THE NATURAL GENESIS
NOTES TO SECTION 3
[1] [Chips from a German Workshop,
'Comparative Mythology,' vol.
2, pp. 73-7. 'Again, where two names existed for the same object, two persons
would spring up out of the two names, and as the same stories could be told of
either, they would naturally be represented as brothers and sisters, as parent
and child. Thus we find Selene, the moon, side by side with Mene, the moon;
Helios (Surya), the Sun, and Phoebos (Bhava, a different form of Kudra); and in
most of the Greek heroes we can discover human ized forms of Greek gods, with
names which, in many instances, were epithets of their divine prototypes. Still
more frequently it happened that adjectives connected with a word as applied to
one object, were used
with the same word even though applied to a different object. What was told of
the sea was told of the sky, and the sun once being called a lion or a wolf, was
soon endowed with claws and mane, even where the animal metaphor was forgotten.
Thus the Sun with his golden rays might be called "golden-handed," hand being
expressed by the same word as ray. But when the same epithet was applied to
Apollo or Indra, a myth would spring up, as we find it in German and Sanskrit
mythology, telling us that Indra lost his hand, and that it was replaced by a
hand made of gold.
Here we have some of the keys to mythology, but the manner of handling them can
only be learnt from comparative philology. As in French it is difficult to find
the radical meaning of many a word, unless we compare it with its corresponding
forms in Italian, Spanish, or Provencal; we should find it impossible to
discover the origin of many a Greek word, without comparing it with its more or
less corrupt relatives in German, Latin, Slavonic, and Sanskrit. Unfortunately
we have in this ancient circle of languages nothing corresponding to Latin, by
which we can test the more or less original form of a word in French, Italian,
and Spanish. Sanskrit is not the mother of Latin and Greek, as Latin is the
mother of French and Italian. But although Sanskrit is but one among many
sisters, it is, no doubt, the eldest, in so far as it has preserved its words in
their most primitive state; and if we once succeed in tracing a Latin and Greek
word to its corresponding form in Sanskrit, we are generally able at the same
time to account for its formation, and to fix its radical meaning. What should
we know of the original meaning of [Greek], and [Greek], if we were reduced to
the knowledge of one language like Greek? But as soon as we trace these words to
Sanskrit, their primitive power is clearly indicated. O. Muller was one of the
first to see and acknowledge that classical philology must surrender all
etymological research to comparative philology, and that the origin of Greek
words cannot be settled by a mere reference to Greek. This applies with
particular force to mythological names. In order to become mythological it was
necessary that the radical meaning of certain names should have been obscured
and forgotten in the language to which they belong. Thus what is mythological in
one language, is frequently natural and intelligible in another. We say, "the
sun sets," but in our own Teutonic mythology, a seat or throne is given to the
sun of which he sits down, as in Greek "Eos" is called [Greek], or as the modern
Greek speaks of the setting sun as [Greek]. We doubt about "Hekate," but we
understand at once [Greek]. We hesitate about Lucina, but we accept immediately
what is a mere contraction of Lucna, the Latin Luna.
What is commonly called Hindu mythology is of little or no avail for comparative
purposes. The stories of Siva, Vishnu, Mahadeva, Parvati, Kali, Krishna, etc.,
are of late growth, indigenous to India, and full of wild and fanciful
conceptions. But while this late mythology of the Puranas and even of the Epic
poems, offers no assistance to the comparative mythologist, a whole world of
primitive, natural, and intelligible mythology has been preserved to us in the
Veda. The mythology of the Veda is to comparative mythology what Sanskrit has
been to comparative grammar. There is, fortunately, no system of religion or
mythology in the Veda. Names are used in one hymn as appellatives, in another as
names of gods. The same god is sometimes represented as supreme, sometimes as
equal, sometimes as inferior to others. The whole nature of these so-called gods
is still transparent; their first conception, in many cases, clearly
perceptible. There are as yet no genealogies, no settled marriages between gods
and goddesses. The father is sometimes the son, the brother is the husband, and
she who in one hymn is the mother, is in another the wife. As the conceptions of
the poet varied, so varied the nature of these gods. Nowhere is the wide
distance which separates the ancient poems of India from the most ancient
literature of Greece more clearly felt than when we compare the growing myths of
the Veda with the full-grown and decayed myths on which the poetry of Homer is
founded. The Veda is the real Theogony of the Aryan races, while that of Hesiod
is a distorted caricature of the original image. If we want to know whither the
human mind, though endowed with the natural consciousness of a divine power, is
driven necessarily and inevitably by the irresistible force of language as
applied to supernatural and abstract ideas, we must read the Veda; and if we
want to tell the Hindus what they are worshipping, mere names of natural
phenomena, gradually obscured, personified, and deified, we must make them read
the Veda. It was a mistake of the early Fathers to treat the heathen gods l as
demons or evil spirits, and we must take care not to commit the same error with
regard to the Hindu gods. Their gods have no more right to any substantive
existence than Eos or Hemera, than Nyx or Apate. They are masks without an
actor, the creations of man, not his creators; they are nomina, not
nurnina; names without being, not beings without names.
In some instances, no doubt, it happens that a Greek, or a Latin, or a Teutonic
myth, may be explained from the resources which each of these languages still
possesses, as there are many words in Greek which can be explained
etymologically without any reference to Sanskrit or Gothic. We shall begin with
some of these myths, and then proceed to the more difficult, which must receive
light from more distant regions, whether from the snowy rocks of Iceland and the
songs of the "Edda," or from the borders of the "Seven Rivers," and the hymns of
the Veda.
The rich imagination, the quick perception, the intellectual vivacity, and
ever-varying fancy of the Greek nation, make it easy to understand that, after
the separation of the Aryan race, no language was richer, no mythology more
varied, than that of the Greeks. Words were created with wonderful facility, and
were forgotten again with that carelessness which the consciousness of
inexhaustible power imparts to men of genius. The creation of every word was
originally a poem, embodying a bold metaphor or a bright conception. But like
the popular poetry of Greece, these words, if they were adopted by tradition,
and lived on in the language of a family, of a city, of a tribe, in the
dialects, or in the national speech of Greece, soon forgot the father that had
given them birth, or the poet to whom they owed their existence. Their
genealogical descent and native character were unknown to the Greeks themselves,
and their etymological meaning would have baffled the most ingenious
antiquarian. The Greeks, however, cared as little about the etymological
individuality of their words as they cared to know the name of every bard that
had first sung the "Aristeia" of Menelaos or Diomedes.']
[3] [Rit. ch. 125. 'Come, come in peace, say those who see them, because the Osiris has heard the great words said by the Ass and the Cat in the house of Pet, whose mouth is twisted when he looks, because his face is behind him.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[4] [The Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord.]
[5] [Matt. 15:12. 'Then came his disciples, and said unto
him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this
saying?'
Matt. 19:11. 'But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying,
save they to whom it is given.'
John 6:60. 'Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this,
said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?'
John 7:36. 'What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me,
and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?'
John 8:51. 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he
shall never see death.'
John 15:20. 'Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not
greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;
if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.'
John 18:9. 'That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them
which thou gavest me have I lost none.']
[6] [Virgil, Georgics. Unable to trace in this work.]
[7] [Selected Essays on Language, Mythology and Religion, vol. 1, p. 604.]
[8] [Hahn, Tsuni-Goam, p. 72. 'Thou son of a red she-Bull
(i.e., of a heroine)!
Thou who drankest my milk!']
[9] [Rit. ch. 110. 'I am the Bull painted [drawn] blue, the Lord of the Fields; the Bull called [by] Sothis at her time.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[10] [See BB 1:274; English Festival. See Brand, Observations on Popular Antiquities.]
[11] [Hahn, Tsuni-Goam, p.
73. 'Thou son of the short-eared one,
Thou yellow child of the Liontail,
Why
didst thou not listen to what thy mother told thee?']
[12] [Berachoth, f. 61.
Bartolocci,
Bibliotheca Magna
Rabbinica, pt. 4, p. 66.]
[13] [Ps. 139:5. 'Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.']
[14] [Gallatin, 'Notes on the Semi-Civilised Nations of Mexico,' TAES, 1, 28. 'It will be seen in the grammatical notices, that there is, in the Mexican, a special form called Reverential, which pervades the whole language and is found in no other. High sounding titles, and certain special expressions of respect towards men in power, or superior classes, are found in every language; but this is believed to be the only one in which every word uttered by the inferior reminds him of his social position. And it seems to me, that this affords a sad proof of the miserable state of society which existed in Mexico, and of the complete degradation of the mass of the nation.']
[15] [Gallatin, 'A Synopsis of the Indian Tribes of North America: Section 5, Indian Languages,' ARAM, 2, 163. 'Another feature, which may be discovered by the vocabularies, consists in the different names, by which all the Indian nations distinguish the various degrees and modifications of relationship, such as the elder brother, and the elder sister, as distinguished from the younger ones; paternal, or maternal uncle, &c. But what is remarkable, as a feature common to all, is, that women use different words from men for those purposes; and that the difference of language, between men and women, seems, in all the Indian languages, to be confined to that species of words, or others of an analogous nature, and to the use of interjections.']
[16] [Ibid., p. 264. 'Men and women use different words for some degrees of consanguinity. The father calls his son votum; the mother, coni huenthui; he calls his daughter, nahue, and the mother, coni domo. A brother calls his brothers peni and sisters lamuen; the sister calls them both lamuen. The nephew calls his paternal uncle mulle, and his maternal uncle vuthamun; the niece calls them respectively llopu and huccu.']
