be  observed,  that  most  law-makers,  when 
 framing  the  codes  which  shall  govern  their  country, 
 have  gone  upon  very  distinct  principles  —  sentiment 
 and  expediency — sometimes  they  have  gone  upon  no 
 recognised  principle  whatever.  Thus,  for  example, 
 they  have  declared  that  there  is  no  difference  between 
 the  wilful  and  deliberate  murder  of  one  man  or  woman 
 by  another,  and  the  hasty  despatch  of  a  young  infant 
 by  a  mother,  Avhen  unable  to  sustain  its  life.  Nor 
 has  the  bloody  decree  become  modified,  although 
 the  sturdy  sense  of  right  which  exists  amongst  us, 
 practically,  makes  the  edict  a  dead  letter.  The  law 
 studies  expediency,  when  it  forbids  the  public  exhibi- 
 tion of  indecencies ;  but  it  neglects  all  recognised 
 principles  when  it  refuses  to  make  regulations  for 
 the  health  of  the  nation,  and  encourages  prostitutes 
 in  every  possible  way  to  pick  up  their  victims  in 
 streets,  theatres,  taverns,  and  all  places  of  public 
 resort.     I  have  indeed  seen  "  hetairoD  "  plying  for  hire 
 
593 
 
 in  a  Protestant  Church,  even  under  the  eyes  of  two  of 
 Her  Majesty's  judges,  and  the  high  sheriff  of  a 
 county.  Our  laws  are  equally  senseless  when  they 
 permit  individuals  to  marry  certain  of  their  blood 
 relations,  and  prohibit  them  from  marrying  others  to 
 whom  they  are  only  connected  by  marriage. 
 
 When  we  inquire  closely  into  precepts  which  are 
 laid  down  for  the  guidance  of  mankind,  in  that  which 
 passes  for  a  revelation  from  on  high,  we  find  a  re- 
 markable discrepancy  between  those  in  the  Old  and 
 New  Testament.  This  is  brought  out  forcibly  in  the 
 sermon  on  the  mount,  wherein  Jesus  distinctly  opposes 
 the  teaching  of  Deuteronomy,  thus,  "  Ye  have  heard 
 that  it  hath  been  said.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour 
 and  hate  thine  enemy.  But  I  say  unto  you.  Love 
 your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to 
 them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despite- 
 fully  use  you  and  persecute  you"  (Matt.  v.  43,  44). 
 When  such  an  opposition  exists,  man  may  make  a 
 'selection  which  ''revelation"  he  will  trust.  If  he  is 
 in  a  comparatively  savage  condition,  he  will  prefer 
 the  maxims  ordering  him  to  hate  his  foes ;  but  if  he 
 be  a  member  of  a  highly  civilised  community,  he  vdll 
 select  those  ordaining  the  cultivation  of  brotherly 
 love.  Such  a  one  will  recognise  that  the  maxim, 
 *'  Love  your  neighbour  as  yourself,"  is  the  foundation 
 of  all  good  government,  in  the  domicile,  in  the  town, 
 in  the  county,  in  the  empire,  and  in  the  world. 
 To  this  many  add,  "  Love  God,  and  keep  His  com- 
 mandments." 
 
 All  civilised  and  thoughtful  beings  can  give  un- 
 qualified assent  to  the  first  precept,  and  a  general 
 assent  to  the  second,  differing  only  in  their  interpreta- 
 tion of  the  words,  "  God,  and  His  commands."     Let 
 
 pp 
 
594 
 
 us  take  as  an  illustration  that  which  is  called  the 
 sixth  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not  kill ; "  there 
 is  probably  not  one  which  is  more  generally  believed 
 to  emanate  from  the  Almighty  than  this.  Yet  we 
 are  told,  in  the  ancient  Jewish  chronicle,  that  God 
 ordered  the  slaughter  of  two  nations,  Midian  and 
 Amalek;  and  we  see  that  Christian  princes  indulge  in 
 political  executions.  When,  therefore,  parents  who  are 
 unable,  from  sheer  want,  to  bring  up  their  offspring, 
 or  affectionate  children,  who  are  prevented  by  poverty 
 from  fostering  aged  or  infirm  parents,  destroy 
 them  deliberately,  and  with  the  sanction  of  a  state, 
 can  we  afl&rm  that  the  law  against  killing  is  one 
 which  has  certainly  emanated  from  Jehovah  ?  That 
 such  a  law  is  not  recognised  amongst  savages  is  well 
 known;  for  amongst  the  Dyaks,  he  is  looked  upon 
 with  the  greatest  respect  who  has  committed  the 
 greatest  number  of  murders.  We  may,  therefore, 
 conclude  that  the  command  in  question  emanates 
 from  civilisation,  rather  than  from  "  revelation." 
 This  is  practically  realised  in  ethics  thus.  Settlers  in 
 a  new  country,  one  practically  stolen  from  its  inhabi- 
 tants, have  naturally  a  contest  Avith  the  aborigines, 
 each  man  fighting,  as  an  individual  or  as  one  of  a 
 community.  So  long  as  the  slaughter  takes  place  in 
 fight,  few  would  designate  it  "murder;"  yet  if 
 unarmed  women  and  children  are  destroyed,  the  car- 
 nage deserves  no  other  name;  nevertheless,  this  is 
 done  in  newly  settled  districts,  alike  by  individuals 
 and  the  government,  and  not  regarded  as  deserving 
 cf  damnation.  War  necessarily  involves  murder, 
 but  civilisation  sanctions  it,  and  thus  suspends  or 
 abrogates  the  so-called  law  of  God. 
 
 In  like  manner,  we  might  demonstrate   that  the 
 
595 
 
 command,  '*  Thou  slialt  not  steal,"  is  one  of  human 
 rather  than  of  divine  origin ;  and  that  many  others 
 usually  said  to  be  revealed  from  heaven  have  ema- 
 nated from  thoughtful  observers  upon  earth.  To  test 
 the  question,  whether  the  two  great  maxims  which 
 we  refer  to  are  due  to  a  celestial  origin,  let  us  fix  our 
 attention  ujDon  two  nations,  Spain  and  Peru,  the 
 former  possessing  that  which  is  asserted  to  be  a 
 divine  revelation,  the  latter  having  never  heard  of 
 the  existence  of  such  a  document.  Yet  when  the 
 two  came  into  contact  with  each  other,  the  Americans 
 surpassed  the  Spaniards  in  brotherly  love,  in  religious 
 feeling,  in  systematic  care  for  their  neighbours,  in 
 education,  and  in  good  government.  Taking  Pres- 
 cott's  history  for  our  guide,  we  affirm  that  no  nation 
 ever  existed,  within  historic  times,  whose  general  pro- 
 priety in  public  and  private  life  was  greater,  and 
 whose  dealing  with  enemies  was  more  humane,  than 
 the  Peruvian.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  doubtful 
 whether  any  people  more  savage,  murderous,  cruel 
 and  rapacious  than  the  Spaniards  has  been  known 
 in  the  new  world.  Hence  we  conclude,  that  '  -  reve- 
 lation" is  not  essential  to  teach  mankind  sound 
 political  economy,  consideration  for  the  welfare  of 
 others,  or  real  brotherly  love. 
 
 To  this,  the  natural  rejoinder  is,  that  every  im- 
 pulse to  do  good  is  ''  an  inspiration,"  and  that 
 every  precept  which  emanates  from  that  impulse 
 is  "  a  revelation;"  and  as  a  corollary  it  may  be 
 added,  that  such  inspiration  and  revelation  will 
 advance  with  the  spread  of  knowledge  and  of  civili- 
 sation. We  do  not  object  to  the  proposition,  for  it 
 is  merely  another  form  for  saying,  that  revelation  is 
 of  human  invention.      No  thoughtful  man  would  join 
 
596 
 
 issue  on  such  statement,  for  he  is  willing  to  believe 
 that  his  skill,  power  of  observation,  thought,  judg- 
 ment, action  and  the  like  come  from  a  higher 
 source  than  his  earthly  parents  and  the  education  he 
 has  had.  But  if  this  be  the  meaning  of  theologians 
 when  they  talk  of  "revelation,"  they  should  recast 
 their  whole  system  of  theology  and  style  of  diction. 
 
 Again,  it  is  asserted  that  the  morality  of  the 
 Bible,  which  is  regarded  by  many  as  an  inspired 
 book,  is  superior  to  that  of  any  other  known  scrip- 
 ture, and  consequently  that  it  must  jtar  excellence  be 
 the  only  revelation  known.  But  we  deny  both  the 
 fact  and  the  inference.  We  have  already  shown  that 
 the  morality  of  the  Old  Testament  is  bad.  That  some 
 good  portions  exist  we  do  not  deny,  but  these  are  like 
 oases  in  a  desert.  With  the  precepts  of  the  New 
 Testament  we  generally  agree,  difieriug  only  from 
 them  upon  points  of  detail.  They  were  addressed  to 
 men  by  one  who  believed  that  an  immediate  destruc- 
 tion of  the  whole  world  was  imminent,  and  all  are 
 directed  to  prepare  them  for  that  event ;  the  rich  and 
 the  poor  were  to  have  property  in  common,  for  of 
 what  avail  would  wealth  or  poverty  be  when  the 
 cataclysm  came  ?  Men  were  taught  to  take  no  thought 
 for  the  morrow ;  that  foresight  was  not  necessary  when 
 men  felt  that  the  next  day  might  bring  a  sudden 
 desolation  upon  the  world ;  the  occurrences  of  each 
 day  were  sufficient  to  occupy  each  mind.  All  were 
 to  regard  themselves  as  being  something  superior  to 
 the  lilies  of  the  field  and  the  sparrows,  and  to  believe 
 that  God  would  provide  for  the  men  more  certainly 
 than  Ho  provided  for  the  crows.  To  such  teachings, 
 nil  (»f  them   being  incentives  to  laziness  and  impro- 
 
697 
 
 vidence,   we  cannot   reasonably  assent,    nor   can   we 
 believe  them  to  be  of  divine  origin. 
 
 Yet  many  of  the  most  important  observations  in 
 the  New  Testament  have  exact  parallels  amongst 
 ancient  Hindoo  writers.  The  following,  for  example, 
 are  quotations  from  the  Hitopadesa,  or  the  sanitary 
 counsels  of  Vishnu  Sarman  (translated  by  Francis 
 Johnson,  London,  1848)  :  "  Food,  sleep,  fear,  propa- 
 gation, each  is  the  common  property  of  men  with 
 brutes.  Virtue  is  really  their  additional  distinction. 
 Devoid  of  virtue,  they  are  equal  with  brutes"  (page  3). 
 "  Even  whilst  thinking  upon  destiny,  a  man  should  not 
 relinquish  his  own  exertion"  (page  3).  "Sacrifice, 
 sacred  study,  almsgiving,  pious  austerity,  truth,  forti- 
 tude, patience,  disinterestedness ;  this  is  recorded 
 as  the  eightfold  course  of  duty."  "  He  who  looks  on 
 the  wife  of  another  as  a  mother,  on  the  goods  of 
 another  as  a  clod  of  earth,  and  on  all  creatures  as 
 himself,  is  a  wise  man"  (page  7).  "  The  want  of 
 control  over  the  senses  is  called  the  road  to  ruin,  the 
 victory  over  them  the  path  to  fortune"  (page  9).  **In 
 adversity,  fortitude ;  in  prosperity,  moderation  ;  in 
 the  assembly,  eloquence ;  in  war,  valour ;  ambition 
 for  fame,  perseverance  in  study,  this  is  perfect  in  the 
 nature  of  the  high  minded"  (page  10).  "Sickness, 
 sorrow,  pain,  bonds,  and  afflictions ;  these  are  the  fruits 
 of  the  tree  of  the  personal  transgressions  of  corporeal 
 beings"  (page  11).  "  Suitable  hospitahty  must  be 
 exercised  even  towards  an  enemy  arrived  at  the 
 house."  "  The  good  show  pity  even  to  worthless 
 beings "  (page  15).  "  Keligion  is  the  one  friend 
 which  follows  even  in  death,  whilst  everything  else 
 goes  to  destruction  along  with  the  body"  (page  16). 
 
598 
 
 "  Through  covetousness,  reason  staggers ;  covetous- 
 ness  begets  insatiability.  A  man  tormented  with 
 insatiability  experiences  misery  here  and  hereafter." 
 ''Better  that  silence  be  kept  than  a  word  be  spoken 
 which  is  untrue"  (page  27).  It  would  be  unprofit- 
 able to  multiply  quotations  here,  in  support  of  the 
 statement  which  we  have  made  respecting  the  precepts 
 to  be  found  in  writers  who  certainly  did  not  draw 
 their  inspiration  from  Judean  sources.  The  reader 
 who  is  desirous  to  prosecute  the  subject,  can  examine 
 at  his  leisure  the  following  books :  Legge's  Life  and 
 Teachings  of  Confucius  (Trubner,  1867) ;  A  Code  of 
 Gentoo  Laics,  or  Ordinations  of  the  Pundits  (London, 
 1777) ;  The  Parsi  ReHf/ion  as  contained  in  the  Zend 
 Avesta,  by  John  Wilson,  D.T>.  (Bombay  American 
 Mission  Press,  1843) ;  The  Dahistan,  or  School  of 
 Manners  (Trubner,  &c.,  1843)  ;  The  Sacred  and  His- 
 torical Books  of  Ceylon  (London,  1833) ;  The  Life  or 
 Legend  of  Gaudama,  the  Buddha  of  the  Burmese 
 (Rangoon,  American  Mission  Press,  1866)  ;  The 
 History  of  Lidia,  Vedic  period,  by  J.  Talboys 
 Wheeler  (Trubner,  London,  1867) ;  The  Vishnu 
 Purdnd,  by  H.  H.  Wilson  (Trubner,  London,  1864)  ; 
 Hardy's  Manual  of  Buddhism  (London,  1853)  ; 
 Muir's  Sanskrit  Texts  (Trubner,  London,  1868)  ; 
 Xenophon's  Memorabilia  of  Socrates  (Bohn's  trans- 
 lation, London,  1864) ;  Plato's  JVorks,  and  Cicero, 
 Offices  and  Moral  Works  (Ibid.) ;  Ilang  on  the  Par- 
 sees  (Bombay,  1862) ;  Buddhism  in  Tibet,  Schlagint- 
 weit  (Trubner,  London,  1863). 
 
 To  make  our  views  respecting  human  invention 
 and  divine  revelation  still  more  clear,  let  us  for  a  mo- 
 ment suppose  that  the  laws  on  the  two  tables,  said  to 
 have  l)ecn   given  on  Mount  Sinai,  were  really  uttered 
 
599 
 
 there,  by  God  Himself.  We  do  not,  therefore,  believe 
 that  the  Egyptians  had  no  law  against  murder.  In- 
 deed, the  story  of  Moses  slaying  the  Egyptian,  and  his 
 flight  into  Midian  to  escape  from  the  consequences  of 
 his  crime,  prove  that  homicide  was  punishable  on  the 
 banks  of  Nile,  long  before  Israel  departed  from  the 
 land  of  the  Pharaohs.  No  one  has  hitherto  pre- 
 tended that  the  Egyptian  priesthood  had  a  revelation 
 from  Jehovah ;  consequently,  we  must  believe  that 
 the  ordinance,  'Hhou  shalt  not  kill,"  is  of  human 
 invention.  But  it  may  be  said,  that  he  who  first 
 proclaimed  that  law  must  have  been  divinely  in- 
 spired, for  no  one,  unless  he  possessed  the  Spirit  of 
 the  Holy  God,  could  have  propounded  such  a  com- 
 mandment. This  involves  the  idea,  that  every  man 
 who  is  clever  beyond  his  fellows  possesses  a  portion 
 of  the  wisdom  of  the  Almighty.  That  many  such 
 mortals  assume  to  be  inspired  to  give  laws,  we  know 
 from  history.  Take,  for  example,  the  case  of  Numa 
 Pompilius ;  he  is  represented  as  following  Romulus, 
 as  head  over  the  young  state  of  Rome ;  his  subjects 
 were  a  mixed  multitude  from  different  towns,  and 
 mostly  fugitives  from  justice ;  that  they  were  lawless, 
 the  rape  of  the  Sabines  demonstrates.  When 
 Numa  recognised  this,  he  considered  it  to  be  politic 
 to  frame  a  certain  code  by  which  the  people  should  be 
 governed  ;  in  such  a  summary,  doubtless,  were  the 
 laws,  **thou  shalt  not  murder,  steal,  or  adulterise." 
 Now  Numa,  we  are  informed,  proclaimed  that  the 
 edicts  which  he  promulgated  were  heaven-sent,  a 
 special  messenger  coming  to  him  for  the  purpose  of 
 instructing  him  in  the  science  of  legislation ;  con- 
 sequently, we  must  believe  either  that  he  had  a 
 revelation  from  God,  or  that  he  was  simply  an  astute 
 
GOO 
 
 man,  who  used  rclifj^on  ns  a  cloak  l)v  which  he  could 
 impose  salutary  laws  upon  his  subjects. 
 
 I  cannot,  indeed,  remember  reading  of  any  state 
 pretending  to  civilisation,  or  of  one  ruled  over  by 
 a  chieftain,  in  which  murder,  theft  and  adultery 
 committed,  by  one  of  a  tribe,  against  a  compatriot 
 have  not  been  punishable  by  law  or  custom ;  we 
 must,  then,  either  regard  the  domestic  abhorrence 
 of  these  crimes  as  an  instinct  implanted  in  us  by 
 the  Creator,  or  the  result  of  a  revelation  to  every 
 right-minded  citizen.  If,  with  many,  we  conceive 
 the  two  to  be  identical,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to 
 recast  entirely  the  current  ideas  respecting  a 
 special  revelation  to  the  Jews  alone.  Let  us  for 
 a  moment  think  what  the  question  involves ;  we 
 may  put  it  fairly  thus ;  A  certain  section  of  men 
 resemble  a  family,  residing  in  a  lovely  spot,  appa- 
 rently sequestered ;  they  claim  amongst  themselves 
 to  have  a  possession  more  rich,  fertile,  beautiful  and 
 glorious  than  all  the  world  besides  ;  they  still  farther 
 claim  to  be  the  only  country  on  earth  over  which  the 
 Creator  watches  with  a  paternal  eye.  To  them  lie 
 speaks,  and  He  gives  laws  for  their  guidance.  With- 
 out their  pale,  there  is  neither  true  comfort,  peace, 
 prosperity  nor  salvation,  and  foreigners  are  pitied,  and 
 despised  or  persecuted  to  change  their  opinions.  Yet 
 it  sometimes  happens,  that  in  this  community  there 
 arc  some  earnest  men,  who  cannot  recognise  all  the 
 beauties  of  the  spot  in  which  they  were  bom  ;  in 
 their  eyes  the  landscape  is  blotted  with  eye-sores; 
 the  so-called  happiness  is  dreary,  the  laws  are  inade- 
 quate to  maintain  order,  and  miserj"  prevails  in  many 
 u  liiddcn  corner.  Determined  to  investigate  mottcrs 
 for    themsclveH,    t\if\     luv.      tlnir    mntractcd    state, 
 
601 
 
 sally  out  into  the  world,  and  find  many  a  locality 
 equal  in  beauty  to  that  which  they  have  left,  and  some 
 where  brotherly  love  is  really  cultivated  and  abounds. 
 They  find  that  the  eye  of  the  Creator  is  over  all 
 His  universe,  and  that  their  own  small  clan  has  no 
 especial  value  in  His  eyes.  With  minds  like  those 
 of  Japanese  envoys  to  modern  Europe,  expanded  by 
 mingling  with  the  world,  these  travellers  return 
 and  tell  of  God's  thought  for  other  men ;  yet  their 
 information  is  slighted,  their  words  distorted,  and 
 they  are  punished  for  having  dared  to  wander.  Call 
 the  inhabitants  of  the  locality  which  we  have  described 
 Christians,  and  the  travellers  Free-thinkers,  and  the 
 question  between  the  two  is  apparent.  The  former 
 assert  that  they  are  the  exclusive  people  of  God ;  the 
 latter  declare  that  His  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His 
 works.  The  former  rejoice  in  believing  that  a  small 
 section  of  themselves  will  alone  attain  to  an  ever- 
 lasting happiness  in  a  future  world,  the  rest  being 
 damned  to  all  eternity  ;  the  latter  assert  that  there 
 is  not  throughout  nature  one  single  reason  for 
 believing  that  the  Almighty  made  man  on  purpose 
 to  torture  him.  The  first  fancy  that  they  know  as 
 much  about  a  future  state  as  they  do  of  the  govern- 
 ment of  mundane  empires ;  they  can  tell  the  locality 
 of  Heaven,  and  the  names  of  every  one  living  in  its 
 courts ;  they  can  describe  its  pleasures  and  its  trea- 
 sures, and  each  can  assign  to  himself  his  proper 
 place  in  the  celestial  palace.  In  like  manner,  they 
 can  describe  Hell,  its  masters,  its  executioners,  its 
 punishments,  its  tortures,  and  its  perpetuity;  they 
 claim  power  over  its  portals,  and  can  consign  their 
 foes  thereto ;  and  they  assume  to  have  influence  by 
 which  the  miseries  of  the  damned  can  be  diminished 
 
602 
 
 or  increased.  The  existence  of  such  knowledge  and 
 power  the  Free-thinker  ahsolutely  denies.  Of  those 
 places,  to  which  the  names  Heaven  and  Hell  are 
 given,  he  professes  to  have  no  knowledge.  Refusing 
 to  helieve  the  fables  invented  by  others,  he  declines  to 
 make  any  for  himself.  His  reason  induces  him  to 
 believe,  that  death  will  usher  the  intellectual  part  of 
 human  beings  into  a  new  form  of  existence ;  and  that 
 his  position  in  that  state  will  be  modified  according 
 to  the  manner  in  which  he  has  cultivated  his  mental 
 or  his  animal  powers.  Bej'ond  that  he  dares  not 
 venture  to  idealise.  He  feels  a  full  persuasion  that 
 the  Creator  of  the  universe  will  do  what  is  right,  and 
 he  trusts  Him  implicity. 
 
 Let  us  for  a  moment  compare  the  condition, 
 during  their  lifetime,  of  the  two  sets  of  beings  we 
 sketch.  The  one,  trusting  in  hierophauts,  and  be- 
 lieving in  stories  which  have  been  designed  to 
 frighten  mankind,  lives  in  perpetual  terror  of  eternity, 
 or  brutalises  himself  that  he  may  forget  what  he  has 
 been  taught  respecting  it.  "*  Men  who  are  called  "  reli- 
 gious" hear  perpetually  the  statement  ringing  in  their 
 ears,  that  "few  shall  be  saved;"  that  ''every  offence 
 against  certain  laws  entails  damnation  for  everlast- 
 ing;" and,  as  these  offences  occur  hourly,  they  feel 
 
 1"  I  have  often  licftrd  it  allcgeil,  that  tlio  wildest  and  apparently  the  most 
 depraved  of  onr  educated  yonng  men  arc  those  who  have  been  brought  np  the  most 
 strictly,  by  their  parents  or  otliers,  in  u  religious  point  of  view.  My  own  observations 
 fnlly  bear  out  the  conerul  idea.  The  mind  of  such  has  been  overloaded  with  ima- 
 Rinnry  terrors,  which  innndiito  the  thonglits  when  the  intellectual  has  once  snc- 
 cnmlicd  to  the  animal  being,  and  moral  drunkenness  is  resorted  to  that  thought  may 
 be  drowned.  If  pious  fathers  studied  sound  sense  as  well  as  religion,  they  would 
 have  fewer  profligate  sous.  I  know  many  bad  men,  but  few  are  nioro  utterly  vilo 
 than  the  offspring  of  certain  miuistcrs  of  rcliginn.  The  worst  youth  I  ever  knew 
 familiarly,  could  to  my  knowledge,  trace  his  vilencss  to  the  puritanic  strictuess  of  a 
 consciuutions  but  uarrow-mindcd  fiither. 
 
603 
 
 that  such  judgment  is  imminent.  To  escape  such 
 punishment  is  the  aim  of  their  lives,  and  they  trust  to 
 men  hke  themselves  for  protection  therefrom.  The 
 Rationalist,  on  the  contrary,  is  wholly  free  from  such 
 imaginary  terrors.  His  life  is  spent  in  the  earnest 
 desire  to  do  his  duty  unto  all;  to  insure  the  greatest 
 happiness  to  the  greatest  number ;  to  bring  up  his 
 family  in  the  principles  of  love  and  right,  and  instruct 
 them  in  their  duties  to  each  other  and  to  all  men  ;  and 
 to  be  perfect  gentlemen  in  the  highest  meaning  of 
 the  vrord.  In  fine,  he  strives  to  live  so  as  to  be  able 
 to  use  the  words  of  Job,  "  When  the  ear  heard 
 me,  then  it  blessed  me ;  and  when  the  eye  saw  me, 
 it  gave  witness  to  me ;  because  I  delivered  the  poor 
 that  cried,  and  the  fatherless,  and  him  that  had 
 none  to  help  him,"  etc.  (Job  xxix.  11,  12.)  To 
 such  an  one,  death  has  no  terrors ;  it  is  simply  a 
 summons  to  another  state.  He  falls  asleep.  His 
 work  is  over.  And  he  has  a  perfect  confidence  that 
 He  who  awakes  him  again  will  instruct  him  in  his 
 new  duties. 
 
 We  thus  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  pretence 
 of  a  revelation  has  been  adopted  primarily  to  in- 
 fluence the  minds  of  men,  and  to  induce  them  to 
 do  what  has  been  considered  good  for  them  as  indivi- 
 duals, and  as  members  of  a  community.  As  new 
 exigencies  have  arisen,  the  ideas  of  revelation  have 
 been  enlarged ;  just  as  the  telling  of  one  lie  involves 
 the  necessity  for  many  more."^  Now,  however,  the 
 so-called  revelation  is  recognised  to  have  assumed  so 
 monstrous  a  proportion,  that  sensible  men  shrink 
 aghast  from  it. 
 
 115  See  Letter  on  tlie  Creed  of  the  Church  and  the  Creed  of  the  Croivn,  by 
 Frederick  S.  Ffoulkes,  London,  1869. 
 
604 
 
 But,  though  we  see  that  "revealed"  and  human 
 law  have  influenced  each  other,  they  are  hy  no  means 
 the  same  in  Britain.  The  law  now  refuses  to  per- 
 secute where  revelation  dictated  that  it  should  do  so ; 
 for  example,  the  Bible  says  (Exod.  xxii.  18),  "  Thou 
 shalt  not  suffer  a  witch  to  live,"  yet  moderns  refuse 
 either  to  believe  in  sorcery  or  to  punish  "witches." 
 Nor  do  we  execute,  by  stoning,  an  individual  who 
 gathers  sticks  on  a  Sabbath  (Num.  xv.  32-3G). 
 The  Bible,  on  the  other  hand,  refuses  its  sanc- 
 tion to  the  law  which  says  a  man  shall  not  have 
 two  spouses  at  once,  or  marry  a  sister  of  his  deceased 
 wife.  Our  legislators,  then,  have  thus  demonstrated 
 their  practical  belief  that  revelation  is  not  what  it 
 pretends  to  be,  for  they  prefer  to  be  governed  by  some 
 human  principle,  rather  than  an  edict  professedly 
 divine. 
 
 When  we  have  once  attained  to  this  position, 
 we  cannot  fail  to  recognise  that  some  such  con- 
 clusion occupied  the  mind  of  the  enthusiastic  and 
 earnest  Paul,  who  wi-ites  (1  Cor.  vi.  12),  "  All  things 
 are  lawful  [s^roriv]  for  me,  l)ut  all  things  are  not 
 expedient  [crujiic^e^ej],"  an  assertion  twice  repeated 
 in  ch.  X.  23.  A  reflection  such  as  this  uttered  by 
 Paul  often  passes  through  the  mind  of  the  philoso- 
 pher. He  may  be  profoundly  convinced  of  the  truth 
 of  his  deductions,  but  he  does  not  like  to  proclaim 
 them  at  the  town  cross.  The  sage  may  believe  that 
 dress  has  only  been  adopted  for  warmth  ;  but  ho 
 would  shrink  from  going  unclad,  even  in  India.  lie 
 may  dissent  from  the  doctrine  of  the  })arish  parson  ; 
 but,  when  he  sees  him  occupied  in  doing  good,  ho 
 will  fcnlieur  from  the  expression  of  opinions  which 
 would  mar  his  uHcfuluess.     Our  own  couclusious  may 
 
605 
 
 be  thus  enunciated.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  to 
 endeavour  to  attain  for  himself,  and  for  all  those  who 
 are  dependent  upon  him,  as  much  happiness  as  is 
 compatible  with  his  own  health  and  comfort,  and  with 
 the  health,  comfort,  and  happiness  of  his  neighbours. 
 His  rule  of  action  should  be  the  old  maxim  — 
 
 "  Be  you  to  others  kind  and  true, 
 As  you  'd  have  others  be  to  you ; 
 And  neither  do  nor  say  to  men 
 Whate'er  you  would  not  take  again." 
 
 Conf.  Matt.  vii.  12. 
 
 What  right  have  I,  as  an  Englishman,  to  make  a 
 law  that  all  the  aborigines  of  Australia  shall  wear 
 breeches,  because  my  wife  and  daughters  dislike 
 naked  men  ?  The  natives,  if  we  went  there,  might 
 as  reasonably  insist  that  all  of  us  should  go  nude. 
 In  like  manner,  I  have  no  right  to  insist  that  every- 
 body in  Christendom  shall  be  Jews  on  Sunday,  eat 
 meat  on  Friday,  and  believe  that  the  Almighty  is 
 single,  treble,  or  quadruple.  What  greater  right  has 
 any  body  to  make  me  believe  that  a  robber  was  a 
 great  friend  of  the  Almighty,  that  a  sensual  nation 
 were  a  holy  people,  and  that  Babylonia  was  a  focus 
 of  revelation  ?  Once  again,  let  me  express  a  wish 
 that  each  man  would  think  more  deeply  about  what 
 he  does,  than  about  what  he  believes.  The  one  may 
 be  likened  to  gold  or  metallic  currency,  the  other  to 
 paper  assignats,  or  greenbacks,  which,  though  they 
 promise  to  pay,  may  turn  out  to  be  worthless  in  reality 
 or  absolute  forgeries. "" 
 
 lis  The  following  suffices  to  show  the  current  ideas  of  revelation,  understood 
 literally ;  and  it  is  to  he  remarked  that,  if  a  revelation  is  not  to  be  taken  literally, 
 it  is  worthless,  ["  PECULIAR 
 
606 
 
 Rhodanim,  also  spelled  dodaniiUy  Q"'?p  and  ^'^7'^  U  Chron. 
 i.  7),  and   probably  dedamim,  is  a  word  which   has 
 
 "PECULIAR  PEOPLE"  COMIHTTED  FOR  MANSLAUGHTER. 
 Standard,  London,  January  26,  1868. 
 
 Yesterday,  Mr.  William  Payne,  City  Coroner,  held  an  inquiry,  at  the  Crown 
 Tavern,  Blackfriars-road,  touching  the  death  of  Louis  Wagstaffe,  11  months  old. 
 
 The  deceased  was  the  daughter  of  two  memher.s  of  a  sect  called  "  the  Peculiar 
 People."     Though  a  girl,  she  was  named  Louis,  after  a  saint  of  the  Church. 
 
 Mrs.  Fanny  Adley,  16,  Princes-street,  Blackfriars-road,  said  that  she  was  a 
 widow,  and  was  one  of  the  Peculiar  People.  The  deceased  was  the  daughter  of 
 Thomas  Wagstoffe,  a  wharf  labourer,  and  Mary  Andrews,  his  wife.  The  child  was 
 always  delicate,  and  it  suffered  from  a  cough.  The  elders  of  the  Church  were 
 called  together,  and  they  anointed  the  child.  The  ceremony  gone  through  was  the 
 pouring  of  oil  out  of  a  phial  on  to  the  child's  chest.  Thi-y  prayed  to  the  ^jord  to 
 heal  the  child  and  raise  it  up  again.  Witness  did  not  suggest  the  calling  in  of  a 
 doctor,  because  when  she  was  i.erself  laid  low  the  Lord  of  All  raised  her  up  again. 
 She  went  by  the  Word  of  (lod.  On  Tuesday  last  she  saw  the  child  was  worse 
 I  leath  took  place  on  Wednesday.  They  gave  every  nourishment  to  the  child,  and 
 gave  it  brandy  and  water.  The  reason  they  did  not  call  in  a  doctor  was  that 
 Scripture  said,  "Cursed  is  man  that  trusteth  in  man";  and  also,  "Trust  not  in  an 
 arm  of  flesh." 
 
 A  Juror. — Did  not  the  Lord  speak  of  calling  in  physicians  to  the  sick  ? 
 Witness  (fanatically). — In  what  part  of  Holy  Writ  do  you  find  that? 
 The  Juror  said  he  did  not  know,  but  it  was  there  ;  and  asked  the  witness,  "  If 
 year  leg  was  broken,  would  you  call  in  a  doctor,  or  would  you  merely  pray  to  the 
 Lord  to  get  it  mended  ?  " 
 
 Witness. — The  Lord  says,  "Not  a  bone  of  the  rightfious  shall  bo  broken." 
 Thomas  Cook,  the  Coroner's  oflScer,  deposed  that  on  Wednesday  last,  from 
 information  he  received,  he  went  to  3,  Whitehorse-yard,  and  there,  in  a  loft  over 
 a  stable,  in  which  was  one  horse,  he  saw  the  dead  body  of  the  deceased  child.  The 
 mother,  Mrs.  Adlev.  and  two  male  persons  were  in  the  loft.  Tliey  said  that  the 
 child  had  been  ill  a  fortnight,  and  that  no  doctor  had  seen  it.  "  God  raised  up  the 
 ■ick  and  the  wounded."  Witness  said,  "What!  without  medical  aid?  What  do 
 you  call  your  religion?"  They  answered,  "Peculiar  PeopU."  Witness  remarked 
 that  ho  had  never  heard  of  such  a  religion  before,  and  ho  thought  they  were  very 
 peculiar  indeed. 
 
 Dr.  Thoman  Donohoo,  19,  Wcstminsterbridge-road,  said  that  the  parents  called 
 upon  him  for  a  burial  certificate  after  the  child  was  dead,  and  of  course  lie  refused 
 to  give  it.  He  had  since,  by  the  Coroner's  order,  made  a  poat-morlfm  examination. 
 He  found  that  death  had  resulted  from  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  The  diseaso 
 had  boon  going  on  for  tun  days.  If  medical  aid  had  been  called  in,  the  child 
 wonbl  have  had  a  fair  chance  of  recover)-.  Brandy  and  water  was  highly  improper ; 
 it  would  OKgrnvnte  the  disease. 
 
 Thonmit  WughtiifTe,  tlie  child  s  father,  was  then  asked  for  an  explanation  of  hi* 
 oonduct  in  not  u«l'i"g  medical  aid  for  his  child.  Ho  said  —  "  The  reason  i«,  I  gnvo 
 mv  heart  to  the  Lord  kIx  years  ago,  and  I  Ulievo  thot  Ho  i«  Oo«l  of  my  body. 
 Kow  I  LelicTo  Uikt  when  I  »m  laid  low   the  Lord  will  nuM   mo   up.      Six  yuArt 
 
607 
 
 puzzled  the  philologists,  some  of  whom  consider  that 
 
 ago  I  believed  as  the  people  of  the  world  do.  One  of  the  elders  of  the  Church 
 will  address  you  upon  this." 
 
 The  Coroner  said  that,  as  the  case  was  a  serious  one,  he  would  hear  any 
 witness  that  could  be  produced. 
 
 A  middle-aged  man,  who  had  tlie  appearance  of  a  shopkeeper,  then  steyjped 
 forward,  and  said  that  he  was  an  elder.  He  handed  in  "  A  Plan  for  the  Elders  of 
 the  Peculiar  People,  1867-68. 
 
 "My  worthy  brethren  dear,  you  see  the  new  made  plan, 
 And  your  appointments  there,  now  take  them  if  you  can ; 
 But  if  you  should  be  called  aside. 
 Be  sure  you  get  them  well  supplied." 
 
 The  plan  was  simply  a  list  of  thirteen  places  which  were  to  be  visited  by  the 
 elders.  The  head-quarters  of  the  sect  appeared  to  be  in  Essex.  The  document 
 concluded  with  the  words,  "  Dear  Brethren,  it  is  requested  that  the  Church  visited 
 pay  the  visiting  elder  for  his  time  and  travelling  expenses.' 
 
 The  Elder  then  said,  in  answer  to  the  Coroner's  inquiry  as  to  what  the  docu- 
 ment had  to  do  with  the  calling  in  a  doctor  to  save  the  child's  life  —  "  Sixteen  j"earB 
 ago  the  Lord  saved  my  soul.  All  men  are  appointed  to  die.  We  have  a  conscience 
 that  we  want  to  keep  clean." 
 
 At  this  point  the  Coroner  cut  short  the  exposition  of  the  Elder  by  proceeding 
 to  sum  up.  The  deceased  child,  he  said,  had  lost  its  life  through  the  fault  of  the 
 parents  in  not  procuring  necessary  medical  aid,  and  the  offence  amounted  in  law  to 
 manslaughter.  Elders  might  leave  their  own  lives  to  the  care  of  the  Lord  if  they 
 liked,  but  the  lives  of  children  should  not  be  played  with.  He  liked  their  notion 
 of  trusting  in  the  Lord,  hut  in  this  case  they  had  gone  too  far. 
 
 The  Jury,  after  a  short  consultation,  returned  a  verdict  of  Manslaughter 
 against  Thomas  Wagstaffe  and  Mai-y  Andrews  Wagstaffo. 
 
 The  Coroner  said  that  he  would  take  bail  for  the  appearance  of  the  accused 
 at  the  Central  Criminal  Court.  He  fixed  the  amount  at  £80  for  W^agstaffe  and  his 
 wife,  and  two  sureties  of  £40  each. 
 
 Two  members  of  the  sect,  hat  manufacturers,  became  sureties. 
 
 The  Elder  above  alluded  to  said  that  in  Essex,  where  Ihey  had  numbers  of 
 these  cases,  Mr.  Codd,  the  Coroner,  after  consulting  with  the  Itecorder,  decided  that 
 when  they  sincerely  believed  in  tlie  Lord  it  was  not  manslaughter. 
 
 The  Coroner  said  that  he  was  of  a  different  opinion,  and  that  he  would  send 
 the  parties  to  Newgate  in  future  cases,  for  children's  lives  should  be  protected. 
 The  age  for  miracles  was  past,  and  they  would  find  that,  though  the  gates  opened  for 
 Paul  and  Silas,  the  gates  would  not  open  for  them  when  they  were  in  prison. 
 
 The  Elder  remarked  that  physic  killed  as  many  people  as  the  want  of  it. 
 
 The  Peculiars  gained  a  victory  over  the  people  of  tlie  world  at  the  end  of  the 
 case.  When  they  had  signed  the  bail  bonds  they  refused  to  pay  the  fees,  and  as 
 the  bonds  were  signed  and  accepted  there  was  no  way  of  compelling  them  to  hand 
 over  the  money;  they  accordingly  went  on  their  way  rejoicing.  L'ltimately  the  man 
 and  his  wife  were  tried  at  the  Central  Criminal  Court,  when  the  Judge  ruled  that, 
 as  there  was  no  proof  of  want  of  care  or  aflection  on  the  part  of  the  parents,  the 
 charge  of  manslaughter  could  not  be  sustained,  and  the  indiviJuiils  were  discharged. 
 
608 
 
 it  refers  to  the  Aa^Savoj  (Dardanians),  and  others  to 
 the  'Po'$»o«  (Rhodians).  Both  surmises  appear  to  be 
 equally  probable ;  and  either,  or  both  solutions,  may 
 be  accepted.  But  as  neither  Dardanians  or  Rhodians 
 as  such  could  have  been  known  to  Moses,  it  is 
 tolerably  clear  that  the  passages,  where  they  are 
 spoken  of,  could  not  have  been  written  by  his  pen. 
 Ri  is  the  name  of  "the  goddess"  in  AssjTia.""  She  has 
 very  naturally  been  associated  with  the  Greek  Rhoea 
 (Vsici,  'Vzci,  'Vziri,  or  'Pjrj).  Ri  was  called,  like  her 
 Grecian  successor,  '  the  mother  of  the  gods,"  or  *'  the 
 great  mother,"  and  was  personified  under  the  form  of 
 the  female  organ,  as  Ra  was  characterised  by  that  of 
 the  opposite  sex.  We  are  told  that  the  worship  of 
 Rhaea  was  originated  in  Crete,  before  it  reached 
 Greece  generally.  Now  we  have  already  seen  good 
 reason  to  believe  that  the  Cherethites  were  Cretans 
 who  visited  the  western  parts  of  Asia  as  mercenaries. 
 These  men,  when  returning  home,  would  very 
 naturally  implant  there  any  new  form  of  worship  they 
 had  adopted;  or  else,  some  adventurous  priest,  find- 
 ing his  profession  overstocked  at  home,  may  have 
 carried  his  gods  with  him  to  the  laud  whence  the 
 stalwart  soldiers  came. 
 
 If  we  turn  to  the  Hebrew  for  assistance  in  ex- 
 plaining the  word,  we  find  that  'i^^,  roi,  which  is 
 doubtless  the  equivalent  of  the  Chaldiean  R\,  signi- 
 fies '  the  being  seen  and  recognised  as  God.'  In  Gen. 
 xvi.  13,  we  find,  "And  she  called  the  name  of  the 
 Lord  that  spake  unto  her,  Thou  God  seest  me,"  viz., 
 "'^?:  ^^,  <'^  ^'01.     Jiut  we  find  a  still  more  remarkable 
 
 "7  r.awlinBon's  Tlcroil.,  vol.  i.,  p.  522.  See  also  Rawlinfion  in  Journal  of  thg 
 Iloynl  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i.,  N.,  pp.  103,  1,  and  Talbot  in  Tranaactiont  of  th* 
 lioyal  Society  of  Literature,  vol.  viii.  p.  243. 
 
609 
 
 confirmation  of  our  view  of  the  identity  of  ri,  Rligea, 
 and  womanhood,  in  the  fact  that  ''^p.,  rei,  signifies  a 
 mirror.  Now  a  mirror  is  a  substance  in  which  an 
 individual  can  see  a  reflection  of  his  features ;  and 
 it  was  so  constantly  used  by  women,  that  the  look- 
 ing-glass became  typical  of  the  feminine  creator. 
 Amongst  Lajard's  engravings  from  ancient  gems, 
 there  is  one  which  is  too  gross  for  reproduction, 
 wherein  is  i^ourtrayed  a  seal  of  curious  shape.  On 
 one  face  there  is  a  female  with  an  associate,  'she  being 
 nude  and  without  any  ornament  save  a  mirror ;  whilst 
 on  five  other  faces  are  depicted  a  ram,  a  dog,  a  zebra, 
 a  bull,  and  a  lioness,  all  of  which  were  more  or  less 
 symbolic,  and  the  antiquary  thus  seeks  to  identify 
 this  goddess  with  Ri. 
 
 When  we  have  arrived  at  this  stage  of  our  in- 
 quiry, we  attempt  to  trace  some  names  into  which 
 this  rai  or  ri  seems  to  enter.  AVe  have  already 
 spoken  of  Mary,  Miriam,  Marian,  Mariamne,  etc. 
 We  next  turn  to  Sa/Yf,  or  Sarrn', — over  which  we  will 
 not  now  linger,  —  and  a  number  of  others,  which 
 show  the  connection  between  the  Ri  and  II,  or  ij'Aio'f. 
 We  are  next  reminded  of  the  circumstance  that  in 
 later  times  "the  Virgin"  has  appeared  to  individuals. 
 Roman  Catholic  records  teem  with  minute  accounts 
 of  apparitions  of  Mary ;  now  to  devout  anchorites,  in 
 their  hermitages  ;  now  to  ascetic  friars,  in  their  cells  ; 
 and  now  to  simple  maidens,  on  a  mountain  side. 
 Even  the  pictures  of  the  blessed  Mother  have  been 
 said  to  wink,  and  some  of  them  to  shed  tears.  We 
 might  be  tempted  to  say  something  uugallant  of  the 
 weaker  sex,  were  we  to  express  our  opinion  as  to  the 
 powers  they  possess  of  organising  and  carrying  out 
 any  deception  suggested  to,   or  originated  by,  them. 
 
 QQ 
 
CIO 
 
 But  wo  may  legitimately  express  our  belief,  that  any 
 83'stem  of  theology,  which  introduces  into  its  forms 
 of  worship  the  adoration  of  the  charms  of  lovely 
 women,  whether  in  the  flesh,  in  stone,  in  pictures,  or 
 solely  in  idea,  is  far  more  likely  to  he  captivating  to 
 men  than  one  which  endeavours  to  associate  the  mind 
 with  the  sternness  of  man.  To  the  devout  male  wor- 
 shipper of  the  Virgin,  the  appearance  of  a  female 
 of  exquisite  beauty  has  overpowering  influence ; 
 whilst  few  would  care  to  see,  in  the  flesh,  the  features 
 of  a  man  of  sorrows,  acquainted  with  gi-ief.  I  am 
 not  profoundly  read  in  the  legend  of  St.  Anthony, 
 but  have  a  dim  recollection  that  the  only  form  which 
 the  devil  could  assume,  with  a  hope  of  inducing  the 
 anchorite  to  sin,  was  that  of  a  voluptuous  woman. 
 No  wonder,  then,  that  priests  in  olden  time,  who 
 wished  to  extract  large  ofterings  from  their  male 
 votaries,  adopted  for  their  worship  a  form  which 
 would  both  fire  and  enchant  the  imagination. 
 Rib.  We  have,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  called  attention 
 to  the  mythical  story  of  the  creation,  and  endeavoured 
 to  explain  the  signification  of  Adam  and  Eve,  the 
 serpent,  the  nature  of  the  temptation,  and  of  the  fall. 
 It  remains  only  to  notice  the  story  of  the  formation 
 of  woman,  and  from  a  rib.  Mythologists,  from  the 
 remotest  times  to  the  present,  have  been  puzzled  to 
 decide  whether  man  or  woman  was  created  first,  and, 
 according  to  their  own  caprice,  or  to  the  exigencies 
 of  their  position,  as  leaders  of  opinion  or  opponents 
 to  current  doctrines,  have  fabled  that  the  first  man 
 came  from  the  first  woman,  or  vice  I'crsa,  or  that  the 
 first  l)eing  was  bisexual.  Into  all  the  quaint  stories 
 which  have  reached  us,  from  (Jrcecc,  Palestine,  India, 
 Moxic",    T'."<     nnd   elsewhere,   it   is  unnecessary   to 
 
611 
 
 dive,  except  to  say  that  there  is  a  substantial  resem- 
 blance amongst  them  all.  Yet  there  is  not  one 
 which  makes  a  rib  the  origin  of  woman,  and  we  are 
 therefore  led  to  inquire  into  the  probable  reason.  It 
 is  clear  that  the  conceit  has  not  taken  its  origin  from 
 man  having  fewer  ribs  than  woman,  or  fewer  on 
 one  side  than  on  the  other ;  neither  can  we  attribute 
 it  to  any  natural  hollow,  scar,  or  mark  over  any  of 
 the  ribs  in  males,  for  none  of  these  exist.  Moreover, 
 a  rib  is  not  an  elegant  bone,  nor  is  it  conspicuous  for 
 strength.  We  cannot  say  even  that  it  is  one  which 
 is  nearest  to  the  heart,  the  supposed  seat  of  the  affec- 
 tions, for  the  sternum,  or  breast-bone,  is  certainly 
 closer  to  that  organ  than  is  the  rib.  There  being 
 then  no  generally  known  ground  which  would  serve  as 
 a  basis  for  the  Hebrew  legend,  we  are  led  to  investi- 
 gate the  possibility  of  its  connection  with  the  Jewish 
 language.  In  doing  so  we  discover  that  V^^',  tza'ila, 
 "the  rib,"  was  selected  as  the  origin  of  woman,  from 
 its  assonance  with  J'r'.V,  tzela,  "a  fall,"  the  idea  in  the 
 writer's  mind  being,  'woman,  the  cause  of  man's  fall 
 {tzela),  came  from  the  fall  {tzaila),  of  man's  side.' 
 The  conceit  being  possibly  suggested  by  the  resem- 
 blance of  the  two  words  to  ^^^,  tzelem,  "the  image" 
 of  God ;  the  notion  being  that  woman  was  created 
 in  the  image  of  man,  as  man  was  created  in  the 
 image  of  God ;  and  that  Adam's  fall  came  from  the 
 woman,  whom  God  had  made  from  the  fall  of  his  side. 
 Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  punning  contrivances 
 of  the  Hebrews  will  readily  recognise  the  probability 
 of  this  explanation. 
 RiMMON,  1""^"!  (Jos.  XV.  32),  "A  pomegranate."  The  shape  of 
 this  fruit  resembles  that  of  the  gravid  uterus  in  the 
 female,  and  the  abundance  of  seeds  which  it  contains 
 
G12 
 
 makes  it  a  fitting  emblem  of  the  prolific  womb  of  the 
 celestial  mother.  Its  use  was  adopted  largely  in  vari- 
 ous forms  of  worship.  It  was  united  with  bells,  in 
 the  adornment  of  the  robes  of  the  Jewish  high  priest. 
 
 Figure  42. 
 
 It  was  introduced  as  an  ornament  into  Solomon's 
 temple,  where  it  was  united  with  lilies,  and  probably 
 with  the  lotus.  In  one  part  of  Syria,  it  was  deified, 
 and  a  temple  erected  in  its  honour.  The  Virgin  Mary, 
 who  has  assumed  in  modern  Romanism  the  position 
 
613 
 
 occupied  by  Ishtar,  Astarte,  or  Ashtoreth,  in  ancient 
 Paganism,  is  frequently  seen  adorned  by  ears  of  corn, 
 like  Ceres ;  by  vine  leaves  and  fruit,  as  was  Venus  ; 
 and  by  the  pomegranate,  as  was  Mylitta.  See  Plate 
 4,  Vol.  I. 
 
 Rimmon,  or  the  pomegranate,  figures  in  many 
 Christian  churches,  as  it  did  in  ancient  Syrian  temples. 
 The  accompanying  woodcut.  Fig.  42,  is  copied  from 
 a  figure  in  Pugin's  Glossary  of  Ecclesiastical  Orna- 
 ments (London,  1868).  It  contains  the  double  tri- 
 angle, or  the  shield  of  David  —  the  pomegranate,  and 
 the  vesica  piscis,  the  most  common  of  the  emblems 
 of  the  yoni.  It  is  sad  to  see  such  flagrant  heathen- 
 isms adopted  by  a  Church  which  calls  herself  the 
 only  true  one. 
 RiPHATH,  nsn  (Gen.  x.  3),  ''A  son  of  Gomer,  i.  e.,  of  a 
 Cimmerian  tribe  (Gen.  x.  3),  by  whom  are  understood 
 the  Celts  who  marched  across  the  Riphcean  moun- 
 tains {opri  'P»7ra»a),  i.  e,,  the  Carpathians,  into  the  far- 
 thest regions  of  Europe."  (Fiirst,  s.  v.)  We  have 
 here  apparently  another  indication  of  the  writer  of 
 Genesis  being  familiar  with  Greek,  or  at  any  rate 
 with  Grecian  names. 
 
 S  is  represented  in  the  Hebrew  by  D,  ^,  and  ^,  the  last 
 one  having  the  soft  sound  of  sh,  whilst  the  first  two 
 have  the  pure  sound  of  the  EngHsh  S,  as  in  sow. 
 These  letters  are  interchangeable  with  each  other,  and 
 occasionally  with  T  z,  and  >?  tz ;  just  in  the  same  way 
 as  in  our  own  language  rose  is  pronounced  as  if  it 
 were  written  roze. 
 
 ^  was  written  /[^  ^   H^  ^  "^  ^  y-    by  the 
 
G14 
 Phoenicians  ;    <  ^        /      ?   ^y   ^^^^    Carthaginians  ; 
 /  ?    <    >     O  '    V  '    vJ    '  l^y  the  Ancient  Greeks 
 also   -J-  ,     X  ;  by  the  Umbrians,    Q  ,    ^    . 
 
 t^  was  written  VV,  [JJ,  ^y  the  Ancient  He- 
 brews ;  ///  .  y/  ,  by  the  Phoenicians  ;  tJ  ,  by  the 
 Carthaginians;  /\/\^    Aj  ^  by  the  Ancient  Greeks; 
 
 /vy  by  the  Etruscans ;     (^    by    the    Oscans    and 
 
 Samnites,  from  which  it  is  clear  that  the  Roman  S 
 came. 
 Sabbath,  natl'  (Exod.  xvi.  23).  From  the  earhest  time  of  my 
 childhood,  that  I  can  remember,  the  Sabbath,  or  Sun- 
 day, was  always  the  most  disagreeable  day  of  the 
 week.  Nominally  a  day  of  rest,  it  was  really  one  of  irk- 
 some toil.  We  were  not  allowed  to  play,  and  we  found 
 it  very  hard  work  to  sit  demurely  and  do  nothing. 
 To  occupy  us,  we  had  to  learn  collects,  psalms, 
 and  hymns,  or  read  aloud,  and  be  duly  corrected  by 
 parents  who,  we  could  see,  were  quite  as  much  "bored" 
 as  ourselves.  Then  we  trudged  drearily  to  church, 
 and  were  not  allowed  to  go  to  sleep,  even  on  the 
 hottest  days.  After  dinner,  we  were  trooped  ofl'  to 
 listen  to  some  incomprehensible  sermon,  whilst  the 
 head  of  the  household  imbibed  port  wine,  and 
 Dwight's  Thcitli'ijii,  until  he  fell  asleep.  At  a  stated 
 hour  wo  broke  his  slumbers,  and  underwent  a  second 
 edition  of  catechism  ;  then,  after  tea,  we  had  again  to 
 march  to  church,  or  sit  round  the  fire  saying  hymns. 
 Bed -time  cumc  at  last,  and  1,  for  one,   felt   that   the 
 
615 
 
 acting  was  over.     Sometimes  the  plan  was  varied  by 
 our  being  sent  to  church  in  the  afternoon;  and  the 
 earliest  sufferings  which  I  can  remember  were  those 
 of  thirst  during  the  service  and  our  walk  home.     As 
 my  years  increased,  two  things  became  very  apparent ; 
 first,  that  all  preachers  laid  greater  stress  upon  keep- 
 ing the  Sabbath-day  holy,  than  upon  any  other  virtue; 
 whilst  the  religious  laity  spoke  as  if  they  felt  the  Sun- 
 day as  the  most  disagreeable  of  the  week.     My  own 
 mind  revolted  from  the  idea  that  God  should  have 
 set  apart  a  day,  in  every  seven,  in  which  all  his  crea- 
 tures should  really  be  miserable ;  unless  accustomed 
 to  acting,  and  rather  enjoying  ''  make  believe."     Con- 
 sequently, I  began  to  inquire  into  the  pretensions  of 
 the  day,  and  tested  my  conclusions  from  time  to  time 
 by   conversation    or   correspondence   with   clergymen 
 and  others  who  were  strict  Sabbatarians.     After  work- 
 ing at  the  subject  for  many  years,  it  appeared  to  me 
 that  the   sanctification  of  one  day   in  seven  was   a 
 purely  Jewish  institution,  and  is  no  more  incumbent 
 upon  christians,  than    circumcision   or  the    rejection 
 of  pork.     Still  farther,  I  saw  reason  to  believe  that 
 the     Sabbath     is     an     institution     which     was     in 
 reahty  first  heard    of  about    the    period    of   Isaiah; 
 that  its  appointment   is  a  human  contrivance;  that 
 the  parts  of  the  Pentateuch  in  which  the  keeping  of 
 it  is   enforced  are  of  comparatively   late  date;  that 
 its    observation    is    not    inculcated    by    Jesus,    who 
 seemed  really  to    oppose  it;    and  that   it   is  disre- 
 garded by  the  Apostles.      We  will  take  some  of  these 
 points  seriatim. 
 
 1.  Without  determining  the  priority  of  any  book 
 of  the  Pentateuch,  we  will  take  the  fourth  command- 
 ment,   as   enunciated    in    Deuteronomy,   as   the    first 
 
616 
 
 witness,  for  we  find  (cli.  v.  15)  appended  thereto  the 
 words,  "And  remember  that  thou  wast  a  servant  in 
 the   land   of    Egypt,    and   that    the    Lord   thy   God 
 brought  thee  out  thence,  through  a  mighty  hand,  and 
 by  a  stretched  out  arm ;  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God 
 commanded  thee  to   keep   the    Sabbath   day."     The 
 same  command,   given    Exod.  xx.  10,  is  vitiated  by 
 what  to  me   seems  the   blasphemous   assertion  that 
 the  Lord  "rested"  on  the  seventh  day,  and  blessed  it 
 because  it  brought  Him  repose.     Our  second  witness 
 is   still   more   powerful,    for    Exod.    xxxi.    13    says, 
 "  Speak    thou    unto    the    children   of    Israel,   saying, 
 Verily  my  Sabbaths  ye   shall  keep;   for  it  is  a  sign 
 between  me   and  you  throughout  your  generations." 
 Again  vv.  16,  17,  "  The  children  of  Israel  shall  keep 
 the    Sabbath,    to-  observe    the    Sabbath    throughout 
 their  generations,  for  a  perpetual  covenant.     It  is  a 
 sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Israel  for  ever;" 
 and  then  the  same  reason  why  the  day  is  hallowed 
 is  given  as  in  Exod.  xx.  10.     This  view  is  also  taken 
 by  Nehemiah  (ch.  ix.  14),  "  Thou  madest  known  unto 
 them  thy  holy  Sabbath,"     These  are  almost  the  very 
 words  of  Exod.  xvi.  29,  "  The  Lord  hath  given  you 
 the  Sabbath,"  in  which  the  point  of  the  observation 
 is  in  the  word  "you."     The  verses  in  question  bear- 
 ing no    other  meaning   than   this ;    You,    the   Jews, 
 are   especially  under  the  divine    eye ;    Jehovah   has 
 instituted   a  Sabbatical  rest  for  you ;  whilst  all  the 
 world     besides    toil    on    without    any     hebdomadal 
 repose. 
 
 From  this  evidence  we  can  draw  no  other  con- 
 clusion, than  that  there  were  no  Sabbaths  before  there 
 were  Jews ;  that  the  sanctiticalion  of  the  day  was 
 fur  the  Hebrews  alone ;   and  that  it  is  therefore  purely 
 
617 
 
 ceremonial.  Nebemiah,  indeed,  in  the  verse  quoted, 
 seems  to  express  the  same  belief,  for  he  says  that  the 
 Sabbath,  precepts,  statutes,  and  laws  were  given  to 
 Israel,  from  God,  by  the  hand  of  Moses. 
 
 2.  There  is  evidence  that  the  Sabbath  was  not 
 known  prior  to  the  time  of  Jehoshaphat.  It  is  not 
 mentioned  or  referred  to  in  one  single  place  between 
 Deut.  V.  15  and  2  Kings  iv.  23.  We  do  not  con- 
 sider the  book  of  Chronicles  an  authority  for  the 
 establishment  of  a  doubtful  fact,  for  we  have  already 
 recognised  it  as  a  false  witness.  Again,  the  word 
 is  not  mentioned  in  the  Psalms,"®  nor  amongst  the 
 Proverbs.  It  is  clear  that  David  knew  nothing  about 
 it,  when  he  tramped  with  Achish,  king  of  Gath,  and 
 back  again  to  Ziklag,  a  march  apparently  of  six  days 
 in  all ;  after  which  he  and  his  troop  pursued  aj^pa- 
 rently,  during  three  other  days,  a  marauding  company 
 of  Amalekites,  again  returned  to  Ziklag  with  the  spoil, 
 another  three  days ;  and  then,  after  two  days'  rest, 
 he  again  marched  upon  Hebron  (see  1  Sam.  xxix., 
 XXX.,  and  2  Sam.  i.)  During  all  this  time  there  is 
 no  keeping  of  a  Sabbath.  Solomon  was  equally 
 ignorant  of  the  Sabbath,  for  he  made  a  feast  for  all 
 Israel,  lasting  in  all  seven  days  and  seven  days, 
 which  must  have  included  two  Sabbaths,  which  are 
 not  even  hinted  at  (1  Kings  viii.  65).  This  indica- 
 tion that  the   Sabbath  was  unknown  to   Solomon "° 
 
 118  I  am  referring  here  to  the  authorised  version  of  the  Bible,  iu  which  the 
 superscription  of  a  Psalm  is  not  regarded  as  the  first  of  its  verses,  as  it  is  in  the 
 Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate.  The  word  Sabbath  is  introduced  into  one  such  super- 
 scription, and  nowhere  else.     See  Ps.  xcii. 
 
 119  See  Exod.  xvi.  29,  wherein  we  read  that  on  the  Sabbath  every  man  was  to 
 abide  in  his  place,  and  was  not  to  leave  it  on  the  seventh  day.  If  Solomon  and 
 the  people  had  known  this  command,  they  could  not  have  feasted  fourteen  days 
 consecutively. 
 
G18 
 
 is  opposed  to  the  chronicler,  who  places  the  Jews  in 
 Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  Saul,  and  speaks  of  the 
 Sabbaths  in  the  same  chapter  (1  Chron.  ix.  32), 
 whilst  he  makes  David  appoint  Levites  to  oflfer 
 sacrifices  on  the  Sabbaths  in  the  new  moons,  etc. 
 In  1  Chron.  xxiii.  31,  the  same  writer  makes 
 Solomon  say,  "  Behold,  I  build  a  house  to  the  name 
 of  the  Lord  my  God,  for  the  burnt  offering,  morning 
 and  evening,  on  the  Sabbaths,  and  on  the  new 
 moons  "  (2  Chron.  ii.  4).  It  is  clear  that  any  his- 
 torian can  invent  a  few  facts,  to  make  it  appear  that 
 modern  inventions  were  known  in  remote  times ;  and 
 it  is  equally  clear  that  an  observant  critic  can  detect 
 the  imposition.  Even  if  only  one  book  of  English 
 History  were  to  descend  to  posterity,  and  that  were 
 to  place  the  invention  of  gunpowder  in  the  time 
 of  Alfred,  and  of  the  electric  telegraph  in  that  of 
 William  the  Norman,  I  doubt  whether  any  reader 
 would  be  convinced  that  these  two  things  were  known 
 to  Britons  before  "  the  conquest,"  when  he  saw  no 
 use  made  of  either  for  many  centuries. 
 
 3.  With  this  singular  silence  respecting  the 
 Sabbath-day  in  the  early  history  of  Israel,  we  must 
 contrast  the  frequent  mention  which  is  made  of  it  in 
 Isaiah,  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  Yet  even  when  it  is 
 mentioned  here,  it  is  spoken  of  as  a  day  not  gene- 
 rally known,  kept,  or  cared  for.  Instead  of  being  an 
 acknowledged  festival,  it  seems  to  have  liecn  one  of 
 new  institution,  to  which  the  prophets  endeavoured  to 
 make  the  people  take  heed.  The  allusion  made  to  it 
 l)y  the  second  Isaiah,  and  by  Jeremiah,  favours 
 this  view.  It  is,  indeed,  very  doubtful  whether  the 
 Sabbath  was  ever  generally  kept  by  the  Jews  as  a 
 nation,   until    their  return   from  Babvlou,   even  if  it 
 
619 
 
 was  then  known  to  the  commonalty.  The  great 
 stress  laid  upon  keeping  the  Sabbath  by  Nehemiah 
 contrasts  strangely  with  the  silence  of  Joshua,  Samuel, 
 Nathan,  David,  and  other  prophets  and  kings ;  whilst 
 the  stories  told  in  the  books  of  Joshua,  Judges, 
 Samuel  and  Kings,  contrast  equally  strangely  with 
 the  almost  universal  reverence  for  the  day  shown  by 
 the  devout  Jews  in  the  the  times  of  the  Maccabees 
 (see  1  Mac.  ii.  32-41),  in  the  lifetime  of  Jesus,  and 
 during  the  final  siege  of  Rome. 
 
 It  is,  moreover,  to  be  noticed,  that  when  the 
 Sabbath  is  first  spoken  of,  it  is  associated  with  the 
 festival  of  the  new  moon,  one  which  we  have  already 
 seen  to  have  been  of  human  origin,  and  adopted  from 
 the  heathen.  Our  own  opinion  is,  that  the  Sabbath, 
 and  all  the  festivals  known  to  the  later  Jews,  had  their 
 origin  after  the  sack  of  Jerusalem,  which  we  have 
 described  in  the  article  Obadiah.  At  that  period,  we 
 believe  that  whatever  of  statecraft  had  before  existed 
 was  swept  away,  and  the  opportunity  was  taken  by 
 those  who  repeopled  the  city  to  fabricate  new  laws 
 and  a  history.  This  could  be  readily  done  when 
 all  the  ancient  inhabitants  had  been  sold  into  slavery, 
 and  the  new  ones  were  peasants  who  had  escaped  the 
 general  deportation.  Such,  very  probably,  knew  no 
 more  about  Moses,  or  any  legal  code,  than  our  own 
 country  bumpkins ;  some  of  whom  I  have  found 
 unable  to  name  even  the  days  of  the  week.  We  can 
 even  believe  that  we  recognise,  in  the  ordination  of  the 
 Sabbath-day,  a  desire  to  instruct  the  very  ignorant 
 remnant  living  in  the  devastated  houses  of  Jerusalem. 
 We  can  understand  how  the  Priests  endeavoured 
 to  keep  one  day  as  a  holiday,  on  which  they 
 could  induce  the  people  to  rest  and  be  taught.     We 
 
620 
 
 cau  also  understand  liow  those  who  did  so  were 
 reputed  good,  because  they  regarded  with  due  defer- 
 ence their  ecclesiastical  superiors,  whilst  others  who 
 refused  to  keep  the  feast-day  were  declared  to  be 
 bad,  because  they  cared  nothing  for  the  hierarchy. 
 
 We  now  proceed  to  examine  the  obligation  of 
 the  Sabbath  upon  Christians.  In  the  first  place,  we 
 notice  that  Jesus  systematically  and  intentionally 
 broke  it.  Nothing  cau  be  clearer  than  the  evidence 
 (Mark  ii.  23-28)  that,  when  reproved  for  allowing 
 his  disciples  to  break  the  Sabbath,  Christ  not  only 
 justified  them,  but  said  that  the  day  was  appointed 
 for  man,  and  that  the  "  son  of  man "  was  Lord 
 over  it.  This  evidence  is  strengthened  by  the  occur- 
 rence recorded  in  Luke  vi.  G-11,  where  it  is  evident 
 that  Jesus  very  deliberately  and  very  distinctly 
 ofi'ended  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews  respecting  the 
 Sabbath-day.  A  similar  circumstance  is  recorded 
 John  V.  9-18,  whereby  we  see,  unequivocally,  that 
 Jesus  did  intentionally  break  the  Sabbath  in  the 
 estimation  of  all  the  people,  without  deigning  to 
 give  any  explanation  of  his  actions. 
 
 When  we  turn  to  the  testimony  of  the  Apostles, 
 we  find  a  similar  negation  of  the  claims  of  the  Sab- 
 bath ;  for  example,  Paul  writing  to  the  Romans  says, 
 "  One  man  estecmcth  one  day  above  another,  another 
 cstcemcth  every  day  alike,"  etc.  (Rom.  xiv.  4-6.) 
 The  same  writer  is  still  more  explicit,  when  he  says, 
 "  Let  no  man,  therefore,  judge  you  in  meat  or  in 
 drink,  or  in  respect  of  an  holy  day,  or  of  the  new 
 moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath,  which  are  the  shadow  of 
 things  to  come"  (Colos.  ii.  IG,  17). 
 
 Moreover,  when  we  consider  that  llie  silence  of 
 the  Now  Testumcut  is  us  siguificuut  as  its  speech,  wo 
 
621 
 
 cannot  pass  lightly  over  the  fact  that  the  Apostles, 
 when  legislating  for  heathen  converts,  never  enforced 
 the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath.  They  were  to  abstain 
 from  things  strangled,  from  fornication,  and  from 
 blood.  Beyond  these,  the  followers  of  Christ  declined 
 to  put  a  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  their  converts,  which 
 they  themselves  spoke  of  as  unbearable  to  their 
 fathers  and  to  themselves  (Actsxv.  10).  "  The  works 
 of  the  flesh"  are  often  enumerated  in  the  epistles,  yet 
 in  none  of  the  categories  does  Sabbath-breaking 
 occur.  In  the  list  of  those  who  stand  outside  the 
 gate  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  no  Sabbath-breakers  are 
 mentioned  (Kev.  xxi.  8,  27,  xxii.  15). 
 
 The  observance  of  Sunday  is  equally  ignored  in 
 the  Apostolic  epistles  extant ;  nor  can  we  find  a  scrap 
 of  evidence  that  either  the  Sabbath  or  the  Sunday  was 
 a  day  whose  observance  was  inculcated  as  a  duty  upon 
 the  early,  or  any  subsequent.  Christians.  That  one 
 day  in  the  week  was  selected,  as  being  convenient 
 for  devotees  meeting  together,  we  do  not  doubt.  There 
 is  indeed  scarcely  a  town  in  our  own  time  in  which 
 friends  who  have  certain  tastes  in  common  do  not 
 meet  to  indulge  them  in  company  on  stated  days. 
 Thus  men  may  fix  Monday  for  the  meeting  of  their 
 chess  club,  Tuesday  for  their  whist  party,  Wednesday 
 for  their  music  meeting,  Thursday  for  their  micro- 
 scopic soiree,  Friday  for  their  debating  society,  Satur- 
 day for  their  scientific  discussions,  and  Sunday  for 
 their  social  gatherings.  Such  was  doubtless  the  case 
 with  the  early  Christians.  When  first  they  met,  all 
 were  nearly  equal ;  but  as  time  rolled  on,  one  more 
 fervent  than  the  rest  became  a  centre  in  each  "circle," 
 —  for  we  must  recollect  that  ancient  Christians  re- 
 sembled modern  secret  societies  in  everything  except 
 
622 
 
 in  religion.  To  such  a  leader  all  gave  liecd ;  but, 
 as  very  frequently  happens  in  the  present  time,  a 
 new  generation  arose,  who  did  not  pin  its  faith  upon 
 the  leaders  to  whom  the  parents  had  sworn  allegiance. 
 The  centre,  seeing  the  defection  of  sons,  would  natu- 
 rally rebuke  the  fethers.  These,  being  thus  reproved, 
 would  endeavour  to  coerce  their  boys,  perhaps  unsuc- 
 cessfully. In  subsequent  generations,  the  head  cen- 
 tres would  inculcate  upon  parents  the  necessity  of 
 moulding  their  children's  mind  at  an  early  period,  so 
 as  to  make  the  Christian  club-raecting  a  "  necessary" 
 of  their  lives.  The  fathers,  being  convinced,  endea- 
 voured to  do  their  duty.  Thus  it  has  happened  that 
 abstaining  from  attendance  upon  the  weekly  religious 
 meeting  has  become  equivalent  to  being  irreligious,  — 
 to  being  opposed  to  the  head  centre  of  the  district, 
 and  consequently  an  "independent,"  or  (its  sj-nonyme 
 in  common  idea)  an  infidel,  or  freethinker. 
 
 We  regard,  therefore,  the  Christian  communities 
 as  comprising  a  vast  people,  amongst  whom  there 
 is  an  endless  variety  of  clubs,  the  majority  of  which 
 select  Sunday  for  their  day  of  meeting.  Each  club 
 has  head  centres,  centres,  sub-centres,  etc.,  without 
 end.  But  as  it  happens  in  real  life  that  some  men 
 refuse  to  join  any  sort  of  society,  whether  it  be 
 secret  or  open,  so  it  is  that  some  never  join  Christian 
 clubs,  or,  having  joined  them,  cease  to  attend  at  the 
 periodical  meetings,  or  pay  deference  to  the  society's 
 rules ;  perhaps  they  join  a  different  body  to  that  which 
 first  received  them.  In  any  case,  absence  from  the 
 assembly  is  the  most  conspicuous  sign  of  defection. 
 Hence,  and  from  no  other  cause,  has  arisen  that 
 superstitious  reverence  for  the  Sunday  which  prevails 
 in  Great   Briluiu.      The  "elect"   feel    that  thcv   are 
 
623 
 
 opposed  to  the  world,  and  every  vacant  place  in  the 
 Sunday  gathering  tells  of  desertion.  We  do  not 
 therefore  wonder  that  every  preacher  should  do  his 
 utmost,  either  by  scolding,  exhortation,  or  other 
 means,  to  retain  his  hearers,  and  to  see  that  they 
 respect  the  day  of  meeting.  But  though  such  men  may 
 call  the  absent  "infidels,"  it  does  not  make  them 
 so ;  and  one  who  regards  every  day  alike  may  be  in 
 reality  a  far  better  individual  than  a  head  centre,  who 
 makes  all  in  his  district  miserable  throughout  the 
 whole  of  the  assembly  day. 
 
 But  we  may  approach  the  question  in  yet  another 
 way.  Sunday,  or  Sabbath,  may  be  acknowledged  to 
 be  of  Divine  appointment,  the  authority  for  the 
 assumption  being  the  books  called  the  Pentateuch. 
 But  with  this  we  are  bound  to  accept  the  same  autho- 
 rity, as  decisive  respecting  the  method  in  which  the 
 sanctification  of  the  day  is  to  be  observed ;  for  no  one 
 can  logically  declare  that  the  Power  which  ordains 
 the  celebration  of  a  feast  is  incompetent  to  arrange 
 the  details  to  be  observed  therein.  Now  the  same 
 lawgiver,  who  commanded  the  Sabbath  to  be  kept 
 holy,  said  that  the  people  must  not  seek  food  thereon, 
 for  they  should  not  find  it;  that  they  must  cook  on  the 
 sixth  day,  so  as  to  prepare  for  the  seventh ;  and  that 
 such  viands  would  never  go  bad  (Exod.  xvi.  23-26). 
 In  ver.  29  of  the  same  chapter,  the  Hebrews  are 
 enjoined  to  abide  in  their  dwellings  on  that  day,  and 
 consequently  they  could  not  go  to  public  worship, 
 nor  ought  priestly  visitors  to  come  and  teach  them 
 theology.  In  Exod.  xx.  10,  the  people  are  prohibited 
 from  doing  any  work,  and  from  permitting  children, 
 slaves,  cattle,  or  foreign  residents,  to  be  active.  In 
 Exod.  xxxi.  15,  the  punishment  of  death  is  denounced 
 
624 
 
 npon  any  one  going  through  any  exertion  ;  which  is 
 repeated  in  ch.  xxxv.  2,  iu  which,  to  make  the  definition 
 of  the  words  "^».f/work"  clear,  it  is  enjoined  that 
 not  even  a  fire  should  he  lighted  on  the  Sabhath.  In 
 Deut.  V.  14,  the  command  for  rest  is  unequivocal,  and 
 ordains  that  children,  slaves,  draught  and  riding 
 animals  shall  all  be  equally  inactive  with  the 
 masters. 
 
 That  these  laws  were  not  simply  intended  to  be 
 dead  letters,  and  that  he  who  made  them  was  deter- 
 mined that  they  should  be  enforced,  we  find  from  a 
 stor}'  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Numbers.  This  is  to 
 the  eficct  that  a  man  was  found  gathering  sticks  upon 
 the  Sabbath.  The  amount  of  work  done  was  small, 
 the  things  sought  were  insignificant.  To  one  who 
 was  not  going  to  make  a  fire,  and  had  nothing  to  cook 
 ])Ut  manna,  we  can  only  imagine  that  the  collection 
 was  for  a  childish  purpose,  possibly  to  amuse  his  off- 
 spring whilst  they  sat  in-dcors.  Yet  this  picking  up 
 of  twigs  was  '  work,'  and,  lest  there  might  be  a  mis- 
 carriage of  divine  justice,  the  man  was  placed  "  in 
 ward." 
 
 We  must,  however,  pause  awhile  at  this  point,  to 
 inquire  what  people  saw  the  man  groping  for  bits 
 of  wood,  and  who  were  they  who  brought  him  to 
 Moses  and  Aaron?  for  it  is  clear  that,  if  all  had  obeyed 
 the  commandment  to  remain  in-doors  on  the  Sabbath, 
 none  could  have  seen  the  ofl'onder,  or  been  on  the  spot 
 to  arrest  him.  But  it  is  possible  that  zeal  in  punish- 
 ing a  sin,  in  another,  countcrlialances  the  committal 
 of  a  siniilar  offence  in  ourselves.  We  have,  indied. 
 read  of  a  man  murdering  another  for  eating  meat  on 
 a  fast-day.  IJo  this  as  it  may,  the  story  goes  on  to 
 tell  UH  that  the  culprit  was  detained   in  durance  until 
 
625 
 
 the  Lord's  will  respecting  him  should  be  known. 
 When  Moses  had  duly  consulted  Jehovah,  it  was 
 found  that  the  Almighty  regarded  the  offence  as 
 sufficiently  bad  to  require  a  bloody  and  deathly  ex- 
 piation. The  sentence  against  the  unfortunate  man 
 being,  that  he  was  to  be  stoned  with  stones  till  he 
 died.  Christians,  who  believe  in  Jehovah  and  Moses, 
 do  not,  happily  for  us,  think  it  necessary,  in  similar 
 circumstances,  to  adopt  their  decision. 
 
 There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  special  ser- 
 vice ordained  in  the  temple  for  the  Jews  upon  the 
 Sabbath;  for  all  that  we  can  find  respecting  it  is. 
 Num.  xxviii.  9,  that  on  the  seventh  day  two  lambs, 
 and  some  other  things,  should  be  offered  in  addi- 
 tion to  the  daily  sacrifice.  Indeed  it  would  be 
 difficult  to  understand  how  a  particular  service  could 
 be  compatible  with  an  enforced  residence  at  home 
 upon  the  day ;  an  order  which  is  still  Hterally  kept  by 
 the  Karaites  amongst  the  modern  Jews.  It  is  true 
 that,  in  Isaiah  Ixvi.  23,  we  find  the  idea  of  coming 
 to  worship  before  God  on  the  Sabbath ;  yet  even  there 
 the  seventh  day  is  associated  with  the  new  moon, 
 as  if  both  were  of  the  same  value. 
 
 If,  then,  we  regard  the  sanctification  of  the 
 seventh  day  as  binding  upon  Christians  as  well  as 
 upon  Jews,  we  must  accept,  as  equally  cogent,  the 
 directions  as  to  the  method  of  showing  our  respect 
 for  it.  Instead  of  doing  this,  the  churches  of 
 Christendom  have  arbitrarily  changed  the  whole  of 
 God's  law  respecting  the  Sabbath.  They  have  not 
 only  altered  the  day,  but  they  have  ordained  special 
 services,  by  which  people  shall  be  induced  to  break 
 the  commandment  to  stay  at  home.  In  many  cathe- 
 dral, and  other  churches,  the  direction  that  no  fire 
 
626 
 
 shall  bo  kindled  is  systematically  contravened,  for  huge 
 candles  are  lighted  and  kept  burning  during  a  large 
 part  of  the  day.  So  far  from  allowing  servants  and 
 beasts  to  enjoy  a  day's  repose,  there  is  not  a  Christian 
 household  in  England  which  does  not  exact  from 
 domestics  such  work  as  cleaning  grates,  and  re-making 
 tires,  cleansing  the  utensils  in  use  in  bed  chambers 
 and  eating  rooms,  waiting  at  table,  and  cooking  such 
 victuals  as  toast,  pic,  roasts,  potatoes,  etc.  Nor  is 
 any  one  more  scrupulous  about  horses,  for  there 
 is  scarcely  a  church-goer  who  does  not  think  it  his 
 duty  rather  to  break  the  Sabbath  by  leaving  home, 
 and  having  a  horse-drawn  vehicle  to  take  him  to 
 church,  than  to  observe  it  as  God  is  said  to  have 
 ordered,  by  remaining  the  whole  day  within  doors. 
 
 In  other  words,  Christians,  in  general,  demon- 
 strate their  practical  belief  in  the  human  origin  of 
 the  Sabbath,  by  systematically  refusing  to  pay  atten- 
 tion to  what  God  is  said  to  have  ordered,  and  by 
 adopting  a  method  wholly  at  variance  therewith.  For 
 example,  God  ordered  no  special  Sabbath  duty,  the 
 modern  Church  has  done  so.  God  said,  let  every  one 
 remain  at  home  that  day,  the  Church  declares  that 
 every  man,  woman,  and  child  must  come  to  Church. 
 God  said,  no  manner  of  work  shall  be  done  on  the 
 Sal)bath  by  man  or  beast ;  every  Christian,  on  the 
 other  hand,  recommends  that  every  man,  woman,  and 
 child  shall  work,  as  schoolmasters,  mistresses,  or 
 scholars.  God  ordained  that  the  seventh  day  should 
 be  kept  holy.  Christians  refuse  to  keep  holy  any  day 
 but  the  first.  God  ordained,  as  wo  are  told  (Lent, 
 xvi.  21),  only  one  Sabbath  of  rest  throughout  the 
 year,  in  which  the  Jews  should  afflict  their  souls. 
 ChriKlians,  on  the  other  hand,  do  everything  to  make 
 
627 
 
 everybody  as  miserable  as  possible  on  Sunday.  The 
 artisan,  unable  to  lay  in  for  himself  a  store  of  books  to 
 occupy  his  leisure,  is  debarred,  by  the  enforced  closure 
 of  every  institution  having  a  humanising  tendency, 
 from  cultivating  his  mind ;  and  the  law  does  everything 
 in  its  power,  by  limiting  the  periods  during  which  food 
 and  drink  shall  be  sold,  to  make  the  day  of  rest  one 
 of  fasting.  A  poor  man  is  allowed  to  eat  and  drink 
 what  he  likes,  when  he  can  only  do  so  at  certain 
 hours ;  but  when  he  has  abundance  of  leisure,  acts  of 
 parliament  prescribe  his  feeding  hours.  A  man  who 
 has  a  cellar  stored  with  wine  or  ale  can  indulge  his 
 fancy  as  to  his  Sunday  meal  times,  but  the  artisan, 
 who  has  no  such  stock,  can  only  dine  at  such  hours 
 as  the  legislature  allows  wine,  beer,  and  spirits  to  be 
 sold.  Jesus  Christ,  in  detestation  of  such  Pharisaism 
 as  prevailed  in  his  time,  said  that  the  Sabbath  was 
 made  for  man ;  his  followers,  presuming  to  be  far  wiser 
 than  he,  say  that  man  was  made  for  the  Sabbath, 
 and  practically  assert  that  it  is  better  for  all  mankind 
 to  be  miserable  for  a  seventh  part  of  their  life, 
 than  be  allowed  to  be  comfortable  in  their  own  w^ay. 
 Who  can  wonder  at  the  hierarchy  of  Christendom  being 
 disliked  by  the  mass  of  the  people,  when  they  promul- 
 gate doctrines  which  are  equally  opposed  to  the  prin- 
 ciples of  Judaism,  of  Christ,  and  of  sound  good 
 sense  ? 
 Sabeans,  l^^^'^^.  We  find,  in  Kitto's  Cyclopcsdia  of 
 Biblical  Literature,  that  three  different  tribes  are 
 included  in  the  Bible  under  this  name  of  ^^^^? ;  the 
 descendants  of  Seba,  who  settled  in  Ethiopia;  the 
 ^''^'?f',  the  descendants  of  Sheba,  the  Sabaei  of  the 
 Greeks  and  Eomans,  who  lived  in  Arabia  Felix, 
 the  Saba^ans  of  Joel  iv.  8,  and  of  Jer.  vi.  20 ;  and 
 
628 
 
 ^!^*?^j    Shcbaim,  a  horde  of   Bedawee  marauders  in 
 the  days  of  Job. 
 
 But  with  or  for  these  we  have  comparatiTely  little 
 interest.  For  us  the  Sabeans  chiefly  attract  attention 
 as  the  name  has  been  used,  generically,  for  all  those 
 nations  who  have  worshipped  or  adored  the  host 
 of  heaven,  and  seen  in  the  sun,  moon,  planets, 
 and  constellations,  agencies  which  govern  all  mun- 
 dane affairs.  The  study  of  Sabeanism,  therefore, 
 leads  us  into  a  history  of  astronomy  on  the  one  hand, 
 and  of  superstition  founded  thereupon  on  the  other. 
 Into  the  first  of  these  it  is  quite  unnecessary  for  me 
 to  enter;  of  the  second  I  have  already  spoken  largely, 
 under  many  diflerent  heads.  In  the  present  article 
 I  prefer  to  consider  the  subject  of  Sabeanism,  as 
 opposed  by  the  Mosaic  law.  On  turning  over 
 the  pages  of  that  vast  repertory  of  learning,  Spencer's 
 De  Lcgihus  Ilchraorum,  I  find  him  enunciating 
 that  very  many  of  the  laws  of  the  Pentateuch  were 
 made  to  contravene  the  manners,  rites,  customs,  etc., 
 of  the  Sabeans.  With  his  arguments  we  see  no 
 reason  to  quarrel,  and  in  the  main  we  are  contented 
 to  adopt  his  conclusions.  AVe  readily  allow  that 
 the  intention  of  the  Hebrew  law  was  to  make  a 
 wide  distinction  between  the  Jews  and  their  neigh- 
 bours; and  that  purity  in  Israelitish  religious  wor- 
 ship was  enjoined,  in  consequence  of  the  obscenities 
 which  were  common  amongst  the  neighbouring 
 races,  and  the  star  worshippers  in  general.  But 
 before  a  law  can  be  made  to  oppose  a  practice,  it 
 is  clear  that  the  practice  must  first  exist,  and 
 bo  regarded  by  the  legislator  as  prejudicial  to  the 
 interests  of  himself,  or  the  people  over  whom  he 
 rules.     Consequently  wo  feel  sure  that  the  so-called 
 
629 
 
 Mosaic  law,  which  opposed  Sabeanism,  could  not  haye 
 been  composed  until  that  form  of  idolatry  was  known 
 to  the  writer,  and  considered  as  bad. 
 
 Now  the  tenour  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  demon- 
 strates that  the  Jews  neither  knew  anything  about 
 astronomy  themselves,  nor  were  they  brought  into  con- 
 tact with  astronomers,  or  astrologers,  until  they  became 
 acquainted  with  the  Babylonians.'"*'     Hence  we  draw 
 the   inference   that   the    particular    laws   of    Moses, 
 which   were   intended    to    oppose    Sabeanism,    were 
 framed  in  the  later  times  of  the  Jewish  monarchy,  or 
 were  introduced  into  the  Pentateuch  during  the  time 
 of  the  captivity,  or  the  period  immediately  following 
 the  restoration.     We  thus  find,    once  again,  that  a 
 close  attention  to  the  study  of  proper  names  affords 
 us  great  assistance  in  the  reconstruction  of  ancient 
 history. 
 Sacred   Names.      I  take   this   opportunity  to   supplement 
 the  article  on  Jah,   Vol.  i.,  by  some  more  definite 
 information  than  I  was  able  to  supply  on  that  occa- 
 sion.    The  following  is  a  quotation  from  an  Essai 
 Historique  et  Pliilosophique  sur  les  Noms  cVHommes 
 de  Peuples  et  de  L'leux,  par  Eusebe  Salverte  (Paris, 
 1824).     "  La  theurgie  attribua  aux  noms  une  effica- 
 cite   redoutable.^^^       Les   demons    evoques    an   nom 
 d'un   personage   vivant,   etaient,   disait-on  contraints 
 d'apparaitre  et  cette  croyance  superstitieuse   a   sub- 
 siste  pendant  des  siecles,  la  peur  empechait  proba- 
 blement  de  tenter  I'experience  propre  a  la  dimentir. 
 '  Ne   changez   point   les   noms    etrangers, '   dit    I'un 
 des    Oracles    Chcddaiqiies,    commentes   par   Psellus. 
 
 120  See  Deuteronomy  iv.  19. 
 121  Origen  contra  Celsum,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  v. 
 
630 
 
 Chez  cbaquc  nation,  clit  le  commentatcur,  il  existe 
 des  noms  inspires  par  la  Diviuite,  et  dout  I'energie 
 sacree,  incroyable,  so  perd  tout  entiere  si  Ton  osc 
 les  traduire.  Origene  professe  la  meme  doctrine. 
 Jamblique  nous  apprend  que,  fideles  ii  ce  precepte, 
 Ics  pretres  so  servaient,  dans  les  ceremonies  religieuse 
 do  noms  dont  ils  ignoraicnt  la  signification ;  c'est 
 ajoute-t-il  parceque  ces  noms  signifient  quelque  chose 
 parmi  les  dieux."     Pp.  15,  16. 
 
 Any  one  who  takes  the  trouble  may  readily  trace 
 in  such  words  as  Ave,  Hallelujah,  Hurrah,  Huzza, 
 and  the  like,  the  modern  representatives  of  foreign 
 ancient  sacred  names. 
 Sacrifice.  From  the  most  remote  period  of  history,  to 
 the  present  time,  and  over  an  extent  of  surface 
 corresponding  to  the  known  world,  the  idea  of  propi- 
 tiating a  deity  by  sacrifice  has  existed.  The  Red 
 Indian  worships  his  Great  Spirit  by  undergoing 
 unheard-of  sufferings,  which  terminate  in  cutting 
 oft'  his  finger. ''^'^  The  modern  negi-o  propitiates  his  god 
 as  did  the  ancient  Britons,  with  offerings  of  men.^** 
 The  Mexicans  in  America,  the  Jews,  Greeks,  and 
 Western  Orientals  generally  offered  up  human  sacri- 
 fices of  others;  whilst  the  pious  Hindoo,  even  in  the 
 present  time,  elects  to  offer  up  himself. 
 
 When    the    thoughtful    observer    notices    such   a 
 general  idea,  he  naturally  endeavours  to  trace  it  to 
 
 '**  The  reader  may  profitably  consult  njwn  tliis  subject  n  small  book,  cntiUcd 
 0-KEE-I'A,  by  O.  Ciitliii  (Tnibnor,  Londou,  18G7).  which  pves  some  remarkable 
 details  ui>ou  the  sacrificiul  rit^'s  of  the  Miiudans  of  North  Americn. 
 
 l*"  'I'his  Htatcmont  is  mndc  on  the  anthoritv  of  hu  envoy  sent  to  l>ahoiney  by 
 tho  OcoKniphical  Society  of  Londou  ;  and  by  reports  of  Kn^lish  Consols  and  others, 
 rwrorded  in  tho  duily  jounmU,  reHpectiuj{  tho  kin^  of  Ihihoniey  ;  which  monarch 
 when  bo  comes  to  tho  tlirone  ininiolnteH  great  nnmlnTS  of  men  to  tho  go<l8  of  his 
 fathf-r.  I  am  unfortunately  without  any  written  record  of  tl>e  dates,  etc.,  of  tlie 
 pubUcatious. 
 
631 
 
 its  source.  Nor  has  he  to  seek  far.  He  knows  that 
 dread  of  an  invisible  power  is  common  ahke  to  all. 
 To  that  potency  everything  is  attributed  which  we 
 cannot  understand.  It  matters  little  whether  a  man 
 or  any  one  of  his  belongings  is  injured,  whether  he  has 
 a  paralytic  stroke,  loses  his  cattle,  finds  his  land 
 destroyed  by  flood  or  other  cause,  or  becomes  the 
 victim  to  war  or  famine,  in  all  he  sees  the  hand  of  a 
 vindictive  unseen  power.  "Why,"  such  an  one  inquires, 
 "are  my  father  and  my  brethren  slain?"  "Why 
 are  my  crops  destroyed  by  hail?"  "Why  are  my 
 lands  devastated  by  inundations?"  "Why  are  my 
 flocks  blasted  by  lightning?"  "Why  does  not  rain 
 fall  now  where  it  used  to  do?"  Unable  to  answer 
 such  queries  himself,  he  naturally  takes  counsel  with 
 his  neighbours,  or  some  clever  man.  As  a  result, 
 it  is  agreed  between  them  that  the  cause  must  be 
 sought  for  in  the  anger  of  an  offended  God,  or 
 in  the  machinations  of  an  evil  spirit.  When 
 considering  how  this  power  may  be  propitiated, 
 the  arguments  will  run  thus:  "Although  we  know 
 nothing  of  this  Being,  it  is  clear  that  He  must 
 want  crops,  and  land,  and  men,  and  cattle,  for 
 occasionally  He  takes  away  some  of  all.  Although 
 it  is  not  clear  on  what  principle  He  selects  His 
 victims,  it  is  certain  that  all  are  not  alike  visited 
 at  once.  This  may  arise  from  the  individuals 
 punished  having  done  something  which  is  displeasing 
 to  Him.  In  any  case,  it  will  be  better  to  forestall 
 His  wants,  and  to  cultivate  His  good  will,  by  regularly 
 and  voluntarily  offering  to  Him  something  of  every 
 thing  that  He  has  ever  destroyed."  Consequently, 
 if  any  one  wishes  to  live  secure  from  want,  misery, 
 and  every  evil,  he  must  make  systematic  offerings, 
 
632 
 
 by  fire  or  otherwise,  to  propitiate  the  Dread  Unseen, 
 and  give  Him  what  experience  has  shown  that  He 
 requires.  The  origin  of  the  idea  of  offering  sacrifice 
 is  precisely  analogous  to  that  which  prompts  the 
 merchant  to  throw  his  goods  overboard  during  a 
 heavy  gale,  to  enable  the  ship  to  survive.  The 
 same  principle  induces  prudent  states  to  prepare  for 
 war  in  time  of  peace. 
 
 ^Mien  the  idea  arose  that  sacrifice  was  necessary 
 to  propitiate  the  anger  of,  or  to  draw  down  bless- 
 ings from,  the  Great  Unseen,  it  developed  itself 
 in  a  variety  of  modes.  Grant  the  proposition  that 
 sacrifice  has  power  with  the  Almighty,  and  it  follows 
 as  a  consequence  that  the  greater  the  sacrifice  the 
 gi'eater  its  influence.  Hence  originated  oflerings  of 
 vast  bulk,  hecatombs  of  oxen,  thousands  of  sheep, 
 and  hundreds  of  men.  Hence  he  who  wished  to 
 make  the  Creator  favourable,  would  destroy  in  His 
 honour  his  dearest  child,  or  some  other  peculiar 
 treasure.  Perhaps,  still  believing  firmly  in  the 
 principle,  the  priest,  or  whoever  else  made  the  offer- 
 ings, went  through  a  series  of  experiments  to  ascer- 
 tain which  was  the  most  acceptable  form  of 
 sacrifice.  If  there  was  a  drought,  vegetables,  wine, 
 and  water  would  first  be  solemnly  offered.  After- 
 wards, animals,  of  gi-adually  increasing  value  ;  then 
 men,  slaves  perhaps  at  first ;  then  women ;  subse- 
 quently children,  at  first  of  low  origin,  but  at  length 
 of  high  birth  ;  until,  at  last,  one  or  more  sous  of 
 the  king  would  be  selected  as  sacrifices  to  that 
 Almighty  power  who  withheld  llio  rain,  or  jjoured 
 blight  upon  the  crops.  Now  as  these  sacrifices  would 
 only  bo  made  at  intervals,  wo  can  readily  understand 
 that    thu   ublutiuuu    would    bo    sulllciout    to  euublo  a 
 
633 
 
 fortunate  change  to  occur,  and  then  the  victims  last 
 sacrificed  would  get  all  the  credit.  Consequently,  on 
 other  occasions  of  drought,  mildew,  tempests,  etc., 
 victims  similar  to  those  which  had  seemed  on 
 a  previous  occasion  to  propitiate  the  Deity  would 
 be  offered  first  of  all.  But  if  in  spite  of  every  sacri- 
 fice the  hoped-for  blessing  did  not  come,  or  the  evil 
 complained  of  did  not  abate,  the  people  meekly 
 resigned  themselves  to  bear  every  ill  that  the  God 
 whom  they  dreaded  chose  to  send. 
 
 At  this  point  we  pause,  to  contrast  modern  prac- 
 tice with  ancient  theory.  In  Ceylon,  not  many  years 
 ago,  planters  were  blessed  with  abundant  crops,  and 
 certain  valleys  were  conspicuous  for  the  fertility  of 
 their  soil.  As  prosperity  increased,  the  plantations 
 gradually  crept  up  the  sides  of  the  hills,  and  at  length 
 whole  uplands  became  covered  with  coffee  and  other 
 gardens.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  this  development  of 
 industry,  the  people  were  cursed  by  drought,  or  rain 
 fell  in  such  torrents  as  to  wash  away  everything 
 moveable,  if  ever  it  came  down  at  all.  Some  such 
 contingencies  are  reported  to  have  occurred  in  Judea 
 and  Samaria,  and  when  famine  came,  no  change  took 
 place  in  the  land,  until  seven  innocent  men  had  been 
 hanged,  and  when  drought  occurred,  until  four  hundred 
 individuals  had  been  slaughtered.^^*  The  authorities 
 in  Ceylon,  however,  instead  of  hanging  or  otherwise 
 killing  harmless  men,  appointed  a  commission  to 
 investigate  the  probable  cause  of  the  altered  circum- 
 stances. A  close  enquiry  then  demonstrated,  that 
 so  long  as  a  dense  jungle  covered  the  hill  tops,  this 
 was  not  only  a  cause  of  rain,  but  a  preventive   of 
 
 124  gee  2  Sam.  sxi.  1-14,  and  1  Kings  xvii.  1,  to  chap,  xviii.  45. 
 
634 
 
 (Iclufrcs ;  for  even  when  the  downfall  was  enormous,  the 
 water  slowlj^  percolated  tlu-ougli  the  vegetation  into 
 the  earth,  and  was  there  restrained  from  evaporation, 
 by  the  gi-ound  being  protected  from  the  sun's  rays. 
 The  water  so  collected  gradually  found  its  way  into 
 the  valleys  in  the  form  of  springs  or  rivulets.  The 
 government  then  took  measures  to  have  the  hills  again 
 clothed  with  brushwood,  and  the  plantations  once 
 again  became  fertile,  though  limited  in  extent.  It  is 
 clear  that,  unless  steps  had  been  taken  to  this  end, 
 the  districts  in  question  would  have  been  deserted, 
 and  the  result,  which  was  in  reality  due  to  man's  igno- 
 rance of  His  works,  would  have  been  attributed  to  the 
 anger  or  the  caprice  of  the  Almighty.  We  thus  see 
 that  misfortunes,  which  the  moderns  meet  by  com- 
 missions for  scientific  inquiry,  resemble  those  to 
 which  the  ancients  opposed  nothing  more  than 
 sacrifices,  more  or  less  absurd  or  horrible.  We 
 can  see,  in  the  very  existence  of  such  an  use  of  obla- 
 tions, that  the  fundamental  idea  of  sacrifice  is  of 
 human  invention,  at  a  period  when  science,  as  it  is 
 now  known,  had  not  any  real  existence.  We  cannot 
 now  believe  in  the  inspiration  of  any  religion  in 
 which  "sacrifice"  holds  a  prominent,  or  even  any 
 place. 
 
 But  the  development  of  belief  in  the  utility  of 
 sacrifices  was  not  confined  to  an  increase  in  the  value, 
 absolute  or  relative,  of  the  offering  given.  Both 
 priests  and  people  saw,  with  distress,  valuable  oxen, 
 sheep,  goats,  etc.,  burned,  for  no  other  purpose  than 
 to  deprive  them  of  life,  and  make  a  smell  mount 
 upwards  to  the  sky.  Consequently,  the  practice 
 was  HO  modified,  that  they  who  mode  a  sacrifice  were 
 cucouruged  to  purtako  of  it  with  the  ofliciutiug  priest. 
 
635 
 
 and  those  portions  only  were  burned  which  were  con- 
 sidered useless.  A  sacrifice  then  became  associated 
 with  feasting  and  jollification.  We  see  this  idea 
 very  conspicuously  in  the  words  which  are  used  in 
 the  Bible  to  express  sacrifice  ;  they  are  ^^l,  zehacli, 
 ^^i,  cliacj,  and  "^l^?^,  minchah,  which  are  rendered 
 respectively  by  lexicographers  (1),  slaughter  of 
 victim,  banquet,  and  "sacrifice;"  (2)  feast  or  festi- 
 val; (3)  "present  or  gift,"  "  impost  or  tribute,"  and 
 "a  bloodless  sacrifice." 
 
 The  connection  between  worship,  sacrifice,  and 
 jollification  is  very  conspicuous  in  Deut.  xiv.  23-29, 
 wherein  the  Jews  were  encouraged  to  indulge  them- 
 selves in  oxen,  sheep,  wine,  strong  drink,  or  any- 
 thing else  which  they  liked,  whenever  they  came  to 
 worship  at  the  place  selected  by  the  Lord  for  the 
 deposition  of  His  name. 
 
 Another  development  of  the  belief  in  the  efficacy 
 of  sacrifice  was  the  adoption  of  the  idea  that  parti- 
 cular oflerings  were  good  for  particular  occasions ; 
 and  one  object  was  selected,  or  another,  according  as 
 one  blessing  or  another  was  sought  for.  But  into 
 this  part  of  our  subject  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter,  as 
 Kalisch,  in  the  first  part  of  his  commentary  upon 
 Leviticus,  has  already  exhausted  everything  which 
 can  be  said  upon  this  head. 
 
 The  doctrine  of  salvation  by  sacrifice  has  survived 
 even  to  the  present  day ;  and  though  few  really  carry 
 out  the  idea  of  killing  and  burning  a  kid,  as  it  is 
 said  one  of  our  celebrated  living  writers  has  done, 
 we  adopt  it  in  a  more  subtle  form.  For  many  years 
 the  lesson  was  inculcated  upon  me,  that  I  was  never 
 fully  to  enjoy  myself.  If  I  were  hungry,  I  was 
 directed  never  to    quell   the    sensation   wholly ;    if  I 
 
G36 
 
 were  thirsty,  I  was  always  to  leave  untouched  some 
 
 water  which  the  body  craved  for.     This  was  founded 
 
 upon  the  words,   "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let 
 
 him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  daily  and 
 
 follow   me "    (Luke   ix.    23).       Occasionally,    like   a 
 
 rebellious  youth,  I  asked  "what  partial  starvation  had 
 
 to  do  with  '  taking  up  a  cross,'  especially  when,  at 
 
 the  time  the  words  arc  said  to  have  been  uttered, 
 
 'the  cross'  had  no  special  significance  "?    The  answer 
 
 ran  somewhat  thus ;    that  God  is  very  savage   with 
 
 man.     He  persecutes  him  in  this  life,  and  burns  him 
 
 for  everlasting    in    another,    but    that   He   may   be 
 
 propitiated ;  that  for  many  hundreds  of  years  He  has 
 
 been   content    with    such   offerings   as    bulls,    goats, 
 
 sheep,    heifers,    etc. ;    but    that  at  length    His    fury 
 
 came  to    such  a  pitch,  that  nothing  could   calm   it 
 
 except  the  death  of  His  own  son ;  that  the  dutiful  son 
 
 suffered   the   necessary  amount  of   misery,  and  that 
 
 his  body    now  forms  a  vast    tabernacle,  into  which 
 
 any  one  who  hkes  may  go  and  shelter  himself.     Yet 
 
 it  must  be  understood  that,  with  all  who  do  not  take 
 
 such  shelter,  God  is  as  savage  as  ever.     But  into  this 
 
 tent  the  son    does    not  allow  any  one  to  enter  who 
 
 has    not   made   himself  as  miserable   in  this  life  as 
 
 be   could   reasonably  bo  expected  to   do,  in  humble 
 
 imitation   of  the   sufferings   endured  by   the   son    of 
 
 the  Eternal. 
 
 To  this  was  occasionally  added  such  texts  as  the 
 following;  "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation" 
 (John  xvi.  33) ;  "  wo  must  through  much  tribulation 
 enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  "  (Acts  xiv.  22) ;  "  wo 
 glory  in  tribulations,  knowing  that  tribulation  work- 
 cth  patience"  (Horn.  v.  3).  And  upon  these  was 
 built   the  idea    that    there   was    little    hope    of    final 
 
637 
 
 salvation  except  some  misery  was  borne  by  the 
 Christian  upon  earth.  So  necessary  indeed  is  this 
 tribulation  before  a  hope  of  heaven  can  be  enter- 
 tained, that  if  troubles  do  not  come  upon  the  faith- 
 ful by  the  accidents  of  life,  they  are  to  be  made  by 
 the  individual.  I  know,  personally,  pious  Christians, 
 who  could  not  feel  comfortable  unless  there  was 
 something  to  make  them  miserable  every  day,  for  a 
 time. 
 
 My  readers  must  not  imagine  that  I  am  record- 
 ing the  exact  words  of  my  spiritual  teachers;  far  from 
 it.  I  believe  such  sentiments  would  never  have  been 
 uttered  if  pious  Christians  were  obliged  to  use  plain 
 language.  The  ideas  were  all  enunciated  in  biblical 
 phraseology,  which  had  become  so  familiar  as  to  have 
 no  real  meaning.  To  my  instructor,  the  idea  of 
 comparing  the  Almighty,  to  Jephthah  sacrificing  his 
 daughter,  and  the  king  of  Moab  sacrificing  his  son, 
 would  have  been  blasphemous  in  the  extreme.  Yet 
 the  same  individual  could  readily  quote  the  passages, 
 "Without  shedding  of  blood,  there  is  no  remission." 
 "  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  He 
 loved  us,  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for 
 our  sins  "  (1  John  iv.  10).  "  Christ,  our  passover, 
 is  sacrificed  for  us,  therefore,  let  us  keep  the  feast " 
 (1  Cor.  V.  7).  "  Christ  hath  given  himself  for  us  an 
 ofiering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet  smelling 
 savour  "  (Ephes.  v.  2).  Indeed,  throughout  the  whole 
 Christian  world  at  the  present  time,  the  doctrine  of 
 propitiating  the  Almighty  by  some  form  of  sacrifice 
 is  as  common  as  it  was  amongst  the  heathen.  It 
 has,  however,  taken  a  different  form.  Some  consider 
 that  a  money  payment,  to  an  ecclesiastic,  or  for  reli- 
 gious purposes,  is  the  present  equivalent  to  slaying 
 
638 
 
 and  helping  to  eat  a  bullock.  This  idea  is  based 
 upon  Phil.  iv.  18,  wherein  Paul  says,  that  certain 
 things  sent  by  the  Philippians  to  him  by  Epaphro- 
 ditus,  are  **  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell,  a  sacrifice 
 acceptable,  well  pleasing  to  God;"  words  which  we 
 see  he  had  in  another  place  used  in  describing  the 
 death  of  Christ. 
 
 Others  consider,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  that 
 they   must   punish    themselves,    believing  that    the 
 words    which   declare    that    **  through    much    tribu- 
 lation  we   must  enter   into   the    kingdom   of   God " 
 (Acts  xiv.  22)  are   strictly  and   literally  true ;    and 
 deducing   as   an    axiom,    the    greater   is   the    tribu- 
 lation here,  the  greater  will  be  the  glory  hereafter. 
 From  this  notion  has  arisen  the  horrible  self-tortures 
 of  the  Indian  Fakirs.     One  of  these  men,  for  exam- 
 ple, is  depicted  in  p.  49,  vol.  v.,  Asiatic  Researches, 
 as  lying   nude,  all   but   a   waist-cloth,    upon    a   bed 
 of  sharp  spikes,  wath  a  pillow  of  the  same  material. 
 To  increase  the  sufferings  endured  by  him  still  far- 
 ther, he  has  logs  of  burning  wood  surrounding  him 
 during  the  hot  weather,  whilst  during  the  winter  he 
 has   cold   water  trickling  over   his   head   and   body. 
 Such   were   the  ancient  anchorites,  hermits,  mendi- 
 cants and  flagellants  of  Christianity ;    and  not  very 
 dissimilar  were  the  austere  *  Covenanters '  and  ascetic 
 Puritans. 
 
 See  hence  what  the  idea  of  value  in  "  sacri- 
 fice" absolutely  involves.  Hide  it,  modify  it,  wrap 
 it  up,  conceal  it  as  wo  will,  it  expresses  the  belief 
 that  the  .Vlmighty  is  a  malignant  being,  rejoicing 
 in  seeing  the  destruction  of  the  creatures  whom 
 He  hath  made.  From  such  a  belief  wo  instinctively 
 recoil.     Who  but  men,  themselves  vile  and  low,  could 
 
639 
 
 have  conceived  such  a  notion,  and  who  but  men  that 
 refuse  to  think,  or  are  incapable  of  doing  so,  could 
 have  adopted  a  groundwork  of  Christianity  like  this  ? 
 I  declare  with  awe,  that  in  spite  of  all  my  endeavours 
 I  am  utterly  unable  to  distinguish  between  the  cha- 
 racteristics of  the  Almighty  Father  as  depicted  in 
 modern  pulpits,  and  the  nature  of  the  devil  as  de- 
 scribed by  the  heathen.  Many  of  my  readers  may 
 recall  to  their  memory  a  statement  made  in  England 
 by  Kajah  Brooke,  of  Borneo,  to  the  effect  that  the 
 Mahometans  beat  the  Christian  missionaries  out  of 
 *'the  held,"  by  the  assertion  that  the  Grod  of  the 
 latter  used  people  for  firewood  after  death.  To  me, 
 that  sentence  carried  fearful  weight.  Indeed  I  have 
 never  since  risen  from  my  abasement  at  the  belief 
 that  the  Christianity^  of  which  we  boast  so  much, 
 declares  that  few  will  be  saved,  and  that  the  vast 
 majority  of  human  beings  will  be  burned  for  fire- 
 wood !  Could  Moloch  be  more  cruel  than  the  God 
 whom  the  Missionaries  declare  that  it  is  "  good 
 news"  to  tell  of?  It  is  indeed  too  true  that  Chris- 
 tians have  burned,  and  otherwise  destroyed,  millions 
 of  their  fellow  men,  as  offerings  to  this  Deity;  as 
 if  the  smell  of  the  blood  of  heretics  was  His  favourite 
 scent.  They  could  not  have  done  more,  if  they 
 regarded  the  Almighty  as  Melcarth,  Molech,  Milcom, 
 Chiun,  Typhon,  Ahriman,  Taautes,  or  any  other  so- 
 called  devil. 
 
 Is  there  indeed  one  single  attribute  which  the 
 heathens  have  given  to  the  denl,  with  which  the 
 Bible  has  not  clothed  God  the  Father  ?  horrcsco 
 rejcrens.  Often  in  the  watches  of  the  night  have 
 I  drawn  out  a  double  column  of  Scriptural  aver- 
 ments  and   classical   descriptions,  and   been   aghast 
 
G40 
 
 at  the  similarity.  Can  Pluto  be  a  more  dread 
 being  than  he  who  framed  the  Christian  purgatory 
 and  hell  ?  Can  Apollyon  be  a  more  fell  destroyer 
 than  the  inventor  of  the  broad  road  leading  to  de- 
 struction ?  Can  Moloch,  who  burns  a  few  babies, 
 be  more  terrible  than  he  who  burns  whole  nations  ? 
 Can  any  being  be  described  as  more  malignant  than 
 one  who  declares  that  he  raised  up  a  king  for  no 
 other  reason  than  that  he  might  destroy  him,  and 
 thereby  let  his  power  on  the  earth  be  known  (Exod. 
 ix.  16) ;  and  who  persecuted  a  nation  by  a  series  of 
 plagues  to  induce  them  to  effect  a  purpose,  which 
 might  have  been  effected  as  readily  as  a  migration 
 of  rats  is  organised  ?  Was  the  child-devouring  Saturn 
 more  terrible  than  the  Bible  God,  of  whom  it  is 
 said,  **  The  Lord  hath  made  all  things  for  Him- 
 self, yea  even  the  wicked,  for  the  day  of  evil"? 
 (Prov.  xvi.  4). 
 
 If  Satan  had  the  power  which  many  persons  assign 
 to  him,  could  they  possibly  invent  for  him  a  more 
 congenial  operation  than  to  make  living  beings  for 
 the  sole  purpose  of  torturing  them  ?  Such  thoughts 
 are  too  horrible ;  the  mind  revolts  from  such  a 
 conception.  Yet  I  am  painfully  conscious  that  if 
 the  present  article  is  ever  read  l)y  evangelical  Church- 
 men, similiir  to  those  with  whom  I  am  familiar, 
 they  will  in  their  blind  zeal  rather  believe  their 
 God  to  be  in  reality  such  as  he  is  drawn,  than  allow 
 that  such  a  portrait  is  entirely  of  human  origin.  I 
 do  not  know  many  things  which  are  more  melancholy 
 than  to  feel  that  a  form  of  religion,  which  has  done 
 so  much  to  humanise  the  world,  should,  by  its  deve- 
 lopment, enslave  so  completely,  as  it  has  done,  the 
 Buccessors  of   those  whom   at    first  it   emancipated. 
 
641 
 
 So  long  as  peace  on  earth,  and  good-will  towards 
 men,  are  the  mainspring  of  faith,  so  long  we  recog- 
 nise the  love  of  God  to  man  in  all  its  movements. 
 But  when  love  signifies  hate,  when  peace  means 
 war,  and  when  good-will  implies  persecution,  times 
 are  wo  fully  changed. 
 
 Is  it  not  painful  to  see  in  the  present  day  priests 
 worshipping  before  the  modern  Ishtar,  and  offering  that 
 which  professes  to  be  the  flesh  and  blood  of  her  own 
 child,  whilst  "galli"  stand  around  and  chaunt  her 
 praises  ?  And  is  it  not  an  equally  fearful  portent 
 when  Protestant  divines  yearn  to  do  the  like  ?  Yet 
 these  have  the  power,  in  many  places,  to  brand  with 
 infamy  those  who  oppose  them.  It  is  fortunate 
 for  the  interest  of  the  perfect  "truth"  which  will  in 
 the  end  prevail,  that  men  do  occasionally  arise,  who 
 are  as  fearless  in  denouncing  error,  as  their  adversaries 
 are  eager  in  promoting  it.  We  believe  that  when 
 the  religious  idea  involved  in  the  word  "  sacrifice " 
 is  expelled  from  our  theology  and  practice,  we 
 shall  be  able  to  recognise  the  beneficence  of  the 
 Creator,  far  more  clearly  than  we  do  at  present ; 
 for  we  shall  then  think  and  see  far  more  of  His 
 operations,  not  on  man  only,  but  throughout  the 
 universe. 
 Sacti  is  the  name  given  in  Hindoo  mythology  to  each 
 consort  of  the  chief  gods.  In  this  portion  of  their 
 faith  there  is  a  remarkable  resemblance  between 
 the  Aryan  and  the  Assyrian  theology.  The  inha- 
 bitants of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  divided  the  god- 
 head, much  as  the  Papal  Church  does,  into  a  male 
 triad  and  a  female  unity;  but,  with  the  usual  incon- 
 sistency of  theosophists,  they  gave  a  wife  to  each 
 of   the  male  divinities,   without,  at  the  same  time, 
 
 ss 
 
642 
 
 assigning  a  lins1)an{I  to  the  virgin,  although,  para- 
 doxically enough  this  was  done  in  a  fashion  by 
 describing  her  as  the  wife  of  the  head  of  the 
 trinity.  In  like  manner,  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and 
 Siva,  like  some  other  minor  gods,  have  a  wife  each, 
 who  is  designated  as  the  sacti,  which  represents  the 
 energy  or  power  of  her  lord.  The  names  of  the 
 three  sactis  of  the  Hindoo  triad  are  Saraswati,  Lak- 
 shmi,  and  Pan'ati,  or  Devi.  Some  Hindoos  prefer  to 
 worship  these,  just  as  certain  Europeans  prefer  the 
 worship  of  the  Virgin  to  that  of  the  Father;  and 
 just  as  the  latter  are  called,  somewhat  derisively, 
 Maryolaters,  so  the  former  are  designated  Sactas. 
 These  sactis  also  go  by  the  name  of  viatris,  or 
 mothers,  and  they  are  supposed  to  have  great  power 
 over  the  demons. 
 
 Figaro  43. 
 
643 
 
 In  plates,  the  sactis  are  usually  represented  as 
 ordinary  females,  more  or  less  draped,  but  always 
 free  from  any  idea  of  indelicacy.  '^^  Sometimes  they 
 are  represented  as  united  to  their  lords  after  the 
 manner  of  androgynous  compounds,  the  male  being 
 on  the  right  side,  the  female  on  the  left,'"^  as  if  males 
 and  females  were  the  right  and  left  hands  of  the 
 Almighty.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  in  passing,  that 
 the  man  has,  in  every  picture,  the  thumb  and  two 
 forefingers  conspicuously  separated  from  the  fingers, 
 just  as  we  see  them  in  Christian  bishops,  when  in 
 the  act  of  blessing  the  faithful. 
 
 We  have  on  various  occasions  endeavoured  to 
 illustrate  the  past  by  a  reference  to  the  present, 
 believing  that  what  is  hath  already  been;  that 
 there  is  nothing  of  which  it  may  be  said,  See,  this 
 is  new,  for  it  hath  been  already  of  old  time  which 
 was  before  us  (Ecclesiastes  i.  9-11).  Amongst  other 
 statements  which  we  have  advanced,  it  has  been 
 asserted  that  the  mother  of  the  gods  has  been  by 
 some  regarded  with  as  great  respect  as  the  pri- 
 meval father;  and  that  the  feminine  emblem  has 
 been  reverenced  much  in  the  same  manner,  though 
 with  different  rites,  as  the  masculine  effigy  has  been. 
 We  have  seen  reason  to  believe  that  the  counterparts 
 of  Osiris  and  Isis,  Mahadeva  and  the  Youi,  were 
 honoured  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  the  shores  of 
 the  Mediterranean,  and  amongst  the  dwellers  in 
 Mesopotamia,  from  the  earliest  ages.  We  now  know 
 that  they  are  equally  revered  by  the  Negro  savages 
 of  Dahomey,  who  place  in  the  streets  of  their  town 
 rude  representations  of  these  deities,  both  of  which 
 
 i^B  See  Fig.  43,  and  Plate  III,  126  See  Fig.  44. 
 
644 
 
 are  adored  by  being  anointed  with  oil.'"'  Wc  find, 
 moreover,  tliat  the  veneration  of  one  or  both  of 
 these  parts  is  almost  universal  in  Hindostan  at  the 
 present  day.  Of  the  great  antiquity  of  the  worship 
 an  inference  may  be  drawn  from  the  Tantrus,  the 
 books  that  describe  Sacti  worship,  being  considered 
 more  ancient  than  the  Purans,  one  of  which  is 
 called  the  Linr/a  Puraua."* 
 
 Amongst  the  various  explanations  given  for  reve- 
 rencing the  Sacti  is  one  which  identifies  her  with 
 7visdom.  Literally,  the  word  signifies  force;  and  to 
 this  da}'  wc  have  the  proverb,  "knowledge  is  power." 
 The  Sacti  is  then  considered  as  identical  with  the 
 Greek  Sophia  and  Logos.  She  is  also  the  same  as 
 "\nll."  The  Sama  Vedha,  for  example,  when  speak- 
 ing of  the  divine  cause  of  creation,  says,  "  He 
 experienced  no  bliss,  being  isolated  —  alone.  He 
 ardently  desired  a  companion,  and  immcdiatoly  the 
 desire  was  gratified.  He  caused  his  body  to  divide ; 
 and  became  male  and  female  (see  Fig.  44),  they 
 united,  and  human  beings  were  made."  Sacti  is 
 always  alluded  to  as  Maya  (delusion),  and  Prak- 
 rite,  or  nature,  who  is  one  with  Maya,  because  she 
 beguiles  all  beings."^ 
 
 Having,  as  it  were,  sanctified  the  power  by  which 
 the  great  father  carried  out  his  designs,  a  stylo  of 
 worship  was  rendered  to  her  tluit  was  supposed  to 
 be  adapted  to  her  sex.  She  was  addressed  with 
 the  most  flattering  and  endearing  epithets  that  man 
 could  devise.     Her  worshippers  vied  with  each  other 
 
 '^   Sec    \<)tet  on  the    ftahontnii,   liy    Hnrton,   in    Anthropoloffical  Memoin 
 (London,  Trubncr,  iWVj),  toI.  i.  p.  8'2(). 
 
 ***  Sellon,  in  Anthropological  Memoir$,  vol    i.  and  ii. 
 "■»  Sellon.  Op.  <:il. 
 
in  the  invention  of  lovely  and  powerful  attributes; 
 and  there  is  not  a  single  form  of  homage,  addressed 
 by  the  Papist  to  Mary,  which  has  not  been  bestowed 
 on  the  Sacti  by  her  worshippers.  The  Sactas, 
 her  adorers,  see  in  every  woman  an  effigy  of  the 
 great  goddess;  and,  during  worship,  many  dress  up 
 a  Brahminical  girl  or  woman  with  great  splendour, 
 and  adorn  her  with  jewels  and  garlands, —just  as  T 
 
646 
 
 have  seen,  in  Papal  Clmrchcs,  a  wax  or  wooden  image 
 of  Mary  decked.  Mr.  Sellon  (from  whose  essays  in 
 the  Anthropological  Memoirs  I  am  drawing  much 
 information)  describes  (vol.  ii.,  p.  267),  at  consider- 
 able length,  the  nature  of  the  ceremonies,  and  how, 
 from  being  reverent  at  first,  they  pass  into  a  veritable 
 orgy,  the  mystic  merging  into  the  real,  into  which  it 
 is  unnecessary  to  follow  him.  Mr.  Colebrooke  (in 
 the  Religion  of  the  Hindoos,  Williams  and  Norgate, 
 London,  1858,)  tells  us,  p.  124,  that  some  of  the 
 sect  we  speak  of  have  adopted  the  singular  practice 
 of  presenting  to  their  own  wives  the  oblations  they 
 intend  for  the  goddess.  It  would  appear  from  the 
 Tantras,  that  the  worship  of  the  female  is  associ- 
 ated with  the  use  of  wine,  flesh,  fish,  and  the 
 practice  of  magic,  not  habitually,  but  during  the 
 ceremonies  of  worship.  The  votaries  seem  to  be 
 guided  by  an  idea  similar  to  that  enunciated  in 
 Eccles.  ix.  7,  8,  9,  "  Eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and 
 drink  thy  wine  with  a  merry  heart;  let  thy  gar- 
 ments be  always  white,  and  let  thy  head  lack  no 
 ointment  ;  live  joyfully  with  the  wife  that  thou 
 lovest,"  etc. 
 
 The  Sactas  delineate  upon  their  foreheads  three 
 horizontal  hues,  and  a  red  circle,  which  seem  to  be 
 emblematic  of  the  'four'  formed  by  the  triplex  organ 
 and  the  unit,  that  together  are  emblematic  of  crea- 
 tion. Sellon  informs  us  that  the  mystical  ring  or 
 circle  represents  one  part,  and  the  triangle  with  its 
 apex  downwards  another  part  of  the  yoni,  and  that 
 a  dot  in  the  centre  of  either  represents  the  male, 
 thus  forming  the  arha,  or  mystic  four. 
 
 The  symbols  indeed  which  typify  these  elements 
 are    exceedingly   numerous,    as   will    be    seen    by    a 
 
647 
 
 reference  to  our  figures  and  the  explanations  thereof. 
 Mr.  Sellon  concludes  his  essay  with  the  remarks, 
 "  The  Eleusinian  mysteries  bear  a  very  striking 
 analogy  to  the  Sacteya.  The  method  of  purification 
 pourtrayed  on  antique  Greek  vases  closely  resembles 
 the  ceremony  as  prescribed  in  the  Sacti  Sodhana. 
 From  this  circumstance,  and  also  from  the  very 
 frequent  allusions  to  Sacteya  rites  in  the  writings 
 of  the  Jews  and  other  ancient  authors,  it  is  evident 
 that  we  have  now  in  India  the  remains  of  a  very 
 ancient  superstitious  mysticism,  if  not  one  of  the 
 most  ancient  forms  of  idolatry,  in  the  Sact'i  or  Cliacra 
 Piija,  or  worship  of  Power." 
 
 Our  readers  will  now  recognise  the  fact  that  we 
 did  not  in  the  smallest  degree  violate  probability 
 when  we  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Assyrian 
 worship  was  mainly  directed  to  the  Sacti,  and  that 
 the  so-called  "grove"  was  nothing  more  than  a 
 greatly  disguised  effigy  of  the  Yoni.  The  explanation 
 above  given  will  enable  us  in  like  manner  to  recog- 
 nise the  value  of  the  following  symbols.  The  well- 
 known  serpent,  with  its  tail  in  its  pj„  45^ 
 mouth  (Fig.  45)  is  a  male  emblem, 
 whilst  its  mouth  is  a  female  one. 
 The  vesica  piscis  (Fig.  46),  is  the 
 emblem  of  Mary ;  and  I  cannot  more 
 forcibly  show  the  connection  between  the  Assyrian 
 'grove,'  the  vesica  j^iscis,  Mary,  and  the  Yi^.4.6. 
 feminine  emblem,  than  by  presenting  to 
 my  readers  the  two  following  wood  -  cuts 
 (Figs.  47,  48),  copied  from  a  Eosary  of 
 the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  which  was  printed  at 
 Venice,  1542,  with  a  license  from  the 
 Inquisition,  and  consequently  orthodox.    The 
 
Fig.  49. 
 
 eyes,""    /fTx      fr\     ^^^'^  '■ised  still  as  emblems  of 
 
 649 
 
 Fig.  50. 
 
 <a> 
 
 Siva  and  Sacti  by  the  Hindoos,  as  tbey  were  by  the 
 ancient  Egj^tians,  all  of  which  indicate  the  conjunc- 
 
 Fig.  52.  Fig.  53. 
 
 Fig.  51.  "^ 
 
 o     V    ^  • 
 
 tion  of  the  triad  with  the  unit.    The  following  Hindoo 
 symbols  have  the  same  signification,  the  last   being 
 
 Fig.  54. 
 ^  Fig.  55.        Fig.  56.  Fig.  57.  Fig.  58. 
 
 HI  «  © 
 
 especially  valuable  to  us,  because  the  Sacti  is  shown 
 
 Fig.  59.  Fig.  60.  Fig.  61. 
 
 \^ 
 
 Fig.  62.  Fig.  63. 
 
 therein  under  a  form  closely  resembling  the  Assyrian 
 gi-ove,  or  "  the  door,"  see  Fig.  66,  Vol.  i.,  p.  160. 
 
 180  There  is  a  very  cnrions  story  told  of  Indra  in  Moor's  ITindoo  Patitheon,  p. 
 263,  which  proves  clearly  the  relation  between  the  eye  and  the  Sacti.  It  runs 
 thus ;  "  Great  and  glorious  as  Indra  (the  god  of  the  sky)  is,  he  could  not  resist 
 temptation;  and  ho  is  fabled  to  have  been  once  covered  with,  instead  of  eyes,  marks 
 of  a  different  sort.  "  "  Ahilya,  the  pious  wife  of  the  pious  Hishi  Gomata,  attracted 
 the  depraved  Indra,"  but  he  was  prevented  from  accomplishing  his  adulterous 
 design  by  the  seasonable  intrusion  of  the  holy  man,  who  imprecated  this  curse  upon 
 Indka,  that  he  should  be  covered  with  the  mark  of  what  had  been  the  object  of  his 
 lawless  desires :  which  took  immediate  effect.  On  the  repentance  and  entreaties 
 of  the  detected  deity,  who  did  not  like  to  be  seen  amongst  the  gods  covered  with 
 such  indecent  spots,  the  good  man  relented,  and  mitigated  the  curse  by  changing 
 the  marks  of  his  shame  to  as  many  eyes. 
 
650 
 
 "VMien  the  reader  has  still  farther  examined  many 
 of  the  symbols  which  we  have  copied  from  Baby- 
 lonian and  other  gems,  he  will  see  very  strong 
 reasons  for  inquiring  whether  there  was  any  com- 
 munication between  the  ancient  people  of  Hindo- 
 stan  and  those  of  Western  Asia,  or  whether  there 
 existed  among  both,  independently,  a  reverence  for  the 
 mundane  emblems  of  creation,  each  nation  creating 
 for  itself  the  sjTubols  which  seemed  to  be  the  most 
 appropriate  for  their  purpose.  But  what  concerns 
 us,  as  civilised  Christians,  is  to  inquire  how  it 
 comes  to  pass  that  devices  which  tell  solely  of  the 
 adoration  of  the  sexual  organs  of  the  male  and 
 female  are  still  represented  in  our  churches  as  if  they 
 were  holy  emblems.  We  can  understand  why  the 
 Papal  Church  adopts  in  her  sacred  dress  the  oval 
 shape  (Fig.  65)  for  the  chasuble,  the  sistrum  form  (Fig. 
 64)  for  the  ;;x////»7«,  and  the  union  of  the  ancient  X 
 with  the  circle  (Fig.  66)  for  a  corporal:  thus  (Fig.  67). 
 
 FiR.  G7. 
 Fig.  64. 
 
651 
 
 We  can  also  understand  why  many  of  her  chief 
 worthies  are  represented  with  the  cup  and  Fig.  68. 
 globe  (Fig.  68),  and  why  the  consecrated 
 wafer,  made  not  much  unlike  the  buns 
 offered  to  Astarte,  should  be  circular. 
 We  can  likewise  understand  why  the  head 
 of  ecclesiastics  should  have  a  circle  of  hair  shaved 
 from  its  crown  ;  why  its  bishops  wear  an  effigy  of 
 a  fish's  head  for  a  mitre,  why  that  mitre  bears  a 
 tau,  T,  and  why  priests  bless  the  people  with  three 
 fingers,  on  the  central  one  of  which  is  placed  a  ring. 
 Indeed  if  the  reader  will  examine  Pugin's  Glossary  of 
 Ecclesiastical  Ornament,  he  will  scarcely  find  a  figure 
 which  he  cannot  readily  explain  by  his  knowledge  of 
 the  triad  and  the  sacti.  But  though  we  can  understand 
 a  Church  founded  upon  ancient  Paganism  adopting, 
 as  emblems  of  their  faith,  the  covert  forms  of  those 
 parts  which  modesty  most  scrupulously  conceals,  we 
 cannot  understand  how  educated  Protestants,  who 
 have  escaped  from  the  degrading  tenets  of  the  Eoman 
 religion,  should  still  remain  in  beggarly  bondage,  and 
 allow  their  hierarchs  and  their  churches  to  be  decked 
 with  the  ornaments  representative  of  Asher,  Hea, 
 Hoa,  and  Ishtar. 
 
 If  our  readers  will  permit  us  to  do  so,  we  would 
 earnestly  press  upon  their  notice  a  book  entitled  The 
 Gnostics  and  their  Remains,  by  C.  W.  King,  8vo., 
 pp.  250,  profusely  illustrated  (Bell  and  Daldy, 
 London,  1864).  I  would  also  recommend  to  those 
 who  can  procure  it,  a  copy  of  an  essay  on  the  worship 
 of  the  generative  powers  during  the  middle  ages  of 
 Western  Europe,  wherein  he  will  see  how  generally 
 the  representatives  of  the  sexes,  separately,  or  in 
 union,  were  used  as  tahsmans  or  charms,  and  how 
 we  owe  the    popular    form    of   certain    cakes,    buns. 
 
652 
 
 or  loaves,  to  a  very  ancient  but  little  thought  of 
 source. 
 Salvation.  There  are  few  words  which  strike  more  strongly 
 upon  the  senses  of  an  inquirer  into  the  nature  of 
 ancient  faiths,  than  Salvation  and  Saviour.  Both 
 were  used  long  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  they 
 are  still  common  amongst  those  who  never  heard  of 
 Jesus,  or  of  that  which  is  known,  amongst  us,  as 
 the  Gospel.  The  diligent  reader  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment will  be  quite  familiar  wath  passages  in  which 
 Elohim  and  Jehovah  are  spoken  of  under  this  title  ; 
 and  the  student  of  profane  theology,  and  of  mo- 
 dern Hindooism,  will  l)o  familiar  with  the  fact 
 that  the  same  Great  Being,  who  is  at  one  time 
 named  the  Creator,  is  often  called  the  Saviour  or 
 Preserver. 
 
 It  is  tolerably  clear,  from  the  way  in  which  the 
 word  is  used,  that  it  intentionally  bears  more  signifi- 
 cations than  one.  Often  it  has  reference  to  the 
 living  world  in  general,  under  the  idea  that  great 
 catastrophes,  such  as  earthquake,  pestilence,  fire, 
 water,  lightning,  or  other  forces,  would  destroy  every 
 organised  being,  unless  there  was  some  power  by 
 which  others  would  arise  to  take  the  places  of  the 
 departed.  In  this  sense  the  Saviour  is  identified 
 with  Mahadcva  and  Parvati,  the  earthly  means  by 
 which  individuals  are  formed  to  take  the  place  of 
 deceased  parents.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Deuca- 
 lidii  mid  I'ynliit.  wlio  repeopled  a  desolated  land 
 by  moans  of  stont-s,  each  of  which,  bt-ing  thrown  in 
 a  particular  way,  became  human  beings. 
 
 Another  sense  in  which  the  word  is  used,  is  that 
 of  u  deliveranco  from  danger,  and  from  a  premature 
 duuili,    in    caso    of     indivi<hmlH    or    of    <-oinniiiiiitits. 
 
653 
 
 Thus,  when  a  city  was  besieged,  and  in  danger  of 
 being  speedily  subdued,  if  some  friendly  prince  came 
 to  its  aid,  and  vanquished  the  enemy,  the  leader 
 would  be  regarded  as  a  saviour  of  the  place.  In 
 like  manner,  if  a  battle  occurred  between  hostile 
 forces,  and  a  hail-storm,  fierce  and  local  like  those 
 which  happen  in  hot  countries,  was  to  pour  an 
 icy  rain  of  stones  upon  one  of  the  armies,  and 
 discomfit  its  ranks,  thus  giving  victory  to  the  other, 
 the  last  would  regard  Jupiter,  who  wields  the 
 thunder-bolt,  as  its  especial  saviour.  Or  if,  by  any 
 mischance,  a  royal  sportsman  were  to  be  in  danger 
 of  death  from  the  fangs  or  paws  of  an  infuriated  lion 
 or  tiger,  and  an  elephant,  with  or  without  directions 
 from  man,  were  to  kill  the  beast  ere  the  hunter  was 
 slaughtered,  the  brute  would  be  regarded  as  an  incar- 
 nation of  the  monarch's  god,  and  it  would  be  named 
 the  saviour  of  the  crown.  Again,  a  chieftain  who, 
 by  his  physical  prowess,  or  mental  capacity,  has 
 been  able  to  organise  an  army  of  his  countrymen, 
 and  deliver  them  from  the  yoke  of  a  foreign  oppressor, 
 is  styled  their  saviour;  and  if,  in  addition  to  this, 
 he  enables  his  followers  to  serve  enemies  as  their 
 foemen  had  served  them,  he  would  be  almost 
 deified. 
 
 The  Jewish  nation,  when  they  spoke  of  a  Saviour, 
 or  of  Salvation,  almost  invariably  used  the  term  to 
 indicate  one  who  saved  the  life  of  an  individual,  or 
 of  the  nation ;  so  that,  when  they  spoke  of  their  God 
 as  one  who  brought  salvation,  or  who  was  a  Saviour, 
 the  idea  which  possessed  them  was,  that  His  power, 
 in  one  way  or  another,  helped  them  out  of  their 
 earthly  difficulties.  Other  nations,  when  they  used 
 the  terms  in  question  mythologically,  chiefly  spoke  of 
 
fi54 
 
 the  Saviour  as  being  equivalent  to  the  renovator,  the 
 reproducer,  the  recreator,  and  the  like. 
 
 In  no  single  instance  can  I  discover  that  the  idea 
 of  a  Saviour  was  connected  with  that  of  a  spiritual  life. 
 The  ancient  Jews  had  no  notion  of  a  future  world  ; ''" 
 their  lawgivers  spoke  only  to  them  of  rewards  and 
 punishments  on  this  earth.  The  Sadducees,  a  sect  who 
 determined,  stare  super  vias  antiquas,  and  not  to  give 
 way  to  the  new-fangled  notions  that  their  countrymen 
 had  picked  up  in  Babylonia  and  Persia,  held  the  same 
 faith.  Even  Jesus,  who  was  conversant  with  all 
 the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  could  only  find  in  them  one 
 scrap  of  evidence  of  a  future  state,  viz.,  the  argu- 
 ment deduced  from  the  words  said  to  have  been 
 uttered  by  God  to  Moses,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abra- 
 ham," etc. ;  "  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of 
 the  living"  (Matt.  xxii.  31,  32);  which  argument  is 
 not  worth  the  name.  If,  for  example,  God  is  the 
 God  of  the  living  and  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  and 
 is,  moreover,  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
 it  follows  that  none  of  the  three  are  dead,  and  that 
 all  are  still  alive.  To  modern  logicians,  the  style  of 
 logic  put  into  the  lips  of  Jesus  by  the  Evangelist 
 resembles  a  "quibble"  so  strongly,  that  few  can 
 believe  that  it  came  from  himself.  '''- 
 
 >«  "The  dcnd  praico  not  the  Ixinl,  neither  any  Ibnt  ro  down  into  Bilencc" 
 (P«.  CXT.  17).  "There  is  Iiojk'  of  a  tree,  if  it  bo  cut  down,  that  it  will  Hpront  npain, 
 and  that  the  tender  hrunrh  therci.f  will  not  cen^e.  Hut  ninn  dicth,  and  wanteth 
 awnr ;  yen  man  fpreth  up  the  ghont,  luid  where  is  ho  7  So  man  licth  down,  and 
 ri«itb  not"  (.lob  xiv.  7.  10,  12). 
 
 •■*  Home  in^'euionii  theologianx  assert  that  the  wordi  qnotcd  aboTC  aignify  that 
 the  pntrinrrhs.  tbnoRb  duad  to  the  .Tews  who  heard  the  arj^nnient,  were  still  alire, 
 and  stanilin);  l^'fore  (io*!.  This  is,  however,  opjHxied  to  evrry  stalemenl  of  the  Itos- 
 pcl,  and  wholly  ant«-nable  by  Christians,  who  hold  that  "the  d^  ad  in  rhri»t  shall 
 riso  first  "  (1  Thcwi.  ir.  If.);  that  Christ  is  "the  first  lK>m  from  tlio  dead"  (Col 
 i.  IH|;  nnd  that  throui^h  Jesus  it  is  that  man  riors  a^uin  (1  Cor.  xr.  '22,  'i-li.  (on- 
 •eqnrntly,  as  Chri«t  when  preaching  had  not  died,  so  neither  ho  nor  the  patriarchs 
 could  baTo  riaon  again. 
 
655 
 
 We  may  fairly  pass  by  the  preceding  signification  of 
 Saviour  and  Salvation  without  any  farther  elaboration, 
 and  concentrate  our  attention  upon  another  meaning 
 of  the  words,  which  has  been  current  amongst  Chris- 
 tians for  many  centuries.  We  enunciate  it  thus. 
 There  is  a  belief  that  the  normal  condition  of  all 
 human  beings  after  their  death  is  one  of  horror.  In 
 other  words,  the  general  doctrine  taught  amongst 
 civilised  men  is,  that  man  differs  from  all  the  rest 
 of  the  creation,  inasmuch  as  he  is  made  to  be 
 damned  throughout  eternity.  The  beast  lives  and 
 dies,  and  is  only  reproduced  again  as  water,  carbonic 
 acid,  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  phosphate  of  lime,  etc., 
 etc.  Man,  on  the  other  hand,  is  fated  by  the  laws  of 
 nature,  not  only  to  undergo  the  same  physical  changes 
 which  the  brute  passes  through,  but  to  eliminate  from 
 his  decaying  body  an  immaterial  essence,  which  con- 
 veys itself,  or  is  conveyed,  to  some  hypothetical  lo- 
 cality, where  it  will  be  tortured  everlastingly,  in  one 
 way  or  another,  by  unsubstantial  beings. 
 
 From  this  state  of  damnation,  it  is  alleged  that 
 a  few,  a  very  few,  of  mankind  can  be  saved.  Other- 
 wise it  is  affirmed  that  some  individuals,  during  their 
 lifetime,  can  be  so  prepared  for  death,  that  the 
 non-material  parts  can  be  taught  to  pass,  or  to  find 
 an  asomatous  guide  who  shall  take  them,  to  an  un- 
 substantial locality,  where  all  shall  be  made  happy 
 with  spiritual  comforts  and  incorporeal  pleasures.  ^^^ 
 The  escape,  from  the  "  Hell "  which  is  intended  for 
 
 133  It  is,  however,  vei^  remarkable  that  evei^  description  which  has  been  given 
 by  so-called  sacred  or  inspired  writers  has  described  the  gratifications  of  heaven  as 
 purely  coqioreal.  The  eye,  for  example,  is  to  be  regaled  with  gorgeous  spectacles ; 
 the  ear,  with  transcendent  melodies  and  ardent  songs  ;  the  mouth,  with  the  absence 
 of  thirst  and  hunger;  and  other  parts  of  the  body  (which  is  to  be  only  a  spirit),  are 
 said  to  be  certain  of  corresponding  gratifications. 
 
656 
 
 all,  is  designated  by  the  name  of  salvation.  The 
 power,  the  essence,  the  being,  or  the  individual  by 
 whom  this  immunity,  release,  or  evasion  is  brought 
 about  is  called  a  Saviour.  That  this  signification  of 
 the  word  Saviour  is  the  one  commonly  accepted, 
 we  recognise  in  the  stress  laid  upon  the  words  (Matt.  i. 
 21),  "  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall 
 save  his  people  from  their  sins  ;  "  which  last  clause 
 is  taken  as  equivalent  to  saving  from  eternal  death  ; 
 as  we  read  elsewhere  the  authoritative  saying  (Rom. 
 vi.  23),  "the  wages  of  sin  is  death."  *^*  Farther  quota- 
 tions are  probably  unnecessary. 
 
 Using,  now,  the  words  Saviour  and  Salvation  in 
 this  restricted  sense,  let  us  examine  what  they  involve. 
 A  moment's  consideration  will  show  that  the  idea  in 
 question  could  not  be  entertained  without  an  assumed 
 knowledge  of  the  counsel  of  the  Most  High,  as  re- 
 gards all  that  die,  whether  plants,  animals  or  men. 
 It  assumes  the  existence  of  a  place  of  punishment, 
 of  tormentors,  and  a  locality  where  nothing  but 
 happiness  can  reign.  It  supposes  the  existence  of  two 
 distinct  and  opposing  Beings  in  the  universe,  who  are 
 in  constant  antagonism.  It  propounds  that  each  of 
 these  rulers  has  deputies  upon  earth,  who  are  con- 
 stantly endeavouring  to  induce  human  beings  to  range 
 themselves  under  the  sway  of  one  or  other  potentate; 
 these  deputies  being  recognised  amongst  men  by  their 
 method  of  speaking,  their  style  of  conversation,  or  by 
 the  garb  which  they  wear.      Still  farther,  the  idea  of 
 
 "**  It  is  Bomowhat  cnrions  to  see  bow  very  com])leti'ly  the  word  "  death "  is 
 mad"  to  Rtiind  for  "eternal  life."  The  current  doctrine  beiiif^  thnt  nil  mimkind, 
 after  their  decease,  shall  rise  and  live  to  all  eternity;  some  in  enjoyment,  others  in 
 woe,  the  last  being  de^iKiiated  n»  '  death.'  Unt  this  contradiction  of  terms  forms  so 
 small  an  item  amongst  the  straugo  notions  of  divines  that  we  nood  nut  dwell 
 n]>on  it. 
 
