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 \' • " ^^^*^ ^'' 'V- 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS 
 
 , ■: .•■■li v< • ..V '■,T ■ '^ 
 
 AND THElfe 
 
 PARALLELS IN OTHER RELIGIONS 
 
 BEING A COMPARISON OP THE i i\ '■ ■* • 
 
 Old and New Testament Myths and Miracles 
 
 WITH 
 
 THOSE OF HEATHEN NATIONS OF ANTIQUITY 
 
 CONSIDERING ALSO 
 
 THEIR ORIGIN AND MEANING 
 By T. W. DOANE 
 
 IVITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 FOURTH EDITION 
 
 ''He who knows only one religion knows none." — Prop. Max Muller. 
 
 " The same thing which is now called Christian Religion existed among the 
 Ancients. They have begun to call Christian the true religion which existed be- 
 fore." — St. Augustine. 
 
 "Our love for what is old, our reverence for what our fathers used, makes us 
 keep still in the church, and on the very altar cloths, symbols which would excite 
 the smile of an Oriental, and lead him to wonder why we send missionaries to hii 
 land, while cherishing his faith in ours." — James Bonwick. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE TRUTH SEEKER COMPANY 
 
 28 Lafayette Place
 
 
 coPTKioBrr, 
 
 BT J. W. BODTOH, 
 
 1882. 

 
 stack 
 AnnaK 
 
 '6L 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The idea of publishing the work here presented did not sug- 
 gest itself until a large portion of the material it contains had 
 been accumulated for the private use and personal gratification of 
 the author. In pursuing the study of the Bible Myths, facts per- 
 taining thereto, in a condensed form, seemed to be greatly needed, 
 and nowhere to be found. Widely scattered through hundreds of 
 ancient and modern volumes, most of the contents of this book 
 may indeed be found ; but any previous attempt to trace exclusively 
 the myths ami legends of the Old and New Testament to their 
 origin, published as a separate work, is not known to the writer 
 of this. Many able writers have shown our so-called Sacred Scrip- 
 tures to be unhistorical, and have pronounced them largely legend- 
 ary, but have there left the matter, evidently aware of the great 
 extent of the subject lying beyond. As Thomas Scott remarks, 
 in his English Life of Jesus : '■'•Row these narratives (i. e., the 
 New Testament narratives), unhistorical as they have been shown 
 to be, came into existence, it is not our business to explain ; and 
 once again, at the end of the task, as at the beginning and 
 throughout, we must emphatically disclaim the obligation." To 
 pursue the subject from the point at which it is abandoned by 
 this and many other distinguished writers, has been the labor of 
 the author of this volume for a number of years. The result of 
 
 [iiij
 
 IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 this labor is herewith submitted to the reader, but not without a 
 painful consciousness of its many imperfections. 
 
 The work naturally begins with the Eden myth, and is fol- 
 lowed by a consideration of the principal Old Testament 
 legends, showing their universality, origin and meaning. Next 
 will be found the account of the birth of Christ Jesus, with his 
 history until the close of his life upon earth, showing, in con- 
 nection therewith, the universality of the myth of the Virgin- 
 born, Crucified and Kesurrected Saviour. 
 
 Before showing the orii/in and meaning of the myth (which 
 is done in Chapter XXXIX.), we have considered the Miracles 
 of Christ Jesus, the Eucharist, Baptism, the Wo7'ship of the 
 Virgin, Christian Symbols, the Birthday of Christ Jesus, the 
 Doctrine of the Trinity, Why Christianity Prospered, and the 
 Antiguity of Pagan Religions, besides making a comparison of 
 the legendary histories of Crishna and Jesus, and Buddha and 
 Jesus. The concluding chapter relates to the question, What do 
 we really know about Jesus ? 
 
 In the words of Prof. Max Miiller {The Science of Re- 
 ligion, p. 11) : " A comparison of all the religions of the world, 
 in which none can claim a privileged position, will no doubt 
 seem to many dangerous and reprehensible, because ignoring that 
 peculiar reverence which everybody, down to the mere fetish 
 worshiper, feels for his own religion, and for his own god. Let 
 me say, then, at once, that I myself have shared these misgivings, 
 but that I have tried to overcome them, because I would not and 
 could not allow myself to surrender either what I hold to be the 
 truth, or what I hold still dearer than truth, the right of testing 
 truth. Nor do I regret it. I do not say that the Science of Re- 
 ligion is all gain. No, it entails losses, and losses of many 
 things which we hold dear. But this I will say, that, as far as 
 my humble judgment goes, it does not entail the loss of anything 
 that is essential to true religion, and that, if we strike the 
 balance honestly, the gain is immeasuraily greater than the loss.'"
 
 INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 " All truth is safe, and nothing else is safe ; and he who keeps 
 back the truth, or withholds it from men, from motives of expe- 
 diency, is either a coward or a criminal, or both." 
 
 But little beyond the arrangement of this work is claimed as 
 original. Ideas, phrases, and even whole paragraphs have been 
 taken from the writings of others, and in most, if not in all cases, 
 acknowledged ; but with the thought in mind of the many hours 
 of research this book may save the student in this particular line 
 of study ; with the consciousness of having done for others that 
 which I would have been thankful to have found done for myself ; 
 and more than all, with the hope that it may in some way help to 
 hasten the day when the mist of superstition shall be dispelled by 
 the light of reason ; with all its defects, it is most cheerfully com- 
 mitted to its fate by the author. 
 
 Boston, Mass., November, 1883.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Ihtboductiok iii 
 
 List of Authorities, and Books Quoted fbom xi 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 The Creation and Fall of Man 1 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 The Deluge 19 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 The Towek of Babel 33 
 
 CHAPTER rV. 
 The Tbial of Abrahah's Faith 33 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Jacob's Vision of the Ladder. 42 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Exodus prom Egtpt 48 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 Receiving the Ten Cojimandments 58 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 Samson and his Exploits 63 
 
 ▼ii
 
 VUl CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 JoHAH Swallowed by a Bio Fish 77 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 OlBCUMCISION 85 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 Conclusion of Part First 88 
 
 PART II. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Miraculous Birth of Christ Jesus Ill 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Star op Bethlehem 140 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Song of the Heavenly Host 147 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Divine Child Recognized, and Presented with Gifts 150 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Birth-place of Christ Jesus 154 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Genealogy op Christ Jesus 160 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Slaughter of the Innocents 165 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Temptation, and Fast of Forty Days 175 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The Crucifixion of Christ Jesus 181 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The Darkness at the Crucifixion 206
 
 CONTENTS. IX 
 
 FASB 
 
 CHAPTER XXU. 
 " He Descended into Hell." 211 
 
 CHAPTER XXni. 
 The Resbrbection and Ascension of Christ Jesus 215 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 The Second Coming of Christ Jesus, and the Millennium 233 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Christ Jescs as Judge of the Dead 244 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Christ Jesus as Creator, and Alpha and Omega 247 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 The Miracles of Christ Jesus, and the Primitive Christians 278 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Christ Ckishna and Christ Jesus 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 Christ Buddha and Christ Jesus 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 The Eucharist or Lord's Supper 305 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Baptism 316 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 The Worship op the Virgin Mother 326 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIU. 
 Christian Symbols 339 
 
 CHAPTER XXXrV. 
 The Birth-DAT of Christ Jesus 359 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 The Trinitt 368
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 TAaa 
 CHAPTER XXXVL 
 Paganism in Chbistianitt 384 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 Why Christiakitt Prospered 419 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVm 
 The Antiquity of Pagan Religions 450 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 Explanation 466 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 Conclusion 608 
 
 Appendix ■ 6M
 
 LIST 
 
 OF 
 
 AUTHOES AND BOOKS QUOTED 
 
 EN THIS WORK. 
 
 Abbott (Ltmak) A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge, for Popular and 
 
 Professional Use ; comprising full information on Bibli- 
 cal, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Subjects. Edited 
 by Rev. Lyman Abbott, assisted by Rev. T. J. Conant, 
 D. D. New York : Harper & Bros., 1880. 
 
 ACOBTA (Eev. Joseph De) The Natural and Moral History of the Indies, by Father 
 
 Joseph De Acosta. Translated by Edward Grimston. 
 London: 1604. 
 
 .^SCHTLUS The Poems of jEschylus. Translated by the Rev. R. 
 
 Potter, M. A. New York: Harper & Bros., 1836. 
 
 AlL£N (Ret. D. 0.) India, Ancient and Modem, by David 0. Allen, D. D., 
 
 Missionary of the American Board for twenty-five years 
 in India. London: Triibner & Co., 1856. 
 
 Ambebly (Viscount) An Analysis of Religious Belief, by Viscount Amberly, 
 
 from the late London Edition. New York : D. M. Ben- 
 nett, 1879. 
 
 Asiatic Beseabches Asiatic Researches, or Transactions of the Society insti- 
 tuted in Bengal, for inquiring in the History and An- 
 tiquities, the Arts, Sciences, and Literature of Asia. 
 London: J. Swain, 1801. 
 
 Babko-Gouu) (Rev. S.) Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, by Rev. S. Baring- 
 Gould, M. A. Boston: Roberts Bros., 1880. 
 
 Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and other Old 
 
 Testament Characters, from various sources, by Rev. S. 
 Baring-Gould, M. A. New York : Holt k Williams, 
 1872. 
 
 The Origin and Development of ReUgious Belief, by S. 
 
 Baring-Gould, M. A., in 2 vols. New York : D. Apple- 
 ton & Co., 1870. 
 
 zi
 
 Xll AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. 
 
 Barnabas The General Epistle of Barnabas, a companion and fel- 
 low-preacher with Paul. 
 
 Barnes (Albert) Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels, bj 
 
 Rev. Albert Barnes, in 2 vols. New York : Harper & 
 Bros., 1S60. 
 
 Beal (Sauuel) The Komantie Legend of Sakya Buddha, from the Chi- 
 nese Sanscrit (being a translation of the Fo-pen-hing), 
 by Samuel Heal. London: Trlibner & Co., 1875. 
 
 Bell (J.) Bell's New Pantheon, or Historical Dictionary of the 
 
 Gods, Demi-Gods, Heroes, and Fabulous Personages of 
 Antiquity ; also of the Images and Idols, adored in the 
 Pagan World, together with their Temples, Priests, Al- 
 tars, Oracles, Fast3, Festivals, &c., in 2 vols. London : 
 J. Bell, nOO 
 
 Bhaoata.T-Geeta The Bhagavat-Geeta, or Dialogues of Ciishna and Arjoon, 
 
 in 1 8 Lecture.-i, with notes. Translated from the orig- 
 inal Sanscrit by Charles Wilkes. London : C. Nourse, 
 1786. 
 
 Blatatsey (H. p.) Isia Unveiled : A llaster Key to the Mysteries of Ancient 
 
 and Modern .Science and Theology, by U. P. Blavatsky. 
 in 2 vols. New York: J. W. Bouton, 1S77. 
 
 BONWICK (Jaui's) Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, by James Bonwick, 
 
 F. R. G. S. London : C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1878. 
 
 Beixton (DaXiel). The Myths of the New World : A Treatise on the Symbol- 
 ism and Mythology of the Red Race of America, liy Dan- 
 iel Brinton, A. M., M. D. New York : L. Uolt k Co., 1868. 
 
 Britannica (Enctclo.) The Encyclopcedia Britannica, Ninth Edition. 
 
 Bdcklet (T. a.) The Great Cities of the Ancient World, in their Glory 
 
 and tlieir Desolation, by Theodore A. Bucklej', M. A. 
 London : G. Routledge & Co., 1852. 
 
 BuLFixcH (Thomas) The Age of Fable, or Beauties of Mythology, by Thomas 
 
 Bulfinclu Boston : J. E. Tilton & Co., 1870. 
 
 Bbnce (John T.) Fairy Tales: Their Origin and Meaning, with some ac- 
 count of Dwellers in Fairy-land, by John Thackary 
 Bunce. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1878. 
 
 Bunsen (Ernest de) .The Keys of St. Peter, or the House of Rochab, connect- 
 ed with the History of Symbolism and Idolatry, by Er- 
 nest de Bunsen. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 
 1867. 
 
 __^ The Angel-Messiah of Buddhists, Essenes, and Christians, 
 
 by Ernest de Bunsen. London : Longmans, Green & 
 Co., 1880. 
 ^^-^ , The Chronology of the Bible, connected with contempo- 
 
 raneous events in the history of Babylonians, Assyrians, 
 and Egyptians, by Ernest de Bunsen. London : Long- 
 inajis, Green & Co., 1874.
 
 ABTn03S AND BOOKS QUOTED. xiii 
 
 Cjlmit Cftlmot'a Dictionary of the Holy Biblo (Taylor's). Lon- 
 don: 1798. 
 
 CiiASWiCE (J. W.) The Bible of To-day : A Course of Lectures by John W. 
 
 Chadwick, Minister of the Second Unitarian Church in 
 Brooltlyn, N. Y. New York : G. P. Putnam & Sons, 
 1878. 
 
 CiiAMBKES Chambers' Encyclopsedia ; A Dictionary of Universal 
 
 Knowledge for the People. American Revised Edition. 
 Philadelphia: J. Lippincott & Co., 1877. 
 
 CUAUFOLLION (M.) Prccis du systfime Hieroglyphique des Anciens Egyptiens 
 
 ou recherches pur lea etemens premiers dec ette ecri- 
 ture sacree, &c., par M. ChampolUon Le Jctine. Secondo 
 Edit. Paris : 1828. 
 
 Cinu) (L. M.) The Progress of Religious Ideas through Successive Ages, 
 
 by L. Maria Child, in 3 vols. New York : C. S. Francis 
 k Co., 1855. 
 
 Clement The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. 
 
 CoLENSO (Rev. J. W.) The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua critically examined, 
 
 by the Right Rev. John William Colenso, D. D., Bishop 
 of Natal. Loudon: Longmans, Green & Co., 1863. 
 
 ^— ^— Lectures on the Pentateuch and Moabite Stone, by the 
 
 Eight Rev. John William Colenso, D. D., Eishop of 
 Natal. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1873. 
 
 CossTAVTiSE (The EnrEECR). .The Emperor Constantine's Oration to the Holy Congre- 
 gation of the Clergy. London : Thos. Coates, 1637. 
 
 CoswAY (M. D.) The Sacred Anthology: A Book of Ethnical Scriptures, 
 
 collated and edited by Moneure D. Conway. London : 
 TrQbner & Co., 1874. 
 
 CottT Cory's Ancient Fragments of the Phenician, Carthage- 
 
 nian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and other Authors. A 
 new and enlarged edition, carefully revised by E. Rich- 
 ard Hodges, M. C. P. London : Reeves & Turner, 1876. 
 
 CouLANGES (F. de) The Ancient City : A Study ou the Religion, Laws, and 
 
 Institutions of Greece and Rome, by Fustel de Cou- 
 langes. Translated from the latest French Edition by 
 WiUiard Small. Boston: Lee & Shepherd, 1874- 
 
 Cox (Eev. G. W.). The Myths of the Aryan Nations, by George W. Cox, M. 
 
 A., Jate Scholar of Trinity, Oxford, in 2 vols. London : 
 Longmans, Green & Co., 1870. 
 
 Tales oi Ancient Greece, by Rev. George W. Cox, M. A., 
 
 Bart. London: C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1880. 
 
 Dabwtb (Charles) Journal of Researches into the Natural History and 
 
 Geology of the Countries visited during the Voyage of 
 
 n. M. S. Beagle Round the World, by Charles Darwin, 
 
 M. A., F. R. S. 2d Edit, London: John Murray, 184. >. 
 
 — ^^— The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sci, bj
 
 XIV AUTHOES AND BOOKS QUOTED. 
 
 Charles Darwin, ^ A New York : D. Appleton b 
 
 Co., 1876. 
 Daths (EpwABS) The Myths and Rites of the British Druids compared 
 
 with Customs and Traditions of Heathen Nations, b; 
 
 Edward Davies, Bector of Brampton. London: J. 
 
 Booth, 1809. 
 Datb (J.F.) The Cliinese : A General Description of the Empire of 
 
 China and its Inhabitants, by John Francis Davis, Esq. 
 
 F. R. S., in 2 vols. New York: Harper Bros., 1836. 
 
 Delitch (F.) See Keil (C. F.). 
 
 DiLLAWAT (C. K.) Roman Antiquities and Ancient Mythology, by Charles 
 
 K. Diilaway. Boston : Gould, Kendall & Lincohi, 1840. 
 Drapek (J. W.) History of the Conflict betwrcn Religion and Science, by 
 
 John W. Draper, M. D. 8th Edit. New York ; D. Ap- 
 pleton & Co., 1875. 
 Dum^AF (S, F.) Vestiges of the Spirit History of Man, by S. F. Dunlap, 
 
 Member of the American Oriental Soc, New Haven. 
 
 New York ; D. Appleton & Co., 1858. 
 
 The Mysteries of Adoni, by S. "P. Dunlap London: 
 
 Wi'Jiams & Northgate, 1861. 
 
 Sod, the Son of the Man, by S.F. Dunlap. London: Will- 
 
 iams & Northgate, 1861. 
 DCFDIS The Origin of all Religious Worship, translated from the 
 
 French of Mons. Dupuis. New Orleans: 1872. 
 ErsEBius The Life of Constantine, in Four Books, by Eusebiug 
 
 Pampbilius, Bishop of Cesarea. London: Thomas 
 
 Coates, 16."7. 
 — ^— The Ancient Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pampbi- 
 lius, Bishop of Cesarea in Palestine, in Ten Books. 
 
 London: George Miller, 1636. 
 Fabeab (F. W.). The Life of Christ, by Frederick W. Farrar, D. D., F. R. 
 
 S., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Albany : 
 
 Rufus Wendell, 1876. 
 Feegusson (Jahzs) Tree and Serpent Worship, or Blustrations of Mythology 
 
 and Art in India, by James Fergusson. London; 1868. 
 FiBKK (JoHi<) Myths and Myth-Makers ; Old Tales and Superstitions In- 
 
 terpreted by Comparative Mythology, by John Fiske, 
 
 H. A., LL. B., Harvard University. Boston: J. R. 
 
 Osgood & C(5., 1877. 
 FBOTHlNOHAlf (0. B.) The Cradle of the Christ : A Study in Primitive Christian- 
 
 it3[, by Octavius Brooks Frothingham, New York : G. 
 
 P. Putnam & Sons, 1877. 
 Gaugoolt (J. C.) Life and Reh^on of the Hindoos, by Jognth Chuuder 
 
 Gaugooly. Boston: Crosby, Nichols & Co., 1860. 
 Geieie (C.) The Life and Words of Christ, by Cunningham Geikie, 
 
 D. D., in 2 vols. New York : D. Appleton & Co , 1880.
 
 AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. XV 
 
 GiRBR (L'Abbb) The Lily of Israel, or the Life of the Blessed Virgin 
 
 Mary, Mother of God. From the French of the Abbo 
 Gerbet. New Tork : P. J. Kennedy, 1878. 
 GtBBON (Edwarb) The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- 
 pire, by Edward Gibbon, Esq., in 6 vols. Philadelphia : 
 Claxton, Remsen & Hoffelfinger, 1876. 
 
 QuES Hebrew and Christian Records : An Historical Enquiry 
 
 concerning the Age and Authorship of the Old and 
 New Testaments, by the Rev. Dr. Giles, in 2 vols. Lon- 
 don : TrUbner & Co., 1877. 
 
 GmsBCltoa (CD.) The Essenes : Their History and Doctrines ; an Essay, by 
 
 Charles D. Ginsburgh. London : Longman, Green, Rob- 
 erts & Green, 1864. 
 
 GoiDZHtEB (L) Mythology among the Hebrews, and its Historical Devel- 
 opment, by Ignaz Goldzhier, Ph. D., Member of the 
 Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Translated from the 
 German by Russel Martineao. London: Longmans, 
 Green & Co., 1877. 
 
 GoRi ■ Etrurische Altertbllmer. MQmburg: G. Lichtensleger, 
 
 1770. 
 
 Grso (W. R.) The Creed of Christendom : Its Foundations contrasted 
 
 with its Superstructure, by William Rathbooe Greg. 
 Detroit : Rose-Belford Pub. Co., 1878. 
 
 GbOSS ( J. B.) The Heathen Religion in its Popular and SjTnbolical De- 
 velopment, by Rev. Joseph B. Gross. Boston; J. P. 
 Jewett & Co., 1856. 
 
 GoTZLAFP The Journal of Two Voyages along the Coast of China 
 
 (in 1831-2), and Remarks on the Policy, Religion, &c., 
 of China, by the Rev. Mr. Gutzlaff. New York : John 
 P. Haven, 1833. 
 
 Habdy (R. S.) The Legends and Theories of the Buddhists compared 
 
 with History and Science, with Introductory Notices of 
 tho Life of Gautama Buddha, by R. Spence Hardy, 
 Hon. 31. R. A. S. London : Williams & Northgate, 1866. 
 
 — — Eastern Monachism: An Account of the Origin, Laws, 
 
 Discipline, Ac, of the Order of Mendicants founded by 
 Gautama Buddha, by R. Spence Hardy. London: 
 Williams & Northgate, 1860. 
 
 I A Manual of Buddhism in its Modem Development 
 
 Translated from the Singalese MSS. by R. S. Hardy. 
 London: Williams k Northgate, 1860. 
 
 Hersias The First Book of Hennas, Brother of Pius, Bishop of 
 
 Rome, which is called his Vinon. 
 
 Heoodotds The History of Herodotus, the Greek Historian : A New 
 
 and Literal Version, from tho Text of Baehr, by Henry 
 Cary, M. A. New York : Harper & Bros,, 1871.
 
 XVI AUTH0E9 AITD BOOKS QUOTED. 
 
 IXiOGiNS (GoDFasT) The Celtic Druids, by Godfrey Higgins, Eaq., F. R. A. 9. 
 
 London: Hunter & Co., 1827. 
 
 — — Anacalypsis : An Enquiry into the Origin of Languages, 
 
 Nations, and Religions, by Godfrey Higgins, Esq., F. R. 
 S., F. R. A. S., in 2 toIs. London : Longman, Rees 
 Ome, Brown & Longman. 
 
 HooTKAA8(L) See Oort (H.). 
 
 Hue (L'Abbe) Christianity in China, Tartary and Thibet, by M. L'AbbS 
 
 Hue, formerly Missionary Apostolic in China, in 2 vols. 
 London : Longman, Brown & Co., 1857. 
 
 HrMBOLDi (A, DS) Researches concerning the Institutions and Monuments of 
 
 the Ancient Inhabitants of Mexico, by Alexander de 
 Humboldt, in 2 vols. (Translated by Helen Maria 
 Williams.) London: Longman, Rees & Co., 1814. 
 
 •^-^— Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, by .Vlex- 
 
 ander de Humboldt, in 2 vols. (Translated by John 
 Black.) London: Longman, Hurst & Co., 1822. 
 
 HoaE (Datid) Essays and Treaties on Various Subjects, by David Hume 
 
 (author of Hume's History of England). Boston: 
 From the London Edit. J. P. Mendum. 
 
 HtlXLBT (T. H.) Evidence as to Man's Place iu Nature, by Thomas H. 
 
 Huxley, F. R S., F. L. S. New York : D. Appleton & 
 Co., 1873. 
 
 roSATiirs The Epistle of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch in Syria, to 
 
 the Ephesiaus. 
 
 ^^— — The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians. 
 
 The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians. 
 
 —-^— The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians. 
 
 iNrANCY (Aroc.) The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ (Apocryphal). 
 
 Tmuan (Thomas) , . .Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Exposed 
 
 and Explained, by Thomas Imnan, M. D., Physician to 
 the Royal Infirmary, &c. London: 1SG9. 
 — ^^ Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names, or An At- 
 tempt to Trace the Religious Belief, SacitJ Rites, and 
 Holy Emblen)3 of ceitain Nations, by Thomas Inman, 
 M. D. London : Trubner & Co., 1872. 
 — . Ancient Faiths and Modern: A Dissertation upon Wor- 
 ship, Legend?, and Divinities iu Central and Western 
 Asia, Europe, and Elsewhere, before the Christian Era, 
 by Thomas Inman, M. D. London : TriXbner & Co. 
 187G. 
 
 JamzsoS The Hi.'tory of Our Lord as Exemplified in Works of 
 
 Art ; comraeuced by the late Mrs. Jameson, continued 
 and completed by Lafjy Eastlake, iu 2 vols. London : 
 Longmans, Green & Co., 1864. 
 
 Jeknings (n.) The Rosicrucians : Their Rites and Mysteries. Second
 
 AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. XVll 
 
 Edit, revised by Hargrave Jennings. Londou : Catto 
 
 6 Windus, 1879. 
 
 /oHNSOS (Samtxl) Oriental Religions, and their Relation to Universal Re- 
 ligion (India), by Samuel Johnson. Boston : J. R. Os- 
 good, 1872. 
 
 JosiPHns (FtATTOs) Antiquities of the Jews, in Twenty Books, by Flaviug 
 
 Josephns, the learned and authentic Jewish Historian 
 and celebrated Warrior. Translated by William Whii- 
 ton, A SI. Baltimore: Armstrong & Berry, 18.39. 
 
 The Wars of the Jews, or the History of the Destruction 
 
 of Jerusalem, in Seven Books, by Flavins Josephua. 
 Baltimore: 1839. 
 
 Flavius Josephus Against Apion, in Two Books. Balti- 
 
 more: 1839. 
 
 Khghtlet (T.) The Mythology of Ancient Greece and Italy, by Thomas 
 
 Keightley. New York: D. Appleton k Co., 1843. 
 
 Kul (C. F.) Biblical Conmientary on the Old Testament, by C. F. Keil, 
 
 D. D., and F. Delitch, D. D., Professors in Theology, in 
 3 vols. Translated from the German by Rev. James 
 Martin, B. A. Edinboro': T. & T. Clarke, 1872. 
 
 Kknrick (J.) Ancient Egvpt under the Pharaohs, by John Kenrick, M. 
 
 A., in 2 vols. London : B. Fellows, 18.50. 
 
 King (C. W.) The Gnostics and their Remains, Ancient and Medieval, 
 
 by C. W. King, M. A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge. London: Bell & Dudley, 1864. 
 
 Kjngsbobough (Lokd) Antiquities of Mexico, comprising Fac-similes of Ancient 
 
 Mexican Paintings and Hieroglvphics, preserved in the 
 Royal Libraries of Paris, Berlin, and Dresden, in th» 
 Imperial Library of Vienna, &c., &c., together with the 
 Monuments of New Spain, by Lord Kingsborough, in 
 
 7 vols. London: Robert Havill & Coyglen, Son & 
 Co., 1831. 
 
 Kkafpebt (J.) The Religion of Israel, a Manual : Translated from the 
 
 Dutch of J. Knappert, pastor at Leiden, by Richard A. 
 Armstrong, B. A. Boston : Roberts Bros., 1878. 
 
 E>1GHT (R. P.) The Svmbohcal Language of Ancient Art and Mythology. 
 
 An Enquiry, by Richard Pavne Knight, author of " The 
 Worship of Priapus," &c. A new Edit, with Introduc- 
 tion, Notes and Additions, by Alexander Wilder, M. D. 
 New York : J. W. Bouton, 1876. 
 
 Koran The Koran, commonly called the Al Coran of Mohammed ; 
 
 translated into English immediately from the original 
 Arabic, by Geo. Sale, Gent. 
 
 Etthxn (A) See Oort (H.). 
 
 .LiBDNEB (N.) The Works of Nathaniel Lardner, D. D., with a Life, by 
 
 Dr. Kipps, in 10 vols. London : Wm. Ball, 1838. 
 B
 
 XVIU AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. 
 
 LiLAND (Chas. G.) Fusang : or the Discovery of America by Buddhist Priostt 
 
 in the 5th Century, by Chaa. G. Leland. London : 
 Trubner & Co., 1875. 
 
 LiLLiE (Ahthur) Buddha and Early Buddhism, by Arthur Lillie. London: 
 
 Trubner & Co., 1881. 
 
 Lubbock (John) Pre-historie Times, as Illustrated by Ancient Remains, and 
 
 the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages, by Sir 
 John Lubbock, F. R. S. London : Williams & North- 
 gate, 1865. 
 
 LcNDT (J. P.) Monumental Christianity, or the Art and Symbolism of the 
 
 Primitive Church as Witness and Teachers of the One 
 Catholic Faith and Practice, by John P. Lundy, Presby- 
 ter. New York : J. W. Bouton, 1876. 
 
 Mahafft (J. P.) Prolegomena to Ancient History, by John P. Mahaffy, A 
 
 M., M. R. L A., Fellow and Tutor in Trinity College, 
 and Lecturer in Ancient History in the University of 
 Dublin. London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1871. 
 
 Mallet Northern Antiquities ; or an Historical Account of the 
 
 Manners, Customs, Religion and Laws of the Ancient 
 Scandinavians, by M. Mallet. Translated from the 
 French by Bishop Percy. London : H. S. Bohn, 1847. 
 
 Uassh (Herbert) A Course of Lectures, containing a Description and Syste- 
 matic Arrangement of the several Branches of Divinitj 
 by Herbert Marsh, D.D. Cambridge : W. Hillard, 1812. 
 
 Uart (Apoc.) The Gospel of the Birth of Mary, attributed to St. Mat- 
 thew, Translated from the Works of St, Jerome. 
 
 Maurici (Thomas) Indian Antiquities : or Dissertations on the Geographical 
 
 Division, Theology, Laws, Govenmient and Literature 
 of Hindostan, compared with those of Persia, Egyp- 
 and Greece, by Thomas Maurice, in 6 vols. London : 
 W. Richardson, 1794. 
 
 The History of Hindostan ; It8 Arts and its Sciences, as 
 
 . connected with the History of the other Great Empires 
 of Asia, during the most Ancient Periods of the World, 
 in 2 vols., by Thomas Maurice. London : Printed by 
 H. L. Galabin, 1798. 
 
 Maurice (F. D.) The Religions of the World, and Their Relation to Christi- 
 anity, by Frederick Denison Maurice, M. A., Professor 
 of Divinity in Kings' College. London : J. W. Parker, 
 1847. 
 
 MiDDLETON (C.) The Miscellaneous Works of Conyers Middleton, D. D., 
 
 Principal Librarian of the University of Cambridge, in 
 4 vols. (" Free Enquiry " vol. I., " Letters from Rome " 
 vol. III.). London ; Richard Manby, 1752. 
 
 MoNTFAUOOM (B.) L'Antiquite Expliquee ; par Dom Bernard de Montfaucoo. 
 
 Second edit. Paris : 1722.
 
 AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. XLX 
 
 Moor (Edward) Platea illustrating the Hindoo Pantheon, reprinted from 
 
 the work of Major Edward Moor, F. R. S., edited by 
 Rev. Allen Moor, M. A. London : WiUiams & Nor- 
 gate, 1816. 
 
 Morton (8. G.) Types of Mankind : or Ethnological Researches based 
 
 upon the Ancient Monuments, Paintings, Sculptures, 
 and Crania of Races, by Samuel George Morton, M. D. 
 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1854. 
 
 MULLER (Max) A History of Ancient Sanscrit Literature, so far as it il- 
 lustrates the Primitive Religion of the Brahmins, by 
 Max Milller, M. A. London: Williams & Norgate, 
 1860. 
 
 Introduction to the Science of Religion : Four Lectures de- 
 
 livered at the Royal Institution, with Two Essays on 
 False Analogies, and the Philosophy of Mythology, by 
 (F.) Max MilUer, M. A. London : Longmans, Green & 
 Co., 1873. 
 
 Chips from a German Workshop ; by Max Miiller, M. A., 
 
 in 3 vols. London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1876. 
 
 Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion, as Illus- 
 
 trated by the Religions of India. Delivered in the 
 Chapel House, Westminster Abbey, by (F.) Max MtlUer, 
 M. A. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1878. 
 
 Murray (A. S.) Manual of Mythology, by Alexander S. Murray, Depart- 
 ment of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, 
 2d Edit. New York : Armstrong & Co., 1876. 
 
 NicoDEMUS (Apoc.) The Gospel of Nicodemus the Disciple, concerning the 
 
 Sufferings and Resurrection of Our Master and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 Oort (H.) The Bible for Learners, by Dr. H. Oort, Prof, of Oriental 
 
 Languages, &c., at Amsterdam, and Dr. I. Hooykaas, 
 pastor at Rotterdam, with the assistance of Dr. A. Kunen, 
 Prof, of Theology at Leiden, in 3 vols. Translated 
 from the Dutch by Philip A. Wieksteed, M. A. Boston : 
 Roberts Bros., 1878. 
 
 Orion (James) The Andes and the Amazon ; or Across the Continent of 
 
 South America, by James Orton, M. A., 3d Edit. New 
 York : Harper & Bros., 1876. 
 
 Owen (Rioeard) Man's Earliest History, an Address deUvered before the 
 
 International Congress of Orientalists, by Prof. Richard 
 Owen. Tribune Extra, No. 23. New York Tribune 
 Pub. Co., 1874. 
 
 Peschel (Oscar) The Races of Man, and their Geographical Distribution 
 
 from tho German of Oscar PescheL New York : ]X 
 Appleton & Co., 1876.
 
 XX AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. 
 
 PoLTCARP The Epistle of Polyearp to the Philippiana, translated by 
 
 Archbishop Wake. 
 
 Porter (Sir R. K.) Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia, 
 
 &e., by Sir Robert Kir Porter, in 2 rols. London : 
 Longmans, Hunt, Rees, Orm & Brown, 1821. 
 
 Frescott (Wm. H.) History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary 
 
 view of the Ancient Mexican Civilization, and the life 
 of the conqueror, Hernando Cortez, by Wm. H. Prescott, 
 in 3 vols. Philadelphia: J. P. Lippincott & Co., ISTS. 
 
 Prichard (J. C.) An Analysis of the Historical Records of Ancient Egypt, 
 
 by J. C. Prichard, M. D., F. R. S. London : Sherwood, 
 Gilbert & Piper, 1838. 
 
 An Analysis of Egyptian Mythology, and the Philosophy 
 
 of the Ancient Egyptians, compared with those of the 
 Indians and others, by J. C. Prichard, M. D., F. R. S. 
 London : Sherwood, Gilbert & Piper, 1838. 
 
 Prtestlet (Joseph) A Comparison of the Institutions of Moses with those of 
 
 the Hindoos and other Ancient Nations, by Joseph Priest- 
 ley, LL. D., F. R. S. Xorthumberland : A. Kennedy, 
 1199. 
 
 Proietaiioelion Apoc The Protevangelion, or, An Historical Account of the 
 
 Birth of Christ, and the perpetual Virgin Mary, His 
 Mother, by James the Lesser, Cousin and Brother to the 
 Lord Jesus. 
 
 R£BER (Geo.) The Christ of Paul, or the Enigmas of Christianity, by 
 
 Geo. Reber. New York: C. P. Soraerby, 1876. 
 
 Renaa (Erkest) Lectures on the Influence of the Institutions, Thought 
 
 and Culture of Rome on Christianity, and the Develop- 
 ment of the Catholic Church, by Ernest Renan, of the 
 French Academy. Translated by Charles Beard, B. A. 
 London: Williams & Norgate, 1880. 
 
 Renouf (P. Le Page) Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illus- 
 trated by the Religion of Ancient Egvpt, by P. Le Page 
 Renouf. London : Williams & Norgate, 1880. 
 
 Reville (Albert) History of the Dogma of the Deity of Jesus Christ, by 
 
 Albert Reville. London: Williams & Norgate, 1870. 
 
 Rhts-Datids (T. W.) Buddhism : Being a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of 
 
 Gautama, the Buddha, by T. W. Rhys-Davids, of the 
 Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law, and late of the Cey- 
 lon Civil Service. London : Soc. for Promoting Chris- 
 tian Knowledge. 
 
 Scott (Thomas) The English Life of Jesus, by Thomas Scott. PubUshed 
 
 by the Author. London: 1872. 
 
 Ssptohene8(M.LeClkrcde). .The Rehgion of the Ancient Greeks, Illustrated by an 
 
 Explanation of their Mythology. Translated from the 
 French of M. Le Clerc de Septchenes. London: 1788.
 
 AUTH0E8 AVD BOOKS QUOTED. XXi 
 
 Sbarfi (Samds.) Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christianity, with their 
 
 Influence on the Opinions of Modem Christendom, by 
 Samuel Sharpe. London : J R. Smith, 186a. 
 
 Sbib-Kiho (The) The Shih-King, or Book of Poetry. Translated from the 
 
 Chinese by James Legge. London : Macmillan & Co.. 
 1879. 
 
 Shobzil (F.) Persia ; containing a description of the Country, with an 
 
 account of its Government, Laws, and Religion, by 
 Frederick Shobeil. Philadelphia: John Grigg, 1828. 
 
 Smith Smith's Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible, with 
 
 many important Additions and Improvements. Editea 
 by Rev. Samuel Bamum. New York: D. Appleton & 
 Co., 1879. 
 
 SiniH (George) Assyrian Discoveries : An account of Explorations and 
 
 Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh during 1873 and 
 1874, by George Smith, of the Department of Oriental 
 Antiquity, British Museum. New Tork : Scribner, 
 Armstrong & Co., 1875. 
 The Chaldean Account of Genesis ; containing the de- 
 scription of the Creation, the Fall of Man, the Deluge, 
 the Tower of Babel, the Times of the Patriarchs and 
 Nimrod ; Babylonian Fables, and Legends of the Gods, 
 from the Cuneiform Inscriptions, by George Smith, of 
 the British Museum. New York : Scribner, Armstrong 
 & Co., 1876. 
 
 Socrates The Ancient Ecclesiastical History of Socrates ScholiS- 
 
 ticus, of Constantmople, in Seven Books. Translated 
 out of the Greek Tongue by Meredith Hanmer, D. D. 
 London: George Miller, 1636. 
 
 Spencer (Herbert) The Principles of Sociology, by Herbert Spencer, in 2 
 
 vols. New York : D. Appleton & Co., 1877. 
 
 SutriRE (E. G.) The Serpent Symbol, and the Worship of the Reciprocal 
 
 Principles of Nature in America, by E. G. Squire, A. 
 M. New York : George P. Putnam, 1851. 
 
 SlASiET (A P.) Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, by Arthur 
 
 P. Stanley, D. D., Dean of Westminster. New York : 
 Charles Scribner, 1863. 
 
 ^— — In a Sermon preached in Westminster Abbey on February 
 
 28th, 1880, after the funeral of Sir Charli* Lyell, 
 entitled : " The Religious Aspect of Geology." 
 
 SmuiHAL (H.) The Legend of Samson: An Essay, by H. Stcinthal, 
 
 Professor of the University of Berlin. Appendix to 
 Goldzhier's Hebrew Mythology. 
 
 Stncheonoloqt Synchronology of the Principal Events in Sacred and 
 
 Profane History from the Creation to the Present Time. 
 Boston: S. Hawes, 1870.
 
 XXU AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED. 
 
 Tacitus (0.) The Annals of Cornelius Tacitus, the Roman Historian. 
 
 Translated by Arthur Murphy, Esq. London : Jones & 
 Co., 1831. 
 
 The History of Cornelius Tacitus. Translated by Arthur 
 
 Murphy. London: Jones & Co., 1831. 
 
 Treatise on the Situation, Manners, and People of Ger- 
 
 many, by Cornelius Tacitus. Translated by Arthur 
 Murphy. London: Jones & Co., 1831. 
 
 Tatlob (Chaeles) Taylor's Fragments: Being Illustrations of the Manners, 
 
 Incidents, and Phraseology of the Holy Scriptures. 
 Intended as an Appendix to Calmet's Dictionary of the 
 Bible. London: W. Stratford, 1801. 
 
 Tatlok (Robekt) The Diegesis : Being a Discovery of the Origin, Evidences, 
 
 and Early History of Chiristianity, by Rev. Robert Tay- 
 lor, A. B. (From the London Edit.) Boston : J. P. 
 Mendum, 1873. 
 
 Syntagma of the evidences of the Christian Religion, by 
 
 Rev. Robert Taylor, A. B., with a brief Memoir of the 
 Author. (From the London Edit.) Boston ; J. P. Men- 
 dum, 1876. 
 
 Tatlob (Thoius) Taylor's Mysteries ; A Dissertation on the Eleusinian ard 
 
 Bacchic Mysteries, by Thomas Taylor. Amsterdam. 
 
 Thornton (Thomas) A History of China, from the Earliest Records to the 
 
 Treaty with Great Britain in 1842, by Thomas Thorn- 
 ton, Esq., Member of the R. A. S. London : William 
 H. Allen & Co., 1844. 
 
 Ttlob (E. B.) Researches Into the Early History of Mankind, and the 
 
 Development of Civilization, by Edward B. Tylor. 2d 
 Edit. London: John Murray, 1870. 
 
 — — ^— Primitive Culture ; Researches into the Development of 
 
 Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, &c., by Edward B. 
 Tylor, in 2 vols. London: John Murray, 1871. 
 
 Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana, A System of Hindoo Mythology and 
 
 Tradition, Translated from the Original Sanscrit, by H. 
 H. Wilson, M. A., F. R. S. London: 1840. 
 
 VoLNKY (C. r.) New Researches in Ancient History, Translated from the 
 
 French of C. F. Volney, Count and Peer of France. 
 (From the London Edit.) Boston: J. P. Mendum, 
 1874. 
 •^-^— The Kuins ; or. Meditations on the Revolutions of Em- 
 pires, by Count de Volney, Translated under the imme- 
 diate inspection of the Author. (From the latest Paris 
 Edit.) Boston: J. P. Mendum, 1872. 
 
 Waki (C. S.) See Westropp. 
 
 WiSTEOPP (H. M.) Ancient Symbol Worship. Influence of the Phallic Idea 
 
 in the Religions of Antiquity, by Hodder M. Westropp
 
 4.UTH0RS AND BOOKS QUOTED. XXlU 
 
 and C. S. Wake, with Appendix by Alexander Wilder, 
 M. D. London: Trubner & Co., 1874. 
 
 Williams (Monier) Indian Wisdom ; or Examples of the Rehgious, Philosoph- 
 
 ical, and Ethnical Doctrines of the Hindoos, by Monier 
 Williams, M. A., Prof, of Sanscrit in the University of 
 Oxford. London : W. H. Allen, 1875. 
 Hinduism; by Monier Williams, M. A,, D. C. L., Pub- 
 lished under the Direction of the Committee of Gen- 
 • eral Literature and Education Appointed by the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London : 1877. 
 
 Wisdom ("Apoc.) The Book of Wisdom, Attributed to Solomon, King of 
 
 Israel. 
 
 Wise (Isaac M.) The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth. A Historic Treat- 
 ise on the Last Chapters of the Gospel, by Dr. Isaac 
 M. Wise. Cinciimatl. 
 
 ADDITIONS TO THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Beausobres' Hhioire Critique de Maniciice et dii Manicheiame, Amsterdam, 1734 ; 
 Baronius' Annahs Ecclesiasiici : Hvdes' Hiatoria Jidirfiojtis Veterntn Persarum ; Raw- 
 linson's Herodotus ; Lenormant's TVie Berjiiiningn of History ; Hardwick's Chriil and 
 other Masters ; Daille's Treatise on the Rigid Use of the Fathers, London, 1841 ; Apol- 
 lo7iiiis de Ti/ana, sa vie, ses voyacjrs, et scs prodigcs, par Philostrate, Paris, 1862 ; Sir John 
 Malcom's History of Persia, in 2 vols., London, 1815; Michaelis' Introduction to the 
 New Testament, in 4 vols, edited by Dr. Herbert Marsh, London, 1828; Archbishop 
 Wake's Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers, London, 1719; Jeremiah Jones' 
 Canon of the New TestameTit, in 3 vols., Oxford, 1793 ; Milman's History of Chris- 
 tianity; Barrow's Travels in China, London, 1840; Deane's Worship of the Serpent, 
 London, 1833 ; Baring-Gould's Lost and Hostile Gospels, London, 1874 ; B. F. Westcott's 
 Survey of the History of the Cation of the New Testament, 4th Edit., London, 1875 ; 
 Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, in 6 vols., Amer. ed. 1810 ; J. W. Rosses' Tacitits and 
 Bracriolini, London, 1878 ; and the writings of the Christian Fathers, Justin Martyr, St. 
 Element of Alexandria, Irenseus, Origen, TertuUian and Minucius Felix.
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 CHATTER I. 
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 
 
 The Old Testament commences with one of its most interest- 
 ing myths, that of the Creation and Fall of Man. The story is 
 to be found in the first three chapters of Cenesis, the substance of 
 ■which is as follows : 
 
 After God created the " Heavens " and the " Earth," he said : 
 " Let there be light, and there was light," and after calling the 
 light Day, and the darkness Night, the first day's work was ended. 
 
 God then made the " Firmament," which completed the second 
 day's work. 
 
 Then God caused the dry land to appear, which he called 
 " Earth," and the waters he called " Seas." After this the earth 
 was made to bring forth grass, trees, «fec., whicli completed the 
 third day's work. 
 
 The next things God created were the " Sun,'"' " Moon " and 
 
 ' The idea that the siui, moon and stars cU, thus making day and night. (See Knight's 
 
 were 6ei in the firmament was entertained by Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 59. and note.) 
 
 most nations of antiquity, but, a? strange as it The Bnddhist^ anciently taught that the uui- 
 
 msy appear. Pythagoras, the Grecian philo^o- verse is compo.-icd of limitless systems or 
 
 pher. who flourished from .540 to 510 b. c— .ts worlds, called sakivalas. 
 
 well as other Grecian philosophers — taught that They are scattered throughout space, and 
 
 the sun was placed in the centre of the uni- each sakwala has a sun and moon. (See 
 
 verse, wilk Uu planets roping round it m a cir- Hardy: ^nddhist Legends, pp. 80 and 87.)
 
 a BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "Stars," and after he had set them in the Firmament, the fourth 
 day's work was endod.' 
 
 After these, God created great " whales," and other creatures 
 which inhabit the water, also " winged fowls." This brought the 
 fifth day to a close. 
 
 The work of creation was finally completed on the sixth day,' 
 when God made " beasts " of every kind, " cattle," " creeping 
 things," and lastly " man," whom he created " male and female," 
 in his own image." 
 
 " Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 
 And on the seventh ■* day God ended his work which he had made: and he rested 
 on the seventh day, from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the 
 seventh day, and sanctified it, because that m it he had rested from all his work 
 which God created and made." 
 
 After this information, which concludes at the third verse of 
 Genesis ii., strange though it may appear, another account of the 
 Creation commences, which is altogether different from the one we 
 have just related. This account commences thus : 
 
 " These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were 
 created, in the day (not days) that the Lord God made the earth and the 
 heavens." 
 
 It then goes on to say that " the Lord God formed man of the 
 dust of the ground,"' which appears to be the first thing he made. 
 After planting a garden eastward in Eden," the Lord God put the 
 man therein, " and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow 
 every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the 
 Tree of Life,' also in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of 
 
 1 Origen, a Christian Father who floarished * The number seven was sacred among al- 
 
 aliout A. D. 2;30, says: " What man of sense most every nation of antiquity. (See ch. 
 
 will agree with the statement that the first, ii.) 
 
 second, and third days, in which the evening is ' According to Grecian Mythology, the God 
 
 named and the mormng, were without sun, Prometheus created men. in the image of the 
 
 moon and stars?" tQuoted in Mysteries of gods, out 0/ day (see Bulflnch: The Age of 
 
 Adoni, p. 176.) Fable, p. 25; and Goldzhier: Hebrew Myths, p. 
 
 * " The geologist reckons not by days or by 37:^), and the God Hephaistos was commanded 
 
 yf rtr^ ,' the whole six thousand years, wlilch by Zeus to mold of c/ay the llgureof a maiden, 
 
 were until lately looked on as the sum of the into which Athene, the dawn-goddess, l/reat/ied 
 
 world's age, are to him but as a unit of meas- tbebrealh of life. This is Pandora— the gift of 
 
 urement in the long succession of past ages." all the gods— who is presented to Epimetheus. 
 
 (Sir John Lubbock.) (See Co.t; Aryan Myths, vol. ii., p. 208.) 
 
 " It is now certain that the vast epochs of « "What m,an is found such an idiot as to sup- 
 time demanded by scientific observation are pose that God planted trees in Paradise, in 
 incompatible both with the sis thousand Eden, like a husbandman." (Origen : quoted 
 years of the Mosaic chronology, and the six in Mysteries of Adonl, p. 176.) " There is no 
 days of the Mosaic creation." (Dean Stanley.) way of preser\'ing the literal sense of the first. 
 
 ^ '■ Let us make man in our own likeness." chapter of Genesis, without impiety, and attrib- 
 
 wae said by Ormuzd, the Persian God of Gods, uting things to God unworthy ot him." (St. 
 
 to his WORD. (See Bunsen's Angel Messiah, Augustine.) 
 
 p. 104.) ' " The records about the ' Tree of Life ' are
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 3 
 
 Knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to 
 water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into 
 four heads." These four rivers were called, first Pison, second 
 Gihon, third Hiddekel, and the fourth Euphrates.' 
 
 After the " Lord God " had made the " Tree of Life," and the 
 " Tree of Knowledge," he said unto the man : 
 
 "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the 
 knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, foi- in tlie day that thou eatest 
 thereof thou shalt surely die." Then the Lord God, thinking that it would not be 
 well for man to live alone, formed — out of the ground — "every beast of the 
 field, and every fowl of the air ; and brought them unto Adam to see what 
 lie would call them, and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was 
 the name thereof." 
 
 After Adam had given names to " all cattle, and to the fowls 
 of the air, and to every beast of tire field," " the Lord God caused 
 a, deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he (the Lord 
 God) took one of his (Adam's) ribs, and closed up the flesh instead 
 thereof. 
 
 " And of the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a,wo- 
 maii, and brought her unto Adam." " And they were both naked, the man and 
 his wife, and they were not ashamed." 
 
 After this everything is supposed to have gone harmoniously,-, 
 until a serpent appeared before the woman^ — who was afterwards 
 called Eve — and said to her : 
 
 ' ' Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ?" 
 
 The woman, answering the serpent, said : 
 
 " We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the 
 tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said. Ye shall not eat of it, 
 
 lest ye die." 
 
 Whereupon the serpent said to her : 
 
 the snblimeel proofs of the unity and continuity the Garden of Paradise issue from the fountain 
 
 of tradition, and of its Eastern origin. The ear- of immortality, which divides itself into four 
 
 ttest records of the most ancient Oriental tradi- rivers." (Ibid., p. 150, and Prog. Relig. Ideas. 
 
 tionrefertoa ' Tree of Life,^ which tras guard- vol. i., p. 210.) The Hindoos call their Mount 
 
 ed hy spirits. The juice of the fruit of this sa- Mem the Paradise, out of which went four 
 
 cred tree, like the tree itself, was called Soma rivers. (Anacalypsis, vol. i., p. 357.) 
 
 in Sanscrit, and JIaoma in Zend; it was re- ^ According to Persian legend, Arimanes, 
 
 vered as the life preserving essence." (Bun- ihe'E^WS^mt, by eating a certainkindof fruit, 
 
 «en; Keys of St. Peter, p. 414 ) transformed himself into a serpent, and went 
 
 1 " According to the Persian account of Par- gliding about on the earth to tempt human be- 
 
 adise, /o?/r great rivers came from Mount Al- ings. His Devs entered the bodies of men and 
 
 borj; two are in the North, and two go towards produced all manner of diseases. They en- 
 
 the South. The river Arduisir nourishes the tered into their minds, and incited thera to 
 
 7'ree of Immortality. the'Bo\yHom." (Stiefel- sensuality, falsehood, slander and revenge, 
 
 hagen; quoted in Mysteries of Adoni p. 149.) Into ever)- department of the world they mtro- 
 
 " According to the Chinese myth, the waters of duccd discord and death.
 
 4 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 " Ye sb.iU iiiit surely die " ^wllich, according to the narrative, was the truth). 
 
 He theu told her that, upon fiitiiij; tlic fruit, their eyes would 
 be opened, and that they would be as yods, knowing good from 
 evil. 
 
 The woman then looked upon the tree, and as the fruit was 
 tempting, "she took of the fruit, and did eat, and gave also unto 
 her husband, and he did eat." The result was not death (as the 
 Lord God had told them), but, as the serpent iiad said, " the eyes 
 of both were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they 
 sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." 
 
 Towards evening {I. e., " in the cool of the day "), Adam and 
 his wife " heard the voice of the Lord God walltiny in the gar- 
 den," and being afraid, they hid themselves among the trees of the 
 garden. The Lord God not finding Adam and his wife, said : 
 " Where art thou V Adam auswering, said : " I heard thy voice 
 in the garden, and I was afi'aid, because I was naked, and I hid 
 myself." 
 
 The " Lord God " then told Adam that he had eaten of the 
 tree which he had commanded him not to eat, whereupon Adam 
 said : " The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me 
 of the tree and I did cat." 
 
 When the " Lord God " spoke to the woman concerning her 
 transgression, she blamed tiie serpent, which she said " beguiled ' 
 her. This sealed the serpent's fate, for the '' Lord God " cursej 
 him and said : 
 
 "Upon thy belly shall thou go, •AwdOjint shall thou eat all the days of thy 
 life."' 
 
 Unto the woman the " Lord God " said : 
 
 "1 will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou 
 shall bring forth children, and thy de.sire shall be to thy husband, and Iw s/iall 
 rule over thee." 
 
 Unto Adam he said : 
 
 " Because tliou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of 
 the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shall not cat of it: cursed 
 is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shall thou cat of it all the days of thj' life. 
 Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shall eat the herb 
 of the field. In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, Idl thou return unto 
 the ground, for out of it wnnt thou taken : for dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou 
 return." 
 
 ' rnasmiaoh as the physical construction of reflect unpleasantly "pon the wisdom of 
 
 the serpent never could admit of its moving in such a God as Jchov;ih is claimed to be, as 
 
 any other way, and iniismuch as it f/oefi not well as upon the ineffectnaluess of his first 
 
 eat Uitst, does not the narrator of this myth curse ?
 
 THE CKEATION AND FALL OF MAN. 5 
 
 The "Lord God" then made coats of skin for Adam and his 
 wife, with which he clothed them, after which he said : 
 
 "Behold, t!ie man is become an one of us,' to know good and evil; and now, 
 lest he put forth his hand, aud take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for- 
 ever " (he must be sent forth from Ediu). 
 
 " So he (the Lord God) drove out the man (and the woman); and he placed at 
 the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubims, and a tlaming sword which turned 
 every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life. " 
 
 Thus ends the narrative. 
 
 Before proceeding to show from whence this legend, or legends, 
 had their origin, we will notice a feature which is very prominent 
 ia the narrative, and wliich cannot esca])e tiie eye of an observing 
 reader, i. e., the two different and contradictory accounts of the 
 creation. 
 
 The tirst of these commences at the first verse of chapter first, 
 and ends at the third verse of chapter second. The second account 
 commences at the fourth verse of chapter second, and continues to 
 tlie end of tlie chapter. 
 
 In speaking of these contradictory accounts of the Creation, 
 Dean Stanley says : 
 
 "It is now clear to diligent students of the Bible, that the first and second 
 chapters of Genesis contain two narratives of the Creation, side by side, differing 
 from each other in most every particular of time and place and order."* 
 
 Bisliop Colenso, in his very learned work on the Pentateuch, 
 speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 " The following are the most noticeable points of difference between the two 
 cosmogonies : 
 
 "1. In tlie first, the earth emerges from the waters and is, ihcveiove, saturated 
 with moisture? In the second, the ' whole face of the ground ' require) to be 
 mointened.* 
 
 1 " Our writer unmistakably recognizes tlio their day attempted, and each have totally and 
 
 existence of many gods; for lie makes Yah- deservedly failed. One is the endeavor to UTeet 
 
 weh say: ' See, the man has become as one of the words of the Bible from their natural mcan- 
 
 vs. knowing good and evil;' and so he evi- iag,aniforceittospirakthelanguarfeo/scienee." 
 
 dently implies the existence of other similar After speaking of the earliest known example, 
 
 bein^.-^. to whom he attribute's immorlality and which was the interpolation of the word ''not " 
 
 insight into the difference between good and in Leviticus xi. 6, he continues : "This is the 
 
 evil. Yuhwch, then, was. in his eyes, the god curliest instmice of the/alsijication of Scripture 
 
 of god'*, iii'ifed, but not the only god." ^Bible to meet the demands of scitnce ; and it has been 
 
 for Learner.-, vol. i. p. 51.) followed in later times by the various efforts 
 
 "^ In Ills memorial sermon, preaehud in West- which have been made to twist the earlier chap - 
 
 minster .\bbey, after the funeral of Sir Charles tersof the book of Genesis into apparent agree 
 
 Lyeil. Ue further said in tbi.-^ address: — ment withthelast results of geology— represent- 
 
 "It is well known that when the science of ing days not to be days, morning and evening 
 
 geology first arose, it was involved in endless not to be morning and evening, tlie delnge not 
 
 achemes of attempted reconciliation with the to be the deluge, and the ark not to be Ihtt 
 
 letter of Scripture. There was. there are per- ark." 
 haps still, two modes of reconciliation of s Gen. i. 0. 10. 
 
 Scripture and science, which have been each in ' Gen. ii. ti.
 
 D BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 "3. In the first, the birds and the beasts arc created before man.'' In the sec- 
 ond, man is created before the birds and tlie beasts.'' 
 
 "3. In the first, ' all fowls that fly ' are made out of the toaters.' In the sec- 
 ond ' the fowls of the air ' are made out of the (/round.* 
 
 "4. In the first, man is created in the image of God.' In the second, man is 
 made of the dust of the ground, and merely animated with the breath of life; 
 and it is only after his eating the forbidden fruit that ' the Lord God said, Be- 
 hold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil.' ' 
 
 "5. In the first, man is made lord of the whole earth.'' In the second, he is 
 merely placed in the garden of Eden, ' to dress it and to keep it.' * 
 
 "6. In the first, the man and the woman are created together, as the closing 
 and completing work of the whole creation, — created also, as is evidently im- 
 plied, in the same kind of way, to be the complement of one another, and, 
 thus created, they are blessed together.^ 
 
 " In the second, the beasts and birds are created between the man and the 
 woman. First, the man is made of the dust of the ground; he is placed by him- 
 self in the garden, charged with a solemn command, and threatened with a curse 
 if he breaks it ; tlien the beasts and birds are made, and the man t,ives names to 
 them, and, lastly, after all this, the woimm is made out of one of his ribs, but 
 merely as a helpmate for the man.'" 
 
 "The fact is, that the second account of the Creation," together with the story 
 of the Pall,'* is manifestly composed 'by a. different writer altogether from him 
 who wrote thejffcsi.'" 
 
 " This is suggested at once by the circumstance that, throughout ihe first nar- 
 rative, the Creator is always spoken of by the name Elohim (God), whereas, 
 throughout the second account, as well as the story of the Fall, he is always 
 calkd Jehovah Elohira (Lord God), except when the writer seems to abstain, for 
 some reason, from placing the name Jehovah in the mouth of the serpent.'^ 
 This accounts naturally for the above contradictions. It would appear that, for 
 some reason, the productions of two pens have been here united, without any 
 reference to their inconsistencies."'* 
 
 Dr. Kaliscli, who does his titmost to maintain — as far as his 
 knowledge of the trtith will allow — the general historical veracity 
 of this narrative, after speaking of the first account of the Crea- 
 tion, says : 
 
 " But now the narrative seems not only to pause, but to go backward. The 
 grand and powerful clima.x seems at once broken off, and a languid repetition 
 appears to follow. Another cosmogony is introduced, which, to complete the perplex- 
 ity, is, in many important features, in direct contradiction to tlie former. 
 
 " It would be dishonesty to conceal tJuise difjictdties. It would be tmakmindedness 
 and cowardice. It would be flight instead of combat. It would be an ignoble retreat. 
 instead of victory. We confess there is an apparent dissonance.""' 
 
 ' Gen. i. 20, 34, 26. '» Gen. ii. 7, 8, 15, 22. 
 
 ^Gen. ii. 7, 9. i' Gen. ii. 4-26. 
 
 2 Gen. i. 20. " Gen. iii. 
 
 < Gen. ii. 19. '^ Gen, i. 1-il. 3. 
 
 'Gen. i. 27. ■< Gen. iii. 1,3, 3. 
 
 • Gen. ii. 7: iii. 22. " The Pentateuch Examinea vol. ii.pp 171- 
 ' Gen. i. 28. 17.S. 
 
 ' Gen. ii. 8, 15. i» Com. on Old Test. vol. i. p. 59. 
 
 • Gen. i. 28.
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 7 
 
 Dr. Kiiappcrt says : ' 
 
 " The account of the Creation from the hand of the PrieMy anthor is utterly 
 different from the ntlijtr narrative, beginning at the fourth verse of Genesis ii. 
 Here we are told thai God created Heaven and Earth in six days, and re>.ted on 
 the seteiith day, obviously with a view to bring out the holiness of the Sabbath 
 in a strong light." 
 
 Now that we have seen there are two different and contradictory 
 accounts of the Creation, to be found in tlie first two chapters 
 of Genesis, we will endeavor to learn if there is sufficient reason to 
 believe they are copies of vwre ancient legends. 
 
 We have seen that, according to the first account, God divided 
 the work of creation into six days. This idea agrees with that of 
 the ancient Persians. 
 
 The Zend-Avesta — the sacred writings of the Parsees — states 
 that the Supreme being Ahuramazda (Orinuzd), created the universe 
 and man in six successive periods of time, in the following order : 
 First, the Heavens; second, the Waters; third, the Earth ; fourth, 
 the Trees and Plants ; fifth, Animals ; and si.xth, Man. After the 
 Creator had finished his work, he rested." 
 
 The A vesta account of the Creation is limited to this announce- 
 ment, but we find a more detailed history of the origin of the 
 human species in the book entitled Bundekesh, dedicated to the 
 e.xposition of a complete cosmogony. This book states that 
 Ahuramazda created the first man and women joined together at 
 the back. After dividing them, he endowed them with motion and 
 activity, placed within them an intelligent soul, and bade them " to 
 be humble of heart ; to observe tlje law ; to be pure in their thoughts, 
 pure in their speech, pure in their actions." Thus were born 
 Mashya and Mashyana, the pair from which all human beings are 
 descended.^ 
 
 The idea brought out in this story of the first human pair 
 having originally formed a single androgynous being with two 
 faces, separated later into two personalities by the Creator, is to be 
 found in the Genesis account (v. 2). "Male and female created 
 he them, and blessed them, and named their name Adam." 
 Jewish tradition in the Targum and Talmud, as well as among 
 learned rabbis, allege that Adam was created man and woman at 
 the same time, having two faces turned in two opposite directions, 
 and that the Creator separated the feminine half from him, in 
 order to make of her a distinct person.' 
 
 ' The Relig. of Israel, p. 186. > Lenormant: Begmnlng of Hist. vol. i. p. 61. 
 
 » Von Bohlen: Intro. toGen. vol. ii. p. 4. * See Ibid. p. 64; and Legends of the 
 
 Patriarchs, p. 31.
 
 8 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 
 
 The ancient Etruscan legend, according to Delitzscli, is almost 
 the same as the Persian. They relate that God created the world 
 in six thousand years. In the first thousand he created the Heaven 
 and Earth ; in the second, the Firmament ; in the third, the Waters 
 of the Earth ; in the fourth, the Sun, Moon and Stars ; in the fifth, 
 the Animals belonging to air, water and land ; and in the sixth, 
 Man alone.' 
 
 Dr. Delitzscli, who maintains to the utmost the historical truth 
 of the Scripture story in Genesis, yet says : 
 
 " Whence comes the surprisiug agreement of the Etruscan and Persian 
 legends with this section ? How comes it that the Babylonian cosmogony in 
 Berosus, and ihe P/Mnician in Sanchoniathou, in spite of their fantastical oddity, 
 come in contact with it in remarliable details ?" 
 
 After showing some of the similarities in the legends of these 
 different nations, he continues : 
 
 " These are only instances of that which they have in common. For such an 
 account outside of Itsrael, we must, liowemr, conclude, that the autlior of Genesis i. 
 has 710 vision before him, but a tradition.'"' 
 
 Von Bohleu tells ns that the old Chaldcean cosmogony is also 
 the same.' 
 
 To continue the Persian legend ; we will now show that 
 according to it, after the Creation man was tempted, and fell. 
 Kalisch ' and Bishop Colenso ^ tell us of the Persian legend 
 that the first couple lived originally in purity and iunocence. 
 Perpetual liappiness was promised them by the Creator if they 
 persevered in tlieir virtue. But an evil demon came to them in the 
 form of a serpent, sent by Ahriman, the prince of devils, and gave 
 them fruit of a wonderful tree., which imparted immortality. 
 Evil inclinations then entered their hearts, and all their moral 
 excellence was destroyed. Consequently they fell, and forfeited 
 the eternal happiness for which they were destined. They killed 
 beasts, and clothed themselves in their skins. The evil demon 
 obtained still more perfect power over their minds, and called 
 forth env}^, hatred, discord, and rebellion, which raged in the 
 bosom of the families. 
 
 Since the above was written, Mr. George Smith, of the British 
 Museum, has discovered cuneiform inscriptions, which show 
 conclusively that the Babylonians had this legend of the Creation and 
 
 1 " The Etruscans believed in a creation of ''Quoted by Bishop Colenso: The Penta- 
 
 six thousand years, and in the successive pro- teuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 115. 
 duction of different boiiii;s, the last of which ^ Intro, to (ieuesis. vol. ii. p. 4. 
 
 was man." (Uunlap: Spirit Hist. p. 357.) * Com. on Old Test. vol. i. p. 6.1. 
 
 6 The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 158.
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 
 
 9 
 
 
 <S(W*»* 
 
 sobT 
 
 Fig N9 
 
 Fall of Man, some 1,500 years or more before the Hebrews heard 
 of it.' The cuneiform inscriptions relating to the Babylonian 
 legend of the Creation and Fall of Man, which have been discovered 
 by English archaeologists, are not, however, complete. The portions 
 which relate to the T7-ee and Serpent have not been found, but 
 Babylonian gem engravings show that these incidents were evi- 
 dently a part of the original legend." The T/'e<} of Life in the 
 Genesis account appears to correspond with the sacred grove of 
 Anu, which was guarded by a sword turniug to all the four points 
 of the compass.' A 
 representation of this 
 Sacred Tree, with " at- 
 tendant cherubim,'^ 
 copied from an As 
 Syrian cylinder, may be 
 seen in Mr. George 
 Smith's " Chaldean 
 Account of Genesis.'" 
 Figure Ko. 1, which 
 we have taken from the same work,' shows the tree of knowl- 
 edge, fruit, and tlie serpent. Mr. Smith says of it : 
 
 " One striking iind important specimen of earl}' tj'pe in the British Museum 
 collection, has two figures sitting one on each side of a tree, holding out their 
 hands to the fruit, while at the back of one (the woman) is scratched a serpent. 
 We know well that in these early sculptures none of these figures were chance 
 devices, but all represented events, or supposed events, and figures in their 
 legends; thus it is evident that a form of the story of tlie Fall, similar to that of 
 Genesis, was known in early times in Babylonia. "=■ 
 
 This illustration might be used to illustrate the narrative of 
 Genesis, and as Fi-iedrieh Delitzsch has remarked (G. Smith's 
 Chaldilische Genesis) is capable of no other explanation. 
 
 M. Reuaii does not hesitate to join forces with the ancient 
 conimentators, in seekincr to recover a trace of the same tradition 
 among the Phenicians in the fragments of Saiichoniathon, 
 translated into Greek by PLilo of Byblos. In fact, it is there 
 said, in speaking of the first human pair, and of ^on, 
 which seems to be the translation of Hawdh (in Phenician 
 
 J See Chapter xi. 
 
 * Mr. Smith says. " Whatever the primitive 
 account may have been from which the earlier 
 part of the Book of Genesis was copied, it is 
 e\ident that the brief iiarrutiou givt-u in the 
 Pcntatench omits a number of incidents and 
 explanations— for instance, as to the origin of 
 
 evil, the fall of the angels, the wickedness of 
 the serpent. &c. Such points as these are in- 
 cluded in the cuneiform narrative." (Smith: 
 Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 13. 14.) 
 
 3 Smith: Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 88. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 89. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 91.
 
 10 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 Ilavdih) and stauds in her relation to tiie other members of the 
 pair, that this personage " has found out how to obtain nourishment 
 from the fruits of tlie tree." 
 
 The idea of the Edenie happiness of the first liumau lieings 
 constitutes one of the universal traditions. Among the Egyptians, 
 the terrestial reign of the god lla, who inaugurated the existence 
 of the world and of human life, was a golden age to which they 
 continually looked back with regret and euvy. Its " like has never 
 been seen since." 
 
 The ancient Greeks boasted of their " Golden Age," when 
 sorrow and trouble were not known. Ilesiod, an ancient Grecian 
 poet, describes it thus : 
 
 "Men lived like Gods, without vices or passions, vexation or toil. In 
 happy companionship with divine beings, tliey passed their days in tranquillity 
 and joy, living together in perfect equality, united by mutual confidence and 
 love. The earth was more beautiful than now, and spontaneously yielded an 
 abundant v.ariety of fruits. Human beings and animals spoke the same 
 language and conversed with each other. Men were considered mere boys at a 
 hundred years old. They had none of the infirmities of age to trouble them, 
 and when they passed to regions of superior life, it was in a gentle slumber." 
 
 In the course of time, however, all the sorrows and troubles 
 came to man. They were caused by inquisitiveness. The story is 
 as follows : Epimetheus received a gift from Zeus (God), in the 
 form of a beautiful woman (Pandora). 
 
 " She brought with her a vase, the lid of which was (by the command of 
 God), to lemain closed. The cui'iosily of her husband, however, tempted liim 
 to open it, and suddenly there escaped from it troubles, weariness and illness 
 from which mankind was never afterwards free. All that remained was hope." ' 
 
 Among the Tldhetans, the paradisiacal condition was more 
 complete and spiritual. The desire to eat of a certain sweet herb 
 Jeprived men of their spiritual life. There arose a sense of shame, 
 and the need to clothe themselves, i^ecessity compelled them to 
 agriculture ; the virtues disappeared, and murder, adultery and 
 other vices, stepped into their place.' 
 
 The idea that the Fall of the Imman race is connected with 
 agricultwe is found to be also often represented in the legends of 
 the East African negroes, especially in the Calabar legend of the 
 Creation, which presents many interesting points of comparison 
 with the biblical story of the Fall. The first human pair are 
 called by a bell at meal-times to Abasi (the Calabar God), in heaven; 
 and in place of the forbidden tree of Genesis are put agriculture 
 
 « Unrray's Mythology, p. 808. ' Kolisch's Com. vol. i. p. 64.
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 11 
 
 and propagation, which Abasi strictly denies to the first pair. The 
 Fall is denoted by the transgression of both these commands, 
 especially through the use of implements of tillage, to which the 
 woman is tempted by a female friend who is given to her. From 
 that moment man fell and became inortal, so that, as the Bible 
 story has it, he can cat bread only in the sweat of his face. There 
 agriculture is a curse, a fall from a more perfect stage to a lower 
 and imperfect one.' 
 
 Dr. Kalisch, writing of the Garden of Eden, says: 
 
 " The Par(j(Zise is no exclusive feature of the early history of the Hebrews. 
 Most of tlie ancient natioTis have similar nnrratices about a happy abode, which care 
 does not approach, and which re-echoes with the sounds of the purest bliss.'"' 
 
 The Persiajis supposed that a region of bliss and delight called 
 Heden, more beautiful than all the rest of the world, traversed hy 
 a mighty river, was the original abode of the first men, before they 
 were tempted by the evil spirit in the form of a serpent, to partake 
 of the fruit of the forbidden tree Hum.^ 
 
 Dr. Delitzsch, writing of the Persian legend, observes : 
 
 "Innumerable attendants of the Holy One keep watch against the attempts of 
 Ahriman, over the tree Horn, which contains in itself the power of the resur- 
 rection.'' 
 
 The ancient Greeks had a tradition concerning the " Islands of 
 the Blessed," the " Elysium," on the borders of the earth, abounding 
 in every chann of life, and the " Garden of the Hesperides," the 
 Paradise, in which grew a tree bearing the golden apples of Immor- 
 tality. It was guarded by three nymphs, and a Serpent, or Dragon, 
 the ever-watchful Ladon. It was one of the labors of Hercules to 
 gather some of these apples of life. When he arrived there lie 
 found the garden protected by a Dragon. Ancient medallions 
 represent a tree with a serpent twined around it. Hercules has 
 gathered an apple, and near him stand the tiiree nymphs, called 
 Hesperides.' This is simply a parallel of the Eden myth. 
 
 The Kev. Mr. Faber, speaking of HercuUs, says : 
 
 " On the Sphere he is represented in the act of contending: with the Serpent, 
 the head of which is placed under his foot ; and tliis Serpent, we are told, is that 
 which guarded the tree with golden fruit in the midst of the garden of the Hesper- 
 ides. But the garden of the Hesperides was none other than the garden of Para- 
 dise; consequently the serpent of that garden, the head of which is crushed be- 
 neath the heel of Hercules, and which itself is described as encircling with its 
 
 ' Goldziher: Hebrew Mythology, p. 87. Hfe ' begat immortality." (Bonwick: Egjptian 
 
 • Com. on the Old Teet. toI. i. p. 70. Belief, p. S40.1 
 
 > Ibid. ' See Montfancon : L'Antiqnite E^Iiqn£e, 
 
 « Ibid. " The f rait and eap of this ' 2y« (j^ vol, i. p. 'Jll, and Pl.cxxiiii.
 
 12 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 folds the trunk of tlie mysterious tree, mu.st necessarily be a transcript of tliat 
 Serpent whose form wiis assumed by the tempter of our first parents. We m;iy 
 observe tlie same ancient tradition in the PhcBuician fable representing Ophion or 
 Ophioneus. "' 
 
 And Professor Fergusson says : 
 
 Jj" Ilcmdes' adventures in the garden of tlie Hesperides, is the Pagan form of 
 the myth that most resembles the precious Serpent-guarded fruit of the Garden 
 of Eden, though the moral of the fable is so widely different. '"- 
 
 The ancient A]/i/2>fiu)is also had the legend of the " Tree of 
 Life." It is mentioned in tlieir sacred books that Osiris ordered 
 the names of some souls to be written on this " Tree of Life," the 
 fruit of which made those who ate it to become as gods.^ 
 
 Among the most ancient traditions of the Hrndoon^ is that of the 
 ' Tree of Life" — called Soma in Sanskrit — the juice of which 
 imparted immortality. This most wonderful tree was guarded by 
 spirits.' 
 
 Still more striking is the Hindoo legend of the '• Elysium " or 
 " Pai-adise," which is as follows : 
 
 "In the sacred mountain Jfent, which is perpetually clotlied in the golden 
 rays of the Sun, and whose lofty summit reaches inio heaven, no siuful man 
 can exist. It in giiiirded by a dreadful dragon. It is adorned with many celestial 
 plants and trees, and is watered hy four rivers, which Ihcnco separate and flow to 
 the four chief directions."' 
 
 The Hindoos, like the jjhilosophers of the Ionic school (Thales, 
 for instance), held water to be the first existing and all-pervading 
 principle, at the same time allowing the co-operation and influence 
 of an immaterial intelligence in the work of creation." A Vedic 
 poet, meditating on the Creation, uses the following expressions : 
 
 " Nolhing that is was then, even what is not, did not exist then." " There 
 was no space, no life, andlastly there was no time, no difference between d,ay and 
 night, no solar torch by which morning might have been told from evening." 
 " Darkness there was, and all at first was veiled in gloom profound, as ocean 
 without light."' 
 
 The Hindoo legend approaches very nearly to that preserved in 
 the Hebrew ScrijDtures. Thus, it is said that Siva, as the Supreme 
 Being, desired to tempt Brahma (who had taken human form, and 
 was called Swayambhura — son of the self-existent), and for this 
 object he dropjjed from heaven a blossom of the sacred fi^j tree. 
 
 ' Faber : Origin Pagan Idolatry, vol. i. p. ^ Colenso: The Pentateuch Examined, vol. 
 
 44;i; in Anacalypsis, vol. i. p 237. iv. p. 1.53. 
 
 2 Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 13. ^ Buckley: Cities of the Ancient World, p. 
 
 = Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i, p. 159. 148. 
 
 * See Bunsen'.« Key? of St. Peter, p. 414. ' Miiller: Hist. Sanskrit Literature, p. 559.
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 13 
 
 Swayambliura, instigated by his wife, Satarupa, endeavors to ob- 
 tain this blossom, thinking its possession will render him immortal 
 and divine ; but wlien he lias succeeded in doing so, he is cursed by 
 Siva, and doomed to misery and degradation.' The sacred Indian 
 fig is endowed by the Brahmins and the Buddhists with mysterious 
 significance, as the " Tree of Knowledge " or " Intelligence.'" 
 
 There is no Hindoo legend of the Creation similar to the Ter- 
 sian and Hebrew accounts, and Ceylon was never believed to liave 
 been the Paradise or home of our first parents, although such stories 
 are in circulation.' The Hindoo religion states — as we have 
 already seen — Mount Meru to be the Paradise, out of which went 
 four rivers. 
 
 We have noticed that the "Gardens of Paradise" are said to 
 have been guarded by Dragons, and that, according to the Genesis 
 acconnt, it was Cherubim that protected Eden. This apparent 
 difEerence in the legends is owing to the fact that we have come in 
 our modern times to speak of Cherub as though it were an other 
 name for an Angel. But the Cherub of tiie writer of Genesis, the 
 Cherub of Assyria, the Clienib of Babylon, the Cherub of the 
 entire Orient, at the time the Eden story was written, was not at 
 all an Angel, but an animal, and a mj'thological one at that. The 
 Cherub had, in some cases, the body of a lion, with the head of an 
 other animal, or a man, and the wings of a bird. In Ezekiel they 
 have the body of a man, whose head, besides a human countenance, 
 has also that of a Lion, an Ox and an Eagle. They are pi'ovided 
 wit!) four wings, and the whole body is spangled with innumerable 
 eyes. In Assyria and Babylon they appear as winged bulls with 
 human faces, and are placed at the gateways of palaces and temples 
 as guardian genii who watch over the dwelling, as the Cherubim 
 in Genesis watch the " Tree of Life." 
 
 Most Jewish writers and Christian Fathers conceived the 
 Cherubim as Angels. Most theologians also considered them as 
 Angels, until Michaelis showed them to be a mythological animal, 
 a poetical creation.* 
 
 * See Wake: Phallisra in Ancient Religions, '* bridge of Adima " which he speaks of as 
 
 pp. 46. 47; and Maurice: Hist. Hindostau. vol. connecting the island of Ceylon with the main- 
 
 i. p. 408. laud, is called ■' Rama's bridge : " and the 
 
 ' Hardwick : Christ and Other Masters, "Adam's footprints" are called "Buddha"3 
 
 p. 21.5. footprints." Tile Portuguese, who called the 
 
 = See Jacolliot's "Bible in India," which mountain Pico U'.ldam'i (Adam's Peak), evi- 
 
 John Fisk calls a ■' very discreditable perform- dently invented these other names. ^See Maii- 
 
 ance," and "a disgraceful piece of charUi- rice's Hist. Hindustan, vol. i. pp. 361, 303, and 
 
 tanry " (Myths, &c. p. 20.'). This writer also vol. ii. p. ■■J4;2). 
 
 stales that according to Hindoo legend, the * See Smith's Bible Die. Art. " Cherubim." 
 
 first m.in and woman wore called "Adima and and Lenormant's Beginning of History, ch. 
 
 Heva." which is certainly not the case. The iii.
 
 14 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 We see then, that our Cliervh is simply a Dragon. 
 
 To continue our inquiry regarding the prevalence of the Eden- 
 myth among nations of antiquity. 
 
 The Chinese have their Age of Virtue, when nature furnished 
 abundant food, and man lived peacefully, surrounded by all the 
 beasts. In their sacred books there is a story concerning a myste- 
 rious garden, where grew a tree bearing " apples of immortality," 
 guarded by a winged serpent, called a Dragon. They describe a 
 primitive age of the world, when the earth yielded abundance of 
 delicious fruits without cultivation, and the seasons were untroubled 
 by wind and storms. There was no calamity, sickness, or death. 
 Men were then good without effort ; for the human heart was in 
 harmony with the peacefulness and beauty of nature. 
 
 The " Golden Age " of the past is much dwelt upon by their 
 ancient commentators. One of them says : 
 
 "All places were then equally the native county of every man. Flocks 
 wandered in the fields without any guide; birds filled the air with their melo- 
 dious voices; and the fruits grew of their own accord. Men lived pleasantly 
 with the animals, and all creatures were members of the same family. Ignorant 
 of evil, man lived in simplicity and perfect innocence." 
 
 Another commentator says : 
 
 "In the first age of perfect purity, all was in h.armony, and the passions did 
 not occasion the slightest murmur. Man, united to sovereign reason within, 
 conformed his outward actions to sovereign justice. Far from all duplicity and 
 falsehood, his soul received marvelous felicity from heaven, and the purest de- 
 lights from earth." 
 
 Another says : 
 
 " A delicious jrarrfen. refreshed with zephyrs, and planted with odoriferous 
 trees, was situated in the middle of a mountain, which was the avenue of heaven. 
 The waters that moistened it flowed from a source called the ' Fountain of Im- 
 mortality.' He who drinks of it never dies. Thence flowed four rivers. A 
 Golden Kiver, betwixt the South and East, a Red River, between the North and 
 East, the Kiver of the Lamb between the North and West." 
 
 The animal Kaiming guards tlie entrance. 
 
 Partly by an undue thirst for knowledge, and partly by increas- 
 ing sensuality, and the seduction of woman, man fell. Then pas- 
 sion and lust ruled in the human mind, and war with the animals 
 began. In one of the Cliiiiese sacred volumes, called the Chi-King, 
 it is said that : 
 
 "All was subject to man at first, but a woman threje us into slavery. The wise 
 husband raised up a bulwark of walls, but the woman, by an ambitious desire of 
 knowledge, demolished them. Our misery did not come from heaven, but from a 
 woman. Site last the human race. Ah, unhappy Poo See ! thou kindled the fire
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 15 
 
 that consumes us, and which is every day augmenting. Our misery has lasted 
 many ages. Tlie world is lost. Vice overflows all things like a mortal poison."' 
 
 Thus we see that the Cliinese are no strangers to the doctrine of 
 original sin. It is their invariable belief that man is a fallen being ; 
 admitted by them from time immemorial. 
 
 The inhabitants of Madagascar had a legend similar to the 
 Eden story, which is related as follows : 
 
 " The first man was created of the duit of the earth, and was placed in a 'jar- 
 den, where he was subject to none of the ills which now affect mortality; he 
 was also free from all bodily appetites, and though surrounded by delicious 
 fruit and limpid streams 3'et felt no desire to taste of the fruit or to quaff the water 
 The Creator, had. moreover, strictly forbid him either to eat or to drink. The 
 great enemy, however, came to him, and painted to him, in glowing colors, the 
 sweetness of the apple, and the lusciousness of the date, and the succulence 
 of the orange." 
 
 After resisting the temptations for a while, he at last ate of the 
 fruit, and consequently fell.^ 
 
 A legend of the Creation, similar to the Hebrew, was found by 
 Mr. Ellis among the Tahitians, and appeared in his " Polynesian 
 Researches." It is as follows : 
 
 After Taarao had formed the world, he created man out of arsea, 
 red earth, which was also the food of man until bread was made. 
 Taarao one day called for the man by name. When he came, he 
 caused him to fall asleep, and while he slept, he took out one of his 
 ivl, or bones, and with it made a woman, whom he gave to the man 
 as his wife, and they became the progenitors of mankind. The 
 woman's name was Ivl, which signifies a bone.' 
 
 The prose Edda, of the ancient Scandinavians, speaks of the 
 " Golden Age " when all was pure and harmonious. This age 
 lasted until the arrival of looman out of Jotunheim — the region of 
 the giants, a sort of " land of Nod " — who corrupted it.^ 
 
 In the annals of the Ife.eicans, the first woman, whose name 
 was translated by the old Spanish writers, " the woman of our flesh," 
 is always represented as accompanied by a great male serpent, who 
 seems to be talking to her. Some writers believe this to be the 
 tempter speaking to the primeval mother, and others that it is in- 
 tended to represent the father of the Imman race. This Mexican 
 Eve is represented on their monuments as the mother of twins.' 
 
 ' See Prog. Helig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. SOfi-210. > See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. 
 
 The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. pp. 152, 409. 
 
 153. and Legends of the Patnarchs. p. 38. ^ See Baring Gculd'a Legends of the Patri- 
 
 2 Legends of the Patriarchs, p. 31. archs ; Squire's Serpent S.vmbot. p. 161, and 
 
 5 Quoted by JlUIler: The Science of Relig., Wake's Phallism iu Ancient Religions, p. 
 
 p. 302. 41.
 
 16 
 
 BIBLE MYT:! 
 
 Mr. Franklin, in liis " Buddhists and Jejnes," says : 
 
 "A striking instance is recorded by the very intelligent traveler (Wilson), re- 
 garding a representation of the Fall of our first parents, sculptured in the magnifi- 
 cent temple of Ipsambul, in Nubia. lie says that a very exact representation of 
 Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is to be seen in that cave, and that the 
 serpent climbing round the tree is especially delineated, and the whole subject of 
 the tempting of our first parents most accurately exhibited."' 
 
 Nearly the same thing was found by Colonel Coombs in the 
 South of IiuUa. Colonel Tod, in his " Hist. liajapoutana, " says : 
 
 "A drawing, brought by Colonel Coombs from a sculptured column in a cave- 
 temple in the South of India, represents the first pair at the foot of the ambro- 
 sial tree, and a serpent entwined among the heavily-laden boughs, presenting to 
 them some of the fruit from his mouth. The tempter appears to be at that part 
 
 of his discourse, when , 
 
 ' his words, replete with guile, i 
 
 Into her heart too easy entrance won: 
 FLsed on the fruit she" gazed.' 
 
 " This is a curious subject to be eiigramd on nil ancienl Pajaii temple.'"' 
 
 So the Colonel thought, no doubt, but it is not so very curicus 
 
 after all. It is 
 the same myth 
 which we have 
 found — with but 
 such small vari- 
 ations only as 
 time and circum- 
 stances may be 
 expected to pro- 
 duce — among 
 different nations, 
 in both the Old 
 and XewWorlds. 
 Fig. No. 2, 
 taken from tlie 
 feet being, and 
 of what he once 
 
 a fallen and 
 
 work of Moiit- 
 faucon,' repre- 
 sents one of 
 these ancient 
 Pagan sculp- 
 tures. Can any 
 one doubt that it 
 is allusive to the 
 myth of which 
 we have beeit 
 treating in this 
 chapter 'i 
 
 That man 
 \vas originally 
 created a per- 
 bi'oken remnant 
 
 i ; now only 
 
 was, we have seen to be a piece of mythol- 
 ogy, not only unfounded in fact, but, beyond intelligent question, 
 proved untrue. "What, then, is the significance of the exposure 
 of this myth? What does its loss as a scientific fact, and as a por- 
 tion of Christian dogma, imply ? It implies that with it — although 
 many Christian divines who admit this to be a legend, do not. 
 
 * Quoted by Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol 
 
 = Tod's Hist. Baj., p. 5S1, quoted by Hig- 
 gins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 404. 
 s L'Antiquite Expliquee, vol. i.
 
 THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN. 17 
 
 or do not profess, to see it — Tmist fdU the whole Orthodox scJiyeme, 
 for upon this myth tlie theology of Christendom is built. The 
 doctrine of tlie inspiration of tli£ Scriptures, tlie Fall of man, 
 iiis total depravity, the Incarnation, the Atonement, the devil, 
 hell, in fact, the entire theology of the Christian church, falls to 
 j)ieees with the liistorical inaccuracy of this story, for upon it is 
 it built f 7/s the foundation of the whole structure.' 
 
 According to Christian dogma, the Incarnation of Christ Jesus 
 liad become necessary, merely because he had to 7'edeem the evil in- 
 troduced into the world by the Fall of man. These two dogmas 
 cannot be separated from each other. If there was no Fall, there 
 is no need of an atonement, and no Redeemer is requii'ed. Those, 
 then, who consent in recognizing in Christ Jesus a God and Re- 
 deemer, and who, notwithstanding, cannot resolve upon admitting 
 the story of the Fallot man to he histoi'ical, should exculpate them- 
 selves from the reproach of inconsistency. There are a great 
 number, however, in this position at the present day. 
 
 Although, as we have said, many Christian divines do not, or 
 do not profess to, see the force of the above argument, thei'e are 
 many who do ; and they, regardless of their scientific learning, cling 
 to these old mytlis, professing to believe them, tcell Icnowing what 
 must follow xoith their fall. The following, though written some 
 years ago, will serve to ilhistrate this style of reasoning. 
 
 The Bishop of Manchester (England) writing in the " Man- 
 chester Examiner and Times," said : 
 
 '• Tiic Tety foundation of our faith, thevery basis of our Jiopes, the very nearest 
 and dearest of our consolalions lue taken from us, when one line of Otal sacred 
 tolume, on which we haxc everything, is declared to be untruthful and untrust- 
 tDorthy. " 
 
 The " English Churchman," speaking of clergymen who have 
 ■" doubts," said, that any who are not tln-oughly persuaded " thai 
 tfie Scriptures cannot in any particular be untrue" should leave 
 the Church. 
 
 The Kev. E. Garbett, M. A., in a sennon preached before the 
 University of Oxford, speaking of the '■^historical truth" oi the 
 Bible, said : 
 
 • Sir William Jone?, the first president of learned Thomas Maurice, for he eays: "If the 
 
 the Royal Asiatic Society, saw this when he Mosaic History be indeed a fable, the whole 
 
 Baid : " Either the first eleven chapters of fabric of the national religion ist false, since 
 
 Genesis, all due allowance being made for a the main pillar of Christianity rests upon that 
 
 figurative Eastern style, are trnie. or the whole important original promise, thatthe seed of the 
 
 fabric of onrreligion is false." (In .\siatic Re- woman should bruise the head of the serpent." 
 
 (earcbes, vol. i. p. 235.1 And so also did the (Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. p. 29.)
 
 18 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 " It is the clear teaching of those doctrinal formularies, to which we of the 
 Church of England have expressed our solemn assent, and nolionest mterjiretation 
 of fier langwige can get rid of it 
 
 And that : 
 
 "In all consistent reason, wemitst accept the ichole of tite inspired autograplis, or 
 rtject tfie whole." 
 
 Dr. Baylce, Principal of a theological university — St. Aiden's 
 College — at Birkenhead, England, and author of a " Manual,'' 
 called Baylee's " Verbal Inspiration,^'' written " chiefly for the 
 youths of St. AidevUs College^'' makes use of the following words, 
 in that work : 
 
 '•Tlie wTiole Bible, as a revelation, is a declaration of the mind of God towards 
 his creatures on all the subjects of wliich the Bible treats." 
 
 '■ The Bible is God's tcord, in the same sense as if he had made use of no hu- 
 man ay;ent, but had Himself spoken il." 
 
 " The Bible cannot be less than verbally inspired. Everi/ word, every ^Uahle, 
 eeery Utter, is just what it would be, had God spoken from heaven without any 
 human intervention." 
 
 " Everj' scientitic statement is infallilily correct, all its history and narrations" 
 of every Idnd, ure without anij inacctiniry."' 
 
 A whole volxime miglit lie tilled with such quotations, not only 
 from religious works and journal,-! published in England, but from 
 those published in the United States of America." 
 
 X 
 
 I The above extracts are quoted by Bishop regard to the geological antiquity of the world, 
 
 Coienso, in The Pentateuch Examined, vol. ii. evolution, atheism, pantlieiym. Ac. He be- 
 
 pp. 10-12, from which we lake them. lieves— and rightly too — that, " if the accfnint 
 
 ^ '* CosmofjoHij ''^ is the title of a volume of CrtaCioa in Genetds falU, Christ and the 
 
 lately written by Prof. Thomas Mitchell, and apo$tl€s follou' : if the book of Otnesis is err^h 
 
 published by the American News Co.. in which neom, so aho art the GospeUJ'"' 
 the author attacks all the modern scientists in
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DELUGE. 
 
 After " man's shameful fall," the eartli began to be populated 
 at a very rapid rate. " The sons of God saw the daughters of men 
 that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they 
 
 chose There were giants in the earth in those days,* 
 
 and also . . . mighty men . . . men of renown." 
 
 But these " giants '' and " miglity men " were very wicked, " and 
 God saw the wickedness of man . . . and it repented the Lord 
 that he had made man upon the earth^' and it grieved him at liis 
 heart. And the Lord said ; I will destroy man whom I have created 
 from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping 
 thing, and the fowls of the air, for it repeuteth me that I have 
 made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (for) 
 Noah was a just man . . . and walked with God. . . . And 
 God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the 
 earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will de- 
 
 • Sec "The Deluge ia the Li^bt of Modem epeciep of the horse, the mastodon, and other 
 Science." by Prof. Wm. Denton: J. P. Men- iarge animals. This discovery was made, ow- 
 dnm, Boston. ing to the assurance of the natives that giarus 
 
 * *• There were giants in the earth in those at one time had lived in that countrj-, and that 
 days." It is a scientific fact that most races of they ha^l seen their reinainsat thlt certain place. 
 men, in former ages, instead of being larger. Many lej^cnds have bad a similar origin. But 
 were smaller than at the present time. There tlie originals of all the Ogres and Giants to be 
 is hardly a suit of armor in the Tower of Lou- found in the mythology of almost all nations 
 don, or in the old castles, that is large enough of antiquity, are the famous Hindoo demons, 
 for the average Englishman of to-day to put on. the Hakshasas of our Aryan ancestors. The 
 Man has grown in stature as well as intellect, Kakshasas were very terrible creatures indeed, 
 and there is no proof whatever — in fact, the op- and in the minds of many people, in India, 
 posite is certain— that there ever was a race of are so still. Their natural form, so the sto- 
 what might properly be called giants, inhabit- riee say. is that of huge, unshapely gianta, like 
 ing the earth. Fossil remains of large animals clouds, with hair and beard of the color of the 
 having been found by primitive man, and a retl lightning. This description explains their 
 Ugend tnrenttd to account for them, it would origin. They are the dark, wicked and cruel 
 naturally be that : " There were giants in the clouds, personified. 
 
 earth in those dajs. " As an illustration we = ■• .\nd it repented the Lord that he had 
 
 may mention the story, recorded by the trav- made man." (Gen. iv.) "God is not a man 
 
 eller James Ortoti, we believe (in " The .\ndes that he should lie, neither the son of man Uiat 
 
 and the Amazon"), that, near Punin, in South Iteshtmld repent." i^umb. xxiii. 19.) 
 America, was found the remains of an extinct 
 
 [19]
 
 20 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 stroy them willi the earth. Make tliec au ark of gopher wood, 
 rooms shalt thou make in the ark, (and) a window shalt thou make 
 to the ark; .... And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of 
 waters upon the eai'th, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of 
 life, from under heaven, and every thing that is in the earth shall 
 die. But with thee shall I establish my covenant ; and thou shalt 
 come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' 
 wives, with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of 
 every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive wdth 
 thee; they shall be male and female. 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 shall come in to thee, to keep them 
 alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou 
 shalt gather it to thee ; and it shall be for food for thee and for 
 them. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded 
 him."' 
 
 When the ark was finished, the Lord said imto Noah : 
 
 " Come thou and all thy house into the ark. ... Of every clean beast 
 thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female; and of beasts that are 
 not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, 
 the male and the female. "- 
 
 Here, again, as in the Eden myth, there is a co7itradiction. We 
 have seen that the Lord told Noah to bring into the ark " of every 
 living thing, of all flesh, two of every sort," and now that the ark 
 is finished, we are told that he said to him : " Of every clean 
 beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens" and, " of fowls also of the 
 air by sevens." This is owing to the story having been written by 
 two different writers — the Jehovistic, and the Elohistic — one of 
 which took from, and added to the narrative of the other.' The 
 account goes on to say, tliat : 
 
 "Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, 
 into the ark. ... Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of 
 fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and two, 
 unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah."* 
 
 We see, then, that Noah took into the ark o/' oil Jcinds of 
 beasts, of fowls, and of every thing that cree])eth, two of every sort, 
 and that this was " as God had commanded Noah." This clearly 
 shows that the writer of these words knew nothing of tiie command 
 
 ^ Gen. iv. ^ Gen. vi. 1-3. Athyr (Kov. 13th), the very day «nd month on 
 
 ^ See chapter xl. which Noah is s.aid to have entered his ark. 
 
 < The im.'jge of Osiris of Egypt was by the (See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 165, and 
 
 priests shut up in a eacred ark on the nth of Bunsen's Angel Messiah, p. S23.)
 
 THE DELUGE. 21 
 
 to take in clean beasts, and fowls of tlie air, by sevens. We are 
 furtlier assui-ed, that, " JVoah did according to all that the Lord 
 commanded him. " 
 
 After Noah and his family, and every beast after his kind, and 
 all the cattle after their kind, the fowls of the air, and every creep- 
 ing thing, had entered the ark, the Lord shut them in. Then " were 
 all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and ilie loindows of 
 heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty <lays 
 and forty nights And the waters prevailed exceeding- 
 ly upon the earth ; and all the hills, that were under the whole heaven, 
 were covered. Fifteen cubits upwards did the waters prevail ; and 
 the mountains were covered. And all liesh died that moved upon 
 the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beast, and of every 
 creeping thing that creepeth upon tlie earth, and every man. 
 And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him 
 in the ark.'" The object of the flood was now accomplished, " all 
 flesh died that moved upon the earth.''^ The Lord, therefore, 
 "made a wind to pass over the earth, and the watei-s assuaged. 
 The fountains of the deep, and the windows of heaven, were 
 stopped, and the rain from lieaven was restrained. And thf 
 
 waters decreased continually And it came to pass at; 
 
 the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark, 
 which he had made. And he sent forth a raven, which went 
 fortli to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the 
 earth. He also sent forth a dove, . . . but the dove found no 
 rest for the sole of lier foot, and she returned unto him into the 
 ark." . . . 
 
 At the end of seven days he again " sent forth the dove out of 
 the ark, and the dove came in to him in the evening, and lo, in her 
 month was an olive leaf, plucked off."' 
 
 At the end of another seven davs, he aijaiu " sent forth the dove, 
 which returned not again to him any more." 
 
 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day 
 of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. Then Noah and 
 his wife, and his sons, and his sons' wives, and every living thing 
 that was in the ark, went forth out of the ark. "And Noah 
 builded an altar unto the Lord, . . . and offered burnt offer- 
 ings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and the 
 Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more 
 for man's sake."^ 
 
 > Gen. vi. ' G«n. yiii.
 
 22 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 We shall now see that there is scarcely any considerable race of 
 men among whom there does not exist, in some form, the tradition 
 of a great deluge, which destroyed all the human race, except their 
 own progenitors. 
 
 The first of these which we shall notice, and the one with which 
 the Hebrew agrees most closely, having been copied from it,' is the 
 Chaldean, as given by Berosus, the Chaldean historian.' It is as 
 follows : 
 
 "After the death of Ardates (the ninth king of the Chaldeans), his son 
 Xituthrus reigned eighteen sari. In his time happened a great delugf, the his- 
 tory of which is thus described: The deity Cronos appeared to liim (Xisuthrus) 
 in a vision, and warned him that upon the tifteenth day of the month Desiu.s 
 there would be a flood, by which mankind would be destroyed. He therefore 
 enjoined him to write a history of the beginning, procedure, and conclusion of 
 all things, and to bury it in the City of the Sim at Sippara; and to build a 
 vessel, and take with him into it his friends and relations, and to convey on 
 board everything necessary to sustain life, together with all the different ani- 
 mals, both birds and quadrupeds, and trust himself fearlessly to the deilp. Hav- 
 ing asked the deity whither he was to sail, he was answered: 'To the Gods;' 
 upon which he offered up a prayer for the good of mankind. He then obeyed 
 the divine admonition, and built a vessel five stadia in length, and two in 
 breadth. Into this he put everything which he had prepared, and last of all 
 conveyed into it his vrife, his children, and his friends. After the flood had 
 been upon the earth, and was in time aljated, Xisuthrus sent out birds from the 
 vessel; which not finding any food, nor any place whereupon they might rest 
 their feet, returned to him again. After an interval of some days, he sent thcni 
 forth a second time: and they now returned wilii their feet tinged with mud. 
 He made a trial a third time with these birds; but they returned to him no more: 
 from whence he judged that the surface of the earth had appeared above the 
 waters. He therefore made an opening in the vessel, and upon li)oking out 
 found that it was stranded upon the side of some mountain; upon which he 
 immediately quitted it with his wife, his daughter, and the pilot. Xisuthrus 
 then paid his adoration to the earth, and, having constructed an altar, offered 
 sacrifices to the gods."^ 
 
 This account, given by Berosus, which agrees in almost every 
 particular with that found in Genesis, and with that found by 
 George Smith of the Briti.^h Museum on terra eotta tablets in 
 Assyria, is nevertheless different in some respects. But, says 
 Mr. Smith : 
 
 "When we consider the difference between the two countries of Palestine 
 and Babylonia, these variations do not appear greater than we should expect. 
 . . . It was only natural that, in relating the same stories, each nation should 
 
 ' See chapter xi. ' Quoted by George Smith : Chaldean Ac- 
 
 ' Josephus, the Jewish historian, Bpeakingof count of Genesis, pp. 42-44 ; nee also. The Pen- 
 
 tlie flood of Noah (Antiq. blv. 1, oh. iii.), says : tateucli Exuminrrl, vol. iv. p. 211; Duniap'a 
 
 "All the writers of the Babylonian histories Spirit Hist. p. 138 ; Cory's Ancient Fragments, 
 
 make mention of (hit! flood and this ark." p. 61, etseq. for similar accounts.
 
 *■ THE DELUGE. 23 
 
 color them iu accordance with its own ideas, and stress would naturally in each 
 case be laid upon points with which they were familiar. Thus we should expect 
 beforehand that there would be differences in the narrative such as we actually 
 find, and we may also notice that the cuneiform account does not always coin- 
 cide even with the account of the same events given by Berosus from Chaldean 
 sources."' 
 
 Tlie most important jx»ints are the same liowever, i. e., in both 
 cases the virtnous man is informed by the Lord that a flood is 
 about to take place, which would destroy mankind. In hoth cases 
 they are commanded to build a vessel or ark, to enter it with their 
 families, and to take in beasts, birds, and everything that creepeth, 
 also to provide themselves with food. In hoth cases they send out 
 a bird from the ark three thnes — the third time it failed to return. 
 Ill hoth cases they land on a mountain, and upon leaving the ark 
 they ofl'cr up a sacrifice to the gods. Xisuthrus was the tenth 
 king,^ and Noah the tentli patriarch.' Xisiithrus had three sons 
 (Zerovanos, Titan and Ja})utosthcs),* and Noah had three sons 
 (Shem, Ilam and Japhet).' 
 
 As Cory remarks in his '• Ancient Fragments,"' " The liistory 
 of the flood, as given by Berosus, so remarkably corresponds with 
 the Biblical account of the Noaehian Deluge, tliat no otie can 
 doubt that both proceeded from one source — they are evi- 
 dently transcriptions, except the names, from some ancient docu- 
 ment." 
 
 This legend became known to the Jews from Chaldean sources,' 
 it was not known in the country (Egypt) out of which they 
 evidently came.' Egyptian history, it is said, liad gone on un- 
 
 ' Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 985, 286. Germans said that Munnus (son of the god 
 
 '^ Volncy : New Researches, p. 119; Chal- Tuisco) had three sons, who were the oripnal 
 
 dean Acct. of Genesis, p. 290 ; Hii?t. Hiiido.-^- ancestors of the ttiree principal nations of 
 
 tan, vol. i. p. 41", and Dunlap's Spirit Hist. p. Germany. The Scythians said that Targy- 
 
 27T. tagus, the founder of their nation, had tliree 
 
 ^ Ibid. sons, from whom they were descended. A 
 
 * Legends of the Patriarchs, pp. 109. 110. tradition among the Romans was that the Cy- 
 
 5 Gen. vi. 8. clop Polyphemus had by Galatea three sons. 
 
 « The Hindoo ark-prescrved Menu had Saturn had three sons, Jupiter, Neptune, and 
 
 three sons ; Sama. Cama, and Pra-Japati. Pluto ; and Hesiod speaks of the three sons 
 
 (p'aber: Orig. Pai^au Idol.) The Bhattias, who which sprung from the marriage of heaven 
 
 live between Delli and tlie Paujah, insist that and earth. (See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, 
 
 they are descended from a certain king called p. 509.) 
 
 Salivahana. who had three sons, Bhat. Maha ' See chap. xi. 
 
 andThamaz." (Col. Wilfonl, in vol. i.x. Asi- '" It is of no slight moment that the Egyp- 
 
 atic Researches.) The Iranian hero Thnietona tians, with whom the Hebrews are represented 
 
 had three sons. Tlie Iranian Sethite Lamech as in earliest and closest intercourse, had no 
 
 had three sons, and Helleu. the son of Deu- traditions of a flood, while tl;e Babylonian 
 
 calion, during whose time the flood is said to and Hellenic tales bear a strong resemblance 
 
 have happened, h.Td //vr^e sons. (Bunsen : The in many points to the narrative in Genesis." 
 
 Angel-Messiah, pp. 70. 71.) All the ancient na- cRev. George W. Cox : Tales of Ancient Greece, 
 
 tions of Europe also describe their origin from p. .SW. See also Owen : Man's Earliest His- 
 
 the three sons of some king or patriarch. The tory, p. 38, and ch. .xi. this work.)
 
 24 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 interrupted for ten thousand years before the time assigned for the 
 birtli of Jesus.' And it is known as absolute fact that the laud 
 of Egypt was never visited by other than its annual beneficent 
 overliow of the river Nile.' The Egyptian Bible, Schick is hy 
 far the most ancient of all holy hooks," kncio nothing of the 
 Deluge." The Phra (or Pharaoh) Khoufou-Cheops was building 
 his pyramid, according to Egyptian chronicle, when the whole 
 world was under the waters of a universal deluge, according to the 
 Hebrew chronicle." A number of other nations of antiquity are 
 found destitute of auy story of a flood," which they certainly would 
 have had if a universal deluge had ever happened. Whether this 
 legend is of high antiquity in India has even been doubted by dis- 
 tinguished scholars.' 
 
 The Hindoo legend of the Deluge is as follows : 
 
 "Many ages after tlie creation of the world. Brahma resolved to destroy it 
 with a deluge, on account of the wickedness of the people. There lived at that 
 time a pious man named Salyarrata, and as the lord of the universe loved this 
 pious man, and wished to preserve him from the sea of destruction which was 
 to appear on account of the depravity of the age, he appeared before him in the 
 form of VUhnu (the Preserver) and said: In seten days from the present time 
 . . . the worlds will be plunged in an ocean of death, but in the midst of 
 the destroying waves, a large vessel, sent by me for thy use, shall stand before 
 thee. Then shalt thou take all medicinal herbs, all the variety of feeds, and, 
 accompanied by seven saints, encircled by pairs of all brute animals, thou shalt 
 enter the spacious ark, and continue in it, secure from the Hood, on one immense 
 ocean without light, except the radiance of thy holy companions. When the 
 ship shall be agitated by an impetuous wind, thou shalt fasten it with a large 
 sea-serpent on my horn; for I will be near thee (in the form of a fish), drawing 
 the vessel, with thee and thy attendants. I will remain on the ocean, O chief 
 of men, until a night of Brahma shall be completely ended. Thou shalt then 
 
 1 See Taylor's Diejjesis, p. 108, and Kniglit's priept places an image of himself there during 
 Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 107. '* Plato his life-time ; the priests, therefore, reckoning 
 was told that Egypt had hymns dating bactc them and showing tnem to me, pointed out that 
 ten thousand years before his time.'' (Bon- each was the son of his own father ; going 
 wicli ; Egyptian Belief, p. 185.) Plato lived 429 through them all. from the image of him who 
 B. c. Herodotus relates that the priests of died last until tliey had pointed them all out.'' 
 Egypt informed him that from the first liing to (Herodotus, Ijook ii. ths. 142, 143.) The discov- 
 the present priest of Vulcan who last reigned, ery of mummies of royal and priestly person- 
 were lliree hundred forty and one generations ages, made at Deir-el-Bahari (Aug., 1881), ne::r 
 of men, and during these generations there Thebes, in E^ypt. would seem to confirm this 
 were the same number of chief priests and statement made by Herodotus. Of the thirty- 
 kings. *' Now (says he) tliree hundred gener- nine mummies discovered, one — that of King 
 ations are equal to ten thousand years, for Raskenen — is about three thousand seven, 
 three generations of men are one hundred hundred years old. (See a Cairo [Aug. 8th,] 
 years; and the forty-one remaining genera- Letter to the London Times.) 
 tions that were over the three hundred, make ' Owen : Man's Earliest History, p. 28. 
 one thousand three hundred and forty years," ^ ISonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. Ito. 
 maL^m^dertnihoiiwud three hundred and fmiy * Ibid. p. 411. 
 
 years. " Conducting me into the interior of an 'Owen: Man's Earliest History, pp. 27, 
 
 edifice that was spacious, and showing me 28. 
 
 wooden coloBsuses to the number I have men- « Goldzhier : Hebrew Mytlio. p. 319. 
 
 ttoiied, they reckoned them up ; for every high ' Ibid. p. 320.
 
 THE DELUGE. 2f) 
 
 know my true greatness, rightly named the Supreme Godhead; by my favor, all 
 thy questions shall be answered, and thy mind abuudiiutly instructed." 
 
 Being tlius directed, Satyavrata humbly waited for the time 
 ■which the ruler of our senses had appointed. It was not long, 
 however, before the sea, overwhelming its shores, began to deluge 
 the whole earth, and it was soon perceived to be augmented by 
 showers from unmense clouds. He, still meditating on the com- 
 mands of the Lord, saw a vessel advancing, and entered it with the 
 saints, after having carried into effect the instructions which had 
 been given him. 
 
 Vishnu then appeared before them, in the form of a fish, as he 
 had said, and Satyavrata fastened a cable to his horn. 
 
 The deluge in time abated, and Satyavrata, instructed in all 
 divine and human knowledge, was appointed, by the favor of 
 Vishnu, the Seventh Menu. After coming forth from the ark he 
 offers up a sacrifice to Brahma.' 
 
 The ancient temples of Hindostan contain representations of 
 Vishnu sustaining the earth while overwhelmed by the waters of 
 the deluge. A rainbow is seen on the surface of the subsldmg 
 waters!' 
 
 The Chitiese believe the earth to have been at one time covered 
 with water, which they described as flowing abundantly and then 
 subsiding. This great flood divided the higher from the lower age 
 of man. It happened during the reign of Yaou. This inundation, 
 which is termed hung-shwuy (great water), almost ruined the 
 country, and is spoken of by Chinese writers with sentiments of 
 horror. The Shoo-King, one of their sacred books, describes the 
 waters as reaching to the tops of some of the mountains, covering 
 the hills, and expanding as wide as the vault of heaven.' 
 
 The Parsees say that by the temptation of the evil spirit men 
 became wicked, and God destroyed them with a deluge, except a 
 few, from whom the world was peopled anew.* 
 
 In the Ze7id-Avesta, the oldest sacred book of the Persians, of 
 whom the Parsees are direct descendants, there are sixteen countries 
 spoken of as having been given by Ormuzd, the Good Deity, for 
 the Aryans to live in ; and these countries are described as a land 
 of delight, which was turned by Ahriman, the Evil Deity, into a 
 
 ' Tranelated from the Bhagarat by Sir Win. ^ See Prog. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 53. 
 
 JoLee, and published in the first volume of the • See Thornton's Hist. China, vol. i, p. 30. 
 
 "Asiatic Researches," p. 330, et seq. See also ProR. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 205, and Priestley, 
 
 Maurice: Ind. Ant. ii. 277, et seq., and Prof. p. 41. 
 Hax liuller's Hist. Ancient Sanskrit Litera- * Priestley, p. 42. 
 
 tan, p. 425, et leg.
 
 26 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 laud of death and cold, jiartly, it is said, by a great flood, which is 
 described as being like Noah's flood recorded in the Book of 
 Genesis.' 
 
 The ancient Greeks had records of a flood which destroyed 
 nearly the whole human race.' The story is as follows : 
 
 " From his throne in the high Olympos, Zeus looked down on the children of 
 men, and saw that everywhere tliey followed only their lusts, and cared nothing 
 for right or for law. And ever, as their liearts waxed grosser in their wicked- 
 ness, they devised for themselves new rites to appease the anger of the gods, till 
 the whole earth was filled willi blood. Far awaj' in the hidden glens of the 
 Arcadian hills the sous of Lykaon feasted and spake proud words agaiust the 
 majesty of Zeus, and Zeus himself came down from his throne to see tLeir way 
 and their doings. . . . Then Zeus returned to his home on Olympos, and 
 he gave the word that a flood of waters should be lot loose upon the caith, that 
 the sous of men might die for their great wickedness. So the west wind rose 
 in its might, and the dark rain-clouds veiled the whole heaveu. for the winds of 
 the north which drive awa.v the mists and vapors were shut up in their prison 
 house. On hill and valle3' burst the merciless rain, and the rivers, loosened from 
 their courses, rushed over the whole plains and up the raounlain-side. From 
 his home on the highlands of Phthia, Deukalion looked forth on the angry sky, 
 and, when he saw the waters swelling in the valleys beneath, he called Pyrrba, 
 his wife, and said lo her: 'The time has come of which my father, the wise 
 Promeiheus, forewarned nie. Make ready, therefore, the ark which 1 have 
 built, and place in it all that we may need for food while the Hood of waters is 
 out upon the earth.' . . . Then Pyrrha hastened to malic all things ready, 
 and the}' waited till the waters I'ose up to the highlands of Phthia and floated 
 awaj' the ark of Deukalion. The fishes swam amidst the old elm-groves, and 
 twined amongst the gnarled boughs on Ihe oalis, while on the face of the waters 
 were tossed the bodies of men; and Deukalion looked on the dead faces of 
 stalwart warriors, of maidens, and of babes, as they rose and fell upon the 
 heavy waves. " 
 
 When the flood began to abate, the ark rested on Mount Par- 
 nasstis, and Deucalion, with his wife Pyrrha, stepped forth upon 
 the desolate earth. They then immediately constructed an altar, 
 and offered up thanks to Zeus, the mighty being who sent the flood 
 and saved them from its waters.' 
 
 According to Ovid (a Grecian writer born 43 b. c), Deucalion 
 does not venture out of the ark until a dove which he sent out re- 
 turns to him with an olive branch." 
 
 1 Bunce : Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning, c, — having mentioned Deucalion consigned 
 p. 18. to the ark, takes notice, upon his qnitting it. 
 
 2 The oldest Greek mythology, however, has of his offering up an immcdi.'ite saciifice to 
 no such idea; it cannot be proved to have God." (Chambers' Encyclo., art. />f/«f7e.) 
 been known to the Greeks earlier than the 6t.h * In Lundy's Monumental Christianity (p. 
 century B. C. (See Goldzhier : Hebrew Mytho., 299, Fig. 137) may be seen a representation of 
 p. 319.) This could not have been the case Beucalion and Pyrrha landing from the arli. 
 had there ever been a irau'frsf.'Meiiige. A dove and olive branch are depicted in tlie 
 
 ' Talcs of Ancient Greece, pp. 72-74. "Apol- ecene. 
 lodorus— a Grecian mythologist, b«m 140 E.
 
 THE DELUOE. 27 
 
 It was at oue time extensively believed, evea by intellii^ent 
 scholars, that the myth of Deucalion was a corrupted tradition of 
 the Noachian deluge, hut this untenable opinion is now all hut 
 universally abandoned.' 
 
 The legend was found in the West among the Kelts. They be- 
 lieved that a great deluge overwhelmed the world and drowned all 
 men except Drayan and Droyvach, who escaped in a boat, and 
 colonized Britain. This boat was supposed to have been built by 
 the '' Heavenly Lord," and it received into it a pair of every kind 
 of beasts." 
 
 The ancient Scandina/oians had their legend of a deluge. The 
 Edda describes this deluge, from which only one man escapes, with 
 his family, by means of a bark.' It was also found among the 
 ancient Mexicans. They believed that a inan naiued Cuxcox, and 
 his wife, survived the deluge. Lord Kingsborougli, speaking of 
 this legend," informs us that the person who answered to Noah 
 entered the ark with six others; and that the story of sending 
 birds out of the ark, &e., is the same in general character 
 with that of the Bililc. 
 
 Dr. Brinton also speaks of the Mexican tradition.' They 
 had not only the story of sending out the hird^ but related that 
 the ark landed on a viountain. Tlie tradition of a deluge was 
 also found among the Brazilians, and among many Indian tribes.' 
 The mountain upon whicli the ark is supposed to have rested, 
 was pointed to by the residents in nearly e\'ery quarter of the glol)e. 
 The mountain-r-iniu of Ararat was considered to be — by the 
 Chaldeans and IIehrcws—t\\e place where tlie ark landed. The 
 Greeks pointed tu Mount Parnassus ; the Hindoos to the Himalayas ; 
 and in Armenia numberless heights were pointed out with becoiu- 
 ing reverence, as those on which the few survivors of tlie dreadful 
 scenes of the deluge vrere preserved. On the Ked River (in 
 America), near the village of the Caddoes, there was an eminence to 
 which the Indian tribes for a great distance around paid devout 
 homage. The Cerro Naztarny on the Rio Grarfdc, the peak of Old 
 Zuni in New Mexico, that of Colhuacan on the Pacific coast, 
 Mount Apoala in Upper Mixteca, and Mount Xeba in the province 
 of Guaymi, are some of many elevations asserted by the ncighbor- 
 
 ^ Chambers' Encyclo., art. Deucalion. ' See Mallet's Northern Antiqttities, p. 99. 
 
 « BariDg-Gonld : Legends of the Patriarchs, « Mex. Antiq. vol. viii. 
 
 p. 114. See also Myths of the British Druids, ' Myths of the New World, pp. 203, 204. 
 
 p. te. " See Squire : Serpent Symbol, pp. 189, 190.
 
 28 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 ing nations to have been places of refuge for .heir ancestors when 
 the fountains of the great deep broke forth. 
 
 The question now may nafarally be a-sked, How could snch a 
 story have originated unless there was some foundation for it ? 
 
 In answer to this question we will say that we do not think 
 such a story could have originated without some foundation for it, 
 and that most, if not all, legends, have a basi of truth underlying 
 the fabulous, although not always discernible. This story may have 
 an astronomical basis, as some suppose," or it may not. At any 
 rate, it would be very easy to transmit by memory the fact of the 
 sinJc'mg of an island, or that of an eartliqualx, or a great flood, 
 caused by overflows of rivers, &c., which, in the course of time, 
 would be added to, and enlarged upon, and, in this way, made into 
 quite a lengthy tale. According to one of the most ancient ac- 
 counts of the deluge, we are told that at that time " the forest trees 
 were dashed against each other ; " " the mountains were involved 
 with smoke and flame ; " that there was " fire, and smoke, and wind, 
 which ascended in thick clouds replete with lightning." "The 
 roaring of the ocean, whilst violently agitated with the whirling of 
 the mountains, was like the bellowing of a mighty cloud, &c.'''' 
 
 A violent earthquake, with eruptions from %olcanic mountains, 
 and the sinking of land into the sea, would evidently produce such 
 a scene as this. We know that at one peiiod in the earth's history, 
 such scenes must have been of frequent occuiTence. The science 
 of geology demonstrates this fact to us. Local deluges were of 
 frequent occurrence, and that some persons may have been saved on 
 one, or perhaps many, such occasions, by means of a raft or boat, 
 and that they may have sought refuge on an eminence, or mountain, 
 does not seem at all improbable. 
 
 During the Champlain period in the history of the world — 
 which came after the Glacial period — the climate became warmer, 
 the continents sank, and there were, consequently, continued local 
 floods which must have destroyed considerable animal life, includ- 
 ing man. The foundation of the deluge myth may have been laid 
 at this time. 
 
 > Count de Volney says : " TheDelnge men- himself up in the ark. that the priests of Egypt 
 
 tioned by Jews, Chaldeans. Greeks and Indians, shut up in their sacred coffer or ark the image 
 
 AS having destroyed the world, are one and the of Osiri?, a personification of the Sun. This 
 
 i&mQ phyHco-astroTiomical event which is still was on the 17th of the month Athor, in which 
 
 repeated every year," and that " all those the Sun enters the Scorpion. (See Kenrick's 
 
 personages that figure in the Deluge of Noah Egypt, vol. i. p. 410.) The history of Noah 
 
 fcnd Xisuthus, are still in the celestial sphere. also corresponds, in some respects, with that 
 
 It was a real picture of the calendar."' (Re- of Bacchus, another pereouification of the Sun. 
 eearches in Ancient Uist,, p. 1C4.) It was on ^ See Maurice's Indian Antiquities, vol ii. 
 
 tile eome day that Noah is said to have shut p. 2C8.
 
 THE DELUGE. 
 
 29 
 
 Some may suppose that this is dating tlie history of mau to j far 
 bad:, making his history too remote ; bat such is not the case. 
 There is every reason to believe that man existed for ages before the 
 Glacial epoch. It must not be supposed that we have yet found 
 remains of the earliest human beings ; there is evidence, however, 
 that man existed during the Pliocene, if not during the Miocene 
 periods, when hoofed quadrupeds, and Proboscidians abounded, 
 human remains and implements having been found mingled with 
 remains of these animals.' 
 
 Charles Darwin believed that the animal called man, might have 
 been properly called by that name at an epoch as remote as the 
 Eocene period." Man had probably lost his hairy covering by that 
 time, and had begun to look human. 
 
 Prof. Draper, speaking of the antiquity of man, says : 
 
 " So far as investigations have goae, ttiey indisputubly refer the esistence of 
 man to a date remoto from us by many hundreiU of ihoumivU of years," and that, 
 " it is difficult to assign a shorter date from the last glaciation of Europe than a 
 quarter of a million of years, and human existence antedates that."^ 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 " Recent researches give reason to believe that, under low and base grades, 
 the existence of man can be traced back into the Tertiary times. He was con- 
 temporary with the Southern Elephant, the RUinoceros-leptorhinus, the great 
 Uippopotamus, perhaps even in the Miocene, contemporary with the Mastodon. "■■ 
 
 member of an order no longer represented in 
 that part of the world." (Herbert Spencer : 
 Principles of Sociology, vol. i. p. 17.) 
 
 1 " In America, along with the bones of the 
 Jfuitodoii imbedded in tlie allnvium of the 
 Bourben&e. were found arrow head.-; and other 
 traces of the savages who had killed this 
 
 ' Darwin : Descent of Man, p. 1 jO. We think it may not be oat of place to insert here what 
 might properly be called : " T/ie Drama of Life," which is as follows : 
 Azoic : Conflict of Inorganic Forces. 
 Paleozoic : Age of Invertebrates. 
 Scene i. Eozoic : Enter Protozoans and Protophytes. 
 " ii. SUorian : Enter the Army of Invertebrates. 
 '* iii. Devonian : Enter Fishes. 
 
 " iv. Carboniferous: (Age of Coal Plants i Enter First .tir breathers. 
 Mesozoic : Enter Reptiles. 
 Triaesic : Enter Batrachians. 
 
 Jurassic ; Enter huge Reptiles of Sea, Land and Air. 
 Cretaceous : (Age of Chalk) Enter Ammonites. 
 Cenozoic : (Age of Mammals.) 
 
 Eocene : Enter Marine Mammals, and probably Man. 
 Miocene : Enter Hoofed Quadrupeds. 
 Pliocene : Enter Proboscidiaua and Edentates. 
 Post Tertiary ; Positive Age of Man. 
 Glacial : Ice and Drift Periods, 
 ii. Champlain : Sinking Continents ; Wanner; Tropical Animals go Sortk. 
 iii. Terrace : Rising Continents ; Colder, 
 iv. Present : Enter Science, IconocLisls, &c.. &c. 
 
 Act i. 
 Act ii. 
 
 Primary. , 
 
 Act iii. 
 
 {Scene i. 
 ii. 
 " "'■ 
 Act IV. 
 
 {Scene i. 
 " ii. 
 " i"- 
 
 ACtT. 
 
 C Scene i. 
 Post Tertiary. ■( 
 
 • Draper : Religion and Science, p. 199. 
 
 I Ibid. pp. 19.-), 196.
 
 90 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Prof. Huxley closes his " Evidence a« to Man's Place in Nature," 
 by saying : 
 
 "Where must we look for primeval man? Was the oldest Homo Sapient 
 Pliocene or Miocene, or j/ei more ancient* ... If any form of the doctrine 
 of progressive development is correct, voe must extend by long epochs Ifte most lib- 
 eral estimate tluit lias yet been m/ide of the antiquity of man."' 
 
 Prof. Oscar Paschel, in his work on " Mankind," speaking of 
 the deposits of human remains which have been discovered in 
 caves, mingled with the bones of wild animals, says : 
 
 " The examination of one of these caves at Brixham, by a geologist as trust- 
 worthy as Dr. Falconer, convinced the specialists of Great Britain, as early as 
 1858, that man was a contemporary of the Mammoth, the Woolly Rhinoceros, 
 the Cave-lion, the Cave-hyena, the Cave-bear, and tlwrefore of tlie MammaUa of 
 the Oeological 2^ervod antecedent to ourown."^ 
 
 The positive evidence of man's existence during the Tertiary 
 period, are facts whicli must firmly convince every one— who is 
 willing to be convinced — of the great antiquity of man. We might 
 multiply our authorities, but deem it unnecessary. 
 
 The observation of shells, corals, and other remains of aquatic 
 animals, in places above the level of the sea, and even on high 
 mountains, may have given rise to legends of a great flood. 
 
 Fossils found imbedded in high ground have been appealed to, 
 both in ancient and modern times, both by savage and civilized 
 man, as evidence in support of their traditions of a flood ; and, more- 
 over, the argument, apparently unconnected with any tradition, is 
 to be found, that because there are marine fossils in places away 
 from the sea, therefore the sea must mice have been there. 
 
 It is only quite recently that tlie presence of fossil shells, &c., 
 on high mountains, has been abandoned as evidence of the 
 Noachic flood. 
 
 Mr. Tylor tells us that in the ninth edition of '' Home's Intro- 
 duction to the Scriptures," published in 1846, the evidence of fossils 
 is confidently held, to jprove the universality of the Deluge ; hut the 
 argument disapjpears from the next edition, published ten years 
 later.' 
 
 Besides fossil remains of aquatic animals, Joatehave been found 
 on tops of mountains.' A discovery of this kind may have given 
 rise to the story of an arh having been made in which to preserve 
 the favored ones from the waters, and of its landing on a mountain.' 
 
 ^ HoiJey ; Man's Place in Nature, p. 184. * We know that many legends have origin* 
 
 2 Paschel : Races of Man, p. 30. ated in this way. For example, Dr. Robin?on, 
 
 'Tylor: Early History of Mankind, p. a38. in his "Travels in Pak'stiue " (ii. 5S6i, men- 
 
 * Ibid. pp. 329, 330 tions a ".radition that a city had once stood in a
 
 THE DELUGE. 31 
 
 Before closing this chapter, it may be well to notice a striking 
 mcident in the legend we have been treating, /. e., the frequent oc- 
 currence of the number seven in the narrative. For instance : the 
 Lord commands Noah to take into the ark clean beasts by sevens, 
 and fowls also by sevens, and tells him that in seven days he will 
 cause it to rain upon the earth. We are also tuld that the ark 
 rested in the seventh month, and the seventeenth day of the month, 
 upon the mountains of Ararat. After sending the dove out of the 
 ark the first time, Noah waited seven days before sending it out 
 again. After sending the dove out the second time, " he stayed yet 
 another seven days" ere he again sent forth the dove. 
 
 This coincidence arises from the mystic power attached to the 
 number seven, derived from its frequent occurrence in astrology. 
 
 We find that in all religions of antiquity the number seven — 
 which applied to the sun, moon and the five planets known to the 
 ancients — is a sacred numher, represented in all kinds and sorts of 
 forms ;' for instance : The candlestick with seven branches in tlie 
 temple of Jerusalem. The seven inclosures of the temple. The 
 seven doors of the cave of Mithras. The seven stories of tne lower 
 of Babylon." The seven gates of Thebes.' Tiie flute of sewH. pipes 
 generally put into the hand of the god Pan. The lyre of seven 
 strings touched by Apollo. The book of " Pate," composed of sevtn 
 books. The seven prophetic rings of the Brahmans.' The seven 
 stones — consecrated to the seven planets — in Laconia.' The division 
 into seven castes adopted by the Egyptians and Indians. The seven 
 idols of the Bonzes. The seveii altars of the monument of Mithras. 
 The seven great spirits invoked by the Persians. The seven arch- 
 angels of the Chaldeans. The seven archangels of the Jews.' 
 
 desert between Petra and Hebron, the people of selves." (Related by Mr. Tylor, in his " Early 
 
 which had perished for their vices, and been History of Mankind,'^ p. -iltj. t 
 converted into stone. Mr. Seetzen, who went ^ "Everything of importance was calculated 
 
 to the spot, found no traces cf rains, but a by, and fitted into, this numher (seven) by the 
 
 number of stony concretions, resembling in Aryan philosophers.— ideas as well as locali- 
 
 form and size the human head. Theyhadbeen ties." Usis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 407.) 
 ignorantly supposed to be petrified heads, and a ^ Each one lieing consecrated to a j}lanet. 
 
 legend framed to account /or their ou-ners suf- First, to Saturn ; second, to Jupiter; third, lo 
 
 firing so terrible a fate. Another illnstration Mars; fourth, to the Sun; fifth, to Venus; 
 
 is as follows : — The Kamchadals believe that sixth, to Mercury ; seventh, to the Moon, 
 
 volcanic mountains are the abode of devils, (The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 269. See 
 
 who, after they have cooked their meals, fling also The .\ugcl Messiah, p. 100.) 
 the fire-brands out of the chimney. Being 3 gach of wiiich had the name of a p/onf^ 
 
 asked what these devils eat, they said " uihales." ' On each of which the name of & planet wat 
 
 Here we see, ^r^^ a story invented to account engraved. 
 
 for the volcanic eruptions from the mountains ; * " There was to be seen in Laconia, ^^ren 
 
 and, second, a story invented to account for the columns erected in honor of the ^eoen lUanetf.'* 
 
 remain.! of whales found on the mountains. The (Dupuis : Origin of Rcligior.s Belief, p. S4.) 
 savages A-n^w that this was true, " because their « " The -Jews beheved that the Throne of 
 
 old people had said so, and believed it tbem- Jehovah was surrounded by his seven hi^h
 
 •32 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The seven days in the week.' Tlie seve7i sacj-aments of the Cliris- 
 tians. The seven wicked spirits of the Babylonians. The sprinkling 
 of blood seven times upon the altars of the Egyptians. The seven 
 mortal sins of the Egyptians. The hymn of seven vowels chanted 
 by the Egyptian priests.'' The seven branches of the Assyrian 
 " Tree of Life." Agni, the the Hindoo god, is represented with 
 seven arms. Sura's' horse was represented with seven heads. 
 jSeven churches are spoken of in the Apocalypse. Balaam builded 
 seven altars, and offered seven bullocks and seven rams on each 
 altar. Pharaoh Siiw seven kine, &c., in his dream. The " Priest of 
 Midian " had seven daughters. Jacob served seven years. Before 
 Jericho seven priests bare seven horns. Samson was bound witii 
 seven green withes, and his marriage feast lasted seven days, &c., 
 &C. We might continue with as nmcli more, but enough has 
 been shown to verify the statement that, "in all religions of anti- 
 quity, tlie number seven is a sacred number." 
 
 chiefs : Gabriel, Michael, llaphael, Uriel, &c." Venus. Saturday, sacred to Satukn. " The 
 
 (Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 40.) (ancient) Kgyptians assigned a day of the week 
 
 ' Kacli one being consecrated to a planet, to the sun, moon, and live planets, and the 
 
 and the Sun and Moon. Sunday, " Vies Solu," number seven was held there in great rever 
 
 sacred to the stra. Monday, "DiesLunae," ence." (Kenrick : Egypt, i. 238.) 
 sacred to the moon. Tuesday, sacred to Tuiso " " The Egyptian priests chanted the leven 
 
 or Mabs. Wednesday, sacred to Odin or vowels as a hymn addressed to Serapie." (The 
 
 Woden, and to lyiBBCtjRT. Thursday, sacred to Kosiirucians, p. 143.) 
 Thor and others. Friday, eacred to Freia and ' liura : the San-god of the Hindoo*.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE TOWEE OF BABEL. 
 
 We are informed that, at one time, " the whole earth was of 
 one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as thej 
 (the inhabitants of the earth) journeyed from the East, that they 
 found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 
 
 " And they said one to another. Go to, let us make brick, and 
 burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime 
 had they for mortar. 
 
 " And they said. Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, wJwse 
 top may reach ^mto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest we be 
 scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord 
 came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of 
 men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and 
 they have all one language ; and this they begin to do : and now 
 nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined 
 to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, 
 that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord 
 scattered them abroad from tlience upon the face of all the earth : 
 and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it 
 called Bahel, because the Lord did there confound the language of 
 all the earth ; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad 
 upon the face of all the earth.'" 
 
 Such is the " Scripture" account of the origin of languages, 
 which differs somewhat from the ideas of Prof. Max Miiller and 
 other philologists. 
 
 Bishop Colenso tells us that : 
 
 "The story of the dispensation of tongues is connected by the Jehovistic 
 writer with the famous unfinished temple of Belus, of which probably some 
 wonderful reports had reached him. . . . The derivation of the name Snbel 
 from the Hebrew word babal (confound) which seems to be the connecting point 
 between the story and the tower of Babel, is altogether incorrect.'"' 
 
 ' Geneeisxi. 1-9. ' The Peotatench Examined, vol. iv. p. 368. 
 
 8 [83]
 
 34 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The literal meauing of tim word being house, or cou7-t, or gate 
 ot Eel, or gate of God.' 
 
 John Fiske conlirins this statement by saying : 
 
 •' Th« name • Bubel ' is ie;illy ' Bab-il,' or ' The Gate of God ;' but the Hebrew 
 writer erroheoudy derives the word from tlie root 'babul' — to confuse— and 
 beuce arises the mystical explanation, that Babel was a place where human speech 
 became contused."' 
 
 The " wonderful reports" that reached the Jehovistie writer 
 ■who inserted this tale into the Hebrew Scriptnres, were from the 
 Chaldean account of the confusion of tongues, it is related by 
 Herosus as follows : 
 
 The tirst inhabitants of the earth, glorying in their strength and 
 size,' and despising the gods, undertook to raise a tower whose top 
 should reach the sky, in the place where Babylon now stands. But 
 when it approached the heavens, the winds assisted the gods, and 
 overthrew the work of the contrivers, and also introduced a diver- 
 sity of tongues among men, who till that time had all spoken the 
 same language. The ruins of this tower are said to be still in 
 Babylon.* 
 
 Josephus, the Jewish historian, says that it was Nimrod who 
 built the tower, that he was a very wicked man, and that the tower 
 was built in case the Lord should have a mind to drown the world 
 again. He continues his account by saying that \vheu Ninn-od 
 proposed the building of this tower, the multitude were very ready 
 to follow the proposition, as they could tlien avenge them.seives on 
 God for destroying their forefatiiers. 
 
 ■' And they built a tower, neither sparing any pains nor beinjr in any degree 
 negligent about the work. Anil by reason of the inultiliule of hands employed 
 
 on it, it grew very high, sooner tluin any one could expect It was 
 
 built of burnt brick, cemented together, with mortar made of bitumen, that it 
 might not be liable to admit water. When God saw that thej' had acted so 
 madly, he did not resolve to destroy them utterly, siaee they vere not gruitn wiser 
 by the destruction of tlie former sinners, but he caused a tumult among them, by 
 producing in them divers languages, and causing, that through the multitude of 
 those languages they should not be able to luulerstand one another. The place 
 where they built the tower is now called Babj'lon."-' 
 
 The tower in Babyloniti, wliich seems to have been a foundation 
 for the legend of the confusion of tongues to be Iniilt upon, was 
 
 1 Ihid. p. 268. See also Bible for Lcamtrs, < Quoted by Eev. S. Baring-Gould : Logonds 
 
 vol. i. p. 90. of tlK- rutviarclis, p. ]4T. Sec also Smith ; 
 
 'J MyttiB and Myth-maliera, p. 72. See also Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 4S, and Vol- 
 
 EncyclopEcdia Biitannica, art. " Babel." ncy's Eusearches in Ancient History, pp. 130, 
 
 3 "Tlioie wer: giants in the earth in those 131. 
 days." (0«ne$is ri. i.) ' Jewish Antiquities, bojk 1, eh. iv. p. 30.
 
 THE TOWES OF BABEL. 35 
 
 evidently originally built for astronomical purposes.^ This is 
 clearly seen from the fact that it was called the *' Stages of the 
 Seven Spheres,"' and that each one of these stages was consecrated 
 to the Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury.' 
 Nebuchadnezzar says of it in his cylinders : 
 
 " The building named the ' Stages of the Seven Spheres,' which was the tower 
 of Borsippa (Babel), had been built b^' a former king. He had completed forty- 
 two cubits, but be did not iinish its head. From the lapse of time, it bad become 
 ruined; they had not taken care of the exits of the waters, so the rain and 
 wet had penetrated into the brick-work; the casing of burnt brick had bulged 
 out, and the terraces of crude brick lay scattered in heaps. ^Merobach, my great 
 Lord, inclined my heart to repair the building. I did not change its site, nor 
 did I destroy its foundation, but, in a fortunate mouth, and upon an auspicious 
 day, I undertook the rebuilding of the crude brick terraces and burnt brick 
 casing, &c., &c."* 
 
 There is not a word said liere in these cylinders about the con- 
 fusion of tongues, nor anything pertaining to it. The ruins of this 
 ancient tower being there in Babylonia, and a legend of how the 
 gods confused the speech of mankind also being among them, it 
 was very convenient to point to these ruins as evidence that the 
 story was true, just as the ancient Mexicans pointed to the ruins of 
 the tower of Cholula, as evidence of the truth of the similar story 
 which they had among them, and just as many nations pointed to 
 the remains of aquatic animals on the tops of mountains, as evidence 
 of the truth of the deluge story. 
 
 The Arineniam, tradition of the " Confusion of Tongues " was 
 to this effect : 
 
 The world was formerly inhabited by men " with strong bodies 
 and huge size " (giants). These men being full of pride and envy, 
 " they formed a godless resolve to build a high tower ; but whilst 
 they were engaged on the undertaking, a fearful wind overthrew it, 
 which the wrath of God had sent against it. Unknoivn vjords 
 were at the same time blown about amo/uj men, wherefore arose 
 strife and confusion.'" 
 
 The Hindoo legend of the " Confusion of Tongues," is as follows : 
 
 There grew in the centre of the earth, the wonderful " World 
 
 1 " Dlodorns states that the great tower of seven stages. Within the upper dwelt Brahm. 
 
 the temple of Belus was need by the Chaldeans (See Sqnire's Serpent Symbol, p. 107.) Ucro- 
 
 ae an observatory." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, dotus tells us that the upper stage of the tower 
 
 art. " Babel.") of Babel was the abode of the god Belus. 
 
 * The Hindoos had a sacred Mount Men/, s The Pentateuch Esarained, vol. iv. p. 
 
 the abode of the gods. This mountain was 2C9. See also Bmisen : The Angel Messiah, p. 
 
 supposed to consist of seve7i stages, increasing 106. 
 
 in feanctity as they ascended. Many of the * Kawlinsoo's Herodotus, vol. ii. p. 4fti. 
 
 Hindoo temples, or rather altars, were "studied » Legends of the Patriarchs, pp. 148, 149. 
 
 transcripts of the sucred Mount Meru ;" that 
 is, they were built, like the tower of Babel, in
 
 36 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 TV-ee," or the " Knmolcdge Tree.''' It was so tall that it reached 
 almost to heaven. " It said in its heart : ' I shall hold my head in 
 heaven, and spread my branches over all the earth, and gather all 
 men together under my shadow, and protect them, and prevent 
 them from separating.' But Brahma, to punish the pride of the 
 tree, cut off its branches and cast them down on the earth, when 
 they sprang up as Wata trees, and made differences of belief, and 
 speech, and customs, to prevail on the earth, to disperse men over 
 its surface.'" 
 
 Traces of a somewhat similar story have also been met with 
 among the Mongolian Tharus in the north of India, and, according to 
 Dr. Livingston, among the Africans of \j<k^Q Nganu.'' The ancient 
 Estlioniani had a similar mytli which they called "The Cooking 
 of Languages ;" so also had the ancient inhabitants of the continent 
 of Australia.^ The story was found among the ancient Mexicans, 
 and was related as follows : 
 
 Those, with their descendants, who were saved from the deluge 
 which destroyed all mankind, excepting the few saved in the ark, 
 resolved to build a tower which would reach to the skies. The ob- 
 ject of this was to see what was going on in Heaven, and also to 
 have a place of refuge in case of another deluge." 
 
 The job was superintended by one of the seven who were saved 
 from the flood." He was a giant called Xelhua, surnamed " the 
 Architect.'" 
 
 Xelhua ordered bricks to be made in the province of Tlamanalco, 
 at the foot of the Sierra of Cocotl, and to be conveyed to Cholula, 
 where the tower was to be built. For this purpose, he placed a file 
 of men reaching from the Sierra to Cholula, who passed the bricks 
 from hand to hand.' The gods beheld with wrath this edifice, — 
 the top of which was neariug the clouds, — and were much irritated 
 at the daring attempt of Xelhua. They therefore hurled fire from 
 Heaven upon the pyramid, which threw it down, and killed many 
 of the workmen. The work was then discontinued," as each family 
 interested in the building of the tower, received a language of their 
 <ywn,'° and the builders could not understand each other. 
 
 1 Ibid. p. 148. The ancient Scandinavians * Eiicycloptedia Britannica, art. "Babel." 
 
 had a legend of a eomewhat similar tree. " The » niggins ; Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 27. 
 
 Mundane Tree," called Tggdrasill. waa in the • Brinton : Myths of the New World, p. 
 
 centre of the earth ; its branches covered over 204. 
 
 the surface of the earth, and its top reached to ' Humboldt : American Researches, vol. L 
 
 the highest heaven. (See Mallet's Northern p. 96. 
 
 Antiqaitles.) ' Ujid. 
 
 > Encyclopaedia Britannica, art. " Babel." ' Ibid, and Brinton : Myths of the New 
 
 » Esthonia is one of the three Baltic, or so- World, p. 204. 
 
 called, provinces of Buesia. "■ The Pentateuch Examined, vol. iv. p. 272.
 
 THE TOWKB OF BABEL. 37 
 
 Dr. Delitzsch must liave been astonished upon coming across 
 
 this legend ; for he says : 
 
 '• Actually the Mexicans li.id a legend of a tower-building as well as of a flood. 
 Xelhiia, one of the .':fven giants rescued from the flood, built the great pyramid 
 of C'lioliila, in order to reach heaven, until the gods, angry at his audacity, 
 tlirew lire upon the building and broke it down, whereupon every separate 
 family received a language of its own."' 
 
 Tiie ancient Mexicans pointed to the ruins of a tower at Chohila 
 as evidence of the truth of their story. This tower was seen by 
 Humboldt and Lord Kingsborough, and described by them." 
 
 We may say then, with Dr. Kalisch, that : 
 
 "Most of the ancient nations possessed myths concerning impious giants 
 who attempted to storm heaven, either to share it with the immortal gods, or to 
 expel tliem from it. In some of these fables tfw, mnfusion of tongues is represented 
 as the punishment inflicted by the deities for such wickedness."^ 
 
 'Quoted by Bishop Colenso: The Penia- p. 97. Lord Kingsborough: Mexican Antiqui- 
 tench Examined, vol. iv, p. 272. ties. 
 
 'Humboldt: .American Researches, vol. 1. ' Com. on Old Test. vol. i. p. 196.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH. 
 
 The story of tlie trial of Abraham's faith — when he is ordered 
 by the Lord to sacrifice his only son Isaac — is to be found in Genesis 
 xxii, 1-19, and is as follows : 
 
 " And it came to pass . . . that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto 
 him: ' Abraham,' and he said: 'Behold, here I am.' And he (God) said: ' Take 
 now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land 
 of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon oue of the mountains 
 which I will tell thee of.' 
 
 "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took 
 two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the 
 burnt offering, and rose up aod went into the place which God had told him. 
 . . . (When Abraham was near the appointed place) he said unto his 3'oung 
 men: ' Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, 
 and come again to thee. And Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering, 
 and laid it upon (the shoulders of) Isaac his son, and he took the lire in his hand, 
 and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto 
 Abraham his father, and said: ' Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the 
 lamb for the burnt offering ? ' And Abraham said : ' jMy son, God will provide 
 himself a lamb for a burnt offering.' So they went both of them together, and 
 they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar 
 there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on 
 the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the 
 knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, 
 and said : ' Abraham ! Abraham ! laj' not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou 
 anything unto him, for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast 
 not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.' 
 
 "And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram 
 caught in a thicket by his horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, and 
 offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. . . . And the 
 angel of the Lord called unto Abraham, out of heaven, the second time, and said: 
 ' By myself have I sworn saith liie Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, 
 and hast not withheld thy son. thine only son, ... I will bless thee, and 
 . . . I will multiply thy seed as the stars in the heaven, and .as the sand 
 which is upon the sea shore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. 
 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the eartli be blest, because thou hast 
 obeyed my voice.' So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up 
 and went together to Beer-sheba, and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba." 
 
 [38]
 
 THE TRIAL OK ABRAHAM'S KAITH. 39 
 
 There is a Hindoo story related in the Sankliayaiia-sutras, 
 which, iu substance, is as follows : Kin<; Ilariscandra liad no son ; 
 ha then prayed to Varuna, promising, tliat it a son were horn to 
 him, lie would sacrilice the child to the god. Then a son was horn 
 to him, called Rohita. When Rohita was grown up his father one 
 day told him of the vow he had made to Varuna, and hade him 
 prepare to be sacriiieed. The son objected to being killed and ran 
 away from his father's house. For six years he wandered in the 
 forest, and at last met a starving Brahman. ITim he persuaded to 
 sell one of his sons named Sunahsepha, for a hundred cows. This 
 hoy was bought by Rohita and taken to Ilariscandi'a and about to 
 be sacriiieed to Varuna as a substitute for Rohita, when, on praying 
 to the gods with verses from the Veda, he was released by tliem.' 
 
 There was an ancient Plienician story, written by Sanchoniathon, 
 who wrote about 1300 years before our era, which is as follows : 
 
 "Saturn, whom the Phojnicians call Israel, had hy a nymph of the country a 
 mak chilli whiiin he named .Tcoud, that is, one and only. On the breaking out of 
 a war, whicli bi'ou^ijht the countr}' iiilo imminent danger, Saturn erected an altar, 
 brought to it his son, clothed in royal garments, and sacrificed him."- 
 
 There is also a Grecian fable to the effect that one Agamemnon 
 had a daughter whom he dearly loved, and she was deserving of 
 his affection. He was commanded by God, through the Delphic 
 Oracle, to offer her up as a sacrifice. Her father long resisted the 
 demand, but finally sticcnmbed. Before the fatal blow had been 
 struck, however, the goddess Artemis or Ashtoreth interfered, and 
 carried the maiden away, whilst in her place was substituted a stag.' 
 
 Another similar Grecian fable relates that : 
 
 "When the Greek army was detained at Aulis, by contrary winds, Ihe augurs 
 being consulted, declared that one of the kings had offended Diana, and she 
 demanded the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigenia. It was like taking the father's 
 life-blood, but he was persuaded that it was his duty to submit for the good of 
 his country. The maiden was brought forth for sacrifice, in spite of her tears 
 and supplications; but just as the priest was about to strike the fatal blow, 
 Iphigenia suddenly disappeared, and a goat of uncommon beauty stood in her 
 place. "■■ 
 
 There is yet still tmother, which belongs to the same countiy. 
 and is related thus : 
 
 " In Sparta, it being declared upon one occasion that the gods demanded a 
 human victim, the choice was made by lot. and fell on a damsel named Helena. 
 
 ' See Muller's nist. Sanscrit Literature; and ^ See Inman'e Ancient FaiLlia, vol. ii. p. 
 
 Williarae' Indian Wisdom, p. 29. 10^. 
 
 "Quoted by Count de Volney: New Ke- < Prog. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 303. 
 
 aearclies in Anc't Hist., p. 144.
 
 40 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 But when all was in readiness, an eagle descended, carried away the priest's 
 knife, and laid it on the head of a heifer, which was sacrificed in her stead."' 
 
 The story of Abraham and Isaac was written at a time when the 
 Mosaic party in Israel was endeavoring to abolish idolatry among 
 their people. They were offering up human sacrifices to their 
 gods Moloch, Baal, and Cheraosh, and the priestly author of tJiis 
 story was trying to make the people think that the Lord had abol- 
 ished such offerings, as far back as the time of Abraham. The 
 Grecian legends, wliich he had evidently heard, may have given 
 iiim the idea.' 
 
 Human offerings to the gods were at one time almost universal. 
 In the earliest ages the offerings were simple, and such as shepherds 
 and rustics could present. They loaded the altars of the gods with 
 the first fruits of their crops, and the choicest products of the earth. 
 Afterwards they sacrificed animals. When they had once laid it 
 down as a principle that the effusion of the blood of these animals 
 appeased the anger of the gods, and that their justice turned aside 
 upon the victims those strokes which were destined for men, their 
 great care was for nothing more than to conciliate their favor by 
 80 easy a method. It is the nature of violent desires and excessive 
 fear to know no bounds, and therefore, when they would ask for aiiy 
 favor which they ardently wished for, or would deprecate some 
 public calamity which they feared, the blood of animals was not 
 deemed a price sufficient, but they began to shed that of men. It 
 is probable, as we have said, that this barbarous practice was formerly 
 almost universal, and that it is of very remote antiquity. In time of 
 war the captives were chosen for this purpose, Irat in time of peace 
 they took the slaves. The choice was partly regulated by the opinion 
 of the bystanders, and partly by lot. But they did not always sacrifice 
 such mean persons. In great calamities, in a pressing famine, for 
 example, if the people thought they bad some pretext to impute 
 the cause of it to their Mng, they even sacrificed liim without 
 hesitation, as the higliest price with which they could purchase the 
 Divine favor. In this manner, the first King of Vermaland (a 
 province of Sweden) was burnt in honor of Odin, the Supreme 
 God, to put an end to a great dearth ; as we read in the history of 
 Norway. The kings, in their turn, did not spare the blood of their 
 subjects; and many ©f them even shed that of their children. 
 Earl Ilakon, of Norway, offered his son in sacrifice, to obtain of 
 Odin the victory over the Jomsburg pirates. Aun, King of Sweden, 
 
 > Ibid. > See chapter zL
 
 , TUE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH. 41 
 
 devoted to Odin the blood of his nine sons, to prevail on that god 
 to prolong his life. Some of the kings of Israel offered up their 
 first-born sons as a sacrifice to the god Baal or Moloch. 
 
 The altar of Moloch reeked with blood. Children were sacri- 
 ficed and burned in the fire to him, wliile trumpets and flutes 
 drowned their screams, and the mothers looked on, and were bound 
 to restrain their tears. 
 
 The Phenicians offered to the gods, in times of war and drought, 
 the fairest of their children. The books of Sanchoniathou and 
 Byblian Philo are full of accounts of such sacrifices. In Byblos 
 boys were immolated to Adonis ; and, on the founding of a city or 
 colony, a sacrifice of a vast number of children was solemnized, in 
 the hopes of thereby averting misfortune from the new settlement. 
 The Phenicians, according to Eusebius, yearly sacrificed their 
 dearest, and even their only children, to Saturn. The bones of the 
 victims were preserved in the temple of Moloch, in a golden ark, 
 which was carried by the Phenicians with them to war.' Like the 
 Fijians of the present day, those people considered their gods as 
 beings like themselves. They loved and they hated ; they were 
 proud and revengeful, they were, in fact, savages like themselves. 
 
 If the eldest born of the family of Athamas entered the temple 
 of the Laphystian Jupiter, at Alos, in Achaia, he was sacrificed, 
 crowned with garlands, hke an animal victim.'' 
 
 The offering of human sacrifices to the Sun was extensively 
 practiced in Mexico and Peru, before the estabHshment of Chris- 
 tianity.' 
 
 1 Baring-Gonld : Orig. Belif . Belief, toI. i. > Kenrick's EgTpt, vol. i. p. 443. 
 
 t>. 366. > Sea Acosta : HUL Indies, Tol. li.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Jacob's vision of the ladder. 
 
 In the 28th chapter of Genesis, we are told that Isaac, after 
 blesshig his son Jacob, sent iiim to Piidan-aram, to take a daughter 
 of Laban's (his mother's brother) to wife. Jacob, obeying his 
 fatlier, '' went ont from Beer-sheba (wliere he dwelt), and went 
 towards Ilaran. And lie lighted upon a certain place, and tarried 
 tliere all uight, because the sun w;is set. And lie took of the 
 stones of the place, and put them for his jjillow, and lay down in 
 that place to sleep. And lie dreaiueil, and behold, a ladder set npon 
 the earth, and the to]) of it reached to heaven. And lie helteld tlte 
 angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the 
 Lord stood above it, and said : ' I am the Lord God of Abraham 
 th}' father, and the God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest, to 
 thee will I give it, and to thy seed.' .... And Jacob 
 awoke out of his sleep, and he said : ' Surely the Lord is in this 
 place, and I know it not.' And he was afraid, and said : ' How 
 dreadful is this place, this is none other than the house of God, 
 and this is the gate of Heaven.^ And Jacob rose up early in the 
 morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set 
 it up for a pillar, and, poured oil upon the top of it. And he 
 called tiie name of that place Beth-elP 
 
 The doctrine of Metempsychosis has evidently something to 
 do with this legend. It means, in the theological acceptation of 
 the term, the supposed transition of the soul after death, into 
 another substance or body than that which it occupied before. The 
 belief in such a transition was common to the most civilized, and 
 the most uncivilized, nations of the earth.' 
 
 It was believed in, and taught by, the Brahminical Hindoos* 
 the Buddhists' the natives of Egypt* several philosophei-s of 
 
 ' See Chambers's EDCyclo., art. " Tranemi- ' ibjd. Ernesl de Bansen says : " The first 
 
 gration." traces of the dontxine of Transmi^ation of 
 
 3 Chatnbers's Encyclo., art. *' Tranemigra- eouls id to be found among the Brahmins and 
 
 tlon." Prichard's Mythology, p, 213. and Prog. Buddhists." (The Angel Messiah, pp. 63, 64.) 
 Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 59. • Prichard's Mythology, pp. 213, 214. 
 
 [42]
 
 Jacob's vision of the laddkr. 43 
 
 ancient Greece^ the ancient Druids' the natives of Madagascar* 
 sevenil tribes of Africa* and North America,^ tlie ancient Mexi 
 cans' and by some Jewish and Christian sects.' 
 
 '• It deser%'es notice, that in both of these religions (('. c, Jeaiish and Christian), 
 it found adherents as well in ancient as in modern times. Among the <7f!M, the 
 doctrine of transmigration — the Gilgul Neshamoth— was taught in the mystical 
 system of the Kahhala."^ 
 
 ■'All the souls," the spiritual code of this system say.s, "are subject to the 
 trials of transmigration; and men do not know which are the ways of the Most 
 High in their regard." "The principle, in short, of the Kabbala, is the same as 
 that of Brahmanism." 
 
 " On t lie ground of this doctrine, which wa^ shared in by Rabbis of the highest 
 renown, it was held, for instance, that the s-oul of Adam migrated into David, 
 and will come in the Met^xiaii ; that the soul of Janhet is the same as that of 
 Simeon, and the soul of Ternli, migiated into Job." 
 
 "Or all these transmigrations, biblical instances are adduced according to 
 their mode of interpretation — in the writings of Rabbi Manasse ben Israel, Rabbi 
 JS'aphtali, Rabbi Meyer ben Gabbai, Rabbi Rubou, in the Jalkut Khadash, and 
 other works of a similar character."^ 
 
 The doctrine is tlius described bv Ovid, in the language of 
 
 Dryden : 
 
 " What feels the body when the soul expires, 
 By time cornipted, or consumed by fires ? 
 Nor dies the spirit, but new Ufa repeats 
 Into other forms, and only changes seats. 
 Ev'n I, who these mysterious truths declare. 
 Was once Euphorbus in the Trojan war; 
 lly name and lineage 1 remember well, 
 And how iu fight by Spartan's King I fell. 
 In Argive Juno's fane 1 late beheld 
 My buckler hung on high, and own'd my former shield 
 Then death, so called, is but old matter dressed 
 In some new figure, and a varied vest. 
 Thus all thiugs are but alter'd, nothing dies, 
 And here and there the unbodied spirit flies." 
 
 The Jews undoubtedly learned this doctrine after they had been 
 subdued by, and become acquainted with other nations ; and the 
 writer of this story, wlioever he may have been, was evidently 
 endeavoring to strengthen the belief in this doctrine — he being 
 an advocate of it — by inventing tliis story, and making Jaeob a 
 witness to the truth of it. ■ Jacob would have been looked upon at 
 the time the story was written (*' e., after the Babylonian captivity), 
 
 ' Gross : The Heathen ISeligion. Also ' Kid. See also Bansen : The Angsl-Mea- 
 
 Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Transmigration." siah, pp. 63, &4. Dupuis, p. 357. Josephus : 
 
 ' Il)i<l. ilallct'B Northern Antiquities, p. 13; Jewish Antiquities, booli xviii. ch. 13. Dan- 
 
 gnd Myths of the British Drnids, p. 13 lap : Son of the Man, p. 94 ; and Beat : Hist. 
 
 * Chambers's Encyclo. Buddha. 
 
 •Ibid. •Chambers, art. "Transmigration."
 
 44 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 as of great authority. We know that several writers of portions of 
 the Old Testament have written for similar purposes. As an illus- 
 tration, we may mention the book of Esther. Tliis book was written 
 for the purpose of explaining the origin of the festival of Purim., 
 and to encourage the Israelites to adopt it. The writer, who was 
 an advocate of the feast., lived long after the Babylonish captivity, 
 and is quite unknown.' 
 
 The writer of the seventeenth chapter of Matthew has made 
 Jesus a teacher of the doctrine of Transmigration. 
 
 The Lord had promised that he would send Elijah (Elias) the 
 prophet, " before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the 
 Lord,'" and Jesus is made to say that he had already come, or, that 
 his soul had transmigrated iinto the hody of John the Baptist, and 
 tliey knew it not. 
 
 And in Mark (viii. 27) we are told that Jesus asked his disciples, 
 saying unto them ; " Whom do men say that / am ?" whereupon 
 they answer: " Some say Elias ; and others, oue of the prophets;'' 
 or, in other words, that the soul of Elias, or one of the prophets, 
 had transmigrated into the body of Jesus. In John (ix. 1, 2), we are 
 told that Jesus and his disciples seeing a man " lohich was blind 
 from h/i-s hirth" the disciples asked him, saying ; " Master, who did 
 sin, this man (in some former state) or his parents." Being horn 
 blind, how else could he sin, unless in soine former state ? These 
 passages result from the fact, which we have already noticed, that 
 some of the Jewish and Christian sects believed in the doctrine of 
 Metempsycliosis. 
 
 According to some Jewish authors, Adam was re-produced in 
 Noah, Elijah, and other Bible celebrities.' 
 
 The Eev. Mr. Faber says : 
 
 "Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, might in outward nppearance be different 
 men, but they were really the self-same divine persons who had been promised as 
 the seed of the woman, suecessively animating various human bodies."^ 
 
 We have stated as our belief that the vision which the writer of 
 the twenty-eighth chapter of Genesis has made Jacob to witness, was 
 intended to strengthen the belief in the doctrine of the Metempsy- 
 chosis, that he was simply seeing the souls of men ascending and de- 
 cending from heaven on a ladder, during their transmigrations. 
 
 We will now give our reasons for thinking so. 
 
 The learned Thomas Maurice tells us that : 
 
 ' See The Religion of lersel, p. 18. * See Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 78. 
 
 ' Malachi iv. 5. • Faber : Orig. Pagan Idol, vol. iii. p. 812 ; 
 
 ■ Matthew i\)i. 13. 13. in Anacalypstg, vol. i. p. 210.
 
 JACOB'S VISION OF THE LADDER. 45 
 
 The Indians had, in remote ages, iu their system of theology, 
 the sidereal ladder of seven gates, which described, in a symholical 
 manner, the ascending and descending of the soids of men.' 
 
 We are also informed by Origeo that : 
 
 This descent (z. «., the descent of souls from heaven to enter into some body), 
 was described ina symbolical manner, by a ladder which was repreienled aareaching 
 from heaven to earth, and divided into set^en stages, at each of which was fijiured 
 a gate; the eighth gate was at the top of the ladder, which belonged to the sphere 
 of the celestial firmament.' 
 
 That souls dwell in the Galaxy was a thought familiar to the 
 Pythagoreans, who gave it on their master's word, that the souls 
 that crowd there, descend and appear to men as dreams' 
 
 The fancy of the Manicheans also transferred pure souls to this 
 column of light, whence they could co-me down to earth and again 
 return.* 
 
 Paintings representing a scene of this kind may be seen in works 
 of art illustrative of Indian Mythology. 
 
 Maurice speaks of one, in which he says : 
 
 " The souls of men are represented as ascending and descending (on a ladder), 
 according to the received opinion of the sidereal iietempsychosis in Asia."' 
 
 Mons. Dupuis tells us that : 
 
 "Among the mysterious pictures of the Initiation., in the cave of the Persian 
 God Mithras, there was exposed to the view th^ descent of the souls to ihe earth, 
 and tlieir return to heaven, through the seven planetary spheres."' 
 
 And Count de Volney says : 
 
 " In the cave of Mithra was a ladder with seven steps, representing the seven 
 spheres of the planets by means of which souls ascended and descended. This 
 is precisely the ladder of Jacob's vision. There is in the Royal Library (of 
 France) a superb volume of pictures of the Indian gods, in which the ladder is 
 represented with the souls of men ascending it."' 
 
 In several of the Egyptian sculptures also, the Transmigration 
 of Souls is represented by the ascending and descending of souls 
 from heaven to earth, on a flight of steps, and, as the souls of 
 wicked men were supposed to enter pigs and other animals, there- 
 fore pigs, monkeys, &c., are to be seen on tiie steps, descending from 
 heaven.' 
 
 " And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set vp on the earth, and the top of it 
 reached to heaven ; and bclioldthe angels of God ascending and descending on it." 
 
 ' Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 362. ' Indian Antiqities, vol. ii. \i. 2C2. 
 
 > Contra Celsns. lib. vi. c. iiii. * Dupuis: Origin ot Religions Beliefs, p. 344 
 
 ' Tyior: Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 384. ' Volncy's Ruins, p. 147, note. 
 
 * Ibid. ■ See Child's Prog Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 
 
 i«o. vji.
 
 46 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 Tliese are the words of the sacred text. Cau anything be aiore 
 convincing ? It continues thus : 
 
 " And Jacob awoke out of his sleep . . . and he was afraid, aad said 
 . . . this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of lieaven." 
 
 Here we have " the gate of heaven," mentioned by Origen in 
 describing the Metempsychosis. 
 
 According to the ancients, the top of this ladder was supposed 
 to reach the throne of the most high God. This corresponds exactly 
 -with the vision of Jacob. The ladder which he is made to see 
 reached unto heaven, and the Lord stood above it.' 
 
 "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that ho had 
 put for his pillow, and set it vpfor a pillar, and poured oil upon tlie top of it. '"' 
 
 This concluding portion to the story has evidently an allusion 
 to Phallic' worship. There is scarcely a nation of antiquity 
 which did not set up these stones (as emblems of the reproductive 
 power of nature) and worship them. Dr. Oort, speaking of this, 
 says : 
 
 Few forms of worship were so universal in ancient times as the 
 homage paid to sacred stones. In the history of the religion of even 
 the most civilized peoples, such as the Greeks, Romans, Hindoos, 
 Arabs and Germans, we find traces of this form of worship.' 
 The ancient Druids of Britain also worshiped sacred stones, which 
 were set up on end.'' 
 
 Pausanias, an eminent Greek historian, says : 
 
 "The if«rm!a<; statue, which they venerate in CyllenS above other symbols, 
 is an erect Phallus on a pedestal."' 
 
 This was nothing more than a smooth, oblong stone, set erect 
 on a flat one.' 
 
 The learned Dr. Ginsburg, in his " Life of Levita," alludes to 
 the ancient mode of worship offered to the heathen deity Hermes, 
 or Mercury. A " Hermes " {i. e., a stone) was frequently set 
 up on the road-side, and each traveller, as he passed by, paid liis 
 homage to the deity by either throwing a stone on the heap (which 
 was thus collected), or by anointing it. This "Hermes" was 
 the symbol of Phallus.' 
 
 ' Genesis xxviii. 12, 13. ' See Myths of the British Druids, p. 300; 
 
 2 Genesis xxviii. 18, 19. and Higgins: Celtic Drnids. 
 
 * " Phallic," from '* Phallus," a represeuta- « Quoted by R. Payne Knight: Ancient Ark 
 tion of the male generative organs. For further and Mythology, p. 114. note. 
 
 information on tliis subject, see the works of ' Sec Illustrations in Dr. Inman's Pagan 
 
 R. Payne Knight, and Dr. Thomas Inmiin. and Christian Symbolism. 
 
 * Bible for Learners, vol., i. pp. 175, 270. » See Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. i. pp. 
 See. also. Knight: Ancient Art and Mythology; 543. .'V14. 
 
 and Inroan: Ancient Faiths, vol. i. and ii.
 
 JACOBS VISION OF THE LADDER. 47 
 
 Now, when we find that this form of worship was very 
 prevalent among the Israelites^ that these sacred stones which 
 were " set up," were called (by the heathen), b.ett-li,' (which is 
 not unlike beth-el), and that they were anointed with oil' I 
 think we have reasons for believing that the story of Jacob's setting 
 up a stone, po%i,ring oil upon it, and calling the place Beth-el, '* has 
 evidently an allusion to Phallic worship.'" 
 
 The male and female powei-s of nature were denoted respect- 
 ively by an upriglit and an oval emblem, and the conjunction of 
 the two furnished at once the altar and the Ashera, or grove, 
 against which the Hebrew prophets lifted up their voices in earnest 
 protest. In the kingdoms, both of Judah and Israel, the rites 
 connected with these emblems assumed their most corrupting form. 
 Even in the temple itself, stood the Ashera, or the upright emblem, 
 on the circular altar of Baal-Peor, the Priapos of the Jews, thus 
 reproducing the Linga and Yoni of the Hindu.* For this sym- 
 bol, the women wove hangings, as the Athenian maidens embroid- 
 ered the sacred peplos for the ship presented to Athene, at the 
 great Dionysiac festival. This Ashera, which, in the authorized 
 English version of the Old Testament is translated '•'■grove^'' was, 
 in fact, a pole, or stem of a tree. It is reproduced in our modern 
 " Maypole," around which maidens dance, as maidens did of 
 yore.' 
 
 1 Bible for Leamere, vol. 1. pp. 177, 178, 317, generative organs among the ancienta, when 
 
 321, 322. the subject is properly understood. Being the 
 
 3 Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 356. most intimately connected with the reproduc- 
 
 ' Ibid. tion of life on earth, the Linga became the 
 
 * We read in Bell's " Pantheon of the Gods symbol under which the Sun, invoked wiih a 
 a*d Demi-Gods of Antiquity," under the head thousand names, has been worshiped through- 
 of Baelylion, Baeltlia, or Baettlos. that out the world as the restorer of the powers of 
 they are *' Anointed Stones, worshiped among nature after the long sleep or death of winter. 
 the Greeks, Phrygians, and other nations of But if the Linga is the Sun-god in his majesty, 
 the East;" that "these Baetylia were greatly the Fo.'ii is the earth who yields her fruit under 
 venerated by the ancient Heathen, many of his fertilizing warmth. 
 
 their idols being no other;" and that, " in re- The Phallic tree is introduced into the nar- 
 
 ality no sort of idol was more common in the rative of the book of Genesis : but it is here 
 
 East, than that of oblong stones erected, &n^ called a tree, not of life, but of the knowledge of 
 
 hence termed by the Greeks pillars." The good and evil, that knowledge which dawns ia 
 
 Rev. Geo. W. Cox, in his Aryan Mythology the mind with the first consciousness of ditler- 
 
 (vol. ii. p. 113), says: "The erection of these ence between man and woman. In contrast 
 
 stone columns or pillars, the forms of which in with this tree of carual indulgence, tending to 
 
 roost cases tell their own story, are common death, is the tree of life, denoting the higher 
 
 throughout the East, some of the most ela- existence for which man was designed, and 
 
 borate being found near Ghizni." And Mr. which would bring with it the happiness and 
 
 Wake (Phallism in Aucient Religions, p. 60), the freedom of the children of God. In the 
 
 says: "Kiyun, or Kivan, the name of the brazen serpent of the Pentateuch, the two 
 
 deity said by Amos (v. 26), to have been wor- emblems of the cross and serpent, the quies- 
 
 ehiped in the wilderness by the Hebrews, cent and energising Phallos. are united. (See 
 
 signifies God op the piixab." Cox: Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. pp. 113, 116, 
 
 * We find that there was nothing gross or im- 118.) 
 
 moral in the worship of the male and female ' See Cox : Aryan Mytho., ii. 113, 113.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE EXODUS FKOM EGYPT, AND PASSAGE THROUGH THE EED SEA. 
 
 The children of Israel, who were in bondage in Egypt, mak- 
 ing bricks, and working in the lield,' were looked upon with com- 
 passion by the Lord.' He heard their groaning, and remembered 
 his covenant with Abraham,' with Isaac, and with Jacob. He, 
 therefore, chose Moses (an Israelite, who had murdered an Egyp- 
 tian,* and who, therefore, was obliged to flee from Egypt, as Pharaoh 
 sought to punish him), as his servant, to carry out his plans. 
 
 Moses was at this time keeping the flock of Jeruth, his father- 
 in-law, in the land of Midian. The angel of the Lord, or the 
 Lord himself, appeared to him there, and said unto him : 
 
 " I am the God of thy Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and 
 the God of Jacob. ... I have seen the affliction of my p«opfe which are in 
 Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their tormentors; for I know their 
 sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, 
 and to bring them up out of that land into a good land and a large, unto a land 
 flowing with milk and honey. I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest 
 bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." 
 
 Then Moses said unto the Lord : 
 
 " Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, 
 the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say unto me : 
 What is his name ? What shall I say unto them ?" 
 
 Then God said unto Moses : 
 
 " I AM THAT I AM."' " Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am 
 hath sent me unto you."' 
 
 1 Exodus i. 14. nnderstood by all the initiated among the 
 
 ' Exodus ii. 24, 25. Egyptians." "The 'I am' of the Hebrews, 
 
 s See chapter i. and the ' I am ' of Ihe Egyptians are identical." 
 
 * Exodus ii. 12. CBunsen : Keys of St. Peter, p. 38.) The name 
 
 ^ The Egyptian name for God was '^ Nuk- "Jehovah,'^ which was adopted by the He 
 
 Pa-Nuk,^^ or " I am that I am." (Bonwick : brews, was a name esteemed sacred among the 
 
 Egyptian Belief, p. 395.) This name was found Egyptians. They called it Y-ha-ho, or Y-Am- 
 
 ■on a temple in Egypt. (Higgins • Anacalypsis, 
 
 vol. ii. p. 17.) " 'I am' was « Divine name • Eiodas iil. 1, 14. 
 
 [48]
 
 THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT. 49 
 
 And God said, moreover, unto Moses : 
 
 "Go and gather the Elders of Israel together, and say unto them; the Lord 
 <3od of your fathers . . . appeared unto me, saying; 'I have surely visited 
 you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt. And I have said, I will 
 bring j'ou up out of the affliction of Egypt . . . iitilo a land flowing with 
 milk and honey.' And they shall heaiken to thy voice, and thou shalt come, thou 
 and the Elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, andje shall say unto him: 
 ■ the Lord God of the Hebrews hath met with us, and now let us go, we beseech 
 thee, three days journey in the wildernens, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our 
 God." 
 
 " 1 am sure that the king of Eg3pt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty 
 hand. And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders, 
 which I will do in the midst thereof; and after that he will let you go. And I will 
 give this people (the Hebrews) favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it sfiall 
 come to pass, that when ye go, ye shall not go empty. But every woman shall 
 borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of 
 silver and jewels of gold, and raiment. And ye shall put them upon your son6 
 and upon your daughters, and ye sliall spoil the Egyptians."^ 
 
 The Lord again appeared unto Moses, in Midian, and said : 
 
 " 9o, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead which sought thy life, 
 .vnd Jloses look bis wife, and his son, and set them upon an ass, and he returned 
 to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God (which the Lord had given 
 bim) in his hand."- 
 
 Upon arriving in Egypt, Moses tells his brother Aaron, " all the 
 words of the Lord," and Aaron tells all the children of Israel. 
 Moses, who was not eloquent, but had a slow speech,* uses Aaron 
 as his spokesman.' They then appear unto Pharaoh, and falsify, 
 " according to the commands of the Lord^^ saying : " Let us go, we 
 pray thee, three- days' journey in the desert, and sacrifice unto the 
 Lord our God."" 
 
 The Lord hardens Pharaoh's heart, so that he does not let the 
 children of Israel go to sacrifice unto their God, in the desert. 
 
 WBH. (See the Keligion of Israel, pp. 42, 43; very title by whicli God tells Moses he WM 
 
 and Anacalypsis, vol. 1. p. 329, and vol. ii. p. known to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." 
 
 ir.) "None dare to enter the temple of Sera- (Prof. Reuouf : Relis. of Anc't Egypt, p. 
 
 pis, who did not bear on his breast or forehead 99.) 
 
 the name of Jao, or J-ha-uo. a name almost ' Exodns ill. 15-18. 
 
 equivalent in sound to that of the Hebrew Je- ' Exodus iii. 19-23. Here is a command 
 
 liova/t, and probably of identical import ; and from the Lord to deceive, and lie, and tteal, 
 
 no name was uttered in E^ypt with more rev- which, according to the narrative, was carried 
 
 erence than this Iao." (Trans, from the Gcr. out to the letter (Ex. xii. 35. 36) ; and yet we 
 
 of Schiller, in Monthly Kepos., vol. xx.; and are told that this sawi< ion/ said : " T/iou s/talt 
 
 Voltaire: Commentary on Exodus; Higsins' not tteal." (Ex. xx. 15.) Again he says: 
 
 Anac, vol. i. p. 329; vol. ii. p. 17.) " That this " Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither 
 
 divine name was well-known to the lleatlien rob him." (Leviticus lix. 13.) Surely this is 
 
 there can be no doubt." (Parkhorst : Hebrew inconsistency. 
 
 Lex. in Anac, i. <i27.) So also with the name 3 Exodus iv. 19, 20. 
 
 M Shaddai " The extremely common Egyp- ■* Exodus iv. 10. 
 
 tian expression yutar Nutra exactly corre- s Exodus iv. 16. 
 
 sponde in sense to the Hebrew El Hhaddai, the « Exodus v. 3.
 
 50 BLBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Moses and Aaron continue interceding with him, liowcver, and, 
 lor tlie purpose of showing their miraculous powers, they cliange 
 their rods into serpents, the river into blood, cause a plague of frogs 
 and lice, and a swarm of flies, &c., &c., to appear. Most of these 
 feats were imitated by the magicians of Egypt. Finally, the lii-st- 
 born of Egypt are slain, when Pharaoh, after having had his heart 
 hardened, by the Lord, over and over again, consents to let Moses 
 and tlie children of Israel go to serve their God, as they had said, 
 that is, for three days. 
 
 The Lord having given the people favor in the sight of tlic 
 Egyptians, they borrowed of them jewels of silver, jewels of gold, 
 and raiment, ^^ according to the commands of tlie LordP And 
 they journeyed toward Succoth, there being six hundred thousand, 
 hesides children.^ 
 
 " And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the 
 ed^e of tlie wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day, in a pillar of a 
 cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillnr of fire, to give them light to 
 go by day and night."* 
 
 " And it was told the liing of Egypt, that the people flea. . . . And he 
 made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred 
 chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, . . . and he pursued after the 
 children of Israel, and overtook them encamping beside the sea. . . . And 
 when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel . . . were sore afraid, and 
 . . . (they) cried out unto the Lord. . . . And the Lord said unto Moses, 
 . . . speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. But lift tliou 
 up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the Red Sea, and divide it, and the 
 children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. . . . 
 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.' and the Lord caused the sea to go 
 back by a strong east wind that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters 
 were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the 
 dry ground ; and the waters were a wall niito them upon llie right hand, and an their 
 left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the 
 sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, and his chariots, and his liorse-men." 
 
 After the children of Israel had landed on the other side of 
 the sea, the Lord said unto Moses : 
 
 " Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon 
 the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horse-men. And Moses 
 stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength. . . . 
 And the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters 
 returned, and covered the chariots, and the horse-men, and all the host of Pharaoh 
 
 1 Exodus vii. 35-37. Bishop Colenfio shows, walls while he passes throsgh, must snrely have 
 in his Pi'ntateuch Examined, how ridiculous been originally the -Sea of Clouds. ... A 
 this etjltement is. German story presents a perfectly similar fea- 
 
 2 Exodus xiii. 20. 21. ture. The conception of the cloud as sea, rock 
 
 3 'The sea over which Moses stretches out and wall, recurs very frequently in mythology." 
 his hand with the staff, and which he divides, (Prof. Stcintbal : The Legend of Samson, p. 
 eo that the waters stand up on either side like 439.)
 
 THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT. 51 
 
 that came iiilo the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 
 But the children nf Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the 
 waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. . . . And 
 Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egj'ptians, and the 
 people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and his servant Moses."' 
 
 Tlie writer of this story, whoever he may have been, was evi- 
 dently faniihar with the legends related of the Sun-god, Bacchus^ 
 as he has given Moses the credit of performing some of the mira- 
 cles which were attributed to that god. 
 
 Is is related in the hymns of Orpheus,' that Bacchus had a 
 rod with whicli he performed miracles, and which he could change 
 into a serpent at pleasure. He passed the Red Sea, dry shod, at 
 the head of his army. He divided the waters of the rivers Oron- 
 tes and Hydaspus, by the touch of his rod, and passed through 
 them dry-shod.' By the same mighty wand, he dreio water 
 from, the rocTc* and wherever tliey marched, the land flowed 
 with wine, milk and honey.' 
 
 Professor Steinthal, speaking of Dionysus (Bacchus), says : 
 
 Like Moses, he strikes fountains of wine and water out of the 
 rock. Almost all the acts of Moses correspond to those of the 
 Sun-gods.' 
 
 Mons. Dupuis says : 
 
 "Among the different miracles of Bacchus and his Bacchantes, there are 
 prodigies very similar to those which are attributed to Moses; for instance, such 
 as the sources of water which the former caused to sprout from the irmermost of 
 the rocks."' 
 
 In Bell's Pantheon of the Gods and Heroes of Antiquity,' an 
 account of the prodigies attributed to Bacchus is given ; among 
 these, are mentioned his striking water from the rock, with his 
 magic wand, his turning a twig of ivy into a snake, his passing 
 .thr ugh the Red Sea and the rivers Orontes and Hydaspus, and of 
 his en]03'ing the light of the Sun (while matching with his armv 
 in India), when the day was spent, and it was dark to others. All 
 these are parallels too striking to be accidental. 
 
 We might also mention the fact, that Bacchus, as well as Moses 
 
 ' Exodns liv. 5-13. pass through (2 Kings ii. 8), and also the chil 
 
 ' Orpheus is said to have been the earliest dren of Israel. (Joslina iii. 15-17.) 
 poet of Greece, where he first introduced the * Moses, with his rod, drew water from the 
 
 rites of Bacchus, which he brought from Egypt. rock. (Exodus xvii. G.) 
 (See Roman Antiquities, p. 134.) ' See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 191, and Higgins: 
 
 ' The Hebrew fable writers not wishing to Aniicalypsis, vol. ii. p. 19. 
 be outdone, have made the waters of the river ' The Legend of Samson, p. 420. 
 
 Jordan to be divided to let Elijah and Elisha ' Dupuis: Origin of Keligiona Beliefs, p. KiS. 
 
 e Vol. i. p. 123.
 
 ail B1I5LK MYTHS. 
 
 was called the " Zaw-giver,^' aud that it was said of Baoclui.% as 
 well as of Moses, that his laws were written on two tahU-i of 
 stone? Bacchus was represented horned, and so was Moses." 
 Bacchus " was picked up in a box, that floated on the water,'" 
 and so was Moses.* Bacchus had two mothers, one by nature, and 
 one b}' adoption,' and so had Moses.' And, as we have already 
 seen, Bacchus and his army enjoyed the light of the Sun, during 
 the night time, and Moses and his army enjoyed the light of "a 
 pillar of fire, by night.'" 
 
 In regard to the children of Israel going out from the land of 
 Egypt, we have no doubt that such an occurrence took place, 
 although not in the manner, and not for such reasons, as is recorded 
 by the sacred Idsiorian. We find, from other sources, what is evi- 
 dently nearer the truth. 
 
 It is related by the historian Choeremon, that, at one time, the 
 land of Egypt was infested with disease, and through the advice of 
 the sacred scribe Phritiphantes, the king caused the infected people 
 (who wei'c none other than the brick-making slaves, known as the 
 children of Israel), to be collected, and driven out of tlie coun- 
 try.' 
 
 Lysimachus relates that : 
 
 '■ A. filthy disease broke out in Egypt, and the Oracle of A.minon, being con- 
 sulted on the occasion, commanded the king to purify the land by driving out the 
 Jews (who were infected with leprosy, &c.), a race of men who were hateful to 
 the Gods."' Tlifwlwh multitude oftltepeople were accordingly collected and driven 
 out into the wilderness.""' 
 
 Diodorus Sicuhis, referring to this event, says : 
 
 "In ancient times Egypt was afflicted with a great plague, which was attrib- 
 lited to the anger of God, on account of the multitude of foreigners in Egypt: 
 by whom the rites of the native religion were neglected. The Egyptians accord- 
 ingly drove them out. The most noble of them went under Cadmus and Danaus 
 to Greece, but the greater number followed Moaes, a wise and valiant leader, to 
 Palestine."" 
 
 * BelPsi Pantbeon, vol. i. p. 122; and Hig- ' Esodue ii. 1-11. 
 L'Jns : Anacalypeis, vol. ii. p. 19. ' Esodu* xiii. 30,21. 
 
 2 Ibid, aud Dupuis : Origin of Religious Be- ^ See Prichard's Historical Records, p. 74 ; 
 lief, p. 174. also Dunlap'd Spirit Hist., p. 40; and Cory's An- 
 
 3 Taylor's Diegesis. p. 190 ; Bell's Pantlieon, cient Fragments, pp. SO, 81. for similar ac- 
 vol. i. under " Bacciius ;" and Higgiod: Anaca- counts. 
 
 lypsis ii. 19. ' '* All persons afflicted Willi leprosy were 
 
 * Exodus ii. 1-11. considered displeasing in tlie sight of tiie Sun- 
 ^ Taylor's Diegesis, p. 191 ; Bell's Pantheon. god. by the Egyptians." (Dunlap : Spirit Hist 
 
 vol. i. under "Bacchus;" and Higgina : p. 19, p. 40.) 
 
 vol. ii. ^'^ Prichard's Historical Records, p. 75. 
 
 " Ibid. p. 78.
 
 THE EXODUS FKOM EGYPT. 63 
 
 Alter giviug the difEerent opinions couceruing the origin of the 
 Jewish nation, Tacitus, the Eoniau historian, says : 
 
 " In this clash of opinions, (nut point see/nit to be urUversaUy aflmittfd. A pesli- 
 lential disease, Jistigiiriiig the race of man, and making the body an object of 
 loathsome deformitj'. spread all over J-u;ypt. Bocchoris, at that time the reigning 
 monarch, consulted the oracle of Jupiter Ilammon, and received for answer, that 
 the kingdom must be purified, b}' exterminating the infected multitude, as a race 
 of men detested by the gods. After diligent search, the wietcbed sufferers were 
 collected together, and in a wild and barren desert abandoned to their misery. 
 In that distress, while the vulgar herd was sunk in deep despair, SIoscs one of 
 their number, reminded them, that, by the wisdom of his councils, they had been 
 already rescued out of impending danger. Deserted as they v.-ere by men and 
 gods, he told them, that if they did not repose their conlidence in him, as their 
 chief by divine commission, they had no resource left. His offer was accepted. 
 Their march began, they knew not whither. Want of water was their diief 
 distress. Worn out with fatigue, they lay stretched on the bare earth, heart 
 broken, ready to expire, when a troop of wild asses, returning from pasture, 
 went up the steep ;iscont of a rock covered with a grove of trees. The verdure 
 of the herbage round the place suggested the idea of si)rings near at band. 
 Moses traced the steps of the anir.als, and discovered a plentiful vein of v.ater. 
 By this relief the fainting multitude was raised from despair. They pursued 
 their journey for six days without intermission. On the seventh day they made 
 halt, and, having expelled the natives, took possession of the country, where 
 they built their city, and dedicated their temple."' 
 
 Otlier accounts, similar to these, might be added, among wliich 
 may be mentioned that given by Manetho, an Egyptian priest, wliich 
 is referred to by Josephus, the Jewish historian. 
 
 Although the accounts quoted above are not exactly alike, ijet 
 tJic main points are the satne, which are to the effect that Egypt 
 was infected with disease owing to the foreigners (among whom 
 were those who were afterwards styled " the children of Israel") that 
 were in the country, and who were an unclean people, and that they 
 were accordingly driven out into the wilderness. 
 
 When we compare this statement with that recorded iu Genesis, 
 it does not take long to decide which of the two is nearest the 
 truth. 
 
 Everything putrid, or that had a tendency to putridity, was care- 
 fully avoided by tiie ancient Egyptians, and so strict were the 
 Egyptian priests on this point, tiiat they wore no garments made 
 of any animal substance, circumcised themselves, and shaved 
 their whole bodies, even to their eyebrows, lest they should un- 
 knowingly harbor any filth, excrement or vermin, supposed to be 
 bred from putrefaction.' We know from the laws set down in 
 Leviticus, that the Hebrews were not a remarkably clean race. 
 
 ' Tacitus : Hibt. book V. cti. iii. and Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 447. "The 
 
 'Knight: Anc'tArtand Mythology, p. 89, cleanlinessof the Egyptian priests was extreme.
 
 64 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Jewish priests, im, making a history for their race, have giveR 
 us but a shadow of truth here and there ; it is ahnost wholly 
 mythical. The author of " The Eeligion of Israel," speaking on 
 this subject, says : 
 
 "The history of the religion of Israel munt start from the sojourn ot the 
 ItraelUes in Egypt. Formerly it was usual to take a much earlier starting-point, 
 and to begin with a religious discussion of the religious ideas of the Patriarchs. 
 And this was perfectly right, so long as the accounts of Abraham, Isaac and 
 Jacob were considered histoiical. But 7u>w that a strict investigation has shown us 
 that all tliese stories are entirely unJiisiorical, of course we have to begin the his- 
 tory later on."' 
 
 The author of " The Spirit History of Man," says : 
 
 "The Hebrews came out of Egypt and settled among the Canaanites. T/iey 
 need not be traced beyond tlie Exodus. That is their historical beginning. It was 
 very easy to cover up this remote event by the recital of mythical traditions, 
 and to prefix to it an account of their origin in which the gods (Patriarchs), 
 should figure as their ancestors. "- 
 
 Professor Goldzhier says : 
 
 "The residence of the Hebrews in Egypt, and their exodus thence under the 
 guidance and training of an enthusiast for the freedom of his tribe, form a series 
 of strictly historical facts, which find confirmation even in the documents of 
 ancient Egypt (which we have just shown). But the traditional narratives of 
 these events (were) elaborated by the Hebrew people."'-- 
 
 Count de Volney also observes that : 
 
 "What Exodus says of their (the Israelites) servitude under the king of 
 Heliopolis, and of the oppression of their hosts, the Egyptians, is extremely 
 probable. It is here their history begins. All that precedes . . . is -nothing but 
 mythology and cosmogony."* 
 
 In speaking of the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, Dr. Knap- 
 pert says : 
 
 "According to the tradition preserved in Genesis, it was the promotion of 
 Jacob's son, Joseph, to be viceroy of Egypt, that brought about the migration of 
 the sons of Israel from Canaan to Goshen. The story goes that this Josepli was sold 
 as a slave by liis brothers, and after many changes of fortune received the vice- 
 regal ofiSce at Pliaraoh's hands through his skill in interpreting dreams. Famine 
 drives his brothers — and afterwards his father — to him, and the Egyptian prince 
 gives them the land of Goshen to live in. It is by imagining all this tliat the 
 
 They shaved their heads, and every three days "Thinking it better to be clean than hand- 
 shaved their whole bodies. They bathed two or some, the (Ef^yptian) priests shave their whole 
 three times a day, often in the night also. They body every third day, that neither lice nor any 
 wore garments of white linen, deeming it more other impurity may l)e found upon them when 
 cleanly than cloth made from the hair of ani- engaged in the service of the gods." (Herodo- 
 mals. If they had occasion to wear a woolen tus : book ii. ch. 37.) 
 cloth or mantle, they put it off before entering ' The Kcligion of Israel, p iJT. 
 a temple ; so scrupulous were they that noth- ' Dunlap ; Spirit Hist, of Man, p. 266. 
 ing impure should come into the presence of ^ Hebrew Mythology, p. 33. 
 the gods." (Prog. Itelig. Ideas, i. 1C8.) * Researches in Ancient Historf, p. 14>.
 
 Tin: EXODUS FROM KGYPT. 66 
 
 U{jend !rm to account for Ihe fact iluit Israel pnnKcd some time in Erjypt. But we 
 must look for the real explanation in :i mi;^riition of cert.iin tribes which could 
 not establish or maintain themselves in Cana .n, and were forced to move 
 further on. 
 
 "We find a passage in Flavins Josephus. from which it appears that in 
 Egypt, too, a recollection survived of the sojourn of some foreign tri1)es in the 
 north-eastern district of the country. For this writer gives us two fragments 
 out of a lost work by Mauctho, a priest, who lived about 250 n. c. In one of 
 these we have a statement that pretty nearly agrees with the Israelitish tradition 
 about a sojourn in Goshen. But the Israelites jccre lou/ced down on hy the Egyp- 
 tians as foreigners, and tliey arc re prcscRted as lepers and unclean. Sloses himself 
 is mentioned by name, and we are told that he was a priest and joined himself 
 to these lepers and gave them laws. "' 
 
 To return now to the stury of the Red Sea being divided to let 
 Moses and his followers p;iss througli — of wliieh we have already 
 seen one counterpart in the legend related of Bacchus and his army 
 passing through the same sea dry-shod — there is another similar 
 story concerning Alexander the Great. 
 
 The histories of Alexander relate that the Pamphylian Sea. was 
 divided to let him and his army pass through. Josephus, after 
 speaking of the Red Sea being divided for the passage of the 
 Israelites, says : 
 
 " For the sake of those who accompanied Alexander, king of Macedonia, whc 
 yet lived comparatively but a little while ago, the Pamphylian Sea retired and 
 offered them a passage through itself, when they had no other way to go . . . 
 and this is confessed to be true by all wlio liaioe written about t/ie actions of Alex- 
 ander.'"^ 
 
 He seems to consider both legends of the same authority, 
 quoting the latter to substantiate the former. 
 
 " Callisthenes, who himself accompanied Alexander in the ex- 
 pedition," " wrote, how the Pamphylian Sea did not only open a 
 passage for Alexander, but, rising and elevating its waters, did pay 
 him homage as its king.'" 
 
 It is related in Egyptian mythology that Isis was at one time on 
 a jom-ney with the eldest child of the king of Byblos, when coming 
 to the viver Phajdrus, which was in a '' rough air," and wishing to 
 
 * The Religion of Israel, pp. 31, '6:i. by long-continued nortti \vind^ ; and Alexander, 
 
 2 Jcwisli Antiq. bk. ii. ch. xvi. taliiug advantage of such a niomcut, may liava 
 
 ' Ibid. note. daslied on without impediment ;' and we accept 
 
 "It V.MS .said that the waters of the Pam- the explanation as a matter of course. But the 
 
 phyiian Sea miraculously opened a passage for waters of the Ked Sea are said to have niiracu- 
 
 the army of Alexander the Great. Admiral lously opened a passage for the childrcu of 
 
 Beaufort, however, tells us that, * though there Israel ; and we insist on the literal truth of Ihit 
 
 are no tides in this part of the Mediterranean, story, and reject natural explanations as mon- 
 
 considerable depression of the sea is caused etrous." (Matthew Arnold )
 
 f)6 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 cross, slie commanded the stream to be dried up. This being dono 
 she crossed without trouble." 
 
 There is a Hindoo fable to the effect that when the infant 
 Crisluia was being sought by the reigning tyrant of Madura (King 
 Kansa)" his foster-father took him and departed out of the country. 
 Coming to tlie river Yumna, and wisliing to cross, it was divided 
 for tliem by the Lord, and they passed through. 
 
 The story is related by Thomas Maurice, in his " History of 
 Hindostan," who has taken it from the Bliaga'oat Poaraun. It i* 
 as follows : 
 
 " Yasodha took the child Crishna, and carried him off (from where he was 
 born), but, coming to the river Yumna, directly opposite to Gokul, Crishna's 
 father perceiving the current to be very strong, it being in the midst of the' rainy 
 season, and not knowing which way to pass it, (Krishna commanded the water to 
 give way on both sides to his father, wlio acc(yrdiiigly passed dry-footed, across the 
 ritur."^ 
 
 TIlis incident is illustrated in Plate 58 of Moore's " Hindu 
 Pantheon." 
 