[17] [Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, vol. 2, p. 3. 'Mr. Bulmer, who is a keen observer and well acquainted with the languages spoken on the Murray and in Gippsland, informs me that in one of the dialects of the Murray the blacks will say to a man Parragia ("you lie"), and to a woman Purragaga ("you lie"). Will the peculiarities of the dialects ever be known?']
[18] [Buschmann, 'Grammatik der sonorischen Sprachen,' AKA, 1, 103.]
[19] [Turner, Nineteen Years in Polynesia, p. 340. 'The use of the plural in the Hebrew Scriptures in the names of the Deity, has something analogous in Samoa in the use of the dual in addressing chiefs. In respectfully saluting one who has arrived from a distance, for example, they say, "Have you two come?" or if going, they will say, "Are you two going?" The first time I had this applied to me I was riding, and thought it must mean me and my horse and did not feel at all complimented by the classification. I soon found out, however, that it was the regular dual of respect, and may be compared with the "plural of excellence," of the Hebrews, to which I have referred.']
[20] [Religion of Africans, p. 24. 'The Baroling, who, like the Basutos, are one of the several tribes that are collectively called Bechuana,—i.e., those who are like one another, regard God as a beautiful person, having only one leg (emblematic of unity), and thoroughly just and beneficent.']
[21] [Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America, vol. 3, p. 332. 'In the first days of the first month of the year, which month is called in some parts of Mexico Quavitleloa, but generally Atlcaoalo, and begins on the second of our February, a great feast was made in honor of the Tlalocs, gods of rain and water. For the text, without saying directly that these unfortunate children were closed there alive, appears to infer it: this occasion many children at the breast were purchased from their mothers; those being chosen that had two whirls (remolinos) in their hair, and that had been born under a good sign; it being said that such were the most agreeable sacrifice to the storm gods, and most likely to induce them to send rain in due season. Some of these infants were butchered for this divine holiday on certain mountains, and some were drowned in the lake of Mexico.']
[22] [Julien, 'Histoire de la vie de Hiouen-Thsang et de ses voyages,' Voyages des Pèlerins Boudhistes. vol. 2, p. 152.]
[23] [Horapollo, Hieroglyphica, bk. 1. 68. 'To
express sunrise they depict the TWO EYES OF A CROCODILE, because of the
whole body of the animal its eyes glare conspicuously from the deep.'
Ibid., bk. 1.
69. 'To denote sunset, they represent A CROCODILE TENDING
DOWNWARDS, for this animal is self productive [?] and inclining downwards.']
[24] [Ibid., bk. 2. 118. 'When they would
symbolise a man who distributes justice impartially to all, they depict
THE FEATHER OF AN OSTRICH; for this bird has the feathers of its wings equal on
every side, beyond all other birds.'
See also BB 2:484.]
[25] [Chalmers, The Origin of the Chinese, p. 14. 'Practical Dualism. The antithesis of "Father Heaven" and "Mother Earth,'' or more generally of Yang and Yin (originally light and shadow) no doubt appears very early in Chinese literature; though it is less distinct in the Poetry than in the History. In the former we do not find the dual expressions T'ien-ti, Heaven and Earth, Shin-ki, celestial and terrestrial spirits, Kwei-shin, ghosts and spirits, Yin and Yang, &c., which abound in the latter; and it is in the latter only that we are told that Heaven and Earth are the father and mother of all things (Shoo-king, V. I. Pt. i. 3).']
[26] [Midrash, f. 97. c. 3.
Buxtorf,
Synagoga Ivdaica. c. 3, p. 54.]
[29] [Bleek, Reynard the Fox in South Africa, no. 31.]
[31] [Cicero, Nature of the Gods, bk. 10. 'Thales the Milesian who first inquired after such subjects, asserted water to be the origin of things; and that God was that mind which formed all things from water.']
[32] [The Koran, ch. 41. 'Then he set his mind to
the creation of heaven, and it was smoke; and he said unto it, and to the earth,
Come, either obediently, or against your will. They answered, We come, obedient
to thy command.' Sale's tr.
Ibid., note P, p.
356: 'Or darkness. Al Zamakhshari says this smoke proceeded from the waters
under the throne of GOD (which throne was one of the things created before the
heavens and the earth), and rose above the water; that the water being dried up,
the earth was formed out of it, and the heavens out of the smoke which had
mounted aloft.']
[33] [Mahabharata S'antip. 6812 ff, quoted in Muir, Sanskrit Texts, vol. 5, p. 357. 'In the M. Bh. S'antip. 6812 ff., it is said that from the aether "was produced water, like another darkness in darkness; and from the foam of the water was produced the wind" (tatah salilam utpannam tamaslvaparam tamah \ tasmach cha salilotpldad ttdatishthata marutah).']
[34] [Vishnu Purana, bk. 2:3. 'Below the seven Patalas is the form of Vishnu, proceeding; from the quality of darkness, which is called Sesha, the excellencies of which neither Daityas nor Danavas can (fully) enumerate.' Tr., Wilson.]
[35] [Rig Veda, 129.]
[36] [Rit. ch. 144. 'Oh the Being dormant within his body, making his burning in flame glowing within the sea, raising the sea by his vapour! Come, give the fire, transport the vapour to the Being who will raise his hand to set up the Osiris for ever!' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[37] [Pierret, 'Libation Vase of Osor-ur,' RP, 12, 77.]
[38] [Proclus, Commentaries on the Timaeus, vol. 2, p. 383. 'But if you understand the pouring out in such a way, as if spoken of liquid substances, perhaps you will see that this also is adapted to the soul. For moisture is the symbol of life. Hence both Plato, and prior to Plato the Gods, call the soul at one time a drop of the total vivification, but at another a certain fountain.']
[39] ['On the Gods of Greece, Italy, etc.' in Works, vol. 1, pp. 261-2. 'One of the most remarkable ceremonies, in the festival of the Indian Goddess, is that before-mentioned of casting her image into the river: the Pandits, of whom I inquired concerned its origin and import, answered, "that it was prescribed by the Veda, they knew not why;" but this custom has, I conceive, a relation to the doctrine, that water is a form of ISWARA, and consequently of ISA'NI, who is even represented by some as the patroness of that element, to which her figure is restored, after having received all due honours on earth, which is considered as of the God of Nature, though subsequent, in the order of Creation, to the primeval fluid.']
[40] [Fornander, An Account of the Polynesian Race, vol. 1, p. 81. 'This is one of the expressions used had died, "he has gone to the moist to designate the moist earth, from earth, or to the muddy water," which man was made.']
[41] [Koelle, Outlines of the Grammar of the Vei Language, p. 161. 'Dsina, s. "spectre, ghost, spirit, apparition." The word is probably derived from dsi, "water," and na, "to come," as the Veis tell many stories of ghosts coming out of the water, where there is one of their chief residences, the other being on the top of Cape Mount.']
[42] [Brasseur de Bourbourg,
Livres des Quiche, pp. 203-5, note. 'Then the four men slept, and there
was counsel in heaven: and four women were made to Balam-Quitze was allotted
Caha-Paluma to wife; to Balam-Agab, Chomiha; to Mahucutah, Tzununiha; and to
Iqi-Balam, Cakixaha.
Caha-paluma, the falling water; Chomi-ha or CJwmih-a, the beautiful house or the
beautiful water; in the same way, Tzununiha may mean either the house or the
water of the humming-birds; and Cakixaha, either the house or the water of the
aras [which are a kind of parrot]. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, p.
205.' From Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States of North
America, vol. 3, p. 48.]
[43] ['Philosophers Delighted in Sentiments of Nature,' bk. 4,
ch. 22, in Plutarch, Essays and Miscellanies, vol. 3, p.
173. 'OF RESPIRATION OR BREATHING.
Empedocles thinks, that the first breath the first animal drew was when the
moisture in unborn infants was separated, and by that means an entrance was
given to the external air into the gaping vessels, the moisture in them being
evacuated. After this the natural heat, in a violent force pressing upon the
external air for a passage, begets an expiration ; but this heat returning to
the inward parts, and the air giving way to it, causeth an inspiration. The
respiration that now is arises when the blood is carried to the exterior
surface, and by this fluxion drives the airy substance through the nostrils;
thus in its recess it causeth expiration, but the air being again forced into
those places which are emptied of blood, it causeth an inspiration. To evince
which, he proposeth the instance of a water-clock, which gives the account of
time by the running of water.' Goodwin's tr.]
[44] [Moore, A Descriptive Vocabulary of the Language in Common use Amongst the Aborigines of Western Australia, p. 12. 'Bil-yi, subst.—The navel. The aborigines suppose a person with a large navel is necessarily a good swimmer; and therefore Bil-yi-gadak, or Bil-yi-gwabba, means a good swimmer. They also think that, whether they can swim well or not, depends upon whether their mother has thrown their navel-string into the water or not, at the time of their birth.']
[45] [Hooper, JES, 1869.]
[46] [Wilkinson,
Materia Hieroglyphica, pl. 24. Massey errs here as plate 24
discusses Ptah, whereas plate 22 discusses Hathor, but makes little mention of
this ref. 'A strong relationship exists between this goddess in one of
her characters (as nurse of Horns) and Isis; whence we find Harpocrates called,
son of Athor. (2) In a papyrus, published by Monsr Champollion, she is said to
be "Neith, (3) in the eastern country and in the lotus and waters of the western
country." She was also represented under the form of a spotted cow; which is
frequently seen coming from behind the mountain of Thebes; and from this the
Greeks probably borrowed (4) their Venus, the daughter of Coelus and Light.
