^*v of niH ^l^OO/CAt SE^ BL 441 .W14 1888 Wake, C. Staniland 1835- 1910. Serpent-worship SEKPENT-WOKSHIP, AND OTHER ESSAYS WITH A CHATTER ON TOTEMISM C. ST ANIL AND WAKE LONDON GEOEGE RED WAY YORK STREET COYENT GARDEN 1888. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. Rivers of Life 1 CHAPTER II. Phallism in Ancient Religions .... 8 CHAPTER III. The Origin of Serpent-Worship .... 81 CHAPTER IV. The Adamites ........ 107 CHAPTER V. The Descendants of Cain ...... 128 CHAPTER VI. Sacred Prostitution ....... 149 CHAPTER VII. Marriage among Primitive Peoples .... 165 CHAPTER VIII. Marriage by Capture ....... 180 iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. PAGE. Development of the "Family" 192 CHAPTER X. The Social Position op Woman as affected by "Civilisation" 219 CHAPTER XI. Spiritism and Modern Spiritualism. . . . 233 CHAPTER XII. Totems and Totemism ....... 247 CHAPTER XIII. Man and the Ape 278 CHAPTER I. RIVERS OF LIFE. The lines of development of the religious faiths of mankind have been aptly termed by Major-General Forlong " Rivers of Life." The streams of faiths are marvellously depicted by this writer in a chart which shows "the rise and fall of the various religious ideas, mythologies, and rites which have at any time prevailed among nations." This chart ingeniously shows, more- over, " the degrees of intensity manifested at stated periods by any particular wave of doctrine or worship, and the mode in which the tributary streams of mytho- logical or theological thought become in turn absorbed in the central River of Life." The views adopted by General Forlong have much in common with those embodied in the works of Godfrey Higgins and some later writers, but they have a special value as being based on personal observation. The author of " Rivers of Life" had the inestimable advantage of being ad- mitted to shrines and of receiving instructions in sacred mysteries which are generally closed to European inquirers, and of having made " a diligent exploration of ruined temples, pillars, and mounds, and all such traces of a primitive symbolism, which lie scattered over the East and West, as religious fossils underlying the superficial crust of theological strata." B 2 RIVERS OF LIFE. Rivers of religious life have a beginning, like other streams, and what are the sources to which man's primitive faiths maybe traced? The early "symbolic objects of man's adoration" are arranged by General Forlong in the following order : First, Tree ; 2nd, Phallic ; 3rd, Serpent ; 4th, Fire ; 5th, Sun ; 6th, Ancestral. The first "breathings of the human soul" were manifested under the sacred tree or grove, whose refreshing shade is so highly valued in the East. All nations, particularly the Aryan peoples, have con- sidered tree-planting a sacred duty, and the grove was man's first temple, " and became a sanctuary, asylum, or place of refuge, and as time passed on, temples came to be built in the sacred groves." If tree-worship had such an origin as this, its origin ought to be shown in the ideas associated with it. What, then, are those ideas? General Forlong, after referring to Dr. Fer- gusson's statement that the tree and serpent are symbolised in every religious system which the world has known, says that the two together are typical of the reproductive powers of vegetable and animal life. The connection between tree and serpent-worship is often so intimate that we may expect one to throw light on the other. The Aryans generally may be called " tree-worshippers," and according to Fergusson they as a rule destroyed serpents and serpent-wor- shipping races. Yet at Athens and near Rome both those faiths flourished together, as they appear to have done also in many parts of Western Asia. They are intimately associated with religious notions of many Buddhist peoples. This is shown curiously in the early legends of Kambodia. These are said by General RIVERS OF LIFE. Forlong to present two striking features. First, a holy tree, which the kingly race, who came to this serpent country, reposed under, or descended from heaven by ; secondly, that this tree-loving race are cap- tivated by the dragon princess of the land. It is the serpent king, however, who builds the city of Nakon Thorn for his daughter and her stranger husband. It is not improbable that Buddhism originated among a people who were both tree and serpent-worshippers, although the former became more intimately and at an earlier period associated with its founder. Let us now see what ideas are symbolised by the serpent. We are told that he is " an emblem of the Sun, Time, Kronos, and Eternity." The serpent was, indeed, the Sun-God, or spirit of the sun, and therefore Power, Wisdom, Light, and a fit type of creation and generative power. Dr. Donaldson came to the con- clusion that the serpent has always a Phallic signifi- cance, a remark which exactly accords with General Forlong's experience, "founded simply upon close observation in Eastern lands, and conclusions drawn by himself, unaided by books or teachers, from thou- sands of stories and conversations with Eastern priests and people." The testimony of a competent and honest observer is all important, and we must believe when we are told that the serpent, or the constant early attendant on the Lingam, is the special symbol which veils the actual God. The same may be said, indeed, of Tree Worship, and as tree-worship and serpent-worship embrace the Phallic faith, the first three streams of faiths are represented by them. It is evident, however, that Phallic ideas are at the 4 RIVERS OF LIFE. foundation of both tree and serpent-worship, and the Phallic stream of faith should be given the first place as the actual source of the Rivers of Life. General Forlong does, indeed, affirm that Phallic worship enters so closely into union with all faiths to the present hour that it is impossible to keep it out of view. We can well understand how this should be as to the tree, serpent, and solar cults, but it is not so evident at first sight in relation to fire-worship. If fire was, however, regarded as the servant of Siva, and all creating gods, there is no difficulty in accepting the position. The object of the worship offered to the sacred fire is con- sistent with that view. Thus Greeks, Romans, and Hindoos " besought Agni by fervent prayers for in- crease of flocks and families, for happy lives and serene old age, for wisdom and pardon from sin." General Forlong appears to see in the worship of fire essen- tially a household faith, and this was undoubtedly so if his explanation of the Lares and Penates is correct. These symbols represented " the past vital fire or energy of the tribe, as the patriarch, his stalwart sons and daughters did that of the present living fire the sacred hearth." General Forlong states, indeed, that every- thing relating to blood used to be connected with fire, and he supposed, therefore, that agnatio may have been illation by fire, for the agnati can only be those of the fire or father's side. If the father derived his authority in the household from the sacred hearth-fire, we can understand why General Forlong has assigned to ancestor- worship the last place in his scheme. He says, moreover, that ancestor- worship is ' : a development and sequence of RIVERS OF LIFE. that idiosyncracy of man which has led him to worship and deify even the living — that which, according to the teaching of Euemerus, accounts for all the mytho- logical tales of the gods and god-like men of Greece." The ancestor was worshipped in the great chief, the Father of Fathers, each of whom was worshipped in the Dii Gentiles of his own class, and this not only during the comparatively modern Roman sway, but during the ages of serpent, fire, and solar faiths. In the still earlier faiths he was represented in the rude pillar, as well as in the little Lares and Penates of the hearths. In this case, however, ancestor-worship would seem to be entitled to stand on the same level as tree-worship and serpent-worship as a phase of the Phallic faith. In fact, it is in a sense identified with serpent-worship. General Forlong' remarks that among the Greeks and Romans " the ancestor came to be honoured and wor- shipped only as the Generator, and so also the serpent as his symbol." This agrees with the conclusion I have elsewhere endeavoured to establish, that the serpent is really regarded as the representative of the ancestor, in which case ancestor-worship is a very primitive faith, although, in a specialised form, it may possibly, as asserted by General Forlong, come later than fire- worship. It can hardly now be doubted that the same ideas underlie all the early faiths. This view is entertained by General Forlong, who says : "So imperceptibly arose the serpent on pure Phallic faiths, fire on these, and sun on all, and so intimately did all blend with one another, that even in the ages of true history it was often impossible to descry the exact God alluded to." 6 RIVERS OF LIFE. The foundations of all those faiths, and of ancestor- worship as allied to them, must therefore be sought in the ideas entertained by mankind in the earliest times, " when the races lived untaught, herded with their cattle, and had as their sole object in life the multipli- cation of these and of themselves." The question arises, however, whether the simple faith which man then entertained was the earliest he had evolved. General Foiiong answers this question in the negative, for he says, then referring to the serpent Buddhism of Karnbodia, that " Fetish worship was the first worship, and to a great extent is still the real faith of the ignorant, especially about these parts." He finds that nearly one quarter of the world yet deifies, or at least reverences, sticks and stones, rams' horns and charms, a practice not unknown even to later faiths. The fundamental belief which furnishes the key to those phenomena, as well as to the animal-worship which is so closely associated with one or other of the great faith streams, should not be lost sight of. Jacob Grimm pointed out, in his "Teutonic Mythology," 1 that all nature was thought of by the heathen Germans as living. Gods and men transformed themselves into trees, plants, or beasts ; spirits and elements attained animal forms ; and therefore we cannot wonder at the heavenly bodies, and even day and night, summer and winter, being actually personified. These ideas lend themselves as well to fetishism as to sun-worship, and all the ancient faiths alike may justly, therefore, be regarded as phases of one universal nature-worship. Mankind prays only for that which is thought good, 1 Eug. Trans., vol. ii., p. 64>7. RIVERS OF LIFE. and if one man seeks to obtain his desire through the agency of a stick or a stone, and another through a serpent or planetary god, the difference between them is purely objective. The prayers which were offered to the Vedic gods would be equally appropriate in the mouth of a native of Western Africa. They had relation simply to temporal needs, and were, says Mr. Talboys Wheeler, 1 for plenty of rain, abundant harvests, and prolific cattle, for bodily vigour, long life, numerous offspring, and protection against all foes and robbers. Moreover, the observances of the more advanced faiths have little practical difference from the fetishist. All alike have for their object the com- pelling the good countenance, or counteracting the evil designs, of the gods or spirits, and the real difference is to be sought in the symbols under which they are represented. Thus the Vedic Aryans regarded their deified abstractions as personified with human wants, and invoked them with rites which " may have formed an accompaniment to every meal, and may have been regarded al most as a part of the cooking. " Mr. Wh eeler adds 2 that "Sometimes a deity is supposed to be attracted by the grateful sound of the stone and mortar by which the soma juice was expressed from the plant, or by the musical noise of the churning sticks by which the wine was apparently stirred up and mixed with curds ; and the eager invokers implore the god not to turn aside to the dwelling of any other worshipper, but to come to them only, and drink the libation which they had prepared, and reserve for them all his favours and benefits." 1 " The History of India," vol. i., p. 8. 2 Ditto, p. 13. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. CHAPTER II. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. . Dr. Faber, when treating of the ancient mysteries in opposition to Bishop Warburton's views of their original purity, says : " Long before the time of Apuleius, whom he (Warburton) would describe as quitting the impure orgies of the Syrian Goddess for the blameless initiations of Isis, did the Phallic pro- cessions, if we may credit Herodotus and Diodorus, form a most conspicuous and essential part, not only of the mysteries in general, but of these identical Isiac or Osiric mysteries in particular. Nor is there any reason to doubt their accuracy on this point. The same detestable rites prevailed in Palestine among the votaries of Siton, or Adonis, or Baal-Peor, long before the exodus of Israel from Egypt. The same also, anterior at least to the days of Herodotus, in Baby- lonia, Cyprus, and Lydia. The same likewise from the most remote antiquity in the mountains of Armenia, among the worshippers of the great mother Anais ; and the same, from the very first institution of their theological system, as we may fairly argue from the uniform general establishment of this peculiar superstition, among the Celtic Druids both of Britain and of Ireland. Nor do we find such orgies less pre- valent in Hindostan. Every part of the theology of that country . . . . is inseparably blended with them, PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 9 and replete with allusions to their fictitious origin." 1 It will not be necessary for me to give details of the rites by which the Phallic superstition is distinguished, as they may be found in the works of Dulaure, 2 Richard Payne Knight, 3 and many other writers. I shall refer to them, therefore, only so far as may be required for the due understanding of the subject to be considered, the influence of the Phallic idea in the reli- gions of antiquity. The first step in the inquiry is to ascertain the origin of the superstition in question. Faber ingeniously referred to a primitive universal belief in a Great Father, the curious connection seen to exist be- tween nearly all non-Christian mythologies, and he saw in Phallic worship a degradation of this belief. Such an explanation as this, however, is not satisfactory, since not only does it require the assumption of a primitive divine revelation, but proof is still wanting that all peoples have, or ever had, any such notion of a great parent of mankind as that supposed to have been revealed. And yet there is a valuable germ of truth in this hypothesis. The Phallic superstition is founded essentially in the family idea. Captain Richard Burton recognised this truth when he asserted that " amongst all barbarians whose primal want is progeny, we observe a greater or less development of the Phallic worship." 4 This view, however, is imperfect. 1 " Origin of Pagan Idolatry," vol. iii., p. 117. 2 " Histoire abregee de differens Cultes," vol. ii. 3 "A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus." 4 " Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London," vol. i., p. 320. 10 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. There must have been something more than a mere desire for progeny to lead primitive man to view the generative process with the peculiar feelings embodied in this superstition. We are, in fact, here taken to the root of all religions — awe at the mysterious and unknown. That which the uncultured mind cannot understand is viewed with dread or veneration, as it may be, and the object presenting the mysterious phenomenon may itself be worshipped as a fetish or the residence of a presiding spirit. But there is nothing more mysterious than the phenomena of generation, and nothing more important than the final result of the generative act. Reflection on this result would naturally cause that which led to it to be invested with a certain degree of superstitious signifi- cance. The feeling generated would have a double object, as it had a double origin— wonder at the phe- nomenon itself and a perception of the value of its consequences. The former, which is the most simple, would lead to a veneration for the organs whose operation conduced to the phenomena, hence the superstitious practices connected with the phallus and the yoni among primitive peoples. In this, moreover, we have the explanation of numerous curious facts observed among Eastern nations. Such is the respect shown by women for the generative organ of der- vishes and fakirs. Such also is the Semitic custom referred to in the Hebrew Scriptures as the putting of the hand under the thigh, which is explained by the Talmudists to be the touching of that part of the body which is sealed and made holy by circumcision ; a custom which was, up to a recent date, still in use PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 11 among the Arabs as the most solemn guarantee of truthfulness. 1 The second phase of the Phallic superstition is that which arises from a perception of the value of the consequences of the act of generation. The distinc- tion between this and the preceding phase is that, while the one has relation to the organs engaged, the other refers more particularly to the chief agent. Thus the father of the family is venerated as the generator, and his authority is founded altogether on the act and consequences of generation. We thus see the fundamental importance, as well as the Phallic origin, of the family idea. From this has sprung the social organisation of all primitive peoples. An in- stance in point may be derived from Mr. Hunter's account of the Santals of Bengal. He says that the classification of this interesting people among them- selves depends "not upon social rank or occupation, but upon the family basis." This is shown by the character of the six great ceremonies in a Santal's life, which are, " admission into the family ; admission into the tribe ; admission into the race ; union of his own tribe with another by marriage ; formal dismission from the living race by incremation ; lastly, a re- union with the departed fathers." 2 We may judge from this of the character of certain customs which are widespread among primitive peoples, and the Phallic origin of which has long since been lost sight of. The value set on the results of the generative act would naturally make the arrival at the age of puberty 1 Dulaure, op. cit., vol. ii., 219. 2 " Kural Bengal," p. 203. 12 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. an event of peculiar significance. Hence we find various ceremonies performed among primitive, and even among civilised peoples, at this period of life. Often when the youth arrives at manhood other rites are performed to mark the significance of the event. Marriage, too, derives an importance which it would not otherwise possess. Thus, among many peoples, it is attended with certain ceremonies denoting its object, or at least marking it as an event of peculiar significance in the life of the individual or even in the history of the tribe. The marriage ceremonial is especially fitted for the use of Phallic rites or sym- bolism, the former among semi-civilised peoples often being simply the act of consummation itself, which appears to be looked on as part of the ceremony. The symbolism we have ourselves retained to the pre- sent day in the wedding-ring, which had undoubtedly a Phallic origin, if, as appears probable, it originated in the Samothracian mysteries. 1 Nor does the in- fluence of the Phallic idea end with life. The vene- ration entertained for the father of the family, as the " generator," led in time to peculiar care being taken of the bodies of the dead, and finally to the worship of ancestors, which, under one form or another, dis- tinguished all the civilised nations of antiquity, as it does even now most of the peoples of the heathen world. There is one Phallic rite which, from its wide range, is of peculiar importance. I refer to circumcision. The origin of this custom has not yet, so far as I am 1 Ennemoser's " History of Magic" (Bohn), vol. ii., p. 33. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 13 aware, been satisfactorily explained. The idea that, under certain climatic conditions, circumcision is necessary for cleanliness and comfort, 1 does not appear to be well founded, as the custom is not universal, even within the tropics. Nor is the reason given by Captain Richard Burton, in his " Notes connected with the Dahoman," for both circumcision and exci- sion, perfectly satisfactory. The real origin of these customs has been forgotten by all peoples practising them, and therefore they have ceased to have their primitive significance. That circumcision at least had a superstitious origin may be inferred from the traditional history of the Jews. The old Hebrew writers, persistent in their idea that they were a peculiar people, chosen by God for a special purpose, asserted that this rite was instituted by Jehovah as a sign of the covenant between Him and Abraham. Although we cannot doubt that this rite was practised by the Egyptians and Phoenicians 2 long before the birth of Abraham, yet two points connected with the Hebrew tradition are noticeable. These are, the religious significance of the act of circumcision — it is the sign of a covenant between God and man — and its performance by the head of the family. These two things are indeed intimately connected ; since, in the patriarchal age, the father was always the priest of the family, the officer of the sacrifices. We have it on the authority of the Veda that this was the case 1 Dr. Fernand Castelain, in his work, " La Circoncision est- elle utile?" comes to the conclusion (p. 14) that it is both hygienic and moral. The value of circumcision may be admitted, without ascribing its origin to a sanitary motive. 2 Herodotus, " Euterpe," sec. 104. 14 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS** also among the primitive Aryan people. 1 Abraham, therefore, as the father and priest of the family, per- formed the religious ceremony of circumcision on the males of his household. Circumcision, in its inception, is a purely Phallic rite, 2 having for its aim the marking of that which from its associations is viewed with peculiar venera- tion, and it connects the two phases of this superstition, which have for their objects respectively the instrument of generation and the agent. We are thus brought back to the consideration of the simplest form of Phallic worship, that which has for its object the generative organs, viewed as the mysterious instruments in the realisation of that keen desire for children which distinguishes all primitive peoples. This feeling is so nearly universal that it is a matter of surprise to find the act by which it is expressed stigmatised as sjnful. Yet such is the case, although the incidents in which the fact is embodied are so veiled in figure that their true meaning has long been forgotten. Clemens Alexandrinus tells us that " the bacchanals hold their oro-ies in honour of the frenzied Bacchus, celebrating their sacred frenzy by the eating of raw flesh, and go through the distribution of the parts of butchered victims, crowned with snakes, shrieking out the name 1 De Coulanges, " La Cite antique," 6th ed., pp. 36, 100. 2 M. Elie Eeclus, in a remarkable paper presented in 1879 to the Anthropological Institute, affirms (p. 16, et seq.) that circum- cision is derived from the custom of emasculation practised on captives, which is equivalent to death, and that it is a substitute for human sacrifices. He admits, however (p. 32), that, among the Semites at least, circumcision was a " consecration of the sexual organ to a Phallic divinity." PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 15 of that Eva by whom error came into the world." He adds that " the symbol of the Bacchic orgies is a consecrated serpent," and that, " according to the strict interpretation of the Hebrew term, the name Hevia, aspirated, signifies & female serpent."^ We have here a reference to the supposed fall of man from pristine " innocence," Eve and the serpent being very significantly introduced in close conjunction, and indeed becoming in some sense identified with each other. In fact, the Arabic word for serpent, hayyat, may be said also to mean "life," and in this sense the legendary, first human mother is called Eve or Chevvah, in Arabic haivwa. In its relations, as an asserted fact, the question of the fall has an important bearing on the subject before us. Quite irrespective of the im- possibility of accepting the Mosaic Cosmogony as a divinely-inspired account of the origin of the world . and man — a cosmogony which, with those of all other Semitic peoples, has a purely "Phallic" basis 2 — the whole transaction said to have taken place in the Garden of Eden is fraught with difficulties on the received interpretation. The very idea on which it is founded — the placing by God in the way of Eve of a temptation which he knew she could not resist — is sufficient to throw discredit on the ordinary reading of the narrative. The effect, indeed, that was to follow the eating of the forbidden fruit appears to an ordinary mind to furnish the most praiseworthy motive 1 " Ante-Nicene Christian Library," vol. iv. (Clement of Alexandria), p. 27. 2 The Hebrew word bara translated " created" can be used in a different sense. 16 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. for not obeying the commandment to abstain. That the " eating of the forbidden fruit" was simply a figura- tive mode of expressing the performance of the act necessary to the perpetuation of the human race — an act which in its origin was thought to be the source of all evil — is evident from the consequences which followed and from the curse entailed. 