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 BX 9941 .P57 1857 
 Pitrat, John Claudius. 
 Pagan origin of Partialis! 
 doctrines 
 
PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 OP 
 
 PARTIALIST DOCTRINES, 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. JOHN CLAUDIUS PITRAT, 
 
 A MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FRANCE; AUTHOR OF "jKSUITa 
 
 UNVEILED;" OF "PAUL AND JULIA," ETC., AND 
 
 FORMERLY A ROMISH PRIEST. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 LONGLEY BROTHERS, PRINTERS 
 
 168 VINE ST,, ABOVE FOURTH, 
 
 1857. 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, by 
 
 JOHN CLAUDIUS PITRAT, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of 
 Ohio. 
 
To Brother John A. Gurley. 
 
 Dear Friend Gurley, — To yon, who liave fed 
 me when I was starving, sheltered nie when I was 
 a homeless exile, and befriended me when I was 
 forlorn, and my life was sought by my persecutors, 
 this volume I inscribe, as a feeble token of my 
 lasting gratitude and friendship. 
 
 J. C. Pitrat. 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive 
 
 in 2009 witin funding from 
 
 Princeton Tineological Seminary Library 
 
 littp://www.archive.org/details/paganoriginofpOOpitr 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Two arguments can be brought forth to prove that 
 the Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures: 
 the one is drawn from the Scriptures themselves, and 
 the other is drawn from history. 
 
 The first argument, drawn from the Scriptures, is 
 this: 
 
 The Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scrip- 
 tures, if it can be proved by the Scriptures themselves 
 that the Partialist doctrines are not contained therein. 
 But it can be proved by the Scriptures themselves that 
 the Partialist doctrines are not contained therein. 
 Then the Partialist doctrines are not taught in the 
 Scriptures, 
 
 The second argument, drawn from history, is this : 
 
 The Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scrip- 
 tures, if it can be proved by history, that the origin of 
 the Partialist doctrines is Pagan. But it can be proved 
 by history that the origin of the Partialist doctrines is 
 Pagan. Then the Partialist doctrines are not taught in 
 the Scriptures. 
 
 These two arguments, as he who reflects can easily 
 perceive, not only corroborate each other, but their 
 respective proving force is such, that, if considered sepa- 
 rately, each one is sufficient to peremptorily prove that 
 the Partialist doctrines are not taught in the Scriptures. 
 The former, till now, we Universalists hare exclusively 
 
 (V) 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 used, and it "has been efficacious in causing the scales 
 of early and strong prejudices to fall from the eyes of 
 thousands. However, it is unfortunately a fact, con- 
 firmed by daily experience, that the conclusions arrived 
 at through scriptural controversies are striking only to 
 minds of a particular bent and culture. On the con- 
 trary, the conclusions arrived at through historical facts 
 present themselves to the mind of all^ clear, vivid and 
 irresistible. It is for this reason that the author, in 
 this book, presents to the consideration of the Univer- 
 salist denomination, and of the public in general, the 
 second argument, drawn from history. The vast num- 
 ber of historical facts, of quotations, extracts, etc., con- 
 tained in this volume, have been translated from many 
 languages, with as much accuracy as possible. 
 
 May God bless this work, intended to confirm the 
 Universalists in their beloved faith ; and also to break 
 the chain of prejudice which keeps millions of men in 
 ignorance, in superstition, in perpetual fear, and thereby 
 in spiritual bondage : " Ye shall know the truth, and 
 the truth shall make you free." 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Dedication. iii 
 
 PfiEFACE. •• V 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Teue Spirit of Pagan Religions. 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Pagan Origin of Mysteries. 28 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of a Personal DeVil. 58 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of Original Sin. 68 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of Trinity. 80 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of the Supreme Divinity of 
 
 Jesus Christ. 87 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of Endless Hell. Ill 
 
 Article I. — Metempsychosis or Triinsmigration of the Souls. Ill 
 
 Article II.— Tartarus. 129 
 
 Article HI. — Did the Christians of the First Centuries believe 
 
 in Endless Hell. 135 
 
 Article IV. — How the Church of Rome borrowed the doctrine 
 of Endless Hell from the Pagans : and how, afterwards, the 
 self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches borrowed it from 
 
 the Church of Rome. 170 
 
 (Vii) 
 
nil CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine oy a First Judgment, by Jisos 
 Christ, immediately after the Separation of the Soul 
 FROM THE Body. 182 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine oy the Resurrection of the 
 Body. •• 190 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of a General Judgment at 
 the end of the world. 205 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Pagan Origin of the Doctrine of Vicarious Atonement. • • • 229 
 
 Vaiebictokt. 24S 
 
PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 OF 
 
 PARTIALIST DOCTRINES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TRUE SPIRIT OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 
 
 It seems to be au undeniable fact, that, before 
 the coming of Jesus Christ, nations had immemo- 
 rially and univei'sally believed, that the universe, 
 or nature, was an uncreated but animated being, 
 whose vast body comprised the earth, the sun, the 
 planets and the stars, to which one great soul 
 impressed motion and life. Also they believed 
 that all those principal parts, or, in other words, 
 principal members of the body of the universe, 
 were animated by emanations or irradiations of 
 the great soul of the universe, or nature. This 
 Pantheistic doctrine we find recorded by the Chal- 
 dean Zoroaster, in his Zend-Avesta; by the Phce- 
 nician Sanchoniaton in his Mythological History; 
 by the author of the Indian Vedam ; and by the 
 Chinese Confucius, in his Theology. Weighty is 
 the testimony of those authors, who lived, Confu- 
 cius perhaps excepted, at about the time of Moses. 
 Also, the above doctrine they themselves believed 
 
 (9) 
 
10 TRUE SPIRIT OJ" 
 
 and taught. More, we find the same testimony, 
 the same doctrine, and the same teaching, in nearly 
 all the works of the celebrated poets, orators and 
 philosophers of posterior ages. 
 
 Pliny, the historian and naturalist, writes: " The 
 world, or what we call the heaven, which, in its 
 vast embrace, encircles all beings, is a God eternal, 
 immense, uncreated and immortal. To seek any 
 thing beyond it is beyond man's reach, and is vain 
 labor. Behold, the universe is the Being truly 
 sacred, the Being eternal, immense, comprising all 
 in himself: he is all in all, or rather he is himself 
 all. He is the work of nature, and nature itself." 
 
 We read in the sixth book of Eneida, by Virgil: 
 " Know, O my son ! that the heavens and the 
 earth, the deep, the bright globe of the moon, and 
 all stars are moved by a principle of inly life, 
 which perpetuates its existence ; that it is a great 
 intelligent soul, extending to all the parts of the 
 vast body of the universe ; and which, connected 
 with all, impresses to all an eternal movement. 
 This soul is the source of the life of man, of that 
 of flocks, birds, and of all the monsters of the deep. 
 The bright force that animates them emanates 
 from that eternal fire that shines in the sky, and 
 which, a captive in the gross matter of bodies, 
 develops itself only as permitted by the divers 
 mortal organizations that blunt its force and ac- 
 tivity. At the death of each animal those germs 
 of particular life return to their source, and to the 
 principle of life that circulates in the starry sphere." 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 11 
 
 This belief led men to the worship of the uni- 
 verse, or nature, and became the basis of their 
 mythology. They adored the vast body of nature, 
 and its great soul, under the name of Supreme Be- 
 ing, of Jupiter, of Vichnou, of Pan, etc. They 
 adored the earth, the sun, the planets and the stars 
 under other names. They erected temples, altars, 
 statues and chapels to those deities, and worship- 
 ped them — not the wood, stone, or marble, as they 
 are unjustly accused of, but the emanations of the 
 great soul of the universe, which animated all 
 those principal members of the vast body of nature, 
 whose might and influence impressed them with 
 wonder, terror or gratitude, and thus attracted 
 their adoration. 
 
 The Chinese adored the heavens under the name 
 of great Tien. The Supreme Being in the Chou- 
 King is designated by the name of Tien, which 
 means from heaven, and of Chang-Tien, supreme 
 heaven. They had reared temples to the sun, to 
 the moon, and to the stars; and also one to the 
 great being formed of the sky, of the earth and of 
 the elements, — being which is the universe named 
 by them Tay-ki. They worshipped the heavens 
 at the time of the two solstices. The Japanese 
 adored the stars and planets which they supposed 
 to be animated by geniuses or gods. They had a 
 temple dedicated to the splendor of the sun. They 
 celebrated the feast of the moon on the 7th of Sep- 
 tember, and spent the whole night in rejoicing by 
 her light. The Chinese and the Japanese practice 
 the same worship even in our days. 
 
12 TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 The Egyptians adored the sun under the name 
 of Osiris, and the moon under the name of Iris. 
 To them both they ascribed the government of the 
 world. They built, to honor Osiris, the City of the 
 Sun, or Ileliopolis, and also a splendid temple in 
 which they placed his statue. They worshipped 
 all the stars and planets which compose the Zodiac. 
 The animals consecrated in the Egyptian temples, 
 and religiously revered, represented the various 
 functions of the supreme cause; and they referred 
 to the sky, to the sun, to the moon, and to the 
 constellations. 
 
 The Phoenicians worshipped the moon and the 
 stars. They adored the sun under the name of 
 Hercules. The Ethiopians adored the sun and the 
 moon; and Diodorus informs us, that those of 
 their tribes who inhabited the country above 
 Meroe adored the sun, the moon, and the universe. 
 They called themselves the sons of the sun : Per- 
 sina was the priestess of the moon, and the king, 
 her husband, was the priest of the sun. All the 
 Africans who were settled along the coast of 
 Angola, and of Congo, worshipped the sun and 
 the moon ; so the inhabitants of the island of Teu- 
 eritfe did. The oldest worship of the Arabs was 
 Sabism, the religion universally spread in the 
 Orient : the heaven and the stars were objects of 
 veneration. The moon was more especially adored. 
 The Saracens called her Cabar, which means great: 
 even now-a-days her crescent adorns the religious 
 monuments of the Turks. Among the Arabs 
 
PAGAN RELIGIOXS. 13 
 
 each tribe was under the invocation or patronage 
 of a star. 
 
 The Sabism was also the religion of the ancient 
 Chaldeans. Even now there is at Ilelle, on the 
 ruins of Babylon, a mosque named Meshed Es- 
 chams, or Mosque of the Sun. In this city was 
 the temple of Belus, or of the sun, the great deity 
 of the Babylonians. To this same god the Per- 
 sians reared temples and consecrated images, under 
 the name of Mithra. They also honored the 
 heaven under the name of Jupiter, the moon and 
 venus, the fire, the earth, the air or wind, and 
 water. The lire ether that circulates in the whole 
 universe, and of which the sun is the main force, 
 was represented in the Pyrees by the sacred tire 
 kept incessantly burning by the wizards, or priests. 
 At Tymbree, in Troades, the sun was adored under 
 the name of Apollo. The island of Rhodes was 
 consecrated to the sun, to whom the colossal statue, 
 known under the name of the Colossus of llhodes, 
 was erected. The jMassagetes, the Abasges, the 
 Derbises, the Tartars, the Moscanians, the Tchou- 
 vaches, the Toungouses, the Huns, all the Scytic 
 nations, the Iberians, the All)aniaus, the Colchidi- 
 ans, the Phrygians, and the Laodiceans, worship- 
 ped the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars, 
 under various emblems. 
 
 Plato informs us that the ancient Greeks had no 
 other gods than the sun, the moon, the earth, the 
 stars, water, and fire. Orpheus considered the 
 sun as the greatest of the gods, and adored him 
 
14 TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 upon mounts at his rise. Epicliarmis, disciple of 
 Pythagoras, called gods the sim, the moon, the 
 stars, the earth, water and tire. Agamemnon, in 
 Homer, sacrificed to the sun and to the earth. 
 The choir, in the CEdipus of Sophocles, invokes 
 the sun as being the first among the gods, and 
 their chief. The earth was worshipped in the 
 island of Cos. Also the earth had a temple at 
 Athens and at Sparta; and an altar and oracle at 
 Oljmpia. 
 
 When we read Pausanias, who has described 
 Greece and her religious monuments, we find 
 everywhere traces of the worship of nature. We 
 see temples, altars, and statues, consecrated to the 
 sun, to the moon, to the earth, to the Pleiades, to 
 the celestial auriga, to the goat, to the bear, or 
 Calisto, to the night, to rivers, etc. The inhabi- 
 tants of Megalopolis sacrificed to the wind J3oreas, 
 and had planted a grove in his honor. The Mace- 
 donians adored Estia, or fire, and praj'ed to Bedy, 
 or water. Alexander, king of Macedonia, sacri- 
 ficed to the sun, to the moon, and to the earth. 
 The oracle of Dodone, in all its answers, ordered 
 sacrifices to the Achelous river. Homer gave the 
 epithet of sacred to the waters of the Alpheus. 
 Nestor and the Pylians sacrificed a bull to the 
 same river. Achilles let his hair grow in honor 
 of Sphercius; he also invoked the wind Boreas 
 and the Zephyrus. 
 
 Kivers were reputed as being sacred and di- 
 vine, because of their utility to vegetation, to 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 15 
 
 animals, and to commerce; and because nations 
 considered water as one of the first principles of 
 nature, and one of the most efficacious agents of 
 the universal life of the Great-Being in which 
 they believed. In Thessalia a sacred crow was fed 
 in honor of the sun. This bird is seen yet on the 
 monuments of Mithra, in Persia. The temples 
 of old Byzantium were consecrated to the sun, to 
 the moon, and to Yenus. Their idols represented 
 them ; also the star Arcture, and the twelve signs 
 of the Zodiac. Rome and Italy had also a vast 
 number of monuments of worship addressed to 
 nature, and to its principal agents. Tatius, com- 
 ing to Rome to share the sceptre of lionmlus, 
 erected altars and temples to the sun, to the moon, 
 to Saturn, to light, and to fire. The undying tire, 
 or Vesta, was the most ancient object of worship 
 of tlie Romans; virgins had the care to perpetu- 
 ate it in the temple of this Goddess, as the wiz- 
 ards did in their Pyrees. "It was," Jornaudes 
 said, "an image of the eternal lights which shine 
 in the heavens." 
 
 In Rome there was a famous temple called Tel- 
 lus, or of the earth, in which the senate often 
 met. The earth was called mother, because it 
 was considered as a deity as well as the manes. 
 There was in the Latium a fountain of the sun, 
 and, near it, two altars upon which CEneas, when 
 landing in Italy, sacrificed. Romulus established 
 the games of the circus to honor both the sun, 
 who in his course measures the year, and the four 
 
IS TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 elements wliich lie modifies by liis mighty influ- 
 ence. Aurelian built at Rome tlie temple of the 
 sun, and decked it with gold and precious stones. 
 Augustus, before Aurelian, had ordered the images 
 of the sun and of the moon to be brought from 
 Egypt, in order to adorn his triumph over An- 
 thony and Cleopatra. The moon had a temple 
 on the mount Aventine. 
 
 In Sicily oxen were consecrated to the sun; and 
 the island itself was called the Island of the Sun. 
 The oxen which the companions of Ulysse ate 
 when they landed, were consecrated to this god. 
 The citizens of Assora adored the Chrysas river, 
 that bathed their walls. At Enguyum the people 
 revered the mother-goddesses, the same deities 
 honored in Crete; namely, the major and minor 
 Ursas. In Spain the people of Betic had built a 
 temple to the morning star. The Accitaus had 
 erected to the god Sun, under the name of Mars, 
 a statue whose head imitated the rays of the sun. 
 At Cadix the sun was also adored, under the 
 name of Hercules. All the nations of northern 
 Europe, called Celtes, worshipped fire, water, the 
 air, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, and 
 the springs. The conqueror of Gaul, Ci^esar, 
 writes that the Germans immemorially adored 
 the ^dsible cause, and its principal agents, the sun, 
 the moon, fire or Vulcain, and the earth, under the 
 name of Herta. ISTear Narbonne, a city of Gaul, 
 a temple was dedicated to the wind Circius which 
 purified the atmosphere. At Toulouse there was 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 17 
 
 a temple of the sun. The Franks professed the 
 same religion. 
 
 Ill America the Incas of iPeru called themselves 
 the sons of the sun : they dedicated temples and 
 altars to this god, and had instituted feasts in 
 his honor. The moon was associated to his wor- 
 ship, and was considered as the mother of all the 
 sublunar productions; and as the spouse and 
 sister of the sun. In Peru, the star Yenus was 
 adored, and also the meteors, the thunder, and 
 Iris, or rainbow. Virgins had the care of keep- 
 ing alive the perpetual tire. In Mexico the same 
 religion existed. The inhabitants of the Isthmus 
 of Panama, of Brazil, of Florida ; the Indians of 
 the coast of Cumana, the Floridians, Virginians, 
 and the Canadians believed that there was a god 
 in the heavens, and that this god was the sun, the 
 spouse of the moon. They worshipped them as 
 the two supreme causes which ruled the world. 
 
 The above historical facts lead us to the con- 
 clusion that the adoration of the vast body of 
 nature, together with the great soul which was 
 supposed to animate it ; and of its principal parts 
 or members, together with the multifarious ema- 
 nations of the great soul, which was supposed to 
 animate them, was the former and universal reli- 
 gion of mankind, before the coming of Jesus 
 Christ. Therefore the heathens did not worship 
 the idols themselves, to which they had given 
 such and such forms to represent the objects of 
 their adorations; but they worshipped what in 
 
18 TRUE SPIRIT OP 
 
 their miud they represented, the universe taken 
 collectively, as in the idol of Pan ; and the uni- 
 verse taken separately; namely, the important 
 parts of the universe, as in their innumerable 
 idols of the planets, stars, rivers, etc. 
 
 As we wish to leave no doubt in the minds of 
 the reader in regard to the certainty of these two 
 great facts, which are a key to the origin of the 
 dogma of endless misery, and of others which 
 we are to trace out, we will bring forth other 
 proofs from the religious and political monuments 
 of ancient peoples; from their celebrations, and 
 from the opinions of their philosophers. 
 
 The famous labyrinth of Egypt was dedicated 
 to the sun. It formed twelve palaces, rej^resent- 
 ino* the twelve sio;ns of the Zodiac. There were 
 in Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, twelve columns 
 adonied with symbols relating to the elements, 
 and to the twelve signs. These gigantic piles 
 had a pyramidal shape to better represent the rays 
 of the sun, and the form of his rising blaze. 
 The statue of Apollo Agyeus was pyramidal. 
 In Egypt, artists were not entrusted with deter- 
 mining the form of the images and statues of the 
 gods. It was one of the prerogatives of the Ilier- 
 ophants, or priests, who were more familiar with 
 astronomy. This fact explains why the number 
 seven, which represented the number of planets, 
 and the number twelve, which represented the 
 number of the signs, were sacred numbers, and 
 were reproduced under all kinds of forms. So 
 
PAGAX RELIGIONS. 19 
 
 the twelve altars of Janus; the twelve works of 
 Hercules or sun ; the twelve shields of Mars ; the 
 twelve brothers Arvaux; the twelve gods Con- 
 sentes ; the twelve rays of light ; the twelve 
 governors in the Manichean system; the twelve 
 adeetyas of the Indians; the twelve azes of the 
 Scandinaves; the twelve wards of the city 
 planned by Plato ; the four tribes of Athens sub- 
 divided into three fraterics according to Cecrops' 
 division ; the twelve cushions on which the 
 creator sits, in the theogony of the Japanese ; the 
 twelve cantons of the Etruse league, and their 
 twelve Lucumons, or chiefs of cantons; the con- 
 federation of the twelve cities of Ionia, and that 
 of the twelve cities of Eolia; the twelve Tcheou 
 into which Chun divided China; the twelve 
 countries into which the Coreaiis divided the 
 world; the twelve officers chosen to draw the 
 coffin at the funeral of the King of Tunquin ; the 
 twelve horses ; the twelve elephants, etc., used in 
 that ceremony. 
 
 It was the same with the number seven repre- 
 senting the planets. So the seven divisions of 
 the city of Ecbatane; the seven gates of the cav- 
 ern of Mithra, or sun; the seven floors of the 
 tower of Babylon, with another representing the 
 heaven, and also the temple of Jupiter; the seven 
 gates of the city of Thebes, called each one by the 
 name of a planet; the seven piped flute placed in 
 the hands of the god Pan who represented the 
 universe ; the seven stringed lyre of Apollo, or sun ; 
 
20 TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 the book of fate composed of seven memoran- 
 dums; the seven prophetic rings of the Brach- 
 manes, on which the name of a planet was en- 
 graved; the seven stones dedicated to planets in 
 Laconia; the immemorial division into seven tribes 
 adopted by the Egyptians and the Indians ; the 
 seven idols pompously carried every year by the 
 Bonzes into seven dift'erent temples ; the seven 
 mystical vowels vvhich formed the sacred formula 
 in the temples of the phmets; the seven Pyrees 
 or altars of the monument of Mithra; the seven 
 Amshaspands, or great geniuses, invoked by the 
 Persians ; the seven Archangels of the Chaldeans ; 
 the seven sounding to^^'crs of old Byzantium ; the 
 week in all nations, or the period of seven days 
 consecrated each one t(3 a planet, as can be illus- 
 trated. For instance, in French, Monday is called 
 Lundi, which is derived from the latin Luna, mean- 
 ing moon. Tuesday is called Mardi, meaning 
 ^Mars. Wednesday is called Mercredi, meaning 
 Mercury. Thursday is called Jeudi, meaning Jupi- 
 ter. Friday is called Vendredi, meaning Venus. 
 Saturday is called Samedi, meaning Saturn. It 
 could also be illustrated by other languages de- 
 rived from tlie Latin. 
 
 The number three hundred and sixty, which is 
 that of the days of the year, not comprising, how- 
 ever, the epagomenes or complementary days, was 
 also retraced by the three hundred and sixty days 
 comprised in the theology of Orf)heus; by the 
 three hundred and sixty cups of the Avater of the 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 21 
 
 Nile, of which one was poured every day, by the 
 Egyptian priests, in a sacred cask, in the city of 
 Achante; by the three hundred and sixty Eons, 
 or geniuses of the Gnostics ; by the three hundred 
 and sixty idols placed in the palace of the Dairi in 
 Japan; by the three hundred and sixty saints, or 
 geniuses, who, the Papists believe, preside to each 
 day of the year, (as seen in their almanacs,) dogma 
 borrowed from the heathens; by the three hundred 
 and sixty minor statues which surrounded that of 
 llebal, or the god sun, Bolus, adored by the ancient 
 Arabs; by the three hundred and sixty chapels 
 built around the mosque of Balk, erected by the 
 care of the chief of the family of the Barmecides ; 
 by the three hundred and sixty temples built on 
 the mountain Louham, in China; by the wall of 
 three hundred and sixty stadiums with which 
 Semiramis encompassed the city of Belus, or of 
 the sun, the famous Babylon. In fine, the division 
 of the Zodiac into twenty-seven parts, which ex- 
 press the stations of the moon, and into thirty-six 
 which is that of the decans, was also the object of 
 the political and religious distributions. 
 
 Not only the divisions of the heaven, but the 
 constellations themselves were represented in the 
 temples, and their images consecrated among the 
 religious monuments, and on the medals of the 
 cities. The bright star Capella, in the constellation 
 Auriga, had a statue of brass gilt in the city of the 
 Phliassians. To the constellation Auriga statues 
 and other monuments had been erected in Greece 
 
n 
 
 TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 under the names of Myrtile, of Hippolyte, of Sphe- 
 rceus, of Cillas, of Erectee, etc. There were seen, 
 also, the statues and tombs of the Atlantides. 
 JSTear Argos was seen a mound, w^hich was said to 
 cover the head of the famous Medusa, whose type 
 is in the heaven, under the feet of Perseus. The 
 moon, or Diana of Ephesus, was adorned with the 
 figure of the Cancer, which is one of the twelve 
 signs, and the mansion of this planet. The Ursa, 
 adored under the name of Calisto, and the Bootes, 
 under that of Areas, had their tombs on Arcadia, 
 near the altars of the sun. To the same Bootes a 
 statue was erected at Byzantium, and also to Orion, 
 the famous IS'embrod of the Assyrians. 
 
 The Syrians had consecrated in their temples 
 the images of Pisces, (fishes,) one of the signs. 
 The constellations Nesra, or Eagle, Aiyuk, or Goat, 
 Yagutho, or Pleiades, and Suwaha, or Alhouwoa, 
 and the Serpentarius were objects of idolatry 
 among the ancient Sabians. These names are 
 found even now in Hyde's commentary on Ulug- 
 Beigh. Lucian writes that the whole religious 
 system of the Egyptians was taken from the heav- 
 en. The most of the cities were founded and 
 built under the inspection and protection of one of 
 the signs of the Zodiac. Their horoscope was 
 drawn; hence the images of stars on their medals. 
 The medals of Antioch represent the Ram, (Aries) 
 with the crescent of the moon ; those of the Mam- 
 ertines the image of the Bull, (Taurus); those of 
 the kings of Comargene, the image of the Scor- 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 23 
 
 pion ; and tliose of Zeugma and of Anazarba, the 
 image of the Goat, (Capricornus). JSTearly all the 
 signs are found on the medals of the Antonincs. 
 The star Hesperus was on the national seal of the 
 Locrians, of the Ozoles, and of the Opuntians. 
 
 Likewise we shall remark that the ancient feasts, 
 or celebrations, were connected with the principal 
 epochs of nature, and with the heavenly system. 
 Everywhere tbe solsticial and equinoxial celebra- 
 tions are found; even in our days the Catholics 
 celebrate the beginning of each season of the year 
 by fasting and abstaining from meat. Fohi, one 
 of the most ancient emperors of China, ordered 
 sacrifices to be offered to the gods at the com- 
 mencement of each season. Four pavilions were 
 erected to the moons of the four seasons. The 
 ancient Chinese, Confucius says, established a 
 sacrifice in honor of Chang-Ty, at the winter sol- 
 stice, and one in the spring. The emperor alone 
 has the privilege to preside at these two ceremo- 
 nies, as beicg the son of heaven. The Greeks and 
 the Romans did the same for like reasons. 
 
 The Persians have their ISTeurouz, or feast of the 
 sun, when this king of the day passes under the 
 Ram, or under the sign of the equinox of the 
 spring. It is even now one of the greatest festivi- 
 ties in Persia. At the winter's solstice the ancient 
 Egyptians led the sacred cow seven times around 
 the temple; and at the equinox of the spring they 
 solemnly celebrated the coming of the sun to once 
 more vivify nature. The celebration of the tri- 
 
24 TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 umpli of fire and light took place in the city of the 
 sun, in Assyria, and was called the celebration of 
 wood-piles. The Catholic Church has borrowed 
 this celebration from the heathen, and has fixed it 
 on the Saturday before Easter. 
 
 The feasts celebrated by the Sabians to honor 
 the planets, were fixed under the sign of their 
 exaltation; sometimes under that of their mansion; 
 so the feast of Saturn was celebrated by the Ro- 
 mans in December, under the Capricornus (Goat), 
 mansion of this planet. All tlie celebrations of 
 the old calendar of the Pontifl's were connected 
 with the rise or setting of some constellation or 
 star, as .can be ascertained by reading the Fastcs of 
 Ovide. The religious genius of the liomans, and 
 the relations of their celebrations with nature, are 
 more especially seen in the games of the circus. 
 The sun, the moon, the planets, the elements, the 
 universe and its principal parts, were represented 
 with emblems analagous to their nature. In the 
 Hippodrome the sun was seen with steeds which 
 imitated its course in the heavens. 
 
 The fields of Olympia were represented by a 
 vast arena consecrated to the sun. In the middle 
 there was a temple of this god, crowned w^ith his 
 image. The limits of the course of the sun, the 
 Orient and the Occident, were traced, and marked 
 by limits placed at the extremities of the circus. 
 The races took place from the east to the west 
 seven times, because of the seven planets. The 
 sun, the moon, Jupiter and Yenus, had each one 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 25 
 
 a cliariot. The Aurigoe, or drivers, wore garments 
 representing the colors of the elements. The 
 chariot of the sun was drawn by four steeds, and 
 that of the moon by two. The Zodiac was repre- 
 sented in the circus by twelve gates; and also the 
 revolution of the major and minor Ursas. The 
 sea, or ^^eptune, the earth, or Ceres, and the other 
 elements, were personified in actors who contend- 
 ed for the prize. 
 
 The phases of the moon were also celebrated, 
 and particularly the neomeny or new-moon; for 
 temples images and mysteries had been dedicated 
 to the god ISIonth, or Mensis. All the ceremonial 
 of the procession of Isis, described in Apuleo, re- 
 fers to nature and its parts. The sacred hymns of 
 the ancients had the same object, if we may judge 
 of them by those of Orpheus. Chun, one of the 
 most ancient emperors of China, ordered many 
 hymns to be composed to honor the sun, the moon, 
 the stars, etc. All the prayers contained in the 
 books Zends had the same objects. The poetical 
 chants of ancient authors, who have transmitted 
 to us the theogonies of Orpheus, of Linus, of Hesi- 
 od, etc., relate to nature and its agents. Hesiod 
 thus addresses the Muses: "Sing the gods immor- 
 tal, sons of the earth and of the starry sk}'; gods 
 born from the bosom of night, and nursed by the 
 Ocean ; the bright stars, the immense vault of the 
 firmament, and the gods sprung from them; the 
 sea, the rivers, etc." 
 
 The songs of lopas, in the banquet offered by 
 
 a 
 
26 TRUE SPIRIT OF 
 
 Dido to the Trojans, contain the lessons of the 
 learned Atlas about the course of the snn and of 
 the moon; about the origin of men, of animals, etc. 
 In the Pastorals of Virgil, the old Silene sings the 
 chaos and the organization of the world. Orpheus 
 does the same in the Argonautics of ApoUonius. 
 The cosniog'ony of Sanchoniaton, or of the Phoe- 
 nicians, conceals under the veil of allegories the 
 great secrets of nature which were taught to those 
 initiated. The philosophers who succeeded to 
 the poets called all the parts of the universe di- 
 vine. In the opinion of Pythagoras the celestial 
 bodies were immortal and divine. The sun, the 
 moon, and all the stars superabundantly contained 
 heat, or principle of life. He placed the substance 
 of the deity in the ethereal fire, of which the sun, 
 he said, was the main focus. 
 
 Parmenides imagined a halo around the world, 
 and called it the substance of the deity; the stai's 
 partook of the nature thereof. Alimeon of Croto- 
 iia taught that the sun, the moon, and the stars 
 were the g'ods. Antisthenes acknowledged but 
 one deity, nature. Plato attributed divinity to the 
 world, to the sky, to the stars, and to the earth. 
 Xenocrates and Heraclides admitted eight great 
 gods, the seven planets and the heaven of the lixed 
 stars. Theophrastes called the stars and the celes- 
 tial signs first causes. Zenon said that the ether, 
 the stars, time and its parts were gods. Cleanthes 
 admitted the dogma of the divinity of the universe 
 and more especially of the ethereal fire that envel- 
 
PAGAN RELIGIONS. 27 
 
 ops the spheres, and penetrates them. . Diogene, 
 the Babylonian, related the whole mythology to 
 nature. Chrysippus held that the world was God. 
 He placed the divine substance in the ethereal fire, 
 in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, in one word, 
 in nature and its principal parts. Anaximandre, 
 Anaximenes and Zenon had the same belief. 
 
 From this exposition of the religious and polit- 
 ical monuments of ancient peoples, of their cele- 
 brations, and of the opinions of their philosophers; 
 and also of the historical facts brought forth be- 
 fore, we draw these two logical and vital conclu- 
 sions : — 
 
 1st. Therefore the adoration of the vast body 
 of nature, together with the great soul which was 
 supposed to animate it; and of its principal parts 
 and members, together with the multifarious ema- 
 nations of the great soul which was supposed to 
 animate them, was the former and universal religion 
 of mankind (excepting the Hebrews) before the 
 coming of Jesus Christ. 
 
 2d. Therefore the heathens did not worship the 
 idols themselves, to which they had given such 
 and such forms to represent the objects of their 
 adorations, but they worshipped what in their 
 mind they represented, the universe taken collec- 
 tively, as in the idol of Pan; and the universe 
 taken separately, namel}^ the important parts of 
 the universe, as in their innumerable idols of the 
 planets, stars, rivers, etc. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF MYSTERIES. 
 
 "Whether the word mystery is derived from the 
 Greek muo, 1 close, or from mueo, I teach, is not 
 an important question, for the word mystery has 
 always implied the double idea of secrecy and of 
 instruction. Kings, emperors, and even the most 
 liberal of the legislators, seem to have believed, 
 from the very cradle of nations, that people ought 
 to be governed with fables, because they are too 
 weak minded, and too ignorant to understand and 
 bear the truth. Of all the errors which have en- 
 shrouded the human race, none has been more 
 injurious to progress, virtue, and happiness among 
 men. Even in our days, of all the existing gov- 
 ernments, there is but one, if any at all, which 
 does not place its strength upon the erroneous 
 basis that the people, being not able to understand 
 and bear the truth, are more easily ruled by being 
 kept in their ignorance and superstition. This 
 great error gave birth to mysteries. 
 
 "When men constituted themselves into national 
 bodies, they chose men, and vested them Avith the 
 power of administering their interests. Those 
 (28) 
 
PAGAN ORIGIN OF MYSTERIES. 29 
 
 men forfeited their mandate, and became the 
 tyrants of their constituents. In order to secure 
 and perpetuate their sway, they associated to their 
 personal interests hierophants, priests of all kinds, 
 astronomers, philosophers, and poets, who com- 
 posed fables, intended to have a moral bearing 
 upon the people, and to make their masses be- 
 lieve them as being the truth. Those fables they 
 called mysteries. 
 
 Egypt had her initiations, known under the 
 name of mysteries of Osiris and Isis ; from which 
 those of Bacchus and Ceres were mostly copied. 
 "When we compare the courses and adventures of 
 the Ceres of the Greek, with those of the Egyp- 
 tian Isis, we can not but see the filiation of these 
 two fables. The poems whose Bacchus is the 
 hero, and the history of the Osiris, the ceremonies 
 practiced to honor these two deities, and the iden- 
 tity of both acknowledged by the ancients, evi- 
 dently prove that the mysteries of the latter have 
 given birth to the former. Cybele and Atys had 
 their initiations, and the Cabires also. 
 
 The Chinese had and still have mysteries on 
 Foe, and Pousa; the Japanese upon Xaca and 
 Amida ; the Siamois on Sommonacodom ; the In- 
 dians on Brama and Rudra; the Parsis upon 
 Ormuzd and Ahriman. The Selles studied the 
 mysterious words of the doves of Bodone ; Persia, 
 Ethiopia, Scythia, Gaul, and Scandinavia, had their 
 caverns, their holy mounts, their sacred oaks, 
 where the brahmanes, the astrologera, the gymuo- 
 
30 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 sophists and the driiids, pronounced the inexphca- 
 ble oracle of the immortals. The Mahomedans 
 have mysteries on the miracles of Mahomet. 
 
 We hope to interest and instruct the reader in 
 translating the following extract from the Voyage 
 of Anacharsis, a reliable work. Auacharsis is sup- 
 posed to have traveled in Greece, in the fourth 
 century before the Christian era. He thus re- 
 lates the mysteries of Eleusis : 
 
 "I shall speak of the most important point 
 of the religion of the Athenians, of those mys- 
 teries whose origin is lost in the night of ages; 
 whose ceremonies inspire no less terror than ven- 
 eration ; and wdiose secret has never been revealed, 
 except by a few persons who were immediately 
 devoted to death, and to public execration ; for 
 the law not only pronounces against them, the 
 confiscation of their property and the loss of their 
 life, but it orders that a column be erected, to 
 perpetuate the rememberance of their crime and 
 of their punishment. 
 
 " Of all the mysteries estabhshed in honor of 
 the gods, none were more celebrated than those 
 of Ceres. This goddess herself, it is said, regulat- 
 ed them, while she was wandering on the earth 
 for the purpose of finding Proserpine, ravished by 
 Pluto, she arrived in the plain of Eleusis. Pleased 
 with the welcome extended to her by the inhabi- 
 tants, she presented them with two signalled bless- 
 ings, asrriculture, and initiation to a sacred doc- 
 trine. It is added, that the minor mysteries 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 81 
 
 which are preparatory to the major, were institu- 
 ted to the honor of Hercules. 
 
 "People believe, that, wherever the Athenians 
 established the mysteries of Eleusis, the spirit of 
 union and humanity became more general ; be- 
 cause they free the soul from ignorance and 
 stains; procure the particular assistance of the 
 gods; the means of arriving at the perfection of 
 virtue; the sweets of a holy life; the hope of a 
 peaceable death, and of an endless bliss. Those 
 initiated will occupy a distinguished place in the 
 Elysian fields; they will enjoy a pure light, and 
 they will dwell in the bosom of the Deity ; where- 
 as, those who are profane will dwell hereafter in 
 abodes of darkness and of horror. 
 
 "In order to avoid such an alternative the 
 Greeks flocked from everywhere to Eleusis to find 
 the promised bliss. Though young, the Athe- 
 nians are admitted to the ceremonies of the in- 
 itiation; and those whenever participated to them 
 ask this favor before they die ; the menaces and 
 the pictui'es of the sufi:erings of another life, be- 
 fore considered as a subject of derision, cause a 
 more vivid impression on the mind ; and then 
 terror generates weakness. However, there are 
 enlightened men who do not believe that there is 
 any need for them to be initiated in order to be 
 virtuous. Socrates constantly declined joining 
 the mysteries; and, one day, Diogenes being so- 
 licited, in my presence, to ask for initiation, an- 
 swered; ' Patoecion, a famous thi«f, was initiated; 
 
32 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 EpaminoDdas and Agcsilas never asked for it. 
 Can I believe that the former will go to the Elysian 
 fields and the latter to the Tartarus.' 
 
 "All the Greeks can aspire to participate to the 
 mysteries : an ancient law excludes the foreigners. 
 The major mysteries are celebrated every year on 
 the lifteenth of the month of Boedromion, The 
 celebration of the minor mysteries is also annual, 
 and takes place six months before. During the 
 celebration of the major mysteries the tribunals 
 are closed. The day following, the senate pro- 
 nounces the -penalty of death against those who 
 have wilfully disturbed the ceremonies. This se- 
 verity is required to maintain order among the 
 immense multitude of people. In time of war 
 the Athenians send to their foes safe conducts to 
 induce them to assist at the celebration. 
 
 " On the fourteenth of Boedromion, in the 
 second year of the one hundred and ninth Olym- 
 piad, I left Athens with several of my friends. 
 The gate through which the Athenians pass to go 
 to Eleusis is called sacred. The space between 
 these two cities is of about one hundred stadiums. 
 After crossing a high hill decked with rosy laurels, 
 we entered the territory of Eleusis; and we ar- 
 rived on the banks of two small brooks conse- 
 crated, the one to Ceres, and the other to Proser- 
 pine. I mention them because the priests of the 
 temple are the only ones who are permitted to 
 fish in them; and because their waters are salted, 
 and are used in the ceremonies of initiation. 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 33 
 
 Farther, on the bridge of a river named Cephize, 
 we had to bear the mockeries of a numerous pop- 
 ulace, who stand there to criticize the comers, and 
 more especially the most distinguished men of the 
 Republic. It is an old tradition that Ceres had 
 been welcomed on this very spot by an old woman^ 
 called Yambe. 
 
 " At a short distance from the sea there is a 
 high and long hill, at the eastern end of which the 
 famous temple of Ceres and Proserpine has been 
 reared. Further down is the small city of Eleusis. 
 In the vicinity, and on the hill itself, there are 
 chapels and altars, and rich country-seats. The 
 temple, built under the care of Pericles, on the 
 bare rock, is of pantelic marble ; and is turned 
 towards the Orient. It is so vast as magnificent ; 
 its enclosure at the south is of about three hun- 
 dred and eighty-four feet, and at the east of three 
 hundred and twenty-five. The most celebrated 
 artists have adorned this temple with master- 
 pieces of art. 
 
 " Among the numerous priests who ofiBciate in 
 the temple, there are four principal. The first is 
 the Hierophant ; his name designates the one who 
 reveals the sacred things, and his main office is to 
 initiate the postulants to the mysteries. He ap- 
 pears with a distinguished tunic; his forehead is 
 decked with a diadem, and his hair is floating on 
 his shoulders. His age must be mature enough 
 to correspond with the gravity of his ministry, 
 and his voice fine enough to be pleasing to the 
 
34 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ears. His priesthood is for life ; and he is obliged 
 to keep celibacy. The second priest carries the 
 sacred Hambeau in the ceremonies, and purifies 
 the candidates; he has also the f)rivilege of wear- 
 ing a diadem. The two others are the sacred 
 herald, and the assistant at the altar. 
 
 "The holiness of their ministry is rendered 
 even more respectable by their noble birth. The 
 Hiero pliant is chosen in the famih' of the Eumoi- 
 pides, one of the most ancient of Athens ; the 
 sacred herald in that of the Ceryees, which is a 
 collateral branch of the other; the two other 
 priests belong also to illustrious families. These 
 four priests have under their command other min- 
 isters, such as the interpreters, the singers, and 
 other officers, who have the direction of the pro- 
 cessions and other cermonies. Also there are at 
 Eleusis priestesses consecrated to Ceres and to 
 Proserpine. They have the privilege of initiating 
 certain persons on particular daj-s, and to oiFer 
 sacrifices. 
 