Jablonski in his Pantheon considers her the same as night, edjorh, but
she would rather appear to resemble Aurora, in this character.
She was also figured with a cow's head, and generally bears the long horns of
this animal, in her head-dress. In plate XXIII she is seen playing the
tambourine; whence the Greeks might have considered her the queen of laughter,
and amusements. Her worship was very extensive in Egypt; and besides the towns,
which were under her protection, and bore her name, she had several temples
erected to her, in different parts of the country. The largest of those now
remaining, is at Dendera, where her attributes much resemble those of Isis. Most
of the heads of the capitals of columns in Egyptian temples generally supposed
to be of the last mentioned deity, are of Athor. Besides the cow, which was
sacred to Athor, was another, supposed by Kircher to be dedicated to the Moon,
whom he considers the same as Isis; this cow is given in one of the plates of
Monsr Champollion's Pantheon; but instead of her being in the character of the
moon, as the learned father supposed, she seems to be in that of Neith, the
mother of Ra; that "darkness which was upon the face of the deep," and from
which sprang the light of the sun.
The persea was sacred to Athor, as the sycamore to Netpe; and she is seen
performing the same office to the deceased and his friends, as the last
mentioned goddess in giving them the fruit, and drink of heaven.']
[47] [Jer. 7:18. 'filii colligunt ligna et patres succendunt ignem et mulieres conspergunt adipem ut faciant placentas Reginae caeli et libent diis alienis et me ad iracundiam provocent,' i.e., 'The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.']
[48] [Stanley, How I Found Livingstone, p. 544. 'There are some curious customs among the Wanyamwezi. When a child is born the father cuts the caul, and travels with it to the frontier of his district, and there deposits it under the ground; if the frontier is a stream, he buries it on the banks; then taking the root of a tree, he conveys it on his return, and buries it at the threshold of his door. He then invites his friends to a feast which he has prepared. He kills an ox, or half a dozen goats, and distributes pombe. If twins are born, they never kill one, but rather think it a greater blessing. The mother, when approaching childbirth, hastens to the woods, and is there attended by a female friend.']
[49] [Nabhanedishtha Hymn, v. 4. Not in Muir.]
[50] [Pliny, Natural History, bk.
8, ch. 71.
Solinus, Polyhistora.]
[51] [Zamyad-Yasht, 8:51in SBE, 23, 298-9. 'That Glory swells up and goes to the sea Vouro-Kasha. The swift-horsed son of the waters seizes it at once: this is the wish of the Son of the Waters, the swift-horsed: "I want to seize that Glory that cannot be forcibly seized, down to the bottom of the sea, Vouru-Kasha, in the bottom of the deep rivers."' Tr., Darmesteter.]
[52] [Potter, Archælogia Græca: or, The Antiquities of Greece, vol. 1, pp. 421-2. 'Boat-bearers: Then follow'd the Women, attended by the Sojourners Wives, who were nam'd [Greek], from bearing Water-pots: These were follow'd by young Men singing Hymns to the Goddess; they were crown'd with Millet: Next to these came select Virgins of the first Quality, called [Greek], i.e. Basket-hearen, because they carry'd certain Baskets which contain'd some Necessaries for the Celebration of the holy Rites, which (as also other Utensils requir'd at the Solemnity) were in the Custody of one, who, because he was chief Manager of the publick Pomps, Processions, or Embassies to the Gods, was call'd [Greek], and were distributed by him as Occasion requir'd; these Virgins were attended by the Sojourners Daughters, who carry'd Umbrellas and little Seats, whence they were call'd [Greek], i.e. Seat-carriers.']
[53] [Of Isis and Osiris, ch. 9.]
[54] [Morgan, Life and Adventures of William Buckley, p. 92. 'Strange as all these cannibal ceremonies may appear, it is proper to explain, that many are performed out of what they consider respect for the deceased; the cap bones of whose knees, in this instance, after being carefully cleaned, were tied up in a sort of net of hair and twisted bark. Under such circumstances, these relics are carried by the mothers, tied round their necks by day, and placed under their heads by night, as affectionate remembrancers of the dead.']
[55] [Ex. 29:13. 'And thou shalt take all the fat that
covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys,
and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.'
Lev. 3:4, 10-15. 'And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks,
and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.'
'And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is
by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take
away.
And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and
the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.']
[56] [Smyth, The Aborigines of Victoria, vol. 2, p. 313. 'It has always been the practice amongst the Aborigines for the warriors of one tribe to make incursions into the territories of another, either to steal lubras, or to surprise and attack males, who, after being struck down, had an incision made in their sides, through which the caul-fat was drawn, and which fat was carefully kept and used by the assassin to lubricate himself the belief being that all the qualifications, both physical and mental, of the previous owner of the fat were thus communicated to him who used it. On the Upper Murray, a cord, about the thickness of ordinary whipcord, was formed out of the sinews obtained from the tail of the kangaroo; this cord had a running noose at one end, also two small bones, each sharpened to a very fine point, so fixed that when the noose was drawn tight the points would enter the jugular vein at each side of the neck. Armed with one of these, a black would steal at night up to the camp of another tribe, and, having selected some sleeping man, slip the noose round his neck, strangle his victim, and depart with the coveted caul-fat, without creating any noise or alarm. That these nooses were not used by the Aborigines on the men of other tribes alone, but also on Europeans, is beyond a doubt, as I recollect an instance of a shepherd who, having, at the expiration of his term of service, left the out-station at which he was employed to go to the head-station, and several days having expired without his arrival, an alarm was caused, and a search made, when the body was found, with his faithful dogs lying beside it, with the mark of the fatal noose round the neck.']
[57] [Williams, Fiji and the Fijians, vol. 1, p. 206. 'Human bodies are sometimes eaten in connexion with the building of a temple or canoe; or on launching a canoe; or on taking down the mast of one which has brought some Chief on a visit; or for the feasting of such as take tribute to a principal place. A Chief has been known to kill several men for rollers, to facilitate the launching of his canoes, the rollers being afterwards cooked and eaten. Formerly a Chief would kill a man or men on laying down a keel for a new canoe, and try to add one for each fresh plank. These were always eaten as "food for the carpenters." I believe that this is never done now; neither is it now common to murder men in order to wash the deck of a new canoe with blood. This is sometimes the case, and would, without doubt, have been done on a large scale when a first-rate canoe was completed at Somosomo, had it not been for the exertion of the Missionaries then stationed there. Vexed that the noble vessel had reached Mbau unstained with blood, the Mbau Chiefs attacked a town, and killed fourteen or fifteen men to eat on taking down the mast for the first time. It was owing to Christian influence that men were not killed at every place where the canoe called for the first time. If a Child should not lower his mast within a day or two of his arrival at a place, some poor creature is killed and taken to him as the "lowering of the mast.'' In every case an enemy is preferred; but when this is impracticable, the first common man at hand is taken.']
[58] ['"Some of them wear round the neck roots, which they find far inland, in rivers, and being on a journey they light them, if they must sleep the night out in the field. They believe that those roots keep of the wild animals. The roots they chew are spit out around the spot where they encamp for the night; and in a similar way if they set the roots alight, they blow the smoke and ashes about, believing that the smell will keep the wild animals off."—Dapper, in his description of Africa, p. 621.' From Hahn, Tsuni-Goam, p. 82.]
[59] [Hahn, Tsuni-Goam, p. 77. 'If a Khoikhoi go out hunting, his wife will kindle a fire. She may not do anything else but watch the fire and keep it alive. If the fire should be extinguished, the husband will not be lucky. If she does not like to make a fire, then she must go to the water and commence throwing about the ground. If she is tired, her servant must continue pouring water about. If this be neglected, her husband will not be successful.']
[60] [Dyer, British Popular Customs, p. 17. 'In the
south of Scotland, as soon as the clock has struck the midnight hour, one of a
family goes to the well as quickly as possible, and carefully skims it; this
they call getting the scum or ream (cream) of the well:
"Twall struck twa neebour Lizzies raise,
An' liltin gaed a sad gate;
The flower o' the well to our house gaes
An' I'll the bonniest lad get."
The flower of the well signifies the first pail of water, and the girl who is so
fortunate as to obtain the prize is supposed to have more than a double chance
of obtaining the most accomplished young man in the parish. Med.
Ævi Kalend. vol. i. p. 129.
As soon as the last night of the year sets in, it is the signal with the
Strathdown Highlander for the suspension of his usual employment, and he directs
his attention to more agreeable callings. The men form into bands, with tethers
and axes, and shaping their course to the juniper bushes, they return home laden
with mighty loads, which are arranged round the fire to dry until morning. A
certain discreet person is despatched to the dead and living ford to draw a
pitcher of water in profound silence, without the vessel touching the ground,
lest its virtue should be destroyed, and on his return all retire to rest. Early
on New Year's morning the usque-cashrichd, or water from the dead and living
ford, is drunk, as a potent charm until next New Year's Day, against the spells
of witchcraft, the malignity of evil eyes, and the activity of all infernal
agency. The qualified Highlander then takes a large brush, with which he
profusely asperses the occupants of all beds; from whom it is not unusual for
him to receive ungrateful remonstrances against ablution. This ended, and the
doors and windows being thoroughly closed, and all crevices stopped, he kindles
piles of the collected juniper in the different apartments, till the vapour from
the burning branches condenses into opaque clouds, and coughing, sneezing,
wheezing, gasping, and other demonstrations of suffocation ensue.