1 As to the curse inflicted on Eve, it has always been a stumbling block in the way of commentators. For what con- nection is there between the eating of a fruit and sorrow in bringing forth children ? The meaning is evident, however, when we know that conception and child-bearing were the direct consequences of the act forbidden. How far this meaning was intended by the compiler of the Mosaic books we shall see further on. The central feature of the Mosaic legend of the "fall" is the reference to the tree of knowledge or wisdom. It is now generally supposed that the for- bidden fruit was a kind of citrus? but certain facts connected with aborolatry clearly show this opinion to be erroneous. Among peoples in the most opposite regions of the world various species of the fig-tree are considered sacred. In almost every part of Africa the banyan is viewed with a special veneration. Livingstone noticed this among the tribes on the Zam- besi and the Shire, 3 and he says that the banyan is looked upon with veneration all the way from the 1 " Jashar," by Dr. Donaldson, 2nd ed. (1860), p. 45, et seq. 2 Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible"— Art., " Apple-tree." Inman's " Ancient Faiths," vol. i., p. 274. 3 " Zambesi and its Tribes," p. 188. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 17 Barotse to Loanda, and thought to be a preservative from evil. 1 Du Chaillu states that in almost every Ishogo and Ashango village he visited in Western Equatorial Africa there was a large ficus " standing about the middle of the main street, and near the mbuiti or idol-house of the village." The tree is sacred, and if it dies the village is at once abandoned. 2 Captain Tuckey found the same thing on the Congo, where he says the ficus religiosa is considered sacred. 3 Again, according to Caillie, at Mouriosso, in Western Central Africa, the market was held under a tree, which, from his description, must have been the banyan, and he noticed the same thing in other towns. 4 It is evident from Dr. Barth's "Travels in Central Africa," that superstitious regard for certain trees is found throughout the whole of the region he traversed, and among some tribes the fig-tree occupies this position. Thus, he says, " the sacred grove of the village of Isge was formed by magnificent trees, mostly of the ficus tribe." 5 Nor is this superstition unknown among other dark races of the Southern Hemisphere. A species of the fig-tree is planted by the New Zealanders close to the temples of their gods. The superstition is traceable, according to Mr. Earle, even among the aborigines of Northern Australia, certain peculiar notions connected with the banyan tree being common to the inhabitants of the 1 " Missionary Travels in South Africa," p. 495. 2 " Journey to Ashango Land," p. 295. 8 " River Zaire," p. 181. 4 " Travels through Central Africa," p. 394, 407. 5 " Travels," vol. ii., p. 391 ; and vol. iii., p. 665. c 18 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. Coburg Peninsula and of the Indian Islands. 1 Mr. Mars- den met with this superstition among the Sumatrans, and we learn from Mr. Wallace that in one of the towns of Eastern Java the market is held under the branches of a tree allied to the sacred fig-tree. 2 If we turn to India, we find that while the banyan is venerated by the Brahmans, it is the bo-tree which is held sacred by many of the followers of Gautama Buddha. This may be because, under the name of the Piipel, it was the peculiar tree of the first recorded Buddha, of whom Gautama was supposed by his disciples to be an incarnation. Both of these trees belong to the genus Jicus, and it is curious that, although probably in consequence of Semitic influence, the Jicus sycamorus was the sacred tree in ancient Egypt, of which it was the symbol, its place appears ultimately to have been taken by the banyan (Jicus indica)? so highly venerated in other parts of Africa. Now, what is the explana- tion of the peculiar character ascribed to these trees by peoples who must, on any hypothesis, have been separated for thousands of years ? The bo-tree of the Buddhists itself derived a more sacred character from its encircling the palm— the Palmyra Palm being the kalpa-tree, or " tree of life," of the Hindu paradise. 4 The Buddhists term this connection "the bo-tree united in marriage with the palm." The Phallic sig- nificance of the palm is well known, and in its con- nection with the bo-tree we have the perfect idea of 1 Journal of E. Geog. Society, vol. xvi., p. 240. 2 " The Malyan Archipelago," vol. i., p. 158. 3 Wilkinson, vol. iv., p. 2G0, 313. * Tennent's " Ceylon," vol. ii., p. 520. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 19 generative activity, the combining of the male and female organs, a combination intended by the Hebrew legend when it speaks of the tree of life, and also of " the knowledge of good and evil." l " The palm-tree," says Dr. Inman, " is figured on ancient coins alone, or associated with some feminine emblem. It typified the male creator, who was represented as an upright stone, a pillar, a round tower, a tree stump, an oak- tree, a pine-tree, a maypole, a spire, an obelisk, a minaret, and the like."- As we have just seen, the Palmyra Palm is the kalpa-tree, or the " tree of life" of the Hindu paradise, and this was not the only kind of tree with which the idea of life was thus associated. In the mythologies of more northern peoples the place of the palm is supplied by the more stately, if less upright, oak. The patriarch Jacob hid the idols of his household under the oak near Shechem, 3 and his descendants afterwards made burnt offerings under every thick oak. 4 Among the Greeks and Romans this tree was sacred to Zeus, or Jupiter, the Father of Gods and men. With the Russians, the Prussians, and the Germans, the oak was equally sacred. The sacred oak was the form under which the Druids worshipped the Supreme Being Hcesus, or Mighty. According to Davies, 5 it was symbolised by the 1 M. Littre sees in the two ti-ees of Genesis only the soma, which was introduced into the Brahmanical Sacrifices, which, with the Iranians, was transformed into two mystic trees. — - La Philosophie Positive, 3rd vol., p. 341, et sea. 2 Oj). tit., vol. ii., p. 448. 3 Gen., xxxv. 4. 4 Ezek., vi. 13. 5 " Celtic Researches," p. 446. 20 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. letter D, which forms the consonantal sound of the word denoting God in many languages, as it does of the name of the mythical father Ad, of the Adamic stock of mankind. In Teutonic mythology the great oak forms the roof-tree of the Volsung's hall, spreading its branches far and wide in the upper air, being the counterpart, says Mr. Cox, of the mighty Yggdrasil. 1 This is the gigantic ash-tree, whose branches embrace the whole world, and which is thought to be only another form of the colossal Irminsul. Mr. Cox observes on this : " The tree and pillar are thus alike seen in the columns, whether of Herakles or of Roland ; while the cosmogonic character of the myth is manifest in the legend of the primeval Askr, the offspring of the ash- tree, of which Virgil, from the characteristic which probably led to its selection, speaks as stretching its roots as far down into earth as its branches soar towards heaven. 2 The name of the Teutonic Askr is also that of the Iranian Mesckia? and the ash, therefore, must be identified with the tree from which springs the primeval man of the Zarathustrian cosmogony. 4 So Sigmund of the Vol- simg Tale is drawn from the trunk of a poplar tree, 5 which thus occupies the same position as the ash and 1 "Aryan Mythology," vol. i., p. 274rc. 2 Ditto, vol. ii., p. 19. 3 See Grimm's " Teutonic Mythology," p. 571, et seq. 4 Cox, op. cit. } vol. i., p. 274k. 5 According to Gen., ii. 23, the name isha (woman) was bestowed by Adam on the first woman, because she was taken out of man (Ish) — terms which were used in reference to man and wife. This is shewn by the subsequent reference to mar- riage (v. 24). See Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible"— Art. " Marriage." PUALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 2t the oak as a " tree of life." The poplar was, indeed, a sacred tree among many nations of antiquity. This may, doubtless, be explained by reference to its "habit," which much resembles that of the sacred Indian fig-tree, with which the trembling movement, as well as the shape, of its leaves have caused it to be thus compared. That the ideas symbolised by the various sacred trees of antiquity originated, however, with the fig- tree is extremely probable. No other tree has been so widely venerated as this. The sycamore (ficus sycamorus) was sacred to Netpe, the mother of Osiris, whose statue was generally made of its wood. In relation to that subject, Sir Gardner Wilkinson says •} " The Athenians had a holy fig-tree, which grew on the ' sacred road,' where, during the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries, the procession which went from Athens to Eleusis halted. This was on the sixth day of the ceremony, called Jacchus, in honour of the son of Jupiter and Ceres, who accompanied his mother in search of Prosperine; but the fig-tree of Athens does not appear to have been borrowed from the sycamore of Egypt, unless it were in consequence of its connection with the mother of Osiris and Isis, whom they supposed to correspond to Ceres and Bacchus." 3 According to Plutarch, a basket of figs formed one of the chief things carried in the pro- cessions in honour of Bacchus, and the sacred phallus, like the statue of Priapus, appears to have been generally made of the wood of the fig-tree. 3 These 1 " Ancient Egyptians," vol. iv., p. 313. 2 Ditto, p. 313. 3 Dulaure's " Histoire abregee de differens Cultes," vol. ii., p. 169. 22 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. facts well show the nature of the ideas which had come to be connected with that tree. To what has been already said may, however, be added the testi- mony of a French writer, who, after speaking of the lotus as one of the many symbols anciently used to represent the productive forces of nature, continues : " II faut y joindre, pour le regne vegetal, le figuier indien, ou l'arbre des Banians, le figuier sacre ou religieux (ficus indica, bengalensis, ficus religiosa, &c), vata, aswatha, pipala, et bien d'autres, idealises de bonne heure, dans le mythologie des Hindous, sous la figure de l'arbre de vie, arbre immense, colonne de feu, enorme et orgueilleux phallus, l'abord unique, mais depuis devise et disperse, et qui n'est peut-etre pas sans rapport, soit avec l'arbre de la connaissance du bien et du mal, soit avec d'autres symboles non moins fameux." 1 That the Jlcus was the symbolical tree "in the midst of the garden" of the Hebrew legend of the fall is extremely probable. That notion would seem, indeed, to be required by reference to the fig leaves 2 as the covering used by Adam and Eve when, after eating the forbidden fruit, they found them- selves to be naked. The fig-tree, moreover, meets the difficulty in distinguishing between the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. These, according to the opinion above expressed, as to the meaning of the "fall," would represent the male and female princi- ples, as do the bo-tree and palm, " united in marriage," 1 See Guigniaut's " Keligions de l'Antiquite" (1825), vol. i., p. 149. 2 See on this, Lnnian, ojp, cit., vol. ii., p. 462. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 23 of the Buddhists, the palm deriving more sacredness from being encircled by the ficus. Probably, how- ever, the double symbol was of later introduction. The banyan of itself would be sufficient to represent the dual idea, when to the primitive one of " knowledge" was added that of "life." The stately trunk would answer to the "tree of life," while its fruit was the symbol of that which was more especially affected by the act of disobedience. This was the eating of the fruit, which, as conveying the forbidden wisdom, is evidently the essential feature of the legend, and the fig had anciently just that symbolical meaning which would be required for the purpose. 1 Throughout the East, from the earliest historical period, the fruit of the fig-tree was the emblem of virginity. Dr. Inman says : " The fruit of the tree resembles in shape the virgin uterus ; with its stem attached, it symbolises the sistrum of Isis. Its form led to the idea that it would promote fertility. To this day, in Oriental countries, the hidden meaning of the fig is almost as well known as its commercial value." 3 That we have in the Mosaic account of the "fall" a Phallic legend, is evident also from the introduction of the serpent on the scene, and the position it takes as the inciting cause of the sinful act. We are here reminded of the passage already quoted from Clemens Alexandrinus, who tells us that the serpent was the special symbol of the worship of Bacchus. Now this animal holds a very curious place in the religions 1 The Hindu legend expressly mentions the fig. See infra. - Op. clt., vol. i., p. 108, 527. In the East the pomegranate- symbolises the full womb. 24 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. of the civilised peoples of antiquity. Although, in consequence of the influence of later thought, it came to be treated as the personification of evil, and as such appears in the Hebrew legend of the fall, yet originally the serpent was the special symbol of wisdom and healing. In the latter capacity it ap- pears even in connection with the Exodus from Egypt. It is, however, in its character as a symbol of wisdom that it more especially claims our atten- tion, although these ideas are intimately connected — the power of healing being merely a phase of wisdom. From the earliest times of which we have any his- torical notice the serpent has been connected with the gods of wisdom. This animal was the especial symbol of Thoth or Taaut, a primeval deity of Syro- Egyptian mythology, 1 and of all those gods, such as Hermes and Seth, who can be connected with him. This is true also of the 3rd member of the Chaldean triad, Hea or Hoa. According to Sir Henry Raw- linson, the most important titles of this deity refer u to his functions as the source of all knowledge and science." Not only is he " the intelligent fish," but his name may be read as signifying both " life" and a " serpent," and he may be'considered as " figured by the great serpent which occupies so conspicuous a place among the symbols of the gods on the black stones recording Babylonian benefactions."- The serpent was also the symbol of the Egyptian Kneph, who resembled the Sojjhia of the Gnostics, the divine wisdom. This animal, moreover, was the Agatlxo- 1 See Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. iv., p. 225, 255, 288. 3 " History of Herodotus," vol. i., p. 600. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 25 dccmon of the religions of antiquity — the giver of hap- piness and good fortune. 1 It was in these capacities, rather than as having a Phallic significance, that the serpent was associated with the sun-gods, the Chaldean Bel, the Grecian Apollo, and the Semitic Seth. But whence originated the idea of the wisdom of the serpent which led to its connection with the legend of the "fall?" This may, perhaps, be ex- plained by other facts, which show also the nature of the wisdom here intended. Thus, in the annals of the Mexicans, the first woman, whose name was trans- lated by the old Spanish writers, " the ivoman of our flesh," is always represented as accompanied by a great male serpent. This serpent is the sun-god Tonacatle-coail, the principal deity of the Mexican Pantheon, while the goddess-mother of primitive man is called Cihua-Cohuatl, which signifies " woman of the serpent."' 2 According to this legend, which agrees with that of other American tribes, a serpent must have been the father of the human race. This notion can be explained only on the supposition that the serpent was thought to have had at one time a human form. In the Hebrew legend the tempter speaks, and " the old serpent having two feet," of Persian mytho- logy, is none other than the evil spirit Ahriman him- 1 Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians," vol. iv., p. 412, 413; and King's "Gnostics," p. 31. See also Bryant's "Ancient Mythology," vol. iv., p. 201. The last-named work contains most curious information as to the extension of serpent-worship. 2 See " The Serpent Symbol in America," by E. G. Squier, M.A. — "American Archaeological Eesearches," No. 1 (1851), p. 161, et seq. ; " Palenque," by M. de Waldeck and M. Brasseur de Bourbourg (1866), p. 48. 26 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. self. 1 The fact is that the serpent was only a symbol, or at most an embodiment of the spirit which it represented, as we see from the belief of several African and American tribes, which probably pre- serves the primitive form of this superstition. Serpents are looked upon by these peoples as em- bodiments of their departed ancestors, 2 and an analo- gous notion is entertained by various Hindoo tribes. No doubt the noiseless movement and the activity of the serpent, combined with its peculiar gaze and mar- vellous power of fascination, led to its being viewed as a spirit embodiment, and hence also as the pos- sessor of wisdom. 3 In the spirit character ascribed to the serpent, we have the explanation of the associa- tion of its worship with human sacrifice noted by Mr. Fergusson — this sacrifice being really connected with the worship of ancestors. It is evident, moreover, that we find here the origin of the idea of evil sometimes associated with the Serpent-God. The Kafir and the Hindu, although he treats with respect any serpent which may visit his dwelling, yet entertains a suspicion of his visitant. It may perhaps be the embodiment of an evil spirit, or for some reason or other it may desire to injure him. Mr. Fergusson states that "the chief characteristic of the serpents throughout the East in all ages seems to 1 Lajard — " Memoires de l'lustitut Royal de France" (Acad, des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres), T. xiv., p. 89. 2 Wood's "Natural History of Man," vol. i., p. 185 ; also Squier's " Serpent Symbol," p. 222, et seq. 3 I have a strong suspicion that in the primitive shape of the Hebrew legend, as in that of the Mexicans, both the father and mother of the human race had the serpent form. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 27 have been their power over the wind and rain," which they gave or withheld according to their good or ill- will towards man. 1 This notion is curiously confirmed by the title given by the Egyptians to the Semitic God Sell or Seth — Typhon, which was the name of the Phoenician Evil principle, and also of a destructive wind, thus having a curious analogy with the " Ty- phoon" of the Chinese Seas. 2 When the notion of a duality in nature was developed, there would be no difficulty in applying it to the symbols or embodi- ments by which the idea of wisdom was represented in the animal world. Thus, there came to be not only good, but also bad serpents, both of which are referred to in the narrative of the Hebrew Exodus, but still more clearly in the struggle between the good and the bad serpents of Persian mythology, which symbolised Ormuzd or Mithra and the Evil spirit Ahriman. 3 So far as I can make out the serpent symbol has not a direct Phallic reference, nor is its attribute of wisdom the most essential. The idea most intimately asso- ciated with this animal was that of life, not present merely but continued and probably everlasting. 4 Thus 1 Op. tit., p. 46. Eudra, the Vedic form of Siva, the " King of Serpents," is called the father of the Maruts (winds). See infra as to identification of Siva with Saturn. 2 The idea of circularity appears to be associated with both these names. See Bryant, op. cit., vol. iii., p. 164, and vol. ii., p. 191, as to derivation of Typhon. 3 Lajard. Op. cit., p. 182, " Culte de Mithra," p. 45 ; also " Memoire sur l'Hercule Assyrien de M. Eaoul-Eochette." 4 Mr. J. H. Eivett-Carnac suggests that the snake is a " symbol of the phallus." He adds, " The sun, the invigorating power of nature, has ever, I believe, been considered to represent the same idea, not necessarily obscene, but the great mystery of nature, the life transmitted from generation to generation, or, 28 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. the snake Bai was figured as Guardian of the door- ways of those chambers of Egyptian Tombs which represented the mansions of heaven. 1 A sacred serpent would seem to have been kept in all the Egyptian temples, and we are told that "many of the subjects, in the tombs of the kings at Thebes, in particular, show the importance it was thought to enjoy in a future state." 3 Crowns, formed of the asp, or sacred Thermuthis, were given to sovereigns and divinities, particularly to Isis, 3 and these, no doubt, were intended to symbolise eternal life. Isis was a goddess of life and healing, 4 and the serpent evidently belonged to her in that character, seeing that it was the symbol also of other deities with the like attri- butes. Thus, on papyri it encircles the figure of Harpocrates, 5 who was identified with iEsculapius ; while not only was a great serpent kept alive in the temple of Serapis, but on later monuments this god is represented by a great serpent with or without a human head. 6 Mr. Fergusson, in accordance with his pecu- liar theory as to the origin of serpent-worship, thinks that this superstition characterised the old Tura- nian (or let us rather say Akkadian) empire of Chaldea, while tree-worship was more a characteristic of the later Assyrian Empire. 7 This opinion is no as Professor Stephens puts it, 'life out of death, life ever- lasting.' " — Snake Symbol in India (reprinted from Journal of As. Soc. of Bengal"), 1879, p. 13. 1 Wilkinson, op. cit, vol. v., p. 65. 2 Ditto, p. 243. 3 Ditto, p. 239. * See Ennenioser's " History of Magic" (Bohn), vol. i., p. 253. 5 Ditto, p. 2-13. 6 Guigniaut's " Le Dieu Serapis," p. 19. 7 Op. cit, p. 12. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 29 doubt correct, and it means really that the older race had that form of faith with which the serpent was always indirectly connected — adoration of the male principle of generation, the principal phase of which was probably ancestor-worship ; while the latter race adored the female principle, symbolised by the sacred tree, the Assyrian " grove." The "tree of life," how- ever, undoubtedly had reference to the male element, and we may well imagine that originally the fruit alone was treated as symbolical of the opposite element. There is still one important point connected with this legend which requires consideration as throwing light on another very wide-spread superstition. Baron Bunsen says that the nature of the Kerubim who were set to keep the way to the tree of life has not yet been satisfactorily explained. He seems to think they have a volcanic reference, although the usual supposition is that they were angels bearing "flaming swords." The latter opinion, however, could only have arisen from the association, in other places, of kerubim with sera- phim, who are also popularly supposed to be angelic spirits, but whom Bunsen thinks have reference to name. All these explanations, however, appear to me to be erroneous. According to one opinion, kerub is compounded of two words, ke a particle of resem- blance, and rab, signifying great, powerful. If this derivation be correct we may safely infer that the kerub was simply a representation of the strong deity himself, of whom the flaming sword was also an em- blem. This notion is confirmed by the statement of the Jewish Targams that " the glory of God dwelt between the two cherubim at the gate of Eden, just 30 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. as it rested upon the two cherubim in the Tabernacle. "i It is curious that in the analogous Greek myth of the Garden of Hesperides, the golden apples were guarded by a serpent. We have a closer resemblance to the Hebrew Kerubim in Persian mythology. Delitzsch says " the kerubs appear here as guards of Paradise, just as in the Persian legend 99,999 — i.e., innumerable attendants of the Holy One keep watch against the attempts of Ahriman over the tree Horn, which con- tains in itself the power of the resurrection. Much closer, however, lies the comparison of the winged lion-and-eagle-formed griffin, 2 which watch the gold- caves of the Arimaspian metallic mountains, and of the sometimes more or less hawk-formed, sometimes only winged and otherwise man-formed-guardians, upon the Egyptian and Assyrian monuments. The re- semblance of the symbols is surprisingly great ; and the comparison of the King of Tyre, 3 to a protecting kerub with outspread wings, who, stationed on the holy mountain, walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire, justifies us in assuming such a con- nection." 4 The real nature and origin of the Hebrew kerub is apparent on reference to the language used by Ezekiel in describing his vision of winged creatures. Dr. Faber shows clearly that these were the same as the Jcerubim in the Holy of Holies of the Hebrew temple, 1 Faber's " Pagan Idolatry," vol. 1, p. 424w. 2 Prof. Max Miiller derives cherubim from ypvcf>es, griffins, the guardians of the Soma in the Veda and Avesta. " Chips from a German Workshop," 2nd ed., i. 157. 3 Ez., c. 28, v. 14-16. * See Colenzo's " Pentateuch" (1865), p. 341. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 31 and he argues, moreover, with great justice, that the latter must have agreed with those who were said to have been stationed before the tree of life in Eden. In fact, the King of Tyre is styled by Ezekiel " the anointed covering kerub of Eden, the garden of God."i Now, a curious difference is made by Ezekiel in the two descriptions he gives of the creatures which ap- peared in his vision. In the one case he describes them as having each four faces — that of a man, that of a lion, that of an ox, and that of an eagle. 3 Subse- quently, however, they are described as having each the faces of a kerub, of a man, of an eagle, and of a lion. 3 Judging from this discrepancy, the head of a kerub being substituted for that of an ox, it has been suggested that the kerub and the ox are synonymous. Dr. Faber very justly observes on this difficult}', that Ezekiel " would scarcely have called the head of the ox by way of eminence the head of a kerub, unless the form of the ox so greatly predominated in the com- pound form of the kerub as to warrant the entire kerub being familiarly styled an ox." 4. This conclu- sion is the more probable when we consider that in the first vision the creatures are represented with feet like those of a calf. 5 In fact, we have in this vision, as in the kerubim of Genesis, animal representations of deity, such as the Persians and other Eastern peoples delighted in, the most prominent being that of the ox — or, rather bull, as it would be more properly rendered. 