 "The celebrations are presided by the second of 
 the Archontes, whose duty is to keep order, and 
 to prevent any change or alteration in the worship. 
 They last several days. Sometimes those initiated 
 interrupt their sleep to continue their pious exer- 
 cises : we saw them during the night crossing the 
 enclosure, walking in silence two by two, and 
 holding each one a lighted torch. When they 
 reentered the sacred asylum they hastened their 
 march ; and I learned that they were going to figure 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 35 
 
 the courses of Ceres and of Proserpine ; and that, 
 in their rapid evolutions, they shook their torches, 
 and handed them to each other. The hglit which 
 springs out, it is said, has the virtue of purifying 
 the souls, and hecomes the symbol of the light 
 which ought to instruct them. 
 
 "One day games were celebrated in the honor 
 of the two goddesses. Famous champions had 
 come from various parts of Greece, and the prize 
 was a measure of barley, raised in the neighboring 
 plain, whose inhabitants hold from Ceres the art 
 of cultivating this sort of wheat. On the sixth 
 day, the most brilliant of all, the priests of the 
 temple, and those initiated, carried from Athens to 
 Eleusis, the statue of lacchus, said to be the son 
 of Ceres or of Proserpine. The god, crowned with 
 myrtle, held a flambeau. About thirty thousand 
 people followed, making the air resound with the 
 name of lacchus. The march, led by the sound 
 of instruments and the singing of hymns, was 
 sometimes suspended to perform dances and sac- 
 rifices. The statue was introduced in the temple 
 of Eleusis, and then taken back in his own, with 
 the same splendors, and the same ceremonies. 
 
 "Many of those who composed the procession 
 had been initiated only to the minor mysteries, 
 annually celebrated in a small temple, situated 
 near the Illissus. There a priest examines and 
 prepares the candidates ; he excludes them if they 
 are guilty of enormous crimes, and particularly 
 if they have committed murder, even without 
 
B^ PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 purpose. He imposes upon the others frequent 
 expiations, and teaches them the first rudiments 
 of the sacred doctrine. This noviciate sometimes 
 lasts several years, but generally one only. Dur- 
 ing the time of probation, the candidates assist at 
 the celebration of the major mysteries; but they 
 remain at the door of the temple. 
 
 " The initiation to the great mysteries had been 
 appointed for the night following. One of the 
 preparatory ceremonies was the offering of sacri- 
 fices, for the prosperity of the state, presided by 
 the second of the Archontes. The novices were 
 crowned with myrtle. Their robes seem to con- 
 tract such a holiness that many of them wear 
 them until they are worn out; others make of 
 them swaddling-clothes for their children, or hang 
 them in the temple. We saw them enter in the 
 sacred hall ; and, on the next morning, one of my 
 friends, who had been newly initiated, related to 
 me many of the ceremonies which he had wit- 
 nessed. 
 
 "He told me, 'We found the ministers of the 
 temple dressed in their pontifical robes. The 
 Hierophant, who, in that moment, represents the 
 author of the universe, had symbols which desig- 
 nated the power supreme. The flambeau-bearer 
 and the assistant to the altar appeared with the 
 attributes of the sun and of the moon ; and the 
 sacred herald with those of Mercury. We had 
 just taken our seats when the herald exclaimed: 
 "Away from here ye profane and impious men, 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 37 
 
 and all tlios-e whose souls are contamiuated with 
 crimes!' The penalty of death was decreed 
 against those who had the temerity of remaining 
 in the temple without being entitled to it, after 
 this admonition. The second of the priests or- 
 dered that the skins of the victims be spread 
 beneath our feet; and he purified us anew. The 
 rituals of initiation were loudly read, and hymns 
 in the honor of Ceres were sung, 
 
 " Soon after a roar was heard. The earth 
 seemed to shake. Amid lightning and thunder 
 phantoms and spectres were seen roaming in 
 darkness. They filled the holy hall with soul- 
 rending groans and bowlings. Sufferings, cares, 
 diseases, poverty, and death, under hideous forms, 
 struck our gaze. The Ilierophant explained these 
 various emblems, and his vivid pictures added to 
 our terror. However, guided by a feeble light, 
 we were advancing towards the regions of the 
 Tartarus, where the souls get purified before they 
 reach the abode of bliss. Amidst sorrowful voices 
 we heard the bitter regrets of those who had com- 
 mitted suicide. They are punished, the Iliero- 
 phant said, because thej' have deserted the posts 
 assigned to them by the gods. 
 
 "He had scarcely pronounced these words, 
 when brass gates were thrown open before us 
 with a frightful roar, and then we saw the horrors 
 of the Tartarus. It resounded with the rattle of 
 chains, and the yells of its unfortunate inmates. 
 Learn from us, did they say, to respect the gods, 
 
38 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 and to be just and grateful. "We saw the furies, 
 armed with whips, unmercifully torturing the 
 criminals. These frightening pictures, made more 
 so by the sonorous and imposing voice of the 
 Hierophant, who seemed to exercise the ministry 
 of divine vengeance, filled our soul with terror. 
 In fine, we were introduced in delightful thickets; 
 in enamelled meadows; fortunate abodes, image 
 of the Elysean fields, where a pure light shone, 
 where charming voices were heard. AYe passed 
 into the sanctuary, where we saw the statue of 
 the goddess resplendent with brightness, and 
 dressed in the richest attire. In this sanctuary 
 our trials ended; there our eyes saw, and our 
 ears heard, what we are forbidden to reveal. I 
 will simply confess that in the delirium of a holy 
 joy we sung hymns of joy.' 
 
 "Such was the recital of the newly-initiated. 
 Another told me a circumstance which the other 
 omitted. One day, during the celebrations, the 
 Hierophant uncovered the mysterious baskets, 
 which are carried in the procession, and which 
 are the object of the public veneration. They 
 contained the sacred symbols, whose sight is pro- 
 hibited to those uninitiated, and which are but 
 cakes of various forms, grains of salt, and other 
 objects, which relate to the history of Ceres, and 
 to the dogmas taught in the mysteries. When 
 those initiated have taken them from a basket, 
 and put them in another, they say that they have 
 fasted and drank the Ciceon. 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 89 
 
 " I often met witli men who "were not initiated, 
 and who freely expressed their opinions abont the 
 secret doctrines tanght in the mysteries. One of 
 the disciples of Plato said: 'It seems to be certain 
 that the Hierophant teaches the necessity of pains 
 and rewards beyond the grave; and that he rep- 
 resents to the postnlants the various destinies of 
 men here below and hereafter. Also it seems to be 
 certain that he teaches them, that, among the great 
 number of deities adored by the multitude, the 
 ones are pure spirits, who, ministers of the will of 
 the god supreme, regulate under his command the 
 motion of the universe; and the others have been 
 simple mortals, whose tombs are kept yet in several 
 parts of Greece. Is it not natural to think, that, 
 in order to give a more accurate idea of the Deity, 
 the institutors of mysteries endeavored to main- 
 tain, and to thus perpetuate a dogma, whose ves- 
 tiges are more or less visible in the opinions, and 
 ceremonies, of nearly all nations — that of a God, 
 who is the principal and end of all things? Such 
 is, in my opinion, the august secret revealed to 
 those initiated.' " 
 
 " ISTo doubt political ends encouraged the in- 
 stitution of this religious association. Polytheism 
 was generally spread, and was pleasing the people, 
 but on account of the multiplicity of the gods it 
 was dano-erous to societv. It was thought wiser 
 not to destroy this belief, but to counterbalance it 
 by a purer religion. As the people are more re- 
 strained by the laws than by abstract principles 
 
40 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 of morals, the legislators contrived to harmonize 
 the superstition of the people with purer religious 
 and moral principles, which they should simulta- 
 neously teach. 'Thus,' the disciple of Plato 
 added, 'you understand why the gods are repre- 
 sented on the theatre of Athens : the magistrates 
 who do not believe the false doctrines of Polythe- 
 ism are very careful not to repress a superstition 
 and a license, which amuse the people, and 
 whose repression would indispose them. 
 
 " ' Also you understand how two religions, though 
 opposed in their dogmas, conjointly exist in peace 
 and harmony in the same cities. The reason of 
 it is, that, though their dogmas are diiferent, these 
 religions use the same language, and that the truth 
 has for the error the same tolerance, and courtesy, 
 which the truth should obtain from the error. 
 Externally the mysteries present but the worship 
 adopted by the people. The hymns sung in pub- 
 lic, and the most of the ceremonies retrace to the 
 masses many circumstances of the rajje of Proser- 
 pine, of the courses of Ceres, of her arrival and 
 sojourn at Eleusis. The vicinity of this city is 
 full of monuments reared in the honor of the god- 
 dess, and the priests show, as yet, the stone upon 
 which, tradition relates, she rested when exhausted 
 with fatigue. Thus, on one hand, the ignorant 
 people believe appearances as if they wore reali- 
 ties; and on another hand, those who have been 
 initiated, having a clear sight of the spirit of the 
 mysteries, think they are right on account of the 
 purity of their intentions.' 
 
OF MYSTERIES. -fl. 
 
 " Whatever it may be of the supposition I have 
 related, the initiation is now but a vain ceremony. 
 Those who have been initiated are not more vir- 
 tuous than the others; every day they violate 
 their pledge of abstaining from fowl, from fish, 
 from pomegranates, from beans, and several other 
 kinds of fruits, and of vegetables. Several have 
 contracted this sacred engagement through un- 
 worthy means; for, not long ago, we have seen the 
 government perniitting the sale of the privilege 
 of participating to the mysteries ; and, for a long 
 while, women of ill fame have been admitted to 
 initiation." 
 
 As it would require volumes to describe the 
 ceremonies of all these Pagan mysteries, we shall 
 only examine their general character; show forth 
 their end; group together their common features, 
 and glance at the means used by political and re- 
 ligious leaders, to give a full scope to this power- 
 ful governmental engine. 
 
 The mysteries of Eleusis, and in general of all 
 mysteries, aimed at the amelioration of mankind, 
 at the reformation of morals, and at taking hold 
 of the souls of men with more power than through 
 the means of the laws. If the means used was not 
 lawful, we must however confess that the aim was 
 laudable, not in the minds of kings, emperors, 
 hierophants and other priests, but in itself. Cicero, 
 the illustrious Roman orator, said, that the institu- 
 tion of mysteries was one of the most useful to 
 humanity ; at least the mysteries of Eleusis, whose 
 4 
 
42 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 effects, he added, have been to civilize nations; to 
 soften the barbarous and ferocions habits and mor- 
 als of the first societies of men; and to make 
 known the most important principles of morals, 
 which initiate man to a sort of life that is worthy 
 of his nature. 
 
 The same was said of Orpheus, who introduced 
 in Greece the mysteries of Bacchus. Poets wrote 
 of him, that he had tamed tigers and lions ; and 
 that he attracted even trees and rocks with the 
 melodious strains of his lyre. Mysteries aimed at 
 the establishment of the reign of justice and of 
 religion, in the system of the rulers, who, from 
 policy, maintained the one by the other. This 
 double end is contained in this verse of Yirgil: — 
 "Learn from me to respect justice and the gods;" 
 this was the great lesson given by the Ilierophant 
 when the postulants were initiated. 
 
 Those initiated learned in those profound sanc- 
 tuaries, under the dark and deep veil of fables, 
 their duties towards their fellow men ; pretended 
 duties which they were taught to the gods, and, . 
 more unfortunately yet, pretended duties towards 
 their political and religious leaders, or rather ty- 
 rants. 
 
 Eulers used all imaginable means to give a su- 
 pernatural character to their laws, and to make 
 the people believe that they had this character. 
 The imposing x>icture of the universe, and the 
 poetry of mythological conceptions, gave to the 
 legislators the subject of the varied and wonderful 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 43 
 
 scenes which vrere represented in the temples of 
 Egypt, of Asia, and of Greece. All that can pro- 
 duce illusion, all the resources of witchcraft and 
 of theatrical exhibitions, which were but the secret 
 knowledge of the effects of nature, and the art of 
 imitating them; the brilliant pomp of festivities; 
 the variety and riches of decorations and costumes; 
 the majesty of the ceremonial; the captivating 
 power of music ; the choirs ; the chants ; the dan- 
 ces; the electrifying sounds of cymbals, calculated 
 to produce enthusiasm and delirium, and more fa- 
 vorable to religious exaltation than the calm of 
 reason, all was brought to action to attract the 
 people to the celebration of the mysteries ; and to 
 create in their souls a want, a desire for them. 
 
 Under the charms of pleasure, of rejoicings and 
 of celebrations, legislators and other rulers often- 
 times concealed a salutary aim; and they treated 
 the people like a child, which can never be more 
 efficaciously instructed, than when he thinks that 
 his preceptor intends only to amuse him. They 
 resorted to great institutions to shape society ; to 
 form habits; and to direct public opinion and 
 morals. 
 
 How magnificent was the procession of those 
 initiated advancing to the temple of Eleusis! The 
 banners, the sacred chants, the music, the cos- 
 tumes, and the dances, had a rapturous effect on 
 the masses. They thronged an immense temple; 
 we say immense, for if we judge the number of 
 those initiated by the number of those who assem- 
 
44 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 bled iu the plains of Tliriase, when Xerxes went 
 to Attic, the J were more than thirty thousand. 
 The costly and glowing ornaments which decked 
 the vast hall, the symbolic statues, which were 
 master-pieces of sculpture, and the mysterious pic- 
 tures which were symmetrically arranged in the 
 rotunda of the sanctuary, tilled the soul with 
 amazement, and with a religious respect. 
 
 All that was seen in the temple, the decorations, 
 costumes, ceremonies, splendor; and all that was 
 heard, the sacred chants, the melody of instru- 
 ments, the mythological teaching, the elevating 
 poetry and the eloquence of orators, struck the 
 spectators with wonder, produced and left in their 
 souls the most profound impressions. ISTot only 
 the universe was presented to their gaze under the 
 emblem of an egg divided into twelve parts, repre- 
 senting the months of the year, but also the divis- 
 ion of the universe into cause active and cause 
 passive, and its division into the Principle of light, 
 or good god, and the Principle of darkness, or bad 
 god. 
 
 Yarron informs us that the great gods adored at 
 Samothrace were the heaven and the earth, con- 
 sidered, the first as the cause active, and the second 
 as the cause passive of generation. In other mys- 
 teries the same idea was retraced by the exposition 
 of the Phallus and of the Cteis. It is the Lingham 
 of the Indians. 
 
 The same was done in regard to the division of 
 the world into two Principles, the one of light, or 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 45 
 
 good god, and the other of darkness, or bad god. 
 Pkitarch writes, that this religious dognia had 
 been consecrated in the initiations, and in the mj'^s- 
 teries of all nations; and the example which he 
 puts forth, extracted from both the theology of the 
 Chaldeans, and from the dogma of the symbolic 
 egg produced by these two Principles, is a proof of 
 it. In the temple of Eleusis there were scenes of 
 darkness and of light, which were successively 
 presented to the eyes of the candidates to initia- 
 tion: those scenes retraced the combats of the 
 Principle of light, or good god, and of the Principle 
 of darkness, or bad god. 
 
 In the cavern of the god Sun, or Mithra, the 
 priests had represented, among the mysterious 
 pictures of the initiation, the descent of the souls 
 to the earth, and their return to the heavens 
 through the seven planetary spheres. Also were 
 exhibited the phantoms of invisible powers, which 
 chained them to bodies, or freed them from their 
 bonds. Several millions of men witnessed those 
 various spectacles, of which they were most severely 
 forbidden to speak before the public. However 
 the poets, the orators, and the historians give us 
 in their writings some idea of what were those 
 scenes, formulas, ceremonies, fables, and morals, — 
 as, for instance, in what they have written about 
 the adventures of Ceres, and of her daughter. 
 There was seen the chariot of this goddess drawn 
 by dragons; it seemed to hover above the earth 
 and the seas. It was a true theatrical exhibition, 
 
46 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 The variety of the scenes was pleasing, and tlie 
 play of machines was attractive. Grave were the 
 actors, majestic the ceremonial, and passion-stirr- 
 ing the fables and representations. 
 
 The hierophants, or priests, profoundl}" versed 
 in the knowledge of the genius of the people, and 
 in the art of leading them, availed of the minutest 
 circumstances to create in them the desire to be 
 initiated to their mysteries. ISTight seems to be 
 the mother of secrecy and the emblem of mystery ; 
 it is favorable to prestige and illusion; in conse- 
 quence they celebrated their mysteries in the night. 
 The fifth day of the celebration of the mysteries 
 of Eleusis was renowned b}' the superb torchlight 
 procession, in which those initiated, holding each 
 one a bright torch, walked two by two wearing 
 enigmatic emblems. 
 
 It was during the night, that the Egyptians sol- 
 emnly and processionally went to the shore of a 
 lake; they embarked, and landed in an island 
 beautifully situated in the middle of the lake; and 
 there they celebrated the mysteries of the passion 
 of Osiris. At other times those celebrations took 
 place in vast and dark grottos, or in retired and 
 shady thickets. Even rrow, in France, are seen 
 caverns where the Druids celebrated their myste- 
 ries; and forests where the Gauls assembled at 
 midnight; hung the heads of their vanquished ene- 
 mies; immolated a young virgin on the altar of 
 Teutates; and celebrated their mysteries under 
 the leadership of the Druids. 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 47 
 
 Tlie ceremonial of the mysteries was ordained, 
 particulariy among tlie civilized and populous na- 
 tions, in such a manner that it could not fail to 
 excite the curiosity of the people, "who naturally 
 eagerly desire and seek to know what is held in 
 secrecy. Legislators and hierophants rendered 
 this curiosity more intense by the extremely strin- 
 gent law of secrecy imposed upon those initiated. 
 Thus the profane, namel}', those uninitiated, were 
 the more desirous to he acquainted with the mys- 
 teries, and thus they joined them in large numbers. 
 Legislators gave to this spirit of secrecy the most 
 specious pretext. It was proper, they said, to imi- 
 tate the gods who concealed themselves from 
 man's gaze, for the purpose of creating in his soul 
 the desire to find them ; and who have made the 
 phenomena of nature a profound secret to them, 
 in order to stimulate them to the study of the 
 universe. Those initiated were not permitted to 
 speak of the mysteries except among themselves. 
 The penalty of death had been decreed against the 
 one who would have revealed them, even without 
 purpose; and also against any one who would 
 have entered the sacred temple before having been 
 previously initiated. 
 
 Aristoteles was accused of impiety by the hiero- 
 phant Eurymedon, for having sacrificed to the 
 manes of his wife, according to the rite practiced 
 in the worship of Ceres. He had to flee, and to 
 retire at Chalcis to save his life; and in ord^r to 
 clear his name from this stain he ordered his heirs 
 
48 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 to erect a statue to Ceres. Esclijles, having been 
 charged with having written about m3'sterious sub- 
 jects, saved his Hfe only by proving that he had 
 never been initiated. The entry of the temple of 
 Ceres, and the participation to her mysteries, were 
 prohibited to the slaves, and to those whose birth 
 was not legal; to women of ill fame, to the phi- 
 losophers who denied a Providence, such as the 
 Epicureans, etc. This interdiction was considered 
 as a great deprivation, for it was generally believed 
 among the people that initiation was the greatest 
 blessing. 
 
 In fact, those initiated were taught that they 
 belonged to a class of privileged beings, and were 
 the favorites of the gods. The priests of Samo- 
 thrace credited their initiation by promising favor- 
 able winds, a speedy and safe navigation to travel- 
 ers who were candidates to their mysteries. Those 
 initiated to the mysteries of Orpheus believed that 
 they were no longer under the rule of the evil 
 principle; that initiation made them holy, and 
 secured to them future happiness. After the cere- 
 monies of the initiation the candidate thus answer- 
 ed to the priest: "I have rejected the evil and 
 found the good." After that he considered him- 
 self, and was considered by his fellows, wholly 
 purified. 
 
 Those who were initiated to the mysteries of 
 Eleusis believed that the sun shone brighter and 
 purer to their eyes than to the sight of other men; 
 also that the goddesses inspired and gave th^m 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 49 
 
 counsels from tlie heaven, as seen bj the example 
 of Pericles. Initiation was considered as freeing 
 the soul frqm the darkness of error ; as preventing 
 misfortunes; and as securing happiness on earth. 
 
 One of the greatest blessings and privileges of 
 the initiation, the hierophant and other priests 
 taught, was to secure here below a direct com- 
 munion with the gods, and more especially beyond 
 the grave. According to Cicero, Isocrates, and 
 the rhetor Aristides, when he who had been ini- 
 tiated departed from this earthly life he inhabited 
 meadows enamelled with flowers of a celestial 
 beauty, and lighted with a sun brighter and purer 
 than the one we see. In that charming abode he 
 was to live centuries, and long preserve his youth, 
 "VYhen arrived at an old age, he was to become 
 young again. There was no labor, no sorrow, but 
 all was rapture and delight. 
 
 In the Greek and Eoman mysteries the unity 
 and also the trinity of God were consecrated dog- 
 mas. Jupiter was adored as the father of the gods 
 and of men, and as filling the whole universe with 
 his power. He was the supreme monarch of na- 
 ture : the names of gods ascribed to the other dei- 
 ties were more of an association in the title than 
 in the nature of their power, for each one of them 
 had a particular work to perform under the com- 
 mand of the supreme God. In the m3'steries of 
 the religion of the Greeks, a hymn expressing the 
 unity of God or Jupiter was sung; and the High 
 Priest, turning towards the worshippers, said: 
 
50 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 " Admire tlie master of the universe ; lie is one ; 
 he is everywhere." It was acknowledged by Eu- 
 sebius, St. Augustine, Lactance, Justin, Athena- 
 goras, and many other Fathers of the Church, that 
 the dogma of the unity of God was admitted by 
 ancient philosophers, and was the basis of the re- 
 ligion of Orpheus, and of all the mysteries of the 
 Greeks. 
 
 The Platonicians believed in the unity of the 
 archetype, or model on which God formed the 
 world; also they believed in the unity of demiour- 
 gos, or god-forming, by a consequence of the same 
 philosophical principles, namely, from the unity 
 itself of the universe, as can be seen in Proclus, 
 and in the writings of the Platonician authors. 
 
 Trinity also, (see chapter fifth) was taught in 
 the mysteries. Pythagoras, and many other phi- 
 losophers, explained the unity and trinity of God 
 by the theory of numbers. They called the mon- 
 ade cause, or princijjle. They expressed by the 
 number one, or unit, the first cause, and they con- 
 cluded to the unity of God from mathematical 
 abstractions. ISText to this unity they j)laced 
 triades, which expressed faculties or powers ema- 
 nated from them, and also intelligences of a sec- 
 ond order. The triple incarnation of the god 
 "VYichnou into the body of a virgin was one of the 
 doctrines taught in the mysteries of Mithra. 
 
 So much for the mysteries of Paganism; how- 
 ever, we shall, in the course of this work, refer to 
 them several times. Let us now examine the 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 51 
 
 origin of the mysteries, wliicli, the Partiahsts say, 
 Jesus Christ has taught. Mysteries suppose se- 
 crecy; but Jesus Christ preached his Gospel in the 
 open air to his apostles, to his disciples, to crowds 
 of people, and to all who were willing to hear his 
 doctrines. He urged upon his disciples to preach 
 above the roofs what he taught them. When, 
 after his death, his apostles spread his gospel, they 
 spoke in open air, everywhere, to masses of peo- 
 ple; Paul to the Areopagus, to thousands in Je- 
 rusalem, etc. How then can it be supposed that 
 Jesus Christ taught mj'steries? Indeed, he did 
 not, but afterwards several Christian churches 
 did. 
 
 The Protestant historian, Mosheim, cites in his 
 History of the Church, several authors, wdio state, 
 that, in the second century, several Christian 
 churches imitated the mysteries of Paganism. 
 The profound respect, they say, that the people 
 entertained for those mysteries, and the extraordi- 
 nary sacredness ascribed to them were for the 
 Christians a motive sufficient to give a m3'sterious 
 appearance to their religion, so as to command as 
 much respect to the pubhc as the religion of the 
 Pagans. To this etiect they called mysteries the 
 institutions of the Gospel, particularly the Eucha- 
 rist. They used in this ceremony, and in that of 
 baptism, several words and rites consecrated in 
 the mysteries of the Pagans. This abuse com- 
 menced in Orient, chiefly in Egypt; Clement of 
 Alexandria, in the beginning of the third century, 
 
52 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 was one of those who contributed tlie most to this 
 innovation, which then spread in Occident when 
 Adrian had introduced the mysteries in that por- 
 tion of the Empire. Hence, a large portion of 
 the service of the Church hardly diflered from 
 that of Paganism. 
 
 That the Church of Rome copied many of the 
 ceremonies, rites, customs, and fables of Pagan 
 mysteries is certain, for they have been perpetuated 
 in that Church down to our days. From the 
 Pagan mysteries the Roman Church borrowed 
 the following: 
 
 In the initiation to the Pagan mysteries there 
 were degrees ; so in the Roman Church there are 
 the degrees of porter or door-keeper, of acolyte, 
 of reader and of exorcist; the latter degree con- 
 fers the power of expelling the devil. The eccle- 
 siastical ornaments in the Church of Rome, with 
 the diiference of the cross represented on them 
 and of some trimming, are like those used in the 
 mysteries of the Pagans, at least in Rome, and in 
 Greece. The long floating gown, the girdle, the 
 casula, the stola, the dalmatica, the round and 
 pyramidal cap, the capa, and several other gar- 
 ments and ornaments, are alike to those used in 
 the temples, where the mysteries of the Pagans 
 were celebrated. 
 
 In those temples there was an altar richlj^ deco- 
 rated; so it is in the Church of Rome. In those 
 temples there were twelve flambeaux, representing 
 the twelve months of the year : so there are in 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 53 
 
 Catholic churches, upon the first degree ahove the 
 altar, six chandeliers with six tapers burning dur- 
 ing the celebration of the mysteries or mass ; six 
 others are on the second degree. The vestals 
 kept a light constantly burning in the Pagan tem- 
 ples : so a lamp is kept burning, day and night, 
 near the altar, in the Catholic churches. In the 
 Pagan temples the disc of the sun and his beams 
 were represented: so they are in the Catholic 
 churches. Upon the altar, in the Pagan temples, 
 there was an image of the god Osiris or Bacchus, 
 and the emblems of an aries or lamb : so upon 
 the altar, in Catholic churches, there is a taberna- 
 cle in which God is said to dwell, and the door of 
 the tabernacle represents a bleeding lamb. 
 
 The Pagans solemnly and processionally carried 
 the image of Osiris, or Bacchus, around the head 
 of which there was a halo representing the rays of 
 the sun : so in the Romish church the priests pro- 
 cessionally and with great pomp, carry, both in 
 the aisles of the churches and on the streets, a wafer 
 which they call God. It is encased in a silver or 
 gold ostenserium, whose circular centre, in which 
 their pretended God is seen between two crystals, 
 is shaped like the disc of the sun; and the outside, 
 of which called halo or glory, is shaped like his 
 rays. In the Pagan temples there was a sanctu- 
 ary exclusively reserved to the high-pontiff, and 
 to the priests : so it is in the Catholic churches. 
 In the Pagan temples the sanctuary was turned 
 towards the Orient: so it is in the Catholic 
 ehurches. 
 
54 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 The Pagans did not permit their candidates to 
 initiation to assist at the celebration of the mys- 
 teries, which was always preceded by tins formula, 
 solemnly and loudly spoken by an ofliccr, " Away 
 from here ye profane and impious men, and all 
 those whose soul is contaminated with crimes !" 
 So in Catholic churches, not now, but from the 
 first centuries down to the middle age, the deacon 
 arose after the homily, turned toward the assist- 
 ant, and ordered the catechumens to leave the 
 church, because the celebration of the mysteries 
 was to commence. Those mysteries are the mass, 
 during which the priest who ofliciates commands 
 Jesus Christ to descend from heaven into a wafer, 
 which he, (priest,) holds in his hands, and to change 
 it into his own blood, flesh, soul, and divinity. The 
 Pagans initiated the candidates near the front door 
 of their temples: so in the Catholic churches, the 
 baptismal fonts where the catechumens are in- 
 itiated, namely, baptized, arc placed near the por- 
 tal. Here we shall remark, that, for many centu- 
 ries, children are baptized, (even now parents arc 
 obliged under the pain of mortal sin to have their 
 children taken to the church to be baptized) three 
 days after they are born. The Pagans initiated 
 candidates chiefly on the eve of great celebrations : 
 so, in the Romish church, catechumens are bap- 
 tized chiefly on the eve of Easter, and of Pente- 
 cost. 
 
 The Pagans believed that initiation made them 
 holy; so the Romish church holds that .baptism 
 
OP MYSTERIES 55 
 
 remits the original and all other sins, and makes 
 holy. The Pagans revered in their temples the 
 statue of Pan, in whose hands was a seven-pipe 
 flute; also, they revered other emblems of the 
 seven planets : so in the Romish Church holds the 
 doctrine of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and 
 of the doctrine of the seven sacraments. In the 
 month of February the Pagans celebrated the 
 Lupercales, and the feast of Proserpine : so the 
 Church of Rome celebrates the Candlemas-day. 
 We cite the very words of Eergier, a Catholic 
 priest, and an ultra Papist, who writes thus in his 
 Theological Dictionary ; article Candlemas : 
 
 "Several authors ascribe the institution of 
 Candlemas-day to the pope Gelase, for the pur- 
 pose of opposing it to the Lupercales of the Pa- 
 gans, who went processionally out in the fields 
 making exorcisms. It is the opinion of the ven- 
 erable Bede. ' The Church,' he says, ' has happily 
 changed the lustrations of the Pagans, which 
 took place in February around the fields. She 
 has substituted to them processions, in which the 
 ^ople carry in their hands burning tapers.' 
 »Jthers ascribe this institution to the pope Vigil, 
 and say that it has been substituted to the feast 
 of Proserpine, which the Pagans celebrated in the 
 first days of February with torches.' 
 
 The Pagans worshipped Juno as the wife of 
 the god Jupiter : so the Church of Rome worships 
 the virgin Mary as the wife of God. The Pagans 
 celebrated the exaltation of the vire-o or -v^iro-in. 
 
56 PAGAN OBIGIN 
 
 the sixth sign and seventh constellation in the 
 ecliptic; so the Romish Church has established 
 the feast of Assumption, namely, of the ascension 
 of the virgin Mary to heaven. The Pagans made 
 solemn processions to honor the goddess Ceres;- 
 60 the Romish Church has instituted pompous 
 processions in the honor of the virgin Marj^ 
 
 Remark. — All the above institutions and doc- 
 trines of the Romish Church, and also those 
 which we shall examine in the following chapters, 
 date from the first centuries. All the Catholic 
 doctors, theologians, and historians, confess it. 
 
 From the numerous and undeniable historical 
 facts summed np in this chapter we legitimately 
 draw the conclusions, 1st. That, in the first cen- 
 turies of the Christian era, the Church of Rome 
 established mysteries; 2d. That the Church of 
 Rome borrowed her mysteries from the mysteries 
 of the Pagans; and, 3d. That a law of secrecy 
 was binding the catechumens after their initiation, 
 though this law was not so stringent as it was 
 among the Pagans. 
 
 Wlien, in the sixteenth century, the Protestants 
 shook the yoke of the Pope, they rejected many 
 of the mysteries of the Church of Rome ; however, 
 they kept several of them, such as the mystery of 
 Trinity, namely, of three Gods composing but one 
 God; the mystery of incarnation, namely of God 
 himself descending from the heavens, vesting our 
 mortal clay in the womb of a woman for the 
 purpose of being -'persecuted and slain on a cross 
 
OF MYSTERIES. 57 
 
 by men, thus pay to himself the debt owed to 
 him by men who had disobeyed him, (though 
 they did not Hve yet,) in the person of Adam. 
 These, we say, and other mysteries of the Romish 
 Church, the Protestants or Heterodox in the opin- 
 ion of the Cathohcs, preserved and transmitted 
 them to their sons, or Partiahsts, who now call 
 the Roman Catholics heathens; call the liberal 
 Christian Churches heterodox, and caU themselves 
 most emphatically Evangelical Churches, Orthodox 
 Churches. 
 
 The final and strictly logical conclusion of this 
 chapter is this : 
 
 Therefore the mysteries of the Romish Church, and 
 those of the self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches, 
 are of Pagan origin. 
 
 Corollary. Since mysteries are of Pagan origin, 
 and since Jesus Christ and his apostles did not 
 establish mysteries, there ought not to be myster- 
 ies in Christianity. Since Jesus Christ and his 
 apostles preached the Gospel in open air to all, 
 everywhere, there cannot be any mysteries in their 
 teaching, and there cannot be any mysteries in 
 their writings, we mean in the Kew Testament. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. 
 
 The celebrated Plutarch, historian, philosopher, 
 and priest of Apollo, in the first century of the 
 Christian era, thus writes : " We ought not to be- 
 lieve that the Principles of the universe are not 
 animated, as Democrite and Epicure thought; 
 nor that an inert matter be organized, and or- 
 dained by a Providence that disposes of all, as the 
 Stoicians taught. It is impossible that one sole 
 being, either good or bad, be the author of all, for 
 God can cause no evil. The harmony of the 
 world is a combination of contraries like the 
 strings of a lyre, or like the string of a bow capa- 
 ble of being bent and unbent. In no case, the 
 poet Euripedes says, good is separated from evil : 
 there must be a mixture of the one and of the 
 other. This opinion is of immemorial antiquity, 
 and has been held by theologians, legislators, poets, 
 and philosophers. Its inventor is unknown, but 
 it is verified by the traditions of mankind; it is 
 consecrated by mysteries and sacrifices among the 
 Barbarians, as well as among the Greeks. They 
 all acknowledge the dogma of two opposite Prin- 
 (58)' 
 
PAGAN ORIGIN OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. 59 
 
 ciples in nature, who, by their opposition, produce 
 the mixture of good and evil. 
 
 " Therefore it may not be said, that a single dis- 
 penser draws events like a liquor from two casks 
 to mix them together ; for this mixture is found 
 in all the phenomena of nature. We must admit 
 two opposite causes, two contrary powers, bearing 
 the one to the right, and the other to the left; and 
 who thus govern our life and the whole sublunar 
 world, which for this reason is subject to all the 
 irregularities and vicissitudes we witness, for 
 nothing is done without a cause. As the good 
 cannot produce evil, then there is a principle 
 causing evil, as one causing good." 
 
 We see by this passage of Plutarch, that the 
 true origin of two Principles proceeds from the 
 difficulty which men, in all times, found in ex- 
 plaining, by one sole cause, good and evil in nature, 
 and in making flow from one sole spring, virtue 
 and crime, light and darkness. "This dogma," 
 Plutarch adds, " has been admitted by nearly all 
 nations, and more especially by those renowned 
 by their wisdom. They believed in two gods of 
 difterent trade, if I may say so, who caused, the 
 one good, and the other e^'il. They called the 
 first God by excellence, and the second Demon." 
 
 In fact the Persians, disciples of Zoroaster ad- 
 mitted, and even in our days, the Parsis, their 
 successors, admit two principles, the one called 
 Oromaze, and the other Ahriman. Plutarch snys: 
 " The Persians believed that the first was of the 
 
60 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 nature of light, and tlie second of that of dark- 
 ness. Among the Egyptians the first was called 
 Osiris, and the second Typhon, eternal foe to the 
 first." 
 
 All the sacred books of the Persians, and of the 
 Egyptians, contain the marvellous and allegorical 
 recital of the various combats given by Ahriman 
 and his angels to Oromaze, and by Typhon to 
 Osiris. These fables have been rehearsed by the 
 Greeks in the war of the Titans against the 
 Giants, against Juj)iter, or Principle of good and 
 light; for Jupiter, Plutarch remarks, was the Oro- 
 maze of the Persians, and the Osiris of the Egyp- 
 tians. 
 
 To these examples quoted by Plutarch, and which 
 he extracted from the Theogony of the Persians, 
 of the Egyptians, of the Greeks, and of the Chal- 
 deans, we shall add others, which are living yet, 
 at least the most of them. The inhabitants of the 
 kingdom of Pegu admit two Principles; the one 
 author of good, and the other of evil. They 
 particularly endeavor to obtain the favor of the 
 latter. The Indians of Java acknowledge a chief 
 supreme of the universe, and address offerings 
 and prayers to the evil genius lest he harm them. 
 The Indians of the Moluc and Philippine islands 
 do the same. The natives of the island of For- 
 mose worshipped a good god, Ishy, and demons, 
 Chouy; they sacrifice to the latter, but seldom to 
 the former. 
 
 The negroes of the Cote-d'or admit two Gods, 
 
OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. 61 
 
 the one good, and tlie other bad ; the one Avhite, 
 and the other black and evil. They do not adore 
 the former often, whereas they try to appease the 
 latter with prayers and sacrifices ; the Portuguese 
 have named him Demon. The Hottentots call the 
 good Principle the Captain of above, and the bad 
 principle the Captain of below. The ancients be- 
 lieved that the source of evil was in the underneath 
 matter of the earth. The Giants and Typhon 
 were sons of the Earth. The Hottentots say, that, 
 whether the good Principle is prayed to or not he 
 does good ; whereas it is necessary to pra}^ to the 
 evil Principle, lest he might do harm. They call 
 the bad god Touquoa, and represent him small, 
 crooked, irritable, a foe to them; and they say 
 that from him all evils flow to this world. 
 
 The natives of Madagascar believe in two Prin- 
 ciples. They ascribe to the bad one tlie form and 
 badness of a serpent, they call him Ang'at: they 
 name the good one Jadliar, which means great, 
 omnipotent God. They rear no temple to the lat- 
 ter because he is good. The Mingrelians more 
 particularly honor the one of their idols, which 
 they think to be the most cruel. The Indians of 
 the island of Tenerifle believe in a supreme God, 
 whom they call Achguaya-Xerax, which means 
 the greatest, the most sublime, the preserver of all 
 things. Also they admit an evil genius named 
 Guyotta. 
 
 The Scandinaves have their god Locke, who 
 wars against the gods, and particularly against 
 
62 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Thor. He is the slanderer of the gods, Edda says, 
 the great forger of deceit. His spirit is evil; he 
 engendered three monsters ; the wolf Feiiris, the 
 serpent Midgaj-d, and Hela, or death. He causes 
 the earthquakes. The Tsouvaches and the Mor- 
 duans recognize a supreme being, who gave men 
 all the blessings they enjoy. They also admit evil 
 spirits whose occupation is to injure mankind. 
 
 The Tartars of Katzchiuzi adore a benevolent 
 god, in kneeling towards the Orient; but they fear 
 another god. Toils, to whom they pray to disarm 
 his wrath; and to whom, in the spring, they sacri- 
 fice a stallion. The Ostiaks and the Vogouls name 
 that evil god Koul; the Samoyedes name him 
 Sjoudibe; the Motores, Huala; the Kargasses, 
 Sedkyr. The Thibetans admit evil spirits which 
 they place in the regions above. The religion of 
 the Bonzes supposes two Principles. The Siam- 
 oeses sacrifice to an evil spirit, whom they consider 
 as being the cause of all the misfortunes of man- 
 kind. 
 
 The Indians have their Ganga and their Gour- 
 natha, spirits whom they try to appease with pray- 
 er, sacrifices, and processions. The inhabitants of 
 Tolgony, India, believe that two Principles govern 
 the universe; the one good, he is light; and the 
 other bad, he is darkness. The ancient Assyrians, 
 as well as the Persians, admitted two Principles ; 
 and they honored, Augustine says, two gods, the 
 one good, and the other bad. The Chaldeans also 
 had their good and bad stars, animated by geniuses 
 or intelligences also good and bad. 
 
OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. 63 
 
 111 America the dogma of two Principles, and of 
 good and bad spirits, is also found. The Peru- 
 vians revered Pacha-Camac as being a good god, 
 and Cupa'i as being a bad god. The Caraibs ad- 
 mitted two sorts of spirits; the one benevolent, 
 who dwell in the heaven ; and the other evil, who 
 hover over us to lead ns to temptation. The former, 
 on the contrary, invite us to do good, and each of 
 us is guarded by one of them. Those of Terra- 
 Pirma think that there is a god in the heaven, 
 namely, the sun. Besides they admit a bad Prin- 
 ciple, who is the author of all evils; they present 
 him with flowers, fruits, corn, and perfumes. The 
 Tapayas, situated in America by about the same 
 latitude as the Madegasses in Africa, believe also 
 in two Principles. 
 
 The natives of Brazil believe in a bad genius : 
 they call him Aguyan; and they have conjurors 
 who can, they say, divert his wrath. The Indians 
 of Florida and of Louisiana adored the sun, the 
 moon, and the stars. They also believed in an 
 evil spirit named Toia. The Canadians, and the 
 savage tribes of the Bay of Hudson, revered the 
 sun, the moon, the stars, and the thunder; but 
 they more particularly prayed to the evil spirits. 
 The Esquimaux believe in a god supremely good, 
 whom they call Ukouma, and in another, Ouikan, 
 who is the author of all evils; who causes the 
 tempests, and who capsizes the boats. The sava- 
 ges of the strait of Davis believe in beneficent and 
 malignant spirits. 
 