 There is another Hindoo legend, recorded in the Rig Veda, and 
 quoted by Viscount Auiberly, from whose work we take it,' to 
 the effect that an Indian sage called Visviniati, having arrived at a 
 river which he wished to cross, that lioly man said to it : " Listen 
 to the Bard who has come to you from afar with wagon and chariot. 
 Sink down, become fordable, and reach not up to our chariot axles." 
 The river answers : " I will bow down to thee like a woman with 
 full breast (suckling iier child), as a maid to a man, will I throw my- 
 self open to thee." 
 
 This is accordingly done, and the sage passes through. 
 
 We have also an Indian legend wliich relates that a courtesan 
 named Bindumati, turned hack, the streams of the river Ganges.'' 
 
 We see then, that the idea of seas and rivers being divided 
 for the purpose of letting some cliosen one of God pass through, 
 is an old one peculiar to other peoples beside th ■ Hebrews, and 
 the probability is that many nations had legends of this kind. 
 
 That Pharaoh and his host should have been drowned in the 
 Red Sea, and the fact not mentioned by any historian, is simply 
 impossible, especially when they have, as we have seen, noticed the 
 fact of the Israelites being driven out of Egypt.' Dr. In-nHri, 
 speaking of this, says : 
 
 * See Prichard'e Egyptian Mytbo. p. 60. * Analysis Reliff. Belief, p. 552. 
 
 » See ch. xviii. • See Uarjy : Iliiddliist Lcgtiuis, p. 140. 
 
 ' Hist. Hiado»lan, vol. ii. p. 312. ' In a cave discovered al Oeir-el-Balisr.
 
 THE EXODUS FKOM KOYPT. 67 
 
 "We seek in vain amongst the Egyptian hieroglyphs for scenes wliich recall 
 such cruelties as those we read of in the Hebrew records; and in tlie writings 
 which have hitherto been translated, we find nothing resembling the wholesale 
 destructions described and applauded by the Jewish historians, as perpetrated 
 by their own people."' 
 
 That Pharaoli should have pursued a tribe of diseased slaves, 
 whom he had driven out of his country, is altogether improbable. 
 In the words of Dr. Knappert, we may conclude, by saying that : 
 
 " Tliis stary, which was not written until more than five hundred years after the 
 exodus itself, can lay no claim to be comidered historical."^ 
 
 (Aug., 1881), near Thebce, in Egypt, was foand colored and yellow linen of a textare finer than 
 
 tAiriy-ne/ic mummies of royal and priestly per- the finest Indian muslin, upon whicti loIu8 
 
 Bonages. Among these was King Ramses II., flowers are strewn. It is in a perfect state of 
 
 the third king of the Nineteenth Dynasty, and perservation. (See a Cairo [Aug. 8th] letter to 
 
 the veritable Pharoah of the Jewish captivity. the London Times.) 
 It is very strange that he should be here, among ' Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 58. 
 
 a number of other kings, if he had been lost in ^ The Religion of Israel, p. 41. - 
 
 tke Bed Sea. The mumai; is wrapped in rose-
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RECEIVING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
 
 The receiving of the Ten Commandments by Moses, fiom the 
 Lord, is recorded in the following manner : 
 
 "In tlie third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth oit of the 
 land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai, . . . 
 and there Israel camped before the Mount. . . . 
 
 " And it came to pass on the third day that there were thunders and lightnings, 
 and a thick cloud upon the Mount, and the voice of the tempest exceedingly 
 loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. . . . 
 
 " And Mount Sinai was altogether (m a smnkc, because the Lord descended 
 upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and 
 the whole Jlount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the tempest sounded 
 long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a 
 voice. 
 
 " And the Lord came down upon the Mount, and called Moses up to the top of 
 the Mount, and Moses went up."' 
 
 The Lord there communed with him, and " he gave unto 
 Moses .... two tables of testimon)', tables of stone, written with 
 the finger of God.''" 
 
 AVhen Moses came down from o£E the Mount, he found the 
 children of Israel dancing around a golden calf, which his brother 
 Aaron had made, and, as his " anger waxed hot," he cast the tables 
 of stone on the ground, and broke them.' Moses again saw the 
 Lord on the Mount, however, and received two more tables of 
 stone." When he came down this time from oil" Mount Sinai, 
 "the skin of his face did shine."" 
 
 ' Exodns six. called Chemmis, eitnated in the Thebaic dia- 
 
 2 Exodus sxxi. 18. trict. near Neapolis, in which is a quadrangular 
 
 " Exodus xxii. 19. temple dedicated to (the god) Perseus, son of 
 
 * Exodus xzxiv. (the Virgin) Danae ; palm-trees grow round it, 
 
 * Ibid. and the portico is of stone, very spacious, and 
 It was a common belief among ancient over it are placed two large stone statues. In 
 
 Pagan nations that the gods appeared and this inclosure is a temple, and in it is placed a 
 
 conversed with men. As an illustration we may statue of Perseus. The Chcmmitee (or inhabi- 
 
 cite the following, related by Herodotus, tlie laMx ol Chcmmia), affirm t/uit Perseus haa /re- 
 
 Grecian historian, who, in speaking of Egypt quenttyai>pear!dtoth^monearth,andfrequcnUy 
 
 and the Egyptians, says : " There isa laige city within the temple." (Herodotoa, bk. ii. ch. 91.)
 
 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 69 
 
 These two tables of stone contained the Ten Commandments^ 
 80 it is said, which the Jews and Christians of the present daj are 
 supposed to take for their standard. 
 
 They are, in substance, as follows : 
 
 1 — To have no other God but Jehovah. 
 
 2 — To malce no image for purpose of worship. 
 
 3 — Not to take Jehovah's name in vain. 
 
 4 — Not to work on the Sabbath-day. 
 
 5— To honor their parents. 
 
 6— Not to Ivill. 
 
 7 — Not to commit adulteiy. 
 
 8 — Not to steal. 
 
 9 — Not to bear false witness against a neighbor. 
 10 — Not to covet." 
 
 Wo have already seen, in the last chapter, that Bacchus was 
 called the " Law-giver, " and that his laws were written on two 
 tables of stone.' This feature in the Ilebrew legend was evi- 
 dentl}' copied from that related of Bacchus, but, the idea of his 
 (Moses) receiving the commandments from the Lord on a mmintain 
 was obviously taken from the Persian legend related of Zoroaster. 
 
 Prof. Mux Midler says : 
 
 "What applies to the religion of Moses applies to that of Zoroaster. It Ls 
 placed before us as a complete sj'stem from the first, revealed by Almramazda 
 (Ormuzd), proclaimed by Zoroaster."* 
 
 The disciples of Zoroaster, in tlieir profusion of legends of 
 the master, relate that one day, as he prayed on a high mountain, 
 in the midst of thunders and lightnings ("' lire from heaven ""), the 
 Lord himself appeared before liim, and delivered unto him the 
 "Book of the Law.'" While the King of Persia and the people 
 were assembled together. Zoroaster came down from the mountain 
 unharmed, bringing with him the '"Book of tiie Law," which had 
 been revealed to him by Ormuzd. They call this book the Zend- 
 Avesta, which signifies the Living Word.^ 
 
 » Buddha, the founder of Baddhism, had the Sabbath day. Honor your fiither and your 
 TES commandmenta. 1. Not to kill. 2. Not to mother. Commit iio murder. Break not the 
 steal. 3. To be chaste. 4, Not to bear false marriage vow. Steal not. Bear no false wit- 
 witness. 5. Not to lie. 6. Not to swear. 7. ness. Covet not." (Bible for Learnera. vol, i. 
 To avoid impure wordB. 8. To be disinterested. p. 18.) 
 
 9. Not to a%enge one's-self. 10. Not to be su- ' Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 122. Higgius. 
 
 perstitious. (See Hue's Travels, p. 338, vol. i.) vol. ii. p. 19. Cox : Aryan Mytho. voL U. p. 
 
 ' Exodus XI. Dr. Oort says : "'The original 295. 
 ten commandments probably ran as follows : I ' Miiller : Origin of Religion, p. 130. 
 
 Yahwah am your God. Worship no other • See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 257. 258. 
 
 gods beside me. Make no image of a god. This hook, the Zend-Avf.sta, ia simitar, in 
 
 Commit no perjury. Remember to keep holy many respects, to the Vedas ot the Hindoo*.
 
 (50 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 According to the religion of the Cretans, Minos, taeir .%w-giver, 
 iiscended a mountain (Mount Dicta) and there rccei^'ed fi'oni the 
 Supreme Lord (Zeus) the sacred laws which he brought down with 
 liim.' 
 
 Almost all nations of antiquity have legends of their holy men 
 ascending a mountain to ask counsel of the gi'ds, snch places 
 being invested with peculiar sanctity, and deemed nearer to the 
 deities than other portions of the earth.' 
 
 According to Egyptian belief, it is Thoth, the Deity itself, that 
 speaks and reveals to his elect aiutiug men the will of God and the 
 arcana of divine things. Portions of them are expressly stated 
 to have been written by the very finger of Thoth himself ; to 
 have been the work and composition of the great god.° 
 
 Diodorus, the Grecian historian, says : 
 
 The idea promulgated by the ancient Egyi>tians that their laws 
 were received direct from the Most High God, Jias heen adopted 
 with success hy many other lato-givers, who have thus insured re- 
 spect for their institutions." 
 
 The Supreme God of the ancient Mexicans was Tezcatlipoca. 
 He occupied a position corresponding to the Jehovah of the Jews, 
 tlie Brahma of India, the Zeus of the Greeks, and the Odin of the 
 Scandinavians. His name is compounded of Tezcatepec, the name 
 of a mountain {upon which he is said to have manifested himself 
 to man) ilil, dark, and poca, smoke. The explanation of this des- 
 ignation is given in the Codex Vaticanus, as follows : 
 
 This has led many to believe that Zoi'oaeter " The offerings of the Chinese to the deities 
 
 was a Brahman ; among these are Rawlint^on were generally on the summits of high moim- 
 
 (See Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol, ii. p. 831) tains, as they seemed ti> tbem to be nearer 
 
 and Thomas Maurice. (See Indian Antiquities, heaven, to the majesty of which they were to 
 
 vol. ii. p. 219.) he offered." (Chri.^tmas's Mytho. p. 250, in 
 
 The Persians themselves had a tradition Ibid.) "In the infancy of civilization, high 
 
 that he cr-nie from some country to the East places were chosen by the people to offer sac- 
 
 of them. That he was a foreigner is indicated rificcs to the gods. The first altars, the first 
 
 by a passage in the Zend-Avesta which repre- temiiles, were erected on mountains." (Hum- 
 
 sents Ormuzd as saying to him: "Thou, O Zero- boldt: American Researches.) The Himalayae 
 
 aster, by tbe promulgation of my law, shalt are the '' H^'avenlij moimtains." In Sanscrit 
 
 restore to rao my former glory, which was pure Himala^ corresi)onding to the M. Gothic. Hi- 
 
 li^ht. Up 1 haste thee to the land of Iian^ m'nis ; Alem., Ilimi/ ; Ger., Swed., and Dan., 
 
 which thirsteth after the law, and say, thus Illmnul ; Old Norse, Simin ; Dutch, Bemel; 
 
 said Ormuzd, <SiC." (See Prog. Belig. Ideas, Ang.-Sas., lleofon ; Eng., Heaven. (See Mal- 
 
 vol. i. p. 203.) let's Northern Antiquities, p. 42.) 
 
 1 The Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 301. 3 Bunsen's Egypt, quoted in Isis Unveiled, 
 
 2 "The deities of the Hindoo Pantbeou vol. ii. j). 3o7. Mrs. Child says : "The^aw'sof 
 dwell on the s;icred Mount Meru ; the gods of Egypt were handed down from the earliest 
 Persia ruled from Albordj ; the Greek Jove times, and regarded with the utmost veneration 
 thundered from OlynipuB ; and the Scaudina- as a portion of religion. Their first legislator 
 viau godB made Asgard awful with their pres- represented them as dictated by tbe gods them- 
 ence. . . . Prolane history is full of exam- selves, and framed expressly for the benefit of 
 pies attestiuR the attachment to hiph places for mankind by their secretary Thoth." (Prog. 
 purpose of saorilico." (Squire ; Serpent Syni- Relig. Idens. I'ol. i. p. 173.) 
 
 bols, p. 78.) * Quoted in Ibid.
 
 THE TEN COMMANDMKNTS. 61 
 
 Tezc;itlipoc;i w;is one of their most potent deities ; they say he 
 once appeared on the top of a mountain. They paid hiin great 
 reverence and adoration, and addressed liiiu, in tiicir j^rayers, as 
 "Lord, whose servant wo are." No man ever saw his face, for he 
 appeared only " as a shade." Indeed, the Mexican idea of tlie 
 godliead was similar to that of the Jews. Like Jehovah, Tezcat- 
 lipoca dwelt in the "■ midst of thick darkness." When he descend- 
 ed upon the mount of Tezoatepev, darknesn overshadowed, the 
 earth, while fire and water, in mingled streams, flowed from be- 
 neath his feet, from, its summit.^ 
 
 Tlius, we see that other nations, beside the Hebrews, believed 
 that their laws were actually received from God, that they had 
 legends to that effect, and that a mountain ligures conspicuously 
 in the stories. 
 
 Professor Oort, speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 " No one who bas any knowledge of antiq\utywill be surprised at this, for 
 similar beliefs were very common. All peoples who hud issued from a life of 
 barbarism and acquired regular political instituticms, more or less elaborate 
 laws, and established worship, and maxims of morality, attributed all this — 
 their birth as a nation, so to speak — to OTie or more great men, all of whom, 
 without e.xception, were supposed to haw, received their UiwwUdge from some deity. 
 
 " Whence did Zoroaster, the prophet of the Persians, derive his religion? 
 According to the beliefs of his followers, and the doctrines of their sacred writ- 
 ings, it was from Ahuramazda. the God of light. Why did the Egyptians repre- 
 sent the god Thoth with a writing tablet and a pencil in his hand, and honor him 
 especially as the god of the priests? Because he was ' the Lord of the divine Word,' 
 the foundation of all wisdom, from whose inspiration the priests, who were the 
 scholars, the lawyers, and the religious teachers of the people, derived all their 
 wisdom. Was not Minos, the law-giver of the Cretans, tlie friend of Zeus, the 
 highest of the gods? Nay, was he not even his sou. and did he not ascend to the 
 sacred cave on Jlount Dicte to bring down the laws which his god had placed 
 there for him? From whom did the Spartan law-giver, Lycurgus, himself say 
 that he had obtained his laws? From no other than the god Apollo. Tlic Roman 
 legend, too. in honoring Numa Pompilius as the people's instructor, at the same 
 time ascribed all his wisdom to his intercourse with the nymph Egeria. It was 
 the same elsewhere ; and to make one more example, — this from later times — 
 Mohammed not only believed himself to have been called immediately by God 
 to be the prophet of the Arabs, but declared that he had received every page of 
 the Koran from the hand of the angel Gabriel."^ 
 
 ' See Squire's Serpent Symbol, p. 175. • Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 301.
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 SAMBON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 
 
 This Israelite hero is said to have been born at a time when the 
 children of Israel were in the hands of the Philistines. His 
 mother, who had been baiTen for a nnmber of years, is entertained 
 by an angel, who informs her that she shall conceive, and Ijear a 
 son,' and that the child shall be a NazariU nnto God, from the 
 womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the 
 Philistines. 
 
 According to the prediction of the angel, " the woman bore a 
 son, and called his name Samson ; and the child grew, and the 
 Lord blessed him." 
 
 "And Samson (after he had grown to man's estate), went down to Timnatb, 
 and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came 
 up and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath 
 of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore get her for me to wife." 
 
 » The idea of a woman conceiving, and bear- 
 ing a son in her old age, eeems to have been a 
 Hebrew peculiarity, ap a nnmber of their re- 
 markable personages were born, eo it is Baid, of 
 parents well advanced in years, or of a woman 
 who was supposed to have been barren. As 
 illustrations, we maj' mention this cnso of Sam- 
 son, and that of Joseph being bom of liache!. 
 The beautiful Rachel, who was so much beloved 
 by Jacob, her husband, was barrca, and she 
 bore him no sons. This caused grief and dis- 
 content on her part, and anger on the part of 
 her husband. In her old age, however, she 
 bore the wonderful child Joseph. (See Genesis, 
 sxx. 1-29.) 
 
 Isaac was bom of a woman (Sarah) who had 
 been barren many years. An angel appeared 
 to her when her lord (Abraham) " was ninety 
 years old and nine," and informed her that she 
 would conceive and bear a son. (See Gen. xvi.) 
 
 Samtiel, the '' lioly man," was also born of 
 a woman (Hannah) who had been barren many 
 years. In grief, she prayed to the Lord for u 
 child, and was finally comforted by receiving 
 her wish. (See 1 Samuel, i. 1-:^.).) 
 
 John the Baptist was also a niiraculously con- 
 ceived infant. His mother. Elizabeth, bore 
 
 [621 
 
 him in her old age. An angel also informed her 
 and her husband Zachariah, that this event 
 would take place. (See Luke, i. 1-25.) 
 
 Mary, the mother of Jesus, was bom of a 
 woman (Anna) who was " old and stricken in 
 years," and who had been barren all her life. 
 An angel appeared to Anna and her hvsband 
 (Joachim), and told them what was about to 
 take place. (See '"The Gospel of Mary," Apoc.) 
 
 Thus we see. that the idea of a wonderful 
 child being born of a woman who hud passed 
 the nge which nature had destined for her to 
 bear cliildron, and who had been barren all her 
 life, was a favorite one among the Hebrews. 
 The idea that the ancestors of a race lived to a 
 fabulous old age, is also a familiar one among 
 the ancients. 
 
 Most ancient nations relate in their fables 
 that their ancestors lived to be very old men. 
 For instance ; the Persian patriarch Kaioraaras 
 reigned 5Q0 years ; Jemshid reigned 300 years ; 
 Jahmurash reigned 700 years ; Dahak reigned 
 1000 years ; Feriduu reigned 120 years ; Manu- 
 geher reigned 500 years ; Kaikans reigned 150 
 years ; and Bahaman reigned 113 years. (See 
 Dunlap : Son of the Man, p. 105, not€.)
 
 SAKSON AND HIS EXPl OI'IS, 63 
 
 Samson's father and mother preferred that he should take a 
 woman among the daughters of their own tribe, but Samson wished 
 for the maid of the Philistines, "for," said he, "she pleaseth me 
 welh" 
 
 The parents, after coming to the conclusion that it was the will 
 of the Lord, that he should marry the maid of tlie Philistines, 
 consented. 
 
 " Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and 
 came to Ihe vineyards of Timnath, and, behold, a young lion roared against him 
 (Samson). And the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent 
 him (the lion) as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." 
 
 This was Sumson'e first exploit, which he told not to any one, 
 not even his father, or his mother. 
 
 He then continued on his way, and went down and talked with 
 the woman, and she pleased him well. 
 
 And, after a time, he returned to take her, and he turned aside 
 to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, " there was a swarm of 
 bees, and honey, in the carcass of the lion." 
 
 Samson made a feast at his wedding, which lasted for seven 
 days. At this feast, there were brought thirty companions lo be 
 with him, unto whom he said : " I will no.w put forth a riddle 
 unto you, if ye can certainly declare it me, within the seven days 
 of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets, 
 and tliirty changes of garments. But, if ye cannot declare it 
 me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets, and thirty changes of gar- 
 ments." And they said unto hira, " Put forth thy riddle, that we 
 may hear it." And he answered them : " Out of the eater came 
 forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." 
 
 This riddle the thirty companions could not solve. 
 
 " And it came to jiass, on the seventh day, that they said unto 
 Samson's wife : ' Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto 
 us the riddle.' " 
 
 She accordingly went to Samson, and told him that he could not 
 love her ; if it were so, he would tell her the answer to the riddle. 
 After she had wept and entreated of him, he finally told her, and she 
 gave the answer to the cliildren of her people. " And the men of 
 the city said unto him, on the seventh day, before the sun went 
 down, ' What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a 
 lion?'" 
 
 Samson, upon hearing this, suspected how they managed to find 
 out the answer, whereupon he said unto them: "If ye had not 
 ploughed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle "
 
 ^4 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Sanition was then at a loss to know where to get the thirty 
 sheets, and the tliirty changes of garments ; but, " the spirit of the 
 Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew 
 thirty men of them, and took tlieir spoil, and gave change of gar- 
 ments unto them which expounded the riddle." 
 
 This was the hero's second exploit. 
 
 His anger being kindled, he went up to his father's house, in- 
 stead of returning to his wife.' But it came to pass, that, after a 
 while, Samson repented of his actions, and returned to his wife's 
 house, and wished to go in to his wife in the chamber ; but her 
 father would not suffer him to go. And her father said : " I 
 verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her, therefore, I gave 
 her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she ? 
 Take her, I pray thee, instead of her." 
 
 Tills did not seem to please Samson, even though the younger 
 M'as fairer than the older, for he " went and caught three hundred 
 foxes, and took firebrands, and turned (the foxes) tail to tail, and 
 put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had 
 set the brands on tire, he let them go into the standing corn of the 
 Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and also the standing 
 corn, with the vineyards and olives." 
 
 This was Samson's third exploit. 
 
 When the Philistines found their corn, their vineyards, and 
 their olives burned, they said: '• Who hath done this?" 
 
 " And they answered, ' Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had 
 taken his wife, and given her to his companion.' And the Philistines came up, 
 and burned her .and her father with fire. And Samson said unto them: ' Though 
 ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.' And 
 lie smote tliem hip and thigh with a great slaughter, and he went and dwelt in the 
 top of the rock Etam." 
 
 This " great slaughter " was Sumson^ s\fourth exploit. 
 
 " Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in .Tudah, and spread themselves 
 in Lehi. And the men of Judah said: ' Why are ye come up against us?' And 
 they answered: ' To bind Samson are we come up, and to do to him as he hath 
 done to us.' Then three thousand men of Judah went \ip to the top of the 
 rock Etam, and said to Samson : ' Knowest thou not that the Philistines are 
 riders over us? What is this that thou hast done unto us ?' And he said 
 unto them: 'As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.' And they 
 said unto him: 'We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee 
 into the hands of the Philistines.' And Samson said unto them: 'Swear 
 unto me that 5'e will not fall upon me yourselves.' And they spake unto him, 
 saying, ' No; but wc will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hands: but 
 surely we will not kill thee.' And they hound him with two new cords, and 
 
 ' Judges, liv.
 
 SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 66 
 
 brought him up from the rock. And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines 
 ehouted against him ; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and 
 the cords that were upon, Jiis arms beeame as flax tliat was burned with fire, and his 
 bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put 
 forth his hand and took it, and slew a thousand men witJi it." 
 
 This was Samson's ^iJA exploit. 
 
 After slaying a thousand men he was " sore athirst," and called 
 unto the Lord. And " God clave a hollow place that was in the 
 jaw, and' there came water thereout, and when he had drunk, his 
 spirit came again, and he revived.'" 
 
 " Then went Samson to Gaza and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her. 
 And it was told the Gazites, saying, ' Samson is come hither.' And they com- 
 passed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were 
 -quiet all the night, saying: ' In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.' 
 And Samson lay (with the harlot) till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took 
 the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, 
 bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of 
 a hill that is in Hebron." 
 
 This was Samson's sixth exploit. 
 
 "And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the vaUey of 
 Soreck, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto 
 her, and said unto her: 'Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, 
 and by what means we may prevail against him.' " 
 
 Delilah then began to entice Samson to tell her wherein his 
 strength lay. 
 
 " She pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was 
 vexed unto death. Then he told her all his heart, and said unto her: 'There 
 hath not come a razor upon mine head, for I have been a Nazarite unto God from 
 my mother's womb. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I 
 shall become weak, and be like any other man.' And when Delilah saw that he 
 had told her all his heart, she went and called for the lords of the Philistines, 
 saying: ' Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his lieart.' Then the 
 lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hands 
 (for her). 
 
 "And she made him (Samson) sleep upon her knees; and she called for a 
 man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began 
 to afflict him, and his strength went from him." 
 
 The Philistines then took him, put out his eyes, and put him 
 in piison. And being gathered together at a great sacrifice in honor 
 of their God, Dagon, they said : " Call for Samson, that he may 
 make us sport." And they called for Samson, and he made them 
 sport. 
 
 " And Samson said tmto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I 
 may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 
 
 > Judges, zv.
 
 66 BIBLE MYTUS. 
 
 " Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philis- 
 tines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and 
 ■women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 
 
 "And Samson ealled unto the Lord, and said: ' O Lord God, remember me, 
 I pray thee, and strengthen me. I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may 
 be at once avenged of Ihc Philistines for my two eyes.' 
 
 "And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house 
 stood and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the 
 other with his left. And Samson said; ' Let me die with the Philistines.' And 
 he bowed himself with all his might; and (having regained his strength) the 
 house fell upon the lords, and upon the people that were therein. So the dead 
 which he slew at his death, were more than they which he slew in his life."' 
 
 Thus ended the career of the " strong man " of the Hebrews. 
 
 That this story is a copy of the legends related of Hercules, or 
 that they have both been copied from similar legends existing 
 among some other nations," is too evident to be disputed. Many 
 churclimen have noticed the similarity between the history of 
 Samson and that of Hercules. In Chambers's Encylopsedia, undei 
 " Samson," we read as follows : 
 
 "It has been matter of most contradictory speculations, how far his existence 
 is to be taken as a reality, or, in other words, what substratum of historica. 
 truth there may be in this supposed circle of popular legends, artistically rounded 
 off, in the four chapters of Judges which treat of him. . . . 
 
 "The miraculous deeds he performed have taxed the ingenuity of many 
 commentators, and the text has been twisted and turned in all directions, to 
 explain, rationally, his slaying those prodigious numbers single-handed; his 
 carrying the gates of Gaza, in one night, a distance of about fifty miles, &c., &c.'" 
 
 That this is simply a Solar myth, no one will doubt, we believe, 
 who will take the trouble to investigate it. 
 
 Prof. Goldziher, who has made " Comparative Mythology " 
 a special study, says of this story : 
 
 " The most complete and rounded-ofiE Solar myth extant in Hebrew, is that 
 of Shimshon (Samson), a cycle of mythical conceptions fully comparable with 
 the Greek myth of Hercules."^ 
 
 We shall now endeavor to ascertain if such is the case, by 
 comparing the exploits of Samson with those of Hercules. 
 
 The first wonderful act performed by Samson was, as we have 
 seen, that of slaying a lion. This is said to have happened when 
 he was but a youth. So likewise was it with Hercules. At the 
 age of eighteen, he slew an enormous lion.' 
 
 The valley of Nemea was infested by a terrible lion ; Eurystheus 
 ordered Hercules to bring him the skin of this monster. After 
 
 ' Jndgfs, xvi. ' Hebrew Mythology, p. S48. 
 
 ' Perhaps that of Izdubar. See chapter li. * Manual of Mythology, p. 84S. The Age of 
 
 Fable, p. 200.
 
 SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 67 
 
 using in vain his club and arrows against the lien, Hercules 
 strangled the animal witli his hands. He returned, carrying the 
 dead lion on his shoulders ; but Eurysthous was so frightened at 
 the sight of it, and at this proof of the prodigious strength of the 
 hero, that he ordered him to deliver the accounts of his exploits in 
 the future outside the town.' 
 
 To show the courage of Hercules, it is said that he entered the 
 cave where the lion's lair was, closed the entrance behind him, and 
 at once grappled with the monster." 
 
 Samson is said to have torn asunder the jaws of the lion, and 
 we find him generally represented slaying the beast in that manner. 
 So likewise was this the manner in which Hercules disposed of the 
 Nemean lion.' 
 
 The skin of the lion, Hercules tore off with his fingers, and 
 knowing it to be impenetrable, resolved to wear it henceforth.* 
 The statues and paintings of Hercules either represent him carrying 
 the lion's skin over his arm, or wearing it hanging down his back, 
 the sldn of its head fitting to his crown like a cap, and the fore-legs 
 knotted under his chin.' 
 
 Samson's second exploit was when he went down to Ashkelon 
 and slew thirty men. 
 
 Hercules, when returning to Thebes from the lion-hunt, and 
 wearing its skin hanging from his shoulders, as a sign of his suc- 
 cess, met the heralds of the King of the Minyee, coming from 
 Orchomenos to claim the annual tribute of a hundred cattle, levied 
 on Thebes. Hercules cut off the ears and noses of the heralds, 
 bound their hands, and sent them home.' 
 
 Samson's third exploit was when he caught three hundred foxes, 
 and took fire-brands, and turned them tail to tail, and put a fire- 
 brand in the midst between two tails, and let tiiem go into the 
 standing corn of the Philistines. 
 
 There is no such feature as this in the legends of Hercules, the 
 nearest to it in resemblance is when he encounters and kills the 
 Leamean Hydra.' During this encounter a fire-hrand figures 
 conspicuously, and tlie neighhm'ing wood is set onjire.^ 
 
 1 Bnlfinch: The Age of Fable, p. 200. ' " It has many heads, one being immortal, 
 
 » Murray; Manual of Mythology, p. 249. ae the Btormmust constantly supply new closde 
 
 * Koman Antiquities, p. 124 ; and Mont* while the vapors are driven off by the f}iin 
 fftucon, vol. i. plate cxxvi. into space. Hence the etory went that although 
 
 * Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 249. Herakles could burn away its mortal heads, ae 
 
 • See Ibid. Greek and Italian Mythology, p. the Sun burns up the clouds, still he can but 
 129, and Montfaucon, vol. i. plate crxv. and hideaway the mist or vapor itself, which at its 
 Gxxvi, appointed time must again darken th(j sky." 
 
 • Manual of Mythology, p. 347. (Cox: Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 48.) 
 
 » See Manual of Mytho., p. 250.
 
 68 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 We have, however, an explanation of this portion of the legend, 
 in the following from Prof. Steinthal : 
 
 At the festival of Ceres, held at Rome, in the month of April, 
 a fox-hunt through the circus was indulged in, in which humi/ng 
 torches were hound to the foxes' tails. 
 
 This was intended to be a symbolical reminder of the damage 
 done to the fields by mildew, called the '■^ red fox,^'' which was ex- 
 orcised in various ways at this momentous season (the last third of 
 April). It is the time of the Dog-Star, at which the mildew was 
 most to be feared ; if at that time great solar heat follows too close 
 upon the hoar-frost or dew of the cold nights, this mischief rages 
 like a burning fox through the corn-fields.' 
 
 He also says that : 
 
 "This is the sense of the story of the foxes, which Samson caught and sent 
 into the Philistines' fields, with fire-brands fastened to their taUs, to burn the 
 crops. Like the lion, the fox is an animal that indicated the solar heat, being 
 well suited for this both by its color and tiy its long-haired tail."' 
 
 Bouchart, in his " Hierozoicou," observes that : 
 
 "At this period (». «., the last third of ^pril) they cut the corn in Palestine 
 and Lower Egypt, and a few days after the setting of the Hyads arose the Fox, 
 in whose train or tail comes the fires or torches of the dog-days, represented 
 among the Egj'ptians by red marks painted on tlie backs of their animals."' 
 
 Count de Volney also tells us that : 
 
 " The inhabitants of Carseoles, an ancient city of Latium, every year, in a 
 religious festival, burned a number of foxes with torches tied to their tails. They 
 gave, as the reason for this whimsical ceremony, that their corn had been former- 
 ly burnt by a fox to whose tail a young man had fastened a bundle of lighted 
 straw."* 
 
 He concludes his account of this peculiar " religious festival," 
 by saying : 
 
 " This is exactly the story of Samson with the Philistines, but it is a Pheni- 
 cian tale. Car-Seol is a compound word in that tongue, signifying tmon of foxes. 
 The Philistines, originally from Egypt, do not appear to have had any colonies. 
 The Phenicians had a great many; and it can scarcely be admitted that they 
 borrowed this story from the Hebrews, as obscure as the Druses are in our own 
 times, or that a simple adventure gave rise to a religious ceremony; it eoidenily 
 can only be a mythological and allegorical narration. "* 
 
 So much, then, for the foxes and fire-brands. 
 Samson's fourth exploit was when he smote the Philistines 
 "hip and thigh," "with great slaughter." 
 
 'Steinthal: The Legend of Samson, p. 398. ^Quoted by Count de Volney: Researches 
 
 See, also, Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 240, in Ancient History, p. 42, note. 
 and Volney: fiesearches in Anc't History, p. 43. < Volney : Researches in Ancient History, 
 
 » Ibid. p. 42.
 
 SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 6» 
 
 It is related of Hercules that he had a combat with an army of 
 Centaurs, who were armed with pine sticks, rocks, axes, &c. 
 They flocked in wild confiision, and surrounded the cave of 
 Pholos, where Hercules was, when a violent fight ensued. Hercules 
 was obliged to contend against this large armed force single-handed, 
 but he came off victorious, and slew a great number of them.' 
 Hercules also encountered and fought against an anny of ffiants, 
 at the Phlegraean fields, near Cumae." 
 
 Samson's next wonderful exploit was when " three thousand men 
 of Judah " bound him with cards and brought him up into Lehi, 
 when the Philistines were about to take his life. The cords with 
 which lie was bound immediately became as tlax, and loosened 
 from ofE his hands. He then, with the jaw-bone of an ass, slew one 
 thousand Philistines.' 
 
 A verjf similar feature to this is found in the history of Her- 
 cules. He is made prisoner by the Egyptians, who wish to take 
 his life, but while they are preparing to slay him, he breaks loose 
 his bonds — having been tied with cords — and kills Buseris, the 
 leader of the band, a?id the whols retinue.^ 
 
 On another occasion, being refused shelter from a storm at Kos, 
 he was enraged at the inhabitants, and accordingly destroyed the 
 whole town.'' 
 
 Samson, after he had slain a thousand Philistines, was " sore 
 athirst," and called upon Jehovah, his father in heaven, to succor 
 him, whereupon, water immediately gushed forth from " a hollow 
 place that was in the jaw-bone." 
 
 Hercules, departing from the Indies (or rather Ethiopia), and 
 conducting his army through the desert of Lybia, feels a burning 
 thirst, and conjures Ihou, his father, to succor him in his danger. 
 
 ' See Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 251. 239; Montfaucon i L'Antlquite Expliqnee, 
 
 " The slaughter of the Centaurs by Hercules vol. i. p. 213, and Murray; Manual of Mythol- 
 
 is the conquest and dispersion of the vapors ogy, pp. 230-202. 
 
 by the Sun as he rises in the heaven." (Cox: It is evident that Herodoiuf, the Grecian 
 Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 47.) historian, was somewhat of a skeptic, for he 
 ' Murray: Manual of llythology, p. 257. says: " The Grecians say that ' When Ilercales 
 ' Shamgar also slew six hundred Philistines arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians, having crown- 
 with an ox-goad. tSee Judges, iii. 31.) ed him with a garland, led liim in procession, 
 " It is scarcely necessary to say that these as designing tO sacrifice him to Jupiter, and 
 weapons are the heritage of ail the. So^ar heroes. that for some time he remained quiet, bni 
 that they are found in the hands of Phebus and when they began the preparatory ceremonies 
 Herakles. of CEdipns, Achilleus, Philoktetes, of upon him at the altar, he set about defending 
 Siguard, Rastem, Indra, Isfendujar, of Tele himself and slew every one of them.' Now, 
 phos, Meleagros, Theseus, Kadmos, Bellero since Hercules was but one. and, besides, a 
 phon, and all other slayers of noxious and meie man, as they confess, how ia it possible 
 fearful things." (Rev. Geo. Cox; Tales of that he should slay many thousands f" (Herod- 
 Ancient Greece, p. xxvii.) otus, book ii. ch. 45). 
 
 * See Volney; Researches in Ancient His. • Morray: Manual of Mythology, p. 283. 
 
 tory, p. 41. Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p.
 
 70 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Instantly the (celestial) Kam appears. Hercules follows him and 
 arrives at a place where the Earn scrapes with his foot, and there 
 instantly comes forth a sjyring of water ^ 
 
 Samson's sixth exploit happened when he went to Gaza to 
 visit a harlot. The Gazitcs, who wished to take his life, laid wait 
 for him all night, but Samson left the town at midnight, and took 
 with him the gates of the city, and the two jMsts, on his shoulders. 
 He carried them to the top of a hill, some hfty miles away, and left 
 them there. 
 
 This story very much resembles that of the " Pillars of Her- 
 cules," called the " Gates of Cadiz.'"'' 
 
 Count de Volney tells us that : 
 
 " Hercules was represented naked, carrying on his shoulders Ueo columns 
 called the Gates of Cadiz."' 
 
 " The Pillars of Hercules" was the name given by the ancients 
 to the two rocks forming the entrance or gate to the Mediterranean 
 at the Strait of Gibraltar.* Their erection was ascribed by the 
 Greeks to Hercules, on the occasion of his journey to the kingdom 
 of Geryon. According to one version of the story, they had been 
 
 united, but Hercxdes 
 tore them asunder.' 
 
 Fig. No. 3 is a rep- 
 resentation of Hercules 
 with the two posts or 
 pillars on his shoulders, 
 as alluded to by Count 
 de Volney. We have 
 taken it fromMontfau- 
 con's " L'Antiquite Ex- 
 pliquee."' 
 
 J. P. Lundy says of 
 this: 
 
 ' Volney: Kesearches in Anc't History, pp. 
 41,42. 
 
 In Bell's " Pantheon of the Gods and Deml- 
 God6 of Antiquity," we read, under tlie head 
 of Ammon or Ilammon (the name of the 
 Egyptian Jupiter, worshiped under the figure 
 of a RaTn)^ that: '* Bacchvs having pnbdued 
 Asia, and passing with his army through 
 the deserts of Africa, was in great want of 
 water ; but Jupiter, his father, assuming the 
 shape of a Jiam. led him to a fountain, where 
 he refreshed himself and his army ; in re- 
 quital of which favor, Bacchus built there a 
 
 temple to Jupiter, under the title of Ammcm.^^ 
 3 Cadiz (ancient Gades), being situated near 
 the moutk of the Mediterranean. The firsi 
 author who mentions the Pillars of Hercules is 
 Pindar, and he places them there. (Cham- 
 bers's Encyclo. "Hercules.") 
 
 ' Volney's Researches, p. 41. See also 
 Tylor: Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 357. 
 
 * See Chambers's Encyclopicdia, Art "Her- 
 cules." Cory's Ancient Frngment.'*, p. 36, noU; 
 and Bulflnch: The Age of Fable, p. 201. 
 
 •Chambers's Encyclo,, ait. "Hercnlea." 
 
 • Vol. i. plate cxxvii.
 
 SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 71 
 
 "Hercules carrying his two columns to erect at the Straits of Gibraltar, 
 may have some reference to the Hebrew story."' 
 
 We think there is uo doubt of it. By changing the name Her- 
 cules into Samson, the legend is complete. 
 
 Sir "William Drummond tells us, in his " (Edipns Judaicus," 
 that : 
 
 " Gaza signifies a Goat, and was the type of the Sun in Capricorn. The Gate* 
 of the Sun were feigned by the ancient Astronomers to be in Capricorn and 
 Cancer (that is, in Gaza), from which signs the tropics are named. Samson 
 carried awaj' the gates from Gazi to Hebron, the city of conjunction. Now, 
 Count Gebclin tells us that at Cadiz, where Hercules was anciently worshiped, 
 there was u representation of him, with a gate on his shoulders."- 
 
 The stories of the amours of Samson with Delilah and other 
 females, are simply counterparts of those of Hercules withOmphale 
 and lole. Montfaucon, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " Nothing is better known in the fables (related of Hercules) than his amours 
 with Omphale and lole."' 
 
 Prof. Steiuthal says : 
 
 ■ ' The circumstance that Samson is so addicted to sexual pleasure, has its origin 
 in the remembrance that the Solar godis the god of fruitfulness and procreation. 
 We have as examples, the amours of Hercules and Omphale; Niny;w, in As.syria, 
 with Semiramis; Samson, in Philistia, with Delila, whilst among the Phenicians, 
 Melkart pursues Dido-Anna."^ 
 
 Samson is said to have had long hair. " There hath not come a 
 razor upon my head," says he, " for I have been a Nazarite unto 
 God from my mother's womb." 
 
 Now, strange as it may appear, Hercules is said to have had long 
 hair also, and he was often represented that way. In Montf aucon's 
 " L'Antiquite Expliquee "' may be seen a representation of Her- 
 cules with hair reaching alnwst to his waist. Ahnost all AS'w?i-gods 
 are represented thus.' 
 
 Prof. Goldzhier says : 
 
 "Long locks of hair and a long beard are mythological attributes of the Sun. 
 The Sun's rays are compared with locks of hair on the face or head of the Sun. 
 
 > Monnmental Christianity, p. 399. from representations of the San-god amongst 
 
 " (Ed. Jud. p. 3fiO, in Anacalypsis, vol. i. other peoples. These long hairs are the rays 
 
 p. 239. of the Sun." (Bible for Learners, i. 416.1 
 
 * "Eien de pins connn dans la fable que •• The beantj- of the sun's rays is signifiea 
 ses amours avec Omphale ct lole."— L'Anti- by the golden locks of Phoibos, over which no 
 quite Expliquee, vol. i. p. 224. razor has ever passed ; by the flowing hair 
 
 * The Legend of Samson, p. 404. which streams from the head of Kephaloe, 
 
 * Vol. i. plate cxsvii. and falls over the shoulders of Perseus and 
 •"Samson was remarkable for his long Belierophon." (Cox; Aryan Jlythc, vol. L 
 
 hair. The meaning of this trait in the orig- p. 107.) 
 tnal myth is easy to guess, and appears also
 
 72 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " When the sun sets and leaves his place to the darkness, or when the 
 powerful Summer Sun is succeeded by the weak rays of the Winter Sun, then 
 Samson's long locks, in which alone his strength lies, are cut off through the 
 treachery of his deceitful concubine, Delilah, the ' languishing, languid,' accord- 
 ing to the meaning of the name (Delilah). The Beaming Apollo, moreover, i» 
 called the Unshaven ; and Minos cannot conquer the solar hero Nisos, iill the 
 latter loses hia golden hair."^ 
 
 Through the influence of Delilah, Samson is at last made a 
 prisoner. He tells her the secret of his strength, the seven locka 
 of hair are shaven off, and his strength leaves him. The shearing 
 of the locks of the Sun must be followed by darkness and ruin. 
 
 From the shoulders of Phoibos Lykegenes flow the sacred 
 locks, over which no razor might pass, and on the head of Nisos 
 they become a palladium, invested with a mysterious power.' 
 The long locks of hair which flow over his shoulders are taken 
 from his head by SkyUa, while he is asleep, and, like another Deli- 
 lah, she thus delivers him and his people into the power of 
 Minos.' 
 
 Prof. Steinthal says of Samson : 
 
 " His hair is a figure of increase and luxuriant fullness. In Winter, when 
 nature appears to have lost all strength, the god of growing young life has lost 
 his hair. In the Spring the hair grows again, and nature returns to life again. 
 Of this original conception the Bible story still preserves a trace. Samson's hair, 
 after being cut off, grows again, and his strength comes back with it."'' 
 
 Towards the end of his career, Samson's eyes are put out. 
 Even hero, the Hebrew writes with a singular fidelity to the old 
 mythical speech. The tender light of evening is blotted out by the 
 dark vapors ; the light of the Sun is quenched in gloom. Sam- 
 son^ s eyes are put out. 
 
 CEdipus, whose history resembles that of Samson and Hercules 
 in many respects, tears out his eyes, towards the end of his career. 
 In other words, the Sun has blinded himself. Clouds and dark- 
 ness have closed in about him, and the clear light is blotted out of 
 the heaven.' 
 
 The final act, Samson's death, reminds us clearly and decisively 
 of the Phenician Hercules, as Sitn-god, who died at the Winter 
 Solstice in the furthest West, where his two pillars are set up to 
 mark the end of his wanderings. 
 
 Samson also died at the two pillars, but in his case they are 
 not the Pillars of the World, but are only set up in the middle 
 of a great banqueting-hall. A feast was being held in honor of 
 
 ' Hebrew Mytho., pp. 137, 138. * The Legend of Samson, p. 408. 
 
 » Coi ; Aryan Myths, vol.i. p. 84. ' Cox: Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 72. 
 
 > Tales of Ancient Greece, p. zzlx.
 
 SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 7S 
 
 Dagon, the Fish-god ; the Sun was in the sign of the "Waterman, 
 Samson, the SuTi-god, died.^ 
 
 The ethnology of the name of Samson, as well as his adven- 
 tures, are very closely connected with the Solar Hercules. " Sam- 
 son " was the nam,e of the Sun.'' In Arabic, " Sha7ns-on " means the 
 Sim.' Samson had seven locks of hair, the number of the plan- 
 etary bodies.* 
 
 The author of " The Religion of Israel," speaking of Samson, 
 says: 
 
 " The story of Samson and his deeds originated in a Solar myth, which was 
 afterwards transformed by the narrator into a saga about a mighty hero and 
 deliverer of Israel. The very name ' Samson,' is derived from the Hebrew word, 
 and means ' Sun.' The hero's flowing locks were originally the rays of the sun, 
 and other traces of the old myth have been preserved."' 
 
 Prof. Oort says : 
 
 " The story of Samson is simply a solar myth. In some of the features of 
 the story the original meaning may be traced quite clearly, but in others the 
 myth can no longer be recognized. The exploits of some Danite hero, such as 
 Shamgar, who ' slew six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad ' (Judges iii. 31), 
 have been woven into it; the whole has been remodeled after the ideas of the 
 prophets of later ages, and finally, it has been fitted into the framework of the 
 period of the Judges, as conceived by the writer of the book called after them."' 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 "The myth that lies at the foundation of this story is a description of the 
 son's course during the six winter months. The god is gradually encompassed 
 by his enemies, mist and darkness. At first he easily maintains his freedom, 
 and gives glorious proofs of his strength ; but the fetters grow stronger and 
 stronger, until at last he is robbed of his crown of rays, and loses all his power 
 and glory. Sxich is tlie Sun in Winter. But he has not lost his splendor forever. 
 Gradually his strength returns, at last he reappears; and though he still seems to 
 allow himself to be mocked, yet the power of avenging himself has returned, 
 and in the end he triumphs over his enemies once more."' 
 
 Other nations beside the Hebrews and Greeks had their 
 •' mighty men" and 1 ion-killers. The Hindoos had their Samson. 
 His name was Bala-Rama, the "Strong Jiama." He was con- 
 sidered by some an incarnation of Vishnu.' 
 
 ' The Legend of Samson, p. 406. > Higgine: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 237, and 
 
 ' See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 237. Volney's Researches, p. 43, note. 
 
 Goldzhier: Hebrew Mythology, p. 22. The < See chapter ii. 
 
 Religion of Israel, p. 61. The Bible for » The Religion of Israel, p. 61. "The yellow 
 
 Learners, vol. i. p. 418. Volney's Ruins, p. hair of Apollo was a symbol of the solar 
 
 41, andStanley: History of the Jewish Chnrch, rays." (Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 
 
 where he says: " His name, which Josephus 679.) 
 
 interprets in lie sense of ' strong,' was still • Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 414. 
 
 more characteristic. He was ' the Sanny '— ' Ibid, p. 422. 
 
 the bright and beaming, though wayward, like- • Williams' Hindoiem, pp. IQS and 157. 
 
 neea of the great Inminary."
 
 74 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Captain Wilford says, iti " Asiatic Researches : " 
 
 "The Indian Hercules, aoconling to Cicero, was called Bdus. He is the 
 same as Bitla, the brother of Crishua, and both are conjolutljr worshiped at 
 Mutru; indeed, they arc considered as one Avatar or Incarnation of Vishnou. 
 Bala is represented as a stout man, witli, a club in his hand. He is also called 
 Bala-rama."^ 
 
 There is a Hindoo legend which relates that Sevah had an en- 
 counter with a tiger, " whose mouth expanded like a cave, and 
 whose voice resembied thunder." He slew the monster, and, like 
 Hercules, covered himself with the skin.^ 
 
 The Assyrians and Lydians, both Semitic nations, worshiped 
 a Sun-god named. Saudan or Saudon. He also was believed to 
 be a Uon-hiller, and frequently figured struggling with the lion, 
 or standing upon the slain lion.' 
 
 Ninevah, too, had her might}' hero and king, who slew a lion 
 and other monsters. Layard, in his excavations, discovered a has- 
 relief representation of this hero triumphing over the lion and 
 wild bull.* 
 
 The Ancient Babylonians had a hero lion-slayer, Izdubar by 
 name. The destruction of the lion, and other monsters, by Izdu- 
 bar, is often depicted on the cylinders and engraved gems belong- 
 ing to the early Babylonian monarchy.' 
 
 Izdubar is represented as a great or mighty man, who, in the 
 early days after the flood, destroyed wild animals, and conquered 
 a number of petty kings.' 
 
 Izdubar I'esembles the Grecian hero, Hercules, in other re- 
 spects than as a destroyer of wild animals, &c. We are told 
 that he " wandered to the regions where gigantic composite mon- 
 sters held and controlled the rising and setting sun, from these 
 learned the road to tlie region of the blessed, and passing across a 
 great waste of land, he arrived at a region where splendid trees 
 were laden with jeioelsP'' 
 
 He also resembles Hercules, Samson, and other solar-gods, in 
 the particular of long flowing locks of hair. In the Babylonian 
 and Assyrian sculptures he is always represented with a marked 
 physiognomy, and always indicated as a man with masses of curls 
 over his head and a large curly beard.' 
 
 ' Vol. V. p. 270. ' Smith: Assyrian Discoveries, p. 167, and 
 
 ' Maurice: Indian Antiqnities, vol. ii. p. Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 174. 
 
 155. • Assyrian Discoveries, p. 205, and Chal- 
 
 • Steinthal : The Legend of Samson, p. dean Account of Genesis, p. 174. 
 
 396. ' Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 810. 
 
 • Buckley: Cities of the World, 41, 42. ' Ibid, pp. 193, 194, 174.
 
 SAMSON AND HIS EXPLOITS. 
 
 76 
 
 Here, evidently, is the Babylonian legend of Hercules. He too 
 was a wanderer, going from the furthest East to the furthest West. 
 He crossed " a great waste of land " (the desert of Lybia), visited 
 " the region of the blessed," where there were "splendid trees laden 
 with jewels " (golden apples). 
 
 The ancient Egyptians had their Hercules. According to 
 Herodotus, he was known several thousand years before the Gre- 
 cian hero of that name. This the Egyptians affirmed, and that he 
 was horn in their country.' 
 
 The story of Hercules was known in the 
 Island of Tliasos, by the Fhenician colon}' 
 settled there, five centuries before he wa.~ 
 known in Greece." Fig. No. 4 is from an 
 ancient representation of Hercules in con- 
 flict with the lion, taken from Gorio. 
 
 Another mighty hero was the Grecian 
 Bellerophon. The minstrels sang of the 
 beauty and the great deeds of Bellerophon 
 throughout all the land of Argos. His arm 
 was strong in battle; his feet were swift in 
 the chase. None that were poor and weak 
 and wretched feared the might of Beller- 
 ophon. To them the sight of his beautiful 
 form brought only joy and gladness ; but the proud and boastful, 
 the slanderer and the robber, dreaded the glance of his keen eye. 
 For a long time he fought the Solymi and the Amazons, until 
 all his enemies shrank from the stroke of his mighty arm, and 
 sought for mercy.' 
 
 The second of the principal gods of the Ancient Scandinavians 
 was named Thor, and was no less known than Odin among the Teu- 
 tonic nations. The Edda calls him expressly the most valiant of the 
 sons of Odin. He was considered the " defender " and " amengerP 
 He always carried a mallet, which, as often as he discharged it, 
 returned to his hand of itself ; he grasped it with gauntlets of 
 iron, and was further possessed of a girdle which had the virtue of 
 renewing his strength as often as was needful. It was with these 
 formidable arms that he overthrew to the groimd the monsters and 
 giants, when he was sent by the gods to oppose their enemies. He 
 was represented of gigantic size, and as the stoutest and strongest 
 
 1 See Tacitus: Annala, book ii. cb. lix. 
 t Knight: Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 93. 
 
 ' See Tales of Ancient Oreece, p. 168,
 
 76 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 of the gods.' Thor was simply the Hercules of the Northern 
 nations. He was the Sun personified.' 
 
 Without enumerating them, we can safely say, that there was 
 not a nation of antiquity, from the remotest East to the furthest 
 West, that did not have its mighty hero, and counterpart of Her- 
 cules and Samson.' 
 
 ' See Mallet's Northern ADtiqnitise, pp. " Beeides the fabuloas Hercoles, the son of 
 
 94, 417, and 514. Jupiter and Alcmena, there was, in ancient 
 
 ' See Cox : Aryan Mythology. times, no warlike nation who did not boast 
 
 ' See vol. i. of Aryan Mythology, by Bev. of its own particular Hercnles." (Arthnr Mar- 
 
 6. W. Coz. pby. Translator of Tacitus.)
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 JONAH SWALLOWED BY A BIG FISH. 
 
 In the book of Jonah, containing four chapters, we are told 
 the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, saying : " Arise, go to Nin- 
 evah, that great citj, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come 
 up against ine." 
 
 Instead of obeying this command Jonah sought to flee " from 
 the presence of the Lord," by going to Tarshish. For this pur- 
 pose he went to Joppa, and there took ship for Tarshish. But 
 the Lord sent a great wind, and there was a mighty tempest, so 
 that the ship was likely to be broken. 
 
 The marinei's being afraid, they cried every one unto his God ; 
 and casting lots — that they might know which of them was the 
 cause of the storm — the lot fell upon Jonah, showing him to be the 
 guilty man. 
 
 The mariners then said unto him ; " What shall we do unto thee ?" 
 Jonah in reply said, " Take me up and cast me forth into the sea, 
 for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." So 
 they took up Jonah, and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased 
 raging. 
 
 And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and 
 Jonah was in the helly of the fish three days and three nights. 
 Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord out of the fish's belly. And the 
 Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry 
 land. 
 
 The Lord again spake unto Jonah and said : 
 
 " Go unto Ninevah and preach unto it." So Jonah arose and 
 went unto Ninevah, according to the command of the Lord, and 
 preached unto it. 
 
 There is a Hindoo fable, very much resembling this, to be found 
 in the Sornadeva Bhatta, of a person by the name of Saktldeva 
 who was swallowed by a huge fish, and finally came out unhurt. 
 The story is as follows : 
 
 " There was once a king's daughter who would marry no one 
 
 [77]
 
 78 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 but tlie man who had seen the Golden City— of legendary fame — 
 and Saktideva was in love with her ; so he went travelling about 
 the world seeking some one who could tell him where this Golden 
 City was. In the course of his journeys lie emharked on hoard a 
 ship bound for the Island of Utsthala, where lived the King of the 
 Fishermen, who, Saktideva hoped, would set him on his way. On 
 the voyage tloere arose a great storm and the ship went to pieces, 
 and a great fish sioallowed Saktideva whole. Then, driven by the 
 force of fate, the iish went to the Island of Utsthala, and there the 
 servants of the King of the Fishermen caught it, and the king, 
 wondering at its size, had it cut open, and Saktideva came out 
 unhurt y^ 
 
 In Grecian fable, Hercules is said to have been swallowed by a 
 whale, at a place called Joppa, amd to have lain three days in his 
 entrails. 
 
 Bernard de Montfaucon, speaking of Jonah being swallowed by 
 a whale, and describing a piece of Grecian sculptm-e representing 
 Hercules standing by a huge sea monster, says : 
 
 " Some ancients relate to the effect that Hercules was also swallowed by 
 the whale that was watching Hesione, tliat he remained three days in his belly, 
 and that he came out bald-pated after his sojourn there. "^ 
 
 Bouchet, in his " Hist, d' Animal," tells us that : 
 
 "The great fish which swallowed up Jonah, although it be called a whale 
 (Matt. xii. 40), yet it was not a whale, properly so called, but a Dog-fish, called 
 Oarcharias. Therefore in the Grecian fable Uercules is said to have been swal- 
 lowed up of a Dag, and to have lain three days in his entrails."' 
 
 Godfrey Higgins says, on this subject : 
 
 " The story of Jbftas swallowed up by a whale, is nothing but part of the 
 fiction of Hercules, described in the Heracleid or Labors of Hercules, of whom 
 the same story was told, and who was swallowed up at the very same place, 
 Joppa, and for the same period of time, three days. Lycophron says that Hercules 
 was three nights in the belly of a fish."* 
 
 We have still another similar story in that of "Arion the Musi- 
 cian," who, being thrown overboard, was caught on the back of a 
 Dolphin and landed safe on shore. The story is related in 
 " Tales of Ancient Greece," as follows : 
 
 Arion was a Corinthian harper who had travelled in Sicily and 
 
 ' Tylor: Early Hist. Mankind, pp. 344, 345. ' Bouchet: Hist. d'Animal, in Auac, vol. i. 
 
 ' "Eneffet, quelquesancienBdisentqu'Her- p. aiO. 
 cule fut auBsi devori par la beleine qui gurdoit * Anacalypeis, vol. i. p. 638. See also 
 
 Ileeione, qu'il demeura trois joura dans sou Tylot . Primilive Culture, vol. i. p. 300, and 
 
 ventre, et qu'il sortit chauve de ce Bejour." Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Jonah." 
 (L'Antiquite Expliquee, vol. i. p. 204.)
 
 JONAH SWALLOWED BY A BIG FISH. 79 
 
 Italy, and had accumulated great wealth. Being desirous of again 
 seeing his native city, he set sail from Taras for Corinth. The 
 sailors in the ship, having seen the large hexes full of money which 
 Arion had brought with him into the ship, made up their minds to 
 kill him and take his gold and silver. So one day when he was 
 sitting on the bow of the ship, and looking down on the dark 
 blue sea, tlu'ee or four of the sailors came to him and said they 
 were going to kill him. Now Arion knew they said this because 
 they wanted his money ; so he promised to give them all he 
 had if they would spare his life. But they would not. Then 
 he asked them to let him jump into the sea. When they had 
 given him leave to do this, Arion took one last look at the bright 
 and sunny sky, and then leaped into the sea, and the sailors saw 
 him no more. But Arion was not drowned in the sea, for a great 
 fish called a dolphin was swimming by the ship when Arion leaped 
 over; and it caught him on its back and swam away with him 
 towards Corinth. So presently the fish came close to the shore aiad 
 left Arion on the beach, and swam away again into the deep sea.' 
 
 There is also a Persian legend to the effect that Jemshid was 
 devoured by a great monster waiting for him at the bottom of 
 the sea, but afterwards rises again out of the sea, like Jonah in the 
 Hebrew, and Hercules in the Phenician myth.'' This legend was 
 also found in the myths of the New Worlds 
 
 It was urged, many years ago, by Rosenmiiller — an eminent 
 German divine and professor of theology — and other critics, that 
 the miracle recorded in the book of Jonah is not to be regarded as 
 an historical fact, '•'•hut only as an allegory, founded on the Pheni- 
 cian myth of Hercules rescuing Hesione from the sea monster hy 
 lea/ping himself into its jaws, and for three days and three nights 
 continuing to tear its entrails^'' 
 
 That the story is an allegory, and that it, as well as that of 
 Saktideva, Hercules and the rest, are simply different versions of 
 the same myth, the significance of which is the alternate swallow- 
 ing up and casting forth of Day, or the Sun, by Night, is now all 
 but universally admitted by scholars. The Day, or the Sun, is 
 swallowed up by Night, to be set free again at dawn, and from 
 time to time suffers a like but shorter durance in the maw of the 
 eclipse and the storm-cloud.' 
 
 Professor Goldzhier says : 
 
 ' Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 296. • Chambers's Encyclo., art. Jonah. 
 
 ' See Hebrew Mythology, p. 203. * See Fieke : Myths and Myth Makers, p. 77, 
 
 » See Tylor's Early Hist. Mankind, and and note ; and Tylor : Primitive Culture, I. 308. 
 PrimitiTe Coltare, vol. i.
 
 80 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " The most prominent mythical characteristic of the Etory of Jonah is his 
 celebrated abode in the sea in the belly of a whale. This trait is eminently 
 Solar. ... As on occasion of the storm the storm-dragon or the storm- 
 serpent swallows the Sun, so when he sets, he (Jonah, as a personification of 
 the Sun) is swallowed by a mighty fish, waiting for him at the bottom of the 
 fiea. Then, when he appears again on the horizon, he is »pit out on t/te slutre by 
 the sea-monster."' 
 
 The Sun was called Jona, as appears from Grater's inscriptions, 
 and other sources." 
 
 In the Vcdas — the four sacred books of the Hindoos — when Day 
 and Niglit, Sun and Darkness, are opposed to each other, the one 
 is designated Red, the other Black.' 
 
 The Red Sun being swallowed up by the Dark Earth at Night 
 —as it apparently is when it sets in the west — to be cast forth 
 again at Day, is also illustrated in like manner. Jonah, Hercules 
 and others personify the Su7i, and a huge Fish represents the 
 Earth.^ The Earth represented as a huge Fish is one of the inost 
 prominent ideas of the Polynesiam, mythology.^ 
 
 At other times, instead of a Fish, we have a great raving Wolf, 
 who comes to devoiir its victim and extinguish the ^wTi-light.' 
 The Wolf is particularly distinguished in ancient Scandinavian 
 mythology, being employed as an emblem of the Destraying Rower, 
 which attempts to destroy the Su7i.'' This is illustrated in the 
 story of Little Red Riding-Hood (the Sun)' who is devoured by 
 the great Black Wolf (Night) and afterwards corner out unhurt? 
 
 The story of Little Ked Riding-Hood is mutilated in the Eng- 
 lish version. The original story was that the little maid, in her 
 shining Red Cloak, was swallowed by the great Black Wolf, and 
 that she came out safe and sound when the hunters cut open the 
 sleeping beast.'" 
 
 ' Goldzhier: Hebrew Mythology, pp. 102, 103. • See Tylor : Early History of Mankind, p. 
 
 * This is seen from the following, taken from 345. 
 
 Pictet: "D« Cutte des Carabi," p. 104, and • Fiske : M.ytha and Myth Makers, p. 77. 
 
 quoted by Higgins : Anac., vol. i. p. 650 : *' Val- ^ gee Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 
 lancy dit que lonn etoit le meme que Baal. pp. 88, 89, and Mallet's Northern Antiquities. 
 
 Eu Galloia Jon, Ic Seigneur, Dieu, la cause ^ In ancient Scandinavian mythology, the 
 
 premiere. En Basque Jawna, Jon, Jona, &c.. Sun is personified in the form of a beautiful 
 
 Dieu, et Seigneur, Maitre. Les Scandinaves maiden. (See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, 
 
 appeloient le Soleil John. . . . Une des p. 458.) 
 
 inscriptions de Gruler montre ques les Troyens " See Fiske : Myths and Myth Makers, p. 77. 
 
 adoroient le me/ne astro sous le nom de Jona. Bunce : Fairy Tales, Itil. 
 
 En Persan le Sofciiest appele JawnaA." Thus '"Tylor: Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 307. 
 
 we see that the Sun was called Jonah, by dif- " The story of Little Red Riding-Hood, aa 
 
 ferent nations of antiquily. we call her, or Little Red-Cap, came from the 
 
 > See Goldzhier : Hebrew Mythology, p. 146. same (i. «., the ancient Aryan) source, and re- 
 
 * See Tylor : Early History of Mankind, p. fers to the Sun and the Night." 
 
 345, and Goldzhier ; Hebrew Mythology, pp. " One of the fancies of the most ancient 
 
 102, 103. Aryan or Hindoo stories was that there was a
 
 JONAH SWALLOWED BY A BIG FISH. W. 
 
 In regard to these heroes remaining three days and three nights 
 in the bowels of the Fish, they represent the Sun at the Winter Sol- 
 stice. From December 22(i to the 25th — that is, for three days 
 and three nights — the Sicn remains in the Lowest Hegions, in the 
 bowels of the Earth, in the bellj of the Fish ; it is then cast forth 
 and renews its career. 
 
 Thus, we see that the story of Jonah being swallowed by a big 
 fish, meant originally the Sun swallowed up by Night, and that it 
 is identical with the well-known nursery-tale. How such legends 
 are transformed from intelligible into unintelligible myths, is very 
 clearly illustrated by Prof. Max Miiller, who, in speaking of " the 
 comparison of the different forms of Aryan Religion and Mythol- 
 ogy," in India, Persia, Greece, Italy and Germany, says : 
 
 " In each of these nations there was a tendency to change the original concep- 
 tion of divine powers; to misunderstand the many names given to these powers, 
 and to misinterpret the praises addressed to them. In this manner some of the 
 divine names were clianged into half-divine, half-human heroes, and at last the 
 myths which were true and intelligible as told originally of IheSun, or the Dawn, 
 or the Storms, were turned into legends or fables too tnaroellous to be believed of 
 common mortals. This process can be watched in India, in Greece, and in Ger- 
 many. The same story, or nearly the same, is told of gods, of heroes, and of 
 men. The divine myth became an heroic legend, and the heroic legend fades away 
 into a nursery tale. Our nursery tales have well been called the modern patois 
 of the ancient sacred mythology of the Aryan race."' 
 
 How striking are these words ; how plainly they illustrate the 
 process by which the story, that was true and intelligible as told 
 originally of the Day being swallowed up by Night, or the Sun 
 being swallowed up by the Earth, was transformed into a legend 
 or fable, too marvellous to be believed by common mortals. How 
 the ^'■divine myth" became an '■^heroic legend," and how the heroic 
 legend faded away into a " nursery tale." 
 
 In regard to J onah's going to the city of Ninevah, and preach- 
 ing unto the inhabitants, we believe that the old " Myth of CiviHza- 
 
 grcat dragon that was trying to devour the Sun, clouds, which the evening Sun is not strong 
 
 and to prevent him from shining upon the enough to pierce through. Then, with the 
 
 earth and tilling it with brightness and life and darkness of night, he swallows up the evening 
 
 beauty, and that Indra, the Sun-god, liilled the Son itself, and all is dark and desolate. Then, 
 
 dragon. Now, tliis is the meaning of Little as in the German tale, the night-thunder and 
 
 Red Riding-Hood, as it is told in our nursery the storm-winds are represented by the loud 
 
 tales. Little Red Riding-Uood is the evening snoring of the wolf ; and then the huntsman, 
 
 Sun, which is always described asred or golden ; the morning Sun, comes in all his strength and 
 
 the old grandmother is the earth, to whom the majesty, and chases away the night-clouds and 
 
 rays of the Sun bring warmth aud comfort. kills the wolf, and revives old Grandmother 
 
 The wolf — which is a well-knou-n figure for the Earth, and bnngs Little Red Riding-Hood to 
 
 clouds and darkness of night— is the dragon in life again." (Bunce, Fairy Tales, their Origin 
 
 another form. First he devours the grand- and Meaning, p. 161.) 
 mother ; that is, he wraps the earth in thick ' Miiller's Chips, vol. il. p. 260. 
 
 6
 
 82 BI13LE MYTUS. 
 
 tion," so called,' is partly interwoveu here, and that, ia this re- 
 spect, he is nothing more than the Indian Fish Avatar of Vish- 
 nou, or the Chaldean Oannes. At his tirst Avatar, Vis/mou is 
 alleged to liave appeared to humanity in form like a iish,' or half- 
 man and half-tish, just as Oannes and Dagon were represented among 
 the Chaldeans and other nations. In the temple of Rama, in India, 
 there is a representation of Vishnou which answers perfectly to 
 that of Dagon.' Mr. Maurice, in his '•Hist. Hindostan," has 
 proved the identity of the Syrian Dagon and the Indian Fish 
 Avatar, and concludes by saying : 
 
 " From the foregoing and a variety of parallel circumstances, I am inclined 
 to think that the Chaldean Oannes, the Phenician and Philistian Dago7i, and the 
 Pisces of the Syrian and Egyptian Zodiac, were the same deity with the Indian 
 Vishnu."* 
 
 In the old mythological remains of the Chaldeans, compiled by 
 Berosus. Abydenus, and Polyhistor, there is an account of one 
 Oannes, a fish-god, who rendered great service to mankind.' This 
 being is said to have C07ne out of the Erythraean Sea.' This is 
 evidently the Sun rising out of the sea, as it apparently does, in 
 the East.' 
 
 Prof. Goldzhier, speaking of Oannes, says : 
 
 "That this founder of cizilization has a, Solar character, like similar heroes 
 in all other nations, is shown ... in the words of Berosus, who says: 
 'During the day-time Oannes held intercourse with man, but wlientheSun set, 
 Oannes fell into the sea, where he used to pass the night.' Uere, evidently, only 
 the Sun can be meant, who, in the evening, dips into the sea, and comes forth 
 again in the morning, and passes the daj- on the dry land in the company of 
 men."' 
 
 Dagon was sometimes represented as a man emerging from a 
 fisKs mouth, and sometimes as half-man and half-tish.' It was 
 believed that he came in a shi^p, and taught the people. Ancient 
 history abounds with such mythological personages." There was also 
 a Durga, a fish deity, among the Hindoos, represented as a full 
 grown man emerging from a fisKs mouth.' The Philistines wor- 
 
 1 See Goldzhier'e Hebrew Mythology, p. 198, 'See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 646. 
 
 et seq. Smith : Chaldeao Account of Genesis, p. 39, 
 
 ' See Maarice : Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. and Cory's Ancient Fragments, p. 57. 
 
 p. 277. ' Civilizing gods, who diffuse intelligence 
 
 3 See Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 259. Also, and instruct barbarians, are also Solar Deities. 
 
 Fig. No. 5, nest page. Among these Oannes takes his place, as the 
 
 * Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. pp. 41S-419. Sun-god, giving knowledge aud civilization. 
 
 ' See Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, p. 190. (Rev. S. Buring-Gould : Curious Myths, p. 367. 
 
 Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 87. Higgins : » Goldzhier : Hebrew Mythology, pp. 214, 
 
 Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 646. Cory's Ar.cient 215. 
 
 Fragments, p. 57. ' See Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. 1. p. 111. 
 
 '• See Chamber's Encyclo., art " Dagon."
 
 JONAH SWALLOWED BT A BIG FISH. 
 
 83 
 
 filliped Dagon, and in Babylonian Mythology Odakon is applied to 
 a fish-like l)cing, who rose from the waters of the Red Sea as one of 
 the benefactoi"s of men." 
 
 On the coins of Ascalon, where she was held in great honor, 
 the goddess Derceto or Atergatis is represented as a woman with 
 her lower extremities like a fish. This is Semirarais, who appeared 
 at Joppa as a mermaid. She is simply a personification of the 
 Moon, who follows the course of the Sun. At times she manifests 
 herself to the eyes of men, at others she seeks concealment in the 
 Western flood." 
 
 The Sun-god Phoibos traverses the sea in the form of a fish, 
 and imparts lessons of wisdom and goodness when he has come 
 forth from the green depths. All these powers or qualities are 
 shared by Proteus in Hellenic story, as well as by the fish-god, 
 Dagon or Oannes.' 
 
 In the Iliad and Odyssey, Atlas is brought into close connection 
 with Helios, the bright god, the Latin Sol, and our Sun. In these 
 poems he rises every morning from a beautiful lake by the deep- 
 flowing stream of Ocean, and having accomplished his journey 
 across the heavens, plunges again into the Western waters.* 
 
 The ancient Mexicans and Peruvians had likewise semi-fish gods.' 
 
 Jonah then, is like these other personages, in so far as they 
 are all personifications of the Sun / they all come out of the sea • 
 they are all represented as 
 a iiian emerging from a 
 fish's mouth ; and they are 
 all henefactors of manlcind. 
 We believe, therefore, 
 that it is one and the 
 same myth, whether Oan- 
 nes, Joannes, or Jonas,' dif- 
 fering to a certain extent 
 among different nations, just 
 as we find to be the case with 
 seen illustrated in the story of 
 is considerably mutilated in the English version. 
 
 other legends. This we have just 
 "Little Red Eiding-Hood," which 
 
 > See Smiths Dictionary of the Bible, and 
 Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Dagon " in both. 
 » See Baring-Goald's Curiona Myths. 
 
 * See Cox ; Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 26. 
 « nid, p. 3S. 
 
 ' Carious Myths, p. 372. 
 
 • Since writing the above we find that Mr. 
 Bryant, in his ''Analyeia of AncAtnt Uytlm- 
 
 ogy" (vol. ii. p. 2D1), speaking of the mystical 
 nature of the name John, which is the same as 
 Jonah, says : "The prophet who was sent upon 
 an embassy to the Ninevites, is styled Jonas : 
 a title probably bestowed upon him as a mes- 
 senger of the Deity. The great Patriarch whti 
 preached righteousness to the Antediluvians, 
 is styled Oan and Oamiea, which ia iAe tanu 
 as Jonah."
 
 84 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Fig. No. 5 is a represeutation of Dagon, iutended to illustrate a 
 creature half-man and half-fisli ; or, perhaps, a man emerging from a 
 fish's mouth. It is taken from Layard. Fig. No. 6' is a repre- 
 sentation of the Indian Avatar of Vishnou, 
 coming forth from the fish.'' It would an- 
 swer just as well for a representation of 
 Jonah, as it docs for the Hindoo divinity. It 
 should be noticed that in both of these, the 
 god has a crown on his head, surmounted 
 with a triple ornament, both of which had 
 evidently the same meaning, i. e., an emblem 
 of the trinity.' The Indian Avatar being 
 represented with four arms, evidently means 
 that he is god of the whole world, his four 
 arms extending to \X\efour corners of the 
 world. The circle, which is seen in one 
 hand, is an emblem of eternal reward. The 
 shell, with its eight convolutions, is intended 
 to show the place in the number of the cycles which he occupied. 
 The hooh and sword are to show that he ruled both in the right of 
 the book and of the sword.' 
 
 ' From Maurice : Hist. Hindostan, vol. i. 
 p. 495. 
 
 ^ Higglna : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 634. See 
 also, Calmel's Fragments, 2d Hundred, p. 78. 
 
 3 See the chapter on " The Trinity," ii 
 part second. 
 
 * See Higgina : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 640.
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 OTKOUMCISION. 
 
 In the words of the Kev. Dr. Giles : 
 
 " The rite of circumcision must not be passed over in any work thatconcernt 
 the religion and literature of that (the Jewish) people."' 
 
 The first mention of Circumcision, in the Bible, occurs in 
 Genesis,' where God is said to have commanded the Israelites to 
 perform this rite, and thereby establish a covenant between him and 
 his chosen people : 
 
 " This is my covenant (said the Lord), which ye shall lieep, between me and 
 you and thy seed after thee; every male cliild among you shall be circumcised." 
 
 " We need not doubt" says the Rev. Dr. Giles, " that a Divine 
 command was given to Abraham that all his posteiity should prac- 
 tice the rite of circumcision.'" 
 
 Such may be the case. If we believe that the Lord of the 
 Universe communes with man, we need not dovht this ; yet, we are 
 compelled to admit that nations other than the Hebrews practiced 
 this rite. The origin of it, however, as pi-acticed among other 
 nations, has never been clearly ascertained. It has been maintained 
 by some scholars that this rite drew its origin from considerations of 
 health and cleanliness, which seems very probable, although doubted 
 by many.' Whatever may have been its origin, it is certain 
 that it was practiced by many of the ancient Eastern nations, 
 who never came in contact with the Hebrews, in early times, and, 
 therefore, could not have learned it from them. 
 
 The Egyptians practiced circumcision at a very early period,' 
 
 ' Giles : Hebrew and Christian Records, vol. ated in this way. And Mr. Wake, speaking of it. 
 
 i. p. a49. says: " IXmorigin of this cnstom has not yet, so 
 
 ' Genesis, xvii. 10. far as I am aware, been satisfactorily explained. 
 
 > Giles : Hebrew andChristian Records, vol . The idea that, under certain climatic con- 
 
 1. p. 851. ditions, circnmcision is necessary for cleanli- 
 
 * Mr. Herbert Spencer shows (Principles of ncss and comfort, does not appear to be well 
 
 Sociology, pp. 290. 295) that the sacrificing of a founded, as the custom is not universal even 
 
 part of the body as a religious offering to their within the tropics." (Phallism in Ancient 
 
 deity, was, and is a common practice among Rejigs., p. 36.) 
 
 savage tribes. Circnmcision may have origin- '"Other men leave their private parts
 
 86 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 at least as early as the ybwr^A dynasty — pyramid oae — and therefore, 
 long before the time assigned for Joseph's entry into Egypt, from 
 whom some writers have claimed the Egyptians learned it.' 
 
 In the decorative pictures of Egyptian tombs, one frequently 
 meets with persons on whom the denudation of the prepuce is 
 manifested.' 
 
 On a stone found at Thebes, there is a representation of the 
 circumcision of Eamses II. A mother is seen holding her boy's 
 arms back, while the operator kneels in front.' All Egyptian 
 priests were obliged to be circumcised,' and Pythagoras had to 
 Bubmit to it before being admitted to the Egyptian sacerdotal 
 mysteries.' 
 
 Herodotus, the Greek historian, says : 
 
 "As this practice can be traced botli in Egypt and Etliiopia, to tlie remotest 
 antiquity, it is not possible to say whicli first introduced it. Tlie Plienicians 
 and Syrians of Palestine acknowledge that they borrowed it from Egypt."' 
 
 It has been recognized among the Kaffirs and other tribes of 
 Africa.'' It was practiced among the Fijimis and Samoans of 
 Polynesia, and some races of Australia.' The Suzees and the 
 Mandingoes circumcise their women.' The Assyrians, Colchins, 
 Phenicians, and others, practiced it.'° It has been from time im- 
 memorial a custom among the Abyssinians, though, at the present 
 time. Christians." 
 
 The antiquity of the custom may be assured from the fact of 
 the New Hollanders, (never known to civilized nations until a few 
 years ago) having practiced it.'' 
 
 The Troglodytes on the shore of the Red Sea, the Jdumeans, 
 Arnmonites, Moahites and Ishmaelites, had the practice of circum- 
 cision." 
 
 The ancient Mexicans also practiced this rite." It was also 
 
 as they are formed by nature, except those 'Herodotus: Book ii. eh. 36. 
 
 who have learned otherwise from them; but ' See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 114. 
 
 the Egyptians are ri7'ei/mfisfrf. . . . They Amberiy: Analysis Religions Belief, p. 67, and 
 
 are circumcised for the sake of cleanliness, Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 309. 
 
 thinking it better to be clean than handsome," ^ Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 4U, and 
 
 (Herodotus, Book ii. ch. 36.) Amberly'8 Analysis, pp. 03, 73. 
 
 ' We have it also on the authority of Sir » Amberiy: Analysis ol Reiig. Belief, p. 73. 
 
 J. G. Wilkinson, that: "this custom \v:i^ estab- J" Bouwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 414; Am- 
 
 lished long before the arrival of J^.^cph in berly's Analysis, p. 63; Prog. Relig. Idi-as, 
 
 Egypt, "and that "this is proved by the ancient vol. i. p. 16;^, and Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. 
 
 monuments." ii. pp. 18, 19. 
 
 ^ Bouwick: Egyptian Belief, pp. 411, 41.'5. " Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 414. 
 
 3 Ibid. p. 415. 13 Kendrick's Egypt, quoted by Dunlap; 
 
 * Ibid, and Knight: Ancient Art and MytUol- Mysteries of Adoni, p. 146. 
 
 ogy, p. 89. 13 Amberly's Analysis, p. 63, Higgins: Ana- 
 
 ^ Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p, 415. calypsis, vol. ii, p. 309, and Acosta, ii. 369.
 
 CIRCUMCISION. 87 
 
 found among the Amazon tribes of South America.' These In- 
 dians, as well as some African tribes, were in the habit of circumcis- 
 ing their women. Among the Campos, the women circumcised 
 themselves, and a man would not marry a woman who was not 
 circumcised." They performed this singular rite upon arriving at 
 the age of puberty.' 
 
 Jesus of Xazareth was circumcised,* and had he been really the 
 founder of the Christian religion, so-called, it would certainly be 
 incumbent on all Ciiristians to be circumcised as he was, and to 
 observe that Jewish law which he observed, and which he was 
 so far from abrogating, that he declared : " heaven and earth 
 shall pass away " ere " one jot or one tittle " of that law should be 
 dispensed ^^'ith.' But the Christians are not followers of the 
 religion of Jesus.' They are followers of the religion of the 
 Pagans. This, we believe, we shall be able to show in Part Second 
 of this work. 
 
 * Orton : The Andes and the Amazon, p. among the inhabitants of the Friendly Islands, 
 
 ^2. in particular at Tongataboo, and the younger 
 
 ^ This was done by cutting off the dytoru. Pritchard bears witness to its practice in the 
 
 'Ortou: The Andes and the Amazon, p. Samoa or Fiji groups." (Oscar Peschel : The 
 
 323. Gibbon's Rome, vol. iv. p. 56.3, and Bible Baces of Man, p. 22.) 
 for Learners, vol. i. p. 319. ' Luke, ii. 21. 
 
 "At the time of the conquest, the Span- 'Matthew, v. 18. 
 
 iards found circumcised nations in Central • In using the words "the religion of 
 
 America, and on the Amazon, the Tecuna and Jesus," we mean simply the religion of l&rael. 
 
 Manaos tribes still oDserve this practice. In We believe that Jesua of Nazareth was a Jew, 
 
 the South Seas it has been met with among in every sense of the word, and that he did 
 
 three different races, but it is performed in a not establish a new religion, or preach a new 
 
 somewhat different manner. On the Austral- doctrine, in any way, shape, or form. " The 
 
 ian continent, not all, but the majority of preacher from the Mount, the prophet of the 
 
 tribes, practiced circumcision. Among the Beatitudes, does but repeat with persuasive 
 
 Papuans, the inhabitants of New Caledonia lips what the law-givers of his race proclaimed 
 
 and the New Hebrides adhere to this custom. in mighty tones of command." (See chap. 
 
 In hie third voyage, Captain Cook found it zL)
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 
 
 There are many other legends recorded in the Old Testament 
 which might be treated at length, but, as we have considered the 
 principal and most important, and as we have so much to examine 
 in Part Second, which treats of the New Testament, we shall take 
 but a passing glance at a few others. 
 
 In Genesis xli. is to be found the story of 
 
 Pharaoh's two dreams, 
 
 which is to the effect that Pharaoh dreamed that he stood by a 
 river, and saw come up out of it seven fat kine, and seven lean 
 kine, which devoured the fat ones. He then dreamed that he 
 saw seven good ears of corn, on one stalk, spring up out of the 
 ground. This was followed by seven poor ears, which sprang up 
 after them, and devoured the good ears. 
 
 Pharaoh, upon awaking from his sleep, and recalling the 
 dreams which he dreamed, was greatly troubled, " and he sent and 
 called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof, 
 and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none that could 
 interpret them unto Pharaoh." Finall}', his chief butler tells him 
 of one Joseph, who was skilled in interpreting dreams, and Pharaoh 
 orders him to be brought before his presence. He then repeats 
 his dreams to Josepli, who immediately interprets them to the 
 great satisfaction of the king. 
 
 A very similar story is related in the Buddhist Fo^enrhing-^ 
 one of their sacred books, which has been translated by Prof. 
 Samuel Beal — wliich, in substance, is as follows : 
 
 Suddhodana Raja dreamed seven different dreams in one night, 
 when, " awaking from his sleep, and recalling the visions he had 
 seen, was greatly troubled, so that the very hair on his body stood 
 erect, and his limbs trembled." He forthwith summoned to his 
 side, within liis palace, all the great ministers of his council, and 
 [88]
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 89 
 
 exhorted them in these words : " Most honorable Sii-s ! be it known 
 to you that during the present night I have seen in my dreams 
 strange and potent visions — tliere were seven distinct dreams, which 
 I will now recite (he recites the dreams). I pray you, honorable 
 Sirs ! let not these dreams escape your memories, but in the morn- 
 ing, when I am seated in my palace, and surrounded by my attend- 
 ants, let them be brought to my mind (that they may be inter- 
 preted.)" 
 
 At morning light, the king, seated in the midst of his attendants, 
 issued his commands to all the Brahmans, interpreters of dreams, 
 within his kingdom, in these terms, "All ye men of wisdom, explain 
 for me by interpretation the meaning of the dreams I have dreamed 
 in my sleep." 
 
 Then all the wise Brahmans, interpreters of dreams, began to 
 consider, each one in his own heart, what the meaning of these 
 visions could be ; till at last they addressed the king, and said : 
 " Maha-raja ! be it known to you that we never before have heard 
 such dreams as these, and we cannot interpret their meaningP 
 
 On hearing this, Suddhodana was very troubled in his heart, and 
 exceeding distressed. He thought within himself : " Who is there 
 that can satisfy these doubts of mine ?" 
 
 Finally a " holy one," called T^so-Ping, being present in the 
 inner palace, and perceiving the sorrow and distress of the king, 
 assumed the appearance of a Brahman, and under this form he 
 stood at the gate of the king's palace, and cried out, saying : " I am 
 able fully to interpret the dreams of Suddhodana Raja, and with 
 certainty to satisfy all the doubts." 
 
 The king ordered him to be brought before his presence, and 
 then related to him his dreams. Upon hearing them, T'' so Ping 
 immediately interpreted them, to the great satisfaction of the king.' 
 
 In the second chapter of Exodus we read of 
 
 which is done hy command of the king. 
 
 There are many counterparts to this in ancient mythology ; 
 among them may be mentioned that of the infant Pei-seus, who 
 was, iy command of the king (Acrisius of Argos), shut up in a 
 chest, and cast into the sea. He was found by one Dictys, who 
 took great care of the child, and — as Phai-oah's daughter did with 
 the child Moses — educated him.' 
 
 > See Beal : Hiet. Baddhs, p. Ill, ttseq. Ancient Art and Myths., p. ITS, and Bulflnch: 
 
 ' BeU'B Pantheon, ondei "Peraeus;" Knight : Age of Fables, p. 161.
 
 90 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The infant Bacchus was confined in a chest, hy order of Cadmus, 
 King of Thehes, and thrown into the Nile.' He, like Moses, had 
 two mothers, one by nature, the othei' by adoption.' He was also, 
 like Moses, represented Jiorned.' 
 
 Osiris was also confined in a chest, and thrown into the river 
 Nile.* 
 
 When Osiris was shut into the coffer, and cast into the river, he 
 floated to Phenicia, and was there received under the name of 
 Adonis. Isis (his mother, or wife) wandered in quest of him, 
 came to Byblos, and seated herself by a fountain in silence and 
 tears. She was then taken by the servants of the royal palace, and 
 made to attend on the young prince of the land. In like manner, 
 Demeter, after Aidoneus had ravished her daughter, went in pur- 
 suit, reached Eleusis, seated herself by a well, conversed with the 
 daughters of the queen, and became nurse to her son." So likewise, 
 when Moses was put into the ark made of bulrushes, and cast 
 into the Nile, he was found by the daughters of Pharaoh, and his 
 own mother became his nurse.' This is simply another version of 
 the same myth. 
 
 In the second chapter of the second book of Kings, we x-ead oi 
 
 ELUAH ASCENDING TO HEAVEN. 
 
 There are many counterparts to this, in heathen mythology. 
 
 Hindoo sacred writings relate many such stories — how some oi 
 their Holy Ones were taken up alive into heaven — and impressions 
 on rocks are shown, said to be foot-prints, made when they 
 ascended.' 
 
 According to Babylonian mythology, Xisuthriis was translated 
 to heaven." 
 
 The story of Elijah ascending to heaven in a chariot of fire may 
 also be compared to the fiery, flame-red chariot of Ushas.' This 
 idea of some Holy One ascending to heaven without dying was 
 found in the ancient mythology of the Chinese." 
 
 The story of 
 
 DAVID KILLING GOLIATH, 
 
 by throwing a stone and hitting him in the forehead," may be com- 
 
 1 Bull's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 118. Taylor's ' Baring-Gould : Orig. Kelig. Belief, 1. 159. 
 
 Siegesis, p. 190. Higgins : Anacalypsie, vol. • Exodus, ii. 
 
 ii. p. 19. - Ibid. ' See Child : Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 6, 
 
 s Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 122. Dupuis : and most any work on Buddhism. 
 Origin of Eeligious Belief, p. 174. Goldziher : » See Smith : Chaldean Account of Genesis. 
 
 Hebrew Mythologj-. p. '79. Higgins : Anaca- ' See Goldziher : Hebrew Mythology, p. 1S8, 
 
 lypsis, vol. ii. p. 19. ncte. 
 
 * Bell's Pantheon, art. " OsirlB :" and Bui- i" See Prog. Eelig. Ideaa, vol. 1. pp. 213, 214 
 
 finch : Age of Fable, p. 391. " I. Samuel, xvii.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRSl. 9] 
 
 pared to the story of Tlwr, the Scandinavian hero, throwing a 
 hammer at Hrungnir, and striking him in the forehead.' 
 We read in Numbers' that 
 
 Balaam's ass spoke 
 
 to his master, and reproved him. 
 
 In ancient fables or stories in which animals play prominent 
 parts, each creature is endowed with the power of speech. Tiiis 
 idea was common in the whole of Western Asia and Egypt. It is 
 found in various Egyptian and Chaldean stories.' Homer has re- 
 corded that the horse of Achilles spoke to liim." 
 
 We have also a very wonderful story in that of 
 
 Joshua's command to the sun. 
 
 This story is related in the tenth chapter of the book ol Joshua, 
 and is to the effect that the Israelites, who were at battle with the 
 Amorites, wished the day to be lengthened that they might con- 
 tinue their slaughter, whereupon Joshua said : " Sun, stand thou 
 still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And 
 the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had 
 avenged themselves upon their enemies. . . . And there was 
 no day like that before it or after it." 
 
 There are many stories similar to this, to be found among other 
 nations of antiquity. We have, as an example, that which is re- 
 lated of Bacchus in the Orphic hymns, wherein it says that this 
 god-man arrested the course of the sun and the moon.' 
 
 An Indian legend relates that the sun stood still to hear the 
 pious ejaculations of Arjouan after the death of Crishna.' 
 
 A holy Buddhist by the name of Matanga prevented the sun, 
 at his command, from rising, and bisected the moon.' Arresting 
 the course of the sun was a common thing among the disciples of 
 Buddha.' 
 
 The Chinese also, had a legend of the sun standing still,' and 
 a legend was found among the Ancient Mexicans to the effect 
 that one of their holy persons commanded the sun to stand still, 
 which command was obeyed.'" 
 
 ' See Goldzhier : Hebrew Mythology, p. 430, • Ibid, i. 191, and ii. aU; Franklin : Bad. A 
 
 and Bulflnch : Age of Fable, 440. Jeynes, 174. 
 
 ■ Chapter zxii. ^ Hardy : Buddhist I/egends, pp. SO, 53, and 
 
 • See Smith's Chaldean Account of Genesis, 140. 
 
 p. 138, et seq. » See lb\i. 
 
 • See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 323. • Higgins : Anacalypais, Tol. li. p. Itl. 
 » See Higgina : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 19. '• Ibid, p. 89.
 
 92 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 We shall now endeavor to answer the question which must 
 naturally arise in the minds of all who see, for the first time, the 
 similarity in the legends of the Hebrews and those of other nations, 
 namely : have the Hebrews copied from other nations, or, have 
 other nations copied from the Hebrews ? To answer this question 
 we shall ; first, give a brief account or history of the Pentateuch 
 and other books of tlie Old Testament from which we have t;ilven 
 legends, and show about what time they were written ; and, second, 
 show that other nations were possessed of these legends long 
 before that time, and that the Jews copied from them. 
 
 The Pentateuch is ascribed, in our modern translations, to 
 Moses, and he is generally supposed to be the author. This is 
 altogether erroneous, as Moses had nothing whatever to do with 
 these five books. Bishop Colenso, speaking of this, says : 
 
 "The books of the Pentateuch are never ascribed to Moses in the inscriptions of 
 Hebrew manuscripts, or in printed copies of tlie Uebreio Bible. Nor are they styled 
 the 'Books of Moses' in the Septuagint' or Vulgate,^ but only in our iru>dern 
 translations, after the exampie of many eminent Fathers of the Church, who, 
 with the exception of Jerome, and, perhaps, Origen, were, one and all of them, 
 very little acquainted with the Hebrew language, and still less with its criti- 
 cism."^ 
 
 The author of " The Religion of Israel," referring to this subject, 
 
 says : 
 
 " The Jews who lived after the Babylonish Captivity, and the Christians fol- 
 lowing their examples, ascribed these books (the Pentateuch) to Moses; and for 
 many centuries the )wZjo/i was cherished that he had really written thorn. But 
 strict and impartial investigation 1ms s/wicn that this opinion must be given up ; and 
 that nothing in the whole Law really comes from Moses himself except the Ten 
 Commandments. Aiul even t/iese were iu>l delivered by him in the same form as ice find 
 them -now. If we still call these books by his name, it is only because the Israel- 
 ites always thought of him as their lirst and greatest law-giver, and the actual 
 autlwrs grouped all their narratives and laws around his figure, and associated t/iem 
 with ?iis name."* 
 
 As we cannot go into an extended account, and show hoio this 
 is known, we will simply say that it is principally by internal 
 evidence that these facts are ascertained." 
 
 * '* Septuagint." — The Old Greek vereion of GUgal, meutioned in Deut. xi. 30, was not given 
 the Old Testament. as the name of that place till after the entrance 
 
 a " Vulgate." — The Latin version of the Old into Canaan. Dan, mentioned in Genesis xiv. 
 
 Testament. 14, was not so called till lor.g after the time of 
 
 * The Pentateuch Examined, vol. ii. pi). 186, Moses. In Gen. xsxvi. 31. t "ic beginning of the 
 187. reign of the kings over Israel is spoUen of hi»- 
 
 * The Religion of Israel, p. 9. torically, an event which did not occur before 
 
 * Besides the many other facts which show the time of Samuel. (See, for further informa- 
 that the Pentateuch was not comijoscd until tion, Bishop Colenso's Pentateuch Examined, 
 long after the time of Moses and Joshua, the vol. ii. ch. v. and vi. 
 
 following ma; be mentioned as examples :
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 93 
 
 Now that we have seen that Moses did not write the books of 
 the Pentateuch, our next endeavor will be to ascertain when they 
 were written, and hy whom. 
 
 We can say that they were not written by any one person, nor 
 were they written at the same time. 
 
 We can trace three principal redactions of the Pentateuch, that 
 is to say, the material was worked over, and re-edited, with mod- 
 ifications and additions, by different people, at thi^ee distinct 
 epochs. ' 
 
 Tiie two principal writers are general!}' known as the Jehovistic 
 and the Elohidic. We have — in speaking of the " Eden Myth " 
 and the legend of the " Deluge " — -already alluded to this fact, and 
 have illustrated how these writers' narratives conflict with each 
 other. 
 
 The Jehovistic writer is supposed to have been a prophet, who, 
 it would seem, was anxious to give Israel a history. He begins 
 at Genesis, ii. 4, with a short account of the " Creation," and then 
 lie carries the story ou regularly until the Israelites enter Canaan. 
 It is to him that we are indebted for the charming pictures of the 
 patriarchs. He took these from other writings, or from the popu- 
 lar legends.'' 
 
 About 725 B. c. the Israelites were conquered by Salmanassar, 
 King of Assyria, and many of them were cariied away captives. 
 Their place was supplied hy Assyrian colonists from Babylon, 
 Persia, and other places.' This fact is of the greatest importance, 
 and should not be forgotten, as we find that the first of the three 
 writers of the Pentateuch, spoken of above, wrote about this time, 
 and the Israelites heard, from the colonists from Babylon, 
 Persia, and other places— for the first time — many of the legends 
 which this writer wove into the fabulous history which ho wrote, 
 especially the accounts of the Creation and the Deluge. 
 
 The Pentateuch remained in this, its, first form, until the year 
 620 B. c. Then a certain priest of marked prophetic sympathies 
 wrote a book of law which has come down to us in Deuteronomy, 
 iv. 44, to xxvi., and xxviii. Here we find the demands which the 
 Mosaic party at that day were making thrown into the form of 
 laws. It was by King Josiali that this book was first introduced 
 and proclaimed as authoritative.' It was soon afterwards wove into 
 the work of ihefifst Pentateuchian writer, and at the same time 
 
 ' The Beligion of Israel, p. 9 • Chambers's Encjclo,, art. " Jews." 
 
 • Ibid. p. 10. '* The Religion of Israel, pp. 10. 11.
 
 94 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " a few new passages '' were added, some of wliicli related to 
 Joshua, the successor of Moses.' 
 
 At this period in Israel's history, Jehovah had become almost 
 forgotten, and "other gods" had taken his place." The Mosaic 
 party, so called — who worshiped Jehovah exclusively — were in the 
 minority, but when King Amon — who was a worshiper of Moloch 
 — died, and was succeeded by his son Josiah, a change imme- 
 diately took place. This young prince, who was only eight years 
 old at the death of his father, the Mosaic party succeeded in 
 winning over to their interests. In the year 621 b. c, Josiah, 
 now in the eighteenth year of his reign, began a thorough ref- 
 ormation which completely answered to the ideas of the Mosaic 
 party.' 
 
 It was during this time that the second Pentateuchian writer 
 wrote, and he makes Moses speak as the law-giver. This writer 
 was probably Hilkiah, who claimed to have found a hook, written 
 iy Moses, in the temple* although it had only just heen dra/wn 
 up.' 
 
 The principal objections which were brought against the claims 
 of Hilkiah, but which are not needed in the present age of inquiry, 
 was that Shaphan and Josiah read it off, not as if it were an old 
 book, hut as though it had heen recently written, when any person 
 who is acquainted, in the slightest degree, with language, must 
 know that a man could not read off, at once, a hook written eight 
 hundred years hefore. The phraseology would necessarily be so 
 altered by time as to render it comparatively unintelligible. 
 
 "We must now turn to the third Pentateuchian writer, whose 
 writings were published 444 b. c. 
 
 At that time Ezra (or Ezdras) added to the work of his two 
 predecessors a series of laws and narratives which had been drawn 
 up by some of the priests in Babylon." This "series of laws and 
 narratives," which was written by " some of the (Israelitish) priests 
 in Babylon," was called " The Book of Origins " (probably con- 
 taining the Babylonian account of the " Origin of Things,^'' or the 
 " Creation "). Ezra brouglit the book from Babylon to Jerusalem. 
 He made some modifications in it and constituted it a code of 
 law for Israel, dove-tailing it into those parts of the Pentateuch 
 which existed before. A few alterations and additions were subse- 
 
 ' The Religion of Israel, p. 11. Hilkiah is to be found in II. Chronicles, ch. 
 
 » See Ibid, pp. 120, 123. xxxiv. 
 
 « See Ibid, p. 132. ' See Religion of Israel, pp. 124, 125. 
 
 * The acconnt of the finding of this book by • Ibid, p. 11.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 96 
 
 quently made, but these are of minor importance, and we may 
 fairly say that Ezra jput the Pentateuch into the form in which we 
 have it (about 444 b. c). 
 
 These j^riestly passages are partly occupied with historical 
 matter, comprising a very free account of things from the creation 
 of the world to the arrival of Israel in Canaan. Everything is 
 here presented from the priestly point of view; some events, else- 
 where recorded, are touched itp in the priestly spirit, and others 
 are entirely invented.^ 
 
 It was the belief of the Jews, asserted by the Pirke Ahoth 
 (Sayings of the Fathers), one of the oldest books of the Talmud^ 
 as well as other Jewish records, that Ezra, acting in accordance 
 with a divine commission, re-wrote the Old Testament, the manu- 
 scripts of which were said to have been lost in the destruction of 
 the first temple, when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem.' This we 
 know could not have been the case. The fact that Ezra wrote — 
 adding to, and taking from the already existing books of the 
 Pentateuch — was probably the foundation for this tradition. The 
 account of it is to be found in the Apocryphal book of Esdras, a 
 book deemed authentic by the Greek Church. 
 
 Dr. Knappert, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " For many centuries, both the Christians and the Jews supposed that Ezra 
 had brought together the sacred writings of his people, united them in one whole, 
 and introduced them as a book given by the Spirit of God — a Holy Scripture. 
 
 "The only authority for this supposition was a very modern and altogether 
 untrustworthy tradition. The historical and critical studies of our times have 
 been emancipated from the influence of this tradition, and the most ancient 
 statements with regard to the subject have been hunted up and compared to- 
 gether. These statements are, indeed, scanty and incomplete, and many a 
 detail is still obscure; but the main facts have been completely ascertained. 
 
 " Before the Bahylonith captivity, Israel had no sacred %criiings. There were 
 certain laws, prophetic writings, and a few historical books, but no one had 
 ever thought of ascribing binding and divine authority to these documents. 
 
 " Ezra brought t!ie priestly law With him from Babylon, altering it and amalgor 
 mating it with the narratires and laws already in existence, and thtis produced the 
 Pentateuch in pretty much the same form (though not quite, as we shall show) 
 o« we still have it. These books got the name of the 'Law of Moses,' or simply the 
 ' Law.' Ezra introduced them into Israel (b. c. 444), and gave them binding 
 authority, andfrom tfiat time forward they were considered divine."* 
 
 From the time of Ezra until the year 287 b. c, when the 
 Pentateuch was translated into Greek by order of Ptolemy Phila- 
 
 1 The Religion of Israel, pp. 186, 187. » See Chambers's Encyclc, art. " Bihle.' 
 
 ' " Talmud."— The books containing the • The Religion of trsel, pp. 'HO, HI. 
 
 Jewish traditions.
 
 96 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 delplms, King of Egypt, these books evidently underwent some 
 changes. This the writer quoted above admits, in saying : 
 
 "Later still (viz., after the time of Ezra), a few nun-e changes and additiom 
 were made, and so the Pentateuch grew into its present form."' 
 
 In answer to those who claim tliat the Pentateuch was written 
 by one person. Bishop Colenso says : 
 
 " It is certainly inconceivable that, if the Pentateuch bo the production of one 
 and tli£ same hand tliroiiglwut, it should contain such a number of glaring incon- 
 sistencies. . . . No single author could have been guilty of such absurdi- 
 ties; but it is quite possible, and what was almost sure to happen in such a case, 
 that, if the Pentateuch be the work of different authors in different ages, this 
 fact should betray itself by tfie existence of contradictions in the narrative."^ 
 
 Having ascertained the origin of the Pentateuch, or Urst five 
 books of the Old Testament, it will be unnecessary to refer to the 
 others here, as we have nothing to do with them in our investiga- 
 tions. Suffice it to say then, tliat : " In the earlier period after 
 Ezra, none of the other hooks which already existed, enjoyed the 
 same authority as the Pentateuch.'" 
 
 It is probaljle* that Nehemiah made- a collection of historical 
 and prophetic books, songs, and letters frmn Persian kings, not 
 to form a second collection, but for the purpose of saving them 
 from being lost. The scribes of Jerusalem, followers of Ezra, 
 who were known as " the men of the Great Synagogue," were the 
 collectors of the second and third divisions of the Old Testament. 
 They collected together tlie historical and ])rophetic books, songs, 
 •&C., which were then in existence, and after altering many of 
 them,, they were added to the collection of sacred books. It must 
 not be supposed tliat any fixed plan was pursued in this work, or 
 that the idea was entertained from the first, that these hooks would 
 one day stand on the same level with the Pentateuch!" 
 
 In the course of time, however, many of the Jews began to 
 consider some of these books as sacred. The Alexandrian Jews 
 adopted books into the canon which those of Jerusalem did not, 
 and this difference of opinion lasted for a long time, even till tJie 
 second century after Christ. It was not until this time that all 
 the hooks of the Old Testament acquired divine authority.' It 
 is not known, however, jxist when the canon of the Old Testament 
 was closed. Tf^e time a/nd manner in which it was done is alto- 
 
 ' The Religion of Israel, p. 11. < On the strength of n. Maccabees, ii. 13. 
 
 ' The Pentateacli Eiamined, vol. ii. p. 173. ' The Religion of Israel, p. 213. 
 
 • The Religion of Israel, p. 241. • Ibid, p. 243.
 
 CONCLUIION OF PART FIRST. 97 
 
 I 
 
 ^ether obsmire.' Jewisli tradition indicates that the full canonicity 
 of several books was not free from doubt till the time of the 
 famous Rabbi Akiba," who flourished about the beginning of the 
 second century after Christ.' 
 
 After giving a history of the books of the Old Testament, the 
 author of " The Religion of Israel," whom we have followed in thig 
 investigation, says : 
 
 " The great majority of the writers of the Old Testament had no other source 
 of information about the past history of Israel than simple tradition. Indeed, it 
 could not have been otherwise, for in primitive times no one used to record any- 
 thing in writing, and the only way of preserving a knowledge of the past was to 
 hand it down by word of mouth. The father told the son what his elders 
 had told him, and the son handed it on to the next generation. 
 
 " Not only did the historian of Israel draw from tradition with perfect free- 
 dom, and write down without hesitation anything they heard and what was 
 current in the mouths of the people, bat they did not shrink from modifying their 
 representation of tlic past in any way that they thought would be good and useful. 
 It is difficult for us to look at things from this point of view, because our ideas 
 of historical good faith are so utterly different. When we write history, we 
 know that we ought to be guided solely by a desire to represent facts exactly as 
 they really happened. All that we are concerned with is reality ; we want to 
 make the old limes live again, and we take all possible pains not to remodel the 
 past from the point of view of today. All we want to know is what happened, 
 and how men lived, thought, and worked ru those days. The Israelites had a 
 very different notion of the nature of historical composition. When a prophet 
 or a priest related something about bygone times, his object was not to convey 
 knowledge about those times; on the contrary, he used history merely as a 
 vehicle for the conveyance of instruction and exhortation. Not only did he 
 confine his narrative to such matters as he thought would serve his purpose 
 but he never hesitated to modify what he knew of the past, and he did not think 
 twice about touching it up from his oum imagination, simply that it might be more 
 conducive to the end he had in view and chime in better with his opinions. All the 
 past became colored through and tiirough with the tinge of his own mind. Our own 
 notions of honor and good faith would never permit all this; but we must not 
 measure ancient writers by our own standard; they considered that they were 
 acting quite within their rights and in strict accordance with duty and con- 
 science."* 
 
 It will be noticed that, in our investigations on the authority of 
 the Pentateuch, we have followed, principally, Dr. Knappert's 
 ideas as set forth in " The Religion of Israel." 
 
 This we have done because we could not go into an extended 
 investigation, and because his words are very expressive, and just 
 to the point. To those who may think that his ideas are not the 
 same as those entertained by other Biblical scholars of the present 
 
 ' Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Bible." • Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Akiba.' 
 
 • Ibid. « The Religion of Israel, pp. 19, 83.
 
 98 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 day, we subjoin, in a note below, a list of works to which they are 
 referred." 
 
 We shall now, after giving a brief history of the Pentateuch, 
 refer to the legends of wldch we have been treating, and endeavor 
 to show from whence the Hebrews borrowed them. The first of 
 these is " The Creation and Fall of 3Ian." 
 
 Egypt, the country out of which the Israelites came, had no 
 story of tlie Creation and Fall of Man, such as we home found 
 atnong the Hebrews ; they therefore could not have learned it from 
 them. The Chaldeans, however, as we saw in our first chapter, 
 had this legend, and it is from them that the Hebrews borrowed 
 it. 
 
 The account which we have given of the Chaldean story of the 
 Creation and Fall of Man, was taken, as we stated, from the writings 
 of Berosus, the Chaldean historian, who lived in the time of 
 Alexander the Great (356-325 b. c), and as the Jews were ac- 
 quainted with the story some centuries earlier than this, his works 
 did not prove that these traditions were in Babylonia before the 
 Jewish captivity, and could not aii'ord testimony in favor of the 
 statement that the Jews borrowed this legend from the Babylonians 
 at that time. It was left for Mr. George Smith, of the British 
 Museum, to establish, without a doubt, the fact that this legend 
 was known to the Babylonians at least two thousand years before 
 the time assigned for the birth of Jesus. The cuneiform inscrip- 
 tions discovered by him, while on an expedition to Assyria, 
 organized by the London " Daily Telegraph," was the means of 
 doi'ng this, and although by far the greatest number of these 
 tablets belong to the age of Assurbanipal, who reigned over 
 Assyria b. c. 670, it is " acknowledged on all hands that these 
 tablets are not the originals, but are only copies from earlier 
 texts.'''' " The Assyrians acknowledge themselves that this litera- 
 ture was borrowed from Babylonian sources, and of course it is to 
 Babylonia we have to look to ascertain the approximate dates of 
 the original documents."" Mr. Smith then shows, from "frag- 
 ments of the Cuneiform account of the Creation and Fall " which 
 have been discovered, that, " in the period from b. c. 2000 to 
 
 1 " What is the Bible," by J. T. Sunderland. Bishop Coienso. Prof. F. W. Newman's " Ile- 
 
 ** The Bible of To-day," by J. W. Chadwick. brew Monarchy." "The Bible for Learners" 
 
 " Hebrew and Christian Records," by the Rev. (vols. i. and ii.), by Prof. Oot and others. " The 
 
 Dr. Giles, 2. vols. Prof. W. R. Smith's article Old Testament in the Jewish Church," by 
 
 on " The Bible," in the last edition of the En- Prof. Robertson Smith, and Kuenen's " Re- 
 
 cyclopjedia Britannica. " Introduction to the ligion of Israel." 
 
 Old Testament," by Davidson. "ThePenta- ' Smith : Chaldean Account of Qeneeis, pp. 
 
 teuch and the Book of Joshua Examined," by 03, 29.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 99 
 
 1500, the Babylonians helieved iri a story simiiar to that in 
 GenesisP It is probable, however, says Mr. Sinitli, that this 
 legend existed as traditions in the country long before it was 
 committed to writing, and some of these traditions exhibited great 
 difference in details, shoioing that they had passed through many 
 changes.^ 
 
 Professor James Fergusson, in his celebrated work on " Ti-ee 
 and Serpent Worship," says : 
 
 " The two chapters which refer to this (('. e., the Garden, the Tree, and the 
 Serpent), as indeed the whole of the first eight of Genesis, are now generally 
 admitted by scholars to be made up of fragments of earlier books or earlier tra- 
 ditions, belonging, properly speaking, to Mesopotamia rather than to Jewish 
 historj', the exact meaning of which the writers of the Pentateuch seem hardly 
 to have appreciated when they transcribed them in the form in which they are 
 now found. '"- 
 
 John Fiske says : 
 
 "The story of the Serpent in Eden is an Aryan story in every particular. 
 The notion of Satan as the author of evil appears only in the later books, com- 
 posed after tliejewn had come into close contact with Persian ideas."'' 
 
 Prof. John W. Draper says : 
 
 " In the old legends of dualism, the evil spirit was said to have sent a serpent 
 to ruin Paradise. These legends became known to the Jews during their Baby- 
 lonian captivity."* 
 
 Professor Goldziher also shows, in his " Mythology Among 
 the Hebrews,'" that the story of the creation was borrowed by tlie 
 Hebrews from the Babylonians. He also informs xrs that the 
 notion of the bd}'e and yoser, " Creator " (the term used in the 
 cosmogony in Genesis) as an integral part of the idea of God, are 
 first brought into use by the prophets of the captivity. "Thu8 
 also the story of the Garden of Ed-en, as a supplement to the 
 history of the Creation, was written doion at Babylon.''^ 
 
 Strange as it may appear, after the Genesis account, we may pass 
 through the whole Pentateuch, and other books of the Old Testa- 
 ment, clear to the end, and will find that the story of the " Garden 
 of Eden " and ''Eall of Man" is hardly alluded to, if at all. Leng- 
 kerke says : " One single certain trace of tlie employment of the 
 story of Adam's fall is entirely wanting in the Hebrew Canon 
 (after the Genesis account). Adam, Eve, the Serpent, the woman's 
 
 ' Ibid. pp. S9, 100. Also, Assyrian Disoov- ' Jlyths ;in(l Mylli-Miikers, p. 113. 
 
 cries, p. 397. * Draper: Religion ami Science, p. G'2. 
 
 ' Tree and Serpent Worship, pp. (i, 7. ' Goldziher: Hebrew Mythology, p. 'US, «t
 
 100 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 seduction of lier husband, »fec., are all images, to which the remain- 
 ing words of the Israelites never again recur."' 
 
 This circumstauee can only be explained by the fact that the 
 first chapters of Genesis were not written until after the other 
 portions liad been written. 
 
 It is worthy of notice, that this story of the Fall of Man, upon 
 which the whole orthodox scheme of a divine Saviour or Re- 
 deemer is based, was not considered by the learned Israelites as 
 fact. They simply looked iipon it as a story which satisfied the 
 ignorant, but which should be considered as allegory by the 
 learned.^ 
 
 Rabbi Maimonides (Moses Ben Maimon), one of the most cele- 
 brated of the Rabbis, says on this subject : — 
 
 "We must not understand, or take in a literal sense, what is written in the 
 book on the Creation, nor form of it the same ideas which are participated by the 
 generality of mankind; otherwise our ancient sages would not have so much recom- 
 mended to us, to hide the real meaning of it, and not to lift the allegorical veil, which 
 covers the truth contained therein. When taken in its literal sense, the work gives 
 the most absurd and most extravagant ideas of the Deity. ' Whosoever should 
 divine its true meaning ought to take great care in not divulging it.' This is a 
 maxim repealed to us by all our sages, principally concerning the understanding 
 of the work of the six days."^ 
 
 Philo, a Jewish writer contemporary with Jesus, held the same 
 opinion of the character of the sacred books of the Hebrews. He 
 has made two particitlar treatises, bearing the title of " Tlie 
 Allegories" and he traces back to the allegorical sense the '■ Tree 
 of Life," the " Rivers of Paradise," and the other fictions of the 
 Genesis.* 
 
 Many of the early Christian Fathers declared that, in the story 
 of the Creation and Fall of Man, there was but an allegorical 
 fiction. Among these may be mentioned St. Augustine, who 
 speaks of it in his " City of God," and also Origen, who says : 
 
 "What man of sense will agree with the statement that the first, second, and 
 third days, in which the evening is named and the morning, were without sun, 
 moon and stars ? What man is found such an idiot as to suppose that God 
 planted trees in Paradise like an husbandman? 1 believe that every -man must 
 hold these things for images binder which a hidden sense is concealed."^ 
 
 1 Quoted by Bishop Colenso : The Penta- the unlearned were specially forbidden to med- 
 tench Examined, iv. 285. die with." (Greg : The Creed of Christendom, 
 
 2 •• Much of the Old Testament which Chris- p. 80.) 
 
 tian divines, in their ignorance of Jewish lore, ' Quoted by Dupuis : Origin of Keligions 
 
 have insisted on receiving and interpreting Belief, p. 226. 
 
 literally, the informed Rabbis never dreamed * See Ibid. p. 227. 
 
 of regarding as anything but allegorical. The 8 Quoted by Dunlap ; Mysteries of Adoni, 
 
 'iit^ralixts^ they called fools. The account of p. 17C. See also, Hansen ; Keys of St. Petei, 
 
 the Creation was one of the portions which p. 40G.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 101 
 
 Origen believed aright, as it is now almost universally admitted, 
 that the stories of the " Garden of Eden," the " Elysian Fields," 
 the " Garden of the Blessed," &c., which were the abode of the 
 blessed, where grief and sorrow could not approach them, where 
 plague and sickness could not touch them, were founded on alle- 
 gory. These abodes of delight were far away in the West, where 
 the sun goes down beyond the bounds of the earth. They were the 
 '' Golden Islands " sailing in a sea of blue — t]ie hximished clouds 
 floating in the 'pure ether. In a word, the " Elysian Fields " are 
 the clouds at eventide. The picture was suggested by the images 
 drawn froni the phenomena of sunset and twilight.' 
 
 Eating of the forbidden fruit was simply a figurative mode of 
 expressing the performance of the act . necessary to the perpetua- 
 tion of the human race. The " Tree of Knowledge " was a Phallic 
 tree, and the fruit which grew upon it was Phallic fruit.' 
 
 In regard to the story of " The Deluge" we have already seen' 
 that " Egyptian records tell nothing of a cataclysmal deluge,'' and 
 that, " the land was never visited by other than its annual benefi- 
 cent ovei-flow of the river Nile." Also, that "the Pharaoh Khou- 
 fou-cheops was building his pyramid, according to Egyptian chroni- 
 cle, when the whole world was under the waters of a univereal 
 deluge, according to the Hebrew chronicle." This is suflicient 
 evidence that the Hebrews did not borrow the legend from the 
 Egyptians. 
 
 We have also seen, in the chapter that treated of this legend, 
 that it corresponded in all tlie principal features with the Chaldean 
 account. We shall now show that it was taken from this. 
 
 Mr. Smith discovered, on the site of Ninevah, during the years 
 1873^, cylinders belonging to the early Babylonian monarchy, 
 (from 2500 to 1500 b. c.) which contained the legend of the flood,* 
 and which we gave in Chapter II. This was the foundation for 
 the Hebrew legend, and they learned it at the time of the Ca/p- 
 tivity.'' The myth of Deucalion, the Grecian hero, was also taken 
 from the same source. The Greeks learned it from the Chaldeans. 
 
 We read in Chambers's Encyclopfedia, that : 
 
 "It was at one time extensively believed, even by intelligent scholars, that 
 
 > See Appeodix, c. » "Upon the carrying away of the Jews to 
 
 'See Westopp & Wakes, "Phallic Wor- Babylon, they were brought into contact with a 
 
 ship." flood of Iranian as well as Chaldean myths, and 
 
 ' In chap. ii. adopted them without hesitation." (S. Baring- 
 
 * See Assyrian Discoveries, pp. 167, 168, and Goald : Cnrioos Myths, p. 310.) 
 
 Chaldean Account of Genesis.
 
 102 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the myth of Deucalion was a corrupted tradition of the NoacMan deluge, but 
 this untenable opinion is now all but universally abandoned."' 
 
 This idea was abandoned after it was found tliat the Deu- 
 calion myth was older than the Hebrew. 
 
 What was said in regard to the Eden story not being mentioned 
 in other portions of the Old Testament save in Genesis, also ap- 
 plies to this story of the Deluge. Nowhere in the other books of 
 the Old Testament is found any reference to this story, except in 
 Isaiah, where " the waters of Noah " are mentioned, and in Ezekiel, 
 where simply the name of Noah is mentioned. 
 
 We stated in Chapter TI. that some persons saw in this story an 
 astronomical myth. Although not generally admitted, yet there 
 are very strong reasons for believing this to be the case. 
 
 According to the Chaldean account — which is the oldest one 
 known — there were seven persons saved in the ark." There were 
 also seven persons saved, according to some of the Hindoo ac- 
 counts.' That this referred to the sun, moon, and live planets looks 
 very probable. We have also seen that Noah was the tenth patri- 
 arch, and Xisthrus (who is the Chaldean hero) was the tenth king.' 
 Now, according to the Babylonian tal:)le, their Zodiac contained 
 ten gods called the " Ten Zodiac gods.'" They also believed that 
 whenever all the planets met in the sign of Capricorn, the whole 
 earth was overwhelmed with a deluge of water.' The Hindoos and 
 other nations had a similar belief.' 
 
 It is well known that the Chaldeans were great astronomers. 
 When Alexander the Great conquered the city of Babylon, the 
 Chaldean priests boasted to the Greek philosophers, wlio followed 
 his army, that they had continued their astronomical calculations 
 through a period of more than forty thousand years.' Although 
 this statement cannot be credited, yet the great antiquity of Chal- 
 dea cannot be doubted, and its immediate connection witii Hin- 
 dostan, or Egypt, is abundantly proved by the little that is known 
 concerning its religion, and by the few fragments that remain of 
 its former grandeur. 
 
 In regard to the story of " The Tower of Babel " little need be 
 said. This, as well as the story of the Creation and Fall of Man, 
 and the Deluge, was borro^ved from the Babylonians.' 
 
 1 Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Deucalion." ' Sec Prog. Holig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 254. 
 
 2 See chapter ii. ' See Ibid, p. 307. 
 s Prog. Kclig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 185, and » gee Ibid, p. 2.13. 
 
 Maurice : Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 277. ° Goldzhier : Hebrew Mythology, pp. 130- 
 
 * Chapter ii. 133, and Smith's Chaldean Account ol Gene- 
 
 " See Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 153, note. eia.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 1U3 
 
 " It seems," says George Smith, " from the indications in the 
 (cuneiform) inscriptions, that there happened in the interval be- 
 tween 2000 and 1850 b. c. a general collection of the development 
 of the various traditions of the Creation, Flood, Tower of Babel, 
 and other similar legends." " These legends were, however, tra- 
 ditions before they were committed to writing, and were common 
 in some form to all the country."^ 
 
 The Tower of Babel, or the confusion of tongues, is nowhere 
 alluded to in the Old Testament outside of Genesis, where the 
 story is related. 
 
 The next story in order is " The Trial of Abraham^ s Faith.'''' 
 
 In tills connection we have shown similar legends taken from 
 Grecian mythology, which legends may have given the idea to the 
 writer of the Hebrew story. 
 
 It may appear strange that the Hebrews should have been 
 acquainted with G-recian mythology, yet we know this was the 
 case. The fact is accounted for- in the following manner : 
 
 Many of the Jews taken captive at the Edomite sack of Jerusa- 
 lem were sold to the Grecians,^ who took them to their country. 
 While there, they became acquainted with Grecian legends, and 
 when they returned from " the Islands of the Sea" — as they called 
 the Western countries — they brought them to Jerusalem.' 
 
 This legend, as we stated in the chapter which treated of it, was 
 wi'itten at the time when the Mosaic party in Israel were endeavor- 
 ing to abolish human sacrifices and other " abominations," and the 
 author of the story invented it to make it appear that the Lord 
 had abolished them in the time of Abraham. The earliest Targum* 
 knows nothing about the legend, showing that the story was not 
 in the Pentateuch at the time this Targum was written. 
 
 We have also seen that a story written by Sanchoniathon (about 
 B. c. 1300) of one Saturn, whom the Phenicians called Israel, bore 
 a resemblance to the Hebrew legend of Abraham. Now, Count 
 de Volney tells us that "a similar tradition prevailed among the 
 Chaldeans" and that they had the history of one Zerban — which 
 means " rich-in-gold "" — that corresponded in many respects with 
 the history of Abraham." It may, then, have been from the Chal- 
 dean story that the Hebrew fable writer got his idea. 
 
 ' Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 27, 28. » In Genesis xxiii. 3, Abraham Is called rich 
 
 > See Xofe, p. 109. in gold and in silver. 
 
 ' See Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 685. » See Volney's Researches in Ancient Hia- 
 
 *" ra/'ffKm."— The general term for the Ara- tory, pp. 144-147. 
 maic versions of the Old Testament.
 
 104 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The next legend which we examined was that of " JaeoVs 
 
 Vision of the Ladder^ We claimed that it probably referred to 
 
 the doctrine of the transmigration of souls from one body into 
 
 another, and also gave the apparent reason for the invention of the 
 
 story. 
 
 The next story was " TJie Exodus from Egypt, and Passage 
 through the Red Sea,^'' in which we showed, from Egyptian history,, 
 that the Israelites were turned out of the country on account of 
 their uncleanness, and that the wonderful exploits recorded of 
 Moses were simply copies of legends related of the sun-god 
 Bacchus. These legends came from " the Islands of the Sea," and 
 came in very handy for the Hebrew fable writers ; they saved them 
 the trouble of inventing. 
 
 We now come to the story relating to " The Receiving of the 
 Ten Commandments " by Moses from the Lord, on the top of a 
 mountain, 'mid thunders and lightuings. 
 
 All that is likely to be historical in this account, is that Moses 
 assembled, not, indeed, the whole of the people, but the heads of 
 the tribes, and gave them the code which he had prepared.' The 
 marvellous portion of the story was evidentlj' copied from that 
 related of the law-giver Zoroaster, by the Persians, and the idea 
 that there were two tables of stone witli the Law written thereon 
 was evidently taken from the story of Bacchus, the Law-giver, who 
 had his laws written on tioo tables of stone." 
 
 The next legend treated was that of " Samson and his Explo'ltsP 
 
 Those who, like the learned of the last century, maintain that 
 the Pagans copied from the Hebrews, may say that Samson was 
 the model of all their similar stories, but now that our ideas con- 
 cerning antiquity are enlarged, and when we know that Hercules is 
 well known to have been the God Sol, whose allegorical history 
 was spread among many nations long before the Hebrews were 
 ever heard of, we are authorized to believe and to say that some 
 Jewish mythologist — for what else are their so-called historians — 
 composed the anecdote of Samson, by partly disfiguring the 
 popular traditions of the Greeks, Phenicians and Chaldeans, and 
 claiming that hero for his own nation.' 
 
 The Babylonian story of Izdubar, the lion-killer, who wandered 
 
 1 The Religion of Israel, p. 49. fore them. The Greeks claimed Hercules as 
 
 3 BelTs Pantheon, vol. i. p. 122. Higgina : their countryman ; stacea where he was born, 
 
 vol. ii. p. 19. and showed his tomb. The Egyptians affirmed 
 
 • In claiming tha "mighty man" and "lion- that he was horn in their country (see Taci- 
 
 killer " as one of their own race, the Jews were tus, Annals, h. ii. ch. lix.), and so did many 
 
 fiimply doing what other nations had done be* other nations.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PART FIRST. 105 
 
 to the regions of the blessed (the Grecian Elysium), who crossed a 
 great waste of land (the desert of Lyhia, according to the Grecian 
 mythos), and arrived at a region where splendid trees were laden 
 with jewels (the Grecian Garden of the Hesperides), is probably the 
 foundation for the Hercules and other corresponding myths. This 
 conclusion is drawn from the fact that, although the story of 
 Hercules was known in the island of Thasus, by the Phenician 
 colony settled there, five centuries hefore he was known in Greece,^ 
 yet its antiquity among the Babylonians antedates that. 
 
 The age of the legends of Izdubar among the Babylonians 
 cannot be placed with certainty, yet, the cuneiform inscriptions 
 relating to this hero, which have been found, may be placed at 
 about 2000 years b. c." " As these stories were traditions,''^ says 
 Mr. Smith, the discoverer of the cylinders, "before they were 
 committed to writing, their antiquity as tradition is probably 
 much greater than that."' 
 
 With these legends before them, the Jewish priests in Babylon 
 had no difficulty in arranging the story of Samson, and adding it 
 to their already fabulous history. 
 
 As the Rev. Dr. Isaac M. Wise remarks, in speaking of the 
 ancient Hebrews : " They adopted forms, terms, ideas and myths 
 of all nations with whom they came in contact, and, like the 
 Greeks, in their way, cast them all in a peculiar Jewish religious 
 mold." 
 
 We have seen, in the chapter which treats of this legend, that 
 it is recorded in the book of Judges. This hook was not written 
 till after the first set of Israelites had been cai'ried into captivity, 
 and perhaps still later.* 
 
 After this we have '■^ Jonah swallowed by a Big Fish" which 
 is the last legend treated. 
 
 We saw that it was a solar myth, known to many nations of 
 antiquity. The writer of the book — whoever he may have been — 
 Imed in the fifth centtory before Christ — after the Jews had 
 become acquainted and had mixed with other nations. The writer 
 of this wholly fictitious story, taking the prophet Jonah — who was 
 evidently an historical personage — for his hero, was perhaps 
 intending to show the loving-kindness of Jehovah.' 
 
 ' See Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, < See The Religion of Israel, p. 13; and Chad- 
 
 pp. 92, 93. wick's Bible of To-Day, p. 55. 
 
 ' Chaldean Account of Genesis, pp. 168 and ' See The Religion of Israel, p. 41, and 
 
 174; and Assyrian Discoveries, p. 167. Chadwick'e Bible of To-Day, p. S4. 
 
 • Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 168.
 
 lOG BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 We have now examined all the jyrmcipal Old Testament 
 legends, and, after what has l>een seen, we think that no hnpartial 
 person can still consider them historical facts. That so great a 
 nnmber of edncated persons still do so seems astonishing, in our 
 waj' of thinking. They have repudiated Greek and Roman 
 mythology with disdain ; why then admit with respect the mythol- 
 ogy of the Jews ? Ought the miracles of Jehovah to impress us 
 more than those of Jupiter? We think not; they should all be 
 looked upon as relics of the past. 
 
 That Christian writers are beginning to be aroused to the idea 
 that another tack should be taken, differing from the old, is very 
 evident. This is clearly seen by the words of Prof. Richard A. 
 Armstrong, the translator of Dr. Knappert's " Religion of Israel " 
 into English. In the Preface of this work, he says : 
 
 ' ' It appears to me to be profoundly important that the youthful English 
 mind should be faithfully and accurately informed of the results of modern 
 research into the early development of Ihe Israelitish religion. Deplorable and 
 irreparable mischief will be done to the generation now passing into manhood 
 and womanhood, if their educators leave them ignorant or loosely informed on 
 these topics; for they will then be rudely awakened by the enemies of Christi- 
 anity from a blind and unreasoning faith in the supernatural inspiration of the 
 Scriptures; and being suddenly and bluntly made aware that Abraham, Moses, 
 David, and the rest did not say, do, or write what has been ascribed to them, 
 they wiJl fling away all care for the venerable religion of Israel and all hope 
 that it can nourish their own religious life. How much happier will those of 
 our children and young people be who learn what is now known of the actual 
 origin of the Pentateuch and the Writings, from the same lips which have 
 taught them that the Prophets indeed prepared the way for Jesus, and that God 
 is indeed our Heavenly Father. For these will, without difficulty, perceive that 
 God's love is none the feebler and that the Bible is no less precious, because 
 Moses knew nothing of the Levilical legislation, or because it was not the 
 warrior monarch on his semi-barbaric throne, but some far later son of Israel, 
 vrho breathed forth the immortal hymn of faith, ' The Lord is my Shepherd; I 
 eball not want.'" 
 
 For the benefit of those who may think that the evidence of 
 plagiarism on the part of the Hebrew writers has not been suf- 
 ficiently substantiated, we will quote a few words from Prof. Max 
 Miiller, who is one of the best English authorities on this subject 
 that can be produced. In speaking of this he says : 
 
 " The opinion that the Paqan religions were mere corruptions of the religion 
 of the Old Testament, once supported by men of high authority and great learn- 
 ing, ii nom as completely surrendered as the attempts of explaining Greek and 
 Latin as ihe corruptions of Hebrew."^ 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 ' The Science of Keligion, p. 40.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PAUT FIUST. 107 
 
 " As soon as the ancient language and religion of India became known in 
 Europe it was asserted that Sanskrit, like all other lavgimges, was to be derived 
 from Hebrew, and the ancient religion of the Brahmans from the Old Testa- 
 ment. There was at that time an enthusiasm among Oriental scholars, particu- 
 larly' at Calcutta, and an interest for Oriental antiquities in the public at large, 
 of which we, in these days of apathy for Eastern literature, can hardly form an 
 adequate idea. Everj'body wished to be first in tlie field, and to bring to light some 
 of the treasures which were .supposed to be hidden in the sacred literature of 
 the Brahmans. . . . No doubt the temptation was great. No one could look 
 down for a moment into the rich mine of religious and mythological lore tliat 
 was suddenly opened before the eyes of scholars and theologians, without being 
 struck by a host of isimilarities, not only in the languages, hut also in tfte ancient 
 traditions of the Hindoos, the Greeks, and the Romans; and if at that time the 
 Greeks and Romans were still svjyposed to have borrowed their language and 
 their religion from Jewish quarters, iJie same conclusion could hardly be avoided 
 mth regard to the language and the religion of the Brahmans of India. . . . 
 
 'The student of Pagan religion as well as Christian missionaries were bent on 
 discovering more striking and more startling coincidences, in order to use them 
 in confirmation of their favorite theory that some rays of a primeval revelation, or 
 some reflection of the Jewish religion, had reached the uttermost ends ofilie world."' 
 
 The result of all this is summed up by Prof. Mtiller as follows • 
 
 " It was the fate of all (tliese) pioneers, not only to be left behind in the assault 
 which tJiey had planned, but to find that many of their approaches were made in 
 a false direction, and liad to be abandaned.'"' 
 
 Before closing this chapter, we shall say a few words on the 
 religion of Israel. It is supposed by many— in fact, we have heard 
 it asserted by those who should know better — that the Israelites 
 were always monotheists, that they worshiped One God only — 
 Jehovah.' This is altogether erroneous ; they were not different 
 from their neighbors — the Heathen, so-called — in regard to their 
 religion. 
 
 Ill the first place, we know that they revered and worshiped 
 a Bull, called Apis,* just as the ancient Egyptians did. They 
 
 ■ Tbey even claimed that one of the " lost faith by one only people, while all surrounding 
 
 tribes of Israel "' had found their way to Amer- tribes were lost in Polytheism, or something 
 
 ica, and had taught the natives Hebrew. worse, has been adduced by divines in general 
 
 2 The Science of Eeligion, pp. 285, as a proof of the truth of the sacred history, 
 
 292. and of the divine origin of the Mosaic dispen- 
 
 s "It is an assumption of the popular theol- eation." (Greg: The Creed of Christendom, 
 
 ogy, and an almost universal belief in the pop- p. 145.) 
 
 nlar mind, that the Jewish nation was selected Even such authorities as Paley and Milman 
 
 by the Almighty to preserve and carry down to have written in this strain. (See quotations 
 
 later ages a knowledge of the Oyie and true from Palcy's " Eiidences of Christianily," and 
 
 God— that the Patriarchs possessed this knowl- Dean Milman's "History of the Jews," made 
 
 edge— that Moses delivered and enforced this by Mr, Greg in his " Creed of Christendom,'" 
 
 doctrine as the fundamental tenet of the na- p. 145.^ 
 
 tiunal creed ; and that it was, in fact, tlie re- * See the Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 321, 
 
 ceiTod and distinctive dogma of the Ilebrew vol. ii. p. 102;andDuDlsp : Mysteries ot Adoni, 
 
 people- This alleged possession of the true p. 103.
 
 108 
 
 BIBLE MTTIIS. 
 
 worshiped the sun' the moon^ the stars and all the host of 
 heaven/ 
 
 They worshiped fire, and kept it burning on an altar, just as 
 the Persians and other nations.' They worshiped stones,^ revered 
 an oak tree' and " bowed down " to images.'' They worshiped 
 a " Queen of Heaven " called the goddess Astarte or Mylitta, and 
 " burned incense " to her.' They worshiped Baal," Moloch,'" and 
 Chemosh,^^ and offered up human sacrifices to them,''' after which 
 in some instances, they ate the victim" 
 
 It was during the Captivity that idolatry ceased among the 
 Israelites." The Babylonian Captivity is clearly referred to in the 
 book of Deuteronomy, as the close of Israel's idolatry." 
 
 There is reason to believe that the real genius of the people was 
 first called into full exercise, and put on its career of development 
 at this time ; that Babylon was a forcing nursery, not a prison cell ; 
 creating instead, of stifling a nation. The astonishing outburst of 
 intellectual and moral energy that accompanied the return from the 
 Babylonish Captivity, attests the spiritual activity of that " mysteri- 
 ous and momentous" time. As Prof. Goldziher says : " The intel- 
 lect of Babylon and Assyria exerted a more than passing influence 
 on that of the Hebrews, not merely touching it, but entering deep 
 into it, and leaving its own impi'ession upon if'"' 
 
 ' See the Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 317, 
 418 ; vol. li. p. 301. Dunlap'8 Son of the Man, 
 p. 3, and his Spirit Hist., pp. 68 and 182. In- 
 man : Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. pp. 782, 783; and 
 Goldziher : Hebrew Mythol., pp. 227, 240, 242. 
 
 5 The Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 317. 
 Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 3 ; and Spirit Hiet., 
 p. G8. AJso, Goldziher: Hebrew Mythol., p. 159. 
 
 2 The Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 26, and 
 317 ; vol. ii. p. 301 and 328. Dunlap's Son of 
 the Man, p. 3. Dunlap's Spirit Hist., 68; 
 Mysteries of Adoni, pp. xvii. and 108 ; and The 
 Religiou of Israel, p. 38. 
 
 * BuDsen : Keys of St. Peter, pp. 101. 102. 
 
 ' The Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 175-178. 
 317, .322, 448. 
 
 » Ibid. 115. 
 
 ■> Ibid. i. 23, 321 ; ii. 102, 103, 109, 264, 274. 
 Dunlap's Spirit Hist., p. 108. Inman ; Ancient 
 Faiths, vol. i. p. 438 ; vol. ii. p. 30. 
 
 s The Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 88, 318 ; 
 vol. ii. pp. 102, 113, 300. Dunlap : Son of the 
 Man, p. 3 ; and Mysteries of Adoni, p. xvii. 
 Miiller : The Science of Religion, p. 261. 
 
 » The Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 21-25, 
 105, 301 ; vol. ii. pp. 102, 130-138. Dnnla[i : 
 Son of the Man, p. 3. Mysteries of Adoni, pp. 
 108, 177. Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. pp. 
 782, 783. Bunsen : The Keys of St. Peter, p. 
 81. Miiller : The Science of Religion, p. 181. 
 Bal, Bel, or Bdui was an idol of the Chal- 
 
 deans and Phenicians or Canaanites. The 
 word BaU in the Pnnic language, signifies Lord 
 or Master. The name Bal is often joined with 
 some other, as 5a/-berith, iJaZ-peor, Bal- 
 zephon, &c. " The Israelites made him their 
 god, and erected altars to him on which they 
 offered human sacrifices." and "what is still 
 more unnatural, they ate of the victims they 
 offered." (Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. pp. 113. 114.) 
 
 >" The Bible for Leaniers, vol. i. pp. 17, 26 ; 
 vol. ii. pp. 102, 209, 300. Bnnsen : Keys of St. 
 Peter, p. 110. Miiller : Tlie Science of Relig- 
 ion, p. 285. Moloch was a god of the Ammon- 
 ites, also worshiped among the Israelites. Sol- 
 omon built a temple to him, on the Mount of 
 Olives, and human sacnUcen were offered to 
 him. (Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. pp. 84, So.i 
 
 1' The Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 153; vol. 
 ii. pp. 71. 83, 125. Smith's Bible Dictionary; 
 art. "Chemosh." 
 
 " The Bible for Learners, vol. i. pp. 26, 147.. 
 148, 319, 3-ai ; vol. ii. pp. 16. 17, 299, 300. Dun- 
 lap's Spirit Hist., pp. 108, 222. Inman : An 
 cient Faiths, vol. ii. pp. 100, 101. Miiller : 
 Science of Religion, p. 261. Bell's Pantheon, 
 vol. i. 113, 114; vol. ii. 84, 83. 
 
 13 See note 9 above. 
 
 14 Sec Bunsen : Keys of St. Peter, 291. 
 i» Ibid. p. 27. 
 
 i» Goldziher : Hebrew Mythology, p. 319.
 
 CONCLUSION OF PAET FIRST. 109 
 
 This impression we have already partly seen in the legends which 
 they borrowed, and it may also be seen in the religious ideas which 
 they imbibed. 
 
 The Assyrian colonies which came and occupied the laud of the 
 tribes of Israel filled the kingdom of Samaria with the dogma of 
 the Magi, which very soon penetrated into the kingdom of Judah. 
 Afterward, Jerusalem being subjugated, the defenseless country was 
 entered by persons of different nationalities, who introduced their 
 opinions, and in this way, the religion of Israel was doubly mutilated. 
 Besides, the priests and great men, who were transported to Baby- 
 lon, were educated in the sciences of the Chaldeans, and imbibed, 
 during a residence of fifty years, nearly the whole of their theology. 
 It was not until this time that the dogmas of the hostile genius 
 (Satan), the angels Michael, Uriel, Yar, Nisan, *fec., the rebel angels, 
 the battle in heaven, the inimoitality of the soul, and the resurrec- 
 tion, were introduced and naturalized among the Jews/ 
 
 1 The Ta/muc? of Jerusalem expressly states Angel Messiah, p. 285.) " The Jews adopted, 
 that the names of the angels and the months, during the Captivity, the idea of angels, 
 such as Gabriel, Michael, Yar. Nisan. &c., Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel," &c. (Knight: 
 camefromBabylon with the Jews. (Goldziher, Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 54.) See, for 
 p. ^9.) " There is no trace of the doctrine of further information on this subject, Dr. Knap- 
 Angels in the Hebrew Scriptures compo!?ed or pert's *' Religion of Israel," or Prof. Kueuen's 
 written before the exile." (Bunsen : The " Religioo of Israel." 
 
 Note.— It is not generally known that the Jews were removed from their own land until the 
 time of the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar, but there is evidence that Jerusalem was plundered by the 
 Edojnites about 800 B. C. who sold some of the captive Jews to the Greeks (Joel. iii. fj). When 
 the captives returned to their country from " the Islands which are beyond the sea " (^Jer. xsv. 18, 
 JJ2), they would naturally bring back with thera much of the Hellenic lore of their conquerors. In 
 Isaiah ixi. 11). we find a reference to this first captivity in the following words : *' In that day the 
 Lord shall set his hand again the second tuTie to recover the remnant of his people, which sliall 
 be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Palhros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and 
 from Shinar, and from Haraath, and from the Islands of the sea ; " i. e., Greece.
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE ITEW TESTAMEI^rr. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MTRACULOtrS BIKTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 
 
 According to the dogma of tlie deity of Jesus, he who is said to 
 have lived on earth some eighteen centuries ago, as Jesus of Naza- 
 reth, is second of the three persons in the Trinity, the Son, God as 
 absolutely as the Father and the Holy Sj^irit, except as eternally 
 deriving his existence from the Father. What, however, especially 
 characterizes the Son, and distinguishes him from the two other 
 persons united with him in the unity of the Deity, is this, that the 
 Son, at a given moment of time, became incarnate, and that, with- 
 out losing anything of his divine nature, he thus became possessed 
 of a complete human nature ; so that he is at the same time, with- 
 out injury to the unity of his person, " t/ruly man and truly God." 
 
 The story of the miraculous birth of Jesus is told by the 
 Matthew narrator as follows :' 
 
 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary 
 was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of 
 the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing 
 to mai^e her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But 
 while he thought on these things, behold, the apgel of the Lord appeared unto 
 him iu a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee 
 Mary thy wife : for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And 
 she shall bring forth a son, and Ihou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save 
 his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fullilled which 
 was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin shall be 
 with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 
 which being interpreted is, God with us."* 
 
 ' Matthew, i. 18-25. recorded iu the Koran, which eaya that Gabriel 
 
 ^ The Lnlie narrator tells the story in a dif- appeared unto Mary in the shape of a perfect 
 
 (erent maimer. His accoant is more like that man, that Mary, upon seeing him, and eeoming 
 
 flllj
 
 112 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 A Deliverer was hoped for, expected, prophesied, in the time of 
 Jewish misery' (and Cyrus was perhaps the iirst referred to) ; but 
 as no one appeared who did what the Messiali, according to proph- 
 ecy, should do, they went on degrading each successive conqueror 
 and hero from the Messianic dignity, and are still expecting the 
 tme Deliverer. Hebrew and Christian divines both start from the 
 same assumed improven premises, viz. : that a Messiah, having been 
 foretold, must appear ; but there they diverge, and the Jews show 
 themselves to be the sounder logicians of the two : the Cliristians 
 assuming that Jesus was the Messiah intended (though not the one 
 expected), wrest the obvious meaning of the prophecies to show 
 that they were fufilled in him ; while the Jews, assuming the ob 
 vious meaning of the prophecies to be their real meaning, argue 
 that they were not fulfilled in Christ Jesus, and therefore tliat the 
 Messiah is yet to come. 
 
 We shall now see, in the words of Bishop Hawes : " that God 
 should, in some extraordinary manner, visit and dwell with man, is 
 an idea which, as we read the writings of the ancient Heathens, 
 meets us in a thousand different forms." 
 
 Immaculate conceptions and celestial descents were so currently 
 received among the ancients, that whoever had greatly distinguished 
 himself in the affairs of men was thought to be of supernatural 
 lineage. Gods descended from heaven and were made incarnate in 
 men, and men ascended from earth, and took their seat among the 
 gods, so that these incarnations and apotheosises were fast filling 
 Olympus with divinities. 
 
 In our inquiries on this subject we shall turn first to Asia, 
 where, as the learned Thomas Maurice remarks in his Indian An- 
 tiquities, " in every age, and in almost every region of the Asiatic 
 world, there seems uniformly to have fiourished an immemorial 
 tradition that one god had, from all eternity, hegotten another 
 godr 
 
 In India, thei'e have been several Avatars, or incarnations of 
 Yishnu,' the most important of which is Heri Crishna* or Crishna 
 the Saviour. 
 
 to understand his intentions, said: "If thou which their hapless nation had so long groaned, 
 
 fearest God, thou wilt not approach me." to avenge them upon their haughty oppressors, 
 
 Gabriel answering said: "Verily, I am the and to re-establish the kingdom of Jadah. 
 
 messenger of the Lord, and am sent to give = Vol. v. p. 294. 
 
 thee a holy eon." (Koran, ch. xis.) ^ Moor, in his " Pantheon,^^ tells us that a 
 
 1 Instead, however, of the benevolent Jesus, learned Pandit once observed to him that the 
 
 the "Prince of Peace" — as Christiau writers English were a new people, and had only the 
 
 make him out to be— the Jews were expecting record of one Avatara. but the Hindoos were 
 
 a daring and irresistible warrior and conqueror, an ancient people, and had accounts of a great 
 
 who, armed with greater power than Csesar, many, 
 
 was to come upon earth to rend the fetters in * This name has been spelled in many dif-
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 113 
 
 In the Maha-hharata, an Indian epic poem, written about 
 'the sixth century B. C, Crishna is associated or identified with 
 Vishnu tiie Preserving god or Saviour.' 
 
 Sir Wilham Jones, lirst President of the Royal Asiatic Society, 
 'instituted in Bengal, says of him : 
 
 "Crishna continues to this hour the darling god of the Indian woman. The 
 sect of Hindoos who adore him with enthusiastic, and almost exclusive devotion, 
 have broached a doctrine, which they maintain with eagerness, and which seems 
 general in these provinces, that he was distinct from all the Avatars (incarna- 
 tions) who had only an ansa, or a portion, of his ( Vishnu's) divinity, while 
 Crishna was the person of Vishnu himself in human form. '"^ 
 
 The Rev. D. O. Allen, Missionary of the American Board, for 
 twenty -five years in India, speaking of Crishna, says : 
 
 "He was greater than, and distinct from, all the Avatars which had only a 
 portion of the divinity in them, while he was the very person of Vishnu himself 
 in human form."^ 
 
 Thomas Maurice, in speaking of Mathura, says : 
 
 "It is particularly celebrated for having been the birth-place of Crishna, who 
 is esteemed in India, not so much an incarnation of the divine Vishnu, as the 
 deity himself in hunMnform."* 
 
 Again, in his ^'■History of Ilindostan" he says: 
 
 "It appears to me that the Hindoos, idolizing some eminent character of 
 antiquity, distinguished, in the early annals of their nation, by heroic fortitude 
 and exalted piety, have applied to that character those ancient traditional ac- 
 counts of an incarnate God, or. as they not improperly term it, an Avatar, 
 which had been delivered down to them from their ancestors, the virtuous 
 NoachidsB, to descend amidst the darkness and ignorance of succeeding ages, 
 at once to reform and instruct mankind. We have tlio more solid reason to 
 affirm this of the Avatar of Crishna, because it is allowed to be the most illustri- 
 ous of them all; since we have learned, that, in the seven preceding Avatars, the 
 deity brought only an ansa, or portion of his divinity; but, in the eighth, he 
 descended in all the plentitude of the Godhead, and was Vishnu himself in a 
 humanform."^ 
 
 Crishna was born of a chaste virgin,' called Devaki, who, on 
 account of her pujity, was selected to become the " another of 
 Oodr 
 
 According to the " bhagavat pookaun," Yishnu said : 
 
 " I will become incarnate at Mathura in the house of Yadu, and wiU issue 
 
 ferent ways, Buch as Krishna, Khrishna, ' Allen's India, p. 397. 
 
 Krishnn, Ctirisna, Cristna, Christna, &c. We • Indian Antiquities, vol. iii. p. 45. 
 
 have followed Sir Wm. Jones's way of spelling ' Hist, nindostan, vol. ii. p. 270. 
 
 it, and shall do so throughout. « Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, Devaki is 
 
 ' See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. pp. 259-S75. called the " Virgin Mother," although she, as 
 
 » Ibid. p. SCO. We may say that, "In him well as Mary, is said to have had other chil- 
 
 dwelt the fulness of the Qodhead bodily." dren. 
 
 (Colossians, ii. 9.) 
 
 8
 
 114 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 forth to mortal birth from the womb of Devaki. . . . It is time I should 
 display my power, and relieve the oppressed earth from its load."' 
 
 Then a chorus of angels exclaimed : 
 
 "In the delivery of this favored woman, all nature shall have cause to 
 
 In the sacred book of the Hindoos, called " Vishnu Purana" 
 we read as follows : 
 
 "Eulogized by the gods, Devaki bore in her womb the lotus-eyed deity, the 
 protector of the world. . . . 
 
 "No person could bear to gaze upon Devaki, from the light that invested her, 
 and those who contemplated her radiance felt their minds disturbed. The gods, 
 invisible to mortals, celebrated her praises continually from the time that 
 Vishnu was contained in her person."^ 
 
 Again we read : 
 
 " The divine Vishnu himself, the root of the vast universal tree, inscrutable by 
 the understandings of all gods, demons, sages, and men, past, present, or to 
 come, adored by Brahma and all the deities, he who is without .beginning, 
 middle, or end, being moved to relieve the earth of her load, descended into the 
 womb of Devaki, and was born as her son, Vasudeva," i. e., CrishTia.* 
 
 Again : 
 
 " Crishna is the very Supreme BraJima, though it be a mystery^ how the 
 Supreme should assume the form of a man."^ 
 
 The Hindoo belief in a divine incarnation has at least, above 
 many others, its logical side of conceiving that God manifests 
 himself on earth whenever the weakness or the errors of humanity 
 render his presence necessary. We find this idea expressed in 
 one of their sacred books called the " Bhdgavat Geeta" wherein 
 it says : 
 
 "I (the Supreme One said), I am made evident by my own power, and as often 
 as there is a decline of virtue, and ah insurrection of vice and injustice in the 
 world, I make myself evident, and thus I appear from age to age, for the preser- 
 vation of the just, the destruction of the wicked, and the establishment of 
 virtue."' 
 
 Crishna is recorded in the " Bhdgavat Oeeta " as saying to his 
 beloved disciple Arjouna ; 
 
 1 Hist. HindoBtan, vol. ii. p. 327. world began.'' (Romanp, xvi. 15.) " And with- 
 
 ' Ibid, p, 329. out controversy, great is the mystery of god- 
 
 > Vislinu Purana, p. 502. liness : God was manifest in the flesb, justi- 
 
 < Ibid. p. 440. fled in tlie spirit, seen of angels, preached 
 
 » " Now to him that is of power to establish nnto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, 
 
 you according to my gospel, and the preaching received up into glory." (1 Timothy, iii. 16.) 
 of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of * Vishnn Purana, p. 492, note 3. 
 
 the 7nyetery, which was kept secret since the ' Geeta, ch. iv.
 
 TUE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 115 
 
 " He, O Arjoun, who, from conviction, acknowledgeth my divine biHh (upon 
 quitting liis mortal form), enlereth into me."' 
 
 Again, lie says : 
 
 "The foolisli, being unacquainted with my supreme and dimne nature, as 
 Lord of all things, despise me in tliia human form, trusting to the evil, diabolic, 
 and deceitful principle within them. They are of vain hope, of vain endeavors, 
 of vain wisdom, and void of reason; whilst men of great minds, trusting to their 
 divine natures, discover that I am before all things and incorruptible, and serve me 
 with their hearts undiverted by other gods."' 
 
 The next in importance among the God-hegotten and Virghi- 
 iorn Saviours of India, is Bucldlia' who was born of the Virgin 
 Maya or Mary. He in mercy left Paradise, and came down to 
 earth because lie was filled with compassion for the sins and 
 miseries of mankind. He sought to lead them into better paths, 
 and took their sufferings upon himself, that he might expiate their 
 crimes, and mitigate the punishment they must otherwise inevita- 
 bly undergo.' 
 
 According to the Fo-pen-Mng^ when Buddha was about to 
 descend from heaven, to be born into the world, the angels in 
 heaven, calling to the inhabitants of the earth, said : 
 
 "Ye mortals! adorn your earth! for Bodhisatwa, the great Mahasatwa, not 
 long hence shall descend from Tusita to be born amongst you! make ready and 
 prepare! Buddha ia about to descend and be born !"« 
 
 The womb that bears a Buddha is like a casket in which a 
 relic is placed ; no other being can be conceived in the same recep- 
 tacle ; the usual secretions are not formed ; and from the time of 
 conception, Maha-maya was free from passion, and lived in the 
 strictest continence.' 
 
 The resemblance between this legend and the doctrine of the 
 perpetual virginity of Mary the mother of Jesus, cannot but be re- 
 marked. The opinion that she had ever borne other children was 
 called heresy by Epiphanius and Jerome, long before she had been 
 exalted to the station of supremacy she now occupies.' 
 
 1 Bhagavat Geeta, Lectnre iv. p. 52. name. We have adopted this thronghont thia 
 "^ Ibid., Lecture iv. p. 79. worli, regardless of the manner in which the 
 3 It is eaid that there have been several writer from which we quote spells it. 
 Buddhae (see ch. ssix). We speak of Gau^tzyna. * Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 8G. 
 Buddha is variously pronounced and express- ^ Fo-rEN-HiNG is the life of Gautama Budd- 
 ed Boudh, Bod, Bot, But. Bud. Badd, Buddou, ha, translated from the Chinese Sansl^rit hy 
 Bouttu, Bota. Budso, Pot, Pout, Pota, Poti, Prof. Samuel Beal. 
 and Pouti. The Siamese make the final t ^ Boal : Hist. Buddha, p. 25. 
 or d quiescent, and sound the word Po ; ' Hardy : Manual of Buddhism, p. 141. 
 whence the Chinese still further vary it to Pho ^ a Christian sect called Collyridians be- 
 or Fo. BuDDnA — which means awakened or lieved that Mary was born of a virgin, as 
 tnlighttned 'see Mtiller : Sci. of Relig., p. 303) Christ is related to have been bom of her 
 — is the proper way in which to spell the (See note to the *' Gospel of the Birth of
 
 116 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 M. I'Abbe Hue, a French Missionary, iu speaking of Buddha, 
 says : 
 
 " Iu the eyes of the Buddhists, this personage is sometimes a man and some- 
 times a god, or rather both one and the other, a divine incarnation, a man-god ; 
 who came into the world to enlighten men, to redeem tliem, and to indicate to 
 them the way of safety. 
 
 " This idea of redemption by a rf2?)2'ree incarnation is so general and popular 
 among the Buddhists, that during our travels in Upper Asia, we eveiywhere found 
 it expressed in a neat formula. If we addressed to a Mongol or a Thibetan the 
 question, 'Who is Buddha?' he would immediately reply: 'The Saviour of 
 Men.' "> 
 
 He further says : 
 
 "The miraculous birth of Buddha, his life and instructions, contain a great 
 number of the moral and dogmatic truths professed in Christianity."'^ 
 
 This Angel- Messiah was regarded as the divinely chosen and 
 incarnate messenger, the vicar of God. He is addressed as " God 
 of Gods," " Father of the "World," " Almighty and All-knowing 
 Ruler," and " Eedeemer of All."= He is called also "The Holy 
 One," " The Author of Happiness," " The Lord," " The Possessor of 
 All," "He who is Omnipotent and Everlastingly to be Contem- 
 plated," " The Supreme Being, the Eternal One," " The Divinity 
 worthy to be Adored by the most praiseworthy of Mankind."' He 
 is addressed by Amora — one of his followers — thus : 
 
 " Reverence be unto thee in the form of Buddha! Reverence be unto thee, 
 the Lord of the Earth I Reverence be unto thee, an incarnation of the Deity ! Of the 
 Eternal One ! Reverence be unto thee, O God, iu the form of the God of Jlercy ; 
 the dispeller of pain and trouble, the Lord of all things, the deitj', the guardian 
 of the universe, the emblem of mercy."' 
 
 The incarnation of Gautama Buddha is recorded to have been 
 brought about by the descent of the divine power called The 
 " Soly Ghost " upon the Virgin Maya.' This Holy Ghost, or 
 
 Mary " [Apocryphal] ; also King : The Gnostics to her in lieaven and upon earth. Indeed, 
 and their Ilemains, p. 91. and Gibbon's Hist. more than one serious attempt has been al- 
 of Rome. vol. v. p. 108, note). This idea has read.v made in the Ultramontane carap to 
 been recently adopted by the Roman Catholic unite Mary in some way to the Trviitij; and if 
 Church. They now claim that Mary was born Mariolatry lasts much longer, this will prob- 
 ae immaculate as her son. (See Inman's ably be accomplished in the end." (Albert Re- 
 Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 75, and The Lily ot ville.) 
 Israel, pp. 6-15 ; also fig. 17, ch. xxxii.) ' Hac's Travels, vol. i. pp. 336, 327. 
 
 " The gradual deification of Mary, though = Ibid. p. 327. 
 
 slower in its progress, follows, in the Romish 3 Oriental Religions, p. 604. 
 
 Church, a course analogous to that which the * See Bnnsen's Angel-Messiah. 
 
 Church of the first centuries followed, in elab- * Asiatic Researches, vol. ii. p. 309, and 
 
 orating the deity of Jesus. With almost all King's Gnostics, p. 167. 
 
 the Catholic writers of our day, Mary is the • See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, pp. 10, 25 
 
 tmiver.^al mediatrix ; all power has been given and 44.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIETH OF OHRISl JESUS. 117 
 
 Spirit, descended in the form of a white elephant. Tiie TiJcas 
 explain tliis as indicating power and wisdom." 
 
 The incarnation of the angel destined to become Buddha took 
 place in a spiritual manner. The Elephant is the symbol of power 
 and wisdom ; and Buddha was considered the organ of divine 
 power and wisdom, as he is called in the Tikas. For these reasons 
 Buddha is described b^' Buddhistic legends as having descended 
 from heaven in the form of an Elephant to the place where the 
 Virgin Maya was. But according to Chinese Buddhistic writings, 
 it was the Holy Ghost, or Shing-Shin, who descended on the 
 Virgin Maya."" 
 
 The Fo-pen-hing says : 
 
 " If a mother, in her dream, behold 
 A while elephant enter her right side, 
 That mother, when she bears a son. 
 Shall bear one rhief of all the world (Buddha) ; 
 Able to prolit all flesh ; 
 
 Equally poised between preference and dislike; 
 Able to save and deliver the world and men 
 From the deep sea of misery and grief. "^ 
 
 In Prof. Fergusson's " Tree and Serpent Wwship " may be 
 seen (Plate xxxiii.) a representation of Maya, the mother of 
 Buddha, asleep, and dreaming that a white elephant appeared to 
 her, and entered her womb. 
 
 This dream being interpreted by the Brahmans learned in the 
 Rig- Veda, was considered as announcing the incarnation of him 
 who was to be in future the deliverer of mankind from pain and 
 sorrow. It is, in fact, the form which the Annunciation took in 
 
 Buddhist legends.* 
 
 " Awaked, 
 
 Bliss beyond mortal mother's filled her breast. 
 
 And over half the earth a lovely light 
 
 Forewent the morn. The strong hills shook; the waves 
 
 Sank lulled; all flowers that blow by day came forth 
 
 As 'twere high noon; down to the farthest hells 
 
 Passed the Queen's joy, as when warm sunshine thrills 
 
 Wood-glooms to gold, and into all the deeps 
 
 A tender whisper pierced. ' Oh ye,' it said, 
 
 ' The dead that are to live, the live who die. 
 
 Uprise, and hear, and hope! Buddha is come 1' 
 
 Whereat in Limbos numberless much peace 
 
 Spread, and the world's heart throbbed, and a wind blew 
 
 ' See Beat : Hi6t. Buddha, p. 36, nole. Pantheon, and vol. i. of Asiatic Researches.) 
 Ganesa, the Indian God of Wisdom, is either ^ Bnnsen : The Angel-Messiah, p. 33. 
 
 represented as an elephant, or a man with ' Beal : Hist. Baddha, pp. 38, 39. 
 
 an elephant's head. (See Moore's Hinda * Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 131.
 
 118 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 With unknown freshness over land and seas. 
 And when the morning dawned, and this was told, 
 The grey dream-readers said, ' The dream is goodi 
 The Crab is in conjunction with the Sun ; 
 The Queen shall bear a boy, a holy child 
 Of wondrous wisdom, profiting all flesh, 
 Who shall deliver men from ignorance. 
 Or rule the world, if he will deign to rule." 
 In this wise was the holy Buddha born." 
 
 In Fig. 4, Plate xci., the same subject is also illustrated. Prof. 
 Fergusson, referring to it, says : 
 
 "Pig. 4 is another edition of a legend more frequently repeated than almost 
 any other in Buddhist Scriptures. It was, with their artists, as great a favorite 
 as the Annunciation and Nativity were with Christian painters."' 
 
 Wlien Buddha avatar descended from the regions of the souls, 
 and entered the body of the Virgin Maya, her womb suddenly 
 assumed the appearance of clear, transparent crystal, in which 
 Buddha appeared, beautiful as a flower, kneeling uud reclining on 
 his hands." 
 
 Buddha's representative on earth is the Dalai Lama, or Grand 
 Lama, the High Priest of the Tartars. He is regarded as the 
 vicegerent of God, with power to dispense divine blessings Dn 
 whc>m6oever he will, and is considered among the Buddhists to be 
 a sort of divine being. He is the Pope of Buddhism.' 
 
 The Siamese had a Virgin-born God and Saviour whom they 
 called Codma. His mother, a beautiful young virgin, being in- 
 spired from heaven, quitted the society of men and wandered into 
 the most unfrequented parts of a great forest, there to await the 
 coming of a god which had long been announced to mankind. 
 While she was one day prostrate in prayer, she -was impregnated hy 
 the sunbeams. She thereupon retired to the borders of a lake, 
 between Siam and Cambodia, where she was delivered of a" Aeov- 
 erdy ioy," which she placed within the folds of a lotus, that opened 
 to receive him. When the boy grew up, he became a prodigy 
 of wisdom, performed miracles, &c.* 
 
 The first Europeans who visited Cape Comorin, the most 
 
 1 Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 212. Buddhism, p. 144.) The same thing was said 
 
 ' King : The Gnostics and their Komains, of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Early art rep- 
 
 p. 168, and Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 485. resented the infant distinctly \isible in her 
 
 R. Spence Hardy says : " The body of the womb. (See Inman's Ancient Pagan and 
 
 Qneen was transparent, and the child could Modern Christian Symbolism, and chap. xxlx. 
 
 be distinctly seen, like a priest seated upon a this work.) 
 
 throne in the act of saying bana. or like a a gee Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. ^4. 
 
 golden image enclosed in a vase of crystal ; * Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 185. See also 
 
 BO that it could be known how moch he grew Auacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 1G2 and SOS. 
 every succeeding day." (Hardy : Manual of
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 119 
 
 southerly extremity of the peninsula of Hindostan, were surprised 
 to tind the inhabitants worshiping a Lord and Saviour whom they 
 called Salivahana. They related that his father's name was 
 Taishaca, but that he was a divine child horn of a Virgin, in fact, 
 an incarnation of the Supreme Vishnu.' 
 
 The belief in a virgin-born god-man is found in the religions 
 of China. As Sir John Francis Davis remarks," " China has her 
 mythology in common with all other nations, and under this head 
 we must range the persons styled Fo-hi (or Fuli-he), Shiii-noong, 
 Hoang-ty and their immediate successors, who, like the demi-gods 
 and heroes of Grecian fable, rescued mankind by their ability or 
 enterprise from the most primitive barbarism, and have since been 
 invested with superhuman attributes. The most extravagant pro- 
 digies are related of these persons, and the most incongruous 
 qualities attributed to them." 
 
 Dean Milman, in his " History of Christianity " (Vol. i. p. 97), 
 refers to the tradition, found among the Chinese, that Fo-hi was 
 born of a virgin ; and remarks that, the first Jesuit missionaries 
 who went to China were appalled at finding, in the mythology of 
 that country, a counterpart of the story of the virgin of Judea. 
 
 Fo-hi is said to have been born 3468 years b. c, and, according 
 to some Chinese writers, with him begins the historical era and the 
 foundation of the empire. When his mother conceived him in 
 her womb, a rainbow was seen to surround her.' 
 
 The Chinese traditions concerning the birth of Fo-hi are, some 
 of them, highly poetical. That which has received the widest ac- 
 ceptance is as follows : 
 
 "Three nj-mphs came down from heaven to wash themselves in a river ; 
 but scarce hud they got there before the herb lotus appeared on one of their 
 garments, with its coral fruit upon it. They could not imagine whence it pro- 
 ceeded, and one was tempted to taste it, whereby she became pregnant and was 
 delivered of a boy, who afterwards became a great man, a founder of religion, a 
 conqueror, and legislator."^ 
 
 The sect of Xaca, which is evidently a corruption of Buddhism, 
 claim that their master was also of supernatural origin. Alvarez 
 Semedo, speaking of them, says: 
 
 " The third religious sect among the Chinese is from India, from the parts of 
 Hindostan, which sect they call Xaca, from the founder of it, concerning whom 
 they fable — that he was conceived by his mother Maya, from a white elephant, 
 
 ' See Aeiastic Res., vol. x., and Auac, vol. = Thornton : Hist. China, vol. i. pp. 21, 
 
 i. p. 662. 22. 
 
 » Davie : Hist. China, vol. i. p. 161. « Squire: Serpent Symbol, p. 184.
 
 120 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 ■which she saw in her sleep, and for more purity she brought him from one of" 
 her sides."' 
 
 Lao-Jcitm, sometimes called Lao-tsse; who is said to have been, 
 born in the third year of the emperor Ting-wang, of the Chow 
 dynasty (604 b. c), was another miraculously-born man. He ac- 
 quired great reputation for sanctity, and marvelous stories were 
 told of his birth. It was said that he had existed from all eternity; 
 that he had descended on earth and was horn of a virgin, black in 
 complexion, described " marvelous and beautiful as jasper." Splen- 
 did temples were erected to him, and he was worshij^ed as a god. 
 His disciples were called " Heavenly Teachers." They inculcated 
 great tenderness toward animals, and considered strict celibacy 
 necessary for the attainment of perfect holiness. Lao-kiun believed 
 in One God whom he called Tao, and the sect which he formed is 
 called Tao-tse, or " Sect of Reason." Sir Thomas Thornton, speak- 
 ing of him, says : 
 
 "The mythological history of this 'prince of the doctrine of the Tooa,' 
 ■which is current amongst his followers, represents him as a divine emanation incar- 
 nate in a human form. They term him the ' most high and venerable prince of 
 the portals of gold of the palace of the genii,' and say that he condescended to a 
 contact with humanity when he became incorporated with the ' miraculous and 
 excellent Virgin of jasper.' Like Buddha, he came out of his mother's side, and 
 ■was bora under a tree. 
 
 "The legends of the Taoutse declare their founder to have existed antecedent 
 to the birth of the elements, in the Great Absolute; that he is the ' pure essence 
 of the teen;' that he is the 'original ancestor of the prime breath of life;' and 
 that he gave form to the heavens and the earth. '"^ 
 
 M. Le Compte says : ^ 
 
 " Those -who have made this (the religion of Taou-tsze) their professed bus- 
 iness, are called Tien-se, that is, 'Heavenly Doctors;' they have houses (Monas- 
 teries) given them to live together in society; they erect, in divers parts, temples 
 to their master, and king and people honor him with dimne ■worship. " 
 
 Yu was another virgm-horn Chinese sage, who is said to have 
 lived upon earth many ages ago. Confucius — as though he had 
 been questioned about him — says : " I see no defect in the character 
 of Yu. He was sober in eating and drinking, and eminently pious 
 toward spirits and ancestors."' 
 
 Hau-ki, the Chinese hero, was of supernatural origin. 
 
 The following is the history of his birth, according to the "Shih- 
 King :" 
 
 > Semedo : Hist. China, p. 89, in Anac, vol. 137. See also Chambers's Encyclo., art. Lao- 
 ii. p. 227. tsze. 
 
 » Thornton : Hist. China, vol. i. pp. 134- »Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 804, 20iS.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESU8. 121 
 
 "His mother, who was childless, had presented a pure offering and sacri- 
 ficed, that her childlessness mioiht be taken away. She then trod on a toe-print 
 made by God, and was moved,' in the large place where she rested. She became 
 pregnant; she dwelt retired ; she gave birth to and nourished a son, who was 
 HAu-ki. When she had fulfilled her months, her first-born son came forth like a 
 lamb. There was no bursting, no rending, no injurj', no hurt; showing how 
 wonderful he would be. Did not God give her comfort? Had he not accepted 
 her pure oilering and sacrifice, so that thus easily she brought forth her son?"' 
 
 Even the sober Confucius (born b. c. 501) was of supernatural 
 origin. Tiie most important event in Chinese literary and ethical 
 history is the birth of Kung-foo-tsze (Confucius), both in its effects 
 on the moral organization of this great empire, and the study of 
 Chinese philosophy in Europe. 
 
 Kung-foo-tsze (meaning " the sage Kung " or " the wise excel- 
 lence ") was of royal descent ; and his family the most ancient in 
 the empire, as his genealogy was traceable directly up to Hwang- 
 te, the reputed organizer of the state, the first emperor of the semi- 
 historical period (beginning 2G96 b. c). 
 
 At his birth a prodigioiis quadruped, called the Ke-lin, appeared 
 and prophesied that the new-born infant " would be a king with- 
 out throne or territory." Two dragons hovered about the couch 
 of Yen-she (his mother), and five celestial sages, or angels, entered 
 at the moment of the birth of the wondrous child ; heavenly 
 strains were heard in the air, and harmonious chords followed 
 each other, fast and full. Thus was Confucius ushered into the 
 world. 
 
 His disciples, who were to expound his precepts, were seventy- 
 two in number, tioelve of whom were his ordinary companions, the 
 depositories of his thoughts, and the witnesses of all his actions. 
 To thepa he minutely explained his doctrines, and charged tliem 
 with their propagation after his death. Yan-hwtjt was his favorite 
 disciple, who, in his opinion, had attained the highest degree of 
 moral perfection. Confucius addressed him in terms of great 
 affection, which denoted that he relied mainly upon him for the 
 accomplishment of his work.' 
 
 Even as late as the seventeenth century of our era, do we find 
 the myth of the vii-gin-born God in China.* 
 
 1 "The ' toe-print made by Ood' has occa- pp. 168-170. 
 eioned mnch epecaJalion of the critics. We * " Le Diea La des Lamas est ne d'une 
 
 may eimpiy draw the conclusion that the poet Yierge : plusieura princes de I'Asie, entr' aulres 
 
 meant to have his readers helieve with him VEmpereur ICienlong, aujourd'hui regnant a la 
 
 that the conception of his hero was super- Chine, et qui est de la race de ces Tartares 
 
 KATHRAL." (James Legge.) Mandhuis, qui conquirent cet empire en H>44, 
 
 * The Shih-King. Decade ii. Ode 1. croit, et assure lui-raeme, etre descendu d'une 
 
 • See Thornton's Hist. China, vol. i. pp. 199, Yierge." (D'Hancarviile : Res. Sur I'Orig., p. 
 MO, and Bactley's Cities of the Ancient World, 186, in Anac, vol. ii. p. 97.)
 
 122 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 All these god-begotten and virgin-bom men were called Tien- 
 tse, i. £., " Sons of Heaven." 
 
 If from China we should turn to Egypt we would find that, 
 for ages before the time of Jesus of Nazareth, the mediating deity, 
 born of a virgin, and without a worldly father, was a portion of the 
 Egyptian belief.' 
 
 Ilorus, who had the epithet of "/SawoM?-," was born of the 
 vii-gin Isis. " His birth was one of the greatest Mysteries of the 
 Egyptian religion. Pictures representing it appear on the walls of 
 temples.'" He is " the second emanation of A^non, the son whom 
 he begot.'" Egyptian monuments represent the infant Saviour in 
 the arms of his virgin mother, or sitting on her knee.* An inscrip- 
 tion on a monument, translated by Champollion, reads thus : 
 
 "O thou avenger, God, son of a God; O thou avenger, Horus, manifested by 
 Osiris, engendered of the goddess Isis."' 
 
 The Egyptian god Ha was born from the side of his mother, 
 hut was not engendered. ° 
 
 The ancient Egyptians also deified kings and heroes, in the 
 same manner as the ancient Greeks and Romans. An Egyptian 
 king became, in a sense, " the vicar of God on earth, the infallible, 
 and the personated deity.'" 
 
 P. Le Page Eenouf, in bis Hibbert Lectures on the Keligion of 
 Ancient Egypt, says : 
 
 ■ ' I must not quit this part of my subject without a reference to the belief that 
 the ruling sovereign of Egypt was the living image and vicegerent of the Sun- 
 god {Ra). lie was invested with the attributes of dioinity, and that in the earliest 
 times of which we possess monumental evidence."' 
 
 Menes, who is said to have been the first king of Egypt, was 
 believed to be a god." 
 
 Almost all the temples of the left bank of the Nile, at Thebes, 
 had been constructed in view of the worship rendered to the 
 Pharaohs, their founders, after their death." 
 
 On the wall of one of these Theban temples is to be seen a 
 picture representing the god Thoth — the messenger of God — telling 
 
 ' See Mahaffy ; Proleg. to Anct. Hist., p, gendrfi d'Isis deesee." (Champollion, p. 190.) 
 
 416, and Bonwick'a Egyptian Belief, p. 406. • Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 406. 
 
 3 Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 157. ' Ibid, p. 247. 
 
 ' Renouf : Relig. Anct. Egypt, p. 163. » Rcnouf : Keligion of Ancient Egypt, p. 
 
 * See the chapter on '* The Worship of the 161. 
 
 Virgin Mother." » See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. pp, 67 i.nd 
 
 *''Otoi vengeor, Dieu fiJs d'un Dien ; 147. 
 
 O toi vengenr, Horns, manifests par Oairis, en- »• Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 248.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 123 
 
 the maiden, Queen Mautmes, that she is to give birth to a divine 
 son, who is to be King Amunvtli])h III.' 
 
 An inscription found in Egypt makes the god Ra say to his son 
 Kamses III. : 
 
 ' ' I am thy father; by me are begotten all thy members as divine ; I have formed 
 thy shape like the Mendesiau god; I have begotten thee, impregnating thy ven- 
 erable mother."* 
 
 Haain-ses, or Ra-me-ses, means " Son of the Sun," and Ram- 
 ses Ilek An, a name of Ramses III., means " engendered by Ra 
 (the Sun), Prince of An (Heliopolis).'" 
 
 " TJwtmes III., on the tablet of Karuak, presents oilcrings to his 
 predecessors ; so does Ramses on the tablet of Abj'dos. Even dur- 
 ing his life-time the Egyptian king was denominated ^Beneficent 
 God: '" 
 
 The ancient Babylonians also believed that their kings were 
 gods upon earth. A passage from Menaut's translation of the great 
 inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, reads thus : 
 
 " I am Nabu-kuder-usur . . . the first-born son of Nebu-pal-usur, King 
 of Babylon. The god Bel himself created me, the god Marduk engendered me, 
 and deposited himself the germ of my life in the womb of my mother."' 
 
 In the life of Zoroaster, the law-giver of the Persians, the 
 common mythos is apparent. He was born in innocence, of an 
 immaculate conception, of a ray of the Divine Reason. As soon 
 as he was born the glory from his body enlightened the whole 
 room." Plato informs us that Zoroaster was said to be "the son of 
 Oromasdcs, which was the name the Persians gave to the Supreme 
 God '" — therefore lie was the Son of Ood. 
 
 From the East we will turn to the West, and shall find that 
 many of the ancient heroes of Grecian and Roman mythology were 
 regarded as of divine origin, were represented as men, possessed 
 of god-like form, strength and courage ; were believed to have 
 lived on earth in the remote, dim ages of the nation's history ; to 
 have been occupied in their life-time with thrilling adventures and 
 extraordinary services in the cause of human civilization, and to 
 have been after death in some cases translated to a life among the 
 gods, and entitled to sacrifice and worship. In the hospitable 
 Pantheon of the Greeks and Romans, a niche was always in readi- 
 
 » Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 407. ^ Spencer's Principles of Sociology, vol. i. 
 
 2 Eenouf : Relig. of Aact. Egypt, p. 1C3. p. 421. 
 
 ' See Herbert Spencer's Principles of Soci- • Malcolm : Uist. Persia, vol. i. p. 494. 
 
 ology, vol. i. p. 420. * Auac. vol. i. p. 117. 
 
 * Kenrick'B Egypt, vol. i. p. 431.
 
 124 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 ness for every new divinity who could produce respectable cre- 
 dentials. 
 
 The Christian Father Justin Mart3'r, says : 
 
 " It having reached the Devil's ears that the prophets had foretold the com- 
 ing of Christ (the Son of Ood), he set the Heathen Poets to bring forward a great 
 many who should be called the sons of Jove. The Devil laying his scheme in 
 this, to get men to imagine that the true history of Christ was of the same char- 
 acter as the prodigious fables related of the sons of Jove." 
 
 Among these " sons of Jove " may be mentioned the following : 
 Hercules was the son of Jupiter by a mortal mother, Alcmene, 
 Queen of Thebes.' Zeus, the god of gods, spake of Hercules, his 
 son, and said: "This day shall a child be born of the race of 
 Perseus, who shall be the mightiest of the sons of men.'" 
 
 Bacchus was the son of Jtipiter and a mortal mother, Semele, 
 daughter of Kadmus, King of Thebes.' As Montfaucon says, " It 
 is the son of Jupiter and Semele which the poets celebrate, and 
 which the monuments represent."* 
 
 Bacchus is made to say : 
 
 "I, son of Deus, am come to this land of the Thebans, Bacchus, whom for- 
 merly Semele the daughter of Kadmus brings forth, being delivered by the 
 lightning-bearing flame : and having taken a inortal form instead of a god's, I 
 nave arrived at the fountains of Dirce and the water of Ismenus."' 
 
 AmpMon was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Antiope, 
 daughter of Nicetus, King of Bceotia.^ 
 
 Prometheus, whose name is derived from a Greek word signify- 
 ing foresight and providence, was a deity who united the divine and 
 human nature in one person, and was confessedly both man and 
 god.' 
 
 Perseus was the son of Jupiter by the virgin Danae, daughter 
 of Acrisius, King of Argos.' Divine honors were paid him, and a 
 temple was erected to him in Atheus." 
 
 Justin Martyr (a. d. 140), in his Apology to the Emperor 
 Adrian, says : 
 
 "By declaring the Logos, the first-begotten of God, our Master, Jesus Christ, 
 to be born of a virgin, without any human mixture, we (Christians) say no more 
 in this than what you (Pagans) say of those whom you style the Sons of Jove. For 
 
 1 Roman Antiq., p. 1S4. BeU's Panth., i. Spirit Hist, of MaD, p. 200. 
 
 328. Dupuie, p. 258. ' Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 58. Roman An- 
 
 2 Tales of Anct. Greece, p. 55. tiquities, p. 133. 
 
 ' Greek and Italian Mytho., p. 81. Bell's ' See the chapter on " The Cnicifixion of 
 
 Panth., i. 117. Roman Antiq., p. 71, and Mnr- Jesus," and Bell's Pantheon, ii. 195. 
 ray's Manual Mytho.. p. 118. ^ Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 170. Buifincfa : 
 
 » L'Antiquite Expliquee, vol. i. p. 239. The Age of Fable, p. lljl. 
 
 'Euripides: Bacchae. Quoted by Dunlap : • Bell's Pantheon, vol. 11. p. 171.
 
 THK MIKACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 125 
 
 you need not be told what a parcel of sons the ■writers most in vogue among you 
 assign to Jove. ... 
 
 "As to the Son of God, called Jesus, should we allow him to be nothing more 
 than man, yet the title of ' the Son of God ' is very justifiable, upon the account 
 of his wisdom, considering that you (Pagans) have your Mercury in worship 
 under the title of the Word, a messenger of God. . . . 
 
 " As to his (Jesus Christ's) being born of a virgin, you have your Peraeus to 
 balance ilMt."^ 
 
 Mercury was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Maia, 
 daughter of Atlas. Cjllene, in Arcadia, is said to have been tlie 
 scene of his birth and education, and a magnificent temple was 
 erected to him there." 
 
 ^olus, king of the Lipari Islands, near Sicily, was the son of 
 Jupiter and a inortal mother, Acasta.' 
 
 Apollo was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Latona.* 
 Like Buddha and Lao-Kiun, Apollo, so the Ephesians said, was 
 born under a tree ; Latona, taking shelter under an olive-tree, was 
 delivered there." Then there was joy among the undying gods in 
 Olympus, and the Earth laughed beneath the smile of Heaven." 
 
 Aethlius, who is said to have been one of the institutors of the 
 Orphic games, was the sou of Jupiter by a mortal mother, Froto- 
 genia.' 
 
 Areas was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother.* 
 
 Aroclus was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother." 
 
 We might continue and give the names of many more sons of 
 Jove, but sufficient has been seen, we believe, to show, in the words 
 of Justin, that Jove had a great " parcel of sons." " The images of 
 self-restraint, of power used for the good of others, are prominent 
 in the lives of all or almost all the Zeus-born heroes.'"" 
 
 This Jupiter, who begat so many sons, was the supreme god of 
 the Pagans. In the words of Orpheus: 
 
 " Jupiter is omnipotent; the first and the last, the head and the midst; Jupi- 
 ter, the giver of all things, the foundation of the earth, and the starry heavens."" 
 
 The ancient Romans were in the habit of deifying their living 
 and departed emperors, and gave to them the title of Divus, or the 
 Divine One. It was required throughout the whole empire that 
 divine honors should be paid to the emperors." They had a cere- 
 
 » Aool. 1, ch. xxii. ' Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 31. 
 
 2 Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 67. Bulflnch : * Ibid. p. 81. 
 The Age of Fable, p. 19. » Ibid. p. 16. 
 
 3 Bell's Pantbeon, vol. i. p. 25. i*> Bell's Pantheon, ii. p. 30. 
 
 < Ibid, p. 74, and Bulflnch : p. 248. " Cox : Aryan Mythology, ii. 45. 
 
 » Tacitus : Annals, iii. Isi. " The Bible fo^Learners, vol. iiL p. 3. 
 
 " Tales of Anct. Greece, p. 4.
 
 126 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 mony called Apotheosis, or deiiication. After tins ceremony, 
 temples, altars, and images, with attributes of divinity, were erected 
 to the new deity. It is related by Eusebius, Tertullian, and Cliry- 
 sostora, that Tiberius j^roposed to tlie Roman Senate the Apotheosis 
 or deification of Jesus Christ.' ^lius Lampridius, in his Life of 
 Alexander Severus (who reigned a. d. 222-235), says : 
 
 " This emperor had two private chapels, one more honorable than the other; 
 and in the former were placed the deified emperors, and also some eminent good 
 men, among them Abraham, Christ, and Orpheus."^ 
 
 Romtilus, who is said to have been the founder of Rome, was 
 believed to have been the son of God by a pure virgin, Rhea-Sylvia.' 
 One Julius Prooulus took a solemn oath, that Romulus himself 
 appeared to him and ordered him to inform the Senate of his be- 
 ing called up to the assembly of the gods, under the name of Quiri- 
 nus.' 
 
 Julius CcjBsar was supposed to have had a god for a father.' 
 Augustus Cmsar was also believed to have been of celestial ori- 
 gin, and had all" the honors paid to him as to a divine person.' His 
 divinity is expressed by Virgil, in the following lines: 
 
 " Turn, turn thine eyes, see here thy race divine, 
 
 Behold thj' own imperial Roman Sine: 
 
 Caesar, with all the Julian name survey; 
 
 See where the glorious ranks ascend to-day ! — 
 
 This — this is he — tJic chief so long foretold. 
 
 To bless the land where Saturn ruled of old. 
 
 And give the Learuean realms a second eye of gold! 
 
 The promised prince, Augustus the divine. 
 
 Of CiEsar's race, and Jove's immortal line."' 
 
 " The honors due to the gods," says Tacitus, " were no longer 
 sacred : Augustus claimed equal worship. Temples were built, 
 and statues were erected, to him ; a mortal man was adored, and 
 priests and pontiffs were appointed to pay him impious homage.'" 
 
 Divine honors were declared to the memory of Claudius, after 
 his death, and he was added to the number of the gods. The titles 
 " Our Lord," " Our Master," and " Our God," were given to the 
 Emperors of Rome, even while living." 
 
 * BcU's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 78. again while praying in the temple at Jerusalem. 
 3 Quoted by Lardner, vol. iii. p. 157. (Acts xxii.) 
 
 3 Braper : Religion and Science, p. 8. ^ See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 345. 
 
 * Middleton's Letters from Home, p. 37. In Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. 84, 85. 
 
 the case of Jesits, one Saul of Tarsus, said to * Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 611. 
 
 be of a worthy and upriglit character, declared ' .^neid, liii. iv. 
 
 most solemnly, that Jesus himself appeared 8 Tacitus : Annals, bk. i. ch. s. 
 
 to bim while on his way to Damascus, and • Ibid. bk. ii. ch. Ixxxii. and bk. siii. ch. ii,
 
 THE MIIiACULOUS BIKTU OF CHRIST JESUS. 127 
 
 In the deification of the Caesars, a testimony upon cath, of an 
 eagle's flying out of the funeral pile, toward heaven, whicli was 
 supposed to convey the soul of the deceased, was the established 
 proof of their divinity.' 
 
 Alexander tlie Greai,Kingoi Macedonia (born 356 b. c), whom 
 genius and uncommon success had raised above ordinary men, was 
 believed to have been a god upon earth." He was believed to have 
 been the son of Jupiter by a mortal mother, Olympias. 
 
 Alexander at one time visited the temple of Jupiter Ammon, 
 which was situated in an oasis in the Libyan desert, and the Oracle 
 there declared him to be a son of the god. He afterwards issued 
 his orders, letters, decrees, &c., styKng himself " Alexander, son of 
 Jupiter Ammon?'^ 
 
 The words of the oracle whicli declared liim to be divine were 
 as follows, says Socrates : 
 
 " Let altars burn and incense pour, please Jove Minerva eke; 
 The potent Prince tbough nature frail, his favor you must seek. 
 For .Jove from heaven to earth him sent, lo! Alexander king, 
 As God he comes the earth to r\ile, and just laws for to bring. "^ 
 
 Ptoleinij, who was one of Alexander's generals in his Eastern 
 campaigns, and into whose hands Egypt fell at the death of 
 Alexander, was also believed to have been of divine origin. At 
 the siege of Rhodes, Ptolemy bad been of such signal service to 
 its citizens that in gratitude they paid divine honors to liim, and 
 saluted him with the title of Soter, i. e., Saviour. By that designa- 
 tion, '^^ Ptolemy Soter," he is distinguished from the succeeding 
 kings of the Macedonian dynasty in Egypt.' 
 
 Cyrus, King of Persia, was believed to have been of divine 
 origin ; he was called the " Christ" or the ^^ Anointed of God," 
 and God's messenger." 
 
 Plato, born at Athens 429 b. c, was believed to have been the 
 son of God by a. pure virgin, called Perictione.' 
 
 The reputed father of Plato (Aris) was admonished in a dream 
 to respect the person of his wife until after the birth of the child 
 of whicli she was then pregnant by a god." 
 
 Prof. Draper, speaking of Plato, says : 
 
 1 See Midd]eton'8 Letters from Rome, pp. * See Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 418. 
 
 37, 38. Bunsen : Bible Chronology, p. 5, and The An- 
 
 3 See Religion of the Ancient Greeks, p. 81, gel-Messiah, pp. SO and 29S. 
 and Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. 84, 85. ' See Higgins : Anaealypsis, vol. ii. p. 113, 
 
 * Draper : Religion and Science, p. 8. and Draper : Religion aud Science, p. 8. 
 
 * Socrates : Eccl. Hist. Lib. 3, ch. six. * Hardy : Manual Budd., p. 141. Higgins : 
 ' Draper : Religion and Science, p. 17. Anac, i. 618.
 
 128 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "The Egyptian disciples of Plato would have looked with anger on those 
 who rejected the legend that Periotione, the mother of that great philosopher, a 
 pure virgin, had suffered an immaculate conception through the influences of 
 (the god) Apollo, and that tlie god had declared to Arts, to wlwm she was betrothed, 
 the parentage of the child."^ 
 
 Here we have the legend of tlie angel appearing to Joseph — 
 to whom Mary was betrothed — believed in by the disciples of 
 Plato for centuries before the time of Clirist Jesus, the only- 
 difference being that the virgin's name was Perictione instead of 
 Mary, and the confiding husband's name Aris instead of Joseph. 
 We iiave another similar case. 
 
 The mother of Aj)oUonius (b. c. 41) was informed by a god, 
 who appeared to her, that he himself should he horn of her^ In 
 the course of time she gave birth to Apollonius, who became a 
 grvdu religious teacher, and performer of miracles.' 
 
 Pythagoras, born about 570 B. c, had divine honors paid him. 
 His mother is said to have become impregnated through a spectre, 
 or Holy Ghost. His father — or foster-father — was also informed 
 that his wife should bring forth a son, who should be a benefactor 
 to mankind.' 
 
 jEsculajnus, the great performer of miracles,' was supposed to 
 be the son of a god and a worldly mother, Coronis. The Messe- 
 niaiis, who consulted the oracle at Delphi to know where ^scula- 
 pius was born, and of what parents, were informed that a god was 
 his father, Coronis his mother, and that their son was born at Epi- 
 daurus. 
 
 Coronis, to conceal her pregnancy from her father, went to 
 Epidaurus, where she was delivered of a son, whom she exposed 
 on a mountain, xiristhenes, a goat-herd, going in search of a goat 
 and a dog missing from his fold, discovered the child, whom he 
 would have carried to his home, had he not, upon approaching to 
 lift him from the earth, perceived his head encircled toith fiery 
 rays, which made him believe the child was divine. The voice 
 of fame soon published the birth of a miraculous infant, upon 
 which the people flocked from all quarters to helwld this heaven- 
 horn child.' 
 
 Being honored as a god in Phenicia and Egypt, his worship 
 passed into Greece and Rome.' 
 
 ' Draper : Religion and Science, p. 8. Com- ' See the chapter on Miracles, 
 
 pare Lake i. 29-35. » Bell's Pantheon, i. 27. Roman Ant., 13fi. 
 
 =* Pllilo^^tr;ituB. p. 5. Taylor's Diogeeis, p. 150. 
 ■ See the chapter on Miracles. t ibid. 
 
 * See Uiggina : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 151.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 129 
 
 Simon the Samaritan, surnaraed " Magus " or tlie " Magician," 
 "who was contemporary with Jesns, was believed to be a god. 
 In Rome, where he performed wonderful miracles, lie was honored 
 as a god, and his picture placed among the gods.' 
 
 Justin Martyr, quoted by Eusobius, tells us that Simon Magus 
 attained great honor among the Romans. That he was believed 
 to be a god, and that he was worshiped as such. Between two 
 bridges upon the River Tibris, was to be seen this inscription : 
 " Sinioni Deo Sancto," i. e. " To Simon the Holy God.'" 
 
 It was customary with all the heroes of the northern nations 
 (Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Icelanders), to speak of them- 
 selves as sprung from their supreme deity, Odin. The historians 
 of those times, that is to say, the poets, never failed to bestow the 
 same honor on all those whose praises they sang ; and thus they 
 multiplied the descendants of Odin as nnich as they found con- 
 venient. The iirst-begotten son of Odin was Thor, whom the 
 Eddas call the most valiant of his sons. " Baldur the Good," the 
 '■'■ Beneficent Saviour," was the son of the Supreme Odin and the 
 goddess Frigga, whose worship was transferred to that of the 
 Virgin Mary.' 
 
 In the mythological systems of America, a virgin-born god 
 was not less clearly recognized than in those of the Old World. 
 Among the savage tribes his origin and character were, for obvious 
 reasons, much confused ; but among the more advanced nations he 
 occupied a well-defined position. Among the nations of Anahuac, 
 he bore the name of Quetsalcoatle, and was regarded with the 
 highest veneration. 
 
 For ages before the landing of Columbus on its shores, the 
 inhabitants of ancient Mexico worshiped a "Saviour" — as they 
 called him — {Quetsalcoatle) who was horn of a jpure virgin.^ A 
 tnessenger from lieaven announced to his mother that she should 
 hear a soji without connection xo'ith man!' Lord Kingsborough tells 
 us that the annunciation of the virgin Sochiguetzal, mother of 
 Quetzalcoatle, — who was styled the '■'■Queen of Heaven'''" — was 
 the subject of a Mexican hieroglyph.' 
 
 The embassador was seat from heaven to this virgin, who had 
 two sisters, Tzochitlique and Conatlique. " These three being 
 alone in the house, two of them, on perceiving the embassador from 
 heaven, died of fright, Sochiquetzal remaining alive, to whom the 
 
 • Eusebins : Eccl. Hiet., lib. 2, ch. xiii. vi. 160 and 175-6. 
 2 Ibid. cb. xiii. » Ibid. 
 
 ' See Mallet's Northern Antiquities. « See Kingsborough : Mexican Antiquities, 
 
 * See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 33, vol. vi. p. 176. 
 KiiKsborough ; Mexican Antiquities, vol. ' Ibid. p. 175. 
 
 9
 
 130 BIBLE I.1YTUS. 
 
 embassador annouiieed that it was tlie will of God that she 
 should conceive a son.'" She therefore, according to the predic- 
 tion, " conceived a son, xoithout connection with man, who was 
 called Quetzalcoatle.'" 
 