1 See Faber's " Pagan Idolatry," vol. iii., p. 606. - C. i., v. 10. 3 C. x., v. 14. i Op. cit, vol. i., p. 422. 5 Ez., c. i., v. 7. 32 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. But what was the sacred bull of the religions of antiquity, or rather what its mythological value ? Dr. Faber says expressly on this subject : " There is perhaps no part of the Gentile world in which the bull and the cow were not highly reverenced and considered in the light of holy and mysterious symbols." 1 He cites the traditional founder of the Chinese empire, Fohi, as hav- ing a son with a bull's head, this personage being also venerated by the Japanese under the title of the " ox- headed prince of heaven." According to Mr. Doo- little, a paper image of a domestic buffalo, as large as life, with smaller images in clay of this animal, are carried in procession at the Great Chinese Festival in honour of spring, while a live buffalo accompanies the procession for some distance. 2 It is curious to find that at the other side of the Europo-Asiatic continent the bull was considered sacred by the Celtic Druids, it being reverenced by the ancient Britons as the symbol of their Great God Hu. Thus also the Kinibri "adored their principal God under the form of a brazen bull ;" as the ancient Colchians worshipped brazen-footed bulls which were said to emit fire from their nostrils, which has reference to the sacrifices with which they were propitiated. Dr. Faber says as to the Great Phoenician God, called by the Greek translator of Sanchoniatho Agruerus, from the circum- stance of his being an agricultural God, that he " was worshipped by the Syrians and their neighbours the Canaanites, under the titles of Baal and Moloch ; and, as his shrine was drawn by oxen, so he himself was represented by the figure of a man having the head of 1 Op. tit., vol. i., p. 404. 2 " Chinese," p. 376. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 3:5 a bull, and sometimes probably by the simple figure of a bull alone. The Persian Mithra is also represented as a bull-god, and it is highly suggestive that in one of the carved grottos near the Campus Marjorum he is figured under the symbol of the phallus surmounted by the head of a bull. Even among the Hebrews themselves the golden calf was, under the authority of Aaron, used as an object of worship, a form of idolatry which was re-established by Jeroboam, if it had ever been abandoned. Dr. Faber, indeed, thinks that the calves worshipped at Samaria were copies of the kerubim in the Temple at Jerusalem. If we turn to peoples kindred to the Hebrews, we find that the Phoenician Adonis was sometimes represented as a horned deity, as were also Dionysos and Bacchus, who were, in fact, merely the names under which Adonis was worshipped in Thrace and Greece. Plu- tarch says that " the women of Elis were accustomed to invite Bacchus to his temple on the seashore, under the name of ' the heifer- footed divinity,' the illus- trious bull, the bull worthy of the highest veneration." Hence in the ceremonies, during the celebration of the mysteries of Bacchus and Dionysos, the bull always took a prominent place, as it did also during the festivals of the allied deity of Egypt — the bull Apis being worshipped as an incarnation of Osiris. In India the bull is still held sacred by the Brahmans, and in Hindu mythology it is connected with botli Siva and Menu. 1 A superstitious veneration for this animal is in fact entertained by all pastoral or agricul- tural peoples who possess it. To seek the explanation 1 See Faber, op. cit., vol. i., pp. 404-410. 34 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. of this curious phenomenon in the traditional remem- brance of the kerubic representations of deity which guarded the tree of life would be in the highest degree irrational. These representations were merely copies of symbolical figures, which, like the story of the fall, were borrowed from an Eastern source. The real explanation is found in the fact that the bull was an emblem of the productive force in nature. The Zend word gaya, which means " bull," signifies also the "soul" or "life," as the same Arabic word denotes both "life" and a "serpent." A parallel case is that of the Zend word orouere, which means a "tree" as well as "life" or "soul." 1 According to the cosmo- gany of the Zend-Avesta, Ormuzd, after he had created the heavens and the earth, formed the first being, called by Zoroaster '•' the primeval bull." This bull was poisoned by Aliriman, but its seed was carried by the soul of the dying animal, represented as an ized, to the moon, "where it is continually purified and fecundated by the warmth and light of the sun, to become the germ of all creatures." At the same time the material prototypes of all living things, except perhaps man himself, issued from the body of the bull. 2 This is but a developed form of the ideas which anciently were almost universally associated with this animal, among those peoples who were addicted to sun- worship. There is no doubt, however, that the super- stitious veneration for the bull existed, as it still exists, quite independent of the worship of the heavenly 1 Lajard, " Le culte de Mithra," pp. 56, 59. 3 Lajard, ojj. cit., p. 50 ; infra, p. 39. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 35 bodies. 1 The bull, like the goat, must have been a sacred animal in Egypt before it was declared to be an embodiment of the sun-god Osiris. In some sense, indeed, the bull and the serpent, although both of them became associated with the solar deities, were antagonistic. The serpent was symbolical of the personal male element, or rather had especial reference to the man, 2 while the bull had relation to nature as a whole, and was symbolical of the general idea of fecundity. This antagonism was brought to an issue in the strug- gle between Osiris and Seti (Seth), which ended in the triumph of the god of nature, although it was renewed even during the Exodus, when the golden calf of Osiris or Horus was set up in the Hebrew camp. The reference made to the serpent, to the tree of wisdom, and to the bull, in the legend of the " fall," sufficiently proves its Phallic character, which was, indeed, recognised in the early Christian church. 3 Judging from the facts above referred to, however, we can hardly doubt that the legend was derived from a foreign source. That it could not be original to the Hebrews may, I think, be proved by several conside- rations. The position occupied in the legend by the serpent is quite inconsistent with the use of this animal sjmibol by Moses. 4 Like Satan himself even, 1 This superstition is found among peoples — the Kafirs, for instance — who do not appear to possess any trace of planetary worship. - This is evident from the facts mentioned above, notwith- standing the use of this animal as a symbol of wisdom. 3 In connection with this subject, see St. Jerome, in his letter on " Virginity" to Eustachia. 4 The turning of Aaron's rod into a serpent had, no doubt, a reference to the idea of wisdom associated with that animal. 36 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. as the Rev. Dunbar Heath has shown, 1 the serpent had not, indeed, a wholly evil character among the early Hebrews. In the second place, the condemna- tion of the act of generation was directly contrary to the central idea of patriarchal history. The promise to Abraham was that he should have seed " numerous as the stars of heaven for multitude," and to support this notion the descent of Abraham is traced up to the first created man, who is commanded to increase and multiply. The legend of the fall is not unknown to Hindu mythology, but here the subject of the temptation is the divine Brahma, who, however, is not only mankind collectively, but a man individually. 2 In human shape he is Sivayambhuva, and to try this progenitor of mankind, Siva, as the Supreme Being, " drops from heaven a blossom of the sacred vata, or Indian fig — a tree which has been always venerated by the natives on account of its gigantic size and grateful shadows, and invested alike by Brahman and by Buddhist with mysterious significations, as the tree of knowledge or intelligence {bodhidruma) . 3 Captivated by the beauty of the blossom, the first man (Brahma) is determined to possess it. He imagines that it will entitle him to occupy the place of the Immortal, and hold converse with the Infinite ; and on gathering up the blossom, 4 1 " The Fallen Angels" (1857). 2 Moor's " Hindu Pantheon," p. 101. 3 The Bo-tree. See supra, p. 18. 4 Probably the fruit is really intended. Higgins refers to " a peculiar property which the fig has of producing its fruit from its flowers, contained within its own bosom, and concealed from profane eyes," as a reason why the leaves of the fig-tree were selected by Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness. Ana- calyjisis, vol. ii., p. 253. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 37 he at once becomes intoxicated by this fancy, and believes himself immortal and divine. But ere the flush of exultation has subsided, God Himself appears to him in terrible majesty ; and the astonished culprit, stricken by the curse of heaven, is banished far from Brahmapattana, and consigned to an abyss of misery and degradation. From this, however, adds the story, an escape is rendered possible on the expiration of some weary term of suffering and of penance. And the parallelism which it presents to sacred history is well-nigh completed when the legend tells us further that woman, his own wife, whose being was derived from his, had instigated the ambitious hopes which led to their expulsion, and entailed so many ills on their posterity." 1 That parallelism cannot well be the result of mere coincidence, and the reference to the fig-tree in the Hindu legend not only renders it highly probable that this was the tree of knowledge 2 of Hebrew legend, but confirms, by the symbolical ideas connected with it, the explanation of the nature of the " fall" given in the preceding pages. The real meaning of the legend was well understood by the Gnostics and Manicheans, and those Christian Fathers who were brought into contact with Eastern ideas through them. 3 The Persians, who were indebted to the Chaldeans 1 Hardwicke's " Christ and other Masters," vol. i., p. 305-6. 2 Mr. Hardwicke states that the sacred Indian fig is endowed by the Brahinans and Buddhists with mysterious significance, as the tree of knowledge or intelligence. 3 See Beausobre's curious and learned work, " Histoire de Manichee et du Manicheisme," Liv. vii., ch. iii. ; " Gibbon's Fall and Decline of the Boman Empire," vol. ii., p. 18G. 38 PIIALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. for many of their religious ideas, possessed the story of the fall in a form agreeing more closely with that which may have been the original of the Hebrew legend. According to the Boundehesch, one of the sacred books of the Parsees, a tree gave birth to the primeval man Meschia. The body of this androgynous being afterwards became divided, one part being male and the other female — Meschia and Meschiana, 1 as the man and woman were called — were at first pure and holy, but seduced by Ahriman, who had metamor- phosed himself into a serpent, they rendered to the Prince of Darkness the worship which was due only to Ormuzd, the God of Light. Meschia and Meschiana thus lost their primitive purity, which neither they nor their descendants could recover without the assistance of Mithra, the god who presided at the mysteries or at the initiations — that is to say, at the way of rehabilitation which is opened before those who seek earnestly the salvation of their souls. ' At the instigation of Ahriman, the man and woman had, for the first time, committed, in thought, word, and deed, the carnal sin, and thus tainted with original sin all their descendants. 3 Lajard, referring to this legend, adds in a note: "Le triple caractere que pre- sente ici le peche originel est tres nettement indique dans le passage cite du Boundehesch. II y est accompagne de details que font de ce passage un des morceaux l^s plus curieux de ce traite. Quelques-uns 1 As already suggested, these may be the ish and isha of Genesis. 2 Lajard, " Le culte de Mithra," p. 52. 3 Ditto, p. 60. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 39 de ces details .... rattache a ce meme mot (serpent) ou a sa racine la denomination des parties sexuelles de la homme et de la femme." The Persian account of the fall and its consequences agrees so closely with the Hebrew story when stripped of its figurative language that we cannot doubt that they refer to the same legend, 1 and the use of figurative language in the latter may well lead us to believe that it was of later date than the former. 2 In Ahriman, who was known to Persian teaching as "the old serpent having two feet," we evidently have the origin of the speaking serpent of Genesis, while in "the seed of the woman who shall bruise the serpent's head," the follower of Zarathustra would have seen a reference to Mithra, just as the Christian finds there a prophecy of Christ. Even the antagonism between the Cherubim and the Serpent can be found in Persian teaching, for it was to the malignant action of the Serpent Az that the death, not only of the first man, but of the "pri- meval bull," was due. 3 The latter was formed by Ormuzd after the creation of the heavens and the earth, and that from which proceeded the material prototypes of all the beings " who live in the water, on the earth, and in the air." 4 1 This is shown by Mr. Gerald Massey in his remarkable work, " The Natural Genesis," and particularly the chapter en- titled "Typology of the Fall in Heaven and on Earth." 2 Lajard, op. tit., p. 49. 3 " Ormazd et Ahriman," by James Da.rmesteter, pp. 154, 159. 4 It may be objected that the " Boundehesch," which gives the above details, is comparatively a modern work. It must be noted, however, that the destruction of purity in the world by the serpent Dahdka is mentioned in the 9th Yacna, v. 27, which is much earlier, and that Dr. Haug supposes the " Bouudehesch" to have had a Zend original (" Essays on the Sacred Language, 40 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. It is very probable, however, that when the legend was appropriated by the compiler of the Hebrew Scriptures it had a moral significance as well as a merely figurative sense. The legend is divisible into two parts — the first of which is a mere statement of the imparting of wisdom by the serpent and by the eating of the fruit of a certain tree, these ideas being synonymous, or at least consistent, as appears by the attributes of the Chaldean Hea. 1 The nature of this wisdom may be found in the rites of the Hindu Sacti Puja? The second part of the legend, which is probably of much later date, is the condemnation of the act referred to, as being in itself evil and as lead- ing to misery, and even to death itself. The origin of this later notion must be sought in the esoteric doc- trine taught in the mysteries of Mithra, the funda- mental idea of which was the descent of the soul to earth and its re-ascent to the celestial abodes after it had overcome the temptations and debasing influences &c, of the Parsees," p. 29). Windis chin arm, also, says that " a closer study of this remarkable and venerable book, and com- paring it with the original text preserved to us, will induce us i to form a much more favourable opinion of its antiquity and contents." (" Zoroastrische Studien," p. 282.) The opinion of this latter writer is that, notwithstanding the striking resem- blance between the narrative of the fall of man contained in the " Boundehesch" and that in Genesis, the former is original, although inferior in simplicity to the Hebrew tradition (idem, p. 212). The narratives are so much alike, however, that they can hardly have had independent origins, and the very sim- plicity of the latter is a very strong argument against its priority. 1 See supra, p. 24. 2 Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London, vol. ii., p. 264, et seq.. and compare with the Gnostic personification of " Trutb," for which see King's " Agnostics and their Remains," p. 30. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 41 of the material life. 1 Lajard shows that these myste- ries were really taken from the secret worship of the Chaldean Mylitta, but the reference to " the seed of the woman who shall bruise the serpent's head," is too Mithraic for us to seek for an earlier origin for the special form of the Hebrew myth. The object of the myth evidently was to explain the origin of death, 2 from which man was to be delivered by a coming Saviour, and the whole idea is strictly Mithraic, the Persian deity himself being a Saviour God. 3 The importance attached to virginity by the early Christians sprang from the same source. The Avesta is full of reference to " purity" of life, and there is reason to believe that in the secret initiations the followers of Mithra were taught to regard marriage itself as impure. 4 The religious ideas which found expression in the legend of the fall were undoubtedly of late develop- ment, 5 although derived from still earlier phases of reli- gious thought. The simple worship in symbol of the organs of generation, and of the ancestral head of the family, prompted by the desire for offspring and the veneration for him who produced it, was extended to the generative force in nature. The bull which, as we 1 Lajard, op. cit., p. 96. 2 Jehovah threatens death, but the Serpent impliedly promises life, the former having relation to the individual, the latter to the race. 3 Lajard, op. cit., p. 60, note. 4 Some of the Essenes, who appear to have had connection with Mithraism, taught this doctrine. 5 It is well known to Biblical writers that this legend formed no part of the earlier Mosaic narrative. 42 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. have seen, symbolised this force, was not restricted to earth, but was in course of time transferred to the heavens, and as one of the constellations was thought to have a peculiar relation to certain of the planetary bodies. This astral phase of the Phallic superstition was not unknown to the Mosaic religion. A still earlier form of this superstition was, however, known to the Hebrews, probably forming a link between the worship of the symbol of personal generative power and that of the heavenly phallus; as the worship of the bull connected the veneration for the human generator with that for the universal father. One of the primeval gods of antiquity was Hermes, the Syro-Egyptian Thoth, and the Roman Mercury. Kircher identifies him also with the god Terminus. This is doubtless true, as Hermes was a god of boun- daries, and appears, as Dulaure has well shown, to have presided over the national frontiers. The mean- ing of the word " Thoth" — erecting — associates it with this fact. The peculiar primitive form of Mercury or Hermes was "a large stone, frequently square, and without either hands or feet. Sometimes the trian- gular shape was preferred, sometimes an upright pillar, and sometimes a heap of rude stones !" * The pillars were called by the Greeks Hermce, and the heaps were known as Hermean heaps — the latter being accumulated " by the custom of each passenger throw- ing a stone to the daily-increasing mass in honour of the god." Sometimes the pillar was represented with the attributes of Priapus. 2 1 Faber's " Pagan Idolatry." 2 See Dulaure, op. cit., vol. i., as to the primeval Hermes. FHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 43 The identification of Hermes or Mercury with Priapus is confirmed by the offices which the latter deity fulfilled. One of the most important was that of protector of gardens and orchards, and probably this was the original office performed by Hermes in his character of " a God of the country." 1 , Figures set up as charms to protect the produce of the ground would, in course of time, be used not only for this purpose, but also to mark the boundaries of the land protected, and these two offices being divided, two deities would finally be formed out of one. The Greek Hermes was connected also with the Egyptian Khem, and no less, if we may judge from the sym- bols used in his worship, with the Hebrew Eloah. Thus, in the history of the Hebrew patriarchs, we are told that when Jacob entered into a covenant with his father-in-law, Laban, a pillar was set up and a heap of stones made, and Laban said to Jacob, " Behold this heap and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee ; this heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shall not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me for harm." 3 We have here the Hermce and Hermean heap, used by the Greeks as landmarks and placed by them on the public roads. In the linga of India we have another instance of the use of the pillar symbol. The form of this sym- bol is sufficiently expressive of the idea which it embodies, an idea which is more explicity shown when the Linga and the Yoni are, as is usually the case 1 Smith's " Dictionary of Mythology"— Art., " Hermes." - Gen., xxxi. 45-53. 44 PHALLTSM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. among the worshippers of the Hindu Siva, combined to form the Lingam. The stone figure is not, how- ever, itself a god, but only representative of a spirit, 1 who is thought to be able to satisfy the yearning for children, so characteristic of many primitive peoples, this probably having been its original object and the source of its use as an amulet for the protec- tion of children against the influence of the evil eye. In course of time, however, when other property came to be coveted equally with offspring, the power to give this property would naturally be referred to the primitive Phallic spirit, and hence he became, not merely the protector, as above seen, of the pro- duce of the fields, and the guardian of boundaries, but also the God of wealth and traffic, and even the patron of thieves, as was the case with the Mercury of the Romans. The Hebrew patriarchs desired great flocks as well as numerous descendants, and hence the symbolic pillar was peculiarly fitted for their religious rites. It is related even of Abraham, the traditional founder of the Hebrew people, that he "planted a grove 2 (eskel) in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting^/c/i/m." 3 From the Phallic character of the " grove" (as7iera),* said to have been in the House of Jehovah, we must suppose that the eshel of Abraham also had 1 Linga means a " sign" or " token." The truth of the state- ment in the text would seem to follow, moreover, from the fact that the figure is sacred only after it has undergone certain ceremonies at the hands of a priest. 2 Or tamarisk tree. 3 Gen., xsi. 33. 4 Dr. Inman suggests that asliera is the female counterpart of Asher. See under these names in " Ancient Faiths," vol. i. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 45 a Phallic reference. 1 Most probably the so-called " grove" of the earlier patriarch, though perhaps of wood, and the stone " bethel" of Jacob had the same form, and were simply the betylus? the primitive symbol of deity among all the Semitic and many Hamitic peoples. The participation of the Hebrew patriarchs in the rites connected with the " pillar- worship "of the ancient world, renders it extremely probable that they were not strangers to the later planetary worship. Many of the old Phallic symbols were associated with the new superstition, and Abraham, being a Chaldean, it is natural to suppose that he was one of its adherents. Tradition, indeed, affirms that Abraham was a great astronomer, and at one time at least a worshipper of the heavenly bodies, and that he and the other patriarchs continued to be affected by this supersti- tion is shown by various incidents related in the Pentateuch. Thus, in the description given of the sacrificial covenant between Abraham and Jehovah, it is said that, after Abraham had divided the sacrificial animals, a deep sleep fell upon him as the sun was going down, and Jehovah spoke with him. " Then when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp, that passed between those pieces." The happening of this event at the moment of the sun's setting reminds us of the Saba3an custom of praying to the setting sun, still 1 Even if the statement of this event be an interpolation, the argument in the text is not affected. The statement is not inconsistent with the form of worship traditionally assigned to Abraham. 2 Bsetylia were " stones having souls." 46 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. practised, according to Palgrave, among the nomads of central Arabia. That some great religious move- ment, ascribed by tradition to Abraham, did take place among the Semites at an early date is undoubted. What the object of this covenant was it is difficult to decide. It should be remembered that the Chal- deans worshipped a plurality of gods, supposed to have been symbolised by the seven planets. Among these deities the sun-god held a comparatively inferior position — the moon-god Hurki coming before him in the second triad. 1 It was at L T r, the special seat of the worship of the moon-god, 2 that Abraham is said to have lived before he quitted it for Haran. This fact, considered in the light of the traditions relating to the great patriarch, may perhaps justify us in infer • ring; that the reformation he endeavoured to introduce was the substitution of a simple sun-worship, for the planetary cultus of the Chaldeans, in which the worship of the moon must to him have appeared to occupy an important place. The new faith was, indeed, a return to the old Phallic idea of a god of per- sonal generation, worshipped through the symbolical betj/lus, but associated also with the adoration of the sun as the especial representative of the deity. That Abraham had higher notions of the relation of man to the divine being than his forerunners is very pro- 1 Rawlinson's "Five Ancient Monarchies," vol. i., p. 617; vol. ii., p. 247. 