64 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Tliis distinction of two Principles, of a god, and 
 of geniuses or spirits, authors of good and light; 
 and of a god and geniuses, authors of evil and 
 darkness, is immemorial. This opinion has been 
 so universally adopted for the only reason, that 
 those who observed the opposite phenomena of 
 nature could not account for them, and could not 
 reconcile them with the existence of a single cause. 
 As there are good and bad men, they believed that 
 there were good and bad gods, the ones dispensers 
 of good, and the others authors of evil. 
 
 Such was the universal belief when Jesus Christ 
 came to the world. The Jews themselves, since 
 the captivity of Babylon, generally believed in 
 those two Principles. They went so far as to 
 immolate their own children on the altars of evil 
 deities, in order to appease them. Jesus preached 
 his Gospel, died, and left on earth his apostles with 
 the trust of continuing, among men, his saving 
 mission. As in the writings of the Evangelists 
 the word demon, or devil, was used figuratively, 
 meaning lust, wrong desire, etc., some of the first 
 Christians understood the true sense of these figur- 
 ative words, and others did not. In the third cen- 
 tury the Church of Rome, which had been tend- 
 ing to supremacy over other churches, and which, 
 from policy, to gain more adepts, was compromis- 
 ing with Paganism, understood the word demon, 
 or devil, litei'ally, and preserved the heathen doc- 
 trine, which, as she grew, became widely spread, 
 and afterwards an article of faith. 
 
OF A PERSONAL DEVIL. 65 
 
 The Fathers of the Church, of that age, believed 
 that the demons, or devils, were innumerable; 
 that their chief, Lucifer, had entrusted a demon to 
 accompany each man through life, to tempt him 
 to sin ; that Lucifer had as many bad angels, or 
 demons, under his command, as God had good 
 angels; that all those demons were corporeal, and 
 that those male committed fornication and adul- 
 tery with the daughters of men; and those female 
 with the sons of men ; that they had generated the 
 giants; and that they had incited the oppressors 
 of the Christians to persecute them. Thus thought 
 Justin, Tatian, Minutius-Felix, Athenagoras, Ter- 
 tullian, Julius-Firmicus, Origen, Synesius, Arnobe, 
 St. Gregory of ISTazianze, Lactauce, St. Jerome, 
 St. Augustine, etc., as seen in their works in 
 either edition of the Benedictines, or of the canon 
 Caillot, of Migne, a priest, now editor in Paris. 
 Even in our days the most of the superstitious 
 practices of the Pagans, in regard to evil spirits, 
 are preserved in the Papal Church, — conjurations, 
 exorcisms, Agnus Dei, holy water, etc., and others 
 which they have added, such as the sign of the 
 cross, the expulsion of the devil from houses, 
 barns, wells, wagons, beasts, fields, etc. These 
 ceremonies are oftentimes performed, as a matter 
 of course, for money. 
 
 The same took place in the Church of E,ome in 
 
 reference to the heathen dogma of good angels 
 
 being under the command of the good spirit, or 
 
 God ; this dogma was generally believed even by 
 
 6 
 
6Q PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 the Jews, at least since the captivity of Babylon. 
 We say generally, because the Sadduceans did not 
 believe it ; and perhaps, also, the Samaritans and 
 the Caraites, for we have but two testimonies that 
 prove they partook of the opinion of the Samari- 
 tans on tliis point, namely, the testimony of Abn- 
 sa'id, author of an Arabic version of the Penta- 
 teuch, and that of Aaron, in his commentaries of 
 the same. The Papal Church holds still that the 
 angels form three hierarchies, or choirs. The first 
 is that of the Seraphims, Cherubims, and thrones; 
 the second comprises the dominations, the virtues, 
 and the powers ; and the third is composed of the 
 principalities, of the archangels, and of the angels. 
 One of these angels, called guardian, is obliged to 
 stand by each one of us all the days of our life. 
 Temples, altars, prayers and sacrifices are offered 
 to them. 
 
 TertuUian, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, etc., 
 thought that the bodies of the good angels were 
 formed of a very thin, subtle matter. Other Fath- 
 ers, Basile, Athanase, Cyrille, Gregory of ITysse, 
 John-Chrysostomus, etc., considered them as spir- 
 itual beings ; however, they believed that they may 
 take a body when they please. The Church of 
 Rome holds, as an article of faith, that the good 
 angels ought to be adored. 
 
 As seen above, the Church of Rome has pre- 
 served, with a very slight modification, if any, the 
 heathen dogma of two Principles, the one good, 
 God; and the other bad, Lucifer, or the devil; also 
 
Un' A PERSONAL DEVIL. 67 
 
 the nomenclature of geniuses, or spirits, or angels, 
 which are, the ones under the command of God, 
 and the others under the command of Lucifer. 
 "When, in the sixteenth century, the Protestants 
 parted with the Church of Rome, they cut off 
 many branches of this dogma; but they kept its 
 body, namely, instead of understanding the words 
 demon, or devil, as meaning lust, abuse of free 
 agency, wrong desire, etc., they understood them 
 of personal beings, either material or immaterial, 
 but existing, tempting each man to sin ; and re- 
 lentlessly seeking the ruin of mankind. 
 
 Therefore the doctrine of a Personal Devil is of 
 Pagan origin. 
 
CHAPTER 1\. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ORIGINAL SIN. 
 
 The Roman Catholic writers are unanimous in 
 the opinion that it was the Lohef of a kirge num- 
 ber of Pagans that man had fallen from a higher 
 state of existence. St. Augustine, more especially, 
 lengthily and emphatically insists upon the general 
 belief of the Pagans in original sin, when he writes 
 against Pelage. However, we shall bring forth 
 other testimonies, which will not leave, in the 
 mind of the reader, any doubt that the Pagans 
 generally believed in original sin. 
 
 Cicero, in his work De Republica, book third, 
 after painting the grandeur of the human nature, 
 and then contrasting its subjection to miseries, to 
 diseases, to sorrow, to fear, and to the most de- 
 grading passions, was at a loss to define man. He 
 called him a soul in 7'uins. It was for the same 
 reason that, in Plato, Socrates reminds to his disci- 
 ples that those who had established mysteries, and 
 who, he said, were not to be despised, taught that 
 according to their ancestors, any one who dies 
 without having been purified is plunged into the 
 mire of the Tartarus; whereas, ho who has been 
 (68) 
 
PAGiiN ORIGIN OF ORIGINAL SIN. 69 
 
 purified dwells witli the gods. Clemeut of Alex- 
 andria, iu his Stromata, book third, writes, that, 
 according to the testimony of PhilolaUs, the 
 Pythagorician, all the ancient theologians and 
 poets said that the soul was buried in the body, as 
 in a grave, as a punishment for some sin. It was 
 also the doctrine of the Orphics, as can be seen in 
 Plat., Cratyl., Opera, tome third. 
 
 In the pages 48, 50, and 51, of the treatise of 
 Plutarch, on the Delays of Divine Justice, we read: 
 "A State, for instance, is one same thing continued, 
 a whole, alike to an animal which is ever the same, 
 and the age thereof does not change the identity. 
 The State then being one, as long as the associa- 
 tion maintains the unity, the merit and the de- 
 merit, the reward and the punishment for all that 
 is done in common are justly ascribed to it, as they 
 are to a single individual. But if a State is to be 
 considered in this point of view, it ought to be the 
 same with a family proceeding from the same stock, 
 from which it holds I do not know what sort of 
 hidden strength ; I do not know what sort of com- 
 munication of essence and qualities, which extend 
 to all the individuals of the race. Beings produced 
 through the medium of generation are not similar 
 to the productions of arts. In regard to the latter, 
 when the work is completed it is immediately 
 separated from the hand of the workman, and it 
 no longer belongs to him: true it is done by him, 
 but not from him. On the contrary, what is en- 
 gendered proceeds from the substance itself of the 
 
TO PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 generating being ; so tliat it holds from him some- 
 thing which is justly rewarded or punished in his 
 stead, for that something is himself." 
 
 According to the doctrine of the Persians, 
 Meshia and Meshiane, or the first man and first 
 woman, were first pure, and submitted to Ormuzd, 
 their maker. Ahriman saw them and envied 
 their happiness. He approached them under the 
 form of a serpent, presented fruits to them, and 
 persuaded them that he was the maker of man, 
 of animals, of plants, and of the beautiful universe 
 in which they dwelled. They believed it; and 
 since that Ahriman was their master. Their na- 
 ture became corrupt, and this corruption infected 
 their whole posterity. This we find in Vendidat- 
 Sade, pages 305, and 428. 
 
 Thus sin does not originate from Ormuzd ; but, 
 Zoroaster says, from the being hidden in crime. 
 This testimony is found in the Exposition of the 
 Theological System of the Persians, extracted 
 from the books Zends, Pehlvis, and Parsis, by 
 Anquetil du Perron. The following passage, 
 " There are stains brought by man when he comes 
 to life," is found in the 69th tome of the Memoirs 
 of the Academy of Inscriptions. 
 
 "We read in the Ezour-Vedam, book 1, chapter 
 4, tome 1, pages 201 and 202 : " God never cre- 
 ated vice. He cannot be its author; and God, 
 who is holiness and wisdom, can be the author 
 but of virtue. He gave us his law in which he 
 prescribes what we ought to do. Sin is a trans- 
 
OP ORIGINAL SIN. 71 
 
 gression of tliis law by wliicli it is prohibited. If 
 sin reigns • on tlie earth, we ourselves are its 
 authors. Our perverse inclinations have induced 
 us to transgress the law of God; hence, the first 
 sin which has induced us to commit others." The 
 same author in book 5, chapter 5, tome 2, ac- 
 knowledges that the first man was created in a 
 state of innocence; and that lie was happy because 
 he controlled his passions and desires. 
 
 Maurice in his Indiie Antiquitates, vol. 6, page 
 53, proves that the Indians had a knowledge of 
 the fall of the first man and of the first woman ; 
 he proves also that the dogma of orighial sin was 
 taught by the Druids. Voltaire, on the seven^ 
 teenth page of his work. Additions to General 
 History, confesses that the Bramas beUeved that 
 man was fallen and degenerated : " this idea," he 
 adds, "is found among all the ancient peoples." 
 
 The Father Jesuit Bouchet, in a letter to the 
 Bishop of Avranches, writes: "The gods," our 
 Indians say, "tried by all means to obtain immor- 
 tality. After many inquiries and trials, they con- 
 ceived the idea that they could find it in the tree 
 of life, which was in the Chorcan. In fact they 
 succeeded; and in eating once in a while of the 
 fruits of that tree, they kept the precious treasure 
 they so much valued. A famous snake, named 
 Cheiden, saw that the tree of life had been found 
 by the gods of the second order. As probably he 
 had been entrusted with guarding that tree, he 
 became so angry because his vigilance had been 
 
72 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 deceived, that lie immediately poured out an enor- 
 mous quantity of poison, which spread over the 
 whole earth." 
 
 In the Ta-Hio, or Moral of Confucius, page 
 50, Confucius, after saying that reason is a 
 gift from heaven, adds, " Concupiscence has cor- 
 rupted it, and it is now mixed with many impuri- 
 ties. Therefore take oft" those impurities so that 
 it resume its first luster, and all its former perfec- 
 tion." The philosopher Tchouangse taught, in 
 conformity with the doctrine of King or sacred 
 books of the Chinese, "that in the former state of 
 heaven, man was inly united to the supreme rea- 
 son; and that he practiced all the works of jus- 
 tice. The heart relished the truth. There was 
 in man no alloy of falsity. Then the four seasons 
 of the year were regular. ISI'othing was injurious 
 to man, and man was injurious to nothing. Uni- 
 versal harmony reigned in all nature. But the 
 columns of the firmament having been broken, 
 the earth was shaken in its very foundations. 
 Man having rebelled against the heavens the sys- 
 tem of the universe was deranged ; evils and 
 crimes flooded the earth." This testimony is ex- 
 tracted from the Discourse of Ramsey on Mythol- 
 ogy, pages 146, and 148. 
 
 M. de Humboldt, in the tome 1, pages 237 and 
 274, and also in the tome 2, page 198 of his 
 Views of the Cordilleras and of the monuments 
 of America, says, " That the mother of our flesh ; 
 the serpent Cihuacohuati, and her are famous in 
 
OF ORIGINAL SIN. 73 
 
 the Mexican traditions. Those traditions repre- 
 sent the mother of our flesh fallen from her first 
 state of innocence and happiness." Voltaire, in 
 Questions on Encyclopedia, says; "The fall of 
 man degenerated is the basis of the theology of 
 all the ancient nations." 
 
 There were nearly among all nations expiatory 
 rites, to purify infants when they were born. 
 Usually this ceremony was done in the day when 
 the child was named, Macrob informs us, in his 
 Saturn, book 1, that "that day, among the Ro- 
 mans, was the ninth for the boys and the eighth 
 for the girls. That day was called lustricus, be- 
 cause of the histral water used to purify the new 
 born child." In the Analysis of the Insc. of Ro- 
 sette, page 145, we read that the Egyptians, the 
 Persians, and the Greeks had a similar practice. 
 In Yucatan the new born child was brought in 
 the temple, where the priest poured on his head 
 the waters destined to this use ; and then he gave 
 him a name. In the Canary islands the women 
 performed this priestly function. Caril, in his 
 American Letters, tome 1, pages 146, and 147, 
 speaks of these ceremonies. A law prescribed 
 these expiatory rites among the Mexicans. 
 
 M. de Humboldt, Views of the Cordilleras, and 
 of the Monuments of America, tome 1, page 
 223, writes : " The midwife, in invoking the god 
 Ometeuctly, (the god of celestial paradise,) and 
 the goddess Omecihuatl, who live in the abode of 
 the blessed, poured water on the forehead and on 
 7 
 
74 PAGAN ORIOm 
 
 the breast of the new-born child. After pro- 
 nouncing several prayers, in which water was con- 
 sidered as the symbol of the purification of the 
 soul, the midwife called near her the children who 
 had been invited to give a name to the new-born 
 child. In some provinces a fire was kindled at 
 the same time, and they did as if really the child 
 was passed through the fliame to purify him both 
 with water and fire. This ceremony reminds the 
 practices whose origin, in Asia, seems to be 
 immemorial." 
 
 Likewise, the Tliibetans have similar expiatory 
 rites: this we find in the thirty-first page of the 
 preface of the Thibetan Alphabet. We extract 
 the following from the Works of the Society of 
 Calcutta: "In India, when a name is given to a 
 cliild, his name is written on his forehead, and he 
 is plunged three times into the water of the river. 
 Then the Brama exclaims, ' God, pure, one, in- 
 visible and perfect! to thee we ofl'er this ofi:spring 
 of a holy tribe, anointed with an incorruptible 
 oil, and purified with water.*" 
 
 In the mysteries, the Hierophant taught the 
 doctrine that our nature had been corrupted by a 
 first sin. The sixth book of the poem Eneida is 
 nothing but a brilliant exposition of this doctrine ; 
 and perhaps antiquity ofters nothing that proves 
 more the power of tradition on the human mind, 
 than the passage in w^hich the poet, following 
 Eneas in the abode of the dead, describes in mag- 
 nificent verses the dismal spectacle which first 
 
OF ORIGINAL SIN. 75 
 
 strikes his gaze. If there is any thing in the 
 world that wakes up in our mind the idea of in- 
 nocence, assuredly it is a child who has been un- 
 able neither to know nor to commit sin ; and the 
 supposition that he is subject to punishment and 
 to suffering, is a thought which our soul abhors. 
 However, Virgil, in the 6th book, verses 426, and 
 429, places the children dead when yet nursing, at 
 the entry of the sad kingdoms, where he repre- 
 sents them iu a state of pain, weeping and moan- 
 ing — vagitus ingcns. Why those tears, those 
 cries of sufferings? Which faults do those chil- 
 dren, to whom their mothers had not smiled, ex- 
 piate? (Virgil, Ecloga 4, verse 62.) What has 
 inspired the poet with this surprising fiction? On 
 what does it rest? Whence does it originate, if 
 not from the ancient belief that man was born in 
 sin? 
 
 Therefore, the doctrine of original sin was gen- 
 erally believed by the Pagans. 
 
 We stated, at the commencement of this chap- 
 ter, that the Roman Catholic writers are unani- 
 mous in the opinion that it was the belief of a 
 large number of Pagans, that man had fallen from 
 a higher state of existence. However, a small 
 number only of the same writers are of the opin- 
 ion that the Jews believed in the doctrine of orig- 
 inal sin ; and they find no other proof of the asser- 
 tion than the ceremony of circumcision, which, as 
 is familiar to all, was a mere legal and national 
 observance, and had not the virtue of remitting 
 
7^8 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 sin. In the first centuries of the Christian era, 
 baptism "svas considered as a mere ceremony for 
 initiating catechumens to the Christian profes- 
 sion. 
 
 It was only towards the end of the third cen- 
 tury, that the belief of the transmission of Adam's 
 sin to all his descendants was introduced in the 
 Church of Rome, which already considered her- 
 self the mistress of the other churches. Soon 
 afterwards the dogma that baptism had the virtue 
 of remitting original sin was established. As 
 proof of these two facts, w^e have the testimony 
 of more than twenty-three Christian sects of the 
 first centuries, which did not admit the dogma of 
 original sin; and did not believe that baptism had 
 the virtue of remitting sin. We quote a few 
 of those sects : the Simonians, the ISncola'ites, the 
 Valeutinians, the Basilidians, the Carpocratians, 
 the Ophites, the Sethians, the Pelagians, all the 
 Gnostic sects, etc. 
 
 Therefore, the Church of Eome borrowed the 
 dogma of original sin from the Pagans. To this 
 many Roman Catholic writers say : true the Pa- 
 gans held this doctrine, but we did not borrow it 
 from them ; we found it in the first chapters of 
 Genesis. We rejoin that even the fathers of the 
 fourth century did not understand those chapters 
 literally, and thereby as teaching the dogma of 
 original sin. St. Augustine, in his work. City of 
 God, avers that it was a general opinion among 
 Christians, that the first three chapters of Genesis 
 
OF ORIGINAL SIN. 77 
 
 are allegorical, and that he himself is inclined to 
 think so. He confesses that it is impossible to 
 tal>:e them literally without hurting piety, and 
 ascribing to God unworthy actions. Origen says : 
 "Where is the man of good sense, who can ever 
 believe that there have been a first, a second, and 
 a third days, and that those days had each an 
 evening and morning, though there were not yet 
 neither sun, nor moon, nor stars? Where is the 
 man credulous enough to believe, that God was 
 working like a gardener, and that he planted a 
 garden in Orient; that the tree of life was a real 
 tree, whose fruit would preserve life?" 
 
 Origen compared the temptation of Adam to 
 that of the birth of Love, whose father was Porus, 
 or Abundance, and whose mother was Poverty, 
 lie adds that there are in the Old Testament facts, 
 which, if understood literally, are absurd, and 
 which, if understood allcgorically, contain valua- 
 ble truths. We refer the reader for the above to 
 the following works: See St. Augustine, De 
 Civitate Dei, liber xi, cap. 6, et liber 2, cap, xi, ISTo. 
 24. — De Genesi ad Litteram, liber 4, '^o. 44. — De 
 Catechis Rudibus, cap. 13. The opinion of St. 
 Athaiiase can be found in his Oratio Contra 
 Arium, No. 60. — That of Origen, in his work De 
 Principiis, liber iv, No. 16, contra Celsum, liber 6, 
 No. 50, 51. That of St. Ambrosius, in his Ilexam, 
 liber one, cap. 7, et Sequentia. That of Theo- 
 doret, in his Quest, in Genes, interpr. cap. v. et 
 Sequentia, and that of St. Gregory in his Moral, 
 in Job, liber 32, cap. 9. 
 
78 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 The Fathers and the Christian sects named 
 above, did not take the first three chapters of 
 Genesis hterally, because it would imply absurdity 
 and blasphemy. The idea of God, namely, of the 
 supreme and eternal cause, who clothes our clay 
 for the pleasure of walking in a garden; the idea 
 of a woman conversing with a serpent; listening 
 to its counsels and heeding them; that of a man 
 and a woman organized for reproduction, and yet 
 destined to be immortal on earth, and to procreate 
 a mathematical infinity of beings, immortal like 
 themselves, who also will infinitely multiply, and 
 will all find their food in the fruits of the trees of 
 a garden where they will all dwell; a fruit culled 
 that is to kill Adam and Eve, and to be trans- 
 mitted as a hereditary crime to all their descend- 
 ants, who did not [)articipate to their disobedience, 
 crime which will be forgiven only in as much as 
 men will conmiit another crime, infinitely greater, 
 a deicide — if such a crime might exist; the woman 
 who since that time is condemned to bring forth 
 with pain, as if the pains of childbirth were not 
 natural to her organization, and were not com- 
 mon to her, as well as to the other animals which 
 have not tasted the forbidden fruit ; the serpent 
 forced to crawl, as if a footless reptile could move 
 any other way : so many absurdities and follies, 
 heaped in those first three chapters, they could 
 not believe and ascribe them to God. 
 
 Maimonide, one of the most learned Rabbins of 
 the Jews, thus wrote in the twelfth cei>tury : " We 
 
OF ORIGESTAL SIN. 79 
 
 ouglit uot to understand literally \*-liat is written 
 in the books of the creation ; nor entertain about 
 the creation the opinions generally agreed. It is 
 for this reason that our wise men urged upon us 
 to keep their true teaching secret, and not to lift 
 up the veil of allegory which conceals the truths 
 they contain. If taken literally the relation of 
 the creation gives us the most absurd and extrav- 
 agant ideas of the Deity. Whoever will find out 
 their true teaching, ought to keep it to himself; 
 this is the earnest recommendation of our wise 
 men, and more especially in regard to the first six 
 days. Those who know ought to speak about 
 it but obscurely, as I do myself, so as to let their 
 hearers guess if they can." 
 
 The above facts and proofs lead us to the con* 
 elusion that the Church of Rome borrowed the 
 dogma of original sin from the Pagans. 
 
 As the Protestants, who call themselves Ortho- 
 dox, borrowed it in the sixteenth century from the 
 Church of Rome, it follows that they also hold it 
 from the Pagans. 
 
 Therefore^ the doctrine of Original Sin is of Pagan 
 origin. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF TRINITY. 
 
 The Eoman Catliolie writers tliemselves confess 
 that the Pagans believed in Trinity-; also the most 
 of the self-called Protestant Orthodox historians 
 and authors. Tlic neutral authors are unani- 
 mous on this point. The following facts and 
 proofs we shall impartially extract from those 
 three classes of writers: 
 
 The Egyptians believed in Trinity; the Greek 
 inscription of the great Obelisk of the major cir- 
 cus, at Rome, reads thus : Megas Theos, the great 
 god, Theogentos, the begotten of god ; and Pam- 
 phcgges, the all-bright, (Apollo, the Spirit.) Iler- 
 aclide, of Pont, and Porphyre relate a famous 
 oracle of Serapis: Prota Theos, metepeita logos, 
 kai j)ii6uma soun autois. Sumphuta de tria 
 panta, kai eis en eonta. [Translation :] All is God 
 in the beginning ; then the word and the spirit; 
 three Gods coengendered together and united in 
 one. 
 
 The Chaldeans had a sort of Trinity in their 
 
 Metris, Oromasis, and Araminis, or Mithra, Oro- 
 
 mase and Aramine. The Chinese had also, and 
 (80) 
 
PAGAN ORIGIN OF A TRINITY. 81 
 
 still have, a mysterious Trinity. Tlie first god 
 generates the second one, and both generate the 
 third one. The Chinese say that the great terra, 
 or great unity, contains three, one is three, and 
 three are one. In India Trinity was immemorially 
 known. The Father Jesuit Calmet writes : "What 
 I have seen mostly surprising is a text extracted 
 from Lamaastambam, one of the books of the In- 
 dians It begins thus : The Lord, the good, 
 
 the great God, in his mouth is the \vord. (The 
 term which they use personifies the word.) Then 
 it speaks of the Holy Spirit in these words : Yen- 
 tus seu spiritus perfectus ; [translation] breath or 
 perfect spirit, — and it ends by the creation, ascrib- 
 ing it to God alone." 
 
 The Jesuit Calmet says, writing about the Thi- 
 betans: " I learned the following about their reh- 
 gion. They call God Konciosa, and they seem to 
 have some idea of the adorable Trinity ; for they 
 call God sometimes Konsikosick, God-one, and at 
 other times Kocioksum, God-three. They use a 
 kind of bead on which they pronounce these 
 words : oiti, ha, hum. When they are asked the 
 explanation, they answer that om signifies the in- 
 telligence, or arm, namely power ; that ha is the 
 word ; that hum is the heart or love, and that these 
 three words signify God." 
 
 The Father Bouchet, a Roman Catholic mis- 
 sionary in India, wrote the following to the bishop 
 of Avranches : " I commence by the confused idea 
 which the Indians preserve about the adorable 
 
82 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Trinity. My Lord, I have spoken to you of the 
 three principal deities of the Indians, Bruma, 
 Wishnou, and Routren. The greater portion of 
 the people say, it is true, that they are three differ- 
 ent gods, and really separate. But several Niauig- 
 neuls, or spiritual men, assure that these three 
 gods, apparently distinct, compose in reality but 
 one god: that this god is called Bruma, when he 
 creates and exercises his all-power; that he is 
 called Wishnou, when he preserves the created 
 beings, and does them good; and that, linall}^, he 
 takes the name of Routren, when he destroj'^s tlie 
 cities, chastises the wicked, and makes men feel 
 his just anger." 
 
 Eughsh missionaries have found at Otaiti some 
 traces of the Trinity among the religious dogmas 
 of tlie natives. 
 
 Plato refers to this doctrine in several passages 
 of his works. "Xot on!}"," says Dacier in his 
 translation, " it is believed that he knew about the 
 Word, eternal Son of God ; but also that he knew 
 about the Holy Spirit, for he thus writes to the 
 young Denis: 
 
 " ' I must declare to Archedemus what is much 
 more precious and more divine, and which you so 
 eagerly desire to know ; for you sent him to me 
 for this express purpose. According to what he 
 told me, you think that I have not sufficiently ex- 
 plained to you my opinion about the first Princi- 
 ple, therefore I shall write it to you, enigmatically, 
 however, in order that, if my epistle is intercepted 
 
OF A TRINITY. 83 
 
 at sea or on land, he who will read it will be un- 
 able to understand it. All things are around their 
 king ; they exist through him, and he is the only 
 cause of good things, second for the second things, 
 and third for the third things.' 
 
 "In the Epinomis," continues Dacier, "Plato 
 establishes-as Principle, the first good, the Word, 
 or intelligence and the soul. The first good is 
 God ; . . . . the Word, or intelligence, is the son 
 of this first good, who begets him similar to him- 
 self; and the soul, which is the term between the 
 Father and the Son, is the Holy Spirit." 
 
 Plato had borrowed this doctrine about Trinity 
 from Timee of Locre, who held it from the Italian 
 philosophical school. Marsilo Ficin, in one of his 
 remarks on Plato, shows from the testimonies of 
 Jamblic, Porphyre, Plato and Maxim of Tyr, that 
 the Pythagoricians knew also the excellence of the 
 Ternary; Pj'thagoras himself indicated it in this 
 sj'mbol: Protima to Schema, kai Bema, kai Trio- 
 bolon. The Jesuit Kirker, dissenting about the 
 unity and trinity of the first Principle, traces ves- 
 tiges of the doctrine of Trinity up to Pythagoras, 
 and to the Egyptians. 
 
 St. Augustine himself, though the staunchest 
 defender of the dogma of Trinity, confessed that, 
 among all the nations of the world, a Trinity, 
 nearly similar to the one he believed in, had been 
 held. He added that the Pythagoricians, the Pla- 
 tonicians, and that a great number of Atlantes, 
 Lybian, Egyptian, Persian, Chaldean, Scythian, 
 
84 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Gallenses, and Hibernian philosophers, held several 
 dogmas about the unity of the God, Light, and 
 Good, in common with the Church of Eome. 
 
 Macrobe gives us a summary of ancient or Pla- 
 tonician theology, which coiitains a true Trinity, 
 of which that of the Papists and of the self-called 
 Protestant Orthodox is but a copy. According to 
 this summary, the world has been formed by the 
 universal soul: this soul is the same as their spirit- 
 us, or spirit. They also call the Holy Spirit Crea- 
 tor: <'Veni Creator spiritus," etc., [translation,] 
 Come Spirit Creator, etc., (Catholic hymn.) Ma- 
 crobe adds, that from this spirit or soul the intelli- 
 gence, which he calls men's proceeds. Is this not 
 the Father, the Son, or wisdom, and the Spirit 
 that creates and vivifies all? Even is not the ex- 
 pression to ])roceed common to the ancient and to 
 the Papist and Protestant Orthodox Churches in 
 the filiation of the first three beings? 
 
 Macrobe goes farther. He recals the three Prin- 
 ciples to a primitive unit, who is the sovereign 
 God. After resting his theory on this Trinity he 
 adds: " You see how this unit, or original nionade 
 of the first cause, is preserved entire and indivisi- 
 ble up to the soul, or spirit, which animates the 
 world." This testimony of Macrobe has so much 
 more bearing, that he wrote in the beginning of 
 the fifth century ; that he was the first Chamber- 
 lain of the emperor Theodose, and was the most 
 learned antiquarian of that age. 
 
 Another most important fact we shall record. 
 
OP A TRINITY. 85 
 
 It is beyond any doubt that before the coming of 
 Jesus Christ the Jews did not hold the dosma of 
 Trinity, nor do they now. Their Rabbins, and all 
 the Roman Catholic theologians, agree on this 
 point. 
 
 During the first three centuries of the Christian 
 era the dogma of Trinity was not generally be- 
 lieved. The Simonians, the Kicholaites, the Val- 
 entinians, the Basilidians, the Carpocratians, the 
 Ophites, the Sethians, all the Gnostics, and many 
 other Christian sects rejected it. It was only in 
 the fourth century, that Arius and the above 
 sects were condemned in the council of Wice, be- 
 cause they denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 This council was assembled by the order of the 
 emperor Constantine I., who was urged to it by 
 the Bishop of Rome, (or Pope,) whose Church held 
 the dogma of Trinity. As a matter of course the 
 Ijishops of the council had to decide according to 
 the will of those two leaders; for Constantine 
 threatened them with deposition and exile : in 
 fact he banished Arius, and deposed seventeen 
 bishops, who did not subscribe to the decision of 
 the council. 
 
 The doctrine that Jesus Christ was not God 
 himself was so generally spread, and so deeply 
 rooted in the minds, that several successors of 
 Constantine I. embraced Arianism; and it was 
 only after centuries that Arianism, which was 
 spread nearly all over the East, was crushed by 
 the papal and the imperial power.]' 
 
86 PAGAN ORIGIN OF A TRINITY. 
 
 Now let US draw our conclusions. Since the 
 Jews had no knowledge of the dogma of Trinity, 
 the Church of Rome could not borrow it from 
 them; since the generality of the Christian sects 
 during the first three centuries did not believe in 
 the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Church of Rome 
 did not find the dogma of Trinity in the Gospel ; 
 (besides, the Catholic theologians never pretended 
 that the Scriptures teach it — they simply pretend- 
 ed, and still pretend, that it was a tradition.) Since 
 the dogma of Trinity was believed by many Pagan 
 sects, then the Roman Church borrowed it from 
 them. 
 
 In turns, the self-called Orthodox Protestant 
 Churches borrowed this doctrine from the Church 
 of Rome, in the sixteenth century. 
 
 Therefore the doctrine of Trinity is of Pagan origin. 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE SUPREME 
 DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 It will be demonstrated that tlie doctrine of the 
 supreme divinity of Jesus Christ is of Pagan ori- 
 gin, if it can be proved, Ist, That the Church of 
 Rome, from which the self-called Orthodox Protes- 
 tant Churches borrowed this doctrine, in the six- 
 teenth century, did not hold it from the apostles 
 of Jesus Christ ; and, 2d, That the Church of 
 Rome uses, in her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites 
 and ceremonies of a striking similarity with those 
 used by the Pagans, in their adoration to the sun, 
 under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, Osiris, 
 Mithra, Atys, etc. 
 
 But it can be proved, 1st, That the Church of 
 Rome, from which the self-called Orthodox Protes- 
 tant Churches, in the sixteenth century, borrowed 
 the doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus 
 Christ, did not hold it from the apostles of Jesus 
 Christ ; and, 2d, That the Church of Rome uses, 
 in her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites and ceremo- 
 nies of a striking similarity with those used by the 
 
 Pagans in their adoration to the sun, under the 
 
 (87) 
 
88 PAdAN ORIGIN 
 
 names of Bacckus, Hercules, Osiris, Mitlira, Atys, 
 etc. 
 
 1st. "We prove that tlie Church of Rome, fi-om 
 which the self-called Orthodox Protestant Church- 
 es, in the sixteenth century, borrowed the doctrine 
 of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, did not 
 hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ. 
 
 It will be evident that the Church of Rome, 
 from which the self-called Orthodox Protestant 
 Churches, in the sixteenth centur}^, borrowed the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 did not hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ, 
 if, until nearly the end of the third century, the 
 various Christian denominations, or sects, did not 
 believe the doctrine of the supreme divinity of 
 Jesus Christ. But, until nearly the end of the 
 third century, the various Christian denominations, 
 or sects, did not believe the doctrine of the su- 
 preme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 This we prove : — 
 
 "We request the readere to bear in mind, in read- 
 ing this chapter, that we have extracted all the 
 proofs and statements brought forth therein, from 
 the works of the Roman Catholic priest Bergier, 
 which we have studied in our Catholic theological 
 school ; from the works of the Rev. Father Jesuit 
 Feller ; from the History of the Church, by Ber- 
 rault-Ber-Castel, a Roman Catholic priest ; and 
 from the Ecclesiastical History, by the Roman 
 Catholic clergyman Fleury. Those proofs and 
 Btatements can be verified, in the first two writers. 
 
• OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 89 
 
 at the articles of tlie sects, and of their authors, 
 arranged in alphabetical order ; and in the other 
 authors at the dates of the centuries and years. 
 
 Bergier says : " The Cerinthians pretended that 
 Jesus Christ was born from Joseph and Mary like 
 other men ; but that he was endowed with a supe- 
 rior wisdom and holiness; that when he was bap- 
 tized, Christ, or the Son of God, had descended on 
 him under the form of a dove, and had revealed 
 to him God the Father, till then unknown, in 
 order that he might make him known to men." 
 The Cerinthians sprung up, according to St. 
 Epiphane, in the middle of the first century, but 
 according to St. Ireneus, at about the year 88. 
 
 Therefore the Cerinthians did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Bergier says: "The Carpocratians supposed the 
 pre-existence of the souls ; pretended that they 
 had siuned in an anterior life ; that as a punish- 
 ment of their crimes they had been condemned to 
 
 be shut up in bodies In their belief, the 
 
 Boul of Jesus Christ, before her incarnation, had 
 been more faithful to God than the others. It is 
 for this reason that God had endowed her with 
 more knowledge than the souls of other men ; also 
 with more strength both to defeat the geniuses 
 opposed to humanity, and to return to heaven 
 against their will. God, they said, grants the 
 same favor to those who love Jesus Christ; and 
 who, like him, know the dignity of their souls. 
 Thus the Carpocratians considered Jesus Christ 
 8 
 
9Q PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 as being simply a man, though more perfect than 
 the others ; they beheved that he was the sou of 
 Joseph and Mary, and confessed his miracles and 
 sufierings. They are not accused of denying the 
 resurrection, but of denying the general resurrec- 
 tion ; and of holding that the soul only (not the 
 body) of Jesus Christ, had ascended to the heav- 
 ens." The sect of the Carprocratians commenced 
 towards the end of the first century. 
 
 Therefore the Carpocratians did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Bergier writes thus about the Ebionites : " It is 
 very probable that (although some authors say 
 that they date from the year 72 of the first centu- 
 ry) they commenced to be known only in the year 
 103, or even later, under the reign of Adrian, after 
 the total ruin of Jerusalem, in the year 119 ; that 
 the Ebionites and the Kazarenes are two difterent 
 sects; it is the opinion of Mosheim, Hist. Christ., 
 soec. 1, par. 58, soec. 2, par. 39 The Ebion- 
 ites considered Jesus Christ as being simply a man 
 born from Joseph and Mary." 
 
 Consequently the Ebionites did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Christian sect of the Basilidiana was found- 
 ed in the beginning of the second century by Basi- 
 lide of Alexandria, Feller says; he had been con- 
 verted from the philosophy of Pythagoras and 
 Plato to Christianism. Bergier writes about the 
 Basilidians: "They believed that God had sent 
 his Son, or intelligence, under the name of Jesus 
 
OP THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 91 
 
 Christ, to liberate those who would believe in him ; 
 that Jesus Christ had really performed the mira- 
 cles ascribed to him by the Christians ; but that he 
 had only a fantastical body and the appearances 
 of a man." 
 
 Therefore the Basilidians did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The sect of the Marcionites was established, in 
 the middle of the second century, b}^ Marcio, the 
 son of a bishop of Pontus. The Marcionites held 
 that God, principle of the spirits, had given to 
 one of them, Jesus Christ, the appearances of 
 humanity ; and had sent him to the earth to abol- 
 ish the law and the prophets; to teach to men 
 that their souls come from heaven, and that they 
 cannot be restored to happiness except in reunit- 
 ing to God. 
 
 Therefore the Marcionites did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Valentin founded the sect of Valentinians in 
 140. He was an Egyptian, and had been con- 
 verted from philosophy to Christianism. Bergier, 
 after lengthily exposing the doctrines of his sect, 
 says, " Consequently the Valentinians neither ad- 
 mitted the eternal generation of the Word, nor 
 his incarnation, nor the divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 nor the redemption of mankind, in the proper 
 sense. In their opinion, the redemption of man- 
 kind by Jesus Christ did not extend farther than 
 this — Jesus Christ had come to the world to liber- 
 ate men from the tyranny of the Eons, and had 
 
92 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 given tliem examples and lessons of virtue, and 
 had taught them the true means of obtaining 
 eternal happiness." 
 
 Therefore the Valentinians did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Ptolemaites did not believe the doctrine of 
 Jesus Christ, and held that he was but the Son of 
 God. 
 
 St. Epiphane in his work Ilsere. 36, and Bergier, 
 inform us that the Hcracleonites, whose chief 
 was Ileracleon, and who were widely spread, par- 
 ticularly in Sicily, believed that the Word divine 
 did not create the world, but that it had been 
 created by one of the Eons, or spirits. In their 
 opinion, there were two worlds, the one corporeal 
 and visible, and the other spiritual and invisible, 
 and they only ascribed the formation of the latter 
 to Jesus Christ, who was one of the greatest Eons, 
 or spirits. The Ileracleonites were organized as a 
 sect in the year 140. 
 
 The Colarbasians did not believe the doctrine of 
 the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Sanderus and Bergier say, that the Barules pro- 
 fessed to believe that the Son of God had but a 
 fantastical body ; that there was no original sin ; 
 that all our souls had been created before the 
 world, and all had sinned in that former state of 
 existence; and that Jesus Christ was not God. 
 
 The Bardesanists, thus named from their 
 founder, Bardesanes, a Syrian, who lived in the 
 second century, became a large sect. Beausobre 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 93 
 
 in his'' History of IManicheanism, tome 2, book 4, 
 chap. 9, writes, that they beheved in two Princi- 
 ples, originators of all things, the one good and the 
 other bad. They denied that the eternal Word, 
 or Son of God, had taken a human flesh; they 
 said that he had taken only a celestial and aerial 
 body. They denied the future resurrection of the 
 body. Bergier, Feller, etc., say the same. 
 
 Then the Bardesanists did not believe the doc- 
 trine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Marcosians rejected the doctrine of the 
 supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, and held only 
 that he was one of the principal Eons, or spirits. 
 The Marcosians were founded by Marc in the sec- 
 ond century. 
 
 The Theodotians, Bergier sa^^s, believed that 
 Jesus Christ was not God but a man ; that he was 
 above the other men only by his miraculous birth, 
 and by his extraordinary virtues. Theodote, a 
 native of Bysance, founded them in the second 
 century. 
 
 The Artemonians also denied the doctrine of 
 the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Docetes held that Jesus Christ was only 
 the Son of God, and that he had but apparently 
 sufi:ered humiliations, torments, and death. 
 
 The Tatianists did not believe the doctrine of 
 the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. Tatian 
 gave them his name when he organized them as a 
 Christian denomination, in the second century. 
 Bergier pretends that some passages of the writ- 
 
94 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ings of this learned author can be understood of 
 the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, but Faiiste 
 Socin, and others, in the Bibliotheca Fratrum 
 Polonorum, in ten vohimes, in foho, proves the 
 contrary ; and at the same time they prove that 
 Clement of Alexandria and other Fathers of the 
 second century disbelieved the doctrine of the su- 
 preme divinity of Jesus Christ. Bergier confesses, 
 however, that it is doubtful that Tatian had been 
 Orthodox about the generation of the AVord. 
 
 The Apellites denied the doctrine of the su- 
 preme divinity of Jesus Christ. In their belief 
 there was but one God, who sent to the world his 
 Son, who took a body not in the womb of the 
 virgin Mary, but from the four elements. Their 
 sect widely spread in the East during the second 
 century. 
 