657 
 
 salvation  assumes  that  the  vicegerents  of  the  celestial 
 rulers  living  on  earth  are  perfectly  familiar  with 
 the  language  of  heaven,  and  of  the  likings  and  dis- 
 likes of  the  prince  of  darkness ;  that  they  know  what 
 will  serve  to  bribe  the  one  into  complacency,  and  to 
 frighten  the  other  into  quietude.  It  asserts  that  one 
 or  other  power  can  recognise,  by  the  condition  of  the 
 corpse  of  the  defunct, — as,  for  example,  if  it  has  been 
 touched  with  oil  or  left  without  extreme  unction,  etc., 
 — whether  its  immaterial  part  is  to  pass  to  one  realm 
 or  the  other ;  and  that  there  is  sometimes  a  sort  of 
 compromise  between  these  two  as  to  the  ultimate 
 destination  of  the  dead,  the  individual  going  for  a 
 time  to  the  region  of  purgatorial  probation,  and  then 
 rising  to  the  realms  of  perfect  bliss.  Other  assump- 
 tions the  reader  can  readily  divine. 
 
 We  can  easily  believe  that  anyone,  who  devotes 
 his  judgment  to  a  deep  consideration  of  the  preceding 
 paragraph,  would  jump  at  once  to  the  conclusion, 
 "  such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me;  it  is  high, 
 I  cannot  attain  unto  it "  (Ps.  cxxxix.  6)  ;  it  must  be 
 therefore  all  a  tremendous  lie,  or  an  incomprehen- 
 sible truth.  If  such  an  one  were  a  philosopher,  he 
 would  say  to  himself,  "  It  is  quite  possible  that  '  He 
 who  dwelleth  in  the  light  that  no  man  can  approach 
 unto,  whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see  '  (1  Tim. 
 vi.  16),  does  sometimes  visit  the  dark  places  of  the 
 earth,  and  select  for  His  companions  the  foolish 
 men  of  the  world  so  as  to  confound  the  wise,  loving 
 the  base  more  than  the  noble  (1  Cor.  i.  18-28).  It 
 is  quite  possible  that  the  men  and  women  who  know 
 the  least  about  this  world  deem  themselves  able  to 
 tell,  more  than  anybody  else,  about  that  place  of 
 which  no  one  knows  anything.      There  is  nothing  a 
 
 T  T 
 
658 
 
 priori  contemptible  in  the  proposition,  that  bo  wbom 
 tbe  world  regards  as  a  lunatic  may  believe  that  he 
 has  converse  with  the  Creator.  It  is  also  possible  for 
 some  to  believe  that  a  dreamer,  whose  visions  seem 
 to  others  grotesque,  deserves  veneration,  when  he  tells 
 of  the  sights  he  has  seen  whilst  buried  in  slum- 
 ber, if  only  they  refer  to  something  of  which  all 
 are  ignorant."  But,  though  possible,  such  things  are 
 not  probable.  Yet  he  who  describes  the  incompre- 
 hensible cannot  be  refuted,  and  those  who  believe  in 
 the  truth  of  his  pictures  may  accuse  infidels  of  want 
 of  faith.  We  allow  that  the  sceptic,  such  as  we  here 
 describe,  may  he  the  most  unfortunate  of  men,  but  it 
 is  pretty  certain  that  he  is  not. 
 
 Acknowledging,  for  argument's  sake,  that  there 
 are  some  individuals,  who  are  in  reality  the  vice- 
 gerents of  the  opposite  and  unseen  powers,  — 
 persons  who  are  absolutely  deputed  to  save  their 
 fellow-mortals  from  endless  woe,  or  to  induce  them 
 to  run  down  to  perdition  without  any  check, —  it  is 
 the  business  of  the  philosopher  to  examine  the 
 persons  who  declare  themselves  to  be  so  accredited. 
 As  he  is  unable  to  do  this  personally,— for  many  such 
 individuals  are  separated  from  him,  both  by  time  and 
 distance,  to  an  extent  that  he  cannot  overcome, — he 
 endeavours  to  effect  his  plan  by  observation.  He  finds 
 that  all  persons,  who  are  earnestly  seeking  for  the 
 salvation  of  which  we  speak,  may  bo  ranged  into 
 two  distinct  classes,  those  who  endeavour  to  attain 
 it  by  the  assistance  of  others,  and  those  who  trust 
 to  their  own  individual  eflbrts ;  who  endeavour,  that 
 is  to  say,  "  to  work  out  their  own  salvation  with 
 fear  and  trembling  "  (Phil.  ii.  12).  Practically,  this 
 division  resolves  itself  into  priests,  with  their  votaries, 
 
659 
 
 and  other  people,  i.  e.,  those  who  have  the  capacity 
 to   lead,   and  those  who   are  content  to   be  led. 
 
 These  classes  may  be  recognised  in  other  walks 
 of  hfe  besides  the  clerical.  We  may,  for  example, 
 find  them  in  the  medical,  wherein  are  to  be  found  men 
 who  blindly  obey  "authority,"  and  others  who  refuse 
 credence  to  authorised  doctors,  and  set  up  for  them- 
 selves ;  a  fact  facetiously  rendered  by  Butler,  in  his 
 Hudibras,  thus, 
 
 "  For  sure  the  pleasure  is  as  great 
 In  being  cheated  as  to  cheat." 
 
 In  theology  we  can  recognise  this  distinction  at 
 an  early  age  of    comparatively  correct    Jewish    his- 
 tory.    Therein  we  see  the  Prophet  Isaiah  thundering 
 against   the  priests  and   their  votaries,   and   urging 
 the   latter   to   look   after   their   individual   interests. 
 "To  what  puri30se,"  he  writes,  "is  the  multitude  of 
 your  sacrifices  unto  me  ?    saith   the   Lord.      I   am 
 full  of  the    burnt  offerings  of  rams,  and  the  fat  of 
 fed  beasts  ;   and  I  delight  not  in  the  blood  of  bul- 
 locks, or  of  lambs,   or  of  he-goats.     When  ye  come 
 to  appear  before  me,  who  hath  required  this  at  your 
 hand,    to   tread   my   courts?      Bring   no   more   vain 
 oblations;  incense  is  an  abomination  unto  me;  the 
 new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calHng  of  assemblies, 
 I  cannot  away  with ;  it  is  iniquity,  even  the  solemn 
 meeting.     Your  new  moons  and  your  appointed  feasts 
 my  soul  hateth ;  they  are  a  trouble  unto  me ;  I  am 
 weary  to  bear  them.     And  when  ye  spread  forth  your 
 hands,  I  will  hide  mine  eyes  from  you ;  yea,  when  ye 
 make  many  prayers,  I  will  not  hear ;  your  hands  are 
 full    of   blood"    (Isa.    i.    11-15).      After    thus    de- 
 nouncing the  value  of  priestly  contrivances  to  satisfy 
 
660 
 
 God,  he  urges  upon  the  people,  "Wash  you, make  j'ou 
 clean ;  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  before 
 mine  eyes ;  cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well ;  seek 
 judgment,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless, 
 plead  for  the  widow"  (vv.  16, 17).  Analogous  passages 
 will  readily  present  themselves  to  the  student's  mind ; 
 the  one  above  suffices  as  a  text  for  our  discourse.  It 
 teaches  us  that  the  Priesthood  adopts  some  visible 
 means,  by  attention  to  which  a  certain  amount  of 
 merit  is  carried,  as  it  were,  to  the  creditor  side  of  the 
 page  of  the  great  book  kept  before  God.  And  as  the 
 people  find  it  far  more  easy  to  perform  some  act  of 
 penance  which  gives  positive  pain  than  to  control 
 their  passions,  the  first  plan  is  always  most  popular. 
 
 We  see  a  distinct  parallel  to  this  in  the  Medical 
 world ;  for  there   are  many  patients,    sufi'ering  from 
 the  results  of  their  own  faults  or  vices,  who  come  to 
 consult  a  doctor,  and  say,  almost  in  so  many  words, 
 ''  I  '11    take    any  nauseous  physic,  which  you   think 
 will  cure  me;  but  I  won't  give  up  the  habit  which 
 you  say  has  caused  my  symptoms.     You  must  let  me 
 go  on  my  own  way,  but  you  must  see  me   righted 
 nevertheless;"  and  many  a  professor  attempts  the  task 
 deliberately.     Just  so  does  many  a  sinner  wish  to  in- 
 dulge, and  yet  escape  a  penalty.    The  comparison  thus 
 instituted  may,    however,    be   taken   up   in   another, 
 and    more    extended    form ;    viz.,    We   see   that   in 
 civilised  life  few   individuals,   feeling   uncomfortable 
 in  their  bodily  health,  like  to  trust  to  themselves  for 
 finding  a  means  of  cure.     They  seek,  therefore,  the 
 assistance  of  some  one  who  professes  to  have  know- 
 ledge and  to  give  advice.     They  know  that,  as  a  rule, 
 such  men  prescribe  the  use  of  certain  matters,  etc., 
 and  they  arc  prepared  to  act  as  the  doctor  may  advise, 
 
661 
 
 provided  that  he  uses  such  things  as  the  patient  is 
 more  or  less  familiar  with,  as  articles  in  the  medical 
 armoury.  In  a  general  way,  advice  which  proceeds 
 upon  new-fangled  principles,  and  talks  of  unknown 
 drugs,  is  neglected.  So  it  is  in  divinity.  An  indi- 
 vidual who  hears  or  reads  about  a  Hell,  and  thinks 
 that  he  is  bound  thither,  naturally  goes  to  some  one 
 who  professes  to  know  all  about  it,  and  the  way  to 
 escape.  And  the  terrified  patient  gladly  adopts  the 
 advice  given,  so  long  as  it  deals  with  materials  which 
 are  generally  believed  to  have  efl&cacy  in  combating 
 unseen  foes,  and  making  invisible  friends. 
 
 Throughout  the  world  in  general,  and  especially 
 in  the  partially  civihsed  (I  say  partially,  for  I  doubt 
 if  any  existent  nation  is  completely  unbrutaHsed) 
 quarters  of  it,  there  are  professors  who  offer  to  conduct 
 their  votaries  to  salvation.  The  means  adopted  by  the 
 former  to  ensure  the  result  for  the  latter,  are  dona- 
 tions of  money,  to  be  disbursed  by  the  hierarchy;  the 
 building  of  temples;  the  offering  of  sacrifices;  attend- 
 ance on  stated  occasions  to  hear  exhortations  from 
 preachers ;  to  be  j^resent  when  flamens  ofier  incense, 
 read  strange  words,  raise  curious  emblems,  and  the  like. 
 The  applicants  must  eat  or  abstain  from  certain  foods; 
 seek  counsel  from  some  hierophant  whenever  he  is  in 
 doubt;  tell  to  such  an  one  everj^hing  that  he  thinks, 
 says  or  does  that  is  wrong;  submit  himself,  his 
 house,  his  lands,  his  wife,  his  family  to  the  will  of 
 the  self-styled  ministers  of  God  ;  and  constitute 
 himself  in  all  things  a  slave  to  one  who  declares 
 himself  to  be  God's  vicegerent  upon  earth. 
 
 In  addition  to  these,  the  seeker  after  salvation  is 
 told  to  regard  the  body  as  if  it  were  the  natural 
 enemy  of  that  soul  which  is  to  be  saved,  and  the  ally 
 
662 
 
 or  accomplice  of  every  soul  which  is  to  bo  damned ; 
 consequently,  he  is  taught  to  make  his  body  as  un- 
 comfortable as  possible.  It  is  to  be  scourged  with 
 whips,  tortured  by  thorns,  lacerated  by  hooks,  gashed 
 with  knives,  and  forced  into  disagreeable  postures ;  it 
 is  to  be  insufficiently  fed  and  clad  ;  it  is  encouraged 
 to  ulcerate,  and  vermin  are  permitted  to  roost  upon  it. 
 As  the  flesh  is  to  return  to  dust,  so  it  is  to  be  allowed 
 to  wallow  in  filth;  and  to  cleanse  the  surface  of 
 the  skin  is  equivalent  to  pampering  a  foe ;  asceti- 
 cism is  taught  to  be  a  virtue,  and  comfort  is  an 
 implied  crime. 
 
 Such,  in  few  words,  have  been  the  plans  recom- 
 mended to  a  sinner  as  the  best  means  of  becoming  a 
 saint ;  and,  horrible  though  they  are,  all  have  been 
 adopted,  at  one  time  or  in  one  locality  or  another. 
 
 Experience,  however,  not  only  tells  us  that  men 
 divide  themselves,  theologically,  into  the  two  classes 
 we  have  described,  it  informs  us  farther  that  there 
 have  been  periods  in  which  the  ruled  have  revolted 
 against  their  spiritual  leaders,  and  have  refused  any 
 longer  to  put  faith  in  priestly  panaceas.  Whenever 
 we  can  trace  this  phenomenon  to  its  source,  wc  find 
 that  it  is  due  to  the  hierarchy  having  become  a 
 preponderating,  overbearing,  and  at  last  intolerable 
 power,  in  the  state  and  in  the  home.  iVmongst  some 
 nations  mental  and  bodily  slavery  is  a  normal  con- 
 dition, and  these  bear  the  weight  of  any  yoke  without 
 active  opposition ;  others  fret  and  fume,  until  they  be- 
 come ripe  for  rebellion.  When,  after  much  endurance, 
 such  a  people  are  ready  for  revolt,  they  usually  require 
 a  leader,  and  when  one  arises,  who  can  organise  his 
 followers  ho  as  to  give  the  expected  relief,  thtir 
 chief  demand    is    tlmt    he    shall    emancipate    them 
 
663 
 
 from  the  tyranny  under  which  they  have  groaned  so 
 long. 
 
 Three  theological  insurrections  such  as  we  here 
 describe  have  occurred  during  the  historical  period, 
 and  another  is  gradually  preparing  at  the  present 
 time.  We  refer  to  the  rise  of  Buddha  and  the  dis- 
 comfiture of  Brahminism ;  the  ascent  of  Jesus  and  the 
 descent  of  Judaism ;  and  the  elevation  of  Luther  and 
 the  fall  of  Papism.  That  which  is  foreshadowed  is  the 
 rise  of  rationalism,  and  the  fall  of  theological  quackery. 
 These  revolutions  have  a  great  deal  in  common.  Ere 
 they  occurred,  the  priestly  caste  in  Hindostan,  in 
 Jerusalem,  and  in  Christendom  had  gradually  ac- 
 quired such  power  that  life  was  a  burden  to  every  one 
 who  was  not  in  the  hierarchal  order.  If  men  toiled 
 during  their  life  to  leave  money  for  their  young  ones, 
 and  the  wife  they  left  behind,  the  priests  pounced 
 upon  it ;  a  man  could  scarcely  work,  or  even  play, 
 without  clerical  permission ;  his  home  was  invaded, 
 and  his  belongings  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  spiritual 
 adviser.  The  road  to  heaven  was  constantly  strewed 
 with  fresh  thorns,  every  one  of  which  the  sinner  must 
 feel  the  point  of  in  his  heart.  Thought  was  dis- 
 couraged, doubt  was  crushed,  and  disobedience  was 
 punished  with  hideous  tortures.  With  all  this,  it  was 
 clear  to  the  laity,  that  the  clergy  themselves  rarely 
 took  the  road  which  they  alleged  to  lead  to  heaven  ; 
 it  was  doubtful,  indeed,  whether  they  believed  in  the 
 existence  of  such  a  place.  When  this  misgiving  be- 
 came strong,  a  rigid  inquiry  followed ;  for,  bad  as  it 
 was  to  endure  enormous  misery  on  earth  in  the  hope  of 
 gaining  an  eternity  of  happiness  in  another  sphere, 
 the  irritation  would  be  unbearable  if  all  the  self-pu- 
 nishments were  whollv  useless.    When  the  Reformers 
 
664 
 
 had  produced  a  general  disbelief  in  the  value  of  the 
 ancient  practices,  a  theological  revolution  was  some- 
 times determined  by  pecuniary  or  other  considerations, 
 — a  desire  to  despoil  the  hierophantic  tyrants  of  their 
 gains,  like  the  "Revolution"  in  France,  and  the  "Re- 
 formation" in  England  under  Henry  YIII., —  or  it 
 was  brought  about  by  the  conscientious  workings  of  a 
 pious  and  enthusiastic  individual,  like  John  Knox, 
 to  whom  godliness  alone  was  gain. 
 
 But  it  happens  that  when  an  old  religion  and  its 
 ministers  are  degraded  from  their  high  estate,  there 
 is  a  want  felt  for  the  existence  of  others,  who 
 shall  take  their  places.  It  may  be  that  the  worship 
 of  the  Virgin  is  deposed,  and  that  of  Reason  set  up 
 in  its  place ;  still  it  is  believed  that  there  is  a  necessity 
 for  some  being  who  can  be  trusted  as  a  Saviour,  and 
 for  some  men  who  can  communicate  with  the  man- 
 chosen  governor  of  the  invisible  world.  Thus  the 
 emancipation  from  one  tyranny  has  often  been  the  first 
 step  towards  the  inauguration  of  another.  This  want 
 we  shall  see  is  recognised,  whether  the  change  in 
 religious  feeling  is  what  may  be  called  political,  or 
 social.  The  Reformers  in  Scotland,  for  example, 
 under  John  Knox  and  his  successors,  submitted  to  a 
 tyranny  of  their  Protestant  ministers  far  more  grind- 
 ing than  that  exercised  by  their  papal  directors  ;  and 
 the  Hindoos  have  found  it  more  pleasant  to  submit 
 once  again  to  the  rule  of  the  Brahmins  than  to  be 
 independent  as  Buddhists.  We  shall  see  this  matter 
 probably  in  a  clearer  light  when  we  have  inquired  into 
 the  main  points  of  the  history  of  Buddha  and  of 
 Christ. 
 
 AVhcn   Buddha,  or  the  enlightened  one,  was  born, 
 more  than  tweuty-threo  centuries  ago,  the  society  in 
 
665 
 
 which  he  moved  was  under  the  sway  of  a  powerful 
 priestly  caste,  whose  influence  was  felt  in  every  posi- 
 tion, action,  and  circumstance  of  life.  Those  priests 
 were  no  mean  pretenders  to  piety;  they  exercised 
 many  austerities,  at  which  even  the  most  devoted 
 Eomanist  would  shrink  aghast ;  and  they  had  a  firm 
 belief  that  they  could  force  their  way  to  salvation, 
 and  become  powerful  in  heaven,  by  means  of  fasting, 
 scourging  themselves,  assuming  painful  attitudes,  and 
 the  like,  upon  earth.  The  sight  of  these  voluntary 
 punishments  of  the  flesh  induced  all  beholders  to 
 give  credence  to  any  doctrine  which  the  sufferers 
 taught,  and  men  gladly  underwent  any  penance  which 
 was  prescribed  to  them,  in  order  to  attain  a  good 
 position  in  the  future  world.  "  Could  any  transitory 
 pang  that  we  may  endure,"  they  would  think,  "  be 
 equal  to  the  tortures  which  our  advisers  undergo? 
 Certainly  not ;  therefore  we  may  trust  to  their  coun- 
 sel." But  Buddah  saw  that  the  practices  of  religion 
 did  not  bring  immunity  from  age,  disease,  war,  acci- 
 dent, maiming,  misery,  and  death.  Time  and  chance 
 happened  to  all  alike.  "  The  same  fate  happened  to 
 the  righteous  and  the  wicked ;  to  the  good  and  pure, 
 and  to  the  impure ;  to  him  that  sacrificeth,  and  to  him 
 that  doth  not  sacrifice ;  as  was  the  good,  so  was  the 
 sinner;  and  he  that  swore,  as  he  that  feared  an  oath" 
 (Eccles.  ix.  2,  Ginsburg's  translation).  It  became, 
 then,  clear  to  Buddha  that,  for  men  to  attain  to  sal- 
 vation, something  more  was  necessary  than  religious 
 forms,  attendance  upon  ceremonies,  sacrifices,  etc. 
 To  discover  what  this  was,  the  sage  studied  under 
 the  most  celebrated  Brahmans,  and  underwent  most 
 severe  penances ;  yet  he  felt  no  nearer  to  the  desired 
 goal.     He  then,  as  it  were,  retired  into  himself,  and 
 
666 
 
 trod  the  wilderness  of  thought,  until  he  reached,  as 
 he  believed,  the  land  of  certainty.  He  then  emerged 
 into  notice,  confronted  the  hierarchy  in  public,  and 
 demonstrated  the  weakness  of  their  religion,  and 
 the  absurdity  of  their  doctrines  and  practices.  In 
 the  place  of  their  penances,  and  excommunications 
 for  offences,  which  the  priests  of  those  times  pre- 
 scribed, he  only  required  from  his  followers  a  confes- 
 sion of  their  guilt,  and  a  resolve  to  sin  no  more. 
 His  teaching  appears  to  have  been,  that  salvation  was 
 to  be  earned  by  doing,  during  life,  everything  which 
 was  laudable,  and  avoiding  everything  which  was 
 wrong.  Amongst  his  ordinances,  were  such  com- 
 mandments as,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "  Thou  shalt 
 not  commit  adultery,"  "  Thou  shalt  not  lie,"^^  "  Thou 
 shalt  not  get  drunk,"^*'  "Thou  shalt  avoid  vice  in  every 
 form — hyjjocrisy,  anger,  pride,  suspicion,  greediness, 
 gossiping,  cruelty  to  animals;"  "Thou  shalt  reve- 
 rence thy  parents,"  "  Thou  shalt  love  and  cherish  thy 
 children,"  "Thou  shalt  submit  to  lawful  authority," 
 "Thou  shalt  cultivate  gratitude;"  "In  the  time  of 
 prosperity,  thou  shalt  rejoice  with  moderation ;  and, 
 
 185  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  throngbont  the  Old  Testament,  there  is  no  pro- 
 hibition of  lying.  On  the  other  band,  we  have,  in  the  itories  of  the  patriarchs, 
 accounts  of  their  having  fibbed  unhesitatingly.  Sec,  for  example,  Abraham's  orders 
 to  his  wife,  to  say  she  was  his  sister  (Gen.  xii.  13),  a  deception  for  which  ho  was 
 reproved  by  Pharaoh.  Yet  "the  father  of  the  faithful"  did  not  profit  by  the  rebuke, 
 for  he  repeated  the  lie  at  the  couit  of  Abimelech  (Gen.  xx.  '2-12) ;  and  even  Chris- 
 tians who  believe  in  the  goodness  of  Abruhaiu  may  blush,  with  shame,  when  they  see 
 this  so-called  friend  of  (iod  taunted  by  a  heathen  king  for  a  craven  and  abominable 
 lie.  A  similar  falsity  is  recorded  of  Isaac  ((ten.  xxvi.  7-11).  See  also  .lercm. 
 xxxviii.  24  —  27,  in  which  even  the  devout  Prophet  lends  himself  to  a  palpable  lie. 
 
 "•o  There  is  not  in  the  Old  'I'estanient  any  prohibition  of  drnukiiiness.  On 
 the  other  hand,  wo  find  in  Dent,  xiv,  2(5,  an  encouragement  to  spend  inomy  in  "wine 
 Hiid  strong  drink,"  during  the  feasts  celebrated  at  .lerusalem.  Indeed  wo  may  say 
 that  the  Ho-ealled  "moral  law  '  was  not  applicable  to  privat<>  propriety  bo  much  as 
 to  tlie  rtltttionH  of  man  wiih  man.  It  in  jHirhaps  the  very  rudest  code  of  political 
 penal  statutcB  known. 
 
667 
 
 in  the  day  of  adversity,  thou  shalt  be  thoughtful 
 without  repining;"  "Thou  shalt  study  at  all  times 
 to  have  an  even  temper;"  ''Thou  shalt  forgive  thine 
 enemies,  and  never  requite  evil  with  evil;"  "All  the 
 virtues  spring  from  good-will  towards  all  men,  and 
 loving  others  as  thyself;  these  thou  shalt  closely 
 cultivate."  ^^'^ 
 
 To  this  description,  let  us  add  the  passage  from 
 Saint  Hilaire  quoted  by  Miiller  ;  "  I  do  not  hesitate 
 to  avow  that,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Christ,  there 
 is  not,  amongst  the  founders  of  any  religion,  a  figure 
 more  pure  or  more  touching  than  that  of  Bouddha. 
 His  life  is  unstained.  His  constant  heroism  equalled 
 his  conviction ;  and  if  the  theory  that  he  promulgated 
 is  false,  the  personal  examples  which  he  set  are 
 irreproachable.  He  is  the  finished  model  of  every 
 virtue  which  he  preaches.  His  self-denial,  his 
 charity,  his  unalterable  sweetness  are  never  sus- 
 pended for  a  moment.  When  only  twenty-nine  years 
 old  he  abandoned  his  princely  position  as  a  royal 
 heir,  and  became  a  religious  mendicant ;  six  years  of 
 silent  meditative  retreat  elapsed  ere  he  perfected  his 
 doctrine ;  and  he  propagated  it  wholly  by  the  force  of 
 conversation  and  persuasion  during  more  than  fifty 
 years.  And  when  he  died  at  length,  in  the  arms  of 
 his  disciples,  it  was  with  the  serenity  of  a  philosoj)her 
 who  has  acted  right  in  every  position  and  circum- 
 stance of  life,  and  who  is  assured  that  he  has  grasped 
 the  truth."     Op.  Git.,  pp.  221,  2. 
 
 This  sage  does  not  appear  to  have  left  personal 
 
 137  I  am  drawing  my  facts,  and  to  some  extent  my  language,  respecting  Buddha 
 and  his  doctrines,  from  Max  MLiller's  Chips  from  a  German  Worlcshop,  2  vols.,  8vo, 
 London,  1867.  M.  M.,  in  the  essay  on  Buddhism,  vol.  i.,  quotes  from  Le  Bouddha 
 et  sa  Religion,  par  J.  B.  St.  Hilaire,  Paris,  1860,  and  some  other  authors. 
 
C68 
 
 disciples, '•'^^  who  proceeded  at  once  to  proclaim  his 
 doctrines  over  the  world ;  but,  after  a  considerable 
 period,  a  cloud  of  missionaries  proceeded  to  distant 
 lauds  to  proclaim  the  doctrines  of  "  the  enlightened 
 one,"  and  such  was  their  success,  that  the  followers 
 of  Buddha  are  numerically  gi'eater  than  those  of  any 
 other  known  religion. 
 
 It  is  hy  no  means  wonderful  that  such  a  man  as 
 this  should  be  regarded  as  an  incarnation  of  the 
 Almighty,  and  he  considered  as  a  human  god ;  nor 
 is  it  surprising  that  his  votaries  have  adorned  his 
 life  with  many  miraculous  events ;  that  he  should  be 
 represented  as  shining  like  a  true  sun,  when  all 
 around  was  darkness,  which  fled  at  his  presence ;  and 
 that  all  the  gods  in  the  universe  came  and  ministered 
 unto  him. 
 
 The  following  account  is  condensed  from  vol.  iii., 
 The  Sacred  and  Historical  Books  of  Ceylon,  pp.  45-48 
 (3  vols.  8vo.,  London,  1832).  When  born,  Buddha 
 was  named  by  the  father  (Maha  Brahma),  as  supreme 
 over  the  three  worlds ;  he  was  washed  in  water  which 
 came  from  heaven  and  returned  thither ;  the  gods 
 addressed  him  as  the  most  high ;  every  world  quaked 
 and  paid  homage  to  the  one  where  the  child  was  born ; 
 all  the  Idind  received  sight,  the  deaf  obtained  their 
 bearing,  the  dumb  spoke,  the  lame  walked,  the 
 deformed  became  shapely;  the  prisoners  were  released, 
 hell  fire  was  momentarily  extinguished,  the  devils 
 ceased  to  be  hungry,  the  brutes  ceased  to  be  afraid,  the 
 infirm  were  made  whole,  animals  of  all  kinds  made  a 
 
 **•  Yet  thongh  wo  have  no  nnlico  of  tlio  cxiatonoo  of  such  men  a*  the  ChriRlinn 
 Apo»tl»-8  an-  Miid  to  havo  been,  it  Im  clrar  that  HwtMha's  follow(>ni  woro  dcTOt<»l  to 
 Lilt  toarhiiiK,  and  RucccHKfiil  m  making  convertH ;  for  thoy  counted  a  monarch 
 amongst  thuir  disciplus,  at  a  far  earlier  atago  than  did  tho  adherouta  of  Jvaua. 
 
669 
 
 joyful  sound,  the  salt  water  of  the  ocean  became  fresh, 
 every  tree  was  covered  with  flowers,  and  the  world 
 and  sky  abounded  with  fragrant  blossoms.  A 
 variety  of  other  miracles  occurred,  too  numerous  for 
 mention,  both  at  the  moment  when  Buddha  was  con- 
 ceived in  the  womb,  and  when  he  was  born.  There 
 are  many  more  stories  related  in  the  same  book, 
 vol.  iii.,  119,  but  to  recount  them  would  be  tedious. 
 In  the  volumes  quoted  above  there  is  an  exceedingly 
 interesting  account  of  the  Buddhist  doctrines  as  held 
 in  Ceylon ;  they  are  mainly  expansions  of  the  com- 
 mandments which  we  have  already  described,  and 
 require  no  special  notice,  except  that  they  distinctly 
 recognise  the  existence  of  Hell,  and  that  evil  deeds 
 form  the  passport  thereto. 
 
 But  the  pure  doctrines  which  "the  enlightened 
 one"  taught  became  in  time  clouded  with  error ;  and 
 there  are  now  so  many  corrupt  forms  of  Buddhism, 
 that  it  is  difficult  to  recognise  in  any  the  real  teach- 
 ing of  the  fervid  founder  of  the  system.  What  was 
 originally  the  religion  of  every  individual,  irrespective 
 of  another,  gradually  became  assimilated  to  the  older 
 faiths.  With  priests  came  legends,  symbols,  prac- 
 tices, and  the  usual  religious  devices  adopted  as  sub- 
 stitutes for  personal  piety.  The  Hindoo  has  gone 
 back  once  again  to  Brahminic  rule,  and  attempts  to 
 gain  salvation  after  death  by  heaping  miseries  upon 
 himself  during  life.  "  The  dog  has  indeed  returned  to 
 his  own  vomit  again,  and  the  sow  that  was  washed  to 
 her  wallowing  in  the  mire  "  (2  Pet.  ii.  22)  ;  a  pheno- 
 menon which  we  shall  shortly  recognise  again,  when 
 we  speak  of  the  followers  of  Jesus,  whose  life  we  now 
 propose  to  sketch. 
 
 It  is  difficult  to    read,    and    still   more    difficult 
 
670 
 
 to  write,  a  history  of  Buddha  and  of  his  doctrines, 
 without  being  forcibly  reminded  of  the  Ufe  and 
 doctrines  of  "the  wisdom  of  God"  (1  Cor.  i.  24), 
 "the  son  of  the  father"  (2  John  3).  So  close, 
 indeed,  are  the  resemblances  between  these  two 
 histories,  that  I  have  repeatedly  found  myself  examin- 
 ing the  probability  of  Buddhist  missionaries  having 
 found  their  way  to  Palestine.  There  is  indeed  good 
 evidence  that,  in  the  time  of  Asoka,  about  b.  c.  270, 
 the  followers  of  Buddha  became  earnest  and  success- 
 ful emissaries,  and  taught  the  new  religion  in  foreign 
 lands,  to  an  extent  unequalled  by  the  Apostles  and 
 disciples  of  Jesus.  As  they  followed  the  course  of 
 trade,  much  the  same  as  our  own  missionaries  do,  it 
 is  highly  probable  that  some  Buddhists  found  their 
 way  to  Alexandria,  travelling  in  the  track  of  Grecian 
 trading.  At  any  rate,  there  was,  about  the  period 
 named,  a  remarkable  development  of  peculiar  reli- 
 gious notions  in  Lower  Egypt,  and  in  Palestine.  The 
 Essenes  arose,  whose  tenets  closely  resemble  those  of 
 the  Buddhists ;  and  it  is  highly  probable,  though  not 
 demonstrable,  that  Jesus, — who  as  a  child  must  have 
 been  regarded  as  illegitimate,  inasmuch  as  people  in 
 all  ages  refuse  to  believe  in  the  miraculous  concep- 
 tions of  virgins,  — was  adopted  by  the  Essenic  com- 
 munity. Such  adoption  was  part  of  the  practices  of 
 the  sect,  and  the  neophytes  were  instructed  to  believe 
 and  to  act  as  did  the  Buddhists.  In  consequence  of 
 the  lapse  of  time,  and  the  change  which  verbal  tradi- 
 tion makes  in  the  details  of  Ijiograpliy,  it  is  probable 
 that  the  tale  of  Buddha,  which  existed  in  Palestine, 
 di  fie  red  in  some  respects  from  that  told  elsewhere. 
 Yet  the  panillel  between  the  story  told  of  the  Indian 
 saint  and  the  Hebrew  teacher  is  such  that  it  must 
 
671 
 
 arrest  the  attention  of  the  philosopher.  If,  for  exam- 
 ple, we  were  simply  to  exchange  the  name  of  the  two, 
 the  same  tale  would  suit  for  one  as  for  the  other. 
 
 Jesus,  "the  Word,"  is  represented  to  have  been  of 
 royal   descent,    by   a   human  ftither,  — who  was  not, 
 however,  paternally  related,  — and  of  celestial  origin, 
 from  the  great  Creator.     His  birth  was  recognised  by 
 the  heavenly  host,   as  that  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour 
 (Luke  ii,   9-14).     He  was  educated  to  respect  the 
 priests  and  their  written  law,  but  became  dissatisfied 
 with  both.     He  studied  with  the  hierarchs  of  the  old 
 faith,    both   "hearing   and   asking   them  questions." 
 He  retired  to  the  wilderness,  and  contemplated.     He 
 returned  to  the  world,  and  taught.     His  doctrine  was, 
 that  the  world  was  close  upon  its  dissolution;  that 
 the  Mosaic  law  was  impotent  to  save  mankind  from 
 the   approaching   destruction;  that  after  death  there 
 was  a  hell,   and  a  Judge  with  power  to  send  indi- 
 viduals   thereto ;    that   priestly   ordinances,    corporal 
 inflictions,  fastings,  long  prayers,  sacrifices,  religious 
 fees,  such  as  tithes,   and  oiferings  of  various  kinds, 
 had  no  efficacy  with  the   Omnipotent,  except  as  in- 
 ducements to  Him  to  plunge  those  who  trusted  to 
 them  into  Hades.      He  taught  that  men  must  not 
 rely  upon   mortals  for  their  eternal   salvation,  inas- 
 much as  each  individual  is  responsible  to  The  Master 
 only  ;    that    poverty   is    preferable    to    wealth,    that 
 mourning  is  a  prelude  to  comfort,  that  a  timorous 
 understanding  is  a  claim  to  heaven  (Matt.  v.  3,  Maxu- 
 pioi  ol  7rTu)^o)  TM  TrvsufjiXTi ;  compare  1  Cor.  i.  18-28) ; 
 that  humanity  is  a  good  means  of  obtaining  worldly 
 inheritance  (Matt.  v.  5);  that  those  who  seek  after  good- 
 ness will  improve ;  that  those  who  are  kind  and  loving 
 will  be  well  treated  by  others ;  that  inward  propriety 
 
672 
 
 is  a  passport  to  the  celestial  court ;  that  to  heal  a 
 quarrel,  clothes  the  peacemaker  with  a  heavenly  gar- 
 ment ;  that  to  suffer  persecution,  in  a  good  cause,  is 
 a  matter  for  rejoicing  ;  that  wishing  for  the  ahility  to 
 commit  an  offence  against  propriety,  is  equivalent  to 
 sinning  in  reality ;  that  it  is  a  crime  to  lie,  or  oppose 
 force  to  force ;  that  enemies  are  to  he  combated  with 
 kindness  alone ;  that  nothing  supposed  to  be  good  is 
 to  be  done  publicly,  so  as  to  be  seen  by  men  ;  that 
 prayer  is  to  be  private  ;  that  forgiveness  of  others 
 must  be  preliminary  to  soliciting  salvation  for  one's 
 self;  that  it  is  improper  to  lay  up  riches  on  earth; 
 that  wealth  may  be  accumulated  in  heaven  by  mor- 
 tals ;  that  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to  provide  anything 
 in  the  way  of  food,  drink,  or  raiment  for  to-morrow, 
 inasmuch  as  God  thinks  more  of  men  than  He  does 
 of  grass  and  flowers,  and  provides  for  them  accord- 
 ingly ;  that  it  is  improper  to  try  to  discover  evil 
 motives  and  improper  actions  in  others;  that  men 
 should  always  do  to  others  as  they  would  wish  their 
 fellow-beings  to  act  towards  them ;  that  the  road  to 
 salvation  is  painful,  from  the  human  propensities 
 being  inclined  the  other  way  ;  that  a  profession  of 
 morality,  or  propriety,  is  of  no  value  in  the  eye  of 
 the  Judge  of  all  men,  unless  attended  with  the  prac- 
 tice of  virtue  ;  that  impure  thoughts  are  as  bad  as 
 improper  actions  ;  but  tliat  their  actions  are  the  crite- 
 rion by  which  men  will  l)e  judged  (Matt.  v. — vii.  23). 
 To  the  supra-montane  doctrines,  such  as  the  pre- 
 ceding, were  added  others,  to  the  effect  that  a  rigid 
 obedience  to  the  Mosaic  laws,  sacrifices,  ceremonial 
 cleanliness,  and  mutilation  of  the  person,  were  inef- 
 ficient to  procure  salvation.  In  other  words,  Jesus 
 of  Palestine,  like  Buddha  of  India,  taught  that  each 
 
673 
 
 individual  must  work  out  his  own  salvation,  and  not 
 trust  to  any  other  human  being  to  do  it  for  him,  for 
 that  all  of  every  nation  and  of  every  rank  are 
 equal  before  the  Supreme  Creator. 
 
 We  thus  see  that  the  teaching  of  Christ,  "the 
 wisdom  of  God,"  was  not  essentially  different  to  that 
 of  Buddha,  "the  enlightened  one."  But  we  find  a 
 great  difference  in  the  career  of  the  two  individuals, 
 which  speaks  badly  for  the  superiority  of  the  Jewish 
 priests  and  people  over  the  Hindoo  nation.  Buddha, 
 who  overcame  the  Brahmins,  and  was  admired  by 
 the  commonalty,  died  at  an  advanced  age,  in  his 
 bed.  Jesus,  who  equally  opposed  the  hierarchy,  and 
 was  heard  gladly  by  the  poor  and  ignorant,  was  soon 
 silenced  by  a  cruel  death,  the  rabble  themselves  exe- 
 crating him. 
 
 After  the  death  of  the  Nazarene,  his  followers 
 claimed  for  him  similar  honours  to  those  accorded 
 to  Buddha,  designating  him  "  The  True  Son  of 
 God,"  and  "  The  Saviour.  "  Like  his  Hindoo  prede- 
 cessor, he  had  a  position  assigned  to  him,  equal  to 
 that  of  the  Almighty;  as  if  men  could  determine 
 precedence  in  the  Court  of  the  Great  King.  His 
 followers  also  became  missionaries,  carried  the  doc- 
 trines of  Jesus  to  every  country  which  they  knew,  and 
 counted  monarchs  within  their  ranks.  As  a  result, 
 those  who  are  called  Christians  are  second  in  magni- 
 tude of  numbers  and  earnestness  of  faith  and  prac- 
 tice only  to  those  who  are  Buddhists. 
 
 We  pass  by  the  miracles  with  which  the  history 
 of  "the  wisdom  of  God"  was  adorned,  and  pause  to 
 consider  the  imperfection  of  the  results  which  fol- 
 lowed the  premature  death  of  Jesus.  His  disciples 
 were   Jews  ;    the   Jews  were   necessarily  bigots,   for 
 
 u  u 
 
674 
 
 their  scriptures  teach  them  that  eveiything  connected 
 with  their  law  and  histoiy  arose  from  the  direct  inter- 
 ference of  God.  Consequently,  the  immediate  fol- 
 lowers of  Jesus  had  not  been  taught  by  him  long 
 enough  to  induce  them  to  throw  off  priestly  authority 
 altogether.  Thus  the  practices  of  "  the  law  "  were 
 joined  to  "the  gospel,"  to  a  certain  extent.  Chris- 
 tianity, therefore,  was  from  the  first  a  hybrid,  or 
 mongrel ;  the  offspring  of  one  parent  who  was 
 bigoted  and  superstitious,  and  of  another  who  was 
 pure,  free-thinking,  and  essentially  noble. 
 
 As  the  founder  of  Christianity  retained  until  his 
 death  many  ideas,  —  we  may  fairly  call  them  preju- 
 dices, —  drawn  originally  from  such  heathen  sources 
 as  Phceniciau,  the  Babylonian,  the  Syrian,  and 
 the  Greek,  we  can  easily  understand  that  the  reli- 
 gion which  he  originated  would  rapidly  degenerate. 
 It  was  barely  established  before  there  arose  numbers 
 of  men  called  apostles,  evangelists,  bishops,  teachers, 
 preachers,  elders,  deacons,  and  the  like.  Some,  like 
 the  Apostle  Paul,  became  all  things  to  all  men  (1  Cor. 
 ix.  19,  20)  :  to  the  Jews  he  became  a  Jew,  that  he 
 might  gain  the  Jews ;  he  became  a  servant  unto  all 
 that  he  might  gain  the  more.  As  a  natural  result 
 of  this,  the  way  of  salvation  enunciated  by  Jesus 
 was  vitiated  to  as  great,  if  not  indeed  to  a  greater, 
 extent  than  that  promulgated  by  Buddha. 
 
 Instead  of  individuals  throughout  Christendom 
 l)ciug  instructed  in  morality,  they  arc  taught  to  be 
 learned  in  doctrine ;  instead  of  being  exhorted  to 
 do  justice  and  to  love  mercy,  they  arc  taught  the 
 value  of  '  fasting, '  '  confession, '  *  aves, '  *  credoes, ' 
 *  putcruosters,'  *  masses,'  '  litanies,'  *  offertories,'  of 
 eating   bits    of    bread    and   drinldug    sips   of    wine, 
 
675 
 
 over  whicli  a  few  words  have  been  uttered,  and  a 
 few  passes  of  the  hand  made,  as  if  the  patera 
 and  the  chalice  could  be  mesmerised  into  flesh 
 and  blood.  Even  the  practices  of  Christendom, 
 which  by  some  are  styled  mummeries,  are  so  closely 
 allied  to  those  of  Buddhism,  that  a  reader  of  Abbe 
 Hue's  Travels  in  Tartary  is  puzzled  to  know  whether 
 the  Koman  Church  is  an  offshoot  from  Buddha,  or 
 Buddhism  a  child  of  Kome. 
 
 The  Christians  in  Europe  are  at  the  present 
 time  as  much  dependent  upon  priests  for  salvation  as 
 were  the  Jews  and  Hindoos  when  Jesus  and  Buddha 
 taught.  We  see,  moreover,  that  hierarchs  are,  as 
 it  were,  quarrelling  amongst  themselves  as  to  their 
 relative  values  as  guides  to  a  happy  eternity.  Each, 
 to  attain  his  end,  calls  for  assistance  from  the  hands 
 of  man.  This  call  upon  human  means,  for  aid,  is 
 a  total  abnegation  of  any  celestial  mission,  as  a 
 legate  from  the  Almighty  cannot  be  conceived  to 
 be  an  impotent  one.  If  then  human  beings,  by 
 the  power  of  their  arms,  by  their  skill  in  battle, 
 or  by  their  numbers  in  the  field,  can  decide  what 
 individuals  shall  have,  and  who  shall  not  have,  the 
 power  of  managing  salvation,  in  a  future  world  for 
 all  men  living  in  this,  it  is  clear  that  man  has  the 
 privilege  of  selecting  the  plan  of  salvation  which 
 is  most  appropriate.  This  deduction,  which  logically 
 follows  from  the  premisses,  is  a  blasphemous  one. 
 Must  we  not  therefore  conclude  that  the  premisses 
 are  bad.  When  Euclid  draws  a  reductio  ad  ahsurdum, 
 and  shows  that  a  certain  assumption  involves  an 
 impossibility,  we  readily  abandon  the  predicate.  So 
 it  should  be  in  religion. 
 
 We  have  then,  by  means  of  inquiry,  demonstrated 
 
676 
 
 that  the  greatest  teachers,  whose  history  is  known 
 to  us,  however  imperfectly,  have  told  us  that  salva- 
 tion is  to  be  earned  by  purity  of  mind,  and  the 
 universal  exercise  of  charity.  Surely  the  philosopher 
 who  thus  examines  his  subject  can  understand  that 
 the  following  words  may  be  said  to  a  Buddhist  as  well 
 as  to  a  Christian ;  to  a  Mahometan,  as  well  as  to  a 
 Plymouth  brother,  a  Papist,  High  Churchman,  or 
 Evangelical,  viz.,  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  father, 
 inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foun- 
 dation of  the  world ;  for  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye 
 gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  drink ; 
 I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in  ;  naked,  and  ye 
 clothed  me  ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me ;  I  was  in 
 prison,  and  je  came  unto  me."  You  may  say  that 
 you  never  saw  me  in  these  conditions,  but  you  have 
 thus  treated  the  weakest  of  these,  my  brethren,  and 
 with  that  I  feel  that  you  did  the  same  to  me.  I  ask 
 you  not  what  creed  you  believed.  I  recognise  what  you 
 did;  "enter  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord"  (see  Matt.  xxv. 
 35,  et  seq.)  With  such  clear  guides  before  us, 
 none  need  hesitate  as  to  "  the  way  of  salvation." 
 I  am  quite  aware  that  the  ordinary  rejoinder  to  such 
 an  argument  as  this,  is  to  the  effect,  that  a 
 good  deed  to-day  does  not  wipe  out  the  damning 
 effects  of  a  bad  action  yesterday.  A  demonstration 
 of  the  weakness  of  the  reply  would  be  misplaced 
 here  ;  it  will  suffice  if  I  refer  those  interested  in  the 
 matter  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ  himself,  as  enun- 
 ciated in  Luke  xvii.  3,  4. 
 Samaria,  li'^'p^  (1  Kings  xxx.  32),  or  Shomeron.  Ushnu- 
 runa,  Assyrian.  "On  is  watchful.  On  is  obser- 
 vant." There  seems  to  me  to  be  very  grave  reason 
 to   doubt  the  history  of  this  town  or  country,  such 
 
677 
 
 as  we  find  it  in  the  writings  of  the  Jews.  But  it  is 
 difficult  to  know  what  shape  the  doubt  should  take. 
 We  have  already  shown  in  the  articles,  Evidence, 
 Joel  and  Obadiah,  that  the  annals  of  the  Hebrews 
 as  given  in  the  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles  can- 
 not be  relied  upon  as  truthful.  Nay,  even  in  1  Kings 
 xiii.  32,  mention  is  made  by  a  prophet  of  the  cities 
 of  Samaria,  long  before  Samaria  was  built,  and  its 
 dependent  towns  could  be  called  after  it. 
 
 The  history,  such  as  it  is,  discloses  a  strong 
 "animus"  on  the  part  of  the  writers;  and  it  is  clear 
 that  Samaria  was  disliked  by  the  Judeans  to  a  con- 
 siderable degree.  We  cannot  beheve  that  the  feeling 
 was  due  to  the  Samaritans  being  more  idol- 
 atrous than  the  Jews,  for  that  they  scarcely  could 
 be  ;  nor  could  the  hostility  have  been  great,  when  we 
 find  that  Jehoshaphat  and  Ahab  were  friendly  with 
 each  other,  and  united  their  respective  houses  by 
 intermarriage. 
 
 My  own  impression  is,  that  the  northern  portion 
 of  Palestine  was  brought  into  a  state  of  subjection 
 by  David  after  having  been  comparatively  indepen- 
 dent ;  that  when  Solomon  relaxed  his  military 
 vigilance,  the  people  of  that  part  of  the  country 
 regained  their  independence,  which  Judah  never  was 
 able  to  conquer  again.  We  believe  that,  after  the 
 feeling  of  soreness  wore  away,  the  peoples  became 
 moderately  friendly.  But  a  time  came  when  Samaria 
 joined  with  Syria,  Edom,  Ammon,  Moab,  Tyre, 
 Zidon  and  Philistia,  to  capture  and  to  plunder  the 
 city  of  David  (see  2  Kings  xiv.  12-14).  The  cap- 
 tors not  only  took  away  treasures  of  gold  and  silver, 
 ecclesiastical  emblems,  etc.,  but  captives  and  hostages, 
 and   sold  many,  if  not  all,  that   were  worth  selling 
 
678 
 
 to  the  Etlomites  and  the  Grecians.  This  was  an 
 indignity  which  would  rouse  the  direst  hatred  amongst 
 the  hoastful  Jews,  consequently  their  writers  would 
 henceforth  use  their  hest  endeavours  to  make  the 
 Samaritans  appear  contemptible.  We  have  already 
 seen  how  Amos,  Joel,  Obadiah  and  others  called  down 
 vengeance  upon  Edom  and  the  confederates,  and 
 declared  that  the  Almighty  would  do,  to  the  respec- 
 tive cities  of  the  conquerors,  as  the  allies  had  done 
 to  Jerusalem.  We  are  not,  therefore,  by  any  means 
 surprised  to  find  the  Judean  story-tellers  declaring 
 that  Samaria  was  utterly  destroyed,  and  all  her  people 
 carried  away  captive.  There  is,  certainly,  prima 
 facie  probability  that  this  statement  is  exaggerated, 
 if  not  wholly  untrue. 
 
 The  idea  thus  suggested  becomes  corrobora- 
 ted, when  we  consider  that  it  is  quite  as  probable 
 that  Samaria  could  survive  a  sack  and  captivity,  as 
 that  Jerusalem  outlived  its  terrible  punishment  by 
 Jehoash.  It  receives  farther  strength  when  we 
 examine  two  very  material  witnesses,  dates  and 
 silence.  If  we  turn  to  the  account  given  in  the  book 
 of  Kings,  we  find  that  the  destruction  of  Samaria 
 was  efiected  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  Ahaz,  king 
 of  Judah  ;  I.e.,  Hoshea  began  to  reign  over  Israel 
 in  the  twelfth  year  of  Ahaz,  reigned  nine  years,  at 
 the  end  of  which  period  he  was  destroyed,  and  in 
 the  third  year  of  Hoshea,  Hezekiah  began  to  reign 
 in  Judah.  Yet  wo  find  that  in  the  time  of  Josiah, 
 the  grandson  of  this  llezckiah,  there  were  still 
 cities  of  Manasseh,  Ephraim,  Simeon  and  Najihtali, 
 and  that  Josiah  "  took  away  all  the  abominations 
 that  pertained  to  the  children  of  Israel "  ('2  C'hron. 
 xxxiv.  0,  33). 
 
679 
 
 Very  remarkable  too  is  the  silence  of  the  book 
 of  Chronicles,  respecting  the  conquest  of  Samaria, 
 ^  and  the  deportation  of  her  people.  To  this  we  must 
 add  the  curious  fact,  that  when  the  king  of  Assyria 
 is  requested  to  send  a  priest  to  Samaria  which 
 had  been  sacked,  he  sends  one  whom  he  had  taken 
 from  that  town,  who  taught  the  inhabitants  how  to 
 serve  Jehovah  ;  as  if,  according  to  Judean  testimony, 
 any  priest  knowing  anything  of  Jehovah's  worship 
 existed  in  the  place.     See  2  Kings  xvii.  25-28. 
 
 But  though  we  doubt  the  details,  we  do  not  doubt 
 that  Samaria  was  taken,  by  storm  or  otherwise,  and 
 that  she  was  treated  as  captured  towns  usually  were 
 by  the  Assyrians.  We  see  no  reason  to  disbelieve 
 that  some  of  its  inhabitants  came  back  to  Samaria, 
 as  ca2)tive  Judeans  came  to  Jerusalem.  That  they 
 did  so,  we  gather  from  the  conversation  of  the  woman 
 of  Samaria  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  the  fact 
 that  "  Anna  "  is  stated  to  have  been  of  the  tribe  of 
 Asher  (Luke  ii.  36). 
 
 It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  Samaritan  writings 
 have  not  been  preserved,  like  the  Jewish  ones ;  had 
 they  been  extant  now,  we  might  have  seen  the 
 report  which  their  neighbours  gave  of  the  Jews. 
 There  is  indeed  some  story  extant,  to  the  effect  that 
 Samaria  was  both  older,  more  mighty,  and  more 
 sacred  than  Jerusalem,  but  into  the  truth  of  such 
 statements  it  is  unprofitable  to  enter. 
 Samson,  |i^p^  (Jud.  xiii.  24),  or  Shimshon.  "  On  is  the 
 Sun,"  or  "  Shemesh  is  On."  The  man  who  bore 
 this  name  being  a  representative  character,  we  may 
 profit  by  a  careful  study  of  his  life,  as  recorded  in  the 
 book  of  Judges.  But  before  entering  upon  it,  we 
 would  remark  that,  as  soon  as  the   early  Christians 
 
680 
 
 had  a  literature  of  their  own,  they  began  to  multiply 
 epistles  and   gospels  at   a   most   extraordinary  rate ; 
 and  from  that  time  to  the  present,  priests,  monks, 
 nuns  and  papal  religionists  generally  have  increased 
 their  literature  by  the  most  marvellous  accounts  of 
 departed  saints,   whether  males  or  females,  celibates 
 or   virgins,    kings    or    martyi's.      The   legends   thus 
 fabricated  have  generally  been   marked  by  the  feel- 
 ings most  current  about  and  around  the  story-teller, 
 and  they  reflect  gross  superstition,  brutal  ignorance, 
 virtuous  aspirations,   or  saintly   power,  according  to 
 the  amount  and  style  of  education   received  by  the 
 dreamer,  before  the  sacred  vows  were  taken,  and  he 
 or  she  became  an  author.     Sometimes  the  fabled  mira- 
 cles are  clearly  adopted  from  the  stories  in  the  Bible, 
 and  sometimes  from  mythological  histories.     What- 
 ever may  be  their  source,  the  Protestant,  strong  in 
 his  good  sense,  rejects  them  as  lying  wonders ;  but 
 the  majority  of  Papists,   who   receive   them  on   the 
 authority  of  theii-  church,   credit   them  as  implicitly 
 as  many  amongst  ourselves  believe  the  fables  narrated 
 in  Scripture.      The  Bibliolater  accepts  the  Scripture 
 legends  solely  on  the  authority  of  the  Jewish  church ; 
 for  it  was  the  Hebrews  who  selected  the  books  and 
 fables  which  were  to  be  retained  in  their  canon  of  sacred 
 writings ;  whilst  the  Mariolater  believes  other  books 
 and  fables,  on  the  authority  of  the  Christian  church. 
 The   philosopher    may   doubt    whether    the    Jewish 
 hierarchy  is  a  better  authority  than  the   Christian^ 
 and  whether  a  story  fabricated   to  exalt   the   power 
 of  Mary,  or  some  imaginary  saint,   is  not  as  worthy 
 of  credence  as  a  tale  invented  to   exalt  the  prowess 
 of    an   imaginary  Jew.       But  he   will    find    few    to 
 join  in  his  disbelief;    for    some    will    unhesitatingly 
 
681 
 
 cleave  to  the  Hebrew,  and  despise  the  Papal  autho- 
 rity, whilst  others  will  as  cordially  accept  both. 
 
 Now  we  have  already  demonstrated,^^®  from  the 
 records  of  the  Bible  itself,  that  there  was  a  complete 
 sack  of  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  Ahaziah ;  a  thorough 
 plunder  of  everything  valuable,  and  a  very  extensive 
 capture  and  sale  made  of  her  population ;  and  we 
 pointed  out  the  improbability  of  even  one  manuscript 
 being  saved,  if  indeed  any  existed.  We  also  called 
 attention  to  the  fact  that,  prior  to  this  captivity,  the 
 worship  of  the  Jews  was  idolatrous,  and  consequentl} 
 that  if  any  manuscripts  did  exist,  they  would  not  be 
 those  now  called  sacred.  At  the  same  time  we 
 expressed  our  opinion,  and  supported  it  by  texts 
 from  the  Bible,  that  the  whole,  or  at  any  rate  a  very 
 large  portion  of  the  writings,  which  purport  to  be 
 older  than  the  time  of  Joel,  Amos,  Micah  and  Isaiah, 
 are  of  late  production.  We  also  stated  the 
 belief,  that  a  large  portion  of  the  ancient  Hebrew 
 story  was  composed  with  the  special  aim  to  make 
 the  Jews,  who  were  at  the  time  ground  down  by 
 misery,  at  home  and  elsewhere,  contented  with  their 
 present,  and  hopeful  as  regards  their  future  lot.  We 
 called  attention  particularly  to  the  following  verse 
 from  Micah  (v.  8),  '*  and  the  remnant  of  Jacob  shall 
 be  amongst  the  Gentiles,  in  the  midst  of  many 
 people,  as  a  lion  amongst  the  beasts  of  the  forest, 
 as  a  young  lion  among  the  flocks  of  sheep." 
 
 Now,  if  we  compare  the  condition  of  Israel  prior 
 to  the  advent  of  Samson,  as  given  in  Judges  xiii.,  we 
 find  a  great  similarity  between  that  and  their  con- 
 dition at  the  period  of  Micah;   they  were,  and  had 
 
 139  See  Obadiah. 
 
682 
 
 for  a  long  time  been,  enslaved  by  the  Philistines. 
 Yet  at  the  end  of  sixty  years  Jehovah  had  compassion 
 upon  them,  and  delivered  them  by  the  prowess  of  a 
 single  man.  We  are  therefore  justified  in  the  con- 
 clusion, that  the  same  idea  which  prompted  Micah 
 to  promise  that  each  captive  Jew  should  be  as  a  lion, 
 would  prompt  another  to  show  that  he  might  be  even 
 superior  to  that  king  of  beasts. 
 
 AMien  we  endeavour  to  trace  the  notion  held  by 
 the  Hebrews  of  strong  men,  we  find  it  apparent,  first, 
 in  2  Sam.  xxiii.,  in  which  we  are  told  that  a  man 
 slew  eight  hundred  at  a  time ;  that  another  put 
 a  whole  Philistine  army  to  flight  ;  that  another 
 routed  a  host  of  the  same  nation ;  that  three,  as 
 individuals,  broke  through  a  whole  army,  entered 
 a  town,  and  returned  the  same  way,  one  at  least  being 
 disabled  by  having  to  bear  a  cup  of  water.  Another 
 man  kills  three  hundred.  Etc.  The  reader  will  notice, 
 that  these  are  not  spoken  of  as  Nazarites  ;  yet  the 
 exploits  of  the  first  very  nearly  equal  those  of 
 Samson,  whose  strength  was  in  his  hair.  As  far  as 
 w^e  can  judge,  the  Nazarite  law  w\as  not  known 
 in  the  time  of  David  and  Solomon  ;  therefore,  as  the 
 point  in  Samson's  story  is  that  his  strength  is  con- 
 nected with  his  hair,  we  conclude  that  the  tale  was 
 composed  at  a  period  after  the  compilation  of  the 
 Nazarite  law,  and  when  hairiness  w^as  supposed  to 
 be  synonymous  with  strength. 
 
 We  may  now  pursue  the  word  Nazarite,  as  we 
 have  examined  others.  We  find  that  "^V,,  na::ir,  with 
 the  meaning  of  Nazarite,  only  occurs  in  Numl).  vi., 
 Jud.  xiii.  and  xvi.,  once  again  in  Lamentations 
 of  Jeremiah,  and  twice  in  Amoz.  Hence  we  con- 
 clude  that    the    law   in   Numbers,    and   the   story   in 
 
683 
 
 Judges,  must  have  been  written  about  the  time  of 
 Amos,  or  subsequent  thereto.  We  then  remember 
 the  pleasant  account  given  in  Jeremiah  xxxv.  about 
 the  Kechabites ;  and  inasmuch  as  we  find  that  none 
 of  them  are  spoken  of  as  "  Nazarites,"  we  may  con- 
 clude that  the  promulgation  of  the  law  in  Numbers  vi. 
 was  subsequent  to  the  interview  between  the  prophet 
 and  the  sons  of  Jonadab. 
 
 We  ha\e  already  shown,  in  the  article  Lilith,  that 
 hairiness  became  associated  with  the  idea  of  strength 
 in  the  last  days  of  the  Jewish  monarchy. 
 
 Although  this  evidence  is  strong,  we  may  corrobo- 
 rate it  still  farther  by  the  investigation  of  a  few  test 
 words.  Kecollecting  that,  in  the  time  when  the  Philis- 
 tines ruled  with  an  iron  hand  over  Israel,  "  there  was 
 no  smith  found  throughout  all  the  land  of  Israel,  nor 
 any  weapon"  (1  Sam.  xiii.  19-22),  we  are  rather 
 surprised  to  find  a  razor  spoken  of  as  glibly  in 
 Judges  xiii.,  xvi.  and  1  Sam.  i.  11,  as  if  it  were  a 
 common  instrument.  Its  Hebrew  name,  '^'}'^^,  morah, 
 occurs  only  in  these  places,  but  the  more  common 
 name,  ""V^,  taar,  occurs  in  Num.  vi.  5,  viii.  7,  Ps.  lii. 
 2,  Is.  vii.  20,  Jer.  xxxvi.  23,  and  Ezek.  v.  1,  as  a 
 cutting  instrument.  The  word  itself  is  often  trans- 
 lated "sheath,"  and  is  used  eight  times  in  "Isaiah," 
 "  Jeremiah,"  and  "  Ezekiel,"  twice  in  "  Numbers," 
 and  only  three  times  elsewhere;  so  that  w^e  presume 
 the  word  was  in  use  chiefly  during  the  later  days 
 of  the  monarchy. 
 
 Again,  there  is  in  Jud.  xiii.  6  a  peculiar  expres- 
 sion, viz.,  "a  man  of  God,  °^p''.^!^  ^^^,  aish  ha 
 elohim,  came  unto  me."  And  on  consulting  the  Con- 
 cordance, we  find  that  this  occurs  once  in  "  Joshua  " 
 xiv.  6,  twice  in  "Samuel,"  fifteen  times  in  "1  Kings" 
 
684 
 
 xiii.,  and  four  otlier  times  in  the  same  book;  thirty- 
 six  times  in  the  second  book  of  "  Kings,"  seven  times 
 in  "  Chronicles,"  three  times  in  "  Ezra,"  once  in 
 the  "Psalms,"  once  in  "Jeremiah,"  and  nowhere 
 else.  Now  a  reference  to  the  article  Evidence, 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  499,  will  show  reason  to  believe  that 
 1  Kings  xiii.  was  written  by  some  one  about  the 
 time  of  Josiah.  We  have,  therefore,  from  the 
 result  of  this  inquiry,  corroborative  evidence  of  the 
 story  of  Samson  being  composed  about  that  period, 
 or  subsequent  to  it. 
 
 We  find  another  test  expression  in  the  words, 
 "thea  ngel  of  the  Lord,"  f^)^]  "^^f^,  malacli  Jehovah, 
 which  we  may  investigate  in  the  same  manner.  We 
 find  this  expression  seven  times  in  "  Genesis "  and 
 "Exodus";  three  times  in  "Judges"  ii.  and  v.;  five 
 times  in  "  Kings  "  ;  an  equal  number  in  "  1  Chron." 
 ch.  i.  xxi.;  three  times  in  the  "Psalms";  once  in 
 "Isaiah";  six  times  in  "  Zachariah  "  ;  and  once  in 
 "  Malachi."  But  we  find  the  same  words  ten  times 
 in  "  Num."  xxii. ;  seven  times  in  "Num."vi. ;  and 
 twelve  times  in  "Judges"  xiii.;  in  other  words,  we  find 
 the  expression  twenty-nine  times  in  three  chapters, 
 and  thirty  times  in  the  rest  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 Now  in  Joel  (Vol.  i.,  p.  G92),  we  expressed  our  opinion 
 that  the  story  of  Balaam  was  written  subsequently  to 
 the  time  of  Amaziah ;  and  in  the  story  of  Gideon  we 
 recognise  a  tale  calculated  to  buoy  up  the  hopes  of 
 the  Jews,  telling  that  God  would  help  them,  even 
 in  their  present  misery,  by  showing  what  he  had  done 
 when  their  forefathers  had  been  ground  down  by  the 
 Midianites.  Surely — the  argument  ran  —  if  three 
 hundred  men  could  annihilate  the  vast  army  of  Zcba 
 and  Zulmunnti  in  days  gone  by,  it  might  yet  happen 
 
685 
 
 that  "  one  should  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten 
 thousand  to  flight,"  Deut.  xxxii.  30,  Jos.  xxiii.  10 ; 
 almost  the  very  thing  which  Samson  is  said  to  have 
 done,  Jud.  xv.  15.  Here,  again,  we  see  strong 
 evidence  in  corroboration  of  the  conclusion,  that  the 
 story  of  Samson  dates  from  about  the  time  of  the 
 troubles  subsequent  to  the  period  of  the  captivity 
 under  Ahaziah.  Our  attention  is  still  farther  arrested 
 by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Jews,  taken  at  the 
 Edomite  sack  of  Jerusalem,  were  sold  as  captives  to 
 the  Grecians  (Joel  iii.  6),  and,  consequently,  that  they 
 would  become  acquainted  with  Grecian  mythoses. 
 The  classical  scholar  will  doubtless  remember  the 
 extreme  popularity  of  Hercules,  as  a  godlike  man, 
 amongst  those  with  whom  Jewish  captives  came  into 
 contact;  and  he  can  readily  recognise  a  general 
 similarity  between  the  demigod  and  the  Hebrew 
 judge.  To  such  an  extent  has  the  resemblance 
 between  Hercules  and  Samson  been  seen  by  biblical 
 students,  that  the  orthodox  have  concluded  that  the 
 Grecian  myth  must  have  been  drawn  from  the  Hebrew 
 story.  When,  however,  we  take  the  preceding  con- 
 siderations as  a  basis  for  philosophical  deduction,  we 
 can  come  to  no  other  conclusion,  than  that  the  fable 
 of  Samson  is  based  upon  the  stories  told  by  the 
 Greeks  of  Hercules,  and  that  the  history,  such  as 
 we  meet  with  it  in  Judges,  was  not  written  until  after 
 the  return  of  some  of  the  captivity  from  "  the  Islands 
 of  the  Sea." 
 
 It  is  very  difficult  for  an  author  who  is  working 
 honestly  to  elicit  truth,  and  who  is  driven,  by  the 
 stern  logic  of  facts,  to  demolish  a  structure  which  he 
 has  himself  admired,  not  to  feel  more  regret  at  the 
 results  attained,  than  satisfaction  that  the  truth  has 
 
686 
 
 approximately  been  won.  Such  an  one  knows  well 
 that  success  in  the  quiet  study  is  but  the  prelude 
 to  contumely  in  the  turbulent  world.  The  man  who 
 sets  himself  to  investigate  a  subject  in  a  strictly 
 logical  manner,  too  often  resembles  a  lawj-er  who  is 
 requested  to  prove  his  client's  title  to  an  additional 
 estate,  and  who  discovers  in  his  search  that  his 
 employer  has  no  title  even  to  that  which  he  holds. 
 Accepting  this  analogy,  let  us  examine  the  duty  of 
 the  unfortunate  possessor.  Accustomed  to  luxury,  and 
 apparently  rolling  in  wealth,  he  finds,  accidentally, 
 that  all  which  he  owns  is  the  legal  property  of 
 another.  He  must  then  ask  the  question.  Shall  I 
 retain  my  position  until  turned  out  by  due  course  of 
 law  '?  If  attacked,  shall  I  fight  to  the  utmost,  knowing 
 my  own  cause  to  be  worthless  ?  or  shall  I  at  once 
 hand  over  my  supposed  wealth  to  the  lawful  owner  ? 
 Let  us  imagine,  still  farther,  that  the  wrongful  pos- 
 sessor does  good  to  all  around  him,  whilst  the  other 
 man  is  a  disgrace  to  human  nature.  Can  we  describe 
 a  more  difficult  position  ?  Yet  no  one  can  doubt 
 what  would  be  the  duty  of  an  honest  man.  There  are 
 many  men  of  the  world  who  would  call  his  resolve  a 
 quixotic  one ;  yet  there  is  not  one,  whose  opinion  is 
 worth  having,  that  would  not  applaud  the  triumph  of 
 honour  over  the  greed  of  gain. 
 
 Let  us  now,  for  an  estate  in  land,  substitute  an 
 estate  in  religion.  For  many  hundreds  of  years  we 
 have  laid  a  claim  to  mansions  in  the  skies,  founded 
 upon  documents  which  we  have  considered  to  bo 
 divine  ;  upon  title  deeds  said  to  be  written  by  the  Lord 
 of  the  Manor,  and  promulgated  at  a  special  bureau 
 by  private  messengers.  Yet,  when  we  enquire  strictly 
 into  the  real  value  of  these  writings,  we  find  them  to 
 
687 
 
 be  worthless,  mere  fiibrications,  to  bolster  up  the 
 credit  of  fanatics  who  made  gain  by  godliness.  What, 
 then,  we  may  ask,  is  it  our  duty  to  do  ?  To  stifle 
 the  result  of  our  investigation,  and  retain  the  estate 
 to  which  we  have  no  lawful  claim  ?  To  destroy  the 
 discoverer  of  the  fraud,  by  violence  or  persecution? 
 or,  failing  power  to  do  this,  to  oppose  him  by  all  the 
 chicanery  of  argumentation  or  special  pleading,  so  as 
 to  make  the  worse  appear  the  better  side  ?  or  to  accept 
 the  conclusion  manfully?  The  philosopher  knows 
 well  how  to  answer  these  questions  for  himself,  but 
 be  cannot  do  so  for  the  theologian.  He  well  knows 
 that  even  the  best  divines  are  unchristian  in  certain 
 things  which  concern  their  religion ;  they  teach  that 
 it  is  right,  and  consider  it  to  be  their  duty  to  their 
 neighbour,  "to  hurt  nobody  by  word  nor  deed, 
 to  be  true  and  just  in  all  their  dealings,  to  bear 
 no  malice  nor  hatred  in  their  heart,  to  keep  their 
 tongue  from  evil  speaking,  lying,  and  slandering;  " 
 yet,  when  that  neighbour  happens  to  be  of  a  diflerent 
 religious  opinion  to  them,  and  is  able  to  show  that  he 
 has  right  on  his  side,  these  divines,  whether  papal  or 
 protestant,  high  church  or  low  church,  rituaUsts  or  pres- 
 byterians,  Mahometans  or  Christians,  Jews  or  Greeks, 
 Mormons,  free-lovers,  or  shakers,  all  consider  it  as  part 
 of  their  duty  to  iujure  their  opponents  by  word  and 
 deed,  even  to  the  commission  of  murder.  They  consider 
 it  justifiable  to  be  untrue  and  unjust  in  all  their  deal- 
 ings with  their  religious  adversaries ;  to  bear  towards 
 them  malice  and  hatred  in  their  heart ;  to  allow  their 
 tongues  to  speak  evil,  and  to  lie  and  slander  for  the 
 benefit  of  their  own  cause,  ^\^len  such  is  the  case, 
 and  the  philosopher  knows  that  men  thus  described 
 are  leaders  of  opinion,  he  may,  in  a  moment  of  de- 
 
688 
 
 pression,  regret  that  he  was  not  born  a  fool,  one  of 
 those  who  are  comfortable,  for  time  and  for  eternity, 
 only  when  they  are  led  by  the  nose  by  another 
 man.  Such  fits  of  despondency,  I  doubt  not,  are  felt 
 by  all  honest  men.  In  some  cases  there  has  been 
 ample  cause  therefor,  inasmuch  as  a  sagacious  hound 
 is  often  worried  by  the  pack,  at  the  instigation  of  a 
 master,  ere  its  value  is  recognised.  Most  children 
 hate  their  schoolmaster  whilst  they  are  young;  and  as 
 men,  they  hate  still  more  savagely  the  teachers  who 
 disturb  their  repose  of  mind.  Yet,  in  England,  the 
 philosopher,  who  is  not  a  hierarch,  may  rejoice ;  he 
 knows  that  the  laws  of  his  country  protect  him  from 
 the  malice  and  hatred  of  the  theologian,  and  that  he 
 can  afford  to  watch  with  interest  the  vipers  biting  at 
 a  file.  Yet,  even  though  a  file,  he  may  feel  regret 
 that  vipers  should  spoil  their  teeth ;  and,  though 
 uninjured,  he  may  be  "  dazed "  by  the  shake  which 
 every  important  efi"ort  to  destroy  involves.  A  file  in 
 the  midst  of  venomous  snakes,  though  safe,  is  unable 
 to  do  its  duty,  for  none  dare  take  it  up  when  thus  sur- 
 rounded. But  the  serpents  will  tire  in  time,  and  the 
 tool  may  be  used  once  more,  even  though  covered 
 with  the  skin  of  vipers.  Yet  here,  again,  the 
 philosopher  sighs  at  the  thought,  that  the  creatures 
 who  cannot  injure  the  sharp  faces  of  a  keen  rasp  may 
 so  completely  cover  it  with  saUva,  slime,  mucus,  or 
 unmentionable  filth,  that,  when  they  leave  it,  none 
 will  be  able  to  recognise  the  existence  of  a  valuable 
 tool.  Such  a  film,  he  knows,  has  eclipsed  many 
 very  powerfully  written  works,  and  he  knows  that 
 vipers  are  still  continuing  the  process.  He  then 
 thinks  of  the  adage,  Maffiia  est  Veritas,  ct  pncvalebit, 
 and  takes  comfort  for  a  time ;  yet,  when  he  remembers 
 
689 
 
 the  destruction  of  Christians  by  Mahometans,  and 
 Huguenots  by  Papists,  he  sighs  to  think  that  prejudice 
 and  the  love  of  power  and  lucre  have  sometimes 
 beaten  truth  out  of  the  field. 
 
 'T  is  true,  't  is  pity,  and  pity  't  is,  't  is  true. 
 
 Samuel,  ^^^^^  (Num.  xxxiv.  20,  1  Sam.  i.  20).  The 
 usual  interpretation  of  this  well  known  name  is, 
 "heard  of  God,"  as  if  it  were  a  contracted 
 form  of  ^'^V'''^'^,  Shemuael ;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
 that  the  writer  of  the  story  intended  it  should 
 so  be  understood,  for  we  are  distinctly  told  that 
 Samuel's  mother  called  him  so,  because  he  was 
 asked  of  God  (1  Sam.  i.  29).  But  though  the  word 
 may  bear  this  interpretation,  we  doubt  whether  it  is 
 the  correct  one;  for  we  find  that  the  cognomen, 
 Shemuel,  was  borne  by  a  grandson  of  Issachar 
 (1  Chron.  vii.  2),  and  by  another,  the  son  of  Ammihud 
 (Num.  xxxiv.  20),  though  in  neither  case  do  we  find 
 any  mention  made  of  special  prayer.  Moreover,  we  find 
 many  instances  in  the  Bible  in  which  strong  prayers 
 were  offered  up  for  children,  and  they  were  answered 
 affirmatively,  without  any  such  name  as  Shemuel 
 being  given  to  the  offspring.  Abraham  called  his 
 long-desired  offspring  Isaac ;  and  none  of  the  sons  of 
 Jacob,  greatly  as  they  were  desired  by  their  mothers, 
 bore  the  name  in  question.  Again,  we  find  (1  Chron. 
 V.  8),  that  Shema  was  a  near  descendant  of  Reuben, 
 who  is  called  Shemaiah  in  ver.  4,  a  word  which  closely 
 corresponds  with  Shemu-el.  We  have  also  many 
 such  names  as  Shem,  Shimei,  Shemebee,  Shemida, 
 into  which  the  root  1=^,  Shem,  enters.  Now  'T?'^, 
 shamah,  signifies  "to  be  high,  to  project,  to  be  ele- 
 vated, to  shine  afar;"    and   if   we   adopt  this   ety- 
 
 XX 
 
690 
 
 mon,  Shamael  signifies  "  El  is  high,"  or  "  shines 
 afar;"  a  perfectly  natural  name,  and  cognate  with 
 a  vast  number  of  others.  Again,  ^^^,  shama, 
 means  "to  shine,  to  be  bright,  to  glitter,"  which 
 equally  tends  to  the  same  conclusion  as  the 
 preceding;  and  Q^,  shem,  signifies  "renown,  fame," 
 etc.  ;  Shami,  in  the  Babylonian  or  Assyi-ian,  = 
 heat. 
 
 From  these  considerations,  it  is  to  be  inferred 
 that  the  real  interpretation  of  Shemuel  is  "El  is 
 high,"  and  that  "  answer  to  prayer"  is  an  adaptation; 
 adopted  probably  by  the  prophet,  in  the  first  instance, 
 to  prove  that  he  was  an  individual  specially  sent  or 
 bestowed  by  the  Almighty.  Those  who  assume  to 
 be  special  teachers,  sent  from  God,  often  aver  that 
 there  is  something  peculiar  about  their  birth  and  its 
 antecedents ;  and  yet,  as  they  are  necessarily  totally 
 unacquainted  with  the  details  of  this  matter,  they 
 must  be  wholly  discarded  as  trustworthy  authorities ; 
 especially  when  they  are  separated  from  their  mother 
 at  the  age  of  two  years,  as  Samuel  was,  and  only  able 
 to  see  her  afterwards  at  intervals  of  a  year. 
 
 For  a  very  long  time  I  was  in  doubt  whether 
 Samuel,  the  prophet,  could  be  fairly  considered  an 
 historical  personage,  or  whether  we  must  refer  him 
 to  the  same  category  as  King  Arthur.  My  present 
 opinion,  adopted  after  many  years'  deliberation,  is 
 that  he  was  as  completely  the  founder  of  the  Jewish 
 nation  as  our  own  Alfred  was  the  architect  of  modern 
 England.  It  is  generally  thought  that  the  history  of 
 the  past  may  often  be  elucidated  by  modern  records. 
 Let  us  turn  our  eyes  to  China,  whose  coasts  were 
 long  desolated  by  pirates ;  to  the  states  of  Southern 
 Europe,  which  were  repeatedly  devastated  by  Algeriue 
 
691 
 
 or  other  African  corsairs ;  to  the  Spanish  settlements 
 in  America,  which  were  repeatedly  sacked  by  European 
 buccaneers ;  and  to  England,  invaded  successively  by 
 Komans,   Scots  and  Picts,   Saxons,    Danes,    etc.     In 
 each  instance  we  see  the  many  a  prey  to  the  few, 
 from  an  absence  of  organisation.     Doubtless,  in  all 
 these    cases,    there    have    been    men    who    felt    the 
 necessity  for  union,  but  have  been  unable  to  enforce 
 it.     When  every  sept  is  at  enmity  with  its  neighbour, 
 an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  is  almost  impossi- 
 ble.    Persons  of  opposing  clans  must  be  taught  the 
 value  of  union,  ere  a  kingdom  can  be  formed.     This 
 instruction,  and  the  formation  of  a  desire  for  unity,  was 
 evidently  the  mission  of  Samuel.     By  simple  arts,  he 
 soon  became  revered  as  supernatural,  and  then,  within 
 certain  Hmits,  his  will  became  law.     When  the  value 
 of  union  was  known,  the  people  became  ambitious,  and 
 the  natives  who  had  grovelled  before  the  Philistines, 
 like  the   English   before   the    Danes,   wanted   to   be 
 led  against  the  settlements  of  the  northern  Vikings. 
 Samuel  doubtless  approved  the  scheme,  for  in  it  he  read 
 the  success  of  his  policy.     But  the  prophet  was  not 
 personally  courageous.     He  systematically  abstained 
 from  accompanying  warlike  expeditions,  and  confined 
 himself  to  urging  Israel  to  fight  bravely,  and  praying 
 ardently  for  their  success.     His  sons  were  not  popular, 
 so  that  he  had  no  nepotism  to  overcome  in  the  selec- 
 tion of  a  chief.     By  a  simple  artifice,  he  caused  the 
 election  to  fall  upon  the   very    biggest   man   of  the 
 united  tribes ;  and  Saul,  thankful  for  the  preference, 
 duly  respected  the  king -maker.       All   this   is   very 
 natural,  and,  if  not  true,  is  vraisemhlahle. 
 
 But  the  man  who  had  organised  the  union  saw 
 that  it  was  necessary  to  have  something  more  than 
 
692 
 
 thews  aud  sinews,  brute  force  and  animal  passions, 
 at  the  head  of  a  state.  Thoughtful  directors  are 
 more  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  a  nation  than 
 doughty  warriors  ;  consequently,  the  prophet  organised 
 establishments  wherein  he  could  impart  to  younger 
 men  than  himself  his  ideas  of  political  economy. 
 Those  who,  when  reading  French  history,  have 
 marked  the  value  of  such  churchmen  as  Richelieu 
 and  Mazarine ;  and  the  helplessness  of  such  kings 
 as  Louis  the  Fifteenth,  without  the  assistance  of 
 similar  statesmen,  can  well  appreciate  the  judgment 
 of  Samuel  in  establishing  schools  of  prophets. 
 
 Yet  what  evidence  is  there  that  Samuel  knew 
 anything  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  or  Jacob ;  of  Israel  in 
 Egypt,  of  Joshua  and  his  prowess,  or  of  Moses  and  his 
 law  ?  Is  it  not  abundantly  clear,  indeed,  that,  when 
 scolding  Israel  for  asking  to  have  a  king,  he  knew 
 nothing  of  Dent.  xvii.  14,  15  ?  Is  it  not  evident 
 that  the  prophet  in  question  was  a  self-made  man, 
 much  like  Zenghis  Khan,  the  predecessor  of  Timour 
 the  Tartar  ?  Can  we  not  indeed  draw  a  tolerably 
 close  historical  parallel  between  Samuel  and  Maho- 
 met ?  the  one  uniting  tribes  in  Palestine,  and  the 
 other  in  Arabia,  by  a  religious  bond,  and  thus  esta- 
 blishing a  strong  political  power.  May  we  not  even 
 compare  the  Cahph  Solyman  with  the  royal  David, 
 and  see,  in  the  capture  of  the  strong  city  of  Con- 
 stantinople, a  copy  of  the  storming  of  Jerusalem  by 
 David  aud  his  enthusiastic  warriors  ?  May  we  not, 
 in  like  manner,  compare  the  decadence  of  the  Turks, 
 wbo  trust  to  destiny  aud  Allah,  with  that  of  the 
 Judaeans,  who  trusted  to  El  and  His  proi)hets,  and, 
 neglecting  the  arts  of  war,  gave  themselves  up  to 
 all    foriHH    of  sensuality?   aud    may    we   not   see    in 
 
693 
 
 Zedekiah    another    Bajazet ;  whilst    Nebuchadnezzar 
 is  the  prototype  of  Tamerlane  ? 
 
 We  conceive  that  the  exigencies  of  sound  criticism 
 compel  us  to  admit  that  Samuel  is  not  only  an  his- 
 torical personage,  but  that  he  was  as  completely  the 
 architect  of  Israel  as  Mahomet  was  the  founder  of 
 Moslemism. 
 Sabah,  ™  (Gen.  xvii.  15) ;  Sarai,  "'i^  (ch.  xi.  29).  These 
 names,  as  borne  by  the  wife  of  "  the  father  on  high," 
 or  Abraham,  deserve  all  the  attention  we  can  bestow 
 upon  them.  Remembering  that  Sarah  is  described  as  a 
 Chaldean,  we  naturally  turn  first  to  that  language  for 
 assistance.  We  find  that  there  was  a  name,  Sheruha, 
 or  Sheruya,  given  to  the  wife  of  Asshur  (Rawlinson's 
 Herodotus,  vol.  i.,  p.  484).  Again,  we  find  that  a  word 
 equivalent  to  ID,  sar,  represented  ^a,  asha,  the  Great 
 Goddess  (Rawlinson,  in  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic 
 Society,  vol.  i.,  N.  S.,  p.  221).  We  farther  find  Saru 
 (ibid.,  p.  225)  signifies  '  glory.'  Talbot,  in  vol.  19  of 
 the  same  Journal,  translates  Sar  as  "  king  or  mon- 
 arch;" and  in  vol.  iii.,  New  Series,  of  the  same 
 Journal,  he  tells  us  that  Sarrat  is  the  Assyrian  name 
 for  a  queen,  and  that  Ishtar  is  called  the  queen 
 C  sarrat  J  of  heaven  and  of  the  stars.  Sar  ri  or  sari 
 signifies,  therefore,  ''Ri  is  the  queen,"  or  the  "queen 
 is  Ri." 
 
 Hence  we  conclude  that  Abraham  and  Sarah  are 
 mythical  names,  having  the  same  signification  as 
 Adam  and  Eve,  Esau-Edom  and  Jacob,  Ish  and 
 Ishah,  Man  and  Woman,  Zachar  and  Nekebah,  Ma- 
 hade  va  and  Sacti,  Lingam  and  Yoni. 
 
 Having  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  the  philologist 
 recognises  the  improbability  of  these  cognomens  being 
 borne  by  real   persons,  and  the   certainty  that   they 
 
694 
 
 are  Bimply  a  cover  for  ignorance.  I  can  readily 
 imagine  a  wTiter  sitting  down  to  compose  a  history 
 of   bis    nation,    and    arranging    his    material    thus  : 
 
 (1)  The  creation  of    man  must  first  be  referred  to. 
 
 (2)  An  explanation  must  be  given  of  the  origin  of  those 
 who  speak  our  language.  (3)  Some  notice  must  be 
 taken  of  the  source  of  our  own  particular  race,  etc. 
 It  will  not  do  for  us  to  talk  as  nurses  do  to  children 
 about  cabbages,  parsley,  carrots,  eggs  or  apples, 
 pomegranates  or  palm  trees,  sun  and  moon,  rock  and 
 pit,  tails  and  tailors,  spade  and  garden,  lance  and 
 shield,  doctors  and  parcels,  and  such  like  rubbish. 
 It  will  therefore  be  necessary  to  enwrap  the  same 
 idea  in  a  more  recondite  form,  and  adopt  some 
 words,  which,  whilst  they  appear  to  be  one  thing, 
 shall  mean  another.  But  this  purpose  of  the  ro- 
 mancer would  not  be  effected  if  the  same  names  were 
 used  for  the  head  of  each  subdivision  of  mankind. 
 Consequently,  three  pairs  of  words,  each  identical  in 
 signification,  though  diflerent  in  sound,  have  been 
 selected  by  the  Jewish  historians ;  1,  for  the  first 
 man  and  woman ;  2,  for  the  common  ancestors  of 
 the  Hebrews ;  3,  for  the  parents  of  Judah  and  Israel. 
 
 Now  we  do  not  aver  that  individuals  bearing  the 
 appellations  of  Adam  and  Eve,  Man  and  "Woman, 
 Abraham  and  Sarah,  Esau  and  Jacob,  never  existed, 
 but  we  maintain  that  it  is  all  but  certain  that 
 they  existed  only  in  the  imagination  of  the  writer, 
 who  used  their  names  to  typify  an  abstract  idea. 
 Sarai'II,  ^"^l^  (1  Chron.  iv.  22).  "  He  is  high,  prominent, 
 distinguished,"  also  "  a  serpent."  This  name  is 
 given  to  one  of  the  sons  of  Judah,  who  had  dominion 
 in  Moab  (1  Chron.  iv.  22).  The  word  is  the  singular 
 noun   from   which  the  word   "  Seraphim,"  with  whose 
 
695 
 
 title  we  are  so  familiar,  is  derived.  It  has  ever  been 
 a  matter  of  doubt  amongst  the  moderns,  what  par- 
 ticular form  of  bcingH  were  represented  as  Seraphim. 
 Gesenius  entertains  the  opinion  that  they  represented 
 winged  serpents,  probably  that  which  we  understand 
 by  "griffins,"  or  "  wyverns."  In  this  view  he  is 
 borne  out  by  an  ancient  signet  (see  ante,  Vol.  i.  fig.  3, 
 plate  III.),  in  which  the  male  and  female  deities  are 
 attended  by  some  such  creature.  Now  ^i^,  saraph, 
 signifies,  amongst  other  things,  "the  burning"  or  "the 
 kindling  one  "  ;  and  it  is  very  probable  that,  under  the 
 emblem  of  the  Seraph,  that  which  we  call  lust  is  per- 
 sonified; in  other  words,  the  desire  of  union  is  an 
 attendant  upon  the  creator.  The  ancient  Greeks  per- 
 sonified desire  as  a  god,  and  called  him  Eros,  who  was 
 the  cause  of  the  formation  of  the  world.  The  Latins 
 gave  him  the  name  of  Cupid,  and  they  furnished 
 him  with  a  bow  and  arrows,  and  generally  with  a  pair 
 of  wings.  He  was  the  close  attendant  upon  Venus, 
 and  those  who  received  a  shot  from  him  were  said  to 
 be  stricken  with  love.  A  serpent,  which  is  the  well- 
 known  emblem  of  desire  in  the  man,  with  power  to  fly 
 about  and  bite  whom  he  chose,  a  common  emblem 
 amongst  the  Egyptians,  would  practically  signify  the 
 same  thing. 
 
 The  beings  thus  spoken  of  are  only  once  mentioned 
 in  the  Scriptures,  and  then  by  Isaiah,  in  the  relation 
 of  what  was  evidently  a  feigned  vision,  a  dream, 
 or  an  hallucination.  Under  such  circumstances,  we 
 cannot  believe  that  the  prophet  saw  anything  which 
 had  a  real  existence,  but  a  creature  framed  by  his 
 own  mind,  from  models  with  which  he  was  familiar. 
 We  cannot  tell  what  were  the  mystical  figures  which, 
 during  his  lifetime,  he  had  seen,  but  we  know  that  it 
 
696 
 
 was  during  his  lifetime  that  the  brazen  serpent,  pro- 
 bably a  winged  one,  was  worshipped ;  and  that  his 
 successor,  Ezekiel  (viii.  10),  saw  in  a  vision  "every 
 form  of  creeping  things  and  abominable  beasts"  being 
 perfumed  with  incense  by  the  elders  of  Israel.  Yet, 
 although  the  forms  of  Cherubim  and  Seraphim 
 amongst  the  Jews  are  unknown  to  us,  we  know, 
 from  the  researches  of  Layard  and  others,  what 
 shapes  the  divine  ministers  assumed  amongst  the 
 Assyrians  and  Babylonians.  On  this  subject  a 
 valuable  essay  is  to  be  found,  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
 Ravenshaw,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
 vol.  xvi.,  p.  93,  which  will  well  repay  perusal.  I 
 gladly  acknowledge  the  obligation  I  am  under  to 
 its  author,  for  what  he  has  written,  depicted,  and 
 suggested ;  and  should  he,  by  any  accident,  see  these 
 lines,  he  may  perhaps  recognise  the  fact  that  the  seed 
 he  has  sown  has  not  fallen  on  stony  ground. 
 Satan,  ]^^  (1  Chron.  xxi.  1).  "The  Her  in  wait,"  "the 
 adversary."  As  all  priests,  in  all  countries,  proclaim 
 that  they  have  received  what  power  they  possess 
 from  the  Almighty,  it  naturally  follows  that  they 
 should  assert  that  all  who  attempt  to  thwart  their 
 efforts  must  have  a  commission  from  some  deity 
 opposing  their  own.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
 belief  is  general,  that  the  god  whose  priests  are 
 most  dominant  is,  and  must  be,  "  The  Supreme."  The 
 philosopher,  however,  can  scarcely  believe  that  the 
 title  of  "  The  Great  God  of  all "  can  be  held  by  the  con- 
 sent of  the  creatures  which  He  made,  and  he  may 
 look  with  patience  at  the  squabbles  of  other  men. 
 The  Judge  of  all  the  earth  can  have  no  adversaries ; 
 and  if  those  who  assume  to  wield  His  power  find 
 themselves    opposed    to    each   other,    it   can   only  be 
 
697 
 
 because  they  are  not  what  they  assert  themselves 
 to  be.  We  have  elsewhere  referred  to  the  gradual 
 development  of  theological  doctrines,  and,  amongst 
 others,  the  rise  of  the  belief  in  the  existence  and 
 power  of  the  Devil.     See  Devil,  Hell,  etc. 
 
 In  his  article  on  this  name,  Fiirst  remarks,  "  The 
 view  of  an  intermediate  angel  of  evil  between  God 
 and  men  arose  at  the  time  when  the  Zoroastrian  doc- 
 trine became  known  amongst  the  Hebrews.  In  later 
 Judaism,  and  the  New  Testament,  Satan  appears  as 
 the  prince  of  evil  spirits,  "**  the  opponent  of  the 
 kingdom  of  God,  and,  consequently,  a  copy  of 
 Ahriman  and  his  Dews,  in  opposition  to  Ormuzd. 
 In  the  Revelation  (xii.  10),  Satan  is  spoken  of  as 
 'the  accuser,'  6  jtax^ycop."  In  corroboration  of  this 
 view,  we  notice  the  fact  that  Satan  does  not  appear 
 in  any  writings  which  we  believe  to  have  been  com- 
 posed before  the  period  when  the  Jews  became  familiar 
 with  the  Persian  faith.  For  example,  we  are  told 
 that  the  Lord,  not  Satan,  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart 
 against  Israel  (Exod.  vii.  13) ;  and  again,  God,  not 
 the  Devil,  "hardened  the  spirit"  of  Sihon  (Deut.  ii. 
 30,  Conf.  Jos.  xi.  20).  It  is  indeed  a  difficult  matter 
 to  understand  how  the  Monotheistic  Hebrews  could 
 ever  have  conceived  the  idea  of  a  devil  equal  to,  or 
 stronger,  than  Jehovah. 
 
 When  we  examine  diligently  into  the  use  of  the 
 word  l^^,  in  the  Old  Testament,  we  alight  upon  some 
 remarkable  facts.  Satan  is  translated  "adversary"  in 
 Num.  xxii.  '22,  32 ;  in  1  Sam.  xxix.  4 ;  2  Sam.  xix. 
 22  (23);  1  Kings  v.  4  (18);  and  in  xi.  14,  23, 
 25.     Now   consulting  these   texts  we    find,   Hterally, 
 
 "0  Ephes.  ii.  2. 
 
698 
 
 that  "au  angel  of  the  Lord"  is  Satan;  that  David 
 might  become  Satan  if  he  went  to  fight ;  that  Ahishai 
 and  Joab  were  Satanic ;  that  Hadad  the  Edomite, 
 Rezon  the  son  of  Eliadad,  were  each  Satan ;  whilst, 
 if  we  turn  successively  to  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1,  and 
 1  Chron.  xxi.  1,  we  recognise  the  astounding  fact  that 
 Satan  and  Jehovah  are  identical !  After  this,  it  is 
 but  a  small  matter  to  find  that  Peter,  the  rock  upon 
 which  the  Christian  church  is  said  to  have  been  built, 
 was  designated  "Satan"  by  his  master  (Matt.  xvi. 
 23).  Incongruities  like  these  may  readily  be  multi- 
 plied ;  for  example.  Gen.  xxii.  1,  says,  "  God  did 
 tempt  Abraham  ; "  Jesus  teaches  his  disciples  to  pray 
 to  their  Almighty  father  (Matt.  vi.  13),  "  lead  us  not 
 into  temptation  ;  "  whilst  James  i.  13  declares  that 
 God  tempteth  no  man.  These  apparent  discrepancies 
 may  be  reconciled  ])y  comparing  Jehovah  and  Satan 
 to  the  Hindoo  Sha,  who  is  both  creator  and  de- 
 stroyer. 
 
 These  propositions,  certainly,  are  diametrically 
 opposed  to  modern  notions.  We  have  been  so  accus- 
 tomed to  believe  that  Satan  is  an  entity,  with  indepen- 
 dent l)Ut  inferior  power,  that  we  cannot  realise  the  idea 
 that  ho  simply  represents  Providence,  or  the  Almighty, 
 acting  in  a  way  which  seems  to  man  to  be  fraught 
 with  evil  results.  "NVe  have  adopted  the  fiction  that 
 God  lets  Satan  do  as  he  likes,  whilst  He  can  at  any 
 time  compel  him  to  act  in  a  definite  manner ;  and  yet 
 that  the  one  is  not  a  servant,  nor  the  other  a  master. 
 Hut,  neither  in  law  nor  in  equity,  can  a  servant  who 
 is  ulways  under  tlio  eye  of  his  master  be  said  to  be 
 independent,  whilst  the  master  looks  on  approvingly. 
 Thf  maxim  is  a  true  one  which  says,  quod  j'acit 
 }ur  (ilium, Jaiit  per  ae.     Instead,  however,  of  apin-aliug 
 
699 
 
 to  human  law  alone,  let  us  turn  to  Psalm  cxv.  3, 
 where  we  find  the  dictum,  "  Our  God  is  in  the 
 heavens,  he  hath  done  whatsoever  he  hath  pleased;" 
 and  again,  Ps.  cxxxv.  5,  6,  "  I  know  that  our  Lord  is 
 above  all  gods.  Whatsoever  the  Lord  pleased,  that 
 did  he  in  heaven,  and  in  earth,  in  the  seas,  and  all 
 deep  places.  He  causeth  vapours  to  ascend,  maketh 
 lightnings  for  the  rain,  and  bringeth  the  wind  out  of 
 his  treasuries,"  etc. 
 
 In  other  words,  it  is  believed  that  "  there  is  none 
 mighty  save  the  Lord,"  and  that  "  whatsoever  is  done 
 in  the  earth,  or  the  universe,  He  is  the  doer  of  it."  "^ 
 Consequently,  when  some  men  find  that  their  doctrines 
 are  powerless  to  convince  others,  that  human  beings 
 occasionally  act  like  rabid  dogs  or  famished  wolves, 
 and  that  violence  and  robbery  abound  in  a  nation, 
 or  the  world,  they  naturally  conclude  that  Satan  has 
 gained  the  mastery  over  God.  It  would  be  far  better 
 for  the  human  race  if  man  would  carefully  study  the 
 ways  of  providence,  and  leave  the  Almighty  to  wield 
 His  own  sword.  Many  pious  Englishmen  thought  it 
 presumptuous  in  the  Pope  of  Rome  to  parcel  out 
 the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  and  assign  territorial 
 titles  to  those  whom  he  made,  ecclesiastically,  su- 
 preme therein,  over  their  co-religionists ;  yet  the 
 same  people  do  not  scruple  to  parcel  out  the  invisible 
 world,  and  to  give  titles  to  the  respective  rulers  in 
 each  !     Such  presumption  we  resolutely  oppose. 
 
 There  is  yet  another  point  from  which  we  must 
 examine  the  ideas  which  are  enunciated  in  the  Bible, 
 and  which  are  entertained,  respecting  Satan,  the  devil, 
 the  serpent,  the  adversary,  or  Apollyon. 
 
 "    See  1  Sam. -4-10. 
 
700 
 
 We  find  him  described  as  a  destroyer, '"  1  Chron. 
 xxi.  1 ;  as  a  liar,  Gen.  iii.  4,  5,  1  Kings  xxii.  22,  and 
 John  -s-iii.  44 ;  as  an  accuser,  Rev.  xii.  10 ;  as  a 
 deceiver,  Rev.  xx.  10 ;  as  a  murderer,  John  viii.  44. 
 To  him  offerings  and  sacrifices  were  made.  Lev. 
 xvii.  7,  Deut.  xxxii.  17,  2  Chron.  xi.  15.  The  devils 
 are  said  to  beheve  and  tremble,  Jas.  ii.  19,  and  to 
 work  miracles,  Rev.  xvi.  14 ;  and  the  devil  is  said  to 
 put  evil  thoughts  and  the  intention  to  perform  bad 
 actions  into  the  mind  of  man,  John  xiii.  2.  Still 
 farther,  he  is  considered  as  the  moving  spirit  of  all 
 who  controvei-t  the  commands  or  intention  of  the 
 Almighty  (Ephes.  ii.  2).  He  is  regarded  as  the  one 
 who  brought  death  into  the  world,  the  originater  of 
 sedition,  war,  tumults,  persecutions,  and  the  like. 
 He  is  malignant,  fierce,  revengeful,  destructive,  cruel, 
 seductive,  lying  in  wait  to  deceive,  sanguinary,  and 
 everything  else  that  human  beings  nurtured  in  tender- 
 ness detest  as  vile  and  bad.  He  is  indeed  described 
 as  "a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour." 
 1  Pet.  V.  8. 
 
 We  may  now  look  upon  the  other  side  of  the 
 question,  and  examine  the  character  which  men,  as- 
 suming to  be  inspired  by  Him  to  whom  Satan  is  the 
 adversary,  have  given  to  the  great  Creator.  Jehovah 
 is  described  as  a  murderer,  Exod.  iv.  24,  "  And  it 
 came  to  pass,  by  the  way,  in  the  inn,  that  the  Lord 
 met  him  and  sought  to  kill  him";  and  again,  in 
 Exod.  xi.  4,  5  ;  as  a  destroyer  of  man  and  beast, 
 Isa.  xxxiv.  2-8  ;  as  an  actual  slave  dealer,  Joel  iii.  8, 
 "I  will  sell  your  sons  and  your  daughters  into  the 
 
 '*'  'Iho  Htntcinciit  nuiJo  in  tlio  vornc  roforicd  to  i«,  that  Satnn  provoked  l>svid 
 to  nnmWr  iHracl.  Hnt  Ibo  rontflxt  rIiowr  that  the  "  nil m boric ^  "  "a"  th*"  CftUM  of 
 the  dottrnction  of  hnmnn  life  thiit  followed. 
 
701 
 
 hands  of  the  children  of  Judah,  and  they  shall  sell 
 them  to  the  Saheans,  to  a  people  far  off,  for  the  Lord 
 hath  spoken  it."  See,  again, ^"  Jer.  xiii.  14,  "I  will 
 dash  a  man  against  his  brother,  even  the  fathers  and 
 the  sons  together,  saith  the  Lord ;  I  will  not  pity,  nor 
 spare,  nor  have  mercy,  but  destroy  them."  To  him 
 Paul    positively   attributes    "  foolishness,"    to    jawpov, 
 
 1  Cor.  i.  25.  Jehovah  is  again  described  as  an  inciter 
 to  evil  and  a  deceiver,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1,  Jer.  xx.  7,  Ezek. 
 xiv.  9  ;  2  Chron.  xvii.  21.  Conf.  Job  xii.  16, 17,  24,  25, 
 
 2  Thess.  ii.  11,  "God  shall  send  them  strong  delusions 
 that  they  should  believe  a  lie,  that  they  might  all  be 
 damned,"  etc.  The  Almighty  is  described,  or  rather 
 is  made  to  describe  Himself,  as  not  keeping  His  pro- 
 mise. Num.  xiv.  22-33.  In  every  political  part  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  God  is  almost  invariably  painted  as 
 if  he  were  a  Devil,  to  all  the  enemies  of  the  Jews. 
 He  is  also  described  as  making  men  for  the  very 
 purpose  of  being  able  to  damn  them ;  e.g.,  Exod. 
 ix.  16,  "  And  in  very  deed  for  this  cause  have  I  raised 
 thee  up,  for  to  show  in  thee  my  power,"  etc.,  which  is 
 repeated  in  Romans  ix.  18,  "  whom  He  will  He 
 hardeneth";  whilst  in  Prov.  xvi.  4  we  read,  "The 
 Lord  hath  made  all  for  himself ;  yea,  even  the  wicked 
 for  the  day  of  evil;"  whilst  we  are  told.  Psalm 
 xvii.  13,  that  the  wicked  are  the  sword  of  Jehovah. 
 See  also  Deut.  ii.  30,  "  The  Lord  hardened  his 
 (Sihon's)  spirit,  and  made  his  heart  obstinate,  that  he 
 might  deliver  him  into  thy  hand."  See  also  Isaiah 
 xix.  14,  "  The  Lord  hath  mingled  a  perverse  spirit 
 in  the  midst  thereof;  and  they  have  caused  Egypt  to 
 err."      Again,  we  find  that  God   fought   for  Israel, 
 
 143  Marginal  reading. 
 
702 
 
 just  as  Jupiter  and  others,  who  are  classed  by  the 
 Jews  amongst  the  Devils,  fought  for  the  Grecians  or 
 the  Trojans ;  see  Deut.  i.  30,  iii.  22,  xx.  4,  Jos.  x.  42, 
 Psalm  xliv.  1-9.  God  orders  human  sacrifice,  2  Sam. 
 xxi.  1  and  14.  He  is  said,  again,  to  order  adultery, 
 Hosea  i.  2,  iii.  1.  We  presume,  moreover,  that  the 
 Lord  ordered  Solomon  to  break  the  second  command- 
 ment, if,  indeed,  it  was  then  in  existence ;  for  we  are 
 told,  1  Chron.  xxviii.  12,  that  David  received  the 
 pattern  of  every  thing  for  the  temple  from  Jehovah, 
 and  gave  them  to  Solomon,  and  that  the  latter  made 
 cherubim  of  image  work,  2  Chron.  iii.  10,  which 
 certainly  had  wings  and  were  "  graven  ;  "  and  he  cast 
 twelve  oxen,  2  Chron.  iv.  3,  which  must  have  been 
 in  the  likeness  of  somethinfj. 
 
 In  fine,  throughout  the  Bible  the  Almighty  is  de- 
 scribed as  a  sort  of  Bifrons,  having  a  gentle  mien  and 
 loving  heart  to  all  who  believe,  —  those  who  honour 
 the  men  calling  themselves  His  messengers,  and  who 
 act  according  to  their  dictates, — but  a  countenance  and 
 mind  full  of  fury,  vengeance,  and  persecution  towards 
 those  who  presume  to  disbelieve  the  pretensions  of 
 their  fellows,  when  they  assume  to  have  supernatural 
 powers.  In  fact,  Moses  himself  describes  the 
 Almighty,  or  his  angel  the  pillar  of  cloud,  as  double- 
 faced,  being  a  cloud  and  darlmess  to  the  Egyptians, 
 but  a  bright  light  to  the  Hebrews,  Exod.  xiv.  20. 
 
 Thoughts  such  as  these  should  make  Christians 
 ponder  more  deeply  than  they  have  yet  done,  the 
 saying  of  the  Bornean  Mahometans,  as  reported  by 
 Rajah  Brooke,  of  Sarawak,  viz.,  that  the  Christian's 
 God  uses  his  enemies  for  fire-wood  after  their  death.'** 
 
 *'■•  Tlif;  reader  may  profitably  conipivrc  the  sentiments  above  rccorilcd,  with  tliose 
 of  Lecky,  in  his  interesting  work,  The  History  of  European  Morals,  from  Augustus 
 
703 
 
 For  myself,  I  prefer  to  regard  the  Almighty  as  He 
 shows  Himself  in  His  works,  rather  than  as  semi- 
 barbarians  have  painted  Him  in  books ;  wherein  He 
 is  pourtrayed  so  badly  that  the  thoughtful  reader  sees 
 reason  to  doubt  whether  the  picture  is  that  of  a  person 
 wholly  good,  or  of  one  who  is  horrible  and  bad. 
 Satyr.     This  word  occurs  twice  in  our  version  of  the  Bible, 
 viz.,   Isaiah   xiii.    21    and   xxxiv.    14,    and   in   both 
 these    instances    the    original    is   "I'V^.,    sair.       The 
 signification   of  this   is,   primarily,    ''hairy,"    rough 
 or  shaggy  like  a  goat.     Now  the  goat  was  supposed 
 to  be  inordinately  salacious,  and  it  was  worshipped 
 by  the  Egyptians  as  the  personification  of  the  male 
 creator;    this  worship   was  prohibited   amongst   the 
 Jews,  in  Levit.  xvii.  7,  and  2  Chron.  xi.  15. 
 
 The  word  ""'J^'^,  sair,  ^\  im,  the  plural,  is  translated 
 in  our  version  devils.  It  is  difdcult  to  form  an  opinion 
 whence  the  belief  that  such  creatures  as  Satyrs 
 existed  is  derived.  There  seems  to  be  a  strong  like- 
 ness between  Isaiah's  notion  and  that  of  the  later 
 Greeks,  who  depicted  a  race  of  beings,  of  whom  Pan 
 seems  to  have  been  the  chief,  who  were  half  goat 
 and  half  human.     In  story,  they  are  always  described 
 
 to  Charlemagne  (2  vols.  8vo.,  London,  1869),  which  appeared  whilst  this  sheet  was 
 passing  through  the  press.  There  will  be  found  in  vol  i.,  pp.  99,  100,  sentiments 
 almost  precisely  the  same  as  those  in  the  text;  e.  g.,  "  They  "  (certain  Christians  of 
 modern  times)  "  accordingly  esteem  it  a  matter  of  duty,  and  a  commendable  exer- 
 cise of  hiimility.  to  stifle  the  moral  feelings  of  their  nature  ;  and  they  at  last  succeed 
 in  per^^uading"  themselves  that  their  divinity  would  be  extremely  offended  if  they 
 hesitated  to  ascribe  to  him  the  attributes  of  a  fiend."  Throughout  Lecky's 
 work  there  runs  a  thoroughly  independent  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  a  fearless  exposi- 
 tion of  matured  opinion.  The  reader  of  his  volumes  cannot  fail  to  recognise  to 
 what  a  very  small  extent  modern  morality  is  superior  to  that  of  ancient  times.  Few 
 if  any  one  can  demonstrate  that  the  Christian  Albert,  our  Queens  late  Consort,  and 
 often  surnamed  '  the  good,'  was  superior  to  the  pagan  Antoninus,  called  "Pius;' 
 or  that  the  most  orthodox  modern  bishop  is  in  any  way  more  godly  or  reverent  than 
 the  heathen  Epictetus. 
 
704 
 
 as  conspicuous  for  their  insatiable  lechery,  and,  as 
 such,  were  associates  of  Bacchus.  There  seems  little 
 room  for  doubt  that  the  ancients  connected  the  idea 
 of  hairiness  and  manly  vigour  together ;  and  as  the 
 perfect  male  differed  from  the  eunuch  in  his  posses- 
 sion of  a  beard,  they  concluded,  very  naturally,  that, 
 the  more  hairy  the  face  and  body,  the  stronger  would 
 be  the  man.  Hence  we  find  Esau  depicted  as  being 
 a  hairy  man,  and  frequenting  a  hairy  "  mons,"  or 
 mountain,  i.e.,  "I'V^,  salr,  which  may  or  may  not 
 conceal  a  hidden  meaning ;  hence,  probably,  do  we 
 find  the  name  of  Sarah  connected  with  hair,  "the 
 hairy  ri "  being  one  of  the  derivatives  for  it.  The 
 intimate  relationship  between  the  ideas  of  satyrs  and 
 salacity  is  to  be  seen  in  the  word  satyrion,  a  name 
 given  to  certain  potions,  whose  effect  was  to  give 
 increased  manliness,  or  to  restore  it  in  those  whom 
 excesses  had  made  efiete. 
 Scape  Goat  7]'^^^  (Lev.  xvi.  8),  Azazel.  Among  all  the 
 names  I  have  hitherto  examined,  there  is  none  which 
 has  given  me  so  much  trouble  as  Azazel.  There  is 
 doubt  whether  it  is  the  cognomen  given  by  the  writer 
 to  a  being,  to  a  locality,  or  simply  to  an  animal  driven 
 away.  It  is  uncertain  whether  the  word  has  an 
 Arabic,  a  Chaldaic,  a  Hebrew,  or  a  Greek  origin ; 
 consequently  there  are  the  most  discordant  opinions 
 respecting  its  etymology  and  signification.  Now  I 
 feel  sure  that  an  ordinary  reader  would  not  thank  me 
 for  parading  before  him  all  the  authorities  I  have 
 consulted ;  and  I  am  equally  confident  that  a  scholar 
 would  rather  take  it  for  granted  that  I  have  perused 
 many  treatises,  than  have  to  wade  through  them 
 ere  he  reached  my  own.      The   following   remarks, 
 
705 
 
 therefore,  refer  siroply   to  the  conclusions   to  which 
 as  an  individual  I  have  come. 
 
 Adopting,  as  I  do,  the  helief  that  Azazel  is  spoken 
 of  as  antithesis  to  Jehovah,  we  have  the  option  either 
 to  try  and  explain  the  word  as  it  is  usually  written, 
 or  to  assume  that  it  has  heen  modified  by  late 
 redactors.  After  mature  deliberation,  we  prefer  to 
 adopt  the  last  hypothesis,  and  to  consider  that  the 
 cognomen  originally  stood  as  ^^  V^j  ((^(^^  El,  which 
 signifies  "the  strong  El,"  ''the  being  who  causes 
 misfortune,  disease,  and  death;"  in  other  words, 
 "  the  demon  of  destruction."  The  idea  in  the  mind 
 of  the  writer  who  ordained  the  ceremonial  for  "  the 
 great  day  of  atonement  "  probably  was  this  ;  "  There 
 are  two  great  powers  in  the  world,  the  good  and  the 
 bad ;  they  may  be  identical ;  whether  single  or  double, 
 they  punish  us  for  sins  wherewith  they  are  offended, 
 or  reward  us  because  they  are  gratified  by  our  fealty 
 to  them.  Lest  we  should  offend  either,  we  will  pre- 
 sume that  both  are  'worthy,' — just  as  fairies,  said  by 
 'the  church'  to  be  of  Satanic  origin,  are  to  this  day 
 called  by  the  Irish  'the  good  people,'  —  and  we  will 
 adoptfor  one  the  title  ^K,  El,  for  the  other  the  name  nin% 
 Jehovah ;  to  one  we  will  make  an  offering  of  sacrifice, 
 to  the  other  we  will  make  a  corresponding  oblation,  with 
 the  metaphorical  addition  of  our  sins.  El  wishes  us 
 to  be  sinless ;  therefore  we,  by  a  fiction,  place  all  our 
 iniquities  upon  the  head  of  a  goat,  so  that  El  can 
 find  it,  and  notice  that  we  have  expelled  our  sins 
 into  the  desert."  Much  in  the  same  way  as  God  is 
 said  to  have  placed  the  King  Hezekiah's  offences 
 behind  His  back  (Isa.  xxxviii.  17).  There  are  many 
 passages  which  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  the  very 
 
 YY 
 
706 
 
 strong  El  referred  to  is  death ;  e.  g.,  "  death  reigned 
 from  Adam  to  Moses "  (Rom.  v.  14) ;  "  the  law  of 
 sin  and  death  "  (Rom.  viii.  2),  (1  Cor.  xv.  26) ;  "  the 
 last  enemy  that  shall  he  destroyed  is  death,  for 
 he  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet "  (1  Cor.  xv. 
 25-27);  "Our  Lord,  who  hath  abolished  death" 
 (2  Tim.  i.  10),  "  that  through  death  he  might  destroy 
 him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil " 
 (Heb.  ii.  14).  Again,  "  sin  came  into  tho  world, 
 and  death  by  sin"  (Rom.  v.  12)  ;  "our  sins  testify 
 against  us"  (Isa.  lix.  12);  "Your  sins  have  with- 
 holden  good  things  from  you "  (Jer.  v.  25) ;  conse- 
 quently it  is  right  to  lay  them  upon  a  goat's  head, 
 and  send  them  away. 
 
 We  can  readily  understand  the  ancients  personi- 
 fying Death  as  a  great  power.  We  see  some  such 
 idea,  indeed,  in  the  word  Azmaveth.  (See  Beth 
 AzMA\'ETH,  Vol.  I.,  p.  349.)  Then,  identifying  Death 
 with  the  result  of  sins,  we  can  understand  why  a 
 present  of  them  was  supposed  to  pacify  him.  In 
 reality,  we  find  that  El  has  been  associated  with 
 Death  by  noticing  that  Azrael  is  still  "the  Angel 
 of  death"  amongst  the  Arabs,  and  that  Zamiel, 
 whose  name  was,  by  the  Jews,  often  substituted 
 for  Azazel,  is  still  spoken  of  as  one  who  bears 
 rule  in  hell,  the  domain  of  Ma\'eth. 
 
 By  this  train  of  thought  we  have  been  insensibly 
 conducted  to  an  era  wherein  the  word  El  was  some- 
 what antagonistic  to  Jehovah,  and  to  a  time  wherein 
 there  was  full  belief  in  angels,  and  in  the  existence 
 of  opposing  powers  in  creation,  viz.,  One  who  made, 
 and  one  who  destroyed.  From  all  our  previous 
 inquiries,  wo  have  been  induced  to  consider  that 
 this  period  was  contemporaneous  with  the  introduction 
 
707 
 
 of  Babylonish  or  Persian  ideas  into  the  Hebrew 
 mythology.  Consequently,  we  infer  that  the  name  of 
 AzAZEL  in  the  Jewish  ritual  is  comparatively  of 
 modern  origin. 
 
 In  this  belief  we  are  confirmed  by  a  learned 
 article  in  Fiirst's  Lexicon  {s.i\),  to  the  effect  that 
 AzAZEL  is  the  name  given  to  one  of  the  fallen 
 angels  in  the  book  of  Enoch,  in  Pirke  E.  Eliezer, 
 and  in  the  Nazarean ;  book  whilst  it  is  also  known 
 amongst  the  Gnostics,  and  in  Jewish,  Christian, 
 and  Mohammedan  tradition,  as  the  name  of  a  demon, 
 or  "the  angel  of  death."  After  quoting  the  word 
 in  the  Peshito,  Zabian,  and  Arabic,  Fiirst  concludes 
 "that  it  can  only  come  from  *?*?,  el,  and  TTV,  azaz, 
 i.  €.,  "  the  power  or  might  of  God,"  or,  in  a  later 
 sense,  "defiance  to  God;"  and  he  compares  the 
 cognomen  with  "  Gabriel."  Fiirst  farther  tells  us 
 that  "Mars  in  Edessa  was  called  TTN,  azaz  or  aziz, 
 the  corresponding  female  deity  being  called  ^^^V, 
 aziza,  which  name,  aziz,  still  exists  in  the  proper 
 name,  HH"''-?  Bel-asys."  Thus,  adds  Fiirst,  "  azaz  is 
 to  be  identified  with  Mars,  and  with  Typhon,  who 
 had  his  home  in  the  desert,""^  "that  bourne  from 
 which  no  traveller  returns."  "The  conception  is  that 
 of  a  destruction  —  bringing  intermediate  being;  the 
 same  mode  of  expiation  appearing  in  the  case  of 
 Typhon  in  Egypt." 
 
 Having  arrived,  then,  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
 ceremonies  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  are  of  very 
 modern  date,  we  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding 
 why  reference  is  never  made   to  the   celebration   of 
 
 1^5  The  Jews  seem  to  have  held  the  belief  that  evil  spirits  haunted  desert 
 places ;  see  Isa.  xxxiv.  14,  Tobit  viii.  3,  Matt.  xii.  43.  We  have  remarked  at  some 
 length  upon  the  probable  reason  for  the  idea  in  the  article  Lilith. 
 
708 
 
 the  festival  in  any  book  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and 
 why  there  is  no  mention  made  of  "  the  scape  goat " 
 in  the  poetic  books. 
 
 If  we  now  take  Wigram's  Hebrew  Concordance, 
 and  hunt  out  a  few  words  connected  with  the  law 
 about  the  day  of  atonement,  we  shall  be  in  a  position 
 to  form  a  surmise  as  to  the  probable  period  when 
 the  orders  for  the  ceremonial  were  M'ritten.  Taking 
 the  word  ^'"^^y,  (loraloth,  or  ''  lots,"  for  our  first 
 example,  we  find  that  it  occurs  four  times  in  Levi- 
 ticus, and  all  in  the  scape  goat  chapter ;  seven 
 times  in  Numbers,  in  ch.  xxvi.,  xxxiii.,  xxxiv.,  xxxvi.; 
 twenty-six  times  in  Joshua  ;  three  times  in  Judges  ; 
 twelve  times  in  the  book  of  Chronicles ;  twice  in 
 Nehemiah  ;  and  twice  in  Esther; — all  these  being 
 very  modern  books ;  —  and  only  eighteen  times  in 
 all  the  rest  of  the  Bible !  "^T^,  yadad,  is  the 
 word  used  by  Joel,  Obadiah,  and  Nahum.  Again, 
 if  we  turn  to  the  word  "ID3,  chapJiar,  "  to  make  an 
 atonement,"  we  find  it  seventy-two  times  in  the 
 Pentateuch ;  three  times  in  Chronicles ;  all  of  which 
 are  of  late  date ; — and  fourteen  times  in  all  the  rest 
 of  the  Old  Testament;  whilst  0^?p3,  chippurhn, 
 "  atonements, "  is  found  eight  times  in  Exodus, 
 Leviticus,  and  Numbers,  and  nowhere  else. 
 
 If  we  next  examine  the  antiquity  of  "  confession," 
 we  find  the  following  very  remarkable  fact,  viz.,  that 
 the  verb  "^7),  yalidali,  occurs  one  hundred  times  in 
 the  Old  Testament,  but  always  in  the  sense  of 
 "praising,"  except  three  times  in  Leviticus,  and  once 
 in  Numbers ;  and  nowhere  else  in  the  Pcntatcucli  in 
 the  sense  of  confessing.  The  same  word,  in  the  same 
 sense,  occurs  eight  times  in  the  modern  books  of  Job, 
 Proverbs,  Ezra,   Nehcmiuh,  and    Dauirl.     It    is   un- 
 
709 
 
 necessary  to  carry  these  investigations  farther ;  we 
 may,  however,  notice  the  deductions  which  we  draw 
 from  them. 
 
 Having,  by  a  patient  investigation  on  our  own 
 part,  and  an  assiduous  study  of  the  opinions  of 
 scholars,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  books  of 
 the  Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  a  large  portion 
 of  the  Psalms  were  written  after  the  return  of  the 
 Jews  from  Babylon ;  and  finding  that  their  familiarity 
 with  Babylonian  and  Persian  customs  had  taught 
 them  to  appeal  to  the  divination  of  the  lot, — whether 
 that  was  carried  on  by  dice,  or  any  other  plan, — we 
 infer  that  those  portions  of  the  first  six  books  of 
 the  Bible  which  contain  so  much  about  "lots," 
 "  allotting,"  etc.,  were  written  after  the  return  from 
 the  land  of  the  Chaldseans.  From  the  frequency 
 with  which  the  idea  of  "atonement"  appears  in 
 the  Pentateuch,  and  its  absence  from  the  Psalms, 
 we  conceive  that  the  words  containing  directions 
 for  "  making  atonement "  were  never  generally 
 adopted,  except  amongst  the  later  Jews,  whose  his- 
 tory does  not  appear  in  the  Old  Testament.  From 
 similar  considerations,  we  infer  that  the  idea  of 
 "  confession  of  sin  "  first  became  common  after  the 
 time  of  the  Babylonish  captivity ;  that  it  did  not 
 exist  in  the  early  periods  of  Jewish  history ;  and 
 that  its  introduction  into  Leviticus  indicates  an 
 addition  made  by  a  late  hand,  or  a  very  modern 
 composition  of  that  ceremonial  codex. "® 
 
 Thus  again  the  investigation  of  a  name  has  led 
 
 i^s  I  must  here  again  call  the  reader's  attention  to  Mo'ise  et  le  Talmud,  par 
 Alexandre  W'eill,  Paris,  1864,  wherein  the  author  very  distinctly  shows  that  the 
 ideas  of  confession,  pardon,  and  atonement  have  their  origin  in  the  Talmudic 
 period,  and  are  of  comparatively  modern  date.  I  was  not  acquainted  with  his  views 
 until  long  after  the  preceding  article  was  written. 
 
710 
 
 us  to  discover  a  phase  of  faith  of  which  few  have 
 any  idea;  it  has  enabled  us  to  approximate  to  the 
 period  at  which  a  certain  portion  of  Mosaic  law 
 was  written ;  and,  as  a  corollary,  to  demonstrate 
 the  real  value  of  the  opinions  commonly  held  about 
 the  so-called  books  of  Moses. 
 Serpents.  There  is  no  mythology  extant  in  which  the 
 serpent  does  not  play  a  part;  sometimes  he  appears 
 as  a  god,  particularly  wise,  particularly  watchful,  and 
 particularly  powerful  in  procuring  good  and  averting 
 evil.  As  such  his  form  appears  to  have  been  used  as 
 an  amulet  or  charm.  There  is  scarcely  an  Egyptian 
 sculpture  known,  in  which  this  reptile  does  not  figure  ; 
 and  there  are  a  greater  number  of  personal  ornaments 
 significant  of  the  serpent  than  of  any  other  idea.  In 
 the  Hebrew  writings,  however,  the  serpent  "^  appears  as 
 the  tempter,  the  father  of  lies,  Satan  the  opposer. 
 Amongst  ourselves,  the  serpent  is  still  adopted  as  a 
 symbol;  and  such  a  creature,  with  its  tail  in  its 
 mouth,  is  said  to  be  emblematic  of  eternity. 
 
 For  a  very  long  period  I  was  unable  to  see  any 
 significance  in  the  adoption  of  the  serpent  as  an 
 emblem,  nor  did  I  recognise  it  until  I  conversed  with 
 a  gentleman  who  was  familiar  with  the  cobra  in  India. 
 He  told  me  that  this  snake  and  the  Egyptian  cerastes 
 are  both  able  to  inflate  the  skin  around  the  head,  and 
 to  make  themselves  large  and  erect.  In  this  they 
 resemble  the  characteristic  part  of  man  ;  consequently 
 the  serpent  became  a  covert  name  and  a  mystic 
 emblem.  To  this  conclusion  any  one  will  readily 
 assent,  who  knows  that  in  France  the  eel  is  used  as  a 
 word  embodying   the    same   idea.      Now  those   who 
 
 1"  Gen.  iii.— xlix.  17,  Num.  xxi.  6,  Ps.  Iviii.  4,  Isa.  xiv.  2y,  xxvii.  1,  Matt,  xxiii. 
 33,  John  viii.  44,  Piov.  xii.  J). 
 
711 
 
 are  familiar  with  the  phenomena  of  life  are  aware, 
 that  when  the  serpentine  condition  is  present  in  the 
 male,  he  is  for  the  time  a  changed  heing,  the  most 
 docile  dog,  horse,  or  elephant  then  becoming  wild, 
 often  furious.  Even  amongst  ourselves,  in  men  who 
 have  striven  for  years  to  control  their  passions,  a 
 sudden  half  insane  outburst  occasionally  shows  the 
 power  of  the  "animal"  over  the  "intellectual"  being. 
 This  idea  is  enunciated  in  the  Italian  proverb, 
 "  Quando  messer  Bernado  el  bacieco  sta  in  colera, 
 el  in  sua  rabia  non  riceve  lege,  et  non  perdono  a 
 nissuna  dama."  When  under  the  influence  of  such 
 excitement,  which  is  often  a  sign  of  real  madness, 
 many  an  one  is  carried  away  beyond  all  reason,  dis- 
 regarding honour,  propriety,  and  law,  and  goes  about 
 seeking  some  one  whom  he  can  devour,  or  make  a  vic- 
 tim. There  can  be  little  doubt  that  brutal  love  is  the 
 most  powerful  passion  which  actuates  men ;  con- 
 sequently the  serpent  is  rightly  regarded  as  the  arch 
 enemy,  who  brings  war,  deceit,  lawlessness,  and  many 
 another  evil  passion  into  the  world.  We  doubt 
 whether  even  the  indulgence  in  strong  drink  is  more 
 prejudicial  to  social  man  than  the  indulgence  in  licen- 
 tiousness. The  one  degrades  him  who  gives  way  to 
 his  passion ;  the  other  degrades  the  partner  whom 
 he  seduces,  and  the  offspring  they  produce.  If  drink 
 has  slain  its  hundreds,  thousand  of  infant  deaths 
 may  certainly  be  attributed  to  lawless  love. 
 
 Now  we  know  that  the  same  creator  who  planted 
 desire  in  males  endowed  females  also  with  analogous 
 feelings,  corresponding  in  aim  but  not  in  intensity. 
 Without  some  such  provision  of  nature,  we  should  not 
 taste  the  luxury  of  love,  of  union,  and  the  pleasures 
 of  home.     In  some,  the  passion  which  we  describe 
 
712 
 
 is  either  unusually  strong,  or  it  is  attended  by  such 
 ignorance  of  the  world,  that  woman  falls  a  prey  to 
 temptation.  When  such  a  catastrophe  occurs,  we 
 feel  disposed  to  compare  the  couple  to  Nebuchadnez- 
 zar in  his  lunatic  condition,  for  they  have  descended 
 from  the  intellectual  to  the  bestial. 
 
 Here,  again,  the  serpent  figures  as  the  tempter, 
 whose  seductions  wile  us  into  pleasure,  from  which, 
 the  descent  to  brutality  is  certain.  Well  may  the 
 poet  say — 
 
 "  Oh  fly  temptation,  youth  ;  refrain,  refi-ain ; 
 I  preach  for  ever,  but  I  preach  in  vain !  " 
 
 When  once  we  recognise  the  real  signification  of  the 
 symbol,  we  readily  understand  how  it  is  that  the  ser- 
 pent inserting  a  tail  into  a  mouth  symbolises  eternity. 
 A  man  perishes,  yet  man  persists;  the  genus  continues, 
 through  the  constant  reproduction  of  new  scions  from 
 older  branches.  Yet  there  are  no  branches  from  the  old 
 stock,  except  by  the  union  of  father  and  mother.  The 
 symbol  of  union,  therefore,  becomes  the  sign  of 
 eternity,  or  rather  of  perpetuity ;  in  other  words,  the 
 emblem,  which  we  all  regard  without  a  qualm,  is 
 nothing  more  than  the  mystic  Adam  and  Eve,  "  the 
 zachar  "  and  the  "  nekebah,"  "  la  queue  et  1'  abricot 
 fendu." 
 
 Whilst  investigating,  seriatim,  the  various  symbols 
 used  by  the  ancients,  and  too  often  adopted  by  the 
 moderns  for  no  other  reason  than  because  they  are 
 mysterious  and  old,  we  naturally  ask  ourselves, 
 whether  human  nature  is  essentially  different  now 
 from  what  it  has  ever  been  ?  The  enthusiast  may 
 answer  in  the  affirmative,  and  aver  that  we  are  far 
 better  than  those  who  adopted  serpents  for  symbols ; 
 
713 
 
 yet  the  philosopher,  who  has  learned  to  bridle  him- 
 self, or  who  has  anything  to  do  with  the  education  of 
 human  colts,  will  feel  that  the  serpent  is  as  formid- 
 able a  tempter  now  as  he  is  represented  to  have  been 
 in  Eden.  See  ante,  Eve,  Vol.  i.,  p.  494. 
 Shaddai,  or  El  Shaddai,  '^^.  or  '"^^  ^^  (Gen.  xvii.  1).  This 
 name  deserves  attention,  as  one  of  the  appellatives 
 of  Jehovah ;  and,  according  to  Exod.  vi.  3,  we  must 
 regard  it  as  being  more  ancient  that  the  latter  title. 
 For  in  that  verse,  it  is  said  that  El  Shaddai,  and  not 
 Jehovah,  was  the  title  by  which  God  was  known  to 
 Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  "VVe  should  have  com- 
 paratively little  difficulty  in  finding  a  probable  etymon 
 for  the  name,  were  there  not  certain  considerations 
 to  be  weighed.  AVhat  these  are,  we  may  indicate 
 thus :  El  Shaddai  was  a  very  uncommon  name  of 
 God  amongst  the  Jews ;  an  extremely  improbable 
 circumstance,  if  it  had  really  been  originally  known 
 to  the  Patriarchs.  We  are  wholly  unable  to  trace 
 any  name  resembling  it  amongst  the  Phoenicians, 
 Greeks,  Syrians,  etc.  In  two  instances,  the  Jews  are 
 stated  to  have  offered  sacrifices  to  ^''7^5  shaidim,  a  word 
 translated  in  both  instances  (Deut.  xxxii.  17,  Ps.  cvi. 
 37)  "devil"  in  our  authorised  version.  As  we  can 
 scarcely  imagine  that  the  Hebrews  would  have  tole- 
 rated so  close  a  resemblance  in  name  between  God 
 and  Satan,  as  Shaddai  and  Shaidim,  we  are  almost 
 driven  to  the  conclusion  that  the  two  did  not  exist 
 together. 
 
 In  the  prosecution  of  an  inquiry  to  which  this 
 thought  gives  rise,  we  notice  that  the  word  Shaddai 
 is  chiefly  used  in  the  book  of  Job,  and  in  the  history 
 of  Abraham.  For  example,  it  occurs  only  forty- 
 eight  times  in  the  whole  Bible,  and  of  these  thirty- 
 
714 
 
 one  are  in  Job,  and  six  in  Genesis.  As  to  the  rest, 
 one  occurs  in  Exodus ;  two  in  the  story  of  Balaam 
 (Num.  xxiv),  two  in  Ruth,  two  in  the  Psalms, 
 one  in  Isaiah,  Ezeldel  and  Joel.  To  our  mind  this 
 fact  is  significant  ;  for  (1)  modern  criticism  has 
 shown  good  reason  for  the  belief  that  the  book  of 
 Job  is  of  later  date  than  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 Thus,  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  states  that  {Journal  of  the 
 Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i.,  new  series,  p.  238,) 
 **  the  use  of  the  particle  ddtd  (Sanscrit),  in  these 
 names  (Artadatan),  etc.,  is  proof  positive  that  the 
 seal  (on  which  they  are  found)  cannot  be  of  earlier 
 date  than  the  Persian  conquest  of  Babylon ;  and  I 
 may  here  note,  that  the  name  m^n,  Bildad,  in  Job, 
 a  kindred  compound,  and  signifying  '  given  to  Bel,' 
 is  equally  decisive  as  to  the  age  of  that  book.  All 
 the  geographical  and  etymological  evidence,  indeed, 
 which  can  be  dra^n  from  the  book  of  Job,  tends  to 
 assign  it  to    the    Achoemenian   period ;  the    land  of 
 
 py  being,  the  same  as "^  pi3  is,  between  the  Jebel- 
 
 Shamar,  and  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates ;  and  thus 
 extending  from  the  Sabeans  of  Idumea  on  the  one 
 side,  to  the  Chaldeans  of  southern  Babylonia  on  the 
 other ;  and  the  Shuhites  and  the  Temanites,  being 
 the  Babylonian  tribes  of  Sukhi  and  Dam  ami,  who 
 at  the  close  of  the  Assyrian  empire  were  settled 
 along  the  outskirts  of  the  desert.")  (2)  We  have 
 ourselves  seen  reason  to  believe  that  the  story  of 
 Balaam,  and  of  the  blessings  of  the  twelve  sons  of 
 Jacob  (Gen.  xlix.),  are  both  of  comparatively  modern 
 origin,  and  subsequent  at  least  to  the  first  Grecian 
 captivity ;  (3)    there   is    reason    to   believe,   from  the 
 
 '**  I  am  uDnblo  to  decipher  the  Canoalic  word  hero  intrudurod  iu  the  original. 
 
715 
 
 context,  that  Isaiah  xiii.,  in  which  the  name  Shaddai 
 also  occurs,  was  written  after  the  Persian  conquest 
 of  Babylon ;  (4)  that  the  same  name  was  known  to 
 Ezekiel  when  he  was  captive  far  away  from  Jerusalem 
 (Ezek.  i.  24,  x.  5) ;  (5)  that  Joel  prophesied  certainly 
 at  a  date  subsequent  to  the  Grecian  captivity  of  the 
 Jews;  (6)  of  the  sixty-eighth  and  the  ninety-first 
 Psalms,  in  which  the  word  Shaddai  occurs,  we  can 
 find  no  evidence  as  to  date. 
 
 We  must  now  notice  that  all  Hebrew  scholars 
 have  found  some  difliculty  in  satisfying  themselves 
 as  to  the  correct  etymon  of  the  word  in  question, 
 the  Targumists  leaning  to  the  idea  that  the  ^,  sh, 
 stands  for  itJ'N,  asher,  "who,"  and  n,  f?ai,  "sufiicient" 
 i.e.,  Shaddai  signifies  "He  who  is  sufficient."  Others 
 again  derive  the  name  from  mjj',  shadad,  "  He  is 
 powerful."  Both  of  these  are  objectionable,  the  last 
 especially;  for  in  the  corresponding  forms,  mx  and  mn, 
 adad  and  hadad,  the  form  of  the  root  remains  un- 
 changed. In  the  Greek  we  find  no  etymon  from 
 which  the  liveliest  fancy  could  derive  the  name. 
 When  we  turn  our  attention,  however,  to  a  more 
 Eastern  source,  we  find,  in  the  Sanscrit,  the  words 
 Sadh,  Sadhu,  and  others  from  the  same  root,  which 
 signify  "  perfection,  power,  conquest ; "  nay,  we  have 
 even  a  deity  called  Sadyhas.  See  pp.  1032  and  1034 
 Benfey's  Sanscrit  Dictionary,  Loudon,  1866. 
 
 Hence  we  conclude  that  the  cognomen  El  Shaddai 
 was  introduced  into  the  Bible  at  a  very  late  period, 
 and  by  some  one  or  more  Jews,  who  were  familiar 
 with  the  Persian  or  the  Median  tongue,  at  the  courts 
 of  those  Persian  princes  who  had  dominion  over 
 nations,  "  from  India  even  unto  Ethiopia,"  Esther 
 i.  1. 
 
716 
 
 If  we  accept  this  derivation,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
 understand  why  Shaidim  was  used  for  "  Devils,"  for 
 that  word  comes  from  n-ltJ',  shiid,  '*to  devastate,"  *'to 
 destroy,"  etc.,  and  it  was  applied  to  the  old  gods  of 
 Canaan,  to  whom  the  Hebrews  sacrificed  prior  to  the 
 Babylonish  captivity.  Nor  did  the  title  clash  with 
 that  of  Shaddai,  for  the  latter  was  adopted  when 
 idolatry  was  given  up  by  the  Jews,  and  therefore  any 
 worship  of  '  Shaidim  '  was  unknown.  The  last  word 
 rose,  and  fell  again  into  disuse,  ere  the  second  was 
 invented. 
 
 If  our  arguments  are  accepted,  the  cognomen 
 Shaddai  forms  another  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence 
 which  proves  the  comparatively  modern  date  of 
 certain  portions  of  the  Pentateuch. 
 
 It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  that  we  cannot 
 regard  Shaddai  as  derived  from  "l^,  shad,  "the 
 mamma,"  and  therefore  a  relative  to  the  Diana  Mul- 
 timammia.  But  though  we  do  not  recognise  the 
 connexion  between  the  three,  we  may  profitably 
 examine  into  the  ideas  associated  with  the  female 
 breast.  That  any  one  who  had  a  reverent  idea  of  the 
 great  feminine  creator  should  hold  in  honour  those 
 parts  which  were  symbolic  of  her  as  a  mother  is  very 
 natural ;  nor  can  we  be  surprised  when  we  see  statues 
 of  Isis,  or  other  female  divinity,  laden,  so  to  speak, 
 with  a  heavy  weight  of  breasts.  But  we  seek  in  vain 
 for  adequate  evidence  that  the  mamma  was  ever 
 treated  with  anything  like  the  same  veneration  as 
 other  characteristic  parts.  We  find,  in  almost  every 
 land,  tolmen,  boetuli,  hennai,  or  simple  stones  erected 
 upon  the  ground,  with  or  without  the  addition  of  a 
 cairn  ;  and  caves,  hollows,  chasms,  springs,  and  stones 
 with  apertures  through  tliem,   regarded  with  super- 
 
717 
 
 stitious  veneration  as  emblematic  of  the  great  father 
 and  the  universal  mother;  yet  we  discover  scarcely 
 anything  which  is  symbohcal  of  the  feminine  paps. 
 The  only  evidence  pointing  even  apparently  to  these 
 parts  of  the  mother  are  the  erections  which  have  been 
 designated  Tot,  or  Tuthills,  consisting  of  a  mound 
 of  earth,  more  or  less  conical,  and  surmounted  by  a 
 single  upright  stone,  which  is  said  to  represent  the 
 nipple.  The  word  Tot  or  Tut  is  considered  to  be  the 
 same  as  Teutates,  and  also  to  be  allied  to  the 
 Egyptian  Thoth ;  and  it  is  supposed  to  be  identified 
 with  the  female  breast,  because  the  words  r/rSr)  and 
 tvtQyi,  tithe  and  tuthe,  in  Greek  ;  tutta  in  old  German  ; 
 titte  in  old  Saxon  and  low  Dutch ;  zit2e  in  German  ; 
 tetta  in  Italian;  teta  in  Spanish  and  Portuguese; 
 tetin  in  French ;  deda  in  Malay ;  and  teat  in  English, 
 are  almost  identical  with  Tut  or  Teutates. 
 
 But  there  is,  to  me,  an  insuperable  difficulty  to  be 
 surmounted  before  we  can  identify  Tot  or  Teutates  with 
 "teats"  and  "titties,"  notwithstanding  the  appear- 
 ance of  the  curious  mounds  said  to  be  raised  thereto. 
 This  may  be  briefly  stated  thus  —  Teutates  was  a 
 male  god,  said  to  be  equivalent  to  the  ancient  Greek 
 Hermes,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  mounds  of  earth 
 and  upright  stones,  resembling  the  so-called  Tothills, 
 were  erected  by  both  Greeks  and  Komans  to  this 
 deity.  To  this  Teutates  human  sacrifices  were  offered 
 (Lucan,  i.  v.  445) ;  and  there  is  reason  to  beheve  that 
 he  was  identical  with  Tuisco,  the  Northern  god  of 
 war  and  slaughter.  We  cannot  easily  beheve  that 
 such  a  divinity  was  regarded  as  a  goddess,  and 
 symbolised  by  the  female  breast.  Throughout  such 
 names  as,  we  presume,  were  derived  from  the  original 
 Teut,  e.g.,  Teuta  or  Teutha,  Teutagonus,  Teuta- 
 
718 
 
 MiAS,  Teutamts,  Teutana,  Teuthadamas,  Teuthis, 
 Teuthranyia,  Teuthras,  Teuthroxe,  Teutobodiaci, 
 Tuetoburgexsis  Saltus,  Teutomatus,  Teutoni,  and 
 Teutus,  all  of  which  are  mentioned  as  borne  by  what 
 are  called  the  Indo- Germanic  tribes  (for  particulars 
 respecting  them  see  Lempriere's  Class.  Diet.),  the  root 
 of  the  word  is  unquestionably  Tent. 
 
 The  apparent  root,  however,  of  that  class  of  words 
 allied  to  teats  and  titties  is  tit,  dit,  or  some  other  tri- 
 literal,  signifying  "  placing,"  "  bringing  into  a  place," 
 "creating"  (Conf.  ©««;,  Liddell  &  Scott's  Lexicon); 
 and  we  shall  find  the  key  to  a  mythos,  by  placing  in 
 juxtaposition  a  few  words.  Tethys  was  fabled  to  be 
 the  greatest  of  sea  deities,  and  was  represented  as  the 
 daughter  of  heaven  and  earth ;  she  was  the  mother  of 
 all  the  rivers  of  the  world.  Diti  was  described  in 
 Hindoo  Mythology  as  the  wife  of  Kasyapa,  the 
 general  mother  of  malignant  beings,  or  of  those 
 who  were  not  orthodox;  and  tjt/c,  iitis,  was  one  of  the 
 Greek  terms  for  the  yoni.  It  is  therefore  apparent 
 that  the  root  tit,  teet,  or  teat,  is  essentially  diflerent 
 from  Tcut  or  Taut. 
 
 In  the  Hebrew,  there  also  appears  to  be  two 
 distinct  roots,  "";',  shad,  and  Di:},  shiid,  or  "J^,  shaid, 
 the  first  signifying  "a  pap,  teat,  breast,  or  mamma;" 
 the  second,  "to  be  mighty  or  powerful;"  or  "a  de- 
 stroyer," such  as  a  mischievous  demon.  From  the 
 second  of  the  two,  some  etymologists  have  derived 
 D*"m',  shaidim,  which  is  translated,  in  our  bibles, 
 "devils"  (in  the  (Hily  jjImccs  wliore  it  is  used,  viz., 
 Deut.  xxxii.  17,  Psalm  cvi.  37) ;  and  Shaddai,  one  of 
 the  names  of  the  Almighty. 
 