 Dr. Daniel Briuton, in his " M^'ths of the New "World," says: 
 
 " The Central figure of Toltec mythology is Quetzalcoatle. Not an author dd 
 ancient Mexico, but has something to say about the glorious days when he ruled 
 over the land. No one denies him to have been a god. Ha was barn of a virgin 
 in the land of Tula or TtopaUan. "^ 
 
 The Maj-as of Yucatan had a virgin-horn god, corresponding 
 entirely with Quetzalcoatle, if he was not the same under a differ- 
 ent name, a conjecture very well sustained by the evident relation- 
 ship between the Mexican and Mayan mythologies. He was named 
 Zama, and was the only-begotten son of their supreme god, Kin- 
 chahan.* 
 
 The Muyscas of Columbia had a similar hero-god. Accord- 
 ing to their traditionary history, he bore the name of Bochica. 
 He was the incarnation of the Great Father, whose sovereignty and 
 paternal cai"e he emblematized.' 
 
 The inhabitants of Nicaragua called their principal god Thom- 
 athoyo ; and said that he had a son, who came down to earth, 
 whose name was Theotbilahe, and that he was their general in- 
 structor." 
 
 We find a corresponding character in the traditionary history of 
 Peru. The Sun — the god of the Peruvians — deploring their mis- 
 erable condition, sent down his son, Manco Gajpac, to instruct 
 them in religion, &c.' 
 
 We have also traces of a similar personage in the traditionary 
 Yotan of Cruatemala ; but our accounts concerning him are more 
 vague than in the cases above mentioned. 
 
 "We find this traditional character in countries and among tribes 
 where we would be least apt to suspect its existence. In Brazil, 
 besides the common belief in an age of violence, during which the 
 world was destroyed by water, there is a tradition of a supernatural 
 personage called Zome, whose history is similar, in some respects, 
 to that of Quetzalcoatle.' 
 
 The semi-civilized agricultural tribes of Florida had Kke tradi- 
 tions. The Cherokees, in particular, had a priest and law-giver 
 
 ■ See Kingsborongb : Mexican Antiquities, » Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 187. 
 
 vol. vi p. ire. ' Ibid. p. 188. 
 
 a Ibitl. p. 166. » Ibid. 
 
 > Brinton : Myths of the New World, pp. ' Ibid. 
 
 180, 181. s Ibid. p. 190.
 
 TIIK JflPwACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 131 
 
 essentially corresponding to Quetzalcoatle and Bochica. He was 
 their greut prophet, and bore the uame of Wast. " He told them 
 what had been from the beginning of the world, and what would 
 be, and gave tlie people in all things directions what to do. He 
 appointed their feasts and fasts, and all the ceremonies of their re- 
 li^-ion, and enjoined upon them to obey his directions from genera- 
 tion to generation.'" 
 
 Among the savage tribes the same notions prevailed. The 
 Edues of the Californians taught that there was a supreme Creator, 
 Niparacja, and that his son, Quaagagj^, came down upon the earth 
 and instructed the Indians in religion, &:c. Finally, through 
 hatred, the Indians killed him ; but although dead, he is incorrup- 
 tible and beautiful. To him they pay adoration, as the mediatory 
 poioer between earth and the Supreme Niparaga." 
 
 The Iroquois also had a beneiicent being, uniting in himself the 
 character of ff- (/ofZ a?!fZ »;«?!, who was c-d\\e(}L Tarengaxcagan. He 
 imparted to them the knowledge of the laws of the Great Spirit, es- 
 tablished their form of government, &c.' 
 
 Among the Algonquins, and particularly among the Ojibways 
 and other remnants of that stock of the ISTorth-west, this intermedi- 
 ate great teacher (denominated, by Mr. Schoolcraft, in his " Notes 
 of the Iroquois,''' " the great incarnation of the North-west ") is fully 
 recognized. He bears the name of Michahou, and is represented 
 as the first-born son of a great celestial Manitou, or Spirit, by an 
 earthly mother, and is esteemed tlie friend and protector of the 
 human race.' 
 
 I think we can now say with M. Dupuis, that " the idea of a 
 God, who came down on earth to save mankind, is neither new nor 
 peculiar to the Christians," and with Cicero, the great Roman ora- 
 tor and philosopher, that " brave, famous or powerful naen, after 
 death, came to be gods, and they are the very ones whom we are 
 accustomed to worship, pray to and venerate." 
 
 Taking for granted that the synof)tic Gospels are historical, there 
 is uo proof that Jesus ever claimed to be either God, or a god ; on 
 the other hand, it is quite the contrary.* As Yiscount Amberly says : 
 " The best proof of this is that Jesus never, at any period of his life, 
 
 • Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 191. we possessed only the Gospel of .Vark and the 
 " Ibid. discourses of the Apostles in the Acts, the 
 ' Ibid. whole Chi'istology of the New Testament would 
 
 * Ibid, p. 193. be reduced to this : that Jesus of Nazareth was 
 s " If \vc seek, in the tirst three Gospels, to ' a propJiet mighty in deeds and in words, 
 
 know what his biographers thought of Jesus, made by God Christ and Lord.' " (Albert Ke* 
 
 we find his true fivmanibj pialalj stated, and if ville.)
 
 132 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 desired liis followers to worship liim, either as God, or as the Soa 
 of God," in the sense in which it is now understood. Had he be- 
 lieved of himself what his followers subsequently believed of him, 
 that he was one of the constituent persons in a divine Trinity, he 
 must have enjoined his Apostles both to address him in prajer 
 themselves, and to desire their converts to do likewise. It is 
 quite plain that he did nothing of the kind, and that they never 
 supposed him to have done so. 
 
 Belief in Jesus as the Messiah was taught as the first dogma 
 of Christianity, but adoration of Jesus as Ood was not taught 
 at all. 
 
 But we are not left in this matter to depend on conjectural 
 inferences. The words put into the mouth of Jesus are plain. 
 Whenever occasion arose, lie asserted his inferioritij to the Father, 
 though, as no one had then dreamt of his equality, it is natural that 
 the occasions should not have been frequent. 
 
 He made himself inferior in knowledge when he said that of 
 the day and hour of the day of judgment no one knew, neither the 
 angels in heaven nor the Son ; no one except the Father.' 
 
 He made himself inferior in power when he said that seats on 
 his right hand and on his left in the kingdom of heaven were not 
 his to give." 
 
 He made himself inferior in virtue when he desired a certain 
 man not to address him as " Good Master," for there was none good 
 but God.= 
 
 The words of his prayer at Gethsemane, " all things are possible 
 unto thee^'' imply that all things were not possible to him, while its 
 conclusion " not what I will, but what thou wilt," indicates submis- 
 sion to a superior, not the mere execution of a purpose of his own.* 
 Indeed, the whole prayer would have Ijeen a mockery, useless for any 
 purpose but the deception of his disciples, if he had himself been 
 identical with the Being to whom he prayed, and had merely been 
 giving effect by his death to their common counsels. While the 
 cry of agony from the cross, "JS/^/ God, my God! why hast 
 thou forsaken mef"'' would have been quite unmeaning if the 
 person forsaken, and the person forsaking, had been one and 
 the same. 
 
 Either, then, we must assume that the language of Jesus has 
 been Tnisreported, or we must admit that he never for a moment 
 pretended to he co-equal, co-eternal or considjstantial with God. 
 
 > Mark, xiii. 32. = Mark, x. 18. • Mark, rr. 34. 
 
 • Mark, x. 40. • Mark, xiv. 36.
 
 TUE Mir.ACULOUS BIKTII OF CllUIST JESUS. 133 
 
 It also follows of necessity from lotlt, the genealogies,' that their 
 compilers entertained no doubt t\\a,i Josej)}^ was the father of Jesus. 
 Otherwise the descent of Joseph would not have been in the least 
 to the point. All attempts to reconcile this inconsistency with the 
 doctrine of the Angel- Messiah has been without avail, although the 
 most learned Christian divines, for many generations past, have 
 endeavored to do so. 
 
 So, too, of the stories of the Presentation in the Temple," and 
 of the child Jesus at Jerusalem,' Joseph is called his father. 
 Jesus is repeatedly described as the son of the carpenter* or the 
 son of Joseph, without the least indication that the expression is 
 not strictly in accordance with the fact." 
 
 If his parents fail to understand him when he says, at twelve 
 years old, that he must be about his Father's business ;° if he 
 afterwards declares that he finds no faith among his nearest rela- 
 tions;' if he exalts his faithful disciples above his unbelieving 
 mother and brothers ;° above all, if Mary and her other sons put 
 down his prophetic enthusiasm to insanity;' — then the untrust- 
 worthy nature of these stories of his birth is absolutely certain. 
 If even a little of what they tell us had been true, then Mary at 
 least would have believed in Jesus, and would not have failed so 
 utterly to understand him.'" 
 
 The Gospel of Mark — which, in this respect, at least, abides 
 most faithfully by the old apostolic tradition — says not a word 
 about Bethlehem or the miraculous hirth. The congregation of 
 Jerusalem to which Mary and the brothers of Jesus belonged," and 
 over which the eldest of them, James, presided," can have known 
 nothing of it ; for the later Jewish-Christian communities, the 
 so-called Ebionites, who were descended from the congregation at 
 Jerusalem, called Jesus the son of Joseph. Nay, the story that 
 the Holy Spirit was the father of Jesus, must have risen among 
 
 ' Matt, and Luke. rative, especially in Lulio, is poetical and le- 
 
 "The passages which appear most con- gendary, and bears a marked similarity to the 
 
 firmatory of Christ's Deity, or Divine nature, stories contained in the Apocryphal Gospels," 
 
 are, in the first place, the narratives of the In- (W. R. Greg : The Creed of Christendom, p. 
 
 carnation and of the Miraculous Conception, as 229.) 
 
 given by Matthew and Luke. Now, the two ^ Luke, ii. 27. 8 Lake, ii. 41-48. 
 
 narratives do not harmonize with each other ; * Matt. siii. 55. 
 
 they neutralize and negative the r/enealogks on » Luke, iv. 83. John, i. 48; vi. 42. Lnke, 
 
 which depend so large a portion of the proof of iii. 23. 
 
 Jesus being the Messiah — the marvellous state- * Luke, ii. 50. 
 
 meut they contain is not referred to in any ' Matt. siii. 57. Mark, vi. 4. 
 
 subsequent portion of the two Gospels, and is * Matt. sii. 48-50. Mark, iii. 33-35. 
 
 tacitly but positively negatived by several pas- • Mark, iii. 21. 
 
 sages— it is never mentioned in tlie Acts or in i" Dr. Uooykaas. 
 
 the Epistles, and was evidently unknown to all n Acta, i. 14. 
 
 the Apostles— and, finally, the tone of the nar- " Acts, xxi. 13. Gai. il. lU-21.
 
 134 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the Greeks, or elsewhere, and not among the first believers, who were 
 Jews, for the Hebrew word for sj}irit is of the feminine gender.^ 
 
 The immediate successors of the " congregation at Jerusalem" 
 — to which Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers belonged — 
 were, as we have seen, the Ebionites. Eusebius, the first ecclesi- 
 astical historian (bom a. d. 264), speaking of the Ebionites {i. e. 
 " poor men "), tell us that they believed Jesus to be " a simple and 
 cormnmi man" born as other men, " of Mary and her husbtaid."" 
 
 The views held by the Ebionites of Jesus were, it is said, 
 derived from the Gospel of Matthew, awtZ ivhat they learned direct 
 from the Apostles. Matthew had been a hearer of Jesus, a com 
 panion of the Apostles, and had seen and no doubt conversed with 
 Mary. When he \vrote his Gospel everything was fresh in his 
 mind, and there could be no object, on his part, in writing the life 
 of Jesus, to state falsehoods or omit important truths in order to 
 deceive his countrymen. If what is stated in the interpolated first 
 two chapters, concerning the miraculous birth of Jesus, were true, 
 Matthew would have known of it ; and, knowing it, why should 
 he omit it in giving an account of the life of Jesus f 
 
 The EInonites, or Nazarenes, as they were previously called, 
 were rejected by the Jews as apostates, and by the Egyptian and 
 Koman Christians as heretics, therefore, until they completely 
 disappear, their history is one of t^-rannical persecution. Al- 
 though some traces of that obsolete sect may be discovered as late 
 as the fourth century, they insensibly melted awaj-, either into the 
 Roman Christian Church, or into the Jewish Synagogue,' and with 
 them perished the original Gospel of Matthew, the only Oospel 
 written hy an apostle. 
 
 " Who, where masses of men are burning to burst the bonds of 
 time and sense, to deif}" and to adoi-e, wants what seems earth-born, 
 prosaic fact? Woe to the man that dares to interpose it! Woe 
 to the sect of faithful Ebionites even, and on the very soil of Pales- 
 tine, that dare to maintain the earlier, humbler tradition ! Swiftly 
 do they become heretics, revilers, blasphemers, though sanctioned 
 by a James, brother of the Lord." 
 
 Edward Gibbon, speaking of this most unfortunate sect, 
 says: 
 
 " A laudable regard for the honor of the first proselytes has countenanced the 
 belief, the hope, the -wish, that the Ebionite?, or at least the Nazarenes, -were 
 
 ■ See The Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 67. gated this sobject in his " Christ of PanJ,"' ts 
 
 ' Eusebius : Eccl. Hist., lib. 3, ch. sxiv. Which the reader ie referred. 
 
 » Mr. George Keber haa thoroughly investL- ' See Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. 515-517.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CillilsT JESUS. 135 
 
 distinguished ouly by their obstinate perseverance in the practice of the Mosaic 
 rites. Their churches have disappeared, their books are obUttraUd, their obscure 
 freedom might allow a latitude of faith, and the -softness of their infant creed 
 would be variously moulded by the zeal of prejudice of three hundred years. 
 Yet the most charitable criticism must refuse these sectaries any knowledge of 
 the pure and proper diciiiity of Christ. Educated in the school of Jewish 
 prophecy and prejudice, they had never been taught to elevate their hope above 
 a human and temporal Messiah. If they had courage to hail their king when ke 
 appeared in a plebeian garb, their grosser apprehensions were incapable of dis- 
 cerning their God. icho had atudi-maly disguised his celestial character under the 
 ■name and person of a mortal. 
 
 "The familiar companions of Jesus of Nazareth conversed with their friend 
 and countryman, who, in all the actions of rational and human life, appeared of 
 the same species with themselves. His progress from infancy to }'outh and maa- 
 hood was marked by a regular increase in stature and wisdom; and after a pain- 
 ful agony of mind and body, he expired on the cross."' 
 
 The Jewish Christians then — the congregation of Jerusalem, 
 and their immediate successors, theEbionitesor Xazarenes — saw in 
 their master notliing more than a man. From this, and the other 
 facts which we have seen in this chapter, it is evident that the 
 man Jesus of Nazareth was deified long after his death, just as 
 many other men had been deiiied centuries before his time, and 
 even after. Until it had been settled by a council of bishops that 
 Jesus was not only a God, but " God himself in hwman form" 
 who appeared on earth, as did Crishna of old, to redeem and 
 save mankind, there were many theories concerning his nature. 
 
 Among tlie early Christians there were a certain class called by 
 the later Christians Heretics. Among these may be mentioned the 
 " Carpocratians" named after one Carpocrates. They maintained 
 that Jesus was a mere man, born of Joseph and Mary, like other 
 men, but that he was good and vu-tuous. " Some of them have the 
 vanity,'' says Irenceus, "to think that they may equal, or in some 
 respects exceed, Jesus himself.'" 
 
 These are called by the general name of Gnostics, and comjyre- 
 hend almost all the sects of the first two ages^ They said that "'all 
 the ancients, and even the Apostles themselves, received and taught 
 the same things which they held ; and that the truth of the Gospel 
 had been preserved till the time of Victor, the thirteenth Bishop of 
 Kome, but by his successor, Zephyrinus, the truth had been cor- 
 rupted."* 
 
 Eusebius, speaking of Artemon and his followers, who denied 
 the divinity of Christ, says : 
 
 ' Gibbon's Rome, vol. iv. pp. 488, 439. ' Ibid. p. 306. 
 
 > See Lardner'8 Works, vol. vlii. pp. 393, 396, < Ibid. p. 571.
 
 136 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "They affirm that all our ancestors, yea, and the Apostles themselves, were 
 of the same opinion, and taught the same with them, and that this their true- 
 doctrine (for so they call it) was preached and embraced unto the time of Victor, 
 the thirteenth Bishop of Rome after Peter, and corrupted by his successor 
 Zephyrinus."' 
 
 There were also the " CerinthiansP named after one Cerinthus,. 
 who maintained that Jesus was not born of a virgin, which to them 
 appeared impossible, but that he was the son of Joseph and Mary, 
 horn altogether as other men are / but he excelled all men in vir- 
 tue, knowledge and wisdom. At the time of his baptism, " the 
 Christ" came down upon him in the shape of a dove, and left 
 him at the time of his crucifixion." 
 
 Irenaeus, speaking of Cerinthus and his doctrines, says : 
 
 " He represents Jesus as the son of Joseph and Marj', according to the ordi- 
 nary course of human generation, and not as having been born of a virgin. He 
 believed nevertheless that he was more righteous, prudent and wise than most 
 men, and that the Ghiiat descended upon, and entered into him, at the time 
 of his baptism." * 
 
 The Docetes were a numerous and learned sect of Asiatic Chris- 
 tians who invented the Phantastic system, which was afterwards pro- 
 mulgated by the Marcionites, the Manicheans, and various other sects. 
 
 They denied the truth and authenticity of the Gospels, as far as 
 they related to the conception of Mary, the birth of Jesus, and the 
 thirty years that preceded the exercise of his ministry. 
 
 Bordering upon the Jewish and Gentile world, the Cerinthians 
 labored to reconcile the Gnostic and the Ebionite, by confessing in 
 the same Messiah the supernatural union of a man and a god ; and 
 this mystic doctrine was adopted, with many fanciful improve- 
 ments, by many sects. The hypothesis was this : that Jesus of 
 Nazareth was a mere mortal, the legitimate son of Joseph and 
 Mary, but he was the hest and wisest of the human race, selected aa 
 the worthy instrument to restore upon earth the worship of the 
 true and supreme Deity. When lie was baptized in the Jordan, 
 and not till then, he became more than man. At that time, tlio 
 Christ, the first of the ^ons, the Sou of God himself, descended 
 on Jesus in the form of a dove, to inhabit his mind, and direct his 
 actions during the allotted period of his ministry. When he was 
 delivered into the hands of the Jews, the Christ forsook him, flew 
 back to tlie world of spirits, and left the solitary Jesus to suffer, to 
 
 ' EuscbiuB : Eccl. Hist., lib. 5, ch. ixv. ' Lardner : vol. vUi. p. 4M. 
 
 3 IreuEeue: AgaiQst Hereeies, bk. i. c. xxiv.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 137 
 
 complain, and to die. This is why he said, while hanging on the 
 cross : " My God ! My God ! why liast thoa forsaken me ?'" 
 
 Here, then, we see the^rs^ budding out of — what was termed by 
 the true followers of Jesus — heretical doctrines. The time had 
 not yet come to make Jesus a god., to claim that he had been 
 born of a virgin. As he must, however, have been different from 
 other mortals — throughout the period of his ministry, at least — the 
 Christ must have entered into him at the time of his baptism, and 
 as mysteriously disappeared when he was delivered into the hands 
 of the Jews. 
 
 In the course of time, the seeds of the faith, which had slowly 
 arisen in the rocky and ungrateful soil of Judea, were transplanted, 
 in full maturity, to the happier climes of the Gentiles ; and the 
 strangers of Rome and Alexandria, loho had never heheld tJie man- 
 hood, were more ready to embrace the divinity of Jesus. 
 
 The polytheist and the philosopher, the Greek and the barba- 
 rian, were alike accustomed to receive — as we have seen in this 
 chapter — a long succession and infinite cliain of angels, or deities, 
 or (Bons, or emanations, issuing from the throne of light. Nor could 
 it seem strange and incredible to them, that the first of the eeons, 
 the Logos, or Word of God, of the same substance with the Father, 
 should descend upon earth, to deliver the human race from vice 
 and error. The histories of theii* countries, their odes, and their 
 religions were teeming with such ideas, as happening in the past, 
 and they were also looking for and expecting an Angel-Messiah^ 
 
 Centuries rolled by, however, before the doctrine of Clirist 
 Jesus, the Angel-Messiah, became a settled question, an established 
 tenet in the Christian faitli. The dignity of Christ Jesus was 
 measured hj private judgment, according to the indefinite rule of 
 Scripture, or tradition or reason. But when his pure and proper 
 divinity had been established on the ruins of Arianism, the faith 
 of the Catholics trembled on the edge of a precipice where it was 
 impossible to recede, dangerous to stand, dreadful to fall ; and the 
 manifold inconveniences of their creed were aggravated by the sub- 
 lime character of their theology. They hesitated to pronounce that 
 God himself, the second person of an equal and consubstantial 
 Trinity, was manifested in the flesh,' that the Being who pervades 
 the universe had ieen confl/ned in the womb of Mary ; that his 
 
 ' See Gibbon's Rome, vol. iv. pp. 492-495. question tihy Jeans waa believed to be an 
 
 2 Not a «w^rf?y J/isMtoA, as the Jews looked -4 ra/a?-, by the Gentiles, and not by the Jews; 
 
 for, but an Angel-Messiah, such an one as why, in fact, the doctrine of Chrut tncarnaU 
 
 always came at the end of a cycle. We shall in Jesus succeeded and prospered. 
 
 treat of this subject anon, when we answer the ' " This strong egression might be justifled
 
 138 IJIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 eternal duration had been marked by tlie days, and months, and 
 years of hnmiui existence ; that the Almighty God had been 
 scourged and crucified y that his impassible essence had felt pain 
 and anguish; tliat his omniscience was not exempt from igno- 
 rance / and that the soui'ce of life and immortality expired on 
 Mount Calvary. 
 
 These alarming- consequences were affirmed with mibhishing 
 simplicity by A})ollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea, and one of the lumi- 
 naries of the Church. The son of a learned grammarian, he was 
 skilled in all the sciences of Greece ; elocpience, erudition, and phil. 
 osophy, conspicuous in tlu volumes of ApoUiuaris, were humbly 
 devoted to tlie service of religion. 
 
 The worthy friend of Athauasius, the worthy antagonist of 
 Julian, he bravely wrestled with the Arians and polytheists, and 
 though he affected the rigor of geometrical demonstration^ his com- 
 mentaries revealed the literal and allegorical sense of the Scriptures. 
 
 A mystery, which had long floated in the looseness of popular 
 belief, was defined by his perverse diligence in a technical form, 
 and he first jjroclaimed the meinorahle words, '■'■One incarnate nor 
 ture of Christ:'' 
 
 This was about a. d. 362, he being Bishop of Laodicea, in Syria, 
 at that time.^ 
 
 The recent zeal against the errors of Apollinaris reduced the 
 Catholics to a seeming agreement with the douljle^nature of Cerin- 
 thus. But instead of a temporary and occasional alliance, they 
 established, and Christians still embrace, the substantial, indissolu- 
 ble, and everlasting union of a perfect God with a perfect man, 
 of the second person of the Trinity with a reasonable soul and 
 hnman flesh. In the beginning of the fifth century, the unity of 
 the two natures was the prevailing doctrine of the church.' From 
 that time, until a comparatively I'ccent period, the cry was : 
 '•'■May those wJio di/oide Christ* he divided loith the sword; inay 
 
 by the language of St. Paul (f?(3</wa9 manifest thority ie so much against the common read- 
 in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of an- ing of both these points (i. e., I. Tim. iii. 16, 
 gels, &c. I. Timothy, iii. 10), but we are de- and I. John, v. 7), that they are no longer 
 ceived by our modern Bibles. The word which urged by prudent controversialists." (Note in 
 was altered to God at Constantinople in the be- Ibid.) 
 
 ginning of the sixth century : the true meaning, ' Gibbon's Rome, vol. iv. pp. 492-497. 
 
 which is visible in the Latin and Syriac ver- ^ gee Chambers's Encyclopaedia, art. "Apol- 
 
 fiions, Ftill exists in the reasoning of the Greek, linaris." 
 
 as well as of the Latin fathers ; and this fraud, ^ Gibbon's Rome, vol. iv. p. 498. 
 
 with that of the three '.Mnesscs of St. John ' That is, separate Aim from God the Father, 
 
 (I. John, V, 7), is admirably detected by Sir by saying (hat he, Jesus of Nazareth, was jiot 
 
 Isaac Newton." (Gibbon's Rome, iv. 498, note.) really and truly God Almighty himself in human 
 
 Dean M'llman says: "The weight of au- form.
 
 THE MIRACULOUS EIRTH OF CHRIST JESUS. 139 
 
 they 1)6 hewn in pieces, may they he hurned alive P' These were 
 actually the words of a Christian synod.' Is it any wonder that 
 after this came the darh ages? How appropriate is the name 
 which has been applied to the centuries which followed ! Dark 
 indeed they were. Now and then, however, a ray of light was 
 seen, which gave evidence of the coming morn, whose glorious 
 light we now enjoy. But what a grand light is yet to come from 
 the noon-day sun, which must shed its glorious rays over the whole 
 earth, ere it sets. 
 
 * See Gibbon's Korae, vol. iv. p. 'A''.
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM, 
 
 Beinq born in a miraculous manner, as other great personages 
 had been, it was necessary that the miracles attending the births of 
 these virgin-born gods should bo added to the history of Christ 
 Jesus, otherwise the legend would not be complete. 
 
 The first which we shall notice is the story of the star 
 which is said to have heralded his birth, and which was designated 
 " Ms star." It is related by the Matthew narrator as follows :' 
 
 " When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, of Judea, in the days of Herod the 
 king, behold, there came wise men from the east to .Jerusalem, saying: ' Where 
 is he that is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen Ui» star in the east, and 
 are come to worship him.'" 
 
 Herod the king, having heard these things, he privately called 
 the wise men, and inquired of them what time the star ap- 
 peared, at the same time sending them to Bethlehem to search 
 diligently for the young child. The wise men, accordingly, de- 
 parted and went on their way towards Bethlehem. "The star 
 which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and 
 stood over where the young child was." 
 
 The general legendary character of this narrative — its similarity 
 in style with those contained in the apocryphal gospels — and more 
 especially its conformity with those astrological notions which, 
 though prevalent in the time of the Matthew narrator, have been 
 exploded by the sounder scientific knowledge of our days — all unite 
 to stamp upon the story the impress of poetic or mythic fiction. 
 
 The fact that the writer of this story speaks not of a star but 
 of Ms star, shows that it was the popular belief of the people 
 among whom he lived, that each and every person was born under 
 a star, and that this one which had been seen was Ms star. 
 
 All ancient nations were very superstitious in regard to the 
 influence of the stars upon human affairs, and this ridiculous idea 
 
 > Matthew, ch. ii. 
 
 141)
 
 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 141 
 
 has been handed down, in some places, even to the present day. 
 Dr. Hooykaas, speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 " la ancient times the Jews, like other peoples, might very well believe that 
 there was some immediate connection between the stars and the life of man— an 
 idea which we still preserve in the forms of speech that so-and-so was born 
 under a lucky or under an evil star. They might therefore suppose that the 
 birth of greatmen, such as Abraham, for instance, was announced in the heavens. 
 In our century, however, if not before, all serious belief in astrology has ceased, 
 and it would be regarded as an act of the grossest superstition for any one to 
 have his horoscope drawn; for the course, the appearance and the disappearance 
 of the heavenly bodies have been long determined with mathematical precision 
 by science." ' 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Geikie says, in his Life of Christ :' 
 
 "The Jews had already, long before Christ's day, dabbled in astrology, and 
 the various forms of magic which became connected with it. . . . They 
 were much given to cast horoscopes from the numerical value of a name. 
 Everywhere throughout the whole Roman Empire, Jewish magicians, dream ex- 
 pounders, and sorcerers, were found. 
 
 " ' The life and portion of children,' says the Talmud, ' hang not on righteous- 
 ness, but on their star.' 'The planet of the day has no virtue, but the planet of 
 the hour (of nativity) has much.' ' When the Messiah is to be revealed,' says the 
 book Sohar, ' a star will rise in the east, shining in great brightness, and seven 
 other stars round it will fight against it on every side.' ' A star will rise in the 
 east, which is the star of the Messiah, and will remain in the east fifteen days.' " 
 
 The moment of every man's birth being supposed to determine 
 every circumstance in his life, it was only necessary to find out in 
 what mode the cel-estial hodies — supposed to be the primary wheels 
 to the universal machine— operated at that moment, in order to 
 discover all that would happen to him afterward. 
 
 The regularity of the risings and settings of the fixed stars, 
 though it announced the changes of the seasons and the orderly 
 variations of nature, could not be adapted to the capricious muta- 
 bility of human actions, fortunes, and adventures : wherefore the 
 astrologers had recourse to the 2:)lanets, whose more complicated 
 revolutions offered more varied and more extended combinations. 
 Their different returns to certain points of the Zodiac, their 
 relative positions and conjunctions with each other, were sujjposed 
 to influence the affairs of men ; whence daring impostors presumed 
 to foretell, not only the destinies of individuals, but also the rise 
 and fall of emjjires, and the fate of the world itself.' 
 
 The inhabitants of India are, and have always been, very super- 
 stitious concerning the stars. The Rev. D. O. Allen, who resided 
 
 ' Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 72. ' See Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 
 •Vol.i. p. 145. p. 5S.
 
 142 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 in India for twenty-live years, and wlio undoubtedly became thor- 
 oun-hly acquainted with the su]3crstitions of the inhabitants, says on 
 this subject : 
 
 "So strong are the superstitious feelings of many, concerning tlie supposed 
 influence of tlic stars on liuman affairs, tliat some days are lucky, and others 
 again are unlucky, tliat no arguments or promises would induce tljom to doviate 
 from the course which these stars, signs, itc. , indicate, as the way of safely, pros- 
 perity, and happiness. The evils and inconveniences of tlicse superstitions and 
 prejudices are among the tilings that press heavily upon the people of India."' 
 
 The Wahshatias — twenty-seven constellations which in Indian 
 astronomer separate the moon's path into twenty-seven divisions, as 
 the signs of the Zodiac do that of the sun into -twelve — are re- 
 garded as deities who exert a vast influence on the destiny of men, 
 not only at the moment of their entrance into the world, but dur- 
 ing their whole ])assage through it. These formidable constella- 
 tions are consulted at births, marriages, and on all occasions of 
 family rejoicing, distress or calamity. No one undertakes a jour- 
 ney or any inrportant matter except on days which the aspect of 
 the Nakshatias renders lucky and auspicious. If any constellation 
 is unfavorable, it must by all means be propitiated by a ceremony 
 called S'anti. 
 
 The Chinese were very superstitious concerning the stars. They 
 annually published astronomical calculations of the motions of the 
 planets, for every hour and minute of the year. They considered 
 it important to be very exact, because the hours, and even the 
 minutes, are lucky or unlucky, according to the aspect of the stars. 
 Some days were considered peculiarly fortunate for marrying, or 
 beginning to build a house ; and the gods are better pleased with 
 sacrifice offered at certain hours than they are with the same cere- 
 mony performed at other times." 
 
 The ancient Persians were also great astrologers, and held the 
 stars in great reverence. They believed and taught that the 
 destinies of men were intimately connected with their motions, and 
 therefore it was important to know under the influence of what 
 star a human soul made its advent into this world. Astrologers 
 swarmed throughout the country, and were consulted upon all im- 
 portant .occasions." 
 
 The ancient Egyptians were exactly the same in this i-espect. 
 According to Champollion, the tomb of Ramses V., at Thebes, eon- 
 tains tables of the constellations, and of their influence on human 
 beings, for every hour of every month of the year.' 
 
 > Allen's India, p. 456. " Ibid. p. 201. 
 
 » See Prdg. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 221. * See Eenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p 456.
 
 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 143 
 
 Tlie Buddhists' sacred books relate that the birth of Buddha 
 was announced in the heavens by an asterim wliieh was seen rising 
 on the liorizon. It is called the " Messianic starP ' 
 
 The Fo-pcn-hing says : 
 
 "The time of Bodhisatwa's iucarnation is, wheu the coustellation iTjoei is 
 in conjunction witli the Sun."- 
 
 " Wise men," known as " Holy Eishis," were informed by these 
 celestial signs that the Messiah was born.' 
 
 In the Rdmwjana (one of the sacred books of the Hindoos) 
 the horoscope of llama's birth is given. lie is said to have been 
 born on the 9tli Tithi of the month Caitra. The planet Jupiter 
 figured at his birth ; it being in Cancer at that time.'' Rama was 
 an incarnation of Vishnu. When Crishna was born " his stars " 
 were to be seen in the heavens. They were pointed out by one 
 Nared, a great prophet and astrologer.' 
 
 Without going through the list, we can say that the birth of 
 every Indian Avatar was foretold by ceUstial signs.* 
 
 The same myth is to be found in the legends of China. Among 
 others they relate that a star figured at the birth of Y^c, the 
 founder of the first dynasty which reigned in China,' who — as we 
 saw in the last chapter — was of heavenly origin, having been born 
 of a virgin. It is also said that a star figured at the birth of Laoiir- 
 tsze, the Chinese sage.' 
 
 In the legends of the Jewish patriarchs and prophets, it is 
 stated that a hrilliant star shone at the time of the birth of Moses. 
 It was seen by the Magi of Egypt, who immediately informed the 
 king." 
 
 When Ahraham was born '■'■his star" shone in the heavens, if 
 we may believe the popular legends, and its brilliancy outshone all 
 the other stars.'" Rabbinic traditions relate the follov\'ing : 
 
 " Abraham was the son of Terah, general of Nimrod's army. He was born 
 at Ur of the Chaldees 1948 j-cars after the Creation. On the night of his birth, 
 Terah's friends — among whom were many of Nimrod's councillors and sooth- 
 sa3'ers — were feasting in his house. On leaving, late at night, (hct/ ohsened an 
 unuxual star in Ike east, it seemed to run from ot;e quarter of the heavens to the 
 other, and to devour four stars which were there. All amazed in astonishment 
 
 ' See Bnnsen's Angel-Messiah, pp. 23, 23, 33. ch. iii. ' See Ibid. p. 618. 
 
 » See Beal ; Hist, ijuddha. pp. -M, 33, 35. « Tliornton : Hist. China, vol. i. p. 137. 
 
 ' See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 36. » See Anac., i. p. 500, and Geikie's Life of 
 
 ' Williams's Indian Wisdom, p. 34V. Christ, i. 559. 
 
 » See Hist. Hindo'^tan, ii. 330. i" See Ibid., and The Bible for Learners, vol. 
 
 « See Higgins : Anacalypsis. vol. i. p. 50:. iii. p. 73, andCaImet'6 Fragments, art. " Abr*. 
 
 For tbatof Crishna, see Vishnu Parana, book v. ham."
 
 144 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 at this wondrous sight, ' Truly,' said they, ' this can signify nothing else but that 
 
 Terah'a new-born son will become great and powerful.' "i 
 
 It is also related that Ninirod, in a dream, saw a star rising 
 above the horizon, which was very brilliant. The soothsayers be- 
 ing consulted in regard to it, foretold that a child was born who 
 would become a great prince." 
 
 A brilliant star, which eclipsed all the other stars, was also to be 
 seen at the birth of the Caesars ; in fact, as Canon Farrar remarks, 
 " The Greeks and Romans had always considered that the births 
 and deaths of great men were symbolized by the appearance and 
 disappearance of heavenly bodies, and the same belief has continued 
 down to comparatively modern times.'" 
 
 Tacitus, the Roman historian, speaking of the reign of the Em- 
 peror Nero, says : 
 
 "A comet having appeared, in this juncture, the phenomenon, according to 
 the popular opinion, announced that governments were to be changed, and kings 
 dethroned. In the imaginations of men, Nero was already dethroned, and who 
 should he his successor was the question."'' 
 
 According to Moslem authorities, the birth of All — Moham- 
 med's great disciple, and the chief of one of the two principal sects 
 into which Islam is divided — was foretold by celestial signs. " A 
 light was distinctly visible, resembling a bright column, extending 
 from the earth to the firmament."' Even during tlie reign of the 
 Emperor Hadrian, a hundred years after the time assigned for the 
 death of Jesus, a certain Jew who gave himself out as the " Mes- 
 Mah" and headed the last great insurrection of his country, as- 
 sumed the name of Bar-Cochha — that is, '■^ Son of a Star."' 
 
 This myth evidently extended to the New World, as we find that 
 the symbol of Quetzalcoatle, the virgin-born Saviour, was the 
 " Morning Star."' 
 
 We see, then, that among the ancients there seems to have been 
 a very general idea that the birth of a great person would be an- 
 nounced by a star. The Rev. Dr. Geikie, who maintains to his ut- 
 most the truth of the Gospel narrative, is yet constrained to admit 
 that: 
 
 " It was, indeed, universally believed, that extraordinary events, especially 
 
 ' Baring-Gould : Legends of the Patriarchs, ' Amberly's Analysis of Religious Belief, p. 
 
 p. 149. 227. 
 
 ' Calmet's Fragments, art. " Abraham." ' Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 73. 
 
 » Farrar"B Life of Christ, p. 52. ' Brinton : Myths of the New World, pp. 
 
 * Tacitus : Annals, bk. xiv. ch. xxii. 180, 181, and Squire : Serpent Symbol.
 
 THE STAB OF BETHLEHEM. 14fi 
 
 the birth and death of great men, were heralded by appearances of stars, and 
 still more of comets, or by conjunctions of the heavenly bodies."' 
 
 The wliole tenor of tlie narrative recorded by the Matthew nar- 
 rator is tlie most complete justification of the science of astrology • 
 that the first intimation of the birth of the Son of God was given 
 to the worshipers of Ormuzd, who have the power of distinguish- 
 ing with certainty his peculiar star ; that from these heathen the 
 tidings of his birth are received .by the Jews at Jerusalem, and 
 therefore that tlie theory must he right which connects great events 
 in the life of men with phenomena in the starry heavens. 
 
 If this divine sanction of astrology is contested on the ground 
 that this was an exceptional event, in which, simply to bring the 
 Magi to Jerusalem, God caused the star to appear in accordance 
 with their superstitious science, the difiiculty is only pushed one 
 degree backwards, for in this case God, it is asserted, wrought an 
 event which was perfectly certain to strengthen the belief of the 
 Magi, of Herod, of the Jewish priests, and of the Jews generally, 
 in the truth of astrology. 
 
 If, to avoid the alternative, recourse be had to the notion that 
 the star appeared hy chance, or that this chance or accident di- 
 rected the Magi aright, is the position really improved ? Is chance 
 consistent with any notion of supernatural interposition ? 
 
 We may also ask the question, why were the Magi brought to 
 Jerusalem at all ? If they knew that the star which they saw was 
 the star of Christ Jesus — as the narrative states" — and were by this 
 knowledge conducted to Jerusalem, why did it not suffice to guide 
 them straight to Bethlehem, and thus prevent the Slaughter of the 
 Innocents ? Why did the star desert them after its first appear- 
 ance, not to be seen again till they issued from Jerusalem ? or, if it 
 did not desert them, why did they ask of Herod and the priests the 
 road which they should take, when, by the hypothesis, the star was 
 ready to guide them ?' 
 
 It is said that in the oracles of Zoroaster there is to be found a 
 prophecy to the effect that, in the latter days, a virgin would con- 
 ceive and bear a son, and that, at the time of his birth, a star would 
 shine at noonday. Christian divines have seen in this a prophecy 
 of the birth of Christ Jesus, but when critically examined, it does 
 not stand the test. The drift of the story is this : 
 
 Ormuzd, the Lord, of Light, who created the universe in six 
 periods of time, accomplished his work by making the first man 
 
 ' Life of Christ, vol i. p 1-H- ' See Thomas Scott's English Life of J«ea8 
 
 " Matthew ii. 3. tor a foil investigation of this sabject. 
 
 10
 
 146 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 and woman, and infusing into them the breath of life. It was not 
 long before Ahriman, the evil one, contrived to seduce the first 
 parents of mankind by pursuading them to eat of the forbid- 
 den fruit. Sin and death are now in the world ; the principles of 
 good and evil are now in deadly strife. Ormuzd then reveals to 
 mankind his law through his prophet Zoroaster ; the strife between 
 the two principles continues, however, and will continue until the 
 end of a destined terra. During the last tliree thousand years of the 
 period Ahriman is predominant. The world now hastens to its 
 doom ; religion and virtue are nowhere to be found ; mankind are 
 plunged in sin and misery. Sosiosh is born of a virgin, and re- 
 deems them, subdues the Devs, awakens the dead, and holds tlie 
 last judgment. A comet sets the world in flames; the Genii of 
 Light combat against the Genii of Darkness, and cast them into 
 Duzakh, where Ahriman and the Devs and the souls of the 
 wicked are thoroughly cleansed and purified by fire. Ahriman then 
 submits to Ormuzd ; evil is absorbed into goodness ; the im- 
 righteous, thoroughly purified, are united with the righteous, and a 
 new earth and a new heaven arise, free from all evil, where peace 
 and innocence will forever dwell. 
 
 Who can fail to see that this virgin-born Sosiosh was to come, 
 not eighteen hundred years ago, bixt, in the " latter days" when the 
 world is to be set on fire by a comet, the judgment to take place, 
 and the " new heaven and new earth " is to be established ? Who 
 can fail to see also, by a perusal of the New Testament, that the 
 idea of a temporal Messiah (a mighty king and warrior, who should 
 liberate and rule over his people Israel), and the idea of an 
 Angel-Messiah (who had come to announce that the " kingdom of 
 heaven was at hand," that the " stars should fail from heaven," 
 and that all men would shortly be judged according to theu* deeds), 
 are both jumbled together in a heap ?
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE SONG OF THE HEAVENLY HOST. 
 
 The story of the Song of the Heavenly Host belongs exclusive- 
 ly to the LuTce nai-rator, and, in substance, is as follows : 
 
 At the time of the birth of Christ Jesus, there were shepherds 
 abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
 And the angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the gloiy of 
 the Lord shone round about them, and the angel said : " I bring 
 you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people ; for un- 
 to you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is 
 Christ the Lord." 
 
 And suddenly there was with tlie angel a multitude of the 
 Heavenly Host, praising God in song, saying : " Glory to God in 
 the highest ; and on eartli peace, good will towards men." After 
 this the angels went into heaven} 
 
 It is recorded in the Vishnio Purana^ that while the virgin 
 Devaki bore Crishna, " the protector of the world," in her womb, 
 she was eulogized by the gods, and on the day of Crishna's birth, 
 " the quarters of the horizon were irradiate with joy, as if moonlight 
 was diffused over the whole earth." " The spirits and the nymphs 
 of heaven danced and sang" and, " at midnight^ when the support 
 of all was born, tlie clouds emitted low pleasing somids, and 
 poured down rain of flowers."* 
 
 Similar demonstrations of celestial delight were not wanting at 
 the birth of Buddha. All beings everywhere were full of joy. 
 Music was to be heard all over the land, and, as in the case of 
 Crishna, there fell from the skies a gentle shower of flowers and 
 perfumes. Caressing breezes blew, and a marvellous light was pro- 
 duced.' 
 
 • Luke, ii. 8-15. * Vishna Purana, book v. ch. iii. p. 502. 
 
 ■ Translated from the original Sanscrit by * Sec Amberly'a Analysis, p. 22G. Beal : 
 
 H. n. Wilson, II. D., F.R.S. Hist. Buddha, pp. 45, 46, 47, and Bunsen's An- 
 
 » All the virgin-bom Savioure are bom at gel-Messiah, p. 35. 
 midnight or early dawn. 
 
 147
 
 148 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 The Fo-pon-bing relates that : 
 
 " The attending spirits, who surrounded the Virgin Maya and the infant 
 Saviour, singing praises of 'the Blessed One,' said: ' All joy be to you. Queen 
 Maj'a, rejoice and be glad, for the child you have borne is holy.' Then the 
 Rishis and Devas who dwelt on earth exclaimed with great joy : ' This day Buddha 
 is born for the good of men, to dispel the darkness of their ignorance.' Then 
 the four heavenly kings took up the strain and said: ' Now because Bodhi- 
 satwa is born, to give joy and bring peace to the world, therefore is there this 
 brightness.' Then the gods of the thirty-three heavens took up the burden of the 
 strain, and the Yama Devas and the Tilsita Devas, and so forth, through all the 
 heavens of the Kama, Rupa, and Arupa worlds, even up to the Akanishta 
 heavens, all the Devas joined in this song, and said: ' To-day BOdhimtwa is horn 
 on earth, to give joy and 'peace to men and Devas, to shed light in tlie dark places, and 
 to give sight to t/ie blind."^ 
 
 Even the sober philosopher Confucius did not enter the world, 
 if we may believe Chinese tradition, without premonitory symp- 
 toms of his greatness.' 
 
 Sir John Francis Davis, speaking of Confucius, says : 
 
 "Various prodigies, as in other instances, were the forerunners of the birth of 
 this extraordinary person. On the eve of his appearance upon earth, celestial 
 music sounded in the ears of his mother; and when he was born, this inscription 
 appeared on his breast : ' The maker of a rule for setting the World. ' "^ 
 
 In the case of Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, at his birth, a voice 
 was heard proclaiming that: "The Ri;ler of all the Earth is 
 born."* 
 
 In Plutarch's " Isis " occurs the following : 
 
 " At the birth of Osiris, there was heard a voice that the Lord of all the Earth 
 was coming iu being; and some say that a woman named Pamgle, as she was 
 going to carry water to the temple of Ammon, in the city of Thebes, heard that 
 voice, which commanded her to proclaim it with a loud voice, that the great 
 beneficent god Osiris was born."^ 
 
 Wonderful demonstrations of delight also attended the birth of 
 the heavenly-born Aj_)oUo7iius. According to Flavius Philostratus, 
 who wrote the life of this remarkable man, a flock of swans sur- 
 rounded his mother, and clapping their wings, as is their custom, 
 they sang iu unison, while the air was fanned by gentle breezes. 
 
 When the god Aj>ollu was bom of the virgin Latona in the 
 Island of Delos, there was joy among the undying gods in Olym- 
 pus, and the Earth laughed beneath the smile of Heaven." 
 
 ■ See Beat : Hist. Buddha, pp. 43, 55, 56, * See Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, p. 56, 
 
 and Bunsen's Angel-Mcssiah, p. 35. and Eenrick's Egj-pt, vol. i. p. 408. 
 
 ' See Amberly : Analysis of Religious Be- ' Bonwick : Egj-ptian Belief, p. 434, and 
 
 lief, p. 84. Kenrick'9 Egypt, vol. i. p. 408. 
 
 ' Davis : History of China, vol. il. p. 48. See ' See Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 4. 
 also Thornton : Hist. China, i. 152.
 
 THE SONG OF THE HEAVENLY HOST. 149 
 
 At the time of the birth of " Hercules the Saviour,^'' his father 
 Zeus, the god of gods, spake from heaven and said : 
 
 "This day shall a child be born of the race of Perseus, who shall be the 
 mightiest of the sons of men."' 
 
 "When ^sculapius was a helpless infant, and when he was 
 about to be put to death, a voice from the god Apollo was heard, 
 saying : 
 
 " Slay not the child with the mother; lie is horn to do great things ; but bear 
 him to the wise centaur Chciron, and bid him train the boy in all his wisdom and 
 teach him to do brave deeds, that men may praise his name in the generations 
 that shall be hereafter. '"' 
 
 As we stated above, the story of the Song of the Heavenly Host 
 belongs exclusively to the Zuke narrator ; none of the other writers 
 of the synoptic Gospels know anything about it, which, if it really 
 happened, seems very strange. 
 
 If the reader will turn to the apocryphal Gospel called Prote- 
 vangelion " (chapter xiii.), he will there see one of the reasons why 
 it was thought best to leave this Gospel out of the canon of the 
 New Testament. It relates the " Miracles at Mary's labor," simi- 
 lar to the Lulce narrator, but in a still more wonderful form. It 
 is probably from this apocryphal Gospel that the Luke narrator 
 copied. 
 
 1 Bee Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 55. ' Ibid. p. 45.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD EECOGNIZED AITO PRESENTED WITH GUTS. 
 
 The next in order of the wonderful events which are related 
 to have happened at the birth of Christ Jesus, is the recognition 
 of the divine child, and the presentation of gifts. 
 
 We are informed by the Matthew narrator, that being guided 
 by a star, the Magi^ from the east came to where the young child 
 was. 
 
 " And when they were come into the Twuse (not staMe) they saw the young 
 child, with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when 
 they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, frankin- 
 cense, and myrrh. "^ 
 
 The LuTce narrator — who seems to know nothing about the 
 Magi from the east — informs us that shepherds came and wor- 
 shiped the young child. They were keeping their flocks by 
 night when the angel of the Lord appeared before them, saying : 
 
 "Behold, I bring you good tidings— for unto you is bom this day in the city 
 of David a Saviour, wliich is Christ the Lord." 
 
 After the angel had left them, they said one to another : 
 
 "Let us go unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which 
 the Lord hath made known to us. And they came with haste, and found Mary 
 and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."^ 
 
 The Luke narrator evidently borrowed this story of the 
 shepherds from the " Gospel of the Egyptians " (of which we 
 shall speak in another chapter), or from other sacred records of the 
 biographies of Crislma or Buddha. 
 
 It is related in the legends of Crishna that the divine child 
 
 1 '*The original word here is ^ Magoi,^ from to religion, and to medicine. They were held 
 
 which comes oar word ' Magician.^ ... in high esteem by the Persian court ; were ad- 
 
 The persons here denoted were philosophers, mitted as councilors, and followed the campa 
 
 priests, or astronomers. They dwelt chiefly in iu war to give advice." (Barnes's Notes, vol. 
 
 Persia and Arabia. They were the learned men i. p. 25.) 
 of the Eastern nations, devoted to astronomy. » Matthew, ii. 2. ' Lake, ii. 8-16. 
 
 150
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD EECOGNIZED. 151 
 
 was cradled among shepherds, to whom were first made known 
 the stupendous feats which stamped his character with marks of 
 the divinity. He was recognized as the promised Saviour by 
 Nanda, a shepherd, or cowherd, and his companions, who pros- 
 trated themselves before the heaven-born child. After the birth of 
 Crishna, the Indian prophet Nared, having heard of his fame, 
 visited his father and mother at Gokool, examined the stars, &c., 
 and declared him to be of celestial descent.' 
 
 Not only was Crishna adored by the shepherds and Magi, and 
 received with divine honor's, but he was also presented with gifts. 
 These gifts were " sandal wood and perfumes.'" (Why not " frank- 
 incense and myrrh ?") 
 
 Similar stories are related of the infant Buddha. He was 
 visited, at the time of his birth, by wi^e men, who at once recog- 
 nized in the marvellous infant all the characters of the divin- 
 ity, and he had scarcely seen the day before he was hailed 
 god of gods.' 
 
 " 'Mongst tlie strangers came 
 A grey-haired saint, Asita, one whose ears. 
 Long closed to earthly things, caught heavenly sounds, 
 And heard at prayer beneath his peepul-tree, 
 The Devas singing songs at Buddha's birth." 
 
 Viscount Amberly, speaking of him, says :' 
 
 " He was visited and adored by a very eminent iJis/tj, or hermit, known as 
 Asita, who predicted his future greatness, but wept at the thought that he him- 
 self was too old to see the day when the law of salvation would be taught by the 
 infant whom he had come to contemplate." 
 
 " I weep (said Asita), because I am old and stricken in years, and shall not see 
 all that is about to come to pass. The Buddha Bhagavat (God Almighty 
 Buddha) comes to the world only after many kalpas. This bright boy will be 
 Buddha. For tlw. sahati&n of tlie world he will teach the law. He will succor 
 the old, the sick, the afflicted, the dying. He will release those who are bound in 
 the meshes of natural corruption. He will quicken the spiritual vision of those 
 whose eyes are darkened by the thick darkness of ignorance. Hundreds of 
 thousands of millions of beings wUl be carried by him to the ' other shore ' — 
 will put on immortality. And I shall not see this perfect Buddha — this is why 
 I weep."' 
 
 He returns rejoicing, however, to his mountain-home, for his 
 eyes had seen the promised and expected Saviour.' 
 
 Paintings in the cave of Ajunta represent Asita with the 
 
 ' Higgins : Anacalypsie, vol. i. pp. 129, 130, * Amberly's Analysis, p. 177. See also, Baa- 
 
 and Maurice : Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp. 356, 6cn*8 Angel-Messiah, p. 36. 
 
 257 and 317. Also, The Vishnu Parana. » Lillie : Buddhaand Early Buddhism, p. 76. 
 
 ' Oriental Religions, pp. 500, 501. See Also, • Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 6, and Beal : 
 
 Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 353. Hist. Buddha, pp. 58, 60. 
 
 • Aoacalypsis, vol. i. p. 157.
 
 152 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 infant Buddha in liis arms." Tlie marvelous gifts of this child 
 had become known to this eminent ascetic by supernatural signs.* 
 
 Buddha, as well as Crislma and Jesus, was presented with " costly 
 jewels and precious substances.'" (Why not gold and perfumes?) 
 
 Rama — the seventh incarnation of Vishnu for human deliver- 
 ance from evil — is also hailed by " aged saints " — (why not " wise 
 men " ?) — who die gladly when their eyes see the long-expected 
 one.' 
 
 How-tseich, who was one of those personages styled, in China, 
 " Tien-Tse," or '' Sons of Heaven,'" and who came into the world 
 in a miraculous manner, was laid in a narrow lane. When his 
 mother had fulfilled her time : 
 
 " Her flrst-born son (came forth) like a lamb. 
 There was no bursting, no rending, 
 No injury, no hart — 
 Showing how wonderful he would be." 
 
 When born, the sheep and oxen protected him with loving 
 care." 
 
 The birth of Confucius (b. c. 551), like that of all the demi- 
 gods and saints of antiquity, is fabled to have been attended with 
 allegorical prodigies, amongst which was the appearance of the 
 Ke-lin, a miraculous quadruped, prophetic of happiness and virtue, 
 which announced that the child would be " a king without a throne or 
 territory." Five celestial sages, or " wise men" entered the luruse 
 at the time of the chiWs hirih, xohilst vocal and instrumental 
 music filled the airJ 
 
 Mithras, the Persian Saviour, and mediator between God and 
 man, was also visited by " wise men " called Magi, at the time of 
 his birth." He was presented with gifts consisting of gold, frank- 
 incense and myrrh." 
 
 According to Plato, at the birth of Socrates (469 b. c.) there 
 came three Magi from the east to worship him, bringing gifts of 
 gold, frankincense and myrrh.'" 
 
 jEsculapius, the virgin-born Saviour, was protected by goat- 
 herds (why not shepherds ?), who, upon seeing the child, knew at 
 once that he was divine. The voice of fame soon published the 
 
 J Bunsen's Angel-Meesiah, p. 3G. * See Amberly'a AnalyBis of Religious Be- 
 
 > See Araberly's Analysis p. 231, and Bun- lief, p. 226. 
 
 Ben's Angel-Messiah, p. 36. "^ See Thornton's Hist. China, vol. i. p. 152. 
 
 ' Beal : Hist. Buddha, p. .58. ' King : The Gnostics and their Kemaini, 
 
 * Oriental Religions, p. 491. pp. 134 and 149. 
 
 * See Pro^. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 200. " Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 353. 
 
 i" See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 96.
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD RECOGNIZED. 153 
 
 birth of this miraculous infant, upon which people flocked from all 
 quarters to behold and worship this heaven-born child.' 
 
 Many of the Grecian and Roman demi-gods and heroes were 
 either fostered by or worshiped by shepherds. Amongst these may 
 be mentioned Bacchus, who was educated among shepherds,' and 
 Homulus, who was found on the banks of the Tiber, and educated 
 by shepherds.' Paris, son of Priam, was educated among shep- 
 herds,* and jEgisthus was exposed, like ^sculapius, by his mother, 
 found by shepherds and educated among them.' 
 
 Viscount Amberly has well said that : " Prognostications of 
 greatness in infancy are, indeed, among the stock incidents in the 
 mythical or semi-mythical lives of eminent persons." 
 
 We have seen that the Matthew narrator speaks of the infant 
 Jesus, and Mary, his mother, being in a " house " — implying that 
 he had been bom there ; and that the Luhe narrator speaks of the 
 infant " lyingin awianjre/' "' — implying that he was born in a stable. 
 We will now show that there is still another story related of the 
 place in which he was born. 
 
 1 Taylor's Diegesis, p. 150. Roman Anti- ' Bell's PaDtheon, Yol. U. p. 218. 
 
 quitiee, p. 136, and Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. ♦ Ibid. vol. i. p. 47. 
 
 ST. • Ibid. p. 20. 
 
 > Higgins : AnacslypeiB, toL i. p. 332.
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 THE BIETH-PLAOE OF 0HBI8T JE8U8. 
 
 The writer of that portion of the Gospel according to Matthew 
 which treats of the ^Zace in which Jesus was born, implies, as we 
 stated in our last chapter, that he was born in a house. His words 
 are these : 
 
 "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the 
 king, behold, there came wise men from the east" to worship him. " And when 
 they were come into the lutuse, they saw the young child with Mary his mother."' 
 
 The writer of the Luke version implies that he was born in a 
 stable, as the following statement will show : 
 
 " The days being accomplished that she (Mary) should be delivered . . . 
 she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and 
 laid him, in a manger, there being no room for him in the inn.'"' 
 
 If these accounts were contained in these Gospels in the time of 
 Eusebius, the first ecclesiastical historian, who flourished during the 
 Council of Nice (a. d. 327), it is very strange that, in speaking of 
 the birth of Jesus, he should have omitted even mentioning them, 
 and should have given an altogether different version. He tells ns 
 that Jesus was neither born in a house, nor in a stable, but in a 
 ca/oe, and that at the time of Constantine a magnificent temple was 
 erected on the spot, so that the Christians might worship in the 
 place where their Saviour's feet had stood.' 
 
 In the apocryphal Gospel called '■'■Protevangelion," attributed to 
 James, the brother of Jesus, we are informed that Mary and her 
 husband, being away from their home in Nazareth, and when with- 
 in three miles of Bethlehem, to which city they were going, Mary 
 said to Joseph : 
 
 "Take me down from the ass, for that which is io me presses to come 
 forth." 
 
 ' Matthew, U. ' Eaeebius"B Life of Conetantine, lib. 3, cks 
 
 « Luke, ii. xl., ^i. and slii. 
 
 154
 
 THE BIKTH-PLACE OF CHRIST JESUS. 166 
 
 Joseph, replying, said : 
 " Whither shall I take thee, for tlie place is desert f " 
 
 Then said Mary again to Joseph : 
 "Take me down, for that which is within me mightily presses me." 
 
 Joseph then took her down from off the ass, and he found there 
 a cave and put her into it. 
 
 Joseph then left Mary in the cave, and started toward Betlile- 
 hem for a midwife, whom he found and brought back with him. 
 When they ueared the spot a bright cloud overshadowed the cave. 
 
 "But on a sudden the cloud became a great light in the caw, so their eyes 
 could not bear it. But the light gradually decreased, until the infant appeared 
 and sucked the breast of Lis mother.'" 
 
 Tertullian (a. d. 200), Jerome (a. d. 375) and other Fathers of 
 the Church, also state that Jesus was born in a ca/ve, and that the 
 heathen celebrated, in their day, the birth and Mysteries of their 
 Lord and Saviour Adonis in this very cave near Bethlehem.' 
 
 Canon Farrar says : 
 
 "That the actual place of Christ's birth was a cave, is a very ancient tradi- 
 tion, and this cave used to be shown as the scene of the event even so early as 
 the time of Justin Martyr (a. d. 150). "^ 
 
 Mr. King says : 
 
 "The place yet shown as the scene of their (the Magi's) adoration at Bethle- 
 hem is a cave."* 
 
 The Christian ceremonies in the Church of the Nativity at 
 Bethlehem are celebrated to this day in a ca/ve," and are undoubt- 
 edly nearly the same as were celebrated, in the same place, in 
 honor of Adonis, in the time of Tertullian and Jerome ; and as 
 are yet celebrated in Eome every Christmas-day, vert/ eai'ly in 
 the morning. 
 
 We see, then, that there are three different accounts concerning 
 the jy^ace in which Jesus was born. The first, and evidently true 
 one, was that which is recorded by the Matthew narrator, namely, 
 that he was born in a house. The stories about his being born in 
 a stable or in a cav^ were later inventions, caused from the desire 
 to place him in as humble a position as possible in his infancy, and 
 from the fact that the virgin-born Savioiirs who had preceded 
 
 1 Prolevangelion. Apoc. chs. xii., xiii., and * King : The Gnostics and their Bemains, 
 xiv., and Lily of Israel, p. 95. p, 134. 
 
 2 See Higgins; Anacalypsis, vol. ii. pp. 98, * Uiggins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 95. 
 
 99. ' Some writers have tried to connect these 
 
 3 Farrar's Life of Christ, p. 38, and note. by saying that it was a cavc-slable, but why 
 See also, Hist. Hindostau, ii. 311. sliould a stable be in a desert place, as the nar- 
 rative states J
 
 156 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 liitn had almost all been born in a position the most humiliating 
 — such as a cave, a cow-shed, a sheep-fold, &c. — or had been 
 placed there after birth. This was a part of the universal mythos. 
 As illustrations we may mention the following: 
 
 Crishna, the Hindoo virgin-born Saviour, was born in a cave' 
 fostered by an honest herdsman,' and, it is said, placed in a sheep- 
 fold shortly after his birth. 
 
 Hoio-Tselh, the Chinese " Son of Heaven," when an infant, 
 was left unprotected by his motlier, but the sheep and oxen pro- 
 tected him with loving care.' 
 
 Abraham, the Father of Patriarchs, is said to have been horn 
 in a ca/ve.* 
 
 Bacchus, who was the son of God by the virgin Semele, is said 
 to have been born in a cave, or placed in one shortly after his 
 birth." Philostratus, the Greek sophist and rhetorician, says, " the 
 inhabitants of India had a tradition that Bacchus was born at JVisa, 
 and was brought up in a cave on Mount Meros." 
 
 ^scvlapius, who was the son of God by the virgin Coronis, 
 was left exposed, when an infant, on a mountain, where he was 
 found and cared for by a goatherd.' 
 
 Romulus, who was the sou of God by the virgin Ehea-Sylvia, 
 was left exposed, when an infant, on the banks of the river Tiber, 
 where he was found and cared for by a shepherd.'' 
 
 Adonis, the " Lord " and " Saviour," was placed in a cave 
 shortly after his birth.' 
 
 Apollo (Phoibos), son of the Almighty Zeus, was born in a 
 cave at early dawn." 
 
 Mithras, the Persian Saviour, was born in a came or grotto," at 
 early dawn. 
 
 Hermes, the son of God by the mortal Maia, was born 
 early in the morning, in a cave or grotto of the Kyllemian hill." 
 
 Attys,i]ie god of the Phrygians,'" was born in a, cave or grotto." 
 
 The object is the same in all of these stories, however they may 
 differ in detail, which is to place the heaven-born infant in the 
 most humiliating position in infancy. 
 
 "We have seen it is recorded that, at the time of the birth 
 
 ' Aryan Myths, vol. ii. p. 107. ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 213. 
 
 3 See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 259. « See Ibid. vol. i. p. 13. 
 
 3 See Amberly's Analysis, p. 226. » Aryan Mythology, vol. i. pp. 72, 158. 
 
 * See Calmet's Fragments, art. " Abraham." lo See Diinliip's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 124, 
 ' See niggins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 321. and Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 134. 
 
 Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 118, and Dupuis, p. " Ibid. 
 
 ' 234. ^^ See Dupuis : Origin of Religious Beliefs, 
 
 • See Taylor's Diegesie, p. 150, and Bell's p. 3J5. 
 
 Pantheon under "jEsculapins." '^ See Duiilup's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 134.
 
 THE BIRTH-PLACE OF CHRIST JESUS. 157 
 
 of Jesus " tliere was a great light in the cave, so tliat the eyes of 
 Joseph and the inidmfe could not bear it." This feature is also 
 represented in early Christian art. " Early Christian painters have 
 represented the infant Jesus as welcoming three Kings of the 
 East, and shining as hrilliantly as if covered v)ith lihosphxLretted 
 oilP^ In all pictures of the Nativity, the light is made to arise 
 from the body of tlie infant, and the father and mother are often 
 depicted with glories round their heads. This too was a part of 
 the old mythos, as we shall now see. 
 
 The moment Crishna was born, his mother became beautiful, 
 and her form brilliant. The whole cave was splendidly illumina- 
 ted, being tilled with a heavenly light, and the countenances of his 
 father and his mother emitted rays of glory.^ 
 
 So likewise, it is recorded that, at the time of the birth of 
 Buddha, " the Saviour of the "World," which, according to one 
 account, took place in an inn, " a divine light diffused around his 
 person" so that "the Blessed One" was "heralded into the world 
 by a supernatural light."' 
 
 When Bacchus was born, a hright light shone round him,* so 
 that, " there was a hrilliant light in the cave." 
 
 When Apollo was born, a halo of serene light encircled his 
 cradle, the nymphs of heaven attended, and bathed him in pure 
 water, and girded a broad golden baud around his form.^ 
 
 When the Saviour ySsculapius was born, his countenance shone 
 like tlie sun, and he was surrounded by a fiery ray." 
 
 In the life of Zoroaster the common mythos is apparent. He 
 
 was born in innocence of an immaculate conception of a Ray of 
 
 the Divine Reason. As soon as he was born, the glory arising 
 
 from, his hody enlightened the whole room, and he laughed at his 
 
 mother.' 
 
 It is stated in the legends of the Hebrew Patriarchs that, at 
 the birth of Moses, a bright light appeared and shone around.' 
 
 There is still another feature which wc must notice in these 
 narratives, that is, the contradictory statements concerning the time 
 when Jesus was boi-n. As we shall treat of this subject more fully 
 in the chapter on " The Birthday of Christ Jesus," we shall 
 allude to it here simply as far as necessary. 
 
 ^ Inman ; Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 460. * See Hiding : Anacalypsis. vol. i. p. 322, 
 
 ^ Cox : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 133. and Dupnis : Origin of Rolig. Belief, p. 119. 
 Higgins ; Anacalj-psis. vol. i. p. 1.30. See also, ^ Tales of Anct Greece, p. xviii, 
 
 Vishnu Pnrana, p. 500, \vhere it says: « Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 27. Roman An- 
 
 " No i^erson could bear to gaze upon Devaki tiqnitiep. p. 13G. 
 from the light tiiat invested her." ' Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 460. 
 
 ' See Beal : Hisl. Buddha, pp. 43, 46, or Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. &49. 
 Bonsen's Angel-Messiah, pp. 34, 35. * See Hardy : Manual of Baddhism, p. 145
 
 158 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The Matthew narrator informs us that Jesus was born in the 
 days of Herod the King, and the Luke narrator says he was born 
 when Cyrenius was Governor of Syria, or later. This is a very 
 awkward and unfortunate statement, as Cyrenius was not Governor 
 of Syria until some ten years after the time of Herod.^ 
 
 The cause of this dilemma is owing to the fact that the Luke , 
 narrator, after having interwoven into his story, of the birth of 
 Jesus, the old myth of the tax or tribute, which is said to have 
 taken place at the time of the birth of some previous virgin-born 
 Saviours, looked among the records to see if a taxing had ever 
 taken place in Judea, so that he might refer to it in support of his 
 statement. He found the account of the taxing, referred to above, 
 and withont stopping to consider when this taxing took place, or 
 whether or not it would conflict with the statement that Jesus was 
 born in the days of Herod, he added to his narrative the words : 
 " And this taxing was first Tnade when Cyrenius was governor of 
 Syria.'" 
 
 We will now show the ancient myth of the taxing. Accord- 
 ing to the Vishnu Purana, when the infant Saviour Crishna was 
 born, his foster-father, Nanda, had come to the city to pay his tax 
 or yearly trihicte to the king. It distinctly speaks of Nanda, and 
 other cowherds, "iringing tribute or tax to Kansa" the reigning 
 monarch.' 
 
 It also describes a scene which took place after the taxes had 
 been paid. 
 
 Yasudeva, an acquaintance of Nanda's, " went to the wagon of 
 Nanda, and found Nanda there, rejoicing that a son (Crishna) had 
 been born to him. 
 
 " Vasudeva sjjoke to him kindly, and congratulated him on hav- 
 ing a son in his old age.* 
 
 " ' Thy yearly tribute,' he added, ' has been paid to the king . . . 
 why do you delay, now that your affairs are settled ? Up, Nanda, 
 Quickly, and set off to your own pastures.' . . . Accordingly 
 Nanda and the other cowherds returned to their village.'" 
 
 Now, in regard to Buddha, the same myth is found. 
 
 Among the thirty-two signs which were to be fulfilled by the 
 mother of the expected Messiah (Buddha), the fifth sign was re- 
 corded to be, " that she would he on a journey at the time of her 
 
 1 See the chapter on " Christmas.'' ^ See Vishnu Parana, book v. chap. iii. 
 
 2 It may be that this verse was added by * Here is an exact counterpart to the etory 
 another hand some time after the narrative was of Joseph — the foster-father, so-called — of 
 wriltcn. We have seen it stated somewhere Jesus. He too, had a son in his old age, 
 that, in the manuscript, this verse is in brackets. ' Vishnu Purana, book v. chap. v.
 
 THE BIRTH-PLACE OF CHRIST JESUS. 160 
 
 child's hirih." Therefore, " that it might be fulfilled which was 
 spoken by the prophets," the virgin Maya, in the tenth month 
 after her heavenly conception, was on a journey to her father, 
 when lo, the birth of the Messiah took place under a tree. One 
 account says that " she had alighted at an imi when Buddha was 
 bom.'" 
 
 The mother of Lao-tsze, the Virgin-born Chinese sage, was 
 away from home when her child was born. She stopped to rest 
 under a tree, and there, like the virgin Maya, gave birth to her 
 son.' 
 
 Pythagoras (b. c. 570), whose real father was the Holy Ghost,' 
 was also born at a time when his mother was away from home on 
 a journey. She was travelling with her husband, who was about 
 his mercantile concerns, from Samos to Sidon.* 
 
 Ajpollo was born when his mother was away from home. The 
 Ionian legend tells the simple tale that Leto, the mother of the 
 unborn Apollo, could find no place to receive her in her hour of 
 travail until she came to Delos. The child was born like Biaddha 
 and Lao-tsze — under a tree." The mother knew that he was des- 
 tined to be a being of mighty power, ruling among the undying 
 gods and mortal men.' 
 
 Thus we see that the stories, one after another, relating to the 
 birth and infancy of Jesus, are simply old myths, and are therefore 
 not historical. 
 
 > Buneen : The Angel-Messiah, p. 34. See ' As we saw in Chapter XII. 
 
 also, Beal : Hist. Baddba, p. 32, and Lillie : * Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 150. 
 
 Baddha and Early Baddhism, p. 73. » See Rhys David's Baddhism, p. 28. 
 
 » Thornton : Hist. ChiBS, i. 138. • See Cox : Aryan Myths, vol. il. p. 81.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST JESTJ8. 
 
 The biographers of Jesus, although they have placed him in a 
 position the most humiliating in his infancy, and although they 
 have given him poor and humble parents, have notwithstanding 
 made him to be of royal descent. The reasons for doing this 
 were twofold. First, because, according to the Old Testament, the 
 expected Messiah was to be of the seed of Abraham,' and second, 
 because the Angel-Messiahs who had previously been on earth to 
 redeem and save mankind had been of royal descent, therefore 
 Christ Jesus must be so. 
 
 The following story, taken from Colebrooke's '^ Miscellaneo7i9 
 Essays"'' clearly shows that this idea was general : 
 
 " The last of the Jinas, Vardhamana, was at first conceived by Devananda, a 
 BrahmSna. The conception was announced to her by a dream. Sekra, being 
 apprised of his incarnation, prostrated himself and worshiped the future 
 saint (who was in the womb of Devananda) ; but reflecting that no great saint was 
 ever born in an indigent or mendicant family, as that of a Brahmana, Sekra com- 
 manded his chief attendant to remove the child from the womb of Devananda to 
 that of Trisala, wife of Siddhartha, a j^rince of the race ofjeswaca, of the Kasyapa 
 family." 
 
 In their attempts to accomplish their object, the biographers 
 of Jesus have made such poor work of it, that all the ingenuity 
 Christianity has yet produced, has not been able to repair their 
 blunders. 
 
 The genealogies are contained in the first and third Gospels, 
 and although they do not agree, yet, if either is right, then Jesus 
 was not the son of God, engendered by the " Holy Ghost," but the 
 legitimate sou of Joseph and Mai'y. In any otlier sense they 
 amount to nothing. That Jesus can be of royal descent, and yet 
 
 > That is, a passage in the Old Testament who is made to say : "in thy seed shall all the 
 
 was construed to mean this, although another nations of the earth be blessed, becaasc thoa 
 
 and more plausible meaning might be inferred. hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis, xxii. 18.) 
 It is when Abraham is blessed by the Lord, ' Vol. li. p. 814. 
 
 160
 
 THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST JESUS. 161 
 
 be the Son of God, in the sense in wliich these words 'are used, is a 
 conclusion which can be acceptable to those only who believe in 
 alleged historical narratives on no other ground than that they wish 
 them to be true, and dare not call them into question. 
 
 Tiie Matthew narrator states that all the generations from 
 Abraham to David are fourteen, from David until the carrying 
 away into Babylon axe fourteen, and from the carrying away into 
 Babylon unto Jesus are fourteen generations.' Surely nothing can 
 have a more mythological appearance than this. But, when we 
 confine our attention to the genealogy itself, we find that the gen- 
 erations in the third stage, including Jesus himself, amount to only 
 thirteen. All attempts to get over this difficulty have been with- 
 out success ; the genealogies are, and have always been, hard nuts 
 for theologians to crack. Some of the early Christian fathers 
 saw this, and they very wisely put an allegorical interpretation to 
 them. 
 
 Dr. South says, in Kitto's Biblical Encyclopaedia : 
 
 "Christ's being the true Messiah depends upon his being the son of David 
 and king of the Jews. Ho that unless this be evinced the whole foundation of 
 Christianity miLst totter and fall." 
 
 Another writer in the same work says : 
 
 " In these two documents (Matthew and Luke), which profess to give us the 
 genealogy of Christ, there is no notice whatever of the connection of his only 
 earthly parent with the stock of David. On the contrary, both the genealogies 
 profess to give us the descent of Joseph, to connect our Lord with whom by 
 natural generation, would be to falsify the whole story of his miraculous birth, 
 and overthrow the Christian faith." 
 
 Again, when the idea that one of the genealogies is Mary's is 
 spoken of : 
 
 " One thing is certain, that our belief in JIary's descent from David is 
 grounded on inference and tradition and not on any direct statement of the 
 sacred writings. And there has been a ceaseless endeavor, both among ancients 
 and moderns, to gratify the natural cravings for knowledge on this subject." 
 
 Thomas Scott, speaking of the genealogies, says : 
 
 "It is a favorite saying with those who seek to defend the history of the 
 Pentateuch against the scrutinj' of modern criticism, that the objections urged 
 against it were known long ago. The objections to the genealogy were known 
 long ago, indeed; and perhaps nothing shows more conclusively than this knowl- 
 edge, the disgraceful dishonesty and wUlful deception of the most illustrious of 
 Christian doctors."* 
 
 1 Matthew, i. 17. ' Scott's Enelish Life of Jesni. 
 
 11
 
 162 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Referring to the two genealogies, Albert Barnes says : 
 
 " No two passages of Scripture have caused more difficulty than these, and 
 various attempts have been made to explain them. . . . Most interpreters 
 have supposed that JIatthew gives the genealogy of Joseph, and Luke that of 
 Mary. But though this solution is plausible and may be tnie, yet it wants 
 evidence." 
 
 Barnes furthermore admits the fallibility of the Bible in his 
 remarks upon the genealogies; 1st, by comparing them to cnir 
 fallible family records ; and 2d, by the remark that " the only 
 inquiry which can now be fairly made is whether they copied these 
 tables correctly.'''' 
 
 Alford, Ellicott, Hervey, Meyer, Mill, Patritius and Words- 
 worth hold that both genealogies are Joseph's ; and Aubertin, 
 Ebrard, Greswell, Kurtz, Lange, Lightfoot and others, hold that 
 one is Joseph's, and the other Mary's. 
 
 When the genealogy contained in Matthew is compared with 
 the Old Testament they are found to disagree / there are omissions 
 ■which any writer with the least claim to historical sense would 
 never have made. 
 
 When the genealogy of the third Gospel is turned to, the 
 difficulties greatly increase, instead of diminish. It not only 
 contradicts the statements made by the Matthew narrator, but it 
 does not agree with the Old Testament. 
 
 What, according to the three first evangelists, did Jesus think 
 of himself ? In the first place he made no allusion to any miracu- 
 lous circumstances connected with his birth. He looked upon him- 
 self as belonging to iV^asarei/^, not as the child of Bethlehem;' he 
 re-proved the scribes for teaching that the Messiah must necessarily 
 he a descendant of Damid^ and did not himself malce any express 
 claim to such descent.' 
 
 As we cannot go into an extended inquiry concerning the 
 genealogies, and as there is no real necessity for so doing, as many 
 others have already done so in a masterly manner,' we will con- 
 tinue our investigations in another direction, and show that Jesus 
 was not the only Messiah who was claimed to be of royal descent. 
 
 1 Matthew, xiii. 54; Luke, iv. 24. consistencies of the evangelical narratives are 
 
 ' Mark, ii. 35. of no avail." (Albert Keville : Hist. Dogma, 
 
 ' "There is no doubt that the authors of Deity, Jesus, p. 15.) 
 the genealogies regarded him (Jesus), as did * The reader is referred to Thomas Scott's 
 
 his countrymen and contemporaries generally, English Life of Jesus, Strauss's Life of Jesns, 
 
 as the eldest son of Joseph, Mary's husband, The Genealogies of Our Lord, by Lord Arthur 
 
 and that th;y had no idea of anything miracu- Hervey, Kitto's Biblical Encyclopaedia, and 
 
 lous conne< ted with his birth. All the attempts Barnes' Notes. 
 of the old commentators to reconcile the in-
 
 THE GENEALOGY OP CHRIST JESUS. 163 
 
 To commence with Crishna, the Hindoo Saviour, Le was of 
 royal descent, altliough born in a state the most abject and 
 humiliating.' Thomas Maurice says of him : 
 
 " Crishna, in tlie male line, was of royal descent, being of the Yadava line, 
 the oldest and noblest of India; and nephew, by his mother's side, to the reigning 
 sovereign; but, though royally descended, he was actually born in a state the 
 most abject and humiliating; and, though not in a stable, yet in a dimgeon."' 
 
 Buddha was of royal descent, having descended from the 
 house of Salvja, the most iUnstrious of the caste of Brahmans, which 
 reigned in India over the powerful empire of Mogadha, in the 
 Southern Bahr.^ 
 
 K. Spence Hardy says, in his " Manual of Buddhism :" 
 
 "The ancestry of Gotama Buddha is traced from his father, Sodhodana, 
 through various individuals and races, all of royal dignity, to Maha Sammata, 
 the first monarch of the world. Several of the names, and some of the events, 
 are met with in the Puranas of the Brahmins, but it is not possible to reconcile 
 one order of statement with the other; and it would appear that the Buddhist 
 historians have introduced races, and invented names, that they may invest their 
 venerated sage with all the honors of heraldry, in addition to the attributes of 
 divinity." 
 
 How remarkably these words compare with what we have 
 just seen concerning the genealogies of Jesus ! 
 
 Rama, another Indian avatar — the seventh incarnation of 
 Vishnu — was also of 7'oyal descent.' 
 
 Fo-lii; ox F\ih-}ie,\X\Q virgin-born "Son of Heaven," was of 
 royal descent. He belonged to the oldest family of monarchs who 
 ruled in China.' 
 
 Confucius was of royal descent. His pedigree is traced back 
 in a summary manner to the monarch Hoang-ty, who is said to 
 have lived and ruled more than two thousand years before the time 
 of Christ Jesus.' 
 
 Horus, the Egyptian virgin-born Saviour, was of royal de- 
 scent, having descended from a line of kings.' He had the title 
 of "Eoyal Good Shepherd.'" 
 
 Hercules, the Saviour, was of royal descent.' 
 
 1 See Higglna : Anacalypeis, vol. i. p. 130. • See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 200, and 
 Asiatic Eesearchee, vol. i. p. 259, and Allen's Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Pah-he." 
 
 India, p. 379. • Davis : History of China, vol. ii. p. 48, and 
 
 2 Hist. Hindostan, ii. p. 310. Thornton : Hist. China, vol. i. p. 151. 
 
 " See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. t p. 137. ' See almost any work on Egyptian h'^itory 
 
 Bunsen : The Angel-Me.=siah. Davia : Hist, of or the religions of Eg.7pt. 
 China, vol. ii. p. 80, and Hue's Travels, vol. i. » See Lundy : Monumental Christianity, p. 
 
 p. 337. 403. 
 
 * Allen's India, p. 379. ' See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 152. Roman An- 
 
 tiqoities, p. 124, and Bell's Pantheon, i. 382
 
 164 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Bacchus, although the Son of God, was of royoU descent} 
 Perseus, son of the virgin Danae, was of royal descent} 
 ^scxdapius, the great performer of miracles, although a son of 
 
 God, was notwithstanding of royal descent} 
 
 Many more such cases might be mentioned, as may be seen by 
 
 referring to the histories of the virgin-born gods and denii-gods 
 
 spoken of in Chapter XII. 
 
 > See Greek and Italian Mythology, p. 81. Biilfinch : The Age of Fable, p. 101. 
 Bell'a Pantheon, vol. i. p. 117. Mnrray : Man- » See Bell's Pantheon, vol. 1. p. 27. Roman 
 
 nal of Mythology, p. 118, and Roman Antiqui- Antiquities, p. 136, and Taylor's Diegesis, p. 
 
 ties, p. 71. 150. 
 
 ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 170, and
 
 CHAPTEK XVIII. 
 
 THE SLAUGHTER OF THE EWJOCEHTS. 
 
 Intekwoven with the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus, 
 the star, the visit of the Magi, &c., we have a myth which belongs 
 to a common form, and which, in this instance, is merely adapted 
 to the special circumstances of the age and place. This has been 
 termed " the myth of the dangerous child." Its general outline 
 is this : A child is born concerning whose future greatness some 
 prophetic indications have been given. But the life of the child 
 is fraught with danger to some powerful individual, generally a 
 monarch. In alarm at his threatened fate, this pereon endeavors 
 to take the child's life, but it is preserved by divine care. 
 
 Escaping the measures directed against it, and generally re- 
 maining long unknown, it at length fulfills the prophecies con- 
 cerning its career, while the fate which he has vainly sought to 
 shun falls upon him who had desired to slay it. There is a de- 
 parture from the ordinary type, in the case of Jesus, inasmuch as 
 Herod does not actually die or suffer any calamity through his 
 agency. But this failure is due to the fact that Jesus did not 
 fulfill the conditions of the Messiahship, according to the Jewish 
 conception which Matthew has here in mind. Had he — as was 
 expected of the Messiah — become the actual sovereign of the Jews, 
 he must have dethroned the reigning dynasty, whether repre- 
 sented by Herod or his successors. But as his subsequent career 
 belied the expectations, the evangelist was obliged to postpone to 
 a future time his accession to that throne of temporal dominion 
 which the incredulity of his countrymen had withheld from him 
 during his earthly life. 
 
 The story of the slaughter of the infants which is said to have 
 taken place in Judea about the time of the birth of Jesus, is to be 
 found in the second chapter of Maithew, and is as follows : 
 
 "When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod tho 
 king, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying: 'Where is ha 
 
 165
 
 166 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 that is born hing of tJie Jews? for we have seen his star in the East and have 
 come to worship him.' When Herod the king had heard these things, he was 
 troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Then Herod, when he had privately 
 called the wise men, enquired of them dUigently what time the star appeared. 
 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said: 'Go and search diligently for the 
 young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word.' " 
 
 The wise men went to Bethlehem and found the young child, 
 but instead of returning to Herod as he had told them, they de- 
 parted into their own country another way, having been warned of 
 God in a dreaTn that they shoiild not return to Herod. 
 
 " Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was ex- 
 ceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children thai were in Bethlehem, 
 and in all the coasts tliereof, from iioo years old and under." 
 
 We have in this story, told by the Matthew narrator — which 
 the writers of the other gospels seem to know nothing about, — 
 almost a counterpart, if not an exact one, to that related of Crishna 
 of India, which shows how closely the mythological history of Jesus 
 has been copied from that of the Hindoo Saviour. 
 
 Joguth Chunder Gangooly, a " Hindoo convert to Christ," tells 
 us, in his " Life and Religion of the Hindoos," that : 
 
 "A heavenly wice whispered to the foster father of Crishna and told him to 
 fly with the child across the river Jumna, which was immediately done.' This 
 was owing to the fact that the reigning monarch, King Kansa. sought the life of 
 the infant Saviour, and to accomplish his purpose, he sent messengers ' to kill all 
 the infants in the neighborirtg places.' "^ 
 
 Mr. Higgins says : 
 
 " Soon after Crishna's birth he was carried away by night and concealed in a 
 region remote from his natal place, for fear of a tyrant whose destroyer it was 
 foretold he would become ; and who had, for that reason, ordered all the male 
 children born at that period to be slain. "^ 
 
 Sir William Jones says of Crishna : 
 
 " He passed a life, according to the Indians, of a most extraordinary and in- 
 comprehensible nature. His birth was concealed through fear of the reigning 
 tyrant Kansa, who, at the time of his birth, ordered all new-born males to be slain, 
 yet this wonderful babe was preserved."* 
 
 In the Epic poem Mahabarata, composed more than two thousand 
 years ago, we have the whole story of this incarnate deity, born of 
 a virgin, and miraculously escaping in his infancy from the reign- 
 ing tyrant of his country, related in its original form. 
 
 * A heavenly voice ^I'hispercd to the foster- ^ Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 129. See, also, Cox : 
 
 father of Jesas, and U Id him to fly with the Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 134, and Maurice : 
 
 child into Egj-pt, which was immediately done. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. a31. 
 
 (See Slatthew, ii. 13.) * Asiatic Kesearches, vol. i. pp. i.'73 and 
 
 " Life and Eelig. of the Hindoos, p. 134. 3j9.
 
 TUE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS. 167 
 
 Kepresentations of tliis flight with the babe at midniglit are 
 sculptured on the walls of ancient Hindoo temples." 
 
 This story is also the subject of an immense sculpture in the 
 cave-temple at Elephanta, where the children are represented as 
 being slain. The date of this sculpture is lost in the most remote 
 antiquity. It represents a person holding a drawn sword, sur- 
 rounded by slaughtered infant hoys. Figures of men and women 
 are also represented who are supposed to be supplicating for their 
 children." 
 
 Thomas Maurice, speaking of this sculpture, says : 
 
 "The event of Crishna's birth, and the attempt to destroy him, took place by 
 night, and therefore the shadowy mantle of darkness, -upon which mutilated figures 
 of infants are engraved, darkness (at once congenial with his crime and the season 
 of its perpetration), involves the tyrant's bust; the string of death heads marks the 
 multitude of infants slain by his savage mandate; and every object in the sculp- 
 ture illustrates the events of that Avatar."' 
 
 Another feature which connects these stories is the following : 
 Sir Wm. Jones tells us that when Crishna was taken out of 
 reach of the tyrant Kansa who sought to slay him, he was fostered 
 at Mathura by Nanda, the herdsman ;* and Canon Farrar, speak- 
 ing of the sojourn of the Holy Family in Egypt, says : 
 
 "St. Matthew neither tells us where the Holy Family abode in Egypt, nor 
 how long their exile continued; but ancient legends say that they remained two 
 years absent from Palestine, and lived at Matareeh, a few miles north-east of 
 Cairo."* 
 
 Chemnitius, out of Stipulensis, who had it from Peter Martyr, 
 Bishop of Alexandria, in the third century, says, that the place in 
 Egypt where Jesus was banished, is now called Matarea, about 
 ten miles beyond Cairo, that the inhabitants constantly burn a 
 lamp in remembrance of it, and that there is a garden of trees 
 yielding a balsam, which was planted by Jesus when a boy.' 
 
 Here is evidently one and the same legend. 
 
 Salivahana, the virgin-born Saviour, anciently worshiped near 
 Cape Comorin, the southerly part of the Peninsula of India, had 
 the same history. It was attempted to destroy him in infancy 
 by a tyrant who was afterward killed by him. Most of the other 
 circumstances, with slight vai'iations, are the same as those told of 
 Crishna and Jesus.' 
 
 • See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 61. < Asiatic Researches, voi. i. p. 259. 
 
 ' See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. 130, 13 . ' Farrar's Life of Christ, p. 58. 
 
 and Manrice ; Indian Antiquities, vol. i. pp. • See Introduction to Gospel of Inf&ncy 
 
 112, 113, and vol. iii. pp. 45, 9.5. Apoc. 
 
 » Indian Antiqu.".ies, vol. i. pp. 113, 113. ' See vol. x. Asiatic Researches.
 
 168 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Buddha's life was also in danger when an infant. In the 
 southern country of Magadha, there lived a king by the name of 
 Bimbasara, v.'ho, being fearful of some enemy arising that might 
 overturn his kingdom, frequently assembled his princiijal ministers 
 tc^ether to hold discussion with them on the subject. On one of 
 these occasions they told him that away to the north there was a 
 respectable tribe of people called the Sakyas, and that belonging 
 to this race there was a youth newly-born, the first-begotten of his 
 mother, &c. This youth, who was Buddha, they said was lia- 
 ble to overturn him, they therefore advised him to " at once raise 
 an army and destroy the child.'" 
 
 In the chronicles of the East Mongols, the same tale is to be 
 found repeated in the following story : 
 
 " A certain king of a people called Patsala, had a son whose peculiar appear- 
 ance led the Brahmins at court to prophesj' that he would bring evil upon his 
 father, and to advise his destruction. Various modes of execution having failed, 
 tM boy was laid in a copper chest and thrown into tJie Ganges. Rescued by an old 
 peasant who brought him up as his son, he, in due time, learned the story of his 
 escape, and returned to seize upon the kingdom destined fur him from his 
 birth. '"^ 
 
 Hau-hi, the Chinese hero of supernatural origin, was exposed 
 in infancy, as the " Shih-king " says : 
 
 " He was placed in a narrow lane, but the sheep and oxen protected him with 
 loving care. He was placed in a wide forest, where he was met with by the 
 wood-cutters. He was placed on the cold ice, and a bird screened and sup- 
 ported him with its wings," &c.^ 
 
 Mr. Legge draws a comparison with this to the Eoman legend 
 of Romulus. 
 
 Jlorus, according to the Egyptian story, was born in the winter, 
 and brought up secretly in the Isle of Buto, for fear of Typhon, 
 who sought his life. Typhon at first schemed to prevent his birth 
 and then sought to destroy him when born.' 
 
 Within historical times, Cyrus, king of Persia (6th cent. b. c), 
 is the hero of a similar tale. Ilis grandfather, Astyages, had 
 dreamed certain dreams which were interpreted by the Magi to 
 mean that the offspring of his daughter Mandane would expel him 
 from his kingdom. 
 
 Alarmed at the prophecy, he handed the child to his kinsman 
 Harpagos to be slain ; but this man having entrusted it to a shep- 
 herd to be exposed, the latter contrived to save it by exhibiting to 
 
 ' Beal : Hist. Badilha, pp. 103, IM. ' Thu Shih-king. Decade ii. ode 1. 
 
 * Amberly'a An-ilysis, p. SS9. * Bonwick : Ejiyotian Belief, pp. 158 and 166.
 
 THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS. 169 
 
 the emissaries of Harpagos the body of a still-bom child of which 
 his own wife had just been delivered. Grown to man's estate 
 Cynis of course justified the prediction of the Magi by his success- 
 ful revolt against Astyages and assumption of the monarchy. 
 
 Herodotus, the Grecian Historian (b. c. 484), relates that 
 Astyages, in a vision, appeared to see a vine grow up from Man- 
 dane's womb, which covered all Asia. Having seen this and com- 
 municated it to the interpreters of dreams, he put her under 
 guard, resolving to destroy whatever should be born of her; for 
 the Magian interpreters had signified to him from his vision that 
 the child born of Mandane would reign in his stead. Astyages 
 therefore, guarding against this, as soon as Cyrus was born sought 
 to have him destroyed. The story of his exposure on the moun- 
 tain, and his subsequent good fortune, is then related.' 
 
 Ahrakam was also a " dangerous child." At the time of his 
 birth, Nimrod, king of Babylon, was informed by his soothsayers 
 that " a child should be born in Babylonia, who would shortly 
 become a great prince, and that he had reason to fear him." The 
 result of this was that !Nimrod then issued orders that " all women 
 with child should be guarded with great care, and all children 
 'born of them should le put to death."' 
 
 The mother of Abraham was at that time with child, but, of 
 course, he escaped from being put to death, although many chil- 
 dren were slaughtered. 
 
 Zoroaster, the chief of the religion of the Magi, was a " danger- 
 ous child." Prodigies had announced his birth ; he was exposed 
 to dangers from the time of his infancy, and was obliged to fly 
 into Persia, like Jesus into Egypt. Like him, he was pm-sued by 
 a king, his enemy, who wanted to get rid of him.^ 
 
 His mother had alarming di-eams of evil spirits seeking to de- 
 stroy the child to whom she was about to give birth. But a good 
 spirit came to comfort her and said : " Fear nothing ! Ormuzd 
 will protect this infant. He has sent him as a prophet to the 
 people. The world is waiting for him."* 
 
 Perseus, son of the Virgin Danae, was also a " dangerous 
 child." Acrisius, king of Argos, being told by the oracle 
 that a son born of his virgin daughter would destroy him, im- 
 mured his daughter Danae in a tower, lohere no man could 
 approach her, and by this means hoped to keep his daughter from 
 
 ' Herodotus, bU. 1, ch. 110. p. 240. 
 
 ' Calmet's Fragments, art. "Abraham." * See Prog. Kelig. Ideas, yol. i. "Religioat 
 
 ' See Dapais : Origin of Religious Belief, of Persia."
 
 170 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 becoming enceinte. The god Jupiter, however, visited her there, 
 as it is related of the Angel Gabriel visiting the Virgin Mary," 
 the result of which was that she bore a son — Perseus. Acrisius, 
 on hearing of his daughter's disgrace, caused both her and the 
 infant to be shut up in a chest and cast into the sea. They were 
 discovered by one Dictys, and liberated from what must have 
 been anything but a pleasant position." 
 
 ^sculajpius, when an infant, was exposed on the Mount of 
 Myrtles, and left there to die, but escaped the death which was 
 intended for him, having been found and cared for by shepherds.' 
 
 Hercules, son of the virgin Leto, was left to die on a plain, but 
 was found and rescued by a maiden.' 
 
 (Edipous was a " dangerous child." Laios, King of Thebes, 
 having been told by the Delphic Oracle that CEdipous would be his 
 destroyer, no sooner is CEdipous born than the decree goes forth 
 that the child must be slain ; but the servant to whom he is in- 
 trusted contents himself with exposing the babe on the slopes of 
 Mount Kithairon, where a shepherd finds him, and carries him, 
 like Cyrus or Komulus, to his wife, who cherishes the child with a 
 mother's care.' 
 
 The Theban myth of CEdipous is repeated substantially in the 
 Arcadian tradition of Telephos. He is exposed, when a babe, on 
 Mount Parthenon, and is suckled by a doe, which represents the 
 Avolf in the myth of Romulus, and the dog of the Persian story of 
 Cyrus. Like Moses, he is brought up in the palace of a king." 
 
 As we read the story of Telephos, we can scarcely fail to think 
 of the story of the Trojan Paris, for, like Telephos, Paris is ex- 
 posed as a babe on the mountain-side.' Before he is born, there are 
 portents of the ruin which he is to bring upon his house and 
 people. Priam, the ruling monarch, therefore decrees that the 
 child shall be left to die on the hill-side. But the babe lies on 
 the slopes of Ida and is nourished by a she-bear. He is fostered, 
 like Crishna and others, by shepherds, among whom he grows up.' 
 
 lamos was left to die among the bushes and violets. Aipytos, 
 the chieftain of Phaisana, had learned at Delphi that a child had 
 been born who should become the greatest of all the seers and 
 prophets of the earth, and he asked all his people where the babe 
 
 ' In the Apocryphal Gospel of the Birth of Mytho. vol. ii. p. 34. 
 Mary and " Protevanpelion." * Cox : Aryan Mytho. vol. ii. p. 44. 
 
 ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. t p. 9. Coi: » Ibid, p. 69, and Tales of Ancient Greece, 
 
 Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 68, and Balflnch : p. xlii. 
 The Age of Fable, p. IGl. * Cox : Aryan Mytt«logy, vol. 11. p. 74. 
 
 > Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 87. Coi : Aryan ' Ibid. p. 75. • Ibid. p. 78.
 
 THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS. 171 
 
 was : but none had heard or seen him, for he lay away amid the 
 thick bushes, with his soft body bathed in the golden and pure 
 rays of the violets. So when he was found, they called him lamos, 
 the " violet child ;" and as he grew in years and strength, he went 
 down into the Alpheiau stream, and prayed to his father that he 
 wonld glorify his son. Then the voice of Zeus was heard, bidding 
 him come to the heights of Olympus, where he should receive the 
 gift of prophecy.' 
 
 C'handraffupta -was also a "dangerous child." He is exposed 
 to great dangers in his infancy at the hands of a tributary chief 
 who has defeated and slain his suzerain. His mother, " relinquish- 
 ing him to the protection of the Devas, places him in a vase, and 
 deposits him at the door of a cattle pen." A herdsman takes the 
 child and rears it as his own." 
 
 Jason is another hero of the same kind. Pelias, the chief of 
 lolkos, had been told that one of the children of Aiolos would be 
 his destroyer, and decreed, therefore, that all should be slain. Jason 
 only is preserved, and brought up by Cheiron.' 
 
 Bacchus, son of the virgin Semele, was destined to bring ruin 
 upon Cadmus, King of Thebes, who therefore orders the infant to 
 be put into a chest and thrown into a river. He is found, and taken 
 ironi the water by loving hands, and lives to f ulhll his mission.* 
 
 Herodotus relates a similar story, which is as follows : 
 
 "The constitution of the Corintliians was formerly of this kind; it was an 
 oligarchy, (a governnaent in the hands of a selected few), and those who were 
 called Bacchiadx goYeined the city. Ahout this time one Eetion, who had been 
 married to a maiden called Labda, and having no children by her, went to 
 Delphi to inquire of the oracle about having ofifspring. Upon entering the tem- 
 ple he was immediately saluted as follows: ' Eetion. no one honors thee, though 
 wortliy of much honor. Labda is pregnant and will bring forth a round stone; 
 it will fall on monarchs, and vindicate Corinth.' This oracle, pronounced to 
 Eetion, was by chance reported to the Bacchiadte, who well knew that it prophe- 
 sied the birth of a son to Eetion who would overthrow them, and reign in their 
 stead; and though they comprehended, they kept it secret, purposing to destroy 
 the offspring that should be bom to Eetion. As soon as the woman brought 
 forth, they sent ten persons to the district where Eetion lived, to put the child 
 to death; but, the child, by a dimne promdence, was saved. His mother hid him 
 in a chest, and as they could not find the -child they resolved to depart, and tell 
 those who sent them that they had done all that they had commanded. 
 After this, Eetion's son grew up, and having escaped this danger, the name of 
 Cypselus was given him, from the chest. When Cypselus reached man's estate, 
 and consulted the oracle, an ambiguous answer was given him at Delphi; rely- 
 ing on which he attacked and got possession of Corinth."* 
 
 1 Cox: AryanMytho. ii. p. 81. 'Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 188. Cox: 
 
 » Ibid. p. &1. Aryan Mytho. vol. U. p. 296. 
 
 • Kid. p. 150. » Herodotus : bk. v. ch. 92.
 
 172 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Romulus and Hemus, the founders of Rome, were exposed on 
 the banks of the Tiber, when infants, and loft there to die, but 
 escaped the death intended for them. 
 
 The story of the " dangerous child " was well known in ancient 
 Eome, and several of their emperors, so it is said, were threatened 
 with death at their birth, or when mere infants. Julius Marathus, 
 in his life of the Emperor Augustus Caesar, says that before his 
 birth there was a prophecy in Home that a king over the Koman 
 people would soon be born. To obviate this danger to the republic, 
 the Senate ordered that all the male children born in that year 
 should be abandoned or exposed.' 
 
 The flight of the virgin-mother with her babe is also illustrated 
 in the story of Astrea when beset by Orion, and of Latona, the 
 mother of Apollo, when pursued by the monster." It is simply the 
 same old story, over and over again. Some one lias predicted that 
 a child born at a certain time shall be great, he is therefore a " dan- 
 gerous child," and the reigning monarch, or some other interested 
 party, attempts to have the child destroyed, but he invariably 
 escapes and grows to manhood, and generally accomplishes the 
 purpose for which he was intended. This almost universal mythos 
 was added to the fictitious history of Jesus by its fictitious authors, 
 who have made him escape in his infancy from the reigning tyrant 
 with the usual good fortune. 
 
 When a marvellous occurrence is said to have happened every- 
 where, we may feel sure that it never happened anywhere. Pop- 
 ular fancies propagate themselves indefinitely, but historical events, 
 especially the striking and dramatic ones, are rarely repeated. 
 That this is a fictitious story is seen from the narratives of the 
 birth of Jesus, which are recorded by the first and third Gospel 
 writers, without any other evidence. In the one — that related bj 
 the Matthew narrator — we have a birth at Bethleliem — implying 
 the ordinary residence of the parents there— and a hicrried flight 
 — almost immediately after the birth — from that place into Egypt,' 
 the slaughter of the infants, and a journey, after many months, from 
 Egypt to ISTazareth in Galilee. In the other story — that told by 
 the Luke narrator — the parents, who have lived in Nazareth, came 
 to Bethlehem only for business of the State, and the casual birth in 
 the cave or stable is followed by a quiet sojourn, during which the 
 child is circumcised, and by a leisurely journej' to Jerusalem ; 
 
 ' See FaiTar's Life of Christ, p. 60. Chrietirvn art of the flight of the Holy Familj 
 
 » Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 168. into Egj'pt. (See Mooumeutal Chiisti&nity, p. 
 
 I There aie no very early examples in S39.)
 
 THE SLAUGHTER OP THE INNOCENTS. 173 
 
 whence, everything having gone off peaceably and happily, they 
 return naturally to their own former place of abode, full, it is 
 said over and over again, of wonder at the things that had hap- 
 pened, and deeply impressed with the conviction that their child 
 had a special work to do, and was specially gifted for it. Tltere is 
 no fear of Herod, who seems never to trouble himself about the 
 child, or even to have any hiowledge of him. There is no trouble 
 or misery at Betlilehem, and certainly no mourning for children 
 slain. Far from flying iiurriedly away by night, his parents cele- 
 hrate openly, and at the usual time, the circumcision of the child ; 
 and when he is presented in the temple, there is not only no sign 
 that enemies seek liis life, but the devout saints give public thanks 
 for the manifestation of the Saviour. 
 
 Dr. Hooykaas, speaking of the slaughter of the innocents, says : 
 
 "Antiquity in general delighted in representing great men, such as Romulus, 
 Cyrus, and many more, as having been threatened in their childhood by fearful 
 dangers. This served to bring into clear relief both the lofty significance of their 
 future lives, and the special protection of the deity who watched over them. 
 
 "The brow of many a theologian has been bent over this (Matthew) narra- 
 tive! For, as long as people believed in the miraculous inspiration of the Holy 
 Scriptures, of course they accepted every page as literally true, and thought 
 that there could not be any contradiction between the different accounts or repre- 
 sentations of Scripture. The worst of all such preconceived ideas is, that they 
 compel those who hold them to do violence to their own sense of truth. For 
 when these so-called religious prejudices come into play, people are afraid to call 
 things by their right names, and, without knowing it themselves, become guilty 
 of all kinds of evasive and arbitrary practices; for what would be thought quite 
 unjustifiable in any other case is here considered a duty, inasmuch as it is sup- 
 posed to tend toward the maintenance of faith and the glory of God I "' 
 
 As we stated above, this story is to be found in the fictitious 
 gospel according to Matthew only ; contemporary history has no- 
 where recorded this audacious crime. It is mentioned neither by 
 Jewish nor Roman historians. Tacitus, who has stamped forever 
 the crimes of despots with the brand of reprobation, it would seem 
 then, did not think such infamies worthy of his condemnation. 
 Josephus also, who gives us a minute account of the atrocities per- 
 petrated by Herod up to even the very last moment of his life, 
 does not say a single word about this unheard-of crime, which must 
 have been so notorious. Surely he must have known of it, and 
 must have mentioned it, had it ever been committed. " We can 
 readily imagine the Pagans," says Mr. Reber, " who composed the 
 learned and intelligent men of their day, at work in exposing 
 the story of Herod's cruelty, by showing that, considering the ex- 
 
 ' Bible fur Learners, vol. iii. pp. 71-74.
 
 174 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tent of territory embraced iu tlie order, and the population within 
 it, the assumed destruction of life stamped the story false and 
 ridiculous. A governor of a Roman province who dared make 
 such an order would be so speedily overtaken by the vengeance of 
 the Roman people, that his head would fall from his body before 
 the blood of his victims had time to dry. Archelaus, his son, was 
 deposed for offenses not to be spoken of when compared with this 
 massacre of the infants." 
 
 No wonder that there is no trace at all in the Roman catacombs, 
 nor in Christian art, of this fictitious story, until about the begin- 
 ning of the fifth century.' Never would Herod dared to have taken 
 upon himself the odium and responsibility of such a sacrifice. 
 Such a crime could never have liapiyened at the epoch of its jpro- 
 fessed perpetration. To such lengths were the early Fathers led, 
 by the servile adaptation of the ancient traditions of the East, they 
 required a second edition of the tyrant Kansa, and their holy wrath 
 fell upon Herod. The Apostles of Jesus counted too much upon 
 human credulity, they trusted too much that the future might not 
 unravel their maneuvers, the sanctity of their object made them 
 too reckless. They destroyed all the evidence against themselves 
 which they could lay their hands upon, but they did not destroy 
 it all. 
 
 ' See Uonumentol Chiistianit;, p. 238.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE TEMPTATION, AND FAST OF FORTY DAT8. 
 
 We are informed by the Matthew narrator that, after being bap- 
 tized by John in the river Jordan, Jesus was led by the spirit into 
 the wilderness " to he tempted of the devil." 
 
 " And when he had fasted forty days and forty niglits, he was afterward an 
 hungered. And when the te)?!^jfer came to him he said: 'If thou be the Son of 
 God, command that these stones be made bread.' . . . Then the devil talieth 
 him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the t£m]}le, and saith 
 unto him: 'If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down.' . . . Again, the devil 
 taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sTwweth Mm all the king- 
 doms of the world, and the glory of them, and saith unto him : ' All these things will 
 1 give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.' Then saith Jesus unto him, 
 ' Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord Ihy God, 
 and him only shalt thou serve.' Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels 
 came and ministered unto him."' 
 
 This is really a very peculiar story ; it is therefore not to be 
 wondered at that many of the early Christian Fathers rejected it as 
 being fabulous," but this, according to orthodox teaching, cannot be 
 done ; because, in all consistent reason, " we must accept the tohole 
 of the inspired autographs or reject the whole"' and, because, •' the 
 very foundations of our faith, the very basis of our hopes, the very 
 nearest and dearest of our consolations, are taken from us, when 
 07ie line of that sacred volume, on which we base everything, is de- 
 clared to be untruthful and untrustworthy.'" 
 
 The reason why we have this story in the New Testament is 
 because the writer wished to show that Clirist Jesus was jDroof 
 against all temptations, that he too, as well as Buddha and others, 
 could resist the powers of the prince of evil. This Angel-Messiah 
 was tempted by the devil, and he fasted for forty-seven days and 
 nights, without taking an atom of food.' 
 
 ' Matthew, iv. 1-11. ford, England. 
 
 » See Lardner'8 Works, vol. viii. p. 491. « The Bishop of Manchester (England), in 
 
 • Words of the Eev. E. Garbett, M. A., ina the " Manchester Examiner and Times." 
 •ermon preached before the University of Ox- » See LiUle's Buddhism, p. 100. 
 
 175
 
 176 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The story of Buddha's temptation, presented below, is taken 
 from the " Siamese Life of Buddha^'' by Moucure D. Conway, 
 and published in his " Sacred Anthology^'' from which we take it.' 
 It is also to be found in the Fo-pen-hing^ and other works on 
 Buddha and Buddhism. Buddlia went through a more lengthy and 
 severe trial than did Jesus, having been tempted in many different 
 ways. The portion which most resembles that recorded by the 
 Matthew narrator is the following : 
 
 " The Grand Being (Buddlia) applied himself to practice ascetcism of the ex- 
 tremest nature. JJccmsct^ ^o rai (that is, he/rts?efZ) and held his breath. . . . 
 Tlien it was that tlie royal Mara (the Prince of Evil) sought occasion, to tempt him. 
 Pretending compassion, he said: ' Beware, O Grand Being, your state is pitiable 
 to look on; you are attenuated beyond measure, . . . you are practicing 
 this mortification in vain ; I can see that you will not live through it. . . . 
 Lord, that art capable of such vast endurance, go not forth to adopt a religious 
 life, but return to thy kingdom, and in seven days thou shalt become the Emperer 
 of the World, riding over the four great continents.'" 
 
 To this the Grand Being, Buddha, replied : 
 
 " ' Take heed, O Mara; I also know that in seven days I might gain universal 
 empire, but I desire not such possessions. I know that the pursuit of religion is 
 better than the empire of the world. You, thinking only of evil lusts, would 
 force me to leave all beings without guidance into your power. Avaunt ! Oet 
 thou away from me! ' 
 
 "The Lord (then) rode onwards, Intent on his purpose. The skies rained 
 flowers, and delicious odors pervaded the air."' 
 
 Now, mark the similarity between these two legends. 
 
 "Was Jesus aLout " beginning to preach " when he was tempted 
 by the evil spirit? So was Buddha about to go forth " to adopt 
 a religious life," when he was tempted by the evil spirit. 
 
 Did Jesus fast, and was he " afterwards an hnngered " ? Sc 
 did Buddha " cease to eat," and was " attenuated beyond measure." 
 
 Did the evil spirit take Jesus and show him " all the king- 
 doms of the world," which he promised to give him, provided he 
 did not lead the life he contemplated, but follow him ? 
 
 So did the evil spirit say to Buddha : " Go not forth to adopt 
 a religious life, and in seven days thou shalt become an emperor of 
 the world." 
 
 Did not Jesus resist these temptations, and say unto the evil 
 one, " Get thee behind me, Satan " ? 
 
 So did Buddha resist the temptations, and said unto the evil one, 
 " Get thee away from me." 
 
 1 Pp. 44 and 172, 173. 39. Seal : HiBt. Buddha, pp. sxTili., xiir., 
 
 ' Translated hy Prof. Samuel Beal. and 190, and Haidy : Baddbiet Legends, p. 
 
 ' See also Buneen's Angel-Meesiah, pp. 38, ZTii.
 
 THE TEMPTATION AND FAST. 177 
 
 After the evil spirit left Jesus did not " angels come and minis- 
 ter unto him " ? 
 
 So with Buddha. After the evil one had left hira " the skies 
 rained flowers, and deUcious odors pervaded the air." 
 
 These parallels are too striking to be accidental. 
 
 Zoroaster, the founder of the religion of the Persians, was 
 tempted by the devil, who made him magnificent promises, in order 
 to induce him to become his servant and to be dependent on him, 
 but the temptations were in vain.' " His temptation by the devil, 
 forms the subject of many traditional reports and legends.'" 
 
 Quetsalcoatle, the virgin-born Mexican Saviour, was also 
 tempted by the devil, and the forty days' fast was found among 
 them.' 
 
 Fasting and self-denial were observances practiced by all nations 
 of antiquity. The Hindoos have days set apart for fasting on 
 many different occasions throughout the year, one of which is when 
 the birth-day of their Lord and Saviour Crishna is celebrated. On 
 this occasion, the day is spent in fasting and worship. They ab- 
 stain entirely from food and drink for more than thirty hours, at 
 the end of which Crishna's image is worshiped, and the story of his 
 miraculous birth is read to his hungry worshipers.' 
 
 Among the ancient Egyptians, there were times when the 
 priests submitted to abstinence of the most severe description, be- 
 ing forbidden to eat even bread, and at other times they only ate 
 it mingled with hyssop. " The priests in Heliopolis," says Plu- 
 tarch, "have many fasts, during which they meditate on divine 
 things."" 
 
 Among the Sdbians, fasting was insisted on as an essential act 
 of religion. During the month Tammuz, they were in the habit 
 of fasting from sunrise to sunset, without allowing a morsel of food 
 or drop of liquid to pass their lips.° 
 
 The Jews also had their fasts, and on special occasions they 
 gave themselves iip to prolonged fasts and mortifications. 
 
 Fasting and self-denial were observances required of the Greeks 
 ■who desired initiation into the Mysteries. Abstinence from food, 
 chastity and hard couches prepared the neojjhyte, who broke his 
 fast on the third and fourth day only, on consecrated food.' 
 
 The same practice was found among the ancient Mexicans and 
 Peruvians. Acosta, speaking of them, says : 
 
 1 Dnpnis : Ori^n of Religioae Belief, p. 340. * Life and Hclig. of the Hindoos, p. 134. 
 
 ' Cliambers's Enclyclo. art. " Zoroaster." ' Baring-Gould : Orig. Relig. Belief, Tol. 1. 
 
 » See Kingsborongh : Mexican Antiquities, p. Wl. 
 vol. vi. p. 200. • Ibid. ' Ibid. p. 340.
 
 178 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "These prijsls and religious men used great fastings, of five and ten days 
 together, before any of their great feasts, and they were unto them as our four 
 ember weeks. . . . 
 
 " They drank no wine, and slept little, for the greatest part of their exercises 
 (of penance) were at night, committing great cruelties and martj'ring themselves 
 for the devil, and all to lie reputed great fasters and penitents."' 
 
 In regai'd to the number of clays wliich Jesus is said to have 
 fasted being specified as forty, this is simply owing to the fact that 
 the number forty as well as seven was a sacred one among most 
 nations of antiquity, particularly among the Jews, and because 
 others had fasted that number of days! For instance ; it is related' 
 that Moses went uj) into a mountain, " and he was there with the 
 'LovA forty days and forty nights, and he did neither eat bread, 
 nor drink toater," which is to say that he fasted. 
 
 In Deuteronomy' Moses is made to say — for he did not write 
 it, "When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables 
 of stone, . . . then I abode in the mount forty days and forty 
 nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water." 
 
 Elijah also had a long fast, which, of course, was continued for a 
 period oi forty days and forty nights.'^ 
 
 St. Joachim, father of the " ever-blessed Virgin Mary," had a 
 long fast, which was also continued for a period oi forty days and 
 forty nights. The story is to be found in the apocryphal gospel 
 ProtevangeUon." 
 
 The ancient Persians had a religious festival which they an- 
 nually celebrated, and which they called the " Salutation of Mith- 
 ras." During this festival, fo7'ty days were set apart for thanks- 
 giving and sacrifice.' 
 
 The forty days' fast was found in the New World. 
 
 Godfrey Higgins tells us that : 
 
 ■ ' The ancient Mexicans had vl forty days' fast, in memory of one of their sucred 
 persons (Quetzalcoatle) who was tempted (and fasted) forty days on a moun- 
 tain."' 
 
 Lord Kingsborough says ; 
 
 ' The temptation of Quetzalc 
 curious and mysterious."^ 
 
 The ancient Mexicans were also in the habit of making their 
 
 "The temptation of Quetzalcoatle, and the fast of forty days, 
 very curious and mysterious."^ 
 
 1 Acosta : Hist. Indies, vol. ii. p. 339. ' Chapter i. 
 
 s Exodus, xxiv. S!8. ' See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 272. 
 
 • Dent. ix. 18. ' Anacalypsis, vol. il. p. 19. 
 
 * 1 Kings, xix. 8. ' Mexican Antiqaities, vol. vl. pp. 197-200.
 
 THE TEMPTATION AND FAST. 179 
 
 prisoners of war fast for a term of forty days before they were 
 put to dL'atli.' 
 
 Mr. Bonwick says : 
 
 " Tho Spaniards were surprised to see tlie Jt/exibaras keep tlie vevnal forty days' 
 fait. Tlie Tammuz montli of Syria was in tlie spring. The forty days were 
 kept for Proserpine. Tlius does liistory repeat itself. "- 
 
 The Spanish monks accounted for what Lord Kingsborough 
 calls " very curious and mysterious " circumstances, by the agency 
 of the devil, and burned all the books containing them, whenever 
 it was in their power. 
 
 The forty days' fast was also found among some of the Indian 
 tribes in tho New World. Dr. Daniel Brinton tells us that "the 
 females of tiie Orinoco tribes fasted forty days before marriage,'" 
 and Prof. Max Miiller informs us that it was customary for some 
 of the females of the South American tribes of Indians " to fast 
 before and after the birth of a child," and that, among the Carib- 
 Coudu/ve tribe, in the West Indies, " when a child is born the 
 mother goes presently to work, but the father begins to complain, 
 and takes to his hammock, and there he is visited as though he 
 Wore sick. He then fasts for forty days."' 
 
 The females belonging to the tribes of the Upper Mississippi, 
 were held unclean for forty days after childbirth." The prince of 
 the Tezcuca tribes fasted forty days when he wished an heir to 
 his throne, and the Mandanas supposed it required forty days and 
 forty nights to wash clean the earth at the deluge." 
 
 The luiinber forty is to be found in a great many instances in 
 the Old Testament ; for instance, at the end of forty days Noah 
 sent out a raven from the ark.' Isaac and Esau were each forty 
 years old when they married.' Forty days were fulfilled for the 
 embalming of Jacob." The spies were forty days in search of the 
 land of Canaan.'" The Israelites wandered forty years in the 
 wilderness." The land " had rest " forty years on three occasions." 
 The land was deliveredinto the hand of the Philistines /brilyyeara." 
 Eli judged Israel /b/"i!2/2/(?a7'5." King David reigned forty years." 
 
 1 See Kingeborough's Mexican Antiquities, ' Geneeis, viii. 6. 
 
 vol. vi. p. 2-.i3. 8 Gen. sxv. 80— sxvi. 34. 
 
 2 Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 370. » Qen. i. 3. 
 
 5 Brinton : Myths of the New World, p. 94. 1° Numbers, xiii. 25. 
 
 * Max Miiller's Chips, vol. ii. p. 279. 11 Nambers, xiii. 13. 
 
 ' Brinton : Myths of tho New World, p. 94. " Jud. iii. 11 ; v. 31 ; viii. 28. 
 
 • Ibid. According to Genesis, vii. 12, "the 's jud. xiii. 1. 
 rain was upon the earth forty days and forty ^* I. Samuel, iv. 18. 
 nights " at the time of the flood. '' I. Kings, ii. 11.
 
 180 BIBLE MTTTHS. 
 
 King Solomon reigned forty years? Goliath presented himself 
 forty days? The rain was upon the earth forty days at the time 
 of the deluge.' And, as we saw above, Moses was on the mount 
 forty days and fcyrty nights on each occasion.* Can anything be 
 more mythological than this? 
 
 The number forty was used by the ancients in constructing 
 temples. There ^vere forty pillars around the temple of Chilminar, 
 in Persia; the temple atBaalbec had fo?'ty pillars ; ou the frontiers 
 of China, in Tartary, there is to be seen the " Temple of the forty 
 pillars." Forty is one of the most common numbers in the Dru- 
 idical temples, and in the plan of the temple of Ezekiel, the four 
 oblong buildings in the middle of the courts have each forty pil- 
 lars.^ Most temples of antiquity were imitative — were microcosms 
 of the Celestial Templum — and on this account they were sur- 
 rounded with pillars recording astronomical siibjects, and intended 
 both to do honor to these subjects, and to keep them in perpetual 
 remembrance. In the Abury temples were to be seen the cycles of 
 650-608-600-60-40-30-19-12, etc.' 
 
 1 1. KiDgs, xi. 42. • See Higgina' Anacalypsifl, vol. i. p. 708 ; 
 
 " I. Samnel, xvii. 16. . vol. li. p. 402. 
 
 ' Gen. vii. 12. 'See Ibid. vol. ii. p. 708. 
 
 < Esodas, xxiv. IS— xxziv. 28.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE CKUCIFIXION OF OHEIST JESUS. 
 
 The punishment of an individual by crucifixion, for claiming 
 to be " King of the Jews," " Sou of G-od," or " The Christ ;" 
 which are the causes assigned by the Evangelists for the Cru- 
 cifixion of Jesus, would need but a passing glance in our in- 
 quiry, were it not for the fact that there is much attached to it 
 of a dogmatic and heathenish nature, which demands considerably 
 more than a " passing glance." The doctrine of atonement for sin 
 had been preached long before the doctrine was deduced from the 
 Christian Scriptures, long before these Scriptures are pretended to 
 have been written. Before the period assigned for the birth of 
 Christ Jesus, the poet Ovid had assailed the demoi-alizing 
 delusion with the most powerful shafts of philosophic scorn : 
 " When thou thyself art guilty, ^^ says he, " why should a victim 
 die for thee ? What folly it is to expect savlatian from the death 
 of another y 
 
 The idea of expiation by the sacrifice of a god was to be 
 found among the Hindoos even in Yedic times. The sacrificer 
 was mystically identified' with the victim, which was regarded as 
 the ransom for sin, and the instrument of its annulment. The 
 Sig - Veda represents the gods as sacrificing Purusha, the primeval 
 male, supposed to be coeval with the Creator. This idea is even 
 more remarkably developed in the Tandy a-hrdhmanas, thus : 
 
 "The lord of creatures (prajd-pati) offered himself a saerifiaefor the gods." 
 
 And again, in the Satajyatha-hrdhmana, : 
 
 "He who, knowmg this, sacrifices the Parusha-medha, or sacrifice of the 
 primeval male, becomes everything."' 
 
 Prof. Monier Wilhams, from whose work on Hindooism we 
 quote the above, says : 
 
 ' Monier WUliama : Hmdaism, pp. 36-40. 
 
 181
 
 182 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "Surely, in these mystical allusions to the sacrifice of a representative man, 
 we may perceive traces of the original institution of sacrifice as a divinely-ap- 
 pointed ordincmce typical of the one great sacrifice of the Son of Oodfor the sins of 
 the world."^ 
 
 This idea of redemption from sin through the sufferings and 
 deatli of a Divine Incarnate Saviour, is simply the crowning-point of 
 the idea entertained by primitive man that the gods demanded a 
 sacrifice of some kind, to atone for some sin, or avert some calamity. 
 
 In primitive ages, when men lived mostly on vegetables, they 
 offered only grain, water, salt, fruit, and flowers to the gods, to 
 propitiate them and thereby obtain temporal blessings. But when 
 they began to eat meat and spices, and drink wine, they offered 
 the same ; naturally supposing the deities would be pleased with 
 whatever was useful or agreeable to themselves. They imagined 
 that some gods were partial to animals, others to fruits, flowers, 
 etc. To the celestial gods they offered white victims at sunrise, 
 or at open day. To the infernal deities they sacrificed black 
 animals in the night. Each god had some creature peculiarly 
 devoted to his woi'sliip. They sacrificed a iuU to Mars, a dove to 
 Venus, and to Minerva, a heifer without blemish, which had never 
 been put to the yoke. If a man was too poor to sacrifice a living 
 animal, he offered an image of one made of bread. 
 
 In the course of time, it began to be imagined that the gods 
 demanded something more sacred as offerings or atonements for sin. 
 This led to the sacrifice of human beings, principally slaves and 
 those taken in war, then, their own children, even their most 
 beloved " first-born." It came to be an idea that every sin must 
 have its prescribed amount of punishment, aiul that the gods would 
 accept the life of one person as atonement for tJie sins of others. 
 This idea prevailed even in Greece and Home : but there it mainly 
 took the form of heroic self-sacrifice for the public good. Cicero 
 says : " The force of religion was so great among our ancestors, that 
 some of their commanders have, with their faces veiled, and with 
 the strongest expressions of sincerity, sacrificed themselves to the 
 immortal gods to save their country.'''''' 
 
 In Egypt, offerings of human sacrifices, for the atonement of 
 sin, became so general that " if the eldest born of the family of 
 Athamas entered the temple of the Laphystan Jupiter at Alos in 
 Achaia, he was sacrificed, crowned with garlands like an animal 
 victim.'" 
 
 1 Monler Williamfl; Hindnism, p. 30. ' See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 303. 
 
 8 Eenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 443.
 
 THE CEUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JEStJS. 183 
 
 "When the Egyptian priests offered up a sacrifice to the gods, 
 they pronounced the following imprecations on the head of the 
 victim : 
 
 "If any evil is about to befall either those who now sacrifice, or Egypt in 
 general, may it be averted on this head."^ 
 
 This idea of atonement finally resulted in the belief that the 
 incarnate Christ, the Anointed, the God among us, was to save 
 mankind from a curse by God imposed. Man had sinned, and 
 God could not and did not forgive without a proj)itiatory sacrifice. 
 The curse of God must be removed from the sinful, and the 
 sinless must bear the load of that curse. It was asserted that 
 divine justice required blood.' 
 
 The belief of redemption from sin by the suffe^-ings of a Divine 
 Incarnation, whether by death on the cross or otherwise, was 
 general and popular among the heathen, centuries before the time 
 of Jesus of Nazareth, and this dogma, no matter how sacred it may 
 have become, or how consoling it may be, must fall along with the 
 rest of the material of which the Christian church is built. 
 
 Julius Firmicius, referring to this popular belief among the 
 Pagans, says : " The devil has his Christs."' This was the 
 general off-hand manner in which the Christian Fathers disposed 
 of such matters. Everything in the religion of the Pagans wliich 
 corresponded to their religion was of the devil. Most Protestant 
 divines have resorted to the type theory, of which we shall speak 
 anon. 
 
 As we have done heretofore in our inquiries, we will first tm-n 
 to India, where we shall find, in the words of M. I'Abbe Hue, 
 that " the idea of redenvption hy a divine incarnation,^^ who came 
 into the world for the express purpose of redeeming mankind, was 
 " general and popular.'" 
 
 "A sense of original corruption^'' says Prof. Monier Wilhams, 
 
 1 Herodotas : bk. ii. ch. 39. Jesus as your Saviour, you can take the blood of 
 
 > In the trial of Dr. Thomas (at Chicago) for Jesus, and with boldness present it to the Father 
 
 "doctrinal heresy."' one of the charges made aspai/mentinfullof the pfnalties of all your fins. 
 
 against him (Sept. 8, I88U was that he had Sinful man has no right to the benefits and the 
 
 said '' the Blood of the Lamb had nothing beauties and glories of nature. The^e w^re all 
 
 to do with salvation." And in a sermon lost to him through Adam's sin, but to Uie 
 
 preached in Boston, Sept. 2, ISSI, at the blood of Christ's sacrifice he has a right : it 
 
 Columbus Avenue Presbyterian Church, by the was shed for him. It is Christ's death that 
 
 Rev. Andrew A. Bonar. D.D., the preacher said : does the blessed work of salvation forus. It 
 
 *'No sinner dares to meet the lioly God until was ho? his life nor his Incarnation. His Incar- 
 
 his sin has been forgiven, or until he has re- nation could not pay a farthing of our debt, but 
 
 ceived remission. The penalty of sin is death, his blood shed in redeeming love, pays it all.' 
 
 and this penalty is not remitted by anything (See Boston Advertiser, Sept. 3, 1831.) 
 the sin.Mr can do for himself, but only through ^ Ilabet ergo Diabolus Chiiftos suos. 
 
 the Blood of Jesus. If you have accepted ' Hue's Travels, vol. i. pp. 3ilj and 337.
 
 184 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 seems to be felt by all classes of Hindoos, as indicated by the folloW' 
 ing prayer used after the Odyatri by some Vaishnavas : 
 
 " 'I am sinfal, I commit sin, my nature is sinful, I am conceived in tin. 
 Save me, O thou lotus-eyed Ileri (Saviour), the remover of sin.' "' 
 
 Moreover, the doctrine of hhakti {salvation ly faith) existed 
 among the Hindoos from the earliest times.'' 
 
 Crishna, the virgin-born, " the Divine Yishnu himself,'" 
 "he who is without beginning, middle or end,'" being moved 
 " to relieve the earth of her load,'" came upon earth and redeemed 
 man by his sufferings — to save him. 
 
 The accounts of the deaths of most all the virgin-born Saviours 
 of whom we shall speak, are conflicting. It is stated in one place 
 that such an one died in such a manner, and in another place we 
 may find it stated altogether differently. Even the accounts of the 
 death of Jesus, as we shall hereafter see, are conflicting ; therefore, 
 until the chapter on " Ex])lanation " is read, these myths cannot 
 really be thoroughly understood. 
 
 As the Rev. Geo. W. Cox remarks, in his Aryan Mythology^ 
 Crishna is described, in one of his aspects, as a self-sacrificing and 
 anselfish hero, a being who is filled with divine wisdom and love, 
 who offers up a sacrifice which he alone can make.' 
 
 The Vis/mu Purana' speaks of Crishna being shot in the/bo^ 
 with an arrow, and states that this was the cause of his death. Other 
 accounts, however, state that he was suspended on a tree, or in 
 other words, crucified. 
 
 Mens. Guigniaut, iu his " Religion de VAntiquite" says : 
 
 " The death of Crishna is very differently related. One remarkable and con- 
 vincing tradition makes him perish on a tree, to which he was nailed by the 
 stroke of an arrow."* 
 
 llev. J. P. Lundy alludes to this passage of Guigniaut's in his 
 " Monumental Christianity," and translates the passage " un bois 
 fatal " (see note below) " a cross.'''' Although we do not think he 
 is justified in doing this, as M. Guigniaut has distinctly stated that 
 this " bois fatal " (which is applied to a gibbet, a cross, a scaffold, 
 etc.) was " un arbre " (a tree), yet, he is justified in doing so on 
 other accounts, for we find that Crishna is represented hanging on 
 a cross, and we know that a cross was frequently called the " ac- 
 
 1 Hinduism, p. 214. ' Pages 274 and 612. 
 
 3 Ibid. p. 115. ^ "On reconte fort diversement la mort de 
 
 ' VisLnu Purana, p. 440. Crishna. Une tradition remarquable et averse 
 
 « Ibid. le fait perir sur nn bois fatal (un arbre), ou U 
 
 • Ibid. fnt clouS dun coup de flecUe." (Quoted by 
 
 • Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 132. Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 144.)
 
 THE CEUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 185 
 
 cursed tree^'' It was an ancient custom to use trees as gibbets for 
 crucifixion, or, if artificial, to call the cross a tree.' 
 
 A writer in Deuteronomy' speaks of hanging criminals upon a 
 tree, as though it was a general custom, and says : 
 
 " He that is hanged (on a tree) is accursed of God." 
 
 And Paul undoubtedly refers to this text when he says : 
 
 " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, beingmade a curse for us; 
 for it is written, ' Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.' "' 
 
 It is evident, then, that to be hung on a cross was anciently 
 called hanging on a tree, and to be hung on a tree was called cru- 
 cifixion. We may therefore conclude from this, and from what 
 we shall now see, that Crishna was said to have been crucified. 
 
 In the earlier copies of Moor's '■'■Hindu Pant}Leo7i," i&io be seen 
 representations of Crishna (as Wittoba),* with marks of holes in 
 both feet, and in others, of holes in the hands. In Figures 4 and 5 
 of Plate 11 (Moor's work), the figures have nail-holes in hoth feet. 
 Figure 6 has a round hole in the side ; to his collar or shirt hangs 
 the emblem of a heart (which we often see in pictures of Christ 
 Jesus) and on his head he has a Yoni-Linga (which we do not see 
 in pictures of Christ Jesus.) 
 
 Our Figure No. 7 (next page), is a pre-Christian crucifix of Asi- 
 atic origin,^ evidently intended to represent Crishna crucified. Figure 
 No. 8 we can speak more positively of, it is surely Crishna crucified. 
 It is unhke any Christian crucifix ever made, and, with that de- 
 scribed above with the Yoni-Linga attached to the head, would 
 probably not be claimed as such. Instead of the crown of thorns 
 usually put on the head of the Christian Saviour, it has the turreted 
 coronet of the Ephesian Diana, the ankles are tied together by a 
 cord, and the dress about the loins is exactly the style ivith which 
 Crishna is almost always represented." 
 
 Eev. J. P. Lundy, speaking of the Christian crucifix, says: 
 
 1 See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 499, "The crucified god Wittoba is also called 
 
 and Mrs. Jameson's " History of Our Lord in Balii. He is worshiped in a marked manner at 
 
 Art," ii. 317, where the cross is called the Pander-poor or Bunder-poor, near Poonah." 
 
 "accursed tree." (Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 750, note 1.) 
 
 5 Chap. xxi. 22, 23 : " If a man have com- " A form of Vishnu iCrishna), called Vith- 
 
 mitted a sin worthy of death, and he be to be thai or Vi/hob'i, is the popular god at Pandhar- 
 
 put to death, and thou hang him on a tree : pur in Maha-nishtra, the favorite of the cele- 
 
 his body shall not remain all night upon the brated Marsthi poet Tukurriraa." (Prof, 
 
 tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that Monier William? : Indian Wisdom, p. slviii.) 
 day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) » See Lundy : Monumental Christianity, p. 
 
 that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord l(iO. 
 thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." « This can be seen by referring to Calmet, 
 
 ' Galatians, lii. 13. , Sonnerat, or Higgins, vol. ii., which cootAin 
 
 < See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 146, plates representing Crishna. 
 and Inman'B Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 402.
 
 186 
 
 BIBLE MYTUS. 
 
 " I object to the crucifix because it is an image, and liable to gross abuse, ju»t 
 at the old Hindoo cruciJUc was an idol."' 
 
 And Dr. In man says : 
 
 " Crishna, whose history so closely resembles our Lord's, was also like him in 
 his being crucified."' 
 
 The Evangelist' relates that when Jesus was crucified two 
 others (malefactors) were crucified with him, one of whom, through 
 his favor, went to heaven. One of the malefactors reviled him, 
 but the other said to Jesus : " Lord, remember me when thou com- 
 est into thy kingdom." And Jesus said unto him : "Verily I say 
 unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." According 
 to the Vishnu Purana, the hunter who shot the arrow at Crishna 
 afterwards said unto him : " Have pity upon me, who am consumed 
 by my crime, for thou art able to consume me !" Crishna re- 
 plied : " Fear not thou in the least. Go, himter, through my favor, 
 to heaven, tlie abode of tlie gods." As soon as he had thus spoken, 
 a celestial ear appeared, and the hunter, ascending it, forthwith 
 proceeded to heaven. Then the illustrious Crishna, having united 
 himself with his own pure, spiritual, inexhaustible, inconceivable, 
 unborn, undecaying, imperishable and universal spirit, which is 
 one with Vasudeva (God),' abandoned his mortal body, and the 
 condition of the threefold equalities." One of the titles of Crishna 
 
 > Monumental Christianity, p. 128. 
 ' Ancient Faiths. V3l. i. p. 411. 
 * Lulie, ixiii. 31>-43. 
 
 < Vasudeva means Cod. See Vishnu Purana, 
 p. 374. 
 
 » Vishnu Purana, p 61*.
 
 THE CEUCIFIXION OF CIIUIST JES0S. 
 
 187 
 
 is '■'■ Pardoner of sins," another is '■'■ Liberator from the Serpent of 
 death:'' 
 
 Tlie monk Georgius, in his Tihetinum Alphabetum (p. 203), 
 
 has given plates of a crucified god who was worshiped in Nepal. 
 These crucifixes were to be seen at the corners of roads and on 
 eminences. He calls it the god Indra. Figures No. 9 and No. 10 
 are taken from this work. They are also different from any 
 Cliristian crucifix yet produced. Georgius says : 
 
 " If the matter stands as Beausobre thinks, then the inhabitants of India, and 
 the Buddhists, whose religion is the same as that of the inhabitants of Thibet, 
 have received these new portents of fanatics nowliere else than from the Mani- 
 cheans. For those nations, especially in the city of Nepal, in the mouth of Au- 
 gust, being about to celebrate the festival days of the god Indnt, erect crosses, 
 wreathed with Ahroiono, to his memory, everj^wherc. You have the description of 
 these in letter B, the picture following after; for A is the representation of liidra 
 himself crucified, bearing on his forehead, hands and feet the signs Telecli."- 
 
 P. Audrada la Crozius, one of the first Europeans who went to 
 Nepal and Thibet, in speaking of the god wliom they worshiped 
 there — Indra — tells us that they said he spilt his Hood for the sal/vor 
 
 • See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 73. 
 
 3 " Si ita ee res habet, nt existimat Beau- 
 Bobriue, IndU et Budutce quorum religio, 
 eadem est ac Tibetana, iionniBi a Mauicliajia 
 nova hffic deliriorum porteuta acceperunt. Hoa- 
 namquo gentes priEsertim iu urbe Nepal, Luoa 
 Xn. Badr sen Bhadon Aiigiisti mcusia, dies 
 festos auspicatnrai Dei Indrw, eriguat ad illius 
 
 memoriani ubique locorum cnices amictas 
 Ahroiono. Earum fii^uraui descriptam babes 
 ad lit. B, Tabula poue scqueuti. Nam A effi- 
 gies est ipsius JndfLt crucillxi signa Telech in 
 fronte manibus pedibusqiic gcrentis." (Alph 
 Tibet, p. 203. Quoted iu Higgius' Anacalypsitj 
 vol. i. p. 130.)
 
 188 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tion of the human race, and that lie was pierced through the body 
 with nails. He furtlier says that, although they do not say he suf- 
 fered the penalty of the cross, yet they find, nevertheless, figures 
 of it in their books." 
 
 In regard to Beausobre's ideas that the religion of India is 
 corrupted Christianity, obtained from the Manicheans, little need 
 be said, as all scholars of the present day know that the religion 
 of India is many centuries older than Mani or the Manicheans." 
 
 In the promontory of India, in the South, at Tanjore, and in 
 the North, at Oude or Ayoudia, was found the worship of the 
 cmcified god Bal-li. This god, who was believed to have been 
 an incarnation of Yishnu, was represented with holes in his hands 
 and side.' 
 
 The incarnate god Buddha, although said to have expired 
 peacefully at the foot of a tree, is nevertheless described as a suffer- 
 ing Saviour, who, " when his mind was moved by pity (for the 
 human race) gave his life I'lTce grass for the sake of others."* 
 
 A hymn, addressed to Buddha, says : 
 
 " Persecutions without end, 
 Revilings and many prisons, 
 Death and murder. 
 
 These hast thou suffered with love and patience 
 (To secure the happiness of mankind), 
 Forgiving thine executioners."^ 
 
 He was called the " Great Physician,'" the " Saviour of 
 the World,'" the "Blessed One,'" the "God among Gods,'" 
 the "Anointed," or the " Clirist,'"" the "Messiah,"" the " Only Be- 
 gotten,'"" etc. He is described by the author of the " Cambridge 
 Key "" as sacrificing his life to wasli away the offenses of mankind, 
 and thereby to make them partakers of the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 ' " lis conviennent qa'il a rSpanda Bon sang 5T2, 667 and 750 ; vol. ii. p. 122, and note 4, 
 
 pour le salut du genre hnmain, ayant 6te perce p. 185. this chapter. 
 
 de clous par lent son corps. QuoiquMls ne * See Max lliiller's Science of Religion, p. 
 
 disent pas qu'il a souffcrt le supplice de la 221. 
 
 crois, ou en trouve pourtant la figure dans leurs * Quoted in Lillie's Buddhism, p. 9.3. 
 
 livrcs." (Quoted in Higgins' Anacalypsis, vol. " See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 20. 
 
 ii. p. 118.) ' See Bunseu's Angel-Messiah, pp. 20, 25, 35. 
 
 ' ' ' Althongh the nations of Europe have Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 247. Hue's Travels, 
 
 changed their religions during the past eighteen vol. 1. pp. 326, 327, and almost any work on 
 
 centuries, the Hindoo has not done so, except Buddhism. 
 
 very partially. . . . The religious creeds, ^ ggg Bunseu's Angel-Messiah, p. 20. 
 rites, customs, and habits of thought of the ^ Ibid. Johnson's Oriental Religious, p. 604. 
 Hindoos generally, have altered little since the See also Asiatic Researches, vol. ill., or chap- 
 days of Manu, 500 years b. c." (Prof. Monier ter xii. of this work. 
 Williams : Indian Wisdom, p. iv.) i° See Bnnsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 18, 
 
 • See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 147, " Ibid. 
 
 "Ibid. 'svol. i p. 118.
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 189 
 
 This induces him to say " Can a Christian doubt that this Buddha 
 was the type of the Saviour of the World.'" 
 
 As a spirit in the fourth heaven, he resolves to give up 
 " all that glory, in order to be born into the world, " " to rescue 
 all men from their misery and every future consequence of it." 
 He vows "to deliver all men, who are left as it were without a 
 Sa/viour."' 
 
 While in the realms of the blest, and when about to descend 
 upon earth to be born as man, he said : 
 
 "I am DOW about to assume a body; not for the sake of gaining wealth, or 
 enjoying the pleasures of sense, but I am about to descend and be born, among" 
 men, simply to give peace and rest to aU flesh; to renwce all sorrow and grief frorr 
 the world."^ 
 
 M. I'Abbe Hue says : 
 
 " In the eyes of the Buddhists, this personage (Buddha) is sometimes a man 
 and sometimes a god, or rather both one and the other — a divine incarnation, a 
 man-god — who came into the world to enlighten men, to redeem them, and to 
 indicate to them the way of safety. This idea of redemption by a divine incarna- 
 tion is so general and popular among the Buddhists, that during our travels in 
 Upper Asia we everywhere found it expressed in a neat formula. If we ad- 
 dressed to a Mongol or a Thibetan the question ' Who is Buddha? ' he would im- 
 mediately reply: ' The Saviour of Men! ' "* 
 
 According to Prof. Max Mtiller, Buddha is reported as say- 
 
 "Let all the sins that wwe committed in this world fall on me, that the world 
 may be delivered."^ 
 
 The Indians are no strangers to the doctrine of original sin. 
 It is their invariable belief that 7na?i is a fallen, being / admitted 
 by them from time immemorial." And what we have seen con- 
 cerning their beliefs in Crishna and BuddJm unmistakably shows 
 a belief in a divine Saviour, who redeems man, and takes upon 
 himself the sins of the world ; so that " Baddha paid it all, all to 
 him is due."' 
 
 1 Quoted in Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. US. expiate (heir crimes, and mitigate the panieh- 
 
 3 Bunsen's Aiigel-Messiah, p. 20. meat they must othenvise inevitably undergo." 
 
 » Beal ; Hist. Baddha, p. 33. CProg. Eelig. Ideas, vol. ii. p. 86.) 
 
 • Hue's Travels, vol. i. pp. 326, 327. " The object of Us mission on earth was to 
 ' Mulier : Hist. Sanscrit Literature, p. 80. instruct those who were straying from the right 
 
 • See Maurice : Indian Antiquities, vol. v. path, cTpiate the sins of mortats by his own 
 p. 95, and Williams : Hinduism, p. 214. suferings, and produce for them a happy en- 
 
 ' '■He in mercy left paradise, and came trance into another existence by obedience to 
 
 down to earth, because he was filled with com- his precepts and prayers in his name. They 
 
 passion for the sins and miseries of mankind. always speak of him a.s one with God from all 
 
 He sought to lead them into better paths, an<i eternity. His most common title is ' The So- 
 
 tooktheirsiffferinga upon himself, that he might viourof the World.'" (Ibid. vol. i. p. ^47.)
 
 190 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The idea of redemption through the sufferings and death of it 
 Divine Saviou?; is to be found even in ihe ancient religions of 
 China. One of their five sacred volumes, called the JT-King, says, 
 in speaking of Tien, tlie " Holy One ".• 
 
 " The Holy One will unite in himself all the virtues of heaven and earth. By 
 his justice the world will be re-established in the ways of righteousness. He will 
 labor and suffer much. He must pass the great torrent, whose waves shall enter 
 into his soul; but he alone can offer up to the Lord a sacrifice worthy of/iim."' 
 
 An ancient commentator says : 
 
 " The common people sacrifice their lives to gain bread; the philosophers to 
 gain reputation; the nobility to perpetuate their families. The Iloly One (Tien) 
 does not seek himself, but the good of others. He dies to save the world."^ 
 
 Tien, the Holy One, is always spoken of ai one with God, 
 existing with him from all eternity, "before anything was 
 made." 
 
 Osiris and Horus, the Egyptian virgin-born gods, suffered 
 death.' Mr. Bonwick, speaking of Osiris, says : 
 
 "He is one of the Saviours or deliverers of humanity, to be found in almost 
 all lands." "In his efforts to do good, he encounters evil; in struggling with 
 that he is overcome; he Ls killed."* 
 
 Alexander Murray says : 
 
 " Ihe Egyptian Saviour Osiris was gratefully regarded as the great exemplar 
 of self-sacrifice, in giving his life for others."^ 
 
 Sir J. G. Wilkinson says of him : 
 
 " The sufferings and death of Osiris were the great Mystery of the Egyptian 
 religion, and some traces of it are perceptible among other peoples of antiquity. 
 His being the Divine Goodness, and the abstract idea of 'good,' his manifestation 
 upon earth (like a Hindoo god), his death and resurrection, and his olEce as 
 judge of the dead in a future state, look like the early revelation of a future numi- 
 festation of t?ie deity converted into a mytltological fable."^ 
 
 Horus was also called " The Saviour." " As Horns Sneb, he 
 is the Redeemer. He is the Lord of Life and the Eternal One."' 
 He is also called " The Only-Begotten."' 
 
 Attys, who was called the " Only Begotten Soi'C^ and '■'■Samour^'' 
 was worshiped by the Phrygians (who were regarded as one of the 
 
 1 Qnoted in Preg. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 211. " In Rawlinson's Herodotns, vol. ii. p. 171. 
 
 a Ibid. Quoted in Kuight's Art and Mytliology, p. 71. 
 3 See Renouf : Keligions of Ancient Egypt, ' Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 185. 
 
 p. Its. ' See Mysteries of Adoni, p. 88. 
 
 * Bonwiclc : Egyptian Belief, p. 165. ' See Knigtit : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 
 » Murr."iy : Manual of Mytliology, p. 348. p. ixii. note.
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHEIST JESUS. 191 
 
 oldest races of Asia Minor). He was represented by them as a man 
 tied to a tree, at the foot of which was a lambj' and, without doubt, 
 also as a man nailed to the tree, or stake, for we find Lactantius mak- 
 ing this Apollo of Miletus (anciently, the greatest and most flour- 
 ishing city of Ionia, in Asia Minor) say that : 
 
 "He was a mortal according to the flesh; wise in miraculous works; but, 
 being arrested by an armed force by command of the Chaldean judges, he suffered 
 a death made bitter with rutih and stakes.'"' 
 
 lu this god of the Phrygians, we again have the myth of the 
 crucified Saviour of Paganism. 
 
 By referring to Mrs. Jameson's " History of Our Lord in Art,'" 
 or to illustrations in chapter xl. this work, it will be seen thatacom- 
 mon mode of representing a crucilixion was that of a man, tied 
 with cords by the hands and feet, to an upright beam or stake. 
 The lamh, spoken of above, which signifies considerable, we shall 
 speak of in its proper place. 
 
 Tammuz, or Adonis, the Syrian and Jewish Adonai (in He- 
 brew " Our Lord "), was another virgin-horn god, who sniiered for 
 mankind, and who had the title of Saviour. The accounts of his 
 death are conflicting, just as it is with almost all of the so-called 
 Savioui-s of mankind {including the Christian Saviour, as we shall 
 hereafter see) one account, however, makes him a c/'MC^/ztJc/xSavzowT*.' 
 
 It is certain, however, that the ancients who honored him as 
 their Lord and Saviour, celebrated, annually, a feast in commem- 
 oration of his death. An image, intended as a representation of 
 their Lord, was laid on a bed or bier, and bewailed in mournful 
 ditties — just as the Roman Catholics do at the present day in their 
 " Good Friday " mass. 
 
 During this ceremony the priest murmured : 
 
 " Tru9i ye in your Lord, for the pains wMcli Tw endured, our salvation have 
 procured."^ 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Parkhurst, in his " Hebrew Lexicon," after re- 
 ferring to what we have just stated above, says : 
 
 " I find myself obliged to refer Tammuz to that class of idols which were 
 originally designed to represent the promised Saviour, the Desire of all Nations. 
 His other name, Adonis, is almost the very Hebrew ji(fo;ij or Lord, a well-known 
 title of Christ."' 
 
 ' Dnpuis : Origin of Eeligious Belief, p. 255. * See chapter xxxls, this work. 
 
 * Vol. ii. 5 See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 114, 
 
 ' Lactant. Inst., div. iv. chap. siii. in Anac- and Taylor's Diegesis, p. 1G3. 
 alypsiB, vol. i. p. 544. • See the chapter on " The Resnrrection of 
 
 Jesus."
 
 192 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Prometheus was a crucified Saviour, 
 god, a friend of the liuman race, who does not shrink even from 
 sacrificing himself for tJieir salvation."' 
 
 The tragedy of the crucifixion of Prometheus, written by 
 ^sciiylus, was acted iu Athens five hundred years before the 
 Christian Era, and is by many considered to be the most ancient 
 dramatic poem now in existence. The plot was derived from ma- 
 terials even at that time of an infinitely remote antiquity. Noth- 
 ing was ever so exquisitely calculated to work upon the feelings 
 of the spectators. No author ever displayed greater powers of 
 poetry, with equal strength of judgment, in supporting through the 
 piece the august character of the Divi)ie Sufferer. The specta- 
 tors themselves were unconsciously made a party to the interest of 
 the scene : its hero was their friend, their benefactor, their creator, 
 and their xSazJiWr/ his wrongs were incurred in their quarrel — 
 his sorrows were endured for their salvation ; " he was wounded 
 for their transgressions, and bruised for their iniquities ; the chas- 
 tisement of their peace was upon him, and by his stripes they were 
 healed ; " " he was oppressed and afllicted, yet he opened not his 
 mouth." The majesty of his silence, whilst the ministers of an 
 offended god were nailing him hj the hands and feet to Mount 
 Caucasus' could be only equaled by the modesty with which he 
 relates, while hanging with arjns extended in the form of a cross, 
 his -services to the human race, which had brought on him that 
 horrible crucifixion." " None, save myself," says he, " opposed 
 his (Jove's) will," 
 
 " I dared; 
 And boldly pleading saved them from destruction, 
 Saved them from sinking to the realms of night. 
 For this offense I bend beneath these pains, 
 Dreadful to suffer, piteous to behold: 
 For mercy to mankind I am not deem'd 
 Worthy of mercy; but with ruthless hate 
 In this uncouth appointment am flx'd here 
 A spectacle dishonorable to Jove."'' 
 
 ' Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Prometheas." extended."' (Alexander Murray: Manual of 
 
 « " Prometheus has been a favorite subject Mythology, p. 82.) " Prometheus is said to have 
 
 with the poets. He is represented as the friend been nailed up with amis extended, ne&T l]\& 
 
 of mankind, who interposed in their behalf Caspian Straits, on Mount Caucasus. The 
 
 when Jove was incensed against them." (Bui- history of Prometheus on the Cathedral at Bor- 
 
 flnch : The Age of Fable, p. 33.) deaux (Trance) here receives its explanation." 
 
 " In the mythos relating to Prometheus, he (Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 113.) 
 
 always appears as the friend of the human 'See jEschylas' "Prometheus Chained," 
 
 race, suffering in its behalf the most fearful Translated by the Kev. R. Potter : Harper A 
 
 tortures." (John Fiske : Myths and Myth- Bros., N. T. 
 
 makers, pp. 64, 65.) " Prometheus was nailed * Ibid. p. 82. 
 to the ro:ks on Mount Caucasus, with an/is
 
 THE CEUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 193 
 
 In the catastrophe of the plot, his especially professed friend, 
 Oceanus, the Fisherman — as his name Petrceus indicates,' — being 
 unable to prevail on him to make his peace witli Jupiter, by throw- 
 ing the cause of human redemption out of his hands," forsook him 
 and fled. None remained to be witness of his dying agonies but 
 the chorus of ever-amiable and ever-faithful which also bewailed 
 and lamented him,' but were unable to subdue his inflexible phil- 
 anthropy.' 
 
 In the words of Justin Martyr : " Suffering was common to all 
 the sons of Jove." They were called the " Slain Ones," " Sav- 
 ioui-s," " Eedeemers," &c. 
 
 Bacchus, the offspring of Jupiter and Semele,' was called the 
 ^^ Saviour."' He was called the " Oithj Begotten Son,"'' the " Slain 
 One,"' the "Sin Bearer,"' the "Eedeemer,"'" &c. Evil having 
 spread itself over the earth, through the inquisitiveness of Pandora, 
 the Lord of the gods is begged to come to the rehef of mankind. 
 Jupiter lends a willing ear to the entreaties, " and wishes that 
 his son should be the redeemer of the misfortunes of the world ; 
 The Bacchus Saviour. He promises to the earth a Liberator . . . 
 The universe shall worshij) him, and shall praise in songs his 
 blessings." In order to execute his purpose, Jupiter overshad- 
 ows the beautiful young maiden — the virgin Semele — who be- 
 comes the mother of the Hedeemer." 
 
 "It is I (says the lord Bacchus to mankind), who guides you; it is I who 
 protects you, and who saves you; I who am Alpha and Omega. "'- 
 
 Hercules, the son of Zeus, was called " The Saviour." " The 
 words " Hercules the Saviour " were engraven on ancient coins 
 and monuments." He was also called " The Only Beffotten." and 
 the " Universal Word." He was re-absorbed into God. He was 
 said by Ovid to be the " Self-produced," the Generator and Ruler 
 of all things, and the Father of time." 
 
 1 Petraeas was an interchangeable synouym xxii. Twte. 
 
 of the name Oceanns. s ibid, 
 
 s " Then Peter took him, and began to re- » Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p, 169, 
 
 bake him, saying : Be it far from thee. Lord ; i" Dupuis : Origin of Religions Belief, p. 135. 
 
 this ehall not be nnto thee." (Matt. xvi. 2-J.) "Ibid. 
 
 3 " And there followed him a great company 12 Beansobre qnotes the inscription on a 
 
 of people, and of women, which also bewailed monnment of Bacchus, thus : " C'est moi, dit iJ, 
 
 and lamented him." (Luke, sxiii. 27.) qui vous conduis, C'est moi, qui vous conserve, 
 
 » See Taylor's Diegesis, pp. 193, 194, or Pot- on qui voas sauve ; Je sni Alpha et Omega, 
 
 ter'g .iEschylus. &c." (See chap, xsxis this ^ork.) 
 
 » " They say that the god (Bacchus), the ofE- " See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 328. 
 
 spring of Zeus and Demeter, was torn to Dupuis : Origin of Religious Belief, p. 195. 
 
 pieces." (Diodorus Siculns, in Knight, p. 156, Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 152. Dtmlap : 
 
 note.) Mysteries of Adoni, p. 94. 
 
 • See Knight : Anct. Art and Mythology, p. '• See Celtic Drnide, Taylor's Diegesis, p. 
 
 98, note. Dupuis : Origin of Religious Belief, 153, and Montfancon, vol. i. 
 
 258. Higgins ; -\nacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 102. i*See Mysteries of Adoni, p. 91, and Hig- 
 
 ' Knight ■ Ancient Art and Mythology, p, gins : Anac, vol. i. p. SS.
 
 194 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 jEsculapius was distinguished by the epithet " The Saviour.'" 
 The temple erected to his memory in the city of Athens was called : 
 " The Temple of the Saviour.'''"' 
 
 AjmUo was distinguished by the epithet " The Stmiour."' In 
 a hymn to Apollo he is called : " The willing Saviour of dis- 
 tressed mankind."* 
 
 Serapis was called " The Saviour.'" He was considered by 
 Hadrian, the Koman emperor (117-138 a. d.), and the Gentiles, to 
 be the jjeculiar god of the Christians." A cross was found under 
 the ruins of his temple in Alexandria in Egypt.' Fig. No. 11 is a 
 representation of this Egyptian- Saviour, taken 
 from Murray's "Manual of Mythology." It 
 certainly resembles the pictures of " the peculiar 
 God of the Christians." It is very evident that 
 the pictures of Christ Jesus, as we know them 
 to-day, are simply the pictures of some of the 
 i^S^z^:^^\ Pagan gods, who were, for certain reasons which 
 we shall speak of in a suljsequent chapter, always 
 represented with long yellow or ivd hair, and 
 a florid complexion. If such a person as Jesus of Nazareth ever 
 lived in the flesh, he was undoubtedly' a Jeio, and would there- 
 fore have Jewish features ; this his pictures do not betray.' 
 
 Mithras, who was " Mediator between God and man,'" was 
 called "The Saviour." He was the peculiar god of the Persians, 
 who believed that he had, by his sufferings, worked their salvation, 
 and on this account he was called their Saviour.^" He was also 
 called " The Logos.'"'' 
 
 The Persians believed that they were tainted with original sin, 
 owing to the fall of their flrst parents who were tempted by the 
 e\'il one in the form of a serpent.'" 
 
 They considered their law-giver Zoroaster to be also a Divine 
 Messenger, sent to redeem men from their evil ways, and they always 
 worshiped his memory. To this day his followers mention him 
 with the greatest reverence, calling him " The Immortal Zoroaster ^^ 
 
 ■ See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 153. 
 2 See the chapter on *' Miracles of Jesus." 
 ' See Dapuis : Origin of Religious Belief, p. 
 264. 
 
 * See Monumental Christianity, p. 18G. 
 
 ' See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 15. 
 
 • See Giles : Hebrew and Christian Records, 
 Tol. ii. p. 85. 
 
 ' See Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 15, and our 
 chapter on Christian Symbols. 
 
 « ThLs subject wiU be referred to again in 
 
 chapter xxxis. 
 
 » See Dunlap's Spirit Hist., pp. 337, 341, 242, 
 and Mysteries of Adoni, p. 123, note. 
 
 10 See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 99. 
 
 " See Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 30. 
 
 " According to the most ancient tradition 
 of the East-Iranians recorded in the Zend- 
 Avesta, the God of Light (Ormuzd) communi- 
 cated his mysteries to some men through his 
 Word." (Hansen's Angel-Messiah, p. 75.) 
 
 n Wake : Phallism, &c., p. 47.
 
 TUE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JEStXS. 195 
 
 " Cke Blessed Zoroaster^'' " The First-Born of the Eternal One," 
 &c.' 
 
 " In the life of Zoroaster the common mythos is apparent. He 
 was born in innocence, of an immaculate conception, of a raj of 
 the Divine Reason. As soon as he was bom, the glory arising 
 from his body enlightened the room, and he laughed at his motlier. 
 He was called a Splendid Light from the Tree of Knowledge, a-udi., 
 in fine, he or his soul was suspensus a lingo, hung upon a tree, 
 and this was the Tree of Knowledge.'" 
 
 How much this resembles " the mystery which hath been hid 
 from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his 
 saints."^ 
 
 Hermes was called " The SaviourP On the altar of Pepi (b. c. 
 3500) are to be found prayers to Hermes — " He who is the good 
 Saviour."* He was also called " The Logos." The church fa- 
 thers, Hippolytus, Justin Martyr, and Plutarch {de Iside et Osir) 
 assert that the Logos is Hermes." The term " Logos" is Greek, 
 and signifies literally " Word."' He was also "The Messenger of 
 God."-' 
 
 Di". Inman says : 
 
 • ' There are few words which strike more strongly upon the senses of an 
 inquirer into the nature of ancient faiths, than Salvation and Saviour. Both 
 were used long hefore the birth of Christ, and they are still common among 
 those who never heard of Jesus, or of that which is known among us as the 
 Gospels."* 
 
 He also tells us that there is a veiy remarkable figure copied in 
 Payne Knight's work, in which we see on a man's shoulders a cock's 
 head, whilst on the pediment are placed the words : " Th.e Saviour 
 of the World:" 
 
 Besides the titles of "God's First-Bom," "Only Begotten," 
 the " Mediator," the " Shepherd," the " Advocate," the " P;u-a- 
 clete or Comforter," the "Son of God," the "Logos," &c.," being 
 applied to heathen virgin-born gods, before the time assigned for 
 the birth of Jesus of I^azareth, we have also that of Christ and 
 Jesus. 
 
 ' Prog. Relig. Idea?, vol. i. pp. 238, 239. ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. 69 and 71. 
 
 ' llaicom : Hist. Persia, vol. i. Ap. p. 494 ; ' Inm.in : Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 652. 
 
 Nimrod, vol. ii. p. 31. Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. &19. • Ibid, vol, i. p. 537. 
 
 s Col. i. 26. "> See Bansen'8 Angel-Messiah, p. 119. 
 
 * See Bonwlck : Eg^■ptian Belief, p. 102. Knight's Ancient Art and Mythology, pp. xsii. 
 
 ° See Dunlap'8 Son of the Man, p. 39, mar- and 98. Dnnlap's Son of the Man, p. 71, and 
 
 ginal note. Spirit History, pp. 183, 205, 206, -HO. Bible for 
 
 « ■• In the beginning was the Word, and the Learners, vol. ii. p. 23. Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. 
 
 Word was with God, and the Word was God."' pp. 105, 237, 516, besides the aathorities already 
 
 tJohn, i. 1.) cited.
 
 196 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Cyrus, King of Persia, was called the " Christ," or the 
 " Anointed of God.'" As Dr. Giles says, ^'' Chrisf^ is "a name 
 having no spiritual signification, and importing nothing more than 
 an ordinary surname.''^'' The worshipers of Serapis were called 
 " Christians^'' and those devoted to Serapis were called " Bishops 
 of Christ.'" Eusehius, the ecclesiastical historian, sa3's, that the 
 names of " Jesus " and " Christ," were both known and honored 
 among the ancients.* 
 
 Mithras was called the " Anointed " or the " Christ ; '" and 
 Morus, Mano, Mithras, Bel-Minor, lao, Adoni, &c., were each 
 of them " God of Light," " Light of the World," the " Anointed," 
 or the " Christ."' 
 
 It is said that Peter called his Master the Christ, whereupon 
 "he straightway charged them (the disciples), and commanded 
 them to tell no man that thing."'' 
 
 The title of " Christ " or " The Anointed," was held by the 
 kings of Israel. " Touch not my Christ and do my prophets no 
 harm," says the Psalmist." 
 
 The term " Christ " was applied to religious teachers, leaders of 
 factions, necromancers or wonder-workers, &c. This is seen by the 
 passage in Matthew, where the writer says : 
 
 ' ' There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and snail show great 
 signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the 
 very elect."' 
 
 The virgin-born Crishna and Buddha were incarnations of 
 Vishnu, called Avatars. An Avatar is an Angel-Messiah, a God- 
 ma7i, a Christ ; for the word Christ is from the Greek Christos, an 
 Anointed One, a Messiah. 
 
 The name Jesus, which is pronounced in Hebrew Yezua, and is 
 sometimes Grecized into Jason, was very common. After the 
 Captivity it occurs quite frequently, and is interchanged with the 
 name Joshua. Indeed Joshua, the successor of Moses, is called 
 Jesus in the New Testament more than once,'° though the mean- 
 ing of the two names is not really quite the same. "We know of a 
 Jesus, sou of Siraeh, a writer of proverbs, whose collection is 
 
 ' See Bunsen's Bible Chronology, p. 5. ' Luke, iv. 21. 
 
 Keys of St. Peter, 125. Voluey's Ruins, p. 168. « Psalm, cv. 15. The term "an Andnttd 
 
 3 Giles : Hebrew and Christian Records, p. One,^^ which we use in English, is Ohristos in 
 
 64, vol. ii. Greek, and Messiah in Hebrew. (See Bible for 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 86, and Taylor's Diegesis, pp. 203, Learners, and Religion of Israel, p. 147.) 
 20(3, 407. Dupnis : p. 267. ' llatthew, xxiv. S4. 
 
 • EusebiQS : Eccl. Hist., lib. 1, eh. iv. '° Acts, vii. 45 ; Hebrews, iv. 8 ; compare 
 
 • See Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 78. Nehemiab, viii. 17. 
 
 • See Ibid. p. 39.
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHEIST JESUS. 197 
 
 preserved among the apocryphal books of the Old Testament. 
 The notorious ^a/'aWos' or son of Abhas, was himself called Jesus. 
 A.mong Paul's opponents we find a magician called Elymas, the 
 Son of Jesus. Among the early Christians a certain Jesus, also 
 called Justus, appears. Flavins Josejjhns mentions more than ten 
 distinct persons — priests, robbers, peasants, and others — wlio bore 
 the name of Jesus, all of whom lived during the last century of the 
 Jewish state." 
 
 To return now to our theme — crucified gods hefore the time 
 of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
 The holy Father Minucius Felix, in his Octavivs, written as 
 late as a. d. 211, indignantly resents the supposition that the sign 
 of the cross should he considered exclusively as a Christian symbol, 
 and represents his advocate of the Christian argument as re- 
 torting on an intidel opponent. His words are : 
 
 "As for the adoration of crosses which you (Pagans) object against us 
 (Christians), I must tell you, tJiat ice neillier adore crosses nor desire them ; you it 
 is, ye Pagans . . . who are the most likelv people to adore wooden crosses 
 . . . for what else are your ensigns, flags, and standards, but crosses gilt and 
 beautiful. Your victorious trophies not only represent a simple cross, but a cross 
 with a man ■upon it. "^ 
 
 The existence, in the writings of Minucius Felix, of this 
 passage, is probably owing to an oversight of the destroyers of 
 all evidences against the Christian religion that could be had. The 
 practice of the Eoiuans, here alluded to, of carrying a cress with a 
 man on it, or, in other words, a crucifix, has evidently been con- 
 cealed from us by the careful destruction of such of their works as 
 alluded to it. The priests had everything their own way for 
 centuries, and to destroy what was evidence against their claims 
 was a very simple matter. 
 
 It is very evident that this celebrated Christian Father alludes 
 to some Gentile my.^terj-, of which the prudence of his successors 
 has deprived us. When we compare this with the fact that for 
 centuries after the time assigned for the birth of Christ Jesus, he 
 was not represented as a man on a cross, and that the Christians 
 did norhave such a thing as a cnicifi.c, we ai-e inclined to think 
 that the effigies of a black or darTc-skinned crucified man, which 
 were to be seen in many places in Italy even during the last 
 century, may have had something to do with it.* 
 
 ^ He who, it is said, was liberated at the ^ Octaviug, c. xxix. 
 
 time of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. * See Anacalypeis, vo) ii. p. 116. 
 
 ' See Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 60.
 
 198 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "While speaking of " a cross with a man on it " as bei-ag carried 
 by the Pagan Romans as a standard, we might mention the fact, 
 related by Arrian the historian,' that the troops of Porus, in their 
 war with Alexander the Great, carried on their standards the 
 figure of a man.' Here is evidently the crucifix standard again. 
 
 "This must have been (says Mr. Higgins) a Staurobates or Salivahana, 
 and looks very like the figure of a man carried on their standards by the Romans. 
 This was similar to the dove carried on the standards of the Assyrians. This 
 must have been the crucifix of Nepaul."' 
 
 Tertullian, a Christian Father of the second and third centuries, 
 writing to the Pagans, says : 
 
 " The origin of your gods is derived from figures moulded on a cross. All 
 those rows of images on your standards are the appendages of crosses; those 
 hangings on your standards and banners are the robes of crosses."* 
 
 We have it then, on the authority of a Christian Father, as late 
 as A. D. 211, that the Christians " neither adored crosses nor desired 
 them" btit that the Pagans " adored crosses," and not that alone, 
 but " a cross with a man upon it." This we shall presently find to 
 be the case. Jesus, in those days, nor for centuries after, was not rep- 
 resented as a man on a o'oss. He was represented as a lamh, and 
 the adoration of the crucifix, by the Christians, was a later addition 
 to their religion. But this we shall treat of in its place. 
 
 We may now ask the question, who was this crucified man 
 whom the Pagans '■'■adored" before and after the time of Jesus of 
 Nazareth ? Who did the crucifix represent? It was, undoubtedly, 
 " the Saviour crucified for the salvation of mankind," long before 
 the Cliristian Era, whose effigies were to he seen wi many places 
 all over Italy. These Pagan crucifixes were either destroyed, 
 corrupted, or adopted ; the latter was the case with many ancient 
 paintings of the Bambino^ on which may be seen the words Deo 
 Soli. Now, these two words can never apply to Christ Jesus. He 
 was not Deus Solus, in any sense, according to the idiom of 
 the Latin language, and the Romish faith. Whether we construe 
 the words to " the only God," or " God alone," they are equally 
 heretical. No priest, in any age of the Church, wouid have 
 thought of putting them there ; hut finding them there, they tol- 
 erated them. 
 
 In the " Celtic Druids," Mr. Higgins describes a crucifix, a 
 lamh, and an elepham,t, which was cut upon the "fire tower" — so- 
 
 ' In hia JSistory of the Campaigns of Alex- ' Apol. c. l(i ; Ad is'atiom-s, c, xii. 
 ander. "* See the chapter on " The Worship of the 
 
 ' See AnaCELlypBis, vol. li. p. 118. Virgin." 
 'Ihii.
 
 THE CKUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 199 
 
 called — at Brechin, a town of Forfarshire, in Scotland. Although 
 thej appeared to be of very ancient date, he supposed, at that 
 time, that they were modern, and belonged to Christianity, but 
 some years afterwards, he wrote as follows : 
 
 " I now doubt (the moderu date of the tower), for we have, over and over 
 again, seen the crucified man before Christ. We have also found ' The Lamb 
 that takcth away the sins of the world,' among the Carnutes of Gaul, before the 
 time of Christ ; and when I contemplate these, and the Elephant or Oanesa, ' and the 
 Ming'' and its Cobra,^ Linga* lonaj" and Nandies, found not far from the tower, 
 on the estate of Lord Castles, with the Colidei, the island of lona, and li, . . . 
 1 am induced to doubt my former conclusions. The Elephant, the Ganesa of 
 India, is a very stubborn fellow to be found here. The Ring, too, when joined 
 with other matters, I cannot get over. All these superstitions must have come 
 from India."^ 
 
 On one of the Irish " round towers " is to be seen a crucifix 
 of unmistakable Asiatic origin.'' 
 
 If we turn to the New World, we shall find, strange though it 
 may appear, that the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians worshiped 
 a crucified Saviour. This was the virgin-born Quetzalcoatle 
 whose crucifixion is represented in the paintings of the " Codex 
 Borgia^ius,^'' and the " Codex Vaticanus.'^ 
 
 These paintings illustrate the religious opinions of the ancient 
 Mexicans, and were copied from the hieroglyphics found in Mexico. 
 The Spaniards destroyed nearly all the books, ancient monuments 
 and paintings which they could find ; had it not been for this, much 
 more regarding the religion of the ancient Mexicans would have 
 been handed down to us. Many chapters were also taken — by the 
 Spanish authorities — from the writings of the first historians who 
 wrote on ancient Mexico. All manuscripts had to he inspected 
 previous to levng published. Anything found among these heathens 
 resembling the religion of the Christians, was destroyed when pos- 
 sible." 
 
 The first Spanish monks who went to Mexico were surprised 
 to find the crucifix among the heathen inhabitants, and upon in- 
 quiring what it meant, were told that it was a representation of 
 
 1 Gamsa is the Indian God of Wisdom. male or generative power of nattire. 
 (See Asiatic Researches, vol. i.) » Zona, or Tonl, is the counterpart of Llnga, 
 
 ^ The Ming and circle was an emblem of i.^., an emblem of the female generative power, 
 
 god, or eternity, among the Hindoos. (See We have seen that these were attached to the 
 
 Lundy : Monumental Christianity, p. 87.) eiflgies of the Hindoo crucified Saviour, Crish- 
 
 ' The Cobra, or hooded snake, is a native of na. 
 the East Indies, where it is held as sacred. • Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 130. 
 
 (See Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 16, and ' See Lundy : Monumental Christianity, pp. 
 
 Fergusson's Tree and Serpent Worship. 253, 254, 2.55. 
 
 « Linga denotes, in the sectarian worship of 'See Kingsboroagh : Mexican Antiquities, 
 
 the Hindoos, the Phallus, an emblem of the vol. vi. pp. 165 and 179.
 
 200 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Bacob (Qiietzalcoatle), tlie Soa of God, who was put to deatli by 
 Eojpuoo. They said that he was placed on a beam of wood, with 
 his arms stretched out, and that he died there.' 
 
 Lord Kingsborough, from wliose very learned and elaborate 
 work we have taken the above, says : 
 
 " Being questioned as to the manner in whicli tliey became acquainted with 
 these things, they replied that the lords instructed their sons in them, and that 
 thus this doctrine descended from one to another."' 
 
 Sometimes Qiietzalcoatle or Bacob is represented as tied to the 
 cross — just as we have seen that Attys was represented by the 
 Phrygians — and at other times he is represented " in the attitude 
 of a person cnicified, with impressions of nail-holes in his hands 
 and feet, but not actually upon a cross " — just as we have found 
 the Hindoo Crishna, and as he is represented in Fig. No. 8. Be- 
 neath this I'epresentation of Quetzalcoatle crucilied, is an image of 
 Death, which an angry serpent seems threatening to devour.' 
 
 On the 73d page of the Borgian MS., he is represented crucified 
 on a cross of the Greek form. In this print there are also impres- 
 sions of nails to be seen on the feet and hands, and his body is 
 strangely covered with suns* 
 
 In vol. ii. plate 75, the god is crucified in a circle of nineteen 
 figures, and a serpent is depriving him of the organs of generation. 
 
 Lord Kingsborough, commenting on these paintings, says : 
 
 "It is remarkable that in these Slexican paintings the faces of many of the 
 figures are black, and that the visage of Quetzalcoatle is frequently painted in a 
 very deformed manner."' 
 
 His lordship further tells us that (according to the belief of the 
 ancient Mexicans), " the death of Quetzalcoatle upon the cross '* 
 was "fm atonement for the sins of manhind.'"' 
 
 Dr. Daniel Brinton, in his " Mrjths of the New World,^'' tells 
 us that the Aztecs had a feast which they celebrated " in the early 
 sjpring" when " victims were nailed to a cross crnid shot with an 
 arrow."'' 
 
 Alexander Von Humboldt, in his " American Researches^'' also 
 speaks of this feast, when the Mexicans crucified a man, and pierced 
 him with an arrow. ° 
 
 ' See Kingsborougli : Mexican Antiquities, ' Brinton : Myths of the New World, p. 95. 
 
 vol. v1. p. 16ti. ^ See, also, Monumental Christianity, p. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 162. 393. 
 
 8 Ibid. p. 161. "Once a year the ancient Mexicans made an 
 
 * Ibid. p. 167. image of one of their gods, which was pierced 
 
 » Ibid. p. 167. by an arrow, shot by a priest of Quetzalcoatle." 
 
 " Ibid. p. 168. {Duulap'B Spirit Hist., 207.)
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 201 
 
 The author of Momimental Christianity, speaking of this, 
 says : 
 
 " Here is the old story of the Prometheus crucified, on the Caucasus, arui of all 
 other Pagan crucifixions of the young incarnate divinities of India, Persia, Asia 
 Minor and Egypt."^ 
 
 Tliis we believe ; hut how did this m/yth get tJiere ? He does 
 not say, but we shall attempt to show, in a future chapter, how this 
 and other myths of Eastern origin became known in the New 
 World.^ 
 
 It must not be forgotten, in connection with what we have seen 
 concerning the Mexican crucified god being sometimes represented as 
 hlack, and the feast when the crucified man was shot with an arrow, 
 that effigies of a hlach crucified man were found in Italy ; that 
 Crishua, the crucified, is very often represented hlack; and that 
 Crishna was shot with an arrow. 
 
 Crosses were also found in Yucatan, as well as Mexico, with a 
 man upon them!' CogoUudo, in his " History of Yucatan," speak- 
 ing of a crucifix found there, says : 
 
 " Don Eugenic de Alcantara (one of the true teachers of the Gospel), told me, 
 not only once, that I might safely write that the Indians of Cozumel possessed 
 this holy cross in the time of their paganism; and that some years had elapsed 
 since it was brought to Medira; for having heard from many persons what was 
 reported of it, he had made particular inquiries of some very old Indians who 
 resided there, who assured him that it was the fact." 
 
 He then speaks of the difliculty in accounting for this cruci- 
 fix being found among the Indians of Cozumel, and ends by say- 
 ing: 
 
 "But if it be considered that these Indians believed that the Son of God, 
 whom they called Bacob, haddicd upon a cross, with his arms stretched out upon it, 
 it cannot appear so dilBcult a matter to comprehend that they should have 
 formed his image according to the religious creed which they possessed. "■• 
 
 We shall find, in another chapter, that these virgin-born 
 " Saviours " and " Slain Ones ;" Crishna, Osiris, Horus, Attys, 
 Adonis, Bacchus, &c. — whether torn in pieces, killed by a boar, or 
 crucified — will all Tnelt into one. 
 
 We now come to a very important fact not generally known, 
 namely : There are no ea/rly representations of Christ Jesus suffer- 
 ing on the cross. 
 
 • Monumental Christianity, p. 393. Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 169. 
 
 ' See Appendix A. • Quoted by Lord Kingsborough ; Mencan 
 
 ' See Monumental Christianity, p. 890, and Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 172.
 
 2U2 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 Rev. J. P. Luudy, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " Why should a fact so well known to the heathen as the crucLflxionbe con- 
 cealed? And yet Us actual realistic representation net>er once occurs in the monu- 
 ments of thrislianity, for more than »ix or seven, centuries."' 
 
 Mrs. Jameson, in her " History of Our Lord in Art," says : 
 
 " The crucifixion is not one of the subjects of early Christianity. The death 
 of our Lord was represented by various types, but 7iever in its actual form. 
 
 " The earliest instances of the crucifixion are found in illustrated manuscripts 
 of various countries, and in those ivory and enameled forms which are described 
 in the Introduction. Some of these are ascertained, by historical or by internal 
 evidence, to have been executed in the ninth cantury, there is one also, of an ex- 
 traordinary rude and fantastic character, in a MS. in the ancient library of St. 
 Galle, which is ascertained to be of the eighth century. At all events, there seems 
 no just grounds at present for assigning an earlier date."^ 
 
 " Early Christian art, such as it appears in the bas-reliefs on sarcophagi, gave 
 but one solitary incident from the story of Our Lord's Passion, and that utterly 
 divested of all circumstances of suffering. Our Lord is represented as young and 
 beautiful, free from bonds, with no ' accursed tree ' on his shoulders."^ 
 
 The oldest representation of Christ Jesus was a figure of a 
 lamb,* to which sometimes a vase was added, into which his blood 
 flowed, and at other times couched at the foot of a cross. This 
 custom siibsisted up to the year 680, and until the pontificate of 
 Agatho7i, during the reign of Constantine Pogonat. By the sixth 
 synod of Constantinople (canon 82) it was ordained that instead of 
 the ancient symbol, which had been the Lamb, the figure of a mam, 
 fastened to a cross (such as the Pagans had adored), should be 
 represented. All this was confirmed by Pope Adrian I.° 
 
 A simple cross, which was the symbol of eternal life, or of sal- 
 vation, among the ancients, was sometimes, as we have seen, placed 
 alongside of the Lamb. In the course of time, the Lamh was put 
 on the cross, as the ancient Israelites had put the paschal lamb 
 centuries before,' and then, as we have seen, they put a ina/n 
 upon it. 
 
 Christ Jesus is also represented in early art as the " Good 
 Shepherd," that is, as a young man with a lamb on his shoulders.' 
 
 1 Monumental Christianity, p. 246. over) was roasted whole, vrith two spits thrust 
 
 3 History of Our Lord in Art, vol. ii. p. 137. through it— one lengthwise, and one transversely 
 
 8 Ibid. p. 317. — crossing each other near the fore legs ; so 
 
 * See Illustrations in Ibid. vol. i. * that the animal was, in a manner, crucified. 
 
 » See Dapuis : Origin of Religions Belief, p. Not a bone of it might be broken— a circnm- 
 
 253. Higgins ; Anacalypsis, vol. ii. Ill, and stance strongly representing the sufferings of 
 
 Monumental Christianity, p. 346, et eeg. our Lord Jesus, the passomr slain for us.' ' 
 
 6 The paschal lamb was roasted on a cross, (Barnes's Notes, vol. i. p. 293.) 
 by ancient Israel, and is still so done by the ' See King : The Gnostics and their Re- 
 Samaritans at Nablous. (See Lundy's Monu- mains, p. 138. Also. Monumental Christianity, 
 mental Christianity, pp. 19 and 347.) and Jameson's History of Our Lord in Art. tor 
 " The lamb slain (at the feast of the pass- illustrations.
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 203 
 
 This is just the manner in which the Pagan Apollo, Mercury and 
 others were represented centuries before." 
 Mrs. Jameson says : 
 
 " Mercury attired SiB & s7tep?ierd, with a ram on his shoulders, borne in the 
 same manner as in many of the Christian representations, was no unfrequent 
 object (in ancient art) and in some instances led to a difficulty in distinguishing 
 between the two,"^ that is, between Mercury and Christ Jesus. 
 
 M. Renan says : 
 
 " The Good Shepherd of the catacombs in Rome is a copy from the A^isteus, 
 or from the Apollo Nomius, which figured in the same posture on the Pagan 
 sarcophagi ; and still carries the flute of Pan, in the midst of the four half-naked 
 seasons."^ 
 
 The Egyptian Saviour Horus was called the " Sheplierd of the 
 People."* 
 
 The Hindoo Saviour Crishna was called the " Royal Good Shep- 
 herd.'" 
 
 We have seen, then, on the authority of a Christian writer 
 who has made the subject a special study, that, "there seems no 
 just grounds at present for assigning an earlier date," for the " ear- 
 liest instances of the crucifixion " of Christ Jesus, represented in 
 art, than the eighth or ninth century. Now, a few words in re- 
 gard to what these crucifixes looked like. If the reader imagines 
 that the crucifixes which are familiar to its at the present day are 
 similar to those early ones, we would inform him that such is not the 
 case. The earliest artists of the crucifixion represent the Chi-istian 
 Saviour as yoxmg and ieardless, always without the crown of 
 thorns, alive, and erect, apparently elate ; no signs of bodily suf- 
 fering are there.' 
 
 On page 151, plate 181, of Jameson's " History of Our Lord 
 in Art " (vol. ii.), he is represented standing on a foot-rest on the 
 cross, alive, and eyes open. Again, on page 330, plate 253, he is 
 represented standing " with body upright and arms extended 
 straight, with no nails, no wounds, tw crown of thorns — frequently 
 clothed, and with a regal crown — a God, young and beautifiil, 
 hanging, as it were, without compulsion or pain." 
 
 On page 167, plate 18S, are to be seen " the thieves hoimd to their 
 
 1 See King's Gnostics, p. 178. Knight : thologj', p. xiii. note. 
 Ancient Art and Mythology, p. siii., and • Dnniap : Spirit Hist., p. 185. 
 Jameson's History of Oor LonB in Art, ii. 340. » See chapter xvii. and vol. ii. Hist. Hindo- 
 
 2 Jameson : Hist, of Oar Lord in Art, p. stan. 
 
 »40, vol. ii. • See Jameson's Hist, of Oar Lord in Art, 
 
 • Quoted in Knight : Ancient Art and Jly- vol. ii. p. 1-13.
 
 204 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 cross (which is simjply an upright heam, witJwut o'oss-ba? j), with 
 the figure of the Lord standing between them." He is not bound 
 nor nailed to a cross ; no cross is there. He is simply standing 
 erect in the form of a cross. This is a representation of what is 
 &ty\e(!i, '■^ Early crucifixion with thieves." On page 173, plate 190, 
 we have a representation of the crucifixion, in which Jesus and the 
 thieves are represented crucified on the Egyptian tau (see Fig. 
 No. 12). The thieves are tied, but the man-god is nailed to the 
 ci'oss. A similar representation may be seen on page 189, plate 
 198. 
 
 On page 155, plate 183, there is a representation of what is 
 called " Virgin and St. John at foot of cross" but this cross is sim- 
 ply an upright heam (as Fig. No. 13). There are no cross-bars 
 attached. On page 167, plate ISS, the thieves are tied to an up- 
 right beam (as Fig. 13), and Jesus stands between them, with arms 
 extended in tlieform of a cross, as the Hindoo Crishna is to be 
 seen in Fig. No. 8. On page 157, plate 185, Jesus is represented 
 crucified on the Egyptian cross (as No. 12). 
 
 Some ancient crucifixes represent the Christian Saviour cruci- 
 fied on a cross similar in form to the Roman figure which stands for 
 the number ten (see Fig. No. 14). Thus we see that there was 
 no uniformity in representing the ' ' cross of Christ," among the 
 early Christians ; even the cross which Constantino put on his 
 " Labarum," or eacred banner, was nothing more than the mono- 
 gram of the Pagan god Osiris (Fig. No. 15),' as we shall see in a 
 subsequent chapter. 
 
 The dogma of the vicarious atonement has met with no success 
 whatever among the Jews. The reason for this is very evident. 
 The idea of vicarious atonement, in any form, is contrary to Jew- 
 
 ^ '* It wooJd be diflBcult to prove that the 
 cross of Constnntine was of the simple con- 
 struction as now understood. ... As re- 
 gardu the Labarum, the coins of the time, in 
 which it is especially set forth, prove that the 
 
 so-called cross upon it was nothing else than 
 the same cver-recnrring monogram of Christ" 
 (that is, the XP). (History of Our Lord in Art, 
 vol. ii. p. 310. See also. Smith's Bible Dic- 
 tionary, art. "Labarnm.'')
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST JESUS. 205 
 
 ish ethics, but it is in full accord with the Gentile. The Ioad or- 
 dains that' " every man shall be put to death for Ms own sin," and 
 not for the sin or crime committed by any other person. No ran- 
 som should protect the murderer against the arm of justice.'' Tlie 
 principle of equal rights and equal responsibilities is fundamental 
 in the law. If the law of Ood — for as such it is received — de- 
 nounces tlie vicarious atonement, viz., to slaughter an i7inoccnt 
 person to atone for the crimes of otJiers, then God must abhor it. 
 "What is more, Jesus is said to have sanctioned this law, for is he 
 not made to say : " Think not that I am come to destroy the law, 
 or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fuliill. For 
 verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one 
 tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.'" 
 
 " Salvation is and can be nothing else than learning the laws of 
 life and keejjing them. There is, in the modern world, neither 
 place nor need for any of the theological ' schemes of salvation ' 
 or theological ' Saviours.' No wrath of either God or devil stands 
 in man's way ; and therefore no ' sacrifice' is needed to get them 
 out of the way. Jesus saves only as he helps men know and keep 
 God's laws. Thousands of other men, in their degree, are Saviours 
 in precisely the same way. As there has been no ' fall of man,' 
 all the hundreds of theological devices for obviating its supposed 
 effects are only imaginary cures for imaginary ills. What man does 
 need is to be taught the necessary laws of life, and have brought to 
 bear upon him adequate motives for obeying them. To know and 
 keep God's laws is being reconciled to him. This is health ; and 
 out of health — that is, the perfect condition of the whole man, 
 called holiness or wholeness — comes happiness, in this world and 
 in all worlds." 
 
 « Deat. ixiT. 16. • Num. xxv. 31-34. « Matt. v. 17, 18.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE DAEKNESS AT THE OKUCIFIXION. 
 
 The lAike narrator informs us that at the time of the death of 
 Christ Jesus, the sun was darkened, and there was darkness over 
 the earth from the sixth until tlie ninth hour ; also tlie veil of the 
 temple was rent in the midst.' 
 
 The Matthew narrator, in addition to this, tells us that : 
 
 " The earth did quake, and the rocks were rent, and the gi'aves were opened, 
 and many bodiea of ilie saints which slept arose, and came out of tlieir grams . . . 
 and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.'"^ 
 
 " Jlis star " having shone at the time of his birth, and his having 
 been born in a miraculous manner, it was necessary that at the 
 death of Christ Jesus, something miraculous should happen. 
 Something of an unusual nature had happened at the time of the 
 death of other supernatural beings, therefore something must hap- 
 pen at his deatli ; the myth would not have been complete with- 
 out it. In the words of Viscount Amberly : " The darkness from 
 the sixth to the ninth hour, the rending of the temple veil, the 
 earthquake, the rending of the rocks, are altogether liTce the prodi- 
 qies attending the decease of other great tnen.'"' 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Geikie, one of the most orthodox writers, says :* 
 
 " It is impossible to explain the origin of this darkness. The passover moon 
 was then at the full, so that it could not have been an eclipse. The early Fathers, 
 relying on a notice of an eclipse that seemed to coincide in time, though it really 
 did not, fancied that the darkness was caused by it, but incorrectly." 
 
 Perhaps " the origin of this darkness " may be explained from 
 what we shall now see. 
 
 At the time of the death of the Hindoo Saviour Crishna, there 
 
 • Luke, xxiii. 44, 45. ' Amberly : Analysis of Beligions Belief, 
 
 " Matthew, xsrii. 51-53. p. 868. * Life.of Christ, vol. ii. p. 643. 
 
 [306]
 
 THE DARKNESS AT THE CEUCIFIXION. 207 
 
 came calamities and bad omens of every kind. A black circle sur- 
 rounded the moon, aTid the swn was darkened at noon^day y the 
 sky rained fire and ashes ; flames burned dusky aud livid ; demons 
 committed depredations on earth ; at sunrise and sunset, thousands 
 of figures were seen skirmishing in the air ; spirits were to be seen 
 on all sides." 
 
 "When the conflict began between Buddha, the Saviour of the 
 World, and the Prince of Evil, a thousand, apjyalling meteors fell / 
 clouds and darTcness prevailed. Even this earth, with the oceans 
 and mountains it contains, though it is unconscious, quahed like a 
 co?iscious being — like a fond bride when forcibly torn from her 
 bridegroom — like the festoons of a vine shaken under the blast of 
 a whirlwind. The ocean rose under the vibration of this earthquake ; 
 rivers flowed back toward their sources ; peaks of lofty mountains, 
 where countless trees had grown for ages, rolled crumbling to the 
 earth ; a fierce storm howled all around ; the roar of the concussion 
 became terrific ; the veri/ sun enveloped itself in awful darkness, 
 and a host of headless spirits filled the air.' 
 
 When PrometJieus was crucified on Mount Caucasus, tJie whole 
 frame of nature became convulsed. The earth did quake, thunder 
 roared, lightning fiashed, the wild winds rent the vexed air, the 
 boisterous billows rose, and the dissolution of the universe seemed 
 to be threatened.' 
 
 The ancient Greeks and Romans, says Canon Farrar,* had always 
 considered that the births and deaths of great men were announced 
 by celestial signs. We therefore find that at the death of Romulus, 
 the founder of Home, the sun was darkened, and there was dark- 
 ness over the face of the earth for the space of six hours.'' 
 
 When Julius Gmsar, who was the son of a god, was murdered, 
 there was a darkness over the earth, the sun being eclipsed for ths 
 space of six hours.' 
 
 This is spoken of by Virgil, where he says : 
 
 " He (the Sun) covered his luminous head with a sooty darliness, 
 And the impious ages feared eternal night."' 
 
 It is also referred to by Tibullus, Ovid, and Lucian (poets), 
 Pliny, Appian, Dion Cassius, and Julius Obsequenos (historians.)' 
 
 ^ See Prog. Rejig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 71. 159 and 590, also Josephus ; Jew: sh Antiquities, 
 
 ' Ehys David's Buddhism, pp. 36, 37. book xiv. cb. xii. and note. 
 
 8 See Potter's .^schylus, "Prometheus t t'Cnm caput obscura nitidum ferrugine 
 
 Chained," last stanza. texit 
 
 * Farrar's Life of Christ, p. 58. Impiaqnoe a^temam timuenmt stecula 
 ^ See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 016,617. noctcm." 
 
 • See Ibid, and Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. » See Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. pp. ,159 and 690.
 
 208 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Wlien ^sGulapius the Saviour was put to death, the sun shone 
 dimly from the heavens ; the birds were silent in the darkened 
 groves ; the trees bowed down their heads in sorrow ; and the 
 liearts of all the sons of men fainted within them, because the healer 
 of their jJains and sickness lived no more upon the earth.' 
 
 When Hercules was dying, he said to the faithful female (lole) 
 who followed him to the last spot on earth on which he trod, " Weep 
 not, my toil is done, and now is the time for rest. I shall see thee 
 again in the bright land which is never trodden by the feet of 
 night." Then, as the dying god expired, darhiess was on the face 
 of the earth y from the high heaven came down the thick cloud, 
 and the din of its thunder crashed thro^igh the air. In this man- 
 ner, Zeus, the god of gods, cai-ried his son liome, and the halls of 
 Olympus were opened to welcome the bright hero who rested from 
 his mighty toil. There he now sits, clothed in a white robe, with 
 a crown upon his head." 
 
 When (Edipus was about to leave this world of pain and sor- 
 row, he bade Antigone farewell, and said, " Weep not, my child, 
 I am going to my home, and I rejoice to lay down the burden of 
 my woe." Then there were signs in the heaven above and on the 
 earth beneath, that the end was nigh at hand, for the earth did 
 quahe, and the thunder roared and echoed again and again through 
 the sky.' 
 
 " The Romans had a god called Quirinius. His soul emanated 
 from the sun, and was restored to it. He was begotten by the 
 god of armies ujion a mrgin of the royal blood, and exposed by 
 order of the jealous tyrant Amulius, and was preserved and edu- 
 cated among shejpherds. He was torn to pieces at his death, when 
 he ascended into heaven ; upon which the sun was eclipsed or 
 da7'kened."* 
 
 When Alexander the Oreat died, similar prodigies are said to 
 have happened ; again, when foul murders were committed, it is 
 said that the sun seemed to hide its face. This is illustrated in the 
 story of Atreus, King of Mycenae, who foully murdered the chil- 
 dren of his brother Thyestes. At that time, the sun, unable to 
 endure a sight so horrible, " turned his course haclcward and with- 
 drew his light y" 
 
 At the time of the death of the virgin-born Quetzalcoatle, the 
 
 " Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 46. * Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 322. 
 