The operator, aware that the more intense the "smuchdan" the more propitious the
solemnity, disregards these indications, and continues, with streaming eyes and
averted head, to increase the fumigation, until in his own defence he admits the
air to recover the exhausted household and himself. He then treats the horses,
cattle, and other bestial stock in the town with the same smothering, to keep
them from harm throughout the year. When the gude wife gets up, and having
ceased from coughing, has gained sufficient strength to reach the bottle dhu,
she administers its comfort to the relief of the sufferers; laughter takes the
place of complaint, all the family get up, wash their faces, and receive the
visits of their neighbours, who arrive full of congratulations peculiar to the
day. Mu nase choil orst, "My Candlemas bond upon you," is the customary
salutation, and means, in plain words, "You owe me a New Year's gift." A point
of great emulation is, who shall salute the other first, because the one who
does so is entitled to a gift from the person saluted. Breakfast, consisting of
all procurable luxuries, is then served, the neighbours not engaged are invited
to partake, and the day ends in festivity. Popular Superstitions of the
Highlanders of Scotland, Stewart, 1851.
Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland (1790, vol. i. p. 206), says that on New
Year's Day the Highlanders burn juniper before their cattle.']
[61] [Histories, bk. 4.73-5. 'Thus they bury their kings; but as for the other
Scythians, when they die their nearest relations carry them round laid in wagons
to their friends in succession; and of them each one when he receives the body
entertains those who accompany it, and before the corpse they serve up of all
things about the same quantity as before the others. Thus private persons are
carried about for forty days, and then they are buried: and after burying them
the Scythians cleanse themselves in the following way: they soap their heads and
wash them well, and then, for their body, they set up three stakes leaning
towards one another and about them they stretch woollen felt coverings, and when
they have closed them as much as possible they throw stones heated red-hot into
a basin placed in the middle of the stakes and the felt coverings.
Now they have hemp growing in their land, which is very like flax except in
thickness and in height, for in these respects the hemp is much superior. This
grows both of itself and with cultivation; and of it the Thracians even make
garments, which are very like those made of flaxen thread, so that he who was
not specially conversant with it would not be able to decide whether the
garments were of flax or of hemp; and he who had not before seen stuff woven of
hemp would suppose that the garment was made of flax.
The Scythians then take the seed of this hemp and creep under the felt
coverings, and then they throw the seed upon the stones which have been heated
red-hot: and it burns like incense and produces a vapour so think that no
vapour-bath in Hellas would surpass it: and the Scythians being delighted with
the vapour-bath howl like wolves. This is to them instead of washing, for in
fact they do not wash their bodies at all in water. Their women however pound
with a rough stone the wood of the cypress and cedar and frankincense tree,
pouring in water with it, and then with this pounded stuff, which is thick, they
plaster over all their body and also their face; and not only does a sweet smell
attach to them by reason of this, but also when they take off the plaster on the
next day, their skin is clean and shining.' Tr., Macauley.]
[62] [Ibid., bk. 1.203. 'Now the Caspian Sea is apart by itself, not having connection with the other Sea: for all that Sea which the Hellenes navigate, and the Sea beyond the Pillars, which is called Atlantis, and the Erythraian Sea are in fact all one, but the Caspian is separate and lies apart by itself. In length it is a voyage of fifteen days if one uses oars, and in breadth, where it is broadest, a voyage of eight days. On the side towards the West of this Sea the Caucasus runs along by it, which is of all mountain-ranges both the greatest in extent and the loftiest: and the Caucasus has many various races of men dwelling in it, living for the most part on the wild produce of the forests; and among them there are said to be trees which produce leaves of such a kind that by pounding them and mixing water with them they paint figures upon their garments, and the figures do not wash out, but grow old with the woollen stuff as if they had been woven into it at the first: and men say that the sexual intercourse of these people is open like that of cattle.' Tr., Macauley.]
[63] [Loskiel, History of the Mission of the United Brethren Among the Indians in North America, pt. 1, p. 42. 'This idea may explain a remarkable proceeding of the Delaware Indians. At their festival in honour of the Fire-god with his twelve attendant manitus, inside the house of sacrifice a small oven-hut was set up, consisting of twelve poles tied together at the top and covered with blankets, high enough for a man to stand nearly upright within it. After the feast this oven was heated with twelve red-hot stones, and twelve men crept inside. An old man threw twelve pipefulls of tobacco on these stones, and when the patients had borne to the utmost the heat and suffocating smoke, they were taken out, generally falling in a swoon.' From Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. 2, p. 417.]
[64] [Collin De Plancy, Dictionnaire Infernal.]
[65] [Author, pt. 2, p. 65. Unable to trace. This is a typical example of Massey's lackadaisical attitude towards his sources. When he says 'author' does he mean himself? In which case he could possibly be referring to BB 2:65 or to NG 2:65. Having checked, I can find no reference to match.]
[66] [Ex. 30:37. 'And as for the perfume which thou
shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition
thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.'
Lev. 10:1. 'And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them
his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange
fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.']
[67] [TES, 7, 153.]
[68] [Mishna, 'Treatise Succah,' 4.9.]
[69] [Ibid., 5.]
[70] [Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, bk. 3:7. 'There were peculiar garments appointed for the priests, and for all the rest, which they call Cohanoeoe [priestly] garments, as also for the high priests, which they call Cahanoeoe Rabbae, and denote the high priest's garments. Such was therefore the habit of the rest. But when the priest approaches the sacrifices, he purifies himself with the purification which the law prescribes; and, in the first place, he puts on that which is called Machanase, which means somewhat that is fast tied. It is a girdle, composed of fine twined linen, and is put about the privy parts, the feet being to be inserted into them in the nature of breeches, but above half of it is cut off, and it ends at the thighs, and is there tied fast.' Whiston's tr.]
[71] [Mishna, tract, 'Pesachim,' ch. 3. ]
[72] [Mishna, Treatise 4, ch. 2. p. 7.]
[73] [Dugmore, in Maclean's A Compendium of Kafir Laws and Customs, p. 125.]
[74] ['Gospel of Nicodemus,' ch. 11, pt. 2, in Cowper, Apocryphal Gospels, vol. 1, p. 311 'All these things we two brothers saw and heard; and we were sent by Michael the archangel, and were appointed to preach the resurrection of the Lord, but first to go to Jordan and be baptised; whither also we went, and were baptised along with other dead who had risen; and afterwards we came to Jerusalem, and celebrated the Passover of the resurrection. But now, not being able to remain, here, we are going away. And may the love of God and the Father, and the grace of our Lord Jesus' Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.' See also Ante-Nicene Fathers, 8, 438.]
[75] [Plutarch, Of Isis and Osiris, ch. 34.]
[76] [Aristophanes, The Archanians, 471. Unable to trace.]
[77] [Hurd, A New Universal History of the Religious Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs of the Whole World, p. 374. 'But some carping critic, perhaps, may start an objection here, and ask, why we should not rather compare them to those stones which they erected on their high-roads for the direction of travellers? but, be that as it will, they place Fetiches before their doors, and these titular deities are made in the form of grapples or hooks, which we generally make use of to shake our fruit-trees. The Negro priests fasten these to the stone Fetiches before-mentioned, which they tell us are as ancient as the world itself, and afterwards dispose of them to the people, at the best price they can get for the preservation of their houses.' Or p. 428 of 1811 ed. From Hislop, The Two Babylons. See my essay on this quote.]
[78] [Irenaeus, Against Heresies, bk. 1, ch. 21.2. 'They maintain that those who have attained to perfect knowledge must of necessity be regenerated into that power which is above all For it is otherwise impossible to find admittance within the Pleroma, since this [regeneration] it is which leads them down into the depths of Bythus. For the baptism instituted by the visible Jesus was for the remission of sins, but the redemption brought in by that Christ who descended upon Him, was for perfection; and they allege that the former is animal, but the latter spiritual. And the baptism of John was proclaimed with a view to repentance, but the redemption by Jesus was brought in for the sake of perfection. And to this He refers when He says, "And I have another baptism to be baptized with, and I hasten eagerly towards it." Moreover, they affirm that the Lord added this redemption to the sons of Zebedee, when their mother asked that they might sit, the one on His right hand, and the other on His left, in His kingdom, saying, "Can ye be baptized with the baptism which I shall be baptized with?" Paul, too, they declare, has often set forth, in express terms, the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; and this was the same which is handed down by them in so varied and discordant forms.' ANCL, 5, 61.]
[79] [John 1:26. 'John answered
them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye
know not.'
John 1:33. 'And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water,
the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.'
Acts 1:5. 'For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.']
[80] [Favre, 'An Account of the Wild Tribes Inhabiting the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra and a few Neighbouring Islands,' JIA, 2, 264. 'No assistance is ordinarily given to lying-in women; their physicians or Pawangs are not permitted to appear in such circumstances, and midwives are not known amongst them. It is reported that in several tribes, the children as soon as born, are carried to the nearest rivulet, where they are washed, then brought back to the house, where a fire is kindled, incense of kamunian wood thrown upon it, and the child then passed over it several times. We know from history that the practice of passing children over fire was in all times much practised among heathen nations; and that it is even now practised in China and other places. A few days after the birth of the child, the father gives him a name, which is ordinarily the name of some tree, fruit or colour.']
[81] [Hahn, Tsuni-Goam, p. 77. 'At a child's birth a fire is made in the house with the firedrill (dorob). No steel or flint or matches are allowed. This fire is to be maintained until the navel of the child has healed, and the umbilical cord has fallen off. Nothing may be cooked or roasted on that fire. If these points be not strictly observed, the child will die.']
[82] [Shayast La-Shayast, 10:15.]