2 Dr. Alexander Wilder says : " The later Hebrews affected the Persian religion, in which the sun was the emblem of wor- ship. Abraham evidently had a like preference, being a reputed iconoclast. The lunar religionists employed images in their worship." PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 47 bable, but his sojourn in Haran proves that there was nothing fundamentally different between his religious faith and that of his Syrian neighbours. I am inclined, indeed, to believe that to the traditional Abraham must be ascribed the establishment of sun-worship throughout Phoenicia and Lower Egypt in connection with the symbols of an earlier and more simple Phallic deity. Tradition, in fact, declares that he taught the Egyptians astronomy, 1 and we shall see that the reli- gion of the Phoenicians, as, indeed, that of the Hebrews themselves, was the worship of Saturn, the erect, pillar-god who, under different names, appears to have been at the head of the pantheons of most of the peoples of antiquity. The reference in Hebrew history to the seraphim of Jacob's family recalls the fact that Abraham's father was Terah, a "maker of images." The teraphim were doubtless the same as the seraphim, which were serpent images, 2 and probably the household charms or idols of the Semitic worshippers of the sun-god, to whom the serpent was sacred. Little is known of the religious habits of the Hebrews during their abode in Egypt. Probably they differed little from those of the Egyptians them- selves, and even in the religion of Moses, so-called which we may presume to have been a reformed faith, there are many points of contact with the earlier cultus. The use of the ark of Osiris and Isis shows the influence of Egyptian ideas, and the introduction of the new name for God, Jahve, is evidence of contact 1 Josephus' " Antiquities of the Jews," ch. viii. 2. - The Serpent-symbol of the Exodus is called " Seraph." 48 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. with later Phoenician thought. The ark was doubt- less used to symbolise nature, as distinguished from the serpent and pillar symbols, which had relation more particularly to man. The latter, however, were by far the most important, as they were most inti- mately connected with the worship of the national deity, who was the divine father, as Abraham was the human progenitor, of the Hebrew people. That this deity, notwithstanding his change of name, retained his character of a sun-god, is shown by the fact that he is repeatedly said to have appeared to Moses under the figure of a flame. The pillar of fire which guided the Hebrews by night in the wilderness, the appear- ance of the cloudy pillar at the door of the Tabernacle, and probably of a flame over the mercy seat to betoken the presence of Jehovah, and the perpetual fire on the altar, all point to the same conclusion. The notion entertained by Ewald that the idea connected with the Hebrew Jahve was that of a " Deliverer" or a " Healer" (Saviour) 1 is quite consistent with the fact I have stated. The primeval Plienic deity El or Cronus was not only the preserver of the world, for the benefit of which he offered a mystical sacrifice, 2 but " Saviour" was a common title of the sun-gods of antiquity. There is one remarkable incident which is said to have happened during the wanderings of the Hebrews in the Sinaitic wilderness which appears to throw much light on the character of the Mosaic cultus and to connect it with other religions. I refer to the use 1 "The History of Israel" (Eng. Trans.), vol i., p. 532. 2 See " Sanchoniatho" (Cory, op. cit.) PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS.' 49 of the brazen serpent as a symbol for the healing of the people. The worship of the golden calf may, perhaps, be said to be an idolatrous act in imitation of the rites of Egyptian Osiris worship, although probably suggested by the use of the ark. The other case, however, is far different, and it is worth while repeating the exact words in which the use of the serpent symbol is described. When the people were bitten by the " fiery" serpents, 1 Moses prayed for them, and we read that, therefore, "Jehovah said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent (literally, a seraph), and set it upon a pole ; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." 2 It would seem from this account that the Hebrew seraph was, as before suggested, in the form of a serpent ; but what was the especial significance of this healing figure ? At an earlier stage of our inquiry reference was made to the fact of the serpent being indirectly, through its attribute of wisdom, a Phallic symbol, but also directly an emblem of " life," and to the peculiar position it held in nearly all the religions of antiquity. In later Egyptian mythology the contest between Osiris and the Evil Being, and afterwards that between Horus and Typhon, occupy an important place. Typhon, the adversary of 1 Much discussion has taken place as to the nature of these animals. For an explanation of the epithet " fiery," see " San- choniatho, " Of the Serpent' 1 (Cory, op. cit.) - Numbers, xxi. 8, 9. 50 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. Horus, was figured under the symbol of a serpent, called Aphophis or the Giant, 1 and it cannot be doubted that, if not a form of, he was identified with the god Seth. Professor Reuvens refers to an invocation of Typhon-Seth, 2 and Bunsen quotes the statement of Epiphanius that " the Egyptians celebrate the festivals of Typhon under the form of an ass, which they call Seth." 3 Whatever may be the explanation of the fact, it is undoubted that, notwithstanding the hatred with which he was afterwards regarded, this god Seth or Set was at one time highly venerated in Egypt. Bunsen says that up to the thirteenth century B.C. Set " was a great god universally adored throughout Egypt, who confers on the sovereigns of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties the symbols of life and power. The most glorious monarch of the latter dynasty, Sethos, derives his name from this deity." He adds : " But subsequently, in the course of the twentieth dynasty, he is suddenly treated as an evil demon, inasmuch as his effigies and name are oblite- rated on all the monuments and inscriptions that could be reached." Moreover, according to this distin- guished writer, Seth " appears gradually among the Semites as the background of their religious conscious- ness ;" and not merely was he a the primitive god of Northern Egypt and Palestine," but his genealogy as " the Seth of Genesis, the father of Enoch (the man), must be considered as originally running parallel with that derived from the Elohim, Adam's father." 4 That 1 Wilkinson's " Ancient Egyptians," vol. iv., p. 435. 2 Ditto, p. 434 3 Egypt, vol. iii., p. 426. 4 " God in History," vol. i., pp. 233-4. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 51 Seth had some special connection with the Hebrews is proved, among other things, by the peculiar posi- tion occupied in their religious system by the ass — the first-born of which alone of all animals was allowed to be redeemed 1 — and the red heifer, whose ashes were to be reserved as a " water of separation" for purifica- tion from sin. 2 Both of these animals were in Egypt sacred to Seth (Typhon), the ass being his symbol, and red oxen being at one time sacrificed to him, although at a later date objects of a red colour were disliked, owing to their association with the dreaded Typhon. 3 That we have a reference to this deity in the name of the Hebrew lawgiver is very probable. No satisfactory derivation of this name, Moses, Mosheh (Heb.), has yet been given. Its original form was pro- bably Am-a-ses or Am-sesa* which might become to the Hebrews Om-ses or Mo-ses, meaning only the (god) Ses, i.e., Set or Seth. 5 On this hypothesis we may have preserved, in the first book of Moses (so- called), some of the traditional history said to have been contained in the sacred books of the Egyptian Thoth, and of the records engraved on the pillars of Seth. It is somewhat remarkable that, according to 1 Exodus, xxxiv. 20. 2 Numbers, xix. 1 — 10. 3 As to the god Seth, see Pleyte's " La Eeligion des Pre- Israelites" (1862). 4 Fiirst renders the name Mo-cese, " Son of Isis," Inman's "Ancient Faiths," vol. ii., p. 338. 5 According to Pleyte, the Cabalists thought that the soul of Seth had passed into Moses (op. cit., p. 124). It is strange that the name of the Egyptian princess who is said to have brought up Moses is given by Josephus as Thermuthis, this being the name of the sacred asp of Egypt (see " supra"). We appear also to have a reference to the serpent in the name Levi, one of the sons of Jacob, from whom the descent of Moses was traced. 62 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. a statement of Diodorus, when Antiochus Epiphanes entered the temple at Jerusalem, he found in the Holy of Holies a stone figure of Moses, represented as a man with a long beard, mounted on an ass, and having a book in his hand. 1 The Egyptiau My thus of Typhon actually said that Set fled from Egypt riding on a grey ass. 2 It is strange, to say the least, that Moses should not have been allowed to enter the promised land, and that he should be so seldom referred to by later writers until long after the reign of David, 3 and above all that the name given to his successor was Joshua — i.e., Saviour. It is worthy of notice that " Nun," the name of the father of Joshua, is the Semitic word for fish, the Phallic character of the fish in Chaldean mythology being undoubted. Nin y the planet Saturn, was the fish-god of Berosus, and, as may possibly be shown, he is really the same as the Assyrian national deity Asshur, whose name and office have a curious resemblance to those of the Hebrew leader, Joshua. But what was the character of the primitive Semitic deity ? Bunsen seems to think that Plutarch in one passage alludes to the identity of Typhon (Seth) and Osiris. 4 This is a remarkable idea, and yet curiously enough Sir Gardner Wilkinson says that Typhon-Seth may have been derived from the pigmy Pthath-Sokari- Osiris, 5 who was clearly only another form of Osiris himself. In the Egyptian Book of the 1 " Fragments." Book xxxiv. (See also in connection with this subject, "King's Gnostics," p. 91.) 2 Bunsen's " God in History," vol, i., p. 234. 3 Ewald notices the fact. (See " op. cit., vol. i., 454") •* " Egypt," vol. iii., p. 433. 5 Op. cit., vol. iv., p. 434. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 53 Dead, Horus, the son of Osiris, is declared to be at the same time Set, " by the distinction made between them by Thoth." 2 However that may be, the \ Phallic origin of Seth can be shown from other data. r Thus it appears that the word Set means, in Hebrew as in Egyptian, pillar, and, in a general sense, the erect, elevated, high"! 3 Moreover, in a passage of the Book of the Dead, Set, according to Bunsen, is called Tet, a fact which intimates that Thoth | inherited many of the attributes of Set. 4 They were, however, in some sense the same deities, it being through Thoth that Set was identified with Horus. \ We have here an explanation of the statement that Tet, the Phoenician Taaut, was the snake-god, ( Esmun-Esculapius, the serpent being the symbol of Tet, as we have seen it to have been that of Seth also. In this we have a means of identifying the Semitic deity Seth with the Saturn of related deities \ of other peoples. Ewald says that " the common name for God, Eloah, among the Hebrews, as among all the Semites, goes back into the earliest times." 5 Bryant goes further, and declares that El was ori- / ginally the name of the supreme deity among all the nations of the East. 6 This idea is confirmed, so far as Chaldea is concerned, by later researches, which show that II or El was at the head of the Babylonian Pantheon. With this deity must be identified the II or Ilus of the Phoenicians, who was born the same as Cronus, who, again, was none other than the primeval 1 " Le Livre des Morts," par Paul Pierret," p. 259. 2 Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. iv., p. 208. a Ditto, vol. iii., p. 427. 4 Op. cit., p. 319. 5 Op. cit, vol. vi.. p. 328. 54 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. I Saturn, whose worship appears to have been at one period almost universal among European and Asiatic | peoples. Saturn and El were thus the same deity, the latter, like the Semitic Seth, being, as is well known, symbolised by the serpent. 1 A direct point of contact between Seth and Saturn is found in the / Hebrew idol Kiyun mentioned by Amos, the planet Saturn being still called Kevan by Eastern peoples. This idol was represented in the form of a pillar, the primeval symbol of deity, which was common un- doubtedly to all the gods here mentioned. 2 These symbolical pillars were called betyli or betulia. Some- times also the column was called Abaddir, which, strangely enough, Bryant identifies with the serpent- god. 3 There can be no doubt that both the pillar and the serpent were associated with many of the sun- gods of antiquity. Notwithstanding what has been said it is un- doubtedly true, however, that all these deities, in- cluding the Semitic Seth, became at an early date recognised as sun-gods, although in so doing they lost nothing of their primitive character. What this was is sufficiently shown by the significant names and titles they bore. Thus, as we have seen, Set (Seth) itself meant the erect, elevated, high, his name on the Egyptian monuments being nearly always accompanied by a stone. 4 The name, Kiyun or 1 As to the use of this symbol generally, see Pleyte, op. cit.. pp. 109, 157. 2 On these points, see M. Raoul-Kochette's Memoir on the Assyrian and Phoenician Hercules, in his " Memoires de l'lnstitut National de France. Academie des Inscriptions," torn, xvii., p. 47, et seq. 3 Op, cit., vol. i., p. 60 ; vol. ii., p. 201. 4 Pleyte, op. cit., p. 172. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 55 Kevan, of this deity, said by Amos to have been worshipped in the wilderness, signifies " god of the pillar." The idea expressed by the title is shown by the name Baal Tamar, which means " Baal as a pillar," or " Phallus," consequently " the fructifying god." The title " erect," when given to a deity, seems always to imply a Phallic idea, and hence we have the explanation of the S. mou used frequently in the " Book of the Dead" in relation to Thoth or to Set. There is doubtless a reference of the same kind in the Phoenician myth, that "Melekh taught men the special art of creating solid walls and buildings;" although Bunsen finds in this myth "the symbolical mode of expressing the value of the use of (ire in building houses." 3 That these myths embody a Phallic notion may be confirmed by reference to the Phoenician Kabiri. According to Bunsen, " the Kabiri and the divinities identified with them are explained by the Greeks and Romans as ' the strong,' ' the great ;' ' while in the book of Job, Kabbir, the strong, is used as an epithet of God. Again, Syclyk, the "father of the Kabiri, is " the Just," or, in a more original sense, the Upright ; and this deity, with his sons, correspond to Ptah, the father of the Phoenician Pataikoi. Ptah, however, seems to be derived from a root which signifies in Hebrew " to ope n," and_Sydyk himself, therefore, may, says Bunsen, be described as " the Opener" of the Cosmic Egg. 3 The Phallic meaning oftFis title is evident from its application to Esmun- 1 Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. iv., p. 249. 2 Ditto, p. 217. 3 See ditto, pp. 226-9. 56 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. Esculapius, the son of Sydyk, who, as the snake-god, was identical with Tet, the Egyptian Thoth-Hermes. The peculiar titles given to these deities, and their association with the sun, led to their original Phallic character being somewhat overlooked, and instead of being the Father-Gods of hiunan-kind, they became Powerful Gods, Lords of Heaven. This was not the special attribute taken by other sun-gods. As was before stated, Hermes and his related deities were 11 gods of the country," personifying the idea of general natural fecundity. Among the chief gods of this description were the Phoenician Sabazius, the Greek Bacchus- Dionysos, the Roman Priapus, and the Egyptian Khem. All these deities agree also in being sun-gods, and as such they were symbolised by animals which were noted either for their fecundity or for their salaciousness. The chief animals thus chosen were the bull and the goat (with which the ram 1 was afterwards confounded), doubtless because they were already sacred. The Sun appears to have been pre- ceded by the Moon as an object of worship, but the moon-god was probably only representative of the primeval Saturn, 2 who finally became the sun-god El or 11 of the Syrian and Semites and the Ra of the Babylonians. The latter was the title also of the sun-god of Egypt, who was symbolised by the obelisk, and who, although his name was added to that of other Egyptian gods, is said to have been the tutelary 1 The ram appears to have been the first month of the Akkadian calendar. " Law of Kosmic Order," by Mr. Rob. Brown, jun., 1882, p. 36. 2 Rawlinson's " History of Herodotus," vol. i., p. 620. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 57 deity of the stranger kings of the eighteenth dynasty, 1 whom Pleyte, however, declares to have been Set (Sutech). 2 We are reminded here of the opposition of Seth and Osiris, which has already been explained as arising from the fact that these deities originally represented two different ideas, human fecundity and the fruitfulness of nature. When, however, both of these principles became associated with the solar body, they were expressed by the same symbols, and the distinction between them was in great measure lost sight of. A certain difference was, nevertheless, still observable in the attributes of the deities, depending on the peculiar properties and associations of their solar representatives. Thus the powerful deity of Phoenicia was naturally associated with the strong, scorching, summer sun, whose heat was the most pro- minent attribute. In countries such as Egypt, where the sun, acting on the moist soil left by inundations, caused the earth to spring into renewed life, the mild but energetic early sun was the chief deity. When, considering the sacred bull of antiquity, the symbol of the fecundating force in nature, Osiris, the national sun-god of the Egyptians, was referred to as distinguished from the Semitic Seth (Set), who was identified with the detested shepherd race. The association of Osiris with Khem shows his Phallic character, 3 and, in fact, Plutarch asserts that he was everywhere represented with the phallus exposed. 4 1 Kawlinson's " History of Herodotus," vol. ii., p. 291. 2 Op. cit., p. 89, et seq. 8 Wilkinson, op. cit., vol. iv., pp. 342, 260. 4 Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. i., p. 423. 58 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. The Phallic idea enters, moreover, into the character of all the chief Egyptian deities. Bunsen says : " The mythological system obviously proceeded from ' the concealed god' Ammon to the creating god. The latter appears first of all as the generative power of nature in the Phallic god Khem, who is afterwards merged in Ammon-ra. Then sprung up the idea of the creative power in Kneph. He forms the divine limbs of Osiris (the primeval soul) in contradiction to Ptah, who as the strictly demiurgic principle, forms the visible world. Neith is the creative principle, as nature represented under a feminine form. Finally, her son Ra, Helios, appears as the last of the series, in the character of father and nourisher of terrestrial beings. It is he, whom an ancient monument repre- sents as the demiurgic principle, creating the mundane egg." 1 The name of Ammon has led to the notion that he was an embodiment of the idea of wisdom. He certainly was distinguished by having the human form, but his hieroglyphical symbol of the obelisk, and his connection with Khem, show his true nature. He undoubtedly represented the primitive idea of a gene- rative god, probably at a time when this notion of fecundity had not yet been extended to nature as dis- tinguished from man, and thus he would form a point of contact between the later Egyptian sun-gods and the pillar gods of the Semites and Phoenicians. 3 To 1 Op. cit., vol. i., p. 388. 2 In the temple of Hercules at Tyre were two symbolical steles, one a pillar and the other an obelisk. See Eaoul-Rochette, op. cit., p. 51, where is a reference to a curious tradition, pre- served by Josephus, connecting Moses with the erection of columns at Heliopolis. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 59 the Egyptians, as to these other peoples, the sun became the great source of deity. His fecundating warmth or his fiery destroying heat were, however, not the only attributes deified. These were the most important, but the Egyptians, especially, made gods out of many of the solar characters, 1 although the asso- ciation of the idea of " intellect" with Amun-re must have been of late date, if the original nature of Amun was what has been above suggested. As man, however, began to read nature aright, and as his moral and intellectual faculties were developed, it was necessary that the solnr deities themselves should become invested with co-relative attributes, or that other gods should be formed to embody them. The perception of light, as distinguished from heat, was a fertile source of such attributes. In the Chal- dean mythology, Vul, the son of Anu, was the god of the air, but his power had relation to the purely atmospheric phenomena rather than to light. 2 The only reference to light found in the titles of the early deities is in the character ascribed to Va-lua, the later Bur or Nin-ip, who is said to "irradiate the nations like the sun, the light^of the gods." 3 But this deity was apparently the distant planet Saturn, if not origi- nally the moon, and the perception of light as a divine attribute must be referred to the Aryan mind. 4 Thus the Hindu Dyans (the Greek Zeus) is the shining deity, the god of the bright sky. As such the sun- 1 Wilkinson, op. cit., vol. iv., p. 299. 2 Eawlinson's " Herodotus," vol. i., p. 608. 8 Ditto, p. 620. 4 Man, the name of the Egyptian God of Truth, certainly signifies " light," but probably only in a figurative sense. 60 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. gods now also become the gods of intellectual wisdom, an attribute which also appears to have originated with the Aryan peoples, among whom the Brahmans were possessors of the highest wisdom, as children of the sun, and whose Apollo and Athene were noble embodiments of this attribute. The Chaldean gods, Hea and Nebo, were undoubtedly symbolised by the wedge or arrow-head, which had especial reference to learning. In reality, however, this symbol merely shows that they were the patrons of letters or writing, and not of wisdom, in its purely intellectual aspect. If the form of the Assyrian alphabetical character was of Phallic origin, 1 we may have here the source of the idea of a connection between physical and mental knowledge embodied in the legend of the "fall." In the Persian Ahuro-mazdao (the wise spirit) we have the purest representation of intellectual wisdom. The book of Zoroaster, the Avesta, is literally the " word," the word or wisdom which was revealed in creation and embodied in the divine Mithra, who was himself the luminous sun-god. The similarity between the symbols of the sun-gods of antiquity and the natural objects introduced into the Mosaic myth of the fall has been already referred to, and it is necessary now to consider shortly what in- fluence the Phallic principle there embodied had over other portions of Hebraic theology. The inquiries of Dr. Faber have thrown great light on this question, 1 The importance ascribed to the mechanical arts may perhaps lead us to look for the formal origin of this character in the " wedge," which was the chief mechanical power the ancients possessed. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 61 although the explanation given by him of the myth of Osiris and of the kindred myths of antiquity is by no means the correct one. Finding a universal prevalence of Phallic ideas and symbolism, Dr. Faber refers it to the degradation of a primitive revelation of the Great Father of the Universe. The truth thus taught was lost sight of, and was replaced by the dual notion of a Great Father and a Great Mother — " the transmi- grating Noah and the mundane Ark" of the universal Deluge. Noah was, however, only a reappearance of Adam, and the ark floating on the waters of the Deluge was an analogue of the earth swimming in the ocean of space. 1 There is undoubtedly a parallelism between the Adam and Noah of the Hebrew legends, as there is between the analogous personages of other phases of these legends, yet it is evident that, if the Deluge never happened, a totally different origin from the one supposed by Dr. Faber must be assigned to the great Phallic myth of antiquity. It is absolutely necessary, therefore, to any explanation (other than the Phallic one) of the origin of this myth, to esta- blish the truth of the Noahic Deluge. 2 Accordingly, an American writer has framed an elaborate system of " Arkite symbolism," founded on the supposed in- fluence of the great Deluge over the minds of the posterity of those who survived its horrors. Mr. Lesley sees in this catastrophe the explanation of "phallism," 1 Faber, op. tit., vol, ii., p. 20. 2 Bryant, in his " Ancient Mythology," has brought together a great mass of materials bearing on this question. The facts, however, are capable of quite a different interpretation from that which he has given to them. 62 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. which, " converting all the older Arkite symbols into illustrations of its own philosophical conceptions of the mystery of generation, gave to the various parts and members of the human body those names which con- stitute the special vocabulary of obscenity of the present day." 1 But the priority of these symbols or conceptions is the question at issue. Did the development of " Arkism" precede or follow the superstitions referred to by Mr. Lesley as Ophism, 3fithraism, and Phallism, all of which have been shown to embody analogous ideas ? If the question of priority is to be determined by reference to the written tradition which furnishes the real ground of belief in a great Deluge, it must clearly be given to the Phallic superstition ; for it is shown conclusively, as I think, that almost the first event in the life of man there related is purely Phallic in its symbolism. Nor is the account of the fall the only portion of the Mosaic history of primitive man which belongs to this category. The Garden of Eden, with its tree of life and the river which divided into four streams, although it may have had a secondary refer- ence to the traditional place of Semitic origin to which the Hebrews looked back with a regretful longing, has undoubtedly a recondite Phallic meaning. It must be so, if the explanation I have given of the myth of the fall be right, since the two are intimately connected, and the Garden 3 is essential to the succeeding catas- 1 " Origin and Destiny of Man," p. 339. 