 ' Ibid. pp. 61, 62. • See Bell's Pantheon, vol. 1. p. 106. 
 
 » Ibid. p. 270.
 
 THE DARKNESS AT THE CRUCIFIXION. 209 
 
 Mexican crucified Saviour, the sun was darkened, and withheld its 
 Ught.' 
 
 Lord Kingsborough, speaking of this event, considers it very 
 strange that the Mexicans should have preserved an account of it 
 among their records, when " the great eclipse whicli sacred history 
 records " is not recorded in profane history. 
 
 Gibbon, the historian, speaking of this phenomenon, says : 
 
 " Under the reign of Tiberius, the whole earth,' or at least a celebrated prov- 
 ince of the Roman empire,^ vv.is involved in a perpetual darkness of three hours. 
 Even this miraculous event, which ought to have excited the wonder, the curi- 
 osity, and the devotion of mankind, passed without notice in an age of science and 
 history. It happened during tlie life-time of Seneca'' and the elder Pliny,' who 
 must have experienced the immediate effects, or received the earliest intelligence, 
 of the prodigy. ■ Each of these philosophers, in a laborious work, has recorded 
 all the great phenomena of nature, earthquakes, meteors, comets and eclipses, 
 which his indefatigable curiosity could collect.' But the one and the other have 
 omitted to mention the greatest phenomenon to which the mortal eye has been 
 witness since the creation of the globe."' 
 
 This account of the darkness at the time of the death of Jesus 
 of Nazareth, is one of the prodigies related in the New Testament 
 which no Christian commentator has been able to make appear 
 reasonable. The favorite theory 'is that it was a natural eclipse of 
 the sun, which happened to take place at that particular time, but, if 
 this was the case, there was nothing supernatural in tlie event, and 
 it had nothing whatever to do with the death of Jesus. Again, it 
 would be necessary to prove from other sources that such an event 
 happened at that time, but this cannot be done. The argument 
 from the duration of the darkness — three hours — is also of great 
 force against such an occurrence having happened, foi' an eclipse 
 seldom lasts in great intensity more than six mimites. 
 
 Even if it could be proved that an eclipse really happened at 
 the time assigned for the crucifixion of Jesus, how about the earth- 
 quake, when the rocks were rent and the graves opened ? and how 
 about the " saints which slept " rising hodlly and walking in the 
 streets of the Holy City and appearing to many f Surely, the faith 
 that would remove mountains," is required here. 
 
 * See Kingsborough's Mexican Antiquities, < Seneca, a celebrated philosopher and his- 
 vol. vi. p. 5. torian, born in Spain a few years b. c. but eda- 
 
 * The Fathers of the Church seem to cover cated in Rome, and became a "Roman." 
 
 the whole earth with darliness, in which they ' riiny the elder, a celebrated Roman phil- 
 
 are followed by most of the moderns. (Gib- osopher and historian, born about 33 A. i>. 
 bon. Luke, xxiii. 44, says "oiiero/^WierartA.") "Seneca: Quaest. Natur. 1. i. 15, vi. I. vii. 
 
 s Origen (a Father of the third century) and 17. Pliny ; Hist. Natur. 1. ii. 
 a few modern critics, are desirous of confining ' Gibbon's Rome, i. 589, 590. 
 
 it to the land of O udea. (Gibbon.) • Matt. xvi. 20. 
 
 14
 
 210 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Shakespeare lias embalmed some traditions of the kind exactly 
 analogous to the present case : 
 
 " In the most high and palmy state of Rome, 
 A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, 
 The graves stood teuantless, and the sheeted dead 
 Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets."' 
 
 Belief in the influence of the stars over life and death, a/nd in 
 special jportents at the death of great men, survived, indeed, to 
 recent times. Chaucer abounds in allusions to it, and still later 
 Shakespeare tells us : 
 
 " When beggars die there are no comets seen; 
 The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." 
 
 It would seem that this superstition survives even to the present 
 day, for it is well known that the dark and yellow atmosphere 
 which settled over so much of the country, on the day of the re- 
 moval of President Garfield from Washington to Long Branch, was 
 sincerely held by hundreds of persons to be a death-warning sent 
 from heaven, and there were numerous predictions that disso- 
 lution would take place before the train arrived at its destination. 
 
 As Mr. Greg remarks, there can, we think, remain little doubt 
 in unprepossessed minds, that the whole legend in question was one 
 of those intended to magnify Christ Jesus, which were current 
 in great numbers at the time the Matthew narrator wrote, and 
 which he, with the usual want of discrimination and somewhat 
 omnivorous tendency, which distinguished him as a compiler, ad- 
 mitted into his Gospel. 
 
 1 Hamlet, act 1, s. 1.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 " HE DESCENDED INTO HELL." 
 
 The doctrine of Christ Jesus' descent into hell is emphatically 
 part of the Christian belief, although not alluded to by Christian 
 divines excepting when unavoidable. 
 
 In the first place, it is taught in the Creed of the Christians, 
 wherein it says : 
 
 "He descended into hell, arid on the third day he rose again from the dead." 
 
 The doctrine was also taught by the Fathers of the Chui-ch. 
 St. Chrysostom (bom 3i7 a. d.) asks : 
 
 " Who but an infldel would deny that Christ was in hell ? "• 
 
 And St. Clement of Alexandria, who flourished at the begin- 
 ning of the third century, is equally clear and emphatic as to 
 Jesus' descent into hell. He says : 
 
 " The Lord preached the gospel to those in Hades, as well as to all in earth, 
 in order that all might believe and be saved, wherever they were. If, then, the 
 Lord descended to Hades for no other end but to preach the gospel, as He did 
 descend, it was either to preach the gospel to all, or to the Hebrews only. If 
 accordingly to all, then all who believe shall be saved, although they may be of 
 the Gentiles, on making their profession there. "^ 
 
 Origen, who flourished during the latter part of the second, and 
 beginning of the third centtiries, also emphatically declares that 
 Christ Jesus descended into hell.' 
 
 Ancient Christian works of art represent his descent into hell.' 
 The apocryphal gospels teach the doctrine of Christ Jesus' 
 descent into hell, the object of which was to preach to those in 
 bondage there, and to liberate the saints who had died before 
 his advent on earth. 
 
 > Qaoted by Bonnick : Egj-ptiau Belief, p. ^ Contra Cetsos. bk. ii. c. 43. 
 
 46. * See Jameson's Hist, of Oor Lord in Art, 
 
 ' Strom, vi. c. 6. vol. ii. pp. 354, 355. 
 
 [ail]
 
 212 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 On account of the sin committed by Adam in the Garden of 
 Eden, all mankind were doomed, all had gone to hell — excepting 
 those who had been translated to heaven — even those persons who 
 were " after God's own heart," and who had belonged to his 
 " chosen people." The coming of Christ Jesus into the world, 
 liowever, made a change in the affairs of man. The saints 
 were then liberated from their prison, and all those who believe 
 in the efficacy of his name, shall escape hereafter the tortures of 
 hell. This is the doctrine to be found in the apocryphal gospels, 
 and was taught by the Fathers of the Ciiurch." 
 
 In the " Oospel of Nicodemus " (apoc.) is to be found the 
 whole story of Christ Jesus' descent into hell, and of his liberating 
 the saints. 
 
 Satan, and the Prince of Hell, having lieard that Jesus of Naza- 
 reth was about to descend to their domain, began to talk the matter 
 over, as to what they should do, &c. While thus engaged, on a 
 sudden, there was a voice as of thunder and the rushing of winds, 
 saying : " Lift up your gates, O ye Princes, and be ye lifted up, 
 ye everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall come in." 
 
 When the Prince of Hell heard this, he said to his impious offi- 
 cers : " Shut the brass gates . . . and make them fast with 
 iron bars, and fight courageously." 
 
 The saints having heard what had been said on both sides, im- 
 mediately spoke with a loud voice, saying : " Open thy gates, that 
 the King of Glory may come in." The divine prophets, Da/oid 
 and Isaiah, were particular!}' conspicuous in this protest against the 
 intentions of the Prince of Hell. 
 
 Again the voice of Jesus was heard saying : " Lift up your gates, 
 O Prince ; and be ye lifted up, ye gates of hell, and the King of 
 Glory will enter in." The Prince of Hell then cried out : " Who 
 is the Eang of Glory ? " upon which the prophet David com- 
 menced to reply to him, but while he was speaking, the mighty 
 Lord Jesus appeared in the form of a man, and broke asunder the 
 fetters which before could not be broken, and crying aloud, said : 
 " Come to me, all yQ saints, who were created in uiy image, who 
 were condemned by the tree of the forbidden fruit . . . live 
 now by the word of my cross." 
 
 Then presently all the saints were joined together, hand in hand, 
 and the Lord Jesus laid hold on Adam's hand, and ascended from 
 hell, and all the saints of God followed him." 
 
 ' See Jameson's Hist, of Our Lord in Art, ^ Nicodemu3 : Apoc. cli. xvi. and six. 
 
 vol. ii. pp. S50, 251.
 
 " HE DESCENDED INTO HELL." 213 
 
 When the saints arrived in paradise, two " very ancient men " 
 met them, and were asked by the saints: "Who are ye, who have 
 not been with us in hell, and have had your bodies placed in par- 
 adise ?" One of these " very ancient men " answered and said : 
 " I am Enoch, who was translated by the word of God, and this 
 man who is with me is Elijah the Tishbite, who was translated in a 
 fiery chariot."' 
 
 The doctrine of the descent into hell may be found alluded to 
 in the canonical books ; thus, for instance, in I. Peter : 
 
 " It is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for 
 evil doing. For Christ also hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he 
 might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 
 spirit : hy which also he went and -preached, unto the spirits in prison. "* 
 
 Again, in " Acts," where the writer is speaking of David as a 
 prophet, he says : 
 
 " He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his sovZ was 
 not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. "^ 
 
 The reason why Christ Jesus has been made to descend into 
 hell, is because it is apart of the universal mythos, even the three 
 days^ duration. The Saviours of mankind had all done so, he 
 must therefore do likewise. 
 
 Crishna, the Hindoo Saviour, descended into hell, for the pur- 
 pose of raising the dead (the doomed),' before he returned to his 
 heavenly seat. 
 
 Zvroaster, of the Persians, descended into hell." 
 Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, descended into helU 
 Horus, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into helV 
 Adonis, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.' 
 Bacchus, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.^ 
 Hercules, the virgin-born Saviour, descended into hell.^" 
 Mercury, the Word and Messenger of God, descended into heU." 
 
 ' Nicodemus : Apoc. ch. xx. Dnnlap's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 33. 
 
 > I. Peter, iii. 17-19. "> See Taylor's Mysteries, p. 40, and Mys- 
 
 3 Acts, ii. 31. teries of Adoni, pp. 94-96. 
 
 * See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 237. Bon- "See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 72. Onr 
 wick's Egyptian Belief, p. 168, and Maurice : Christian writers discover considerable appre- 
 Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 85. hension, and a jealous caution in their lan- 
 
 * See Monumental Christianity, p. 286. guage, when the resemblance between Pagan- 
 « See Dupuis : Origin of Eeligious Belief, p. ism and Christianitij might be apt to strike 
 
 250, Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, and Dunlap's the mind too cogently. In quoting Horace's 
 
 Mysteries of Adoni, pp. 125, 153. account of Mercury's descent into hell, and his 
 
 ' See Chap. XXXIX. causing a cessation of the sufferings there, Mr. 
 
 » See Boll's Pantheon, vol. i, p. 12. Spence, in " Bell's Pantheon," says ; " As this, 
 
 * See Higgins : Anacalypsis. vol. i. p. 3*22. perhaps, may be a mythical part of his charao- 
 Dupuis : Origin of Religious Belief, p. 257, and ter, we had better let it alone."
 
 214 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Baldv/Tf the Scandinavian god, after being killed, descended 
 into helU 
 
 Quetzalcoatle, the Mexican crucified Saviour, descended into 
 helV 
 
 All these gods, and many others that might be mentioned, 
 remained in hell for the space of three days omd three nights. 
 " They descended into hell, and on the third day rose again.'" 
 
 > See Bonwlck : Egyptian Belief, p. 169, ' See Mexican Antiqnities, vol. tI. p. 169. 
 
 and Mallet, p. 448. * See the cliapter on Explanation.
 
 CHAPTEK XXIII. 
 
 THE BE8UEEECTI0N AND ASCENSION OF CHEI8T JESUS. 
 
 The story of the resurrection of Christ Jesus is related by the 
 four Gospel narrators, and is to the effect that, after being cruci- 
 fied, his body was wrapped in a linen cloth, laid in a tomb, and a 
 " great stone " rolled to the door. The sepulchre was then made 
 sure by " sealing the stone " and " setting a watch." 
 
 On the first day of the week some of Jesus' followers came to see 
 the sepulchre, when they found that, in spite of the " sealing " and 
 the " watch," the angel of the Lord had descended from heaven, 
 had rolled back the stone from the door, and that '^ Jesus had risen 
 from the deadP^ 
 
 The story of his ascension is told by the Mark' narrator, who 
 says " he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of 
 God ; " by Luke,^ who says " he was carried up into heaven ; " and 
 by the writer of the Acts* who says " he was taken up (to heaven) 
 and a cloud received him out of sight." 
 
 We will find, in stripping Christianity of its robes of Paganism, 
 that these miraculous events must be put on the same level with 
 those we have already examined. 
 
 Crishna, the crucified Hindoo Saviour, rose from the dead,' and 
 ascended hodily i7ito heaven.' At that time a great light enveloped 
 the earth and illuminated the whole expanse of heaven. Attended 
 by celestial spirits, and luminous as on that night when he was born 
 in the house of Vasudeva, Crish?ia pursued, by his own light, the 
 journey between earth and heaven, to the bright paradise from 
 whence he had descended. All men saw him, and exclaimed, 
 " Zo, Crishna^ s soul ascends its native shies ! "' 
 
 ■ See Matthew, xxviji. Mark, xri. Luke, • See Biggins ; Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 131. 
 
 xxlv. aid John, xi. a Mark, x^l. 19. Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 168. Asiatic 
 
 ' Luke, sxiv, 51. * Acta, i, 9. Researches, vol i. pp. 359 and 261. 
 
 • See Dnpuis : Origin of Religions Belief, p. ' See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 72. Hist 
 
 SW. Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. pp. 142 and Hindostan, ii. pp. 466 and 473. 
 
 145. " In Hindu pictures, Vishnu, who is identi- 
 
 215
 
 216 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 Samuel Johnson, in his " Oriental Religions," tells us that Edma 
 — an incarnation of Vishnu — after his manifestations on earth, "■at 
 last ascended to heaveii,^^ "resuming his divine essence." 
 
 " By the blessings of Eama's name, and through previous faith 
 in him, all sins are remitted, and every one who shall at death pro- 
 nounce his name with sincere worship shall be forgiven."' 
 
 The mythological account of Budd/ui, the son of the Virgin 
 Maya, who, as the God of Love, is named Cani-deo, Cam, and 
 Cama, is of the same character as that of other virgin-born gods. 
 When he died there were tears and lamentations. Heaven and earth 
 are said equally to have lamented the loss of " Divine Love,^'' inso- 
 much that Maha-deo (the supreme god) was moved to pity, and ex- 
 claimed, " Eise, holy love .'" on which Cama was restored and the 
 lamentations changed into the most enthusiastic joy. The heavens 
 are said to have echoed back the exulting sound ; then the deity, 
 supposed to be lost {dead), was restored, " heWs great dread and 
 heaven! s eternal admii'ation."'' 
 
 The coverings of the body unrolled themselves, and the lid of 
 his coffin was opened by supernatural powers.' 
 
 Buddha also ascended bodily to the celestial regions when his 
 mission on earth was fulfilled, and marks on the rocks of a high 
 mountain are shown, and believed to be the last impression of 
 his footsteps on this earth. By prayers in his name his fol- 
 lowers expect to receive the rewards of paradise, and finally to 
 become one with him, as he became one with the Source of Life.* 
 
 Lao-Kiun, the virgin-born, he who had existed from all eter- 
 nity, when his mission of benevolence was completed on earth, 
 ascended hodily into the paradise above. Since this time he has 
 been worshiped as a god, and splendid temples erected to his 
 memory.* 
 
 Zoroaster, the founder of the religion of the ancient Persians, 
 who was considered " a divine messenger sent to redeem men from 
 their evil ways," ascended to heaven at the end of his earthly 
 career. To this day his followers mention him with the greatest 
 reverence, calling him " The Immortal Zoroaster," " The Blessed 
 Zoroaster," " The Living Star," ^fec." 
 
 fied with Crishna, is often seen mounted on ^ Asiatic Res., vol. x. p. 129. Anacalypsis, 
 
 the Eagle Garuda." (Moore : Hindu Panth. vol. ii. p. 103. 
 
 p. 214.) And M. Sonnerat noticed " two basso- ^ Buneen : The Augel-Messiah, p. 49. 
 
 relievoe placed at the entrance of the choir of * Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. !. p. 86. See also, 
 
 Bordeaux Cathedral, one of which represents Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 159. 
 the ascension of our Saviour lo heaven on an ^ Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 2K. 
 
 Eagle." (Higgins : Anac, vol. i. p. 273.) • Ibid. p. 256. 
 
 i Oriental Religions, pp. 494, 49r>,
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST JESUS. 217 
 
 ^sculapius, the Son of God, the Saviour, after being put to 
 death, rose from the dead. His history is portrayed in the follow- 
 ing lines of Ovid's, which are prophecies foretelling his life and 
 
 actions : 
 
 " Once, as the sacred infant she surveyed. 
 The god was kindled in the raving maid ; 
 And thus she uttered her prophetic tale : 
 HaU, great Physician of the world ! all hail 1 
 Hail, mighty infant, who in years to come 
 Shalt heal the nations, and defraud the tomb ! 
 Swift be thy growth, thy triumphs uncontined, 
 Make kingdoms thicker, and increase mankind. 
 Thy daring art shall animate the dead. 
 And draw the thunder on thy guilty head; 
 Then shall thou die, but from the dark abode 
 Shalt rise victorious, and be twice a god."' 
 
 The Saviour Adonis or Tcumnuz, after being put to death, rose 
 from the dead. The following is an account given of the rites of 
 Tammuz or of Adonis by Julius Firmicius (who lived during the 
 reign of Constantine) : 
 
 " On a certain night (while the ceremony of the Adonia, or religious rites in 
 honor of Adonis, lasted), an image was laid upon a bed (or bier) and bewailed in 
 doleful ditties. After they had satiated themselves with fictitious lamentations, 
 light was brought in: then the mouths of all the mourners were anointed by the 
 priests (with oil), upon which he, with a gentle murmur, whispered : 
 
 ' Trust, ye Saints, your God restored. 
 Trust ye, in your risen Lord ; 
 For the paius which he endured 
 Our salvation have procured.' 
 
 " Literally, ' Trust, ye communicants : the God having been saved, there shall 
 be to us out of pain, Salvati(ni.' '"' 
 
 Upon which their sorrow was turned into joy. 
 Godwyn renders it : 
 
 " Trust ye in Ood, for out of pains. 
 Salvation is come unto us."^ 
 
 Dr. Prichard, in his " Ecjyptian Mythology,^'' tells us that the 
 Syrians celebrated, in the early sjmng, this ceremony in honor of 
 the resurrection of Adonis. After lamentations, his restoration 
 was commemorated with joy and festivity.* 
 
 Mons. Dupuis says : 
 
 " The obsequies of Adonis were celebrated at Alexandria (in Egypt) with the 
 utmost display. His image was carried with great solemnity to a tomb, which 
 served the purpose of rendering him the last honors. Before singing his retura 
 
 I 0\'id'8 Metamorphoses, as rendered by 114. See also, Taylor's Diegcsis, pp. j.63, 1G4. 
 Addison. Quoted in Taylor's Diegesis, p. 148. ^ Taylor's Diegesis, p. IW. 
 
 ' Quoted liy Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. * Prichard's Ej^ptian Mythology, pp. 66, 67.
 
 218 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 to life, there were mournful rites celebrated in honor of his suffering and his 
 death. The large wound he had received was shown, just as the wound was 
 shown which was made to Christ bj' the thrust of the spear. Tlie feast of his 
 resurrection was fixed at the Zoth of MareJi."^ 
 
 Li Calmet's "Fragments," the resurrection of Adonis is reierred 
 to as follows : 
 
 "In these mysteries, after the attendants had for a long time bewailed the 
 death of this just jierson, he was at length understood to be restored to life, to have 
 experienced a reswrrec^wn-y signified by the re-admission of light. On this the 
 priest addressed the company, saying, ' Comfort yourselves, all ye who have 
 been partakers of the mysteries of the deity, thus preserved: for we shall now 
 enjoy some respite from our labors: ' to which were added these words: ' I have 
 scaped a sad calamity, and my lot is greatly mended.' The people answered by 
 the invocation : ' Hail to the Dove ! the Restorer of Light ! ' "^ 
 
 Alexander Murray tells us that the ancient Greeks also cele- 
 brated this festival in honor of the resurrection of Adonis, in the 
 course of which a figure of him was produced, and the ceremony of 
 burial, with weeping and songs of wailing, gone through. After 
 these a joyful shout was raised : " Adonis lives and is risen 
 again."' 
 
 Plutarch, in his life of Alcibiades and of Nicias, tells us that it 
 was at the time of the celebration of the death of Adonis that the 
 Athenian ileet set sail for its unlucky expedition to Sicily ; that 
 nothing but images of dead Adonises were to be met with in the 
 streets, and that they were carried to the sepulchre in the midst of 
 an immense train of women, crying and beating their breasts, and 
 imitating in ever}' particular the lugubrious pomp of interments. 
 Sinister omens were drawn from it, which were only too much 
 realized by subsequent events.' 
 
 It was in an oration or address delivered to the Emperors Con- 
 stans and Constantius that Julius Firmicius wrote concerning the 
 rites celebrated by the heathens in commemoration of the resurrec- 
 tion of Adonis. In his tide of eloquence he breaks away into 
 indignant objurgation of the priest who officiated in those heathen 
 mysteries, which, he admitted, resembled the Christian sacrament 
 in honor of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, so closely 
 that there was reall}' no difference between them, except that no 
 sufficient proof had been given to the world of the resurrection of 
 Adonis, and no divine oracle had home witness to his resurrection, 
 
 1 Dapnia : Origin of Religious Belief, p. 161. ^ Calmet's Fragments, vol. ii. p. 21. 
 
 See also, Dunlap's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 23, ' Murray : Manual of Mythology, p. 86. 
 
 and Spirit Hist, of Man, p. 216. ' See Dupuis : Origin of Religious Beliefs, 
 
 p. 261.
 
 THE EESURBECTION OP CHRIST JESUS. 219 
 
 nor had he shown himself alive after his death to those who were 
 coDcerned to have assurance of the fact that they might believe. 
 
 The divine oracle, be it observed, which Julius Firmieius says 
 had borne testimony to Christ Jesus' resurrection, was none other 
 than the answer of the god Apollo, whom the Pagans worshiped 
 at Delphos, which this writer derived from Porphj'ry's books 
 " On the Philosophy of Oracles."' 
 
 Eusebius, the celebrated ecclesiastical historian, has also con- 
 descended to quote this claimed testimony from a Pagan oracle, 
 as furnishing one of the most convincing proofs that could be ad- 
 duced in favor of the resurrection of Christ Jesns. 
 
 "But thou at least (says he to ihaVa^stm), listen to thine own gods, to thy 
 oracular deities i/iemselves, who have borne witness, and ascribed to our Saviour 
 (Jesus Christ) not imposture, but piety and wisdom, and ascent into heaven." 
 
 This was vastly obliging and liberal of the god Apollo, but, it 
 happens awkwardly enough, that the whole work (consisting of 
 several books) ascribed to Porphyry, in which this and other admis- 
 sions equally honorable to the evidences of the Christian religion are 
 made, was not written by Porphyry, but is altogether the pious 
 fraud of Christian hands, who have kindly fathered the great 
 philosopher with admissions, which, as he would certainly never 
 have made himself, they have very charitably made for him." 
 
 The festival in honor of the resm-rection of Adonis was observed 
 in Alexandria in Egypt — ths cradle of Christianity — in the time 
 of St. Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria (a. d. 412), and at Antioch — the 
 ancient capital of the Greek Kings of Syria — ^even as late as the 
 time of the Emperor Julian (a. d. 361-363), whose arrival there, 
 during the solemnity of the festival, was taken as an ill omen.' 
 
 It is most curious that the arrival of the Emperor Julian at 
 Antioch — where the followers of Christ Jesus, it is said, were first 
 called Christians — at that time, should be considered an ill oinen. 
 Why should it have been so ? He was not a Christian, but a known 
 apostate from the Christian religion, and a zealous patron of 
 Paganism. The evidence is very conclusive ; the celebration in 
 honor of the resurrection of Adonis had become to he known as a 
 Christian festival, which has not been abolished eve?i unto this day. 
 The ceremonies held in Roman Catholic countries on Good Friday 
 and on Easter Sunday, are nothing more than the festival of the 
 death and resurrection of Adonis, as we shall presently see. 
 
 ■ See Dupuis : Origin of Religious Beliefs, » See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 164. We shall 
 
 p. 847, and Taylor's Diegesis, p. 164, speak of Christian forgeries anon. 
 
 ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 2.
 
 o 
 
 220 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Even as late as the year a. d. 386, the resurrection of Adonis 
 was celebrated in Judea. St. Jerome says : 
 
 " Over Betlilehem (in the year 386 after Christ) the grove of Tammuz, that is, 
 of Adonis, was casting its shadow I And in the c/rotto wliere formerly the infant 
 Anointed (t. e., Christ Jems) cried, the lover of Venus was being mourned."' 
 
 In the idolatrous worship practiced by the children of Israel 
 was that of the worship of Adonis. 
 
 Under the designation of Tammuz, this god was worshiped, 
 and had his altar even in the Temple of the Lord which was at 
 Jerusalem. Several of the Psalms of David were parts of the 
 liturgical service employed in his worship ; the 110th, in partic- 
 ular, is an account of a friendly alliance between the two gods, 
 Jehovah and Adonis, in which Jehovah adorns Adonis for his 
 priest, as sitting at his right hand, and promises to light for him 
 against his enemies. This god was worshiped at Byblis in Phoe- 
 nicia with precisely the same ceremonies : the same articles of faith 
 as to his mystical incarnation, his precious death and burial, and his 
 glorious resurrection and ascension, and even in the very same 
 words of religious adoration and homage which are now, with the 
 slightest degree of variation that could well be conceived, addressed 
 to the Christ of the Gospel. 
 
 Tlie prophet Ezekiel, when an exile, painted once more the 
 scene he had so often witnessed of the Israelitish women in the 
 Temple court bewailing the death of Tammuz.' 
 
 Dr. Parkhurst says, in his " Hebrew Lexicon " : 
 
 " I find myself obliged to refer Tammuz, as well as the Greek and Roman Her- 
 cules, to that class of idols wldch were originally designed to represent Vie jirom- 
 ised Saviour (Christ Jesus), the desire of all nations. His other name, Adonis, 
 is almost the very Hebrew word ' Our Lord,' a well-known title of Christ."'' 
 
 So it seems that the ingenious and most learned orthodox Dr. 
 Parkhurst was obliged to consider Adonis a type of " the promised 
 Saviour (Christ Jesus), the desire of all nations." This is a very 
 favorite way for Christian divines to express themselves, when 
 pushed thereto, by the striking resemblance between the Pagan, 
 virgin-born, crucified, and resurrected gods and Christ Jesus. 
 
 If the reader is satisfied that all these things arc types or sym- 
 bols of what the " real Saviour " was to do and suffer, he is welcome 
 
 1 Quoted in Dunlap's Son of the il.in, p. of Jeruealera, the Anointed was worshiped in 
 
 vii. See also. Knight : Ancient Art and My- Babylon, Basan, Galilee and Palestine." (Son 
 
 thology, p. xxvii. of the JIan, p. 38.) 
 
 " From the days of the prophet Daniel, down s Ezekiel. viii. 14. 
 
 to the time when the red cross knights gave no * Quoted in Taylor's Diegesis, p. 163, and 
 
 quarter (flghting for the Christ) in the streets Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 114.
 
 THE EESURBECTION OF CHRIST JESUS. 221 
 
 to such food. The doctrine of Dr. Parkhurst and others comes 
 with but an ill grace, however, from Roman Catholic priests, loho 
 have 7iever ceased to suppress information when possible, and when 
 it waii impossible for them to do so, they claimed these things 
 to be the work of the devil, in imitation of their predecessors, the 
 Christian Fathers. 
 
 Julius Firraicius has said : " The devil has his Christs," and 
 does not deny that Adonis was one. Tertullian and St. Justin 
 explain all the conformity which exists between Christianity and 
 Paganism, by asserting " that a long time before there were Chris- 
 tians in existence, the devil had taken pleasure to have their future 
 mysteries and ceremonies copied by his worshipers.'" 
 
 Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, after being put to death, rose 
 from the dead^ and bore the title of " The Resurrected OneP^ 
 
 Prof. Mahaffy, lecturer on ancient history in the University of 
 Dublin, observes that : 
 
 " The Resurrection and reign over an eternal kingdom, by an incarnate 
 mediating deity born of a virgin, vpas a theological conception which pervaded 
 the oldest religion of Egypt."'' 
 
 The ancient Egyptians celebrated annually, in early sjiring, 
 about the time known in Christian countries as Easter, the resur- 
 rection and ascension of Osiris. During these mysteries the mis- 
 fortunes and tragical death of the " Saviour " were celebrated in 
 a species of drama, in which all the particulars were exhibited,, 
 accompanied with loud lamentations and every mark of sorrow. 
 At this time his image was carried in a procession, covered — as 
 were those in the temples — with hlach veils. On the 25th of March 
 his resurrection from the dead was celebrated with great festivity 
 and rejoicings.' 
 
 Alexander Murray says : 
 
 " The worship of Osiris was universal throughout Egypt, where he was grate- 
 fully regarded as the great exemplar of self-sacrifice — in giving his life for others 
 — as the manifestor of good, as the opener of truth, and as being full of goodness 
 and truth. After being dead, he was restored to life."^ 
 
 Mons. Dupuis says on this subject : 
 
 "The Fathers of the Church, and the writers of the Christian sect, speak 
 frequently of these feasts, celebrated in honor of Osiris, wJio died and arose from 
 
 ' Soe Justin : Cam. Typho, and Tertullian: a See Bonwick's E<;.vptian Belief , p. 166, and 
 
 De Bap. Dunlap's Jlysteries of Adoni, pp. liM, 125. 
 
 " See Higgir. 8 : Anacalypeis, vol. ii. p. 16, < Prolegomena to Ancient History, 
 
 and vol. 1. p. 1 19. Also, Prichard's Egyptian » See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 102. 
 
 Mythology, p. 66, and Bonwick's Egyptian ' Murray : Manual of Mythology, pp. 347, 
 
 Beli£f, p. 163. 348.
 
 222 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the dead, and they draw a parallel with the adventurers of their Christ. 
 Athanasius, Augustin, Theophilus, Athenagoras, jMinucius Felix, Lactantius, 
 Pirmicius, as also the ancient authors who have spoken of Osiris ... all 
 agree in the description of the universal mourning of the Egyptians at the festi- 
 val, when the commcinoration of that death took place. They describe the cere- 
 monies wluch were practiced at his sepulchre, the tears, which were there shed 
 during several days, and the festivities and rejoicings, which followed after that 
 mourning, at the moment when his resurrection was announced."' 
 
 Mr. Bonwick remarks, in his " Egyptian Belief," that : 
 
 "It is astonishing to find that, at least, five thousand years ago, men trusted 
 an Osiris as the 'Risen Saviour,' and confidently hoped to rise, as he arose, from 
 thegrave."- 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 " Osiris was, unquestionably, the popular god of Egypt. . . . Osiris was 
 dear to the hearts of the people. He was pre-eminently 'good.' He was in life 
 and death their friend. His birth, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, 
 embraced the leading points of Egyptian theology." "In his efforts to do good, 
 he encounters evil. In struggling with that, he is overcome. He is killed. The 
 stor}', entered into in the account of the O.siris myth, is a circumstantial one. 
 Osiris is buried. His tomb was the object of pilgrimage for thousands of years. 
 But he did' not rest in his grave. At tlie end of three days, or forty, he arose again, 
 and ascended to heaven. This is the story of his humanity." " As the iw-Dictes 
 Osiris, his tomb was illuminated, as is the holy sepulchre of Jerusalem now. 
 The mourning song, whose plaintive tones were noted by Herodotus, and has 
 been compared to the ' miserere ' of Rome, was followed, in three days, by the 
 language of triumph."^ 
 
 Herodotus, who had been initiated into the Egyptian and Gre- 
 cian " Mysteries,^' speaks thus of them : 
 
 "At Sals (in Egypt), in the sacred precinct of Minerva; behind the chapel 
 and joining the wall, is the tomb of one whose name I consider it impious to 
 divulge on such an occasion; and in the inclosure stand large stone obelisks, and 
 there is a lake near, ornamented with a stone margin, formed in a circle, and in 
 size, as appeared to me, much the same as that in Delos, which is called the cir- 
 cular. In this lake they perform by night the representation of that person's 
 adventures, which they call inysteries. On these matters, however, though 
 accurately acquainted with the particulars of them, I must observe a discreet 
 silence ; and respecting tlie sacred rites of Ceres, which the Greeks call Thesmy- 
 phoria, although I am acquainted with them, I must observe silence except so 
 far as is lawful for me to speak of them."* 
 
 Horus, son of the virgin Isis, experienced similar misfortunes. 
 The principal features of this sacred romance are to be found in 
 the writings of the Christian Fathers. They give us a description 
 of the grief which was manifested at his death, and of the rejoicings 
 at his resurrection, which are similar to tlrose spoken of above." 
 
 ' Dupois : Origin of EeligiouB Belief, p. 256. ' Herodotus, bk. ii. chs. UO, 171. 
 
 * Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. vi. * See Dupuis : Origin of Religious Belief, p. 
 
 • Ibid. pp. 150-155, 178. 263, and Higgius : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. 102.
 
 THE EESUEREOTION OF CHRIST JESUS. 223 
 
 Aiys, the Phrygian Saviour, was put to death, and rose again 
 from the dead. Various histories were given of him in various 
 places, but all accounts terminated in the usual manner. He was 
 one of the " Slain Ones " who rose to life again on the 25th of 
 March, or the " Hilaria " or primitive Easter.' 
 
 Mithras, the Persian Saviour, and mediator between God and 
 man, was believed by the inhabitants of Persia, Asia Minor and 
 Armenia, to have been put to death, and to have risen again from 
 the dead. In their mysteries, the body of a young man, apparently 
 dead, was exhibited, which was feigned to be restored to life. By 
 his sufferings he was believed to have worked their salvation, and 
 on this account he was called their '■'■Saviour.^'' His priests watched 
 his tomb to the midnight of the veil of the 25th of March, with 
 loud cries, and in darkness ; when all at once the lights burst 
 forth from all parts, and the priest cried : 
 
 "Rejoice, Oh saered Initiated, your god is risen. Mis death, his pains, his mif- 
 feriTigs, have worked our salvation."^ 
 
 Mods. Dupuis, speaking of the resurrection of this god, says : 
 
 " It is chiefly in the religion of Mithras. . . . that we find mostly these 
 features of analogy with the death and resurrection of Christ, and with the mys- 
 teries of the Christians. Mithras, who was also born on the 3oth of December, 
 like Christ, died as he did ; and he had his sepulchre, over which his disciples 
 came to shed tears. During the night, the priests carried his image to a tomb, 
 expressly prepared for him; he was laid out on a litter, like the Phoenician 
 Adonis. 
 
 "These funeral ceremonies, like those on Good Friday (in Roman Catholic 
 churches), were accompanied with funeral dirges and groans of the priests; after 
 having spent some time with these expressions of feigned grief ; after having 
 lighted the sacred fla7)ibeau, or their paschal candle, and anointed the image with 
 chrism or perfumes, one of them came forward and pronounced with the gravest 
 mien these words: 'Be of good cheer, sacred band of Initiates, your god has risen 
 from the dead. His pains and his sufferings shall be your salvation.' "^ 
 
 In King's " Gnostics and their Hemains " (Plate XI.), may be 
 seen the representation of a bronze medal, or rather disk, engraved 
 
 1 See Bonwick'9 Egyptian Belief, p. 169. body have separated, the 8onl8, in the third 
 
 Higgins : Anacalypeis, vol. ii. p. 104. Dupuis : night after death— as soon as the shining snn 
 
 Origin of Religious Belief, p. 255. Dunlap's ascends— come over the Mount Berezaiti upon 
 
 Mysteries of Adoni, p. 110, and Knight: Anct. the bridge Tshinavat which leads to Garonmana, 
 
 Art and Mythology, p. 86. the dwelling of the good gods." (Dunlap'a 
 
 ' Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 99. Mith- Spirit Hist., p. 216, and Mysteries of Adoni, GO.) 
 
 ras remained in the grave a period of three days, The Ghost of Polydore says : 
 
 as did Christ Jesus, and the other Christs. " Being raised up this iAirti rfay — light, 
 
 " The Persians believed that the soul of man Having deserted my body I" (Eoripidee, 
 
 remained yet three days in the world after its Hecuba, 31, 32.) 
 
 separation from the body." (Dunlap : Mys- 'Dupuis: Origin of Religious Beliefs, pp, 
 
 teries of Adoni, p. 03.) 246, ZW. 
 
 " In the Zoroastrian religion, after soul and
 
 224 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 in the coarsest manner, on which is to be seen a female figure, 
 standing in the attitude of adoration, the object of which is ex- 
 pressed by the inscription — oetvs salvat, " The Rising of the 
 Saviour " — i. e., of llithras.^ 
 
 "This medal "(saysMr. King), " doubtless had accompanied the interment of 
 some individual initiated into the Slithraic mysteries; and is certainly the most 
 curious relic of that faith that has come under my notice.'"^ 
 
 Bacchiis, the Saviour, son of the virgin Seraele, after being put 
 to death, also arose from the dead. During the commemoration 
 of the ceremonies of this event the dead body of a young man was 
 exhibited with great lamentations, in the same manner as the cases 
 cited above, and at dawn on the 25th of March his resurrection 
 from the dead was celebrated with great rejoicings.' After having 
 brought solace to the misfortunes of mankind, he, after his resurrec- 
 tion, ascended into Jieaven." 
 
 Hercules, the Saviour, the son of Zeus by a mortal mother, was 
 put to death, but arose from the funeral pile, and ascended into 
 heaven in a cloud, 'mid peals of thunder. His followers manifested 
 gratitude to his memory by erecting an altar on the spot from 
 whence he ascended.' 
 
 Memnon is put to death, but rises again to life and immortality. 
 His mother Eos weeps tears at the death of her son — as Mary does 
 for Christ Jesus — but her prayers avail to bring him back, like 
 Adonis or Tammuz, and Jesus, from the shadowy region, to dwell 
 always in Olympus." 
 
 The ancient Greeks also believed that Amphiaraus — one of 
 their most celebrated prophets and demi-gods — rose from the dead. 
 They even pointed to the place of his resurrection.' 
 
 Baldur, the Scandinavian Lord and Saviour, is put to death, but 
 does not rest in his grave. He too rises again to life and immor- 
 tality." 
 
 When " Baldur the Good," the beneficent god, descended into 
 hell, Hela (Death) said to Hermod (who mourned for Baldm*) : 
 " If all tilings in the world, both living and lifeless, weep for him, 
 then shall he return to the ^sir (the gods)." Upon hearing tliis, 
 messengers were dispatched throughout the world to beg every- 
 
 ■ King'B Gnostics and their Remains, p. 225. ' Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 294. See also, 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 226. Goldziiier's Hebrew Mytbology, p. 127. Big- 
 
 3 See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 102. gins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 322, and Cbam- 
 Dapuis : Origin of Religions Belief, pp. 256, bers's Encyclo., art. ''Hercules." 
 
 257, and Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 169. ' Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 90. 
 
 ^SeeDupnis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 66. 
 
 135, and Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. 322. * Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 94.
 
 THE EESUERECTION OF CHRIST JESUS. 225 
 
 thing to weep in order that Baldur might be delivered from hell. 
 All things everywhere willingly complied with this request, both 
 men and every other living being, so that wailing was heard in all 
 quarters. ' 
 
 Thus we see the same myth among the northern nations. As 
 Bunsen says : 
 
 " The tragedy of the murdered and risen god is familiar to us from the days 
 of ancient Egypt: must it not be of equally primeval origin here?" [In Teutonic 
 tradition.] 
 
 Tlie ancient Scandinavians also worshiped a god called Frey, 
 who was put to death, and rose again from the dead.^ 
 
 The ancient Druids celebrated, in the British Isles, in heathen 
 times, the rites of the resurrected Bacchus, and other ceremonies, 
 similar to the Greeks and Romans.' 
 
 Quetsalcoatle, the Mexican crucified Saviour, after being put to 
 death, rose from the dead. His resurrection was represented in 
 Mexican hieroglyphics, and may be seen in the Codex Borgianus* 
 
 The Jews in Palestine celebrated their Passover on the same 
 day that the Pagans celebrated the resurrection of their gods. 
 
 Besides the resurrected gods mentioned in this chapter, who 
 were believed in for centuries before the time assigned for the birth 
 of Christ Jesns, many others might be named, as we shall see in 
 our chapter on " Explanation." In the words of Dunbar T. 
 Heatli : 
 
 ' ' We find men taught everywhere, from Southern Arabia to Greece, by 
 hundreds of symbolisms, the birth, death, and resurrection of deities, and a res- 
 urrection too, apparently after the second day, i. e., on the third."^ 
 
 And now, to conclude all, amother god is said to have been born 
 on the same day^ as these Pagan deities ; he is crucified and buried, 
 and on the same day'' rises again from the dead. Christians of 
 Europe and America celebrate annually the resurrection of their 
 
 1 Mallet's Northern Antiquitiee, p. 449. Origin of Religious Belief, pp. 244, 255.) 
 
 ^ See Knight: Ancient Art and [Mythology, A very long and terrible schism toot place 
 
 p. 85. in the Christian Church upon the question 
 
 'SeeDavies: My ths and Eites of the British whether jEjMto', the day of the resurrection, 
 
 Druids, pp. 89 and 208. was to be celebrated on the 14th day of the first 
 
 * See Kingsborough's Mexican Antiquities, month, after the Jewish custom, or on the 
 
 m\. vi. p. 166. Lord's day afterward; and it was at last de- 
 
 » Quoted in Bonwick'B Egyptian Belief, p. cided in favor of the Lord's day. (See Hig- 
 
 174. gins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 90, and Cham- 
 
 « As we shall see in the chapter on " The bers's Encyclopedia, art. " Easter.") 
 Birth-day of Christ Jesus." The day upon which Easter should be cele- 
 
 ' Easter, the triumph of Christ, was origin- brated was not settled until the Council of Nice. 
 
 ally solemnized on the 25th of March, the very (See Euseb. Life of Constantine, lib. 3, ch. xyii. 
 
 day upon which the Pagan gods were believed Also, Socrates' Eccl. Hist. lib. 1, ch. vi.) 
 to have risen from the dead. (See Dupuis: 
 
 15
 
 226 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Saviour in almost the identical naanner in which the Pagans cele- 
 brated the resurrection of their Saviours, centuries before the God 
 of the Christians is said to have been born. In Eoman Catholic 
 churches, in Catholic countries, the body of a young man is laid on 
 a bier, and placed before the altar ; the wound in his side is to be 
 seen, and his death is bewailed in mournful dirges, and the verse, 
 Gloria Patri, is discontinued in the mass. All the images in the 
 churches and the altar are covered with Hack, and the priest and 
 attendants are robed in black ; nearly all lights are put out, and the 
 windows are darkened. This is the " Agonie," the " Miserere," 
 the '• Good Friday " mass. On Easter Sunday' all the drapery has 
 disappeared ; the church is illuminated, and rejoicing, in place of 
 soiTow, is manifest. The Easter hymns partake of the following 
 expression : 
 
 " Bejoice, Oh sacred Initiated, your Ood is risen. Sis death, his pains, his suf- 
 ferings, have toorked our salvation. " 
 
 Cedrenus (a celebrated Byzantine writer), speaking of the 25 th 
 of March, says : 
 
 " The first day of the first month, is the first of the month Nisan ; it corre- 
 sponds to the 2oth of March of the Romans, and the Phamenot of the Egyptians. 
 On that day Gabriel saluted Mary, in order to make her conceive the Saviour. 
 I observe that it is the same month, Phamenot, that Osiris gave fecundity to Isis, 
 according to the Egyptian theology. On the very same day, our Ood Saviour 
 (Chi'ist Jesus), after the termination of hig career, arose from the dead; that is, 
 what our forefathers called the Pass-over, or the passage of the Lord. It is also 
 on the sa7ne day, that our ancient theologians have fixed his return, or hip 
 second advent. "' 
 
 We have seen, then, that a festival celebrating the resurrection 
 of their several gods was annually held among the Pagans, before 
 the time of Christ Jesus, and that it was almost universal. That 
 it dates to a period of great antiquity is very certain. The adven- 
 tures of these incarnate gods, exposed in their infancy, put to death, 
 and rising again from the grave to life and immortality, were acted 
 on the Deisuls and in the sacred theatres of the ancient Pagans,' 
 just as the " Passion Play " is acted to-day. 
 
 Eusebius relates a tale to the effect that, at one time, the Chris- 
 
 * Even the name of " Easter " is derived deavored to give a Cliristian significance to 
 
 from the heathen goddess, Ostrt, of the Sasons, such of the rites as could not be rooted out ; 
 
 and the Eosire of the Germans. and in this case the conversion was prac- 
 
 "Many of the popular observances con- tically easy." (Chambers's Encyclo., art. 
 
 nected \vith Easter are cleariy of Pagan cyrigin. " Easter.") 
 
 The goddess Ostara or Eastre seems to have ^ Quoted in Dnpuis : Origin of Beligioua 
 
 been the personification of the morning or Belief, p. 344. 
 
 Bast, and also of the opening year or Spring. ' See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 340. 
 
 . . . With her usual policy, the church en-
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST JESDS. 227 
 
 tians were about to celebrate " the solemn vigils of Easter," when, 
 to their dismay, they found that oil was wanted. Narcissus, Bishop 
 of Jerusalem, who was among the number, "commanded that such 
 as had charge of the lights, speedily to bring unto him water, drawn 
 up out of the next well." This water Narcissus, " by the wonder- 
 ful power of God," changed into oil, and the celebration was 
 continued.' 
 
 This tells the whole story. Here we see the oil — which the 
 Pagans had in th.eir ceremonies, and with which the priests anointed 
 the lips of the Initiates— and the lights, which were suddenly 
 lighted when the god was feigned to have risen from the dead. 
 
 With her usual policy, the Christian Church endeavored to give 
 a Christian significance to the rites borrowed from Paganism, and 
 in this case, as in many others, the conversion was particularly 
 easy. 
 
 In the earliest times, the Christians did not celebrate the resur- 
 rection of their Lord from the grave. They made the Jeioish 
 Passover- their chief festival, celebrating it on t!ie same day as the 
 Jews, the lith of Nisan, no matter in what part of the week that 
 day might fall. Believing, according to the tradition, that Jesus on 
 the eve of his death had eaten the Passover with his disciples, they 
 regarded such a solemnity as a commemoration of the Supper and 
 not as a memorial of the Resurrection. But in proportion as Chris- 
 tianity more and more separated itself from Judaism and imbibed 
 paganism, this way of looking at the matter became less easy. A 
 new tradition gained currency among the Roman Christians to the 
 effect that Jesus before his death had not eaten the Passover, but 
 had died on the very day of the Passover, thus substituting himself 
 for the Paschal Lamb. The great Christian festival was then made 
 the Resurrection of Jesus, and was celebrated on the first pagan 
 holiday — Sun-day — after the Passover. 
 
 This Easter celebration was observed in China, and called a 
 "Festival of Gratitude to Tien."' From there it extended over 
 the then known world to the extreme West. 
 
 The ancient Pagan inhabitants of Europe celebrated annually 
 this same feast, which is yet continued over all the Christian world. 
 This festival began with a week's indulgence in all kinds of sports, 
 called the carne-vale, or the taking a farewell to animal food, 
 because it was followed by a fast of forty days. This was in honor 
 of the Saxon goddess Ostrt or Eostre of the Germans, whence our 
 Easter"- 
 
 1 Eccl. Ilirf., lib. 0, c. Tiii. » Anacalypsis, ii. 59.
 
 228 BIBLE MYTHS 
 
 The most characteristic Easter rite, and the one most widely 
 diffused, is the use of Easter eggs. They are usually stained of 
 various colors with dye-woods or herbs, and people mutually make 
 presents of them ; sometimes they are kept as amulets, sometimes 
 eaten. jSTow, " dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt f^ 
 the ancient Persians, " when they kept the festival of the solar 
 new year (in March), mutually presented each other with colored 
 eggs ; '" " the Jev^s used eggs in the feast of the Passover ;" and 
 the custom prevailed in Western countries.' 
 
 The stories of the resurrection written by the Gospel narrators 
 are altogether different. This is owing to the fact that the story, as 
 related by one, was written to correct the mistakes and to endeavor 
 to reconcile with common sense the absurdities of the other. For 
 instance, the '' Matthew " narrator says : " And when they saw him 
 (after he had risen from the dead) they worshiped him ; hut some 
 doubted:'* 
 
 To leave the question where this writer leaves it would be fatal. 
 In such a case there must be no doubt. Therefore, the ^^ Marie " 
 narrator makes Jesus appear three times, under such circumstances 
 as to render a mistake next to impossible, and to silence the most 
 obstinate skepticism. He is first made to appear to Mary Mag- 
 dalene, who was convinced that it was Jesus, because she went and 
 toid tlie disciples that he had risen, and that she had seen him. 
 They — notwithstanding that Jesus had foretold them of his resur- 
 rection'' — disbelieved, nor could they be convinced until he appeared 
 to them. They in turn told it to the other disciples, who were also 
 skeptical ; and, that they might be convinced, Jesus also appeared 
 to them, as they sat at meat, when he upbraided them for their 
 unbelief. 
 
 This stoiy is much improved in the hands of the " Marh " nar- 
 rator, but, in the anxiety to make a clear case, it is overdone, as 
 often happens when the object is to remedy or correct an oversight 
 or mistake previously made. In relating that the disciples doubted 
 the words of Mary Magdalene, he had probably forgotten Jesus had 
 promised them that he should rise, for, if he had told them this, 
 why did they dotdit ? 
 
 Neither the " Matthew " nor the " Mark " narrator says in what 
 ^oay Jesus made his appearance — whether it was in the body or only 
 in the spirit. If in the latter, it would be fatal to the whole theory 
 
 * See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. S4. * Matthew, xxviii. 17. 
 
 ^ See Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Easter." * See xii. 40 ; svi. 21 ; Mark, ix. 31 ; xiv. 28 i 
 
 > Ibid. John, 11. 19.
 
 THE RESURRECTION OP CHRIST JESUS. 229 
 
 of the resurrection, as it is a material resurrection that Christianity 
 taught — just like their neighbors the Persians — and not a spirit- 
 uah' 
 
 To put this disputed question in its true light, and to silence 
 the objections which must naturally have arisen against it, was 
 the object which the " Luke " narrator had in view. He says that 
 when Jesus appeared and spoke to the disciples they were afraid : 
 " But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed they had 
 seen a spirit."'' Jesus then — to show that he was not a spirit — 
 showed the wounds in his hands and feet. " And they gave him a 
 piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And he took it, and 
 did eat before tJiemr^ After this, who is there that can doubt ? 
 but, if the fish and honey C07nb story was true, why did the " Mat- 
 thew " and " Mark " narrators fail to mention it ? 
 
 The " Luke " narrator, like his predecessors, had also overdone 
 the matter, and instead of convincing the skeptical, he only excited 
 their ridicule. 
 
 The " John " narrator now comes, and endeavors to set matters 
 right. He does not omit entirely the story of Jesus eating ^s\\,for 
 that would not do, after there had been so much said about it. 
 He might leave it to be inferred that the " Luke " narrator made 
 a mistake, so he modifies the story and omits the ridiculous part. 
 The scene is laid on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias. Under the 
 direction of Jesus, Peter drew his net to land, full of fish. "Jesus 
 said unto them : Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst 
 ask him, Who art thou ? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then 
 cometh, and taketh hread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.'" 
 
 It does not appear from this account that Jesus ate the fish at 
 all. He took the fish and gave to the disciples; the inference is 
 that they were the ones that ate. In the " Luke " narrator's ac- 
 count, the statement is reversed; the disciples gave the fish to 
 Jesus, and he ate. The " John " nai-rator has taken out of the story 
 that which was absurd, but he leaves us to infer that the ^'' Luke " 
 narrator was careless in stating the account of what took place. If 
 we leave out of the '' Zm1'(^ " narrator's account the part that re- 
 lates to the fish and honeycomb, he fails to prove what it really 
 
 1 '* And let not any one among yon say, that saved us, being first a spirit, was made fleshi 
 
 this very flmh is not judgea, neither raised up. and so called us : even so we also in this fies\. 
 
 Consider, in what wcreyesaved f in wliatdid ye shall receite the reward (of heaven). (11. Cor- 
 
 lool; up, if not whilst ye were in this flesh? We inthians, oh. iv. AjMc. See also the Chrietian 
 
 must, tiiereforc, keep our flesh as the temple Creed : " I believe in the resurrection of the 
 
 of God. For in like manner as ye were called bodity) 
 in the flesh, ye shall also come to judgment in ^ Luke, ssiv, 37. 
 
 the flesh. Our one Lord Jesus Christ, who has ' Luke, xxiv. 43, 43. * John, xxi. 13, IS.
 
 230 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 was which appeared to the disciples, as it seems from this that the 
 disciples could not be convinced that Jesus was not a spirit until he 
 had actually eaten something. 
 
 Now, if the eating part is struck out — which the " John " nar- 
 rator does, and which, no doubt, the ridicule cast upon it drove him 
 to do — the " Znolce " narrator leaves the question just where he 
 found it. It was the business of the " John " narrator to attempt 
 to leave it clean, and put an end to all cavil. 
 
 Jesus appeared to the disciples when they assembled at Jerusa- 
 lem. " And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his liands 
 and his side.'" They were satisfied, and no doubts were expressed. 
 But Thomas was not present, and when he was told by the breth- 
 ren that Jesus had appeared to them, he i-efused to believe ; nor 
 would he, " Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, 
 and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand 
 into his side, I will not believe.'" Now, if Thomas could be con- 
 vinced, with all his doubts, it would be foolish after that to deny 
 that Jesus was not in the ludy wlien he appeared to his disciples. 
 
 After eight days Jesus again appears, for no other purpose — as 
 it would seem — but to convince the doubting disciple Thomas. 
 Then said he to Thomas : " Keach hither thy finger, and behold 
 my hands ; and reacli iiither thy hand, and thrust it into my side ; 
 and be not faithless, but believing.'" This convinced Thomas, and 
 he exclaimed : " My Lord and my God." After this evidence., if 
 there were still unbelievers, they were even more skeptical than 
 Thomas himself. We should be at a loss to understand why the 
 writers of the first three Gospels entirely omitted the stm-y of 
 Thomas, if we were not aware that when the " John " narrator 
 wrote the state of tlie public mind was such that ])roof of the most 
 unquestionable character was demanded that Christ Jesus liad risen 
 in the body. The " John " narrator selected a person who claimed 
 he was hard to convince, and if the evidence was such as to satisfy 
 him, it ought to satisfy the balance of the world.' 
 
 The first that we knew of the fourth Gospel — attributed to 
 John — is from the writings of Irenoeus (a. d. 177-202), and the 
 evidence is that he is the author of it." That controversies were 
 rife in his day concerning the resurrection of Jesus, is very evident 
 from other sources. We find that at this time the resurrection of 
 
 ' John, XX. 20. Hon, Reber's Christ of Paul ; Scott's English 
 
 ' John, XX. 25. Life of Jesus ; and Greg's Creed of Christen. 
 
 ' John, XX. 27. dom. 
 * See, for a further accoont of the resorrec- * See the Chapter xxxviii.
 
 THE BESUEREOTION OF CHRIST JESUS. 231 
 
 the dead (according to the accounts of the Christian forgers) was 
 very far from being esteemed an uncommon event; that the 
 miracle was frequently performed on necessary occasions by great 
 fasting and the joint supplication of the church of the place, and 
 that the persons thus restored by their prayers had lived afterwards 
 among them many years. At such a period, when faith could 
 boast of so many wonderful victories over death, it seems difficult 
 to account for the skepticism of those philosophers, who still re- 
 jected and derided the doctrine of the resurrection. A noble Gre- 
 cian had rested on this important ground the whole controversy, 
 and promised Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, that if he could he 
 gratified hy the sight of a single person who had heen actually 
 raised from the dead, he would immediately embrace the Christian 
 religion: 
 
 " It is somewhat remarkable," says Gibbon, the historian, from 
 whom we take the above, " that the prelate of the first Eastern 
 Church, however anxious for the conversion of his friend, thought 
 proper to decline this fair and reasonable challenge.'" 
 
 This Christian saint, Irenaeus, had invented many stories of 
 others being raised from tlie dead, for the purpose of attempting 
 to strengthen the belief in the resurrection of Jesus. In the words 
 of the Rev. Jeremiah Jones : 
 
 " Such pious frauds were very common among Christians even in the first 
 three centuries ; and a forgery of this nature, with the view above-mentioned, 
 seems natural and probable." 
 
 One of these '■'• jpious frauds " is the " Oospel of Nicodemus 
 the Disciple, concerning the Sufferings and Resurrection of our 
 Master and Sa/viour Jesus Christ." Although attributed to 
 Nicodemus, a disciple of Jesus, it has been shown to be a forgery, 
 wi'itten towards the close of the second century — during the time 
 of Irenmus, the well-known pious forger. In this book we find the 
 following : 
 
 "And now hear me a little. We all know the blessed Simeon, the high- 
 priest, who took Jesus when an infant into his arms in the temple. This same 
 Simeon had two sons of his own, and we were all present at their death and 
 funeral. Go therefore and see their tombs, for these are open, and they are risen ; 
 and behold, they are in the city of Arimathsea, spending their time together in 
 offices of devotion."' 
 
 The purpose of this story is very evident. Some " zealous 
 behever," observing the appeals for proof of the resurrection, 
 wishing to make it appear that resurrections from the dead were 
 
 » Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. p. 541. > Nicodemus, Apoc. ch. rii.
 
 232 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 common occurrences, invented this stovj towards the close of the 
 second century, and fathered it upon Nicodemus. 
 
 We shall speak, anon, more fully on the subject of the frauds 
 of the early Christians, the " lying and deceiving/br tJie cause of 
 Christ,^'' which is carried on even to the present day. 
 
 As President Cheney of Bates College has lately remarked, 
 " The resurrection is the doctrine of Christianity and the founda- 
 tion of tlie entire system"^ but outside of the four spurious gos- 
 pels this greatest of all recorded miracles is hardly mentioned. 
 " We have epistles from Peter, James, John, and Jude — all of 
 whom are said by the evangelists to have seen Jesus after he rose 
 from the dead, in none of which epistles is the fact of the resurrec- 
 tion even stated, much less that Jesus was seen by the writer after 
 his resurrection.'" 
 
 Many of the early Christian sects denied the resurrection of 
 Christ Jesus, but taught that he will rise, when there shall be a 
 general resurrection. 
 
 No actual repi'esentation of the resurrection of the Christian's 
 Saviour has yet been found among the monuments of early Chris- 
 tianity. The earliest representation of this event that has been 
 found is an ivory carving, and belongs to the fifth or sixth 
 century.' 
 
 ' Baccalaarr<iM Sermon, Jane 26th, 1881. • See Jameson's Hist, of Our Lord in Art, 
 
 * Greg : The Ow«ed of Christendom, p. 284. vol. ii., and Lundy's Monomental Christianity.
 
 CHAPTEK XXIV. 
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST JESUS, AND THE MILLENNItlM. 
 
 The second coming of Christ Jesus is clearly taught in the 
 canonical, as well as in the apocryphal, books of the New Testa- 
 ment. Paul teaches, or is made to teach it^ in the following 
 words : 
 
 " If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so fhem also which sleep 
 in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the 
 Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not 
 prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 
 and the dead in Christ shall rise first : Then we which are alive and remain shall 
 be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord i?i tJie air: and 
 so shall we ever be with the Lord."' 
 
 He further tells the Thessalonians to "abstain from aU appear- 
 ance of evil," and to " be preserved blameless unto the coming of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ.^'" 
 
 James,' in his epistle to the brethren, tells them not to be in 
 too great a hurry for the coming of their Lord, but to " be patient " 
 and wait for the " coming of the Lord," as the " husbandman 
 waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth." But still he assures 
 them that " the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."' 
 
 Peter, in his first epistle, tells his brethren that " the end of 
 all things is at hand,"' and that when the " chief shepherd " does 
 appear, they " shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
 away."' 
 
 John, in his first epistle, tells the Christian community to " abide 
 
 * We say " is made to teach it," for tlie we have, in this epistle of James, another psea- 
 probabiliry is that Paul never wrote this pas- donymons writing which appeared after the 
 sage. Tlie authority of both the Letters to the time that James must have lived. (See The 
 TA^sso/oniaM, attributed to Paul, is undoubt- Bible of To-Day, p. 835.) 
 
 edly spurious. (See The Bible of To-Day, pp. » James, v. 7, 8. 
 
 211,812.) • I. Peter, iv. 7. 
 
 " I. Thessalonians, iv. 14-17. ' I. Peter, v. 7. This Epistle is not anthen- 
 
 » Ibid. V, 82, 23. tic. (See The Bible of To-Day, pp. 286, 227, 
 
 ♦ We say "James," but, it is probable that 228.) 
 
 233
 
 234 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 in him" (Christ), so that, " when he shall appear, we may have con- 
 fidence, and not be ashamed before him.'" 
 He further says : 
 
 "Behold, now are ■we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we 
 shall be. but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we 
 BhaU see him as ho is."* 
 
 According to the writer of the book of " The Acts," when 
 Jesus ascended into heaven, the Apostles stood looking up towards 
 heaven, where he had gone, and while thus engaged : " behold, two 
 men stood by them (dressed) in white apparel," who said imto them : 
 
 " Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus 
 ■which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye ham 
 seen him go (up) into heaven."^ 
 
 The one great object which the writer of the book of Revela- 
 tions wished to present to view, was " the second coming of Christ^ 
 This writer, who seems to have been anxious for that time, which 
 was " surely " to come " quickly ; " ends his book by saying : 
 " Even so, come Lord Jesus."* 
 
 The two men, dressed in white apparel, who had told the 
 Apostles that Jesus should " come again," were not the only per- 
 sons whom they looked to for authority. He himself (according 
 to the Gospel) had told them so : 
 
 "The Son of man shall come (again) in the glory of his Father with his 
 
 angels." 
 
 And, as if to impress upon their minds that his second coming 
 should not be at a distant day, he further said : 
 
 "Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, wliich shall not taste of 
 death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."^ 
 
 This, surely, is very explicit, but it is not the only time he 
 speaks of his second advent. When foretelling the destruction 
 of the temple, his disciples came unto him, saying : 
 
 " Tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy com- 
 ing f "' 
 
 His answer to this is very plain : 
 
 "Verily I say imto you, tliis generation shaU not pass till all th^se things be 
 fulfilled (i. e., the destruction of the temple and his second coming), but of that 
 day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father 
 only."' 
 
 ' I. John, ii. 28. This epistle is not aathen- * Rev. xxii. 20. 
 
 tic. (See Ibid. p. 231.) » Matt. xvi. 27, 28. 
 
 ' I. John, V. 2. « Ibid. xxiv. 3. 
 
 • Acts, 1. 10, 11. ' Ihid. xxiT. 34-36.
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST JESUS. 235 
 
 In the second Epistle attt^ioUd to Peter, which was written 
 after that generation had passed away,' there had begun to be some 
 impatience manifest among the helievers, on account of the long 
 delay of Christ Jesus' second coming. " Where is the promise of 
 his coming ? " say they, " for since the fathers fell asleep all things 
 continue as they were fi'om the beginning of the creation."" In 
 attempting to smoothe over matters, this writer says : " There shall 
 come in the last days scoffers, saying : ' Where is the promise of 
 his coming ? '" to which he replies by telling them that they were 
 ignorant of all the ways of the Lord, and that : " One day is with 
 the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 
 He further says : "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise ;" 
 and that " the day of the Lord tolll coined This coming is to be 
 " as a thief in the night," that is, when they least expect it.' 
 
 No wonder there should have been scoffers — as this writer calls 
 them — -the generation which was not to have passed away before 
 his coming, had passed away ; all those who stood there had been 
 dead many years ; the sun had not yet been darkened ; the stars 
 were still in the heavens, and the moon still continued to reflect 
 light. None of the predictions had yet been fulfilled. 
 
 Some of the early Christian Fathers have tried to account for 
 the words of Jesus, where he says : " Verily I say unto you, there 
 be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see 
 the Son of man coming in his kingdom," by saying that he referred 
 to Jolin only, and that that Apostle was not dead, but sleeping. 
 This fictitious story is related by Saint Augustin, " from the re- 
 port," as he says, " of credible persons," and is to the effect that : 
 
 " At Ephesus, where St. John the Apostle lay buried, he was not believed to 
 be dead, hut to be sleeping only in the grate, which he had provided for himself 
 till our Saviour's second coming: in proof of which, they affirm, that the earth, 
 under which he lay, was seen to heave up and down perpetually, in conformity 
 to the motion of his body, in the act of breathing."-' 
 
 This story clearly illustrates the stupid credulity and superstition 
 of the primitive age of the church, and the faculty of imposing any 
 fictions upon the people, which their leaders saw fit to inculcate. 
 
 The doctrine of the millenni-um designates a certain period in 
 the history of the world, lasting for a long, indefinite space (vaguely 
 a thousand years, as the word " millennium, " implies) during which 
 tlie kingdom of Christ Jesus will be visibly establislied on the earth. 
 The idea undoubtedly originated proximately in the Messianic ex- 
 
 ' Towards the close of the second century. ' II. Peter, iii. 4. ^ u. Peter, iii. 8-10. 
 
 (See Bible of To-Day.) « See lliddleton's Works, vol. 1. p. 188.
 
 236 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 pectation of the Jews (as Jesus did not sit on the throne of David 
 and become an earthly ruler, it 7mist he that he is coming again for 
 this purpose), but more remotely in the Pagan doctrine of the final 
 triumph of the several " Christs " over their adversaries. 
 
 In the first century of the Church, millenarianism was a whis- 
 pered belief, to which the book of Daniel, and more particularly the 
 predictions of the Apocalypse^ gave an apostolical authority, but, 
 when the church imbibed Paganism, their belief on this subject 
 lent it a more vivid coloring and imagery. 
 
 The unanimity which the early Christian teachers exhibit in 
 regard to millenarianism,, proves how strongly it had laid hold of 
 the imagination of the Church, to which, in this early stage, immor- 
 tality and future rewards were to a great extent things of this world 
 as yet. Not only did Cerinthus, but even the orthodox doctors — 
 such as Papias (Bishop of Hierapolis), Irenseus, Justin Martyr and 
 others — delighted themselves with dreams of the glory and magnifi- 
 cence of the millennial kingdom. Papias, in his collection of 
 traditional sayings of Christ Jesus, indulges in the most monstrous 
 representations of the re-building of Jerusalem, and the colossal 
 vines and grapes of the millennial reign. 
 
 According to the general opinion, the millennium was to be 
 pi'eceded by great calamities, after which the Messiah, Christ Jesus, 
 would appear, and would bind Satan for a thousand years, annihilate 
 the godless heathen, or make them slaves of the believers, overturn 
 the Roman empire, from the ruins of which a new order of things 
 would spring forth, in which " the dead in Christ " would rise, and 
 along with the surviving saints enjoy an incomparable felicity in 
 the city of the " New Jerusalem." Finally, all nations would bend 
 their knee to him, and acknowledge him only to be the Christ — his 
 religion would reign supreme. This is the " Golden Age " of the 
 future, which all nations of antiquity believed in and looked for- 
 ward to. 
 
 We will first turn to India, and shall there find that the Hin- 
 doos believed their " Saviour,^'' or " Preserver" Vishnu, who ap- 
 peared in mortal form as Crishna, is to come again in the latter 
 days. Their sacred books declare that in the last days, when the 
 fixed stars have all apparently returned to the point whence 
 they started, at the beginning of all things, in the month Scorpio, 
 Vishnu will appear among mortals, in the form of an armed war- 
 rior, riding a winged white horse.'' In one hand he will carry a 
 
 * Chapters xx. and xsi. in particular. doo Saviour, will appear " in the latter days'' 
 
 ^ The Christian SaviouVt as well as the Sin- among mortals " in the form of an armed war-
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF OHEIST JESUS. Lo7 
 
 ecimitar, "blazing like a comet," to destroy all the impure wlio 
 shall then dwell on the face of the earth. In the other hand he 
 will carry a large shining ring, to signify that the great circle of 
 Yuga€ (ages) is completed, and that the end has come. At his 
 approach the sun and moon wiU he darkened, the earth will tremble, 
 and the stars fall from the firmament.^ 
 
 The Buddhists believe that Buddha has repeatedly assumed a 
 human form to facilitate the reunion of men with his own universal 
 6oul, so they believe that " in the latter days " he will come again. 
 Their sacred books predict this coming, and relate that his mission 
 will be to restore the world to order and happiness." This is exact- 
 ly the Christian idea of the millennium. 
 
 The Chinese also believe that " in the latt&r days " there is to be 
 a millennium upon earth. Their five sacred volumes are full of 
 prophesies concerning this f Golden Age of the Future." It is the 
 universal belief among them that a " Divine Man " will establish 
 himself on earth, and everywhere restore peace and happiness.' 
 
 The ancient Persians believed that in the last days, tliere would 
 be a millennium on earth, when the religion of Zoroaster would be 
 accepted by all mankind. The Parsees of to-day, who are the 
 remnants of the once mighty Persians, have a tradition that a holy 
 personage is waiting in a region called Kanguedez, for a summons 
 from the Ized Serosch, who in the last days will bring him to Per- 
 sia, to restore the ancient dominion of that country, and spread the 
 religion of Zoroaster over the whole earth.' 
 
 The Ilev. Joseph B. Gross, in his "Heathen Religion,"' speak- 
 ing of the belief of the ancient Persians in the millennium, says : 
 
 " The dead would be raised,' and he v/ho has made all things, cause the 
 earth and the sea to return again the remains of the departed.'' Then OrmUzd 
 shall clothe them with flesh and blood, while they that live at the time of the 
 resurrection, must die in order to liUowise participate in its advantage. 
 
 '■ Before this momentous event takes place, three illustrious prophets shall 
 appear, who will announce their presence bj the performance of miracles. 
 
 " During this period of its existence, and till its final removal, the earth will 
 be afflicted with pestilence, tempests, war, famine, and various other baneful 
 calamities."* 
 
 rlor, riding a white horn." St. Jolin sees tliis ' See Proi. Eelig. Ide.is. vol. i. p. 209. 
 
 Inhis tl«on, andpropliedeB it inliis "Eevela- * See Ibid. p. 979. Tl:e Angel-JIessiah, p. 
 
 Woo " tljns : " And I saw, and behold a whilf 287, and chap. xiii. this work. 
 
 horse: and he that sat on him had a bmo ; ' Pp. 122, 123. 
 
 and a crMon was given nnto him : and he went ' " And I saw the dead, email and great, 
 
 forth conquering, and to conquer." (Key. vi. 2.) stand before God." (Rev. xx. 12.) 
 
 ' Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. L p. 75. Hist. ' " And the sea gave up the dead which 
 
 Hlndostan, voL ii. pp. 497-S03. See also, Wil- were In it." (Rev. xi. 13.) 
 
 lioms : Hinduiero, p. 103. 8 " And ye shall hear of wara, and rumors of 
 
 ^ Prog. Relig. Ideas, i. 247, Olid Bonsen^s " '.TLrs." ** Nation shall riae against nation, and 
 Angel-Messiah, p. 4S.
 
 238 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 "After the resurrection, overy one will be apprised of the good or evil 
 which he may have done, and the righteous and the wicked will be separated 
 from each other. ' Those of the latter whose offenses have not yet been expiated, 
 will be cast into hell during the term of three days and three nights, ^ in the 
 presence of an assembled world, in order to be purified in the burning stream of 
 liquid ore.' After this, they enjoy endless felicity in the society of the blessed, 
 aud the pernicious empire of Ahriman (the devil), is fairly exterminated.* Even 
 this lying spirit will be under the necessity to avail himself of this fiery ordeal, 
 and made to rejoice in its expurgating and clee-nsing efficacy. Nay, hell itself is 
 purged of its mephilic impurities, and washed clean in the flames of a universal 
 regeneration.' 
 
 " The earth is now the habitation of bliss, all nature glows in light; and the 
 equitable and benignant laws of Ormuzd reign supremely through the illimitab'le 
 universe.* Finally, after the resiirrection, mankind will recognize each other 
 again; wants, cares, aud passions will cease;' and everything in the paradisian 
 and all-embracing empire of light, shall rebound to the praise of the benificent 
 God."« 
 
 The disciples of Bacch^is expected Lis second advent. Tliey 
 lioped he would assume at some future day the government of the 
 universe, and that he would restore to man his primary felicity." 
 
 The Eslhonian from the time of the German invasion lived a 
 life of bondage under a foreign yoke, and the iron of his slavery 
 entered into his soul. He told how the ancient hero Kalewipoeg 
 sits in tlie realms of shadov^^s, waiting until his country is in its 
 extremity of distress, when he will return to earth to avenge the 
 injuries of the Esths, and elevate the poor crushed people into a 
 mighty power." 
 
 The suflEering Celt has his Brian Boroihme, or Arthur, who will 
 come again, the first to inaugurate a Fenian millennium, the second 
 to regenerate Wales. Olger Dansk waits till the time arrives when 
 he is to start from sleep to the assistance of the Dane against the 
 hated Pi-ussian. The Messiah is to come and restore the kingdom 
 
 kingdom against kingdom, and there ehall be lake of fire." (Rev. tx.. 14.) 
 
 famines, pestilencea, and carthqaakee in divers * " And I eaw a new heaven and a new 
 
 placew." (Malt. zsiv. 6, 7.) earth ; for the first earth, and the firet heaven 
 
 1 "And before him ehall be gathered all na- were passed away." (Rev. xsi. 1.) 
 
 lions : and ho shall separate them one from ' "'And God sliall wipe away all tears 
 
 another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from from their eyes ; and there shall be no jnore 
 
 the goats. (JIatt. xsv. 32, 33.) death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither 
 
 3 " Ho descended into bell, the third day he shall there be any more pain : for the former 
 
 rose (again) from the dead." (Apostles* things are passed away." (Rev. xzi. 4.) 
 
 Creed.) ^ " And after these things I heard a great 
 
 3 Purgatory — a place in which bouIb are voice of much people in heaven, s-nying, 'Alle- 
 
 supposed by the papists to be purged by fire laia; salvation, and glory, and honor, and 
 
 from carnal impurities, before they are received power, imlo the Lord, onr God.'" (Rev. 
 
 into heaven. six. 1.) " For the Lord God omnipotent 
 
 « "And he laid hold on the dragon, that reigneth." (Kev. xix. 6.) 
 
 old eerpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and ' Dupnia : Orig. Rellg. Belief, 
 
 bound him a thonsand years." (Rev. n. 2.) "> Baring-Gould : Orig. Belig. Belief, vol. L 
 
 ft " And death aud hell were cast into the p. 407.
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHEIST JESUS. 239 
 
 of the Jews. Charlemagne was the Messiah of mediaeval Teuton- 
 dom. He it was who founded the great German empire, and shed 
 over it the blaze of Christian truth, and now he sleeps in the Kyff- 
 hauserberg, waiting till German heresy has reached its climax and 
 Germany is wasted through internal conflicts, to rush to earth once 
 more, and revive the great empire and restore the Catholic faith.' 
 
 The ancient Scandinavians believed that in the " latter days " 
 great calamities would befall mankind. The earth would tremble, 
 and the stars fall from heaven. After which, the great serpent 
 would be chained, and the religion of Odin would i-eign supreme." 
 
 The disciples of Quetzalcoatle, the Mexican Saviour, expected 
 his second advent. Before he departed this life, he told the in- 
 habitants of Cholula that he would return again to govern them.' 
 This remarkable tradition was so deeply cherislied in their hearts, 
 says Mr. Prescott in his " Conquest of Mexico," that " the Mexicans 
 looked confidently to the return of their benevolent deity.'" 
 
 So implicitly was this believed by the subjects, that when the 
 Spaniards appeared on the coast, they were joyfully hailed as the 
 returning god and his companions. Montezuma's messengers re- 
 ported to the Inca that " it was Quetzalcoatle who was coming, 
 bringing his temples (ships) with him." All throughout New 
 Spain they expected the reappearance of this " Son of the Great 
 God " into the world, who would renew all things." 
 
 Acosta alludes to this, in his " History of the Indies," as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "In the beginning of the year 1518, they (the Mexicans), discovered a fleet at 
 sea, in the which was the Marques del Valle, Don Fernando Cortez, with his com- 
 panions, a news which much troubled Montezuma, and conferring with his 
 council, they all said, that without doubt, their great and ancient lord Quetzal- 
 coatle was come, who had said that he would return from the East, whither he 
 had gone."' 
 
 The doctrine of the millennium and the second advent of Christ 
 Jesus, has been a very important one in the Christian church. The 
 ancient Christians were animated by a contempt for their present 
 existence, and by a just confidence of immortality, of which the 
 doubtful and imperfect faith of modern ages cannot give us any 
 adequate notion. In the primitive church, the influence of truth 
 was powerfully strengthened by an opinion, which, however r.,uch 
 it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, has not been 
 
 1 Baring-Gould : Orig. Eelig. Belief, vol. i. « Prescott : Con. of Mexico, vol. i. p. 60. 
 
 p. 407. 6 Fergneson : Tree and Seri.ent Wbrebap, p. 
 
 ' See Mallet's Northern Antiqnitiee. 37. Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 187, 
 s Humboldt : Amer. Kes., vol. i. p. 91. • Acosta : Hist. Indies, vol. ii.p. 613.
 
 240 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 found agreeable to experience. It was universally ielieved, that 
 the end of the world and thekingdom of heaven were at hand.^ The 
 near approach of tliis wonderful event had been predicted, as we 
 have seen, by the Apostles ; the tradition of it was preserved by 
 their earliest disciples, and those who believed that the discourses 
 attributed to Jesus were really uttered by him, were obliged to expect 
 the second and glorious coming of the " Son of Man " in the clouds, 
 iefore that generation was totally extinguisJied which had beheld 
 his humble condition upon earth, and which might still witness 
 the calamities of the Jews under Vespasian or Hadrian. The revolu- 
 tion of seventeen centuries has instructed us not to press too closely 
 the mysterious language of prophecy and revelation ; but as long as 
 this error was permitted to subsist in the church, it was productive 
 of the most salutary effects on the faith and practice of Christians, 
 who lived in the awful expectation of that moment when the globe 
 itself and all the various races of mankind, should tremble at the 
 appearance of tlieir divine judge. This expectation was counte- 
 nanced — as we have seen — by the twenty-fourth chapter of St. 
 Matthew, and by the lirst epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. 
 Erasmus (one of the most vigorous promoters of the Reformation) 
 removes the difficulty by the help of allegory and inetaphor ; and 
 the learned Grotius (a learned theologian of the 16th century) ven- 
 tures to insinuate, that, for wise purposes, the pious deception was 
 permitted to take place. 
 
 The ancient and popular doctrine of the millennium was inti- 
 mately connected with the second coming of Christ Jesus. As the 
 works of the creation had been fixed in six days, their duration in 
 the present state, according to a tradition which was attributed to 
 the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years? B}' the same 
 analogy it was inferred, that this long period of labor and conten- 
 tion, which had now almost elapsed, would be succeeded by a joyful 
 Sabbath of a thousand years, and that Christ Jesus, with the trium- 
 phant band of the saints and the elect who had escaped death, or who 
 had been miraculously revived, would reign upon earth until the time 
 appointed for the last and general resurrection. So pleasing was this 
 hoj^e to the mind of the believers, that the "New Jerusalem," the 
 
 1 Over all the Higher Asia there seems to and was afterwards adapted by the Christians, 
 
 hare been diffused an immemorial tradition (II. Peter, iii. 9. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp. 
 
 relative to a second grand con\Tilsion of na- 498-500.) 
 
 ture. and the final dissolution of the earth by ^ " And God made, in sis days, the works of 
 
 the terrible agency of fire, as the first is said his hands, . . . the meaning of it is this ; 
 
 to have been by that of water. It was that in six thousajid years the Lord will bring 
 
 taught by the Hindoos, the Egyptians, Plato, all things to an end." (Barnabas. Apoc. c. 
 
 Pythagoras, Zoroaster, the Stoics, and others, xiii.)
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST JESU8. 241 
 
 «eat of this blissful kingdom, was quickly adorned with all the gay- 
 est colors of the imagination. A felicity consisting only of pure 
 and spiritual pleasure would have been too refined for its in- 
 habitants, who were still supposed to possess their human nature 
 and senses. A " Garden of Eden," with the amusements of the 
 pastoral life, was no longer suited to the advanced state of society 
 which prevailed under the Roman empire. A city was therefore 
 ■erected of gold and precious stones, and a supernatural plenty of 
 corn and wine was bestowed on the adjacent territory ; in the free 
 enjoyment of whose spontaneous productions, the happy and benev- 
 olent people were never to be restrained by any jealous laws of ex- 
 clusive property. Most of these pictures were borrowed from a 
 misrepresentation of Isaiah, Daniel, and the Apocalypse. One of 
 the grossest images may be found in Irenaeus (1. v.) the disciple of 
 Papias, who had seen the Apostle St. John. Though it might not 
 be univereally received, it appears to have been the reigning senti- 
 ment of the orthodox believers ; and it seems so well adapted to 
 the desires and apprehensions of mankind, that it must have con- 
 tributed in a very considerable degree to the progress of the Chris- 
 tian faith. But when the edifice of the church was almost com- 
 pleted, the temporary support was laid aside. The doctrine of 
 ■Christ Jesus' reign upon earth was at first treated as a profound 
 allegory, was considered by degrees as a doubtful and useless opin- 
 ion, and was at length rejected as the absurd invention of heresy 
 and fanaticism. But although this doctrine had been " laid aside," 
 and " rejected," it was again resurrected, and is alive and rife at 
 the present day, even among those who stand as the leaders of the 
 orthodox faith. 
 
 The expectation of the " last day " in the year 1000 a. d., rein- 
 vested the doctrine with a transitory importance ; but it lost all 
 •credit again when the hopes so keenly excited by the crusades 
 faded away before the stern reality of Saracenic success, and the 
 predictions of the "Everlasting Gospel," a work of Joachim de 
 Floris, a Franciscan abbot, remained unfulfilled.' 
 
 At the period of the Reformation, millenarianism once more 
 experienced a partial revival, because it was not a difficult matter 
 
 * After the devotees and followers of the Francis was "wholly and entirely transformed 
 
 new gospel had in vain expected the Holy into the person of Christ "—Tb^/m Chrisio 
 
 One who was to come, they at last pitched coj\flguratum. Some of them maintained that 
 
 upon St. Francis as having been the expected the gospel of Joachim was exprt-saly prefer- 
 
 one, and, of course, the most surprising and red to the gospel of Christ. (Mosheim ; Hist. 
 
 Absurd miracles were said to have been per- Cent., xiii. pt. ii. sects, xxxiv. and xxxvl, 
 
 formed by him. Some of the fanatics who Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 695,) 
 believed in this man, maintained that St. 
 
 16
 
 242 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 to apply some of its symbolism to the papacy. The Pope, for ex- 
 ample, was Antichrist — a belief still adhered to by some extreme 
 Protestants. Yet the doctrine was not adopted by the great body 
 of the reformers, but by some fanatical sects, such as the Anabaptists, 
 and by the Theosophists of the seventeenth century. 
 
 During the civil and religious wars in France and England, 
 when great excitement prevailed, it was also prominent. The 
 " Fifth Monarchy Men " of Cromwell's time were millenarians of the 
 most exaggerated and dangerous sort. Their peculiar tenet was that 
 the millennium had come, and that they were the saints who were 
 to inherit the earth. The excesses of the French Roman Catholic 
 Mystics and Quietists terminated in chiliastid views. Among the 
 Protestants it was during the " Thirty Years' War " that the most en- 
 thusiastic and learned cliiliasts flourished. The awful suffering and 
 wide-spread desolation of that time led pious hearts to solace them- 
 selves with the hope of a peaceful and glorious future. Since then 
 'dii'^ jpenchant which has sprung up for expounding the prophetical 
 books of the Bible, and particularly the Apocalypse, with a view to 
 present events, has given the doctrine a faint semi-theological life, 
 very different, however, from the earnest faith of the first Christians. 
 
 Among the foremost chiliastic teachers of modern centuries are 
 to be mentioned Ezechiel Mcth, Paul Felgenhauer, Bishop Co- 
 menius, Professor Jurien, Seraris, Poiret, J. Mede ; while Thomas 
 Burnet and William Whiston endeavored to give chiliasm a geolog- 
 ical foundation, but without finding much favor. Latterly, es- 
 pecially since the rise and extension of missionary enterprise, the 
 opinion has obtained a wide currency, that after the conversion of 
 the whole world to Christianity, a blissful and glorious era will en- 
 sue ; but not much stress — except by extreme literalists — is now 
 laid on the nature or duration of this far-off felicity. 
 
 Great eagerness, and not a little ingenuity have been exhibited 
 by many persons in fixing a date for the commencement of the 
 millennium. The celebrated theologian, Johann Albrecht Bengel, 
 who, in the eighteenth century, revived an earnest interest in the 
 subject amongst orthodox Protestants, asserted from a study of the 
 prophecies that the millennium would begin in 1836. This date 
 was long popular. Swedenborg held that the last judgment took 
 ploiie in 1757, and that the new church, or ^^ Church of the New 
 Jerusalem^'' as his followers designate themselves — in other words, 
 the millennial era — then hegan. 
 
 1 CAi^iium— the thousand years when Satan is boimd.
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST JESUS. 243 
 
 In America, considerable agitation was excited by the prea :hing 
 of one William Miller, who fixed the second advent of Christ 
 Jesus about 1843. Of late years, the most noted English millen- 
 arian was Dr. John Gumming, who placed the end of the present 
 dispensation in 1866 or 1867 ; but as that time passed without 
 any millennial symptoms, he modified his original views consider- 
 ably, before he died, and conjectured that the beginning of 
 the millennium would not differ so much after all from the 
 years immediately preceding it, as people commonly suppose.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 OHKIST JESUS AS JUDGE OF THE DEAD. 
 
 AccoEDiNG to Christian dogma, " God the Father " is not to be 
 the judge at the last day, but this very important office is to be 
 held by " God the Son. " This is taught by the writer of " The 
 Gospel according to St. John" — whoever he may have been — 
 when he says : 
 
 "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the 
 Son."^ 
 
 Paul also, in his " Epistle to the Romans " (or some other person 
 who has interpolated the passage), tells us that : 
 
 "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men," this judgment shall 
 be done "by Jeaus Christ," his son.' 
 
 Again, in his " Epistle to Timothy,'" he says : 
 
 " The LordJesua Christ shall judge the quick and the dead, at his appearing 
 and his kingdom. "* 
 
 The writer of the " Gospel according to St. Matthew," also de- 
 scribes Christ Jesus as judge at the last day.' 
 
 Now, the question arises, is this doctrine original with Chris- 
 tianity ? To this we must answer no. It was taught, for ages be- 
 fore the time of Christ Jesus or Christianity, that the Supreme 
 Being — whether " Brahma," " Zeru4ne Akerene," " Jupiter," 
 or " Yahweh,"' — was not to be the judge at the last day, but that 
 their sons were to hold this position. 
 
 The sectarians of Buddha taught that he (who was the Son of 
 God (Brahma) and the Holy Virgin Maya), is to be the judge of the 
 dead.' 
 
 1 John, V. 23. ' Matt. xxv. 31^6. 
 
 2 Romans, ii. 16. * Through an error we pronounce this 
 8 Not authentic. (See The Bible of To-Day, name Jehovah. 
 
 p. 213.) ' See Dnpuis ; Origin of Religions Belief, p 
 
 « U. Timothy, iy. 1. 368. 
 
 [244]
 
 CHRIST JESUS AS JUDGE OF THE DEAD. 245 
 
 According to the religion of the Hindoos, Crishna (who was 
 the Son of God, and the Holy Virgin Devaki), is to be the judge 
 at the last day.' And Tama is the god of the departed spirits, 
 and the judge of the dead, according to the Vedas.^ 
 
 Osiris, the Egyptian " Saviour " and son of the '' Immaculate 
 Virgin " Neith or Nout, was believed by the ancient Egyptians to 
 be the judge of the dead.' He is represented on Egyptian monu- 
 ments, seated on his throne of judgment, bearing a staff, and car- 
 rying the crux ansata, or cross with a handle.* St. Andrew's 
 cross is upon his breast. His throne is in checkers, to denote the 
 good and evil over which he presides, or to indicate the good and 
 evil who appear before him as the judge.'" 
 
 Among the many hieroglyphic titles which accompany his figure 
 in these sculptures, and in many other places on the walls of tem- 
 ples and tombs, are "Lord of Life," "The Eternal Ruler," "Mani- 
 fester of Good," "Revealer of Truth," "Full of Goodness and 
 Truth," &c." 
 
 Mr. Bonwick, speaking of the Egyptian belief in the last judg- 
 ment, says : 
 
 " A perusal of the twenty-flfth chapter of Matthew will prepare the reader 
 for the investigation of the Egyptian notion of the last judgment."' 
 
 Prof. Carpenter, referring to the Egyptian Bible — which is by 
 far the most ancient of all holy books' — says : 
 
 " In the ' Book of the Dead,' there are used the very phrases we find in the 
 New Testament, in connection with the day of judgment."^ 
 
 According to the religion of \hQ Persians, it is Ormuzd, '•''The 
 First Born of the Eternal One," who is judge of the dead. He 
 had the title of "The All-Seeing," and "The Just Judge."'" 
 
 Zeruan^ Aker^ne is the name of him who corresponds to " God 
 the Father " among other nations. He was the " One Supreme 
 essence," the "Invisible and Incomprehensible."" 
 
 Among the ancient Oreeks, it was Aeacus — Son of the Most 
 High God — who was to be judge of the dead." 
 
 The Christian Emperor Constantino, in his oration to the clergy, 
 speaking of the ancient poets of Greece, says : 
 
 > See Samuel Johnson's Oriental Religions, » See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 151. 
 
 p. 504. « See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. 1. p. 154.- 
 
 ' See Williams' Hinduism, p. 25. ' Egyptian Belief, p. 419. 
 
 3 See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 120. » See Ibid. p. 185. 
 
 Eenouf : Religions of the Ancient Egyptians, » Quoted in Ibid. p. 419. 
 
 p. 110, and Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 153. '» Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. 1. p. 259. 
 
 * See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 151, " Ibid. p. 258. 
 
 and Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 152. n See Bell's Pantheon, vol. U. p. 16.
 
 246 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "They afflnn that men who are the acms of the gods, do judge departed 
 souls."' 
 
 Strange as it may seem, " there are no examples of Clirist 
 Jesus conceived as judge, or the last judgment, in the early art 
 of Christianity.'" 
 
 The author from whom we quote the above, says, " It would be 
 difficult to define the cause of this, though many may be con- 
 jectured." 
 
 Would it be unreasonable to " conjecture" that the ea/rly Chris- 
 tians did not teach this doctrine, but that it was imbibed, in after 
 years, with many other heathen ideas ? 
 
 I CoDstantine's Oration to the Clergy, ch. x. vol. U. p. 392. 
 ' Jamesoa : Hiatory of Oar Lord in Art, ' Ibid.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 CHKI8T JESUS AS CEEATOE, AND ALPHA AND OMEGA. 
 
 Cheistian dogma also teaches that it was not " God the Father,"' 
 but " God the Son " who created the heavens, the earth, and all 
 that therein is. 
 
 The writer of the fourth Gospel says : 
 
 " All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made thai 
 was made."' 
 Again : 
 
 " He was in the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew 
 him not."' 
 
 In the " Epistle to the Colossians," we read that : 
 
 " By /n'm were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, 
 visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or 
 powers; all things were created by him. '• 
 
 Again, in the " Epistle to the Hebrews," we are told that : 
 
 "God hath spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all 
 things, by whom also lie made the world."* 
 
 Samuel Johnson, D. O. Allen,' and Thomas Maurice,' teli us 
 that, according to the religion of the Hindoos, it is Crishna, the 
 Son, and the second person in the ever-blessed Trinity,' " who ia the 
 origin and end of all the worlds ; all this universe came into being 
 through him, the eternal maker.^''* 
 
 In the holy book of the Hindoos, called the '■'■Bhagvat Geeta,^ 
 may be found the following words of Crishna, addressed to his 
 " beloved disciple " Ar-jouan : 
 
 "1a.m. the Lord of all created beings."^ " Mankind was created by me of four 
 kinds, distinct in their principles, and in their duties; know ine then to be th« 
 Creator of mankind, uncreated, and without decay."'" 
 
 ' John, i. 3. 
 'John, i. 10. 
 
 * CoIosBians, i, 
 
 * Hebrews, i. 2. 
 
 * Allen's India, pp. 137 and 380. 
 
 • Indian Antiq., Tol. ii. p. 288. 
 
 ' See the chapter on the Trinity. 
 
 • Oriental Religiona, p. 602. 
 
 • Lecture iv. p. 51, 
 '• G«eta, p. 6S. 
 
 247
 
 248 ' BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 In Lecture VII., entitled : " Of the Principles of Nature, and the 
 Vital Spirit," he also says : 
 
 " I am the creation and the dissolution of the whole universe. There is not 
 anything greater than I, and all things hang on me." 
 
 Again, in Lecture IX., entitled, " Of the Chief of Secrets and 
 Prince of Science," Crishna says : 
 
 "The whole world was spread abroad by me in my invisible form. All 
 things are dependent on me." " I am the Father and the Mother of this world, 
 the Grandsire and the Preserver. I am the Holy One worthy to be known; the 
 mystic figure OM. ' . . . I am the journey of the good; the CWi/ortery 
 the Creator; the Witness; the Besting-place ; the Asylum unii the Friend."' 
 
 In Lecture X., entitled, " Of the diversity of the Divine Nature," 
 he says : 
 
 " I am tlw Creatm- of all things, and all things proceed from me. Those 
 who are endued with spiritual wisdom, believe this and worship me; their very 
 hearts and minds are in me; they rejoice amongst themselves, and delight in 
 speaking of my name, and teaching one another my doctrine."" 
 
 Innumerable te.\ts, similar to these, might be produced from the 
 Hindoo Scriptures, but these we deem sufficient to show, in the 
 words of Samuel Johnson quoted above, that, " According to the 
 religion of the Hindoos, it is Crishna who is the origin and the end 
 of all the worlds ;" and tliat " all this universe came into being 
 through him, the Eternal Maker." The Chinese believed in One 
 Supreme God, to whose honor they burnt incense, but of whom they 
 had no image. This " God the Father " was not the Creator, ac- 
 cording to their theology or mythology; but they had another god, 
 of whom they had statues or idols, called Natigai, who was the 
 god of allterrestrial things ; in fact, God, the Creator of this world 
 — inferior or subordinate to the Supreme Being — from whom they 
 petition for fine weather, or whatever else they want — a sort of 
 mediator.* 
 
 Lanthu, who was born of a " pure, spotless virgin," is believed 
 by his followers or disciples to be the Creator of all things ;' and 
 Taou, a deilied hero, who is mentioned about 500 b. c, is believed 
 by some sects and affirmed by their books, to be " the original source 
 and first productive cause of all things."" 
 
 In the Chaldean oracles, the doctrine of the " Only Begotten 
 Son," I A O, as Creator, is plainly taught. 
 
 ' O. M. or A. U. M. is the Hindoo ineffable = Geeta, p. 80. 
 
 name ; the mystic emblem of the deity. It is 3 Geeta, p, 84. 
 
 never uttered aloud, but only mentally by the * See Higgins : Anacaiypsis, vol i. p. 48. 
 
 devout. It signifies Brahma, Viehnou, and » See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 35. 
 
 Siva, the Hindoo Trinity. (See Charles Wilkes » See Davis : Hist. China, vol. ii. pp. 109 and 
 In Geeta, p. 143, and King's Gnostics and their 113, and Thornton, vol. i. p. 137. 
 Bemains. p. 1G3.)
 
 CHRIST JEStrS AS CREATOR. 249 
 
 According to ancient Persian mythology, there is one supreme 
 essence, invisible and incomprehensible, named " Zerucme Ake- 
 rene," which signifies " unlimited time," or " the eternal." From 
 him emanated Orrmisd, the " King of Light," the " First-born of the 
 Eternal One," &c. Now, this " First-born of the Eternal One " is 
 he by whom all things were made, all things came into being 
 through him ; he is the Creator.^ 
 
 A large portion of the Zend-Avesta — the Persian Sacred Book or 
 Bible — is filled with prayers to Ormuzd, God's First-Born. The 
 following are samples : 
 
 "I address my prayer to Ormuzd, Creator of all things; who always has 
 been, who is, and who will be forever; who is wise and powerful; who made 
 the great arch of heaven, the sun, the moon, stars, winds, clouds, waters, earth, 
 fire, trees, animals and men, whom Zoroaster adored. Zoroaster, who brought 
 to the world knowledge of the law, who knew by natural intelligence, and by 
 the ear, what ought to be done, all that has been, all that is, and all that will be; 
 the science of sciences, the excellent word, by which souls pass the luminous and 
 radiant bridge, separate themselves from the evil regions, and go to light and 
 holy dwellings, full of fragrance. Creator, I obey thy laws, I think, act, speak, 
 according to thy orders. I separate myself from all sin. I do good works 
 according to my power. I adore thee with purity of thought, word, and action. 
 I pray to Ormuzd, who recompenses good works, who delivers unto the end all 
 those who obey his laws. Grant that I may arrive at paradise, where all is fra- 
 grance, light, and happiness."* 
 
 According to the religion of the ancient 'Assyrians, it was Mar- 
 duh, the Logos, the woed, " the eldest son of Hea," " the Merciful 
 One," " the Life-giver," &c., who created thelteavens, the earth, and 
 all that therein is." 
 
 Adonis, the Lord and Saviour, was believed to be the Creator of 
 men, and god of the resurrection of the dead.* 
 
 Prometheus, the Crucified Saviour, is the divine forethought, 
 existing before the souls of men, and the creator Hominium.' 
 
 The writer of " The Gospel according to St. John," has made 
 Christ Jesus co-eternal with God, as well as Creator, in these words : 
 
 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." "The 
 same was in the beginning with God."' 
 
 Again, in praying to his Father, he makes Jesus say : 
 
 " And now. O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory 
 which, 1 had with thee before tlie world was."'' 
 
 • See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 259. In ' Quoted in Prog. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 
 
 the most ancient parts of the Zend-Avesta, 267. 
 
 Ormnzd is said to have created the world by ' See Bonwick'e Egyptian Belief, p. 404. 
 
 his WORD. (See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. « Sec Dnnlap's Mysteries of Adoni, p. 156. 
 
 104, and Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii. p. 302, Note » See Ihid. p. 156, and Balfinch, Age of 
 
 by Gnlzot.) In the beginning was the word. Fable, 
 and the word was with God, and the word was • John, i. 1, 2. 
 
 God." (Jolin, i. 1.) ' John, xvii. 6.
 
 250 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Paul is made to say : 
 " And he (Christ) ja before all things."' 
 
 Again: 
 "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, t(Hiay, and forever."* 
 
 St. John the Divine, in his " Eevelation," has made Christ 
 .resns say : 
 
 "lain Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end" — "which is, and 
 which was, and which is to come, the Almighty,"' " the first and the last."* 
 
 Hindoo scripture also makes Crishna " the first and the last," 
 " the beginning and the end." We read in the " Geeta," where 
 Crishna is reported to have said : 
 
 "I myself never was not."' "Learn that he by whom all things were 
 formed" (meaniug himself) "is incorruptible."' "I am eternity and non- 
 eternity."' " I am before all things, and the mighty ruler of the universe. "° "I 
 am the beginning, the middle and the cod of all things."' 
 
 Arjouan, his disciple, addresses him thus : 
 
 " Thou art the Supremo Being, incorruptible, worthy to be known; thou art 
 prime supporter of the universal orb; thou art the never-failing and eternal 
 guardian of religion; thou art from all beginning, and I esteem thee."'" Thou 
 art " the Divine Being, before all other gods."" 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 " Reverence ! Reverence be unto thee, before and behind I Reverence be 
 unto thee on all sides, O thou who art all in all 1 Infinite in thy power and thy 
 glory 1 Thou includest all things, wherefore thou art all things."" 
 
 In another Holy Book of the Hindoos, called the " Vishnu 
 Parana," we also read that Vishnu — in the form of Crishna — 
 " who descended into tlie womb of ths (virgin) Devaki, and was 
 born as her son" was "without heginning, middle or end^" 
 
 Bvddha is also Alpha and Omega, without beginning or end, 
 "Tlie Lord," "the Possessor of All," "He who is Omnipotent and' 
 Everlastingly to be Contemplated," "the Supreme Being, the 
 Eternal One."'* 
 
 Lao-kiun, the Chinese virgin-bom God, who came upon earth 
 about six hundred years before Jesus, was without beginning. It 
 was said that he had existed from all eternity." 
 
 > Col. 1. 17. ' Lecture x. p. K. 
 
 > Hebrews, lUI. 8. " Lecture U. p. 01 
 
 • HeT. i. 8, 22, 13. " Leclaro i. p. 84. 
 
 • Rev. 1. 17 ; xii. 13. " Lecture si. p. 93. 
 
 • Geetn, p. 35. » " 8^0 Vishnu Parana, frW). 
 
 • Gecta, p. 36. " See chapter ill. 
 
 » Lcctaro ix. p. 801 »• See Prof;. Eelig. Ideas, vol. 1. p. SOa 
 
 ' Lecture x p. 83.
 
 CHRIST JEStrS AS OBEATOE. 261 
 
 The legends of the Taou-tsze sect in China declare their 
 founder to have existed antecedent to the birth of the elements, in 
 the Great Absolute ; that he is the " pure essence of the Uen y" 
 that he is the original ancestor of the prime breath of life ; that he 
 gave form to the heavens and the earth, and caused creations and 
 annihilations to succeed each other, in an endless series, during in- 
 numerable periods of the world. He himself is made to say : 
 
 " I was in existence prior to the manifestation of any corporeal shape; I ap 
 peared anterior to the supreme being, or first motion of creation."' 
 
 According to the Zend Avesta, Ormuzd, the iirst-born of the 
 Eternal One, is he " who is, always has been, and who will be for- 
 ever.'" 
 
 Zeus was Alpha and Omega. An Oi-phic line runs thus : 
 
 "Zeus is the beginning, Zeus the middle, out of Zeus all things have been 
 made. "2 
 
 Bacchus was without beginning or end. An inscription on an 
 ancient medal, referring to him, reads thus : 
 
 " It is I who leads j'ou; it is I who protects you, and who saves you. I am 
 Alpha and Omega." 
 
 Beneath this inscription is a serpent with his tail in his mouth, 
 thus forming a circle, which was an emblem of eternity among the 
 ancients.* 
 
 Without enumerating them, we may say that the majority of 
 the virgin-bom gods spoken of in Chapter XII. were like Chrisi 
 Jesus — without beginning or end — and that many of them were 
 considered Creators of all things. This has led M. Dridon to 
 remark (in his Hist, de Dieu), that in early worJcs of art, Christ 
 Jesus is made to take the place of his Father in creation and in 
 similar labors, just as in heathen religions an inferior deity does 
 the work under a superior one. 
 
 > Thornton : Hist. China, vol. 1. p. 137. Greqaes T2E, qui sent le nombre 365. Le ser- 
 « Prog. Eelig. Ideas, il. p. 2G7. pent, qui est'ordinaire un embleme de I'elemitfi 
 
 > Mailer'B Chips, vol. u. p. 15. ^gj i^j (.glui de eoleil et de see revolutions." 
 «"C-e8tmoi qui vouscondnis.Tocset tout Beausobre : Hist, de Manichee, Tom. u. 
 
 ee qui vous regarde. C'est moi, qui vous con- gg 
 
 serve, on qui vous sanve. Je suis Alpha et ' .,' j g^y that I am immortal. Dionysus 
 
 Omega. II y a an dessous de I'inscription nn (Bacchus) son of Deus." (ArMophanes, in 
 
 •erpent qui tient sa queue dans ea gneule et jjyst. of Adoni, pp. 80 and 105.) 
 
 dans la cercle qa'U d^crit, ceet trois lettre
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE MIEACLE8 OF OHEIST JESUS AI^D THE PBIMITIVE CHEI8TIAM8. 
 
 The legendary history of Jesus of Il^azaretli, contained in the 
 books of the New Testament, is full of prodigies and wonders. 
 These alleged prodigies, and the faith which the people seem to 
 have put in such a tissue of falsehoods, indicate the prevalent dis- 
 position of the people to believe in everything, and it was among 
 such a class that Christianity was propagated. All leaders of relig- 
 ion had the reputation of having performed miracles ; the biogra- 
 phers of Jesus, therefore, not wishing their Master to be outdone, 
 have made him also a wonder-worker, and a performer of miracles ; 
 without them Christianity could not prosper. Miracles were needed 
 in those days, on all special occasions. " There is not a single his- 
 torian of antiquity, whether Greek or Latin, who has not recorded 
 oracles, prodigies, prophecies, and miracles^ on the occasion of some 
 memorable events, or revolutions of states and kingdoms. Many of 
 these are attested in the gravest manner by the gravest writers, and 
 were firmly helieved at the tiine by the peopleP^ 
 
 Hindoo sacred books represent Crishna, their Saviour and Re- 
 deemer, as in constant strife against the evil spirit. He surmounts 
 extraordinary dangers ; strews his way with miracles ; raising the 
 dead, healing the sick, restoring the maimed, the deaf and the blind ; 
 everywhere supporting the weak against the strong, the oppressed 
 against the powerful. The people crowded his way and adored 
 him as a GrOD, and these miracles were the evidences of his divin- 
 ity for centuries before the time of Jesus. 
 
 The learned Thomas Maurice, speaking of Crishna, tells us that 
 he passed his innocent hours at the home of his foster-father, in 
 rural diversions, his divine origin not being suspected, until repeated 
 miracles soon discovered his celestial origin;'^ and Sir William 
 Jones speaks of his raising the dead, and saving multitudes hy his 
 
 ' Dr. Conyers Uiddleton : Free Enquiry, p. 177. ' Indian Antiquities, vol. UL p. 46, 
 
 252
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 263 
 
 miraculous powers.' To enumerate the miracles of Crislina would 
 be useless and tedious ; we shall therefore mention but a few, of 
 which the Hindoo sacred books are teeming. 
 
 When Crishna was born, his life was sought by the reigning 
 monarch, Kansa, who had the infant Saviour and his father and 
 mother locked in a dungeon, guarded, and barred by seven iron 
 doors. "While in this dungeon the father heard a secret voice dis- 
 tinctly utter these words : " Son of Yadu, take up this child and 
 carry it to Gokool, to the house of Nanda." Vasudeva, struck with 
 astonishment, answered : " How shall I obey this injunction, thus 
 vigilantly guarded and barred by seven iron doors that prohibit 
 all egress ?" The unknown voice replied : " The doors shall open 
 of themselves to let thee pass, and behold, I have caused a deep 
 slumber to fall upon thy guards, which shall continue till thy jour- 
 ney be accomplished." Vasudeva immediately felt his chains mirac- 
 ulously loosened, and, taking up the child in his arms, hurried 
 with it through all the doors, the guards being buried in profound 
 sleep. When he came to the river Yumna, which he was obliged 
 to cross to get to Gokool, the waters immediately rose up to kiss 
 the child's feet, and then respectfully retired on each side to make 
 way for its transportation, so that Vasudeva passed dry-shod to the 
 opposite shore." 
 
 When Crishna came to man's estate, one of his first miracles 
 ■was the cure of a leper. 
 
 A passionate Brahman, having received a slight insult from a 
 certain Eajah, on going out of his doors, uttered this curse : " That 
 he should, from head to foot, be covered with boils and leprosy ;" 
 which being fulfilled in an instant upon the unfortunate king, he 
 prayed to Crishna to deliver him from his evil. At first, Crishna 
 did not heed his request, but finally he appeared to him, asking 
 what his request was ? He replied, " To be freed from my dis- 
 temper." The Saviour then cured him of his distemper.' 
 
 Crishna was one day walking with his disciples, when " they 
 met a poor cripple or lame woman, having a vessel filled with 
 spices, sweet-scented oils, sandal-wood, saffron, civet and other per- 
 fumes. Crishna making a halt, she made a certain sign with her 
 finger on his forehead, casting the rest upon Ms head. Crishna ask- 
 ing her what it was she would request of him, the woman replied, 
 nothing but the use of my limbs. Crishna, then, setting his foot upon 
 hers, and taking her by the hand, raised her from the ground, and not 
 
 ' Asiatic Researches, vol. 1. p. 237. » Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 331. • Ibid. p. 319.
 
 254 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 only restored her limbs, but renewed her age, so that, instead of a 
 wrinkled, tawny skin, she received a fresh and fair one in an in- 
 stant. At her request, Crishna and his company lodged in her 
 house.'"' 
 
 On another occasion, Crishna having requested a learned Brah- 
 man to ask of him whatever boon he most desired, the Brahman said, 
 " Above all things, I desire to have my two dead sons restored to 
 life." Crishna assured him that this should be done, and immedi- 
 ately the two young men were restored to life and brought to their 
 father.' 
 
 The learned Orientalist, Thomas Maurice, after speaking of the 
 miracles performed by Crishna, says : 
 
 "In regard to the numerous miracles wrought by Crishna, it should be re- 
 membered that miracles are never wanting to the decoration of an Indian 
 romance ; they are, in fact, the life and soul of the vast machine ; nor is it at all 
 a subject of wonder that the dead should be raised to life in a history expressly 
 intended, like all other sacred fables of Indian fabrication, for the propagation 
 and support of the whimsical doctrine of the Metempsychosis."^ 
 
 To speak thus of the miracles of Christ Jesus, would, of course, 
 be heresy — although what applies to the miracles of Crishna apply 
 to those of Jesus — we, therefore, find this gentleman branding as 
 ^^ infidel" a learned French orientalist who was guilty of doing this 
 thing. 
 
 Buddha performed great miracles for the good of mankind, and 
 the legends concerning him are full of the most extravagant prodi- 
 gies and wonders.' " By miracles and preaching," says Burnouf, 
 " was the religion of Buddha established." 
 
 R. Spence Hardy says of Buddha : 
 
 " All the principal events of his life are represented as being attended by in- 
 credible prodigies. He could pass through the air at wiU, and know the 
 thoughts of all beings. "'^ 
 
 Prof. Max Miiller says ; 
 
 " The Buddhist legends teem with miracles attributed to Buddha and his 
 disciples — miracles which in wonderfulness certainly surpass the miracles of any 
 
 other religion."' 
 
 Buddha was at one time going from the city of Rohita-vastu to 
 the city of Benares, when, coming to the banks of the river Ganges, 
 and wishing to go across, he addressed himself to the owner of a 
 
 > Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 320. Vishnu em Monachism. Beal's Romantic Hist. 
 
 Porana, bk. v. cli. xj. Buddha. Bnnsen'e Angel-Messiah, and Hue's 
 
 ' Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 68. Travels. &c. 
 
 ' Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 409. ' Hardy : Buddhist Legends, pp. ni. xxii. 
 
 « See Hardy's Buddhist Legends, and East- " The Science of Religion, p. 27.
 
 THE MIRACLES OF 0HEI8T JESUS. 266 
 
 terry- boat, thus; "Hail! respectable sir! I pray ytn take me 
 across ibe river in your boat !" To this the boatman replied, " If you 
 can pay rae the fare, I will willingly take you across the river." 
 Buddha said, '' Whence shall I procure money to pay you your fare, 
 I, wiio have given up all worldly wealth and riches, &c." The 
 boatman still refusing to take him across, Buddha, pointing to a 
 flock of geese flj'ing from the south to the north banks of the Gau- 
 ges, said : 
 
 " See yonder geese in fellowship passing o'er the Ganges, 
 
 They ask not as to fare of any boatman, 
 
 But each by his inherent strength of body 
 
 Flies through the air as pleases him. 
 
 So, by my power of spiritual energy. 
 
 Will I transport myself across the river. 
 
 Even though the waters on this southern bank 
 
 Stood up as high and firm as (Mount) Semeru."' 
 
 He then floats through the air across the stream. 
 
 In the Lalita Vistara Buddha is called the " Great Physician" 
 who is to " dull all human pain." At his appearance the " sick are 
 healed, the deaf are cured, the blind see, the poor are relieved." 
 He visits the sick man, Su-ta, and heals soul as well as body. 
 
 At Vaisali, a pest like modern cholera was depopulating the king- 
 dom, due to an accumulation of festering corpses. Buddha, sum- 
 moned, caused a strong rain which carried away the dead bodies and 
 cured every one. At Gaudhara was an old mendicant afllicted with a 
 disease so loathsome that none of his brother monks could go near 
 him on account of his fetid humors and stinking condition. The 
 " Great Physician " was, however, not to be deterred ; he washed the 
 poor old man and attended to his maladies. A disciple had his feet 
 hacked off by an unjust king, and Buddha cured even liim. To 
 convert certain skeptical villagers near Sravasti, Buddha showed 
 them a man walking across the deep and rapid river without im- 
 mersing his feet. Purna, one of Buddha's disciples, had a brother 
 in imminent danger of shipwreck in a " Ijlack storm." The " spirits 
 that are favorable to Piirna and Arya " apprised him of this and he 
 at once performed the miracle of transporting himself to the deck 
 of the ship. " Immediately the black tempest ceased, as if Sumera 
 arrested it."' 
 
 When Buddha was told that a woman was suffering in severe 
 labor, unable to bring forth, he said. Go and say : " I have never 
 knowingly put any creature to death since I was born ; by the vir- 
 
 ' Beal : Hist. Buddha, pp. 246, 247. det, pp. 186 and 192. Bonmouf : Intro, p. 
 
 3 Dbammapada, pp. 47, 50 and 90. Bigan- 156. In LiUie'e Bnddhism, pp. 139, 140.
 
 256 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tue of this obedience may you be free from pain !" When these 
 words were repeated in the presence of the mother, the child was 
 instantly born with ease.' 
 
 Innumerable are the miracles ascribed to Buddhist saints, and 
 to others who followed their example. Their garments, and the 
 staffs with wliicli they walked, are supposed to imbibe some myste- 
 rious power, and blessed are they who are allowed to touch them.' 
 A Buddhist saint who attains the power called '■'•perfection^'' is 
 able to rise and float along through the air.° Having this power, 
 the saint exercises it by mere determination of his will, his body 
 becoming imponderous, as when a man in the common human state 
 determines to leap, and leaps. Buddhist annals relate the perform- 
 ance of the miraculous suspension by Gautama Buddha, himself^ 
 as well as by other saints.'' 
 
 In the year 217 b. c, a Buddhist missionary priest, called by 
 the Chinese historians Shih-le-fang, came from "the west" into 
 Shan-se, accompanied by eighteen other priests, with their sacred 
 books, in order to propagate the faith of Buddha. The emperor, 
 disliking foreigners and exotic customs, imprisoned the missiona- 
 ries ; but an angel, genii, or spirit, came and opened the prison door, 
 and liberated them.' 
 
 Here is a third edition of " Peter in prison," for we have already 
 seen that the Hindoo sage Yasudeva was liberated from prison in 
 -like manner. 
 
 Zoroaster, the founder of the religion of the Persians, opposed 
 his persecutors by performing miracles, in order to confirm his di- 
 vine mission.' 
 
 Boohia of the Persians also performed miracles; the places 
 •where he performed them were consecrated, and people flocked in 
 crowds to visit them.' 
 
 Ilorus, the Egyptian Saviour, performed great miracles, among 
 which was that of raising the dead to life.' 
 
 Osiris of Egypt also performed great miracles ;° and so did the 
 virgin goddess Jsis. 
 
 Pilgrimages were made to the temples of Isis, in Egypt, by the 
 -sick. Diodorus, the Grecian historian, says that : 
 
 * Hardy : Manual of Buddhism. • See Dupuis : Origin of Religious Belief, 
 
 * See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 229. p. 240, and Inmau's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 
 s See Tylor : Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 135, 400. 
 
 and Hardy : Buddhist Legends, pp. 98, 126, 137. ' See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. .34, 
 
 * See Tylor : Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. ^ See Luudy : Monumental Christianity, pp. 
 135. 303^405. 
 
 * Thornton : Hist. China, vol. i. p. 341. ' See Bonwick'a Egyptian Belief.
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 257 
 
 "Those who go to consult in dreams the goddess Isis recover perfect health. 
 Many whose cure has been despaired of by physicians have by this me.inB been 
 saved, and others who have long been deprived of sight, or of some other jart of 
 the body, by taliing refuge, so to speak, in the arms of the goddess, have been 
 restored to the enjoyment of their faculties."' 
 
 Seraj)is, the Egyptian Saviour, performed great miracles, prin- 
 cipally those of healing the sick. He was called " The Healer of 
 the World.'" 
 
 Marduk, the Assyrian God, the " Logos," the " Eldest Son of 
 Hea ;" " He who made Heaven and Earth ;" the " Merciful One ;" 
 the 'Life-Giver," &c., performed great miracles, among which was 
 that of raising the dead to life.' 
 
 Bacchus, son of Zeus by the virgin Semele, was a great per- 
 former of miracles, among which may be mentioned his changing 
 water into wine,' as it is recorded of Jesus in the Gospels. 
 
 " In his gentler aspects he is the giver of joy, the healer of sick- 
 nesses, the guardian against plagues. As such he is even a law-giver 
 and a promoter of peace and concord. As kindling new or strange 
 thoughts in the mind, he is a giver of wisdom and the revealer of 
 hidden secrets of the future."' 
 
 The legends related of this god state that on one occasion Pan- 
 theus. King of Thebes, sent his attendants to seize Bacchus, the 
 " vagabond leader of a faction " — as he called him. This they 
 were unable to do, as the multitude who followed him were too 
 numerous. They succeeded, however, in capturing one of his dis- 
 ciples, Acetes, who was led away and shut up fast in prison ; but 
 while they were getting ready the instruments of execution, th^ 
 prison doors came open of their own accord, and the chains fell 
 from, his limhs, and when they looked for him he was nowhere to 
 be found." Here is still another edition of "Peter in prison." 
 
 ^sculapius was another great performer of miracles. The 
 ancient Greeks said of him that he not only cured the sick of the 
 most malignant diseases, hut even raised the dead. 
 
 •Quoted by Baring-Goald : Orig. Relig. " On the morrow the company returned, and 
 
 Belief, vol. i. p. 397. after every man had looked upon his own seal, 
 
 3 See Prichard's Mythology, p. 347. and seen that it was unbroken, the doors being 
 
 3 See Bonwick'8 Egyptian Belief, p. 404. opened, the vessels were found full of wine." 
 
 < See Dupuis : Origin of Keligions Belief, The god himself is said to have appeared in 
 
 2o8, and Anacalypsia, vol. ii. p. 102. Compare person and filled the vessels. (Bell's Pantheon.) 
 
 John, ii. 7. s Cox : Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 395. 
 
 A Oreaan festival called thtia was ob- ' Bulfinch : The Age of Fable, p. 225. 
 
 served by the Eleans i/i^onor ©/".BaccAwv*. The " And tliey laid their hands on the apostles, 
 
 priests conveyed three empty vessels into a and put them in the common prison ; but the 
 
 -chapei, in the presence of a large assembl}', angel of the Lord by night opened the prison 
 
 after which the doors were shut and sealed. doors, and brought them forth." (Acts, v. 
 
 18, 19.) 
 
 17
 
 258 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 A writer in Bell's Pantheon says : 
 
 " As the Greeks always carried the encomiums of their great men beyond the 
 truth, so they feigned that oEsculapius was so expert in medicine as not only to 
 ciu'e the sick, but even to raise the dead."' 
 
 Eiisebius, the ecclesiastical historian, speaking of ^sculapius, 
 says: 
 
 "He sometimes appeared unto them (the Cilicians) in dreams and visions, 
 and sometimes restored the sick to health." 
 
 He claims, however, that this was the work of the Devil, 
 "who by this means did withdraw the minds of men from the 
 knowledge of the true Savtoue."" 
 
 For many years after the death of iEsculapius, miracles contin- 
 ued to be performed by the efficacy of faith in liis name. Patients 
 were conveyed to the temple of ^sculapius, and there cured of 
 their disease. A short statement of the symptoms of each case, and 
 the remedy employed, were inscribed on tablets and hung up in the 
 temples." There were also a multitude of eyes, ears, hands, feet, 
 and other members of the human body, made of wax, silver, or 
 gold, and presented by those whom the god had cured of blindness, 
 deafness, and other diseases.* 
 
 Marinus, a scholar of the philosopher Proclus, relates one of 
 
 these remarkable cures, in the life of his master. He says : 
 
 " Aschpigenia, a young maiden who had lived with her parents, was seized 
 ■with a grievous distemper, incurable by the physicians. All help from the phy- 
 sicians failing, the father applied to the philosopher, earnestly entreating him to 
 pray for his daughter. Proclus, full of faith, went to the temple of .^sculapius, 
 mtending to pray for the sick young woman to the god — for the city (Athens) 
 was at that time blessed in him, and still enjoyec the undemolished temple of 
 The Saviour — but while he was praying, a sudden change appeared in the dam- 
 sel, and she immediately became convalescent, for the Saviaur, ^Esculapius, as 
 being God, easily healed her."" 
 
 ' Dr. Conyers Middleton says : 
 " Whatever proof the primitive (Christian) Church might have among them- 
 selves, of the miraculous gift, yet it could have but little effect towards making 
 proselytes among those who pretended to the same gift — possessed more largely 
 and exerted more openly, than in the private assembUes of the Christians. For 
 in the temples of ^sculapius, all kinds of diseases were believed to be publicly 
 cured, by the pretended help of that deity, in proof of which there were erected 
 in each temple, columns or tables of brass or marble, on which a distinct narra- 
 tive of each particular cure was inscribed. Pausanias* writes that in the temple 
 
 1 Beire Pantheon, vol. i. p. 28. = Murray : Manual of Mythology, pp. 179, 
 
 ' Eusebios : Life of Constantine, lib. 3, ch. 180. 
 tv. * See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 304. 
 
 " ^sculapuis, the son of Apollo, was en- ' Marinas : Quoted in Taylor's Diegesis, p. 
 
 dewed by his father with such skill in the 151. 
 
 healing art that he even restored the dead to • Paoeanias was one of the most emioent 
 
 life." (Bulinch : The Age of Fable, p 846.) Greek geographers and historians.
 
 THE MIEACLES OF CHBI8T JESUS. 259 
 
 at Epidaurus there were many columns anciently of this kind, and six of them 
 remaining to his time, inscribed with t?te names of men and women who had been 
 cured by tlu> god, with an account of their several cases, and the method of their 
 cure ; and that there was an old pillar besides, which stood apart, dedicated to 
 the memory of Ilippoh'tus, tcho had been raised from, ili£ dead. Strabo, also, an- 
 other grave writer, informs us that these temples were constantly filled with the 
 sick, imploring the help of the god, and that they had tables hanging around 
 them, in which all the miraculous cures were described. There is a remarkable 
 fragment of one of these tables still extant, and exhibited by Gruterin his collec- 
 tion, as it was found in the ruins of ^sculapius's temple in the Island of the 
 Tiber, in Rome, which gives an account of two blind men restored to sight by 
 ^sculapius, in the open view, ' and with the loud acclamation of the people, 
 acknowledging the manifest power of the god."- 
 
 Livy, the most ilhistrioiis of Eoman historians (born b. c. 61), 
 tells us that temples of heathen gods were rich in the number of 
 offerings \ohich the people used to make in return for the cures 
 and henefits which they received from them." 
 
 A writer in BelVs Pantheon says : 
 
 " Making presents to the gods was a custom even from the earliest times, 
 either to deprecate their wrath, obtain some benefit, or acknowledge some favor. 
 These donations consisted of garlands, garments, cups of gold, or whatever con- 
 duced to the decoration or splendor of their temples. They were sometimes laid 
 on the floor, sometimes hung upon the walls, doors, pillars, roof, or any other 
 conspicuous place. Sometimes the occasion of the dedication was inscribed, 
 either upon the thing itself, or upon a tablet hung up with it."^ 
 
 No one custom of antiquity is so frequently mentioned by an- 
 cient historians, as the practice which was so common among the 
 heathens, of making votive offerings to their deities, and hanging 
 them up in their temples, many of which are preserved to this day, 
 viz., images of metal, stone, or clay, as well as legs, arms, and other 
 parts of the body, in testimony of some divine cure effected in tluU 
 particular memher." 
 
 Horace says : 
 
 ' ' Me tabula sacer 
 
 VotivS paries indicat humida 
 
 Suspendisse potenti 
 
 Vestimenta maris Deo." (Lib. 1, Ofle V.) 
 
 It -was the custom of offering eyyootos of Priapic forms, at the 
 church of Isernia, in the Christian kingdom of Naples, during the 
 last century, which induced Mr. R. Payne Knight to compile his 
 remarkable work on Phallic Worship. 
 
 ' "And when Jesus departed thence, two and their eyes were opened." (Matt. ix. ST- 
 
 blind men followed him, crying and saying : 30.) 
 
 thqu son of David, have mercy on ns. . . . ' Middleton's Works, vol. i. pp. 63, W. 
 
 And Jesus said unto them : Believe ye that I ^ Ibid. p. 48. 
 
 am able to do this ? They said unto him, Tea, * Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 62. 
 
 Lord. Then touched Jie their eyes, saying : ' See Middleton'a Letters from Rome, p. W. 
 
 According to your faith be it unto yon,
 
 260 BIBLE MYTHS, 
 
 Juvenal, who wrote a. d. 81-96, says of the goddess Isis, 
 whose religion was at that time in the greatest vogue at Rome, that 
 the painters get their livelihood out of her. This was because " the 
 most common of all offerings (made by the heathen to their deities) 
 WQxc pictures presenting the history of the miraculous cure or de- 
 liverance, vouchsafed upon the vow of the donor.'" One of their 
 prayers ran thus : 
 
 " Now, Goddess, help, for thou canst help bestow, 
 As all tliese pictures round thy altars sfiow."' 
 
 In CTiamhers' s Enoyclopcedia may be found the following : 
 
 " Patients that were cured of tlieir ailments (by ^sculapius, or through faith 
 in him) hung up a tablet in his temple, recording the name, the disease, and the 
 manner of cure. Many of these votiee tablets are still extant."^ 
 
 Alexander S. Murraj', of the department of Greek and Roman 
 Antiquities in the British Museum, speaking of the miracles per- 
 formed by ^sculapius, says : 
 
 "A person who had recovered from a local illness would dictate a sculptured 
 representation of the part that had been affected. Of sitch sculptures there are 
 a number of examples in tlie British Museum."* 
 
 Justin Martyr, in his Apology for the Christian religion, ad- 
 dressed to the Emperor Hadrian, says : 
 
 " As to our Jesus curing the lame, and the paralytic, and such as were crip- 
 pled from birth, this is little more than what you say of your jEsculapius."^ 
 
 At a time when the Romans were infested with the plague, 
 having consulted their sacred books, they learned that in order to 
 be delivered from it, they were to go in quest of udSsculaphis at 
 Epidaurus ; accordingly, an embassy was appointed of ten senators, 
 at the head of whom was Quintus Oguluius, and the worship of 
 ^sculapius was established at Rome, a. u. c. 462, that is, b. c. 288. 
 But the most remarkable coincidence is that the worship of this 
 god continued with scarcely any diminished splendor, for several 
 hundred years after the establishment of Christianity." 
 
 Hermes or Mercury, the Lord's Messenger, was a wonder-work- 
 er. The staflE or rod which Hermes received from Phoibos (Apol- 
 
 > See Middleton'a Letters from Rome, p. 76. Pantlieon, vol. i. p. 29. 
 
 9 "Nunc Dea, nunc Kuccurre mihi, nam "There were numerous oracles of jEsca- 
 
 posse mederi lapius, but the most celebrated one was at Epi- 
 
 Picta docet temptes molta tabella tuie." daurus. Here the sick sought responses and 
 
 (Horace : Tibull. lib. 1, Eleg. iii. In the recovery of their health by sleeping in the 
 
 Ibid.) temple. . . . The worship of .^sculapius 
 
 ' Chambers's Encyclo.. an. ".lEscnlapins." was introduced into Rome in a time of great 
 
 * Murray : Manual of Mythology, p. ISO. sickness, and an embassy sent to the temple 
 » Apol. 1, ch. xxii. Epidaurus to entreat the aid of the god." 
 
 • Deane: Serp. Wor. p. 804. See also, Bell's (Bulflnch : The Age of Fable, p. 397.)
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 261 
 
 lo), and which connects this myth with the special emblem of Vish- 
 nu (the Hindoo Saviour), was regarded as denoting his heraldic 
 ofhce. It was, however, always endowed with magic properties, and 
 had the power even of raising the dead.' 
 
 Herodotus, the Grecian historian, relates a wonderful miracle 
 which happened among the Spartans, many centuries before the 
 time assigned for the birth of Christ Jesus. The story is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 A Spartan couple of great •wealth and influence, had a daughter born to them 
 who was a cripple from birth. Her nurse, perceiving that she was misshapen, 
 and knowing her to be the daughter of opulent persons, and deformed, and see- 
 ing, moreover, that her parents considered her form a great misfortune, consid- 
 ering these several circumstances, devised the following plan. She carried her 
 every day to the temple of the Goddess Helen, and standing before lier image, 
 prayed to the goddess to free the child from its deformity. One day, as the 
 nurse was going out of the temple, a woman appeared to her, and having ap- 
 peared, asked what she was carrying in her arms; and she answered that she 
 was carrying an infant; whereupon she bid her show it to her, but the nurse re- 
 fused, for she had been forbidden by the parents to show the child to any one. 
 The woman, however — who was none other than the Goddess herself — urged 
 her by all means to show it to her, and the nurse, seeing that the woman was so 
 very an.\ious to see the child, at length showed it; upon which she, stroking the 
 head of the child with her hands, said that she would surpass all the women in 
 Spaita in beauty. From that day her appearance began to change, her deformed 
 limbs became symmetrical, and when she reached the age for marriage she was 
 the most beautiful woman in all Sparta.' 
 
 Apollonius of Tyana, in Cappadocia, who was born in the 
 latter part of the reign of Augustus, about four years before the 
 time assigned for the birth of Jesus, and who was therefore con- 
 temporary with him, was celebrated for the wonderful miracles he 
 performed. Oracles in various places declared that he was endowed 
 with a portion of Apollo's power to cure diseases, and foretell 
 events ; and those who were affected were commanded to apply to 
 him. The priests of lona made over the diseased to his care, and 
 his cures were considered so remarkable, that divine honors were 
 decreed to him.' 
 
 He at one time went to Ephesus, but as the inhabitants did not 
 hearken to his preaching, he left there and went to Smyrna, where 
 he was well received by the inhabitants. While there, ambassadors 
 
 • Aryan Mytho. vol. ii. p. 338. he was a sage, an impostor, or a fanatic." 
 
 2 Herodotus: his. vi. cli. 61. (Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. p. ZSi, note.) Wliat 
 
 3 See Philostratus: Vie d'Apo. this learned liietorian say.** of .\polIoniue applies 
 Gibbon, the historian, says of him : " Apol- to Jesus of Nazareth. ITis disciples have re- 
 
 lonius of T/ana, born about the same time as lated his life in so fabulous a manner, that 
 
 Jesus Christ. His life (tliat of the former) is some consider him to have been an impostor, 
 
 related in so fabulous a manner by his disci- otbens a fanatic, others a sage, and others • 
 
 pies, that we are at a loss to discover whether God.
 
 262 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 came from Ephesus, begging him to return to that city, where a 
 terrible plague was raging, as he had prophesied. He went imme- 
 diately, and as soon as he arrived, he said to the Ephesians : " Be 
 not dejected, 1 will this day put a stop to the disease." Aecordiug 
 to his words, the pestilence was stayed, and the people erected a 
 statue to him, in token of their gratitude.' 
 
 In the city of Athens, there was one of the dissipated young 
 citizens, who laughed and cried by turns, and talked and sang to 
 himself, without apparent cause. His friends supposed these habits 
 were the effects of early intemperance, but Apollouius, who hap- 
 pened to meet the young man, told him he was possessed of a 
 demon ; and, as soon as he fixed his eyes upon him, the demon 
 broke out into all those horrid, violent expressions iised by people 
 on the rack, and then swore he would depart out of the youth, and 
 never enter another." The young man had not been aware that 
 he was possessed by a devil, but from that moment, his wild, dis- 
 turbed looks changed, he became very temperate, and assumed the 
 garb of a Pythagorean philosopher. 
 
 Apollonius went to Home, and arrived there after the emperor 
 Nero had passed very severe laws against magicians. He was met 
 on the way by a person who advised him to turn back and not enter 
 the city, saying that all who wore the philosopher's garb were in 
 danger of being arrested as magicians. He heeded not these words 
 of warning, but proceeded on his way, and entered the city. It 
 was not long before he became an object of suspicion, was closely 
 watched, and finally arrested, but when his accusers appeared be- 
 fore the tribunal and unrolled the parchment on which the charges 
 against him had been written, they found that all the characters had 
 disappeared. Apollonius made such an impression on the magistrates 
 by the bold tone he assumed, that he was allowed to go where he 
 pleased.' 
 
 Many miracles were performed by him while in Rome, among 
 others may be mentioned l^is restoring a dead maiden to Ufa. 
 
 She belonged to a family of rank, and was just about to be 
 married, when she died suddenly. Apollonius met the funeral pro- 
 cession that was conveying her body to the tomb. He asked them 
 to set down the bier, saying to her betrothed : " I will dry up the 
 tears you are shedding for this maiden." They supposed he was 
 going to pronounce a funeral oration, but he merely toolc her hand., 
 bent over her, and uttered a few words in a low tone. She opened 
 
 ' See Philostratu8, p. 140. ^ Ibid. p. I5S. ' See Ibid. p. 184,
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 263 
 
 lier eyes, and began to speak, and was carried back alive and well 
 to ber father's bouse.' 
 
 Passing through Tarsus, in bis travels, a young man was pointed 
 out to him who bad been bitten thirty days before by a mad dog, 
 and who was then running on all fours, barking and howling. 
 Apollonius took his case in hand, and it was not long before the 
 young man was restored to his right mind.' 
 
 Domitian, Emperor of Kome, caused Apollonius to be arrested, 
 during one of his visits to that city, on charge of allowing himself 
 to be worshiped (the people having given him divine hmwrs), 
 speaking against the reigning powers, and pretending that his words 
 were inspired by the gods. He was taken, loaded with irons, and 
 cast into prison. " I have bound you," said the emperor, " and 
 you will not escape me." 
 
 Apollonius was one day visited in his prison by his steadfast 
 disciple, Damns, who asked him when he thought he should recover 
 his liberty, whereupon he answered : " This instant, if it depended 
 upon myself," and drawing his legs out of the shackles, he added : 
 " Keep up your spirits, you see the freedom I enjoy." He was 
 brought to trial not long after, and so defended himself, that the 
 emperor was induced to acquit him, but forbade him to leave 
 Rome. Apollonius then addressed the emperor, and ended by 
 saying : " You cannot kill me, because I am not mortal ;" and 
 as soon as he had said these words, ]ie vanished from the trihunaU 
 Damns (the disciple who had visited him in prison) had previously 
 been sent away from Rome, with the promise of his master that 
 he would soon rejoin him. Apollonius vanished from the presence 
 of the emperor (at Rome) at noon. On the evening of tJie same 
 day, he suddenly appeared hefore Dam,us and some other friends 
 who were at Puteoli, more than a hundred miles from Rome. 
 They started, being doubtful whether or not it was his spirit, but he 
 stretched out his hand, saying: " Take it, and if I escape from you 
 regard me as an apparition."* 
 
 > Compare Matt. is. 18-85. "There came in, and took her by t/ie hand, and the maid 
 
 a certain ruler and worshiped him, saying : arose. ^' 
 
 ' My daughter is even now dead, but come and " See Philostratns, pp. 285-286. 
 
 lay thy hand upon lier, and she shall live,' > " He could render himself invisible, evoke 
 
 And Jesus arose and followed him, and so did departed spirits, utter predictions, and discover 
 
 his disciples. . . . And when Jesus came into the thoughts of other men." (Hardy : Eastern 
 
 the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and Monachism, p. 3S0.) 
 
 the people making a noise, he said unto them: * "And as they thus spoke, Jesus himself 
 
 'Give peace, for the maid is not dead, but stood in the midst of them, and said unto 
 
 sleepeth.' And they laughed him to scorn. them: 'Peace he unto you.' But they were 
 
 Bat when the people were put forth, he went terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they
 
 264 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 When Apollonins had told his disciples that he had made his 
 defense in Eome, only a few hours before, they marveled how he 
 could have performed the journey so rapidly. He, in reply, said 
 that tliey must ascribe it to a god.' 
 
 The Empress Julia, wife of Alexander Severus, was so much 
 interested in the history of Apollonius, that she requested Flavins 
 Philostratus, an Athenian author of reputation, to write an account 
 of him. The early Christian Fathers, alluding to this life of Apol- 
 lonius, do not deny the miracles it recounts, but attribute to them 
 the aid of evil spirits." 
 
 Justin Martyr was one of the believers in the miracles per- 
 formed by Apollonius, and by others through him, for he says : 
 
 " How is it that the talismans of Apollonius have power in certain members 
 of creation ? for they prevent, as we see, the fury of the waves, and the violence of 
 the winds, and the attacks of wild beasts, and wliilst onr Lord's miracles are 
 pi-eserved by tradition alone, those of Apollonius are most numerous, and actually 
 manifested in present facts, so as to lead astray all beJiolders."^ 
 
 So much for Apollonius. We will now speak of another miracle 
 performer, Simon Magus. 
 
 Simon the Samaritan, generally called Simon Magus, produced 
 marked effects on the times succeeding him ; being the progenitor 
 of a large class of sects, which long troubled the Christian churches. 
 
 In the time of Jesus and Simon Magus it was almost univer- 
 sally believed that men could foretell events, cure diseases, and ob- 
 tain control over the forces of nature, by the aid of spirits, if they 
 knew how to invoke them. It was Simon's proficiency in this 
 occult science which gained him the surname of Magus, or 
 Magician. 
 
 The writer of the eighth chajjter of " The Acts of the Apos- 
 tles " informs us that when Philip went into Samaria, " to preach 
 Christ unto them," he found there " a certain man called Simon, 
 which beforetirae in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the 
 people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one. 
 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying : 
 This man is the great power of God.'" 
 
 Simon traveled about preaching, and made many proselytes. He 
 professed to be " The Wisdom of God;' " The Word of God;"- 
 
 had seen a spirit. And he eaid unto them : » See Philostratus, p. 342. 
 
 ' Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts " Ibid. p. 5. 
 
 arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and ^ Jat^tin Martyr's " Qit<jEst,'' xxiv Quoted 
 
 my feet, that it is myself ; handle me and see ; lu King's Gnostics, p. 2-W 
 
 /or a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see * Acts, viii. 9 10. 
 
 me have." (Luke, xxiv. 3G-39.>
 
 THE MIKAOLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 265 
 
 " The Paraclete, or Comforter" " The Image of the Eternal 
 Father, Manifested in the Flesh," and his followers claimed that 
 he was " The First Born of the Supreme "^ All of these are titles, 
 which, in after years, were applied to Christ Jesus. His followers 
 had a gospel called " The Foxir Corners of the World," which re- 
 minds us of the reason given by Irenseiis, for there being four 
 Gospels among the Christians. He says : 
 
 " It is impossible that there could he more or less than four. For there are 
 four climates, and/oj/r cardinal winds; but the Gospel is the pillar and founda- 
 tion of the Church, and its breath of life. The Church, therefore, was to have 
 four pillars, blowing immortality from every quarter, and giving life to 
 men."' 
 
 Simon also composed some works, of which but slight fragments 
 remain, Christian authority having evidently destroyed them. That 
 he made a lively impression on his contemporaries is indicated by 
 the subsequent extension of his doctrines, tinder varied forms, by 
 the wonderful stories which the Christian Fathers relate of him, 
 and by the strong dislike they manifested toward him. 
 
 Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, says of him : 
 
 " The malicious power of Satan, enemy to all honesty, and foe to all human 
 salvation, brought forth at that time this monster Simon, a father and worker 
 of all such mischiefs, as a great adversary unto the mighty and holy Apostles. 
 
 '" Coming into the city of Rome, he was so aided by that power which prevail- 
 eth in this world, that in short time he brought Ms purpose to such a pass, that 
 his picture was there placed with others, and he honored as a god."' 
 
 Justin Martyr says of him : 
 
 "After the ascension of our Savior into heaven, the DEVIL brought forth cer- 
 tain men which called themselves gods, who not only suffered no vexation of you 
 (Romans), but attained unto honor amongst you, by name one Simon, a Samari- 
 tan, born in the village of Gittou, who (under Claudius Caesar) by the art of 
 deviis, through whom he dealt, wrought devilish enchantments, was esteemed 
 and counted in your regal city of Rome for a god, and honored by you as a god, 
 with a picture between two bridges upon the river Tibris, having this Roman 
 inscription ; ' Sitnoni deo Sancto ' (To Simon the Holy God). And in manner 
 all the Samaritans, and certain also of other nations, do worship him, acknowl- 
 edging him for their chief god."'' 
 
 According to accounts given by several other Christian Fathers, 
 he could make his appearance wherever he pleased to be at any 
 moment ; could poise himself on the air ; make inanimate things 
 
 » See Mosheim. vol. i. pp. 137, 140. that ' it i;' impossible that there could be more 
 
 ^ Irenaeus: Against Heresies, bk. iii. ch. xi. or less than /our,'^ certainly makes it ap- 
 
 The antkarBhip of the fourth gospel, attrib- pear very suspicious. We shall allude to this 
 
 nted to John, has been traced to this same again. 
 
 Irenaui. He is the first person who speaks " Ensebins: Bccl. Hist. lib. 2, ch. xiv. 
 
 of it ; and adding this fact to the statement * Apol. 1, ch. ixiv.
 
 266 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 move without visible assistance ; produce trees from the earth sud- 
 denly ; cause a stick to reap without hands ; change himself into 
 the likeness of any other person, or even into the forms of animals; 
 fling himself from high precipices unhurt, walk through the streets 
 accompanied by spirits of the dead ; and m^nj other such like per- 
 formances.' 
 
 Simon went to Home, where he gave himself out to be an " In- 
 carnate Spirit of God.'" He became a favorite with the Emperor 
 Claudius, and afterwards with Nero. His Christian opponents, as 
 we have seen in the cases cited above, did not deny the miracles 
 attributed to him, but said they were done through the agency of 
 evil spirits, which was a common opinion among tlie Fathers. They 
 claimed that everj' mar/iciaji had an attendant evil spii-it, who came 
 when summoned, obeyed his commands, and taught him ceremonies 
 and forms of words, by which he was able to do supernatural 
 thiugs. In this way they were accustomed to account for all the 
 miracles performed by Gentiles and heretics.' 
 
 Menander — who was called the " Wonder- Worker" — was an- 
 other great performer of miracles. Eusebius, speaking of him, says 
 that he was skilled in magical art, and performed devilish operations ; 
 and that " as yet there be divers which can testify the same of 
 him.'" 
 
 Dr. Conyers Middleton, speaking on this subject, says: 
 
 "It was universally received and believed through all ages of the primitive 
 church, that there was a number of magicians, necromancers, or conjurorj!, 
 both among the Gentiles, and the heretical Christians, who had each their peculiar 
 demon or evil spirit, for their associates, perpetually attending on their persons 
 and obsequious to their commands, by whose help they could perform miracles, 
 foretell future events, call up the souls of the dead, exhibit them to open view, 
 and infuse into people whatever dreams or visions they saw fit, all which is 
 constantly affirmed by the primitive writers and apologists, and commonly ap- 
 plied by them to prove the immortality of the soul."' , 
 
 After quoting from Justin Martyr, who says that these magicians 
 could convince any one " that the souls of men exist still after 
 death," he continues by saying : 
 
 " Lactantius, speaking of certain philosophers who held that the soul perished 
 with the body, says : ' they durst not have declared such an opinion, in the 
 presence of dny magician, for if thej- had done it, he would have confuted them 
 
 'See Prog. Relig. idea?, toI. ii. pp. S41, that belong to God." (See "Son of tlie 
 
 242. Man," p. 67.) 
 
 ' According to Hieronymus (a Christian ^ gee Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. li. p. .^IG, and 
 
 Father, bom a. d. &i6i, Simon Magu^ applied Middieton's Free Inquiry, p. 62. 
 to himself these words : " I am the Word (or * Ensebius : Ecc . Hist., lib. 3, ch. xiv. 
 
 Logos) of God ; I am the Beautiful, I the Ad- • Middieton's Works, vil. i. p. &t. 
 
 vocate, I the Omnipotent ; I am all things
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 267 
 
 upon the spot, by sensible experiments; hy calling up souls from ihe dead, and ren- 
 dering them visible to human eyes, and making them speak and foretell future evenU.."^ 
 
 The Christian Father Theophihis, Bisliop of Antioch, who was 
 contemporary with Irenseus (a. d. 177-202), went so far as to de- 
 clare that it was evil spirits who inspired the old poets and prophets 
 of Greece and Kome. He says : 
 
 " The truth of this is manifestly shown; because those who are possessed by 
 devils, even at this day, are sometimes exorcised by us in the name of God; and 
 the seducing spirits confess themselves to be the same demons who before in- 
 spired the Gentile poets."* 
 
 Even in the second century after Christianity, foreign conjurors 
 were professing to exhibit miracles among the Greeks. Litcian 
 gives an account of one of these " foreign barbarians " — as he calls 
 them' — and says : 
 
 " I believed and was overcome in spite of my resistance, for what was I to 
 do when I saw him carried through the air in daylight, and walking on the 
 water,* and passing leisurely and slowly through the fire ?"' 
 
 He further tells us that this " foreign barbarian " was able to 
 raise the dead to life." 
 
 Athenagoras, a Christian Father who flourished during the latter 
 part of the second centui-y, says on this subject : 
 
 "We (Christians) do not deny that in several places, cities, and countries, 
 there are some extraordinary works performed in the name of idols, " i. e. , heathen 
 gods.' 
 
 Miracles were not uncommon things among the Jews before 
 and during the time of Christ Jesus. Casting out devils was an 
 every-day occurrence,' and miracles frequently happened to confirm 
 the sayings of Rabbis. One cried out, when his opinion was dis- 
 puted, " May this tree prove that I am right !" and forthwith the 
 tree was torn up by the roots, and hurled a hundred ells off. But 
 
 > Middleton'B Works, vol. i. p. 54. The Christians coDsider those who are not 
 * Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. ii. p. 312, and followers of Christ Jesus to be heathens and 
 
 iliddieton's Works, vol. i. p. 10. barbarians. 
 
 > " The Egyptians call all men ' barbarians ' The Mohammedans consider all others to be 
 who do not speak the same langnage as thera- dogs, iiiticief^, and barbanans. 
 
 selves." (Herodotus, book ii. oh. 155.) * "And in the fourth watch of the night, 
 
 "By * barbarians^ the Greeks meant all Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." 
 
 who were not aprang from tbemeelves — all (Matt. xiv. ^.'i.) 
 
 foreigners." (Henry Cary, translator of Hero- > Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. ii. p. 23S. We 
 
 dolus.) have it on the authority of Strabo that Roman 
 
 The Chinese call the English, and all for- priests walked barefoot over burning coals, 
 
 eigners from western countries, "western bar- without receiving the slightest injury. This 
 
 barians ,•" the Japanese were called by them was done in the presence of crowds of people. 
 
 the *^ eastern bttrbariaits." (See Thornton's />/i;jy also relates the same story. 
 
 History of China, vol. i.) • Prog. Kclig. Ideas, vol. ii. p. 336. 
 
 The Jews considered all who did not be- ' Athenagoras, Apolog. p. 25. Qaoted in 
 
 long to their race to be Iieathetis and barba- Middleton's Works, vol. i. p. 62. 
 
 riant. » Geikie : Life of Christ, vol. ii. p. 610.
 
 268 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 his opponents declared that a tree could prove notliing. " May 
 this stream, then, witness for me !" cried Eliezar, and at once it 
 Howed the opposite way.' 
 
 Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that King Solomon was 
 expert in casting out devils who had taken possession of the body 
 of mortals. This gift was also possessed by many Jews throughout 
 different ages, tie (Josephus) relates that he saw one of his own 
 countrymen (Eleazar) casting out devils, in the presence of a vast 
 multitude." 
 
 Dr. Conyers Middleton says : 
 
 "It is remarkable that all the Christian Fathers, who lay so great a stress on 
 the particular gift of casting oul devils, allow the same power both to the Jews 
 and the Gentiles, as ■well bcfoi'e as after oar Saviour's coming."^ 
 
 Vespasian, who was born about ten years after the time as- 
 signed for the birth of Christ Jesus, performed wonderful miracles, 
 for the good of mankind. Tacitus, the Roman historian, informs 
 us that he cured a hlind m,an in Alexandria, by means of his spit- 
 tle, and a lame man by the mere touch of his foot. 
 
 The words of Tacitus are as follows : 
 
 " Vespasian passed some months at Alexandria, having resolved to defer his 
 voyage to Italy I ill the return of summer, when the winds, blowing in a regular 
 direction, afford a safe and pleasant navigation. During his residence in that 
 city, a number of incidents, out of the ordinary course of nature, seemed to 
 mark him as the peculiar favorite of the gods. A man of mean condilion, born 
 at Alexandiia, had lost his sight by a defluxion on his eyes. He presented him- 
 self before Vespasian, and, falling prostrate on the ground, implored the emperor 
 to administer a cure for his blindness. He came, he said, by the admonition of 
 Serapi^, the god whom the superstition of the Egyptians holds in the highest 
 veneration. The request was, that the emperor, with his spittle, would conde- 
 scend to moisten the poor man's face and the balls of his eyes.'' Another, who 
 had lost the use of his hand, inspired by the same god, begged that he would 
 tread on the part affe«ted. ... In the presence of a prodigious nmltitude, 
 all erect with expectation, he advanced with an air of serenity, and hazarded the 
 experiment. The paralytic hand recovered its functions, and the blind man saw 
 the light of the sun.' By living witnesses, who were actually on the spot, both 
 events are confirmed at this hour, when deceit and flattery can hope for no 
 reward."' 
 
 The striking resemblance between the account of these mira- 
 cles, and those attributed to Jesus in the Gospels " according to " 
 
 > Geikie : Life of Christ, vol. i. p. 75. men and trees,' . . . and he was restored." 
 
 " Jewish Antiqiities, bk. viii. ch. ii. (Mark, viii. 83-35.) 
 
 ' Middlcton'B Works, vol. i. p. C8. ' " And behold there was a man which had 
 
 * " And he comcth to Bethsaida, and they his hand witliered. . . . Then said he unto 
 
 bring a blind man nnto him, and besought him the man. ' Stretch fortli thine hand ; ' and he 
 
 to touch him. And he took the blind man by stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, 
 
 the hand . . . and when he had fpit on his like as the other." (Matt. xii. 10-13.) 
 eyet, ... he looked up and said: 'I see 'Tacitus; Hist., lib. Iv. ch. txxxi.
 
 THE MIEAOLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 269 
 
 Matthew and Mark, would lead us to think that one had been 
 copied from the other, but when we find that Tacitus wrote his 
 history a. d. 98,' and that the " Matthew " and Mark narrators' 
 works were not known until after that time," the evidence certainly 
 is that Tacitus was not the plagiarist, but that this charge must fall 
 on the shoulders of the Christian writers, whoever they may have 
 been. 
 
 To come down to earlier times, even the religion of the Ma- 
 hometans is a religion of miracles and wonders. Mahomet, like 
 Jesus of Nazareth, did not claim to perform miracles, but the vot- 
 aries of Mahomet are more assured than himself of his miraculous 
 gifts ; and their confidence and credulity increase as they are farther 
 removed from the time and place of his spiritual exploits. They 
 believe or affirm that trees went forth to meet him ; that he was 
 saluted by stones ; that water gushed from his fingers ; that he fed 
 the hungry, cured the sick, and raised the dead ; that a beam 
 groaned to him ; that a camel complained to him ; that a shoulder 
 of mutton informed him of its being poisoned ; and that both ani- 
 mate and inanimate nature were equally subject to the apostle 
 of God. His dream of a nocturnal journey is seriously described 
 as a real and corporeal transaction. A mysterious animal, the Borak, 
 conveyed him fiom the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem ; with 
 his companion Gabriel he successively ascended the seven heavens, 
 and received and re^Jaid the salutations of the patriarchs, the 
 prophets, and the angels in their respective mansions. Beyond the 
 seventh heaven, Mahomet alone was permitted to proceed ; he 
 passed the veil of unity, approached within two bow-shots of the 
 throne, and felt a cold that pierced him to the heart, when his 
 shoulder was touched by the hand of God. After a familiar, 
 though important conversation, he descended to Jerusalem, re- 
 mounted the Borak, returned to Mecca, and performed in the 
 tentli part of a night the journey of many thousand years. His 
 resistless word split asunder the orb of the moon, and the obedient 
 planet stooped from her station in the sky.' 
 
 These and many other wonders, similar in character to the story 
 of Jesus sending the demons into the swine, are related of Mahomet 
 by his followers. 
 
 It is very certain that the same circuinstances which are 
 claimed to have taken place with respect to the Christian religion, 
 are also claimed to have taken place in the religions of Crishna, Bud- 
 
 ' See Chambera'B Encyclo., art. " Tacitus." ' See The Bible of To-Day, pp. 273, 278. 
 
 ' Bee Gibbon's Eome, vol. i. pp. 539-&41.
 
 270 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 dha, Zoroaster, ^sculapius, Bacchus, Apollonius, Simon Magus, 
 (fee. Histories of these persons, with miracles, relics, circumstances 
 of locality, suitable to them, were as common, as well authenticated 
 (if not better), and as much believed by the devotees as were those 
 relating to Jesus. 
 
 All the Cliristian theologians which the world has yet produced 
 have not been able to procure any evidence of the miracles recorded 
 in the Gospels, half so strong as can be procured in evidence of 
 miracles performed by heathens and heathen gods, both before 
 and after the time of Jesus ; and, as they cannot do this, let them 
 give us a reason why we should reject the one and receive the other. 
 And if they cannot do this, let them candidly confess that we must 
 either admit them all, or reject them all, for they all stand on the 
 same footing. 
 
 In the early times of the Roman republic, in the war with the 
 Latins, the gods Castor and Pollux are said to have appeared on 
 white horses in the Roman army, which by their assistance gained 
 a complete victory : in memory of which, the General Posthumius 
 vowed and built a temple to these deities ; and for a proof of the 
 fact, there was shown, we find, in Cicero's time (106 to 43 b. c), 
 the marks of the horses' hoofs on a rock at Eegillum, where they 
 first appeared.' 
 
 Now this miracle, with those which have already been men- 
 tioned, and many otliers of the same kind which could be men- 
 tioned, has as authentic an attestation, if not more so, as any of the 
 Gospel miracles. It has, for instance : The decree of a senate to 
 confirm it ; visible marks on the spot where it was transacted ; and 
 all this supported by the best authors of antiquity, amongst whom 
 Dionysius, of Halicarnassus, who says that there was subsisting in 
 his time at Home many evident proofs of its reality, besides a 
 yearly festival, with a solemn sacrifice and procession, in memory 
 of it." 
 
 With all these evidences in favor of this miracle having really 
 happened, it seems to us so ridiculous, that we wonder how there 
 could ever have been any so simple as to believe it, yet we should 
 believe that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, after he had been 
 in the tomb four days, our only authority being that anonymous 
 book Icnown as the " Gospel according to St. John," which was not 
 
 ' Middleton's Letters from Rome, p. 102. on the side of the Romans, who by their as- 
 
 See also, Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 16. sistance gained a complete victory. As a per- 
 
 2 Dionysius of Halicamassus, one of the most petual memorial of it, a temple was erected and 
 
 accurate historians of antiqnity, says : " In the a yearly festival instituted in honor of these 
 
 war with the Latins, Castor and Pollux ap- deities." (Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 323, and 
 
 peared visibly on white horses, and foaght Middleton's Letters fTom Rome, p. 103.)
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHEI8T JESUS. 271 
 
 known until after a. d. 173. Albert Barnes, in his "Lectures on 
 the Evidences of Christianity," speaking of the authenticity of the 
 Gospel miracles, makes the following damaging confession : 
 
 " An important question is, whetlier there is any stronger eTidence infiivor of 
 miracles, tlian tliere is in favor of witchcraft, or sorcery, or the re-appearance of 
 the dead, of ghosts, of apparitions ? Is not the evidence in favor of these a? 
 strong as any that can be adduced in favor of miracles ? Have not these things 
 been matters of universal belief ? In what respect is the evidence in favor of 
 the miracles of the Bible stronger than that which can be adduced in favor of 
 witchcraft and sorcery ? Does it differ in nature and degrees; and if it differs, 
 ia it not in favor of witchcraft and sorcery ? Has not the e\^dence in favor of 
 the latter been derived from as competent and reliable witnesses ? Has it not 
 been brought to us from those who saw the facts alleged ? Has it not been sub- 
 jected to a close scrutiny in the courts of justice, to cross-examination, to 
 tortures ? Has it not convinced those of highest legal attainments; those accus- 
 tomed to sift testimony; those who understood the true principles of evidence? 
 Has not the evidence in favor of witchcraft and sorcery had, what the evidence 
 in favor of miracles has not had, the advantage of strict judicial investigation? 
 and been subjected to trial, where evidence should be, before courts of law? 
 Have not the most emiuent judges in the most civilized and enlightened courts 
 of Europe and America admitted the force of such evidence, and on the ground 
 of it committed great numbers of innocent persons to the gallows and to the 
 stake? 1 confess that of all the questions ever asked on the subject of miracles, this is 
 the most perplexing and the most difficult to answer. It is rather to be wondered at 
 that it has not been pressed with more zeal by those who deny the reality of 
 miracles, and that they have placed their objections so extensively on other 
 grounds." 
 
 It was a common adage among the Greeks, "Miracles for 
 fools,^'' and the same proverb obtained among the shrewder Ro- 
 mans, in the saying : " The common people like to he deceived — 
 deceived let them, he." 
 
 St. Chrysostom declares that "miracles are proper only to excite 
 sluggish and vulgar minds, me7i of sense have no occasion for them f 
 and that "they frequently carry some untoward suspicion along 
 with them ;" and Saint Chrysostom, Jerome, Euthemius, and The- 
 ophylact, prove by several instances, that real miracles had been 
 performed by those who were not Catholic, but heretic. Christians.' 
 
 Celsus (an Epicurean philosopher, towards the close of the 
 second century), the first writer who entered tlie lists against the 
 claims of the Christians, in speaking of the miracles which were 
 claimed to have been performed by Jesus, says : 
 
 "His miracles, granted to he true, were nothing more than the common works 
 of those enchanters, who, for a few oboli, will perform greater deeds in the midst 
 of the Forum, calling up the souls of heroes, exhibiting sumptuous banquets, and 
 tables covered with food, which have no reality. Such things do not prove these 
 jugglers to be sons of God; nor do Christ's miracles."* 
 
 » See Prefatory Discourse to vol. iii. Jlid' ' See Origeo: Contra Celos, bk. 1, ch. Ixviii 
 
 dleton'B Works, p. M.
 
 272 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Ceisus, in common with most of the Grecians, looked upon 
 Christianity as a hlind faith, that shunned the light of reason. In 
 speaking of the Christians, lie says : 
 
 " Tbey are forever repeating: 'Do not examine. Only believe, and thy faith 
 ■will make thee blessed. Wisdum is a bad thing in life; /oofw/traegg is to be pre- 
 ferred.' "' 
 
 He jeers at the fact that ignorant men were allowed to preach, 
 and says that " weavers, tailors, fullers, and the most illiterate and 
 rustic fellows," set up to teach strange paradoxes. " They openly 
 declared that none but the ignorant (were) lit disciples for the God 
 they worshijDed," and that one of their rules was, " let no man that 
 is learned come among us.'" 
 
 The miracles claimed to haveheeii performed by the Christians, 
 he attributed to 7nagic,' and considered — as we have seen above — 
 their miracle performers to be on the same level with all Gentile 
 magicians. He says that the " wonder-workers " among the Chris- 
 tians " rambled about to play tricks at fairs and markets," that they 
 never appeared in the circles of the wiser and better sort, but al- 
 ways took care to intrude themselves among the ignorant and un- 
 cultured.' 
 
 "The magicians in Egypt (says he), cast out evil spirits, cure diseases by 
 a breath, call up the spirits of the dead, make inanimate things move as if they 
 were alive, and so influence some uncultured men, that they produce in them 
 whatever sights and sounds they please. But because they do sucli things shall 
 we consider them the sons of God? Or shall we call such things the tricks of 
 pitiable and wicked men?"' 
 
 He believed that Jesus was like all these other wonder-workers, 
 that is, simply a necromancer, and that he learned his magical arts 
 in Egypt.' All philosophers, during the time of the Early Fathers, 
 answered the claims that Jesus performed miracles, in the same 
 manner. " They even ventured to call him a magician and a de- 
 ceiver of the people," says Justin Martyr,' and St. Augustine as- 
 serted that it was generally believed that Jesus had been initiated 
 in magical art in Egypt, and that he had written books concerning 
 magic, one of which was called ^^ Magia Jesu Christi."' In the 
 Clementine Recognitions, the charge is brought against Jesus that 
 he did not perf(jrm his miracles as a Jewish prophet, but as a ma- 
 gician, an initiate of the heathen temples.' 
 
 ' See Origen: Contra Celsus, bk. 1, ch. ii. ^ See Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 148. 
 
 2 Il)id bk. ill. ch. xliv. ' See Bariii^-Gould'e Lost and Hostile Gos- 
 
 s Ibid. pels. A knowledge of magic had spread from 
 
 * Ibid. bk. 1, ch. Ixviii. Central Asia into Syria, by means of tlie returi 
 6 Ibid. of the Jews from Babylon, and bad afterwards 
 
 • Ibid. extended widely, through the mixing of na- 
 ^ Dial. Cum. Typho. ch. Ixix. tions produced by Alexander's conquests.
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 273 
 
 The casting out of devils was the most frequent and among the 
 most striking and the oftenest appealed to of the miracles of Jesus ; 
 yet, in the conversation between himself and the Pharisees (Matt. 
 xii. 24-27), he speaks of it as one that was constantly and habitually 
 performed by their own exorcists ; and, so far from insinuating any 
 difference between the two cases, expressly puts them on a level. 
 
 One of the best proofs, and most unquestionable, that Jesus was 
 accused of being a magician, or that some of the early Christians 
 believed him to liave been such, may be found in the representations 
 of him performing miracles. On a sarcophagus to be found in the 
 Museo Gregoriano, which is paneled with bas-reliefs, is to be seen 
 a representation of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. He is 
 represented as a young man, beardless, and equipped with a wand 
 in the received guise of a necromcmcer, whilst the corpse of Laz- 
 arus is swathed in bandages exactly as an Egyptian mummy.' On 
 other Christian monuments representing the miracles of Jesus, he 
 is pictured in the same manner. For instance, when he is repre- 
 sented as turning the water into wine, and multiplying the bread in 
 the wilderness, he is a necromancer with a xoand in his hand.' 
 
 Horus, the Egyptian Saviour, is represented on the ancient 
 monuments of Egypt, with a wand in his hand raising the dead. 
 ^o Zi/'^, "just as we see Christ doing the same thing," says J. P. 
 Lundy, " in the same way, to Lazarus, in our Christian monu- 
 ments.'" 
 
 Dr. Conyers Middleton, speaking of the primitive Christians, 
 says : 
 
 " In the performance of their miracles, they were always charged with fraud 
 and imposture, by their adversaries. Lucian (who flourished during the second 
 century), tells us that whenever any crafty juggler, expert in his trade, and who 
 knew how to make a right use of things, went over to the Christians, he was 
 sure to grow rich immediately, by making a prey of their simplicity. And 
 Celsus represents all the Christian wonder-workers as mere vagabonds and com- 
 mon cheats, who rambled about to play their tricks at faiis and markets; not in 
 the circles of the wiser and the better sort, for among such they never ventured to 
 appear, but wherever they observed a set of raw young fellows, slaves or fools, 
 there they took care to intrude themselves, and to display all their arts."* 
 
 The same charge was constantly urged against them by Julian, 
 Porphyry and others. Similar sentiments were entertained by Poly- 
 bius, the Pagan philosopher, who considered all miracles as fables, 
 invented to preserve in the imlearned a due sense of respect for the 
 deity.' 
 
 ' See King's Gnostics, p. 145. Monuments] Hi st. of Our Lord, vol. i. p. 16. 
 Christianity, pp. 100 and 402, and Jameson's ^ Monumental Christianity, pp. 403-405. 
 
 Hist, of Our Lord in Art, Tol. i. p. 16. « Middleton's Works, vol. i. p. 19. 
 
 ' See Monumental Christianity, p. 403, and • See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 59.
 
 274 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Edward Gibbon, speaking of the miracles of the Christians, 
 writes in his familiar style as follows : 
 
 " How shall we excuse the supine inattention of the Pagan and philosophic 
 world, to those evidences which were re])resentod by the hand of Omnipotence, 
 not to their reason, but to their senses? During the age of Christ, of his apostles, 
 and of their first disciples, the doctrine which they preached was confirmed by 
 innumerable prodigies. The lame walked, the blind saw, the sick were healed, 
 the dead were raised, demons were expelled, and the laws of nature were fre- 
 quently suspended for the benefit of the church. But the sages of Greece and 
 Rome turned aside from the awful spectacle, and, pursuing the ordinary occupa- 
 tions of life and study, appeared unconscious of any alterations in the moral or 
 physical government of the world."' 
 
 The learned Dr. Middletou, whom we have quoted on a preced- 
 ing page, after a searching inquiry into the miraculous powers of 
 the Christians, says : 
 
 " From these short hints and characters of the primitive wonder-workers, as 
 given both by friends and enemies, we may fairly conclude, that the celebrated 
 gifts of these ages were generally engrossed and exercised by the primitive 
 Christians, chiefly of the laity, who used to travel about from city to city, to assist 
 the ordinary pastors of the church, and preachers of the Gospel, in the conversion 
 of Pagans, by the extraordinary gifts with which they were supposed to be 
 indued by the spirit of God, and the miraculous works which they pretended 
 to perform. . . . 
 
 " We have just reason to suspect that there was some original fraud in the 
 case; and that the strolling wonder-workers, by a dexterity of jugglery which 
 art, not heaven, had taught them, imposed upon the credulity of the pious Fathers, 
 whose strong prejudices and ardent zeal for the interest of Christianity would 
 dispose them to embrace, without examination, whatever seemed to promote so 
 good a cause. That this was really the case in some instances, is certain and 
 notoriiius, and that it was so in all, will appear still more probable, when we 
 have considered the particular characters of the several Fathers, on whose testi- 
 mony the credit of these wonderful narratives depends."' 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 "The pretended miracles of the primitive church were all mere fictions, 
 ■which the pious and zealous Fathers, partly from a weak credulity, and partly 
 from reasons of policy, believing some perhaps to be true, and knowing all of 
 them 10 be useful, were induced to espouse and propagate, for the support of a 
 righteous cause. "^ 
 
 Origen, a Christian Father of the third century, uses the follow- 
 ing words in his answer to Celsus : 
 
 " A vast number of persons who have left those horrid debaucheries in which 
 they formerly wallowed, and have professed to embrace the Christian religion, 
 
 ' Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. p. 588. An emi- him that satisfaction. (See Gibbon's Rome, 
 
 Bent heathen challenged hia Christian friend vol. i. p. 541, and Middleton's Works, vol. i. 
 
 Theophilus, Bi.?hop of Antioch, a champion p. 60.) 
 
 of the Gospel, to show him bnt one person ^ Middleton's Works, vol. i. pp. 20, 21. 
 
 who had been raised from the dead, on the ' Ibid. p. 62. The Christian Fathers are 
 
 condition of turning Christian himself upon noted for their frauds. Their wriimgs are full 
 
 U. The Christian bishop was unabk to give of falsehoods and deceit.
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 275 
 
 eball receive a bright and massive crown when this frail and short life is ended, 
 
 though they don't stand to examine tlie grounds on which tlieir faith is built, nor 
 defer their conversion till tliey have a fair opportunity and capacity to apply 
 themselves to rational and learned studies. And since our adversaries are con- 
 tinually making such a stir about our taking things on trust, I answer, that we, 
 who see plainly and have found the vast advantage that the common people do 
 manifestly and frequently reap thereby (who make up by far the greater num- 
 ber), I say, we (the Christian clergy), who are so well advised of these things, 
 do professedly teach men to believe without examination."'^ 
 
 Origen flourished and wrote a. d. 225-235, which sliows that at 
 that early day there was no rational evidence for Christianity, but 
 it was professedly taught, and men were supposed to believe " these 
 things " {i. e. the Christian legends) without severe examination. 
 
 The primitive Christians were perpetually reproached for their 
 gross credulity, by all their enemies. Celsus, as we have already 
 seen, declares thac they cared neither to receive nor give any reason 
 for their faith, and that it was a usual saying with them ; " Do not 
 examine, but believe only, and thy faith will save thee ;" and Julian 
 affirms that, " the sum of all their wisdom was comprised in the 
 single precept, ' helieve.' " 
 
 Arnobius, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " The Gentiles make it their constant business to laugh at our faith, and to 
 lash our credulity with their facetious jokes." 
 
 The Christian Fathers defended themselves against these 
 charges by declaring that they did nothing more than the heathens 
 themselves had always done ; and reminds them that they too had 
 found the same method useful with the uneducated or common 
 people, who were not at leisure to examine things, and whom they 
 taught therefore, to believe without reason.' 
 
 This " believing without reason " is illustrated in the following 
 words of Tertullian, a Christian Father of the second century, who 
 reasons on the evidence of Christianity as follows : 
 
 "I find no other means to prove myself to be impudent with success, and 
 happUy a fool, than by my contempt of shame; as, for instance — I maintain 
 that the son of God was born: why am I not ashamed of maintaining such a 
 thing? Why! but because it is a shameful thing. I maintain that the son of 
 God died: well, that is wholly credible because it is monstrously absurd. I 
 maintain that after having been buried, he rose again: and that I take to be ab- 
 solutely true, because it was manifestly impossible."^ 
 
 According to the very books which record the miracles of Jesus, 
 he never claimed to perform such deeds, and Paul declares that the 
 great reasoTi why Israel did not believe Jesus to be the Messiah was 
 
 ■ Contra Celeus, bk. 1, ch. ix. x. = On The S\ h of Christ, ch. v. 
 
 3 See Middleton's Works, pp. 62, &3, 64.
 
 276 BIBLE MrTHS. 
 
 that " tlie Jews required a sign.'" He meant : " Signs and wonders 
 are the only proofs they will admit that any one is sent by God and 
 is preaching the truth. If they cannot have this palpable, external 
 proof, they withhold their faith." 
 
 A writer of the second century (John, in eh. iv. 18) makes Jesus 
 aim at his fellow-countrymen and contemporaries, the reproach : 
 " Unless you see signs and wonders, you do not believe." In con- 
 nection with Paul's declaration, given above, these words might be 
 paraphrased : " The reason why the Jews never believed in Jesus 
 was that they never saw him do signs and wonders." 
 
 Listen to the reply he (Jesus) made when told that if he wanted 
 people to believe in him he must first prove his claim by a miracle : 
 " A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, and no sign 
 shall be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonas."^ Of 
 course, this answer did not in the least degree satisfy the question- 
 ers ; so they presently came to him again with a more direct re- 
 quest : " If the kingdom of God is, as you say, close at hand, show 
 us at least some one of the signs in heaven which are to precede the 
 Messianic age." What could appear more reasonable than such a 
 request ? Every one knew that the end of the present age was to 
 be heralded by fearful signs in heaven. The light of the sun was 
 to be put ont, the moon turned to blood, the stars robbed of their 
 brightness, and many other fearful signs were to be shown !' If any 
 one of these could be produced, they would be content ; but if not, 
 they must decline to surrender themselves to an idle joy which 
 must end in a bitter disappointment ; and surely Jesus himself 
 could hardly expect them to believe in him on his bare word. 
 
 Historians have recorded miracles said to have been performed 
 by other persons, but not a word is said by them about the miracles 
 claimed to have been performed by Jesus. 
 
 Justus of Tiberias, who was born about five years after the time 
 assigned for the crucifixion of Jesus, wrote a Jewish History. 
 Now, if the miracles attributed to Christ Jesus, and his death and 
 resurrection, had taken place in the manner described by the Gos- 
 pel narrators, he could not have failed to allude to them. But 
 Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, tells us that it contained "no 
 mention of the coming of Christ, nor of the events concerning him, 
 nor of the prodigies he wrought^ As Theodore Parker has re- 
 marked : " The miracle is of a most fluctuating character. The 
 miracle-worker of to-day is a matter-of-fact juggler to-morrow. 
 
 1 1. Corinthians, i. 22, 23. Matt. rxiv. 29, 30 ; Acts, ii. 19, 20 ; Kevela 
 
 " Matt. xii. 29. tions, t1. 12, 13 ; zy\. 18, et seg. 
 
 • See, for example. Joel, ii. 10, 31 ; iii. 15 ;
 
 THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST JESUS. 277 
 
 Science each year adds new wonders to our store. The master of 
 a locomotive steam-engine would have been thought greater than 
 Jupiter Tonans, or the Elohim, thirty centuries ago." 
 
 In the words of Dr. Oort : " Our increased knowledge of nature 
 has gradually undermined the belief in the possibility of miracles, 
 and the time is not far distant when in the mind of every man, of 
 any culture, all accounts of miracles will be banished together to 
 their proper region — that of legend." 
 
 What had been said to have been done in India was said by the 
 ^^ half Jew " ' writers of the Gospels to have been done in Palestine. 
 The change of names and places, with the mixing up of various 
 sketches of Egyptian, Phenician, Greek and Raman mythology, 
 was all that was necessary. They had an abundance of material, 
 and with it they built. A long-continued habit of imposing upon 
 others would in time subdue the minds of the impostors themselves, 
 and cause them to become at length the dupes of their own decep- 
 tion. 
 
 ' The writers of the Gospels were " I know not what eort of Jiaif Jews, not even agreeing 
 with themselves." (Bishop Fanetns.)
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CHEIST 0EI8HNA AlO) OHEIST JESUS COMPAEED. 
 
 Believing and affirming, that the mythological portion of the 
 history of Jesus of Nazai-eth, contained in the books forming the 
 Canon of the New Testament, is nothing more or less than a copy 
 of the mythological histories of the Hindoo Saviour Crishna, and 
 the Buddhist Saviour Buddha,^ with a mixture of mythology bor- 
 rowed from the Persians and other nations, wc shall in this and the 
 chapter following, compare the histories of these Christs, side by 
 side with that of Christ Jesus, the Christian Saviour. 
 
 In comparing the history of Crishna with that of Jesus, we have 
 the following remarkable parallels : 
 
 1. " Crisbna was born of a chaste 
 virgin, called Devaki, who was selected 
 by the Lord for this purpose on ac- 
 count of her purity."' 
 
 3. A chorus of Devatas celebrated 
 with song the praise of Devaki, ex- 
 claiming; "In the delivery of this 
 favored woman all nature shall have 
 cause to exult."* 
 
 3. The birth of Crishna was an- 
 nounced in the heavens by his atar.^ 
 
 1. Jesus was born of a chaste virgin, 
 called Mary, who was selected by the 
 Lord for this purpose, on account of 
 her purity." 
 
 2. The angel of the Lord saluted 
 Mary, and said: "Hail Mary! the 
 Lord is with you, you are blessed above 
 all women, . . . for thou hast found 
 favor with the Lord "* 
 
 3. The birth of Jesus was an- 
 nounced in the heavens by Ms star.'' 
 
 » It Is also very evident that the history of 
 Crishna— or that part of it at least which has a 
 religious aspect— is taken from that of Buddha. 
 Crishna, in the ancient epic poems, is simply a 
 great hero, and it is not until about the fourth 
 century b. c, that he is deified and declared to 
 be an incarnation of Vishnu, or Vishua him- 
 self in human form. (See Monier Vs illiams' 
 Hinduism, pp. 103, 103.) 
 
 " If it be urged that the attribution to 
 Crishna of qualities or powers belonging to the 
 other deities is a mere device by which his de- 
 votees sought to supersede the more ancient 
 gods, the answer 7)wst be thai nothinrj is done in 
 his case which has not been done in the case of 
 almost every otfier member of the great company 
 0/ the gods, and that the systematic adoption 
 
 of this method is itself conclusive proof of the 
 looseness and flexibility of the materials of 
 which the cumbrous mythology of the Hindu 
 epic poems is composed." (Cos : Aryan My- 
 thology, vol. ii. p. 130.) These words apply 
 very forcibly to the history of Christ Jesus, 
 He being attributed with qualities and powers 
 belonging to the deities of the heathen is a 
 mere device by which his devotees sought to 
 supersede the more ancient gods. 
 
 2 See ch. xii. 
 
 ' See The Gospel of Mary, Apoc, ch. vii. 
 
 * Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 329. 
 
 ^ Mary, Apoc, vii. Luke, i. 28-80. 
 
 « Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp. 317 and 338. 
 
 ' Matt. ii. S. 
 
 [378]
 
 CRISHNA AND JESUS COMPARED. 
 
 279 
 
 4. On the morn of Crishna's birth, 
 '■ the quarters of the horizon were ir- 
 radiate with joy, as if moonlight was 
 diffused over the whole earth;" " the 
 spirits and nymphs of heaven danced 
 and sang," and "the clouds emitted 
 low pleasing sounds."' 
 
 5. Crishna, though royally descend- 
 ed, was actually born in a state the 
 most abject and humiliating, having 
 been brought into the world in a cave.^ 
 
 6. " The moment Crishna was born, 
 
 the whole cave was splendidly illumi- 
 nated, and the countenances of his 
 father and his mother emitted rays of 
 glory. "5 
 
 7. "Soon after Crishna's mother 
 was delivered of him, and while she 
 was weeping over him and lamenting 
 his unhappy destiny, the compassionate 
 infant assumed the power of speech, 
 and soothed and comforted his afflicted 
 parent "' 
 
 8. The divine child — Crishna — was 
 recognized, and adored by cowherds, 
 who prostrated themselves before the 
 heaven-born child.' 
 
 9. Crishna was received with divine 
 honors, and presented with gifts of 
 sandal-wood and perfumes. ' ' 
 
 10. " Soon after the birth of Crish- 
 na, the holy Indian prophet Nared, 
 hearing of the fame of the infant 
 Crishna, pays him a visit at Gokul, ex- 
 amines the stars, and declares him to 
 be of celestial descent."'^ 
 
 11. Crishna was born at a time when 
 Nanda — his foster-father — was away 
 from home, having come to the city to 
 pay his tax or yearly tribute, to the 
 king." 
 
 4. When Jesus was born, the angels 
 of heaven sang with joy, and from the 
 clouds there came pleasing sounds.' 
 
 5. " The birth of Jesus, the King 
 of Israel, took place under circumstan- 
 ces of extreme indigence ; and the place 
 of his nativity, according to the united 
 voice of the ancients, and of oriental 
 travelers, was in a cave."* 
 
 6. The moment Jesus was bom, 
 "there was a great light in the cave, 
 so that the eyes of Joseph and the mid- 
 wife could not bear it.*" 
 
 7. " Jesus spake even when he was 
 in his cradle, and said to his mother: 
 'Mary, I am Jesus, the Son of God, 
 that TFoni which thou didst bring forth 
 according to the declaration of the 
 Angel Gabriel unto thee, and my Father 
 hath sent me for the salvation of the 
 world.' "* 
 
 8. The divine child — Jesus — was 
 recognized, and adored by shepherds, 
 who prostrated themselves before the 
 heaven-born child. '» 
 
 9. Jesus was received with divine 
 honors, and presented with gifts of 
 frankincense and myrrh. '* 
 
 10. " Now when Jesus was born in 
 Bethlehem of Judea, behold, there came 
 wise men from the East, saying : 
 "Where is he that is born King of the 
 Jews, for we have seen his star in the 
 East and have come to worship him."'* 
 
 11. Jesus was born at a time when 
 Joseph — his foster-father — was away 
 from home, having come to the city to 
 pay his tax or tribute to the governor. '« 
 
 ' Viehnn Piirana, p. 502. 
 » Luke, ii. 13. 
 
 • See ch. xvi. 
 
 • Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 311. See also, 
 chap. xvi. 
 
 ' See ch. xvl. 
 
 • ProteTangelion, Apoc, chs. xii. and liii. 
 ' Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. 311. 
 
 • Infancy, Apoc., ch. i. 9, 3. 
 
 ' See ch. rv. 
 '» Luke, ii. 8-10. 
 
 *^ See Oriental Religions, p. 500, and 
 Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 3Sj. 
 '2 Matt. ii. 2. 
 
 " Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 317. 
 "* Matt., ii. 1, 2. 
 
 " Vishnn Purana, bk. v. ch. iii. 
 '• Luke, ii. 1-17.
 
 280 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 12. Crishna, although born in a state 
 the most abject and humiliating, was 
 of royal descent. ' 
 
 13. Crishna's father was warned by 
 u "heavenly voice," to " fly with the 
 child to Gacool, across the river Jum- 
 na," as the reigning monarch sought 
 his life.' 
 
 14. The ruler of the country in 
 which Crishna was born, having been 
 informed of the birth of the divine 
 child, sought to destroy him. For this 
 purpose, he ordered ' ' the massacre in 
 all his states, of all the children of the 
 male sex, born during the night of the 
 birth of Crishna."' 
 
 15. " Mathura (pronounced Mattra), 
 was the city in which Crishna was 
 born, where his most extraordinary 
 miracles were performed, and which 
 continues at this day the place where 
 his name and Avatar are held in the 
 most sacred veneration of any province 
 in Hindostan."' 
 
 16. Crishna was preceded by Bama, 
 who was born a short time before him, 
 and whose life was sought by Kansa, 
 the ruling monarch, at the time he at- 
 tempted to destroy the infant Crishna.' 
 
 17. Crishna, being brought up among 
 shepherds, wanted the advantage of a 
 preceptor to teach him the sciences. 
 Afterwards, when he went to Mathura, 
 a tutor, profoundly learned, was ob- 
 tained for him ; but, in a very short 
 time, he became such a scholar as 
 •tterly to astonish and perplex his 
 master with a variety of the most in- 
 tricate questions in Sanscrit science." 
 
 12. Jesus, although born in a state 
 the most abject and humiliating, was 
 of royal descent.' 
 
 13. Jesus' father was warned "in 
 a dream" to "take the young child 
 and his mother, and flee into Egypt," 
 as the reigning monarch sought his 
 life.'' 
 
 14. The ruler of the country in 
 which Jesus was born, having been 
 informed of the birth of the divine 
 child, sought to destroy him. For this 
 purpose, he ordered "all the children 
 that were in Bethlehem, and in all the 
 coasts thereof," to be slain." 
 
 15. Matarea, near Hermopolis, in 
 Egypt, is said to have been the place 
 where Jesus resided during his absence 
 from the land of Judea. At this place 
 he is reported to have wrought many 
 miracles. 8 
 
 16. Jesus was preceded by John 
 the "divine herald," who was born a 
 short time before him, and whose life 
 was sought by Herod, the ruling mon- 
 arch, at the time he attempted to 
 destroy the infant Jesus. "• 
 
 17. Jesus was sent to Zaccheus the 
 schoolmaster, who wrote out an alpha- 
 bet for him, and bade him say Aleph. 
 "Then the Lord Jesus said to him, 
 Tell me first the meaning of the letter 
 Aleph, and then I will pronounce Beth, 
 and when the master threatened to 
 whip him, the Lord Jesus explained 
 to him the meaning of the letters Aleph 
 and Beth ; also which where the 
 straight figures of the letters, which 
 the oblique, and what letters had 
 
 1 Asiatic Researches, fol. i. p. 259. Hist. 
 Hindostan, vol, ii. p. 310. 
 
 > See the Genealogies in Matt, and Lake. 
 s See ch. xviii. 
 « Matt. ii. 13. 
 
 • See cli. xviii. 
 
 • Matt. ii. 16. 
 
 ' Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 317. Asiatic 
 Researches, vol. i. p. ii59. 
 
 • Introduc. to Infancy, Apoc. Higgins : An- 
 •calypsiB, vol. i. p. 130. Savary : Travels in 
 
 Egypt, vol. i. p. 126, in Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii, 
 p. 818. 
 
 > Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 316. 
 
 10 " Elizabeth, hearing that her son Joha 
 was about to be searched for (by Herod), took 
 him and went np into the mountains, and looked 
 around for a place to hide him. . . . But 
 Herod made search after John, and sent servant* 
 to Zacharias," &c. (Protevangelion, Apoc. 
 ch. ivi.) 
 
 " Hist. Hindostan, vol, li. p, 331.
 
 OEISHNA, AND JESUS COMPAEED. 
 
 281 
 
 18. "At a certain time, Crishna, 
 taking a walk with the other cow- 
 herds, they chose him their King, and 
 every one had his place assigned him 
 under the new King."' 
 
 19. Some of Crishna's play-feUows 
 were stung by a serpent, and he, filled 
 with compassion at their untimely fate, 
 "and casting upon them an eye of 
 divine mercy, they immediately rose," 
 and were restored.* 
 
 20. Crishna's companions, with 
 some calves, were stolen, and hid in a 
 cave, whereupon Crishna, "by his 
 power, created other calves and boys, 
 in all things, perfect resemblances of 
 the others."* 
 
 21. " One of the first miracles per- 
 formed by Crishna, when mature, was 
 the curing of a leper."' 
 
 23. A poor cripple, or lame woman, 
 came, with " a vessel filled with spices, 
 sweet-scented oils, sandal-wood, saffron, 
 civet, and other perfumes, and made a 
 certain sign on his (Crishna's) forehead, 
 casting t?ie rest tip»n his head. " "• 
 
 23. Crishna was crucified, and he 
 is represented with arms extended, 
 hanging on a cross. '* 
 
 24. At the time of the death of 
 Crishna, there came calamities and bad 
 omens of every kind. A black circle 
 surrounded the moon, and the sun was 
 darkened at noon-day ; the sky rained 
 fire and ashes ; flames burned dusky 
 and livid; demons committed depreda- 
 
 double figures; which had points, and 
 which had none ; why one letter went 
 before another; and many other thinga 
 he began to tell him and explain, of 
 which the master himself had never 
 heard, nor read in any book."' 
 
 18. "In the month Adar, Jesus 
 gathered together the boys, and ranked 
 them as though he had been a King. 
 . . . And if any one happened ta 
 pass by, they took him by force, and 
 said, Come hither, and worship the 
 King. "3 
 
 19. When Jesus was at play, a boy 
 was stung by a serpent, "and he (Jesus) 
 touched the boy with his hand," and 
 he was restored to his former health.' 
 
 20. Jesus' companions, who had hid 
 themselves in a furnace, were turned in- 
 to kids, whereupon Jesus said : ' ' Come 
 hither, boys, that we may go and play ; 
 and immediately the kids were changed 
 into the shape of boys. "' 
 
 21. One of the first miracles per- 
 formed by Jesus, when mature, was 
 the curing of a leper.' 
 
 22. "Now, when Jesus was in 
 Bethany, in the house of Simon the 
 leper, there came unto him a woman 
 having an alabaster box of very preci- 
 ous ointment, and poured it on his liead, 
 as he sat at meat."" 
 
 23. Jesus was crucified, and he is 
 represented with arms extended, hang- 
 ing on a cross. 
 
 34. At the time of the death of 
 Jesus, there came calamities of many 
 kinds. The veil of the temple was 
 rent in twain from the lop to the bot- 
 tom, the sun was darkened from the 
 sixth to the ninth hour, and the graves 
 were opened, and many bodies of the 
 
 * Infancy, Apoc, ch. xx. 1-8. 
 
 ' Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 381. 
 ' Infancy, Apoc, ch. xviii. 1-3. 
 
 * Hint. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 343. 
 
 * Infancy, Apoc, ch. iviii. 
 
 ■ Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 340. &ryan 
 Ifytho., vol. il. p. 138. 
 
 T Infancy, Apoc, ch. xvii. 
 
 > Hist. Hmdostan, vol. ii. p. 319, and ch. 
 xxvii. this work. 
 
 • Matthew, viii. 2. 
 '• Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 320. 
 "Matt. xrvi. 6 7. 
 '3 See ch. XI.
 
 282 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tions on earth ; at sunrise and sunset, 
 thousands of figures were seen skir- 
 misbiug in the air; spirits were to be 
 seen on all sides.' 
 
 25. Crishna was pierced with an 
 arrow. ^ 
 
 26. Crishna said to the hunter who 
 shot him: "Go, himter, through my 
 favor, to heaven, the abode of the 
 gods."^ 
 
 27. Crishna descended into hell.' 
 
 28. Crishna, after being put to 
 death, rose again from the dead.' 
 
 29. Crishna ascended bodily into 
 heaven, and many persons witnessed 
 his ascent." 
 
 3d-. Crishna is to come again on 
 earth in the latter days. He will appear 
 among mortals as an armed warrior, 
 riding a white horse. At his approach 
 the sun and moon will be darkened, 
 the earth will tremble, and the stars 
 fall from the firmament. '= 
 
 31. Crishna is to be judge of the 
 dead at the last day. '= 
 
 33. Crishna is the creator of all 
 things visible and invisible; "all this 
 universe came into being through him, 
 the eternal maker."" 
 
 33. Crishna is Alpha and Omega, 
 "the beginning, the middle, and the 
 end of all things."" 
 
 84. Crishna, when on earth, was in 
 constant strife against the evil spirit." 
 He surmounts extraordinary dangers, 
 strews his way with miracles, raising 
 the dead, healing the sick, restoring the 
 maimed, the deaf and the blind, every- 
 
 saints which slept at sse and came out 
 of their graves. - 
 
 25. Jesus was pierced with a spear 
 
 26. Jesus said to one of the male- 
 factors who was crucified with him : 
 " Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt 
 thou be with me in paradise."* 
 
 27. Jesus descended into hell.* 
 
 28. Jesus, after being put to death, 
 rose again from the dead. '" 
 
 29. Jesus ascended bodily into 
 heaven, and many persons witnessed 
 his ascent."' 
 
 30. Jesus is to come again on earth 
 in the latter days. He will appear 
 among mortals as an armed warrior, 
 riding a white horse. At his approach, 
 the sun and moon will be darkened, 
 the earth will tremble, and the stars 
 faU from the firmament. '■■ 
 
 31. Jesus is to be judge of the dead 
 at the last day. " 
 
 33. Jesus is the creator of all things 
 visible and invisible; "all this universe 
 came into being through him, the 
 eternal maker."'* 
 
 33. Jesus is Alpha and Omega, the 
 beginning, the middle, and the end of 
 all things.-" 
 
 34. Jesus, when on earth, was in 
 constant strife against the evil spirit.-'' 
 He surmounts extraordinary dangers, 
 strews his way with miracles, raising 
 the dead, healing the sick, restoring 
 the maimed, the deaf and the blind, , 
 
 ' Prog. Helig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 71. 
 ^ Matt. xxii. Luke, xsviii. 
 3 See cli. xs. 
 < John, xix. ai. 
 
 * See Vislinu Parana, p. 612. 
 
 * Lnlie, xxiii. 43. 
 ^ Sec ch. xxii. 
 
 8 See Ibid. 
 
 * See cb. xxiii. 
 '» Matt, xxviii. 
 11 See ch. .^xiii. 
 
 '2 See Acts, i. 9-11. 
 
 IS See cli xxiv. 
 
 ^* See passages quoted in ch. xxiv. 
 
 1* Sec- Oriental Religione, p. 504. 
 
 " Malt. xxiv. 31. Rom. xiv. 10. 
 
 " See ch. xxvi. 
 
 18 John, i. 3. I. Cor. viii. 6. Eph. iii. 9. 
 
 le See Geeta, lee. x. p. 85. 
 
 " Kev. i. 8, 11 ; xxii. 13 ; xxi. 6. 
 
 31 He is described as a superhuman organ 
 of light, to whom the superhuman organ of 
 darkness, the evil serpent, was opposed. He 
 is represented '■ bruising the head of the ser- 
 pent," and standing upon him. (Sue Illustra- 
 tions in vol. i. Asiatic Researches : vol. ii. 
 Higgins' Anacalj'psis ; C'almet's Fragments, 
 and other works illustrating Hindoo Mythology.; 
 
 33 Jesus, " the Sun of Righteousness," ie 
 also described as a superhuman organ of light, 
 opposed by Satan, "the old serpent." He is 
 claimed to have been the seed of the woman 
 who should '* bruiee the head of the serpent." 
 (Genesis, iii. 15.)
 
 CRISHNA AND JESUS COMPARED. 
 
 283 
 
 where supporting the weak against the 
 strong, the oppressed against the pow- 
 erful. The people crowded his way, 
 and adored him as a God. ' 
 
 35. Crishna had a beloved disciple 
 — Arjtina.' 
 
 36. Crishna was transfigured before 
 his disciple Arjuna. "All in an instant, 
 with a thousand suns, blazing with 
 dazzling luster, so beheld he the glories 
 of the universe collected in the one 
 person of the God of Gods."' 
 