 Bergier says, writing about the doctrines of the 
 Ophites, a Christian sect of the second century : 
 "In their belief, matter was eternal; the world 
 was created against the will of God, and was 
 governed by a multitude of spu'its who govern 
 the world. Christ united to the man Jesus to 
 destroy the empire of the Demiourge, or creator 
 of the world. 
 
 Therefore the Ophites did not believe the doc- 
 trine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 One of the doctrines of the Ca'inites was, that 
 Jesus Christ was a spirit sent by God to save the 
 world. 
 
 The Hermogenians, or followers of Ilermogene, 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 95 
 
 a Stoician pliilosoplier, converted to Christianisni 
 at tlie end of the second century, believed that 
 matter was eternal ; that there was but one God, 
 who had sent a spirit, Jesus Christ, to correct the 
 evil that was among men. 
 
 " The Hermians, or disciples of Ilermias," Uer- 
 gier sajs, " taught that matter is eternal ; that 
 God is the soul of the world ; that Jesus Christ, 
 ascending to the heavens loft his body in the Sun, 
 from whom he liad taken it; that the soul of man 
 is composed of lire and of subtle air; that the 
 birth of children is the resurrection, and that the 
 world is hell." Bergier adds, in another article, 
 that they believed that there was but one God, 
 who had sent to the world a spirit, Jesus Christ, 
 
 Therefore the Hermians did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Bergier, writing about the Sethians, says : 
 " They said that the soul of Seth had passed to 
 the body of Jesus Christ, and that Seth and Jesus 
 Christ were the same person." 
 
 St. Auo-ustine informs us that the Severians did 
 not believe the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 flesh, and rejected the Old Testament. They did 
 not beheve that Jesus Christ was God himself. 
 
 The Encratites never held that Jesus Christ was 
 God. Bergier says, " They did not believe that 
 the Son of God was truly born from the virgin 
 Mary." 
 
 The Yalesians rejected the doctrine that Jesus 
 Christ was God himself. 
 
96 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Bergier writes : " The Hieracites, heretics of the 
 third century, were established by Ilierax, or 
 Hieracas, a physician by profession, born at Leon- 
 tium, or Leontople, in Egypt. St. Epiphane, 
 who relates and refutes the errors of this Secta- 
 rian, confesses that the austerity of his morals 
 was exemplary; that he was familiar with the 
 Greek and Egyptian sciences; that he had thor- 
 oughly studied the Scriptures, and that he was 
 gifted with a persuasive eloquence. lie denied 
 the resurrection of the body, and admitted but a 
 spiritual resurrection of the souls. lie confessed 
 that Jesus Christ had been generated by the 
 Father; that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the 
 Father as well as the Son ; but he had dreamed 
 that the Holy Ghost had taken a human body 
 under the form of Melchisedek. He denied that 
 Jesus Christ had a true human body." 
 
 Therefore the Hieracites denied the supreme di- 
 vinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Bergier thus writes about the Samosatians: 
 "They were disciples and followers of Paul of 
 Saraosate, bishop of Antioch, at or about the 
 year 262. This heretic taught that there is in 
 God one sole person, namely, the Father ; that the 
 Son and the Holy Spirit are only two attributes 
 of God, under which he manifested himself to 
 men: that Jesus Christ is not God, but a man to 
 whom God has communicated his wisdom in an 
 extraordinary manner." 
 
 Therefore the Samosatians did not believe the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinitj' of Jesus Christ. 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 97 
 
 The Maiiiclieaus denied tlie divinity of Jesus 
 Christ, and beUeved that Jesus Christ had uot a 
 real body while on earth, llis soul, they said, 
 was of a nature similar to the nature of the souls 
 of other men, though more perfect. He was the 
 Son of God. 
 
 Therefore the Manieheans denied the doctrine 
 of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 All the above sects composed nearly the whole 
 Christian body, during the first three centuries; 
 and, as shown to the reader, every one either 
 ignored or denied the doctrine of the supreme 
 divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Then it remains evident that the Church of 
 Rome, from which the self-called Orthodox Prot- 
 estant Churches, in the sixteenth century, bor- 
 rowed the doctrine of the supreme divinity of 
 Jesus Christ, did not hold it from the apostles of 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Confirmatur. — As a confirmation of this last and 
 very important consequence, we are to prove, 
 
 1st, That in the Church of Rome, herself, the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ 
 was established only at about the year 180. 
 
 Bemark. — By the Church of Rome, we mean 
 only the church whose bishop (who after centu- 
 ries assumed the title of Pope,) was at Rome, and 
 which, then, did not extend farther than the 
 province of Rome, and a few other occidental 
 places. 
 
 2d. That in the council of Nice, held in 325, 
 9 
 
98 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 despite the efforts of the Bishop of Rome; and 
 despite the tyranny of the emperor Constantine 
 I., who envoked the council at his own expense, 
 attended, surrounded, and enforced it with miU- 
 tary force, it was with the greatest difficulty that 
 the Church of Rome obtained, from the bishops 
 who composed it, a decision in favor of the doc- 
 trine she held, that Jesus Christ was God him- 
 self. 
 
 3d. That it was only long after the council of 
 iNice that its dicision, in favor of the doctrine of 
 the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, prevailed 
 among the churches which depended on the Em- 
 peror of Constantinople, and on the Eishop of 
 Rome. 
 
 4th. We will also present a succinct view of 
 the large number of. Christians, who, without the 
 pale of the communion of Rome, preserved the 
 former belief that Jesus Christ was not God. 
 
 1st. We prove that in the Church of Rome 
 herself, the doctrine of the supreme divinity of 
 Jesus Christ was established onl}^ at about the year 
 180. 
 
 Bergier himself makes the following confession : 
 "An ancient author, who is believed to be Caius, 
 bishop of Rome, who had written against Arte- 
 mon, and of whom Eusebe has related the words. 
 Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chap. 22, seems to 
 confound together the Theodotians and the Arte- 
 
 nionians They maintain, he says, that their 
 
 doctrine is not new ; that it has been taught by 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 99 
 
 the apostles, and that it has been followed in the 
 church until the pontificates of Victor and of 
 Zephyrine his successor, but that since that time 
 the truth has been altered." 
 
 Bergier adds, "The Thedotians believed that 
 Jesus Christ was a man, and not God, that Jesus 
 Christ was above the other men only by his mi- 
 raculous birth, and by his extraordinary virtues." 
 Also, Bergier says, that, although Theodote was a 
 native of Bysance, he resided in Rome, where he 
 preached the same doctrine as Theodote, at least 
 in regard to Jesus Christ being a man and not 
 God. 
 
 Therefore in the Church of Rome lierself, the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ 
 was established only at about the year 180. 
 
 2d. We prove that in the council of Mce, 
 held in 325, despite the efibrts of the Bishop of 
 Rome; and despite the tyranny of the emperor 
 Constautine I., who convoked the council at his 
 own expense, attended, surrounded, and enforc- 
 ed it with military force, it was with the greatest 
 difficulty that the Church of Rome obtained, from 
 the bishops who composed it, a decision in favor 
 of the doctrine she held, that Jesus Christ was 
 God. 
 
 Arius, a priest of Alexandria, surprised at hear- 
 ing Alexander, his bishop, teaching in an assem- 
 bly of priests, that Jesus Christ was God, pro- 
 tested against this new doctrine. An animated 
 controversy between him and Alexander, and 
 
100 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 then between the friends of the Church of Rome, 
 which held this doctrine, and other churches 
 which did not, ensued. The council of Kice as- 
 sembled, and there seventeen bishops boldly faced 
 the legate of Sylvestre, the emperor Constantine 
 and his military force; and they sided with Arius. 
 Eusebe, bishop of Cesarea, the most learned of the 
 bishops who composed the council, sided with 
 Arius. He is the same Eusebe who wrote the 
 Evangelical Preparation and Demonstration, in 
 two volumes in folio ; who wrote an Ecclesiastical 
 History, the Life of Constantine, a Chronic and a 
 Commentary on the Psalms and on Isaiah. Con- 
 stantine forced them either to yield and to acqui- 
 esce to the doctrine of the supreme divinity of 
 Jesus Christ, or to be expelled from their episco- 
 pal sees; and Arius, exiled, had to retire in 
 Palestine. 
 
 Consequently, in the council of Nice, held in 
 325, despite the efforts of the Bishop of Rome; 
 and despite the tyranny of the emperor Constan- 
 tine L, Avho convoked the council at his own ex- 
 pense, attended, surrounded, and enforced it with 
 military force, it Avas with the greatest difhculty 
 that the Church of Rome obtained, from the bish- 
 ops who composed it, a decision in favor of the 
 doctrine she held, that Jesus Cbrist was God him- 
 self. 
 
 3d. AVe prove that it was only long after the 
 council of Nice, that its decision in favor of the 
 doctrine of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 101 
 
 prevailed among the cliurches wliicli depended on 
 the Emperor of Constantinople, and on the Bishop 
 of Rome. 
 
 Bergier, despite his partiality in favor of the 
 Church of Rome, is obliged to make the following 
 avowal : 
 
 "The anathema pronounced against Arianism 
 did not destroy it ; the larger portion of those (bish- 
 ops) loho had signed the decision of the council, only 
 for fear of being exiled, remained attached to the jKirtg 
 of Arius. Constantine himself, influenced by an 
 Arian priest, recommended to him by his sister 
 Constantia, at her death bed, and who had gained 
 his confidence, consented to the repeal of Arius 
 from his exile, in 328. This heretic reunited to 
 his partisans, and commenced spreading his errors 
 with even more earnestness than before. But St. 
 Athanase, who had succeeded to Alexander in the 
 episcopal see of Alexandria, constantly refused to 
 commune with him, and by this firmness displeased 
 Constantine I. 
 
 " Since that time the Arians became a redoubta- 
 ble party. They held several councils where they 
 
 obtained the majority Arius died in a tragic 
 
 manner, in the year 337. After the death of Con- 
 stantine L, in 337, the party of the Arians was 
 alternatively the stronger, in ratio of the less or 
 greater protection extended to. them or to the Or- 
 thodox by the Emperors. Under Constance, who 
 favored them, they filled the Orient with seditions 
 and troubles; but Constantine Junior and Con- 
 
102 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Btant, wlio reigned in Occident, prevented Arian- 
 isni from spreading. In 351, Constance, who had 
 become the master of the whole empire by the 
 death of his two brothers, protected Arianisra 
 more openly than before. Several councils were 
 held in Italy, in which the Arians had the major- 
 ity ; and others, in which the Catholics had the 
 
 superiority Julian, who was emperor in 
 
 362, sided neither with one party nor with the 
 other. Valcns, emperor of the Orient, in 364, fa- 
 vored and embraced Arianism ; whereas Valentin- 
 ian, his brother, did all in his power to extirpate it 
 from the Occident. 
 
 " Gratian, and afterwards Theodose, proscribed 
 
 Arianism from the whole empire In the 
 
 beginning of the fifth century, the Goths, the Bur- 
 gundians, and the Vandals, spread it in Gaul and 
 in Africa. The Visigoths introduced it in Spain, 
 where it subsisted as long as the kings of that 
 country were Arians themselves, until the year 660. 
 
 " Arianism was to be revived in the sixteenth 
 century. It is probable that Arianism would have 
 invaded the whole Orient if the Arians had been 
 united." 
 
 Therefore, it was only long after the Council of 
 Nice, that its decision, in favor of the doctrine of 
 the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, prevailed 
 among the churches which depended on the Em- 
 peror of Constantinople, and on the Bishop of 
 Rome. 
 
 4th. We will also present a succinct view of 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 103 
 
 the la ge number of Christians, who, without the 
 pale of the communion of Rome, preserved the 
 former belief that Jesus Christ was not God. 
 
 We have proved, in the course of this chapter, 
 that the following Christian sects, or denomina- 
 tions, did not believe the doctrine of the divinity 
 of Jesus Christ: the Corinthians, the Carpocra- 
 tians, the Ebionites, the Basilidians, the Mar- 
 cionites, the Valentinians, the Ptolcmaites, the 
 Heracleonites, the Colarbasians, the Barules, the 
 Bardesanists, the Marcosians, the Thcodotians, the 
 Artemoniaus, the Docetes, the Tatianists, the Apel- 
 lites, the Ophites, the Cainites, the Hermogenians, 
 the Hermians, the Sethians, the Severians, the 
 Encratites, the Valesiaus the Ilieracites, the Sara- 
 osatians, and the IManicheaus. But nearly all these 
 Christian sects of the first three centuries outlived 
 the Council of Nice, and preserved through centu- 
 ries the doctrine that Jesus Christ was not God 
 himself: this is the unanimous testimony of histo- 
 rians. 
 
 From the four heads of convincing historical 
 proofs brought forth in this C07ijinnatur, we draw 
 once more the conclusion : 
 
 1st. Then the Church of Rome, from which 
 the self-called Orthodox Protestant Churches, in 
 the sixteenth century, borrowed the doctrine of the 
 divinity of Jesus Christ, did not hold it from the 
 apostles of Jesus Christ. 
 
 2d. We prove the second proposition of the 
 argument of this chapter, namely, that the Church 
 
104 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 of Rome uses, in her adoration to Jesus Clirist, 
 rites and ceremonies of a striking similarity with 
 those used by the Pagans in their adoration to 
 the sun, under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, 
 Osiris, Mithra, Atys, etc. 
 
 Every year the Pagans celebrated with pomp 
 the death of Bacchus. Those celebrations were 
 called Titanical, and celebrations of the perfect 
 night. They supposed that this god had been 
 slain by the Giants ; but that his mother, or Ceres, 
 had reunited his bones. To retrace his death they 
 killed a bull, whose raw flesh they ate, because 
 Bacchus, represented with the horns of an ox, had 
 been thus torn by the Titans. Julius-Firmicus, an 
 orthodox author of the fourth centuiy, who wrote 
 about the legend of Bacclius, says that the Pagans 
 considered those fictions as solar fables. He adds 
 that the sun was irritated at being thus worship- 
 ped : here, in being immersed into the Nile river, 
 under the names of Osiris and of Horus ; there, in 
 being mutilated under the names of Atys and of 
 Adonis ; and in other places, in being boiled or 
 roasted, like Bacchus. The Bacchanals, or disor- 
 derly, noisy, tumultuous, and frantic scenes took 
 place. 
 
 St. Athanase, St. Augustine, Theophile, Athen- 
 agoras, Minutius-Felix, Lactanee, Firmicus, and 
 other Christian writers of the first centuries, as 
 well as more ancient authors, describe the general 
 mourning of the Egyptians in the anniversary day 
 of the death of Osiris. They describe the ceremo- 
 
OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 105 
 
 nies practiced on liis tomb, and the tears shed 
 thereon during several days. The mysteries in 
 which the representation of his death was exhib- 
 ited, and which took place during the night, were 
 called mysteries of night. 
 
 Likewise the death of Mithra was celebrated. 
 To the nsnal magnificence of his temples succeeded 
 a gloom}^ sight. The priests, during the night, 
 carried his image in a tomb, and laid it on a litter, 
 in the same manner as the Phoenicians laid the 
 image of Adonis. This ceremony was accompa- 
 nied with dismal songs, and with groans. The 
 priests, after this feigned expression of grief, 
 kindled a flambeau, called sacred ; anointed the 
 image of Mithra with chrisma, or with perfumes; 
 and then one of them, in a solemn and loud voice, 
 pronounced these words : " Cheer up, holy mourn- 
 ers, your god is come again to life ; his sorrows and 
 his sufferings will save you." 
 
 Julius Firmicus, who relates this, exclaims : 
 "Why do you exhort those unfortunate to rejoice? 
 Why do you deceive them with false promises? 
 The death of your god is known ; but his new life 
 is not proved. There is no oracle that ascertains 
 his resurrection ; he has not appeared to men after 
 his resurrection to prove his divinity. An idol 
 you bury ; upon an idol you mourn ; an idol you 
 lift up from the tomb, and having expressed your 
 grief 3^ou rejoice," etc., 
 
 The Church of Eome practices alike ceremonies 
 in celebrating the anniversary day of the death of 
 
106 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Jesus Christ. All the ornaments of each church, 
 the statues and miages of saints, etc., are clothed 
 in black. In one of the chapels of the church 
 a tomb is prepared, in which, on the Holy Thursday 
 morning, Jesus Christ — ^namely, a wafer which 
 has been consecrated — is laid, shut up, not in the 
 ostensorium, but in a ciborium, as a sign of mourn- 
 ing. The priests perform this ceremony. During 
 the whole day the church is thronged with people, 
 who come to express to Jesus Christ their sym- 
 path}'^ in his sufferings. At about eight o'clock in 
 the evening, a gloomy procession, composed of the 
 priests and the people, march along the streets in 
 the dark (this procession takes place only in Cath- 
 olic countries,) now and then reciting in a low and 
 dismal tone a verse of the psalm, 3Iiserere mei 
 Dens, [translation,] Lord have mercy on me. 
 "When this procession has taken place, hymns of 
 suffering and of death are sung in the church, 
 around the tomb in which Jesus Christ lays. At 
 eleven o'clock a priest goes to the pulpit, and in an 
 affecting manner relates to the sobbing and weep- 
 ing multitude the sufferings and death of Jesus 
 Christ. This address is called Passion's sermon. 
 The people spend the whole night in the 
 church to keep company to Jesus Christ in his 
 sufferings, they say, and to relieve him by their 
 sympathy. In the morning of the Holy Friday 
 the church is yet filled with mourners. The 
 priests, processionally, but in silence, go to the 
 tomb where Jesus Christ lays, take him out, and 
 
OF THE DrV^miTT OF JESUS CHRIST. 107 
 
 cany him into the tabernacle, where they shut 
 him up, but without leaving any taper burning in 
 the whole church. In the evening, after the reci- 
 tation of the Officium Tenebrarum, [translation,] 
 Office of Darkness, boys, men, women and all, fill 
 the church with their yells, with the sharp sound 
 of rattles, with the blows they strike on boards 
 with small and large sticks, and with sounding, 
 sonorous instruments, such as horns, etc. A few 
 days after they eat the wafer, which they pretend 
 to be the raw flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Pagans, in celebrating the resurrection of 
 Bacchus, Osiris, etc., who represented the sun, 
 lighted the lamps of their temples with a fire, which 
 the priests obtained by striking a piece of steel 
 with silex, and was called new fire. That day the 
 priests were clothed in white ornaments ; the lus- 
 tra! waters were renewed, and also the decorations 
 of the temples : so in every church the Romish 
 priests strike a piece of steel wdth silex, and obtain 
 a fire called new fire; with it they light the lamps, 
 and the taper called Paschal taper. They renew 
 the holy water, which the people piously carry to 
 their homes, and keep for protection during 
 the storms, etc. The priests change their priestly 
 garments, and clothe in white. 
 
 The Pagans worshipped the sun under the name 
 of Aries, because the Aries was one of the celestial 
 signs: so the Church of Pome worships Jesus 
 Christ under the form of a lamb. Formerly, the 
 Roman Catholic parents suspended on the necks 
 
108 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 of their children tlie symbolic image of a lamb ; 
 and the women, instead of wearing a cross, as 
 they do now, wore a lamb. This practice had 
 been introduced by the Eomish priests, who sold, 
 as they sell now, Agnus Dei, which have been con- 
 secrated with prayers and sprinkled with holy 
 water, as being the emblems of Jesus Christ. 
 
 A lamb was represented bleeding, and under it 
 was a vessel in which the blood dropped. This 
 practice was in use till the year 680, under the 
 pontificate of the pope Agathon, and under the 
 reign of the emperor Coustantine III., surnamed 
 Pogonat. Then it was ordered by the sixth council 
 of Constantinople, canon 82, that a man nailed to 
 a cross should be substituted to the ancient symbol 
 of a lamb. However, this symbol was partly pre- 
 served in the church, as seen above. The symbol 
 of a lamb is yet seen on the tabernacle, or small box 
 of marble, or of wood, richly wrought upon, placed 
 on the altar ; also on the ostensorium, and on the 
 forepart of the altars. 
 
 The Pagans placed a sunlike halo around the 
 heads of the statues of Osiris, Bacchus, and other 
 gods, who, in their opinion, represented the sun : 
 likewise in the Church of Pome the priests place 
 the wafer, which, they think, is Jesus Christ him- 
 self, in an ostensorium, whicli is shaped like the 
 disc of the sun; and which represents his beams; 
 the wafer itself is circular. This ostensorium is of 
 silver, or of gold, and adorned with diamonds, or 
 gems. Above the altar a large sun is generally 
 
OF THE DIVmiTY OF JESUS CUEIST. 109 
 
 eitlier painted, or carved, or formed with draperies. 
 The Pagans kept in their temples a lamp burning, 
 in the honor of the sun : so, in the Roman Catholic 
 churches a lamp is kept burning, day and night, 
 near the altar, in the honor of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Pagans built their temples so that the 
 sanctuary M'as turned towards the rising sun : 
 likewise, the Poman Catholic churches are built 
 so that the sanctuary be turned towards the rising 
 sun. 
 
 The Pagans carried in triumph, processionally, 
 aud with the most brilliant pomp, the statues of 
 Bacchus, Osiris, and other gods, representing the 
 sun : likewise, on the feast day of the body of 
 Jesus Christ, the consecrated wafer is carried iu 
 triumph, processionally, and with the most bril- 
 liant pomp. The priestly and other ornaments 
 are of a tissue of silver, or of gold. A multitude 
 of people follow : the various confraternities of 
 Penitents, the ones grey, the others blue, the 
 others white, etc., and the many confraternities of 
 virgins, of married women, all in variegated cos- 
 tumes, march before the consecrated wafer. The 
 civil, judiciary, and militarj' authorities, regiments 
 of soldiers with brass bands, with drums beating, 
 with banners and flags unfurled, escort the conse- 
 crated wafer, which is carried by the first priest of 
 the parish, under a canopy of the most costly and 
 magnificent tissue. 
 
 The Pagans burnt flambeaux before the statues 
 of Osiris, Bacchus, etc., to represent the planets; 
 
110 OP THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 
 
 and sometimes to represent the signs of the 
 Zodiac : so, in the Roman Catholic churches, upon 
 the altar, there are six chandeliers, with candles 
 burning around the consecrated wafer, namely, 
 Jesus Christ, who is in the middle. 
 
 From all the above facts we may legitimately 
 draw the conclusion, that the Church of Rome 
 uses, in her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites and 
 ceremonies of a striking similarity with those nsed 
 by the Pagans in their adoration to the sun, 
 under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, Osiris, 
 Mithra, Atys, etc. 
 
 "We now come to the general conclusions of the 
 present chapter. 
 
 It has been proved, 1st, That the Church of 
 Rome, from which the self-called Orthodox Prot- 
 estant Churches, in the sixteenth century, bor- 
 rowed the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 did not hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ. 
 
 2d. It has been proved that the Church of 
 Rome uses, in her adoration to Jesus Christ, rites 
 and ceremonies of a striking similarity with those 
 used by the Pagans in their adoration to the sun, 
 under the names of Bacchus, Hercules, Osiris, 
 Mithra, Atys, etc, 
 
 Then the Church of Rome, from which, in the 
 sixteenth century, the self-called Orthodox Prot- 
 estant Churches borrowed the doctrine of the 
 supreme divinity of Jesus Christ had borrowed it 
 from the Pagans. 
 
 Therefore the dodnne of the supreme divinity of 
 Jesus Christ is of Pagan origin. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS HELL. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 MetemjJsi/chosis, or Transmigration of the Souls. 
 
 The rulers of nations, and the authors of the 
 initiations, had a profound knowledge of the 
 human nature, and of the genius of the people. 
 From the fact that an ox, unaware of his strength, 
 yields to the leading hand of a child, so they 
 knew that would they let the masses ignore their 
 power, they could easily control them, mould their 
 opinions, habits, and morals Also aware of the 
 terror that death impressed upon their minds, and 
 knowing that it is an iujB.rmity of man's nature, 
 when uncultivated by philosophy, to fear more 
 a distant and indefinite, but unavoidable misery 
 beyond the grave, than the most excruciating tor- 
 tures on earth, they found in those prejudices of 
 the people a sure means to lead and rule them. 
 Therefore they endeavored to make them believe 
 that those who would transgress the laws, or 
 would commit some other crimes, should be pun- 
 ished by the gods immortal in the future life. 
 
 (Ill) 
 
112 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 They had to invent the nature of that punish- 
 ment, and as there were many degrees of wicked- 
 ness, they had to admit, also, various degrees in 
 the punishment. To more easily and more surely 
 make the people believe their invention, they 
 thought it was wise to make the punishment, and 
 its degrees, coincide with the then universally 
 established religion, which was but one, though 
 there were many systems of theology. That 
 religion was the one we have examined in the 
 first chapter of this work, and which consisted in 
 the belief that nature was an uncreated but ani- 
 mated being, whose vast body comprised the 
 earth, the sun, the planets, and the stars, to which 
 one great soul impressed motion and life ; and 
 that those principal parts, or members, of the body 
 of the universe were animated by emanations or 
 irradiations of the great soul of the universe, or 
 nature. 
 
 This pantheistic doctrine was materialist; for 
 it supposed that the great soul of the universe 
 was the purest substance of the fire ether, and 
 thereby man's soul was of the same nature. It 
 was the belief even of the famous philosopher 
 Pythagoras, and of his disciples. All animals, 
 according to Servius, the commentator of Virgil, 
 draw their flesh from the earth, their humors 
 from water, their breath from the air, and their 
 Boul from the breath of the Deity. Thus the bees 
 have a small portion of the Deity. Our soul is 
 like a drop of water which is not annihilated, 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 113 
 
 whetlier it evaporates in the air, or condenses and 
 falls again in rain, or rolls into the sea to add its 
 littleness to the massy waters. When we die our 
 life melts, reenters into the great soul of the uni- 
 verse, and the remains of our body mix again with 
 the elements of the air. 
 
 Virgil believed that our death is not annihila- 
 tion, but that it is a separation of two sorts of 
 matters, the one thereof remains here below, and 
 the other reunites to the sacred fire of the stars, 
 as soon as the matter of which our soul is com- 
 posed has reacquired all the purity of the subtle 
 matter, from which it had emanated, aurcB sim- 
 plicis ignetn. Nothing, Servius says, is lost in the 
 great whole, and in the pure fii'e which constitutes 
 the substance of the soul. Yirgil says of the 
 Bouls: igneus est ollis vigor, et coelestis origo; that 
 they are formed of the active fire that shines in 
 the heaven, and that they return thither when 
 they are separated from the body by death. 
 
 The same doctrine we find in the dream of 
 Scipio : '^ It is from there," he says, speaking of 
 the regions of the fixed stars, " that the souls 
 descended, thereto they shall return ; they were 
 emanated from those eternal fires we name stars. 
 What ye call death is but a return to true life ; 
 the body is but a prison, in which the soul is mo- 
 mentarily chained. Death breaks her ties, and 
 restores her to liberty, and to her true state of 
 existence.'' 
 
 From this pantheistic doctrine, it followed that 
 man's soul is immortal though material. 
 10 
 
114 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Upon tliis sort of immortality of our soul, the 
 rulers built a system of punishment, called Me- 
 tempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls. 
 This system was so much the better adapted to 
 the then received religion, that all the souls being 
 simply different emanations from the same fire 
 ether, the consequence was that all the souls were 
 homogeneous, and differed only in appearance, 
 and by the nature of the bodies to which the 
 fire-principle, which composed their substance, 
 united. Virgil said that the souls of all animals 
 are an emanation of the fire ether, and that the 
 difference of their operations on earth is to be as- 
 cribed only to the difference of vases, or organized 
 bodies, which receive this substance; or, according 
 to the words of Servius, the lesser or greater per- 
 fection of their operations is in ratio of the nature 
 of the bodies. 
 
 The Indians, among whom, even in our days, 
 the system of Metempsychosis prevails, think 
 that man's soul is absolutely of the same nature as 
 that of other animals. They say that man is supe- 
 rior to them, not in his soul but in his body, whose 
 organization is more perfect and more apt to re- 
 ceive the action of the great Being, viz., of the 
 universe, than theirs are. They ground their opin- 
 ion on the example of children and of old men, 
 whose organs being too weak yet, or having been 
 weakened, do not permit their senses to have the 
 same activity which is displayed in a mature age. 
 
 The soul, in the exercise of her operations, being 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 115 
 
 necessarily in submission to the body wbicli she 
 animates; and all souls flowing from the immense 
 I'eservoir called universal soul, it follows that the 
 portion of the fire ether which animates a man, 
 might as well animate an ox, a lion, an eagle, a 
 whale, or any other beast. Fate caused that she 
 would animate a man, and such a man; but when 
 the soul will be disengaged from this first body, 
 and will return to her source, she will be able to 
 pass into the body of another animal; and her 
 activity will be lesser or greater, in ratio of the 
 organization of the new body into which she will 
 pass. 
 
 All the great work of nature being reduced to 
 successive organizations and destructions, in which 
 the same matter is ten thousand times used under 
 ten thousand forms, the subtle matter of the soul, 
 carried in that current, brings life to all the moulds 
 which open to receive her. Thus the same water 
 flown from a same reservoir, enters the various 
 pipes which are opened, rolls on and empties either 
 as a fountain, or as a cascade, according to the 
 forms of the orifices of the pipes; then it congre- 
 gates, evaporates, and forms clouds which brings 
 it back down to the earth, to experience again an 
 infinity of modifications. It is the same of the 
 fluid of the soul spread in the various canals of the 
 animal organization, flowing from the bright mass 
 of which the ethereal substance is composed; 
 thence being carried to the earth by the generating 
 force distributed among the animals, continually 
 
116 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ascending and descending in the universe, and cir- 
 culating witliin new bodies diversely organized. 
 
 Such was the basis of Metempsychosis, which 
 became one of the most powerful political engines 
 in the hands of the ancient rulers, legislators and 
 mystagogues. Pythagoras brought this doctrine 
 from the Orient to Greece, and to Italy. This 
 philosopher, and Enipedocles after him, taught 
 that the souls of the criminals, when death separ- 
 ated them from the bodies they animated, passed 
 into the bodies of beasts in order to suffer, under 
 those divers forms the punishment of their wick- 
 edness, until they might recover, by expiation, 
 their native purity. So this transmigration of the 
 souls was a punishment of the gods. The Stoiciana 
 held this doctrine; and the emperor Marcus- Aure- 
 lius, in the ninth book of his Works, said : " The 
 epiritus, or breath, which animates us, passes from 
 one body into another." 
 
 To give the reader a general idea of what was 
 the belief of the ancients, and of their philosophers, 
 in regard to Metempscychosis, we take from the 
 tenth and last book of the Republic of Plato the 
 following lengthy but instructive extract: — 
 
 " It is not the narration of Alcinolis (namely, a 
 false story, such as the one of Ulysse to the Phea- 
 cians,) that I will tell you; but that of a noble 
 man, of Her, the Armenian, a native of Pamphily. 
 He had been killed in a battle ; but when, ten days 
 after, the dead bodies were taken away for inhu- 
 mation, his, instead of being in putrefaction like 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 117 
 
 the others, was found natural and entire. It was 
 carried to his house, and, on the twelfth day, when 
 laid on the wood-pile, he came again to life ; and 
 he related to the assistants what he had seen in 
 the other world. 
 
 " 'As soon,' he says, ' as my soul left my body, I 
 arrived, in company with a great number of souls, 
 at a mysterious place, where were seen two open- 
 ings near each other, and two others correspond- 
 ing in the sky. Between these two regions were 
 judges sitting: when they had pronounced their 
 sentence they ordered the righteous to take the 
 right hand side route through one of the openings 
 of the sky, after having previously placed on their 
 breast a mark containing the judgment rendered 
 in their favor; also they ordered the wicked to 
 take the left hand side route through one of the 
 openings of the earth, carrying on their back a 
 mark containing all their evil actions. When I 
 was presented to the judges, they decided that I 
 should return to the earth to inform men of what 
 was done in the other world ; and they bade me 
 listen and observe all I was to witness. . 
 
 " ' First I saw the souls of those who had been 
 judged, the ones ascending to the heavens, and the 
 others descending below the earth through the two 
 corresponding openings. Withal I saw, through 
 the other opening of the earth, many souls coming 
 out, covered with filthiness and dust; and also, 
 through the other opening in the sky, I saw souls 
 pure and spotless descending: they seemed to re- 
 
"118 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 turn from a long voyage, and to stop with pleasure 
 in the meadow, as if in a place of reunion. Those 
 who knew each other mutually inquired what they 
 had seen in the heaven, and in the earth. The 
 ones related their adventures with groans and 
 tears, caused by the recollection of the sufferings 
 they had endured, or seen others endure, during 
 their voyage below the earth, whose duration was 
 of a thousand years. The others, who returned 
 from the heaven, related the rapturous pleasures 
 they had enjoyed, and the marvellous things they 
 had seen.' 
 
 "It would be too long, my dear Glaucon, to re- 
 late the whole discourse of Her on this subject. 
 It might be summed up in saying that the souls 
 were punished ten times for each injustice they 
 . had committed while on earth ; that the duration 
 of each punishment was of one hundred years, nat- 
 ural length of man's life, in order that the punish- 
 ment be ever ten-fold for each crime. Thus those 
 who had contaminated themselves with murder; 
 who had betrayed States and armies, and reduced 
 them to servitude ; or who had committed similar 
 crimes, were punished tenfold for each one of 
 those crimes. Whereas those who had done good 
 to their fellow men, who had been holy and virtu- 
 ous, received in the same proportion the reward of 
 their good deeds. In regard to children who die 
 immediately, or a short time after they are born, 
 Her gave details which it is useless to relate. Ac- 
 cording to his narration there were great recom- 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 119 
 
 penses for those who had honored the gods, and 
 had respected their parents; and also there were 
 extraordinary tortures for the parricides, and for 
 impious men. 
 
 "'I was present,' said he, 'when a soul asked 
 another where was the great Ardiee. This Ardiee 
 had tyrannized over a city of Pamphily a thousand 
 years before; he had killed his father, who was an 
 old man, and he was guilty, it was said, of many 
 other atrocious crimes. He does not come, the 
 soul answered, and he will never come here. We 
 all have witnessed, in relation to him, the most 
 dreadful spectacle. "When we were about leaving 
 the subterraneous abyss after our pains ended, we 
 saw Ardiee, and a great number of others, the 
 most of whom had been tyrants like himself; there 
 were also others, who, though in a private condi- 
 tion, had been great criminals. 
 
 "'When those souls were about going out, the 
 opening was closed; and whenever one of those 
 wretched souls, whose crimes were irremissible, 
 tried to get out of the abyss, she howled. There- 
 upon hideous and firelike beings came. They vio- 
 lently wrested away several of those criminals ; 
 then they seized Ardiee and others, tied their feet, 
 their hands and their heads ; and after throwing 
 them on the ground and torturing them with 
 lashes, they dragged them through bleeding thorns, 
 telling the shadows which they met on their route 
 the reason why they treated so those souls, and 
 adding that they were going to throw them into 
 
120 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 the Tartarus. Those souls added, that of the vari- 
 ous fears they had on the route none was so horri- 
 ble as that of hearing that howl ; and that it had 
 been an inexpressible pleasure for them not to have 
 heard it when they were released from the abyss. 
 
 " 'Behold what took place in regard to the judg- 
 ments, tortures, and rewards. After each one of 
 those souls had spent seven days in the meadow 
 they left on the eighth, and arrived, after a march 
 of four days, at a designated sjDot, wherefrom was 
 seen a light crossing the heaven and the earth, as 
 straight as a column, and similar to the rainbow, 
 but brighter and purer. They reached this light 
 in one day's march. There they saw that the 
 extremities of the heaven meet at the middle of 
 this light, which united them fast, and which em- 
 braced all the circumference of the heaven, in 
 nearly the same manner as the beams which girdle 
 the sides of galleys, and which bear their frame. 
 At the extremities the spindle of ISTecessity hung, 
 and determined the revolutions of the celestial 
 spheres.' " 
 
 Here Her describes the spindle. This descrip- 
 tion we omit, for it does not relate to our subject. 
 
 Her continues : — 
 
 " 'l^ear the spindle, and at equal distances, sat 
 on thrones the three Parques, daughters of l^eces- 
 sity, Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos, dressed in 
 white, and their heads crowned with a bandelet. 
 They united their chant to that of the Sirenes; 
 Lachesis sung the past, Clotho the present, and 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 121 
 
 Atropos the future- Clotho, now and then, touch- 
 ed the spindle with her right hand, and made it 
 revolve exteraally. Atropos, with her left hand, 
 impressed motion to each one of the interior 
 whirls, and Lachesis, with both hands, touched 
 now the spindle, and then the interior whirls. 
 Wlien the souls arrived they appeared before Lach- 
 esis. First a Hierophant assigned a rank to each 
 one; then taking from the lap of Lachesis the 
 fates and the various conditions of human life, he 
 mounted on a high stand, and spake thus : — 
 
 " ' This is what the virgin Lachesis, daughter of 
 ll^ecessity, says : Voyaging souls you are to com- 
 mence another career, and return into a mortal 
 body. The genius will not choose for you : each 
 one of you shall choose hers. The first one that 
 fate will designate shall choose first, and her choice 
 shall be irrevocable. Virtue has no master; she 
 clings to him who honors her, and flies from him 
 who despises her. The error of the choice shall 
 fall on 3'ou. God is innocent. 
 
 " ' Thereupon the Hierophant casting the fates, 
 each soul picked up the one that fell before her, 
 except myself who had been forbidden it. Each 
 one knew then in which rank she had to choose. 
 Then fKe same Hierophant placed before them 
 callings of all kinds, whose number was greater 
 than that of the souls who were to choose ; for all 
 the conditions of men and beasts were assembled 
 therein. There were tyrannies, the ones were to 
 last till death ; and the others were to be suddenly 
 11 
 
122 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 interrnpted, and were to end by exile, poverty and 
 indigence. Also there were seen conditions of 
 illustrious men, the ones for beauty, for strength, 
 for fame in the coml^ats ; and the others by their 
 nobleness, and the great qualities of their ances- 
 tors; there were seen also obscure conditions. 
 There were destinies of women of the same variety. 
 But there was no regulation for the rank of the 
 souls, because each one w^as necessarily to change 
 of nature according to her choice. Besides, wealth, 
 poverty, and diseases, Avere found in all conditions: 
 here without any mixture, there in a just propor- 
 tion of advantages and disadvantages.' 
 
 " But this is evidently, my dear Glaucon, the 
 
 redoubtable trial for mankind The Hiero- 
 
 phant added : he who chooses the last, provided he 
 be judicious, and then be consistent in his con- 
 duct, may hope to be blessed in life. Therefore 
 let him who is to have the first choice, be not pre- 
 sumptuous ; and let him who has the last choice, 
 despair not. When the liierophant had thus 
 spoken, he to whom the first fate had been de- 
 volved, hastily advanced, and took, without any 
 deliberation, the greatest tyranny ; but when he 
 had considered it, and seen that his destiny was to 
 eat his own children, and to commit other enor- 
 mous crimes, he lamented; and, forgetting the 
 recommendation of the Hierophaut, charged upon 
 the fortune and the gods, with the wretchedness 
 of his fate. This soul was one of those who came 
 from heaven ; she had previously lived in a well 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 123 
 
 governed state, and had been virtuous more from 
 temper and habit, than from philosophy. 
 
 " On the contrary, the souls who had sojourned 
 in the subterranean region, and who had both the 
 experience of their own sufferings, and the knowl- 
 edge of the misfortunes of others, were cautious 
 in their choice. This experience on one side, and 
 that inexperience on the other, together with the 
 fate which decided the rank for the choice, were 
 the cause that the most of the souls exchanged a 
 good condition for a bad one, and a bad one for 
 a good one. Her also said, that it was a strange 
 spectacle to see in what manner each soul made 
 her choice, nothing was more extraordinary, nor 
 more pitiful ; the most of them were guided in 
 their choice by the habits they had contracted in 
 their previous life. He had seen the soul of 
 Orpheus choosing the condition of a SAvan, from 
 hatred to women who had killed him, and from 
 whom he did not wish to receive birth. He saw 
 the soul of Thamyris choosing the condition of 
 nightingale ; likewise he saw a swan and several 
 other birds choosing the human condition. 
 
 "Another soul had chosen the condition of a 
 lion ; it was that of Ajax, son of Telamon, who, re- 
 membering the offence she had received in the judg- 
 ments rendered about the arms of Achilles^ lefus- 
 ed to take again a human body. Then came thj 
 soul of Agamemnon, who, from antipathy against 
 mankind on account of her past sufferings, chose 
 the condition of an eagle. The soul of Atalante, 
 
124 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 desirous of the athletic honors, chose to be a 
 champion. The soul of Epee, son of Panope, 
 preferred the condition of a woman skilful in 
 handiworks. The soul of the hufFoon Thersite 
 came one of the last, and entered the body of a 
 monkey. There were, Her added, souls of ani- 
 mals which exchanged their condition against 
 ours, and human souls which passed into bodies 
 of beasts. The souls indistinctly passed from the 
 bodies of animals into human bodies, and from 
 human bodies into bodies of animals; those of 
 the righteous into species of a higher order. 
 