[83] [Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. 2, p. 436. 'There is nothing unlikely in the statement that the child was also passed four times through the fire, but the authority this is given on is not sufficient. The religious character of ablution is well shown in Mexico by its forming part of the daily service of the priests. Aztec life ended as it had begun, with ceremonial lustration; it was one of the funeral ceremonies to sprinkle the head of the corpse with the lustral water of this life.']
[84] [Eliot, Spanish Gipsy, p.
71 of Akron, Ohio ed. 'Pardon me, lady, if I seem to warn,
Or try to play the sage. What if the Duke
Loved not to hear of Gypsies? if their name
Were poisoned for him once, being used amiss?
I speak not as of fact. Our nimble souls
Can spin an insubstantial universe
Suiting our mood, and call it possible,
Sooner than see one grain with eye exact
And give strict record of it. Yet by chance
Our fancies may be truth and make us seers.
'Tis a rare teeming world, so harvest-full,
Even guessing ignorance may pluck some fruit.
Note what I say no farther than will stead
The siege you lay. I would not seem to tell
Aught that the Duke may think and yet withhold:
It were a trespass in me.']
[85] [See plate in Bonwick, Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought. Massey errs here. There is only one plate in this work and it does not feature a blue or red lotus.]
[87] [Shayast La-Shayast, ch. 10:38.]
[88] [1 John 5:7-8. 'For there
are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost:
and these three are one.
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and
the blood: and these three agree in one.']
[89] [Rit. ch. 17.'The Pool of Natron and the Pool of Salt [?], or Generator of Years is one name, Ocean is another name.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[90] [1 John 5:6. 'This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.']
[91] [Source.]
[92] [Branch, 'West Indian Superstitions,' CRev, 26, 773. 'In concluding this sketch of West Indian superstitions, I cannot forbear mentioning one which I have met with among the negroes in St. Croix, and which is at least a beautiful one. It in the belief that the baptism of children ought always to be performed with rain-water. In going to a house for the private baptism of a sick child, and finding only well-water, I have been requested to wait until some rain-water could be got from a neighbouring house. The explanation was given me simply enough by a man: "'Tis de rain-water does come down from heaven." These people have a notion that the spring-water, being "of the earth, earthy," is hardly the fitting vehicle for enrolling children as members of Christ's Church, and subjects of the kingdom of heaven. One would like to deal tenderly with such a poetical superstition, and almost wish to retain it rather than otherwise.']
[93] [See note 89 above.]
[94] [Book of Enoch, ch. 53:9.]
[95] [The Iliad, bk. 2, lines
910-15. 'Or where the pleasing Titaresius glides,
And into Peneus rolls his easy tides;
Yet o'er the silver surface pure they flow,
The sacred stream unmixed with streams below,
Sacred and awful! From the dark abodes
Styx pours them forth, the dreadful oath of gods!' Pope's tr.]
[96] ['In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, 1794, xii. 615, the minister of Eskdalemuir, co. Dumfries, mentioning an annual fair, held time out of mind at the meeting of the Black and White Esks, now entirely laid aside, says: "At that fair it was the custom for the unmarried persons of both sexes to choose a companion according to their liking, with whom they were to live till that time next year. This was called hand-fatting, or hand in fist. If they were pleased with each other at that time, then they continued together for life: if not, they separated, and were free to make another choice as at the first. The fruit of the connexion (if there were any) was always attached to the disaffected person. In later times, when this part of the country belonged to the Abbacy of Melrose, a priest to whom they gave the name of Book i' Bosom (either because he carried in his bosom a Bible, or perhaps a register of the marriages), came from time to time to confirm the marriages. This place is only a small distance from the Roman encampment of Castle-oe'r. May not the fair have been first instituted when the Romans resided there and may not the "handfasting" have taken its rise from their manner of celebrating marriage, ex usu, by which, if a woman, with the consent of her parents or guardians, lived with a man for a year, without being absent three nights, she became his wife? Perhaps, when Christianity was introduced, this form of marriage may have been looked upon as imperfect without confirmation by a priest, and therefore one may have been sent from time to time for this purpose."' From Brand, Observations on Popular Antiquities, vol. 2, p. 88.]
[97] [Knorr von Rosenroth,
Kabbala Denudata. I give here Mather's partial tr. of this work, The Kabbalah Unveiled, ch. 4.
'44. And from that skull distilleth a dew upon Him which is external, and
filleth His head daily.
45. And from that dew which floweth down from His head, that {namely) which is
external, the dead are raised up in the world to come.
46. Concerning which it is written, Cant. v. 2: "My head is filled with dew." It
is not written: "It is full with dew;" but "it is filled."
47. And it is written, Isa. xxvi. 19: "The dew of the lights is Thy dew." Of the
lights that is, from the brightness of the Ancient One.
48. And by that dew are nourished the holy supernal ones.
49. And this is that manna which is prepared. for the just in the world to come.
50. And that dew distilleth upon the ground of the holy apple trees. This is
that which is written, Exod. xvi. 14: "And when the dew was gone up, behold upon
the face of the desert a small round thing."
51. And the appearance of this dew is white, like unto the colour of the crystal
stone, whose appearance hath all colours in itself. This is that which is
written, Num. xi. 7: ''And its varieties as the varieties of crystal."']
[98] [Birch, 'Inscription of Darius at El-Khargeh,' RP, 8, 135. See p. 143.]
[99] [Casalis, Basutos, p. 248.]
[100] [Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America, vol. 3, p. 519. 'The natives of Millbank Sound picture it as two rivers guarded by huge gates, and flowing out of a dark lake the gloom of death. The good enter the stream to the right, which sparkles in constant sunshine, and supplies them with an abundance of salmon and berries; the wicked pass in to the left, and suffer cold and starvation on its bleak, snow-clad banks.']
[101] [Rit. ch. 109. 'I know the Eastern hill of the heaven. Its South is in the Pool of the Sham, its North in the Lake of the Rubu, where the Sun is towed in it by contending winds. I am watching what is ordered in the divine keel, I have led it, it has never ceased to be in the boat of the Sun. I know the sycamores of copper, the Sun comes out of them, bearing Shu [?] I have been known at every gate, out of which the Sun comes. I know the Aaluna [Elysium]. Its walls [?] are of iron [?] [earth]. Its corn rises 7 cubits, the ears of 5 cubits, the stalks of 4 cubits, for [say] its Spirits, each of them 8 cubits in length; they know where the Spirits of the East are, I know the Spirits of the East, they are the Sun in the horizon, the Calf of that God, the divine Star [adorer] of the Sun. The deceased has been built [formed] excellent, like his God, the deceased has been made a God. [I know it, I know its name, Aahlu is its name.] ... Thou goest forth with me; [is said] by the North wind. The weight of the scale, the bull ... to thy ... his being weighing thy deeds in the house of Abt to erase them from the rolls; let it be refreshed there, under the type thou wishest to be before all men (?), the divine hawk in the left Eye, his hair is on his shoulder when he proceeds from the heaven as the stars [or shades], having a coffin, that is conducted on the road.[?] The limits are not taken out of the ditches of Gods, depicted by thee, to give the length of the fields and the pool in which the corn begins and terminates by the planting of ... The height of its corn is 5 cubits; its stalks are 2 cubits. When thou hast mowed with the Souls where the Spirits of the East, having walked with a stride to the gates, thou art acquitted, [is said] by those who belong to them, and approachest thy house after thy labours to the delight of [thy] two Souls. What thou hatest is that thou shouldst die a second time. Thy making for ever the time ... and placing [?] of a harvest increase the [joy or food] of the Osiris.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[102] [Wenzig, (Slawische Volkslieder ?), p. 148.]
[103] [Zech. 14:4. 'And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.']
[104] [Zech. 14:8. 'And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.']
[105] [Sprenger, Leben Muhammed, vol. 3, p. cxi. 'Sei so gefallig und theile mir mit, was du deinen Schulern uber die Sonne und den Mond gelehrt hast, und wenn ich wieder uber diesen Gegenstand spreche, will ich Das, was ich von dir hore, vortragen, und nicht meine eigene Lehre.']
[106] [Taylor, Te Ika a Maui, or, New Zealand and its Inhabitants, p. 54. 'The new moon was celebrated by trumpets and especial sacrifice in the temple. The only approach to a festival amongst the Maori was, when the new moon first appeared. The women assembled and bewailed those who had died since the last one, uttering the following lament: ''Alas! alas! thou, moon, hast returned to life, but our departed beloved ones have not. Thou hast bathed in the living water of Tane, and had thy life renewed, but there has been no fountain of living water to restore life to our departed ones. Alas! alas!"']
[107] [Wilford, ARSB. Unable to trace.]
[108] [Legge, 'Annals of the Bamboo Books,' notes in Chinese Classics, vol. 3, p. 1. Prologue, p. 109.]
[109] [Kidd, China, pp. 175-6.
'When the parent of a family dies, a messenger is despatched to announce
the event to relatives and friends; and a tablet is suspended at the door of
wealthy persons, inscribed with the name and age of the deceased. White being
used in mourning by the Chinese, pieces of white paper are pasted on each side
of the door, to indicate the occurrence among individuals of ordinary rank.