 Arjuna bows his head at this vision, 
 and folding his hands in reverence, 
 says: 
 
 " Now that I see thee as thou really 
 art, I thrill with terror ! Mercy ! Lord 
 of Lords, once more display to me thy 
 human form, thou habitation of the 
 universe."' 
 
 37. Crishna was "the meekest and 
 best tempered of beings." "He preach- 
 ed very nobly indeed, and sublimely." 
 "He was pure and chaste in reality,"* 
 and. as a lesson of humility, " he even 
 condescended to wash the feet of the 
 Brahmins."' 
 
 38. "Crishna is the very Supreme 
 Brahma, though it be a mystery how 
 the Supreme should assume the form 
 of a man."" 
 
 39. Crishna is the second person in 
 the Hindoo Trinity. '^ 
 
 everywhere supporting the weak against 
 the strong, the oppressed against the 
 powerful. The people crowded his 
 way and adored him as a God.^ 
 
 35. Jesus had a beloved disciple 
 —John* 
 
 36. And after six days, Jesus taketh 
 Peter, James, and John his brother, and 
 bringeth them up into a high mountain 
 apart, and was transfigured before 
 them. And his face did shine as the 
 sun, and his raiment was white as the 
 light. . . While he yet spake, 
 
 behold, a bright cloud overshadowed 
 them, and behold, a voice out of the 
 cloud, which said: &c." "And when 
 the disciples heard it, they fell on their 
 faces, and were sore afraid."' 
 
 37. Jesus was the meekest and best 
 tempered of beimrs. He preached very 
 nobly indeed, ami fublimely. He was 
 pure and chaste, and he even conde- 
 scended to wash the feet of his disciples, 
 towhom he taught a lesson of humility. '" 
 
 38. Jesus is the very Supreme Je- 
 hovah, though it be a myatcry how the 
 Supreme should as.sume the form of a 
 man, for "Great is the mystery of 
 GodUness."'^ 
 
 39. Jesus is the second person ia 
 the Christian Trinity. " 
 
 I See ch. xsvii. 
 
 ' According to the New Testament. 
 > See Bhagavat Geeta. 
 
 * John, siii. SJ. 
 
 » Williams' Hinduism, p. 215. 
 
 « Ibid. p. 216. ' Matt. xrii. 1-6. 
 
 t> " He was pore and chaste in recUity,'''' al- 
 Ihongh represented as sporting amorously, 
 when a youth, with cowhcrdesses. According 
 to the pure Vaishnava faith, however, Crishna's 
 love for the Gopis, and especially for his favorite 
 Eadha, is to be explained allegoncally, as 
 symbolizing the longing of the human soul for 
 the Supreme. (Prof. Monier Williams : Hin- 
 duism, p. 144.) Just as the amorous '■'Song of 
 Solonion^^ is said to be allegorical, and to 
 mean "Christ's love for his church.'* 
 
 • See Indian Antiquities, iii. 46, and Asiatic 
 Kesearches. vol. i. p. 273. 
 
 »• John, xiii. 
 
 II Vishnu Purana, p. 492, note 3. 
 ■■■I I. Timothy, iii. 16. 
 
 " Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. Crishna is 
 Vithnu in human form. " A more personal. 
 
 and, so to speak, human gf>d than Siva was 
 needed for the mass of the people— a god who 
 could satisfy the yearnings of the human 
 heart for religion of faith {bhakti)—& god 
 who could sympathize with, and condescend 
 to human wants and necessities. Such a god 
 was found in the second member of the Tri- 
 mutri. It was as n<An« that the Supreme Being 
 was supposed to exhibit his sympathy with 
 human trials, and his love for the human race. 
 
 "If Siva is the great god of the Hindu 
 Pantheon, to whom adoration is due from all 
 indiscriminately. Vishnu is certainly its most 
 popular deity. He is the god selected by far 
 the greater number of individuals as their 
 Sa\iour, protector and friend, who rescues 
 them from the power of evil, interests him< 
 self in their welfare, and finally admits them 
 to his heaven. But it is not so much Vishnu 
 in his 0's-\i person as Vishnu in his incarnations. 
 that effects all this for his votaries." (Prof. 
 Monier Williams ; Hinduism, p. I(XI.) 
 
 n Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Jesos is 
 the Sott in human form.
 
 2S4 
 
 BIBLE MTTHi 
 
 40. Crishnasaid: " Let him if seek- 
 ing God by deep abstraction, abandon 
 his possessions and his hopes, betake 
 himse'-f to some secluded spot, and fix 
 his heart and thoughts on God alone. ' 
 
 41. Crishna said: " Whate'er thou 
 dost perform, whate'er thou eatest, 
 whate'er thou givest to the poor, 
 whate'er thou oilercst in sacrifice, 
 whate'er thou doest as an act of holy 
 presence, do all as if to me, O Arjuna. 
 I am the great Sage, without begin- 
 ning ; I am the Ruler and the AU- 
 sustainer."^ 
 
 43. Crishna said : " I am the cause 
 of the whole universe; through me it is 
 created and dissolved, on me all things 
 within it hang and suspend, like pearls 
 upon a string. "= 
 
 43. Crishna said: "I am the light 
 in the Sun and Moon, far, far beyond 
 the darkness. I am the brilliancy in 
 flame, the radiance in all that's radiant, 
 and the light of lights. "' 
 
 44. Crishn a said : " I am the sustain- 
 er of the world, its friend and Lord. I 
 am its way and refuge."' 
 
 45. Crishnasaid: "I am the Good- 
 ness of the good; 1 am Beginning, 
 Middle, End, Eternal Time, the Birth, 
 the Death of all."" 
 
 40. Crishna said : "Then be not 
 sorrowful, from all thy sins I will 
 deliver thee. Think thou on me, have 
 faith in me, adore and worship me, 
 and join thyself in meditation to me ; 
 thus shalt thou come to me, O Arjuna ; 
 thus shalt thou rise to my supreme 
 abode, where neither sun nor moon 
 hath need to shine, for know that all 
 the lustre they possess is mine."'^ 
 
 40. Jesus said: "But thou, when 
 thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and 
 when then hast shut thy door, pray to 
 thy Father, which is in secret."* 
 
 41. Jesus said :" Whether therefore 
 ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, 
 do all to the glory of God "■' who is the 
 great Sage, without beginning ; the 
 Ruler and the All-sustainer. 
 
 43. "Of him, and through him, and 
 unto him, are aU things." "All things 
 were made by him ; and without him 
 was not anything made that was made. "' 
 
 43. "Then spoke Jesus again unto 
 them, saying : I am the light of the 
 world; he that followeth me shall not 
 walk in darkness, but shall have the 
 light of life."" 
 
 44. "Jesus said unto them, I am 
 the way, the truth, and the life. No 
 man cometh unto the Father, but by 
 me."'" 
 
 45. "I am the first and the last; 
 and have the keys of hell and of 
 death. '"s 
 
 46. Jesus said: "Be of good cheer; 
 thy sins be forgiven thee."'* "My 
 son, give me thine heart."" " The 
 city had no need of the sun, neither of 
 the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory 
 of God did lighten it."" 
 
 Many other remarkable passages might be adduced from the 
 Bhagavad-gita, the followmg of which may be noted :" 
 
 ' Williams' Hindnlsm, p. 211. 
 2 Matt. vi. 6. 
 
 • Williams' Hindaism, p. 213. 
 ' I. Cor. X. 31. 
 
 ' Williams' Hindaism, p. 813. 
 
 • John, 1. 3. 
 
 ' Williams' Hinduism, p. 213. 
 ® John. viii. 12. 
 
 • Williams' Hinduism, p. 218. 
 
 '• John, xiv. 6. 
 " Williams' Hinduism, p. 213. 
 " Eev. i. 17, 18. 
 >» Williams' Hinduism, p. 214. 
 '• Matt. ix. 2. 
 "Prov. xxiii. 26. 
 >• Eev. xxi. 23. 
 
 •' Quoted from Williams' Hinduism 
 217-219. 
 
 pp.
 
 CEISHNA AND JESUS COMPARED. 
 
 "He who has brought his members under subjection, but sits witii foolish 
 minds thinking In his heart of sensual things, is called a hypocrite." (Compare 
 Matt. V. 28.) 
 
 "Many are my births that are past ; many are thine too, O Arjuna. I know 
 them all, but thou knowest them not." (Comp. John, viii. 14.) 
 
 "For the establishment of righteousness am I born from time to time." 
 (Comp. John, xviii. 37 ; I. John, iii. 3.) 
 
 "I am dearer to the wise than all possessions, and he is dearer to me." 
 (Comp. Luke, xiv. 33 ; John, siv. 21.) 
 
 "The ignorant, the unbeliever, and he of a doubting mind perish utterly." 
 (Comp. Slark, xvi. 16.) 
 
 "Deluded men despise me when I take human form." (Comp. John, i. 10.) 
 
 Crishna bad the titles of " Saviour," " Eedeemer," " Preserver," 
 " Comforter," " Mediator," &c. He was called " The Eesurrec- 
 tion and the Life," " The Lord of Lords," " The Great God," " The 
 Holy One," " The Good Shepherd," &c. All of which are titles 
 applied to Christ Jesus. 
 
 Justice, humanity, good faith, compassion, disinterestedness, in 
 fact, all the virtues, are said' to have been taught by Crishna, both 
 by precept and example. 
 
 The Christian missionary Georgius, who found the worship of 
 the crucified God in India, consoles himself by saying : " That which 
 P. Cassianus Maceratentis had told me before, I find to have been 
 observed more fully in French by the living De Guignes, a most 
 learned man ; i. e., that Crishna is the very name corrupted of 
 Christ the Saviour."' Many others have since made a similar state- 
 ment, but unfortunately for them, the name Crishna has nothing 
 whatever to do with " Christ the Saviour." It is a purely Sanscrit 
 word, and means " th^ dark god " or " ths black godP' The word 
 Christ (which is not a name, but a title), as we have already seen, is 
 a Greek word, and means " the Anointed," or " the Messiah." The 
 fact is, the history of Christ Crishna is older than that of Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 Statues of Crishna are to be found in the very oldest cave tem- 
 ples throughout India, and it has been satisfactorily proved, on the 
 authority of a passage of Arrian, that the worship of Crishna was 
 practiced in the time of Alexander the Great at what still remains 
 one of the most famous temples of India, the temple of Mathura, 
 on the Jumna river,* which shows that he was considered a god at 
 
 * It is said in the Hindoo sacred books that caverat P. Cassianue Maceratentis, sic nunc 
 Crishra was a religious teacher, but, as we have aberius in GaOiis observatum intelligo avivo 
 previously remarked, this is a hiter addition Utteratissimo De Goignes) nomen ipsom cor- 
 to his legendary history. In the ancient epic ruptnm Christi Servatoris." 
 
 poems he is simply a great hero and warrior. ' gee Williams' Hinduism, and Itaurlce : 
 
 The portion pertaining to his religious career, Hist. Hindostan. vol. ii. p. 269. 
 iB evidently a copy of the history of Buddha. * See Celtic Druids, pp. 256, 257. 
 
 • " Est Cnshna (quod nt mihi pridem indl-
 
 286 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 that time.' We have already seen that, according to Prof. Monier 
 Williams, he was deified about the fourth century b. o. 
 Rev. J. P. Lundy says : 
 
 " If we may believe so good an authority as Edward Moor (author of Moor's 
 " Hindu Paatheou,"and "Oriental Fragments "), both the name of Crishna, and 
 the general outline of his history, were long anterior to the birth of our Saviour, 
 as very certain things, and probably extended to the time of Homer, nearly nine 
 hundred years before Christ, or more than a hundred years before Isaiah lived 
 and prophesied."' 
 
 In the Sanscrit Dictionary, compiled more than two thousand 
 years ago, we have the whole story of Crishna, the incarnate deity, 
 born of a virgin, and miraculously escaping in his infancy fpom 
 Kansa, the reigning monarch of the country. ' 
 
 The Rev. J. B. S. Carwithen, known as one of the " Brampton 
 
 Lecturers," says : 
 
 " Both the name of Crishna and the general outline of his story are long an- 
 terior to the birth of our Saviour; and this we know, not on the presumed anii- 
 quity of tfi£ Hindoo records aktn£. Both Arrian and Strabo assert that the god 
 Crishna was anciently worshiped at Mathura, on the river Jumna, where he is 
 worshiped at this day. But the emblems and attributes essential to this deity are 
 also transplanted into the mythology of the West."* 
 
 On the walls of the most ancient Hindoo temples, are sculptured 
 representations of the flight of Vasudeva and the infant Saviour 
 Crishna, from King Kansa, who sought to destroy him. The story 
 of the slaughtered infants is also the subject of an immense sculp- 
 ture in the cave temple of Elephanta. A person with a drawn 
 sword is represented surrounded by slaughtered infant boys, while 
 men and women are supplicating for their children. The date of 
 this sculpture is lost in the most remote antiquity.' 
 
 The flat roofoi this cavern-temple, and that of Ellora, and every 
 other circumstance connected with them, prove that their origin 
 must be referred to a very remote epoch. The ancient temples can 
 easily be distinguished from the more modern ones — such as those 
 of Solsette — by the shape of the roof. The ancient are flat, while 
 the more modern are arched.' 
 
 1 ■■ Alexander the Great made his expedition (Patna), dnring a long sojonrn in that city col- 
 
 to the banka of the Indus about 347 b. c, and lected further information, of which Strabo, 
 
 to this invasion is due the first trustworthy Pliny, Arrian, and others availed themselves." 
 
 infonnation obtained by Europeans concern- (Williams' Hinduism, p. 4.) 
 
 ing the north-westerly portion of India and the ^ Monumental Christianity, p. 151. See also, 
 
 region of the five rivers, down which the Asiatic Researches, i. 273. 
 
 Grecian troops were conducted in ships by ' See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. pp. 259-273, 
 
 Nearclius. Megasthenes, who was the cmbas- • Quoted in Monumental Christianity, pp. 
 
 sador of Seleukos Nikator (Alexander's succcs- 151, 152. 
 
 9or. and ruler over the whole region between * See chapter xviii. 
 
 the Euphrates and Indus, b. c. 313) , at the court 'See Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, p. 113. 
 of Caudra-gupa (Sandrokottus), in Pataliputra
 
 CEISHNA AND JESUS COMPARED. 287 
 
 The Bhagavad gita, which contains so mar y sentiments akiu 
 to Christianity, and which was not written until about the first or 
 second century,' has led many Christian scholars to believe, and at- 
 tempt to prove, that they have been borrowed from the New Tes- 
 tament, but unfortunately for them, their premises are untenable. 
 Prof. Monier Williams, the accepted authority on Hindooism, and a 
 thorough Christian, writing for the " Society for Promotiag Chris- 
 tian Knowledge," knowing that he could not very well overlook 
 this subject in speaking of the Bhagava<I^gita, says : 
 
 " To any one who has followed me in tracing the outline of this remarkable 
 philosophical dialogue, and has noted the numerous parallels it offers to passages 
 in our Sacred Scriptures, it may seem strange that I hesitate to concur to any 
 theory which explains these coincidences by supposing that the author had ac- 
 cess to the New Testament, or that he derived some of his ideas from the first 
 propagaters of Christianity. Surely it will be conceded that the probability of 
 contact and interaction between Gentile systems and the Christian religion of the 
 first two centuries of our era must have been greater in Italy than in India. Yet, 
 if we take the writings and sayings of those great Roman philosophers, Seneca, 
 Epictetus, and Marcus Aurclius, we shall find them full of resemblances to pass- 
 ages in our Scriptures, while their appears to be no ground whatever for sup- 
 posing that these eminent Pagan writers and thinkers derived any of their ideas 
 from either Jewish or Christian sources. In fact, the Rev. F. W. Farrar, in his 
 interesting and valuable work 'Seekers after God,' has clearly shown that 'to 
 say that Pagan morality kindled its faded taper at the Gospel light, whether 
 furtively or unconsciously, that it dissembled the obligation and made a boast of 
 the splendor, as if it were originally her own, is to make an assertion wholly 
 untenable.' He points out that the attempts of the Christian Fathers to make out 
 Pythagoras a debtor to Hebraic wisdom, Plato an ' Atticizing Moses,' Aristote a 
 picker-up of ethics from a Jew, Seneca a correspondent of St. Paul, were due ' in 
 some cases to ignorance, in some to a want of perfect honesty in controversial 
 dealing. '* 
 
 " His arguments would be even riiore coneluMm if applied to the Bhagavad-gita, the 
 author of whic^i was probably contemporaneous with Seneca.^ It must, indeed, 
 be admitted that the flames of true light which emerge from the mists of pan- 
 theism in the writings of Indian philosophers, must spring from the same source 
 of light as the Gospel itself ; but it may reasonably be questioned whether there 
 could have been any actual contact of the Hindoo systems with Christianity with- 
 
 ' In speaking of the antiquity of the reader to "Seekers after God," by the Rev. 
 
 Bhagavad-gita, Prof. Monier Williams says : F. W. Farrar, and Dr. Hamage's " Beantiftil 
 
 "The author was probably a Brahman and Thoughts." The same sentiments are to b« 
 
 oominally a Vishnava, but really a philosopher found in ilanu, which, says Prof. Williams, 
 
 whose mind was cast in a broad and compre- " few will place later than the fifth century 
 
 liensive mould. He is supposed to have lived B.C." The Mahabhrata, written many centuries 
 
 In India during the first and second century b. c, contains numerous parallels to New Tes- 
 
 of our era. Some consider that he lived as late tament sayings. (See our chapter on "Pagan- 
 
 as the third century, and some place him even ism in Christianity.") 
 
 toter, but with theie I cannot agree." (Indian ^ Seneca, the celebrated Roman philosopher, 
 
 Wisdom, p. 137.) was born at Corduba, m Spain, a few yean 
 
 ' In order that the resemblances to Christian B.C. When a child, he was brought by hit fathar 
 
 Scripture in the writings of Roman philosophers to Rome, where he wae initiated in the study 
 
 ■lay be compared. Prof. Williams refers the of e oquence.
 
 ■288 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 out a more satisfactory result in the modiflcation of pantheistic and anti-ChrLs- 
 tian ideas."' 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 " It siiould not be forgotten that although the nations of Europe have changed 
 their religions during the past eighteen centuries, tlie Hindu has not done so, ex- 
 cept very partially. Islam converted a certain number by force of arms in the 
 eighth and following centuries, and Christian truth is at last slowly creeping 
 onwards and winning its way by its own inherent energy in the nineteenth; but 
 the religious creeds, rites, cusio>ns, and habits of thought of the Hindus generally, Twoe 
 altered Utile since tlie days of Manu, five hundred years b. c."^ 
 
 These words are conchisive ; comments, therefore, are unneces- 
 sary. 
 
 Geo. W. Cox, in his " Aryan Mythology," speaking on this sub- 
 ject says : 
 
 " It is true that these myths have been crystallized around the name of Crishna 
 in ages subsequent to the period during which the earliest vedic literature came 
 into existence; but the myths themselves are found in this older literature associated 
 with other gods, and not always only in germ. There is no more room for infer- 
 ring foreign influence in the growth of any of these myllis than, as Bunsen rightly 
 insists, tliere is room, for tracing Christian infliience in the earlier epical literature of 
 the Teutonic tribes. Practically the myths of Crishna seems to have been fully 
 developed in the days of Megasthenes (fourth century b. c.) who identifies him 
 with the Greek Hercules."' 
 
 It should be remembered, in connection with this, that Dr. 
 Parkliurst and others have considered Hercules a type of Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 In the ancient epics Crishna is made to say : 
 
 "I am Vishnu, Brahma, Indra, and the source as well as the destruction of 
 things, the creator and the annihUator of the whole aggregate of existences. 
 While all men live in unrighteousness, I, the unfailing, build up the bulwark of 
 
 righteousness, as the ages pass away. "■* 
 
 Tliese words are almost identical with what we find in the 
 Bhagavad-gita. In the Maha-hharata, Vishnu is associated or 
 identified with Crishna, just as he is in the Bhagavad-gita and 
 Vishnu Purana, showing, in the words of Prof. Williams, that : the 
 Puranas, although of a comparatively modern date, are neverthe- 
 less composed of matter to be found in the two great epic poems 
 the Ramayana and the Maha-hharata.^ 
 
 ' Indian WiBdom, pp. 153, 154. Similar ' Williams' HindaiBm, pp. 119-110. It waa 
 
 •entimentB are expressed in his Hinduism, pp. from these sources that the doctrine of Incar- 
 
 812-320. nation was flret evolved by the Brahman. 
 
 ' Indian Wisdom, p. iv. They were written many centuries B. o. (Sea 
 
 ' Cox : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. pp. 137, 138. Ibid.) 
 
 • Ibid. p. 131.
 
 CHAPTEK XXIX. 
 
 0HEI8T BUDDHA AND CHRIST JESUS COMPAEED. 
 
 " The more I learn to know Buddha the more I admire him, and the sooner 
 all mankind shall have been made acquainted with his doctrines the better it will 
 be, for he is certainly one of the heroes of humanity." Fausboll. 
 
 The rmjthological portions of the histories of Buddha and Jesus 
 are, without doubt, nearer in resemblance than that of any two char- 
 acters of antiquity. The cause of this we shall speak of in our 
 chapter on " Why Christianity Prospered," and shall content our- 
 selves for the present by comparing the following analogies : 
 
 1. Buddha was born of the Virgin 
 Maiy.' who conceived him without car- 
 nal intercourse.' 
 
 2. The incarnation of Buddha is 
 recorded to have been brought about 
 by the dcseeut of the divine power 
 called the 'Holy Ghost," upon the 
 Virgin Maya.'' 
 
 3. When Buddha descended from 
 
 1. Jesus was born of the Virgin 
 Mary, who conceived him without car- 
 nal intercourse.^ 
 
 2. The incarnation of Jesus is re- 
 corded to have been brought about by 
 the descent of the divine power called 
 the "Holy Ghost," upon the Virgin 
 Mary.^ 
 
 3. When Jesus descended from hia 
 
 * Maya, and Mary, as we have already Been, 
 are one and the same name. 
 
 3 See chap. xii. Baddha is considered to be 
 an incarnation ofVishnu, although he preached 
 against the doctrines of the Brahmans. The 
 adoption of Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu 
 was really owning to the desire of the Brahmans 
 to effect a compromise with Buddhism. (See 
 Williams' Hinduism, pp. 83 and lOS.) 
 
 '• Buddiia was brought forth not from the 
 matrix, but from the right side, of a virgin." 
 (Be Guigues : Hist, des Huns, torn. i. p. *i-M,) 
 
 " Some of the (Christian) heretics main- 
 tained that Christ was bom from the side of 
 his mother." (Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 157.) 
 
 " In the eyes of the Buddhists, this personage 
 is sometimes a man and sometimes a god, or 
 rather both one and the other, a divine incar- 
 nation, a man-god ; who came into the world 
 to enlighten men, to redeem them, and to indi- 
 cate to them the way of safety. This idea of 
 redemption by a divine incarnation is so gen- 
 
 19 
 
 eral and popular among the Buddhists, that 
 during our travels in Upper Asia, we every- 
 where found it expressed in a neat formula. 
 If we addressed to a Mongol or Thibetan the 
 question, ' Who is Buddha f he would imme- 
 diately reply, ' The Saviour of Men.' " (M. 
 L'Abbfi Hue : Travels, vol. i. p. 33G.) 
 
 " The miraculous birth of Buddha, his life 
 and instructions, contain a great number of the 
 moral and dogmatic truths professed in Chris- 
 tianity." (Ibid. p. 3S".) 
 
 " He in mercy left paradise, and came down 
 to earth because he was filled with compassion 
 for the sins and misery of mankind. He 
 sought to lead them iuto better paths, and toot 
 their sufferings upon himself, that he might 
 expiate their crimes, and mitigate the punish- 
 ment they must otherwise inevitably undergo." 
 (L. Maria Child.) 
 
 3 Matt. ch. i. 
 
 * See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, pp. 10, 25 ant. 
 44. Also, ch. xiii. this work. 
 
 289
 
 290 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the regions of the souls,' and entered 
 the body of the Virgin Maya, her womb 
 assumed the appearance of clear trans- 
 parent crystal, in wliich Buddha ap- 
 peared, beautiful as a flower,* 
 
 4. The birth of Buddlia was an- 
 nounced in the heavens by an asterim 
 which was seen rising on the horizon. 
 It is called the "Messianic Star."* 
 
 5. "The son of the Virgin Maya, 
 on whom, according to the tradition, 
 the ' Holy Ghost ' had descended, was 
 said to have been born on Christmas 
 day."' 
 
 (J. Demonstrations of celestial de- 
 light were manifest at the birth of Bud- 
 dha. The Devas^ in heaven and earth 
 sang praises to the "Blessed One,'' 
 and said: " To day, Bodhisatwa is born 
 on earth, to give joy and peace to men 
 and Dcvas, to shed light in the dark 
 places, and to give sight to the blind."' 
 
 7. "Buddha was visited by wise 
 men who recognized in this marvelous 
 infant all the characters of the divinity, 
 and he had scarcely seen the day before 
 he was hailed God of Gods."" 
 
 8. The infant Buddha was presented 
 with " costly jewels and precious sub- 
 stances."'^ 
 
 9. When Buddha was an infant, 
 just born, he spoke to his mother, and 
 said: " I am the greatest among men."'* 
 
 heavenly seat, and entered the body of 
 the Virgin Mary, her womb assumed 
 the appearance of clear transparent 
 crystal, in which Jesus appeared beau- 
 tiful as a flower.* 
 
 4. The birth of Jesus was aimounced 
 in the heavens by ' ' his star," which was 
 seen rising on the horizon.' It might 
 properly be called the "Messianic 
 Star." 
 
 5. The Son of the Virgin Mary, on 
 whom, according to the tradition, the 
 ' Holy Ghost ' had descended, was said 
 to have been born on Christmas day.' 
 
 6. Demonstrations of celestial de- 
 light were manifest at the birth of Jesus. 
 The angels in heaven and earth sang 
 praises to the " Blessed One," saying : 
 " Glory to God in the highest, and on 
 earth peace, good will toward men.'''" 
 
 7. Jesus was visited by wise men 
 who recognized in this marvelous in- 
 fant all the characters of the divinity, 
 and he had scarcely seen the day before 
 he was hailed God of Gods. '* 
 
 8. The infant Jesus was presented 
 with gifts of gold, frankincense, and 
 myrrh." 
 
 9. "When Jesus was an infant in his 
 cradle, he spoke to his mother, and 
 said : " I am Jesus, the Son of God."" 
 
 1 "As a spirit in tlie fourth heaven he 
 reeolvefl to give up all that glory in order to 
 be bom in the world lor ihe purpose of res- 
 cuing all men from their misery and every 
 future consequence of it : he vows to deliver 
 all men who are left as it were without a Sa- 
 tio'/r.'^ (Buneen : The Angel-Mes.siah, p. 30.) 
 
 2 See King's Gnostics, p. 168, and Hardy's 
 Manual of Buddhism, p. 144. 
 
 * See chap. xii. note 2, page 117. 
 
 " On a painted glass of the sixteenth cen- 
 tnry, found in the church of Jouy, a little 
 village in France, the Virgin is represented 
 standing, her hands clasped in prayer, and the 
 naked body of the child in the same attitude 
 appears upon her stomach, apparently sup- 
 posed to be seen through the garments and 
 body of the mother. M. Drydon saw at Lyons 
 a Salutation painted on shutters, in which the 
 two infants (Jesus and John) likewise depicted 
 on their mothers' stomachs, were also salut- 
 ing each other. This precisely corresponds (o 
 
 Buddhist accounts of the Boddhisattvas ante- 
 natal proceedings." (Viscount Amberly : 
 knalysis of Relig. Belief, p. 824, note.) 
 
 • See chap. xiii. 
 
 • Matt. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 • Bunsen : The Angel-Messiah, p. x. 
 
 T We show, in our chapter on *' Tte 
 Birth-Day of Christ Jesus," that this was not 
 the case. This day was adopted by his fol- 
 lowers long after his death. 
 
 » "Devas," i. «., angels. 
 
 ■ See chap. xiv. 
 '° Luke, ii. 13, 14. 
 
 11 See chap. xv. 
 
 12 Matt. ii. l-Il. 
 11 See chap. si. 
 1* Matt. ii. 11. 
 
 1' SeeHardy'sManualof Buddhism, pp. 145, 
 146. 
 
 1* Gospel of Infancy, Apoc., i. 3. No sooner 
 was Apollo bom than he spoke to his virgin- 
 mother, declaring that he shoold teach to men
 
 BUDDHA AND JESUS COMPAEED. 
 
 291 
 
 10. Buddha was a " dangerous 
 child." His life was threatened by 
 King Bimbasara. who was advised to 
 destroy the child, as he was liable to 
 overthrow him. ' 
 
 11. When sent to school, the young 
 Buddha surprised his masters. With- 
 out having ever studied, he completely 
 worsted all his competitors, not only in 
 writing, but in arithmetic, mathema- 
 tics, metaphysics, astrology, geome- 
 try, tfec* 
 
 12. " When twelve years old the 
 child Buddha is presented in the tem- 
 ple. He explains and asks learned 
 questions ; he excels all those who enter 
 into competition with him."' 
 
 13. Buddha entered a temple, on 
 which occasion forthwith all the statues 
 rose and threw themselves at his feet, 
 in act of worship.* 
 
 14. " The ancestry of Gotama Bud- 
 dha is traced from his father, Sodho- 
 dana, through various individuals and 
 races, all of royal dignitj-, to Maha 
 Sammata, the tirst monarch of the 
 world. Several of the names and some 
 of the events are met with in the Pur- 
 anas of the Brahmans, but it is not 
 possible to reconcile one order of state- 
 ment with the other ; and it would 
 appear that the Buddhist historians 
 
 10. Jesus was a "dangerous child." 
 His life was threatened by King Her- 
 od,'^ who attempted to destroy the 
 child, as he was liable to overthrow 
 him.' 
 
 11. When sent to school, Jesus sur- 
 prised his master Zaccheus, who, turn- 
 ing to Joseph, said : ' ' Thou hast brought 
 a boy to me to be taught, who is more 
 learned than any master."* 
 
 12. "And when he was twelve years 
 old, they brought him to (the temple at) 
 Jerusalem .... WhUe in the temple 
 among the doctors and elders, and 
 learned men of Israel, he proposed 
 several questions of learning, and also 
 gave them answers. "' 
 
 13. "And as Jesus was going in by 
 the ensigns, who carried the standards, 
 the tops of them bowed down and wor- 
 shiped Jesus."' 
 
 14. The ancestry of Jesus is traced 
 from his father, Joseph, through vari- 
 ous individuals, nearly all of whom 
 were of royal dignity, to Adam, the 
 first monarch of the world. Several of 
 the names, and some of the events, are 
 met with in the sacred Scriptures of 
 the Hebrews, but it is not possible to 
 reconcile one order of statement with 
 the other; and it would appear that 
 the Christian historians have invented 
 
 the coancils of his heavenly father Zens. (See 
 Cox : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 22.) Hermes 
 epoke to his mother as soon as he was bom, 
 and, according to Jewish tradition, so did 
 Moses. (See Hardy's Mannal of Baddhism, p. 
 145.) 
 
 ' See Beal : Hist. Baddha, pp. 103, KM. 
 
 > See Matt. ii. 1. 
 
 • That is, provided he was the expected 
 Messiah, who was to be a mighty prince and 
 warrior, and who was to rule his people Israel. 
 
 * See Hardy's Manual of Bnddhism ; Bnn- 
 een'e Angel-Meseiah ; Seal's Hist. Buddha, 
 and other works on Buddhism. 
 
 This was a common myth. For instance : 
 A Brahman called Daehthaka, a -heaven de- 
 scended mortal" after tiis birth, without any 
 kuman instruction whatever, was able thor- 
 oaghly to explain the four Vedas, the collective 
 body of the sacred writings of the Hindoos, 
 which were considered as directly revealed by 
 Brahma. (See Beal's Hist. Buddha, p. 4S.) 
 
 Cca\fucius, the miraculous-bom Chinese 
 sage, was a wonderful child. At the age of 
 seven he went to a public school, the superior 
 of which was a person of eminent wisdom and 
 piety. The faculty with which Confucius im- 
 bibed the lessons of his master, the ascendency 
 wtiich he acquired amongst his fellow pnpilB, 
 and the superiority of his genius and capacity, 
 raised universal admiratioo. He appeared to 
 acquire knowledge intuitively. nni his mother 
 found it superfluous to teach him what " heaven 
 had already engraven upon his heart." (See 
 Thornton's Hist. China, vol. i. p. 153.) 
 
 * See Infancy, Apoc., xx. II, and Luke, ii. 
 46, 47. 
 
 * See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 37, and 
 Beal : Hist. Baddha, pp. 67-69. 
 
 ' See Infancy, Apoc., xxi. 1, 2, and Luke, ii. 
 41-48. 
 
 ° See Bunsen's Angel-He»siah, p. 37, and 
 Beal : Hist. Bud. 67-69. 
 
 * >;icodemus, Apoc., ch. i. 20.
 
 292 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 have introduced races, and invented 
 
 names, tbat thej' may invest their ven- 
 erated Sage with all the honors of 
 heraldry, in addition to the attributes of 
 divinity."' 
 
 15. When Buddha was about to go 
 forth " to adopt a religious life," Mara' 
 appeared before him, to tempt him.'' 
 
 16. Mara said unto Buddha: "Go 
 not forth to adopt a religious life, and 
 in seven days thou shalt become an 
 emperor of the world."* 
 
 17. Buddha would not heed the 
 ■words of the Evil One, and said to him: 
 " Get thee away from me."' 
 
 18. After Mara had left Buddha, 
 "the skies rained flowers, and delici- 
 ous odors pervaded the air."'" 
 
 19. Buddha fasted for a long 
 period. '* 
 
 30. Buddha, the Saviour, was bap- 
 tized, and at this recorded water- 
 baptism the Spirit of God was present; 
 that is, not only the highest God, but 
 also the " Holy Ghost," through whom 
 the incarnation of Gautama Bud- 
 dha is recorded to have been brought 
 about by the descent of that Divine 
 power upon the Virgin Maya. '■' 
 
 21. "On one occasion toward the 
 end of his life on earth, Gautama Bud- 
 dha is reported to have been trans- 
 figured. When on a mountain in Cey- 
 lon, suddenly a flame of light de- 
 scended upon him and encircled the 
 crown of his head with a circle of 
 light. The mount is called Pandava, 
 or yellow-white color. It is said that 
 ' the glory of his person shone forth 
 with double power,' that his body was 
 'glorious as a l)rjght golden image,' 
 that he ' shone as the brightness of the 
 sun and moon,' that bystanders ex- 
 pressed their opinion, that he could 
 not be 'an everyday person,' or 'a 
 
 and introduced names, that they maj 
 invest their venerated Sage with all the 
 honors of heraldry, in addition to the 
 attributes of divinity.'^ 
 
 15. When Jesus was about " begin- 
 ning to preach," the devil appeared be- 
 fore him, to tempt him.' 
 
 IG. The <f«»<7 said to Jesus: If thou 
 wilt fall down and worship me, I will 
 give thee all the kingdoms of the 
 world.' 
 
 17. Jesus would not heed the words 
 of tlio Evil One, and said to him: "Get 
 thee behind me, Satan."' 
 
 18. After the devil had left Jesus, 
 "angels came and ministered unto 
 him."" 
 
 19. Jesus fasted forty da3's and 
 nights.'^ 
 
 30. Jesus was baptized by John in 
 the river Jordan, at which time the 
 Spirit of God was present; that is, not 
 only the highest God, but also the 
 "Holy Ghost," through whom the in- 
 carnation of Jesus is recorded to have 
 been brought about, by the descent of 
 that Divine power upon the Virgin 
 Mary.'=^ 
 
 21. On one occasion during his 
 career on earth, Jesus is reported to 
 have been transfigured: "Jesus taketh 
 Peter, James, and John his brother, 
 and bringeth them up into a high 
 mountain apart. And was transfigured 
 before them: and his face did shine as 
 the sun, and his raiment as white as 
 the light. "'6 
 
 * R. Spence Hardy, in Manual of Buddhism. 
 ^ See chap. x\ii. 
 
 '"Mara" is the "Author of Evil," the 
 " King of Death," the " God of the World of 
 Pleasure," Ac, I. e., the Devil. (See Beal : 
 Hist. Buddha, p. 36.) 
 
 * Sf e ch, xix. 
 
 • Matt. iv. 1-lS. 
 
 • Seech, xix. 
 
 ' Matt. IV. 8-19. 
 
 « See ch. xix. 
 
 ' Luke, iv. 8. 
 10 See ch. xix. 
 ■1 Matt. iv. 11. 
 1^ See ch. xix. 
 " Matt. iv. 2. 
 
 1* Bunsen ; The Angel-Messiah, p. 45. 
 " Matt. iii. 13-17. " Matt. xvii. 1, 3.
 
 BUDDHA AND JESUS COMPABED. 
 
 293 
 
 Tnoilal man,' and that his body was 
 divided into three^ parts, from each of 
 which a ray of light issued forth."' 
 
 22. " Buddha performed great mir- 
 acles for the good of mankind, and the 
 legends concerning him are full of the 
 greatest prodigies and wonders."^ 
 
 23. By prayers in the name of Bud- 
 dha, his followers expect to receive the 
 rewards of paradise.^ 
 
 24. When Buddha died and was 
 buried, " the coverings of the body un- 
 rolled themselves, and the lid of his 
 coffin was opened by supernatural 
 powers."* 
 
 25. Buddha ascended bodily to the 
 celestial regions, when his mission on 
 earth was fulfilled.* 
 
 26. Buddha is to come upon the 
 earth again in the latter days, his mis- 
 sion being to restore the world to order 
 and happiness. "> 
 
 27. Buddha is to be judge of the 
 dead. '■-' 
 
 28. Buddha is Alpha and Omega, 
 without beginning or end, "the Su- 
 preme Being, the Eternal One."" 
 
 20. Buddha is represented as say- 
 ing: "Let all the sins that were com- 
 mitted in this world fall on me, that 
 the world may be delivered."" 
 
 30. Buddha said: " Hide your good 
 deeds, and confess before the world 
 the sins you have committed."" 
 
 22. Jesus performed great miracles 
 for the good of mankind, and the le- 
 gends concerning him are full of the 
 greatest prodigies and wonders.'' 
 
 23. By prayers in the name of Jesus, 
 his followers expect to receive the re- 
 wards of paradise. 
 
 24. When Jesus died and was 
 buried, the coverings of his body were 
 unrolled from off him, and his tomb 
 was opened by supernatural powers.' 
 
 25. Jesus ascended bodily to the 
 celestial regions, when his mission on 
 earth was fulfilled.' 
 
 26. Jesus is to come upon the earth 
 again in the latter days, Ms mission be- 
 ing to restore the world to order and 
 happiness." 
 
 37. Jesus is to be the judge of the 
 dead. '^ 
 
 28. Jesus is Alpha and Omega, 
 without beginning or end," the Su- 
 preme Being, the Eternal One."" 
 
 29. Jesus is represented as the Sav- 
 iour of mankind, and all sins that are 
 committed in this world may fall on 
 him, that the world may be delivered." 
 
 30. Jesus taught men to hide their 
 good deeds,'" and to confess before the 
 world the sins they had committed. '' 
 
 1 This has evidently an allasion to the Trin- 
 ity. Bnddba, as an incarnation of Vishnn, 
 wonid be one god and yet ttiree, tliree gods 
 and yet one. (See the chapter on the Trinity.) 
 
 " See Buns«n's Angel-jlessiah, p. 45, and 
 Beal : Hist. Bnddha, p. 177. 
 
 lamblichus, the great Neo-FlatcrrLic rnysfic, 
 VV.1S at one time transfiguTed. According to 
 the report of his servants, ivhile in prayer to 
 the gods, his body and clothes were changed 
 to a beautiful gold color, hut after he ceased 
 from prayer, his body became as before. He 
 then returned to the society of tiis followers. 
 (Primitive Culture, i. 136, 137.) 
 
 3 Sec ch. xxvii. 
 
 * See that recorded in Matt. viii. 28-34. 
 
 * See ch. xsiii, 
 
 * Bonsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 49. 
 T See Matt xsviii. John, xs. 
 
 8 See chap, xsiii. = See Acts, i. 9-12. 
 
 1* See ch. xxiv. ^^ See Ibid. 
 
 '» See ch. ixv. " Matt, xvi.27: John, v. 22. 
 
 '•■'Buddha, the Angel-Messiah, was re- 
 garded as the divinely chosen and incarnate 
 messenger, the vicar of God, and (3od himself 
 on earth." (Bunsen : The Angel-Messiah, p. 
 33. See also, our chap, xxvi.) 
 
 " Kev. i. 8 ; xxii. 13. 
 
 i« John, i. 1. Titus, ii. 13. Romans, ix. 5. 
 Acts, vii. 59, CO. 
 
 1' Miiller : Hist. Sanscrit Literature, p. 80. 
 
 '8 This is according to Christian dogma : 
 
 '• Jesus paid it all. 
 All to him is due, 
 Nothing, either great or small, 
 Remains for me to do." 
 
 i» Mailer : Science of Religion, p. 38. 
 
 so " Take heed that ye do not your alms 
 before men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye 
 have no reward of your father which is in 
 heaven." (Matt. vi. 1.) 
 
 '2 '• Confess your faults one to another, and 
 pray one for another, that ye may be healed." 
 (James, v. 16.)
 
 294 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 31. "Buddha was described as a 
 
 superhuman organ of light, to whom 
 a superhuman organ of darliness, Mara 
 or Kaga, the Evil Serpent, was op- 
 posed."' 
 
 33. Buddha came, not to destroy, 
 but to fuimi, the law. He delighted in 
 " representing himself as a mere link in 
 a loug chain of enlightened teachers."-' 
 
 33. " One day Ananda, the disciple 
 of Buddha, after a long walk in the 
 country, meets with JIatangi, a woman 
 of the low caste of the Kandalas, near a 
 well, and asks her for some water. She 
 tells him what she is, and that she 
 must not come near him. But he re- 
 plies, ' My sister, I ask not for thy 
 caste or thy family, I ask only for a 
 dratight of water.' She afterwards be- 
 came a disciple of Buddha."* 
 
 34. " According to Buddha, the mo- 
 tive of all our actions should be pity or 
 love for our neighbor."* 
 
 35. During the early part of his ca- 
 reer as a teagher, "Buddha went to 
 the city of Benares, and there delivered 
 a discourse, by which Kondanya, and 
 afterwards four others, were induced 
 to become his disciples. From that 
 period, whenever he preached, multi- 
 tudes of men and women embraced his 
 doctrines."'" 
 
 36. Those who became disciples of 
 Buddha were told that they must " re- 
 nounce the world," give >ip all their 
 riches, and avow poverty. " 
 
 31. Jesus was described as a super- 
 human organ of light — "the Sun of 
 Righteousness"-' — opposed by "the 
 old Serpent," the Satan, hinderer, or 
 adversary.^ 
 
 33. Jesus said: "Think not that I 
 am come to destroy the law, or the 
 prophets: I am not come to destroy, 
 but to fulfill."^ 
 
 33. One day Jesus, after a long 
 walk, Cometh to the city of Samaria, 
 and being wearied with his journey, 
 sat on a well. While there, a woman 
 of Samaria came to draw water, and 
 Jesus said unto her: "give me to drink.'' 
 " Then said the woman unto him: How 
 is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink 
 of me, which am a woman of Samaria? 
 For the Jews have no dealings with the 
 Samaritans."' 
 
 34. " Love your enemies, biess them 
 that curse you, do good to them that 
 hate you."' 
 
 35. During the early part of his 
 career as a teacher, Jesus went to the 
 city of Capernaum, and there delivered 
 a discourse. It was at this time that 
 four fishermen were induced to become 
 his disciples. " From that period, when- 
 ever he preached, multitudes of men 
 and women embraced his doctrines. " 
 
 36. Those who became disciples of 
 
 Jesus were told that they must renounce 
 the world, give up all their riches, and 
 avow poverty. '* 
 
 1 Biinsen : The Angel-Messiah, pp. x. and 39. 
 
 a " That was the true light, which lighteth 
 every man that cometh into the world." 
 tJohn. i. 9.) 
 
 ' Slatt. iv. 1 ; Mark, i. 13 ; Luke, iv. 2. 
 
 * Milller : Science of Keligion, p. 140. 
 
 ' Matt. V. 17. 
 
 6 Milller : Science of Religion, p. 243. See 
 also, Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, pp. 47, 48, and 
 Amberly's Analysis, p. 885. 
 
 ' John, iv. 1-11. 
 
 Just as the Samaritan woman wondered that 
 Jesus, a Jew, should ask drink of her, one of 
 a nation with whom the Jewe had no dealings, 
 so this young Matangi warned Ananda of her 
 caste, ^vhich rendered it unlawful for her to 
 approach a monk. And as Jesus continued, 
 nevertheless, to converse with the woman, so 
 Ananda did not shrink from thi s outcast damsel. 
 And as the disciples " marvelled " that Jesus 
 should have conversed with this member of a 
 despised race, so the respectable Bralmians and 
 
 honseholders who adhered to Brahmaojsra were 
 
 scandalized to learn that the young Matangi 
 
 had been admitted to the order of m»n('.icant8. 
 
 ® Mixller : Religion of Science, p. 'M9. 
 
 • Matt. v. 44. 
 
 1* Hardy : Eastern Monachism, p. 6. 
 
 " See Matt. iv. 1.3-25. 
 
 1^ "And there followed him great mnltitadea 
 of people." (Matt. iv. 25.) 
 
 '= Hardy : Eastern Monachism, pp. 6 and 62 
 el seq. 
 
 While at Rajageiha Buddha called together 
 his followers and addressed them at some 
 length on the means requisite for Buddhist 
 salvation. This sermon was summed up in the 
 celebrated verse : 
 
 " To cease from all sin. 
 To get virtue. 
 
 To cleanse one's own heart — 
 This is the religion of the Buddhas." 
 — (Rhys David's Buddha, p. 62.) 
 
 >« See Matt. viii. 19, 20 ; xvi. 25-28.
 
 BUDDHA AND JESUS COMPARED. 
 
 295 
 
 37. It is recorded in the "Sacred 
 Canon " of the Buddhists that the mul- 
 titudes " required a sign " from Buddha 
 "that they might believe."' 
 
 38. When Buddha's time on earth 
 was about coming to a close, he, "fore- 
 seeing the things that would happen in 
 future times," said to his disciple An- 
 anda: " Anauda. when I am gone, you 
 must not think there is no Buddha; the 
 discourses I have delivered, and the pre- 
 cepts I have enjoined, mu^t be my suc- 
 cessors, or representatives, and be to you 
 as Buddha."' 
 
 39. In the Buddliist Somadeta, is to 
 be found the following: "To give 
 away our riches is considered the most 
 difficult virtue in the world; he who 
 gives away his riches is like a man who 
 gives away his life: for our very life 
 seems to cling to our riches. But Bud- 
 dha, when his mind was moved by 
 pity, gate his life like grass, for the sake 
 of others; why should we think of 
 miserable riches! By this exalted vir- 
 tue, Buddha, wlien he was freed from 
 all desires, and had obtained divine 
 knowledge, attained unto Buddhahood. 
 Therefore let a wise man, after he has 
 turned away his desires from all pleas- 
 ures, do good to all beings, even unto 
 sacrificing his own life, that thus he 
 may attain to true knowledge."* 
 
 40. Buddha's aim was to establish 
 
 37. It is recorded in the "Sacred 
 Canon " of the Christians that the mul- 
 titudes required a sign from Jesus that 
 they might believe.' 
 
 38. When Jesus' time on earth was 
 about coming to a close, he told of the 
 things that would happen in future 
 times,* and said unto his disciples: 
 " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
 teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever I have commanded you; 
 and, lo, I am with you alway, even un- 
 to the end of the world."' 
 
 39. "And behold, one came and 
 said unto him. Good Master, what 
 good tiling shaU I do, that I may have 
 eternal life? . . . Jesus said unto him. 
 If thou wilt be perfect, go and seU that 
 thou hast, and give to the poor, and 
 thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and 
 come and follow me."' "Lay not up 
 for yourselves treasures upon earth, 
 where moth and rust doth corrupt, and 
 where thieves break through and steal: 
 But lay up for yourselves treasures in 
 heaven, where neither moth nor rust 
 doth corrupt, and where thieves do not 
 break through nor steal."' 
 
 40. "EYom that time Jesus began 
 
 1 MuJler : Science of Religion, p. i?7. 
 
 » Hardy : Eastern Monacliism, p. 230. 
 
 " Gautama Baddha is said to have an- 
 nonnced to bis disciples that the time of his 
 departure had come : ' Arit^e, let as go hence, 
 my time is come.' Turned toward the East 
 and with folded arms he prayed lo the highest 
 spirit who inhabits the region of purest light, 
 to Maha-Brahma, to the king in heaven, to 
 Devaraja, who from his throne looked down on 
 Gautama, and appeared to him in a self-chosen 
 personality." (Bunsen : The Angel-ilessiah. 
 Compare with Matt. xx^i. 30-47.) 
 
 3 '"Then certain of the scribes and Phar- 
 isees answered, sajing. Master, we would Bee 
 a sign from thee." (Matt. sii. 38.) 
 
 * See Matt, rxiv ; Mark, viii. 31 ; Luke, ix. 
 18. 
 
 • Mark, ixviii. 18-30. 
 
 Buddha at one time said to his disciples : 
 *' Go ye now, and preach the most excellent 
 law, expounding every point thereof, and un- 
 
 folding it with care and attention in alt its 
 bearings and particulars. Explain the begin- 
 ning, the middle, and the end of the law, to 
 all men without exception ; let everything 
 respecting it be made publicly known and 
 brought to the broad daylight." (Rhys David's 
 Buddhism, p. 55, 56.) 
 
 When Buddha, just before his death, took 
 his last formal farewell of his assembled fol- 
 lowers, he said unto them : " Oh mendicants, 
 thoroughly learn, and practice, and perfect, 
 and spread abroad the law thought out and 
 revealed by me, in order that this religion of 
 mine may last long, and be perpetuated for 
 the good and happiness of the great multi- 
 tudes, out of pity for the world, to the advan- 
 tage and prosperity of gods and men." (Ibid, 
 p. 1?2.) 
 
 • Mailer : Science of Religion, p. 244. 
 
 ' Matt. xii. 16-21. 
 
 « Matt. vi. 19. 30.
 
 296 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 a "Religious Kingdom," a " Kingdom 
 of Heaven."'^ 
 
 41. Buddha said: " I now desire to 
 turn the wheel of the excellent law.^ 
 For this purpose am I going to the city 
 of Benares, ■* to give light to those en- 
 shrouded in darkness, and to open the 
 gate of Immortality to man."' 
 
 42. Buddha said: "Though the 
 heavens were to fall to earth, and the 
 great world be swallowed up and pass 
 away: Though Mount Sumera were to 
 crack to pieces, and the great ocean be 
 dried up, yet, Ananda, be assured, the 
 words of Buddha are true."' 
 
 43. Buddha said: "There is no pas- 
 sion more violent than voluptuous- 
 ness. Happily there is but one such 
 passion. If there were two, not a man 
 in the whole universe could follow the 
 truth." "Beware of li.\ing yo\u- eyes 
 upon women. If you find yourself in 
 their company, let it be as though you 
 ■were not present. If j'ou speak with 
 them, guard well your hearts."'" 
 
 44. Buddha said: "A wise man 
 should avoid married life as if it were 
 
 to preach, and to say. Repent: for the 
 Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."' 
 
 41. Jesus, after his temptation by 
 the devil, began to establish the domin- 
 ion of his religion, and he went for 
 this purpose to the city of Capernaum. 
 " The people which sat in darkness saw 
 great light, and to them which sat in 
 the region imd shadow of death, light 
 is sprung up."* 
 
 42. "The law was given by Moses, 
 but grace and truth came by Jesus 
 Christ. "8 
 
 ' ' Verily I say unto you . . . heavea 
 and earth shall pass away, but my words 
 shall not pass away. "' 
 
 43. Jesus said : "Ye have heard 
 that it was said by them of old time. 
 Thou shalt not commit adultery : But 
 I .say unto you, that whosoever looketh 
 on a woman to lust after her, hath com- 
 mitted adultery with her already in his 
 heart."" 
 
 44. "It is good for a man not to 
 touch a woman," " but if they cannot 
 
 ' Beat ; Hist. Buddha, p. x. note. 
 
 3- Matt. iv. 17. 
 
 3 i. «., to establisti the dominioa of relig- 
 ion. (See Beal : p. S44, note.) 
 
 * Ttie Jerasalem, ttie Rome, or the Mecca 
 of India. 
 
 This celebrated city of Benares, which has 
 a population of 300.000, out of which at, least 
 25,000 are Brahmang, was probably one of the 
 first to acquire a fame for sauctity, and it has 
 always maintained its reputation as the most 
 sacred spot in all India. Here, in this fortress 
 of Hindooism, Brahmanism dii^plays itself in all 
 its plentitude and power. Here the degrding 
 effect of idolatry is visibly demonstrated as it is 
 nowhere else except in the extreme south of In- 
 dia. Here, temples, idols, and symbols, sacred 
 wells, springs, and pools, are multiplied beyond 
 all calculation. Here every particle of ground is 
 believed to be hallowed, and the very air holy. 
 The number of temples is at least two thou- 
 sand, not counting innumerable smaller shrines. 
 In the principal temple of Siva, called Visves- 
 vara, are collected in one spot several thousand 
 idols and symbols, the whole number scattered 
 throughout the city, being, it is thought, at 
 jeast half a million. 
 
 Benares, indeed, must always be regarded 
 
 as the Hindoo's Jerusalem. The desire of a. 
 pious man's life is to accomplish at least one 
 pilgrimage to what he regards as a portion of 
 heaven let down upon earth ; and if he can 
 die within the holy circuit of the Pancakoai 
 stretching with a radius of ten miles around 
 the city— nay, if any human being die there, 
 be he Asiatic or European— no previously incur- 
 red guilt, however heinous, can prevent his 
 attainment of celestial bliss. 
 
 s Beal : Hist. Buddha, p. 245. 
 
 • Matt. iv. 13-1". 
 
 ' Beal : Hist. Buddha, p. 11. 
 
 s John, i. 1". 
 
 » Luke, xxi. 32, 33. 
 
 1° Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 228. 
 
 " Matt. V. 27, 28. 
 
 On one occasion Buddha preached a sermon 
 on the five senses and the heart (which he 
 regarded as a sixth organ of sense), which 
 pertained to guarding against the pa«sion of 
 lust. Rhys Davids, who, in speaking of this 
 sermon, says; "One may pause and wonder 
 at finding such a sermon preached so early in 
 the history of the world— more than 400 years 
 before the rise of Christianity— and among a 
 people who have long been thought peculiarly 
 idolatrous and sensual." (Buddhism, p. GO.)
 
 BUDDHA AND JESUS COMPAEED. 
 
 297 
 
 » burning pit of live coals. One who 
 is not able to live in a state of celibacy 
 should not commit adultery."' 
 
 45. "Buddhism is convinced that if 
 a man reaps sorrow, disappointment, 
 pain, he himself, and no other, must at 
 some time have sown folly, error, sin ; 
 and if not in this life then in some 
 former birth. "^ 
 
 46. Buddha knew the thoughts of 
 others; " By directing his mind to the 
 thoughts of others, he can know the 
 thoughts of all beings."' 
 
 47. In the Somadeva a story is re- 
 lated of a Buddhist ascetic whose eye 
 offended him, he therefore plucked it 
 out, and cast it away.' 
 
 48. When Buddha was about to be- 
 come an ascetic, and when riding on 
 the horse "Kantako," his path was 
 strewn with flowers, thrown there by 
 Devas.' 
 
 Never were devotees of any creed or faith as fast bound in its 
 tliraldom as are the disciples of Gautama Buddha. For nearly two 
 thousand four hundred years it has been the established religion of 
 Em-mah, Siam, Laos, Pega, Cambodia, Thibet, Japan, Tartary, Cey- 
 lon and Loo-Choo, and many neighboring islands, beside about 
 two-thirds of China and a large portion of Siberia ; and at the pres- 
 ent day no inconsiderable number of the simple peasantry of 
 Swedish Lapland are found among its firm adherents." 
 
 contain let them marry, for it is better 
 to marry than to burn." "To avoid 
 fornication, let every man have his 
 own wife and let every woman have 
 her own husband. "'^ 
 
 45. " And as Jesus passed by, he 
 saw a man which was blind from his 
 birth. And his disciples asked him, 
 saying. Master, who did sin, this man, 
 or his parents, that he was bora 
 blind."* 
 
 46. Jesus knew the thoughts of 
 others. By directing his mind to 
 the thoughts of others, he knew the 
 thoughts of all beings.' 
 
 47. It is related in the New Testa- 
 ment that Jesus said : " If thy right eye 
 offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it 
 from thee."^ 
 
 48. When Jesus was entering Jeru- 
 salem, riding on an ass, his path was 
 strewn with palm branches, thrown 
 there by the multitude. '" 
 
 1 Rhys Davids' Baddhism, p. 138. 
 
 2 I. Corinth, vii. 1-7. 
 
 s Rhys Davids' Buddhism, p. 103. 
 
 * John, ix. 1, 3. 
 
 This is the doctrine of transmigration clearly 
 taught. If ttiis man was bom blind, as pun- 
 ishment for some sin committed by him, this 
 Bin must have been committed in some f(yrvitr 
 birth. 
 
 ' Hardy : Buddliist Legends, p. 181. 
 
 * See the story of his conversation with the 
 woman of Samaria. (John, iv. 1.) And with 
 the woman who was cured of the " bloody 
 iaene." (Matt. ii. 20.) 
 
 ' Miiller : Science of Religion, p. 245. 
 
 * Matt. V. 29. 
 
 ' Hardy : Buddhist Legends, p. 134. 
 
 '» Matt. xxi. 1-9. 
 
 Bacchus rode in a triumphal procession, 
 on approaching the city of Thebes. "Pan- 
 theus, the king, who had no respect for the 
 new vforship (instituted by Bacchus) forbade 
 
 its rites to be performed. But when it was 
 known that Bacchus was advancing, men and 
 women, but chiefly the latter, young and old, 
 poured forth to meet him and to join his tri- 
 umphal march. ... It was in vain Pan- 
 theus remonstrated, commanded and threat- 
 ened. ' Go,' said he to his attendants, ' seize 
 this vagabond leader of the rout and bring 
 him to me. I will soon make him confess 
 his false claim of heavenly parentage and re- 
 nounce his counterfeit worship.'" (Bulflnch : 
 Age of Fable, p. 222. Compare with Matt, 
 xsvi. ; Luke, sxii.; John xviii.) 
 
 11 " There are few names among the men of 
 the West, that stand forth as salicntly as 
 Gotama Buddha, in the annals of the East, 
 In little more than two centuries from his de- 
 cease the system he established had spread 
 throughout the whole of India, overcoming 
 opposition the most formidable, and binding 
 together the most discordant elements ; and 
 at the present moment Baddhism is the pre-
 
 298 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "Well authenticated records establish indisputably tie facts, 
 that together with a noble physique, superior mental endowments, 
 and high moral excellence, there were found in Buddha a purity of 
 life, sanctity of character, and simple integrity of purpose, that com- 
 mended themselves to all brought under his intluence. Even 
 at this distant day, one cannot listen with tearless eyes to the touch- 
 ing details of his pnre, earnest life, and patient endurance under 
 contradiction, often fierce persecution for those he sought to 
 benefit. Altogether he seems to have been one of those remarkable 
 examples, of genius and virtue occasionally met with, unaccountably 
 superior to the age and nation that produced them. 
 
 There is no reason to believe that he ever arrogated to himself 
 any higher authority than that of a teacher of religion, but, as in 
 modern factions, there were readily found among his followers 
 those who carried his peculiar tenets much further than their 
 founder. These, not content with lauding during his life-time the 
 noble deeds of their teacher, exalted him, within a quarter of a 
 century after his death, to a place among their deities — worshiping 
 as a God one they had known only as a simple-hearted, earnest, 
 truth-seeking philanthropist.' 
 
 This worship was at first but the natural upgushing of the ven- 
 eration and love Gautama had inspired during his noble life, and 
 his sorrowing disciples, mourning over the desolation his death had 
 occasioned, turned for consolation to the theory that he still lived. 
 
 Those who had known him in life cherished his name as the 
 very synonym of all that was generous and good, and it required 
 but a step to exalt him to divine honors ; and so it was that Gauta- 
 ma Buddha became a God, and continues to be worshiped as such. 
 
 For more than forty years Gautama thus dwelt among his fol- 
 lowers, instructing them daily in the sacred law, and laying down 
 
 vailing religion, nnder various modiflcations, of every Pali text ; and at the present day, 
 
 of Tibet, Nepal, Siam, Burma. Japan, and in Ceylon, the usual way in which Gautama 
 
 South Ceylon ; and in China it hay a position is styled ie5aru'(y?ian-it'a//an5^, * the Venerable 
 
 of at least equal prominence with its two Omniscient One.' From lijs perfect wisdom, 
 
 groat rivals. Confucianism and Taouism. A according to Buddhist belief, his siiUessness 
 
 long time its influence extended throughout ivoxdd follow as a matler of course. He was 
 
 nearly three-fourths of Asia ; from the steppes the first and the greatest of the Arahats. As 
 
 of Tartary to the palm groves of Ceylon, and a consequence of this doctrine the belief soon 
 
 from the vale of Cashmere to the isles of sprang up that he could not have been, that 
 
 Japan." (R. Spence Hardy : Buddhist Leg. he was not, born as ordinary men are ; that 
 
 p. xi.) he had no earthly father ; that he descended 
 
 1 "Gautama was very early regarded as of his own accord into his mother's womb 
 
 omniscient, and absolutely sinless. His per- from his throne in heaven ; and that he gave 
 
 feet wisdom is declared by the ancient epithet nnmistakable signs, immediately after his birth 
 
 of Samma-sambuddha. ' the Completely En- of hia high character and of his future great^ 
 
 lightened One ;' found at the commencement ness." (Rhya Davids' Buddhism, p. 162.)
 
 BUDDHA AND JESUS COMPARED. 299 
 
 many rules for their guidance when he should be no longer with 
 them.' 
 
 He lived in a style the most simple and unostentatious, bore un- 
 complainingly the weai-iness aud privations incident to the many 
 long journeys made for the propagation of the new faith ; and per 
 formed countless deeds of love and mercy. 
 
 When the time came for him to be perfected, he directed his 
 followers no longer to remain together, but to go out in companies, 
 and proclaim the doctrines he had taught them, found schools and 
 monasteries, build temples, and perform acts of charity, that they 
 might ' obtain merit,' and gain access to the blessed shade of Nigban, 
 ■which he told them he was about to enter, and where they believe 
 he has now reposed more than two thousand years." 
 
 To the pious Buddhist it seems irreverent to speak of Gautama 
 by his mere ordinary and human name, and he makes use therefore, 
 of one of those numerous epithets which are used only of the Bud- 
 dha, " the Enlightened One." Such are Sal'ya-s^inha, " the Lion of 
 the Tribe of Sakya ;" Sakya-muni, " the Sakya Sage ;" Sugata, " the 
 Happy One ;" Sattha, " the Teacher ;" Jina, " the Conqueror ;" 
 BIiMjavcid, " the Blessed One ;" Loka-natha, " the Lord of the 
 World ;" Sawajna, " the Omniscient One ;" Dharma-raja, " the 
 King of Kighteousness ;" he is also called " the Author of Happi- 
 ness," " the Possessor of All," " the Supreme Being," " the Eternal 
 One," " the Dispeller of Pain and Trouble," "the Guardian of the 
 Universe," " the Emblem of Mercy," " the Saviour of the World," 
 " the Great Physician," " the God among Gods," " the Anointed " 
 or "the Christ," "the Messiah," "the Only-Begotten," "the 
 Heaven-Descended Mortal^' " the Way of Life, and of Immortal- 
 ity," &c.' 
 
 At no time did Buddha receive his knowledge from a human 
 
 1 Gautama Buddha left behind him no mit- days by heart. (See Bhys Davids' Buddhism, 
 
 ten works, but the Buddhists believe that he pp. 9, 10.) 
 
 composed works which his immediate disciples » Compare this with the names, titles, and 
 
 learned by heart in his life-time, and which characters given to Jesus. He is called the 
 
 were handed down by memory in their original " Deliverer," (Acts, vii. 35) ; the " First Be- 
 
 state until they were committed to writing. gotten" (Eev. i. 6); "God blessed forever" 
 
 This is not impossible: it is known that the iRom. ix. 5); the "Holy One" (Luke. iv. M ; 
 
 Vedas were handed down in this manner for Acts. iii. 14); the "King Everlasting" ^Luka, 
 
 many hundreds of years, and none would now i. 83); "King of Kings" (Eev. xvii. 14); 
 
 dispute the enormous powers of memory to "Lamb of God" (John, i. J9, 80); "Lord of 
 
 which Indian priests and monks attained, Glory" (L Cor. ii. 8); "Lord of Lords " (Bev. 
 
 when written books were not invented, or only xvii. H); "Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Rev. 
 
 used as helps to memory. Even though they v. 5); "Maker and Preserver of all things" 
 
 are well acquainted with writing, the monks (John, i. 3, 10 ; I. Cor. viii. 6 ; Col. i. 16>; 
 
 in Ceylon do not use books in their religious " Prince of Peace " (I.-jai. ix. 6); "Redeemer," 
 
 services, bnt, repeat, for instance, the whole "Saviour," "Mediator," "Word," &c., &c. 
 of the Patimokkha on Uixjsatha (Sabbath)
 
 300 BIBLE Mi'THS. 
 
 source, that is, from flesh and blood. His sonrce was the power of 
 Ids divine wisdom, the spiritual power of Maya, which he already 
 possessed before his incarnation. It was by this divine power, 
 which is also called the " Holy Ghost," that he became the Saviour, 
 the Kuiig-teng, the Anointed or Messiah, to whom prophecies had 
 pointed. Buddha was regarded as the supernatural light of the 
 world ; and this world to which he came was his own. his posses- 
 sion, for he is styled : " The Lord of the World.'" 
 
 "Gautama Buddha taught that all men are brothers' that 
 cliarity ought to be extended to all, even to enemies ; that men 
 ought to love truth and hate the lie ; that good works ought not be 
 done openly, but rather in secret ; that the dangers of riches are to 
 be avoided ; that man's highest aim ought to be purity in thought, 
 word and deed, since tlie higher beings are pure, whoso nature is 
 akin to that of man.'" 
 
 " Sakya-Muni healed the sick, performed miracles and taught 
 his doctrines to the poor. He selected his first disciples among lay- 
 men, and even two women, the mother and wife of his first convert, 
 the sick Yasa, became his followers. He subjected himself to the 
 religious obligations imposed by the recognized authorities, avoided 
 etrife, and illustrated his doctrines by his life."* 
 
 It is said that eighty thousand followers of Buddha went forth 
 from Hindostan, as missionaries to other lands ; and the traditions 
 of various countries are full of legends concerning their benevo- 
 lence, holiness, and miraculous power. His religion has never been 
 pi'opagatcd by the sword. It has been effected entirely by the in- 
 fluence of peaceable and persevering devotees.' The era of the 
 Siamese is the death of Buddha. In Ceylon, they date from the in- 
 troduction of his religion into their island. It is supposed to be 
 more extensively adopted than any religion that ever existed. Its 
 votaries are compxTted at four hundred millions ; more than one- 
 third of the whole human race.' 
 
 There is much contradiction among writers concerning the date 
 
 • BunscQ : The Angel-Messiah, p. 41. He was sincere, energetic, earnest, felf-sacrl- 
 
 * "He joined to his gifts as n tliinker a pro- ficing, and devouL Adhercnta gattiered in 
 phetic ardor and missionary zeal whiclx thonsands aronnd the person of the consistent 
 prompted him to popularize his doctrine, and preacher, and the Bcddha himself became the 
 to preach to all without exception, men and real centre of Baddbism/* (Williams' Hindu- 
 women, high and low, ignorant and learned Ism, p. 102.) 
 
 alike." (Rhys Davids' Buddhism, p. 53.) • " It may be said to bs the prevailing re- 
 
 ' Bnnsen : The Angel-Messiah, p. 43. liglon of the world. Its adherents are estimat;d 
 
 * Ibid. p. 46. at/owr hundred millions, more than a third of 
 
 • "The success of Buddhism was in great the human race." (Chnmbere's Encyclo., art. 
 part dne to the reverence the Buddha inspired "Buddhism." See also, Buiie«d^8 Aogel-Mee- 
 by his own personal character. He practiced eiah, p. 251.) 
 
 bouestly what he preached enthusiastically.
 
 3DDDHA AND JESUS COilPARED. 301 
 
 of the Buddhist reh'gion. This confusion arises from the fact that 
 there are several Bnddhas,' objects of worship ; because the word 
 is not a name, but a title, signifying an extraordinary degree of holi- 
 ness. Those who have examined the subject most deeply have 
 generally agreed that Buddha Sakai, from whom the religion takes 
 its name, must have been a real, historical personage, who appeared 
 many centuries before the time assigned for the birth of Christ 
 Jesus.' There are many things to confirm this supposition. In 
 some portions of India, his religion appears to have flourished for a 
 long time side by side with that of the Brahmans. This is shown by 
 the existence of many aucicut temples, some of them cut in subter- 
 ranean rock, with an immensity of labor, which it must have re- 
 quired a long period to accomplish. In those old temples, liis stat- 
 ues represent him with hair knotted all over his head, which was a 
 very ancient custom with the anchorites of Hindostan, before the 
 practice of shaving the dead was introduced among their devotees.* 
 His religion is also mentioned in one of the very ancient epic 
 poems of India. The severity of the persecution indicates that their 
 numbers and influence had became formidable to the Brahmans, 
 who had everything to fear from a sect which abolished hereditary 
 priesthood, and allowed the holy of all castes to become teachers.* 
 
 It may be observed that in speaking of the pre-existence of Bud- 
 dha in heaven — Iiis birth of a virgin — the songs of the angels at 
 his birth — his recognition as a divine child — his disputation with 
 the doctors — his temptation in the wilderness — his transfiguration 
 on the Mount — his life of preaching and working miracles — and 
 finally, his ascension into heaven, we referred to Prof . Samuel Beal's 
 "History of Buddha," as one of our authorities. This work is 
 simply a translation of the " F(ypen-hing" made by Professor Beal 
 from a Chinese copy, in the " Indian OfBce Library." 
 
 • It ahoald be nnderatood that the Baddha of hism arose in Behar and Eastern Hindastiia 
 
 this chapter, and in fact, the Baddha of this about fire centuries B.C.; and that it spread 
 
 work, is Gautama Baddha, the Sakya Prince. with great rapidity, not by force of arms, or 
 
 According to Baddhist belief there have been eoercionqf any kind, like ^iibammed&nism, hut 
 
 many difierent Bnddhas on earth. T/ie names by the sheer pereaasiveness of its doctrines.'* 
 
 of twenty-four of the Baddhasj who appeared (Monler Williams' Eindniam, p. 7E.) 
 previons to Qaatama have been h.inded down ' *' Of the high antiquity of Buddhism there 
 
 to ns. The Buddhavansa or " History of the is much collateral as well as direct evidence — 
 
 Bnddhas," gives the lives of all the previous evidence that neither internecine nor foreign 
 
 Bnddhas before commencing the account of strife, not even religions persecution, has been 
 
 Gautama himself. (See Bhys Davids' Budd- able to deelroy. . . . Witness the gigantic 
 
 hlsm. pp. ira, 180.) images in the caves of Elephanta, near Bombay 
 
 » " 1 he date usnally fixed for Buddha's and those of Ling) Sara, in tho interior of 
 
 death Is 543 b. o. Whether this precise year Java, all of which are known to have been in 
 
 for one of the Greatest epochs in the religious existence at least four centuries prior to oar 
 
 history of the human race can be accepted is Lord's advent." (Tho Uammoth Religion.) 
 dnbtfu], but it is tolerably certain that Badd- * Eunsen's Anget-Uessiah, p. SSO.
 
 302 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Now, in regard to the antiquity of this work, we will quote tlio 
 words of the translator in speaking on this subject. 
 First, he says : 
 
 We know that the Fo-pen-Mng was translated into Chinese from Sanscrit (the 
 ancient language of Sindostan) bo early as the eleventh year of the reign of 
 Wing-ping (Mingli), of the Han dynasty, i. e., C9 or 70 A. D. We may, there- 
 fore, safely suppose that tlie original work was in circulation in India for some time 
 previous to this date."' 
 
 Again, lie sajs : 
 
 " There can he no doubt that the present work (i. e. the Fo-pen-hing, or Hist, 
 of Buddha) contains as a woof (so to speak) some of the earliest verses (Gathas) 
 in which the History of Buddha was sung, long b'fore the work itself was penned. 
 
 These Gathas were evidently composed in different Prakrit forms (during a 
 period of disintegration) before tlie more modem type of Sanscrit was fixed by the 
 rules of Punini, and the popular epics of the Mahabharata and the Kamayana."' 
 
 Again, in speaking of the points of resemblance in the history 
 of Buddha and Jesus, he says : 
 
 "These points of agreement with the Gospel narrative naturally arouse 
 curiosity and require explanation. If v/e could prove that they (the legends 
 related of Buddha) were unknown in the East for some centuries after Christ, 
 the explanation would be easy. But all the evidence we have goes to prove the 
 contrary. 
 
 It would be a natural inference that many of the events in the legend of 
 Buddha were borrowed from the Apocryphal Gospels, if we were quite certain 
 that these Apociyphal Gospels had not borrowed from it. How then may we 
 explain the matter ? It would be better at once to say that in our present state 
 of knowledge there is no complete explanation to offer."' 
 
 There certainly is no " complete explanation " to be offered by 
 one who attempts to uphold the historical accuracy of the New 
 Testament. The " Devil " and " Type " theories having vanished, 
 like all theories built on sand, nothing now remains for the honest 
 man to do but acknowledge the truth, which is, tJiat the history of 
 Jesus of Nasaretli as related in the hooTcs of the New Testament, 
 is simphj a copy of that of Buddha,with a mixture of mythology 
 "borrowed from other nations. Ernest de Bunsen almost acknowl- 
 edges this when he says : 
 
 "With the remarkable exception of the death of Jesus on the cross, and ot 
 the doctrine of atonement by vicarious suffering, which is absolutely excluded 
 by Buddhism, the most ancient of the Buddhistic records known to us contain 
 Blatomcnls about the life and the doctrines of Gautama Buddha which cor- 
 respond in a remarkable manner, and impossibly by mere chance, with the tra- 
 ditions recorded in the Gospels about the life and doctrines of Jesus Christ. 
 It is still more strange that these Buddhistic legends about Gautama as tlie Angel- 
 Messiah refer to a doctrine which we find only in the Epistles of Paul and in the 
 
 » Beat : Hiet. Baddha. p. vi. > Ibid. pp. i. and xi. ' Ibid. pp. viii., ix. and note.
 
 BUDDHA A3SD JESUS OOMPABED. 303 
 
 fourth Gospel. This can be explained by the assumption of a common source 
 of revelation ; but then the serious question must be considered, why the 
 doctrine of the Angel-Messiah, supposiug it to have been revealed, and which we 
 find in the East and in the West, is not contained in any of the Scriptures of the 
 Old Testament which can possibly have been written before the Babylonian 
 Captivity, nor in the first three Gospels. Can the systematic keeping-back of 
 euential truth be attributed to 'Ood or to manf"' 
 
 Beside the vrorK referred to above as being translated bj Prof. 
 Beal, there is another copy originallj composed in verse. This 
 was translated by the learned Fonceau, who gives it an antiquity of 
 two thousand years, " although the original treatise must be attrib- 
 uted to an earlier date.'" 
 
 In regard to the teachings of Buddha, which correspond go strik- 
 ingly with those of Jesus, Prof. Rhys Davids, says : 
 
 " With regard to Gautama's teaching we have more reliable authority than 
 we have with regard to his life. It is true that none of the books of the Three 
 Pitalias can at present be s.ttisfactorily traced back before the Council of Asoka, 
 held at Patna, about 250 B. c, that is to say, at least one hundred and thirty 
 years after the death of the teacher ; but they undoubtedly contain a great 
 deal of much older matter."' 
 
 Prof. Max Miiller says : 
 
 " Between the language of Buddha and his disciples, and the language 
 of Christ and his apostles, there are strange coincidences. Even some of the 
 Buddhist legends and parables sound as if taken from the New Testament ; 
 though we know thai many of them existed before the beginning of the Cftristian 
 Bra."* 
 
 Just as many of the myths related of the Hindoo Saviour 
 Crishna vsere previously current I'egarding some of the Vedic gods, 
 so likewise, many of the myths previously current regarding the 
 god Sumana, worshiped both on Adam's peak, and at the cave of 
 Dambulla, were added to the Buddha myth." Much of the legend 
 which was transferred to the Buddha, had previously existed, and 
 had clustered around the idea of a Chahrawarti.' Thus we see 
 that the legend of Christ Buddha, as with the legend of Christ 
 Jesus, existed hefore his time.'' 
 
 ' BaDsen'9 Augel-Mcssiah, p. 50. an ideal of thoir Chakravnrti, and tra">i8ferred to 
 
 ' Qaoted by Prof. Beal : Hist. Buddha, p. this new ideal many of the dimly eacred and 
 
 viii. half understood traitfi of the Vedic heroes ? Is 
 
 * Rhys Davids' Bnddbism, p. 86. ]t Burprisiug that the Buddhists should have 
 
 * Science of Religion, \t. S43. found it edifying to recognize iu their hero ihc 
 
 * Rhys Davids' Buddhism. Chakxavarti of Righteousness, and that the 
 « Uiid. p. 1&4. etory of the Bnddha should be tinged with the 
 " It is surprising." says Rhys Davids, " that, coloring of these Chakravarti myths?" (Ibid. 
 
 like Romans worshiping Augustus, or Greeks Buddhism, p. 220.) 
 
 adding the glow of the sun-myth to the glory ' In Chapter xzxix., we stUkU explain the 
 
 Of Alexander, the Indians ehould have fonned origin of these myths.
 
 304 BIBLE UTTHS. 
 
 We have established the fact then — and no man can prodtice 
 hetter authorities — that Buddlia and Baddhism, which correspond 
 in such a remarkable manner with Jesus and Christianity, ■were 
 long anterior to the Christian era. Now, as Ernest de Bunsen says, 
 this remarkable similarity in the histories of the founders and their 
 religion, could not possibly happen by chance. 
 
 Whenever two religious or legendary histories of mythological 
 personages resemble each other so completely as do the histories 
 and teachings of Buddha and Jesus, the older must be the parent, 
 and the younger the child. We must therefore conclude that, 
 since the history of Buddha and Buddhism is very ranch older than 
 that of Jesus and Christianity, the Christians are incontestably 
 either sectarians or plagiarists of the religion of the Buddhists.
 
 CHAPTEK XXX. 
 
 THE EUCHAEIST OK LOEd's SUPPEE. 
 
 We are informed by the Matthew narrator that when Jesus was 
 
 eating his last supper with the disciples, 
 
 " He took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and 
 said. Take, eat, this is my body. And be took the cup, and gave thanks, and 
 gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the New Testa- 
 ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."' 
 
 According to Christian belief, Jesus instituted tliis '■'■ Sacror 
 menf'''' — as it is called — and it was observed by the primitive 
 Christians, as he had enjoined them ; but we shall find that this 
 breaking of bread, and drinking of wine, — supposed to he the hody 
 and hlood of a god^ — is simply another piece of Paganism imbibed 
 by the Christians. 
 
 The Eucharist was instituted many hundreds of years before 
 the time assigned for the birth of Christ Jesus. Cicero, the great- 
 est orator of Koine, and one of the most illustrious of her states- 
 men, born in the year 106 b. c, mentions it in his works, and 
 wonders at the strangeness of the rite. " How can a man be so stu- 
 pid," says he, " as to imagine that which he eats to be a God ?" 
 There had been an esoteric meaning attached to it from the first 
 establishment of the mysteries among the Pagans, and the Euchar- 
 istia is one of the oldest rites of antiquity. 
 
 The adherents of the Grand Lama in Thibet and Tartary offer 
 to their god a sacrament of bread and wine.'' 
 
 ' Matt, xxv'i. 26. See also, Mark, xiv. 22. of the altar," says the Protestant divine, " ia 
 
 2 At the heading of the chapters named in the natural body and blood of Christ ver^ et 
 
 the above note may be seen the words : " Jesus realiter, verily and indeed, if you take these 
 
 keepeth the Passover(and)i7W(i?uftf;A the Lord's terras for spiritually by grace and efficacy ; but 
 
 Supper." if yon mean reaUy and indeed, so that thereby 
 
 ' According to tbe Boman Christians, the you would include a lively and movable body 
 
 Eucharist is the natural body and blood of under the form of bread and wine, then in 
 
 Christ Jesus vere et realiter, but the Protestant that sense it is not Christ's body in the eacra- 
 
 eophistically explains away these two plain ment really and indeed." 
 
 words verily and indeed, and by the grossest * See Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 203, 
 
 abuse of language, makes them to mean gjnrit. and Anacalypsls, i. 232. 
 valiy by grace and ^ffiaicy. " In the sacrament 
 
 20 305
 
 306 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 P. Andrada La Crozius, a French missionary, and one of the 
 first Christians who went to Nepaul and Thibet, says in his " His- 
 tory of India :" 
 
 " Their Grand Laraa celebrates a species of sacrifice witli bread and wine, in 
 which, after taking a small quantity himself, he distributes the rest among the 
 Lamas present at tliis ceremony."' 
 
 In certain rites both in the Indian and the Parsee religions, the 
 devotees drink the juice of the Soma, or Haoma plant. They con- 
 sider it a god as well as a plant, just as the wine of the Christian 
 sacrament is considered both the juice of the grape, and the blood 
 of the Redeemer." Says Mr. Baring-Gould ; 
 
 "Among the ancient Hindoos. Soma was a chief deity; he is called 'the 
 Giver of Life and of health,' the ' Protector,' he who is ' the Guide to Immortality.' 
 He became incarnate among men, was taken by them and slain, and brayed in 
 a mortar. But he rose in flame to heaven, to be the ' Benefactor of the World,' 
 and the ' Jlediator between God and Man. ' Through communion with him in his 
 sacriUce. man. (who partook of this god), has an assurance of immortality, for by 
 that sacrament he obtains union with his divinity."* 
 
 The ancient Egyptians — as we have seen — annually celebrated 
 the Resurrection of their God and Saviour Osiris, at which time 
 they commemorated his death by the Eucharist, eating the sacred 
 cake, or wafer, after it had heen consecrated hy the priest, and be- 
 come veritable jlesh of his flesh.* The bread, after sacerdotal rites, 
 becauie mystically the body of Osiris, and, in such a manner, they 
 ate their god." Bread and wine were brought to the temples by the 
 worshipers, as offerings.' 
 
 The Therapeutes or Essenes, whom we believe to be of Bud- 
 dhist origin, and who lived in large numbers in Egypt, also had the 
 ceremony of the sacrament among them.' Most of them, however, 
 being temperate, substituted water for wine, while others drank a 
 mixture of water and wine. 
 
 Pythagoras, the celebrated Grecian philosopher, who was born 
 about the year 570 b. c, performed this ceremony of the sacram,ent.' 
 He is supposed to have visited Egypt, and there availed himself of 
 all such mysterious lore as the priests could be induced to impart. 
 He and his followers practiced asceticism, and peculiarities of diet 
 and clothing, similar to the Essenes, which has led some scholars to 
 
 1 " Leur grand Lama cclebre one espece de • See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 163. 
 eacrifice avec du pain et du vin dont il prend une ' See Ibid. p. 417. 
 
 petite quantite. et dietribue le reste aux Lamas ^ See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 179. 
 
 presens a cette ceremonie." (Quoted in Anac- ' See Buneen'e Keys of St. Peter, p. 199 ; 
 
 alypsis, vol. ii.p. 118.) Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 60, and Lillie's Budd- 
 
 2 Viscount Amberiy'e Analysis, p. 46. hism. p. 136. 
 
 * Baring-Gould : Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. * See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 60. 
 
 p. 401.
 
 THE EUCHARIST OE LOED'S SUPPEE. 307 
 
 believe tliat he instituted the order, but this is evidently not the 
 case. 
 
 The Kenite " King of Righteousness," Melchizedek, " a priest 
 of the Most High God," brought out beead and wine as a sign or 
 symhol of worship ; as the mystic elements of Divine presence. In 
 the visible symbol of hread and wine they worshiped the invisible 
 presence of the Creator of heaven and earth.^ 
 
 To account for this, Christian divines have been much puzzled. 
 The Kev. Dr. Milner says, in speaking of this passage : 
 
 " It was in offering up a sacrifice of bread and wine, instead of slaughtered 
 animals, that Mclchizedek's sacrifice differed from the generality of those in the 
 old law, and that he prefigured the sacrifice which Christ was to institute in the 
 new law from the same elements. No other sense than this can be elicited from 
 the Scripture as to this matter ; and accordingly the holy fathers unanimously 
 adhere to this meaning."^ 
 
 This style of reasoning is in accord with the type theory concern- 
 ing the Virgm-born, Crucified and Eesurrected Saviours, but it is 
 not altogether satisfactory. If it had been said that the religion of 
 Melchizedek, and the religion of the Persians, were the same, there 
 would be no difficulty in explaining the passage. 
 
 Not only were bread and wine brought forth by Melchizedek 
 when he blessed Abraham, but it was offered to God and eaten be- 
 fore him by Jethro and the elders of Israel, and some, at least, of 
 the mov?'jiing Israelites broke bread and drank " the ctip of conso- 
 lation," in remembrance of the departed, " to comfort them for the 
 dead."= 
 
 It is in the ancient religion of Persia — the religion of Mithra, 
 the Mediator, the Redeemer and Saviour — that we find the nearest 
 resemblance to the sacrament of the Christians, and from which it 
 was evidently borrowed. Those who were initiated into the mys- 
 teries of Mithra, or became members, took the sacrament of bread 
 and wine.* 
 
 M. Renan, speaking of Mithraicism, says : 
 
 " It had its mysterious meetings: its chapels, which bore a strong resemblance 
 to little churches. It forged a very lasting bond of brotherhood between its 
 initiates: it had a Eucharist, a Supper so like the Christian Mysteries, that good 
 .Justin Martyr, the Apologist, can find only one explanation of the apparent 
 identity, namely, that Satan, in order to deceive the human race, determined to 
 imitate the Christian ceremonies, and so stole them." ' 
 
 ' See Bansen's Keys of St. Peter, p. 55, and ' See Bansen's Angel-Messiah, p. S?r. 
 
 Genesis, siv. 18, 19. * See King's Gnostics and their Remains, 
 
 * St. Jerome says : " Melchizedeic in typo p. xxt., and Higgins' Anacalypsis, vol. ij. pp. 
 
 Clirieti panem et vinnm obtulit : et mysterium 58, 59. 
 
 Chrietianum in Salvatoris sanguine et corpore * Renan'e Hibbert Lectures, p. 35. 
 
 dedicavit."
 
 308 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The words of St. Justin, wherein he alhides to this ceremony, 
 are as follows : 
 
 "The apostles, in the commentaries written by themselves, which we call 
 Gospels, have delivered down to us how that Jesus thus commanded them : Hb 
 having tiiken bread, after he had given thanks, ' said, Do this in commemoration 
 of me; this is my body. And having taken a cup, and returned thanks, he said: 
 This is my blood, and delivered it to them alone. Wliich thing indeed the evil 
 spirits have taught to be done out of mimicry in the Mysteries and Initiatory 
 rites of Slithra. 
 
 For you either know, or can know, that bread and a cup of water (or wine) 
 are given out, with certain incantations, in the consecration of the person who 
 is being initiated in the Mysteries of Mithra." - 
 
 This food they called theEucliarist, of which no one was allowed 
 to partake but the persons who believed that the things they taught 
 were true, and who had been washed with the washing that is for 
 the remission of sin." Tertullian, who flourished from 193 to 220 a. d., 
 also speaks of the Mithraic devotees celebrating the Eucharist.' 
 
 The Eucharist of the Lord and Saviour, as the Magi called 
 Mithra, the second person in their Trinity, or tlieir Eucharistic sac- 
 rifice, was always made exactly and in every respect the same as 
 that of the orthodox Christians, for both sometimes used water in- 
 stead of wine, or a mixture of the two.' 
 
 The Christian Fathers often liken their rites to those of the 
 Therapeuts (Essenes) and worshipers of Mithra. Here is Justin 
 Martyr's account of Christian initiation : 
 
 "But we, after we have thus washed liim who has been -convinced and 
 assented to our teachings, bring him to the place where those who are called 
 brethren are assembled, in order that we may ofEer hearty prayers in common for 
 ourselves and the illuminated person. Having ended our prayers, we salute one 
 another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren 
 bread and a cup of wine mixed loitli water. When the president has given thanks, 
 and all the people have expressed their assent, those that are called by ua 
 deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed 
 with water."* 
 
 ■ III the words of Mr. King: " This expres- Christianis convenire, quae fecerunt ex iudas- 
 
 eion shows that the notion of blessing or con- tria ad imitationem Christianisnii : unde 
 
 eeci-ating the elements was as yet unknown to Tertulliani et Patres aiunt eo.s talia fecieso, 
 
 the Christians." duce diaholo, quo vult esse simia Christi. &c. 
 
 * .\poI. 1. ch. Ixvi. Volunt itaqne eos res suas ita comparasse, ut 
 
 * Ibid. ' Mithra; my^^tiria esseni eucharisiiw CfwistiuncR 
 
 * Ue Prsescriptione Hsereticorura, ch. xl. imago. Sic Just. Martyr (p. 98), et Tertulliauua 
 Tertullian explains this conformity between et Chrysostomus. In suis etiam sacris habe- 
 Cliristianity and Paganism, by asserting that bant Mithriaci lavacra (quasi regenerationis) in 
 the devil copied the Cliristian mysteries. quibus tingit et ipse (sc. sacerdos) quosdam 
 
 s De Tinctioue, de oblatione pauis, et de utique credentes et fideles suos, et expiatoria 
 
 imagine resurrectionis. videatur doctiss, de la delictorum de lavacro repromittit et sic adhuc 
 
 Cerda ad ea TertuUiani loca ubi de biscerebus iniiiat Jlithrse." (Hyde: De Uelig. Vet. Per- 
 
 agitnr. Gentiles citra Christum, talia cel^- sian. p. 11.3. > 
 bradant Mitbriaca qnie vidcbantvir cum doc- " Juslju : 1st Apol., ch. Ivi. 
 
 trina eucharistcE et resurrectionis et aliis ritibua
 
 THE EUCHARIST OB LORD'S SUPPER. 309 
 
 In the service of Edward the Sixth of England, water is directed 
 to be mixed with the wine." This is a union of the two ; not a 
 half measure, but a double one. If it be correct to take it with 
 wine, then they were right ; if with water, they still were right ; as 
 they took both, they could not be wrong. 
 
 The bread, used in these Pagan Mysteries, was carried in baskets, 
 which practice was also adopted by the Christians. St. Jerome, 
 speaking of it, says : 
 
 " Nothing can be richer than one who carries the body of Christ (viz. : the 
 bread) in a basket made of twigs."' 
 
 The Persian Magi introduced the worship of Mithra into Kome, 
 and his mysteries were solemnized in a cave. In the process of 
 initiation there, candidates were also administered the sacrament of 
 bread and wine, and were marked on the forehead with the sign of 
 th.e cross.' 
 
 The ancient Greeks also had their " Mysteries,^'' wherein they 
 celebrated the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The Eev. Eobert 
 Taylor, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " The EleuBinian Mysteries, or, Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, was the most 
 august of all the Pagan ceremonies celebrated, more especially by the Athenians, 
 every fifth year,'* in honor of Ceres, the goddess of corn, who, in allegorical 
 language, had given us Iter flesh to eat; as Bacchus, the god of wine, in like sense, 
 had given us his blood to drink. . . . 
 
 " From these ceremonies is derived the very name attached to our Christian 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper, — 'those holy Mysteries;' — and not one or two, 
 but absolutely all and every one of the observances used in our Christian 
 solemnity. Very many of our forms of expression in that solemnity are 
 precisely the same as those that appertained to the Pagan rite."= 
 
 Prodicus (a Greek sophist of the 5th century b. c.) says that, the 
 ancients worshiped bread as Demeter (C'i?r^s) and wiyie as Dionysos 
 (Bacchus) ;° therefore, when they ate the bread, and drank the wine, 
 after it had been consecrated, they were doing as the Romanists 
 claim to do at the present day, i. e., eating the flesh and drinking 
 the blood of their god.'' 
 
 Mosheim, the celebrated ecclesiastical historian, acknowledges 
 that : 
 
 ' Dr. Grabes' Notes on IrcnaeuB, lib. v. -c. 2, The Angel-Meesiab, p. 303. 
 
 in Anac, vol. 1. p. 60. * They were celebrated every fifth year at 
 
 5 Quoted in Monumental Christianity, p. 370. Eteims, a town of Attica, from whence their 
 
 ' See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 369. name. 
 
 "The Divine Presence called his angel of ' Taylor's Diegesis, p. 212. 
 
 mercy and said unto him : • Go through the • Muller: Origin of Religion, p. 181. 
 
 midst of the city, through the midst of Jernsa- ' " In the Bacchic Mysteries a consecrated 
 
 lem, and set the mark of Tan (T, the headless cup (of wine) was handed around after supper, 
 
 cross) upon the foreheads of the men that called the cup of the .i<7a(Ao(ia«non." (Cousin: 
 
 sigh and that cry for all the abominations Lcc. on Modn. Phil. Quoted in Isis Unveiled, 
 
 thatftre done in the midst thereof.'" (Bonsen : ii. 513. See also, Dunlap's Spirit Hist., p. 217.)
 
 310 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " The profound respect that was paid to the Greek and Roman Mytteries, and 
 the extraordinary sanctity that was attributed to them, induced the Christians of 
 the second century, to give their religion a mystic air, in order to put it upon an 
 equal footing in point of dignity, with that of the Pagans. For this purpose 
 they gave the name of Hysterics to the institutions of the Gospels, and decorated 
 particularly the ' Holy Sacrament ' with that title; they used the very terms 
 employed in the Heathen Mysteries, and adopted some of the rites and ceremonies 
 of which those renowned mysteries consisted. This imitation began in the 
 eastern provinces ; but, after the time of Adrian, who firjt introduced the 
 mysteries among the Latins, it was followed by the Christians who dwelt in the 
 western part of the empire. A great part, therefore, of the service of the Church 
 in this — the second — centurj', had a certain air of the Heathen Mysteries, and 
 resembled them considerably in many particulars."' 
 
 Eleusinian Mysteries and Christian Sacraments Gomjpared. 
 
 1. "But as the benefit of Initiation 1. " For as the benefit is great, if, 
 
 was great, such as were convicted of with a true penitent heart and lively 
 witchcraft, murder, even though unin- faith, we receive that holy sacrament, 
 tentional, or any other heinous crimes, &c., if any be an open and notorious 
 were debarred from those mysteries."* evil-liver, or hath done wrong to his 
 
 neighbor, &c., tha he presume not to 
 come to the Lord's table. "^ 
 3. "At their entrance, purifying 2. See the fonts of 7«)Zy wi/ter at the 
 
 themselves, by washing their hands in entrance of ever)- Catholic chiipel in 
 holy water, they were at the same time Christendom for the same purpose, 
 admonished to present themselves with "Let us draw near witli a true 
 
 pure minds, without which the external heart in full assurance of faith, having 
 cletinness of the body would by no our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 
 means be accepted."'* science, and our bodies washed with 
 
 pure water."* 
 
 3. "The priests who ofiBciated in 3. The priests who officiate at these 
 these sacred solemnities, were called Christian solemnities are supposed to 
 Hierophants, or ' revealers of luily be 're vealers of holy things.' 
 
 things. ' "' 
 
 4. The Pagan Priest dismissed their 4. The Christian priests dismiss 
 congregation with these words: their congregation with these words: 
 
 " T/ie Lord be with you.'"' " The Lord bewith you." 
 
 These Eleusinian Mysteries were accompanied with various rites, 
 expressive of the purity and self-denial of the worshiper, and were 
 therefore considered to be an expiation of past sins, and to place 
 the initiated iinder the special protection of the awful and potent 
 goddess who presided over them.' 
 
 These mysteries were, as we have said, also celebrated in honor 
 of Saechiis as well as Cci'es. A consecrated cup of wine was 
 handed around after supper, called the " Cup of the Agathodae- 
 
 1 Kccl. Hist. cent. ii. pt. 3, eec. v. • Hebrews, x. 2-3. 
 
 = Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 282. ' See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 213. 
 
 3 EpiBcopjil Commnnion Service. ** See Ibid. 
 
 * Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. iii. ' Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 471.
 
 THE EUCHARIST OR LORD'S SUPPER. 311 
 
 mon" — tte Good Divinity.' Throughout the whole ceremony, the 
 name of the Lord was many times repeated, and his brightness or 
 glory not only exhibited to the eye by the rays which surrounded 
 his name (or his monogram, i. h. s.), but was made the peculiar 
 theme or subject of their triumphant exultation.' 
 
 The mystical wine and bread were used during the Mysteries of 
 Adonis, the Lord and Sa^^our.' In fact, the communion of bread 
 and wine was used in the worship of nearly every important deity.' 
 
 The rites of Bacchus were celebrated in the British Islands in 
 heathen times,' and so were those of Mitkra, which were spread 
 over Gaul and Great Britain.' We therefore find that the ancient 
 Druids offered the sacrament of bread and wine, during which 
 ceremony they were dressed in white robes,' just as the Egyptian 
 priests of Isis were in the habit of dressing, and as the priests of 
 many Christian sects dress at the present day. 
 
 Among some negro tribes in Africa there is a belief that " on 
 eating and drinking consecrated food they eat and drink the god 
 himself.'" 
 
 The ancient Mexicans celebrated the mysterious sacrament of 
 the Eucharist, called the " most holy supper," during which they 
 ate the flesh of their god. The bread used at their Eucharist was 
 made of corn meal, which they mixed with blood, instead of wine. 
 This was consecrated by the priest, and given to the people, who 
 ate it with humility and penitence, as the flesh of their god.' 
 
 Lord Kingsborough, in his ^'■Mexican Antiquities," speaks of the 
 ancient Mexicans as performing this sacrament ; when they made 
 a cake, which they called Tzoalia. The high priest blessed it in 
 his manner, after which he broke it into pieces, and put it into cer- 
 tain very clean vessels. He then took a thorn of maguery, which 
 resembles a thick needle, with which he took up with the utmost 
 reverence single morsels, which he put into the mouth of each in- 
 di/oiduaZ, after the manner of a communion.^' 
 
 The writer of the "Explanation of Plates of the Codex Vati- 
 canus," — which are copies of Mexican hieroglyphics — says : 
 
 " I am disposed to believe that these poor people have had the knowledge of 
 our mode of communion, or of the annunciation of the gospel ; or perhaps the 
 
 ' See Dunlap's Spirit Hist., p. 217, and Isis ' See Slytbs of the British Druids, p. 380, 
 
 tlnveiled, toI. ii. p. 513. and Prog. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 376. 
 
 » See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 214. * Herbert Spencer : Principles of Sociol- 
 
 ' See leis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 139. ogy, vol. i. p. 299. 
 
 « See Ibid. p. 513. • See Monnmental Christianity, pp. 390 and 
 
 » See Myths of the British Druids, p. 89. 393. 
 
 •See Dupuis : Origin of Helig. Belief, p. "■ Mexican Antiquities, vol. vl. p. ^0.
 
 312 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 devil, most envious of the honor of God, may have led them into this supersti- 
 tion, in order that by this ceremony he might be adored and served as Clirist our 
 Lord.'" 
 
 The Rev. Father Acosta says : 
 
 "That which is most admirable in the hatred and presumption of Satan is, 
 that he hath not only counterfeited in idolatry and sacrifice, but also in certain 
 ceremonies, our Sacraments, which Jesus Christ our Lord hath instituted and the 
 holy Church doth use, having especially pretended to imitate in some sort the 
 Sacrament of the Communion, wliich is the most high and divine of all others." 
 
 He then relates how the Mexicans and Peruvians, in certain 
 ceremonies, ate the flesh of their god, and called certain morsels of 
 paste, " the flesh and bones of Yitzilij>uzlti." 
 
 " After putting themselves in order about these morsels and pieces of paste, 
 they used certain ceremonies with singing, by means whereof they (the pieces of 
 paste) were blessed aud consecrated for the flesh and bones of this idol."* 
 
 These facts show that the Eucharist is another piece of Pagan- 
 ism adopted by the Christians. The story of Jesus and his disciples 
 being at supper, where the Master did break bread, may be true, but 
 the statement that he said, " Do this in remembrance of me," — 
 "this is my body," and "this is my blood," was undoubtedly in- 
 vented to give authority to the mystic ceremony, whicli had been 
 borrowed from Paganism. 
 
 Why should they do this in remembrance of Jesus ? Provided 
 he took this supper with his disciples — which the John narrator 
 denies' — he did not do anything on that occasion new or unusual 
 among Jews. To pronounce the benediction, break the bread, and 
 distribute pieces thereof to the persons at table, was, and is now, a 
 common usage of the Hebrews. Jesus could not have commanded 
 born Jews to do in remembrance of him what they already prac- 
 ticed, and what every religious Jew does to this day. The whole 
 story is evidently a myth, as a perusal of it with the eye of a critic 
 clearly demonstrates. 
 
 The Marh narrator informs us that Jesus sent two of his dis- 
 ciples to the city, and told them this : 
 
 "Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of 
 ■water; foUow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of 
 the house. The Master saith, "Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the 
 
 1 Qnoted in Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. before the feast opened. According to the 
 
 221. Synoptics, Jesus partoolv of the Paschal sup- 
 
 ' Acosta : Hist. Indies, vol. ii. chs. xiii. and per, was captured the first night of the feast, 
 
 xiv. and executed on the first day thereof, which 
 
 " According to the " John " narrator, Jesus was on a Friday. If the John narrator's 
 
 ate no Paschal meal, but was captured the account i.'f true, that of the Synoptics is not, or 
 
 evening before Passover, and was crucified vUe versa.
 
 THE EUCHARIST OK LOED'S SUPPER. 313 
 
 passover with my disciples ? And he will show you a large upper room fur- 
 nislied and prepared : there make ready for us. And his disciples went forth, 
 and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made 
 ready the passover."' 
 
 The story of the passover or the last supper, seems to be intro- 
 duced in this unusual manner to make it manifest that a divine 
 power is interested iu, and conducting the whole affair, parallels of 
 which we lind in the story of Elieser and Kebecca, where Rebecca 
 is to identify herself in a manner pre-arranged by Elieser with 
 God •' and also in the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, 
 where by God's directions a journey is made, and the widow is 
 found.' 
 
 It suggests itself to our mind that that this style of connecting 
 a sitpernatural interest with human affairs was not entirely original 
 with the Mark narrator. In this connection it is interesting to 
 note that a man in Jerusalem should have had an unoccupied and 
 properly furnished room just at that time, when two millions of 
 pilgrims sojourned in and around the city. The man, it appears, 
 was not distinguished either for wealth or piety, for his name is 
 not mentioned ; he was not present at the supper, and no fm-ther 
 reference is made to him. It appears rather that the Mark nar- 
 rator imagined au ordinary man who had a furnished room to let 
 for such purposes, and would imply that Jesus knew it pro- 
 phetically. He had only to pass in his mind from Elijah to his 
 disciple Elisha, for whom the great woman of Shunem had so 
 richly furnished an upper chamber, to find a like instance.* TFAy 
 should not somebody have furnished also an upper chamber for the 
 Messiah ? 
 
 The Matthew narrator's account is free from these embellish- 
 ments, and simply runs thus : Jesus said to some of his disciples — 
 the number is not given — 
 
 " Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him. The Master saith, My 
 time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house witli my disciples. And 
 the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the pass- 
 over."' 
 
 In this account, no pitcher, no water, no prophecy is men- 
 tioned.' 
 
 It was many centuries before the genuine, heathen doctrine of 
 Transubstantiation — a change of the elements of the Eucharist into 
 
 » Mark, siv. 13-16. • For farther observations on this subject. 
 
 3 Gen. xxiv. see Dr. leanc M. Wise's " Martyrdom of Jesus 
 
 • I. Kings, xvli. 8. of Nazareth," a valuable little work, published 
 
 * II. Jiings, iv. 8. at the office of the American Israelite, Cincin- 
 » Matt. xrvi. 18, 19. nati, Ohio.
 
 314 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the real body and blood of Christ Jesus — became a tenet of the 
 Cliristian faith. This greatest of mysteries was developed gradu- 
 ally. As early as the second century, however, the seeds wei*e 
 planted, when we find Ignatius, Justin Martyr, and Irenseus ad- 
 vancing the oiiinion, tliat the mere bread and wine became, in the 
 Eucharist, something higher — the earthly, something heavenly — 
 without, however, ceasing to be bread and wine. Though these 
 views were opposed by some eminent individual Christian teachers, 
 yet both among the people and in the ritual of the Church, the 
 miraculous or supernatural view of the Lord's Supper gained 
 ground. After the third century the office of presenting the bread 
 and wine came to be confined to the ministers or priests. This 
 practice arose from, and in turn strengthened, the notion which was 
 gaining ground, that in this act of presentation by the priest, a sac- 
 rifice, similar to that once offered up in tlie death of Christ Jesus, 
 though bloodless, was ever anew presented to God. This still 
 deepened the feeling of mysterious significance and importance 
 with which the rite of the Lord's Supper was viewed, and led to 
 that gradually increasing splendor of celebi'ation which took the 
 form of the Mass. As in Christ Jesus two distinct natures, the 
 divine and the human, were wonderfully combined, so in the 
 Eucharist there was a corresponding union of the earthly and the 
 heavenly. 
 
 For a long time there was no formal declaration of the mind of 
 the Church on the real presence of Christ Jesus in the Eucharist. 
 At length a discussion on the point was raised, and the most dis- 
 tinguished men of the time took part in it. One party maintained 
 that " the bread and wine are, in the act of consecration, trans- 
 formed by the omnipotence of God into the very hody of Clirist 
 which was once born of Mary, nailed to the cross, and raised from 
 tlie dead." According to this conception, nothing remains of the 
 bread and wine but the outward form, the taste and the smell ; 
 while the other party would only allow that there is some change in 
 the bread and wine themselves, but granted that an actual transfor- 
 mation of their power and efficacy takes place. 
 
 The greater accordance of the first view with the credulity of 
 the age, its love for the wonderful and magical, the interest of the 
 priesthood to add lustre, in accordance with the heathens, to a rite 
 which enhanced their own office, resulted in the doctrine of Tran- 
 substantiation being declared an article of faith of the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 Transubstantiation, the invisible change of the bread and wine
 
 THE EUCHAEIST OB LOBD's SUPPEE. 315 
 
 into the body and blood of Christ, is a tenet tliat may defy the 
 powers of argument and pleasantry ; but instead of consulting the 
 evidence of their senses, of their sight, their feeling, and their taste, 
 the first Protestants were entangled in their own scruples, and awed 
 by the reputed words of Jesus in the institution of the sacratnent. 
 Luther maintained a corporeal, and Calvin a real presence of Christ 
 in the Eucharist ; and tlie opinion of Zuinglius, that it is no more 
 than a spiritual communion, a simple memorial, has slowly prevailed 
 in the reformed churches.' 
 
 Under Edward VI. the reformation was more bold and perfect, 
 but in the fundamental articles of the Church of England, a strong 
 and explicit declaration against the real presence was obliterated in 
 the original copy, to please the people, or the Lutherans, or Queen 
 Elizabeth. At the present day, the Greek and Roman Catholics 
 alone hold to the original doctrine of the real -presence. 
 
 Of all the religious observances among heathens, Jews, or Turks, 
 none has been the cause of more hatred, pereecution, outrage, and 
 bloodshed, than the Eucharist. Christians persecuted one anothei 
 like relentless foes, and thousands of Jews were slaughtered on ac 
 count of the Eucharist and the Host. 
 
 * See Gibbon's Rome. vol. v. pp. 399, 400. and charges Christ himself with foolishness." 
 
 Calvin, after quoting Matt. xxvi. 26, Sr, says: (Calvin's Tracts, p. 214. Translated by Henry 
 
 * There is no doubt that as soou as these Beveridge, Edinburgh. 1851.) In other parts 
 
 words are added to the bread and the wine, the of his writings, Calvin t-eems to contradict 
 
 bread and the wine become the true body and this stfitement, and speaks of the bread and 
 
 the //-ue blood of Christ, so that the substance wine in the Eucharist as being sj/mbol,ial. 
 
 of bread and wine is transmuted into tlie true Gibbon evidently refers to the passage quoted 
 
 body and blood of Christ, lie who denies above, 
 this calls the omnipotence of Christ in que.-,tion,
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 Baptism, or purification from sin by water, is supposed by many 
 to be an exclusive Christian ceremony. The idea is that circum- 
 cision was given up, but haptism took its place as a compulsory form 
 indispensable to salvation, and was declared to have been instituted 
 by Jesus himself or by his predecessor John." That Jesus was 
 baptized by John may be true, or it may not, but that he never 
 directly enjoined his followers to call the heathen to a share in the 
 privileges of the Golden Age is gospel doctrine ;^ and this say- 
 ing : 
 
 " Go out into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature. And who- 
 ever believes and is baptized shall be saved, but whoever believes not shall be 
 damned," 
 
 must therefore be of comparatively late origin, dating from a period 
 at which the mission to the heathen was not only fully recog- 
 nized, but even declared to have originated with the followers of 
 Jesus.' When the early Christians received members among them 
 they were 7iot initiated by baptism, but with prayer and laying on of 
 hands. This, says Eusehius, was the " aneient custom^'' which was 
 followed until the time of Stephen. During his bishopric contro- 
 versies arose as to whether members should be received " after the 
 ancient Christian custom " or by baptism,' after the heathen cus- 
 tom. Eev. J. P. Lundy, who has made ancient religions a special 
 study, and who, being a thorough Christian writer, endeavors to get 
 over the difficulty by saying that : 
 
 " John the Baptist simply adopted and practiced the universal custom of sacred 
 bathing /»;• tlie remission of sins. Christ sanctioned it; the church inherited it 
 from Ins example."' 
 
 ' The Rev. Dr. Geikie makes the aeeertion i. p. 394.) 
 that :" With the call to repent, John united a ' See Galatians, ii. 7-9. Acta, x. and si. 
 
 significant rite for all who were willing to own • See The Bible tor Learners, vol. iii. pp. 658 
 
 their sins, and promise amendment of life. It and 472. 
 
 was the neiv and striking reqairement of bap- * See Ensebins ; Eccl. Hist., lib. 7, ch. ii. 
 
 tism, which John had been sent by divine ap- ' Monumental Christianity, p. 385. 
 
 pointment to introduce." (Life of Christ, vol. 
 
 316
 
 BAPTISM. 317 
 
 When we say that baptism is a heather* rite adopted by the 
 Christians, we come near the triitli. Mr. Lundy is a strong advo- 
 cate of the type theory — of which we shall speak anon — therefore 
 the above mode of reasoning is not to be wondered at. 
 
 The facts in the case are that Ijaptism by immersion, or sprink- 
 ling in infancy, for the remission of sin, was a common rite, to be 
 fonnd in comitries the most widely separated on the face of the 
 earth, and the most unconnected in religious genealogy.' 
 
 If we turn to India we shall find that in the vast domain of the 
 Buddhist faith the birth of children is regularly the occasion of a 
 ceremony, at which the priest is present. In Mongolia and Thibet 
 this ceremony assumes the special form of baptism. Candles 
 burn and incense is offered on the domestic altar, the priest reads 
 the prescribed prayers, dips the child three times in water, and im- 
 poses on it a name.'' 
 
 Brahmanism, from the very earliest times, had its initiatory 
 rites, similar to what we shall find among the ancient Persians, 
 Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Mr. Mackenzie, in his " Royal 
 Masonic Cyclopaedia," {sub voce "Mysteries of Hindustan,") gives 
 a capital digest of these mysteries from the " Indische Alterthum- 
 Skunde " of Lassen. After an invocation to the sun, an oath was 
 demanded of the aspirant, to the effect of implicit obedience to 
 superiors, purity of body, and inviolable secrecy. Water was then 
 sprinkled over him, suitable addresses were made to him, &c. 
 This was supposed to constitute the regeneration of the candidate, 
 and he was now invested with the white robe and the tiara. A 
 peculiar cross was marked on his forehead, and the Tau cross on his 
 breast. Finally, he was given the sacred word, A. U. M.' 
 
 The Brahmans had also a mode of baptism similar to the Chris- 
 tian sect of Baptists, the ceremony being performed in a river. 
 
 ^ ■' Among all nations, and from the very ceremony common to all religions of antiqoity, 
 earliest period, water has been used as a It consists in being made clean from some sup- 
 Bpeci*^8 of religious sacrament. . . . Water posed pollution or defilement." (Beirs Pan- 
 was the agent by means of which everything tteon, vol. ii. p. 201.) 
 
 was regenerated w born again. Hence, in all " L'nsage de ce S(jp(^m« par immersion, qui 
 
 nations, we find the Dove, or Di\'iue Love, subsista dans rOccident jusqu' an Se ciecle, se 
 
 operating by means of its agent, water, and all maintient encore dans I'Eglise Greque ; c'est 
 
 nations u^ing the ceremony of plunging, or, celui que Jean le Prtcurseur administra. dans 
 
 as we call it, baptizing, for the remission of le Jourdain, a Jesus Christ meme. II fut pra- 
 
 Bins. to introduce the candidate to a regen- tiqu6 chez les Juifs, chez les Grecs, et chez 
 
 eration. to a new birth unto righteousness." presque tous Its peupks. bieu des siecles arani 
 
 (Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 529.) I'existence de la religion Chretienne." tD'An- 
 
 '■ Baptism is a very ancient rite pertaining carville : Res., vol. i. p. 292.) 
 to heal/ien religions, whether of Asia, Africa, 2 gee Amberly's Analysis, p. 61. Bunsen's 
 
 Europe or America." (Bonwick : Egyptian Angel-Messiah, p. 42. Higgins' Anacalypsis, 
 
 Belief, p. 416.) vol. ii. p. 69, and Lillie's Buddhism, pp. 55 and 
 
 " Baptism, or purification by water, was a 1.S4. ' Lillie's Buddhiem, p. 134.
 
 318 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The officiating Brahman priest, who was called Gooroo, or Pastor," 
 rubbed mud on the candidate, and then plunged him three times 
 into the water. Daring the process the priest said : 
 
 " O Supreme Lord, lliis man is impure, like the mud of this stream; but as 
 water cleanses him from this dirt, do thou free Mm from his sin.'"' 
 
 Rivers, as sources of fertility and purification, were at an early 
 date invested with a sacred character. Every great river was sup- 
 posed to be permeated with the divine essence, and its waters held 
 to cleanse from all moral guilt and contamination. And as the 
 Ganges was the most majestic, so it soon became the holiest and 
 most revered of all rivers. No sin too heinous to be removed, no 
 character too black to be washed clean by its waters. Hence the 
 countless temples, with flights of steps, lining its banks ; hence the 
 array of priests, called " Sons of the Ganges," sitting on the edge 
 of its streams, ready to aid the ablutions of conscience-stricken 
 bathers, and stamp them as white-washed when they emerge from 
 its waters. Hence also the constant traffic caiTied on in transport- 
 ing Ganges water in small bottles to all parts of the country.' 
 
 The ceremony of baptism was a practice of the followers of 
 Zoroaster, both for infants and adults. 
 
 M. Beausobre tells us that : 
 
 "The ancient Persians carried their infants to the temple a few days after 
 they were born, and presented them to the priest before the sun, and before the 
 fire, which was his symbol. Then the priest took tlie child and baptized it for the 
 purification of the soul. Sometimes he plunged it into a great vase full of water: 
 it was in the same ceremony that the father gave a name to the child. "* 
 
 The learned Dr. Hyde also tells us that infants were brought 
 to the temples and baptized by the priests, sometimes by sprinkling 
 and sometimes by immersion, plunging the child into a large vase 
 tilled with water. This was to them a regeneration, or a purifica- 
 tion of their souls. A name was at the same time imposed upon 
 the child, as indicated by the parents." 
 
 1 Lite aud Religion of the Hindue, p. 94. nere, says : 
 
 ' Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 128. " They (the Persians) neither make water, 
 
 "Every orthodox Hindu is perfectly per- nor spit, nor wash their hands in a river, nor 
 
 suaded that the dirtieet water, if taken from a defile the stream with urine, nor do they allow 
 
 sacred stream and applied to his body, either any one else to do so, but they pay extreme 
 
 externally or internally, will puiify hii soul." veneration to all rivers." (Hist. lib. i. ch. 138.) 
 
 (Prof. Monier Williams ; Hinduism, p. 157.) ' Williams' Hinduism, p. 176. 
 
 The Egyptians bathed m the water of the Nile ; < Hist. Manichee, lib. ix. ch. vi. sect. xvi. in 
 
 the Chaldeans and Persians in the Euphrates, Anac., vol. ii. p. 65. See also, Dupuis : Orig. 
 
 and the Hindus, as we have seen, in the Gan- Eelig. Belief, p. !M9, and Baring-Gould : Orig. 
 
 ges, all of which were considered as "sacred Eelig. Belief, vol. i. p. 392. 
 
 waters" by the different nations. The Jews '"Pro infantibus non utuntur circumcis- 
 
 looked upon the Jordan in the same manner. ione, sed tantum baptismo sen lotione ad 
 
 Herodotus, speaking of the Persians' man- animte purificationera intemam. Infantem ad
 
 BAPTISM. 319 
 
 The rite of baptism was also administered to adults in the 
 Mithraic rayeteries during initiation. The foreheads of the ini- 
 tiated being marked at the same time with the '■'■sacred sign,^'' which 
 was none other than the sign of the ceoss.' The Christian 
 Father Tertullian, who believed it to be the work of the devil, 
 says: 
 
 "He BAPTIZES bis believers and followers; he promises the remission of sins 
 at the sacred fou?it, and thus initiates them into the religion of Mithra; h&marks 
 on (he forehead his own soldiers," &c.' 
 
 ' ' He marks on the forehead," i. e., he marks the sign of the 
 cross on their foreheads, just as priests of Christ Jesus do at the 
 present day to those who are initiated into the Christian mysteries. 
 
 Again, he says : 
 
 " The nations who are strangers to all spiritual powers (the heathens), ascribe 
 to their idols (gods) the power of impregnating the waters with the same efficacy 
 as in Christian baptism." For, " in certain sacred rites of theirs, the mode of 
 initiation is by baptism," and "whoever had defiled himself with murder, ex- 
 piation was sought in purifying water."' 
 
 He also says that : 
 
 •'The devil signed his soldiers in the forehead, in imitation of the Chris- 
 tians. "•• 
 
 And iSt. Augustin says : 
 
 " The cross and baptism were never parted."' 
 
 The ancient Egyptians performed their rite of baptism, and 
 those who were initiated into the mysteries of Isis were baptized.' 
 
 Apuleius of Madura, in Africa, who was initiated into these 
 mysteries, shows that baptism was used ; that the ceremony was 
 performed by the attending priest, and that purification and for- 
 giveness of sin was the result.' 
 
 eacerdotem in ecclesiam adductum ^ is^tant ' See Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 
 
 coram sole et igne, qua facta ceremonia, eun- xxv. Higgins ; Anac, vol. i. pp. 218 and 222. 
 
 dem saiiciiorem exietimaut. U. Lord dicit Dunlap : Mysteries of Adoni, p. 139. £ing : 
 
 quod aqiiaiu ad hoc afferaut in cortice arboria The Gnostics and their Remains, p. 51. 
 Holm : ea autem arbor revera est Hamn Ma- ^ De Pr;Escrip. ch. xi. 
 
 gorum. cujQS mentionem alia occasione supra ^ ibid. 
 
 feciuius. Alias, aliquando fit immergeudo in * " Mithra signat illic in frontibue milites 
 
 maLTunm vas aqute. nt dicit Tavernier. Post euos.'' 
 
 talem lotionem euti baptisranm, sacerdos im- ^ •• gemper enim craci baptismus jangitur." 
 
 pouit nomen a parentibus indilnm." (Hyde (Aug, Temp. Ser. ci.) 
 
 lie Rel. Vet. Pers., p. 414.) After this Uyde " See Anac.ilypsis. vol. ii. p. 69, and Monu- 
 
 goes on to say, that when he comes to mental Christianity, p. 385. 
 be fifteen years of age he is confirmed by ' "Sacerdos, stipatum me religiosa coborte. 
 
 receiving the girdle, and the sudra or cas- 
 sock.
 
 320 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The custom of baptism in Egypt is known by the hieroglyphic 
 term of ^^ water of purification.'''' The water so used in immer- 
 sion absolutely cleansed the soul, and the person was said to he re- 
 generated.' 
 
 They also beUeved in baptism after death, for it was held 
 that the dead were washed from their sins by Osiris, the benefi- 
 cent saviour, in the land of shades, and the departed are often 
 represented (on the sarcophagi) kneeling before Osiris, who pours 
 over them water from a pitcher." 
 
 The ancient Etruscans performed the rite of baptism. In 
 Tab. cLxxii. Gorius gives two pictures of ancient Etruscan 
 baptism by water. In the first, the youth is held in the arms 
 of one priest, and another is pouring water upon his head. In 
 the second, the young pereon is going through the same ceremony, 
 kneeling on a kind of altar. At the time of its baptism the child 
 was named, blessed and marked on the forehead with the sign of 
 tlie cross. ^ 
 
 Baptism, or the application of water, was a rite well known 
 to the Jews before the time of Christ Jesus, and was practiced 
 by them when they admitted proselytes to their religion from 
 heathenism. When children were baptized they received the 
 sign of the cross, were anointed, and fed with milk and honey.* 
 "It was not customary, however, among them, to baptize those 
 who were converted to the Jewish religion, until after the Baby- 
 lonish captivity.'''"' This clearly shows that they learned the rite 
 from their heathen oppressors. 
 
 Baptism was practiced by the ascetics of Buddhist origin, known 
 as the Essenes.' John the Baptist was, evidently, nothing more 
 than a member of this order, with which the deserts of Syria and 
 the Thebais of Egypt abounded. 
 
 The idea that man is restrained from perfect union with God 
 by his imperfection, uncleanness and sin, was implicitly believed 
 by the ancient &ree]is and Romans. In Thessaly was yearly 
 celebrated a great festival of cleansing. A work bearing the 
 name of ' ' Museus " was a complete ritual of purifications. The 
 usual mode of purification was dipping in water (immersion), or 
 
 dedncit ad proximas balncas ; et prins sneto p. 892. 
 
 lavraco traditum, prcBfatus deum veniam, * See Higgins : Anac. vol. ii. pp. 67-69, 
 
 puris>ime circurarorans abluit." (Apnleiae ; * Barnes : Notes, vol. i. p. 33. Higgins: 
 
 Milesi, ii. citat. a Higgins : Anac, vol. ii. p. Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 65. 
 
 69.) » Barnes : Notes, vol. i. p. 41. 
 
 * Bonwick : Eg.vptian Belief, p. 416. Dun- « See Ban?en'8 Angel-Messiali, p. 121. 
 lap : Mysteries Adoui, p. 139. Gainsbnrgh's Essenes, and Higgins' Anacalyi>- 
 
 • Baring-Gonld : Orig. Kelig. Belief, vol. i. sis, vol. ii. pp. 66, 67.
 
 BAPTISM. 321 
 
 it was performed by aspersion. These sacraments were held to have 
 virtue independent of the dispositions of the candidates, an opin- 
 ion which called forth the sneer of Diogenes, the Gi"ecian his- 
 torian, when he saw some one undergoing baptism by aspersion. : 
 
 "Poor wretch I do you not see that since these sprinklings cannot repair your 
 grammatical errors, they cannot repair either, the faults of your life."' 
 
 And the belief that water could wash out the stains of oiiginal 
 sin, led the poet Ovid (43 b. c.) to say : 
 
 " Ah, easy fools, to think that a whole flood 
 Of water e'er can purge the stain of blood." 
 
 These ancient Pagans had especial gods and goddesses who pre- 
 sided over the birth of children. The goddess Nundina took her 
 name from the ninth day, on which all male children were 
 sprinkled with holy water^ as females were on the eighth, at 
 the same time receiving their name, of which addition to the cere- 
 monial of Christian baptism we find no mention in the Christian 
 Scriptures. When all the forms of the Pagan nundiiiation were 
 duly compKed with, the priest gave a certificate to the parents of 
 the regenerated infant ; it was, therefore, duly recognized as a 
 legitimate member of the family and of society, and the day was 
 spent iu feasting and hilarity.' 
 
 Adults were also baptized ; and those who were initiated in the 
 sacred rites of the Bacchic mysteries were regenerated and ad- 
 mitted by baptism, just as they were admitted into the mysteries 
 of Mithra.' Justin Martyr, like his brother Tertullian, claimed 
 that this ablution was invented by demons, in imitation of the 
 true baptism, that their votaries might also have their pretended 
 purification by water.' 
 
 Infant Baptism was practiced among the ancient inhabitants 
 of northern Europe — the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Icelanders 
 — long before the first dawn of Christianity had reached those 
 parts. "Water was poured on the head of the new-born child, aud 
 
 1 BariDg-GooId : Orig. Eelig. Belief, vol. i. dans ces memes mysteres. il fallat ee faire 
 p. 391. reqenerer par I'initiation. Cette ceremonie, 
 
 2 " fib/y TTater "—water wherein the person par laquelle, on apprenoU les vrals princi- 
 is baptized, in the name of the Father, and pes de la vie, s'operoit par le moyen de 
 the Bon, and of the Holy Ghost. (Church of Veau qui voit ete celui de la reoeniration 
 England Catecliisin.) du monde. On conduisoit snr les bords 
 
 3 See Taylor's Diegesis, pp. a33. 334, and de I'lliesns le candidal qni devoit etre initie ; 
 Higgins' Anacalypsis, ii. p. 65. apres I'avoir pnrifie avec le sel et Teau de 
 
 * See Taylor's Diegesis, pp. 60 and 2.32, and lar mer, on repandoit de I'orge sot lui. on 
 
 Baring-Gould's Orig. ReUg. Belief, vol. i. p. le couronoit de flenrs, et FHydranos on le 
 
 891. Baptiseur le pongeoit dans le fleure." (D'An- 
 
 "Delavint, qne ponr devenir capable carrille : Res., vol. i. p. 292. Anac., ii. p. 65.) 
 d'entendre lee secrets de la cr&tion, rfiy^les » Taylor's Diegesis, p. 232. 
 
 21
 
 322 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 a name was given it at the same time. Baptism is expressly 
 mentioned in the Hava-mal and Riga-mal, and alluded to in other 
 epic poems." 
 
 The ancient Livonians (inhabitants of the three modem Baltic 
 provinces of Courlaud, Livonia, and Esthonia), observed the same 
 ceremony ; which also prevailed among tlie ancient Germans. 
 This is expressly stated in a letter which the famous Pope Gregory 
 III. sent to their apostle Boniface, directing him how to act in res- 
 pect to it." 
 
 The same ceremony was performed by the ancient Druids of 
 Britain.' 
 
 Among the JSfew Zealanders young children were baptized. 
 After the ceremony of baptism had taken place, prayers were of- 
 fered to make the child sacred, and clean from all impurities.' 
 
 The ancient Mexicans baptized their children shortly after 
 birth. After the relatives had assembled in the court of the parents' 
 house, the midwife placed the child's head to the east, and prayed 
 for a blessing from the Saviour Quetzacoatle, and the goddess of 
 the water. The breast of the child was then touched with the 
 fingers dipped in water, and the following prayer said : 
 
 " May it (the water) destroy and separate from thee all the evil that was be- 
 ginning In thee before the beginning of the world." 
 
 After this the child's body was washed with water, and all 
 things that might injure him were requested to depart from him, 
 " that now he may live again and be born again."' 
 
 Mr. Prescott alludes to it as follows, in his " Conquest of 
 Mexico :"° 
 
 "The lips and bosom of the infant were sprinkled with water, and the 
 Lord was implored to permit the holy drops to wash away that sin that was given 
 to it before the foundation of the world, so that the child might be born anew." 
 " This interesting rite, usually solemnized with great formality, in the presence 
 of assembled friends and relations. Is detailed with minuteness by Sahagun and 
 by Zuazo, both of them eyewitnesses." 
 
 Rev. J. P. Lundy says : 
 
 "Now. as baptism of some kind has been the universal custom of all religious 
 nations and peoples for purification and regeneration, it is not to be wondered at 
 that it had found its way from high Asia, the centre of the Old World's religion 
 and civilization, into the American continent. . . . 
 
 ^ See Mallet's Northern Antiqnitiee, pp. 306, * Sir George Grey: Polynesian Mytho., p. 
 
 313, 330, 366. Baring-Gould's Orig. Kelig. 32, in Baring-Goald : Orig. Relig. Belief, vol. i. 
 
 Belief, vol. i. pp. 39j, 393, and Dupnis, p. S43. p. 392. 
 
 2 Mallet ; Northern Antiquities, p. 206. ' See Viscount Amberly's Analysis Belig 
 
 ' Baring-Gould : Orig. Eelig. Belief, vol. i. Belief, p. 59. 
 
 p. 393. Higgins : Anac, vol. ii. p. 67, and 'Vol. i. p. 64. 
 Saviee : Myths of the British Druids.
 
 BAPTISM. 323 
 
 " American priests were found in Mexico, beyond Darien, b&ptizingboys and 
 girls a year old in the temples at the cross, pouring the water upon them from a 
 small pitcher."' 
 
 The water which they used was called the " watee of eegen- 
 
 EEATION.'" 
 
 The Eev. Father Acosta alludes to this baptism by saying : 
 
 " The Indians had an infinite number of other ceremonies and customs which 
 resembled to the ancient law of Moses, and some to those which the Moores use, 
 and some approaching near to the Law of the Gospel, as the baths or Opacuna, 
 as they called them; t?iey did wash iheinselves in water to cleanse themseltes 
 from Hn."^ 
 
 After speaking of " confession which the Indicms used" he 
 
 says : 
 
 "When the Inca had been confessed, he made a certain bath to cleanse him- 
 self, in a running river, saying these words: ' 1 hane told my sins to tlte. Sun (his 
 god) ; receive them, tliou Biver, and carry them to the Sea, where they may never 
 appear more.' "•* 
 
 He tells us that the Mexicans also had a baptism for infants, 
 which they performed with great ceremony.' 
 
 Baptism was also practiced in Yucatan. They administered it 
 to children three years old ; and called it eegeneeatiok.' 
 
 The ancient Peravians also baptized their children.' 
 
 History, then, records the fact that all the principal nations of 
 antiquity administered the rite of baptism to their children, and to 
 adults who were initiated into the sacred mysteries. The words 
 " regenerationem et impunitatem perjuriorum sxLorwn " — used by 
 the heathen in this ceremony — prove that the doctrines as well as 
 the outward forms were the same. The giving of a name to the 
 child, the marking of him with the cfi'oss as a sign of his being a 
 soldier of Christ, followed at fifteen years of age by his admission 
 into the mysteries of the ceremony of confirmation, also prove that 
 the two institutions are identical. But the most striking feature 
 of all is tlie regeneration — and consequent forgiveness of sins — 
 the being " lorn again." This shows that the Christian baptism 
 in doctrine as well as in oictward ceremony, was precisely that of the 
 heathen. We have seen that it was supposed to destroy all the 
 evil in him, and all things that might injure him were requested 
 to depart from him. So likewise among the Christians ; the priest, 
 looking upon the child, and baptizing him, was formerly accus- 
 tomed to say : 
 
 ' llonnmental Christianity, pp. 389, 390. ' Ibid. p. 361. 
 
 ' Kingsborongh : Mei. Antiq., vol. 71. p. ' Ibid. p. 369. 
 
 114. • Monumental Christianity, p. 390. 
 
 • Hist. Indies, vol. ii. p. 369. ' Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 416.
 
 324 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " I command thee, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost, that thou come out and depart from this infant, whom our 
 Lord Jesus Christ has vouchsafed to call to this holy baptism, to be made mem- 
 ber of his body and of his holy congregation. And presume not hereafter to 
 exercise any tyranny towards this infant, whom Christ hath bought with his 
 precious blood, and by this holy baptism called to be of his flock." 
 
 The ancients also baptized with^e as well as water. This is 
 what is alluded to many times in the gospels ; for instance, Matt, 
 (iii. 11) makes John say, " I, indeed, baptize you witli water ; he 
 shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fiee." 
 
 The bajjtism by fire was in use by the Romans ; it was per- 
 formed by jumping three times through the flames of a sacred fire. 
 This is still practiced in India. Even at the present day, in some 
 parts of Scotland, it is a custom at tlie baptism of children to swing 
 them in their clothes over a fire three times, saying, " Now, fire, 
 hum this child, or never." Here is evidently a relic of the heathen 
 baj)tism hy fire. 
 
 Christian baptism was not originally intended to be adminis- 
 tered to unconscious infants, but to persons in full possession of their 
 faculties, and responsible for their actions. Moreover, it was per- 
 formed, as is well known, not merely by sprinkling the forehead, 
 but by causing the candidate to descend naked into the water, the 
 priest joining him there, and pouring the water over his head. 
 The catechumen could not receive baptism until after he under- 
 stood something of the nature of the faith he was embracing, and 
 was prepared to assume its obligations. A rite more totally unfit- 
 ted for administration to infants could hardly have been found. 
 Yet such was the need that was felt for a solemn recognition by 
 religion of the entrance of a child into the world, that this rite, in 
 course of time, completely lost its original nature, and, as with the 
 heathen, infancy took the place of maturity : sprinkling of immer- 
 sion. But while the age and manner of baptism were altered, the 
 ritual remained under the influence of the primitive idea with 
 which it had been instituted. The obligations were no longer 
 contined to the persons baptized, hence tliey must be undertaken 
 for them. Thus was the Christian Clnirch landed in the absurdity 
 — unparalleled, we believe, in any other natal ceremony — of requir- 
 ing the most solemn promises to be made, not by those who were 
 thereafter to fulfill them, hut hy others in their name / these others 
 having no power to enforce their fulfillment, and neither those actu- 
 ally assuming the engagement, nor those on whose behalf it was as- 
 sumed, being morally responsible in case it should be broken. Yet 
 this strange incongruity was forced upon the church by an imperious
 
 BAPTISM. 325 
 
 want of human nature itself, and the insignificant sects \vho have 
 adopted the baptism of adults onlj, have failed, in their zeal for 
 historical consistency, to recognize a sentiment whose roots lie far 
 deeper than the chronological foundation of Christian rites, and 
 stretch far wider than the geographical boundaries of the Christian 
 faith. 
 
 The intention of all these forms of baptism is identical. Water, 
 as the natural means of physical cleansing, is the universal symbol 
 of spiritual purification. Hence immersion, or washing, or sprink- 
 ling, implies the deliverance of the infant from the stain of original 
 sin.' The Pagan and Christian rituals, as we have seen, are per- 
 fectly clear on this head. In both, the avowed intention is to wash 
 away the sinful nature common to humanity ; in both, the infant is 
 declared to be born again by the agency of water. Among the 
 early Chi'istians, as with the Pagans, the sacrament of baptism was 
 supposed to contain a full and absolute expiation of sin ; and the 
 soul was instantly restored to its original purity, and entitled to the 
 promise of eternal salvation. Among the proselytes of Christi- 
 anity, there were many who judged it imprudent to precipitate a 
 salutary rite, which could not be repeated ; to throw away an in- 
 estimable privilege, which could never be recovered. By the delay 
 of their baptism, they could venture freely to indulge their pas- 
 sions iu the enjoyments of this world, while they still retained in 
 their own hands the means of a sure and easy absolution. St. Con- 
 stantino was one of these. 
 
 1 That man is bom in original sin seems to " I am sinful, I commit sin, my nature is 
 
 have been the belief of all nations of antiquity, sinful, 1 am conceived in sin. Save me, O thou 
 
 especially the Hindus. This sense of original lotus-eyed Heri, the remover of Sin." (Wil- 
 
 corruption is expressed in the following prayer, liams' Hinduism, p. 314.) 
 used by them :
 
 CHAPTEE XXXII. 
 
 THE WOESHIP OF THE VTRGIN MOTHER. 
 
 The worship of the " Virgin," the " Queen of Heaven," the 
 " Great Goddess," the " Mother of God," &c., which has become 
 one of the grand features of the Christian religion — the Council of 
 Ephesus (a. d. 431) having declared Mary " Mother of God," her 
 
 assumption being declared in 813, 
 and her Inamaculate Conception 
 by the Pope and Council in 
 .1851' — was almost universal, for 
 ages before the birth of Jesus, 
 and " the ^.>i<r<3 virginity of the 
 celestial mother was a tenet of 
 faith for two thousand years be- 
 fore the virgin now adored was 
 born."" 
 
 In India, they have wor- 
 shiped, for ages, Devi, Maha- 
 Devi—''The One Great God- 
 dess"' — and have temples erected 
 in honor of her.' Gonzales states 
 that among the Indians he found 
 a temple " Pariiurce Virginis " — of the Virgin about to bring 
 forth.^ 
 
 2Iaya, the mother of Bnddha, and Devaki the mother of Crislma, 
 were worshiped as virgins,^ and represented with the infant Saviours 
 in their arms, just as the virgin of the Christians is represented at 
 the ]3resent day. Maya was so pure that it was impossible for God, 
 man, or Asura to view her with carnal desire. Fig. No. 10 is 
 
 • See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 115, and 
 Monumental Christianity, pp. 206 and 220. 
 
 = Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 159. 
 
 * See Williams' Hinduism. 
 
 326 
 
 ♦ See Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 540. 
 fl See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 185. 
 
 • St. Jerome says : *' It is handed down as 
 a tradition among the Gymnosopliista of India,
 
 THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 327 
 
 a representation of the Virgiu Devaki, vrith the infant Savioar 
 Crishna, taken from Moor's "Hindu Pantheon.'" "No person 
 could bear to gaze upon Devaki, because of the light that in- 
 vested her." "The gods, invisible to mortals, celebrated her praise 
 continually from the time that Vishiiu was contained in her per- 
 son."^ 
 
 " Crishna and his mother are almost always represented black,"' 
 and the word '■'■Crishna " means " the Mack." 
 
 The Chinese, who have had several a/vafars, or virgin-bom gods, 
 among them, have also worshiped a Yirgin Mother from time im- 
 memorial. Sir Charles Francis Davis, in his " History of China," 
 tells us that the Chinese at Canton worshiped an idol, to which 
 they gave the name of " The Virgin."* 
 
 The Kev. Joseph B. Gross, in his " Heathen Religion," tells us 
 that: 
 
 "Upon the altars of the Chinese temples were placed, behind a screen, an 
 image of Shin-moo, or the 'Holy Mother,' sitting with a child in her arms, in an 
 alcove, with rays of glory around her head, and tapers constantly burning before 
 her. "5 
 
 Shin-moo is called the " Mother Goddess," and the " Yirgin." 
 Her child, who was exposed in liis infancy, was brought up by 
 poor fishermen. He became a great man, and performed wonder- 
 ful miracles. In wealthy houses the sacred image of the " Mother 
 Goddess " is carefully kept in a recess behind an altar, veiled with 
 a silken screen.' 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Gutzlaff, in his " Travels," speaking of the Chinese 
 people, says; 
 
 "Though otherwise very reasonable men, they have always showed them- 
 selves bigoted heathens. . . . They have everywhere built splendid temples, 
 chiefly in honor of Matsoo-po, the ' Queen of Heaven.' "' 
 
 Isis, mother of the Egyptian Saviour, Horns, was worshiped as 
 a virgin. Nothing is more common on the religious monuments of 
 Egypt than the infant Horus seated in the lap of his virgin mother. 
 She is styled " Our Lady," the " Queen of Heaven," " Star of the 
 Sea," " Governess," " Mother of God," " Intercessor," " Immacu- 
 
 that Buddha, the fonnder o£ their system was hardly be borne. Her conversatioa was with 
 
 bronght forth by a virgin from her side." the angels, Ac." CNativity of M.iry, Jpoc.) 
 {Contra Jovian, \>)i. \. Quoted in Ehys Davids' s See Ancient Faiths, i. 401. 
 
 Bnddhism, p. 183.) « Davis' China, vol. ii. p. 95. 
 
 > Plate 59. ' The Heathen KeJig., p. 60. 
 
 ' Monumental Christianity, p. 218. » B.irruws: Travels lu China, p. 467. 
 
 Of the Virgin Mary we read ; " Her face ' Gatzlaff's Voyages, p. 154. 
 
 was shining as snow, and its brightness could
 
 328 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 late Virgin," &c.;' all of which epithets were in after years applied 
 to the Virgin Mother worshiped by the Christians.' 
 
 " The most common representation of Horns is being nursed on 
 the knee of Isis, or suckled at her breast.'" In Monumental 
 Christianity (Fig. 92), is to be seen a representation of " Isis and 
 Horus." The infant Saviour is sitting on his mother's knee, while 
 she gazes into his face. A cross is on the back of the seat. The 
 author, Eev. J. P. Lundy, says, in speaking of it : 
 
 "Is this Egyptian mother, too, meditating her son's conflict, suffering, and 
 triumph, as she holds him before her and gazes into tiis face? And is this cross 
 meant to convey the idea of life through suffering, and conflict with Typho or 
 Evil?" 
 
 In some statues and hasso-relievos, when Isis appears alone, she 
 ie entirely veiled from head to foot, in common with nearly every 
 other goddess, as a symbol of a mother's chastity. No mortal man 
 hath ever lifted her veil. 
 
 Isis was also represented standing on the crescent moon, with 
 'welve stars surrounding her head.' In almost every Roman 
 Oatholic Church on the continent of Em'ope may be seen pictures 
 and statues of Mary, the " Queen of Heaven," standing on the 
 crescent moon, and her head surrounded with twelve stars. 
 
 Dr. luman, in his " Pagan and Christian Symbolism," gives a 
 figure of the Virgin Mary, with her infant, standing on the orescent 
 moon. In speaking of this figure, he says : 
 
 " In it the Virgin is seen as the ' Queen of Heaven,' nursing her infant, and 
 identified with the crescent moon. . . . Than this, nothing could more com- 
 pletely identify the Christian mother and child, with Isis and Horus."' 
 
 This crescent Tnoon is the symbol of Isis and Juno, and is the 
 Yoni of the Hindoos.' 
 
 The priests of Isis yearly dedicated to her a new ship (emble- 
 matic of the Yoni), laden with the first fruits of spring. Strange 
 as it may seem, the carrying in procession of ships, in which the 
 Virgin Mary takes the place of the heathen goddesses, has not yet 
 wholly gone out of use.' 
 
 Isis is also represented, with the infant Saviour in her arms, 
 enclosed in a framework of the flowers of the Egyptian bean, or 
 lolms.' The Virgin Mary is very often represented in this 
 manner, as those who have studied mediaeval art well know. 
 
 > BoDwick'8 Egyptian Belief, p. 141. " See Monumental Christianity, p. 307, and 
 
 * See The Lily of Israel, p. 14. Dr. Inman's Ancient Faiths. 
 
 * Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 425. ' See Cox's Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 119, 
 
 * See Draper's Science and Religion, pp. 47, Tioie. 
 
 48 »nd Higgins' Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 304. » See Pagan and Christian Symbolism, pp. 
 
 » Pagan and Christian Symbolism, p. 50. 13, 14 .
 
 THE TVOESniP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 
 
 SSQ' 
 
 Dr. Inman, describing a painting of the Virgin Mary, which is 
 to be seen in the South Kensington Museum, and which is en- 
 closed in a framework of flowers, says : 
 
 "It represents the Virgin and Child precisely as she used to be represented ia 
 Egypt, in India, in Assyria, Babylonia, Phoenicia, and Etruria."' 
 
 The lotus and poppy were sacred among all Eastern nations, 
 and were consecrated to the various virgins worshiped by them. 
 These virgins are represented holding this plant in their hands, just 
 as the Virgin, adored by the Christians, is represented at the present 
 day." Mr. Squire, speaking of this plant, says : 
 
 "It is well known that the ' Nymphe ' 
 — lotus or water-lily — is held sacred 
 throughout the East, and the various sects 
 of that quarter of the globe represented 
 their deities either decorated with its 
 flowers, holding it as a sceptre, or seated 
 on a lotus throne or pedestal. Lacshmi, 
 the beautiful Hindoo goddess, is associ- 
 ated with the lotus. The Egyptian Isis is 
 often called the '"LoiMS-crowited,' in the 
 ancient invocations. The Mexican god- 
 dess Corwoil, is often represented with a 
 water-plant resembling the lotus ia her 
 hand. "3 
 
 In Egyptian and Hindoo my- 
 thology, the offspring of the virgin 
 is made to bruise the head of the 
 serpent, but the Romanists have given this oflice to the mother. Mary 
 is often seen represented standing on the serpent. Fig. 17 alludes 
 to this, and to her immaculate conception, which, as we have seen, 
 was declared by the Pope and council in 1851. The notion of the 
 divinity of Mary was broached by some at the Coitncil of Nice, 
 and they were thence named Marianites. 
 
 The Christian Father Epiphanius accounts for the fact of the 
 Egyptians worshiping a virgin and child, by declaring that the 
 prophecy — " Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son" 
 — must have been revealed to them.* 
 
 In an ancient Christian work, called the " Chronicle of Alex- 
 andria," occurs the following : 
 
 I Pagan and Ctiristian SymboliBm, pp. 4, 5. 
 
 ' See Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 pp. 45, 104. 103. 
 
 " We see. in pictures, that the Virgin and 
 Child are aEsociated in modem times with the 
 
 epiit apricot, the pomegranate, rimmon, and 
 the Vine, just as was the ancient Venus." (Dr. 
 Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 538.) 
 
 » Serpent Symbol, p. 39. 
 
 • Taylor's Diegesie, p. 185.
 
 330 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " Watch how Egypt has constructed the childbirth of a virgin, and the birth 
 
 of her son, wtio wan exposed in a crib to tJie adoration of the people."'^ 
 
 We have auotlier Egyptian Virgin Mother in Neith or Nout, 
 motlier of " Osiris the Saviour." She was Icnown as the " Great 
 Mother," and yet "Immaculate Virgin."" M. Beauregard speaks 
 of 
 
 "The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin (Maiy), who can henceforth, as 
 well as the Egyptian Minerva, the mysterious Neith, boast of having come from 
 herself, and of having given birth to god."' 
 
 What is known in Christian countries as " Candlemas day," or 
 the Puritication of the Virgin Mary, is of Egyptian origin. The 
 feast of Candlemas was kept by the ancient Egyptians in honor of 
 the goddess Neith, and on the very day that is marked on our 
 Christian almanacs as " Candlemas day."* 
 
 The ancient CJiaMees believed iu a celestial virgin, who had 
 purity of body, loveliness of person, and tenderness of affection ; 
 and who was one to whom the erring sinner could appeal with 
 more chance of success than to a stern father. She was portrayed 
 as a mother, although a virgin, with a child iu her arms.' 
 
 The ancient Babylonians and Assyrians worshiped a goddess 
 mother, and son, who was represented in pictures and in images as 
 an infant in his mother's arms (see Fig. No. 18). Her name was 
 Myl'dta, the divine son was Tammuz, the Saviour, whom we have 
 seen rose from the dead. He was invested with all his father's 
 attributes and glory, and identified with him. He was worshiped 
 as mediator.' 
 
 There was a temple at Paphos, in Cyprus, dedicated to the 
 Virgin Mylitta, and was the most celebrated one in Grecian 
 times.' 
 
 The ancient Eti'uscans worshiped a Virgin Mother and Son, 
 who was rejjresented in pictures and images in the arms of his 
 mother. This was the goddess Nutria., to be seen in Fig. No. 
 19. On the arm of the mother is an inscription in Etruscan 
 letters. This goddess was also worshiped in Italy. Long before 
 the Christian era temples and statues were erected in memory 
 of her. " To the Great Goddess Nutria," is an inscription which 
 has been found among the ruins of a temple dedicated to her. 
 No doubt the Eoman Church would have claimed her for a 
 
 ' Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 143. ' Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 59. 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 115. ' See Monnmontal Christianity, p. 211, and 
 
 * Qnoted in Ibid. p. 115. Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 350. 
 
 * Ibid., and Kenrick's Egypt. ' Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 213.
 
 THE WOBSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 
 
 331 
 
 Madonna, but most unluckily for them, she has the name 
 "JVutria," in Etruscan letters on her arm, after the Etruscan 
 practice. 
 
 The Egyptian Jsis was also worshiped in Italy, many centuries 
 before the Christian era, and all images of her, with the infant 
 Horus in her arms, have been adopted, as we shall presently see, 
 by the Christians, even though they represent her and her child 
 as black as an Ethiopian, in the same manner as we have seen that 
 Devald and Crishna were represented. 
 
 The children of Israel, who, as we have seen in a previous 
 chapter, were idolaters of the worst kind — worshiping the 
 smi, moon and stars, and offering human sacrifices to their god, 
 Moloch — were also worshipers of a Virgin Mother, whom they 
 styled the " Queen of Heaven." 
 
 Jeremiah, who appeared in Jerasalem about the year 625 B.C., 
 and who was one of the prophets and reformers, rebukes the 
 Israelites for their idolatry and worship of the " Queen of Heaven," 
 whereupon they answer him as follows : 
 
 " As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us. in the name of the Lord, we 
 will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth 
 forth out of our own moulh. to burn incense unto the Qiiefn of Heaven, and to 
 pour out drink offerings unto her. as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, 
 and our princes, in the city of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem : for then we 
 had plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. 
 
 "But since we left off to bum incense to the Queen of Heaven, aud to pour 
 out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed 
 by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the Queen of
 
 332 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 Heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to wor- 
 ship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men ?"' 
 
 The " cakes " which were offered to the " Queen of Heaven " 
 by the Israelites were marked with a cross, or other symbol of sun 
 worship.^ The ancient Egyptians also put a cross on their 
 " sacred cakes.'" Some of the early Christians offered " sacred 
 cakes" to the Virgin Mary centuries after.* 
 
 The ancient Persians worshiped the Virgin and Child. On 
 the monuments of Mithra, the Saviour, the Mediating and Redeem- 
 ing God of the Persians, the Virgin Mother of this god is to be seen 
 suckling her infant." 
 
 The ancient Greeks and Romans worshiped the Virgin Mother 
 and Child for centuries before the Christian era. One of these 
 was MyrrJia^ the mother of Bacchus, the Saviour, who was 
 represented with the infant in her arms. She had the title of 
 "Queen of Heaven.'" At many a Christian shrine the infant 
 Saviour Bacchus may be seen reposing in the arms of his deified 
 mother. The names are changed — the ideas remain as before.' 
 
 The Eev. Dr. Stuckley writes : 
 
 "Diodorus says Bacchus was born of Jupiter, the Supreme God, and Ceres 
 (Myrrha). Both Ceres and Proserpine were called Virgo (Virgin). The story of 
 this woman being deserted by a man, and espoused by a god, has somewhat so 
 exceedingly like that passage. Matt. i. 19, 20, of the blessed Virgin's history, that 
 we should wonder at it, dkl we not see tlie parallelism infinite between, the sacred and 
 the profane history before us. 
 
 " There are many similitudes between the Virgin (Mary) and the mother of 
 Bacchus (also called Mary — see note 6 below) — in all the old fables. Mary, or 
 Miriam, St. Jerome interprets Myrrha Marls. Orpheus calls the mother of 
 Bacchus a Sea Goddess (and the mother of Jesus is called ' Mary, Star of the 
 Sea."y 
 
 Thus we see that the reverend and learned Dr. Stuckley has clearly 
 
 > Jeremiah, xliv. 16-22. (See Anacalypsie, vol. i. p. 314, and Inman's 
 
 2 See Colenso's Lectures, p. 297, and Bon- Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 253); the mother of 
 
 wick's Egyptian Belief, p. 148. Buddha was Maya ; now, all these names, 
 
 s See the Pentateuch Examined, vol. vl. p. whether Myrrha, Maia or Maria, are the eame 
 
 115, App., and Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. as Mary, the name of the mother of the C'hris- 
 
 148. tian Saviour. (See Inman's Ancient Faiths, 
 
 ♦ See King's Gnostics, p. 91, and Monnmen- vol. ii. pp. 353 and 780. Also, Dunlap's Mys- 
 tal Christianity, p. 224. teries of Adoni, p. 124.) The month of May 
 
 ^SeeBupuis: Origin of Relig. Belief , p. 237. was sacred to these goddesses, so likewise is 
 
 • It would eeem more than chance that so it sacred to the Virgin Mary at the present 
 many of the virgin mothers and goddesses of day, A'Ae was also called Myrrha and Maria, as 
 antiquity should have the same name. The well as Mary. (See Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 304, 
 mother of Bacclms was Myrrha ; the mother of and Son of the Man, p. 26.) 
 
 Mercury or Hermes was Myrrha or Maia (See ' Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 303, 
 
 Ferguson's Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 186, 304. 
 
 and Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 253); the ^ prof. Wilder, in "Evolution," June, '77. 
 
 mother of the Siamese Saviour — Sommona Ca- Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. 
 
 dom— was called Maya Maria, £.«., "the Great •Stuckley; Pal. Sac. No. 1 p. 34, inAnac- 
 
 Mary ;" the mother of Adonis was Myrrha alypsis, i. p. 304.
 
 THE WOESniP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 333 
 
 made out that the story of Mary, the " Queen of Heaven," the 
 " Star of the Sea," the mother of the Lord, with her translation to 
 heaven, &c., was an old story long before Jesus of Nazareth was 
 born. After this Stuckley observes that the Pagan " Queen of 
 Heaven " has upon her head a crown of twelve stars. This, as we 
 have observed above, is the case of the Christian " Queen of 
 Heaven " in almost every Komish church on the continent of 
 Europe. 
 
 The goddess Cybele was another. She was equally called the 
 " Queen of Heaven " and the " Mother of God." As devotees 
 now collect alms in the name of the Virgin Mary, so did they in 
 ancient times in the name of Cybele. The Galli now used in the 
 churches of Italy, were anciently used in the worship of Cybele 
 (called Galliambus, and sang by her priests). " Our Lady Day," 
 or the day of the Blessed Virgin of the Roman Church, was here- 
 tofore dedicated to Cybele.' 
 
 Minerva, who was distinguished by the title of " Virgin 
 Queen,"' was extensively worshiped in ancient Greece. Among 
 the innumerable temples of Greece, the most beautiful was the 
 Parthenon, meaning, the Temple of the Virgin Goddess. It was 
 a magnificent Doric edifice, dedicated to Minerva, the presiding 
 deity of Athens. 
 
 Juno was called the " Virgin Queen of Heaven."' She was 
 represented, like Isls and Mary, standing on the crescent moon,* 
 and was considered the special protectress of women, from the 
 cradle to the grave, just as Mary is considered at the present 
 day. 
 
 Diana, who had the title of " Mother," was nevertheless 
 famed for her virginal purity.' She was represented, like Isis 
 and Mary, with stars surrounding her head.' 
 
 The ancient Muscovites worshiped a sacred group, composed 
 of a woman with a male child in her lap, and another standing by 
 her. They had Hkewise another idol, called the golden heifer, 
 which, says Mr. Knight, " seems to have been the animal syinhol 
 of the same personage."' Here we have the Virgin and infant 
 Saviour, with the companion (John the Baptist), and "The Lamh 
 that taketh away the sins of the world," among the ancient Musco- 
 
 ' Higgins : Anacalj-psis, vol. i. p. 305. • See Monmnental Cbristianity, p. 308 — Kg, 
 
 3 See Bell's Pantheon, and Kniglit : Ancient 144. 
 Art and Mythc. p. 175. » See Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., pp. 
 
 " See Roman Antiquities, p. 73. Anacalyp- 175. 176. 
 ets, vol. ii. p. 83, and Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. " See Montfaucon, vol. i. plate xcil. 
 
 p. 160. ' Knight's Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 147.
 
 334 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 vites before the time of Christ Jesus. This goddess had also the 
 title of " Queen of Heaven.' 
 
 The ancient Gerrnans worshiped a virgin goddess under the 
 the name of IlertJia, or Ostara, who was fecundated by the active 
 spirit, i.e., the " Holy Spirit."' She was represented in images 
 as a woman with a child in lier arms. This image was common in 
 their consecrated forests, and was held peculiarly sacred.' The 
 Christian celebration called Easter derived its name from this 
 goddess. 
 
 The ancient Scandinavians worshiped a virgin goddess called 
 Disa. Mr. K. Payne Knight tells us tliat : 
 
 "This goddess is delineated on tlie sacred drums of tiie Laplanders, accom- 
 panied b!/ a child, similar to the Horus of the Egyptians, who so often appears in 
 the lap of Isis on the religious monuments of that people."'' 
 
 The ancient Scandinavians also worshiped the goddess 
 Frigga. She was mother of " Baldur tlie Good," his father being 
 Odin, the supreme god of the northern nations. It ^^ as she who 
 was addressed, as Mary is at the present day, in order to obtain 
 happy marriages and easy ehildbirths. The Eddas style her the 
 most favorable of the goddesses.' 
 
 In Oaul, the ancient Druids worshiped the Virgo-Paritura as 
 the " Mother of God," and a festival was annually celebrated in 
 honor of this virgin.' 
 
 In the year 1747 a monument was found at Oxford, England, 
 of pagan origin, on which is exhibited a female nursing an infant.' 
 Thus we see that the Virgin and Child were worshiped, in 
 pagan times, from China to Britain, and, if we turn to the New 
 World, we shall find the same tiling there ; for, in the words of 
 Dr. Inman, " even in Mexico the ' Mother and Child ' were wor- 
 shiped."" 
 
 This mother, who had the title of " Virgin," and " Queen 
 of Heaven,"* was Chimalman, or Sochiquetzal, and the infant 
 was Quetzalcoatle, the crucified Saviour. Lord Kingsborough 
 Bays: 
 
 "She who represented 'Our Lady' (among the ancient Mexicans) had her 
 hair tied up in the manner in which the Lidian women tie and fasten their hair, 
 
 > Anacalypeia, vol. ii. pp. 109. 110. Celtic Druids, p. 163, and Taylor's Diegesis, p. 
 ' See Kniglifs Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 21. IM. 
 
 > See Prog. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 374, and ' See Celtic Draids, p. 163, and Dupais, p. 
 Mallet : Northern Antiquities. 237. 
 
 * Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 147. ' Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 100. 
 
 • See Mallet's Northern Antiquities. • See Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 33, and Mex- 
 ' See Higgtns : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. pp. 108, ican Antiquities, vol. vl. p. 176. 
 
 109, 259. Dnpnis : Orig. Relig. Belief, p. 257.
 
 THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 335 
 
 and in the knot behind was inserted a small cross, by which it was intended to 
 show that she was the Most Holy."' 
 
 The Mexicans had pictures of this " Heavenly Goddess " on 
 long pieces of leather, which they rolled up." 
 
 The annunciation to the Virgin Chimaiman, that she should be- 
 come the mother of the Saviour Quetzalcoatle, was the subject of a 
 Mexican hieroglyphic, and is remarkable in more than one respect. 
 She appears to be receiving a bunch of flowers from the embassador 
 or angel,' which brings to mind the lotus, the sacred plant of 
 the East, which is placed in the hands of the Pagan and Christian 
 virgins. 
 
 The 25th of March, which was celebrated throughout the 
 ancient Grecian atid Konian world, in honor of " the Mother of 
 the Gods," was appointed to the honor of the Christian "Mother of 
 God," and is now celebrated in CathoKc countries, and called 
 " Lady day."* The festival of the conception of the " Blessed Vir- 
 gin Mary " is also held on the very day that the festival of the 
 miraculous conception of the " Blessed Virgin Juno " was held 
 among the pagans,' which, says the author of the " Perennial 
 Calendar," " is a remarkable coincidence."" It is not such a very 
 " remarkable coincidence " after all, when we find that, even as 
 early as the time of St. Gregory, Bishop of Neo-Caesarea, who 
 flourished about a.d. 210-250, Pagan festivals were changed into 
 Christian holidays. This saint was commended by his namesake 
 of Nyssa for changing the Pagan festivals into Christian holidays, 
 the better to draw the heathens to the religion of Christ.' 
 
 The month of May, which was dedicated to the heathen Virgin 
 Mothers, is also the month of Mary, the Christian Virgin. 
 
 Now that we have seen that the worship of the Virgin and Child 
 was universal for ages before the Christian era, we shall say a few 
 words on the subject of pictures and images of the Madonna — so 
 called. 
 
 The most ancient pictures and statues in Italy and other parts 
 of Europe, of what are supposed to be representations of the Virgin 
 Mary and the infant Jesus, are Mack. The infant god, in the arms 
 of his black mother, his eyes and drapery white, is himself perfectly 
 black.' 
 
 Godfrey Higgius, on whose authority we have stated the above, 
 informs x;s that, at the time of his writing — 1 825-1 S35 — images and 
 
 ' Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 176. • Quoted in Ibid. 
 
 ' Ibid. ' See Middleton's Letters from Kome, p. 
 
 > Ibid. 836. 
 
 * Higgins : Anacslypfia, vol. i. p. 304. • Higgins : Anacalypsis, -i-o.. i. p 138. 
 
 » Ibid. Tol. ii. p. 82.
 
 336 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 paintings of this kind were to be seen at the cathedral of Moiilins ; 
 the famous chapel of "the Virgin " at Loretto ; the church of the 
 Annunciation, the church of St. Lazaro, and the church of St. 
 Stephens, at Genoa ; St. Francis, at Pisa; the church at Brixen, 
 in tlie Tyrol ; the church at Padua ; the church of St. Theodore, 
 at Munich — in the two last of which the white of the eyes and 
 teeth, and the studied redness of the lips, are very observable.' 
 
 " The Bajnbino' at Pome is black," says Dr. Inman, " and 
 60 are the Virgin and Child at Loretto.'" Many moi-e are to be 
 seen in Kome, and in innumerable other places ; in fact, says Mr. 
 Higgius, 
 
 " There is scarcely an old church in Italy where some remains of the worship 
 
 of the black Virgin, and black child, are 
 not met with;" and that "pictures in 
 great numbers are to be met with, where 
 the white of the eyes, and of the teeth, 
 and the lips a little tinged with red, 
 like the black figures in the museum 
 of the Indian company."* 
 
 Fig. E"o. 20 is a copy of the 
 image of the Virgin of Loretto. 
 Dr. Conyers Middleton, speaking 
 of it, says : 
 
 " The mention of Loretto puts me 
 in mind of the surprise that I was in at 
 the first sight of the Holy Image, for 
 its face is as black as a negro's. But 
 I soon recollected, that this very cir- 
 cumstance of its complexion made it 
 but resemble the more exactly the old idols of Paganism."^ 
 
 The reason assigned by the Christian priests for the images being 
 black, is that they are made so by smoke and incense, but, we may 
 ask, if the}' became black by smoke, why is it that the white drapery, 
 white teeth, and the white of the eyes have not changed in color ? 
 Why are the lips of a bright red color ? Why, we may also ask, are 
 the black images crowned and adorned with jewels, just as the 
 images of the Hindoo and Egyptian virgins are represented ? 
 
 When we find that the Virgin Devaki, and the Virgin Isis were 
 represented just as these so-called ancient Christian idols represent 
 Mary, we are led to the conclusion that they are Pagan idols adopted 
 by the Christians. 
 
 * HigginB : Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 138. 
 ^ Banibitio — a term in art, descriptive of the 
 swaddled figure of the infant Saviour. 
 
 ' Ancient Faitlis, vol. i. p. 401. 
 
 * Higgins ; Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 13» 
 
 • Letters from Kome, V- 8*
 
 THE WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER. 337 
 
 We may say, in the words of Mr. Lundy, " what jewels are 
 doing on the neck of this poor and lowly maid, it is not easy to say.'" 
 The crowti is also foreign to early representations of the Madonna 
 and Child, but not so to Devaki and Crishna," and Isis and Horus. 
 The coronation of the Virgin Mary is unknown to primitive Chris- 
 tian art, bnt is common in Pagan art.' " It may be well," says Mr. 
 Lundy, " to compare some of the oldest Hindoo representations of 
 the subject with the Eomish, and see how complete the resemblance 
 is ; "* and Dr. Inman says that, " the head-dress, as put on the head 
 of the Virgin Mary, is of Grecian, Egyptian, and Indian origin.'" 
 
 The whole secret of the fact of these early representations of the 
 Virgin Mary and Jesus — so-called — being Uack, crowned, and cov- 
 ered with jewels, is that they are of pre-Christian origin ; they are 
 Isis and Horus, and perhaps, in some cases, Devaki and Crishna, 
 baptized anew. 
 
 The Egyptian " Queen of Heaven " was worshiped in Europe 
 for centuries before and after the Christian Era.' Temples and 
 statues were also erected in honor of Isis, one of which was at 
 Bologna, in Italy. 
 
 Mr. King tells us that the Emperor Hadrian zealously strove to 
 reanimate the forms of that old religion, whose spirit had long since 
 passed away, and it was under his patronage that the creed of the 
 Pharaohs blazed up for a moment with a bright but fictitious lustre.' 
 To this period belongs a beautiful sard, in Mr. King's collection, 
 representing Serapis" and Isis, with the legend : " Immaculate is Our 
 Lady Isis."= 
 
 Mr. King further tells us that : 
 
 "The 'Black Virgins' so highly reverenced in certain French cathedrals 
 during the long night of the middle ages, proved, when at last examined criti- 
 cally, basalt figures of Isis."'" 
 
 And Mr. Bonwick says : 
 
 " We may be surprised that, as Europe has Black Madonnas, Egypt had Black 
 
 1 MoDamental Christianity, p. 208. ' King's Gnostics, p. 71. 
 
 2 See Ibid. p. 229. and Moore's Hindu Pan- * " Serapis does not appear to be one of the 
 theon, Inman'e Christian and Pagan Symbol- native gods, or monsters, who sprung from the 
 ism, Higgins' Anacalypsis, toI. ii., wliere the fruitful soil of Egypt. The first of the Ptolemies 
 figures of Crishna and Devati may be seen, had been commanded, by a dream, to import 
 crowned, laden with jewels, and a ray of glory the mysterious stranger from the coast of 
 eurrounding their heads. Pontns, where he had been long adored by the 
 
 s Monumental Christianity, p. 227. inhabitants of Sinope ; bnt his attributes and 
 
 4 Ibid. his reign were so imperfectly understood, that 
 
 ' Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 767. it became a subject of dispute, whether he 
 
 • In King's Gnostics and their Remains, p. represented the bright orb of day, or the 
 
 109. the author gives a description of a pro- gloomy monarch of the subterraneous regions." 
 
 cession, given during the second century by (Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 143.) 
 
 Apuleius, in honor of Isis, the " Immaculate • Ibid. 
 
 Lady." "" King's Gnostics, p. 71, note. 
 
 22
 
 338 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 images and pictures of Isis. At the same time it is a little odd that the 'Virgin 
 Mary copies most honored should not only be Black, but have a decided Isii cast 
 of feature."' 
 
 The shrine now known as that of the " Virgin in Amadon," in 
 France, was formerly an old Black Fismms.' 
 
 " To this we may add," (says Dr. Inman), " that at the Abbey of Einsiedelen, 
 on Lake Zurich, the object of adoration is an old black doll, dressed in gold bro- 
 cade, and gliltering with jewels. She is called, apparently, the Virgin of the 
 Swiss >Iouutains. My friend, Mr. Newton, also tells me that he saw, over a 
 church door at Ivrea, in Italy, twenty-nine miles from Turin, the fresco of dSlack 
 Virgin and child, the former bearing a triple crown."' 
 
 This triple croion is to be seen on the heads of Pagan gods and 
 goddesses, especially those of the Hindoos. 
 Dr. Barlow says : 
 
 "The doctrine of the Mother of God was of Egyptian origin. It was brought 
 in along with the worship of the Madonna by Cyril (Bishop of Alexandria, and 
 the Cyril of Hypatia) and the monks of Alexandria, in the fifth century. The 
 earliest representations of the Jtladonua have quite a Greco-Egyptian character, 
 and there can be little doubt that Isis nursing Horus was the origin of them 
 all."-' 
 
 And Arthur Murphy tells us that: 
 
 " The superstition and religious ceremonies of the Egyptians were diffused 
 over Asia, Greece, and the rest of Europe. Brotier says, that inscriptions of Isis 
 and Serapis (Horus ?) have been frequently found in Qermany. . . . The mission- 
 aries who went in the eighth and ninth centuries to propagate the Christian re- 
 ligion in those parts, saw many images and statues of these gods."' 
 
 These " many images and statues of these gods " were evidently 
 baptized anew, given other names, and allowed to remain where 
 they were. 
 
 In many parts of Italy are to be seen pictures of the Virgin with 
 her infant in her arms, inscribed with the words : " Deo Soli." This 
 betrays 'their Pagan origin. 
 
 1 Bonwick'sEgyptianBelief, p. 141. "Black "Ancient Faiths, vol. li. p. 264. 
 
 is the color of the Egyptian Isis." (The Kose- * Quoted in Bonwicli's Egyptian Belief, p. 
 
 crucians, p. 1.54.) 142. 
 
 ' Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 159. In Monte- ' Notes 3 and 4 to Tacitus' Manners of tte 
 
 fancoD, vol. i. plate xcv., may be seen a rep- Germans, 
 resentation of a Black Venus.
 
 CHAPTER XXXin. 
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 
 
 A THOEOUGH investigation of this subject would require a volume, 
 therefore, as we can devote but a chapter to it, it must necessarily 
 be treated somewhat slightingly. 
 
 The first of the Christian Symbols which we shall notice is the 
 
 CEOSS. 
 
 Overwhelming historical facts show that the cross was used, as a 
 religious emhlem, many centuries before the Christian era, by every 
 nation in the world. Bishop Colenso, speaking on this subject, 
 says : — 
 
 "From the dawn of organized Paganism in the Eastern world, to the final 
 establishment of Christianity in the West, the cross was undoubtedly one of the 
 commonest and most sacred of symbolical monuments. Apart from any distinc- 
 tions of social or intellectual superiority, of caste, color, nationality, or location 
 in either hemisphere, it appears to have been the aboriginal possession of every 
 people in antiquity. 
 
 "Diversified forms of the symbol are delineated more or less artistically, 
 according to the progress achieved in civilization at the period, on the ruined 
 walls of temples and palaces, on natural rocks and sepulchral galleries, on 
 the hoariest monoliths and the rudest statuary; on coins, medals, and vases of 
 every description; and in not a few instances, are preserved in the architectural 
 proportions of subterranean as well as superterranean structures of tumuli, as 
 well as fanes. 
 
 "Populations of essentially difEerent culture, tastes, and pursuits — the highly- 
 civilized and the semi-civilized, the settled and the nomadic — vied with each 
 other in their superstitious adoration of it, and in their efforts to extend the 
 knowledge of its exceptional import and virtue amongst their latest posterities. 
 
 " Of the several varieties of the cross still in vogue, as national and ecclesi- 
 astical emblems, and distinguished by the familiar appellations of St. George, 
 St. Andrew, the 3Ialtese, the Greek, the Latin, &c., &c., tliere is not one amongst 
 tliem tTte existence of which may not be traced to the remotest antiquity. They were 
 the common property of the Eastern nations. 
 
 " That each known variety has been derived from a common source, and is 
 emblematical of one and the same truth may be inferred from the fact of forms 
 identically the same, whether simple or complex, cropping out in contrary direc- 
 tions, in the Western as well as the Eastern hemisphere."' 
 
 > The Fentateach Examined, vol. vl. p. 113. 
 
 [339]
 
 340 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The cross has been adored in India from time immemorial, and 
 was a symbol of m^-sterious significance in Brahmanical iconography. 
 It was the symbol of the Hindoo god Agni, the " Light of the 
 World.'" 
 
 In the Cave of Elephanta, over the head of the figure represented 
 as destroying the infants, whence the story of Herod and the in- 
 fants of Eethleliem (which was unknown to all the Jewish, Roman, 
 and Grecian historians) took its origin, may be seen the Mitre, the 
 Crosier, and the Cross." 
 
 It is placed by Muller in the hand of Siva, Brahma, Vishnu, 
 Orishna, Tvashtri and Jama. To it the worshipers of Vishnu at- 
 tribute as many virtues as does the devout Catholic to the Christian 
 cross.^ Fra Paolino tells us it was used by the ancient kings of 
 India as a sceptre.' 
 
 Two of the principal pagodas of India — Benares and Mathura — 
 were erected in the forms of vast crosses.' The pagoda at Matliura 
 was sacred to the memory of the Virgin-born and crucified Saviour 
 Crishna." 
 
 The cross has been an object of profound veneration among the 
 Buddhists from the earliest times. One is the sacred Swastica 
 (Fig. No. 21). It is seen in the old 
 Buddhist Zodiacs, and is one of the 
 symbols in the Asoka inscriptions. It 
 is the sectarian mark 
 of the Jains, and the 
 . _ distinctive badge of 
 
 I I the sect of Xaca Ja- 
 
 »l I' ponicus. The Vaish- 
 navas of India have 
 also the same sacred 
 sign.' And, accord- 
 ing to Arthur Lilhe,' 
 '■Hhe only Christian cross i?i the cata- 
 combs is this Buddhist Swastica." 
 
 The cross is adored by the follow- 
 ers of the Lama of Thibet." Fig. No. 22 is a representation 
 of the most familiar form of Buddhist cross. The close 
 
 • Monumental Christianity, p. 14. 
 
 ' Baring-Gould : Curious Myths, p. 801. 
 Higgins ; Anac, vol. i. p. 220. 
 
 3 Curious Myths, p. 301. 
 
 « Ibid. p. 302. 
 
 ' Ma jrice ; Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 
 559. 
 
 « Ibid. vol. iii. p. 47. 
 
 ' Curious Myths, pp. 280-883. Buddha and 
 Early Buddhism, pp. 7, 9, and 22, and Anaca- 
 lypsis, vol. i. p. 223. 
 
 8 Buddha and Early Buddhism, p. 227. 
 
 » Inman : Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 409. 
 Higgins : Anac, vol. i. p. 230.
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 
 
 341 
 
 resemblance between the ancient religion of Thibet and that 
 of tlie Christians has been noticed by many European trav- 
 ellers and missionaries, among whom may be mentioned Pere 
 Grebillon, Pere Grueber, Horace de la Paon, D'Orville, and 
 M. L' Abbe Hue. The Buddhists, and indeed all the sects of India, 
 marked theii" followers on the head with the sign of the cross.' 
 This was undoubtedly practiced by almost all heathen nations, as 
 we have seen in the chapter on the EucJiarist that the initiates into 
 the Heathen mysteries were marked in that manner. 
 
 The ancient Egyptians adored the cross with the profoundest 
 veneration. This sacred symbol is to be found on many of their 
 ancient monuments, some of which may be seen at the present day 
 in the British Museum.^ In the museum of the London University, 
 a cross upon a Calvary is to be seen upon the breast of one of the 
 Egyptian mummies.^ Many of the Egyptian images hold a cross 
 in their hand. There is one now extant of the Egyptian Saviour 
 Horus holding a cross in his hand,* and he is represented as an in- 
 fant sitting on his mother's knee, with a cross on the back of the 
 seat they occupy.' 
 
 The commonest of all the Egyptian crosses, the ceux ansata 
 
 (Fig. No. 23) was adopted by the Christians. Thus, 
 
 beside one of the Christian inscriptions at Phile (a 
 
 Celebrated island lying in the midst of the Nile) is 
 
 seen both a Maltese cross and a crux ansata.' In a 
 
 painting covering the end of a church in the cemeteiy 
 
 of EhKhargeh, in the Great Oasis, are three of these 
 
 crosses round the principal subject, which seems to 
 
 have been a figure of a saint.' In an inscription in a 
 
 Christian chm-ch to the east of the Nile, in the desert, these crosses 
 
 are also to be seen. Beside, or in the hand of, the Egyptian gods, 
 
 this symbol is generally to be seen. When the Saviour Osiris is 
 
 represented holding out the crux ansata to a mortal, it signifies 
 
 that the person to whom he presents it has put off mortality, and 
 
 entered on the life to come." 
 
 The Greek cross, and the cross of St. Anthony, are also found 
 
 ' See Ibid. 
 
 ' See Celtic Drnids, p. 126 ; Anacalypsis, 
 vol. i. p. 217, and Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, 
 pp. 21ti, 217 and 219. 
 
 » Anacalypeit?, vol. i. p. 217. 
 
 * Knight : Anct. Art ana Mytho., p. 58. 
 
 * See Inman's ** Symbolism," and Londy'e 
 Monn. Christianity, Fig. 92. 
 
 « Baring-Gould : Carious Myths, p. 285. 
 
 ' Hoskins' Visit to the great Oasis, pi. xiL 
 in Curious Myths, p. 286. 
 
 « Curioas Myths, p. 286.
 
 342 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 on Egyptian monuments. A figure of a Shari (Fig. No. 24), from 
 Sir Gardner "Willcinson's book, has a necklace round his throat, 
 from whicli depends a pectoral cross. A third Egyptian cross is 
 that represented in Fig. No. 25, which is ap- 
 parently intended for a Latin 
 cross rising out of a heart, like 
 the mediaeval emblem of " Cur 
 in Cruce, Crux in Corde : " 
 it is the hierogylph of good- 
 ness.' 
 
 It is related by the eccles- 
 iastical historians Socrates and 
 Sozomon, that when the temple of Serapis, 
 at Alexandria, in Egypt, was demolished by one of the Christian 
 emperors, beneath the foundation was discovered a cross. The 
 words of Socrates are as follows : 
 
 " In the temple of Serapis, now overthrown and rifled throughout, there were 
 found engraven in the stones certain letters . . . resembling the form of the 
 cross. The which when both Christians and Ethnics beheld, every one applied 
 to his proper religion. The Christians affirmed that the cross was a sign or 
 token of the passion of Christ, and the proper cognizance of their profession. 
 Tlie Ethnics avouched that therein -was contained something in common, belonging 
 as well to Serapis as to Christ. '"' 
 
 It should be remembered, in connection with this, that the 
 Emperor Hadrian saw no difference between the worshij^ers of 
 Serapis and the worshipers of Christ Jesus. In a letter to the Con- 
 sul Servanus he says : 
 
 " There are there (in Egypt) Christians who worship Serapis, and devoted to 
 Serapis are those who call themselves ' Bishops of Christ.' "' 
 
 The ancient Egyptians were in the habit of putting a cross on 
 their sacred cakes, just as the Christians of the present day do on 
 Good Friday.' The plan of the chamber of some Egyptian sepul- 
 chres has the form of a cross,' and the cross was worn by Egyptian 
 ladies as an ornament, in precisely the same manner as Christian 
 ladies wear it at the present day.' 
 
 The ancient Babylonians honored the cross as a religious symbol. 
 It is to be found on their oldest monuments. Anu, a deity who 
 stood at the head of the Babylonian mythology, had a cross for his 
 
 ' Curious Myths, p. 287. * See Colenso's Pentateucli Examined vol. 
 
 > Socrates : Eccl. Hist., lib. v. ch. xvii. vi. p. 115. 
 
 • Quoted hy Rev. Dr. Giles : Hebrew and » Bouwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 12. 
 
 Christian Eecords, vol. ii. p. 86, and Kev. Robert » ibid. p. 219. 
 
 Taylor : Diegesis, p. 203.
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 343 
 
 sign or symbol.' It is also the symobl of the Babylonian god Bal.' A 
 cross hangs on the breast of Tiglatli Pileser, in the colossal tablet 
 from Nimroud, now in the British Museum. Another king, from 
 the ruins of Ninevah, wears a Maltese cross on his bosom. And 
 another, from the hall of Nisroch, carries an emblematic necklace, 
 to which a Maltese cross is attached.' The most common of crosses, 
 the cmx ansata (Fig. No. 21) was also a sacred symbol among the 
 Babylonians. It occurs repeatedly on their cylinders, bricks and 
 gems.' 
 
 The ensigns and standards carried by the Persians during their 
 wars with Alexander the Great (b. c. 335), were made in the form 
 of a cross — as we shall presently see was the style of the ancient 
 Roman standards — and representations of these cross-standards have 
 been handed down to the present day. 
 
 Sir Robert Ker Porter, in his very valuable work entitled : 
 " Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, and Ancient Babylonia,"' 
 shows the representation of a has-relief, of very ancient antiquity, 
 which he found at Nashi-Roustam, or the Mountain of Sepulchres. 
 It represents a combat between two horsemen — Baharam-Gour, one 
 of the old Persian kings, and a Tartar prince. Baharam-Gour is in 
 the act of charging his opponent with a spear, and behind him, 
 scarcely visible, appears an almost effaced form, which must have 
 been his standard-bearer, as the ensign is very plainly to be seen. 
 This ensign is a cross. There is another representation of the same 
 subject to be seen in a has-relief, which shows the standard-bearer 
 and his cross ensign very plainly.' This has-relief belongs to a 
 period when the Arsacedian kings governed Persia,' whicii was 
 within a century after the time of Alexander, and consequently 
 more than two centuries b. c. 
 
 Sir Robert also found at this place, sculptures cut in the solid 
 rock, which are in the form of crosses. These belong to the early 
 race of Persian monarchs, whose dynasty terminated under the sword 
 of Alexander the Great." At the foot of Mount Nakshi-Rajab, 
 he also found has-reliefs, among which were two figures carrying 
 a cross-standard. Fig. No. 26 is a representation of this.' It is 
 coeval with the sculptures found at Nashi-Roustam," and therefore 
 belongs to a period before the time of Alexander's invasion. 
 
 The cross is represented frequently and prominently on the coins 
 
 1 Bonwick ; Egyptian Belief, p. 218, and » Vol. i. p. 337, pi. xx. 
 
 Smith's Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 54. ' Travels in Persia, vol. i. p. 545, pi. ixJ. 
 
 ' Egyptian Belief, p. 218. ' Ibid. p. 559. and pi. xvi. 
 
 8 Bonomi : Ninevah and Its Palaces, in ^ Ibid., and pi. xvii. 
 
 Curious Myths, p. 287. * Ibid. pi. xxvii. 
 
 * Curious Myths, p. 287. '» Ibid. p. 573.
 
 344 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 of Asia Minor. Several have a ram or lamb on one side, and a cross- 
 on the other.' On some of the early coins of the Phenicians, the 
 cross is found attached to a chaplet of beads placed in a circle, so as 
 
 to form a complete rosary, such as the 
 Lamas of Thibet and Cliina, the Hin- 
 doos, and the Koman Catholics, now 
 tell over while they pray." On a 
 Pheniciau medal, found in the ruins 
 of Citium, in Cyprus, and printed in 
 Dr. Clark's " Travels " (vol. ii. c. xi.), 
 are engraved a cross, a rosary, and a 
 lamb.' This is the "Lamb of God 
 who taketh away the sins of the 
 world." 
 
 The ancient Etruscans revered the 
 
 cross as a religious emblem. This 
 sacred sign, accompanied with the 
 heart, is to be seen on their monu- 
 ments. Fig. No. 27, taken from the work of Gorrio (Tab. xxxv.)^ 
 shows an ancient tomb with angels and the cross thereon. It 
 would answer perfectly for a Chris- 
 tian cemetery. 
 
 The cross was adored by the 
 ancient Greeks and Romans for 
 centuries before the Augustan era. An ancient inscription in 
 Thessaly is accompanied by a Calvary cross (Fig. No. 28) ; and 
 Greek crosses of equal arms adorn the tomb of Midas (one of the 
 ancient kings), in Phrygia.* 
 
 > Cnrions Myths, p. 290. 
 
 ' Knight : Anct. Ait and Slytho,, p. 31. 224, 
 
 * Baring-Gould : Cniioas Myths, p. 291. 
 
 ' See niustration in Anacalypeis, vol. i. p.
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 345 
 
 The adoration of the cross by the Romans is spoken of by the 
 Christian Father Minucius Felix, when denying the charge of idol- 
 atry which was made against his sect. 
 
 " As for the adoration of cross," (sa.vs he to the Romans), "which you object 
 against us, I must tell you that we neither adore crosses nor desire them. You 
 it is, ye Pagans, who worship wooden gods, who are the most likely people to 
 adore wooden crosses, as being part of the same substance with your deities. 
 For what else are your ensigns, flags, and standards, but crosses, gilt and beauti- 
 ful. Your victorious trophies not only represent a cross, but a cross with a man 
 upon it."' 
 
 The principal silver coin among the Romans, called the de- 
 narius, had on one side a personification of Rome as a warrior with 
 a helmet, and on the reverse, a chariot drawn by four horses. The 
 driver had a cross-standard in one hand. This is a representation of 
 a denarius of the earliest kind, which was lirst coined 296 b. c' 
 The cross was used on the roll of the Roman soldiery as the sign of 
 life^ 
 
 But, long before the Romans, long before the Etruscans, there 
 lived in the plains of Northern Italy a people to whom the cross was a 
 religious symbol, the sign beneath which they laid their dead to rest ; 
 a people of whom history tells nothing, knowing not their name ; 
 but of whom antiquarian research has learned this, that they lived 
 in ignorance of the arts of civilization, that they dwelt in villages 
 built on platforms over lakes, and that they trusted to the cross to 
 guard, and may be to revive, their loved ones whom they committed 
 to the dust. 
 
 The examination of the tombs of Golasecca proves, in a most 
 convincing, positive, and precise manner that which the terramares 
 of Emilia had only indicated, but which had been confirmed by the 
 cemetery of Villanova, that above a thousand years b. c, the cross 
 was already a religious emblem of frequent employment.' 
 
 "It is more than a coincidence," (says the Rev. S. Baring-Gould), "that 
 Osiris by the cross should give life eternal to the spirits of the just; that with 
 the cross Thor should smite the head of the great Serpent, and bring to life those 
 who were slain; that beneath the cross the Muysca mothers should lay their 
 babes, trusting to that sign to secure them from the power of evil spirits; that 
 with that symbol to protect them, the ancient people of Northern Italy should 
 lay them down in the dust."' 
 
 The cross was also found among the ruins of Pompeii.' 
 It was a sacred emblem among the ancient Scandinavians. 
 
 > Octarine, ch. xxix. < Ibid. pp. 291, 296. 
 
 > See Chambers's Encyclo., art. '• Denarins." ' Ibid. p. 311. 
 
 • Cnrions Myths, p. 291. • The Pentateuch Examiaed, vol. \-\. p. 115
 
 346 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "It occurs " (says Mr. R. Payne Knight), "on many Itunic monuments 
 found in Sweden and Denmark, wliicb are of an age long anterior to the ap- 
 proach of Christianity to those countries, and, probably, to its appearance in 
 the world."' 
 
 Their god Thor, son of the Supreme god Odiii, and the goddess 
 Freyga, had the hammer for his symbol. It was with this hammer 
 that Thor crushed the head of the great Mitgard serpent, that he 
 destroyed the giants, that he restored the dead goats to life, which 
 drew his car, that he consecrated the pyre of Baldur. This hammer 
 was a cross." 
 
 The cross of Thor is still used in Iceland as a magical sign in 
 connection with storms of •ftdnd and rain. 
 
 King Olaf, Longfellow tells us, when keeping Christmas at 
 Di'ontheim : 
 
 " O'er his drinking-horn, the sign 
 He made of the Cross Divine, 
 And he drank, and mutter'd his prayers; 
 But the Berserks evermore 
 Made the sign of the hammer of Thor 
 Over theirs." 
 
 Actually, they both made the same symbol. 
 
 This we are told by Snorro Sturleson, in the Heimskringla 
 (Saga iv. c. 18), when he describes the sacrifice at Lade, at which 
 King Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, was present : 
 
 "Now when the first full goblet was filled. Earl Sigurd spoke some words 
 over it, and blessed it in Odin's name, and drank to the king out of the horn; 
 and the king then took it, and made the sign of the cross over it. Then said 
 Kaare of Greyting, ' What does the king mean by doing so? will he not sacri- 
 fice?' But Earl Sigurd replied, 'The King is doing what all of you do who 
 trust in your power and strength; for he is blessing the full goblet in the name 
 of Thor, by making the sign of his hammer over it before he drinks it."^ 
 
 The cross was also ii sacred emblem among the Laplanders. 
 " In solemn sacrifices, all the Lapland idols were marked with it 
 from the blood of the victims."* 
 
 It was adored by the ancient Druids of Britain, and is to be 
 seen on the so-called " fire towers " of Ireland and Scotland. The 
 " consecrated trees " of the Druids had a cross heam, attached to 
 them, making the figure of a cross. On several of the most curious 
 and most ancient monuments of Britain, the cross is to be seen, evi- 
 dently cut thereon by the Druids. Many large stones throughoiit 
 Ireland have these Druid crosses cut in them.' 
 
 ' Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 30. * Knight : Ancient Ait and Mytho., p. 30. 
 
 » Curioas Myths, pp. 280, 281. • See Celtic Braids, pp. 136, 130, 131. 
 
 • Ibid. pp. 281, 282.
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 347 
 
 Cleland observes, in his " Attempt to Revive Celtic Literature," 
 that the Druids taught the doctrine of an overruling providence, and 
 the immortality of the soul : that they had also their Lent, their 
 Purgatory, their Paradise, their Hell, their Sanctuaries, and the 
 similitude of the May-pole inform to the cross.' 
 
 " In the Island of I-com-kill, at the monastery of the Culdees, 
 at the time of tlie Reformation, there were three hundred and sixty 
 crosses.'" The Caaba at Mecca was surrounded by three hundred 
 and sixty crosses.' This number has nothing whatever to do with 
 Christianity, but is to be found everywhere among the ancients. 
 It represents the number of days of the ancient year.* 
 
 When the Spanish missionaries first set foot upon the soil of 
 America, in the fifteenth century, they were amazed to find that 
 the cross was as devoutly worshiped by tlie red Indians as by them- 
 selves. The hallowed symbol challenged their attention on every 
 hand, and in almost every variety of form. And, what is still more 
 remarkable, the cross was not only associated with other objects cor- 
 responding in every particular with those delineated on Babylonian 
 monuments ; but it was also distinguished by the Catholic appella- 
 tions, "the tree of subsistence," "the wood of health," "the emblem 
 of life," &c.' 
 
 When the Spanish missionaries found that the cross was no new 
 object of veneration to the red men, they were in doubt whether to 
 ascribe the fact to the pious labors of St. Thomas, whom they thought 
 might have found his way to America, or the sacrilegious subtlety 
 of Satan. It was the central object in the great temple of Coza- 
 mel, and is still preserved on the bas-reliefs of the ruined city of 
 Palenque. From time immemorial it had received the prayers 
 and sacrifices of the Aztecs and Toltecs, and was suspended as an 
 august emblem from the walls of temples in Popogan and Cundin- 
 araarca." 
 
 The ruined city of Palenque is in the depths of the forests of 
 Central America. It was not inhabited at the time of the conquest 
 of Mexico by the Spaniards. They discovered the temples and pal- 
 aces of Chiapa, but of Palenque they knew nothing. According to 
 tradition it was founded by Votan in the ninth century before the 
 Christian era. The principal building in this ruined city is the 
 palace. A noble tower rises above the courtyard in the centre. In 
 
 ' Cleland, p. 102, in Anac. i. p. 716. * See Manrice ; Indian Antiquities, vol. li. 
 
 ' Celtic Druids, p. 242, and Chambers's 103. 
 Encyclo., art. " Cross." 'The Pentateach Examined, vol. vi. p. 
 
 > Ibid.' IW. 
 
 • Brinton : Myths of the New World, p. 95.
 
 348 
 
 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 this building are several email temples or chapels, with altars stand- 
 ing. At the back of one of these altars is a slab of gypsum, on 
 which are sculptured two figures, one on each side of a cross (Fig, 
 No. 29). The cross is surrounded with rich feather- work, and orna- 
 mental chains.' "The style of scripture," says Mr. Baring-Gould, 
 " and the accompanying hieroglyphic inscriptions, leave no room 
 for doubting it to be a heathen representation.'" 
 
 The same cross is represented on old pre-Mexican MSS., as in 
 the Dresden Codex, and that in the possession of Herr Fejervary, at 
 
 the end of which is a colossal cross, in 
 the midst of which is represented a bleed- 
 ing deity, and figiu-es stand round a Tau 
 cross, upon which is perched the sacred 
 f V— J ||L-/ ) bird." 
 
 l^\ . .. Cj The cross was also used in the north 
 
 of Mexico. It occurs among the Mix- 
 tecas and in Queredaro. Siguenza speaks 
 of an Indian cross which was found in 
 the ca.o of Mixteca Baja. Among the 
 ruins on the island of Zaputero, in Lake 
 Nicaragua, were also found old crosses 
 reverenced by the Indians. "White marble 
 crosses were found on the island of St. 
 Ulloa, on its discovery. In the state of 
 Oaxaca, the Spaniards found that wooden crosses were erected 
 as sacred symbols, so also in Aguatoleo, and among the Zapa- 
 tecas. The cross was venerated as far as Florida on one side, and 
 Cibola on the other. In South America, the same sign was consid- 
 ered symbolical and sacred. It was revered in Paraguay. In Pem 
 the Incas honored a cross made out of a single piece of jasper ; it 
 was an emblem belonging to a former civilization.* 
 
 Among the Muyscas at Cumana the cross was regarded with 
 devotion, and was believed to be endowed with power to djive away 
 evil spirits ; consequently new-bom children were placed under the 
 sign.' 
 
 The Toltecs said that their national deity Quetzalcoatle — whom 
 we have found to be a virgin-born and crucified Saviour — had iutrc 
 
 > Stephens : Central America, vol. 11. p. 843, 
 la CorioDS Myths, p. 29S. 
 
 ' Carious Myths, p. 298. 
 
 > Klemm Koltargeachlchte, T. 1^2, In Cnrl- 
 
 ons Myths, pp. 898, 299. 
 
 * Corioas Myths, p. 299. 
 
 » Mailer : Geecliichte der Amtrikanlechen 
 Drreliglonen, In Hjid.
 