 There  are  some  etymologists  who  endeavour  to 
 deduce  both  these  names   from  "i^*,  Hhad,  the  breast 
 
719 
 
 or  teat,  and  consider  tliat  this  feminine  emblem 
 of  the  Creator  has  been  regarded  at  one  time  as 
 orthodox,  and  indicative  of  the  bounteous  provision 
 made  by  the  celestial  mother  for  her  people ;  whilst  at 
 another  time  the  doctrine  has  been  opposed,  and  the 
 symbol  stigmatised  as  diabolical.  We  cannot,  for  our- 
 selves, adopt  either  view;  nor  can  we  find  a  satisfactory 
 Hebrew  etymon  for  Shaddai,  unless  we  assume  that 
 the  troublesome  shaidim  has  been  used  in  the  par- 
 ticular places  where  we  find  it,  instead  of  Q''W  or 
 ^*TVf ,  shairim,  or  se'irim.  See  p.  213  supra.  To  this 
 proposition  we  might  assent  if  the  question  only 
 involved  the  substitution  of  i  for  i,  but  as  it  includes 
 the  introduction  of  the  letter  y  we  cannot  agree  with 
 this  solution  of  the  difficulty. 
 
 Shamgae,  l^Jp'^  (Jud.  iii.  31).  Both  Gesenius  and  Fiirst  are 
 unable  to  allot  any  etymon  to  this  word.  It  probably 
 is  only  another  form  for  the  Assyrian  samgar,  which 
 signifies  "honouring,"  as  in  Samgar-Nebo,  =  Honour- 
 ing Nebo.  I  have  already  noticed  that  a  strong 
 Assyrian  element  exists  in  the  ancient  Hebrew  names, 
 and  this  is  probably  an  example  thereof. 
 
 Shewbeead,  ^^!|'V:^l'''^!?^,  lechem-maarecheth,  or  "bread  of 
 order,"  and  D"'3Dn  Dtr?^  lechem  hayanim,  "bread  of  the 
 face."  We  have  never  seen  or  heard  this  word,  since 
 we  first  made  our  acquaintance  with  the  "Apocrypha," 
 without  connecting  it  vdth  the  pleasant  story  of  "  Bel 
 and  the  Dragon,"  which  is  appended  to  the  book  of 
 Daniel  in  the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate. 
 
 When  we  subsequently  became  acquainted  with  the 
 interesting  book,  called  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese, 
 by  the  Eev.  J.  Doolittle,  "^  —  one,  on  which  we  were 
 
 1*3  Sampson  Low,  Son  and  Marston,  vol.  ii.,  London,  1866. 
 
720 
 
 assured  by  a  personal  friend  of  the  author,  both 
 being  missionaries  in  China,  that  we  might  implicitly 
 rely, — we  began  to  associate  "shewbread"  and  "mock 
 money  "  together.  That  the  reader  may  understand 
 the  connexion  of  ideas,  we  must  inform  him  that  the 
 Chinese  "  mock  money  "  consists  of  "  sheets  of  paper, 
 of  various  sizes,  having  tin -foil  pasted  upon  them. 
 If  the  tin-foil  is  coloured  yellow,  it  represents  gold ; 
 if  uucoloured,  silver.  Coarse  paper  ha^^ng  holes  in 
 it  represents  "  cash."  Pieces  of  pasteboard,  in  size 
 and  appearance  like  "  Carolus  "  dollars,  with  tin-foil 
 on  their  sides,  represent  silver  coins.  These  are  be- 
 lieved to  become,  when  burned  in  idolatrous  worship, 
 silver,  gold,  cash,  or  dollars,  according  to  colour  and 
 shape.  As  such  they  may  be  used,  by  the  divinity  or 
 the  deceased  person  to  or  for  whom  they  are  assigned 
 or  ofifered.  (p.  xvi.)  "  Mock  money"  for  Chinese 
 deities,  and  "  shew  bread "  for  a  Jewish  one  ! !  the 
 very  juxtaposition  of  the  words  is  enough  to  arrest 
 the  attention  of  the  philosopher,  and  to  appal  the 
 mind  of  the  orthodox  believer  in  the  inspired  cha- 
 racter of  the  Pentateuch.  A  Chinaman  offers  "tinsel" 
 instead  of  gold  to  his  god,  and  Jehovah  orders  for 
 Himself  bread  to  look  at  !  !  ! 
 
 Mock  money  !  Shew  bread  !  Shew  money  !  Mock 
 bread !  where  is  the  difference  ?  Yet  we  call  the  Chinese 
 "  idolaters,"  whilst  the  Jews  pass  amongst  us  as 
 being  the  chosen  people  of  the  Lord,  "a  holy  nation  !  " 
 We  almost  stand  aghast  at  the  idea  which  the  words 
 involve.  \Vc  have  seen  already  how  gross  and  liunian 
 is  that  conception  of  the  Almighty  which  depicts  Him 
 as  a  man  (see  Anthropomouphism).  ^lany  of  us 
 have  laughed  at  the  stories  told  of  Jupiter  and  the 
 Grecian    gods, — how   thoy   fell    in    love   with   lovely 
 
721 
 
 women,  or  were  terrified  by  powerful  men  ;  how  they 
 quaffed  nectar,  and  fed  on  the  victims  burned  in 
 sacrifice ; — but  all  of  us  have  looked  demure  when 
 we  heard  how  Jehovah  and  His  companions  ate 
 veal  and  cakes  with  Abraham  (Gen.  xviii.  6-8); 
 the  last  of  which  food  He  so  much  appreciated,  that 
 He  ordered  something  like  it  to  be  presented  to 
 Him  every  day  by  the  descendants  of  the  patriarch  ! 
 To  my  own  mind,  this  idea  of  presenting  "  show- 
 bread"  to  God  is  blasphemous  in  the  extreme. 
 How  can  we  possibly  reconcile  it  with  the  texts, 
 "  If  I  were  hungry,  I  would  not  tell  thee  "  (Ps.  1.  12), 
 ''for  every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle 
 upon  a  thousand  hills  "  (ver.  10)  ? ''" 
 
 Believing  then  that  the  institution  of  the  "  shew- 
 bread "  is  entirely  of  human  invention,  as  are  so 
 many  other  ceremonials  of  the  ancient  Jews,  we  may 
 next  endeavour  to  ascertain  whether  we  can  trace 
 the  origin  from  which  the  practice  sprung.  The 
 Jewish  directions  run  thus,  "  Thou  shalt  take  fine 
 flour,  and  bake  twelve  cakes  thereof;  two  tenth  deals 
 shall  be  in  one  cake.  And  thou  shalt  set  them  in  two 
 rows,  six  on  a  row,  upon  the  pure  table  before  the 
 Lord.  And  thou  shalt  put  pure  frankincense  upon 
 each  row,  that  it  may  be  on  the  bread  for  a  memorial" 
 (Lev.  xxiv.  5-7);  "and  thou  shalt  set  upon  the 
 table    shewbread  before   me  alway "    (Ex.  xxv.    30). 
 
 150  It  may  be  objected  that  there  is  no  proof  that  the  Shewbread  was  offered  for 
 the  Deity  to  eat.  We  do  not  assert  that  it  was ;  we  believe  that  the  author  of  the 
 law  ordering  the  offering  wished  to  make  the  people  think  that  the  God  wanted  that 
 which  his  priests  ate.  We  cannot  regard  the  oblation  as  an  enforced  thank- 
 offering,  unless  we  allow  that  one  who  makes  a  present  to  another  may  insist  upon  a 
 portion  of  the  gift  being  daily  destroyed  in  his  honour.  Even  if  an  oblation  in 
 gratitude  for  food  was  rec[uired  of  the  Jews,  we  find  it  provided  in  what  were 
 called  "Heave  offerings,"  see  Num.  xv.  19-21,  or  "Wave  offerings,"  see  Levit. 
 xxui.  10,  11,  conf.  Exod.  xxii.  '29. 
 
 ZZ 
 
722 
 
 The  table  was  overlaid  with  pure  gold  (Ex.  xxv. 
 24-30);  and  bore  "one  loaf  of  bread,  one  cake  of 
 oiled  bread,  and  one  wafer  out  of  the  basket  of  the 
 unleavened  bread  that  is  before  the  Lord  "  (Ex.  xxix. 
 23).  From  this  we  turn  to  Smith's  Dictionary  of 
 Roman  and  Greek  Antiquities,  and  find,  under  the 
 head  of  Sacrificium,  the  words  "a  third  class  of 
 unbloody  sacrifices  consisted  of  fruit  and  cakes,  pots 
 filled  with  cooked  beans."  Cakes  were  peculiar  to  the 
 worship  of  certain  deities,  as  to  that  of  Apollo  (see 
 Buns,  Vol.  i.,  p.  378).  They  were  either  simple 
 cakes  of  flour,  sometimes  also  of  wax,  or  they  were 
 made  in  the  shape  of  some  animal,  and  were  then 
 ofi'ered  as  symbolical  sacrifices  in  the  place  of  real 
 animals.  This  appearance,  instead  of  reality,  in 
 sacrifices,  was  also  manifested  on  other  occasions ; 
 for  we  find  that  sheep  were  sacrificed  instead  of  stags, 
 and  were  then  called  "  stags  ; "  and  in  the  temple  of 
 Isis,  at  Rome,  the  priests  used  water  of  the  river 
 Tiber,  yet  called  it  "water  of  the  Nile."  We  next 
 consult  Herodotus,  who  says  that  at  Babylon,  in  the 
 temple  of  Bel,  "  there  is  a  couch  of  unusual  size, 
 richly  adorned,  with  a  golden  table  by  its  side." 
 The  first  was  furnished  with  some  lovely  woman, 
 whilst  the  second,  we  presume,  was  duly  occupied 
 by  food  and  drink  (Book  i.,  c.  181-3). 
 
 Having  then  ascertained  that  the  custom  of  offer- 
 ing food  to  the  gods  was  common  both  amongst 
 the  Greeks  and  Babylonians,  we  renew  our  critical 
 examination  into  the  rite  amongst  the  Jews.  The 
 first  fact  which  strikes  us  is,  that  the  directions  given 
 for  the  shewbread  and  table  are  interwoven  with 
 those  about  the  golden  candlestick,  and  the  lamps 
 which   were    to   burn    before   the    Lord    continually 
 
723 
 
 (Lev.  xxiv.  2,  Exod.  xxvii.  20).  Now  this  candle- 
 stick consisted  of  seven  branches,  one  of  which 
 was  upright,  and  fancy  sees  in  the  arrangement 
 of  the  others  the  six  planets  revolving  round  the 
 earth.  The  twelve  cakes  equally  remind  us  of  the 
 division  of  the  year  into  twelve  months,  and  of 
 the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  Our  memory  now 
 takes  us  back  to  Eome,  where,  on  the  Arch  of 
 Titus,  may  be  seen  a  candlestick,  like  that  described 
 in  the  Pentateuch.  At  the  same  time,  we  re- 
 member that  Shishak  first,  then  the  Samaritans, 
 and  then  a  confederacy  with  Edom  at  the  head, 
 had  so  plundered  Jerusalem  that  the  ornament  in 
 question  must  have  been  of  comparatively  late  date. 
 For  even  if  it  existed  at  the  time  of  the  Babylonian 
 captivity,  of  which  there  is  no  evidence,  we  see 
 reason  to  believe,  from  Ezra  i.  9-11,  that  neither  the 
 golden  candlestick  nor  the  table  of  shewbread  was 
 restored  to  the  Jews  by  Cyrus.  Indeed  2  Kings 
 xxiv.  13  distinctly  asserts  that  the  King  of  Babylon 
 cut  in  pieces  all  the  vessels  of  gold  which  Solomon, 
 king  of  Israel,  had  made  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord. 
 Moreover,  in  the  inventory  of  the  sacred  things  taken 
 away  from  Jerusalem  (see  Jeremiah  Hi.),  no  mention  is 
 made  of  the  golden  table  of  shewbread,  nor  even  of 
 the  ark.  This  view  of  the  case  is  farther  strengthened 
 by  Isa.  i.  7,  written  in  the  time  probably  of  Uzziah ; 
 "Your  country  is  desolate,  your  cities  are  burned  with 
 fire,  your  land  strangers  devour  it  in  your  presence, 
 and  it  is  desolate  as  overthrown  by  strangers."  Surely 
 in  such  a  plight  Judah  could  not  boast  of  a  golden 
 candlestick  and  table  of  shewbread. 
 
 We  infer  from  these  considerations  that  the  ordi- 
 nance   respecting    the    "  shewbread "    was    adopted, 
 
724 
 
 either  from  the  Grecians  or  from  the  Babylonians. 
 But  what  was  common  amongst  the  Greeks  may 
 have  been  equally  common  amongst  the  Pha?nicians,'" 
 and  the  practice  of  oftbring  "  shewbreacl "  may  have 
 been  derived  from  them.  That  it  was  so,  we  should 
 infer  from  an  episode  in  David's  early  life,  if  we 
 were  able  implicitly  to  trust  the  books  of  Samuel. 
 Under  no  circumstances,  however,  can  we  believe 
 that  the  ordinance  was  of  Divine  appointment.  "We 
 cannot  conceive  that  the  directions  for  the  shew- 
 bread  and  table  could  have  been  framed  by  any 
 one  whose  idea  of  the  Almighty  was  not  grovelling 
 and  anthropomorphic.  Nor  can  we  understand  how 
 any  one  reverencing  the  Most  High  could  for 
 a  moment  imagine  that  He  would  require  a  meal 
 to  be  constantly  placed  before  him,  like  the  French 
 king  Louis,  who  had  always  a  repast  arranged  in 
 his  bedroom,  so  that,  if  hungry  in  the  night,  he 
 would  have  the  wherewithal  to  satisfy  his  craving. 
 This  was  called  en   cas,  because  it  was  only  en  cas 
 
 "1  WLUst  this  sheet  was  passing  through  the  press,  I  became  acqnainted  with  a 
 very  inttrestmg  work,  by  F.  W.  Newman,  called  The  Text  of  the  lyurine  Inscrip- 
 tions (Tnibncr,  London,  1864).  In  the  first  table,  which  he  has  translated  into 
 Latin,  there  is  on  account  of  a  festival,  and  amongst  the  directions  given  are  orders 
 to  place  food  of  various  kinds  upon  the  tables  sacred  to  the  gods  and  goddesses 
 worshipped  ;  a  fact  which  proves  pretty  clearly  that  whin  the  Jews  used  '  shcwbread,' 
 or  'broad  of  the  presence,'  to  Jehovah,  thoy  did  not  essentially  differ  from  the 
 people  of  ancient  Italy,  who  placed  cakes  on  tables  before  Jovf,  Tuenionus  I'upricns, 
 and  Vesnna.  U'hat  the  Creeks  and  Habyloniins  act«'d  in  a  siniilar  manner  we  have 
 the  testimony  of  ancient  gems,  and  of  pictures  found  in  Pomjieii  to  jirovo.  Soo 
 ante,  Fig.  31,  p.  I'Jl,  wherein  a  woman  is  seen  furnishing  a  table  or  altar. 
 
 That  the  above  reference  to  the  ancient  I'mbrian  tables  may  not  appear 
 mal  J  jiropot,  we  must  add,  (1)  that  the  Ignvinc  inscriptions  are  written  in  a 
 modified  I'iKrnician  alphabet,  jwssibly  one  iutrodu.-ed  by  Grecians ;  ('J)  that  the 
 imuriiitions  are  written  from  right  to  left,  like  the  riianician  and  ancient  (ireek  ; 
 (3)  they  refi-r  to  .Tovo  as  a  god  higher  tlmn  their  local  deities,  as  if  his  name  and 
 wonhip  hnd  been  introduced  with  the  I'hniiioiiin  alphalwt.  The  date  of  the  tables 
 roforrod  to  may  bo,  with  probiibility,  ditcrmiiied  as  prior  to  the  building  of  R.>mo, 
 about  n.  c.  H()0.     I'ouibly  Jowe  and  Jowit-  -^  Juhuuah  or  Job. 
 
725 
 
 cle  necessite.     Just  so  was  the  "  sliewbread,"  horresco 
 refer  ens. 
 
 One  more  thouglit  is  suggested  to  us  by  the  fore- 
 going, viz.,  "Is  there  any  real  evidence  in  the  Bible  of 
 ceremonies  being  invented  by  the  Jewish  priests"?  for 
 if  one  witness  be  found,  more  can  be  presumed  to  exist. 
 The  testimony  of  Isaiah  is,  we  think,  conclusive  as  to 
 the  fact  of  such  fabrication,  for  we  find  in  the  first 
 chapter  of  his  book  a  strong  objurgation  of  the  Priests 
 by  the   Prophet.       For   example,    dare   Isaiah   have 
 uttered   the  eleventh,  twelfth,  thirteenth,   and    four- 
 teenth verses  of  chapter  i.  if  he  had  not  known  that 
 the  sacrifices,  burnt  offerings,  oblations,  new  moons, 
 sabbaths,  calhngs  of  assemblies,  the  solemn  meeting, 
 and  the  appointed  feasts  were  of    priestly,  and   not 
 of  divine,    origin?       Does   not  the   prophet's  anger 
 burn    against  men  who   adopt    sacrificial   rites,   &c., 
 rather  than  virtue,  piety,  and  propriety  in  morals,  to 
 propitiate  an  angry  God  ?    If  priests  could  fabricate  in 
 the  time  of  Hezekiah,  surely  others  could  do  so  in 
 later  reigns. 
 Shiloh,  n^'^  (Gen.  xlix.  10,  Josh,  xviii.  1),  "  He  is  peace." 
 The   literature  which    this    name,   and   the  verse  in 
 which   it   stands,    have    evoked   is   very  voluminous. 
 The  majority  of  writers  have  started  from  a  foregone 
 conclusion;  and,  after  assuming  that  the  text,  "The 
 sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver 
 from   between   his   feet,    until    Shiloh    come"    (Gen. 
 Ixix.  10),  is  a  Messianic  prophecy,  they  endeavour  to 
 make   the   language    conform   to   the   idea.     Others, 
 foremost  amongst  whom  we  must  reckon  Dr.  Kalisch, 
 postpone  their  inquiry  into  the  signification  of   the 
 word  and  sentence  until   they  have   satisfied  them- 
 selves about  the  text  itself.      In  this  spirit,  the  text  is 
 
726 
 
 translated,  "The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah, 
 nor  the  ruler's  staflf  from  between  his  feet,  even  when 
 they  come  to  Shiloh;  and  to  him  shall  be  submission 
 of  nations."  And,  when  thus  rendered,  the  words 
 are  supposed  to  have  reference  to  the  secession  of 
 Jeroboam,  in  whose  kingdom  Shiloh  was  situated 
 (Kahsch,  Genesis,  pp.  727,  747). 
 
 Now,  although  the  last  seems  to  be  the  most 
 probable  conjecture,  and  although  it  is  supported  by 
 some  analogies,  yet  I  cannot  refrain  from  thinking 
 that  there  is  some  intentional  mysticism  about  the 
 verse  in  question,  and,  indeed,  in  the  whole  chapter, 
 which  has  never  yet  been  wholly  explained.  I  cannot 
 for  a  moment  entertain  the  idea  that  the  utterances 
 are  prophetical,  or  that  they  emanated  from  Jacob. 
 Every  consideration  points  to  the  composition  having 
 been  made  subsequent  to  the  fabrication  of  the  story 
 of  Israel  being  in  Egvjit,  and  the  tale  of  Joseph,  who 
 was  at  one  time  a  slave,  separated  from  his  brethren. 
 The  date  of  this  narrative  we  have  already  placed  at 
 a  period  shortly  before  the  time  of  Isaiah,  or  subse- 
 quent thereto.  (See  Obadiah.)  Other  biblical  critics 
 assign  its  composition  to  the  fourth  writer  in  the 
 Pentateuch.  But,  at  the  time  when  the  so-called 
 Jacob's  blessing  was  composed,  it  is  clear  that  a  din- 
 sion  of  the  Hebrews  into  twelve  tribes  was  talked  of. 
 There  was  also  the  expression  of  a  feeling  of  sym- 
 ])atliy  between  Judah  and  Israel,  and  the  chapter  does 
 not  exhibit  any  bitterness  between  one  tribe  and 
 another. 
 
 This  points  to  a  lime  when  some  writer  had  como 
 to  the  belief  that  all  who  could  bo  incorporated 
 into  the  Jewish  family  should  bo  united.  Wo  can 
 well  imagine  some  astute  man  looking  back  to  such 
 
727 
 
 history  as  he  possessed  of  David  and  Solomon ;  how 
 the  inhabitants  of  Palestine,  whilst  they  owned  the 
 sway  of  those  monarchs,  being  united,  were  strong, 
 and  how,  when  the  kingdom  became  divided  against 
 itself,  the  whole  collapsed.  It  is  the  fear  of  such  a 
 catastrophe  that  unites  Ireland,  Wales,  Scotland  and 
 England  together,  at  the  present  time.  Such  a 
 statesman  as  we  have  described  would  originate  a 
 policy  of  peace. 
 
 The  result  to  which  many  inquirers  have  come,  is 
 
 (1)  that  Levi  did  not  become  a  separate  tribe  until 
 a  very  late  period  of  Jewish  history.  Indeed,  we 
 have  often  been  puzzled  how  it  could  have  been  other- 
 wise, seeing  that  the  Levites  were  united  to  Judah, 
 
 (2)  that  there  is  no  distinct  evidence  of  the  existence 
 of  a  tribe  of  Simeonites,  (3)  that  the  idea  of  twelve 
 tribes  did  not  occur  until  the  Jews  became  acquainted 
 with  Sabeanism  in  Babylon,  (4)  that  it  has  not  been 
 artistically  conceived,  developed,  or  described. 
 
 Again,  we  must  notice  the  ''blessing  of  Jacob" 
 in  conjunction  with  the  "blessing  of  Moses"  (Deut. 
 xxxiii.),  for  both  bear  marks  of  a  feeling  of  good- 
 fellowship  existent  in  the  author's  mind,  which 
 we  cannot  dissever  from  the  idea  that  there  was,  at 
 the  time,  a  desire  of  alliance  between  all  the  descend- 
 ants of  the  people  of  David,  or  the  actual  existence 
 of  union,  either  in  fortune  or  misfortune.  Now,  so 
 long  as  the  Jews  were  undisciplined  by  misery,  they 
 were  intolerant  and  braggart.  We  conclude,  there- 
 fore, that  the  compositions  in  question  were  penned 
 at  a  period  when  both  Judah  and  Israel  were 
 thoroughly  humbled  by  misfortune.  This  did  not 
 occur  until  both  were  carried  away  captive  into  Edom, 
 Tyre,  Greece,  and  Mesopotamia.     Yet,  although  the 
 
728 
 
 chapters  indicated  breathe  a  spirit  of  conciliation, 
 there  is  still  enough  of  the  desire  left  to  make 
 Judah  appear  superior  to  Israel.  One  is,  as  it  were, 
 to  be  the  primate  of  All  Judea,  the  other  the  primate 
 of  Judea  only.  Such  a  conceit  would  be  natural 
 to  a  Hebrew  in  Babylon,  who  knew  that  Samaria  had 
 succumbed  prior  to  Jerusalem. 
 
 Examining  farther  the  blessings  of  Jacob  and 
 Moses,  we  see  reason  to  believe  that  the  last  has  been 
 written  first,  and  that  the  apparent  first  is  an  expan- 
 sion of  the  jH'obable  second.  The  book  of  Deutero- 
 nomy is  now  supposed  to  have  been  composed  in 
 the  time  of  Josiah  ;  but  some  verses  in  it,  if  not  the 
 whole  of  the  two  last  chapters,  are  of  later  date 
 than  the  bulk  of  the  \vi-iting.  The  last  six  verses  of 
 ch.  xxxiii.  and  the  whole  of  ch.  xxxiv.  are,  we  con- 
 ceive, of  later  origin  than  the  early  years  of  the 
 captivit3\ 
 
 We  have  now,  by  the  close  study  of  a  series  of 
 probabilities,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  blessing 
 of  Jacob  must  be  attributed  to  some  author  living 
 during,  or  after,  the  Babylonian  or  Grecian  exile. 
 To  substantiate  this  conclusion,  we  may  quote  the 
 following  passage  :  "In  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root 
 of  Jesse,  which  shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the 
 people;  to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek;  and  his  rest  shall 
 be  glorious.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
 that  the  Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again  the  second 
 time  ^'"^  to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people,  which 
 shall  be  left,  from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from 
 Pathros,  and  from  Cush,  and  from  Elam,  and  from 
 Shinar,  and  from  Haraath,  and  from  the  islands  of 
 the  sea."'"     And  he  shall  set  up  an  ensign  for  the 
 
 ""  800  Obaoiab  antea.  im  Seo  Joel,  Vol.  i.,  p.  G89. 
 
729 
 
 nations,  and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts  of  Israel, 
 and  gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah  from  the 
 four  corners  of  the  earth.  The  envy  also  of  Ephraim 
 shall  depart,  and  the  adversaries  of  Judah  shall  be 
 cut  off;  Ephraim  shall  not  envy  Judah,  and  Judah 
 shall  not  vex  Ephraim,"  etc.  (Isa.  xi.  10-13). 
 
 We  consider  that  these  verses  corroborate  our 
 view  as  to  the  period  when  the  blessings  of  Moses 
 and  Jacob  were  written,  for  we  assigned  the  latter 
 to  the  time  of  the  exile ;  and  there  is  little  doubt 
 that  the  chapter  of  Isaiah  referred  to  was  penned  by  the 
 second  of  the  authors  who  composed  that  book.  We 
 can  recognise  also  that  the  passage  in  question  refers 
 to  that  hypothetical  king,  so  often  promised,  who 
 was  to  transcend  both  David  and  Solomon  in  ponder; 
 yet  who  never  came,  and  now  is  not  likely  to 
 appear.  We  see  the  same  idea  carried  out  in  Ps. 
 cxxii.,  which  we  presume  was  composed  about  the 
 period  of  the  second  Isaiah,  notwithstanding  its 
 superscription.  In  that  we  read,  "  Our  feet  shall  ^"* 
 stand  within  thy  gates,  0  Jerusalem.  Jerusalem 
 is  builded  as  a  city  that  is  compact  together  ;^^^ 
 whither  the  tribes  go  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord, 
 to  give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord.  For 
 there  are  set  thrones  of  judgment,  the  thrones  of  the 
 house  of  David.^^®  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem, 
 they  shall  prosper  that  love  thee.  Peace  be  within 
 thy  walls,  and  prosperity  within  thy  palaces." 
 
 With  such  an  interpretation  before  us,  it  is  quite 
 unnecessary  to  be  particular  about  the  actual  mean- 
 
 J54  It  is  important  to  notice  the  tense  here,  which  may  also  he  rendered  "  -we 
 have  been  standing,"  both  indicating  the  idea  of  a  restoration. 
 165   Compare  Isa.  xi.  13. 
 1S6   Compare  Jerem.  xvii.  25,  xxui.  5-8,  xxxiii.  15  - 18. 
 
730 
 
 ing  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  the  Hebrew  words, 
 n'p^Ji'  Nn"*  *3  IV-  The  oracular  and  the  mythical 
 utterances  of  self-styled  seers  often  receive  gi-eat 
 attention,  though  they  rarely  deserve  the  pains  which 
 are  bestowed  upon  them. 
 Stm  yK^3,  tiy,  ^Dn,  riNtsn,  nxtsn,  hndh,  ndh,  nr^^a,  dl''n  "o-uilti- 
 
 ness,  trespass,  fault,  sin,  iniquity."  In  the  New 
 Testament  chiefly,  aju-apr/a,  =  'failure,  error.'  In 
 every  system  of  religion,  whether  ancient  or  modern, 
 an  idea  of  Sin  exists.  But  the  significations  attached 
 to  the  word,  whatever  it  may  be,  widely  vaiy.  The 
 shortest  definition  of  its  real  meaning  is,  **an  ofi'ence 
 against  a  law."  A  belief,  then,  in  sin  presupposes 
 the  existence  of  law,^^^  and  law  involves  the  existence 
 of  potentates. 
 
 The  ideas  of  Sin,  therefore,  vary  in  different  loca- 
 lities, according  to  the  edicts  of  priests,  of  prophets, 
 or  of  legislators.  The  truth  of  this  proposition  will 
 be  recognised,  when  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  lower 
 animals.  Having  no  other  laws  by  which  their  con- 
 duct is  regulated  than  the  instincts  implanted  by  their 
 Maker,  we  say  that  they  are  necessarily  sinless.  Yet 
 when  we  train  a  dog  to  any  particular  action,  or 
 course  of  conduct,  if  he  turns  rebellious  and  requires 
 correction,  we  say  that  'he  must  be  punished.'  If, 
 after  being  punished  for  acting  in  a  different  manner 
 to  what  he  ought,  he  transgi-esses  again,  and  seems  to 
 shun  the  whip,  we  say  'he  knows  that  he  has  done 
 wrong  and  deserves  the  lash.'  We  thus  bring  our- 
 selves to  believe  that  even  dogs,  elephants,  oxen  and 
 
 iC7"'\VLero  no  law  is,  tliero  is  no  transgression"  (Rom.  iv.  IT)).  "Sin  is  not 
 imputed  where  there  is  no  law"  (Rem.  t.  13).  "Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the 
 law"  (1  John  iii.  1). 
 
731 
 
 the  like  can  sin/^^  We  consider  our  "training"  to  be 
 equivalent  to  ''law,"  and  a  breach  of  discipline  to  be 
 deserving  of  punishment.  Indeed  we  positively  go 
 beyond  this,  for  we  condemn  a  trained  dog  who 
 worries  sheep  to  an  ignominious  death. 
 
 If  we  examine  farther,  we  may  find  that  the 
 trainer  sometimes  sets  a  lesson  which  no  animal  can 
 learn.  He  may,  for  example,  endeavour  to  make 
 a  hound  eat  hay,  corn,  or  carrots,  and  whip  him 
 every  time  he  endeavours  to  procure  or  eat  meat ; 
 or  he  may  punish  a  cat  for  wandering  over  the 
 roofs  and  'caterwauling.'  Yet  the  philosopher  does 
 not  then  recognise  '  ofi'ence '  in  the  being  who  receives 
 correction,  but  only  sees  folly  in  its  tyrant.  Hence 
 before  the  thinking  man  can  recognise  a  sin  as 
 deserving  punishment,  he  must  be  satisfied  with  the 
 goodness  of  the  law  against  which  the  sinner  oifends. 
 
 The  value  of  this  consideration  may  be  recog- 
 nised by  the  sentiments  uttered  in  my  presence  by 
 two  gentlemen;  one  whose  sound  sense  was  conspi- 
 cuous, and  whose  family  have  been  worthy  scions  of 
 their  father;  the  other,  a  sincere  Christian,  but  nothing 
 more,  and  subsequently  the  father  of  one  child  who 
 became  the  greatest  reprobate  I  ever  knew.  The  first 
 received  from  the  second,  then  an  unmarried  young 
 doctor,  a  lecture  about  managing  his  sons,  and  for  a 
 long  time  bore  a  tedious  homily  with  patience. 
 At  last  he  rejoined,   "  I  '11  tell  you  what  it  is,  I  am 
 
 158  We  are,  of  course,  spealdng  here  of  "sin"  as  being  simply  a  transgression 
 of  a  law  wLicli  we  consider  that  the  creatures  are  bound  to  obey.  To  say  that 
 "sin"  can  only  signify  the  transgression  of  God's  law,  begs  the  whole  question  at 
 issue,  and  indicates  a  mind  almost  incapable  of  expansion.  Conventional  terms 
 are  often  inane,  and,  like  a  Rupert's  drop,  only  require  to  be  scratched  to  be 
 shivered  to  atoms. 
 
732 
 
 resolved  never  to  give  my  sons  an  order  which  I  know 
 they  are  sure  to  hreak."  "  Oh  what  a  dreadful 
 mistake  !  "  was  the  reply ;  "  you  ought  to  command 
 what  you  helieve  to  be  right,  and  then  if  your  sons  do 
 not  ohoy,  it  is  your  duty  to  punish  them  doubly,  first 
 for  committing  the  offence,  and  next  for  disobedi- 
 ence !  "  To  me,  it  appears  that  the  Christian  bigot, 
 thus  described,  resembles  a  man  who  would  order  a 
 hungry  dog  to  content  himself  with  wagging  his  tail 
 in  the  presence  of  an  ample  meal,  and  punish  him 
 severely,  for  eating  when  hungry,  and  for  disobeying 
 orders  besides. 
 
 Amongst  the  numerous  animals  whose  habits  I 
 have  been  able  to  study,  there  appears  to  be  a  capacity 
 of  giving  or  making  law.  This,  though  possessed 
 by  the  mother  generally,  is  sometimes  seen  exercised 
 by  the  father,  but,  usually  only  upon  their  own 
 offspring,  or  belongings.  A  similar  power  exists 
 amongst  mankind,  and  in  every  household  one  or 
 other  parent  is  supreme.  One  will  give  law,  and  any 
 offence  against  its  express  command,  or  its  training, 
 is  considered  as  a  sin.  Yet  the  commands  may 
 be  inconsistent,  unnatural  and  preposterous,  and  the 
 training  positively  vicious.  Consequently,  what  one 
 considers  to  be  sin  in  his  offspring,  another  individual 
 may  deem  to  be  natural  and  praiseworthy.  What  a 
 father  is  for  his  family,  a  chief  or  king  is  for  a  tribe, 
 or  a  parliament  for  a  nation.  The  laws  made  by  the 
 authority  of  these  only  bind  those  who  can  be  made  to 
 pay  a  penalty,  in  purse  or  person,  if  they  transgress. 
 I  may  train  my  own  kennel  of  dogs  to  do  my  bidding, 
 but  I  am  powerless  over  the  pack  of  my  neigldjonr. 
 In  like  nmnncr  a  lawgiver  can  only  claim  authority 
 over  those  whom  his  lash  can  reach. 
 
733 
 
 There  are  in  every   civilised   country,  no  matter 
 how    they    have    arisen,    two     sets     of    legislators, 
 those  who  frame  human  regulations,  and  those  who 
 promulgate  what  they  call    divine   laws.       In   very 
 many  instances  the  two  powers  are  wielded  by  the 
 same  individual,  who  professes  to  enunciate  the  will 
 of  a  deity,  as  well  as  his  own.     When  the  might  of 
 the  ruler  is  absolute,  he  can  punish  every  one  who 
 offends  him  ;  though  he  is  powerless  in  the  territory 
 of    a  neighbour  whose  power  is  equal  to   his  own. 
 He  is  to  a  certain  extent  limited  even  in  his  own 
 domain  by  the  passions  of  his  subjects,  which  would 
 impel  them  to  rebellion  if  his  sway  were  too  exacting 
 or  rigid.     There    can  be  no    doubt   that  every  law- 
 giver  frames   his   regulations   so    as    to    secure   the 
 greatest  amount  of  mastery  for   the   executive,  and, 
 where  a  state  is  well  governed,  to  make  the  nation 
 prosperous    and   happy.      But   if   a  king   should  be 
 an   exception   to   this   rule,    and   his    subjects   know 
 that  the  citizens   of  another  state  are  better  off  than 
 themselves,  we  beheve  that  they  have  a  perfect  right 
 to    emigrate   from   the    one    territory   and    settle    in 
 another.      It   is   true   that   the   ruler   may   call   the 
 exercise    of  that   right    a  crime,    yet   it   is    not    so, 
 even  though  there  should  be  power  to  punish  it. 
 
 The  only  monarch  at  the  present  day  who  assumes 
 to  be  both  a  temporal  and  a  spiritual  tyrant  is  the 
 Pope  of  Rome,  and  as  his  state  is  the  worst  governed 
 that  we  know,  it  is  very  natural  that  his  subjects 
 would  like  to  emigrate;  it  is  equally  natural  that 
 he  should  try  to  prevent  them.  But  though  he  were 
 to  make  it  a  sin  for  a  Roman  to  become  an  American, 
 none  would  care  for  his  anathema  if  beyond  his 
 reach. 
 
734 
 
 "We  know,  from  our  experience  of  various  nations, 
 that  their  codes  of  law  differ  in  a  great  number  of 
 details.  For  example,  the  Turkish  law  allows  many 
 wives,  the  Mormon  code  almost  compels  a  man  to 
 become  a  polygamist ;  whilst  England  severely 
 punishes  any  one  who  has  more  than  one  wife  at  a 
 time.  In  one  country,  marriage  is  a  simple  contract 
 entered  into  before  a  magistrate ;  in  another,  it  can 
 only  be  entered  into  by  the  intervention  of  a  priest, 
 and  is  considered  as  a  sacrament.  It  rests  then  with 
 the  lawgiver,  not  only  to  frame  regulations  for  his 
 subjects,  but  to  classify  those  laws,  and  to  announce 
 which  are  offences  against  his  power  as  a  prince,  and 
 which  violate  his  claims  as  a  priest. 
 
 We  see  that  the  power  of  a  ruler  to  enforce 
 his  orders  is  our  only  guarantee  that  he  is  really 
 a  legislator.  This  is  readily  recognised  in  all  tem- 
 poral matters.  The  same  obtains  in  the  matter 
 of  spiritual  laws,  though  it  is  not  recognised. 
 As  an  offence  against  a  human  law  is  punishable 
 by  him  who  has  power  to  enforce  the  code  which  he 
 framed,  so  an  offence  against  a  divine  law  is  surely 
 visited  by  Him  who  made  it.  For  men  to  supplement 
 God's  power  to  punish,  is  either  to  acknowledge  that 
 the  creator  is  too  weak  to  enforce  His  own  laws,  or 
 that  they  are  fictions  of  human  invention. 
 
 Before  the  philosopher,  however,  can  allow  him- 
 self to  believe  the  assertion  that  those  laws  which 
 pass  amongst  men  as  "  divine,"  are  really  fictitious 
 and  of  linman  invention,  he  must  endeavour  to  ascer- 
 tain whether  they  resemble  in  the  main  those  which 
 are  unquestionably  mundane.  If  we  examine 
 into  earthly  codes  we  lind  that  their  characteristic 
 is  "  iustubility."      Laws  are   made,  altered,  or  abro- 
 
735 
 
 gated,  according  to  the  will,  knowledge,  powers  of 
 observation,  and  the  like,  of  the  legislators.  "Pro- 
 tection" gives  way  to  "  free  trade,"  which  is  again 
 replaced  by  "  protection. "  "  Monarchy  follows 
 "republicanism,"  and  "constitutional  government" 
 replaces  "  imperialism.  "  A  nation  with  a  "  State 
 Church"  at  home  encourages  "absolute  equality  of 
 all  reUgions  "  in  her  colonies  ;  and  "  church  rates  " 
 and  "  voluntary  assessments  "  alternately  become 
 law. 
 
 "We  see  precisely  the  same  "instability"  in  that 
 which  we  call  divine  law.      Here  the  Almighty  is  said 
 to    enjoin    chastity,   there   to   be   an    encourager    of 
 brutality  (see,   for   example,  Numbers   xxxi.    1-18). 
 Now  He  enjoins  sacrifices  of  oxen  and  sheep,  now 
 of  bread  and  wine,    and  now  of    human  beings  — 
 even  of  His  own  son.     Here  His  priests  wear  scarlet, 
 there  they  officiate  in  spotless  white ;  now  He  is  to 
 be  worshipped  in  spirit,  at  another  time  with  gorgeous 
 pomp  and  wondrous  ceremony.    Here  He  is  the  Prince 
 of  peace,  there  He  is  the  God  of  war.     In  one  state 
 He   is   goodness    personified,    not   even    persecuting 
 His  enemies;    in  another   He  is  a  demon,  delight- 
 ing  in   burning,   wrath  and   devastation.      Here  He 
 claims  young  virgins  for  His  brides,  treating  them 
 like  a  jealous  Turk,  and  immuring  them  in  a  harem, 
 or  a  convent,  yet,  like  the  dog  in  the  manger,  neither 
 giving  them  His  company,  nor  allowing  them  to  enjoy 
 that  of  others  ;    there  He   equally  claims   them   for 
 the  benefit  of  His  worshippers.     Here  His  ministers 
 are  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  there  they  are  lambs 
 amongst   wolves.     In   one   place   He   revels   in   fine 
 music,  heavy  odours  of  incense,  the  smell  of  burnt 
 flesh  and  the  sight  of  human  sacrifices,  as  in  Spain, 
 
736 
 
 Geneva,  England,  and  elsewhere ;  at  another  He  is 
 the  patron  of  silence,  as  amongst  the  Quakers.  At 
 one  time  He  makes  the  nations  drunk  in  His  fury, 
 at  another  He  appears  to  encourage  drunkenness,'*' 
 that  His  people  may  keep  His  Sahhath  with  due 
 devotion.  North  of  the  Tweed  His  so-called  ministers 
 curse  "organs"  as  invented  by  the  cursed  brood  of 
 Cain  ;  whilst  south  of  the  river  other  ministers  declare 
 that  He  loves  melodies  streaming  from  musical 
 instruments.  Surely  we  have  said  enough  to  show 
 that  the  laws  promulgated  by  various  states  and 
 individuals  as  "divine,"  have  not  emanated  from 
 Him  "in  whom  there  is  no  variableness"  (James 
 i.  17). 
 
 Having  thus  ascertained  that  both  the  so-called 
 divine  and  the  human  laws  have  a  very  similar 
 origin,  we  will  allow  ourselves  to  make  that  distinc- 
 tion between  the  two  which  is  currently  made  in 
 society,  and  will  call  oflences  against  the  human 
 laws  "Guilt,"  and  offences  against  the  laws  spoken 
 of  as  divine  Sin. 
 
 As  we  have  already  recognised  that  the  diso- 
 bedience to  a  trainer's  laws,  in  a  dog,  is  not 
 necessarily  culpable,  so  we  must  allow  that  opposition 
 to  the  training  of  a  hicrarch  is  not  necessarily 
 *sin.'  As  I  have  the  power  of  transferring  my 
 allegiance  to  Prussia  or  America,  so  I  have  the  power 
 of  joining  any  religious  community  which  I  may 
 select.  As  long  as  I  am  with  any,  its  laws  have 
 no  power  beyond  that  of  punishing  me  for  my  viola- 
 tion of  them  ;  and  if  such  power  docs  not  exist, 
 I  am  at  perfect  liberty  to  hold  their  laws  in  contempt. 
 
 "•  Compare  Dout.  xiv.  26 ;  and  general  report  abont  Scotch  cspcricnce. 
 
737 
 
 But  if,  when  joining  any  religious  sect  or  community, 
 I  voluntarily  bind  myself  to  follow  certain  regula- 
 tions, or  pay  a  penalty,  it  is  incumbent  on  me  to 
 do  so.  Divine  law,  therefore,  in  the  ordinary  accep- 
 tation of  the  word,  has  no  authority  over  any  one 
 who  does  not  give  allegiance  to  it.  Still  farther, 
 the  very  nature  of  a  divine  authority  must  be  spiri- 
 tual. Consequently  there  can  be  no  allegiance  de- 
 manded or  given,  except  in  the  nature  of  an  instinct ; 
 and,  where  this  is  implanted,  the  law  must  be  en- 
 forced by  an  operation  upon  the  'spirit,'  as  contra- 
 distinguished from  the  'body.'  We  have  already 
 observed  that  it  is  a  blunder  for  any  ruler  to  punish 
 an  offence  said  to  be  committed  against  God;  for 
 nothing  so  completely  demonstrates  to  the  world  that 
 the  potentate,  whether  king,  pope,  or  prelate,  who 
 thus  acts,  does  not  believe  in  the  power  of  the  divinity 
 whom  he  professes  to  worship  to  enforce  His  own  laws. 
 If  we  apply  the  preceding  observations  to  the 
 idea  of  "sin,"  we  shall  readily  recognise  their  value. 
 To  one  taught  by  Mahomet  it  is  a  sin  to  allow  a 
 Giaour  to  enter  a  mosque,  or  to  pray  with  covered 
 feet.  To  one  taught  by  Christ  it  is  wrong  not  to 
 go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  to  compel 
 people  to  come  to  church,  that  it  may  be  filled. 
 To  a  Protestant  it  is  a  sin  to  kneel  down  at  the 
 ''  elevation  of  the  host;  "  to  a  Papist  it  is  criminal  to 
 remain  standing.  To  the  Jew,  Deborah  was  a  pro- 
 phetess ;  yet  another  Jew  says  that  he  will  not 
 "  suffer  a  woman  to  teach."  To  most  nations  it  is  sin 
 to  take  a  sister  for  a  wife,  yet  Seth  and  Abraham  both 
 married  sisters  and  committed  no  wrong.  The  kings 
 of  ancient  Persia  made  no  scruple  in  doing  the  same. 
 With  the  Jews  it  was,  and  is,  a  sin  to  do  any  work 
 
 AAA 
 
738 
 
 on  Saturday ;  with  the  Christians  it  is  improper  to  do 
 any  work  on  Sunday.  With  the  Scotch  it  is  wrong 
 to  read  prayers  publicly,  or  to  wear  a  distinctive  dress 
 in  the  pulpit ;  with  the  English  it  is  equally  sinful 
 not  to  read  prayers,  and  not  to  wear  a  surplice. 
 With  St.  Paul  it  was  "better  to  marry  than  to  burn," 
 and  useless  to  abstain  from  meats ;  with  his  papal 
 successors  it  is  a  sin  for  priests  to  marry,  and  to 
 eat  flesh  on  Friday.  It  is  a  sin  for  any  one  in 
 England  to  allow  his  own  faith  to  be  shaken,  it  is 
 equally  sinful  for  an  English  Christian  not  to  endea- 
 vour to  shake  the  faith  of  the  Mahomedan,  Jew, 
 Turk,  or  Hindoo.  With  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
 lonian it  was  sin  not  to  believe  in  the  celestial 
 virgin;  it  was  a  crime  in  a  Hebrew  to  venerate  any 
 one  but  the  Father.  It  is  wrong,  amongst  Papal 
 religionists,  not  to  believe  that  the  godhead  is  four- 
 fold ;  it  is  a  sin  with  us  to  believe  that  it  is  other 
 than  three-fold;  and  equally  culpable  amongst  others 
 to  believe  that  it  can  be  otherwise  than  One.  With 
 some  it  is  a  sin  to  leave  their  infants  unspriukled 
 by  water ;  with  others  it  is  irreligious  to  sprinkle 
 or  immerse  them  at  all.  To  the  moderns  it  seems 
 to  be  a  sin  of  the  deepest  dye  to  prostitute  the  body 
 or  defile  it  by  intoxication  ;  with  the  ancients  it  was 
 unlawful  to  neglect  on  certain  occasions  to  do  the 
 one,  or  to  refuse  to  sec  in  drunkenness  a  visitation  of 
 the  "  spirit."  With  some  it  is  a  sin  to  commit 
 murder,  to  lie,  to  steal,  to  bear  false  witness, 
 or  to  covet  one's  neighbour's  possessions.  With 
 the  Spartans  many  of  these  crimes  were  accounted 
 virtuous.  Even  with  moderns,  it  is  sometimes 
 accounted  a  sin  not  to  murder  heretics,  not  to  lie, 
 not  to  rob  the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  not  to  bear 
 
739 
 
 false  witness,  and  not  to  covet,  provided  only  it  be 
 done  in  the  niirao  of  religion.  To  the  Protestant 
 mind  the  massacres  on  St.  Bartholomew's  day  in 
 France,  the  antos  thi  fe  of  Spain,  and  "the  fires 
 of  Smithlield,"  were  deliberate,  wilful,  cruel  murders. 
 The  index  expimjntorim,  and  the  falsification  of 
 English  versions  of  the  Bible,  are  equally  con- 
 sidered to  be  downright  lies.  The  alienation,  under 
 the  terror  of  ecclesiastical  threats,  of  a  father's  wealth 
 to  the  treasury  of  the  priesthood  is,  to  Protestant 
 ideas,  nothing  more  than  sanctimonious  theft.  The 
 accounts  given  of  canonised  saints  and  Romish  mis- 
 sionaries in  general  are  flagrant  violations  of  the 
 ninth  commandment ;  and  I  am  personally  cognisant 
 of  instances  in  which  there  has  been  systematic 
 coveting  of  a  neighbour's  house  and  everything  that 
 was  his,  which  has  eventuated  in  securing  for  the 
 Papal  Church  the  entire  patrimony.  Yet  to  the 
 Papal  hierarchy  all  these  sins  are  regarded  as  virtues, 
 and  zeal  for  the  Church  is  held  to  excuse  disobedience 
 to  God. 
 
 Again,  we  find,  from  the  eighth  commandment, 
 that  it  is  a  sin  to  steal ;  yet  we  see  in  Prov.  vi.  30 
 the  words,  "  men  do  not  despise  a  thief  if  he  steal 
 to  satisfN-  his  soul  when  hungry;"  and  in  Prov.  xxx.  9, 
 that  poverty  is  a  sort  of  justification  for  breaking 
 both  the  third  and  the  eighth  commandment.  Adul- 
 tery and  harlotry  are  equally  regarded  as  sins  by 
 some ;  yet  Hosea  is  ordered  to  commit  the  one  and 
 the  other,  and  both  Rahab  and  liathshcba,  are,  as 
 it  were,  patronised  by  Christian  writers,  who  con- 
 trive to  prove  that  their  conduct  was  condoned,  if 
 not  correct,  inasmuch  as  both  were  ancestors  of 
 Jesus.     With  us  it  is  considered   a   sin  to  mutilate 
 
740 
 
 the  body ;  amongst  the  Hebrews  the  sin  consisted  in 
 not  doing  so.  With  us  polygamy  is  a  sin  ;  with  the 
 Jews  it  was  considered  a  proof  of  di^ine  regard  for 
 a  man  that  he  was  able  to  have  many  wives. 
 
 Hence  we  conclude  that  the  word  Six  is  a  word 
 of  relative  rather  than  positive  significance ;  and  we 
 have  the  less  difficulty  in  believing  this  when  we 
 consider  the  way  in  which  Romish  priests  treat 
 it.  Their  Church, — which  has  contrived  with  consum- 
 mate art  to  piece  together  every  fragment  of  heathen- 
 ism and  Christianity,  that  would  sanction  her  in 
 the  endeavour  or  assist  her  in  the  attempt  to  enthral 
 the  minds  of  the  laity,  and  to  bind  them  as  captives 
 to  the  car  of  the  priesthood, — has,  as  it  were,  invented 
 certain  sins,  so  that  her  prelates  may  be  paid  for 
 removing  them ;  just  as  a  tradesman  often  demands 
 for  his  wares  a  gi-eat  deal  more  than  he  will  take, 
 if  any  purchaser  chooses  to  cheapen  them.  There 
 is  scarcely  a  sin  known  to  man  for  which  some 
 papal  priest  will  not  give  a  qualified  absolution,  on 
 certain  considerations. 
 
 It  is  questionable  whether  the  most  dreadful 
 heretic  who  was  ever  murdered  by  Papal  flamen 
 would  not  have  masses  said  for  him,  with  the  inten- 
 tion of  comforting  him  in  Purgatory  or  Hell,  if  only 
 his  friends  were  devout  "  Catholics,"  and  very  liberal 
 of  their  wealth.  It  would  perhaps  be  well,  as  we  have 
 before  intimated,  if  Protestants  had  so  convenient 
 a   religion   as   the   Papal. 
 
 The  most  natural  rejoinder  to  the  many  foregoing 
 considerations  is  a  question  to  the  author,  "  Do 
 you  nu'un  to  say  that  the  idea  of  Sin  is  wholly 
 chinioricar?  "  The  answer  is,  "  I  simply  assert  that 
 sin  is  a  contravention  of  the  laws  of  God.     Those  laws, 
 
741 
 
 such  as  I  know  them,  I  fully  acknowledge,  and  it  is 
 my  aim  in  life  to  discover  them  completely,  so  that 
 they  may  supersede  the  travesty  which  passes  current 
 for  them."  It  often  seems  to  me  that  hierarchs, 
 generally,  resemble  the  rapacious  stewards  of  this 
 world.  They  repeatedly  say  to  their  clients,  "  How 
 much  owest  thou  unto  my  Lord?"  and  when  they 
 hear  that  the  debt  is  '  a  hundred  measures,'  they  say, 
 "  Take  thy  bill  and  write  four  score."  Or,  on  the 
 other  hand,  they  may  claim  four  score  where  only 
 four  are  due,  and  say,  "the  Lord  hath  need  of  them." 
 How  many  prayers  to  a  steward  for  relief  ever  reach 
 the  master  ?  Very  few,  I  trow.  How  many  tenants, 
 again,  are  there  who  would  gladly  appeal  from  the 
 harsh  middleman  to  the  loving  landlord  ?  Very 
 probably  all,  except  those  who  are  familiarly  called 
 "  lickspittles."  Many  a  sinner,  as  deeply  dyed  as 
 the  publican  of  old,  prefers  to  apply  to  '  the  Lord 
 of  all,'  rather  than  to  his  so-called  '  vicegerent  upon 
 earth ' ;  for  he  feels,  with  David,  that  it  is  better  to 
 fall  into  the  hands  of  God  than  into  those  of  his 
 fellow  men.  The  Almighty  is  merciful,  slow  to 
 anger,  and  of  great  kindness  ;  those  who  style  them- 
 selves his  priests  are  implacable,  sudden  and  quick 
 in  quarrel,  and  proficient  in  cruelty. 
 
 Upon  that  which  is  described  amongst  theo- 
 logians as  "  Original  Sin,"  it  is  not  necessary  to 
 say  much.  The  doctrines  connected  therewith  are 
 founded  erroneously  upon  the  fable  of  Adam's  rise  and 
 fall,  and  can  only  be  entertained  amongst  those  who 
 are  more  extravagant  in  their  belief  of  the  Jewish 
 mythoses  than  were  the  Hebrews  themselves.  Even 
 if  we  grant  the  story  of  Eden  to  be  literally  true,  we 
 yet  feel  no  sympathy  with  those  who  subscribe  to  the 
 
742 
 
 ninth  Article  of  Religion,  as  given  in  the  Prayer- 
 Book.  The  dogma  as  usually  held  is  nothing  more 
 than  an  elaborate  assertion  that  man  is  human  and 
 animal.  We  certainly  should  smile  at  an  enthusiast 
 who  asserted  that  all  tigers  are  born  in  sin,  and  are 
 naturally  murderers,  because  the  primeval  father  of 
 the  race  persisted  in  eating  flesh  instead  of  grass  ; 
 and  that  the  skunk  emitted  a  foul  stench,  on  certain 
 occasions,  because  its  progenitor  cursed  a  fountain 
 which  had  dried  up,  but  which  emerged  from  the 
 ground  again  in  time  to  hear  the  oaths,  and  to  punish 
 the  oftender  throughout  subsequent  ages.  There  is 
 indeed  something  recorded  in  an  ancient  writer,  who 
 probably  flourished  about  the  period  when  Genesis 
 was  written,  which  gives  the  reason  why  the  bat 
 is  not  received  either  amongst  the  birds  or  the 
 beasts ;  but  the  story  has  ever  been  regarded  as  a 
 fable. 
 
 To  assert,  as  some  divines  do,  that  every  infant 
 coming  into  the  world  is  in  a  state  of  sin,  and  as  a 
 sinner  liable  to  the  eternal  wrath  of  God,  for  no  other 
 reason  than  that  its  parents  may  have  been  criminal, 
 is  not  only  preposterous,  but  diametrically  opposed 
 to  the  teaching  of  those  Scriptures  which  such  dogma- 
 tists profess  to  venerate.  The  whole  of  the  eighteenth 
 chapter  of  Ezekiel  is  a  protest  against  this  doctrine. 
 Even  the  second  commandment  (Exod.  xx.  5),  said 
 to  have  been  uttered  by  the  Almighty,  states  that  He 
 only  visits  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  chil- 
 dren unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
 that  hate  Him.  ^^'lly  modern  Christians  should 
 paint  God  as  a  more  im])lacablo  ]3eing  than  Ho  is 
 said  to  have  painted  Himself,  it  is  diflicult  to  say. 
 Yet  it  is  certain  that  as  Chiistiauity,  and  Protestant- 
 
743 
 
 ism  especially,  have  advanced,  all  their  doubtful  doc- 
 trines have  been  heightened  and  deepened  in  tone. 
 The  good  God  has  been  painted  more  and  more  like  a 
 demon ;  the  Devil  has  been  depicted  as  more  and 
 more  powerful  in  the  universe ;  the  Hell  of  the 
 Etruscans  has  become  more  frightful  every  century 
 since  it  has  been  adopted  by  Christians ;  and  those 
 whom  Jehovah  once  permitted  to  lie  quiet  in  their 
 graves  are  now  summoned  to  tortures,  the  intensity  of 
 which  ever  increases.  To  us  who  cannot  believe  that 
 the  Almighty  is  as  fiendish  as  the  followers  of  Jesus 
 describe  Him  to  be,  the  imaginary  terrors  of  Hell 
 are  nothing  more  than  evidences  of  the  brutality 
 of  fanatical  men,  who  clearly  evince  their  degraded 
 natures  by  pourtraying  the  Creator  as  the  Destroyer, 
 and  Satan  as  Omnipotent. 
 SiSTEA. — Musical  instruments  (2  Sam.  vi.  5).  Hebrew 
 ^''V^V^P,  menaanim,  so  called  from  the  shaking  of 
 little  iron  rods.  For  pictures  of  them,  see  Vol.  i., 
 p.  159,  and  Figs.  68,  9.  The  word  is  translated  in  our 
 version  "cornets."  We  may  fairly  conclude,  from  the 
 occurrence  of  this  name,  and  the  use  of  the  instru- 
 ment in  sacred  worship,  that  something  was  then 
 known  of  Isis  and  her  worship.  In  the  preceding 
 volume,  I  assumed  that  the  instrument  which  went 
 by  the  name  of  Sistrum  or  o-sla-Tpov  was  emblematic 
 of  the  female  ;  but  this  presumption  has  been  opposed 
 by  some  friends,  whose  judgment  is  entitled  to  much 
 respect.  They  have  not,  however,  brought  any  argu- 
 ment against  the  conclusion  to  which  I  came,  but 
 have  simply  contended  that  there  is  no  evidence  in 
 its  favour.  To  these,  the  following  remarks  are 
 addressed. 
 
 We    cannot    do    otherwise    than    conclude    that 
 
744 
 
 symbols  have  a  signification.  We  believe  that  every- 
 thing used  in  religious  worship  had  once  a  definite 
 meaning.  It  would  indeed  be  absurd  to  assert  that 
 a  god  who  ordained  (through  his  priests)  the  method 
 in  which  he  was  to  be  worshipped,  would  order  anything 
 from  pure  caprice.  Hence  we  conclude,  that  every 
 instrument  which  was  used  in  religion  was  more  or 
 less  emblematical  or  sj^mbolic.  We  have  shown  in 
 a  previous  volume,  that  the  X  ^'^s  a  sacred  sign 
 amongst  the  Egyptians,  and  amongst  the  Hebrews ; 
 and  we  showed  that  it  tj'pified  the  masculine  triad ; 
 with  this,  we  pointed  out  the  fact,  that  there  was  an 
 oval,  round,  or  lozenge  shape  associated  (see  Figs. 
 52,  53,  54).  By  reference  to  Fig.  51,  we  demonstrated 
 that  this  form  represented  the  feminine  unity,  and 
 we  thus  showed  that  the  o'ux  ansata  symbolised  the 
 creative  arha,  the  prolific  four.  There  is  then  strong 
 d  i)riori  evidence   in    favour   of    the    sistrum   being 
 
 emblematic  of  the  yoni.   This  is 
 Fig.  68.  "^ 
 
 strengthened  still  more  when  we 
 
 regard  the  various  shapes  assumed 
 
 by    this    instrument,    viz.,    Fig. 
 
 G8,  in   both  of  which  it  will  be 
 
 seen    associated  with   a   triad ;  ^^^ 
 
 and  in  Fig.  69,  in  which  a  human 
 
 headed    cat,    one   of  the    sacred 
 
 animals   of  Eg3q)t,    is   seen    seated   on  the  summit. 
 
 Now  the  cat,  like  the  lioness,  is  noted  for  its  sala- 
 
 ciousness,    and    both   the   one   and   the    other   were 
 
 symbolic   of  the  female   creator.     In   all   the   sistra, 
 
 '^'^  In  a  gold  cross  found  near  Naples,  depicted  in  plato  xxxv.,  fig.  -4,  of  Two 
 Essays  on  the  Worship  of  Vritipus  (London,  1865),  and  one  wbic-b  was  probably 
 worn  an  a  taliBman,  tbe  triad  and  tbc  unit  arc  quartered  togetber,  far  too  coarsely 
 for  our  pages ;  and  it  is  to  be  noticed  tbat  tbo  j-oni  is  figured  precisely  as  tlie 
 ustrum  in  tbo  toxt,  Fig.  68.     The  tbrco  rods,  etc.,  on  eacb  side,  are  very  siguiiicant. 
 
745 
 
 moreover,  which  we  have 
 ever  seen  depicted,  there 
 is  a  marked  resemblance 
 to  the  Hindoo  yoni.  See 
 Sacti  and  Yoni. 
 
 The  sistrum,  more- 
 over, was  only  used  in  the 
 worship  of  Isis ;  it  was 
 one  of  her  special  symbols 
 (Ovid,  Met.  ix.  784,  Amor. 
 li.  13,  Pontic.  Epis.  i.  '-'^ 
 38) ;  and  any  one,  who 
 will  take  the  trouble  to 
 read  Plutarch's  remarks 
 upon  it  (Isis  and  Osiris, 
 p.  63),  will  see  that  the 
 use  of  the  sistrum  drives 
 away  Typhon,  meaning 
 thereby,  that  as  corruption 
 clogs  the  regular  course 
 of  nature,  so  generation 
 loosens  it  again ;  that  its 
 appendages  indicate  gene- 
 ration and  corruption ; 
 that  the  cat  denotes  the 
 moon,  =  ^> — ^,  =  the 
 Yoni.  Again,  Isis  herself 
 is  the  personification  of 
 nature,  and  is  the  same 
 as  the  goddess  known  as 
 the  Celestial  Virgin — the 
 heavenly  mother  —  Juno, 
 Venus,  Astarte,  Parvati, 
 Sara,  one   of  whose    em- 
 
 Fig.  69. 
 
746 
 
 blems  is  the  Greek  A  inverted  V-  Wherever 
 this  creator  is  spoken  of,  she  is  represented  as 
 maternal,  through  her  own  inherent  power;  and  we 
 can  scarcely  understand  how  this  could  be  indicated 
 better  than  by  the  bars  which  cross  the  sistrum, 
 thus  showing  that  penetration  is  impossible. 
 
 Ac^ain,  we  must  notice  the  resemblance  between 
 the  sistrum  and  the  fruit  of  the  fig-tree  ;  a  coincidence 
 by  no  means  to  be  despised,  inasmuch  as  the  tree  in 
 question  was  amongst  the  ancients  esteemed  to  be 
 sacred,  its  leaves  typifying  the  male  triad,  and  the 
 fruit  the  female  uterus  and  vagina. 
 
 We  are  now  in  a  position  to  compare  all  the 
 acknowledged  emblems  of  the  celestial  virgin  with  the 
 sistrum,  and  to  ascertain  how  far  they  agree. 
 
 Fig.  70. 
 
 Surely  it  would  be  unphilosophical  to  recognise  the 
 whole  of  these  (which  are  copied  from  Moor's  Oriental 
 Fragments,  and  Lajard's  work,  Sur  le  Culte  de  Venus) 
 as  symbolic  of  nature— La  nature  de  la  femme  — and 
 refuse  to  assign  a  similar  signification  to  the  sistrum. 
 When  once  we  have  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  we 
 can  divine  why,  during  the  time  of  adoration,  the 
 sistrum  was  borne  in  the  right  hand  and  shaken; 
 why  Plutarch  uses  the  expression,  "  so  generation  by 
 the  means  of  motion,"  (xa.  kvla-rricn  g»a  Tr,g  %ivr,<Tsaii 
 y)  yev?(r.j)  De  hide  ct  Osiride,  cap.  G3  ;  but  into  this 
 part  of  the  subject  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter. 
 
747 
 
 Sodom,  ^""P  (Gen.  xiii.  10),  Is  probably  a  variant  of  Siddim. 
 Fiirst  suggests  that  it  means  "  an  enclosed  place." 
 The  story  of  the  destruction  of  Sodom  has  great 
 fascination  for  youth.  I  can  well  remember  how  my 
 mind  dwelt  upon  the  horrors  of  a  rain  of  brimstone 
 and  tire ;  the  very  narrow  escape  of  Lot  and  his 
 family  ;  the  curious  punishment  for  the  strange 
 offence  of  his  wife,  and  the  extraordinary  behaviour 
 of  the  patriarch  and  his  daughters.  Not  knowing 
 then  the  nature  of  the  crimes  of  the  Sodomeans, 
 it  was  difficult  to  understand  how  Lot  and  his 
 daughters  were  worth  saving,  when  the  one  was  very 
 immoral  (Gen.  xix.  8),  and  the  others  highly  improper; 
 and  why  four  places  were  to  be  destroyed  for  the 
 wickedness  of  one.  With  advancing  years,  the 
 fascination  of  the  subject  increased,  and  every  par- 
 ticular which  could  be  gleaned  respecting  the  fallen 
 towns  was  read.  "Whilst  walking  through  Pompeii,  my 
 mind  again  adverted  to  the  fearful  catastrophe  of  the 
 destruction  of  the  cities  of  the  plain ;  and  when  tread- 
 ing over  that  part  of  the  Italian  city  not  yet  excavated, 
 and  over  the  site  of  Herculaneum,  the  question  arose, 
 *  How  a  town,  overwhelmed  by  fire  and  brimstone, 
 rained  down  from  heaven,  could  become  a  sea,'  as 
 some  believe  that  "the  cities  of  the  plain"  became? 
 
 A  long  period  elapsed  ere  I  doubted  the  truth  of 
 the  bible  narrative.  At  length  it  occurred  to  me  that 
 a  country  so  desolate,  and  full  of  salt,  as  the  site  of 
 Gomorrha  and  her  neighbours,  could  never  have  been 
 a  smiling  garden  abounding  -s^dth  dwellings.  A  care- 
 ful survey  shows  that  the  valley  of  the  Dead  Sea  is 
 about  thirteen  hundred  feet  (1298)  below  the  level 
 of  the  Mediterranean ;  whilst  above  the  surface  of  the 
 present  lake,  terraces  are  seen  at  various  elevations. 
 
748 
 
 the  highest  of  which  is  thirteen  hundred  feet  above 
 the  water.  All  of  these  indicate  that  the  sea  stood  at 
 different  levels  in  preceding  periods.  These  facts 
 seem  to  demonstrate  that  at  one  period  "  Asphaltites  " 
 was  the  northern  extremity  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba, 
 one  of  the  northern  arms  of  the  Eed  sea ;  that  an 
 uprising  of  land  occurred  between  the  Dead  and  the 
 Red  Sea,  confining  the  water  in  the  northern  extre- 
 mity of  the  gulf,  and  transforming  the  enclosed  mass 
 into  an  inland  lake. 
 
 When  thus  isolated,  the  water  of  Asphaltites 
 evaporated  by  heat  and  wind,  leaving  much  salt  in  the 
 ground ;  the  process  going  steadily  on  until  the  supply 
 of  water  by  the  Jordan  compensated  for  the  loss  by 
 evaporation.  If  this  account  of  a  geological  fact 
 is  accepted,  it  fully  explains  the  occurrence  of  the 
 enormous  quantity  of  salt  which  is  found  around  the 
 Dead  Sea,  and  the  high  specific  gravity  of  its  water, 
 which  is  that  of  an  ordinary  sea  highly  concentrated 
 by  evaporation.  It  also  seems  to  demonstrate  the 
 untruthfulness  of  the  story  told  of  the  destruction 
 of  the  cities  of  the  plain,  inasmuch  as  it  is  impossible 
 that  any  people  could  find,  anywhere  upon  the  shores 
 of  such  a  natural  salt-pan,  the  materials  for  living. 
 
 But  it  may  be  urged,  that  there  is  no  reason  for 
 saying  that  the  cities  of  the  plain  were  situated 
 on  any  portion  of  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
 In  fact,  any  one  who  knows  the  country,  and  any 
 thing  about  its  geological  formation,  must  see  that 
 it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  deny  that  they  were  so 
 situated,  before  the  story  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
 and  other  towns,  can  appear  even  prima  facie  to  be 
 true.  The  evidence  which  locates  the  cities  on  the 
 banks  of  Asphaltites  is  (1)  the  exiH-essiou  in  Gen.  xiii. 
 
749 
 
 10,  wherein  reference  is  made  to  the  destruction  of 
 a  fertile  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,   "  which 
 was  well  watered  everywhere  before  the  Lord  destroyed 
 Sodom   and  Gomorrah,  even   as  the  garden    of   the 
 Lord,"  etc. ;  (2)  when  Lot  parted  from  Abraham  at 
 Bethel,  he  is  represented  as  journeying  to  the  East ; 
 (3)   that  there  is  a  distinct  statement  that    "  Bera, 
 king  of  Sodom  ;  Birsha,  king  of  Gomorrah ;  Shinab, 
 king  of  Admah ;    Shemeber,  king  of  Zeboim  ;    and 
 the  king  of  Bela,  which  is  Zoar  ;  all  these  were  joined 
 together  in  the  vale   of  Siddim,    which  is    the   Salt 
 Sea; "  (4)  when  the  cities  were  destroyed,  they  are  thus 
 spoken  of  Gen.  xix.  25-29 ;  "  and  he  overthrew  those 
 cities,  and  all  the  plain,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
 the   cities,  and  that  which  grew  upon  the  ground ;  " 
 Lot's  wife  became  a  pillar  of  salt ;   "  and  Abraham 
 looked  toward  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  toward  all 
 the  land  of  the  plain,   and  God  sent  Lot  out  of  the 
 midst  of  the  overthrow  when  he  overthrew  the  cities," 
 etc.     This  points  to  present  desolation,  and  destruc- 
 tion   associated   with    salt ;   (5)   the    vale   of    Siddim 
 contained   bitumen   pits,   and    bitumen  is  even   now 
 found  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  sea;  (6)  in  2  Kings 
 xiv.  25,    "The  sea  of  the  plain"  is  used  to  express 
 the  Dead   Sea,   and  this   epithet  coincides  with  the 
 expression,  cities  of  the  plain ;  (7)  the  Southern  end 
 of  the  sea  in   question   is   very  shallow,    and   more 
 bitumen  is  found  on  the  surface  there  than  elsewhere. 
 We   think   that   no    one    can    read  this  evidence 
 without  feeling  that  it  points  to  a  desolate  salt  region, 
 where  there  was  once  a  smiling  country  with  popu- 
 lous villages,  which  were  destroyed  so  completely  that 
 their  place  is  even  now  covered  with  water,  and  not 
 a  trace  left  behind. 
 
750 
 
 We  have  already  seen  geological  reasons  for  be- 
 lieving that  the  tract  of  land  around  the  Dead  Sea 
 could  never  have  been  fertile,  inasmuch  as  it  has 
 everywhere  been  covered  by  a  layer  of  salt,  the 
 remains  of  an  ancient  sea.  In  like  manner  it  is 
 geologically  impossible  that  the  basin  of  the  Dead  Sea 
 could  have  been  "  a  plain  "  so  long  as  it  received  all 
 the  waters  of  the  Jordan,  and  was  so  deep  as  to  be 
 about  1,300  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Red  Sea. 
 Consequently  we  are  obliged  to  regard  the  story  of 
 Sodom  as  a  fabrication.  \Vhen  we  analyse  it  closely, 
 we  see  very  strong  corroborative  proof  of  the  position 
 thus  taken.  It  is  associated  with  the  most  gross 
 anthropomorphism  to  be  found  in  all  the  Bible.  Ere 
 Sodom  falls,  God  appears  in  the  form  of  three  men  to 
 Abraham,  and  with  him  partakes  of  ordinary  human 
 food.  In  conversation  with  the  patriarch,  the  Al- 
 mighty is  represented  as  saying,  "  I  will  go  down  now 
 and  see  whether  they  have  done  altogether  according 
 to  the  cry  of  it,  which  has  come  unto  me ;  and  if  not 
 I  will  know;"  whereas,  in  the  original  version,  we  are 
 told  that  the  Lord  stood  before  Abraham  when  he 
 talked  with  him,  and  then  went  his  way  (see  Gen. 
 xviii.  2-33).^"'  We  now  pass  on  to  the  horrible  story 
 of  Lot  and  his  daughters,  which  is  utterly  incredible. 
 In  one  part  we  are  told  that  "  the  men  laid  hold  upon 
 Lot's  hand,  and  upon  the  hand  of  his  wife,  and  upon 
 the  hand  of  his  two  daughters,  and  they  brought 
 them  forth  "  etc.  (Gen.  xix.  IC) ;  a  statement  which 
 tolerably  well  proves  that  the  fugitives  were  not  laden 
 with  wine  cans,   or  stores  of  money,  if,  indeed,  any 
 
 '"1  Oen.  xviii.  2,  21,  22,  33,  and  ch.  xix.  1,  can  scnrccly  liiive  lu-eii  written  by  the 
 Baiae  jitn.  Some  liiivo  cerlninly  Iwin  "  corrected,"  but  the  emendutions  have  mitdo 
 the  detuiU  of  thu  story  LopeluHtily  uudiUed. 
 
751 
 
 money  then  existed  in  common  life.     As  Lot  had  lost 
 all  his  herds,  and  every  thing  but  his  life,  and  had 
 neither  coin  nor  articles  for  barter  with  traders,  we 
 cannot  imagine  how  his   daughters  would  have  pro- 
 cured wine  enough  to  make  their  father  drunk  two 
 nights  in  succession,  if,  indeed,  vines  ever  would  have 
 grown  on  the  shores   of   the   Salt   Sea.     It  may  be 
 supposed,   by   some  who   are  determined   to  see  no 
 difficulty  in  the  legend  of  Lot  and  his  family,  that  the 
 women  might  have  paid  for  wine  as  St.  Mary,  the 
 Egyptian,    paid    for   her   passage   in   the    ship    she 
 sailed    in   when   going  to  adore   the   true    cross   at 
 Jerusalem.     But  we  are  wholly  precluded  from  this 
 consideration  by  the  exigencies  of  the  story,  for  the 
 daughters  say,  in  the  first  place,   '  there  is  not  a  man 
 in  all  the  earth,  etc.,  except  our  father'  (Gen.  xix.  31) ; 
 and,  in  the  second,  if  they  had  found  means  to  pur- 
 chase wine  by  selling  themselves,  there  could  clearly 
 have  been  no  necessity  for  making  Lot  drunk.     With 
 the  whole  country  burned,  vines,  &c.,  included  (Gen. 
 xix.  28),  no  town  existing  except  Zoar,  no  man  known, 
 no  money,  no  goods,  it  is  simply  impossible  that  wme 
 could  have  been  found.     Such  a  luxury  is  not  to  be 
 found  in  cave  dwellings.     When  first  the  juice  of  the 
 grape  was  fermented  in  Palestine  we  do  not  know, 
 but  it  is  always  spoken  of  as  a  costly  beverage,  and 
 not  to  be  indulged  in  except  by  the  well-to-do,  the 
 great,  the  noble,  and  the  royal.     That  the  poverty- 
 stricken  mothers  of  Ammon  and  Moab  could   have 
 purchased  a  large  quantity  of  wine  is  inconceivable. 
 
 See  MoAB  supra. 
 
 We  have  long  believed  that  the  story  was  invented 
 with  the  design  to  show  the  abhorrence  in  which  God 
 held  the  "  kedeshim,"  and  to  throw  dirt  upon  Ammon 
 
752 
 
 and  Moab.  We  shall  probably  be  able  to  discover 
 approximately  the  period  when  the  conception  ^Yas 
 formed,  by  attending  to  a  few  points. 
 
 (1)  After  the  account  in  Genesis,  and  a  reference 
 n  Deut.  xxix.  23,  —  a  book  which  we  believe  to  have 
 been  written  in  Josiah's  time, — we  do  not  find  Sodom 
 and  Gomorrah  referred  to  until  the  times  of  Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Amos,  and  Zephaniah.  Admah  is 
 mentioned  in  Genesis  and  Deuteronomy,  and  never 
 again  until  we  meet  with  it  in  Hosea  xi.  8.  Zeboim 
 is  also  mentioned  in  the  Pentateuch  in  the  two  places 
 indicated,  and  not  again  until  we  find  it  in  Hosea  xi. 
 8.  The  reference  in  1  Sam.  xiii.  18,  and  Neh.  xi.  34, 
 clearly  points  to  another  Zeboim  than  the  one  de- 
 stroyed. The  name  of  Zoar,  in  like  manner,  after 
 being  found  in  Genesis  and  Deuteronomy,  disappears, 
 till  we  meet  with  it  in  Isaiah  xv.  5,  and  Jerem. 
 xlviii.  34,  in  verses  which  are  counterparts  of  each 
 other. 
 
 Again,  the  word  Snix^m,  after  it  appears  once  in 
 Genesis  and  Josh.  vii.  21,  where  it  is  translated 
 "Babylonish,"  does  not  occur  again  till  Isaiah  xi. 
 11,  Dan.  i.  2,  Zech.  v.  11,  and  in  no  other  part  of 
 the  Bible.  Ellasar  never  reappears  after  Gen.  xiv. 
 1,  9.  Elam,  after  Genesis,  is  not  mentioned  again 
 till  the  time  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and 
 Daniel ;  whilst  ^P^,  f/oim,  translated  "  nations " 
 Gen.  xiv.  1,  appears  once  again  in  Jos.  xii.  23,  and 
 not  again  until  Is.  ix.  1  (\iii.  23). 
 
 Once  more,  the  word  Salem,  after  being  found  in 
 Gen.  xiv.  18  and  xxxiii.  18,  disappears  until  we  find 
 it  in  Ps.  Ixxvi.  2,  (3),  which  is  evidently  of  a  late 
 period.  The  word  Melchizedek,  also,  seems  to  be  of 
 comparatively  late  date,   for  cognomens  compounded 
 
753 
 
 with  ''3^9,  malchi,  were  not  given  until  the  time  of 
 Jeremiah,  Nehemiah,  and  the  writer  of  Chronicles; 
 the  only  one  appearing  prior  to  that  time  is 
 Melchi-shua,  1  Sam.  xiv.  49,  who  is  represented  as 
 a  son  of  Saul. 
 
 From  these  considerations  we  draw  the  conclusion 
 that  the  story  of  Sodom  was  composed  about  the 
 period  of  Isaiah. 
 
 If  we  now  turn  to  the  history  of  Judah,  in  the 
 time  of  Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  we  find 
 that  the  country  and  the  city  were  still  suffering  from 
 that  cruel  invasion  which  we  have  described  under 
 Obadiah.  Her  priests  and  prophets  were  endeavour- 
 ing to  convince  the  miserable  remnant  which  existed 
 around  them  that  the  previous  troubles  had  come 
 upon  Jerusalem  on  account  of  the  sins  of  her  people. 
 Stories  were  then  fabricated  and  became  common, 
 which  showed  how  other  nations  had  been  destroyed 
 on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  some  sin  which  was 
 then  common  amongst  the  people ;  just  as  we  are  told, 
 in  the  pulpit  of  to-day,  that  drunkenness  and  Sabbath 
 breaking  have  been  the  cause  of  the  cholera  and  the 
 cattle  murrain ;  and  sinners  were  requested  then, 
 as  now,  to  take  warning  from  the  fate  of  others. 
 It  is  certain,  from  the  accounts  which  we  read  in 
 "Kings,"  that  paederasty  was  common  in  Judea, 
 (see  1  Kings  xiv.  24,  xv.  12,  xxii.  46,  2  Kings  xxiii.  7.) 
 We  can  also  see  that  the  circulation  of  a  story  like 
 the  one  in  question  would  be  appropriate  to  check 
 such  practices  as  the  presence  of  Sodomites,  near  the 
 house  of  the  Lord,  indicated.  At  the  same  time  the 
 inventor  of  the  legend  took  the  opportunity  to  "  cast 
 dirt "  on  Ammon  and  Moab,  two  of  the  nations  who 
 
 B  B  B 
 
754 
 
 bad   been   confederate   against    Jerusalem,    and   bad 
 assisted  in  despoiling  ber. 
 
 Again  we  ask  tbe  question,  bow  a  propbet  can 
 be  venerated  as  a  messenger  of  Jebovab,  wbo  enun- 
 ciates tbe  dictum  tbat  nations  are  punisbed  wbolly 
 for  tbeir  sins,  and  declares  tbat  tbe  Almigbty  visits 
 tbe  iniquity  of  tbe  fatbers  upon  tbe  cbildren,  unto  tbe 
 tbird  and  fourtb  generation  of  tbem  tbat  bate  Him? 
 Was  Denmark,  we  may  inquire,  more  wicked  tban 
 Prussia,  wbo  conquered  ber  and  absorbed  two  of  ber 
 provinces?  Was  Italy,  in  tbe  late  war,  more  boly 
 tban  Austria  ?  Were  tbe  Huguenots  wbo  perisbed 
 on  St.  Bartbolomew's  day,  in  France,  greater  sinners 
 tban  tbe  papists  wbo  killed  tbem  ?  or  were  tbe 
 Babylonians,  wbo  captured  Jerusalem,  more  beloved 
 of  God  tban  tbe  Jews,  wbo  were  taken  into  captivity? 
 Surely  not. 
 
 A  close  appeal  to  statistics  tells  us  tbat  tbere  is 
 always  an  average  amount  of  crime  in  every  country, 
 and  tbat  tbe  departures  from  tbe  extremes  arc  annually 
 very  sligbt.  Man  is  tbe  same  animal  no  matter 
 wbat  religion  be  may  profess;  and  tbe  most  pious 
 common wealtb  would  be  as  certainly  destroyed  by  a 
 nation  of  robbers  as  a  community  of  sybarites,  unless 
 tbey  adopted  adequate  means  of  defence.  Tbe 
 Cbristians  fell  before  tbe  Mabometans,  and  botb  alike 
 before  tbe  Tartars,  and  in  no  instance  was  any  fault 
 attributable  to  tbe  vanquisbed,  except  tbat  of  being 
 tbe  weakest  party. 
 
 As  an  individual  I  bave  neitbcr  admiration  for,  nor 
 sympatby  witb,  tbose  wbo  affirm  tbat  tbey  are  in  tbe 
 Council  of  God,  and  know  wby  He  sends  tbe  murrain 
 upon  cattle,  a  bligbt  upon  potatoes,  cartbquakes  and 
 
755 
 
 storms  in  divers  places ;  why  the  cholera  is  sent 
 chiefly  to  the  Hindoos,  and  the  plague  to  the  Turks. 
 I  can  scarcely  he  patient  when  I  hear  divines  descant 
 upon  the  potency  of  church-going,  fasting,  and  alms- 
 giving for  modifying  the  laws  of  nature,  which  are  also 
 the  laws  of  God.  If  I  huild  a  house  upon  the  sand, 
 close  to  a  sea  or  river,  and  rain  descends,  floods  come 
 down,  and  waves  beat  upon  the  mansion,  and  it  falls, 
 I  should  not  be  so  silly  as  to  look  upon  the  occurrence 
 as  a  special  judgment  upon  me,  because,  perhaps  the 
 day  before,  I  had  allowed  black-puddings  to  be  eaten 
 in  the  kitchen,  and  had  myself  partaken  of  a  chicken 
 that  had  been  strangled.  Well  would  it  be  for 
 mankind,  if  religion  taught  us  to  cultivate  our 
 intellect,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
 nature,  and  a  belief  in  the  necessity  for  obeying  them, 
 rather  than  a  fostering  of  superstition,  and  ignorance 
 of  the  works  of  the  Creator. 
 Solomon,  nDP^^  or  Shelomo  (2  Sam.  v.  15),  "peaceable." 
 This,  like  Shalom,  ^"'''^,  slialom,  is  supposed  to  have 
 been  an  epithet  of  the  supreme  God  (Furst  s.  v.)  e.  g., 
 Jehovah  Shalom. 
 
 Having  before  examined  the  life  of  David,  as 
 a  representative  man,  we  may  now  investigate  the 
 history  of  his  son,  the  model  king  and  character 
 of  Hebrew  story.  The  first  is  the  personification  of 
 the  warrior,  according  to  the  mind  of  the  Jewish 
 writer  ;  the  second  embodies  the  Hebrew  idea 
 of  a  peaceful,  wealthy,  and  powerful  king.  We  shall 
 chiefly  follow  the  narrative  given  in  the  book  of 
 Kings,  being  convinced  that  the  one  written  in 
 Chronicles  is  not  trustworthy.  The  writer  of  the  last 
 somewhat  resembles  Livy,  who  almost  always  puts 
 speeches    into   the   mouths   of    generals   and   others 
 
756 
 
 according  to  his  own  fancy,  adopting  what  he  thinks 
 they  ought  to  have  said,  rather  than  what  they  really 
 uttered. 
 
 The  first  thing  to  be  noticed  about  King  Solomon 
 is,  that  he  was  the  second  son  of  Bathsheba,  con- 
 ceived immediately  after  the  loss  of  her  first  child ; 
 that,  in  sj^ite  of  his  being  the  offspring  of  murder  and 
 adultery,  the  Lord  loved  him  from  his  birth  (2  Sam. 
 xii.  24,  25). ^'^"  Let  us  now  for  a  moment  turn  our 
 attention  to  the  incidents  narrated  in  the  chapter 
 from  which  these  verses  are  taken.  David  has  been 
 reproved  for  adultery  and  murder,  and,  if  the  Mosaic 
 law  had  then  been  in  existence,  both  the  king  and  his 
 paramour  would  have  been  put  to  death  (Lev.  xx.  10). 
 The  result,  however,  is  that  the  fruit  of  the  adultery 
 dies,  and,  the  sin  being  repeated  (the  guilt  of  the 
 second  union  being  equal  to  that  of  the  first),  the  Al- 
 mighty is  represented  as  condoning  the  ofience,  and 
 patronising  the  second  child  of  crime.  But,  as  we 
 cannot  for  one  moment  imagine  that  God  "  winks  at " 
 sins  when  repeated  more  than  once,  we  ask  ourselves, 
 What  induced  Nathan  so  completely  to  change  his 
 
 is^  Tlioae  who  are  acquainted  with  the  doctrine  of  "election,"  as  enunciated  by 
 St.  Paul,  may  well  be  shocked  when  they  develop  the  arguments  used  by  the 
 Apostle  (Rom.  ix.  4,  13,  xi.  5-7,  28),  and  examine  into  the  'elections,'  or,  what 
 amounts  to  the  same  thing,  the  '  selections '  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  as  having 
 been  made  by  the  Almighty  from  amongst  men.  Can  profane  history  show  us  a 
 more  dninken  character  than  Noah,  the  inventor  of  wine-bibbing  and  bestial 
 intoxication  ;  one  more  contemptible  than  Abraham,  who  traded  on  his  wife's  infamy 
 and  sacrificed  (in  intention)  his  two  sons  without  a  qualm  ;  and  one  more  mean 
 deceptive,  and  cowardly  than  Jacob  ?  Can  we  find  therein  anyone  to  suqjass  David 
 in  cruelty,  ruthlessness,  credulitj',  lip  reverence,  iind  revenge  ;  or  to  equal  Solomon, 
 the  damning  blot  on  his  father's  life,  the  child  of  adultery,  associated  with  two 
 attempts  at  murder,  and  himself  the  personification  of  barbaric  pomp  and 
 unbridled  lust  ?  Surely,  if  these  considerations  stood  alone,  we  ought  to  recognise 
 with  certainty  that  what  is  called  '  election '  by  the  Lord  is  nothing  more  than  a 
 fiction  of  llio  liistoriiiii,  who,  iu  depicting  others,  to  a  great  extent  describes  what  ho 
 himself  would  be,  under  the  circumstances  with  which  he  surrounds  his  heroes. 
 
757 
 
 policy  during  the  nine  months  which,  if  we  credit  the 
 story,  must  have  intervened  between  the  death  of 
 Bathsheha's  first  and  the  birth  of  her  second  son, 
 as  to  adopt  the  second  son  of  Bathsheba  and  call  him 
 "beloved  of  Jah,"  after  having  cursed  the  first— both 
 being  equally  evidence  of  David's  adulterous  and 
 murderous  propensities  ? 
 
 As  the  account  does  not  clearly  tell  us,  we  can  but 
 draw   our   conclusions    from    such   premises    as^  are 
 available.     We  find,  from  the  first  chapter  of  1  Kings, 
 that  David  had  formed  some  special  bond  with  the 
 late  wife  of  Uriah,  promising  to  promote  her  son  to 
 be  king.     As  he  had  not  done  such  a  thing  with  a 
 preceding  wife,  we  presume  that  Bathsheba  was  the 
 favourite  sultana,  and  exercised  greater  influence  over 
 the  old  monarch  than  any  other.     Being  in  power,  it 
 would  be  a  very  awkward  thing  for  the   prophet  to 
 thwart  her.     As  it  is  clear  that  the  wife  of  Uriah  was 
 both  a  clever  and  an  ambitious  woman,  there  is  strong 
 reason    to    beheve  that  she  discovered,  through  the 
 nurses  who  attended  the  infant,  that  Nathan  brought 
 about,  in  one  way  or  another,  the  decease  of  her  first- 
 born.    Or,  what  is  equally  possible,  she  may  have 
 alleged    the   fact,    and    have   threatened    Nathan   to 
 expose  the  crime,  unless  the  criminal  consented  to 
 make  common  cause  with  her,  so  as  to  assure  the  king- 
 dom to  her  coming  child.     We  can  readily  imagine 
 such  a  treaty  being  made,  for  intrigues  in  oriental 
 courts  usually  are  hatched  in  the  seragUo.     Nathan 
 and    Bathsheba    would    in    this     case    both    retain 
 their    power    in    the    royal    household,    so    long   as 
 they  were  united.      Solomon,  therefore,  we  beheve, 
 came  to  the  throne  in  consequence  of  a  conspiracy,  or 
 project  in  the  harem  of  the  palace,  rather  than  from  a 
 
758 
 
 divine  selection.  Under  the  tuition  of  two  such 
 teachers  as  the  astute  Nathan  and  the  ambitious 
 Bathsheba,  the  future  king  was  taught  to  be  a 
 monarch  rather  than  a  warrior,  and  to  cultivate 
 religion  and  peace  instead  of  discord  and  battles. 
 When  once  master  of  the  situation,  by  the  destruction 
 of  those  who  were  likely  to  oppose  him,  the  king 
 began  to  utilise  the  treasures  accumulated  by  the 
 organised  rapine  and  bloodshed  of  his  warlike  pre- 
 decessor. History  represents  him  as  building  a 
 grand  palace  for  himself,  and  making  alliances  by 
 marriage  with  his  wealthy  or  powerful  neighbours,  and 
 adoj)ting  "wisdom"  for  his  guide  rather  than  military 
 skill.  He,  moreover,  especially  distinguished  himself 
 by  building  a  temple  to  his  and  Nathan's  God,  and 
 by  richly  adorning  it  with  gold  and  precious  stones. 
 Yet  Solomon's  opinion  of  the  Almighty  Avas  clearly 
 not  drawn  from  the  books  of  Moses,  inasmuch  as  he 
 sacrificed  a  thousand  burnt  offerings  upon  a  "  high 
 place "  in  Gibeon,  and  kept  a  feast  for  fourteen 
 days  without  any  regard  whatever  for  "  the  Sab- 
 bath." ^«' 
 
 As  we  have  before  remarked,  the  king  seems  to 
 have  been  ignorant  of  the  great  Jewish  festivals, 
 which  figure  so  largely  in  the  Pentateuch.  At  the 
 dedication  of  his  gorgeous  temple,  Solomon  uttered 
 a  prayer,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  he  com- 
 mitted it  to  writing.  Much  of  its  language  all 
 must  admire,  Imt  it  contains  such  anachronisms 
 that  we  feel  bound  to  believe  that  the  very  sublime 
 petition,  and  its  answer,  as  recorded  in  the  historic 
 book  of  Kings,  must  be  regarded  as  fictitious,  and 
 
 ^'^^   See  Harbatii.  i^u/tm.  p.  tVj;». 
 
759 
 
 composed  subsequently  to  the  terrible  sack  of 
 Jerusalem,  by  the  Edomite,  Tyrian,  and  Grecian 
 confederacy/^*  The  verses,  "  If  they  sin  against  thee 
 (for  there  is  no  man  that  sinneth  not),  and  thou 
 be  angry  with  them,  and  deliver  them  to  the  enemy, 
 so  that  they  carry  them  away  captives  unto  the  land 
 of  the  enemy  far  or  near.  Yet  if  they  shall  bethink 
 themselves  in  the  land  whither  they  were  carried 
 captives "  (1  Kings  viii.  46-50)  are  far  more  likely 
 to  have  been  composed  in  the  time  of  Joel,  Amos, 
 or  Micah,  than  when  everything  was  prosperous,  and 
 the  people  were  rejoicing  at  the  liberal  promises 
 showered  down  upon  them  by  Davidic  prophets. 
 
 At  the  dedication  of  the  temple,  we  are  informed 
 that  Solomon  sacrificed  two  and  twenty  thousand 
 oxen,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  sheep  ! 
 But  a  very  short  calculation  will  show,  that  it  would 
 have  been  an  utter  impossibility  to  have  put  all  this 
 quantity  of  beasts  into  the  streets  of  Jerusalem, 
 unless  they  were  packed  in  some  places  two  tiers 
 deep.  After  allowing  for  the  space  occupied  by  the 
 temple  and  the  palace,  the  whole  area  within  the  walls 
 of  Jerusalem  probably  equalled  five  hundred  thousand 
 square  yards,  of  which  we  may  assign  fifty  thousand 
 to  the  streets  and  other  open  places.  But  the  area 
 covered  by  the  beasts  would  amount  to  about  seventy- 
 five  thousand  square  yards,  leaving  no  space  whatever 
 for  drovers,  priests,  and  holiday  makers.  How  any 
 one  could  have  borne  the  stench  and  filth  arising  from 
 such  a  mass  of  beasts  huddled  together  in  life,  and 
 burned  after  death,  I  cannot  understand. 
 
 We  have  already  remarked  on  the  human  weakness 
 
 i^"*    See  Obadiah,  supra. 
 
760 
 
 which  believes  that  the  efficacy  of  a  sacrifice  depends 
 upon  its  magnitude. 
 
 We  have,  in  previous  pages,  shown  good  reason 
 to  consider  that  everything  connected  with  Solomon's 
 wealth  has  been  highly  exaggerated  by  historians, 
 and  that  there  is  endence  from  foreign  sources  that 
 Solomon  was  not  known  to  his  contemporaries  in 
 Egypt,  Tyre,  Sidon,  or  Greece."'  When  we  strip 
 away  the  tinsel  ornaments  with  which  this  king  has 
 been  clothed  by  oriental  eulogists,  all  that  is  left  to 
 us  is  a  monarch,  —  mythical  to  a  great  extent,  like 
 Haroun  Alraschid,  and  Arthur,  king  of  Britain, — 
 who  favoured  the  priestly  order,  built  a  temple  for 
 them,  and  sacrificed  on  a  scale  sufficient  to  establish 
 the  belief  that  the  favour  of  the  Almighty  may  be 
 propitiated  by  holocausts  and  hecatombs.  Such  a 
 ruler,  being  made  after  priests'  own  heart,  was  repre- 
 sented by  clerical  scribes  as  superlatively  wise  and 
 good,  so  long  as  he  let  the  hierarchy  have  its  own 
 way;  but  when  he  favoured  other  priests  besides 
 Jehovah's,  then  he  was  depicted  as  a  renegade,  and 
 described  as  being  punished  accordingly.  So,  in 
 the  present  day,  our  own  legislature  is  depicted  as 
 pious,  infidel,  large-minded,  or  the  contrary,  by  those 
 who  are  influenced  by  its  decisions.  The  Protestant 
 rejoices  to  see  the  Papal  yoke  broken  in  Austria, 
 whilst  he  grumbles  to  think  that  the  Anglican  yoke  is 
 likely  to  be  severed  in  Ireland.  Yet  he  calls  himself 
 "  enlightened  with  wisdom  from  on  high." 
 
 Again,    if    we   rigidly   investigate   the   claims  of 
 
 "o  ChronoloRists  generally  regard  Homer  nnd  Solomon  ns  contempornrj-; 
 sometimes  Lis  reign  is  regarded  as  contumpornry  with  that  ol  Priam;  ytt,  Solomon, 
 "whose  fume  (■i)rcad  into  all  lands,"  was  uukuowu  to  Homer  and  every  other  old 
 Grecian  writer  known. 
 
761 
 
 Solomon  to  wealth  und  wisdom,  we  find  no  evidence  to 
 Hustjiin  them,  heyond  the  r.v  parte  sttitoments  of  Jewish 
 historians.  What  riches  existed  in  his  time  were, 
 accordinj^  to  the  Ilehrew  writers,  carried  away  shortly 
 after  his  death,  so  that  his  successors  could  never  have 
 demonstrated  their  real  existence,  if  challenj^ed  to  do 
 so.  Then,  as  to  "  wisdom ;  "  we  do  not  see  that  he  esta- 
 hlished  or  encouraj^ed  trade  amonffst  his  people,  as  an 
 intelligent  ruler  would  do.  Il  is  true  that  we  hear  of 
 "  the  merchantmen,"  and  of  the  traffic  of  "  the  spice 
 merchants,"  hut  we  are  utterly  unahle  to  see  what 
 Solomon  had  to  trade  with  in  return,  which  spice  mer- 
 chants would  wish  to  huy.  That  Solomon  was  a  had, 
 injudicious,  and  tyrannical  king  we  are  distinctly  told, 
 for  his  suhjects  said  to  his  son,  **  Thy  father  made  our 
 yoke  grievous;  now  therefore  make  thou  the  grievous 
 service  of  thy  father,  and  his  hea\'}'  yoke  which  ho 
 put  upon  us,  lighter"  (1  Kings  xii.  4).  To  the  truth 
 of  this  charge  all  the  elders  that  stood  before  Solomon 
 and  Kelu)l)oam  assented. 
 
 Moreover,  when  we  next  examine  the  writings  of 
 this  sou  of  David,  taking  for  granted  that  all  which 
 pass  under  his  name  are  really  his  productions,  we  find 
 them  to  he  of  no  greater  value  than  the  lucubrations 
 of  hundreds  of  other  men.  The  book  of  Proverbs 
 is  not  a  whit  better  than  the  maxims  of  Confucius, 
 so  far  as  we  know  them.  The  works  of  Plato  far 
 surpass  the  proverbial  philosophy  of  the  Hebrew 
 king.  "Ecclesiasticus"  is  8U|>erior  to  "  Ecclesiastes," 
 and  the  "  Song  of  Solomon  "  is  so  incoherent  that 
 none  would  look  at  it  a  second  time,  unless  they 
 had  been  taught  to  believe  that  it  contained  incal- 
 culable wisdom,  and  was  composed  by  a  powerful 
 monarch. 
 
762 
 
 "We  conclude,  from  our  examination  of  Solomon's 
 character,  that  he  was  very  like  any  other  oriental 
 despot,  e.  g.,  Shah  Jehan,  Hyder  Ali,  Eunjeet 
 Singh,  or  the  present  Pacha  of  Eg}T)t.  We  infer 
 that  his  main  object  was  to  collect  gold  in  every 
 possible  way ;  and  that  his  idea  of  the  use  of  wealth 
 was  to  purchase  sensual  gratification,  and  to  buy  the 
 favour  of  the  Almighty  by  propitiating  and  obeying 
 the  priestly  order.  He  evidently  was  of  a  different 
 opinion  to  Peter,  as  expressed  when  Simon  wanted 
 to  buy  the  gift  of  God  with  a  sordid  bribe  (Acts 
 viii.  20).  Kulers  such  as  these  are  even  now 
 praised  by  historians  when  they  are  themselves  hier- 
 archs,  or  devoted  to  that  class  ;  for  the  higher  they 
 can  raise  the  wealth,  dignity,  and  wisdom  of  the 
 king  who  favours  the  priesthood,  the  more  effica- 
 ciously do  they  proclaim  the  value  of  their  own 
 religious  body.  But  we  greatly  doubt  whether 
 Solomon  and  his  policy  would  be  praised  by  such 
 sagacious  philosophers  as  Adam  Smith,  such  deep 
 thinkers  as  Buckle,  or  such  statesmen  as  the  third 
 Napoleon.  ^®® 
 
 1^  The  philosopher,  whose  thoughts  are  hahitually  vibrating  between  the 
 past  and  the  present,  from  a  desire  constantly  to  draw  an  analogy  bitween  human 
 nature,  as  it  was  and  as  it  is,  cannot  fail  to  have  his  mind  exercised  by  the  political 
 struggle  which  he  sees  around  him.  As  I  write  (July,  1H68),  there  are  two  sets  of 
 people  in  England  who  are  strongly  opposed  to  each  other  in  politics,  and 
 in  religion.  To  the  one,  everything  which  has  come  down  to  us  from  "  old  times," 
 and  is  redolent  of  power  intrusted  to  individuals  by  hereditary  descent,  is  regarded 
 with  veneration;  to  the  other,  nothing  is  palatable  unless  it  is  founded  upon 
 the  idea  that  men  are  equal,  and  that  antiquity  does  not  excuse  uselossness.  To  one 
 set,  there  is  only  one  pure  religion  in  the  world,  or  one  whereby  human  beings  can 
 be  saved  from  eternal  damnation ;  to  the  other,  the  very  church  which  sets  up  this 
 claim  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  very  worst  which  has  ever  existed.  One  party 
 regards  every  one  who  has  earnestly  promoted  the  glory  and  the  power  of  the 
 Church  of  Home  as  a  saint.  Even  the  founder  of  the  "  Inquisition,"  wliich  was  called 
 "  holy  "  in  its  time,  althongh  it  was  one  of  the  most  atrocious  of  institutions,  is 
 respected  by  this  set  to  the  present  day.  Others,  who  have  endeavoured  to  free 
 the  world  from  tlie  most  tyranuicul  of  thnildouis,  are   spoken   of  as  '  diildren  of 
 
763 
 
 At  oue  period  of  my  inquiry,  I  was  disposed  to 
 believe  tliat  many  of  the  Jewish  laws  originated  with 
 Solomon  ;  hut,  on  farther  investigation,  I  am  unable 
 to  find  a  scintilla  of  evidence  of  there  being  any  code 
 of  laws  in  his  time,  or  any  writings  whatever  which 
 were   considered   as    sacred.     I  may  also  notice,  m 
 passing,  that  his  name  has  not  yet  been  recognised  in 
 any  Cuneatic  inscriptions,  although  a  Solomon,  king 
 of  Moab,  is  stated  in  one  monument  to  have  been 
 contemporary  with  Tiglath  Pileser  II.,  about  B.C.  750 
 (Talbot,  in  Journal  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  iii., 
 New  Series,  p.  33). 
 Sophia  is  the  name  of  one  of   the  female  saints,  who  has 
 always  been  a  favourite  in  the  Greek  Church.     To  us 
 it  forms  a  valuable  link  between  ancient  and  modern 
 systems  of  faith ;  and  an  inquiry  into  the  signification 
 of   the  word  will   lead  us  into   some   comparatively 
 untrodden  paths,  wherein  we  shall  find  much  to  cor- 
 roborate  what   we   have    already   advanced.     Simply 
 speaking,  the  word  is  nothing  more  than  a  feminine 
 form  of   the  Greek  term  for  "wisdom."      But  few 
 amongst  the  Greeks  seem  to  have  adopted  this  as  the 
 basis  of  a  cognomen  until  they  embraced  Christianity. 
 Why  they  should  have  done  so  after  this  period,  is 
 worthy  of  attention. 
 
 darkness,'  '  the  spawn  of  heU,'  and  other  such  epithets.  The  one  party  considers 
 Thomas  a  Becket,  erst  Ai-chbishop  of  Canterbury,  a  saint,  and  Henry  II.  a  mighty 
 sinner  ;  the  other  regards  this  monarch  as  a  very  judicious  ruler,  and  his  subject  as 
 an  arrant  knave,  who  wanted  to  steal  from  his  master  a  large  portion  of  his  power, 
 and  to  elevate  the  high  priest  over  the  king. 
 
 These  opposite  parties  have  each  of  them  their  separate  histories,  their  sepa- 
 rate journals,  and  theii-  separate  orators ;  and  living  statesmen  are  spoken  of  as 
 variously  as  deceased  potentates.  On  one  side  of  a  street  we  may  listen  to  an 
 harangue  in  which  Mr.  Disraeli  is  declared  to  be  the  personification  of  everything 
 that  is  bad ;  whilst  over  the  way  he  is  lauded  to  the  sMes,  and  his  opponent,  Mr. 
 Gladstone,  is  designated  as  an  ally  of  Satan,  and  an  enemy  to  true  religion. 
 So  we  believe  it  was  in  the  days  of  Solomon,  but  the  history  of  his  eulogists  has 
 alone  survived. 
 
764 
 
 From  ovcnihing  that  I  can  learn,  there  He«m§  to 
 be  a  general  belief  aniongHt  scholars  tliat  the  early 
 Greek  Christians  were  strongly  imbued  with  Kabba- 
 listic  Hebrew  knowledge ;  and  that,  in  course  of  time, 
 there  was  woven  a  tissue  of  materials,  drawn  from 
 Hebrew  mysteries,  Grecian  philosophy,  Pagan  litera- 
 ture and  practice,  commixed  with  Huddhist  and  Chris- 
 tian knowledge,  which  together  took  the  form  of 
 Gnoslicisni.  Into  this,  however,  we  will  not  enter, 
 farther  than  the  word  SoniiA  leads  us.  The  Jewish 
 Kubbultth  (see  The  KahlHilah,  by  C.  D.  Ginsbarg, 
 London,  Longmans,  18G5)  gave  the  name  of  Ex 
 Sopii,  i.  e,  "  who  is  without  end,"  to  Goil ;  and  it 
 teaches  that,  >\hen  He  "assumed  a  form,  he  produced 
 everything  in  the  form  of  male  and  female."  Hence, 
 Wisdom  (Gr.  ^o$iac,  Sophia),  which  is  the  beginning 
 of  development,  when  it  prweedcd  "  from  the  bound- 
 less one,  "emunat^Hl  in  male  and  female."  "Wis- 
 dom was  the  father,  and  Intelligence  the  motlier,  from 
 whose  union  the  other  intelligences  successively  ema- 
 nated." Amongst  tl  •  "^  iiirolh  "  are  tlie  genital 
 organs,   called    the   f  n,   liecause    they   denote 
 
 the  basis  and  source  of  all  things."  "  Ail  marrow, 
 all  aap,  and  all  {wwcr  are  congregated  in  this  spot. 
 Hence  nil  i>owers  which  exist  originate  through  the 
 genital  orptns." 
 
 The  idea  thus  enunciated  liy  the  Hebrew  Kabbalah 
 was  consonant  with  that  which  was  taught  in  the 
 Grix'ian  arcana,  and  with  that  which  descended 
 frum  ancient  Hnbylon,  the  mother  of  myst4>ries.  But 
 it  became  cx|)anded  and  modifie<l,  when  Christians 
 felt  themselves  comiM-Ueil  to  show  that  "  the  power  of 
 tile  Highest  "  had  overshadowe*]  a  woman,  and  thus. 
 
765 
 
 by  human  means,  produced  an  incarnate  God.  ^"^  The 
 world  in  general  might  call  "the  mother  of  the  child" 
 Mary,  but  such  a  name  ill  suited  those  who  revelled 
 in  mysticism.  A  search  throughout  the  Hebrew 
 scriptures  readily  provided  them  with  another  which 
 tallied  with  their  ideas.  In  Proverbs  viii.  12-36, 
 "wisdom,"  Yj  (To(pla,  is  represented  as  being  the 
 associate  of  the  Creator,  and  the  words  '^^7"^,  choch- 
 mali,  and  cro^ia,  sopliia,  both  being  feminine,  it  was 
 natural  to  personify  "  wisdom"  as  a  female. 
 
 Again,  as  it  became  a  necessary  part  of  Christi- 
 anity to  believe  that  Christ  was  God,  so  it  was 
 natural  to  assign  to  him  the  same  companion  as  to 
 the  Creator;  thus  ^o/^loi,  Sophia,  became  the  feminine 
 form  of  Christ,  a  counterpart  of,  and  equal  in  position 
 to  Mary. 
 
 This  was  nothing  else  than  a  reproduction  of 
 more  ancient  ideas,  which  had  personified  the  different 
 sexes  in  creation,  and  assigned  to  the  male  every- 
 thing that  indicated  power,  fierceness,  passion,  and 
 the  like ;  whilst  they  associated  with  the  female 
 all  that  was  lovely,  gentle,  and  peaceful.  As  of  old 
 one  and  the  other  sex  had  been  symbolised  by  certain 
 forms,  so  they  were  again;  for  the  moderns  only 
 differ  from  the  ancients  by  the  adoption  of  new 
 emblems,  intended  to  represent  the  old  ideas. 
 
 When  once  Socfx'a,  or  "Evvo<a,  Ennoia,^^^  became 
 identified  with  "the  Virgin,"  she  became  equally 
 identified  with  Isis,  Ishtar,  Juno,  Venus,  Parvati,  and 
 
 167  Matt.  i.  18,  Luke  i.  35,  ii.  21. 
 
 i''8  I  state  this  on  the  authority  of  Lecky,  vol.  i.,  p.  228,  The  rise  and  influence 
 of  Rationalism  in  Europe.  London,  Longmans,  18(J(i.  Ennoia,  is  the  faculty  of 
 thinking,  SojMci,  the  use  thereof. 
 
Tfifi 
 
 the  Yoni.  Hence  she  was  occasioDally  called  ric ovvsixn, 
 Prouneike,  which  siguitics  "the  one  who  provokes 
 love,"  and  "  the  one  who  bears  the  burden."  Under 
 these  names  the  moral  was  enfolded,  viz.,  that  unless 
 women  hud  the  wisdom,  the  knowledge,  or  the  power 
 to  make  men  love  them,  and  themselves  to  bear  the 
 greatest  part  of  the  troubles  inseparable  from  a 
 family,  the  organised  world  would  die  out. 
 
 This  conception  of  the  position  of  woman  in  the 
 world  has  eventuated,  as  Lecky  observes,  in  an  ele- 
 vation of  females  in  the  social  scale ;  but  we  can- 
 not altogether  consider  the  two  as  cause  and  effect, 
 inasmuch  as  the  mythos  of  woman's  power  in  creation 
 existed  for  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of  years 
 before  she  became  the  companion  of  man,  such  as  she 
 is  amon^rst  Western  Christians.  '"* 
 
 ><■>  Whilst  thi«  article  wan  paHsiiii;  tbronf;b  the  prcsfi,  I  booanic  nrqnaint«d  with 
 F.  W.  Nfwnian'ii  Pkaaes  of  Faith,  and  I  take  tho  earliettt  opportunity  of  cxprpKsinR 
 toy  rc<rrct  that  I  did  not  Ix-oome  iifqiiaintt-d  witli  bin  writin^ii  long  aKO-  Witliout 
 detAiling  tin-  acridintA  whirh  iiidur«-d  uit-  to  ncKh'ct  book*  from  bi<  p<'n,  I  vill  at 
 once  cxprciii  thi-  delight  that  the  {M'niul  of  the  work  in  qnostion  haii  afforded  me, 
 and  the  e«(irmrn»  with  whirh  I  look  forward  to  m :iKt<  riiiK  tbo  whole  of  hiH  puhliithed 
 work*.  Had  bit  RcntimeulH  biH'n  familiar  to  ni<>  whilst  workiuf;  at  mr  preneiit  *ab- 
 jpcln,  I  thonld  niTPf  hare  lieen  weary  of  qnotin^  them.  Tbo  tbon(ifat«  cxprcMod  by 
 him  are  to  lofty,  hi*  reasoning  i*  ko  dear,  hi*  arKumeiita  arc  mi  rof^cnt,  hi*  temper, 
 etron  when  bo  ba»  to  deal  witli  spiteful  critirH,  ia  no  eren,  that  all  connpire  to  *Ump 
 him  a«  ono  of  the  highe*!  claM  of  religioni«t«.  To  «nch  a  writer  I  (gladly  concede 
 CTory  rUim  to  priority,  and  rejoice  to  fin-l  that  %o  many  of  the  idea*  that  liare  been 
 cmdfly  worked  out  by  mo.  whihit  driving  aliont  aroongit  my  ]>atientii,  bare  been 
 alrr«<ly  eannriatcd  by  to  great  a  mavter  of  Uni^mgr  a*  F.  W.  Newman.  How  liald, 
 for  example,  it  the  *<-ntence  in  the  text  com)>ared  with  the  following  ;  "  Wo  are  told 
 tliat  C'bnatianity  it  tho  dix-inire  influence  which  ha*  raited  tromanliinl ;  thi*  doea 
 not  ap|>ear  to  be  true.  The  old  Human  matron  wa*  relatiTcly  to  her  hnibaad 
 morally  a*  high  ai  in   mtxlem  Italy  ;  nor  I*  there  any  gn>and  for  lappoaing  that 
 
 i-rn  women  Itaro   advantage   oror   tho   ancient  in   S|>aiii    anil    Portugal,    wbero 
 
 >iiic  haTo  been  coanlemcteil  by   Moorish  inflnencet In  •borl,  only  in 
 
 '■oii.Uif*  whrre  (icrmanic  (wnliment  ha*  Ijtken  root,  do  we  aee  any  mark*  of  elera- 
 lion  of  Uio  female  arx  tuperior  t'>  that  of  I'aitan  antiquity ;  and  a*  lhl<  elerattoa  of 
 
 tV'  ■     -    ,1-1  ■    1  _  -  -  i,m  wa«  already  atnking  to  'I'ariia*  and 
 
 I  Diablo  to   claim   it  aa  an   achtcronent  of 
 
 *.  •iiiawKiii  ;i  .  /   r.,,,f  I  ,  ,    r  .iii'i.   ••Ill  ■    illjon.  p.   Uti. 
 
767 
 
 When  a  woman's  power  to  make  herself  attractive 
 to  man  was  associated  with  the  idea  of  the  creation,  it 
 became  equally  interwoven  with  that  of  salvation  ;  and 
 co-partnership  with  "  the  father "  implied  a  certain 
 extent  of  equality  with  Him ;  such,  at  any  rate, 
 as  existed  between  the  husband  and  wife  in  ancient 
 times.  Hence,  as  Lecky  observes,  came  the  idea  of 
 the  immaculate  conception  of  Mary,  that  she  might, 
 so  far  as  freedom  from  human  stain  went,  be  the 
 comparative  equal  of  her  son  and  her  immortal 
 uncreated  spouse. "° 
 
 Being  identified  with  Isis,  the  Isian  head-dress  was 
 assigned  to  the  Virgin,  but  it  was  quartered  with  the 
 cross  (Fig.  71).  As  she  was  identified  with  Venus 
 Urania,  she  had  a  head  -  dress  symbolic  of  the  sun  and 
 stars,  (Fig.  72),  the  crown  of  the  queen  of  heaven.  "^ 
 
 Fig.  71.  Fi-.  72. 
 
 As  she  was  identified,  moreover,  with  the  idea  of  an- 
 drogeneity,  she  had  another  head-dress,  combining  the 
 
 Fig.  73. 
 
 two  mystic  triangles  (Fig.  73),     \A-A/'  which  in 
 
 India  denote  the  junction  of  Siva  and  Parvati,  these 
 being  usually  marked  with  the  Greek  O,  12N,  i.  e., 
 "  the  being  "  ;  she  was  also  represented  by  the  acute- 
 
 170  -p.  W.  Newman,  in  Phases  of  Faith,  edit.  G,  jj.  104,  assigns  another  cause 
 for  tlie  mythos  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  but  we  prefer  that  given  above. 
 
 171  Sec  the  remarks  on  the  use  of  the  horseshoe,  p.  11-4,  Vol.  i. 
 
7C8 
 
 ended  ovftl  fij^ured  Vol  i.,  p.  159,  fip.  02  ;  and  supra, 
 fig.  48,  p.  048  ;  Conf.  figs.  04-07,  Vol.  i.,  p.  100,  101, 
 and  with  fig.  47,  p.  048  supra. 
 
 Thus  we  recognise  that  the  idea  embodied  in  the 
 word  SdPiiiA  was  a  reproduction  under  a  Cireck  form 
 of  the  feminine  emblem  in  creation.  The  notion  of  a 
 separateness  between  male  and  female  Creators  accom- 
 panied Christianity,  but  it  was  purged  to  a  gi-eat  degree 
 of  its  grossness.  To  the  multitude  Sophia  represented 
 the  incarnation  of  wisdom,  to  the  learned  it  was  a 
 means  of  referring  to  many  things  at  once.  But 
 though  the  ideas  which  were  once  prevalent  amongst 
 the  more  ancient  nations  were  recognised  and 
 adopted  by  the  Gnostics,  we  do  not  find  that  they 
 led  to  any  dissoluteness  of  manners,  of  doctrine,  or 
 of  practice  ;  everything  which  pertained  to  human 
 nature  had  an  exalted  signification  given  to  it.  Just 
 as  modern  ]Jibliolaters  have  striven  to  find  in  the 
 ordinances  of  Jewish  pedants,  and  in  the  utterances  of 
 fanatic  seers,  t^-pes  and  prophecies  respecting  the  son 
 of  Mary  and  his  doctrines,  so  the  Gnostics  saw 
 throughout  the  world  at  large  indications  of  the 
 will  of  God  to  man.  As  Jesus  was  believed  to  have 
 two  natures,  the  one  human  the  other  divine,  so  it 
 was  held  that  He,  of  whose  person  Christ  was  the 
 express  image,  ^apixxTr,p  t>;j  {nroa-Taa-fjui  auro'j  (Ileb. 
 i.  3),  must  have  a  two-fold  nature  also.  It  was 
 clear,  to  those  amongst  whom  anthropomorjihisni  was 
 held  in  abhorrence,  that  one  of  these  natures  could 
 not  be  human.  Hence  the  adoption  of  the  almost 
 universal  niythos,  that  the  (iodhead  was  a  dual  nionos, 
 a  double  single  one,  an  androgyne.  Hut  as  the 
 brilliancy  of  Christian  Grecism  declined,  the  purity 
 of  what   has  been   called    '  Ncoplatouism  '   gave  way. 
 
769 
 
 and  a  pagan  Christianity  sprung  up,  containing  as 
 much  of  the  horrible,  if  not  more,  than  the  old  hea- 
 thenism of  Babylonia.  We  doubt  whether  the  world 
 has  ever  witnessed,  even  in  the  times  when  Moloch 
 reigned  supreme,  scenes  more  awful,  sensuaHsm 
 more  swinish,  or  cruelty  more  horrible,  than  that  which 
 prevailed  in  the  dark  ages  of  Christianity.  From  this 
 fearful  night  of  dread  we  are  slowly  emerging;  yet 
 there  are  still  amongst  us  men  who  would  fain  recal 
 the  demons  which  dominated  over  Europe  for  cen- 
 turies, and  who  oppose  with  vehemence  every  indi- 
 vidual endeavouring  to  realise  the  best  doctrines 
 taught  in  the  times  of  Platonic  Christianity,  of  which 
 the  so-called  Gospel  of  St.  John  is  a  tolerably  good 
 exposition.  "^ 
 
 King  {The  Gnostics,  etc.)  gives  in  plate  v.,  fig.  1, 
 a  copy  of  a  gem  representing  Venus  standing  nude 
 under  an  angelic  canopy,  arranging  her  hair,  etc.,  and 
 adds,  "  Venus  here  stands  for  the  personification  of 
 the  Gnostic  Sophia,  or  Achamoth,  and  as  such  is 
 the  undoubted  source  of  our  conventional  represen- 
 tation of  truth." 
 Spotb.  In  spite  of  all  my  researches  as  to  the  mythological 
 import  of  spots,  I  am  unable  to  add  much  to  what 
 I  have  already  said  respecting  them,  Vol.  i.,  pp. 
 356-360. 
 
 From  Fig.  44,  p.  645  supra,  copied  from  plate  24 
 of  Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon,  and  intended  to  repre- 
 sent Arddha  -  Nari,  or  the  androgyne  creator,  the 
 spotted  robe  might  lead  us  to  infer  that  the  marks 
 on   the  dress,  which  in  the  original  consist  of  four 
 
 i'^  Again  I  must  call  the  reader's  attention  to  F.  W.  Newman's  Phases  of 
 Faith  (6tli  edition,  London,  1860),  wherein  he  will  find  the  ideas  expressed  ahove 
 carried  out  most  admirably. 
 
 C  CC 
 
770 
 
 dots,  arranged  in  a  lozenge  shape,  were  iudicativo 
 of  the  female;  but  when  we  turn  to  plate  31  of  the 
 same  author,  we  find  that  Indra,  a  male  god,  also 
 wears  a  spotted  dress. 
 
 Now  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  spots  on 
 ludra's  robe  all  represent  eyes ;  consequently  we 
 infer  that  there  is  good  pfi-ound  for  believing  that 
 the  marks  have  really  some  hidden  signification, 
 which  it  should  be  the  endeavour  of  the  inquirer 
 to  discover.  "NVe  turn,  therefore,  to  an  investigation 
 of  the  nature  of  decoration,  as  observed  by  Hindoo 
 mythologists. 
 
 To  Devi  -  Parvati,  or  the  spouse  of  Mahadeva, 
 the  designer  gives  (plate  30,  op.  cit.),  on  the  robe 
 covering  the  neck  and  shoulders,  spots  like  "  , 
 inverted  commas ;     on  the  j>(y''""^'^»  ^^  trousers,  the 
 
 design  adopted  is  ^^^/\>  ^  sort  of  fleur-de-lys.     On 
 
 Brahma's  dress  (plate  5,  fig.  3),  we  see  arranged 
 variously  the  sun  and  moon ;  we  find  the  same  in 
 the  robes  of  Vishnu  and  Siva.  Mahadeva  in  the 
 same  plate  is  represented  as  wearing  a  tiger  skin. 
 In  other  plates  the  dresses  of  male  and  female 
 deities  arc  spotted  and  striped  in  a  manner  closely 
 resembling  the  spots  and  stripes  on  the  mystic  ser- 
 pent. In  the  dilVerent  varieties  of  the  figure  41, 
 the  female  is  associated  with  the  tiger,  and  her 
 dress  is  spotted  in  groups  of  four  dots.  In  some 
 figures,  on  the  other  hand  (plate  10).  the  robes 
 are  marked  in  chequer,  and  other  fanciful  patterns, 
 such  as  are  afl'ect«;d  by  modern  ladies  in  Europe. 
 In  a  very  few  (♦•.  //.,  plate  25),  the  markings  are 
 intended  to  represent  the  scales  of  fish,  as  depicted 
 plato  48,   fig.    1,  yet  iu  such  characteri>.tit'    pictures 
 
771 
 
 as  plate  59  (copied  antea,  Vol.  i.,  p.  99),  the  female 
 dresses  are  unmarked.  We  have  already  told  the 
 story,  which  proves  that  the  spots  on  Indra's  rohe 
 were  significative  of  the  Yoni  (siqjra,  p.  649).  We 
 may,  therefore,  conclude  that  the  marks  borne  upon 
 dresses  of  deities  generally  indicated  the  triad,  the 
 unit,  the  symbolic  arba,  the  mystic  serpent,  or  the 
 fish,  emblems  of  Mahadeva  and  Parvati. 
 
 Now  it  will  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  plate  ii, 
 figs.  2,  3,  4,  5,  that  spotted  garments  were  worn  by 
 Egyptian  priests ;  that  Assyrian  priests  held  in 
 honour  spotted  antelopes;  and  that  Bacchus  also  wore 
 a  spotted  robe.  To  this  god  the  spotted  leopard  and 
 the  tiger  were  sacred.  We  have  already,  in  our  pre- 
 ceding volume,  explained  our  views  upon  the  mystical 
 value  of  these  markings ;  and,  since  we  so  expressed 
 ourselves,  we  have  met  with  a  passage  in  Ezekiel 
 which  seems  to  indicate  that  spots  were  sometimes 
 associated  with  Ashtoreth  and  her  votaries.  The 
 verse  in  question  runs  thus  (Ezek.  xvi.  16):  —  ^'"^P'?} 
 ^i}'^.l  'W.  ^''^^>.^  "'^^?  ^k'^'^^Ji}]  ^!:j|»,  va  tikchi  mib- 
 gadaich  vathaasi  lach  hamoth  teluoth  vatisni  alehem, 
 which  may  be  rendered,  "And  thou  hast  taken  of 
 thy  clothing,  and  hast  made  therewith  for  thyself 
 spotted  bamoths,  and  thou  hast  edited  upon  them." 
 
 Both  the  word  hamoth  and  teluoth,  deserve  atten- 
 tion. The  two  united  tell,  as  does,  indeed,  the  whole 
 of  the  sixteenth  chapter  of  Ezekiel,  of  the  shame- 
 lessness  which  was  tolerated  in  Jerusalem  in  its  deca- 
 dence. There  is,  moreover,  reason  to  believe,  from  a 
 passage  in  Jerem.  xliv.  15  (see  Vol.  i.,  pp.  673,  et 
 seq.),  that  worship  was  paid  to  Astarte  in  the  same 
 flagrant  manner  as  was  customary  in  other  nations 
 who  deified  the  Yoni.     Consequently,  we  are  prepared 
 
772 
 
 to  believe  that  the  hamoth  tclnoth  were,  iu  some  way 
 or  other,  the  murks  of  her  votaries. 
 
 Bamali,  phiral  Jnimoth,  is  iu  our  TJiblc  usually 
 translated  "  high  place ; "  but  there  is  reason  for 
 believing  that  the  word  did  not,  and  could  not,  always 
 signify  a  mountain,  or  even  an  artificial  hill, ''^  and  that 
 it  has  been  used  as  synonymous  with  ^^,  gab,  and 
 J^'^n,  ramah,  the  first  of   which   is  translated   "eye- 
 
 T    T  '  ' 
 
 brows,"  "navels,"  "bosses,"  in  some  parts,  and  "  an 
 eminent  place,  or  brothel  house,"  in  Ezek.  xvi.  24 ; 
 whilst  the  latter  is  translated  "  lifting  up"  in  Judges, 
 and  "a  high  place"  in  Ezek.  xvi.  25.  From  the 
 context  it  is  clear  that  this  ramah  must  have  been  a 
 small  edifice,  easily  put  up  and  as  readily  removed ; 
 and  these  again  we  must  associate  with  ^3P,  kubhah, 
 a  tent  used  by  courtesans  for  carrying  on  their 
 business  (see  Vol,  i.,  p.  211). 
 
 All  these  words  are  readily  grouped  together  by 
 the  scholar  with  "  fornication,"  the  meaning  of  which, 
 as  we  now  have  it,  is  derived  from  the  fact  that 
 public  women  used  for  their  residence  a  fonua:, 
 or  low  oven-shaped  chamber,  not  very  unlike  a 
 gipsy's  tent,  whose  aperture  could  be  conveniently 
 closed  when  it  was  desirable  to  do  so.  The  word 
 hamoth,  then,  must  bo  considered  iu  this  case  to  be 
 synonymous    with    hnbah,    etc.,    and    to    indicate,    n 
 
 '"8  It  is  probaMo  thnt  '  high  place '  was  tho  original  Bignification,  and  brothel- 
 lionM!  a  BPcondnr)-  one.  Wo  find  abundant  evidence  in  Orecion  writorH,  an  epitorao 
 of  which  may  be  found  in  Dnlaure,  vol.  ii.,  ch.  li',  IHslmre  Ahrajfe  ile  iliffrfns 
 Cttlten,  ran*,  18'J5,  thot  tt-niph-H  near  (ho  Rea  were  built  ujKJn  hij,'h  places  with  a 
 view  iif  ottnM-ting  j  aHHing  niiirincrH.  In  these  CHtalilishnicnt'*.  wonn-n  were  alwayn 
 kept  for  the  uh«  of  KtriinKcrs  (nee  KkdahiiimK  ronHe<|uenlly,  a  temple  on  an  enii- 
 neuco  became  equivah  nt  to  a  "br<.thel."  A  ftimilar  tranhniutittion  wan  once  rocog- 
 niHcd  in  KurojHs.  where  Imt/niu,  originally  "a  bath,"  and  nothing  more,  boeame 
 ■ynonymouii  with  "  houiie  of  ill  fame,  '  in  consequence  of  the  debauchcrieii  encouraged 
 la  bathing  oitablishmoDta. 
 
773 
 
 shamelessness  of  which  we  could  scarcely  frame  an 
 idea,  did  we  not  read  the  twentj^-fifth  verse  of  the 
 same  chapter  in  Ezekiel.  Truly  we  may  say  that  the 
 heathen  never  defiled  any  town  of  their  own,  or  the 
 holy  city  of  Jerusalem,  to  the  same  degree  as  she 
 was  defiled  by  the  ''peculiar  people,"  "the  chosen 
 race,"  who  claimed  the  town  of  David  as  their  own, 
 and  Jehovah  for  their  especial  patron. 
 
 Our  next  investigation  is  into  the  idea  associated 
 with  the  word  teluoth.  The  word  appears  to  he 
 derived  from  the  root  ^^^,  tala,  and  signifies  "to 
 rend  or  cut  materials,  to  fit  them  for  hanging  upon 
 a  frame  work,  or  for  attaching  them  to  a  dress,"  "to 
 embroider  with  spots,  or  to  make  patchwork."  The 
 word  in  question  may  therefore  signify  a  covering  for 
 a  gipsy-like  tent,  adorned  with  spots  or  made  with 
 divers  colours. 
 
 It  does  not  much  signify  whether  we  adopt  the 
 meaning  of  "spotted"  or  "striped"  hamoths  for 
 the  tents  under  consideration.  The  markings,  what- 
 ever they  were,  might  be  symbolical  of  the  ser- 
 pent, the  fish,  the  antelope,  the  leopard,  the  cat, 
 or  the  tiger ;  all  would  serve  alike,—  at  a  time  when 
 everything  connected  with  sexual  union  had  hundreds 
 of  euphemisms  by  which  it  could  be  indicated, — 
 to  show  the  nature  of   the  merchandise  offered  for 
 
 sale. 
 
 There  is  yet  one  other  point  connected  with  the 
 subject  of  spots  which  we  may  consider,  viz.,  that 
 they  indicated  in  ancient  days  what  the  use  of  em- 
 broidery does  now,  a  great  amount  of  wealth,  or  a 
 high  position  in  the  wearer.  At  all  times  priests  have 
 urged  upon  their  people  the  propriety  of  clothing  the 
 image  of  their  deity  with  the  finest  clothes,  jewels, 
 
774 
 
 and  ornaments  which  can  he  procured.  For  fxamjile, 
 the  Vir^u  Mary  in  Papal  churches  is  clothed  with  a 
 dress  scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  an  earthly  monarch. 
 Indeed,  if  it  were  not  from  the  belief  of  her  priests 
 that  she  is  powerless  to  protect  her  images  from  the 
 marauding  hand  of  sacrilegious  thieves,  there  is  strong 
 reason  to  think  that  this  modern  representative  of 
 Isis,  Ishtar,  Astarte,  Venus,  and  Ashteroth  would 
 possess  a  wardrobe,  dressing  case,  and  jewel  box,  of 
 greater  value  than  those  of  the  wealthiest,  or  the 
 highest,  amongst  women.  In  much  the  same  manner 
 the  heathen  treated  their  deities. 
 
 Rich  and  embroidered  garments  may  be  taken, 
 therefore,  to  indicate  an  exalted  position.  Yet  here 
 again,  as  has  frequently  been  remarked,  "extremes 
 meet,"  and  luxurious  garments,  which  are  recognised 
 in  the  ball-room  as  the  appanage  of  property  and 
 position,  become  in  the  streets  the  ordinary  marks  of 
 the  degraded  condition  of  their  wearer.  The  Virgin 
 Mary,  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  in  all  her  finery,  may  be 
 regarded  with  reverence  in  a  Cathedral,  but  were  her 
 dress  to  be  worn  in  a  public  promenade  by  a  woman, 
 the  majority  of  spectators  would  imagine  that  she  did 
 not  wish  to  be  mistaken  for  a  virgin.  It  is  then 
 possible  that  a  spotted  robe  may  have  been  a  mark 
 of  distinguished  position  when  worn  by  a  deity  like 
 Venus,  yet  a  sign  of  turpitude  when  clothing  a  votary 
 of  the  same  goddess. 
 
 Ere  concluding  this  article,  I  would  notice  in 
 passing  that  the  most  common  IBabylonian  style  of 
 marking  the  robes  of  divinities,  or  of  their  priests, 
 is,  according  to  Lajard's  gems  {Sur  le  Ciiltc  de  Vemis), 
 chequer  work,  precisely  the  same  as  that  which  is 
 assigned  to  Oannes,  or  the  fish  god. 
 
775 
 
 Stars.     In  a  very  interesting  glossary  given  by  H.  T.  Talbot, 
 in   the   third   volume   of  Journal   of  Royal   Asiatic 
 Society,    New    Series,    that    author    states,    on    the 
 authority  of    Mr.  Norris,   that    the   stars  were  wor- 
 shipped by  the  nation  who  invented   the  Cuneiform 
 writing,  and  that  in  the  old  Hieratic  character  they 
 were  written  thus  *  *  (three  asterisks).     Hence  the 
 symbol  of  a  god  was  nothing  more  than  a  primitive 
 image  of  a  star  simphfied.     Amongst  her  other  titles, 
 Ishtar  was  called  the  Queen  of  the  Stars,  as  is  the 
 Virgin  Mary  of  to-day. 
 Sun,  nsn,  chammah,  D^n,  cheres,  ^^t  shemesh,  rising  of  the 
 sun,  nnm,  mizrach.     It  would  be  a  hopeless  task  to 
 condense  into  a  short  essay  an  account  of  the  ancient 
 faith   in  the   sun,   as  a  mighty  god,   or   a  powerful 
 minister  of  the  Creator  of  all  things.     Some  idea  of  the 
 labour  required  may  be  formed  by  the  fact  that,  in  the 
 index  to  Dupuis'  ''Religion  Universeller  two  quarto 
 pages  are  filled  with  references  to  the  position  held  by 
 this  luminary  in  distant  countries  and  remote  times, 
 each   page   having   two   columns   of    closely   printed 
 matter.     The  reader  will  probably  be  satisfied  with  an 
 account  of  the  chief  ideas  connected  with  the  sun. 
 This  luminary  was  supposed  to  be  the  most  powerful 
 and  the  most  wise  of  all  created  beings.    Passing  daily 
 over  the  earth,  he  saw  everything  that  was  done  in  it ; 
 and  in  his  course  from  the  place  of  his    setting  to 
 that  of  his  rising  he  was  supposed  to  know  everything 
 which  transpired  under  the  earth.      It  was  he  who 
 regulated  the  seasons,  and  made  the  earth  periodically 
 fruitful  and  sterile.    He  produced  alternately  droughts, 
 genial  showers,  and  floods.     His  rays  dissipated  the 
 terrors  of  darkness,  renewed  hope  in  men,  and  gave 
 life  to  animated  nature.     FalHng  upon  the  gi-ound, 
 
776 
 
 his  light  and  warmth  produced  fructification,  and  his 
 heat  ripened  autumnal  fruits.  In  his  apparent 
 passage  through  the  sky,  he  seemed  to  reside  in 
 different  stellar  houses,  and  twelve  conspicuous  groups 
 were  inseparably  associated  with  his  course.  These 
 constellations  received  names,  which  we  know  as  the 
 signs  of  the  Zodiac.  To  close  observers,  it  was 
 evident  that  the  summer  sun  was  far  diflferent  in  its 
 eflects  from  the  winter  luminary.  The  period  from  the 
 vernal  to  the  autumnal  equinox  is  the  time  for 
 growth,  the  corresponding  second  half  of  the  year  is 
 the  time  for  decay  and  death.  The  period  of  the  winter 
 solstice  is  the  limit  of  the  sun's  declination,  after 
 which  he  gradually  mounts  higher  into  the  heavens, 
 until  Midsummer  day,  when  he  again  begins  to 
 decline.  All  these  epochs  were  marked  by  peculiar 
 observances,  and  a  variety  of  myths  were  fabricated  to 
 account  for  the  ritual,  ceremonies,  etc.,  which  were 
 scrupulously  adhered  to.  As  the  time  of  the  vernal 
 equinox  seemed  to  be  that  of  the  restoration  of 
 organic  life,  it  was  natural  that  close  attention  should 
 be  paid  to  the  stellar  group  which  the  sun  occupied  at 
 that  auspicious  epoch.  When  first  the  science  of 
 astronomy  was  reduced  to  a  written  system,  it  is 
 believed  that  the  sun  was  in  the  sign  of  Taurus,  "*  at 
 the  vernal  equinox.  It  was  natural  therefore  to  think 
 that  the  animal  and  the  sun  together  were  friendly 
 towards  the  earth,  and  to  mankind  in  general. 
 Whether  the  constellation  was  called  "  the  bull  "  after 
 it  was  rccotmiscd  as   the  solar  house  at    the  vernal 
 
 17*  Thoro  is  somo  faint  ovidcnco  tbiit  the  Bun  was  in  the  Bi^n  of  Ot-mini  whoii 
 first  the  /o<liac  vtuH  thought  of  and  Hystemnticiilly  oliBcrveil.  It  ih  jMisBililf,  indeed, 
 that  the  8i(n>  of  the  Twins  wiih  aNsociiited  with  thu  androgynous  idea  of  the  Creator. 
 Bat  vtv  canu'>t  Iny  any  HireHS  n]>on  tlicHo  points. 
 
777 
 
 equinox,  or  before  that  time,  or  whether  the  nomencla- 
 ture was  arranged  at  the  time  when  the  discovery  of 
 the  relation  was  made,  we  cannot  tell ;  but  it  is  certain 
 that  the  bull  became  a  sacred  animal,  and  that  a  stellar 
 constellation  which  bore  that  name  received  the  sun  at 
 the  vernal  equinox.  After  a  time,  however,  about  three 
 thousand  years  ago,  the  sun  was  in  the  stellar  group 
 called  "Aries,"  at  this  restoration  of  nature;  and  then 
 "the  ram"  became  equally  sacred  with  the  bull.  Some 
 have  been  led  to  believe  that  the  foundation  of  the 
 Babylonian  and  Assyrian  religions  is  older  than  that 
 of  Egypt,  inasmuch  as  the  former  adored  "the  bull," 
 whilst  the  latter  chiefly  venerated  "the  goat;"  but  we 
 cannot  lay  much  stress  upon  the  argument. 
 
 With  the  return  of  spring,  certain  phenomena  are 
 noticed  throughout  the  organic  world,  which  direct  the 
 attention  strongly  to  the  renovation  of  life  in  every 
 sense  of  the  word.  Plants  arise,  flower,  fruit,  and 
 bear  seed.  The  meadows,  hills,  and  waste  places  be- 
 come covered  with  floral  beauties,  every  individual 
 floret  of  which  contains  a  male  stamen  and  female 
 pistil.  As  Spring  advances,  birds,  which  have  been 
 quiet  for  months,  renew  their  song;  and,  whilst 
 nature  effects  a  physical  change  in  the  male,  the 
 female  prepares  for  a  prospective  brood  by  building  a 
 residence  for  them.  The  larger  animals  undergo 
 a  similar  change,  a  material  long  unfelt  courses  in  the 
 blood  of  males ;  and  elephants  and  buffaloes,  horses 
 and  lions,  deer  and  donkeys,  are  alike  impelled  to 
 roam  in  search  of  fitting  consorts.  Unless  these 
 mates  are  found,  the  wildness  sometimes  increases  to 
 fury,  and  to  a  form  of  brutal  mania.  This  was  con- 
 spicuously the  case,  some  fifty  years  age,  in  an 
 elephant,  long  the  chief  attraction  at  Exeter  Change, 
 
778 
 
 in  London,  when  a  menagerie  was  kept  there.  Every 
 year,  as  Sprin^if  came  round,  the  creature  seemed  to 
 Bufifer  from  a  disease  which  manifested  itself  in  rest- 
 lessness, moodiness,  and  occasional  maliciousness. 
 The  poor  animal,  heing  confined  in  a  den,  could 
 neither  expend  his  fire  by  exercise  in  the  plains, 
 nor  in  any  other  fashion.  At  length,  the  advent  of 
 Spring  was  attended  with  symptoms  of  blind  ferocity,  so 
 intense  that  his  owners  felt  compelled  to  destroy  him. 
 When  all  the  phenomena  of  returning  Spring  are 
 redolent  of  love,  life,  beauty  and  activity  ;  and 
 the  desire  to  possess  a  mate  can  often  only  be 
 indulged  after  furious  fights  ^vith  rivals ;  we  can 
 readily  understand  how  it  came  to  pass  that  the 
 ancient  hierarchs  t^'pified  the  sun  as  a  male,  over- 
 coming every  other  created  being.  When  this  idea 
 prevailed,  flamens  thought  it  necessary  to  invent  a  con- 
 sort for  this  powerful  agent.  It  appeared  incongruous 
 that  he,  who  brought  about  the  annual  spectacle  ot 
 love  and  loveliness,  joyousness  and  singing,  the  de- 
 lights of  parentage  and  the  gambols  of  youthful 
 innocence,  should  himself  be  a  witness  without  being 
 a  partaker.  The  consort  selected  by  some  was  the 
 earth ;  by  others,  she  was  the  moon.  The  fiction 
 then  arose  that  the  earth  was  the  mother  of  all  orga- 
 nised beings,  but  that  she  would  be  desolate  without 
 the  fecundating  inlluence  or  the  loving  beams  of  the 
 sun.  The  sun,  therefore,  was  represented  as  "  the 
 Lord,"  and  the  earth  as  "  the  Lady,"  in  creation. 
 But  it  was  deemed  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  great 
 luminary  in  the  sky,  who  never  seemed  to  approach 
 the  earth  except  at  its  setting,  could  take  any  pleasure 
 in  union  with  our  globe  ;  consequently,  a  fresh  mythos 
 was  framed.     Comj)are  Psalm  xix.  ;"». 
 
779 
 
 To  us,  who  live  in  humid  England,  the  pheno- 
 mena of  the  heavens  are  not  so  attractive  as  they  are 
 in  the  hot  and  dry  climates  of  Asia.  Yet  we  never- 
 theless see  what  we  designate  as  the  new  moon  with 
 the  old  one  in  its  arms.  It  was  easy  for  the  ancients, 
 living  in  a  clear  sky,  to  weave  the  myth,  that  what  we 
 know  as  "earth-light"  on  the  moon  was  in  reality  a 
 close  union  between  Sol  and  Luna.  "^  Be  this  as  it 
 may,  it  is  certain  that  the  crescent  moon  was  con- 
 sidered the  emblem  of  the  female,  or  "the  Lady," 
 whilst  the  sun  passed  for  the  male.  This  is  well 
 seen  in  figure  29,  page  252,  siqjva,  which  is  copied 
 from  a  gem  figured  in  Lajard's  book,  Sur  la  Cidte  cle 
 Venus;  and  in  Figs.  8,  4,  Plate  iii..  Vol.  i.,  a  conjunc- 
 tion such  as  this  is  also  recognised ;  and  in  Fig.  38, 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  151,  wherein  each  portion  of  the  Buddhist 
 cross  is  marked  by  the  sun  in  the  moon's  arms.  Sym- 
 bols of  a  similar  nature  are  to  be  seen  in  almost  every 
 papal  cathedral ;  and  the  chapel  or  shrine  of  Mary  is 
 almost  invariably  adorned  by  the  figure  of  a  crescent 
 moon,  within  whose  horns  rests  a  sun  of  inferior  mag- 
 nitude. We,  who  know  that  the  moon  is  of  less  size 
 than  the  sun,  may  smile  at  the  conceit  which  depicts 
 the  moon's  crescent  as  a  portion  of  a  sphere  greater 
 than  that  of  the  solar  orb ;  yet,  when  we  see  that 
 this  symbol  has  ever  been  associated  with  the  assur- 
 ance that  Isis  is  more  powerful  than  Osiris,  the  female 
 than  the  male,  we  cease  to  feel  surprised. 
 