Children and grand-children of the deceased, clothed in white, with a white
bandage round their heads, sit on the ground weeping around the corpse, which is
covered by friends with white cloth or silk the size of a coverlet. The eldest
son puts two small copper coins into an earthen bowl, which he takes in his
hands, and carries, supported by his friends, to the moat that surrounds the
city, or to the well at the gate of the village, where he deposits his money and
takes some water.* He returns home with the water thus purchased, and the
ceremony is performed of washing the face and body of the corpse, which is then
put into a coffin in state; and a tablet is erected bearing the name of the
deceased; an eulogy on his character as a probationary being, and the
designation of the dynasty under which he has lived. These tablets vary in form
and inscription in different parts of China. The first inscription on paper is
burnt and substituted by wood, before which, morning and evening for seven
successive days, incense matches are lighted, and the children of the family
prostrate themselves. At the end of three weeks the funeral takes place,
attended by friends and relatives, who weep aloud.
* The ceremony of mae shwuy, of buying water can only be performed
by the eldest son living, or the eldest son's son, in preference to the second
son. Whoever brings the water is entitled to a double share of the property.
When neither children nor grand-children are alive, those next of kin buy the
water, and inherit the property; so that, in fact, this ceremony determines the
heir.']
[110] [Vincent,
The Land of the White Elephant,
pp. 209-11. 'We were but just looking upon a most wonderful example of the
two latter, for in style and beauty of architecture, solidity of construction,
and magnificent and elaborate carving and sculpture, the great Nagkon Wat has no
superior, certainly no rival, standing at the present day. The first view of the
ruins is almost overwhelming. One writer says, "The ruins of Angkor are as
imposing as the ruins of Thebes or Memphis, and more mysterious;" and another M.
Mouhot whose work we have used as a guide-book in this distant part of Siam
thinks that one of these temples [Nagkon Wat] a "rival to that of Solomon, and
erected by some ancient Michael Angelo might take an honourable place beside our
most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or
Rome." At a first sight one is most impressed with the magnitude, minute detail,
high finish, and elegant proportions of this temple, and then to the bewildered
beholder arise mysterious after-thoughts who built it? when was it built? and
where now are its builders? But it is doubtful if these questions will ever be
answered. There exist no credible traditions all is absurd fable or legend.
The ruins of Angkor are situated in the province of Siamrap, eastern Siam, in
about Lat. 13.30 N. and Long. 104 E. We entered upon an immense causeway, the
stairs of which were flanked with six huge griffins, each carved from a single
block of stone. This causeway, which leads directly to the main entrance of the
temple, is 725 feet in length, and is paved with stones each of which measures
four feet in length by two in breadth. On either side of it are artificial lakes
fed by springs, and each covering about five acres of ground. We passed through
one of the side gates and crossed the square to a sola situated at the
very entrance of the temple. Embosomed in the midst of a perfect forest of
cocoa, betel-nut, and toddy palms, and with no village in sight excepting a
dozen or more huts, the abodes of priests having the charge of it the general
appearance of the wonderful temple is beautiful and romantic as well as
impressive and grand. A just idea of it can hardly be conveyed by writing; it
must be seen to be understood and appreciated.']
[111] [Onomasticon.]
[112] [John 5:2-4. 'Now there
is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue
Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered,
waiting for the moving of the water.
For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the
water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made
whole of whatsoever disease he had.']
[113] [Alexandrine version. Dunwell?]
[114] [John 5:2. 'After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus I went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep-gate a pool, called in Hebrew Bethesda, having I five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick folk, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the water,' in Griesbach's The New Testament, tr., S. Sharpe, p. 157.]
[116] [Rit. ch. 15. 'Inexplicable is the semsem [genesis], it is the greatest of secrets.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[117] [Rit. ch. 97. 'I wash in the Pool of Peace. I draw waters from the divine Pool under the two Sycamores of heaven and earth. Your divine offerings are of the heaven. Then all justification is redoubled on my behalf. I approach being true the God tried on earth. I am the couch, or the steps, or his throne, or the prevailer [image] of the only Lord, the Sun, the great one living by truth. Do not thou attack me; cramming my mouth with the taste of all things.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[118] [Rit. ch. 125. 'The Osiris is pure by that well of the South and the North of the fields of Sas'hem.' Birch's tr. Cf. Renouf's.]
[119] [Times, 9/9/1881.]
[120] [Portrayed on tomb of Rameses III.]
[121] [Birch, 'Inscription of the Gold Mines at Rhedesieh and Kuban,' RP, 8, 67. See p. 70.]
[122] [Latham, Elements of Comparative Philology, p. 242. 'When Noah was at Mecca, Khor, the chief of the district, went to pay homage to him: thereat Noah was well pleased, and promised to grant him any favour for which he should ask. So Khor asked for water, but the voice in which he spoke was rough and loud, and his manner coarse. At this the patriarch was offended. So that instead of blessing the land of Khor he cursed it, and condemned it to become solid rock, nevertheless he kept his promise in the matter of the water, and sent his grandson Shur to carry it into effect. The grandson cried Nu Shu. Echo answered Nu Shu. The sound Nu Shu reached Mecca. And now Nu Shu is the sound which the water murmurs, and which Echo still conveys to Mecca; the place retaining the name of the three parties concerned Khor, the prince who spoke so rudely; Noah, the patriarch who disliked Khor's manners; and Shu, the grandson who did the work in opening the basin and calling out the words which Echo delighted in repeating.']
[123] [Gill, Myths and Songs from the South Pacific, p. 17. 'Mangaia now for the first time emerged to the light of day, and became the centre of the universe. Its central hill was accordingly designated Rangimotia = The centre of the heavens.']
[124] [Ibid., p. 129. 'It is in
allusion to this myth that the southern half of Mangaia is invariably called
"the right side," and the northern half "the left side." The eastern part of
Mangaia is always termed the "pauru" or head.
Whenever, in the olden time, a large stranded fish was obtained, this fancy
guided the cutting up and presentation of the different parts of the fish. The
head, as a matter-of-course, went to the two chiefs at "the sun-rising," where
the head of The-long-lived was supposed to lie. The central part of the fish
would go to the two chiefs of the central portion of Mangaia the fish being
divided along the back-bone, in order that the shares might be equal.
The tail was divided between the two remaining chiefs, whose homes are at "the
sun-setting."
The larger portions were subdivided, until each individual had a minute share.
But these subdivisions were not made until the name of the chief of the entire
district had first been proclaimed.']
[125] [Tremlett, Trade Report on Saigon and Cochin-China, 1881.]
[126] [Histoire de la vie de Hiouen-Thsang et de ses voyages dans l'Inde par Hoei-Li et Yen-Thsong, traduit du Chinoise par S. Julien.]
[127] [Ralston,
Russian Folktales, pp. 233-4. 'Another tells how a flying
Snake brought two heroes to a lake, into which they flung a green bough, and
immediately the bough broke into flame and was consumed. Then it took them to
another lake, into which they cast a mouldy log. And the log straightway began
to put forth buds and blossoms.
In some cases the magic waters are the property, not of a Snake, but of one of
the mighty heroines who so often occur in these stories, and who bear so great a
resemblance to Brynhildr, as well in other respects as in that of her enchanted
sleep.'
Ibid., p. 250. 'Katoma cut a green branch off a tree, and flung it into
the well. The bough hadn't so much as reached the water before it all burst into
a flame!
'Ha! so you're still up to your tricks,' said the heroes, and began to strangle
the Baba Yaga, with the intention of flinging her, the accursed one, into the
fiery fount. More than ever did the Baba Yaga implore for mercy, swearing a
great oath that she would not deceive them this time.
'On my troth I will bring you to good water,' says she.
The heroes consented to give her one more trial, and she took them to another
fount.
Uncle Katoma cut a dry spray from a tree, and flung it into the fount. The spray
had not yet reached the water when it already turned green, budded, and put
forth blossoms.']
[128] [Hahn, (Griechische und Albanische Märchen?) vol. 2, pp. 234-80.]
[129] [John 5:4. 'For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.']
[130] [Lingua Latina.]
[131] [Bundahish, ch.
7:15.
Ibid., ch.
20:2.]
[133] [Burton,
A Mission to Gebele, King of Dahome, vol. 1, p. 62. 'Ophiolatry
in our part of Africa is mostly confined to the coast regions; the Popos and
Windward races worship a black snake of larger size; and in the Bight of Biafra
the Nimbi or Brass River people are as bigoted in boa-religion as are the
Whydahs. The system is of old date: Boman, at the beginning of the last century,
described it almost as it is at present. It well suits the gross materialism of
these races, and yet here men ought to be tired of it. As will afterwards
appear, the snakes lost their kingdom; yet we are told that when the Dahomans
permitted serpent-worship to continue, the Whydahs, abundantly thankful, became
almost reconciled to the new stern rule.
Snake worship is both old and widely spread; we recognise it among the Psylli of
the ancients, and in the Roman Ophiolatreia of which Livy wrote angtiem in quo
ipsum numen fuisse constabat.'
'In Africa the serpent was worshipped in some parts of Upper Egypt, and
in Abyssinia. Among the negroes on the Guinea Coast it used to be the principal
deity. Smith, in his voyage to Guinea, says that the natives "are all pagans,
and worship three sorts of deities. The first is a large, beautiful kind of
snake, which is inoffensive in its nature. These are kept in fetish-houses, or
churches, built for that purpose in a grove, to whom they sacrifice great store
of hogs, sheep, fowls, and goats, &c, and if not devoured by the snake, are sure
to be taken care of by the fetishmen or pagan priests." From Liberia to Benguela,
if not farther, the serpent is the principal deity, and, as elsewhere, is
regarded as being on the whole beneficent. To it the natives resort in times of
drought and sickness, or other calamities. No negro would intentionally injure a
serpent, and anyone doing so by accident would assuredly be put to death. All
over the country are small huts, built on purpose for the snakes, which are
attended and fed by old women. These snakes are frequently consulted as
oracles.' From Lubbock, Origin of Civilisation, p. 271.