2 Dr. Inraan points out that, in the ancient languages, the terra for " garden" is used as a metaphor for woman. " Ancient Faiths," i. 52 ; ii. 553. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 63 trophe. That this opinion is correct can be proved more- over by reference to Hindu mythology. " The Hindu/' says Dr. Creuzer, " contemplates with love his mys- terious Merou, a sacred mountain from whence the source of life spreads itself in the valleys and over the plains, which separates day from night, reunites heaven and earth, and finally on which the sun, the moon, and the stars each repose." 1 But what is this myste- rious mountain, the sacred Merou ? It is shown by Dr. Creuzer's own explanation. He says : " It is on the Mount Merou, the central point of the earth (which elevates itself as an mmense jph^all us from_the centre of an immense yoni amongst the islands with which the sea is sown), that the grand popular deity who presides over the Lingam, Siva or Mahadeva, the father and master of nature, makes his cherished abode, spreading life to every part under a thousand diverse forms which he incessantly renews. Near him is Bhavani or Parvati, his sister and his wife, the Queen of the mountains, the goddess of the Yoni, who carries in her bosom the germ of all things, and brings forth the beings whom she has conceived by Maha- deva. We have here the two great principles of nature, the one male and the other female, generators and regenerators, creators and at the same time de- stroyers ; but they destroy only to renew ; they only change the forms ; life and death succeed in a perfect circle, and the substance remains in the midst of all these changes." The sacred mountain is wanting to the Mosaic legend, but Dr. Faber justly sees 2 in 1 Guigniaut's " Religions de l'Antiquite," vol. i., p. 146. 2 Op. ciL, i. 315. 64 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. the Mount Merou, where resides Siva and Bhavani, the Hebrew Paradise, and we find that the Hindu myth affirms that the sacred river not only sprang from the roots of Jambu, a tree of a most extravagant size, which is thought to convey knowledge and to effect the accomplishment of every human wish, but also that, after passing through "the circle of the moon," it divides it into " four streams, flowing towards the four cardinal points." > The priority of the Phallic superstition over " Arkism" is further proved by the undoubted fact that, even in the traditions of the race to whom we are indebted for the precise details of the incidents accompanying (the Deluge, the Phallic deities of the Hamitico-Semites are genealogically placed long before, the occurrence of this event. The Semitic deity Seth is, according to one fable, the semi-divine first ancestor of the Semites. Bunsen has shown clearly also that several of the antediluvian descendants of the Semitic Adam were among the Phoenician deities. Thus, the Carthag- inians had a god Yubal, Jubal, who would appear to have been the sun-god iEsculapius, called "the fairest of the gods ;" and so, " we read in a Phoenician inscription Ju-Baal— i.e., beauty of Baal, which Movers ingeniously interprets iEsculapius — Asmun-Jubal." Here, then, adds Bunsen, "is another old Semitic name attached to a descendant of Lamekh, together with Adah, Zillah, and Naamah." 1 Hadah, the wife of Lamekh, as well of Esau, the Phoenician Usov, is identified with the goddess, worshipped at Babylon as Hera (Juno), and, notwithstanding Sir Gardner Wil- 1 " Egypt," vol. iv., p. 257. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 65 kinson's dictum to the contrary, her names, Hera, Hadah, point to a connection with the Egyptian Her Her, or Hathor, who was the daughter of Seb and Netpe, as Hera was the daughter of Chronos and Rhea. The name of the god Kiyun, or Kevan, who was worshipped by the Hebrews, and who in Syria was said to devour children, seems, from its connection with the root kun, to erect, to point to the ante- diluvian Kain or Kevan. Kon, d erived from the same root, was, according to Bunsen, a Phoenician designa- tion of Saturn. 1 Even the great Carthaginian sun- god Melekh, who was also " held in universal honour throughout Phoenicia," seems, although Bunsen does not thus identify him, to be no other than Lamekh, the father of Noah, in one of the genealogies of Genesis. We may, perhaps, have in the sacrifices to the Phoenician deities, when the first-born sons of the people were offered on his altars, an explanation 2 of the passage in Genesis which has so much puzzled commentators, where Lamekh is made to declare that he has "slain a man for his wound, and a youth for his hurt," for which, while Cain was avenged seven times, Lamekh should be avenged seventy times seven times. 3 The Phoenicians had a tradition that Kronosjl (Saturn) had sacrificed his own beloved son Yadid/j and some ancient writers said that the human sacrifices to Moloch were in imitation of this act/ This reason 1 "Egypt," vol. iv., p. 209. 2 Mr. Gerald Massey appears to regard the crime of Lamekh as the practice of abortion, men not desiring to have children Op. at., ii. 119. 3 Gen., iv. 23, 24. 4 Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. iv., pp. 285-6. F 66 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. may not be the correct one for the use of human sacrifices, but the seventy times seven times in which Lamekh was avenged may well refer to the abundance of the victims offered on the altar of the Phoenician deity. Thepriority of the Phallic superstition over "Arkism," or rather the existence of that superstition before the formation of the Deluge legend, is proved, moreover, by its agreement with the myth of Osiris and Isis. This agreement forms the central idea of the explana- tion of pagan idolatry given by Faber, and yet it con- clusively proves that the ISoachian Deluge was simply a my tli, having, like that of Osiris, a Phallic basis. Bunsen says "the myth of Osiris and Typhon, hereto- fore considered as primeval, can now be authoritatively proved to be of modern date in Egypt — that is to say, about the thirteenth or fourteenth century B.C." l But~7 it is this version of the Osirian myth which is said to I be founded on the Noachian catastrophe, Typhon or \, The Evil Being, the persecutor of Osiris, being the Waters of the Deluge. The very foundation of the Hebrew legend is thus cut away, and from the fact, moreover, that the Egyptians had no tradition of a great flood, we must seek for another origin for the legend of which different phases were held by so many of the peoples of antiquity. The fact of Typhon (Seth) having been venerated in Egypt to so late a date as the thirteenth century B.C. is a proof that the myth, according to which he was the cruel persecutor oi his brother Osiris, must have been of a later orioin. 1 Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. iii., p. 413. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 67 The primitive form of the myth is easily recognised when it is known that both Osiris and Typhon (Seth) were sun-gods. Thus, according to Bunsen, " the myth of Osiris typifies the solar year, the power of Osiris is the sun of the lower hemisphere, the winter solstice. The birth of Horus typifies the vernal equinox — the victory of Horus, the summer equinox — the inunda- tion of the Nile. Typhon is the autumnal equinox — ■ Osiris is slain on the seventeenth of Athyr (November). . . . The rule of Typhon lasts from the autumnal equinox to the middle of December. He reigns twenty- eight years, or lives as long." 1 Thus the history of Osiris is " the history of the circle of the year," and in his resurrection as Horus we see the sun resuscitating itself after its temporary eclipse during the winter solstice. Here Typhon is also a sun-god, his rule being at the autumnal equinox when the sun has its full power. This was the deity of the Semites and of the inhabitants of Lower Egypt, and his scorching force, doubtless, prepared the Egyptians, who vene- rated the milder Osiris, to look with abhorrence on Typhon-Seth, who had already, probably under the same influence, become a savage deity, delighting in burnt offerings and human sacrifices. 2 No wonder, therefore, that when the worshippers of the Semitic god were driven out of Egypt, the god himself was treated as an enemy. Thus we are told that the enemies of Egypt and their gods contended with the gods of Egypt, who veiled themselves under the heads of animals in order to save themselves from Typhon. 1 Bunsen's " Egypt," vol. iii., p. 437. 2 Ditto, vol. iv., p. 286. 68 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. Moreover, when this Semitic god was thus degraded and transformed into an Evil Being, he would natu- rally come to be looked upon as the enemy of Osiris, seeing that he was already identified with the autumn sun, which during the autumnal equinox triumphs over the sun of Osiris ; and we can easily understand how, if the myth of a Deluge, and the consequent destruction of all mankind but the father of the renewed human race, was introduced, Typhon would be the destroying enemy and Osiris the suffering and restored man-god. If, as Dr. Faber supposes, the Egyptian myth was a form of that which relates to the Noachian Deluge, we can only suppose them to have had a similar basis, a basis which, from the very circumstances of the case, must be purely " Phallic." This explanation is the only one which is consistent with a peculiarity in the Hebrew legend which is an insurmountable objec- tion to its reception as the expression of a literal fact. We are told by the Mosaic narrative that Jehovah directed Noah to take with him into the ark " of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort." Now, according to the ordinary acceptation of the legend, this passage expresses a simple absurdity, even on the hypothesis of a partial Deluge. If, however, we read the narrative in a Phallic sense, and by the ark understand the sacred Jrgha of Hindu mythology, the Yoni of Parvati,. which, like .the moon in Zoroastrian teaching, carries in itself the xt germs of all things," we see the full propriety of what otherwise is incomprehensible. The Elohim " created" the heavens and the earth, and on its destruction PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 69 the seeds of all things were preserved in the ark to again cover the earth. Taken in this sense, we see the reason of the curious analogy which exists in various points between the Hebrew legends of the Creation and of the Deluge, this analogy being one of the grounds on which the hypothesis of the Great Father as the central idea of all mythologies has been based. Thus, the primeval ship, the navigation of which is ascribed to the mythological being, is not the ark of Noah or Osiris, or the vessel of the Phoenician Kabiri. It was the moon, the ship of the sun, in which his seed is supposed to be hidden until it bursts forth in new life and power. The fact that the moon was, in early mythologies, a male deity, almost necessitates, however, that there should have been another origin for the sacred vessel of Osiris. This we have in the Hastoreth-karnaim, the cow- goddess, whose horns represent the lunar ark, and who, without doubt, was a more primitive deity than the moon-goddess herself. 1 The most primitive type of all, however, is that of the Argha or Yoni of the Indian Iswara, which from its name was supposed to have been turned into a dove. 2 Thus, in Noah and the ark, as in Osiris and the moon, we see simply the combination of the male and female elements as they are still represented in the Hindu lingam. The introduction of the dove into the myth is a curious 1 If space permitted, we might trace to their source the developments which the primeval goddess of fecundity under- went. To the ideas embodied in her may be referred nearly all the feminine deities of antiquity. 2 Faber, op. ciL, vol. ii., p. 24G. 70 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. confirmation of this view. For this bird, which, as " the emblem of love and fruitfulness," was " con- secrated to Venus, under all her different names, at Babylon, in Syria, Palestine, and Greece j 1 which was the national banner-sign of the Assyrians, as of the earlier Sythic empire, whose founders, according to Hindu tradition, took the name of Jonim or Yoniyas, and which attended on Janus, a diluvian ' god of opening and shutting ;' was simply a type of '" the Yoni' or Jonah, or Navicular feminine principle," which was said to have assumed the form of a ship and a dcve. 2 In bringing this essay to a close, some mention should be made of what may be called the modem religions, Brahminism, Buddhism, and Christianity, seeing that these still exist as the faiths of great peoples. As to the first of these, it may be thought that its real character cannot be ascertained from the present con- dition of Hindu belief. It is said that the religion of the Vedas is very different from that of the Puranas, which have taken their place. It should be remem- bered, however, that these books profess to reproduce old doctrine, the word " Purana" itself meaning old, and that Puranas are referred to in one of the Upani- shads, while the Tantras, which contain the principles of the Sacti Puja, and which are as yet almost unknown to Europeans, are considered by the Brahmins to be more ancient than the Puranas themselves. 3 The 1 Kenrick's " Phoenicia," p. 307. 2 See Faber, op. cit. ; also Note at the end of this chapter. 3 On this question, see the " Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London," vol. ii., p. 265 ; also " Sketch of the Keligious PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 71 origin of the ideas contained in these books is a diffi- cult question. The germs of both Vishnu-worship and Siva-worship appear to be found in the Vedas, 1 and the worship of the linga is undoubtedly referred to the Mahatharata. 2 It is more probable, as thought by Mr. Fergusson and other late writers, that they are only indirectly sprung from the primitive Hinduism. The similarity between Siva-ism and the Santal-worship of the Great Mountain pointed out by Dr. Hunter is very remarkable, and this analogy is strengthened by intermixture in both cases with river-worship. 3 There is no doubt that the Great Mountain is simply a name for the Phallic emblem, which is the chief form under which Siva is represented in the numerous temples at Benares dedicated to his honour. Considering the position occupied by the serpent as a symbol of life and indirectly of the male power, we should expect to find its worship connected to some extent with that of Siva. Mr. Fergusson, however, declares that it is not so, and, although this statement requires some quali- fication, 4 yet it is certain that the serpent is also inti- Sects of the Hindus," in the " Asiatic Eesearches," vol. xviL (1832), p. 216, et seq. 1 This question is fully considered by Dr. Muir in his Sanscrit Texts, part iv., p. 54, et seq. - Ditto, pp. 161, 343. 3 " Rural Bengal," p. 187, et seq., 152. This association of the mountain and the river is found also in the Persian Khordah- Avesta. See (5) Abun-yasht, v. 1-3. * See "Tree and Serpent "Worship," p. 70; also Sherring's "Benares," pp. 75-89. Here the serpent is evidently symbolical of life. In the Mahabharata, Mahadeva is described as having >/ " a girdle of serpents, ear-rings of serpents, a sacrificial cord of s serpents, and an outer garment of serpent's skin." " Dr. Muir, op. cit., part iv., p. 160. 72 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. mately associated with Vishnu. In explanation of this fact, Mr. Fergusson remarks : " The Vaishnava religion is derived from a group of faiths in which the serpent always played an important part. The eldest branch of the family was the Naga worship, pure and 6imple ; out of that arose Buddhism, . . . and on its decline two faiths — at first very similar to one another — rose from its ashes, the Jaina and the Vaishnava." The serpent is almost always found in Jaina temples as an object of worship, while it appears everywhere in Vaishnava tradition. 1 But elsewhere Mr. Fergus- son tells us that, although Buddhism owed its estab- lishment to Naga tribes, yet its supporters repressed the worship of the serpent, elevating tree-worship in its place. 2 It is difficult to understand how the Vaish- navas, who are worshippers of the female power, 3 and who hate the /i?igam, can yet so highly esteem the serpent which has indirectly, at least, reference to the male principle. Perhaps, however, we may find an explanation in Mr. Fergusson's own remarks as to the character and development of Buddhism. According to him, Buddhism was chiefly influential among Naga tribes, and " was little more than a revival of the coarser superstitions of the aboriginal races, 4 purified and refined by the application of Aryan morality, and 1 Op. tit., p. 70. - Ditto, p. 62. 3 Mr. Sellon, in the " Memoirs of the Anthropological Society of London," vol. ii., p. 273. 4 It should not be forgotten that the Vedic religion was not that of all the Aryan tribes of India (see Muir, op. cit., part ii., pp. 377, 368, 383), and it is by no means improbable that some of them retained a more primitive faith — " Buddhism" or " Kudraism" — i.e., Slva-isin. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 73 elevated by doctrines borrowed from the intellectual superiority of the Aryan races. 1 " As to its develop- ment, the sculptures on the Sanchi Tope show that at about the beginning of the Christian era, although the dagoba, the chahra or wheel, the tree, and other emblems, were worshipped, the serpent hardly ap- pears ; while at Amravati, three centuries later, this animal had become equal to Buddha himself. 2 More- over, there can be no doubt that the ling am was an emblem of Buddha, as was also the lotus, which represents the same idea — the conjunction of the male and female elements, although in a higher sense per- fect wisdom. 3 The association of the same ideas is seen in the noted prayer Om mani padmi hum (" Oh, the Jewel in the Lotus"), which refers to the birth of Padmipani from the sacred lotus flower, 4 but also, there can be little doubt, to the phallus and the yoni. We may suppose, therefore, that whatever the moral doctrine taught by Gautama, he used the old Phallic symbols, although it may be with a peculiar applica- tion. If the opinion expressed by Mr. Fergusson as to the introduction into India of the Vaishnava faith by an early immigrant race be correct, it must have existed in the time of Gautama, and indeed the Ion- 1 Op. cit., p. 62. To come to a proper conclusion on this im- portant point, it is necessary to consider tlie real position occu- pied by Gautama in relation to Brahmanisni. Burnoux says that he differed frotu his adversaries only in the definition he gives of salvation (du saint). " Introduction a FHistoire du Buddhisme Indien," p. 155. 2 Fergusson, op. cit., pp. 67, 222, 223. 3 See Guigniaut, op. cit., vol. i., pp. 293, 160 n. 4 Schlagenweit, " Buddhism in Tibet," p. 120. 74 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. ism of Western Asia is traditionally connected with India itself at a very early date, 1 although probably the early centre of Ion-ism, the worhip of the Dove or Yoni, was, as Bryant supposes, in Chaldea. 3 We see no trace, however, in Buddhism proper of Sacti Puja, and I would suggest that, instead of abolishing either, Gautama substituted for the separate symbols of the linga and the yoni, the association of the two in the lingam. If this were so, we can well understand how, on the fall of Buddhism, Siva-worship 3 may have retained this compound symbol, with many of the old Naga ideas, although with little actual reference to the serpent itself, other than as a symbol of life and power; while, on the other hand, the Vaishnavas may have reverted to the primitive worship of the female principle, retaining a remembrance of the early serpent associations in the use of the Sesha, the heavenly naga with seven heads 1 figured on the Am- ravati sculptures. It is possible, however, that there may be another ground of opposition between the followers of Vishnu and Siva. Mr. Fergusson points out that, notwithstanding the peculiarly Phallic sym- bolism of the latter deity, "the worship of Siva is too severe, too stern for the softer emotions of love, and all his temples are quite free from any allusion to it." It 1 Higgins' " Anacalypsis," vol. i., p. 332, et seq. See also p. 342, et seq. 2 Op. cit., vol. i., p. 1, et seq., 25. 3 Dr. Hunter points out a connection between Siva-ism and Buddhism. Op. cit., p. 194. 4 Mr. Fergusson, op. cit., p. 70. The serpent is connected with Vishnuism as a symbol of wisdom rather than of life. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 75 is far different with the Vaishnavas, whose temples " are full of sexual feelings generally expressed in the grossest terms." 1 Siva, in fact, is specially a god of intellect, typified by his being three-eyed, and although terrible as the resistless destroyer, yet the recreator of all things in perfect wisdom ; 2 while Vishnu has rela- tion rather to the lower type of wisdom which was distinctive of the Assyrians, among ancient peoples, and which has so curious a connection with the female principle. Hence the shell or conch is peculiar to Vishnu, while the linga belongs to Siva. 3 Gautama combined the simpler feminine phase of religion with the more masculine intellectual type, symbolising this union by the lingam and other analogous emblems. The followers of Siva have, however, adopted the combined symbol in the place of the linga alone, thus approaching more nearly than the Vaishnavas to the idea of the founder of modern Buddhism. Gau- tama himself, nevertheless, was most probably only the restorer of an older faith, according to which per- fect wisdom was to be found only in the typical com- bination of the male and female principles in nature. The real explanation of the connection between Buddhism and Siva-ism has perhaps, however, yet to 1 Op. tit., p. 71. 2 Hence Siva, as Sambhu, is the patron deity of the Brahman order, and the most intellectual Hindus of the present day are to be found among his followers. See Wilson, op. cit., p. 171. Sherring's " Sacred City of the Hindus," p. 146, et seq. 3 The bull of Siva has reference to strength and speed rather than to fecundity, while the Big-veda refers to Vishnu as the former of the womb, although elsewhere he is described as the fecundator. Muir, op. cit., part iv., pp. 244, 292, 83, 64. 76 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. be given 1 . The worship of the serpent-god is not unknown, even at the present day, in the very strong- hold of Siva-ism, 2 reminding us of the early spread of Buddhism among Naga tribes. In the "crescent sur- mounted by a pinnacle similar to the pointed end of a spear," which decorates the roofs of the Tibetan monasteries, 3 we undoubtedly have a reproduction of the so-called trident of Siva. This instrument is given also to Semi, the Hindu Saturn, who is represented as encompassed by two serpents, 4 and hence the pillar symbol of this primeval deity we may well suppose to be reproduced in the linga of the Indian Phallic god. 5 But the pillar symbol is not wanting to Buddhism itself. The columns said to have been raised by Asoka have a reference to the pillars of Seth. The remains of an ancient pillar supposed to be a Buddhist Lat is still to be seen at Benares, 6 the word Lat being merely another form of the name Tet, Set, or Sat, given to the Phoenician Semitic or deity. In the central pillar of the so-called Druidical circles we have doubt- less a reference to the same primitive superstition, the idea intended to be represented being the combination of the male and female principles. 7 1 This question has been considered by Burnoux, op. cit., p. 547, et seq. But see also Hodgson's " Buddhism in Nepaul," and paper in the " Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society," vol. xviii. (I860), p. 395, et seq. 2 See Herring, op. cit., p. 89. 3 Schlagenweit, op. cit., p. 181. 4 Maurice's " Indian Antiquities," vol. vii., p. 566. 5 As to the identity of Siva and Saturn, see Guigniaut, op. cit., vol. i., p. 167 n. 6 Sherring, op cit., p. 305, et seq. 7 It should be noted that many of the so-called " circles" are in reality elliptical. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 77 In conclusion, it must be said that Christianity itself is certainly not without the Phallic element. Reference may be made to the important place taken in Christian dogma by the "fall," which has been shown to have had a purely Phallic foundation, and to the peculiar position assigned to Mary, as the Virgin Mother of God. 1 It must not be forgotten, however, that, whatever may have been the primitive idea on which these dogmas are based, it had received a totally fresh aspect at the hands of those from whom the founders of Christianity received it. 2 As to symbols, too, these were employed by the Christians in the later signification given to them by the followers of the ancient faiths. Thus the fish and the cross sym- bols orginally embodied the idea of generation, but afterwards that of life, and it was in this sense that they were applied to Christ. 3 The most evidently Phallic representation used by the Christian Iconographers is undoubtedly the aureole, or vesica piscis, which is elliptical in form and contained the figure of Christ — Mary herself, however, being sometimes represented in the aureole, glorified as Jesus Christ, 4 Probably 1 See, on this subject, Higgins' " Anacalypsis," vol. i., p. 315, et seq. - We must look to the esoteric teaching of Mithraism for the origin and explanation of much of primitive Christian dogma. The doctrine of " regeneration," which is a spiritual application of the idea of physical generation, was known to all the religious systems of antiquity, and probably the Phallic emblems generally used were regarded by the initiated as having a hidden meaning. I may, perhaps, be allowed to refer to the second volume of my " Evolution of Morality" for information on the subject of the "re-birth." 3 The serpent elevated in the wilderness is said to be typical of Christ. A Gnostic sect taught that Christ was Seth. 4 Didron's "Christian Iconography" (Bohn), pp. 272-286. 