 "When all the souls had chosen their new con- 
 dition of existence, according to the rank determ- 
 ined by fate, they came to Lachesis in the same 
 order. She gave to each one the genius of her 
 choice, and this genius was to be her guardian 
 during her mortal life, and was to aid her in the 
 accomplishment of her destiny. This genius first 
 led her to Clotho, who, with her hand, and with 
 a revolution of the spindle confirmed the chosen 
 destiny. "When the soul had touched the spindle, 
 the genius took her to Atropos, who rolled the 
 thread in her fingers, to render irrevocable what 
 had been already spun by Clotho. After that, 
 the soul proceeded to the throne of Necessity, 
 under which the soul and her genius, or demon, 
 passed together. When all had passed, they went 
 to the plain of the Lethe river, where they were 
 oppressed by an intense heat; for there was in 
 this plain, neither tree nor shrub. The evening 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 125 
 
 came and they spent tlie night near the river 
 Ameles, whose water can be contained in no ves- 
 sel. Every soul was obliged to drink some of its 
 water. They fell asleep; but at about midnight 
 the thunder roared, and all the souls suddenly 
 waking up were dispersed, like shooting stars, 
 towards the various places where they were to 
 commence their new life. 
 
 "As to Her, he had been forbidden to drink 
 of the water of the Lethe river ; nevertheless, he 
 knew not in what manner his soul had returned 
 into his body, but having opened his eyes in the 
 morning, he had seen that he was laying on a 
 wood-pile. 
 
 " This tradition, my dear Glaucon, has been 
 handed down to us; and if we believe it, it is very 
 apt to save us; we will safely cross the Lethe 
 river, and we will preserve our soul free from 
 stain." 
 
 The reader has undoubtedly remarked the last 
 sentence of this extract, which proves the antiquity 
 of the doctrine of the transmigration of the souls. 
 Burnet wrote, that it was so ancient and so uni- 
 versally spread in Egypt, Persia, India, and other 
 countries of the Orient, that it seemed it had 
 descended from heaven, and been believed by the 
 first inhabitants of the earth. Herodote found it 
 established in Egypt in the remotest ages. It was 
 the basis of the theology of the Indians, and the 
 subject of the celebrated Metamorphosis and in- 
 carnations of their legends. Metempsychosis has 
 
126 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 been immemorially believed in Japan, wliere the 
 people, even in our days, according to Kcempsfer, 
 abstain from meat, and live exclusively upon fruits 
 and vegetables. In Siam, Avliere tbe Talapoins or 
 monks hold it as a sacred dogma ; in China by 
 the Tao-See; also among the Kalbouls and the 
 Mongols, and among the Thibetans, who admit 
 that the souls pass even into the plants, into the 
 trees, and even into the roots. However, the 
 Thibetans believe that it is only by uniting to 
 human bodies, that the souls can, after successive 
 changes, be restored to their former purity. 
 
 The aim of the doctrine of Metempsychosis 
 was to accustom man to detach himself from the 
 gross matter, to which he is tied here below, and 
 to excite in him the desire of promptly returning 
 there, wherefroni he had formerly descended. 
 Tbe rulers of the people frightened them with the 
 pictures of humiliating transformations of their 
 souls, as the Catholic priests and the Partlalist 
 preachers do among us, with their teaching of an 
 endless hell. The people, amazed and terrified, for 
 the masses were ignorant, believed all those poli- 
 tico-religious fables. They firmly believed that 
 the souls of the wicked passed into vile bodies; 
 that they were punished with cruel and loath esome 
 diseases; that those who did not reform after a 
 certain number of transmigrations were delivered 
 up to the Furies and to the evil spirits (or devils) 
 to be tortured ; and that, after that, they were sent 
 again to the earth, as in a new Bchool, and were 
 
or ENDLESS HELL. 127 
 
 obliged to run a new race. Thus we see that the 
 whole system of IVIetempsychosis rested on the 
 false supposition, that it was necessary, in order 
 to govern the people here below, to frighten them 
 with absurd and visionary tales of atrocious tor- 
 tures beyond the grave, which were the more 
 terrifying for the very reason of their absurdity 
 and atrociousness. 
 
 Timee of Locre, one of the disciples of Socrates, 
 wrote, that among the various means of govern- 
 ing those who are not able to reach the truth of 
 the principles, on which nature has established jus- 
 tice and morals, Metempsychosis is an efficacious 
 one. He said: "Let them be taught those dogmas 
 which inform us that the souls of effeminate and 
 pusillanimous men transmigrate into female bod- 
 ies ; those of murderers into bodies of wild beasts ; 
 those of licentious men into bodies of wild boars 
 and hogs; those of fickle and inconstant men into 
 bodies of birds ; those of idle, ignorant and silly 
 men into bodies of fishes. The just I^emesis reg- 
 ulates those pains in the future life conjointly with 
 the gods of the earth, avengers of the crimes they 
 have witnessed. The supreme God has entrusted 
 them with the government of this inferior world. 
 Let them be frightened, even, by the religious ter- 
 rors conveyed to the soul by those discourses 
 which describe the vengeance of the celestial gods, 
 and the unavoidable torments reserved to the crim- 
 inals in the Tartarus ; and also by the other fictions 
 which Homer has found in the ancient sacred 
 
128 PAGAN ORIGIT? 
 
 opinions. Sometimes the body is cured by poison- 
 ous substances ; so the souls can be ruled by fables 
 when they cannot be governed by truth." 
 
 This philosopher plainly gives us his secret, 
 which has been, and still is, the secret of all legis- 
 lators and priests. True, the belief of these fablea 
 has restrained many from vice and crime ; never- 
 theless we firmly believe that men ought to be led 
 to justice by the bright light of the truth, and 
 not by the dismal light of error, and of super- 
 stition : the one elevates man, but the other keeps 
 him in an eternal infancy and ig-norance. How 
 sad it is to see, even now-a-days, in free and en- 
 lightened America, priests, and Protestant minis- 
 ters themselves, keeping down in intellectual, moral 
 and religious bondage, millions of Christians, who, 
 from fear of endless curse, kiss the very chains 
 which heavily they drag through life ; who believe 
 that God will endlessly roast men — ^liis children — 
 in an undying fire! More surely, and more easily, 
 could those purely minded, but unfortunate Chris- 
 tians, be guided to love God, if they knew that 
 he is not worse than a tiger; that, on the contrary, 
 he is truly good and loving ; more virtuous they 
 would be if they were taught that virtue is the 
 source, and the only true source, of happiness. 
 Truer fraternity would reign in our communities, 
 if priests and pretended Protestants, who tyrannize 
 over the souls of their misled victims, and, like the 
 Pharisees of old, lay upon their shoulders a bur- 
 den they would not be willing to touch with their 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 129 
 
 own fingers — yea, they lay upon tlieir mind and 
 heart the leaden weight of the dogma of endless 
 misery, which they, at least the leaders of the 
 leaders, reject — truer fraternity would exist, we 
 say, for there would not be in our communities, a 
 class of Christians, believing that they are the elect 
 of God for righteousness and eternal bliss, while 
 all the others shall be endlessly damned. Hence 
 their indifference, or rather aversion for them; 
 hence a spirit of Pharisaism: hence a spirit of 
 religious aristocracy, which unfortunately ramifies 
 into a social aristocracy ! 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 Tartarus. 
 
 When legislators, priests and philosophers had 
 invented the doctrine of Metempsychosis, the 
 mystagogues and the poets took hold of it, and 
 endeavored to spread it among the people, in con- 
 secrating it, the ones in their chants, and the others 
 in. the celebration of their mysteries. They clothed 
 it with the charms of poetry, and presented it with 
 magical illusions. All united to deceive the people, 
 under the specious pretext of bettering and gov- 
 erning them with a surer hand. The widest field 
 was opened to fictions ; and the genius of the 
 poets, as well as the cunning of the priests, were 
 inexhaustible in portraying the bliss of the right- 
 eous hereafter, and the horror of the horrible 
 prisons wherein crime was to be punished. 
 
130 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Each one portrayed them according to his own 
 fancy, and added new scenes and views to the de- 
 scriptions of those unknown lands ; of that world 
 of new creation, which the imagination of poets 
 peopled with shadows, chimeras and phantoms, 
 for the purpose of frightening the people : for 
 rulers wrongly thought that their minds could not 
 rise up to the abstract notions of metaphysics and 
 morals. The Elysium and the Tartarus were more 
 pleasing and more vividly striking to the imagi- 
 nation of the people: therefore darkness and light 
 were successively presented to the gaze of those 
 initiated to the mysteries. To the darkest night, 
 and to frightful spectres, succeeded a bright day, 
 whose light shone around the statue of the Deity : 
 one could not help feeling a mysterious terror, 
 when entering that sanctuary, where all was dis- 
 posed to represent the Tartarus and the Elysium. 
 It was in this sanctuary that the one initiated, 
 being finally introduced, saw the picture of charm- 
 ing meadows, lighted by a pure sky : there he 
 heard harmonious voices, and the majestic chants 
 of sacred choirs. It was then that, entirely free, 
 and rid of all evils, he joined the multitude of 
 those initiated ; and that, a crown of flowers on his 
 head, he celebrated the holy orgies. 
 
 Thus the ancients represented here below, in 
 their initiations, what was, they said, to happen 
 hereafter to the souls, when they would be disen- 
 gaged from their bodies ; and would be liberated 
 from the obscure prison, wherein fate had chained 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 131 
 
 them by uniting them to terrestrial matter. In 
 the mysteries of Isis, of which we hold tlie details 
 from Apnleo, the candidate passed through the 
 dark region of the empire of the dead ; thence into 
 a vast enclosure, which represented the elements ; 
 and then he was admitted into the bright region, 
 where the brightest sun succeeded to the darkness 
 of the night, namely, in the three worlds, the 
 terrestrial, the elementary, and the celestial. He 
 who had been initiated said : " I have approached 
 the boundaries of death in treading the threshhold 
 of Proserpine ; therefrom I have returned through 
 the elements. Then I saw a bright light, and I 
 found myself in the presence of the gods." This 
 was the autopsy. 
 
 What mystagogy exhibited in the sanctuaries, 
 poets, and even philosophers, in their fictions, pub- 
 licly taught to the people : hence the descriptions 
 of the Elysium and of the Tartarus found in 
 Homer, Virgil and Plato, and all those given us 
 by many systems of theology. "VVe never had a 
 description of the earth and of its inhabitants, a 
 description as complete as that transmitted to us, 
 by the ancients, about those countries of new cre- 
 ation, known under the names of Hell, Tartarus, 
 and Elysium. Those men, whose geographical 
 knowledge was so limited, have given us the 
 minutest details of the abode of the souls beyond 
 the grave; of the government of each one of the 
 two empires, which form the domain of the 
 ehadows ; of their habits j of their diet ; of their 
 
132 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 pains and pleasures ; and even of the costume of 
 the inhabitants of these two regions. The same 
 poetical imagination which had invented that 
 new world, arbitrarily traced out its plan and dis- 
 tribution. 
 
 Socrates, in the Phoedo of Plato, a work in- 
 tended to prove the immortality of our soul, and 
 the necessity of practicing virtue, speaks of the 
 place where the souls go after death. He imagines 
 a sort of ethereal land, superior to the one we in- 
 habit, and situated in a sunnier region. There is 
 nothing on our earth that can compare to the 
 beauties of this wonderful abode. There colors 
 are brighter, the vegetation richer; the trees, 
 flowers and fruits are infinitely superior to those 
 of our earth. There precious stones are so bright 
 that those of our earth are but their shadow. 
 This ethereal land is strewed with pearls of the 
 purest crystal ; everywhere gold and silver are 
 dazzling. There beasts are more beautiful, and 
 more perfectly organized than ours. There the 
 air is the sea, and ether is the air. There seasons 
 are so harmoniously combined, that the fortunate 
 inhabitants are not subject to infirmities and to 
 diseases. There the temples are inhabited by the 
 gods themselves, who familiarly converse with 
 men. The inmates of this delightful mansion are 
 the only ones who see the sun, the moon, and the 
 stars, as they truly are. 
 
 To this Socrates adds, that men, who, here 
 below, distinguish themselves for their piety and 
 
OP ENDLESS HELL. 133 
 
 exactitude in discliarging tlieir social duties, will 
 be admitted in this abode of happiness when death 
 destroys their mortal form. There all those 
 whom philosophy has led to wisdom will dwell. 
 Socrates concludes thus : 
 
 Then it is for us a strong inducement to study 
 wisdom, and to practice virtue, while we are on 
 earth. These expectations are high enough for us 
 to risk the chances of this opinion, and not to 
 break its charms. 
 
 This is a plain avowal of the motive of the 
 fiction : such is the secret of nearly all legislators, 
 and the deceitfulness of the most renowned phi- 
 losophers. 
 
 The second part of the land of the dead, called 
 Tartarus, the leaders of the people also min- 
 utely described. According to their description, 
 this abode of the wicked presents the horrid view 
 of precipices, caverns, and abysses, more frightful 
 than those we see on earth. Those caverns com- 
 municate to each other in the profundities of the 
 earth, through the medium of sinuosities vast and 
 dark, and of subterraneous canals, in which 
 waters flow ; the ones cold, and the others v\'arm : 
 also in several of those canals flow torrents of fire, 
 and in others the filthiest mire. The vastest of 
 those caverns is in the center; and into it four 
 main rivers ebb, to spring out again. The first is 
 the Acheron, which forms beneath the earth a 
 shoreless marsh, wherein the souls assemble. The 
 second is the P^-riphlegeton, which rolls torrents 
 
134 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 of burning sulphur. The third is the Oocyte; 
 and the fourth is the Styx. 
 
 In this horrible abode divine justice tortures 
 the criminals. At the gate of the Tartarus the 
 frightful Tisiphon, whose gown is reeking with 
 blood, watches day and night. The gate is also 
 defended by a strong tower, backed by three 
 walls, which are surrounded by the burning waves 
 of the Phlegeton river, that rolls huge stones on 
 fire. There are incessant!}^ heard the rattle of 
 chains dragged b}^ wretched victims; their groans; 
 and the strokes of lashes that tear their flesh. 
 There is seen an hydra with a hundred heads, 
 whose mouths are ever gaping for new victims to 
 be devoured. There a vulture is constantly feed- 
 ing on the ever re-growing entrails of a criminal. 
 Other victims carry a heavy rock to the summit ot 
 a mountain, where they must set it ; but, vain are 
 their eftbrts, it rolls down to the bottom of the 
 valley. Other ciiminals, tied to a wheel, relent- 
 lessly revolving, are not permitted the slightest 
 rest in their torture. Others, placed near refresh- 
 ing waters, and near trees loaded with fruit, are 
 ever devoured with unquenchable thirst and hun- 
 ger. If they stoop to drink the water flies from 
 their mouth, and a stinking mire sticks to their 
 lips. If they lower a limb to cull a fruit, the limb 
 slips from their hand. 
 
 Farther, fifty female victims are forced to fill 
 up with water a cask, whose bottom is riddled. 
 Indeed, there is uo sort of torment that was not 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 135 
 
 invented by legislators, mvstagogues, poets, and 
 philosophers, to frighten the people, under the 
 false assumption of making them better; but the 
 truth is that it was rather to keep them down in 
 subjection. Those terrifj'ing pictures were painted 
 on the walls of the temple of Delphos. Those 
 fables were repeated to infants by nurses and 
 mothers. Thus their souls grew weak and pusil- 
 lanimous, for strong and durable are the first im- 
 pressions, and more especially, when the general 
 opinion, the example of the credulity of others, 
 the authority of philosophers, of poets, of learned 
 Hierophants, and the sight of pompous rites, and 
 ceremonies in the overpowering sacredness of sanc- 
 tuaries ', when the monuments of arts, music, statues, 
 and pictures, in short, when all tends to insinuate 
 in the soul, through the senses stricken with hope 
 and terror, a great error presented as a sacred truth 
 revealed by the gods themselves for man's bliss. 
 
 Such was the general teaching and belief of the 
 Pagans in regard to future punishment, before the 
 coming of Jesus Christ, and the preaching of his 
 Gospel. 
 
 ' As to the Jewish nation, not the slightest ves- 
 tiges of any kind of belief regarding future pun- 
 ishment, can be traced out, neither in the Old 
 Testament, nor in Josephus, nor in the writings 
 of other historians, at least before the captivity 
 of Babylon, which took place in the year 598 
 before the Christian era. Afterwards the Jews 
 divided into four sects, the Essenes, the Sadduceea, 
 
136 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 the Samaritans, who denied the existence of any 
 future punishment, and the Pharisees, who, ac- 
 cording to the testimony of Josephus, adopted the 
 behef of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of 
 the souls. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 Did the Christians of the First Centuries believe in 
 Endless Hell? 
 "We emphatically answer, no. If the Christian 
 Fathers of the first centuries, have neither taught 
 the dogma of endless hell, nor mentioned, in 
 their writings, that their fellow-Christians knew 
 or believed it, and if the same is proved by the 
 testimony of the then existing Christian sects or 
 denominations, it is evident that the first Christians 
 did not believe in endless hell. But the Christian 
 Fathers of the first centuries have neither taught 
 the dogma of endless hell, nor mentioned, in their 
 writings, that their fellow-Christians knew or 
 believed it; and the same is proved by the testi- 
 mony of the then existing Christian sects. These 
 two members of the proposition we are to suc- 
 cessively prove : 1st 7nemher : In the first century 
 the four Gospels, and other books of the ISTew 
 Testament were written by the apostles, but his- 
 tory does not inform us of any other Christian 
 writing, or author, in that age, except perhaps 
 Clement, bishop of Rome, who, it is said, has 
 left a letter to the Corinthians: critics call it 
 Apocryphal. We have not read it. Therefore 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 137 
 
 in order to know wliether the first Christians 
 beUeved in endless hell or not, we must recur to 
 the works of the Christian Fathers who lived and 
 wrote in the following centuries, and particularly 
 to those who lived and wrote during the second. 
 
 St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioeh, who suffered 
 martyrdom at Rome, in the year 107, was the first 
 apostolic Father of the second century. There 
 are in the collection of the works of the holy 
 Fathers, six letters ascribed to him by some 
 authors; some others, Saumaise, Blondel, Bailie, 
 etc., say that they are apocryphal. Mosheim, in 
 his Histor. Christ., says, that it is doubtful whether 
 they are of Ignatius or not. We have read those 
 six letters, of which five are addressed to diflerent 
 Churches, and one to Polycarpus. Although they 
 treat of the most important points of the Chris- 
 tian faith and duties, they are silent upon the 
 question of endless hell. In the year 131, St. 
 Quadratus presented to the emperor Adrian an 
 apology of the Christian religion, which contained 
 the principal Christian doctrines. Adrian was so 
 pleased with this apology, that, if we must believe 
 what Lampride says in his Life of Alexander 
 Severus, he designed to rear a temple to Jesus 
 Christ, and to place him among the gods of the 
 empire. A fragment of this apology can be found 
 in the works of Eusebe; but not a word is said 
 about the do2:ma of endless hell. 
 
 St. Justin, a Platonician philosopher, was born 
 at is"aplou3e, Palestine, in 103. He was converted 
 12 
 
138 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 to Christianity in 133. He wrote the following 
 works : Exhortation to Gentiles ; two Apologies 
 of the Christian religion, the one to the emperor 
 Antonine, and the other to the emperor Marcus- 
 Aurelius j a Dialogue with the Jew Triphon ; a 
 treatise on Monarchy, or Unity of God; and an 
 Epistle to Diognet, in which he states the reasons 
 why Christians left the worship of the gods, and 
 did not adopt that of the Jews. He composed 
 other works, but they exist no more. The main 
 editions of his works are those of Robert Etienne 
 in 1551 and 1771, in Greek and Latin; that of 
 Commelin in 1593, in Greek and Latin; that of 
 Morel in 1656, and that of Don Maraud in 1742, 
 in folio. All these editions, and afterwards that 
 of Migne, we have compared in the voluminous 
 library of the theological seminary of Brou, France, 
 where we have been ordained a priest. Although 
 there were alterations of the text, we did not find 
 any passage referring to the dogma of endless hell. 
 True, addressing the Romans, he says : " Come, O 
 Romans, to find instruction ! Formerly I was like 
 you, now be what I am. The power of the Chris- 
 tian religion has enlightened me, and freed me 
 from servitude to my senses and passions : it has 
 aiforded me peace and serenity. The soul thus 
 free is sure to reunite to her Creator, because it is 
 right that she return to him from whom she ema- 
 nated." But this passage neither exj^licitly nor 
 implicitly supposes that he believed, or that the 
 first Christians believed, in endless hell ; it is sim- 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 139 
 
 ply a Platonician and Christian doctrine, in regard 
 to the purity of our soul which is worthy of God 
 only when unstained. However Bailly, a Catholic 
 theologian, says that on page 74 of the first Apol- 
 ogy there is a passage proving his belief in endless 
 hell. We did not find it, 
 
 Meliton, bishop of Sardes, Lybia, under the reign 
 of Marcus-Aurelius, presented to this emperor an 
 Apology of the Christian religion, in 171. Eusebe 
 and several other authors praise it. Only a few 
 fragments of it are found in the Bibliotheca Pa- 
 trum ; in none of them is a q[uestion of the dogma 
 of endless hell. 
 
 Athenagoras, a Platonician philosopher, was 
 converted to the Christian religion, and presented, 
 in 177, an Apology of the Christian doctrines to the 
 emperors Marcus-Aurelius and Lucius-Aurelius- 
 Commode. He justified the Christians, who were 
 charged by the Pagans with atheism : with sacri- 
 ficing and eating a child in their assemblies ; and 
 with indulging to impudicity. In this Apology he 
 ascribed to God but a general providence ; and he 
 expressed the Platonician opinion, that angels, or 
 spirits, had the government of this world. He 
 admitted that there were pains and rewards in the 
 future life. Let us not infer from this that he 
 referred to the dogma of endless hell. l!^o; he 
 merely meant, by those pains and rewards, the 
 Platonician doctrine about Metempsychosis. 
 
 Ireneus was born in Greece, in 140. He became 
 bishop of Lyons, Gaul. He wrote several theolog- 
 
140 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ieal works in the Greek language. He believed 
 in a general judgment, and in the millenium, 
 namely, in a temporal kingdom of Jesus Christ on 
 earth, which was to last one thousand j'-ears imme- 
 diatelj'' before the general judgment. During this 
 reign of Jesus Christ, the Christians were to enjoy 
 a happiness which was to be a foretaste of the 
 happiness they should enjoy after the general judg- 
 ment. Not only this Father did not teach the 
 dogma of endless hell, but according to the ultra- 
 montane Bergier, he has been charged by the pre- 
 tended Orthodox divines with having expressed 
 himself hi an heterodox manner upon the divinity 
 of the Word ; upon the spirituality of the angels 
 and of the human soul ; upon free agency and the 
 necessity of grace ; and upon the state of the souls 
 after death. He seemed to be inclined to believe 
 Metempsychosis — this, however, is our private 
 opinion, resting on his general views on the state 
 of the souls after death. The Catholics invoke 
 but one passage of his writings against this opin- 
 ion. Grabe, a Protestant, published at Oxford, in 
 1702, an edition of his works ; it is quite different 
 from the Catholic editions. 
 
 Theophile was promoted to the episcopal see of 
 Antioch, in 168. We have from his pen but three 
 Books to Autolic ; they have been edited by Don 
 Prudent Maraud. He is the first Father who used 
 the word Trinity. His works are a refutation of 
 Paganism, and an apology of Christianism. We 
 could not find in them the dogma of endless hell ; 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 141 
 
 he only vaguely speaks of rewards and pains here- 
 after. 
 
 "We have seen that the ahove Fathers, who com- 
 pose the complete list of the Fathers of the second 
 century, neither taught the dogma of endless hell, 
 nor have recorded that the first Christians held 
 6uch a dogma. Therefore we may draw the con- 
 clusion that the first Christians did not believe the 
 doctrine of endless hell. 
 
 We pass to the Fathers of the third century. 
 Titus Flavins Clement, of Alexandria, a Platoni- 
 cian philosopher, became a Christian, and succeed- 
 ed to Pantenus, a professor of the school of Alex- 
 andria, in 190; and he died in 217. Alexander of 
 Jerusalem and the celebrated Origen were his 
 disciples. He wrote many works, the principal 
 thereof are : Exhortations to Pagans ; his Peda- 
 gogue ; his Hypotyposes ; and his Stromatas, which 
 are divided into eight books. It is said tliat the 
 best edition of his works is that of Potter, pub- 
 lished at Oxford, in 1715, in two vols, folio. I 
 read only the Paris edition, published in 1696. In 
 his Exhortations to Pagans, he pointed out the 
 absurdity of idolatry, and of the fables of Pagan- 
 ism. In his Stromatas he compared the doctrines 
 of the philosophers with those of Jesus Christ. In 
 the treatise headed. Which rich man will be saved? 
 he shows that he who will use his riches properly 
 will obtain salvation : he does not say salvation 
 from endless hell. His Pedaorosrue is a treatise of 
 morals in which he relates how the first Christiana 
 
142 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 rigliteously lived and fervently served the Lord. 
 In all these works it is not a question of the dogma 
 of endless hell, either taught to the Christians or 
 believed by them. 
 
 According to Le Clerc, Beausobre, d'Argens, 
 Barbeyrac, Scultet, Daille, Mosheim, Brucker, 
 Semler, etc., this Father did not believe the spirit- 
 uality of God and of man's soul It is a fact 
 
 that, in his Stromatas, he says that God is com- 
 posed of a body and of a soul, and that so is our 
 soul. He believed in the Pagan fable that the 
 angels had sexual intercourse with human females, 
 and had begotten giants ; he refers probably to the 
 Giants who had fought against the Titans. All 
 the Catholic theologians themselves admit the 
 above, and say, that, though a Christian, he was 
 too much of a Platonician philosopher. This is 
 the reason why the Pope, Benedict XIV"., opposed 
 his worship, as a saint, in the Romish Church. 
 These statements show how far this Father was 
 from holding the dogma of endless hell. 
 
 TertiiUian was one of the Fathers who wrote at 
 the end of the second century; however, as he 
 died in 216, we class him among the Fathers of 
 the beginning of the third century. His works 
 are on Prayer, on Baptism; also he wrote Exhor- 
 tation to Patience ; two Books to his Wife ; Testi- 
 mony of the Soul ; treatises on Spectacles and Idol- 
 atry; treatise on Prescription; two books against 
 the Gentiles ; one against the Jews ; one against 
 Hermogenes; one against the Valentinians ; one 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 143 
 
 against tlie Gnostics; one on the Crown; one to 
 Scapula; books against Praxeas; books on Pudic- 
 ity, on Persecutions, on Fast, against the Physics, 
 on Monogamy. These works we had not the 
 advantage to read; but we have studied the fol- 
 lowing in our theological school : his treatise on 
 Penance; his five books against Marcion; his 
 treatise on the Flesh of Jesus Christ; his book on 
 the Resurrection of the Flesh ; and his Apology 
 of the Christian Relis-ion. 
 
 In these works which, let this be cursorily said, 
 were written in Latin, for Tertullian was the first 
 Father who wrote in this language, we read several 
 times the word infenius, synonimous to Tartarus, 
 and the words ignem eiernurn, used in speaking of 
 pains, which will be infiicted upon the wicked 
 after the general judgment; but nothing positive 
 in regard to the duration of the punishment, for 
 he might have used the adjective oetermim hyper- 
 bolical h^; nor anything in regard to the belief of 
 the first Christians in regard to it, nor even of his 
 cotemporaneous Christians. If the dogma of end- 
 less hell had been generally believed by the Chris- 
 tians, he would have certainly mentioned it in his 
 Apology of the Christian Religion ; for one of the 
 main charges of the Pagans against them was that 
 they were Atheists ; and thereby denied the Elysi- 
 um and the Tartarus. However, in no one of the 
 fifty arguments which compose the Apology does 
 he say a word about endless hell, even about any 
 punishment beyond the grave. He only, in the 
 
144 PAGAN OKIGIN 
 
 forty-eighth argument, says, that there will be a 
 resurrection of the flesh. 
 
 Sextus Julius Africanus, a Christian historian, 
 who wrote in the beginning of the third centur}^, 
 is altogether silent about the dogma of endless hell, 
 at least in the fragments of his works which have 
 been preserved by Eusebe. 
 
 Origeu was born at Alexandria, in 185. He has 
 been one of the most talented and learned among 
 the Fathers. lie wrote the following works: Ex- 
 hortation to Martyrdom ; Commentaries on the 
 Holy Scriptures. He undertook an edition of the 
 Bible in six columns, and headed it Hexaples. 
 The first column contained the Hebrew text in 
 hebraic letters; the second, the same text in Greek 
 letters; the third contained the version of Aquila; 
 the fourth column, the version of Symmaque ; the 
 fifth, that of the Septuagint; and the sixth, that 
 of Theodotion. He considered the version of the 
 Septuagint as the most authentical. The Octaples 
 contained, also, two Greek versions, which had 
 been recently found, and whose authors were un- 
 known. He wrote more than one thousand ser- 
 mons ; he wrote his celebrated work about Princi- 
 ples, and a treatise against Celse. 
 
 All the above works have not been transmitted 
 to us entire, though the most of them are, as can 
 be seen in the Bibliotheca Sanctorum Patrum, 
 published in Paris, in 1826. This Catholic edition, 
 we positively know, is not as impartial as it ought 
 to be. So much has been written, for centuries, 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 145 
 
 against Origeii and for his justification, that a 
 mere summary of those writings would fill vol- 
 umes. Besides, would we make this summary we 
 might perhaps be suspected of partiality, because 
 Ori^en's doctrines are favorable to the bearing of 
 this work; therefore we shall extract from the 
 works of Feller, a Romish priest and a Jesuit, 
 what we have to write about his accusation and 
 justification, and about the summar}- of his doc- 
 trines. 
 
 Feller says. Article Origen : "In the fourth cen- 
 tury, the Arians invoked his authority to prove 
 that Jesus Christ was not God. St. Athanase, St- 
 Basile, and St- Gregory of N"azianze, defended 
 Mm. Hilaire, Tite de Bostres, Didyme, Ambro- 
 sius, Eusebe of Vereeil, and Gregory of ISTysse 
 have laudably spoken of his works ; whereas, 
 Theodor of .Mopsueste, ApoUinary, and Cesary, 
 have disparagingly wi'itten of them. Origen was 
 condemned in the fifth general council, held at 
 Constantinople, in 553. The pope Vigil con- 
 demned him anew. SL Epiphane, Anastase the 
 Sinaite, St. John Cliraaque, Leonce of Byzantium, 
 Sophronius, patriarch of Jerusalem, and Antipater, 
 bishop of Bostres, violently denounced his wri- 
 tings; the pope Pelage IL said that heretical works 
 were not worse than Origeu's writings. There 
 are, in the acts of the sixth council, an edict of the 
 emperor Constautine Pogonat, and a letter of the 
 pope Leon IL, in which he is counted with Didyme 
 and Evagrius among the Theomaques, or enemies 
 of God. 
 
 13 
 
146 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 "The pope St. Martin I., anathematized him 
 in the first council of Latran, in 649. St. Augus- 
 tine, St. John of Damas, and St. Jerome, wrote 
 against the Origenists, namely, the sect of Chris- 
 tians who believed the doctrines of Origen. In 
 the same century, when a dispute arose about the 
 orthodoxy of Origen, John of Jerusalem, and 
 Rufin made his apology, and St. John Chrysos- 
 tomus did the same. St. Pamphyle also took his 
 part. Theotime of Tomi refused to coudenm him, 
 and Didyme tried to give an orthodox meaning to 
 his doctrine on Trinity; others in condemning the 
 errors contained in his books pretended that they 
 had been added by the heretics. Theophile of 
 Alexandria accused the monks of Nitria of Ori- 
 genism, and condemned them in a council held at 
 Alexandria ; the pope Anastasius ratitied the 
 sentence. In the seventh century, the emperor 
 Justinian declared himself hostile to the memory 
 of Origen; wrote a letter to Memnas against his 
 doctrine; issued an edict against him, in 040; and 
 obtained his condemnation in a council held the 
 same year at Constantinople, whose acts were 
 added to those of the fifth general council." 
 
 "We read in the acts of the fifth general council 
 of Constantinople, held in 553, that Origen was 
 condemned by the council for having taught the 
 following doctrines: 1st, That in the dogma of 
 Trinity the Father is greater than the Son, and 
 the Son greater than the Holy Spirit. 2c], That 
 human souls have been created before the bodies, 
 
* OF ENDLESS HELL. 147 
 
 to which they have been chained as a punishment 
 for sins, which they had committed in an anterior 
 state of existence. 3d, That the soul of Jesus 
 Christ had been united to the AYord before his 
 incarnation. 4th, That the planets and stars are 
 animated, and contain a soul intelligent and en- 
 dowed with reason. 5th, That, after the resurrec- 
 tion, all bodies will have a spheroidal shape. 6th, 
 That the jyunishment of the wicked in a future life 
 loill not he endless; and that Jesus Christ, who has 
 been crucified to save the world, will be crucified 
 once more to save the devils. 
 
 According to this testimony of the Romish 
 Church — which carries fanaticism farther than 
 any other sect, in regard to the dogma of endless 
 hell, for it holds as an article of faith even that 
 the reprobates are tortured in hell, in their bodies 
 and in their souls, though their bodies are in the 
 grave, and though a material fire cannot burn an 
 immortal soul — according to the above testimonj 
 of the Romish Church, we say, it is an established, 
 an undeniable fact, that Origen taught the doc- 
 trine .of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the 
 Bouls ; and also the doctrine that the punishment 
 of the wicked in a future Hfe would not be end- 
 less. 
 
 From this testimony we draw the following 
 argument, which we invite the reader to atten- 
 tively examine, and to carefully weigh, for this 
 argument, alone, would unanswerably prove that 
 the Christians of the first, of the second, of the 
 
148 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 third, and even of the fourth, and of the fifth cen- 
 turies, did not generally believe the dogma of end- 
 less hell. 
 
 Argument: In the beginning of the third cen- 
 tury, Origen (he was born in 185) taught the doc- 
 trine of Metempsychosis, or transmigration of the 
 souls, and the doctrine that tlie punishment of the 
 wicked in a future life would not be endless ; these 
 two doctrines were condemned only in the sixth 
 century by the fiftli general council held at Con- 
 stantinople, in 553, and composed of 151 bishops. 
 But if the Christians of the first, of the second, 
 of the third, and even of the fourth, and of the 
 fifth centuries, had generally believed the dogma 
 of endless hell, the above two doctrines would 
 have certainly been condemned before the sixth 
 century. This minor proposition we prove : 
 
 By the orders of the bishop of Eome, Sylvester, 
 and of the emperor Constantine I., an oecumenical 
 council, composed of 381 bishops, was held at 
 Nice, in 325, to frame a symbol of faith, and to 
 condemn Arius. 
 
 In 381, a second general council, composed of 
 150 bishops, was held at Constantinople, to con- 
 demn Macedonius, who denied the divinity of 
 the Holy S]oirit ; and to alter the symbol of ISTice, 
 (striking inconsistency of the Romish Church 
 which holds as an article of faith that a general 
 council is infallible in its decisions.) 
 
 In 431, the bishop of Rome, Celestine I., assem- 
 bled a general council at Ephesus, to obtain the 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 149 
 
 condemnation of ISTestorius, who denied that Mary 
 waSj strictly speaking, the mother of God. 
 
 In 451, a general council was held at Chalce- 
 dony, Asia Minor, for the condemnation of 
 Eutyches, and of Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria, 
 who held the doctrine that there was in Jesus 
 Christ but one nature. 
 
 From the beginning of the second century, the 
 time when Origen taught the above two doctrines, 
 up to the year 553, several thousand synods and 
 principal councils were held. 
 
 Thereupon we say : The doctrine of Metempsy- 
 chosis, or transmigration of the souls; and the 
 doctrine that the punishment of the wicked in a 
 future life will not be endless, were as important 
 as the most of the doctrines discussed in those 
 councils; and Origen had a weightier influence 
 upon the Christian communities by Ms talents, 
 learning, virtue, and fame, and by the ditiusion of 
 'his works, than Arius, Macedouius, JSTestorius, 
 Eutiches, Dioscorus and others put together. 
 Therefore, if the dogma of endless hell had been 
 generally believed by the Christians of the first, 
 of the second, of the third, of the fourth, and of 
 the fifth centuries, the doctrine of Metempsychosis, 
 and the doctrine that the punishment of the 
 wicked in a future life will not be endless, held 
 0,nd taught by Origen, would have been called up, 
 discussed, and condemned in the above councils. 
 But they were called up, discussed, and condemned, 
 only in the fifth general council, held at Constan- 
 
150 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 tinople, in 553. Therefore, it is an irrefutable 
 fact that the Christians of the first, of the second, 
 of the third, of the fourth, and of the fifth centu- 
 ries, did not generally believe the dogma of end- 
 less hell. 
 
 Gregory of N'eocesaree, was a disciple of Origen, 
 and was promoted to the episcopal see of ISTeo- 
 cesaree, in 240. He wrote the following works : 
 Thanks to Origen, Profession of Faith on the 
 Dogma of Trinity, Canonical Epistle, and Para- 
 phrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes. In these 
 works the spirit of the doctrines of Origen is seen 
 at every page ; and the dogma of endless hell is 
 neither taught, nor declared to have been the 
 belief of the first Christians, nor of the Christians 
 of the third centur3^ St. Cyprian, made bishop 
 of Carthage in 248, is silent about the dogma of 
 endless hell. 
 
 "VVe pass to the Fathers of the fourth century. 
 
 Pamphile Eusebe obtained the bishopric of 
 Cesarea in 313. He wrote the Panegyric, and the 
 Life of Constantine ; a Chronicle, viz : a compila- 
 tion of Pagan authors, and several other works, 
 whose fragments have remained. His principal 
 work is his Ecclesiastical History, which we have 
 studied in our theological school. If the dogma 
 of endless hell had been the belief of the first 
 Christians, and had been generally believed in his 
 age, he would have certainly mentioned it therein: 
 however, he has not. Therefore, the first Chris- 
 tians, and those of his age, did not hold the dogma 
 of endless hell. 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 151 
 
 Athanase succeeded to Alexander on the episco- 
 pal see of Alexandria, in 326. His works are : 
 Defense of Trinity and of Incarnation; apologies; 
 letters ; and treatises against the Arians, the 
 Melecians, the Apollinarists, and the Macedonians. 
 In these works there is not a word concerning the 
 dogma of endless hell being believed by the first 
 Christians, or by his cotemporaries. The famous 
 symbol which is headed symbol of Athanase, 
 which the Romish priests read every Sunday in 
 the Psalms-Breviary, is not from his composition 
 nor from his pen ; every one of the Catholic 
 theologians and authors confesses it. 
 
 Basile, bishop of Cesarea, was born in 329. He 
 has left several letters, homilies, treatises of morals, 
 and sermons on the six days of the creation. We 
 have examined the Latin edition of his works, or 
 rather of the fragments of his works, for they are 
 not entire, by Don Gamier and Don Prudent ; but 
 though in many passages he speaks of salvation, 
 of eternal bliss, and of the punishment of the 
 wicked hereafter, he does not positively declare 
 that the punishment will be endless ; and he does 
 not say that the first Christians believed it, nor 
 that it was a dogma of the Church in his age. 
 Theodor of Mopsueste, who wrote in the fifth cen- 
 tury, is charged by the Catholic writers to have 
 taught that future punishment will not be endless. 
 
 Since that time, down to the sixth century, the 
 question of the eternal duration of the punish- 
 ment of the wicked in a place called hell, was dis- 
 
152 PAGAN OKIGm 
 
 cnssed bj the ecclesiastical writers, wLo, nerer- 
 theless, did not assert that it was the belief of the 
 first Christians. Ambrosius supposed that it 
 would be infinite in duration; so Augustine, his 
 disciple, wrote in his work, De Ci\'itate Dei, book 
 21; St. Fulgence; the pope Gregorius, etc. The 
 opinion of those leading doctors was preached, 
 and, little by little, it became the belief of a large 
 number of Christians. They even designated the 
 place where hell was : some thought it was in the 
 profundities of the earth ; Augustine opposed 
 them; then he recanted himself, and agreed that 
 it was there. Finally, in 553, a general council 
 was held in Constantinople, and it was decided 
 that the dogma of endless hell shall be henceforth 
 an article of faith. It was only many years after 
 that this council was considered oecumenical. 
 
 We have proved by the testimony of the 
 Fathers themselves, that the Christians of the first, 
 of the second, of the third, of the fourth, and of- 
 the fifth centuries, did not believe the dogma of 
 endless hell ; we shall now prove it by the various 
 Christian sects, which existed, and were organized 
 religious denominations, in those centuries. 
 
 Lest we might be suspected of partiality in the 
 exposition of the belief of those Christian sects in 
 regard to future punishment, we will exclusively 
 make our extracts from the works of Bergier, 
 Feller, and other Catholic theologians and histo- 
 rians. 
 
 The Cerinthians did not believe the doctrine of 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 153 
 
 endless hell. The Basilidians believed in Me- 
 tempsychosis, or transmigration of the souls. In 
 consequence they did not hold the dogma of end- 
 less hell. Eusebe inforats us, in his Ecclesiastical 
 History, that Basilide had written on the four 
 Gospels twenty-four books ; and that his sect was 
 numerous. It flourished till the fourth century. 
 