'A Description of the
Coast of Guinea,' in Pinkerton,
A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels. vol.
16, p. 494. 'Their principal gods, which are owned for such throughout
the whole country, are of three sorts: first, a certain sort of snakes, who
possess the chief rank amongst their gods. How would our countryman, Becker,
author of The World Bewitched, divert himself with the contrary opinions
of the sons of Adam? For as we take the serpent for the fatal destroyer of the
human-race, so these of Fida, on the contrary, esteem him their supreme bliss
and general good. But this by way of parenthesis only.
Their second-rate gods are some lofty high trees, in the formation of which dame
Nature seems to have expressed her greatest art.
The third and meanest god, or younger brother to the other, is the sea. These
three-mentioned are the public deities, which are worshipped and prayed to
throughout the whole country; and each of these, according to their ridiculous
persuasion, hath its particular province, like the officers of a King or Prince;
with this difference only, that the sea and trees are not permitted to
intermeddle with what is entrusted to the snake; which, on the contrary, hath an
influencing power over both the other, in order to correct them when they prove
idle or lazy.'
See also NG 1:355.]
[134] [Plutarch, Of Isis and Osiris, ch. 60.]
[135] [A Brief Account of Bushman Folklore and Other Texts, p. 14. 'By a glance from the eye of a maiden (probably at a time when she would be usually kept in strict retirement) men became fixed in whatever position they then occupied, with whatever they were holding in their hands, etc., and became changed into trees which talked.']
[136] [Shayast La Shayast, ch. 3:29.]
[137] [Plutarch, Of Isis and Osiris, ch. 63.]
[138] [Ralston, Russian Folk-tales, p. 235. 'In another version of the story, the precious fluid is contained in a flask which is hidden under the pillow of the slumbering 'Tsar Maiden.' The Prince steals it and flees, but he bears on him the weight of sin, and so, when he tries to clear the fence which girds the enchanted castle, his horse strikes one of the cords attached to it, and the spell is broken which maintains the magic sleep in which the realm is locked. The Tsar Maiden pursues the thief, but does not succeed in catching him. He is killed, however, by his elder brothers, who 'cut him into small pieces,' and then take the flask of magic water to their father. The murdered prince is resuscitated by the mythical bird known by the name of the Zhar-Ptitsa, which collects his scattered fragments, puts them together, and sprinkles them first with 'dead water' and then with 'live water' conveyed for that purpose in its beak after which the prince gets up, thanks his reviver, and goes his way.']
[139] [Ibid., p. 231. 'In all these matters the Russian and the Western tales agree, but the Skazka differs from most stories of its kind in this respect, that it almost invariably speaks of two kinds of magic waters as being employed for the restoration of life. We have already seen, in the story of 'Marya Morevna,' that one of these, sometimes called the mertvaya voda the 'dead water' or 'Water of Death' when sprinkled over a mutilated corpse, heals all its wounds; while the other, which bears the name of the zhivaya voda, the 'living water' or 'Water of Life' endows it once more with vitality.']
[140] [The Blind Man and the Cripple.]
[141] [British Museum—plates in Knight, 11 & 24.]
[142] [Rit. ch. 138. Cf. Renouf.]
[143] [Horrack, 'Lamentations of Isis and Nephthys,' RP, 2, 117. See p. 122.]
[144] [Birch, Gallery of Antiquities, p. 9. 'He was the creator both of the gods and mankind, whom he was represented fabricating on a potter's wheel or furnace—a coincidence with the creation of man out of clay so remarkable, that it is extraordinary it should have escaped notice. In the chamber at Philae, constructed under the Ptolemies, he constructs the form of Osiris; the hieroglyphical inscriptions stating that "Nouf, fabricating on. his furnace or wheel, builds the divine limbs of Osiris resident in the chief hall of life." At the same place he is called "Noum-ra, lord of Senem; constructor of the mothers engenderers of the gods; great son (?) of his mother, setting up his furnace above, commanding for ever." He was also represented holding the king and the deity Har-sont-to on a potter's wheel, or table, the inscriptions stating him to be the great god, making (like a potter) the son of his race with good breath in his mouth.']
[145] [Num. 20:8. 'Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.']
[146] [Birch, 'Egyptian Magical Text,' RP, 6, 113. See pp. 115-6.]
[147] [Ibid. See p. 116.]
[148] [Bartolocci, Bibliotheca Magna Rabbinica, 596.]
[149] [Moor, Hindu Pantheon, pl. 17.]
[150] [Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, vol. 5, p. 384. 'In the R.V. x. 95, 4, 5 (compare Nirukta, iii. 21); and S'atap. Br. si. 5, 1, 1, the word vaitasa has the sense of membrum virile. Are we to understand the word vetasa (reed) in the same sense here, as denoting a Linga? The words vetaso hiranyayah are also found in R.V. iv. 58, 5: "I behold the streams of butter (ghrita); in the midst of these is the golden reed (hiranyayo vetasuh)," which the commentator interprets as meaning ap-sambhavo 'gnir vaidyutah, the "fire of the lightning produced in the aerial waters."']
[151] [Muir, ibid, vol. 5, p. 338. 'May the Waters, the mothers, cleanse us, may they (the waters) who purify with butter, purify us with butter; for these goddesses bear away defilement; I come up out of them pure and cleansed." When once the river had acquired a divine character, it was quite natural that she should be regarded as the patroness of the ceremonies which were celebrated on the margin of her holy waters, and that her direction and blessing should be invoked as essential to their proper performance and success.']
[152] [Cave of the Nymphs, pp. 15-6. 'For the ancients thought that these souls are incumbent on water which is inspired by divinity, as Numenius says, who adds, that on this account, a prophet asserts, that the Spirit of God moved on the waters. The Egyptians likewise, on this account, represent all daemons and also the sun, and, in short, all the planets, not standing on anything solid, but on a sailing vessel; for souls descending into generation fly to moisture.' Taylor's tr.]
[153] [W. E. Gladstone. See note below.]
[154] [Juventus Mundi, pp. 539-41.
'In the Studies on Homer, I have considered at some length the manner
in which Homer handles the subject of colour. I can in this place only lay down
certain propositions without attempting the proof of them in detail.
To us of the present day, colour, and its broader distinctions, are familiar
from childhood upwards. But, in the first place, it is to be borne in mind, that
the acquired knowledge of one generation becomes in time the inherited aptitude
of another. In the second place, much of our varied experience in colour is due
to chemistry, and to commerce, which brings to us the productions of all the
regions of the world. Mere Nature, at any one spot, does not present to us a
full and well-marked series of the principal colours such as to be habitually
before the mind's eye. Thirdly, the curious investigations of late years have
shown us that, even now and in our own country, no inconsiderable proportion of
persons are without the faculty of perceiving some of the primary distinctions
of colour.
With respect to Homer, my main conclusions are:
1. That his perceptions of colour, considered as light decomposed, though highly
poetical, are also very indeterminate.
2. But that his perceptions of light not decomposed, as varying between light
and dark, white and black, were most vivid and effective.
3. That accordingly his descriptions of colour generally tend a good deal to
range themselves in a scale (so to speak) of degrees, rather than of kinds, of
light.
The primitive experience of the prismatic colours must have been principally
drawn from the rainbow. But Homer only once mentions the rainbow, and here he
compares it with the snakes of dark metal on the breastplate of Agamemnon; of
which comparison I can discern no other ground than that they would flash a
varying light as the chieftain moved.
His goddess Iris is in evident relation to the rainbow. Yet he never gives her
an epithet of colour though he calls her golden-winged. I think these facts go
some way towards proving my main theses.
There are no words in Homer which can with any certainty be held to mean any one
of these three colours: orange, green, and blue. His word kuaneos, which
is more like indigo, does not seem to have been clearly separated in his mind
from black while he also applies it to wet sand. His word porphureos for
violet, runs into his word eruthros for red. His word xanthos for
yellow is applied to auburn or red hair, to the ears of corn, to a chestnut
horse, to a river (apt to be swollen I suppose, and darkened by mud). In truth,
there is not one single epithet of colour which we can affirm to be thoroughly
defined. The word phoinix, which seems to intermix with xanthos,
is also used as the equivalents of the words which would be rendered purple and
red. Only a minute examination could collect the whole evidence in the case; but
I will close with observing that oil is once called rosy iron and wool violet,
and oxen wine-coloured. But in the use of the words white and black, light and
dark, which is abundant. Homer's eye seems rarely or never to go astray.']
[155] [NC, Oct., 1877.]
[156] [Source.]
[157] [Flower, Fashion in Deformity, p. 19. 'It seems to be a very common idea with artists and sculptors, as well as anatomists, that the second toe ought to be longer than the first in a well-proportioned human foot, and so it is conventionally represented in art. The idea is derived from the Greek canon, which in its turn was copied from the Egyptian, and probably originally derived from the negro.']
[158] [Works, vol. 3, p.160. Mysterium Magnum, ch. 30, sec. 54. 'For concerning Enoch's divine Time our Speech is taken from us, seeing Babel is not worthy of it, and also shall net fee it; and likewise we must be silent concerning the Discovery of the Times of the Ancient, whole Number shall stand open in the Rose of the Lily.']
[159] [The Iliad, 3:152.
Unable to trace.