 CHEISTIAIf SYMBOLS. 349 
 
 duced the sigu and ritual of the cross, and it was called the " Tree 
 of Nutriment," or "Tree of Life."' 
 
 Malcom, in his " Antiquities of Britain," says . 
 
 "Gomara telb that St. Andrew's cross, which is the same with that of Bur- 
 gundy, was in great veneration among the Cumas, in South America, and that 
 they fortified themselves with the cross against the incursions of evil spirits, and 
 were in use to put them upon new-bom infants; which thing very justly deserves 
 admiration."' 
 
 Felix Cabrara, in his " Description of the Ancient City ol 
 
 Mexico," says : 
 
 " The adoration of the cross has been more general in the world, than that 
 of any other emblem. It is to be found in the ruins of the fine city of Mexico, 
 near Palenque, where there are many examples of it among the hieroglyphics on 
 the buildings."' 
 
 In " Chambers's Encyclopaedia " we find the following : 
 
 " It appears that the sign of the cross was in use as an emblem having certain 
 religious and mystic meanings attached to it, long before the Christian era ; and the 
 Spanish conquerors were astonished to find it an olgect of religious veneration 
 among tne nations of Central and South America."* 
 
 Lord Kingsborough, in his " Antiquities of Mexico," speais of 
 crosses being found in Mexico, Peru, and Yucatan.' He also informs 
 ns that the hanne/r of Montezuma was a cross, and that the historical 
 paintings of the " Codex Vaticanus " represent him carrying a cross 
 as his banner.' 
 
 A very fine and highly polished marble cross which was taken 
 from the Incas, was placed in the Koman Catholic cathedral at 
 Cuzco.' 
 
 Few cases have been more powerful in producing mistakes in 
 ancient history, than the idea, hastily taken by Christians in all ages, 
 that every monument of antiquity marked with a cross, or with any 
 of those symbols which they conceived to be monograms of their god, 
 was of Christian origin. The early Christians did not adopt it as 
 one of their symbols ; it was not untit Christianity began to be pa- 
 ganized that it became a Christian monogram, and even then it was 
 not the cross as we know it to-day. " It is not until the middle 
 of the fifth century that the pure form of the cross emerges to 
 light."' The cross of Constantine was nothing more than the -^ , 
 the monogram of Osiris, and afterwards of Christ.* This is seen 
 
 » Curious Myths, p. 801. ' Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 32. 
 
 ' Quoted in Anacalypsis, Tol. ii. p. 80. ' Jametion's Hist, of Oar Lord in Art, vol. 
 
 » Quoted in Celtic Draids, p. 131. 11. p. 318. 
 
 < Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Cross." • "These two letters in the old Samaritan, 
 
 * Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. pp. 165, 180. as found on coins, stand, the first for .100, the 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 179. second for 200— 600. This Is the st.iff of Osiris.
 
 350 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 from the fact that the " Ldbarum" or sacred banner of Constantine 
 — on which was placed the sign by which he was to conquer — was 
 inscribed with this sacred monogram. Fig. No. 30 is a representa- 
 tion of the Labarum, taken from Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. 
 The author of " The History of Our Lord in Art " says : 
 
 " It would be difScult to prove that the cross of Constantine was of the simple 
 construction as now understood. As regards the Labarum, the coins of the 
 time, in which it is expressly set forth, proves that the so-called cross upon it was 
 nothing else than the same ever-recurring monogram of Christ."' 
 
 Now, this so-called monogram of Christ, 
 like everything else called Christian, is of 
 Pagan origin. It was the monogram of the 
 Egyptian Saviour, Osiris, and also of Jupi- 
 ter Ammon.' As M. Basnage remarks in 
 his Hist, de Juif:' 
 
 " Nothing can be more opposite to Jesus Christ, 
 than the Oracle of Jupiter Amman. And yet the same 
 cipher served the false god as well as the true one ; 
 for we see a medal of Ptolemy, King of Cyrene, 
 having an eagle carrying a thunderbolt, with the 
 monogram of Christ to signify the Oracle of Jupiter 
 Amman." 
 
 Rev. J. P. Lundy says : 
 
 " Even the P.X., which I had thought to be ex- 
 clusively Christian, are to be found in combination 
 
 thus: Np- (just as the early Christians used it), on 
 
 coins of the Ptolemies, and on those of Herod the 
 Great, struck forty years before our era, together with 
 this other form, so often seen on the early Christian 
 
 monuments, viz. : ►-n ."* 
 
 Tliis monogram is also to be found on the coins of Decius, a Pa- 
 gan Roman emperor, who ruled during the commencement of the 
 third century.* 
 
 Another form of the same monogram is X and X H. The 
 
 monogram of the Siin was V . P. H. All these are now called mono- 
 grams of Christ, and are to be met with in great numbers in almost 
 
 It IB also the mono^am of Osifls, and baa 
 been adopted by the Christians, and is to be 
 seen in the churches in Italy in thousandtj of 
 places. See Basuage (lib. iii. c. xxziii.), where 
 several other instances of this kind may be 
 found. In Addison's ' Travels in Italy ' there 
 is an account of a medal, at Home, of Con- 
 Etantius, vith this Inscription ; In hoc tigno 
 
 Tutor eria sj^ ." (Anacalypsis, vol. 1. p. 232.) 
 > Hiet. of OoT Lord in Art, vol. ii. p. 316. 
 » See Celtic Druids, p. 127, and Bonwick's 
 
 Egyptian Belief, p. 218. 
 
 ' Bk. Iii. c. xxiii. in Anac, L p. 219. 
 
 * Monamental Christianity, p. 125. 
 
 • See Celtic Drnide, pp. 127, 128.
 
 CHEISTIAN SYMBOLS. S5l 
 
 every chtirch in Italy.' The monogram of Mercury was a cross.* 
 The monogram of the Egyptian Taut was formed by thiee crosses." 
 The monogram of Saturn was a cross and a ram's horn ; it was also 
 a monogram of Jupiter.' The monogram of Venus was a cross 
 and a circle.' The monogram of the Phenician Astarte, and the 
 Babylonian- Bal, was also a cross and a circle.' It was also that of 
 Freya, Holda, and Aphrodite.' Its true significance was the Linga 
 and Yoni. 
 
 The cross, which was so universally adored, in its different forms 
 among heathen nations, was intended as an emblem or symbol of the 
 Sun, of eternal life, the generative powers, &c.* 
 
 As with the cross, and the X. P., so likewise with many other 
 so-called Christian symbols — they are borrowed from Paganism. 
 Among these may be mentioned the mystical tliree letters I. H. S., 
 to this day retained in some of our Protestant, as well as Koman 
 Catholic churches, and falsely supposed to stand for " Jesu Homini- 
 um SaZvator" or " In Hoc Signo." It is none other than the iden- 
 tical monogram of the heathen god Bacchus' and was to be seen 
 on the coins of the Maharajah of Cashmere." Dr. Inman says : 
 
 " For a long period L H. 8., I. E. E. 8, was a monogram of Bacchus; letters 
 now adopted by Romanists. Hem-g'vias an old divinity of Gaul, possibly left by 
 the Phenicians. We have the same I. H. S. in Jazabel, and reproduced in our 
 Isdbd. The idea connected with the word is 'Phallic Vigor.' "'^^ 
 
 The Teiaijgle, which is to be seen at tne present day in Chris- 
 tian churches as an emblem of the " Ever-blessed Trinity," is also 
 of Pagan origin, and was used by them for the same purpose. 
 
 Among the numerous symbols, the Triangle io conspicuous in 
 India. Hindoos attached a mystic signification to its three sides, 
 and generally placed it in their temples. It was often composed of 
 lotus plants, with an eye in the center." It was sometimes repre- 
 sented in connection with the mystical word AUM " (Fig. No. 31), 
 and sometimes surrounded with rays of glory." 
 
 This symbol was engraved upon the tablet of the ring which the 
 religious chief, called the Brahm-dtma wore, as one of the signs of 
 
 1 See Ibid, and Monnmental Christianity, ^ See The Fentateach Examined, vol. vi. 
 
 pp. 15, 92. 123, 126, 127. pp. 113-115. 
 
 'See Celtic Drnlds, p. 101. Anacalypeis, • See Higglns : Anscalypsis, vol. I. pp. 881 
 
 vol. i. p. 220. Indian Antiq., 11. 68, and 328. Taylor's DIegesis, p. 187. Celtic 
 
 ' See Celtic Draids, p. 101. Bonwick's Dmide, p. 127, and Isis Unveiled, p. 637, vol. ii. 
 Egyptian Belief, p. 103. lo See Bonwick'e Egyptian Belief, p. 812. 
 
 » See Celtic Draids, p. 137, and Taylor's " Ancient Faiths, vol. I. pp. 618, 619. 
 
 Diegeais, p. 201. '» See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. I. p. M. 
 
 • See Celtic Dmids, p. 127. "This word —AUM— stood for Eralmut, 
 
 • See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 218. Vishnn and Siva, the Hindoo Trinity. 
 ' See Cox : Aryan Mythology, vol il. 116. " See Isis Unvei ed, vol. ii. p. 31.
 
 352 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 his dignity, and it was used by the Buddhists as emblematic of the 
 Trinity.' 
 
 The ancient Egyptians signified their divine Triad by a single 
 Triangle? 
 
 Mr. Bonwick says : 
 
 " The Triangle was a religious form from the first. It is to be recognized in 
 the Obelisk and Pyramid (of Jilgypt). To this day, in some Christian churches, 
 the priest's blessing is given as it was in Egypt, by the sign of a triangle ; viz. : 
 two fingers and a thumb. An Egyptian god is seen with a triangle over his 
 shoulders. This figure, in ancient Egyptian theology, was the type of the Holy 
 Trinity — three in one."^ 
 
 And Dr. Inman says : 
 
 " The Triangle is a sacred symbol in our modern churches, and it was the 
 sign used in ancient temples before the initiated, to indicate the Trinity — three 
 persons 'co-eternal together, and co-equal.' "* 
 
 The Triangle is found on ancient Greek monuments.' An an- 
 cient seal (engrave 1 in the Memoires 
 de 1' Academic roj^ale des Inscriptions 
 et Belles Lettres), supposed to be of 
 Pheiiician origin, " has as subject a 
 standing figure between two stars, 
 beneath which are handled crosses. 
 Above the head of the deity is the 
 TRIANGLE, or Symbol of the Trinity.'" 
 One of the most conspicuous 
 among the symbols intended to rep- 
 resent the Trinity, to be seen in 
 Cliristian churches, is the compound 
 leaf of the trefoil. Modern story had 
 attributed to St. Patrick the idea of 
 demonstrating a trinity in unity, by 
 
 showing the shamrock to his hearers ; but, says Dr. Inman, " like 
 
 many other things attributed to the moderns, the idea belongs to the 
 
 ancients.'" 
 
 The Trefoil adorned the head of Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, 
 
 and is to be found among the Pagan symbols or representations of 
 
 ' See Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 31. 
 ' Knight : Anr.t. Art anil Mytho., p. 196. 
 3 Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 213. 
 * Ancient Faithe, vol. i. p. 338. 
 
 » See Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 
 196. 
 
 ' Curious Myths, p. 889. 
 
 ' Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. i. pp. 153, 
 154.
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 
 
 353 
 
 tlie three-in-one mystery.' Fig. No. 32 is a representation of the 
 Trefoil used by the ancient Hindoos as emblematic of their celestial 
 Triad — Brahma, Vishnu and Siva — and afterwards adopted by 
 the Christians.^ The leaf of the Vila, or Bel-tree, is typical of 
 Siva's attributes, because triple in form." 
 
 The Trefoil was a sacred plant among the ancient Druids of Bri- 
 tain. It was to them an emblem of the mysterious three in one* 
 It is to be seen on their coins." 
 
 The Tripod was very generally employed among the ancients 
 as an emblem of the Trinity, and is 
 found composed in an endless variety 
 of ways. On the coins of Menecratia, 
 in Phrygia, it is represented between 
 two asterisks, with a serpent wreathed 
 around a battle-axe, inserted into it, as 
 an accessory symbol, signifying pre- 
 servation and destruction. In the 
 ceremonial of worship, the number 
 three was employed with mystic so- 
 lemnity." 
 
 The three lines, or three human 
 legs, springing from a central disk or 
 circle, which has been called a Tri- 
 ■nacria, and supposed to allude to the 
 island of Sicily, is simply an ancient emblem of the Trinity. 
 " It is of Asiatic origin ; its earliest appearance being upon 
 the very ancient coins of Aspendus in Pamphylia; sometimes 
 alone in the square incuse, and sometimes upon the body of an 
 eagle or the back of a lion.'" 
 
 We have already seen, in the chapter on the crucifixion, that the 
 eai'liest emblems of the Christian Saviour were the " Good Shep- 
 herd " and the " Lamb." Among these may also be mentioned the 
 Fish. " The only satisfactoiy explanation why Jesus should be 
 represented as a Fish," says Mr. King, in his Gnostics and their 
 Kemains," " seems to be the circumstance that in the quaint jargon 
 of the Talmud the Messiah is often designated ' Dag,' or ' The 
 Fish ;' " and Mr. Lundy, in his " Monumental Christianity," says : 
 
 ' See Bonwick'8 Egyptian Belief, p. 242. 
 
 2 See Inman's Pagan and Christian Sym- 
 bolism, p. 30. 
 
 3 See Williams' Hindaisra, p. 99. 
 
 « See Myths of the British Druids, p. 448. 
 
 » Ibid. p. 601. 
 
 • Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 170. 
 
 ' Ibid. pp. 169, 170. 
 
 8 Page 138.
 
 354 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 • ' Next to the sacred monogram (tbe vB- ) tbe Fish takes its place in import- 
 ance as a sign of Chiist in his special office of Saviour." " In the Talmud the 
 Messiah is called 'Dag 'or 'Fish.'" " Where did the Jews learn to apply 'Dag' 
 to their Messiah 1 And why did the primitive Christians adopt it as a sign of 
 Christ ?" "I cannot disguise facts. Truth demands no concealment or apology. 
 Paganism has its types and prophecies of Christ as well as Judaism. What then 
 is the Dag-ou of the old Babylonians ? The ^^-god or being that taught them 
 all their civilization."' 
 
 As Mr. Liindy says, " truth demands no concealment or apol- 
 ogy," therefore, when the truth is exposed, we find that Vishnu, 
 the Hindoo Messiah, Preserver, Mediator and Saviour, was repre- 
 sented as a " dag," or fish. The Fish 
 takes its place in importance as a sign 
 of Vishnu in his special oflice of 
 Saviour. 
 
 Prof. Monier "Williams says : 
 
 "It is as Vishnu that the Supreme Being, 
 according to the Hindoos, exhibited his sympa- 
 thy with human trials, his love for the human 
 race. Nine principal occasions have already 
 occurred in which the god has thus interposed 
 for tbe salvation of bis creatures. The first 
 was 3Ialsaya, the Fish. In this Vishnu became 
 a fish to save the seventh Manu, the progenitor 
 of the human race, from the universal deluge."^ 
 
 We have already seen, in Chap. IX., 
 the identity of the Hindoo Matsaya 
 and the Babylonian Dagon. 
 
 The fish was sacred among the Babylonians, Assyrians and 
 Phenicians, as it is among the Komanists of to-day. It was sacred 
 also to Venus, and the Romanists still eat it on the very day of the 
 week which was called " Dies veneris," Venus' day ; fish day.' 
 It was an emblem of fecundity. The most ancient symbol of the 
 productive power was a fish, and it is accordingly found to be the 
 universal symbol upon many of the earliest coins.* Pythagoras 
 and his followers did not eat fish. They were ascetics, and the eat- 
 ing of fish was supposed to tend to carnal desires. This ancient 
 superstition is entertained by many even at the present day. 
 
 The fish was the earliest symbol of Christ Jesus. Fig. No. 33 
 is a design from the catacombs.' This cross-fish is not unlike the 
 sacred monogram. 
 
 > Monumental Christianity, pp. 130, 132, 133. 
 ' Indian Wisdom, p. 339. 
 s Inman : Anct. Faiths, vol. i. pp. 538, 529, 
 and Muller : Science of Relig., p. 315. 
 
 * Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 111. 
 ' Lillie : Baddha and Early Bnddhlsm, p. 
 227.
 
 CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS. 365 
 
 That the Christian Saviour should be called a fi&hj may at first 
 appear strange, but when the mythos is properly undei'stood (as we 
 shall endeavor to make it in Chap. XXXIX.), it will not appear so. 
 The Rev. Dr. Geikie, in his " Life and Words of Christ," says that 
 a fish stood for his name, from the significance of the Greek letters 
 in the word that expresses the idea, and for this reason he was called 
 a fish. But, we may ask, why was Buddha not only called Fo, 
 or Po, biit Dag-Po, which was literally the Fish Po, or Fish 
 Buddha ? Tlie fish did not stand for Iiis name. The idea that Jesus 
 was called a fish because the Messiah is designated " Dag " in the 
 Talmud, is also an unsatisfactory explanation. 
 
 Julius Africanus (an early Christian writer) says : 
 
 "Christ is the great Pish taken by the fish-hook of God, and whose flesh 
 nourishes the whole world."' 
 
 " The fish fried 
 Was Christ that died," 
 is an old couplet.^ 
 
 Prosper Africanus calls Christ, 
 
 " The great fish who satisfied for himself the disciples on the shore, and 
 offered himself as a fish to the whole world. "^ 
 
 The Serpent was also an emblem of Christ Jesus, or in other 
 words, represented Christ, among some of the early Christians. 
 
 Moses set up a brazen serpent in the wilderness, and Christian 
 divines have seen in this a type of Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Gos- 
 pels sanction this ; for it is written : 
 
 ' ' As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man 
 be lifted up." 
 
 From this serpent, Tertullian asserts, the early sect of Christians 
 
 called Ophites took their rise. Epiphanius says, that the " Ophites 
 
 sprung out of the Nicolaitans and Gnostics, who were so called from 
 
 the serpent, which they worshiped." " The Gnostics," he adds, 
 
 " taught that the ruler of the world was of a dracontio form.'''' The 
 
 Ophites preserved live serpents in their sacred chest, and looked 
 
 upon them as the mediator between them and God. Manes, in the 
 
 third century, taught serpent worship in Asia Minor, under the 
 
 name of Christianity, promulgating that 
 
 " Christ was an incarnation of ilie Great Serpent, who ffiided over th^ cradle of 
 the Virgin Mary, when she was asleep, at the age of a year and a half. "* 
 
 " The Gnostics," says Irenaeus, " represented the Mind (the Son, 
 
 • Qnoted in Honumental Christianity, p. ^ Ibid. p. 135. • Ibid. p. 373. 
 
 134. * Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 248.
 
 356 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the Wisdom) in the form of a serpent," and " the Ophitet;," says 
 Epiphanius, " have a veneration for the serpent ; they esteem him 
 the same as Clirist." " They even quote the Gospels," says Ter- 
 tulliau, " to prove that Christ was an imitation of the serpent."' 
 
 The question now arises. Why was the Christian Saviour repre- 
 sented as a serpent? Simply because the heathen Saviours were 
 ref)resented in like manner. 
 
 From the earliest times of which we have any historical notice, 
 the serpent has been connected with the preserving gods, or Sa- 
 viours ; the gods of goodness and of wisdom. In Hindoo mythol- 
 ogy, the serpent is intimately associated with Vishnu, the preserving 
 god, the Saviour." Serpents are often associated with the Hindoo 
 gods, as emblems of eternity.'' It was a very sacred animal among 
 the Hindoos.' 
 
 Worshipers of Buddha venerate serpents. " This animal," 
 
 says Mr. Wake, " became equal in importance as Buddha himself." 
 
 And Mr. Lillie says : 
 
 " That God was worshiped at an early date by the Buddists under the symbol 
 of the Serpent is proved from the sculptures of oldest topes, where worshipers 
 are represented so doing. "^ 
 
 The Egyptians also venerated the serpent. It was the special 
 symbol of Thoth, a primeval deity of Syro-Egyptian mythology, 
 and of all those gods, such as Hermes and Seth, who can be con- 
 nected with him.° Kneph and Apap were also represented as 
 serpents.' 
 
 Herodotus, when he visited Egypt, found sacred serpents in the 
 temples. Speaking of them, he says : 
 
 " In the neighborhood of Thebes, there are sacred serpents, not at all hurtful 
 to men: they are diminutive in size, and carry two horns that grow on the top 
 of the head. When these serpents die, they bury them in the temple of Jupiter; 
 for they say they are sacred to that god."* 
 
 The third member of the Chaldean triad, Hea, or Hoa, was rep- 
 resented by a serpent. According to Sir Henry Rawlinson, the 
 most important titles of this deity refer " to his functions as the 
 source of all knowledge and science." Not only is he " The Intel- 
 ligent 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 
 
 ' Fergusson : Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 9. » Wake, p. 73. Lillie : p. 20. 
 
 2 Wake : Phallism in Ancient Eeligs., p. 78. ' Wake, p. 40, and Hansen's Keys, pi 
 
 ' Williams' Hinduism, p. 169. 101. 
 
 * Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 16, and ' ChampoUion, pp. 144, 145. 
 
 Fergusson : Tree and Serpent Worship. « Herodotus, bk. li. ch. 74.
 
 CHBISTIAN SYMBOLS. 367 
 
 symbols of the gods on the black stones recording Babylonian bene- 
 factors.'" 
 
 The Phenicians and other eastern nations venerated the serpent 
 as symbols of their beneficent gods." 
 
 As god of medicine, Apollo, the central figure in Grecian my- 
 thology, was originally worshiped under the form of a serpent, and 
 men invoked him as the " Helper." He was the Solar Serpent-god." 
 
 ^sculapius, the healing god, the Saviour, was also worshiped 
 under the form of a serpent.* " Throughout Hellas," says Mr. Cox, 
 " ^sculapius remained the ' Healer,' and the ' Restorer of Life,' and 
 accordingly the serpent is everywhere his special emblem.'" 
 
 Why the serpent was the symbol of the Saviours and beneficent 
 gods of antiquity, will be explained in Chap. XXXIX. 
 
 The Dove, among the Christians, is the symbol of the Holy 
 Spirit. The Matthew narrator relates that when Jesus went up out 
 of the water, after being baptized by John, " the heavens were 
 opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a 
 dove, and lighting upon him." 
 
 Here is another piece of Paganism, as we find that the Dove 
 was the symbol of the Holy Spirit among all nations of antiquity. 
 Kev. J. P. Lundy, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " It is a remarkable fact that this spirit (i. «., the Holy Spirit) has been sym- 
 bolized among all religious and civilized nations by the Dore."^ 
 
 And Earnest De Bunsen says : 
 
 "The symbol of the Spirit of God was the Dose, in Greek, jpeleia, and the 
 Samaritans had a brazen fiery dove, instead of the brazen fiery serpent. Both 
 referred to fire, the symbol of the Holy Ghost."' 
 
 Buddha is represented, like Christ Jesus, with a dove hovering 
 over his head.' 
 
 The virgin goddess Juno is often represented with a dove on her 
 head. It is also seen on the heads of the images of Astarte, Cybele, 
 and Isis ; it was sacred to Venus, and was intended as a symbol of 
 the Holy Spirit.' 
 
 Even in the remote islands of the Pacific Ocean, a bird is be- 
 lieved to be an emblem of the Holy Spirit.'" 
 
 R. Payne Knight, in speaking of the " mystic Dove," says : 
 
 > Wake : Phallism in Anct. Rcligs., p. 30. finch : Age of Fable, p. 397. 
 
 > See Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 16. ' Aryan Mytho., vol. U. p. 36. 
 Cox : Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 128. Fergus- « Monumental Christianity, p. 293. 
 eon's Tree and Serpent Worship, and Squire's ' Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 44. 
 Serpent Symbol. ® See ch. xxix. 
 
 > Deane : Serpent Worship, p. 218. • Monumeutal Christianity, pp 323 and 2S& 
 < Tree and Serpent Worship, p. 7, and Bui- '" Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p 169
 
 358 BIBLE MYTHS 
 
 " A bird was probably chosen for the emblem of the third person {i. e., the 
 Holy Ghost) to signify incubation, by which was figuratively expressed the fruc- 
 tification of inert matter, caused by the vital spirit moving upon the waters. 
 
 •'The Dore would naturally be selected in the East in jirefcrence to every 
 other species of bird, on account of its domestic familiarity with man; it usually 
 lodging under the same roof with him, and being employed as his messenger 
 from one remote place to another. Birds of this kind were also remarkable for 
 the care of their offspring, and for a sort of conjugal attachment and fidelity to 
 each other, as likewise for the peculiar fervency of their sexual desires, whence 
 they were sacred to Venus, and emblems of love."' 
 
 Masons' marks are conspicuous among the Christian symbols. 
 On some of the most ancient Roman Catholic cathedrals are to be 
 found figures of Christ Jesus with Mason's marks about him. 
 
 Many are the so-called Christian symbols which are direct im- 
 portations from paganism. To enumerate them would take, as we 
 have previously said, a volume of itself. For further information 
 on this subject the reader is referred to Dr. Inman's " Ancient Pa- 
 gan and Modern Christian Symbolism," where he will see how many 
 ancient Indian, Egyptian, Etruscan, Grecian and Koman symbols 
 have been adopted by Christians, a great number of which are 
 Phallic emblems." 
 
 > Enight'B Ancient Art and Mythology, p. Priapus, and the other works of Dr. TbonUM 
 170. Inman. 
 
 > S«e alBo, B. Payne Knight's Worehip of
 
 CHAPTEK XXXIV. 
 
 THE BIBTH-DAT OF OHEIST JEBU8. 
 
 Ohbistmas — December the 25th — is a day which has been set 
 apart by the Christian church on which to celebrate the birth of 
 their Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus, and is considered by the ma- 
 jority of persons to be really the day on which he was born. This 
 is altogether erroneous, as will be seen upon examination of the 
 subject. 
 
 There was no uniformity in the period of observing the Nativity 
 among the early Christian churches ; some held the festival in the 
 month of May or April, others in January." 
 
 The year in which he was born is also as uncertain as the month 
 or day. " The year in which it happened," says Mosheim, the ec- 
 clesiastical historian, " has not hitherto been fixed with certainty, 
 notwithstanding the deep and laborious researches of the learned.'" 
 
 According to Ieen^us (a. d. 190), on the authority of "The 
 Gospel," and " all the elders who were conversant in Asia with 
 John, the disciple of the Lord," Christ Jesus Kved to be nearly, if 
 not quite, fifty years of aye. If this celebrated Christian father is 
 correct, and who can say he is not, Jesus was born some twenty 
 years before the time which has been assigned as that of his birth.' 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Giles says : 
 
 "Concerning the time of Christ's birth there are even greater doubts than 
 about the place ; for, though the four Evangelists have noticed several contem- 
 porary facts, which would seem to settle this point, yet on comparing these 
 dates with the general history of the period, we meet with serious discrep- 
 ancies, which involve the subject in the greatest uncertainty."* 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 > See Bible for Learners vol. iii. p. 66 ; ' See Chapter XL., this work. 
 
 Chambers's Encyclo., art. '* Ihrutmasy * Hebrew and Christian Becords, vol. ii. p, 
 
 2 Eccl. Hist., vol. i. p. 53. Quoted in Tay- 189. 
 Jor'a Diegesis, p. 104. 
 
 359
 
 360 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " Not only do we date our time from the exact year in which Christ is said i(y 
 have been horn, but our ecclesiastical calendar has determined with scrupulous 
 minuteness the day and almost the hour at which every particular of Christ's 
 wonderful life is stated to have happened. All this is implicitly believed by 
 millions; yet all these things are among the most xtncertain and sJMdoicy that history 
 lias recorded. We have no clue to eitfier the day or tJie time of year, or even the year 
 itself, in which Christ was born."' 
 
 Some Christian writers fix the year 4 b. c, as the time when 
 he was born, others the year 5 b. o., and a^ain others place his time 
 of birth at about 15 b. c. The Rev. Dr. Geikie, speaking of this, 
 in his Life of Christ, says : 
 
 "The whole subject is very uncertain. Ewald appears to fix the date of the 
 birth at ^ue years earlier than our era. Petavius and Usher fix it on the 25th of 
 December, Jive years before our era. Bengel on the 25th of December, four 
 years before our era ; Anger and Winer, four years before our era, in the Spring ; 
 Scaliger, three years before our era, in October ; St. Jerome, three years before 
 our era, on December 25th; Eusebius, two years before our era, on January 6th; 
 and Idler, seven years before our era, in December. '"^ 
 
 Albert Barnes writes in a manner which implies that he knew 
 all about the year (although he does not give any authorities), but 
 knew nothing about the month. He says : 
 
 " The birth of Christ took place /our years before the common era. That era 
 began to be used about a.d. 526, being first employed by Dionysius, and is sup- 
 posed to have been placed about four years too late. Some make the difference 
 two, others three, four, five, and even eight years. He was born at the com- 
 mencement of the last year of the reign of Herod, or at the close of the year 
 preceding."^ 
 
 ' ' The Jews sent out their flocks into the mountainous and desert regions during 
 the summer months, and took them up in the latter part of October or the first 
 of November, when the cold weather commenced. . . . It is clear from this 
 that our Saviour was born before the 25th of December, or before what we call 
 Christmas. At that time it is cold, and especially in the high and mountainous 
 regions about Bethlehem. Ood lias concealed the time of his birth. There is no 
 way to ascertain it. By different learned men it has been fixed at each month in 
 the year."* 
 
 Canon Farrar writes witli a little more caution, as follows : 
 
 "Although the date of Christ's birth cannot be fixed with absolute certainty, 
 there is at least a large amount of evidence to render it probable that he was 
 born /«!/)• years before our present era. It is universally admitted that our re- 
 ceived chronology, which is not older than Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth 
 century, is wrong. But all attempts to discover the inonth and the day are use- 
 less. No data whatever exists to enable us to determine them with even ap- 
 proximate accuracy."^ 
 
 1 Hebrew and Christian Records, p. 194. * Ibid. p. 25. 
 
 2 Life of Christ, vol. i. p. 559. ' Farrar's Life of Christ, App., pp. 673, 4. 
 " Barnes' Notes, vol. ii. p. 403.
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF CHRIST JESUS. 361 
 
 Eunsen attempts to show (on the authority of IrenoBus, above 
 quoted), that Jesus was born Bome fifteen years before the time as- 
 signed, and that he lived to be nearly, if not quite, fifty years of 
 age.' 
 
 According to Basnage," the Jews placed his birth near a century 
 sooner than the generally assumed epoch. Others have placed it 
 even in the third century b. c. This belief is founded on a pas- 
 sage in the " Book of Wisdom,^" written about 250 b. c, which 
 is supposed to refer to Christ Jesus, and none other. In speaking 
 of some individual who lived at that time, it says : 
 
 "He professeth to have the knowledge of God, and he calleth himself fA« 
 child of the Lord. He was made to reprove our thoughts. He is grievous unto 
 us even to behold; for his life is not like other men's, his ways are of another 
 fashion. We are esteemed of him as counterfeits; he abstaineth from our ways 
 as from filthiness; he prouounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh 
 his boast that Ood is his father. Let us see if his words be true; and let us prove 
 what shall happen in the end of him. For if the just ?««» be the son of God, he 
 (God) will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies. Let us 
 examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, 
 and prove his patience. Let us condemn him with a shameful death; for by his 
 own saying he shall be respected." 
 
 This is a very important passage. Of course, the church claim 
 it to be &p7-oj>hecy of what Christ Jesus was to do and suffer, but 
 this does not explain it. 
 
 If the writer of the " Gospel according to LuTce " is correct, 
 Jesus was not born until aboiit a. d. 10, for he explicitly tells us 
 that this event did not happen until Cyrenius was governor of 
 Syria.* Now it is well known tliat Cyrenius was not appointed to 
 this office until long after the death of Herod (during whose reign 
 the Matthew narrator informs us Jesus was born '), and that the 
 taxing spoken of by the Luke narrator as having taken place at this 
 time, did not take place until about ten years after the time at which, 
 according to the Matthew narrator, Jesus was born.° 
 
 Eusebius, the first ecclesiastical historian,' places his birth at the 
 time Cyrenius was governor of Syria, and therefore at about a. d. 
 10. His words are as follows : 
 
 "It was the two and fortieth year after the reign of Augustus the Emperor, 
 and the eight and twentieth year after the subduing of Egypt, and the death of 
 Antonius and Cleopatra, when last of aU the Ptolemies in Egypt ceasedto bear 
 
 1 Bible Chronology, pp. 73, 74. ' Eusebins was Bishop of Ccsarea from a.d. 
 
 2 Hist, de Jnif. 313 to :i40, in which he died, in the 70th year 
 ' Chap. ii. 1:5-20. of his a3:e, thus playing his great part in life 
 
 * Lake, ii. 1-7. chicQy under the reigns of Constantine the 
 « Matt. ii. 1. Great and his sou Constantius. 
 
 • See Josephus : Antiq.,bk. xviii. ch. i. sec. i.
 
 362 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 rule, when our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, at the time of the first taxing — 
 Cyrenius, then President of Syria — was born in Bethlehem, a city of Judea, 
 according unto the. prophecies in that behalf premised."' 
 
 Had the Luke narrator known anything about Jewish history, 
 he never would have made so gross a blunder as to place the taxing 
 of Cyrenius in the days of Herod, and would have saved the im- 
 mense amount of labor that it has taken in endeavoring to explain 
 away the eilects of his ignorance. One explanation of this mistake 
 is, that there were two assessments, one about the time Jesus was 
 born, and the other ten years after ; but this has entirely failed. 
 Dr. Hooykaas, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " The Evangelist (Lulif) falls into the most extraordinary mistakes through- 
 out. In the first place, history is silent as to a census of the whole (Roman) 
 world ever having been made at all. In the next place, though Quirinius cer- 
 tainly did make such a register in .Judea and Samaria, it did not extend to 
 Galilee ; so that Joseph's household was not affected by it. Besides, it did not 
 take place until ten years after the death of Herod, when his son Archelaus was 
 deposed by the emperor, and the districts of Judea and Samaria were thrown 
 into a Roman province. Under the reign of Herod, nothing of the kind took 
 place, nor was there any occasion for it. Finally, at the time of the birth of 
 Jesus, the Governor of Syria was not Quirinius, but Quintus Sentius Saturni- 
 uus."* 
 
 The institution of the festival of the Nativity of Christ Jesus 
 being held on the 25tli of December, among the Christians, is at- 
 tributed to Telesphorus, who flourished during the reign of Anto- 
 nius Pius (a. d. 138-161), but the first certain traces of it are found 
 about the time ut the Emperor Commodus (a. d. 180-192).' 
 
 For a long time the Christians had been trying to discover upon 
 what particular day Jesiis had possibly or probably come into the 
 ' world ; and conjectures and traditions that rested upon absolutely 
 no foundation, led one to the 20th of May, another to the 19th or 
 20th of April, and a third to the 5th of January. At last the opin- 
 ion of the community at Rome gained the upper hand, and the 25th 
 of December was fixed upon.' It was not until t\ie fifth century, 
 however, that this day had been generally agreed upon.' How it 
 happened that this day finally became fixed as the birthday of 
 Christ Jesus, may be inferred from what we shall now see. 
 
 On the first moment after midnight of the 24:th of Decembei 
 {i. e., on the morning of the 25th), nearly all the nations of the earth, 
 
 * Eueebias ; Eccl. Hist., lib. 1, ch. vi. from the influence of some tradition, or from 
 ■J Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 56. the desire to supplant Heathen Festivals ot that 
 8 See Chambers's Encyclo., art. '* ChrUt- period of the year, such as the Saturnalia, the 
 
 rTWff." 25th of DeceTnber had been generally agreed 
 
 * See Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 66. upon." (Encyclopajdii Brit., art. "Christ- 
 ' "By the fifth century, however, whether mas."
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF CURIST JESUS. 363 
 
 as if by common consent, celebrated the accouchement of tho 
 " Queen of Heaven,^'' of the " Celestial Virgin " of the sphere, and 
 the birth of the god Sol. 
 
 In India this is a period of rejoicing everywhere.' It is a great 
 religious festival, and the people decorate their houses with garlands, 
 and make presents to friends and relatives. This custom is of very 
 great antiquity." 
 
 In China, religious solemnities are celebrated at the time of the 
 winter solstice, the last week in December, when all shops are shut 
 up, and the courts are closed.' 
 
 Buddha, the son of the Virgin Maya, on whom, according to 
 Chinese tradition, " the Holy Ghost " had descended, was said to 
 have been born on Christmas day, December 25th.'' 
 
 Among the ancient Persians their most splendid ceremonials 
 were in honor of their Lord and Saviour Mithras ; they kept his 
 birthday, with many rejoicings, on the 25th of December. 
 
 The author of the " Celtic Druids " says : 
 
 "It was the custom of the heathen, long before the birth of Christ, to cele- 
 brate the birth-day of their gods," and that, " the 35th of December was a great 
 festival with the Persians, who, in very early times, celebrated the birth of their 
 god Mithras."^ 
 
 The Rev. Joseph B. Gross, in his "Heathen Religion,^'' also 
 tells us that : 
 
 " The ancient Persians celebrated a festival in honor of Mithras on the first 
 day succeeding the Winter Solstice, the object of which was to comnumoraie the 
 birth of Mithras. "' 
 
 Among the ancient Egyptians, for centuries before the time of 
 Christ Jesus, the 25th of December was set aside as the birthday of 
 their gods. M. Le Clerk De Septehenes speaks of it as follows : 
 
 " The ancient Egyptians fixed the pregnancy of Isis (the Queen of Heaven, and 
 the Virgin Mother of the Saviour Horus), on the last days of March, and towards 
 the end of December they placed the commemoration of her delivery."' 
 
 Mr. Bonwick, in speaking of Horus, says : 
 
 " He is the great God-loved of Heaven. His birth was one of the greatest 
 mysteries of the Egyptian religion. Pictures representing it appeared on the 
 
 ' See Monier Williams : Hindaism, p. 181. and Life and Religion of the Hindoos, p. 134.) 
 
 2 See Prog, Relig. Ideae, vol. i. p. 126. * Celtic Drnids, p. IG3. See also. Prog. 
 
 ' Ibid. 216. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 272 ; Monumental Chris- 
 
 * See Bnnsen : The Angel-Messiah, pp. x.- tianity, p. IC" ; Bible for Learners, lii. pp. 66, 
 
 25, and 110, and Lillie : Buddha and Buddhism, 67. 
 
 p. 73. " The Heathen Heligion, p. 287. See also, 
 
 Some writers have asserted that Crishna is Dapuis : p. 2-lG. 
 
 Baid to have been bom on December 25th, but ' Relig. of the Anct. Greeks, p. 214. See also, 
 
 this is not the case. His birthday is held in Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 9i). 
 
 July-August. (See ^Villiams' Hindaism, p. 183,
 
 304 BIBLE MYTHS, 
 
 ■walls of temples. One passed through the holy Adytum^ to the still more 
 sacred quarter of the temple known as the birth-place of Horus. He was pre- 
 sumably the child of Deity. At Christmas time, or that answering to our festi- 
 val, his ira.age was brought out of that sanctuary with peculiar ceremonies, 
 as the image of the infant Bambino' is still brought out and exhibited in 
 Rome. "2 
 
 Eigord observes that the Egyptians not only worshiped a Vir- 
 gin Mother "prior to the birtli of our Saviour, but exliibited the 
 efl3gy of her son lying in the manger, in the manner the infant Je- 
 sus was afterwards laid in the cave at Bethlehem.'" 
 
 The " Chronicles of Alexandria," an ancient Christian work, 
 says : 
 
 ' ' Watch how Egypt has constructed the childbirth of a Virgin, and the birth 
 of her son, who was exposed in a crib to tlie adoration of the people."^ 
 
 Osiris, son of the " Holy Virgin" as they called Ceres, or 
 Neith, his mother, was born on the 25th of December." 
 
 This was also the time celebrated by the ancient Greeks as being 
 the birthday of Hercules. The author of '■'■The Religion of the An- 
 cient Oreehs" says: 
 
 " The night of the Winter Solstice, which the Greeks named the triple night, 
 was that which they thought gave birth to Hercules."'' 
 
 He further says : 
 
 " It has become an epoch of singular importance in the eyes of the Christian, 
 ■who has destined it to celebrate the birth of the Saviour, the true Sun of Justice, 
 who alone came to dissipate the darkness of ignorance."" 
 
 Bacchus, also, was born at early dawn on the 25th of December. 
 Mr. Higgins says of him : 
 
 "The birth-place of Bacchus, called Sabizius or Sabaoth, was claimed by 
 several places in Greece ; but on Mount Zelmissus, in Thrace, his worship seems 
 to have been chiefly celebrated. He was born of a virgin on the 20th of Decem- 
 ber, and was always called the Saviour. In his Mysteries, he was shown to 
 the people, as an infant is by the Christians at this day, on Christmaa-day morn- 
 ing, in Rome."' 
 
 The birthday of Adonis was celebrated on the 25th of Decem- 
 ber. This celebration is spoken of by Tertullian, Jerome, and other 
 
 1 ^'Adytinn^^ — the iuterior or eacred part postea in Bethlchemeticu speluncii natns est.'* 
 of a heathen temple. (Quoted in Anacalypsis, p. 103, of vol. ii.) 
 
 2 " Batniino "—a terra used for repreecnta- ' Quoted by Bonwick, p, 143. 
 tions of the infant Saviour, Christ JeeuB, in « Anacaiyp-sis, vol. ii. p. 99. 
 swnddlings. ' Relig. Anct. Greece, p. 31.5. 
 
 s Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 1B7. See » Ibid, 
 
 also. Dupuis, p. 83". ' Anacalypsie, vol. ii. p. 102 ; Dupuis, p. 237, 
 
 ' 'Deinceps Egyptii Paeititraji Virginem and Baring-Gould : Orig. Eelig. Belief, vol. 1. 
 
 magno m honore habuerunt ; quin eoliti sunt p. 322. 
 pnerum effingere jacentem in praesepe, quali
 
 THE BIRTHDATT OF CHRIST JESUS. 365 
 
 Fathers of the Church,' who inform us that the ceremonies took place 
 in a cave, and that the cave in wliich they celebrated liis mysteries 
 in Bethlehem, was that in which Christ Jesus was born. 
 
 This was also a great holy day in ancient Rome. The Rev. Mr. 
 Gross says : 
 
 "In Some, before the time of Christ, a festival was observed on the 25th 
 of December, under the name of ' Natalis Soils Invicti ' (Birthday of Sol the 
 Invincible). It was a day of universal rejoicings, illustrated by illuminations 
 and public games. '"^ " All public business was suspended, declarations of war 
 and criminal executions were postponed, friends made presents to one another, 
 and the slaves were indulged with great liberties."^ 
 
 A few weeks before the winter solstice, the Calabrian shepherds 
 came into Rome to play ou the pipes. Ovid alludes to this when 
 he says : 
 
 " Ante Deum matrem cornu tibicen adunco 
 Cum canit, esigua; quis stipis aera neget." 
 
 — (Epist. i. 1. ii.) 
 i. e., " When to the mighty mother pipes the swain. 
 Grudge not a trifle for his pious strain." 
 
 This practice is kept up to the present day. 
 
 The ancient Oermans, for centuries before " the true Sun of 
 Justice" was ever heard of, celebrated annually, at the time of the 
 Winter solstice, what they called their Yule-feast. At this feast 
 agreements were renewed, the gods were consulted as to the future, 
 oEcrifices were made to them, and the time was spent in jovial hos- 
 pitahty. Many features of this festival, such as burning tlie yule- 
 log on Christmas-eve, still survive among us.' 
 
 Ytile was the old name for Christmas. In French it is called 
 If^oel, which is the Hebrew or Chaldee word Nule." 
 
 The greatest festival of the year celebrated among the ancient 
 Scandinavians, was at the Winter solstice. They called the night 
 upon which it was observed, the " Mother-nightP This feast was 
 named Jul — hence is derived the word Yule — and was celebrated 
 in honor of Freyr (son of the Supreme God Odin, and the goddess 
 Frigga), who was born on that day. Feasting, nocturnal assemblies, 
 and all the demonstrations of a most dissolute joy, were then author- 
 ized by the general usage. At this festival the principal guests re- 
 ceived presents — generally horses, swords, battle-axes, and gold 
 rings — at their departure. ° 
 
 ' Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 99. Chambers, art. " Yule." 
 
 ^ The Heathen Religion, p. 287 ; Dupiiis, p. ' See Chambers's, art. " Yule," and " Celfc 
 
 833. Druids," p. 162. 
 
 • Bulflnch, p. 21. « Mallet's Northern Antiquities, pp. 110 acd 
 
 « See Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 67, and 355. Knight ; p. 87.
 
 866 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The festival of the 25th of December was celebrated by the 
 ancient Druids, in Great Britain and Ireland, with great fires 
 lighted on the tops of hills." 
 
 Godfrey Higgins says : 
 
 " Stuckley observes that the worship of Mithra was spread all over Gaul and 
 Britain. The Druids kept this night as a great festival, and called the day fol- 
 lowing it Nolagh or Noel, or the day of regeneration, and celebrated it with 
 great tires on the tops of their mountains, which they repeated on the day of the 
 Epiphany or twelfth night. The Mithraic monuments, which are common in 
 Britain, have been attributed to the Romans, but this festival proves that the 
 Mithraic worship was there prior to their arrival. "' 
 
 This was also a time of rejoicing in Ancient Mexico. Acosta 
 says : 
 
 "In the first month, which in Peru they call Ray me, and answering to our 
 December, they made a solemn feast called Capacrayme (the Winter Solstice), 
 wherein they made many sacrifices and ceremonies, which continued many 
 days."^ 
 
 The evergreens, and particularly the mistletoe, which are used 
 all over the Christian world at Christmas time, betray its heathen 
 origin. Tertullian, a Father of the Church, who flourished about 
 A. D. 200, writing to his brethren, affirms it to be '■'■ranh idolatry''^ 
 to deck their doors '■'■with garlands or flowers, on festival days, ao- 
 cording to the custom of the heathen.'''* 
 
 This shows tliat the heathen in those days, did as the Christians 
 do now. What have evergreens, and garlands, and Christmas trees, 
 to do with Christianity ? Simply nothing. It is the old Yule- 
 feast which was held by all the northei'n nations, from time imme- 
 morial, handed down to, and observed at the present day. In the 
 greenery with which Christians deck their houses and temples of 
 worship, and in the Christmas-trees laden with gifts, we unques- 
 tionably see a relic of the symbols by which our heathen forefathers 
 signified their faith in the powers of the returning sun to clothe the 
 earth again with green, and hang new fruit on the trees. Foliage, 
 such as the laurel, myrtle, ivy, or oak, and in general, all evergreens, 
 were Dionysiac plants, that is, symbols of the generative power, 
 signifying perpetuity of youth and vigor.' 
 
 Among the causes, then, that co-operated in fixing this period — 
 December 25th — as the birthday of Christ Jesus, was, as we have 
 seen, that almost every ancient nation of the earth held a festival 
 on this day in commemoration of the birth of their virgin-born god. 
 
 1 Dupuis, 160 ; Celtic Druide, and Mona- * Hist. Indies, vol. ii. p. 354. 
 
 mental Christianity, p. 167. * See Middleton's Worlds, vol. i. p. 80. 
 
 ' Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 99. * Knight : Anct. Art and Mythc, p. 32.
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF CHRIST JESUS. 367 
 
 On this account the Christians adoj)ted it as the time oi the birtli 
 of their God. Mr. Gibbon, speaking of this in his " Decline and 
 Fall of the Eoinan Empire," says • 
 
 " The Roman Christians, ignorant of the real date of bis (Christ's) birth, fixed 
 the solemn festival to the 25tb of December, the Drumalia, or Winter Solstice, 
 when the Pagans annually celebrated the birth of SoV^ 
 
 And Mr. King, in his " Gnostics and their Eemains," says : 
 
 " The ancient festival held on the 25th of December in honor of the ' Birthday 
 of the Invincible One,' and celebrated by the 'great games ' at the circus, was 
 afterwards transferred to the commemoration of the birth of Christ, the precise 
 day of which many of the Fathers confess was then unknown."' 
 
 St. Chrysostom, who flourished about a. d. 390, referring to this 
 Pagan festival, says : 
 
 " On this day, also, tlie birth of Christ was lately fixed at Rome, in order that 
 whilst the heathen were busy with their profane ceremonies, the Christians 
 might perform their lioly rites undisturbed."^ 
 
 Add to this the fact that St. Gregory, a Christian Father of the 
 third century, was instrumental in, and commended by other Fathers 
 for, changing Pagan festivals into Christian holidays, for the pur- 
 pose, as they said, of drawing the heathen to the religion of Christ.* 
 
 As Dr. Hooykaas remarks, the church was always anxious to 
 meet the heathen halfway, by allowing them to retain the feasts 
 ihey were accustomed to, only giving them a Christian dress, or 
 attaching a new or Christian signification to them.' 
 
 In doing these, and many other such things, which we shall 
 speak of in our chapter on ^'■Paganism in Christianity," the 
 Christian Fathers, instead of drawing the heathen to their religion, 
 drew themselves into Paganism. 
 
 ' Gibbon's Rome, vol. 11. p. 383. • See the chapter on " Paganism In C^bristi* 
 
 2 King's Gnostics, p. 49. anity." 
 
 • Quoted in Ibid. • Bible for Learners , to. ill. p. 67.
 
 CHAPTEK XXXV. 
 
 THE TEINITY. 
 
 " Say not there are three Gods, God is but One God." — (Koran.) 
 
 The doctrine of the Trinity is the highest and most mysterious 
 doctrine of the Christian church. It declares that there are three 
 persons in the Godhead or divine nature — tlie Father, the Son, and 
 the Holy Ghost — and that " these three are one true, eternal God, 
 the same in substance, equal in power and glory, although distin- 
 guished by their personal propensities." The most celebrated state- 
 ment of the doctrine is to be found in the Athanasian creed,' which 
 asserts that : 
 
 " The Catholic' faith i.s this: That we worship One God as Trinity, and Trin- 
 ity in Unity — neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance — for 
 there is One person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy 
 Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 is all one ; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal." 
 
 As M. Reville remarks : 
 
 ' ' The dogma of the Trinity displayed its contradictions with true bravery. 
 The Deity divided into three divine persons, and yet these three persons forming 
 only One God ; of these three the first only \>tmg, self- existent, the two others rf«- 
 riting their existence from the first, and yet these three persons being considered 
 as perfectly equal; each having his special, distinct character, his individual 
 qualities, wanting in the other two, andyet each one of the three being supposed 
 to possess the fullness of perfection — here, it must be confessed, we have the 
 deification of the contradictory."* 
 
 We shall now see that this very peculiar doctrine of three in 
 one, and one in three, is of heathen origin, and that it must fall with 
 all the other dogmas of the Christian religion. 
 
 1 The celebrated passage (I. John. v. 7J (See Giles' Hebrew and Christian Records, vol. 
 
 *'Fortbereare three that bear record in heaven, ii. p. 12. Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 556. In- 
 
 the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and man's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 886. Taylor's 
 
 these three are one." is now admitted on all Diegesis and Reber's Christ of Paul.) 
 hands to be an interpolation into the epistle ^ That is. the tr>je faith, 
 
 many centuries after the time of Christ Jesus. • Dogma Deity Jesus Christ, p. 95. 
 
 368
 
 THE TRINITY. 
 
 The number three is sacred in all theories derived from oriental 
 sources. Deity is always a trinity of some kind, or the successive 
 emanations proceeded in threes.' 
 
 If we turn to India we shall find that one of the most promi- 
 nent features in the Indian theology is the doctrine of a divine triad, 
 governing all things. This triad is called Tri-murti — from the 
 Sanscrit word tri (three) and murti (form) — and consists of 
 Brahma, Yishnu, and Siva. It is an inseparable unity, though three 
 in form.' 
 
 "When the universal and infinite being Brahma — the only re- 
 ally existing entity, wholly without form, and unbound and unaf- 
 fected by the three Gunas or by qualities of any kind — wished to 
 create for his own entertainment the phenomena of the universe, 
 he assumed the quality of activity ■ and became a male person, as 
 Brahma the creator. Next, in the progress of still further self- 
 evolution, he willed to invest himself with the second quality of 
 goodness, as Vishnu the preserver, and with the third quality of 
 darkness, as Siva the destroyer. This development of the doctrine 
 of triple manifestation {tri-murti), which appears first in the Brah- 
 manized version of the Indian Epics, had already been adumbrated 
 in the Veda in the triple form of fire, and in the triad of gods, 
 Agni, Surya, and Indra ; and in other ways.'" 
 
 This divine Tri-murti — says the Brahmans and the sacred books 
 — is indivisible in essence, and indivisible in action ; mystery pro- 
 found ! which is explained in the following manner : 
 
 Brahma represents the creative principle, the unreflected or im- 
 evolved protogoneus state of divinity — the Father. 
 
 Yishnu represents the protecting and preserving principle, the 
 evolved or reflected state of divinity — the Son.* 
 
 Siva is the principle that presides at destruction and re-con- 
 struction — the Holy Spirit.' 
 
 1 " The notion of a Triad of Supreme Pow- pies is an object of profound adoration, 
 era is indeed common to most ancient relig- ^ Uonier Williams' Indian Wisdom, p. 334. 
 
 ions." (Prichard'8 Egyptian Slytho., p. 285.) * That is, the Lord and Savioar C'mAna. The 
 
 " Nearly all the Pagan nations of antiquity. Supreme Spirit, in order to preserve the world, 
 
 in their various theological systems, acknowl- produced \'ishnu. Vishnu came upon earth, for 
 
 edged a trinity in the divine nature." (llanr- this purpose, in the form of Crii'hna. He 
 
 ice : Indian Antiquities, vol. vi. p. ai.) was believed to be an incarnation of the Su- 
 
 " The ancients imagined that their t?'iad of preme Being, one of the persons of their holy 
 
 gods or persons, only constituted one god." and mysterious trinity, to use their language, 
 
 (Celtic Druids, p. 197.) " The Lord and Savior— three persons and one 
 
 ^ The three attributes called Brahma, Vishnn god." In the Geita, Crishna is made to say: 
 
 and Siva, are indicated by letters corresponding " I am the Lord of all created beings." " I am 
 
 to our A. u. M., generally pronooncedoM. This tlie mystic tigure o. m." "I am Brahmil, 
 
 mystic word is never uttered escept in prayer, Vishnu, and Siva, three gods in one." 
 and the sign which represents it in their tem- * See The Heathen Religion, p. 134. 
 
 24
 
 370 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The third person was the Destroyer, or, in his good capacity, the 
 Regenerator. The dovo was the emblem of the Regenerator. As 
 the spiritus was tlie passive cause (brooding on the face of the 
 waters) by which all things sprang into life, the dove became the 
 emblem of the Spirit, or Holy Ghost, the third person. 
 
 These three gods are the first and the highest manifestations of 
 the Eternal Essence, and arc typified by the three letters composing 
 the mystic syllable OM or AUM. They constitute the well known 
 Trinmrti or Triad of divine forms which characterizes Hindooism. 
 It is usual to describe these three gods as Creator, Preserver and 
 Destroyer, but this gives a very inadequate idea of their complex 
 characters. Nor does the conception of their relationship to each 
 other become clearer when it is ascertained that their functions are 
 constantly interchangeable, and that each may take the place of the 
 other, according to the sentiment expressed by the greatest of In- 
 dian poets, Kalidasa (Kumara-sambhava, Griffith, vii. 44) : 
 
 " In those three persons the One God was shown — 
 Each first in place, each last — not one alone ; 
 Of Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, each may be 
 First, second, third, among the blessed three. " 
 
 A devout person called Attencin, becoming convinced that he 
 should worship but one deity, thus .addressed Brahma, Vishnu and 
 Siva : 
 
 " O you three Lords ; know that I recognize only One God ; inform me there- 
 fore, which of you is the true dimnity, that I may address to him alone my vows 
 and adorations." 
 
 The three gods became manifest to him, and replied : 
 
 "Learn, O devotee, that there is no real distinction between us ; what to you 
 appears such is only by semblance ; the Single Being appears under three forms, 
 but lie is One."' 
 
 Sir William Jones says : 
 
 " Very respectable natives have assured me, that one or two missionaries 
 have been absurd enough in their zeal for the conversion of the Gentiles, to urge 
 that the Hindoos were even now almost Christians ; because their Brahma, 
 Vishnou, and Mahesa (Siva), were no other than the Christian Trinity."^ 
 
 Thomas Maurice, in his " Indian Antiquities," describes a mag- 
 nificent piece of Indian sculpture, of exquisite workmanship, and 
 of stupendous antiquity, namely : 
 
 " A bust composed of three heads, united to one body, adorned with the oldest 
 symbols of the Indian theology, and thus expressly fabricated according to the 
 
 > Allen'8 India, pp. 382, S83. « Asiatic EeaearclieB, vol. i. p. »72.
 
 THE TRINITY. 
 
 371 
 
 unanimous confession of the sacred sacerdotal tribe of India, lo indicate the Cre- 
 ator, the Preserver, and the Regenerator, of mankind ; which establisliea the solemn 
 fact, that from the remotest eras, the Indian nations liad adored a triune deity. "^ 
 
 Fig. No. 34 is a representation of an Indian sculpture, intended 
 to represent the Triune God," evidently similar to the one described 
 above by Mr. Maurice. It is taken from " a very ancient granite " 
 in the museum at the ' ' Indian 
 House," and was dug from the 
 ruins of a temple in the island 
 of Bombay. 
 
 The Buddhists, as well as the 
 Brahmans, have had their Trin- 
 ity from a very early period. 
 
 Mr. Faber, in his " Origin of 
 Heathen Idolatry," says : 
 
 " Among the Hindoos, we have the 
 Triad of Brahma, Vishuu.and Siva; so, 
 among the votaries of Buddha, we find 
 the self-triplicatod Buddha declared to 
 he the same as the Hindoo Trimurti. 
 Among the Buddhist sect of the Jain- 
 ists, we have the triple Jiva, in whom 
 the Trimurti is similarly declared to 
 be incarnate." 
 
 In this Trinity Yajrcupmii answers to Brahma, or Jehovah, the 
 " All-father," J!/(^?t/M«?•^ is the "deified teacher," the counterpart 
 of Crishna or Jesus, and Avalokitesvara is the " Holy Spirit." 
 
 Buddha was believed by his followers to be, not only an incar- 
 nation of the deity, but " God himself in human form " — as the 
 followers of Crishna believed him to be — and therefore " three gods 
 in one." This is clearly illustrated by the following address delivered 
 to Buddha by a devotee called Amora : 
 
 " Reverence be unto thee, O God, in the form of the God of mercy, the dis- 
 peller of pain and trouble, the Lord of all things, the guardian of the universe, 
 the emblem of mercy towards those who serve thee — OM ! the possessor of all 
 things in vital form. Thou art Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa ; thou art Lord of 
 all the universe. Thou art under the proper form of all things, movable and 
 immovable, the possessor of the whole, and thus I adore thee. I adore thee, 
 who art celebrated by a thousand names, and under various forms ; in the shape 
 of Buddha, the god of mercy. "^ 
 
 The inhabitants of China and Japan, the majority of whom 
 are Buddhists, worship God in the form of a Trinity. Their name 
 
 /^flMfe 
 
 
 
 
 F1&.34 
 
 w 
 
 • Indian Antiquities, vol. iv. p. 372. 
 ^ Talien from Moore's *' Hindoo Pantheon," 
 plate 61. 
 
 ' Asiatic Researches, vol. lii. pp. S85, 286 
 See also, King's Gnostics. 167.
 
 372 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 for him (Buddha) is Fo, and in speaking of the Triuity they say : 
 " The three pure, precious or honorable Fo.'" Tliis triad is repre- 
 sented in their temples by images similar to those found in the 
 pagodas of India, and when they speak of God they say : " Fo is 
 one j/erson, hut has three forms.''" 
 
 In a chapel belonging to the monastery of Poo-ta-la, which was 
 found in Manchow-Tartary, was to be seen representations of Fo, in 
 the form of three persons." 
 
 Navarette, in his account of China, says : 
 
 " This sect (of Fo) has another idol they call Sanpao. It consists of three, 
 equal in all respects. This, which has been represented as an image of the Most 
 Blessed Trinity, is exactly the same with that which is on the high altar of the 
 monastery of the Trinitarians at Madrid. If any Chinese whatsoever saw it, he 
 would say that Sanpao of his country was worshipetl in these parts." 
 
 And Mr. Faber, in his " Origin of Heathen Idolatry," says : 
 
 " Among the Chinese, who worship Buddha under the name of Fo, we find 
 this God mysteriously multiplied into three persona." 
 
 The mystic syllable O. M. or A. U. M. is also reverenced by the 
 Chinese and Japanese,' as we have found it reverenced by the in- 
 habitants of India. 
 
 The followers of Laou-tsze, or Laou-keum-tsze — a celebrated 
 philosopher of China, and deified hero, born 604 b. c. — known as 
 the Taou sect, are also worshipers of a Trinity.^ It was the leading 
 feature in Laou-keun's system of philosojihical theology, that Taou, 
 the eternal reason, produced one ; one produced two / two produced 
 three j and three produced all things." This was a sentence which 
 Laou-keun continually repeated, and which Mr. Maurice considers, 
 " a most singular axiom for a heathen philosopher.'" 
 
 The sacred volumes of the Chinese state that : 
 
 "The Source and Root of all is Orve. This self -existent unity necessarily 
 produced a second. The first and second, by their union, produced a third. 
 These Three produced all."^ 
 
 The ancient emperors of China solemnly sacrificed, every three 
 years, to " Ilim who is One and Three."" 
 
 The ancient Egyptians worshiped God in the form of a Trinity, 
 
 » Davis' China, vol. ii. p. 104. Tliis Taou sect, according to Jolm Francis 
 
 2 Ibid, pp. 103 and 81. Davis, and the Ecv. Charles GutzlafE, both of 
 
 2 n>id. pp. 105, 108. whom have resided in Cliiua— call their trinity 
 
 4 Ibid. pp. 103, 81. "the three pure ones," or " the three precious 
 
 * Ibid. 110, 111. Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p ones in heaven." (See Davis' China, vcl. ii. p. 
 
 36. Dunlap's Spirit Hist., 150. 110, and GutzlafE's Voyages, p. 307.) 
 
 » Indian Antiquities, vol. v. p. 41. Dnpuis, ' See Prog. Kelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 210. 
 
 p. 2S5. Dunlap's Spirit Hist., 150. » Ibid. 
 ' Indian Antiquities, vol. v. p. 41.
 
 THE TRINITY. 373 
 
 which was represented in sculptures on the most ancient of their 
 teniples. The celebrated symbol of the wing, the globe, and the 
 serpent, is supposed to have stood for the different attributes of 
 God.- 
 
 Thc priests of Memphis, in Egypt, explained this mystery to the 
 novice, by intimatiug that the premier (first) monad created the 
 dyad, who engendered the triad, and that it is this triad which 
 shines through nature. 
 
 Thulis, a great monarch, who at one time reigned over all Egypt, 
 
 and who was in the habit of consulting the oracle of Serapis, is said 
 
 to have addressed the oracle in these words : 
 
 " Tell me if ever there was before one greater than I, or will ever be one 
 greater thaa me ?" 
 
 The oracle answered thus : 
 
 "First God, afterward the Word, and with them the Holy Spirit, all these 
 are of the same nature, and make but one whole, of which the power is eternal. 
 Go away quickly, mortal, thou who hast but an uncertain life."'^ 
 
 The idea of calling the second person in the Trinity the Logos, 
 or Word,^ is an Egyptian feature, and was engrafted into Christi- 
 anity many centuries after the time of Christ Jesus.' Apollo, who 
 had his tomb at Delphi in Egypt, was called the Word.' 
 
 Mr. Bonwick, in his " Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought," 
 says : 
 
 "Some persons are prepared to admit that the most astonishing development 
 
 of the old religion of Egypt was in relation to the Zop'o« or Diyine TToj-rf, by 
 whom all things were made, and who, though from God, was God. It had long 
 been known that Plato, Aristotle, and others before the Christian era, cherished 
 the idea of this Demiurgus ; but it was not known till of late that Chaldeans 
 and Egyptians recognized this mysterious principle."' 
 
 ' Indian Antiquities, vol. i. p. 127. a being of divine essence, but distinguished 
 
 ^ Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 14. from the Supreme God. It is also called " the 
 
 The following answer is stated by Manetho, first-born Son of God.^' 
 
 an Egyptian priest, to have been given by an '* The Platonists furnished brilliant recmitB 
 
 Oracle to Sesostris : " On his retnm through to the Christian churches of Asia Minor and 
 
 Africa he entered the sanctuary of the Oracle, Greece, and brought with them their love for 
 
 saying: 'Tell me, O thou strong in lire, who be- system and their idealism." "It is in the 
 
 fore me could subjugate all things? and who Platonizing, or Alexandrian, branch of Judaism 
 
 shall after me V But the Oracle rebuked him, that we must seek for the antecedents of the 
 
 saying, 'First, God ; then the Word ; and with Christian doctrine of the Logos/^ (A. Kevill^ : 
 
 them, the Spirit.^ " (Nimrod, vol. i. p. 119, in Dogma Deity Jesus, p. 29.) 
 
 Ibid. vol. i. p. 805.) * Higgins : Anacalypsis, vol. U. p. 162. 
 
 Here we have distinctly enumerated God, Mithras, the Mediator, and Saviour of the 
 
 the Logos, and the Spirit or Holy Ghost, in a Persians, was called the Logos. (See Danlap's 
 
 very early period, long previous to the Christian Son of the Man, p. 20. Bunsen's Angel-Mee- 
 
 era. siah, p. 75.) Hermes was called the Logos. 
 
 ' I. John. V. 7. John i. 1. (SeeDunlap's Son of the Man, p. 39, marginal 
 
 * The Alexandrian theology, of which the note.) 
 
 celebrated Plato was the chief representative, • Bonwick'e Egyptian Belief, p. 408. 
 taught that the Logoi was " W< second Ood ;"
 
 374 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " The Logos or Word was a. great mystery (among the Egyptians), in whose 
 sacred books the following passages may be seen: ' I know the mystery of the 
 divine Word; ' ' The Word of the Lord of All, which was the maker of it;' ' The 
 Word — this is the first person after himself, uncreated, infinite ruling over all 
 things that were made by him.' "' 
 
 The Assyrians had Marduk for their Logos ;' one of their sacred 
 addresses to him reads thus : 
 
 "Thou art the powerful one— Thou art tlie life giver — Thou also the pros- 
 perer — Jlerciful one among the gods — Eldest son of Hea, who made heaven and 
 earth — Lord of heaven and earth, who an equal has not — Merciful one, who dead 
 to life raises."^ 
 
 The Chaldeans had their Memra or " Word of God," corre- 
 sponding to the Greek Logos, which designated that being who 
 organized and wlio still governs the world, and is inferior to God 
 only.* 
 
 The Logos was with Philoa most interesting subject of discourse, 
 tempting him to wonderful feats of imagination. There is scarcely 
 a personifying or exalting epithet that he did not bestow on the 
 Divine Heason. He described it as a distinct being; called it "a 
 Kock," " The Summit of the Universe," " Before all things," "First- 
 begotten Son of God," " Eternal Bread from Heaven," " Fountain 
 of Wisdom," " Guide to God," " Substitute for God," " Image of 
 God," "Priest," "Creator of the Worlds," "Second God," " Inter- 
 preter of God," "Ambassador of God," "Power of God," "King," 
 " Angel," " Man," " Mediator," " Light," " The Beginning," " The 
 East," " The Name of God," " The Intercessor."' 
 
 This is exactly the Logos of John. It becomes a man, " is made 
 flesh ;" appears as an ■incarnation ; in order that the God whom 
 " no man has seen at any time," may be manifested. 
 
 The worship of God in the form of a Trinity was to be found 
 among tlie ancient Greeks. When the priests were about to offer 
 up a sacrifice to the gods, the altar was tJu^ee times sprinkled by 
 dipping a laurel branch iu holy water, and the people assembled 
 around it were three times sprinkled also. Frankincense was taken 
 from the censer with three fingers, and strewed upon the altar three 
 times. This was done because an oracle had declared that all sa- 
 cred things ought to he in threes, therefore, that number was scru- 
 pulously observed in most religious ceremonies." 
 
 Orpheus' wrote that : 
 
 ' Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 401. • See Prog. Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 307. 
 
 3 Ibid. ' Orpheus is s:iid to have been a native of 
 
 ■ Ibid. Thracia, the oldest poet of Greece, and lo lia^e 
 
 * Ibid. p. 28. wriren before the time of Homer; bur he is 
 
 • Frsthingham'e Cradle of the Christ, p. 1 12. evidi ntly a mythological character.
 
 THE TRINITY. 375 
 
 " All things were made by One godhead in three naxaes, and that this god 
 is all things."' 
 
 This Trinitarian view of the Deity he is said to have brought 
 from Egypt, and the Christian Fathers of the third and fourth cen- 
 turies claimed that Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Plato — who taught 
 the doctrine of the Trinity — had drawn their theological philosophy 
 from the writings of Orpheus." 
 
 The works of Plato were extensively studied by the Church 
 Fathers, one of whom joyfully recognizes in the great teacher, the 
 schoolmaster who, in the fullness of time, was destined to educate 
 the heathen for Christ, as Moses did the Jews.' 
 
 The celebrated passage : " In the beginning was the Word, and 
 the Word was with God, and the Word was God,"* is a fragment 
 of some Pagan treatise on the Platonic philosophy, evidently writ- 
 ten by Irenseus.' It is quoted by Amelius, a Pagan philosopher, 
 as strictly applicable to the Logos, or Mercury, the Word, appa- 
 rently as an honorable testimony borne to the Pagan deity by a 
 barbarian — for such is what he calls the writer of John i. 1. His 
 words are : 
 
 " This plainly was the Word, by whom all things were made, he being him- 
 self eternal, as Heraclitus also would say ; and by Jove, the same whom the 
 barbarian affirms to have been in the place and dignity of a principal, and to 
 be with God, and to be God, by whom all things were made, and in whom 
 everything that was made has its life and being."* 
 
 The Christian Father, Justin Martyr, apologizing for the Chris- 
 tian religion, tells the Emperor Antoninus Pius, that the Pagans 
 need not taunt the Christians for worshiping the Logos, which " was 
 with God, and was God," as they were also guilty of the same act. 
 
 " If we (Christians) hold," says he, "some opinions near of kin to the poets 
 and philosophers, in great repute among you, why are we thus unjustly hated? " 
 "There's Mercury, Jove's interpreter, in imitation of the Logos, in worship 
 among you," and " as to the Son of God, called Jesus, should we allow him to be 
 nothing more than man, yet the title of the ' Son of God ' is very justifiable, upon 
 the account of his wisdom, considering you have your Mercury, (also called the 
 ' Son of God ') in worship under the title of the Word and Messenger of God."' 
 
 We see, then, that the title " Word " or " Logos," being ap- 
 plied to Jesus, is another piece of Pagan amalgamation with Chris- 
 
 » See Indian Antiquities, vol. iv. p. 332, and " The first that we know of this gospel for 
 
 Taylor's Diegeeis, p. ]89. certain is during the time of Ireneeus, the great 
 
 ' See Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Orpheus." Christian forger. 
 " Ibid., art. "Plato." « see Taylor's Diegesis, p. 185. 
 
 * John, i. 1. 7 Apol. 1. ch. xx.-xxii.
 
 376 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tianity. It did not receive its authorized Christian form imtil th« 
 middle of the second century after Christ.^ 
 
 The ancient Pagan Romans worshiped a Trinity. An oracle is 
 said to have declared that there was, " lirst Gcd, then the Word^ 
 and with them the Spirit.'" 
 
 Here we see distinctly enumerated, God, the Logos, and the- 
 Spirit or Holy Ghost, in ancient Rome, where the most celebrated 
 temple of this capital — that of Jupiter Capitolinus — was dedicated 
 to thi'ee deities, which three deities were honored with joint wor- 
 ship.' 
 
 The ancient Persians worshiped a Trinity.* This trinity con- 
 sisted of Oromasdes, Mithras, and Ahriman.' It was virtually the 
 same as that of the Hindoos : Oromasdes was the Creator, Mithras 
 was the " Son of God," the " Saviour," the " Mediator " or " Inter- 
 cessor," and Ahriman was the Destroyer. In the oracles of Zoro- 
 aster the Persian lawgiver, is to be found the following sentence : 
 
 "A Triad ai Deity shines forth through the whole world, of which a Monad- 
 (an invisible thing) is the head."* 
 
 Plutarch, " De Iside et Osiride," says : 
 
 "Zoroaster is said to have made a threefold distribution of things : to have 
 assigned the first and highest rank to Oromasdes, who, in the Oracles, is called 
 the Father ; the lowest to Ahrimanes ; and the middle to Mithras ; who, in the 
 »ame Oracles, is called the second Mind." 
 
 The Assyria7is and Phcnicians worshiped a Trinity.' 
 " It is a curious and instructive fact, that the Jews had symbols 
 of the divine Unity in Trinity as well as the Pagans."' The Cabbala 
 had its Trinity : " the Ancieiit, whose name is sanctified, is with 
 three heads, which make but one.'''" 
 Kabbi Simeon Ben Jochai says : 
 
 "Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim : there are three degrees, and 
 each degree by itself alone, and 3'et, notwithstanding, tliey are all One. and 
 joined together in One, and cannot be divided from each other." 
 
 According to Dr. Parkhurst : 
 " The Vandals^'' had a god called TriglafE. One ot these was found at Her- 
 
 1 See riske : Myths- and Myth-makers, p. • Indian Antiquities, vol. iv. p. 259. 
 
 205. Celsus charges the Christians with a re- ' See Monumental Christianity, p. 65, and 
 
 coinage ot the misunderstood doctrine of the Ancient Faiths. Tol. ii. p. 819. 
 Logos. * Monumental Christianity, p. 923. Sec also, 
 
 3 See Higgins' Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 105. Maurice's Indian Antiquities. 
 
 = See Indian Antiquities, vol. iii. p. 158. " Idra Suta, Sohar, iii. 288. B. Franck, 138. 
 
 * See Indian Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 346. Son of the Man, p. 78. 
 Monumental Christianity, p. 65. and Ancient "> Tandak—a race of European barharians. 
 
 Faiths, vol. ii. p. 819. * Ibid. either of Germanic or Slavonic origin.
 
 THE TRINITY. 377 
 
 tungerberg, near Brandenburg (in Prussia). He was represented with thre« 
 heads. This was apparently the Trinity of PaganUm."'^ 
 
 The ancient Scandinavians worshiped a triple deity who was 
 yet one god. It consisted of Odin, Thor, and Frey. A triune 
 statue representing this Trinity in Unity was found at Upsal in 
 Sweden." The three principal nations of Scandinavia (Sweden, 
 Denmark, and Norway) vied with each other in erecting temples, 
 but none were more famous than the temple at Upsal in Sweden. 
 It glittered on all sides with gold. It seemed to be particularly 
 consecrated to the Three Superior Deities, Odin, Thor and Frey. 
 The statues of these gods were placed in this temple on three 
 thrones, one above the other. Odin was represented holding a 
 sword in his hand : Thor stood at the left hand of Odin, with a 
 crown upon his head, and a scepter in his hand ; Frey stood at the 
 left hand of Thor, and was represented of both sexes. Odin was 
 ' the supreme God. the Al-fader ; Thor was the first-begotten son 
 of this god, and Frey was the bestower of fertility, peace and riches. 
 King Gylfi of Sweden is supposed to have gone at one time to As- 
 gard (the abode of the gods), where he beheld three thrones raised 
 one above another, with a man sitting on each of them. Upon his 
 asking what tlie names of these lords might be, his guide answered : 
 " He who sitteth on the lowest throne is the Lofty One ; the second 
 is the equal to the Lofty One ; and he who sitteth on the higliest 
 throne is called the Thirds 
 
 The ancient Druids also worshiped : " Aim, Treidhe Dia ainm 
 Taulac, Fan, Mollac; " which is to say : " Ain triple God, of name 
 Taulac, Fan, Mollac."* 
 
 The ancient inhabitants of Siberia worshiped a triune God. In 
 
 remote ages, wanderers from India directed their eyes northward, 
 
 and crossing the vast Tartarian deserts, finally settled in Siberia, 
 
 bringing with them the worship of a triune God. This is clearly 
 
 shown from the fact stated by Thomas Maurice, that : 
 
 "The first Christian missionaries who anived in those regions, found the 
 people already in possession of that fundamental doctrine of the true religion, 
 which, among others, they came to impress upon their minds, and universally 
 adored an idol fabricated to resemble, as near as possible, a Tnnity in Unity." 
 
 This triune God consisted of, first " the Creator of all things," 
 second, " the God of Armies," third, " the Spirit of Heavenly Love," 
 and yet these three were but one indivisible God.* 
 
 ' Parkhnrst : Hebrew Lexicon, Quoted in ' See Mallet's Northern Antiquities. 
 
 Taylor's Diegesis, p. 216. * Celtic Druids, p. 171; Anacalypsis, vol^ 
 
 5 See Knight: Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 169. i. p. 123; and Myths of the British Druids, p* 
 
 Maurice ; Indian Antiq., vol. v. p. 14, and 448. 
 Gross : The Heathen Religion, p. 210. ' Indian Antiqnir'es, vol. v. pp. 8, 9.
 
 378 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The Tartars also worshiped God as a Trinity in Unity. On one 
 of their medals, which is now in the St. Petersburgh Museum, may 
 be seen a representation of the triple God seated on the lotus.' 
 
 Even in the remote islands of the Pacific Ocean, the supreme 
 deities are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, the 
 latter of which is symbolized as a bird." 
 
 The ancient Mexicans and Peruvians had their Trinity. The 
 supreme God of the Mexicans {Tezcatlipoca), who had, as Lord 
 Kingsborough says, " all the attributes and powers which were as- 
 signed to Jehovah by tlie Hebrews," had associated with him two 
 other gods, Huitzlijpoclitli and Tlaloc ; one occupied a place upon 
 his left hand, the other on his right. This was the Trinity of the 
 Mexicans.' 
 
 "When the bishop Don Bartholomew de las Casas proceeded to 
 his bishopric, which was in 1545, he commissioned an ecclesiastic, 
 whose name was Francis Hernandez, who was well acquainted with ' 
 the language of tlie Indians (as the natives were called), to visit 
 them, caiTying with him a sort of catechism of what he was about 
 to preach. In about one year from the time that Francis Hernan- 
 dez was sent out, he wrote to Bishop las Casas, stating that : 
 
 " The Indians believed in the God who was in heaven; that this God was the 
 Father, Sou, and Holy Ghost, and that the Father was named Tzoiia, the Son 
 Bamb, who was born of a Virgin, and that the Holy Ghost was called Ec- 
 hiah."* 
 
 The Rev. Father Acosta says, in speaking of the Peruvians : 
 
 "It is strange that the devil after his manner hath brought a Trinity into 
 idolatry, for the three images of the Sim called Apomti, Ghurunti, and Intiquaoqui, 
 signifielh Father and Lord Sun, the Son Sun, and the Brother Sun. 
 
 " Being in Chuquisaca, an honorable priest showed mean information, which 
 I had long in my hands, where it was proved that there was a certain oratory, 
 whereat the Indians did worship an idol called Ta?igatanga. which they said was 
 ' One in Three, and Three in One.' And as this priest stood amazed thereat, I 
 said that the devil by his infernal and obstinate pride (whereby he always pre- 
 tends to make himself God) did steal all that he could from the truth, to employ 
 it in his lying and deceits."' 
 
 The doctrine was recognized among the Indians of the Cali- 
 fornian peninsula. The statue of the principal deity of the New 
 Granadian Indians had " three heads on one body," and was under- 
 stood to be " three persons with one heart and one will."' 
 
 ' Isie Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 48. vi. p. 164. 
 
 " Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 169. ' Acosta : Hist. Indies, vol. ii. p. 373. See 
 
 ' Sqcire : Serpent Sj-mbol, pp. 179, 180. aleo, Indian Antiq., vol. v. p. 26, and Squire'* 
 
 Mexieac Ant., vol. \i. p. 104. Serpent Symbol, p. 181. 
 
 * Kingsborough : Mexican Antiquities, vol. « Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 181.
 
 THE TEINITT. 379 
 
 The result of our investigations then, is that, for ages before 
 the time of Christ Jesus or Christianity, God was worshiped in the 
 fomi of a Tkiad, and that tliis doctrine was extensively diffused 
 tlirongh all nations. That it was established in regions as far dis- 
 tant as China and Mexico, and immemorially acknowledged through 
 the whole extent of Egypt and India. That it flourished with equal 
 vigor among the snowy mountains of Thibet, and the vast deserts 
 of Siberia. That the barbarians of central Europe, the Scandinavi- 
 ans, and the Druids of Britain and Ireland, bent their knee to an 
 idol of a Triune God. What then becomes of "the Ever- Blessed 
 Trinity " of Christianity ? It miist fall, together with all the rest 
 of its dogmas, and be buried with the Pagan debris. 
 
 The learned Thomas Maurice imagined that this mysterious 
 
 doctrine must have been revealed by God to Adam, or to Noah, or 
 
 to Abraham, or to somebody else. Notice with what caution he 
 
 \vrote (a. d. 1794~) on this subject. He says : 
 
 " In Ibe course of the wide range which I have been compelled to take in the 
 field of Asiatic mythology, certain topics have arisen for discussion, equally deli- 
 cate and perplexing. Among them, in particular, a species of Trinity forms a 
 constant and prominent feature in nearly all the systemis of Oriental theology." 
 
 After saying, " / venture with a trembling stej)," and that, " It 
 
 was not from choice, but from necessity, that I entered thus upon 
 
 this subject," he concludes : 
 
 " This extensive and interesting subject engrosses a considerable portion of 
 this work, and my anxiety to prepare the public mind to receive it, my efforts to 
 elucidate so mysterious a point of theology, induces me to remind the candid 
 reader, that visible traces of this doctrine are discovered, not only in the three 
 principals of the Chaldaic tlieology ; in the Triplasios Mithra of Persia ; in the 
 Triad. Brahma, Vislinu, and Siva, of India— where it was evidently promul- 
 gated in the Geeta, ffteeiihundred years before tlie birth of Plato;'' but in the Nu- 
 men Triplex of Japan ; in the inscription upon the famous medal found in the 
 deserts of Siberia, "To the Triune God," to be seen at this day in the valuable 
 cabinet of the Empress, at St. Petersburgh ; in the Tanga-Tanga, or Three 
 in One, of the South Americans ; and, finally, without mentioning the vestiges of 
 it in Greece, in the Symbol of the Wing, the Globe, and the Serpent, conspicu- 
 ous on most of the ancient temples of Upper Egypt. "'- 
 
 It was a long time after the followers of Christ Jesus had made 
 him a God, before they ventured to declare that he was " Ood him- 
 
 1 The ideas enterlained concerning tlie Williama' Indian Wisdom, p. 324, and Hindu- 
 antiquity of the Geeta. at the time Mr. Maurice ism, pp. 109, 110-115.) 
 
 wrote his Indian Antiquities, were erroneous. " The grand cavern pagoda of Elephanta, 
 
 Tliis work, as we have elsewhere seen, is not the oldest and most magnificent temple in the 
 
 as old as he supposed. The doctrine of the world, is neither more nor less than a superb 
 
 Trimurti in India, however, is to be found in temple of a Triune God." (Maurice : Indian 
 
 the Veda, and epic poems, which are of an an- Antiquities, vol. iii. p. ix.) 
 tiquity long anterior to the riee of Christianity, ' Indian Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 125-127. 
 
 preceding it by many centuries. (See Monier
 
 380 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 self in humcmform,^^ and, " the second person in the Ever-Blessed 
 Trinity.''^ It was JustinMartyr, a Christian convert from the Pla- 
 tonic school,^ who, about tlie middle of the second century, first 
 promulgated the opinion, that Jesus of Nazareth, the " Son of God," 
 was the second principle in the Deity, and the Creator of all mate- 
 rial things. He is the earliest wiiter to whom the opinion can be 
 traced. This knowledge, he does not ascribe to the Scriptures, 
 but to the special favor of God." 
 
 The passage in I. John, v. 7, which i-eads thus : " For there are 
 three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the 
 Holy Ghost, and these three are one," is one of the numerous inter- 
 polations which were inserted into the hoolcs of the New Testament, 
 many years after these hooks were written^ These passages are 
 retained and circulated as the word of God, or as of equal authority 
 with the rest, though known and admitted by the learned on all 
 hands, to be forgeries, willful and wicked interpolations. 
 
 The subtle and profound questions concerning the nature, gen- 
 eration, the distinction, and the quality of the three divine persons 
 of the mysterious triad, or Trinity, were agitated in the philosophical 
 and in the Christian schools of Alexandria in Egypt* but it was 
 not a part of the established Christian faith until as late as a. d. 327, 
 when the question was settled at the Councils of Nice and Constan- 
 tinople. Up to this time there was no understood and recognized 
 doctrine on this high suhject. The Christians were for the most 
 part accustomed to us escriptural expressions in speaking of the 
 Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, without defining articulately 
 their relation to one another.' 
 
 In these trinitarian controversies, which first broke out in Egypt 
 — Egypt, the land of Trinities — the chief point in the discussion 
 was to define the position of " the Son." 
 
 There lived in Alexandria a presbyter of the name of Arius, 
 a disappointed candidate for the office of bishop. He took the 
 
 1 We have already seeu that Plato and his bon's Rome, vol, iii. p. 556, and note 117.) 
 followers taught the doctrine of the Trinity None of the ancient manuscripts now extant, 
 centuries before the time of Christ Jesus. above four-score in number, contain this paS' 
 
 2 Israel Worsley's Enquiry, p. 54. Quoted sage. (Ibid, note 116.) In the eleventh ano 
 in Higgins^ Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 116. twelfth centuries, the Bible was corrected. 
 
 3 " The memorable test (I. John v. 7) which Yet, notwithstanding these corrections, the pas- 
 asserts the unity of the tliree which bear wit- sage is still wanting in twenty-five Latin man- 
 nees in heaven, is condemned by the universal nscripts. (Ibid, note 116. See also. Dr. Giles' 
 silence of the orthodox Fathers, ancient ver- Hebrew and Christian Records, vol. ii. p. 13. 
 sione, and authentic manuscripts. It was first Dr. Inman'e Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 886. 
 alleged by the Catholic Bishop whom Hunneric Eev. Robert Taylor's Diegesis. p. 421, and 
 summoned to the Conference of Carthage (a.d. Eeber's Christ of Paul.) 
 
 254), or, more properly, by the four bishops * See Gibbon's Rome, ii. 309. 
 
 who composed and published the profession of ' Chambers's Encyclo., art. " Trinity." 
 
 faith in the name of their brethren." (Gib-
 
 THE TRINITY. 381 
 
 ground that there was a time when, from tlie very nature of Soti- 
 ship, the Son did not exist, and a time at which he commenced to 
 be, asserting that it is the necessary condition of the filial relation 
 ihMt a father must he older than his son. But this assertion evi- 
 dently denied the co-eternity of the three persons of the Trinity, it 
 suggested a subordination or inequality among them, and indeed 
 implied a time when the Trinity did not exist. Hereupon, the 
 bishop, who had been the successful competitor against Arius, dis- 
 played his rhetorical powers in public debates on the question, and, 
 the strife spreading, the Jews and Pagans, who formed a very large 
 portion of the population of Alexandria, aimised themselves with 
 theatrical representations of the contest on the stage — the j^oint of 
 their burlesques being the -equality of age of the Father and the 
 Son. Such was the violence the controversy at length assumed, 
 that the matter had to be referred to the emperor (Constantine). 
 
 At first he looked upon the dispute as altogether frivolous, and 
 perhaps in truth inclined to the assertion of Arius, that in the very 
 nature of the thing a father must be older than his son. So great, 
 however, was the pressure laid upon him, that he was eventually 
 compelled to summon the Council of Nicea, which, to dispose of 
 the conflict, set forth a formulary or creed, and attached to it this 
 anathema : 
 
 "The Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes those who say that 
 there was a time when the Son of God was not, and that, before he was begot- 
 ten, he was not, and that, he was made out of nothing, or out of another sub- 
 stance or essence, and is created, or changeable, or alterable." 
 
 Constantine at once enforced the decision of the council by the 
 civil power.' 
 
 Even after this "subtle and profound question" had been 
 settled at the Council of Nice, those who settled it did not under- 
 stand the question they had settled. Athanasius, who was a mem- 
 ber of the first general council, and who is said to have written the 
 creed which bears his name, which asserts that the true Catholic 
 faith is this : 
 
 "That we worship 0«e God as Trinity, and Trinity in Unity — neither con- 
 founding the persons nor dividing the substance — for there is one person of the 
 Fatlier, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost, but the Godhead of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one, the glory equal, the 
 majesty co-eternal," 
 
 — also confessed that whenever he forced his understanding to 
 
 1 Draper : Religion and Science, pp. S3, 54.
 
 382 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 meditate on the divinity of the Logos, his toilsome and unavailing 
 efforts recoiled on themselves ; that the more he thought the less he 
 comprehended; and the more he wrote the less capable was lie of 
 expressing his tho^/ghts.' 
 
 We see, then, that this great question was settled, not by the 
 consent of all members of the council, but simply because the 
 majority/ were in favor of it. Jesus of Nazareth was " God himself 
 in human form ;" " one of the persons of the Ever-Blessed Trinity," 
 who " had no beginning, and will have no end," because the major- 
 ity of the members of this council said so. Hereafter — so it was 
 decreed — all must believe it; if not, they must not oppose it, but 
 forever hold their peace. 
 
 The Emperor Theodosius declared his resolution of expelling 
 from all the churches of his dominions, the bishops and their clergy 
 who should obstinately refuse to believe, or at least to profess, the 
 doctrine of the Council of Nice. His lieutenant. Sapor, was armed 
 with the ample powers of a general law, a special commission, and 
 a military force ; and this ecclesiastical resolution was conducted 
 with so much discretion and vigor, that the religion of the Emperor 
 was established.'' 
 
 Here we have the historical fact, that bishops of the Christian 
 church, and their clergy, were forced to profess their belief in the 
 doctrine of the Trinity. 
 
 We also find that : 
 
 "This orthodox Emperor (Theodosius) considered every heretic (as he called 
 those who did not believe as he and liis ecclesiastics professed) as a rebel against 
 the supreme powers of heaven and of earth (he being one of the supreme 
 powers of earth) and each of the pmoers might exercise their peculiar jurisdiction 
 over tlie soul and body of the guilty. 
 
 " The decrees of the Council of Constantinople had ascertained the true 
 standard of tlie faith, and tlie ecclesiastics, who governed the conscience of Theodo- 
 sius, suggested tlie most effectual metlwds of persecution. In the space of fifteen 
 years he promulgated at least fifteen severe edicts against the heretics, more es- 
 pecially against t/wse who rejected the doctrine of tlie Trinity."^ 
 
 Thus we see one of the many reasons why the " most holy 
 Christian religion " spread so rapidly. 
 
 Arius — who declared that in the nature of things a father must 
 be older than his son — was excommunicated for his so-called heret- 
 ical notions concerning the Trinity. His followers, who were very 
 
 1 Athanasiae, torn. i. p. 808. Quoted in frankjy prononnced it to be the work of a 
 
 Gibbon's Rome. vol. ii. p. 310. drunken man. (Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 555, 
 
 Gennadius, Patriarcliof Constantinople, was note 114.) 
 so much amazed by the extraordinary compo- ^ Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 87. 
 
 sition called " Athanasius' Creed." that he * Ibid. pp. 91, 92.
 
 THE TRINITY. 383 
 
 numerous, were called Arians. Their writings, if they had been per- 
 mitted to exist,' would undoubtedly contain the lamentable story of 
 the persecution which affected the church under the reign of the 
 impious Emperor Theodosius. 
 
 ' A)l their writings were ordered to be deslroyed, and any one found to have them in bia 
 possession was severely punisbed'
 
 CHAPTEE XXXVl. 
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 OuE assertion tliat that which is called Christianity is nothing 
 more than the religion of Paganism, we consider to have been fully 
 verified. We have found among the heathen, centuries before the 
 time of Christ Jesus, the belief in an incarnate God born of a vir- 
 gin ; his previous existence in heaven ; the celestial signs at the 
 time of his birth ; the rejoicing in heaven ; the adoration by the 
 magi and shepherds ; the offerings of precious substances to the 
 divine child ; the slaughter of the innocents ; the presentation at 
 the temple ; the temptation by the devil ; the performing of mira- 
 cles ; the crucifixion by enemies ; and the death, resurrection, and 
 ascension into heaven. We have also found the belief that this 
 incarnate God was from all eternity ; that he was the Creator of tlie 
 world, and that he is to be Judge of the dead at the last day. We 
 Have also seen the practice of Baptism, and the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper or Eucharist, added to the belief in a Triune God, 
 consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Let us now compare 
 the Christian creed with ancient Pagan belief. 
 
 Christ ia II Creed. Ancient Pagan Belief. 
 
 1. I believe in God tlie Father AI- 1. I believe in God the Father Al- 
 mighty, maker of heaven and earth : mighty, maker of heaven and earth :' 
 
 2. And in Jesus Christ, his only 2. And in his only Son, our Lord.' 
 Son, Our Lord. 
 
 3. Who was conceived by the Holy 3. Who was conceived by the Holy 
 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.' 
 
 4. Suffered under Pontius PUale, 4. Suffered under i,whom it might 
 was crucified, dead and buried. be), was crucified, dead, and buried.* 
 
 ' "Before the separation of the Aryan race, ' See Chap. XII. and Chap. XX., for Only- 
 
 before the existence of Sanscrit, Greek, or begotten Sons. 
 
 Latin, before the gods of the Veda had been = See Chap. XH. and Chap. XXXII., where 
 
 worshiped, one supreme deity had been we have shown that many other \1rgin-bortf 
 
 found, had been named, and had been invoked gods were conceived by the Holy Ghost, and 
 
 by the ancestors of our race." (Prof. Mai that the name Mart is the same as Mala, 
 
 Milller : The Science of Religion, p. 67.) Maya. Myrra, &c. 
 * See Chap. XX., for Crucified Saviours. 
 
 [384]
 
 PAGANISM IN CHEISTIANITY. 
 
 385 
 
 5. He descended into Hell ; 
 
 6. The third day he rose again from 
 the dead ; 
 
 7. He ascended into Heaven, and 
 sitteth on the right hand of God the 
 Father Almighty ; 
 
 8. From thence he shall come to 
 judge the quick and the dead. 
 
 9. I believe in the Holy Ghost ; 
 
 10. The Holy Catholic Church, the 
 Communion of Saints ; 
 
 11. The forgiveness of sins ; 
 
 13. The resurrection of the body ; 
 and the life everlasting. 
 
 5. He descended into Hell ;' 
 
 6. The third day he rose again from 
 the dead ;» 
 
 7. He ascended into Heaven, and 
 sitteth on the right hand of God the 
 Father Almighty ;' 
 
 8. From thence he shall come to 
 judge the quick and the dead.'' 
 
 9. I believe in the Holy Ghost ;' 
 
 10. The Holy Catholic Church/ the 
 Communion of Saints ; 
 
 11. The forgiveness of sins ;' 
 
 12. The resurrection of the body ; 
 and the life everlasting.* 
 
 The above is the so-called " Apostles' Creed,^^ as it now stands 
 in the book of common prayer of the United Church of England 
 and Ireland, as by law established. 
 
 It is affirmed by Ambrose, that : 
 
 " The twelve apostles, as skilled artificers, assembled together, and made a 
 key by their common advice, that is, the Creed, by which the darkness of the 
 devil is disclosed, that the light of Christ may appear." 
 
 Others fable that every Apostle inserted an article, by which 
 the Creed is divided into twelve articles. 
 
 The earliest account of its origin we have from Ruffinus, an 
 historical compiler and traditionist of the fourth century, but not 
 in the form in which it is known at present, it having been added 
 to since that time. The most important addition is that which 
 affirms that Jesus descended into hell, which has been added since 
 A.D. 600.° 
 
 1 See Chap. XXH. 
 
 » See Chaps. XXII. and XXXIX., for Resur- 
 rected Savioars. 
 
 s See Ibid. 
 
 < See Chap. XXIV., and Chap. XXV. 
 
 « See Chap. XII., and Chap. XXXV. 
 
 ■ That is, the holy true Church. All peoples 
 who have had a religion believe that theirs 
 was the Catholic faith. 
 
 " There was no nation of antiquity who did 
 not believe in "the forgiveness of sins," 
 especially if some innocent creature ttdeemed 
 them by the shedding of his blood (see Chap. 
 rV., and Chap. XX. 1, and as far as confession 
 •of sins is concerned, and thereby being for- 
 given, this too is almost as old as humanity. 
 Father Acosta found it even among the Mex- 
 icans, and said that "the father of lies (the 
 Devil) counterfeited the sacrament of con- 
 fession, so that he might be honored with 
 -ceremonies very like the Christians." (See 
 Acosta. vol. ii. p. 360.) 
 
 • " No doctrine except that of .i supreme 
 
 25 
 
 and subtly-pervading deity, is so extended, 
 and has retained its primitive form so dis- 
 tinctly, as a belief in immortalil'j. and a future 
 state of rewards and punishments. Among 
 the most savage races, the idea of a future 
 existence in a place of delight is found." 
 (Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie.) 
 
 " Go back far as we may in the history 
 of the Indo-European race, of which the 
 Greeks and Italians are branches, and we do 
 not find that thia race has ever thought thai 
 after this short life all was finished for man. 
 The most ancient generations, long before 
 there were philosophers, believed in a second 
 existence after the present. Tliey looked upon 
 death not as a dissolution of our being, but 
 simply as a change of life." (M. De Coulanges: 
 The Ancient City. p. 15.) 
 
 * For full information on this snbject see 
 Archbishop Wake's Apostolic Fathers, p. 103, 
 Justice Bailey's Common Prayer, Taylor'8 
 Diegesis, p. 10, and Chambers's j£ncyclo., art. 
 "Creeds."
 
 386 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Beside what we have already seen, the ancient Pagans had 
 many beliefs and ceremonies which are to be found among the 
 Christians. One of these is the story of '•'■The War in, Heawen." 
 
 The New Testament version is as follows : 
 
 "There was a vtat in heaven : Michael and his angels fought against the 
 dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was 
 their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that 
 old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world, he was 
 cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with hira."' 
 
 The cause of the revolt, it is said, was that Satan, -who was then 
 an angel, desired to be as great as God. The writer of Isaiah, xiv. 
 13, 14, is supposed to refer to it when he says : 
 
 " Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my 
 throne above the stars of God ; I will sit also upon the mount of the congrega- 
 tion in the sides of the North ; I will ascend before the heights of the clouds ; 
 I will be like the Most High." 
 
 The CathoKc theory of the fall of the angels is as follows : 
 
 "In the beginning, before the creation of heaven and earth, God made the 
 angels, free intelUgences, and free wills, out of his love He made them, that they 
 might be eternally happy. And that their happiness might be complete, he gave 
 them the perfection of a created nature, that is, he gave them freedom. But 
 happiness is only attained by the freewill agreeing in its freedom to accord with 
 the will of God. Some of the angels by an act of free will obe3'ed the will of 
 God, and in such obedience found perfect happiness. Other angels, by an act of 
 free will, rebelled against the will of God, and in such disobedience found 
 misery."* 
 
 They were driven out of heaven, after having a combat with 
 the obedient angels, and cast into hell. The writer of second Peter 
 alludes to it in saying that God spared not the angels that sinned, 
 but cast them down into hell.^ 
 
 The writer of Jude also alludes to it in saying : 
 
 " The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, 
 he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the 
 great day. "* 
 
 According to the Talmudists, Satan, whose proper name is 
 Sammael, was one of the Seraphim of heaven, with six wings. 
 
 ' ' He was not driven out of heaven until after he had led Adam and Eve into sin ; 
 then Sammael and his host were precipitated out of the place of bliss, with God's 
 curse to weiglj them down. In the struggle between Michael and Sammael, the 
 falling Seraph caught the wings of Michael, and tried to drag him down with 
 him, but God saved him, when Michael derived his name,— the Rescued "' 
 
 ■ Rev. xi. 7-9. « Jnde, 6. 
 
 » S. Baring-Gonld : Legends of Patriarchs, ' S. Baring-Goald : Legends of I'atriarclia, 
 
 P 25. p. 16, 
 
 • n. Peter, ii, 4.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 38T 
 
 Sammael was formerly chief among the angels of God, and now 
 he is prince among devils. His name is derived from Simme, 
 which means, to blind and deceive. He stands on the left side of 
 men. He goes by various names ; such as " The Old Serpent," 
 " The Unclean Spirit," " Satan," " Leviathan," and sometimes also 
 " Asael."' 
 
 According to Hindoo mythology, there is a legion of evil 
 spirits called Bakshasas, who are governed by a prince named 
 Ravana. These Rakshasas are continually aiming to do injury to 
 mankind, and are the same who fought desperate battles with 
 Jndra, and his Spirits of Light. They would have taken his para- 
 dise by storm, and subverted the whole order of the universe, if 
 Brahma had not sent Vishrwu to circumvent their plans. 
 
 In the Aitareyorhr'ahmana (Hindoo) written, according to Prof. 
 Monier Williams, seven or eight centuries b. c, we have the 
 following legend : 
 
 " The gods and demons were engaged in warfare. 
 The evil demons, like to mighty kings, 
 Made these worlds castles ; then they formed the eartJi 
 Into an iron citadel, the air 
 Into a silver fortress, and the sky 
 Into a fort of gold. Whereat the gods 
 Said to each other, ' Frame me other worlds 
 In opposition to these fortresses.' 
 Then they constructed sacrificial places, 
 Where they performed a triple burnt oblation. 
 By the first sacrifice they drove the demons 
 Out of their earthly fortress, by the second 
 Out of the air, and by the third oblation 
 Out of the skj'. Thus were the evil spirits 
 Chased by the gods in triumph from the worlds."* 
 
 The ancient Egyptians were familiar with the tale of the war 
 in heaven ; and the legend of the revolt against the god Ra, the 
 Heavenly Father, and his destruction of the revolters, was discov- 
 ered by M. Naville in one of the tombs at Biban-el-moluk.' 
 
 The same story is to be found among the ancient Persian, 
 legends, and is related as follows : 
 
 " Ahriman, the devil, was not created evil by the eternal one, but he became 
 evil by revolting against his will. This revolt resulted in a ' war in heaven.' In 
 this war the Iveds (good angels) fought against the Divs (rebellious ones) headed 
 by Ahriman, and flung the conquered into Douzahk or heU."-* 
 
 ' S. BariDg-Goald : Legends ot Patriarchs. Dnpuis : Origin of Relig. Beliefs, p. 73. and 
 
 !>• 17. Baring-Gonld's Legends of the Prophets, p. 19. 
 ' Indian Wisdom, p. 3a. « S. Baring-Gould's Legends of Patriarchs, 
 
 • See Kenonf's Hibbert Lectures, p. 105. p. 19.
 
 388 BIBLE MYTH8. 
 
 An extract from the Persian Zend-avesta reads as follows : 
 
 " Ahriman interrupted the order of the universe, raised an army against Or- 
 nuzd, and having maintained a fight against him during ninety days, was at 
 length vanquished by Honover, the divine Word."' 
 
 The Assyrians had an account of a war in heaven, which was 
 like that described in the book of Enoch and the Revelation." 
 
 This legend was also to be found among the ancient Greeks, in 
 the struggle of the Titans against Jupiter. Titan and all his rebel- 
 lious host were cast out of heaven, and imprisoned in the dark 
 abyss. ' 
 
 Anong the legends of the ancient Mexicans was found this same 
 story of the war in heaven, and the downfall of the rebellious 
 angels.* 
 
 " The natives of the Caroline Islands (in the North Pacific 
 Ocean), related that one of the inferior gods, named Merogrog, was 
 driven by the other gods out of heaven.'" 
 
 We see, tlierefore, that this also was an almost universal legend. 
 
 The belief in a future life was almost universal among nations 
 of antiquity. The Hindoos have believed from time immemorial 
 that man has an invisible body within the material body ; that is, a 
 soul. 
 
 Among the ancient Egyptians the same belief was to be found. 
 All the dead, both men and women, were spoken of as " Osiriana;" 
 by which they intended to signify " gone to Osu'is." 
 
 Their belief in One Supreme Being, and the immortality of 
 the soul, must have been very ancient ; for on a monument, which 
 dates ages before Abraham is said to have lived, is found this 
 epitaph : " May thy soul attain to the Creator of all mankind." 
 Sculptures and paintings in these grand receptacles of the dead, as 
 translated by Champollion, represent the deceased ushered into the 
 world of spirits by funeral deities, who announce, " A soul arrived 
 in Amenti.'" 
 
 Tiie Hindoo idea of a subtile invisible body within the material 
 body, reappeared in the description of Greek poets. They repre- 
 sented the constitution of man as consisting of three principles : 
 the soul, the invisible body, and the material body. The invisible 
 body they called the ghost or shade, and considered it as the ma- 
 terial portion of the soul. At death, the soul, clothed in this sub- 
 
 1 Priestley, p. 35. * See Higgms' Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 31. 
 
 " See Bonwick's Esyptian Belief, p. 411. " S. Baring-Gould's Legends of Patriaiclii!, 
 
 3 See Inman's Ancient Faitlis, vol. ii. p. 819. p. 20. 
 T«ylor's Dicgesis, p. 215, and Dupuis : Origin • See Bunsen's Augel-Messiali, p. 159, and 
 
 of Relig. Beliefs, p. 73. Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 389 
 
 tile body, went to enjoy paradise for a season, or suffer in hell till 
 its sins were expiated. This paradise was called the " Elysian 
 Fields," and the hell was called Tartarus. 
 
 The paradise, some supposed to be a part of the lower world, 
 some placed them in a middle zone in the air, some in the moon, 
 and others in far-off isles in the ocean. There shone more glorious 
 sun and stars than illuminated this world. The day was always 
 serene, the air forever pure, and a soft, celestial light clothed all 
 things in transfigured beauty. Majestic groves, verdant meadows, 
 and blooming gardens varied the landscape. The river Eridanus 
 flowed through winding banks fringed with laurel. On its borders 
 lived heroes who had died for their country, priests who had led a 
 pure life, artists who had embodied genuine beauty in their work, 
 and poets who had nev^er degraded their muse with subjects un- 
 worthy of Apollo. There each one renewed the pleasures in which 
 he formerly delighted. Orpheus, in long white robes, made en- 
 raptui'ing music on his lyre, while others danced and sang. The 
 husband rejoined his beloved wife ; old friendships were renewed, 
 the poet repeated his verses, and the charioteer managed his horses. 
 
 Some souls wandered in vast forests between Tartarus and 
 Elysium, not good enough for one, or bad enough for the other. 
 Some were purified from their sins by exposure to searching winds, 
 others by being submerged in deep waters, others by passing through 
 intense fires. After a long period of probation and suffering, many 
 of them gained the Elysian Fields. This belief is handed down to 
 our day in the Koman Catholic idea of Purgatory. 
 
 A belief in the existence of the soul after death was indicated 
 in all periods of history of the world, by the fact that man was 
 always accustomed to address prayers to the spirits of their an- 
 cestors.' 
 
 These heavens and hells where men abode after death, vary, 
 in different countries, according to the likes and dislikes of each 
 nation. 
 
 All the Teutonic nations held to a fixed Elysium and a hell, 
 where the valiant and the just were rewarded, and where the 
 cowardly and the wicked suffered punishment. As all nations have 
 made a god, and that god has resembled the persons who made it, 
 so have all nations made a heaven, and that heaven corresponds to 
 the fancies of the people who have created it. 
 
 In the prose Edda there is a description of the joys of Yalhalla 
 
 ' This subject is most fully entered into by Mr. Herbert Spencer, in vol. i. of " Prtnciplet 
 of Sociology."
 
 890 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 (the Hall of the Chosen), which states that : " All men who have 
 fallen in light since the beginning of the world are gone to Odin 
 (the Supreme God), in Valhalla." A mighty band of men are 
 there, " and every day, as soon as they have dressed themselves, 
 they ride out into the court (or field), and there fight until they cut 
 each other into pieces. This is their pastime, but when the meal- 
 tide approaches, they remount their steeds, and return to drink in 
 Valhalla. As it is said (in Vafthrudnis-mal) : 
 
 ' The Einlierjar all 
 Oa Odin's plain 
 Hew daily each other, 
 While chosen the slain are. 
 From the frey they then ride, 
 And drink ale with theiEsir.' "' 
 
 This description of the palace of Odin is a natural picture of the 
 manners of the ancient Scandinavians and Germans. Prompted 
 by the wants of their climate, and the impulse of their own temper- 
 ament, they formed to themselves a dehcious paradise in their own 
 way ; where they were to eat and drink, and fight. The women, 
 to whom they assigned a place there, were introduced for no other 
 purpose but to fill their cups. 
 
 The Mohammedan paradise differs from this. Women there, 
 are for man's pleasure. The day is always serene, the air forever 
 pure, and a soft celestial light clothes all things in transfigured 
 beauty. Majestic groves, verdant meadows, and blooming gardens 
 vary the landscape. There, in radiant halls, dwell the departed, 
 ever blooming and beautiful, ever laughing and gay. 
 
 The American Indian calculates upon finding successful chases 
 after wild animals, verdant plains, and no winter, as the character- 
 istics of his " future life." 
 
 The red Indian, when told by a missionary that in the " promised 
 land " they would neither eat, drink, hunt, nor marrj' a wife, con- 
 temptuously replied, that instead of wishing to go there, he should 
 deem his residence in such a place as the greatest possible calamity. 
 Many not only rejected such a destiny for themselves, but were 
 indignant at the attempt to decoy their children into such a com- 
 fortless region. 
 
 All nations of the earth have had their heavens. As Moore 
 observes : 
 
 " A heaven, too, ye must have, ye lords of dust — 
 A splendid paradise, poor souls, 3-0 must : 
 
 1 See Mallet's Northern Antiquit'es, p. 4^.
 
 PAGANISM IN OHBISTIANITT. 391 
 
 That prophet ill sustains his holy call 
 
 Who finds not heavens to suit the tastes of all. 
 
 Vain things I as lust or vanity inspires, 
 
 The heaven of each is but what each desires." 
 
 Heamen was boru of the sky,' and nurtured by cunning priests, 
 who made man a coward and a slave. 
 
 Hell was built by priests, and nurtured by the fears and servile 
 fancies of man during the ages when dungeons of torture were a 
 recognized part of every government, and when God was supposed 
 to be an infinite tyrant, with infinite resources of vengeance. 
 
 The devil is an imaginary being, invented by primitive man to 
 account for the existence of evil, and relieve God of his responsi- 
 bility. The famous Hindoo Ralcshasas of our Aryan ancestors — 
 the dark and evil clouds personified — are the originals of all devils. 
 The cloudy shape has assumed a thousand different forms, horrible 
 or grotesque and ludicrous, to suit the changing fancies of the ages. 
 
 But strange as it may appear, the god of one nation became the 
 devil of another. 
 
 The rock of Behistun, the sculptured chronicle of the glories 
 of Darius, king of Persia, situated on the western frontier of Me- 
 dia, on the high-road from Babylon to the eastward, was used as a 
 " holy of holies." It was named Bagistane — " the place of the 
 Baga " — referring to Ormuzd, chief of the Bagas. When exam- 
 ined with the lenses of linguistic science, the ^^ Bogie" or '■'■ Bug-Or 
 hoo" or ^^ Buglear''^ of nursery lore, turns out to be identical with 
 the Slavonic " Bog " and the " Baga " of the cuneiform inscrip- 
 tions, both of which are names of the Sujprerixe Being. It is found 
 also in the old Aryan '■'■ Bhaga," who is described in a commentary 
 of the Big- Veda as the lord of life, the giver of bread, and the 
 bringer of happiness. Thus, the same name which, to the Vedio 
 poet, to the Persian of the time of Xerxes, and to the modern Rus- 
 sian, suggests the supreme majesty of deity, is in English associated 
 with an ugly and ludicrous fiend. Another striking illustration is 
 to be found in the word devil itself. "When traced back to its 
 primitive source, it is found to be a name of the Supreme Being.' 
 
 The ancients had a great number of festival days, many of which 
 are handed down to the present time, and are to be found in Christi- 
 anity. 
 
 We have already seen that the 25th of December was almost a 
 universal festival among the ancients ; so it is the same with the 
 s^ing festivals, when days of fasting are observed. 
 
 ' See Appendix C. ' See Fieke, pp. 104-107.
 
 392 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The Hindoos hold a festival, called Siva-ratri, in honor of Siva^. 
 about the middle or end of February. A strict fast is observed 
 during the day. They have also a festival in April, when a strict 
 fast is kept by some.' 
 
 At the spring equinox most nations of antiquity set apart a day 
 to implore the blessings of their god, or gods, on the fruits of the 
 earth. At the autumnal equinox, they offered the fruits of the har- 
 vest, and returned thanks. In China, these religious solemnities- 
 are called " Festivals of gratitude to Tien.'" The last named cor- 
 responds to our " Thanksgiving " celebration. 
 
 One of the most considerable festivals held by the ancient Scan- 
 dinavians was the spring celebration. This was held in honor of 
 Odiu, at the beginning of spring, in order to welcome in that pleas- 
 ant season, and to obtain of their god happy success in their pro- 
 jected expeditions. 
 
 Another festival was held toward the autumn equinox, wlien 
 they were accustomed to kill all their cattle in good condition, and 
 lay in a store of provision for the winter. This festival was also- 
 attended with religious ceremonies, when Odin, the supreme god, 
 was thanked for what he had given them, by having his altar loaded 
 with the fruits of their crops, and the choicest products of the 
 earth.' 
 
 There was a grand celebration in Egypt, called the " Feast of 
 Lamps," held at Sais, in honor of the goddess Neith. Those who 
 did not attend the ceremony, as well as those who did, burned lamps 
 before their houses all night, tilled with oil and salt : thus all Egypt 
 was illuminated. It was deemed a great irreverence to the goddess 
 for any one to omit this ceremony.' 
 
 The Hindoos also held a festival in honor of the goddesses Laksh- 
 mi and Biiavanti, called " The feast of Lamps r" This festival has 
 been handed down to the present time in what is called " Candlemas- 
 day," or the purification of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 The most celebrated Pagan festival held by modern Christians 
 is tliat known as " Sunday" or the " Lord's day." 
 
 All the principal nations of antiquity kept the seventh day of the 
 week as a " holy day," just as the ancient Israelites did. This was 
 owing to the fact that they consecrated the days of the week to the 
 Sun, the Moon, and the five planets. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,, 
 and Saturn. The seventh day was sacred to Saturn, from time i7n- 
 
 1 WilliamB' Hinduism, pp. 182, 183. ' See Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. IIL 
 
 > See Prog Kelig. Ideae, vol. i. p. 216. * See Kenrlck'a Egypt, vol. i. p. 466. 
 
 " Williams' Qinduism, p. 184.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 393 
 
 tnemorial. Homer and Hesiod call it the " Holy Day.'" The 
 people generally visited the temples of the gods, on that day, and 
 offered up their prayers and supplications.' The Acadians, thou- 
 sands of years ago, kept holy the 7th, 14:t]i, 21st, and 28th of each 
 month as Solum (rest), on which certain works were forbidden.' 
 The Arabs anciently worshiped Saturn under the name of Hobal. 
 In his hands he held seven arrows, symbols of the planets that pre- 
 side over the seven days of the week.* The Egyptians assigned a 
 day of the week to the sun, moon, and five planets, and the number 
 seven was held there in great reverence.' 
 
 The planet Saturn very early became the chief deity of Semitic 
 religion. Moses consecrated the number seven to him." 
 
 In the old conception, which finds expression in the Decalogue 
 in Deuteronomy (v. 15), the Sabbath has a purely theocratic signifi- 
 cance, and is intended to remind the Hebrews of their miraculous 
 deliverance from the land of Egypt and bondage. When the story 
 of Creation was borrowed from the Babylonians, the celebration 
 of the Sabbath was established on entirely new grounds (Ex. xx. 11), 
 for we find it is because the " Creator," after his six days of work, 
 rested on the seventh, that the day should be kept holy. 
 
 The Assyrians kept this day holy. Mr. George Smith says : 
 
 " In the year 1869, 1 discovered among other things a curious religious calen- 
 dar of the Assyrians, in which every month is divided into four weeks, and the 
 seventh days or ' Sabbaths, ' are marked out as days on which no work should 
 he undertaken.' 
 
 The ancient Scandinavians consecrated one day in the week to 
 their Supreme God, Odin or Wodin.' Even at the present time 
 we call this day Odin's-day." 
 
 The question now arises, how was the great festival day changed 
 
 I ** The Seventh day was sacred to Saturn by almost all philosophers and poets." (Ibid.) 
 
 tluoaghoQt the East." (Dunlap's Spirit Hist., ' Ibid, 
 
 pp. 35, 36. s Ibid. p. 413. 
 
 " Saturn's day was made sacred to God, * Pococke Specimen : Hist. Arab., p. 97. 
 
 and the planet is now called cochab shabbath, Quoted in Dunlap's Spirit Hist., p. 374. "Some 
 
 'The Sabbath Star.' of the families of the Israelites worshiped 
 
 " The sanctiflcation of the Sabbath is clearly Saturn under the name of Kiwan, which may 
 
 connected with the word Shabua or Sheba, have given rise to the religious observance of 
 
 i. e., Sfven.^' (Inman's Anct. Faiths, vol. ii. p. the Seventh day." (Bible for Learners, vol, i. 
 
 504.) " The Babylonians, Egyptians, Chinese, p. 317.) 
 
 and the natives of India, were acquainted with * Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 283. 
 
 the seven days' division of time, as were the * Mover's PhOnizier, vol. i. p. 313. Quoted 
 
 ancient Druids." (Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, in Dunlap's Spirit Hist., p. 36. 
 
 p. 412.) " With the Egj-ptians the Seventh ' Assyrian Discoveries. 
 
 day was consecrated to God the Father." » Mallet's Northern Antiquities, p. 92. 
 
 (Ibid.) "Hesiod, Herodotus, Philostratus, Ac, • Old Norse, Odinsdagr; Swe. and Danish, 
 
 mention that day. Homer, Callimachus, and Onsdag ; Ang. Sax.. Wodemdeg ; Dutch, 
 
 other ancient writers call the Seventh day the Woenadag ; £ng., Wednesday. 
 Soly One. Ensebiua confesses its observance
 
 394 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 from the seventh — Saturn's day — to the first — xSwn-day — among 
 the Cliristiaus i 
 
 " If we go back to the founding of the church, we find that the 
 most marked feature of that age, so far as the church itself is con- 
 cerned, is the grand division between the ' Jewish faction,' as it 
 ■was called, and the followers of Paul. This division was so deep, 
 so marked, so characteristic, that it has left its traces all through 
 the New Testament itself. It was one of the grand aspects of the 
 time, and the point on widch they were divided was simply this: 
 the followers of Peter, those who adhered to the teachings of the 
 central church in Jerusalem, held that all Christians, both converted 
 Jews and Gentiles, were under obligation to keep the Mosaic law, 
 ordinances, and traditions. That is, a Christian, according to their 
 definition, was first a Jew ; Christianity was something added to 
 that, not something taking the place of it. 
 
 '' We find this controverey raging violently all through the early 
 churches, and splitting them into factions, so that they were the 
 occasion of prayer and counsel. Paul took the ground distinctly 
 that Christianity, while it might be spiritually the lineal successor 
 of Judaism, was not Judaism ; and thiit he who became a Christian, 
 whether a converted Jew or Gentile, was under no obligation what- 
 ever to keep the Jewish law, so far as it was separate from practical 
 matters of life and character. We find this intimated in the writ- 
 ings of Paul ; for we have to go to the New Testament for the ori- 
 gin of that which, we find, existed immediately after the New 
 Testament was written. Paul says : 'One man esteemeth one day 
 above another : another man esteemeth every day alike ' (Rom. xiv. 
 5-9). He leaves it an open question ; they can do as they please. 
 Then : ' Ye observe da3's, and months, and times, and years. I am 
 afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain ' (Gal. iv. 
 10, 11). And if you will note this Epistle of Paul to the Gala- 
 tians, you will find that the whole purpose of his writing it was to 
 protest against what he believed to be the viciousness of the Juda- 
 izing infiuences. That is, he says : ' I have come to preach to you 
 the perfect truth, that Christ hath made us free ; and you are going 
 back and taking upon yourselves this yoke of bondage. My labor 
 is being thrown away ; my efforts have been in vain.' Then he says, 
 in his celebrated Epistle to the Colossians, that has never yet been ex- 
 plained away or met : ' Let no man therefore judge you any more in 
 meat, or in drink, or in respect of an jioly day, or of the new moon, 
 or of the Sabbath days ' (Col. ii. 16, 17), distinctly abrogating the 
 binding authority of the Sabbath on the Christian church. So that,
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 if Paul's word anywhere means anything — if his authority is to 
 be taken as of binding force on any point whatever — then Paul is 
 to be regarded as authoritatively and distinctly abrogating tlie 
 Sabbath, and declaring that it is no longer binding on the Chris- 
 tian church.'" 
 
 This breach in the early church, this controversy, resulted at 
 last in Paul's going up to Jerusalem " to meet James and the repre- 
 sentatives of the Jerusalem church, to see if they could iind any 
 common platform of agreement — if they could come together so 
 that they could work with mutual respect and without any further 
 bickering. What is the platform that they met upon ? It was 
 distinctly understood that those who wished to keep up the observ- 
 ance of Judaism should do so ; find the church at Jerusalem gave 
 Paul tliis grand freedom, substantially saying to him : ' Go back to 
 your missionary work, found churches, and teach them that they 
 are perfectly free in regard to all Mosaic and Jewish observances, 
 save only these four : Abstain from pollutions of idols, from forni- 
 cation, from things strangled, and from blood.' '" 
 
 The point to wliich oi;r attention is forcibly drawn is, that the 
 question of Sabbath-keeping is one of those that is left out. Tlie 
 point that Paul had been fighting for was conceded by the central 
 church at Jerusalem, and he was to go out thenceforth free, so 
 far as that was concerned, in his teaching of the churches that he 
 should found. 
 
 There is no mention of the Sabbath, or the Lord's day, as bind- 
 ing in the New Testament. What, then, was the actual condition 
 of affairs ? What did the churches do in the first three liundred 
 years of their existence? Why, they did just what Paul and the 
 Jerusalem church had agreed upon. Those who wished to keep 
 th-<s Jewish Sabbath did so ; and those who did not wish to, did not 
 do so. This is seen from the fact that Justin Martyr, a Christian 
 Father who flourished about a.d. 140, did not observe tlie day. In 
 his " Dialogue " with Typho, the Jew reproaches the Christians 
 for not keeping the " Sabbath." Justin admits the charge by 
 saying : 
 
 " Do you not see that the Elements keep no Sabbaths, and are never idle? Con- 
 tinue as you were created. If there was no need of circumcision before Abraham's 
 time, and no need of the Sabbath, of festivals and oblations, before the time of 
 Moses, neither of them are necessary after the coming of Christ. If any among you 
 is guilty of perjury, fraud, or other crimes, let him cease from them and repent, 
 and he will have kept the kind of Sabbath pleasing to God." 
 
 » Rev. M. J. Savage. • Acts, xv. 20.
 
 396 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 There was no binding authority then, among the Christians, as 
 to whether tliey should keep the first or the seventh day of tae 
 week holy, or not, until the time of the first Christian Roman 
 Emperor. " Constantine, a Sun worshiper, who had, <« other 
 Heathen, kept the Sun-day, publicly ordered this to supplant the 
 Jewish Sabbath."^ He commanded that this day should be kept 
 holy, throughout the whole Roman empire, and sent an edict to all 
 governors of provinces to this effect." Th^ts we see how the great 
 Pagan festival, in honor of Sol tlie inoincible, was transformed 
 into a Christian holy -day. 
 
 Not only were Pagan festival days changed into Christian holy- 
 days, but Pagan idols were converted into Christian saints, and Pa- 
 gan temples into Christian churches. 
 
 A Pagan temple at Rome, formerly sacred to the '■'■Bona Dea " 
 (the " Good Goddess"), was Christianized and dedicated to the Vir- 
 gin Mary. In a place formerly sacred to Apollo, there now stands 
 the church of Saint Apollinaris. Where there anciently stood the 
 temple of Mars, may now be seen the church of Saint Martine.^ A 
 Pagan temple, originally dedicated to '■'Caslestis Dea'''' (the "Hea- 
 venly Goddess "), by one Aurelius, a Pagan high-priest, was con- 
 verted into a Christian church by another Aurelius, created Bishop 
 of Carthage in the year 390 of Christ. He placed his episcopal 
 chair in the very place where the statue of the Heavenly Goddess 
 had stood.' 
 
 The noblest heathen temple now remaining in the world, is the 
 Pantheon or Rotunda, which, as the inscription over the portico 
 informs lis, having been impiously dedicated of old by Agrippa to 
 " Jove and all the gods," was piously reconsecrated by Pope Boni- 
 face the Fourth, to " The Mother of God and all the Saints."' 
 
 The church of Saint Reparatae, at Florence, was formerly a 
 Pagan temple. An inscription was found in the foundation of this 
 church, of these words : " To the Great Goddess Nutria."' The 
 church of St. Stephen, at Bologna, was formed from heathen tem- 
 ples, one of which was a temple of Isis.' 
 
 At the southern extremity of the present Forum at Rome, and 
 just under the Palatine hill — where the noble babes, who, miracu- 
 lously preserved, became the founders of a state that was to com- 
 mand the world, were exposed — stands the church of St. Theodore. 
 
 ' Bonwick : Egyplian Belief, p. 182. Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. pp. 142, 143. 
 5 See Eusebins' Life of Constantine, lib. iv. ' See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 236, and Gib 
 
 ch8. sviii. and ssiii. bon's Rome, vol. iii. pp. 142, 143 
 
 • ^ee Taylor's Diegeeis, p. 237. • Hlggins' Anacalypsis, vol. i, p. 1,S7. 
 
 « See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 187, and ' Ibid. p. 307.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITT. 
 
 397 
 
 TUs temple was built in honor of Romulus, and the brazen wolf — 
 commemorating the curious manner in which the founders of Rome 
 were nurtured — occupied a place here till the sixteenth century. 
 And, as the Roman matrons of old used to carry their children, 
 when ill, to the temple of Romulus, so too, the women stiil carry 
 their children to St. Theodore on the same occasions. 
 
 In Christianizing these Pagan temples, free use was made of 
 the sculptured and painted stones of heathen monuments. In some 
 cases they evidently painted over one name, and inserted another. 
 This may be seen from the following 
 
 Ikscriptions Forsiebly in PAGiN and Inscriptions now in Christian 
 
 Temples. 
 1. 
 To Mercury and Minerva, Tutelary 
 Gods. 
 2. 
 To the Gods who preside over this 
 Temple. 
 3. 
 To the Divinity of Mercury the Avail- 
 ing, the Powerful, the Uncon- 
 quered. 
 4. 
 Sacred to the Gods and Goddesses, 
 with 
 Jove the best and greatest. 
 5. 
 Venus' Pigeon. 
 
 6. 
 
 The Mystical Letters 
 I. H. S.' 
 
 Churches. 
 1. 
 To St. Mary and St. Francis, My 
 Tutelaries. 
 2. 
 To the Divine Eustrogius, who pre- 
 sides over this Temple. 
 3. 
 To the Divinity of St. George the 
 Availing, the Powerful, the Un- 
 conquered. 
 4. 
 Sacred to the presiding helpers, St. 
 George and St. Stephen, with 
 God the best and greatest. 
 5. 
 The Holy Ghost represented as a 
 Pigeon. 
 6. 
 The Mystical Letters 
 L H. S.« 
 
 In many cases the Images of the Pagan gods were allowed to 
 remain in these temples, and, after being Christianized, continued 
 to receive divine honors.' 
 
 " In St. Peter's, Rome, is a statue of Jupiter, deprived of his 
 thunderbolt, which is replaced by the emblematic keys. In like 
 manner, much of the religion of the lower orders, which we regard 
 as essentially Christian, is ancient heathenism, refitted with Chris- 
 tian symbols."* "We find that as early as the time of St. Gregory, 
 Bishop of Xeo-Cesarea (a. d. 213), the "simple" and "unskilled" 
 
 ' Grater's Inscriptions. Quoted in Taylor's 
 Diegesis. p. 237. 
 
 " Boldonius' Epigraplis. Qnoted in Ibid. 
 " See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. p. 237. Tay- 
 
 lor's Diegesis, p. 48, and Middleton's I.ettere 
 from Rome. 
 
 • Baring-Gonld's Curioos Myths, p. 436.
 
 398 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 multitudes of Christians were allowed to pay divine honors to these 
 images, hoping that in the process of time they would learn better.' 
 In fact, as Prof. Draper says : 
 
 " 01ympu8 was restored, but the divinities passed under other names. The 
 more powerful provinces insisted upon the adoption of their time-honored con- 
 ceptions. . . . Not only was the adoration of ISIS under a new name restored, 
 but even hei image, standing on the crescent moon, reappeared. The well-known 
 effigy of that goddess with the infant Horus in her arms, has descended to our 
 days in the beautiful, artistic creations of the Madonna and child. Such resto- 
 rations of old conceptions under novel forms were everywhere received with de- 
 light. When it was announced to the Ephesians, that the Council of that place, 
 headed by Cyril, had declared that the Virgin (Mary) should be called the 
 ' ifotlierof Ood,' with tears of joy they embraced the knees of their bishop ; it 
 was the old instinct cropping out ; their ancestors would have done the same 
 
 for Diana. "^ 
 
 " O bright goddess ; once again 
 Fix on earth thy heav'nly reign ; 
 Be thy sacred name ador'd. 
 Altars rais'd, and rites restor'd." 
 
 Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople from 428 a. d., refused to 
 call Mary " the mother of God," on the ground that she could be 
 the motlaer of the human nature only, which the divine Logos used 
 as its organ. Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, did all in his power to 
 stir up the minds of the people against Nestorius ; the consequence 
 was that, both at Rome and at Alexandria, Nestorius was accused 
 of heresy. The dispute grew more bitter, and Theodosius II. 
 thought it necessary to convoke an (Ecumenical Council at Ephesus 
 in 431. On this, as on former occasions, the affirmative party over- 
 ruled the negative. The person of Mary began to rise in the new 
 empyrean. The paradoxical name of " Mother of God " pleased the 
 popular piety. Nestorius was condemned, and died in exile. 
 
 The shrine of many an old hero was filled by the statue of some 
 imaginary saint. 
 
 "They have not always " (says Dr. Conyers Middleton), " as 1 am well in- 
 formed, given themselves the trouble of making even this change, but have been 
 contented sometimes to take up with the old image, just as they found it ; after 
 baptizing it only, as it were, or consecrating it anew, by the imposition of a 
 Christian name. This their antiquaries do not scruple to put strangers in mind 
 of, in showing their churches, as it was, I think, in that of St. Agnes, where 
 they showed mean antique .statue of a youug BACCHUS, which, with a new 
 name, and some little change of drapery, stands now worshiped under the title 
 of a female saint. "^ 
 
 In many parts of Italy are to be seen pictures of the " Holy 
 Family," of extreme antiquity, the grounds of them often of gold. 
 
 ' Moeheim, Cent. ii. p. 802. Qaoted in Tay- ' Draper : Religion and Science, pp. 48, 49. 
 
 lor'B Diegesis, p 48. • Middleton's Letters from Home, p. 04.
 
 PAGANISM IN CiIBISTIANITY. 399 
 
 These pictures -epresent the motlier with a child on lier knee, and 
 a Httle boy standing close by her side ; the Lamb is generally seen 
 in the picture. They are inscribed ^'- Deo Soli^'' and are simply 
 ancient representations of Isis and Ilonis. The Larnh is " Tlie 
 Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world," which, as we have 
 already seen, was believed on in the Pagan world centuries before 
 the time of Christ Jesus.' Some lialf-pagan Christian went so far 
 as to forge a book, whicli he attributed to Christ Jesus himself, 
 which was loi the purpose of showing that he- — Christ Jesus — 
 was in no way against these heathen gods.' 
 
 The Icelanders were induced to embrace Christianity, with its 
 legends and miracles, and sainted divinities, as the Christian monks 
 were ready to substitute for Thor, their warrior-god, Michael, the 
 warrior-angel ; for Freyja, their goddess, tlie Virgin Mary ; and for 
 the god Vila, a St. Valentine — probably manufactured for the oc- 
 casion. 
 
 " The statues of Jupiter, Apollo, Mercury, Orpheus, did duty 
 for The Christ.' The Thames River god officates at the bai)tism 
 of Jesus in the Jordan. Peter holds the keys of Janus.* Moses 
 wears the horns of Jove. Ceres, Cybele, Demeter assume new 
 names, as ' Queen of Heaven^ ' Star of the Sea,'' ' Maria lllumin- 
 atrix;^ Dionysius is St. Denis; Cosmos is St. Cosmo; Pluto and 
 Proserpine resign their seats in the hall of final judgment to the 
 Christ and his mother. The Parcae depute one of their number, 
 Lachesis, the disposer of lots, to set the stamp of destiny upon the 
 deaths of Christian believers. The aura placida of the poets, the 
 gentle breeze, is personified as Aura and Placida. The perpctua 
 felicitas of the devotee becomes a lovely presence in the forms of 
 St. Perpetua and St. F.elicitas, guardian angels of the pious soul. 
 No relic of Paganism was permitted to remain in its casket. The 
 depositories were all ransacked. The shadowy hands of Egyptian 
 priests placed the urn of holy water at the; porch of the basilica, 
 which stood ready to be converted into a temple. Priests of the 
 
 1 See Higjjinti' Anacalyptis. umental Christianity, and Jameson's Hist, of 
 • Jones on the Canon, vol. i. p. H. Our Lord in Art.) 
 
 Diegesis, p. 49. * The Koman god Jonas, or Janus, with his 
 
 2 Compare "Apollo among the Muses," and keys, was changed into Peter, who was sur- 
 "The Vine and its Dranches" (that is, Christ named Bar-Jonas. Many years ago a statue 
 Jesus and his Discipiest, inLundy's J/on(/7«^/i- of the god Janns, in bronze, being found in 
 tai ChrUtianity, pp. 141-143. As Mr. Lundy Rome, he was perched up in St. Peter's with 
 Bays, there is so striking a resemblance be- his keys in his hand : the very identical god, 
 tween the two, that one looks very much lilie in all his native nghness. This statue sits .19 
 a copy of the other. Apollo is also represented St. Peter, under the cupola of the church of 
 as the " Oood Shepherd," with a lamb nijon St. Peter. It is looked upon with the most 
 his back, just exactly as Christ JesQS is rep- profound veneration : the toes are nearly kissed 
 resented in Christian Art. (See Lnndy's Mon- away by devotees
 
 400 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 most ancient faiths of Palestine, Assyria, Babylon, Thebes, Persia, 
 were permitted to erect the altar at the point where the transverse 
 beam of the cross meets the main stem. The hands that constructed 
 the temple in cruciform shape had long become too attenuated to 
 cast the faintest shadow. There Devaki with the infant Crishna, 
 Maya with the babe Buddha, Juno with the child Mars, represent 
 Mary with Jesus in her arms. Coarse emblems are not rejected ; 
 the Assyiian dove is a tender symbol of tlie Holy Ghost. "The rag- 
 bags and toy boxes were explored. A bauble which the Roman 
 schoolboy had thrown away was picked up, and called an ' agnus 
 dei.'' The must}' wardrobes of forgotten hierarchies furnished cos- 
 tumes for the officers of the new prince. Alb and chasuble recalled 
 the fashions of Numa's day. The cast-off purple habits and shoes 
 of Pagan emperors beautified the august persons of Christian popes. 
 The cai'dinals must be contented with the robes once worn by sen- 
 ators. Zoroaster bound about the monks the girdle be invented as 
 a protection against evil spirits, and clothed them in the frocks he 
 had found convenient for his ritual. The pope thrust out his foot 
 to be kissed, as Caligula, Heliogabalus, and Julius Cesar had thrust 
 out tlieirs. Nothing came amiss to the faith that was to discharge 
 henceforth the offices of spiritual impression.'" 
 
 The ascetic and monastic life practiced by some Christians of 
 the present day, is of great antiquity. Among the Buddhists there 
 are priests who are ordained, tonsured, live in monasteries, and 
 make vows of celibacy. There are also nuns among them, whose 
 vows and discipline are the same as the priests." 
 
 The close resemblance between the ancient religion of Thibet and 
 Nejpaul — where the worship of a crucified God was found — and 
 the Roman Catholic religion of the present day, is very striking. 
 In Thibet was found the pope, or head of the religion, whom they 
 called the " Dalai Lama ; '" they use holy watei', they celebrate a 
 sacrifice with bread and wine ; they give extreme unction, pray for 
 the sick ; they have monasteries, and convents for women ; they 
 chant in their services, have fasts ; they worship one God in a trin- 
 ity, believe in a hell, heaven, and a half-way place or purgatory ; 
 they make prayers and sacrifices for the dead, have confession, adore 
 the cross ; have chaplets, or strings of beads to count their prayers, 
 and many other practices common to the Roman Catholic Church.* 
 
 ' Frothingham : The Cradle of the Christ, office is not hereditary, but. like the Pope of 
 
 p. 179, Rome, he is elected by the priests. (Inman's 
 
 ^ See Hardy's Eastern Mon.achisin. Ancient Faiths, vol. 11. p. y03. Sec a'so. Bell's 
 
 s The " Qraad Lama" is the head of a Pantheon, vol. ii. pp. 3^4.) 
 
 priestly order in Thibet and Tartary. The * See Iligglns' Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 833,
 
 PAGANISM IN CnRISTIANITY. 401 
 
 The resemblance between Buddhism and Christianity has been re- 
 marked by many travelers in the eastern countries. Sir John 
 Francis Davis, in his "History of China," speaking of Buddhism 
 in that country, says : 
 
 " Certain it is — and the observance may be daily made even at Canton— that 
 they (the Buddhist priests) practice the ordinances of celibacy, fasting, and 
 prayers for the dead ; they have holy water, rosaries of beads, which they count 
 with their prayers, the worship of relics, and a monastic habit resembliug that 
 of the Franciscans " (an order of Roman Catholic monks). 
 
 Pere Premere, a Jesuit missionary to China, was driven to con- 
 clude that the devil had practiced a trick to perplex his friends, 
 the Jesuits. To others, however, it is not so difficult to account for 
 these things as it seemed for the good Father. Sir John continues 
 his account as follows : 
 
 ' These priests are associated in monasteries attached to the temples of Fo. 
 They are in China precisely a society of mendicants, and go about, like monks 
 of that description in the Romish Church, asking alms for the support of their 
 establishment. Their tonsure extends to the hair of the whole head. There is 
 a regular gradation among the priesthood; and according to his reputation for 
 sanctity, his length of service and other claims, each priest may rise from the 
 lowest rank of servitor — -whose duty it is to perform the menial offices of the 
 temple — to that of officiating priest — and ultimately of 'Tae Hoepang,' Abbot or 
 head of the establishment." 
 
 Tlie five principal precepts, or rather interdicts, addressed to 
 the Buddhist priests are : 
 
 1. Do not kill. 
 3. Do not steal. 
 
 3. Do not marry. 
 
 4. Speak not falsely. 
 
 5. Drink no wine. 
 
 Poo-ta-la is the name of a monastery, described in Lord Macart- 
 ney's mission, and is an extensive establishment, which was found 
 in Manchow-Tartary, beyond the great wall. This building offered 
 shelter to no less than eight lumdred Chinese Buddhist priests.' 
 
 The Kev. Mr. Gutzlaff, in his " Journal of Voyages along the 
 coast of China," tells us that he found the Buddhist " Monasteries, 
 nuns, and fi-iars very numerous ;" and adds that : " their priests are 
 generally very ignorant."^ 
 
 This reminds us of the fact that, for centuries during the " dark 
 ages " of Christianity^ Christian bishops and prelates, the teachers, 
 spiritual pastors and masters, were mostly marksmen^ that is, they 
 
 Inman's Ancieut Faiths, vol. ii. p. 203, and ' Davis : Hist. China, vol. ii. pp. 105, 106. 
 
 Isis Unveiled, vol. i'. p. 211. ' Gutzlafl's Voyages, p. 309. 
 
 26
 
 402 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 supplied, by tlio. biga of the cross, their inability to wi'ite their own 
 name.' Many ol the bishops in the Councils of Ephesus and Chal- 
 cedon, it is said, could not write their names. Ignorance was not 
 considered a disqualification for ordination. A cloud of ignorance 
 overspread the whole face of the Church, hardly broken by a few 
 glimmering lights, who owe almost the whole of their distinction to 
 the surrounding darkness." 
 
 One of the principal objects of curiosity to the Europeans who 
 first went to China, was a large monastery at Canton. This mon- 
 astery, which was dedicated to Fo, or Buddha, and which is on a 
 verj' large scale, is situated upon the southern side of the river. 
 There are extensive grounds surrounding the building, planted with 
 trees, in the center of which is a broad pavement of granite, which 
 is kept very clean. An English gentleman, Mr. Bennett, entered 
 this establishment, which he fully describes. He says that after 
 walking along this granite pavement, they entered a temple, where 
 the priesthood happened to be assembled, worshiping. Tliey were 
 arranged in rows, chanting, striking gongs, &c. These priests, with 
 their shaven crowns, and arrayed in the yellow robes of the religion, 
 appeared to go through the mummery with devotion. As soon as 
 the mummery had ceased, the priests all flocked out of the temple, 
 adjourned to their respective rooms, divested themselves of their 
 official robes, and the images — among which were evidently repre- 
 sentations of Shin-moo, the "Holy Mother," and "Queen of Hea- 
 ven," and " The Three Pure Ones," — were left to themselves, with 
 larajjs burning before them. 
 
 To expiate sin, offerings made to these priests are — according to 
 the Buddhist idea ^ sufficient. To facilitate the release of some 
 unfortunate from purgatory, they said masses. Their prayers are 
 counted by means of a rosary, and they live in a state of celibacy. 
 
 Mr. Gutzlaff, in describing a tera])le . dedicated to Buddha, situ- 
 ated on the island of Poo-ta-la, says : 
 
 " We were present at the vespers of the priests, wbich they chanted in the 
 Pali language, not unlike the Latin service of the Romish church. They held 
 their rosaries in their hands, which rested folded upon their breasts. One of 
 them had a smaU bell, by the tingling of which the service was regulated." 
 
 The Buddhists in India have similar institutions. The French 
 missionary, M. L'Abbe Hue, says of them : 
 
 " The Buddhist ascetic not aspiring to elevate himself only, he practiced vir- 
 tue and applied himself to perfection to make other men share in its belief ; and 
 
 ' See Taylor's Diegeais, p. 34. ' See Hallam'e Middle Ages.
 
 PAGAKISM IN OHEISTIANITY. 403 
 
 T)y the institution of an order of religious mendicants, which increased to an im- 
 mense extent, he attached towards him, and restored to society, the poor and un- 
 fortunate. It was, indeed, precisely because Buddha received among his dis- 
 ciples miserable creatures who were outcasts from the respectable class of India, 
 that he became an object of mockery to the Brahmins. But he merely replied to 
 their taunts, ' My law is a law of mercy for all.' "' 
 
 In the words of Viscount Amberly, we can say that, " Monas- 
 ticism, in countries where Buddhism reigns supreme, is a vast and 
 powerful institution." 
 
 The Essenes, of whom we shall speak more fully anon, were an 
 order of ascetics, dwelling in monasteries. Among the order of 
 Pythagoras, which was very similar to the Essenes, there was an 
 order of nuns.' The ancient Druids admitted females into their 
 sacred order, and initiated them into the mysteries of their religion.' 
 The priestesses of the Saxon Frigga devoted themselves to perpetual 
 virginity.* The vestal virgins' were bound by a solemn vow to pre- 
 serve their chastity for a space of thirty years.' 
 
 The Egyptian priests of Isis were obliged to observe perpetual 
 chastity.' They were also tonsured like the Bitddhist piiests." The 
 Assyrian, Arabian, Persian and Egyptian priests wore white sur- 
 plices,' and so did the ancient Druids. The Corinthian Aphrodite 
 had her Hierodoulio, the pure Gerairai ministered to the goddess of 
 the Parthenon, the altar of the Latin Vesta was tended by her chosen 
 virgins, and the Romish " Queen of Heaven " has her nuns. 
 
 When the Spaniards had established themselves in Mexico and 
 Peru, tliey were astonished to find, among other things which closely 
 resembled their religion, monastic institutions on a large scale. 
 
 Tlie Rev. Father Acosta, in his " Natural and Moral History of 
 the Indies," says : 
 
 " There is one thing worthy of special regard, the which is, how the Devil, by 
 his pride, hath opposed himself to God ; and that which God, by his wisdom, 
 hath decreed for his honor and service, and for the good and health of man, the 
 devil strives to imitate and pervert, to be honored, and to cause men to be 
 damned : for as we see the great God hath Sacrifices, Priests, Sacraments, Re- 
 ligious Prophets, and Ministers, dedicated to his divine service and holy ceremo- 
 monies, so likewise the devil hath his Sacrifices, Priests, his kinds of Sacra- 
 ments, his Ministers appointed, his secluded and feigned holiness, with a thou- 
 sand sorts of false prophets."'" 
 
 " We find among all the nations of the world, men especially dedicated to 
 the service of the true God, or to the false, which serve in sacrifices, and declare 
 
 • Hnc'8 Travels, vol. i. p. 329. • Hardy : Eastern MonacMsm, p. 163. 
 » See Hardy's Eastern Monachism, p. 163. ' Ibid. p. 48. 
 
 » Ibid. 8 See Herodotus, b. ii. ch. 36. 
 
 * Ibid. ' Danlap : Son of the Man, p. x. 
 6 "Vestal Virgins," an order of virgins ^^ Acoeta, vol. ii. p. 3iJ4. 
 
 consecrated to the goddess Vesta.
 
 404 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 unto the people what their gods command them. There was in Mexico a 
 strange curiosity upon this point. And the devil, counterfeiting the use of the 
 church of God, hath placed in the order of his Priests, some greater or superi- 
 ors, and some loss, the one as Acolites, the other as Levites, and that which halli 
 made most to wonder, was, that the devil would usurp to himself the service of 
 God ; yea, and use the same name : for the Mexicans in their ancient tongue call 
 their high priests Papes, as they should say sovereign bishops, as it appears 
 now by their histories."' 
 
 In Mexico, within the circuit of the great temple, there were 
 two moTiasteries, one for virgins, the other for men, which they 
 called religions. These men lived poorly and chastely, and did the 
 office of Levites.' 
 
 "These priests and religious men used great fastings, of five or ten days to- 
 gether, before any of their great feasts, and they were unto them as our four 
 ember week ; they were so strict in continence that some of them (not to fall 
 into any sensuality) slit their members in the midst, and did a thousand things 
 to make themselves unable, lest they should offend their gods."^ 
 
 ■' There were in Peru man)' monasteries of virgins (for there are no other ad- 
 mitted), at the least one in every province. In these monasteries there were two 
 sorts of women, one ancient, which they called JIamacomas (mothers), for the 
 instruction of the young, and the other was of young maidens placed there for a 
 certain time, and after they were drawn forth, either for their gods or for the 
 Inca." "If any of the Mamacomas or Acllas were found to have trespassed 
 against their honor, it was an inevitable chastisement to bury them alive or 
 to put them to death by some other kind of cruel torment."'' 
 
 The Kev. Father concludes by saying : 
 
 "In truth it is very strange to see that this false opinion of religion hath so 
 great force among these young men and maidens of Mexico, that they will serve 
 the devil with so great rigor and austerity, which many of us do not in the service 
 of the most high (_:od, the which is a great shame and confusion."' 
 
 The religious orders of the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians are 
 described at length in Lord Kingsborough's " Mexican Antiquities," 
 and by most every writer on ancient Mexico. Differing in minor 
 details, the grand features of self-consecration are everywhere the 
 same, whether we look to the saintly Rishis of ancient India, to the 
 wearers of the yellow robe in China or Ceylon, to the Essenes 
 among the Jews, to the devotees of Vitziliputzli in pagan Mexico, 
 or to the monks and nuns of Christian times in Africa, in Asia, and 
 in Europe. Throughout the various creeds of these distant lands 
 there runs the same unconquerable impulse, producing the same re- 
 markable effects. 
 
 The " Sacred Heart^'' was a great mystery with the ancients. 
 
 > Acosta, vol. ii. p. 330. < Ibid. pp. 332, 833. 
 
 » Ibid. p. 336. » Ibid. p. 337 
 
 » Ibid. p. 33a
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 405 
 
 Horus, the Egyptian virgin-born Savioui*, was represented carrying 
 the sacred heart outside on liis breast. Yishnu, the Mediator and 
 Preserver of the Hindoos, was also represented in that manner. So 
 was it with Bel of Babylon.' In like manner, Christ Jesus, the 
 Christian Saviour, is represented at the present day. 
 
 The amulets or cliarms which the Roman Christians wear, to 
 drive away diseases, and to protect them from harm, are other relics 
 of paganism. The ancient pagans wore these charms for the same 
 purpose. The name of their favorite god was generally inscribed 
 upon them, and we learn by a quotation from Chrysostom that the 
 Christians at Antioch used to bind brass coins of Alexander the 
 Great about their heads, to keep off or drive away diseases.^ The 
 Christians also used amulets with the name or monogram of the 
 god Seraj>is engraved thereon, wliich show that it made no differ- 
 ence whetlier the god was their own or that of another. Even the 
 charm which is worn by the Christians at the present day, has 
 none other than the monogram of Bacchus engraved thereon, i. e., 
 I. H. S.' 
 
 The ancient Roman children carried around their necks a small 
 ornament in the form of a heart, called Bulla. This was imitated 
 by the earl}' Christians. Upon their ancient monuments in the 
 Vatican, the heart is very common, and it may be seen in numbers 
 of old pictures. After some time it was succeeded by the Agnus 
 Dei, which, like the ancient Bulla, was supposed to avert dangers 
 from the ciiildren and the wearers of them. Cardinal Baronias (an 
 eminent Roman Catholic ecclesiastical historian, born at Sora, in 
 Naples, A. D. 1538) says, that those who have been baptized carry 
 pendent from their neck an Agnus Dei, in imitation of a devotion 
 01 the Pagans, who hung to the neck of their children little bottles 
 in the form of a heart, which served as preservatives against charms 
 and enchantnients. Says Mr. Cox : 
 
 " That ornaments in the shape of a veuca have been popuhir in all countries 
 as preservatives against dangers, and especially from evil spirits, can as little be 
 questioned as the fact that tliey still retain some measure of their ancient popu- 
 larity in England, where horse-shoes are nailed to walls as a safeguard against 
 unknown perils, where a shoe is thrown by way of good-luck after newly-mar- 
 ried couples, and where the villagers have not yet ceased to dance round the 
 May-pole on the green."* 
 
 All of these are emblems of either the Lingha or Yoni. 
 
 The use of amulets was carried to the most extravagant excess 
 
 ' Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. ail. • See Chap. XXXHI. 
 
 • See Lardner'8 Works, vol. viii. pp. 375, 376. • Coi : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 127.
 
 406 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 in ancient Egypt, and their Sacred Book of the Dead, even in its 
 earliest form, shows the importance attached to such things.' 
 We can say with M. Renan that : 
 
 "Almost all our superstitions are the remains of a religion anterior to Chris- 
 tianity, and whicli Christiauity has not been able entirely to root out."' 
 
 Baptismal fonts were used by the pagans, as Avell as the little 
 cisterns which are to be seen at the entrance of Catholic churches. 
 In the temple of Apollo, at Delphi, there were two of these ; one 
 of silver, and the other of gold.' 
 
 Temples always faced the east, to receive the rays of the rising 
 sun. They contained an outer court for the public, and an inner 
 sanctuary for the priests, called the '■'■Adytum.'''' Near the entrance 
 was a large vessel, of stone or brass, filled with water, made holy by 
 plunging into it a burning torch from the altar. All who were ad- 
 mitted to the sacrifices were sprinkled with tliis water, and none 
 but the unpolluted were allowed to pass beyond it. In the center 
 of the building stood the statue of the god, on a pedestal raised 
 above the altar and enclosed by a railing. On festival occasions, 
 the people brought laurel, olive, or ivy, to decorate the pillars and 
 walls. Before they entered they always washed their hands, as a 
 type of purilication from sin.* A story is told of a man who was 
 struck dead b}' a thunderbolt because he omitted this ceremony 
 when entering a temple of Jupiter. Sometimes they crawled up 
 the steps on their knees, and bowing their heads to the ground, 
 kissed the threshold. Always when they passed one of these 
 sacred edifices they kissed their right hand to it, in token of ven- 
 eration. 
 
 In all the temples of Vishnu, Crishna, Rama, Durga, and Kali, 
 in India, there are to be seen idols before which lights and incense 
 are burned. Moreover, the idols of these gods are constantly dec- 
 orated with flowers and costly ornaments, especially on festive occa- 
 sions.' The ancient Egyptian worship had a great splendor of 
 ritual. There was a morning service, a kind of mass, celebrated by 
 a priest, shorn and beardless ; there were sprinklings of holy water, 
 ifec, &c.° All of this kind of worship was finally adopted by the 
 Christians. 
 
 The sublime and simple theology of the primitive Christians 
 
 * Renouf : Hibbert Lectures, p. 191. themselves with pure minds, without which 
 
 2 Renan ; Hibbert Lectures, p. 32. the external cleanness of the body would by 
 
 3 See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 233. no means be accepted." (Bell's Pantheon, 
 
 • "At their entrance, purifying themselves vol. ii. p. 282.) 
 
 by washing their hands in Iwly water, they ^ See Williams' Hinduism, p. 99. 
 
 were at the earae time admooishcd to present * See Itenan's Hibbert Lectures, p. 35.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 407 
 
 was gradually corrupted and degraded by the introduction of a 
 popular mythology, which tended to restore the reign of poly 
 theism. 
 
 As the objects of religion were gradually reduced to the stand- 
 ard of the imagination, the rites and ceremonies were introduced 
 that seemed most powerfully to affect the senses of the vulgar. If, 
 in the beginning of the fifth century, "Tertullian, or Lactautius, had 
 been suddenly raised from the dead, to assist at the festival of some 
 popular saint or martyr, they would have gazed with astonishment 
 and indignation on the profane spectacle, which had succeeded to 
 the pure and spiritual worship of a Christian congregation.' 
 
 Dr. Drapei", in speaking of the early Christian Church, says : 
 
 " Great is the difference between Christianity under Severus (born 146) and 
 Christianity under Constantine (born 274). Many of the doctrines which at the 
 latter period were pre-eminent, in the former were unknown. Two causes led to 
 the amalgamation of Christianity with Paganism. 1. The political necessities 
 of the new dynasty : 2. The policy adopted by the new religion to insure its 
 spread. 
 
 " Though the Christian party had proved itself sufBciently strong to give a 
 master to the empire, it was never sufficiently strong to destroy its antagonist. 
 Paganism. The issue of the struggle between them icas an amalgamation of the 
 principles of both. In this, Christianity differed from Mohammedanism, which 
 absolutely annihilated its antagonist, and spread its own doctrines without adul- 
 teration. 
 
 " Constantine continually showed by his acts that he felt he must be the im- 
 partial sovereign of all his people, not merely the representative of a successful 
 faction. Hence, if h ■ built Christian churches, he also restored Pagan temples ; 
 if he listened to th> ilergy, he also consulted the haruspices ; if he summoned 
 the Council of Nicea, he also honored the statue of Fortune ; if he accepted the 
 rite of Baptism, he also struck a medal bearing his title of ' God.' His statue, 
 on top of the great porphyry pillar at Constantinople, consisted of an ancient 
 image of Apollo, whose features were replaced by those of the emperor, and its 
 head surrounded by the nails feigned to have been used at the crucifixion of 
 Christ, arranged so as to form a crown of glory. 
 
 "Feeling that there must be concessions to the defeated Pagan party, in ac- 
 cordance with its ideas, he looked with favor on the idolatrous movements of 
 his court. In fact, the leaders of these movements were persons of his own 
 family. 
 
 To the emperor, — a mere worldling — a man without any religious convictions, 
 doubtless it appeared best for himself, best for the empire, and best for the con- 
 tending parties. Christian and Pagan, to promote their union or amalgamation as 
 much as possible. Even sincere Christians do not seem to have been averse to 
 this; perhaps they believed that the new doctrines would diffuse most thoroughly 
 by incorporating in themselves ideas borrowed from the old; that Truth would 
 assert herself in the end, and the impurities be cast off. In accomplishing this 
 amalgamation, Helen, the Empress-mother, aided by the court ladies, led the 
 way. 
 
 > Edward Gibbon : Decline and Fall, vol. iii. p. 161.
 
 408 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " Ab years passed on, the faith described by TertuUian (a.d. 150-195) was 
 transformed into one more fashionable and more debased. It was incorporated 
 with the old Greek mythology. Olympus was restored, but the divinities passed 
 under new names 
 
 "Heathen rites were adopted, a pompous and splendid ritual, gorgeous robes, 
 mitres, tiaras, was-tapers, processional services, lustrations, gold and silver 
 vases, were introduced. 
 
 ' ' The festival of the Purification of the Virgin was invented to remove the un- 
 easiness of heathen converts on account of the loss of their Lupercalia, or feasts 
 of Pan. 
 
 " The apotheosis of the old Roman times was replaced by canonization ; tute- 
 lary saints succeeded to local mythological divinities. Then came the mystery 
 of transubstantiation, or the conversion of bread and wine by the priest into the 
 flesh and blood of Christ. As centuries passed, the pagaimatwn became more 
 and more complete."' 
 
 The early Christian saints, bishops, and fathers, confessedly 
 adopted the liturgies, rites, ceremonies, and terms of heathenism ; 
 making it their boast, that the pagan religion, properly explained, 
 really was notliiiig else than Christianity ; that the best and wisest 
 of its professors, in all ages, had been Christians all along ; that 
 Christianity was but a name more recently acquired to a religion 
 which had previously existed, and had been known to the Greek 
 philosophers, to Plato, Socrates, and neruclitus ; and that "if the 
 writings of Cicero had been read as they ought to have been, there 
 would have been no occasion for the Christian Scriptures." 
 
 And our Protestant, and most orthodox Christian divines, the 
 best learned on ecclesiastical antiquity, and most entirely persuaded 
 of the truth of the Christian religion, unable to resist or to conflict 
 with the constraining demonstration of the data that prove the 
 absolute sameness and identity of Paganism and Christianity, and 
 unable to point out so much as one single idea or notion, of which 
 they could show that it was peculiar to Christianity, or that Christi- 
 anity had it, and Paganism had it not, have invented the apology 
 of an hypothesis, that the Pagan religion was typical, and that 
 Crishna, Buddha, Bacchus, Hercules, Adonis, Osiris, Honis, &c., 
 were all of them tyjjes and forerunners of the true and real Saviour, 
 Christ Jesus. Those who are satisfied with this kind of reasoning 
 are certainly welcome to it. 
 
 That Christianity is nothing more than Paganism under a new 
 name, has, as we said above, been admitted over and over again by 
 the Fatliers of the Church, and others. Aringhus (in his account 
 of subterraneous Pome) acknowledges the conformity between the 
 Pagan and Christian form of worship, and defends the admission 
 
 ^ Draper : Science andRelis^on, pp. 40-49.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHBISTIANITT. 409 
 
 of the ceremonies of heathenism into the service of the Church, by 
 the authority of the wisest prelates and governors, whom, he says, 
 found it necessary, in the conversion of the Gentiles, to dissemble, 
 and wink at many things, and yield to the times ; and not to use 
 force against customs which the people were so obstinately fond of.' 
 
 Melito (a Christian bishop of Sardis), in an apology delivered to 
 the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, in the year 170, claims the patron- 
 age of the emperor, for the noxo called Christian religion, which he 
 calls ^^ our philosophy,'''' "on account of its high antiquity, as hav- 
 ing been imported from countries lying beyond the limits of the 
 Koman empire, in the region of his ancestor Augustus, who found 
 its importation ominous of good fortune to his government.'" 
 This is an absolute demonstration that Christianity did not origi- 
 nate in Judea, which was a Roman province, but really was an ex- 
 otic oriental fable, imported from India, and that Paul was doing 
 as he claimed, viz.: preaching a God manifest in the flesh who had 
 been " believed on in the world " centuries before his time, and a 
 doctrine which had already been preached " unto every creature 
 under heaven." 
 
 Baronius (an eminent Catholic ecclesiastical historian) says : 
 
 "It is permitted to the Cbiircli to use, /or the purpose of piety, the ceremonies 
 which the pagans used/o;- the purpose of impiety in a superstitious religion, after 
 having first expiated them b}' consecration — to the end, that the devil might re- 
 ceive a greater affront from employing, in honor of Jesus Christ, that which his 
 enemy had destined for his own service."' 
 
 Clarke, in his " Evidences of Revealed Religion," says : 
 
 ' ' Some of the ancient writers of the church have not scnipled expressly to 
 call the Athenian Socrates, and some othersof the best of the heathen moralists, 
 by the name of Christians, and to affirm, as the law was as it were a schoolmaster, 
 to bring the Jews unto Christ, so true moral philosophy was to the Gentiles a 
 preparative to receive the gospel."^ 
 
 Clemens Alexandrinus says : 
 
 " Those who lived according to the Logos were really Christians, though they 
 have been thought to be atheists ; as Socrates and Heraclitus were among the 
 Greeks, and such as resembled them."' 
 
 And St. Augustine says : 
 
 " That, in our times, is the Christian religion, which to know and follow is 
 the most sure and certain health, called according to that name, but not accord- 
 
 1 See Taylor's Diegcsis, p. 237. < Quoted by Rev. R. Taylor, Difgesia. 
 
 > Quoted in Taylor's Diegesis, p. 249. See p. 41. 
 also, Eusebius : Eccl. Hist., book iv. ch. xxvi. ' Strom, bk. i. ch. xii. 
 
 who alludes to it. 
 
 ' Baronins' Annals, An. 36.
 
 410 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 ing to the thing itself, of which it is the name ; for the thing itself ■which is now 
 called the Christian religion, really was known to the ancients, nor was wanting 
 at any time from the beginning of the human race, until the time when Christ 
 came in the flesh, from whence the true religion, which had previously existed, be- 
 gan to be called CItristian ; and this in our days is the Christian religion, not as 
 having been wanting in former times, but as having in later times received this 
 name."' 
 
 Eusebius, the great champion of Christianity, admits that that 
 which is called the Christian religion, is neither new nor strange, 
 bnt^if it be lawful to testify the truth — was known to the ancients.^ 
 
 How the common people were Christianized, we gather from a 
 remarkable passage which Mosheim, the ecclesiastical historian, 
 has preserved for us, in the life of Gregory, suruamed " Thauma- 
 turgus^'' that is, "the wonder worker." The passage is as follows : 
 
 " When Gregory perceived that the simple and unskilled multitude persisted 
 in their worsliip of images, on account of the pleasures and sensual gratifications 
 which they enjoyed at the Pagan festivals, he granted iliem a permission to in- 
 dulge themselves in the like pleasures, in celebrating the memory of the holy mar- 
 tyrs, hoping that in process of time, they would return of their own accord, to a 
 more virtuous and regular course of life."^ 
 
 The historian remarks that there is no sort of doubt, that by this 
 permission, Gregory allowed the Christians to dance, sport, and 
 feast at the tombs of the martyrs, upon their respective festivals, 
 and to do everything which the Pagans were accustomed to do in 
 their temples, during the feasts celebrated in honor of their gods. 
 
 The learned Christian advocate, M. Turretin, in describing the 
 state of Christianity in the fourth century, has a \^ell-turned rhetor- 
 icism, the point of which is, that " it was not so much the empire 
 that was brought over to the faith, as the faith that was brought 
 over to the empire ; not the Pagans who were converted to Chris- 
 tianity, but Christianity that was converted to Paganism.'" 
 
 Edward Gibbon says: 
 
 I " Ea est nostris temporibua Christiana corporeas delectationes et voluptates, simplex et 
 
 religio, quam cognoscere ac sequi Becurissima imperitum vulgiis in simulacrorum cultus errore 
 
 et certissima eaius est : secundum hoc nomen permaneret — permisit eis. ut in memoriam et 
 
 dictum est non secundum ipsam rem cujus recordatiouem sanctorum niartyium sese ob- 
 
 hoc nomen est ; nam res ipsa quEe nunc Chris- iectarent, et in leetitiam effunderentur, quod 
 
 tiana religio nuncupatur erat et apud antiquos, saccessu temporis aliquando futurum esset, ut 
 
 nee defuit ab initio generis humani, quousque sua sponte, ad tionestiorem et accuratiorem 
 
 ipse Christus veniret in carne, unde vera religio vitie ratiouem, transirent." (Moslicim, vol. i. 
 
 qute jam crat cepit appellari Christiana. Hsec cent. 2, p. 202. 
 
 est nostris Icmijoribus Christiana religio, non * " Non imperio ad fidem adducto, sed 
 
 quia prioribus temporibus non fuit, sed quia et imperii porapa eccle^iam inficiente. 
 
 posttTioribus hoc nomen uccepit." (Opera Au- Non ethnicis ad Christum conversis, sed et 
 
 gustini, vol. i. p. 12. Quoted in Taylor's Die- Chnsti religione ad EtUnicfie formam de- 
 
 fesis, p. 42.) pravata." (Orat. Acadfm. De Variis Christ. 
 
 = See Eusebius : Eccl. Hist., lib. S, cli. v. Rel. fatis.) 
 
 » "Cum animadvertisset Gregorins quod ob
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 411 
 
 " It must be confessed that the ministers of the Catholic church imitated the 
 profane model which they were impatient to destroy. The most respectable 
 bishops had persuaded themselves, that the ignorant rustics would more cheer- 
 fully renounce the superstitions of Paganism, if they found some resemblance, 
 some compensation, in the bosom of Christianity. The reUgion of Conslantine 
 achieved, in less than a century, the final conquest of the Roman empire : but 
 the victors iliemseive» were insensibly subdued by the arts of tlieir vanquished rivals. "' 
 
 Faustus, writing to St. Augustine, says : 
 
 " You have substituted your agapiE for the sacrifices of the Pagans ; for their 
 idols your martyrs, whom you serve with the very same honors. You appease 
 the shades of the dead with wine and feasts ; you celebrate the solemn festiv.ties 
 of the Gentilei, their calends, and their solstices ; and, as to their manners, inose 
 you have retained without any alteration. Nothing distinguishes you fn-m the 
 Pagans, except that you hold your assemblies apart from them.'"' 
 
 Ammonius Saccns (a Greek philosopher, founder of the ^eo- 
 platonic school) taught that : 
 
 "Christianity and Paganism, when rightly understood, differ in no es- 
 sential points, but had a common origin, and are really one and the same 
 thing."^ 
 
 Justin explains the thing in the following manner : 
 
 "It having reached the devil's ears that the prophets had foretold that Christ 
 would come ... he (the devil) set the heathen poets to bring forward a great 
 many who should be called sons of Jove, (j'.e.," The Sons of God.") The devil lay- 
 ing his scheme in this, to get men to imagine that the true history of Christ was 
 of the same character as the prodigious fables and poetic stories."'' 
 
 Caecilius, in the Octavius of Minucius Felix, says: 
 
 " All these fragments of crack-brained opiniatry and silly solaces played off 
 in the sweetness of song by (the) deceitful (Pagan) poets, by you too credulous 
 creatures {i.e., the Christians) have been shamefully reformed and made over to 
 your own god."' 
 
 Celsus, the Epicurean philosopher, wrote that : 
 
 "The Christian religion contains nothing but what Christians hold Ir com- 
 mon with heathens ; nothing new, or truly great."' 
 
 This assertion is fully verified by Justin Martyr, in his apology 
 to the Emperor Adrian, which is one of the most remarkable ad- 
 missions ever made by a Christian writer. He says : 
 
 " In saying that all things were made in this beautiful order by God, what 
 do we seem to say more than Plato ? Wlien we teach a general conflagration, 
 what do we teach more than the Stoics ? By opposing the wor.<hip of the worliS 
 of men's hands, we concur with Menander, the comedian ; and by declaring the 
 
 > Gibbon's Rome, vol. ill. p. 163. • Jn?tin: Apol. 1, ch. lix. 
 
 ' Quoted by Draper : Science and Religion, * Octavius, ch. .\i. 
 
 p. 48. « See Origen: Contra Cl'Isos. 
 ' See Taylor's Diegeeia, p. 329.
 
 412 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Logos, the first begotten of God, our master Jesus Christ, to be born of a v fgin, 
 without any human mixture, to be crucified and dead, and to have rose again, 
 and ascended into heaven : we say no more in thCs, tlian what you say of those 
 whom you style the Sons of Jove. For you need not be told what a parcel of sons, 
 the writers most in vogue among you, assign to Jove ; there's Mercury, Jove's 
 interpreter, in imitation of the Logos, in worship among you. There's ^Escula- 
 pius, the physician, smitten by a thunderbolt, and after that ascending into 
 heaven. There's Bacchus, torn to pieces ; and Hercules, burnt to get rid of his 
 pains. There's Pollux and Castor, the sous of Jove by Leda, and Perseus by 
 Danae ; and not to mention others, I would fain know why you always deify the 
 departed emperors and have a fellow at hand to make affidavit that he saw Caesar 
 mount to heaven from the funeral pile? 
 
 " As to the son of God, called Jesus, should we allow him to be nothing more 
 than man, yet the title of the son of God is very justifiable, upon the account of 
 his wisdom, considering that you have your Mercurj' in worship, under the title 
 of the Word and Jlessenger of God. 
 
 " As to tlis objection of our Jesus' s being crucified, I say. that suffering was com- 
 mon to all the forementioned sons of Jove, but only they suffered another kind of 
 death. As to his being born of a virgin, you have your Perseus to balance that. 
 As to his curing the lame, and the paralytic, and such as were cripples from 
 birth, tliis is little more than what you say of your .lEsculapius."' 
 
 The most celebrated Fathers of the Christian church, tlie most 
 frequently quoted, and those whose names stand the highest were 
 nothing more nor less than Pagans, being born and educated Pagans. 
 Pantaenus (a. d. 193) was one of these half-Pagan, half-Christian, 
 Fathers. He at one time presided in the school of the faithful in 
 Alexandria in Egj^pt, and was celebrated on account of his learn- 
 ing. He was brought up in the Stoic philosophy.^ 
 
 Clemens Alexandriiius (a. d. 191) or St. Clement of Alexan- 
 dria, was another Christian Father of the same sort, being originally 
 a Pagan. He succeeded Pantaenus as president of the monkish 
 university at Alexandria. His works are very extensive, and his 
 authority very high in the church.' 
 
 Tertulliau (a. d. 200) may next be mentioned. He also was 
 originally a Pagan, and at one time Presbyter of the Christian 
 church of Carthage, in Africa. The following is a specimen of his 
 manner of reasoning on the evidences of Christianity. He says : 
 
 " I find no other means to prove myself to be impudent with success, and 
 happily a fool, than by my contempt of shame ; as, for iustance— I maintain 
 that the Son of God was born ; why am I not ashamed of maintaining sucli a 
 thing? Why! but because it is itself a shameful tiling. I maintain that the 
 Son of God died: well, that is wholly credible bec.iuse it is monstrously absurd. 
 I maintain that after having been buried, he rose again : and that I take to be 
 absolutely true, because it was manifestly impossible."'' 
 
 * Apol. 1, cb. XX. isi, xxii ■' -St.-.- Ii>ui. p. ,324. 
 
 ' See Taylor's Diegcsis, p 333. ' Oq ili.' Flc'li iif Clin'.-t, eh. v.
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 413 
 
 Origen (a. d. 230), one of the shining lights of tlie Christiau 
 church, was another Father of this class. Porphyry (a Neo-platonist 
 philosopher) objects to him on this account." 
 
 He also was born in the great cradle and nursery of superstition 
 — Egypt — and studied under that celebrated philosopher, Aiiimo- 
 nius Saccus, who taught that " Christianity and Paganism, when 
 rightly understood, differed in no essential point, but had a common 
 oriffin." This man was so sincere in his devotion to the cause of 
 monkery, or Esscnism, that he made himself an eunuch " for the 
 kingdom of heaven's sake.'" The writer of the twelfth verse of 
 the nineteenth chapter of Matthew, was without doubt an Egyp- 
 tian monk. The words are put into the mouth of the Jewish Jesus, 
 ■which is simply ridiculous, when it is considered that the Jews did 
 not allow an eunuch so much as to enter the congregation of the 
 Lord.' 
 
 St. Gregory (a. d. 2-iO), bishop of Neo-Csesarea in Pontus, was 
 another celebrated Christian Father, born of Pagan parents and ed- 
 ucated a Pagan. He is called Thaumaturgus, or the wonder- 
 worker, and is said to have performed miracles when still a Pagan.' 
 He, too, was an Alexandrian student. Tliis is the Gregory who 
 "was commended by his namesake of Nyssa for changing the Pagan 
 festivals into Christian holidays, the better to draw the heathen to 
 the religion of Christ.' 
 
 Mosheim, the ecclesiastical historian, in speaking of the 
 Christian church during the second century, says : 
 
 "The profound respect that was paid to the Greek and Roman mysteries, and 
 the extraordinary sanctity that was attributed to them, induced the Christians 
 to give Iheir religion a myiitic air, in order to put it upon an equal footing, in 
 point of dignity, with that of the Pagans. For this purpose they gave the name 
 of mysteries to the institutions of the gospel, and decorated, particularly the 
 holy sacrament, with that solemn title. They used, in that sacred institution, 
 as also in that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the heathen myste- 
 ries, and proceeded so far at length, as even to adopt some of the rites and cere- 
 monies of which those renowned mysteries consisted."* 
 
 We have seen, then, that the only difference between Christi- 
 anity and Paganism is that Brahma, Ormuzd, Osiris, Zeus, Jupiter, 
 etc., are called by another name; Crishna, Buddha, Bacchus, 
 Adonis, Mithras, etc., have been turned into Christ Jesus : Venus' 
 pigeon into the Holy Ghost ; Diana, Isis, Devaki, etc., into the 
 
 ' See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 328. ' See Middietou's Letters from Rom>;, p. 
 
 • Matt. six. 12. 236 ; Mosheim, vol. i. cent. 2, pi. 2, ch. 4. 
 
 • Dent, xsiii. 1. • Eccl. Hist. vol. 1. p. 199. 
 
 • See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 339.
 
 414 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Virgin Mary ; and the demi-gods and heroes into saints. The ex- 
 ploits of the one were represented as the miracles of the other. 
 Pagan festivals became Christian holidays, and Pagan temples be- 
 came Christian churches. 
 
 Mr. Mahaffy, Fellow and Tutor in Trinity College, and Lecturer 
 on Ancient History in the University of Dublin, ends his " Prole- 
 gomena to Ancient History" in the following manner: 
 
 " There is indeed, hardly a greater fruitful idea in the Jewish or Christian 
 systems, which has not its analogy in the (ancient) Egyptian faith. The develop- 
 ment of the one God into a trinit;/ ; the incarnation of the mediating deity in a 
 Virgin, and without a father; his conflict and his momentary defeat by the powers 
 of darkness ; his partial victory (for the enemy is not destroyed); his resurrec- 
 tion and reign over an eternal kingdom with liis justified saints ; his distinction 
 from, and yet identity with, the uncreate incomprehensible Father, whose form 
 is unknown, and who dwellelh not in temples made with hands — all t/iese theo- 
 logical conceptions percade the oldest relic/ itjn of Egypt. So, too, the contrast and 
 even the apparent inconsistencies between our moral and theological beliefs — 
 the vacillating attribtition of sin and guilt partly to moral weakness, partly to 
 the interference of evil spirits, and likewise of righteousness to moral worth, 
 and again to the help of good genii or angels ; the immortality of the soul and its 
 final judgment — all these things have met us in the Egyptian ritual and moral 
 treatises. So, too, the purely human side of morals, and the catalogue of vir- 
 tues and vices, are by natural consequences as like as are the theological systems. 
 But I recoil from opening this great sulyect now ; it is enough to have lifted the veil 
 a.nd slwwn the scene of many a future contest."'^ 
 
 In regard to the moral sentiments expressed in the books of 
 the New Testament, and believed by the majority of Christians to 
 be peculiar to Christianity, we shall touch them but lightly, as this 
 has already been done so frequently by many able scholars. 
 
 The moral doctrines that appear in the New Testament, even the 
 sayings of the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer, are 
 found with slight variation, among the Rabbins, who have certainly 
 borrowed nothing out of the New Testament. 
 
 Christian teachers have delighted to exhibit the essential superior- 
 ity of Christianity to Judaism, have quoted with triumph the maxims 
 that are said to have fallen from the lips of Jesus, and which, they 
 surmised, could not be paralleled in the elder Scriptures, and have 
 put the least favorable construction on such passages in the ancient 
 Looks as seemed to contain the thoughts of evangelists and apostles. 
 A more ingenious study of the Hebrew law, according to the oldest 
 traditions, as well as its later interpretations by the prophets, re- 
 duces these differences materially by bringing into relief sentiments 
 and precepts whereof the New Testament morality is but an echo. 
 
 » Prolegomena to Ancient History, pp. 416, 41".
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 415 
 
 There are passages in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteroi.omj, even ten- 
 derer in their humanity than anything in the Gospels. The 
 preacher from the Mount, the prophet of the Beatitudes, does 
 but repeat with persuasive lips what the law-givers of his race pro- 
 claimed in mighty tones of command. Such an acquaintance with 
 the later literature of the Jews as is really obtained now from pop- 
 ular soui'ces, will convince the ordinarily fair mind that tlie origi- 
 nality of the New Testament has been greatly over-estimated. 
 
 ' ' To feed tbe hungiy, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, 
 loyally serve the king, forms the first duty of a pious man and faitliful subject," 
 
 is an abstract from the Egyptian " Book of the Dead," ths oldest 
 Bible in the world. 
 
 Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, born 551 b. c, said : 
 
 " Obey Heaven, and follow the orders of Him who governs it. Love your 
 neighbor as yourself. Do to another what you would he should do unto you ; 
 and do not unto another what j'ou would should not be done unto you ; thou 
 only needest this law alone, it is the foundation and principle of all the rest. Ac- 
 knowledge thy benefits by the return of other benefits, but never retenge in- 
 juries."^ 
 
 The following extracts from Manu and the Maha-hharata, an 
 Indian epic poem, written many centuries before the time of Christ 
 Jesus,"" compared with similar sentiment contained in the books of 
 the New Testament, are very striking. 
 
 "An evil-minded man is quick to " And why beholdest thou the mote 
 
 see his neighbor's faults, though small that is in thy brother's eye, but consid- 
 
 as mustard-seed : but when he turns erest not the beam that is in thine own 
 
 his eyes towards his own, though large eye? " (Matt. vii. 3.) 
 as Bilva fruit, he none descries. " 
 (Maha-bharata.) 
 
 " Conquer a man who never gives "Be not overcome of evil, but over- 
 
 by gifts; subdue untruthful men by come evil with good." (Romans, xiL 
 
 truthfulness ; vanquish an angry man 21.) 
 by gentleness ; and overcome the evil 
 man by goodness." (Ibid.) 
 
 "To injure none by thought or word " Love j'our enemies, and do good, 
 
 ordeed. to give toothers, and be kind to and lend, hoping for nothing again; 
 
 all — this is the constant duty of the and your reward shall be great, and ye 
 
 good. High-minded men delight in shall be the children of the Highest : 
 
 doing good, without a thought of their for he is kind unto the unthankful and 
 
 own interest; wlicn they confer a bene- to the evil." (Luke, vii. 35.) 
 fit on others, they reckon not on favors 
 in return." (Ibid.) 
 
 " Two persons will hereafter be ex- "And Jesus sat over against the 
 
 alted above the heavens — the man with treasury, and beheld how i)eople cast 
 
 ' Tindal : ChriBtianity as Old as the Crea- sixth century b. c. (see Williams' Indian Wis- 
 tion. dom, p. 215), and Che Maha-bharata aboat the 
 
 » Mann's works were written dnring the same time.
 
 416 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 boundless power, wlio yet forbears to 
 use it iudiscreetly, iiud he wlio is not 
 rich, and yet can give." (Ibid.) 
 
 "Just Ijeaven is not so pleased with 
 costly gifts, offered in hope of future 
 recompense, as with the merest trifle 
 set apart from honest gains, and sancti- 
 fied by faith." (Ibid.) 
 
 "To curb the tongue and moderate 
 the speech, is held to be the hardest of 
 all tasks. The words of him who talk 
 too volubly have neither substance nor 
 variety." (Ibid.) 
 
 "Even to foes who visit us as guests 
 due hospitality should be displayed ; 
 the tree screens with its leaves, the man 
 who fells it. " (Ibid.) 
 
 "In granting or refusing a request, 
 a man obtains a proper rule of action 
 by looking on his neighbor as himself." 
 (Ibid.) 
 
 "Before infirmities creep o'er thy 
 flesh ; before decay impairs thy 
 strength and mars the beauty of thy 
 limbs ; before the Euder, whose char- 
 ioteer is sickness, ha les towards thee, 
 breaks up thy fragile frame and 
 ends thy life, lay up the oulj' treasure: 
 Do good deeds ; practice sobrift}' and 
 self-control ; amass that wealth which 
 thieves cannot .'ibstract, nor t3'rants 
 seize, which follows thee at death, 
 which never wastes away, nor is cor- 
 rupted." (Ibid.) 
 
 " This is the .sum of all true right- 
 eousness — Treat others as thou wouldst 
 thyself bs treated. Do nothing to thy 
 neighbor, which hereafter thou 
 would'st not have thy neighbor do to 
 thee. In causing plea.sure, or in giv- 
 ing pain, in doing good or injury to 
 others, in granting or refusing a 
 request, a man obtains a proper rule of 
 action by looking on his neighbor as 
 himself." (Ibid.) 
 
 money Into the treasury : and many 
 that were rich cast in much. And 
 there came a certain poor widow, and 
 she threw in two mites, which make a 
 farthing. And he called unto him his 
 disciples, and saith unto them. Verily I 
 say unto you, that this poor widow hath 
 cast more in, than all they which have 
 cast into the treasurj- : For all they did 
 cast in of their abundance, but she of 
 her want did cast all that she had, even 
 all her living." (Mark, xii. 41-44.) 
 
 " But the tongue can no man tame ; 
 it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poi- 
 son. (James, iii. 8.) 
 
 " Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, 
 feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink; 
 for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of 
 fire on his head." (Rom. xii. 20.) 
 
 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself." (Matt. xxii. 39.) 
 
 " And as ye would that men should 
 do to you, do ye also to them like- 
 wise." (Luke vi. 31.) 
 
 ' ' Remember now thy creator in the 
 days of thy youth, while the evil days 
 come not, nor the years draw nigh, 
 when thou shalt say : I have no pleas- 
 ure in them." (Ecc. xii. 1.) 
 
 ' ' Lay not up for yourselves treasures 
 upon earth, where moth and rust doih 
 corrupt, and where thieves break 
 through and steal : But lay up for your- 
 selves treasures in heaven, where neither 
 moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where 
 thieves do not break through and steal." 
 (Matt. vi. 19-20.) 
 
 "Ye have heard that it hath been 
 said : Thou shalt love thy neighbor, 
 and hate thine enemy. But I say 
 unto you, love your enemies, bless 
 them that curse you, do good to them 
 that hate you, and pray for them which 
 despitefully use you, and persecute 
 you." (Matt. v. 43-44.) 
 
 " A new commandment I give unto 
 you, that ye love one another : as I 
 have loved you, that ye also love one 
 another." (John, xii. 34.) 
 
 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself." (Matt. xi. 39.)
 
 PAGANISM IN CHRISTIANITY. 417 
 
 " Think constantly, O Son, how thou mayest please 
 Thy father, mother, teacher, — these obey. 
 By deep devotion seek thy debt to pay. 
 This is thy highest duty and religion." (Manu.) 
 
 " Wound not another, though by him provoked. 
 Do no one injury by thought or deed. 
 Utter no word to pain thy fellow-creatures." (Ibid.) 
 
 " Treat no one with di.sdain, with patience bear 
 
 Reviling language ; with an angry man 
 
 Be never angry ; blessings give for curses." (Ibid.) 
 
 " E'en as a driver checks his restive steeds, 
 Do thou, if thou art wise, restrain thy passions, 
 Which, running wild, will hurry thee away." (Ibid.) 
 
 "Pride not thyself on thy religious works. 
 Give to the poor, but talk not of thy gifts. 
 By pride religious merit melts away, 
 The merit of thy alms by ostentation." (Ibid.) 
 
 " Good words, good deeds, and beautiful expressions 
 A wise man ever culls from every quarter. 
 E'en as a gleaner gathers ears of corn." (Maha-bharata.) 
 
 "Repeated sin destroys the understanding. 
 And he whose reason is impaired, repeats 
 His sins. The constant practice ot virtue 
 Strengthens the mental faculties, and he 
 Whose judgment stronger grows, acts always right. (Ibid.) 
 
 " If thou art wise seek ease and happiness 
 In deeds of virtue and of usefulness ; 
 And ever act in such a way by day 
 That in the night thy sleep may tranquil be ; 
 And so comport thyself when thou art young 
 That when thou art grown old, thy age may pass 
 In calm serenitj'. So ply thy talk 
 Through thy life, that when thy days are ended. 
 Thou may'st enjoy eternal bliss hereafter." (Ibid.) 
 
 " Do naught to others which if done to thee 
 Would cause thee pain ; this is the sum of duty." (Ibid.) 
 
 " No sacred lore can save the hypocrite, — 
 Though he employ it craftily, — from hell ; 
 When his end comes, his pious texts take wings. 
 Like fledglings eager to forsake their nest. " (Ibid.) 
 
 " Iniquity once practiced, like a seed, 
 Fails not to yield its fruit to him who wrought it, 
 If not to him, yet to his sons and grandsons." (Manu.) 
 
 27
 
 418 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " Single is every living creature bom, 
 Single he passes to another world. 
 Single he eats the fruit of evil deeds, 
 Single, the fruit of good ; and when he leaves 
 His body lilie a log or heap of clay 
 Upon the ground, his kinsmen walk away ; 
 Virtue alone stands by him at the tomb. 
 And bears him through the dreary, trackless gloom." (Ibid.) 
 
 " Thou canst not gather what thou dost not sow ; 
 As thou dost plant the tree so will it grow." (Ibid.) 
 
 " He who pretends to be what he is not, 
 Acts a part, commits the worst of crimes, 
 For, thief-like, he abstracts a good man's heart." (Ibid.)
 
 CHAPTEK XXXYII. 
 
 WHY CHEISTIANITT PE08PEEED. 
 
 We now come to the question, Why did Christianity prosper, 
 and why was Jesus of Nazareth believed to be a divine incarnation 
 and Saviour? 
 
 Tliere were many causes for this, but as we can devote but one 
 chapter to the subject, we must necessarily treat it briefly. 
 
 For many centuries before tlie time of Christ Jesus there lived 
 a sect of religious monks known as Essenes, or Therajjeutae ;^ these 
 entirely disappeared from history sliortly after the time assigned 
 for the critcrfixion of Jesus. There were thousands of them, and 
 their monasteries were to be counted by the score. Many have 
 asked the question, " What became of them ?" We now propose 
 to show, 1. That they were expecting the advent of an AngelrMes- 
 siah ; 2. That they considered Jesus of Nazareth to be the Mes- 
 siah ; 3. That they came over to Christianity in a body ; and, 4. 
 That they brought the legendary histories of the former Angel- 
 Messiahs with them. 
 
 The origin of the sect known as Essenes is enveloped in mist, 
 and will probably never be revealed. To speak of all the different 
 ideas entertained as to their origin would make a volume of itself, 
 we can therefore but glance at the subject. It has been the ob- 
 ject of Christian writers up to a comparatively recent date, to 
 claim that almost everything originated with God's chosen people, 
 the Jews, and that even all languages can be traced to the Hebrew. 
 Under these circumstances, then, it is not to be wondered at that 
 we find they have also traced the Essenes to Hebrew origin. 
 
 Theophilus Gale, who wrote a work called " The Court of the 
 
 » "Numerous bodies of ascetics (Thera- plating the hidden wisdom of the Scriplures. 
 peatae), especially near Lake Mareotis, devoted Eusebius even claimed them as Christians ; 
 themselves to discipUne and study, abjuring and some of the forms of monasticism were 
 society and labor, and often forgetting, it is evidently modeled after the TherapeuUc." 
 said, the simplest wants of nature, in contem- (Smith's Bible Dictionary, art. " Alexandria," 
 
 [419J
 
 420 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Gentiles" (Oxford, 1671), to demonstrate that "the origin of all 
 human literature, both philology and philosophy, is from the Scrip- 
 tures and the Jewish church," undoubtedly hits upon the truth when 
 be says : 
 
 " Now, the origination or rise of tbese Essenes (among the Jews) I conceive 
 by the best conjectures I can make from antiquity, to ie in or immediately after 
 tlie Babylonian captivity, though some make them later." 
 
 Some Christian writers trace them to Moses or some of the 
 prophets, but that they originated in India, and were a sort of 
 Buddhist sect, we believe is their true history. 
 
 Gfrorer, who wrote concerning them in 1835, and said that " the 
 Essenes and the Theraj>eutoB are the sa/me sect, and hold the saine 
 views,^'' was undoubtedly another writer who was touching upon 
 historical ground. 
 
 The identity of many of the precepts and practices of Essenism 
 and those of the Wew Testament is unquestionable. Essenism urged 
 on its disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
 ness.' The Essenes forbade the laying up of treasures upon earth." 
 The Essenes demanded of those who wished to join them to sell all 
 their possessions, and to divide it among the poor brethren.' The 
 Essenes had all things in common, and appointed one of the bi'eth- 
 ren as steward to manage the common bag.' Essenism put all its 
 members on the same level, forbidding the exercise of authority of 
 one over the other, and enjoining mutual service." Essenism com- 
 manded its disciples to call no man master upon the earth.' Essen- 
 ism laid the greatest stress upon being meek and lowly in sj^irit.' 
 The Essenes commended the poor in spirit, those who hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the 
 peacemaker. They combined the healing of the body with that of 
 the soul. They declared that the power to cast out evil spirits, to 
 perform miraculous cures, &c., should be possessed by their disci- 
 ples as signs of their belief.* The Essenes did not swear at all ; 
 their answer was yea, yea, and nay, nay.' When the Essenes started 
 on a mission of mercy, they provided neither gold nor silver, neither 
 two coats, neither shoes, but relied on hospitality for support." The 
 Essenes, though repudiating oflFensive war, yet took weapons with 
 
 > Comp. Matt. vi. 33 ; Luke, xii. 31. • Comp. Matt, xxiii. 8-10. 
 
 > Comp. Matt. vi. 19-21. ' Comp. Matt. v. 5 ; xi. 29. 
 
 s Comp. Malt. six. 31 ; Luke, xii. 33. " Comp. Mark, xvi. 17 ; Matt. i. 8 ; Lake, 
 
 * Comp. Acts, ii. 44, 45 ; ir. 33-34 : John, Lx. 1, 2 ; x. 9. 
 lii, C ; xiii. 29. ' Comp. Matt. v. 34. 
 
 » Comp. Matt. xx. 25-88 ; Mark, ix. 35-37 ; '" Comp. Matt. x. 9, 10. 
 
 X. 42^5.
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 421 
 
 tliein when they went on a perilous journey." The Essenes abstained 
 from connubial intercourse.' The Essenes did not offer animal sac- 
 rifices, but strove to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and 
 acceptable unto God, which they regarded as a reasonable service." 
 It was the great aim of the Essenes to live such a life of purity 
 and holiness as to be the temples of the Holy Spirit, and to be able 
 to prophesy.* 
 
 Many other comparisons might be made, but these are sufficient 
 to show that there is a great similarity between the two.' These 
 similarities have led many Christian writers to believe that Jesus 
 belonged to this oi'der. Dr. Ginsburg, an advocate of this theory, 
 says : 
 
 "It will hardly be doubted that <«<?• Saviour himself belonged to this holy 
 brotherhood. This will especially be apparent when we remember that the whole 
 Jewish community, at the advent of Christ, was divided into three parties, the 
 Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes, and that every Jew had to belong to 
 one of these sects. Jesus, who, in all things, conformed to the Jewish law, and 
 who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, would therefore 
 naturally associate himself with that order of Judaism which was most congenial 
 to his holy nature. Moreover, the fact that Christ, with the exception of once, 
 was not heard of in public until his thirtieth year, implying that he lived in se- 
 clusion with this fraternity, and that though he frequently rebuked the scribes, 
 Pharisees and Sadducees, he never denounced the Essenes, strongly confirms 
 this conclusion.'* 
 
 The facts — as Dr. Ginsburg calls them — which confirm his con- 
 clusions, ai'e simply no facts at all. Jesus may or may not have been 
 a member of this order ; but when it is stated as a fact that he never 
 rebuked the Essenes, it is implying too much. We know not 
 whether the words said to have been uttered by Jesus were ever 
 uttered by him or not, and it is almost certain that had he rebuked 
 the Essenes, and had his words been written in the Gospels, they 
 would not remain there long. We hear very Kttle of the Essenes 
 after a. d. 40,' therefore, when we read of the "primitive Chris- 
 tia7is," we are reading of Essenes, and others. 
 
 The statement that, with the exception of once, Jesus was not 
 heard in public life till his thirtieth year, is also uncertain. One 
 of the early Christian Fathers (Irenseus) tells us that he did not begin 
 
 • Comp. Lute, xxii. ?A. « Ginsbnrg'a Eseenes, p. 24. 
 
 ' Comp. Matt. xir. 10-12 ; I. Cor. viii. ' "We hear very little of tliem after a.d. 
 