 The Millenaries, who existed mainly in the 
 second and third centuries, believed that Jesus 
 Christ would soon come from heaven, to reign one 
 thousand years over the righteous; that this reign 
 would be temporal ; and that it would be followed 
 by a general judgment: but they did not hold that 
 future punishment would be endless, for they were 
 silent about its nature. 
 
 The Marcionites believed in a good principle, 
 God, and in a bad one, the Devil ; the latter had. 
 created our body. Jesus Christ had but an 
 apparent flesh. Our body should not come again 
 to hfe ; they believed like Pythagoras, of whom 
 Marcion was a follower, in the doctrine of Me- 
 tempsychosis : such was their belief. They made 
 so many proselytes, that, even in the fifth century, 
 their sect was numerous in Italy, in Egypt, in 
 Palestine, in Syria, in Arabia, in Persia, and in 
 other oriental countries. 
 
 The Valentinians held that Jesus Christ was not 
 God ; that he had redeemed the world only from 
 sin, by freeing men of the empire of evil Eons, or 
 geniuses, who had the government of the universe. 
 They believed in the doctrine of Metempsychosis, 
 
154 ' PAGAN OEIGIN 
 
 or transmigration of the souls. In consequence, 
 tliey neither knew nor beheved the dogma of end- 
 less hell. Valentin had an immense number of 
 disciples, and his sect spread in Asia, and in Africa; 
 in Europe it extended as far as Gaul, where, ac- 
 cording to the testimony of Irene us, bishop of 
 Lyons, the Valentinians were very numerous. 
 
 The Marcosians formed a numerous religious 
 body towards the end of the second century. 
 Their sect spread as far as Gaul. They believed 
 the doctrine of Metempsychosis. 
 
 The Theodotians and the Artemonians, in the 
 second century, professed that Jesus Christ was 
 not God, and believed in Metempsychosis. 
 
 The Carpocratians believed in the pre-existence 
 of the souls, and taught that they had sinned in 
 an anterior state of existence; that, as a punish- 
 ment for those crimes, they had been condemned 
 to animate other bodies, and would pass into other 
 bodies as long as they would not have been suf- 
 ficiently purified by this expiation. They denied 
 the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the belief of the 
 resurrection of the body. Carpocrate, of Alex- 
 andria, founded this sect in the second century. 
 
 The Docetes professed the same belief as the 
 Carpocratians, with the difl'erence that they did 
 not admit that Jesus Christ had a natural body. 
 They had exactly the same belief in regard to 
 Metempsychosis. This sect existed in the second 
 century. The Patripassians, the ISToetians, the 
 Praxeans, and the Sabelliaus have been silent on 
 the dogma of endless hell. 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 155 
 
 Tatian, one of tlie most prominent ecclesiastical 
 writers of the second century, established the 
 sect of the Tatianists, who believed that Jesus 
 Christ had not really suffered, and that he had 
 not redeemed the world by his blood. They also 
 held the doctrine of Metempsychosis. Of the 
 many works of Tatian we have only his Discourse 
 against the Pagans, and his Diatessaron. 
 
 Apelles established a sect of his name, in 145. 
 The Apellites denied the resurrection of the body ; 
 believed in Metempsychosis ; and also that God 
 had entrusted a spirit of fire to create the world. 
 
 In the second century, Montan, a native of 
 Ardaban, in Mysia, established the sect of the 
 Montanists, which split and ramified into the 
 Artotyrites, the Ascites, Ascodrutes, etc. They 
 all believed the doctrine of Metempsychosis. 
 
 The Ophites, a sect of the second century, pro- 
 fessed that the world had been created, and was 
 governed by evil Eons or geniuses, and that God 
 had sent Jesus Christ, his Son, to oppose the evil 
 geniuses. They held the doctrine of Metempsy- 
 chosis. 
 
 In the second century the sect of the Cainites 
 denied the resurrection of the body, and believed 
 in Metempsychosis. 
 
 The above sects compose the large body of 
 Christians in the second century ; and yet we do 
 not find in their doctrines anything like the dogma 
 of endless hell. They all, except perhaps the 
 Millenaries, believed in the doctrine of Metempsy- 
 
156 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 chosis. And as those extracts are from Roman 
 Catholic authors, who had the greatest interest in 
 disguising the true doctrines of those sects, it fol- 
 lows that it is an undeniable fact, that the Chris- 
 tians of the second century neither did believe 
 nor knew any thing about such a dogma as end- 
 less hell. 
 
 Corollary. Since the Christians of the second 
 century neither believed the dogma of endless 
 hell, nor knew anything about it, therefore the 
 Christians of the first century neither believed 
 this dogma, nor knew anything about it ; for had 
 they believed it, or known any thing about it, the 
 Christians of the second century would have pre- 
 served that belief, or at least would have men- 
 tioned it. Consequently, it is an undeniable fact 
 that the Christians of the first century were not 
 taught by the apostles the dogma of endless hell. 
 
 Let us examine, now, the doctrines of the vari- 
 ous Christian sects, which sprung up in the third 
 century. 
 
 Tertullian, one of the Fathers of whom we have 
 spoken above, had joined the Montauist sect ; but 
 afterwards he disagreed with them, and he founded, 
 at about the fifth year of the third century, another 
 sect, called Tertullianists. This sect lived several 
 centuries, for in the time of St. Augustine, towards 
 the end of the fourth century, they had a denom- 
 inational organization at Carthage, Africa. Prob- 
 ably they held the same belief as Tertullian, in 
 regard to the dogma of endless hell. 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 157 
 
 The nermogenians believed that the earth and 
 the whole universe have been uncreated, and are 
 eternal. Hermogene said : " God has either taken 
 evil from himself, or from nothing, or from a pre- 
 existing matter. He could not take evil from him- 
 self, for he is indivisible ; and, besides, evil could 
 not abide in a being infinitely perfect. He could 
 not take evil from nothing, for in this case it 
 would have been in his power not to produce it ; 
 therefore, evil is derived from a matter pre-existing, 
 co-eternal to God, and the defects of which God 
 could not amend." The Ilermogenians believed 
 in Metempsychosis. Their sect spread more par- 
 ticularly in Galatia. 
 
 Eerylle, bishop of Ostres, in Arabia, established, 
 in 207, the sect of the Arabics. They believed 
 that the soul was born and died with the hody, 
 and that both would come again to life. Origen 
 wrote against this belief, and converted the most 
 of them to his opinions. As Origen thought and 
 taught that the punishment of the Avicked would 
 not be endless, and that the souls transmigrated, 
 we may safely conclude that the Arabics eml)raced 
 his opinions. 
 
 The IsTovatians were organized into a sect by 
 Novat and Xovatian, priests of the Church of 
 Carthage. We have perused the treatises on 
 Trinity and on the Viands, written by ISTovatian, 
 whose fragments are found in the works of Ter- 
 tullian ; but we have found no opinion expressed 
 in regard to the dogma of endless hell. We heard 
 
158 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 since that there is a complete edition of his works, 
 pubhshecl in 1728, by Jackson, at London : we 
 have not been able to obtain it. 
 
 According to the testimony of Epiphane, the 
 Valesians held many of the doctrines of the 
 Gnostics. From this we may safely infer that they 
 believed in Metempsychosis. Tillemont, in his. 
 Memoirs for the Ecclesiastical History, tome 3d,, 
 says that the Yalesians sprung up in 240. St. 
 Epiphane and Tillemont are the only authors who 
 have referred to them in their writings. 
 
 The Samosatians, whose chief was Paul of 
 Samosate, Patriarch of Antioch, professed that the 
 three persons of the Trinity were not three Gods, 
 but three attributes, under which God has mani- 
 fested himself to men ; that Jesus Christ was not 
 a God, but a man to whom wisdom had been 
 extraordinarily given. "VYe did not find any thing 
 in the Ecclesiastical History in regard to their 
 doctrines about future punishment. However, as 
 they considered Jesus Christ only as an extraordi- 
 nary man, it is most probable that they kept the . 
 immemorially, and, even then, generally believed 
 doctrine of Metempsychosis. This sect was estab- 
 lished in 260. The famous Zenobia, who then 
 reigned in Syria, and believed the Jewish religion, 
 was converted to this sect. 
 
 Manes was born in Persia, in 240. He was the 
 father of the sect of the Manicheans. "We shall 
 give a summary of their doctrines, and as their 
 sect has been one of the most numerous, one of 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 159 
 
 the most widely spread, aud one whose denomi- 
 national organization seems to have outlived 
 nearly all those of the first centuries, we will add 
 a summary of their history. We will find in 
 their doctrines, and in their history, a weighty 
 proof that the dogma of endless hell was not gen- 
 erally believed by the Christians of the first five 
 centuries, to say the least. 
 
 To remove the least shadow of doubt about our 
 impartiality, we continue, as done before, to take 
 our extracts from Roman Catholic authors, who 
 had an interest to make it appear that the dogma 
 of endless hell was co-eval to the apostles. 
 
 We extract from Cotelier, a Roman Catholic 
 author, tome 1, of the Apostolic Fathers, page 
 543, and following, these doctrines of the Mani- 
 cheans : 
 
 In their opinion, the souls, or sj)irits, are an 
 emanation from the good spirit, whom they con- 
 sidered as an uncreated light ; and all bodies have 
 been formed by the bad principle, whom they 
 called Satan, and the power of darkness. They 
 held that there are portions of light enclosed 
 within all the bodies of the universe, and that 
 they give them motion and life, wherefore those 
 souls cannot reunite to the good principle, except 
 when they have been purified by the means of 
 various transmigrations from one body into an- 
 other. They denied the future resurrection of the 
 body. 
 
 It is therefore evident that the Manieheana 
 
160 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 either knew notliing about tlie dogma of endless 
 hell, or did not believe it. 
 
 From the year 285 to the year 491, the Mani- 
 cheaus were persecuted. The emperors of Orient 
 confiscated their property, and decreed the pen- 
 alty of death against them. Thousands of them 
 died in the most cruel tortures, rather than to give 
 up their faith ; we read even in our days, in the 
 Theodosian code, the laAvs enacted against them. 
 Despite those persecutiojis they rapidly and widely 
 spread. In the fourth century St. Augustine was 
 converted to their sect, but he afterwards left 
 them, and became their most powerful opponent. 
 They formed a large body in Africa. In 491, the 
 mother of the emperor Anastase, who was a Man- 
 ichean, obtained the suspension of the laws en- 
 acted against them. They were allowed, during 
 twenty-seven years, to have churches, and to freely 
 worship; but during the reign of Justin, and 
 under his successors, they were again forbidden 
 it. Towards the cud of the seventh century, the 
 famous Gallinice, who was a Manichean, brought 
 up her two sons, Paul and John, in her belief, and 
 sent them to Armenia as missionaries. Paul made 
 so many proselytes that the new converts took the 
 name of Paulicians. 
 
 In the beginning of the ninth century the 
 Paulicians split ; but soon after they reunited, at 
 the persuasion of one of their most influential mem- 
 bers, named Theodote. The aversion of the Man- 
 icheans for the worship of the vii'gin Mary, of 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 161 
 
 tlie ci'oss, of the saints, and of images, pleased 
 the Saracens, who made frequent irruptions in 
 the empire: through their influence they obtained 
 more credit among their opponents. 
 
 In the year 841, the empress Theodora, who 
 had declared herself in favor of the worship of 
 the virgin Mary, of the cross, of the saints, and 
 of images, went so far in her fanatical zeal for 
 this doctrine, that she resolved to exterminate the 
 Manicheans, and their religion. By her orders 
 more than one hundred thousand of them were 
 arrested and put to death; nearly all expired in 
 the most cruel tortures. Then the Manicheans 
 sought a refuge among the Saracens; they re- 
 tired in fortified towns, repelled the repeated 
 assaults of the imperial armies, and maintained 
 themselves during about forty years ; but having 
 been defeated in a great battle they were forced 
 to disperse. 
 
 Some went to Bulgaria, and since took the name 
 of Bulgarians; others went to Italy, and mainly 
 settled in Lombardy, wherefrom they sent mis- 
 sionaries to France, to Germany, and to other 
 countries. In the year 1022, under the king 
 Robert, several canons of Orleans, who had joined 
 the Manicheans, were burnt alive. Although the 
 penalty of death had been decreed against the 
 Manicheans, they established a largo number of 
 convents all over France, and particular!}^ in the 
 provinces of Provence, of Languedoc, and, more 
 especially, in the diocese of Albi, where they took 
 the name of Albigensea. 
 14 
 
162 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Alanus, monk of Citeaux, and Peter, monk of 
 Vaux-Cernay, who wrote against them, accused 
 them, 1st,, of admitting two principles or creators, 
 the one good and the other bad ; the first, creator 
 of invisible and spiritual things, and the second, 
 creator of bodies. 2d, Of denying the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. 3d, Of denying the Purgatory. 
 4th, Of denying the utility of prayers for the 
 dead. 5th, Of denying the pains of hell. 6th, 
 Of believing the transmigration of the souls into 
 other bodies of men, or of animals, according to 
 the degree of their guilt in an anterior state of 
 existence, until by successive expiatory transmi- 
 grations they become purified. 7th, Of disbeliev- 
 ing the seven sacraments. 8th, Of rejecting the 
 worship of the virgin !Mary, of the cross, of the 
 saints, and of images, etc. 
 
 In 1176, the council of Albi, Avhich some 
 authors call council of Lombez, was held against 
 the Manicheans, who, as said above, were called 
 Albigenses. In this council they were condemned 
 under the calling of Good Men. Fleury, who, in 
 the seventy-second book of his Ecclesiastical His- 
 tory, quotes the acts of the council, ascribes to 
 them the above doctrines; so does the historian 
 Rainerius; and Bossuet, in the ninth book of his 
 History of Variations, cites other authors who 
 confirm all these accusations. The condemnation 
 of the Manicheans, or Albigenses, was confirmed 
 by the general council of Latran, in 1179. A cru- 
 sade was ordered against them by the Pope, In no- 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 163 
 
 cent III., and a strict inquisition was organized. 
 Simon, count of Montford, was appointed, by the 
 Pope, general-in-chief of the crusaders; then the 
 slaughter commenced. It lasted eighteen years : 
 the Albigenses, or Manicheans, were exterminated, 
 a few only secretly found their way to the Alps, 
 where they concealed themselves, and afterwards 
 united to the Valdenses. Several hundred thou- 
 sands were either burnt alive, or tortured on 
 racks, or put to the sword ; all were slain : men, 
 old men, young men, women, children, and 
 infants; and during those horrible ceremonies of 
 death, the soldiers of the Pope sung the Veni 
 Creator Spiritus, etc., a hymn of invocation to 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 From the doctrines and history of the Mani- 
 cheans we draw the following argument : 
 
 According to the unanimous testimony of the 
 Koman Catholic authors themselves, from about 
 the middle of the third century to the thirteenth, 
 the Manicheans composed a numerous bod}^ of 
 Christians, and did not believe the dogma of end- 
 less hell. So constant were they in this disbelief, 
 that they persisted in it till nearly every one of 
 them was exterminated; therefore it is an undenia- 
 ble historical fact that this large denomination of 
 Christians did not hold the dogma of hell, in the 
 third, fourth, fifth, etc., centuries. 
 
 Let us examine the doctrine of the Christian 
 sects, which sprung up in the fourth century, in 
 regard to endless hell. We continue to take our 
 extracts from Roman CathoHc authors. 
 
164 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Priscillian, a Spaniard, was tlie founder of the 
 Christian sect of Priscillianists, in the year 380, 
 This denomination of Christians beUeved in the 
 doctrine of Metemps^^chosis. They held that the 
 souls passed into the bodies of other men, until they 
 were purified, by their transmigrations, of the sins 
 they liad committed in an anterior life. They 
 denied the resurrection of human bodies. Priscil- 
 lian was condemned to death, and the penalty of 
 death was decreed against the Priscillianists. The 
 emperor ]Maxime, and the pope Leon, used fire, 
 racks, and swords against them ; they slew thou- 
 sands of them, nevertheless they increased so that 
 they were numerous yet in the sixth century in 
 Spain and in Italy. Tillemont, in his Ecclesiasti- 
 cal Memoir, tome 8, refers to Sulpice-Severe, to 
 Ambrosius, and to St. Augustine, for the confir- 
 mation of the above, said concerning the doctrines 
 of the Priscillianists. 
 
 The other principal sects of the fourth century 
 were the Donatists, the Photinians, the Macedoni- 
 ans, the Apollinarists, the Jovinians, the Colly- 
 ridians. and the Pelagians. The ISTestorians, the 
 Eutichians, and the Monothelites, sprang up in the 
 fifth centur}'. We have not found in their writ- 
 ings any passages referring to the dogma of end- 
 less hell. However we must state that we had the 
 opportunity of perusing only about two-thirds of 
 the numerous and voluminous, we would add te- 
 dious, works composed pro and con concerning 
 their respective tenets. 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 165 
 
 Remark. — Let the reader bear iu mind that the 
 most of the Christian sects, whose disbeUef of the 
 dogma of eudless hell we have traced out above, 
 composed the majority of the Christian body; and 
 also that they have existed, at least, till the middle 
 of the sixth century, the epoch when the fifth 
 council of Constantinople condemned the doctrine 
 held by Origen — that of the transmigration of the 
 souls, and of their temporary punishment. 
 
 Conclusion. Therefore the dogma of endless hell 
 was not generally believed by the Christians of the 
 third, of the fourth, and of the fifth centuries. 
 
 General conclusion of this third article : 
 
 1. AVe have proved, by the testimony of the 
 Fathers of the second century, and by the doctrines 
 of the numerous Christian sects of the same -cen- 
 tury, that the dogma of endless hell was even 
 unknown to the Christians of the first and of the 
 second centuries. Then we must conclude that 
 not only the first Christians, namely, the Christians 
 of the first and of the second centuries did not be- 
 lieve in endless hell, but even that they knew 
 nothing about such a dogma. 
 
 2. We have proved, by the testimony of the 
 Fathers of the third, of the fourth, and of the fifth 
 centuries, and also by the many Christian sects 
 which existed in the third, in the fourth, and in 
 the fifth centuries, that the Christians did not gen- 
 erally believe, in the said centuries, the dogma of 
 endless hell. Therefore the Christians of the 
 third, of the fourth, and of the fifth centuries, did 
 not generally believe in endless hell. 
 
'iQQ PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Therefore the proposition we were to prove in 
 the present article, that the first Christians did not 
 believe in the doctrine of endless hell, remains peremp- 
 torily established. 
 
 Objection. — Since the fourth century the Church 
 of Rome obtained the condemnation of the above 
 Christian sects in five general councils. But if the 
 above sects had composed the majority of the body 
 of Christians, the Church of Eome would not have 
 obtained their condemnation. Consequently the 
 above sects did not compose the majority of the 
 body of Christians duriDg the third, the fourth, 
 and the fifth centuries. 
 
 Answer. — ^We deny the minor proposition of this 
 syllogism, which is : But if the above sects had 
 composed the majority of the body of Christians, 
 the Church of Rome would not have obtained 
 their condemnation — and we prove our denegation 
 as follows : — 
 
 Supposing that the United States be constituted 
 into an empire — God forbid! — that the emperor 
 would have the control of Church property, would 
 side, say with the Presbyterian Church, or any 
 other, claiming supremacy over the other Christian 
 denominations; and that the emperor would as- 
 semble councils conjointly with that Church, would 
 attend and even be vice-president of those councils, 
 would enforce them with civil and military force, 
 and also the execution of their acts condemning 
 another sect arrayed before those councils, without 
 permitting the other sects to vote in those coun- 
 
OP ENDLESS HELL. 167 
 
 cils, would it follow from tliis that all the other 
 Christian sects do not compose the body of Chris- 
 tians in the United States? Certain!}^ not. 
 
 But the case was the same with the Church of 
 Rome. Since the end of the second century the 
 bishop of Rome (we do not say the Pope, for it 
 was only centuries after that he had the boldness, 
 or rather impudence, to call himself exclusively 
 Pope,) commenced to claim a personal supremacy 
 over the other bishops, and also a supremacy of 
 his church over the other Christian churches. 
 Yain were his efforts until the beginning of the 
 fourth century, when Sylvestre, bishop of Rome, 
 obtained for himself and for his church the favors 
 and protection of the emperor Constantine I., who 
 afterwards joined it, (we will state in the last chap- 
 ter of this work the reasons vfhj this tyrant took 
 these steps.) In behalf of the Church of Rome, 
 he convoked the council of Aries, and the general 
 council of ]Srice, and defrayed the expenses of the 
 bishops out of his own treasure. His protection 
 to the Church of Rome the most of his. successors 
 on the imperial throne continued ; and thus the 
 power and supremacy of this church grew in ratio 
 of the persecutions directed against the other 
 Christian denominations, which were debarred 
 from voting in the councils; whose church prop- 
 erty was oftentimes confiscated; and which many 
 of them were prohibited to publicly worship. In 
 consequence, it is not true to say that, if the vari- 
 ous Christian sects spoken of before had composed 
 
168 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 the majority of tlie body of Christians, the Church 
 of Rome would not have obtained their condem- 
 nation. Therefore the various sects spoken of 
 before composed the majority of the body of Chris- 
 tians during the third, the fourth and the fifth 
 centuries. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 To the i^roofs that the first Christians did not believe 
 in endless hell. 
 
 From the second to the fourth centuries many 
 Apocryphal Gospels had been written. Some of 
 them have been transmitted down to us, at least 
 their fragments; and others have not been pre- 
 served except their titles. 
 
 Among those gospels are: 1st, the Gospel ac- 
 cording to the Hebrews ; 2d, according to the ISTaz- 
 areans; 3d, according to the Twelve Apostles; 
 4th, according to St. Peter. It is supposed that 
 these four Gospels were that of Matthew, altered 
 by the Hebrews. This circumstance has led the 
 critics to believe, that the Hebrew or Syriac text 
 of Matthew had been abandoned, lest it might be 
 altered; and that the Greek version had been pre- 
 served. 
 
 5th, The Gospel according to the Egyptians; 
 6th, that of the birth of the virgin Mary : we have 
 read it in Latin; 7th, the Protogospel of James, 
 written in Greek and in Latin; 8th, the Gospel of 
 the Infancy, in Greek and in Arabic ; 9th, that of 
 St. Thomas; 10th, the Gospel of Nicodemus, in 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 169 
 
 Latin; 11th, the Gospel Eternal; 12th, that of An- 
 drew; loth, that of Bartholomew ; 14th, that of 
 Apelles; 15th, that of Basilides; 16th, that of 
 Cerinthus; 17th, that of the Ebionites — perhaps 
 it was the same as that of the Hebrews; 18th, that 
 of Tatian; 19th, that of Eve; 20th, that of the 
 Gnostics; 21st, that of Marcion; 22d, that of St. 
 Paul; 23d, the Gospel of the small and great in- 
 terrogations of Mary; 24th, that of the birth of 
 Jesus: probably the same as the Protogospel of 
 James ; 25th, that of John, or of the death of the 
 virgin Mary; 26th, that of Matthias; 27th, that 
 of Perfection; 28th, that of the Simonians; 29th, 
 that of the Syrians ; 30th, that of the Encratites : 
 probably the same as that of Tatian ; 31st, the 
 Gospel of Thadeus, or of Jade ; 32d, that of Val- 
 entine ; 33d, that of Life, or of the Living God ; 
 34th, that of Philip ; 35th, thatof Barnabeus; 36th, 
 that of James, the major; 37th, that of Judas; 
 38th, of the Truth : probably the same as that of 
 Valentine; 39th, the Gospels of Leucius, of Seleu- 
 cus, of Lucianus, and of Hesychius. 
 
 For a more extensive information concerning 
 the Apocryphal Gospels, we refer the reader to the 
 Codex Apocryphus E'ovi Testamenti Collectus, 
 Castigatus, published at Hamburg, in 3 vols, octavo, 
 in 1719. The author was John Albert Fabricius, 
 one of the most learned antiquarians of the 17th 
 century. 
 
 We had the opportunity of reading, in the rich 
 library of the theological school of Brou, France, 
 15 
 
170 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 several of these Apocryphal Gospels, that of the 
 birth of the virgin Mary, the Protogospel of James ; 
 that of the death of the virgin Mary, and that of 
 the Twelve Apostles ; bnt we do not recollect to 
 have seen in these gospels anything, in regard to 
 endless hell, more positive than what is found in 
 the Gospel concerning the ruin of Jerusalem. 
 
 Of course this proof, drawn from the Apocryphal 
 Gospels, has not the same weight as if it was drawn 
 from authentical authors, (it is for this reason that 
 we have not inserted it in the body of proofs,) how- 
 ever as it is certain that they have been written 
 from the second to the fourth centuries, they at 
 least show that their authors, and the many Chris- 
 tians who used them, did not believe in endless 
 hell. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 How the Church of Rome borrowed the doctrine of 
 
 Endless Hell from the Pagans ; and how, after- 
 
 wards, the self-called Orthodox Protestant 
 
 Churches borroiced it from the 
 
 Church of Pome. 
 
 It has been proved in the foregoing article, and, 
 
 we think, to demonstration, that the Christians of 
 
 the first and of the second centuries, neither knew 
 
 nor believed the dogma of endless hell; wherefore 
 
 we may logically make this argument: 
 
 The Christians of the first and of the second 
 centuries neither knew nor believed the dogma of 
 endless hell : But if the,dogma of endless hell had 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 171 
 
 been tauglit in the T^ew Testament, the Christians 
 of the first and of the second centuries would have 
 known and beheved it. This we prove : 
 
 Those of the apostles who wrote the Kew Testa- 
 ment certainly knew whether, in the IsTew Testa- 
 ment they wrote, they had taught the dogma of 
 endless hell. If they had known that, in the is"ew 
 Testament they wrote, they had taught the dogma 
 of endless hell, they would have certainly informed 
 the Christians of the first century, in their oral 
 predications, that, in the ISTew Testament they 
 wrote, they had taught the dogma of endless hell, 
 for it was one of the most important points of doc- 
 trine. If they had informed the Christians of the 
 first century, in their oral predications, that they 
 had taught, in the ]^ew Testament they Avrote, the 
 dogma of endless hell, the Christians of the first 
 century would have certainly believed that they 
 had taught, in the Is"ew Testament they wrote, the 
 dogma of endless hell. If the Christians of the 
 fii'st century had beheved that they had taught, in 
 the N'ew Testament they wrote, the dogma of end- 
 less hell, they would have certainly believed in 
 endless hell. If the Christians of the first century 
 had believed in endless hell, those of the beginning 
 of the second century would have also believed it ; 
 for the apostle and evangelist John was still living 
 at the end of the year 100; (even many authors say 
 that he died only in 104,) and therefore if any dis- 
 cussion had arisen in regard to the dogma of end- 
 less hell, he would have declared whether it was 
 
172 PAGAN ORIGIN i 
 
 taught in tlie New Testament or not. If the Chris- 
 tians of the beginning of the second century had 
 also beheved the dogma of endless hell, those who 
 would have lived in the middle and at the end of 
 the second century would have believed it also; 
 because learning, from the lips, or from the writ- 
 ings, of those who were coeval to some of the 
 apostles, the dogma of endless hell, no traditional 
 alteration might have taken place towards this 
 dogma ; so much so that it would have been gen- 
 erally spread and believed among Christians, owing 
 to its importance. 
 
 Therefore the minor proposition of our argu- 
 ment is true : J^ut if the dogma of endless hell had 
 been taught in the New Testament, the Christians of 
 the first and of the second centuries would have knoion 
 and believed it. Wherefore we draw this logical 
 conclusion : Then the dogma of endless hell is not 
 taught in the New Testament. 
 
 Moreover, if the Christians of the third, of the 
 fourth, and of the fifth centuries, had thought 
 that the dogma of endless hell was taught in the 
 New Testament they would have at least generally 
 believed it. But they did not generally believe 
 it, as it has been proved, to demonstration, in the 
 foregoing Article : consequently the dogma of 
 endless hell is not taught in the ITew Testament. 
 
 From the fact that, according to the Christians 
 of the first and of the second centuries themselves, 
 the dogma of endless hell is not taught in the 
 Kew Testament, we draw the conclusion that the 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 173 
 
 Church of Rome, which first, and successively, in- 
 troduced in the body of Christians the dogma of 
 hell and of endless hell, did not originate it from 
 the ISTew Testament ; because there would have 
 been a general protestation against it from all the 
 other churches. 
 
 It has been proved, in the second Article of this 
 chapter, that the Jews did not believe the dogma 
 of endless hell. Therefore the Church of Rome 
 did not originate the dogma of endless hell from 
 the Jews, or from their Holy "Writs. 
 
 Wherefrom, then, did the Church of Rome 
 originate the dogma of endless hell? 
 
 From Paganism : — 
 
 The Church of Rome established mysteries to- 
 wards the beginning of the third century. They 
 were an imitation of the Pagan mysteries. 
 
 We refer the reader for the proofs of this prop- 
 osition to the last pages of the second chapter 
 of this work. 
 
 Thereupon we continue. It was only succes- 
 sively, and to make more proselytes, that the 
 Church of Rome had established those ceremonies, 
 rites and doctrines, to the reading thereof we have 
 invited the reader, and which were not only 
 unspoken of in the Scriptures, but which were a 
 pure imitation of those of the mysteries of the 
 Pagans. "We say, to make more j^'^^oselytes ; for the 
 aim of the Church of Rome was evidently to 
 diminish the abruptness of the transition between 
 Paganism and Christianity ; to throw a bridge, if 
 
174 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 we may thus illustrate our idea, over the steep, 
 wide, and deep abyss that lies between Paganism 
 and Christianity. 
 
 !N^ow let us compare the hell of the Church of 
 Rome with the Tartarus of the Pagans. The 
 Pagans called the place where the wicked were 
 punished, Tartarus, or Infernus ; the Church of 
 Pome called, and still calls, the same place, Tar- 
 tarus, or Infernus. The Pagans believed that the 
 Tartarus was in the profundities of the earth ; the 
 Church of Pome held, and still holds, that the 
 Tartarus, called in English, Hell, is in the profun- 
 dities of the earth. 
 
 JRemark. — Before proceeding further, let us give 
 the native signification of the words Tartarus, 
 Infernus and Hell. Taprapoj, ov, dark and deep 
 place: Taprapa yairj, [in Hcsiodc,] abysses of the 
 earth. The word Taptapoj has been adopted and 
 kept in the Latin, though with the change of the 
 final oj into us, Tartarus, and its native meaning 
 preserved. The Latin word Infernus derives from 
 the word inferior, which signifies a place under, 
 below an other, a cavity, a profundity. The words 
 Tartarus, Infernus, have been kept in French, 
 Tartare, Enfer ; in Spanish, Tartaro, Infierno ; and 
 also in the other languages derived from the Latin. 
 The English word hell is the genitive case of the 
 Anglo-Saxon word hole, [See Webster's Diction- 
 ary,] which means a cavity, a profundity. The 
 word Tartarus has been kept from the Latin, 
 with its native signification. In Greek Tapfapos 
 
OP ENDLESS HELL. 175 
 
 has a plural, as seen before. In Latin Tartarus 
 has a plural, Tartari; so Infernus, Inferi. In 
 French Tartare has a plural, Tartares ; so, JEnfery 
 Enfers. In Spanish Tartaro has a plural, Tarta- 
 ros ; so, Infierno, Injiernos. 
 
 Now we continue the comparison that we have 
 commenced between the Infernus of the Pagans 
 and the Infernus, or Hell, of the Church of Rome. 
 We will use the word Hell, to express the Tartarus, 
 or Infernus, of both the Pagans and the Church of 
 Rome. 
 
 The Pagans believed that there was a gate to 
 their hell ; so the Church of Rome believes that 
 there is a gate to the hell of the Christians. The 
 Pagans believed that the frightful Tisiphon 
 watched day and night at the gate of their hell ; 
 so the Church of Rome believes that Lucifer holds 
 the keys of the gate of hell, as St. Peter holds the 
 keys of Paradise. 
 
 The Pagans believed that the deepest darkness 
 reigned in their heh; so the Church of Rome 
 believes that the deepest darkness reigns in the 
 hell of the Christians. 
 
 The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the 
 Phlegeton river rolled huge stones on fire, burn- 
 ing the wicked without consuming them ; so the 
 Church of Rome believed, and still believes, [even 
 now it is an article of faith which must be believed 
 Tinder the penalty of excommunication, of being a 
 heretic, and thereby of infaUibly going to hell,] 
 that, in the hell of the Christians, the wicked are 
 
175 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 plunged into ai corporeal, or material, fire of sul- 
 phur, and of brimstone. St. Augustine, in his 
 work De Ci\dtate Del, Liber 21, Capitulum 10, 
 writes : " Gehenna ilia., quod etiam stagnum ignis et 
 sulphuris dictum est, corjyoreus ignis erit." [Trans- 
 lation. — "That Gehenna, which is said to be a 
 marsh of fire and of sulphur, will be a corporeal 
 fire."] 
 
 The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the 
 wicked were tortured in their bodies and in their 
 souls, although their bodies were in the grave ; so 
 the Church of Rome believed, and still believes 
 that, in the hell of the Christians, the wicked are 
 tortured in their bodies and in their souls, although 
 their bodies are in the grave. 
 
 The Pagans believed that, in their hell, hideous 
 furies were armed with whips and other instru- 
 ments of torture ; so the Church of Rome believed, 
 and still believes, that, in the hell of the Christians, 
 the devils are hideous and armed with whips, tri- 
 dents, harpoons, and other instruments of torture. 
 "We invite the reader to go to Catholic stores of 
 images, and to see the representation of devils 
 with tails, horns, and armed with instruments of 
 torture. 
 
 The Pagans believed that, in their hell, the 
 wicked were whipped and tortured in various 
 cruel manners by the furies, though their bodies 
 were in the grave; so the Church of Rome 
 believed, and still believes, that, in the hell of the 
 Christians, the wicked are whipped and tortured 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. 177 
 
 in various cruel manners by the devils, though 
 their bodies are in the grave. The Pagans be- 
 lieved that, in their hell, the wicked dragged 
 heavy chains ; so the Church of Rome believed, 
 and still believes, that, in the hell of the Christians, 
 the wicked drag heavy chains. The Pagans be- 
 lieved that, in their hell, there were two princi- 
 pal abodes, the one expiatory, in which the com- 
 mon wicked were detained and tortured, until 
 they had expiated their faults, and been purified 
 enough to be admitted in the Elysium ; and the 
 other, the vastest, the darkest, and the deepest 
 cavern, where great criminals were burnt and 
 excruciated endlessly, and without any hope of 
 cessation or relief in their torments; so the 
 Church of Rome believed, and still believes, that 
 in the hell of the Christians, there are two prin- 
 cipal abodes, the one. Purgatory, where the com- 
 mon wicked, namely, those guilty of venial sins, 
 are tortured and burnt in a material fire, until 
 they have expiated their faults, and been purified 
 enough to he permitted to crave St. Peter to open 
 to them the gate of Paradise, and the other the 
 vastest, the darkest, and the deepest profundity, 
 where the heretics, the schismatics, those who eat 
 meat on Friday, do not pay the tithe to the priests, 
 or who disobey kindred laws of the Church, are 
 plunged, bodies and souls, (though their bodies 
 are in the grave,) into a devouring fire, and where 
 they are excruciated endlessly, without any hope 
 of cessation or relief in their torments. " 
 
178 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Tlie Pagans believed that, in the expiatory- 
 abode of their hell, there were many different 
 degrees of tortures; so the Church of Rome 
 believed, and still believes, that, in the Purgatory 
 of the hell of the Christians, there are many dif- 
 ferent degrees of tortures. The Pagans believed 
 that supplications could relieve and free from their 
 tortures, the common wicked detained in the 
 expiatory abode of their hell ; so the Church of 
 Rome believed, and still believes, that, in the 
 Purgatory of the hell of the Christians, the com- 
 mon wicked, namely, those guilty of venial sins, 
 can be relieved in their torments, and be freed 
 from them by supplications ; hence the incalcula- 
 ble sums of money paid to the priests, to say 
 masses for the deliverance of those wicked ; hence 
 the countless splendid churches, the vast number 
 of monasteries, convents, nunneries, abbeys, and 
 other costly edifices, founded in behalf of those 
 wicked. 
 
 The Pagans believed that there were an innu- 
 merable quantity of different degrees of tortures 
 in the second principal abode of their hell; so 
 the Church of Rome believed, and still believes, 
 that, in the second principal abode of the hell of 
 the Christians, there is an innumerable quantity 
 of different degrees of tortures. The Pagans 
 believed that, in their hell, the wicked condemned 
 to endless misery, would, mingle with their yells 
 of anguish, torment, and despair, vociferations, 
 maledictions, and curses, against the gods, and 
 
OF ENDLESS HELL. " 179 
 
 against themselves; so the Church of Rome 
 believed, and still believes, that, in the hell of 
 the Christians, the wicked, condemned to endless 
 misery, will mingle with their yells of anguish, 
 torment, and despair, vociferations, maledictions, 
 and curses against God, and against themselves; 
 that they will exclaim, 3Iontes cadite super 7ios! — - 
 Mountains fall upon us! The Pagans believed 
 that, in their hell, the wicked condemned to end- 
 less misery will vainly endeavor to kill and anni- 
 hilate themselves ; so the Church of Rome believed, 
 and still believes, that the wicked condemned to 
 endless misery, will vainly attempt to put an end 
 to their miserable existence. 
 
 Therefore there is a most striking similarity, or 
 rather identity, between the hell of the Pagans, 
 and the hell of the Church of Rome. 
 
 Therefore, since as proved above, 
 
 1st, The Church of Rome was the first Church 
 which introduced the dogma of endless hell in the 
 body of Christians ; 
 
 2d, Since, as proved above, the Church of 
 Rome did not originate the dogma of endless hell 
 from the Kew Testament ; 
 
 3d, Since, as proved above, the Church of Rome 
 did not borrow from the Jews, or from their Holy 
 "Writs, the dogma of endless hell ; 
 
 4th, Since, as proved above, the Church of 
 Rome, at the imitation of the Pagans, established, 
 towards the beginning of the third century, mys- 
 teries, many of the ceremonies, rites and doctrines 
 
180 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 thereof were alike to those ceremonies, rites aiid 
 doctrines, of the mysteries of the Pagans ; 
 
 6th, Since, as proved above, there is a most 
 striking similaritj^, or rather identity, between 
 the hell of the Pagans, and the hell of the Church 
 of Pome, 
 
 We legitimately draw this important conclu- 
 sion: 
 
 Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from 
 the Pagans the dogma of endless hell. 
 
 When the Protestants, now self-called Orthodox 
 Churches, left the Church of Rome, in the six- 
 teenth century, they cut off many of the appen- 
 dices and concomitant particularities of the dogma 
 of endless hell; but they preserved, and even in 
 our days profess to believe, the main features of 
 this dogma, namely, that in hell there is sulphur, 
 brimstone, and fire; that in hell there are devils; 
 that in heU there are many degrees of torments; 
 that in hell the wicked are constantly burning in 
 fire without consuming, and are constantly tor- 
 tured by the devils without any relief; that hell 
 shall exist forever and evermore, as long as end- 
 less eternity shall endure; and that the torments 
 of the wicked in hell shall no more end than hell 
 itself. 
 
 That the Protestants, now self-called Orthodox 
 Christian Churches, borrowed from the Church of 
 Rome, in the sixteenth century, the dogma of 
 endless hell ; and that they preserved the above 
 belief in regard to endless hell, is proved by the 
 
OP ENDLESS HELL. 181 
 
 unanimous testimony of modern historians and of 
 chroniclers. That they, now-a-days, profess the 
 above beUef in regard to endless hell, is a fact 
 which we can daily, and particularly every Sun- 
 day, in all cities, towns, and villages of this coun- 
 try, and of all Protestant countries, verify with 
 our own eyes in their writings, and with our own 
 ears in their temples. 
 
 Kow we draw our general conclusions : 
 
 1st, Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed 
 from the Pagans the dogma of endless hell. 
 
 2d, Therefore the now self-cahed Orthodox 
 Protestant, or Christian Churches, borrowed from 
 the Church of Rome the dogma of endless helL 
 
 Conclusion of the chapter: 
 
 Therefore the JPartialist doctrine of endless hell is of 
 Pagan origin. 
 
CHAPTER yill. 
 
 PAGAN OKIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A FIRST JUDGMENT, 
 BY JESUS CHRIST, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SEPA- 
 RATION OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY. 
 
 It will be evident that the origin of the doc- 
 trine of a first judgment, by Jesus Christ, imme- 
 diately after the separation of the soul from the 
 body, is Pagan, if it can be proved, 1st, That the 
 Pagans believed in a first judgment, by a god, 
 immediately after the separation of the soul from 
 the body; 2d, That the particulars of this first 
 judgment, believed in by the Partialist Christian 
 Churches, present a striking similarity with the 
 particulars of the first judgment, believed in by 
 the Pagans ; and 3d, That the Church of Rome, 
 which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted to 
 the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches 
 this doctrine of a first judgment, which they ac- 
 cepted full and entire, did not hold it from the 
 apostles of Jesus Christ nor from the Jews. 
 