78 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. the nimbus also is of Phallic significance, for, although generally circular, it was sometimes triangular, square, &C. 1 The name of Jehovah is inscribed within a radiating triangle. 2 Didron gives an illustration of St. John the Evangelist with a circular nimbus, sur- mounted by two sun-flowers, emblems of the sun, an idea which, says Didron, "reminds us of the Egyptian figures, from the heads of which two lotus-flowers rise in a similar manner." 3 There is also a curious representation in the same work of the Divine hand with the thumb and two forefingers outstretched, resting on a cruciform nimbus. 4 In Egypt the hand having the fingers thus placed was a symbol of Isis, and, from its accompaniments, there can be no doubt, notwithstanding the mesmeric character ascribed to it by Ennemoser, 5 that it had an essentially Phallic origin, although it may ultimately have been used to signify life. There can be no question, however, that, whatever may be thought as to the nature of its symbols, 6 the basis of Christianity is more emotional than that of any other religion now existing. Reference has been made to the presence in Hebraic theology of an idea of God — that of a Father — antagonistic to the Phoenician notion of the " Lord of Heaven." We have the same idea repeated in 1 It is a curious fact that Buddhist saints are often represented in the Vesica and with the nimbus. See Hodgson's figures (Plates v. and vi.) in the " Journal of the Koyal Asiatic Society," vol. xvi. 2 Didron, pp. 27, 231. 3 Ditto, p. 29. 4 Ditto, p. 215. 5 " History of Magic" (Bohn), vol. i., p. 253, et seq. 6 As to these, see King's " Gnostics and their Remains," p. 72. PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 79 Christ's teaching, its distinctive characteristic being the recognition of God as the Universal Father — the Great Parent of mankind, who had sent His son into the world that he might reconcile it unto Himself. It is in the character of a forgiving parent that Chris- tians are taught to view God, when He is not lost sight of in the presence of Christ, of whom the church is declared to be the bride. In Christianity we see the final expression of the primitive worship of the father as the head of the family — the gene- rator — as the result of an instinctive reasoning process leading up from the particular to the universal — with which, however, the dogma of the " fall" and its conse- quences — deduced so strangely from a Phallic legend — have been incorporated. 1 As a religion of the emo- tions, the position of Christianity is perfectly un- assailable. As a system of rational faith, however, it is otherwise ; and the tendency of the present age is just the reverse of that which took place among the Hebrews — the substitution of a Heavenly King for a Divine Father. In fact, modern science is doing its best to effect for primitive fetishism, or demon-worship, what Christianity has done for Phallic-worship — gene- ralise the powers of nature and make of God a Great Unknowable Being, who, like the Elohim, of the Mo- saic Cosmogony, in some mysterious manner, causes 1 In the philosophy of St. Paul, the death of Christ was rendered necessary by the fall. By the first man, Adam, came death, and in Christ the second Adam are all made alive. Man- kind reverts to the position occupied by Adam before he sinned ; and as in the New Jerusalem there is no marriage, so in the earthly paradise of the Hebrew legend man was at first intended to live alone. 80 PHALLISM IN ANCIENT RELIGIONS. all things to appear at a word. This cannot, however, be the real religion of the future. If God is to be worshipped at all, the Heavenly King and the Divine Father must be combined as a single term, and He must be viewed, not as the unknowable cause of being, but as the great source of all being, who may be known in nature — the expression of his life and energy, and in man who was " created" in his own image. Note. — M. Francois Lenormant, in the seventh edition of his " Histoire ancienne de 1' Orient" (T. i., p. 91), after considering the traditions of a great deluge preserved by various peoples, concludes that "the biblical deluge, far from being a myth, has been a real and historical fact, which has struck the ancestors of at least the Aryan or Indo-European, the Semitic or Syro-Arab, and the Hamitic or Kouschite races — that is, the three great civilised races of the ancient world, before the ancestors of these races were separated, and in the Asiatic country which they inhabited together." The authority of M. Lenormant is great, but preference must be given on this point to the arguments of M. Dupuis, who, in his " Origine de tous des Cultes" (T. iii., p. 176, et seq.), has almost certainly proved the astronomical character of what he terms the " fiction sacerdotale," which, however, may have originated with the common ancestors of the three races referred to by M. Lenormant. THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 81 CHAPTER III. THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. The subject to be discussed in the present chapter is one of the most fascinating that can engage the attention of anthropologists. It is remarkable, how- ever, that although so much has been written in relation to it, we are still almost in the dark as to the origin of the superstition in question. The student of mythology knows that certain ideas were associated by the peoples of antiquity with the serpent, and that it was the favourite symbol of particular deities ; but why that animal rather than any other was chosen for the purpose is yet uncertain. The facts being well known, however, I shall dwell on them only so far as may be necessary to support the conclusions based upon them. We are indebted to Mr. Fergusson for bringing together a large array of facts, showing the extra- ordinary range which serpent-worship had among ancient nations. It is true that he supposes it not to have been adopted by any nation belonging to the Semitic or Aryan stock ; the serpent- worship of India and Greece originating, as he believes, with older peoples. However this may be, the superstition was certainly not unknown to either Aryans or Semites. The brazen serpent of the Hebrew exodus was destroyed in the reign of Hezekiah, owing to the idolatry to which it gave rise. In the mythology of the Chaldeans, from whom the Assyrians seem to 82 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. have sprung, the serpent occupied a most important position. Among the allied Phoenicians and Egyp- tians it was one of the most divine symbols. In Greece, Hercules was said " to have been the pro- genitor of the whole race of serpent-worshipping Scythians, through his intercourse with the serpent Echidna;" and when Minerva planted the sacred olive on the Acropolis of Athens, she placed it under the care of the serpent-deity Erechthonios. As to the Latins, Mr. Fergusson remarks that " Ovid's ' Metamorphoses' are full of passages referring to the important part which the serpent performed in all the traditions of classic mythology." The superstitions connected with that animal are supposed not to have existed among the ancient Gauls and Germans; but this is extremely improbable, considering that it appears to have been known to the British Celts and to the Gothic inhabitants of Scandinavia. In Eastern Europe there is no doubt that the serpent superstition was anciently prevalent, and Mr. Fergusson refers to evidence proving that "both trees and serpents were worshipped by the peasantry in Esthonia and Finland within the limits of the present century, and even with all the characteristics possessed by the old faith when we first became acquainted with it." The serpent entered largely into the mythology of the ancient Persians, as it does into that of the Hindus. In India it is associated with both Sivaism and Vishnuism, although its actual worship perhaps belonged rather to the aboriginal tribes among whom Buddhism is thought by recent writers to have ori- ginated. The modern home of the superstition, THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 83 however, is Western Africa, where the serpent is not merely considered sacred, but is actually worshipped as divine. On the other side of the Indian Ocean traces of the same superstition are met with among the peoples of the Indian islands and of Polynesia, and also in China. The evidences of serpent-worship on the American Continent have long engaged the attention of archaeologists, who have found it to be almost universal, under one form or another, amonir the aboriginal tribes. That animal was sculptured on the temples of Mexico and Peru, and its form is said by Mr. Squier to be of frequent occurrence among the mounds of Wisconsin. The most remarkable of the symbolic earthworks of North America is the great serpent mound of Adam's county, Ohio, the convolu- tions of which extend to a length of 1,000 feet. At the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association, in 1871, Mr. Phene gave an account of his discovery in Argyllshire of a similar mound several hundred feet long, and about fifteen feet high by thirty feet broad, tapering gradually to the tail, the head being sur- mounted by a circular cairn, which he supposes to answer to the solar disc above the head of the Egyp- tian urasus, the position of which, with head erect, answers to the form of the Oban serpent-mound. This discovery is of great interest, and its author is probably justified in assuming that the mound was connected with serpent- worship. It may be remarked, in evidence of the existence of such structures in other parts of the old world, that the hero of one of the Yacnas of the Zend Avesta is made to rest on what he thinks is a bank, but which he finds to be a great green snake, doubt- 84 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. less a serpent-mound. Another ancient reference to these structures is made by Iphicrates, who, according to Bryant, "related that in Mauritania there were dragons of such extent, that grass grew upon their backs." Let us now see what ideas have been associated with the serpent by various peoples. Mr. Fergusson mentions the curious fact that " the chief characteristic of the serpent throughout the East in all ages seems to have been their power over the wind and rain." According to Colonal Meadows Taylor, in the Indian Deccan, at the present day, offerings are made to the village divinities (of whom the nag, or snake, is always one) at spring time and harvest for rain or fine weather, and also in time of cholera or other diseases or pesti- lence. So, among the Chinese, the dragon is regarded as the giver of rain, and in time of drought offerings are made to it. In the spring and fall of the year it is one of the objects worshipped, by command of the Emperor, by certain mandarins. The Chinese notion of the serpent or dragon dwelling above the clouds in spring to give rain reminds us of the Aryan myth of Vritra, or Ahi, the throttling snake, or dragon with three heads, who hides away the rain-clouds, but who is slain by Indra, the beneficent giver of rain. " When- ever," says Mr. Cox, " the rain is shut up in the clouds, the dark power is in revolt against Dyaus and Indra. In the rumblings of the thunder, while the drought still sucks out the life of the earth, are heard the mutterings of their hateful enemy. In the lightning flashes which precede the outburst of the pent-up waters are seen the irresistible spears of the god, who THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 85 is attacking the throttling serpent in his den ; and in the serene heaven which shone out when the deluging clouds are passed away, men beheld the face of the mighty deity who was their friend." Mr. Cox else- where remarks that Vritra, " the enemy of Indra, re- appears in all the dragons, snakes, or worms slain by all the heroes of Aryan mythology." Whether the great serpent be the giver or the storer of rain, the Aryans, like all Eastern peoples, suppose it to have power over the clouds. This, however, is only one of its attributes. It is thought to have power over the wind as well as the rain, and this also is con- firmed by reference to Aryan mythology. Mr. Cox has well shown that Hermes is "the air in motion, or wind, varying in degree from the soft breath of a summer breeze to the rage of the growing hurricane." In these more violent moods he is represented by the Maruts, the "crushers" or "grinders," who are also the children of Rudra, the " Father of the Winds," and himself the " wielder of the thunderbolt" and the "mightiest of the mighty." Rudra is also "the robber, the cheat, the deceiver, the master thief," and in this character both he and Hermes agree with the cloud-thief Vritra. Notwithstanding the fact that in the Mahabharata, Rudra, like Hercules, is described as the " destroyer of serpents," he is in the same poem identified with Mahadeva, and hence he is evidently the same as Siva, who has the title of King of Serpents. The primitive character of Siva, as the Vedic Rudra, is now almost lost, but the identity of the two deities may be sup- ported by reference to an incident related in the myth 86 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. of Hermes and Apollo. It is said that, in return for the sweet-sounding lyre, Apollo gave to Hermes the magical " three-leafed rod of wealth and happiness." Sometimes this rod was entwined with serpents instead of fillets, and there is no difficulty in recognising in it the well-known emblem of Siva, which also is some- times encircled by serpents. It can be shown that the Hindu deity is a form of Saturn, one of the Semitic names for whom was Set or Seth. It was the serpent- symbol of this God 1 which was said to have been elevated in the wilderness for the healing of the people bitten by serpents, and curiously enough Rudra (Siva) was called not only the bountiful, the strong, but the healer. The later Egyptian title of the god Set was Typhon, of whom Mr. Breal says that " Typhon is the monster who obscures the heaven, a sort of Greek Vritra." The myth of Indra and Vritra is reproduced in Latin mythology as that of Hercules and Cacus. Cacus also is analogous to Typhon, and as the former is supposed to have taken his name from, or given it to, a certain wind which had the power of clothing itself with clouds, so the latter bore the same name as a very destructive wind which was much dreaded by the Phoenicians and Egyptians. Moreover, the name Typhon was given by the Egyptians to anything tem- pestuous, and hence to the ocean ; and in Hebrew the allied word " Suph" denotes a "whirlwind." There is another point of contact, however, between Siva and the god Set or Typhon, who was known to the 1 Theodoret did not distinguish between an Egyptian sect called Sethians and the Gnostic Ophites or serpent-worship- pers. THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 87 Egyptians also as the serpent Aphophis, or the giant. An ancient writer states that one of the names of El, or Chronos, was Typhon, and the serpent and pillar symbols of the Phoenician deity confirm the identifica- tion between Set or Saturn, and the Siva of the Hindu Pantheon. One of the leading ideas connected with the serpent was, as we have seen, its power over the rain, but another equally influential was its connection with health. Mr. Fergusson remarks that " when we first meet with serpent-worship, either in the wilderness of Sinai, the groves of Epidaurus, or in the Sarmatian huts, the serpent is always the Agatho-daemon, the bringer of health and good fortune." 1 The Agatho- daemon, which in ancient Egypt presided over the affairs of men as the guardian spirit of their houses, 2 was the Asp of Ranno, the snake-headed goddess who is represented as nursing the young princes. That the idea of health was intimately associated with the serpent is shown by the crown formed of the asp, or sacred Thermuthis, having been given particularly to Isis, a goddess of life and healing. It was also the symbol of other deities with the like attributes. Thus on a papyri it encircles the figure of Harpocrates, who was identified with the serpent god iEsculapius ; while 1 The heavenly serpent, Danh, of the Dahomans, is said by Captain Burton to be the god of wealth. " His earthly repre- sentative is esteemed the supreme bliss and general good." The Slavonian Morlacchi still consider that the sight of a snake crossing the road is an omen of good fortune. — Wilkinson's " Dalmatia and Montenegro," vol. ii., p. 160. 2 Mr. Lane states that each quarter of Cairo is supposed to have its guardian genius, or Agatho-daemon, in the form of a serpent. — Vol. i., p. 289. 88 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. not only was a great serpent kept alive in the temple of Serapis, but on later monuments this deity is repre- sented by a great serpent, with or without a human head. Sanchoniathon says of that animal — "It is long-lived, and has the quality not only of putting off its old age and assuming a second youth, but of receiving at the same time an augmentation of its size and strength." The serpent, therefore, was a fit em- blem of Rudra, "the healer;" and the gift which Apollo presented to Mercury could be entwined by no more appropriate object than the animal which w T as supposed to be able to give the health without which even Mercury's magic-staff could not confer wealth and happiness. It is remarkable that a Moslem saint of Upper Egypt is still thought to appear under the form of a serpent, and to cure the diseases which afflict the pilgrims to his shrine. Ramahavaly, one of the four national idols of the Malagasy, bears a curious analogy to the serpent gods of wisdom and healing. One of his titles is JRabiby, signifying "animal," and denoting "the god of beasts ;" and his emissaries are the serpents which abide in Madagascar, and are looked upon with super- stitious fear by the inhabitants. Ramahavaly is, more- over, regarded as the Physician of Imerina, and is thought to preserve from, or expel, epidemic diseases. Mr. Ellis says that he is sometimes described "as god, sacred, powerful, and almighty ; who kills and makes alive ; who heals the sick, and prevents diseases and pestilence ; who can cause thunder and lightning to strike their victims or prevent their fatality ; can cause rain in abundance when wanted, or can with- THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 89 hold it so as to ruin the crops of rice. He is also celebrated for his knowledge of the past and future, and for his capacity of discovering whatever is hidden or concealed." It is probable that the association with the serpent of the idea of healing arose from the still earlier recognition of that animal as a symbol of life. We have already referred to the representations in the Egyptian temples of the young princes being nursed by a woman having the head of an asp. It is in- teresting to find that in India at the present day ser- pent-worship is expressly resorted to on behalf of children, and " the first hair of a child which is shaved off when it has passed teething and other infantine ailments is frequently dedicated to a serpent." This animal in both cases is treated as the guardian of life, and therefore the crown given to Egyptian sove- reigns and divinities was very properly formed of the asp of Eanno. Another snake-headed Egyptian god- dess has the name Hih or Hoh, and Sir Gardner Wil- kinson mentions that the Coptic word Hof signifies the viper, analogous to the hye of the Arabs. The Arabic word hiya, indeed, means both life and a ser- pent. This connection is supported by the associa- tion, already pointed out, between the serpent and the gods of the life-giving wind, and by the fact that these also possess the pillar symbol of life. This belongs as well to Siva the destroyer, the preserver, and the creator, as to Set or Saturn, to Thoth-Hermes, and El or Chronos. Both the serpent and the pillar were assigned also to many of the personifications of the sun, the deified source of earthly life. Probably the 90 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. well-known figure representing the serpent with its tail in its mouth was intended to symbolise endless life rather than eternity, an idea which does not appear to have been associated with that animal by the Egyp- tians. Agreeably with this view, Horapollo affirms that Kneph-Agatho-dasmon denoted immortality. One of the best-known attributes of the serpent is wisdom. The Hebrew tradition of the fall speaks of that animal as the most subtle of the beasts of the field ; and the founder of Christianity tells his disci- ples to be as wise as serpents, though as harmless as doves. Among the ancients the serpent was con- sulted as an oracle, and Maury points out that it played an important part in the life of several cele- brated Greek diviners in connection with the know- ledge of the language of birds, which many of the ancients believed to be the souls of the dead. The serpent was associated with Apollo and Athene, the Grecian deities of wisdom, as well as with the Egyptian Kneph, 1 the ram-headed god from whom the Gnostics are sometimes said to have derived their idea of the Sophia. This personification of divine wisdom is undoubtedly represented on Gnostic gems under the form of the serpent. In Hindu mythology there is the same association between the animal and the idea of wisdom. Siva, as Sambhu, is the patron of the Brahmanic order, and, as shown by his being three-eyed, is essentially a god possessing high intel- lectual attributes. Vishnu also is a god of wisdom, but of the somewhat lower type which is distinctive 1 Warburton supposes that the worship of the One God Kneph was changed into that of the dragon or winged-serpent Knuphis. THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 91 of the worshippers of truth under its feminine aspect. The connection between wisdom and the serpent is best seen, however, in the Hindu legends as to the Nagas. Mr. Fergusson remarks that "the Naga appears everywhere in Vaishnava tradition. There is no more common representation of Vishnu 1 than as reposing on the Sesha, the celestial seven-headed snake, contemplating the creation of the world. It was by his assistance that the ocean was churned and Amrita produced, He everywhere spreads his protecting hood over the god or his avatars ; and in all instances it is the seven-headed heavenly Naga, not the earthly cobra of Siva." The former animal, no doubt, is especially symbolical of wisdom, and it is probably owing to his intellectual attributes, rather than to his destructive or creative power, that Siva is sometimes styled the King of Serpents. The Upanishads refer to the science of serpents, by which is meant the wisdom of the mysterious Nagas, who, according to Buddhistic legend, reside under Mount Meru, and in the waters of the terrestrial world. One of the sacred books of the Tibetan Buddhists is fabled to have been received from the Nagas, who, says Schla- gentweit, are "fabulous creatures of the nature of ser- pents, who occupy a place among the beings superior to man, and are regarded as protectors of the law of the Buddha. To these spiritual beings Sakyamuni is said to have taught a more philosophical religious system than to men, who were not sufficiently advanced to understand it at the time of his appearance." So far as this has any historical basis, it can mean only 1 Vishnu is often identified with Kneph. 92 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. that Gautama taught his most secret doctrines to the Nagas, or aboriginal serpent-worshippers, who were the first to accept his teaching, and whose religious ideas had probably much in common with those of Gautama himself. Mr. Fergusson refers to the fact that a king of the Naga race was reigning in Magadha when Buddha was born in 623 B.C. ; and he adds that the dissemination of his religion " is wholly due to the accident of its having been adopted by the low caste kings of Magadha, and to its having been elevated by one of them to the rank of the religion of the state." It would appear, indeed, that according to a Hindu legend, Gautama himself had a serpent lineage. The " serpent-science" of Hindu legend has a curious parallel in Phoenician mythology. The invention of the Phoenician written character is referred to the god- Taaut or Thoth, whose snake-symbol bears his name Tet, and is used to represent the ninth letter of the alphabet (teta), which in the oldest Phoenician cha- racter has the form of the snake curling itself up. Philo thus explains the form of the letter thela, and that the god from whom it took its name was designated by the Egyptians as a snake curled up, with its head turned inwards. Philo adds that the letters of the Phoenician alphabet " are those formed by means of serpents ; afterwards, when they built temples, they assigned them a place in the adytums, instituted various ceremonies and solemnities in honour of them, and adored them as the supreme gods, the rulers of the universe." Bunsen thinks the sense of this pas- sage is " that the forms and movements of serpents were employed in the invention of the oldest letters, THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 98 which represent the gods." He says, however, that " the alphabet does not tally at all with the Phoenician names," and the explanation given by Philo, although curious as showing the ideas anciently associated with the serpent, is reliable only so far as it confirms the connection between that animal and the inventor of the written characters. According to another tradi- tion, the ancient theology of Egypt was said to have been given by the Agatho-daemon, who was the bene- factor of all mankind. The account given of the serpent by Sanchoniathon, as cited by Eusebius, is worth repetition as showing the peculiar notions anciently current in connection with that animal. The Phoenician writer says : "Taautus first attributed something of the divine nature to the serpent and the serpent tribe, in which he was followed by the Phoenicians and Egyptians ; for this animal was esteemed by him to be the most inspired of all the reptiles, and of a fiery nature, in- asmuch as it exhibits an incredible celerity, moving by its spirit without either hands or feet, or any of those external members by which other animals effect their motion, and in its progress it assumes a variety of forms, moving in a spiral course, and darting forwards with whatever degree of swiftness it pleases. It is, moreover, long-lived, and has the quality not only of putting off its old age, and assuming a second youth, but of receiving at the same time an augmentation of its size and strength, and when it has fulfilled the ap- pointed measure of its existence it consumes itself, as Taautus has laid down in the sacred books; upon which account this animal is introduced in the sacred 94 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. rites and mysteries." In India at the present day some Brahmans always keep the skin of a nag, or snake, in one of their sacred books, probably from some idea connected with the casting by the serpent of its skin referred to in the preceding passage. "We have now seen that the serpent was anciently the symbol of wisdom, life, and healing, and also that it was thought to have power over the wind and rain. This last attribute is easily understood when the importance of rain in the east is considered, and the ideas associated by the ancients with the air and moisture are remembered. The Hebrew tradition which speaks of the creative spirit moving over the face of the waters embodies those ideas, according to which the water contains the elements of life and the wind is the vivifying principle. The attribute of wisdom cannot so easily be connected with that of life. The power of healing is certainly an evidence of the possession of wisdom, 1 but as it is only one phase of it, probably the latter attribute was ante- cedent to the former, or at least it may have had an independent origin. What this origin was may perhaps be explained by reference to certain other ideas very generally entertained in relation to the serpent. Among various African tribes this animal is viewed with great veneration, under the belief that it is often the re-embodiment of a deceased ancestor. This notion appears to be prevalent also among the 1 According to Gaelic and German folklore, the white snake when boiled has the faculty of conferring medicinal wisdom. The white snake is venerated as the king of serpents by the Scottish Highlanders as by certain Arab tribes, and it would appear also by the Singhalese of Ceylon. THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 95 Hindus, who, like the Kafirs, will never kill a serpent, although it is usually regarded with more dislike than veneration. Mr. Squier remarks that " many of the North American tribes entertain a superstitious regard for serpents, and particularly for the rattlesnake. 