 ' Oomp. Ecra. xii. 1. 40; and there can hardly be any doubt that, 
 
 < Corap. I. Cor. xiv. 1, 39. owing to the great similarity existing between 
 
 * The above comparisons have been taken their precepts and practices and those of primi- 
 from Ginsburg's "Essenes," to which the tive Christians, the Essenes (Ma ftorfy must have 
 reader is referred for ,1 more lengthy observation embraced Christianity." (Dr. Ginebnrg, p. 
 on the subject. 27.)
 
 422 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 to teacli until he -was forty years of age, or thereabout, and that he 
 lived to be nearly fifty years old.' " The records of his life are very 
 scanty ; and these have heen so shaped and colored and modified hy 
 the hands of ignorance and superstition and party prejudice and 
 ecclesiastical purpose, that it is hard to he sure of the original out- 
 lines.'''' 
 
 The similarity of the sentiments of the Essenes, or Therapeutas, 
 to those of the Church of Rome, induced the learned Jesuit, Nieo- 
 laus Serarius, to seek for them an honorable origin. He contended 
 therefore, that they were Asideans, and derived them from the 
 Rechabites, described so circumstantially in the thirty -fiftli chapter 
 of Jeremiah ; at the same time, he asserted that the first Christian 
 monks were Essenes." 
 
 Mr. King, speaking of the Christian sect called Gnostics, says ; 
 
 " Their chief doctrines had beeu held for centuries before (tlieir time) in many 
 of the cities of Asia Minor. There, it is probable, they first came into existence 
 as ' Mystffi,' upcin the establishment of a direct intercourse with India under the Se- 
 leueidcB and the Ptolemies. The colleges of Essenes and Megabyzae at Ephesus, 
 the Orphics of Thrace, the Curetes of Crete, are all merely branches of one an- 
 tique and common religion, and that originally Asiatic."^ 
 
 Again : 
 
 " The introduction of Buddhism into Egypt and Palestine affords the only true 
 solution of innumerable difficulties in tlte history of religion."* 
 
 Again : 
 
 " That Buddhism liad actually been planted in the dominions of the Seleucidae 
 and Ptolemies (Palestine belonging to the former) before the beginning of the 
 third century is. c, is provedto demonstration by a pas.sage in the Edicts of Asoka, 
 grandson of the famous Chandragupta, the Sandracottus of the Greeks. These 
 edicts are engraven on a rock at Giruur, in Guzerat."* 
 
 Eusebius, in quoting from Philo concerning the Essenes, seems 
 to take it for granted that they and the Christians were one and 
 the same, and from the manner in which he writes, it would appear 
 that it was generally understood so. He says that Philo called them 
 " Worshipers," and concludes by saying : 
 
 " But whether he himself gave them this name, or whether aX the beginning 
 they were so called, when as yet the name of Christiana was not everywhere pub- 
 lished, I think it not needful curiosity to sift out."* 
 
 > This will be alluded to in another chapter. period. (See Ginsbnrgh's Esaenee, and Hardy's 
 
 ^ It was believed by some that the order of Eastern Monacbism, p. 353.) 
 
 Vssenes was instituted byElias, aud some writ- ^ King's Gnostics and their Remains, p. 1. 
 
 erg asserted that there was a regular succession * Ibid. p. C. 
 
 tif hermits upon Mount Carmel from the time ^ King's Gnostics, p. 23. 
 
 of the prophets to that of Christ, and that the • Eusebius : Eccl. Hist., lib. 2, ch. ivii. 
 
 hermits embraced Christianity at an early
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 423 
 
 This celebrated ecclesiastical historian considered it very prob- 
 able that the writings of the Essenic Therapeuts in Egypt had been 
 incorporated into the gospels of the New Testament, and into some 
 Pauline epistles. His words are : 
 
 " It is very likely that the commentaries (Scriptures) which were among them 
 (the Essenes) were the Gospels, and the works of the apostles, and certain expo- 
 sitions of the ancient prophets, such as partly that epistle unto the Hebrews, 
 and also the other epistles of Paul do contain."' 
 
 The principal doctrines and rites of the Essenes can be con- 
 nected with the East, with Parsism, and especially with Buddhisin. 
 Among the doctrines which Essenes and Buddhists had in common 
 was that of the Angel-Messiah.' 
 
 Godfrey Higgins says : 
 
 "T\ie Essenes were called physicians of the soul, or Therapeutm; being resi- 
 dent both in Judea and Egypt, they probably spoke or had their sacred books in 
 Chaldee. They were Pythagoreans, as is proved by all their forms, ceremonies, 
 and doctrines, and they called themselves sons of Jesse. If the Pythagoreans or 
 Conobitffi, as they are called by Jamblicus, were Buddhists, the Essenes were 
 Buddhists. The Essenes lived in Egypt, on the lake of Parembole or Maria, in 
 monasteries. These are the very places in which we formerly found the Crym- 
 nosophists, or Samaneans, or Buddhist priests to have lived ; which Gymnosophis- 
 t£B are placed also by Ptolemy in north-eastern India." 
 
 "Their (the Essenes) parishes, churches, bishops, priests, deacons, festivals 
 are all identically the same (as the Christians). They had apostolic founders ; 
 the manners which distinguished the immediate apostles of Christ ; scriptures 
 divinely inspired ; the same allegorical mode of interpreting them, which has 
 since obtained among Christians, and the same order of performing public wor- 
 ship. They had missionary stations or colonies of their conununity established 
 in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus. PhiUippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica, pre- 
 cisely such, and in the same circumstances, as were those to whom St. Paul ad- 
 dressed his letters in those places. AH the line moral doctrines which are at- 
 tributed to the Samaritan Nazarite, and I doubt not justly attributed to him, are 
 to be found among the doctrines of these ascetics."^ 
 
 And Arthur Lillie says : 
 
 "It is asserted by calm thinkers like Dean Mansel that within two genera- 
 tions of the time of Alexander the Great, the missionaries of Buddha made their 
 
 1 Easebiua : Eccl. Hist., lib. S, ch. x>ii. the Christian era. Hilgenfeld, Matter, Bohlen, 
 = Bnoeen : The Angel-Messiah, p. vii. -'The King, all admit the Buddhist influence. Cole- 
 New Testament is the Essene-Nazarene Glad brooke saw a striking similarity between the 
 Tidings I Adon, Adoni. Adonis, style of wor- Baddhist philosophy and that of the Pythago- 
 ship." (S. F. Duulap : Son of the Man, p. iii.) reans. Dean Milman was convinced that the 
 
 * Anacalj-psis, vol. i. p. 747 ; vol. ii. p. 34. Therapeuts sprung from the ' contemplative 
 
 * " In this," says Mr. Lillie, " he was enp- and indolent fraternities ' of India.' And, he 
 ported by philosophers of the calibre of Scliil- might have added, the Rev. Robert Taylor in 
 ling and Schopenhauer, and the great Sanscrit his " DiegesU," and Godfrey Higgins in hig 
 authority, Lassen. Renan also sees traces of " Anacalypsis," have brought strong argnmenta 
 this Baddtiist propagundism in Palestine before to bear in support of ttiis theory.
 
 424 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 appearance at Alexandria.* This theory is confirmed — in the east by the 
 Asoka monuments — in the west by Philo. He expressly maintains the identity 
 in creed of the higher Judaism and that of the GymrwaophisU of India who ab- 
 stained from the ' sacrifice of living animals ' — in a word, the Buddhists. It 
 ■would follow from this that the priestly religion of Babylonia, Palestine, Egypt, 
 and Greece were undermined by certain kindred mystical societies organized by 
 Buddha's missionaries under the various names of Therapeutes, Essenes, Neo- 
 Pythagoreans, Neo-Zoroastrians, &c. Thus Buddhism prepared tlis way for Chris- 
 tianity."^ 
 
 The Buddhists have the " eight-fold holy path " (Dhammapada), 
 eight spiritual states leading up to Buddhahood. The first state of 
 the Essenes resulted from baptism, and it seems to correspond with 
 the first Buddhistic state, those who have entered the (mystic) 
 stream. Patience, purity, and the mastery of passion were aimed 
 at by both devotees in the other stages. In the last, magical pow- 
 ers, healing the sick, casting out evil spirits, etc., were supposed to 
 be gained. Buddhists and Essenes seem to have doubled up this 
 eight-fold path into four, for some reason or other. Buddhists and 
 Essenes had three orders of ascetics or monks, but this classification 
 is distinct from the spiritual classifications." 
 
 The doctrine of the ^^ Anointed Angel" of the man from heaven, 
 the Creator of the world, the doctrine of the atoning sacrificial 
 death of Jesus by the blood of his cross, the doctrine of the Messi- 
 anic antetype of the Paschal lamb of the Paschal omer, and thus of 
 the resurrection of Christ Jesus, the third day, according to the 
 Scriptures, these doctrines of Paul can, with more or less certainty, 
 be connected with the Essenes. It becomes almost a certainty that 
 Eusebius was right in surmising that Essenic writings have heen 
 used hy Paid and the evangelists. J^ot Jesus, but Paul, is the cause 
 of the separation of the Jews from the Christians.' 
 
 The probability, then, that that sect of vagrant quack-doctors, 
 the Therapeutas, who were established in Egypt and its neighbor- 
 hood many ages before the period assigned by later theologians as 
 that of the birth of Christ Jesus, were the original fabricators of the 
 writings contained in the New Testament, becomes a certainty on 
 the basis of evidence, than which history has nothing more certain, 
 furnished by the unguarded, but explicit, unwar}', but most unquali- 
 fied and positive statement of the historian Eusebius, that " those 
 ancient Therapeutce were Christians, and that their ancient writ- 
 ings were our gospels and epistles.'''' 
 
 The Essenes, the Therapeuts, the Ascetics, the Monks, the £c- 
 
 ' Baddha and Early Baddhism, p. vi. ' Bansen's Augel-Messiali, p. 121. ' Ibid. p. 240.
 
 WHT CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 426 
 
 clesiastics, and the Eclectics, are but different names for one and the 
 self-same sect. 
 
 The word '■'■Easerie " is nothing more than the Egyptian word for 
 that of which Therapeut is the Greek, each of them signifying 
 "healer" or "doctor," and designating the character of the sect as 
 professing to be endued with the miraculous gift of healing ; and 
 more especially so with respect to diseases of the mind. 
 
 Their name of '■'■Ascetics " indicated the severe discipline and 
 exercise of self-mortification, long fastings, prayers, contemplation, 
 and even makintr of themselves eunuchs for the kinffdom of 
 heaven's sake, as did Origen, Melito, and others who derived their 
 Christianity from the same school ; Jesus himself is represented to 
 have recognized and approved their practice. 
 
 Their name of '■'■Monl's " indicated their delight in solitude, 
 their contemplative life, and their entire segregation and abstraction 
 from the world, which Jesus, in the Gospel, is in like manner rep- 
 resented as describing, as characteristic of the community of wliich 
 he was a member. 
 
 Their name of " Ecclesiastics " was of the same sense, and indi- 
 cated their being called out, elected, separated from the general fra- 
 ternity of mankind, and set apart to the more immediate service 
 and honor of Gk)d. 
 
 They had a flourishing university, or corporate body, established 
 upon these principles, at Alexandria in Egypt, long before the 
 period assigned for the birth of Christ Jesus.' 
 
 From this body they sent out missionaries, and had established 
 colonies, auxiliary branches, and aflBliated communities, in various 
 cities of Asia Minor, which colonies were in a flourishing con- 
 dition, before the preaching of St. Paul. 
 
 " TJie very ancient and Eastern doctrine of an Angel-Messiah 
 had heen applied to Gautama- Bvddha, and so it was applied to 
 Jesus Christ hy the Essenes of Egypt and of Palestine, who intro- 
 duced' this new Messianic doctrine into Essenic Judaism and Es- 
 senic Christianity."'' 
 
 In the Pali and Sanscrit texts the word Buddha is always used 
 as a title, not as a name. It means " The Enlightened One." Gau- 
 tama Buddlia is represented to have taught that he was only one of 
 a long series of Buddhas, who appear at intervals in the world, and 
 who all teach the same system. After the death of each Buddha 
 his religion flourishes for a time, but finally wickedness and ■vdce 
 
 ' "The Essenes abonnded in Egypt, espec- Hist., lib. 2, ch. ivii. 
 ially aboat Alexandria." (Eusebins : Eccl. ^ Bonecn'a Angel-Mesaiab, p. 2G6.
 
 426 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 again rule over the land. Then a new Buddha appears, who again 
 preaches tlie lost Dharma or truth. The names of twenty-four of 
 these Buddhas who appeared previous to Gautama liave been hand- 
 ed down to us. Tlic Buddhavansa, or " History of the Buddhas," 
 the last book of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the second Pitca, gives 
 the lives of all the previous Buddhas before commencing its ac- 
 count of Gautama iiimself ; and the Pali commentary on the Jator 
 leas gives certain details regarding each of the twenty-four." 
 
 An Avatar was expected about every six hundred years.' At the 
 time of Jesus of Nazareth an Avatar was expected, not by some of 
 the Jews alone, but by most every eastern nation.' Many persons 
 weie thought at that time to be, and undoubtedly thought tiiem- 
 selves to be, the Christ, and the onl^' reason why the name of Jesus 
 of Nazareth succeeded above all others, is because the Essenes — 
 who were expecting an Angel-Messiah — espoused it. Had it not 
 been for this almost indisputable fact, the name of Jesus of Naza- 
 reth would undoubtedly not be known at the present day. 
 
 Epiphanius, a Christian bishop and writer of the fourth century, 
 says, in speaking of the Essen es : 
 
 " They who believed on Christ were called Jess^ei (or Essenes), Ac/<we <A«y 
 were called Christians. These derived their constitution from the signification of 
 the name Jesus, which in Hebrew signifies the same as T/ierapeutes, that is, a 
 saviour or physician." 
 
 Thus we see that, according to Christian authority, the Essenes 
 and Therapeutes are one, and that the Essenes espoused the cause 
 of Jesus of Nazareth, accepted him as' an Angel-Messiah, and be- 
 
 1 Rhys Davids' Buddhism, p. 179. ^ " Philo's writings prove the probability, 
 
 3 This is clearly t^hown by Mr. Higgins in almost rising to a certainty, that already in his 
 
 his Auacalypsis. It should be remembered that time the Essenes did expect an .\ngel-Messiah 
 
 Gautama Buddha, the " Angel-Messiah," and as one of a series of divine incarnations. 
 
 Cyrus, the " Anointed " of the Lord, are placed Within about fifty years after Philo's death, 
 
 about six hundred years before Jesus, the Elkesai the Essene probably applied this doc- 
 
 *' .\nointed." This cycle of sis hundred years trine to Jesus, and it was promulgated in Rome 
 
 was called the '•(7?'^a^ year." Josephus, the Jew- about the same time, if not earlier, by the 
 
 ish historian, alludes to it when spealdng of the Pseudo-Clementines," i_Bunseu : The Anget 
 
 patriarchs that lived to a great age, *• God af- Messiah, p, 118.) 
 
 forded them a longer time of life," says he, "on "There was, at this time (i, c, at the time 
 
 account of their virtue, and the good use they of the birth of Jesus), a prevalent expectation 
 
 made of it in astronomical and geometrical that some remariiable personage was about to 
 
 discoveries, wiiich would not have afforded the appear in Judea. The Jews were anxiously 
 
 time for foretelling (the periods of the stars), looking for the coming of the Messiah. By 
 
 unlessthey hadlived A'ix/i(/rtc//erf?/«fl?'*; forthe computing the time mentioned by Daniel (ch, 
 
 great y.ar is completed in that interval," (Jo- ix, 2,V2Ti, they knew that the period was ap- 
 
 sephus, Antiq., bk, i, c, iii.) '* From this cycle of proaching when the Messiah should appear, 
 
 six hwidred,'^ says Col, Vallancey. " came the This personage, t/iey ^fppo^ed, would be a 
 
 name of the bird Phcenix, called by the Egyp- temporal prince, and they were expecting that 
 
 tians Phenn, with the well-known story of its he would deliver them from Roman bondage, 
 
 going to Eg}-pl to burn itself on the altar of the Jt was natural that this expectation should 
 
 Sun (at Heliopolisl and rise again from its spread into other countrifs.^^ (Barnes' Notes, 
 
 ashes, at the end of a certain period." vol. i. p. 27.)
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 427 
 
 came known to history as Christians, or believere in the Anointed 
 Angel. 
 
 This ascetic Buddhist sect called Essenes were therefore expect- 
 ing an Angel-Messiah, for had not Gautama annonnced to his dis- 
 ciples that another Buddha, and therefore another angel in human 
 form, another organ or advocate of the wisdom from above, would 
 descend from heaven to earth, and would be called the " Son of 
 Love." 
 
 The learned Thomas Maurice says : 
 
 " From the earliest post-diluvian age, to that in which the Messiah appeared, 
 together with the traditions which so expressly recorded the fall of the human 
 race from a state of original rectitude and felicity, there appears, from an infi- 
 nite variety of hieroglyphic monuments and of written documents, to have pre- 
 vailed, from generation to generation, throughout all the regions of Hie higher Asia, 
 an uniform belief that, in the course of revolving ages, there should arise a sacred 
 personage, a mighty delioererof mankind from tlie thraldom of sin and of death. In 
 fact, the mcmorj- of the grand original promise, that the seed of the woman 
 should eventually crush the serjieut, was carefully preserved in the breasts of 
 the Asiatics ; it entered deeply into their symbolic superstitious, and was engraved 
 aloft amidst their mythologio sculptures."' 
 
 That an Angel-Messiah was generally expected at this time may 
 be inferred from the following facts : Some of the Gnostic sects of 
 Christians, who believed that Jesus was an emanation from God. 
 likewise supposed that there were several ^ons, or emanations from 
 the Eteriiiil Father. Among those who taught this doctrine was 
 BasiUdes and his followers.'' 
 
 Simon Magus was believed to be " He who should come." 
 Simon was worshiped in Samaria and other countries, as the ex- 
 pected Angel-Messiah, as a God. 
 
 Jtistin Martyr says : 
 
 " After the ascension of our Lorfl into heaven, certain men were suborned by 
 demons as their agents, who said that they were gods {i.e., the Angel Messiah). 
 Among these was Simon, a certain Samaritan, wliom nearly all the Samaritans 
 and a few also of other nations, worshiped, confessing him as a Supreme God."' 
 
 His miracles were notorious, and admitted by all. His follow- 
 ers became so numerous that they were to be found in all countries. 
 In Home, in the reign of Claudius, a statue was erected in his 
 honor. Clement of Rome, speaking of Simon Magus, says that : 
 
 "He wishes to be considered an exalted person, and to be considered 'the 
 Christ.' He claims that he can never be dissolved, asserting that he will endure 
 to eternity." 
 
 ' Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 273. ' Apol. 1, ch. xxvi. 
 
 ' See Lardner's Works, vol. viii. p. 353.
 
 428 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Montanus wa8 another person who evidently believed himself 
 to be an Angel-Messiah. Ho was called by himself and his follow- 
 ers the " Paraclete," or "Holy Spirit.'" 
 
 Socrates, in his Ecclesiastical History, tells us of one BuddJuiH 
 (who lived after Jesus) : 
 
 "■Who afore that time was called Tercbynthus, which went to the coasts of 
 Babylon, inhabitcU by Persians, and thcro published of himself many false won- 
 ders : that he was born of a virgin, that he was bred and broiiglit up in the 
 mountains, etc."* 
 
 Ho was evidently, one of the many fanatics who believed them- 
 selves to be the Paraclete or Comforter, the "Expected One." 
 
 Another one of these Christs was Apollonius. This remark- 
 able man was born a few years before the commencement of the 
 Christian era, and during his career, sustained the role of a philoso- 
 pher, religions teacher and reformer, and a worker of miracles. He 
 is said to have lived to be a hundred years old. From the history 
 of his life, written by the learned sophist and scholar, Philostratiis, 
 we glean the following : 
 
 Before his birtli a god appeared to his mother and informed her 
 that he himself should be bora of her. At the time of her deliv- 
 ery, the most wonderful things happened. All the people of tlic 
 country acknowledged that he was the " Son of God." As he grew 
 in stature, his wonderful powers, greatness of memory, and marvel- 
 ous beaiity attracted the attention of all. A great part of his time 
 was spent, when a youth, among the learned doctors; tho disciples 
 of Plato, Chrysippus and Aristotle. When he came to man's estate, 
 he became an enthusiastic admirer and devoted follower of Pythag- 
 oras. His fame soon spread far and near, and wherever ho wont 
 he reformed the religious worship of the day. He weut to Ephesiis, 
 like Christ Jesns to Jerusalem, where the people flocked about him. 
 While at Athens, in Greece, he cast out an evil spirit from a youth. 
 As soon as Apollonius fixed his eyes upon him, the demon broke 
 out into the most angry and horrid expressions, and then swore he 
 would depart out of the youth. He put an end to a plague which 
 was raging at Ephesus, and at Corinth he raised a dead maiden to 
 life, by simply taking her by the hand and bidding her arise. The 
 miracles of Apollonius were extensively believed, ly Christians as 
 well as others, for centuries after his time, la the fourth century 
 Hierocles drew a parallel between the two Christs — Apollonius 
 and J esus — which was answered by Eusebius, the great champion 
 
 > 6ee Lardner'a Worke, vol. Till. p. 693. ' Socrates : Sccl. Hl8t., lib. i. ch. xrii.
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 429 
 
 of the Christian church. In it he admits the miracles of Apollonitis, 
 but attributes them to sorcery. 
 
 Apollonius was worshiped as a god, in different countries, as 
 late as the fourth century. A beautiful temple was built in honor 
 of him, and he was held in high esteem by many of the Pagan em- 
 perors. Eunapius, who wrote concerning him in the fifth century, 
 says that his history should have been entitled " The Descent of a 
 God upon Earth." It is as Albert Eeville says : 
 
 " The universal respect in whicli Apollonius was held by the whole pagan 
 world, testified to the deep impression which the life of this Supernatural Being 
 had left indelibly fixed in their minds ; an expression which caused one of his 
 contemporaries to exclaim, ' We have a Ood living among us.' " 
 
 A Samaritan, by name Menander, who was contemporary with 
 the apostles of Jesus, was another of these fanatics who believed 
 himself to be the Christ. He went about performing miracles, 
 claiming that he was a Saviour, " sent down from above from the 
 invisible worlds, for the salvation of raankind.^^ ' He baptized his 
 followers in his own name. His influence was great, and continued 
 for several centuries. Justin Martyr and other Christian Fathers 
 wrote against him. 
 
 Manes evidently believed himself to be '' the Christ," or " he 
 who was to come." His followers also believed the same concern- 
 ing him. Eusebius, speaking of him, says : 
 
 " He presumed to represent the person of Christ ; he proclaimed himself to be 
 the Comforter and the Holy Ghost, and being puffed up with this frantic pride, 
 chose, as if he were Christ, twelve partners of his new-found doctrine, patch- 
 ing into one heap false and detestable doctrines of old, rotten, and rooted out 
 heresies, the which he brought out of Persia " "^ 
 
 The word Manes, says Usher in his Annals, has the meaning of 
 Paraclete or Comforter or Saviour. This at once lets us into the 
 secret — a new incarnation, an Angel-Messiah, a Christ — born from 
 the side of his mother, and put to a violent death — flayed alive, 
 and hung up, or crucified, by a king of Persia.' This is the teacher 
 with his twelve apostles on the rock of Gualior. 
 
 Du Perron, in his life of Zoroaster, gives an account of certain 
 prophecies to be found in the sacred books of the Persians. One 
 of these is to the effect that, at successive periods of time, there will 
 appear on earth certain " Sons of Zoroaster," who are to be the 
 
 ■ Eusebius: Eccl. Hist., lib. 3, ch. xxiii. apprehended, flayed him alive, took hie skin, 
 
 » Ibid. lib. 7, ch. xxx. filled it full of chaff, and hanged it at the 
 
 3 The death of Manes, according to Socrates. gates of the city." (Eccl. Hist., lib. 1, ch. 
 
 was as follows : The King of Persia, hearing xv.) 
 
 .that he was in Mesopotamia, "made him to be
 
 430 MBLS MrXHS. 
 
 result of immaculate eonceptions. These virgin-born gods will 
 como upon earth for tlio purpose of establishing the law of God. It 
 is also assorted that Zoroaster, when on earth, declared that in the 
 "latter days" a pure virgin would conceive, and bear a son, and 
 that as soon as the child was born a star would appear, blazing even 
 at noonday, with undiminished splendor. This Christ is to be 
 called Sosiosh. He will redeena mankind, and subdue the .Devs, 
 who have been tempting and leading men astray ever since the fall 
 of our first parents. 
 
 Among tlie Greeks the same prophecy was found. The Oracle 
 of Delphi was the depository, according to Plato, of an ancient 
 and secret prophecy of the birth of a "Son of Apollo," who was to 
 restore the reign of justice and virtue on the earth.' 
 
 Those who believed in successive emanations of jEons from the 
 Throne of Light, pointed to the passage in the Gospels where Jesus 
 is made to say that he will be succeeded by the Paraclete or Com- 
 forter. Mahotnmed was believed by many to be this Paraclete, and 
 it is said that he too told his disciples that another Paraclete would 
 succeed him. From present appearances, however, there is some 
 reason for believing that tlie Mohammedans are to have their an- 
 cient prophecy set at naught by the multiplicity of those who pre- 
 tend to be divinely appointed to fulfill it. The present year was 
 designated as the period at which this great reformer was to arise, 
 who should be almost, if not quite, t!ie equal of Mahommed. His 
 mission was to be to purify the religion from its corruptions ; to 
 overthrow those who had usurped its control, and to rule, as a great 
 spiritual caliph, over the faithful. According to accepted tradition, 
 the prophet himself designated the line of descent in which his most 
 important successor would be found, and even indicated his personal 
 appearance. The time having arrived, it is not strange that the 
 man is forthcoming, only in this instance there is more than one 
 claimant. There is a "holy man" in Morocco who has allowed it 
 to be announced that he is the designated reformer, while cable re- 
 ports sliow that a rival pretender has appeared in Yemen, in south- 
 ern Arabia, and his supporters, sword in hand, are now advancing 
 upon Mecca, for the purpose of proclaiming their leader as caliph 
 within the sacred city itself. 
 
 History then relates to us the indisputable fact' that at the time 
 of Jesus of Nazareth an Angel-Messiah was expected, that many 
 persons claimed, and were believed to be, the "Expected One," and 
 
 > Plato in ApoloK. Anac., 11. p. 189.
 
 •WHY CHEISTIAITITT PEOSPEEED. 431 
 
 that the reason why Jesus was accepted above all others was because 
 the Essenes — a very numerous sect — believed him to be the true 
 Messiah, and carao over to his followers in a body. It was because 
 there were so many of these Christa in existence that some follower 
 of Jesus — but no one knows wlw — wrote as follows : 
 
 " If any man sball say to you, Lo, here u UJirist, or, lo, ho is there ; believe 
 him not'; for false Christa and false prophets shall rise, and ahaU thtna tigns and 
 uoTidera to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."' 
 
 The reasons why Jesus was not accepted as the Messiah by the 
 majority of the Jews was because the majority expected a daring 
 and irresistible warrior and conqueror, who, armed with greater 
 power than Cssar, was to come upon earth to rend the fetters in 
 which their hapless nation had so long groaned, to avenge them 
 upon their haughty oppressors, and to re-establish the kingdom of 
 Judah ; and this Jesus — although he evidently claimed to be the 
 Messiah — did not do. 
 
 Tacitus, the Roman historian, says : 
 
 " The generality had a strong persuasion that it was contained ia the ancient 
 writings of the priests, that at that very time the east should prevail : and that 
 some one, who should come out of Judea, should obtain the empire of the world ; 
 which ambiguities foretold Vespasian and Titus. But the common people (of 
 the Jews), according to the influence of human wishes, appropriated to them- 
 Eeives, by their interpretation, this vast grandeur foretold by the fates, nor could 
 be brought to change their opinion for the true, by all their adversities." 
 
 Suetonius, another Roinan historian, says : 
 
 " There had been for a long time all over the cast a constant persuasion that 
 it was recorded in the fates (books of the fates, or foretellings), that at that time 
 some one who should come out of Judea should obtain universal dominion. It 
 appears by the event, that this prediction referred to the Roman emperor ; but 
 the Jews, referring it to themselves, rebelled." 
 
 This is corroborated by Josephus, the Jewish historian, who 
 
 sa^^s : 
 
 " That which chiefly excited them (the Jews) to war, was an amliguous 
 prophecy, which was also found in the sacred books, that at that time some one, 
 within their country, should arise, that should obtain i}te empire of the wlwle 
 world. For this they had received by tradition, th.it it was spoken of one of 
 their n.ition ; and many wise men were deceived with the interpretation. But, 
 in truth, Vespasian's empire was designed in this prophecy, who was created 
 cmpetor (of Rome) in Judea." 
 
 As the Rev. Dr. Geikie remarks, the central and dominant char- 
 acteristic of the teaching of the rabbis, was the certain advent of 
 
 > MaTk, xiU. St. £3.
 
 432 BIBLS MTTHS. 
 
 a great national Deliverer — the Messiah — but not a God from 
 heaven. 
 
 For a time Cyrus appeared to realize the promised Deliverer, or, 
 at least, to be the chosen instrument to prepare the way for him, 
 nnd, in his turn, Zeruhahel became the centre of Messianic hopes. 
 In fact, the national mind had become so inflammable, by constant 
 brooding on this one theme, that any bold spirit, rising in revolt 
 against the Roman power, could find an army of fierce disciples 
 who trusted that it should be he who would redeem Israel." 
 
 The '■'■taxing'''' which took place under Cyrenius, Governor of 
 Syria (a. d. 7), excited the wildest uproar against the Roman power. 
 The Hebrew spirit was stung into exasperation ; the puritans of the 
 nation, the enthusiasts, fanatics, the zealots of the law, the literal 
 constructionists of prophecy, appealed to the national temper, re- 
 vived the national faith, and fanned into flame the combustible ele- 
 ments that smoldered in the bosom of the race. The Messianic 
 hope was strong in these people ; all the stronger on account, of 
 their political degi'adation. Born in sorrow, the anticipation grew 
 keen in bitter hours. That Jehovah would abandon them could 
 not be believed. The thought would be atheism. The hope 
 kept the eastern Jews in a perpetual state of insurrection. The cry 
 " Lo here, lo there ! " was incessant. Claimant after claimant of 
 the dangerous supremacy of the Messiah appeared, pitched a camp 
 in the wilderness, raised the banner, gathered a force, was attacked, 
 defeated, banished, or crucified ; but the frenzy did not abate. 
 
 The last insurrection among the Jews, that of Bar-Cochba — 
 •' Son of the Star " — revealed an astonishing frenzy of zeal. It 
 was purely a Messianic uprising. Judaism had excited the fears 
 of the Emperor Hadrian, and induced him to inflict unusual sever- 
 ities on the people. The effect of the violence was to stimulate 
 that conviction to fury. The night of their despair was once more 
 illumined by the star of the east. The banner of the Messiah was 
 raised. Poteiits, as of old, were seen in the sky ; the clouds were 
 watched for the glory that should appear. Bar-Cochba seemed to 
 fill out the popular idea of the deliverer. Miracles were ascribed 
 to him ; flames issued from his mouth. The vulgar imagination 
 made haste to transform the audacious fanatic into a child of David. 
 Multitudes flocked to his standard. The whole Jewish race through- 
 out the world was in commotion. The insurrection gained head. 
 The heights about Jerusalem "were seized and occupied, and f ortifi- 
 
 > Oelkle : Life of CIiriBt, vol. L p. 79.
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 4S8 
 
 cations were erected ; nothing but the " host of angels " was 
 needed to insure victory. The angels did not appear ; the Roman 
 legions did. The " Messiah," not proving himself a conqueror, was 
 held to have proved himself an impostor, the " son of a lie.'" 
 
 The impetuous zeal with which the Jews rushed to the standard 
 of this Messianic impostor, in the 130th year of the Christian era, 
 demonstrates the true Jewish character, and shows how readily any 
 one who made the claim, was believed to be '"He who should 
 come." Even the celebrated Eabbi Akiba sanctioned this daring 
 fraud. Akiba declared that the so-called prophecy of Balaam, — " a 
 star shall rise out of Jacob" — was accomplished. Hence the im- 
 postor took his title of Bar-Cochabas, or Son of the Star ; and 
 Akiba not only publicly anointed him " King of the Jews," and 
 placed an imperial diadem upon his head, but followed him to the 
 field at the head of four-and-twenty thousand of his disciples, and 
 acted in the capacity of master of his horse. 
 
 Those who believed on the meek and benevolent Jesus — and 
 whose number was very small — were of that class who believed in 
 the doctrine of the Angel-Messiah,^ first heard of among them 
 when taken captives to Babylon. These believed that just as 
 Buddha appeared at different intervals, and as Vishnu appeared at 
 different intervals, the avatars appeared among tlie Jews. Adam, 
 and Enoch, and JN^oah, and Elijah or Elias, might in outward ap- 
 pearance be different men, but they were really the self-same divine 
 person successively animating various human bodies.' Christ Jesus 
 was the avatar of the ninth age, Christ Cyrus was the avatar of 
 tlie eighth. Of the hero of the eighth age it is said : " Thus said 
 the Lord to his Anointed {i. e., his Christ), his Messiah, to Cyrus, 
 
 ^ Frothingham'e Cradle of the Christ. Enoch, supposed to have been written at vari- 
 
 2 "The prevailing opinion of the Eabbia ous intervals between 144 and 120 (e. c.) and to 
 
 and the people alike, in Christ's day, was, that have been completed in its present form in the 
 
 the Messiah would be simply a great prince, first half of the second century that preceded 
 
 who should found a kingdom of matchless the advent of Jesus, the figure of the Messiah 
 
 eplendor.'' "With a few, however, the con- is invested with superhuman altributes. He is 
 
 ception of the Messiah's kingdom was pure and called "The Son of God." " whose name was 
 
 lofty. . . . Daniel, and all who wrote after spoken before the Sun was made ;" " who 
 
 him, painted the ' Expected One ' as a heavenly existed from the beginning in the presence of 
 
 being. He was the 'messenger,' the ' Elect of God," that is, was pre-ex!stent. At the same 
 
 God,' appointed from eternity, to appear in time his human characteristics are insisted on. 
 
 due time, and redeem his people." (Geikie's He is called " Son of Man," even " Son of 
 
 Life of Christ, vol. i. pp, 80, 81.) Woman," " The Anointed " or " The Christ," 
 
 In the book of l/aniel, by some supposed " The Righteous One," &c. (Prothingham : 
 
 to have been written during the captivity, by The Cradle of the Christ, p. 20.) 
 others as late as Antiochus Epiphaues (b, c. ^ This is clearly seen from the statement 
 
 175), the restoration of the Jews is described made by the Matthew narrator (xvii. &-13) that 
 
 in tremendous language, and the Messiah is the disciples of Christ Jesus supposed John 
 
 portrayed as a snpernatural personage, in close the Baptist was Elias. 
 relation with Jt^hovah himself. In the book of
 
 434 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 wliose right hand I have holden to subdue nations.'" The eighth 
 period began about the Babylonish captivity, about six hundred years 
 before Christ Jesus. The ninth began with Christ Jesus, making 
 in all eight cycles before Jesus. 
 
 " What was known in Judea more tiian a century before the 
 birth of Jesus Christ cannot have been introduced among Budd- 
 hists by Christian missionaries. It will become equally certain that 
 the bishop and church-historian, Eusebius, was right when he wrote, 
 that he considered it highly probable that the writings of the Es- 
 senie Tlierapeuts in Egypt had been incorporated into our Gospels, 
 and into some Pauline epistles.'" 
 
 For further information on tlie subject of the connection be- 
 tween Essenism and Christianity, the reader is referred to Taylor's 
 Diegesis, Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, and the works of S. F. Dunlap. 
 We shall now speak of another powerful lever which was brought 
 to bear upon the promulgation of Christianity ; namely, that of 
 
 FRAUD. 
 
 It was a common thing among the early Christian Fathers and 
 oamts to lie and deceive, if their lies and deceits helped the cause 
 of their Clu'ist. Lactantius, an eminent Christian author who 
 flourished in the fourth century, has well said : 
 
 "Among those who seek power aud gain from their religion, there will never 
 be wanting an inclination to forge and lie for it."'' 
 
 Gregory of Nazianzus, writing to St. Jerome, says : 
 
 " A little jargon is all that is necessary to impose on the people. The less 
 they comprehend, the more they admire. Our forefathers and doctors have 
 often said, not what they thought, but what circumstances and necessity dic- 
 tated."'' 
 
 The celebrated Eusebius, Bishop of C^saeea, and friend of 
 Constantino the Great, who is our chief guide for the early history 
 of the Chui'ch, confesses that he was hy no means scrupulous to re- 
 cord the whole truth concerning the early Christians in the var-ious 
 works which he has left behind him.'' Edward Gibbon, speaking 
 of him, says : 
 
 "The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius himself, indirectly 
 confesses that he has related what might redound to the glory, and that he has 
 suppressed all that could tend to the disgrace of religion. Such an aclinowledg- 
 ment will naturally excite a suspicion that a writer who has so openly violated 
 one of the fundamental laws of history, has not paid a very strict regard to the 
 
 ^ Isaiah, x4v. 1. * Hieron ad Nep. Quoted Volney's Ruins, 
 
 » BunsPD : The Angel-Messiah, p. 17. p. 177, note. 
 ' Quoted in Middleton's Letters from Rome, ' See his Eccl. Hist., viii. 21. 
 
 p. 51.
 
 yvRY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 435 
 
 observance d.' tne other ; and the suspicion will derive additional credit from the 
 character of Eiisebius, which was less tinctured with credulity, and more prac- 
 ticed in the arts of courts, than that of almost any of his contemporaries.'"' 
 
 The great theologian, Beausobre, in his " Histoire de Mani- 
 
 chee," says : 
 
 " We see in the history which I have related, a sort of hypocrisy, that has 
 been perhaps, but too common at all times ; that churchmen not only do not 
 say what they think, but they do say the direct contrary of what they think. 
 Philosophers in their cabinets ; out of them they are content with fables, though 
 they well know they are fables. Nay, more ; they deliver honest men to the execu- 
 tioner, for having uttered what they themselves know to be true. How many 
 atheists and pagans have burned holy men under the pretest of heresy? Every 
 daj-- do hypocrites consecrate, and make people adore the host, though as well con- 
 vinced as I am, that it is nothing but a bit of bread."* 
 
 M. Daille says : 
 
 " This opinion has always been in the world, that to settle a certain and as- 
 sured estimation upon that which is good and true, it is necessary to remove out 
 of the way, whatsoever maybe an hinderance to it. Neitlier ought we to wonder 
 that even those of the Iwnest, innocent, primitive times inade use of these deceits, see- 
 ing for a good end tliey made no scruple to forge whole books."' 
 
 Reeves, in his " Apologies of the Fathers," says : 
 
 " It was a Catholic opinion among tlie philosophers, that pious frauds were 
 good things, and that the people ought to be imposed on in matters of religion."* 
 
 Mosheira, the ecclesiastical historian, says : 
 
 " It was held as a maxim that it was not only lawful but praiseworthy to de- 
 ceive, and even to use the expedient of a lie, in order to advance the cause of 
 truth and piety."* 
 
 Isaac de Casaubon, the great ecclesiastical scholar, says : 
 
 "It mightily affects me, to see how many there were in the earliest times of 
 the church, who considered it as a capital exploit, to lend to heavenly truth the 
 help of their own inventions, in order that the new doctrine might be more 
 readily allowed by the wise among the Gentiles. These officious lies, tliey were 
 wont to say, were dsvised for a good end. "* 
 
 * Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii. pp. 79. 80. moi, que cen' est qa'nn morceaa de pain.* 
 
 a " On voit dans I'histoireque j'airapportee. (Tom. 'i. p. 568.) 
 nne sorte d'liypocrisie, qui n'a peut-etre ete ' Ou the Use of tbe Fathers, pp. 36, .S7. 
 
 qne trop commune dans tousles tenis. C'est que * Quoted in Taylor's Syntagma, p. 170. 
 
 des ecclesiastiques, non-sulement ne disent pas * Mosheim : vol. 1, p. 198. 
 
 ce qu'ils pensent, mais desenttoutle contraire ' " Postremo illud quoque me vehrm.uter 
 
 de ce qu'ils pensent. Ptiilo&ophes dans Icur movet, quod \ideam primis ecclesise tempori- 
 
 cabinet, horsdela, lis content des fables, quoi- bus, quam plurimos exlitisse, qui facinua 
 
 qu'ils -achent bien que ce sont des fables. lis palmarium judicnhant. clEle.->lem veritatem, 
 
 font plus ; iis livrent au bourreau des gi-ns do figui-ntis suie ire adjutum, quo facilius nova 
 
 bieus, pour Tavoir dit. Comhiens d'alhees et doctrina a gentium eapientibus admitteretur 
 
 de profanes out fait bruler de saints prrson- Ofliciosa beec mendacia vocabant bono line 
 
 nage^. sous pretexte d'heresie ? Tousles jours e.Keogitata." ^Quoted in Taylor's Diegesis, p. 
 
 des hypocrites, coneacrent et font adorer 44, and Giles' Hebrew and Christian Itecords 
 
 rhostie, bein qii'iU soient uussL couvaincus que vol ii. p. 19.;
 
 436 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The Apostolic Father, Hermas, who was the fellow-laborer of 
 St. Paul ill the work of the ministry ; who is greeted as such in the 
 New Testament ; and whose writings are expressly quoted as of 
 divine inspiration, by the early Fathers, ingenuously confesses that 
 lying was the easily-besetting sin of a Christian. His words are : 
 
 "O Lord, I never spake a true word ia my life, but I have always lived in 
 dissimulation, and atBrmed a lie for truth to all men, and no man contradicted 
 me, but allgaVe credit to my words." 
 
 To which the holy angel, whom he addresses, condescendingly 
 admonishes him, that as the lie was up, now, he had better keep it 
 up, and as in time it would come to be believed, it would answei 
 as well as truth.' 
 
 Dr. Mosheim admits, that the Platonists and Pythagoreans held 
 it as a maxim, that it was not only lawful, but praiseworthy, to de- 
 ceive, and even to use the expedient of a lie, in order to advance the 
 cause of truth and piety. The Jews who lived in Egypt, had 
 learned and received this maxim from them, before the coming of 
 Christ Jesus, as appears incontestably from a multitude of ancient 
 records, and the Christians were infected from hoth these sources, 
 with the same pernicious error!' 
 
 Of the fifteen letters ascribed to Ignatius (Bishop of Antioch 
 after 69 a. d.), eight have leen rejected hy Christian writers as be- 
 ing fo7'geries, having no authority whatever. " The remaining 
 seven epistles were accounted genuine by most critics, although dis- 
 puted by some, previous to the discoveries of Mr. Cureton, which 
 have shaken, and indeed almost wJwlly destroyed the credit and 
 authenticity of all alike.'''" 
 
 Paul of Tarsus, who was preaching a doctrine which had already 
 been preached to every nation on earth,' inculcates and avows the 
 prineij^le of deceiving the common people, talks of his having been 
 upbraided by his own converts with being crafty and catching them 
 with guile,' and of his known and willful lies, abounding to the 
 glory of God.° 
 
 Even the orthodox Doctor Burnet, an eminent English author, 
 in his treatise " De Statu Mortuorum," purposely written in Latin, 
 
 1 See the Vision of Hermas, b. 2, c. iii. heaven ; whereof IPaul am made a minister." 
 
 » Mosheim„vol. i. p. 197. Quoted in Taylor's (Colossians, i. aS.) 
 Diegesis, p. 47. " *' Being crafty, I caught you with guile." 
 
 s Dr. Giles : Hebrew and Christian Eecords, (11. Cor. xii. IG.) 
 vol. ii. p. 99. " " For if the truth of God had more 
 
 * " Continue in the faith grounded and abounded through my lie unto his glory, why 
 
 settled, and be not moved away from the hope yet am I also judged as a sinner." (Romans, 
 
 of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which iii 7.) 
 was preached to every creature which is under
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 437 
 
 that it might serve for the instruction of the clergy only, and not 
 come to the knowledge of the laity, because, as he said, " too much 
 light is hurtful for weak eyes" not only justified but recom- 
 mended the practice of the most consummate hypocrisy, and would 
 have his clergy seriously preach and maintain the reaUty and 
 eternity of hell torments, even though they should believe nothing 
 of the sort themselves.' 
 
 The incredible and very ridiculous stories related by Christian 
 Fathers and ecclesiastical historians, 07i whom we are obliged to rely 
 fw information on the most important of subjects, show us how 
 untrustworthy these men were. We have, for instance, the story 
 related by St. Augustine, who is styled " the gi'eatest of the Latin 
 Fathers," of his preaching the Gospel to people without heads. In 
 his 33d Sermon he says : 
 
 ■' I was already Bishop of Hippo, when I went into Ethiopia with some serv- 
 ants of Christ there to preach the Gospel. In this country we saw many men 
 and women without heads, who had two great eyes in their breasts ; and in 
 countries still more southly, we saw people who had but one eye in their fore- 
 heads."* 
 
 This same holy Father bears an equally unquestionable testi- 
 mony to several resurrections of the dead, of which he himself had 
 been an eye-witness. 
 
 In a book written " towards the close of the second century, by 
 some zealous believer," and fathered upon one Nicodemus, who is 
 said to have been a disciple of Christ Jesus, we find the following : 
 
 " We all know the blessed Simeon, the high priest, who took Jesus when an 
 infant into Iiis arras in the temple. This same Simeon had two sons of his own, 
 and we were all present at (heir death and funeral. Go therefore and see their 
 
 1 **SimetamenaadireveUs, mallem tepaenas of the ragged country (of the Seythiang), a 
 
 basdicereiDdefinitasqauiniDlinitas. Sedveniet people are found living at the foot of lofty 
 
 dies, cum non minus absurda, habebitnr et monntains, who are said to be alt bald from 
 
 odiosa hac opinio qaam transubstantiatio their birth, both men and women alike, and 
 
 hodie." (De Statu Mort., p. 304. Quoted in they are flat-nosed, and have large chins." 
 
 Taylor's Diegesis, p. 43.) (Ibid. ch. 23.) '• These bald men say, what to 
 
 = Quoted in Taylor's Syntagma, p. 52. me is incredible, that men icUh goat's feet in- 
 
 Among the ancients, there were many stories habit these mountains ; and when one has 
 
 current of countries, the inhabitants of which passed beyond them, other men are found, who 
 
 were of peculiar size, form or features. Our sleep six months at a time, but this I do not at 
 
 Christian saint evidently believed these tales, all a.imit." (Ibid. ch. 24.) In the country west- 
 
 and thinking thus, sought to make others be- ward of Libya, " there are enormous serpents, 
 
 lieve them. We find the following examples and lions, elephants, bears, asps, and asses 
 
 related hy Herodotus : " Aristeas, son of Cay- with horns, and monsters vvith dog's heads 
 
 strobius. a native of Procouesus. says in his and without heads, who have eyes in (Aeir 
 
 epic verses that, inspired by Apollo, he came breasts, at least, as the Libyans say, and wild 
 
 to the Issedones ; that beyond the Issedones men and wild women, and many other wild 
 
 dwcU tbc ArimaspinDS, a people that have only beasts which are not fabulous." (Ibid. ch. 
 
 0/w «i/e." (Herodotus, book iv.ch. 13.) "When 193.) 
 one has passed through a considerable extent
 
 438 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tombs, for these are open, ana they are risen ; and behold, tliey are in the city of 
 
 Arimntlusa. spending their time together in offices of devotion."^ 
 
 Eusebius, " the Father of ecclesiastical history," Bishop of Cses- 
 area, and one of the most prominent personages at the Council of 
 Jficc, relates as truth, the ridiculous story of King Agbarus writing 
 a letter to Christ Jesus, and of Jesus' answer to the same.' And 
 Socrates relates how the Empi'ess Helen, mother of the Emperor 
 Constantino, went to Jerusalem for the purpose of finding, if pos- 
 sible, "the cross of Christ." This she succeeded in doing, also the 
 nails with which he was nailed to the cross.^ 
 
 Beside forging, lying, and deceiving for the cause of Christ, 
 the Christian Fathers destroyed all evidence against themselves and 
 their religion, which they came across. Christian divines seem to 
 have always been afraid of too much light. In the very infancy 
 of printing, Cardinal "Wolsey foresaw its effect on Christianity, and 
 in a speech to the clergy, publicly forewarned them, that, if they 
 did not destroy the Press, the Press would destroy them." There 
 can be no doubt, that had the objections of Porphyry,' Hierocles,' 
 Celsus,' and other opponents of the Christian faith, been permitted 
 to come down to us, the plagiarism in the ChristiaTi Scriptures from 
 previously existing Pagan documents, is the specific charge they 
 would have presented us. But these were o;-dered to be burned, 
 by the prudent piety of the Christian emperors. 
 
 In Alexandria, in Egypt, there was an immense library, founded 
 by the Ptolemies. This library was situated in the Alexandrian 
 Museum ; the apartments which were allotted for it were beautifully 
 sculptured, and crowded with the choicest statues and pictures ; the 
 building was built of marble. This library eventually comprised 
 
 1 Nicoderaos, Apoc ch. sii. people for a long while ; and the Christians 
 
 3 See Eusebius : Eccl. Hist., lib. 1, ch. siv. were not insensible of the importance of his 
 
 3 Socrates ; Eccl. Hist., lib. 1. ch. siii. worli ; as may be concluded from the several 
 
 * In the year 1444, Caxton published the answers made to it by Eusebius, and others 
 
 first book ever printed in England. In 1474, in great repute for learning." (Vol. viii. p. 
 
 the then Bishop of Loudon, in a convocation 158.) There are but fragments of these ^/Yt-cn 
 
 of his clergy, said : " If we do not destroy books remainiug, Chr'uVtan magistrates hav- 
 
 Jiis danfferous invention, it will one day de- ing ordered them to be destroyed. (Ibid.) 
 
 i^troy us." (See Middleton's Letters from * i7i«;-oc^5 was a Neo-Platonist, who lived 
 
 Korae, p. 4.) The reader should comi)are this at Alexandria about the middle of the fifth 
 
 ^vlth Pope Leo X.'s avowal that, *' ..' is v:eU century, and enjoyed a great reputation. He 
 
 j.nown liow profitable this fable of Ckrit,t has was the author of a great number of woiks, 
 
 Icen to us ;" and Archdeacon Paley's declara- a few esiracts of which alone remain. 
 
 lion that *' he could ill afford to have a con- ' Celstis was an Epicurean philosopher, who 
 
 fcience.^^ lived in the second century a.d. He wrote a 
 
 = Porphyry, who flourished about the year work called " The True Word," against Chris- 
 
 £~0 A.D., a man of great abilities, pnblished a tianity, but as it has been destroyed we know 
 
 l::rgo work of fifteen books against the Chris- nothingabout it. Origen claims togive quota 
 
 tuins. '• His objections against Christianity," tions from it. 
 
 e.;y8 Dr. Lardner. '* were in esteem with Gentile
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 439 
 
 four hundred thousand volumes. In the couree of time, probably 
 ou account of inadequate accommodation for so many books, an 
 additional library was establisiied, and placed in the temple of Ser- 
 apis. The number of volumes in' this library, which was called the 
 daughter of that in the miiseum, was eventually three hundred 
 thousand. There were, therefore, seven hundred thousand volumes 
 in these royal collections. 
 
 In the establishment of the museum, Ptolemy Soter, and his 
 son Philadelphus, had three objects in view : 1. The perpetuation 
 of such knowledge as was then in the world ; 2. Its increase ; 3. Its 
 diffusion. 
 
 1. For the perpetuation of knowledge. Orders were given to 
 the chief librarian to buy, at the king's expense, whatever books he 
 could. A body of transcribers was maintained in the museum, 
 whose duty it was to make correct copies of such works as their 
 owners were not disposed to sell. Any hoohs hrought hy foreigners 
 into Egypt were taken at once to the museum, and when correct 
 copies had been made, the transcript was given to the owner, and 
 the original placed in the library. Often a very large pecuniary 
 indemnity was paid. 
 
 2. For the increase of knowledge. One of the chief objects of 
 the museum was that of serving as the home of a body of men who 
 devoted themselves to study, and were lodged and maintained at 
 the king's expense. In the original organization of the museum 
 the residents were divided into four faculties, — Literature, Mathe- 
 matics, Astronomy, and Medicine. An officer of very great dis- 
 tinction presided over the establishment, and had general charge of 
 its interests. Demetius Phalareus, perhaps the most learned man 
 of his age, who had been Governor of Athens for many years, was 
 the first so appointed. Under him was the librarian, an office 
 sometimes held by men whose names have descended to our times, 
 as Eratosthenes and Apollonius Ehodius. In connection with the 
 museum was a botanical and a zoological garden. These gardens, 
 as their names imply, were for the purpose of facilitating the study 
 of plants and animals. There was also an astronomical obseiwa- 
 tory, containing armillary spheres, globes, solstitial and equatorial 
 armils, astrolabes, parallactic rules, and other apparatus then in 
 use, the graduation on the divided instruments being into degrees 
 and sixths. 
 
 3. For the diffusion of knowledge. In the museum was given, 
 by lectures, conversation, or other appropriate methods, instruction 
 in all the various departments of human knowledge.
 
 440 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 There flocked to this great intellectual centre, students from all 
 coimfries. It is said tiiat at one time not fewer than fourteen 
 thousand were in attendance. Subsequently even the Christian 
 churoh received from it some of tlie most eminent of its Fathers, as 
 Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, Athanasius, &c. 
 
 The library in the museum was burned during the siege of Alex- 
 andria by Julius Caesar. To make amends for this great loss, the 
 library collected by Eumenes, King of Pergamus, was presented by 
 Mark Antony to Queen Cleopatra. Originally it was founded as 
 a rival to that of the Ptolemies. It was added to the collection in 
 the Serapion, or the temple of Serapis.' 
 
 It was not destined, however, to remain there many centuries, 
 as this very valuable library was willfully destroyed by the Christian. 
 Theophilus, and on the spot where this beautiful temple of Serapis 
 stood, in fact, on its very foundation, was erected a church in honor 
 of the " noble army of martyrs," who had never existed. 
 
 This we learn from the historian Gibbon, who says that, after 
 this library was destroyed, " the appearance of the empty shelves 
 excited the regret and indignation of every spectator, whose mind 
 was not totally darkened by religious prejudice.'" 
 
 The destruction of this library was almost the death-blow to 
 free-thought — wherever Christianity ruled — for more than a 
 thousand years. 
 
 The death-blow was soon to be struck, however, which was 
 done by Saint Cyril, who succeeded Theophilus as Bishop of 
 Alexandria. 
 
 Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, the mathematician, endeav- 
 ored to continue the old-time instructions. Each day before her 
 academy stood a long train of chariots ; her lecture-room was 
 crowded with the wealth and fashion of Alexandria. They came 
 to listen to her discourses on those questions which man in all ages 
 has asked, but which have never yet been answered : " What am I \ 
 Where am I ? What can I know ?" 
 
 Hypatia and Cyril ; philosophy and bigotry ; they cannot exist 
 together. As Hypatia repaired to her academy, she was assaulted 
 by (Saint) Cyril's mob — a mob of many monks. Stripped naked 
 in the street, she was dragged into a church, and there killed hy the 
 club of Peter the Reader. The corpse was cut to pieces, the flesh 
 was scraped from the bones with shells, and the remnants cast into 
 a fire. For this friyhtful crime Cyril was never called to acco%int. 
 
 ' Draper : Religion and Science, pp. 18-21. " Gibbon 8 Rome, vol. iii. p. 146.
 
 WHY OHEISTIANITY PROSPERED. 441 
 
 It seemed to he admitted that the end sanctified the means. So 
 ended Oreek philosophy in Alexandria, so came to an untimely 
 close the learning that the Ptolemies had done so much to pro- 
 mote. 
 
 The fate of Hypatia was a warning to all who would cultivate 
 profane knowledge. Henceforth there was to he no freedom for 
 human thought. Every one must think as ecclesiastical authority 
 ordered hltn ; a.d. 414. In Athens itself philosophy awaited its 
 doom. Justinian at length prohibited its teaching and caused all 
 its schools in that city to be closed." 
 
 After this followed the long and dreary darh ages, but the sun 
 of science, that bright and glorious luminary, was destined to rise 
 again. 
 
 The history of this great Alexandrian library is one of the 
 keys which unlock the door, and exposes to our view the manner 
 in which the Hindoo incarnate god Crishna, and the meek and be- 
 nevolent Buddha, came to be worshiped under the name of Christ 
 Jesus. For instance, we have just seen : 
 
 1. That, " orders were given to the chief librarian to buy at the 
 king's expense whatever hooks he could.^'' 
 
 2. That, " one of the chief objects of the museum was that of 
 serving as the home of a hody of men who devoted themselves to 
 study." 
 
 8. That, " any books brought by foreigners into Egypt were 
 taken at once to the museum and correct copies made." 
 
 4. That, " there flocked to this great intellectual centre students 
 from all countries." 
 
 5. That, "the Christian church received from it some of the 
 most eminent of its Fathers." 
 
 And also : 
 
 6. That, the chief doctrines of the Gnostic Christians " had been 
 held for centuries before their time in many of the cities in Asia 
 Minor. There, it is probable, they first came into existence as 
 ' Mystae,' upon the estahlishment of a direct i?itercourse with India 
 under the Seleucidse and the Ptolemies." 
 
 7. That, " the College of Essenes at Ephesus, the Orphics of 
 Thrace, the Curetes of Crete, are all merely hranches of one an- 
 tique and common religion, and that originally Asiatic." 
 
 8. That, " the introduction ofBuddhisin into Egypt and Pales- 
 
 > Draper : Religion and Science, pp. 55, 56. See also, Socrates' Eccl. Hist., lib. 7, ch. it.
 
 442 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 tine affords the only true solution of innumerahle difficulties in 
 the history of reliyion.'''' 
 
 9. That, " Buddhism had actually been planted in the dominions 
 of the Seleucidos and Ptolemies (Palestine belonging to the former) 
 iefore the hegimiing of the third century b. c, and is proved to 
 demonstration by a passage in the edicts of Asoka." 
 
 10. That, " it is very likely that the commentaries (Scriptm'es) 
 which were among them (the Essenes) were the Gosjjels." 
 
 11. That, " the principal doctrines and rites of the Essenes can 
 be connected with tiio East, with Parsism, and especially with 
 Buddhism." 
 
 12. That, " among the doctrines which the Essenes and Budd- 
 hists had in common was that of the Any el- Messiah r 
 
 13. That, "they (the Essenes) had a Nourishing miiversity or 
 corporate body, established at Alexandria^ in Egypt, long before the 
 period assigned for the birth of Christ." 
 
 11. That, " the very ancient and Eastern doctrine of the Aiigel- 
 Messiah had been applied to Gautama Buddha, and so it was ap- 
 plied to Jestis Christ hy the Essenes of Egypt and Palestine, who 
 introduced this new Messianic doctrine into Essenic J udaism and 
 Essenic Christianity." 
 
 15. That, " we hear very little of them (the Essenes) after a.d. 
 40 ; and there can hardly be any doubt that the Essenes as a body 
 must have embraced Cliristianity." 
 
 Here is the solution of the problem. The sacred books of 
 Hindoos and Buddhists were among the Esse7ies, and in the library 
 at Alexandria. The Esseties, who were afterwards called Chris- 
 tians, applied the legend of the AngeVMessiah — " the very ancient 
 Eastern doctrine," which we have shown throughout this work — 
 to Chi-ist Jesus. It was simply a transformation of names, a trans- 
 formation which had previously occurred in many cases. ^ After 
 this came additions to the legend from other sources. Portions of 
 the legends related of the Persian, Greek and Roman Saviours and 
 Redeemers of mankind, were, from time to time, added to the 
 already legendary history of the Christian Saviour. Thus his- 
 
 » Wo have seen this particularly in the cases been done in the case of almost every other rrum- 
 
 of Crishna and Bnddha. Mr. Cox, speaking of ber of the great company of thi: gods." (Aryan 
 
 the former, says : ■' Lf it be urged that the at- Mythology, vol. ii, p. 130.) These words apply 
 
 tribution to Crishna of qualities or powers be- to the case we have oefore us. Jesus was sim- 
 
 longing to the other deities is a mere device ply attributed with the quahties or powers 
 
 hy which his devotees sought to supersede the which had t>een previously attributed to 
 
 more ancient gods, t/ie answer must be that other deities. This we hope to be able to fully 
 
 nothing has been done in his case which has not demonstrate in our chapter on *' Explanation."
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 443 
 
 tory was repeating itself. Thus the virgin-born God and Saviour, 
 worshiped by all uatiocs of the earth, though called by different 
 names, was but one and the same. 
 
 In a subsequent chapter we shall see wlw this One God was, and 
 how the myth originated. 
 
 Albert Reville says : 
 
 " Alexandria, the liome of Pliilonism, and Neo-Platonism (and we might add 
 Essenism), was naturally the centre whence spread the dogma of the deity of Jesus 
 Christ. In that city, through the third century, flourished a school of transcen- 
 dental theology, afterwards looked tipon with suspicion by the conservators of 
 ecclesiastical doctrine, but not the less the real cradle of orthodoxy. It was still 
 the Platonic tendency which influenced the speculations of Clement, Origen and 
 Dionysius, and the theory of the Logos was at the foundation of their the- 
 ology."' 
 
 Among the numerous gospels in circulation among the Cliris- 
 tians of the first three centuries, there was one entitled "The 
 Gospel of the EgyptiansP Epiphanius (a. d. 385), speaking of 
 it, says : 
 
 " Many things are proposed (in this Gospel of the Egyptians) in a hidden, 
 mysterious manner, as by our Saviour, as though he had said to his disciples, 
 that the Father was the same person, the Son the same person, and the Holy 
 Ghost the same person.'" 
 
 That this was one of the " Serij)tu7'es " of the Essenes, becomes 
 very evident when we find it admitted by the most learned of 
 Christian theologians that it was in existence '■^'before either of the 
 canonical Gospels,'^ and that it contained the doctrine of the Trin- 
 ity, a doctrine not established in the Christian church nntil a. d. 
 327, but which was taught by this Buddhist sect in Alexandria, iu 
 Egypt, which has been well called, " Egypt, the land of Trinities." 
 
 The learned Dr. Grabe thought it was composed by soine Chris- 
 tians in Egypt, and that it was published hefore either of the canon ■ 
 ical Gospels. Dr. Mill also believed that it was composed iefore 
 either of the canonical Gospels, and, what is more important than 
 all, that the authors of it were Essenes. 
 
 These " Scriptures " of the Essenes were v.ndovhtedly amalga- 
 mated with the " Gospels " of the Christians, the result heing the 
 canonical Gospels as we now have them. The " Gospel of the 
 Hebrews," and stich like, on the one hand, and the " Gospel of the 
 Egyptians," or Essenes, and such like, on the other. That the 
 " Gospel of the Hebrews " spoke of Jesus of Nazareth as the son of 
 Joseph and Mary, according to the flesh, and that it taught nothing 
 about his miracles, his resm-rection from the dead, and other such 
 
 ' " Dogma of the Deity of Jesas Christ," p. 41.
 
 444 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 prodigies, is admitted on all hands. That the " Sciiptures " of the 
 Essenes contained tlie whole legend of the Angel-Messiah, which 
 was afterwards added to the histoiy of Jesus, making him a Chkist, 
 or an Anointed Angel, is a probability almost to a certainty. Do we 
 now understand how all the traditions and legends, originally In- 
 dian, escaping from the great fociis through Egypt, were able to 
 reach Judea, Greece and Rome ? 
 
 To continue with our subject, " why Christianity prospered," 
 we must now speak of another great support to the cause, *. e.. 
 Persecution. Ernest de Bunsen, speaking of Buddha, says : 
 
 " His religion has never been propagated by the sword. It has been effected 
 entirely by the influence of peaceable and persevering devotees." 
 
 Can we say as much for what is termed " the religion of Christ ?" 
 No ! this religion has had the aid of the sword and firebrand, the 
 rack and the thumb-screw. '■'■ Persecution " is to be seen written on 
 the pages of ecclesiastical history, from the time of Constantino even 
 to the present day.' This Christian emperor and saint was the first 
 to check free-thought. 
 
 " We search in vain," (says M. Renan), " in the collection of Roman laws J«- 
 fore Constaniine, for any enactment aimed at free thouglit, or in the history of 
 the emperors, for a persecution of abstract doctrine. Not a single savant was 
 disturbed. Men whom the Middle Ages would have burned — such as Galen, Lu- 
 cian, Plotiuus — lived in peace, protected by the law."' 
 
 Born and educated a pagan, Constantine embraced the Christian 
 faith from the following motives. Having committed horrid crimes, 
 in fact, having committed murders,' and, 
 
 " When he would have had his (Pagan) priests purge him by sacrifice, of 
 these horrible murders, and could not have his purpose (for they answered 
 plainly, it lay not in their power to cleanse him)^ he lighted at last upon an 
 Egyptian who came out of Iberia, and being persuaded by him that the Chris- 
 tian faith was of force to wipe away every sin, were it ever so heinous, he em- 
 braced willingly at whatever the Egyptian told him."' 
 
 1 .\dhereuts of the old religion of Russia committed by this Cliristian eaint, is con- 
 have been persecuted in tliat country witliin strained to say that: " The death of Crispusis 
 the past year, and eveu in enlightened Eng- altogether without any good excuse, so lilte- 
 land, a gentleman h-is been persecuted by gov- wise is the death of the young Licinianus, 
 ernment officials because he believes in neither who could not have been more than a little 
 a personal God or a personal Devil. above eleven years of age, and appears not to 
 
 2 Renan, Hibbert Lectures, p. 22. have been charged with any fault, and could 
 5 The following are the Dames of his vie- hardly be suspected of any." 
 
 time : * ITie Emperor Nero could not be baptized 
 
 Maximi'in, Hii^ wife's fntber. a i». SIO and be initiated into Pagan Mysteries — ue 
 
 Bassianus, His sit^ter's husband, a.d. 314 Constantine was initiated into those of the 
 
 Licinius, His nephew, a.d. 319 Christians — on account of the nnrrder of his 
 
 Fausta, His wife, a.d. 330 mother. And he did not dare to compd — 
 
 Sopater, His former friend, a.d. 3-21 which he certiiinly could have done — the 
 
 Licinius, His sister's husliand, a.d. 325 priests to iuiliute him. 
 
 Criepus, His own son, a.d. 326 * Zosimus, in Socrates, lib. iii. ch. il. 
 
 Dr. Lardner, in speaking of the murders
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPEEED. 445 
 
 Mons. Dupuis, speaking of tliis conversion, says : 
 
 " Constantine, soiled with all sorts of crimes, and stained with the blood of 
 his wife, after repeated perjuries and assassinations, presented himself before 
 the heathen priests in order to be absolved of so many outrages he had committed. 
 He was answered, that amongst the various kinds of expiations, there was none 
 which could expiate so many crimes, and that no religion whatever could offer 
 efficient protection against the justice of the gods ; and Constantine was em- 
 peror. One of the courtiers of the palace, who witnessed the trouble and agita- 
 tion of his mind, torn by remorse, which nothing could appease, informed him, 
 that the evil he was suffering was not without a remedy ; that tlierc existed in 
 the religion of the Christians certain purifications, which expiated every kind of 
 misdeeds, of whatever nature, and in whatsoever n-umber they were : that one 
 of the promises of the religion was, that whoever was converted to it. as impious 
 and as great a villain as he might be, could hope that his crimes were immediately 
 forgotten. ' From that moment, Constantine declared himself the protector of a 
 sect which treats great criminals with so much lenity.' He was a great villain, 
 who tried to lull himself with illusions to smother his remorse."' 
 
 By the delay of baptism, a person who had accepted the true 
 faith could venture freely to indulge their passions in the enjoyment 
 of this world, while they still retained in their own hands the means 
 of salvation; therefore, we find that Constantine, although he ac- 
 cepted the faith, did not get baptized until he was on his death-bed, 
 as he wished to continue, as long as possible, the wicked life he was 
 leading. Mr. Gibbon, speaking of him, says : 
 
 "The example and reputation of Constantine seemed to countenance the 
 delay of baptism. Future tyrants were encouraged to believe, that the innocent 
 blood which they might shed in a long reign would instantly be washed away 
 in the waters of regeneration ; and the abuse of religion dangerously under- 
 mined tlie foundations of moral virtue."'' 
 
 1 " The sacrament of baplism was supposed cross which he had seen, and to wear it in 
 to contain a full and absolute expiation of sin ; his banner when he went to battle with hia 
 and the soul was instantly restored to its enemies. (See Eusebius' Life of Constantine. 
 original purity ^nd entitled to the promise of lib. 1, ch. xxiii. See also, Socrates : Eccl. 
 eternal salvation. Among the proselytes of Hist., lib. t, ch. ii.) 
 
 Christianity, there were many who judged it ^ Dupuis, p. 405. 
 
 imprudent to precipitate a salutary rite, which * Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii. p. 373. The 
 
 could not be repeated. By the delay of their Fathers, who censured this criminal delay, 
 
 baptism, they could venture freely to indulge could not deny the certain and victorious efli- 
 
 their passions in the enjoyments of this world, cacy even of a death-bed baptism. The in- 
 
 while they still retained in their own hands genious rhetoric of Chryeostom (a.d. 347-407) 
 
 the means of a sure and speedy absolution." could find only three arguments against these 
 
 (Gibbon : ii. pp. 272, 273.) prudent Christians. 1. " That we should love 
 
 2 "Constantine, as he was praying about and pursue virtue for her own sake, and not 
 noon-t-'de, God showed him a vision m the merely for the reward. 2. That we may be 
 sky, which was the sign of the cross lively surprised by death without an opportunity of 
 figured in the air, with this inscription on baptism. 3. That although we shall be placed 
 it: 'In hoc vince ;' that is, 'By this over- in heaven, we shall only twinkle like little 
 come.' " Tills is the story as related by Euse- stars, when compared to the suns of righte- 
 bius (Life of Constantine, lib. l,ch.xxii.), but ousness wJio have run their appointed course 
 it must be remembered that Eusebius acknowl- with labor, with success, and with glory." 
 edged that he told falsehoods. That night (Chrysostoni in Epist. ad Hebrseos. Homil. xiii. 
 Ctirist appeared unto Constantine in his dream, (Quoted in Gibbon's "Rome," ii. 2?.;.) 
 
 and commanded him to make the figure of the
 
 446 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Eusebius, in his " Life of Constantine," tells us that • 
 
 "Wlien he thonght that he was near his death, he confessed his sins, desiring 
 pardon for them of God, and was baptized. 
 
 "Before doing so, he assembled the bishops of Nicomedia together, and spalse 
 thus unto them : 
 
 ' ' ' Brethren, the salvation which I have earnestly desired of God these many- 
 years, I do now this day expect. It is time therefore that we should be sealed 
 and signed with the badge of immortality. And though I proposed to receive it 
 in the river Jordan, m which our Saviour for our example was baptized, yet God, 
 knowing what is fittest for me, hath appointed that I shall receive it in this 
 place, tlierefore let ms not be delayed.' " 
 
 "And so, after the service of baptism was read, they baptized him with all 
 the ceremonies belonging to this mysterious sacrament. So that Constantine 
 was the first of all the emperors who was regenerated by the new birth of bap- 
 tism, and that was signed with the sign of the cross."' 
 
 When Constantine had heard the good news from the Christian 
 monk from Egypt, he commenced by conferring many dignities on 
 the Christians, and those only who were addicted to Christianity, 
 he made governors of his provinces, &c.' He then issued edicts 
 against heretics, — i. e., tliose wljo, like Ariiis, did not believe that 
 Christ was ^'- of one substance with tJie Father,^'' and others — call- 
 ing them "enemies of truth and eternal life," " authors and council- 
 lors of death," &c.' He " commanded hy laiv " tliat none should 
 dare "to meet at conventicles," and that "all places where they 
 were wont to keep their meetings should be demolished^'' or " con- 
 fiscated to the Catholic clnirch ;"* and Constantine was emperor. 
 " By this means," says Eusebius, " such as maintained doctrines 
 and opinions contrary to the church, were suppressed."^ 
 
 This Constantine, says Eusebius : 
 
 " Caused his image to be engraven on his gold coins, in the form of prayer, 
 with his hands joined together, and looking up towards Heaven." "And over 
 divers gates of his palace, he was drawn praying, and lifting up his hands and 
 eyes to heaven."' 
 
 After his death, " effigies of this blessed man " were engraved 
 on the Koman coins, " sitting in and driving a cliariot, and a hand 
 reached down from heaven to receive and take him up."' 
 
 The hopes of wealth and honors, the example of an emperor, 
 his exhortations, his irresistible smiles, diffused conviction among 
 
 ' Lib. 4, Che. Ixi. and Ixii., and Socrates : Plato places the ferociouB tyrants in the 
 
 Eccl. Hiet., lib. 2, ch. xsvi. Tartarus, such as Ardiacns of Pamphylia, who 
 ^ Eusebius : Life of Constantine, lib. 2, ch. had slain his own father, a venerable old 
 
 xliii. man, also an elder brother, and was stained 
 
 ' Ibid. lib. 3, ch. Ixii. with a great many other crimes. Constantine, 
 
 * Ibid. lib. 3, ch Ixiii. covered with similar crirr.es, was better treated 
 
 ^ Ibid. lib. 3, ch. Ixiv. by the Christians, who have sent him to heaven, 
 
 " Ibid. lib. 4, ch. xr. &xii sainted him besides. 
 ' Ibid. ch. Ixiii.
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PROSPERED. 447 
 
 the venal and obsequious crowds which unsually fill the apart- 
 ments of a palace, and as the lower ranks of society are governed 
 by example, the conversion of those who possessed any eminence 
 of birth, of power, or of riches, was soon followed hy dependent 
 multitudes. Constantine passed a law wiiich gave freedom to all 
 the slaves who should embrace Christianity, and to those who were 
 not slaves, he gave a white garment and twenty pieces of gold, 
 upon their embracing the Christian faith. The common people 
 were tXius, purchased at such an easy rate that, in one year, twelve 
 thousand men were baptized at Rome, besides a proportionable 
 number of women and children.' 
 
 To suppress the opinions of philosophers, which were contrary 
 to Christianity, the Christian emperors pul)lished edicts. The 
 respective decrees of the emperors Constantine and Theodosius,* 
 generally ran in the words, " that all writings adverse to the claims 
 of the Christian religion, in the possession of whomsoever they 
 should be found, should be committed to the fii-e," as the pious em- 
 perors would not that those things tending to provoke God to 
 wrath, should be allowed to offend the minds of the piously dis- 
 posed. 
 
 The following is a decree of the Emperor Theodosius of this 
 purport : 
 
 "We decree, therefore, that all writings, whatever, which Porphyry or any 
 one else hath written against the Christian religion, in the possession of whomso- 
 ever they shall be found should he committed to the tire ; for we would not 
 suffer any of those things so much as to come to men's ears, which tend to pro- 
 voke God to wrath and offend the minds of the piom."^ 
 
 A similar decree of the emperor for establishing the doctrine of 
 the Trinity, concludes with an admonition to all who shall object 
 to it, that, 
 
 " Besides the condemnation of divine justice, they must expect to suffer the se- 
 vere penalties, which our authority, guided by heavenly wisdom, may think 
 proper to inflict upon them."'' 
 
 This orthodox emperor (Theodosius) considered every heretic 
 (as he called those who did not believe as he and his ecclesiastics 
 professed) a rebel against the supreme powers of heaven and of 
 
 1 Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii. p. 274. civil ritea of all apostates from Christianity 
 
 * " Theodosius, though a professor of the and of the Ennomians, the sentence of 
 
 orthodox Christian faith, was not baptized till deathon thellanicheans, and Quarto-decimans, 
 
 380, and his behavior after that period stamps all prove this." ^Chambers's Encyclo., art. 
 
 him as one of the most croel and vindictive Theodosius.) 
 
 persecutors who ever wore the purple. His ^ Quoted in Taylor's Syntagma, p. 54. 
 
 arbitrary establishment of the Nicene faith * Gibbon's Rome, vol. iii. p. 81. 
 
 over the whole empire, the deprivation of
 
 448 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 earth (he being one of the supreme powers of earth), and each of 
 the powers might exercise their peculiar jurisdiction over the soul 
 und body of the guilty. 
 
 The decrees of the Council of Constantinople had ascertained 
 tlie true standard of the faith, and the ecclesiastics, who governed 
 the conscience of Theodosius, suggested the most effectual methods 
 of persecution. In the space of fifteen years he promulgated at 
 least fifteen severe edicts against the heretics, more especially 
 ■against those who rejected the doctrine of the Trinity. '^ 
 
 Arius (the presbyter of whom we have spoken in Chapter 
 XXXV., as declaring that, in the nature of things, a father must 
 ie older than his son) was excommunicated for his so-called hereti- 
 cal notions concerning the Trinity. His followers, who were very 
 numerous, were called Arians. Their writings, if they had been 
 permitted to exist,^ would undoubtedly contain the lamentable story 
 of the persecution which affected the church under the reign of the 
 impious Emperor Theodosius. 
 
 In Asia Minor the people were persecuted by orders of Con- 
 stantius, and these orders were more than obeyed by Macedonius. 
 The civil and military powers were ordered to obey his commands ; 
 the consequence was, he disgraced the reign of Constantius. " The 
 rites of baptism were conferred on women and children, who, for 
 that purpose, had been torn from the arms of their friends and pa- 
 rents ; the mouths of the communicants were held open by a 
 wooden engine, while the consecrated bread was forced down their 
 throats ; the breasts of tender virgins were either burned with red- 
 hot egg-shells, or inhumanly compressed between sharp and heavy 
 boards.'" The principal assistants of Macedonius — the tool of 
 ■Constantius — in the work of persecution, were the two bishops 
 of Nicomedia and Cyzicus, who were esteemed for their virtues, and 
 especially for their charity.' 
 
 Julian, the successor of Constantius, has described some of the 
 theological calamities which afflicted the empire, and more espec- 
 ially in the East, in the reign of a prince who was the slave of his 
 own passions, and of those of his eunuchs : " Many were imprisoned, 
 and persecuted, and driven into exile. Whole troops of those who 
 are styled heretics were massacred, particularly at Cyzicus, and 
 at Samosata. In Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Gallatia, and in many 
 
 ' Gibbon's Eome, vol. iii. pp. 91, 92. ' Gibbon's Eome, vol. li. p. 359. 
 
 3 All their writings were ordered to be de- * Ibid, note 154. 
 
 ■Btroyed.
 
 WHY CHRISTIANITY PBOSPEKED. 449 
 
 other provinces, towns and villages were laid waste, and utterly 
 <iestroyed."' 
 
 Persecutions in the name of Christ Jesus were inflicted on the 
 heathen in most every part of the then known world. Even among 
 the Norwegians, the Christian sword was unsheathed. They clung 
 tenaciously to the worship of their forefathers, and numbers of them 
 died real martyrs for their faith, after suffering the most cruel tor- 
 ments from their persecutors. It was by sheer compulsion that the 
 Norwegians embraced Christianity. The reign of Olaf Tryggvason, 
 a Christian king of Norway, was in fact entirely devoted to the 
 propagation of the new faith, by means the most revolting to hu- 
 manity. His general practice was to enter a district at the head of 
 a formidable force, summon a Tiling^ and give the people the al- 
 ternative of fighting with him, or of being baptized. Most of them, 
 of course, preferred baptism to the risk of a battle with an adversary 
 so well prepared for combat ; and the recusants were tortured to 
 death with fiend-like ferocity, and their estates confiscated.^ 
 
 These are some of the reasons "why Christianity prospered." 
 
 1 Julian : Epistol. lii. p. 436. Quoted in striking their ehields with their drawn eworda. 
 Gibbon's Rome, vol. ii. p. 3G0. = See Mallet's Northern Antiqoities, pp. 180, 
 
 ^ " TAzft^ "—a general assembly of the free- 351, and 470. 
 men, who gave their assent to a measure by 
 
 Note. — The learned Christian historian Pagi endeavors to smoothe over the crimes of Con- 
 fitautine. He says : " As for those few murders (wliich Eusebius says nothing about), had he 
 thought it worth his while to refer to them, he would perhaps, with Baronius himself have said, 
 that the young Licinius (his infant nephew), although the fact might not generally have been 
 known, had most likely been an accomplice in the treason of his father. That as to the murder 
 of his son, the Emperor is rather to be considered as unfortunate than as criminal. And with 
 respect to his putting his wife to death, he ought to be pronounced rather a just and righteous judge. 
 As for his numerous friends, whom Eutropins informs us he put to death one after another, we 
 are bound to believe that most of them deserved it, and Ihey were found out to have aljused 
 the Emperor's too great credulity, for the gratification of their own inordinate wickedness, and 
 insatiable avarice ; and such no doubt was that Sopatei; the philospher, who was at last put to 
 death upon the accnsation of Adiahius, and that by the righteous di^pensation of God, for his 
 having attempted to alienate the mind of Constantine from the true religion." {Pagi Ann. 334, 
 quoted in Latin by Dr. Lardner, vol. iv. p. 371, in his notes for the benefit nf the learned reader, but 
 gives no rendering into English.) 
 29
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAlf RELIGIONS. 
 
 "We shall now compare the great antiquity of the sacred books 
 and religions of Paganism with those of the Christian, so that there 
 may be no doubt as to which is the original, and which the copy. 
 Allusions to this subject have already been made throughout this 
 work, we shall therefore devote as little space to it here as possible. 
 
 In speaking of the sacred literature of India, Prof. Monier Wil- 
 liams says : 
 
 " Sanskrit literature, embracing as it does nearly every branch of knowledge 
 is entirely deficient in one department. It ia wholly destitute of trustworthy 
 historical records. Hence, little or nothing is known of the lives of ancient In- 
 dian authors, and the dates of their most celebrated works cannot be fixed with 
 certainty. A fair conjecture, however, may be arrived at by comparing the most 
 ancient with the more modern compositions, and estimating the period of time 
 required to effect the changes of structure and idiom observable in the language. 
 In this manner we may be justified in assuming that the hymns of the Veda were 
 probablj' composed by a succession of poets at different dates between 1500 and 
 1000 years b. c."' 
 
 Prof. "Wm. D. "Whitney shows the great antiquity of the Vedic 
 hymns from the fact that, 
 
 " The language of the Vedas is an older dialect, varying very considerably, 
 both in its grammatical and lexical character, from the classical Sanscrit." 
 
 And M. de Coulanges, in his " Ancient City," says : 
 
 "We learn from the hymns of the Yedas, which are certainly very ancient, 
 and from the laws of Manu," "what the Aryans of the east thought nearly 
 thirty-five centuries ago."* 
 
 That the Vedas are of very high antiquity is unquestionable ; 
 but however remote we may place the period when tliey were writ- 
 ten, we must necessarily presuppose that the Hindostanic race had 
 
 ' Williams' Hindnism, p. 19. See atso, Prof. had reached in Upanishads the loftiest height* 
 
 Max MuJler's Lectures on the Origip of Re- of philosophy." 
 ligion, pp. li'i-lSS, and p. 6T, where he speaks ' The Ancient City, p. 13. 
 
 of "the Hindus, who, thousands of years ago, 
 
 [450]
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 451 
 
 already attained to a comparatively high degree of civilization, 
 otherwise luen capable of framing such doctrines could not have 
 been found. Kow this state of civilization must necessarily have 
 been preceded by several centuries of barbarism, during which we 
 cannot possibly admit a more refined faith than the popular belief 
 in elementary deities. 
 
 We shall see in our next chapter that these very ancient Vedic 
 hymns contain the origin of the legend of the Virgin-born God and 
 Saviour, the great benefactor of mankind, who is finally put to 
 death, and rises again to life and immortality on the third day. 
 
 The Geetas and Puranas, although of a comparatively modem 
 date, are, as we have already seen, nevertheless composed of matter 
 to be found in the two great epic poems, the Ramayana and the 
 Mahahharata, which were written many centuries before the time 
 assigned as that of the birth of Christ Jesus.' 
 
 The Pali sacred books, which contain the legend of the virgin- 
 born God and Saviour — Sommona Cadom — are known to have 
 been in existence 316 b. c.^ 
 
 We have already seen that the religion known as Buddhism, 
 and which corresponds in such a striking manner with Christianity, 
 has now existed for upwards of twenty-four hundred years.' 
 
 Prof. Rhys Davids says : 
 
 " There is every reason to believe that the Pt'fa^as (the sacred boolis which 
 contain the legend of ' The Buddha '), now extant in Ceylon, are substantially iden- 
 tical with the books of the Southern Canon, as settled at the Council of Patna 
 about the year 250 b. c* As no works would have been received into the Canon 
 which were not then believed to be very old, the Pitakas may be approximately 
 placed in the fourth century b. c, and parts of them possibly reach back very 
 nearly, if not quite, to the time of Gautama himself."' 
 
 The religion of the ancient Persians, which corresponds in so 
 very many respects with that of the Christians, was established by 
 Zoroaster — who was undoubtedly a Brahman' — and is contained 
 
 ' See Monier Williams' Hindaism, pp. 109, Siam to the borders of Mongolia and Siberia, 
 
 no, and Indian Wisdom, p. 493. Like his Christian prototype Constantine. he 
 
 2 See Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. p. 576, for the was converted by a miracle. After his con- 
 authority of Prof. Max Muiler. version, which took place in the tenth year of 
 
 3 "The religion known as Buddhism — from his reign, he became a vcr>* zealons supporter 
 the title of 'The Buddha,' meaning 'The of the new religion. He himself built many 
 Wise.' ' The Enlightened ' — has now existed monasteries and dagabas, and pro\ided many 
 for 24C0 years, and may be said to be the monks with the necessaries of life ; and he 
 prevailing religion of the world." (Chambers's encouraged those about his court to do the 
 Encyclo.) same. He published edicts throughout hia 
 
 * This Council was assembled by Afoka in empire, enjoining on all his subjects morality 
 
 the eighteenth year of his reign. The name and justice. 
 
 of this king is honored wherevtr the teachings ' Kliys Davids' Buddhism, p. 10. 
 
 of Buddha have spread, and is reverenced • See Chapter VII. 
 
 from the Volga to Japan, from Ceylon and
 
 452 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 in the Zend-Avesta, their sacred book or Bible. This book is very 
 ancient. Prof. Max Miiller speaks of " the sacred book of the 
 Zoroastrians " as being " older in its language than the cuneiform 
 inscriptions of Cyrus (b. c. 560), Darius (b. c. 520), and Xerxes (b. o. 
 485) those ancient Kings of Persia, who knew that they were kings 
 by the grace of Auramazda, and who placed his sacred imago high 
 on the mountain-records of Behistun.'" That ancient book, or its 
 fragments, at least, have survived many dynasties and kingdoms, 
 and is still believed in by a small remnant of the Persian race, 
 now settled at Bombay, and known all over the world by the name 
 of Parsees.^ 
 
 " The Babylonian and Phenician sacred books date back to a 
 fabulous antiquity ; '" and so do the sacred books and religion of 
 Egypt. 
 
 Prof. Mahaffy, in his " Prolegomena to Ancient History," says : 
 
 " There is indeed hnrdly a great and fruitful idea in tlie Jewish or Christian 
 systems which has not its analogy in the Egyptian faith, and all these theological 
 conceptions pervade the oldest religion of Egypt."* 
 
 The worship of Osiris, the Lord and Saviour, must have been of 
 extremely ancient date, for he is represented as "Judge of the 
 Dead," in sculptures contemporary with the building of the Pyra- 
 mids, centuries before Abraham is said to have been born. Among 
 the many hieroglyphic titles which accompany his figure in those 
 sculptures, and in many other places on the walls of temples and 
 tombs, are, " Lord of Life," " The Eternal Kuler," " Manifester 
 of Good," " Revealer of Truth," " Full of Goodness and Truth," 
 etc. 
 
 In speaking of the " Myth of Osiris," Mr. Bonwick says : 
 
 " This great mystery of the Egyptians demands serious consideration. Its 
 antiquity — its universal hold upon the people for over five thousand years — its 
 identification with the very life of the nation — and its marvellous likeness to the 
 creed of modern date, unite in exciting the greatest interest."' 
 
 1 Mulier : Lectures on the Science of Re- Their religion prevented them from making 
 
 ligion, p. 235. proselytes, and they never multiplied within 
 
 ^ This small tribe of Persians were driven themselves to any extent, nor did they araal- 
 
 from their native land by the Mohammedan gamate with the Hindoo population, so that 
 
 conquerors under the Khalif Omar, in the even now their number only amounts to about 
 
 seventh century of our era. Adhering to the seventy thousand. Nevertheless, from their 
 
 ancient religion of Persia, which resembles busy, enterprising habits, in which they emulate 
 
 that of the TV(/rt, and bringing with them the Europeans, they form an important section 
 
 records of their faith, the Zend-Avesta of their of the population of Bombay and Western 
 
 prophet Zoroaster, they settled down in the India. 
 
 neighborhood of Surat, about one thousand one ^ Movers ; Quoted in Dunlap's Spirit Hist., 
 
 hundred years ago, and became great mer- p. 261. 
 chants and shipbuilders. For two or three * Prolegomena, p. 417. 
 
 tenturies we know little of their history. ' Bonwick'a Egyptian Belief, p. 162.
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 453 
 
 This myth, and that of Isis and Horus, were known before the 
 Pyramid time." 
 
 The worship of the Virgin Mother in Egypt — from which 
 country it was imported into Europe' — dates back thousands of 
 years b. c. Mr. Bonwick says : 
 
 " In all probability she was worshiped three thousand years before Moses 
 wrote. 'Isis nursing her child Horus, was represented,' says Mariette Bey, ' at 
 least six thousand years ago.' We read the name of Isis on monuments of the 
 fourth dynasty, and she lost none of her popularity to the close of the empire." 
 
 " The Egyptian Bible is by far the most ancient of all holy books." " Plato 
 was told that Egypt possessed hymns dating back ten thousand years before his 
 time."* 
 
 Bunsen says : 
 
 " The origin of the ancient prayers and hymns of the ' Book of the Dead,' is 
 anterior to Menes ; it implies that the system of Osirian worship and mythology 
 was already formed."'' 
 
 And, says Mr. Bonwick : 
 
 " Besides opinions, we have facts as a basis for arriving at a conclusion, and 
 justifying the assertion of Dr. Birch, that the work dated from a period long an- 
 terior to the rise of Ammon worship at Thebes."* 
 
 Now, "this most ancient of all holj' books," establishes the fact 
 that a virgin-born and resurrected Saviour was worshiped in Egypt 
 thousands of year before the time of Christ Jesus. 
 
 P. Le Page Eenouf says : 
 
 " The earliest monununts which have been discovered present to us the perj 
 same fully-developed civilization and the same religion as the later monuments. 
 . . . The gods whose names appear in the oW«si tomAs were worshiped down 
 to the Christian times. The same kind of priesthoods which are mentioned in 
 the tablets of Canopus and Rosetta in the Ptolemaic period are as ancient as 
 the pyramids, and more ancient than any pyramid of which we know the 
 date."* 
 
 In regard to the doctrine of the Trinity. We have just seen 
 that " the development of the One God into a Trinity " pervades 
 the oldest religion of Egypt, and the same may be said of India. 
 Prof. Monier Williams, speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 "It should be observed that the native commentaries on the Veda often al- 
 lude to thirty-three gods, which number is also mentioned in the Rig- Veda. 
 This is a multiple of three, which is a sacred number constantly appearing in the 
 Hindu religious system. It is probable, indeed, that although the Tri-murti ia 
 
 ■ Bonwick'8 Egyptian Belief, p. 163. < Quoted in Ibid. p. 186. 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 113, and King's Gnostics, p. 71. ' Ibid. 
 
 ' Bonwick'8 Egyptian Belief, pp. 185, 140, ' Kenouf : Religion of Ancient Egypt, p. 81 
 and 143.
 
 454 BIBLK MYTHS. 
 
 not named in the Vedic hymns,' yet the Veda is the real source of this Triad of 
 personifications, afterwards so conspicuous in Hindu mythology. This much, 
 at least, is clear, that the Vedic poets exhibited a tendency to group all the 
 forces and energies of nature under three heads, and the assertion that the num- 
 ber of the gods was thirty-three, amounted to saying that each of the three lead- 
 ing personifications was capable of eleven modifications."'' 
 
 The great antiquity of the legends referred to in this work is 
 demonstrated in the fact that they were found in a great measure 
 on the continent of America, by the first Europeans who set foot 
 on its soil. Now, how did they get there? Mr. Lundy, in his 
 " Monumental Christianity," speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 " So great was the resemblance between the two sacraments of the Christian 
 Church (viz., that of Baptism and the Eucharist) and those of the ancient Mexi- 
 cans ; so many other points of similarity, also, in doctrine existed, as to the 
 unity of God, the Triad, the Creation, the Incarnation and Sacrifice, tlie Resur- 
 rection, etc., that Herman Witsius, no mean scholar and thinker, was induced to 
 believe that Christianity had been preached on this continent by some one of the 
 apostles, perhaps St. Thomas, from the fact that he is reported to have carried 
 the Gospel to India and Tartary, whence he came to America."-' 
 
 Some writers, who do not think tiiat St. Thomas could have 
 gotten to America, believe that St. Patrick, or some other saint, 
 must have, in some unaccountable manner, reached the shores of 
 the Western continent, and preached their doctrine there.' Others 
 have advocated the devil theory, which is, that the devil, being 
 jealous of the worship of Christ Jesus, set up a religion of his own, 
 and imitated, nearly as possible, the religion of Christ. All of 
 these theories being untenable, we must, in the words of Burnoaf, 
 the eminent French Orientalist, " learn one day that all ancient 
 traditions disfigured by emigration and legend, belong to the history 
 of IndiaP 
 
 That America was inhabited by Asiatic emigrants, and that the 
 American legends are of Asiatic origin^ we believe to be indispu- 
 table. There is an abundance of proof to this effect.' 
 
 In contrast to the great antiquity of the sacred books and relig- 
 ions of Paganism, we have the facts that the Gospels were not 
 written by the persons whose names they bear, that they were 
 written many years after the time these men are said to have lived, 
 and that they are full of interpolations and errors. The first that 
 
 1 That is, the Tri-murti Brahmil, Vi.»hnu and ehip of the three members of the Tri-murti, 
 
 Siva, for he tells ns thai the three gods, Indra, Brahm;!, Vishnu and Siva, is to be foiind in the 
 
 Agni. and Surya. constitute the Vedic chief period of the epic poems, from 500 tct 300 
 
 triad of Gods. (Hinduism, p. a4.) Again he b. c. (Ibid. pp. 109. i:0, 11.5.) 
 
 tells us that the idea of a Tri-murti was nrst ' Williams' Hinduism, p. 'J5. 
 
 dimly shadowed forth in the Rig-Veda, where ' Monumental Christianity, p. .S90. 
 
 a triad of principal gods— Agni, Indra and ' See Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. 
 
 Surya — is recognized, tlbid. p. 83.) The wor. * See Appendix A.
 
 TUE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 455 
 
 we know of the four gospels is at the time of Irenaeus, who, in the 
 second century, intimates that he had received four gospels, as au- 
 thentic scriptures. This pious forger was probably the author of 
 the fourth, as we shall presently see. 
 
 Besides these gospels there were many more which were subse- 
 quently deemed apocryphal ; the narratives related in them of Christ 
 Jesus and his apostles were stamped as forgeries. 
 
 " The Gospel according to Matthew " is believed by the ma- 
 jority of biblical scholars of the present day to be the oldest of the 
 four, and to be made up principally of a pre-existing one, called 
 " The Gospel of the Hebrews." The principal difference in these 
 two gospels being that '■^The Gospel of the Hebrews'''' commenced 
 with giving the genealogy of Jesus from David, through Joseph 
 " according to the flesh.'''' The story of Jesus being born of a vir- 
 gin was not to be found there, it being an afterpiece, originating 
 either with the writer of " The Gospel according to Matthew,''' or 
 some one after him, and was evidently taken from " The Gospel of 
 the Egyptians. " " The Gospel of the Hebrews " — from which, we 
 have said, the Matthew narrator copied — was an intensely Jewish 
 ^o«^e^, and was to be found — in one of its forms — among the 
 Ebionites, who were the narrowest Jewish Christians of the second 
 century. '■'■The Gospel according to Matthew''^ is, therefore, the 
 most Jewish gospel of the four ; in fact, the most Jewish book in 
 the New Testament, excepting, perhaps, the Apocalypse and the 
 Epistle of James. 
 
 Some of the more conspicuous Jewish traits, to be found in this 
 gospel, are as follows : 
 
 Jesus is sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The 
 twelve are forbidden to go among the Gentiles or the Samaritans. 
 They are to sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
 Israel. The genealogy of Jesus is traced back to Abraham, and 
 there stops.' The works of the law are frequently insisted on. 
 There is a superstitious regard for the Sabbath, &c. 
 
 There is no evidence of the existence of the Gospel of Matthew, 
 — m its present form — until the year 173, a. d. It is at this time, 
 also, that it is first ascribed to Matthew, by Apollinaris, Bishop of 
 Hierapolis. The original oracles of the Gospel of the Hebrews, 
 liowever, — which were made use of by the author of our present 
 
 ' The genealogy which traces him back to this Goepel he is not only a MesBiab eent to 
 Adam (Lulie iil.) makes his religion not only the Jews, but to all nations, sons of Adam. 
 • Jewish, bnt a Gentile one. According to
 
 456 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Gospel of Matthew, — were written, likely enough, not long before 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, but the Gospel itself dates from about 
 A. D. 100." 
 
 " The Oospel according to Luke" is believed to come next — in 
 chronological order — to that of Matthew, and to have been written 
 some fifteen or twenty years after it. The author was a,foreignery 
 as his writings plainly show that he was far removed from the 
 events which he records. 
 
 In writing his Gospel, the author made use of that of Matthew, 
 the Gospel of the Hebrews, and Marcion's Gospel. He must have 
 had, also, still other sources, as there are parables peculiar to it, 
 which are not found in them. Among these may be mentioned 
 that of the ^^ Prodigal Son," and the '■'■Good Samaritan^ Other 
 parables peculiar to it are that of the two debtors ; the friend bor- 
 rowing bread at night ; the rich man's barns ; Dives and Lazarus ; 
 the lost piece of silver ; the unjust steward ; the Pharisee and the 
 Publican. 
 
 Several miracles are also peculiar to the Luke narrator's Gospel, 
 the raising of the widow of Nain's son being the most remarkable. 
 Perhaps these stories were delivered to him orally, and perhaps he is 
 the anthor of them, — we shall never know. The foundation of the 
 legends, however, undoubtedlj' came from the '■'■certain scriptures " 
 of the Essenes in Egypt. The principal object which the writer of 
 this gospel had in view was to I'econcile Paulinism and the more 
 Jeivish forms of Christianity.' 
 
 The next in chronological order, according to the same school 
 of critics, is "The Gospel according to Mark." This gospel is- 
 supposed to have been written within ten years of the former, and 
 its author, as of the other two gospels, is unknown. It was 
 probably written at Rome, as the Latinisms of the author's style, 
 and the apparent motive of his work, strongly suggest that he was 
 a Jewish citizen of the Eternal City. He made use of the Gospel 
 of Matthew as his principal authority, and probably referred to that 
 of Li;ke, as he has things in common with Luke only. 
 
 The object which the writer had in view, was to have a neutral 
 go-between, a compromise between Matthew as too Petrine (Jew- 
 ish), and Luke as too Pauline (Gentile). The different aspects of 
 Matthew and Luke were found to be confusing to believers, and 
 provocative of hostile criticism from without ; hence the idea of 
 writing a shorter gospel, that should combine the most essential 
 elements of both. Luke was itself a compromise between the op- 
 
 ' See The Bible of To-Day, under " 3/a«^«j»." "See Ibid, under "Luke."
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 457 
 
 posiDg Jewish and Tiniversal tendencies of early Christianity, but 
 Mark endeavors by avoidance and omission to effect vpliat Luke did 
 more by addition and contrast. Luke proposed to himself to open 
 a door for the admission of Pauline ideas without offending Gentile 
 Christianity ; Mark, on the contrary, in a negative spirit, to publish 
 a Gospel which should not hurt the feelings of either party. Hence 
 his avoidance of all those disputed questions which disturbed the 
 church during the first quarter of the second century. The gene- 
 alogy of Jesus is omitted ; this being offensive to Gentile Christians, 
 and even to some of the more Kberal Judaizers. The supernatura] 
 birth of Jesus is omitted, this being offensive to the Ebonitish 
 (extreme Jewish) and some of the Gnostic Christians. For every 
 Judaizing feature that is sacrificed, a universal one is also sacrificed. 
 Hard words against the Jews are left out, but tvith equal care, hard 
 words about the Gentiles.' 
 
 We now come to the fourth, and last gospel, that " according 
 to John,^'' which was not written until many years after that " ac- 
 cording to Matthew." 
 
 " It is impossible to pass, from the Synoptic' Gospels," says 
 Canon Westcott, " to the fourth, without feeling that the transition 
 involves the passage from one world of thought to another. No 
 familiarity with the general teachings of the Gospels, no wide con- 
 ception of the character of the Saviour, is suflicient to destroy the 
 contrast which exists in fonn and spirit between the earlier and 
 later narratives." 
 
 The- discrepancies between the fourth and the Synoptic Gospels 
 are numerous. If Jesus was the man of Matthew's Gospel, he was 
 not the mysterious heiny of the fourth. If his ministry was only 
 one year long, it was not three. If he made but mie journey to 
 Jerusalem, he did not make m,any. If his method of teaching was 
 that of the Synoptics, it was not that of the fourth Gospel. If he 
 was the Jew of Matthew, he was not the Anti-Jew of Jolin.' 
 
 ' See the Bible of To-Day, under " Mark." to the composition of the three first Gospels, 
 
 ^ *' Synoptics ;" the Gospels which contain is no longer tenable." 
 accounts of the same events — " parallel pas- 3 " On opening the New Testament and 
 
 flages," as they are called — which can be writ- comparing the impression produced by the 
 
 ten side by side, so as to enable us to make a Gospel of Matthew or Mark with that by the 
 
 general view or synopsis of all the three, and at Gospel of John, the observant eye is at once 
 
 the same time compare them with each other. struck with as salient a contrast as that already 
 
 Bishop Marsh says : ** The most eminent crit- indicated on turning from the Macheth or 
 
 ic8 are at present decidedly of opinion that OW«Wo of Shakespeare to the ComM of Milton 
 
 one of the two suppositions must necessarily or to Spenser's Faerie Queene." (Francis Tif- 
 
 be adopted, either that the three Evangelists fany.) 
 
 copied from each other, or that all the three '" To learn how far we may tmst them (the 
 
 drew from a common source, and that the Gospels) we must in the first place compare 
 
 notion of an absolute independence, in respect them with each other. The moment we do so
 
 458 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Everywhere in John we come upon a more developed stage of 
 Christianity than in tlie Synoptics. The scene, the atmospliere, is 
 different. In the Synoptics Jndaism, the Temple, the Law and 
 the Messianic Kingdom are omnipresent. In John they are remote 
 and vagne. In Matthew Jesns is always yearning for his own na- 
 tion. In John he has no other sentiment for it than hate and scorn. 
 In Matthew the sanction of the Prophets is his great credential. In 
 John his dignity can tolerate no previous appro.xiniation. 
 
 " Do we ask," says Francis Tiiiany, " who wrote tliis wondrous 
 Gospel ? Mysterious its origin, as that wind of which its author 
 speaks, which bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
 thereof and canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. As 
 with the Great Unknown of the book of Job, the Great Unknown 
 of the later Isaiah, the ages keep his secret. The first absolutely 
 indisputable evidence of the existence of the hook dates from the 
 latter half of the second century.''^ 
 
 The tirst that we know of the fourth Gospel, for certainty, is 
 at the time of Irenaeus (a. d. 179).' We look in vain for an ex- 
 press recognition of the fo%ir canonical Gospels, or for a distinct 
 mention of any one of tliem, in the writings of St. Clement (a. d. 
 96), St. Ignatius (a. d. 107), St. Justin (a. d. 140), or St." Polycarp 
 (a. d. 108). All we can find is incidents from the life of Jesus, 
 sayings, etc. 
 
 That Irenseus is the author of it is very evident. This learned 
 and pious forger says : 
 
 " John, the disciple of the Lord, wrote his Gospel to confute the doctrine 
 lately taught by Cerinthus, and a great while before by those called Nicolaitans, 
 a branch of the Gnostics ; and to show that there is one God who made all 
 things by his WORD : and not, as they say, that there is one the Creator, and 
 another the Father of our Lord: and one the Sou of the Creator, and another, 
 even the Christ, who descended from above upon the Son of the Creator, and 
 continued impassible, and at length returned to his pleroma or fulness."' 
 
 The idea of God having inspired four different men to 
 write a history of the same transactions — or rather, of many dif- 
 
 we notice that the fourth stands quite alone, Testament, intimates that he had received four 
 
 while the jirst three form a sirtfjle group, not Gospels, as authentic Scriptures, the authors of 
 
 only foHowinff the same general course, but which he describes." (Rev. R. Taylor ; Syn- 
 
 eometimes evcu showing a verbal agreement tagma, p. 109.) 
 
 which cannot possibly be accidental." (The "The authorship of the /owriA Gospel has 
 
 Bible for Learners, vol. ii. p. 27.) been the subject of much learned and anxious 
 
 1 " Iren[eiis is the first person who mentions controversy among theologians. The earliest, 
 
 the four Gospels by name." (Dunsen : Keys and only very important external testimony loe 
 
 of St. Peter, p. .328.) hare is that of Irenj:us (A.d. 179.)" (W. R. 
 
 "Irenaaas, in the second century, is the first Grey : The Creed of Christtindom, p. 159.) 
 of the fathers who, though be has nowhere given a Against Heresies, bk. i i. ch. xi. sec. 1. 
 
 US a professed catalogue of the books of the New
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 459 
 
 ferent men having undertaken to write such a history, of whom God 
 inspired four only to write correctly, leaving the others to their 
 own unaided resources, and giving us no test by which to distin- 
 guish the inspired from the uninspired — certainly appears self-con- 
 futing, and anything but natural. 
 
 The reasons assigned by Irenseus for their being four Gospels 
 are as follows : 
 
 " It is impossible that there could be more or less than /omc. For there are 
 four climates, aad/oMr cardinal winds ; but the Gospel is the pillar and founda- 
 tion of the church, and its breath of life. The church therefore was to have foxir 
 2)iUars, blowing immortality from every quarter, and giving life to man."^ 
 
 It was by this Irenseus, with the assistance of Clement of Alex- 
 andria, and Tertullian, one of the Latin Fathers, that the four Gos- 
 pels were introduced into general use among the Christians. 
 
 In these four spurious Gospels, and in some which are consid- 
 ered Afocryiyhal — because the bishops at the Council of Laodicea 
 (a. d. 365) rejected them — we liave the only history of Jesus of 
 Nazareth. Now, if all accounts or narratives of Christ Jesus and 
 his Apostles were forgeries, as it is admitted that all the ApocrypJial 
 ones were, what can the superior character of the received Gospels 
 prove for them, but that they are merely superiorly executed for- 
 geries ? The existence of Jesus is implied in the New Testament 
 oittside of the Gospels, l)ut hardly an incident of his life is men- 
 tioned, hardly a sentence that he sj)olie has been preserved. Paul, 
 writing from twenty to thirty years after his deaths has but a 
 single reference to anything he ever said or did. 
 
 Beside these four Gospels there were, as we said above, many 
 others, for, in the words of Mosheim, the ecclesiastical historian : 
 
 " Not long after Christ's ascension into heaven, several histories of his life 
 and doctrines, full of pious frauds and fabulous wonders, were composed by per- 
 sons whose intentions, perhaps, were not bad, but whose writings discovered the 
 greatest superstition and ignorance. Nor was this all ; productions appeared, 
 which were imposed upon tlie world by fraudulent men, as the writings of the holy 
 apostles.'"' 
 
 Dr. Conyers Middleton, speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 "There never was any period of time in all ecclesiastical history, in which 
 so many rank heresies were publicly professed, nor in which so many spurious 
 books were forged and published by the Christians, under the names of Christ, 
 and the Apostles, and the Apostolic writers, as in those primitive ages. Several 
 of these forgeii books are frequently cited and applied to the defense of Christianity, 
 by the most eminent fathers of tin same ages, as true and genuine pieces."^ 
 
 1 Against Heresies, bk. iii. ch. xi. sec. 8. ^ Midilleton's Woiks, vol. i. p. 59. 
 
 ' Mosheim: vol. i. p. 109.
 
 460 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 Archbishop Wake also admits that : 
 
 " It would be useless to insist on all the spurious pieces which were attribu 
 ted to St. Paul alone, in the primitive ages of Christianity."' 
 
 Some of the "spurious pieces which were attributed to St. 
 Paul," may be found to day in our canonical New Testament, and 
 are believed by many to be the word of God.' 
 
 The learned Bishop Faustus, in speaking of the authenticity of 
 the New Testament, says : 
 
 " It is certain that the New Testament was not written by Christ himself, 
 nor by his apostles, but a long while after them, by some unknown persons, who, 
 lest they should not be credited when they wrote of affairs they were little ac- 
 quainted with, affixed to their works the names of the apostles, or of such as 
 were supposed to have been their companions, asserting that what they had writ- 
 ten themselves, was written according to these persons to whom they ascribed 
 it. "'3 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 "Many things have been inserted by our ancestors in the speechee of our 
 Lord, which, though put forth under his name, agree not with his faith ; es- 
 pecially since — as already it has been often proved — these things were not writ- 
 ten by Christ, nor his apostles, but a long while after their assumption, by I 
 know not what sort of half Jews, not even agreeing with themselves, who made 
 up their tale out of reports and opinions merely, and yet, fathering the whole 
 upon the names of the apostles of the Lord, or on those who were supposed to 
 follow the apostles, they mendaciously pretended that they had written their 
 lies and conceits according to them."* 
 
 What had been said to have been done in India, was said by 
 these " half-Jews " to have been done in Palestine ; the change of 
 names and places, with the mixing up of various sketches of the 
 Egyptian, Persian, Phenician, Greek and Roman mythology, was 
 all that was necessary. They had an abundance of material, and 
 with it they built. Tlie foundation upon which they built was 
 undoubtedly the " Scriptures^'' or Diegesis, of the Essenes in 
 Alexandria in Egj'pt, which fact led Eusebius, the ecclesiastical 
 historian — " withottt whom," says Tilleraont, " we should scarce 
 have had any knowledge of the history of the first ages of Chris- 
 tianity, or of the authors who wrote in that time " — to say that the 
 sacred writings used by this sect were none other than " Our 
 Gospels." 
 
 1 Genuine Epipt. Ajjopt. Fathers, p. 98. partim apostolorum, partim eorum qui apos- 
 
 ^ See Cliadwick's Bible of To-Day, pp. 191, tolos secuti viderentur nomina scripiornm 
 
 193. euorum frontibus indiderunt, asseverantes se- 
 
 3 *'Nec ab ipso ecriplum constat, nee ab cundura eos, se ecripsisse quae scripserunt." 
 
 ejus apostolis sed longo post tempore a qui- (Faust, lib. 2. Quoted by Eev. E. Taylor: 
 
 busdam incerti nominis virie, qui ne sibi non Diegesis, p. 114.) 
 
 haberetur fldes scribentihus quae nescirent, « " Multa enim a majoribus vestris, eloquiis
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 461 
 
 We offer below a few of the many proofs showing the Gospels 
 to have been written a long time after the events narrated are said 
 to have occurred, and by persons unacquainted with the country of 
 which they wrote. 
 
 " He (Jesus) came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of 
 the coasts of Decapolis," is an assertion made by the Mark narrator 
 (vii. 31), when there were no coasts of Decapolis, nor was the name 
 so much as known before the reign of the emperor Nero. 
 
 Again, " He (Jesus) departed from Galilee, and came into the 
 coasts of Judea, beyond Jordan," is an assertion made by the Mat- 
 thew narrator (xix. 1), when the Jordan itself was the eastern 
 boundary of Judea, and there were no coasts of Judea beyond it. 
 
 Again, " But when he (Joseph) heard that Archelaus did reign 
 in Judea, in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go 
 thither, notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned 
 aside into the parts of Galilee, and he came and dwelt in a city 
 called Nazareth ; that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by 
 the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene," is another assertion 
 made by the Matthew narrator (ii. 22, 23), when — 1. It was a son 
 of Herod who reigned in Galilee as well as Judea, so that he could 
 not be more secure in one province than in the other ; and when 
 — 2. It was impossible for him to have gone from Egypt to Naz- 
 areth, without traveling through the whole extent of Archelaus's 
 kingdom, or making a peregrination through the deserts on the 
 north and east of the Lake Asphaltites, and the country of Moab ; 
 and then, either crossing the Jordan into Samaria or the Lake of 
 Gennesareth into Galilee, and from thence going to the city of 
 Nazareth, which is no better geography, than if one should describe 
 a person as turning aside from Cheapside into the parts of York- 
 shii'e ; and when — 3. There were no prophets whatever who had 
 prophesied that Jesus " should he called a Nazarene." 
 
 The Matthew narrator (iv. 13) states that "He departed into 
 Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, came and dwelt in Capernaum," as 
 if he imagined that the city of Nazareth was not as properly in 
 Galilee as Capernaum was ; which is much such geographical accu- 
 racy, as if one should relate the travels of a hero, who departed into 
 Middlesex, and leaving London, came and dwelt in Lombard street.' 
 
 Domini nostri insertA verba snnt ; quae nomine ionesqne comperta sunt ; qui tamen omnia 
 
 eignata ipsius, cum ejus fide non con^ruant, eadera in apostolorum Domini corferentes 
 
 praesertim, quia, ut jam siepe probatnm a nomina vol eorum qui secuti apostolos 
 
 nobis est. nee ab ipso h£ec sunt, nee ab ejus viderentur. errores ac mendacia sua secundam 
 
 apostolis scripta. 6ed multo ijost eorum assump- eos se scripsisse mentiti sunt." (Faust.: 
 
 ■tionem, a nescfo qiiibus. ft ipsis inter se non lib. 33. Quoted in Ibid. p. 66.) 
 concordantibus sejii-Jud^eis, per famas opin- ' Taylor's Diegesie.
 
 462 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Thei'e are many other falsehoods in gospel geography beside 
 these, which, it is needless to mention, plainly show that the 
 writers were not the persons they are generally supposed to be. 
 
 Of gospel statistics there are many falsehoods ; among them may 
 be mentioned the following : 
 
 " Annas and Caiaphas being the higli priests, the word of God 
 came unto John the son of Zacharias in the M'ilderness," is an as- 
 sertion made by the Luke narrator (Luke iii. 2); when all Jews, or 
 persons living among them, must have known that there never 
 was but one high priest at a time, as with ourselves there is but one 
 mayor of a city. 
 
 Again we read (John vii. 52), " Search (the Scriptures) and look, 
 for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet," when the most distinguished 
 of the Jewish prophets — Nahum and Jonah — were both Galileans. 
 
 See reference in the Epistles to '■'■ Saints" . a. religious order, 
 owing its origin to the popes. Also, references to the distinct 
 orders of " Bishops," " Priests" and " Deacons" and calls to a 
 monastic life ; to fasting, etc., when, the titles of " Bishop," 
 " Pi-iest," and " Deacon " were given to the Essenes — whom Euse- 
 bius calls Christians — and, as is well known, monasteries were the 
 abode of the Essenes or Therapeuts. 
 
 See the words for " legion" " aprons" ^^handkerchiefs" " oen- 
 turio7i" etc., in the original, not being Greek, but Latin, written 
 in Greek characters, a practice first to be found in the historian 
 Herodian, in the third century. 
 
 In Matt. xvi. 18, and Matt, xviii. 17, the word " Church" is 
 used, and its papistical and infallible authority referred to as then 
 existing, which is known not to have existed till ages after. And 
 the passage in Matt. xi. 12 : — " From the days of John the Baptist 
 until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence," etc., could 
 not have been written till a very late period. 
 
 Luke ii. 1, shows that the wi-iter (whoever he may have been) 
 lived long after the events related. His dates, about the fifteenth 
 year of Tiberius, and the government of Cyrenius (the only indi- 
 cations of time in the New Testament), are manifestly false. The 
 general ignorance of the four Evangelists, not merely of the geog- 
 raphy and statistics of Judea, but even of its language, — their 
 egregious blunders, which no writers who had lived in that age 
 could be conceived of as making, — prove that they were not only 
 no such persons as those who have been willing to be deceived have 
 taken them to be, but that they were not Jews, had never been in 
 Palestine, and neither lived at, or at anywhere near the times to
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN RELIGIONS. 463 
 
 which their narratives seem to refer. The ablest divines at the 
 present day, of all denominations, have yielded as much as this.' 
 
 Tlie Scriptures were in the hands of the clergy only, and they 
 had every opportunity to insert whatsoever they pleased ; thus we 
 find them full of interpolations. Johann Solomo Sender, one of 
 the most influential theologians of the eighteenth century, speaking 
 of this, says : 
 
 " The Christian doctors never brought their sacred boolis before the common 
 people ; ahhoiieh people in general have been wont to think otherwise ; during 
 the first ages, they were in the hands of the clergy only. "^ 
 
 Concerning the time when the canon of the New Testament 
 was settled, Mosheim says : 
 
 " The opinions, or rather the c«?y«cteres, of the learned concerning IhetiTne 
 ■when the books of the New Testament were collected into one volume ; as also 
 about the authors of that collection, are extremely different. This important 
 question is attended with great and almost insuperable difiiculties to us in these 
 later times. "^ 
 
 The Rev. B. F. "Westcott says : 
 
 'It is impossible to point to any period as marking the date at which our 
 present canon was determined. When it first appears, it is presented not as a 
 novelty, but as an ancient tradition."'' 
 
 Dr. Lardner says : 
 
 "Even so late as the middle of the sixth century, the canon of the New Tes- 
 tament had not been settled by any authority that was decisive and universally 
 
 ■ Says Prof. Smith npon this point : " All Gospels did not go to work as independent 
 
 the earliest external evidence points to the con- writers and compo^e tlieir own narratives out 
 
 elusion thai the ^/uoptic r/ospeis are non-apos- of the accounts they had collected, but simply 
 
 tolic digests of f:}Kiken and written apostolic took up the different stories or sets of stories 
 
 tradition, and that the arrangement of the which they found current in the ora^ tradition 
 
 earlier material iu orderly form took place only or already reduced to writing, adduag litre and 
 
 gradually and by many essays." expanding there, and so sent out into the world 
 
 hr. Eooykaas, speaking of the four "Gos- a very artless kiud of comi)Osition. These 
 
 pels." and " Acts," says of them : " Not one works were then, from time to time, somewhat 
 
 of these five books was really wiitten by the enriched by introdtrctonj matter or interpola- 
 
 person whose name it bears, and they are all tions from the hands of later Cliristians. and 
 
 of more recent date than the heading would perhaps were modified a little hi re and there. 
 
 lead us to suppose." Oar first two Gospels appear to have passed 
 
 "We cannot say that the "Gospels" and through more tliau one such revision. The 
 book of "Acts" are vnavthentic, for not one ihinl, whose writer says in his preface, tha^: 
 of them professes to give the name of its au- 'many had undertaken to put together a narra- 
 thor, Theij appeared anonymouslij. The titles tive (Gospel-,' before him. appears to proceed 
 placed above them in our Bibles owe their from a sini;le collecting, arranging, and modi- 
 origin to a later ecclesiastical tradition which f\ing hand." (Ibid. p. 29.) 
 deserves no confidence whatever." (Bible for 2 ■■ christiani doctores non in valgus prode- 
 Leamers, vol. iii. pp. 24. 35.) bant libros sacros, hcet soleant plerique aliter- 
 
 These Grospels " can hardly be said 10 have opinari. erant tantum in uuinibus clericorum, 
 
 had authors at all. They had only editors or priora per s.iecula." (Qnoted in Taylor's Die- 
 
 compilers. What I mean is, that those who gesis, p. 48.) 
 enriched the old Christian literature with these ' Mosheim: vol i. pt. 2, ch. li. 
 
 * General Survey of the Canon, p. 469.
 
 464 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 acknowledged, but Cbristian people were at liberty to judge for themselves con- 
 cerning the genuiness of writings proposed to them as apostolical, and to de- 
 termine according to evidence."' 
 
 The learned Michaelis says : 
 
 "No manuscript of the New Testament now extant is prior to the sixth cen- 
 tury, and wliat is to be lamented, various readings which, as appears from the 
 quotations of the Fathers, were in the text of the Greek Testament, are to be 
 found in none of the manuscripts which are at present remaining." '^ 
 
 And Bishop Marsh says : 
 
 "It is a certain fact, that several readings in our common printed text are 
 nothing more than alterations made by Origan, whose authority was so great in 
 the Christian Church (a. d. 230) that emendations which he proposed, though, 
 as he himself acknowledged, they were supported by the evidence of no manu- 
 script, were very generally received."^ 
 
 In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius gives us a list of what 
 books at that time (a. d. 315) were considered canonical. They are 
 as follows : 
 
 " The four-fold writings of the Evangelists," " The Acts of the Apostles," 
 " The Epistles of Peter," " after these \h& first of John, and that of Peter," " All 
 these are received for vndoubted." " The Revelation of St. John, some disavow." 
 
 " The books which are gainsaid, though well known unto many, are these : 
 the Epistle of James, the Epistle of Jude, the latter of Peter, the second and 
 third of John, whether they were John th^ Shangelist, or some other of the same 
 name.'"' 
 
 Though IrensBus, in the second century, is the first who men- 
 tions the evangelists, and Origen, in the third centiiry, is the first 
 who gives us a catalogue of the books contained in the New Tes- 
 tament, Mosheim's admission still stands before us. We have no 
 grounds of assui-ance that the mere mention of the names of the 
 evangelists by Irenseus, or the arbitrary drawing up of a particular 
 catalogue by Origen, were of any authority. Tt is still unknown 
 by whom, or where, or when, the canon of the New Testament was 
 settled. But in this absence of positive evidence we have abun- 
 dance of negative proof. "We know when it was not settled. "We 
 know it was not settled in the time of the Emperor Justinian, nor 
 in the time of Cassiodorus ; that is, not at any time hefore the 
 middle of the sixth century, " by any authority that was decisive 
 and universally acknowledged ; but Christian people were at liberty 
 to judge for themselves concerning the genuineness of writings 
 proposed to them as apostolical." 
 
 > Credibility of tliu Gospels. a n,id. p. 3li8. 
 
 » M.irsh's Michaelis, vol. ii. p. ICO. The * Eusebius : JScclesiastical Hist. lib. 8, ch. 
 
 Sinaitic MS. is believed by Tischendorf to xxii. 
 belong to the fourth century.
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF PAGAN BELIGIONS 485 
 
 We caunot do better than close this chapter with the words of 
 Prof. Max Miiller, who, in speaking of Buddhism, says : 
 
 " Wo have in the history of Buddliism an excelleat opportunity ior watching * 
 the process by which a canon of sacred hooks is called into existence. "We see 
 here, as elsewhere, that during the life-time of the teacher, no record of events, 
 no sacred code containing the sayings of the Master, was wanted. His p'-esence 
 was enough, and thoughts of the future, and more particularly, of future great- 
 ness, seldom entered the minds of those who followed him. It was only 
 after Buddha had left the world to enter into Nirvana, that his discipl'^s at- 
 tempted to recall the sayings and doings of their departed friend and master. 
 At that time, everything that seemed to redound to the glory of Buddha, how- 
 ever extraordinary and incredible, was eagerly welcomed, while witnesses who 
 would have ventured to criticise or reject unsupported statements, or to detract 
 in any way from the holy character of Buddha, had no chance of ever be'ng 
 listened to. And when, in spite of all this, differences of opinion arose, they 
 were not brought to the test by a careful weighing of evidence, but the names of 
 ' unbeliever' and 'heretic' were quickly invented in India as elseiehere. and ban- 
 died backwards and forwards between contending parties, till at last, when tb« 
 doctors disagreed, the help of the secular power had to be invoked, pnd kings 
 and emperors assembled councils for the suppression of schism, for the settle 
 nient of an orthodox creed, and for the completion of a sacred canon." ^ 
 
 That which Prof. Miiller describes as taking place in the relig- 
 ion of Christ Bnddha, is exactly what took place in the religion of 
 Christ Jesus. That the miraculous, and many of the non-miracu- 
 lous, events related in the Gospels never happened, is demonstrable 
 from the facts whicli we have seen in this work, that nearly all of 
 these events, had been previously related of the gods and goddesses 
 of heathen nations of antiquity, more especially of the Hindoo 
 Saviour d'ishna, and the Buddhist Saviour Bxuldlia, whose 
 religion, with less alterations than time and translations have made 
 in the Jewish Scriptures, may be traced in nearly every dogma and 
 every ceremony of the evangelical mythology. 
 
 > The Science o( Religion, pp. 30, 31. 
 
 Note. — The Codex Sinaiticiig, referrtd to on the preceding page. (note2.^ wns found at the 
 Convent of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinni, by Tij^chendorf, in ]N'>9. Ho (rf/ppo.^irS that it belongs 
 to the 4th cent. ; but Dr. Daridfon (in Kitto's Bib. Enoy.. Art. MSS.l tliinlw dfili'rcnt. He fays' : 
 '' Probahly it is of the 6th ceht.,^' \\\\\\g be jitatcs tliot tliu Cotiex Vaticauys "is bfUeveU to 
 belong to the 4th cent,." and the C'crhx Alcxai drirns to the cth cent. llcClinlocli & Strong's 
 Eucy. tArt. 5ISS..') relying probably on Tischendorfs conjecture, places the Codex Sinaitia/s 
 first. " It i.? probably the oldest of the MSS. of the N. T.. inid of tlie 4th cent.," fay they. The 
 Codex Tuticaiius is considered the next oldest, and the Ccdex Alex'iridrimn' is placed third in 
 order, and "was pnbobhj vritten in the ijrst half of the 6th cent." The writer of the art. N. 
 T. in Smith's Bib. Die. says : "The Tf/i/rx Siix.i/inM is probably the oldest of the MSS. of the 
 N. T., and of the 4th cent.;" and that the Code-.v A/exandntt'is " was /./■o^^/t.Vv written in the 
 first half of the 5th cent." Thus v.e see th.".t in determining the dates of the JISS. of the N. 
 T., Christian divines are obliged to resort to cctijeeture : there being no certainty wliatever in 
 .the matter. But with ail their "suppositions,'' " proliabilitics." "briicfs" and " con.iectures." 
 wi' have the words of the learned Micliaelis still before us, that : "No MSS. of the N. T. now 
 extant are prior to the sixth eenf." This remark, however, does not cover the Cod'jX .Sinaifiatt:, 
 which was discovered since Michaelis wrote his work on the K. T. : but, as v.e saw above. 
 Dr. Davidson does net Kgree with Tischer.dorf in regard to its antiquity, and places it in tbe 
 6th cent.
 
 CHAPTEE XXXIX. 
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 After what we have seen concerning the numerous virgin- 
 bom, crucified and resurrected Saviours, believed on in the Pagan 
 world for so many centuries before the time assigned for the birth 
 of the Christian Saviour, the questions naturally arise : were they 
 real personages ? did they ever exist in the ilesh ? whence came 
 these stories concerning them ? have they a foundation in trath, or 
 are they simply creations of the imagination ? 
 
 The histm'ical theory — according to which all the persons men- 
 tioned in mythology were once real human beings, and the legends 
 and fabulous traditions relating to them were merely the additions 
 and embellishments of later times — which was so popular with 
 scholars of the last century, has been altogether abandoned. 
 
 Under the historical point of view the gods are mere deified 
 mortals, either heroes who have been deified after their death, or 
 Poutifii-chieftains who liave passed themselves off for gods, and 
 who, it is gratuitously supposed, found people stupid enough to 
 believe in their pretended divinity. This was the manner in which, 
 formerly, wi'iters explained the mythology of nations of antiquity ; 
 but a method that pre-supposed an historical Crishna, an historical 
 Osiris, an historical Mithra, an historical Hercules, an historical 
 Apollo, or an historical Thor, was found untenable, and therefore, 
 does not, at the present day, stand in need of a refutation. As a 
 writer of the early part of the present century said : 
 
 "We shall never have an ancient history worthy of the perusal of men of 
 common sense, till we cease treating poems as history, and send back such per- 
 sonages as Hercules, Theseus, Bacchus, etc. , to the heavens, whence their history 
 is taken, and whence they never descended to the earth." 
 
 The historical theory was succeeded by the allegorical thory, 
 which supposes that all the myths of the ancients were allegorical 
 and symbolical, and contain some moral, religious, or philosophical 
 [466J
 
 EXPLANATION. 467 
 
 truth or historical fact under the form of an allegory, which came 
 in process of time to be understood literally. 
 
 In the preceding pages we have spoken of the several virgin- 
 born, crucified and resurrected Saviours, as real personages. We 
 have attributed to these individuals words and acts, and have re- 
 garded the words and acts recorded in the several sacred books 
 from which we have quoted, as said and done by them. But in 
 doing this, we have simply used the language of others. These 
 gods and heroes were not real personages ; they are merely per- 
 sonifications of the Sun. As Prof. Max Miiller observes in his 
 Lectures on the Science of Eeligion : 
 
 " One of the earliest objects that would strike and stir the mind of man, and 
 for which a sign or a name would soon be wanted, is surely the Sun. ' It is very 
 hard for us to realize the feelings with which the first dwellers on the earth 
 looked upon the Sun, or to understand fully what they meant by a morning 
 prayer or a morning sacrifice. Perhaps there are few people who have watched 
 a sunrise more than once or twice in their life ; few people who have ever 
 knowu the meaning of a morning prayer, or a morning sacrifice. But think of 
 man at the very dawn of time. . . . think of the Sun awakening the eyes of 
 man from sleep, and his mind from slumber ! Was not the sunrise to him the 
 first wonder, the first beginning of all reflection, all thought, all philosophy ? 
 Was it not to him the first revelation, the first beginning of all trust, of all re- 
 ligion? .... 
 
 " Few nations only have preserved in their ancient poetry some remnants of 
 the natural awe with which the earlier dwellers on the earth saw that brilliant 
 being slowly rising from out of the darkness of the night, raising itself by its 
 own might higher and higher, till it stood triumphant on the arch of heaven, 
 and then descended and sank down in its fiery glory into the dark abyss of the 
 heaving and hissing sea. In the hymns of the Veda, the poet still wonders 
 whether the Sun will rise again ; he asks how he can climb the vault of heaven ? 
 why he does not fall back ? why there is no dust on his path ? And when the 
 rays of the morning rouse him from sleep and call him back to new life, when 
 he sees the Sun, as he says, stretching out his golden arms to bless the world and 
 rescue it from the terror of darkness, he exclaims, ' Arise, our life, our spirit 
 has come back ! the darkness is gone, the light approaches." 
 
 Many years ago, the learned Sir William Jones said : 
 
 " We must not be surprised at finding, on a close examination, that the char- 
 acters of all the Pagan deities, male and female, melt into each other, and at 
 last into one or two ; for it seems as well founded opinion, that the whole crowd 
 of gods and goddesses of ancient Rome, and modern VarSnes, mean only the 
 powers of nature, and principally those of the SUN, expressed in a variety of 
 ways, and by a multitude of fanciful names."' 
 
 1 '* In the Verlas, the Sf/n has twenty dif- which nouriBhes (Pfishna), the Creator (Tvash- 
 
 fercnt names, not pure equivalents, but each tar), the master of the sky (Divaspati), and so 
 
 term descriptive of the Sun in one of its as- on." (Rev. S. Baring-Gould : Orig. Relig. 
 
 pccts. It is bril!iaut(Siirya\the friend (Mitra), Belief, vol. i. p. 150.) 
 generous (Aryaman), beneficent (Bhaga), that ' Asiatic Keeearcbes, vol. i. p. 267.
 
 468 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Since the first learned president of the Royal Asiatic Society 
 paved the way for the science of comparative mythology, much haa 
 been learned on this subject, so that, as the Kev. George W. Cox 
 remarks, " recent discussions on the subject seeui to justify the con- 
 viction that the foundations of the science of coTiiparativc mythology 
 have been firmly laid, and that its method is unassailable.'" 
 
 If we wish to find the gods and goddesses of the ancestors of 
 our race, we must look to the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the 
 earth, the sea, the dawn, the clouds, the wind, &c., which they per- 
 sonified and worshiped. That these have been the gods and god- 
 desses of all nations of antiquity, is an established fact/ 
 
 The words which had denoted the sun and moon would denote 
 not merely living things but living persons. From personification 
 to deification the steps would be but few ; and the process of disin- 
 tegration would at once furnish the materials for a vast fabric of 
 mythology. All the expressions which had attached a living force 
 to natural objects would remain as the description of personal and 
 anthropomorphous gods. Every word would become an attribute, 
 and all ideas, once grouped around a simple object, would branch off 
 into distinct personifications. The sun had been the lord of light, 
 the driver of the chariot of the day ; he had toiled and labored for 
 the sons of men, and sunk down to rest, after a hard battle, iu the 
 evening. But now the lord of light would be Phoibos Apollon, 
 while Helios would i-emain enthroned in his fiery chariot, and his 
 toils and labors and death-struggles would be transferred to Her- 
 cules. The violet clouds which greet his rising and his setting would 
 now be represented by herds of cows which feed in earthly pastures. 
 There would be other expressions which would still remain as fioat- 
 ing phrases, not attached to any definite deities. These would grad- 
 ually be converted into incidents in the life of heroes, and be woven 
 at length into systematic narratives. Finally, these gods or heroes, 
 and the incidents of their mythical career, would receive each " a 
 local habitation and a name." These wotdd remain as gentiine 
 history, when the origin and meaning of the words had been either 
 wholly or in part forgotten. 
 
 For the proofs of these assertions, the Vedic poems furnish 
 indisputable evidence, that such as this was the origin and growth 
 of Greek and Teutonic mythology. In these poems, the names of 
 many, perhaps of most, of the Greek gods, indicate natural objects 
 which, if endued with life, have not been reduced to human per- 
 
 1 Preface to " Tales of Anct. Greece." ' See Appendix B.
 
 EXPLANATION. 469 
 
 sonality. In them Daphne is still simply the morning twilight 
 ushering in the splendor of the new-born sun ; the cattle of Helios 
 there are still the light-colored clouds which the dawn leads o)it into 
 the fields of the sky. There the idea of Hercules has not been 
 separated from the image of the toiling and struggling sun, and the 
 glory of the life-giving Helios has not been transferred to the god 
 of Delos and Pytho. In the Vedas the myths of Endymion, of 
 Kephalos and Prokris, Orpheus and Eurydike, are exhibited in the 
 form of detached mythical phrases, which furnished for each their 
 germ. The analysis may be extended indefinitely: but the conclu- 
 sion can only be, that in the Yedic language we have the foundation, 
 not only of the glowing legends of Hellas, but of the dark and 
 sombre mythology of the Scandinavian and the Teuton. Both alike 
 Iiave grown up chiefly from names which have been grouped around 
 the sun ; but the former has been grounded on those expressions 
 which describe the recurrence of day and night, the latter on the 
 great tragedy of nature, in the alternation of summer and winter. 
 
 Of this vast mass of solar myths, some have emerged into inde- 
 pendent legends, others have furnished the groundwork of whole 
 epics, others have remained simply as floating tales whose intrinsic 
 beauty no poet has wedded to his verse.' 
 
 " The results obtained from the examination of language in its 
 several forms leaves no room for doubt that the general system of 
 mythology has been traced to its fountain head. We can no longer 
 shut our eyes to the fact that there was a stage in the history of 
 human speech, during which all the abstract words in constant use 
 among ourselves were utterly unknown, when men had formed no 
 notions of virtue or prudence, of thought and intellect, of slavery 
 or freedom, but spoke only of the man who was strong, who could 
 point the way to others and choose one thing out of many, of the 
 man who was not hound to any other and able to do as he pleased. 
 
 " That even this stage was not the earliest in the history of lan- 
 guage is now a growing opinion among philologists ; but for the 
 comparison of legends current in different countries it is not neces- 
 sary to carry the search further back. Language without words 
 denoting abstract quahties implies a condition of thought in which 
 men were only awakening to a sense of the objects which sur- 
 rounded them, and points to a time when the world was to them 
 full of strange sights and sounds, some beautiful, some bewildering, 
 some terrific, when, in short, they knew little of themselves beyond 
 
 1 Aryan Mytho., vol ii. pp. 51-53.
 
 470 EIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 the vague consciousness of their existence, and nothing of the phe- 
 nomena of the world without. In such a state they could hut 
 attribute to all that they saw or touched or heard, a life lohich was 
 like their own in its consciousness, its joys, and its sufferings. 
 That power of sympathizing with nature ^vhich we are apt to regard 
 as the peeuHar gift of the poet was then shared ahke by all. This 
 sympathy was not the result of an}- effort, it was inseparably bound 
 up with the words which rose to their lips. It implied no special 
 purity of heart or mind ; it pointed to no Arcadian paradise where 
 shepherds knew not how to wrong or oppress or torment each other. 
 We say that the morning light rests on the monntains ; they said 
 that the sun was greeting his bride, as naturally as our own poet 
 would speak of the sunlight clasping the eai-th, or the moonbeams 
 as kissing the sea. 
 
 " We have then before us a stage of language corresponding to a 
 stage in the history of the human mind in which all sensible objects 
 were regarded as instinct with a conscious life. The varying 
 phases of that life were therefore described as truthfully as they 
 described their own feelings or sufferings ; and hence every phase 
 became a picture. But so long as the conditions of their life i-e- 
 mained unchanged, they knew perfectly what the picture meant, 
 and ran no risk of confusing one with another. Thus they had but 
 to describe the things which they saw, felt, or heard, in order to 
 keep up an inexhaustible store of phrases faithfully describing the 
 facts of the world from their point of view. This language was 
 indeed the result of an observation not less keen than that by which 
 the inductive philosopher extorts the secrets of the natural world, 
 l^or was its range much narrower. Each object received its own 
 measure of attention, and no one phenomenon was so treated as to 
 leave no room for others in their turn. They could not fail to 
 iiote the changes of days and years, of growth and decay, of calm 
 and storm ; but the objects which so changed were to them living 
 things, and the rising and setting of the sun, the return of win- 
 'er and summer, became a drama in which the actors were their 
 rnemies or their friends. 
 
 " That this is a strict statement of facts in the history of the hu- 
 :nan mind, philology alone would abundantly prove; but not a few 
 i>f these phrases have come down to us in their earliest form, and 
 iioint to the long-buried sti'atum of language of which they are the 
 I'ragments. These relics exhibit in their germ,s the myths which 
 afterwards became the legends of gods and heroes with human
 
 EXPLANATION. 471 
 
 forms, andfuiifiished the gro^indwork of the epic jioems, whether 
 of the eastern or the western world. 
 
 " The mythical or mythmaking language of mankind had no par- 
 tialities ; and if the career of the Suji occupies a large extent of 
 the horizon, we cannot fairly simulate ignorance of the cause. Men 
 so placed would not fail to put into words the thoughts or emotions 
 roused in them by the varying phases of that mighty world on 
 which we, not less than they, feel that our life depends, although 
 we may know something more of its nature. 
 
 " Tlius grew up a multitude of expressions which described the 
 sun as the child of the night, as the destroyer of the darkness, as 
 the lover of the dawn and the dew — of phrases which would go on 
 to speak of him as killing the dew with his spears, and of forsaking 
 the dawn as he rose in the heaven. The feeling that the fruits of 
 the earth were called forth by his warmth would find utterance in 
 words which spoke of him as the friend and the benefactor of man ; 
 while tlie constant recurrence of his work would lead them to de- 
 scribe him as a being constrained to toil for others, as doomed to 
 travel over many lands, and as finding everywhere things on which 
 he could bestow his love or which he might destroy by his power. 
 His journey, again, might be across cloudless skies, or amid alterna- 
 tions of storm and calm ; his light might break fitfully through 
 the clouds, or be hidden for many a weary hour, to burst forth at 
 last with dazzling splendor as he sank down in the western sky. He 
 would thus be described as facing many dangers and many enemies, 
 none of whom, however, may arrest his course ; as sullen, or capri- 
 cious, or resentful ; as grieving for the loss of the dawn whom he 
 had loved, or as nursing his great wrath and vowing a pitiless ven- 
 geance. Then as the veil was rent at eventide, they would speak of 
 the chief, who had long remained still, girding on his armor ; or of 
 the wanderer throwing o£E his disguise, and seizing his bow or 
 spear to smite his enemies ; of the invincible warrior whose face 
 gleams with the flush of victory when the fight is over, as he greets 
 the fair-haired Dawn who closes, as she had begun, the day. To the 
 wealth of images thus lavished on the daily life and death of the 
 Sun there would be no limit. He was the child of the morning, 
 or her husband, or her destroyer ; he forsook her and he returned 
 to her, either in calm serenity or only to sink presently in deeper 
 gloom. 
 
 " So with other sights and sounds. The darkness of night brought 
 with it a feeling of vague horror and dread ; the return of daylight 
 cheered them with a sense of unspeakable gladness ; and thus the
 
 472 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Sun who scattered the black shade of night would be the misrhty 
 champion doing battle with the biting suake which lurked in its 
 dreary hiding-place. But as the Sun accomplishes his journey day 
 by day through the heaven, the character of the seasons is changed. 
 The buds and blossoms of spring-time expand in the flowers and 
 fruits of summer, and the leaves fall and wither on the approach 
 of winter. Thus the daughter of the earth would be spoken of as 
 dying or as dead, as severed from her mother for five or six weary 
 months, not to be restored to her again until the time for her re- 
 turn from the dark land should once more arrive. But as no other 
 power than that of the Sun can recall vegetation to life, this child 
 of the earth would be represented as buried in a sleep from which 
 the touch of the Sun alone could arouse her, when he slays the 
 frost and cold which lie like snakes around he;' motionless form. 
 " That ttwsejyhrases would furnish tJie germs i>f myths or legends 
 teeming with human feeling, as soon as the meaning of the phrases 
 were in part or wholly forgotten, was as inevitable as that in the 
 infancy of our race men should attribute to all sensible objects tlie 
 same hind of life which th^y were conscioxhs of possessing them- 
 selves." 
 
 Let us compare the history of the Saviour which we have al- 
 ready seen, with that of the Sun, as it is found in the Vedas. 
 
 We can follow in the Vedlc hymns, stej) by step, the develop- 
 ment which changes the Sun from a mere luminary into a " Cre- 
 ator," '■^ Preserver," '■^ Ruler," and '■'■ Eewarder of the Wo7'ld" — in 
 fact, into a Divine or Supreme Being. 
 
 The first step leads us from the mere light of the Sun to that 
 light which in the morning wakes man from sleep, and seems to 
 give new life, not only to man, but to the whole of nature. lie 
 who wakes us in the morning, who recalls all nature to new life, is 
 soon called " The Giver of Daily Life" 
 
 Secondly, by another and bolder step, the Giver of Daily Light 
 and Life becomes the giver of light and life in general. He who 
 brings light and life to-day, is the same who brought light and life 
 on the first of days. As light is the beginning of the day, so light 
 was the beginning of creation, and the Sun, from being a mere light- 
 bringer or life-giver, becomes a Creator, and, if a Creator, then soon 
 also a Kuler of the World. 
 
 Thirdly, as driving away the dreaded dai'kness of the night, 
 and likewise as fertilizing the earth, the Sun is conceived as a " De- 
 fender " and kind " Protector " of all living things. 
 
 Fourthly, the Sun sees everything, both that which is good and
 
 EXPLANATION. 475 
 
 that which is evil ; and how natural therefore that the evil-doer should 
 be told that the sun sees what no human eye may have seen, and 
 that the innocent, when all other help fails him, should appeal to 
 the sun to attest his guiltlessness ! 
 
 Let us examine now, says Prof. Miiller, from whose work we 
 have quoted the above, a few passages (from the Rig- Veda) illus- 
 trating every one of these perfectly natural transitions. 
 
 " In hymn vii. we fiud the Sua invoked as ' TM Protector of everything that 
 moves or stands, of all tluit exists.' " 
 
 •' Frequent allusion is made to the Sun's power of seeing everything. The 
 stars flee before the all-seeing Sun, like thieves (R. V. vii.). He sees the right 
 and the wrong among men (Ibid.). He who looks upon the world, knows also 
 all the thoughts in men (Ibid.)." 
 
 "As the Sun sees everything and knows everything, he is asked to forget 
 and forgive what he alone has seen and knows (R. V. iv.)." 
 
 " The Sun is asked to drive away illness and bad dreams fR. V. x.)." 
 
 "Having once, and more than once, been invoked as the life-bringer, the 
 Sun is also called the breath or life of all that moves and rests (R. V. i.) ; and 
 lastly, he becomes the maker of all things, by whom all the worlds have been 
 brought togetlier(R. V. x.), and . . . Lord of man and of all living creatures." 
 
 "He is the God among gods (R. V. i.) ; he is the divine leader of all the 
 gods (R. V. viii.)." 
 
 " He alone rules the whole world (R. V. v.). " The laws which he has estab- 
 lished are firm (R. V. iv.), and the other gods not only praise him (R. V. vii.), 
 but have to follow him as their leader (R. V. v.)."' 
 
 That the history of Christ Jesus, the Christian Saviour, — " the 
 true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,'" 
 
 — is simply the history of the Sun — the real Saviour of mankind 
 
 — is demonstrated beyond a doubt from the following indisputable 
 facts : 
 
 1. The hirth of Christ Jesus is said to have taken place at early 
 dawn' on the 25th day of December. Now, this is the Sun's birth- 
 day. At the commencement of the sun's apparent annual revolu- 
 tion round the earth, he was said to have been born, and, on the 
 first moment after midnight of the 24th of December, all the 
 heathen nations of the earth, as if by common consent, celebrated 
 the accouchement of the ^"^ Queen if Heaven" of the ^^ Celestial Vir- 
 gin of the Sphere" and the birth of the god Sol. On that day the 
 sun having fully entered the winter solstice, the Sigti of tlie Virgin 
 was rising on the eastern horizon. The woman's symbol of this 
 stellar sign was represented first by ears of corn, then with a new- 
 bom male child in her arms. Such was the picture of the Persian 
 sphere cited by Aben-Ezra : 
 
 ' MQller : Origin of ReligioDB, pp. 264-268. are celebrated in Bethlehem and Rome, even 
 ' John, i. 9. at the present time, very early in the mom- 
 
 > The Chrietian ceremoniea of the Nativity ing.
 
 474 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 " The division of the first ilecaa of the Virgin represents a beautiful virgin 
 with flowing hair, sitting in a chair, with two ears of corn in lier hand, and 
 suckling an infant called Iksus by some nations, and Christ in Greek."' 
 
 This denotes the Sun, which, at tlie moment of tlie winter sol- 
 stice, precisely when the Persian magi drew the horoscope of the 
 new year, was placed on the bosom of the Virgin, rising heliacally 
 in the eastern horizon. On this account he was figured in their 
 astronomical pictures under the form of a child suckled by a chaste 
 virgin." 
 
 Tims we see that Christ Jesus was "born on the same day as 
 Buddha, Mithras, Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis and 
 o^hev personifications of ilie Sun.' 
 
 2. Christ Jesus was horn of a Virgi^i. In this respect he is also 
 the Suti, for 'tis the sun alone who can be born of an immaculate 
 virgin, who conceived him without carnal intercourse, and who is 
 still, after the birth of her child, a virgin. 
 
 This Virgin, of whom the Sun, tlie true " Saviour of Mankind," 
 is born, is either the bright and beautiful Daw7i,* or the dark Earthy 
 or Night." Hence we have, as we have already seen, the Virgin, 
 or Vi7'go, as one of the signs of the zodiac' 
 
 Tills Celestial Virgin was feigned to be a mother. She is repre- 
 sented in the Indian Zodiac of Sir William Jones, with ears of corn 
 in one hand, and the lotus in the other. In Kirchers Zodiac of 
 Hermes, she has corn in both hands. In other planispheres of the 
 Egyptian priests she cai-ries ears of corn in one hand, and the infant 
 Saviour Horus in the other. In Roman Catholic countries, she is 
 
 > Quoted by Volney, Ruins, p. 166, and note. fix the birth of the Lord Jeaus Christ." (Hig- 
 
 2 See Ibid, and Dupuis : Origin of Religious gins ; Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 314, and Bonwick : 
 Belief, p. 230. Egyptian Belief, p. 147.) 
 
 3 See Chap. XXXIV. " We have in the first decade the Sign of 
 * The Dawn was personified by the ancients Vie Virgin, following the most ancient tradi- 
 
 a3 a virgin inother. who bore the Sun. (See tion of the Persians, the Chaldeans, the Egyp- 
 
 Max Miiller's Chips, vol. ii. p. 137. Fiske's tians, Hermes and ^sculapins, a young woman 
 
 Myths and Mythmakers, p. 156, and Cox : Tales called in the Persian language, SecUnidos d« 
 
 of Ancient Greece, and Aryan Mytho.) Darzama ; in the Arabic, Adei-eneJcm—tha.) 
 
 5 In Sanscrit "Ida" is tlie £'a?"//i, the wife of is to say, a chaste, pure, immaculate virgin, 
 
 Dyaus (the Skyj, and so we have before us the suckling au infant, which some nations call 
 
 mythical phrase, " the Sun at its birth rests Jesus (i. e.. Saviour), but which we in Greek 
 
 on the earth." In other words, " the Sun at call Christ.'^ (Abulmazer.) 
 birth IS nursed in the lap of its mother." "In the first decade of the Virgin, rises a 
 
 9 " The moment we understand the nature maid, called in Arabic, ' Aderenedesa,' that is : 
 
 of a myth, all impossibilities, contradictions ' pure immaculate virgin,' graceful in person, 
 
 and iramoralitiea disappear. K a mythical charming in countenance, modest in habit, 
 
 personage he nothing more tnan a name of the with loosened hair, holding in her hands fwo 
 
 Sun, his birth may be derived from ever so ears of wheat, sitting upon an embroidered 
 
 mnuy different mothers. He may be the son of throne, nursing a Bov, and rightly feeding him 
 
 the .vAy or of the Z'rtMv?, or of the .S'ea or of the in the place called Ucbraea. A boy, I say, 
 
 Nigld.^^ (Renouf's Hibbert Lectures, p. 108.) names Iessus by certain nations, wltich signifies- 
 
 ' " The sign of the Celestial Virgin^ rises Issa. ^vltom they also call Christ in Greek." 
 
 above the horizon at the moment in which we (Kirehcr. CEdipus .^gypticus.)
 
 EXPLANATION. 475 
 
 generally represented with the child in one hand, and the lotus or 
 lily in the other. In Vol. II. of Moutfaucon's work, slie is repre- 
 sented as a female nursing a child, with ears of corn in her hand, and 
 the legend iao. She is seated on clouds, a star is at her head. 
 The reading of the Greek letters, from right to left, show this to 
 be very ancient. 
 
 In the Vedic hymns Aditi, the Dawn, is called the ^'■Mother of 
 the Gods. " " She is the mother with powerful, terrible, with 7'otjal 
 sons." She is said to have given birtli to the Sun.^ " As the Sun 
 and all the solar deities rise from the east" says Prof. Max Muller, 
 " we can well understand how Aditi (the Dawn) came to be called 
 the ' Mother of the Bright Gods.' '" 
 
 The poets of the Veda indulged freely in theogonic speculations 
 without being frightened by any contradictions. They knew of 
 Indra as the greatest of gods, they knew of Agni as the god of 
 gods, they knew of Varuna as the ruler of all ; but they were by no 
 means startled at the idea that their Indra had a mother, or that 
 Varuna was nursed in the lap of Aditi. All this was true to natuie ; 
 for their god was the Smi, and the mother who bore and nursed him 
 was tlie Dawn.'' 
 
 "We find in the Vishnu Purana, that Devaki (the virgin mother 
 of the Hindoo Saviour Crishna, whose history, as we have seen, 
 corresponds in most every particular with that of Christ Jesus) is 
 called Aditi* which, in the Rig - Veda, is the name for the Dawn. 
 Thus we see the legend is complete. Devaki is Aditi, Aditi is the 
 Dawn, and the Dawn is the Virgin Mother. " The Saviour of Man- 
 kind" who is born of her is the Sun, the Sun is Crishna, and 
 Crishna is Christ. 
 
 In the Mahabharata, Crishna is also represented as the "'Son of 
 Aditi."'' As the hour of his birth grew near, the mother became 
 more beautiful, and her form more brilliant." 
 
 Indra, the sun, who was worshiped in some parts of India as a 
 Crucified God, is also represented in the Vedic hymns as the Son 
 of the Dawn. He is said to have been born of Dahana, who is 
 Daphne, a personification of the Dawn.' 
 
 The humanity of this solae god-man, this demiurge, is strongly 
 
 ' Max Mliiie; : Origin of Beligions, p. 261. rose in the dawn of Devaki, to cause the lotus 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 230. petal of the universe ( frisArw) to expand. On 
 
 ' "With scarcely an exception, all the names the day of his birth the quarters of the hori- 
 
 by which the llrgin goddess of the Aliropolis zon were irradiate with joy," &c. 
 
 was known point to this mythology of the ^ Cos : Aryan Myths, vol. iii. pp. 105, and 
 
 Sawn." (Cox : Aryan Myths, vol. i. p. S2S.) 130, vol. ii. 
 
 * We also read in the Vishnu Purana that : " Ibid. p. l.'J3. See Legends in Chap. XVI. 
 
 "The Sun of Achyuta (God, the Imperishable) ' Fiske ; Myths and Mythmakers, p. 113.
 
 476 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 insisted on in the Rig- Veda. He is the son of God, but also the 
 son of Aditi. He is Purusha, the man, the male. Agn; is fre- 
 quently called the " Son of man." It is expressly explained that 
 the titles Agni, Indra, Mitra, &c., all refer to one Sun-god under 
 " many names." And when we find the name of a mortal, Yama. 
 who once lived upon earth, included among these names, the hu 
 manity of the demiurge becomes still more accentuated, and we get 
 at the root idea. 
 
 Ilorus, the Egyptian Saviour, was the son of the virgin Isis. 
 Now, this Isis, in Egyptian mythology, is the same as the virgin 
 Devaki in Hindoo mythology. She is the Dawn.' Isis, as we 
 have already seen, is represented suckling the infant Horus, and, 
 in the words of Prof. Kenouf, we may say, " in whose lap can the 
 Sun be nursed more fitly than in that of the Dawn f" 
 
 Among the goddesses of Egypt, the highest was Neith, who 
 reigned inseparably with Aniun in the upper sphere. She was 
 called " Mother of the gods," " Mother of the sun." She was the 
 feminine origin of all things, as Amun was the male origin. She 
 held the same rank at Sais as Amun did at Thebes. Her temples 
 there are said to have exceeded in colossal grandeur anything ever 
 seen before. On one of these was the celebrated inscription thus 
 deciphered by ChampoUion : 
 
 " I am all that has been, all that is, all that will be. No mortal has ever 
 raised the veil that conceals me. My offspring is the Sun." 
 
 She was mother of the Sun^god Ra, and, says Prof. Reuouf, "is 
 commonly supposed to represent Heaven / but some expressions 
 which are hardly applicable to heaven, render it more probable that 
 she is one of the many names of the Daion."^ 
 
 If we turn from Indian and Egyptian, to Grecian mythology, 
 we shall also find that their Sun-gods and solar heroes are born of 
 the same virgin mother. Theseus was said to have been born of 
 Aithra, " the pure air^'' and (Edipus of lokaste, " the violet light 
 of morning r Perseus was born of the virgin Danae, and was 
 called the '•'■Son of the hright morning.'''* In 16, the mother of the 
 "sacred bull,"' the mother also of Hercules, we see the violet-tinted 
 morning from which the sun is born ; all these gods and heroes 
 being, like Christ ies\x&, personifications of the Sun.' 
 
 ^ Renouf : Hibbert Lectures, p. Ill and 161. in nature, and beuce it was associated with 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 161 and 179. tlie SuN-gods. This animal was venerated by 
 
 • Ibid. pp. 179. nearly all the peoples of antiquity. (Wake : 
 
 * See Tales of Ancient Greece, pp. xxxl. and Pballism in Anct. Religs., p. 45.) 
 
 » The 5«^i symbolized the prodactive force 
 
 • See Aryan Myths, vol. i. y 229.
 
 EXPLANATION. 477 
 
 " The Saviour of Mankind " was also represented as being boiii 
 of the " dusky mother" whicli accounts for many Pagan, and so- 
 called Christian, goddesses being represented hlach.^ This is the 
 dark night, who for many weary hours travails with the birth of 
 her child. The Sun, which scatters the darkness, is also the child 
 of the darkness, and so the phrase naturally went that he was horn 
 of her. Of the two legends related in the poems afterwards com- 
 bined in the " Hymn to Apollo," the former relates the birth of 
 Apollo, the Sun, from Leto, the Darkiiess, which is called his 
 mother.' In this case, Leto would be j)ersonified as a " black vir- 
 gin," either with or without the child in her arms. 
 
 The dark earth was also represented as being the mother of the 
 god Sun, who apparently came out of, or was born of her, in the 
 East,' as Minos (the sun) was represented to have been born of Ida 
 (the earth).' 
 
 In Hindoo mythology, the Earth, under the name of Prithivi, 
 receives a certain share of honors as one of the primitive goddesses 
 of the Yeda, being thought of as the " kind another P Moreover, 
 various deities were regarded as the progeny resulting from the fan- 
 cied union of the Earth with Dyaus (Heaven)!" 
 
 Our Aryan forefathers looked up to the heavens and they gave 
 it the name of Dyaus, from a root-word which means "to shine." 
 And when, out of the forces and forms of nature, they afterwards 
 fashioned other gods, this name of Dyaus became Dyaus pitar, the 
 Heaven-father, or Lord of All ; and in far later times, when the 
 western Aryans had found their home in Europe, the Dyaus pilar 
 of the central Asian land became the Zeupater of the Greeks, and 
 the Jupiter of the Eomans, and the first part of his name gave us 
 the word Deity. 
 
 According to Egyptian mythology, Isis was also the Earth.' 
 Again, from the union of Seb and Nut sprung the mild Osiris. 
 Seb is the Earth, Nut is Heamen, and Osiris is the Sun. ' 
 
 Tacitus, the Eoman historian, speaking of the Germans in a. d. 
 ^8, says : 
 
 " There is nothing in these several tribes that merit attention, except that 
 they all agree in worshiping the goddess Earth, or as they call her, Herth, whom 
 they consider as the common mother of all."* 
 
 > See Chap. XXXII. Earth." (Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 
 » See Tales of Ancient Greece, p. xviii. p. 156.) 
 
 ' •• The idea entertained by the ancients < Cos : Aryan Myths, p. 87. 
 
 thai these god-begotien heroes were engen- * See Williams' Hindnism, p. 24, and MQl- 
 
 dered without any camal intercourse, and that ler's Chips, vol. ii. pp. 277 and 390. 
 they were the sons of Jupiter, is, in plain « See Bulfinch, p. 3.S9. 
 
 language, the result of the ethereal spirit, i. e., ' See Eenouf's Hibbert Lectures, pp. 110 
 
 the Holy Spirit, operating on the virgin mother 111. > Manners of the Gcrmang, p. xi.
 
 478 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 These virgin mothers, and virgin goddesses of antiquity, were 
 also, at times, personifications of the Moon, or of Nature.' 
 
 Who is " God tlie JFather" who overshadows the maiden ? The 
 oversliadowing of the maiden by " God the Father," whether he 
 be called Zeus, Jupiter or Jehovah, is simply the Heaven, the 
 Sky, tiie " All-father^ -'^ looking down upon with love, and over- 
 shadowing the maiden, the broad flushing light of Damn, or the 
 Earth. From this union the Bun is born without any carnal inter- 
 course. The mother is yet a virgin. This is illustrated in Hindoo 
 mythology by the union of Pritrivi, " Mother Earth," with Dyaus, 
 " Heaven." Various deities were regarded as their progeny.' In 
 the Vedic hymns the Sun — the Lord and Saviour, the Re- 
 deemer aud Preserver of Mankind — is frequently called the " Son 
 of the Shy."' 
 
 According to Egyptian mythology, Seb (the EartJi) is over- 
 shadowed by -Nut {Heaven), the result of this union being the be- 
 neficent Lord and Saviour, Osiris.' The same thing is to be found 
 in ancient Grecian mythology. Zeus or Jupiter is the Shy,^ and 
 Danae, Leto, lokaste, lo and others, are the Dawn, or the violet light 
 of morning.'' 
 
 ' See Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 pp. 81, 99, and 166. 
 
 The Moon was called by the ancients, 
 " The Queen ;" " The Highest Princess ;" 
 "The Qaeeu of Heaven ;" " The Princess and 
 Queen of Heaven ;" &c. She was Istar, 
 Ashera, Diana, Artemis, Isis, Juno, Lucina, 
 Astarte. (Goldzhier, pp, 158, 158. Knight, pp. 
 99, 100.) 
 
 In the beginning of the eleventh book of 
 Apaleius' Metamorphosis, Isis is represented 
 as addressing him thus : '' I am present ; I 
 who am Nature, the parent of things, queen 
 of all the elements, &c., etc. The primitive 
 Phrygians called me Pressinuntlca. the mother 
 of the gods ; the native Athenians, Ceropian 
 Minerva ; the floating Cyprians, Paphian 
 Venus ; the arrow-bearing Cretans, Dictymian 
 Diana ; the three-tongued Sicilians, Stygian 
 Proserpine ; aud the inhabitants of Eleusis, the 
 ancient goddess Ceres. Some again have in- 
 voked me as Juno, others as Bellona, others 
 as Hecate, and others as Khamnusia : and 
 those who are enlightened by the emerging rays 
 of the rising Sun, the Ethiopians, Ariians 
 and Eg-Vptians, powerful in ancient learning, 
 who reverence my divinity with ceremonies 
 perfectly proper, call me by a true appellation, 
 ' Queen Jsis.^ " (Taylor's Mysteries, p. 76.) 
 
 2 The " God the Father " of all nations of 
 antiquity was nothing more than a personifica- 
 tion of the Sky or the Heavens. " The term 
 ffeaven (pronounced T/iien) is used everj-where 
 
 in the Chinese classics for the Supreme Powers 
 ruling and governing all the affairs of men 
 with an omnipotent and omniscient righteous- 
 ness and goodness." (.James Legge.) 
 
 In one of the Chinese sacred books— the 
 Shu-king— fleatjen and Sarth are called " Father 
 and Mother of all things." Heaven being the 
 Father, and Earth the Mother. (Taylor: Prim- 
 itive Culture, pp. 294-290.) 
 
 The "God the Father" of the Indians is 
 Dyaus, that is, the Sky. (Williams' Hinduism, 
 
 p. ai.) 
 
 Ormuzd, the god of the anciemt Persians, 
 was a personification of the. sky. Herodotus, 
 speaking of the Persians, says : •' They are 
 accustomed to ascend the highest part of the 
 mountains, and oifer sacrifice to Jupiter (Or- 
 muzd), and they call the whole circle of the 
 heavens by the name of Jupiter.'''' (Herodotus, 
 book 1, ch. 131.) 
 
 In Greek iconography Zeus is the Heaven. 
 As Cicero says: "The refulgent Heaven above 
 is that which all men call, unanimously, Jove." 
 
 The christian God supreme of the nine- 
 teenth century is still Dyaus Pitar, the " Heav- 
 enly Father." 
 
 ' Williams' Hinduism, p. 24. 
 
 • Midler : Origin of Keligions, pp. 261, 290. 
 » Renouf : Hibbert Lectures, pp. 110, 111. 
 
 • See Note 8. 
 
 ' See Cox : Tales of Ancient Greece, pp. 
 mi. and 83, and Aryan Mythology, vol i. p.
 
 EXPLANATION. 479 
 
 " The Sky appeared to men (says Plutarch), to perform the functions of a 
 Father, as the Earth those of a Mother. The sky was the father, for it cast seed 
 into the bosom of the earth, which in receiving them became fruitful, and 
 brought forth, and was the mother."' 
 
 This union iias been sung in the following verses by Virgil : 
 
 " Tum pater omnipotens fecundis imbribis aether 
 Conjugis in grenium Isetae descendit." (Geor. ii.) 
 
 The Phenieian theogony is founded on the same principles. 
 Heaven and Earth (called Ouranos and Glie) are at the head of a 
 genealogy of aeons, whose adventures are conceived in the mytho- 
 logical style of these physical allegorists." 
 
 In the Satuothracian mysteries, which seem to have been the 
 most anciently established ceremonies of the kind in Europe, the 
 Heaven and the Earth were worshiped as a male and female 
 divinity, and as the parents of all things' 
 
 The Supreme God (the Al-fader), of the ancient Scandinavians 
 was Odin, a personification of the Heavens. The principal god- 
 dess among them was Frigga, a person itication of the Earth. It 
 was the opinion among these people that this Supreme Being or 
 Celestial God had united with the Earth (Frigga) to produce " Bal- 
 dur the Good" (the Sun), who corresponds to the Apollo of the 
 Greeks and Komans, and the Osiris of the Egyptians.' 
 
 X.iuletl, in the Mexican language, signifies Blue, and hence was 
 a name which the Mexican gave to Heaven, from which Xiuleti- 
 cvtli is derived, an ejjithet signifying " the God of Heaven," which 
 they bestowed upon Tezcatlipoca, who was the " Lord of All," 
 the " Supreme God." He it was who overshadowed the Virgin 
 of Tula, Chimelman, who begat the Saviour Quetzalcoatle (the 
 Sun). 
 
 3. His hirth was foretold hy a star. This is the bright morn- 
 ing star — 
 
 " Fairest of stars, last in the train of Night, 
 If better, thou belongst not to the Dawn, 
 Sure pledge of day, that crown'st the smiling mom 
 With thy bright circlet " — 
 
 which heralds the birth of the god Sol, the beniticent Saviour. 
 
 A glance at a geography of the heavens will show the " chaste, 
 pure, immaculate Virgin, suckling an infant," preceded by a 
 
 1 Quoted by WeBtropp : Phallic Worship, Oceanus, Hyperon. lapetns, Cronos, and othor 
 p. 24. gods." (Phallic Worship, p. 26.) 
 
 2 Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 66. "In » Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 64. 
 Phenieian Mythology Ouranos (Heaven) weds * See Mallet's Northern .\ntiqmties, pp. 80, 
 Qhe (the Earth) and by her becomes father of 93, 94, 406, 510, 511.
 
 480 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Star, which rises immediately preceding the Virgin and her child. 
 This can truly be called " his Sta?'," which informed the " Wise 
 Men," the " Magi " — Astrologers and Sun-worshipers — and " the 
 shepherds who watched their flocks by night " that the Saviour of 
 Mankind was about to be born. 
 
 4. The Heavenly Host sang praises. All nature smiles at the 
 birth of the Heavenly Being. " To him all angels cry aloud, the 
 heavens, and all the powers therein." " Glory to God in the high- 
 est, and on earth peace, good will towards men." " The quarters of 
 the horizon are irradiate with joy, as if moonlight was diifused 
 over the whole eartli." " The spirits and nymphs of heaven dance 
 and sing." " Caressing breezes blow, and a marvelous light is 
 produced." For the Lord and Saviour is born, " to give joy and 
 peace to men and Devas, to shed light in the dark places, and to 
 give sight to the blind."' 
 
 5. He was visited hy the Magi. This is very natural, for the 
 Magi were Sun-worshipers, and at early dawn on the 25th of Dec- 
 cember, the astrologers of the Arabs, Chaldeans, and other Oriental 
 nations, greeted the infant Saviour with gold, frankincense and 
 myrrh. They started to salute their God long before the rising of 
 the Sun, and having ascended a high mountain, they waited anx- 
 iously for his birth, facing the East, and there hailed his first rays 
 with incense and prayer.'' The shepherds also, who remained in 
 the open air watching their flocks by night, were in the habit of 
 prostrating themselves, and paying homage to their god, the Sun. 
 And, like the poet of the Veda, they said : 
 
 " Will the powers of darkness be conquered by the god of light ? " 
 
 And when the Sun rose, they wondered how, just born, he was 
 80 mighty. They greeted him : 
 
 "Hall, Orient Conqueror of Gloomy Night." 
 
 And the human eye felt that it could not bear the brilliant 
 majesty of him whom they called, " The Life, the Breath, the 
 Brilliant Lord and Father." And they said : 
 
 " Let us worship again the Child of Hewven, the Son of Strength, Arusha, the 
 Bright Light of the Sacrifice." " He rises as a mighty flame, he stretches out his 
 wide arms, he is even like the wind." " His light is powerful, and his (virgin) 
 mother, the Dawn, gives him the best share, the first worship among men."' 
 
 6. He was l)orn in a Cave. In this respect also, the history of 
 
 ' See Chap. STV. Prog- Eelig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 272. 
 
 ' See Dapuis : Orig. Eelig. Belief, p. 234. ' Extracts from the Vedas. Miiller's Chips, 
 
 Higgins' AnacalypBis, vol. ii. pp. 96, 97, and vol. ii. pp. 96 and r37.
 
 EXPLANATION. 481 
 
 ■Christ Jesus corresponds with that of other Sun-gods and Saviours, 
 for they are neai-ly all represented as being born in a cave or dun- 
 geon. This is the dark abode from which the wandering Sun 
 starts in the morning.' As the Dawn springs fully armed from the 
 forehead of the cloven Sky, so the eye first discerns the blue of 
 heaven, as the first faint arch of light is seen in tlie East. This 
 arch is the cave in which the infant is nourished until he reaches 
 his full strength — in other words, until the day is fully come. 
 
 As the hour of his birth drew near, the mother became more 
 beautiful, her form more brilliant, while the dungeon was filled 
 with a heavenly light as when Zeus came to Danae in a golden 
 shower.' 
 
 At length the child is born, and a halo of serene light encircles 
 iis cradle, just as the Sun appears at early dawn in the East, in all 
 its splendor. His presence reveals itself there, in the dark cave, by 
 his first rays, which brightens the countenances of his mother and 
 others who are present at his birth.' 
 
 6. He was ordered to he put to death. All the Sun-gods are fated 
 to bring ruin upon their parents or the reigning monarch* For 
 this reason, they attempt to prevent his birth, and failing in this, 
 seek to destroy him when born. Who is the dark and wicked 
 Kansa, or his counterpart Herod? He is Night, who reigns su- 
 preme, but who must lose his power when the young prince of glory, 
 the Invincible, is born. 
 
 The Sun scatters the Darhness ; and so the phrase went that 
 the child was to be the destroyer of the reigning monarch, or his 
 parent, Night ; and oracles, and magi, it was said, warned the latter 
 of the doom which would overtake him. The newly-born babe is 
 therefore ordered to be put to death by the sword, or exposed on 
 the bare hillside, as the Sun seems to rest on the Earth (Ida) at its 
 rising.^ 
 
 'Cox; Aryan Mythology, vol. i. p. 153. ""The exposure of the child in infancy 
 
 5 Arj'an Mythology, vol. ii. p. 133. represents the long rays of the morning sun 
 
 3 When Christ Jesns was born, on a sudden resting on the hill-side." (Fiske : Myths and 
 
 there was a great light in the cave, so that their Mythmakers, p. 198.) 
 
 eyes could not bear it. (Protevangelion, Apoc. The Sun-hero Paris is exposed on the slopes 
 
 ch, xiv.) of Ida, Oidipous on the slopes of Kithairon, 
 
 * " Perseus. Oidipons, Romulus and Cyrus and .^Esculapius on that of the mountain of 
 
 are doomed to bring ruin on their parents. Myrtles. This is the rays of the newly-born 
 
 They are exposed in their infancy on the hill- sun resting on the mountain-side. (Cox : 
 
 side, and rescned by a shepherd. All the solar Aryan Myths, vol. i. pp. G4 and SO.) 
 heroes begin life i?i this way. Whether, like In Sanscrit Ida is the Earth, and so we have 
 
 Apollo, born of the dark night (Leto), or like the mythical phrase, the Sun at its birth is 
 
 Oidipons, of the violet dawn (lokaste), they exposed on Ida — the hill-side. The light of 
 
 are alike destined to bring destruction on their the sun must rest on the hill-side long before 
 
 parents, as the Night and the Dawn are both it reaches the dells beneath. (See Cox : vol. 
 
 destroyed by the Sun." (Fiske : p. 198.) i. p. 321, and Fiske : p. 114.) 
 
 31
 
 482 
 
 BIBLE MTTHS. 
 
 In oriental mythology, the destroying principle is generally 
 represented as a serpent or dragon/ Now, the position of the sphere 
 on Christmas-day, the birthday of the Sun, shows the Serpent all 
 but touching, and certainly aiming at the woman — that is, the fig- 
 ure of the consteHatiou Virgo — who suckles the child lessus in her 
 arms. Thus we have it illustrated in the story of the snake who 
 was sent to kill Hercules, when an infant in his cradle '^ also in the 
 story of Typhon, who sought the life of the infant Saviour Horus. 
 Again, it is illustrated in the story of the virgin mother Astrea, with 
 her babe beset by Orion, and of Latona, the mother of Apollo, when 
 pursued by the monster.^ And last, that of the virgin mother 
 Mary, with her babe beset by Herod. But like Hercules, Horus, 
 Apollo, Theseus, Romulus, Cyrus and other solar heroes, Christ 
 Jesus has yet a long course before him. Like them, he grows up 
 both wise and strong, and the "old Serpeut" is discomfited by him, 
 just as the sphynx and the dragon are put to fiight by others. 
 
 7. lie teas tempted hy the devil. The temptation by, and victory 
 over the evil one, whether Mara or Satan, is the victory of the Sun 
 over the clouds of storm and darkness.* Growing up in obscurity, 
 the da}'' comes when he makes himself known, tries himself in his 
 
 1 Even as late as the seventeenth century, 
 a German WTiter would illustrate a thunder- 
 etorm destroying a crop oi corn, by a picture 
 of a dragon devouriug the produce of the field 
 with hie flaming tongue and iron teeth. (See 
 Fiskc : ilyths and Mythmakers, p. 17, and 
 Cos : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii.) 
 
 2 The history of the Saviour Hercules is so 
 similar to that of the Saviour Christ Jesus, 
 that the learned Dr. Parklmrst was forced to 
 eay, " The labors of Hercules seem to have 
 been originally designed as emblematic me- 
 morials of what the keal Sou of God, the 
 Saviour of the world, was to do and suffer for 
 our sakes, bnnrjlng a cure for all our ills, as 
 the Orphic hynm speaks of Hercules." 
 
 3 Donwick'8 Egyptian Belief, pp. 1:^8, 1(56, 
 and 16S. 
 
 * In ancient mythology, all heroes of 
 light were opposed by the "Old Serpent,''' the 
 Devil, gymboiizud by Serpent.s, Dragons, 
 Sphinxes and other monsters. The Serpent 
 was, among the ancient Eai^tern nations, the 
 symbol of Eiil, of \M.nter^ of DarkneM and of 
 Death. It also symbolized the dark cloud, 
 which, by harboring the rays of the Sun, pre- 
 venting its shining, and therefore, is apparently 
 attempting to destroy it. The Serpent is one of 
 the chief Jiystic personificiitioas of the liig- 
 Veda, under the names of Ahi, Suchna, and 
 others. They represent the Cloud, the enemy 
 of the Sun, keeping back the fructifying rays. 
 Indra struggles victoriously against him. and 
 spreads life on the earth, with the shiniug 
 
 warmth of the Father of Life, the Creator, tM 
 Sun. 
 
 Buddha, the Lord and Sa^iou^, was described 
 as a superhuman organ of light, to whom a 
 superhuman organ of darkness, Mara, the Evil 
 Serpent, was opposed. He, like Christ Jesus, 
 resisted the temptations of this evil one. and is 
 represented sitting on a serpent, as if its con- 
 queror. (See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 39.) 
 
 Crishna also overcame the evil one. and is 
 represented " bruising the head of the serpent," 
 and standing upon it. (See vol. i. of Asiatic 
 Researches, and vol. ii. of Higgins' Auacalypsis.) 
 
 In Egyptian Mythology, one of the names 
 of the gok-Sun was lid. He had an adversary 
 who was called Apap, represented in the form 
 of a serpent. (See Kenouf's Hibbert Lectures, 
 p. 109.) 
 
 Horus, the Egyptian incarnate god, the Me- 
 diator, Kedeemer and Saviour, is represented in 
 Egyptian art as overcoming the Evil Serpent, 
 and standing triumphantly upon him. (See 
 Bonwick's EgJTitian Belief, p. 158, and Monu- 
 mental Christianity, p. 402.) 
 
 Osiris, Ormuzd, Mithras, Apollo, Bacchus, 
 Hercules, Indra, (Edipus, Qnetzalcoatle, and 
 many other Suji-gods, overcame the Evil One. 
 and are represented in the above described 
 manner. (See Cos's Tales of Ancient Greece, 
 p. sxvii. and Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 129. 
 Baring-Gonld's Curious Myths, p. 256. Bol- 
 fiiuch's Age of Fable, p. 34. Bunsen's Angel- 
 Messiah, p. X., and Kingsborough's Mexican 
 Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 176.)
 
 EXPLANATION. 483 
 
 first battles ■\\dth his gloomy foes, and shines without a rival . He 
 is rife for his destined mission, but is met by the demon of storm, 
 who runs to dispute with him in the duel of the storm. In this 
 struggle against darkness the beneficent hero remains the conqueror, 
 the gloomy army of Mara, or Satan, broken and rent, is scattered ; 
 the Apearas, daughters of the demon, the last light vapors which 
 float in the heaven, try in vain to clasp and retain the vanquisher ; 
 he disengages himself from their embraces, repulses them ; they 
 writhe, lose their form, and vanisli. 
 
 Free from every obstacle, and from every adversary, he sets in 
 motion across space his disk with a thousand rays, having avenged 
 the attempts of his eternal foe. He appears then in all his glory, 
 and in his sovereign splendor ; the god has attained the summit of 
 his course, it is the moment of triumph. 
 
 8. He was put to death on the cross. The Sun has now reached 
 his extreme Southern limit, his career is ended, and he is at last 
 overcome by his enemies. The powers of darkness, and of winter, 
 whicli had sought in vain to wound him, have at length won the 
 victory. The bright Sun of summer is finally slain, crucified in the 
 heavens, and pierced by the arrow, spear or thorn of winter.' Be- 
 fore he dies, however, he sees all his disciples — his retinue of light, 
 and the twelve hours of the day, or the twelve months of the year 
 — disappear in the sanguinary melee of the clouds of the evening 
 
 Throughout the tale, the Sun-god was but fulfilling his doom. 
 These things must be. The suffering of a violent deatli was a neces- 
 sary part of the mythos; and, when his liour had come, he must 
 meet his doom, as surely as the Sun, once risen, must go across the 
 sky, and then sink down into his bed beneath the earth or sea. It 
 was an iron fate from whicli there was no escaping. 
 
 Crishna, the crucified Saviour of the Hindoos, is a pereonification 
 of the Sun crucified in the heavens. One of the names of the Sun in 
 the Vedic hymns is Vishnu,'' and Crislma is Vishnu in human form.' 
 
 1 The crncifixion of the San-gods is simply of Meleajrros dying as the torch of doom i9 burnt 
 
 the power of Darkness triumphing over the out, of Baldur, tlie brave and pure, smittun by 
 
 " Lord of Light," and Winter overpowering the fatal mistletoe, and of Crishna and others 
 
 the Summer. It was at the irin^e?- solstice that being crucified. 
 
 the ancients wept for Tammuz, the fair Adonis, In Egyptian mythology, Set, the destroyer, 
 
 and other Sun-gods, who were put to death by triumphs in the ]yest. He is the personification 
 
 the boar, sh.in by the thorn of winter. (See of Z'ariHf*,* and Ili/i/tr, and the Sun-god whom 
 
 Cos : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 113.) he puts to death, is Horus the Sa\nour. (See 
 
 Other versions of the same myth tell us of Eenouf's Hibbert Lectures, pp. 113-115.) 
 
 Eurydike stnng to de.-.th by the hidden serpent, ^"In the .B;<7- T"«rfa the god Tisfinu is of ten 
 
 of Sifrit smitten by Hagene (the Thorni, of named as a nwnifleslation of the So/ar energy, 
 
 Isfendiyar slain by the thorn or arrow of Rus- or rather as a form of the Sun." (Indian Wie- 
 
 tem, of Achilleus vulnerable only in the heel, dom, p. 322.) 
 
 of Brynhild enfolded within the dragon's coils, » Crishna says : " I am Vishnu, Brahma,
 
 484 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 In the hymns of the Rig - Veda the Sun is spoken of as " stretch- 
 mg out his a)'?ns,'" in the heavens, " to bless the world, atid to res- 
 cue itfroin the terror of darkness.'''^ 
 
 Indra, the crucified Saviour worshiped in Nepal and Tibet," is 
 identical witli Crishua, the Sun.^ 
 
 The principal Pheuician deity, El, which, says Parkhurst, in his 
 Hebrew Lexicon, " was the very name the heathens gave to their 
 god Sol, their Lord or Kuler of the Hosts of Heaven," was called 
 "77te Preserver (or Sa/oiour) of the World," for the benefit of which 
 he offered a 'mystical sacrifice.' 
 
 The crucified /ao (" Divine Love " personified) is the cruci- 
 fied Adonis, the Sun. The Lord and Saviour Adonis was called 
 Jao.' 
 
 Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, was crucified in the heavens. To 
 the Egyptian the cross was the symbol of immortality, an emblem 
 of the Sun, and the god himself was crucified to the tree, which 
 denoted his fructifying power.' 
 
 Horus was also crucified in the heavens. He was represented, 
 like Crishna and Christ Jesus, with oiotstretched arms in the vault 
 of heaven* 
 
 The story of the crucifixion of Prometheus was allegoiical, for 
 Prometheus was only a title of the Sun, expressing providence or 
 foresight, wherefore his being cnicified in the extremities of the 
 earth, signified originally no more than the restriction of the power 
 of the Sun during the winter mouths.' 
 
 Who was Ixion, bound on the wheel ? He was none other than 
 the god Sol, crucified in the heavens." Whatever be the origin of 
 the name, Ixion is the ^'Sun of noonday," crucified in the heavens, 
 whose four-spoked wheel, in the words of Pindai', is seen whirling 
 in the highest heaven.^ 
 
 Indra, and the source as well as the destnictiou ' Knight ; Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 83. 
 of things, the creator and the annihiiator of the A great number of the Solar heroes or Sun- 
 whole aggregate of existences. (Cox : Aryan gods are forced to endure being bound, which 
 Mythology, vol. ii. p. 131.) indicates the tied-up power of the sun in wimer. 
 ' See Chap. XX. (Goldzhier : Hebrew Mythology, p. 406.) 
 ^ Indra, who was represented as a crucified ^ The Sun, as clinibiug the heights of heaven, 
 god, is also tlie Sun, No sooner is he born than is au arrogant being, given to making exorbi- 
 Ine speaks to his mother. Like Apollo and all taut claims, who must be bound to the fiery 
 other Sun-gods he has golden locks, and cross. " The phrases which described the Sun 
 like them he is possessed of an inscrutable as revolving daily on his four-spoked cross, or 
 wisdom. He is also born of a virgin — the Dawn. as doomed to sink in the sky when his orb had 
 Crishna and Indra are one. (See Cos : Aryan reached the zenith, would give rise to the stories 
 Mythology, vol. i. pp. 8S and 841 ; vol. ii. p. 131.) of Ixion on his fiaming wheel." (Cox : Aryan 
 ' Wake ; Phallism, &c., p. 55. Mythology, vol. ii. p. 37.) 
 
 * See Cos : Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 113. ^ '• So was Ixion bound on the fiery wheel, 
 
 * Ibid. pp. 115 and 185. and the sons of men see the flaming epokea 
 
 * See Bonwick's Egyptian Belief, p. 15i'. day by day as it whirls in the higi. heaven."
 
 EXPL iNATION. 
 
 485 
 
 The wheel upon which Ixion and criminals were said to have 
 been extended toas a cross, although the name of the thing was 
 dissembled among Christians ; it was a St. Andrew's cross, of which 
 two spokes confined the arms, and two the legs. (See Fig. No. 35.) 
 
 The allegorical tales of the triumphs and misfortunes of the 
 Sun-goAs of the ancient Greeks and Romans, signify the alternate 
 exertion of the generative and destructive attributes. 
 
 Hercules is torn limb from limb ; and in this catastrophe we see 
 the hlood-red sunset which closes the career 
 of Hercules." The Sun-god cannot rise to 
 the life of the blessed gods until he has 
 been slain. The morning cannot come until 
 the Eos who closed the previous day has 
 faded away and died in the black abyss of 
 night. 
 
 Achilleus and Meleagros represent ahke 
 the short-lived Sun, whose course is one of 
 toil for others, ending in an early death, after 
 a series of wonderful victories alternating 
 with periods of darkness and gloom.' 
 
 In the tales of the Trojan war, it is re- 
 lated of Achilleus that he expires at the 
 Skaian, or western gates of the evening. He 
 is slain by Paris, who liere appears as the Pani, or dark power, who 
 blots out the light of the Sun from the heaven." 
 
 "We have also the story of Adonis, born of a virgin, and known 
 in the countries where he was worshiped as " The Saviour of Man- 
 kind," killed by the wild hoar, afterwards "rose from the dead, 
 and ascended into heaven." This Adonis, Adonai — in Hebrew 
 " My Lord " — is simply the Sun. He is crucified in the heavens, 
 put to death Ijy the wild boar, i.e., Winter. " Babylon called Typhon 
 or Winter the hoar y they said he killed Adonis or the fertile Sun." * 
 
 The Crucified Dove worshiped by the ancients, was none 
 other than the crucified Sun. Adonis was called the Dove. At 
 the ceremonies in honor of his resuiTCction from the dead, the de- 
 votees said, " Hail to the Dove ! the Restorer of Light." ' Fig. 
 No. 35 is the " Crucified Dove " as described by Pindar, the great 
 lyric poet of Greece, born about 522 b. c. 
 
 » Cox : Tales of Ancient Greece, p. xssii. 
 3 Ibid. p. xxxiii. 
 
 * "That the story of the Trojan war ie almost 
 wholly mythical, has been conceded even by 
 
 the stoutest champions of Homeric tinity.** 
 (Rev. G. W. Cox.) 
 
 ' See Mailer's Science of Religion, p. 186. 
 
 ' See Calmet's Fragments, vol. ii. pp. 21, 28.
 
 486 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "We read in Pindar, (says the autlior of a learned workentitlel " Nimrod,") 
 of the venerable bird Ijux bound to the wheel, and of the pretended punishment 
 of Ixion. But this rotation was really no punishment, being, as Pindar saith, 
 wluntary, and prepared by hmudf iiniX for lUmndf ; or if it was, it was appointed 
 in derision of his false pretensions, whereby he gave Limself out as tlie crucified 
 spirit of the wi/rhl." " The four spokes represent St. Andrew's cross, adapted to 
 the four limbs extended, and furnish perhaps the oldest proftne allusion to the 
 crucifixion. The same cross of St. Andrew was the I'aw, which Ezekiel com- 
 mands them to mark upon the foreheads of the faithful, as appears from all 
 Israelitish coins whereon that letter is engraved. The same idea was familiar to 
 Lucian, who calls T the letter of crucifixion. Certainly, the veneration for the 
 cross Is very ancient. lynx, the bird of Mautic inspiration, bound to the four- 
 legged wheel, gives the notion of Divine Love crucified. The wheel denotes the 
 world, of which she is the spirit, and the cross t7i.e sacrifice made for that 
 world. "^ 
 
 This '■'■ Ditsine Love^'' of whom Nimrod speaks, was '■'TheFlrst- 
 Ijegotten Son " of the Platonists. The crucifixion of '■'Divine 
 Love'''' is often foitnd among the Greeks. louah or Jnno, ac- 
 cording to the Iliad, was bound with fettei's, and susjjended in 
 sj)ace, between heaven and earth. Ixion, Prometheus, Apollo of 
 Miletus, (anciently the greatest and most flourishing citj' of Ionia, 
 in Asia Minor), were all crucified." 
 
 Seiiii-Kamis was both a queen of unrivaled celebrity, and also 
 a goddess, worshiped under the form of a Dove. Her name signi- 
 fies the Supreme Dove. She is said to have been slain by the last 
 survivor of her sons, while others say, she flew away as a bird — a 
 Dove. In both Grecian and Hindoo histories this mystical 
 queen Semiramis is said to have fought a battle on the banks 
 of the Indus, with a king called Staurobates, in which she was 
 defeated, and from which she flew away in the form of a Dove. 
 Of this Nimrod says : 
 
 " The name Staurobates, the king by whom Semiramis was finally overpow- 
 ered, alluded to the cross on tchich fhc parished," and that, " tJie crucifixion was 
 made into a glorious mystery by her infatuated adorers."^ 
 
 Hei'e again we have the crucified Dove, the Sun, for it is well 
 known that the aucients personified the SnnJ^eDiale as well as male. 
 
 We have also the fable of the Crucified Rose, illustrated in the 
 jewel of the Rosicmcians. The jewel of the Rosicrucians is formed 
 
 ' Nimrod : vol. i. p. 278, in An»c., i. p. 503. ^ These words apply to Christ Jesus, .is well 
 
 2 At Miletus was the crucined Apollo — as Sera-ramjs.accoiding to the Christian Father 
 
 Apollo, who overcome the Serpent or evil prin- Ignatius. In bis Epistle to the Church at 
 
 ciple. Thus Callimachus, celebrating this Ephesus. he says ; "Nowthevirginity of Mary, 
 
 Rchieveraent, in his hymn to Apollo, has these and he who was born of her, was kept in secret 
 
 remarkable words : from the prince of this world, as was also the 
 
 " Thee thy blest mother bore, and pleased death of our Lord : three o the nujstei'Uif ttie 
 
 asBign'd most spoken of thnmfjhout the world, yet (io'it 
 
 The wiilingSATionr. of distressed mankind." in secret hij Goil.'"
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 487 
 
 of a transparent red stone, with a red crosn on one side, and a red 
 rose on the other — thus it is a crucified rose. " The Rossi, oi 
 Rosy-crucians' idea concerning this emblematic red cross," says Har- 
 grave Jennings, in his History of the Rosicrucians, " probably 
 came from the fable of Adonis — who was the Sun whom we have 
 so often seen crucified — being changed into a red rose by Venus.'" 
 
 The emblem of the Templars is a red rose on a cross. " When it 
 can be done, it is surrounded with a glory, and placed on a calvary 
 (Fig. No. 36). This is the Naurutz, Natsir, or Rose of Isuren, of 
 Tamul, or Sharon, or the Water Rose, the 
 Lily Padma, Pena, Lotus, crucified in the 
 heavens for the salvation of man? 
 
 Christ Jesus was called the Rose — the 
 Rose of Sharon — of Isuren. He was the 
 rene^ved incarnation of Divine Wisdom. 
 He was the son of Maia or Maria. He was 
 the Rose of Shai'on and the Lily of the Val- 
 ley, which bloweth in the month of his 
 mother Maia. Thus, when the angel Ga- 
 briel gives the salutation to the Virgin, he 
 presents her with the lotus or lily ; as may 
 be seen in hundreds of old pictures in 
 Italj'. We see therefore that Adonis, 
 "the Lord," "the Virgin-born," "the 
 Crucified," "the Resurrected Dove," "the Restorer of Light," is 
 one and the same with the " Rose of Sharon," the crucified Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 Plato (429 B. c.) in his Piviceus, philosophizing about the Son 
 of God, says : 
 
 " The next power to the Supreme God was decussated or figured in the shape 
 of a cross on the universe." 
 
 This brings to recollection the doctrine of certain so-called Chris- 
 tian heretics, who maintained that Christ Jesus was crucified in the 
 heavens. 
 
 The Chrestos was the Logos, the Sun was the manifestation of 
 the Logos or Wisdom to men ; or, as it was held by some, it was his 
 peculiar habitation. The Sun being crucified at the time of the 
 winter solstice was represented by the young man slaying the Bull 
 («w emblem of the Swx) in the Mithraic ceremonies, and the slain 
 lamb at the foot of the cross in the Christian ceremonies. The 
 Chrestwas the Logos, or Divine Wisdom, or a portion of divine 
 
 ' The Rosicrucians, p. 260. 
 
 5 Ibid.
 
 488 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Wym"^ 
 
 wisdom incarnate ; in this sense he is really the Sun or the solar 
 power incarnate, and to him everything applicable to the Sun will 
 apply. 
 
 Fig. No. 37, taken from Mr. Lundy's " Monumental Christi- 
 anity," is evidently a representation of the Christian Saviour cruci- 
 fied in the heavens. Mi-. Lundy calls it " Crucitixion in Space," and 
 believes that it was intended for the Hindoo Saviour Crishna, who 
 is also represented crucified in space (See Fig. No. 8, Ch. XX.). This 
 
 (Fig. 37) is exactly in the form 
 of a Koniish crucifix, but not 
 fixed to a piece of wood, though 
 the legs and feet are put to- 
 gether in the usual way. There 
 is a glory over it, coming from 
 above, not shining from, the fig- 
 ure, as is generally seen in a 
 Roman crucifix. It has a pointed 
 Parthian coronet instead of a 
 crown of thorns. All the ava- 
 tars, or incarnations of Vishnu, 
 are painted with Ethiopian or 
 Parthian coronets. For these 
 reasons tlie Christian author will 
 not own that it is a representa- 
 tion of the " True Son of Justice," for he was not crucified 
 in space ; but whether it was intended to represent Crishna, 
 Wittoba, or Jesus,' it tells a secret : it shows that some one was 
 represented crucified in theheavens, and imdoubtedly has something 
 to do with " The next power to the Supreme God," who, according 
 to Plato, " was decussated or figured in the shape of a cross on the 
 universe.'''' 
 
 Who was the crucified god whom the ancient Romans wor- 
 shiped, and whom they, according to Justin Martyr, represented as 
 a man on a cross ? Can we doubt, after what wc have seen, that 
 he was this same crucified Sol, whose birthday they annually cele- 
 brated on the 25th of December ? 
 