 When  once  the  myth  existed,  that  the  sun  was 
 masculine,  and  the  moon  and  the  earth  were  feminine, 
 a  crowd  of  stories  were  invented,  which  served  to  veil 
 the  idea  from  ordinary  eyes.     As  time  went  on,  the 
 
 i'^"  See  Figs.  24,  25,  pp.  325,  6,  supra. 
 
780 
 
 original  stories  were  developed  still  farther ;  and  the 
 Almighty  was  at  length  depicted  as  a  man  who 
 really  descended  upon  this  earth.  The  Father  of  all 
 things  (Jupiter),  instead  of  being  "day-light,"  "the 
 sun,"  who  fructifies  all  that  live  on  earth  by  his  beams, 
 became  a  mere  human  sensualist,  who  came  to  lie  with 
 lovely  women  like  Alcmena,  and  thus  produced  pro- 
 digies of  wisdom  or  strength,  Hke  Hercules.  Just  in 
 the  same  way,  in  Christian  story,  God,  an  integral 
 part  of  Jehovah  the  Father,  came,  under  the  name 
 of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  have  intercourse  with  Mary  of 
 Nazareth,  so  as  to  produce  a  prodigy  of  virtue.  (See 
 Matt.  i.  18-20,  Luke  i.  35.)''"     Another  result  of 
 
 I's  It  will  be  noticed  by  the  careful  reader  of  history  that  there  is  no  essential 
 difference  in  the  story  told  by  Grecian  mytholopisls,  aboat  the  conception  of  Her- 
 cules, and  that  indicated  by  Christian  evangelists,  respecting  the  conception  or 
 paternity  of  Jesus.  In  the  first,  we  learn  that  the  father  of  gods  and  men,  'Iv  naTrjp^ 
 "  Ju  the  father,"  had  intercourse  with  Alcmeua  (possibly  "the  rolling  moon,"  from 
 -ibn,  haltich,  "to  go,  or  to  roll  on,"  and  ':'3,  men!,  ''the  moon)."  In  the  second,  a 
 portion  of  mrp,  Jahu,  or  "  Jao,  the  Father"  impregnates  Mary,  the  same  in  name  as 
 Myrrha,  Maia,  and  others.  (See  Maky.)  Nor  is  there  any  otttm])t  to  conceal  the 
 modus  in  tfuo  ;  for  not  only  do  the  Gospels  give  an  account  too  pi  lin  to  be  mistaken, 
 but  the  Epistles  do  the  same,  and  the  utmost  stress  is  laid  upon  the  fact,  that  Jesus 
 is  the  °'begott<-n"  son  of  God.  Indeed  it  seemed  to  be  a  canon  amongst  the 
 ancients,  that  every  man  who  was  conspicuous  above  all  other  men  must  have  had 
 a  divine  father.  It  is  this  doctrine  which  is  at  the  base  of  the  Hindoo  idea  of 
 repeated  "incarnations"  of  the  great  Creator,  which  are  spoken  of  as  "Avatars." 
 We  can  readily  understand  that  each  nation  will  be  eager  to  assert,  and  earnest  to 
 prove,  that  the  particular  'incarnation'  in  which  they  have  been  taught  to  believe 
 is  the  only  rial  one  which  ever  existc-d.  The  jihilosopher,  who  has  studied  the 
 proceedings  of  the  Almighty  as  hhown  in  the  works  of  His  hands,  may  doubt 
 whether  an  individual  ever  existed  who  had  no  father.  He  would  as  readily  believe 
 that  the  devil  bought  the  shadow  of  I'etor  Schleniilil,  who  after  that  never  obstructed 
 the  sunlight  when  it  shone  upon  him.  The  assertion  of  millions  that  any  particular 
 man  was  the  son  of  a  pure  virgin,  does  not  suiEce  to  refute  the  laws  of  nature, 
 which  prove  the  contrarj-.  It  is  possible  that,  1  y  dint  of  the  sword,  of  fanaticism, 
 of  folly,  and  by  education  commenced  at  an  e:irly  age.  myriads  might  be  brought  to 
 acknowledge  that  Mormon  was  the  son  of  a  father  alone,  never  having  had  a 
 mother,  and  to  linl'^  against  nil  heretics  who  averred  that  such  a  thing  was  impos- 
 sible. '1  here  is  not  a  believer  in  the  statement  that  Jesus  was  the  son  of  a  virgin  Mary, 
 who  would  not  scout  the  notion  that  James  antl  John  were  snns  of  a  virKin  Joi»«'j<h  ; 
 yot  both  idea*  are  e<|ualiy  probable  and  equally  inipossible.  As  n  doctor,  I  know 
 full  welt  that,  if  we  trust   to  assertion  alone,  it  is  really  a  very  common  thing  for 
 
781 
 
 the  mythos  referred  to  was,  the  adoption  of  certain 
 emblems  as  representative  of  the  sun.  The  most 
 simple  of  these  were  uprij^'ht  stones,  tolmcn,  or  men- 
 hirs. These  subsequently  beciime  developed  into 
 Hermes,  £pju,a»,  of  ditferent  forms,  round  towers,  mina- 
 rets, obelises,  or  spires.  The  maypole  is  a  modern 
 form  of  the  ancient  ashcm.  Shortly  after  the  male 
 organ  became  associated  with  the  sun  as  an  emblem, 
 everything  which  was  found  to  belong  to  the  one  was 
 supposed  to  refer  to  the  other.  As  the  one  con- 
 sisted of  three  elements,  so  the  sun  was  described  as 
 being  triple,  and  spoken  of  as  Maker,  Preserver,  and 
 Destroyer.  Hermai,  too,  were  made,  embodying  this 
 idea,  by  showing  the  triple  organ  on  one  part,  and  a 
 triune  head  at  another.  By  the  same  fiction,  the  sun 
 was  said  to  be  the  universal  father,  and  he  received 
 such  epithets  as  ab,  el,  ra,  adon,  haul,  shaddai,  jah, 
 hadad,  mitJira,  solu>i,  or  sol,  etc.'" 
 
 Amongst  the  ancient  Persians,   and  possibly  we 
 may  add  amongst  their  modern  representatives  the 
 
 cLililrcn  to  be  bom  wbo  never  bad  auy  other  fatbers  than  the  sun  aud  air.  Donbtlesa 
 such  babies  were  equally  oomniou  iu  days  of  yore.  Not  even  Jnpiter,  however,  is  said 
 to  have  a  child  without  the  intervention  of  a  consort;  Bacchus  and  Minerva,  who 
 came  from  his  thiyh  and  bead,  both  ha>-ing  liad  a  mother.  Vet,  as  if  to  prove  that 
 similar  ideas  existed  with  respect  to  the  male  power  as  prevailed  about  the  female, 
 both  Vulcan  and  Miibaucva  are  reported  to  have  had  on  earth  offspring  whom  no 
 mother  could  claim  as  children,  though  the  esciteinent  which  was  the  cause  of  the 
 germ  being  produced  was  in  both  cases  induced  by  women.  See  Ericthonius  in 
 Lempiiiro  and  the  account  of  Cahticeya  in  Moor's  Hindoo  Pantheon,  original 
 edition,  piigo  53. 
 
 1"  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  worship  of  the  sun,  and  the  deification  of  his 
 mundane  emblem,  are  not  necessarily  united.  In  IVru,  tlie  sun  was  the  great  god 
 adored  by  all ;  but  the  Spanish  historians  found  small  evidence  of  religious  ideas 
 connected  with  the  linga  and  the  yoni;  whilst,  in  ancient  India,  there  seems  to  bo 
 some  reason  to  believe  that  reverence  for  Mahadeva  and  Sacti,  without  any  objection- 
 able practices,  preceded  worship  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  8t4ir8.  When  two  ideas  are 
 found  united,  it  is  difficult  to  say  which  of  the  two  has  precedence.  It  is  probablf  that 
 the  origin  of  each  has  been  qnito  distinct,  one  nation  regarding  the  sun  and  moon, 
 and  another  nation  the  linga  and  yoni,  as  the  representatives  on  earth  of  the  Crea- 
 tor iu  heaveu. 
 
782 
 
 Parsees,  the  sun  was  U'pified  by  fire.  This  sacred 
 flame  was  kindled  with  much  ceremony,  and  regarded 
 as  the  visible  image  of  the  deity.  In  the  early  days 
 of  Judaism,  this  idea  seems  to  have  been  unknown ; 
 but  when  the  misfortunes  of  war  had  instructed  the 
 Jews  in  the  worship  of  their  Persian  masters,  a 
 reverence  for  fire  was  enforced  in  their  laws.  At 
 this  late  period,  we  conceive  that  Lev.  ix.  24,  x.  1-3, 
 Num.  iii.  4,  xxvi.  61,  and  the  story  of  Elijah  was  con- 
 trived, 1  Kings  xviii.  To  the  same  epoch  we  must  refer 
 Gen.  XV.  17,  Exod.  iii.  2,  xix.  18,  xl.  38,  and  many 
 other  passages  wherem  God  is  identified  with  fire. 
 We  think  that  it  is  morally  certain  that  the  use  of 
 the  Golden  candlestick  in  the  Jewish  temple  was 
 originated  in  post  Persian  times.  It  is  scarcely 
 necessary  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  sacred  fire  in 
 Rome  kept  burning  by  the  Vestal  Virgins. 
 
 Yet,  although  the  sun  was  often  represented  as 
 the  father  of  all  creation,  there  was,  in  the  minds  of 
 the  thoughtful,  a  recognition  that  the  luminary  was 
 only  one  of  the  works  of  the  Creator.  This  is  very 
 distinctly  recognisable  in  the  words  of  Job,  when, 
 speaking  of  bx,  I'l,  he  says,  "which  commanded  the 
 sun,  and  it  riseth  not ;  which  alone  spread  out  the 
 heavens;  which  maketh  Arcturus,  Orion,  and  Plei- 
 ades, and  the  chambers  of  the  south"  (ch.  ix.  7-9)- 
 The  same  idea  is  to  be  found  in  the  nineteenth 
 Psalm,  and  in  many  other  places. 
 
 As  far  as  I  can  judge  from  the  writings  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  the  sun  did  not  become  an  object 
 of  Jewish  worship  until  u  late  jKM-iod  of  the  kingdom. 
 Though  we  know  that  Baal,  Molecli,  and  other  divini- 
 ties were  typical  of  the  sun,  the  Hebrews  seem  to 
 have   considered   tluiii    as    names   and    forms   of    the 
 
783 
 
 Supreme  Intelligence,  and  distinct  from  the  solar  orb, 
 although  related  thereto.  The  first  indication  which 
 we  have  of  the  Jews  worshipping  the  sun,  is  to  be 
 met  with  in  the  history  of  Josiah,  who  "  put  down 
 the  idolatrous  priests  whom  the  kings  of  Judah  had 
 ordained  to  burn  incense  in  the  high  places,  in  the 
 cities  of  Judah,  and  in  the  places  round  about  Jeru- 
 salem ;  them  also  that  burned  incense  unto  Baal,  to 
 the  sun,  and  to  the  moon,  and  to  the  planets,  and  to 
 
 all  the  host  of  heaven And  he   took  away  the 
 
 horses  that  the  kings  of  Judah  had  given  to  the  sun, 
 
 and  burned  the   chariots  of   the  sun  with  fire 
 
 (2  Kings  xxiii.  5,  11).  We  also  find  references  to 
 this  worship  in  Jerem.  viii.  2,  xliii.  13,  and  Ezek. 
 viii.  16. 
 
 It  is  probable  that  the  worship  of  the  sun 
 originated  in  Jerusalem,  after  the  pillage  which  took 
 place  about  the  time  of  Joel,  Amos,  and  Obadiah ; 
 and  we  consider  that  the  law,  as  enunciated  in  Deut. 
 xvii.  4,  was  written  with  the  intention  of  abrogating 
 the  worship.  We  muet,  however,  attribute  the  verse, 
 "  for  the  precious  fruits  brought  forth  by  the  sun,  and 
 for  the  precious  things  put  forth  by  the  moon  "  (Deut. 
 xxxiii.  14),  to  some  writer  who  had  learned  to  venerate 
 the  sun  as  a  giver  of  good  things. 
 
 If  we  attempt  to  ascertain  whence  solar  worship 
 was  imported  into  Judah,  we  find  strong  reason  to 
 believe  that  it  came  from  Syria,  inasmuch  as  the 
 word  "  Chemarim,"  which  is  translated  "  idolatrous 
 priests  "  2  Kings  xxiii.  5,  and  which  is  associated  with 
 "priests  of  Baal"  in  Zeph.  i.  4,  and  sim^^ly  "priests"  in 
 Hos.  X.  5,  is  a  Syrian  name  for  "priests,"  correspond- 
 ing with  the  Hebrew  "  cohenim.'^  In  this  conjecture 
 we  are  fortified  by  the  episodes  narrated,  2  Kings  xvi. 
 
784 
 
 10-16,  and  2  Chron  xxviii.  23-25,  whereby  we  find 
 that  Ahaz  went  to  Syria,  and  "  sacrificed  unto  the 
 gods  of  Damascus  which  smote  him ;  and  he  said. 
 Because  the  gods  of  the  kings  of  Syria  help  them, 
 therefore,"  said  he,  **  will  I  sacrifice  to  them,  that 
 they  may  help  me; "  and  that  he  sent  the  pattern  of  a 
 Syrian  altar  to  Jerusalem.  When  we  have  thus 
 traced  the  worship  of  the  sun  to  Syria,  it  is  a  remark- 
 able coincidence  to  find  that  the  name  of  that  country 
 is  identical  with  the  Sanscrit  word  Siirja,  or  Surya,  or 
 the  Sun. 
 
 When  we  turn  to  the  Hebrew  nomenclature,  it  is  a 
 remarkable  fact  that  there  are  only  three  cognomens 
 in  which  the  sun  is  introduced  under  his  name 
 Shemesh ;  these  are,  Samson,  Shimshai,  and  Sliim- 
 eheria ;  wherein  Shemesh  is  associated  with  On,  Jah, 
 and  the  Babylonian  Pd.  There  are,  however,  two 
 others,  which  indicate  the  fact  that  the  sun  was  really 
 worshipped,  c.  (/.,  Beth  shemesh.  En  shemesh.  This 
 paucity  of  names  compounded  with  the  sun  seems  to 
 indicate  that  the  orb  was  nuvtr  htld  in  universal 
 veneration  by  the  Jews. 
 Syrian  (joddess,  or  Dea  Syria.  When  seeking  to  ascertain 
 what  was  the  nature  of  ancient  faiths  through  the 
 medium  of  ancient  names,  the  enquirer  endeavours  to 
 supplement  his  information  by  ransacking  every  avail- 
 able source. 
 
 Amongst  the  most  useful  contributions,  the 
 writings  of  Lucian  are  pre-eminent,  and  his  account 
 of  the  goddess  Syria  is  so  interesting  that  I  make  no 
 scruple  in  giving  an  abstract  of  it.  The  temple 
 existed  at  a  place  called  Ilira,  near  the  Euphrates ; 
 the  city  was  dedicated  to  the  Assyrian  Juno;  and 
 Lucian,  being  an  Assyrian,  had  seen  the  tomplc  itself. 
 
785 
 
 "  The  Egyptians,"  he  tells  us,  "  are  the  first  that  we 
 any  where  read  of,  who,  having  the  notion  of  a  deity, 
 erected  temples,  consecrated  groves,  and  appointed 
 religious  assemblies ;  they  also  were  first  acquainted 
 with  sacred  names,  and  delivered  sacred  stories ;  but, 
 not  long  after,  the  Assyrians  received  from  them  their 
 traditions  concerning  the  gods ;  and,  in  like  manner, 
 erected  Temples  and  Sanctuaries,  wherein  they  also 
 placed  images  and  statues ;  whereas  in  former  times 
 the  temples,  even  amongst  the  Egyptians,  were  with- 
 out any  images."  Lucian  then  mentions  antiquated 
 temples  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  to  an  ancient  Hercules, 
 and  to  Astarte,  the  moon,  and  descants  upon  another 
 dedicated  to  the  Venus  of  Byblis.  After  describing 
 these,  he  declares  that  ''none  are  of  equal  importance 
 to  the  temple  of  Syria,  wherein  are  very  ancient 
 works,  costly  ornaments,  miraculous  structures,  and 
 images  worthy  of  the  gods  they  represent ;  together 
 with  many  deities  yielding  a  perspicuous  signification 
 of  themselves,  whose  images  sweat,  move,  and  deliver 
 oracles,  as  if  alive.  A  noise,  likewise,  has  been  often 
 heard  in  the  temple  after  it  hath  been  shut."  Its 
 riches  were  enormous.  Then  Lucian  describes  the 
 fables  told  about  the  origin  of  the  temple,  Deucalion's 
 flood,  etc.,  and  mentions  a  certain  Derceto,  whose 
 image  he  saw  in  Phoenicia,  which  was  a  woman  in 
 the  upper  parts,  and  from  the  body  downwards  was 
 a  fish.  "  The  priests  of  the  temple  of  Syria,  however, 
 represent  this  individual  as  a  perfect  woman,  and 
 esteem  fish  very  greatly,  thinking  them  too  sacred  to 
 be  eaten.  The  dove  is  equally  respected,  and  avoided  as 
 an  esculent.  The  fish  is  sacred  to  Derceto,  the  dove 
 to  Semiramis."  The  Syrian  goddess,  possibly  Surja, 
 the  sun,  Lucian  conceives  to  be  "the  same  as  Rhea,  for 
 
 D  D  D 
 
786 
 
 lions  support  her,  and  she  carricth  a  tabor  in  her 
 baud,  and  a  tower  on  ber  bead."  Tbe  temple,  be  says» 
 "  is  served  by  Galli"  (see  Galli,  Vol.  i.,  p.  492),  of 
 wbom  a  full  account  is  given,  which  we  need  not  re- 
 produce. Luciau,  however,  is  best  satisfied  with  tbe 
 statement  of  tbe  Greeks,  "that  Juno  is  the  goddess 
 worshipped,  and  that  tbe  temple  was  the  work  of 
 Bacchus,  the  son  of  Semele,  inasmuch  as  Bacchus 
 came  into  SjTia,  and  because  there  are  many  works  in 
 the  temple  that  show  it  to  be  the  work  of  Bacchus ; 
 amongst  which  are  the  Barbarian  habits,  Indian 
 stones,  and  ivory  trumpets,  which  Bacchus  brought 
 from  amongst  the  Ethiopians ;  likewise  the  two  great 
 phalli  standing  in  the  porch,  with  this  inscription  on 
 tbom,  '  These  phalli  I,  Bacchus,  dedicated  to  my 
 stepmother  Juno.'  The  Greeks  erect  phalli  to 
 Bacchus,  which  are  little  men  made  of  wood,  bene 
 nastitoH,  and  these  are  called  ve-jpoa-Trua-Tx.  There  is 
 also,  on  the  right  hand  of  the  temple,  a  little  brazen 
 man,  whose  symbol  is  enormously  disproportionate. 
 There  is  also  in  the  temple  a  figure  of  a  female,  who 
 is  divsscd  in  man's  clothes.  The  prit  sts  are  self- 
 mutiluttd  men,  and  they  wear  women's  garments. 
 The  temple  itself  stands  upon  a  bill,  in  the  middle  of 
 a  city  ;  and  it  is  surrounded  by  a  double  wall.  Tbe 
 porch  of  tbe  temple  fronteth  tbe  north,  and  it  is  two 
 bundri'd  yards  in  circumference ;  within  it  are  the  two 
 phalli  before  mentioned,  each  about  a  hundred  and 
 fifty  yards  high.  To  the  top  of  one  of  these  a  man 
 ascends  twice  during  tbe  year,  and  bo  remains  there 
 seven  days  at  a  time.  Tbe  vulgar  imagine  that  he 
 converseth  with  the  gods  above,  and  prayeth  for  the 
 prosjHirity  of  all  Syria,  which  prayers  the  gods  hear, 
 near  at  band.     Tbe  manner  of  the  ascousion  is  this  ; 
 
787 
 
 the  man  compasseth  the  column  and  himself  with  a 
 long  chain,  and  then  rises  by  means  of  pegs,  which 
 act  as  steps.    When  at  the  summit  the  man  lets  down 
 another  chain  which  he  has  carried  with  him,  and 
 draweth   up  whatsoever  he  hath  need  of,   as  wood, 
 clothes,  vessels,  wherewith,  framing  a  seat  like  a  nest, 
 he  sitteth  down  and  continueth  for  the  space  of  seven 
 days,  during  which  time  many  bring  gold,  or  silver, 
 or  brass,  and,  leaving  it  before  him,  depart,  everyone 
 telling  his  name,  whilst  another  standing  by  declareth 
 them  to  him  who  is  sitting  above,  who,  receiving  the 
 name,  maketh  a  prayer  on  behalf  of  each  one,  and  as 
 he  standeth  striketh  a  certain  bell,  which  giveth  a 
 great  and  harsh  sound.     The  man  at  the  top  never 
 sleepeth  during  the  seven  days.     The  temple  itself 
 faceth  towards  the  east,   and  is  built  like  those  in 
 Ionia.     There  is  a  basement  four  yards  high  on  which 
 the  building  is  constructed.     It  is  reached  by  steps. 
 On  entering,  it  is  found  that  the  doors  are  golden,  and 
 in  the  interior  there  is  a  blaze  of  golden  ornaments, 
 and  the  whole  roof  is  golden.     The  temple  is  tilled 
 with  delicious  perfume,  which  is  so  heavy  as  to  cling 
 to  one's  garments  some  time  after  leaving  the  pre- 
 cincts." 
 
 "  There  is  an  inner  raised  temple  within,  which  is 
 entered  by  a  staircase ;  but  to  this  there  is  no  door. 
 Any  one  may  enter  the  outer  temple,  but  the  inner 
 one  is  reserved  for  the  most  holy  of  the  priests.  In 
 the  inner  chapel  are  placed  the  statues  of  Juno  and 
 Jupiter,  to  whom  the  hierarchs  give  another  name. 
 Both  are  represented  as  sitting,  and  are  made  of  gold. 
 Juno  is  carried  by  lions,  and  Jupiter  by  bulls.  The 
 figure  of  Juno  partakes  of  the  characters  of  Minerva, 
 Venus,  Luna,  Rhea,  Diana,  Nemesis,  and  the  Parcae. 
 
788 
 
 In  one  hand  she  holds  a  sceptre,  and  in  the  other  a 
 distaff  (see  Fig.  6,  article  Keys).  The  head  of  the 
 statue  is  crowned  with  rays,  and  bears  on  its  summit 
 a  tower,  which  is  girded  by  a  belt,  similar  to  that 
 which  generally  characterises  Venus  Urania.  The 
 dress  of  the  statue  is  profusely  adorned  with  gold, 
 and  precious  stones  of  all  sorts,  which  have  been 
 brought  by  Egyptians,  Indians,  Ethiopians,  Medes, 
 Armenians,  and  Babylonians.  There  is  also  on  the 
 head  a  stone  called  b/cJuiuH,  or  "the  lamp,"  which 
 shines  brilliantly  at  night,  and  seems  fiery  during  the 
 day"  (probably  a  preparation  of  phosphorus,  or  that 
 which  goes  by  the  name  Bologna  stone).  "Between 
 the  two  statues,  there  is  another,  also  of  gold,  but 
 without  any  i^eculiarity,  and  this  is  called  '  the  sign, 
 or  symbol.'  There  is  gi-eat  doubt  about  whom  it 
 represents,  some  taking  it  for  Bacchus  or  Deucalion, 
 and  others  for  Semiramis,  *'  because  it  has  a  dove 
 seated  on  the  head.  Twice  every  year  it  is  carried 
 in  procession  to  the  sea,  at  the  time  of  their  bringing 
 the  water  from  thence." 
 
 "  On  the  left  hand,  as  one  enters  the  temple,  there 
 stands  the  throne  of  the  sun,  but  without  any  imago 
 of  the  sun  itself,  for  the  sun  and  moon  have  no 
 statues  ;  the  reason  assigned  being  that  it  is  a  holy 
 thing  to  erect  statues  to  other  gods,  inasmuch  as 
 their  forms  are  not  manifest  to  us ;  but  the  sun  and 
 moon  are  evidently  seen  by  all,  and  it  is  unnecessary 
 to  make  the  images  of  what  we  daily  behold  in  the 
 air.  Ik'vond  this  throne  is  a  statue  of  Apollo,  the 
 god  being  represented  as  having  a  long  beard,  and 
 they  clothe  this  statue  alone,  leaving  all  the  others 
 nude." 
 
 At    this   temple   oracles  are  given.     "  Tn   Egypt, 
 
789 
 
 Libya,  and  Asia,  the  oracles  utter  nothing  without 
 their  priests  and  interpreter;  whereas  the  Assyrian 
 Apollo  moves  himself  alone  and  gives  his  own  ora- 
 cles. Whenever  he  wishes  to  speak,  he  begins  by 
 moving  about  on  his  throne,  and  the  priests  then  lift 
 him  up  ;  if  they  fail  to  do  so,  he  begins  to  sweat,  and 
 agitates  himself  more  and  more.  When  they  take 
 him  up,  he  makes  them  move  about  according  to  his 
 will,  till  the  high  priest  meets  him  and  propounds 
 the  questions  to  be  solved  ;  if  the  query  displeases 
 him,  he  retires ;  and  if  he  approves  of  it,  he  incites 
 his  bearers  to  go  forward,  and  in  this  manner  they 
 collect  his  answers.  Neither  do  the  priests  under- 
 take any  sacred  or  ordinary  business  without  consult- 
 ing him  in  this  manner.  He  also  gives  out  predic- 
 tions concerning  the  year,  instructs  them  about  '  the 
 symbol,'  and  when  it  ought  to  make  its  procession 
 to  the  sea."  This  also  happened  when  Lucian  was 
 present ;  "the  priests  having  lifted  the  god  up,  he  threw 
 them  down,  and  thus,  quitting  their  shoulders,  he 
 walked  by  himself  in  the  air."  "  Beyond  the  statue  of 
 Apollo  is  Atlas,  then  Mercury,  then  Lucina.  Outside 
 the  temple  there  is  a  very  large  brazen  altar,  and  a 
 thousand  brazen  statues  of  gods  and  heroes,  kings 
 and  priests,"  many  of  which  are  named  in  the 
 description. 
 
 Within  the  temple's  precincts  were  kept  oxen, 
 horses,  eagles,  bears,  and  lions,  who  are  in  no  way 
 noxious  to  men,  as  being  all  sacred  and  tame.  "  There 
 are  many  priests  attached  to  the  temple,  some  of 
 whom  kill  the  sacrifices,  others  carry  the  drink- 
 offerings.  "  Others  are  fire-bearers,  and  others  wait 
 on  the  altar."  There  were  more  than  three  hundred 
 in    all,  when  Lucian  visited   the   place,  all  wearing 
 
790 
 
 white  garments,  and  a  cap  of  felt.  "  They  elect  a 
 high  priest  every  year,  who  alone  has  the  privilege 
 of  being  clothed  in  purple  and  of  wearing  a  golden 
 tiara." 
 
 In  addition  to  these,  "  there  are  a  crowd  of  persons 
 attached  to  the  sanctuary ;  musicians  with  flutes  and 
 pipes,  galli  or  sodomites,  and  fanatic  or  enthusiastic 
 women." 
 
 "  The  sacrifice  is  performed  twice  a-day,  whereto 
 all  of  the  attendants  come.  To  Jupiter,  they  sacri- 
 fice in  silence  ;  but  when  they  make  their  ofi'erings 
 to  Juno,  they  accompany  them  with  music  from  flutes 
 and  cymbals,  but  no  reason  is  given." 
 
 Lucian  next  relates  how  that,  "  near  the  temple, 
 is  a  sacred  lake,  containing  great  numbers  of  sacred 
 fish,  and  gives  an  account  of  the  ceremonies  which 
 are  observed  on  its  shores,  and  those  which  occur  on 
 nsitiug  the  sea,  and  of  the  grand  festival  which  takes 
 place  in  spring,  at  orgies  attending  which  some 
 one  or  other  is  certain  to  mutilate  himself;"  but  into 
 these  matters  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter. 
 
 "  Bulls,  oxen,  cows,  sheep,  and  goats  arc  sacrificed; 
 but  the  dove  is  considered  as  being  too  holy  to  be 
 touched."  There  is  one  form  of  sacrifice  too  curious 
 to  be  omitted,  for  it  reminds  us  of  the  goat  for  Azazel, 
 and  the  casting  of  the  Edomites  from  the  top  of  the 
 rocks.  "  The  victims,  whilst  alive,  are  crowned  with 
 garlands;  they  are  then  driven  out  of  the  porch  of 
 the  temple,  and,  falling  over  a  precipice,  are  killed. 
 Some  likewise  sacrifice  their  own  children  in  the  same 
 manner  ;  having  first  put  them  into  sacks  at  home, 
 their  parents  take  the  children  by  the  hand,  beating 
 them  all  the  way,    and  calling  them   'beasts,'    and, 
 
791 
 
 the  poor  victims  having  reached  the  temple,  they  are 
 driven  over  the  rocks  to  certain  death." 
 
 "  All  the  people  have  a  custom  of  cutting  their 
 hands  or  their  neck,  so  that  all  are  marked  with  scars. 
 The  young  men,  too,  allow  their  hair  to  grow  until 
 they  arrive  at  manhood,  when  they  cut  it  off  in  the 
 temple,  and  leave  it  there  in  a  vessel  of  gold  or  silver, 
 having  first  inscribed  their  name  upon  the  vase." 
 Lucian  finishes  his  account  by  saying,  "  The  same  I 
 likewise  did  myself,  when  I  was  very  young,  so  that 
 both  my  hair  and  name  are  yet  remaining  in  the 
 temple.""' 
 
 It  is  almost  impossible  to  read  this  account  without 
 being  reminded  of  the  Jewish  Temple  on  the  one  hand, 
 and  Papal  Basilicas  on  the  other.  The  huge  phalli 
 in  the  porch  remind  us  of  "  Jachin"  and  "  Boaz  ;  ""^ 
 and  the  praying  man  on  the  summit  recals  to  our 
 minds  the  custom  of  praying  and  offering  on  high  places 
 built  for  the  purpose.  ^^°  The  flute  players  and  other 
 musicians,  who  were  generally  females,  and  always 
 ministers  to  the  desires  of  others,  are  analogous  to 
 the  nautch  girls  of  Hindostan.  The  galli  and  the 
 frantic  women  remind  us  of  the  ^"'^li?,  kedeshoth, 
 and  '^''^7'^'  kedashim,  the  male  and  female  votaries  of 
 the  Jewish  temple,  and  the  professional  mourners  of 
 Israel.  The  inner  temple,  which  was  only  to  be 
 entered  by  the  priests,  resembles  the  Judean  "  holy  of 
 holies."  Few,  moreover,  can  read  of  the  white  robed 
 priests,  the  pontiff  clothed  with  purple  and  wearing  a 
 golden  tiara,  the  bell  sounded  at  the  ofi'ering,  the 
 bejewelled  and  bedizened  goddess,  the  spouse  of  god, 
 
 i'?8  The  above  quotations  are  made  from  Dryden's  translation  of  Lucian. 
 179  1  Kings  vii.  21.       i^o  gee  Gibbon's  account  of  Simon  Stylites. 
 
792 
 
 the  temple  filled  with  statues  of  saiuts,  the  raised 
 and  open  inner  temple,  without  thinking  about  what 
 they  have  heard  or  seen  of  papal  basiUcas  and  their 
 attendant  ceremonial  ? 
 
 In  such  may  be  seen  a  woman,  called  The  Virgin, 
 adorned  in  every  way  like  the  Syrian  Juno,  her  dress 
 llea^7  with  gold  and  gems,  her  hands  bearing  an  orb 
 and  a  handkerchief,  or  else  a  child.  She  is  provided 
 with  the  attributes  of  Diana,  Luna,  Rhea,  and  every 
 other  goddess  of  antiquity ;  whilst,  in  one  basilica  at 
 least,  that  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  at  Rome,  galli 
 are  employed  to  chaunt  her  praises.  In  that  same 
 church,  also,  the  atmosphere  is  heavy  with  the  per- 
 fumes of  incense.  Nor  is  even  jugglery  wanting  in  a 
 modern  papal  temple,  for  we  have  heard  ere  this  of 
 statues  that  sweat  blood,  and  pictures  of  the  Virgin  in 
 which  the  eyes  move  really  from  side  to  side.  The 
 miracle  of  the  statue  kicking  its  bearers,  and  walking 
 in  the  air,  recals  to  our  minds  the  charlatanry  of  a 
 modern  Home,  and  other  so-called  Spirituahsts,  flou- 
 rishing in  the  present  age,  but  who  are  neverthe- 
 less far  inferior  to  the  Syrian  trickster. 
 
 There  is,  however,  one  redeeming  feature  in  the 
 account  given  by  Lucian  of  this  heathen  temple, 
 viz.,  the  absence  of  that  flagrant  sexual  element 
 which  is  so  disgusting  to  modern  ideas.  But 
 there  is,  unfortunately,  evidence,  drawn  from  other 
 sources,  that  there  were  shrines  in  Syria  where 
 the  proceedings  were  as  shameless  as  in  Babylon, 
 Byblos,  Cyprus,  and  Jerusalem.  Eusebius  gives 
 an  account  of  one  such  temple  at  Aphaca,  in  Lebanon, 
 which  was  peculiarly  marked  by  abomination;  and 
 yet  this  became  more  and  more  reverenced,  because 
 year  by  year  a  wondrous  miracle  was  seen,  viz.,  a  ball 
 
793 
 
 of  fire  appeared  on  the  summit  of  the  neighbouring 
 mountain,  and  then  precipitated  itself  into  the  sea. 
 A  phenomenon  which  transcends  the  annual  juggle  in 
 Naples,  in  which  some  red  stuff  in  a  bottle,  said  to 
 be  the  blood  of  the  saint  Januarius,  —  the  modern 
 representative  of  the  very  ancient  Janus  hifrons,  — 
 becomes  liquid  for  a  time. 
 Tabeenacle.  During  the  composition  of  the  preceding 
 pages,  I  have  repeatedly  been  overwhelmed  by  a 
 sudden  and  unexpected  rush  of  evidence,  which  has 
 driven  me  before  it  into  regions  to  which  I  never 
 thought  of  penetrating.  Like  a  miner,  I  have  been 
 plying  my  pickaxe  against  the  rock  called  *  History,' 
 and  by  an  accidental  blow  have  driven  down  a  parti- 
 tion which  has  introduced  me  into  some  ancient 
 workings  long  since  abandoned,  and  of  whose  existence 
 none  living  knew.  By  another  blow,  my  instrument  has 
 tapped  an  aqueous  reservoir,  and  I  have  been  driven 
 into  other  "  workings  "  by  the  force  of  the  stream ; 
 another  time,  the  glistening  of  some  crystal,  illumined 
 by  a  casual  spark,  has  pointed  out  a  rich  lode  of  ore 
 hitherto  unseen ;  or  an  accidental  fall  of  light 
 upon  the  floor  has  enabled  me  to  see  the  outcrop  of 
 a  deposit  of  valuable  metal  heretofore  concealed  by 
 dust.  When  a  real,  earnest  miner  works  manfully 
 upon  the  veins  thus  indicated,  no  one  would  consider 
 him  simply  as  a  rash  theorist.  The  philosopher  would 
 reason  thus  :  (1)  The  adventurer  believed  that  he  had 
 good  reason  to  explore  the  ground ;  (2)  He  paid  close 
 attention  to  every  thing  noticeable  ;  (3)  When  he  saw 
 indications  he  followed  them  up.  It  is  quite  possible 
 that  the  miner  may  expect  to  find  gold,  and  only  find 
 lead ;  yet,  if  this  repays  him  for  his  toil,  his  labours 
 do  good,  to  himself,  and  to  all  those  who  want  that 
 
794 
 
 metal.  Many,  on  the  otber  band,  may  refuse  to  dig, 
 feeling  sure  that  nothing  is  to  be  found  ;  otbers  have 
 explored,  resolving  to  find  none  but  precious  metals, 
 believing  that  their  rocks  could  contain  nothing  but 
 gold  and  silver,  and  when  they  have  only  discovered 
 copper  or  pyrites,  they  have  declared  it  to  be  gold. 
 
 Such  miners  are  abundant  amongst  our  clergy, 
 who  consider  the  Bible  a  wholly  auriferous  rock,  if  not 
 pure  gold.  Earnest,  real,  fearless,  and  honest  searchers 
 after  truth  like  the  present  Bishop  of  Natal  (Dr. 
 Colenso)  are  extremely  rare.  Whilst  working  myself 
 on  the  plan  above  indicated,  I  have  repeatedly  dis- 
 covered that  what  has  been  considered  by  some  as  gold 
 is  no  better  than  a  delusive  "  schist,"  which,  though 
 yellow  and  sparkling,  is  not  auriferous.  To  such  a 
 discovery  was  I  diiven  when  beginning  to  investigate 
 the  history  of  the  Mosaic  tabernacle ;  for  the  flash  of 
 thought,  which  skims  over  evidence  far  faster  than 
 the  pen  can  follow,  brought  me  to  the  conclusion 
 that  the  tabernacle  described  so  closely  in  the  Penta- 
 teuch had  never  an  existence,  and  that  it  was  as 
 mythical  as  the  dwelling-place  of  the  gods  on  Mount 
 Mcru,  or  Mount  Olympus,  or  of  the  Muses  on  Par- 
 nassus. Let  us,  however,  endeavour  to  track  our 
 evidence  closely,  lest  wo  should  allow  the  mind  to  be 
 hasty  in  its  conclusions. 
 
 1.  The  edifice  in  question  was  ordered  by  God 
 after  the  Exodus  of  the  Jews  from  EgApt.  In  the 
 directions  which  Ho  gave  to  the  Hebrews  ere  their 
 departure.  He  simply  told  them  to  borrow  of  their 
 neighbours,  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold,  and 
 raiment  (Exod.  xii.  35).  At  the  flight,  the  Israelites 
 only  took  their  dough,  their  kneeding  troughs,  clothes 
 suitable  to  a   servile  condition,  and  such  jewels  and 
 
795 
 
 raiment  as  they  could  "  borrow."  They  had,  we  are 
 told,  cattle  and  sheep,  but  as  none  were  artificers, 
 and  all  the  males  were  brickmakers,  they  had 
 neither  tools  nor  mechanical  skill. 
 
 2.  We  infer  from  Deut.  viii.  4,  where  we  are  told 
 that  the  raiment  waxed  not  old  for  forty  years,  that 
 the  Hebrews  found  neither  shops  nor  traders  in 
 the  wilderness,  where  they  could  purchase  any- 
 thing. 
 
 3.  Where  things  cannot  be  bought  on  the  spot, 
 ready  made,  they  must  be  manufactured  if  they  are 
 made  at  all. 
 
 4.  Things  cannot  be  manufactured  without  the 
 "  raw  material  "  and  tools. 
 
 5.  The  tabernacle  is  represented  to  have  been 
 made,  and  in  its  formation  there  were  used — 
 
 (a)  Boards  (Exod.  xxvi.  15),  ti'^p,  keresh,  a  word 
 only  once  used  out  of  Exodus  and  Numbers,  and 
 then  translated  'benches'  (Ezek.  xxvii.  6),  and  which 
 signifies  "  something  split  ofi","  smoothed  and  fitted, 
 so  as  to  make  a  table,  panel,  or  plank.  These  boards 
 were  all  cut  to  a  pattern,  ten  cubits  long  and  a 
 cubit  and  a-half  broad ;  they  were  also  to  be  fitted  into 
 silver  sockets.  Now  boards  involve  the  idea  of  trees ; 
 of  trees  which  have  been  cut  down,  sawn  or  split 
 asunder,  and  planed  or  otherwise  made  smooth.  Yet 
 the  sandy  desert  in  which  Israelites  travelled  during 
 their  first  year  or  two  of  wandering  had  no  trees  (see 
 Isaiah  xli.  19,  20),  for  there  was  no  water  to  enable 
 them  to  grow.  The  raw  material  for  "  boards  "  was 
 wanting ;  the  tools  were  equally  scarce. 
 
 (b)  Kings  of  gold,  which  were  cast  (Ex.  xxv.  12).'®^ 
 
 181  The  writer  in  Exodus  xxv.  leads  ns  to  suppose  that  Jehovah  was,  in  anticipa- 
 tion, making  use  of,  for  His  tabernacle,  gold  which  Aaron  had  already,  and  without 
 
796 
 
 Granting  the  existence  of  gold  amongst  the  Jews 
 when  they  left  Eg}iH,  it  is  clear  that  there  could  not 
 be  much  left  after  that  sacrifice  of  the  personal  orna- 
 ments recorded  in  Ex.  xxxii.,  wherein  we  are  told  that 
 that  the  earrings  of  all  the  people  were  absorbed  by  the 
 golden  calf,  which  was  subsequently  wholly  thrown 
 away  by  Moses.'®'  We  must  next  consider  how  the 
 artificers  could  procure  the  tools  necessary  for  manu- 
 facturing the  raw  material  into  the  requisite  form. 
 Furnaces,  crucibles,  tongs,  and  moulds,  do  not  gi-ow 
 wild  in  the  desert.  Nor  can  we  conceive  how  the 
 rings,  even  when  made,  could  be  fastened  to  the 
 boards  of  the  ark  without  nails  or  some  similar  con- 
 trivance, which  would  involve  the  necessity  for  such 
 instruments  as  augers,  files,  etc. ;  nor  how  staves 
 could  be  made  to  fit  into  the  rings  without  such  things 
 being  used  as  adzes,  axes,  planes,  etc. 
 
 (r)  Tenons,  or  hands,  nn*,  were  likewise  to  be 
 made  of  silver  (Exod.  xxvi.  17),  and  required  at 
 least  as  much  raw  material  and  tooling  as  did  the 
 articles  of  gold. 
 
 God's  Icnowlcdgo,  converted  into  "  a  golden  calf."  Sncb  difficnltios  over  beset  the 
 clamsy  fabricators  of  historj-.  To  ub  it  appears  to  be  certain  tbot  when  boards, 
 purple,  fine  linen,  and  abundance  of  gold  are  spoken  of  ns  existent  in  the  desert 
 amongst  the  fugitive  slaves,  the  niontol  powers  of  story-teller  and  listeners  were  at 
 a  very  low  point. 
 
 "•*  I  am  aware  that  on  objector  moy  say  that  the  Hebrews  had  other  golden 
 ornaments  besides  earrings.  Of  course  this  cannot  be  denied  ;  but  the  question  then 
 aiues,  "  how  did  they  get  them  ?  "  the  reply  is,  "  from  the  Kgyptians."  We  grant 
 thia  again  as  being  possible,  but  we  must  pro]>onnd  another  question,  viz..  Can  any 
 one  believe  that  the  Kgv^itian  commonalty  (the  neighbours  of  the  Hebrew  slaves) 
 were  so  wealthy  as  to  be  able  to  supply  6<K),00<(  men  (Kxo<l.  xxxii.  '2,  3^,  as  many 
 women,  and  doulib  the  nunil>er  of  children,  with  gold  earrings,  bracelets,  anklcta, 
 torqnes  or  any  other  onmmcnts.  Kn^'lnnd  is  a  country  far  more  wealthy  than 
 ancient  I''.gypt,  yet  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  all  the  personal  ornaments  worn  by 
 the  iuhaliitants  of  the  Krilisb  Isles  would  make  respecta)ily  sized  earrings  for  some 
 three  million  Orientals,  or  more  than  KufTicicut  for  one  good  si/.od  molten  golden  calf. 
 
797 
 
 (d)  Oil  was  wanted  for  the  light  (Exod.  xxv.  6), 
 yet  there  were  no  oil-giving  trees  in  the  desert. 
 
 (e)  Earns'  skins  dyed  red  were  used  (Exod.  xxvi. 
 14),  yet  there  was  no  red  dye  and  no  dyeing  appara- 
 tus in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai. 
 
 (/)  The  curtains  of  the  tabernacle  were  of  twined 
 linen,  blue,  purple,  and  scarlet  (Exod.  xxvi.  1),  yet 
 no  such  material  was  to  be  found  in  the  rocky  waste, 
 nor  could  it  have  been  included  in  the  raiment  "  bor- 
 rowed "  from  Egypt. 
 
 (g)  In  the  tabernacle  the  priest  wore  a  breast-plate 
 in  which  were  twelve  stones,  each  being  engraven  with 
 a  name  (Exod.  xxviii.  9-11).  Yet,  though  we  grant  the 
 existence  of  the  raw  material,  it  is  clear  that,  in  the 
 desert,  the  Jews  had  no  lapidary's  wheel,  nor  any 
 other  tool,  for  engraving  such  precious  stones  as  the 
 breast-plate  contained. 
 
 Without  pursuing  these  details  farther,  we  con- 
 clude that  it  is  impossible  for  a  thoughtful  mind  to 
 believe  that  either  the  raw  material  or  the  tools  neces- 
 sary for  making  a  tabernacle,  like  that  described  in 
 Exodus,  were  to  be  found  amongst  the  fugitive  Jews 
 in  the  desert,  or  could  have  been  procured  by  them 
 during  their  sojourn  around  Sinai. 
 
 6.  The  writer  of  Deuteronomy  proves  himself 
 to  be  wholly  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  any  taber- 
 nacle in  the  desert.  It  is  true  that  the  name  is 
 mentioned  once  (ch.  xxxi.  15),  but  it  is  clear  that  this 
 verse,  if  not  the  whole  chapter,  is  an  interpolation 
 by  a  later  hand,  very  probably  by  the  author  of 
 Joshua. 
 
 7.  In  the  tabernacle,  as  described,  there  was  a 
 seven-armed  golden  candlestick,  and  we  have,  during 
 
798 
 
 the  course  of  our  reading,  seen  that  seven'"  did  not 
 become  a  sacred  number  ^^'ith  the  Jews  until  they 
 came  into  contact  with  the  Babylonians. 
 
 8.  We  find  that  the  words  used  in  the  description 
 of  the  tabernacle  are,  to  a  great  extent,  peculiar  to 
 certain  comparatively  modern  portions  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  e.  g., 
 
 (a)  ^\}'^,  ohcl,  signifies  "  a  tent,"  in  our  accepta- 
 tion of  the  word,  i.e.,  'a  sort  of  hut,  made  of  boughs, 
 canvas,  skins,'  etc.,  in  almost  every  part  of  the  Old 
 Testament,  except  in  Exodus,  Numbers,  Job,  Psalms, 
 and  Chronicles ;  and  without  going  minutely  into 
 every  text,  we  may  express  our  belief  that  the  transi- 
 tion from  ^\}^  =  "a.  tent,"  to  ^^'^  =  ''a  dwelling- 
 place,"  whether  that  was  "  a  tent,"  or  a  more  solid 
 building,  was  of  very  late  date. 
 
 {h)  l^^*?,  inishcan,  gives  a  similar  result;  for  it  is 
 only  used  in  Exodus,  Numbers,  Chronicles,  Job,  the 
 later  Psalms,  and  the  later  portions  of  the  books  of 
 Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel. 
 
 (c)  I  notice,  in  passing,  that  our  word  'tabernacle,' 
 Psalm  Ixxvi.,  2,  "ji'd,  socit,  is  rendered  "  den,"  Psalm 
 X.  9;  "pavilion,"  Psalm  xxvii.  5;  "covert,"  Jer. 
 XXV.  38. 
 
 (rf)  ri3p,  suchah,  plural  succoth,  "booth,"  "ta- 
 bernacle," "  pavilion,"  "  cottage,"  is  a  word  never 
 used  by  the  writers  of  Exodus,  Numbers,  Jeremiah, 
 and  Ezekiel,  and  only  once  in  Chronicles;  it  is 
 indeed  only  used  thirty  times  altogether  in  the  Old 
 Testament,  and  seems  to  be  a  word  of  very  late 
 importation  into  the  Hebrew,  having  come  in  probably 
 with  the  feast  of    tabernacles,   and    the    worship   of 
 
 1*  Sec  Time,  inj'ra. 
 
799 
 
 Succoth  Benoth.  In  Lam.  ii.  6,  tliis  word  is  spelled 
 •^b,  socli,  and  translated  'tabernacle.'  The  same 
 may  be  said  of  niSD^  siccuth,  whicb  is  only  used  once, 
 by  Amos,  and  then  translated  'tabernacle,'  and  of 
 •qb,  used  by  Jeremiah  in  the  verse  we  have  indicated, 
 both  seeming  to  be  modern. 
 
 In  other  words,  there  is  evidence  that  Ohel  was 
 never  used  to  express  the  tabernacle,  except  by  those 
 whom  critics  suppose  to  be  the  most  modern  of  the 
 writers  in  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 (e)  The  red  ram  skins,  which  the  translators  have 
 naturally  concluded  were  "  dyed,"  are  spoken  of  as 
 D^^^,  adam,  '  red,'  a  word  which  in  this  acceptation  is 
 used  entirely  by  the  late  writers  ;  and  we  must  add,  in 
 passing,  that  red  only  appears  to  have  been  a  sacred 
 colour  after  the  Jews  came  into  contact  with  the  Assy- 
 rians. A  conclusion  to  which  we  are  driven  by  Ezekiel's 
 words  respecting  Jerusalem  (ch.  xxiii.  14-17),  "When 
 she  saw  men  pourtrayed  upon  the  wall,  the  images  of 
 the  Chaldeans  pourtrayed  with  vermillion,  girded  with 
 girdles  upon  their  loins,  exceeding  in  dyed  attire 
 upon  their  heads,  all  of  them  princes  to  look  to,  after 
 the  manner  of  the  Babylonians  of  Chaldea,  the  land  of 
 their  nativity,  and  as  soon  as  she  saw  them  with  her 
 eyes,  she  doted  upon  them,  and  sent  messengers  unto 
 Chaldea,  and  the  Babylonians  came  into  her  bed," 
 etc.,  i.  e.,  Jerusalem  adopted  the  Chaldee  practices  in 
 religion.     Compare  this  passage  with  Ezek.  viii.  10. 
 
 (/)  Tachash  skins  were  equally  of  modern  date. 
 See  Tahash,  infra. 
 
 (r/)  The  seven-armed  candlestick,  the  perpetual 
 fire  kept  up  in  the  holy  place,  the  table  of  shewbread, 
 and  the  composition  of  the  edible,  all  point  to  a 
 Babylonian  or  Persian  origin. 
 
800 
 
 (//)  The  engraved  gems  on  the  breastplate  tell 
 still  more  than  any  other  thing  of  comparatively 
 modern  times.  We  grant  at  once  that  the  ancient 
 EgN-ptians  knew  the  art  of  cutting  stones,  but  we  can- 
 not conceive  (a)  that  they  taught  the  method  to  Jewish 
 slaves ;  (/3)  that  the  Israelites  carried  with  them, 
 manufactured,  or  purchased  in  the  desert,  a  lapidary's 
 wheel,  and  other  apparatus ;  (y)  there  is  reason  to 
 believe  that  the  Jews  were  not  in  the  habit  of  using 
 seals  or  signets  of  any  description,  until  they  came 
 into  contact  with  the  Assyrians.  The  fact  that  Juduh 
 is  said  to  have  had  a  "  signet  "  suffices  to  show  the 
 modern  date  of  the  mj-thos  about  him,  rather  than  to 
 prove  the  antiquity  of  engraved  stones  amongst  the 
 Hebrew  race.  (See  2  Chron.  ii.  7.)  This  book,  how- 
 ever, being  of  very  late  date,  prevents  the  quotation 
 being  of  very  much  use,  except  to  show  that  the 
 writer  thereof  held  the  same  opinion  as  myself  about 
 the  ignorance  of  engraving  amongst  the  Hebrews. 
 After  the  Jews  were  conquered  by  their  Eastern  foes, 
 the  use  of  signets  and  of  the  metaphor  of  "  sealing" 
 became  very  common. 
 
 (i)  The  use  of  ribn,  techelcth,  'blue,'  in  the  cur- 
 tains of  the  tabernacle,  affords  us  farther  evidence  of 
 the  modern  origin  of  the  description  in  Exodus,  inas- 
 much as  blue  seems  to  have  been  an  unknown  colour 
 amongst  the  Jews, — at  any  rate  in  tiie  sacred  vest- 
 ments,—  until  they  became  acquainted  with  the  Assy- 
 rians. The  word,  excepting  in  Exodus  and  Numbers, 
 does  not  appear  again  until  the  time  of  Ezekiel,  Jere- 
 miah, l^stiicr,  and  C'lironides.  Being  recognised  by 
 the  writer  of  Exodus  as  a  costly  and  royal  colour  in 
 his  time,  he,  without  thinking  of  the  anachronism, 
 transferred    curtains  of  such  a  dy»;  to  the  wilderness; 
 
801 
 
 thus  illustrating,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  a  desire 
 to  exalt  his  God  and  nation,  contempt  for  truth, 
 and  ignorance  of  the  modern  maxim, 
 
 "  In  all  your  tales,  however  true, 
 Keep  probability  in  view."^^ 
 
 (ji)  Similar  remarks  apply  to  the  word  l^J?^*, 
 argaman,  "purple,"  which  only  became  known  to  the 
 Jews  as  a  royal  or  sacred  colour  after  the  Tyrian, 
 Assyrian,  or  Babylonian  conquest. 
 
 {k)  The  use  of  the  word  ^^^y,,  yeriak,  "  a  curtain," 
 and  even  the  idea  of  such  a  thing,  seem  to  have  been 
 adopted  by  the  Hebrews  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
 monarchy,  and  after  the  Tyrian,  Assyrian,  and  Baby- 
 lonian conquests. 
 
 {I)  Still  more  remarkable  is  the  use  of  the  word 
 and  the  appearrnce  of  the  idea  of  the  use  of  ^?.^V?, 
 mitznephetli,  and  ^''P^,  tzaniph,  'a  mitre,'  for  both 
 these  do  not  appear  to  have  been  known  in  any  way 
 to  the  Jews  until  the  Babylonish  captivity,  when  they 
 found,  for  the  first  time,  that  the  high  priest  wore  a 
 mitre,  diadem,  or  cap.  In  like  manner,  we  might  pass  in 
 review  "  the  robe,  the  broidered  coat,  the  girdle,"  etc., 
 Exod.  xxviii.  4-6,  and  show  that  they  were  adopted  at 
 the  same  late  period ;  but  enough  has  been  said  to 
 indicate  the  strength  of  the  evidence  for  the  assertion 
 
 184  It  is  clear  that  some  redactor  of  Exodus  has  recognised  the  anachronism 
 which  is  here  pointed  out,  and  has  attempted  to  overcome  it,  hy  adding  to  the  text 
 Exod.  XXXV.  21,  and  many  following  chapters.  I  have  met  with  some  friends  who 
 have  ventured  to  assert,  in  conversation,  that  the  Hebrews  in  the  wilderness  were 
 rich  in  everything  that  wealth  or  robbery  could  procure.  With  determined  theolo- 
 gians similar  assumptions  are  common,  but  such  have  to  show  that  the  Egyptians 
 were  plundered  of  what  they  never  coiild  have  had.  Our  knowledge  of  ancient 
 Egypt  is  considerable;  and  we  know,  what  even  our  biblical  information  would 
 suiEce  to  tell  us  (see  Gen.  xlvii.  13-26),  that  the  common  people,  the  neighbours 
 of  the  brickmaldng  Jews,  were  miserably  poor.  Yet  it  is  out  of  this  poverty  that 
 Israel's  luxuries  in  the  desert  are  sujjposed  to  have  come. 
 
 EEE 
 
802 
 
 which  we  made  on  pnpfc  704.  We  hnvc  shown  that 
 neither  the  raw  materials,  nor  tools  to  work  them 
 up,  existed  in  the  desert ;  that  the  tahernacle  was 
 not  known  by  the  writer  of  the  hulk  of  Deuteronomy; 
 and  that  the  words  and  objects  described  in  connexion 
 with  the  tabernacle  belong  to  the  latest  days  of  the 
 monarchy,  if  not  to  the  post-Babylonian  and  Persian 
 era.  We  presume  that  the  account  given  in 
 Exodus  and  Numbers  preceded  Alexander's  victories 
 over  the  Persians  and  his  occupation  of  Babylon. 
 
 Here  then  we  have  one  more  illustration  of  the 
 historical  worthlessness  of  Jewish  history.'^ 
 Tahash,  ^'C'^  (Exod.  XXV.  5).  This  word  is  rendered  in 
 the  English  Bible  **  badger,"  and  we  find  that  the 
 skin  of  the  creature,  whatever  it  might  be,  was 
 used  in  forming  a  covering  for  the  tabernacle,  and 
 for  the  ark  (Exod.  xxvi.  14,  Num.  iv.  6).  Up 
 to  the  present  time  Hebrew  scholars  have  been 
 unable  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  animal  de- 
 scribed under  this  name.  The  exigencies  of  the 
 Mosaic  narrative  require  us  to  believe  that  the 
 "tachash"  was  sufficiently  common  in  the  desert  for 
 its  skins  to  be  used  as  a  covering;  yet  we  cannot 
 believe  that  it  was  domesticated,  or  there  would  be  no 
 doubt  about  its  identity.  We  conclude  that  it  was 
 not  edible,  for  if  it  had  been,  there  would  have  been 
 
 *"  Somo  tkcolof^nns  ap])car  to  tbink  thut  Iho  worlhlo8iincRfi  of  a  Rton'  cannot 
 bo  proretl  by  uit«rniil  cvidcnre,  ami  that  any  writer  intnxlnrinK  "  watchos,"  "quad- 
 rant*," "  ronipaHHi>ti,"  and  "  li^litnin);  roiidnrton* "  into  tbo  ark  nf  Noah,  wonld 
 prove  tho  anliqnitr  of  tbci««  inHtrnnx-ntH.  Yet  historianM  f^i-ucriklly  cndoaToar  to 
 text  tbo  Wdrth  of  anricnt  aiitbnni  by  their  rbronoloj'iral  rxnctncM.  Somo  may 
 iina^no  that  bino,  pni-plo.  HcaHct,  and  fln«  linen  weru  common  anionf;iit  tho  Kp-p- 
 tiant)  before  Tyre  wan  built,  beonnRO  (inch  an-  ii]H>ki'n  of  in  Kxo«l.  xxtr.  Other* 
 will  Ix'liove  that  tbo  mention  of  Rocb  mnttom  involvi'H  the  idea  of  their  U<ing 
 common  in  tbo  time  of  the  writer,  and,  hnrinR  aneertnined  that  epoch,  ho  would  infer 
 the  probable  era  of  tbo  comiMMiition  nf  that  {Kirtion  of  the  Kible, 
 
803 
 
 no  great  necessity  for  quails  to  afford  an  animal  diet. 
 Badgers  do  not  live  in  hot  countries;  and  antelopes  are 
 too  fleet  of  foot  to  be  caught  by  the  Hebrews  in  the 
 desert.  Again,  the  "  tachash  "  must  have  been  com- 
 paratively little  known  by  that  name  in  Palestine, 
 for  it  is  only  once  mentioned  out  of  the  books  of 
 Exodus  and  Numbers,  viz.,  in  Ezek.  xvi.  10,  wherein 
 shoes  made  of  its  fur,  or  leather,  are  mentioned  as  an 
 article  of  luxury  for  women.  We  find  nowhere  any 
 Hebrew  etymon  which  enables  us  to  reconcile  these 
 difficulties.  On  turning,  however,  to  the  Greek,  and 
 we  have  already  shown  sufficient  reason  to  justify  us 
 in  doing  so,  we  see  that  rayy^^  taclms,  signifies 
 "  swift  in  running,"  "  quick  in  movement,"  etc., 
 epithets  which  would  apply  both  to  "  the  coney  "  \^^, 
 shaphan,  and  "the  hare,"  ^^^1^,  arnebeth,  both  being 
 creatures  abounding  in  the  desert,  and  in  stony  places 
 generally,  Ps.  civ.  18,  Prov.  xxx.  26,  K'ln,  with  n  prefix, 
 "the  hasty  one."''' 
 
 To  this,  however,  it  will  be  answered,  that,  these 
 creatures  being  known  to  the  Hebrews,  and  both 
 being  considered  unclean,  there  would,  in  the  first 
 place,  be  no  difficulty  in  identifying  the  "  tachash," 
 and  there  would  be  a  dislike  to  attributing  its  use  to 
 Moses,  as  a  covering  for  the  tabernacle  and  the  ark.  '^^ 
 This  objection  disappears  if  we  assume  that  the 
 Greeks  were  adepts  in  dressing  hare  skins  and  rabbit 
 skins,  so  as  to  make  them  coveted  by  luxuriant 
 women.  When  so  prepared,  we  may  easily  conceive 
 that  the  articles  would  be  spoken  of  as  "  skins  of  the 
 nimble  runners."     Nor  is  this  rendered  less  probable 
 
 ^^s  n  is  frequently  added  as  a  preformative  to  nouns ;  e.  g.,  rT«i2n,  from  N13, 
 and  nilDPi  fi-om  11]. 
 
 187  The  badger  itself,  as  we  know  it,  was  an  unclean  animal. 
 
804 
 
 by  the  fact,  that  both  the  rabbit  and  the  hare  had 
 names  dra\Yn  from  their  peculiarities,  a  rabbit  being 
 called  iaa-uTTovs,  dasiqyous,  or  hairy  foot,  and  the  hare 
 Xaycoof,  or  Aaycoj,  Uigoos,  "  the  big  eared." 
 
 It  must,  still  farther,  be  noticed  that  the  other 
 materials  with  Avhich  the  Jerusalem  virgin  (Ezek.  xvi. 
 10)  was  adorned  were  foreign,  and  could  only  have  been 
 imported  by  merchants,  who  would  very  probably  give 
 the  articles  their  Grecian  name  under  an  Hebraic  form. 
 The  luxuries  in  question  were  "  broidered  work," 
 "^i?"l,  rUnnah,  with  which,  judging  from  the  evidence 
 given  l)y  Ninevite  slabs,  from  other  monuments,  etc., 
 the  Jews  only  became  acquainted  after  they  came  into 
 contact  ^^^th  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians;  "fine 
 linen,"  ^'''^,  shaish,  which  in  Ezek.  xxvii.  16  is  said  to 
 have  been  imported,  with  purple-broidered  work,  etc., 
 from  Syria,  or  as  some  would  read  from  Edom;  whilst 
 "  the  silk,"  which  is  called  't^'^,  mcshi,  is  known  to 
 have  been  imported  from  China  by  the  Greeks  and 
 Phoenicians,  and  took  its  name  probably  (as  Fiirst 
 remarks,  s.  v.),  from  Slii,  the  Chinese  word  for  silk, 
 or  from  Sijp,  sccr ;  the  name  of  the  first  people  from 
 whom  the  Greeks  obtained  the  material.  Indeed,  we 
 may  conclude,  from  Ezek.  xxvii.  17  and  24,  that 
 none  of  the  ornaments  or  the  articles  of  dress  men- 
 tioned in  Ezek.  xvi.  10-12,  were  of  home  or  of 
 Jewish  production,  but  that  they  were  purchased  from 
 traders,  who  would  with  their  wai-es  introduce  many 
 foreign  names. 
 
 After  this  surmise,  we  are  insensibly  led  on  to 
 think  of  the  other  concomitants  mentioned  with 
 "  tachasb"  skins,  viz.,  **  blue,  purple,  and  scarlet,  fine 
 linen  and  goat's  hair,  ram  skins  dyed  red,  oil  for  tho 
 light,  spices  for  the  anointing  oil,  and  for  the  sweet 
 
805 
 
 incense"  (Exod.  xxxv.  6-8);  and  to  ask  ourselves 
 how  it  is  possible  to  conceive  that  such  things  existed 
 amongst  the  Israelites  in  the  desert.  Such  articles 
 did  not  abound  amongst  the  lower  classes  of  the 
 Egyptians.  They  were  rare  even  in  the  Nilotic 
 palaces, —  localities  which  the  fugitive  Jews  did  not 
 plunder.  Luxuries  like  those  named  could  not  be  found 
 where  there  were  no  olive  trees,  dye  woods,  or  spice 
 trees.  Their  presence  involves  the  idea  of  trade ; 
 for  blue  and  purple  came  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  from 
 Tyre.  Our  self-questioning  then  makes  us  feel 
 morally  certain  that  the  description  of  the  tabernacle 
 was  written  by  some  Jew,  who  was  familiar  with  the 
 precious  merchandise  of  the  Greeks  and  Phoenicians. 
 One,  perchance,  who,  like  the  Israelite  maid  that 
 waited  upon  Naaman's  wife,  had  been  a  slave  to  some 
 lordly  Tyrian,  as  butler  or  cup-bearer,  and  familiar 
 with  all  the  grandeur  of  his  household  ;  and  who, 
 much  in  the  same  style  as  Nehemiah  did,  amused 
 his  leisure  hours  with  painting  the  magnificence 
 of  an  imaginary  temple,  which,  like  other  Chateaux 
 d'Espagne,  would  include  everything  which  the  builder 
 could  conceive  as  appropriate. 
 
 We  are  thus  again  led  by  an  unexpected  chain  of 
 circumstantial  evidence  to  conclude  that  the  books  of 
 Exodus  and  Numbers  were  written  subsequently  to 
 the  Grecian  or  Tyrian  captivity  of  the  Jews,  and  at 
 a  time  when  slavery  in  a  foreign  land  had  taught 
 them  much  of  the  luxuries  of  civilisation.  Even  if 
 this  evidence  stood  alone,  it  would  be  of  great  weight ; 
 but  when  it  is  only  a  part  of  a  vast  amount  of  testi- 
 mony, all  of  which  points  in  the  same  direction,  the 
 conclusion  which  we  draw  from  the  whole  seems  to 
 be  irresistible. 
 
806 
 
 Tammuz,  ^'^^d  (Ezek.  viii.  14).  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to 
 reproduce  all  that  has  been  written  to  show  the 
 identity  of  this  deity  with  Adonis,  Osiris,  and  Bac- 
 chus. It  will  be  sufficient  if  we  point  to  the  deriva- 
 tion of  the  word,  viz.,  ^9^,  tamaz,  which  signifies 
 "he  is  powerful,  strong,  victorious;"  a  term  which 
 applies  equally  to  the  sun  and  his  mundane  sj'mbol. 
 He  was  bewailed  when  he  began  to  droop,  i.  e.,  after 
 the  longest  day  in  the  year,  after  which  he  daily  sank 
 lower  and  lower,  until  the  winter  solstice.  The 
 prayers  for  the  dead,  compiled  in  Egji^t,  b.  c.  2250, 
 were  "  addressed  to  Osiris,  symbolised  by  the  sun  of 
 the  west,  Tum,  or  lower  world,  but  understood  as  the 
 soul  of  the  universe,  the  uncreated  cause  of  all." 
 Bunsen's  Efiypt,  vol.  v.  pp.  8,  9.  Possibly  the  word 
 in  question  is  akin  to  the  Assyrian  tamu,  "judgment, 
 knowledge. 
 
 Temptation,  The.  In  the  preceding  volume,  under  the 
 articles  Adam,  Apple,  Eve  and  Jacob,  I  explained 
 my  own  views  of  the  nature  of  the  mythos  of  Adam, 
 Eve,  the  serpent,  the  temptation,  the  fall,  and  the 
 introduction  of  evil  into  the  world.  Since  that  was 
 written,  I  have  found  that  the  opinions  therein 
 enunciated  have  been  previously  promulgated  both  in 
 ancient  and  in  modern  times.  A  great  many  authors 
 are  quoted  at  length  by  llev.  Dr.  Donaldson  (Jasu.vr, 
 editlo  secunda,  1860),  and  are  well  deserving  a  care- 
 ful perusal.  From  these  quotations  it  is  all  but  cer- 
 tain that  St.  Paul  himself  had  the  same  opinion  of 
 the  nature  of  Eve's  temptation  by  the  seqient  as 
 wo  have  already  indicated.  It  appears  also  that  Philo 
 Judajus,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
 Cornelius  Agrippa,  and  Robert  Flud  have  publislicd 
 very   similar  views.     By    the   kindness    of   a    friend, 
 
807 
 
 I  have  seen  a  work  entitled  '' Etat  de  VHomme 
 dans  le  jpeclie  original,''  whose  authorship  is  not 
 indicated,  the  sixth  edition  of  which  is  dated 
 1741,  and  appears  to  have  been  published  in  Paris, 
 professing  to  be,  to  a  great  extent,  a  French 
 translation  of  a  book  previously  written  in  Latin, 
 by  an  author  whose  name  is  nowhere  given  in  full. 
 In  this,  the  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  temptation 
 is  worked  out  into  very  minute  details,  and  without 
 that  levity  so  common  in  French  works  which  oppose 
 their  current  religion.  Donaldson  quotes  from  a  work 
 by  Montfaucon  de  Villars,  published  in  Paris,  1670, 
 London,  1680,  and  entitled  Entretiens  die  Comte  de 
 Gabalis,  in  which  the  same  idea  is  prominently 
 brought  forwards;  and  as  it  is  "presentable,"  we  avail 
 ourselves  of  it.  "  Le  crime  d'Adam  est  autre  chose 
 qu'  avoir  mange  le  pomme.  Quoy !  estes  vous  du 
 nombre  de  ceux  qui  ont  la  simplicite  de  prendre 
 I'histoire  du  pomme  a  la  lettre  ?  Ha !  S9achez,  que 
 la  langue  sainte  use  de  ces  innocentes  metaphores 
 pour  eloigner  de  nous  les  idees  peu  honestes  d'une 
 action  qui  a  cause  tons  les  malheurs  de  genre  humain. 
 Ainsi  quand  Canticles  vii.  7,  8,  Salomon  disait,  je 
 veux  monter  sur  la  palme,  et  j'en  veux  cueiller  les 
 fruits,  il  avait  un  autre  appetit  que  de  manger  des 
 dates.  Le  sage  demele  aisement  ces  chastes  figures. 
 Quand  il  voit  que  le  gout  et  la  bouche  d'Eve  ne 
 sont  point  punis,  et  qu'  elle  accouche  avec  douleur, 
 il  connoist  que  ce  n'est  pas  le  gout  qui  est  criminel. 
 Et  decouvrant  que  fut  le  premier  peche,  par  le  soin 
 qui  prirent  les  premiers  pecheurs  de  cacher  avec  les 
 feuilles  certains  endroits  de  leur  corps,  il  conclut 
 que  Dieu  ne  voulait  pas  que  les  hommes  puissent 
 multiplies  par  cette  lache  voye  "  {Jasliar,  369,  370). 
 
808 
 
 Now  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  for  the 
 philosopher,  when  once  he  recognises  the  real  nature 
 of  the  temptation  of  Eve  and  Adam,  to  believe  that 
 the  myth  could  have  been  conceived,  adopted,  or 
 believed,  by  any  one  who  had  a  cultivated  mind. 
 Such  a  story  could  only  have  proceeded  from  a 
 morose  misogamic  individual,  whose  real  knowledge 
 was  inferior  to  that  of  the  more  modern  monks  of 
 the  Thebaid,  who  believed  that  celibacy  was  superior 
 to  marriage,  and  that  love  to  God  could  be  promoted 
 by  attempts  to  extinguish  earthly  afiection.  To 
 imagine  that  the  tale  of  the  "tree  of  knowledge  of 
 good  and  evil,"  and  the  effects  of  eating  of  its  fruit, 
 is  a  revelation  from  the  Almighty,  is,  in  my  esti- 
 mation, blasphemous,  for  it  reduces  the  Creator  to 
 a  level  below  the  poorest  Arabic  story-teller,  or 
 Italian  improvisatorc ,  who  ever  gained  a  coin  by  the 
 wea^•iug  narratives  without  any  foundation  save  in 
 the  speaker's  fancy.  Such  tell  of  genii,  magicians, 
 afrits,  and  the  like,  but  they  do  not  make  serpents 
 talk.  Even  when  men  are  transformed  into  asses, 
 birds,  beasts,  fishes,  etc.,  thej'  do  not  speak,  except 
 when  commanded  by  their  master. 
 Theology.  After  the  preceding  investigations,  wo  arc  in  a 
 position  to  examine  closely  what  was  the  ancient 
 faith  held  by  the  nations  whose  names  we  have  com- 
 memorated. We  have  found,  amongst  the  heathen, 
 that  some  of  the  conceptions  of  the  Almighty,  or  the 
 Godhead,  entertained  by  the  many  have  been  very 
 dillerent  from  those  held  by  the  few,  who  were 
 philosophers.  The  last  have  considered  the  Al- 
 mighty in  precisely  the  same  light  as  we  regard  Him 
 ourselves.  \Vith  them,  the  Creator  filled  all  space, 
 was  present  alike  in  the  distant  stars,  and  in  the  sub- 
 
809 
 
 stance  of  our  earth.     In  Him  all  men  lived  and  moved 
 and  had  their  being.    All  were  His  offspring.'**    Such 
 a  Being   it  was,  who,  according  to  their  enlighted 
 views,    gave    to   His  works  certain  properties ;  who 
 established  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  a  wonderful 
 order,  giving  certain  laws  to  His  creation  which  have 
 ever  been  known  as  "the  laws  of  nature,"  viz.,  the 
 utterances,  or  the  expression  of  the  will  of  the  Divine 
 Being  who  made  all  things.       To  men    like   those, 
 the  folly  of  all  priestly  fables  was  a  matter  of  regret. 
 They  saw,   with  sentiments  similar  to  those  enter- 
 tained  by  their  modern  followers,   how  the  human 
 herd  bowed  down  to  stones,  figures,  statues,  and  the 
 like,  and  vexed  themselves  in  fruitless  efforts  to  win 
 the  prizes  of  life,  by  following  the  religious  directions 
 of  men   as  ignorant   and   impotent    as    themselves, 
 although  professing  to  have  superior  knowledge,  and 
 to  be  able  to  supersede  the  immutable  laws  of  the 
 Almighty.    Amongst  such  philosophers  as  those  above 
 described,    may    be    reckoned    Confucius,    Buddha, 
 Asoka,  Zoroaster,   Pythagoras,  Socrates,  Plato,  Xeno- 
 phon,  Epicurus,  and  perhaps  the  author  of  the  Orphic 
 hymns.     In  later  periods   we /may   include    Seneca, 
 Cicero,  Antoninus  Pius,  Epicle(tus,  Pliny,  and  Julian.'*® 
 But  their  numbers  were   sniall,   and  their  influence 
 limited.     The  thinkers,  indeed,  in  all   nations,   ever 
 form  a  small  minority,  and  a^e  wholly  powerless  to 
 cope  successfully  with  superstition,  when  its  powers 
 are  wielded  by  astute  men,  who  study  how  to  thrive 
 upon  the  failings  of   their    followers  rather  than  to 
 seek  after  truth. 
 
 i«8  See  Acts  svii.  28. 
 189  It  was  originally  my  inteution  to  give  a  concise  account  of  the  doctrines 
 tanght  by  the  above-mentioned  saj^es.     The  design  I  am  obliged  to  abandon  for  the 
 present,  bnt  hope  to  cany  out  at  some  future  time. 
 
810 
 
 The  aucicut  faith,  propounded  by. the  master  miuds 
 amongst  our  predecessors,  is  the  same,  in  its  essential 
 parts,  as  that  held  by  modern  philosophers.  For 
 them,  the  book  of  nature  was  the  sole  revelation 
 which  God  had  given  to  man ;  and  a  knowledge  of 
 Him  could  only  be  gained  by  a  close  study  of  all  His 
 works.  "We  know  no  better  authority  now,  and 
 yet  too  many  systematically  neglect  it,  preferring  to 
 study  books  in  which  no  critical  man  can  place  con- 
 fidence, whose  authorship  is  doubtful,  whoso  morality 
 is  bad,  whose  stories  are  grotesque,  and  whose  descrip- 
 tions of  the  Almighty  are  generally  contemptible,  v. 
 
 The  religious  belief  held  by  the  commonalty,  and 
 promulgated  by  priests,  was  very  diflerent  from  that 
 which  we  hare  described.  The  Almighty,  instead  of 
 r::iing  ihe  world  by  certain  inviolable  laws,  was  repre- 
 sented as  governing  it  by  means  of  men  to  whom  He 
 revealed  His  will  in  visions,  or  dreams,  by  the  move- 
 ments of  the  sun,  moon,  planets  and  constellations ;  by 
 the  particular  way  in  which  birds  flew ;  or  by  the  man- 
 ner in  which  the  entrails  of  a  slain  animal  twisted, 
 when  the  abdomen  was  opened.  For  them  the  thun- 
 der had  a  voice,  and  the  lightning  a  message.  With 
 them,  during  the  darkness  of  night,  or  in  the  profound 
 solitudes  of  a  forest,  mountain,  or  desert,  more  fre- 
 quently in  the  secret  chamber  of  a  temple,  dedicated 
 for  the  purpose,  the  Deity  was  said  to  converse 
 face  to  face.  Sometimes  He  spoke  solely  by  messen- 
 gers whose  bodies  were  luminous,  sometimes  He  was 
 represented  as  a  brilliant  light,  and  sometimes,  like 
 a  modern  Homr,'"°  He  only  manifested  Himself  in 
 the  thick  darkness. 
 
 '**   ThJH  lins  reference  to  one  of  the  most  consummnto  cbarlntans  of  the  day, 
 rbo  is  called  a  HiiiritualiHt.  uud  who  jnofiBgcB  to  iH-rfomi.  «r  rntliir  to  be  tbe  nieiinn 
 
811 
 
 The  men  who  thus  believed  deserve  the  name  of 
 "religious"  far  more  than  any  Protestant  Christian. 
 Recognising  God  in  everything,  they  asked  his  sanc- 
 tion in  each  act  of  their  lives.  Read,  for  example, 
 the  following  words  from  Livy,  b.  vi.,  c.  41,  "  What 
 shall  I  say  respecting  religion  and.  the  auspices,  which 
 is  contempt  and  injustice,  relating  exclusively  to  the 
 immortal  gods?  Who  is  there  that  does  not  know 
 that  this  city  (Rome)  was  built  by  auspices ;  that  all 
 things   are  conducted  by  auspices,    during  war  and 
 
 peace,  at  home  and  abroad? They  may  now  mock 
 
 at  rehgion.  For  what  else  is  it,  if  the  chickens  do 
 not  feed?  if  they  come  too  slowly  out  of  the  coop? 
 if  a  bird  chaunt  an  unfavourable  note?  These  are 
 trifling;  but  by  not  despising  these  trifling  matters 
 our  ancestors  have  raised  this  state  to  the  highest 
 eminence.  Now,  as  if  we  had  no  need  of  the  favour 
 of  the  gods,  we  violate  all  religious  ceremonies,"  etc. 
 By  the  ancient  Etruscans,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  the 
 gods  were  consulted  by  augury,  upon  all  occasions. 
 Yet  Wesley  has,  amongst  Christians,  been  derided 
 for  appealing  to  "  the  lot,"  whether  he  should  visit 
 America  or  stay  in  England. 
 
 When  the  so-called  heaven-sent  men  had  esta- 
 blished their  influence  over  their  fellows,  they  wove 
 such  fictions  as  accorded  best  with  their  own  early 
 training,  and  the  character  of  the  people  amongst 
 whom  they  dwelt.  Some  made  gods  and  goddesses 
 of  sun,  moon,   and  stars,  and  founded  their  sacred 
 
 of  producing,  certain  curious  plienomena.  Amongst  other  feats,  he  appears  to  walk 
 in  the  air;  yet  this,  and  all  his  other  most  important  juggleries,  require  the 
 assistance  of  darkness,  which,  whilst  it  awes  the  minds  of  those  who  believe  in  him, 
 prevents  them  from  seeing  the  conjurer's  proceedings.  It  is  to  he  noticed,  more- 
 over, that  many  educated  men  have  given  as  implicit  credence  to  "  Home,"  as  to 
 the  legends  in  the  Hebrew  wi-itings. 
 
812 
 
 stories  on  astroDomical  observations.  Others,  ap:aiu, 
 more  coarse  and  barbarous/'"  founded  all  their  holy 
 legends  or  tales  upon  the  propensities  and  actions  of 
 man,  adapting  their  revelations  to  the  exigencies  of 
 the  times,  of  their  own  caste,  and  of  the  people  in 
 general.  Whenever  these  pretenders  could  influence 
 rulers  to  respect  them,  the  temporal  power  was 
 wielded  in  favour  of  the  ecclesiastical ;  and  to  be 
 irrelij^'ious  was  equivalent  to  being  traitorous.  But 
 when  the  spiritual  guides  had  only  a  limited  sway,  on 
 earth,  they  assumed  to  wield  a  power  on  high,  and  to 
 be  able  to  pursue  the  dead  into  the  land  of  spirits, 
 and  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  them  there. 
 
 As  the  position  of  the  priest  was  at  first  one  which 
 was  conceded  solely  to  his  pretensions,  it  was  an  exi- 
 gency of  his  position  that  his  doctrine,  ritual,  aud 
 practice  should  be  such  as  to  commend  themselves  to 
 his  clients.  He  therefore  depicted  the  Almighty  as  a 
 great  king,  whom  men  should  treat  as  they  v.ould  an 
 earthly  monarch.     A  human  ruler  dwells  in  a  palace, 
 
 '•''  Whilst  tins  Hhect  lias  Ix-i-n  ]inssiug  throuKh  tho  press,  a  very  remarkable  and 
 Rinpnlarlj  interestiiiK  work  has  aiijifarod,  entitled  PrfhUtoric  Xationt,  by  J.  D. 
 Kalilwin,  A.M.  (Sampson  Low,  Son,  &  Marston,  London,  18C9.)  Thonph  mnrred 
 by  a  Cushit«  crotchet,  the  author  ban.  nererthi-lesH,  amassed  an  euormons  amnnnt  of 
 oridenco  to  show  the  Taitl  antii|iiity  of  civilisation  gonerally,  and  to  dcinnnstrnte  tho 
 existence  of  a  cultivated  race  in  Hindostnn  lonx  before  tho  conqaest  of  that  penin- 
 Hnlii  by  the  Arjan  races.  Ho  addticeti  good  reasons  for  behoving  that  the  Linga 
 and  Yoni  worahip  in  India,  the  veneration  of  the  jH'oplo  for  Siva,  and  the  nse  of 
 ravcm  excavations  for  religious  pur|>osc8,  preceded  both  Hriihniiiiism  an<l  lluddhism 
 (pp.  '2,i3,  2-i9,  2!>\>),  and  wa>  the  form  of  worship  found  amongst  the  Dasyns,  or 
 aborigines  of  India.  The  lx>uk  we  refer  to  will  amply  npay  prrasai.  and.  thongh 
 the  scholar  will  regret  tbt  absciico  of  references  to  the  authorities  quoted,  tho 
 ordinary  reader  will  rojoici  that  his  attention  is  not  constantly  distracted  by  foot 
 notes.  Its  anthor  clearly  duinonslratvs  that  a  very  ancient  civilisation  existed,  at  a 
 period  which  the  majority  o!  stndents  describe  as  ono  of  ntter  barlMirism.  lie  cecals 
 to  mind  tho  aaying  of  on<-  uf  my  acquaintiuices,  "(So  where  yon  will,  yon  find  tho 
 remains  of  a  ono-  p.iwt-rful  iMnpli  .'  To  this  unknown  nation  the  author  gives  tho 
 name  ('ushit<-s,  Ar.ibiiini>,  <r  Kthiopians.  To  this  opinion  wo  demur;  with  tho 
 other  coDclniion*  of  tho  wrilar  we  cordially  agree. 
 
) 
 818 
 
 is  surrounded  by  sei*van1j;s,  has  honour,  riches,  power, 
 and  place  to  bestow  u;pon  those  who  love,  respect, 
 obey,  and  serve  him;  ;'whilst  he  can  confiscate  the 
 wealth  and  punish  the  -body  of  individuals  offending 
 against  him.  Thus,  therefore,  the  hierophants 
 painted  the  Omnipotent^. 
 
 As  the  will  of  a  «flespotic  tyrant  can  only  be 
 learned  by  his  acts,  so  >,  the  will  of  the  Great  King 
 could  only  be  ascertained  by  observing  His  ways  and 
 His  doings  amongst  the  (children  of  men.  Even  the 
 most  grovelling  of  hierar|chs  studied  human  nature, 
 especially  its  weaknesses.  \ 
 
 But  in  this  investigatio',n  they  confined  their  obser- 
 vations rather  to  the  surface  of  things  than  to  deeper 
 matters,  and,  being  conjtent  with  what  they  saw, 
 refused  to  look  farther.  1  Observing  that  all  living 
 beings  are  produced  or  c:Jfeated  by  an  union  between 
 the  sexes,  —  for  such  unio.Aa  exists  in  the  vegetable  as 
 well  as  the  animal  world,^ — they  took  a  sexual  view  of 
 the  Creator ;  and  when  tlhey  noticed  the  birds  and 
 other  creatures  coupling  in  the  sacred  places,  they 
 presumed  that  the  Great  Maker  of  such  animals 
 rejoiced  in  witnessing  ^the  act  of  propagation.  '^^ 
 Hence  they  concluded  t^iat  one  of  the  forms  of 
 worship  which  would  be  m^ost  acceptable  to  Him  was 
 the  imitation  of  such  cfreatures  by  man.  They 
 therefore  provided  in  eviery  temple  the  "raw  ma- 
 terial," which  could  be  utL.lised  by  the  devotee. 
 
 Policy  such  us  this  bo.re  its  fruit,  and  the  sacred 
 temple  and  other  precinctsi  became  overwhelmed  with 
 offspring.  To  obviate  suc'n  a  result,  the  priests  had 
 to  make  a  selection  between  abrogating  the  custom 
 
 I 
 
 19«  Se€-  Herodotus,  h.  ii.,  c.  64. 
 
or  counteracting  its  effects.  The  last  alternative  was 
 adopted  by  the  Jews ,  and  the  iufiiut  victims  were 
 offered  to  Muloch,  or  fthe  great  king,  in  whose  honour 
 they  had  been  begotti^n.  The  Hindoos,  on  the  other 
 hand,  bring  up  the  ■  offspring  here  referred  to  as 
 priests  if  they  be  mak»,  as  '  attendants  on  the  temple' 
 if  they  be  beautiful  females,  or  as  servants  if  they  are 
 plain.  In  both  case  s,  there  is  an  idea  that  the  off- 
 spring of  "consecrated  females"  are  holy,  and  must 
 in  one  way  or  anotht  -r  be  sanctified  for  the  use  of  the 
 temple  and  its  deity.. 
 
 We  have  already  seen  to  what  an  extent  success 
 in  love  has  been  made  a  test  of  the  Almighty's 
 favour  (see  Vol.  i.,  }d.  59-G2).  But  men  have  ambi- 
 tion far  beyond  thi  s ;  they  desire  wealth,  power  to 
 triumph  over  enemi  es,  and  to  trample  in  the  dust  or 
 to  torture  their  adversaries,  and  to  gain  dominion ; 
 consequently,  succe^ss  in  all  these  aspirations  was 
 promised  to  their  clients  by  the  hierarchy.  To  know 
 the  future  is  a  natural  desire  implanted  in  the  human 
 breast ;  this  wcakioess  was  therefore  pandered  to, 
 and  prophets,  8eei*8,  diviners,  astrologers  and  the 
 like  flourished  undt'ir  a  sacred  cloak.  Yet,  with  all 
 their  cleverness,  th(>  priests  were  sometimes  deceived, 
 and  misfortune  caroe  upon  those  to  whom  prosperity 
 had  been  promised.  To  account  for  this,  the  sufferers 
 were  informed  thait  the  meaning  of  the  oracle  had 
 been  mistaken,  or  that  their  forefathers  had  incurred 
 the  anger  of  (Jod  .  who  was  now  taking  vengeance 
 upon  them.  Tn  <it  her  words,  the  Almighty  was  repre- 
 Bcntod  as  the  wolt,  in  the  well-known  fable  of  .Ksop, 
 having  always  an  oxcnst*  for  destroying  lambs.  This 
 burlesque  on  the  cliaracter  of  Jehovah  is  still  enacted 
 in    Christian   pulp  its,   and    probably  always  will    be, 
 
815 
 
 until  priests,  when  ordained,  really  receive  that  gift 
 of  the  Holy  Spirit  called  Chajhty. 
 
 Whenever  an  individual  in  power  found  that  he 
 had  been  cruelly  disappointed  by  some  soothsayers,  he 
 would  either  destroy  the  whoLe  body  as  worthless,*®^  or 
 he  would  take  means  to  ascertain  what  were  the 
 offences, ^^*  the  commission  of  which  would  draw  the 
 divine  auger  upon  him  or  any  of  his  subjects,  and 
 endeavour  to  codify  them.  Whenever  such  a  list  of 
 offences  was  drawn  up,  it  would  naturally  be  accom- 
 panied by  directions  how  the  deity  was  to  be  pro- 
 pitiated ;  and  when  it  was  promulgated  by  authority  of 
 the  king  and  high  priest,  it  became  *'the  law." 
 It  was  then  the  interest  of  the  ruler  to  see  that  it  was 
 obeyed,  inasmuch  as  the  disobedience  of  one  man^®^ 
 might  draw  down  the  auger  of  the  Supreme  King 
 upon  the  realm  generally. 
 
 Amongst  offences  against  God,  the  adoration  of 
 any  other  deity  besides  the  one  patronised  by  the 
 monarch  was  the  gi*eatest,  for  the  Supreme  was  con- 
 sidered to  be  as  jealous  as  Jano ;  wliilst,  amongst  the 
 defences  against  His  wrath,  was  abundant  honour 
 for,  and  deference  to.  His  priest.  Next  in  order  to 
 these,  toleration  of  *'  infidels  "  was  averred  to  be  a 
 crime,  and  the  prosecution  of  a  holy  war  to  extermi- 
 nate them  was  regarded  as  a  propitiation ;  an  idea 
 which  is  very  conspicuous  amongst  the  Ninevite 
 remains,  as  well  as  in  more  modern  times.  As  the 
 belief  that  all  evil  came  from  an  angry  God,  and  all 
 good  from  a  pleased  Deity,  a  regular  system  of 
 sacrifices  was  inaugurated,  each  of  which  should,  as  it 
 were,  anticipate  and  avert  a  gust  of  passion,  or  allay 
 
 W3  Dan.  ii.  2,  13.         i9i  2  Sam.  xxi.  1.         "6  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1,  12,  15, 17. 
 
816 
 
 the  desire  to  puYiisb.  Some  of  these  sacrifices  were 
 offered  ouly  ou  great  occasions,  and  others  were  used 
 to  sanctify  every  act  of  life.  A  libation  of  wine  on  to 
 the  earth  corresp<mded  to  our  gi-ace  before  meat ;  and 
 the  leaving  of  some  of  the  viands,  in  case  a  deity 
 should  pass  that  way,  was  quite  analogous  to  our 
 "fc  deiim  laudamus  "  after  dinner.  At  every  banquet^ 
 and  on  every  day,  some  small  offerings  were  made  to 
 the  domestic  tutelar  deities,  and  small  altars  and 
 figures  of  Lares  and  Penates,  still  to  be  seen  in 
 Pompeii,  show,  by  the  abundance  of  the  ashes  which 
 they  contain,  a  worship  as  assiduous  as  was  ever  given 
 by  the  most  devout  Romanist  at  the  shrine  of  his 
 most  popular  saint. 
 
 When  such  ideas  prevailed,  and  it  was  believed 
 that  every  occurrence  was  the  result  of  some  direct 
 operation  of  the  Almighty,  a  study  of  the  laws  of 
 nature  became  very  subordinate,  and  droughts,  famine, 
 defeat  and  deatll  were  attributed  to  direct  divine 
 agency,  rather  than  to  the  shortsighted  policy  of 
 rulers,  merchants,  soldier-tyrants,  and  men  in  general. 
 When  the  conduct  of  a  warlike  expedition  depended 
 upon  auguries,  it  was  very  possible  that  the  sooth- 
 sayer was  able  to  prevent  it  altogether,  or  to  give 
 timely  notice  to  the  enemy  about  the  probable  period 
 of  the  attack ;  and  thus  the  deepest  policy  of  an  in- 
 telligent king  might  be  thwarted  by  a  traitorous 
 priest.'*" 
 
 As  the  power  of  the  hierarchy  became  consolidated, 
 and  their  numbers  increased,  it  became  necessary  to 
 develop  the  original  faith  by  the  importation,  or  by 
 the    fabricationi    of    new   observances,    and    by    the 
 
 w*  Compare  2  Kings  vi.  8-1 1. 
 
817 
 
 multiplication  of  fasts,  festivals,  vigils,  and  the  like. 
 To  accomplish  this  end,  pilgrimages  were  made  from 
 one  kingdom  to  another,  and  errant  hierophants  of  one 
 town,  or  state,  became  initiated  into  the  religious 
 mysteries  observed  in  other  cities,  or  in  distant  coun- 
 tries. Keligion  has  its  exigencies,  as  well  as  commerce; 
 and  he  who  would  thrive  as  a  priest  must  take  steps 
 similar  to  those  of  that  adventurous  Englishman,  who 
 went  in  disguise  to  Italy,  that  he  might  bring  thence 
 into  Derbyshire  the  art  of  weaving  silk.  By  this 
 means  Ave  find  an  explanation  of  the  fact,  that  many 
 forms  of  religious  faith  current  in  divers  nations  have 
 been  established  in  one  city."'  When  once  adopted 
 by  authority,  the  new  importation  became  of  equal 
 value  with  the  old.  Pagan  creeds  were  to  the  full 
 as  capable  of  expansion,  development,  and  assimila- 
 tion of  outlandish  ideas  as  the  Christian  faith  held 
 by  Koman  and  Anglican  churches. 
 
 We  have,  unfortunately  for  purposes  of  comparison, 
 lost  many  of  the  codices  drawn  up  by  the  hierarchies 
 of  various  nations.  Of  the  Sybilline  books  in  Kome, 
 we  know  little ;  nor  have  we  any  remains  of  the  sacred 
 books  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians.  Yet  we 
 have  some  knowledge  of  the  writings  of  Confucius 
 and  Zoroaster ;  and  from  these,  Plato,  Homer,  and  the 
 Orphic  hymns,  we  can  judge  of  the  ideas  general 
 amongst  the  intelligent  Chinese,  Persians,  and 
 Grecians.     We  have  now  translations  of  the  religious 
 
 ^9''  As  au  illustration  of  this,  ';ve  may  point  to  the  capital  city  of  the  ancient 
 Peruvians,  in  which  all  the  gods  of  the  conquered  nations  were  received  into  the 
 Incas'  pantheon.  The  sun  was  the  great  god  of  all,  and  the  imported  deities  were 
 considered  as  suhordinate  to  him,  yet  deities  nevertheless.  Eome,  likewise,  adopted 
 the  gods  of  other  countries ;  and  we  have  already  seen  how  a  Jewish  king  brought 
 with  him  from  l^amascus  to  Jerusalem  both  strange  deities  and  a  strange  altar, 
 See  2  Chron.  xxviii.  23,  2  Kings  xvi.  10. 
 
 F  F  F 
 
818 
 
 books  of  Brahmins  and  Buddhists  ;  whose  orifpnal 
 purity  modern  schokrship  is  gradually  restoring.*** 
 In  all,  we  find  the  same  kind  of  morality  inculcated 
 as  amongst  ourselves.  The  basis  of  the  code,  in 
 all,  is  reverence  for  the  unseen  power,  and  exhort- 
 ations to  treat  everybody  as  you  would  wish  every- 
 body to  treat  you,  i.  c,  the  love  for  God  and  our 
 neighbour. 
 
 Ere  we  wholly  leave  the  ancient  Heathen  faiths, 
 we  must  call  attention  to  their  more  modern  develop- 
 ment. So  far  as  we  can  judge,  the  Jupiter  and  Juno 
 ox  the  Greeks  were  originally  nothing  more  than  the 
 male  and  female  creators.  But  with  the  idea  of 
 a  human  sex,  there  was  ultimately  mingled  the  idea 
 of  human  weaknesses.  Jupiter,  like  the  Hebrew 
 Moses  and  David,  became  tired  of  a  single  wife,  and 
 left  his  celestial  maui-'ion  and  heavenly  spouse,  to  take 
 pleasure  with  certain  fair  daughters  of  men.  From 
 such  an  union  were  born  demi-gods,  such  as  Hercules 
 and  the  ancient  giants,  "  men  of  renown."  Again, 
 Jupiter  became  associated  with  two  others  in  the 
 making  of  a  giant.  Thus ;  Jupiter,  Neptune,  and 
 Mercury  (Asher,  Hea,  and  Ann)  are  on  their  travels 
 at  eventide,  when  a  Bceotian  farmer  sees  them,  and 
 accosts  them  thus,  "Long  is  the  road,  and  but  little 
 of  the  day  now  remains,  my  door  too  is  open  to  the 
 stranger ;  "  they  comply  with  his  invitation,  and  con- 
 ceal their  divine  nature  ;  wine  is  oftered  and  drunk 
 by  Neptune,  who  then  names  Ju])iter ;  the  man  then 
 sacrifices    an    ox,   roasts   it,    and    draws   an   ample 
 
 !•*  Wheeler,  in  bis  IJintnrij  n/Iiiihfi,  Vrdic  prriml  (Linuloii,  1H4')7),  and  Wilson, 
 in  tlio  VigliuH  J'uriina  (London,  iKIiT),  show  toU-rably  rlttnrly  thut  tho  Hindoo  books 
 in  tbeir  presout  condition  uru  not  to  ],o  dt'iH-udi'd  upon,  a  vnst  niimU'r  of  addi- 
 tions, and  viirions  fonuK  of  intor|>olation,  bnviuf{  boon  r>)'ht«niaticall)'  made  to  tbc 
 original  writings. 
 
819 
 
 supply  of  wine ;  when  all  is  ready,  the  gods  partake  ; 
 they  then  ask  the  man  if  he  has  any  desire,  and  he 
 replies  that  he  is  a  childless  widower,  hound  by  vow 
 not  to  marry  again,  yet  he  wants  a  son.  The  gods 
 then  take  the  skin  of  the  animal  sacrificed,  micturate 
 therein,  and  then  bury  the  whole.  Ten  months  after 
 Oeion  is  born  (Ovid's  Fasti,  b.  v.) 
 
 The  triple  idea  of  Jupiter  is  not  often  seen 
 amongst  the  Eomans,  but  the  notion  was  apparent 
 amongst  the  Egyptians,  the  triad  being  Osiris,  Horus, 
 and  Typhon ;  amongst  the  Persians  it  was  Ormazd, 
 Mithra,  and  Ahriman  ;  amongst  the  Assyrians,  Asher, 
 Anu,  and  Hea ;  amongst  the  Syrians,  Monimus, 
 Aziz,  and  Ares;  amongst  the  Canaanites,  "Baal 
 Shalisha,"  or  the  triple  Baal ;  amongst  the  Hindoos, 
 Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva ;  and  even  amongst  the 
 Ancient  Peruvians  there  were  Father  Sun,  Brother 
 Sun,  and  Son  Sun.  To  all  these  one  or  more  spouses 
 were  assigned. 
 
 Nor  must  we  forget  that  it  was  an  ancient  .belief 
 amongst  the  Greeks,  that  there  was  "  war  in  heaven,"  ^^^ 
 that  the  Titans  fought  against  Jupiter,  and  after  a 
 long  conquest  were  driven  into  depths  below  Tartarus, 
 or,  as  we  may  render  it,  the  seventh  hell.  The 
 account  given  by  Hesiod  of  this  contest  is  very  sugges- 
 tive, but  I  omit  it  on  account  of  its  length.  It  contains 
 the  same  ideas  as  we  meet  with  in  many  portions  of 
 our  Bible,  and  in  the  fine  poem  of  Milton ;  and,  as 
 Hesiod  certainly  preceded  the  prophetic  writers  of  the 
 Jews,  those  who  wrote  the  majority  of  the  Psalms, 
 and  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse,  it  is  far  more 
 likely    that   the  latter  adopted   the    Greek   imagery, 
 
 198  Compare  Eev.  si.  7,  xii.  7-17,  xiii.  7-15. 
 
/ 
 
 820 
 
 than  that  Ilesicul  pU^arincd  from  Hebrew  writerw,  of 
 whose  exi«Uijc6  in  hia  lime  there  ia  the  gravest 
 doabt. 
 
 I^t  UB  Dow  examine  into  the  theology  of  India, 
 as  reportttl  \,y  Mogaaihenea,  about  b. c.  300.  (Corj'a 
 Ancient  Fi-afimenU,  p.  226,  et  $eq,)  *'  They,  the  Hmh- 
 mina,  rcix^rJ  the  prvnont  Ufe  merely  as  t*  ■  ••  r 
 
 of   I»en«)|j8  pn*M>ntly   to   Ih?  born,   ami 
 birth  ii|to  a   life  of   reality  and   happiueaa,  to  t: 
 who  rijjhtly  philoKophiHe  ;  ufxin  thin  account  they  are 
 
 stuiliouHJy  cariful  in  y-  ■    -■  ■  '  -    '     -h They 
 
 .li"W  «.'vi.n,l  of  ihf  hail.  !»  are  cum-nl 
 
 amongat  the  Greeks;  such  as,  that  the  world  ia  of  a 
 spherical  figure,  and  that  the  Cto<l  who  adminiKters 
 and  furuiH  it  pcrvadcK  it  throughout  its  whule  extent 
 (aee  Orphic  1 1  y  inn,  p.  21K),  C'ory'H  op.  cit.)  ;  that  the 
 earth  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  univenio ;  and 
 they  add  much  concerning  generation  and  the  soul. 
 Thoy  maintain,  fur  example,  the  immortality  of  the 
 soul,  and  the  judgntent  of  IladeH.  There  are  some 
 who  pretend  to  divination  and  enchantments.  The 
 Brahmins    do    not    reject    such  of  the   my  ' 
 
 Htories  concerning  Ilades  as  ap{)ear  to  thin.   ....■>.> 
 able  to  virtue  ami  piety." 
 
 Again,  we  turn  to  the  sayings  of  Zoroaster,  in  the 
 ■amc  book,  and  find  the  following  s|H>cimens  of  his 
 theology  :  —  {Cory,  op.  cit.,  pp.  2Ul>,  ft  •«•«/.)  "  Cto*l  is 
 the  first,  indestructible,  eternal,  uiiU^gotten,  iudivi- 
 aible,  diaaimilar"  (i»«^iftT«T«{,  unlike  any  other), 
 "the  r  of  all  giHxl,  inc«irruptible,  tlie  best  of 
 
 the  g*-^"-,  •••.  uiHeMt  of  the  wiM« ;  he  is  the  father  of 
 equity  and  juHtice,  s<^>lf-taught,  phy«ical,  {lerfect  and 
 wiae,  and  the  only  inventor  of  the  aarrcd  philoaophy." 
 "The  Chaldeana  call  the  Ood  DioyTsts,  Jao  in  the 
 
821 
 
 Phoenician  tongue,  instead  of  The  Intelligible  Light ; 
 and  he  is  often  called  Sabaoth,  signifying  that  he  is 
 above  the  seven  poles,  that  is,  the  Demiurgus-  The 
 'father'  perfected  all  things,  and  delivered  them  over 
 to  the  second  mind,  whom  all  nations  of  men  call  the 
 first  (compare  John  v.  22).  The  soul,  being  a  bright 
 fire,  by  the  power  of  the  father  remains  immortal, 
 and  is  the  mistress  of  life.  Having  mingled  the  vital 
 spark  from  two  according  substances,  mind  and 
 divine  spirit,  to  these  he  added,  as  a  third,  'Holy 
 Love,'  the  venerable  charioteer,  uniting  all  things.  ... 
 ...Seek  paradise.  Let  the  immortal  depth  of  your 
 soul  lead  you  earnestly  to  extend  your  eyes  upwards. 
 Man,  being  an  intelligent  mortal,  must  bridle  his 
 soul,  that  she  may  not  incur  terrestrial  infelicity,  but 
 be  saved.  The  furies  are  the  constrainers  of  men." 
 (For  «I  7ro/v«j  we  may  fairly  read  the  evil  passions, 
 or  their  modern  embodiment,  "  the  devil.") 
 
 Again,  referring  to  what  we  have  already  said  of 
 the  Grecian  ^°°  influence  apparent  in  the  writings  of  the 
 Old  Testament,  let  any  one  read  the  following  Orphic 
 fragment,  Cory,  oj).  cit.,  p.  296.  "  From  the  begin- 
 ning, the  ether  was  manifested  in  time,  evidently 
 having  been  fabricated  by  God,  and  on  every  side  of 
 the  ether  was  the  chaos  ;  and  gloomy  night  enveloped 
 and  obscured  all  things  which  were  under  the  ether. 
 The  earth  was  invisible  on  account  of  the  darkness, 
 but  the  light  broke  through  the  ether,  and  illumi- 
 
 '■^'^  It  is  veiy  remarkablo  that  the  Jews,  living  as  they  did  in  such  close 
 proximity  to  Egj-pt,  whoso  religious  systems  were  complex  at  a  very  early  period 
 of  written  history,  should  appear  to  know  so  very  little,  if  anything,  of  the  ^lizraite 
 faith.  Though  predisposed  to  find  in  Judaism  much  of  the  fable  current  on  the 
 hanks  of  the  Nile,  I  have  only  discovered  traces  of  Egyptianism  in  very  modern 
 times.  Almost  all  the  H«brew  forms  of  idolatry,  legends,  laws,  language,  etc.,  seem 
 to  have  come  from  Phoenicians,  Greeks,  Babylonians,  Assyrians,  Persians,  and 
 Medes. 
 
822 
 
 uAtcd  the  earth,  and  all  the  material  of  the  creation  ; 
 and  its  name  is  Metis,  Hianes,  Ericiplus  (will,  light, 
 and  life-giver).  By  this  power  all  things  were  pro- 
 duced, as  well  incorporeal  ]>rinciples,  as  the  sun  and 
 moon  and  their  influeuces,  and  all  the  Ktars,  and  the 
 earth  and  tlio  sea,  and  all  things  that  are  visihle  and 
 invisible  in  them  :  and  man  was  formed  by  this  god 
 out  of  the  earth,  and  endued  with  a  reasonable  soul." 
 It  would  be  an  useless  task  to  discuss  the  question, 
 whether  the  book  of  Genesis,  which  contains  so  many 
 proofs  of  Grecian  influences,  gave  its  inspiration  to 
 Orpheus,  or  whether  the  Hebrew  thet»lo^nan  plagiar- 
 ised from  the  Greek.  There  are  some  who  will, 
 under  all  circumstances,  attribute  overkthing  which 
 seems  to  be  good  in  the  ancient  world  to  a  people 
 who  were  as  insignificant,  reticent,  self-contained, 
 and  as  little  known,  as  the  modern  gypsies ;  imd  there 
 are  others  who  see  in  the  Grecians  of  tlie  past  a 
 counterpart  of  the  Greeks  of  the  present,  who,  though 
 possessing  but  a  small  territory,  have  made  them- 
 selves famous  in  all  the  markets  of  the  world.  The 
 philosopher  well  knows  to  which  party  ho  must 
 "  give  the  palm ;  "  but  as  everyl»ody  is  not  thought- 
 ful, the  badge  of  viot<try  is  ofl«'ntinus  given  by  the 
 million  to  the  familiar  dwarf,  wln»,  win  n  sc»ii  near  to 
 the  eye,  eclipses  the  distant  giant. 
 
 Again,  in  the  matter  of  the  triad  (sco  Cory,  op. 
 rit.,  p.  305).  "  Amelius  makes  the  Demiurgus  triple, 
 and  tlie  three  intellects  the  three  kings,  Him  that 
 exisU,  Him  that  juintcMrif,  Him  that  bchttltl* ;  these 
 are  the  same  as  the  throe  kings  of  Plato "  (and  may 
 wc  say  of  Cologne?)  "and  as  Phanes,  Ouranos  and 
 Cronos.  Fire,  water  and  earth,  or,»aM  Ion  m}**,  '  All 
 things  are  three,  and  nothing  more  or  less ;  and  the 
 
823 
 
 virtue  of  each  one  of  these  three  is  a  triad,  consisting 
 of  intellect,  power,  and  chance.'  All  things  are 
 three ;  for  the  end,  the  middle,  and  the  beginning 
 include  the  enumeration  of  everything,  and  they  fulfil 
 the  number  of  the  triad." 
 
 Again,  we  find  that  the  Egyptians,  the  Persians, 
 the  Hindoos,  and  the  Etruscans  believed  in  the  exis- 
 tence of  a  Satan  and  a  Hell,  and  that  amongst  them 
 prayers  were  uttered  by  the  living  for  the  benefit  of 
 the  dead.  They  had  equally  an  idea  of  a  resurrection, 
 in  which  the  body  should  appear  in  a  purified  form. 
 This  belief,  moreover,  seems  to  have  been  general 
 amongst  the  Hindoos,  Egj-ptians,  and  Etruscans, 
 though  not  amongst  the  Greeks.  Yet  Homer  speaks 
 of  an  Elysian  plain,  ''  where  there  is  of  a  truth  the 
 most  easy  life  for  men ;  where  there  is  no  snow,  no 
 long  winter,  nor  ever  a  shower ;  and  where  the  ocean 
 ever  sends  forth  the  gently  blowing  breezes  of  the 
 west  wind"  {Odyssey,  b.  iv.,  563).  We  find  also  in 
 Italy,  equally  with  Greece,  the  existence  of  an  idea 
 that  those  who  died  unburied  in  the  earth  remained 
 for  hundreds  of  years  in  a  sort  of  purgatory,  before 
 they  were  allowed  to  enter  into  the  wished-for  lakes. 
 Thus,  when  Jilneas  reaches  the  abodes  of  departed 
 spirits,  he  finds  in  the  land  of  mourning,  ghosts  of 
 infants ;  those  condemned  by  false  accusations,  yet 
 who  are  duly  judged  by  Minos  and  his  assessors,  who 
 examine  into  their  lives  and  crimes ;  those  who  have 
 killed  themselves,  and  those  whom  unrelenting  love 
 consumed  away. 
 
 Again,  Virgil  tells  us  of  Tisiphone,  and  how  she 
 scourges  ruthlessly  the  souls  of  those  who  have  been 
 guilty  of  crimes  during  life,  for  the  which  no  atone- 
 ment had  been  made ;  and  he  depicts  that  Tartarus, 
 
824 
 
 into  which  the  Titans  were  thrown,  and  those  who 
 opposed  themselves  to  Jupiter.  In  like  manner,  the 
 poet  speaks  of  the  piirticulur  puuishnient  of  some ; 
 one  of  whom,  Tityus,  has  his  liver  and  bowels  gnawed 
 perpetually  by  a  vulture,  the  Latin  representative  of 
 "the  worm  that  dieth  not."  In  the  same  hell  are 
 placed  those  who  hud  been  at  enmity  with  their 
 brothers,  who  had  beaten  a  parent,  or  wrought  deceit 
 against  a  chent,  or  who  had  brooded  over  acquired 
 wealth,  nor  assigned  a  portion  of  their  own  ;  those, 
 too,  who  were  slain  for  adultery,  who  had  joined  in 
 impious  wars,  who  had  violated  the  failh  plighted  to 
 their  masters,  who  had  sold  their  countn.-  for  gold, 
 and  hud  for  money  made  and  unmade  laws,  who  had 
 invaded  a  daughter's  bed,  and  those  who  hud  dared 
 innumerable  crimes,  and  accomi)lishc'd  what  they 
 dared. 
 
 The  poet  confesses  himself  inadequate,  either  to 
 enumerate  the  various  crimes  committed  by  the 
 damned,  or  the  various  forms  of  their  punishment; 
 just  as  I  have  known  a  Papal  bishop  do. 
 
 After  passing  through  the  gloomy  abodes,  iEncas 
 comes  to  the  regions  of  joy  ;  delightful  groon  retreats, 
 and  blessed  abotles  in  groves,  where  happiness 
 abounds.  "  A  free  and  pure  sky  here  clothes  the 
 fields  with  sheeny  light ;  men  know  their  own  sun, 
 their  own  stars  ;  some  exercise  their  limbs  on  the 
 grassy  green,  or  contend  in  sjwrts,  wrestling  on  the 
 sand  ;  some  danc«,  and  some  sing  to  the  pleasant 
 music  of  Orpheus."  {J'^ncid,  b.  vi.)  Such  waa  the 
 Roman  conception  of  the  world  after  death,  at  the 
 time  of  Christ,  and  at  a  periotl  when  rival  secta  of 
 the  Jews  were  discussing  angrily  whether  angels, 
 spiritH,  or  a  future  state  existed  at  all. 
 
825 
 
 The  Etruscan  ideas  of  Heaven  and  Hell,  Angels 
 and  Demons,  reward  or  punishment  after  death 
 depending  upon  man's  conduct  during  life,  were,  so 
 far  as  we  can  learn  them,  almost  identical  with  our 
 ow^n.  The  remains  of  this  people  prove  them  to  have 
 been  more  highly  civilised  in  every  respect  than  any 
 other  nation  whose  story  we  know.  They  were, 
 moreover,  in  their  own  way,  very  religions.  Their 
 mode  of  sacrifice  might  have  served  for  the  type 
 of  the  Jewish  method.  In  creed  they  resemble 
 certain  Christians,  in  policy  they  may  be  compared 
 with  the  ancient  Peruvians.  It  is  very  sad  to  see 
 two  such  cultivated  nations  destroyed  by  such  bar- 
 barians as  Romans  and  Spaniards  were.  For  a  good 
 account  of  this  remarkable  nation,  see  Cornhill  Maga- 
 zine for  May,  1869. 
 
 Again;  if  we  turn  to  Cicero,  who  lived  some- 
 where about  sixty  years  before  Virgil,  we  find  him 
 writing  thus  (book  vi..  Commonwealth,  or  Scipio's 
 Dream)  :  "Be  assured  that,  for  all  those  who  have 
 in  any  way  conduced  to  the  preservation,  defence,  and 
 enlargement  of  their  native  country,  there  is  a  certain 
 place  in  heaven,  where  they  shall  enjoy  an  eternity  of 
 happiness.  For  nothing  on  earth  is  more  agreeable 
 to  God,  the  Supreme  Governor  of  the  Universe,  than 
 the  assemblies  and  the  societies  of  men  united 
 together  by  laws,  which  are  called  '  states.'  It  is  from 
 heaven  their  rulers  and  preservers  came,  and  thither 
 they  return.  All  enjoy  life  above,  who  have  escaped 
 from  the  chains  of  the  body,  as  from  a  prison.  That 
 which  is  called  life  on  ear h,  is  no  more  than  a  form 
 of  death."  When  the  dreaming  Scipio  then  asks 
 to  cast  off  his  slough,  he  is  told  that  "it  is  impos- 
 sible, unless  that  God,  whose  temple  is  all  the  vast 
 
826 
 
 expanse  which  he  beholds,  shall  free  him  from  the 
 fetters  of  the  body."  "  Men  are,"  Scipio's  divine  moni- 
 tor tolls  him,  "  formed  on  the  \er\  condition  that  they 
 shall  labour  for  the  prcscrsatiou  of  the  earth  ;  that 
 they  are  likewise  endowed  with  a  soul,  which  is  a 
 portion  of  the  eternal  fires.  It  is  man's  duty  to  pre- 
 serve the  union  of  soul  and  l)ody ;  nor  should  the 
 least  thought  bo  entertainod  of  quitting  life,  lest  man 
 should  seem  to  desert  the  post  assigned  to  hiui. 
 Human  beings  should  always  pay  a  strict  regard  to 
 justice  and  piety.  Man  should  honour  parents, 
 relations,  and  his  country  ;  such  being  the  true  way 
 to  heaven,  and  to  the  company  of  those  who,  after 
 having  lived  on  earth,  and  escaped  from  the  body, 
 inhabit  the  place  which  you  now  behold." 
 
 Then  follows  a  description  of  the  heavens,  and  the 
 orbits  of  the  various  planets,  the  music  of  the  spheres. 
 "This  celestial  harmony  has  been  imitated,"*" 
 the  mentor  says,  "  by  learned  musicians,  both  on 
 stringed  instruments  and  with  the  voice,  whereby  they 
 have  opened  to  themselves  a  way  to  return  to  tho 
 celestial  regions,  as  have  likewise  many  others,  who 
 have  employed  their  sublime  genius,  while  on  earth,  in 
 cultivating  the  divine  sciences."  After  showing  these, 
 the  monitor  asks,  "  If  the  attention  of  the  philo- 
 sopher, or  of  the  good  man,  is  fixed  on  these  things, 
 is  any  applause  or  glory  upon  earth  worth  contending 
 for?"  "  If,"  he  says,  "you  have  no  hope  of  return- 
 ing to  this  place,  where  great  and  good  men  enjoy  all 
 that  their  souls  can  wish  fur,  of  what  value,  pray,  is 
 all  that  human  glo»y,  which  can  hardly  endure  for  a 
 Bmall  portion  of  one  year?"      Then  follows  on  utter- 
 
 W  8<-«  I'LANSTt,  antea,  p.  600. 
 
827 
 
 ance,  the  truth  of  which  a^^l  earnest  writers  must  feel 
 profoundly  :  —  "  If,  then,  ;you  wish  to  elevate  your 
 views  to  the  contemplaticiin  of  this  eternal  seat  of 
 splendour,  you  will  not  be  ,  satisfied  with  the  praises  of 
 your  fellow  mortals,  nor  wilth  any  human  rewards  that 
 your  exploits  can  obtain  ;\  but  virtue  herself  must 
 point  out  to  you  the  true  ;and  only  object  worthy  of 
 your  pursuit.  Leave  to  others  to  speak  of  you  as  they 
 may,  for  speak  they  will.  T^eir  discourses  will  be  con- 
 fined to  the  narrow  limits  of 'their  country,  and  they  will 
 perish  like  those  who  utter  them,  and  will  be  no  more 
 remembered  by  their  poste,rity."  Again  the  Mentor 
 says,  "It  is  not  your  outward  form  which  constitutes 
 your  being,  but  your  mind ;.  not  that  substance  which 
 is  palpable  to  the  senses,  (but  your  spiritual  nature. 
 (Condensed  from  C.  D.  Yonge's  translation,  Bolm's 
 edition,  pp.  380-388.)  ' 
 
 Having  already  spoken  of  the  theology  of  Plato, 
 I  will  pass  to  that  of  another  writer,  one  named 
 Theognis,  who  flourished  at  Megsera  five  hundred 
 and  thirty  years,  or  thereabouts,  before  our  era.  The 
 first  quotation  (Bank's  translation,  Bohn's  edition, 
 1856)  strongly  reminds  oi-e  of  the  first  Psalm, 
 "  Consort  not  with  bad  men,  but  ever  cleave  to  the 
 good ;  with  them  eat  and  drink,  sit  with  them,  and 
 please  them,  of  whom  there  is  a  large  force.  For 
 from  the  good  thou  shalt  learn  good,  but  with  the 
 bad,  if  thou  shouldest  mix,  thou  wilt  lose  even  the 
 mind  thou  hast;  learn  thit^,  associate  with  the  good, 
 and  sometimes  thou  wilt  say  that  I  give  good  advice 
 to  my  friends"  (p.  219).  ''No  one  is  himself  the 
 cause  of  loss  or  gain,  but  of  both  these  the  gods  are 
 givers;  nor  doth  any  man  toil,  knowing  within  his 
 heart,  as  touching  the  issue,  whether  'tis  well  or  ill. 
 
828 
 
 For  oftentimes  thi-^kinj^  he  will  bring  about  evil,  he 
 is  wont  to  bring  about  good,  and,  thinking  to  cause 
 good,  he  causes  ill.  'We,  men,  entertain  vain  thoughts, 
 knowing  nothing.  The  gods  accomplish  all  things 
 after  their  own  mind  ;  none  ever  who  has  deceived  a 
 guest,  or  a  suppliant,  amongst  mortals,  has  escaped 
 the  eye  of  the  iioimortuls.  Choose  rather  to  live 
 religiously  with  n^mall  means,  than  to  be  rich, 
 having  gotten  richf  s  unjustly.  In  justice  is  all  virtue 
 collectively  ;  every  man,  if  just,  is  good.  No  man  is 
 either  wealth v  or  i)oor,  mean  or  noble,  without  the 
 help  of  the  gods ;  wo  one  of  men  is  blest ;  but  whom 
 the  gods  honour,  even  a  fault-finder  commends.  Pray 
 to  the  gods  whose  might  is  great;  nothing  happens  to 
 man  without  the  gods,  either  good  things  or  bad." 
 
 Compare  the  following  with  the  sentiments  met 
 with  in  Ecclesiasten.  "  To  beget  and  nurture  a  child 
 is  easier  than  to  implant  right  feelings.  This,  at  all 
 events ;  no  one  has  yet  contrived  to  make  the  senseless 
 sensible,  and  the  mean  noble,  liut  if  a  god  had 
 granted  this  to  the  doctors,  to  cure  meanness,  and  the 
 infatuated  minds  of  men,  many  and  great  wages  would 
 they  earn.  And  if  any  one  was  able  to  implant  the 
 mind  which  he  wished  into  his  offspring,  never  would 
 there  be  a  worthless  son  bom  from  a  worthy  father. 
 But  by  teaching  vou  will  never  make  a  mean  man 
 noble ;  I  bate  a  mean  man,  I  veil  myself  when  I 
 approach  him;  I  hate  also  a  roaming  woman,  and  a 
 wanton  man,  who  desires  to  plow  the  furrow  of 
 another.  Hut  the  things  which  have  gone  by  it  is 
 impossible  to  undo,  the  future  is  that  which  wo  must 
 care  for.  By  faith  have  1  lost  wealth,  and  by  unl)olief 
 preserved  it,  bti'     '  1   of  botli  is  difficult.     No 
 
 one  bv  payiii  '  i  •  soapo  dealii,  ueilher  can 
 
829 
 
 mortal  man  by  gifts  escape  anxieties  when  the  god 
 sends  griefs." 
 
 Again,  in  many  Ancient  Faiths  amongst  the 
 Heathen  there  was  a  beUef  that  on  the  recurrence  of 
 certain  astronomical  cycles  there  were  avatars,  in 
 which  a  special  portion  of  the  deity  became  incarnate, 
 as  man,  by  the  great  creator  accoupling  with  a  human 
 female,  whence  arose  heroes  and  great  men,  men  of 
 renown.  ^"^  Of  the  general  theology  current  in  Phoe- 
 nicia, Assyria,  Syria,  Babylonia,  and  Egypt,  we  have 
 not  sufficient  information  to  speak  with  certainty, 
 but  we  may  profitably  examine  the  theology  with 
 which  the  Jews  came  into  contact  after  the  capture 
 of  Babylon  by  the  Persians  and  Medes.  In  con- 
 ducting the  inquiry,  I  chiefly  rely  on  Rawlinson's 
 Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  94,  et  seq. 
 
 By  the  Arians,  two  deities  were  acknowledged, 
 good  and  bad,  who  were  in  conflict  with  each  other 
 perpetually.  Storm  and  sunshine,  heaven  and  earth, 
 wind  and  fire,  were  ministers  of  the  one  or  the  other. 
 Soma,  or  intoxication,  was  also  considered  as  a  deity 
 (comjjare  with  this  the  direction  in  Deut.  xiv.  26,  to 
 the  efi"ect,  that  when  the  Jews  came  to  offer,  at  the 
 special  dwelling-place  of  Jehovah,  they  were  to  spend 
 their  money,  amongst  other  things,  in  "  strong  drink)." 
 The  good  divinity,  Ahura  Mazdao,  Oromasdes  or 
 Ormazd,  was  single,  and  styled  creator,  preserver, 
 and  governor  of  the  universe.  He  made  the  celestial 
 bodies,  earth,  water,  trees,  and  all  good  creatures.  He 
 is  represented  as  "good,"  "!ioly,"  "pure,"  "true,"  "the 
 holy  god,"  "  the  hohest,"  "  the  father  of  all  truth," 
 "the  best  being  of  all,"  "  the  master  of  purity,"  etc. 
 
 2C2  See  Gen.  vi.  2,  and  page  780.  antea. 
 
ftSO 
 
 From  hira  came  all  pood  to  man  ;  on  the  pions  he 
 bestows  earthly  advant^ij^es,  and  such  spiritual  jrifts 
 as  tnith,  devotion,  a  {jood  mind,  and  cvLTlasting 
 happiness.  Whilst  he  rewards  the  ^ood,  he  punishes 
 the  had.  Lucidity  and  hrifjhtness  are  assigned  to 
 him,  and  he  is  so  predominately  the  "  author  of  good 
 things,"  "the  source  of  blessing  and  prosperity," 
 as  not  to  inspire  his  votaries  with  fear.  In  few 
 words  the  Median  conception  of  Ormazd  is  superior  to 
 that  which  the  Jews  framed  respecting  Jehovah,  who 
 has  been  described  in  the  Bible  as  God  and  devil 
 combined,*" 
 
 There  is,  indeed,  so  very  much  in  common,  be- 
 tween Zoroastrianism  and  Judaism,  that  the  two 
 nations  professing  these  faiths  agreed  unusually  well 
 together.  But  it  is  evident  that  the  Jew  never  wholly 
 adopted  the  Median  idea  of  an  eternity.  Like  the 
 Babylonians,  the  Medes  believed  in  angels  or  spirits. 
 The  earth  was  considered  as  a  female,  and  was  deified 
 under  the  name  of  Armaita.  Ormazd  had  also  a  mes- 
 senger, Sraosha,  who  delivered  divine  revelations  or 
 messages,  showed  to  men  the  path  of  happiness, 
 and  brouglit  the  blessings  whieh  the  Supreme  Being 
 had  assigned  to  them.  This  "  l)eiug"  closely  resem- 
 bles the  Gabriel  of  the  Jewish  book  of  Daniel,  and 
 the  "  Holy  Ghost"  of  our  C'hristian  theology,  .\gain 
 Armaita  is  represented  as  telling  men  the  everlasting 
 laws,  whieh  she  learned  from  conversation  with 
 Orma/.d.       Slie    thos    l>ecnme    the    second    object    of 
 
 •*   Wo  do  not   wi«h    I  •   n  I  iiijp  rnntnin*   no  ijrnnil  ronrrptii>n«  ■>( 
 
 ihf  C'roalor.    Wr  n<»<liljr  n\U,y  Wo  only  aflinn  llinl  Ihfv  %tv  •oin'i^llv 
 
 oTcrlMirno  by  Kro««  unlbr'  r  majolr  i»  «lw»rfrd      Thry  rMcra- 
 
 Itln  ■  IotoIt  clatap  of  m.'  and  rutcrrd  wiUi  Trrmmoua  ra^T*- 
 
 Oar  aim  it   to  mnoTP  all    aui  li  riu>i<><h,    aii<l    let  (ho  nal    i{nuidrur  be   oipoaod 
 vilhoot  any  tkiDK  lo  mar  It. 
 
831 
 
 worship,  and  converts  were  required  to  profess 
 their  faith  in  her,  in  direct  succession  to  Ahura 
 Mazdao.  In  this  respect  she  may  be  identified  with 
 the  Virgin  Mary  of  the  Papal  religion. 
 
 Mithra  as  a  deity  was  of  later  invention  than 
 Ormazd,  but  into  his  worship,  and  the  ideas  connected 
 therewith,  we  have  not  space  to  enter. 
 
 Rawlinson  next  gives  us  a  very  suggestive  para- 
 graph about  Soma  worship,  or  the  adoption  of  drunk- 
 enness into  religious  rites ;  saying  that  it  is  probable 
 that  Zoroaster  left  Brahminism  because  he  could  not 
 endure  the  grossly  sensual  idea  which  Soma  worship 
 involved.  There  is  one  of  his  sentences  which  so 
 corresponds  to  our  current  experience,  that  we  re- 
 produce it  verbatim  ;  "  The  zeal  of  religious  reformers 
 outgoes  in  most  cases  the  strength  and  patience  of 
 their  people,  whose  spirit  is  too  gross  and  earthly  to 
 keep  pace  with  the  more  lofty  flights  of  the  purer 
 and  higher  intelligences."  This  remark  is  true,  for 
 all  ages ;  and  the  philosopher  of  to-day  finds  himself 
 as  much  impeded  by  the  "  grovellers,"  as  the  angel 
 in  Pilgrim's  Progress  was  by  the  man  with  ''the 
 muck  rake,"  who  would  not  look  upwards. 
 
 The  followers  of  Zoroaster  had  no  clearer  con- 
 ception of  the  Devil  than  we  have.  They  considered 
 that  he  or  they,  —  for  they  regarded  Satan  as  a 
 plurality  as  well  as  an  individual, —  were  simply  "ad- 
 versaries," "malicious  deceivers,"  and  "  injurers  of 
 mankind,"  more  especially  of  the  followers  of  Ormazd. 
 Their  leading  characteristics  were  "  destroying " 
 and  "  lying. "  At  first  demons  were  rarely  called  by 
 distinct  names ;  and  no  account  was  given  of  their 
 creation,  nor  of  the  origin  of  their  wickedness.     In 
 
832 
 
 this  matter,  the  Bible  is  as  sileut  as  are  the  books  of 
 the  Persians. 
 
 Ahrimau  and  the  court  of  darkness  are  to  be  repfarded 
 as  a  subsequent  development.  Passing  by  much  that 
 is  superfluous,  I  am  arrested  bv  two  sentences  in 
 Rawlinsou,  which  are  to  me  so  very  significant,  that 
 I  must  quote  them  unchanged.  "If  Ahuru-Mazda 
 forms  a  "  delicious  spot"  in  a  world  previously  desert 
 and  uninhabitable,  so  as  to  become  the  first  home  of 
 his  favourites,  the  Arians  ;  Angro-mainyus  (Ahriman, 
 or  Satan)  ruins  it,  by  sending  into  it  a  poisonous 
 serpent ;"  and  the  note  is  added,  "  The  mention  of 
 a  serpent  as  the  first  creation  of  Angro-mainyus  is 
 carious.  Is  it  a  paradisaical  reminiscence  ?  "  If  my 
 reader  will  be  good  enough  to  suspend  his  judgment 
 until  he  has  perused  that  part  of  the  following  article 
 on  Time,  which  treats  of  the  period  when  it  was  first 
 divided  into  "  weeks,"  he  will,  I  think,  see  very 
 strong  reason  to  believe,  that  the  idea  of  Paradise 
 came  to  the  Jews  from  the  Medes,  and  not  from  the 
 Hebrews  to  the  Arians. 
 
 Again,  we  find  that  Ahriman,  or  Satan,  sends 
 "murrain,"  "plague,"  "war,"  "ravages,"  "sick- 
 ness," "fever,"  "poverty,"  "hail,"  "earthquakes," 
 "  buzzing  insects,"  "  poisonous  plants,"  "  unbelief," 
 "witchcraft,"  and  "inexpiable  sins,"  into  the  happy 
 regions  created  by  the  good  spirit ;  and  thus  a  world 
 which  should  have  been  very  good  is  converted  into 
 a  scene  of  trial  and  suflTering.  A  statement  which 
 raises  the  pleasant  doubt  whether  some  of  our  theolo- 
 ginns  may  not  ussign  the  origin  of  Zoroaster's  faith 
 to  his  intimacy  with  the  "  immortal  "  Milton  !  In  this 
 conceit  we  are  encouraged  by  finding  that  the  .\rian 
 
833 
 
 philosopher  assigned  a  council  and  an  army  to  the 
 good  and  the  bad  principle  alike,  and  that  the  sub- 
 jects of  these  are  constantly  fighting  with  each  other  ! 
 The  Median  theology  declares  that  devils  per- 
 meate the  universe,  aiming  at  the  destruction  of  all 
 the  good  creations  of  Ormazd ;  and  when  they  cannot 
 destroy,  they  pervert  and  corrupt.  Devils  dog  the  steps 
 of  man,  tempting  him  to  sin  ;  and  as  soon  as  he 
 'falls,'  they  obtain  a  fearful  power  over  him.  In  other 
 words,  Ahriman  is  the  lion  seeking  whom  he  may 
 devour. 
 
 In  the  Median  system  of  divinity,  truth, 
 purity,  piety  and  industry  are  the  virtues  chiefly 
 valued.  Evil  is  traced  up  to  its  root  in  the  heart 
 of  man.  It  is  also  distinctly  taught,  that  no  virtue 
 deserves  the  name,  except  it  is  co-extensive  with 
 the  whole  sphere  of  human  activity,  including  the 
 thought,  as  well  as  the  word  and  the  deed.  The 
 purity  required  is  inward  as  well  as  outward,  mental 
 as  well  as  bodily.  The  industry  is  to  be  of  a 
 peculiar  character.  Man  is  placed  upon  the  earth 
 to  preserve  the  good  creation ;  which  can  only  be 
 done  by  careful  tilling  of  the  soil,  by  the  eradication 
 of  thorns  and  weeds,  and  by  the  reclamation  of  the 
 tracts  over  which  Angro-mainyus  has  spread  the 
 curse  of  barrenness.  To  cultivate  the  soil  is  thus 
 a  religious  duty.  Whilst  writing  the  last  portion  of 
 this  paragraph,  my  mind  reverts  to  a  j)assage  in  the iV^o)*- 
 thern  Farmer,  by  Tennyson,  who  describes  a  dying  coun- 
 tryman as  being  discontented  at  having  to  die,  basing 
 his  claim  to  longer  life  on  having  "  stubbed  Thornaby 
 Waste ;  "  and  in  the  notes  the  writer  remarks,  that  it 
 is  a  common  belief  in  that  part  of  the  county,  that 
 any  one  who  has  converted  '  waste  '  into  "arable  land  " 
 
 G  G  G 
 
884 
 
 has  done  a  work  of  "  piety,"  for  which  he  will  be 
 duly  rewarded  hereafter.  It  would  be  presumptuous 
 to  say  that  this  idea  is  a  relic  of  Zoroaster's  teaching, 
 but  it  assuredly  helps  us  to  grasp  the  reality  of  the 
 ancient  belief. 
 
 The  sacrifices  of  the  Zoroastrians  were  horses, 
 mares,  oxen,  sheep  and  goats.  A  priest  always  per- 
 formed the  sacrifice,  slaying  the  animal,  and  waving  the 
 flesh  before  the  sacred  fire,  by  way  of  consecration, 
 after  which  it  was  eaten  at  a  solemn  feast  by  the 
 priest  and  worshippers. 
 
 The  Medians  were  believers  in  the  immortality  of 
 the  soul,  and  a  conscious  future  existence.  They 
 taught  that  immediately  after  death  the  souls  of 
 men,  both  good  and  bad,  proceed  together  along  an 
 appointed  path  to  the  bridge  of  the  gatherer,  a  narrow 
 path  to  heaven,  over  which  the  souls  of  the  pious  alone 
 could  pass,  whilst  the  wicked  fall  from  it  into  the  gulf 
 below ;  that  the  prayers  of  his  living  friends  are  of 
 much  value  to  the  dead,  and  greatly  help  him  on 
 his  journey.  As  his  soul  enters  the  abode  of  bliss, 
 it  is  greeted  with  the  words,  "  How  happy  art  thou, 
 who  hast  come  here  to  us  from  mortality  to  im- 
 mortality." Then  the  pious  soul  goes  joyfully 
 onward  to  Ahura-Mazdao,  to  the  immortal  saints, 
 the  golden  throne,  and  Paradise.  As  for  the  wicked, 
 when  they  fall  into  the  gulf,  they  find  themselves  in 
 **  outer  darkness,"  in  the  kingdom  of  Angro-Mainyus, 
 where  they  are  forced  to  remain,  and  to  feed  on 
 poisoned  banquets.  Hence  came,  most  probably,  the 
 ideas  of  Ili'aven  and  Hell  current  amongst  the  Jews 
 at  the  beginning  of  our  era,  and  adopted  as  true  by 
 Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
 
 It  is  believed  bv  sorao  that  the  doctriuo  of  the 
 
835 
 
 resurrection  of  the  body  was  also  a  part  of  the 
 theology  of  Zoroaster.^"*  At  any  rate,  the  creed  was  at 
 first  simple,  and  highly  spiritual ;  remarkable  for  its 
 distinct  assertion  of  monotheism,  its  hatred  of  idolatry, 
 and  the  strongly  marked  antithesis  which  it  main- 
 tained between  good  and  evil.  In  the  second  phase, 
 the  religion  became  dualistic,  complicated  by  the 
 importance  that  it  ascribed  to  angelic  beings,  which 
 made  it  verge  upon  polytheism.  The  third  develop- 
 ment was  "  Magism,"  which  was  essentially  the  recog- 
 nition of  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water  as  the  proper  objects 
 of  human  reverence.  The  Magi  had  no  personal 
 gods,  and  rejected  as  useless,  "  temples,"  "  shrines," 
 and  "images,"  because  they  all  encouraged  the  notion 
 that  gods  existed  of  a  like  nature  with  man  (see 
 Herod,  i.,  c.  131).  Fire  attracted  their  highest  regards, 
 and  on  their  altars  the  sacred  flame,  said  to  have  been 
 kindled  from  heaven,  was  kept  burning  uninter- 
 ruptedly from  year  to  year,  and  from  age  to  age,  by 
 bands  of  priests,  whose  special  duty  it  was  to  see  that 
 the  sacred  spark  was  never  extinguished  (see  Strabo, 
 XV.  iii.  15,  or  pp.  732,  3).  Next  to  fire,  water  was 
 reverenced,  and  no  refuse  whatever  was  allowed 
 to  be  thrown  into  a  river  or  stream.  It  is  a  pity  we 
 have  no  such  religious  belief  now,  to  prevent  our 
 streams  being  polluted  as  they  are. 
 
 No  worshipper  could  do  any  act  of  religion  un- 
 assisted by  a  priest,  and  the  hierarchs  were  a  special 
 caste.  They  claimed  to  possess  a^  sacred,  mediatorial, 
 and  prophetic  power.  They  explained  omens  and 
 expounded  dreams.  They  assumed  a  peculiar  dress, 
 which  was  of  pure  white.     Abhorring  idolatry,  they 
 
 201  This  belief  was  certainly  entertaiued  by  tbe  Egyptians,  Etruscans,  and  the 
 Latins. 
 
836 
 
 were  intolerant  of  any  relifjion  except  their  own. 
 At  length  Zoroastrianism  and  Magism  became  amal- 
 gamated in  Media,  as  Christianity  and  Paganism 
 became  united  in  Rome. 
 
 Their  belief  that  air,  fire,  earth,  and  water  are 
 sacred,  and  not  to  be  polluted,  involved  a  very  curious 
 difticulty  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the  dead. 
 To  burn,  to  bury,  to  throw  into  a  river,  or  to  leave  a 
 corpse  to  rot,  profaned  one  or  other  of  these  elements  ; 
 consequently,  the  bodies  were  left  to  be  consumed  by 
 birds  or  beasts  of  prey ;  but  as  this  did  not  suit  the 
 idea  of  all  worshippers,  the  bodies  were  often  encased 
 in  wax,  and  then  buried. 
 
 The  Magi  also  had  a  practice  of  divining,  by 
 means  of  a  bundle  of  rods  ;  hence  such  a  bundle  was 
 borne  by  them  as  an  emblem  of  their  power ;  and 
 this  we  may  readily  believe  was  the  origin  of  the 
 lictors'  rods,  which  were  borne  by  the  great  men  of 
 ancient  Rome.^* 
 
 The  Zoroastrians  and  the  Magi  sacrificed  upon 
 mountains  and  high  places,  offered  frequent  and  long 
 prayers,  wearing  during  service  a  white  robe  and  tiara. 
 The  priests  were  learned  men,  furnishing  a  hier- 
 archy, to  support  the  throne,  and  give  splendour  and 
 dignity  to  the  court.  They  also  overawed  the  subject 
 class  by  asserting  their  possession  of  supernatural 
 powers,  and  of  the  right  of  mediating  between 
 heaven    and    man.*     Magism   supplied    a   picturesque 
 
 *"'  To  innnj  rcnilvrii  tliiii  may  appcnr  nn  nnnchrouisiii;  iiud  it  may  l>c  thouKht 
 tlmt  a  cuNlom  in  IVrnin  coiiM  linvo  im  rfliitioiixhip  with  one  in  Italy.  Rat  thono 
 who  will  conHolt  Haldwin'H  I'rrhiitoric  Saliunx,  tM\  V.  W.  Nownian'n  Ii/uriiie 
 InArn'itlioiit,  will  kov  that  I  have  not  in  any  way  tranit)frptiio<l  tbo  lM>an<l«  of 
 proltaliility.  'i'ho  vridcncf  in  faronr  of  the  csintt'nco  nf  an  ancient  nation. 
 itilliK  nriuK  both  lht<  IVniianx  and  Italianit  lonfi  before  what  arc  ralltnl  hiatorir  time*, 
 U  vory  nIronK.  The  Itoman  antiqnnrianit  trarvd  iho  um)  of  tho  'fa«c(>«'  in  qui'iition 
 U>  iho  Kimhans 
 
837 
 
 worship,  which  at  once  gratified  the  senses  and 
 excited  the  fancy.  It  gratified  that  religious  scrupu- 
 losity which  finds  a  pleasure  in  making  to  itself 
 difficulties,  in  the  prohibition  of  a  thousand  natural 
 acts,  and  the  imposition  of  numberless  rules  for 
 external  purity.  It  won  way  by  its  apparent  weakness, 
 but  it  was  prepared,  when  the  fitting  time  came,  to 
 be  as  fiercely  exclusive  as  if  the  magi  had  never  worn 
 the  mask  of  humility  and  moderation.  In  concluding 
 the  account  which  we  have  thus  condensed,  Kawlinson 
 acknowledges  his  obligations  to  Dr.  Martin  Haug,  for 
 the  information  he  has  gained  from  his  work  on 
 the  Magi,  etc. 
 
 Whilst  thus  recording  the  theology  of  a  portion 
 of  the  east,  we  must  not  neglect  that  which  the 
 Spaniards  found  in  the  west,  in  Mexico  and  Peru. 
 In  those  kingdoms  were  noticed  an  elaborate 
 priesthood,  an  equally  elaborate  ritual,  sacrifices  to 
 avert  the  wrath  of  the  gods,  and  a  careful  training  of 
 youth  in  the  ways  of  piety,  virtue,  and  reverence  for 
 the  deity.  There  was  even  a  baptismal  regeneration 
 for  the  young,  and  confession,  followed  by  absolution, 
 for  the  old.  There  was  a  heaven  for  the  good,  a  hell 
 for  the  bad,  and  an  intermediate  place  for  those 
 whose  lives  were  of  a  neutral  tint.  Indeed,  judging 
 from  the  laborious  histories  written  by  Prescott,  we 
 cannot  help  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Chris- 
 tian Spaniards  were  inferior  in  everything,  save  the 
 possession  of  gunpowder,  firearms,  armour,  and  horses, 
 to  the  subjects  of  Montezuma  and  the  Incas.  It  is 
 true  that,  like  the  Jews,  Greeks,  and  other  nations  of 
 antiquity,  the  Mexicans  sacrificed  human  beings. 
 Their  holocausts  are  mild,  however,  compared  with  the 
 horrible   hecatombs    offered    by  the    Spaniards    and 
 
838 
 
 medieval  Cbristiaufl,'^  who  burued  their  fellow-nieu  by 
 thousands.  These,  indeed,  have  showed  themselves 
 far  more  brutal  than  the  Americans,  for  the  latter 
 did  not  torture  their  victims  prior  to  sacrifice,  whilst 
 the  ferocious  Churchmen  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
 invention  of  new  torments,  whereby  they  could  rack 
 with  additional  suffering  the  agonised  bodies  of  their 
 victims.  I  have  sought  in  vain  to  find  a  system  of 
 theology  in  ancient  times  which  has  promoted,  or 
 even  permitted,  such  horrible  atrocities  as  Christians 
 have  revelled  in,  pretending  ail  the  while  that  the 
 misery  they  enforced  was  in  the  name,  and  for  the 
 interest,  of  the  religion  of  the  gentle  Jesus. 
 