1 Though always avoiding they never destroy it, ' lest/ says Barham, ' the spirit of the reptile should excite its kindred to revenge.' " Mr. Squier adds that, " according to Adair, this fear was not unmingled with veneration. Charlevoix states that the Natchez had the figure of a rattlesnake, carved from wood, placed among other objects upon the altar of their temple, to which they paid great honour. Heck- welder relates that the Linni Linape called the rattle- snake ' grandfather,' and would on no account allow it to be destroyed. Hemy states that the Indians around Lake Huron had a similar superstition, and also desig- nated the rattlesnake as their ' grandfather.' He also mentions instances in which offerings of tobacco were made to it, and its parental care solicited for the party- performing the sacrifice. Carver also mentions an instance of similar regard on the part of a Menominee Indian, who carried a rattlesnake constantly with him, ' treating it as a deity, and calling it his great father.'" The most curious notion, however, is that of the Mexicans, who always represented the first woman, whose name was translated by the old Spanish writers " the woman of our flesh," as accompanied by a great male serpent. The serpent is the sun-god Tonacatl- coatl, the principal deity of the Mexican Pantheon, 1 The snake is one of the Indian tribal totems. 96 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. and his female companion, the goddess mother of man- kind, has the title cihua-cohuatl, which signifies " woman of the serpent." With the Peruvians, also, the principal deity was the serpent-sun, whose wife, the female serpent, gave birth to a boy and a girl from whom all mankind were said to be descended. It is remarkable that the serpent origin thus ascribed to the human race is not confined to the aborigines of America. According to Herodotus, the primeval mother of the Scyths was a monster, half woman and half serpent. This reminds us of the serpent parentage ascribed to various personages of classical antiquity. 1 Among the Semites, Zohak, the traditional Arabian conqueror of Central Asia, is represented as having two snakes growing at his back ; and Mr. Bruce men- tions that the line of the Abyssinian kings begins with " The Serpent," Arwe, who is said to have reigned at Axum for 400 years, showing that the royal descent was traced from this animal. From the position assigned to the dragon in China, it probably was formerly thought to stand in a similar relation to the Emperor, of whom it is the special symbol. The facts cited prove that the serpent superstition is intimately connected with ancestor-worship, pro- bably originating among uncultured tribes, who, struck by the noiseless movement and the activity of the 1 Pausanias, iv., 14, mentions Aristodama, the mother of Aratus, as having had intercourse with a serpent, and the mother of the great Scipio was said to have conceived by a serpent. Such was the case also with Olympias, the mother of Alexander, who was taught by her that he was a god, and who in return deified her. — Le Hythe de la Femme et du Serpent, par Ch. Schoebel, 1876, p. 84. THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 97 serpent, combined with its peculiar gaze and power of casting its skin, viewed it as a spirit embodiment. As such, it would be supposed to have the superior wisdom and power ascribed to the denizens of the invisible world, and from this would originate also the ascription to it of the power over life and health, and over the moisture on which those benefits are dependent. The serpent- spirit may, however, have made its appearance for a good or a bad purpose, to confer a benefit or to inflict punishment for the mis- deeds of the living. The notion of there being good and evil serpent-spirits would thus naturally arise. Among ancestor-worshipping peoples, however, the serpent would be viewed as a good being who busied himself about the interests of the tribe to which he had once belonged. When the simple idea of a spirit- ancestor was transformed into that of the Great Spirit, the father of the race, the attributes of the serpent would be enlarged. The common ancestor would be rele- gated to the heavens, and that which was necessary to the life and well-being of his people would be supposed to be under his care. Hence the great serpent was thought to have power over the rain and the hurricane, with the latter of which he was pro- bably often identified. When the serpent was thus transferred to the atmo- sphere, and the superstition lost its simple character as a phase of ancestor-w T orship, its most natural asso- ciation would be with the solar cult. It is not sur- prising, therefore, to find that Quetzalcoatl, the divine benefactor of the Mexicans, was an incarnation of the serpent-sun Tonacatlcoatl, who thus became the great H 98 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. father, as the female serpent Cihuacoatl was the great mother, of the hutnau race. It is an interesting inquiry how far the sun-gods of other peoples partook of this double character. Bunsen has a remarkable passage bearing on the serpent nature of those deities. He says that " Esmun-Esculapius is strictly a Phoeni- cian god. He was especially worshipped at Berytus. At Carthage he was called the highest god, together with Astarte and Hercules. At Babylon, according to the above genealogy of Bel, Apollo corresponded to him. As the snake-god he must actually be Hermes, in Phoenician Tet, Taautes. ... In an earlier stage of cosmogonical consciousness he is Agatho-da3inon-S6s, whom Lepsius has shown to be the third god in the first order of the Egyptian Pantheon." The serpent deity who was thus known under so many forms was none other than the sun-god Set or Saturn, who has already been identified with Siva and other deities having the attributes usually ascribed to the serpent. Bunsen asserts that Set is common to all the Semites and Chaldeans, as he was to the Egyptians, but that " his supposed identity with Saturn is not so old as his identity with the sun-god, as Sirius (Sothis), because the sun has the greatest power when it is in Sirius." Elsewhere the same writer says that "the Oriento- Egyptian conception of Typhon-Set was that of a drying-up parching heat. Set is considered as the sun-god when he has reached his zenith, the god of the summer sun." The solar 1 character of the serpent-god appears 1 Mr. "Robert Brown, jun., says that the serpent has six prin- cipal points of connection with Dionysos: — 1, As a symbol of, THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 99 therefore to be placed beyond doubt. But what was the relation in which he was supposed to stand to the human race ? Bunsen, to whose labours I am so much indebted, remarks that Seth " appears gradually among the Semites as the background of their religious con- sciousness," and not merely was he u the primitive god of northern Egypt and Palestine," but his genealogy as " the Seth of Genesis, the father of Enoch (the man), must be considered as originally running parallel with that derived from the Elohim, Adam's father." Seth is thus the divine ancestor of the Semites, a character in which, but in relation to other races, the solar deities generally agree with him. The kings and priests of ancient peoples claimed this divine origin, and " chil- dren of the sun" was the title of the members of the sacred caste. When the actual ancestral character of the deity is hidden he is regarded as " the father of his people" and their divine benefactor. He is the intro- ducer of agriculture, the inventor of arts and sciences, and the civiliser of mankind ; " characteristics," says Faber, "which every nation ascribed to the first of their gods or the oldest of their kings." This was true of Thoth, Saturn, and other analogous deities, and the Adam of Hebrew tradition was the father of aoricul- o ture, as his representative Noah was the introducer of the vine. Elsewhere I have endeavoured to show that the name of the great ancestor of Hebrew tradition has and connected with, wisdom ; 2, As a solar emblem ; 3, As a symbol of time and eternity ; 4, As an emblem of the earth-life ; 5, As connected with fertilising moisture ; 6, As a Phallic emblem. — The Great Bionysiah Myth, 1878, ii., 66. 100 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. been preserved by certain peoples who may thus be classed together as Adamites. He appears, indeed, to be the recognised legendary ancestor of the members of that division of mankind whose primeval home we can scarcely doubt was in Central Asia, answering in this respect to the Seth of the Semites. According to the tradition, however, as handed down to us by the Hebrews, Seth himself was the son of Adam. From this, it would seem to follow that, as Seth was the serpent sun-god (the Agatho-daemon), the legendary ancestor of the Adamites must himself have partaken of the same character. Strange as this idea may appear it is not without warrant. We have already seen that the Mexicans a scribed that nature to Tonacatlcoatl and his wife, the mother of mankind, and that a similar notion was entertained by various peoples of the old world. The Chaldean god Hea who, as the " teacher of man- kind," and the " lord of understanding," answers exactly to the divine benefactor of the race before referred to, was " figured by the great serpent which occupies so conspicuous a place among the symbols of the gods on the black stones recording Babylonian benefactions." The name of the god is connected with the Arabic ffij/a, which signifies a serpent as well as life, and Sir Henry Rawlinson says that "there are very strong grounds indeed for connecting him with the serpent of Scripture, and with the Paradisaical traditions of the tree of knowledge and the tree of life." The god Hea was, therefore, the serpent revealer of knowledge, answering in some respects to the serpent of the fall. He was, however, the Agatho- dasmon, and in the earlier form of the legend doubt- THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT- WORSHIP. 101 less answered to the great human ancestor himself. It is curious that, according to Rabbinical tradition, Cain was the son, not of Adam, but of the serpent- spirit Asmodeus, who is the same as the Persian Ahriman, "the great serpent with two feet." 1 In the name of Eve, the mother of mankind, we have, indeed, direct reference to the supposed serpent-nature of our first parents. Clemens Alexandrinus long since remarked that the name Hevia, aspirated, signifies a female serpent. The name Eve is evidently connected with the same Arabic root as that which we have seen to mean both "life" and "a serpent," and the Persians appear to have called the constellation Serpens " the little Ava," that is Eve, a title which is still given to it by the Arabs. But if Eve was the serpent mother, Adam must have been the serpent father. In the old Akkad tongue Ad signifies " a father," and the mythical personages with w r hom Adam is most nearly allied, such as Seth or Saturn, Taaut or Thoth, and others, were serpent deities. Such would seem to have been the case also with the deities whose names show a close formal resemblance to that of Adam. Thus the ori- ginal name of Hercules was Sanclan or Adanos, and Hercules, like the allied god Mars, was undoubtedly often closely associated with the serpent. This notion is confirmed by the identification of Adonis and Osiris as Azar or Adar, according to Bunsen the later Egyp- 1 Mr. Cooper states (loc. cit., p. 390) that prominent in the Egyptian religious system was the belief in a monstrous personal evil being typically represented as a serpent, and that^ the principle of good was there likewise represented by an entirely different serpent, a constant spiritual warfare being maintained between the two. 102 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. tian Sar-Apis, who is known to have been represented as a serpent. The Abaddon of St. John, the old dragon Satan, was probably intended for the same serpent- god. It is interesting to compare the ideas entertained as to the great dragon in the Book of Revelation and those held by the Chinese in relation to probably the same being. Mr. Doolittle says : " The dragon holds a remarkable position in the history and government of China. It also enjoys an ominous eminence in the affections of the Chinese people. It is frequently re- presented as the greatest benefactor of mankind. It is the dragon which causes the clouds to form and the rain to fall. The Chinese delight in praising its won- derful properties and powers. It is the venerated symbol of good." This was probably the view originally taken by the Egyptians, who were all followers of the serpent cult. In Egypt two kinds of serpents were the objects of peculiar veneration, and of an almost universal wor- ship. All the gods were more or less symbolised or crowned by serpents, while all the goddesses were hieroglyphically represented by serpents. The animal used for these purposes was the cobra de copello, or urreus, which, according to Mr. W. R. Cooper, i " from its dangerous beauty, and in consequence of ancient tradition asserting it to have been spon- taneously produced by the rays of the sun," was universally assumed as the " emblem of divine and sacro-regal sovereignty." The urreus appears to be always represented on the Egyptian monuments, in 1 " The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt," published in the " Transactions of the "Victoria Institute," vol. vi., 1872. THE ORIGIN OP SERPENT-WORSHIP. 103 the feminine form, and it was used as a symbol of fecundity, agreeably to which idea the generative power of the solar beams is typified by pendent ureei. The urseus, moreover, symbolised life and the power of healing, and it was the emblem of immortality. Mr. Cooper remarks that in the Egyptian religious system the principle of good was typically represented by a serpent, while under the form of an entirely different serpent was figured a monstrous personal evil being who maintained a constant spiritual warfare with the spirit of good. The serpent embodiment of the principle of evil was called Hof, Rehof,or Aphophis, and it was a species of coluber of large size. It is described as "the destroyer, the enemy of the gods, and the devourer of the souls of men ;" and it was thought to dwell in the depths of " that mysterious ocean upon which the Baris, or boat of the sun, was navigated by the gods through the hours of day and night, in the celestial regions." The idea of an antagonism between the giant serpent Aphophis and the good serpent, as the "soul of the world," con- stantly occurs in the Ritual of the Dead, and the aid of every divinity in turn is sought by the deceased in his conflict with the evil being. It is remarkable that the " soul of the world," Chnuphis, or Bait, is represented as a coluber, and that it appears to be identified with Aphophis in one chapter of the Ritual. Mr. Cooper states that, although a large coluber which is figured as being worshipped resembles Aphophis, it cannot be him, as there is no example of direct wor- ship paid to Aphophis, "unless, indeed, we identify it with Sutekh, as the Shepherd Kings, the last but one 101 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. of whom was named Aphophis, appear to have done." The serpent Aphophis is sometimes represented with the crown of Lower Egypt upon his head, and at one period he was identified with Set or Seth, the national deity of the Hyksos or Shepherd tribes. All traces of the worship of Set was obliterated from the Egyptian monuments, but one representation has been pre- served in which Set is figured with Horus, united as one divinity, between the triple serpent of good. This shows that Set, and probably, therefore, his serpent emblem, was originally not considered evil. Lower Egypt was largely populated by Semitic peoples, whose national deity was their legendary ancestor Seth, and the detestation with which the Egyptians regarded Set and the serpent Aphophis identified with him was probably the result of national enmity. Mr. Cooper points out that the serpent of good is always represented by the Egyptians as upright and the serpent of evil as crawling, this being generally the only distinction made. The god Chnuphis, the " soul of the world," is usually figured as a Serpent (Coluber) walking upon two human legs, and curiously enough this is the form taken by the evil principle of Persian mythology, the great serpent walking on two feet. A similar inversion of ideas occurs in the religious mythology of the Naga peoples of the East. Near the ruined temples of Cambodia, as on the Buddhist Topes of India, are sculptured gigantic serpents with volu- minous folds supported by human figures, as the gigantic Aphophis is represented on the Egyptian monuments. There must have been some special reason why the great serpent was regarded so differently by various THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. 105 peoples, and this was probably the result of race antagonism. It is remarkable that one of the most ancient people of whom we have any written record — the primitive inhabitants of Chaldea — not only bore the name of the traditional father of mankind, but were especially identified with the serpent. The predecessors of the Jkkad, in Chaldea, were the Medes, or Mad, of Berosus, and the distinctive title of at least the later Medes was Mar, which in Persian means " a snake." This Sir Henry Rawdinson supposes to have given rise " not only to the Persian traditions of Zohak and his snakes, but to the Armenian traditions, also, of the dragon dynasty of Media." The Medes of Berosus belonged almost certainly to the old Scythic stock of Central Asia, to whom the Chaldeans, the Hebrews, and the Aryans have alike been affiliated by different writer's. When, therefore, Mr. Fergusson says that serpent-worship characterised the old Turanian Chal- dean Empire, he would seem to trace it to the old Asiatic centre. Probaby to the same source must be traced the serpent tradition of the Abyssinian kings. Bryant long since asserted that that superstition origi- nated with the Amonians or Hamites, who also would seem to have been derived from the Scythic stock. The facts brought together in the preceding pages far from exhaust the subject, but they appear to justify the following conclusions: — First, The serpent has been viewed with awe or veneration from primeval times, and almost univer- sally as a re-embodiment of a deceased human being, and as such there were ascribed to it the 106 THE ORIGIN OF SERPENT-WORSHIP. attributes of life and wisdom, and the power of healing. Secondly, The idea of a simple spirit re-incarnation of a deceased ancestor gave rise to the notion that mankind originally sprang from a serpent, and ulti- mately to a legend embodying that idea. Thirdly, This legend was connected with nature — or rather sun-worship — and the sun was, therefore, looked upon as the divine serpent — father of man and nature. Fourthly, Serpent-worship, as a developed religious system, originated in Central Asia, the home of the great Scythic stock, from whom all the civilised races of the historical period sprang. Fifthly, These peoples are the Adamites, and their mythical ancestor was at one time regarded as the Great Serpent, his descendants being in a special sense serpent-worshippers. Note. — At page 88, the Malagasy idol Ramahavaly is spoken of as still existing. As a fact, however, in 1869 all the Malagasy national idols were, by order of the Government, publicly burned. Many other idols and charms were at the same time destroyed by their owners. — Madagascar and its People, by the Rev. James Sibree, Jun., p. 481. THE ADAMITES. 107 CHAPTER IV. THE ADAMITES. Much has from time to time been written as to the distinction between the Adamites and the pre- Adamites, although little has been done to identify the members of the two great divisions into which the human race has been thus divided. Those who accept the Deluge of Noah as a historical fact, stated however in terms too wide, may say generally that all the descendants of this patriarch are, as such, Adamites, while the pre- Adamites comprise the peoples of the primitive area inhabited by the dark races, supposed by some writers to be referred to in the Hebrew Scriptures under the term ish, " the sons of man," as distinguished from the sons of Adam. Little value, however, can be attached to such a general statement as this. Supposing Noah to have been a second common father of the race, we are still ignorant as to what peoples are to be classed among his descendants. No doubt the Toldoth Beni Noah of Genesis throws considerable light on the question. According to that genealogical table the whole earth was divided after the Flood among the families of the three sons of Noah — Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It is not necessary here to identify the peoples described as the descend- ants of these patriarchs. It will suffice to say that Professor Rawlinson, who differs only in one or two 108 THE ADAMITES. particulars from other recent authorities, writes as to the distribution of those peoples : " Whereas the Japhetic and Hamitic races are geographically con- tiguous, the former spread over all the northern regions known to the genealogist — Greece, Thrace, Scythia, most of Asia Minor, Armenia, and Media; the latter over all the south and the south-west, North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Southern and South- eastern Arabia, and Babylonia — so the Semitic races are located in what may be called one region, that region being the central one, lying intermediate be- tween the Japhetic region upon the north and the Hamitic one upon the south." Supposing the Toldoth to give an exact statement of the descendants of the three sons of Noah, it by no means follows that the peoples there referred to are alone entitled to be classed as Adamites, and I pro- pose, therefore, to see whether the latter can be identified by other evidence. Almost intuitively we turn, in the first place, to that region known as Chaldea, which has furnished in our own days material so important for the reconstruction of the annals of civilised man in the earliest historical period. Professor Rawlinson, indeed, at the Liverpool meeting of the British Association, held in 1870, sought to establish that the Garden of Eden of the Hebrew writers was none other than Babylonia ; a hypothesis which certainly agrees with Sir Henry Rawlinson's statement that Hea, the third member of the primitive Chaldean triad, may be connected with the Para- disaical traditions of the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. This would point to Chaldea as the THE ADAMITES. 