 But it can be proved, 1st, That the Pagans 
 
 believed in a first judgment, by a god, immediately 
 
 after the separation of the soul from the body; 2d, 
 
 That the particulars of this first judgment, believed 
 
 (182) 
 
PAGAiN ORIGIN OP A FIRST JUDGMENT. 183 
 
 in by the Partialist Christian Churches, present a 
 striking similarity with the particulars of the first 
 judgment, believed in by the Pagans; and 3d, 
 that the Church of Rome, which, in the sixteenth 
 century transmitted to the now self-called Ortho- 
 dox Christian Churches this doctrine of a first 
 judgment, which they accepted full and entire, 
 did not hold it from the Apostles of Jesus Christ 
 nor from the Jews. 
 
 1st, It can be proved that the Pagans believed 
 in a first judgment, by a god, immediately after 
 the separation of the soul from the body. 
 
 We extract the following from the History of 
 the Egyptians, by RoUin. Article — Funerals: 
 "Before the dead were admitted in the sacred 
 asylum of the tomb, they underwent a solemn 
 judgment. And this circumstance of the funer- 
 als among the Egyptians, is one of the most 
 remarkable things in the ancient history. It is a 
 consolation to us to leave behind us, when we die, 
 a name honored among men; and of all blessings 
 it is the only one of which we cannot be deprived 
 by death. But in Egypt, it was not permitted to 
 indistinctly praise the dead ; this honor was con- 
 ferred only after a favorable public judgment. 
 The assembly of the judges was held on the other 
 side of a lake, which they crossed on a bark. He 
 who conducted the bark was called, in the Egyp- 
 tian tongue, Charon; and it is from this name that 
 the Greeks, instructed by Orpheus, who had been 
 in Egypt, had invented the fable of the bark of 
 Charon. 
 
184 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 "When a man died he was brought to judg- 
 ment. The public accuser was heard. If he 
 proved that the conduct of the dead had been 
 wicked, his memory was stigmatized, and he was 
 deprived of the honor of funerals. The people 
 admired the power of the laws, which extended 
 even beyond death; and everybody, influenced by 
 the example of others, was afraid to dishonor his 
 family, and his own memory. If the dead was 
 not convicted of any crime, he was honorably 
 buried. What was the most astonishing in this 
 judgment of the dead was that royalty itself was 
 not spared'. The kings were not judged during 
 their life, the public good demanded it; but they 
 were not exempted from the after death's judg- 
 ment, and several of them were deprived of hon- 
 orable funerals. This custom passed among the 
 Israelites. We read in the Old Testament that 
 wicked kings were not buried in the tombs of 
 their fathers. Thus kings learned, that, if their 
 majesty places them above the judgments of men, 
 it is so no longer when death has placed them on 
 the same level with their fellow-men. 
 
 "When the judgment, which had been pro- 
 nounced, was favorable to the dead, they pro- 
 ceeded to the ceremony of the burial. A panegy- 
 ric was delivered in which nothing was said of his 
 birth, because every Egyptian was considered to 
 be a noble man. His personal virtues only were 
 praised. Then the whole assembly supplicated 
 the gods to welcome him in the assembly of the 
 
OF A FIRST JUDGMENT. 186'- 
 
 virtuous dead, and to associate him to their eternal 
 bhss." 
 
 This judgment gave birth to the fable of a 
 judgment rendered by the gods, immediately after 
 the separation of the soul from the body. Charon 
 was represented carrying the souls of the dead on 
 board his bark, across the Styx river, to be judged 
 by the great judge, Minos. This became a gen- 
 eral belief among the Pagans, not only in Egypt, 
 but in Greece, in Italy, and in nearly all the Ori- 
 ental countries; as proved by the unanimous con- 
 sent of the mythological authors. This belief has 
 been perpetuated among the Pagans of those 
 countries. Even in our days, the Indians believe 
 in this judgment, and call the great judge, Zomo, 
 or according to others, Jamen. The Japanese, 
 followers of Buda, also believe in this judgment; 
 and they call the great judge, Zomo. Likewise 
 the Lamas believe in this judgment, and call the 
 great judge Erlik-kan. 
 
 Therefore the Pagans believed in a fij'st judg- 
 ment, by a god, immediately after the separation 
 of the soul from the body. 
 
 2d. It can be proved that the particulars of this 
 first judgment, believed in by the Partialist Chris- 
 tian Churches, present a striking similarity with 
 the particulars of the first judgment, believed in 
 by the Pagans : 
 
 The Pagans believed that their great judge, 
 Minos, sat on a throne, to judge the souls im- 
 mediately after their separation from the bodies 
 16 
 
186 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 that they "animated ; so the Partialist Christian 
 Churches believe that Jesus Christ sits on a throne, 
 to judge the souls, immediately after their sepa- 
 ration from the bodies that they animated. The 
 Pagans believed that, near to Minos' throne, and 
 at his right hand, good geniuses, or spirits, stood; 
 so the Partialist Christian Churches believe that, 
 near to Jesus Christ's throne, and at his right 
 hand, good angels stand. The Pagans believed 
 that, near to Minos' throne, and at his left hand, 
 furies stood ; so the Partialist Christian Churches 
 believe that, near to Jesus Christ's throne, and 
 at his left hand, devils stand. 
 
 The Pagans believed that the souls were driven 
 to the redoubtable tribunal of Minos by their 
 respective guardian angel, who had accompanied 
 them during their whole life on earth; had 
 watched day and night over their conduct; and 
 had kept a record of all they had done, right or 
 wrong; so the Church of Rome, and some other 
 Partialist Christian Churches, believe that the souls 
 are driven to the redoubtable tribunal of Jesus 
 Christ by their respective guardian angel, who has 
 accompanied them during their whole life on earth ; 
 has watched day and night over their conduct, and 
 has kept a record of all they have done, right or 
 wrong. The Pagans believed that Minos based 
 his judgments on the contents of two books, the 
 one called book of life, and the other book of 
 death ; so the Partialist Christian Churches believe 
 that Jesus Christ bases his judgments on the 
 
OF A FIRST JUDGMNNT. 187 
 
 contents of two books; the one called book of 
 life, and the other book of death. The Pagans 
 believed that the souls who had obtained from 
 Minos a favorable sentence, were led to the 
 Elysium by their respective guardian angel ; and 
 that those who had been condemned to the Tar- 
 tarus, were apprehended by the furies, and hurled 
 into it; so the Partialist Christian Churches 
 believe that the souls who obtain from Jesus 
 Christ a favorable sentence, are led to Paradise 
 by their resj^ective guardian angel ; or, [in the 
 opinion of those of the Partialist Christian 
 Churches, which do not believe in a guardian 
 angel] by other angels. 
 
 Consequently the particulars of the first judg- 
 ment, believed in by the Partialist Christian 
 Churches, present a striking similarity with the 
 particulars of the fij'st judgment, believed in by 
 the Pagans. 
 
 3d. It can be proved that the Church of Rome, 
 which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted to 
 the now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches 
 the doctrine of a first judgment, which they 
 accepted full and entire, did not hold it from the 
 apostles of Jesus Christ, nor from the Jews : — 
 
 The Church of Rome does not hold the doc- 
 trine of a first judgment from the apostles of 
 Jesus Christ, for this doctrine implies a blasphemy 
 — whether Jesus Christ be considered as being 
 God himself — and all the Partialist Christian 
 Churches hold that he is God himself — and whether 
 
188 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Jesus Christ be considered as being only the Son 
 of God. But the doctrine of a first judgment 
 implies a blasphemy, whether Jesus Christ be con- 
 sidered as being God himself, and whether he be 
 considered as being only the Son of God. 
 
 First, it implies a blasphemy, if Jesus Christ is 
 considered as being God himself. Jesus Christ, 
 being God himself, would necessarily know all the 
 good and bad actions done by the souls, while they 
 animate their respective bodies on earth, in conse- 
 quence it is an insult to his attribute of wisdom, 
 and thereby a blasphemy, to say that the guardian 
 angels of the souls, as they bring them to his 
 tribunal, inform him of their good and bad actions, 
 which they have recorded. Even in the case of 
 those of the Partialist Christian Churches, which 
 reject the circumstance of the guardian angels, the 
 doctrine of a first judgment implies an insult to 
 the wisdom of Jesus Christ, (in their opinion 
 God himself), and thereby a blasphemy; for a 
 judgment supposes a trial; a trial supposes an in- 
 vestigation ; an investigation supposes the igno- 
 rance of the deeds to be pronounced upon, and the 
 supposition that God has not a perfect knowledge 
 of those deeds, is an insult to his wisdom, and 
 thereby is a blasphemy. 
 
 Second, The doctrine of a first judgment implies 
 a blasphemy, if Jesus Christ is considered as being 
 only the Son of God. If God had vested Jesus 
 Christ with the power of decerning rewards and 
 punishments to the souls after death, he would 
 have given him a knowledge of the good and bad 
 
OF A FIRST JUDGMENT. 189 
 
 actious of tlie souls. But the doctrine of a first 
 judgment supposes that Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 God, would come to this knowledge only through 
 the means of a trial, which supposition is an insult 
 to the wisdom of God, and thereby a blasphemy. 
 
 Then the doctrine of a first judgment implies a 
 blasphemy, whether Jesus Christ be considered as 
 being God himself, and whether Jesus Christ be 
 considered as being only the Son of God. 
 
 Therefore the Church of Rome does not hold 
 the doctrine of a first judgment fi'om the apostles 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 General conclusions: — 
 
 It has been proved in this chapter, 1st, That 
 the Pagans believed in a first judgment, by a god, 
 immediately after the separation of the soul from 
 the body; 2d, That the particulars of this first 
 judgment, believed in by the Partialist Christian 
 Churches, present a striking similarity with the 
 particulars of the first judgment, believed in by 
 the Pagans ; and, 3d, That the Church of Rome, 
 which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted to the 
 now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches this 
 doctrine of a first judgment, which they accepted 
 full and entire, did not hold it from the apostles 
 of Jesus Christ ; neither did she hold it from the 
 Jews ; for not a single passage can be traced out 
 in the Old Testament, or in Josephus, referring 
 to a first judgment. 
 
 Therefore the origin of the doctrine of a first 
 judgment, by Jesus Christ, immediately after the 
 separation of the soul from the body, is Pagaiv 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION 
 OF THE BODY. 
 
 If it is proved, 1st, That in the first centuries 
 of the Christian era, and before the coming of Je- 
 sus Christ, the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body was held by a large number of Pagans; 2d, 
 That the Church of Rome which, in the sixteenth 
 century, transmitted it to the now self-called Or- 
 thodox Christian Churches, did not hold it either 
 from the apostles of Jesus Christ, or from the 
 Jews, it will remain evident that the Church of 
 Rome borrowed it from the Pagans, and conse- 
 quently that its origin is Pagan. 
 
 But it can be proved, 1st, That in the first cen- 
 turies of the Christian era, and before the coming 
 of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body was held by a large n amber of Pagans; 
 2d, That the Church of Rome, which, in the six- 
 teenth century, transmitted it to the now self- 
 called Orthodox Christian Churches, did not hold 
 it from the apostles of Jesus Christ ; and, 3d, That 
 she did not hold it from the Jews. 
 
 1st. It can be proved that in the first centuries 
 of the Christian era, and before the coming of 
 (190) 
 
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 191 
 
 Jesus Christ, the doetriue of the resurrection of 
 tlie body was held by a large number of Pagans: 
 
 The doctrine of the resurrection of the body had 
 been taught by Zoroaster. All the Persians be- 
 lieved it ; and even now the Parsis, or followers of 
 the religion of Zoroaster, who live in Turkey and 
 in Persia, hold it. It was also one of the dogmas 
 of the Chaldeans, and of many other oriental 
 countries. In India the Pagans, now-a-days, be- 
 lieve that their bodies will come again to life, and 
 it is owing to this belief, the Roman Catholic priest 
 Bergier says, that the wives throw themselves on 
 the same wood piles on which lay the dead bodies 
 of their husbands, to be burnt alive, and to come 
 again to life with them. This belief and practice 
 are immemorial in India. Interesting particulars 
 in regard to the doctrine of the resurrection be- 
 lieved by ancient nations, can be read in the French 
 work, Memoires de I'Academie des Inscriptions, 
 tome 69, pages 270, and following; in the work of 
 Hyde, on the Religion of the Persians ; and also 
 in the writings of Plutarch, article Isis and Osiris. 
 
 According to the testimony of Diodore, and of 
 Herodote, the Egyptians believed in Metempsy- 
 chosis ; and it was an immemorial doctrine among 
 them. Also, many of them believed that their 
 bodies would come again to life, after a sojourn of 
 one thousand 3'ears in the grave. The Sybilline 
 verses treat of the resurrection of the bod}'. Much 
 has been written about it by Bocchus, in Soiin, 
 chap. 8; and by Lactance, book 7, chap. 29, book 
 
192 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 4, cliap. 15, 18, and 19. The Stoicians, who were 
 the moat learned philosophers of antiquity, and in 
 the three centuries which preceded the coming of 
 Jesus Christ, and also in the three that followed, 
 believed in Metempsychosis; however, a portion of 
 their school believed in the resurrection of the 
 body. Of this we are informed by Seneca, Epist. 
 40 ; by Laerta, book 7 ; and by Plutarch, writing 
 on the Resignation of the Stoicians. 
 
 Pliny, deriding Democrite, informs us that this 
 philosopher believed in the resurrection of the 
 body; see book 7, chap. 45, where he says: "Vain 
 is the promise made by Democrite that we will live 
 again." The doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body is taught in these verses of Phocylides about 
 the remains of the dead : 
 
 "Ouxa^o*' apfiovorv ava'Kvffiev dvOpoTtoio. 
 Kai I'dxa- 5 ix yairji iXTii^ofxiv is rpao^ tXOtiv. 
 Aii'i^av aTCOLXOfiivov orttjo -ts Otoi, tcT^sOov-fat,, 
 
 Translation : — " It is impious to disperse the re- 
 maitis of man ; for the ashes and the bones of the 
 dead will come again to light, and will become 
 similar to the gods." 
 
 Virgil speaks of the resurrection of the body, 
 though in an obscure manner, in the sixth book 
 of his poem Eneida. 
 
 Therefore in the first centuries of the Christian 
 era, and before the coming of Jesus Christ, the 
 doctrine of the resurrection of the body was held 
 by a large number of Pagans. 
 
OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 193 
 
 2d. It can be proved that the Church of Rome, 
 which, in the sixteenth century, transmitted the 
 doctrine of the resurrection of the body to the now 
 self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, did not 
 hold it from the apostles of Jesus Christ : — 
 
 It will be evident that the Church of Rome did 
 not hold the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body from the apostles of Jesus Christ, if it can 
 be proved, 1st, That the Fathers of the first cen- 
 turies did not agree on this doctrine; 2d, That 
 nearly all the Christian denominations of the first 
 two centuries, and the majority, to say the least, 
 of those of the century following, disbelieved it ; 
 and, 3d, That this doctrine is irrational. 
 
 But it can be proved, 1st, That the Fathers of 
 the first centuries did not agree about the doctrine 
 of the resurrection of the body ; 2d, That nearly 
 all the Christian denominations of the first two 
 centuries, and the majority, to say the least, of the 
 century following, disbelieved it ; and, 3d, That 
 this doctrine is irrational. 
 
 1st. It can be proved that the Fathers of the 
 first centuries did not agree about the doctrine of 
 the resurrection of the body. 
 
 Tatian believed in Metempsychosis, but not in 
 the resurrection of the body. St. Gregory of 
 Nysse denied that there was anything corporeal 
 in the person of Jesus Christ, since the time he 
 ascended to the heavens. Origen admitted the 
 resurrection of the bodies, but not that of the flesh. 
 Synesius, bishop of Ptolemaida, in his Series of 
 17 
 
194 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Epistles, declares that the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body is a mystery, whose solution ought 
 to be kept secret, and considered as sacred : that it 
 is well to teach it to the people ; and that he, the 
 bishop, would publicly profess and preach this 
 doctrine, though it is not his personal belief. If 
 the reader desires to find lengthier particulars, 
 about the divergency of the opinions of the Fath- 
 ers concerning the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body, we refer him to the work of Beausobre, 
 headed, History of Mauicheanism, tome 2, book 
 8, chap. 5, ISTo. 3, and following. 
 
 Therefore the Fathers of the first centuries did 
 not agree about the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body. 
 
 2d. It can be proved that nearly all the Chris- 
 tian sects, or denominations, of the first two cen- 
 turies, and the majority, to say the least, of those 
 of the centuiy following, disbelieved the doctrine 
 of the resurrection of the body : — 
 
 According to the unanimous testimony of the 
 Homan Catholic authors themselves, Bergier, Fel- 
 ler, Fleury, etc., etc., the fallowing Christian sects 
 of the fii-st three centuries held the dogma of Me- 
 tempsychosis : The Basilidians, the Bardesanists, 
 the Barules, the Barborians, the Valentinians, the 
 Marcionites, the Marcosians, the Theodotians, the 
 Artemonians, the Carpocratians, the Docetes, the 
 Tatianists, the Apellites, the Montanists, the Arto- 
 tyrites, the Severians, the Ascites, the Ascodrutes, 
 the Ophites, the Caiuites, the Sethians, the Her- 
 
OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 195 
 
 mogenians, the Hermiaus, the Yalesians, the Hier- 
 acites, the Samosatians, and the Manicheans : this 
 latter sect, Cathohc authors say, were subdivided 
 into more than sixty sects, which professed, each 
 one of them, to beUeve in Metempsychosis. The 
 same authors add, that many of the other sects 
 named above denied the resurrection of the body. 
 Though they do not say so of all, we may safely 
 affirm that every one of the above named Christian 
 sects disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrection 
 of the body. This we demonstrate thus : — 
 
 According to the doctrine of Metempsychosis, 
 when, at death, a soul separates from the body, she 
 passes into another body to animate it; and to 
 thus expiate, by many and successive transmigra- 
 tions, the faults she has committed in an anterior 
 existence, and so continually. But the doctrine 
 of the resurrection of the body teaches that the 
 same soul which animated it in its prior existence, 
 shall animate it anew when it will come again to 
 life. How can then this same soul animate this 
 same body, and at the same time the thousands of 
 other human bodies, which she had also animated 
 in her various transmigrations? Therefore the 
 belief of the doctrine of Metempsychosis necessa- 
 rily implies a disbelief of the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection of the body. Consequently, although the 
 Roman Catholic authors do not positively state 
 that all the above named Christian sects disbelieved 
 the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, we 
 may safely affirm, from the fact that they held the 
 
196 PAGAN ORiaiN 
 
 doctrine of Metempsychosis, that they disbelieved 
 the doctriue of the resurrection of the body. 
 
 Therefore nearly all the Christian sects, or de- 
 nominations, of the first two centuries, and the 
 majority, to say the least, of those of the century 
 following, disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. 
 
 3d. It can be proved that the doctrine of the 
 resurrection of the body is irrational. 
 
 All the reasons which have been brought forth 
 by St. Cyrille, bishop of Jerusalem, in his Catechism, 
 page 18; by St. Gregory of JS'ysse, in his oratio 
 on the Kesurrection of the Flesh ; by St. Augus- 
 tine, in his City of God, book 20 ; by St. Chrysos- 
 tome, in his homily on the Resurrection of the 
 Flesh; by Tertullian, in his treatise on the Resur- 
 rection of the Flesh ; by St. Gregory, the Pope, in 
 his Fourth Dialogue ; by St. Ambrosius, in his 
 sermon on the Faith of the Resurrection of the 
 Flesh; and by St. Epiphane, Ancyrot, page 38, 
 can be summed up as follows : — 
 
 God himself has formed with his own hands 
 man's body; he has animated it wnth the breath 
 of his own mouth, and has placed within it a soul 
 made to his likeness. The flesh of the Christian 
 is, in some manner, associated to all the functions 
 of its soul, and is the instrument of all the graces 
 of God. It is the body that is washed by baptism 
 to purify the soul, it is the body that in order to 
 feed the soul receives the Eucharist; it is the body 
 that is immolated to God by mortifications, by 
 
OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 197 
 
 fasts, by vigils, by virginity, and by martyrdom. 
 Thus St. Paul reminds that our bodies are the 
 members of Jesus Christ, and the temples of the 
 Holy Spirit. Would God leave in the grave for- 
 ever the work of his own hands, the master-piece 
 of his might, the depository of his breath, the king 
 of the other bodies, the canal of his graces, and the 
 victim of his worship? 
 
 If God has condemned the body to death as a 
 punishment for sin, Jesus Christ came to save all 
 that was lost. Without this complete reparation, 
 we would not know how far the goodness, the 
 mercy, and the parental tenderness of our God, 
 extend. The flesh of man, restored by incarna- 
 tion to its former dignity, ought to come again to 
 life, as well as that of Jesus Christ. Is not he 
 who created the flesh mighty enough to bring it 
 again to life? Nothing entirely perishes in nature : 
 forms change, but all renews itself, and seems to 
 grow young again; God has stamped immortal- 
 ity upon all his works. Night follows the day, 
 eclipsed stars appear anew ; the spring makes us 
 forget the winter; plants grow again, and resume 
 their hues and perfumes; and several animals 
 which seem to die receive a new life. Thus, by 
 the lessons of nature, God has prepared the les- 
 sons of the revelation ; and he has shown us the 
 image of the resurrection, before showing us its 
 reality. 
 
 God's justice demands the resurrection of our 
 body. God ought to judge, to reward, or to pun- 
 
198 PAGAN ORIGDT 
 
 isb the whole man. The body is the instrument 
 of the soul for good or for evil ; even the thoughts 
 of the soul are reflected on man's face. The soul 
 cannot experience pleasure or pain without the 
 co-participation of the body, and the principal 
 exercise of virtue consists in the repression of the 
 desires of the flesh. Then it is just that the soul 
 of the wicked be tormented, by being reunited to 
 the same body which has been the instrument of 
 her crimes; and that the soul of the saints be 
 rewarded, by her eternal reunion to a body which 
 has been the instrument of her merits. 
 
 All these reasons can be generalized thus: 
 
 Man's body has been the instrument of our soul 
 to do good or evil. Then the justice of God 
 requires that man's body come again to life, to 
 share, with its soul, eternal reward, or eternal 
 punishment. 
 
 We answer: Since mane's body is but the 
 instrument of our soul to do good or evil, his body 
 is capable neither of merit nor of demerit. But, 
 since man's body is capable neither of merit nor 
 of demerit, it is capable neither of reward nor of 
 punishment. Therefore the justice of God does 
 not require that man's body come again to life, to 
 share, with its soul, eternal reward or eternal pun- 
 ishment. 
 
 More, it is irrational that the same particles of 
 matter be, at the same time, in many places. But 
 the doctrine of the resurrection of the body sup- 
 
OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 199 
 
 poses that tlie same particles of matter will be, 
 at the same time, in many places. This we prove : 
 
 The cannibals live upon man's flesh; and they 
 assimilate to their own bodies the particles of 
 flesh which compose the bodies of the men they 
 devour. Consequently, at the resurrection of the 
 bodies, these particles of flesh will compose the 
 bodies of the cannibals, and, at the same time, the 
 bodies of the men they have devoured. Therefore, 
 the doctrine of the resurrection of the body sup- 
 poses, that the same particles of matter will be, at 
 the same time, in many places. 
 
 Besides, when, after death, man's body putre- 
 fies, the particles of flesh, of which it is composed, 
 dissolve into gases, which the plants convert to 
 their own nature. Those vegetables and fruits, 
 thousands of men eat ; and thus they assimilate 
 to themselves those same particles, which formerly 
 composed the bodies of other men. Consequently, 
 at the resurrection of the bodies, those particles 
 will compose a multitude of bodies. Therefore, 
 the doctrine of the resurrection of the body sup- 
 poses, that the same particles of matter will be, 
 at the same time, in many places. .. 
 
 Then the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body is irrational. 
 
 Objection. — Jesus Christ came again to life with 
 a spiritual body. Then these proofs do not dem- 
 onstrate that the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body is irrational. 
 
200 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Answer. — Jesus Christ came again to life with a 
 spiritual body; this we coucede. Tlieu these 
 proofs do not demonstrate that the doctrine of the 
 resurrection of the body is irrational. This we 
 deny ; for it is an article of faith in the Church 
 of Eome; and it is nearly unanimously believed 
 by all tlie other Partialist Churches, that the 
 bodies of the righteous alone will be spiritual 
 bodies ; and that the bodies of the wicked will be 
 after the resurrection, as they were while on earth. 
 Consequently, it does not follow, from the fact 
 that Jesus Christ came again to life with a spirit- 
 ual body, that the above proofs do not demon- 
 strate that the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body is irrational. 
 
 Remark. — The Parti alists quote passages of the 
 Scriptures to prove the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. "We shall not discuss the true 
 meaning of those passages ; for such a discussion 
 does not enter in the plan of this work, which is 
 exclusively intended to prove historically the true 
 origin of the Partialist doctrines. However, in 
 regard to those texts we say : 
 
 It would be ^ blasphemy against God to sup- 
 pose that the Scriptures teach us an irrational 
 doctrine. But, as demonstrated above, the doc- 
 trine of the resurrection of the body is irrational. 
 Then the Scriptures do not teach it. Then those 
 texts ought not to be understood of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. 
 
 3d. It can be proved that the Church of Home 
 
OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 201 
 
 did not hold the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body from the Jews. 
 
 The Church of Rome did not hold from the 
 Jews the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, 
 if, 1st, the Roman Catholic theologians do not 
 hold that this doctrine is taught in the Old Tes- 
 tament ; 2d, If this doctrine was traditional only 
 among the illiterate portion of the Jewish nation ; 
 and, 3d, If this tradition was not of an ancient 
 and national origin. 
 
 But, 1st, The Roman Catholic theologians do 
 not hold that the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body is taught in the Old Testament; 2d, 
 This doctrine was traditional only among the 
 illiterate portion of the Jewish nation; and, 3d, 
 This tradition was not of an ancient and national 
 origin. 
 
 1st, The Roman Catholic theologians do not 
 hold that the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body is taught in the Old Testament. 
 
 The Roman Catholic theologians do not pre- 
 tend that the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body is taught in the Old Testament; they only 
 assert that it may be that it is taught therein. 
 Bergier, who is their organ, and whose works, 
 written in the last century, were, and still now 
 are, classical among the priests, writes — Article, 
 Resurrection of the Body, page 159: — "We pre- 
 sume that Job, Daniel, and the seven Maccabean 
 brothers, had some knowledge of this essential 
 dogma." Consequently the Roman Catholic 
 
202 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 theologians do not hold that the doctrine of the 
 resurrection of the body is taught in the Old 
 Testament. 
 
 2d, The doctrine of the resurrection of the body 
 was traditional only among the illiterate portion 
 of the Jewish nation. 
 
 Josephus states, in his Antiq. Jud., book 18, 
 eh. 2 ; and in his De Bello Judaico, book 2, ch. 7, 
 al. ch. 12, that the Saddncees were the literate por- 
 tion of the Jewish people ; that they held nearly 
 all the public offices; that they were well edu- 
 cated, courteous, and that they avoided public 
 discuvssions and controversies on the subject of 
 religion. He states also that they disbelieved the 
 doctrine of the resurrection of the body. There- 
 fore the doctrine of the resurrection of the body 
 was traditional only among the illiterate portion 
 of the Jewish nation. 
 
 3d, The tradition of the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection of the body was not of an ancient and 
 national origin. 
 
 In the year 587 before the Christian era, in the 
 second year of the reign of Sedecias, Jerusalem 
 was besieged, taken, destroyed; Sedecias and the 
 whole nation were led captives to Babylon. There 
 they w^ere detained seventy years, until Cyrus per- 
 mitted them to return to their own country. 
 During those seventy years of captivity, the 
 Jewish people borrowed from the Pagans many 
 religious practices, ceremonies, rites, and doc- 
 trines — this is the testimony of Josephus — and 
 
OF THE KESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 203 
 
 among them the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body, which, as has been proved before, was 
 beheved by a large number of Pagans. "When 
 the people returned from Babylon to Jerusalem a 
 portion of them preserved some of those religious 
 practices, ceremonies, rites, and doctrines, and 
 rejected the others. Those which they preserved 
 they transmitted to their posterity, and among 
 them was the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
 body. Therefore the tradition of the doctrine of 
 the resurrection of the body was not of an ancient 
 and national origin. 
 
 We have proved, 1st, That the Roman Catholic 
 theologians do not hold that the doctrine of the 
 resurrection of the body is taught in the Old 
 Testament; 2d, That this doctrine was traditional 
 only among the illiterate portion of the Jewish 
 nation; and, 3d, That this tradition was not of 
 an ancient and national origin. 
 
 Therefore, 3d, The Church of Rome did not 
 hold from the Jews the doctrine of the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. 
 
 We come now to the general conclusions of 
 this chapter. 
 
 It has been proved, 1st, that in the first cen- 
 turies of the Christian era, and before the com- 
 ing of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection of the body was held by a large number 
 of Pagans ; 2d, That the Church of Rome, which, 
 in the sixteenth century, transmitted it to the 
 now self-called Orthodox Christian Churches, did 
 
204 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 
 
 not hold it either from the Apostles of Jesus 
 Christ or from the Jews. 
 
 Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from 
 the Pagans the doctrine of the resurrection of 
 the body. 
 
 Therefore the origin of the doctrine of the resur- 
 rection of the body is Pagan. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL JUDG- 
 MENT AT THE END OF THE WORLD. 
 
 The Church of Rome and the other Partialist 
 Christian Churches profess to believe that, at the 
 end of the world, a general judgment of all the 
 then living, and of all the dead, shall take place. 
 "When, in the sixteenth century, the great Protes- 
 tant scission took place, the new Churches formed 
 preserved this doctrine of the Church of Rome, 
 with only accessory modifications ; and since that 
 time they have professed it; even now-a-days 
 they cling to it. We shall prove in this chapter 
 that the origin of this doctrine is Pagan. 
 
 The origin of the doctrine of a general judg- 
 ment of all the then living and of all the dead, 
 which shall take place at the end of the world, is 
 Pagan, 1st, If the Pagans held the doctrine of a 
 general judgment of all the then living and of all 
 the dead, which shall take place at the end of the 
 world ; 2d, If there is a striking similarity between 
 the particulars of the doctrine of a general judg- 
 ment, as held by the Pagans, and the doctrine of 
 a general judgment, as held by the Church of 
 
 (205) 
 
206 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Rome, and by the other Partialist Christian 
 Churches; 3d, If the Church of Rome did not 
 hold the doctrine of a general judgment from the 
 apostles of Jesus Christ ; and, 4th, If the Church 
 of Rome did not hold this doctrine from the 
 Jews. 
 
 But, 1st, The Pagans held the doctrine of a gen- 
 eral judgment of all the then living and of all 
 the dead, which shall take place at the end of the 
 world ; 2d, There is a striking similarity between 
 the particularities of the doctrine of a general 
 judgment, as held by the Pagans, and the doctrine 
 of a general judgment, as held by the Church of 
 Rome; 3d, The Church of Rome did not hold 
 the doctrine of a general judgment from the 
 apostles of Jesus Christ ; and, 4th, The Church of 
 Rome did not hold this doctrine from the Jews. 
 
 These four heads of questions we are to succes- 
 sively prove. 
 
 1st, We prove that the Pagans held the doctrine 
 of a general judgment of all the then living and of 
 all the dead, which shall take place at the end 
 of the world. 
 
 Plato, and other philosophers and writers of the 
 Pagans, taught that a solemn general judgment 
 of the dead was to decide their fate. Minos sat 
 on a throne, and shook the fatal urn. By his side 
 were the avenging furies, and a host of evil spirits, 
 executioners of the sentences of Minos. Eacus, 
 Rhadamante, and Triptolem, were his assistant 
 judges. 
 
OF A GENEKAL JUDGMENT. 207 
 
 Even now the Indians believe that Zomo will 
 judge the world; so the Japanese. The Lamas 
 ascribe this power to Erlik-kan. 
 
 At the sound of a trumpet the earth was to 
 deliver up her dead to be judged. It was to be 
 destroyed by fire after a great commotion of the 
 celestial spheres, and fears of the then living 
 mortals. 
 
 The souls, at the sound of a trumpet, assembled 
 in a vast meadow, adorned with asphodels, where 
 Minos sat on his throne. The dead were led to 
 his redoubtable tribunal by their respective guar- 
 dian angels, who had accompanied them during 
 their whole life ; watched over their conduct; and 
 had kept a record of all they had done, right or 
 wrong. This meadow, where the dead were to be 
 judged, was called the field of truth, because there 
 the whole truth about the past doings of the dead 
 - was made known, and no crime could escape the 
 knowledge and justice of the great judge. The 
 dead, once assembled, were divided into three 
 classes. The first class was composed of those 
 who had been virtuous on earth : they were the 
 smallest number. The second class was composed 
 of those who were giiilty of great crimes; and 
 the third class, of those who had been neither 
 virtuous nor great criminals. 
 
 This triple division, which we naturally find in 
 society, was taught by Plato in his Phoedo, a work 
 in which, writing about the judgment of the dead, 
 he divides them as said before. This same 
 
208 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 division we also find in Plutarch, treating the 
 same subject, and disserting, in his answer to the 
 Epicureans, about the state of the dead to be 
 judged. Minos used three books in judging the 
 dead ; the first was called book of life, it was used 
 for the righteous : the second was called book of 
 death ; it was used for the great criminals : the 
 third book was used for those who had been neither 
 righteous nor great criminals. The judge pro- 
 nounced the sentence only after the severest exam- 
 ination of the virtues and crimes of ever}'- one of 
 the dead ; and he afidxed a seal on their forehead 
 as he judged them. 
 
 Social laws and duties were the particular sub- 
 jects of his judgments. He amply rewarded 
 social virtues, and severely punished social vices. 
 Among the Greeks and the Romans, this great 
 priestly fiction was intended for the maintenance 
 of laws; for stimulating patriotism, national and 
 social virtues by the hope of the rewards of the 
 Elysium; and also to check crime and vice in 
 society, by the fear of terrible sufterings in the 
 Tartarus. Were sentenced to the Tartarus all 
 those who had conspired against the State, or 
 fostered a conspiration ; those who had been 
 bribed ; those who had delivered up a city to the 
 enemy; those who had provided the foes of the 
 country with weapons, vessels, provisions, etc.; 
 those who had contrived to enslave their fellow- 
 citizens, or had tyrannized over them, etc. This 
 last dogma had been added to the others by the 
 frefe States. 
 
OF A jgeneral judgment. 20i? 
 
 Afterwards, philosophy turned these fictioDS 
 against despotism itself, which had invented them. 
 l*lato placed in the Tartarus ferocious tyrants, 
 such as Ardiee of Pamphylia, who had murdered 
 his brother, his father, and had committed many 
 other crimes. The soul preserved after death all 
 her stains, and was sentenced accordingly. Plato 
 represented the souls of the kings, and of other 
 rulers, as being the most stained. Tantalus, Tity- 
 us, and Sisiphus, who had been kings, were the 
 greatest criminals, and endured in the Tartai-us the 
 most excruciating pains. However, kings did not 
 believe those fictions, and were not restrained 
 from oppressing the people. 
 
 Yirgil enumerates the principal crimes which 
 divine justice punished in the Tartarus. He 
 represents, here, a brother who from hatred has 
 slain his brother; a son who has ill-treated his 
 father; a man who has deceived his patrons; an 
 avaricious man, an egotist, and a selfish man ; 
 there, are seen an adulterer, an unfaithful servant, 
 and a citizen who either waged w^ar against his 
 fellow citizens, or sold his country for gold, or was 
 bribed for the enactment of unjust laws. Farther 
 are seen an incestuous father, and wives who have 
 murdered their husbands. 
 
 It is to be remarked that the authors, or origi- 
 nators of these fictions, pronounced pains only 
 against crimes which might have injured society^ 
 whose progress and happiness was one of the 
 great ends of the initiation to the mysteries of 
 Eleusis and others. 
 18 
 
210 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 In tlie Tartarus Minos punished the same crimes 
 which he would have punished on earth according 
 to the wise la^i s of the Cretenses, supposing that 
 he had in reahty reigned over them. If crimes 
 against rehgion were to be punished in the Tar- 
 tarus, it was because religion, being considered as 
 a duty, and as the principal bond of society, it 
 necessarily followed that irreligion was to be one 
 of the greatest crimes, which was to be avenged 
 by the gods. Hence the people were taught that 
 the great crime of many of the famous criminals, 
 tortured in the Tartarus, was their disrespect for 
 the mysteries of Eleusis; that the great crime of 
 Salmone was to have tried to imitate Jove's 
 thunder ; and that the great crime of Ixion, of 
 Orion, and of Tityus, was to have violated god- 
 desses. 
 
 The fiction of the Elysium was directed to the 
 same moral and political aim. Virgil places in 
 the Elysium the heroes who laid down their lives 
 for the defense of their country ; also the inven- 
 tors of arts, and all those who have been useful to 
 their fellow men, and have a title to their grati- 
 tude. It was to strengthen this idea that apoth- 
 eosis was instituted; hence it was taught in the 
 mysteries that Hercules, Bacchus, and the Dios- 
 cores were but men, who, by their virtues and 
 their services had obtained immortality. After- 
 wards the Romans placed Scipio in the Elysium. 
 Cicero ascribed a high station in the Elysium 
 to the true patriots ; to the friends of justice; to 
 good sons ; to good parents ; and to good citizens. 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 211 
 
 In the Elysium, as Plato described it, kindness 
 and j ustice were rewarded : there the true patriot, 
 the modest and just Aristides, had been admitted. 
 To this divine recompense piety, eagerness in 
 seeking for truth, and love to it, were the surest 
 titles. "When the dead had been judged those 
 who had been pronounced worthy of the Elysium 
 passed to the right hand side, and were led to the 
 Elysium, every one by his guardian angel. Those 
 who had been sentenced to the Tartarus passed to 
 the left hand side, and were dragged thereto, each 
 one by the evil genius that beguiled him while on 
 earth. Onward they were driven, carrying on 
 their back their sentence of condemnation, and 
 the enumeration of all their crimes. Those whose 
 vices were curable were to be released after due 
 expiation and reform. 
 
 According to Plato, the dead who have been 
 guilty of murder, sacrilege, and other enormous 
 crimes, shall be endlessly miserable in the Tartarus. 
 Those whose crimes have not been so great shall 
 be detained therein for a year ; and, at the expira- 
 tion of this time they will be brought out, near the 
 . marsh of Acheron, by the waters of the Oocyte, 
 and of the Pyriphlegeton rivers. Then they shall 
 humbly beg pardon from those they have wronged; 
 and, if they obtain it, they shall be released ; if not 
 they shall be taken back to the Tartarus on the 
 rivers. Yirgil also speaks of that state of expia- 
 tion and purification of the souls of the dead. 
 
 Therefore the Pagans held the doctrine of a 
 
212 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 general judgment of all the then living, and of all 
 the dead, which shall take place at the end of the 
 world. 
 
 2d. "We prove that there is a striking similarity 
 between the particularities of the doctrine of a 
 general judgment, as held by the Pagans, and the 
 doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the 
 Church of Rome. 
 
 The Pagans believed that, immediately 'before 
 the end of the world, there would be mighty and 
 frightful signs in the heavens ; and that the then 
 living mortals would be struck with terror: like- 
 wise the Church of Pome believes that, at the end 
 of the world, the columns of the heavens will be 
 shaken ; that the signs on high will be so frightful 
 that the then living men will be appalled : also 
 there will be famine, pestilence, war and murders 
 over the whole earth. The Pagans believed that, 
 at the sound of a trumpet, the earth would deliver 
 up her dead to be judged : likewise the Church of 
 Rome believes that four angels will sound a 
 trumpet; and that, when the four trumpets will 
 resound over the earth, all the dead, who had been 
 buried either in the sea or in the earth, will come 
 again to life to be judged. 
 
 The Pagans believed that geniuses would force 
 men to the place of judgment : likewise the 
 Church of Rome believes that angels will gather, 
 from the four cardinal points of the earth, the 
 multitude of men to the place of judgment. 
 The Pagans believed that men would be judged in 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 213 
 
 a meadow covered with astopliels : likewise the 
 Church of Rome believes that the general judg- 
 ment will take place in the valley of Josaphat. 
 The Pagans believed that, in the meadow, a throne 
 would be erected, on which Minos, the great 
 judge, would sit: likewise the Church of Rome 
 believes that Jesus Christ, the great judge, will 
 descend from heaven on clouds, and will sit on a 
 throne erected in the valley of Josaphat. The 
 Pagans believed that, near to the throne of Minos, 
 Eacus, Rhadamante and Triptolem, his assistant 
 judges, and good geniuses, or spirits, would stand: 
 likewise the Church of Rome believes, that, near 
 to the throne of Jesus Christ, good angels will 
 stand. 
 
 The Pagans believed that, near to the throne of 
 Minos, would stand avenging furies, and a host of 
 evil spirits, executioners of the sentences of Minos 
 against the wicked : likewise the Church of Rome 
 believes that there will be, at some distance from 
 the throne of Jesus Christ, a host of devils, 
 executioners of the sentences of Jesus Christ 
 against the wicked. The Pagans believed that 
 each man was led to the redoubtable tribunal of 
 Minos by the guardian spirit, who had accoi^pa- 
 nied him during his whole life on earth : likewise 
 the Church of Rome believes that each man will 
 be led to the redoubtable tribunal of Jesus Christ 
 by the guardian angel who has accompanied him 
 during his whole life on earth. 
 