 Compared  with  the  Spaniards,  the  Peruvians  were 
 saints ;  compared  with  the  demons  of  the  Inquisi- 
 tion, the  Mexicans  were  pious  gentlemen.  Nor  does 
 the  annual  sacrifice  of  the  latter  strike  the  reader 
 with  one  tenth  part  of  the  horror  with  which  he  con- 
 templates the  wholesale  burnings,  slaughters  and  the 
 like,  of  Jews,  Turks,  infidels,  heretics,  witches, 
 women,  and  children,  that  were  common  in  Christian 
 Europe,  and  distinctly  traceable  to  the  sentiments 
 expressed,  and  the  actions  recorded  in  the  Bible.*'^ 
 
 It  is  unnecessary  to  extend  this  exposition  farther. 
 Sufficient  has  been  said  to  prove  that,  though  the 
 religion  of  the  commonalty  amongst  the  heathen 
 was  very  gross,  as  indeed  it  is  in  Christendom  to-day, 
 there  existed,  nevertheless,  a  morality  and    a  teach- 
 
 **  I  wonid  wUh  to  notico  hcn<,  that  whilat  tliU  itlioot  wan  pauing  tbrongh  the 
 |irMa,  in  Kngland,  Hciihor  CimU-lar  wn*  giving  nttcmnro  to  thv  muiio  idi>aji,  in  l«n- 
 gaage  fw  morn  jxiwrrful.  !*forr  llm  nuM'tuhltHl  ('orti-ii  in  Spain.  A  upocch  mon.' 
 inaKoificcnt  than  bin,  in  favour  of  rfliKioiiN  frcodoin,  ha«  proliahlv  never  been  made. 
 It  ha<{,  mon-ovcr,  the  advantago  of  U'iuK  dcliTrnsI  in  the  iirriM-Drc  nf  itomr  digni- 
 (ari««  of  tho  Komiiih  rhnrrh.  who  wrr«<  p<iwi<rU'Nii  l<»  ri-ply  to  it  adequately. 
 
 •07  a^ic  Ijocky'a  llUloiy  u/  h'urtipeun  JUcraU,  London,  ItMiil.  vol.  i.,  pp.  tfH-lul. 
 
839 
 
 ing  which  bear  comparison  with  that  promulgated  in 
 our  own  country  at  the  present  time.^"^  It  is  doubtful 
 indeed  whether  a  strict  comparison  between  the 
 teaching  of  Buddha,  and  that  of  Jesus,  would  not 
 show  that  the  first  was  superior  to  the  second.  The 
 Jewish  preacher  taught  that  the  world  would  imme- 
 diately be  destroyed,  that  his  followers  alone  would 
 be  safe  ;  and  not  only  secure,  but  regnant,  as  kings, 
 priests,  judges,  etc.,  in  the  new  world  that  was  to 
 come.  (Matt.  xix.  28,  Rev.  i.  6.)  Whereas  the  Hindoo 
 sage  held  out  no  such  false  hopes  to  his  disciples,  but 
 taught  them  to  practise  virtue  for  its  own  sake,  and 
 to  enable  them  to  be  worthy  of  incorporation  with 
 the  Creator. 
 
 We  may  now  examine  the  theology  of  the  He- 
 brews, according  as  we  find  it  expounded  in  the  books 
 which  they,  and  we  following  in  their  wake,  have 
 esteemed  to  be  divinely  inspired.  There  is  an  idea 
 occasionally,  but  not  habitually  perceptible,  that  the 
 Almighty  is  great,  powerful,  supreme,  omniscient, 
 and  omnipresent.  Such  psalms  as  the  nineteenth 
 and  the  hundred  and  thirty-eighth  indicate  this ;  so 
 also  do  the  last  chapters  in  the  book  of  Job.  Yet, 
 notwithstanding  this,  the  idea  is  almost  invariably 
 associated  with  that  of  a  "person,"  a  ''king,"  an 
 individual  with  human  desires,  human  propensities, 
 human  passions,  and  human  parts.  Nor  is  the 
 Almighty  depicted  by  the  Jewish  writers  simply  like  a 
 man;  on  the  contrary,  he  is  always  described  as  a 
 Hebrew  man,  with  the  same  ferocity  and  bigotry 
 which  the  Jews  possessed,  and  of  which  they  seemed 
 proud.      Consequently,    when    we   read   in   the   Old 
 
 208  See  Lecky,  Op.  Cit.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  253-270. 
 
840 
 
 TestAmeut  a  descriptiou  of  the  Almighty,  it  is  uut  iu 
 reality  so  much  an  accouut  of  what  He  is,  as  what 
 an  Israelite  would  be  if  he  were  in  His  place. 
 
 It  is  this  idea  of  God,  perjietuated  by  the 
 Jews  in  their  writings,  that  makes  the  thoughtful 
 mind  so  disgusted  with  the  mass  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment scriptures,  and  so  recusant  of  their  divine 
 authority.  Let  us,  for  example,  enumerate  some  of 
 these  offensive  conceptions,  in  addition  to  those  already 
 noticed  (see  Anthropomorphism). 
 
 God  corrected  His  first  design  of  man,  which  was 
 imperfect  without  a  woman  (Gen.  ii.  18).  He  had 
 "sons"  (^'p^^.'^  ^?.^,  belli  Jin  doli'im),  who  intermarried 
 with  human  females,  and  engendered  '*  mighty 
 men."  Repenting  of  His  settled  purpose,  and  disap- 
 pointed with  man.  He  determined  to  destroy  the  whole 
 of  His  creation.  Yet  at  the  very  time  that  He  deter- 
 mines to  destroy,  He  makes  provisions  that  the 
 destruction  shall  not  be  accomplished.  In  otiier 
 words,  He  contrives  to  cheat  Himself,  as  does  many 
 an  individual  now  (Gen.  vi.  5,  22). 
 
 Still  farther ;  we  find  that  God  is  represented  as 
 remembering  His  determination  to  destroy  as  well 
 as  to  save,  and  as  acting  upon  the  resolution. 
 Yet,  when  all  is  over,  the  ^Vlmighty  expresses  a  sort 
 of  regret  at  what  He  has  done,  and  promises  not  to 
 do  it  again;  a  promise  apparently  suggested  by  the 
 smell  of  burning  meat  (Gen.  viii.  21).  As  He  had 
 a  fear  that  His  promise  might  be  forgotten,  a  rainbow 
 is  contrived  by  God,  to  remind  Himself  of  the  covenant 
 made  with  Noah,  Gen.  ix.  12-17  !  ^\'(•re  1  to  record 
 all  the  thoughts  suggested  by  th»'  passages  thus 
 quoted,  the  task  would  be  int«'rminable.  We  may, 
 however,    ask  the    question,    Whether   such    curious 
 
841 
 
 double  dealing,  as  '  determining  to  destroy,  and 
 resolving  to  save  the  world  at  the  same  time,'  is  not 
 more  appropriate  to  such  a  god  as  Janus  bifrons 
 than  to  the  Almighty  ? 
 
 In  another  part  of  the  Bible,  God  is  described  as 
 if  He,  in  heaven,  does  not  know  what  takes  place  on 
 earth  \^ithout  coming  down  to  see;  for  when  men 
 began  to  build  a  city  and  a  tower,  He,  with  one  or 
 more  companions,  comes  to  look  at  them,  and  talk  over 
 what  was  to  be  done  in  consequence  (Gen.  xi.  5-7). 
 The  Almighty  is  then  represented  as  selecting  one 
 man  from  all  the  world  besides  as  a  favourite,  and 
 treatinof  him  and  his  descendants  ever  after  as  His 
 only  children. 
 
 Again ;  Jehovah,  with  two  companions,  whilst  going 
 on  another  tour  of  inspection,  visits  Abraham.  All 
 the  three  eat  and  drink  with  the  patriarch,  and 
 promise  a  son  to  a  childless  wife  (Gen.  xviii.  1-14) ; 
 just  as  Jupiter,  Neptune,  and  Mercury  did  to  Hyrieus. 
 The  two  companions  then  proceed  to  Sodom,  and 
 there  they  eat  and  drink  again  (Gen.  xix.  1-3).  We 
 next  find  the  Jews  depicting  Elohim  as  "the  tempter," 
 and  ordering  a  human  sacrifice  (Gen.  xxii.  1,  2) ;  and 
 again,  as  requiring  the  sacrifice  of  seven  men  before 
 he  would  allow  sufficient  cereals  to  grow  to  supply  the 
 life  of  his  people  (2  Sam.  xxi.  1,  6,  9,  14).  We  next 
 find  Jehovah  swearing  an  oath  (Gen.  xxii.  16),  which 
 is  a  strange  contrast  to  the  subsequent  utterance  of 
 His  son,  "  Swear  not  at  all,"  etc.  (Matt.  v.  34,  et  seq.) 
 In  Exodus  we  find  essentially  the  same  ideas. 
 Jehovah  is  there  represented  as  endeavouring  to 
 kill  Moses,  but  foiled  by  the  readiness  with  which 
 Zipporah  found  or  prepared  a  cutting  flint,  and 
 circumcised    her    son    by    Moses    (ch.    iv.    24,    25). 
 
842 
 
 In  ch.  ix.  16  we  are  told  distinctly  that  Pharaoh 
 was  "  raised  up  on  purjioso  "  that  he  mif]fht  deserve 
 the  most  severe  punishments  that  a  king,  his  subjects, 
 his  beasts,  and  his  land  could  experience  at  the  hand 
 of  Jehovah.  This  depicts  the  Creator  as  a  malignant 
 being,  who,  like  Saturn,  makes  but  to  destroy ;  a  con- 
 ception repeated  in  Prov.  xvi.  4,  "Jehovah  hath  made 
 all  for  Himself,  yea,  even  the  wicked  for  the  day  of 
 evil ;  "  which  is  again  strangely  at  variance  with  Ps. 
 Ixxxvi.  15,  Ezek.  xxxiii.  11,  and  2  Peter  iii.  9. 
 
 We  next  find  Jehovah  preparing  to  destroy  the 
 first-bom  of  Egypt's  man  and  beast ;  and  yet  He,  the 
 Omniscient,  requires  to  see  a  token  on  every  Jewish 
 house,  lest  He  should  destroy  a  Hebrew  by  mistake  ! 
 The  Jews  also  are  not  to  go  out  of  their  dwellings, 
 lest  they  should  be  killed  by  accident !  But,  vdth 
 singular  carelessness  of  detail,  though  the  human 
 beings  were  thus  protected,  their  cattle  were  not 
 similarly  guarded ;  and  yet  the  sheep,  goats,  and 
 oxen  escaped  (ch.  xii.  22,  23,  29,  34-38). 
 
 Having  removed  His  own  people  from  Egj-pt, 
 Jehovah  proceeded  to  "  harden  the  hearts "  of  the 
 Egyptians  (ch.  xiv.  17),  so  as  to  induce  them  to 
 pursue  Israel.  This  reminds  us  of  the  saying,  "At 
 daemon  homini  qnum  xiviiit  nUquid  malum  pervcrtit 
 iUi  pr'nnitua  meniem  stmm  ";  Euripides,  as  quoted  by 
 Athcnagorns  ;  and  "  (,>«<■/»  Jupiter  vult  prnlere, 
 dcmentat  j)r'nnf.''  *'  In  other  words,  those  whom  the 
 powers  above  wish  to  ruin  they  first  make  foolish." 
 
 Wo  now  pass  on  to  consider  the  scene  on  Sinai, 
 and  dwell  on  what  are  called  the  ten  commandments. 
 The  first  four  tell  us  that  the  Jews  are  to  have  none 
 other  Elohim  than  JEnovAD-ELoniM,  because  Ho 
 is  a  jcalouH  one ;  to  such  an  extent  as  to  punish  even 
 
843 
 
 great-grandchildren,  if  a  progenitor,  within  four 
 degrees,  should  have. been  rebellious  against  His 
 priest.  All  ^sc^ilpture  ana  pictorial  illustrations  are 
 forbidden;  the  sacred  name  iS^to  be  revered;  and 
 the  Sabbath  is  to  be  respected.  1%-^remaining  six 
 tell  us  that  fathers  and  mothers  are  to  b^i'o^*^^^®^^' 
 murder  is  forbidden ;  adultery,  theft,  false  wi^^®^^' 
 and  covetousness  are  equally  prohibited. 
 
 Passing  by  four  commandments,  with  the  observa- 
 tion that  idolatry  is  permitted  when  offered  to  a  box, 
 or  when  the  material  assumes  the  shape  of  an  ephod, 
 etc.,  let  us  investigate  the  regard  which  is  shown  to 
 these  laws.  We  find,  in  respect  to  the  fifth  command- 
 ment, that  Asa  broke  it,  because  his  mother  made  a 
 "horror"  in  a  grove  (1  Kings  xv.  11,  13,  14);  in 
 respect  to  the  sixth  injunction,  we  notice  that  murder 
 is  commanded  by  Jehovah ^°^  (Exod,  xxxii.  27);  it  is 
 commended  by  Him  (Num.  xxv.  10-15) ;  it  is  again 
 in  Deut.  xiii.  6-10,  15,  1  Sam.  xv.  8 ;  encouraged  in 
 2  Sam.  xxi.  9,  14,  and  in  a  great  many  other  places 
 besides.  The  book  of  Hosea  is  strongly  marked  by 
 directions  from  Jehovah  to  break  the  seventh  command- 
 ment. The  eighth  and  the  sixth  commandments  were 
 systematically  disregarded  by  David,  whose  robberies 
 were  on  a  larger  scale  than  those  of  any  other  hero  in 
 the  Bible ;  yet  he  was  called  "the  beloved."  To  my  own 
 mind,  the  largest  part  of  the  Old  Testament  is  a  mass 
 of  "  false  witness  ;"^^'^  and  all  the  promises  about  Canaan 
 
 209  It  may  be  said  that  these  punishments  were  "judicial;"  but  that  by  no 
 means  alters  the  tact  that  certain  commandments  were  systematically  broken  because 
 another  had  been  violated.  If  it  was  wrong  in  Maaehah  to  make  an  idol,  and 
 break  the  first,  it  was  equally  bad  in  Asa  to  disobey  the  fifth  comL-.andment. 
 
 210  Por  an  example  of  "  false  witness"  in  a  father  of  the  Christian  church,  see 
 Eusebius'  Martyrs  <>f  Falestine,  ch.  xii.,  wherein  he  declares  his  intention  to  conceal 
 the  facts  injurious  to  the  reputation  of  the  church.     See  also  Ffoulkes'  pamphlet 
 
844 
 
 were  incentives  to  indue*'  lue  Israemes  "to  covet" 
 the  land  which  belonged  to  other  people.  In  other 
 words,  the  theolo^.  of  the  Hebrews  encouraged  them 
 to  believe  thaj  every  crinae  was  justifiable  which  was 
 done  to  f'Jfther  the  supremacy  of  their  own  religion. 
 
 ,  .Tne  ferocity  which  runs  throughout  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment is  awful.  The  curses  found  therein  exceed  in 
 horror  those  in  Shakespeare.  The  t^-pe  of  male- 
 volence in  the  hundred  and  ninth  Psalm  has  re- 
 peatedly served  as  a  model  to  mediaeval  fanatics  in 
 their  persecution  of  the  Jews,  and  is  adopted  by 
 preachers  of  the  present  day.  The  horrible  exhor- 
 tations of  Jewish  prophets,  and  the  practices  of 
 Hebrew  kings,  have  often  been  examples  to  Chris- 
 tians, in  every  age  and  nation,  when  fighting  against 
 the  Heathen,  or  each  other.  It  will  be  well  for 
 Christendom  when  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  treated 
 hke  the  works  of  Plato  and  Li^'^^ 
 
 Amongst  the  many  developments  of  the  Hebrew 
 practice  of  execrating,  we  find  that  children  are  re- 
 peatedly said  to  be  accursed  for  the  sins  of  their 
 fathers.  We  see  this  conspicuously  in  the  second 
 commandment  (Exod.  xx.  5),  "  I  the  Lord  thy  God 
 am  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
 upon  the  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth  genera- 
 tion of  them  that  hate  me"  ;  and  again  (Exod.  xxxiv. 
 7),  the  Almighty  declares  Himself  as  "  visiting  the 
 iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children,  and  upon 
 the  children's  children,  unto  the  third,  and  to  the 
 fourth  generation."    This  statement  is  endorsed  again 
 
 of  The  Church's  Crenl  and  the  Crovn't  Crenl,  wherciu  he  jtotoii  the  "  falito 
 witnoM  "  u)>on  which  the  mijircmiiry  claimiHl  for  thi*  Komau  Sec  i»  foumlod.  Ln 
 fact,  ccclcKtiuitical  "  Initftc  witni-M  '  ia  lo  be  found  nlinoHt  cvvrywhrrc :  otco  the  ino«t 
 "cTMiKflirKl'  rnnHiilcr  it  riKht,  in  the  charrh  «  iiiUTcitt,  to  disgniM  or  iiapprot* 
 '  the  trnlli.      Keo  also  1  John  v.  7,  H. 
 
845 
 
 by  Jeremiah,  who  says  (cli.  xxxii.  18),  *'Thou  recom- 
 pensest  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  into  the  bosom  of 
 their  children  after  them."  It  is  true  that  these 
 statements  are  at  variance  with  those  made  by 
 Ezekiel,  in  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  his  prophecies. 
 This  fact  shows,  either  that  Ezekiel  did  not  know 
 the  law  of  the  ten  commandments ;  that,  know- 
 ing the  second,  he  wanted  to  supersede  it,  quoad  the 
 threats  to  children ;  that  the  Almighty  did  not 
 dictate  the  law  of  enduring  vengeance ;  that  He  did 
 not  speak  to  Ezekiel,  or  that,  speaking  to  all.  He  did 
 not  know  His  own  mind.  All  these  horns  of  a 
 dilemma  are  equally  im 'comfortable  ;  yet  they  form  a 
 portion  of  the  Hebrew  theologj^,  and  the  words  in 
 question  are  distinctly  recorded  as  coming  from  God 
 Himself. 
 
 We  have,  nevertheless,  a  tolerably  good  method  by 
 which  to  test  the  value  of  those  texts  to  which  we  have 
 referred,  and  one  with  which  all  must  agree,  viz.,  the 
 appeal  to  facts.  We  are  very  plainly  told,  for 
 example,  that  Rehoboam  was  a  bad  king  (2  Chron. 
 xii.  1-14).  Yet  he  is  followed  by  Abijah,  who  is 
 conspicuously  blest  (see  2  Chron.  xiii.),  although  we 
 find,  from  1  Kings  xv.  3,  that  he  was  no  better  than 
 he  should  be.  Ahaz,  again,  is  represented  as  a  very 
 wicked  king,  yet  he  is  followed  by  the  good  Heze- 
 kiah ;  and  the  idolatrous  Manasseh  is  followed  by  the 
 successful  Josiah. 
 
 Now  it  is  clear  that,  in  these  instances,  the  sins 
 of  the  fathers  were  not  visited  upon  the  children  ; 
 consequently,  we  must  infer  that  the  writers  in 
 Exodus  and  Jeremiah  wrote  that  which  was  their  own 
 fancy  as  the  words  of  Jehovah. 
 
 Nor  are  we  much  surprised  at  this,  for  the  priests 
 
846 
 
 wiNhin}?  for  «  t«rriblo  rongeftnco  Ag&inst  the  wicked. 
 weit>  pazzlcd  bow  to  effect  it,  not  bjiTiug  any  idea 
 that     ti  il<l.    like     iuuiUtu     hierarchti,     parsue 
 
 their  tij ,    .^  iulo  auolhor  world.     The  only  pUo 
 
 open  to  them  wao,  therefore,  that  which  they  adopted, 
 xiz.,  canting  and  poniahiug  children  for  their  fathers 
 faults. 
 
 We  pAQM  here  onoe  again  to  consider  the  question, 
 whether  those  who  examine  the  works  of  God  in 
 creation  generally  are  not  more  likely  to  gain  an 
 insight  into  His  will,  than  those  who  trust  wholly  to 
 wriliufo*  niiulo  by  human  hands.  If,  for  txnraplo,  wo 
 recognise  in  real  life  that  bud  fathers  may  hare  good 
 sons,  and  good  fathers  have  bad  sons,  we  anhe«i> 
 tatin^ly  reject  the  dictum  that  children  and  grand* 
 chiKlrt-u  muHl  In*  the  recipients  of  divine  vengeance 
 simply  because  a  parent  sinned.  If,  on  the  other 
 hand,  neglecting  these  factti,  we  adhere  to  the  words 
 of  the  Bible,  we  can  coiue  to  no  other  conclusion 
 than  that  |M>oplA  may,  nny  must,  be  unluckly.  no 
 matter  what  their  indiridual  character  may  be  :  solely 
 because  a  (  -  ■     ■  h   they  could  not 
 
 in  any  way  iiiJi  i-  a- >  ,  ";•-  mi  fn>j.i;.r. 
 
 Apiin,  we  tii  <1  that  the  thi<>l<>;:>  «tf  the  Jews 
 teaches  that  tlio  r<<wards  which  the  pious  will  recciTo, 
 and  the  pn-  i   the   wicke<l    will   expo- 
 
 rienco,  are  U  -  life.     It  makes  no  men- 
 
 tion of  any  fut  .'"     Wo  seo,  indeed,  the 
 
 current  ignoranre  of  ihii  conspicaonsly  indicated  in 
 the  book  of  K'  I^,  which  I  ijuoto  from 
 
 Oiusburg's  trai  ih,  I>ondon,  I.«ongnians. 
 
 1801).   "Vol  I  rt  reN|)octinK  the  rbiKlrrn 
 
 ftwm  Um  i4«l«iari  to  liwrmlly  IraMUua  ut  ■  «'  l(>l  U> 
 
847 
 
 of  men,  God  hath  chosen  them,  to  sJhow  that  they,  even 
 they,  are  like  beasts.  For  man  i^f  mere  chance,  and 
 the  beast  is  mere  chance,  and  they  are  both  subject 
 to  the  same  chance ;  as  is  the  death  of  one,  so  is 
 the  death  of  the  other;  and  botli  have  the  same 
 spirit,  and  the  advantage  of  man'  over  the  beast  is 
 nothing,  for  both  are  vanity,  both  go  to  the  same 
 place,  both  were  made  of  dust,  and  both  turn  into 
 dust  again ;  no  one  kuoweth  whether  the  spirit  of 
 man  goeth  upward,  and  whether  the  spirit  of  the 
 beast  goeth  downward  to  the  eart;h.  Wherefore  I 
 saw  that  there  is  nothing  better  for  man  than  to 
 rejoice  in  his  labours,  for  this  is  jhis  portion,  since 
 no  one  can  bring  him  to  see  what  will  be  here- 
 after." 
 
 This  being  then  the  belief  of  the  orthodox 
 Hebrews,  they  considered  that  everything  that  befel 
 a  man,  a  town,  or  a  nation,  muslt  be  regarded  as  a 
 judgment  of  the  celestial  king.  This  is  very  distinctly 
 to  be  recognised  in  Dent,  xxviii.,  wherein  we  find  that 
 abundance  of  everything  which  the  animal  man  can 
 desire,  is  the  reward  of  obedience  t()  Jehovah  Elohim  ; 
 whilst  ruin,  misery,  disease,  and  priv"j;.t'on  of  every- 
 thing, arise  from  disregard  to  His  commair^inents. 
 The  book  of  Psalms  abounds  with  illustrations  of  this 
 notion ;  see,  for  example,  Ixxix.,  Ixxx.,  Ixxxi.,  and 
 Ixxxv.  We  will,  however,  select,  in  preference  to 
 these,  an  extract  from  the  book  of  Proverbs  (xvi.  7), 
 "  When  a  man's  ways  please  the  Lord,  He  maketh 
 even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him." 
 
 It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  enunciation  of  any 
 principle  or  fact  more  clear  than  the  foregoing  is. 
 Upon  it,  the  w^hole  theology  of  the  Old  Testament 
 hinges.     We  are,  therefore,  justified   in   considering 
 
H48 
 
 i  A   moment's  thouj^ht  hLows   us    that  in 
 
 hii.  .'  ...  .luics,  any  priest,  if  hv  found  himself  in  a 
 diflii'ulty  respecting  the  application  of  this  verso, 
 might  haTO  sheltered  himself  behind  the  assertion, 
 that  the  ii^lividnal,  whoso  enemies  were  not  at  peace 
 with  him,  liad  committed  some  secret  and  forgotten 
 sin  ;  and  tlmt  hence  God  had  said  to  him,  "  Tremble, 
 thou  wretch,  that  hast  within  thee  undiscovered 
 crimes,   uiiwliipped  by  justice;"   or  if  not,  that  the 
 
 nv"    '' ion  was   suffering   from    such   offence, 
 
 I  father,  or  mother,  or  ancestors,  to  the 
 
 fourth  generation.  "Wo  see  this  idea  distinctly  enun- 
 ciated by  the  Jews  in  John  ix.  2,  when  the  disciples 
 ask  Jesus,  "  Who  did  sin,  this  man  or  his  parentfl, 
 that  he  was  born  blind?"  See  also  Luke  xiii.  1-5. 
 It  is  indeed  only  upon  such  an  hyj^thesis  that  we 
 can  understand  the  expression  in  the  Psalms  (xxv.  7), 
 "  Remember  not  the  sins  of  my  youth." 
 
 But  wo  who  have,  in  the  history  of  Mary's  son, 
 80  strong  an  example  of  tho  falsity  of  the  dictum 
 in  ProverbR,  cannot  bo  thus  blinded.  To  us  it  is 
 p^'rfectly  clear,  that  if  Jesus  Christ  was  |H'rfi'ct  God 
 and  Y'^i't'ct  man,  and  yet  had  enemies  who  were 
 tiuvor  at  peace  with  him,  then  the  dogma  in  the 
 book  of  Proverbs  must  necessarily  be  untrue.  If, 
 again,  the  doctrine  of  the  old  Hebrew  theolog}*  is 
 sound,  then  tho  ways  of  the  "  Son  of  God  "  did  not 
 pleaso  "  tho  Father."  Or,  to  put  it  in  another  way, 
 as  Christ's  enemies  were  never  at  |H>ace  with  him, 
 so  Jesus  was  a  wicked  man.  We  know  too  that 
 Paul  was  penu'culed,  and  Stophen  even  slain  by 
 his  foes ;  yet  wc  Wlievo  that  both  pleased  the  Lord. 
 Inde<'d  the  New  Tcstninent  diametrically  opj>os<'H  the 
 Provrrl",    Hot   iiiilv    in    iviiiiipl"    lint    in   doctriiii' :    for 
 
849 
 
 it  tells  us  (John  xvi.  33),  "In  the  world  ye  shall 
 have  tribulation;"  and  again  (2  Tim.  iii.  12),  ''Yea 
 and  all  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall 
 suffer  persecution." 
 
 The  importance  of  the  subject,  moreover,  deepens 
 in  direct  proportion  to  our  examination  of  it.  Who 
 can  read  the  masterly  production  of  Buckle  {History  of 
 Civilisation),  without  seeing  that  a  blind  reverence 
 for  Hebrew  and  Christian  theology  has  been  a  fearful 
 curse  to  mankind,  rather  than  a  blessing,  teaching 
 that  misery  in  this  world,  and  agony  in  a  future  one, 
 are  the  normal  lot  of  men  who  offend  against  certain 
 humanly  propounded  laws  ? 
 
 We  shall  see  the  tendency  of  the  doctrine  enun- 
 ciated in  Proverbs,  by  testing  it  with  modern  examples. 
 I  need  not  remind  my  reader  that  there  was  a  period 
 at  which  the  Eoman  church  was  assailed  by  those 
 whom  we  call  Reformers.  After  a  long  contest,  the 
 result  was  that  the  new  faith  became  triumphant  in 
 some  countries,  whilst  it  was  overborne  in  others. 
 Farther  experience  has  shown,  moreover,  that  wher- 
 ever the  Reformers  were  thoroughly  successful,  the 
 states  in  which  they  flourished  have  gradually  pros- 
 pered, in  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  word ;  and  have 
 advanced  in  general  intelligence,  in  numerical  pro- 
 portion, in  personal  comforts,  in  good  government, 
 etc.  On  the  other  hand,  most  states  in  which  the 
 old  faith  maintained  its  supremacy  over  the  new 
 have  experienced  a  steady  decline.  With  the  supre- 
 macy of  the  Papal  church  has  come  the  idea,  which, 
 though  practically  enforced,  is  never  enunciated, 
 that  it  is  the  duty  of  two-thirds  of  the  community 
 to  support  in  idleness  the  other  third  (we  will  not 
 vouch  for  the  absolute  correctness  of  the  proportions)  ; 
 
 HHH 
 
860 
 
 in  other  words,  the  trader  and  the  afrriculturist  are 
 called  upon  to  support  the  whole  of  the  hierarchy, 
 nuns,  monks,  beggars  and  fighting  men.  Now,  if  we 
 put  the  question  to  the  laity,  "  Which  of  the  two  seta 
 of  states  are  most  blessed '? "  their  answer  will  be 
 just  the  reverse  of  that  given  by  the  priestly  orders, 
 who  profess  to  measure  a  nation's  happiness  by 
 the  power  and  number  of  its  ecclesiastics  and  its 
 soldiers.  The  phrase,  "  a  State  which  pleases  the 
 Lord,"  is  very  vague. 
 
 Again,  we  remember  that,  not  long  ago,  there  was 
 a  fearful  famine  in  Ireland,  and  in  Britain,  arising 
 from  the  failure  of  the  potatoe  crop.  This  set  all 
 thinking  men  to  consider,  whether  it  was  a  special 
 curse,  or  the  result  of  natural  laws.  Wo  cannot  for 
 a  moment  entertain  the  belief  that  a  phenomenon 
 which  spreads  over  a  vast  space,  like  a  hurricane, 
 is  a  message  sent  to  a  few  people  living  in  that 
 region.  Inundations,  pestilence,  typhoons,  etc.,  de- 
 vastate all  countries  alike,  whether  they  are  Buddhist, 
 Christian,  or  of  no  religion  whatever.  If  we  were  to 
 allow  that  the  scourge  was  divine,  what  could  we  do, 
 when  threatened  with  cholera,  otherwise  than  the 
 fatalist  Turks,  who  say,  "It  is  Allah's  will,  let  Him  do 
 what  scomcth  Him  good"  ?,'"  Unlike  them,  however,  we 
 consider,  when  catastrophes  occur,  that  it  is  our  duty 
 to  enquire  into  their  causes,  to  mitigatt>  the  results, 
 and  to  prevent  their  recurrence.  Consequently, 
 natural  laws  are  now  carefully  examined,  and  8tat<?8- 
 men  endeavour  to  foresee  and  to  obviato  every  evil 
 for  which  a  remedy  can  Imj  devised.  Thus,  practi- 
 cally, though  not  verbally,  we  declare  our  disbelief  in 
 
 tu  Compira  1  Sam.  iil.  18. 
 
851 
 
 the  theology  of  the  Hebrews,  and  practically  oppose 
 the  statements,  statutes,  and  doctrines  promulgated 
 in  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 Let  us  for  a  moment  examine  the  effect  of  the 
 Hebrew  theology  in  question  upon  David.  On  one  occa- 
 sion, as  we  are  informed,  he  was  told  that  "the  hearts 
 of  the  men  of  Israel  are  after  Absalom,"  whereupon  the 
 king  at  once  flew  ignominiously  from  his  city ;  and, 
 resigning  it  to  his  son,  naoralised  thus,  "If  I 
 shall  find  favour  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  He  will 
 bring  me  again,  and  show  me  the  ark  and  His  habita- 
 tion. But  if  He  say  thus,  I  have  no  delight  in  thee, 
 behold  here  I  am,  let  Him  do  unto  me  as  seemeth 
 good  unto  Him "  (2  Sam.  xv.  13,  25,  26).  Surely 
 this  proceeding  is  precisely  akin  to  that  of  a  modern 
 Turk,  who  looks  on  his  blazing  habitation  without  an 
 effort  to  save  it,  and  "the  man  after  God's  own  heart" 
 was  as  much  a  "  fatalist  "  as  a  Mahometan. 
 
 As  another  consequence  of  the  Jewish  belief  that 
 every  occurrence  is  an  evidence  of  God's  interposi- 
 tion, the  people  were  induced  to  trust  in  the  divine 
 power,  rather  than  their  own,  when  they  were  in  diffi- 
 culties. As  their  books  teemed  with  evidence,  perhaps 
 we  might  say  false  witness,  of  the  miraculous  escapes 
 of  their  fathers,  the  sons  expected  analogous  de- 
 liverances for  themselves.  The  prophets,  too,  per- 
 petually corroborated  this  idea,  and  promised,  as 
 certain,  salvation  for  the  Hebrews,  and  destruction  for 
 all  their  enemies.  As  a  natural  result,  the  Jews 
 systematically  ignored  what  we  may  call  "policy." 
 They  sought  no  foreign  alliance ;  or  if  a  king,  like 
 Jehoshaphat,  more  astute  than  others,  did  ally  him- 
 self with  his  neighbours,  his  story  was  so  written  as 
 to  show  that  the  results  of  his  plan  of  proceeding 
 
852 
 
 were  disastrous.  Jcremifth  is  furious  in  his  denun- 
 ciation agiiinst  those  of  his  countrymen  who  had 
 suflicient  judgment  to  shelter  themselves  in  Egypt. 
 Nor  would  the  Jews,  in  subsequent  times,  ally  them- 
 selves cordiiilly  with  cither  Greeks  or  Romans. 
 
 Other  illustnitious  of  the  advantage  of  regarding 
 God's  laws  as  found  in  nature,  rather  than  as  written  by 
 earnest,  yet  ignorant,  enthusiasts  in  ancient  books, 
 may  he  adduced  here,  ^^'hen  on  service  in  certain 
 parts  of  the  world,  some  regiments  of  the  British 
 army  were  sadly  weakened  by  dysentery;  there 
 were  many  who  attributed  the  scourge  to  the  in- 
 dulgence, by  the  soldiers,  in  such  brutal  vices  as 
 drunkenness  and  sensuality.  Yet  more  acute  ob- 
 servers noticed  that  the  ofliccrs,  who  were  immoral 
 like  the  men,  did  not  sutler  in  the  same  proportion. 
 A  close  cxamiuatiou  then  elicited  the  fact,  that  the  only 
 distinction  between  the  two  sets  of  men  consisted 
 in  their  diet ;  the  officers  living  chiefly  upon  fresh 
 meat,  the  men  living  almost  exclusively  upon  salt.  A 
 clmngo  was  then  elTected,  and  the  men  wt-re  indulged 
 with  fresh  meat ;  and  the  immediate  result  was  a 
 diminution  in  intestinal  afleciions  of  ninety  per  cent.; 
 an  effect  which  would  not  have  been  brought  about  by 
 hecatombs  of  oxen,  the  most  stately  ritual,  or  the 
 most  elaborate  prayers,  litanies,  and  processions. 
 
 Again,  when  a  British  commander  finds  his  troops 
 decimated  by  tholcra,  on  a  certain  *'  terrain,"  ho 
 makes  the  healthy,  ami  all  who  are  able,  to  shift 
 their  quarters.  When  an  Knglish  officer  in  India 
 bears  that  his  neighbourhood  is  infested  by  tigers 
 or  lions,  he  makes  a  vigorous  effort  to  rid  himself 
 of  the  pest;  but  the  Hindoo  simply  sacrifices  to 
 the  beasts,  as   if  tiny   w.n-   ilivlnc,  so  as  to  induce 
 
853 
 
 them  to  leave  him  alone.  Just  so  the  people  in 
 Palestine,  when  lions  came  amongst  them,  fancying 
 that  they  were  thus  plagued  because  they  did  not 
 know  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land,  wanted  a 
 priest  to  tell  them  by  what  religious  process  men 
 could  prevent  lions  from  eating  flesh  when  they 
 could  get  it  (2  Kings  xvii.  25,  26). 
 
 By  the  investigation  thus  described,  we  have 
 learned  that  there  is  nothing,  either  in  the  Christian 
 or  the  Jewish  religion,  which  has  not  been  taught  by 
 moral  philosophers  in  other  countries,  quite  irrespec- 
 tive of  the  Hebrews.  The  Sabbath  is  the  sole  insti- 
 tution peculiar  to  Jews  and  Christians ;  and  of  its 
 value  there  is  the  greatest  diff"erence  of  opinion. 
 Neither  Christendom  nor  Judea  can  boast  of  a  higher 
 morality  amongst  its  people  than  amongst  those  of 
 Pagandom.  The  vice  of  England  is  not  less  than 
 that  of  Athens,  and  the  zeal  of  the  gospel  missionaries 
 does  not  exceed  that  of  Buddhist  preachers.  We  must 
 therefore  abandon  our  pretension  to  have  a  revelation 
 peculiar  to  ourselves,  and  either  allow  that  God  has 
 spoken  to  the  heathen  in  the  same  manner  as  he  did 
 to  the  Jews,  or  adopt  the  belief  that  he  has  not  spoken 
 to  any.  Which  alternative  soever  the  theologian 
 adopts,  he  must  recognise  the  necessity  for  modifying 
 the  teaching  founded  upon  an  implicit  belief  in  the 
 inspiration  of  the  Bible. 
 
 When  the  philosopher  finds  that  the  current  idea  of 
 the  Almighty,  as  given  in  the  scriptures,  is  degrading, 
 and  yet  sees  that  the  majority  of  the  people  around 
 him  are  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  coarse 
 notions  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  were  implanted  in 
 them  by  God,  and  that  the  horrible  conceptions  of  the 
 Almighty  given  in  the  Old  Testament  were  dictated 
 
854 
 
 by  Himself,  two  courses  are  open  to  him  ;  either 
 to  retain  his  knowledge  in  his  own  breast,  or  to 
 impart  it  to  others.  The  first  involves  nothing ;  the 
 second  involves  obloquy,  persecution,  and  annoyance 
 of  every  kind ;  for  human  beings  generally  revile, 
 detest,  and  punish,  where  they  can,  those  who  inter- 
 fere with  any  cherished  doctrine.  There  are  many 
 amongst  ourselves  who  would,  if  they  had  the  power, 
 punish  a  man  more  severely  for  depriving  them  of  a 
 hell  to  which  they  could  consign  their  opponents, 
 and  of  a  devil  who  would  torment  the  heterodox, 
 sent  to  his  (|uarters  by  the  orthodox,  than  for  such 
 peccadilloes  as  adultery,  murder,  theft,  and  perjury. 
 Those  who  deprive  man  of  treasures  which  he  can 
 value  are  considered  to  be  less  criminal  than  those 
 who  take  away  a  hypothetical  possession,  about  which 
 he  knows  nothing. 
 
 When  choice  has  to  be  made  between  these  two 
 alternatives,  the  selection  will  depend  upon  many 
 diflferent  circumstances.  If  the  condition  in  life  of 
 the  j)hilosopher  be  such  that  an  avowal  of  his  matured 
 opinions  would  deprive  him  and  his  family  of  the 
 means  of  living,  he  will  probably  determine  to  let 
 his  candle  burn  under  ii  bushel.  If  he  be  a  clergy- 
 man, he  will  prefer  to  shut  his  eyes,  and  continue,  as 
 before,  a  blind  leader  of  the  blind,  with  the  sole 
 exception  that  he  is  voluntarily  depriving  himself  of 
 sight.*"  There  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  there 
 are  many  such  philosophers,   who  are  clothed  with 
 
 ■"  Of  the  nambcr  of  Roman  and  AnRlican  clorfty  who  preach  what  thoy  do  not 
 bclioTc  to  Ix)  trnth,  fow  of  our  couffregationH  liiivo  an  idea.  When  the  first  c}iapt«r 
 of  thin  Tolunio  woii  penned,  I  had  mjuflf  nn  in«>hM|unto  notion  of  tlio  extent  of 
 clerical  inlidility.  Since  then,  n  wider  kuowlcdKe  "f  the  occleHiaatical  world  haa 
 forcvd  nie  to  believe  that,  if  each  clefff^niau  wore  tu  ho  Rwom  in  tho  palftoo  of  truth, 
 Um  tuktional  faith  would  b«  altered  in  an  aatouiahing  degree. 
 
855 
 
 clerical  garments.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a  man's 
 bread  is  assured,  the  laws  of  his  country  protect  him, 
 and  his  moral  courage  is  firm,  he  will  resolve  "to  hear 
 the  stings  and  scorns  of  time,  the  oppressor's  wrong, 
 the  proud  man's  contumely,"  and  the  like.  He  cannot, 
 like  Mawworm  in  the  play,  declare  that  "  he  likes  to 
 be  despised,"  but  he  consents  to  be  a  victim  to  the 
 cause  of  truth.  He  may,  perhaps,  remember  that 
 "  leaven  "  is  unsightly,  and  recognise  the  necessity  for 
 presenting  peculiar  views  in  as  pleasant  a  form  as 
 they  can  be  made  to  assume.  This  has  been  the 
 present  author's  aim  throughout  his  book.  Knowing 
 that  the  subject  is  in  every  form  a  disagreeable  one, 
 he  has  sought  to  render  it  as  little  disgusting  as  it 
 could  be  made.  He  has  sought  to  establish  his  own 
 conclusions,  rather  than  to  ridicule,  or  even  rudely  to 
 attack,  those  of  others.  To  himself,  the  process 
 which  he  has  gone  through  may  be  compared  to  that 
 which  would  be  undergone  by  a  man  who  saw  carted 
 away,  daily,  portions  of  what  he  thought  a  most  valu- 
 able field,  adorned  by  everything  that  appears  beauti- 
 ful. Sigh  after  sigh,  qualm  after  qualm,  testify  to  the 
 depth  of  the  mental  disturbance.  Yet,  when  the 
 removal  of  a  certain  cartload  reveals  a  vein  of  coal,  or 
 gold,  all  the  previous  losses  seem  to  have  been  so 
 much  rubbish  removed,  and  the  transportation  of  the 
 rest  of  the  dirty  soil  becomes  a  labour  of  love.  I  know 
 no  greater  pleasure  than  that  of  coming  to  the  light 
 after  long  groping  in  darkness,  or  of  discovering  the 
 lovely  proportions  of  a  naked  truth,  which  has  been 
 before  presented  as  a  hag,  covered  with  filthy  gar- 
 ments by  those  who  could  not  endure  her  unveiled 
 majesty. 
 
 We  cannot  do  better  than  sum  up  our  estimate  of 
 
856 
 
 all  the  known  systems  of  theolop^A-  with  the  expression 
 of  the  helief,  that  each  one  of  them  is  had  which 
 ignores  a  study  of  the  works  of  the  Creator,  which 
 encourages  bad  feeling,  intolerance,  persecution,  and 
 endeavours  to  coerce  rather  than  to  educate  the  mind 
 of  man.  On  the  other  hand,  we  cordially  agree  with 
 every  plan  the  object  of  which  is  to  promote  love, 
 charity,  goodness,  and  the  habitual  endeavour  to  do 
 good  unto  all  men. 
 Time.  In  our  investigation  of  ancient  faiths,  we  have 
 alighted  repeatedly  upon  the  fact,  that  all  nations 
 have  had  a  system  of  religious  belief,  ostensibly 
 founded  upon  inspiration  or  direct  revelation  from 
 the  Almighty,  to  a  set  of  men,  who  assumed  to  be 
 the  medium  of  communication  between  the  visible  and 
 the  unseen  world.  Throughout  our  enquiry,  we  have 
 found  ourselves  more  repeatedly  in  contact  with  the 
 Ancient  Jewish  Faith  than  any  other.  This  has 
 arisen  partly  from  the  Jewish  writings  upon  theology 
 having  survived  to  our  own  time,  and  partly  from  the 
 reverence  with  which  they  have  been  regarded  in 
 Western  Asia,  North  Mrica,  and  South  Europe,  from 
 the  earliest  times  of  the  Christian  era  to  our  day. 
 ^Uthough  there  is  ample  evidence  to  show  that  many 
 other  nations  have  had  sacred  books,  the  majority 
 of  Modern  Christians  refuse  to  give  credence  to  any 
 of  them,  on  the  ground  that  they  "could  not"  have 
 been  revealed.  Yet  they  believe  implicitly  in  the 
 Hebrew  sacred  books,  because  they  "  must  have 
 been "  inspired.  The  philosopher,  however,  is  not 
 content  with  such  assertions,  and  ho  impartially 
 examines  the  claims  of  all,  with  as  much  judicial 
 cautiousness  as  he  can  command. 
 
 Htlicving  the  Creator  to  bo  "allwiso,"  the  enquirer 
 
857 
 
 assumes  that  all  His  works  are  perfect.  The  idea  that 
 God  vacillates  in  purpose,  or  is  unable  to  devise  a  cor- 
 rect plan  at  once,  is  intolerable  to  the  thoughtful 
 mind.'''^*  Equally  impossible  is  it  for  us  to  entertain 
 the  notion,  that  a  revelation  of  the  divine  will  to  man 
 could  be  improved  by  human  ingenuity,  or,  in  other 
 words,  that  it  would  be  in  every  way  as  rude  and  un- 
 couth as  the  beings  to  whom  it  came,  and  would  require 
 to  be  recast  and  repolished  as  the  nation  advanced  in 
 knowledge  and  civilisation.  We  have  had  frequent 
 occasions  to  apply  these  considerations  as  "  tests  "  of 
 the  reality  of  certain  allegations ;  and  we  find  another 
 obligation  to  use  them,  when  we  examine  the  ideas 
 which  the  ancient  Jews,  and  other  nations,  had 
 respecting  Time. 
 
 That  the  division  of  "  time  "  was  held  to  be  of 
 divine  appointment  we  shall  see  abundant  testimony. 
 For  the  present  we  will  content  ourselves  with  referring 
 to  Gen.  i.  14,  wherein  we  are  distinctly  told  that 
 the  sun,  moon,  and  all  the  luminaries  of  heaven  were 
 intended  to  be  for  signs  and  seasons,  days  and 
 years. 
 
 As  it  seems  probable  that  the  Hebrew  idea  of  Time 
 coincided  in  some  respects  with  that  of  the  Grecians, 
 we  will  endeavour  to  ascertain,  in  the  first  place, 
 what  was  the  view  of  Time  entertained  by  that  nation. 
 He  is  thus  introduced  by  Hesiod,  who  wrote  about 
 
 21*  It  has  been  alleged  by  some,  that  the  early  teaching  of  God  to  man  resem- 
 bles that  of  a  pedagogiie,  who  begins  by  making  his  pupils  learn  the  alphabet.  As 
 the  alphabet,  though  perfect  in  its  way  (an  assumption  we  cannot  grant),  is  not  the 
 ultimate  end  of  study,  so  the  rough  teaching  of  the  Bible  though  perfect  in  its  Mnd, 
 is  yet  to  be  followed  by  something  better.  If  we  had  not  ceased  to  wonder  at  any 
 arguments  adduced  by  the  so-caUed  orthodox,  we  should  be  surprised  that  such  an 
 observation  could  be  used  in  favour  of  retaining  the  Old  Testament  as  a  text- 
 book of  "divinity,"  or  even  be  regarded  as  an  argument  at  all! 
 
858 
 
 B.  c.  800.'"  lu  tho  first  place  tlicre  was  u  Chaos,  a 
 word  which  siguilies  "space,"  "immensity,"  "in- 
 finity," or  "eternity;"  then  "an  earth,"  and  "  love." 
 From  Chaos  came  black  night  and  Erebus  {i.  c.  the 
 darkness  following  sunset)  ;  from  these  two  came 
 Elher  and  bright  day.  Then  the  fertile  earth  brought 
 forth  vast  mountains,  groves,  and  wood-nymphs,  the 
 sea  and  rivers ;  and  then,  after  producing  ocean,  she 
 brought  forth  Wisdom  and  Judgment,  the  Sun,  Life, 
 Licnx,  or  Religion,  Rhea,  or  the  Moon,  "'®  Law, 
 or  Justice,  Memory,  Poetry,  or  Writing,  Manly 
 BEAUTY,  and  Woman's  charms.  After  these  she 
 brought  forth  Time,  who  was  tho  most  savage  of  all 
 her  children.  Time  was  then  personified  as  an  old 
 man,  one  who  raised  up  progeny  only  to  destroy 
 them.  This  conception  seems  to  have  been  common, 
 but  it  also  appears  to  have  been  the  result  of  educa- 
 tion, and  not  tho  original  idea  everywhere. 
 
 At  first,  judging  from  such  e^^dence  as  we  can 
 gather,  men  lived  and  toiled,  thinking  no  more  of 
 Time,  than  was  necessary  to  remind  them  when  tho 
 proper  season  came  round,  for  hunting,  fishing, 
 planting,  gathering  in  food,  or  laying  in  stores  of 
 firewood,  and  material  for  light  during  the  long  winter 
 nights.  Amongst  tho  Indians  of  North  America, 
 "time"  was   computed    by  months   or    moons,    and 
 
 *"  It  miiBi  be  notirod  liorc  that  the  Jt-wn,  art^rding  to  thoir  own  iihowing, 
 wfn  neither  n  trnTi'Uin){  race,  nor  one  giron  to  impart  their  kuovtlcdgo  to 
 ■traugcm.  And  we  have  alrondy  (hoo  Ohaoiaii,  p.  ■ll>'2i  nbown  good  roaitoD  to 
 bdiovu  tiiat  the  Ilfbrow*  did  not  come  into  contact  with  tho  (ircokii  until  about 
 B.  c.  WK),  wlicn  many  were  carrii-d  into  Greece  an  RlnvcH  (Joel  iii.  )i). 
 
 *"  I  draw  tho  infenuco  that  Uhca  and  the  nioon  were  the  aamo  goddnaa, 
 from  Ithira  U-iug  "  tho  great  niotlicr."  with  whom  Selene,  or  tho  mooo,  wma 
 idcnlifii'd ;  and  I  prcitomo  that,  failing  a  g(>o<l  (ireok  etymon,  wo  aball  b« 
 joatiflod  ill  deriving  tho  word  Uhea  from  riy,  tho  Sauacrit  word  for  "  to  ahiiM, 
 to  gOTcm,  to  be  odorued,  groat,"  etc. 
 
859 
 
 "beaver  moon,"  "buck  moon,"  "buffalo  moon,"  and 
 the  like,  formed  their  sole  calendar.  It  was  the 
 same  amongst  the  early  Greeks,  who  had  their 
 "planting moons,"  "reaping  moons,"  "wine  moons," 
 and  the  like.  A  similar  plan  was  adopted  by  the 
 French,  when  they  revolutionised  almost  everything 
 which  had  previously  been  honoured  by  church  and 
 state.  Amongst  the  Jews,  we  see  the  same  idea. 
 Certain  epochs  are  described,  as  "  about  the  time  that 
 the  sickle  is  first  put  to  the  corn  "  (Deut.  xvi.  9), 
 about  "  the  time  that  women  draw  water  "  (Gren.  xxiv. 
 11),  "  the  time  of  the  first  ripe  grapes  "  (Num.  xiii. 
 20),  "  the  time  of  wheat  harvest  "  (Gen.  xxx.  14),  "the 
 time  of  the  new  year  "  (Gen.  xviii.  10),  and  "  the  time 
 when  kings  go  forth  to  battle  "  (2  Sam.  xi.  1). 
 
 During  the  period  when  occurrences  were  thus 
 described,  it  is  probable  that  no  such  distinct  measure 
 of  time  as  weeks,  months,  and  quarters  existed. 
 But,  with  increased  knowledge  of  astronomy,  it 
 was  recognised  by  the  Greeks  and  others,  that  the 
 sun  went  through  twelve  constellations  during  the 
 year,  and  that  there  were  about  twelve  lunar  revolu- 
 tions during  the  same  period.  The  moon  then  be- 
 came a  measure  of  time.  But  it  was  afterwards  found 
 that  the  moon's  measure  was  not  exact ;  for  a  lunar 
 month  consists  of  twenty-nine  and  a-half  days  instead 
 of  thirty.  To  obviate  this,  certain  months  were 
 designated  full  months,  and  others  hollow  months ; 
 a  practice  in  which  the  Hebrews  literally  coincided, 
 using  only  Chaldean  instead  of  Grecian  words. 
 
 It  appears  that  the  ancient  Greek  year,  like  the 
 Jewish,  commenced  at  the  autumnal  equinox.  The 
 division  of  the  year  into  months  does  not  appear 
 to  have  been  general  amongst  the  Hebrews  for  some 
 
860 
 
 considerable  time  after  the  Grecian  captivity,  and 
 having  adopted  the  ancient  Greek  calendar,  they 
 never  materially  improved  upon  it,  until  their  second 
 expulsion  from  Jerusalem.  This  drove  them  once 
 again  amongst  people  more  intelligent  and  less  obsti- 
 nate than  themselves,  and  who,  as  it  were,  compelled 
 them  to  adopt  new  ideas.  *"     I  am  wholly  unable  to 
 
 SI"  The  opinion  here  enunciated  is  corroboratctl  by  Norris'  Assyrian  Dictionarif 
 (Williams  and  Norgnte,  London,  1808),  which  has  been  published  since  the  fore- 
 going was  in  manuscript.  Mr.  N.  gives  the  following  (p.  50)  as  the  Assyrian, 
 Jewish,  and  Kni^lish  months  :  — 
 
 Nisannn. 
 
 Nisan. 
 
 March. 
 
 Airu. 
 
 lyyar. 
 
 April. 
 
 Sivanna. 
 
 Sivan. 
 
 May! 
 
 Dnwazu. 
 
 Tammaz. 
 
 Jane. 
 
 Abu. 
 
 Ab. 
 
 Jnly. 
 
 riuln. 
 
 Klul. 
 
 Anpnst. 
 
 Tasritn. 
 
 Tisri. 
 
 Stptcmber. 
 
 Arab  Samna. 
 
 Marchesran. 
 
 October. 
 
 KisiliipTi. 
 
 Kislov. 
 
 November. 
 
 Tabita. 
 
 Tebet. 
 
 December. 
 
 Sabiitn. 
 
 Sebat. 
 
 Janu:iry. 
 
 Addarn. 
 
 Adar. 
 
 February. 
 
 Arhu  Sa  Addari. 
 
 Ve  adar. 
 
 intercalary. 
 
 Haring  Rystematically  and  Mfupalonsly  aimed  to  investigato  every  subject 
 which  has  come  before  mc,  as  our  judges  inquire  into  the  evidence  of  witnesiics, 
 and  "sum  up"  a  case,  without  any  other  "bias"  than  the  testimony  com- 
 pels them  to  have,  I  am  obli^'ed  to  acknowledge  that  every  inquiry  which  I  have 
 entered  u]>on  has  demonsinited  the  comparative  worthlessuess  of  the  Hebrew  sacred 
 writings,  as  a  tost  of  antiquity,  or  as  the  proceeds  of  revelation.  They  seem  to  mo 
 to  bo  a  mixture  of  childinh  Htorics,  mytliic  legends,  fond  fancies,  quaint  ideas,  folk- 
 lore, religious  feeling,  fanaticism,  ignorance,  braggadocio,  badnesn,  goodness, 
 cruelty.  kindneHs,  denunciation,  exhortation,  encouragement,  and — genuine  liistnry, 
 us  Sbakespenro  would  put  it,  a  great  deal  of  sack  and  very  little  bread.  The  main 
 diflirulty  which  the  inquirer  has  to  overcome,  is  to  dine  iver  the  period  of  the 
 "  c'lmpoKitinn "  which  passea  under  the  name  of  the  Old  Testament;  the  time 
 whrn  a  writer  first  conceived  the  notion  of  rcdiiring,  wliat  the  Manx  lawyers  call 
 "breast  law,"  I.  «■.,"  custom, "  or  regulalions  binding  betwren  man  and  man,  but 
 not  redur«<d  to  writing;  the  manner  in  which  the  iimt  draft  Ix-canie  develoftcd  into 
 hiittory ;  how  thiit  again  was  made  to  flt  into  "  'aw  ;  "  when  first  the  Jewish  nation 
 wero  iMTNUaded  that  they  were  a  holy  and  |)ornlinr  ]>eoplc  ;  how  upon  that  was 
 grafted  the  dirertions  how  they  could  remain  so.  directions  which  were  l.oNterod  up 
 by  new  "  dcvelopmcnln  "  of  history ;  and  Anally,  how  all  the»e  protluctions  wero 
 modifiwl  by  pAHsiug  eveut*.     The  )iroblom   thua  prosonled   i<  a   dilUcuh  one.  yet  I 
 
8G1 
 
 ascertain  the  period  when  time  first  became  measured 
 by  weeks.  The  only  classical  reference  I  can  find  is 
 Dion  Cassius  {Hist.  Rom.  xxxv-iii.  18,  19),  whom  I 
 quote  through  the  Penny  CyclojJcedia,  to  the  eflfect 
 that  the  ''Egyptians  invented  the  week,  and  other 
 nations  copied  from  them."  But  I  can  nowhere  find 
 any  corroboration  of  this  view.  The  most  important 
 passage  that  I  have  discovered  is  in  Bunsen's  Egypt, 
 vol.  iii.  p.  390.,  wherein  the  author  says,  "  The  week 
 of  seven  days  (Zi  =  7)  was  only  used  (amongst  the 
 Chinese)  for  astrological  purposes.      Its  antiquity  is 
 
 proved  by  the  twenty-eight  lunar  stations Ideler 
 
 states  that,  according  to  Gaubil,  the  character  of  one 
 of  the  seven  planets,  from  the  sun  to  Saturn,  were  in 
 early  times  annexed  to  the  characters  of  each  lunar 
 station,  twenty-eight  in  all.  This  week  was  known 
 before  Confucius." 
 
 The  quotations  above  made  confirm  us  in  the 
 belief,  which  our  judgment  had  already  framed,  that 
 the  division  of  time  into  weeks  arose  after  the  learned 
 had  recognised  the  existence  of  seven  planets.  The 
 ancient  names  of  Zi,  e/35o|aaf,  hchdomas,  and  VP^, 
 shahiia,  confirm  us  in  this  belief,  for  they  all  signify 
 the  "  seven  "  as  well  as  the  "week." 
 
 It  is  clear,  in  the  first  place,  from  Deut.  iv. 
 19,  xvii.  3,  and  2  Kings  xvii.  IG,  xxi.  3,  5,  that  the 
 knowledge  of,  and  respect  for,  "the  seven"  did  not 
 originate  with  the  Hebrews.  It  is  equally  clear  that 
 the  Jews  began  to  respect  "  the  host  of  heaven  "  after 
 they  came  in  contact  with  the  Babylonians.  "SVe 
 know  that  the  Babylonians  were  considered  to  be  the 
 
 think  tbiit  it  will  ultimately  be  solved.  Until  it  is  decided,  it  is  impossible  for  any 
 one  wbo  knows  of  its  existence  to  Rive  that  blind  faith  to  I  he  modern  dogmas  of 
 relipiou.  built  upon  the  Old  Testament  writings,  which  our  hierurcLy  demands. 
 
8G2 
 
 most  accompli slied  of  all  astrolo{?ers.  Wc  boo  from 
 Figs.  G,  IG,  17,"'*  that  "seven"  was,  amoufjst  the 
 Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  a  sacred  mystic  number ; 
 and,  so  far  as  I  can  read  history,  it  tells  us  that  the 
 division  of  time  by  weeks  was  not  adopted  in  Western 
 Asia  and  Europe  until  after  the  Grecian  intercourse 
 with  IJabylouia  had  become  pretty  general."'  Still 
 farther,  we  have  presumptive  evidence  that  the  days  of 
 the  week  have  been  named  after  the  appellatives  of 
 the  various  planets.  But  the  planets  in  Babylon 
 went  by  cognomens  that  were  recognised  by  the 
 Jews  as  names  of  idols,  which  the  faithful  could  not 
 name  without  injury  to  Jehovah.  The  modern 
 Quaker,  in  this  respect,  resembles  the  ancient  He- 
 brew, and  both,  whilst  they  accept  a  division  of  time 
 into  weeks,  decline  to  give  the  days  thereof  anything 
 more  than  a  numeral  character.  The  modem 
 "  Friend "  is,  however,  more  scrupulous  than  the 
 ancient  Jew,  for  the  latter  admitted  amongst  his 
 months  the  idolatrous  name  of  Tammi'z. 
 
 From  these  considerations  we  conclude  that  the 
 Hebrews  received  the  names  of  their  months  before  the 
 people  were  religiously  scrupulous,  and  the  existence 
 and  names  of  the  days  of  the  week,  after  they  became 
 quaker-like.  We  must,  in  my  opinion,  place  the 
 commencement  of  religious  scrupulousness  amongst 
 the  Hebrews  after  the  time  of  their  intercourse  with 
 Babylonians,  and  after  the  promulgation  of  the  sacred 
 books  amongst  the  people ;    books  which,  after  "  the 
 
 «••  Vol.  I.,  pp.  9f>,  in<»,  107.  Tho  diTuion  in  the  npp«r  ornament  of  ihc  'groTo' 
 beinK  referred  to. 
 
 o*  The  era  of  Alos&ndor,  and  tbo  period  iinhteqnc&t  to  his  reign,  are  hnn 
 allodod  to. 
 
863 
 
 restoration,"  the  Jews  were  taught  in  childhood  to 
 respect.  "-'^ 
 
 By  strictly  logical  deduction,  and  circumstantial 
 evidence,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  the  division  of 
 time  into  weeks  does  not  date  for  Western  Asia  and 
 Europe  at  an  earlier  period  than  about  b.  c.  700. ~^^ 
 We  cannot  reasonably  doubt  the  truth  of  the  con- 
 clusion ;  and  once  again  we  stand  astonished  at 
 the  result  of  our  inquiry.  If  our  reasoning  be 
 satisfactory,  it  demonstrates  that  the  story  of  the 
 creation;  of  Jacob,  Leah,  and  Eachel;  of  Sinai  and 
 the  consecration  of  the  Sabbath,  are  all  of  modern 
 growth ;  that  Exod.  xxxiv.  22,  Levit.  xii.  5,  Num. 
 xxviii.  26,  Deut.  xvi.  9,  10,  16,  and  2  Chron.  viii.  13, 
 are  all  of  them  of  comparatively  recent  invention  ; 
 scraps,  indeed,  of  fabricated  history,  written  at  a 
 period  when  computation  of  time  by  weeks,  or  rather 
 by  sevens,  was  common,  as  it  ultimately  became  in  the 
 time  of  Daniel.  Gen.  vii.  2,  xli.  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  22,  etc. 
 Ex.  ii.  16.  Lev.  xxiii.  15,  xxv.  8.  Num.  xxiii.  1,  et  seq. 
 Deut.  vii.  1,  xxviii.  7,  25.  Josh.  vi.  4,  6,  8,  15,  xviii. 
 2,  5,  6,  9.  Jud.  xvi.  7,  13,  19.  1  Sam.  ii.  5,  vi.  1. 
 xvi.  10.     2  Sam.  xxi.  9.     1  Chron.  iii.  24,  v.   13. 
 
 ^20  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  tlie  Hebrews  especially  sanctified  tbe  seventh 
 day ;  that  dedicated  to  Saturn,  the  planet  whose  orbit  appeared  to  be  the  highest, 
 and  consequently  the  most  fitting  representative  of  the  Most  High  God ;  and  that 
 Christians,  despising  the  authority  of  the  fourth  commandment,  should  keep  holy 
 day  dedicated  to  the  Son.  It  is  commonly  said  that  it  is  selected  on  account  of  the 
 resurrection.  But  we  think  that  the  appellative,  "  Sun  of  Righteousness,"  being 
 applied  to  Jesus,  shows  that  he  was  identified  in  some  degree  with  the  solar  orb. 
 It  is  stated,  on  respectable  authority,  that  au  ancient  picture  of  Marys  son  is  to  be 
 seen  at  Eome,  with  the  motto,  Deo  Soli  Invicto ;  a  punning  contrivance,  which 
 signifies  To  the  God  Sun  unconquered,  and  To  the  God  Alone  nnconqaered. 
 
 221  xhis  is  about  the  time,  we  believe,  when  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians 
 began  to  direct  their  energies  to  conquer  Western  Asia,  Syria,  Phoenicia,  Jndea. 
 and  Cyprus,  and  when  their  trade  with  Greece  probably  began. 
 
864 
 
 2  Chron.  xxix.  21.  Job  v.  19.  Prov.  vi.  IG,  ix.  1, 
 and  xxvi.  25,  must  all  be  attributed  to  the  post  Baby- 
 louian  period. 
 
 Our  investigation  having  driven  us  to  conclude 
 that  the  division  of  time  into  weeks  was  connected 
 with  the  planets,  and  the  four  phases,  and  twenty- 
 eight  houses  of  the  moon,  —  or,  in  other  words,  with 
 astrology, — we  may  prosecute  the  subject  by  ascertain- 
 ing whether  we  can  find  in  the  Bible  any  ideas 
 similar  to  those  which  prevailed  amongst  the  Romans 
 as  diesfcsti,  or  dies  prof c fit i,  and  dies  intorisi. 
 
 There  is  very  little  doubt  but  that,  at  the  present 
 time,  certain  days  are  said  to  be  lucky,  and  some  to 
 be  unlucky,  1)oth  in  Christendom  and  in  Oriental 
 countries.  Few  sailors,  for  example,  like  to  start  for 
 a  voyage  on  Friday,  because  it  is  "unlucky,"  and 
 they  prefer  Sunday,  as  being  the  reverse.  We  find  a 
 similar  idea  in  older  times.  But  it  is  very  doubtful 
 whether  the  notion  assumed  a  definite  form  before  the 
 Babylonian  astrology  became  well  known  and  popular. 
 At  any  rate,  it  will  be  most  convenient  if  we  draw 
 our  first  evidence  from  the  period  referred  to.  We 
 find  that  Manasseh  "observed  times"  (2  Kings  xxi.  6, 
 2  Chron.  xxxiii.  6).  See  also  Deut.  xviii.  10,  11.  Wo 
 find  (1  Chron.  xii.  32)  the  children  of  Issachar  de- 
 scribed as  men  that  had  understanding  of  "the  times," 
 and  who  knew  what  Israel  ought  to  do.  In  Dan.  ii. 
 8,  9,  it  is  clear  that  both  the  king  and  tho  astrologers 
 believed  that  there  were  'huky'  and  'unlucky'  periods, 
 which  enabled  men  to  be  successful  in  their  enter- 
 prises, or  the  reverse.  Wo  see  precisely  tho  same 
 notion  in  Esther  i.  IM,  where  the  king  apj^lies  to  the 
 wise  men  "  whidi  knew  tbe  times";  and,  in  the  third 
 chopttr.  we  iiiul  llanmn  casting  tho  lot  every  day  for 
 
865 
 
 a  year,  so  as  to  discover,  if  possible,  "  an  acceptable 
 time  "  for  his  design. ^^^  Against  this  practice  we  find  a 
 law  enacted  (Lev.  xix.  26,  and  Deut.  xviii.  10-14),  in 
 which  "  observers  of  times  "  are  coupled  with  "  divin- 
 ers," or  "enchanters."  We  have  an  indication 
 of  the  same  idea  in  Ps.  Ixix.  13,  wherein  a  prayer 
 is  said  to  be  offered  in  ''an  acceptable  time,"  or  on  a 
 lucky  day,  which  is  substantially  the  same  as  Isaiah 
 xlix.  8,  which  seems  to  have  been  written  during  the 
 latter  years  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon. 
 
 With  these  'times'  the  moon  had  much  to  do,  as 
 we  judge  from  Ecclus.  xliii.  6,  "  He  made  the  moon 
 also  to  serve  in  her  season,  for  a  declaration  of  times, 
 and  a  sign  of  the  world.  From  the  moon  is  the  sign 
 of  feasts,  a  light  that  decreaseth  in  her  perfection. 
 The  month  is  called  after  her  name,  increasing  won- 
 derfully in  her  changing,  being  an  instrument  of  the 
 armies  above,"  etc. 
 
 When  once  a  people  have  become  familiar  with 
 any  division  of  time,  it  is  a  matter  of  great  difficulty 
 to  change  the  arrangement.  And  when  this  is  done, 
 we  find  that  it  occasions  much  grumbling,  if  not 
 rioting.  Our  own  history  tells  us  of  the  reluctance 
 of  English  people  to  correct  the  calendar,  which  was 
 eleven  days  wrong ;  and  how  very  many  persons  con- 
 tinued to  use  the  "old  style"  rather  than  the  new,  to 
 the  end  of  their  lives.  It  is  currently  reported  that  the 
 Russian  government  dares  not  face  the  obloquy  which 
 would  attend  a  rectification  of  her  calendar,  similar  to 
 that  which  was  made  in  Britain.  We  can'  therefore 
 readily  understand  that  a  similar  feeling  would  have 
 
 222  We  may  notice  in  passing  that  the  remarkable  expression,  "  Peace,  and  at 
 such  a  time,"  Ezra  iv.  10,  17,  vii.  12,  really  signifies  "  Peace,  and  so  forth,"  or 
 "  Peace,  etc," 
 
 III 
 
866 
 
 been  experienced  in  the  olden  days ;  and  can  now 
 appreciate  the  words  of  Daniel  about  some  powerful 
 kinjj:,  "  who  shall  speak  preat  words  against  the  Most 
 High,  and  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High, 
 and  think  to  change  times  and  laws  "  (Dan.  vii.  25). 
 
 Whilst  cogitating  over  the  division  of  time  into 
 "  sevens,"  my  attention  was  directed  to  the  account 
 given  of  the  Jewish  golden  candlestick,  which 
 survived  until  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
 Romans,  and  to  the  perpetual  fire  kept  burning  in 
 the  Temple.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  candle- 
 stick consisted  of  seven  arms  ;  one  central,  and  three 
 on  each  side.  On  each  of  these  were  placed  one 
 or  more  bowls,  shaped  like  almonds,  and  lamps, 
 wherein  there  was  to  be  kept  up  a  good  light.  But 
 whether  this  was  the  light  which  was  to  burn  per- 
 petually is  doubtful,  from  the  passage,  Num.  viii.  2, 
 "  "When  thou  lightest  the  lamps,  the  seven  lamps 
 shall  give  light  over  against  the  candlestick ;  "  which 
 is  however  contradicted  by  Levit.  xxiv.  2,  "Command 
 the  children  of  Israel  that  they  bring  unto  thee  pure 
 olive  oil  Ijoaten  for  the  light,  to  cause  to  burn  the 
 lamps  continually.  It  shall  be  a  statute  for  ever  in 
 your  generations.  Ho  shall  order  the  lamps  upon  the 
 pure  candlestick  before  the  Lord  continually." 
 
 As  we  have  traced  seven  as  a  sacred  number, 
 adopted  by  the  Jews  from  the  liabylouians,  so  wo 
 may  trace  the  adoption  of  the  sacred  fire  to  the 
 Medians,  the  followers  of  Zoroaster.  Consequently, 
 wcMire  Ijound  to  consid(>r  that  the  jjrrpetually  burning 
 lumps,  and  the  seven-arm  candles! iik,  were  Jewish 
 institutions  of  the  post-exilo  period.  In  this  result 
 wo  are  fortified,  by  noticing  that  no  golden  candlestick 
 is  enunieruti'd  amongst  tho  urticlos  restored  by  Cyrus 
 
867 
 
 the  Persian  to  Ezra.     Nor  can  we  indeed  be  surprised 
 at  this,  for  we  find  a  very  distinct  assertion  made  in 
 2  Kings  xxiv.   13,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  ''cut  into 
 pieces  all  the  vessels  of  gold  which  Solomon,  king  of 
 Israel,  had  made  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  as  the 
 Lord  had  said."      A  somewhat  difficult  matter  for 
 him  to  do  if,  as  we  are  told  in  2  Chron.  xii.  9,  Shishak 
 had  already  carried  them  all  into  Egypt.    The  replace- 
 ment of  destroyed  golden  vessels  in  the  Jerusalem 
 temple  is,  if  possible,  even  more  remarkable  than  the 
 resurrection  of  Midianites  and  Amalekites.     It  may  be 
 less  orthodox,  but  it  is  more  sensible,  to  believe  that 
 the  golden  vessels  taken  away  by  Titus  were  of  modern 
 date,  than  that  they  had  survived  from  the  time  of 
 Moses.     As  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
 Persians  did  not  originally  regard  fire  or  Hght  as  holy, 
 so  we  must  conclude  that  the  Jews  owed  the  idea  of 
 the  golden  candlestick  to  the  Medes.     Against  this  it 
 may  be  alleged  that  a  sacred   fire  existed  in  Italy 
 before  Rome  was  built,  and  was  preserved  thereafter 
 with  great  care.     A  similar  institution  seems  to  have 
 existed  in  America,  when  it  was  discovered.    But  there 
 is  no  reason  to  beheve  that  the  Jews  knew  anything 
 of  these    nations.      Nor  do  we,  in  any  part  of  the 
 books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles,  see  any  evidence  of  a 
 sacred  fire  kept  up  in  the  temple,  or  elsewhere.    There 
 is  not  any  proof  of  the  Babylonians  using  sacred  fire. 
 But   there  is  strong  evidence  of   the  Medes  laying 
 gi-eat  stress  upon  it.     This,  with  the  modern  date  of 
 the  candlestick,  leads  us  to  the  inference  stated  above. 
 See  Theology,  p.  808,  supraS'^ 
 
 •^23  lu  the  article  "  Weeli,"  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  tlie  Bible,  it  is  assumed 
 that  the  mention  of  a  division  of  time  into  seven  days  in  Genesis,  is  a  proof  of  the 
 antiquity  of  the  week  in  the  world.      There   is  also  much  stress  laid  upon  the  fre- 
 
868 
 
 TornET,  ^^^  (2  Kings  xxiii.  10).  To  any  one  accustomed 
 to  prosecute  indepeudent  inquiries,  an  investigation 
 into  this  locality  and  its  associations  will  be  found 
 deeply  interesting.  In  point  of  time  it  appears  first 
 in  Jewish  history  during  the  life  of  Isaiah ;  and  we 
 infer  from  the  words,  "Tophet  is  ordained  of  old,"  or, 
 more  correctly,  "  from  yesterday  "  (ch.  xxx.  33),  that 
 it  had  then  only  been  recently  introduced.  We  find  that 
 it  consisted  of  a  deep  trench  in  which  wood  was  piled, 
 ready  to  be  burned.  In  2  Kings  xxiii.  10,  we  notice 
 that  the  spot  was  used  by  certain  of  the  Jews  for 
 burning,  in  one  form  or  another,  their  own  offspring  to 
 Molech.  This  being  ofiensive  to  the  orthodox,  Tophet 
 was  defiled  by  Josiah.  The  custom  of  incremation  is 
 distinctly  referred  to  by  Jeremiah,  who  was  contempo- 
 rary with  Josiah,  for  we  are  told,  ch.  vii.  31,  that  the 
 children  of  Judah  have  burned  their  sons  and  daugh- 
 ters in  the  fire  at  Tophet.  We  find,  moreover,  that 
 in  the  same  locality  (see  Jerem.  xix.  2,  5),  the  idola- 
 trous Jews  "burned  their  sons  with  fire  as  burnt  ofl'or- 
 ings  to  Baal."  It  is  therefore  certain  that  Tophet 
 was  associated  with  the  burning  of  bodies,  and  chiclly. 
 if  not  exclusively,  with  the  corpses  of  children,  killed 
 
 qncDcy  with  wkick  tho  Bovcufuld  dirifiion  of  time  is  introdaccd  into  that  which  is 
 railed  thf  Mosaic  law.  Ktit  tho  author  (Rev.  F.  Clardi-u)  apitoarH  to  shun  the  ques- 
 tion, whether  the  "weekly"  »lement  in  the  I'entatench  does  no',  indicate  the  modem 
 origin  of  tho  Jewish  law.  At  the  present,  anachronisms  are  held  to  vitiate  the 
 absulnte  tmth  of  every  ancient  hi.story  in  which  tliev  arc  found.  A  hioRrnphy  of 
 Kin^;  Alfred,  which  spoke  of  lead  ]>cncils  and  India  rnldx'r,  would  not  l>c  roptrdcd 
 by  a  critic  ns  proof  that  )ilnml)ii(;o  and  caoutchouc  were  known  in  Kritain,  a.  n. 
 yU(i ;  and  if  the  cakes  ho  is  said  to  hiive  neglected  were  stated  to  hiive  contAiiicd 
 niaplo  HUgar,  none  would  use  the  Ntatenient  to  Hhow  that  .Mfred  traded  with  America. 
 On  the  contrary,  the  mention  of  such  matters  would  ser>°e  to  show  the  proliaMe  age 
 of  the  fahriciitioD.  In  like  manner,  the  use  of  "weeks"  and  sevens  by  the  Jewish 
 wril'TN  iM-comeii  a  test  of  date  of  tho  composition  of  certain  stories,  rather  than  an 
 evidence  of  the  antiquity  of  n72C-  ^ie  assumption  does  not  l>o<H>mo  stronger 
 bocanso  it  is  ba««d  upon  another  which  ha«  no  sound  foundation. 
 
869 
 
 in  one  way  or  another.  It  is  equally  certain  that 
 Tophet  was  established  after  the  Edomite  sack  of 
 Jerusalem  and  the  Grecian  captivity,  described  in  our 
 articles  Obadiah  and  Joel. 
 
 If  we  now  search  for  an  etymon  of  the  word,  we 
 think  it  probable  that  it  has  an  Aryan  rather  than  a 
 Shemitic  origin,  and  that  it  was  introduced  into  the 
 Hebrew  from  the  Greek,  after  the  Grecian  captivity  ^^^ 
 just  alluded  to.  We  find,  for  example,  in  the  San- 
 scrit, the  word  taj),  "to  burn  up,"  "to  consume,"  and 
 tapas,  "fire,"  "penance,"  "devotion."  In  the  Persian, 
 tof-ten  is  "to  kindle,"  whilst  in  Greek  tv(Pm,  tuplio, 
 is  "  to  raise  a  smoke,  or  to  burn  slowly,"  and  Ta(f;»], 
 taphee,  is  a  burial,  which  usually  followed  increma- 
 tion ;  Tci^og,  taphos,  also  signifies  "  a  grave,  tomb,  or 
 mound,  formed  after  the  dead  body  had  been  burned; " 
 Ts(Ppa,  teplira,  were  "  the  ashes  of  a  funeral  pile ;  " 
 and  Typhon  was  the  cognomen  of  a  fire-breathing 
 giant  or  demon.  From  the  the  same  root  probably 
 comes  the  Latin  dcuro,  "to  burn,"  and  possibly  the 
 Italian  tufa.  The  Hebrew  analogue  is  f\HF],  tuph,  which 
 signifies  "to  burn  corpses,  human  sacrifices"  (Fiirst) ; 
 and  one  derivative,  tuph'in,  is  given  to  "anything 
 dried  or  baked,"  whilst  another,  tophet,  signifies  "the 
 burning  place." 
 
 The  question  now  suggests  itself  to  our  mind, 
 "  Was  cremation,  or  disposal  of  the  body  by  fire, 
 prior  to  sepulture  of  the  bones,  ever  resorted  to  by  the 
 Jews?"  An  examination  of  the  various  texts  in  the 
 Old  Testament,  making  allusion  to  the  disposal  of  the 
 dead,  forces  us  to  believe  that  ordinary  burial,  or  dis- 
 position of  the  corpse  of  the  defunct  in  a  natural  or 
 
 224  Joel  iii.  6. 
 
870 
 
 an  artificial  tomb,  was  the  plan  usually  resorted  to. 
 Every  reference  to  the  dead,  with  a  few  exceptions 
 shortly  to  be  noticed,  is  associated  with  sepulture, 
 rather  than  with  cremation.  We  also  infer  that  indi- 
 viduals generally  procured  tombs  for  their  dead,  which 
 would  suffice  for  themselves  and  their  descendants. 
 That  these  were  not  in  any  specified  locality,  like  our 
 churchyards  and  cemeteries,  we  infer  from  2  Kings 
 xxi.  18-26,  where  we  are  told  that  both  Manasseh 
 and  Amon  were  buried  in  their  own  sepulchre  in  the 
 garden  of  Uzzah. 
 
 But  there  are  some  remarkable  passages  in  the 
 second  book  of  Chronicles,  which  lead  to  the  infer- 
 ence that  cremation  was  sometimes  resorted  to  by 
 great  men.  For  example,  we  are  told  in  2  Chrou. 
 xvi.  14,  that  a  very  great  burning  was  made  for  Asa. 
 In  ch.  xxi.  r.),  that  when  Jehoram  died  his  people 
 made  no  burning  for  him,  like  the  burning  of  his 
 fathers ;  in  Jerem.  xxxiv.  5,  we  see  the  very  remark- 
 able statement  made  to  Zedekiah,  "  Thou  shalt  die 
 in  peace  :  and  with  the  burnings  of  thy  fathers,  the 
 former  kings  which  were  before  thee,  so  shall  they 
 bui-u  (odours)  for  thee."  Again,  in  Amos  \i.  10,  we 
 read,  "  and  a  man's  uncle  shall  take  him  up,  and  he 
 that  burneth  him,  to  bring  out  the  bones  out  of  the 
 house,"  etc.  To  this  we  must  add  a  verse  of  doubt- 
 ful meaning,  2  Chron.  xxvi.  23,  wherein  Uzziah  is 
 buried  in  the  field  of  the  burial  which  belonged  to 
 the  kings,  bccaiisr  lir  was  a  leper  ;  the  words  italicised 
 seeming  to  indicate  that  burial  without  burning  was 
 a  mark  of  dishonour.  Wo  find,  moreover,  that  the 
 men  of  Jabesh  Giload,  who  removed  the  bodies  of 
 Saul  and  of  his  sons  from  the  wall  of  Hothshau, 
 burned  them  as  soon   as   tluv  had   brou'dit  them  to 
 
871 
 
 their    own    to^n,    burying    the     bones    afterwards 
 (1  Sam.  xxxi.  12). 
 
 When  we  inquire  into  the  question,  whether  the 
 burnings  referred  to  by  the  writer  in  Chronicles  and 
 in  Jeremiah  are  to  be  understood  as  a  disposal  of 
 the  royal  body  by  cremation  prior  to  the  sepulture 
 of  the  ashes,  we  are  struck  by  the  fact  that  the  pro- 
 cess is  only  indicated  in  the  time  of  those  kings  who 
 reigned  after  the  Edomite  capture  of  Jerusalem,  when 
 the  Jews  had  an  opportunity  for  learning  Grecian 
 customs.  That  the  noble  dead  amongst  the  Greeks 
 were  disposed  of  by  burning  we  learn  from  Homer, 
 whose  account  of  the  funeral  of  Hector  and  of  Patro- 
 clus,  we  condense  from  Madden's  Shrines  and  Sepul- 
 chres (London,  1851).  For  nine  days  a  collection 
 of  wood  from  the  forest  was  made,  and  on  the  tenth 
 the  body  of  Hector  was  placed  at  the  top  of  his  funeral 
 pile.  Fire  was  applied,  and  the  pyre  was  allowed  to 
 burn  for  a  whole  day ;  the  flames  were  then  extin- 
 guished by  wine.  The  relatives  and  friends  imme- 
 diately collected  the  whitened  bones,  placed  them  in 
 a  golden  urn,  covered  them  with  a  veil,  deposited 
 all  in  a  deep  fosse,  and  then  filled  the  latter  with  a 
 prodigious  quantity  of  large  stones"  (Vol.  i.,  p.  215). 
 
 The  funeral  of  Patroclus  was  performed  with  great 
 pomp.  The  pyre  was  built,  and  a  procession  formed 
 of  warriors  in  their  cars,  followed  by  the  infantry. 
 The  body  was  placed  on  a  bier,  surrounded  by  friends, 
 who  had  cut  off  their  hair  and  placed  it  on  the  corpse. 
 Achilles  followed,  stooping  over  the  body,  and  sup- 
 porting the  head.  Arrived  at  the  pile,  the  hero  cut 
 off  his  own  locks  and  placed  them  in  the  arms  of  the 
 dead,  making  an  oration  over  him.  The  body  was 
 next  placed  upon  the  pyre,  with  urns  of  oil  and  honey. 
 
872 
 
 Four  of  the  best  horses,  and  two  of  the  best  dogs, 
 were  then  slaughtered,  and  thrown  against  the  pile. 
 Lastly,  twelve  young  Trojans  were  killed.  The  wood 
 was  lighted,  and  as  it  burned,  wine  was  poured  upon 
 the  ground,  and  the  soul  of  Patroclus  invoked.  At 
 length  the  fire  was  quenched  by  wine,  and  the  bones 
 of  Patroclus  collected ;  these  being  identified  from  the 
 others  by  being  centrically  placed.  They  were  then 
 deposited  in  a  golden  urn,  with  a  double  envelope  of 
 fat,  and  the  whole  was  covered  with  a  veil ;  a 
 "barrow,"  ra^og,  tajihoH,  was  then  marked  out,  and 
 the  urn  duly  buried  under  a  huge  mound  (Vol.  i., 
 p.  218)."'' 
 
 It  is  quite  possible  that  the  Jewish  monarchs  were 
 buried  with  similar  pomp  ;  but  we  have  very  strong 
 doubts  upon  the  point,  because  we  notice  (1)  that 
 the  account  of  the  burning  is  only  to  be  found  in 
 "  Chronicles,"  whose  author  wrote  at  a  very  late 
 date,  and  always  with  a  dominant  idea  of  painting 
 the  magnificence  of  Jewish  kings  in  the  brightest 
 colours ;  (2)  because  the  ofl'ering  up,  or  burning  of 
 incense,  at  the  death  of  a  monarch,  was  nothing  more 
 than  an  indication  of  the  belief  that  he  had  joined 
 the  company  of  gods.  There  was  scarcely  a  nation 
 of  antiquity  in  which  "apotheosis"  was  not  as  com- 
 mon as  is  the  "  canonisation  "  of  saints  in  modern 
 Rome.  Men  ever  have  a  propensity  to  make  gods  for 
 themselves ;  and  it  is  a  natural  idea  to  suppose  that 
 
 **^  Two  thini^H  niny  bo  iiotircJ,  in  panHing,  in  ronnoctiou  with  this  fiin(>rnl,  viz., 
 that  AchilloH  wiyii,  Iliad,  h.  xxiii.  |S'2.  3,  "1  will  not  nnfTor  Ilcolor,  the  hi>u  of  rriani, 
 to  be  doTonrc'd  by  fire,  bnt  by  the  doKx";  ai)  if  cremation  wnn  a  noble  form  of  din- 
 poitinR  nf  the  body.  Again,  in  lino  '2i)'2,  et  Kn/.,  wo  have  the  Himile,  "Ah  a  father 
 moamM  conKnmiiift  the  boneii  of  his  son,  so  moiinied  ArhilleH  burning  Iho  bones  of 
 bin  companion,'  groRuing  conlinoally.  Thus  shuwiug  that  incremation  waa  common 
 amongst  the  Urueka. 
 
873 
 
 be  who  has  ruled  over  us  in  life  may  rule  over  us 
 once  more  in  tombland.  Hence  it  is  probable  that 
 incense  was  burned,  in  large  quantity,  to  a  defunct 
 king,  to  make  him  propitious  when  next  he  was  met 
 by  his  subjects.  The  objection,  however,  to  this  hypo- 
 thesis is,  that  the  early  Jews  did  not  expect  that 
 either  themselves  or  their  rulers  would  live  after 
 death.  But  this  is  readily  answered  by  the  assevera- 
 tion that  the  Chronicler,  being  a  Pharisee,  did  most 
 probably  believe  in  the  resurrection,  and  in  the  deifi- 
 cation of  monarchs. 
 
 In  corroboration  of  the  idea  of  the  cremation  of 
 Jewish  kings,  it  is  supposed  that  the  mention  of 
 spices  surrounding  the  body  (2  Chron.  xvi.  14)  indi- 
 cates an  intention  to  cover  the  smell  of  roasting  flesh 
 by  the  odours  of  Araby.  But  we  think  this  un- 
 tenable, as  we  find,  from  Mark  xvi.  1,  Luke  xxiii.  56, 
 xxiv.  1,  John  xix.  40,  that  it  was  customary  to  use 
 spices  at  an  ordinary  sepulture. 
 
 Although  we  may  entertain  a  doubt  about  the 
 cremation  of  Jewish  monarchs,  we  have  none  what- 
 ever that  the  ordinary  disposal  of  the  Hebrew  dead 
 was  by  burial.  To  the  abundance  of  direct  testimony 
 upon  this  head  in  the  Bible,  we  may  add  the  indirect 
 evidence  of  such  verses  as  the  following:  —  "And 
 Josiah  sent  and  took  the  bones  out  of  the  sepulchres, 
 and  burned  them  upon  the  altar"  (2  Ivings  xxiii.  16), 
 for,  if  such  bones  had  already  been  in  the  fire,  they 
 would  not  have  "burned"  at  all.  To  this  considera- 
 tion we  must  add  the  difficulty  of  procuring  a 
 sufficient  amount  of  wood  to  consume  the  dead  of 
 Jerusalem,  as  well  as  the  remains  of  the  daily  and 
 other  sacrifices.  This  difficulty  must  have  been  so 
 great  in  every  city,  that  we  feel  sure  that  it  alone 
 
874 
 
 would  compel  the  adoption  of  sepulture  in  place  of 
 cremation.  The  land  in  and  around  a  town  is  by  far 
 too  valuable  to  be  used  for  the  growth  of  firewood ; 
 and  the  exigencies  of  cooking,  and  the  process  of 
 warming,  demand  all  the  wood  that  can  readily  be 
 brought  from  distant  forests.  This  argument  is  so 
 important,  that  it  induces  us  to  believe  that  cremation 
 can  never  have  been  universal,  even  amongst  the 
 tribes  which  have  adopted  it  for  the  great  men.  It  is 
 difficult  to  believe  that  slaves,  serfs,  or  other  indivi- 
 duals of  no  account  politicall}-,  have  been  burned  with 
 the  same  ceremony  as  the  chiefs,  or  that  semi-civi- 
 lised savages,  with  imperfect  axes,  would  go  through 
 the  trouble  of  hewing  and  carrying  timber  from  the 
 forest  to  the  homestead  for  every  person  who  died. 
 On  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  a  careful  govern- 
 ment, like  that  of  England  in  Calcutta,  would  rather 
 organise  an  establishment  for  burning  the  dead  of  a 
 large  city,  than  allow  its  poverty-stricken  sul)jects  to 
 leave  their  corpses  to  be  devoured  by  jackals  and 
 vultures  on  land,  or  by  alligators  in  the  river.  But 
 even  this  cannot  be  done,  unless  abundant  fuel,  and 
 labour  to  transport  it,  are  to  be  found,  and  a  revenue 
 to  pay  for  both.  Such  items  were,  wo  think,  absent 
 from  Jerusalem. 
 
 Hitherto  we  have  been  concerned  chiefly  with 
 Tophet  in  its  relation  to  adults.  It  now  remains  for 
 us  to  investigate  the  grave  charge  which  was  brought 
 against  it  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  ^nz.,  that  it  was 
 designed  as  an  igneous  sepulchre  for  the  bodies  of 
 young  children  ;  one,  indeed,  which  may  be  compared 
 with  that  narrated  by  Luciau  (about  a.  d.  IGO)  as 
 offered  to  the  Syrian  goddess.     See  supra,  pp.  71)0-1. 
 
 Wc  fear  that  the  charge   is   too  well   founded   to 
 
876 
 
 be  repelled.  We  read,  for  example  (2  Chron.  xxviii. 
 3),  that  Ahaz  "burned  his  children  in  the  fire,  after 
 the  abominations  of  the  heathen."  We  find  that  the 
 same  was  done  by  Manasseh,  except  that  an  euphem- 
 ism is  employed,  instead  of  a  clearer  expression  ;  e.  g. 
 the  words  run  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  6),  "  He  caused  his 
 children  to  pass  through  the  fire,  in  the  valley  of  the 
 son  of  Hinnom."  But  the  real  signification  of  the 
 terms  used  is  made  clear  in  Ps.  cvi.  37,  where  we 
 read,  "They  sacrificed  their  sons  and  their  daughters 
 unto  devils."  ^^®  Jerem.  xix.  5  is  even  stronger,  for  it 
 says,  "  They  have  built  the  high  places  of  Baal,  to 
 burn  their  sons  with  fire,  for  burnt  offerings  unto 
 Baal,"  and  from  the  context  it  is  manifest  that  this 
 sacrifice  took  place  at  Tophet.  To  this  immolation 
 we  have  already  referred,  in  our  articles  on  Molech, 
 and  Sacrifice, 
 
 I  may  here  again  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the 
 fact,  that  the  offerings  thus  made  by  fire  were  not  so 
 frightful  as  they  are  generally  supposed  to  have  been. 
 They  did  not  resemble,  in  malignant  cruelty,  the  autos 
 da  fe  of  Catholic  Spain  and  Christian  Europe. 
 Evidence,  both  documentary  and  sculptured,  demon- 
 strates that  the  victims  offered  in  sacrifice  were 
 slaughtered  before  they  were  burned.  See  Fabretti's 
 Corpus  Inscript'wnum  Italicarum,  plate  40,  figs.  2162 
 2163,  where  there  is  a  pictorial  representation  of  the 
 sacrifice  of  the  Trojan  youth  at  the  grave  of  Patroclus 
 (and  let  me  add  in  passing,  that  the  soul  of  the  dead 
 Grecian,  who  stands  behind  the  officiating  priest,  is 
 delineated  with  wings,   and   resembles  precisely  the 
 
 226  Of  the  age  of  the  children  burned  at  Tophet,  there  is  no  direct  evidence. 
 The  Talmud  supposes  them  to  have  been  about  four  or  five  years  of  age.  It  may 
 be  assumed,  I  think,  that  the  common  period  was  shortly  after  birth. 
 
876 
 
 fionres  given  by  christian  artists  to  all  the  good 
 angels;  which,  with  other  Etruscan  pictures,  demon- 
 strates a  belief  amongst  that  ancient  people,  of  the 
 resurrection  of  the  body  in  a  beatified  form).  The 
 rabbinic  stor}'  of  a  brazen  image  of  Molech,  into 
 which  children,  still  living,  were  thrown,  whilst  drums 
 were  played  by  the  bystanders  to  drown  the  cries  of 
 the  helpless  victims,  is,  in  my  opinion,  a  pure  fabri- 
 cation, and  has  most  probably  been  suggested  by  the 
 similarity  of  the  words  Tophct  and  toph,  f\M^  or  f\F\, 
 **  a  drum." 
 
 We  are  fortified  in  the  belief  that  death  always 
 preceded  incremation  whenever  the  body  was  presented 
 as  a  burnt  ofleriug  by  the  fact,  that  burning  alive  was 
 a  punishment  assigned  to  certain  criminals.  In  Gen. 
 xxxviii.  24,  for  example,  it  appears  as  a  sentence  upon 
 the  widow  Tamar,  for  whoredom.  In  LeN-it.  xxi.  9, 
 a  similar  penalty  is  ordained  for  the  daughter  of  any 
 priest  who  prostitutes  herself.  In  Num.  xvi.  ;}5,  death 
 by  burning  is  said  to  have  been  inflicted  directly  by  God 
 Himself,  as  a  punishment  for  ecclesiastical  presump- 
 tion. In  Josh.  vii.  15,  we  find  that  the  robber  of  "  the 
 accursed  thing"  is  to  be  burnt  with  all  that  he  hath, 
 and  the  twenty-fourth  and  following  verses  show  the 
 wTiter's  belief  that  it  was  a  proper  thing  to  bum 
 Achan,  his  sons,  daughters,  oxen,  asses,  sheep,  etc., 
 for  the  sole  oftence  of  the  head  of  the  household,  and 
 one,  moreover,  which  is  never  regarded  as  a  crime  in 
 war.  It  is  true  that  the  last  verses  quoted  insinuate 
 that  the  living  creatures  were  stoned  to  death  before 
 they  were  consumed  ;  and  it  is  dillicult  to  understand 
 how  live  stock  could  bo  induced  to  lie  on  a  funeral 
 pyre  unless  they  were  dead,  or  tied  with  chains ;  but 
 the  verso  which  ordains  the  penalty  does  not  speak  of 
 
877 
 
 such  a  merciful  proceeding.  In  Judges  xv.  6,  we  find 
 that  the  Philistines,  in  pure  revenge,  and  for  no  fault 
 whatever  in  the  sufferers,  burned  a  father  and  his 
 daughter  with  fire ;  whilst  in  2  Kings  i.  we  notice 
 that  no  less  than  a  hundred  men  are  burned  alive,  for 
 fulfilling,  as  they  were  bound  to  do,  their  master's 
 command.  Compare  also  Isa.  xxxiii.  12,  Jerem. 
 xlix.  2. 
 
 At  this  point  we  pause  awhile  to  examine 
 whether  Tophet  may  not  have  been  patronised  by  the 
 state.  Vv"e  have  already  seen  that  two  kings  sacri- 
 ficed their  own  children,  and  now  we  ask  ourselves 
 whether  that  could  have  been  done  as  an  example  of 
 royal  submission  to  a  dreadful  political  exigency. 
 We  know  that  in  all  periods,  when  the  miseries  of  war 
 are  felt  by  a  besieged  town,  the  women  and  children 
 are  considered  of  less  account  than  the  soldiers  who 
 man  the  walls.  Sometimes,  from  motives  of  the 
 purest  patriotism,  every  superfluous  mouth  is  stopped 
 by  a  violent  death,  inflicted  at  the  hands  of  friends. 
 Even  generals,  like  Napoleon,  have  shown  themselves 
 merciless  to  the  feeble,  wounded,  or  sick  soldier. 
 Such  abandonment  seems  inhuman,  yet  it  may  be 
 dictated  by  policy.  One  commander  may  lose  all 
 his  men  in  the  endeavour  to  save  some.  Another 
 will  even  destroy  a  few  to  save  the  majority,  as 
 Napoleon  did,  by  blowing  up  a  bridge,  on  his 
 retreat  from  Leipsic.  The  conduct  of  these  generals 
 may  be  described  as  good  or  bad,  according  to  the 
 capacity  of  the  judge,  and  the  evidence  laid  before 
 him. 
 
 To  illustrate  our  meaning,  let  us  review  the  condi- 
 tion of  Jerusalem  during  the  Tophetic  period.  The 
 city  had   been    pillaged    by  the    Edomite    confede- 
 
878 
 
 racy,*"  the  country  ravaged,  and  the  principal  inhabi- 
 tant carried  into  slavery  (Isa.  i.  7,  9).  The  Ass^-rian 
 monarchs  were  asserting  their  power  in  Palestine,  and 
 the  rulers  of  Egypt  were  in  movement  northwards. 
 Jerusalem  was  besieged  by  Sennacherib,  and  the  rem- 
 nant of  the  Hebrews  were  threatened  with  destruction 
 on  all  sides.  Unable  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  peace, 
 large  families  were  state  burdens.  Stores  for  a  siege 
 were  required  for  the  Jews,  and  had  to  be  prepared 
 beforehand ;  and  these  could  not  be  so  large  as  they 
 ought  to  be,  if  many  mouths  had  to  be  iiro\'ided  for 
 during  their  collection.  Consequently,  a  monarch  of 
 Jerusalem,  fully  alive  to  the  necessities  of  his 
 position,  might  enact  or  enforce  a  law,  that  certain 
 children  only  should  be  allowed  to  live.  From  what 
 we  know  of  other  laws,  it  is  probable  that  this  order 
 for  destruction  of  infants  was  represented  as  divine. 
 With  this  light  we  can  readily  understand  such  a 
 passage  as  "Manasseh  shed  innocent  blood  very 
 much,  till  he  had  filled  Jerusalem  from  one  end  to 
 another,"  for  this  king  was  living  in  constant  dread 
 of  an  attack  from  the  Assyrians  ;  who  did,  indeed, 
 besiege  the  city,  and  capture  it  and  him  (2  Chron. 
 xxxiii.  11).  A  similar  remark  is  made  respecting 
 Jchoiakim  (2  Kings  xxiv.  -1),  who  was  politically  in 
 the  same  position  as  Manassoh,  inasmuch  as  he  bad 
 to  defend  himself  against  Chaldces,  Syrians,  Moab- 
 itcs,  and  Ammonites.  Jeremiah,  also,  who  wrote  in 
 the  troublous  times  of  the  last  days  of  the  monarchy, 
 says  (ch.  ii.  34),  "In  thy  skirts  is  found  the  blood  of 
 the  souls  of  the  poor  innocents,"  as  if  infanticide 
 were  a  well  known  and  common  occurrence.     In  ch. 
 
 ^  8vo  Pt.  hxiiii.  1-8,  Amot.  i.  t)-ll,  iibad.  Id- 14,  P«.  cxxxrii.  7.  Jool  tU. 
 17,  Mir«h  r   7-9 
 
879 
 
 xix.  he  indicates  the  same  thing,  e.  g.,  "  They  have 
 filled  this  place  (Tophet)  with  the  blood  of  innocents," 
 the  vaticination  being  evidence  of  the  narrow  straits 
 to  which  Jerusalem  was  reduced  ;  for  it  threatens  the 
 Jews  (ver.  9)  that  they  shall  have  nothing  else  to  eat 
 but  the  flesh  of  their  own  children.  We  may,  then, 
 I  think,  regard  Tophet  as  an  institution  established 
 by  private  enterprise,  and  afterwards  adopted  from  a 
 political  necessity,  to  make  away  with  superfluous 
 infants.  We  can,  indeed,  believe  that  a  register  was 
 kept  there  during  certain  periods,  and  certificates 
 issued  to  the  parents  of  the  death  of  the  child  or 
 offspring  of  such  and  such  parents,  and  subsequently 
 lodged  with  a  certain  royal  officer. 
 
 When  we  stand  aghast  before  the  picture  of  anti- 
 quity thus  presented  to  our  notice,  we  must  not  con- 
 clude hastily  that  the  blackness  of  its  colouring  is 
 due  to  the  presence  of  idolatry  and  the  absence  of 
 Christianity.  Such  is  far  from  being  the  case. 
 What  comparison  can  be  drawn  between  those  who 
 slaughtered  innocent  babies  by  the  hundred,  and 
 those  who  persecuted  Jews  and  their  own  fellow 
 Christians  by  the  thousand  ?  Can  Tophet  show 
 anything  more  horrible  than  our  own  Smithfield, 
 where  bishops  burned  bishops,  or  the  Plaza  at  Madrid, 
 where  sovereigns  assembled  to  witness  the  burnt- 
 ofiering  of  their  own  compatriots?  Is  Manasseh 
 blacker  than  the  Charles  who  organised  the  massacre 
 of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  the  Pope  who  commemo- 
 rated the  same  by  a  medal;  or  than  Kobespierre, 
 Marat,  and  other  brutal  rulers  in  Catholic  France  ? 
 Can  prudish  England  even  boast  herself  of  a  higher 
 morality  than  ancient  Jerusalem,  when  she  has 
 within  herself  baby-farms,  institutions  wherein  young 
 
880 
 
 innocents  may  be  deprived  of  life  ?  and  workhouses, 
 wherein  a  slow  death  by  starvation  and  misery  is 
 encouraged?  "NMien  England,  with  all  her  wealth, 
 scarcely  contains  one  single  national  institution, 
 whose  main  object  is  to  preserve  infant  or,  indeed, 
 any  other  life,  she  must  not  bo  too  eager  to  scold 
 poor  miserable  Jerusalem,  Surely  we,  the  blots  on 
 whose  'scutcheon  are  so  numerous,  ought  to  be  careful 
 ere  we  reproach  others  on  account  of  the  foulness  of 
 their  shields. 
 Tortoise.  In  one  of  the  Hindoo  mj-ths,  the  world  is  repre- 
 sented as  being  supported  on  a  tortoise,  placed  upon 
 the  back  of  an  elephant.  The  tortoise  was  the  form 
 taken  by  Yishnu,  in  his  second  avatar.  "\Miilst  he 
 supported  the  world,  the  gods  and  devis  churned  the 
 ocean  therewith,  and  produced,  if  I  recollect  rightly, 
 the  amreetah  cup,  containing  the  fluid  of  immortality, 
 or  else  all  creation  (an  account  of  which  legend  may 
 be  found  amongst  the  notes  to  the  last  canto  uf 
 Southey's  Curse  of  Kehama). 
 
 The  tortoise  also  entered  into  the  mythical  system 
 of  the  Greeks.  Pausanias,  for  example,  when  speak- 
 ing of  a  temple  at  Elis  (book  v.,  c.  25),  says,  "  The 
 statue  of  the  celestial  Venus  is  made  of  ivory  and 
 gold,   and  was  the   work   of    Phidias.       This   statue 
 
 stands  with  one  of  its  feet  on  a  tortoise Another 
 
 statue  stands  on  a  brazen  goat But  as  to  what 
 
 pertains  to  the  tortoise  and  the  goat,  I  leave  to  such 
 as  are  willing  to  indulge  conjecture  in  this  par- 
 ticular." 
 
 From  these  two  observations,  we  iufir  that  the 
 animal  in  question  had  a  symbolic  meaning ;  and,  in 
 searching  for  it,  we  pass  in  review  its  appearance,  its 
 habits,   and  its  name.      So   far  as   I  can   ascertain, 
 
881 
 
 there  is  nothing,  either  in  the  Greek  or  the  Vedic 
 language,  which  would  lead  to  the  belief  that  a  pun, 
 even  of  the  most  far-fetched  character,  can  associate 
 the  tortoise  with  any  male  or  female  deity.  Indeed  it 
 is  a  j)riorl  improbable  that  such  a  pun  could  exist  in 
 both  languages.  If,  again,  we  inquire  into  the  natural 
 history  of  the  creature,  we  do  not  discover  anything  so 
 very  peculiar  in  it  that  it  should  be  regarded  as  sacred 
 to  Venus,  and  a  supporter  of  creation.  But,  when  we 
 notice  its  appearance,  of  which  we  subjoin  a  sketch 
 (Fig.  74),  and  remark  the  frequency  with  which  it  pro- 
 Figure  74. 
 
 trudes  its  head  from  the  shell,  thus  changing  its  look 
 of  repose,  with  the  utmost  rapidity,  to  one  of  energy 
 and  action,  we  shall  readily  recognise  why  the  animal 
 was  said  to  bo  sacred  to  Venus,  and  why  it  is  sj-m- 
 bolic  of  regeneration,  immortality,  and  the  like.  The 
 tortoise,  from  the  configuration  of  its  head  and  neck, 
 as  well  as  their  rapid  movement  into  and  out  of  the 
 carapace,  represented  the  acting  linga ;  whilst  a  front 
 view  indicated  the  same  idea  as  the  Hindoo  and 
 Egyptian  "  ej'e,"  -sdz.,  the  Arba-il,  or  four-fold 
 creator. 
 Triad,  or  Trinity.  The  only  Biblical  name  into  which  there 
 is  any  appearance  of  the  triad  being  introduced  is 
 
 K  KK 
 
882 
 
 SiiiLSiiAn.**  a  (lescendant  of  Ashcr.  It  is  doubtful 
 whetbcr  this  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  establish  the 
 existence  of  Trinitarian  ideas  amongst  the  Jewish 
 people,  or  their  priesthood.  The  unity  of  the  Godhead 
 was  much  insisted  upon  by  every  Hebrew  \n-iter.  In 
 Deut.  vi.  4,  we  find  the  text,  "  Hear,  0  Israel ;  the 
 Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord  "  ;  literally,  "Jehovah  our 
 Elohim  is  one  Jehovah,"  a  statement  repeated  by 
 Jesus  (Mark  xii.  29).  But  thou<?h  the  unity 
 of  Jehovah  was  generally  insisted  upon,  the  very 
 fact  that  "Elohim,"  a  plural  noun,  was  used  very 
 constantly  with  a  "singular"  verb  to  designate  the 
 Almighty,  makes  it  clear  that  something  more  than 
 unity  was  implied.  We  may  possibly  recognise  the 
 triple  nature  even  of  Jehovah  in  Gen.  xviii.,  where  we 
 are  told  that  the  Lord,  "^J^*,  Jehovah,  appeared  unto 
 Abram  as  three  men,  whom  the  patriarch  addresses  in 
 the  singular,  as  "my  Lord,"  *^"''^:,'^  adonai,  saying, 
 "  Pass  not  away,  I  pray  thee."  Again,  in  verse  9, 
 we  find  "and  they  said,"  which  in  verse  10  becomes 
 "  and  he  said  "  ;  in  verse  16,  "  the  men  rose  up  ;  "  in 
 verse  17,  the  Lord,  ■^J'^*,  Jehovah,  said  "  shall  I  hide," 
 etc.  Inverse  21,  Jehovah  said  "/  will  go  down;" 
 and  verse  22,  "  the  men  turned  their  faces,  but  Abra- 
 ham stood  still  before  Jehovah";  verso  33,  "Jehovah 
 went  His  way."  In  ch.  xix.,  the  two  men  are 
 described  in  verse  1  as  "  angels";  in  verse  13,  they  say, 
 "we  will  destroy  this  place";  and  again,  "Jehovah 
 hath  sent  us  to  destroy,"  etc.  ;  in  verso  15,  "  the 
 tiiKjcU  hastened  Lot  "  ;  in  verse  17,  thei/  speak  as 
 one,  and  in  verse  18,  Lot  addresses  the  ttro  as  one  :^ 
 and  in  verses  21  and  22,  the  two  speak  again  as  one, 
 
 *>*  C'onipnro  Kaal  Siialihiia. 
 «»  KvfH€,  in  the  SijitniiKiut:  Jn-miuc,  in  iLe  Vulpit<v 
 
883 
 
 "See,  I  have  accepted  thee,"  **I  cannot  do  any- 
 thing; """  in  verse  21,  we  find  the  two  are  again  spoken 
 of  as  "  the  Lord,"  '""J'"'',  Jehovah  ;'"'  and  in  verse  29,  we 
 find  "  when  God,  Elohhn,  destroyed  the  cities  of  the 
 plain,"  etc.  Nothing  could  indicate  more  clearly 
 than  this  that  there  was  an  idea  in  the  mind  of  the 
 writer  that  the  Godhead  consisted  of  three  persons, 
 who,  though  they  acted  in  unity,  could  still  detach 
 themselves,  the  one  from  the  two ;  the  first  being 
 considered  as  the  chief,  and  the  other  two  as  depend- 
 ents, companions,  or  angels. 
 
 As  it  must  be  clear  to  the  thoughtful  mind  that 
 the  patriarch  could  not,  by  any  possibility,  have 
 formed  an  idea  of  the  Christian  Trinity,  consisting 
 of  A  Father,  of  a  Son,  who,  though  "begotten  by 
 his  father  before  all  worlds,"  (Nicene  Creed)  was  not 
 manifested  until  "the  fulness  of  time";  and  of 
 a  Holy  SriniT,  the  Lord  and  Giver  of  life  (Nicene 
 Creed),  who  is  as  incomprehensible  as  the  Father,  and 
 the  Son  who  was  "begotten  "  and  "not  made,"  and  yet 
 of  equal  age  with  the  begetter ;  and  as,  moreover,  it 
 would  be  absurd  to  designate  the  destroyers  of  the 
 cities  of  the  plain  as  the  "Saviour  of  the  world," 
 and  "the  Holy  Ghost";  it  behoves  us  to  examine 
 the  idea  of  the  author  of  the  story,  that  describes 
 "  Jehovah  "  as  three  men. 
 
 We  have  seen  in  a  former  page  (Vol.  i.,  p.  79 
 note),  that  when  the  Patriarch  wished  his  servant 
 to  take  a  binding  oath,  he  made  him  place  one  hand 
 upon    the    genital   member  of  the  master,   as  being 
 
 **'  i$aviJiatra,  ivnj<roji<u,  Soptnogint ;  suscf}>{,  non  potcro,  Vnlgato. 
 *•*  Kvp»o«  and  Dominim,  Soptnagint  and  Vnlgato.     I  quote  these  two  versions 
 •B  more  to  l>e  dcix^nded  npou  than  the  pointed  Hebrew  text,  in  which  the  confusion 
 of  singular  aud  plural  is  very  great. 
 
884 
 
 nn  emlilem  of  the  Creator.  In  Dent,  xxiii.  1,"'  we 
 find  that  "the  two  stones  "  are  of  equal  importauco 
 with  the  "  priv)'  memher";  for  the  law,  as  codified 
 therein,  tells  us  that  he  who  was  wounded  in  the  one, 
 or  deprived  of  the  other,  was  not  allowed  even  to 
 enter  the  holy  congregation  ;  i.  r.,  a  man  whose  triad 
 was  imperfect  was  "  an  abomination."  A  farther 
 evidence  of  the  veneration  in  which  this  triple  unity 
 was  held,  is  to  be  met  with  in  Deut.  xxv.  11,  12,"" 
 wherein  we  find  that  a  profane  touch  of  °*^*'^?,  mibu- 
 sh'un,  in  the  plural,  was  to  be  visited  by  cutting  off 
 the  ofleuding  hand,  ^^'o  find  again  in  Lev.  xxi.  20, 
 that  even  a  member  of  the  holy  family  of  Aaron  can- 
 not bo  allowed  to  bo  a  priest  if  "he  hath  his  stones 
 broken." 
 
 We  cannot  conceive  that  the  Almighty  God  would 
 be  represented '  as  regarding  these  parts  with  such 
 esteem  ;  nor,  except  we  believe  that  He  dictated  the 
 laws  given  in  Leviticus  or  Deuteronomy,  can  we 
 allow  that  He  would  examine  a  man's  masculine 
 condition  ere  he  was  allowed  to  worship ;  unless  the 
 parts  in  question  were  considered  as  emblematic  of 
 the  Creator,  the  tria  jiincta  in  vno,  the  "  trinity  in 
 unity."  That  this  triad  was  held  in  mysterious  esteem 
 in  the  religion  of  many  countries  is  undoubted.  It 
 is  so  now  in  India.  We  have  already  shown  (Vol.  i.. 
 Chaps,  viii.  and  xi.),  that  the  trinity  in  Assyria  was 
 ever  associated  with  u  virgin  goddess,  which  made 
 up  the  four  great  gods,   arha-'il ;  and  (Vol.  i.,  Chap. 
 
 '"  "  IIo  thitt  u  vonudcd  in  the  stonof,  or  batb  hiit  privy  member  cat  ofT,  Bball 
 not  enter  into  tbo  ronRTP^ation  of  tbo  Lord." 
 
 ■■  "  Wbcii  mtn  nlrivo  logctb<r,  one  with  another,  and  tho  wife  of  the  one 
 drawi'tb  lu-nr  for  to  drliviT  h<r  biiHband  out  of  the  hand  of  biui  thnl  uraitrth  him, 
 and  palt<th  forth  hor  hand,  and  talcoth  bini  by  tho  hvcret*;  tbcu  thon  kh.ill  rnt 
 off  her  baud,  tbinc  eye  vball  not  pity  her.' 
 
885 
 
 ii.)  that  two  equilateral  triangles  have  heen  used 
 from  time  immemorial,  in  the  East,  as  typical  of  the 
 union  of  the  sexes  in  creation. 
 
 When  we  pursue  the  question  by  reference  to 
 ancient  gems,  we  find  that  the  triad,  under  one  or 
 other  forms,  is  introduced  in  such  a  manner  that 
 none  can  doubt  its  symbolic  meaning.  Many  of  these 
 are  copied  in  Plates  V.  to  VIII.  For  corroboration,  I 
 would  refer  the  inquirer  to  Maffei's  Gemme  Antiche 
 Jigurate,  vol.  ii.,  pi.  xi.,  xv.,  xxxvii.,  Ixxv.  ;  page  217, 
 figs.  2,  4,  7,  9 ;  vol.  iii.,  pi.  iii.,  viii.,  xxv.,  xli.,  Ixix., 
 Ixx.,  Ixxiii.     See  also  Pine  Cone,  sujjra. 
 
 I  have  now  before  me  the  impression  of  a  gnostic 
 gem,  which  is  in  the  possession  of  a  Liverpool  gentle- 
 man, whereon  are  to  be  seen  the  body  and  arms  of  a 
 man  extended  as  in  crucifixion.  The  thighs,  legs, 
 and  feet  are  those  of  a  cock ;  above  the  shoulders  we 
 see  a  triad,  consisting  of  the  cock's  head  in  the 
 centre,  on  the  left  (or  right  in  the  seal),  a  human 
 head,  as  if  representing  Mercury  capped ;  and  on  the 
 right  (or  left)  is  apparently  a  turkey's  head  and  neck. 
 Above  the  whole  are  the  characters  0  n  >:}:  or  ^i , 
 Fig.  75.    R.  P.   Knight  gives  (plate  x., 
 
 fig.   1),  a  copy  of  an    ancient 
 
 medal   of    Apollonia,    marked 
 
 with  the  name    of   Apollo,   in 
 
 which  the  triad  is  seen  under 
 
 the  same  form  as  that  which 
 the  trinity  assumes  in  our  churches  (see  Fig.  75), 
 there  being  scarcely  a  church  without  some  such 
 ornament  as  Fig.  76,  at  the  end  of  some  pedestal, 
 near  the  pulpit,  reading  desk,  or  communion  rail,  etc. 
 The  trinity  of  the  ancients  being,  then,  unques- 
 tionably  of    phallic  origin,    the    next  point   for   the 
 
886 
 
 theologian  to  discuss  is  the  method  by  which  the  idea 
 entered  the  Christian  Church.  The  first  thing  which 
 strikes  us  is,  that  the  word  triad,  or  trinity, 
 never  occurs  in  the  whole  of  the  two  Testaments; 
 nor  is  there  one  single  text,  even  in  the  New  (the 
 verses,  1  John  v.  7,  8,  having  been  interpolated  into 
 the  epistle  of  that  Evangelist  some  centuries  after 
 Christ),  which  would  give  to  an  individual  any  know- 
 ledge of  the  existence  of  a  Christian  trinity,  provided 
 that  he  had  no  idea  of  it  beforehand.  The  doctrine, 
 therefore,  such  as  it  is,  must  have  been  adopted  from 
 theologians  outside  the  pale  of  Christ,  and  quite  inde- 
 pendently of  the  writings  of  the  Evangelists  and 
 the  Apostles.  ^\Tien  once  adopted,  it  has  been 
 bolstered  up  by  the  forcible  application  of  words  found 
 in  the  Bible  to  other  than  their  natural  sonse.'^ 
 
 I  have  not  yet  met  any  one,  lay  or  clerical, 
 whether  simply  pious,  unlearned,  and  ignorant,  or 
 profoundly  learned,  as  well  as  religiously  devout,  who 
 is  able  to  explain  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity,  as  it 
 is  held  or  propounded  in  the  Anglican  Church.     The 
 
 **•  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  been  enabled  to  procure  a  copy  of  Maurice's 
 Indian  Antiquities,  wherein  ia  to  be  found  n  dissertation  on  the  "Pagan  Triads  of 
 Deity."  In  it  he  shows,  tolerably  distinctly,  that  a  triple  godhead  has  been  recog- 
 nised in  very  ancient  times,  and  among  very  distant  nations.  He  describes  what 
 he  calls  the  Trinity  of  Kgjpt,  of  the  Ori)hic  HjTunf",  of  the  Persians,  of  the  Hin- 
 doos; that  discoverable  in  Thibi  t  and  Tiirtarj*,  in  Scandinavia,  in  China,  in  Japan, 
 and  oven  in  America.  In  addition  to  this  ho  introduces  some  copies  of  ancient 
 gems,  in  which  an  individual  with  three  heads  is  figured ;  and  in  the  frontispiece  of 
 Tol.  v.,  there  is  one  verj-  rcniarkablo  copy  of  a  stjituctte,  which  is  described  as 
 Trigla,  the  Cii.'rmau  1  >iana.  It  consists  of  a  nude  female,  having  throe  heads,  of 
 which  the  central  one  appears  to  be  male.  Few  can  I'ead  Maurices  remarks  with- 
 out recognising  the  fact  that  the  idea  of  a  triple  Creator  has  Ixcn  extensively 
 adopted ;  hut  few  can  adopt  bis  conclusion,  that  this  idea  was  revealed  to  primitive 
 man  by  the  Almighty.  That  it  has  been  adopted  by  all,  in  consequence  of  an 
 observation  patent  to  ever)'  observer,  is  fur  more  j>robable.  It  would  bo  a  much 
 more  rational  asHtrtion  than  Mr.  .Maunc)''s,  to  say  that  the  idea  of  the  trinity  has 
 been  co-exlensive  with  the  use  of  the  mide  organ  as  an  emblem  of  the  Creator. 
 
 To  indicate  the  extent  of  this  idea  aniongxt  Pagan  and  C'hriHiinn  nations,  wo 
 ■ubjoin  copies  of  the  symbol  from  Itreek  and  Homan  gems,  from  Hindoo  sources,  and 
 from  modem  cccloHiasUcal  onutmontii.    Hee  PI.  V.,  VI.,  VII..  VIII.    'i  lie  read<r  will 
 
887 
 
 attempts  which  have  been  made,  in  such  effusions  a 
 the  Athanasian  Creed,'''  may  be  described  as  "  darken- 
 
 Fignre  77. 
 
 Figure  78. 
 
 find  that  many  of  the  figures  consist  of  the  triad  alone,  e.  r/.,  PI.  V.,  figs.  5, 13, 18, 
 and  PI.  Vn.,  fig.  1,  10,  PI.  VIU.,  figs.  16,  19,  32.    See  also  Plato  VI.    Other  figures 
 
 consist  of  four  triads 
 arranged  as  a  cross, 
 c.  jr.,  PI.  VI.,  figs.  2,  3, 
 PI.  VII.,  fig.  7.  In 
 others,  the  trinity  is 
 united  with  the  unity. 
 The  most  remarkable 
 is  fig.  4,  PI.  VI.,  which 
 the  artist  has  been  com- 
 pelled to  modernise. 
 The  original  is  gold, 
 and  was  found  near 
 Naples.  It  is  remark- 
 ably similar  to  the  Eo- 
 man  Catholic  cross,  PI. 
 Vn.,fig.-4,  in  which  both 
 the  linga  and  the  yoni 
 are  conventionalised. 
 PI.  VI.,  figs.  7,  9,  PI. 
 VII.,  figs.  2,  5,  PI.  Vm.,  figs.  8, 9,  symbolise  the  same  idea. 
 In  Fig.  77,  a  Komish  Confessor  bears  the  crux  ansata 
 instead  of  the  simple  pallium  ;  whilst  in  Fig.  78,  the 
 Hindoo  Devi  bears  the  lotus,  which  has  a  similar  signifiation. 
 
 I  must  also  call  the  reader's  attention  to  an  exceedingly  interesting  book,  by 
 S.  Shaq)C,  entitled  Egyptian  Mytlwlogii  and  Egyp- 
 tian Christianity,  pp.  116  (J.  E.  Smith,  London, 
 1863),  wherein  ho  distinctly  demonstrates  that  the 
 modern  notions  of  the  trinity  have  entered  into 
 Christendom  from  Egyptian  sources,  a.  d.  379.  It 
 was  originally  my  intention  to  have  quoted  largely 
 from  his  pages,  but  the  small  space  at  my  disposal 
 prohibits  me. 
 
 In  a  privately  printed  work,  entitled  Aphrodisiacs  and  Anti-aphrodisiacs,  by 
 John  Davenport  (London,  1869),  there  is  a  very  remarkable  figure  of  Osiris,  de- 
 picted with  three  heads.  He  stands,  nude,  between  two  obelises,  and  has  a  circle, 
 apparently  a  leafy  garland,  behind  his  legs.  The  Osiris  symbol  is  too  strongly 
 marked  to  enable  us  to  copy  the  print. 
 
 In  a  media3val  book  again,  called  Tlypwitomachia  of  Polyphile,  1499,  written 
 by  an  old  monk,  with  a  view  to  interweave  ancient  legends  with  modem  notions, 
 Hermes  and  Hennai  are  represented  with  triple  heads  at  the  top  of  the  pillar,  and 
 the  phallic  triad  in  the  usual  place. 
 
 2.15  It  is  quite  unnecessa)-y  to  enter  into  the  history  of  the  Creed  called  by  the 
 name  of  Athanasius,  or  indeed  to  speak  of  the  Aposdes'  and  Nicene  Creeds.  Theii- 
 historical  and  doctrinal  worthlcssness  are  well  L-nown  to  scholars.  Even  had  they 
 emanated  from  the  sources  to  which  they  are  popularly  traced,  they  would  not,  in 
 our  estimation,  have  any  additional  value. 
 
 Figure  79. 
 
888 
 
 ing  counsel  with  words  without  knowledge,"  or  as 
 increasing  obscurity  by  confusion.      There  is,  there- 
 fore a  priori  reason  to  conclude  that  the  true  meaning 
 of   the    symbolic   trinity   has,    in    these   later  times, 
 never  been  even  suspected.     It  is  possible  that  some 
 knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  triad  may  be  preserved 
 iu  the   See   of  Rome,   where   the   Virgin   has   been 
 installed   to   the  fourth  place  in   the    arha  11 ;    but, 
 if  so,  the  secret  has  been  profoundly  kept  from  the 
 unlearned.      It   would  be  well  if   our  own  Church, 
 recognising  the  pagan  origin  of  the  doctrine  in  ques- 
 tion,   should   cease   to   insist   upon   its   adoption    so 
 pertinaciously  as  it  does,  and  should  act  as  if  it  knew 
 that  individuals  may  be  taught  their  duty  to  God  and 
 man,  without  a  belief  in  all  those  minute  points  of 
 doctrine  which  have   distracted    Christendom  in  all 
 ages,  and  have  often  converted  the  so-calk-d  messen- 
 gers   of   the    Prince  of  Peace  into  incarnate  fiends, 
 who  revel  in  reviling,  in  making  religion  cannibalistic, 
 and  in  feasting  their  cj-es  upon  the  tortures  of  gentle 
 maidens,  and  devout  or  priestly  men.     liut   we  fear 
 that,  so  long  as  hierarchs  are  men,  it  will  bo  found 
 much  easier  to  uphold  a  dogma   by  force  of  arms, 
 or  by  sophistry,  than  to   live  a  godly  life.     It  is  far 
 easier  to  punish  another  than  to  reform  oneself,  and 
 it  is  far  pleasanter  to  his  brethren  to   excommuni- 
 cato a  bishop  than  to  refute  his  reasoning.      Even 
 the   laity,  who  do  not  generally  allow  themselves  to 
 indulge  in  s])ite  as  theologians  do,  sometimes  find  it 
 more  consonant  with  their  religion  to  knock  down 
 an   astute   doctrinal  opponent  than   to  reply  to  his 
 arguments.      We  cannot  wonder,  therefore,  that  great 
 saints,    like    Atbauasius,    should    indulge    in    calling 
 their  adversaries  devils,    doge,    beetles,  etc.,  or  that 
 
889 
 
 Cyril  should  indulge  in  the  murder  of  Hypatia,  and 
 that   Calvin   should   burn    Servetus  joyously.      God 
 ordains   that   murder   shall   not  be  committed;    the 
 Church  invokes  His  aid  to  slaughter  her  adversaries, 
 and  claims  His  commendation  for  having  done  so ! 
 TsABEANisM,  a  name  given  to  a  study  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
 with  a  view  to  understand  their  movements,  and  the 
 apparent  influence  which  they  exercise  over  the  aflairs 
 of  earth ;  but  with   an  ulterior  purpose  of   making 
 them    the    subjects    of    adoration,    and    the    means 
 whereby    a    knowledge    of    future     events    may    be 
 deduced,  and  the  fortunes  of  individuals  or  of  king- 
 doms  foreseen   and   described.       See    Daniel   ii.    2 
 iv.  6,  7. 
 
 Though  an  investigation  into  this  subject  is  forced 
 upon  the  notice  of  every  student  of  ancient  faiths,  yet 
 we  are  repelled  from  it  frequently  by  the  difficulties 
 with  which  it  is  surrounded.  These  difficulties  are 
 consequent  upon  the  absence  of  direct  facts,  of  written 
 records,  and  of  sculptured  remains,  which  might  tell 
 us  either  of  the  origin  or  of  the  spread  of  astrono- 
 mical observations  in  very  early  times.  When  direct 
 evidence  fails,  the  inquirer  has  recourse  to  indirect 
 testimony,  and  draws  his  conclusions  from  such  facts 
 as  appear  to  be  substantiated. 
 
 In  collecting  our  witnesses,  we  may,  I  think, 
 fairly  place  in  the  foreground  the  apparent  fact,  that 
 astronomical  science  has  not  been  cultivated  amongst 
 the  aborigines  of  America,  and  that  it  has  never,  even 
 in  England,  been  generally  taught  in  our  schools  as 
 a  part  of  a  commercial  or  agricultural  education. ^^^   We 
 
 236  F.erguson,  the  shepherd,  worked  ont  a  system  of  astronomy  for  himself. 
 That  he  stands  alone,  amongst  the  sheep  tenders  of  Europe,  is  a  good  proof  that 
 such  inquirers  are  rare. 
 
890 
 
 may  even  go  farther,  and  say  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
 heavenly  bodies  was  not  cultivated  in  civilised  Europe 
 for  many  hundred  years,  and  that,  when  Galileo  and 
 others  prosecuted  astronomical  studies,  they  were  in 
 every  way  discouraged.  Hence  we  infer  that  know- 
 ledge of  the  stars  is  not  cultivated  by  the  savage,  nor 
 yet  by  the  agriculturalist,  as  a  necessary  part  of  their 
 existence. 
 
 Again,  I  think  we  may  affirm,  without  fear  of 
 contradiction,  that,  in  the  early  Vedic  period  of 
 Hiudooism,  before  the  Brahmins  or  the  priestly  caste 
 had  asserted  their  superiority  over  the  warriors,  astro- 
 nomy, or  a  reverence  for  the  heavenly  host,  was 
 known  to  both  the  castes.  For  example,  in  the 
 Mdha  Bhnrata  (Il'tstorjf  of  India  from  the  earliest 
 a(je8,  by  J.  Tall)oys  Wheeler,  8vo,  pp.  576,  Triibner  & 
 Co.,  London,  1867),  we  find  that  a  Brahman  pre- 
 ceptor, named  Drona,  instructed  Kanravas  and  Pan- 
 davas  in  arms  and  sciences,  e.  ff.,  the  use  of  the 
 spear,  wisdom  and  goodness,  the  use  of  the  bow,  the 
 use  of  the  club,  the  art  of  taming  and  managing 
 horses,  the  use  of  the  sword,  and  a  perfect  knowledge 
 of  astro)ioniii  (p.  7/5) ;  and  we  find  (p.  207,)  that  Saha- 
 deva  was  engaged  by  a  Baja  to  cast  nativities  and 
 tell  fortunes,  "because  he  had  leanied  astronomy  from 
 Drona."  As  far  as  can  be  judged  from  insufficient 
 evidence,  this  Veda  describes  a  period  when  the  Aryans 
 had  just  arrived  in  IlindosUm;  consccjuently  we  must 
 infer  that  Drona  the  teacher  had  brought  the  know- 
 ledge with  him  from  the  regions  which  the  people 
 had  loft. 
 
 It  is  doubtful  whether  the  early  Eg^'ptians  had  a 
 knowledge  of  astronomy,  beyond  its  very  rudiments. 
 That  they  were  acquainted  with  it  at  a  late  jKriod  of 
 
891 
 
 their  history,  we  have  no  difficulty  iu  affirming. 
 Whether  the  apparent  knowledge  at  this  last  period 
 was  self-acquired  or  imported,  may  be  disputed.  I 
 incline  to  the  belief  that  it  was  introduced  from  with- 
 out, from  the  infrequency  of  references  to  celestial 
 phenomena  in  sculptures  and  painting,  and  to  the 
 ram  being  sacred  rather  than  the  bull. 
 
 That  the  Babylonians  were  observant  of  astro- 
 nomy at  a  very  early  period,  the  readings  given  to  the 
 world  by  Eawlinson  and  others  abundantly  show. 
 One  of  the  earliest  built  edifices  in  Babylon  seems  to 
 have  been  erected  to  the  seven  planets  ;  and,  even  at 
 that  period,  peculiar  powers  had  been  assigned  to 
 them.  There  is,  moreover,  scarcely  an  engraved  gem 
 extant,  which  does  not  bear  testimony  to  the  existence 
 of  a  reverence  for  one  or  more  of  the  heavenly  host. 
 
 We  must  now  call  attention  to  a  statement  made 
 by  Rawlinson,  to  which  we  have  before  alluded 
 (Vol.  I.,  p.  615),  viz.,  "  The  proofs  of  a  Vedic,  or,  at 
 any  rate,  of  an  Arian,  influence  on  the  early  mytho- 
 logy of  Babylon appear  to  me  to  be  of  the  very 
 
 highest  interest,  and,  in  many  cases,  to  be  of  un- 
 doubted authenticity."  This  leads  us  to  the  inference 
 that  the  Aryans  and  Chaldees  were  in  some  degree 
 neighbours  at  one  period ;  and  we  may  conceive  that 
 either  the  one  or  the  other  were  the  patrons  or  inven- 
 tors of  Astronomy.  Following  this  faint  clue,  we 
 next  inquire  into  what  may  be  called  the  develop- 
 ments of  stellar  philosophy  amongst  the  Vedic  race, 
 when  they  entered  India,  and  amongst  the  settled 
 Babylonians.  To  solve  this  question,  the  only  avail- 
 able evidence  is  the  apparent  fact  that  only  one  man, 
 "  Drona,"  taught  the  science  of  astronomy,  and  only 
 one   man,   Sahadeva,  learned  it  at  the  court  of  the 
 
892 
 
 Rfljah  commemorated  in  the  Mahahharata,  and  that 
 the  last  only  exercised  the  art  to  cast  nativities  and 
 foretell  the  future.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Baby- 
 lon we  have  evidence  of  structures  built  apparently 
 for  a  definite  purpose,  and  in  honour  of  the  planets, 
 quite  independent  of  them  as  ministers  or  controllers 
 of  fate. 
 
 When  we  attempt  to  ascertain  the  most  probable 
 date  of  the  first  astronomical  observation  in  Babylon, 
 we  find  that  it  is  as  remote  as  at  least  four  thousand 
 years  from  the  present  time,  and  probably  a  few 
 hundreds  more.  Of  the  time  when  Egyptians  and 
 Babylonians  first  came  in  contact,  wo  are  ignorant ; 
 but  there  is  reason  to  believe,  from  remains  of  Egjp- 
 tian  art  found  in  Mesopotamia,  that  there  was  some 
 intercommunication  between  the  dwellers  on  the 
 Nile  and  on  the  Euphrates  at  an  early  period.  But 
 the  dearth,  if  not  the  positive  absence,  of  Assyrian 
 remains  in  Egypt,  is  very  difficult  to  explain. 
 
 Wo  next  notice  that  the  early  Hebrew  l»ooks 
 do  not  indicate  any  acquisition  of  astronomical 
 knowledge  from  Tyre,  Sidon,  or  Egypt.  Solomon, 
 whose  wife  was  of  Egjptian  origin,  spake,  as  we  are 
 told,  of  trees,  beasts,  fowl,  creeping  things,  and 
 fishes,  but  not  of  the  starry  heavens  (1  Kings  iv.  33). 
 Moses,  who  is  reported  to  have  learned  all  the  science 
 of  Egj-pt,  held  stargazing  in  abomination  (Dent.  iv. 
 10).  On  the  other  hand,  we  find  that  the  Jews  under 
 Manasseh,  and  the  Israelites  at  an  earlier  period, 
 adopted  Tsabeanism  from  the  Babylonians;  or,  at  any 
 rate,  began  to  adore  the  hosts  of  heaven  after  they 
 had  become  actjuainted  with  the  liabyloninns  and 
 Assyrians.       All    this    jjoiiit^^    ♦"    tlie    idea    that   the 
 
893 
 
 Chaldees  adopted  astronomy  as  a  science  before  the 
 dwellers  by  the  Nile. 
 
 We  are  able  to  fortify  this  deduction  by  another 
 consideration.  The  position  of  the  sun  in  the 
 heavens  at  the  time  of  the  vernal  equinox  has  ever 
 been  regarded  with  reverence  by  astrologers.  It  is 
 at  present  in  Pisces;  and  Jesus,  who  appears  by 
 many  to  be  considered  as  an  avatar,  or  incarna- 
 tion of  the  Deity,  manifested  in  consequence  of  the 
 apparent  change  of  the  sun  from  one  zodiacal  sign  to 
 the  other,  is  therefore  designated  Ix^vg,  ichthus,  *'the 
 fish."  But,  prior  to  his  time,  the  sun  at  the  vernal 
 equinox  was  in  Aries,  the  ram ;  and  this  is  the  creature 
 which  received  divine  honours  in  Egypt  in  the  histori- 
 cal period.  Prior  to  that  of  the  Eam,  the  sun  was  in 
 the  sign  of  the  Bull,  and  this  was  the  animal  chiefly 
 adored,  worshipped,  or  respected,  in  Babylon  and 
 Assyria.  In  round  numbers,  the  sun  entered  Taurus 
 4,500  years  ago. 
 
 Having  traced  Tsabeanism  thus  far,  we  endeavour 
 to  follow  it  farther.  In  doing  this,  we  condense 
 the  words  of  Dulaure  (Histoire  ahregee  cle  diffcrens 
 Cultes,  Paris,  1825).  It  is  clear  that  the  sun 
 would  be  at  the  vernal  equinox  in  the  sign  of  Ge- 
 mini, or  the  twins,  if  at  that  period  the  zodiacal 
 signs  were  recognised  and  named.  Now  this  con- 
 stellation, it  is  conceived,  was  called  Gemini,  because 
 it  represented  the  day  and  the  night  as  being  equal, 
 Hke  twins;  and  it  is  probable  that  at  the  same 
 epoch  the  autumnal  equinox  was,  in  like  manner, 
 indicated  by  the  balance  held  evenly  in  the  hand. 
 It  certainly  does  seem  more  likely  that  the  sun  was 
 in  Gemini  than    in    Taurus,  when   the   first  astro- 
 
894 
 
 nomical  scheme  known  to  us  was  designed.  If  so,  it 
 is  probable  that  the  summer  solstice  was  marked  by 
 the  Lion ;  the  harvest  would  be  marked  by  an  ear  of 
 wheat;  subsequently  Ceres,  the  Virf(in,  carrying  it,  or 
 an  infant.  The  winter  solstice  was  appropriately  marked 
 by  a  water  jar;  then,  after  the  cessation  of  the  winter 
 rains,  "the  Ram  "  would  indicate  the  return  of  goats, 
 etc.,  to  the  mountain  pastures,  whilst  "the  Bull "  would 
 indicate  the  time  for  ploughing,  or  otherwise  preparing 
 the  soil  for  seed,  and  for  sowing  gi-ain.  But  it  is 
 conceived  that,  ere  the  scheme  thus  drawn  up  became 
 generally  known,— and  any  one  who  has  ever  studied  the 
 number  of  years  which  pass  away  before  the  inventions 
 of  one  or  two  men  become  known  to  or  adopted  by  the 
 many,  wiW  naturally  understand  that  the  period  covered 
 by  this  dissemination  of  knowledge  would  be  a  long 
 one,  —  the  sun  had  entered  the  sign  of  the  Bull. 
 When  this  change  was  effected,  it  would  be  clear  that 
 the  scheme  on  which  the  other  signs  of  the  Zodiac  had 
 been  named  would  be  disturbed.  To  remedy  this,  it 
 was  thought  advisable  to  suppress  a  sign  between  "the 
 Twins"  and  "the  Lion."  This  would  involve  the 
 necessity  for  a  void  between  "the  Water-jar"  and  "the 
 Ram,"  which  was  filled  l)y  the  sign  of"  the  Fish,"  sup- 
 plemental to  that  of  "  the  Water-jar."  The  three  signs 
 unchanged  were  "the  Twins,"  "the  Bull,"  and  "the 
 Ram."  This  extremely  ingenious  speculation  of 
 Dulaure  would  lead  us  to  date  the  birth  of  Astro- 
 nomy n.  c.  2234.  The  period  thus  arrived  at  does  not 
 materially  clash  with  that  of  the  presumed  building 
 of  Babylon  about  a  century  earlier. 
 
 Yet  even  a  discrepancy  of  a  hundred  years  in 
 clironolog)-  is  a  serious  gap,  and  requires  a  word  or  two 
 in  explanation.     Wo  meet  the  subject  by  remarking 
 
 \ 
 
895 
 
 that  *  knowledge '  often,  we  do  not  like  to  say  always, 
 precedes  '  power.'  We  can,  for  example,  point  in  our 
 own  annals  to  Alfred,  who  in  our  opinion  was  the  wisest 
 monarch  in  ancient  England  ;  yet  we  cannot  discover 
 any  powerful  city  which  he  built.  Oxford,  which  is 
 said  to  have  been  founded  by  him,  was  without  repu- 
 tation for  many  centuries.  Archimedes,  Thales, 
 Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle  propagated  knowledge  long 
 ere  their  views  were  adopted  by  a  potentate.  Even  to 
 this  day  the  authors  of  many  important  inventions 
 are  not  known.  As  many  hundred  years  elapsed 
 between  the  first  idea  of  electricity  and  the  application 
 of  that  force  to  telegraphy,  so  we  can  conceive  that 
 many  a  century  may  have  passed  away  between  the 
 invention  of  the  Zodiac  by  an  astronomer,  and  the 
 utilisation  of  that  discovery  by  priest,  king,  or 
 magus.     (Vide  supra,  pp.  233,  4.) 
 
 Of  the  gradual  development  of  "coincidences" 
 into  ''influences,"  of  "  influences  "  into  "angels,"  of 
 "angels  "into  "deities,"  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak. 
 He  who  has  ever  seen  the  caricature  of  a  school-boy 
 destroying  a  barometer,  because  its  index  pointed  to 
 "much  rain,"  can  easily  understand  how  such  planets 
 as  those  called  Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  and  the  like 
 came  to  be  regarded  as  indicators  of  the  designs 
 existent  in  the  Creator's  mind.  The  Romanism  of 
 to-day  venerates  the  emblems  of  her  divinities,  under 
 such  signs  as  images,  crosses,  circles,  stoles,  vest- 
 ments of  certain  shape,  etc. ;  the  Paganism  of  the  past 
 did  precisely  the  same ;  and  there  is  no  one  essential 
 difi'erence  between  Tsabeanism  and  Papism,  except  in 
 the  names  appropriated  to  the  various  objects  of  ado- 
 ration. 
 
 "When  the  course  of  the  solar  and  lunar  orbs  had 
 
896 
 
 been  detormined,  it  was  vcrj*  natural  that  the  course  of 
 the  other  planets  should  be  determined  likewise,  and  we 
 can  well  imagine  that  the  astronomers  in  ancient  days 
 proceeded  upon  a  jilau  similar  to  that  adojitcd  by  their 
 modern  descendants.  They  iirst  made  a  map  of  the 
 stars,  and  then  grouped  them  in  figures,  so  as  to  aid 
 their  memory,  and  to  be  able  to  designate  them  to 
 their  sons,  dau^ditt-rs,  or  other  students,  to  whom 
 the  art  of  astronomy  was  taught.  Having  then  a 
 chart  of  the  fixed  stars,  it  was  easy  to  define  upon 
 them  tlie  tracks  of  the  planets.  Again ;  when  the 
 course  of  the  wanderers  of  the  sky  was  known,  it  is 
 probable,  though  we  can  have  no  certainty  on  the  sub- 
 ject, that  some  means  were  adopted  to  record  the 
 position  of  the  planets  in  relation  to  the  constellations 
 whenever  any  event  of  great  importance  occurred, 
 such  as  an  earthquake,  a  battle,  followed  by  victory  or 
 defeat,  the  birth  of  a  king's  son,  the  marriage  of  the 
 heir  or  of  the  daughter  of  the  monarch,  the  death  of 
 the  ruler,  and  the  like,  ^^^len  experience  had  accu- 
 mulated, and  seemed  to  have  demonstrated,  that  the 
 appearance  of  one  or  other  of  the  planets  in  a  parti- 
 cular constellation  was  a  herald  of  good  tidings  or  bad 
 news ;  it  may  have  been  discussed  as  an  open  ques- 
 tion, whether  the  planet  or  the  group  of  stars  had  the 
 greatest  infiuence  in  bringing  on  the  occurrence. 
 Some  astrologers  would  take  one  view  of  the  subject, 
 and  others  an  opposite  one  ;  just  as  two  doctors  of 
 medicine,  in  modern  times,  may  come  to  opposite  con- 
 clusions from  the  examination  of  one  fact. 
 