109 original home of the Adamites, unless, indeed, the traditions were derived from a still earlier centre, and it will be well to ascertain whether there is anything in the history of Babylon which directly connects its people with the Adamic stock. If we were to accept with Chwolson the great antiquity of " The Book of Nabathsean Agriculture," there would be no difficulty in assigning such a posi- tion to the Chaldeans. For this book not only expressly declares that they were the descendants of Adam, but in it Adam appears as the founder of agriculture in Babylon, acting the part of a civiliser, and hence named " The Father of Mankind." This agrees well with the Old Testament account of Adam as the first cultivator of the ground. M. Renan, how- ever, would seem to have conclusively established the late date of the so-called Nabatha)an work, showing that it contains legends as to Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, u analogous to those which they have in the apocryphal writings of the Jews and Christians, and subsequently in those of the Mussul- mans," Adam being known to all the Moslem East as " The Father of Mankind." We must seek, therefore, for some more reliable record of early Chaldean history ; and this we have in the stone monuments on which its annals were engraved. Sir Henry Rawlinson, on their authority, says of the Chaldeans of Babylonia that they were " a branch of the great Hamitic race of A Had, which inhabited Babylonia from the earliest times. With this race originated the art of writing, the building of cities, the institution of a religious system, the cultiva- 110 THE ADAMITES. tion of all science, and of astronomy in particular." The race affinity of the Akkad is hardly yet settled, but some information as to this point may be gained from the name by which they were designated. This appears to be composed of two words Ak(k)-Ad, the latter of which may be identified with the first syllable of the name Adam. As to the word Ak, some light may probably be thrown on its meaning by reference to the Celtic languages. Baldwin, without seeing its full bearing, makes the remark that the Dravidians of Southern India use Mag, as the Berbers and Gaels use Mac (Mach), the former word denoting " kindred" in all the Teutonic languages. Now, it could be proved by many examples that the letter 31, which is found at the beginning of certain words in various eastern languages, is often simply a prefix. This is especially the case in Hebrew and Arabic, and, there- fore, probably in the more ancient languages with which they are allied. Such, at least, must be the case with the initial letter of the word mach, " son," as in Erse the m is wanting, and in Welsh the related word, having the sense of " a root or stem, lineage," is also simply ach. Thus Ak(k)-Ad may well be " the sons or lineage of Ad ;" as Mac- Adam in Gaelic is " son of Adam." That the first syllable of this word had the signification here assigned to it is rendered extremely probable by another circumstance. It is well known that the Welsh equivalent for Mach, in the sense of " son," is Ap ; and so also we find that in Hebrew " son" is rendered by ben (the Assyrian ban), while in Arabic it is ibn. In these words the b is the root sound, and if son was expressed by ak in THE ADAMITES. Ill the old Akkad tongue, this would bear the same rela- tion to the Semitic languages as the Welsh does to the Gaelic and Erse — ok and ben in the one class answering o to ach and ap in the other. Nor is this view without positive support. The Hebrew has a word ach which expresses, not only the sense of "a brother," but also " one of the same kindred." In Assyrian uh means a " people," while ak signifies a " Creator ;" these words being connected with the old Egyptian uk, and also ahi, " to live." Nor is the idea that the Chaldean Akkad were lite- rally " the sons oiAd" without historical basis. Accord- ing to Berosus, the first Babylonian dynasty was Median. What people were referred to by this name is still undecided. Professor Rawlinson supposes that they were really the same as the so-called Aryan Medes of later history, while Sir Henry Rawlinson, although treating the later Medes as Aryan, yet con- siders those of Bersosus to have belonged to a Turanian, or at least a mixed Scytho-Aryan, stock. Elsewhere Professor Rawlinson seems inclined to identify the Chaldean Akkad with these Medes as a Turanian people who at a very early date conquered the Babylonian Kushites and mixed with them. This is, in fact, the conclusion which appears to be required by other considerations. The name by which the Medes are first noticed on the Assyrian monuments is Mad. But if the initial labial is removed, this name is reduced to the more simple form Ad ; and, suppos- ing the explanation given of the primitive name of the Chaldean race to be correct, the (M)ad who preceded them would really be the parent stock from wliich the 112 THE ADAMITES. Akkad, or Chaldeans, were derived. Confirmation of this notion may be supplied from another source. Among their Aryan neighbours the later Medes had the distinctive title of Mar. This, Sir Henry Rawlin- son supposes to have given rise, "not only to the Persian traditions of Zohak and his snakes, but to the Armenian traditions also of the dragon dynasty of Media, the word Mar having in Persian the significa- tion of a snake." But this must have been through ignorance of the real origin of the title, which had re- ference rather to the lion than to the snake. The Arab historian, Massoudi, in accounting for the appli- cation to the city of Babylon of the name of Iran- Sheher, observes that, "according to some, the true orthography should be Arian-Sheher, which signifies in Nabathasan, " the city of Lions," and that " this name of Lion designated the kings of Assyria, who bore the general title of Nimrud." Sir Henry Rawlin- son thinks that the title Mar is Scythic, and, if so, there can be little doubt of its signification. The pri- mitive meaning of At was " fire," from which the lion, as the symbol of the Sun-god was called ari, the Sun- frod himself having a name Ra. Strictly, therefore, Mar would denote " fire- worshippers," a title which, as is well-known, was especially applicable to the ancient Medes. The Aryans generally appear to have been Sun- or Fire-worshippers, and probably they received their name from this fact. This would seem to be much more probable than the ordinary deri- vation of the name Aryan from the root ar, "to plough ;" and it would include the sense of " noble" preferred by Mr. Peile, "children of the Sun" THE ADAMITES. 113 being usually a special title of the priestly or royal caste. Connected with this question is that of the origin of the name of the Greek god Ares (the Latin Mars). Among other grounds for inferring the Asiatic origin of this deity is his connection with Herakles. The Latin myth of Hercules and Cacus would seem, more- over, to require the identification of the former with Mars. Such would appear to be the case also in Chal- dean mythology. The Babylonian Mars was called Nergal, which is probably the same name as "Her- cules," and Sir Henry Rawlinson suggests that the only distinction to be made between that deity and Nbi, or Hercules, as gods of war and hunting, is that the former is more addicted to the chase of animals and the latter to that of mankind. That Hercules, or Herakles, was of Phoenician or Assyrian origin has been fully established by the learned researches of M. Raoul- Rochette, who has shown, moreover, that the proper name of that deity was Sandan or Adanos (Adan), a name which not only reminds us of Aduni, supposed by Professor Rawlinson to be a primeval Chaldean deity, but also recalls that of the Median Jd, and even of the Hebrew Adam. A remark made by Lajard strongly confirms the idea that the Latin war-god was derived from a similar source. This learned French writer accounts for the rapidity with which Mazdeism, better known as the worship of Mithra, spread among the Romans, by sup- posing that it was in some way connected with their national worship. Probably a key to this connection may be found in the curious figures of Mithra which I 114 THE ADAMITES. appear to have been peculiar to the Roman phase of Mazdeism. These figures, which are encircled by a serpent, unite to the human body and limbs, the head of the lion, and they might well be taken to represent Mars himself, since the title Mar, which was distinctive of the Medes, not only conveyed the idea of a serpent, but was also, and more intimately, associated with the lion symbol of the Sun-god. If the alliance thus sought to be established, through the title Mar, between the Medes or Mad, and the other peoples of the so-called Aryan stock be correct, we may expect to find traces among some, at least, of these peoples of the primeval Ad. Nor will such ex- pectation be disappointed. The Parsis of Bombay have a book called the "Desatir," the first part of which is entitled "the Book of the Great Abad," who is declared to have been the first ancestor of mankind. The authenticity of this book has been denied, as Mr. Baldwin thinks, however, on insufficient grounds. It is certainly strange, on the assumption of its being apocryphal, that such a name as Abad should have been given to the mythical head of the race. The meaning of the name is evidently " Father Jd," and there is nothing improbable in the Persians preserving a tradition of the mythical ancestor, whose memory was retained in the national name of the Medes, a people with whom they were so closely connected. It simply confirms the conclusion before arrived at, that they also must be classed among the Adamites. The Hindus themselves would seem not to be with- out a remembrance of the mythical ancestor of the Adamic stock. The Puranas, which, notwithstanding THE ADAMITES. 115 their modern form, doubtless retain many old legends, refers to the reign of King It or Ait, as an avatar of Mahadeva (Siva), who is a form of Saturn. Assuming that the information given to Wilford as to the reign of this king in Egypt ought to be rejected ; yet, as Aetus is mentioned by Greek writers as a Hindu, we must suppose such information to have been founded on actual statements contained in the Puranas. These certainly refer to the Ydduvas, descendants of Yadu, supposed emigrants to Abyssinia, whose character, as described in the Puranas, agrees well, says Wilford, with that ascribed "by the ancients to the genuine Ethiopians, who are said by Stephanus of Byzantium, by Eusebius, by Philostratus, by Eustathius, and others, to have come originally from India under the guidance of Aetus or Yatu," whom they believed to be the same as King Ait. Nor do the Celtic peoples appear to be without a traditional remembrance of the mythical ancestor. The leading Celtic people of Gaul, in the time of Caesar, were the j^Edin, and Davies thought that their name was derived from Acdd the Great, whom he finds referred to in the Welsh triads, and whom he identifies with A ides or Bis. Cassar, indeed, says that the god Bis was the mythical ancestor of the Gauls. The position occupied by this deity in the traditions of the Celtic race is very remarkable, when we con- sider that a divine person bearing the same name was known, not only to the Greeks, but apparently also to the Babylonians. Sir Henry Rawlinson points y out that Bis should be one of the names of Anu, the first member of the leading; Chaldean triad, and the 116 THE ADAMITES. deity who answered to Hades or Pluto. Warka or Urka, the great necropolis of Babylon, was especially dedicated to Aim, and Sir Henry Rawlinson remarks on this : "Can the coincidence then be merely accidental between Bis, the Lord of Urka, the City of the Dead, and Bis, the King of Orcus or Hades?" Most cer- tainly not, as it is only one of many circumstances which prove the close connection of the Greeks and other Aryan peoples with the ancient Babylonians. The original character of Dis, " Lord of the Dead," was probably the same as that of the Gallic Dis, i.e., the mythical ancestor of the race. A similar change of character has been undergone by the Hindu Yama. It is very probable that in the divine ancestor Dis, as in the mythical King It of the Hindus, we have reference to the primeval Ad. 1 A common rela- tionship as Adamites may be shown, as well by asso- ciation with the Medes, through their title Mar, as by preservation of a tradition of the common ancestor. The result, so far, is that not only the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and probably the Hindus, but also the Celtic peoples, have been connected with the Medes or Mad, and through them with the Akkad. But among the peoples supposed to be still more nearly allied to the Chaldeans, we may expect to find references to the mythical ancestor of the Adamic division of mankind. According to old tradition, indeed, Ad himself was the primeval father of the 1 Adonai, " Our Lord," was converted by the Greeks into Adoneus, as a synomym of Pluto, i.e., Dis. (King's " Gnostics," p. 101). Through his name, Sandan or Adanos, these deities are connected with Hercules, and hence with Ares (Mars). THE ADAMITES. 117 original Arab stock. Moreover, the dialect of Mahrah, where pure Arab blood is supposed still to exist, is called the language of Ad. It can hardly be doubted that a reference to the same mythical personage is also contained in the name of the great deity of the Syrians, Adad, " King of Kings," whose title implies the idea of "fatherhood." Nor are there wanting traces of the primeval Ad among the Egyptians. Mr. William Osburn states that the name of the local god of On or Heliopolis "is written on the monuments with the characters representing the sound a, t, m." This God was associated with the setting sun, and he was placed with the gods of the other cities of the Delta, a distinction he received, says Osburn, " for the triple reason, that he was the local god of the capital city, that he was the father of mankind, and that he was the ruler and guide of the sun, the common dispenser of earthly blessings to all men." A turn thus becomes identified with the Hebrew Adam, and although the description given by Osburn of the Egyptian deity may require some qualification, yet that identification is strengthened rather than weakened by other considerations. Bunsen says that the office of At am in the lower world is that of a judge, and he supposes from this that at one time he may have been a Dispater. He does, indeed, bear much the same relation to man as Dis himself. In the Ritual of the Dead, the souls call him father, and he addresses them as children. Sir Gardner Wilkinson says that At urn, or Atmoo, is always figured with a human head and painted of a red colour. This seems to confirm the idea derived from his name, that this 118 THE ADAMITES. deity was related to the Hebrew Adam, with whom the idea of ruddiness was undoubtedly associated. The human form of the Egyptian Atum shows, more- over, that he was considered as peculiarly connected with man. It has now been shown that not only are the people mentioned in the Toldoth Beni Noah rightly classed as descendants of the mythical Ad, but that the Asiatic Aryans, with the allied peoples of Europe to the fur- thest limits of the Celtic area, may also well be thus described. The ancient Mad belonged, however, to the great Scythic stock, and hence all the Turanian peoples, including the Chinese, may doubtless be classed among the Adamites. There is some ground, therefore, for asserting that the Adamites include all the so-called Turanian and Aryan peoples of Asia and Europe, with the Hamitic and Semitic peoples of Western Asia and Northern Africa — in fact, the yellow, the red, and the white races, as distinguished from the darker peoples of the tropics. But even these limits may perhaps be extended. One of the solar heroes of the Volsung Tale is Atli, who becomes the second husband of Gudrun, the widow of Sigurd, Sigurd himself being the slayer of the dragon Fafnir, who symbolises the darkness or cold of a northern winter — the Vritra of Hindu mythology. This dragon enemy of Indra was also called Ahi, the strangling snake, who appears again as Atri, and Mr. Cox sup- poses that the name Atri may be the same as the Atli of the Volsung Tale. Atli, who in the Nibelung song is called Etzel, overpowers the chieftains of Niflheim, who refused to give up the golden treasures THE ADAMITES. 119 which Sigurd had won from the dragon, and he throws thern into a pit full of snakes. The connection of the Teutonic hero with the serpent is remarkable ; for in the Mexican mythology we meet with a divinity having almost the same name, and associated with the same animal. Humboldt tells us that the Great Spirit of the Toltecks was called Teotl; and Hardwicke says that Teotl was the only God of Central America. If so, however, he was a serpent deity, for the temples of Yucatan were undoubtedly dedicated to a deity of that nature. It is not impro- bable, however, that Teotl was really a generic term, agreeing in this respect, as curiously enough in its form, with the Phoenician Taaut {Thoth). The God to whom the temples of Yucatan were really dedicated appears to be Quetzalcoatl, by some writers called the feathered serpent, a title belonging rather to his serpent-father Tonacatlcoail This Quetzalcoatl was the mysterious stranger who, accord- ing to tradition, founded the civilisation of Mexico, agreeing thus in his character of a god of wisdom with the Egyptian Thoth ; reminding us of the resemblance of the name of this deity to that of the Toltecan Teotl. But the first part of the name of the Mexican Quetzal- coatl no less resembles that borne by the Teutonic deity, Etzel. Co-atl signifies the "serpent," while quetzal would seem to have reference to the male principle ; and thus the idea expressed in the name of the Mexican god is the male principle represented as a serpent. Quetzalcoatl, moreover, is said to be an incarnation of Tonacatlcoatl, who is the male-serpent, his wife being called Cihuacoatl, meaning, literally, 120 THE ADAMITES. the " woman of the serpent," or " female serpent." In the identification, then, of Aili or Etzel, who consigns his enemies to the pit of serpents, with the great serpent Ahi himself, we have a ground of identifica- tion of the Teutonic deity with the Mexican serpent- god Quetzalcoatl. This view loses none of its pro- bability if the latter is, as Mr. Squire asserts, an incar- nation of the serpent-sun, or rather a serpent incarna- tion of the sun-god, since Ahi himself is a solar deity. In the religious symbols used by the Mexicans, we have another point of contact with the Asiatic deities. The sacred Tau of antiquity has its counterpart on the Mexican monuments. The Mexican symbol perfectly represents the cross form of the Tau, but it is com- posed of two serpents entwined, somewhat as in the caduceus of Mercury. That the Tau itself had such an origin we can well believe, seeing that the name of the letter Tet (0*?™) of the Phoenician alphabet specially associated with Thoth, of whom the Tau is a symbol, is that of the God himself, as well as meaning " serpent." If the comparison thus made between the Mexican and Teutonic mythologies is correct, the further analogies pointed out b}^ M. Brasseur de Bourbourg may be well founded. Thus the Mexican Votan or Odon, supposed to be the same as Quetzahoatl, may be in reality none other than the Scandinavian Odin, Woden, or Wuotan, who, if not a sun-god, was the sky-god, whose eye was the sun (Grimm's " Teutonic Mythology," translated by Stallybrass, p. 703). The snake is intimately associated with Odin in Norse mythology (Grimm, p. 685) as it is with Votan, and THE ADAMITES. 121 both these personages have been identified with the Indian Buddha god. 1 Nor is there wanting confirmative evidence of such an affinity between the peoples of the Old and the New Worlds as that supposed. Mr. Tylor, in his work on "Primitive Culture," points out that the Roman game of bucca-bucca, referred to in a passage of Petronius, is still retained as the old nursery game, "Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up?" The meaning of this formula is not given, but, from the fact that the witch's devil of the middle ages was represented as a buck or goat, we can hardly doubt that the buck or bucca of the game referred to the evil spirit. The devil was, indeed, called by the Cornish Celts bucket (Welsh bwg), a hobgoblin, a name which is evidently connected with the Russian buka, a sprite, and with the Bog of Slavonic and other allied languages. We have, no doubt, the same word in the name of the Finnic sky-god Vkko. Of this again we seem to have traces, not only in the Kalmuck Burkhan and the Mantchoo Ab-ka, but also in the Hottentot Teqoa (Kafir, TLw), the Supreme God; and in the word yakko, demon, the name given to the aborigines of Ceylon by their Hindu conquerors. But the root of this word is met with again among the 1 Le Mythe de Votan, by H. de Charencey, 1871, pp. 95, 103. Gautama was only the last of the Boudhas, and the identification of Woden is therefore not necessarily with Gautama. Dr. Brinton, " in order to put a stop to such visionary etymologies" as those which connect Votan with Wodan and Buddha, derives Votan from a Maya radical (American Hero-Myths, 1882, p. 217). It must be noted, however, that the Maya meaning of Votan (hearty, spirit) closely agrees with that of Wodan (mind) and Buddha (knowledge). 122 THE ADAMITES. American tribes. The Hurons believe the sky to be an oki, or demon, this name being also that by which the natives of Virginia knew their chief god. The same word appears to enter into the name of the Algonquin god of the North Wind, Kdbibon-oMa, as also of the Muyscan Moon goddess, Huyth-aca. Whether the Algonquin Great Spirit, Kitclu-Manitu, has preserved the same word, is questionable ; but it is noticeable that in the mythology of Kamtschatka the first man is called Haetsh, and he is the son of Kutka, the Creator, whose name, by the allowable change of t for k, becomes almost the same as the Finnic Uhko. The word oki may, moreover, be found, with merely the vowel change, among the Islanders of the Pacific. Thus the Polynesian fire-god is Mahu-ika, the last syllable of which is doubtless connected with akua, meaning, like the American oki, spirit, or demon. The same root is met with again in Tiki, the Raro- tongan form of Maui, the divine ancestor of the New Zealanders, and the Tii of the Society Islands ; also in Akea, the name of the mythical first king of Hawaii. Tiki is probably only another form of Ta-ata, with the change of k for t (as in akua for atua) ; and it is remarkable that this name of the Polynesian First Man is really that of the mythical ancestor of the Adamites, reversed, however, and with the addition of the word ata (aka), spirit, which we have shown to be connected with the name for God among so many independent races. Mr. Fornander identifies the Polynesian word aitu or iku, spirit, with the name of the great " Kushite" king It or Ait, and he states that the idea of royalty or sovereignty attached to that word is observed in old THE ADAMITES. 123 Hawaiian tradition.— " The Polynesian Race," 1878, vol. i., pp. 44, 54. These mythological coincidences are, indeed, so strongly supported by similarity of customs and lin- guistic affinities, that there can be no difficulty in classing the Mexicans and kindred American peoples, and even the lighter Polynesians, with the Adamites. This being so, a still broader generalisation than any yet attempted may be made as to the peoples to be included in the Adamic division of the human race. The simplest classification of mankind, according to cranial conformation, is that of Retzius into dolicho- cephali, or long heads, and brachycephali, or short heads. The Mexicans, and other peoples of the western part of the American Continent, belong to the latter category, as do also the inhabitants of the greater part of the area of Asia and Europe. In China, and in the southern part of Asia as well as of Europe, the various peoples are chiefly long-headed, and this is the case with the Hamitic population of Northern Africa. The latter are, however, certainly much mixed with the native African element, which is purely dolichocephalic, exhibiting traces of its prognathism; and it is far from improbable that originally they were brachycephalic, like the allied peoples of Western Asia. Such also may have been the case with the Chinese and the lighter Polynesians, who are now nearly dolichocephalic. 1 Throughout all the regions where these peoples are found there would appear to have been an indigenous long-headed stock, 1 M. de TTjfalvy has found that even the purest Iranian type of Central Asia is brachycephalic. 124 THE ADAMITES. which has more or less nearly absorbed the brachy- cephalic element, which was introduced long ages ago from the vast regions of Central Asia, and which, for want of a better term, may be called Scythic. Subject to this qualification, it may probably be said that Adamic and short-headed are synonymous terms, and that among the descendants of Father Ad may, therefore, be classed all the peoples who are embraced in the great brachycephalic division of mankind, or who would have belonged to it, if they had not been phy- sically modified by contact with peoples of the more primitive dolichocephalic area. How far the Adamites have trespassed on this area it is difficult to determine. That they have become mixed with the peoples of the African Continent to a much larger extent than is usually supposed may be believed. The Hottentots, at its extremest limit, are no doubt a residual deposit of such intermixture; while the great family to which the Kafirs belong furnish evidence of it in various particulars. The Adamites appear also to have spread throughout the archipelagos of the Pacific, furnishing an explanation of the many customs and myths in which the Poly- nesian Islanders agree with Asiatic peoples. Nor are the Adamites much less widely spread throughout the American Continent. Apart from what Professor Busk affirms, that a broad type of head is to be met with on the coast all round South America, peoples allied to those of Mexico and Central America would seem to have occupied many of the West Indian Islands, and to have penetrated through the central portion of North America to the Great Lakes. Wherever the THE ADAMITES. 125 Adamites have come into contact with the long- headed pre-Adamitic stock, they have either made these to disappear, or, while having their physical structure somewhat modified by intermixture, they have established a supremacy due to their greater vigour and mental energy. It is difficult, indeed, to say where the descendants of Ad are not now to be met with, or where the pre- Adamite is to be found un- influenced by contact with them. In conclusion, it will be well to endeavour to ascertain the origin of the tradition as to Adam or father Ad. According to usually received teaching, Adam and Eve were the actual first parents of the human race, or, at all events, of the Adamic portion of it. Whether or not this idea is correct need not be further considered here, beyond stating that if, as Bunsen suggests, the existence of other antediluvian patriarchs be mythical, so also must be that of Adam from whom they are said to have sprung. The Semitic word ADaM conveys several ideas. In the form Adamah or Adami it has reference to the earth or sod, but its primary sense was either " red" or "man." Probably a double meaning was con- veyed in the name of the Egyptian god Atum, whose representation was that of a red man. It must be noted, however, that the traditional ancestor is usually styled, not Ada m but simply Ad; and this primitive root may have had some other signification, analogous perhaps to that of Eve (Hhavvdh), " the mother of all living" This word, which denotes "life," is from hhaydh, to live, to give life — the allied word in Arabic bein