Hesiod, Theogony,
41. 'Unwearying flows the sweet sound from their lips, and the house of
their father Zeus the loud-thunderer is glad at the lily-like voice of the
goddesses as it spread abroad, and the peaks of snowy Olympus resound, and the
homes of the immortals.' Tr., White.]
[160] [Jebamoth, 49 b., Mishna, i.e. Yebamoth.]
[161] [Arcadia, in
Description of Greece, bk. 8.37. 'Those who live about the temple say,
that Despoina was educated by Anytus, and that he was one of the Titans. Homer
indeed was the first poet that introduced the Titans, into his verses, and
according to him they are subterranean gods. The verses about them are in the
oath of Juno. But Onomacritus, receiving the name of the Titans from Homer,
instituted the orgies of Bacchus, and makes the Titans to be the authors of the
sufferings of Bacchus. And such as the particulars about about Anytus which are
circulated by the Arcadians. But Aeschylus the son of Euphorion taught the
Greeks, from the traditions of the Egyptians, that Diana is the daughter of
Ceres, and not of Latona. With respect to the Curetes (for these are carved
under the statues), and the Corybantes who are carved under the basis, I shall
designedly omit all the particulars belonging to them. The Arcadians bring into
this temple, the fruit of all mild trees except the pomegranate. On departing
from the temple, through the passage on the right hand, there is a mirror fitted
into the wall. Whoever looks into this mirror will at first either perceive
himself but very obscurely, or behold nothing at all; but he will very clearly
behold the statues of the goddesses, and the throne. Near the temple of Despoina,
on ascending a little, you will perceive, on the right hand, that which is
called the Megaron, or the magnificent abode. They celebrate the
mysteries here; and the Arcadians sacrifice in it to Despoina many victims in a
very unsparing manner. Every one, too, sacrifices according to his possessions.
But they do not cut the throats of the victims, as in other sacrifices, but
every one cuts off the limb which he first happens to meet with.
The Arcadians, too, venerate Despoina above all the divinities, and assert that
she is the daughter of Neptune and Ceres, and is called Despoina by the
multitude, just as the offspring of Jupiter and Ceres is generally called Core,
though her proper name is Persephone, which is usurped by Homer, and prior to
him by Pamphus. But I am afraid of disclosing the name of Despoina to the
uninitiated.' Taylor's tr., which differs from the ref. Massey gives. See The
Thomas Taylor Series, vol. 32, p. 378. I give here the tr. by Frazer which
also does not tally with Massey's interpretation.
'Beside the image of the Mistress stands Anytus in the likeness of an armed man.
The attendants of the sanctuary say that the Mistress was reared by Anytus, and
that he was one of the so-called Titans. Homer was the first who introduced the
Titans into poetry, representing them as gods in what is called Tartarus: the
verses occur in the oath of Hera. Onomacritus borrowed the name of the Titans
from Homer, and in the orgies which he composed for Dionysus he represented the
Titans as the authors of Dionysus' sufferings.
That is what the Arcadians say about Anytus. It was Aeschylus, son of Euphorion,
who taught the Greeks the Egyptian legend that Artemis is a daughter of Demeter
and not of Latona. The Curetes are represented under the images, and the
Corybantes (a different race from the Curetes) are sculptured in relief on the
pedestal: I know the stories told about both of them, but I pass them over.
The Arcadians bring into the sanctuary the fruits of all cultivated trees except
the pomegranate. On the right as you leave the temple there is a mirror fitted
into the wall. Any one who looks into this mirror will see himself either very
dimly or not at all, but the images of the gods and the throne are clearly
visible.
Beside the temple of the Mistress a little higher up on the right is what is
called the Hall. Here the Arcadians perform mysteries, and sacrifice victims to
the Mistress in great abundance. Each man sacrifices what he has got. They do
not cut the throats of the victims as in the other sacrifices, but each man lops
off a limb of the victim, it matters not which.
This Mistress is worshipped by the Arcadians above all the gods, and they say
she is a daughter of Poseidon and Demeter. Mistress is her popular surname, just
as the daughter of Demeter by Zeus is surnamed the Maid. The real name of the
Maid is Proserpine, as it occurs in the poetry of Homer and of Pamphos before
him; but the true name of the Mistress I fear to communicate to the
uninitiated.' Frazer's tr., vol. 1, p. 442.
See also BB 2:274.]
[162] [Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled, vol. 2, p. 388. 'What do they know of that mystical personage known to some adepts as the "venerable MAH," or of the mysterious Eastern Brothers who obey him, whose name is abbreviated in the first syllable of the three which compose the Masonic substitute— The MAH, who lives at this very day in a spot unknown to all but initiates, and the approaches to which are through trackless wildernesses, untrodden by Jesuit or missionary foot, for it is beset by dangers fit to appal the most courageous explorers? And yet, for generations this meaningless jingle of vowels and consonants has been repeated in noviciate ears, as though it possessed even so much potency as would deflect from its course a thistledown floating in the air! Like Christianity, Freemasonry is a corpse from which the spirit long ago fled.']
[163] [Renouf, HL, p. 208.
'It might be called a Breviary of the Book of the Dead, all the ideas in it
being borrowed from that older collection, but the obscurities both in form and
in matter are studiously avoided.
It was first published in the plates to the Travels of Vivant-Denon; then
Brugsch, in an early publication of his, translated it into Latin, calling it
the Book of the Metempsychosis of the ancient Egyptians; and finally, a critical
edition has been given of it, with a French translation, by M. de Horrack.
Of the many other compendiums, paraphrases and imitations of the Book of the
Dead, I shall only mention one, and that for the sake of a sort of definition
which it gives of the gods. The English language is less suited than Greek or
German for the translation of cheper chenti chep diet neb em-chet cheper-sen,
which is literally, "the Becoming which is in the Becoming of all things when
they become." Under this play of words the writer wishes to describe "the cause
of change in everything that changes," and he adds: "the mighty ones, the
powerful ones, the beneficent, the nutriuj who test by their level the words of
men, the Lords of Law (Maat), Hail to you, ye gods, ye associate gods, who are
without body, who rule that which is born from the earth and that which is
produced in the house of your cradles [in heaven] Ye prototypes of the image of
all that exists, ye lathers and mothers of the solar orb, ye forms, ye great
ones (uru), ye mighty ones (aaiu) ye strong ones (nu triii),
first company of the gods of Almu, who generated men and shaped the form of
every form, ye lords of all things: hail to you, ye lords of eternity and
everlasting."']
[164] [Dallaway, A Series of Discourses upon Architecture in England, p. 401. Massey errs here. Wrong p. no, poss. wrong title. Unable to trace.]
[165] [Yasna, 9:81. Unable to trace. But see Shayast La-Shayast, ch. 4, for example.]
[166] [Le Plongeon, Vestiges of the Mayas,
p. 69. 'The strangest part, perhaps, of this discovery is the information it
gives us that certain signs and symbols were used by the affiliated, that are
perfectly identical to those used among the masons in their symbolical lodges. I
have lately published in Harper's Weekly, a full description of the building,
with plans of the same, and drawings of the signs and symbols existing in it.
These secret societies exist still among the Zunis and other Pueblo Indians of
New Mexico, according to the relations of Mr. Frank H. Cushing, a gentleman sent
by the Smithsonian Institution to investigate their customs and history. In
order to comply with the mission intrusted to him, Mr. Cushing has caused his
adoption in the tribe of the Zunis, whose language he has learned, whose habits
he has adopted. Among the other remarkable things he has discovered is "the
existence of twelve sacred orders, with their priests and their secret rites as
carefully guarded as the secrets of freemasonry, an institution to which these
orders have a strange resemblance." (From the New York Times.)
If from Egypt we pass to Nubia, we find that the peculiar battle ax of the Mayas
was also used by the warriors of that country; whilst many of the customs of the
inhabitants of equatorial Africa, as described by Mr. Du Chaillu in the relation
of his voyage to the "Land of Ashango," so closely resemble those of the
aborigines of Yucatan as to suggest that intimate relations must have existed,
in very remote ages, between their ancestors; if the admixture of African blood,
clearly discernible still, among the natives of certain districts of the
peninsula, did not place that fact without the peradventure of a doubt.']
[167] [Rawlinson, Report to the General Board of Health on a Preliminary Enquiry into the Sanitary Condition of the Parish of Havant.]
[168] [Potter, Archælogia Græca: or, The Antiquities of Greece, vol. 1, p. 391. 'About a Year after, having sacrificed a Sow to Ceres, they were admitted to the Greater Mysteries, the secret Rites of which (some few excepted, to which none but Priests were conscious) were frankly reveal'd to them; whence they were call'd [Greek], and [Greek], i.e. Inspectors. The Manner of Initiation was thus: The Candidates being crown'd with Myrtle, had Admittance by Night into a Place call'd [Greek], i.e. the Mystical Temple, which was an Edifice so vast and capacious, that the most ample Theatre did scarce exceed it. At their Entrance, they purify'd themselves by warning their Hands in Holy-water, and at the fame Time were admonished, to present themselves with Minds pure and undefil'd, without which the external Cleanness of the Body would by no Means be accepted. After this the Holy Mysteries were read to them out of a Book, call'd [Greek, i.e. Petroma], which Word is deriv'd from [Greek], i.e. a Stone, because the Book was nothing else but two Stones fitly cemented together.']
[169] [Birch, 'Tablet of 400 Years,' RP, 4, 33.]
[170] [Burgess, Sûrya Siddhanta, p. 5, bk. 1:10. 'Time is the destroyer of the worlds; another Time has for its nature to bring to pass. This latter, according as it is gross or minute, is called by the two names, real (murta) and unreal (amurta).']