 As  the  knowledge  of  astronomy  spread,  the  art  of 
 the  astrologer  became  more  popular,  and,  with  a 
 love  of  the  mar\ellouH,  a  desire  to  read  the  future, 
 and  to  get  another  to  do  for  uh  what  we  ought  to  do 
 
897 
 
 for  ourselves,  the  people  generally,  from  the  king  to 
 the  slave,  believed  in  the  influence  of  the  stars. 
 Then  every  child  that  was  born  had  his  fortune  told, 
 his  fate  being  indicated  by  the  constellation  -which 
 was  in  the  ascendant  at  the  moment  of  his  birth;  and, 
 as  Landseer  in  his  Sabean  researches  shows,  it  is 
 probable  that  he  was  furnished  with  a  sculptured  stone 
 for  a  signet,  which  indicated  the  particular  planet,  or 
 constellation,  under  whose  tutelar  care  the  individual 
 was  placed.  We  see,  indeed,  at  the  present  day,  a 
 relic  of  this  custom  in  Paj)al  countries,  in  which 
 every  individual  is  placed  under  the  particular  care  of 
 one  or  other  saint,  the  Christianised  representatives  of 
 the  sun,  moon,  planets,  constellations,  etc. 
 
 When  any  superstition  has  a  firm  hold  on  the 
 popular  mind,  there  is  a  sort  of  tacit  invitation  held 
 out  to  astute  or  designing  priests  to  multiply  the 
 objects  of  credulous  reverence  to  the  utmost.  We  have 
 seen  this  done  in  the  Eoman  branch  of  the  Christian 
 church,  and  how  the  devout,  who  read  in  St,  Paul 
 that  it  is  lawful  to  regard  all  days  alike  (Eom.  xiv. 
 5,  6),  may  find  in  modern  almanacs  that  there  are 
 some  dozens  of  saints'  days  in  the  calendar,  all  of 
 which  demand  a  special  service  and  reverence,  as  well 
 as  the  Sundays,  great  holidays,  and  fast  days.  In 
 like  manner,  festivals  and  days  of  mourning  were 
 multiplied  amongst  those  who  reverenced  the  stars. 
 Stories  were  invented  about  the  individuals  named 
 as  constellations,  just  as  Eoman  ecclesiastics  first 
 invent  a  name  for  a  saint,  and  then  fabricate  a 
 marvellous  history  of  him  or  her.  Thus  the  lovely 
 star,  which  at  morn  or  eve  is  still  the  object  of  chiefest 
 admiration,  was  probably  called  by  some  name  signi- 
 fying "beauty,"  or  "brightness,"  e.g.,  inn,  Hadar, 
 
 LLL 
 
898 
 
 nin,  Ilod,  nv,  Japhcli,  nxi'D,  March,  Dy:,  Xoam,  1X9, 
 Paar,  '3V,  Zcbi,  which  might,  when  used  in  cognomens, 
 such,  for  example,  as  Mary,  refer  to  loveliness  in 
 the  abstract,  or  in  the  star,  or  in  the  individual  woman 
 or  man.  Then,  when  the  star  had  received  the 
 names  of  Noam,  Hadar,  Japheh,  MmiAii  or  Mary, 
 tales  would  be  invented  about  a  charming  woman,  who 
 was  a  model  of  perfect  chastity,  like  Diana,  a  model 
 of  learning  and  wisdom,  like  Minerva,  a  model 
 of  maternal  affection,  hke  Ceres,  or  a  model  of  law- 
 less love,  like  Venus. 
 
 Again,  the  dark  red  planet,  which  still  reminds  us 
 of  blood,  would  receive  some  such  name  as  uia,  Adam, 
 or  Edom,  or  "lOn,  Ilamar  =  'red,'  or  po,  Maratz,  '  he 
 is  forcible,  or  grievous ;  '  and  then  these  names 
 would  be  regarded  as  representing  a  person,  who 
 might  be  painted  simply  as  a  warrior,  as  a  conqueror, 
 or  as  a  soldier  indulging  in  unbridled  licentious- 
 ness. 
 
 Reverence,  then,  for  the  planets  and  constellations 
 came  to  be  inseparable  from  veneration  for  the  indivi- 
 duals who  were  identified  with  each  of  them,  and 
 Tsabeanism  became  synonymous  with  idolatry  to  such 
 an  extent,  that  it  was  impossible  to  separate  them. 
 We  sec  the  relationship  readily  enough  by  means  of 
 those  researches  with  which  Max  Muller  is  associated. 
 Ho  tells  us  how  the  Arj'an  **  Varuna,"  *'  the  sky," 
 ultimately  became  an  individual  covered  with  eyes,  in 
 HiudoHtau;  and  "Ouranos,"  or  "  Uranus,"  the  old  man, 
 the  father  of  all  things,  in  Greece;  and  how  l>ijau6 
 and  Dyu  became  Zeus  and  Ju-piter,  thus  making,  as 
 it  were,  many  distinct  individuals  of  one  "  abstrac- 
 tion." 
 
 The  proponsity  to  weavo  Htories  respecting  uamcri 
 
899 
 
 which  were  originally  the  expression  of  such  abstract 
 ideas  as  'high,'  'bright/  'shining,'  'gibbous,'  'hot,' 
 'beautiful,'  and  the  like,  has  filled  literature  with 
 stories,  respecting  which  the  acutest  minds  are  unde- 
 cided whether  to  call  them  pure  fictions  and  mytholo- 
 gical inventions,  or  legends  founded  upon  fact.  Ovid's 
 Metamorphoses  are  full  of  such  tales,  which  task  our 
 ingenuity  to  the  utmost  ere  we  can  frame  even  an 
 approximate  distinction  between  what  is  fact  and  what 
 is  wholly  fiction.  Our  own  Bible  also  abounds  with 
 mythological  fictions,  which  are  equally  puzzling.  For 
 example,  "  the  high,"  or  "the  high  one,"  is  expressed 
 by  t^''N,  ish,  feminine  n^'X,  ishah,  and  by,  al.  Hence 
 the  Almighty  is  depicted  at  one  time  as  a  man, 
 enjoying  a  cool  garden,  talking  and  eating,  etc.  ;  at 
 another  as  a  mighty  hero,  "the  lord  of  hosts,"  "a 
 man  of  war,"  etc. 
 
 Then  "bright,"  or  "brightness,"  is  mx,  «r,  and 
 "gibbous,"  or  "the  gibbous  one,"  is  rrw,  sharah.  If, 
 then,  we  say  the  high  father  and  mother  who  dwell  in 
 brightness  were  the  progenitors  of  Israel,  we  say,  in 
 other  words,  Abram  and  Sarah  came  from  Ur,  and 
 became  the  heads  of  the  house  of  Judah.  To  such 
 an  extent  is  there  the  appearance  of  mythological  fic- 
 tion in  the  Old  Testament,  that  Sir  W.  Drummond, 
 in  a  work  entitled  CEd'qnis  Judaicus,  endeavoured  to 
 demonstrate  the  exclusively  astronomical  basis  of  the 
 older  parts  of  Jewish  history. 
 
 My  investigations  hitherto  have  led  me  to  the  con- 
 clusion that  there  was  no  Tsabeanism  amongst  the 
 Hebrews  until  they  came  into  contact  with  the  Baby- 
 lonians ;  after  which  they  adopted  it  largely  as  a 
 people,  though  it  was  not  extensively  practised  amongst 
 the  priesthood.     To  me,  therefore,  the  real  existence 
 
900 
 
 in  early  Jewish  histoiy  of  mj-thological  stories,  based 
 upon  the  stellar  ideas  of  the  Chaldees,  seems  to  indi- 
 cate with  certainty  the  comparatively  modem  origin 
 of  the  writinrjs  wherein  the  talcs  are  found. 
 
 I  must  now  call  attention  to  a  work,  entitled  De 
 Lcgihm  Hehneoriim,  by  Spencer.  The  book,  which 
 is  in  two  large  folio  volumes,  and  vNTitten  in  Latin, 
 is  a  monument  of  enormous  patience  and  extra- 
 ordinary erudition ;  and  the  chief  burden  of  its 
 argument  is  to  prove  that  all  the  laws  of  Moses,  and 
 the  utterances  of  various  prophets,  were  directed 
 against  Tsabeauism.  But,  throughout  the  pages  of 
 each  volume,  we  seek  in  vain  for  any  attempt  to 
 demonstrate  the  timo  when  the  so-called  *  laws  of 
 Moses '  were  promulgated  ;  when  the  Jews  first 
 came  into  contact  with  Tsabeanism  ;  and  where  this 
 '  cultus '  originally  became  matured.  Granting,  for 
 the  sake  of  argument,  that  the  Hebrew  code  is 
 opposed  intentionally  to  stellar  worship  and  the  cere- 
 monies associated  therewith,  we  may  positively  use 
 the  fact  alleged  as  a  proof  of  the  comparatively 
 modem  origin  of  the  Pentateuch,  inasmuch  as 
 Tsabeanism  was  not  known  to  the  Jews  until  a  few 
 years  before  the  reign  of  Ilezekiah,  or  more  probably 
 about  the  last  years  of  that  monarch's  life. 
 
 How  much  of  astronomy  even  the  leaders  of  the 
 kingdom  of  Judah  knew  at  the  time  of  Hezekiah  may 
 be  seen  from  an  anecdote  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment. Hezekiah  is  represented  as  being  ill  (2  Kings 
 XX.  1,  ct  8cq.) ;  the  courtly  Isaiah  promises  that  ho 
 sbail  recover,  and  as  a  sign  prophecies  that  the  shadow 
 on  the  dial  of  Ahaz  shall  go  backwards  or  forwards 
 according  to  the  royal  desire.  So  little  do  either  the 
 ODO  party  or  the  other  think  of  what  is  involved  in 
 
901 
 
 the  proposition,  that  they  treat  the  matter  much  as 
 we  should  do  the  tossing  up  of  a  halfpenny.  The 
 selection  is  made,  the  dial  plate  having  been  cun- 
 ningly altered,  and  neither  the  king  nor  the  seer  has 
 any  conception  of  that  which  the  apparent  pheno- 
 menon involves.  Neither  Hezekiah  nor  any  of  his 
 court  are  represented  as  stationing  themselves  to  see 
 whether  the  sunshine  and  shade  are  relatively  varied 
 in  any  other  part  of  Jerusalem  and  Judea ;  there  is 
 not  indeed  any  attempt  whatever  to  verify  the  absolute 
 truth  of  the  miracle.  This  shows,  if  it  stood  alone, 
 the  utter  ignorance  of  the  Jews  in  even  a  simple 
 matter  of  astronomy.  A  judgment  such  as  ours 
 might  naturally  be  deprecated  by  those  who  desire  to 
 regard  the  recession  of  the  shadow  on  the  dial  of 
 Ahaz  as  a  direct  intervention  of  Jehovah  with  '  the 
 laws  of  nature ' ;  yet  our  opinion  on  the  point  is 
 fortified  by  the  remark  of  a  subsequent  writer,  who 
 has  not  scrupled  to  alter  a  passage  in  the  earlier 
 history  so  as  to  give  corroborative  testimony  to  a  fact 
 which  even  he,  a  pious  Jew,  could  not  wholly  believe 
 without  better  evidence  than  that  of  the  writer  in 
 Kings,  and  in  Isaiah.  The  two  authors  in  question, 
 for  example,  distinctly  tell  us  (2  Kings  xx.  12,  Isa. 
 xxxix.  1)  that  the  "  King  of  Babylon  sent  letters  and 
 a  present  to  Hezekiah,  for  he  had  heard  that  he  had 
 been  sick  and  was  recovered ;  "  and  we,  at  this  date, 
 can  readily  credit  the  reason,  for  the  monarch  in 
 Jerusalem  was  evidently  an  enemy  of  the  Assyrian 
 king,  who  was  at  that  time  opposed  to  the  monarch  of 
 Bab3don.  In  neither  of  these  accounts  is  anything 
 whatever  said  of  the  desire  of  the  ambassadors  to 
 make  inquiry  about  the  wondrous  phenomenon,  yet 
 in  2  Chrou.  xxxii.  31  we  are  told  of  the  ambassadors 
 
902 
 
 of  the  priuces  of  i Babylon,  who  were  sent  unto  him  to 
 inquire  into  the  wonder  that  was  done  in  "the  land," 
 etc.,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  astronomers  of 
 Clialdaea  sent  to  inquire  of  those  in  Judca  about  an 
 erratic  solar  shadow. 
 
 Let  us  for  a  moment  contemplate  the  ignorance  of 
 celestial  phenomena  that  this  correction  involves. 
 It  presupposes  a  belief  that  the  dials  in  Babylon  were 
 watched  with  care,  and  that  the  apparent  progress  of 
 the  sun  had  been  arrested  and  reversed.  Granting  for 
 a  moment  the  fact  to  have  been  so,  that  the  sun 
 had  apparently,  and  the  earth  really  ceased  to  move 
 forwards,  and  had  moved  in  a  contrary  direction ;  even 
 then  it  follows  that  the  phenomenon  would  be  noticed 
 all  over  the  habitable  world  where  the  sun's  move- 
 ment was  observed.  Verification  of  the  fact  then  did 
 not  require  a  distant  visit,  nor,  if  a  distant  visit  was 
 thought  desirable,  could  it  be  for  a  moment  supposed 
 that  Judea  would  bo  the  best  spot  for  prosecuting 
 in(]uiries.  Indeed,  as  if  to  clench  our  argument,  the 
 author  of  the  verso  in  Chronicles  speaks  of  "the 
 wonder  that  was  done  in  the  land,"  as  if  the  pheno- 
 menon had  been  confined  to  Judea.  If  confined  to 
 Jerusalem,  we  cannot  imagine  the  Chaldces  knowing 
 anything  about  it,  or  caring  for  it  in  any  way.  Wo 
 conclude,  therefore,  from  this  brief,  but  contradictory 
 story,  that  the  Hebrew  magnates  knew  no  more  about 
 the  Kun-dial  than  do  English  children  ;  but  that  the 
 Babylonians  knew  much  of  the  solar  movements,  and 
 were  thought  to  be  as  likely  to  visit  a  distant  country 
 to  inquire  about  an  alleged  celestial  wonder,  as  Euro- 
 pean philosophers  are  to  go  to  Asia,  Africa,  Tcncriflb, 
 or  America,  to  watch  a  planetary  transit,  or  a  total 
 cclipKo  of  tho  BUU. 
 
903 
 
 Once  again,  therefore,  we  come  to  the  conclusion 
 that  the  Jews  had  not,  at  any  period  of  their  career, 
 anything  like  a  Tsabean  faith,  but  that  they  had  idola- 
 trous ideas  and  practices  which  were  founded  upon 
 the  celestial  cultus  of  the  Babylonians. 
 
 Udumaia.  The  Assyrian  name  for  Edom,  whose  Deity  was 
 Cavus,  or  Camus.     See  Moab,  p.  317. 
 
 Urim  and  Thummim,  The  desire  to  know  the  future,  and  to 
 foresee  the  result  of  any  undertaking  which  we  propose 
 to  carry  out,  is  so  common  amongst  mankind,  that 
 there  has  always  been  found  a  number  of  individuals 
 astute  enough  to  take  advantage  of  the  weakness 
 of  others,  and  to  increase  their  own  wealth  by  pro- 
 fessing to  sell  that  which  they  do  not  themselves 
 possess.  This  weakness  is  to  be  found  amongst 
 savages  and  civilised  alike,  at  the  present  time,  as 
 in  remote  antiquity.  Many  a  Christian,  who  smiles 
 with  pity  at  the  facility  with  which  Saul  allowed 
 himself  to  be  deceived  by  the  witch  of  Endor, 
 himself  believes  in  the  reality  of  spirit-rapping,  of 
 prophecies  given  by  turning  tables,  and  in  vaticina- 
 tions of  clairvoyants,  whilst  others  seek  out  for,  and 
 put  faith  in,  "  horoscopes "  and  astrology.  The 
 priests  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  we  may  add  of 
 "established"  churches  in  ancient  as  well  as  in 
 modern  times,  have,  as  a  general  rule,  declined  to  play 
 the  perilous  part  of  prophet  or  diviner,  a  role  which 
 involves  much  personal  peril,  not  only  to  the  professor 
 but  to  his  order.  Amongst  the  individuals  who 
 appeared  before  Ahab  (1  Kings  xxii.  6),  to  "  prophesy  " 
 prior  to  his  march  on  Ramoth  Gilead,  there  is  not  a 
 single  priest  mentioned.  Again,  when  Nebuchad- 
 nezzar calls  before  him  those  by  whom  he  wishes  that 
 
904 
 
 his  dreams  should  be  expounded  (Dan.  ii.  2),  he  sum- 
 mons '  magicians,'  *  astrologers,'  *  sorcerers,'  and 
 '  Chaldaeans,'  but  not  "priests."  We  find  too,  from 
 the  exhaustive  articles  on  Divination  in  Kitto's 
 Ci/dopudla  uud  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  that 
 the  various  practices  adopted  in  vaticination  were  not 
 resorted  to  in  a  general  way  by  the  hierarchy,  but 
 were  carried  on  by  individuals  who  made  no  pre- 
 tensions to  the  priestly  office  in  the  *  established ' 
 church.  But  it  is  a  very  awkward  thing  nevertheless 
 for  any  one  who  professes  to  be  a  mediator  between 
 God  and  man,  to  receive  commands  direct  from  the 
 Almighty,  to  have  personal  communication  with  llim, 
 to  know  and  to  expound  His  will,  and  yet  to  be 
 obhged  to  declare  that  he  can  never  induce  the 
 deity,  with  whom  he  is  so  familiar,  to  unfold  to  him 
 the  course  of  future  events.  Consequently,  it  has 
 happened  that  some  priests  have  added  to  their  other 
 functions  that  of  prophesying.  We  have  already 
 noticed  that  the  priests  of  Meroe,  in  Egypt,  once 
 assumed  to  be  the  direct  mouth-pieces  of  the  Almighty 
 (Vol.  I.,  p.  57,  note);  we  have  now  to  remark  that  the 
 Hierarch  of  the  Jews  was  instructed  how  to  deliver 
 responses  to  questions,  for  which  a  special  machinery 
 was  adopted.  The  machinery  went  by  the  name  of 
 Urim,  or  Urim  and  Thummim.  By  this  means  the 
 priest  assumed  the  power  of  initiating  any  movement 
 for  war  or  peace,  and  thus  became  the  mainspring  of 
 all  important  measures.  In  Num.  xxvii.  21  we  find 
 that  Kleazar  was  the  director  of  the  warrior  Joshua, 
 who  thus  appears  simply  as  an  agent,  ^^'hat  bccnmo 
 of  this  Urim  in  the  time  of  Eli  we  do  not  know. 
 The  omission  to  use  it  during  the  time  of  Joshua"'  and 
 
 Jo*.  Tii.  7 -  1ft,  Ix.  14,  X.  8,  xi.  0;  Jnd.  it.  0,  vi.  II,  rii.  S,  xx.  10.  S8,  27,  88. 
 
905 
 
 the  Judges  is  very  remarkable,  and  can  only  be 
 explained  by  the  supposition  that  it  had  then  no 
 existence,  or  its  replies  were  so  unfortunate  that 
 no  record  was  made  of  them.  We  next  find  mention 
 made  of  the  Urim  in  the  time  of  Saul  (1  Sam. 
 xxviii.  6),  when  it  is  associated  with  dreams  and 
 prophets.  But  the  oracle  was  dumb,  and  no  one  can 
 doubt  the  reason,  when  he  finds  in  the  history  so 
 strong  an  evidence  of  the  decadence  of  the  monarch's 
 power,  and  the  very  great  doubt  which  must  have 
 rested  upon  the  success  of  the  coming  war. 
 
 We  find  no  other  reference  to  the  Urim  and 
 Thummim  until  the  time  of  Ezra  (ii.  63),  and  then 
 they  are  only  noticed  because  of  their  absence.  We 
 find  many  instances  in  which  some  other  sacred 
 emblem  seems  to  take  their  place;  e.g.,  Saul  causes 
 the  ark  to  be  brought  (1  Sam.  xiv.  18),  so  as  to  get 
 some  answer  from  it  respecting  the  war  in  which  he 
 is  engaged.^^^  Again  (1  Sam.  xxiii.  9),  David  enquires 
 of  the  "  ephod."  That  this  was  not  the  particular 
 ephod  which  bore  the  Urim  we  infer,  from  the  fact 
 that  Abiathar  who  carried  it  was  not  the  high-priest, 
 nor  did  he  bring  down  anything  beyond  the  garment 
 commonly  worn  by  priests.  We  conclude,  therefore, 
 that  Urim  and  Thummim  were  nothing  more  than 
 one  of  the  many  means  adopted  for  divination. 
 
 Being  dissatisfied  with  the  usual  explanation  of 
 the  Urim  and  Thummim,  let  us  regard  them  first 
 as  "fires  and  truths."  But  the  natural  reply  to 
 this  will  be,  that  they  were  to  be  worn  on  the 
 breast-plate  of  the  high-priest,  or  rather  over  the 
 region  of  the  heart.  We  acknowledge  the  difiiculty, 
 and  meet  it  thus.      It  is   evident,    we   think,    that 
 
 238  See  also  Jud.  xs.  27,  28. 
 
906 
 
 the  Urim  and  Thummira  were  not  in  common  use, 
 or  even  known,  in  the  diiys  of  the  early  kings  of 
 Judfth,  nor  are  they  mentioned  in  "Judges."  The 
 words  themselves  were  used  to  express  simply  "  fires  " 
 and  "perfection;"  but  they  attained  a  specific 
 value  after  the  Jews  came  into  contact  with  the 
 Assyrian  and  Babylonian  civilisation,  or,  we  may 
 say,  with  that  of  the  Greeks  and  T>Tians  (see  Joel 
 iii.  4-7).  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  concave 
 mirrors,  or  convex  glass  lenses  —  burning  glasses,  as 
 they  are  usually  called — were  known  to  all  these 
 people,  but  that  they  were  very  rare  and  very  expen- 
 sive. There  is  also  gi-ound  for  the  assertion  that 
 certain  important  sacrifices  were  made  by  means  of 
 fire,  produced  by  lenses,  or  reflecting  the  sun's  rays. 
 The  holy  flame,  annually  lighted  in  Peru,  was  thus 
 produced.  The  means  of  lighting  a  sacrificial  fire  for 
 augury  may  have  been  the  representative  of  the  flames, 
 the  victims,  and  the  response  they  gave.  Now  a 
 "burning  glass,  or  mirror,"  might  very  readily  be  worn 
 upon  the  breast,  and  its  place  would  be  next  the  heart, 
 or  in  some  other  safe  spot,  where  it  would  neither  be 
 scratched  nor  broken.  It  is  equally  certain  that  the 
 loss  of  such  a  treasure,  by  the  plundering  of  enemies, 
 would  prohibit  the  use  of  the  sun-lighted  fires  neces- 
 sary for  augury.  Again,  auguries  were  sought  for  at 
 favourable  times,  or  certain  particular  seasons;  c.ff.  "I 
 have  heard  thee  in  a  time  accepted"  (Isn.  xlix.  8),  "in 
 a  time  when  thou  mayest  be  found"  (Ps.  xxxii.  6). 
 "I  know  that  ye  would  gain  the  time"  (Dan.  ii.  8), 
 etc.,  etc.  And  if  we  venture  to  consult  the  Greek 
 language,  with  which  the  later  Jewish  writers  in  the 
 Hiblo  were  very  conversant,  wo  find  that  "ilpu,  oora, 
 signified  "a  time  or  suasou,"  and  0G/u,a,  thuma,  "a 
 
907 
 
 victim  offered  in  sacrifice."  These,  being  Hebraised, 
 would  be,  in  the  phiral,  Urim  and  Thummim,  and 
 equivalent  to  "auguries  by  sacrifice,  made  at  opj)or- 
 tune  times,"  by  means  of  a  burning  glass,  the  posses- 
 sion of  this  being  necessary  before  the  fire  was 
 kindled.  The  Jews  being  unable  to  make  for 
 themselves  either  lenses  or  concave  mirrors,  it  is  pro- 
 bable that,  when  once  lost,  their  high-priests  could 
 not  for  a  long  time  procure  others.  Thus  we  think 
 that  we  can  explain  the  words  of  Ezra,  ii.  63,  in 
 which  he  clearly  indicates  that  such  another  burning 
 glass  will  ultimately  be  procured. 
 
 Venus.  Of  all  the  deities  ever  worshipped,  the  one  known 
 to  the  Eomans  under  this  name  is  by  far  the  most 
 celebrated,  the  most  notorious,  and  the  most  persis- 
 tent. Her  name  has  often  changed,  but  her  nature 
 persists,  and  her  votaries  are  as  abundant  at  the 
 present  time  as  they  were  in  days  of  yore.  The  form 
 of  her  worship  is  now  shorn  of  much  of  its  grossness. 
 Yet  we  see,  in  the  jargon  talked  about  the  Virgin 
 Mary,  and  in  the  dedication  of  nuns  to  her  honour,  a 
 christianised  paganism,  in  honour  of  the  celestial  god- 
 dess. Venus,  like  Eve,  Sara,  Isis  and  Juno,  repre- 
 sents simply  the  idea  of  maternity.  She  is  the  great 
 mother,  from  whom  all  creation  springs.  (See  Yoni, 
 infra.)  The  following  invocation  to  her,  which  com- 
 mences the  poem  of  Lucretius,  "  On  the  nature  of 
 things,'"  well  describes  the  general  idea  of  her  held 
 by  the  philosophers  of  his  day.  "  0  bountiful 
 Venus, ^^°  delight  of  gods  and  men,  who,  beneath  the 
 
 239  Alma  Vemis,  probably  tlie  same  as  '^?'??,  almah,  "a  ripe  virgin,"  which 
 comes  from  the  root  chV,  that  signifies  "to  enwrap,  or  to  veil,"  "to  suck,  or  swal- 
 low," "to  be  young  and  juicy,"  "to  be  strong,  "  "to  be  hot  with  desire,"  "to  be 
 
908 
 
 gliding  constellations  of  heaven,  fillest  with  life  the 
 ship-bearing  sea  and  the  fruit-producing  earth,  since 
 by  thy  influence  every  kind  of  living  creature  is  con- 
 ceived, and  springing  forth  hails  the  light  of  the  sun  : 
 before  thee,  0  goddess,  the  winds  and  the  clouds  of 
 heaven  flee,  for  thee  the  lovely  earth  brings  forth  her 
 flowers,  on  thee  the  waters  of  the  ocean  smile,  and 
 the  serene  sky  beams  with  efi"ulgent  light ;  when  the 
 spring  tide  comes,  the  birds  testify  of  thee,  and 
 acknowledge  thy  power ;  so  do  also  the  wild  herds 
 which  joyously  roam  the  pastures  or  swim  the  rapid 
 streams.  Creatures  of  all  kinds  own  thy  charms,  and 
 follow  thee  ardently.  Throughout  the  seas  and  the 
 mountains,  the  rivers  and  the  plains,  and  throughout 
 the  wild  woods  or  verdant  groves,  thou  givest  thy 
 loving  powers  to  all,  and  under  thy  guidance  sweet 
 unions  are  formed,  and  new  forms  are  framed  to 
 replace  those  which  have  died." 
 
 "  Thou  dost  govern  all  things  in  nature  ;  without 
 thee  nothing  would  burst  forth  into  the  ethereal 
 realms  of  light,  nor  would  anything  be  joyous  and 
 lovely.     Oh,  be  thou  friendly  to  me   whilst   I   write 
 
 on   the  nature  of  things bestow  upon  my  words 
 
 a  charm  which  shall  make  them  immortal.  Cause 
 to  cease  for  a  time  the  ravages  of  war  throughout 
 sea  and  land,  for  thou  alone  canst  give  to  mortals  the 
 blessings  of  peace ;  since  Mars,  the  warrior  god,  who 
 rejoices  in  the  turmoils  of  strife,  often  comes  to  lie 
 
 acnic,  intelligent,  or  wise."  In  the  flrcek  tongue,  thoio  is  no  probable  etymon  for 
 (lima,  except  oAjij,  almee,  wliicli  sipniiies  "salt  water,  or  brine";  and  it  is  probable 
 that  the  Greeks,  when  they  lieard  thiit  one  of  the  epithets  of  the  celestial  mother 
 W8«  ^^,  nlmtih,  amongst  the  rhoonicians,  determined  to  adopt  the  title.  Then,  to 
 malce  it  tally  with  their  own  ideas,  they  invented  the  story  of  Venns  being  bom 
 from  the  salt  sea  waves.  The  derivation  of  alma  from  alo,  "  I  nourish,"  is  oiite- 
 uablo. 
 
909 
 
 in  thy  bosom  when  suffering  from  the  wounds  of  love, 
 then,  when  he  looks  on  thee  with  pendent  head,  and 
 feasts  his  ardent  eyes  by  gazing  on  thy  loveliness, 
 and  when  he  commingles  his  warm  breath  with 
 thine  in  a  joyous  kiss,  then  do  thou,  0  goddess, 
 endeavour  to  induce  him,  by  thy  caresses,  to  refrain 
 from  ruthless  war." 
 
 In  similar  strains  to  these  is  the  Virgin  Mary  of 
 to-day  addressed,  and  to  her  prayers  are  offered  that 
 she  may  influence  her  son,  or  her  spouse,  the  Lord  of 
 the  Universe. 
 
 Venus  as  the  creatress  of  the  world,  called  genetr'ix, 
 the  Venus  Urania  of  the  Romans  and  Greeks,  was 
 sometimes  depicted  as  Androgyne,  and  sometimes 
 in  a  manner  still  more  offensive  to  the  eye.  When 
 thus  represented  in  religious  symbolism,  the  intention 
 was  clearly  to  typify  the  fact  that  Venus  was  feminine, 
 but  powerless  if  alone.  When  she  was  delineated 
 with  a  mural  crown,  the  idea  embodied  was  that  she 
 became  a  mother  by  her  own  inherent  power.  Y.  L., 
 to  whom  I  before  referred  (see  Nymph,  supra),  in  his 
 wonderfully  clever  book,  "The  Book  of  God,'"  always 
 treats  Venus  as  being  the  equivalent  of  "  the  Spirit  of 
 Jehovah,"  so  often  referred  to  in  the  Old  Testament; 
 and  the  "  wisdom  "  *^^^^,  chochmah,  who,  at  the  time 
 of  the  Creation  was  with  Jehovah,  and  who  was  daily 
 His  delight,  sporting  always  before  Him,  and  whose 
 delights  are  with  the  sons  of  men  (Prov.  viii.  30-31). 
 Nor  is  the  surmise  to  be  neglected,  for  it  bears  upon 
 its  surface  the  evidence  of  truth,  as  we  find  in  verse 
 35,  "  Whoso  findeth  me  findeth  life,  and  shall  obtain 
 (or  bring  forth)  favour  of  the  Lord."  The  same 
 reappears  in  the  Apocalypse  as  the  bride,  the  Lamb's 
 wife  (ch.  xxi.  9),  who  is  identified  with  "the  Spirit  " 
 
910 
 
 in  cb.  xxii.  17,  Jesus  first  speaking,  and  then  the  Spirit 
 and  the  bride.    See  John  i.  1-14  and  Sophia,  supra. 
 
 In  various  nations,  Venus  appeared  generally 
 under  similar  symbols.  Of  these,  the  most  common 
 was  the  crescent  moon  alone,  in  conjunction  with  the 
 sun,  or  as  floating  upon  the  water,  as  in  Fig.  27,  p.  329, 
 which  is  full  of  mystic  interest.  In  the  centre  is  the 
 moon-shaped  vessel,  the  ark,  or  argha,  another  name 
 for  the  Youi.  Above  it  floats  the  dove,  the  emblem 
 of  material  love ;  on  each  side  is  to  be  seen  a  mass  of 
 rocks,  the  symbols  of  paternal  power,  whilst  the  boat 
 floats  upon  the  water,  <d,  mai  (see  Water,  infra)  ; 
 over  all  is  the  rainbow,  at  once  the  emblem  of  mater- 
 nity, and  the  evidence  of  the  solar  rays  mingling  with 
 the  fertilising  showers  which  arc  to  produce  tumidity 
 in  the  teeming  earth. 
 
 When  mankind  has  been  almost  destroyed  by 
 pestilence,  the  sword,  earthquakes,  or  any  other 
 catastrophe,  it  is  from  the  mystic  ark  that  it  is  again 
 recruited. 
 
 From  considering  Venus,  or  "  la  nature  dc  la 
 femme  "  as  an  ark,  the  transition  to  a  ship,  navis,  or 
 nave,  was  natural,  and  the  nave  and  spire  combined 
 reproduce  in  modern  times  the  ancient  ideas  of  the 
 mysteries  about  the  linga  and  yoni ;  from  thence  it 
 was  easy  to  deduce  the  meaning  of  the  patera  or  plate, 
 and  to  see  in  the  cymbal  a  sign  of  Nebo,  or  Nabhi,  or 
 the  navel.  Even  the  pouring  out  of  wine  or  water  from 
 an  amphora  into  a  cup  (see  Piute  iii..  Fig.  8)  became 
 symbolic,  and,  horrcsco  rcfercns,  even  the  bread 
 "]mnis  "  upon  a  "  juitcrd  "  became  part  of  the  sacred 
 mysteries.  To  those  who  have  studied  the  **  mys- 
 tcricH*'  of  the  ancients,  the  preparation  which  the 
 iVnglican  church   demands  of  her  votaries  before  they 
 
911 
 
 partake  of  their  "holy  mysteries,  pledges  of  love" 
 (Communion  Service — Exhortation)  will  be  familiar;  to 
 those  also  who  have  investigated  the  subjects  which  were 
 taught  in  the  highest  of  the  ancient  mysteries,  the 
 real  import  of  the  modern  one  will  be  equally  fami- 
 liar. Knowledge  such  as  this  enables  us  to  see  why 
 it  is  that  hierarchs  should  be  now  contending  about 
 the  propriety  of  mingling  water  ''P,  mai,  with  the 
 sacramental  wine.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to 
 believe  that  devout  English  priests,  such  as  we  be- 
 lieve the  majority  of  the  so-called  Ritualists  to  be, 
 have  even  a  faint  idea  of  the  mystic  meaning  of 
 the  "  water "  which  they  add.  That  the  Christian 
 mysteries  have  been  fashioned  on  the  pagan  model,  I 
 do  not  doubt ;  and  I  regret  the  more  that  an  absence  of 
 scholarly  learning  should  have  made  *'  sacred  things  " 
 the  vehicle  for  perpetuating  doctrines  which  will  not 
 bear  the  light  of  day.  We  have  in  our  first  volume 
 pointed  out  so  many  phases  and  sj^mbols  under  which 
 Venus  has  been  worshipped,  that  it  is  unnecessary 
 to  dwell  longer  upon  this  part  of  our  subject.  From 
 a  recollection  of  the  emblems  referred  to,  it  will  at 
 once  be  recognised  that  the  deification  of  the  Almighty 
 under  creative  symbols  must  ever  be  associated  with 
 certain  sexual  ideas.  That  it  has  been  so  is  certain. 
 Yet  it  ought  to  be  one  of  the  ends  of  religion  to 
 subdue  such  conceptions,  and  to  bring  them  under 
 the  rule  of  the  intellectual  or  intelligent  portion  of 
 our  nature.  A  man  or  woman  of  sense  cannot  bear 
 the  idea  of  being  dominated  over  b}'  any  passion, 
 however  natural.  Love  should  be  brought  under 
 the  same  control  as  hate,  jealousy,  anger,  revenge, 
 etc. ;  and  it  ought  to  be  regulated,  as  we  curb  the 
 desire  for  food  or  drink,  and  the  appetite  for  praise. 
 
912 
 
 That  the  Auglican  and  the  Presbyterian  churches 
 fulfil  their  duty  in  this  respect  and  teach  their  votaries 
 to  keep  their  passions  in  subjection,  we  readily 
 allow ;  and  we  feel  proud  of  the  general  character  of 
 our  women,  whose  wtue  is  not  secured  by  locks  and 
 bars,  convents  and  duennas,  but  by  the  style  of 
 education  adopted,  and  the  manners  they  see  at 
 the  home  fire-sides.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Roman 
 church,  which  calls  the  attention  of  her  votaries 
 to  sexual  matters  in  such  volumes  as  "  The  Garden  of 
 the  Soul,''  in  such  institutions  as  monasteries  and 
 nunneries,  in  the  necessarily  celibate  condition  of  her 
 priests ;  which  numbers  amongst  her  ecclesiastical 
 books,  such  a  work  as  Sanchez  de  Sancto  Matrimonii 
 Sacramento,  and  others  of  a  somewhat  similar  stamp, 
 has  ever,  where  she  has  borne  unlimited  or  unchecked 
 power,  been  characterised  by  dissoluteness  of  man- 
 ners, as  well  as  by  pauperism,  crime,  superstition, 
 and  ferocity,  not  exceeded  by  any  ancient  nation, 
 even  including  the  cities  of  the  plain. 
 
 Till  within  a  comparatively  short  period,  the  aim 
 of  Protestantism  has  l>cen  to  educate  the  mind,  to 
 encourage  the  growth  of  the  intellect,  and  to  develop 
 the  resources  of  science.  Now,  on  the  contrary,  her 
 object  appears  to  be  to  stunt  the  mental  powers  of 
 her  adherents,  and  to  make  them  captive  to  her  car. 
 As  a  result,  the  thinking  part  of  our  youth  despise 
 htr,  as  much  as  erst  she  despised  Popery,  lieing 
 without  any  adequate  intellectual  guide,  such  indi- 
 viduals follow  the  bent  of  their  inclinations ;  some 
 cultivate  their  mental  powers,  whilst  others  expend 
 their  energies  upon  the  gratification  of  prrsonal  pro- 
 pensities. 
 
 Now  I  can  very  well  ima''ine  a  careless  reader  of 
 
913 
 
 these  pages  saying,  that  the  author  has  been  so 
 accustomed  to  see  everything  in  a  symbolic  point  of 
 view,  that  he  tortures  each  matter  to  make  it  suit  his 
 purpose.  Such  an  accusation  has  been  made  to  me 
 personally  by  friends,  who  profess  to  imagine  that 
 I  see  a  deep  mystery  in  the  method  of  fasten- 
 ing a  necktie  with  a  ring.  Such  a  danger  was  indeed 
 pointed  out  to  me,  before  a  single  page  of  this  work 
 was  in  manuscript,  and  it  has  never  been  lost  sight  of. 
 I  well  know  that  there  are  innumerable  objects 
 which  may  appear  to  typify  Jupiter  and  Juno,  or 
 Ashtoreth,  yet  which  no  philosopher  considers  worth  a 
 thought.  Such  have  no  recognised  meaning  unless  they 
 have  been  adopted  into  "religion,"  and  are  regarded 
 as  sacred.  For  example,  none  would  dream  that  the 
 dolphin  was  symbolical,  unless  they  found  that  this 
 fish  was  a  common  religious  emblem  amongst  the 
 ancient  inhabitants  of  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
 ranean. But,  having  found  that  the  dolphin  had  a 
 sacred  meaning,  they  would  find  that  amongst  the 
 Phoenicians  ns>'71,  dalpliah,  signified  "  she  sheds  tears, 
 or  is  compassionate,"  or  "  she  melts  away,"  whilst 
 in  the  Grreek  lsX<^vs,  delphus,  signifies  "  the  womb," 
 and  dsX<^li,  clelphis,  which  closely  resembles  the  first 
 in  sound,  is  "  a  dolphin."  Delphi  was  a  sacred 
 oracle,  whose  dark  sayings  were  supposed  to  come 
 from  the  goddess  Earth,  through  a  symbolic  chasm ; 
 and  Delphinius  was  a  name  of  Apollo,  which  survived 
 in  Europe  until  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
 for  Delphin,  or  Dauphin,  was  the  title  of  the  eldest 
 son  of  the  king  of  France.  Moreover,  the  mystic 
 dolphin  is  usually  represented  as  being  bestridden  by 
 Arion,  thus  representing  the  same  idea  as  the  crux 
 ansata,  the  emblem  of  the  sacred  four. 
 
 M  M  M 
 
914 
 
 When  we  thus  recognise  the  meaning  of  the 
 legend,  we  readily  understand  that  it  may  have 
 developed.  Thus  in  one  coin  of  Corinth  (depicted  in 
 Bryant's  Ancient  Mi/t]tolo{iy,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  456,  second 
 edition),  Arion  is  replaced  by  a  boy,  from  whose  back 
 rises  an  upright  pine  tree  (see  Plate  I.,  fig.  1).  In 
 another  (see  Plate  I.,  fig.  2),  the  dolphin  lies  upon  an 
 ark,  and  the  boy  has  an  upright  tree  growing  from  him. 
 In  a  third,  a  full  grown  man  is  seated  on  a  rock, 
 itself  a  mystic  emblem,  ha^•ing  the  dolphin  at  his 
 feet,  whilst  he  appears  to  be  toying  with  what  we 
 may  designate  the  virgin  and  the  child  (see  Plate  I., 
 fig.  3).  And  in  a  fourth,  the  male  figure  holds  a 
 trident,  emblematic  of  the  male  triad,  in  the  one 
 hand,  whilst  in  the  other  he  holds  a  dolphin  (see 
 Plate  I.,  fig.  4). 
 
 Again,  it  is  to  be  noticed,  that  on  some  coins  the 
 prow  of  a  war-ship  replaces  the  dolphin ;  the  explana- 
 tion is  that  the  male  figure  seated  on  this  part  of 
 a  ship  signifies  the  masculine,  in  conjunction  with 
 navis,  the  ship,  or  the  feminine  clement  (see  Vol.  i., 
 pp.  1G6,  290) ;  or,  as  Pi.  P.  Knight  explains  it, 
 the  ship's  prow  may  signify  the  water,  which  was 
 itself  emblematic  of  the  conjunction  of  the  two 
 creative  elements  (see  Plate  I.,  fig.  4). 
 Vestments.  We  hear  much  at  the  present  day  respecting 
 the  dress  which  ought  to  be  worn  by  those  who  offi- 
 ciate in  the  sanctuary ;  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
 investigate  the  nature  of  ancient  faiths  without  seeing 
 that  hicrarchs  of  old  have  insisted  as  much  upon 
 correct  dresses  as  upon  the  proper  methods  of  wor- 
 ship. 
 
 Thus    Maimoiiidcs    remarks    on    the    declaration, 
 "  The  woman   shall  not  wear  that  which   pcrtuiucth 
 
915 
 
 unto  a  man,  neither  shall  a  man  put  on  a  woman's 
 garments  "  (Deut.  xxii.  5);  "for  you  find,  in  the  book 
 Tomtom,  the  injunction  that  a  man  should  dress  in 
 a  coloured  female  robe  when  he  stands  before  the 
 planet  Venus,  and  that  a  woman  should  put  on  a 
 helmet,  and  weapons,  or  armour,  when  she  stands 
 before  the  planet  Mars"  {More  Nehuchim,  iii.  37, 
 p.  285,  ed.  Munk.,  Paris,  1866). 
 
 Again,  we  learn  that,  at  the  shrine  of  Yenus,  in 
 Cyprus,  the  men  worship  in  female,  and  the  women 
 in  male  attire.  The  same  plan  was  followed  amongst 
 the  Assyrians,  and  other  Asiatics.  A  similar  custom 
 was  adopted  by  the  Greeks ;  and  when  there  was  a 
 procession  in  the  solemn  rites  of  Bacchus,  and  the 
 ithyphalli  paraded  their  burden,  they  were  clothed 
 with  a  woman's  stole.  At  Coos,  too,  the  priest  of 
 Hercules  sacrificed  in  a  female  dress.  The  Argives 
 also  celebrated  their  new  moons  with  rites,  in  which 
 males  and  females  changed  with  each  other  their 
 garments.  Amongst  the  ancient  Germans,  Tacitus 
 tells  us  that  the  priest  presided  at  certain  rites 
 clothed  with  a  feminine  robe.  A  similar  custom 
 existed  in  Eome  on  the  ides  of  January. 
 
 The  cause  of  the  practice  thus  indicated  appears 
 to  have  been  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  worshipper 
 to  personify,  as  it  were,  the  sexual  signification  under 
 which  the  god  was  adored,  or  to  indicate  the  belief 
 that  the  deity  was  androgynous.  This  is  very  dis- 
 tinctly declared  by  Macrobius,  who,  quoting  Philo- 
 chorus,  states,  "that  in  Althis  they  afiirm  that 
 Venus  is  the  moon,  and  the  men  offer  sacrifices  to 
 her  in  women's  attire,  the  women  wearing  male 
 garments,  because  the  same  goddess  is  esteemed  both 
 male  and  female  "  {Saturnal.  iii.  8).  Or,  which  is  still 
 
916 
 
 more  probable,  as  Maimonides  (supra)  remarks, 
 "  This  dress  excited  concupiscence,  and  gave  occasion 
 to  whoredom."  We  have  ah-cady  seen  (Galli, 
 Vol.  I.,  p.  493)  that  some  priests  endeavoured  to  unsex 
 themselves  still  more  completely  than  they  could  do 
 simply  by  wearing  female  dress. 
 
 "When  different  sexes  thus  clothed  themselves 
 unnaturally,  they  considered  themselves  entitled  to 
 behave  so  too ;  and  we  are  distinctly  told  that  the 
 god  Comus  "  ct  mulieri  virum  agere  et  viro  stolam 
 induere  muUehrem  muUehriterque  incedcre  permit- 
 tat  r^*"     See  also  Rom.  i.  23-32. 
 
 Having  now  satisfied  ourselves  that  the  ancients 
 adopted  female  garments  for  their  priests  when  wor- 
 shipping Astarte,  Venus,  or  the  moon,  let  us  cast  a 
 hasty   glance   over   the   attire   of  those    who   appear 
 before  the  modern  Virgin  and  Child,  the  analogue  of 
 the  ancient  Ashtoreth.     In  the  first  place,  we  find 
 the   stole,    originally   a   woman's    garment,    and   as 
 characteristic  of  the  female  as  the  toga  was  of  the 
 man  of  liome.''*'     In  addition  to  this,  as  seen  in  Figs. 
 73,  74,   Vol.  I.,  p.   IGa,  we   see   an  emblem  of  the 
 Yoni,   and   called,   I  believe,    the   "  pallium,"  borne 
 across  the  shoulder,  and  sometimes   prolonged  both 
 down  the  back  and  front.       To  this  we  must  add  a 
 garment  closely  resembling  a  woman's  chemise ;  long 
 and  shapeless  in  the  body,   short  in   the  arm,  and 
 reaching  from  the  neck  to  the  ankles.     To  this  the 
 name   of    "albc"    is   given.        There   is,    moreover, 
 another,  even  more  conspicuously  feminine,  inasmuch 
 as  it  resembles   too  closely  the  vesica  piscin  to  bo 
 
 •*"  PbiloHtratos,  Icon,  lib.  i.,  p.  7G(J,  qnotcd  by  Spcncor,  De  Lojibus  llebraonun, 
 p.  62«. 
 
 »"  8©o  Pagio'i  Oloai'ary  of  EccUnastical  OnuimenU,  Lond.,  1868. 
 
917 
 
 mistaken  for  anything  else.      To  this  the  name  of 
 -chasuble"  is  given.     In  ancient  missals,  moreover 
 It  IS  to  be  remarked  that  the  -pallium"  resembles 
 more  closely  the  crux  ansata,  or  emblem  of  life  of 
 the  ancient  Egyptians,  than  the  sistrum  or  yoni. 
 
 For  the  reader's  convenience,  we  copy  from  Pugin 
 the  pa,^cular  articles  of  priestly  vestments  referred  to 
 above  (Figs.  80,  81,  82,  83),  the  designs  of  which  very 
 
 Figure  80. 
 Modern  PaUimn. 
 
 Fignre    81. 
 Ancient  Pallium. 
 
 Figure  82. 
 Albe, 
 
 Fignre  83. 
 Chasuble,  opened  out. 
 
918 
 
 clearly  show  that,  although  the  Papal  priests  do 
 not  actually  wear  feminine  apparel,  they  do  so  under 
 a  figment,  inasmuch  as  their  lace,  painted  garments, 
 embroidered  and  other  rohes  all  indicate  female,  rather 
 than  male  attire. 
 
 Thus  they,  like  the  hierophants  of  pagan  god- 
 desses, show  'that  they  worship  the  feminine,  rather 
 than  the  masculine  Creator  or  Preserver  of  the 
 universe,  and  that  they  have  drawn  their  inspiration 
 from  heathen  sources. 
 
 Water.  We  have  already  referred  (Vol.  i.,  p.  86)  to  the 
 very  important  part  which  water  plays  in  the  ancient 
 mythologies,  and  we  may  now  revert  to  the  subject,  so 
 as  to  ascertain,  as  far  as  possible,  the  signification  of 
 the  mythos  respecting  it. 
 
 In  Sanchoniathon  we  read  that  the  Phcenicians 
 believed  that  chaos  at  first  existed,  and  "  from  its 
 embrace  \\-ith  the  wind  was  generated  Mot,  which 
 some  call  Ilus  (mud),  but  others  the  putrefaction  of  a 
 watery  mixture,  from  which  sprung  all  the  seeds  of  the 
 creation"  {Cory'8 Ancient  Fragments,  p.  3).  Berosus, 
 again,  says  {Op.  Cit.,  p.  23),  "  There  was  a  time  in 
 which  there  existed  nothing  but  darkness  and  an 
 abyss  of  waters,  wherein  resided  most  hideous  beings, 
 which  were  produced  of  a  twofold  principle."  In  the 
 Bible,  we  learn  that  in  the  beginning  "  the  earth  was 
 without  form ;  that  darkness  moved  upon  the  face 
 of  the  deep ;  and  that  the  spirit  of  God  moved  upon 
 the  face  of  the  waters  "  (Gen.  i.  2).  We  know,  from 
 a  variety  of  sources,  that  the  Egj'ptians  considered 
 the  Nile  as  divine,  that  some  rivers  in  India  arc  of 
 unusual  sanctity  at  the  present  day,  and  that  water  is 
 considered  as  the  mother  of  Avorlds.     We  have  seen 
 
I 
 
 919 
 
 that  the  Zoroastrians  adored  water  as  a  deity,  and  we 
 recollect  that  the  Greeks   identified  streams,  rivers 
 and  seas  with   divinities.     They   used   water   as   an 
 emblem  of  purification,  and  we  of  to-day  typify  the 
 Idea  of  a  new  birth  by  baptism.     In  a  vast  number  of 
 Christian  churches,  worshippers  are  found  who  have 
 faith  m  the  efficacy  of  holy  water,  and,  in  some,  water 
 IS  added  to  the  communion  wine.      There  is  scarcely 
 a  country  in  which  there  do  not  exist  holy  wells,  or 
 sacred  fountains;   and  the  use  of  such  blessed  springs 
 often  seems  to  effect  what  the  disciples  of  Esculapius 
 have  attempted  in  vain.      There  are,  indeed,   some 
 enthusiasts  who  consider  water  to  be  the  equivalent  of 
 the  god  Eshmun,  or  the  goddess  Hygeia. 
 
 Without  going  over  all  the  fond  conceits  connected 
 with  water,  we  may  shortly  indicate  the  foundation  of 
 Us  sanctity.     It  comes  down  from  heaven,  and  makes 
 the  earth  bring  forth  and  bud.     To  us,  who  live  in  a 
 moist  climate,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  the  influence  of 
 ram  in  the  more  torrid  climes  of  the  equatorial  zone. 
 There,  the  eye  may  rest  painfully  from  day  to  day  on 
 a  desert  of  brown  sandy  soil,  without  a  blade  of  green 
 to  cheer  the  sight.     Yet   after  rain  all  is  changed. 
 One   might    almost    fancy  that    a    beneficent    deity 
 had  descended  to  the  earth,  and,  by  a  wave  of  his 
 mystic  wand,  converted  a  desert  into  a  garden.     The 
 water  thus  sent  down  from  on  high  really  appears  like 
 a  creator;  it  vivifies  and  gives  life  to  things  which 
 before  seemed  to  be  inanimate.     Water  thus  became 
 Identified  with  the  fertilising  principle  ;  without  it,  all 
 creation  languished;  with  it,  everything  was  seen  to 
 flourish.       By    the   Assyrians  it   was    called  zimnu, 
 or  water  of  the  gods  (Norris'  Assyrian  Dictionary 
 p.  2,  Lond.,  1868).     But  not  only  was  it  seen  that 
 
920 
 
 water  thus  descended  from  the  skj',  it  was  also  under- 
 stood that  it  had  the  power  of  returning  thither. 
 When  comhined  with  heat,  it  rose  once  more  to  heaven, 
 only  to  redescend  again  to  earth.  In  one  sense, 
 therefore,  water  was  looked  upon  as  a  beneficent  deity, 
 in  constant  communication  with  the  Almighty. 
 
 Again,  when  the  ancients  fabled  that  all  creation 
 was  produced  by  intercourse  between  Ouranos  and  Ge, 
 or  between  heaven  and  earth,  it  was  very  natural  for 
 them  to  extend  the  mythos,  and  to  assert  that  water 
 was  the  medium  of  fertilisation.  That  this  was  the 
 opinion  of  Virgil,  we  may  see  in  Georg'ic,  lib.  ii., 
 V.  324  : 
 
 Vere  tumcnt  tcrrae,  et  genitalia  semiiia  poscinit. 
 Turn  pater  omuipotens  fcecuudis  imbribus  ^Etber 
 Conjugis  in  gremium  laetae  descendit,  et  omnes 
 Magnus  alit,  raagno  commixtus  corpore,  foetus. 
 
 Euripides  had  previously  expressed  the  same  opinion, 
 in  his  (Udipiis,  viz., 
 
 fpa  b'  6  crefivos  Ovpavos  TT^ijpnvfjLtvns 
 Sfi^pov  TTtcflv  fls  Tatar,    AcfypoBirt]!  vno 
 
 Lucretius  also  has  the  same  idea,  Dc  rcrum  Natur., 
 lib.  i.  V.  251  : 
 
 Postremo  pcreunt  inibrcs  ubi  eos  Pater  cether 
 In  gremium  Matris  Terra  precipitavit. 
 
 All  this  may  bo  thus  paraphrased ;  "  In  spring, 
 the  land  demands  seed,  and  the  great  father  aflbrds  it 
 when  he  comes  into  the  embrace  of  his  spouse  in  the 
 form  of  fertilising  showers.'""     Water  was  regarded 
 
 *"  I  am  indclitcd  fur  these  qnotationg  to  An  .■liinli/sis  of  the  I:'iji/]itiini  Mytho- 
 logy, by  J.  C.  iTiUhnrd,  M.  I).,  of  Uristol,  imblisheil  I^ndon,  IHIl).  I  find  that 
 tuy  pruducchHor  haa  takun  tbo  oauio  vivw  roHpoctiiiK  tbu  uuturo  of  anciont  faitlia  an 
 
921 
 
 amongst  the  Egyptians  as  symbolic  of  Osiris,  i.  e.,  as 
 
 TO   (r7TSp[Jl,U. 
 
 This  association  of  ideas  is  very  readily  recognised 
 in  the  Hebrew;  e.  g.,  we  find  in  Isaiah  xlviii.  1,  "  0 
 house  of  Jacob,  which  are  called  by  the  name  of  Israel, 
 and  are  come  out  of  the  waters  of  Judah."  There  is 
 the  same  idea  in  the  Arabic.  See  Koran,  Ixxxvi.  5. 
 ''Let  a  man  consider,  therefore,  of  what  he  is  created. 
 He  is  created  of  seed  poured  forth,"  etc.  In  the 
 Persian  language,  the  resemblance  is  equally  great. 
 See  Fiirst,  s.  v.  'id. 
 
 In  the  Sanscrit,  the  word  for  water  is  ajp,  which 
 signifies  "  from,"  being  the  root  of  the  Greek  aTro 
 apo,  which  signifies  "  from."  We  cannot  altogether 
 identify  the  idea  contained  in  this  word  with  that 
 which  ID,  mo,  enwraps,  but  we  can  see  the  resemblance 
 in  the  Welsh  cifp,  e.  g.,  Thomas-ap-Eice,  signifies 
 alike  Thomas  from  Rice,  Thomas  the  son  of  Rice,  or 
 the  seed  of  Rice.  With  these  ideas  of  water  there 
 has  been  some  difficulty  in  knowing  what  sex  to  assign 
 to  it.  The  difficulty,  however,  has  been  got  over  by 
 assigning  to  it  both.  Thus  we  have  Oceanus  repre- 
 sented as  a  male,  whilst  Aphrodite,  or  Venus,  is 
 represented  as  arising  from  the  foam  of  the  sea,  and 
 frequently  as  sailing  on  the  ocean  in  a  shell,  concha 
 veneris. 
 
 We  can  now  understand  why  it  is  that  water  is 
 so    frequently    used,    and    has    been    in    so    many 
 
 myself;  and  I  see  great  reason  to  regret  that  I  did  not  become  acquainted  with  his 
 work  until  I  had  completed  my  manuscript.  His  book  is  classically  written,  and 
 shows,  not  only  an  amazing  amount  of  reading  and  power  of  memory,  but  a  metho- 
 dical arrangement  which  is  vei-y  pleasant  to  the  reader.  As  is  very  natural, 
 there  are  many  points  in  which  I  differ  from  Dr.  Pritchard,  but  these  relate  princi- 
 pally to  subjects  connected  with  the  scriptures  on  which  modern  criticism  has 
 thrown  great  light  since  1819. 
 
922 
 
 nations,  as  a  symbol  of  regeneration.  It  is,  in  fact,  a 
 male  counterpart  to  the  ceremony  of  passing  through 
 a  sacred  chink  or  chasm.  This,  as  we  have  seen, 
 represents  a  new  emergence  into  life,  an  entering  a 
 second  time  into  a  mother's  womb  to  be  born ;  that 
 represents  a  second  implanting  of  the  seed  of  life. 
 We  do  not  for  a  moment  assert  that  such  an  idea 
 was  present  to  the  mind  of  Jesus,  when  he  made 
 baptism  to  represent  regeneration  and  a  new  birth,  for 
 he  merely  adopted  a  rite  which  was  common  in  ancient 
 times  amongst  many  of  the  civilised  nations,  and 
 which,  in  one  form  or  another,  survives  in  Hindostan 
 up  to  the  present  day. 
 
 In  conclusion,  let  us  examine  another  point  in  the 
 mythos  which  has  deified  water,  and  one  which  gives 
 sublimity  to  an  apparently  senseless  and  idolatrous 
 practice.  "VYe  know,  and  most  thoughtful  minds  are 
 aware  of  the  fact,  that  water  rises  to  heaven  again 
 after  it  has  fallen  upon  earth ;  they  also  know  that 
 evaporation  takes  place  from  rivers  and  oceans.  Con- 
 sequently, some  have  adopted  sepulture  in  a  river,  or 
 in  the  sea,  as  the  best  means  of  disposing  of  the  dead. 
 By  such  a  plan,  it  is  clear  that  every  portion  of  the 
 body  that  is  capable  of  rising  heavenward  will  do  so, 
 on  the  wings  of  invisible  particles  of  water,  which 
 the  sun  calls  upwards.  This,  then,  is  a  counterpart 
 of  the  idea  that  a  very  appropriate  method  of  dispos- 
 ing of  the  dead  was  l)y  burning  them,  a  plan  by  which 
 every  particle  of  the  human  body,  capable  of  sublima- 
 tion, is,  as  it  were,  sent  to  the  heavens,  purified  by 
 fire,  instead  of  by  water. 
 
 YoNi.     This  word,  to  which  such  frequent  reference  has  been 
 made,  is  of  Sanscrit  origin,  and  the  signification  given 
 
923 
 
 to  it  in  the  Dictionary  sufficiently  describes  both  its 
 meaning  and  many  of  the  metaphors  with  which  it 
 is  associated.  It  means  (1)  the  vulva ;  (2)  the  womb; 
 (3)  place  of  birth  ;  (4)  origin  ;  (5)  water ;  (6)  a  mine, 
 hole,  or  pit. 
 
 As  Jupiter  was  the  representative  of  the  male 
 potency,  so  Juno,  or  Yuno,  was  the  representative  of 
 the  female.  Equivalent  to  lAO,  IA12,  or  the  Lin- 
 gam,  were  Ab,  the  Father,  the  Trinity,  Ashcr,  Anu, 
 Hea,  Abraham,  Adam,  Esau,  Edom,  Ach,  Sol,  Helios, 
 the  Sun,  Dionysus,  Bacchus,  Apollo,  Hercules, 
 Brahma,  Vishnu,  Siva,  Jupiter,  Zeus,  Aides,  Adonis, 
 Baal,  Thammuz,  Osiris,  Thor,  Oden,  the  cross,  tower, 
 ^pire,  pillar,  minaret,  tolmen,  and  a  host  of  other 
 male  deities  ;  whilst  the  Yoni  was  represented  by  10, 
 Isis,  Astarte,  Ishtar,  Mylitta,  Sara,  Maia,  Mary, 
 Miriam,  Jano,  Venus,  Diana,  Artemis,  Aphrodite, 
 Hera,  Ehea,  Cybele,  Ceres,  Eve,  Jacob,  Frea,  Frigga, 
 the  queen  of  heaven,  the  earth,  the  moon,  the  star  of 
 the  sea,  the  circle,  the  oval,  the  triangle,  the  door,  the 
 ark,  the  ship,  the  fish,  the  chasm,  cave,  or  hole,  the 
 celestial  virgin,  and  a  host  of  other  names. 
 
 The  two  combined  were  represented  by  Elohim, 
 Baahm,  Elath,  Baalath,  Arba,  the  bearded  Venus, 
 the  feminine  Jove,  Isis  and  Horus,  the  virgin  and 
 child ;  symbolically,  by  a  six-rayed  star,  a  triangle  in 
 a  circle,  a  pillar  and  a  fountain,  a  pit  with  a  post,  a 
 handled  cross,  and,  very  commonly,  a  key,  or  a  staff, 
 surmounted  by  a  half-moon,  or  by  a  complicated  cross 
 wherein  the  four  are  shown,  and  by  the  double 
 triangle.     (Plate  VI.,  figs.  4  and  10.) 
 
 Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  met  with  a  very 
 remarkable  work,  entitled  Moor's  Oriental  Fragments 
 (Smith,  Elder  &  Co.,  London,  1834).    The  author  was 
 
924 
 
 a  soldier,  and  passed  a  very  large  portion  of  his  life  in 
 India.  During  his  sojourn  there,  he  took  great  pains 
 to  ascertain  the  religious  myths  of  the  Brahmins,  and 
 on  his  return,  he  published  a  "  Hindoo  Pantheon." 
 In  the  hook  described,  there  is  a  very  strong  resem- 
 blance to  the  sentiments  enunciated  in  my  own  pages, 
 so  much  so,  that  I  regret  greatly  not  having  seen  it 
 until  my  own  labours  were  nearly  completed.  To 
 show  my  readers  that  the  views  enunciated  in  the  pre- 
 ceding pages  are  not  so  wild  as  might  appear  to  some, 
 I  gladly  quote  from  so  accomplished  a  predecessor. 
 "  Oriental  writers  have  generally  spelled  the  word 
 Yoni,  which  I  shall  prefer  in  this  volume  to  wi-ite 
 lOni.  It  is  the  immediate  tji^e  and  symbol  of  Par- 
 vati,  the  consort  of  Siva,  in  her  character  of  Venus 
 generatrix,  the  goddess  so  properly  invoked  by  Lucre- 
 tius, in  his  fine  though  reprehensible  poem  on  Nature. 
 She  is  Nature  jxissivc,  although,  by  a  seeming  con- 
 tradiction, the  active  energy,  or  Sakti,  as  the  Hindoos 
 call  it,  of  Siva.  She  is  not  only  the  Sakti  of  the 
 rejnoduccr  SrvA,  usually  called  the  destroying  deity  of 
 the  Hindus,  but,  in  another  character,  is  herself  the 
 omnific  power,  "  the  father  and  mother,  both  of  men 
 and  gods  and  things."  Androf/ynous  characters,  that 
 is,  bisexual,  were  common  in  Efij/pt  and  India,  as 
 well  as  in  Greece.  As  the  goddess,  more  emphatically 
 than  any  other  Hindu  deity  of  the  lOni,  all  natural 
 clefts  and  fissures,  and  caves  and  hollows,  and  conca- 
 vities and  profundities,  anything,  in  fact,  containinf}, 
 arc  fancied  typicals  of  her,  as  arc  wells,  tanks,  etc. 
 Of  such  things  this  is  the  symbol,  0  or  0." 
 
 "  Pyramids,  obelises,  cones,  especially  conical  and 
 furcated  hills,  are  Sivaio,  and  of  such  this  is  the  cha- 
 
925 
 
 racter,  I.  lOni  was  her  vocalised  attribute,  and 
 Linga  his  "  (p.  244). 
 
 "  The  cavity,  cavern,  or  hollow  of  the  ocean  is 
 called  the  sea  by  Hindu  sacred  writers,  independently 
 of  its  waters.  Such  deep  concavity  is  of  course 
 received  by  the  Hindu  mystics  as  a  mighty  anjha,  or 
 lOni,  typical  of  Parvati "  (/.  e.,  "mountain-born," 
 referring  to  that  known  amongst  anatomists  as  the 
 mons  veneris),  with  her  sectaries,  the  medhra,  or  the 
 womb  of  nature.  In  her  virgin  character  she  corre- 
 sponds with  Diana  and  Minerva,  and  she  is  also  con- 
 sorted with  the  tridented  deity  of  the  waters  (pp. 
 262-3). 
 
 Moor  then  refers  to  symbols  in  use  in  ancient 
 Egypt,  and  still  employed  and  fully  understood  in 
 modern  Hiudostan,  c.  g.,  Fig.  82,  and  Figs.  49-63, 
 
 Figure  82. 
 
 — ^»u*i._ai,:i:;: 
 
 p.  649,   supra,  and  a   gi-eat   number  of   others,    all 
 
926 
 
 having  the  same  signification,  and  referring  to  Par- 
 vati,  to  Siva,  or  to  both  combined. 
 
 I  may  still  farther  bo  allowed  to  say  that  Moor, 
 like  many  other  acute  observers,  considers  that  the 
 migration  or  extension  of  a  race  may  be  traced  by  the 
 use  of  certain  proper  names,  and  their  association  with 
 sacred  symbols.  Thus,  he  traces  the  Aryan  element 
 amongst  the  Greeks,  and  more  sparsely  in  Great 
 Britain.  In  this  view  he  is  supported  by  Salverte, 
 who  has  written  an  interesting  Essdi  sur  les  noms 
 d'liommes,  dc  peuplcs,  et  de  liciix,  Paris,  1824.  The 
 views  of  both  corroborate  the  opinion  which  I  ex- 
 pressed in  Vol.  I.,  that  two  nations  met  in  Greece  and 
 in  other  parts  of  Europe,  one  migrating  almost  exclu- 
 sively by  land,  the  other  travelling  by  the  sea,  and 
 that  on  the  seaboard  the  language  of  the  country 
 was  influenced  by  the  maritime  people. 
 
 It  strikes  me  that  there  is  evidence  to  show  that 
 the  emigrants  by  laud  did  not  carry  much,  it  any, 
 literature  with  them,  nor  the  faculty  of  writing.  For 
 the  latter,  they  seem  to  have  l)cen  indebted  wholly  to 
 the  maritime  people.  A  moment's  reflection  upon 
 the  toils  of  life,  in  a  new  country  which  has  to  bo 
 cleared  and  made  fruitful,  will  readily  convince  the 
 thoughtful  that  books  would  be  disregarded  and  letters 
 forgotten.  Even  the  highly  educated  Briton  too  often 
 sees  his  children  grow  up  around  him  in  the  "  Bush" 
 of  Australia  as  illiterate  as  country  boobies.  There 
 are  no  schools  available,  and  the  parents  can  find  no 
 time  for  teaching.  But  when  the  emigrants  have 
 conquered  the  soil,  and  have  materials  for  barter, 
 the  trader  comes,  with  his  stores  of  knowledge,  and 
 imparts  to  those  who  are  unable  to  read  or  write 
 the   pi.wir   to  do   both.     Wo   see    this   done    by    the 
 
927 
 
 England  of  to-day,  for  her  missionaries  have  taught 
 to  the  scions  of  many  an  old  race  a  method  of  reading, 
 writing,  and  cyphering  in  characters  which  came  to 
 Britain  from  the  Shemites. 
 
 But  the  perusal  of  Oriental  Fragments  has  had 
 another  interest  for  me,  inasmuch  as  it  has,  after  many 
 a  weary  hour  of  thought,  landed  me,  near  the  end  of 
 my  labours,  at  the  very  haven  which  I  hoped  to  reach. 
 The  reader  will  remember  that  the  long  volumes  of 
 this  work  originated  by  my  inquiry,  "  What  is  the 
 connection  between  John  and  Jack?"  At  its  close, 
 I  find  in  Moor  a  confirmation  of  the  view  which 
 first  presented  itself  to  my  notice,  that  lOhn 
 is  very  closely  connected  with  the  mystical  lOni  or 
 Yoni,  whilst  Jack  is  the  representative  of  Jacchus, 
 Dionysus,  Helios,  Jao.  Whenever  an  author  finds 
 corroboration  of  nearly  every  salient  point  which  he 
 has  tried  to  establish,  such  as  I  have  found  in  the  book 
 referred  to,  although  the  subject  is  handled  in  a  very 
 diff'erent  method  by  each,  he  cannot  fail  to  think  of 
 the  verse,  "If  one  prevail  against  him,  two  shall 
 withstand  him ;  and  a  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly 
 broken  "  (Eccles.  iv.  12). 
 
 Zechariah,  or  Zachariah,  nn3T  (2  Icings  xv.  8).  "Jah 
 remembers,"  or  ''  Jah  is  Zachar."  In  our  article  upon 
 the  book  of  Ezra  (Vol.  i.,  p.  519),  we  made  the 
 remark  that  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  to  frame  any 
 correct  narrative  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to 
 their  ancient  Jerusalem.  The  difficulties  already 
 surrounding  the  subject  are  increased  by  an  exami- 
 nation of  the  writings  of  Zechariah.  We  see,  for 
 example,  in  Isaiah  xliv.  28,  xlv.  1,  and  2  Chron. 
 xxxvi.  22,  23,  and  Ezra  i.  1-11,  that  Cyrus  was  the 
 
928 
 
 king  of  Persia  who  restored  the  Jews  to  Jerusalem. 
 Yet  we  found  that  Daniel,  li\-ing  in  the  time  of  Darius 
 the  Mede,  some  fifteen  years  after  Cyrus  had  taken 
 Babylon,  still  prayed  for  the  restoration  of  the  Jews; 
 and  in  the  second  year  of  Darius,  we  see  that  Zecha- 
 riah  is  still  pleading  for  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem 
 and  Judah,  against  which  Jehovah  had  indignation 
 for  seventy  years ;  although  the  Jews  had  not  only 
 been  restored  by  Cyrus,  but  had  even  begun  to  build 
 their  temple  !  But  leaving  these  difficulties,  let  us 
 examine  into  the  book  itself  which  passes  as  that  of 
 Zechariah.  The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  is  the 
 strong  endeuce  which  it  bears  of  having  been  com- 
 posed at  different  times  and  by  different  individuals. 
 The  first  eight  chapters  seem  to  have  been  written 
 during  the  period  succeeding  the  Babylonian  capture 
 of  Jerusalem ;  the  twelfth  and  fourteenth  about  the 
 time  of  the  attack  by  the  confederates,  noticed  in 
 Psalm  Ixxxiii. ;  whilst  the  ninth,  tenth,  eleventh,  and 
 thirteenth  seem  to  have  been  composed  after  the 
 destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Sp-ians,  Edomites, 
 etc. 
 
 So  long  as  the  prophet  Zechariah  is  himself 
 speaking,  his  vaticinations  are  in  the  usual  language 
 of  visionaries.  Throughout  the  whole  book,  I  cannot 
 find  anj-thing  which  can  be  designated  a  true  pro- 
 phecy ;  on  the  other  hand,  we  find  many  which  are 
 palpably  false ;  for  example,  Jerusalem  was  never  so 
 populous  after  the  restoration  as  to  resemble  towns 
 without  walls  for  the  multitude  of  men  and  cattle 
 therein  (ch.  ii.  1).  Another  still  more  palpable  falsity 
 is  to  be  seen  in  ch.  viii.  23,  wherein  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
 is  said  to  declare  that  ten  men  shall  take  hold  on  the 
 skirts  of  a  Jew,  etc.  ;  for  under  no  circumstances  was 
 
929 
 
 the  Hebrew  nation  thought  of  as  worth  companion- 
 ship, from  the  time  of  Darius  to  the  present ;  nor 
 has  there  ever  been  a  time  since  the  restoration  in 
 which  the  Jews  devoured  all  the  people  round  about 
 (ch.  xii.  6).  Nor  can  we  place  any  faith  in  the  future 
 fulfilment  upon  the  prophecy,  "I  will  pour  out  upon 
 the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
 Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace,"  etc.  (ch.  xii.  10.) 
 For  the  house  of  David,  and  even  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
 is  wholly  extinct  in  the  male  branches. 
 
 Yet  there  is  one  prophecy  to  which  I  would  call 
 special  attention,  inasmuch  as  it  indicates  the  extreme 
 laxitj^  of  interpretation  which  exists  amongst  the  so- 
 called  orthodox.  We  find  these  words  (ch.  iii.  8), 
 "  Behold,  I  will  bring  forth  my  servant  the  Beanch;  " 
 and  I  have  never  heard  these  words  uttered  in  the 
 pulpit,  or  met  with  them  in  theological  discourses, 
 without  being  told  that  they  refer  unmistakeably  to 
 Jesus  Christ,  who  came  five  hundred  years  afterwards. 
 But  a  farther  examination  distinctly  shows  that  the 
 prophet  was  simple  preparing,  when  he  so  spake,  a 
 pleasant  surprise  for  the  son  of  Josedech,  who  is  thus 
 addressed  by  two  emissaries  from  Zechariah,  who 
 bear  golden  crowns  which  are  to  be  placed  on  the 
 head  of  Joshua,  with  the  words,  "  Thus  speaketh  the 
 Lord  of  Hosts,  saying,  Behold  the  man  whose  name 
 is  the  Branch,  and  he  shall  grow  up,"  etc.  (ch.  vi. 
 10-12.  Now,  I  can  imagine  a  theologian  declaring 
 that  the  prophecy,  though  intended  by  Zechariah  to 
 apply  primarily  to  Joshua,  did  in  reality  have  a  much 
 greater  signification ;  but  I  cannot  understand  how 
 he  could  support  the  assertion,  when  the  Lord  of 
 Hosts  Himself  declares,  that  Joshua  was  the  indi- 
 vidual to  whom  the  previous  prophecy  referred. 
 
 N  N  N 
 
930 
 
 Furthermore,  it  must  be  noticed  that,  throughout 
 the  whole  book,  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  of  the 
 knowledge  of  a  future  state  of  existence.  As  usual 
 with  the  Jews,  Jehovah  is  represented  as  rewarding 
 and  punishing  friends  and  enemies  in  this  life 
 only.  This  fact  receives  significance,  from  our  know- 
 ledge that  the  Hebrews  had  at  that  period  become 
 cognizant  of  the  religious  system  of  the  Babylonians, 
 and  had  already  adopted  from  them  the  idea  of  angels. 
 We  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  later  Jews  did  not 
 get  their  belief  in  a  future  state  through  the  Baby- 
 lonians. Still  further,  we  may  notice  that  the  creed 
 of  the  Pharisees  seems  at  the  period  of  the  Christian 
 era  to  have  been  comparatively  novel,  and  hence  we 
 have  reason  to  believe  that  the  idea  of  a  world  beyond 
 the  grave  was  derived  either  from  the  Greeks  or 
 from  the  Romans,  both  of  whom  had  gained  power 
 (according  to  their  own  showing)  in  that  unseen  realm 
 long  before  the  Hebrews. 
 
 It  is  further  noteworthy,  that  the  Jewish  prophet 
 describes  the  Almighty  as  making  use  of  horses  to  per- 
 form His  bidding,  and  collecting  information  for  Him 
 self  throughout  the  earth.  Before  the  Babylonish  cap- 
 tivity, the  breeding  of  horses  was  discouraged.  Horses 
 were  then  sacred  to  the  sun,  and  as  such  repug- 
 nant to  the  Prophets  of  Jehovah  ;  but  when  familiarity 
 with  the  Babylonian  and  Persian  customs  had  given 
 Zcchariuh  a  tolenince  of  the  idea  that  horses  might 
 bo  sacrificed  to  the  sun  or  to  Mithra,  the  Persian 
 creator,  the  Prophet  naturally  imagined  that  the 
 Almighty  used  the  animals  for  His  angels  to  rido  on. 
 How  intensely  anthropomorphic  Zechariah's  concep- 
 tion of  Jehovah  was  is  evident  from  this  single  trait. 
 A  Jew  declares  that  God  uses  men  and  horses  to  collect 
 
931 
 
 information  for  Him,   and  Christians,  priding  them- 
 selves on  their  trust  in  an  Omniscient  and  Omnipresent 
 (^od,  give  credence  to  such  a  man,  and  revile  those 
 who  feel  and  express  indignation  that  the  Almighty 
 should  be  thus  travestied  !     There  are  many  who  feel 
 deeply  humiliated  when  they  think  of  the  grovelling 
 theology  which  passes  current  as  orthodox  amon^^st 
 educated  Christians,  and  who  sigh  for  the  time  wh'en 
 as  much  close  attention  will  be  given  to  the  subject 
 ot  divmity  as  is  given  to  law,  politics,  science,  litera- 
 ture and  the  like,  and  when  religious  teaching  will 
 no  longer  be  left  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  dis- 
 couraged from  learning  or  penetrating  into  the  subject. 
 ZiLLAH,  n^^^  (Gen.  iv.  19).     ''He  divides,  or  cuts,"  variant 
 01     ..,  zalah.     Taking  into  consideration  that  both 
 Lamech  and  Ada  are  Grecian  names,  it  is  probable 
 that  this  word  may  have  a  similar  origin;  if  so,  we 
 may  probably  recognise  it  in  ^^K^,  zele,   "a  female 
 rival,"  which  is  certainly  an  appropriate  name  for  the 
 second  wife  of  a  warrior. 
 ZiPPORAH,  nnby  (Exod.  iii.  21).     ''She  moves  in   a  circle." 
 
 Compare  Sippara,  a  city  of  the  Sun  (Cuneiform) 
 Zodiac.     The  subject  of  the  Zodiac  is  one  of  great  interest 
 to  the  astronomer,  and  of  no  less  importance  to  the 
 critical  historian.      The  latter  sees   good   reason   to 
 believe  that  many  arrangements  have  been  made,  by 
 writers  imbued  with  astronomical  lore,    to  make  it 
 appear  that  matters  are  managed  on  earth  much  in 
 the  same  way  as  they  are  conducted  in  the  sky.     We 
 have  already  seen  reason  to  believe  that  the  division 
 of  time  into  weeks  or  sevens  was  dependent  upon  the 
 planets,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  division  of  the 
 year   into   twelve   was  at  the  basis  of  twelve  being 
 regarded  as  a  sort  of  perfect  number. 
 
932 
 
 So  for  as  I  am  able  to  discover,  the  ancient 
 Babylonians  were  the  first  that  constructed  a  Zodiac, 
 and  from  them  it  slowly  spread  to  the  Persians, 
 the  Brahmins,  the  Egyptians,  and  the  Greeks.  See 
 TSABEANISM,  su2)ra. 
 
 I  cannot  find  any  evidence  in  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
 tures of  the  Zodiac  being  known  to  the  Jews  prior 
 to  the  Babylonish  captivity.  They  certainly  became 
 acquainted  with  it  after  their  residence  in  Babylon. 
 The  twelve  signs  were  then  called  ^'^^l^,  i'^'^  ^'^^, 
 setaiim  asar  mazzaloth,  or  "the  twelve  constella- 
 tions, or  habitations."  But  into  the  history  and 
 signification  of  the  various  symbols  of  the  Zodiac,  the 
 small  space  left  at  my  disposal  prevents  my  entering. 
 
933 
 
 EPILOGUE. 
 
 We  are  now  in  a  position  to  look  back,  and  arrange  tlie 
 points  which  we  have  endeavoured  to  establish  in  the  pre- 
 ceding pages. 
 
 1.  In  respect  to  ancient  proper  names,  we  have  seen  that 
 they  consist  mainly  of  cognomens  of  deities,  associated 
 with  one  or  other  attribute  assigned  thereto. 
 
 2.  These  attributes  have  reference  to  the  Great  Invisible, 
 Omnipotent  and  Omnipresent  Maker,  to  the  sun,  the  moon, 
 the  planets,  and  the  male  or  female  elements  of  creation. 
 
 3.  The  majority  of  Jewish  names  are  compounded  with 
 words  which  evidence  a  belief  that  the  Creator  is  masculine, 
 but  some  Hebrew,  and  many  foreign  cognomens  indicate 
 the  idea  that  the  Omnipotent  is  likewise  feminine. 
 
 4.  We  have  found  that  the  word  Elohim,  in  the  plural, 
 may  signify  a  belief  in  an  androgyne  God ;  or  that  it  may  be 
 regarded  as  equivalent  to  "the  gods,"  an  expression  constantly 
 used  by  Socrates  and  other  devout  Greeks  and  Latins.  We 
 have  also  recognised  the  fact  that  Jah,  or  Jehovah,  is  never 
 used  in  the  plural.  There  is,  therefore,  a  distinct  point  of 
 antagonism  between  what  are  called  Elohistic  and  Jehovistic 
 writers  in  the  Old  Testament. 
 
 5.  That  the  gods  worshipped  by  Phoenicians,  Cartha- 
 ginians, Syrians,  and  Hebrews  were  essentially  the  same, 
 and  were  more  or  less  sexual. 
 
 6.  That  particular  names  were  occasionally  assumed  by 
 
934 
 
 priests,    prophets,    kings,    and   others,  and  were  sometimes 
 invented  by  writers  with  a  definite  view. 
 
 7.  That  a  collation  of  Shemitic  cognomens  shows  that 
 though  monotheism  was  held  by  some  individuals,  there  was  a 
 general  belief  in  a  male,  female,  triune,  and  fourfold  Creator; 
 and  that  these  creeds  were  found,  side  by  side,  in  one  empire. 
 
 8.  That  the  Almighty  was  worshipped  under  various  em- 
 blems, e.  g.,  astronomically,  under  the  symbols  of  the  sun  and 
 moon,  the  heaven  and  earth,  land  and  water,  sky  and  sea; 
 terrestrially,  under  the  signs  of  virility  and  womanhood ;  but 
 the  emblems  w^ere  intentionally  inexact,  so  as  not  to  be 
 recognised  by  the  uninitiated. 
 
 9.  That  the  majority,  if  not  the  whole,  of  modern  eccle- 
 siastical emblems  have  their  origin  in  heathen  ideas,  and 
 represent  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  male  triad,  and  the  female 
 unit,  or  a  combination  of  two  or  more  of  these. 
 
 10.  That  all  sorts  of  fables  were  woven,  embodying  solar 
 and  lunar,  male  and  female  ideas  of  the  Creator,  and  that 
 everything  which  in  any  way,  as  regards  nomenclature, 
 general  appearance,  habits,  and  the  like,  could  be  associated 
 with  one  or  with  all  of  these  ideas,  was  adopted  into  the 
 worship  of  the  Creator. 
 
 11.  That  sol-lunar  and  sexual  ideas  formed  the  basis  of 
 the  ancient  Shemitic  faith  ;  which,  although  compatible  with 
 moral  goodness  and  grand  ideas  of  God,  were  generally 
 productive  of  excessive  sensuality. 
 
 12.  That  the  Jews  were  no  better  than  their  neighbours. 
 
 13.  That  the  Hebrew  religion  was  mainly  copied  from 
 that  of  the  nations  around  them. 
 
 14.  That  amongst  the  written  remains  of  Paganism  sur- 
 viving to  this  day,  the  Almighty  is  universally  depicted  as 
 a  very  superior  regal  man,  having  a  fixed  locality,  a  court, 
 a  wife,  sons,  ministers,  messengers,  and  such  human  feelings 
 as  love,  hate,  revenge,  etc. 
 
935 
 
 15.  That  these  ideas  have  descended  to  Christians  from 
 the  Jews. 
 
 16.  That  doctrines  and  forms  of  worship,  founded  upon 
 anthropomorphic  ideas  of  the  Omnipotent,  are  degrading. 
 
 17.  That  a  style  of  ritual  and  of  sacerdotal  ornament, 
 adopted  from  ancient  astrological  and  sexual  sources,  ought  not 
 to  be  tolerated  amongst  religious,  rational,  or  civilised  beings. 
 
 18.  That  the  modern  Jewish  and  Christian  ideas  of  a 
 future  world,  in  which  rewards  and  punishments  for  acts 
 done  on  earth  will  be  meted  out,  are  of  Pagan  origin. 
 
 19.  That  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  such  a  being  as 
 Satan,  and  such  localities  as  Heaven  and  Hell,  had  its 
 rise  in  Heathen  sources. 
 
 20.  That  the  Jewish  theology  did  not  essentially  differ 
 from  the  Greek,  except  in  the  nomenclature  of  the  universal 
 King  and  His  ministers,  the  inferior  gods  amongst  the 
 Hellenes  being  angels  amongst  the  Hebrews. 
 
 21.  That  the  Almighty  father  was  sometimes  regarded  as 
 triune,  or  a  trinity  in  unit}^ 
 
 22.  That  though  the  creative  mother  was  worshipped  as 
 an  unit,  she  was  usually  associated  with  a  child. 
 
 23.  That  father  and  mother  form  the  fourfold  source  of  life. 
 
 24.  That  the  reverence  accorded  to  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
 is  undeserved;  that  they  are  in  no  sense  the  inspired 
 word  of  God,  nor  contain  any  peculiar  revelation  of  His 
 will  to  man ;  but  have  been  written  by  men,  with  a  defi- 
 nite, and  not  always  a  pure  object. 
 
 25.  That  the  claim  of  the  ancient  Jews  to  be  a  holy  nation 
 and  a  peculiar  people,  chosen  by  the  Almighty  from  all  the 
 world  besides,  cannot  be  allowed. 
 
 26.  That  the  history  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  world  in 
 general,  as  pourtrayed  in  the  Old   Testament  is  unreliable, 
 
 since,  Hke  other  histories,  it  contains   mythological   fables, 
 supernatural  events,  and  factitious  narrative. 
 
936 
 
 27.  That  before  a  true  conception  of  the  Hebraic  history 
 can  be  attained,  the  Jewish  writings  must  be  investigated 
 critically  like  any  other  human  production. 
 
 28.  That  a  rigid  inquiry  into  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
 clearly  indicates  the  probability  that  the  Jews,  as  a  nation, 
 became  a  distinct  people  when  David  conquered  and  dwelt  in 
 Jerusalem ;  that  they  ^Ycre  a  mixed  body,  consisting  of 
 mercenary  soldiers,  euhstcd  into  David's  company  from  the 
 aborigines  of  Palestine,  the  inhabitants  of  its  sea  coast,  and 
 the  traders  or  pirates  entering  its  maritime  ports. 
 
 29.  That,  being  soldiers  of  fortune,  the  original  Jews  had 
 the  propensities  common  to  fighting  men,  and  were  proud,  sen- 
 sual, brutal,  illiterate,  superstitious,  and,  where  possible, 
 oppressive  to  their  neighbours ;  that  at  length  the  warriors,  and 
 their  descendants,  relapsed  into  ease,  Uke  the  Carthaginians 
 at  Capua,  and  lost  their  power;  that  the  prowess  of  David 
 and  his  men  was  magnified  by  their  successors,  who  prided 
 themselves  upon  a  descent  from  these  heroes,  all  others 
 being  regarded  with  contempt. 
 
 30.  That  the  Israelites  were  the  Palestinians  conquered 
 by,  and  subject  to,  David. 
 
 31.  That  the  early  Jews  resembled  the  early  Romans, 
 and  were  antagonistic  to  their  neighbours. 
 
 32.  That  the  Jews  only  subjected  the  people  around  them 
 so  long  as  the  warlike  prowess  of  David's  troop  was  feared ; 
 and  that  the  increasing  indolence  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
 salem determined  those  who  had  been  subjected  by  the  son 
 of  Jesse  to  revolt,  and  subscciucutly  to  capture  his  city. 
 
 33.  That  the  estimate  formed  of  the  descendants  of  David 
 and  his  soldiery,  by  their  neighbours,  diflered  greatly  from 
 the  Jews'  ideas  of  themselves. 
 
 31.  That,  in  the  early  days  of  the  Davidic  dynasty,  no 
 written  book  nor  code  of  laws  existed  ;  justice  being  meted 
 out  according  to  the  rough  usage  common  amongst  u  warUko 
 
937 
 
 people;   the  king,   or  chief,  being  the  judge  and  the  law- 
 giver. 
 
 35.  That  the  Jews,  as  a  rule,  trusted  more  to  prophetic 
 promises,  and  the  presumed  favour  of  a  deity,  than  to  them- 
 selves. 
 
 36.  That,  in  the  time  of  Amaziah,  about  b.  c.  800, 
 Jerusalem  was  captured  and  pillaged  by  a  confederacy,  all  its 
 treasures  carried  off,  and  its  inhabitants  sold  into  slavery, — 
 amongst  other  people,  to  the  Greeks ;  but  that  a  remnant 
 of  Jews  remained  in  the  city,  with  a  king  over  them,  all 
 being  excessively  poor  and  miserable. 
 
 37.  That  if  any  writing,  either  of  a  legislative  or  devotional 
 kind,  had  then  been  in  existence,  it  was  destroyed ;  but,  the 
 state  religion  being  at  that  time  pagan,  no  Mosaic  manu- 
 script is  likely  to  have  existed  for  the  confederates  to  steal. 
 
 38.  That  the  story  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Moses, 
 and  the  first  seven  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  were  fabri- 
 cated shortly  after  the  Grecian  captivity. 
 
 39.  That  the  so-called  prophecies  of  Joel,  Obadiah,  Amos, 
 and  Micah,  were  spoken  during  the  period  immediately 
 following  the  Confederate  sack.  That  the  stories  of  the 
 sojourn  in  Egypt,  of  the  Exodus,  of  Judges,  were  invented 
 to  demonstrate  to  the  sufferers  that,  though  Israel  was  de- 
 pressed, yet  she  would  rise  again ;  other  tales  being  fabri- 
 cated to  '  throw  dirt '  upon  the  ancestors  of  the  conquerors 
 by  whom  Jerusalem  had  been  pillaged.  All  professed  that 
 the  Jews  were  beloved  by  God,  who  would  in  the  end 
 miraculously  preserve  them,  and  destroy  their  enemies. 
 
 40.  That  the  Old  Testament  miracles  are  wholly  false,  not 
 even  being  founded  upon  fact. 
 
 41.  That  the  Bible  miracles  resemble  those  recorded  in 
 the  Hindoo  scriptures,  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks,  and  the 
 saintly  annals  of  the  Papists. 
 
 42.  That,  during  the  century  following  Amaziah's  reign, 
 
938 
 
 there  was  war  between  Mesopotamia,  Tyre,  and  Egypt.  That 
 this  made  the  possession  of  Jerusalem  of  strategical  import- 
 ance both  to  the  Assyrian  and  Mizraite  monarch.  That  the 
 Assyrian  empire  tried  to  secm-e  Jerusalem  as  a  frontier 
 town,  and  a  check  upon  Egypt.  The  Jews,  miserable  in 
 their  poverty,  then  first  came  into  contact  with  the  learning 
 and  religious  system  of  the  Babylonians.  That,  Tyre  being 
 nearer  to  the  city  of  David  than  Babylon,  the  Tyrians 
 induced  Jerusalem  to  remain  neutral.  That  many  of  Jewish 
 descent  then  returned  from  Greece  to  Judea,  bringing  Hellenic 
 ideas.  Phoenician  arts  were  introduced  into  Jerusalem 
 about  the  same  time. 
 
 43.  That  the  ancient  Hebrew  alphabet  and  written  lan- 
 guage were  identical  with  the  Tyrian. 
 
 44.  That  the  era  of  Jewish  writings  began  about  b.  c.  700. 
 The  vaticinations  of  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  and  Micah  were 
 then  committed  to  paper ;  the  tales  about  Eg}^pt,  etc.,  were 
 wi'itten  in  a  book,  with  the  extant  traditions  of  David  and 
 his  successors. 
 
 45.  That  the  record  thus  made  was  private  property,  and 
 was  never  wholly  published.  This  enabled  its  possessors  to 
 modify  it  as  they  pleased. 
 
 46.  That  no  Levitical  caste  existed  in  David's  time  at 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 47.  That  if  any  sacerdotal  leaders  existed  in  Amaziah's 
 reign,  they  were  deported  or  destroyed  at  the  confederate 
 sack  of  the  town. 
 
 48.  That  the  idea  of  an  hereditary  sacerdotal  caste  was 
 suggested  to  the  Jews  by  the  Mesopotamians. 
 
 49.  That  this  was  accompanied  with,  and  facilitated  by, 
 the  fabrication  of  a  written  law  and  factitious  history. 
 
 50.  That  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  had  much  to  do  with  this 
 design.'" 
 
 **^   See  2  MaccabctiS  ii.  1,  2,  3,  "  it  in  also  foand  in  thu  records  that  Jeremy 
 
939 
 
 51.  That  much  of  the  Pentateuch,  including  the  account 
 of  the  giving  of  the  moral  law,  enforcing  amongst  other 
 things  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  was  framed  in  Josiah's 
 time. 
 
 52.  That  all  the  early  manuscripts  were  lost  during  the 
 Babylonish  captivity. 
 
 53.  That  some  memory  of  them  remained. 
 
 54.  That  the  Old  Testament  as  we  have  it  is  of  very  late 
 composition,  and  amalgamates  Grecian,  Phoenician,  Baby- 
 lonian, and  Persian  mythology,  faith,  method  of  worship, 
 division  of  time,  reverence  for  feasts,  and  the  Hke,  thus 
 forming  the  Hebrew  religion. 
 
 55.  That  there  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  Egyptian 
 elements  in  Jewish  books  and  nomenclature. 
 
 56.  That  the  tales  of  the  connexion  between  sons  of  God 
 and  daughters  of  men;  of  the  talking  serpent;  of  the  won- 
 drous flood;  of  the  tower  of  Babel;  of  the  patriarch  Abraham; 
 of  Esau  and  Jacob ;  of  Joseph  in  Egj'pt ;  of  the  plagues 
 inflicted  by  Moses,  are  fabulous,  having  no  more  founda- 
 tion in  truth  than  the  stories  of  the  wanderings  of  Ulysses, 
 the  voyage  of  iEneas,  his  descent  into  Hell,  and  his  coming 
 to  Italy;  or  the  peopling  of  Britain  by  the  progeny  of 
 Ascanius. 
 
 57.  That  there  is  nothing  in  the  prophecies  recorded 
 in  the  Old  Testament  more  worthy  of  credence  than  the 
 utterances  of  the  oracles  of  Delphi  or  Jupiter  Ammon. 
 
 58.  That  the  claim  made  by  Jews  and  Christians  to  an 
 exclusive  revelation  of  the  divine  will  cannot  be  allowed. 
 
 59.  That  the  origin  of  the  so-called  laws  of  Moses  must  be 
 attributed  to  some  author,  or  authors,  who  were  conversant  with 
 
 the  propliet  commanded  them  thsit  were  carried  away  to  take  of  the  fire  as  it 
 hath  heen  signified;  and  how  that  the  2>rophet,  having  given  them  the  Imv, 
 charged  them  not  to  forget  the  commandments  of  the  Lord;  and  with  such 
 other  speeches  exhorted  he  them  that  the  law  should  not  depart  from  their 
 hearts." 
 
940 
 
 the  theology  of  Babylonia  and  Persia.  They  contain  a  strange 
 mixture  of  Babylonian  ceremonies,  and  Zoroastrian  edicts ; 
 and  it  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  veiy 
 strong  evidence  to  show  that  Judaism  and  Parseeism  are 
 closely  allied.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  been  carried, 
 that  not  only  did  the  ancient  Jew  and  Persian  fraternise 
 in  the  days  of  Cyrus  and  Darius,  but  their  representatives 
 are  equally  amicable  to-day.  A  Parsee  in  England  always 
 endeavouring  to  find  the  house  of  some  Jew,  with  whom  he 
 can  lodge ;  the  tenets  of  both  being  essentially  similar. 
 
 60.  That  from  these  and  other  considerations  we  have  been 
 forced  to  conclude  that  the  Old  Testament  has  no  more  real 
 value  than  the  Shasters,  Yedas,  Koran,  Orphic  Hymns,  and 
 a  variety  of  other  ancient  i^roductions.  Its  stories  are  fables, 
 its  miracles  are  myths,  its  prophecies  are  fanatical  rhap- 
 sodies, its  aspirations  after  good  are  feeble  when  com- 
 pared with  those  of  other  nations,  and  its  histories  are  not 
 authentic.  The  theology  inculcated  in  its  books  and  laws  is 
 criminal,  since  it  encourages  murder,  theft,  and  licentiousness; 
 and  the  description  of  the  Almighty  which  it  records  is  as 
 degrading  as  that  which  Homer  gives  of  the  Celestial  Court. 
 The  morality  which  the  Old  Testament  propounds  contrasts 
 unfavourably  with  that  enunciated  by  Confucius,  Buddha, 
 Socrates,  Xenophon,  Plato,  Mexicans,  and  Peruvians.  The 
 cosmogony  of  the  book  is  evidence  of  the  ignorance  of  its 
 authors  and  editors.  Of  the  scope  and  tendency  of  its 
 politics,  any  one  conversant  with  the  history  of  the  Jewish 
 nation  can  judge. 
 
 Gl.  That  we  consider  the  faith  and  practice  of  other 
 nations,  c.  r/.,  Persians,  Medcs,  Buddhists,  Parsecs,  and 
 PeruvianSjWcre  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  that  of  the  ancient 
 Jews,  and  the  majority  of  modern  Christians. 
 
 G2.  That,  the  morality  inculcated  in  the  Old  Testament 
 being  bud,  the  book  ought  not  to  be  promulgated  amongst  a 
 
941 
 
 civilised  community  as  inspired.  That  its  impropriety,  in 
 ideas,  language,  promises,  and  denunciations,  is  conspicuous, 
 and  calls  for  animadversion. 
 
 63.  That  the  Jews  did  once  prune,  revise,  and  correct  their 
 older  writings,  and  that  Christians  may  do  so  now. 
 
 64.  That,  in  seeking  after  God,  man  should  pass  from  the 
 known  to  the  unknown,  rather  than  start  from  some  asserted 
 ''revelation,"  of  whose  truth  there  is  no  valid  evidence. 
 Man  can  only  learn  anything  of  the  Creator,  with  even  com- 
 parative certainty,  by  observing  His  works. 
 
 65.  That  the  study  of  mankind,  astronomy,  geology, 
 physics,  geography,  ethnology,  physiology,  botany,  and 
 chemistry,  with  the  use  of  the  microscope,  are  so  many  means 
 of  leading  man  to  know  his  Maker,  and  are  more  important 
 than  mere  theology. 
 
 66.  That  if  exact  knowledge  given  by  the  cultivation  of 
 science  contradicts  any  so-called  revelation,  the  last  must 
 fall  before  the  first. 
 
 67.  That  true  theology  is  not  opposed  to  veritable  science. 
 
 68.  That  a  false  theosophy  only  is  opposed  to  the  exten- 
 sion of  knowledge. 
 
 69.  That  every  known  religion  has  been  invented  by  man, 
 and  must  necessarily  be  imperfect ;  or,  which  amounts  to 
 the  same  thing,  that  all  have  an  equal  claim  to  inspiration. 
 
 70.  That  all  religions  follow  human  instincts,  and  are 
 sensual,  sensuous,  ascetic,  persecuting,  and  the  like,  according 
 to  the  civilisation  and  mental  peculiarities  of  their  pro- 
 mulgators. 
 
 71.  That  civilisation  is  the  parent,  not  the  child,  of  a 
 recondite  theology. 
 
 72.  That  contests  amongst  hierarchs  evidence  their  dis- 
 belief in  the  power  of  the  deity  worshij^ped;  for  if  ''the 
 Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His,"  man  need  not  fight  to 
 give  Him  information. 
 
942 
 
 But  when  we  thus  enunciate  the  conclusions  to  which  we 
 have  arrived,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that  they  have  a  bearing 
 upon  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as  upon  the  Old ;  and  in  an 
 especial  manner  upon  the  tenets  of  modern  Christianity. 
 If  we  believe  the  story  of  creation,  as  recorded  in  Genesis,  to 
 be  mythical,  the  whole  doctrine  about  original  sin  must  fall 
 to  the  ground.  If  there  be  no  valid  evidence  that  man  is  a 
 fallen  being,  and  if,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  abundant 
 evidence  to  show  that  he  is  what  the  Almighty  intended  him 
 to  be,  there  is  an  end  to  the  doctrine  of  regeneration ;  and 
 the  Christian  idea  of  salvation  becomes  more  or  less 
 assimilated  to  that  of  the  Buddhist  or  Hindoo.  Then,  again, 
 if  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  are  no  better  than 
 Delphic  oracles,  the  theologian  cannot  use  them  in  support  of 
 the  divinity,  mission,  and  general  history  of  Jesus,  of  a 
 coming  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  a  reign  of  universal 
 love  lasting  for  a  thousand  years.  And  if  all  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment is  to  a  great  extent  Apocryphal,  we  can  no  longer  regard 
 as  superhuman  the  knowledge  of  Mary's  son,  inasmuch 
 as  he  treated  both  the  law  and  the  prophets  as  infallible. 
 
 To  these  and  a  host  of  other  contingencies  I  cannot  shut 
 my  eyes,  but  must  be  allowed  to  postpone  the  consideration 
 of  them   until    some   future    occasion. 
 
 I  may  now  finish  this  summary,  necessarily  an  imperfect 
 one,  by  asserting  my  belief  that  the  only  trustworthy  ancient 
 and  modern  faith  is  one  which  makes  a  man  so  act  that  he 
 need  not  be  ashamed  when  he  meets  with  his  Maker.  Let 
 us  for  a  few  moments  see  what  this  involves.  From  a  con- 
 templation of  the  universe,  we  presume  that  God  has  made 
 His  creatures  so  that  they  shall  enjoy  their  brief  existence. 
 VThai  then  must  be  the  position  of  a  man  who,  when  stand- 
 ing before  the  Judge,  is  constrained  to  confess  —  "  You 
 intended  me,  0  Lord,  to  be  happy,  and  I  have  systemati- 
 cally made  myself  miserable ;  "  or,  **  You  intended,  0  Great 
 
943 
 
 Being,  that  all  men  should  be  at  least  as  comfortable  as 
 rabbits  and  deer,  lions  and  wolves,  but  I  have  endeavoured 
 to  make  all  who  did  not  agree  with  me  wretched ;  "  or, 
 "It  has  been  reported  upon  earth  that  you,  0  God  Eternal, 
 wished  all  men  to  be  saved,  but  I  have  taken  care  to  do  my 
 utmost  to  send  all,  even  those  who  called  themselves  your 
 messengers,  who  ventured  to  think  for  themselves,  to  everlast- 
 ing perdition"?  Still  more  awful  must  be  the  position  of 
 those  who  assume  the  power  of  sending  their  fellow-mortals 
 to  Hell,  when  they  are  compelled  to  utter  the  damning  speech, 
 "  Oh,  Thou  Good  and  Merciful  Power,  I  have  spent  my 
 existence  in  sending  all  my  enemies  to  your  burning  lake, 
 and  now  I  have  come  to  look  upon  their  torments  "  ! 
 
 For  ourselves,  we  cannot  realise  the  idea  of  conversations 
 in  a  future  state,  but  for  those  who  are  antbropomorphists, 
 and  delight  to  picture  heaven  as  "  a  pleasauuce,"  we  com- 
 mend the  contemplation  of  such  dialogues  as  we  have 
 delineated. 
 
PLATE     I. 
 
PLATE    II. 
 
 (Bramah  Vaivartta  Puranu,  Professor  Wilson. 
 
 ARDANARI-ISWARA. 
 
 From  an  original  drawing  by  Chrisna  Swami,  Pundit 
 
rvi 
 
 ® 
 
 .fooc 
 
 h'i\ 
 
 f^ 
 
 Oooo'^ 
 
 o    O 
 
 PLATE    Ml. 
 
PLATE    IV. 
 
PLATE    V. 
 
PLATE    VI. 
 
 (?m  <> 
 
PLATE    VII. 
 
INDEX  I. 
 
 TEXTS   OF    SCEIPTUEE    EEFEREED    TO,    EXAMINED,    OE 
 EXPLAINED. 
 
 Genesis. 
 
 Genesis. 
 
 Chapter 
 i. 
 
 Verse                                Page 
 2            382,  451,  918 
 
 Chapter 
 
 XV. 
 
 Verse 
 19 
 
 Page 
 182 
 
 1-14 
 
 857 
 
 xvi. 
 
 13 
 
 608 
 
 ii. 
 
 18 
 
 840 
 
 xvii. 
 
 14 
 
 26 
 
 iii. 
 
 16 
 
 154 
 
 14-26 
 
 91 
 
 4,5 
 
 700 
 
 xviii. 
 
 1-14      85,  8 
 
 11,  859,  882 
 
 7 
 
 461 
 
 2 
 
 750 
 
 iv. 
 
 1 
 
 185 
 
 6-8 
 
 721 
 
 12 
 
 451 
 
 12 
 
 25, 125 
 
 21 
 
 376 
 
 23 
 
 509 
 
 22 
 
 183 
 
 27 
 
 451 
 
 vi. 
 
 2 
 
 829 
 
 xix. 
 
 1 
 
 750,  822 
 
 5,22 
 
 840 
 
 1-3 
 
 841 
 
 16 
 
 391 
 
 16 
 
 750 
 
 vii. 
 
 2 
 
 863 
 
 25-29 
 
 749 
 
 11 
 
 575 
 
 28,31 
 
 751 
 
 viii. 
 
 10-12 
 
 388 
 
 XX. 
 
 7 
 
 510 
 
 11-14 
 
 575 
 
 2-12 
 
 666 
 
 21 
 
 840 
 
 xxi. 
 
 32 
 
 483 
 
 ix. 
 
 3 
 
 575 
 
 xxii. 
 
 1 
 
 698 
 
 12-17 
 
 840 
 
 1-2 
 
 841 
 
 25 
 
 108 
 
 .. 
 
 16 
 
 841 
 
 27 
 
 454 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 3-19 
 
 321 
 
 X. 
 
 2 
 
 124 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 11 
 
 859 
 
 4 
 
 196 
 
 XXV. 
 
 22 
 
 428 
 
 6-20 
 
 108 
 
 23 
 
 87 
 
 23 
 
 268 
 
 26 
 
 454 
 
 xi. 
 
 5-7 
 
 841 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 1-14 
 
 22,  25,  666 
 
 8] 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 .      22,  666 
 
 xii. 
 
 1 
 
 22,  24 
 
 xxvii. 
 
 36 
 
 454,  554 
 
 12,13 
 
 22,  666 
 
 40 
 
 205 
 
 xiii. 
 
 10 
 
 12,  749 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 40 
 
 420 
 
 xiv. 
 
 1-18 
 
 478,  752 
 
 XXX. 
 
 14 
 
 859 
 
 19 
 
 184 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 7 
 
 22 
 
 XV. 
 
 13 
 
 26,  92 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 17 
 
 369,  782 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 18 
 
 752 
 
 0  0  0 
 
946 
 
 Genesis 
 
 Exodus. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 xxxiv. 
 
 30 
 
 25 
 
 xix. 
 
 5-6 
 
 309 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 8 
 
 457 
 
 13 
 
 377 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 7 
 
 454 
 
 15 
 
 342 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 24 
 
 876 
 
 18 
 
 782 
 
 xli. 
 
 2-22 
 
 863 
 
 xix. 
 
 21-25 
 
 341 
 
 xlvi. 
 
 5-7 
 
 91 
 
 XX. 
 
 4 
 
 268,  360 
 
 G 
 
 25 
 
 5 
 
 .      742,  844 
 
 xhii. 
 
 11-2G 
 
 91 
 
 10 
 
 616 
 
 13-26 
 
 801 
 
 11 
 
 .      342,  377 
 
 17-20 
 
 25 
 
 18-21 
 
 341 
 
 xlix. 
 
 3 
 
 207 
 
 xxi. 
 
 7-11 
 
 490 
 
 5 
 
 .       205,  714 
 
 23-25 
 
 546 
 
 8-19 
 
 454 
 
 xxii. 
 
 18 
 
 604 
 
 10 
 
 725 
 
 29 
 
 721 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 17 
 
 40 
 
 Exodus. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 9-11 
 
 342 
 
 i. 
 
 478 
 
 12 
 
 46,  341 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 XXV. 
 
 6 
 
 797 
 
 ii. 
 
 10 
 
 338 
 
 12 
 
 795 
 
 16 
 
 863 
 
 24-30 
 
 722 
 
 iii. 
 
 2 
 
 782 
 
 30 
 
 42,  721 
 
 iv. 
 
 24^27 
 
 26,  700,  841 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 1 
 
 797 
 
 V. 
 
 1-20 
 
 92 
 
 14 
 
 .      797,  802 
 
 3 
 
 332 
 
 15 
 
 795 
 
 Ti. 
 
 3 
 
 713 
 
 17 
 
 796 
 
 Adi. 
 
 13 
 
 697 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 4-6 
 
 801 
 
 ix. 
 
 16 
 
 304,  701,  812 
 
 9-11 
 
 797 
 
 xi. 
 
 2 
 
 331 
 
 20 
 
 723 
 
 4,5 
 
 700 
 
 xxix. 
 
 14 
 
 90 
 
 xii. 
 
 3-38 
 
 92 
 
 23 
 
 722 
 
 22-38 
 
 842 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 13 
 
 616 
 
 29,30 
 
 19 
 
 15-17 
 
 .      342,  797 
 
 35 
 
 794 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 2,3 
 
 796 
 
 40 
 
 26,  92 
 
 9 
 
 115,  796 
 
 xiv. 
 
 1,2 
 
 22 
 
 16-27 
 
 343 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 845 
 
 8 
 
 478 
 
 27 
 
 331,  813 
 
 17 
 
 842 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 5,6 
 
 .      343,  344 
 
 20 
 
 702 
 
 xxxiv. 
 
 1 
 
 46 
 
 XV. 
 
 3 
 
 360 
 
 7 
 
 844 
 
 xvi. 
 
 3-12 
 
 90 
 
 22 
 
 863 
 
 29 
 
 616,  617 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 802 
 
 xvii. 
 
 (i 
 
 93 
 
 2 
 
 624 
 
 8-13 
 
 93 
 
 6-8 
 
 805 
 
 14 
 
 26,  89 
 
 21 
 
 801 
 
947 
 
 Exodus. 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verso 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 8 
 
 225, 226 
 
 viii. 
 
 2 
 
 866 
 
 xl. 
 
 38 
 
 782 
 
 7 
 
 683 
 
 2,  17 
 
 371 
 
 x. 
 
 xi. 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 370,   371 
 90 
 
 Leviticus. 
 
 xii. 
 
 1 
 
 344 
 
 iv. 
 
 11 
 
 90 
 
 xiii. 
 
 20 
 
 859 
 
 vii. 
 
 8 
 
 90 
 
 28 
 
 26 
 
 ix. 
 
 24 
 
 782 
 
 xiv. 
 
 13 
 
 -16 
 
 345 
 
 X. 
 
 1-3 
 
 782 
 
 22 
 
 -33 
 
 701 
 
 xii. 
 
 5 
 
 863 
 
 44, 
 
 45 
 
 93 
 
 xiii. 
 
 46 
 
 358 
 
 XV. 
 
 19 
 
 -21 
 
 721 
 
 XV. 
 
 17 
 
 00 
 
 32- 
 
 -36 
 
 604,  624 
 
 xvi. 
 
 8 
 
 704 
 
 xvi. 
 
 35 
 
 876 
 
 27 
 
 90 
 
 xviii. 
 
 2 
 
 454 
 
 xvii. 
 
 7            213 
 
 700,  703 
 
 xix. 
 
 5 
 
 90 
 
 xviii. 
 
 9-30 
 
 37 
 
 .. 
 
 26 
 
 865 
 
 21 
 
 101,  323 
 
 XX. 
 
 8 
 
 93 
 
 24 
 
 107 
 
 xxi. 
 
 6-9 
 
 360,  393 
 
 xix. 
 
 26 
 
 865 
 
 14 
 
 88,  89 
 
 .. 
 
 29 
 
 490 
 
 xxii. 
 
 22- 
 
 -34 
 
 298 
 
 684,  697 
 
 XX. 
 
 2 
 
 101,  323 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 1 
 
 863 
 
 .. 
 
 10 
 
 37,  750 
 
 7 
 
 196 
 
 .. 
 
 17 
 
 37 
 
 17 
 
 490 
 
 .. 
 
 23 
 
 93,  107 
 
 38 
 
 371 
 
 xxi. 
 
 7-9        '     . 
 
 490,  876 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 714 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 10 
 
 721 
 
 7 
 
 458 
 
 15 
 
 863 
 
 17 
 
 209.  529 
 
 43 
 
 470 
 
 21- 
 
 -22 
 
 182, 
 
 196,  454 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 2 
 
 723,  866 
 
 XXV. 
 
 2-8 
 
 272 
 
 5-9 
 
 42,  721 
 
 5 
 
 332 
 
 .. 
 
 20 
 
 540 
 
 10 
 
 -15 
 
 843 
 
 XXV. 
 
 377 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 61 
 
 782 
 
 8 
 
 863 
 
 xxvii. 
 
 21 
 
 904 
 
 44,  46 
 
 490 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 9 
 
 371,  625 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 1 
 
 41 
 
 11 
 
 -15 
 
 370,  371 
 
 xxvii. 
 
 24 
 
 377 
 
 26 
 
 863 
 
 .. 
 
 28,  29 
 
 102 
 
 xxix. 
 
 371 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 7,8 
 
 ,35 
 
 26,  83 
 
 176,  550 
 
 Numbers. 
 
 17 
 
 "  332 
 
 i. 
 
 1-18 
 
 371 
 
 18 
 
 248,  489 
 
 iii. 
 
 4 
 
 782 
 
 40 
 
 41 
 
 54 
 
 iv. 
 
 6 
 
 802 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 38 
 
 871 
 
 V. 
 
 2,7 
 
 352 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 16 
 
 -31 
 
 37 
 
 vi. 
 
 682,  684 
 
 xxxvi. 
 
 377 
 
 5 
 
 683 
 
 4 
 
 377 
 
9-48 
 
 Chapter 
 
 11. 
 iii. 
 iv. 
 
 VI. 
 
 vii. 
 
 X. 
 
 xii. 
 
 XX. 
 
 xxi. 
 xzii. 
 
 498, 
 
 Deutebonoitt. 
 
 Verse 
 
 3 
 
 28 
 
 30 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 22 
 
 4-19 
 
 11 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1-5 
 
 3 
 
 6,8 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 5-31 
 
 31 
 
 1-10 
 
 6-15 
 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 9 
 
 9-16 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 11,  15 
 
 18 
 
 9,10 
 
 9-15 
 
 10,11 
 
 17 
 
 21 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 25 
 1,2 
 13,14 
 17 
 18 
 16 
 
 Deutebonomy. 
 
 128, 
 
 Page 
 
 371 
 
 26 
 
 702 
 
 483 
 
 697,  701 
 
 702 
 
 162,  892 
 
 624 
 
 629,  861 
 
 616,  617 
 
 536,  882 
 
 863 
 
 312 
 
 41 
 
 114 
 
 94,  795 
 
 393 
 
 26 
 
 107 
 
 101 
 
 583 
 
 843 
 
 161,  309 
 
 666,  736 
 
 859 
 
 863 
 
 40 
 
 861 
 
 692 
 
 40 
 
 101 
 
 107 
 
 865 
 
 40 
 
 540 
 
 702 
 
 40 
 
 915 
 
 7(M) 
 
 37 
 
 247,  884 
 
 519 
 
 176.  490 
 
 169 
 
 88 
 
 Chapter       Verso 
 
 XXV.  2 
 
 ..      11-12 
 
 xxvi.  18 
 
 xxviii.       7-25 
 
 xxix.  23 
 
 xxxi.  15 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 17 
 
 30 
 
 xxxiii.  14 
 
 27 
 
 xxxiv.  6 
 
 V. 
 
 vi. 
 
 XI. 
 
 xii. 
 xiv. 
 
 XV. 
 
 xvii. 
 xviii. 
 
 xxiii. 
 xxiv. 
 
 11. 
 
 Joshua. 
 
 2,9 
 
 4,15 
 
 19-24 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 42 
 
 20 
 
 23 
 
 6 
 
 22,  r.7 
 
 16-18 
 
 1 
 
 2-9 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 26 
 
 JCDOES. 
 7 
 
 16 
 19-35 
 
 . .  21,  23 
 iii.  25 
 
 iv.  :« 
 
 ..      11,  17 
 
 vi.  2 
 
 6 
 
 Page 
 40 
 
 884 
 
 128,  309 
 
 863 
 
 752 
 
 797 
 
 115 
 
 713 
 
 685 
 
 326,  783 
 
 560,   727 
 
 345,  728 
 
 28 
 863 
 187 
 
 22 
 
 876 
 
 349,  752 
 
 541,  576 
 
 88 
 702 
 697 
 752 
 683 
 182 
 187 
 725 
 863 
 41,  685 
 194 
 457 
 
 83 
 
 182 
 
 26,  187 
 
 684 
 
 26 
 192 
 187 
 182 
 
 91 
 
 27 
 
949 
 
 Judges. 
 
 1  Samuel. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 vi. 
 
 11 
 
 457 
 
 xviii. 
 
 4 
 
 194 
 
 vii. 
 
 3 
 
 22, 377 
 
 xix. 
 
 20-24 
 
 520 
 
 viii. 
 
 10-21 
 
 27 
 
 XX. 
 
 5 
 
 326 
 
 21 
 
 326 
 
 5-24 
 
 370 
 
 30 
 
 488 
 
 xxi. 
 
 3-6 
 
 42 
 
 ix. 
 
 1 
 
 488 
 
 8,9 
 
 185 
 
 X. 
 
 2,3 
 
 27 
 
 13 
 
 23 
 
 4 
 
 453 
 
 xxii. 
 
 1-3 
 
 36,  116 
 
 si. 
 
 30-39 
 
 27,  102 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 9 
 
 44,  905 
 
 xii. 
 
 7,8 
 
 27 
 
 . . 
 
 13 
 
 36 
 
 xiii. 
 
 .      682,  684 
 
 XXV. 
 
 22-34 
 
 37 
 
 6 
 
 683 
 
 xxvii. 
 
 7 
 
 481 
 
 xr. 
 
 6 
 
 877 
 
 8-12 
 
 37,  55 
 
 11,  12 
 
 23 
 
 10 
 
 182 
 
 15 
 
 685 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 6 
 
 905 
 
 16 
 
 453 
 
 xxix. 
 
 617 
 
 xvi. 
 
 7-19 
 
 682,  863 
 
 4 
 
 607 
 
 xvii. 
 
 7-13 
 
 170 
 
 XXX. 
 
 29,  617 
 
 17 
 
 281 
 
 24,25 
 
 45 
 
 xix. 
 
 22 
 
 170,  488 
 
 29 
 
 182 
 
 XX. 
 
 28 
 
 EUTH. 
 
 28, 488 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 12 
 
 29 
 
 871 
 
 i. 
 
 20 
 
 454 
 
 2  Samuel. 
 
 iv. 
 
 18-22 
 
 27 
 
 i. 
 
 18 
 
 29,  617 
 88,  89,  195 
 
 1  Samuel. 
 
 20 
 
 454 
 
 i. 
 
 11 
 
 683 
 
 ii. 
 
 11 
 
 29 
 
 ii. 
 
 5 
 
 863 
 
 iii. 
 
 7 
 
 489 
 
 10 
 
 699 
 
 39 
 
 37 
 
 22 
 
 225,  226 
 
 V. 
 
 19-23 
 
 426 
 
 iii. 
 
 18 
 
 850 
 
 vi. 
 
 5 
 
 378 
 
 vi. 
 
 1 
 
 863 
 
 13-21 
 
 44 
 
 xiii. 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 16 
 
 84 
 
 6-22 
 
 28 
 
 vii. 
 
 6-7 
 
 38 
 
 18 
 
 752 
 
 viii. 
 
 15 
 
 40 
 
 19,  22 
 
 187,  683 
 
 16 
 
 39 
 
 xiv. 
 
 11 
 
 28 
 
 , . 
 
 18 
 
 452 
 
 18 
 
 905 
 
 xi. 
 
 1 
 
 859 
 
 49 
 
 753 
 
 9-11 
 
 55 
 
 XV. 
 
 1-3 
 
 540 
 
 xii. 
 
 11 
 
 489 
 
 3 
 
 333,  843    , 
 
 14 
 
 86 
 
 6 
 
 182 
 
 24,  25 
 
 756 
 
 xvi. 
 
 10 
 
 861 
 
 31 
 
 55,  576 
 
 xvii. 
 
 11-24 
 
 23 
 
 xiii. 
 
 18 
 
 554 
 
950 
 
 2  Samuel. 
 
 1  Kings, 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verso 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 xiii. 
 
 21-39 
 
 37 
 
 xiii. 
 
 6 
 
 510 
 
 xiv. 
 
 1&-26 
 
 23 
 
 14 
 
 457 
 
 XV. 
 
 2-4 
 
 40 
 
 32 
 
 677 
 
 13-26 
 
 851 
 
 xiv. 
 
 18 
 
 321 
 
 14 
 
 28 
 
 19-29 
 
 88 
 
 18 
 
 36,  452,  483 
 
 23,  24 
 
 .      169,  753 
 
 27-34 
 
 111 
 
 25 
 
 478 
 
 xri. 
 
 21-22 
 
 489 
 
 XV. 
 
 3 
 
 845 
 
 xvii. 
 
 25 
 
 246 
 
 11-14 
 
 843 
 
 xviii. 
 
 18 
 
 41 
 
 XV. 
 
 12 
 
 .      169,  753 
 
 XX. 
 
 1 
 
 29 
 
 13 
 
 30 
 
 xxi. 
 
 1 
 
 29,  815 
 
 xvi. 
 
 34 
 
 100 
 
 .. 
 
 1-14           51 
 
 8,  633,  702, 
 
 xvii. 
 
 633 
 
 841,  843 
 
 xviii. 
 
 .      633,  782 
 
 9 
 
 863 
 
 XX. 
 
 3-6 
 
 409 
 
 xxii. 
 
 682 
 
 x.xii. 
 
 6 
 
 522,  903 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 1 
 
 22,  698,  701 
 
 19-22 
 
 521,  700 
 
 1-17 
 
 815 
 
 46 
 
 169,  753 
 
 1  ElMOS. 
 
 2  Kings. 
 
 i. 
 
 7 
 
 111 
 
 i. 
 
 2 
 
 429,  877 
 
 ii. 
 
 o 
 
 42 
 
 ii. 
 
 3-5 
 
 520 
 
 5,6 
 
 23 
 
 iii. 
 
 27 
 
 100 
 
 9 
 
 44,  55 
 
 iv. 
 
 23 
 
 370,  617 
 
 20-25 
 
 489 
 
 38 
 
 520 
 
 26 
 
 111 
 
 V. 
 
 1,27 
 
 358 
 
 iii. 
 
 3 
 
 45 
 
 vi. 
 
 1-3 
 
 520 
 
 4 
 
 348 
 
 8-11 
 
 316 
 
 iv. 
 
 33 
 
 892 
 
 28-29 
 
 216 
 
 V. 
 
 4 
 
 697 
 
 vii. 
 
 3,4 
 
 358 
 
 6 
 
 188 
 
 viii. 
 
 4 
 
 358 
 
 vii. 
 
 21 
 
 791 
 
 ix. 
 
 30 
 
 553 
 
 viii. 
 
 4 
 
 226 
 
 xi. 
 
 1-3 
 
 150,  376 
 
 9 
 
 45 
 
 xii. 
 
 376 
 
 16-53 
 
 30 
 
 xiv. 
 
 6 
 
 38 
 
 46-50 
 
 749 
 
 7-14 
 
 402 
 
 65-66 
 
 617 
 
 12-14 
 
 677 
 
 X. 
 
 14 
 
 46 
 
 14 
 
 150 
 
 22 
 
 189 
 
 25 
 
 749 
 
 xi. 
 
 1 
 
 41 
 
 xvi. 
 
 3 
 
 101 
 
 5-7 
 
 214 
 
 10-16 
 
 784 
 
 14-23-25 
 
 r.97 
 
 xvii. 
 
 16 
 
 498,  861 
 
 xii. 
 
 4-28 
 
 49 
 
 17 
 
 101 
 
 41 
 
 K8 
 
 25,  26 
 
 202,  853 
 
 xiii. 
 
 684 
 
 31 
 
 100 
 
951 
 
 Chapter 
 xviii. 
 
 ^  AINGS. 
 Verse 
 4 
 
 Page 
 30,  360 
 
 Chapter 
 xxvii. 
 
 1  Chronicles 
 
 Verse 
 
 1-15 
 
 Page 
 22 
 
 17 
 
 375 
 
 1-34 
 
 39 
 
 18 
 
 49 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 11-19 
 
 29,  348 
 
 27 
 
 238 
 
 12 
 
 702 
 
 XX. 
 
 1 
 
 900 
 
 23 
 
 508 
 
 12 
 
 901 
 
 xxix. 
 
 7 
 
 46 
 
 19 
 
 134 
 
 29 
 
 88,  348 
 
 xxi. 
 
 8-5 
 
 861 
 
 .. 
 
 6 
 
 .       101,  864 
 
 2  Chronicles. 
 
 18-26 
 
 870 
 
 ii. 
 
 4 
 
 370,  618 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 5-11 
 
 783 
 
 7 
 
 800 
 
 7            1 
 
 69,  290,  753 
 
 ii. 
 
 17,18 
 
 108 
 
 •• 
 
 10 
 
 .      301,  868 
 
 iii. 
 
 10 
 
 702 
 
 •• 
 
 16 
 
 873 
 
 iv. 
 
 3 
 
 702 
 
 •• 
 
 30 
 
 21 
 
 vi. 
 
 5,  6 
 
 30 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 4 
 
 878 
 
 viii. 
 
 7,8 
 
 108 
 
 13 
 
 •      723,  867 
 
 13 
 
 40,  863 
 
 1  Chronicles 
 
 ix. 
 
 18 
 1-29 
 
 lb 
 
 88 
 
 i 
 
 4 
 
 387 
 
 9 
 
 46, 867 
 
 7 
 
 196 
 
 13-21 
 
 46 
 
 17 
 
 268 
 
 26 
 
 29 
 
 21 
 
 684 
 
 xi. 
 
 15 
 
 213 
 
 700,  703 
 
 32 
 
 489 
 
 xii. 
 
 1-14 
 
 845 
 
 ii. 
 
 46-48 
 
 489 
 
 9 
 
 150, 867 
 
 •• 
 
 55 
 
 182,  183 
 
 9-11 
 
 366 
 
 iii. 
 
 9 
 
 489 
 
 15 
 
 88 
 
 •• 
 
 24 
 
 863 
 
 xiii. 
 
 845 
 
 V. 
 
 13 
 
 863 
 
 xvi. 
 
 12 
 
 164 
 
 vii. 
 
 14 
 
 489 
 
 14 
 
 321 
 
 870,  873 
 
 ix. 
 
 27 
 
 192 
 
 xvii. 
 
 21 
 
 701 
 
 32 
 
 618 
 
 XX. 
 
 34 
 
 89 
 
 x. 
 
 12 
 
 457 
 
 xxi. 
 
 19 
 
 321, 870 
 
 xi. 
 
 3-6 
 
 205 
 
 XXV. 
 
 11-24 
 
 402 
 
 xii. 
 
 1-40 
 
 36 
 
 24 
 
 150 
 
 •• 
 
 32 
 
 864 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 23 
 
 870 
 
 xiv. 
 
 •i-7 
 
 43 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 3 
 
 101,  875 
 
 XV. 
 
 26 
 
 288 
 
 5-8 
 
 283 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 7 
 
 550 
 
 11-19 
 
 29 
 
 xviii. 
 
 16 
 
 39 
 
 16,  23 
 
 284,  508 
 
 xxi. 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 698,  700 
 
 17 
 
 407 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 784,  817 
 
 xxii. 
 
 13 
 
 42 
 
 xxix. 
 
 17 
 
 371 
 
 xxui. 
 
 31            32( 
 
 \  370,  618 
 
 21 
 
 288,  864 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 7 
 
 550 
 
 XXX. 
 
 27 
 
 510 
 
952 
 
 2  Chboniclee 
 
 . 
 
 Job. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verso 
 
 Pago 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verso 
 
 Pa? 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 3 
 
 370 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 31 
 
 420 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 31 
 
 901 
 
 32 
 
 209 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 6 
 11 
 
 804,  875 
 878 
 
 PsAIiMS. 
 
 19 
 
 89 
 
 ii. 
 
 9 
 
 280 
 
 XXX  vi. 
 
 3,10,19 
 
 150 
 
 V. 
 
 9 
 
 84 
 
 .. 
 
 22,  23 
 
 927 
 
 vi. 
 
 5 
 
 579 
 
 ix. 
 
 13 
 
 85 
 
 Ezra. 
 
 X. 
 
 9 
 
 798 
 
 i. 
 
 1,  9, 11 
 
 723,  927 
 
 xvii. 
 
 13 
 
 701 
 
 7-11 
 
 150 
 
 xviii. 
 
 8 
 
 451 
 
 ii. 
 
 03 
 
 905 
 
 xix. 
 
 5 
 
 778,  839 
 
 iii. 
 
 5 
 
 370 
 
 XXV. 
 
 7 
 
 848 
 
 6 
 
 371 
 
 XXV. 
 
 19 
 
 85 
 
 iv. 
 
 13-17 
 
 865 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 5 
 
 85 
 
 vi. 
 
 5 
 
 150 
 
 XX  vii. 
 
 5 
 
 798 
 
 vii. 
 
 805 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 6 
 
 85 
 
 • 
 
 9 
 
 371 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 6 
 
 906 
 
 12-26 
 
 865 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 1-8 
 
 906 
 
 14 
 
 370 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 85 
 
 X. 
 
 IG,  17 
 
 371 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 19 
 
 85 
 
 xl. 
 
 6 
 
 44 
 
 Nehemiah. 
 
 xU. 
 
 7 
 
 85 
 
 viii. 
 
 2 
 
 371 
 
 xlii. 
 
 3,  10 
 
 84 
 
 ix. 
 
 9-10 
 
 579 
 
 xliv. 
 
 1,9 
 
 702 
 
 14 
 
 616 
 
 xlix. 
 
 8,15 
 
 579 
 
 X. 
 
 33 
 
 370 
 
 1. 
 
 118 
 
 xi. 
 
 31 
 
 752 
 
 Ii. 
 
 10,  12 
 10 
 
 721 
 39,  44 
 
 Esther. 
 
 Iii. 
 
 2 
 
 683 
 
 i. 
 
 1 
 
 715 
 
 8 
 
 452 
 
 1-13 
 
 864 
 
 liv. 
 
 5 
 
 65 
 
 Job. 
 
 Iv. 
 Iviii. 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 85 
 280 
 
 i. 
 
 21 
 
 272 
 
 Ixi. 
 
 3 
 
 452 
 
 V. 
 
 19 
 
 804 
 
 Ixviii. 
 
 1 
 
 85 
 
 ix. 
 
 7-9 
 
 420,  7H2 
 
 3 
 
 452 
 
 xi. 
 
 7 
 
 5H2 
 
 22,23 
 
 65 
 
 xii. 
 
 lG-25 
 
 701 
 
 Ixxiv. 
 
 8,8 
 
 149 
 
 xiv. 
 
 7-12 
 
 or,  4 
 
 Ixix. 
 
 4,  11 
 
 85 
 
 XV. 
 
 22 
 
 272 
 
 13 
 
 865 
 
 xix. 
 
 2r,  27 
 
 57H 
 
 Ixxvi. 
 
 •2 
 
 .      752,  79M 
 
 xxix. 
 
 11,  12 
 
 003 
 
 Ixxviii. 
 
 25 
 
 :mi 
 
 zxx. 
 
 19 
 
 451 
 
 Ixxix. 
 
 1 
 
 119,   HJ7 
 
 xxxi. 
 
 20 
 
 825 
 
 Ixxx. 
 
 847 
 
953 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Ixxxi. 
 
 Ixxxiii. 
 
 Ixxxv. 
 
 Ixxxvi. 
 
 scii. 
 
 xcviii. 
 
 ci. 
 
 civ. 
 
 cvi. 
 
 cxv. 
 
 cxviii. 
 cxxxv. 
 
 cxxxvii. 
 
 cxxxviii. 
 cxxxix. 
 
 cxlvi. 
 cxivii. 
 
 11. 
 
 V. 
 
 vi. 
 
 vii. 
 
 viii. 
 
 IX. 
 
 xvi. 
 
 xxii. 
 
 xxiii. 
 XX  vi. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Psalms 
 Verse 
 3 
 
 1-8 
 
 15 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 3-8 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 
 35,37 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 5,6 
 
 20 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 2,4 
 
 6 
 
 19-22 
 
 21 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 '26,  370,  847 
 407, 878 
 847 
 842 
 85 
 617 
 377 
 84 
 803 
 272 
 101,  713,  875 
 699 
 654 
 85 
 128,  309 
 699 
 209 
 404,  878 
 65 
 839 
 509 
 657 
 85 
 85 
 579 
 44 
 
 Pkovekbs. 
 16 
 
 20 
 16 
 30 
 10 
 20 
 12-36 
 22-31 
 30-35 
 1 
 4 
 7 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 27 
 
 25 
 
 1-4 
 
 248 
 248 
 864 
 739 
 177 
 370 
 765 
 66 
 909 
 864 
 640,  701,  842 
 847 
 16,   113 
 248 
 248 
 864 
 ..    208 
 
 Chapter       Verse 
 
 XXX.  9 
 
 26 
 
 Proverbs. 
 
 1. 
 
 iii. 
 v. 
 vii. 
 ix. 
 xii. 
 
 vii. 
 
 111. 
 
 V. 
 
 vi. 
 vii. 
 
 viii. 
 ix. 
 
 X. 
 
 xi. 
 xiii. 
 xiv. 
 
 XV. 
 
 xvii. 
 xviii. 
 
 xix. 
 
 xxi. 
 
 xxii. 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 ECCLESIASTES. 
 
 9-11 
 
 18 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 9-10 
 
 12 
 
 Song  of  Solomon. 
 7,8 
 13 
 
 Isaiah. 
 7 
 7-9 
 31-15 
 13 
 23 
 18 
 7 
 1-13 
 6 
 9 
 20 
 19 
 1 
 3 
 11-14    405,  408 
 21 
 29 
 5 
 8 
 1 
 14 
 2 
 22 
 1 
 17 
 10 
 6 
 14 
 33 
 
 Page 
 739 
 803 
 
 643 
 
 846 
 272 
 451 
 579 
 157,  158 
 
 807 
 250 
 
 723 
 
 878 
 659 
 370,  371 
 452 
 326 
 452 
 521 
 393 
 452 
 683 
 272 
 752 
 454 
 ,  729,  752 
 213,  703 
 393 
 752 
 274 
 535 
 701 
 454 
 192 
 196 
 451,  700 
 451 
 393 
 280 
 •   868 
 
 429, 
 
 PPP 
 
954 
 
 ISALin. 
 
 Jebemiah, 
 
 Chaptor 
 xxxii. 
 
 Verso 
 
 7 
 
 PftRO 
 
 452 
 
 Chapter 
 xvi. 
 
 Verse 
 0-8 
 
 Page 
 273 
 
 zxxiii. 
 
 12 
 
 877 
 
 xvii. 
 
 25 
 
 729 
 
 xxxiv. 
 
 2-8 
 
 .      700,  703 
 
 xix. 
 
 2,5             8 
 
 08,  875,  878 
 
 14 
 
 707 
 
 4,5 
 
 101 
 
 xxxvi. 
 
 1-J 
 
 238 
 
 XX. 
 
 7 
 
 701 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 17 
 
 705 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 5,8 
 
 729 
 
 . . 
 
 18 
 
 579 
 
 ..11,25,27 
 
 522 
 
 xxxix. 
 
 1 
 
 901 
 
 29 
 
 280 
 
 xl. 
 
 13-17 
 
 301 
 
 XXV. 
 
 18-22 
 
 405 
 
 28 
 
 601 
 
 20 
 
 206 
 
 xli. 
 
 19,20 
 
 795 
 
 38 
 
 798 
 
 xliv. 
 
 8 
 
 451 
 
 xxvii. 
 
 400 
 
 14 
 
 457 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 1-7 
 
 522 
 
 .. 
 
 28 
 
 927 
 
 xxviii. 
 
 1-17 
 
 522 
 
 xlv. 
 
 1 
 
 927 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 15-18 
 
 729 
 
 xlix. 
 
 8 
 
 805,  900 
 
 xxxiv. 
 
 5 
 
 870 
 
 liv. 
 
 G 
 
 451 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 085 
 
 'J 
 
 387 
 
 xxxvi. 
 
 23 
 
 083 
 
 Ivi. 
 
 3-7 
 
 247 
 
 xxxviii. 
 
 24,27 
 
 000 
 
 10-12 
 
 134 
 
 xliii. 
 
 13 
 
 783 
 
 Ivii. 
 
 4-5 
 
 101,  321 
 
 xliv. 
 
 15 
 
 771 
 
 6 
 
 453 
 
 19 
 
 42 
 
 lix. 
 
 12 
 
 700 
 
 xlvii. 
 
 4 
 
 482,  483 
 
 Ixi. 
 Ixiii. 
 
 3 
 
 452 
 
 405 
 
 xlviii. 
 
 2 
 33-34 
 
 454 
 451,  752 
 
 Ixiv. 
 
 Ixv. 
 
 Ixvi. 
 
 14 
 25 
 19 
 23            3 
 
 457 
 
 315 
 
 124 
 
 ro,  371,  025 
 
 xlix. 
 
 1. 
 
 li. 
 
 2-20 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 2 
 
 405,  .S77 
 244 
 280 
 452 
 
 i. 
 
 Jkkemiau. 
 11-12 
 
 453 
 
 lii. 
 
 41 
 
 206 
 723 
 
 ii. 
 
 10 
 
 190 
 
 Lamentations 
 
 V. 
 
 34 
 1-9 
 
 878 
 171 
 
 i. 
 
 ii. 
 
 10 
 () 
 
 247 
 799 
 
 7,8 
 25 
 
 291 
 
 700 
 
 iii. 
 
 47 
 
 451 
 
 vi. 
 
 1 
 
 454 
 
 EZEKIEL. 
 
 mI. 
 
 13 
 
 18 
 
 30,  31 
 
 622 
 
 42 
 
 101,  808 
 
 i. 
 iv. 
 
 V. 
 
 2  J 
 12 
 1 
 
 715 
 619 
 083 
 
 viii. 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 7H3 
 522 
 
 vi. 
 vii. 
 
 13 
 
 0 
 
 457 
 453 
 
 xiii. 
 
 14 
 
 701 
 
 . , 
 
 11 
 
 452 
 
 XV. 
 
 12 
 
 188 
 
 , . 
 
 14 
 
 378 
 
956 
 
 EzEKIEL. 
 
 Daniel. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 viii. 
 
 10 
 
 .      696,  799 
 
 X. 
 
 20 
 
 124 
 
 .. 
 
 16 
 
 783 
 
 xi. 
 
 2 
 
 124 
 
 X. 
 
 5 
 
 715 
 
 . . 
 
 30 
 
 196 
 
 xiv. 
 
 9 
 14,20 
 
 701 
 387 
 
 HOSEA. 
 
 xvi. 
 
 10 
 
 803 
 
 10-12 
 
 804 
 
 i. 
 
 2 
 
 702 
 
 IG 
 
 771 
 
 ii. 
 
 11 
 
 370,  371 
 
 20-21 
 
 101 
 
 .. 
 
 25 
 
 454 
 
 24 
 
 290 
 
 iii. 
 
 1 
 
 702 
 
 , , 
 
 25 
 
 772 
 
 iv. 
 
 10-19 
 
 169 
 
 xxii. 
 
 30 
 
 334 
 
 14 
 
 471 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 14,  17 
 
 799 
 
 V. 
 
 4 
 
 169 
 
 37-39 
 
 101 
 
 viii. 
 
 2 
 
 452 
 
 40 
 
 553 
 
 ix. 
 
 16 
 
 454 
 
 XXV. 
 
 . . 
 
 405 
 
 X. 
 
 5 
 
 783 
 
 ,  , 
 
 16 
 
 482 
 
 xi. 
 
 8 
 
 752 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 1 
 
 525 
 371 
 
 xiii. 
 
 11 
 
 454 
 
 1-20 
 
 430 
 
 Joel. 
 
 16 
 
 454 
 
 xxvii. 
 
 6 
 
 196 
 
 iii. 
 
 1-7 
 
 878 
 
 13 
 
 124 
 
 3-6 
 
 124,  150 
 
 16-24 
 
 804 
 
 4-7 
 
 402,  906 
 
 .. 
 
 17 
 
 47 
 
 •  • 
 
 6 
 
 124,  858 
 
 19 
 
 188 
 
 8 
 
 700 
 
 xx\'iii. 
 
 525 
 
 xxix. 
 
 17 
 18-20 
 
 371 
 430, 525 
 
 Amos. 
 
 i. 
 
 3-15 
 
 402 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 29 
 
 406 
 
 6-14 
 
 878 
 
 xxxiii. 
 
 11 
 
 842 
 
 xliv. 
 
 6-9 
 
 247 
 
 9 
 
 150 
 
 xlv. 
 
 17 
 
 370 
 
 V. 
 
 5 
 
 454 
 
 18 
 
 371 
 
 •• 
 
 8 
 
 501 
 
 21 
 
 467 
 
 26 
 
 452 
 
 xlvi. 
 
 1-6 
 
 370 
 
 vi. 
 
 10 
 
 870 
 
 viii. 
 
 5 
 
 326,  370 
 
 6 
 
 326 
 
 1,2 
 
 453 
 
 Daniel. 
 
 ix. 
 
 7 
 
 482 
 
 11-15 
 
 402 
 
 i. 
 
 2 
 
 752 
 
 ii. 
 
 8-9 
 
 .     864,  906 
 
 V. 
 
 2,  23 
 
 488 
 
 Obadiah. 
 
 ■vi. 
 
 6 
 
 555 
 
 1-12 
 
 403-4 
 
 vii. 
 
 25 
 
 866 
 
 7 
 
 412 
 
 ■viii. 
 
 21 
 
 124 
 
 10-14 
 
 404,  878 
 
956 
 
 MlCAH. 
 
 Wisdom  op  Solomok. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verso 
 
 Page 
 
 Chai'ter 
 
 Verso 
 
 Page 
 
 i. 
 
 C.  7 
 
 284,  285 
 
 xiv. 
 