 The Pagans believed that Miuos used three 
 
214 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 books in his judgments: the first called book of 
 life, for the righteous ; the second called book of 
 death, for the great criminals; and the third for 
 those who had been neither righteous nor great 
 criminals: likewise the Church of Rome believes 
 that Jesus Christ will use two books : the one 
 called book of life, for the righteous ; and the other 
 called book of death, for the wicked. 
 
 JRcmark. — The Church of Rome does not hold 
 that, at the general judgment, Jesus Christ will 
 use the third book ; but holds that, in the first 
 judgment, he uses it for those of the dead who 
 have been neither righteous nor great criminals, 
 and who thereby shall be sentenced to Purgatory, 
 which shall finish at the end of the world. Apro- 
 pos of this limitation of the duration of Purgator}', 
 we might cursorily say that this restriction has 
 been w^isely made by the far-sighted ministers of 
 the Church; for as, after the general judgment, 
 they would be no longer on earth, they could not 
 say masses and other prayers, for the deliverance 
 of the souls detained in Purgatory; and thus it 
 would be quite useless to make the torments of 
 Purgatory last any longer. 
 
 The Pagans believed that the guardian spirit of 
 each man, who had accompanied him through life, 
 and had kept a record of all his good and bad 
 actions, would testify to Minos in his. favor, or 
 against him : likewise the Church of Rome believes 
 that the guardian angel of each man, who has 
 accompanied him through life, and has kept a 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 215 
 
 record of all his good and bad actions, will testify 
 to Jesus Christ in his favor, or against him. The 
 Pagans called the meadow of the general j udgment, 
 the field of the truth : likewise the Church of Rome 
 calls the valley of Josaphat, the valley of the 
 truth. The Pagans believed that the crimes for 
 which Minos was to inflict the severest punishment 
 were those against religion, against its hierophants, 
 and against other ministers : likewise the Church 
 of Rome believes that the crimes for which Jesus 
 Christ is to inflict the severest punishment, are 
 those against the Church, against its Pope, against 
 its bishops and its priests. The Pagans believed 
 that the neglect or omission of lustrations, and 
 other practices and teachings of the priests, would 
 be severely punished by Minos : likewise the 
 Church of Rome believes that the neglect or omis- 
 sion of the practices, ceremonies, and other pre- 
 scriptions of the priests, will be severely punished 
 by Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Pagans believed that those found righteous 
 would be placed at the right hand side of Minos, 
 but the wicked at his left hand side : likewise the 
 Church of Rome believes that the righteous will 
 be placed at the right hand side of Jesus Christ, 
 but the wicked at his left hand side. The Pagans 
 believed that the righteous would be destined, by 
 Minos, to eternal bliss in the Elysium; but that 
 the wicked would be sentenced, by Minos, to end- 
 less misery in the Tartarus : likewise the Church 
 of Rome believes that the righteous will be des- 
 
216 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 tined, by Jesus Clirist, to eternal bliss in Paradise; 
 but that the wicked will be sentenced, by Jesus 
 Christ, to endless misery. The Pagans believed 
 that the wicked would carry on their back their 
 sentence of condemnation, and the enumeration of 
 all their crimes : likewise the Church of Rome be- 
 lieves that the wicked will carry on their back 
 their sentence of condemnation, and the enumera- 
 tion of all their crimes. 
 
 The Pagans believed that the guardian spirits 
 of the righteous would lead them to the the Elysi- 
 um: likewise the Church of Rome believes that 
 the angels of the Lord will lead them to heaven, 
 in a procession preceded by Jesus Christ. The 
 Pagans believed that Furies, and other evil spirits, 
 would drag the wicked to the Tartarus : likewise 
 the Church of Rome believes that the devils will 
 drive, with whips, the wicked to hell. The Pagans 
 believed that, after the general judgment, the earth 
 would be destroyed by fire : likewise the Church 
 of Rome believes that the earth will be destroyed 
 by fire, and that then will the world end. 
 
 Therefore there is a striking similarity between 
 the particularities of the doctrine of a general 
 judgment, as held by the Pagans, and the doctrine 
 of a general judgment as held by the Church of 
 Rome. 
 
 3d. "VVe prove that the Church of Rome did 
 not hold the doctrine of a general judgment from 
 the apostles of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 217 
 
 of a general judgment from the apostles of Jesus 
 Christ, 1st, If the Roman Catholic theologians did 
 not understand the 24th chapter of Matthew, and 
 the last sixteen verses of the 25th ; the 24th, 25th, 
 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark, 
 and also the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of 
 the 21st chapter in Luke, as meaning a general 
 judgment; 2d, If nearl}'' all the Christian sects, or 
 denominations, of the first and of the second cen- 
 turies, did not believe the doctrine of a general 
 judgment; and, 3d, If the doctrine of a general 
 judgment is irrational. 
 
 But, 1st, The Roman Catholic theologians did 
 not understand the 24th chapter of Matthew, and 
 the last sixteen verses of the 25th ; the 24th, 25th, 
 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; 
 and also the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of 
 the 21st chapter in Luke, as meaning a general 
 judgment; 2d, Nearly all the Christian sects, or 
 denominations, of the first and of the second cen- 
 turies, did not believe the doctrine of a general 
 judgment; and, 3d, The doctrijie of a general 
 judgment is irrational. 
 
 1st. "We prove that the Roman Catholic theo- 
 logians did not understand the 24th chapter of 
 Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the. 25th; 
 the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th 
 chapter in Mark; and also the 25th, 26th, 27th, 
 and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as 
 meaning a general judgment. 
 
 JRemark. — To save the reader the trouble of re- 
 19 
 
218 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ferring to Lis BiBle, we insert liere tlie above pas- 
 sages of the Gospel, wliich the Partiahsts suppose 
 to teach the doctrine of a general jndgiiient. 
 
 Matthew, chap. 24. — 1. "And Jesus went out, 
 and departed from the temple : and his disciples 
 came to him for to show him the buildings of the 
 temple. 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not 
 all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall 
 not be left here one stone upon another, that shall 
 not be thrown down. 
 
 3. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the 
 disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, 
 when shall these things be? and what shall be the 
 sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 
 4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take 
 heed that no man deceive you. 5. For many shall 
 come in my.name, saying, I am Christ; and shall 
 deceive many. 6. And ye shall hear of wars and 
 rumors of wars : see that ye be not troubled; for 
 all these things must come to pass, but the end is 
 not yet. 7. For nation shall rise against nation, 
 and kingdom against kingdom : and there shall be 
 famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers 
 places. 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. 
 9. 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. 10. And then shall 
 many be offended, and shall betray one another, 
 and shall hate one another. 11. And many false 
 prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12. 
 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 219 
 
 many shall wax cold. 13. But lie that shall en- 
 dure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14. 
 And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 
 in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and 
 then shall the end come. 15. When ye, therefore, 
 shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of 
 by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place ; 
 (whoso readeth, let him understand;) 16. Then 
 let them which be in Judea flee into the moun- 
 tains : 17. Let him which is on the housetop not 
 come down to take any thing out of his house : 
 18. Keither let him which is in the field return 
 back to take his clothes. 19. And wo unto them 
 that are with child, and to them that give suck in 
 those days ! 20. But pray ye that your flight be 
 not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day : 
 21. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was 
 not since the beginning of the world to this time, 
 no, nor ever shall be. 22. And except those days 
 should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: 
 but for, the elect's sake those days shall be short- 
 ened. 23. Then if any man sliall say unto you, 
 Lo, here is Christ, or there ; believe it not. 24. 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. 25. Behold, I have told you before. 26. 
 "Wlierefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he 
 is in the desert; go not forth : behold, he is in the 
 secret chambers ; believe it not. 27. For as the 
 lightning cometh out of the cast, and shineth even 
 
220 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son 
 of man be. 28. For wheresoever the carcass is, 
 there will the eagles be gathered together. 29. 
 Immediately after the tribulation of those days, 
 shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not 
 give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, 
 and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken : 
 80. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of 
 man in heaven : and then shall all the tribes of the 
 earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man 
 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and 
 great glory. 31. And he shall send his angels 
 with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
 gather together his elect from the four winds, from 
 one end of heaven to the other. 
 
 32. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When 
 his branch is yet tender, and puttetli forth leaves, 
 ye know that summer is nigh: 33. So likewise je, 
 when ye shall see all these things, know that it is 
 near, even at the doors. 34. Verily I say unto you, 
 This generation shall not pass, till all these things 
 be fulfilled. 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, 
 but my words shall not pass away. 36. But of 
 that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the 
 angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37. But 
 as the days of l^oah were, so shall also the coming 
 of the Son of man be. 38. For as in the da^'s that 
 were before the flood, they were eating and drink-, 
 ing, marrying and giving in marriage, until the 
 day that 'Noah entered into the ark, 39. And 
 knew not until the flood came, and took them all 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 221 
 
 away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man 
 be. 40. Then shall two be in the field ; the one 
 shall be taken and the other left. 41. Two women 
 shall he grinding at the mill ; the one shall be taken, 
 and the other left. 
 
 42. Watch therefore; for ye know not what 
 hour your Lord doth come. 43. But know this, 
 that if the good man of the house had known in 
 what watch the thief would come, he would liave 
 watched, and would not have suffered his house to 
 be broken up. 44. Therefore be ye also ready; 
 for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of 
 man cometh. 45. "Who then is a faithful and 
 wise servant, vrliom his lord hath made ruler over 
 his household, to gave them meat in due season? 
 46. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when 
 he cometh, shall find so doing. 47. Verily I say 
 unto you, That he shall make liim ruler over all 
 his goods. 48. But and if that evil servant shall 
 say in his heart. My lord delayeth his coming ; 
 49. And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, 
 and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50. The 
 lord of that servant shall come in a day when Ije 
 looketh not for hbn, and in an hour that he is not 
 aware of, 51. And shall cut him asunder, and 
 appoint him his portion with the hypocrites : there 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 Matthew, chapter 25. — 31. "When the Son of 
 man shall come in his' glory, and all the holy 
 angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne 
 of his glory : 32. And before him shall be gath- 
 
222 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ered all nations: and he shall separate them one 
 from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
 from the goats : 33. And he shall set the sheep 
 on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34. 
 Then shall the King say unto them on his right 
 hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for 3'ou from the foundation of 
 the world: 35. For I was a hungered, and ye 
 gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
 drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36. 
 Kaked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye 
 visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 
 37. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, 
 Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed 
 theef or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38. When 
 saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, 
 and clothed theef 39. Or when saw we thee sick, 
 or in prison, and come unto thee? 40. And the 
 King shall answer and say unto them. 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. 41. Then shall he say also unto them 
 on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into 
 everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
 angels : 42. For I was a hungered, and ye gave 
 me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no 
 drink : 43. I was a stranger, and ye took me not 
 in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in 
 prison, and ye visited me not. 44. Then shall 
 they also answer him, saying. Lord, when saw we 
 thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 223 
 
 or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 
 45. Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I 
 say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of 
 the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46. And 
 these shall go away into everlasting punishment; 
 but the righteous into life eternal." 
 
 Luke, chapter 21. — 25. "And there shall he 
 signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars ; 
 and upon the earth distress of nations, with per- 
 plexity ; the sea and the waves roaring; 26. Men's 
 hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after 
 those things which are coming on the earth : for 
 the powers of heaven shall he shaken. 27. And 
 then shall they see the Son of man coming in a 
 cloud, with power and great glory. 28. And 
 when these things begin to come to pass, then 
 look up, and lift up your heads ; for your redemp- 
 tion draweth nigh." 
 
 Mark, chapter 13. — 24. "But in those days, 
 after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, 
 and the moon shall not give her light. 25. And 
 the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that 
 are in heaven shall be shaken. 26. And then shall 
 they see the Son of man coming in the clouds 
 with great power and glory. 27. And then shall 
 he send his angels, and shall gather together his 
 elect from the four winds, from the uttermost 
 part of the earth to the uttermost parts of 
 heaven." 
 
 Berg-ier, one of the most classical of the Roman 
 Catholic theologians, says, in the first volume of 
 
224 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 his works, article Agnoetes, tliat, in tlie sixth 
 century, the theologians answered the Agnoetes 
 as follows: "In these texts, it is not a question of 
 the day of the general judgment, but of the day 
 when tTesus Christ was to come to punish the 
 Jewish nation by the sword of the liomans.'' 
 Then the Roman Catholic theologians did not 
 understand these texts as meaning a general judg- 
 ment. 
 
 ]Moreover, Bergier, writing against the Millen- 
 aries, says, article World: — "The disciples of 
 Christ, sometime before his resurrection, spake to 
 liim of the structure of the temple of Jerusalem, 
 Matthew, ch. 24, Mark, ch. 13, Luke, ch. 21. 
 Jesus Chn.st told them that it shall be destroyed; 
 and that not one of the stones will be left upou 
 the other. The disciples, surprised, asked him 
 when this shall take place; what will be the signs 
 of his coming, and of the end of the century. 
 Then there will be, he said, wars and seditions, 
 .jarthquakes, pests, and famines ; ye yourselves 
 will be persecuted and put to death; Jerusalem 
 will be surrounded with an army; the temple will 
 be polluted; false prophets will appear; there will 
 be signs in the heaven; the sun and the moon will 
 be darkened, and the stars will fall from the firma- 
 ment. Then the Son of man will be seen coming 
 in the clouds with great power and majesty ; his 
 angels will gather the elect from one end of the 
 world to the other, etc. He announces all this as 
 events to be witnessed by his apostles ; and he 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 225 
 
 adds: 'Verilj I say unto you, this generation 
 shall not i^ass, till all these things be fulfilled.' -.^ 
 
 " Is it a question of the end of the world in all 
 this? Opinions are divided on this point. Some 
 commentators think that, in these texts, Jesus 
 Christ simply prophesied the ruin of the religion, 
 republic, and nation of the Jews ; and that all the 
 circumstances were verified when the Romans 
 took and destroyed the nation ; that, however, a 
 few expressions ought not to be taken literally, 
 such as the fall of the stars, etc.; that Jesus Christ 
 has used the same style, and the same images 
 used by prophets, when they prophesied other 
 events. Consequently these commentators say 
 that these words of Jesus Christ, ' This genera- 
 tion shall not pass,' etc., signify, the Jews who 
 now live will not all be dead when these events 
 will take place. In fact, Jerusalem was taken and 
 ruined less than forty years after. In this opinion 
 it is not a question in these texts of the end of 
 the world. 
 
 "Other commentators believe that Jesus Christ 
 has joined the signs, which were to precede the 
 devastation of Judea, to those which will appear 
 at the end of the world, and before the general 
 judgment; that when he says: 'This generation 
 shall not pass,' etc., he means that the Jewish 
 nation will not be entirely destroyed, but will 
 subsist till the end of the world. It cannot be 
 denied that the word generation is used several 
 times in this sense in the Gospel." 
 
226 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 From, this passage of Bergiei* we draw the fol- 
 lowing argument : 
 
 Since the Roman Catholic theologians were, and 
 are, divided in regard to the meaning of the above 
 texts, it follows that the Church of Rome did not 
 rest her doctrine of a general judgment on the 
 above text. Therefore the Church of Rome did 
 not understand the above texts, namely, the 24th 
 chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of 
 the 25th :— the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of 
 the 13th chapter in Mark ; and also the 25th, 26th, 
 27th, and 28th verses of the 2l8t chapter in Luke, 
 as meaning a general judgment. 
 
 2d. We prove that nearly all the Christian 
 sects, or denominations, of the first and of the 
 second centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a 
 general judgment. 
 
 The Basilidiaus, the Valentinians, the Marciou- 
 ites, the Marcosians, the Theodotians, the Carpo- 
 cratians, the Docetes, the Tatianists, the Apellites, 
 the Montanists, the Artotyrites, the Ascites, the 
 Ascodrutes, the Ophites, the Cainites, and the 
 Ilermogenians believed in Metempsychosis, and 
 denied the resurrection of the body. From the 
 fact that these sects believed in Metempsj^chosis, 
 and denied the resurrection of the body, we argue: 
 
 The doctrine of a general judgment supposes 
 the resurrection of all the dead; but the above 
 sects denied the resurrection of the dead. There- 
 fore they denied also the doctrine of a general 
 judgment. Therefore nearly all the Christian 
 
OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 227 
 
 sects, or denominations, of the first and of the 
 second centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a 
 general judgment. 
 
 More, we might say all the Christian sects of the 
 first two centuries ; for, it was only at the end of 
 the second century, that the sect of the Millenaries, 
 who believed in a general judgment, sprung up ; 
 and, besides, history is silent about the belief of 
 the Church of Rome (which then was confined 
 within the boundaries of the Province of Rome,) 
 in regard to the doctrine of a general judgment. 
 
 3d. The doctrine of a general judgment is 
 irrational, because a first judgment, by Jesus 
 Christ, having taken place, a second one would be 
 useless. 
 
 4th. "We i^rove that the Church of Rome did 
 not hold the doctrine of a general judgment from 
 the Jews. 
 
 The Roman Catholic authors never pretended, 
 and still now do not pretend, that the Jews be- 
 lieved the doctrine of a general judgment. 
 
 Then the Church ■ of Rome did not hold the 
 doctrine of a general judgment from the Jews. 
 
 We draw the general conclusions of this 
 chapter : 
 
 It has been proved, 1st, That the Pagans held 
 the doctrine of a general judgment of all the then 
 living, and of all the dead, which shall take place 
 at the end of the world; 2d, That there is a 
 striking similarity between the particularities of 
 the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by 
 
228 PAGAN ORIGIN OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT. 
 
 the Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judg- 
 ment, as held by the Church of Rome ; od. That 
 the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of 
 a general judgment from the apostles of Jesus 
 Christ; and, 4th, That the Church of Rome did 
 not hold this doctrine from the Jews. 
 
 Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed the 
 doctrine of a general judgment from the Pagans. 
 
 Therefore the doctrine of a general judgment of 
 all the then living, and of all the dead, which shcdl 
 take place at the end of the world, is of Pagan origin. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PAGAN ORIGm OF THE DOCTRINE OF YICARIOU.S 
 ATONEMENT. 
 
 The doctrine of Yicavlous Atouemeut supposes 
 tlie dogma of a Personal Devil, the dogma of 
 Original Sin, the dogma of Trinity, and the 
 dogma of the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 As in four chapters of this work we have proved 
 that these four dos^mas are of Pa^ran oris^in, we 
 shall examine, in this chapter, the true origin of 
 the body itself of the doctrine of Vicarious Atone- 
 ment, which consists .in the belief that a small 
 number of privileged Christians obtain the for- 
 giveness of their sins, and are exempted from the 
 punishment of those sins through the medium of 
 a substitute. Our historical researches will also 
 lead us to the conclusion that it is of Pagan origin. 
 
 In the sixteenth century the Church of Pome 
 held, and still now holds, the doctrine that Jesus 
 Christ had washed away with his blood all the 
 past, present and future sins of the men who 
 would be within the pale of his only true Church, 
 which was herself, and also that he had exempted 
 them from the punishment of their sins. How- 
 
 (229) 
 
230 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 ever, they were to enjoy these two privileges only 
 on the condition that they would obey her pre- 
 scriptions. The Partialist Protestant Churches 
 rejected nearly all the prescriptions of the Churcli 
 of Rome ; rejected the doctrine that she was the 
 only true Church of Jesus Christ; but they pre- 
 served the substance of the doctrine, namely, that 
 Jesus Christ had washed away all the sins of 
 those who would feel the descent of the Holy 
 Spirit in their souls; who would experience a 
 supernatural change of heart, or, as they com- 
 monly term it, would get religion ; and also that 
 through his atonement they are exempted from 
 the punishment of their sins. 
 
 Consequently, the Partialist Protestant Churches, 
 as well as the Church of Pome, hold the doctrine 
 that a small number of privileged Christians ob- 
 tain the forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted 
 from the punishment of those sins through the 
 medium of a substitute. Then if it is proved that 
 the origin of the doctrine that a small number of 
 privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of 
 their sins, and are exempted from the punishment 
 of those sins, through the medium of a substitute — 
 as held by the Church of Pome — is Pagan, it will 
 thereby be proved that the doctrine that a small 
 number of privileged Christians obtain the for- 
 giveness of their sins, and are exempted from the 
 punishment of those sins, through the medium of 
 a substitute — as held by the Partialist Protestant 
 Churches — is also of Pagan oriij-in. 
 
OF VICARIOUa ATONEMENT. 231 
 
 In this chapter we shall prove that the origin 
 of the doctrine that a small number of privileged 
 Christians obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and 
 are exempted from the punishment of those sins 
 through the medium of a substitute — as held by 
 the Church of Rome — is Pagan. 
 
 It will be evident that the origin of the doctrine 
 that a small number of privileged Christians ob- 
 tain the forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted 
 from the punishment of their sins, through the 
 medium of a substitute — ^as held by the Church 
 of Rome — is Pagan, if it is proved, 1st, That 
 there is a striking similarity between the practices 
 required by the Church of Rome to obtain the 
 forgiveness of sins, and to be exempted from the 
 punishment of those sins, and those which were, 
 and still now are, required in the Pagan religion 
 for the same purpose ; and, 2d, That those prac- 
 tices were not instituted among Christians in the 
 first two centuries. But it can be proved, 1st, 
 That there is a striking similarity between the 
 practices required by the Church of Rome to 
 obtain the forgiveness of sins, and to be exempted 
 from the punishment of those sins, through the 
 medium of a substitute^ and those which were, and 
 still now are, required in the Pagan religion for 
 the same purpose; and, 2d, That those practices 
 were not instituted among Christians in the first 
 two centuries. 
 
 1st. We prove that there is a striking simi- 
 larity between the practices required by the 
 
2S2 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of sins, 
 and to be exempted from the punishment of those 
 sins, through the medium of a substitute, and those 
 which were, and still now are, required in the 
 Pagan religion- for the same purpose. 
 
 The Pagans, publicly and privately, used lustral 
 water, which, they thought, had the virtue of 
 purifying the soul, and of remitting the punish- 
 ment of certain impurities and sins. The Priests, 
 in solemn religious ceremonies, aspersed the assist- 
 ants with it ; and the people kept and used it in 
 their families. In the same manner, the Church of 
 Rome believes that holy water has the virtue of 
 purifying the soul, and of remitting the punish- 
 ment of certain impurities and sins. The Roman 
 Catholics use it publicly and privately. Every 
 Sunday, before the celebration of the high mass, 
 the priests asperse the people with holy water for 
 the aforesaid end ; and also pour it on the coffins 
 of the dead at the funerals. The laymen keep and 
 use it in their families for the same end. 
 
 These lustrations are practiced, even in our days, 
 by many of the Pagans. The Madegasses believe 
 that they can obtain the forgiveness of the punish- 
 ment of their sins in dipping a piece of gold in a 
 vessel full of water, and in drinking that water. 
 The Father Jesuit Bouchet, a missionary in India, 
 writes : " The Indians say that in bathing in certain 
 rivers sins are entirely remitted; and that their 
 mysterious waters wash not only the bodies, but 
 also purify the souls in an admirable manner." 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. 233 
 
 This testimony, Chateaubriand adds, is con- 
 firmed by the Memoirs of the English Society of 
 Calcutta. The waters of the Ganges are reputed 
 as having the greatest expiatory virtue: so the 
 Church of Kome holds that the baptismal waters 
 remit the original and all other sins, and exempt 
 those baptized from punishment. 
 
 The Pagans believed that certain ceremonies, 
 and their medals representing the gods, had an 
 expiatory virtue : so the Church of Rome holds 
 that genuflexions, the Agnus Dei, the beads, the 
 medals of the saints, and of the vii'gin Mary, 
 have an expiatory virtue. The Pagans believed 
 that certain prayers remitted certain sins and their 
 punishment; so the Church of Rome believes 
 that Kovenas, indulgences, the recitation of the 
 first chapter of the Gospel of John, etc., remit 
 venial sins, and their punishment. The Pagans 
 went in pilgrimage to chapels, where the prayers 
 of the priests, they thought, had an expiatory vir- 
 tue greater than in other temples ; this practice and 
 this belief have been preserved even by the Mahom- 
 edans. ISTow there are at the door of the Mosque 
 of All, at Mesched-Aly, dervishes, who, for money, 
 expiate with their prayers the sins of the pilgrims : 
 so the Church of Rome believes that the expiatory 
 virtue of the prayers made by priests, in certain 
 chapels of saints and of Mary, where multitudes 
 of pilgrims resort, is greater than that of the pray- 
 ers made in other temples. 
 
 In China, the invocation of Omyto is sufficient 
 20 
 
^84 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 to remit the punishment of the greatest crimes. 
 It is on account of it that the followers of the sect 
 of Fo repeat oftentimes, every day, the words, 0- 
 niyto-Fo! The Indians believed, and still believe, 
 that when a man expires in pronouncing the name 
 of God, and in holding, at the same time, the tail 
 of a cow, he immediately ascends to Paradise. 
 The Bramas never failed, and even do not now, to 
 read every morning the mysterious legend of Gos- 
 gendre-Mootsjam; because it is a dogma of the 
 Indian religion that any one who reads this legend 
 every morning, obtains the forgiveness of the 
 punishment of all his sins ; so the Church of Rome 
 holds that any one who recites the Augelus when 
 the bell rings, in the morning, at noon, and at sun 
 down, or recites the acts of faith, of hope, and of 
 charity, obtains the remittance of the punishment 
 of several of his venial sins; and, also, that any 
 one who regularly recites the prayers of Saint 
 Brigitte, or who, when he dies, recites with great 
 devotion the prayer Memorare o piissima, etc., 
 will go to Paradise. 
 
 Greece was flooded with rituals, ascribed to 
 Orpheus and to Museus, prescribing ceremonies, 
 rites, and practices, which had the virtue of puri- 
 fying the soul, and of exempting the sinners from 
 the punishment of their sins. The priests of the 
 Pagans persuaded entire towns, cities, and nations, 
 that they could be purified of their crimes, and be 
 exempted from the punishment, which the Deity 
 would inflict upon them, through the means of 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATOXEMEXT. 235 
 
 expiatory rites, of feasts, and of initiations. They 
 made the people believe that this purification, and 
 this exemption, could extend to the living and to 
 the dead, in what they called Teletes, or myste- 
 ries; and it was as a consequence of this belief 
 that the priests of Cybel, those of Isis, the Orphe- 
 otelestes and others, went among the people to 
 initiate them ; but on the condition that they 
 would pay to them large sums of money. This 
 traffic was practiced even by priestesses, and bad 
 women. Demosthenes informs us that the mother 
 of Eschine made a living by it, and also in prosti- 
 tuting her body. 
 
 Likewise, the Church of Rome is flooded with 
 rituals prescribing ceremonies, rites, and practices, 
 which have the virtue of purifying the soul, and 
 of exempting the sinners from the punishment of 
 their sins. The priests make towns, cities, and 
 nations believe that they can be purified of their 
 crimes, and be exempted of the punishment they 
 deserve, by fasting, by going processionally to 
 churches, or to chapels of saints and of the virgin 
 Mary. The priests, the monks, the begging-friars, 
 and even the nuns, go among the people ; they 
 pledge themselves to obtain the forgiveness of their 
 sins, and the exemption from divine punishment, 
 if the}" give them sums of money. 
 
 The priests of the Pagans offered expiatory 
 sacrifices for the living and for the dead for 
 money ; so, in the Church of Rome, the priests 
 offer the sacrifice of Mass for the expiation of the 
 
236 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 sins of tlie living and of the dead, if they are 
 well paid. The Pagans believed that the founda- 
 tion of temples, their endowment, and other gifts 
 presented to the gods and to their priests, had an. 
 expiatory virtue. Socrates portrayed the unjust 
 man in saying, that initiation to mysteries caused 
 them to despise the Tartarus with all its torments. 
 He made the following remark: "The apologist 
 of injustice says, they frighten us with the threat 
 of the pains of the Tartarus; but who ignores 
 that we find in the initiations a remedy to that 
 fear? They are a great resource to us ; and they 
 inform us that there are gods who exempt us from 
 the punishment deserved by crime. True, we have 
 committed injustice, but injustice has been pecu- 
 niarily profitable to us. We are told that the gods 
 are appeased by prayers, sacrifices, and ofierings." 
 Biache, one of the interlocutors in the Ezourve- 
 dam, said, that there is in the country called 
 Magouodechan, a sacred spot, where, through 
 some offerings, ancestors can be freed from the 
 tortures of hell. 
 
 Likewise, the Church of Rome holds that the 
 foundation of churches, of priest's houses, of mon- 
 asteries, of convents, and of nunneries, and their 
 endowment; or any other gift, presented to the 
 saints, bishops, priests, monks, and nuns have a 
 virtue so much the more expiatory for sins, as 
 they are greater and more valuable. It is owing 
 to this horrible doctrine, that the Church of 
 Rome has acquired so much church property that 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. 237 
 
 its evalution is beyoud any approximate calcula- 
 tion. The French poet, Boileau, spoke the truth 
 when, in his ninth satire, he said: 
 
 " Si Ton vient k chercher pour quel secret myst^re, 
 Alidor, k ses frais, batit un monastere . . . 
 O'est un homme d'honneur, de piete profonde, 
 Et qui veut reudre k Dieu ce qu'il a pris au 
 monde." 
 
 Translation: "If we wish to inquire for what 
 secret mystery Alidor, at his own expense, built a 
 monastery. . . . He is a man of honor, of pro- 
 found piety, and who wishes to i^estore to God 
 what he stole from the world." 
 
 The Pagans believed that in piously gazing 
 upon certain statues of the gods their souls were 
 purified; and that the punishment of their sins 
 was remitted ; so, even now, the Indians believe 
 that in simply gazing upon the shrub Toulouschi 
 they obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and obtain 
 the exemption from their punishment. Likewise 
 the Church of Rome holds, that, in gazing piously 
 upon the cross, the Catholics obtain the forgive- 
 ness of their venial sins, and the exemption from 
 their punishment. The ancient initiations of the 
 Pagans had tribunals of penance, where a priest,, 
 under the name of Koes, heard from the mouth 
 of the sinners themselves the avowal of their 
 sins, of which their souls were to be purified, and 
 from the punishment of which thoy wished to be 
 exempted. One day the famous Lysandre, con^ 
 
SSS PAGAN ORKilN 
 
 fessing his sins to one of those Koes, was asked 
 by him impudent questions. Lysandre answered 
 him with this question, " Do you address me those 
 questions in your own name, or in the name of the 
 Deity?" The Koes answered : " In the name of 
 the Deity." "Well," Lysandre rejoined, " let me 
 be; if God questions me, I will answer him." 
 Likewise the Church of Rome has tribunals of 
 penance, where priests hear from the mouth of 
 the sinnei'S themselves the avowal of their sins, of 
 which their souls are to be purified, and from the 
 punishment of which they wish to be exempted. 
 Through the absolution of the priests the greatest 
 sins, without any exemption, are remitted entirely, 
 so that they not only are forgiven, but even their 
 punishment. 
 
 Even the Church of Rome goes farther in regard 
 to the pretended virtue of her expiatory practi- 
 ces, than the Pagans ever went. Indeed, it was a 
 common thing among the Pagans to stigmatize 
 certain crimes, and to call them irremissible — 
 unexpiable. They excluded from the sanctua- 
 ries of Eleusis, the murderers, the traitors to 
 their country, in a word, all those who were guilty 
 of atrocious crimes; they were to be excluded 
 from the Elysium forever, and to be endlessly tor- 
 tured in the Tartarus. There were purifications 
 for murder, it is true, but only for involuntary or 
 necessary murder. When the ancient heroes had 
 committed a murder, they resorted to expiation; 
 after the sacrifices which were required, iustral 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. 239 
 
 water was poured on the murderous han-d ; from 
 tliat moment they were readmitted in society; 
 and they prepared themselves to new deeds of 
 bravery. Hercules resorted to expiation when he 
 had slain the Centaurs. But those sorts of expia- 
 tions did not purify the soul from all impurities 
 and crimes. 
 
 The great criminals had to dread all their life- 
 time the horrors of the Tartarus, or could not 
 expiate their crimes, except by constantly practi- 
 cing virtue, and constantly doing good to their 
 fellow men. The legal purifications were not con- 
 sidered as having the virtue of securing to all 
 criminals the hope of bliss, to which the righteous 
 were entitled. Kero did not dare present himself 
 to the temple of Eleusis; because he was debarred 
 from entering its sanctuary on account of his 
 atrocious crimes. 
 
 The famous Constantino I., to whom the Church 
 of Home is indebted for all her past and present 
 aggrandizement, wealth, and power; and whose 
 name has been, is, and shall always be, accursed 
 by nations, because of the rivers of blood, of the 
 deluge of ignorance, of superstition, in one word, 
 of the ocean of crimes against God, against Christ, 
 and against mankind, which the Church of Rome, 
 enabled by his protection, poured over the world : 
 Constantine, we say, guilty of all sorts of crimes; 
 his hands reeking with the blood of his own 
 mother, whom he had slain ; and with the blood 
 of the many, whom he had murdered ; and guilty 
 
2-10 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 of many perjuries, presented himself to the Pagan 
 priests to obtain the absolution of those atrocious 
 crimes, and the exemption from their punishment. 
 
 Constantine was answered, that, among the 
 various sorts of expiations, there was not one 
 which had the virtue of purifying his soul from 
 so many and so atrocious crimes, and of exempt- 
 ing him from the punishment they deserved ; and 
 that no religion had resources enough to appease 
 the justice of the irritated gods; and, let us mark: 
 Constantine was a mighty emperor. One of his 
 courtiers, seeing the trouble and agitation of his 
 soul, devoured by the restless and undying remorse, 
 told him that his sufferings were not hopeless; that 
 there were in the Church of Rome, purifications 
 which had the virtue of expiating all crimes, with- 
 out any exception, that this Church held, that 
 whoever joined it, whatever may be his crimes, 
 might hope that all his crimes will be forgiven by 
 the Deity, and that the exemption from their pun- 
 ishment will be obtained. 
 
 From that time Constantine took the Church 
 of Rome under his protection. He was a wicked 
 man who tried to deceive himself, and to appease 
 the remorse of his conscience. He gave then full 
 §cope to his flagitiousness; and he postponed being 
 baptized until the hour of his death, because it 
 was, as it is now, a dogma of the Church of 
 Rome, that baptism purifies the soul from the 
 original and all other sins and crimes, and that it 
 has also the virtue of exempting those baptized 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. 241 
 
 from the punishment of all their sins. Thus the 
 entry of the temple of Eleusis was interdicted to 
 ifero ; and yet the Church of Rome would have 
 admitted him within her pale ; would have puri- 
 fied his soul ; and would have exempted him from 
 the punishment of all his monstrous crimes, if he 
 had taken her under his protection. How abom- 
 inable a Church must be, when she deals so with 
 tyrants and monsters with a human face ! What ! 
 if ]!^ero had been a Roman Catholic and had pro- 
 tected the Church of Rome, she would have 
 canonized him ! "Why not? Constantine, as great 
 a criminal as he was, has been canonized. In the 
 ninth century his name was invoked at Rome in 
 the ceremonies of the Church, and even now he 
 is considered as a saint. 
 
 In England several churches have been built 
 under the invocation of this pretended Saint Con- 
 stantine, who founded at Constantinople a vast 
 and costly establishment of ill fame. Such are 
 the saints worshipped by the Church of Rome 
 when she obtains their protection. Christ, reason, 
 and nature, would never have absolved Kero from 
 his crimes, and from the punishment they deserved ; 
 and yet the Church of Rome would have done it. 
 Sophocles, in his -^dipe, says, that all the waters 
 of the Danube, and of the Phase, would have 
 been insufiicient to purify, from their crimes, the 
 souls of the family of Laius ; and yet the Church 
 of Rome would have done it. How truly the 
 Arab poet Abu-Naovas exclaimed: "Lord, we 
 21 
 
242 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 have indulged to sin and to crime, because we saw 
 tliat forgiveness soon followed them." 
 
 Therefore there is a striking similarity between 
 the practices required by the Church of Rome, to 
 obtain the forgiveness of sins, and to be exempted 
 from the punishment of those sins, through the 
 medium of a substitute, and those which were 
 required in the Pagan religion for the same pur- 
 pose. ' 
 
 2. We prove that the practices required by the 
 Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of sins, 
 and to be exempted from the punishment of those 
 Bins, through the medium of a substitute, were not 
 instituted among Christians i-n the first two cen- 
 turies. 
 
 The Roman Catholic theologians do not pretend 
 that the Christians of the first two centuries held 
 those practices, nor that the Church of Rome her- 
 self held them; but they say that the Church of 
 Rome established them successively, as the good 
 of Christians required it, according to the power 
 of government and infallibility granted to her, 
 and to her alone, by Jesus Christ. 
 
 Consequently, the practices required by the 
 Church of Rome, to obtain the forgiveness of sins, 
 and to be exempted from the punishment of those 
 sins, were not instituted among Christians in the 
 first two centuries. 
 
 "We draw the general conclusions of this chap- 
 ter: 
 
 It has been proved that there is a striking simi- 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATONExMENT. 243 
 
 larity between the practices required by the Church 
 of Rome to obtain the forgiveness of sins, and to 
 be exempted from the punishment of those sins, 
 and those which were, and still now are, required 
 in the Pagan religion for the same purpose; aud 
 that those practices were not instituted among 
 Christians in the first two centuries. 
 
 Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed from 
 the Pagans the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement, 
 namely, that a small number of privileged Chris- 
 tians obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and are 
 exempted from the punishment of their sins, 
 through the medium of a substitute. 
 
 Since, though the other Partialist Christian 
 Churches rejected the most of the practices used 
 by the Church of Rome to obtain the forgiveness 
 of sins, and the exemption from the punishment 
 of those sins, they preserved the substance of the 
 doctrine, namely, that Jesus Christ had washed 
 away, or, in other words, atoned for all the sins of 
 those who would feel the descent of the Holy 
 Spirit in their souls ; who would experience a su- 
 pernatural change of heart, or, as they commonly 
 term it, would get religion ; and also that through 
 his atonement they were exempted from the pun- 
 ishment of their sins — the doctrine which they hold 
 is nothing but the very doctrine, though modified 
 in its circumstances, of the Church of Rome. 
 Therefore its origin is the same. But it has been 
 proved that the Church of Rome borrowed from 
 the Pagans, the doctrine that a small number of 
 
244 PAGAN ORIGIN 
 
 privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of 
 their sins, and are exempted from the punishment 
 of those sins, through the medium of a substitute 
 — as she holds it. Therefore it is thereby proved, 
 that the other Partialist Christian Churches truly- 
 borrowed, from the Pagans, though through the 
 medium of the Church of Rome, the doctrine that 
 a small number of privileged Christians obtain the 
 forgiveness of their sins, and are exempted from 
 the punishment of those sins, through the medium 
 of a substitute — as she holds it. 
 
 Therefore the doctrine that a small number of 
 privileged Christians obtain the forgiveness of their 
 sins, and are exempted from the punishment of 
 those sins, through the medium of a substitute, is 
 of Pagan origin. And as, on another hand, it has 
 been proved, in four other chapters of this work, 
 that the doctrine of a Personal Devil, the doctrine 
 of Original Sin, the doctrine of Trinity, and the 
 doctrine of the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ, 
 are of Pagan origin — then we logically draw the 
 conclusion that all the characteristics of the doc- 
 trine of Vicarious Atonement are of Pagan origin. 
 Since all the characteristics of the doctrine of Vi- 
 carious Atonement are of Pagan origin, then the 
 body itself of the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement 
 is of Pagan origin. 
 
 Therefore the doctrine of Vicarious Atonement is 
 of Pagan origin. 
 
OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. 245 
 
 conclusion of all the chapters. 
 Theej:fore Partialist Doctrines are of Pagan 
 
 ORIGIN. 
 
 Corollary. — Since the Partialist doctriues are of 
 Pagan origin they are not taught in the Scriptures, 
 for the Scriptures do not reveal Paganism. Con- 
 sequently they ought to be rejected from Christian 
 Churches, as being Heathen doctrines. 
 
246 VALEDICTORY. 
 
 Valedictory. 
 
 Dear Header, — Before I drop the pen permit me 
 to address to you a few valedictory words. If you 
 believe the Impartialist, namely, Universalist doc- 
 trines, you are now in possession of an irrefutable 
 historical proof corroborating your beloved faith, 
 which is satisfactory to your mind, and sweet to 
 your heart. If from your infancy up to this day 
 you have been taught, and have believed, the Par- 
 tialist doctrines, perhaps you say to yourself: My 
 religious creed is now shaken to its very founda- 
 tion ; what then will my religious belief be, for the 
 want of religious principles is the most earnest 
 longing of my soul? Friend, study the Impartial- 
 ist, namely, Universalist doctrines ; compare thcui 
 with the teaching of the Scriptures, and you will 
 find them recorded therein. They truly are the 
 embodiment of the teaching of the Scriptures, 
 which are themselves embodied in these two vital 
 maxims of Jesus Christ, written in golden letters 
 on the Universalist banner : " Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy mind. — This is the first and 
 great commandment. And the second is like unto 
 it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. — On 
 these two commandments hang all the law and 
 the prophets."