 23 
 
 323 
 
 lo-li 
 
 454 
 
 V. 
 
 mi 
 
 ECCLESIABTICXJS. 
 
 2 
 
 282 
 
 xtiii. 
 
 6 
 
 865 
 
 7-'.» 
 
 878 
 
 h 
 
 287,  418 
 
 1  Maccabees 
 
 . 
 
 vi. 
 
 4,  r. 
 
 289 
 
 i. 
 
 11,64 
 
 390 
 
 6.  7 
 
 101 
 
 21,57 
 
 161 
 
 G-8 
 
 28(5 
 
 vi. 
 
 34 
 
 201 
 
 ZErnANiAU. 
 
 Matthew. 
 
 i. 
 
 4 
 
 783 
 
 i. 
 
 18 
 
 765 
 
 ii. 
 
 4-10 
 
 404 
 
 18-20 
 
 780 
 
 .. 
 
 5 
 
 482 
 
 21 
 
 656 
 
 ii. 
 
 11 
 
 353 
 
 ZECHAniAn. 
 
 V. 
 
 7 
 
 672 
 
 i. 
 
 4 
 
 783 
 
 •• 
 
 34 
 
 841 
 
 ii. 
 
 4 
 
 928 
 
 43, 44 
 
 593 
 
 iii. 
 
 8 
 
 929 
 
 vi. 
 
 5,  G,  7 
 
 515 
 
 V. 
 
 11 
 
 752 
 
 8 
 
 609 
 
 vi. 
 
 10-12 
 
 929 
 
 13 
 
 698 
 
 viii. 
 
 23 
 
 928 
 
 vii. 
 
 2 
 
 616 
 
 ix. 
 
 5 
 
 452 
 
 12 
 
 568,  605 
 
 6 
 
 247 
 
 16 
 
 138 
 
 13 
 
 124.  404 
 
 16-18 
 
 330 
 
 xii. 
 
 r. 
 
 929 
 
 21,23 
 
 138 
 
 viii. 
 
 28 
 
 216 
 
 Malacui. 
 
 X. 
 
 16-12 
 
 633 
 
 i. 
 
 11 
 
 243 
 
 19-20 
 
 519 
 
 ii. 
 
 1-3 
 
 21.1 
 
 xii. 
 
 43 
 
 707 
 
 iii. 
 
 1-10 
 
 213 
 
 xiii. 
 
 55 
 
 254 
 
 0 
 
 bVj,  r.r.i 
 
 xvi. 
 
 22 
 
 576 
 
 iv. 
 
 5.0 
 
 243 
 
 23 
 28 
 
 698 
 626 
 
 2   ESDBAS. 
 
 XTil. 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 xviii. 
 
 10 
 
 219 
 
 xiv. 
 
 21 
 
 41S 
 
 xix. 
 
 28 
 
 839 
 
 21,47 
 
 l'"l.  3'.t(l 
 
 x\i. 
 
 34 
 
 525 
 
 42,  4  t 
 
 r.i:t 
 
 xxii. 
 
 31.32 
 
 654 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 15 
 
 812 
 
 To  BIT. 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 1-14 
 
 847 
 
 tUI. 
 
 8 
 
 707 
 
 3 
 5-24 
 
 525 
 532 
 
 Jl-I'ITU. 
 
 15 
 
 638 
 
 TilL 
 
 n 
 
 870 
 
 S9 
 
 685 
 
967 
 
 Matthew. 
 
 John. 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Page 
 
 XXV. 
 
 676 
 
 xix. 
 
 40 
 
 873 
 
 •  • 
 
 31-46 
 
 140 
 
 xxi. 
 
 22 
 
 526 
 
 sxvii. 
 
 53 
 
 304 
 
 Acts. 
 
 Mark. 
 
 ii. 
 
 10 
 
 312 
 
 ii. 
 
 23,28 
 
 620 
 
 vi. 
 
 5 
 
 312 
 
 V. 
 
 2 
 
 215 
 
 vii. 
 
 6 
 
 26,  92 
 
 13 
 
 218 
 
 .. 
 
 22 
 
 .        93,  340 
 
 viii. 
 
 31-32 
 
 576 
 
 viii. 
 
 9-11 
 
 233 
 
 xiv. 
 
 532 
 
 X. 
 
 28 
 
 312 
 
 .. 
 
 22-24 
 
 536 
 
 xi. 
 
 3 
 
 312 
 
 xvi. 
 
 1 
 
 873 
 
 xiii. 
 
 43 
 
 312 
 
 xxi. 
 
 5-36 
 
 533 
 
 xiv. 
 
 22 
 
 .      636,  638 
 
 XV. 
 
 10 
 
 621 
 
 Luke. 
 
 xvii. 
 
 28 
 
 809 
 
 1. 
 
 35 
 
 .      765, 780 
 
 •• 
 
 30 
 
 560 
 
 ii. 
 
 21 
 
 765 
 
 xxvi. 
 
 5 
 
 555 
 
 36 
 
 679 
 
 EOMANS. 
 
 vi. 
 
 6-11 
 
 620 
 
 26 
 
 133 
 
 iv. 
 
 15 
 
 730 
 
 viii. 
 
 27 
 
 215 
 
 V. 
 
 3 
 
 636 
 
 2-30 
 
 218 
 
 12 
 
 706 
 
 ix. 
 
 23 
 
 636 
 
 13 
 
 730 
 
 31 
 
 576 
 
 14 
 
 706 
 
 xiii. 
 
 1-5 
 
 848 
 
 vi. 
 
 23 
 
 656 
 
 xiv. 
 
 22 
 
 533 
 
 viii. 
 
 2 
 
 706 
 
 xvii. 
 
 3^ 
 
 676 
 
 19,  23 
 
 589 
 
 xxi. 
 
 7-36 
 
 525 
 
 29,  30 
 
 509 
 
 18 
 
 526 
 
 ix. 
 
 4,13 
 
 756 
 
 xxiii. 
 
 56 
 
 878 
 
 •• 
 
 15,  22 
 
 509 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 1 
 
 873 
 
 xi. 
 
 5-28 
 34 
 
 756 
 301 
 
 xiv. 
 
 4-6 
 
 620 
 
 John. 
 
 5 
 
 504 
 
 i. 
 
 1-3 
 
 66 
 
 xvi. 
 
 20 
 
 280 
 
 iii. 
 
 4 
 
 239 
 
 iv. 
 
 9 
 
 312 
 
 1  Corinthians 
 
 . 
 
 V. 
 
 9-18 
 
 620 
 
 i. 
 
 18-28 
 
 657,  671 
 
 22 
 
 .821 
 
 21 
 
 582 
 
 vi. 
 
 45 
 
 161 
 
 24 
 
 670 
 
 vii. 
 
 22 
 
 26 
 
 . 
 
 25 
 
 701 
 
 44 
 
 700 
 
 V 
 
 5 
 
 558 
 
 ix. 
 
 2 
 
 848 
 
 7 
 
 637 
 
 xiii. 
 
 2 
 
 700 
 
 vi 
 
 12 
 
 604 
 
 xvi. 
 
 33 
 
 G36,  849 
 
 ix. 
 
 19,  20 
 
 674 
 
958 
 
 1  CoBINTHUJfS. 
 
 Hebrews. 
 
 Clupt«r 
 
 Verse 
 
 Pago 
 
 Chapter 
 
 Verse 
 
 Pa«« 
 
 X. 
 
 4 
 
 93 
 
 i. 
 
 3 
 
 768 
 
 xi. 
 
 10 
 
 219 
 
 ii. 
 
 11 
 
 706 
 
 29,  30 
 
 636 
 
 vii. 
 
 1-7 
 
 576 
 
 XT. 
 
 21 
 22,  23 
 
 526,  574 
 654 
 
 xiii. 
 
 2 
 
 219 
 
 25-27 
 
 706 
 
 James. 
 
 •• 
 
 29 
 2  ConrsTniAN 
 
 273 
 
 3. 
 
 i. 
 
 13 
 
 17 
 
 20,  27 
 
 698 
 736 
 555 
 
 viii. 
 
 12 
 
 242 
 
 ii. 
 
 19 
 
 700 
 
 V. 
 
 13-18 
 
 510 
 
 Galatuns. 
 
 V. 
 
 11-12 
 
 454 
 
 1  Peter. 
 
 Ephesuns. 
 
 iii. 
 
 15 
 
 7 
 
 ii. 
 
 2 
 
 700 
 
 V. 
 
 8 
 
 219,  700 
 
 V. 
 
 2 
 
 PniLipruNS. 
 
 637 
 
 2  Peter. 
 
 ii. 
 
 22 
 
 669 
 
 ii. 
 
 2,3 
 
 455 
 
 iii. 
 
 3,  4,  14 
 
 527 
 
 12 
 
 658 
 
 9 
 
 842 
 
 iv. 
 
 18 
 
 COLOSSIASS. 
 
 638 
 
 1  .Torn. 
 
 ii. 
 
 18-28 
 
 526 
 
 i. 
 
 18 
 
 654 
 
 ii. 
 
 16 
 
 370,  371 
 
 iii. 
 
 2 
 •1 
 
 526 
 730 
 
 10,  17 
 
 020 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 18 
 
 655 
 
 iv. 
 
 10 
 
 637 
 
 1  Thessalosia: 
 
 'iS. 
 
 2  John. 
 
 iv. 
 
 1-6 
 
 654 
 
 15 
 
 526 
 
 8 
 
 670 
 
 V. 
 
 21 
 
 2    TnKSSALONIA 
 
 6 
 
 VB. 
 
 i. 
 
 Revelation. 
 0 
 
 839 
 
 ii. 
 
 •1 
 
 560 
 
 xi. 
 
 7 
 
 819 
 
 11 
 
 701 
 
 xii. 
 
 7-17 
 10 
 
 819 
 700 
 
 1  TiMOTni. 
 
 xiii. 
 
 7-15 
 
 819 
 
 i. 
 
 20 
 
 558 
 
 xvi. 
 
 14 
 
 700 
 
 ii. 
 
 11.  12 
 
 521 
 
 xvii. 
 
 14 
 
 654 
 
 vi. 
 
 10 
 
 657 
 
 XX. 
 
 10 
 
 700 
 
 xxi. 
 
 8  27 
 
 621 
 
 2  Timothy. 
 
 '.( 
 
 909 
 
 i. 
 
 H> 
 
 706 
 
 xxii. 
 
 15 
 
 621 
 
 lii. 
 
 12 
 
 B4U 
 
 17 
 
 910 
 
INDEX  II. 
 
 HEBEEW  PEOPEE  NAMES. 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 ^^«         .         .         .         715 
 
 D:i3      , 
 
 752 
 
 □IN 
 
 213,  502 
 
 pa        . 
 
 553 
 
 ':iN 
 
 125,  882 
 
 -a 
 
 553 
 
 nyiD  bri'ti 
 
 226 
 
 nibnia 
 
 708 
 
 p« 
 
 569 
 
 13  naT 
 
 88 
 
 nix 
 
 899 
 
 in]  nai 
 
 Itt     ■■  :  • 
 
 88 
 
 •a}^« 
 
 197,  899 
 
 bwDffl  nai 
 
 88 
 
 DTlVi^ri    Mj'« 
 
 683 
 
 •\M 
 
 250 
 
 ba 
 
 184,   188,  198 
 
 D''«i"n 
 
 250 
 
 ... 
 
 350,  569,  705 
 
 TJI^ 
 
 279 
 
 ■"i?^.  ■"< 
 
 608 
 
 P" 
 
 279 
 
 'ittj  ''«. 
 
 713 
 
 rfQbi 
 
 913 
 
 «nb« 
 
 350 
 
 n     ■ 
 
 201,  291 
 
 D^ 
 
 306 
 
 "5 
 
 555 
 
 N|-1N 
 
 550 
 
 Tin 
 
 898 
 
 '?«3"IN 
 
 389 
 
 •Mrt 
 
 715 
 
 yaiN 
 
 277 
 
 •nn 
 
 897 
 
 bvrMi 
 
 191 
 
 ■t:  -                " 
 
 124 
 
 \W** 
 
 801 
 
 1251137 
 
 125 
 
 rijs'ii? 
 
 803 
 
 n?!! 
 
 635 
 
 ©« 
 
 693 
 
 nijii 
 
 490 
 
 mr« 
 
 899 
 
 nnai 
 
 927 
 
 bUJN 
 
 25 
 
 n3i 
 
 175 
 
 D'^M 
 
 730 
 
 'I?" 
 
 364 
 
 npTE« 
 
 730 
 
 sn 
 
 635 
 
 pD^'S! 
 
 201 
 
 m^iairn  ^n 
 
 469 
 
 ■1©« 
 
 274 
 
 Mjnin 
 
 370 
 
 J^!7^^  ni3 
 
 555 
 
 mn 
 
 238 
 
 pia 
 
 714 
 
 D'ln 
 
 240 
 
 -    T 
 
 551 
 
 NO" 
 
 730 
 
 niba 
 
 714 
 
 rtMiDn 
 
 780 
 
 '']?'"'l. 
 
 707 
 
 nNjpn 
 
 730 
 
 D'ri'jNn  \2a 
 
 840 
 
 '?n 
 
 730 
 
 ii}"?  bs-? 
 
 210 
 
 noan 
 
 T  :  X                  ■ 
 
 765,  909 
 
 na 
 
 188 
 
 inn 
 
 898 
 
9G0 
 
 rron 
 
 Page 
 501 
 42'^ 
 
 r"'' 
 
 ">>- 
 
 208 
 
 208 
 
 T   1           ■ 
 
 •274 
 .170 
 
 229 
 229 
 
 D^n 
 
 501 
 
 r^ 
 
 207 
 
 Dior 
 
 •217 
 
 pp'rrpn  en? 
 
 719 
 
 TT 
 
 7  US 
 
 zi'zcT}  cnb 
 
 719 
 
 ^'l' 
 
 708 
 
 chb 
 
 200 
 
 rr 
 
 '200,  232 
 
 ♦prrt 
 
 200 
 
 'H' 
 
 609 
 
 Hjrrt 
 
 487 
 
 mrp 
 
 ■^^2,    100,  705 
 
 n-'rb 
 
 212 
 
 "97-  ^,^ 
 
 547 
 
 «j;b 
 
 201 
 
 Vi'i' 
 
 370,  377,  37U 
 
 \2*'3'J 
 
 200 
 
 1=7^' 
 
 400 
 
 'jhOts'? 
 
 207 
 
 1^24,  401 
 351 
 
 17) 
 
 204.  206 
 200 
 
 p^ 
 
 245 
 
 tb) 
 
 309 
 
 nc 
 
 8U8 
 
 n^TEb 
 
 200 
 
 rn; 
 
 324,  502 
 
 ^. 
 
 201 
 
 ^r^i 
 
 801 
 
 o 
 
 231 
 
 nsatf' 
 
 225 
 
 INO 
 
 232 
 
 3 
 
 100 
 
 DnNp 
 
 502 
 
 3Mrti3 
 
 502 
 
 "liNO 
 
 255.  279 
 
 33i3 
 
 209,  502 
 
 n:Si  j:riNO 
 
 2H5 
 
 ^?  23i3 
 
 502 
 
 ctjao 
 
 8H4 
 
 njo  ij'ia 
 
 504 
 
 30 
 
 233 
 
 c':« 
 
 394,  395 
 
 ■';'? 
 
 242 
 
 no'3 
 
 420.  501 
 
 Vm^jo 
 
 233 
 
 «^r33 
 
 317 
 
 1^9 
 
 233 
 
 aw  Ti:3 
 
 370 
 
 nV^~(:o 
 
 318 
 
 '    "^3 
 
 420 
 
 nzpy^ 
 
 232 
 
 1CD 
 
 708 
 
 '•rto 
 
 208 
 
 DnE3 
 
 7(tH 
 
 •<o 
 
 921 
 
 3ri3 
 
 197 
 
 502 
 
 T 
 
 310 
 317,  351 
 
 D«ri3.C'ri'3 
 
 190 
 
 n^V^o 
 
 3IH,  503 
 
 •j 
 
 l'.»s 
 
 NP-l'l^O 
 
 503 
 
 hhV 
 
 200 
 
 T'r^o 
 
 324 
 
 n^»o^ 
 
 207 
 
 n^Q  iG 
 
 353 
 
 pi'     .      • 
 
 200 
 
 ^^^Q 
 
 08.S 
 
 "i?^ 
 
 602 
 
 rp^so 
 
 337 
 
 i^'» 
 
 229 
 
 n^o 
 
 270 
 
 mb 
 
 207 
 
 n^Vro 
 
 209 
 
961 
 
 Page 
 269 
 269 
 
 209 
 
 rk-^t> 
 
 240 
 
 HMnn 
 
 241 
 
 unn 
 
 240 
 
 ■pyanp 
 
 239, 
 
 291,910 
 
 nno 
 
 291 
 
 nna 
 
 280 
 280 
 
 307 
 
 tfp 
 
 232 
 
 nijSn 
 
 232 
 
 '^©p 
 
 205 
 
 *tjp 
 
 259 
 242 
 
 nn 
 
 684 
 
 ni"inn 
 
 351 
 
 3 
 
 351 
 
 ^!7?? 
 
 J04,  318 
 
 rnnj  naa 
 
 231 
 
 rn: 
 
 753 
 
 r?^ 
 
 244 
 
 "i'}? 
 
 351 
 
 '3n3 
 
 245,  247 
 
 linj 
 
 250,  278 
 
 635 
 
 250,  273 
 
 TT 
 
 273 
 
 rnp5 
 
 376,  378,  743 
 
 i"np2 
 
 255 
 
 nnpp 
 
 252 
 
 rwD 
 
 252 
 
 i^^?? 
 
 255 
 
 D?3 
 
 232 
 
 rincj 
 
 231 
 
 D'nnE3 
 
 255,  262,  353 
 
 '^59? 
 
 255,  261 
 
 n3p3 
 
 261 
 
 n: 
 
 192 
 
 5!>3 
 
 801 
 
 ''?•?? 
 
 242 
 
 i^M^?rt:n3 
 
 2 
 
 55,  279 
 
 '?ri5 
 
 255, 
 
 279 
 225 
 
 224 
 898 
 279,  306 
 279 
 337 
 305 
 263,  898 
 267 
 268 
 338 
 338 
 804 
 268 
 270,  273 
 316 
 354 
 364,  381 
 503 
 385 
 385 
 62 
 364 
 307 
 359 
 393 
 232 
 383 
 383 
 383 
 385 
 356 
 898 
 368 
 368 
 367 
 383 
 368 
 369 
 369 
 370 
 364 
 
 QQQ 
 
962 
 
 Page 
 
 Pago 
 
 D         ...         013 
 
 »©B 
 
 730 
 
 CTD 
 
 747 
 
 no 
 
 308 
 
 ''?? 
 
 184 
 
 nnD 
 
 308 
 
 1CV1  tED 
 
 88 
 
 N3S 
 
 225 
 
 njrp  ninnto 
 
 88 
 
 '3S 
 
 898 
 
 D\"??D 
 
 88 
 
 r?? 
 
 269 
 
 ID 
 
 693 
 
 m? 
 
 269 
 
 3? 
 
 397 
 
 cimc'2 
 
 389 
 
 □IN  ^227 
 
 421 
 
 n^2 
 
 931 
 
 ^rr  niy 
 
 401 
 
 Dbs 
 
 Oil 
 
 '?P7?y 
 
 278 
 
 rba 
 
 Gil 
 
 -n? 
 
 384 
 
 ri\:a 
 
 801 
 
 Jiy 
 
 422 
 
 rnb? 
 
 931 
 
 X 
 
 730 
 
 P 
 
 IGG 
 
 ^^V 
 
 714 
 
 \Dlp 
 
 168,  176 
 
 bwn 
 
 704 
 
 D'TDip 
 
 168 
 
 '  S 
 
 899 
 
 PiWrp 
 
 168 
 
 >Vy 
 
 605 
 
 rv 
 
 190,   197 
 
 |V)» 
 
 505 
 
 nnp 
 
 196 
 
 »3iy 
 
 277 
 
 ^yp-Y? 
 
 183,  184 
 
 TlJy 
 
 42  G 
 
 ^'i? 
 
 194 
 
 itT? 
 
 422 
 
 r^:p 
 
 184,  185 
 
 D 
 
 447 
 
 '3i?.  'vrn 
 
 182 
 
 INC 
 
 898 
 
 'r>'3p. 
 
 185 
 
 rnD'piD 
 
 50(i 
 
 m 
 
 197,  378 
 
 lSn>tj 
 
 497 
 
 R 
 
 197 
 
 «bB 
 
 447 
 
 ©'3-\p 
 
 197,  370 
 
 tf3"jB 
 
 fc  V  V    • 
 
 485 
 
 ntfp. 
 
 195 
 
 M^^ 
 
 447 
 
 1 
 
 545 
 
 nbD 
 
 448 
 
 HKI 
 
 546.  547 
 
 1^^. 
 
 448 
 
 I?'"*? 
 
 569 
 
 -   T 
 
 448 
 
 -   T 
 
 509 
 
 DbD 
 
 4-48,  473 
 
 •    T 
 
 608,  (i09 
 
 T   T 
 
 448,  473 
 
 th^n  CMi 
 
 370 
 
 niaJbD 
 
 481 
 
 ai 
 
 551 
 
 'rittrtD 
 
 483,  484 
 
 r3"i 
 
 277,  550 
 
 'n>D 
 
 484,  485 
 
 ^^7 
 
 551 
 
 tea 
 
 472 
 
 npf^T 
 
 548 
 
 ^^rD 
 
 471 
 
 c?'!?3"5 
 
 125 
 
 nrp 
 
 471 
 
 Dn 
 
 052 
 
 mD 
 
 4.1!t,  . 
 
 171,  4M1 
 
 cnn 
 
 006 
 
 '■}0 
 
 188 
 
 iT^^rn 
 
 552 
 
 rrriD 
 
 477 
 
 D^arn 
 
 552 
 
963 
 
 ■^n: 
 
 Page 
 548 
 
 mb'?^i5 
 
 Page 
 755 
 
 npn 
 
 613 
 
 DVp 
 
 689 
 
 ]iQn 
 
 611 
 
 «n^ 
 
 690 
 
 t:  -  : 
 
 548 
 568 
 551 
 548 
 
 719 
 689 
 676 
 501 
 
 549 
 550 
 
 ^iiiSpii; 
 
 679 
 266 
 
 DpT 
 
 553 
 
 T»to 
 
 213,  703 
 
 "?i?"^ 
 
 804 
 
 n-ys'to 
 
 213,  703,  719 
 
 t» 
 
 613 
 
 13?'© 
 
 266 
 
 ■i«to 
 
 266 
 
 627 
 
 808 
 375 
 
 511^ 
 
 505,  8G1, 
 
 868 
 
 rrw 
 
 266,  693,  899 
 
 505 
 614 
 504 
 
 266 
 694,  695 
 
 804 
 
 Tttj 
 T1^ 
 
 716, 
 
 604 
 718 
 715 
 
 •cnri 
 
 869,  876 
 802 
 800 
 
 101, 
 
 713 
 713 
 
 ion 
 
 806 
 448 
 
 XT                                                  ' 
 
 716, 
 $75,  376, 
 
 696, 
 
 718 
 377 
 265 
 697 
 
 npin 
 
 449 
 369 
 688 
 
 868 
 
 D>Tto 
 
 713, 
 
 718 
 
 ?ip? 
 
 376,  378 
 
 725, 
 
 730 
 755 
 
 nibjn  nto^  n^riifi 
 
 • 
 
 932 
 
GENERAL    INDEX. 
 
 Pago 
 
 Page 
 
 Abiflhag  and  Adonijah 
 
 •189 
 
 Activity,  theological,  irksome 
 
 587 
 
 Abominntiou  of  desolation 
 
 529 
 
 Acts    recommended   by  hier- 
 
 AbonticuB 
 
 111 
 
 archs  nearly  alike  everywhere 
 
 562 
 
 Abonas 
 
 437 
 
 Ada 
 
 206 
 
 Abortion    an    American    and 
 
 Adah 
 
 205 
 
 Roman  custom 
 
 3*22 
 
 Adam 
 
 898 
 
 Abraham 
 
 488 
 
 „     and  death         .            570-74 
 
 and  Agamemnon 
 
 104 
 
 ,,     red 
 
 265 
 
 „         and  Melcbisedech     . 
 
 576 
 
 ,,     spoke  Hebrew 
 
 161 
 
 ,,        and  liephaims 
 
 549 
 
 Adam  Smith,  and  Solomon     . 
 
 762 
 
 „        not  a  missionary 
 
 311 
 
 Adonijah  and  Abitihag 
 
 489 
 
 Abram  and  Sarah 
 
 899 
 
 Adonis 
 
 806 
 
 Absolom  and  his  father's  con- 
 
 Adoration of  oiled  stones 
 
 441 
 
 cubines  or  servants 
 
 489 
 
 ,,         of  women 
 
 GIO 
 
 Absolom's  memorial  pillar    . 
 
 42 
 
 Adultery  and  murder  immoral 
 
 330 
 
 Absurdities  of  BOothsa3'iug    . 
 
 212 
 
 ,,        patronised  by  "  elec- 
 
 ,,         of  certain  human 
 
 tion  " 
 
 75G 
 
 laws 
 
 592 
 
 , ,        proclaimed  from  the 
 
 Absurdity  of  Jewish  myths    . 
 
 122 
 
 pulpit,    effect    of 
 
 517 
 
 Abuse  not  demonstration 
 
 145 
 
 Adventurers,  mining  . 
 
 793 
 
 Acceptable  time 
 
 8G5 
 
 Adversarj',  Satan 
 
 697 
 
 Accident  and  providence 
 
 847 
 
 Adversity  not  a  proof  of  bad- 
 
 Account   by    author  of    his 
 
 ness 
 
 848 
 
 religions     accidents     and 
 
 iElia  CapitoUna 
 
 528 
 
 religious  Irfstory     . 
 
 559 
 
 iEneas              .            , 
 
 339 
 
 Account    current  in    celestial 
 
 „     and  hell 
 
 823 
 
 ledger 
 
 GGO 
 
 „     pious 
 
 555 
 
 Accusations  by  Ezekiel  against 
 
 iEneid              .            .             823-4 
 
 Jews 
 
 334 
 
 Africa  and  polyandry 
 
 173 
 
 Achamoth  and  Venus 
 
 7G9 
 
 African  ring  money 
 
 230 
 
 Achan  and  his  living  bclong- 
 
 Agamemnon  luid  Abraham 
 
 10-1 
 
 ingH  to  bo  burned 
 
 876 
 
 ,,           and  Solomon    . 
 
 45 
 
 Achilhs  and  Briseifl 
 
 490 
 
 Agape 
 
 395 
 
 1,        at    the    fimcral    of 
 
 Agony,    power    of    inflicting, 
 
 Patroclus 
 
 H71 
 
 bow  aesignod  by  modern 
 
 Actions  and  belief 
 
 605 
 
 theologians 
 
 COS 
 
 Activity      must      accompany 
 
 Agriculturists     not    mission- 
 
 prayer 
 
 513 
 
 aries 
 
 148 
 
965 
 
 Agues  and  fever  ,  ,    327 
 
 Ahaz  and  high  places  .     282 
 
 ,,     and  his  doings   .  282-4 
 
 Aholah  and  AhoUbah  .    553 
 
 Ahriman  .  .        697,  832 
 
 ,,        the  devil      .  .    833 
 
 Ahura  Mazdao  .  .    829 
 
 Airs  and  variations  .      32 
 
 Akiba  Eabbi     .  .  528-29 
 
 Al,  the  Greek  equivalent  of 
 
 El  ...      49 
 
 Albe     .  .  .  .916 
 
 Alcmena,  myth  of        .  ,     78O 
 
 Alexander  (king)  .  .     249 
 
 ,,         and  Darius  .     249 
 
 ,,        and  David  .      81 
 
 and  keys  .     193 
 
 ,,        and  superstition      .    211 
 
 „         and  Tyre     .  .     525 
 
 „        (the  false  prophet) .     359 
 
 ,,        a  Kadesh  .     435 
 
 „        attempts  to  kill  Lu- 
 
 cian  ,  .     446 
 
 ,,        buys      and     trains 
 
 snakes      .  .     436 
 
 ,,        confuted  .     444 
 
 ,,        consulted  by  Syrians 
 
 and  Gauls  .    446 
 
 ,,        contrives  to  unseal 
 
 letters,  &c.  ,     439 
 
 ,,  has  effigies  of  him- 
 self made  ,  439 
 , ,  has  tableaux  vivans  444 
 ,,  his  absurd  oracles  .  440 
 ,,  his  death  .  445 
 , ,  his  egg  trick  .  438 
 ,,  his  gibberish  .  446 
 ,,  his  golden  thigh  ,  444 
 „  his  immoralities  .  444 
 ,,        his     oracle     about 
 
 lions         .  ,    445 
 
 ,,        his     physical    cha- 
 racters .     435 
 ,,        his  power    .  .    444 
 ,,        his  staff  of  officers     439 
 
 Alexander  his  work  and  pay  ,    439 
 ,,         invents    Hell     for 
 
 Epicureans  .    440 
 
 „        joins  another  man    436 
 ,,        makes  a    serpent's 
 
 head         .  .    437 
 
 ,,        number  of  his  name    437 
 
 spread  of  his  fame      441 
 
 ,,        spouse  of  the  moon    442 
 
 ,,        selects  a  place  for 
 
 his  oracle  .    437 
 
 ,.        sells  oracles  .     442 
 
 , ,        sends  spies  to  Eome    444 
 „        strikes  a  coinage     ,     446 
 ,,        treated    his    oppo- 
 nents as  bishops 
 treated       Luther 
 and  Colenso        ,    445 
 ,,         very  clever  .     435 
 
 ,,        vilifies      Christians 
 
 and  atheists         .     439 
 Alexandria,    influence    of   in 
 
 the  Bible  .     157 
 
 ,,        Buddhists  and  Jews    313 
 Alexis,  the  clairvoyant  .     434 
 
 ^If^ed  ,  .  .345 
 
 ,,      king,    and  gunpowder    618 
 AUtta  .  .  35o_2 
 
 AUah-hu  .  .  _     230 
 
 AUiance,  foreign,  eschewed  by 
 
 Jews  .  .  851-52 
 
 Ahnighty,   David's   idea  of   .      43 
 ,,         a  God  king  .     573 
 
 ,,  ambassadors  from  145 
 ,,  and  ^  sop's  wolf  .  814 
 ,,  degrading  ideas  re- 
 specting .  .  75 
 ,,  does  not  want  hu- 
 man aid  .  675 
 ,,        Hebrew  conception 
 
 of  .  .     839 
 
 ,,        not  a  man,  or  want- 
 ing human  aid         145 
 „        not  author  of  con- 
 fusion .     164 
 
yoc 
 
 Page 
 
 Pi«6 
 
 Almighty,  represented  as  par- 
 
 Ancient Jews,  their  character 
 
 54 
 
 ticular  in  eating  . 
 
 212 
 
 Ancient  Britons 
 
 151 
 
 ,,        shows   His   will   in 
 
 Ancient  faiths 
 
 307 
 
 the  universe 
 
 581 
 
 AnciUa 
 
 366 
 
 „        smoking  fumaceand 
 
 Andersen,  fairy  tale  by 
 
 1 
 
 lamp  emblems  of 
 
 369 
 
 Androgynous  deities            262 
 
 643 
 
 supposed    to  speak 
 
 Anecdote  of  Irish  gentleman  . 
 
 143 
 
 to  lunatics 
 
 145 
 
 Angel  strangers 
 
 219 
 
 the,  said  by  church- 
 
 ,,      Ptttroclus  as  an 
 
 875 
 
 men    to     change 
 
 Angelic  Etruscans 
 
 825 
 
 His  mind 
 
 500 
 
 Angels 
 
 310 
 
 ,,        the,  single 
 
 556 
 
 „      and  demons 
 
 218 
 
 Alphabet  and  Bible 
 
 857 
 
 „      and  Saints 
 
 71 
 
 Ali'habets  and  learning 
 
 167 
 
 „      in  Jewish  theology 
 
 156 
 
 Altar  copied 
 
 284 
 
 ,,      stars 
 
 500 
 
 ,,  triple 
 
 101 
 
 ,,      origin  of 
 
 895 
 
 Amadou,  virgin  of 
 
 264 
 
 Anglican,  Boman,  and  Grecian 
 
 Amalck             .            .          93, 
 
 541 
 
 priests 
 
 132 
 
 ,,      and  Midian  murdered 
 
 594 
 
 ,,        church  and   ancient 
 
 ,,       and  Moses 
 
 341 
 
 mirror 
 
 516 
 
 ,,      and  Samuel     . 
 
 333 
 
 ,,        church     discourages 
 
 ,,      story  of,  explained 
 
 420 
 
 private  judgment  . 
 
 133 
 
 „      story  of,  when  written 
 
 420 
 
 divines ,  why  they  per- 
 
 Amberley, Lord,  projioses  to 
 
 secute  their 
 
 keep  population  small 
 
 322 
 
 brethren 
 
 133 
 
 Ambiguous  words,  Ac. 
 
 427 
 
 ,,               ,,     require  to  bo 
 
 American  lailies,  and  abortion 
 
 322 
 
 taught  to  see 
 
 and  Jewish  lawgivers 
 
 themselves  . 
 
 134 
 
 and  prophets  com- 
 
 M              ,,     interfere  with 
 
 pared 
 
 338 
 
 physicians  . 
 
 135 
 
 Americans  and  Romans 
 
 733 
 
 Angro-Mainyus 
 
 832 
 
 Ammo  and  Am 
 
 254 
 
 Animals  symbolic 
 
 456 
 
 Ammnn 
 
 573 
 
 ,,        and  sin 
 
 730 
 
 „        and  Khcm 
 
 270 
 
 ,,        do  not  fast,    or  do 
 
 Ammonians,  oracle  of 
 
 395 
 
 penance 
 
 586 
 
 Amrcetih  cup 
 
 880 
 
 ,,        formed     for    enjoy- 
 
 Amunrn 
 
 r.17 
 
 ment 
 
 586 
 
 Anaculypgis     . 
 
 ■it;;i 
 
 giving  laws 
 
 732 
 
 Anachronism 
 
 400 
 
 „        gigantic  fossil 
 
 423 
 
 AuuchrouirtiuB                            8(^)1-2 
 
 AnncdotuH 
 
 400 
 
 fatal  to  history 
 
 865 
 
 Anno  Neah 
 
 463 
 
 Anatolia,  virgin  of 
 
 192 
 
 Anniliilation  and  death 
 
 579 
 
 AnchiHcH  and  Vonns 
 
 339 
 
 Antagonism,  clerical,  between 
 
 Anchor,  HigniiicatioD  of,  as  a 
 
 prayer  and  practice 
 
 5U 
 
 Mymbul 
 
 :i07 
 
 AutagouiMtic  bciugH  in  nature 
 
 650 
 
967 
 
 Page 
 191 
 
 Antelope 
 
 Anthony,  St.,  the  temptation 
 of  ... 
 
 Antiquity  appealed  to 
 
 ,,  no  test  of  truth    . 
 
 ,,  of  a  faith  no  proof 
 
 of  its  truth 
 ,,  explained  by  Ogle, 
 
 quoted 
 
 Anthropomorphic     ideas 
 prayer 
 
 Anthropomorphism    of 
 brews 
 
 Anthropophagy 
 
 Antoninus  Pius 
 
 Aphaca,  miracles  and  abomi- 
 nation at 
 
 Apis 
 
 Apocalypse  and  choral  service 
 ,,  of   Adam  Cannes 
 
 Apocrypha  written  in  Greek   . 
 
 Apollo  436,  437,  438,   788 
 
 ApoUonia  .  .  .     885 
 
 Apollyon  and  Pluto 
 
 ,,        ideas  respecting 
 
 Apostles  opposed 
 
 ,,        and  sabbath 
 
 Apotheosis 
 
 Apples  and  bad  trees  . 
 
 Appraisement  of    missionary 
 success 
 
 Apuleius'  golden  ass 
 
 Aqueducts  and  Ninip 
 ,,         and  Noah 
 
 Arabian      nights'     entertain- 
 ments 
 
 Arabic  Mohammedans 
 
 Arabs,  Turks,  and  Jews 
 
 Araunah's  threshing  floor 
 
 Arba 
 
 Arba-il 
 
 Ai-bel 
 
 Archangel  planets 
 
 Archimedes 
 
 Arcturus  and  Pleiades 
 
 610 
 136 
 145 
 
 338 
 
 .     495 
 in 
 
 507-10 
 He- 
 839-42 
 .     216 
 .     809 
 
 792 
 268 
 514 
 393 
 97 
 
 640 
 699 
 133 
 620 
 872 
 330 
 
 314 
 432 
 385 
 385 
 
 47,  215 
 .  246 
 .  163 
 .  337 
 500 
 307 
 191 
 500 
 559 
 426 
 
 277, 
 
 Ardha-Nari                  .            .  769 
 
 Argha             .          221-2,  366,  494 
 
 Argument  and  dogmatism       .  145 
 
 ,,        from     analogy,      a 
 
 striking  one         .  175 
 Ai'gnment  of  Jesus  for  resur- 
 rection       .            .            .  654 
 Ai-guments  in  favour  of  inspi- 
 ration    of      the 
 Bible  described  .  571 
 , ,        for  and  against  the 
 authenticity,  &c., 
 of  the  Bible        .  119 
 ,,          derived  from  anti- 
 quity valueless  ,  120 
 Arians              .            .        536,  829 
 Aries  to  Pisces  to  be  read  in- 
 stead of  Pisces  to  Ai'ies  465 
 ,,      zodiacal             .            .  776 
 Ai-k                   ...  310 
 ,,       and  dolphin      .            .  459 
 ,,      and  moon         .             828-9 
 ,,      and  navel         .            .  366 
 ,,      and  Venus        .            .  910 
 „       boy,  tree,  and  dolphin  914 
 ,,       in  Solomon's  time        .  45 
 ,,      of  Noah  not  referred  to 
 in  early  Hebrew  writ- 
 ings               .            .  386 
 ,,      Kev.  Dr.  Baylee  upon 
 
 the  dimensions  of      390-1 
 Ai-istophanes                .             .  227 
 Aristotle  and  Moses                 .  345 
 Armaita            .            .            .  830 
 Armenia,  Xisuthrus,   Alexan- 
 dria, and  Jews        .            .  390 
 Armour  tested  by  warriors      .  517 
 Arms,  artifice  to  procure  them  529 
 ,,        everlasting,  the           .  560 
 Army,  trained,  of  David       29,  152 
 Armies  of  Jndah  and  Israel   .  30 
 ,,          whether  influenced 
 
 by  prayer             .  511 
 
 Arrow  an  emblem                    .  495 
 
 Artemis            .             .             .  351 
 
968 
 
 Page 
 Arthur,  Kiug  of  England  339,  760 
 Articles  de  luxe  in  Jerusalem  803-4 
 Artifice  of    Jews  to    procure 
 
 arms  .  .     529 
 
 Artisans'  assaults  on  religion    515 
 Arj'ans  .  .  .210 
 
 Asa  and  physicians  .     164 
 
 Asceticism       .  .  .     562 
 
 not  patronised  by 
 
 brutes      .  .     586 
 
 of  later  Jews         .    313 
 
 Asha  .     550 
 
 Asher  .  550 
 
 ,,      and  pine  cono  .     496 
 
 ,,      cakes  offered  to  .     353 
 
 Ashtoreth  .241 
 
 Asoka  .809 
 
 Asomatous  guide         .  .     655 
 
 Aspects  of  prayer,  various      .     514 
 
 Asphaltites  .     748 
 
 Assiguats         .  .  .     605 
 
 Assemblages,  female  .     225 
 
 ,,  to  pray,  the  value  of 
 
 discussed  .     514 
 
 Assertion  not  proof  144,  309 
 
 Asscrtious  against  facts  .     144 
 
 Association  for  promoting  Ju- 
 daism .  314 
 Aas,  why  eaten  252 
 Ass's  head  offered  to  Bacchus    491 
 Assumption  not  proof             .     145 
 ABsyrian    Dictionary,    Norris    352 
 ,,        grove  identified        647-8 
 , ,        proceedings  when  Sa- 
 maria was  taken  411-412 
 ,,        proper  names          .     256 
 Assyrians  and  bow  194 
 ,,         and  Jews                   .     202 
 ,,        and  trumpet            .     374 
 Astartc                         170,  241,  461 
 and  Mary                    .     379 
 „       and  moon         .             328-9 
 Astral   knowledge    prohibited 
 
 to  Jews  .     873 
 
 Astrology         .  864,  903 
 
 ,,        scouted  by  early  JewH     126 
 
 Page 
 Astronomers  not  prophets      .    537 
 Astronomical  knowledge  rare    372 
 ,,  phenomena    and 
 
 discord 
 
 .     380 
 
 Astronomy,    Chaldees    and 
 
 Jews           .            .          629, 899 
 
 Astronomy,   Egj-ptian     and 
 
 Hindoo  .            .    890 
 
 in  history     506,  889-890 
 
 Asylums,  lunatic,  abound  with 
 
 prophets                              .    528 
 
 Ath                   ...     394 
 
 Athanasion  creed        .            .     580 
 
 Atheists  and  Christians          .     439 
 
 Athenaeus  quoted         .            352-3 
 
 Athens             .            .            .    226 
 
 ,,      and  England,  vices  of    853 
 
 Athor               .            .            .     262 
 
 Atlas                 .            .            .789 
 
 Atonement,  day  of      .  421,  704-10 
 
 Attendants  on  temples            .     814 
 
 Attractions  of  heaven             .     330 
 
 Auf^urs  and  priests                  .     132 
 
 Augury  lots  and  fires      811-16,  906 
 
 Aural  delusions                        .102 
 
 Auspices                                   .    811 
 
 Austerities                   .             062-65 
 
 Australians,  EngUshmcn,  and 
 
 breeches                  .            .     605 
 
 Austrians  and  Prussians         .     511 
 
 Author  and  extension  of  sub- 
 
 marine telegraphy              .     537 
 
 Author's  account  of  the  com- 
 
 position   of     the 
 
 essay  on  Obadiah     416 
 
 ,,        essays,  chronology  of    505 
 
 Autos  da  fc      .            .            .875 
 
 Autumnal  equinox 
 
 .     470 
 
 Avaris 
 
 .      96 
 
 Avatars 
 
 780,  829 
 
 Axiom  of  Jesus 
 
 .    662 
 
 Axioms,  theological 
 
 144-148 
 
 Azazol 
 
 704-7,  790 
 
 Azrael 
 
 .     700 
 
969 
 
 B 
 
 Baal  and  Boshetli        ,  .      14 
 
 Baal  Peor        .  ,        272,  291 
 
 „         ,,     story   of   in    Num- 
 bers, modern        .     472 
 ,,    Shalislia  .  .    819 
 
 ,,    -worship  and  prostitution    651 
 Babel  and  Berosus       ,  .     389 
 
 Babies  and  damsels  .     518 
 
 Baby  farms      .  .         323,  879 
 
 Babylon  and  Sabbath  .     C19 
 
 ,,      the  mystic  .     554 
 
 „      and  Egypt    .  .     892 
 
 Babylonian  deity,  Meni  .     274 
 
 ,,         influence  in  Joshua  349 
 >)  ,,       in     the 
 
 Bible    .     126 
 ,,  names  Greeised    .     389 
 
 Babylonians  and  resurrection      578 
 ))  sun  shadow  and 
 
 Hezekiah  .     901 
 
 Bacchus  .    704,  781,  786,  788 
 
 and  ivy  .  .     455 
 
 audy  .  .     496 
 
 ,,        bisexual         .  .     422 
 
 or  Dionysus,  is  St. 
 
 Dennis       .  .     379 
 
 )»        i*ed  .  .    422 
 
 ,,        the  crook  an  emblem 
 
 of   .  .  .     494 
 
 Bacon's  Novum  Organon    299,  511 
 Badger  and  skins       .  802-805 
 
 Bagh,  its  double  meaning       .     458 
 Bagnio  .  .  .772 
 
 Bajazet  and  Zedekiah  .     693 
 
 Balaam         .  .  289,  684 
 
 „        and  Barcochba  .     529 
 
 ,,        and  Chittim  .     195 
 
 ,,        episode  of      .  .    418 
 
 Balaam's  story  .  287-289 
 
 Balarama         .  .  .     473 
 
 Baldwin's     Prehistoric     Na- 
 tions .  .  812,  836 
 Bal-Eam          .            .  .     557 
 Bambino,  black            .             .     263 
 Bamoth  spotted           .            .     774 
 
 Page 
 Banker,  lunatic,  and  telegi-aph  309 
 Banki-uptcy  concealed  .     138 
 
 Barbarity  of  ancient  Jews      .      54 
 Barbarousness    of    ideas     of 
 
 sacrifice  .  .     534 
 
 Barcochba,  or  Barcocab       528-534 
 ,,     coins  money        .  .     530 
 
 ,,     conquered  after  a  three 
 
 years'  career 
 ,,     conquers  Eomaug 
 ,,     his  treatment  of  Chris- 
 tians   . 
 ,,     performs  miracles 
 ,,     recognised  as  the  Mes- 
 siah    . 
 Bar  Hebrffius 
 Bar  Muri 
 Barren    wives,  incentives    to 
 
 concubinage 
 Bartholomew's  day 
 Barzel,  name  of  iron 
 Basket 
 Bastards 
 Bathsheba,     Nathan, 
 
 and  Solomon 
 Baylee,  Bev.  Dr.,  on  the  ark 
 Beast,  the,  and  666    . 
 
 534 
 530 
 
 581 
 530 
 
 529 
 480 
 256 
 
 .     485 
 
 754,  879 
 
 .     187 
 
 •    491 
 
 245-250 
 
 David, 
 
 757 
 390 
 535 
 
 Beasts,  human  .        2I6,  562 
 
 ,,      no    monks    or    nuns 
 
 amongst  them         .  586 
 
 ,,     of  iDrey  and  town  walls  202 
 
 Beauty  and  the  beast  .            .  358 
 
 Bebis  of  India              .             .  175 
 
 Bee       .            .            .            .  448 
 
 Bees  kill  drones           .            .  172 
 
 „      why  sacred          ,            .  351 
 
 Begging  the  question                .  144 
 
 ,,     common  in  theology      .  7 
 
 ,,     a    fault   in    theological 
 
 writings            .             ,  144 
 
 Being,  the  Great,  how  adored  555 
 
 Beings  antagonistic  in  nature  656 
 
 Bel  and  Kronos           .            .  493 
 
 „     and  the  dragon              243,  719 
 
 ,,     table  and  couch  of            .  722 
 
 „     worship  of           .             .  379 
 
 R  R  R 
 
970 
 
 Page 
 Bel's  habitation  .  .     252 
 
 Belief  and  acts  .  .     605 
 
 ,,     in   a   fiction  does  not 
 
 establish  its  truth  .     423 
 
 Beliefs,  religions,  common  to 
 
 many  nations  .  .     310 
 
 Bell  used  in  Syrian  temple  .  791 
 BeUs  and  pomegranates  .     612 
 
 Belphegor         .  .  .471 
 
 Benjamin,  his   history  under 
 
 the  judges  .  .       28 
 
 Benjamite  names        .  .     194 
 
 Benjamites  .  232, 244 
 
 ,,     Kedeshim,  and  Levites  170 
 
 Berlin  and  the  social  evil        .     178 
 Berosus  and  Moses      .  .     401 
 
 Berosus'  story  of  flood  .     389 
 
 Best  paid  shrines,  what  286 
 
 Bethel  .  .  .229 
 
 Bethlehem  Ephratah  .        281 
 
 Bhava  .  ■  .    565 
 
 Bhavani  .  .  .     565 
 
 Biblical      phraseology       now 
 
 meaningless  .  .     637 
 
 Bible  abounds  with  puns        .     451 
 ,,      and  alphabet     .  .     857 
 
 ,,      and  artisans  .     516 
 
 ,,      and  false  witness  .     843 
 
 ,,  arguments  for  and 
 against  its  authen- 
 ticity 
 ,,  composition  of 
 ,,  estimate  of 
 „  immorality  of  . 
 „  its  blemishes  . 
 ,,  morality  of  impugned  . 
 ,,      not  the  only  record  of 
 
 lievelution 
 ,1      probably  begun  in  early 
 times  of  Jewish  mo- 
 narchy .  .       51 
 ,,      real  and  supposed  value 
 of,    compared    to    a 
 mineral          .             .     7<j.i 
 ,,      tlie,  itrt  silonce  siguifi- 
 
 ctttivo  .  .     576 
 
 .     119 
 
 .       32 
 
 .  76-77 
 
 831-337 
 
 .     337 
 
 396 
 
 574 
 
 Bible  various  estimation  of    . 
 Bibliolaters      .  680, 
 
 ,,  and  philosophers 
 
 Bibliolatrists,  dilemma  for 
 Bifrons,  Jehovah  described  as 
 Bigendians 
 Bigotry,  how  not  defined 
 
 ,,       of  a  false  prophet's 
 admirers 
 Bigots 
 
 , ,     and  Chinese  ladles  com- 
 pared . 
 ,,     Scotch,  how  answered 
 by  Lord  Palmerstou  . 
 Bilat    .... 
 Bilhah 
 Bilti 
 
 Birs  Nimroud 
 Birth,  new 
 
 Births,  Hebrew,  in  Egj-pt 
 Bisexual  Bacchus        , 
 
 ,,         Jupiter  or  Zeus 
 Bishops  contend  with  presby- 
 ters 
 ,,         excommunicate  each 
 other  as  Popes  did. 
 ,,        how  they  bless 
 Bitta 
 
 Bitumen,  why  called  naphtha 
 Black    depths    of     founts    of 
 Christian  myths 
 ,,       deities 
 Blackness  and  vulva     . 
 Blasphemous  ideas  of  Creator 
 
 held  by  Christians 
 Blessed  of  the  Father,  who     . 
 Blessings  of  Jews 
 Blemishes  in  Bible 
 Blight   upon    potatoes  not  a 
 
 judgment 
 Blind  obedience 
 
 ,,      zeal 
 Blue  garments  and  gems      797, 
 
 ,,     white,  and  red 
 Blunder,  to  pretend  to  punish 
 instead  of  God 
 
 Page 
 570 
 768 
 54 
 39 
 702 
 559 
 144 
 
 439 
 292 
 
 16 
 
 512 
 352 
 488 
 352 
 498 
 60 
 92 
 422 
 549 
 
 336 
 
 557 
 643 
 530 
 396 
 
 258 
 263 
 265 
 
 675 
 139 
 576 
 337 
 
 586 
 132 
 640 
 800 
 564 
 
 737 
 
971 
 
 Page 
 Boards  .  .  .795 
 
 Boastfulness  of  Jews               .  31 
 
 Boat,  mythical,  signification  of  367 
 Body    and    blood    of    Christ, 
 
 whether  eaten  or  not  .  536 
 
 ,,      distilled  to  get  the  soul  .  320 
 ,,      resurrection     of,      an 
 
 ancient  belief.             .  835 
 ,,      resurrection  of,  believed 
 
 in  by  Etruscans           .  876 
 
 Bodies  and  souls          .             .  655 
 
 Bogy,  old          .             .             .  592 
 
 Boiled  stone  and  prophecy      .  281 
 
 Bold  thinkers               .             .  434 
 Bologna            .            .            .411 
 
 stone              .             .  788 
 Bombay's  and  London's  tests 
 
 of  goodness              .             .  330 
 
 Bones  and  burning                   .  873 
 
 Bonomi's  Nineveh       .             .  375 
 
 "Book  of  God"           .             .  393 
 
 Book  of  Joshua  of  late  date  .  381 
 
 Books  all  to  be  jiidged  alike  144 
 
 ,,     and  early  church           .  135 
 
 ,,     interpolations  in           .  129 
 
 ,,     not     excluded     from 
 
 criticism      .             .  146 
 ,,     of    Homer,      Orpheus, 
 Enoch,  Mormon,  and 
 
 Junius,  their  value  346 
 ,,     of     Jews,      postulates 
 
 about         .  149-150 
 
 ,,    on.  Buddhism,  list  of    .  598 
 „     religious,   falsifications 
 
 of  .  .  .  818 
 ,,  rare  in  ancient  Jeru- 
 salem .  .  114 
 „  sacred  .  .  856 
 ,,  sacred,  fabrication  of  415^16 
 ,,  sacred,  borne  on  the  head  227 
 ,,     written  for  the  wise  and 
 
 others  for  the  vulgar  413 
 ,,       written,  not   existent 
 in  Judea  in  David's 
 
 time              .             .  129 
 
 Booths  in  the  desert                .  470 
 
 Page 
 Bornean  accoimt  of  Christian 
 
 doctrine   .  .     702 
 
 „         ideas   of   Christians' 
 
 God  .  .     639 
 
 Bow  as  a  weapon  and  emblem  194-196 
 
 ,,    use  of  by  Scythians,  &c.       484 
 
 Box,  reverence  for  .     843 
 
 Brahma  .  .  60,  238 
 
 ,,        Yishnu,  and  Siva       .     564 
 
 Brahminism     .  .  .     473 
 
 Brahmms         .  .         234,  573 
 
 and  Buddhists     664,  669 
 
 ,,       and  Levites  .     211 
 
 ,,       when     they    eat 
 
 flesh  .  .  .469 
 
 Brass  and  serpent        .  .     359 
 
 ,,     mirrors  .  .     225 
 
 Bread,  crucifix,  and  fire  •     320 
 
 ,,      sacred  .  .       42 
 
 Breeches  versus  nudity  .     605 
 
 Bride,  the,  and  the  pope  .     192 
 
 Bridge  from  death  to  eternity      834 
 
 Briseis  and  Achilles  .     490 
 
 Britain    opposes     human    to 
 
 divine  law  .  .     604 
 
 British   legends    and    Jewish 
 
 stories  .  .     155 
 
 ,,    Sabbath,  miseries  of  514 
 
 Britons,  ancient  .  .     151 
 
 Brenton's  translation  of  Sep- 
 
 tuagint  .  .     578 
 
 Bronze  and  iron  .  .     188 
 
 Brougham  and  Macaulay        .     415 
 Bruising        .  .  .         280 
 
 Brutahty  justified  by  law  and 
 
 prophets     .  .  _  543 
 
 ,,         sometimes  the  result 
 
 of  strictness  in  youth     602 
 
 Brute  creatures  emulated        .     175 
 
 Brutes  and  man  .  .     171 
 
 ,,     better  off  than  men    .     655 
 
 Bryant  .  .  .328 
 
 ,,      on  Noah  .  .     385 
 
 ,,      on  the  ark  of  Kibotos       388 
 
 ,,      quoted  .  .     394 
 
 Buckle  and  Voltaire  .     559 
 
972 
 
 Pago 
 Buckle,  Mr.,  and  Solomou       .     7<J2 
 ,,      quoted  .  .     413 
 
 Buckle's  Jlistory  of  Civilisa- 
 tion .  .  .     819 
 Buddha            .            194,  345,  809 
 „        and  Christ.     305,604-070 
 ,,        aud  Brahma,  black   .     204 
 ,,        and  Jesus  .     839 
 life  of,  sketched      064-070 
 Budtlhism  and  Papism            .     075 
 ,,         and  sexual  symbols    474 
 ,,         Paraeeism,       Brah- 
 miuism,  and  Chris- 
 tianity,    originally 
 pure          .             .     473 
 Buddhist  emblem        .            .     202 
 books           .            .     598 
 ,,        cross                         .     191 
 ,,        hermits        .            .     502 
 ,,        missionaries        313,  670 
 Buddhists        .            .            .     573 
 ,,         and  Hebrews           .     313 
 Bull,  a  symbol             .            .     505 
 ,,     and  Liuga                       .     222 
 ,,     zodiacal  sign  of               .     776 
 Bullocks  seven,  and  rams  seven    288 
 Buns                 .                        .     051 
 ,,    and  cakes            .            .     227 
 ,,     hot  cross             .             .     394 
 Bunscn,  E.,  quoted    .            .     115 
 ,,        on  name  Pharaoh     .     479 
 Bunsen's  Egypt           .            .    270 
 Burial           '  .                     809-874 
 ,,       clubs     .             .             .324 
 ,,       in  wax                .             .     836 
 Burials,  Persian          .  63 
 Burning  a  punishment  for  in- 
 
 continency  .  .     316 
 
 ,,        as  a  punishment  321,  876 
 
 ,,         bodies  and  children  .     321 
 
 of  the  law     .  .     413 
 
 ,,         glasses  .  .     906 
 
 Burnings  and  burials  870,  873 
 
 Page 
 CfEsar  less,  Rome  more  .    500 
 
 ,,      Pilate,  and  Jerusalem  .     533 
 Cairns  .  .  .    455 
 
 Cake  and  dung  .  .     519 
 
 Cakes  .  .  .     651 
 
 „    and  buns  .  .     227 
 
 ,,     offered  to  Ishtar  .    353 
 
 ,,     sacred  .  .     394 
 
 ,,     sacrificial  .  .     722 
 
 ,,     to  queen  .  .     466 
 
 CVilandCclU     .  .  .     566 
 
 Calcutta,   how  dead,   in,  dis- 
 posed of      . 
 Calendar 
 Calf,  golden,  and  earrings 
 
 ,,    worship  of 
 Campbell's,   Lord,   act,  Bible 
 
 obnoxious  to 
 Canaauites,  fertiUty  of 
 Candlestick,  golden 
 
 ,,  of    temple, 
 
 dcrn 
 Cannibal  Christians 
 
 ,,        women 
 Cannibalism  and  transubstan 
 
 tiation 
 Cannon,  bow,  and  gods 
 Canon,  Jewish,  when  closed 
 Canonisation    . 
 Capacity  of  Noah's  ark         390-391 
 Caphtor  .  .         482-483 
 
 Captivity,  first,  of  Jews  .     077 
 
 „  Grecian,  of  Jews  402, 418 
 
 874 
 
 805 
 
 342 
 
 98 
 
 .      77 
 
 .       26 
 
 722,  806 
 
 mo- 
 
 798,  799 
 
 .     537 
 
 .     217 
 
 206 
 194 
 156 
 872 
 
 Cadytis 
 
 21 
 
 Carians  as  mercenaries 
 
 Carnival  and  carrots 
 
 Carrot  ar.d  turnips  sjTnbolical 
 
 Carthago  and  Davis     . 
 
 Carliceya 
 
 Case  of  conscience  put 
 
 Cashmere  and  polyandry 
 
 Caspar 
 
 Caste  in    Palestine,    circum 
 
 ciscd  and  whole-skinned 
 Castclar,  Scnhor,  on  religious 
 
 lil)erty 
 Castles,  Jewish,  in  the  air 
 
 483 
 449 
 449 
 545 
 781 
 680 
 173 
 230 
 
 312 
 
 838 
 642 
 
973 
 
 Page 
 Cataclysm,   final,  expected    a 
 
 long  time  ago            ,             .  533 
 Catastrophes  and  black  pud- 
 dings   .            .  755 
 ,,              not  judgments  .  850 
 Catholic  emancipation,   ideas 
 
 of     .             .             .41 
 faith              .             .  580 
 Cats,  cleaniiness,  and  Ezekiel  519 
 Caves               .            .            .261 
 ,,     of  what  symbolic          .  925 
 ,,     used  for  arsenals           .  529 
 Cedars  and  Sidonians              .  188 
 Celestial  palace  fov  Christians  601 
 ,,         phenomena  and  fes- 
 tivals       .            .  130 
 ,,          virgin            .             .  228 
 Celibacy  and  political  economy  174 
 ,,        and  priests                 .  307 
 Centres  and  circles      .             .  621 
 Census,  David's                        .  22 
 Ceremonies  invented  by  priests  725 
 Ceres                .            .            .  226 
 ,,     and  moon           .             .  328 
 „     figure  of              .             .  329 
 Ceylon  and  Judea        .            .  633 
 ,,      sacred  books  of,  quoted  668 
 Chacra  Puja                 .            .  647 
 Chaldaeans  and  vermillion       .  554 
 Change  in  language                 •  159 
 ,,       of     plan,    change    of 
 purpose,   and  igno- 
 rance of  future   im- 
 plied in  a  miracle  301-302 
 ,,       of  purpose  not  in  God  543 
 Changes  in  religions                .  49 
 ,,         post-mortem,  of  man 
 
 and  brutes            .  655 
 
 Chaos                .             .             .  858 
 
 Character  of  Buddha               .  667 
 
 , ,         of  Buddha  and  Jesus  673 
 
 ,,         of  crusaders            .  235 
 
 ,,        of  many  of  the  clergy  134 
 
 of  Samuel               .  691 
 
 Characters  of  the  Hmners  of 
 
 Moses         .  .  .346 
 
 Page 
 Charity  wanted  for  hierarchs  .  815 
 Charlatans,  diviners,  oracles, 
 
 prophets,  etc. 
 Charles  I. 
 Charms 
 
 ,,       and  talismans 
 Cliasuhle 
 
 Chateaux  cV  Espagne  . 
 Chaucer  and  Tennyson 
 Cheaters  and  cheated 
 Check  upon  check 
 Chemarim 
 Chemists 
 
 Chemosh,  or  Camus 
 Cherethites 
 
 .     430 
 
 .     518 
 
 218,  442 
 
 .     651 
 
 650,  917 
 
 .     805 
 
 .     160 
 
 .     659 
 
 .     505 
 
 .     783 
 
 .     234 
 
 .     317 
 
 29,  402-403 
 
 and  Cretans       205,  608 
 
 Cherubim  and  Seraphim         .     696 
 
 Child  mixrder  a  religious  duty!     324 
 
 Children  by  concubines,  how 
 
 treated        .  486-8 
 
 , ,         destroyed  in  infancy      322 
 ,,         Hannah's  prayer  for, 
 
 tested         .  .     511 
 
 ,,         killed  before  burning    321 
 ,,         punished  for  father's 
 sins ;  can  such  be 
 saved  ?  and  how  ?  .     843 
 sacrificed      323,  790,  875 
 ,,        schoolmasters,     and 
 
 men  .  .     688 
 
 Chiefs  made  gigantic  .     425 
 
 China  .  .  .     804 
 
 ,,    and  children  .     323 
 
 ,,    emperor  of,  and  Solo- 
 mon compared  .       47 
 Chinamen  offer  mock  money  .     720 
 Chinese  antiquities  in  Ireland'    230 
 ,,       executioner    and    Sa- 
 muel compared        .     519 
 ,,      ladies,  their  small  feet      16 
 Chittim             .             .         196,  288 
 Chiun               .             ,             .269 
 Chloroform  and  cui'se             .     154 
 Cholera  and  filth         .            .153 
 ,,       and  prayer      .             .     511 
 ,,      and  Scotch  divines     .    443 
 
974 
 
 PnRO 
 Cholera,  tigers,  and  theology  .  852 
 Choral  service  .  .514 
 
 "  Chosen   race,"    its    preten- 
 sions examined  .      53 
 Christ  and  adulterous  woman, 
 
 his  judgment  .     3'2i 
 
 ,,     and  Buddha      305,  664-676 
 ,,     and  Essenes  .     313 
 
 „     and  Sabbath     .  .     620 
 
 ,,     language  spoken  by     .       97 
 Christendom  and     Christ    at 
 variance   about 
 tares  and  wheat     557 
 ,,  and     Pagandom 
 
 compared  .     853 
 
 ,,  and  Sabbath       .     625 
 
 Christian  and  Roman  stories        74 
 ,,        bigot,  account  of      .     732 
 ,,         church,  early  condi- 
 tion of      .  .     135 
 ,,         charity,        standard 
 
 of  .  .     C43 
 
 ,,         Europe,  how  it  dis- 
 poses of  its  super- 
 fluous infants       .     323 
 ,,         ferocity  I'crsus  Hin- 
 doo obscenity       .     567 
 ,,         forgeries  .     680 
 
 ,,        God   uses  men  for 
 
 firewood   .  .     702 
 
 ,,         heathenism  .     433 
 
 „         heathens      .  .     362 
 
 ,,  hierarchs,  why  they 
 give  support  to 
 Bible  .     335,  336 
 
 ,,         ideas       in     ancient 
 
 Media       .  .     834 
 
 ,,         ideas   of     God   and 
 
 sacrifice    .  .     636 
 
 ,,        Jews      and        Bar- 
 
 cochba  .     530-533 
 
 ,,         polytheistB  .       70 
 
 „        ritoH  from  Thibet    .    203 
 
 Trinity         .  .     883 
 
 Christianity  a  hybrid  674 
 
 pure 
 769, 
 
 by 
 
 Pago 
 
 Christianity  a  melange  of  the 
 
 good     parts    of 
 
 other  fiiths  and 
 
 heathen  notions 
 
 ,,  and  Buddhism    . 
 
 ,,  and     its    Jewish 
 
 incubus 
 ,,  and  Polygamy 
 
 ,,  common      sense, 
 
 and  Jewish  doc- 
 trines 
 ,,  originally  a 
 
 religion 
 ,,  Pagan 
 
 ,,  Bubjigated 
 
 Mahometans    . 
 ,,  tainted  by    pagan- 
 
 ism 
 Christians  and  atheists 
 
 ,,         and     free-thinkers 
 
 contrasted 
 ,,  and  Frigga 
 
 ,,  and  Jews    . 
 
 ,,  and  Lingacitas 
 
 ,,  cultivate      damna- 
 
 tion for  others 
 ,,  God  of,  Bible,  and 
 
 Molech      .         639,  640 
 ,,  grovelling  idea  of  .     931 
 
 ,,  have  adopted  pagan 
 
 festivals 
 , ,         ignore  Christ's  say 
 
 ings 
 ,,  keep  new  moons 
 
 ,,  logically      persecu- 
 
 tors of  heretics      557-8 
 ,,  obligation  of    Sab- 
 
 bath uiKjn 
 ,,  only      comfortable 
 
 when  miserable 
 ,,  refuse  to  keep  Sab- 
 
 baths properly 
 ,,  Bacrifice  thenisolves 
 
 „  venerate  Sun'sday, 
 
 Jew's  Suturu's  day 
 
 433 
 299 
 
 309 
 485 
 
 163 
 
 473 
 911 
 
 689 
 
 474 
 439 
 
 601 
 394 
 879 
 224 
 
 601 
 
 373 
 
 133 
 372 
 
 620 
 
 637 
 
 624 
 636 
 
975 
 
 Pago 
 
 Christians  worship   God    and 
 
 the  devil,  how 
 
 560 
 
 Christmas  and  paganism 
 
 468 
 
 Christna 
 
 258 
 
 , ,         and  Maia,  offerings  to 
 
 353 
 
 ,,         black 
 
 264 
 
 „         figure  of 
 
 354 
 
 Chronicles  and  keys 
 
 193 
 
 ,,          book  of,  design   in 
 
 419 
 
 , ,          book  of,  not   trust- 
 
 worthy   . 
 
 618 
 
 Chronology  of  author's  essays 
 
 505 
 
 Church,  an  enduring  one,  not 
 
 contemplated      by 
 
 Jesus 
 
 526 
 
 ,,       and  keys 
 
 192 
 
 ,,       and  the  weak-minded 
 
 131 
 
 „        Anglican,    asserts  .  a 
 
 dictatorial  power    . 
 
 133 
 
 ,,       Anglican,  like  an  an- 
 
 cient mirror 
 
 516 
 
 ,,       early     condition     of 
 
 Christian 
 
 135 
 
 ,,       estabUshed,  improved 
 
 by  outsiders 
 
 5 
 
 ,,       of  Kome  seeks  bigots 
 
 for  priests 
 
 132 
 
 ,,       of  Home,  the  whore 
 
 of  Babylon  . 
 
 535 
 
 ,,        papal,  heathen 
 
 650 
 
 ,,        state,  dejjlorable  con- 
 
 dition of     . 
 
 134 
 
 Chui'ches,   AugUcan,    Presby- 
 
 terian, and  Koman 
 
 contrasted 
 
 912 
 
 ,,       opposing   each    other 
 
 built  upon  Revelation 
 
 579 
 
 ,,       Protestant  hctaine  in 
 
 593 
 
 ,,          seven 
 
 500 
 
 Churchman,  good,  various  defi- 
 
 nitions of      . 
 
 555 
 
 Churchmen    aver     that    God 
 
 changes  His  mind    . 
 
 560 
 
 Cicero 
 
 809 
 
 ,,     on  the  Gods 
 
 71 
 
 Page 
 
 Cicero,  priests  and  augui-s      .  132 
 Cicero's  manner  of  life            .  562 
 ,,       religious  views            .  825 
 Cinyras             .             .             .  253 
 Circle  and  T                •             •  650 
 Circumcision                .             .  130 
 ,,     amongst        Colchians, 
 Egyptians,  and  Ethi- 
 opians            .             .  18 
 ,,     flint,    Moses  and    Zip- 
 
 porah              .             .  841 
 
 ,,     obliterated        .             .  528 
 
 ,,     twice  over         .             .  530 
 Cities,  conquered,  how  treat- 
 ed         .             .     410-411 
 ,,       pagan  and    Christian, 
 
 compared     .            .  477 
 Citium              .            .            .196 
 
 Citron  and  palm  branch          .  470 
 Civil  war  on  account  of   the 
 
 concubine  of  a  Levite         .  488 
 Civilisation  does   not  quench 
 
 instinct                    .             .  173 
 
 Civita  Vecchia              .             .  411 
 
 Clairvoyants                 .             .  521 
 
 Clans  in  Palestine                    .  151 
 
 Classification  of  Names  13,  14 
 
 Clay  and  seal                .             .  193 
 
 ,,    human                  .             ,  820 
 
 Cleanliness  and  cholera           .  513 
 
 ,,          and  crime              .  662 
 
 ,,          cats,  and  Ezekiel  519 
 
 ,,  when  better  than 
 
 godliness             .  443 
 Clefts  of  the  rocks  and  children  321 
 Clergy  and  prostitution           .  182 
 ,,     character    of      certain  134 
 ,,     concealed  infidelity  of  854 
 ,,     decline    of    their     in- 
 fluence         ,             .  7 
 ,,     desire  to  control  educa- 
 tion .            .            .16 
 ,,      should    be    forced    to 
 improve      by      lay- 
 men             .             .  543 
 
97G 
 
 rago 
 Clerical    dicta    fersus    strong 
 
 sense  .  .  .     51G 
 
 Clerks  deprived  of  livings        .     330 
 Closet,  prayer  in  .  .515 
 
 Clothes  in  wilderness  .       94 
 
 Clotliing  torn  by  lunatics         .     215 
 Club  meetings  .  .     C22 
 
 Clubs  and  crooks  .  .     494 
 
 „      burial  .     324 
 
 Clumsy  inventors  of  miracles      298 
 Cnidus  and  Venus  .     285 
 
 ,,       coin  from         .  .     27G 
 
 Cocab  .  .  .269 
 
 Cocab  Shahbath  .  .     504 
 
 Cockneys  and  Hindoos  com- 
 pared .  .  .62 
 Code,  moral,  and  Moses  .  331 
 Codes  of  laws,  how  promulgated  590 
 Coercion,  religious,  impolitic  82 
 Cognomens,  how  given  .  5G9 
 Coheleth  .  .  .846 
 Cohenim  .  .  .  783 
 Coincidences  in  Micah  and  in 
 
 Chronicles  .  .     287 
 
 Colchians  and  Sesostris  .       18 
 
 ,,       practised  circumci- 
 sion .  .     130 
 Coldness  and  moonlight         .     327 
 Colebrook  quoted         .           60,  646 
 Colenso,  Bishop           .        417,  794 
 ,,        persecuted  for  being 
 
 tmthful  .         4 
 
 Collection  of  Scriptures  .     136 
 
 Colonnade  of  St.  Peter's,  Rome    395 
 Colours  and  courtezans  .     554 
 
 ,,        divers,  coat  of  554 
 
 of  pknetB  498-500 
 
 Colts,  human  .  .713 
 
 CombativcncsB  and  religion    .     558 
 Commandment,    sixth,     exa- 
 mined .  .  .     594 
 Commandments  of  Buddha     .     066 
 ,,              ton,   analysed    842 
 Commemoration  of  events  469 
 Common  ideas  in  various  reli- 
 gious         .            .                 567 
 
 Pago 
 Common    sense,    versus    the 
 
 judgment  theory     .  .     852 
 
 Commonwealth  and  sexuality  174 
 Communing  of  man  with  his 
 
 maker  .  .  .     514 
 
 Comparison    between  oracles 
 
 and  other  charlatanry        .     430 
 Comparisons   between    pagan 
 
 and  Christian  cities  .     477 
 
 ,,  between    Jews, 
 
 Danes,    and     Saxons,    as 
 invaders  .  .     332 
 
 Comprehension  of  the  incom- 
 prehensible necessary  to 
 salvation       -  •  .     581 
 
 Composition  of  David's  mighty 
 
 men  .  .  .240 
 
 Concealment  of  religious  truth  137 
 Conception    of    Deity,    when 
 
 attained  by  man    464 
 ,,         without  paternity      518 
 Concubines       .  •         485-490 
 
 ,,  used  for  increas- 
 
 ing the  number  of  slaves      .     486 
 Cunfederato     sack     of     Jeru- 
 salem        .  .  402,  418 
 Confession       .            .  .     582 
 ,,           idea   of      its    late 
 
 origin    .  .     709 
 
 Confessor  wearing  crH.r  ansata  887 
 Conscience,  case  of,  described  686 
 Constantinople  and  Jerusalem 
 
 compared  .  .     692 
 
 Cromwell  .  .410 
 
 Confluence  of  rivers  .     239 
 
 Confucius  345,  809,  861 
 
 ,,         and  Solomon  761 
 
 Confutation  of  oracles  440-445 
 
 ,,      results  of  .  .     444 
 
 Congregational  spouses  .     285 
 
 Coniferous  fruit  .  .     496 
 
 Conqueror  and  Saviour  .     653 
 
 Conquest  and  captivity,  what 
 
 it  involved  .  .       81 
 
 Consecrated      and      common 
 
 whores  .     176 
 
977 
 
 Consecrated  Sodomites        169, 
 ,,  swords 
 
 Consecration  and  congress 
 „  and  Levites 
 
 ,,  by  Micah 
 
 Consorts  of  Snu 
 
 Constantino|ile  and  Jerusalem 
 
 Construction  of  history 
 
 Contempt  shown  to  Jews 
 
 Contrast  drawn  between  India 
 and  Europe 
 
 Contrivance  for  making  a  fic- 
 titious serpent  speak 
 
 Contrivances  of  a  false  prophet 
 ,,  to   establish    the 
 
 truth  of  a  religion 
 
 Controversy,  how  to  be  deprived 
 of  bitterness 
 
 Convents  in  Thibet 
 
 Conversion     inferior    to   kill- 
 ing! 
 
 „     of  heathen  not  attempted 
 by  Abraham 
 ,,     of  religious  opponents, 
 a  miracle  never  tried 
 
 Converts     and     the     sword's 
 point 
 
 Cook,  Captain,  and  New  Zea- 
 landers 
 
 Copenhagen 
 
 Copies   of   oracles   and  '  par- 
 dons '  compared 
 
 Coptic  and  ancient  Egj'j-tian 
 ,,     and  Pharaoh 
 
 Cord  noosed,   a  strange  cog- 
 nomen 
 
 Corinthians     and     Christian 
 cannibals    . 
 
 Cornwall  and  giants 
 
 Cornucopia 
 
 Coroner's  inquest,  accoimt  of 
 one 
 
 Corporal 
 
 Corporeal  pleasures  in  heaven 
 
 Cortez 
 
 Cory  quoted 
 
 Page 
 170 
 185 
 
 Cosmogony,  Hesiod's  . 
 Council  of  God 
 
 Page 
 
 858 
 754 
 
 170 
 
 Councils  and  Christians 
 
 533 
 
 170 
 
 Counsels  of  heaven  not  divided 
 
 543 
 
 280 
 
 Countries,  tribal,  condition  of 
 
 80 
 
 778 
 155 
 
 Courses  for  adoption  when  pre- 
 dictions fail 
 
 534 
 
 32 
 
 Courtesan's  wealth 
 
 285 
 
 57 
 
 Courtesans  and  colours 
 Covenanters,      Scotch,      and 
 
 554 
 
 62 
 
 Maories  in  New  Zealand    . 
 Covenanting  Scotchmen  adopt 
 
 542 
 
 440 
 436 
 
 misery  in  religion  . 
 Covet,      scripture     incen'ives 
 
 562 
 
 to             .             .              843 
 
 844 
 
 557 
 
 Covetousn^ss     cultivated     by 
 
 141 
 
 Hebrew  prophets 
 Cow's  mouth 
 
 333 
 238 
 
 203 
 
 Cowardice  of  various  Hebrews 
 Cowards  converted  into  fight- 
 
 22 
 
 312 
 
 ing  men 
 
 29 
 
 Cowper  and  creeds 
 
 558 
 
 311 
 
 Cows  not  visited    by    divine 
 
 304 
 
 anger 
 Creation 
 
 587 
 138 
 
 ,,         and  man 
 
 589 
 
 530 
 
 ,,      -of  woman  from  a  rib 
 Creator  interferes  with  man- 
 
 610 
 
 399 
 
 kind. 
 
 310 
 
 411 
 
 ,,        Jewish  ideas  respect- 
 
 442 
 
 mg   . 
 ,,        and  reason 
 
 121 
 144 
 
 507 
 
 ,,        a  preserver  and   de- 
 
 478 
 
 stroyer 
 ,,        Saviour,  etc. 
 
 564 
 652 
 
 551 
 
 ,,        shows  His  will  in  the 
 
 universe 
 
 584 
 
 536 
 423 
 
 494 
 
 ,,        worshipped  diversely 
 Credulity  not  defined 
 
 ,,         of  an  oracle  seeker 
 ,,          of     Christians    and 
 
 556 
 144 
 441 
 
 606 
 
 heathens  alike  433 
 
 -434 
 
 650 
 655 
 119 
 
 ,,          sought  for  by  hier- 
 archy 
 ,,         the  result  of  educa- 
 
 113 
 
 480 
 
 tion 
 
 57 
 
 s  s  s 
 
078 
 
 Pago 
 
 Creed,  Atbanasian  580 
 
 ,,      fiinclamental  582 
 
 Creeds  .  .  .887 
 
 ,,      Pagan    and   Christian, 
 
 adopt  new  notions  .     817 
 Cremation        .  .  .     868 
 
 Croesus  .  .  .     445 
 
 and  oracles  .    428,  429 
 
 Cretans  and  Cherethites      205,  C08 
 Crete  .  .        483,  608 
 
 Crime  produced  bj*  good  mo- 
 tives .  .  .331 
 
 ,,      statistics  of      .  .     754 
 
 Crimes,  religious,  justifiable  .     844 
 Critical    examination    of    the 
 
 Bible  .  .79 
 
 Cronus  .  .         270,  389 
 
 Crooks  emblematic  493 
 
 Cross,  Buddhist 
 
 „      taking  up  the 
 Crossed  legs  emblem  of  death 
 Crows  and  sentinels    . 
 Crucifix,  fire,  and  bread 
 Crueltit  s  founded  on  religion 
 Crusaders  and  Inquisitors 
 Crusades 
 
 Crux  ausata  191,  221,  744,  887,  917 
 Cuckoos  .  .  .     586 
 
 Cud,  chewing,  Eev.  Dr.  Baylee 
 on  ... 
 
 Cumoan  sybil 
 
 Cumuiiiig,  lUv.  Dr.     214,  347, 
 Cuniiu 
 
 Cup  and  wafer 
 Cupbearers  and  caatrati 
 Cupid 
 
 ,,      and  bow 
 
 ,,      and  death 
 Curse,  Eve's,  and  chloroform 
 
 ,,      theology  a 
 Curses,  of  Bible  and  Shake- 
 speare .  .     844 
 
 ,,       to  Jews  described         .     576 
 Cursing,  power  of  .     234 
 
 CurtaiuH  .  801 
 
 Cu-tuiub.  rtr.-iiiii  .       63 
 
 191 
 636 
 272 
 587 
 320 
 542 
 557 
 246 
 
 392 
 •JC.l 
 527 
 394 
 051 
 548 
 695 
 194 
 272 
 154 
 849 
 
 Page 
 
 Cutlers  and  Kenites  .     188 
 
 Cybele  .  .  .     406 
 
 Cylinders  and  prayers  .     203 
 
 Cypress  sacred  .  .     457 
 
 Cyprus  and  Eg}-]it  conquered 
 
 by  Barcochba  .     530 
 
 Cyril     .  .889 
 
 Cyrus  .  .64 
 
 ,,     and  restoration  of    de- 
 stroyed vessels  .     723 
 ,,     and  the  Psalmist  .       65 
 ,,     Darius  and  Jerusalem    .     928 
 Czar  and  Emperor      .  479 
 
 Dagopa  .  .476 
 
 Damaris  .     449 
 
 Damascus  and  iron     .  .     189 
 
 ,,     gods  of,  powerful  .     283 
 
 Damnation  dear  to  Christians     601 
 
 ,,     discussed  .  .     655 
 
 ,,     men  made  for    .  655 
 
 Damned  soul,  estimate  of  336 
 
 Damsels  and  babies  518 
 
 Dancer  devils  .     336 
 
 Danger,  animals  avoid  .     587 
 
 Dauiel  and  Barcochba  .     529 
 
 ,,     Cyrus,  Darius,  Ezra,  and 
 
 Zechariah        .  928 
 
 ,,     musical       instruments 
 
 mentioned  by  .  .     375 
 
 ,,     when  written      .  .     388 
 
 Dardanians  .  608 
 
 Darius'  daughters  and  Alexander  249 
 ,,     keys  unknown  to  .     193 
 
 ,,     the   Mede,   his    inscrip- 
 tion     .  .  .       62 
 Darkness,  prince  of,  his  likes 
 
 and  disliki  s  .     r>57 
 
 Daughters  of  Lot  316,751 
 
 Davini)ort  brothers  234,  M87 
 
 David  a  fatalist  .     851 
 
 ,,     a  moHH  trooper  .  51 
 
 ,,     a  plunderer  334 
 
 ,,     and  Cyrus  compared  65 
 
 ,,     and  iron  .IKS 
 
979 
 
 Pngo 
 
 David  and  Jesse 
 
 251 
 
 ,,     and  slings 
 
 194 
 
 ,,     and  Solyman  compared  . 
 
 692 
 
 „     and  the  keys 
 
 193 
 
 ,,     and  trumpet      .           380 
 
 -381 
 
 i,     as  a  ruler 
 
 161 
 
 „     did  he  know  a  written  law? 
 
 40 
 
 ,,     did  lie  read  ? 
 
 39 
 
 ,,     did    not  regard    Jewish 
 
 festivals 
 
 419 
 
 ,,     did  not  worship  any  figure 
 
 44 
 
 ,,     founds  a  dynasty 
 
 83 
 
 ,,     his  life    . 
 
 55 
 
 ,,     his  practices 
 
 44 
 
 ,,     knew  nothing  of  sabbaths 
 
 617 
 
 ,,     not  an  astronomer 
 
 373 
 
 ,,     statutes  of          .          45, 
 
 348 
 
 „    story  of   . 
 
 36 
 
 ,,    trains  army,  takes  Jeru- 
 
 salem, etc. 
 
 152 
 
 David's  concubines 
 
 489 
 
 ,,     idea  of  Almighty 
 
 43 
 
 ,,     mighty  men 
 
 240 
 
 ,,     policy,  etc. 
 
 37 
 
 ,,     soldiers,  their  influence 
 
 on  the  Hebrew  religion 
 
 117 
 
 Davis  and  Carthage 
 
 545 
 
 Day,  last 
 
 139 
 
 Days  consecrated  to  Saturn  and 
 
 the  sun 
 
 372 
 
 ,,     lucky  and  unlucky 
 
 864 
 
 ,,     of  the  week  and  planets. 
 
 504 
 
 ,,     Paul's  opinion  respecting 
 
 504 
 
 ,,     respect  for 
 
 897 
 
 Dead,  Egyptian  ritual  for 
 
 57 
 
 ,,     how  disposed  of  by  He- 
 
 brews . 
 
 321 
 
 ,,    bow  disposed  of  in  Cal- 
 
 cutta 
 
 874 
 
 ,,     sacrifices  to 
 
 272 
 
 ,,     sea          . 
 
 748 
 
 ,,     who  first  rose  from,  note 
 
 654 
 
 Dealings    between    Jews   and 
 
 Samaritans 
 
 312 
 
 Dea  Syria          .            .        784-973 
 
 Death 
 
 240 
 
 574 
 
 579 
 
 586 
 504 
 
 Page 
 Death  and  Adam         .  .     570 
 
 ,,     and  Azazel  .  .     705 
 
 „     and  Pluto  .  .     270 
 
 ,,     and  Venus  .  .     272 
 
 ,,     a  power  .  .  .     706 
 
 ,,     as  a  cognomen   .  .     241 
 
 ,,     comes  to  all        .  .     586 
 
 ,,    earth,  and  mother  .     270 
 
 ,,     emblems  of         .  .     272 
 
 ,,     eternal  means  '  life '       .    656 
 ,,     involved  in  the  existence 
 of  carnivorous  animals 
 ,,     is  annihilation  according 
 
 to  Old  Testament 
 ,,     not  necessarily  depend- 
 ent upon  mis:leeds 
 ,,     of  lingering  pain 
 ,,     penalty  of   for   sabbath 
 
 breaking  .         624-625 
 
 ,,     sacrifices  to         .  .     272 
 
 ,,     thoughts  upon    .  .     602 
 
 Deborah  .  .         206,  448 
 
 Deccan,  religious  prostitution  in    168 
 Decease  of  Jesus  not  believed 
 in    by  those   to   whom   it 
 was  revealed 
 Dedication  of  Solomon's  tem- 
 ple 
 Deeds  not  words 
 Defence  must  accompany  de- 
 fiance 
 Definitions 
 Deities,  black 
 
 ,,     inferior  origin  of 
 ,,    male  and  female,  names 
 of 
 Deity,  Hindoo  ideas  of 
 
 ,,     represented  as  an  impla- 
 cable tyrant    . 
 Degeneracy  of  race 
 "  Degenerate  days  " 
 Delhi  and  Jerusalem 
 Delphi 
 
 ,,     and  Dodona 
 
 ,,     oracles  of  as  valuable  as 
 
 Jewish  vaticinations  .     540 
 
 575 
 
 759 
 139 
 
 6 
 144 
 263 
 
 895 
 
 923 
 503 
 
 566 
 .  424 
 .  424 
 .  47 
 285,  578 
 .  426 
 
980 
 
 Delphi,  when  wroug,  its  plan  -145 
 Delusiou  .  .  145 
 DeliiBions,  aural  and  spectral  102-103 
 Demaud  aud  supply  .  426 
 Demeter  .  228,  351 
 Dtmigodfl  and  giants  818 
 Demon  of  destruction  705 
 „  the  Lord  represented  as  153 
 Demons  218 
 ,,  aud  damsels  518 
 Demonstration,  how  attainable  142 
 Demonstrations,  absurd  ex- 
 amples of  120 
 Denmark  and  sin  754 
 Deo  soli  .803 
 Depravity  of  the   children  of 
 
 saints                                    .  602 
 Depreciation  of  Buddhi.  m      .  669 
 Derceto  785 
 Describers   of   the   incompre- 
 hensible     .             .             .  658 
 Description  of  a  nonentity  im- 
 possible          .            .  539 
 ,.     of  Syrian  temple          786-788 
 ,,     varied,  of  the  devil  700 
 Desert,  luxuries  supposed  not 
 
 to  be  found  therein             .  805 
 
 Design  of  ancient  Jewish  story  418 
 „    of  story  about  Israel  in 
 
 Eg>pt                        417-418 
 Designing  men  and  weak  wo- 
 men            .  176 
 De'^igns  and  designer  300 
 Desire               .             .  695 
 Desolation,  abomination  of  529 
 Despondent  students  688 
 Destroyer,   creator,   and    pre- 
 server        .  564 
 Deetructions  of  Jcnisalcm      .  229 
 Deucalion                                   .123 
 ,,     and  Pvrrhn  (»52 
 Dcucalion'H  Hood  7H6 
 Dfut  fx  mnchina  107 
 DfUtcronomy  J  66 
 .,     and  IVitatcUfh  415 
 ,,     and  taberuaclo  797 
 
 Deuteronomy  vtr&m  Jesus 
 
 De\-i 
 
 Devil  a  miracle 
 
 ,,     aud  God  represented  by 
 some    Christians     as 
 identical 
 ,,     and  Typhon 
 ,,     how       worshipped      by 
 
 Christians 
 ,,     not  as  black  as  painted 
 ,,     painted  as  omnipotent  . 
 ,,     Zoroaster  and  ourselves 
 Devils 
 ,,     and  dancers 
 ,,     Median  . 
 Devotees  when  relapsed    be- 
 come devilish 
 Dews  and  Ahriman 
 Dey  of  Algiers  and  David 
 Dial 
 
 Dials,  sun,  in  Jerusalem 
 Diaua  multimnmmia 
 Dictation  of  man  to  tho  Holy 
 
 Spirit  considered 
 Diet,  certain,  why  adopted 
 Difiference  between  freethink- 
 ers and  others 
 Differential   appraisement    of 
 
 bins 
 Difficulties,  Biblical  cleared    . 
 ,,     in     ascertaining     the 
 
 authorship  of  the  Bible 
 ,,     in  religion  slurred  over  . 
 ,,     of  Egj-ptian  story 
 Dilemma,  a,  Jehovah  or  man 
 the  fault}-  one 
 ,,     and  dispensations 
 ,,     for  Bibliolatrists 
 ,,     horns  of 
 
 ,,     of     divines    who    study 
 their  faith 
 Dion  Cassius  on  Barooolibn  528 
 Dionysus 
 
 .,     and  ivy   . 
 
 ,,     or  Bacchus,  has  become 
 St.  Dennis 
 
 Page 
 593 
 240 
 295 
 
 639 
 70 
 
 560 
 334 
 743 
 831 
 713 
 336 
 833 
 
 602 
 697 
 152 
 162 
 902 
 716 
 
 519 
 252 
 
 602 
 
 62 
 106 
 
 51 
 
 8 
 
 417 
 
 297 
 
 350 
 
 39 
 
 577 
 
 853 
 529 
 492 
 455 
 
 879 
 
981 
 
 380 
 
 593 
 
 174 
 763 
 
 Page 
 Dirty  hermits  and  city  fops    .     336 
 Disbelief,   Christian,    in   He- 
 brew theology  .         250-251 
 Discord  attends  certain  celes- 
 tial or  astronomical  pheno- 
 mena 
 Discrepancy  in  laws  said  to  be 
 
 divine 
 Discussion,     necessity    for    a 
 
 common  ground  in 
 Disease  promoted  by  the  state 
 
 in  Britain 
 Disraeli,  Mr. 
 Dissertation  on  ancient  know- 
 ledge of  iron    .         187-189 
 ,,     on  sabbath  .         614-627 
 
 Dissolute  habits  of  Jews  .     576 
 
 Dispensation,  first  and  second  350 
 Distillation  of  body  to  got  soul  320 
 Diti  .  .  .718 
 
 Dives  and  Lazarus  .         .     336 
 
 Divination,  example  of         431-432 
 Divine  and  human  laws  differ 
 in  England      . 
 ,,     Anghcan,  and  the  Jewish 
 
 pythoness 
 ,,     laws  diverse 
 ,,     origin   of   Eome 
 ,,     (so  called)  maxiuis,wheu 
 opposite     leave    room 
 for  human  choice 
 Diviners  promise  offspring 
 Divines  and  doctors     . 
 
 „     and  Munchausen  charge 
 
 alike 
 ,,     Anglican,    scout  private 
 judgment,  yet    under- 
 stand syllogisms 
 Divining  amongst  magi 
 Divided  tribes,  how  imited 
 Division     of    countries     into 
 
 provinces 
 Do   as    you    would    be    done 
 by  ... 
 
 Doctrines     die     sooner    than 
 
 stories  .  ,     167 
 
 604 
 
 434 
 
 734 
 
 36 
 
 593 
 321 
 135 
 
 142 
 
 133 
 836 
 109 
 
 109 
 
 568 
 
 Page 
 Doctrines  not  inquired  about 
 
 on  last  day      .            .  139 
 ,,     of    Buddha   and   Jesus 
 
 similar.  .  .     573 
 
 ,,     papal,  various    .             .  112 
 ,,     religious,    repugnant   to 
 
 common  sei.se             .  7 
 
 Doctrine  of  Jews         .             .  163 
 
 ,,     religious,  two  forms  of  .  561 
 
 ,,     versus  morality  .             .  674 
 
 Doctors  and  chloroform           .  154 
 
 ,,     and  divines         .             .  134 
 ,,     and    prayers   for   pious 
 
 invahds            .             .  513 
 ,,     deceived     by    designing 
 
 damsels            .             .  521 
 ,,     dictated  to  by  the  dis- 
 ease 1                .             .  660 
 Dodauim           .             .             .  606 
 Dodona             .             .             .  573 
 ,,     and  Delphi                       .  426 
 „     oracles  of,  valued           .  540 
 Dogmas,  current          .            .  308 
 Dogmatism  not  argument        .  145 
 Dogs  and  Sodomites                .  169 
 DoUiuger           .             .             .  175 
 Dolphin  and  Dauphin              .  913 
 ,,     puns  about         .             .  459 
 Domestic  prostitution              .  486 
 Don    Quixote's    helmet     and 
 
 modern  faith          .             .  517 
 
 Donaldson,  Kev.  Dr.  482,  806 
 
 ,,     quoted                              .  204 
 
 Doolittle           .            .            .  719 
 
 Door  of  tabernacle  and  women  225 
 
 ,,     the  mystic           .             .  649 
 
 Doors,  bavs,  and  keys  .             .  192 
 
 ,,     of  heaven  require  keys  .  190 
 
 Dove    not     sacred    in    India, 
 
 reason  why     .             .  459 
 
 ,,     sacred     .                         .  785 
 
 Dr.  Dee  .  .  .225 
 
 Dreams,  interpreters  of          .  233 
 
 Dress  of  prostitutes  peculiar  .  176 
 
 ,,     of  women  worn  by  Papal 
 
 priests,  etc.                  .  915 
 
982 
 
 Page 
 Drought  cured  by  murder  .  633 
 Drummond,  Sir  W.  1G2,  8'J9 
 
 Drunkenness,  moral,  of  relapsed 
 
 devotees  .  .     G02 
 
 ,,     not    prohibited    in    the 
 
 Old  Testament  .     GOO 
 
 Druses,  strange  custom  of    .     476 
 Dudaim  .  .     250 
 
 Duennas  .     912 
 
 Dulaure  175,  185,  892 
 
 Dung,  human,  for  baking  cake    519 
 Dupes,  doctors,  damsels,   and 
 
 doubts  .  .521 
 
 ,,     encourage  cheats  .     427 
 
 ,,     in  olden  times    .  .     540 
 
 Dupuis'   Religion    Universdlc 
 
 500,  775 
 Duty  of  man  605 
 
 Dyaks  .594 
 
 Dyaus  .     898 
 
 Dye  in  the  desert        .  797 
 
 Dynasty  of  David,  its  charac- 
 teristics .  .       56 
 Dysentery,     dissipation,    salt 
 meat,  and  theology  852 
 
 E 
 
 546, 
 
 Eagle,  a  sj-mbol 
 Earnestness  of  lunatics 
 Earth,  dciith,  and  mother    270- 
 
 „       light     . 
 Eating,      i)ricstH       particular 
 
 about 
 Eber 
 
 Ecclesiastes  and  Ecclcsiasticus 
 
 157, 
 
 ,,     and  Theognis  compared. 
 
 Ecclesiastic  selection  of  texts 
 
 EccloBiastical  terrors  used  to 
 
 enforce  laws 
 Eclipses  and  discord 
 Edition,  modified,  of  the  Bible 
 
 required 
 Edom  .122, 
 
 ,,     denounced,  why  403- 
 
 Edomites 
 
 565 
 523 
 -273 
 779 
 
 242 
 
 288 
 
 761 
 828 
 543 
 
 591 
 380 
 
 78 
 898 
 105 
 T'.to 
 
 Page 
 
 Edomites  and  Ahaz     .  284 
 
 Education  and  emigration       .     926 
 
 ,,     and  bigotry         .  •     236 
 
 ,,     clerical  and  medical        .     135 
 
 , ,     control  over,  why  desired 
 
 by  clergy         .  16,  113 
 
 , ,     of  the  hierarchy  imper- 
 
 58, 
 
 feet 
 Egypt  and  the  Hyksos 
 
 ,,     and  Exodus 
 
 ,,     and  Jews,  story  of 
 
 .,     Bunsen  on,  quoted 
 
 ,,     has  no  record  of  Jews  346, 478 
 
 ,,     its   kings   rarely  named 
 in  the  Bible 
 
 ,,     Phoenicians  in 
 
 ,,     Tyre,  and  Nebuchadnez- 
 zar 
 Egj-ptian  purgatory  more  ela- 
 borate than  the  papal 
 one 
 
 ,,     religion  had  little  if  any 
 influence  over  Jews  . 
 Egy]5tians  and  ark 
 
 ,,     and  Babylonians 
 
 ,,     and  Jews  compared 
 
 ,,     and  sacred  congress 
 
 ,,     and  trumpets 
 
 , ,     not  a  warlike  race 
 
 ,,     plundered 
 
 ,,     had  a  ritual  for  the  dead 
 
 ,,     the  gods  of,  not  adopted 
 by  Jews 
 El  an  Israelite  go  1       . 
 
 ,,     and  Jah  in  cognomens  . 
 
 ,,     and  sun 
 Election,  doctrine  of 
 Electric   telegraph   and    Wil- 
 liam I. 
 Elegant  extracts 
 Element,  Hindoo,  In  Palestine 
 Elements  revered  by  magi 
 Elephant  and  linga 
 
 ,,     tortoise,  and  worM 
 Elephanta,  cavern  of 
 Elephants  in  spring 
 
 .  131 
 17 
 
 19,  20 
 417 
 270 
 
 478 
 18 
 
 430 
 
 577 
 
 821 
 386 
 892 
 ,  98 
 174 
 374 
 92 
 831 
 271 
 
 821 
 
 49 
 
 14 
 
 782 
 
 756 
 
 618 
 10 
 200 
 836 
 222 
 
 59 
 777 
 
983 
 
 Elephants  and  town  walls 
 
 202 
 
 Epilogue 
 
 933 
 
 Elias  expected 
 
 9 
 
 Epistles  and  gospels 
 
 136 
 
 , ,     Ms  praj-er  power 
 
 510 
 
 Equiuox,  autumnal 
 
 470 
 
 Elijah  and  Malachi 
 
 244 
 
 Erebus 
 
 272 
 
 Eli's  sons,  wherein  criminal  . 
 
 225 
 
 Eros  and  creation         .          67, 
 
 695 
 
 Elis,  tortoise,  and  Venus 
 
 880 
 
 Error,  how  not  defined 
 
 144 
 
 Eloeim 
 
 197 
 
 Esau  and  Jacob 
 
 420 
 
 Elohim  a  triad 
 
 882 
 
 Esculapius                    .         201, 
 
 438 
 
 ,,     and  Plato 
 
 67 
 
 ,,     rod  of 
 
 493 
 
 Elohist  and  Jehovist 
 
 416 
 
 Esdras  and  Ezra 
 
 413 
 
 Elohislic  narratives 
 
 50 
 
 ,,     and  keys 
 
 193 
 
 Elysium 
 
 823 
 
 ,,     and  the  law 
 
 161 
 
 Emblems,  Christian,  are  hea- 
 
 Eshmun 
 
 201 
 
 then     . 
 
 650 
 
 Esquimaux  and  primitive  man 
 
 424 
 
 ,,     worn  as  amulets 
 
 477 
 
 Essays  of  Author,  the  chrono- 
 
 ,,    of  sacti 
 
 647 
 
 logy  of        . 
 
 505 
 
 Embroidery 
 
 804 
 
 Essenes  and  Buddhists       313, 
 
 670 
 
 Embryo    of    eagle   resembles 
 
 ,,     purity  of 
 
 474 
 
 that  of  barn-door  fowl 
 
 585 
 
 Estates  in  land  and  religion 
 
 Emigrants  and  education 
 
 926 
 
 compared 
 
 686 
 
 En  cas 
 
 724 
 
 Estimate  of  a  damned  soul    . 
 
 336 
 
 End  of  the  world 
 
 575 
 
 ,,     of  God  in  Old  and  New 
 
 Endymion 
 
 442 
 
 Testaments 
 
 54 
 
 Enemies  of  the  Lord  in  David's 
 
 ,,     of  Jews 
 
 314 
 
 court 
 
 87 
 
 Eternal  life  and  death 
 
 656 
 
 England 
 
 542 
 
 Eternity,  why  symbolised  by 
 
 „     a  forecast  respecting 
 
 538 
 
 serpent 
 
 712 
 
 ,,     and  Athens,  vices  of 
 
 853 
 
 Ethiopians  and  Bacchus 
 
 786 
 
 ,,     and  infanticide            323 
 
 ,324 
 
 Etruscans 
 
 346 
 
 „     China,  and  Judea  com- 
 
 ,,    believed  in  resurrection 
 
 pared 
 
 691 
 
 of  the  body 
 
 876 
 
 „     the  land  overshadowing 
 
 ,,     invented  the  trumpet     . 
 
 374 
 
 with  wings 
 
 535 
 
 ,,     theology 
 
 825 
 
 EngUsh  language  changed 
 
 159 
 
 Eucharist,   various  ideas    re- 
 
 Engraving, antiquity  of 
 
 800 
 
 specting 
 
 536 
 
 Engravers    abundant    in    the 
 
 Euchd               .             .         142, 
 
 675 
 
 wilderness 
 
 797 
 
 Eunuchs           .             ,         245, 
 
 548 
 
 Enjoyment  in  animal  life 
 
 586 
 
 Euripides  on  futmity 
 
 70 
 
 Ennoia 
 
 765 
 
 Eusebius 
 
 843 
 
 Ephod 
 
 843 
 
 "EiiSews 
 
 535 
 
 ,,     and  divination    . 
 
 905 
 
 Eve                   ... 
 
 550 
 
 Epictetus 
 
 809 
 
 ,,     curse  on,  and  chloroform 
 
 154 
 
 Epicureans  opposers  of  hum- 
 
 Everlasting arms 
 
 560 
 
 bug 
 
 440 
 
 ,,     meaning  of  the  word 
 
 581 
 
 Epicurus 
 
 809 
 
 Evi 
 
 550 
 
 ,,     his  manner  of  hfe 
 
 562 
 
 Evidence  for  miracles 
 
 293 
 
984 
 
 Pngc 
 
 Evidence,  force  of       .  793 
 
 ,,     of      books     from    tbeir 
 
 uames  valueless  .     346 
 
 ,,     of  real  revelation  unre- 
 liable .  583 
 ,,     respecting  Bible  119,  121,  570 
 ,,     wortbless,  not  strength - 
 
 enetl  by  repetition  347 
 
 Evil,  the  social  .     171 
 
 Evoe  .  .     370 
 
 Ewald  10.  206,  34G,  423 
 
 Exaggeration  in  stories  .       48 
 
 Examination  of  religions  to  be 
 
 rigid  .  .         7 
 
 ,,     of  living  men  and  dead 
 
 authors  8 
 
 „     of  Bible,  result  of  .     138 
 
 „     of  miracles         .  .     293 
 
 Examples  of  Hebrew  coward- 
 ice .  .       22 
 Excommunication    does    not 
 
 affect  a  lajTnau  5 
 
 ,,     of  bishops  by  bishops    .     557 
 ,,     of  Jeremiah  the  proi)het 
 
 and  Colenso  the  bishop       11 
 Exodus,  Ezekiel,  and  Jeremiah 
 
 at  variance  814,  845 
 
 ,,     fitory  of  .  WC> 
 
 Expediency  one  basis  of  human 
 
 law  .  592,  004 
 
 Expensive  luxury — a  wife  173 
 
 Expiation  of  parent's  sin  by 
 
 offspring  .  842 
 
 Explanation  of  Egyptian  storj-    417 
 Exposure  of  frauds  a  disagree- 
 able duty  .  .     138 
 Expurgation  of  tlio  Bible  re- 
 quired                                78,  .337 
 Extermination      of     heathen 
 better  than  converting 
 them!  .312 
 .,     of  heretics  .'."7 
 Eyes                .  i.r.i 
 ,,     on  Indra's  robe           049,  770 
 Ezro  ami  E^dras                      .     4i;j 
 EzfkJol                                    »(;7,  .'•••_'4 
 
 Page 
 
 Ezekiel  a  false  prophet            .  525 
 
 „     and  Hosen                        .  333 
 
 „     and  iron  188 
 
 ,,     and  Ncah             .             .  385 
 
 ,,     cleanliness,  and  cats      .  519 
 „     his    accusation    against 
 
 the  Jews          .             .  834 
 
 ..     versus  decalogue             .  845 
 
 Fabretti  .  .875 
 
 Fabrication  of  history  147 
 
 „     of  books  415 
 
 ,,     of  legends                       .  680 
 
 ,,     of    stories    by    Romans 
 
 and  Anglicans             .  559 
 
 ,,     by  priests            .             .  725 
 
 Facts  and  Bible  statements     .  570 
 
 Fact  and  fiction  in  history      .  32 
 
 Factious  in  the  early  church  135 
 
 Faerie  Queen,  Spenser's          .  207 
 
 Failures  in  revelation  to  Jews  56 
 
 Fairies  called  good  people       .  705 
 
 Fairy  tale,  a,  utilised  1 
 
 ,,     and  Naaman  356 
 
 Faith  224 
 
 ,,     ancient                            .  307 
 
 and  fruit  138 
 
 ..     and  reason  303 
 
 .,     in  a  prophet  no  evidence 
 
 of  his  inspiration  447 
 ,.     in  a  religion  not  to  be 
 justified    by   its    anti- 
 quity                              .  338 
 is  cxj^ectcd  to  supersede 
 
 reason  .16 
 
 measured  by  results       .  330 
 
 ,,     of  Croesus  and  (Jreeks  428 
 ,.     of   Hindoo    superior    to 
 
 European  62 
 ,,     right    of    private    judg- 
 ment in  matters  of      .  5 
 taught  to  the  exclnsjon 
 of  reason                       .113 
 ,,     the  i)rayer  of  510 
 Faithful  bigots  432 
 
985 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Faithful,  the,  do  not  include 
 
 Fecundity  of  Jews 
 
 92 
 
 Atheists,   Christians,    and 
 
 Fees  and  festivals 
 
 130 
 
 Epicureans 
 
 444 
 
 Feet  of  Chinese  women 
 
 16 
 
 Fakirs             ,             234,  562, 
 
 638 
 
 ,,     soles    of,     emblems    of 
 
 Fall,  the,  and  the  rib 
 
 611 
 
 death 
 
 272 
 
 False   Christs,    prophecy    re- 
 
 Female children  killed 
 
 173 
 
 specting,    when   com- 
 
 ,,   mediums 
 
 521 
 
 posed 
 
 532 
 
 ,,     saints      .            .        168, 
 
 175 
 
 „     gods  and  idolatry 
 
 285 
 
 Females  fought  for 
 
 585 
 
 ,,     prophet,  Mahomet 
 
 535 
 
 ,,     persuaded      to      sacred 
 
 ,,     witness 
 
 851 
 
 prostitution 
 
 176 
 
 Falsification  of  English  Bible 
 
 114 
 
 Ferguson 
 
 889 
 
 ,,     of  history           .        152, 
 
 210 
 
 Ferocity,     Christian,     versxis 
 
 Famine  cured  by  murder 
 
 633 
 
 Hindoo  obscenity 
 
 567 
 
 ,,     Egyptian,       wtory       of 
 
 ,,     of  ancient  Jews 
 
 54 
 
 apocryphal 
 
 91 
 
 Fei-tility  of  Jews  in  Egypt 
 
 26 
 
 ,,     Irish 
 
 850 
 
 ,.     of  other  nations 
 
 26 
 
 Families  to  be  kept  small 
 
 322 
 
 Festivals 
 
 311 
 
 Fancies  of  fanatic  Christians 
 
 ,,     adopted  from  paganism 
 
 372 
 
 about  futurity 
 
 601 
 
 ,,     and  fees 
 
 130 
 
 ,,     strange,    of  females 
 
 521 
 
 , ,     pagan,  adopted  by  Chris- 
 
 Fanciful   interpretations    for 
 
 tians 
 
 468 
 
 failed  prophecies 
 
 534 
 
 Fever  and  ague 
 
 327 
 
 Far  lafica 
 
 462 
 
 Few,  the,  and  the  many 
 
 809 
 
 Farms  for  babies 
 
 323 
 
 Fiction,    belief   in,    does    not 
 
 Fasces  and  magi 
 
 836 
 
 make  it  true 
 
 423 
 
 Fasting,  fright,  and  cholera    . 
 
 443 
 
 Fictions,  religious 
 
 811 
 
 ,,     not  practised  by  animals 
 
 586 
 
 Fig  tree,  leaves  and  fruit 
 
 462 
 
 ,,     women                .           226 
 
 i-228 
 
 ,,     why  symbolic 
 
 455 
 
 Fatalism,  Turks,  and  David 
 
 851 
 
 Fighting  for  consorts 
 
 172 
 
 Father,  the. 
 
 505 
 
 ,,     for  truth  does  not  esta- 
 
 ,,    who  blessed  by 
 
 139 
 
 blish  it 
 
 558 
 
 Fathers  and  sons 
 
 845 
 
 Figments  in  Jewish  history    . 
 
 153 
 
 ,,     contrast  between  two     . 
 
 731 
 
 Figurative  language  and  fact  . 
 
 146 
 
 „     puritanical,     have    fre- 
 
 Figures of  Ai-gha 
 
 222 
 
 quently  bad  sons 
 
 602 
 
 ,,     of  Ceres  and  ark 
 
 329 
 
 ,,    without  mothers 
 
 780 
 
 File  and  viper 
 
 688 
 
 Fauns 
 
 218 
 
 Filth  and  piety 
 
 518 
 
 Feasts,  Jewish 
 
 94 
 
 Finding  of  the  law 
 
 436 
 
 , ,     of  law  unknown  to  David 
 
 Fine  linen 
 
 804 
 
 and  Solomon    . 
 
 419 
 
 Finger  stalls  and  bows 
 
 195 
 
 Feast  of  new  year  a  late  adop- 
 
 Fire a  Persian  god 
 
 64 
 
 tion     . 
 
 373 
 
 ,,     and  magi 
 
 835 
 
 ,,     of  tabernacles 
 
 470 
 
 ,,     crucifix,    and  bread,    as 
 
 Feathers,  Prince  of  Wales',  a 
 
 emblems 
 
 320 
 
 Buddhist  emblem 
 
 475 
 
 ,,     lamb,  and  purity 
 
 469 
 
 T  T  T 
 
986 
 
 Page 
 
 Fire  sacred  .  .  867 
 Fires,   sacrificial,   lighted    by 
 
 Bolar  ray     .            .            .  906 
 Firewood,  men  used  as  G39 
 Ficrj-  Hying  serpents  are   se- 
 raphs !        .            .  393 
 Fish                                          .257 
 ,,     and  virgin  275 
 ,,     goddess  785 
 Five  kings  of   Midian,   their 
 
 names         .  550 
 
 Flaxen  hair  and  Venus  499 
 Flesh    tortured    to   save    the 
 
 spirit           .            .            .  662 
 Flimsiness  of  the  arguments 
 
 used  by  theologians  .  8 
 Flood,  the,  a  Grecian  mythos  123 
 „  story  of  .  386 
 Followers  of  Buddha  and  Jesus  668 
 Force  masculine,  matter  femi- 
 nine .  .  .  565 
 Forecasts,  political,  not    jiro- 
 
 phecy  .  oH8 
 Forehead,  marks  on  ('.16 
 Foreign  prostitutes  in  Jeru- 
 salem .  .  .  176 
 Foresight  not  prophecy  .  146 
 Forgeries  by  early  Christians  680 
 ,,  literary  158 
 Forms,  two  principal  ones  of 
 
 religion  .         561,  564 
 
 Fornication,  etc.  .         168-182 
 
 ,,     preached  by  Hosca  517 
 
 Fornix  and  fornication  774 
 
 Fortune  a  god  73 
 Foulkes  603,  844 
 FouudAtion  for  a  permanent 
 
 church  not  laid  by  Jesus    .  526 
 Foundations  of  human  laws, 
 
 various  55)2 
 
 Foundling  hospitals                 .  ;J22 
 
 Fuuntains,  sacred                     .  3'J5 
 
 Fox,  the  Misses,  as  Bpiritualists  446 
 
 „     Talbot.  Mr.                      .  256 
 
 Frailties,  human,  in  rohgion  .  560 
 
 FranV.; •■  -  .159 
 
 Pago 
 
 Frauds,  literary  158 
 
 ,,     pious                                .  420 
 Freethinkers    and  Christians 
 
 compared         .            .  601 
 
 ,,     do  not  make  fables        .  602 
 
 Freethinking,  why  denounced  131 
 
 Frenchmen  and  Onan             .  322 
 
 Friars,  mendicant,  and  Isis     .  431 
 Friday's  fast  not  always  en- 
 forced         .            .            .605 
 
 Friends  or  Quakers  519 
 
 Frigga  and  hot  cross  buns       .  394 
 
 Fruit  and  faith             .             .  138 
 
 ,,     of  body  for  sin  of  soul  319 
 Fruits  of  religions  tested 
 
 53,57,  59,  61,  62,  64,70 
 ,,     and  trees             •            .  328 
 Fulfilled  prophecy                    .  281 
 Fulfilment  of  oracular  or  pro- 
 phetic utterances        .  430 
 .,     of  i)rophecy  challenged  281 
 Fimdamontal  creed                 .  582 
 Funerals  of  Hector  and  Patro- 
 
 clus             .            .            .  871 
 l-'urnace,   metal,    and  mould, 
 
 for  golden  calf                    .  342 
 Fiirst                .                     170,  185 
 Future  life,   by  whom  recog- 
 nised               .             .  58 
 ,,     iniiiishment,  whence  the 
 
 idea                   .             .  591 
 ,,     revealed  to  other  nations 
 
 prior  to  the  Jews         .  577 
 
 ,,     state  and  Jews  252 
 
 ,,     to  Zechariah                    ,  930 
 ,,     unknown      to      ancient 
 
 Hebrews          .        654,  846 
 „     world.  luxuries  for  Chris 
 
 tians  in  .                  336 
 
 Futurity,  desire  to  know  it  814 
 
 .,     Euri|)ides  ui>on  70 
 
 .,     Socrates  upon  69 
 
 O 
 
 Gabalis,  Comto  do  Ho7 
 
 Ciubriel  and  Sraushn  k'M 
 
987 
 
 Gad  and  Jupiter 
 Gad  and  Meni 
 Gain  aud  godliness 
 Galli  .     . 
 
 Gamut  and  planets 
 Gauges 
 
 Page 
 269 
 273 
 687 
 786 
 501 
 238 
 
 Garbage,   accumulation  of  in 
 
 Scotch  dwellings     .  .513 
 
 Garden,  a  metaphor  .     553 
 
 ,,     of  the  soul  .  .     912 
 
 Garments,    female,    worn   by 
 
 Papal  priests  .     915 
 
 .,     male  and  female,  inter- 
 changed .  .     915 
 Gatemen  in  heaven  !  .     190 
 Genesis  and  bows        .  .     195 
 ,,     Grecian  influence  in 
 
 348,  613,  857 
 Gentiles  .  .    152 
 
 ,,     only  fit  to  be  plundered 
 
 and  killed  by  Jews       .     312 
 Geography  and  Jews  .     196 
 
 ,,     ignorance  of    Jews    re- 
 specting .  .     483 
 Geology  and  Adam       .  .     574 
 German  Bible  criticism            .       10 
 ,,     language  not  read  by  the 
 
 author  .  10,  50 
 
 Ghost,  Holy,  and  Esdras         .     413 
 
 Ghouls  .  .215 
 
 Giants  and  demigods  .     818 
 
 ,,     ideas  respecting  422-425 
 
 ,,     Eaphaim  .  .     549 
 
 ,,     short  lived  .  .     425 
 
 Gideon  .  .  .488 
 
 Gift,  mental,  given      .  .     596 
 
 ,,     of  God,  how  bought       .     520 
 
 Gilded  metal  passes  for  gold 
 
 until  it  is  tried       .  .     535 
 
 Ginsburg  quoted 
 
 156,  197,  413,  764,  84i; 
 Girls  clairvoyants         .  .     521 
 
 ,,     deceive  doctors  .     521 
 
 Gittites  .  .  29,  483 
 
 Gladstone,  Mr.  .  .     763 
 
 Glimpses  of  heaven  521 
 
 Page 
 
 Globe,  Jews  the  axis  of !         .    308 
 
 Glosses  over  failed  prophecies    535 
 
 Glycon  a  divine  name  .     439 
 
 Gnostics  .  .  .     267 
 
 ,,     their  gems  .  .     272 
 
 I,     their  trinity        .  .     885 
 
 Goads  .  .198 
 
 Goat-scape  .  704 
 
 „    and  Venus  .     883 
 
 Goats  and  gods  .  .     213 
 
 ,,     and  satyrs  .     703 
 
 God  and  Jupiter  .  .269 
 
 ,,     and  laws  of  man  588 
 
 ,,     as  savage  .  .     636 
 
 ,,     compound  .       67 
 
 ,,     desciibed  as  a  gladiator    343 
 
 ,,     described  as  taking  sides 
 
 in  war  .     701 
 
 „     fire  .  .64 
 
 ,,     gave  kings  to  Romans    .      36 
 ,,     human    ideas    of,    vary 
 
 with  civilisation  .     464 
 
 , ,    not  displeased  %vith  cows 
 
 and  potatoes  .     587 
 
 ,.     of  the  Uving  .     654 
 
 ,,     of  Kenites  .  .     184 
 
 ,,     Orphic  and  Ezekielite   .       67 
 ,,     of  Ues,  Persian  .       63 
 
 ,,     painted  as  the  devil 
 
 54,  639,  743 
 ,,     thought  by  Christians  to 
 
 ^vink    .  .  .560 
 
 ,,     varying  estimate  of        .      54 
 Godhead  in  Nineveh  aud  Ba- 
 bylon .     641 
 Godiva  and  truth        .  137 
 Gods  and  Jehovah  eat  flesh 
 
 720,  818,  882 
 and  goats  .  .213 
 
 bows,  and  cannon  194 
 
 Cicero  upon        .  .       71 
 
 destroyed  by  invaders     .     149 
 false,  and  idolatry  .     285 
 
 PUny  upon  .  .71 
 
 those  of  Damascus  stronger 
 than  those  of  Judah    .     283 
 
988 
 
 Page 
 Gold  and  schist             .             .  794 
 „     movements  of,  in  Solo- 
 mon's time                  .  47 
 ,,     store  of  in  Israel  whilst 
 in  the  desert                    .  796 
 Golden  ass  of  Apuleius           .  432 
 , ,     calf  and  earrings            .  342 
 ,,     sacred  vessels  of  Jews, 
 
 their  resuscitation      .  867 
 ,,     thigh  of  Pjihagoras  and 
 
 Alexander                    .  444 
 Good  churchmen    in   London 
 aud  Madrid  not  iden- 
 tical   .             .            .  555 
 ,,     fortune  and  Venus         .  275 
 .,    motives  produce  crime  .  331 
 Goose  egg  and  serpent             .  437 
 Gospels  and  Barcochba       528,  532 
 „     and  epistles        .            .  136 
 ,,     foretel    an     immediate 
 
 dissolution  of  all  things  525 
 
 ,,    interpolations  in             .  531 
 
 Government  of  Jews                .  101 
 Grace  before  and  after  meals, 
 
 ancient  form  of      .            .  816 
 
 Great  wit  and  madness  allied  524 
 
 Grecian  and  Berosus  .            .  389 
 
 „     ceremonies         .            .  226 
 ,,     influence  in  Old  Testa- 
 ment 
 51,  156,  229,  268,  348,  857 
 
 ,,  religion  examined  .  65 
 M  ,,  fruit  of  .  .70 
 ,,  stories  in  Bible  117-119 
 ,,     temples  .                        .175 
 
 ,,     origin  of  Hebrew  myths  685 
 
 Greek  alphabet            .            .  167 
 
 ,,     and  Philistine  names  484 
 
 ,,     church                 .             .  584 
 
 1.  ,,  and  marriage  .  580 
 M     puns        .            ,            .352 
 
 Greeks  and  congress   .  175 
 
 M     and  Jews  157 
 
 ,,     and  keys                           .  193 
 
 „    did  not  persecute            .  557 
 
 ,,     in  advance  of  Hebrews  .  7(t 
 
 Pape 
 Greeks  owe  trumpet  to  Etrus- 
 cans   .             .            .  374 
 ,,     Eomans,  and  Barcochba  *530 
 ,,     Trojans,  Jews,  and  hea- 
 thens   have    gods   on 
 their  side         .            .  702 
 Greenbacks                   .            .  605 
 Griffins             .                         .695 
 Grey's  Australia          .            .  261 
 Groans  of  creation      .             .  589 
 Grossuess  of  sacred  writings  337 
 Grove,  a  horror  in       .            .30 
 ,,     Assyrian             .            .  490 
 I,          ,,        identified         .  647 
 Grovonius'       Ancient      Gems 
 
 quoted        .            .             .  493 
 Growth  stunted  by  excess  of 
 
 luxury          .             .             .  424 
 
 Gueber  on  Thibet        .            .  204 
 
 Gulliver  aud  Lilliput  559 
 
 Gypsies             .                         .  427 
 
 H 
 
 Habits,   filthy,  not  of  bestial 
 
 origin               .             .  586 
 
 ,,     of  the  ancient  Jews  dis- 
 solute             .            .  576 
 Hadar                           .  897 
 Hadrian  and  Jerusalem           .  533 
 
 „     and  Judea           .  528 
 Hair  sacrificed             .            .791 
 
 Hairiness  and  heroism  214 
 
 Hairj-  giants                             .  424 
 
 ,,         ,,       in  India  424 
 Halo   of   words   round  failed 
 
 predictions               .             .  535 
 Ham,    his    descendants     not 
 
 Africans                              .  108 
 
 Hamar              .                         .  898 
 
 Hammer  an  emblem  495 
 
 Hananiah  aud  Jeremiah          .  522 
 
 Hand,  how  used  in  blessing    .  643 
 
 Hands,  kissing  of        .             .  325 
 Hanging     men     a     cure     for 
 
 sterile  land  638 
 
 Hannah  consecrates  a  son  170 
 
989 
 
 Pago 
 
 Hannah,  her  prayer  considered  170 
 
 Hara  Gauri      .            ,             .  565 
 
 Harcanville  quoted      .            ,  461 
 Hare,   the,   Baylee    upon    its 
 
 eating         .  .  .392 
 
 Haroun  Ah-aschid        .            ,  760 
 
 Harriet  Martineau       .            .  4S0 
 Hate  and  music  to  be  indulged 
 
 in  heaven         .             .  336 
 „     called  love          .            .  641 
 Head-dress,  mystical               .  767 
 Heathen  Christians             362,  433 
 „    origin  of  feast  of  trum- 
 pets    \             .             .  381 
 Heathenism,    Christian     and 
 
 pagan          .            .            .  449 
 Heathendom  and  Christianity 
 
 compared                ,            ,  838 
 Heave  offerings            .            .  721 
 Heaven  earthly            .            .  655 
 ,,     orthodox  way  to             .  661 
 „     Median   .            .            .834 
 „     way  to,  how  pointed  out  143 
 Heavenly  sights           .            .  520 
 Heberthe  Kenite        .            .  183 
 Hebrew  astronomy      .            .  892 
 ,,     gold  and  silver,  age  of  161 
 ,,     midwives,  work  for        .  92 
 ,,     mythology  and  Babylo- 
 nian ideas                    .  707 
 ,,     slaves,  lioLS         .            .  282 
 ,,     tongue  unchanged          .  161 
 Hebrews  assumed  to  be  greater 
 
 than  they  were            .  57 
 ,,     had  no  planetary  know- 
 
 Page 
 Hell,  invented  for  Epicureans 
 
 and  Lutherans  .     440 
 
 ,,     to  whom  revealed  .       58 
 
 Hellenism         .  .  .     426 
 
 Helmet  of  Don  Quixote  .     517 
 
 Henry  II.         .  .  .      81 
 
 Henry  Harris  .  .     463 
 
 Hepher  the  Mecherothite    205,  482 
 
 Hercules  .  .  .     232 
 
 ,,     and  Omphale     .  .    365 
 
 ,,     and  Samson        .  .     685 
 
 Heretics,  extermination  of      .557 
 
 Hermai  .  .  .     268 
 
 Hermes  .  .        502,  781 
 
 ,,     Pompeii  and  Peor  .     471 
 
 Hermits  and  city  belles  .     336 
 
 Herodotus  and  sacred  congress    174 
 
 ,,     his  testimony  and  silence      18 
 
 ,,     on  circumcision  18,  19 
 
 ,,     on  Egyptians      .  .       58 
 
 ,,     on  Persians  .  .     63 
 
 Hesiod  on  time  .  .     857 
 
 Hetairffi  .  .  .     592 
 
 Heterodoxy  and   hate  do   not 
 
 justify  murder  .     331 
 
 ,,     defined  wrongly  .     144 
 
 , ,     of  Jesus  during  his  life      517 
 ,,     why  persecuted  .     133 
 
 Hezekiah  and  sun-dial  .     901 
 
 ,,     his  idea  of  peace  .     134 
 
 Hierarchs  and  i^retenders  to  a 
 
 throne  compared  .     558 
 
 Hierarchy  at  one  time  better 
 
 educated  than  laics     .     591 
 ,,     Christian,  why  disliked      627 
 
 ledge 
 
 498 
 
 ,,     imperfectly     educated, 
 
 „     how  disposed  of  dead     . 
 
 321 
 
 results 
 
 131 
 
 Hecatombs 
 
 118 
 
 „     their      preaching      and 
 
 Hector's    cremation 
 
 and    fu- 
 
 practice 
 
 236 
 
 neral 
 
 871 
 
 Hieroglyphics  do  not  mention 
 
 He  goats 
 
 213 
 
 Pharaoh 
 
 478 
 
 Hell      . 
 
 655, 
 
 661 
 
 Higgins 
 
 469 
 
 „     and  Satan 
 
 823 
 
 ,,     on  negroes 
 
 264 
 
 ,,     familiar    to 
 
 Christian 
 
 Highlanders  and  Lowlanders  . 
 
 152 
 
 divines 
 
 601 
 
 High  places 
 
 282 
 
 , ,     Indian     . 
 
 834 
 
 ,,        ,,       and  brothels     772 
 
 -774 
 
990 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Hindoo  astronomy 
 
 890 
 
 Holy  water  and  Thibet 
 
 204 
 
 ,,     doctrines 
 
 59 
 
 ,,     wells 
 
 394 
 
 ,,     element 
 
 200 
 
 ,,     writ,  Spinoza  on 
 
 467 
 
 ,,     emblems 
 
 649 
 
 Homage  paid  by  Christians  to 
 
 .,     obscenity   versus   Chris- 
 
 God and  Devil 
 
 560 
 
 tian  ferocity 
 
 5G7 
 
 Home,  Mr.,  and  oracles 
 
 430 
 
 ,,     orthodox  in  prayer 
 
 507 
 
 ,,     the  spiritualist           234, 
 
 810 
 
 „     religion,  short    account 
 
 Homer              .                     118, 
 
 823 
 
 of         .            .            . 
 
 5G3 
 
 ,,     and  Solomon 
 
 189 
 
 Hindostan  and   Europo  com- 
 
 ,,    Hesiod,  and  Moses 
 
 345 
 
 pared 
 
 62 
 
 ,,     his  idea  of  degeneracy  . 
 
 424 
 
 Hires,  meaning  of,  discussed 
 
 ,,     his  reference  to  trumpet 
 
 374 
 
 285 
 
 -287 
 
 ,,     his     silence     respecting 
 
 Hislop 
 
 469 
 
 Judea 
 
 18 
 
 Historian,  how  he  investigates 
 
 ,,     his    works,   Virgil,    and 
 
 tales 
 
 339 
 
 Bible 
 
 32 
 
 History  and  historians  tested  . 
 
 9 
 
 Homoeology  in  religion 
 
 457 
 
 ,,     and  Moses 
 
 726 
 
 Honey  and  Melitta 
 
 351 
 
 ,,     and  shams 
 
 137 
 
 Horns  and  gods 
 
 214 
 
 ,,     created 
 
 111 
 
 ,,     and  trumpets 
 
 375 
 
 „     falsified 
 
 210 
 
 ,,     of  a  dilemma 
 
 577 
 
 ,,    imaginary 
 
 152 
 
 Horse  in  heaven 
 
 930 
 
 ,,     not  necessarily  true 
 
 147 
 
 ,,     its  head  an  emblem  of 
 
 ,,     of    blessings    of    Jacob 
 
 death 
 
 272 
 
 and  Moses 
 
 726 
 
 ,,     its  shoe  as  a  head-dress 
 
 767 
 
 „     of  Israel,  by  Ewald 
 
 10 
 
 ,,     its  shoe  lucky 
 
 262 
 
 ,,     of     Jewish     Scriptures 
 
 Horoscopes 
 
 903 
 
 appraised 
 
 15 
 
 Horrors  in  religion  indulged 
 
 566 
 
 ,,     of  Jews  in  Egjpt  not  to 
 
 Hopes,  false,  Jews  fed  upon    . 
 
 851 
 
 be  found  in  Egyptian 
 
 Horus 
 
 258 
 
 records 
 
 96 
 
 Hosea 
 
 524 
 
 ,,     of    Jews     unknown     to 
 
 „     and  Ezekiel,  their  wTit- 
 
 David 
 
 40 
 
 ings 
 
 333 
 
 ,,     of  Samaria 
 
 677 
 
 , ,     fornication ,  and  adultery 
 
 518 
 
 ,,     of  Solomon          .        755 
 
 -763 
 
 Hot  cross  buns 
 
 394 
 
 ,,     religious,  of  Author 
 
 559 
 
 House  to  be  kept  on  Sabbath 
 
 623 
 
 ,,     to  be  tested 
 
 145 
 
 Houses  of  the  moon    861,  864 
 
 ,932 
 
 Hitopodesa 
 
 597 
 
 Howson,  Dean,  eulogised 
 
 538 
 
 Hobby  riding  avoided 
 
 505 
 
 Hu,  god  of  the  sky 
 
 544 
 
 Hodgson    on    Buddhist     em- 
 
 Hue, Abbe        .            .        475 
 
 675 
 
 blems 
 
 475 
 
 Huguenots  and  sins     . 
 
 754 
 
 Hohdays  not  known  in  nature 
 
 587 
 
 ,,     conquered  by  Tapists     . 
 
 689 
 
 Holy  Ghost  and  Esdras 
 
 413 
 
 Human  aid  to  the  Almighty    . 
 
 675 
 
 ,,         ,,      and  Jupiter 
 
 534 
 
 ,,     beasts                  .        216 
 
 562 
 
 .,     of  liolifrt 
 
 791 
 
 ,,     beings      have      human 
 
 ,,     nation 
 
 309 
 
 failures 
 
 145 
 
991 
 
 Human  frailties  in  religion     . 
 
 Page 
 560 
 
 Ilus       . 
 
 Page 
 197 
 
 ,,     instincts 
 
 171 
 
 Images  and  Moses 
 
 360 
 
 ,,     law,  origin  of 
 
 590 
 
 ,,     lucky,  gi-eased  ;  imlucky. 
 
 „     sacrifice              100,  319 
 
 ,  632 
 
 scoiu-ged 
 
 508 
 
 Hungry  gods   a  blasphemous 
 
 Imaginary  speeches  in  history 
 
 356 
 
 idea 
 
 721 
 
 ,,     terrors     . 
 
 602 
 
 Hur 
 
 550 
 
 "  Immediately,"   meaning    of 
 
 Hurrah  and  Evoe 
 
 379 
 
 the  word 
 
 535 
 
 Hymen's  torch 
 
 475 
 
 Immorality  of  ancient  Jews  . 
 
 334 
 
 Hymn  to  Venus 
 
 907 
 
 „     of  pious  Christians 
 
 687 
 
 Hyksos 
 
 95 
 
 ,,     of  prophets,  the  results 
 
 ,,     and  Scythians 
 
 483 
 
 of         .            .            . 
 
 542 
 
 ,,     are  not  Jews        17,  346, 
 
 ,  417 
 
 ,,     of  so-called  divine  writ- 
 
 Hypocrites pray  in  public 
 
 515 
 
 ings 
 
 336 
 
 Hypothesis  respecting  Mosaic 
 
 Imperfection  of  purpose  in  a 
 
 stories        .            .        417, 
 
 ,  420 
 
 perfect  Creator 
 
 301 
 
 I 
 
 Impossibihties  and  history     . 
 
 147 
 
 Impostors,  prophetic  and  ora- 
 
 Iconoclasts and  crosses 
 
 363 
 
 cular 
 
 430 
 
 Ideas  of  God  vary  with  educa- 
 
 ,,    and  dupes 
 
 434 
 
 tion 
 
 464 
 
 ,,     work  in  pairs      .         435, 
 
 ,  436 
 
 ,,     of  religion  current 
 
 561 
 
 Improvement  in  trade  comes 
 
 ,,     of  sacrifice 
 
 630 
 
 from  without 
 
 543 
 
 ,,     of  salvation        .         652 
 
 -672 
 
 Improvidence  taught  by  Jesus 
 
 596 
 
 Ida                    ... 
 
 205 
 
 Impulse  and  inspu-ation 
 
 595 
 
 Identification      of      Assyrian 
 
 Incarnate  angels,  devils,  and 
 
 grove,     vesica   ^^(sc/s,  and 
 
 virgin 
 
 218 
 
 Virgin  Mary            .         647, 
 
 648 
 
 Incarnations                .        780, 
 
 829 
 
 Idle  tales 
 
 220 
 
 Incas  of   Peru  and   Solomon 
 
 Idol  made  by  Moses      .        360-364 
 
 compared 
 
 47 
 
 Idolatrous  figiu-es 
 
 472 
 
 Incense  and  high  places 
 
 283 
 
 Idolatry  and  false  gods 
 
 285 
 
 Incoherent  vaticinations 
 
 539 
 
 ,,     and  Tsabeanism 
 
 898 
 
 Incomprehensible  things  to  be 
 
 Ignorance  of  ancient  Jews 
 
 335 
 
 comprehended 
 
 581 
 
 ,,     of   Jews  about  celestial 
 
 Inconsistency  of  Christians   . 
 
 687 
 
 phenomena 
 
 901 
 
 Incremation     .             .         868, 
 
 878 
 
 ,,     the    basis    of    religious 
 
 Incubi 
 
 218 
 
 belief 
 
 657 
 
 ,,     and  impregnation       219, 
 
 518 
 
 Ignorant,  the,  used  as  weapons 
 
 Indecencies  on  Irish  churches 
 
 262 
 
 by  priests 
 
 234 
 
 Independent    inquiry    encou- 
 
 Iguvine inscriptions     . 
 
 724 
 
 raged 
 
 136 
 
 11  and  Al,  Assyrian  and   Gre- 
 
 ,,    mind  in  a  bishop  pun- 
 
 cian gods 
 
 49 
 
 ished 
 
 557 
 
 Illegitimacy  of  Jesus  presumed 
 
 670 
 
 India 
 
 119 
 
 Illness   combated  by  doctors, 
 
 ,,     and  Palestine,  customs  of 
 
 168 
 
 drugs,  and  prayers 
 
 513 
 
 ,,     and  children 
 
 323 
 
992 
 
 Page 
 Iiidia,  bfbit  in  .170 
 
 ,,     EuglaDil's  policy  in  h2 
 
 Indra  .  .  .     770 
 
 ,,     and  eyes  ,  CA'J 
 
 Indulgence  of  Late  and  mosic 
 
 in  heaven  336 
 
 Indulgences  .     442 
 
 Infallible       writings     require 
 
 infallible  interpreters  584 
 
 Infanticide  .  173 
 
 ,,     laws  respecting  592 
 
 ,,     promoted  in  Britain  174 
 
 ,,     religious  .  .     323 
 
 Infants,  superfluous,  bow  dis- 
 
 posod  of  .  .     323 
 
 Infidelity  amongst  priests  132 
 
 ,,     cause  of  its  increase      .        7 
 Influence  of  prayer  discussed 
 
 508-512 
 Ingredients  of  Christianity  .  G74 
 Innocent  blood      .         30,  323,  878 
 
 ,,     men    murdercti    by  pro- 
 phetic orders  .     518 
 Inquest,    coroner's,    one    de- 
 scribed 
 Inquiry-  of  the  Lord 
 Inquisition 
 
 III  II J  crusaders 
 
 Ii  ions 
 
 Ini><aiily  uud  prophecy 
 Inscription,  I'hu-nician 
 Inspiration 
 
 ,,     and  impulse 
 
 .,     bespoken  by  Quakers 
 Instinct 
 
 ,.     and  civilisation 
 
 ,,     desire  of  ofTspring,  one  . 
 
 ..     Goil's  law 
 
 ,.     Hexual 
 
 „     rrrsu*  laws 
 IiiHtit\itionH,    human,  said   to 
 
 l>«'  ilivino 
 hiNtninientM.  musicul 
 InHurrectiunii,  theological 
 lDt«r|>rclor«  of  dreauH 
 
 Pas* 
 
 281 
 524 
 573 
 
 185 
 
 CO 
 
 129 
 
 114 
 
 13C 
 
 Interpreters  of  prophecy 
 Intellect  and  lunacy  allied 
 ,,     and  revelation 
 ,,     j'riestly,     how     to      be 
 
 stunted 
 ,,     the  foundation 
 Interpolations  31, 
 
 ,,     favoured   by  paucity  of 
 
 books 
 
 ,,     in  gospels  .         528-631 
 
 Interpositions  of  Almighty     .     163 
 Investigation  opposed 
 
 ,,    religious,  discouraged  by 
 hicrarchs 
 Ipse  dixit  of  priests  not  to  be 
 
 trusted  15 
 
 Irehmd  .82 
 
 a  forecast  respecting  .  538 
 As-Syrian  signet  found  in  230 
 charms  in  442 
 
 hi  r  priests  appraised  132 
 
 Irregular  plurals  .  196 
 
 Irreligious  and  religious  men      561 
 Isaac  .  488 
 
 15 
 
 600 
 
 ,,     and  Jacob  not  mission- 
 
 428 
 
 aries 
 
 811 
 
 235 
 
 Isaiah  abuses  priests 
 
 669, 
 
 725 
 
 557 
 
 ,.     and    (ireck    notions 
 
 of 
 
 14.> 
 
 satjTs 
 
 703 
 
 523 
 
 ,,     and  the  sun-dial 
 
 'Mt 
 
 270 
 
 „     Do<lona  and  l>elphi 
 
 540 
 
 104 
 
 ..     his  reproof  of  the  clergy 
 
 134 
 
 595 
 
 Ishtar 
 
 461 
 
 519 
 
 ,,     and  child 
 
 254 
 
 171 
 
 ,,     and  moon 
 
 328 
 
 173 
 
 ,,     the  modem  one 
 
 641 
 
 486 
 
 Isis 
 
 228 
 
 787 
 
 „     and  Horns 
 
 257, 
 
 897 
 
 172 
 
 ,.     and  Maria 
 
 ;{06 
 
 689 
 
 ,,     nnd  Osiris 
 
 •-'76 
 
 ..     and  llomanists 
 
 267 
 
 130 
 
 .,     priests  of 
 
 481 
 
 874 
 
 ,,     Wisdom.  Sophia,  Vcu 
 
 us, 
 
 668 
 
 Mar>-.  Ishtar,  etc. 
 
 767 
 
 238 
 
 Islands  of  tlie  soa 
 
 104 
 
 48U 
 
 Isolation  and  iguortuov 
 
 (MM) 
 
993 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Israel,  basis  of  story  about 
 
 417 
 
 Jeremiah  and  politics 
 
 522 
 
 ,,     in  Egypt 
 
 91 
 
 Jerome  on  Baal  Peor 
 
 471 
 
 Israelites  aud  Hyksos  not  iden 
 
 ,,     on  Barcocbba 
 
 533 
 
 tical 
 
 'JG 
 
 Jerusalem  aud  Constantinople 
 
 „     a  timid  race 
 
 22 
 
 compared         .         155, 
 
 692 
 
 ,,     ordered  to  be  cleanly 
 
 519 
 
 ,,     and  Rome  compared     34, 
 
 416 
 
 Issacliar 
 
 251 
 
 ,,     and  sacred  prostitution 
 
 169 
 
 Ittai  a  Gittite 
 
 483 
 
 ,,     conilition  of  duriug  the 
 
 Ivy  and  Bacchus 
 
 455 
 
 Tophetic  period 
 
 877 
 
 ,,     how  repeopled 
 
 409 
 
 J 
 
 ,,     its  conquerors     . 
 
 31 
 
 Jacbiu  aud  Boaz 
 
 791 
 
 ,,     its  probable  population 
 
 152 
 
 Jack  aud  Jobu 
 
 927 
 
 ,,     its  promised  state 
 
 281 
 
 „     the  giaut  killer            38 
 
 5,  423 
 
 ,,     its  size 
 
 21 
 
 Jacob  aud  Esau 
 
 420 
 
 .,     misery    of    during    last 
 
 Jaga  natb 
 
 567 
 
 days  of  monarchy 
 
 415 
 
 Jah  and  El  antagonistic 
 
 49 
 
 , ,     occupied  by  Barcochba  . 
 
 530 
 
 ,,       ,,       in  cognomens 
 
 14 
 
 ,,     pillaged 
 
 149 
 
 ,,     aud  Jupiter 
 
 43 
 
 ,,     why  humbled 
 
 408 
 
 ,,     aud  Saturn 
 
 504 
 
 Jesse  and  David 
 
 251 
 
 Jambres 
 
 .     234 
 
 Jesuits 
 
 209 
 
 Jannes 
 
 234 
 
 Jesus  adopted  by  Essenes 
 
 670 
 
 Japan,  bull,  aud  mundane  eg^ 
 
 ;    461 
 
 ,,     and  Barcochba             530 
 
 -533 
 
 Japanese  envoys 
 
 .     601 
 
 „     aud  Buddha        664-676, 
 
 839 
 
 ,,     monks 
 
 .     204 
 
 ,,     and  jubilee 
 
 378 
 
 Japheh 
 
 .     898 
 
 ,,     aud  palm  branches 
 
 449 
 
 Jasbar,  book  of 
 
 .     204 
 
 ,,     did  not  contemplate  the 
 
 Javan                .             .         18 
 
 8,  401 
 
 foundation  of   an  en- 
 
 Javelins and  Jews 
 
 .     194 
 
 during  church          526, 
 
 527 
 
 Jebovah  and  Christian  Jews 
 
 .     531 
 
 ,.     his  teachings  not  fault- 
 
 ,,    and  Jupiter,  with  Abra 
 
 less 
 
 596 
 
 ham    and    farmer,    i 
 
 I 
 
 ,,    not  "  the  branch" 
 
 929 
 
 parallel            .         72 
 
 1,  818 
 
 „     preaches  improvidence  . 
 
 596 
 
 ,,     and  Ormazd 
 
 .     830 
 
 ,,     saves  from  sins 
 
 656 
 
 ,,     Bifrons 
 
 .     702 
 
 ,,     sketch  of    his  hfe   and 
 
 ,,     degrading  description  o 
 
 f 
 
 doctrine         .            671 
 
 -676 
 
 8 
 
 59-843 
 
 „     versus  Deuteronomy 
 
 593 
 
 ,,     described  as  the  devil 
 
 .     700 
 
 Jethro  and  Moses 
 
 341 
 
 „     eats     flesh     like    othe 
 
 r 
 
 Jeus  and  Zeus              .         245 
 
 307 
 
 gods     .            .         72 
 
 1,  818 
 
 Jews,  a  boastful  race 
 
 9 
 
 ,,     not  a  punster 
 
 .     450 
 
 ,,     adopted  foreign  festivals 
 
 130 
 
 Jehovist  and  Elohist 
 
 .     416 
 
 ,,     alleged  fertiUty  of 
 
 26 
 
 Jebovistic  narratives  indecen 
 
 t       50 
 
 ,,     and  astronomy 
 
 162 
 
 Jephtbah's  sacrifice 
 
 .     102 
 
 ,,     and  Barcochba 
 
 529 
 
 Jeremiah  and  Colenso 
 
 11 
 
 ,,     and  bows 
 
 194 
 
 ,,     aud  iron 
 
 .     188 
 
 .,     and  Christians 
 
 879 
 
 u  u  u 
 
994 
 
 Page 
 
 .  157 
 .  84 
 .  192 
 .  209 
 620-C27 
 .     782 
 
 Jews  and  Grecians 
 and  Israelites 
 and  keys 
 and  Levites 
 and  Sabbath 
 and  sun-worship 
 and  Turks  compared 
 are  not  Hyksos 
 arrogance  of 
 a  select  nation 
 badly  governed 
 blessings  offered  to 
 compared    with    Egyj)- 
 
 tians  .  58,  98 
 
 copyists  not  models    390,  468 
 despised  121, 
 
 why 
 did  not  adopt  Egyptian 
 
 idolatry 
 did  not  study  "  policy" 
 duplex 
 
 estimate  of  ancient 
 encouraged  in  revenge   . 
 fought  on  Sabbath 
 how  treated  by  prophets 
 ignorance  of  1G2,  335 
 
 ignorant  of  geography  .     483 
 ignorant  of  real  names 
 
 of  Egj-ptian  kings   478,  479 
 immorality  of  ancient    .     334 
 immorality  of  their  sa- 
 cred scriptures 
 in  Babylon  learned  Chal- 
 
 deo  and  Greek  legends 
 in  captivity  encouraged 
 
 to  covet 
 incnbi  upon  Christians 
 in  E/.ekierstimo 
 in  Greece 
 in  wilderness 
 modern 
 
 not  a  God-Bolected  nation 
 not  astronomers 
 
 126.  373,  629,  899 
 not   given   to  tell   their 
 
 Htorios  to  Gentiles      .     l'."2 
 
 154 
 17 
 31 
 308 
 161 
 576 
 
 314 
 152 
 
 98 
 851 
 100 
 
 54 
 406 
 589 
 542 
 
 336 
 
 390 
 
 334 
 309 
 334 
 '2-2'.) 
 794 
 323 
 335 
 
 Page 
 
 Jews  not  mentioned  by  Hero- 
 dotus or  Homer          .  18 
 ,,     not  missionary    57,  310,  858 
 ,,     not   the    originators    of 
 
 others'  stories  .  122 
 ,,  postulates  respecting  148-150 
 ,,     puuislied  by  Christians 
 
 for  believing  Moses  .  560 
 ,,  regarded  death  as  anni- 
 hilation .  .  579 
 ,,  Sabbath,  Saturn's  day  .  372 
 ,,  self-confident  408 
 ,,  sensuaUsts  .  .  485 
 „    slaughter  of,  under  Bar- 
 
 cochba  .  .  534 
 ,,  taught  futurity,  who  by  930 
 ,,  their  account  of  them- 
 selves .  .  24 
 .,  their  early  history  un- 
 known to  Solomon  .  30 
 ,,     their       history      under 
 
 Judges  .  .26 
 
 ,,     their  sojourn  in  Egypt 
 
 apocryphal       .             .  99 
 ,,     Unitarians,   and    Trini- 
 tarians            .             .  536 
 ,,     variously  described         .  115 
 Jewish   and    Hindoo    leaders 
 
 compared         .  .61 
 
 ,,     and      Persian     religion 
 
 compared         .            .  VA 
 
 ,,     books,  when  promulgated  129 
 
 ,,     canon,  when  closed        .  156 
 ,,     custom    on    assaulting 
 
 towns  410 
 .,     divination            .             .  905 
 .,     ideas  of  the  Creator  des- 
 picable 121 
 ,,     law  and  Saboanism        .  628 
 ,,     nation   non-existent  be- 
 fore David       .  23 
 ,,     respect  for  Trinity  884 
 ..     revelation  imperfect       .  56 
 ,,     sacred  history  appraised  16 
 .,     story,  fubricationR  in  417 
 Je/.obel  and  paint  558 
 
995 
 
 Pago 
 
 Page 
 
 Jo  Bel  and  jubilee 
 
 379 
 
 Judeans  and  Samarians 
 
 677 
 
 Joal),  his  religion,  and  David's 
 
 86 
 
 Judges,  book  of,  and  Sesostris 
 
 20 
 
 Job                   ... 
 
 63 
 
 ,,             ,,         summarised 
 
 27 
 
 ,,     a  monotheist 
 
 325 
 
 ,,     time  of 
 
 31 
 
 ,,     and  moon 
 
 325 
 
 Judgment  of  all  history  should 
 
 ,,     and  Shaddai 
 
 715 
 
 be  impartial 
 
 15 
 
 ,,     book  of,  modern 
 
 714 
 
 Judgments     of    God    (?) 
 
 ap- 
 
 ,,    chronology  of 
 
 288 
 
 praised 
 
 586 
 
 , ,     when  written 
 
 388 
 
 Juggle,  Christian,  at  NapL 
 
 es   . 
 
 793 
 
 John,  on  the  end  of  time 
 
 526 
 
 Julian 
 
 809 
 
 ,,     Knox                   .         363, 
 
 664 
 
 Julius  Severus  and  Barcochba 
 
 534 
 
 Jollity  and  sacrifice     . 
 
 635 
 
 Juno 
 
 228, 
 
 278 
 
 Jonas  and  Johauan 
 
 400 
 
 ,,     and  moon 
 
 328 
 
 Jonathan's  bow  and  arrows     . 
 
 195 
 
 Jupiter 
 
 898 
 
 Jones  on  proper  names 
 
 480 
 
 .,     and  Gad 
 
 269 
 
 Joni 
 
 924 
 
 „     and    Holy    Ghost 
 
 visit 
 
 Josedech 
 
 929 
 
 earth  to  beget  notable 
 
 Joseph 
 
 180 
 
 children 
 
 780 
 
 ,,     not  a  missionary 
 
 311 
 
 „     and  Jah 
 
 43 
 
 „     not  known  in  Egyptian 
 
 ,,     and  Jehovah,  etc. 
 
 818 
 
 records 
 
 96 
 
 , ,     Belus 
 
 242 
 
 Josephus 
 
 217 
 
 , ,     bisexual 
 
 549 
 
 ,,     on  the  name  "  Pharaoh" 
 
 479 
 
 ,,    black 
 
 263 
 
 Joshua 
 
 929 
 
 ,,    his  temple  in  Jerusalem 
 
 ,,     and  brazen  serpent 
 
 361 
 
 528, 
 
 533 
 
 ,,     book  of,  when  writ i en    . 
 
 418 
 
 ,,    nursed  by  nymphs 
 
 396 
 
 ,,     morality  of 
 
 332 
 
 Josiah  and  Samaria 
 
 679 
 
 E 
 
 ,,     and  the  Law 
 
 45 
 
 Jubal  and  trumpets 
 
 376 
 
 K,  the  letter 
 
 . 
 
 166 
 
 Jubilee 
 
 376 
 
 Kalisch  on  sacrifice 
 
 635 
 
 ,,     a  jovial  festival 
 
 378 
 
 ,,     quoted                 103 
 
 ,  268, 
 
 ,  384 
 
 ,,     and  Jesus 
 
 378 
 
 Karaites  keep  Sabbath 
 
 . 
 
 625 
 
 ,,     and  Pentateuch 
 
 414 
 
 Kedeshim,  etc.               168-182 
 
 ,  751 
 
 ,,     never  kept 
 
 378 
 
 Kedeshoth,  wealth  of 
 
 285 
 
 ,,     origin  of  word 
 
 379 
 
 Kehama,  curse  of 
 
 880 
 
 Judah  and  bows 
 
 195 
 
 Keithley  quoted 
 
 460 
 
 ,,     and  Tamar 
 
 177 
 
 Kelly  and  Dr.  Dee 
 
 225 
 
 Judaism  and  Christianity 
 
 674 
 
 Kenites 
 
 18; 
 
 2-190 
 
 Judas  Maccabeus 
 
 467 
 
 ,,     and  Bunsen 
 
 115 
 
 Judea,  a  desert  in  second  cen- 
 
 ,,    then-  position 
 
 116 
 
 tury  A.  D. 
 
 534 
 
 Keturah 
 
 488 
 
 , ,     Hindoo  element  in 
 
 .    201 
 
 Keys 
 
 190-193 
 
 ,,     in  time  of  Samuel 
 
 691 
 
 „     of  St.  Peter 
 
 115 
 
 ,,     size  of 
 
 21 
 
 Khem  and  Ammou 
 
 . 
 
 270 
 
 ,,     troubles  of 
 
 .     159 
 
 Kilniainham 
 
 230 
 
996 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Kingdom   of   David   bad 
 
 two 
 
 Lamb,  fire,  and  purity 
 
 469 
 
 religions 
 
 84 
 
 Lamb's  wife 
 
 909 
 
 „     of  God 
 
 533 
 
 Lamech                         187,  204 
 
 482 
 
 Kingly  idea  of  God 
 
 812 
 
 Lament  of  Jeremiah 
 
 247 
 
 Kings  and  goats 
 
 21-t 
 
 Lamgu 
 
 230 
 
 ,,     European,     and 
 
 ;heir 
 
 Lamia 
 
 216 
 
 mistresses  in  title 
 
 487 
 
 Lamp  an  emblem  of  God 
 
 369 
 
 ,,     gigantic 
 
 424 
 
 Lance  worshipped 
 
 185 
 
 „     Jewish  were  not  scribes 
 
 129 
 
 Landlords     and     middlemen. 
 
 ,.     of  Egj-pt,  names  of 
 
 478 
 
 God  and  priests 
 
 741 
 
 ,,    of  other    nations, 
 
 how 
 
 Language      appropriate      for 
 
 mentioned   in   Jewish 
 
 prayer 
 
 580 
 
 history 
 
 479 
 
 ,,     change  in 
 
 159 
 
 King,  the  Great,  His  judgment 
 
 139 
 
 ,,     of  heaven 
 
 657 
 
 „     Mr.,  his  Gnostics 
 
 262 
 
 651 
 
 ,,     of  Jews  unstable 
 
 97 
 
 Kish 
 
 194 
 
 ,,     precedes    knowledge    of 
 
 Kissing  the  phallus 
 
 •170 
 
 477 
 
 God 
 
 464 
 
 Kittim 
 
 196 
 
 Languishment  and  love 
 
 206 
 
 Knox,  John 
 
 363, 
 
 664 
 
 Landseer's  Sabean  researches 
 
 897 
 
 Koa 
 
 197 
 
 Lapidoth 
 
 206 
 
 Kohath 
 
 196 
 
 Lares  and  Penates 
 
 816 
 
 Koran  appraised 
 
 6 
 
 Large    families,   disliked     by 
 
 „     on  water 
 
 921 
 
 American    and 
 
 Kronos 
 
 197 
 
 Roman    ladies 
 
 322 
 
 Kshatriyas 
 
 211 
 
 . ,     promised  to  Jews   . 
 Last  day,  inquiries  about 
 
 321 
 139 
 
 L 
 
 Late  date  of  Passover 
 
 468 
 
 L,  the  letter 
 
 198 
 
 L  tughable  religious  practices 
 
 132 
 
 Laadah 
 
 2rK) 
 
 La  Vcndc'O 
 
 410 
 
 Laban 
 
 200 
 
 Laver  of  brass 
 
 225 
 
 Ladicsis 
 
 200 
 
 Law,  a  written  one  not  known 
 
 Lachish 
 
 200 
 
 to  David 
 
 40 
 
 Ladies    Chinese,    and    bigots 
 
 ,,     against  murder  not  first 
 
 compared 
 
 16 
 
 promulgated  on  Sinai 
 
 599 
 
 Lady  of  Warka 
 
 352 
 
 ,,     amongst     Hebrew    pro- 
 
 ,,    English,  the   sybil, 
 
 the 
 
 phets 
 
 540 
 
 Ber\-aut,  and  the  brace- 
 
 ,,    and  jirophets  encourage 
 
 let 
 
 434 
 
 brutahty 
 
 543 
 
 Lulinii 
 
 200 
 
 ,,     and  sin 
 
 731 
 
 Luboro  and  Jeru.solcui 
 
 47 
 
 ,,     burned  prior  to  Esdras 
 
 161 
 
 Loish 
 
 201 
 
 ,,     EBdras'    testimony     re- 
 
 ,.    and  Lnnh 
 
 230 
 
 specting 
 
 413 
 
 Lujard                             1'.)  1 , 
 
 •228, 
 
 609 
 
 ,,     human,  origin  of 
 
 590 
 
 ,     on  I'buniciau  coinw 
 
 276 
 
 .,     .Jewish,    its    history    in 
 
 Lake  Hncrod 
 
 79«» 
 
 time  of  Judges 
 
 31 
 
 LamaH  and  litanicH 
 
 203 
 
 raodom  origin  of  one 
 
 .SH 
 
997 
 
 Law,  moral,  imperfect 
 ,,     Mosaic,  Weill  upon 
 ,,     of  Nazarite 
 ,,     of  retaliation.     See  Lex 
 
 Talioiiis. 
 ,,     tables  of 
 Lawgivers,      American      and 
 Jewish  compared 
 ,,     promise  fertility 
 Laws   against   foreign   people 
 impotent 
 ,.     altered  subsequently 
 ,,     certain,  are  universal     . 
 ,,     certain      English      are 
 
 senseless 
 ,,     diverse  divine 
 ,,     divine,      abrogated      or 
 altered  by  Christians 
 ,,     enforced  by  ecclesiastical 
 
 terrors 
 ,,     given  by  animals 
 ,,     human,  anomalies  in     . 
 ,,     human,  called  divine 
 ,,     human,  oppose  divine   . 
 588,  593, 
 ,,     in  verse 
 ,,     made  by  Solomon 
 ,,     of  God  and  man 
 ,,     of   Moses    unknown    to 
 
 Samuel 
 ,,     of  nature  297,   298, 
 
 ,,     of  two  tables  not  prime- 
 val 
 ,,     versus  instincts 
 Layman  can  express  religious 
 sentiments  freely 
 ,,     does      the     work     that 
 
 priests  should 
 „     his     opinion    of 
 church 
 Laymen    should     force 
 
 clergy  to  improve 
 Laz 
 
 Lazarus  and  Dives 
 Leaden  sUppers  in  hell 
 Leaders  and  led 
 
 Page 
 666 
 421 
 
 682 
 
 343 
 
 338 
 321 
 
 737 
 
 49 
 
 600 
 
 593 
 734 
 
 625 
 
 591 
 732 
 592 
 599 
 
 604 
 124 
 
 48 
 
 692 
 300 
 
 599 
 
 589 
 
 702, 
 
 state 
 134, 
 the 
 
 292, 
 
 137 
 
 543 
 
 543 
 229 
 336 
 440 
 659 
 
 Page 
 Leaders  Indian   and    Jewish 
 
 compared         .  •       61 
 
 Leah  .  .        206,  488 
 
 Leaven  ■  •  •     855 
 
 Lebaoh 
 Lecky  quoted 
 
 Ledger,  God's,  kept  by  priests 
 Legends,  British  and  Jewish     . 
 ,,     Chaldee      and     Grecian 
 
 known  to  Jews 
 ,,     in  history 
 
 „     reflect  the  civilisation  of 
 their  inventors 
 Legislation  and  Sabbath 
 Legislators  allow  laws  said  to 
 be  divine  to  die 
 ,,     divine  and  human 
 Legs   crossed,  an   emblem   of 
 death 
 „     of  Man 
 Leipsic,  Napoleon  at 
 Lemuel 
 
 Leper,  royal,  buried  not  burned 
 Lepers,  Hyksos,  and  Jews 
 
 ,,    in  Egypt 
 Leprosy  of  Naaman  and  Ge- 
 
 hazi 
 Letters,  Phcenician,   used  by 
 Barcochba 
 ,,     represent  a  deity 
 Levi      .  •  •  • 
 
 Levite  and  Micah 
 
 , ,     loses  a  leman 
 Levites  are  consecrated 
 ,,     ordered  to  murder 
 ,,     their     prayers      lighter 
 than  other  men's 
 Lex  Talionis 
 Li  hud  Caspar 
 Lictors'  rods 
 
 Liddell  and  Scott's  Lexicon 
 Lie,  one  requires  many 
 ,,     tremendous,  or  incompre 
 hensible  truth 
 Lies  become  credited  by  repe 
 tition 
 
 207 
 703 
 660 
 155 
 
 390 
 147 
 
 680 
 627 
 
 604 
 733 
 
 272 
 250 
 877 
 207 
 870 
 417 
 96 
 
 358 
 
 530 
 567 
 208 
 280 
 488 
 170 
 331 
 
 510 
 
 243,  576 
 
 .  230 
 
 .  836 
 
 189 
 
 603 
 
 657 
 
 112 
 
998 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Lies,  god  of 
 
 63 
 
 Lord  He  knows  His  own 
 
 557 
 
 Life,  after  death,  and  Hebrews 
 
 820 
 
 ,,     of  the  manor 
 
 686 
 
 ,,     futare,  whom  recogni 
 
 Bed 
 
 ,,     represented  as  a  demon 
 
 153 
 
 by 
 
 68 
 
 „     the 
 
 230 
 
 ,,     union  of  parents  neces- 
 
 Lord's body,  whether  eaten 
 
 . 
 
 537 
 
 sary  to 
 
 711 
 
 Loretto.  virgiu  of 
 
 263 
 
 Light 
 
 f>7 
 
 Lot  and  his  daughters  316, 
 
 420 
 
 750 
 
 ,,     from  the  navel 
 
 3G7 
 
 Lots  cast  for  Jews 
 
 403 
 
 Lilith 
 
 212 
 
 -220 
 
 Lotus  flower  and  boat 
 
 3G6 
 
 Lilliput 
 
 5o9 
 
 Louis  IX. 
 
 81 
 
 Linga 
 
 CI, 
 
 220 
 
 „     XV. 
 
 692 
 
 ,,     and  lion 
 
 222 
 
 Love  an  instinct 
 
 585 
 
 ,,     and  thyrsus 
 
 495 
 
 ,,     and  languishment 
 
 206 
 
 ,,     Piirana 
 
 224 
 
 „     aud  torturing 
 
 5(13 
 
 Linga(,^itas  and  Christians 
 
 224 
 
 , ,     apples 
 
 250 
 
 ,,     and  Carthaf^iiiians 
 
 544 
 
 ,,     feasts 
 
 395 
 
 Lion,  Devil,  and  Ahriman 
 
 833 
 
 ,,     God ;    various   readings 
 
 Lioness 
 
 207 
 
 of  the  order 
 
 593 
 
 ,,     and  antelope 
 
 191 
 
 ,,     means  hate 
 
 611 
 
 Lions  and  Jews 
 
 682 
 
 ,,     j'our  neighbour 
 
 502 
 
 ,,     and  lambs 
 
 585 
 
 Low  Countries,  war  in 
 
 235 
 
 ,,     and  lioga 
 
 222 
 
 Lowlanders  aud  Highlanders 
 
 152 
 
 ,,     and  oracle 
 
 445 
 
 Lucian 
 
 228, 
 
 234 
 
 ,,    cholera,   and  sacerdotal 
 
 ,,     and  priests  of  Isis 
 
 431 
 
 -432 
 
 measures 
 
 852 
 
 ,,     aud  the  false  prophet 
 
 434-447 
 
 ,,     in  mythology 
 
 202 
 
 ,,     Dea  Syria 
 
 784, 
 
 874 
 
 , ,     to  eat  grass 
 
 570 
 
 ,,     exposes  Alexander 
 
 446 
 
 , ,     to  eat  straw 
 
 315 
 
 Lucina 
 
 789 
 
 Litanies 
 
 512 
 
 Luck  and  horseshoe 
 
 262 
 
 ,,     and  Lamas 
 
 203 
 
 Lucky  star 
 
 269 
 
 Literal  versus  metaphorical 
 
 536 
 
 Lucretius 
 
 73, 
 
 907 
 
 Literory  forgeries 
 
 158 
 
 Lugos 
 
 227 
 
 Little-endians 
 
 559 
 
 Luliah 
 
 230 
 
 Livy's  account  of  the  origiu 
 
 of 
 
 Lunacy 
 
 327 
 
 Rome 
 
 34 
 
 Lunatic  and  telegraph 
 
 309 
 
 Lively  statue  of  Apollo 
 
 789 
 
 ,,     asylums  and  proi)het8 
 
 . 
 
 523 
 
 Loaves  and  fishes 
 
 132 
 
 Lunatics  and  satyrs 
 
 216 
 
 Locks  on  Heaven's  gates 
 
 190 
 
 ,,     and  tombs 
 
 215 
 
 ,,     when  first  used 
 
 193 
 
 Luqu 
 
 230 
 
 Logic  and  thaumatuigj* 
 
 805 
 
 Luxury  in  Jerusalem 
 
 803 
 
 Logos 
 
 573 
 
 6-14 
 
 ,,     of  Christians  in  a  future 
 
 London  encourages  infanticide 
 
 174 
 
 world 
 
 :t.ir, 
 
 ,,     {population 
 
 341 
 
 ,,     stunts  growth 
 
 J.M 
 
 Ijookiii^  glnHKcs 
 
 224 
 
 -229 
 
 ,,     wives  an  expensive  one 
 
 173 
 
 I^rd    Auibcrlt'v,    his   idea 
 
 of 
 
 Luxembourg 
 
 411 
 
 IwpuUtiuQ 
 
 . 
 
 322 
 
 Lu?! 
 
 2'29 
 
999 
 
 Lying  not  prohibited  in  Old 
 Testament 
 
 M 
 
 M,  the  letter 
 Maacha 
 
 Macaulay  and  Brougham 
 Machir 
 Macrobiiis 
 
 Madden's  shrines,  etc. 
 Madmenah 
 
 Madness  feigned  by  a  prophet 
 „     and  message  to  a  maid  . 
 „     and  wit  allied 
 Madonna 
 
 Maffei,  copy  of  gem  491, 
 
 Magdiel 
 Magi  offer  to  Christ     . 
 
 ,,     Persian 
 Magism 
 
 Magna  est  Veritas 
 Magus 
 
 Maha  Bharata 
 
 Mahadeva        .  •        237, 
 
 ,,     and  fig-tree 
 ,,     and  Maha  Maia 
 ,,     and  tiger 
 Mahath 
 Mahavite 
 Mahesa 
 Mahlah 
 Mahomedans 
 
 „     and  David  compared 
 Mahomet 
 
 ,,     and  Samuel  compared  . 
 Maharajahs  .         23-1 
 
 Maia 
 Maid  servant   and  England's 
 
 deliverer 
 Maimouidcs  on  vestments 
 l\[ain-priug  of  faith 
 Makkedah 
 Malachi 
 Malcham 
 
 Malcolm,  Sii"  J.  quoted 
 Mamma 
 
 Page 
 
 Mamzer 
 
 245 
 
 666 
 
 Man 
 
 250 
 
 ,,     at  the  bar  of  his  Maker 
 
 590 
 
 ,,    his  duty 
 
 605 
 
 231 
 
 ,,     his  laws  contrasted  with 
 
 231 
 
 those  of  God 
 
 588 
 
 415 
 
 ,,    in  religion  is  to  tnist  to 
 
 232 
 
 man 
 
 235 
 
 915 
 
 ,,     of  sin 
 
 539 
 
 871 
 
 ,,     primeval,     like    Esqui- 
 
 232 
 
 maux 
 
 424 
 
 437 
 
 ,,     rights  of 
 
 605 
 
 518 
 
 ,,     sillier  than  animals 
 
 586 
 
 524 
 
 Mandrakes 
 
 250 
 
 267 
 
 Manetho 
 
 95 
 
 885 
 
 Maniacs  tear  raiment 
 
 215 
 
 233 
 
 Manner  of  life,  Christian  and 
 
 853 
 
 pagan 
 
 562 
 
 63 
 
 Manor,  lord  of 
 
 686 
 
 835 
 
 Mansions  in  the  sky 
 
 686 
 
 506 
 
 ,,     Jewish 
 
 542 
 
 233 
 
 Manuscripts 
 
 412 
 
 890 
 
 ,,     in  early  Jewish  times     . 
 
 681 
 
 ,  473 
 
 Many,  the,  and  the  few  do  not 
 
 455 
 
 think  alike 
 
 809 
 
 565 
 
 Maoch 
 
 252 
 
 458 
 
 Maon                .             •         252 
 
 ,  271 
 
 240 
 
 Maories 
 
 335 
 
 240 
 
 Marat 
 
 879 
 
 223 
 
 Marduk            .             •         256 
 
 ,  279 
 
 241 
 
 Maria 
 
 306 
 
 246 
 
 Marks  on  the  forehead         646 
 
 i,  649 
 
 851 
 
 Mariolaters,  modern    , 
 
 535 
 
 258,  508,  642 
 
 1,  680 
 
 692 
 
 Marquesans 
 
 80 
 
 :,   444 
 
 Marriage  amongst  priests 
 
 580 
 
 353 
 
 ,,     purposes  of 
 
 486 
 
 Mars   .         186,  252,  422,  499,  502 
 
 518 
 
 ,,     influenced  by  Venus 
 
 908 
 
 914 
 
 Martiuean,  Miss 
 
 ,     430 
 
 ,     641 
 
 ,,     translation  of  Ewald 
 
 10 
 
 .     242 
 
 Marutz 
 
 .     253 
 
 242 
 
 Mary    .             •              253-266,  898 
 
 .     244 
 
 ,,     and  Alcmena 
 
 .     780 
 
 .     460 
 
 ,,     and  Dea  Syria 
 
 .     792 
 
 .     254 
 
 ,,     and  moon 
 
 .     260 
 
1(X)0 
 
 Page 
 
 vtm» 
 
 Mary  and  Bacti 
 
 645 
 
 Meen 
 
 250 
 
 ,,     aiid  Sophia 
 
 705 
 
 Meetings  of  friends 
 
 621 
 
 „     Quceu  of  Scots 
 
 518 
 
 Mt'ttaj-thtnes 
 
 820 
 
 ,,     tlie  Eg^-ptiau 
 
 751 
 
 MclchiM-dek 
 
 752 
 
 „     the  virgin  a  blonde 
 
 499 
 
 „     and  Abraham 
 
 576 
 
 Mascbith 
 
 2r,7 
 
 Melissa 
 
 351 
 
 Manculine  instincts 
 
 172 
 
 Melody  the  offspring  of 
 
 God 
 
 Mash 
 
 2G8 
 
 and  the  devil ! 
 
 736 
 
 MiiKH  and  mumming 
 
 132 
 
 Memorabilia  of  Xenophon 
 
 68 
 
 Math 
 
 270 
 
 Men  an  imaginary  section 
 
 de- 
 
 Mttthcmatical demonstrations 
 
 142 
 
 Hcribed 
 
 600 
 
 Mathematicians  and  prophecy 
 
 637 
 
 .,     and  brutes 
 
 171 
 
 Matthew 
 
 270 
 
 ,,     confound   Jehovah 
 
 an  d 
 
 Mathj-r 
 
 304 
 
 Hatan 
 
 700 
 
 Matris 
 
 C42 
 
 ,,     like   to   contravene 
 
 the 
 
 Matter,  feminine;  force,  mas- 
 
 Lord, and  to  separate 
 
 culine 
 
 565 
 
 tares    from   wheat  at 
 
 ,,     and  force 
 
 565 
 
 once 
 
 .',57 
 
 ,,     npnce,  and  time 
 
 564 
 
 ,.     more      miserable     than 
 
 Maurice,  Indian  antiquities 
 
 886 
 
 brutes 
 
 655 
 
 „     on  Hindoo  doctrine 
 
 59 
 
 ,,     strong,  described 
 
 682 
 
 Maveth 
 
 270 
 
 „     tall 
 
 424 
 
 Mawworm 
 
 8.".  5 
 
 Mendicant  friars  and  Isis 
 
 431 
 
 Maya 
 
 <V14 
 
 Mendicants'    sons    pricstE 
 
 in 
 
 Mavpole 
 
 473 
 
 Ireland 
 
 132 
 
 Maxim  for  life  and  living 
 
 605 
 
 Mene 
 
 250 
 
 ,,     guiding  of  Christ 
 
 515 
 
 MqM 
 
 250 
 
 Ma/./.aluth 
 
 269 
 
 Meni 
 
 273 
 
 Mttz/iiroth 
 
 269 
 
 ,,     and  moon 
 
 278 
 
 Ma7./cbeth 
 
 41 
 
 Mental  change  difticult 
 
 236 
 
 Means   for    keeping    familiuH 
 
 ,,     powers  a  gift 
 
 596 
 
 small 
 
 322 
 
 Mercenaries,  (irccian 
 
 289 
 
 ,,     modern     for    attaining 
 
 Mercury 
 
 499, 
 
 5(V2 
 
 salvation 
 
 675 
 
 Mercy,     sisters    of,     misera- 
 
 Mcaauro fur  faitli 
 
 330 
 
 ble 
 
 562 
 
 Mtchcrah 
 
 •Jd.'i 
 
 Mcri  Daal 
 
 279 
 
 Median   1'    :' 
 
 h:i:! 
 
 Merlin,  Mormon,  ami  Mo-- 
 
 CH     . 
 
 339 
 
 ..     tli. 
 
 H'.''.l 
 
 Merodach  Ualadau 
 
 279 
 
 Medical  juui  uaU  on  capriciouf 
 
 Mem         .                      337, 
 
 366, 
 
 794 
 
 niaidN  . 
 
 521 
 
 Mesmerism,     mediums. 
 
 and 
 
 ,,     and  theological  qiiaokH 
 
 659 
 
 du|>eM 
 
 522 
 
 McdirineH  ii<li>!it«  .1  from  simi 
 
 Messiah  and  mysticism 
 
 . 
 
 414 
 
 laritN 
 
 251 
 
 ,,     and  Uarcochba 
 
 528 
 
 581 
 
 Meiliuni.*                                 42 
 
 7.  521 
 
 Mcasianio   warrior  ven%i$ 
 
 Hie 
 
 MtHlitiTrancan,     ovidcnce    o 
 
 f 
 
 Trinco  of  Pcaco 
 
 531 
 
 tratnc  along  ita  shoroi 
 
 24 
 
 Metals  and  planota 
 
 501 
 
1001 
 
 Page 
 
 Metaphorical     versus    literal 
 
 interpretation         .  .     536 
 
 Metempsychosis  .  .     442 
 
 Mether  .  .  _     394 
 
 Metis  and  wisdom  .      57 
 
 Meteoric  stones  black  .     265 
 
 Meursius  .  .  ,     226 
 
 Mexicans  and  sacrifice  ,    630 
 
 Mexico,  religion  of      .  .     837 
 
 Micah  .  .    280 
 
 ,,     and  Levite  .         170,  280 
 
 ,,     and  nonsense  ,     287 
 
 _„    prophet  .         281-291 
 
 Midian  .  .  291 
 
 ,,     and    Amalek,     murders 
 
 of         .  .  .     594 
 
 ,,     five  kings  of,  their  names  550 
 Midianite  virgins  .  .     176 
 
 Midianites  and  Jews  .     684 
 
 ,,     their  fertility  .       26 
 
 Midwives,  Hebrew  .       92 
 
 Military  matters  and  prayer        512 
 Millenium        .  .  308 
 
 Milton  .  .  819 
 
 Mind  dwellfi  on  horrors  of  its 
 
 own  creation  .     566 
 
 ,,     of  the  Lord         .  .     56I 
 
 Miners  mining  .  .     793 
 
 Minerva  .  .         228,  258 
 
 Ministers,    Christian,    ignore 
 
 their  own  teaching      .      75 
 
 ,,     soi-disant  .  .     552 
 
 Minos  .  .     828 
 
 Miracles  .         291-305 
 
 ,,     all  of  human  invention      302 
 
 ,,     conversion  of  opponents 
 
 one  never  tried  .     304 
 
 ,,     fabled  .  ,     680 
 
 „  if  performed  for  a  pur- 
 pose unsuccessfullyare 
 false  .  .     297 
 
 ,,  occur  a  long  way  off  294,  359 
 ,,  of  India  and  Palestine  299 
 ,,  performed  by  Barcochba  530 
 ,,     prove  a  perfect  Creator 
 
 imperfect         .  .     301 
 
 Miracles  spurious       .  .     792 
 
 ,,     the  Devil  one  .     295 
 
 „    to    be    expunged    from 
 
 sacred  story  .     303 
 
 ,,    to  be  tested        .  .     143 
 
 *^i"  .  .  .898 
 
 Miriam  .  253,  255,  305 
 
 Mirror,     its     significance    in 
 
 mythology  .     609 
 
 ,,     old  and  Anglican  church 
 
 compared         .  .     516 
 
 Mirrors  .  .  _     228 
 
 ,,    used  to  light  fires  .     906 
 
 Misery  a  religious  luxury        .     562 
 ,,     marshals  men   heaven- 
 ward .  .     662 
 Miseries  of  a  British  Sabbath      514 
 Misfortune  no  test  of  ortho- 
 doxy           .            .  i4g 
 Mishael            .             .             _     307 
 Missionaries                 .         307-315 
 ,,     British,  their  plans  exa- 
 mined             .  6 
 ,,     Buddhist             .             .     313 
 ,,    none  Jewish         57,  148,  311 
 ,,     their  success  appraised      314 
 ,,     their  work  requires  re- 
 modelling       .             .     315 
 Mistaken  prophets                   .    282 
 Misurus                         .            _     400 
 Mithi-a           63,  315,  350,  831,  930 
 Mithredath                   .             ,     315 
 Mitinta             .             .             _     230 
 Mitre                .            .            .801 
 ,,     and  fish's  head              .     651 
 Mixed  luiions                .             .     312 
 Moab                 .             .                 3jg 
 Mock  money                 .             _     720 
 Modern  Christians  opposed  to 
 
 Christ  .  .     133 
 
 ,,     concubinage  .     486 
 
 ,,     idea  of  sacrifice  .     635 
 
 ,,     origin  of  Old  Testament     159 
 ,,     proiahetesses  disbeheved     518 
 Modes  of  Jewish  divination     .     904 
 Mohath  .  .  .     241 
 
 XXX 
 
1002 
 
 Pngo 
 
 Page 
 
 Molndah 
 
 317, 
 
 350 
 
 Moon  names  of 
 
 502 
 
 Molccb  or  Moloch 
 
 318-324 
 
 ,,    new         .            .         370 
 
 -372 
 
 ,,    a  means  of  riddance 
 
 320 
 
 Moore 
 
 573 
 
 ,,     and  dead  children 
 
 321 
 
 Moot's  Hindu  Pantheon 
 
 , ,     and  temple  priests 
 
 323 
 
 221-224, 
 
 237 
 
 ,,     God,  and  the  Devil 
 
 G39 
 
 ,,     Oriental  Fragments 
 
 923 
 
 „     TalmucUc  fable  of  foim- 
 
 Mosaic  laws,  Weill  upon 
 
 421 
 
 ded  on  a  pun 
 
 876 
 
 Moses               .            .         338-350 
 
 „     the  avenger  of  lust 
 
 324 
 
 ,,     a  murderer 
 
 331 
 
 Mohd 
 
 324 
 
 ,,     and  Berosus 
 
 401 
 
 Mollis,   Mollies,    Mullos, 
 
 and 
 
 ,,     and  Hebrew 
 
 89 
 
 Mullet 
 
 318 
 
 .,     and  Hezekiah 
 
 361 
 
 MoUy 
 
 259 
 
 ,,     and  image  making 
 
 360 
 
 Monads  and  mighties 
 
 585 
 
 ,,     and  magi 
 
 234 
 
 Monarchs   and  mistresses 
 
 in 
 
 ,,     and  Mormon 
 
 349 
 
 title 
 
 487 
 
 ,,     and  Pentecost 
 
 469 
 
 ',,    Buddhist  and  Christian 
 
 668 
 
 ,,     and  revelation 
 
 350 
 
 ,,     unable  to  read 
 
 40 
 
 ,,     and  Subeanism 
 
 628 
 
 Monasteries  in  Thibet 
 
 203 
 
 ,,     and  serpent 
 
 360 
 
 Money  coined  by  Barcochba    . 
 
 530 
 
 ,,     and  the  gospels 
 
 347 
 
 Monkish  legends  believed 
 
 112 
 
 ,,     and  two  tables 
 
 343 
 
 Monks  and  nuns  none  amongst 
 
 ,,     and  Zoroaster 
 
 64 
 
 beasts 
 
 586 
 
 ,,     does  not  circumcise  his 
 
 „     Japanese 
 
 204 
 
 son 
 
 341 
 
 Monotheii^m  universal 
 
 556 
 
 ,,     Egyptian  his  natural 
 
 Monotheist,  Job  a 
 
 325 
 
 tongue 
 
 310 
 
 Months  before  weeks 
 
 862 
 
 ,,     face  of 
 
 344 
 
 ,,     Chaldce  names  for 
 
 860 
 
 ,,     his  character 
 
 345 
 
 ,,     moons,  and  weeks 
 
 859 
 
 ,,     history  of 
 
 338 
 
 Moon 
 
 324-328 
 
 ,,     his  writings  examined  . 
 
 348 
 
 „     and  Alexander 
 
 442 
 
 „     his  writings  mythical     . 
 
 99 
 
 „    and  Ceres 
 
 328 
 
 „     in  Midian 
 
 340 
 
 ,,    and  cold 
 
 327 
 
 ,,     known  best  to  loter  Jews 
 
 419 
 
 ,,    and  Job 
 
 325 
 
 ,.     leads  the  Jews 
 
 341 
 
 „     and  Mnry 
 
 260 
 
 ,,     marries  a  Midianite 
 
 340 
 
 ,,     and  Meni 
 
 278 
 
 .,     more  brutal  than  Nana 
 
 .,     and  iiiontliH 
 
 sr,',) 
 
 Sahib 
 
 332 
 
 ,,     and  Mylitta 
 
 ■.\r,2 
 
 ,,     mythical 
 
 349 
 
 „     and  Bun 
 
 ;!■_'.". 
 
 ,.     not  a  missionary 
 
 311 
 
 ,,     and  time 
 
 s,",;( 
 
 not  mcutioncHl  in  certain 
 
 „    and  VcnuH 
 
 '.u:. 
 
 Hebrew  books 
 
 119 
 
 ,,     blindness 
 
 ,>7 
 
 not  mentioned  in  Kiith 
 
 419 
 
 ,,     female 
 
 on  Sinai 
 
 311 
 
 ,,     lijftiro  of 
 
 329 
 
 ,,     on  Sinai,  on  Sabbath 
 
 342 
 
 ,.       llOUHCH  of 
 
 861 
 
 -ftCl 
 
 ,,     ordained  theft 
 
 331 
 
 ,,     in  McHopotamin 
 
 :ijc. 
 
 origin  of  word 
 
 »U8 
 
1003 
 
 Moses  receives  a  revelation     . 
 ,,     requires  a  mouthpiece  . 
 ,,     story  of,  tested 
 ,,     talks  Hebrew 
 ,,     unknown  to  David  and 
 
 Solomon 
 ,,     untruthful 
 
 ,,     Weill  upon  .         421, 
 
 Moss  troopers  and  David 
 Moral  law,  the,  imperfect 
 
 ,,     laws 
 Morality  .  .  328 
 
 ,,     false 
 ,,    inculcated   by  all  hier- 
 archs   essentially  the 
 same 
 ,,     of  Bible  iminigned 
 ,,     of  Hebrew  prophets 
 ,,     of  Old  and  New  Testa- 
 ment imperfect 
 ,,     of  Pagandom 
 ,,     of  Samuel 
 Morals    of    Cyrus     and    the 
 
 Psalmist 
 Moravian  missionaries 
 Moriah 
 Mormon 
 „     discovery  of  the  book  of 
 ,,     motherless 
 Mormons     and    Mahometans 
 encouraged  by  Old  Testa- 
 ment 
 Mot 
 
 Mother  and  Mut 
 ,,     death  and  earth 
 M     names  of 
 ,,     of  gods  and  men 
 Motherless  offspring 
 Motives  for  supporting  plenary 
 
 inspiration  of  the  Bible 
 Mom-ners,  professional 
 Mouth,  cow's 
 Movements  of  celestial  bodies 
 
 unnoticed 
 Mul 
 Miiller,  Max 
 
 Page 
 341 
 341 
 339 
 340 
 
 347 
 332 
 709 
 54 
 G66 
 330 
 i-337 
 164 
 
 562 
 596 
 540 
 
 596 
 853 
 332 
 
 65 
 183 
 337 
 573 
 437 
 780 
 
 335 
 232 
 271 
 270 
 271 
 229 
 780 
 
 336 
 791 
 238 
 
 372 
 350 
 
 Miiller  on  Buddha  ,     667 
 
 Miillet  .  261,  318,  352 
 
 Munchausen  and  divines  com- 
 pared 
 Mundane  egg  and  night 
 >»  >}     in  JajDan 
 
 Mural  crown,  its  signification 
 Murder  better  than  fright 
 ,,     by  i^rophetic  order 
 ,,     by  tigers 
 M     not  first  prohibited  on 
 
 Sinai 
 ,,     not  justified  by  hate  and 
 
 heterodoxy 
 ,,     not  sanctified  by  faith    . 
 , ,     of  Bathsheba's  first  child 
 
 probable 
 ,,     of  heretics  and  enemies 
 
 encouraged 
 ,,     ordered    by    aural    and 
 
 other  delusions 
 ,,     sanctioned  by  the  state 
 ,,     theft,  and  adultery  im- 
 moral 
 Murderous  Christians 
 Murrain  and  prayer 
 
 n     not    a   judgment    upon 
 cows  for  cowardice 
 Musce  secret  of  Naples 
 Music  and  discord  during  celes 
 tial  changes 
 ,,     and    hate    indulged 
 
 heaven  ,  .     336 
 
 „     and  planets        .  .    500 
 
 „     and  prayer  .  .514 
 
 ,,     of  the  spheres  .     501 
 
 ,,     sinful  in  Scotland  .     736 
 
 Musical  instruments  .     374 
 
 Muth  .  .  .270 
 
 ,,     and  mother        .  .     271 
 
 Mutilation  at  festivals  .     790 
 
 Mylitta  .  .  63,  350 
 
 ,,     and  moon  .  .     352 
 
 Myrrh  .  .         352,  353 
 
 Mysteries,  pledges  of  love       .     911 
 
 Myth  about  the  ark  .     886 
 
 142 
 
 382 
 461 
 257 
 344 
 
 518 
 585 
 
 598 
 
 331 
 331 
 
 757 
 
 333 
 
 103 
 594 
 
 330 
 335 
 513 
 
 494 
 
 380 
 
 m 
 
1004 
 
 Pago 
 
 iiyih  of  night  .     382 
 
 Mj-ths  .  .195 
 
 ,,     foanded  on  sexaalities  .     473 
 
 ,,     Persian  and  Aryan         .    316 
 
 ,.     respecting     the     seven 
 
 planets  .  .     500 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 letter 
 
 .     354 
 
 Nanmau 
 
 .     355 
 
 Nahash 
 
 359-364 
 
 Nahbi 
 
 364-367 
 
 Nahor 
 
 .    367 
 
 Naiades 
 
 .     396 
 
 Name  of  Almighty 
 
 .     464 
 
 „     of  Jehovah 
 
 .     243 
 
 Names  and  numbers 
 
 .     437 
 
 ,,     and  stories 
 
 .     898 
 
 ,,     Babylonian,  Grecised 
 
 .     389 
 
 ,,     classitication 
 
 13,  14 
 
 ,     given  by  deity 
 
 629-630 
 
 ,     given  to  children 
 
 .     569 
 
 ,,     of  Babylonian  origin 
 
 .     551 
 
 ,     of  deities  and  puns 
 
 462-463 
 
 ,     of  planets 
 
 501-503 
 
 ,     of    the    five     kings 
 
 of 
 
 Midian   make    a  sen- 
 
 tence 
 
 .     550 
 
 ,,     of  the  prophets 
 
 .     520 
 
 ,,     originate  stories 
 
 .     460 
 
 .,     Philistine  and  Greek 
 
 .     484 
 
 ,,    real,  of  Egyptian  kings, 
 
 etc. 
 
 .     479 
 
 ,,    sacred,  in  Assyria 
 
 .     256 
 
 ,,     why  many  omitted 
 
 .     165 
 
 Nana  Sahib  and  .Moses 
 
 .     332 
 
 .,        ,,      and  Samuel 
 
 .       54 
 
 Naphtali 
 
 .     3C.7 
 
 Napoleon 
 
 762,  877 
 
 ,,     and  Solomon 
 
 .       99 
 
 ,,     and  G6G 
 
 .    535 
 
 Naptho 
 
 .     896 
 
 Narratives,  Elohistio 
 
 .     r.o 
 
 Narrow-minded  blHliops 
 
 .     557 
 
 NaUil,  liiHhop  of,  eulogised 
 
 11,  465 
 
 Na 
 
 than  and  David 
 
 87 
 
 Nathan  and  Bathsheba        756-757 
 ,,     his  prophecy       .  .     489 
 
 „     kills  David's  child  .     541 
 
 Nation,  holy    .  .309 
 
 ,,     if  opposed  to  Jews  con- 
 demned ijyso  facto       .     333 
 National  ideas  of  God  .    464 
 
 Natural  history  versus  revela- 
 tion     .  575 
 ,,     religion  and  revealed 
 
 561,  584-589 
 Nature  .924 
 
 „     laws  of  298,  300 
 
 ,,     of  early  Jewish  books    .     129 
 ,,     of  man  duplex  567 
 
 Nautch  girls     .  791 
 
 Navel  adored  367 
 
 ,,     and  ark  366 
 
 Nazaritcs  .     682 
 
 Neapolitans  and  talismans      .     443 
 Nebo  .  .275 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar  and  Tamer- 
 lane .     693 
 „     and  Tyro             .         430,  525 
 ,,     prayerful  and  pious        .     499 
 Neglect,  wilful,  kills  infants    .     324 
 Negroes  and  black  gods  .     264 
 Nehemiah  an  eunuch  548 
 Nehushtan       .                     360,  362 
 Neighbour,  love  for,  a  religious 
 
 basis  562 
 
 Nemo  .     463 
 
 Nepthus  .368 
 
 Ner  .368 
 
 Nergal  .  .368 
 
 „     N.  Sharozer  .     370 
 
 Newman,  F.  W.  .     724 
 
 New  moon  ;{70-372 
 
 ,,         ,,     and  Sabbath  625 
 
 „     year        .  .     372 
 
 Newton,  Mr.  264 
 
 New  Zealandcrs  and  Captain 
 
 Cook  .     399 
 
 Nibhaz  381 
 
 Niceno  creed  H88 
 
 NiKht,  ideas  respecting  H62 
 
1005 
 
 Page 
 
 Page 
 
 Nimrah 
 
 383 
 
 Obscenity  in  Bible 
 
 77 
 
 Nimrod 
 
 383 
 
 October  festival 
 
 226 
 
 Nineveh,  Bouomi  on 
 
 375 
 
 Odacon 
 
 399 
 
 Ninip 
 
 384 
 
 Odin,  Thor,  and  Allah 
 
 332 
 
 No  and  Noah 
 
 124 
 
 Odium  theologicum 
 
 75 
 
 Noah 
 
 385 
 
 -392 
 
 Odours  sacrificial 
 
 638 
 
 ,,     Daniel  and  Job  . 
 
 387, 
 
 388 
 
 CEdipus  Judaicus 
 
 162 
 
 NnE 
 
 388 
 
 Of    two   prophets,   the   lucky 
 
 Noises  made  during  celestial 
 
 one  believed 
 
 523 
 
 changes 
 
 380 
 
 Offerings  of  the  dead 
 
 272 
 
 Nomenclature,  Greek 
 
 275 
 
 Offspring,   desire  for,  instinc- 
 
 Nonentity cannot  be  described 
 
 539 
 
 tive 
 
 485 
 
 Non-natural  interpretation  of 
 
 Og        .             .             .          422-425 
 
 of  prophecy 
 
 534-536 
 
 OU  in  the  desert 
 
 797 
 
 Nonsense  in  Micah 
 
 287 
 
 Oiled  stones  and  papal  wafer 
 
 441 
 
 Noosed  cord 
 
 551 
 
 Old  Bogy 
 
 592 
 
 Norris'  Assyrian  Dictionary    . 
 
 352 
 
 Old  Testament 
 
 10 
 
 Not  one  good  man  in  Jerusa- 
 
 ,,    its  doctrines 
 
 163 
 
 lem,  temi).  Ezekiel 
 
 334 
 
 ,,     its  morality  bad 
 
 596 
 
 Nottingham  and  Palestine 
 
 21 
 
 ,,     modern 
 
 159 
 
 Novum  Organon 
 
 299, 
 
 511 
 
 ,,     STipports  murder 
 
 335 
 
 Numa 
 
 490 
 
 „     when  made  up 
 
 51 
 
 „    his  laws  divine 
 
 599 
 
 Olympus 
 
 794 
 
 Number  and  Meni 
 
 273 
 
 Omens 
 
 426 
 
 ,,     of  the  beast,  666 
 
 535, 
 
 539 
 
 Omission    of  names,    reason 
 
 Nuns 
 
 168 
 
 for                ... 
 
 165 
 
 ,,     and  monks  non-existent 
 
 Omne  ignotum  pro  magnifico    . 
 
 592 
 
 in  the  bestial  worlc 
 
 I     . 
 
 586 
 
 Omnipotent,  ideas  respecting 
 
 507 
 
 Nymph 
 
 393 
 
 -397 
 
 Ompha  and  oracle 
 
 395 
 
 0 
 
 0,  the  letter  .  .     397 
 
 Oak,  why  sacred  .  .     457 
 
 Oannes  .  .         398-401 
 
 Oar,  steering,  an  emblem  .  495 
 Oaths,  how  sworn  in  Palestine  476 
 Obadiah  .  .         401-420 
 
 Obededom        .  .  .     421 
 
 Obedience,  blind  .  •     132 
 
 Obehscs  .  .  .239 
 
 ,,     and  patera,  Rome  .     395 
 
 Obligations  on  Christians  .  621 
 Obscene  stories  in  Jehovistic 
 
 narratives  .  .       50 
 
 Obscenity,      Hindoo,      versus 
 
 Chi-istian  ferocity  .     567 
 
 Omphale  .  .  ,365 
 
 Onan  and  Frenchmen  .     322 
 
 Onchan  .  .  .     250 
 
 Onka  .  .  ,     250 
 
 Opener  of  aqueducts  .     385 
 
 Opposition,  clerical,  to  prayer     514 
 
 ,,     shops  .  .     286 
 
 "p*  .  .  .906 
 
 Oracle  and  serpent      .  .    359 
 
 ,,     given  through  vulva       .     397 
 
 „     of  Delphi  .  .131 
 
 Oracles  .  .         426-447 
 
 ,,     of  Almighty        .  .       59 
 
 Oren  .  .  .     425 
 
 Organisation  of  prostitution 
 
 177-181 
 Organs,  musical,  and  sin         .     736 
 
1006 
 
 Page 
 Orgies,  religious  .  .562 
 
 Orientals  as  ruthless  as  Chris- 
 tians .  .  .413 
 Origin  of  Bible                      50,  159 
 „     of  Sabbath         .  .     619 
 ,,     of  sacrifice          .  .631 
 ,,     of  stories  in  names    460,  464 
 Originators  of  heathen  stories 
 
 not  Jews  •  .     122 
 
 Orion  .     339,  426,  464,  819 
 
 Ormazd  .  .        697,  829 
 
 Ornaments  destroyed  and  re- 
 suscitated .  .  344 
 Oromasdes  .  .  829 
 Orpheus  .  226,  345,  382 
 Orphic  hymns  66,  809,  821 
 Orthodoxy  144,  148,  330,  507,  515 
 „  test  of  .  .  .  283 
 Osiris  and  Isis  .  .  276 
 Ottomans  and  Jews  .  155 
 Oudeis  .463 
 Ovid's  metamoi-phoses            .     899 
 
 P,  the  letter    .  .447 
 
 Pacific    islands    and    Boman 
 
 letters         .            .            .  167 
 
 Pffiderasty                      .             .  753 
 Pagan  and  Christian  countries 
 
 compared         .  477 
 ,,     and  Christian   heathen- 
 ism 449 
 ,,     and  Christian  ideas   of 
 
 God     .            .            .  50:( 
 ,,     festivals      adopted      by 
 
 Christians        .             .  379 
 
 , ,     origin  of  the  Trinity      .  888 
 Pagandom  and    Christendom 
 
 compared    .            .  853 
 
 Paganism  and  Popery              .  468 
 
 Painted  with  colours  553 
 
 Palestine  and  ScsostriH            .  19 
 
 ,,     and  India  customs  in  168 
 
 „     and  Jews                           .  :{21 
 
 ,,     and  lions  2(»2 
 
 .,    and  PhilistioeR  27 
 
 Page 
 
 Palestine  and  Phceuiciaus       .     151 
 
 ,,     and  population  21,  22 
 
 ,,     divisions  of        .  .     109 
 
 ,,     its  name  .  .     481 
 
 ,,     language  in         .  .     160 
 
 ,,     prior  to  David    .  .       81 
 
 Pallas  .  .  .473 
 
 Pallium  .  .        650,  916 
 
 Pallu  .  .447 
 
 Palm  branch  and  tappuach     .     449 
 
 ,,     Simday  at  Borne  .     449 
 
 „     tree         .  .  .448 
 
 Palmcrston  and  parsons      443,  512 
 
 Palmyra  and  giants  .     423 
 
 Palus  and  pfalk  .    473 
 
 Pan       .  .  .        214,  703 
 
 Panis  and  Patera        .  .     910 
 
 Pantheon  .  221,  223 
 
 Papal  Christians  .     229 
 
 ,,     doctrines 
 
 ,,     ideas,  Assyrian 
 
 ,,     Monks 
 
 ,,     prayers    and    anthropo- 
 morphism 
 ,,     priests    wear     feminine 
 
 garments  •  .  916-918 
 Paphlagouiaus  a  silly  set  .  436 
 Papism  and  Buddhism  .     675 
 
 ,,     a  patchwork  of  heathen- 
 ism      .  .  .     740 
 Paradise,  language  of  .     161 
 Parah                            .  .     449 
 Parauomasia                 .  .     450 
 „     Molech,  Tophet  and  toph  876 
 
 112 
 
 641 
 
 5G2 
 
 509 
 
 Parchment  in  the  desert 
 Pardon  and  restitution 
 
 ,,     can  a  son  receive  it  who 
 suffers  from  a  parent's 
 sin 
 ,,     Talmudic  idea     . 
 Pardons 
 
 Parents,   priests,   and   cogno- 
 mens  . 
 ,,     multiply  sins  in  children 
 Parish  workhouses 
 Parsees 
 
 90 
 421 
 
 813 
 421 
 442 
 
 569 
 
 731 
 
 823 
 
 68 
 
1007 
 
 Parsees  and  fire  .        320, 
 
 Parsons  punish  squires 
 
 ,,     and  Palmerston 
 Parties  opposing  iu  prophecy 
 Parturition  and  virginity 
 
 239, 
 
 '  Pisces 
 
 494, 
 
 Parvati 
 Passover 
 ,,     erratum  in,  see 
 
 to  Aries" 
 ,,     iu  Hindostan 
 Patera 
 
 „     and  St.  Peter's    . 
 Paterson  on  Hiudooism 
 Patients  prefer  physic  to  pro- 
 priety 
 Patriarchs 
 Patroclus  cremation  and  funeral 
 
 ,,     as  a  modern  angel 
 Paucity  of  books  and  falsifica- 
 tion 
 Paul  a  Proteus 
 ,,     a  punster 
 
 „     and  Peter  .        133, 
 
 ,,     and  philosophers 
 „     Corinthian    and    Chris- 
 tian cannibals 
 ,,     on  creation's  groans 
 ,,     on  law  and  expediency 
 ,,     on  the  dissolution  of  all 
 
 things 
 ,,    professes  to  preach    to 
 
 the  ignorant    . 
 ,,     the  Apostle 
 Pausanias,  tortoise,  and  Venus 
 Peace  and  rehgion 
 Peculiar  people  .        161, 
 
 Pecuharities  of  Jewish  history 
 Pelasgi 
 
 ,,     and  Philistines  . 
 ,,     PhiUstines    and    Greek 
 names 
 Peletliites         .         29,  205,  482 
 Penance  and  pain  versus  pro- 
 priety 
 , ,     not  patronised  by  brutes 
 Pendulum  reasoning    . 
 
 Page 
 782 
 336 
 443 
 522 
 670 
 925 
 465 
 
 469 
 910 
 395 
 563 
 
 660 
 24 
 
 871 
 875 
 
 114 
 674 
 454 
 135 
 560 
 
 536 
 589 
 604 
 
 526 
 
 582 
 6 
 880 
 211 
 606 
 80 
 205 
 117 
 
 484 
 1-484 
 
 660 
 
 586 
 
 17 
 
 Page 
 415 
 414 
 160 
 99 
 418 
 
 Pentateuch  and  Deuteronomy 
 ,.     and  jubilee 
 ,,     and  prophets 
 ,,     Apocryijhal 
 ,,     design  of 
 ,,     of  modern  origin        421,  465 
 ,,     unknown  to  David  .      42 
 
 „     written  after  Solomon    .    418 
 Pentecost  .  .  .    459 
 
 People,  peculiar  .        161,  606 
 
 ,,     versus  priests        .  .     663 
 
 Peor  .  .  .     471 
 
 Persecution,  a  Christian  indul- 
 gence  .  .  .557 
 ,,     punishment,  penury,  and 
 
 Job      .  .  848-850 
 
 Persian  influence  on  Hebrew 
 
 mythology  .         707,  829 
 
 Persians  .  .  .62 
 
 ,,     and  sun  worship  .     781 
 
 Persistence  of  Hebrew  .     161 
 
 Peru  and  Spain  compared       .     595 
 ,,     and  sun  worship  .     781 
 
 , ,     and  theology  .     817 
 
 Peruvian  religion         .  .     837 
 
 Pesel  .  .  .472 
 
 Pestilence,  prayer,  and  Pal- 
 merston .  .  .  443 
 Peter  and  Paul  opposed  133.  135 
 ,,  on  the  cud  of  time  .  527 
 Phalli  and  Dca  Syria  .  786 
 Phallic     element     not    found 
 
 with  Jah  .  .       14 
 
 „     origin  of  Trinity  .     886 
 
 ,,     with  El    .  .  .14 
 
 Phallos  .  .  .     473 
 
 Phallus  .  .  .     472 
 
 Phanes  and  Priapus    .  .      67 
 
 Pharaoh  .  .         477,  480 
 
 Pharis,  son  of  Hermes  .     481 
 
 Pharisaic  Jews,  shifts  of         .     578 
 
 Pharisees  and  jubilee  .     378 
 
 ,,     and  Old  Testament        .     467 
 
 ,,     falsified  Mosaic  law        .     421 
 
 Pharnaces        .  .  .     274 
 
 Philip  of  Macedon  and  David .      81 
 
1008 
 
 Pharoan 
 
 riiilistea 
 
 Philistines 
 ,,     aud  Pclasgi 
 ,,    origin  of 
 
 Pago 
 
 .     480 
 
 481-185 
 
 27,  28 
 
 117.  4H4 
 
 481-483 
 
 ,,     tlicir  cities  denounced    .  404 
 Pbilosophcrfl                 .             .  292 
 ,,     aud  Bibliolaters  54 
 „     and  figbtiug  559 
 .,     and  tiles                            .  688 
 ,,     and  Paul                           .  5G0 
 ,,     sometimes  despondent  .  688 
 ,,     test  priests          .  658 
 Philology  and  theology  165 
 Philosophy,  Grecian  in  Bible  157 
 Pha-nicians  and  I'bilistincH     .  481 
 ,,     inllucnco  in  Bible         50,  125 
 ,,     how  disposed  of  super- 
 fluous offspring            .  323 
 ,,     in  Egjiit  18 
 ,,     mnriners              .  373 
 „     practised  circnni'ii>i)  130 
 „     their  alphabet  167 
 Phraatcs  481 
 PhraortcH  481 
 Phraselog}',  biblical  637 
 Physical   strength   and    proof 
 
 of  doctrine  136 
 
 Physicians  and  Asa  164 
 
 „     and  priests  137 
 
 Phthia  514 
 
 Picart  •*  corcmonies,"  ttc.  477 
 
 „     *'  pierres  antiques  "  494 
 
 Pickford's  van                           .  343 
 
 Picture  of  virgin  weeping  CAYJ 
 
 Piety  and  Ulth              .             .  513 
 
 Pilate,  Cipsar,  and  Jerusalem  533 
 
 Pi1nto'«  house  at  Uoao             .  362 
 
 t                   «      .  'iai 
 
 i                i>rogrcBa  831 
 
 Pillar,  memorial  of  Absolom   .  42 
 
 , .     of  liro  and  cloud  emblem 
 
 of  Jehovah  Bifrons  703 
 
 PUUm                           221.  224,  239 
 
 .,     may  bo  weak  671 
 
 Pine  cone                               2  to.  400 
 
 Pious  Christians  wherein  im- 
 moral .  .687 
 ,.     frauds                               .420 
 ,,     (Eneas    .  555 
 Pisces    to    Aries,    instead    of 
 
 A- ies  to  Pisces        .  .     466 
 
 Pith  of  Hebrew  preaching  835 
 
 Pithon  .     497 
 
 Pizarro  .47 
 
 Pizzlo  .472 
 
 Plague  does  not  respect  charms  442 
 „     Oriental  .     586 
 
 Plan  for  searching  out  truth  .     148 
 ,.     projected  by  author         .     128 
 Planets  .  498.  H95 
 
 ,,     and  metals  501 
 
 „     and  weeks  .  861-864 
 
 ,,     mythoscs  respecting  500 
 
 Platitudes  and  prophecy  617 
 
 Plato     .  .809 
 
 ,,     and  Elohim  67 
 
 ,,     aud  Solomon  761 
 
 Platonism,  Christian  .  433 
 
 Platonists  432,  573 
 
 Plant us  .     206 
 
 I'lays  upon  words  450 
 
 Pleasures  of  love  and  tortur- 
 ing compared  508 
 I'loiades             .  601 
 ,,     and  Arcturus  426 
 Pliny                  .                          .809 
 ,,     on  the  gods  71 
 Plunder  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
 
 confederates  408 
 
 Plural  divinities  48 
 
 Plutarch  746 
 
 Pluto  ajid  pnr/ator>  640 
 
 Plymouth  brelbren  584 
 
 Po^ni     .  .544 
 
 Police     punish,    not    prevent 
 
 crime  848 
 
 Policy  of  England  in  India     81-88 
 „     religions  of    Horns  and 
 England,  etc.  81 
 
 Political  oconoiiiy  and  propen- 
 
 iiitioR  174 
 
1009 
 
 Political  forecasts  not  prophecy   538 
 Politics  and  praj'ers     .  .     512 
 
 ,,     and  propliecy      .  .     522 
 
 Polyandry         .  .  .173 
 
 Polygamy  and  polyandry         .     172 
 Polyphile  .  ,  .887 
 
 Polytheism  really  monotheis- 
 tic .  .  .  .    556 
 Polytheists,  Christians  .      70 
 Pomegranate    .             .  .     611 
 Pompeii            .            .            .     198 
 ,,     and  Peor             .  .     471 
 Poor  folks,  Sunday,  and  legis- 
 lators         .             .  ,     627 
 Pope  and  the  bride      .            .     192 
 ,,     assumes  divine  and  hu- 
 man authority  .     733 
 ,,     on  wit  and  madness        .     524 
 Popery  and  Protestantism       .     468 
 Popish  miracles            .  .     296 
 Population,  how  kept  down     .     322 
 ,,     in  Jerusalem  superabun- 
 dant    .            .  .321 
 ,,     of  Palestine        .            21,  22 
 Postulates  in  religious  science     148 
 Potatoe  and  prophesy  .     281 
 Potency  and  hair          .  .214 
 Potiphar           .             .  .506 
 ,,     his  wife               .  .     180 
 Poverty  of  Jerusalem  in  last 
 
 days  of  monarchy  .     415 
 
 Power  and  prosperity  test  or- 
 thodoxy? .  .     283 
 ,,     how  overcome     .  .     Ill 
 ,,     in  Hell  wielded  by  divines    GOl 
 ,,     intellectual.of  ten  borders 
 
 on  lunacy        .  .     524 
 
 ,,     mental,  a  gift      .  .     596 
 
 ,,     of  cursing  .  .     234 
 
 ,,     of     hating     encouraged 
 
 by  Old  Testament  .  335 
 ,,  of  the  keys  and  David  .  193 
 ,,     priestly  .  .     110 
 
 Prayer  and  action        .  .513 
 
 ,,     and  politics        ,  .     512 
 
 ,,     and  predestination         .     509 
 
 Page 
 Prayer  cylinders  .  .     203 
 
 ,,    essay  on  .  .     507 
 
 ,,     gi-ovelling  ideas  in  .     510 
 
 ,,     in  war     .  .  .     512 
 
 ,,     Jewish  .  .     509 
 
 ,,     of  Solomon,  its   anach- 
 ronisms .  .     758 
 ,,     on  phalli             ,  .     786 
 ,,     power  of  Elias  .     510 
 ,,     proper     .            .             .512 
 ,,     Prussians  and  Austrians     511 
 „     versus  garbage    .  .     513 
 ,,     versus  precaution  .     442 
 ,,     without  practice              .     514 
 Prakriti             .             .  .644 
 Praxiteles,  Venus  of    .            .     285 
 Preaching  and  puns     .  .     450 
 , ,    in,  two  different  doctrines 
 drawn  from  the  samo 
 revelation        .  .     581 
 Preadamites     .            .            .     562 
 Precepts  of  Jesus,  some  doubt- 
 ful       .            .  .     596 
 ,,     of  Vishnu            .  .     597 
 Precious  stones  tooled  by  Jews 
 
 in  desert     .  ,  .     797 
 
 Predestination  .  .     509 
 
 Prediction,    failure     of,     how 
 
 met  .  .  .534 
 
 Prejudices  inculcated  by  edu- 
 cation .  .  .     236 
 , ,     of  the  untravelled          .     601 
 Prelates  temporise       .             .     134 
 Presbyters  and  filth     .  .     513 
 , ,     and  Palmerston  .  443 
 Prescott's  history  of  Peru        •    595 
 Preserver,  creator,  destroyer  .     564 
 Prester  John  and  Ehsha          .     857 
 Prestidigitators            .             .     234 
 Pretensions    of    chosen    race 
 
 examined  .  .      53 
 
 Prevention  not    preferred    to 
 
 cure  .  .  .     343 
 
 Priapus  and  Horus  .     258 
 
 ,,    and  Phanes        .  .      67 
 
 Price  of  oracles  .  .     439 
 
 Y   Y  Y 
 
1010 
 
 Pago 
 
 Pago 
 
 Priesthood,  how  overcome 
 
 111 
 
 Printing  in  Thibet 
 
 204 
 
 „     Jewish,  pretensions  of  . 
 
 32 
 
 rriority  of  legends 
 
 386 
 
 „    power  of 
 
 110 
 
 Pritchard's  Eg}-ptian   mytho- 
 
 Priests and  celibacy     . 
 
 :J07 
 
 logy             ... 
 
 920 
 
 ,,     and  Lovites 
 
 208 
 
 Private  judgment  free 
 
 5 
 
 „     and  prophecy 
 
 903 
 
 ,,              „          scouted    by 
 
 ,,     and  proi)hets,  human     . 
 
 115 
 
 divines 
 
 133 
 
 ,,     and  soldiers 
 
 211 
 
 Problems,  religious 
 
 150 
 
 ,,    and  tradesmen 
 
 28G 
 
 Procession  of  women 
 
 228 
 
 ,,     and  votaries 
 
 G58 
 
 Procopius 
 
 228 
 
 ,,    appeal  to  people 
 
 13G 
 
 Profanation  by  Christians  of 
 
 ,,    contend  for  supremacy  . 
 
 558 
 
 Almighty 
 
 335 
 
 ,,    discourage      religious 
 
 Professors  of  salvation 
 
 GGl 
 
 thought 
 
 235 
 
 Promises  of  fertility 
 
 321 
 
 ,,    increase  pretensions  un- 
 
 Propensities, animal,  in  man 
 
 173 
 
 til  the  people  are  petu- 
 
 ,,    and  prudence 
 
 173 
 
 lant      . 
 
 663 
 
 Proof  and  assertion 
 
 309 
 
 „    not    allowed    to    speak 
 
 Prophecies  unfulfilled 
 
 928 
 
 their  minds 
 
 4 
 
 ,,     misapplied 
 
 929 
 
 ,,     of  Dm  Syria  eunuchs    . 
 
 786 
 
 Prophecy  and  boiling  a  stone 
 
 281 
 
 „     papal  wear  feminine  gar- 
 
 ,,    endeavour   to    form    an 
 
 ments 
 
 <J1G 
 
 idea  of 
 
 537 
 
 ,,    pray  for  peace,  and  fo- 
 
 „    how  described     . 
 
 538 
 
 ment  discord 
 
 51-1 
 
 ,,     how  fulfilled 
 
 281 
 
 ,,     presumption  of 
 
 G99 
 
 , ,     that  of  Balaam  discussed 
 
 288 
 
 ,,     pretensions  of  prostratcil 
 
 ,,     written  after  the  event  . 
 
 420 
 
 by  Jesus  and  Buddha 
 
 C72 
 
 Prophet,  Jesus  as  a     . 
 
 525 
 
 ,,     temple  and  Molech 
 
 323 
 
 Prophets,  American  and  Jew- 
 
 „    their  intellects  not  en- 
 
 ish compared  . 
 
 338 
 
 couraged 
 
 135 
 
 ,,     and  mesmerists 
 
 522 
 
 „    their  practices  diverse    . 
 
 735 
 
 ,,     and  oracles 
 
 430 
 
 ,,     their  standing  in  Media 
 
 835 
 
 ,.     and  Pentateuch 
 
 160 
 
 „    use  the    ignorant   as   o 
 
 ,,     and  prophecy 
 
 522 
 
 weapon 
 
 231 
 
 ,,     and  punning 
 
 452 
 
 ,,     when  most  intellectual 
 
 131 
 
 „     and  Sabbaths     . 
 
 618 
 
 Primeval  man 
 
 424 
 
 ,,     compared 
 
 8 
 
 Prince  of    i>caco  rertus   ^les 
 
 ,,     false  morality  of 
 
 640 
 
 sianic    warrior 
 
 531 
 
 ,,     human 
 
 145 
 
 „     of  Wales  feathers,  Budd 
 
 ,     not  Levites 
 
 209 
 
 hist 
 
 •175 
 
 ,,     not  peculiar  to  Jews 
 
 130 
 
 Princes  in  tower 
 
 518 
 
 , ,     pray  for  penitents 
 
 610 
 
 Priucesfl,  the  celestial 
 
 2GG 
 
 ,,     promise  progeny 
 
 821 
 
 Principles  of  criticism 
 
 79 
 
 ,,     ravings  of 
 
 641 
 
 .,     of     rcligioua      doctrint 
 
 ,,     sent  to  Israel 
 
 30 
 
 double 
 
 5C1 
 
 Projiriety     in     London     and 
 
 „     male  and  female 
 
 5C5 
 
 Bombay 
 
 830 
 
1011 
 
 848 
 912 
 
 129 
 551 
 .  487 
 .  553 
 .     178 
 
 173,  179 
 .     169 
 
 177,  179 
 .  168 
 .  67 
 .     766 
 
 Prosperity  not  a  test  of  good- 
 ness 
 Protestanism    . 
 Protestants  required  to  strive 
 
 after  lioliuess 
 Prostitution  and  Baal  vrorsliip 
 and  concubinage 
 and  paint 
 
 effects  of  punishing 
 in  Berlin 
 in  Jerusalem 
 organisation  of 
 sacred 
 Protogonos 
 Prouneike 
 Proverb,  an  important  tested 
 
 847,  848 
 Providence  and  accident  .     847 
 
 Proving  a  sum  .  .     290 
 
 Pruning  knife,  a  lajTuan's       .     137 
 Psalms  do  not  refer  to  Passover  467 
 ,,     upon    pillage    of    Jeru- 
 salem 
 Ptacb 
 Ptolemy  and  Septuagint 
 
 ,,     Philadelpbus 
 Puemonus  Pupricus     . 
 Pugin,  glossary  by 
 
 ,,     quoted 
 Puhites 
 Pul        . 
 
 Pun      .... 
 Punicus 
 
 Punishment  for  sins   . 
 ,,     in  future,  idea  of  whence 
 ,,     in  Hell 
 
 ,,     of  prostitutes,  effects  of 
 ,,     vicarious 
 Punites 
 Punning 
 
 ,,    religious,  is  human 
 Puns,  essay  on  .  45C 
 
 ,,     Greek 
 ,,     Moladah,  etc. 
 „     eacred 
 Punster  and  Paul 
 
 Page  Page 
 
 Punster,  Jehovah  described  aa    455 
 Puranas  .  .  .     644 
 
 Purchas,  his  pilgrimage  .     265 
 
 Pure  religions  .  ,     473 
 
 „        ,,      become  tainted    .     474 
 Purgatorial  probation  .     657 
 
 Purgatory         .  .  .     740 
 
 ,,    Egyptian  and  Papal       .     577 
 Purity,  fire  and  lamb  .     469 
 
 Pui-ple  .  .  .801 
 
 , ,     and  Pope  .  .    539 
 
 ,,     common  amongst    poor 
 
 Jews  and  Egyptians    .    797 
 Puzzled  oracles  .  .    428 
 
 Pyrajtheia         .  .  .64 
 
 Pyramids  .  .  .239 
 
 Pyre,  funeral  sacrifices  at        .     872 
 Pyrrha  and  Deucalion  .     652 
 
 Pyrrhus,  Romans  and  oracles      428 
 Pythagoras      .  .        345,  809 
 
 ,,     for  a  schoolmaster         .    441 
 Pythagorean  fragments  .      67 
 
 406 
 
 ,,    opinion 
 
 227 
 
 368 
 
 Pythons 
 
 427 
 
 390 
 
 210 
 
 Q 
 
 724 
 
 Quacks,   medical  and  theolo- 
 
 613 
 
 gical 
 
 659 
 
 651 
 
 Quadruple  godhead  and  keys  . 
 
 191 
 
 544 
 
 Quakers            .            .        519, 
 
 573 
 
 544 
 
 Queen  Mary  of  Scotland 
 
 518 
 
 278 
 
 „     of  heaven             228,  256, 
 
 306 
 
 544 
 
 Quern  Jupiter  vult  perdere 
 
 842 
 
 754 
 
 Questions  begged  a  great  fault 
 
 591 
 
 in  theological  books 
 
 141 
 
 440 
 
 ,,         ,,     in  theology 
 
 7 
 
 178 
 
 ,,     in  sealed  papers 
 
 439 
 
 846 
 
 Quibble  by  Jesus 
 
 654 
 
 544 
 
 Quibbles,  apostolic 
 
 350 
 
 279 
 
 Quotient  how  proved  correct  . 
 
 290 
 
 465 
 
 -465 
 
 E 
 
 352 
 
 R,  the  letter     . 
 
 545 
 
 318 
 
 Ea        .            .            .        546, 
 
 608 
 
 255 
 
 Eaamah 
 
 548 
 
 454 
 
 Eabbah 
 
 277 
 
1012 
 
 r««e 
 
 P*«e 
 
 BabbiAkiba 
 
 528 
 
 Bebocca 
 
 651 
 
 Babfthakeh 
 
 &48 
 
 ,,     and  tho  oraclu 
 
 428 
 
 Baoe  a  blessod  and  earsed  one 
 
 109 
 
 Bechabites  and  Kcnites 
 
 1R3 
 
 „     choHon,  its   pretensions 
 
 Ilocitation  of  faith  in  prayer  . 
 
 608 
 
 examined 
 
 63 
 
 BecordB  of  E(j[,vpt 
 
 95 
 
 „    missionary 
 
 310 
 
 „     silent  as  to  Jews 
 
 96 
 
 Bachol                                   4A8, 
 
 648 
 
 Bod  and  bhtck 
 
 2G5 
 
 Badiaut   fcatnres   inferior    to 
 
 ,.     a  sacred  colour  . 
 
 422 
 
 murder 
 
 344 
 
 ,,     dye  and  ramskins 
 
 797, 
 
 799 
 
 Bags  of  falsity  disfigure  truth 
 
 6C8 
 
 ,,     white  and  blue  . 
 
 664 
 
 Baimcnt   for  young  Jews    in 
 
 lif duetto  ad  absurdum 
 
 142, 
 
 151 
 
 wilderness 
 
 94 
 
 Rtelaiah 
 
 651 
 
 ,,     Bcmpitomal 
 
 795 
 
 Bcformers   the,    admired 
 
 not 
 
 Bain  bought  bv  slaughter 
 
 633 
 
 emulated 
 
 6 
 
 Baj       .            .            .            . 
 
 647 
 
 ,,    variously  judged 
 
 41. 
 
 664 
 
 Bajahpootanah 
 
 173 
 
 Bogom 
 
 552 
 
 Bajahs  and  Jewish  kings 
 
 211 
 
 Ropeneratod,  man 
 
 271 
 
 Bamescs 
 
 20 
 
 liegion,   a  supi>oscd  one 
 
 de- 
 
 Bamolh 
 
 648 
 
 scribed 
 
 600 
 
 Bams  and  bullocks  Bcren 
 
 288 
 
 Regret  for  discovery  of  truth  . 
 
 606 
 
 Bamsav  on  the  trumpet 
 
 874 
 
 Begulations    for    health 
 
 ne- 
 
 Bapo  of  Sabinos 
 
 699 
 
 glccted 
 
 692 
 
 Bapha 
 
 649 
 
 Rehabiah 
 
 . 
 
 552 
 
 Baphael 
 
 650 
 
 Rehoboam 
 
 49 
 
 652 
 
 Baponi's  gems 
 
 492 
 
 Rokem 
 
 . 
 
 653 
 
 Bapping  tables 
 
 434 
 
 It<  lie  iiiul  Hf .-.  kiah 
 
 860. 
 
 361 
 
 Baups,    Tipcm,    and    philoso- 
 
 lUligiuij  (1  I'rutcMH 
 
 684 
 
 phen 
 
 C88 
 
 ,,     a  solemn  sham,  when    . 
 
 132 
 
 Bat«  daily  of  births  of  Jews  in 
 
 ,     and  iM?aco 
 
 211 
 
 Egypt 
 
 92 
 
 ,     based  upon  what 
 
 661 
 
 Bationalist,  his  life  sketched  . 
 
 C03 
 
 ,     becomes  corrupt 
 
 474 
 
 Ravings  of  Prophets    . 
 
 641 
 
 books  on  Jewish  lost 
 
 88 
 
 BawUnson 
 
 G08 
 
 ,     built  upon  puns 
 
 465 
 
 ,,     ancient  monarr>bios 
 
 829 
 
 ,     common  ideas  of 
 
 667 
 
 „     on  Ari                    vlon    . 
 
 891 
 
 .    >  of     . 
 
 661 
 
 „     on  Hit 
 
 498 
 
 (1.1  in 
 
 660 
 
 ,,     on  Job    .                     2ftS 
 
 7n 
 
 .1  o( 
 
 911 
 
 Stadeth.  interpretation  of  the 
 
 1  •     i:ot  sanctify  war    . 
 
 831 
 
 word 
 
 r..Tj 
 
 EiO'ptian     and     parga- 
 
 144 
 
 tor)- 
 
 sn 
 
 ,,     and  faith 
 
 803 
 
 cnrounM^  ferocity 
 
 667 
 
 ■      M  y  phyrioians  and 
 
 esxav  ou 
 
 664 
 
 655 
 
 •.- 
 
 137 
 
 f<>»tl4'ni  strife 
 
 658 
 
 U  MfK'in 
 
 064 
 
 fruit*  of  Irfited 
 
 k  prtc*lly  niggMt«d  . 
 
 8 
 
 63.  67,  69.  Al,  62,  64 
 
 188 
 
 l 
 
 S50 
 
 Qroeiao  and  Boman 
 
 66 
 
1013 
 
 Religion,  Hindoo  compared  with 
 
 Jewish  and  Christian  .  567 
 ,,     how  is  the  true  one  to 
 
 be  demonstrated  ,  557 
 how  not  made  divine  .  146 
 how  to  be  judged  .  145 
 ideas  of  Modes  and  Chris- 
 tians about  .  .  834 
 improyement  in  required  133 
 in  David's  kingdom  .  84 
 natural  and  revealed  .  584 
 not  to  be  thought  over  .  235 
 of  Hindoos  .  .  563 
 of  Jews  and  others  .  310 
 of  0.  T.  examined  .  53 
 of  Socrates  and  Plato  .  68 
 opinions  of  the  few  and 
 
 many  thereupon       809-811 
 
 passion  and  sin              .  176 
 practically  disbelieved  by 
 
 its  teachers 
 problems  in 
 pure  originally    , 
 Eoman  examined 
 taught  in  youth 
 truth  in  concealed 
 universelle  by  Dubois     . 
 wars  about  make  men 
 
 .  75 
 150,  151 
 .  473 
 65,  71 
 .  112 
 .  137 
 500 
 
 Rehgiosity 
 
 ReUgious  and  irreligious 
 
 ,,     changes 
 
 ,,    history  of  Author 
 
 ,,     idleness 
 
 ,,     infanticide 
 
 ,,     insurrections 
 
 ,,     orgies 
 
 ,,     policy   of  England  and 
 Rome     . 
 
 , ,     wars  in  Europe     . 
 Remaliah 
 Renaudot 
 
 Reparation  and  pardon 
 Repentance  and  reparation 
 Eephaim 
 Representatives  of  the  sun 
 
 235 
 810 
 561 
 49 
 559 
 129 
 323 
 663 
 562 
 
 81 
 82 
 568 
 168 
 421 
 421 
 549 
 781 
 
 Resemblance  in  Grecian,  Egyp- 
 tian and  Hindoo  ideas  .  567 
 Responses,  oracular  429,  431 
 Rest  unnatural  on  Sunday  .  587 
 Restitution  .  .  ,  421 
 Restoration  of  Jews  and  poli- 
 tical deluge  .  .  308 
 Results  of  prophetic  immora- 
 
 hty      .             •             .  542 
 
 ,,     of  social  evil      .             .  177 
 
 ,,     test  prayer  .  .512 
 
 Resurrection,  Egyptian  idea  of  271 
 
 , ,     of  the  body  an  Etruscan 
 
 behef                .             .  876 
 
 ,,    strange  notion  of            .  654 
 Reuben            .            .            .569 
 
 Revelation  and  adultery          .  518 
 
 , ,     and  Jews             .            .  309 
 
 ,,     and  platitudes                 .  517 
 
 ,,     and  social  laws  •              .  583 
 
 ,,     causes  of  suspicion        .  573 
 
 ,,     credibility  of  assertor     .  574 
 
 ,,     dilemma  respecting        .  577 
 ,,     discordant           .            .556 
 
 ,,     disregarded  by  legislators  604 
 ,,     essay  on              .         570-606 
 
 ,,     gives  opposite  results     .  581 
 
 ,,     gives  rise  to  squabbles   .  579 
 
 , ,     nature  of  Jewish             .  576 
 ,,     probability,   nature   and 
 
 characters  of                .  572 
 , ,     requires  infallible  inter- 
 preters             .            .  584 
 ,,     simdry  objections        583-584 
 ,,     to  apostles  not  believed  575 
 ,,     to  Buddha  and  Jesus      .  573 
 ,,     ?;e?'sits  natiu'al  history    .  574 
 Revenge,  eternal          .            .  336 
 Reverence     for    a      preacher 
 
 tested  .  .  .  517 
 ,,  for  God  universal  .  556 
 Revolutions  cause  of  .  662 
 Revolving  prayers  .  .  203 
 Rewards  and  punishment  Jew- 
 ish ideas  of  .  .  846 
 Rex  and  Regina           .            .  547 
 
1014 
 
 Page 
 Ehapsody  of  Micah  .     286 
 
 Ebea  .  228,  608,  785 
 
 Ehenisli    robbers    and    early 
 
 Jews  compared       .  •      57 
 
 Ebodanim        .  •  •     G06 
 
 Ebodians  .  .  .608 
 
 Ebyraed  oracle  .  .431 
 
 Ei  256,  547,  608,  609,  784 
 
 Ei-Marduk  .  •     256 
 
 Eib       .  .  .  .     610 
 
 Eiddance  and  Molecb  .     320 
 
 Eifies,  bows,  and  gods  .     194 
 
 Eigbts  of  man  .  .     605 
 
 Eimmon  .  .  .     611 
 
 Eing  money     .  .  .     230 
 
 Eings  of  gold  .  .     795 
 
 Eipbatb  .  .  .613 
 
 Eisen  saints  .  .     305 
 
 Eitual,  Egyptian,  for  the  dead 
 
 57,  271 
 Elvers,  sacred  .  .     239 
 
 Eobbery  justified         .  .     333 
 
 Eobes,  spotted  •  769-774 
 
 Eobespierre  .  .     879 
 
 Eock,  movable  .  .      93 
 
 Eocks  may  be  crushed  .     571 
 
 „     testimony  of       .  .     574 
 
 Eoman  alphabet  in  New  Zea- 
 land .  .167 
 ,,     Catholics    indulge  idle- 
 ness in  religion  .     129 
 ,,     dupes                   .        443,  445 
 ,,     ladies  and  abortion         .     322 
 ,,     miracles              .  .     296 
 ,,    temples               .            .     175 
 Eomance  in  history  .     356 
 Eomanists  and  Isis  .     267 
 Eomans  and  Americans  .     733 
 ,,     and  keys              .  .     192 
 ,,    in  Palestine,  and    Bar- 
 
 cochba  .  .     530 
 
 „     Pyrrhus,  and  oracle       .     428 
 
 Eome  .  .  .     411 
 
 ,,     ancient,  and  religion      .     811 
 
 ,,     and    Jerusalem,   pillage 
 
 of  compared  .     416 
 
 Page 
 
 Rome  more   importaaj  than 
 
 Caesar                        .  560 
 
 ,,     sacred  shields  ol           .  366 
 
 Eomulus  and  Numa              .  599 
 
 Eosaries  and  Lamas              .  203 
 
 Eossellini  and  trumpe          .  374 
 
 ,,     on  name  Pharac           .  479 
 
 Eoyalty  to  have  licem  eg  sin  44 
 
 Eoyle,Dr.         .                      •  250 
 
 Eudder  an  emblem                 .  495 
 
 Eude  nations  and  pritts         .  131 
 
 Eule  of  action  for  mai           .  605 
 Eules,  strange,  for  inttpreting 
 
 prophecy                           .  535 
 
 Eussians  and  serfs                •  249 
 
 ,,     their  serfs                     •  486 
 
 Euth                .                      •  419 
 
 Eutillianus  a  devoixt  aman  .  441 
 
 S 
 S  .  .  .613 
 
 Sabbath  .     505r>14-627,  863 
 
 ,,     a  human  ordiuice         .     589 
 ,,     a  Jewish  instir.ion 
 
 1S0I315-627,  853 
 
 ,,     a  lucky  day       .  .     864 
 
 ,,    an  abominatioito  God       659 
 
 ,,     and  misery  614,627 
 
 , ,     and  new  mocn  .     370 
 
 ,,     and  Solomon     45,  617,  758 
 
 , ,     and  stoning  .     604 
 
 ,,     and  strong  drix  .     736 
 
 ,,     breaking  .     623 
 
 ,,     dedicated  to  Sturn    372,498 
 
 ,,     essay  on  .  614-627 
 
 ,,     how  to  be  kep  .     623 
 
 ,,     miseries  of  a  ritish      .     514 
 
 ,,    not  kept  by  srmals      .    587 
 
 ,,     not  kept  by  Ldstians       625 
 
 ,,     variously  estcaed        .     580 
 
 ,,    versus  self-pservation      589 
 
 Sabeanism  .  •     727 
 
 ,,     and  Moses        .  •     628 
 
 ,,     Jews  ignoraiiof  •     162 
 
 Sabeans  .         •        627,  630 
 
 Sabhadra  .         .  .567 
 
1015 
 
 Sabines,  rape  of 
 
 Sacerdotal  education 
 
 Sack  of  Jerusalem  by  Greeks, 
 
 etc.  .  402,  418, 
 
 Sacred  books  .        227 
 
 cakes 
 names 
 
 plate  of  Jerusalem 
 prostitution 
 shields 
 
 writings  require  to  be  re- 
 modeled 
 '>        >>         to     be     tested 
 alike 
 Sacrifice  .  us,  310, 
 
 ,,     Abraham's     and     A"a- 
 
 103, 
 
 be- 
 321, 
 
 630- 
 
 memnon's 
 ,,     amongst  Persians 
 ,,     and  common  sense 
 ,,     and  salvation 
 ,,    animals  for,   killed 
 
 fore  burning 
 ,,     at  funerals 
 ,,     bloody,  in  religion 
 ,,     essay  on 
 ,,     from  policy 
 ..     liuge 
 ,,     human 
 
 100,  103,  101,  130,  287, 
 „     of  children         .        323, 
 ,,     of  hair 
 „     of  the  dead 
 ,,     practice  of,  common 
 ,,     Socrates  on 
 ,,     imbloody 
 
 ,,    what  the  idea  involves  . 
 Sactas 
 Sacteya 
 Sacti  .    641-G52,  693, 
 
 Page 
 599 
 110 
 
 678 
 856 
 394 
 629 
 409 
 168 
 365 
 
 337 
 
 146 
 
 815 
 
 104 
 
 63 
 
 163 
 
 635 
 
 875 
 872 
 565 
 641 
 877 
 759 
 
 ,,     signs  of 
 
 Sadducees 
 
 Sadyk 
 
 Saints  and  angels 
 ,,     and  misery 
 ,,     and  sparrows 
 ,,     and  stars 
 
 648, 
 
 318 
 791 
 791 
 272 
 130 
 68 
 722 
 638 
 642 
 647 
 
 924 
 
 649 
 
 654 
 
 2G9 
 71 
 
 562 
 
 596 
 
 897 
 
 Page 
 503 
 305 
 897 
 175 
 602 
 
 295 
 511 
 186 
 752 
 374 
 338 
 
 .  852 
 .  747 
 .  635 
 .  558 
 .  312 
 652-676 
 676 
 
 Saints  and  wolves 
 , ,     arise 
 
 ,,     days  and  Sundays 
 „    female  .        igs, 
 
 , ,     have  very  sinful  children 
 ,,    Januarius,   Cosmo,  and 
 Damian 
 
 ,,    papal,  their  prayer  power 
 Saivas  in  Palestine     . 
 Salem 
 Salpiugx 
 Salt  Lake  City 
 
 ,,     meat,     dysentery,     and 
 
 dissipation 
 ,,     sea  . 
 
 Salvation  and  sacrifice 
 ,,     and  sectarianism 
 ,,    denied  to  Gentiles 
 ,,     essay  on 
 „     how  to  be  attained 
 ,,     of  England,  and  a  maid 
 
 servant  .  .518 
 
 ,,     to  be  worked  out  ,     673 
 
 „    undertaken  by  professors   661 
 
 Salverte  quoted  .        029  926 
 
 Samaria  .  .  .     (jyg 
 
 ,,     and  Judea  ,  .     283 
 
 ,,     and  Westminster  abbey     410 
 
 ,.     essay  on  .        676-679 
 
 ,,     sack  of  .  .     678 
 
 Samaritans  and  Jews  opposed    312 
 
 „    fraternise  .  .     529 
 
 Samson  .  .         679-689 
 
 ,,    see  Story 
 Samuel  .  .         419,689 
 
 ,,     Alcibiadcs,  and  Caesar    .     170 
 ,,     and    Alexander      when 
 
 joung  ,  .     435 
 
 ,,    and  Alfred  compared      .    690 
 „     and  Nana  Sahib  .       54 
 
 ,,     compared    to     Chinese 
 
 executioners  .     519 
 
 ,,     comlition    of    Israel    in 
 
 his  time  .       28 
 
 ,,     morality  of         .  .     332 
 
 ,,     vindictive  .     540 
 
1016 
 
 Sanchez     De    Sancto    Matri- 
 monii S'\ 
 Sanchoniatbon  197, 
 
 Sanctified  for  sin 
 Sanhedrim    revived    by    Bar- 
 
 cochba 
 Sanscrit  derivation  of  "phal- 
 lus "... 
 Sar  =  king 
 Sarah 
 
 „    and  Abraham 
 Saraph 
 
 Sardinia  and  schools 
 Satan 
 
 ,,     a  fipnre  of  speech 
 
 „     and  Abriman 
 
 ,,     and  bell 
 
 , ,     and  Jehovah  identical !  698. 
 
 ,,     essay  on  .         696- 
 
 „     incarnate 
 Saturday,   Saturn's    day   and 
 
 Sabbatb      . 
 Saturn's  day    . 
 
 ,,    why  sanctified  by  Jews  . 
 Saturn  .  .        372, 
 
 ,,     and  Bible  God    . 
 
 ,,     Sabbath,  suu,  and  Sun- 
 day 
 
 ,,     the  most  high  planet 
 Saturnalia 
 
 SatjTS  .     214,  218,  703- 
 
 Saul  and  his  concubine 
 
 ,,     and    his    sons    burned 
 before  burial 
 
 ,,    of  great  stature 
 Saviour  .  258,  652 
 
 Sayings  of  Christ  ignored 
 Scald  sancta 
 
 Bcape-goat  .  704- 
 
 Sceptics  not  so  unfortunate  as 
 
 they  are  thought 
 Schemes  for  jiroviug  a  religion 
 
 true 
 Bchlagintwcit 
 
 BchoolinaHtcrs  hate^l  by  child- 
 ren 
 
 Page  P«g» 
 
 Schools    of   prophets,     what 
 
 912           taught  in                 .             .  520 
 232     Scientific  commissions  versus 
 
 168           sacrifice                               .  634 
 
 Scipio's  dream             .  825 
 531     Scortation,    names    of    those 
 
 practising                .            .  487 
 473     Scotch    oppose    cholera   with 
 479                  prayer     and     neglect 
 
 693  cleanhness                   .  512 
 899         M     regiments  and  giants  424 
 
 694  Scotchmen  prefer  a  miserable 
 19G  religion  .  562 
 640  Scotia  and  night  .  382 
 698  Scotland  and  Almighty's  wrath  153 
 832  M  and  England  fought  for 
 823  religion  82 
 743         ,,     and  Sunday  587 
 
 -703         M     forecast  respecting         .  538 
 
 218     Scott  and  Shakespeare            .  158 
 
 Scott's  basis  of  a  new  reforma- 
 372  tion  .  .  .138 
 
 372     Screech  owl  .212 
 
 504     Scriptures  and  papal  legends  .  680 
 
 498         n     collection  of        .            .  136 
 
 640         t.     holy,  abound  with  puns  451 
 
 ,,     Jewish,  despised  by  out- 
 
 863                  siJers              .            .  390 
 
 504         I.     various,   appraised  .  76 
 469         .1     written    differently    for 
 -704                  the  wise  and  the  vul- 
 
 489                   gar                    .             .  413 
 
 Scrupulosity,  religious             .  837 
 
 Scythians  and  Hyksos             .  483 
 424         ,1     expert  in  use  of  bow  and 
 
 -672                  forging  weapons  484 
 
 133     Sea,  islands  of  404 
 
 302      Sealed  letters  read                    •  439 
 
 -710     Seals  on  clay                             .  193 
 
 Secouil       dispensation       and 
 
 658           faulty   first                          .  350 
 
 „     sight                                 .  520 
 
 557          „     time,  a                              .  728 
 
 475      Secret  books  for  the  wise  413 
 
 Sectarianism  and  salvation     .  558 
 
 688         ,,     encouraged  in  the  pulpit  514 
 
1017 
 
 Sects  tested 
 
 ,,    various,  appraised 
 Seers 
 Seirira 
 Selden 
 
 Page 
 676 
 559 
 520 
 213 
 269 
 
 Self-complacency  of  saints     .     601 
 ,,     preservation  versus  Sab- 
 bath    .  .  .589 
 Sellon                .            .        476,  646 
 Semele,  her  son            .  .     786 
 Seneca              .            .            .     228 
 Sense  and  superstition            .     153 
 ,,     common,  versus  theology    852 
 ,,     non-natural    and     pro- 
 
 pliecy  .  .     534 
 
 Sensual  and  mental  attractions  286 
 „     worship     of    Jews    and 
 
 results  .        321-322 
 
 Sensuahty  and  asceticism       .     313 
 ,,     and  orthodoxy  .     345 
 
 „    fostered  by  war  .       61 
 
 Sensuous  versus   sexual  wor- 
 ship .  .  .515 
 Sentence,  a  test  one  .     539 
 Sentiment  one  basis  of  law     .     592 
 Septuagint                    .             .     156 
 ,,     and  Balaam         .             .     288 
 ,,     Job,    and  the   resurrec- 
 tion                 .             .     578 
 Seraphim         .            .            .     696 
 Seraphs  and  serpents              .     393 
 Serf  spouses                .            .    486 
 Sermon,  anecdote  of  a             .     143 
 ,,     on  the  mount  epitomised  672 
 Serpent            .            .        227,  710 
 ,,     a  tamed  one        .            .     436 
 ,,     an  emblem         .        497,  647 
 ,,     and  seraph          .             .     393 
 ,,     eats  dust             .             .     315 
 „     essay  on             .          710-713 
 ,,     fictitious              .             .     437 
 ,,     in  Persian  mythology    .     832 
 Servants  and  concubines        .     486 
 Sesostris           .             .  18-23 
 Sets,  two,  of  Jewish  books     .     129 
 Settlers  and  slaughter             .     594 
 
 Seven  ,  288,  388,  862 
 
 , ,     and  Sabbath  .     505 
 
 ,,     and  sevens         .  .     866 
 
 ,,     and  sevens,  their  testi- 
 mony .  .    466 
 ,,    bullocks  and  rams         .     288 
 ,,     days' prayer        .             .     787 
 Severianus  and  oracle             .    440 
 Severus  Julius              .             .     534 
 Sexes  in  creation          .        764-765 
 Sexual    emblems    widely    re- 
 spected            .            .     643 
 ,,    ideas  in  rehgion             .     813 
 ,,     instincts              .             .     171 
 ,,         ,,     produce  fighting    .     172 
 Shaidim,  children  sacrificed  to     101 
 Shakespeare  and  Scott            .     158 
 ,,     beaten  by  Jews  in  curs- 
 ing                   .             .     844 
 ,,     discussed            .            .       10 
 Shallowness   of  clerical  argu- 
 ments         .            .            .     516 
 Shalmaneser                .            .     284 
 Shams               .             ,             .     137 
 ,,     for  sacrifice                     .     722 
 Sharpe's  Egypt            .            .     887 
 Shedding  of  blood                    .     637 
 Sheen  of  Moses'  face              .     344 
 Shemeber         .            .            .     689 
 Shemida           ...             .     689 
 Shepherd  Kings  of  Egypt        .      95 
 Shewbread              .         42,  719-725 
 Shiloh                .            .         725-730 
 Shilshah           .             .             .     882 
 Shimei              .             .             .     689 
 Shinar              .            .            ,     752 
 Ship  and  Venus            .             .     910 
 ,,     navis,  ark,  and  anchor       367 
 Shishak  and  Jerusalem         30,  412 
 Shop  opposition           .             .     286 
 Shops  in  the  desert                 .     795 
 Sheep  and  deer            .             .     585 
 "  Shrines  and  sepulchres  "     .     871 
 ,,    which  best  paid              .     286 
 Sicilian  arms,  the  three  legs  .    250 
 "  Sick  man,"  the         .             .     155 
 
 z  z  z 
 
1018 
 
 Bidon  mentioned  by  Homer    . 
 
 Sidouians  and  cedars 
 
 Signets 
 
 Silence  of  the  Bible  as  sigui- 
 ficaut  as  its  speech         570, 
 
 Silk  ... 
 
 Silly  people  encourage  impos- 
 ture 
 
 Silver  age  of  Hebrew 
 
 Similarity   in   description    of 
 God  and  Devil 
 ,,    in  style  of  Jewish  -writ- 
 ings    . 
 ,,     of    names  and    stories, 
 effects  of 
 
 Simon  Magus 
 
 Sin 
 ,,     a  relative  word 
 „     against  God  examined  . 
 ,,     and  death 
 ,,     appraised 
 ,,     appraised  variously 
 ,,    converted  into  virtue 
 ,,    expiated  by  human  sac- 
 rifice 
 „     of  fathers  and  offspring  . 
 M    original 
 
 „     religion,  and  passion 
 ,,     varies  with  nations 
 
 Sinai  .  .        598, 
 
 ,,     and  Moses 
 
 Sincerity      of    prayer,    when 
 doubtful 
 
 Singapore  and  Palestine 
 
 "  Sister  let  thy  sorrows  cease" 
 
 Sisters  of  mercy  miserable 
 
 Sistrum  ,  .        37G, 
 
 Siva  .     f)0,  200,  223, 
 
 „     a  favourite  god  31'),   173, 
 ,,     and  Bun 
 
 ,,     Satan,  and  Jehovah 
 ,,     the  terrible         .        280, 
 Sixth     commandment    habi- 
 tually violated 
 Sketching  preferable  to  elabo- 
 ration 
 
 Pago 
 
 Page 
 
 18 
 
 Slaughter  and  murder 
 
 , 
 
 594 
 
 188 
 
 , ,     of  Jews  under  Barcochba 
 
 534 
 
 800 
 
 Slave  consorts 
 
 249 
 
 486 
 
 ,,     states  of  America 
 
 , 
 
 248 
 
 G20 
 
 Slaves,  lions,  masters,  lambs 
 
 282 
 
 804 
 
 Sliding  scale  in  rehgion 
 
 760 
 
 Slings  and  bows 
 
 194 
 
 •186 
 
 M     as  weapons 
 
 188 
 
 101 
 
 Slippers,  leaden,  in  heU 
 
 440 
 
 Small  feet,  Chinese 
 
 16 
 
 039 
 
 Smith  Adam,  and  Solomon    . 
 ,,     Joe,     Brigham    Young, 
 
 702 
 
 159 
 
 and  Dr.  Gumming 
 
 , 
 
 540 
 
 Smoking  furnace  an  emblem 
 
 353 
 
 of  God 
 
 309 
 
 233 
 
 Snails  eaten,  why 
 
 , 
 
 252 
 
 730 
 
 Social  evil 
 
 171 
 
 177 
 
 740 
 
 Socrates 
 
 502 
 
 809 
 
 586 
 
 ,,     andElohim 
 
 , 
 
 07 
 
 706 
 
 ,,     and  priests 
 
 , 
 
 132 
 
 588 
 
 Sodom 
 
 747 
 
 -755 
 
 62 
 
 „    Lot,  and  wine 
 
 316 
 
 739 
 
 Sodomites 
 
 30 
 
 „    and  consecration 
 
 . 
 
 169 
 
 319 
 
 Soi  disant  ministers  of  God    . 
 
 562 
 
 846 
 
 Soldiers  and  priests 
 
 211 
 
 741 
 
 ,,     of  David 
 
 117 
 
 170 
 
 Solomon 
 
 755, 
 
 703 
 
 737 
 
 ,,     a  bad  ruler 
 
 708 
 
 842 
 
 ,,     a  lawmaker 
 
 48 
 
 341 
 
 ,,     a  peaceful  king 
 
 29 
 
 , ,     a  tj-rant 
 
 49, 
 
 101 
 
 514 
 
 „     Abishag,  and  Adonijah 
 
 489 
 
 203 
 
 ,,     and  Adam  Smith 
 
 762 
 
 503 
 
 ,,     and  David 
 
 152 
 
 562 
 
 ,,     and  Napoleon 
 
 99 
 
 743 
 
 „     did   not  regard    Jewish 
 
 924 
 
 festivals 
 
 419 
 
 505 
 
 ,,     his  decadence 
 
 41 
 
 2:58 
 
 ,,     his  faith 
 
 45 
 
 098 
 
 ,,     his  shield 
 
 300 
 
 319 
 
 ,,     his  wealth 
 
 46 
 
 , ,    knew  nothing  of  Sabbath 
 
 594 
 
 617, 
 
 758 
 
 ,,     riato,  and  Confucius 
 
 761 
 
 506 
 
 „    song  of 
 
 761 
 
1019 
 
 Page 
 829,   831 
 
 Song  of  Solomon         .  .     761 
 
 Soothsayers      .  .  .     815 
 
 Soothsaying  and  Spinoza        .     211 
 Sophia  .  .        644,  763 
 
 ScoTTjp  Kocr/tou 
 
 258 
 
 Soul  and  man 
 
 171 
 
 „     Christian      idea     of     a 
 
 damned  one 
 
 336 
 
 ,,     distilled  from  the  body 
 
 320 
 
 ,,     Grecian  ideas  of 
 
 69 
 
 Souls  and  bodies 
 
 655 
 
 Southey            .             .         163, 
 
 241 
 
 ,,     his  "  Curse  of  Kehama  " 
 
 880 
 
 Sow,  why  symbolic 
 
 457 
 
 Space,  matter,  and  time 
 
 564 
 
 Spain  and  Peru 
 
 595 
 
 ,,     its  religious  policy 
 
 82 
 
 Spanish  magistrates 
 
 235 
 
 ,,     the,  in  New  World 
 
 595 
 
 ,,     the,  Mexicans,  and  Peru- 
 
 vians compared 
 
 837 
 
 Sparrows  and  infanticide 
 
 589 
 
 ,,    and  saints 
 
 596 
 
 Spectres 
 
 212 
 
 Spencer 
 
 228 
 
 ,,     De  legihus 
 
 246 
 
 Spenser's  Faery  Queen 
 
 207 
 
 Spheres,  music  of 
 
 826 
 
 Spices  at  sepulchres 
 
 873 
 
 Spider  kUls  her  mate 
 
 172 
 
 Spinoza           .            •    51,  211 
 
 ,467 
 
 Spirit,    lamb's    wife,    virgin. 
 
 Venus,  and  wisdom     . 
 
 909 
 
 „     of  God  not  to  be  coerced 
 
 519 
 
 „     rapping 
 
 131 
 
 Spirits  to  be  tested 
 
 8 
 
 Spiritual  enthusiasts  . 
 
 16 
 
 ,,     fire 
 
 336 
 
 Spiritualists 
 
 427 
 
 Spot,  a  damning  one  in  cur- 
 
 rent religions 
 
 560 
 
 Spots  on  celestial  truth       516 
 
 ,  769 
 
 ,,     sjTnbolic 
 
 458 
 
 Spotted  Bamoth 
 
 771 
 
 ,,     robes 
 
 458 
 
 Spouse  of  God  .  .     256 
 
 Spouses  congregational  .     285 
 
 Spring,  phenomena  during     .     777 
 
 Squaws  and  Sji'ians  .       23 
 
 Squires  sent  to  hell  by  parsons     336 
 
 Sraosha  .  .  .    830 
 
 St.  Giles  .  .  .363 
 
 St.  Dennis  is  Bacchus  .     379 
 
 St.  Peter's  .  .     449 
 
 Staff,  and  serpents      .  .     493 
 
 ,,     of  a  prophet        •  .     493 
 
 Standard  bearers  fainting        .         7 
 
 Standards  of  goodness  .     330 
 
 Star-gazers  .  .     162 
 
 „    lucky       .  .  .269 
 
 ,,     light  nights        .  .     328 
 
 ,,     of  Jacob  and  Barcochba     529 
 
 Stars  .  .  .775 
 
 State   church,    its   deplorable 
 
 condition  .  .134 
 
 ,,     the     British,    promotes 
 
 disease,  etc.     .  .     174 
 
 Statesmen,    missionaries  and 
 
 Jews  .  .  .308 
 
 Statutes  of  David         •         45,  348 
 
 SteaUng  .  .  .595 
 
 Stephen  .  .  .     520 
 
 Stereotyping  in  Thibet  .     204 
 
 Sticks  gathered  on  Sabbath     .     624 
 
 Stobseus  .  .  .69 
 
 Stole  .  .  .916 
 
 Stones  black  gods         .  .     263 
 
 ,,     oiled  and  adored  .     441 
 
 ,,     used  in  building  crushed    571 
 
 Stoning  and  Sabbath  .     604 
 
 Stories,  duration  of     .  .     167 
 
 „     exaggeration  in  .       48 
 
 ,,     Hebrew  and  Pagan         .     122 
 
 ,,  ,,     distrusted  .       57 
 
 ,,     in  history  .  .     147 
 
 ,,     Eoman  and  Christian     .       74 
 
 ,,     similarity  in        .  .     385 
 
 „     woven  around  names  460,  464 
 
 Story  how  to  be  appraised       .     339 
 
 „     of  Balaam  .        290,  684 
 
 „     of  Eden  .  .     742 
 
1020 
 
 Page 
 Story  of  flood  .     386 
 
 „     of  Isrixel  in  Egypt        417-420 
 ,,     of  Jerusalem       .  .       34 
 
 „     of  Lot     .  316,  750-752 
 
 ,,     of  Lot,  Esaa,  Jacob,  and 
 
 Amalek,  date  of 
 
 420 
 
 ,,     of  Moses 
 
 339 
 
 ,,     of  Naamau 
 
 355 
 
 ,,     of  Noah 
 
 385 
 
 ,,     of  Passover 
 
 466 
 
 ,,     of  Samson           .          680 
 
 -689 
 
 „     of  Sinai  and  the  calf 
 
 342 
 
 ,,     of  the  Exodus     .            92,  94 
 
 ,,     of  the  temptation 
 
 807 
 
 Strange  rules  for  interpreting 
 
 predictions 
 
 535 
 
 ,,     women 
 
 248 
 
 ,,          ,,     and  domestics 
 
 486 
 
 Strangers 
 
 247 
 
 ,,     and  angels 
 
 219 
 
 Strength    physical    of    people 
 
 proves  orthodoxy  of  priests 
 
 136 
 
 Strife,  in  David's  kingdom 
 
 84 
 
 ,,     promoted  by  religion     75 
 
 558 
 
 Striving  after  holiness 
 
 129 
 
 Strong  men  described 
 
 682 
 
 Stunting  the  intellect 
 
 135 
 
 Style  of  Jewish  books          158, 
 
 415 
 
 ,,     of    religion  and    man's 
 
 moods 
 
 562 
 
 ,,     of  Shakespeare 
 
 160 
 
 "Stylo  old" 
 
 865 
 
 Sibstitutc  for  Biicrificcs 
 
 637 
 
 Substitution  of  oracles 
 
 440 
 
 Success  in  study,  kicks  in  world 
 
 686 
 
 ,,     missionary  appraised 
 
 314 
 
 Successive  births 
 
 60 
 
 Succotb  Bcnoth 
 
 471 
 
 Succubi 
 
 218 
 
 Sudden  inspiration  of  quakcrs 
 
 519 
 
 Suidas 
 
 395 
 
 Summary 
 
 151 
 
 Sun  a  destroying  agent 
 
 320 
 
 ,,    and  fire 
 
 320 
 
 „     and  moon 
 
 825 
 
 ,.     uud  Siva 
 
 238 
 
 Page 
 
 Sun  and  Syria              .            .  784 
 
 „     its  Hebrew  name            .  501 
 
 ,,     kept  awake  by  music      .  380 
 
 „     Sabbath  and  Sunday       .  863 
 
 ,,     up  and  down       .             .  327 
 
 Sunday  (see  also  Sabbath)  614 
 
 ,,     a  lucky  day         .  864 
 
 ,,     and  Christians    .             .  504 
 
 ,,     not  kept  by  crows           .  587 
 
 „     Palm                    .             .  449 
 
 ,,     sun's  day             .             .  372 
 
 Sundial  .  .162 
 
 ,,     Hezekiah  and  Isaiah  900 
 
 Sunrise  in  winter         .             .  372 
 
 Superfluous  offspring,  disposal 
 
 of  .  .        323,  588 
 
 Supernatural  conception          .  518 
 
 Superstition  and  sense            .  153 
 
 Supremacy  the  aim  of  priests  558 
 
 Supreme,  the                .            .  696 
 
 Supper,  Lord's             .            .  536 
 
 Supply  and  demand                 .  426 
 
 Suppression  avoided  by  author  506 
 ,,    of  truth  amongst   hier- 
 
 archs                 .             .  4 
 Surgeons,  damsels,  and  babies  518 
 Surya                .                          .784 
 Swan,  a  symbol            .            .  565 
 Swearing  with  hand  on  phallus  476 
 Swiss  guards                             .  482 
 Sword  worshijiped        ,             .  185 
 Swords  Jewish  of  bronze         .  189 
 ,,     of  Levites,  whence  pro- 
 cured                           .  343 
 Sybil  Cumeau  261 
 Sybils                .                         .  234 
 Symbol  of  all  seer       .            .  546 
 ,,     the  swan  a          .            .  665 
 Symbolic  keys                            .192 
 ,,     spots                                 .  458 
 Sj-mbols,  certain,  explained  647 
 ,,     onumorati'd        .             .  455 
 ,,     how  constituted              .  913 
 „     of  phallus             476,  493-497 
 „     of  Venus                           .  910 
 Syria  and  sun  784 
 
1021 
 
 Syriac  and  Hebrew  tongues 
 Syrian  goddess 
 
 ,,     gods,  and  Ahaz 
 Syrians,  and  Gauls 
 
 ,,     squaws,  and  Sesostris 
 
 Page 
 357 
 784 
 283 
 446 
 23 
 
 Systrum  (see  Sistrum) 
 ,,     and  looking-glass 
 
 T 
 T  .  .  . 
 
 Tabernacle,  essay  on  the 
 
 ,,     of  congregation 
 Tabernacles,  feast  of 
 Table  and  couch  of  Bel 
 , ,     turniuf' 
 
 221,  494 
 .  228 
 
 650,  744 
 793-802 
 .  226 
 .  470 
 .  722 
 .  434 
 
 Tableaux  vivans  and  Alexander  444 
 Tactics,  mihtary,  and  prayer  512 
 Taepiugs  and  Jews  .      57 
 
 Tahash  skins  .     799,  802,  805 
 
 Talbot,  his  Assyrian  transla- 
 tions .         256,  273 
 
 ,,     onMoab  .  .     317 
 
 „     onPul  .  .544 
 
 Tale,  a  fairy,  utilised  1 
 
 Tales,  fairy,  and  Naaman        .     356 
 
 ,,     should  be  probable         .     801 
 Talismans         .  .         442,  651 
 
 Talking  beeves  and  asses  .  9 
 Tall  men  .  .  .424 
 
 ,,     trees  emblematic  .     425 
 
 Talmud,  its  influence  on  Tes- 
 taments .  .     421 
 Tamar  and  Judah         .  .     177 
 
 ,,     to  be  bui-ned  .     876 
 
 Tambourine  .  .     228 
 
 Tamed  serpents  .  .     436 
 
 Tammuz  .  .         806,  862 
 
 Tantras  .  .  .     644 
 
 Tappuach         .  .  .    449 
 
 Tares  and  wheat,  Jesus  and 
 
 Christians  opposed  upon   .     557 
 Tartarus  .  .  .823 
 
 Tartary,  Buddhism,  and  Papism  675 
 Tau,  pims  about  .  .     460 
 
 Taylor,  Col.  Meadows,  quoted     484 
 
 Te    Deum   laudamus,   ancient 
 form  of 
 
 Teaching  of  Jesus  versus  mo- 
 dern Christianity 
 „  of  Jesus  not  to  be  fol- 
 lowed implicitly 
 ,,  of  priest,  why  inferior  . 
 ,,  prophecy  and  simony  . 
 ,,     prophetesses 
 
 Telegraph  and  "VVilham  I. 
 , ,     author's  prediction  about 
 ,,     lunatic,  and  banker 
 
 Templars'  shields 
 
 Temple,  beasts  kept  in 
 
 ,,    no    special    service   for 
 
 Sabbath 
 ,,     of  Dea  Syria 
 ,,     priests,  and  Moloch 
 
 Temples  and  turpitude 
 
 ,,     and  women         .         169, 
 ,,     first  erected  by  Egyptians 
 ,,     not  tolerated    in    piu"e 
 religions 
 
 Temporising,  plan  of 
 
 Temptation 
 ,,     effects  of 
 
 Tempter,  why  described  as  a 
 serpent 
 
 Ten 
 
 Ten  commandments  analysed 
 ,,     thousand  Greeks 
 
 Tennyson  and  Chaucer 
 
 Tent  and  tabernacle 
 
 Tenth    commandment,    Heb- 
 rews, and  prophets 
 
 Terrors,  imaginary 
 
 Test  of  faith  by  fruit 
 
 ,,     of  orthodoxy  283, 
 
 „     of  value  of  Bible 
 ,,     of  value  of  writings 
 ,,     ordinary,  of  a  man's  re- 
 ligion 
 ,,     sentence  for  interpretation 
 ,,     strange,  of  fitness 
 , ,     tetragrammaton  used  as 
 
 Page 
 
 816 
 
 303 
 
 596 
 135 
 520 
 521 
 618 
 537 
 309 
 366 
 789 
 
 625 
 786 
 323 
 174 
 814 
 785 
 
 474 
 134 
 806 
 180 
 
 712 
 
 842 
 289 
 160 
 
 798 
 
 334 
 
 602 
 
 138 
 
 339 
 
 78 
 
 6 
 
 561 
 539 
 2,  3 
 
 531 
 
1022 
 
 Testament,  Old,  and  Esdraa 
 ,,  ,,     and  New 
 
 Pago 
 413 
 543 
 164 
 1G3 
 
 ,,  ,,     insjiiration   . 
 
 ,,  ,,     its  doctrines 
 
 ,,  ,,     its    morality 
 
 bad 
 ,,     unreliable 
 .,  ,,     value  of 
 
 ,,  ,,     when  finished 
 
 ,,     New,  and  Hindoo  writers 
 ,,        ,,    its  teaching,  where 
 unreliable 
 Testimony  nature  of  . 
 
 „     of    the  Old  Testament 
 
 about  Jews 
 ,,     of  the  rocks 
 Testing  by  check  upon  check  . 
 Tethys 
 Tetragrammaton  revived  as  a 
 
 test 
 Teut 
 Tcutatea 
 Texts,     opposite    conclusions 
 
 drawn  from 
 Thalaba 
 
 Thaumaturgy  and  logic 
 Thebes  and  keys 
 Theft,   murder,  and  adultery 
 
 immoral 
 Theognis 
 
 Theologians  on  the  interpreta- 
 tion of  Scripture 
 Theology  a  curse 
 and  philology 
 and  the  nductio  ad  ab- 
 
 sitrdum 
 
 Arj-an  and  AssjTian 
 
 author's  idea  of 
 
 essay  on  .        808-8G7 
 
 insurrections  about        .     CC3 
 
 of  Hebrews  described  839-845 
 
 of  .lews  unstablo  .       97 
 
 works  on,  their  common 
 
 fault  .141 
 
 Tbennal  spring  soored  .     HOC 
 
 Thczmophorion  .     '22('> 
 
 405 
 76 
 51 
 
 597 
 
 596 
 15 
 
 17 
 574 
 505 
 718 
 
 531 
 
 717 
 717 
 
 .    536 
 
 163,  241 
 
 .     305 
 
 .     193 
 
 330 
 827 
 
 535 
 849 
 
 165 
 
 142 
 641 
 
 856 
 
 Page 
 Thibet  and  Christian  rites  .  203 
 Think  to,  disinclination  .       16 
 
 Thinkers  bold,  numerous        .     433 
 Thomyris  .  .  .449 
 
 Thor  .  .  .461 
 
 „     Odin,  and  Allah  .     332 
 
 Thorn  walls  .     202 
 
 Thoth  .717 
 
 Thought,  how  not  defined       .     144 
 Thoughts  respecting  Almi;-'hty 
 
 common  to  many        .     567 
 
 ,,     upon  death         .  .     602 
 
 0t,^a  .  ■  -906 
 
 Thyrsus  .  .         490-497 
 
 Tiara,  Persian  .  .      63 
 
 Tickling  the  ears         .  .     450 
 
 Tiger,  commits  murder  .    585 
 
 ,,     why  sacred         .        458,  496 
 
 Timbuctoo  .  .       30 
 
 Time  .         238,  505 
 
 ,,     acceptable  .  .     865 
 
 ,,     Gal  Ciili,  and  destructive 
 
 ideas  respecting  .     566 
 
 ,,     essay  on  .         856-867 
 
 ,,     matter,  and  space  .     564 
 
 , ,     when  divided  into  weeks    388 
 Times,  changing  of     .  .     866 
 
 ,,    newspaper       dispelled 
 
 myths  .  .       61 
 
 ,,     observed  .  .     864 
 
 Tissiphone  .  .     823 
 
 Titans  .  .  .819 
 
 Titles  of  Virgin  Mary  .     257 
 
 Tityus  .  .  .824 
 
 Toil  on  Sabbath  .         614-626 
 
 Toleration  of  infanticide        .     589 
 Tombs  and  lunatics  .     215 
 
 Tonsure  and  Isis  .  .     267 
 
 Tool  shops  in  the  wilderness       796 
 Tophot  .  .         868-880 
 
 Torch  an  emblem        .  495 
 
 ,,     of   Cupid,  Venus,  and 
 
 death  .    272 
 
 Tortoise,  essay  on  880 
 
 ,,     why  symbolic  467 
 
 ,,     world  BtaudB  on  880 
 
1023 
 
 Torture  and  love         .  .     503 
 
 „    of  Fakirs  .  .     638 
 
 Tot  and  Tothills  .  .     717 
 
 Tower,  planetary,  described    .     498 
 
 Town,  British  .  .     179 
 
 ,,     walls  .  .     202 
 
 Trade  and  gold  .  .       47 
 
 ,,     and  morals         .  .     427 
 
 ,,     and    travel    in   ancient 
 
 times  .  .     230 
 
 ,,     unionism  in  Divinity     .         5 
 
 Tradesmen  and  priests  .     286 
 
 Tradition  and  fact  .     146 
 
 ,,     Ewaldnpoii         .  .     423 
 
 ,,     of  Pliarisees        .  .    467 
 
 „    value  of  .  .     423 
 
 Trail  of  astronomy  .     506 
 
 Trained  army  of  David  .     152 
 
 Training  religions  in  youth     .     113 
 
 Trammels,  effect  of  discarding     17 
 
 Transit  of  planets         .  .     902 
 
 Transubstantiation  a  miracle 
 
 295,  536 
 Travellers  telling  tales  of  bet- 
 ter  countries   treated  ter- 
 ribly .  .  .601 
 Treatises  on  war,  and  prayer    512 
 Trees,  good  and  bad                .     328 
 ,,    tall,  emblematic  .     425 
 Triad  .and  Athanasian  creed  .     888 
 ,,     and  crux  ansata              .     887 
 .,     andElohim         .             .     882 
 ,,     and  Jehovah  .     882 
 ,,     and  sacti             .  .     651 
 „     and  Trigla           .             .     886 
 ,,     Apollonian          .             .     885 
 ,,     came    from    Egypt     to 
 
 Kome  .  .     886 
 
 ,,     confessor  of       .  .     887 
 
 ,,  examples  of  pagan  trini- 
 ties .  818-819 
 ,,  found  in  various  theolo- 
 gies .  818-819 
 ,,  Gnostic  .  .  885 
 „  Holy  Spmt  in  .  883 
 ,,    in  Assyria           .  .     884 
 
 Triad  its    true  basis  unsus- 
 
 pected generally 
 
 888 
 
 ,,     Jewish  respect  for 
 
 884 
 
 ,,     Maffei  on 
 
 885 
 
 ,,     Maurice  upon 
 
 886 
 
 ,,     Nicene  creed  upon 
 
 883 
 
 ,,     not  in  the  Bible 
 
 886 
 
 ,,     of  pagan  origin 
 
 888 
 
 ,,     of  phaUic  origin 
 
 886 
 
 ,,     or  trinity,  and  Shilshah 
 
 882 
 
 ,,     priests  of,  to  be  perfect 
 
 884 
 
 ,,     Sharpe  upon 
 
 887 
 
 ,,     the  Christian 
 
 883 
 
 ,,     visits  Abraham 
 
 841, 
 
 882 
 
 ,,     visits  Hyrieus 
 
 818, 
 
 841 
 
 „     with  triangles     . 
 
 885 
 
 ,,     with  virgin 
 
 884 
 
 Trial,   legal    about    '  peculiar 
 
 people ' 
 
 606 
 
 Triangle 
 
 277 
 
 Tribal  condition  of  countries 
 
 80 
 
 Tribes  in  Phoenicia 
 
 151 
 
 ,,     united,  form  kingdom    . 
 
 83 
 
 Tribulation  and  triumph 
 
 533 
 
 ,,     cultivated  by  Christ 
 
 lans 
 
 636 
 
 Tribunal  of  man  not  the 
 
 bar 
 
 of  God 
 
 590 
 
 Tricks  and  charlatans 
 
 446 
 
 ,,     in  temples 
 
 785 
 
 Trigla 
 
 886 
 
 Trimourti 
 
 60 
 
 Trinity  (see  Triad),  forms  of  81i 
 
 -822 
 
 ,,     Hindoo                  59 
 
 138 
 
 564 
 
 ,,     in  Thibet 
 
 203 
 
 Triplicity  in  creation 
 
 67 
 
 ,,     in  phallus 
 
 . 
 
 197 
 
 Triremes  from  Italy 
 
 289 
 
 Trojan  war,  Jews  absent 
 
 23 
 
 Troop  and  uimiber,  Gad 
 
 and 
 
 Meni 
 
 . 
 
 273 
 
 True    revealed    religion 
 
 not 
 
 known 
 
 584 
 
 Trumpets,  feast  of 
 
 . 
 
 372 
 
 ,,     history  of 
 
 . 
 
 373 
 
 Truth  must  be  unclothed  to  be 
 
 appreciated 
 
 . 
 
 568 
 
1024 
 
 Truth  not  established  by  fight- 
 ing 
 ,,     of  a  story,   how   deter- 
 mined .         338 
 „     of  Bible,  how  bolstered 
 
 np 
 ,,     of  Christianity  and  Bud- 
 
 hism    . 
 ,,     rehgious,  concealed 
 ,,     the    discovery    of,     re- 
 gretted 
 ,,     travestied  and  pure 
 ,,     vipers,  and  files 
 ,,    will  prevail 
 Tsabeanism  .        889 
 
 Tubal  Cain  51,  122,  183,  187, 
 Tuisco 
 Turn 
 Tiu'ks  and  Jews  compared  154, 
 
 ,,     ignorance  of  the 
 Turnips  and  carrot 
 Tuscan  origin  of  trumpet 
 Twelve  cakes    . 
 
 ,,     number,     why    selected 
 126, 
 ,,    tribes  and  zodiac 
 Tj-phon 
 
 ,,     and  Devil  70,  745, 
 
 Tyre,  ancient  temple  in 
 ,,     and  Nebuchadnezzar 
 ,,     prophecies    by    Ezekiel 
 
 respecting 
 ,,     religion  of,  and  Solomon 
 
 U 
 Udumaia 
 Ulysses 
 
 Umbilicus,  typical 
 Umma 
 
 Unbridled  lust  of  Jews 
 Unchangeable,  God  is 
 Unction  extreme 
 Unintelligible  oracles  and  pro- 
 phecies 
 Unison  and  education 
 Unitarian  interpretations 
 
 558 
 
 -340 
 
 570 
 
 315 
 137 
 
 506 
 855 
 688 
 641 
 -903 
 205 
 717 
 806 
 163 
 372 
 449 
 375 
 723 
 
 727 
 414 
 368 
 869 
 
 785 
 430 
 
 525 
 29 
 
 903 
 463 
 365 
 548 
 290 
 561 
 657 
 
 429 
 110 
 536 
 
 587 
 
 591 
 
 577 
 
 898 
 
 131, 
 
 903 
 
 . 
 
 423 
 
 ovo- 
 
 429, 
 
 539 
 
 Page 
 
 Unitarians  .  .     584 
 
 Universe  and  the  Almighty     .     584 
 
 Unlucky  days  .  .     864 
 
 Unmated      people,    how     in- 
 fluenced by  luxury  .     173 
 
 Unnatural     rest     of    British 
 Sunday 
 
 Unseen,  the  dread  of 
 ,,     world,  geography  of 
 
 Uranus 
 
 Urim  and  Thummim 
 
 Urquhart  and  giants 
 
 Utterances,   oracular  or 
 phetic,  senseless 
 
 Uzziah,  condition  of  Jews  under  412 
 
 Yacilation  of  Jehovah  .     840 
 
 Vain  repetitions  in  prayers     .     515 
 
 Value  of  Jewish  history  .       14 
 
 VampjTes         .  .  .     218 
 
 Variations  on  an  air  .  .       32 
 
 Various  opinions  of  sins  .     737 
 
 ,,     sectarians  appraised       .     676 
 
 Varuna  .  .  .898 
 
 Vaticiuatians  incoherent        .     539 
 
 Vaunting  propensities  of  Jews     412 
 
 Vedas  appraised  .  6,  223 
 
 ,,     early  religion  in  times  of    473 
 
 Veneration  of  relics     .  .     360 
 
 ,,     for  sexual  emblems        .     473 
 
 Vengeance  divine  hereditary  .     844 
 
 ,,     encouraged         .        406,  542 
 
 „     justified  .  .     333 
 
 Venus  and  Achamoth  769 
 
 ,,     and  Anchises      .  .     339 
 
 ,,     and  death  .  .272 
 
 , ,     and  Meni  .  .     278 
 
 ,,     and  Virgin  Mary  907 
 
 „    black       .  .  .263 
 
 ,,     Mylitta  63 
 
 „     ofByUis  .     785 
 
 „     of  Cnidus  .     278 
 
 ,,     ofElis  .  .     880 
 
 ,,     temple  of  .         169,  175 
 
 „     the  planet  275,  499,  503 
 
1025 
 
 Veracity  and  oft  told  tales 
 Vermillion  and  Chaldeans 
 Vermin  and  veneration 
 Verse,  laws  in 
 Version  Douay  of  Bible 
 Vesica    piscis,     the    emhlem 
 explained  .        647, 
 
 Vessels  sacred  of  Jewish  tem- 
 ple, theii-  resuscitation   723, 
 Vestal  virgins 
 
 Vestments        .  580,  914, 
 
 Vesuna 
 Vexation     of     Jews    justifies 
 
 murder 
 Vicarious  punishments 
 Vicissitudes  of  temperature     . 
 Victoi-y  whether  influenced  by 
 
 prayer 
 Views  in  heaven 
 
 „     revelations   and  human 
 inventions 
 Vigorous  sketching  versus  ela- 
 borate drawing 
 Virga  and  Thyrsus 
 Vij^gil  .  .        555, 
 
 Virgin  Mary     .  .         133, 
 
 >>  )i     a  blonde  . 
 
 1,  ,,    and  Armaita 
 
 i>  ,,     and  child  254,  257, 
 
 It  ,,     and  Dea  Syi'ia     . 
 
 )>  ,,     and  fish    . 
 
 ),  ,,     and  her  priests    . 
 
 ))  ,,     and  moon 
 
 ))  ,,     and  reason 
 
 )>  M     and  Kimmon 
 
 II  ,,     and  the  Assyrian 
 
 "  grove  "         647- 
 1.  I,     and  tower 
 
 1,  ,,     apparition  of    130, 
 
 ji  )i     in  Jacob's  family 
 
 11  ,,     of  Amadou 
 
 ),  1)     of  Anatolia 
 
 .1  I,     of  Loretto 
 
 „  ,,     prayers  to,  ensure 
 
 victory  .  .     512 
 
 „     titles  of    .  .    257 
 
 Page 
 112 
 554 
 662 
 124 
 114 
 
 916 
 
 867 
 782 
 918 
 724 
 
 333 
 
 846 
 327 
 
 511 
 521 
 
 598 
 
 506 
 492 
 823 
 254 
 499 
 831 
 397 
 791 
 275 
 916 
 260 
 664 
 612 
 
 -648 
 462 
 609 
 126 
 264 
 191 
 263 
 
 Page 
 306 
 
 471 
 
 176 
 670 
 
 537 
 
 Virginity  and  Miriam 
 
 ,,     sacrificed 
 Virgins  of  Midian  given  up  to 
 sacred  prostitution 
 , ,     pure  not  parturient 
 'Vishnu      .  .  .59,  238 
 
 ,,     and  tortoise        .  .     880 
 
 ,,     navel  of  367,  566,  597 
 
 Visionaries    sometimes    long- 
 sighted 
 Visions  to  be  tested    . 
 ,,     voices,  lunacy  and  pro- 
 
 Pliecy  .  .     523 
 
 Visit  of  Trinity   to  Abraham 
 
 and  Hyiieus  818,  841,  882 
 
 Visiting  the  oracle  or  the  Lord   428 
 
 Vipers  and  files  .  .     688 
 
 "Vitality  .  .  .535 
 
 Vitex  agnns  castus       .  .     227 
 
 Vocabulary       .  .  .     165 
 
 Voltaire  and  Buckle     .  .     559 
 
 Vows  not  taken  by  rabbits       .     586 
 
 ,,     value  of  verified  .     511 
 
 Voyages  and  secrets     .  .     196 
 
 Vulcan  and  Tubal  Cain         51,  122 
 
 Vulgar  and  the  Scriptm-es       .     413 
 
 Vulture,  a  symbol         .  .     545 
 
 ,,     and  undying  worm  .     824 
 
 Vulva,  the,  speaking    .  .     261 
 
 ,,     and  blackness     .  .     265 
 
 ,,     gives  oracles       .  .     397 
 
 W 
 
 Wafer 
 
 ,,  consecrated  and  oiled 
 stones 
 Wages  of  sin  . 
 Wales  and  giants 
 Wallace  and  David 
 Walls  and  towns 
 Waltzes  with  devils 
 War  amongst  Jews  fostered 
 sensuality 
 
 , ,     and  murder 
 
 ,,     and  plimder 
 
 ,,     civil,  for  a  concubine 
 
 A  A  A  A 
 
 651 
 
 441 
 656 
 423 
 83 
 202 
 336 
 
 61 
 594 
 409 
 
 488 
 
1026 
 
 War  demoralising 
 
 ,,    in  heaven 
 
 ,,     religious 
 
 ,,    value  of  prayer  in 
 Warka,  Lady  of 
 Warriors  temporal  and  spiritual 
 
 ,,     test  their  armour  .     517 
 
 Water  .  910,  918,  922 
 
 „     and  rock 
 
 ,,     and  wine 
 
 ,,     as  a  place  of  sepulture  . 
 
 „     if  deep  kills  vegetation  . 
 Waverley  novels 
 Way  to  heaven  .        143 
 
 Weakness  of  arguments  about 
 
 revelation 
 Wealth  of  Jews  in  wilderness 
 
 ,,     of  Kedeshoth 
 
 ,,     of  Solomon 
 Weapons  and  prayer    . 
 
 , ,     of  Jews 
 
 ,,     sink  in  water 
 Weavers  of  invisible  robes 
 Week 
 
 Weeping  women 
 Weight  of  prayer  in  politics    . 
 WeiU  .  -        421, 
 
 WclUngtonia  gigantea 
 Wells  holy 
 
 Were  Jews  missionaries  ? 
 Werewolves 
 Wesley 
 
 West  Indies  and  8lavex7 
 Wheat,     tares,     Christ     and 
 
 Christendom 
 Wheeler  on  India 
 White  mouse  the 
 
 ,,     priestly  robes 
 
 ,,     red  and  blue 
 Whitsuntide 
 Whores 
 
 ,,     and  burning 
 
 „     consecrated  and  common 
 
 ,,     the  one  of  Babylon 
 Wiertz 
 Wife  an  expensive  luxury 
 
 Page  Page 
 
 335     Wife  and  keys              .            .  192 
 
 819         „     "my"                 .            .  503 
 
 82          „     of  Lamb               .             .  909 
 
 512         ,,     when  barren        .             .  485 
 352     Wilderness,  no  writing  mate- 
 6                  rials  in            .             .91 
 
 ,,     brass  in               .             .  361 
 
 „     Wealth  of  the  Jews  in   .  801 
 
 Wiles  of  maniacs         .            .  217 
 
 Wilford  quoted             223,  201,  365 
 
 Wilful  neglect  of  children        .  324 
 
 Wilkinson  on  name  Pharoah  .  479 
 Will  of  the  Almighty   in  the 
 
 imiverse                  .            .  584 
 
 William  Tell  and  Naaman       .  357 
 
 Williams  on  Pacific  islanders  425 
 
 Wine  and  fire                .             .  872 
 ,,     Lot  and  Moab     .         316,  751 
 
 Winking  of  God,  Paul  upon    .  560 
 Wisdom,     vii'gin    Mary,    and 
 
 Venus  .  .         907-909 
 
 Wise  the  to  have  a  separate 
 
 Bible  .  .  .413 
 
 Wisdom           .             .            .  763 
 
 ,,     and  Logos           .            .  573 
 
 „     and  Metis            .             .  67 
 
 Wit  and  madness         .             .  524 
 Witness   of    Jews  not  trust- 
 worthy            .            .31 
 „     false        .            .            .843 
 
 Woo  for  the  popular  man        .  133 
 
 Wolf,  Almighty  described  as  a  814 
 
 Wolves  eating  grass     .            .  315 
 
 ,,     saintly                 .             .  503 
 
 557     Women  adepts  in  deception    .  009 
 
 210         ,,     adoration  of        .             .  010 
 
 358         ,,     and  chloroform  .             .  154 
 
 835         ,,     and  the  rib          .             .  610 
 
 501          ,,     asscmbluig          .             .  225 
 
 4()'J         ,,     as  teachers          .            .  521 
 
 169          ,,     cannibals             .             .  210 
 
 310         ,,     congress  and  defilement  174 
 
 176         ,,     of  temples            .             .  109 
 
 535         ,,     of  the  idol            .             .  108 
 
 217         ,,     the  mirror  a  type  of  009 
 
 173     Wood  and  incremation             .  873 
 
 93 
 911 
 922 
 575 
 158 
 660 
 
 571 
 
 801 
 
 .  285 
 
 47 
 
 .  512 
 
 .   94 
 
 .  343 
 
 .  1-5 
 
 863,  867 
 
 .  225 
 
 512 
 
 709 
 
 585 
 
 394 
 
 308 
 
 218 
 
 811 
 
 487 
 
1027 
 
 Pajre 
 215 
 139 
 
 452 
 673 
 
 G26 
 
 188 
 
 "Woods  and  satyrs 
 Words  and  deeds 
 
 , ,     form  of  spelling,  in  Bible 
 altered  to  make  puns 
 Work  oiit  salvation     - 
 
 ,,     prescribed  for  Christians 
 on  Sunday 
 Workers  in  metal 
 World,   Christian  ideas  of 
 
 ,,  end  of,  its  signs  525,  531,  575 
 ,,  ,,  announcements  of  527 
 ,,     future    not    known     to 
 
 Jews     .  ,  98,  654 
 
 „     future  revealed  to  other 
 nations  before  Jews    . 
 ,,     stands  on  tortoise 
 ,,    unseen  mapped  out  by 
 men 
 Worship  by  Christians  of  God 
 and  the  devil  . 
 deterioration  in  . 
 methods  of  selected 
 of  Baal  and  prostitution 
 of  Bel  and  sun    . 
 of  Belphegor 
 of  Phallus 
 of  Sactas 
 
 of  sun  in  Jerusalem 
 of  the  Creator  diversely 
 
 carried  on 
 priority  of 
 sensual  and  sensuous     , 
 
 ,,    of  Jews 
 styles  of 
 Wrath  of  Almighty 
 Writer  of    Mosaic  storj',  his 
 
 design  .  .  417-420 
 
 Writing  art   of    unknown   to 
 
 Abraham     . 
 Writings,  Hebrew,  postulates 
 respecting   . 
 ,,  ,,     probable  date 
 
 of  .  .  .     146 
 
 ,,  Jewish  how  prepared  .  155 
 ,,  Jewish  to  be  tested  .  9 
 , ,     of  law  and  David  .       40 
 
 577 
 880 
 
 699 
 
 560 
 564 
 7 
 551 
 379 
 472 
 477 
 645 
 782 
 
 556 
 223 
 515 
 321 
 581 
 153 
 
 89 
 
 149 
 
 Pagfl 
 Writings  sacred  .  .     146 
 
 ,,  ,,    require  remodel- 
 
 ling  .  .     337 
 
 ,,     Samarian  .  .     679 
 
 ,,     to  be  all  treated  alike      .       6 
 Wyvems  .  .  .695 
 
 X 
 
 Xenophon         .  .         562,  809 
 
 „      on  Cyrus  .  .       G5 
 
 Ximenes,  a  destroyer  of  books     413 
 
 Xisuthrus         .  .  .     389 
 
 Yahu                 .             .             .  544 
 
 Year  new          .            .            .  372 
 
 Yellow  hair,  wigs  and  Venus  .  499 
 
 Y'ho  .  .  .544 
 
 Youi                 .            .          61,  647 
 
 „     and  Mylitta         .             .  352 
 
 „     and  the  Holy  Spirit        .  394 
 
 ,,     its  emblems  worn  by  the 
 
 Papal  priests  .            .  916 
 
 Yonigas            .            .            .  544 
 
 Yorkshire  and  Palestine          .  48 
 Young,   Brigham,    Joe  Smith 
 
 and  Cnmming         .             .  540 
 
 Yu         .             •             .             .  544 
 
 Zachariah        .  .        927,  931 
 
 Zadkiel  .  .  .     573 
 
 Zalmuuna  and  Zeba    .  .     684 
 
 Zamiel  .  .  .     706 
 
 Zanah  .  .        175,  176 
 
 Zeal  and  success  evidence  of 
 
 truth  .  .     314 
 
 .,     blind       .  .  .640 
 
 ,,     missionary   of  Jews  for 
 
 whom  .  .     312 
 
 ,,     produces  crime   .  .     331 
 
 Zeba  and  Zalmunua  .     684 
 
 Zechariah,  book  of       .  .     927 
 
 Zenghis  Khan  and  Samuel  .  692 
 Zeruiah's  sons  and  David  .  86 
 Zeus  .  .         394,  898 
 
1028 
 
 PaRft 
 
 Pago 
 
 Zeus  and  Melissa 
 
 351 
 
 Zonoth 
 
 490 
 
 „     in  Orphic  hymns 
 
 66 
 
 Zophar  not  an  authority 
 
 582 
 
 „     Marios    . 
 
 337 
 
 Zoroaster         .    345,  809,  820, 
 
 866 
 
 ,,     or  Jiipiler  bisexual 
 
 549 
 
 ,,     his  religion 
 
 64 
 
 Zi          .            .            . 
 
 801 
 
 ,,     legend  of  his  conception 
 
 460 
 
 Zillah   . 
 
 200, 
 
 931 
 
 ,,     purity  of  his  doctrines    . 
 
 473 
 
 Zilpah 
 
 488 
 
 ,,     promulgates  a  belief  in 
 
 Zipporah 
 
 931 
 
 Satan 
 
 697 
 
 ,,    saves  Moses 
 
 841 
 
 Zouaves 
 
 482 
 
 Zodiac                 126,  776, 
 
 893, 
 
 931 
 
 Zur 
 
 550 
 
 ,,     and  Jews 
 
 162 
 
 ,,     and  twelve  tribes 
 
 269,  372,  414, 
 
 400, 
 
 506 
 
'u.  'istii.i. 
 
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