 In the poetical tales of the ancient Scandinavians, the same 
 legend is found. Frey, the Deity of the Sun, was fabled to have 
 been killed, at the time of the winter solstice, by the same boar who 
 put the god Adonis to death, therefore a boar was annually offered 
 
 Fl Gi 37. 
 
 1 The Suu-goda Apollo, Indra, Wittoba or 
 Crishna, and Christ Jesus, are represented as 
 having their feet pierced with nails (See Cox : 
 
 Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 23, and Moor's Hindi> 
 Pantheon.)
 
 EXPLANATION. 489 
 
 to him at the great feast of Yule.' " Baldur the Good," son of the 
 supreme god Odin, and the virgin-goddess Frigga, was also put to 
 death by the sharp thorn of winter. 
 
 The ancient Mexican crucified Saviour, Quetzalcoatle, another 
 personification of the Sun, was sometimes represented as crucitied 
 in space, in the heavens, in a circle of nineteen figures, the number 
 of the metonic cycle. A serpent (the emblem of evil, darkness, and 
 winter) is depriving him of the organs of generation." 
 
 We have seen in Chapter XXXIII. that Christ Jesus, and many 
 of the heathen saviours, healers, and preserving gods, were represent- 
 ed in the form of a Serpent. This is owing to the fact that, in one of 
 its attributes, the Serpent was an emblem of the Sun. It may, at 
 first, appear strange that the Serpent should be an emblem of evil, 
 and yet also an emblem of the beneficent divinity ; but, as Prof. 
 Eenouf remarks, in his Hibbert Lect^tres, " The moment we under- 
 stand the nature of a myth, all impossibilities, contradictions, and 
 immoralities disappear." The serpent is an emblem of evil when 
 represented with his deadly sting; he is the emblem of eternity 
 when represented casting off his shinj^ and an emblem of the Sun 
 when represented with his tail in his mouth, thus forming a circle.* 
 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 symbolized Ormuzd, or 
 Mithra, and the evil spirit Ahriman.' 
 
 As the Dove and the Rose, emblems of the Sun, were represented 
 on the cross, so was the Serpent." The famous " Brazen Serpent," 
 said to have been " set up " by Moses in the wilderness, is called in 
 the Targum (the general term for the Aramaic versions of the Old 
 
 ' Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., pp. 87, 88. calendar stone is entwined by serpents bearing 
 
 2 Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 33. human heads in their distended jaws." 
 
 3 •■ This notion is quite consistent with the " The annual passage of the Snn, throngh 
 ideas entertained by the Phenicians as to the the signs of the zodiac, being in an oblique 
 Serpent, which they supposed to have the path, resembles, or at least the ancients 
 quality of putting off its old age, and as- thought so, the tortuous movements of the 
 suming a second youth." Sanchoniathon ; Sen>ent, and the facility possessed by this rep- 
 Quoted by Wake : Phallism, &c., p. 43.) tile of casting off his skin and producing out 
 
 * Une serpent qui tient sa queue dans sa of itself a new covering every year, bore some 
 
 gueule et dans le circle qu'il decrit, ces trois analogy to the termination of the old year and 
 
 lettres Greqnes THE, qui sont le nombre 365. the commenc(^ent of the new one. Accord- 
 
 Le Serpent, qui est d'ordinaire un embleme de 'ngly, all the ancient spheres-the Persian, 
 
 retemeteesticiceluide^oZci/etdessesrevolu- Indian. EgNTtian, Barb.iric, and Mexican- 
 
 tions. (Beausobre : Hist, de Manich. torn. ii. were surrouuden by the figure of a serpent 
 
 p. 53. Quoted by Larduer, vol. viii. p. 379.) hx)lding its tall m Us mouth." (Sqmre : Ser- 
 
 " This idea existed even in America. The Pent Symbol, p. 240.) 
 great century of the Aztecs was encircled by ' Wake ; Phallism, p. 42. 
 
 a serpent grasping its own tail, and the great ' See Cox : Aryan Mytho., voL u. p. les.
 
 490 
 
 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 Testament) the Saviour. It was probably a serpentine crucifix, as 
 it is called a c?vss by Justin Martyr. The crucified serpent (Fig. 
 No. 3S) denoted the quiescent Phallos, or the Sun after it had lost 
 its power. It is the Sun in winter, crucified on the tree, which de- 
 noted its fructifying power.' As Mr. Wake remarks, " There can 
 be no doubt that both the Pillar (Phallus) and the Serpent were 
 associated with many uf the Sun-gods of antiquity.'" 
 
 This is seen in Fig. No. 39, taken from an ancient medal, which 
 represents the serpent with rays of glory surj-ounding his head. 
 
 The Ophites, who venerated the serpent as an emblem of Christ 
 
 Jesus, are said to have maintained that the serpent of Genesis — 
 who brought wisdom into the world — was Christ Jesus. The 
 brazen serpent was called the "Word by the Chaldee paraphrast. The 
 "Word, or Logos, was Divine Wisdom, which was crucified ; thus we 
 have the cross, or Linga, or Phallus, with the serpent ujjon it. Be- 
 sides considering the serpent as the emblem of Christ Jesus, or of 
 the Logos, the Ophites are said to have revered it as the cause of 
 all the arts of civilized life. In Chapter XII. we saw that several 
 illustrious females were believed to have been selected and impreg- 
 nated by the Holy Ghost. In some cases, a serpent was supposed 
 to be the form which it assumed. This was the incarnation of the 
 Loo-OS. 
 
 * Being the most intimately connected witli 
 the reproduction of life on earth, the Li?iga 
 became the symbol under which the Suti, in- 
 volved with a thousand names, lias been wor- 
 shiped throughout the world as the restorer of 
 the powers of nature after the long sleep or 
 
 death of Winter. In the brazen Seipent of the 
 Pentateuch, the two emblems of the Cross and 
 Serpent, the quiescent and energizing Phallos^ 
 are united. (Cos : Aryan Mjtho., vo . ii. pp. 
 113-118.) 
 
 ' Wake : Phallism, &c., p. 60.
 
 EXPLANATION. 491 
 
 The serpent was held in great veneration by the ancients, who, 
 as we have seen, considered it as the symbol of the benelicent Deity, 
 and an emblem of eternity. As such it has been variously ex- 
 pressed on ancient sculptures and medals in various parts of the 
 globe. 
 
 Although generally, it did not always, symbolize the god Sun, 
 or the power of which the Sun is an emblem ; but, invested with 
 various meanings, it entered widely into the primitive mythologies. 
 As Ml*. Squire observes : 
 
 " It typified ■nisdom, power, duration, the good and evil principles, life, re- 
 production — in short, in Egypt, Syria, Greece, India, China, Scandinavia, 
 America, everywhere on the globe, it has been a prominent emblem."' 
 
 The ser]5ent was the symbol of Vishnu, the preserving god, the 
 Saviour, the Sun.'' It was an emblem of the Sun-go^ Buddha, the 
 Angel-Messiah.' The Egyptian ^S'-w^i-god Osiris, the Saviour, is asso- 
 ciated with the snake." The Persian Mithra, the Mediator, Re- 
 deemer, and Saviour, was symbolized by the serpent." The Phe- 
 nicians represented their beneiicent Sun-god, Agathodemon, by a 
 serpent." The serpent was, among the Greeks and Romans, the 
 emblem of a heneficent genius. Antipator of Sidon, calls the god 
 Ammon, the " Reuowned Serpent.'" The Grecian Hercules — the 
 Sun-god — was symbolized as a servient ; and so was JEsculapius and 
 Apollo. The Hebrews, who, as we have seen in Chapter XI., wor- 
 shiped the god Sol, represented him in the form of a serpent. 
 This is the serajj/i — spoken of above — as set up by Moses (Num. 
 xxi. 3) and worshiped by the children of Israel. Se ka ph is the 
 singular of sera]jliim, meaning Semilic'e — splendor, fire, light — 
 emblematic of the fiery disk of the Sun, and which, under the name 
 of Neliush-tcm, " Serpent-dragon," was broken up by the reforming 
 Hezekiah. 
 
 TJie principal god of the Aztecs was 7<^rafl!c-atlcoatl, which means 
 the Serpent Sun." 
 
 The Mexican virgin-born Lord and Saviour, Quetzalcoatle, was 
 represented in the form of a serpent. In fact, his name signifies 
 ''^Feathered SerpentP Quetzalcoatle was a personification of the 
 Sun!' 
 
 Under the aspect of the active principle, we may rationally 
 
 * Squire : Serpent Symbol, p, 155. * Ibid. 
 
 ' Wake : Phallism in Anct. Religs.. p, T3. • Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 375. 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 73. Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. ' Ibid. 
 
 195. 8 Squire : p. 161. 
 
 » Faber : Orig. Pagan Idol., in Squire, p. • Ibid. p. 185. 
 158.
 
 492 
 
 BIBLE JfYTHS. 
 
 connect the Serpent and the Sun, as corresponding symbols of the 
 reproductive ox creative power. Figure No. 40 is a symbolical sign, 
 representing the disk of the Sun encircled by the serpent Uraeus, 
 meaning the " King Sun," or " Eotai, Sun," as it ofteu surmounts 
 the persons of Egyptian monarchs, confirmed by the emblem of iafe 
 depending from the serpent's neck." 
 
 The mysteries of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, in Egypt ; Atys and 
 Cybele, in Phrygia; Ceres and Proserpine, at Eleusis; of Venus 
 and Adonis, in Phenicia; of Bona Dea and Priapus, in Rome, are 
 all susceptible of one explanation. They all set forth and illustrated, 
 by solemn and imjn-essive rites, and mystical 
 symbols, the grand phenomenon of nature, 
 especially as connected with the creation of 
 things and the perpetuation of life. In all, it 
 is worthy of remark, the sekpent was more or 
 less conspicuously inti-oduced, and always as 
 symbolical of the invigorating or active energy 
 of nature, the Sun. 
 
 We have seen (in Chapter XX.) that in 
 early Christian art Christ Jesus also was re])resented as a crucified 
 Lamb. This crucified lamb is " the Lamb of God taking away the 
 sins of the world, and slain from the foundation of the world.''" In 
 other words, the crucified lamb tj'pifies the crucified Sun, for the 
 lamb was another symbol of the Sun, as we shall presently see. 
 
 We find, then, that the stories of the crucifixions of the diflier- 
 ent so-called Saviouks of mankind all melt into one, and that they 
 are allegorical, for '' Saviour " was only a title of the Sun," and his 
 being put to death on the cross, signifies no more than the restric- 
 tion of the power of the Sun in the winter quarter. With Justin 
 Martyr, then, we can say : 
 
 "There exists not a people, whether Greek or barbarian, or any other race 
 of men, by whatsoever appellation or manners the}' may be distinguished, how- 
 ever ignorant of arts or agriculture, whether they dwell under the tents, or wan- 
 
 1 Squire : p. 169. 
 
 ^ Lundy : Monumental Christianity, p. 185. 
 
 3 '■ SAViouit uas a common title of tlie SuN- 
 gods of antiquity.'' (Wake ; Phallism in Anct. 
 Eeligs.. p. 55.) 
 
 The ancient Greek writers speak of the 
 Sun, as the " Generator and Nouri^her of all 
 Things ;" the " Huler ot the World ;" the 
 "First of the Gods," and the •■ Supreme Lord 
 of all Beings." (Knight : Ancient Art and 
 Mylho., p. 37.) 
 
 Paueanius (500 e. c.) speaks of "The Sun 
 
 having the surname of SAViotJR." (Ibid. p. 
 98, note.) 
 
 " There is a very remarkable figure copied 
 in Payne Knight's Work, in which we see on 
 a man's shoulders a cock's head, whilst on the 
 pediment are placed the words : " The SAViotjR 
 op THE World." (Inman : Anct. Faiths, vol. 
 i. p. 537.) This refers to the Stra. The cock 
 being the natural herald of the day, he was 
 therefore sacred, among the ancients, to the 
 Sun." (See Knight : Anct. Art and Mytho., 
 p. 70, and Lardner : vol. viii. p. 377.)
 
 EXPLANATION. 493 
 
 der about in crowded wagons, among whom prayers are not oflfered up in the 
 name of A Cbucipied Saviour' to the Father and creator of all things."* 
 
 9. ^'■And many women were there heholdlng afar off."' The 
 tender mother wlio liad watched over him at his birth, and the fair 
 maidens whom he has loved, will never forsake him. They yet 
 remain with him, and while their tears drop on his feet, which they 
 kiss, their voices cheer him in his last hour. In these we have the 
 Dawti, who bore him, and the fair and beautiful lights which flush 
 the Eastern sky as the Sun sinks or dies in the West.' Their tears 
 are the tears of dew, such as Eos weeps at the death of her child. 
 
 All the Sun-gods forsake their homes and virgin mothers, and 
 wander through different countries doing marvellous things. Fi- 
 nall}', at the end of their career, the mother, from whom they 
 were parted long ago, is by their side to cheer them in their last 
 hours.' 
 
 The ever-faithful women were to be found at the last scene in 
 the life of Buddha. Kasyapa having found the departed master's 
 feet soiled and wet, asked ^anda the cause of it. " He M-as told 
 that a weeping woman had embraced Gautama's feet shortly before 
 his death, and that her tears had fallen on his feet and left the marks 
 on them."" 
 
 In his last hours, (Edipous (the Sun) has been cheered by the 
 presence of Antigone.' 
 
 At the death of Hercules^ lole {f,he fair-haired Dawn) stands 
 by his side, cheering him to the last. With her gentle hands she 
 sought to soothe his pain, and with pitying words to cheer him in 
 his woe. Then once more the face of Hercules flushed with a deep 
 joy, and he said : 
 
 "Ah, lole, brightest of maidens, thy voice shall cheer me as I sink down in 
 the sleep of death. I saw and loved thee in the bright morning time, and now 
 again thou hast come, in the evening, fair as the soft clouds which gather around 
 the dying Sun." 
 
 The hlack mists were spreading over the sky, but still Hercules 
 sought to gaze on the fair face of lole, and to comfort her in her 
 sorrow. 
 
 "Weep not, lole," he said, "my toil is done, and now is the time for rest. 
 I shall see thee again in the bright land which is never trodden by the feet of 
 night." 
 
 1 The name Jesus is the same a3 Joshua, and tender light which sheds its soft hue over 
 
 and signifies Saviour. the Eastern heaven as the Sun sinlis in death 
 
 3 Justin Martyr ; Dialog. Cum Typho. beneath the Western waters." (Cox : Aryan 
 
 Quoted in Gibbon's Rome, vol. i. p. 533. Myths, vol. i. p. 233.) 
 
 ^ Matt, xxvii. 55. ' See Ibid. vol. 1. p. 80. 
 
 * The ever-faithtul woman who is always ' Buuseu : The Angel-Messiah, p. 49. 
 
 near at the death of the Sun-£od is " the fair ' Cox : Aryan Mythology, vol. i. p. 233.
 
 494 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 The same story is related in the legend of Apollo. The Dawn, 
 from whom he parted in the early part of his career, comes to his 
 side at eventide, and again meets him when his journey on earth 
 has well nigh come to an end.' 
 
 When the Lord Prometheus was crucified on Mt. Caucasus, his 
 especially professed friend, Oceanus, the fisherman, as his name, Pe- 
 trseus, indicates," being unable to prevail on him to make his peace 
 with Jupiter, by throwing the cause of human redemption out of 
 his hands,^ " forsook him and fled." None remained to be witnesses 
 of his dying agonies, but the chorus of ever-amiable and ever-faith- 
 ful women, which also bewailed and lamented liim, but were unable 
 to subdue his inflexible philanthropy.* 
 
 10. " There was darkness all over the land."" In the same 
 manner ends the tale of the long toil and sorrows of other Sun- 
 gods. The last scene exhibits a manifest return to the spirit of the 
 solar myth. He must not die the common death of all men, for no 
 diseast* or corruption can touch the body of the brilliant Sun. After 
 a long struggle against the dark clouds who are arrayed against him, 
 he is finallj' overcome, and dies. Blacker and blacker grow the 
 evening shades, and finally " there is darkness on the face of the 
 earth," and the din of its thunder clashes through the air." 
 
 It is the picture of a sunset in wild confusion, of a sunset more 
 awful, yet not more sad, than that which is seen in the last hours 
 of many other Sun-goAs,.'' It is the picture of the loneliness of the 
 Sun, who sinks slowly down, with the ghastly hues of death uijon 
 his face, while none is nigh to cheer him save the ever-faithful 
 ■women. 
 
 11. '■'■He descended into hell."' This is the Sun's descent into 
 the lower regions. It enters the sign Capricornus, or the Goat, and 
 
 * See Tales of Ancient Greece, p. xssi. Aryan Mythology, vol. il. p. 91.) 
 
 2 PETF..Ers was an interchangeable eynonym e This was one of the latest additions of 
 of the name Oceanus. the San-myth to the history of Chiist Jesus. 
 
 3 '■ Then Peter took him, and began to re- This has been proved not only to have been 
 buke him, saying. Be it far from thee, Lord, an invention after the Apostles' time, hat even 
 this shall not he unto thee." (.Matt. xvi. 22.) after the time of Eusebius (a.d. SS.')). The 
 
 < See Potter's JSschylns. doctrine of the descent into hell was not in 
 
 * Matt, xxvii. 4.5. the ancient creeds or rules of faith. It is not 
 
 * As the Sun dies, or sinks in the West, to be found in the rules of faith delivered by 
 blacker and blacker grows the evening shades, Irenseus (a.d. 190), by Origen (a.d. 2.30). or by 
 till there is darkness on the face of the earth. Tertullian (a.d. 200-210). It is not expressed 
 Then from the high heavens comes down the in those creeds which were made by the 
 thick clouds, aud the din of its thunder crashes Councils as larger explications of the Apos- 
 throngh the air. (T)escriptiou of the death of ties' Creed ; not in the Nicene, or Con?tanti- 
 Hercoles, Tales of Ancient Greece, pp. 61, 62.) nopoUtan ; not in those of Ephesus, or Chalce- 
 
 ' It is the battle of the clouds over the don ; not in those confessions made at Sarc'ica, 
 
 dead or dying Sun. which is to be seen in the Antioch, Selencia, Sirmiura, &c. 
 legendary history of many Sun-gods. (Cox :
 
 EXPLANATION. 495 
 
 the astronomical Mnnter begins. The days have reached their short- 
 est span, and the Sun has reached his extreme southern hniit. The 
 winter solstice reigns, and the Sun seems to stand still in his 
 southern course. For three days and three nights he remains in 
 hell — the lower regions.' In this respect Christ Jesus is like other 
 Sun-gods." 
 
 In the ancient sagas of Iceland, the hero who is the Sun person- 
 ified, descends into a tomb, where he fights a vampire. After a 
 desperate struggle, the hero overcomes, and rises to the surface of 
 the earth. " This, too, rej)resents the Sun in the northern realms, 
 descending into the tomb of winter, and there overcoming the power 
 of darkness.'"' 
 
 12. 3e rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven. 
 Resurrections from the dead, and ascensions into heaven, are gen- 
 erally acknowledged to be solar features, as the history of many 
 solai" heroes agree in tiiis particular. 
 
 At the winter solstice the ancients wept and mourned for Tamr 
 muz, the fair Adonis, and other Sun-gods, done to death by the 
 boar, or crucified — slain by the thorn of winter — and on the third 
 day they rejoiced at the resurrection of their " Lord of Light."* 
 
 With her usual policy, the Church endeavored to give a Christitm 
 significance to the rites which they borrowed from heathenism, and 
 in this case, the mourning for Tammuz, the fair Adonis, became the 
 mourning for Christ Jesus, and joy at the rising of the natural Sun 
 became joy at the rising of the " Sun of Righteousness " — at the 
 resurrection of Christ Jesus from the grave. 
 
 This festival of the Resurrection was generally held by the an- 
 cients on the 2oth of March, when the awakening of Sjrring may be 
 said to be the result of the return of the Sun from the lower or far- 
 off regions to which he had departed. At the equino.x — say, the 
 
 * At the end of his career, the Sun enters der the fetters which before conid not be broken; 
 Va& loiceit regions^ the bowels of the earth, and with his inrindd^e/xju-^r visited those who 
 therefore nearly ail San-sods are made to sat in the deep darkness by iniquity, and the 
 "descend into hell." and remain there for shadow of death by sin. Then the King of 
 tliree days and three "niyhts, for the reason Glory trampled upon Death, seized the Prince 
 that from the :^2d to the Soth of December, the of Hell, and deprived him of all his power." 
 Sun apparently remains in the same place. (Description of Chrut's Descent into Hell. 
 Thus Jonah, a personification of the Sun (see Nicodemns : Apoc.) 
 
 Chap. IX.), who remains three days and three * " The women weeping for Tammuz was 
 
 nights in the bowels of the earth — typified by no more than expressive of the Sun's loss of 
 
 a fish — is made to say: "Out of the belly of power in the winter quarter." (King's Gnos- 
 
 hell cried I, and thou heardst my voice." tics, p. 102. See also. Cox : Aryan Mytho., 
 
 » See Chapter XXII. vol. ii. p. 113.) 
 
 * Baring-Gould : Curious Myths, p. 2(J0. After remaining for three days and three 
 "The mighty Lord appeared in the form of nights in the lowest regions, the Sun begins to 
 
 a man. and enlightened those places which had ascend, thus he " rises fiom the dead," as it 
 ever before been in darkness; and broke asun- were, and "ascends into heaven."
 
 496 BIBLE MYTHS 
 
 vernal— at Easter^ the Sun has been below the equator, and sud- 
 denly rises above it. It has been, as it were, dead to us, but now 
 it exhibits a resurrection.' The Saviour rises triumphant over the 
 powers of darkness, to life and immortality, on the 25th of March, 
 when the Sun rises in Aries. 
 
 Throughout all the ancient world, the resurrection of the god 
 Sol, under different names, was celebrated on March 25th, with 
 great rejoicings.' 
 
 In the words of the Eev. Geo. W. Cos : 
 
 " The wailing of tlie Hebrew women at the death of Tammuz. the crucifision 
 and resurrection of Osiris, the adoration of the Babylonian Mylitta, the Sacti 
 ministers of Hindu temples, the cross and crescent of Isis, the rites of the Jew- 
 ish altar of Baal-Peor, wholly preclude all doubt of the real nature of the great 
 festivals and mysteries of Pheuicians, Jews, Assyrians, Egyptians, and Hin- 
 dus. "^ 
 
 All this was Sun and Nature worship, symbolized by the Linga 
 and Yoni. As Mr. Bonwick says : 
 
 " The philosophic theist who reflects upon the story, known from the walls 
 of China, across Asia and Europe, to the plateau of Mexico, cannot resist the 
 impression that no materialistic theory of it can be satisfactory. "■' 
 
 Allegory alone explains it. 
 
 " The Church, at an early date, selected the heathen festivals of Sun worship 
 for its own, ordering the birth at Christmas, a fixed time, and the resurrection at 
 Easter, a varying time, as in all Pagan religions ; since, though the Sun rose di- 
 rectly after the vernal equinox, the festival, to be correct in a heathen point of 
 view, had to be associated with the new moon."' 
 
 The Christian, then, may well say : 
 
 "When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of winter, thou didst open the 
 iingdom of heaven (i. «., bring on the reign of summer), to all believers." 
 
 13. Christ Jesus is Creator of all things. "We have seen (in 
 Chapter XXVI.) that it was not God the Father, who was supposed 
 by the ancients to have been the Creator of the world, but God the 
 Son, the Redeemer and Saviour of Mankind. Now, this Redeemer 
 and Saviour was, as we have seen, the Sun, and Prof. Max Miiller 
 tells us that in the Yedic mythology, the Sun is not the bright De- 
 va only, " who performs his daily task in the sky, but he is supposed 
 to perform much greater work. He is looked upon, in fact, as the 
 Hider, as the Establisher, as the Creator of the world."' 
 
 Having been invoked as the '■ Life-bringer," the Sun is also 
 
 1 Bonwick : Egyptian Belief, p. 174. < Egyptian Belief, p. 182. 
 
 '^ Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 100. ' Ibid. 
 
 » Aryan Slytliology, vol. ii. p. 125. • Origin of Eeligione.p. 264.
 
 EXPLANATION. 497 
 
 called — in the Rig- Veda — "the Breath or Life of all that move 
 and rest ;" and lastly he becomes " The Maker of all things,^'' by 
 •whom all the worlds have been brought together.' 
 
 There is a prayer in the Vedas, called Gayatree, which consists 
 of three measured lines, and is considered the holiest and most 
 efficacious of all their religious forms. Sir William Jones translates 
 it thus : 
 
 "Let us adore the supremacy of that spiritual Sun, the godhead, who illumi- 
 nates all. who re-creates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return ; 
 whom we invoke to direct our undertakings aright in our progress toward his 
 holy seat." 
 
 With Seneca (a Roman philosopher, born at Cordova, SjDain, 61 
 B. c.) then, we can say : 
 
 " You may call the Creator of all things by different names (Bacchus, Hercu- 
 les, Slercury, etc.), but they are only different names of the same divine being, 
 the Sun." 
 
 14:. He is to he Judge of the quick and the dead. Who is better 
 able than the Sun to be the judge of man's deeds, seeing, as he does, 
 from his throne in heaven, all that is done on earth ? The Vedae 
 speak of Siu-ya — the pervading, irresistible luminary — as seeing 
 all things and hearing all things, noting the good and evil deeds of 
 men!^ 
 
 According to Hindoo mythology, says Prof. Max MiiUer : 
 
 " The Sun sees everything, both what is good and what is evil ; and how 
 natural therefore that (in the Indian Veda) both the evil-doer should be told that 
 the sun sees what no human eye may have seen, and that the innocent, when 
 all other help fails him, should appeal to the sun to attest his guiltlessness." 
 
 "Frequent allusion is made (in the Rig-Veda), to the sun's power of seeing 
 everything. The stars flee before the all-seeing sun, like thieves. He sees the 
 right and the wrong among men. He who looks upon the world knows also 
 the thoughts in all men. As the sun sees everything and knows everything, he 
 is asked to forget and forgive what he alone has seen and knows. ''^ 
 
 On the most ancient Egyptian monuments, Osiris, the Sun per- 
 sonitied, is represented as Judge of the dead. The Egyptian " Book 
 of the Dead," the oldest Bible in the world, speaks of Osiris as 
 " seeing all things, and hearing all things, noting the good and evil 
 deeds of men." 
 
 15. He will come again sitting on a white horse. 
 
 The " second coming " of Vishnu (Crishna), Christ Jesus, and 
 -other Sun-gods, are also astronomical allegories. The white horse, 
 
 > Origin of ReligionB, p. 268. ' Aryan Mythology, vol. i. p. 384. 
 
 > Origin of Religion, pp. 264-308. 
 
 32
 
 498 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 wliicli figures so conspicuously in the legend, was the universal sym- 
 bol of the Sun among Oriental nations. 
 
 Throughout the wliole legend, Christ Jesus is the toiling Sun, 
 laboring for the benefit of others, not his own, and doing hard serv- 
 ice for a mean and cruel generation. "Watch his sun-like career 
 of brilliant conquest, checked with intervals of storm, and declining 
 to a death clouded with sorrow and derision. He is in constant 
 compau}' with his twelve apostles, the twelve signs of the zodiac.^ 
 During the course of his life's joiu-ney he is called " The God of 
 Earthly Blessing," " The Saviour through whom a new life springs," 
 " The Preserver," " The Redeemer," &c. Almost at his birth the 
 Serpent of darkness attempts to destroy him. Temptations to sloth 
 and luxury are offered him in vain. He has his work to do, and 
 nothing can stay him from doing it, as nothing can arrest the Sun 
 in his journey through the heavens. Like all other solar heroes, he 
 has his faithful women who love him, and the Marys and Martha 
 here play the part. Of his toils it is scarcely necessary to speak in 
 detail. They are but a thousand variations on the story of the great 
 conflict which all the Sun-gods wage against the demon of darkness. 
 He astonishes his tutor when sent to school. This we might expect 
 to be the case, when an incomparable and incommunicable wisdom 
 is the heritage of the Sun. He also represents the wisdom and be- 
 neficence of the bright Being who brings life and light to men. As 
 the Sun wakens the earth to life when the winter is done, so Crish- 
 na, Buddha, Horns, .^sculapius, and Christ Jesus were raisers of 
 the dead. When the leaves fell and withered on the approach of 
 winter, the " daughter of the earth " would be spoken of as dying 
 or dead, and, as no other power than that of the Sun can recall veg- 
 etation to life, this child of the earth would be represented as 
 buried in a sleep from which the touch of the Sun alone could 
 rouse her. 
 
 Christ Jesus, then, is the Sun, in his short career and early 
 death. He is the child of the Dawn, whose soft, violet hues tint 
 
 » The number twelve appears in many of Jacob, or the twelve tribes ; the twelve altars 
 
 the Sun-myths. It refers to the twelve hours of James ; the twelve labors of Hercules ; the 
 
 of the day or night, or the twelve moons of the twelve shields of Mars ; the twelve brothers 
 
 lunar year. (Cox : Aryan Mythology, vol. i. Arvaus ; the twelve gods Consents ; the twelve 
 
 p. 1G5. Bouwick : Egyptian Beicf. p. 175.) governors In the Manichean System ; the 
 
 Osiris, the Egyptian Saviour, had twelve adectyas of the East Indies ; the twelve a.sses 
 
 apostles. (Bonwick, p. 175.) of the Scandinavians ; the city of the twelve 
 
 In iiU religions of antiquity the number gates in the Apocalypse ; the twelve wards of 
 
 twelve, which applies to the twelve signs of the the city ; the twelve sacred cushions, on which 
 
 zodiac, are reproduced in all kinds and sorts the Creator sits in the cosmogony of the Jap- 
 
 of forms. For instance : ?\ich are tht; twelve anese ; the ^«'tf^i-(; precious stones of the ra/io«<i^, 
 
 great gods ; the twelve apostles of Osiris ; the or the ornament worn by the high priest of the 
 
 '.welv^, apostles of Jesus ; the twelve sons of Jews, <fcc., &c. (See Dnpuis, pp. 39, 40.)
 
 EXPLANATION. 499 
 
 the clouds of early mom ; his father being the Sky, the " Heavenly 
 Father," who has looked down with love upon the Dawn, and over- 
 shadowed her. When his career on earth is ended, and he expires, 
 the loving mother, who parted from him in the morning of his life, 
 is at his side, looking on the death of the Son whom she cannot 
 save from the doom which is on him, while her tears fall on his 
 body like rain at sundown. From her he is parted at the begin- 
 ning of his course ; to her he Is united at its close. But Christ 
 Jesus, like Crishna, Buddha, Osiris, Horus, Mithras, Apollo, Atys 
 and others, rises again, and thus the myth takes us a step beyond 
 the legend of Serpedon and others, which stop at the end of the 
 seastward journey, when the night is done. 
 
 According to the Christian calendar, the birthday of John the 
 Baptist is on the day of the summer solstice, when the sun begins 
 to decrease. How true to nature then are the words attributed to 
 him in the fourth Gospel, when he says that he must decrease, and 
 Jesus increase. 
 
 Among the ancient Teutonic nations, fires were lighted, on the 
 tops of hills, on the 24:th of June, in honor of the wENDrNG Suit. 
 This custom is still kept up in Southern Germany and the Scotch 
 highlands, and it is the day selected by the Koman Catholic church 
 to celebrate the nativity of John the Baptist.' 
 
 Mosheim, the ecclesiastical historian, speaking of the uncertainty 
 of the time when Christ Jesus was born, says : " The uncertainty 
 of this point is of no great consequence. We know that the Sun 
 of Highteousness has shone upon the world ; and although we can- 
 not fix the precise period in which he arose, this will not preclude 
 us from enjoying the direction and influence of his vital and salu- 
 tary beams." 
 
 These sacred legends abound with such expressions as can have 
 no possible or conceivable application to any other than to the 
 " God of day." He is "a Hght to lighten the Gentiles, and to be 
 the glory (or brightness) of his people."^ He is come " a light into 
 the world, that whosoever believeth in him should not abide in 
 darkness."' He is " the light of the world."' He "is light, and in 
 him no darkness is."' 
 
 "Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, Adonai, and by thy great mercy 
 defend us from all perils and dangers of this night." — Collect, in Evening Service. 
 " God of God, light of light, veiy God of very God.."— Nicene Creed. 
 
 1 See MallefB Korthem Antiquities, p. 505. * JoIid, ii. t. 
 
 2 Luke, ii. 32. * I- John, i. 5. 
 ' John, sii. 46.
 
 500 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "Merciful Adonai, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon tby 
 Church."— C'/Uect of SI. John. 
 
 "To thee all ansels cry aloud, the heavens, and all the powers therein." 
 
 " Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy gloiy " (or brightness). 
 
 " The glorious company of (he {twelve months, or) apostles praise thee." 
 
 " Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ !" 
 
 " When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou passest through the con- 
 stellation, or zodiacal sign — the Virgin." 
 
 " When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of winter, thou didst open the 
 kingdom of heaven {i. e. , bring on the reign of the summer months) to all be- 
 lievers." 
 
 " All are agreed," says Cicero, " that Apollo is none other than 
 the Sun, because the attributes which are commonly ascribed to 
 Apollo do so wonderfully agree thereto." 
 
 Just so surely as Apollo is the Sun, so is the Lord CJwist Jesus 
 the Sun. That which is so conclusive respecting the Pagan deities, 
 applies also to the God of the Christians ; hut, like the Psalmist of 
 old, they cry, " Touch not my Christ, and do my prophets no 
 harm." 
 
 Many Christian writers have seen that the history of their Lord 
 and Saviour is simply the history of the Sun, but they either say 
 notbing, or, like Dr. Parkhurst and the Rev. J. P. Lundy, claim 
 that the Sun is a type of the true Sun of Righteousness. Mr. 
 Lundy, in his " Monumental Christianity," says : 
 
 "Is there no bright Sun of Righteousness — no personal and loving Son of 
 God, of whom the material Sun has been the type or symbol, in all ages and among 
 all nations? What power is it that comes from the Sun to give light and heat 
 to all created things 1 If thQ symbolical Sun leads such a great earthly and 
 heavenly flock, what must be said to the true and only begotten Son of God ? If 
 Apollo was adopted by early Christian art as a type of the Good Shepherd of the 
 New Testament, then this intcrpretat)X)n of the Sun-god among all nations must be 
 the solution of the universal mythos, or what oilier solution can it have ? To what 
 other historical personage but Christ can it apply ? If this mytlios has no spiritual 
 meaning, then all religion becomes mere idolatry, or the worship of material things."' 
 
 Mr. Liindy, who seems to adhere to this once-upon-a-time favor- 
 ite theory, illustrates it as follows : 
 
 " The young Isaac is his (Christ's) Hebrew type, bending under the wood, as 
 Christ fainted under the cross ; Daniel is his type, stripped of all earthly fame 
 and greatness, and cast naked into the deepest danger, shame and humiliation." 
 "Noah is his type, in saving men from utter destruction, and bringing them 
 across the sea of death to a new world and a new life." "Orpheus is a type of 
 Christ. Agni and Crishna of India ; Mithra of Persia ; Horus and AjwUo of 
 Egypt, are all types of Christ." " Samson carrying off the gates of Gaza and de- 
 feating the Philistines by his own death, was considered as a type of Christ 
 
 1 Monumental Christianity, p. 117.
 
 EXPLANATION. SOI 
 
 bui'sting open and carrying away the gates of Hades, and conquering EUs and 
 
 oar enemies by liis death and resurrection."' 
 
 According to this theory, the whole Pagan religion was typical 
 of Christ and Cliristianity. "Why then were not the Pagans the 
 Lord's chosen people instead of the children of Israel ? 
 
 The early Christians were charged with being a sect of Swn 
 worshipers!' The ancient Egyptians worshiped the god Serapis, 
 and Serapis was the Sun. Fig. No. 11, page 194:, shows the man- 
 ner in which Serapis was personified. It might easily pass for a 
 representation of the Sun-god of the Christians. Mr. King says, in 
 his '' Gnostics, and their Kemaius ": 
 
 "There can be no doubt that the head of Serapis, marlsed as the face is by a 
 grave and pensive majesty, supplied the first idea for the conventional portraits of 
 the Saviour."^ 
 
 The Imperial Kussiau Collection hoasts of a head of Christ 
 Jesus which is said to be very ancient. It is a fine intaglio on 
 emerald. Mr. King says of it : 
 
 " It is in reality a bead of Serapis, seen in front and crowned with Persia 
 boughs, easily mistaken for thorns, though the bushel on the head leaves no 
 doubt as to the real personage intended."* 
 
 It must not be forgotten, in connection with this, that the wor- 
 shipers of Serapis, or the Sun, were called Christians.'' 
 Mrs. Jameson, speaking on this subject, says : 
 
 " We search in vain for the lightest evidence of his (Christ's) human, indi- 
 vidual semblance, in the writing of those disciples who knew him so well. In 
 this instance the instincts of earthly ailection seem to have been mysteriously 
 overruled. He whom all races of men were to call brother, was not to be too 
 closely associated with the particular lineaments of any one. St. John, the be- 
 loved disciple, could lie on the breast of Jcsns with all the freedom of fellowship, 
 but not even he has left a word to indicate what manner of man was the Divine 
 Master after the flesh. . . . Legend has, in various form, supplied this nat- 
 ural craving, but it is hardly necessary to add, that all accounts of pictures of 
 our Lord taken from Himself are without historical foundation. We are tJiere- 
 fore left to imagine the expression most befitting the character of him who took 
 upon himself our likeness, and looked at the woes and sins of mankind through 
 the eyes of our mortality."' 
 
 The Kev. Mr. Geikie says, in his " Life of Christ ": 
 
 " No hiut is given in the New Testament of Christ's appearance ; and the 
 early Church, in the absence of all guiding facts, had to fall back on imagina- 
 tion." 
 
 • See Monameatal Christianity, pp. 186, 191, * Ujid. p. 137. 
 
 192. 338, and 896. « See Chapter XX. 
 
 2 Seo Bonwiclt'B Egyptian Belief, p. 283. * Hist, of Oar Lord in Art, vol. 1. p. SI. 
 
 • King's Gnostics, p. 68.
 
 503 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 "In its _/irs< years, the Christian church fancied its Lord's visage and form 
 marred more, than thuae of other men; and that he must have had no attractions 
 of personal beauty. Justin Martyr {k. d. 150-160) speaks of him as loithoul 
 beauty or attractiveness, and of mean appearance. Clement of Alexandria (a. d. 
 200), describes him as of an uninrntinc/ appearance, and almost repulsive. Terlullian 
 (a. d. 200-210) says he hud not even ordinary human beauty, far less heavenly. 
 Origen (a. d. 230) went so far as to say that he was ' small in body and deformed,' 
 as well as low-born, and that, ' Jiis only beauty was in his soul and life.' "' 
 
 One of the favorite ways finally, of depicting him, was, as Mr. 
 
 Luudy remarks : 
 
 "Under the ligure of a beautiful and adorable youth, of about fifteen or 
 eighteen years of age, beardless, with a sweet expression of countenance, and 
 long and abundant hair flvioinff in carls over his shoulders. His brow is sometimes 
 encircled by a diadem or bandeau, like a young priest of the Pagan gods ; that is, 
 in fact, the favorite ligure. On sculptured sarcophagi, in fresco paintings and 
 Mosaics, Christ is thus represented as a graceful youth, just as Apollo was figured 
 by the Pagans, and as angels are represented by Christian^. "■ 
 
 Thus we see that the Christians took the paintings and statues 
 of the Sun-gods Serapis and Apollo as models, when they wished 
 to represent their Saviour. That the former is the favorite at the 
 present day need not be doubted when we glance at Fig. No. 11, 
 page 194. 
 
 Mr. King, speaking of this god, and his worshipers, says : 
 
 "There is very good reason to believe that in the East the worship of Serapis 
 was at first combined with Christianity, and gradually merged into it with an 
 entire change of name, Tiot substance, carrying with it many of its ancient no- 
 tions and rites. "^ 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 "In the second century the syncretistic sects that had sprung up in Alexan- 
 dria, the very hotbed of Gnosticism, found out in Serapis a prophetic type of 
 Christ, or the Lord and Creator of all.''* 
 
 The early Chi'lstians, or worshipers of the Sun, under the name 
 of " Christ,^'' had, as all Sun-worshipers, a peculiar regard to the 
 East — the quarter in which their god rose— to which point th£y 
 ordinarily directed their prayers." 
 
 The followers of Mithra always turned towards the East, when 
 they worshiped ; the same was done by the Bralimaus of the East, 
 and the Christians of the West. In the ceremony of baptism, the 
 catechumen was placed with his face to the West, the symbolical 
 representation of the prince of darkness, in opposition to the 
 East, and made to spit towards it at the evil one, and renounce his 
 works. 
 
 > Geikie : Life of Christ, vol. i. p. 151. < Ibid. p. 68. 
 
 ' Monumental Cliristianity, p. 331. * See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 13. 
 
 • King's Gnostics, p. 43.
 
 EXPLANATION. 503 
 
 Tertullian says, that Christians were taken for worshipers of the 
 Sun because they prayed towards the East, after the manner of tliose 
 who adored the Sun. The Essenes — whom Eusebius calls Chris- 
 tians — always turned to the east to pray. The Essenes met once 
 a week, and spent the night in singing hymns, &c., which lasted 
 till sun-rising. As soon as dawn appeared, they retired to their 
 cells, after saluting one another. Pliny says the Christians of 
 Bithynia met before it was light, and sang hymns to Christ, as to a 
 God. After their service they saluted one another. Surely the 
 circumstances of the two classes of people meeting before daylight, 
 is a very remarkable coincidence. It is just what the Persian Magi, 
 who were Sun worshipers, were in the habit of doing. 
 
 When a Manichgean Christian came over to the orthodox Chris- 
 tians, he was required to curse his former friends in the following 
 terras : 
 
 " I curse Zarades (Zoroaster ?) who, Manes said, had appeared as a god 
 before his time among the Indians and Persians, and whom lie calls the Sun. 
 I curse those who say Christ is the Sun, and who make prayers to the Sun, and 
 who do not pray to the true God, only towards the East, but who turn tbemselves 
 round, following the motions of the Sun with their innumerable supplications. 
 I curse those person who say that Zarades and Budas and Christ and the Sun are 
 all one and the sante." 
 
 There are not many circumstances more striking than that of 
 Christ Jesus being originally worshiped under the form of a Lamb 
 — the actual "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the 
 world." As we have already seen (in Chap. XX.), it was not till 
 the Council of Constantinople, called In TruUo, held so late as the 
 year 707, that pictures of Christ Jesus were ordered to be drawn 
 in the form of a man. It was ordained that, in the place of the fig- 
 ure of a Lamb, the symbol used to that time, the iigure of a man 
 nailed to a cross, should in future be used.' From this decree, the 
 identity of the worship of the Celestial Lamb and the Christian 
 Saviour is certified beyond the possibility of doubt, and the mode 
 by which the ancient superstitions were propagated is satisfactorily 
 shown. Nothing can more clearly prove the general practice than 
 the order of a council to regulate it. 
 
 The worship of the constellation of Aries was the worship of 
 the Sun in his passage through that sign. " This constellation was 
 
 ' Following are the words of the decree mus, quam nt plenitudinem legis acceptimas. 
 
 now in the Vatican library : *' In quibusdam Itaque id quod perfectum eet. in picturis etiam 
 
 sanctorum iinaginumpicturisagnusexprimitur, omnium oculis subjiciamus. agnum itlam qui 
 
 Ac. Nos igitur veteres figuras atque umhras, mundi peccatum tollit, Christum Deum nos- 
 
 et veritatis noias, et signa ecclesise tradita, trum, loco veteris Ayni, bumana formi posthie 
 
 complectentes, gratiam, et veritatem anteponi- exprimendum decre^'imas," &c.
 
 504 BIBLE MYTH8. 
 
 called by tlie ancients the Lanib of God. He was also called the 
 Saviour, and was said to save mankind from their sins. He was 
 always honored with the appellation of Dominus or Lord. He was 
 called The Larnb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. 
 The devotees addressed him in their litany, constantly repeating the 
 words, '(9 Lamb of God, that taketh away tlie sins of the world, 
 home mercy upon us. Grant us thy peace.'' " 
 
 On an ancient medal of the Phenicians, brought by Dr. Clark 
 from Citium (and described in his " Travels," vol. ii. ch. xi.) this 
 Lamb of God is described with the Ceoss and the Rosaky, which 
 shows that they were both used in his worship. 
 
 Yearly the Sun-god, as the zodiacal horse (Aries) was supposed 
 by the Vedic Aryans to die to save all flesh. Hence the practice 
 of sacrificing horses. The " guardian spirits " of the prince Sakya 
 Buddha sing the following hymn : 
 
 " Once when tliou wast the white horse,^ 
 In pity for the suffering of man, 
 
 Thou didst fly across heaven to the region of the evil demons, 
 To secure the happiness of mankind. 
 Persecutions without end, 
 Kevilings and many prisons, 
 Death and murder ; 
 
 These hast thou suffered with love and patience. 
 Forgiving thine executioners.'"' 
 
 We have seen, in Chapter XXXIII., that Christ Jesus was also 
 
 symbolized as a Fish, and that it is to be seen on all the ancient 
 
 Christian monuments. But what has the Christian Saviour to do 
 
 with a Fish ? Why was he called a Fish ? The answer is, because 
 
 the fish ivas another emblem of the Sun. Abarbanel says : 
 
 ' ' The sign of his (Christ's) coming is the junction of Saturn and Jupiter, in 
 tlie Sign Pisces."' 
 
 Applying the astronomical emblem of Pisces to Jesus, does not 
 seem more absurd than applying the astronomical emblem of the 
 Lamb. They applied to him tlie monogram of the Sun, IHS, the 
 astronomical and alchemical sign of Aries, or the ram, or Lamb T ; 
 and, in short, what was there that was Heathenish that they have 
 not applied to him ? 
 
 The preserving god Yishnu, the Sun, was represented as a fish, 
 and so was the Syrian Sun-god Dagon, who was also a Preserver or 
 Saviour. The Fish was sacred among many nations of antiquity, 
 
 1 "The 50/ar/iO/-^e. with two serpents upon p. 110.) 
 bis head (the Buddhist Aries) is Buddlia's sym- = Quoted byLillie : Buddha and Early Badd- 
 
 bol, and Aries is the symbol of Christ." hism. p. 93. 
 (Arthur Lillie : Buddha and Early Buddhism, " Quoted by King : The OnostiCB Ac, p. 138.
 
 EXPLANATION. 
 
 606 
 
 aud is to be seen on their monuments. Thus we see that every- 
 thing at last centres in the Sun. 
 
 Constantine, the hrst Christian emperor, had on his coins the 
 figure of the Sun, with the legend : '' To the Invincible Sun, my 
 companion and guardian," as being a representation, says Mr. King, 
 '' either of the ancient Phoebus, or the new Sun of Righteousness^ 
 equally acceptable to both Christian and Gentile, from the double 
 interpretation of which the type was susceptible."^ 
 
 The worship of the Sun, under the name- of Mithra, " long sur- 
 vived in Rome, under the (Jhristian emperors^ 
 and, doubtless, much lonj^er in the remoter dis- 
 tricts of the semi-indepenoent provinces,"^ 
 
 Christ Jesus is represented with a halo of 
 glory surrounding his head, a florid complexion, 
 long golden locks of hair, and a flowing robe. 
 Now, all Smi-gods, from Crishna of India (Fig. 
 No. 41) to Baldur of Scandinavia, are repre- 
 sented with a halo of glory surrounding their 
 heads, and the flowing locks of golden hair, and 
 the flowing robe, are not wanting.^ By a process of metaphor, the rays 
 
 1 Quoted by King : The Gnostics, &c.,p. 49. 
 
 3 Ibid- p. 45. 
 
 * Indra, the crucified Snn-god of the Hiu- 
 doop, was represented with golden locks. 
 (Cox : Aryan Myths, vol, i. p. 341.) 
 
 Mithras, the Persian Saviuur, was repre- 
 sented with long flowing locks. 
 
 Izdubar, the god aud hero of the Chaldeans, 
 wag represented with long flowing locks of 
 hair (Smith : Chaldean Account of Genesis, 
 p. 153), and so was his counterpart, the Hebrew 
 Samson. 
 
 "The Sakya-prince (Buddha) is described 
 as an Aryan by Buddhistic tradition ; his face 
 was reddish, hie hair of light color and curly, 
 his general appearance of great beauty." 
 (Bunseu : The Angel-Messiah, p. 15.) 
 
 " Serapis has, in some instances, long hair 
 formally turned back, and disposed in ringlets 
 hanging down upon his breast and shoulders 
 like that of a woman. His whole person, too, 
 is always enveloped in drapery reaching to his 
 feet." (Knight : Ancient Art and Mythology, 
 p. 104.) 
 
 "As for ydlmo ^ai7'. there is no evidence 
 that Greeks have ever commonly possessed it ; 
 but no other color would do for a solar hero, 
 and il accordingly characterizes the entire 
 company of them, wherever found." (Fiske : 
 Myths and Mythraakers, p. ^03.) 
 
 Helios (the Snn) is called by the Greeks the 
 "yellow-haired." (Goldzhier : Hebrew Mytho., 
 p. 137.) 
 
 The Sun's ravs ie signified by the flowing 
 
 golden locks which stream from the head of 
 Kephalos, and fall over the shoulders of Bel- 
 lerphon. (Cox : Aryan Mytho., vol. i. p. 
 107.) 
 
 Perseus, son of the virgin Danae, was called 
 the " Golden Cbild." (Ibid. vol. ii. p. 58.) 
 "The light of early morning is not more pure 
 than was the color on his fair chneks, and the 
 golden locks streamed bright over his shoul- 
 ders, like the rays of the sun when they rest on 
 the hills at midday." (Tales of Ancient 
 Greece, p. S3.) 
 
 The Saviour Dionysus wore a long flowing 
 robe, and had long golden hair, which streamed 
 from his head over his shoulders. (Aryan 
 Mythology, vol. ii. p. 2'J3.) 
 
 Ision was the "Beautiful and Mighty." 
 with golden hair flashing a glory from his head, 
 dazzling as the rays which stream from Helios, 
 when he drives his chariot up the heights of 
 heaven ; and his flowing robe glistened as he 
 moved, like the vesture which the Snn-god 
 gave to the wise maiden Medeia, who dwelt in 
 Kolchis. (Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 47.) 
 
 Theseus enters the city of Athens, as Christ 
 Jesus is said to have entered Jerusalem, with a 
 long flowing robe, and with his g-o^^^n hair tied 
 gracefully behind his head. His ' ' soft beauty " 
 excites the mockery of the populace, who 
 pause in their work to jest with him. (Cox : 
 Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 63.) 
 
 Thus we see that long locks of golden hair, 
 and a flowing robe, are mythological atlributea 
 of the Sun.
 
 606 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 of the Sun were changed into golden hair, into spears and lances, 
 and robes of light. From the shoulders of Phoibus Lykegenes, the 
 light-born, flow the sacred locks over which no razor might pass. 
 On the head of Nisos, as on that of Samson, they became a palla- 
 dium invested with a mysterious power. From Helios, the Sun, 
 who can scorch as well as warm, comes the robe of Medeia, which 
 appeal's in the poisoned garments of Deianeira.' 
 
 We see, then, that Chrid Jesus, like Christ Buddha,' Crishna, 
 Mithra, Osiris, Horus, Apollo, Hercules and others, is none other 
 than a personification of the Sun, and that the Christians, like their 
 predecessors the Pagans, are really Sun worshipers. It must not 
 be inferred, however, that we advocate the theory that no such per- 
 son as Jesus of Nazareth ever lived in tlie flesh. The inan Jesus 
 is evidently an histoi-ical personage, just as the Sakaya prince 
 Buddha, Cyrus, King of Persia, and Alexander, King of Macedonia, 
 are historical ] personages ; but tlie Ohrist Jesus, the Christ Buddha, 
 the mythical Cyrus, and the mythical Alexander, never lived in the 
 fiesh. The Sun-mifih has been added to the histories of these pei*- 
 sonages, in a greater or less degree, just as it has been added to the 
 history of many other real personages. If it be urged tliat the 
 attribution to Christ Jesus of qualities or powers belonging to the 
 Pagan deities woiild hardly seem reasonable, the answer must be 
 that nothing is done in his case which has not been done in the 
 case of almost every other member of the great company of the 
 gods. The tendency of myths to reproduce themselves, with differ- 
 ences only of names and local coloring, becomes especially mani- 
 fest after perusing the legendary histories of the gods of antiquity. 
 It is a fact demonstrated by history, that when one nation of an- 
 tiquity came in contact with anotiier, they adopted each other''s 
 myths without hesitation. After the Jews had been taken captives 
 to Babylon, around the history of their King Solomon accumulated 
 the fables which were related of Persian heroes. When the fame 
 of Cyrus and Alexander became known over the then known world, 
 the popular Sun^myth was interwoven with their true history. The 
 mythical history of Perseus is, in all its essential features, the his- 
 tory of the Attic hero Theseus, and of the Thcban CEdipus, and 
 they all reappear with heightened colors in the myths of Hercules. 
 We have the same thing again in the mythical and religious history 
 of Crishna ; it is, in nearly all its essential features, the history of 
 
 ' Cox: Aryan Mythology, vol. i. p. 49. "Anointed," or the "Messiah," and that many 
 
 2 We have already seen (h\ Chapter XX.) other pcrsonugefe beside Jesns of Nazareth had 
 that the word "Christ" signifies the this (JWeatUxed to their names.
 
 EXPLANATION. 507 
 
 Buddba, and reappears again, with heightened colors, in the history 
 of Christ Jesus. The myths of Buddha and Jesus differ from the 
 legends of the other virgin-born Saviours only in the fact that in 
 their cases it has gathered round unquestionably historical person- 
 ages. In other words, an old myth has been added to names un- 
 doubtedly historical. But it cannot be too often repeated that from 
 the myth we learn nothing of their history. How much we really 
 know of tlie man Jesus will be considered in our next, and last, 
 chapter.' That his biography, as recorded in the books of the New 
 Testament, contains some few grains of actual history, is all tliat 
 the historian or philosopher can rationally venture to ui-ge. But 
 the very process whicli has stripped these legends of all value as a 
 chronicle of actual events has invested them with a new interest. 
 Less than ever are they worthless fictions which the historian or 
 philosopher may afford to despise. These legends of the birth, life, 
 and death of the Sun, present to us a form of society and a condi- 
 tion of thought through which all mankind had to pass before the 
 dawn of history. Yet that state of things was as real as the time 
 in which we live. They who spoke the language of these early 
 tales were men and women with joys and sorrows not unlike our 
 own. In the following verses of Martianus Capella, the universal 
 veneration for the Sun is clearly shown : 
 
 "Latium invokes thee, Sol, because thou alone art in honor, after the Father, 
 the centre of light ; and they affirm that thy sacred head bears a golden bright- 
 ness in twelve rays, because thou formest that number of months and that num- 
 ber of hours. They say that thou guidest four winged steeds, because thou 
 alone rulest the chariot of the elemenls. For, dispelling the darkness, thou re- 
 vealest the shining heavens. Hence they esteem thee, Phrebus, the discoverer of 
 the secrets of the future ; or, because thou preventest nocturnal crimes. Egypt 
 worships thee as Serapis, and Memphis as Osiris. Thou art worshiped by dif- 
 ferent rites as Mithra, Dis, and the cruel Typhon. Thou art alone the beautiful 
 Atys, and the fostering son of the bent plough. Thou art the Ammon of arid 
 Libyai, and the Adonis of Byblos. Thus under a varied appelation the wTwle world 
 worship thee. Hail 1 thou true image of the gods, and of thy father's face ! thou 
 ■whose sacred name, surname, and omen, three letters make to agree with the 
 number 608.'' Grant us, oh Father, to reach the eternal intercourse of mind, 
 and to know (he starry heaven under this sacred name. May the great and uni- 
 versally adorable Father increase these his favors." 
 
 ' The theory which has been set forth in Sun, are the celebrated I. S. H., which are to be 
 
 this chapter, is also more fully illustrated in seen in Roman Catholic churches at the present 
 
 Appendix C. day, and which are now the monogram of the 
 
 > These three letters, the monogram of the Sun-god Christ Jesus. (See Chapter XXSVI.)
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 "We now come to tbe last, but certainly not least, question to be 
 answered ; which is, what do we really know of the man Jesus of 
 Nazareth ? How much of the Gospel narratives can we rely upon 
 as fact ? 
 
 Jesus of Nazareth is so enveloped in the mists of the past, and 
 his history so obscured by legend, that it may be compared to 
 footprints in tJie sand. We know some one has been there, but as 
 to what manner of man he may have been, we certainly know little 
 as fact. The Gospels, the only records we have of him,^ have been 
 proven, over and over again, unhistorical and legendary ; to state 
 anything as positive about the man is nothing more nor less than 
 assumption ; we can therefore conjecture only. Liberal writei-s phil- 
 osophize and wax eloquent to little purpose, when, after demolish- 
 ing the historical accuracy of the New Testament, they end their 
 task by eulogizing the man Jesus, claiming for him the highest 
 praise, and asserting that he was the hest and grandest of our race ;" 
 but this manner of reasoning (undoubtedly consoling to luimj) facts 
 do not warrant. We may consistently revere his name, and place 
 it in the long list of the great and noble, the reformers and religious 
 teachers of the past, all of whom have done their part in bringing 
 about the freedom we now enjoy, but to go beyond this, is, to our 
 thinking, unwarranted. 
 
 If the life of Jesus of Nazareth, as related in the books of the 
 New Testament, be in part the story of a man who really lived and 
 suffered, that story has been so interwoven with images borrowed 
 
 1 " For knowledge of llie man Jesus, of his thought him, at moments, beside himself;" 
 idea and his aims, and of the outward form of and that. *' his enemies declared him possessed 
 his career, the iAViy T^^awi^nMs our only hope. by a devil," says: " The man here delineated 
 If this hope fails, the pillared firmament of his merits a place at the summit of human gran- 
 starry fame is rottenness ; the base of Christi- denr." "This is the Supreme man, a sublime 
 anily, so far as it was personal and individual, personage ;" " to call him divine is no exag- 
 is built on stubble." (John W. Chadwick.) geration." Other liberal writers have written 
 
 ' M. Eenan. after declaring Jesus to be a in the same strain. 
 "fanatic" and admitting that, "his friends 
 
 508
 
 CONCLUSION. 509 
 
 » 
 
 frora myths of a bygone age, as to conceal forever any fragments 
 of history which may lie beneath them. Gautama Buddlia was un- 
 doubtedly an historical personage, yet the Sun-god myth lias been 
 added to his history to such an extent that we really know nothing 
 positive about him. Alexander the Great was an historical person- 
 age, yet his history is one mass of legends. So it is with Julius 
 Cesar, Cyrus, King of Persia, and scores of others. " The story of 
 Cyrus' perils in infancy belongs to solar mythology as much as the 
 stories of the magic slipper, of Charlemagne and Barbarossa. His 
 grandfather, Astyages, is purely a mythical creation, his name being 
 identical with that of the night demon, Azidahaka, who appears in 
 the Shah-Nameh as the biting serpent." 
 
 The actual Jesus is inaccessible to scientific research. His image 
 cannot be recovered. He left no memorial in writing of himself ; 
 his foUowei's were illiterate ; the mind of his age was confused. 
 Paul received only traditions of him, how definite we have no means 
 of knowing, apparently not significant enough to be treasured, nor 
 consistent enough to oppose a barrier to his own speculations. As 
 M. Kenan says : " The Christ who communicates private revelations 
 to him is a phantom of his own making ;" " it is hi7nself\i& listens 
 to, while fancying that he hears Jesus.''''^ 
 
 In studying the writings of the early advocates of Christianity, 
 and Fathers of the Christian Church, where we would naturally look 
 fjr the language that would indicate the real occurrence of the facts 
 of the Gospel — if real occurrences they had ever been — we not 
 onlj' find no such language, but everywhere find every sort of 
 sophistical ambages, ramblings from the sxibject, and evasions of 
 the very business before them, as if on purpose to balk our research, 
 and insult our skepticism. If we travel to the very sepulchre of 
 Christ Jesus, it is only to discover that he was never there : history 
 seeks evidence of his existence as a man, but finds no more trace of 
 it than of the shadow that flits across the wall. " The Star of 
 Bethlehem " shone not upon hei' path, and the order of the universe 
 was suspended without her observation. 
 
 She asks, with the Magi of the East, " Where is he that is born 
 King of the Jews ?" and, like them, finds no solution of her in- 
 quiry, but the guidance that guides as well to one place as another ; 
 descriptions that apply to ^sculapius, Buddha and Crishna, as well 
 
 ' " The Christ of Paul was not a person, evolved from his own feeling and imagination, 
 
 but an idea; he took no pains to learn the facts and taking on new powers and attributes from 
 
 about the individual Jesus. He actually year to year to suit each new emergency." 
 
 boasted that the Apostles had taught him (John W. Chadwick.) 
 nothing. His Christ was an ideal couception.
 
 510 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 as to Jesns ; prophecies, without evidence that they were ever 
 prophesied ; miracles, which those who are said to have seen, are 
 said also to have denied seeing; narratives without authorities, facts 
 witliout dates, and records without names. In vain do the so-called 
 disciples of Jesus point to the passages in Josephus and Tacitus ;' 
 in vain do they point to the spot on which he was crucified ; to the 
 fragments of the true cross, or the nails witli which he was pierced, 
 and to the tomh in which he was laid. Others have done as much 
 for scores of mythological jpersonages who never lived in the flesh. 
 Did not Damis, the beloved disciple of Apollouius of Tyana, while 
 on his way to India, see, on Mt. Caucasus, the identical chains with 
 which Prometheus had been bound to the rocks? Did not the 
 Scythians" say that Hercules had visited their country % and did 
 they not show the print of his foot upon a rock to substantiate their 
 story V Was not his toiiib to be seen at Cadiz, where his })ones were 
 shown V Was not the tomh of Bacchus to be seen in Greece f 
 Was not the tomh of Apollo to be seen at Delphi ?' Was not the 
 tomh of Achilles to be seen at Dodona, where Alexander the Great 
 honored it by placing a crown upon it V Was not the tomb of -^s- 
 culapius to be seen in Arcadia, in a grove consecrated to him, near 
 the river Lusius V Was not the toijQ) of Deucalion — he who was 
 saved from the Deluge — long pointed out near the sanctuary of 
 Olympian Jove, in Athens?' Was not the twnb of Osiris to be 
 seen in Egypt, where, at stated seasons, the priests went in solemn 
 procession, and covered it with flowers ?'° Was not the tomb of 
 Jonah — he who was " swallowed up by a big fish "—to be seen at 
 Nebi-Yunus, near Mosul ?" Are not the tomhs of Adam, Eve, Cain, 
 Abel, Seth, Abraham, and other Old Testament characters, to be 
 seen even at the present day V And did not the Emperor Constan- 
 tino dedicate a beautiful church over the tomh of St. George, the 
 warrior saint ?'* Of what value, then, is such evidence of the exist- 
 ence of such an individual as Jesus of Nazareth ? The fact is, " the 
 records of his life are so very scanty, and these have been so shaped 
 and colored and modified by the hands of ignorance and superstition 
 
 ' This subject is considered in Appendix D. " See Dnpais, p. 264. 
 
 * Scythia was a name employed in ancient ' See Bell's Pantheon, vol. i. p. 7. 
 times, to denote a vast, indefinite, and almost ^ gee Ibid. vol. i. p. 37. 
 unknown territory north and east of the Black ^ Ibid. 
 
 Sea, the Caspian, and the Sea of Aral. '" Ibid. vol. i. p. 2, and Bonwiclc, p. 155. 
 
 3 See Herodotus, book 4, ch. 82. ^^ See Chambers, art. "Jonah." 
 
 < See Dnpuis, p. 264. '^ See Bible for Learners, vol. i. p. 152, and 
 
 * See Knight's Anct. Art and Mythology, p. Goldzhier, p. 280. 
 
 96, and Mysteries of Adoni, p. 90 " See Curious Myths, p. 264.
 
 CONCLjrSION. 511 
 
 and party prejudice and ecclesiastical purpose, that it is hard to be 
 sure of the original outlines." 
 
 In the first two centuries tlie professors of Christianity were di- 
 vided into many sects, but these might be all resolved into two 
 divisions — one consisting of Nazarenes, Ebionites, and orthodox ; 
 the other of Gnostics, under wliich all the remaining sects arranged 
 themselves. The former are supposed to have believed in Jesus 
 crucified, in tlie common^, literal acceptation of the term ; the latter 
 — believers in the Christ as an ^on — though they admitted the 
 crucifixion, considered it to have been in some mystic way — per- 
 haps what might be called spiritualiter, as it is called in the Revela- 
 tion : but notwithstanding the different opinions they held, they all 
 denied that the Christ did really die, in the literal acceptation of the 
 term, on the cross.' The Gnostic, or Oriental, Christians undoubt- 
 edly touk their doctrine from the Indian crucifixion' (of which we 
 have treated in Chapters XX. and XXXIX.), as well as many other 
 tenets with which we have found the Christian Church deeply 
 tainted. They held that : 
 
 "To deliver the soul, a captive in darkness, the ' Prince of Light,' the ' Genius 
 of the Sun,' charged with the redemption of the intellectual world, of which the 
 Sun is the type, manifested itself among men ; that the light appeared in the 
 darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not ; that, in fact, light could not 
 unite with darkness ; it put on only the appearance of the human body ; that at 
 the crucifixion Christ Jesus only appeared to suffer. His person having disap- 
 peared, the bystanders saw in his place a cross of light, over which a celestial 
 voice proclaimed these words ; ' The Cross of Light is called Logos, Christos, 
 the Gate, the Joy.' " 
 
 Several of the texts of the Gospel histories were quoted with 
 great plausibility by the Gnostics in support of their doctrine. The 
 story of Jesus passing through the midst of tlie Jews when they 
 were about to cast him headlong from the brow of a hill (Luke iv. 
 29, 30), and when they were going to stone him (John iii. 59 ; x. 31, 
 39), were examples not easily refuted. 
 
 The Manichean Cliristian Bishop Faustus expresses himself in 
 the following manner : 
 
 " Do you receive the gospel ? (ask ye). Undoubtedly I do I Why then, 
 
 1 " Whilst, in one port of the Christian he had little or no contact with their corporeal 
 
 world, the chief objects of interest were the nature." (A. ReviDe : Hist, of the Dogma of 
 
 human nature and liuman life of Jesus, in an- the Deity of Jesus.) 
 
 other part of the Christian world the views ' Epiphanius says that there were twenty 
 
 taken of his person because so idealistic, that heresies before Christ, and there can be no 
 
 his humanity was reduced to a phantom without doubt that there is much truth in the ohserva- 
 
 reality. The various Gnostic systems generally tion. for most of the rites and doctrines of the 
 
 agreed in saying that the Christ was an .^'on. Christians of all sects existed before the time 
 
 the redeemer of the spirits of men, and that of Jesus of Nazareth.
 
 612 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 you also admit that Christ was born ? Not so ; for it by no means follows that 
 in believing the gospel, I should therefore believe that Christ was born I Do 
 you then think that he was of the Virgin Mary ? Manes hath said, ' Far be it 
 that I should ever own that Our Lord Jesus Christ '" etc. ' 
 
 Tertulliau's manner of reasoning on the evidences of Cliristi- 
 anity is also in the same vein, as we saw in our last chapter.' 
 Mr. King, speaking of the Gnostic Christians, says : 
 
 " Their chief doctrines had been held for centuries before (their time) in many 
 
 of the cities in Asia Minor. There, it is probable, they tirst came into existence 
 as Mystce, upon the establishment of direct intercourse with India, under the Se- 
 leucidfe and Ptolemies. The college of Essenes and Megabym' at Ephesus, the 
 OrpJiies of Thrace, the Curets of Crete, ai'e all Tnerely branches of one antique and 
 comTnon religion, and that originally Asiatic."^ 
 
 These early Christian Mystics are alluded to in several instances 
 in the New Testament. For example : 
 
 "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in tlie flesh is of God ; 
 and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not 
 of God."^ For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that 
 Jesus Christ is come in the flesh."* 
 
 This is language that could not have been used, if the reality of 
 Christ Jesus' existence as a man could not have been denied, or, it 
 would certainly seem, if the apostle himself had been able to give 
 any evidence whatever of the claim. 
 
 The quarrels on this subject lasted for a long time among tlie 
 early Christians. Hermas, speaking of this, says to the brethren : 
 
 ' ■ Take heed, my children, that your dissensions deprive you not of your lives. 
 How will ye instruct the elect of God, when ye yourselves want correction 1 
 Wherefore admonish one another, and be at peace among yourselves ; that I, 
 standing before your father, may give an account of you unto the Lord."* 
 
 Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Smyrnseans, says :' 
 
 " Only in the name of Jesus Christ, I undergo all, to suffer together with 
 him ; he who was made a perfect man strengthening me. Whmn some, not 
 knoicing, do deny ; or rather have been denied by him, being the advocates of 
 death, rather than of the truth. Whom neither the prophecies, nor the law of 
 Moses, have persuaded ; nor the Gospel itself even to this day, nor the sufferings 
 
 * " Accipis avengelium ? et maxime. Pro- itself a shameful thing — I maintain that the Son 
 
 inde ergo et natum accipis Christum. Non ita of God dud: well, tliat is wholly credible be- 
 
 eet. Neque enim sequitur ut si evangelium cause it is monstrously absurd. I maintain 
 
 accipio, idcirco et natum accipiam Christum. that after having been buried, he rose again : 
 
 Ergo non putas enm ex Maria Virgine esse ? and tliat I take to be absolutely true, becausi 
 
 Manes dixit, Absit ut Dominuni nostrum Jesum it was vianifesUy vnpossible.^'' 
 Christum per natnralia pudenda mulieris de s King's Gnostics, p. 1. 
 
 Bcendisse confitear." (Lardner's Works, vol. * I. John. iv. 2, 3. 
 
 iv. p. 20.1 ' II. John, 7. 
 
 3 '■ I maintain," says he, '■ that the Son of • 1st Book HermaB : Apoc , ch, ill. 
 
 God was born : w-hy am I not ashamed of main- ^ Chapter II. 
 
 laining such a thiog ' Why 1 because it is
 
 coNCLUsioir. 618 
 
 of any one of us. For they iMnk alio the tarM thing of'os; for what does a maa 
 profit me, if be shall praise me, and blaspheme my Lord ; not ecmfemng that he 
 was truly made man t " 
 
 In his Epistle to the Philadelphians he says :' 
 
 " I have heard of some who say, unless Ifind it written in the originals, I will 
 not believe it to be written in the Gospel. And when I said, It is written, they 
 answered what lay before them in their corrupted copies." 
 
 Poly carp, in his Epistle to the Philippians, says :" 
 
 " Whosoever does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, he is 
 Antichrist : and whosoever does not confess his sufferings upon the cross, is from 
 the devil. And whosoever perverts the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts ; 
 and says that there shall neither be any resurrection, nor judgment, he ia the 
 first-born of Satan." 
 
 Ignatius says to the Magnesians :* 
 
 " Be not deceived with strange doctrines ; nor with old fables which are un- 
 profitable. For if we stiU continue to live according to the Jewish law, we do 
 confess ourselves not to have received grace. For even the most holy prophets 
 lived according to Jesus Clirist. . . . Wherefore if they who were brought up 
 in these ancient laws came nevertheless to the newness of hope ; no longer ob- 
 serving Sabbaths, but keeping the Lord's Day, in which also our life is sprung up 
 by him, and through his death, wTiom yel some deny. By which mystery we have 
 been brought to believe, and therefore wait that we may be found the disciples 
 
 of Jesus Christ, our only master These things, my beloved, I write 
 
 unto you, not that I know of any among you that be under this error ; but as one 
 of the least among you, I am desirous to forewarn you that ye fall not into the 
 snares of vain doctrine." 
 
 After reading this we can say with tl^e writer of Timothy,* 
 " Without controversy, great is the mtsteet of godliness." 
 
 Beside those who denied that Christ Jesus had ever been mani- 
 fest in the Jlesh, there were others who denied that he had been 
 crucified.' This is seen from the words of Justin Martyr, in his 
 Apology for the Christian Religion, written a. d. 141, where he 
 says : 
 
 " As to the ohjeclion to our Jesus's being crucified, I say, svlSering was com- 
 mon to all the Sons of Jove. "' 
 
 This is as much as to say : " You Pagans claim that your incar- 
 nate gods and Saviows sufiered and died, then why should not we 
 claim the same for our Saviour ? " 
 
 ' Chapter II. » Chapter HL 358.) They coald not conceive of " the first- 
 
 ,» Chapter IH. begotten Son of God " being put to death on 
 
 * I. Timothy, iii. 15. a cross, and suffering like an ordinary being, 
 
 » IreniEua, speating of them, eaye : " They so they thonght Simon of Cyrene mast have 
 
 hold that men ought not to confesa him who been substituted for him. as the ram wa* 
 
 was cructfed, but him who came in the form substituted in the placfi of Isaac (See Ibid. 
 
 of man, and was supposed to be crucijied, and p. 357.) 
 
 xi^ called Jesos." (Se« Lardnet : vol. viiL p. • ^pol. 1, cb. xsi.
 
 614 BIBLE MYTES. 
 
 The Koran, referring to the Jews, says : 
 
 " They have not believed in Jesus, and hove spoken against Mary a grievous 
 calumny, and have said : ' Verily we have slain Christ Jesus, the son of Mary ' 
 (the apostle of God). Yet they slew liim not, neither crucified him, but he was re]>- 
 resented by one in hit likeness. And verily they who disagreed concerning him w^^n- 
 in a doubt as in this matter, and had no sure knmoledge thereof, but followed only an 
 uncertain opinion."^ 
 
 This p.issage alone, from the Mohammedan Bible, is sufficient 
 to show, if other evidence were wanting, that the early Christians 
 " disagreed concerning him," and that " they had no sure knowledge 
 thereof, but followed only an uncertain opinion." 
 
 In the books which are now called Apocryphal, but which were 
 the most quoted, and of equal authority with tlu; others, and which 
 were voted not the word of God — for obvious reasons — and were 
 therefore cast out of the canon, we find many allusions to the strife 
 among the early Christians. For instance ; in the " First Epistle 
 of Clement to the Corinthians,'" we read as follows : 
 
 " Wherefore are there strifes, and anger, and divisions, and schisnas, and 
 •wars, among u? ? . . . Why do we rend and tear in pieces the members of 
 Christ, and raise seditions against our own body ? and are come to such a height 
 of madness, as to forget that we are members one of another." 
 
 In his Epistle to the Trallians, Ignatius says :* 
 
 " I exhort you, or rather not I, but the love of Jesus Christ, that ye use 
 none but Christian nourishment : abstaining from pasture which is of another 
 kind. I mean Heresy. For they that are heretics, confound together the doc- 
 trine of Jesus Christ with their own poison ; whilst they seem worthy of belief. 
 . . . Stop your ea's, therefore, as often as any one shall speak contrary to 
 Jesus Christ, who was of the race of David, of the Virgin Mary. Who was truly 
 born, and did eat and drink; was //"flii/ persecuted under Pontius Pilate; was 
 truly crucified and dead ; both those in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, 
 being spectators of it. . . . But if, as some who are atheists, that is to say, 
 infidels, pretend, that he only seemed to suffer, why then am I bound ? Why do I 
 desire to fight with beasts ? Therefore do I die in vain." 
 
 We find St. Paul, the very first Apostle of the Gentiles, ex- 
 pressly avowing that he was made a 7ninister of the gospel, which 
 had already teen preached to every creature tinder heaven* and 
 preaching a God manifest in the flesh, who had been believed ott 
 in the world," therefore, before the commencement of his ministry; 
 and who could not have been the man of Nazareth, who had cer- 
 tainly not been preached, at that time, nor generally believed on in 
 the world, till ages after that time.' We find also that : 
 
 > Koran, ch. iv. * Col. 1. 83. 
 
 ' Chapter XX. ' I- Timothy, liL 16. 
 
 a Clupter n. * ^''^ antheaticity of then Eplatlea luia
 
 CONCLUSION. 515 
 
 1. This Paul owns himself a deacon, the lowest ecclesiastical 
 grade of the Tlierapeutan church. 
 
 2. The Gospel of which these Epistles speak, had been ex- 
 tensively preached and fully established before the time of Jesus, 
 by the Therapeuts or Essenes, who believed in the doctrine of the 
 Angel-Messiah, the ^on from heaven.' 
 
 Leo the Great, so-called (a. d. 440-401), writes thus : 
 
 " Let those who with impious murmurings find fault with the Divine dispen- 
 sations, and who complain about the laleruss of our Lord's nativity, cease from 
 their grievances, as if what was carried out in later ages of the world, had not 
 been impending in time past. . . . 
 
 " What the Apostles preached, the prophets (in Israel) had announced before, 
 and what has always been {universally) believed, cannot be said to have been ful- 
 JUlcd too late. By this delay of his work of salvation, the wisdom and love of 
 God have only made us more fitted for his call ; so that, what Tiad been announced 
 before by many Signs and Words and Mysteries during so many centuries, should 
 not be doubtful or uncertain in the days of the gospel . . God has not pro- 
 vided for the interests of men by a new council or by a late compassion ; but he 
 had instituted from the beginning for all men, one and the same path of sal- 
 tation."^ 
 
 This is equivalent to saying that, " God, in his ' late compassion,^ 
 has sent his Son, Christ Jesus, to save us, therefore do not com- 
 plain or ' murmur ' about ' the lateness of his coming,' for the Lord 
 has already provided for those who p7'eceded us; he has given them 
 ^thc same path of salvation^ by sending to them, as he has sent to 
 us, a Redeemer and a Savioui'." 
 
 Justin Martyr, in his dialogue with Typho,' makes a similar 
 confession (as we have already seen in our last chapter), wherein he 
 says that there exists not a people, civilized or semi-civilized, who 
 have not offered up prayers in the name of a crucified Saviour to 
 the Father and Creator of all things. 
 
 Add to this medley the fact that St. Irenseus (a. d. 192), one of 
 the most celebrated, most respected, and most quoted of the early 
 Christian Fathers, tells us on the authority of his master, Polycarp, 
 who had it from St. John himself, and from all the old people of 
 Asia, that Jesus was not crucified at the time stated in the Gospels, 
 but that he lived to be nearlj fifty years old. The passage which, 
 most fortunately, has escaped the destroyers of all such evidence, is 
 to be found in Ireuaeus' second book against heresies,' of which the 
 following is a portion : 
 
 been freely qnestioned, even by the most con- ' Qnoted by Max MQller : The Science of 
 
 eervative critics. Kelig.. p. 228. 
 
 > See Bnnsen's Angel-Meseiab, and Chapter ' Ch. civii. 
 
 •VVV V" . UUs work. « Ch. ixii.
 
 516 BIBLE MYTH3. 
 
 " As tlie chief part of thirty years belongs to youth, and every one will eonfcES 
 him to be such till the fortieth year: but from the fortieth year to the fiftieth he 
 declines into old age, which our Lord (Jesus) having attained he tavf/ht us ili,e Gos- 
 pel, and all the ciders who, in Asia, assembled vyith John, the disciple of tlie Lord, 
 testify ; and as John himself had taught them. And he (John ?) remained with 
 them till the lime of Trajan. And some of them saw not only John but other 
 Apostles, and heard tfiesame thing from ifiem, and bear the same testimony to this 
 revelation." 
 
 The escape of this passage from the destrojei-s can be accounted 
 for only in the same way as the passage of Minucins Felix (quoted 
 in Chapter XX.) concerning the Pagans worshiping a crucifix. 
 These two passages escaped from among, probably, hundreds de- 
 stroyed, of which we know nothing, under the decrees of the em- 
 perors, yet remaining, by wliich they were ordered to be destroyed. 
 
 In John viii. 56, Jesus is made to say to the Jews : " Your 
 father Abraham rejoiced to see my day : and he saw it and was 
 glad." Then said the Jews 7anto him: "Thou art not yet Jifit/ 
 years old, and hast thou seen Abraham V 
 
 If Jesus was then but about tJiirty years of age, the Jews would 
 evidently have said : " tliou art not yet forty years old," and would 
 not have been likely to say : " thou art not yet Jtfty years old," 
 unless he was past forty. 
 
 There was a tradition current among tue early Christians, that 
 Annas was high-priest when Jesus was crucified. This is evident 
 from the Acts.^ Now, Annas, or Ananias, was not high-driest un- 
 til ahout the year 48 a. d. ;' therefore, if Jesns was crucified at that 
 time he nmst have been about fifty years of age ;' but, as we re- 
 marked elsewhere, there exists, outside of the New Testament, no 
 evidence whatever, in book, inscription, or monument, that Jesus 
 of Nazareth was either scourged or crucified under Pontius Pilate. 
 Josephus, Tacitus, Plinius, Philo, nor any of their contemporaries, 
 ever refer to the fact of this crucifixion, or express any belief 
 thereon.' In the Talmud — the book containing Jewish traditions 
 — Jesus is not referred to as the " crucified one," but as the " hanged 
 one,"' while elsewhere it is narrated he was stoned to death ; so that 
 it is evident they were ignorant of the manner of death which he 
 suffered." 
 
 » Oh. iv. 6. • According to Dio Caesins, Plntarcli, Strabo 
 2 Josephns ; Antiq., b. xs. cb. v. 2. and others, there existed, in the time of Herod, 
 ' It is true there was another Annas high- among the Roman Syrian heathens, a wide- 
 priest at Jernsalem, bat this was when Gratus epread and deep sympathy for a " Cnicijied 
 wasprocnrator of Judea, some twelve or fif- King of the Jews.'" This was the youngest 
 teen years before Pontius Pilate held the same son of Aristobul, 'the heroic Uaccabee. In the 
 office. (See Josephus : Antiq., book sviil. ch. year 43 b. c, we find this young man— .4«/i- 
 ii. 3.) gonus — in Palestine claiming the crown, his 
 * See Appendix D. cause having been declared just by Julius 
 » See the Martyrdom of Jesus, p. lOO. CKsar. Allied with the Parthians, ho main-
 
 CONCLUSION. 517 
 
 In Sanhedr. 43 a, Jesus is said to have bad five disciples, 
 among whom were Mattheaus and Tliaddeus. He is called " That 
 Man," " The ISTazarine," " The Fool," and " The Hung." Thus 
 Aben Ezra says that Constantine put on his laharwn " a figure of 
 the hung;" and, according to K. Becliai, the Christians were called 
 " Worshipers of the Hung." 
 
 Little is said about Jesus in tlie Talmud, except that he was a 
 scholar of Joshua Ben Perachiah (who lived a century before the 
 time assigned by the Christians for the birth of Jesus), accompanied 
 him into Egypt, there learned magic, and was a seducer of tlie 
 people, and was finally put to death by being stoned, and then hung 
 as a blasphemer. 
 
 " The conclusion is, that no clearly defined traces of the personal 
 Jesus remain on the surface, or beneath the surface, of Christendom. 
 The silence of Josephus and other secular historians may be ac- 
 counted for ^vithout falling back on a theory of hostility or con- 
 tempt.' The Christ-idea, cannot be spared from Christian develop- 
 ment, but the personal Jesus, in some measure, can be." 
 
 " The person of Jesus, though it maj' have been immense, is 
 indistinct. That a great character was there may be conceded ; but 
 precisely wherein the chai-acter was great, is left to our conjecture. 
 Of the eminent persons who have swayed the spiritual destinies of 
 mankind, none has more completely disappeared from the critical 
 view. The ideal image which Christians have, for nearly two 
 thousand years, worshiped under the name of Jesus, has no authen- 
 tic, distinctly visible, counterpart in history." 
 
 " His followers have gone on with the process of idealization, 
 placing him higher and higher ; making his personal existence more 
 and more essential ; insisting more and more urgently on the neces- 
 sity of private intercourse with him ; letting the Father subside 
 into the background, as an ' efiluence,' and the Holy Ghost lapse 
 from individual identity into impersonal influence, in order that he 
 
 tained himself in his royal position for six crimes : and that the sympathy with the " Cm- 
 years against Herod and Mark Antony. At cified King " was wide-spread and profound, 
 last, after a heroic life and reign, ho fell in (See The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth, p. 
 the hands of this Roman, " Antony now gam lOG.) 
 
 the lAngdoin to a cei'ta'm Herod, and, having Some writers think that there is a connection 
 
 stretched Antigonvs on a cross and scourged between this and the Gospel story ; that they, 
 
 him, a thing never done before to any other in a certain measure, put Jesus in the place of 
 
 Una by the Somans, he put him to death." Antigomis, just as they put Herod in the 
 
 (Dio Cassius, book xlis. p. 405.) place of Kansa. (See Chapter X\1II.> 
 
 The fact that all prominent historians of ' Canon Farrar thinks that Josephus 
 
 those days mention this extraordinary occur- silence on the subject of Jesua and Christian- 
 
 rence, and the manner they did it, show that ity, was as deliberate as it was dishonest, 
 
 't was considered one of Mark Antony's worst (See his Life of Christ, vol. i. p. 63.)
 
 618 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 might be all in all as Regenerator and Saviour. From age to age 
 the personal Jesns has been made the object of an extreme adora- 
 tion, till now faith in the living Christ is the heart of the Gospel ; 
 philosophy, science, culture, huinauity are thrust resolutely aside, 
 and the great teachers of the age are extinguished in order that his 
 light may shine." But, as Mr. Frothingham remarks, in '' The 
 Cradle of the Christ " : " In the order of experience, historical and 
 biographical truth is discovered by stripping off layer after layer 
 of exaggeration, and going back to the statements of contempora- 
 ries. As a rule, figures are reduced, not enlarged, by criticism. 
 The influence of admiration is recognized as distorting and falsify- 
 ing, while exalting. The process of legend-making begins imme- 
 diately, goes on rapidly and with accelerating speed, and must be 
 liberally allowed for by the seeker after truth. In scores of instances 
 the historical individual turns out to be very much smaller than he 
 was painted by his terrified or loving worshipers. In no single 
 case has it been established that he was greater, or as great. It is, 
 no doubt, conceivable that such a case should occur, but it never 
 has occurred, in known instances, and cannot be presumed to have 
 occurred in any particular instance. The presumptions are against 
 the correctness of the glorified image. The disposition to exagger- 
 ate is so much stronger than the disposition to underrate, that even 
 really great men are placed higher than they belong oftener than 
 lower. The historical method works backwards. Knowledge 
 shrinks the man.'" 
 
 1 Many examples might be cited to confirm sought solitude ; he spent hours and days in 
 
 this view, but the case of Joseph Smith, in our meditation and prayer, after the true manner 
 
 own lime and country, will suffice. of all accredited saints, and was soon repaid by 
 
 The Mormons regard him very much as the visits of angels. One of these came to 
 
 Christians regard Jesus ; as I he Mohammedans him when he wa-- but eighteen years old, and 
 
 do Mohammed ; or as the Buddhists do Buddha. the house in which he was seemed filled with 
 
 A coarse sort of religious feeling and fervor consuming fire. The presence — he styles it a 
 
 appears to have been in Smith's nature. He personage — had a pace like lightning, and pro 
 
 seems, from all accounts, to have been cracked claimed himself to be an angel of the Lord, 
 
 on theology, as so many zealots have been. He vouchsafed to Smith a vast deal of liighly 
 
 and cracked to such an extent that his early important information of a celestial order. Ufe 
 
 acquaintances regarded him as a downright told him that his (Smith's) prayers had been 
 
 fanatic. heard, and his sins forgiven ; that the cove- 
 
 The common view that he was an impostor naut which the Almighty had made with the old 
 
 is not sustained by what is known of him. Jews was to be fulfilled ; that the introductory 
 
 He was, in all probability, of unbalanced mind, work for the second coming of Christ was now 
 
 a monomaniac, as most prophets have been ; to begin ; that the hour for the preaching of 
 
 but there is no reason to think that he did not the gospel in Its purity to all peoples was at 
 
 believe in himself, and substantially in what hand, and that Smith was to bean instrument 
 
 he taught. He has declared that, when he was in the hands of God, to further the divine pur- 
 
 aI>out fifteen, he began to reflect on the ini- pose in the new disi)ensatlon. The celestial 
 
 portance of being prepared for a future state. stranger also fiiniished him with a sketch of 
 
 He went from one church to another without the origin, progress, laws and civilization of 
 
 finding anything to satisfy the hunger of his the American aboriginals, and declared that 
 
 60ul, consequently, he retired into himself ; he the blessing of heaven had finally been with-
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 519 
 
 As we are allowed to conjecture as to what is true in the Gospel 
 history, we shall now do so. 
 
 The death of Herod, which occurred a few years before the time 
 assigned for the birth of Jesus, was followed by frightful social and 
 political convulsions in Judea. For two or three years all the ele- 
 ments of disorder were abroad. Between pretenders to the vacant 
 throne of Herod, and aspirants to the Messianic throne of David^ 
 Judea was torn and devastated. Revolt assumed the wildest form, 
 the higher enthusiasm of faith yielded to the lower fury of fanati- 
 cism; the celestial visions of a kingdom of heaven were completely 
 banished by the smoke and flame of political hate. Claimant after 
 claima/nt of the dangerous supremacy of the Messiah appeared^ 
 pitched a camp in the wilderness^ raised the hanner^ gathered a 
 
 drawn from them. To Smith was communi- 
 cated tbe momentous circumetance that cer- 
 tain plates containing an abridgment of the 
 records of the aboriginals and ancient proph- 
 ets, who had lived on this continent, were hid- 
 den in a hill near Palmyra. The prophet 
 was counseled to go there and look at them, 
 and did so. Not being holy enough to 
 possess them as yet, he passed some months 
 in spiritual probation, after which the records 
 were put into his keeping. These had been 
 prepared, it is claimed, by a prophet called 
 Mormon, who had been ordained by God for 
 the pui-pose, and to conceal them until he 
 should produce them for the benefit of the 
 faithful, and unite them with the Bible for the 
 achievement of his will. They form the cele- 
 brated Book of Mormon — whence the name 
 Mormon— and are esteemed by the Latter-Day 
 Saints as of equal authority with the Old and 
 New Testaments, and as an indispensable 
 supplement thereto, because theyinclude God's 
 disclosures to the Mormon world. These pre- 
 cious records were sealed up and deposited a.d. 
 420 in the place where Smith had viewed them 
 by the direction of the angel. 
 
 The records were, it is held, in the reformed 
 Egyptian tongue, and Smith translated them 
 through the iuspiration of the angel, and one 
 Oliver Cowdrey wrote down the translation as 
 reported by the God-possessed Joseph. This 
 translation was published in 1830, and its divine 
 origin was attested by a dozen persons— all 
 relatives and friends of Smith. Only these 
 have ever pretended to seethe original plates, 
 which have already become traditional. The 
 plates have been frequently called for by skep- 
 tics, but all in vain. Naturally, warm contro- 
 versy arose concerning the authenticity of the 
 Book of Mormon, and disbelievers have asserted 
 that they have indubitable evidence that it is, 
 \vith the exception of various unlettered inter- 
 polations, principally borrowed from a queer, 
 
 rhapsodical romance written by an eccentric 
 ex-clergyman named Solomon Spalding. 
 
 Smith and his disciples were ridiculed and 
 socially persecuted ; but they seemed to be 
 ardently earnest, and continued to preach their 
 creed, which was to the effect that the millen- 
 nium was at hand ; that our aboriginals were 
 to be converted, and that the New Jerusalem— 
 the last residence and home of the saints- was 
 to be near the centre of this continent. The 
 Vermont prophet, later on, was repeatedly 
 mobbed, even shot at. His narrow escapes 
 were couBtmed as interpositions of divine prov- 
 idence, but he displayed perfect coolness and 
 intrepidity through all his trials. The Church 
 of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints was 
 first eetablished in the spring of IS30 at Man- 
 chester. N. Y,; but it awoke such fierce oppo- 
 sition, particularly from the orthodox, many 
 of them preachers, that Smith and his associ- 
 ates deemed it prudent to move farther west. 
 They established themselves at Kirtland, O., 
 and won tliere many converts. Hostility to 
 them still continued, and grew so fierce that 
 the body transferred itself to Missouri, and 
 next to Illinois, settling in the latter state 
 near the village of Commerce, which was re- 
 named Nauvoo. 
 
 The Governor and Legislature of Illinois 
 favored the Mormons, but the anti-Mormons 
 made war on them in every way, and the cus- 
 tom of " sealing wives," which is yet mysteri- 
 ous to the Gentiles, caused serious outbreaks, 
 and resulted in the incarceration of the prophet 
 and his brother Hiram at Carthage. Fearinj; 
 that the two might be released by the aHtbori- 
 ties, a band of rafilans broke into the jail, in 
 the summer of 1844, and murdered them in cold 
 blood. This was most fortunate for the mem- 
 ory of Smith and for his doctrines. It placed 
 him in the light of a holy martyr, and lent to 
 them a dignity and vitality they bad never be- 
 fore enjoyed.
 
 520 
 
 BIBLE JIYTHS. 
 
 force, was attacked, defeated, banished or crucified ; but thefremy 
 did not abate. 
 
 The populai- aspect of the Messianic hope was political, not re- 
 ligious or moral. The name Messiah was synonymous with King 
 of the Jews; it suggested political desigtis and aspirations. The 
 assumption of that character by any individual drew on him the 
 vigilance of the police. 
 
 That Jesus of Nazareth assumed the character of "Messiah," as 
 did many before and after him, and that his cmcifixion' was simply 
 an act of the law on political grounds, just as it was in the case of 
 other so-called Messiahs, we believe to be the truth of the matter.' 
 
 " He is represented as being a native of Galilee, the insitrgent dis- 
 trict of the country; nurtured, if not born, in Nazareth, one of its 
 chief cities ; reared as a youth amid traditions of patriotic devotion, 
 and amid scenes associated with heroic dreams and endeavors. The 
 Galileans were restless, excitable people, beyond the reach of con- 
 ventionalities, remote from the centre of power, ecclesiastical and 
 secular, simple in their lives, bold of speech, independent in thought, 
 
 ' When we speak of Jesus being crucified, 
 we do not "intend to convey the idea tiiat he 
 wae put toueath on a cross of \\ieform adopted 
 by Christians. This cross was the symhol of 
 life ami immortaliiy among our heathen an- 
 cestors (see Chapter XXXUI.), and in adopting 
 Pagan religious symiok, and baptizing them 
 anew, the Christians took this along with 
 others. The crucifixion was not a symbol of the 
 earliest church ; no trace of it can be found in 
 the Catacombs. Some of the earliest that did 
 appear, however, are similar to figures No. 4^ 
 sad No. 43, above, which represent two of the 
 
 modes in which the Romans crucified their 
 slaves aud criminals. (See Chapter XS., on 
 the Crucifixion of Jesus.) 
 
 ^ According to the Matthew and Mark nar- 
 rators, Jesus' head was anointed while sitting 
 at table in the house of Simon the leper. Now, 
 this practice was common among the kings of 
 Israel. It was the sign and symbol of royalty. 
 The word " Messiah '' signifies the " Anointed 
 One," and none of the kings of Israel were 
 styled the Messiah unless anointed. (See The 
 Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth, p. 42.^
 
 CONCLUSION. 621 
 
 thoroughgoing in the sort of radicalism that is common among peo- 
 ple who live ' out of the world,' who have leisure to discuss the 
 exciting topics of the day, but too little knowledge, culture, or sense 
 of social responsibility to discuss them soundly. Their mental dis- 
 content and moral intractability were proverbial. They were bel- 
 ligerents. The Romans had more trouble with them than with the 
 natives of any other province. The Messiahs all started out from 
 Galilee, and never failed to collect followers round their standard. 
 The Galileans, more than others, lived in the anticipation of the 
 Deliverer. The reference of the Messiah to Galilee is therefore 
 already an indication of the character he is to assume." 
 
 To show the state the country must have been in at that time, 
 we will quote an incident or two from Josephus. 
 
 A religious enthusiast called the Samaritans together upon 
 Mount Gerizim, and assured them that he would work a miracle. 
 " So they came thither armed, and thought the discourse of the man 
 probable ; and as they abode at a certain village, which was called 
 Tirathaba, they got the rest together of them, and desu-ed to go up 
 the mountain in a gi-eat multitude together : but Pilate prevented 
 their going up, by seizing upon the roads by a great band of horse- 
 men and footmen, who fell upon those who were gotten together 
 in the village ; and when it came to an action, some of them they 
 slew, and others of them they put to flight, and took a great many 
 alive, the principal of whom, and also the most potent of those that 
 fled away, Pilate ordered to be slain.'" 
 
 Not long before this Pilate pillaged the temple treasury, and 
 used the " sacred money " to bring a current of water to Jerusalem. 
 The Jews were displeased with this, " and many ten thousands of 
 the people got together and made a clamor against him. Some of 
 them used reproaches, and abused the man, as crowds of such peo- 
 ple usually do. So he habited a great number of his soldiers in 
 their habits, who carried daggers under their garments, and sent 
 them to a place where they might surround them. So he bade the 
 Jews himself go away ; but they boldly casting reproaches upon 
 him, he gave the soldiers that signal which had been beforehand 
 agreed on ; who laid upon them with much greater blows than Pi- 
 late had commanded them, and equally punished those that were 
 tumultuous, and those that were not ; nor did they spare them in 
 the least : and since the people were unarmed, and were caught by 
 men prepared for what they were about, there were a great number 
 
 > Josephoa : Anbqaitiee, book xrili. cb. It. 1.
 
 622 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 of them slain by tins means, and others ran away wounded. 
 And thus an end was put to this sedition.'" 
 
 It was such deeds as these, inflicted upon the Jews by their op- 
 pressors, that made them think of the promised Messiah who was 
 to deliver them from bondage, and which made many zealous fana- 
 tics imagine themselves to be " He who should come.'" 
 
 There is reason to believe, as we have said, that Jesus of Naza- 
 reth assumed the title of '"Messiah.''^ Ilis age was throbbing and 
 bursting with suppressed energy. The pressure of the Homan 
 Empire was required to keep it down. " The Messianic hope had 
 such vitality that it condensed into moments the moral result of 
 ages. The common people were watching to see the heavens open, 
 interpreted peals of thunder as angel voices, and saw divine potente 
 in the flight of birds. Mothers dreamed their boys would be Mes- 
 siah. The wildest preacher drew a crowd. The heart of the nation 
 swelled big witli the conviction that the hour of destiny was about 
 to strike, tiiat the kingdom of heaven was at hand. T!ie crown 
 was ready for any Jcingly head that might assume it."' 
 
 The actions of this man, throughout his public career, we believe 
 to be those of a zealot whose zeal overrode considerations of wis- 
 dom ; in fact, a Galilean fanatic. Pilate condemns him reluctantly, 
 feeling that he is a harmless visionary, but is obliged to condemn 
 him as one of the many who persistently claimed to be the " Mes- 
 siah," or " £i7ig of the Jews," an enemy of Caesar, an instrument 
 against the empii-e, a pretender to the throue, a bold inciter to 
 I'ebellion. The death he undergoes is the death of the traitor and 
 mutineer,* the death that was inflicted on many such claimants, the 
 death that would have been decreed to Judas the Galilean,' had lie 
 been captured, and that was inflicted on thousands of his deluded 
 followers. It was the Romans, then, who crucified the mem Jesus, 
 and not the Jews. 
 
 I Josephus : Ajitiquitieg, book xviii. chap. of the teaching of the Rabbis, was the certain 
 
 iii. 2. advent of a great national Deliverer — the Mes- 
 
 3 *' From the death of Herod, 4 B. 0., to the siah. . . . The national mind had become 
 
 death of Bar-Cochba, 133 a.d., no lees than bo inflammable, by constant brooding on this 
 
 ^Yy differententhusiastssetup as the Messiah, one theme, that any bold spirit rmnginrevolt 
 
 and obtained more or less following." (John against the lioman poiver. c&uld Jind an army 
 
 W. Chadwick.) ofjierce disciples who trusted that it should be 
 
 a " There was, at this tiTTie, & prevalent ex- h£ who woidd redeem Israel.^^ (Geiisie : The 
 
 pectation that some remarkable personage was Lite of Christ, vol. i. p. 79.) 
 about to appear in Judea. The Jews were * " The penalty of crucifixion, according to 
 
 anxiously looking for the coming of the Mes- Roman law and custom, was inflicted on slaves, 
 
 BiAU. This personage, they supposed, would and in the provinces on rebels only.^'' (The 
 
 be a temporal prince, and they were ex- Martyrdom of Jesus, p. 96.) 
 pecting that he would deliver them from Ro- ' Judas, the Gau/onite or Galilean, as 
 
 man bondage." (Albert Barnes : Notes, vol. i. Josephus calls him, declared, when Cyrcnius 
 
 p 7 .) came to tax the Jewish people, that " this tax- 
 
 "The central and dominant characteristic ation was do better than an introduction to
 
 CONCLUSION. 623' 
 
 " In the Eoman law the State is the main object, for which the 
 individual must live and die, with or against his will. In Jewish 
 law, the person is made the main object, for which the State must 
 live and die ; because the fundamental idea of the Roman law is 
 power, and the fundamental idea of Jewish law is justice.'" There- 
 fore Caiajphas and his conspirators did not act from the Jewish 
 standpoint. They represented Rome, her principles, interest, and 
 barbarous caprices." Not one point in the whole trial agrees with 
 Jewish laws and custom.' It is impossible to save it ; it must be 
 given up as a transparent and unskilled invention of a Gentile 
 Christian, who knew nothing of Jewish law and custom, and was 
 ignorant of the state of civilization in Palestine, in the time of 
 Jesus. 
 
 Jesus had been proclaimed the " Messiah,^'' the " Ruler of the 
 Jews,^^ and the restorer of the kingdom of heaven. No Eoman ear 
 could understand these pretensions, otherwise than in their rebel- 
 lious sense. That Pontius Pilate certainly understood under the 
 title, " Mesdah," the king (the political chief of the nation), is evi- 
 dent from the subscription of the cross, " Jesus of Nazareth, King 
 of the Jews," which he did not remove in spite of all protestations 
 of the Jews. There is only one point in which the four Gospels 
 agree, and that is, that early in the morning Jesus was delivered 
 over to the Roman governor, Pilate ; that he was accused of high- 
 treason against Rome — having been proclaimed King of the Jews 
 -^and that in consequence thereof he was condemned first to be 
 
 slavery,'' and exhorted the nation to assert look or forgive ; but they are not likely to have 
 
 their liberty. He therefore prevailed upon his expected Pilate to care for any conduct which 
 
 coantrymeo to revolt. (See Josephus : Antiq., might be called an ecclesiastical broil. The 
 
 b. xviii. ch. i. 1, and Wars of the Jews, b. ii. ch. assumption of royalty vitLS clearly the point of 
 
 viii. 1.) their attack. Even the mildest man among 
 
 1 Tlie Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth, p. them may have thought his conduct dangerous 
 30. and needing repression." (Francis W. New- 
 
 2 " That the High Council did accuse Jesns, man, " What is Christianity without Christ f") 
 I suppose no one will doubt ; and since they According to the Synoptic Go^eL^, Jesus 
 could neither wish or expect the Itoman Gov- was completely innocent of the charge which 
 emorto make himself judge of their sacred law, has sometimes been brought against him, that 
 it becomes certiiin that their accusation was he wished to be considered as a God come down 
 purely political, and too^aach a. totm as this : to earth. Uis enemies certainly would not have 
 ' He has accepted tumultuous shouts that he is failed to make such a pretension the basis and 
 the legitimate and predicted King of Israel, tue continual theme of their accusations, if it 
 and in this character has ridden into Jerusalem had been possible to do so. T/te two grounds 
 with the forms of state understood to be royal -upon which he was brought before the Sanhe- 
 and sac; ed ; with what purpose, we ask, if not drim were, first, the bold words he jcas sup- 
 to overturn our institutions, and your domin- posed to have s/}o/cen about the temple ; and, 
 ion V If Jesus spoke, at the crisis which Mat- secondly and chiefly, the fact that he claimed to 
 thew represents, the virulent speech attributed be the Messiah, i.e., " The King of the Jews." 
 to him (Matt, xxiii.), we may well believe that (Albert Heville : " The Doctrine of the Dogma 
 this gave a new incentive to the rulers ; for it of the Deity of Jesus," p. 7.) 
 
 Is such le no government in Europe would over- 'See The Marty rdom of Jesus, p. 30.
 
 624 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 scourged, aud tlien to be crucified ; all of which was done in hot 
 haste. In all other points tJie 7iarrati'ses of the Evangelists differ 
 widely, and so essentially that one story cannot be made of the four 
 accounts ; nor can any particular points stand the test of historical 
 criticism, and vindicate its substantiality as a fact. 
 
 The Jews could not have crucified Jesus, according to their laios, 
 if they had inflicted on him the highest penalty of the law, since 
 crucifixion was exclusively Roman.' If the priests, elders, Phari- 
 sees, Jews, or all of them wanted Jesus out of the way so badly, 
 why did they not have him quietly put to death while he was in their 
 power, and done at once. The writer of the fourtli Gospel seems 
 to have understood this difficulty, and informs us that they could 
 not kill him, hecause he had irrophesied what death he should die / 
 so he could die no other. It was dire necessity, that the heathen 
 symbol of life and immortality — the cross ' — should be brought to 
 honor among the early Christians, and Jesus had to die on the 
 cross (the Roman Gibbet), according to John' simply because it was 
 i,o prophesied. The fact is, the crucifixion story, like the symbol of 
 the crucifix itself, came from abroad.'' It was told with the avowed 
 intention of exonerating the Romans, and criminating the Jews, so 
 they make the Roman governor take water, " and wash his hands 
 before the multitude, saying, / am innocent of the blood of this 
 just person : see ye to it." To be sure of their case, they make the 
 Jews say : •' His hlood he on vs, and on our children^" 
 
 " Another fact is this. Just at the period of time when mis- 
 fortune and ruination befell the Jews most severely, in the first 
 post-apostolic generation, the Christians were most active in making 
 proselytes among Gentiles. To have then preached that a crucified 
 Jewish Rahbi of Galilee was their Saviour, would have sounded 
 supremely ridiculous to those heathens. To have added thereto, 
 that the said Rabbi was crucified by command of a Roman Governor, 
 because he had been proclaimed ' King of the Jews,' would have 
 been fatal to the whole scheme. In the opinion of the vulgar 
 heathen, where the Roman Governor and Jewish Rabbi came in 
 conflict, the former must unquestionably be right, and the latter 
 decidedly wrong. To have preached a Saviour who was justly 
 condemned to die the death of a slave and villain, would certainly 
 have proved fatal to the whole enterprise. Therefore it was neces- 
 
 1 See note 4, p. 52S. ' That is, ilio crucifixion story as rdaud 
 
 ' See Matt. xx. 19. '" "'^ Gospels. See note I. p. 520. 
 
 • John xviii. 31, 32. ' Matthew xxvii. 24, 25.
 
 CONCLUSION. 525 
 
 sary to exonerate Pilate and the Romans, and to throw the whole 
 burden upon the Jews, in order to establish the innocence and mar- 
 tyrdom of Jesus in the heathen mind." 
 
 That the crucifixion story, as related in the synoptic Gospels, 
 was written abroad, and not in the Hebrew, or in the dialect spoken 
 by the Hebrews of Palestine, is evident from the following par- 
 ticular points, noticed by Dr. Isaac M. Wise, a learned Hebrew 
 scholar : 
 
 The Mark and Matthew narrators call the place of crucifixion 
 " Golgotha" to which the Mark narrator adds, " which is, being in- 
 terpreted, the 2)lace of skulls." The Matthew narrator adds the 
 same interpretation, which the John narrator copies without the 
 word " Golgotha" and adds, ii was a place near Jerusalem. The 
 Luke narrator calls the place of crucifixion " Calvary" which is the 
 Latin Calvaria, viz., " the place of hare skulls." Therefore the 
 name does not refer to the form of the hill, hut to the hare skulls 
 upon it.'' Now " there is no such word as Golgotha anywhere in 
 Jewish litei^ature, and there is no such place mentioned anywhere 
 near Jerusalem or in Palestine hy any writer; and, in fact, there 
 was no such place ; there could have been none near Jerusalem. 
 The Jews buried their dead carefully. Also the executed convict 
 had to be buried before night. No bare skulls, bleaching in the sun, 
 could be found in Palestine, especially not near Jerusalem. It was 
 law, that a hare skull, the hare spinal column, and also the imper- 
 fect skeleton of any human being, make man xmcleanhy contact, and 
 also hy having either in the house. Man, thus made unclean, could 
 not eat of any sacrificial meal, or of the sacred tithe, before he had 
 gone through the ceremonies of purification ; and whatever he 
 touched was also unclean (Maimonides, Hil. Tumath Meth., iii. 1). 
 Any impartial reader can see that the object of this law was to pre- 
 vent the barbarous practice of heathens of having human skulls and 
 skeletons lie about exposed to the decomposing influences of the 
 atmosphere, as the Romans did in Palestine after the fall of Bethar, 
 when for a long time they would give no permission to bury the 
 dead patriots. This law was certainly enforced most rigidly in the 
 vicinity of Jerusalem, of which they maintained " Jerusalem is 
 more holy than all other cities surrounded with walls," so that it 
 was not permitted to keep a dead body over night in the city, or to 
 
 » Commentators, in endeavoring to get over ekull-like, and therefore a mound or hillock," 
 this difflcalty, Bay that, ** it may come from the but, if it means ** the place of bare skitUs,^' no 
 look or form of the spot itself, bald, round, and snch construction as the above can be put to 
 
 the word.
 
 626 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 transport through it human bones. Jerusalem was the place of the sac- 
 rificial meals and the consumption of the sacred tithe, which was con- 
 sidered very holy (Maimonides, Hil. Beth Habchirah, vii. 14) ; there, 
 and in tlie surroundings, sknlls and skeletons were certainly never 
 seen on the surface of the earth, and consequently there was no place 
 called " Golgotha" and there was no such word in the Hebrew dia- 
 lect. It is a word coined by the Mark narrator to translate the 
 Latin term " Calvaria" which, together with the crucifixion story, 
 came from Rome. But after the Syrian word was made, nobody 
 understood it, and the Mark narrator was obliged to expound it.'" 
 
 In the face of the argumemts produced, the crucifixion story, as 
 related in the Gospels, caimot be upheld as an historical fact. There 
 exists, certainly, no rational ground whatever for the belief that the 
 affair took place in the manner the Evangelists describe it. All that 
 can be saved of the whole story is, that after Jesus had answered 
 the first question before Pilate, viz., "Art thou the King of the 
 Jews ?" which it is natural to suppose he was asked, and also this 
 can be supposed onl}', he was given over to the Roman soldiers to 
 be disposed of as soon as possible, before his admirers and followers 
 could come to his rescue, or any demonstration in his favor be made. 
 He was captured in the night, as quietly as possible, and guarded 
 in some place, probably in the high-priest's court, completely se- 
 cluded from the eyes of the populace ; and early in the morning he 
 was brought before Pilate as cautiously and quietly as it could be 
 done, and at his command, disposed of by the soldiers as quickly 
 a« practicable, and in a manner not known to the mass of the peo- 
 ple. All this was done, most likely, while the multitude worshiped 
 on Mount Moriah, and nobody had an intimation of the tragical end 
 of the Man of Nazareth. 
 
 The bitter cry of Jesus, as he hung on the tree, " My God, my 
 God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" disclosed the hope of deliver- 
 ance that till the last moment sustained his heart, and betrayed the 
 anguish felt when the hope was blighted ; the sneers and hooting 
 of the Roman soldiers expressed their conviction that he had pre- 
 tended to be what he was not. 
 
 The miracles ascribed to him, and the moral precepts put into 
 liis moutli, in after years, are what might be expected ; history was 
 simply repeating itself ; the same thing had been done for others. 
 " The preacher of the Mount, the prophet of the Beatitudes, does 
 
 » The Martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth, pp. 109-111.
 
 :30NCLUsioN. 627 
 
 but repeat, with persuasive lips, what the law-givers of his race pro- 
 claimed in mighty tones of command.'" 
 
 The martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth has been gratefully 
 acknowledged by his disciples, whose lives he saved by the sacriiice 
 of his own, and by their friends, who would have fallen by the score 
 had he not prevented the rebellion ripe at Jerusalem." Posterity, 
 infatuated with Pagan apotheoses, made of that simple martyrdom 
 an interesting legend, colored with the myths of resurrection and 
 ascension to that very heaven which the telescope has put out of 
 man's way. It is a novel myth, made to suit the gross conceptions of 
 ex-heathens. Modern theology, understanding well enough that the 
 myth cannot be saved, seeks refuge in the greatness and self-denial 
 of the man who died for an idea, as though Jesus had been the only 
 man who had died for an idea. Thousands, tens of thousands of 
 Jews, Christians, Mohammedans and Heathens, have died for ideas, 
 and some of them were very foolish. But Jesus did not die for an 
 idea. He never advanced anything new, that we know of, to die 
 for. He was not accused of saying or teaching anything original. 
 Nobody has ever been able to discover anything new and original 
 in the Gospels. He evidently died to save the lives of his friends, 
 and this is much more meritorious than if he had died for a ques- 
 tionable idea. But then the whole fabric of vicarious atonement 
 is demolished, and modern theology cannot get over the absurdity 
 that the Almighty Lord of the Universe, the infinite and eternal 
 cause of all causes, had to kill some innocent person in order to be 
 reconciled to the human race. However abstractly they speculate 
 and subtilize, there is always an undigested bone of man-god, god- 
 man, and vicarious atonement in the theological stomach. There- 
 fore theology appears so ridiculous in the eyes of modern philoso- 
 phy. The theological speculation cannot go far enough to hold 
 pace with modern astronomy. However nicely the idea may be 
 dressed, the great God of the immense universe looks too small 
 upon the cross of Calvary ; and the human family is too large, has 
 too numerous virtues and vices, to be perfectly represented by, and 
 dependent on, one Rabbi of Galilee. Speculate as they may, one 
 way or another, they must connect the Eternal and the fate of the 
 human family with the person and fate of Jesus. That is the very 
 thing which deprives Jesus of his crown of martyrdom, and brings 
 
 ' O. B. Frothingham: The Cradle of the its," Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Christ, p. 11. 2 If Jesns, instead of giving himself np 
 
 The reader is referred to " Judaism : Its quietly, had resuUd against being arrested. 
 
 Doctrines and Precepts," by Dr. Isaac M. Wise. there certainly would have been bloodshed, aB 
 
 Printed at the office of the " American Israel- there was on many other similar occasions.
 
 528 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 religion in perpetual conflict with philosophy. It was not the re- 
 ligious idea which was crucified in Jesus and resurrected with him, 
 as with all its martyrs ; although his belief in immortality may 
 have strengthened him in the agony of death. It waii the idea of 
 duty to his disciples and friends which led him to the realms of 
 death. This deserves admiration, but no more. It demonstrates 
 the nobility of human nature, but proves nothing in regard to prov- 
 idence, or the pro^■idential scheme of government. 
 
 The Christian story, as the Gospels narrate it, cannot stand the 
 test of criticism. You approach it critically and it falls. Dogmatic 
 Christology built upon it, has, therefore, a very frail foundation. 
 Most so-called lives of Christ, or biographies of Jesus, are works of 
 fiction, erected by imagination on the shifting foundation of mea- 
 gre and unreliable records. There are very few passages in the 
 Gospels which can stand the rigid application of honest criticism. 
 In modern science and philosophy, orthodox Christology is out of 
 the question. 
 
 " This ' sacred tradition ' has in itself a glorious vitality, which 
 Christians may unblameably entitle immortal. But it certainly will 
 not lose in beauty, grandeur, or truth, if all the details concerning 
 Jesus which are current in tlie Gospels, and all the mythology of 
 his person, be forgotten or discredited. Christianity will remain 
 without Christ. 
 
 " This formula has in it nothing paradoxical. Rightly inter- 
 preted, it simply means : All thai is best in Judceo-Christia7i senti- 
 ment, moral or spiritual, will survive, without Hahbinical fan- 
 cies, cultured hy perverse logic j without huge piles of fable built 
 upon them : witlwut tits Oriental Satan, a fm'midable rival to 
 the throne of God ; without the Pagan invention of Hell and 
 Devils:' 
 
 In modern criticism, the Gospel sources become so utterly worth- 
 less and unreliable, that it takes more than ordinary faith to believe 
 a large portion thereof to be true. The Eucharist was not estab- 
 lished by Jesus, and cannot be called a sacrament. The trials of 
 Jesus are positively not true : they are pure inventions.' The cru- 
 cifixion story, as narrated, is certainly not true, and it is extremely 
 diificult to save the bare fact that Jesus was crucified. What can 
 the critic do with books in which a few facts must be ingeniously 
 guessed from under the mountain of ghost stories,' childish mira- 
 
 ■ It what is recorded in the Gospels on the coald fail to have noticed it, bat instead of this 
 mbject waa true, no historian of that day there is riothir^g, 
 2 See Matthew, xirii. 51-33.
 
 CONCLUSION. 629 
 
 -cles,' and dogmatic tendencies ?^ It is absurd to expect of him to 
 regard them as sources of religious instruction, in preference to any 
 other mythologies and legends. That is the point at which modern 
 critics have arrived, therefore, the Gospels have become books for 
 the museum and archaeologist, for students of mythology and an- 
 cient literature. 
 
 The spirit of dogmatic Christology hovers still over a portion of 
 civilized society, in antic organizations, disciplines, and hereditary 
 forms of faith and worship ; in science and philosophy, in the realm 
 of criticism, its day is past. The universal, religious, and ethical 
 element of Christianity has no connection whatever with Jesus or 
 his apostles, with the Gospel, or the Gospel story ; it exists inde- 
 pendent of any person or story. Therefore it needs neither the 
 Gospel story nor its heroes. If we proiit by the example, by the 
 teachings, or the discoveries of men of past ages, to these men we 
 are indebted, and are in duty bound to acknowledge our indebted- 
 ness ; but why should we give to one individual, Jesus of Nazareth, 
 the credit of it all f It is true, that by selecting from the Gospels 
 whatever portions one may choose, a common practice among Chris- 
 tian writers, a noble and grand character may be depicted, but who 
 was the original of this character ? We may find the same indi- 
 vidual outside of the Gospels, and before the time of Jesus. The 
 moral precepts of the Gospels, also, were in existence before the 
 Gospels themselves were in existence.' Why, then, extol the hero 
 of the Gospels, and forget all others ? 
 
 ' See Matt. xiv. 15-22 : Mark, iv. 1-3, and^. Do wj mean to suggest that Christianity has, 
 
 14; and Luke, Tii. 2C-57 .'or '-he first time, revealed to the world the 
 
 ' See Mark, ivi. 16. existence of a set of self-sacrificing pre- 
 
 ' This fact has at last oeen admitted by the cepts— that here, for the first time, man has 
 
 most orthodox among the Christians. The Rev. learned that he ought to be meek, merciful, 
 
 George Matheson, D.D., Minister of the Parish humble, forgiving, sorrowful for siu, peace- 
 
 of Innellan, anda member of the Scotch Kirk, able, and pure in heart? The proof of such 
 
 speaking of the precept uttered by Confucius, a statement woold destroy Christianity itself, 
 
 five hundred years before the time assigned for for an absolute wiginal code of precepts would 
 
 the birth of Jesus of Nazareth ("Whatsoever ye be equivalent to a foreign language. Tha 
 
 would not that others should do unto you, do glory of Christian moraZity is that it is not 
 
 Tiot ye unto them ''JT^ays ; "That Confucius is okiginal— that its words appeal to something 
 
 the author of this precept is undisputed, and which already exists within the human hearty 
 
 therefore it is indisputable that Christianity has and on that account have a meaning to the 
 
 incorporated an article of Chinese morality. It human ear : no new revelation can be made 
 
 has appeared to some as if this were to the except through the medium of an old one. 
 
 disparagement of Christianity— as if the orig- When we attribute originality to the ethics 
 
 inality of its Divine Founder were impaired by of the Gospel, we do so on the ground, not 
 
 consenting to borrow a precept from a heathen that it has given new precepts, but that it has 
 
 source. But in u-hat sense dose Christianity given us a new impulse to obey the moral in- 
 
 set up the claim of moral originality f When stincts of the soul. Christianity itself claims 
 
 we speak of the religion of Christ as having on the field of morals this originality, and 
 
 introduced into the world a purer life and a this alone — ' A new commandment give I unto 
 
 •nrer guide to conduct, what do we mean f you, that you love one another.' " (St. Gilea 
 
 34
 
 530 BIBLE MYTHS. 
 
 As it was at the end of Roman Paganism, so is it now : the 
 masses are deceived and fooled, or do it for themselves, and persons 
 of vivacious fantasies prefer the masquerade of delusion, to the 
 simple sublimity of naked but majestic truth. The decline of the 
 church as a political power proves beyond a doubt the decline of 
 Christian faith. The conflicts of Church and State all over the 
 Euroj^ean continent, and the hostility between intelligence and dog- 
 matic Christianity, demonstrates the death of Ckristology in the 
 consciousness of modern culture. It is useless to shut our eyes to 
 these facts. Like rabbinical Judaism, dogmatic Christianity was 
 the product of ages without typography, telescopes, microscopes, 
 telegraphs, and power of steam. " These right arms of intelligence 
 have fought the titanic battles, conquered and demolished the an- 
 cient castles, and remove now the debris, preparing the ground upon 
 which there shall be the gorgeous temple of humanity, one univer- 
 sal republic, one universal religion of intelligence, and one great 
 universal brotherhood. This is the new covenant, the gospel of 
 humanity and reason." 
 
 " Hoaryheaded selfishness has felt 
 
 Its death-blow, and is tottering to the grave : 
 A brighter morn awaits the human day ; 
 War with its million horrors, and fierce hell, 
 Shall live but in the memory of time, 
 "Who, like a penitent libertine, shall start. 
 Look back, and shudder at his younger years." 
 
 Lectures, Second Series : The Faiths of tlie Innellan. Wm. Blackwood & SODB : Edin- 
 World. Religion of China, by the Rev. George bnrgh, 1882.) 
 UatbesoD. D. D., Minister of the Parish of
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 AsiON'Q the ancient Mexicans, Peruvians, and some of the Indian 
 tribes of North and South America, were found fragments of the 
 Eden Myth. The Mexicans said that the primeval mother was made 
 out of a man's hone, and that she was the mother of twins.^ 
 
 The Cherokees supposed that heavenly beings came down and 
 made the world, after which they made a man and woman of clay." 
 The intention of the creators was that men should live always. But 
 the Suu, when he passed over, told them that there was not land 
 enough, and that people had better die. At length, the daughter of 
 the Sun was bitten by a Snake, and died. The Sun, however — 
 whom they worshiped as a god — consented that human beings might 
 live always. He intrusted to their care a box, charging them that 
 they should not open it. However, impelled by curiosity, they 
 opened it, contrary to the injunction of the Sun, and the spirit it 
 contained escaped, and then the fate of all men was decided, that they 
 must die.' 
 
 The inhabitants of the New World had a legend of a Dehtge, 
 which destroyed the human race, excepting a few who were saved in 
 a boat, which landed on a mountain.* They also related that birds 
 were sent out of the ark, for the purpose of ascertaining if the flood 
 was abating.' 
 
 The ancient Mexicans had the legend of the confusion of tongues, 
 and related the whole stoiy as to how the gods destroyed the tower 
 which mankind was building so as to reach unto heaven.' 
 
 The Mexicans, and several of the Indian tribes of North America, 
 believe in the doctrine of Metempsychosis, or the transmigration of 
 souls from one body into another.' This, as we have already seen,' 
 was universally believed in the Old World. 
 
 The legend of the man being swallowed by a fish, and, after a 
 
 • BariBg-Goold's Legends of the Patriarchs, 203. Higglns : Anncalypsb, vol. IL p. 27. 
 p. 46. « Ibid. 
 
 2 Sqoire's Serpent Symbol, p. 67. ' Brinton : Myths of the New World, p, 3M. 
 
 ' Ibid. Here we see the parallel to the ' See Chapter V. 
 
 Grcciar. fable of Epimctheus and Pandora. ® See Ibid, and Cbambers^s EnCfclo., ait 
 
 * Brinton : Myths of the New World, p. " Tranemigration," 
 
 533
 
 534 APPENDIX. 
 
 three days' sojourn in his belly, coming out safe and sound, was 
 found among the Mexicans and Peruvians.' 
 
 The ancient Mexicans, and some Indian tribes, practiced Circum- 
 cision, which was common among all Eastern nations of the Old 
 World." 
 
 They also had a legend to the effect that one of their holy per- 
 sons commanded the sun to stand stilU This, as we have already 
 seen,' was a familiar legend among the inhabitants of the Old 
 World. 
 
 The ancient Mexicans were Jire-worshipei's ; so were the ancient 
 Peruvians. They kept a fire continually burning on an altar, just as 
 the fire-worshij)ers of the Old World were in the habit of doing.' 
 They were also Sim-worshipers, and had "temples of the Sun.'"" 
 
 The Tortoise-myth was found in the New World.' Now, in the 
 Old World, the Tortoise-myth belongs especially to India, and the 
 idea is developed thei-e in a variety of forms. The tortoise that 
 holds the world is called in Sanscrit Kura-mraja, " King of the 
 Tortoises," and many Hindoos believe to this day that the world 
 rests on its back. "The striking analogy between the Tortoise- 
 myth of North America and India," says Mr. Tjler, " is by no 
 means a matter of new observation ; it was indeed remarked ujion 
 by Father Lafitau nearly a century and a half ago. Three great 
 features of the Asiatic stories are found among the North American 
 Indians, in the fullest and clearest development. The earth is sup- 
 ported on the back of a huge floating tortoise, the tortoise sinks 
 under the water and causes a deluge, and the tortoise is conceived 
 as being itself the earth, floating upon the face of the deep."" 
 
 We have also found among them the belief in an Incarnate 
 God born of a virgin ;' the One God worshii^ed in the form of a 
 Trinity ;'° the crucified Black god _;" the descent into hell ;'" the 
 resurrection and ascension into heaven," all of which is to be found 
 in the oldest Asiatic religions. We also found monastic habits — 
 friars and nuns." 
 
 1 See Chapter XI. the summit stood a samptaons temple, in which 
 
 2 See Chapter X. was the image of the mystic deity {Quetzal- 
 ' See Chapter XI. coatle), with ebon features, anlilje the fair com- 
 
 * Ibid. plexion which he bore upon earth." And 
 ' See Early Hist. Mankind, p. 252; Squire's Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie says (in Cities of the 
 
 Serpent SjTnbol; and Prescott: Con. Peru. Ancient World, p. 180): "From the woolly 
 
 • See Ibid., and the Andes and the Ama- testnre of ttje hair, I am inclined to assign to 
 zon, p. 454. the Buddha of India, the Fuhi of China, the 
 
 ' See Early Hist. Mankind, p. 342. Sommonacom of the Siamese, the Xaha of the 
 
 6 Ibid. Japanese, and the Quetzalcoatle of the Mesi- 
 
 ' See Chapter XII. cans, the same, and indeed an African, oi 
 
 "> See Chapter XXV. rather Nubian, origin." 
 11 See Chapter XX. '» See Chapter XXII. 
 
 Mr. Prescott, speaking of the Pyramid of " gee Chapter XXm. 
 
 Cholula, in his Mexican History, says : '' On '* See Chapter XXVI.
 
 APPENDIX. 535 
 
 The Mexicaus denominated their high-places, sacred houses, 
 or " Houses of God." The corresponding sacred structures of the 
 Hindoos are called " God's House."^ 
 
 Many nations of t\xeEast entertained the notion that there were 
 ni7ie heavens, and so did the ancient Mexicans.' 
 
 There are few things connected with the ancient mythology of 
 America more certain than that there existed in that country before 
 its discovery by Columbus, extreme veneration for the Serpent.' 
 Now, the Serpent was venerated and worshiped throughout the 
 East/ 
 
 The ancient Mexicaus and Peruvians, and many of the Indian 
 tribes, believed the Sun and Moon not only to be brother and sister, 
 but man and wife ; so, likewise, among many nations of the Old 
 World was this belief prevalent.' The belief in were-wolves, or man- 
 wolves, man-tigers, man-hyenas, and the like, which was almost 
 universal among the nations of Eitrope, Asia and Africa, was also 
 found to be the case among South American tribes." The idea of 
 calling the earth " mother," was common among the inhabitants of 
 both the Old and New Worlds.' "In the mythology of Finns, 
 Lapps, and Esths, Earth-Mother is a divinely honored personage. 
 It appears in Cliina, where Heaven and Earth are called in the 
 Shukiiiff — one of their sacred books — "Father and Mother of all 
 things." ■ 
 
 Among the native races of America the Earth-Mother is one of 
 the great personages of mythology. The Peruvians worshijjed her as 
 Mama-Phacha, or Earth-Mother. The Caribs, when there was an 
 earthquake, .said it was their mother-earth dancing, and signi- 
 fying to them to dance and make merry likewise, which they accord- 
 ingly did.^ 
 
 It is well-known that the natives of Africa, when there is an 
 eclipse of the sun or moon, believe that it is being devoured by some 
 great monster, and that they, in order to frighten and drive it 
 away, beat drums and make noises in other ways. So, too, the 
 rude Moguls make a clamor of rough music to drive the at- 
 tacking Arachs (Rilhu) from Sun or Moon.' 
 
 The Chinese, when there is an eclipse of the Sun or Moon, 
 proceed to encounter the ominous monster with gongs and bells." 
 
 The ancient Romans flung firebrands into the air, and blew 
 trumpets, and clanged brazen pots and pans." Even as late as the 
 
 * Squire : Serpent Symbol, p. 77. « Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 280, and 
 2 Ibid. p. 109. Squire's Serpent Symbol. 
 
 ' See Ferguson's Tree and Serpent Worslup, 'Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 291, and 
 
 and Squire's Serpent Symbol. Squire's Serpent Symbol. 
 
 * See Ibid. s Tylor ; Primitive Culture, vol. i. pp. 295, 
 
 * See Tyior, Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. '^(5. 
 
 261, and Squire's Serpent Symbol. • Ibid. p. 300. » Ibid. n Ibid. p. 301.
 
 536 APPENDIX. 
 
 seventeentli century, the Irish or Welsh, during eclipses, ran about 
 beating kettles and pans.' Among the native races of America was 
 to be found the same superstition. The Indians would raise a 
 frightful howl, and shoot arrows into the sky to drive the monsters 
 off." The Caribs, thinking that the demon Maboya, hater of all 
 light, was seeking to devour the Sun and Moon, would dance and 
 howl in concert all night long to scare him away. The Peruvians, 
 imagining such an evil spirit in the shape of a monstrous beast, 
 raised the like frightful din when the Moon was eclipsed, shouting, 
 sounding musical instruments, and beating the dogs to join their 
 howl to the hideous chorus.^ 
 
 The starry band that lies like a road across the sky, known as 
 the milky way, is called by the Basutos (a South African tribe of 
 savages), "The "Way of the Gods ;" the Ojis (another African tribe 
 of savages), say it is the "Way of Spirits," which souls go up to 
 heaven by. North American tribes know it as " the Path of the 
 Master of Life," the "Path of Spirits," "the Eoad of Souls," where 
 they travel to the land beyond the grave.' 
 
 It is almost a general belief among the inhabitants of Africa, 
 and was so among the inhabitants of Europe and Asia, that 
 ' monkeys were once men and women, and that they can even now 
 really speak, but judiciously hold their tongues, lest they should be 
 made to work. This idea was found as a serious matter of belief, 
 in Central and South America." "The Bridge of the Dead," 
 which is one of the marked myths of the Old World, was found in 
 the New." 
 
 It is well known that the natives of South America told the 
 Spaniards that inland there was to be found a fountain, the waters 
 of which turned old men back into youths, and how Juan Ponce de 
 Leon fitted out two caravels, and went to seek for this "Fountain 
 of Youth." Now, the "Fountain of Youth" is known to the 
 mythology of India.' 
 
 The myth of foot-prints stamped into the rocks by gods or 
 mighty men, is to be found among the inhabitants of Europe, Asia, 
 and Africa. Egyptians, Greeks, Brahmans, Buddhists, Moslems, 
 and Christians, have adopted it as relics each from their own 
 point of view, and Mexican eyes could discern in the solid rock at 
 Tlauepantla the mark of hand and foot left by the mighty Quet- 
 zalcoatle.' 
 
 1 lylor ; PrimitWe Caltare, vol. i. p. 301. • Early Hist. Mankind, pp. 357 and 3G1. 
 
 » Ibid. p. 296. ' Ibid. p. 361. 
 
 s Hid. The legend of the "Elixir of Life" of the 
 
 4 Ibid. p. 234. Western World, was well-known in China. 
 
 ' Ibid. p. 239 and 343. (Bnckley : Cities of the Ancient World, p. 1B7.) 
 
 8 Ibid. p. 118, and Squire's Serpent Symbol.
 
 APPENDIX. 637 
 
 The Incas, in order to preserve purity of race, married their 
 own sisters, as did the Kings of Persia, and other Oriental nations.' 
 
 The Peruvian embalming of the royal dead takes us back to 
 Egypt J the burning of the wives of the deceased Incas rereals 
 India ; the singularly patriarchical character of the whole Peruvian 
 policy is like that of China in the olden time ; while the system of 
 espionage, of tranquillity, of physical well-being, and the iron-like 
 immovability in which their whole social frame was cast, bi-ing be- 
 fore us Japan — as it was a very few years ago. In fact, there is 
 something strangely Japanese in the entire cultus of Peru as de- 
 scribed by all writers.' 
 
 The dress and costume of the Mexicans, and their sandals, 
 resemble the apparel and sandals worn in early ages in the East.' 
 
 Mexican priests were represented with a Serpent twined around 
 their heads, so were Oriental kings.* The Mexicans had the head 
 of a rhinoceros among their paintings,' and also the head of an 
 elephant on the body of a man.' Now, these animals were un- 
 known in America, but well known in Asia ; and what is more 
 striking still is the fact that the man with the elephant's head is 
 none other than the Ganesa of India ; the God of Wisdom. Hum- 
 boldt, who copied a Mexican painting of a man with an elephant's 
 head, remarks that "it presents some remarkable and apparently 
 7ioi accidental resemblances with the Hindoo Ganesa." 
 
 The horse and the ass, although natives of America,' became 
 extinct on the Western Continent in an early period of the earth's 
 history, yet the Mexicans had, among their hieroglyphics, repre- 
 sentations of both these animals, which show that it must have 
 been seen in the old world by the author of the hieroglyph. When 
 the Mexicans saw the horses which the Spaniards brought over, 
 they were greatly astonished, and when they saw the Spaniards on 
 horseback, they imagined man and horse to be OJie. 
 
 Certain of the temples of India abound with sculptural rej)re- 
 sentations of the symbols of Phallic Worship. Turning now to the 
 temples of Central America, which in many respects exhibit a 
 strict correspondence with those in India, tvefind precisely the same 
 symbols, separate and in comMnation.' 
 
 We have seen that many of the religious conceptions of America 
 are identical with those of the Old World, and that they are em- 
 
 * Fnsang, p. 56. todon, and other aDiraale, near Punin. in South 
 ' Ibid. p. 55. America, all of which had passed away Ijefore 
 3 Mexican Antiquities, vol. vi. p. 181. the arrival of the human species. Thi.'* native 
 
 * Ibid., and Squire's Serpent Symbol. American horse wag succeeded, in after ages, 
 
 * Mesican Antiq., vol. ^i. p. 180. by the countless herds descended from a few 
 
 * Early Hist. Mankind, p. 311. introduced with the Spanish colonists. (See 
 ' The traveler, James Orton, found fossil the Andes and the Amazou, pp. 151, 155.) 
 
 Vines of an extinct species of the horse, the mas ' Serpent Symbol, p. 47.
 
 638 APPENDIX. 
 
 bodied or symbolized under the same or cognate forms ; and it is 
 confidently asserted that a comparison and analysis of her primitive 
 systems, in connection with those of other parts of the globe, 
 philosophically conducted, would establish the grand fact, that in 
 ALL their leading elements, and in many of their details, they are 
 essentially the same.' 
 
 The urchitecfure of many of the most ancient buildings in South 
 America resembles the Asiatic. Around Lake Titicaca are massive 
 monuments, wliich speak of a very ancient and civilized nation." 
 
 K. Sj)ence Hardy, says : 
 
 " The ancient edifices of Chi Chen, in Central America, bear a striking re- 
 semblance to the topes of India. The shape of one of the domes, its apparent 
 size, the small tower on the summit, the trees growing on the sides, the appear- 
 ance of masoniy here and there, the style of the ornaments, and the small door- 
 way at the base, are so exactly similar to what I had seen at Anuradhapura, 
 iliai when my eye first fell upon the cngraeings of these remarkable ruins, 1 supposed 
 thai they were presented in illustration of the ddgobas of Ceylon."^ 
 
 E. G. Squire, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " The Bud'hist temples of Southern India, and of the islands of the Indian 
 Archipelago, as described to us b)' the learned members of the Asiatic Society, 
 and the numerous writers on the religion and antiquities of the Hindoos, corre- 
 spond, with great exactness, in all their essential and in many of their minor 
 features, with those of Central America."* 
 
 Structures of a pyramidal style, which are common in India, 
 were also discovered in Mexico. The pyramid tower of Cholula 
 was cue of these.' 
 
 Sir E. Kir Porter writes as follows : 
 
 " What striking analogies exist between the monuments of the old continents 
 and those of the Toltecs, who, arriving on Mexican soil, built several of these 
 colossal structures, truncated pyramids, divided by laj'ers, like the temple of 
 Belus at Babylon. Wlienee did they take the model of these edifices? Were they of 
 the Mongolian race? Did they descend from a common stock with the Chinese, the 
 Hiong-nu, and the Japanese ?^ 
 
 The similarity m features of the Asiatic and the American race 
 is very striking. Alexander de Humboldt, speaking of this, says : 
 
 " There are striking contrasts between the Mongol and American races."' 
 " Over a million and a halt of square leagues, from the Terra del Fuego islands 
 to the River St. Lawrence and Behring's Straits, we are struck at the first 
 glance with the general resemblance in the features of the inhabitants. We 
 think we perceive that they all descended from the same stock, notwithstanding the 
 enormous diversity of language which separates them from one another."' 
 
 > SerpCDt Symbol, p. 193. » See Ibid. 
 
 ^ The Andes and the Amazon, p. 454. • Travels in Persia, vol. ii. p. 280. 
 
 ' Eastern ilonachism, p. ffi22. ' New Spain, vol. i. p. 136. 
 
 * Serpent Symbol, p. 43. ' Ibid. p. 141.
 
 APPENDIX. 639 
 
 " This analogy is particularly evident in the color of the skin and hair, in the de- 
 fective beard, high cheek-bones, and in the direction of the eyes."' 
 
 Dr. Morton says : 
 
 " In reflecting on the aboriginal races of America, we are at once met by the 
 striking fact, that their physical characters are -wholly independent of all climatic 
 or known physical influences. Notwithstanding their immense geographical dis- 
 tribution, embracing everj- variety of climate, it is acknowledged bj' all travel- 
 lers, that there is among this people a prevailing type, around which all the 
 tribes — north, south, cast and west— cluster, though varying within prescribed 
 limits. With trifling exceptions, all our American Indians bear to each other 
 some degree of family resemblance, quite as strong, for example, as that seen at 
 the present daj' among full-blooded Jews."' 
 
 James Orton, the traveler, was also struck with the likeness of 
 the American Indians to the Chinese, including the flatted nose. 
 Speaking of tlie Zaparos of the Xapo River, lie says : 
 
 " The Zaparos in physiognomy somewhat resemble the Chinese, having a 
 middle stature, round face, small eyes set angularly, and a broad, flat nose."' 
 
 Oscar Paschel says : 
 
 "The obliquely-set eyes and prominent cheek-bones of the inhabitants of 
 Veragua were noticed by Monitz TVagner, and according to his description, out 
 of four Bayano Indians from Darien, three had thoroughly Mongolian features, 
 including the flatted nose." 
 
 In 1866, an officer of the Sharpshooter, the first English man- 
 of-war which entered the Parana Eiver in Brazil, remarks in almost 
 the same words of the Indians of that district, that their features 
 vividly reminded him of the Chinese. Burton describes the Bra- 
 zilian natives at the falls of Cachauhy as having thick, round Kal- 
 muck heads, flat Mongol faces, wide, very prominent cheek bones, 
 oblique and sometimes narrow-slit Chinese eyes, and slight mus- 
 taches. 
 
 Another traveler, J. J. Von Tschudi, declares in so many 
 words that he has seen Chinese whom at the first glance he mistook 
 for Botocudos, and that since then he has been convinced that the 
 American race ought not to be separated from the Mongolian. His 
 predecessor, St. Hilaire, noticed narrow, obliquely-set eyes and 
 broad noses among the Malali of Brazil. Reinhold Hensel says of 
 the Coroados, that their features are of Mongoloid type, due espe- 
 cially to the prominence of the cheek-bones, but that the oblique 
 position of the eyes is not perceptible. Yet the oblique opening of 
 the eye, which forms a good though not an essential characteristic 
 of the Mongolian nations, is said to be characteristic of all the Gua- 
 rani tribes in Brazil. Even in the extreme south, among the 
 
 • New Spain, vol. i. p. 15.3. ' Types of Mankind, p. 275. 
 
 ' Tile Andes and the Amazon, p. 170.
 
 540 APPENDIX. 
 
 Hiullitclies of Patagonia, King saw a great many with obliquely set 
 eyes. Those writers who separate the Americans as a peculiar race 
 fail to give distinctive characters, common to them all, which dis- 
 tinguish them from the Asiatic Mongols. All the tribes have stiff, 
 long hair, cylindrical in section. The beard and hair of the body 
 is always scanty or totally absent. The color of the skin varies con- 
 siderably, as might be expected in a district of 110° of latitude ; it 
 ranges from a light South European darkness of complexion among 
 the Botocudos, of the deepest dye among the Aymara, or to copper 
 red in the Sonor tribes. But no one has tried to draw limits 
 between races on account of these shades of color, especially as they 
 are of every conceivable gradation. ' 
 Charles G. Lelaud says : 
 
 The Tunguse, Mongolians, and a great part of the Turkish race formed origi- 
 nally, according to all external organic tokens, as well as the elements of their 
 language, but one people, closely allied with the Esquimaux, the Skraling, or 
 dwarf of the Norseman, and the races of the New World. This is the irrefutable 
 result to which all the more recent inquiries in anatomy and physiology, as well 
 as comparative philology and histor}', have conduced. All the aboriginal Ameri- 
 cans have those disunclive tokens which forcibly recall their neighbors dwelling 
 on the other side of Behring's Straits. They have the four-cornered head, high 
 cheek-bones, heavy jaws, large angular eye-cavities, and a retreating forehead. 
 The skulls of the oldest Peruvian graves exhibit the same tokens as the heads of 
 the nomadic tribes of Oregon and California."* It is very certain that thousands 
 of American Indians, especially those of small stature or of dwarfish tribes, bear 
 a most extraordinary likeness to Mongols."^ 
 
 John D. Baldwin, in his "Ancient America," says : 
 
 " I find myself more and more inclined to believe that the wild Indians of the 
 North came originally i rom Asia, where the race to which they belong seems 
 still represented by the Koraks and Cookchces, found in that part of Asia which 
 extends to Behring's Straits. "■• 
 
 Hon. Charles D. Poston, late commissioner of the United States 
 of America in Asia, in a work entitled, " The Parsees," speaking of 
 an incident which took jdace "beyond the Great Wall," says : 
 
 "A Mongolian came riding up on a little black pony, followed by a servant 
 on a camel, rocking like a windmill. He stopped a moment to exchange panto- 
 mimic salutations. He was full of electricity, and alive with motion; the blood 
 was warm m his veins, and the fire was bright in his eye. I could have sworn 
 that he was an Apache ; every action, motion and look reminded me of my old 
 enemies and neighbors in Arizona. They are the true descendants of the nomadic 
 Tartars of Asia and preserve every instinct of the race. He shook hands friend- 
 lily but timidly, keeping all the time in motion like an Apache."* 
 
 ' Paschel : Races of Man, pp. 40S-404. * Quoted in Ibid. 
 
 2 Fnsaug, p. 7. * Quoted in Ibid. p. 94. 
 
 "Ibid. 118.
 
 APPENDIX. 541 
 
 That the continents of Asia and America were at one time joined 
 together by an isthmus, at the place where the channel of Beliring'a 
 straits is now found, is a well known fact. That the severance 
 of Asia from America was, geologically speaking, very recent, is 
 shown by the fact that not only the straits, but the sea which 
 bears the name of Behring, is extraordinarily shallow, so much so, 
 indeed, that whalers lie at anchor in the middle of it.' This is evi- 
 dently the manner in which America was peopled.' 
 
 During the Cliamplain period in the earth's history the climate 
 of the northern portion of the American continent, instead of being 
 frigid, and the country covered with sheets of ice, was more like the 
 climate of the Middle States of the present day. Tropical animals 
 went Nortli, and during the Terrace period — which followed the 
 Champlaiu — the climate changed to frigid, and many of these 
 tropical animals were frozen in the ice, and some of their remains 
 were discovered centuries after. 
 
 It was probably during the time when the climate in those 
 northern regions was warm, that the aborigines crossed over, and 
 even if they did not do so at that time, we must not be startled at 
 the idea that Asiatic tribes crossed over from Asia to America, when 
 the country was covered with ice. There have been nations who 
 lived in a state of nudity among ice-fields, and, even at the present 
 day, a naked nation of fishermen still exist in Terra del Fuego, 
 where the glaciers stretch down to the sea, and even into it.' 
 
 Chas. Darwin, during his voyage round the world in H. M. S. 
 Beagle, was particularly sti-uck with the hardiness of the Fuegians, 
 who go in a state of nudity, or almost entirely so. He says : 
 
 "Among these centra] tribes the men generally have an otter-skin, or some 
 small scrap, about as large as a pocket-handkerchief, to cover their nakedness, 
 which is barely sufficient to cover their backs as low down as their loins. "■■ 
 
 One day while going on shore near Wollaston Island, Mr. Darwin's 
 party pulled alongside a canoe which contained six Fuegians, who 
 were, he says, "quite naked, and even one full-grown woman was ab- 
 solutely so. It was raining heavily, aud the fresh water, together with 
 the spray, trickled down her body. In another harbor not far dis- 
 tant, a woman, who was suckling a recently-born child, came one 
 
 1 Paschel : Races of Man. pp. 400, 401. Ceylon, which was never attached to India, 
 
 ^ To those who may tluok that the Old perhaps even the island of Celet>e9 in the far 
 
 World might have been peopled from the new. East, which possesses a perplexing fauna, with 
 
 we refer to Oscar Paschel's ''Races of Man." eemi-.\fri<5an fealaree." On this continent, 
 
 p. 33. The author, in speaidna on this subject, which was situated in the now Indian Ocean, 
 
 says : " There at one time existed a great con- must we look for the cradle of hunxanity. 
 tinent. to which belonged Madagascar and ^ Paschel : Races of Man, p. 31. 
 
 perhaps portions of Eastern Africa, the Mai- * Darwin's Journal, p. 213. 
 
 dives and Laccadives, and also the Island of
 
 642 APPENDIX. 
 
 day alongside the vessel, and remained there out of mere curiosity, 
 whilst the sleet fell and thawed on her naked bosom, and on the 
 skin of her naked baby !'" 
 
 This was during the winter season. 
 
 A few pages farther on Mr. Darwin says that on the night of the 
 22d December, a small family of Fnegians — who were living in a 
 cove near the quarters — " soon joined our party round a blazing 
 fire. "We were well clothed, and though sitting close to the fire were 
 far from too warm ; yet these naked savages, though further off, 
 were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming with perspira- 
 tion at undergoing such a scorching. They seemed, however, very 
 well pleased, and all joined in the chorus of the seamen's songs ; 
 but the manner in which they were invariably a little behind was 
 quite ludicrous."" 
 
 The Asiatics who first crossed over to the American continent 
 were evidently in a very barbarous stage, although they may have 
 known how to produce fire, and use bows and arrows.' The tribe 
 who inhabited Mexico at the time it was discovered by the Span- 
 iards was not the first to settle there ; they had driven out a peo- 
 ple, and had taken the country from them.' 
 
 That Mexico was visited by Orientals, who brought and planted 
 their religion there, in a comparatively recent period, is very proba- 
 ble. Mr. Chas. G. Leland, who has made this subject a special 
 study, says : 
 
 "While the proofs of the existence or residence of Orientals in America are 
 extremely vague and uncertain, and while they are supported only by coinci- 
 dences, the antecedent probability of their having come hither, or having been 
 able to come, is stronger than the Norse discovery of the New World, or even 
 than that of Columbus himself would appear to be. Let the reader take a map 
 of the Northern Pacific; let him ascertain for himself the fact that from Kamt- 
 schatka, which wag well known to the old Chinese, to Alaska the journey is far 
 less arduous than from China proper, and it will be seen that there was in all 
 probability intercourse of some kind between the continents. In early times 
 the Chinese were bold and skillful navigators, to whom the chain of the Aleutian 
 Islands would have been simply like stepping-stones over a shallow brook to a 
 child. For it is a well ascertained fact, that a sailor in an open boat might cross 
 from Asia to America by the Aleutian Islands in summer-time, and hardly ever 
 
 1 Danvin's Journal, p. 213. ively followed each other from the north to 
 
 2 Ibid. pp. a'20. 221. the south always murdered, hunted down, and 
 
 3 This is seen from the fact that they subdued the previous inhabitants, and formed 
 did not know the use of iron. Had they in course of lime a new social and political 
 known the nse of this metal, they would life upon the ruins of the old system, to be 
 surely have gone to work and dug into their again destroyed and renewed in a few cen- 
 mountains, which are abundantly filled with taries. by a new invasion of barbarians, 
 ore, and made use of it. The later native conquerors in the New World 
 
 * The Aztecs were preceded by the Tol- can, of course, no more be considered in the 
 
 tecs, Chichimccks, and the Nahualtecs. (Hum- light of original inhabitants than the presenl 
 
 boldt's New Spain, p. 133, vol. i.) races of men in the Old World." 
 
 "The races of barbarians which success-
 
 APPENDIX. 543 
 
 be out of sight of land, and this in a part of the sea generally abounding in 
 Bsh, as is proved by the fishermen who inhabit many of these islands, on which 
 fresh water is always to be found."' 
 
 Colonel Barclay Kennon, formerly of the U. S. North Pacific 
 surveying expedition, says : 
 
 "From the result of the most accurate scientific observation, it is evident 
 that the voyage from China to America can be made without being out of sight 
 of land more than a few hours at any one time. To a landsman, unfamiliar 
 with long voyages, the mere idea of being 'alone on the wide, wide sea,' with 
 nothing but water visible, even for an hour, conveys a strange sense of desola- 
 tion, of daring, and of adventure. But in truth it is regarded as a mere trifle, 
 not only by regular seafaring men, but even bj' the rudest races in all parts of the 
 world ; and I have no doubt that from the remotest ages, and on all shores, fish- 
 ermen m open boats, canoes, or even coracles, guided simply by the stars and 
 currents, have not hesi/ated to go far out of sight of land. At the present day, 
 natives of many of the South Pacific Islands undertake, without a compass, and 
 successfully, long voyages which astonish even a regular Jack-tar, who is not 
 often astonished at anything. If this can be done by savag6.s. it hardly seems 
 possible that the Asiatic-American voyage was not successfully performed by 
 people of advanced scientific culture, who had, it is generally believed, the com- 
 pass, and who from an early age were proficient in astronomy."* 
 
 Prof. Max Muller, it would seem, entertains similar ideas to our 
 own, expressed as follows : 
 
 " In their (the American Indians') languages, as well as in their religions, 
 traces may possibly still be found, before it is too late, of pre-hMorio migratitma 
 of men from the primitive Asiatic to tlie American, Contitient, eitlwr across the 
 stepping-stones of tlie Aleutic bridge in t/ie North, or lower South, by drifting with 
 favorable winds from island to island, till the hardy canoe was landed or wrecked 
 on the American coast, never to return again to the Asiatic home from which it had 
 started."^ 
 
 It is very evident then, that the religion and mythology of the 
 Old and I>iew Worlds, have, in part, at least, a common origin. 
 Lord Kingsborough informs us that the Spanish historians of the 
 16th century were not disposed to admit that America had ever been 
 colonized from the West, '" chiefly on account of the state iu which 
 religion was fountl in the new continent.'" 
 
 And Mr. Tylor says : 
 
 " Among the mass of Central American traditions . . . there occur certain 
 pass.agos in the story of an early emigration of the Quiche race, which have 
 much the appearance of vague and broken stories derived in some way from 
 high Northern latitudes."' 
 
 Mr. McCulloh, in his "Researches," observes that : 
 
 ' Fasang, p. 56. * Mexican Antiq., vol. vi. p. 181. 
 
 > Quoted in Fusang, p. 71. • Early Hiet. Mankind, p. 307. 
 
 • Science of Religion, p. 181.
 
 644 APPENDIX. 
 
 " In analyzing many parts of their (the ancient Americans') institutions, especi- 
 ally those belonging to their cosmogonal history, their religious superstitions, and 
 astronomical computations, we have, in these abstract matters, found abundant 
 proof to assert that there has been formerly a connection between the people of 
 the two continents. Their communications, however, have taken place at a 
 very remote period of time; for those matters in which they more decidedly 
 coincide, are undoubtedly those which belong to the earliest history of mankind." 
 
 It is unquestionably from India that we have derived, partly 
 through the Persians and other nations, most of our metaphysical 
 and tlieological docti'ines, as well as our nursery tales. Who then 
 can deny that these same doctrines and legends have been handed 
 down by oral tradition to the chief of the Indian tribes, and in this 
 way have been preserved, although perhaps in an obscure and imper- 
 fect manner, in some instances at least, until the present day ? The 
 facts which we have before us, with many others like them which 
 are to be had, point with the greatest likelihood to a common 
 fatherland, the cradle of all nations, from which they came, taking 
 these traditions with them. 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Commencing at the farthest East we shall find the ancient re- 
 ligion of China the same as that which was universal in all quarters 
 of the globe, viz., an adoration of the Sun, Moon, Stars and ele- 
 ments.' That the Chinese religion was in one respect the same as 
 that of India, is seen from the fact that they named succes- 
 sive days for the same seven planets that tlie Hindoos did.' The 
 ancient books of the Chinese show tliat astronomy was not only 
 understood by them at a very early period, but that it formed an 
 important branch of state policy, and the basis of public ceremonies. 
 Eclipses are accurately recorded which occurred twguty centuries be- 
 fore Jesus ; and the Confucian books refer continually to observa- 
 tions of the heavenly bodies and the rectification of the calendar. 
 The ancient Chinese astronomers seem to have known precisely 
 the excess of the solar year beyond 365 days. The religion of China, 
 
 ' " All Paganism is at bottom a worship of pereoDiflcations that the real objects worshiped 
 
 nature in some form or other, and in all Pagan became unknown. At first the real Snn, 
 
 religions the deepest and most awe-inspiring Moon, Stars, &c., would be worshiped, but as 
 
 attribute of nature was lis power of repro- soon as man personified them, other terms 
 
 duction." (Encyclo. Brit., art. " Christianity.") would be introduced, and peculiar rites ap- 
 
 2 In Montfaucon's L'Antiquite Expliqu6e propriated to each, so that in time they came 
 
 (vol. i.), may be seen a representation of the to be considered as so many different dei- 
 
 «even planets jHrsonified. It was by each tiee.
 
 APPENDIX. 646 
 
 "under the emperors who preceded the first dynasty, is an enigma. 
 The notices in the only authentic works, the King, are on this 
 point scanty, vague, and obscure. It is difficult to separate what is 
 spoken with reference to the science of astronomy from that which 
 may relate to religion, properly so called. The terms of reverence 
 -and respect, with which the heaveiilg bodies are spoken of in the Shoo- 
 King, seem to warrant the inference that those terms have more 
 than a mere astronomical meaning, and that the ancient religion of 
 China partook of star-ivorship, one of the oldest heresies in the 
 world. ' 
 
 In India the Sun, Moon, Stars and the powers of Nature were 
 worshiped and personified, and each quality, mental and physical, 
 had its emblem, which the Brahmans taught the ignorant to regard 
 .as realities, till the Pantheon became crowded. 
 
 " Our Aryan ancestors learned to look up to the sky, the Sun, 
 and the dawn, and there to see the presence of a living 2'ower, half- 
 revealed, and half-hidden from their senses, those senses which were 
 always postulating something beyond what they could grasp. They 
 went further still. In the bright sky they perceived an Illuminator, 
 in the all-encircling firmament au Embracer, in the roar of the 
 thunder or in the voice of the storm they felt the jjresence of a 
 Shouter and of furious Strikers, and out of the rain they created an 
 Indra, or giver of rain.'" 
 
 Prof. Monier Williams, speaking of " the hymns of the Veda," 
 says : 
 
 " To what deities, it will be asked, were the prayers and hymns of these col- 
 lectious addressed ? The answer is: They worshiped those j>]i.yi<kal forceshetove 
 which all nationx. if guided solely by the light of nature, have in the early period 
 of their life, instinctively bowed down, and before which even the most civilized 
 and enlightened have always been compelled to bend in awe and reverence, if 
 not in adoration."^ 
 
 The following sublime description of Night is an extract from 
 the Vedas, made by Sir William Jones : 
 
 " Night approaclies, illumined with stars and planet;*, and, looking on all sides 
 with numberless eyes, overpowers all meaner lights. The immortal goddess 
 pervades the firmament, covering the low valleys and shrubs, the lofty moun- 
 tains and trees, but soon she disturbs the gloom with celestial ell'ulgence. Ad- 
 vancing with brighlness. at length she recalls her sister Morning; and the 
 nightly shade gradually melts away. May she at this time be propiiiousi She, 
 in whose early watch we may calmly recline in our mausi<ins, as birds repose 
 upon the trees. Mankind now sleep in their towns; now herds and flocks peace- 
 fully slumber, and Ihe winged creatures, swift falcons, aud vultures. O Nightl 
 
 ' Thornton : Hist. China, vol. i. pp. 14, 49 " Max lliiller : The Science of Religion, 
 
 -and 50. p. 298. 
 
 B Indian Wisdom, p. 10.
 
 646 APPENDIX. 
 
 avert from us the she-wolf and the wolf; and, oh! suffer us to pass thee in 
 Boothing rest! Oh, morn! remove in due time this black, yet visible over- 
 whelming darkness, which at present enfolds me, as thou enablest me to remove 
 the cloud of their dolls. Davghter of Heaven, I approach thee with praise, as 
 the cow approaches her milker; accept, O Night ! not the hymn only, but the 
 oblation of thy suppliant, who prays that his foes may be subdued." 
 
 Some of the principal gods of the Hindoo Pantheon are, Dyaiis 
 (the Sky), Indra (the Rain-giver), Stirya (tlie Sun), the Marnts 
 (Winds), Aditi, (the Dawn), Parvati (the Earth,)' and Siva, her 
 consort. The -worship of the Sun is expressed in a variety of ways, 
 and by a multitude of fancift\l names. One of the principal of 
 these is Crishna. The following is a prayer addressed to him : 
 
 " Be auspicious to my lay, O Chrishna, thou only God of the seven heavens, 
 who swaycst the universe through the immensity of space and matter. O uni- 
 versal and resplendent Sun I Thou mighty governor of the heavens ; thou 
 sovereign regulator of the connected whole; thou sole and universal deity of 
 mankind; thou gracious and Supreme Spirit; my noblest and most happ)' in- 
 spiration is thy praise and glory. Thy power 1 will praise, for thou art my 
 sovereign Lord, whose bright image continually forces itself on my attention, 
 eager imagination. Thou art the Being to whom heroes pray in perils of war; 
 nor are their supplications vain, when thus they pray; whether it be when thou 
 illuminest the eastern region with thy orient light, when in thy meridian 
 splendor, or when thou majestically descendest in the West." 
 
 Crishna is made to say : 
 
 "I am the light in the Sun and Moon, far, far beyond the darkness. I 
 am the brilliancy in flame, the radiance in all that's radiant, and the light of 
 lights."'' 
 
 In the Maha-hliarata, Crishna, who having become the son of 
 Aditi (the Dawn), is called VisJmu, another name for the Sun.' 
 Tlie demon Putana assatilts the child Cri.shna, which identifies him 
 with Hercules, the Sun-god of the Greeks.'' In his Solar character 
 he must again be the slayer of the Dragon or Black-snake Kulnika, 
 the " Old Serpent" with the thousand heads.'' Crishna's amours 
 witli the maidens makes him like Indra, Plioibus, Hercules, Samson, 
 Alphoio.?, Paris and other Sun-gods. This is the hot and fiery Sun 
 greeting the moon and the dew, or the Sun with his brides the 
 Stars.' 
 
 Moore, in his Hindtt Pantheon, observes : 
 
 " Although all the Hindu deities partake more or less remotely of the nature 
 and character of Surya, or the Sun, and all more or less directly radiate from, 
 or merge in, him, yet no one is, I think, so intimately identified with him as 
 Vishnu ; whether considered in his own person, or in tlie character of Ms most 
 glorious Avatara of Ckishna." 
 
 ' The emlilcra of Parvati, the " Mother and 130. 
 Goddess."' wje the Yoni, and that of her con- * Ibid. p. 135. 
 
 Bort Siva, the Lingham. ' Ibid. p. 137. 
 
 > Williams Hinduism, p. 213. « See Ibid. p. 88, and Moor's Hindu Pan- 
 
 • See Cox : Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. pp. 105 theon, p. 03.
 
 APPENDIX. 547 
 
 The ancient religion of Egypt, like that of Hinclostan, was 
 foimded on astronomy, and eminently metaphysical in its character. 
 The Egyptian priests were far advanced in the science of astronomy. 
 They made astronomy their peenliar study. They knew the figure 
 of the earth, and how to calculate solar and lunar eclipses. From 
 very ancient time, they had observed the order and movement of 
 the stars, and recorded them with the utmost care. Ramses the 
 Great, generally called Sesostris, is supposed to have reigned one 
 thousand five hundred years before the Christian era, about coeval 
 with Moses, or a century later. In the tomb of this monarch was 
 found a large massive circle of wrought gold, divided into three 
 hundred and si.'cty-five degrees, and each division marked the rising 
 and setting of the stars for each day. ' This fact proves how early 
 they were advanced in astronomy. In their great theories of mutual 
 dependence between all things in the universe was included a be- 
 lief in some mysterious relation between the Spirits of the Stars and 
 human souls, so that the destiny of mortals was regulated by the 
 motions of the heavenly bodies. This was the origin of the famous 
 system of Astrology. From the conjunction of 2:)lanets at the hour 
 of birth, they prophesied what would be the temperament of an 
 infant, what life he would live, and what death he would die. Dio- 
 doriis, who wrote in the century preceding Christ Jesus, says : 
 
 "They frequently foretell with the greatest accuracy what is about to happen 
 to maukiud; showing the failure or abundance of crops, and the epidemic dis- 
 eases about to befall men or cattle. Earthquakes, deluges, rising of comets, 
 and all those phenomena, the knowledge of which appears impossible to com- 
 mon comprehensions, they foresee by means of their long continued observa- 
 tion." 
 
 P. Le Page Renouf, who is probably the best authority on the 
 religion of ancient Egypt which can be produced, says, in his Hib- 
 bert Lectures :" 
 
 "The Lectures on the Science of Language, delivered nearly twenty years 
 ago by Prof. Max Mliller, have. I trust, made us fully understand how, among the 
 Indo-European races, the names of the San. of Stinrine and Sunset, and of other 
 such phenomena, come to be talked of and considered as personages, of whom 
 wondrous legends have been told. Egyptian mythology not merely admits, but 
 imperatively demands, the same explanation. And this becomes the more evi- 
 dent when we consider the question how these mythical personages came to be 
 invested with the attributes of divinity by men who, hke the Egyptians, had so 
 lively a sense of the divine." 
 
 Kenrick, in his " History of Egypt," says : 
 
 1 " According to Clmmpollion, the tomb of beings) for every honr of every month of the 
 Bamses V. at Tliebes. contains tables of the yeai." (Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 436.) 
 constellations and of their inflaence (on human 'p. 118.
 
 648 APPENDIX. 
 
 "We havu abundant evidence that the Egyptian theology had its origin in 
 the personification of the powers of nature, under male and female attributes, 
 and that this conception took a sensible form, such as the mental state of the 
 people required, by the identitication of these powers with the elements and the 
 heavenly bodies, fire, earth, water, the sun and moon, and the Nile. Such ap- 
 pears everyxphcre to be the origin of the objective form of polytheism; and it is 
 equally evident among (he nations most closely allied to the Egyptians by posi- 
 tion and general character — the Phenicians, the Babylonians, and in remote 
 connection, the Indians on the one side and the Greeks on the other." 
 
 The gods and goddesses of the ancient Persians were also per- 
 sonifications of the Sun, Moon, Stars, the elements, &c. 
 
 Ormuzd, " The King of Light," was god of the Firmament, and 
 the " Principle of Goodness" and of Truth. He was called "The 
 Eternal Source of Sunshine and Light," " The Centre of all that 
 exists," "The First-born of the Eternal One," "The Creator," 
 "The Sovereign Intelligence," "The All-seeing," "The Just 
 Judge." He was described as " sitting on the throne of the good 
 and the perfect, in regions of pure light," crowned with rays, and 
 with a ring on his finger — a circle being an emblem of infinity ; 
 sometimes as a venerable, majestic man, seated on a Bull, their 
 emblem of creation. 
 
 " MitJiras the Mediator " was the god-Sun. Their most splendid 
 ceremonials were in honor of Mithras. They kept his birth-day, 
 with many rejoicings, on the twenty-fifth of December, when the 
 Sun perceptibly begins to return northward, after his long winter 
 journey ; and they had another festival in his honor, at the vernal 
 equinox. Perhaps no religious festival was ever more splendid than 
 the " Annual Salutation of Mithras," during -which, forty days were 
 set apart for thanksgiving and sacrifice. The procession to salute 
 the god was formed long before the rising of the Sun. The High 
 Priest was followed by a long train of the Magi, in spotless white 
 robes, chanting hymns, and carrying the sacred fire on silver cen- 
 sers. Then came three hundred and sixty-five youths in scarlet, to 
 represent the days of the year and the color of fire. These were 
 followed by the Chariot of the Sun, empty, decorated with garlands, 
 and drawn by superb white horses harnessed with pure gold. Then 
 came a white horse of magnificent size, his forehead blazing with 
 gems, in honor of Mithras. Close behind him rode the king, in a 
 chariot of ivory inlaid with gold, followed by his royal kindred in 
 embroidered garments, and a long train of nobles riding on camels 
 richly ca])arisoued. This gorgeous retinue, facing the East, slowly 
 ascended Mount Orontes. Arrived at the summit, the High Priest 
 assumed his tiara wreathed with myrtle, and hailed the first rays of 
 the rising Sun with incense and prayer. The other Magi gradually 
 joined him in singing hymns to Ormuzd, the source of all blessing,
 
 APPENDIX, 549 
 
 by whom ihe radiant Mithras had been sent to gladden the earth 
 and preserve the principle of life. Finally, they all joined in one 
 universal chorus of praise, while king, princes and nobles, pros- 
 trated themselves before the orb of day. 
 
 The Hebrews worshiped the Sun, Moon, Stars, and " all the 
 host of heaven.'" El-Shaddai was one of the names given to the 
 god Sun. Parkhurst, in his "Hebrew Lexicon," says, "^? was the 
 very name the heathens gave to their god Sol, their Lord or Ruler 
 of the hosts of heaven." El, which means "the strong one in 
 heaven " — the Sun, was invoked by the ancestors of all the Semitic 
 nations, before there were Babylonians in Babylon, Phenicians in 
 Sydon and Tyrus, before there were Jews in Mesopotamia or Jeru- 
 salem.' 
 
 The Sun was worshiped by the Hebrews under the names of 
 Baal, Moloch, Chemosh, &c.; the Moon was Ashtoreth, the " Queen 
 of Heaven. "= 
 
 The gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans were the same as 
 the gods of the Indian epic poems. We have, for example : Zeu- 
 piter (Jupiter), corresponding to Dyaus-pitar (the Heaven-father), 
 Juno, corresponding to Parvati (the Mother Goddess), and Apollo, 
 corresponding to Crishna (the Sun, the Saviour).* Another name 
 for the Sun among those people was Bacchus. An Orphic verse, 
 referring to the Sun, says, "' he is called Dionysos (a name of Bacchus) 
 because he is carried with a circular motion through the immensely 
 extended heavens."' 
 
 Dr. Prichard, in his "Analysis of Egyptian Mythology,"" speak- 
 ing of the ancient Greeks and Romans, says : 
 
 "That the worship of the powers of nature, mitigated, indeed, and embel- 
 lished, constituted the foundation of the Greek and Roman religion, will not be 
 disputed by any person who surveys the fables of the Olympian Gods with a 
 more penetrating eye than that of a mere antiquarian." 
 
 M. De Coulanges, speaking of them, says : 
 
 "The Sun, which gives fecundity; the Earth, which nourishes; the Clouds, 
 by turns beneficent and destructive, — such icere tlie different powers of which tliey 
 could initlce gods. But from each one of these elements thousands of gods were 
 created ; because the same physical agent, -eieiced under different aspects, received 
 from men different names. The Sun, for example, was called in one place 
 i^fVTU^Ci; (the glorious); in another, P/ioJjus (the shining); and still again, Apollo 
 (he who drives away night or evil); one called him i7^pci'wn. (the elevated beicig); 
 another, Alexicacos (the beneficent); and in the course of time groups of men, 
 who had given these various names to the briUiant luminary, 710 longer saw thai 
 they had the same god.'"' 
 
 ' See Chapter XI. • Taylor's Mysteries, p. 153. 
 
 ■> lluller ; The Science of Relig., p. 190. • Page 239. 
 
 ' See Chapter XI. ' The Ancient City, p. 102. 
 * See Indi&n Wisdom, p. 426.
 
 fl50 APPTilNDIX. 
 
 RicliarJ Payne Kniglit says • 
 
 " Tlie primitive religion of the Greeks, like that of all other nations not en- 
 lightened by lieeelatwii, appears to have been elementary, and to have consisted 
 ill an indistinct worship of the SuN, the Moox. the Stars, the Earth, and 
 the Waters, or rather, the spirits supposed to preside over these bodies, and 
 to direct their motions, and regulate their modes of existence. Every river, 
 spring or mountain had its local genius, or peculiar deity; and as men natu- 
 rally endeavored to obtain the favor of their gods by such means as they feel 
 best adapted to win their own, the first worship consisted in olfering to them 
 certain portions of whatever they held to be most valuable. At the same time, 
 the regular motions of the heavenly bodies, the stated returns of summer and 
 winter, of d:iy and night, with all the admirable order of the universe, taught 
 them to believe in the existence and agency of such superior powers; the irregu- 
 lar and destructive efforts of nature, such as lightnings and tempests, inunda- 
 tions and earthquakes, persuaded them that these mighty beings had passions 
 and afEections similar to their own, and only differed in possessing greater 
 strength, power, and intelligence."' 
 
 When the Grecian astronomers first declared that the San was 
 not a jierson, but a huge hot ball, instantly an outci'y arose against 
 them. They were called "blaspheming atheists," and from that 
 time to the present, when any new discovery is made which seems to 
 take away from man his god, the cry of "Atheist " is instantly raised. 
 
 If we turn from the ancient Greeks and Romans, and take a look 
 still farther West and North, we shall find that the gods of all the 
 Teutonic nations wore the same as we have seen elsewhere. They 
 had Odin or Woden — from whom we have onr Wednesday — the Al- 
 fader (the Sky), Frigga, the Mother Goddess(the Earth), "Baldur 
 the Good," and Thor — from whom wo have our Thursday (per- 
 sonifications of the Sun), besides innumerable other genii, among 
 them Freyja — from whom we have our Friday — and as she was the 
 " Goddess of Love," we eatjish on that day.' 
 
 The gods of the ancient inhabitants of what are now called the 
 "British Islands" were identically tlie same. The t^iin-god wor- 
 shiped by the Ancient Druids was called JIu, Beli, Budd and 
 Buddu-gre.^ 
 
 The same worship which we have found in the Old World, from 
 the farthest East to the remotest West, may also be traced in 
 America, from its simplest or least clearly defined form, among the 
 roving hunters and squalid Esquimaux of the North, through every 
 intermediate stage of development, to the imposing systems of 
 Mexico and Peru, where it took a form nearly corresponding that 
 which it at one time sustained on the banks of tlie Ganges, and on 
 the plains of Assyria." 
 
 ' Ancient Art and Mythology, p. 1. Frigga and Freyja are orir/inallij OSE. 
 
 5 See Mallet's Northern Antiqaities. Though " See Myths of ilie British Druids, p. 118. 
 
 spoken of in Northern mythology as distinct, * Sec Squire's Serpent Symbol.
 
 APPENDIX. 651 
 
 Father Acosta, speaking of the Mexicans, says : 
 
 "Next to Viracocha, or their Supreme God, that which Oiost commonly they 
 have, and do adore, is the Su)i ; and after, tliose things which are most remark- 
 able in the celestial or elementary nature, as the Moon, Stars, iiea, and Land. 
 
 "Whoso shall merely look into it, shall find this manner which the Devil 
 hath used to deceive the Indians, to be the same wherewith he hath deceived 
 the Greeks and Romans, and other ancient Gentiles, giving them to understand 
 that these notable creatures, the Sun, Moon, Stars, and elements, had power or 
 authority to do good or harm to men."' 
 
 We see, then, that the gods and heroes of antiquiij- were origin- 
 ally personifications of certain elements of !Xaturc, and that the 
 legends of adventures ascribed to them are merely mythical forms 
 of describing the pheuomena of these elements. 
 
 These legends relating to the elements of Xature, whether they 
 had reference to the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, or a certain natural 
 phenomenon, became, in the course of time, to be regarded as ac- 
 counts of men of a high order, who had once inhabited the earth. 
 Sanctuaries and temjiles were erected to thei>«j heroes, their bones 
 were searched for, and when found — which was alv, ays the case — 
 were regarded as a great source of strength to the town that pos- 
 sessed them ; all relics of their stay on earth were hallowed, and a 
 form of worship was specially adapted to them. 
 
 The idea that heavenly luminaries were inhabited by spirits, of 
 a nature intermediate between God and men, first led mortals to 
 address prayers to the orbs oyer which they were supposed to pre- 
 side. In order to supplicate these deities, when Sun, Moon, and 
 Stars were not visible, they made images of them, which the priests 
 consecrated \vith many ceremonies. Then they pronounced solemn 
 invocations to draw down the spirits into the statues provided for 
 their reception. By this process it was supposed that a mysterious 
 connection was established between the spirit and the image, so 
 that prayers addressed to one were thenceforth heard by the other. 
 This was probably the origin of image worship everywhere. 
 
 The motive of this worship was the same among all nations of 
 antiquity, i. e., fear. They supposed that these deities were irri- 
 tated by the sins of men, but, at the same time, were merciful, 
 and capable of being appeased by prayer and repentance ; for this 
 reason men offered to these deities sacrifices and prayers. How 
 natural that such should have been the case, for, as Abbe Dubois 
 observes: "To the rude, untutored eye, the 'Host of Heaven,' 
 clothed in that calm beauty wliich distinguishes an Oriental night, 
 might well ajipear to be instinct with some divine principle, endowed 
 with consciousness, and the power to iufluence, from its throne of 
 unchanging splendor on high, the fortunes of transitory mortals." 
 
 > Acosta : vol. ii. pp. 303-303.
 
 552 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX O. 
 
 All the chief stories tliat we know so well are to be found in all 
 times, and in almost all countries. Cinderella, for one, is told in 
 the hmguage of every country in Europe, and the same legend is 
 found in the fanciful tales related by the Greek poets ; and still 
 further back, it appears ia very ancient Hindoo legends. So, again, 
 does Beauty and the Beast ; so does our familiar tale of Jack, the 
 Giant- Killer ; so also do a great number of other fairy stories, each 
 being told in different countries and in different periods, with so 
 much likeness as to show that all the versions came from the same 
 source, and j'et with enough difference to sho"w that none of the 
 versions are directly copied from each other. ''Indeed, when we 
 compare the myths and legends of one country with another, and of 
 one period with another, we find out how they have come to be so 
 much alike, and yet in some things so different. We see that there 
 must have been one origin for all these stories, that they must have 
 been invented by one people, that this people must have been after- 
 wards divided, and that each part or division of it must have 
 brought into its new home the legends once common to them all, and 
 must have shaped and altered these according to the kind of place 
 in which they came to live ; those of the North being sterner and 
 more terrible, those of the South softer and fuller of light and 
 color, and adorned with touches of more delicate fancy." And this, 
 indeed, is really the case. All the chief stories and legends are 
 alike, because they were first made by one people j and all the nations 
 in which they are now told in one form or another tell them because 
 they are all descended from this one common stock, the Aryan. 
 
 From researches made by Prof. Max Miiller, The Kev. George 
 W. Cox, and others, in England and Germany, in the science of 
 Comparative Mythology, we begin to see something of these ancient 
 forefathers of ours ; to understand what kind of people they were, and 
 to find that our fairy stories are really made out of their religion. 
 
 The mind of the Aryan peoples in their ancient home was fnll 
 of imagination. They never ceased to wonder at what they saw and 
 heard in the sky and upon the earth. Their language was highly 
 figurative, and so the things which struck them with wonder, and 
 which they could not explain, were described under forms and 
 names which were familiar to them. "Thus, the thunder was to 
 them the bellowing of a mighty beast, or the rolling of a great 
 chariot. In the lightning they saw a brilliant serpent, or a spear 
 shot across the sky, or a great fish darting swiftly through tlie sea 
 of cloud. The clouds were heavenly cows, who shed milk upon 
 the earth and refreshed it ; or they were webs woven by heavenly
 
 APPENDIX. 653 
 
 women who drew water from the fountains on high and poured 
 it down as rain." Analogies which are but fancy to us, were 
 realities to these men of past ages. They could see in the water- 
 spout a huge serpent who elevated himself out of the ocean and 
 reached his head to the skies. They could feel, in the pangs 
 of hunger, a live creature gnawing within their bodies, and they 
 heard the voices of the hill-dwarfs answering in the echo. The Sun, 
 the first object which struck them with wonder, was, to them, the 
 child of Night ; the Dawn came before he was born, and died as he 
 rose in the heavens. He strangled the serpents of the night ; he 
 went fortli like a bridegroom out of his chamber, and like a g;iant 
 to run his course.' He had to do battle with clouds and storms." 
 Sometimes his light grew dim under their gloomy veil, and the 
 children of men shuddered at the wrath of the hidden Sun.' 
 Sometimes his ray broke forth, only, after brief splendor, to sink 
 beneath a deeper darkness ; sometimes he burst forth at the end of 
 his course, trampling on the clouds which had dimmed his brilliancy, 
 and bathing his pathway with blood.* Sometimes, beneath moun- 
 tains of clouds and vapors, he plunged into the leaden sea." Some- 
 times he looked benignly on the face of his mother or his bride who 
 came to greet him at his journey's end.' Sometimes he was the 
 lord of heaven and of light, irresistible in his divine strength ; 
 sometimes he toiled for others, not for himself, in a hard, unwill- 
 ing servitude.' His light and heat might give light and destroy it." 
 His chariot might scorch the regions over which it passed, his flam- 
 ing fire might burn up all who dared to look with prying eyes iuto 
 tiis dazzling treasure-house.' He might be the child destined to 
 <lay his parents, or to be united at the last in an unspeakable peace, 
 to the bright Dawn who for a brief space had gladdened his path in 
 the morning.'" He might be the friend of the children of men, 
 and the remorseless foe of those powers of darkness who had stolen 
 away his bride." He might be a warrior whose eye strikes terror 
 
 ' This pictare wonld give ns the story of evening sky, planged into the sea. 
 Hercules, who strangled the serpent in his • This would give us the story of Hercules 
 
 cradle, and who, in after years, in the form and his bride lOle, or that of Christ Jesus and 
 
 of a giant, ran his course. his mother Mary, who were at their side at the 
 
 3 This would give us St. George killing the end of their career. 
 Dragon. ' This would give us the story of the labors 
 
 3 This would give us the story of the mon- of Hercules. 
 Bter who attempted to devour the Snn, and » This is the Sun as Seva. 
 
 whom the "untutored savage" tried to ' Here again we have the Sun as Siva the 
 
 frighten away by making loud cries. Destroyer. 
 
 * This would give us the story of Samson, »" Here we have Apollo, AchilieoB, Bellero- 
 whose strength was renewed at the end of phon and Odysseus. 
 
 his career, and who slew the Philistines — who ii This would give us the story of Samson, 
 
 had dimmed his brilliance — and bathed his who was " the friend of the children of men. 
 
 path with blood. and the remorseless foe of those powers of 
 
 • This would give us the story of Cannes darkness " (the Philistines), who had stolen 
 or Dagon, who, beneath the clouds of the away his bride. (See Judges, ch. xv.)
 
 554 APPENDIX. 
 
 into his enemies, or a wise chieftain skilled in deep and hidden 
 knowledge.' Sometimes he might appear as a glorious being 
 doomed to an early death, which no power could avert or delay.' 
 Sometimes grievous hardships and desperate conflicts might be fol- 
 lowed by a long season of serene repose." Wherever he went, men 
 might welcome him in love, or shri^ik from him in fear and 
 anguish.* He would have many brides in many lands, and his off- 
 spring would assume aspects beautiful, strange or horrible.' His 
 course might be brilliant and beneficent ; or gloomy, sullen, and 
 capricious." As compelled to toil for others, he would be said to 
 fight in quarrels not his own ; or he might for a time withhold the 
 aid of an arm which uo enemy could withstand.' He might be 
 the destroyer of all whom he loved, he might slay the Dawn with 
 his kindling rays, he might scorch the Fruits, who were his children ; 
 he might woo the deep blue sky, the bride of heaveu itself, and an 
 inevitable doom might bind his limbs on the blazing wheel for ever 
 and ever.' Nor in this crowd of i)hrases, all of which have borne 
 their part in the formation of mythology, is there one which could 
 not be used naturally by ourselves to describe the phenomena of the 
 outward world, and there is scarcely one, perha))s, which has not 
 been used by our own poets. There is a beai;ty in them, which can 
 never grow old or lose its charm. ' Poets of all ages recur to them 
 instinctively in times of the deepest grief or the greatest joy ; 
 but, in the words of Professor Max Midler, " it is impossible to 
 enter fully into the thoughts and feelings which passed through the 
 minds of the early poets when they formed names for that far East 
 from whence even the early Dawn, the Sun, the Day, their own life 
 seemed to spring. A new life flashed up every morning before their 
 eyes, and the fresh breezes of the Dawn reached them like greetings 
 wafted across the golden threshold of the sky from the distant 
 lands beyond the mountains, beyond the clouds, beyond the dawn, 
 beyond the immortal sea which brought us hither ! The Dawn 
 seemed to them to open golden gates for the Sun to pass in triumph ; 
 and while those gates were open, their eyes and their minds strove, 
 in their childish way, to pierce beyond the limits of this finite 
 world. That silent aspect wakened in the human mind the con- 
 ception of the Infinite, the Immortal, the Divine ; and the names 
 of the Dawn became naturally the names of higher jjowers.' 
 
 1 This would give us the stories of Tlwr, the bound maidens, who sleep for years, 
 mighty warrior, the terror of his enemies, and * This is Hercules and his counterparts, 
 
 those of Cadmus. Romulus or Odin, the wise " This again is Hercules, 
 
 chieftains, who founded nations, and taught * This would depend upon whether his light 
 
 ilieir people knowledge. was obscured by clouds, or not. 
 
 - This would give us the story of Christ Je- ^ This again /s Hercules. 
 
 6us,aiKlothcrAngel-Messiahs;Savioursofmen. ' This is Apollo, Siva and Ixion. 
 
 > This would give us the stories of spell- » Rev. G. W. Cos.
 
 APPENDIX. 655 
 
 " This imagery of the Aryans was applied by them to all they saw 
 in the sky. Sometimes, as we have said, the clouds were cows ; they 
 were also dragons, which sought to slay the Sun ; or greac ships 
 floating across the sky, and casting anchor upon earth ; or rocks, or 
 mountains, or deep caverns, in which evil deities liid the golden 
 light. Then, also, they were shaped by fancy into animals of 
 various kinds — the bear, the wolf, the dog, the ox ; and into giant 
 birds, and into monsters which were both bird and beast. 
 
 " The winds, again, in their fancy, were the companions or minis- 
 ters of India, the sky-god. The spirits of the winds gathered into 
 their host the souls of the dead — thus giving birth to the Scandina- 
 vian and Teutonic legend of the Wild Horseman, who rides at mid- 
 night through tlie stormy sky, witli his long train of dead behind 
 him, and his weird hounds before.' The Ribhus, or Arblius, again, 
 were the sunbeams or the lightning, who forged the armor of the 
 gods, and made their thunderbolts, and turned old people young, 
 and restored out of the hides alone the slaughtered cow on which 
 the gods had feasted.'" 
 
 Aryan myths, then, were no more than poetic fancies about light 
 and darkness, cloud and rain, night and day, storm and wind ; and 
 when they moved westward and southward, the Aryan race brought 
 these legends luith it; and out of these were shaped by degrees innu- 
 merable gods and demons of the Hindoos, the devs and jinns of the 
 Persians ; the great gods, the minor deities, and nymphs, and fauns, 
 and satyrs of Greek mythology and poetry ; the stormy divinities, 
 the giants, and trolls of the cold and rugged North ; the dwarfs of 
 the German forests ; the elves who dance merrily in the moonlight 
 of an English summer ; and the "good people" who play mischievous 
 tricks upon stray peasants among the Irish hills. Almost all, in- 
 deed, that we have of a legendary hind comes to its from our Aryan 
 forefathers — sometimes scarcely changed, sometimes so altered that 
 we have to puzzle out the links between the old and the new ; but 
 all these myths and traditions, and old-world stories, when we come 
 to know the meaning of them, take us back to the time when the 
 Aryan race dwelt together in the high lands of central Asia, 
 and they all mean the same things — that is, the relation be- 
 tween the Sun and the earth, the succession of night and day, of 
 winter and summer, of storm and calm, of cloud and tempest, and 
 golden sunshine, and bright blue sky. And this is the source from 
 which we get our fairy stories, and tales of gods and heroes ; for 
 underneath all of them there are the same fanciful meanings, only 
 changed and altered in the way of putting them by the lapse of ages 
 
 ' Who has not heard it said that the howling or whining of a dog forebodes death f 
 ' Bonce : Fairy Tales, Origin and Meaning.
 
 556 APPENDIX. 
 
 of time, by the circumstances of different countries, and I / the 
 fancy of those who kept the wonderful tales alive without knowing 
 what they meant. 
 
 Thousands of years ago, the Aryan people began their march 
 out of their old country in mid-Asia. From the remains of their 
 language, and the likeness of their legends to those among other 
 nations, we know that ages and ages ago their country grew too 
 small for them, so they were obliged to move away from it. Some 
 of them turned southward into India and Persia, and some of them 
 went westward into Europe — the time, perhaps, when the land of 
 Europe stretched from the borders of Asia to the islands of Great 
 Britain, and when there was no sea between them and the main 
 land. How they made their long and toilsome march we know not. 
 But, as Kingsley writes of such a movement of an ancient tribe, so 
 we may fancy these old Aryans marching westward — "the tall, 
 bare-limbed men, with stone axes on their shoulders and horn bows 
 at their backs, with herds of gray cattle, guarded by huge lap-eared 
 mastiffs, with shaggy white horses, heavy-horned sheep, and silky 
 goats, moving always westward through the boundless steppes, 
 whither or why we know not, but that the Al-Father had sent them 
 forth. And behind us (he makes them say) the rosy snow-peaks 
 died into ghastly gray, lower and lower, as every evening came; and 
 before us tlie plains spread infinite, with gleaming salt-lakes, and 
 ever fresh tribes of gaudy flowers. Behind us, dark lines of living 
 beings streamed down the mountain slopes ; around us, dark lines 
 crawled along the plains — all westward, westward ever. Who could 
 stand against us ? We met the wild asses on the steppe, and tamed 
 them, and made them our slaves. We slew the bison herds, and 
 swam broad rivers on their skins. The python snake lay across our 
 path ; the wolves and wild dogs snarled at us out of their coverts ; 
 we slew them and went on. Strange giant tribes met us, and eagle 
 visaged hordes, fierce and foolish ; we smote them, hip and thigh, 
 and went on, westward ever.'" And so they went on, straight to- 
 ward the West, or, as they turned North and South, and thus over- 
 spread now lands, they hrought xoith them their old ways of thought and 
 forms ofhelief, and the stories in which these had taken form ; and on 
 these were built up the gods and heroes, and all wonder-working 
 creatures and things, and the poetical fables and fancies which have 
 come down to us, and which still linger in our customs and our fairy 
 tales; bright and sunny and many-colored in the warm regions of 
 the South, sterner and wilder and rougher in the North, more home- 
 like in the middle and western countries ; but always alike in ^heir 
 
 ' Qaoted by Bunce : Fairy Tales.
 
 APPENDIX. 657 
 
 main features, and always having the same meaning when we come 
 to dig it out, and these forms and their meaning being the same in 
 the lands of the West Aryans as in those still peopled by the Aryans 
 of the East. 
 
 The story of Cinderella is one of the many fairy tales which help 
 us to find out their meaning, and take us straight back to the 
 far-ofE land where fairy legends began, and to the people who made 
 them. This well-known fairy tale has been found among the myths 
 of our Aryan ancestors, and from this we know that it is the story of 
 the Sun and the Dawn. Cinderella, gray and dark and dull, is all 
 neglected when she is away from the Sun, obscured by the envious 
 clouds, her sisters, and by her step-mother, the Night. So she is 
 Aurora, the Dawn, and the Fairy Prince is the Morning Sun, ever 
 pursuing her, to claim lier for his bride. This is the legend as it 
 is found in the ancient Hindoo books ; and this explains at once 
 the source and the meaning of the fairy tale. ' 
 
 Another tale which helps us in our task is that of Jack the 
 Criant-EiUer, who is really one of the very oldest and most widely 
 known, characters in wonder-land. Now, who is this wonderful 
 little fellow ? He is none other than the hero who, in all countries 
 and ages, fights with monsters and overcomes them ; like Indra, the 
 ancient Hindoo Sun-god, whose thunderbolts slew the demons of 
 drought in the far East ; or Perseus, who, in Greek story, delivers 
 the maiden from the sea-monster ; or Odysseus, who tricks the 
 giant Polyphemus, and causes him to throw himself into the sea ; 
 or Thor, wliose hammer beats down the frost giants of the North. 
 ■■'The gifts bestowed upon Jack are found in Tartar stories, Hindoo 
 tales, in German legends, and in the fables of Scandinavia." 
 
 Still another is that of Little Red Riding-Hood. The story of 
 Little Red Riding Hood, as we call her, or Little Red-Cap, as she is 
 ■called in the German tales, also comes from the same source, and 
 (as we have seen in Chapter IX.), refers to the Sun and Night. 
 
 " One of the fancies in the most ancient Aryan or Hindoo stories 
 was that there was a great dragon that was trying to devour the 
 Sun, to prevent him from shining upon the earth, and filling it 
 with brightness and life and beauty, and that Indra, the Sun-god, 
 killed the dragon. Now, this is the meaning of Little Red Riding- 
 Hood, as it is told in our nursery tales. Little Red Riding-Hood is 
 the Evening Sun, which is always described as red or golden ; the 
 old grandmother is the Earth, to whom the rays of the Snn bring 
 •warmth and comfort. The wolf — which is a well-known figure for 
 
 « See Bance : Fairy Tales, p. 34.
 
 658 APPENDIX. 
 
 the CJotids and blackness of Night (in Teutonic mythology)' — is the 
 dragon in another form. First, he devours the grandmotlier ; that 
 is, he wraps the earth in thick clouds, which the Evening Sun is 
 not strong enough to pierce through. Then, with the darkness of 
 Night, he swallows up the Evening Sun itself, and all is dark and 
 desolate. Then, as in the German taie, the night-thunder and the 
 storm. winds are represented by the loud snoring of the wolf ; and 
 then the huntsman, the 31or7iing Sun, comes in all his strength 
 and majesty, and chases away the night clouds and kills the wolf, 
 and revives old grandmother Earth and Little Red Riding Hood to 
 life again." 
 
 Nor is it in these stories alone that we can trace the ancient 
 Hindoo legends, and the Sun-myth. There is, as Mr. Buuce ob- 
 serves in his "Fairy Tales, their Origin and Meaning," scarcely a 
 tale of Greek or Roman mythology, no legend of Teutonic or Celtic 
 or Scandinavian growth, no great romance of what we call the mid- 
 dle ages, no fairy story taken down from the lips of ancient folk, 
 and dressed for us in modern shape and tongue, that we do not find, 
 in some form or another, in these Eastern poems, tv?nch are com- 
 posed of allegorical tales of gods and heroes. 
 
 When, in the Vedic hymns, Kephalos, Prokris, Hermes, Daphne, 
 Zeus, Ouranos, stand forth as simple names for the Sun, the Dew, the 
 Wind, the Dawn, the Heaven and the Sky, each recognized as such, yet 
 each endowed with the most perfect consciousness, we feel that the 
 great riddle of mythology is solved, and that we no longer lack the 
 key which shall disclose its most hidden treasures. When we hear 
 the people saving, '• Our friend the Sun is dead. Will he rise ? 
 Will the Dawn come back again ?" we see the death of Hercules, 
 and the weary waiting while Leto struggles with the birth of Phoibos. 
 When on the return of day we hear the cry — 
 
 " Rise ! our life, our spirit has come back, tlie darkness is gone, tlie liglit 
 draws near !" 
 
 — wo are carried at once to the Homeric hymn, and we hear the 
 joyous shout of all the gods when Phoibos springs to life and light 
 on Delos.' 
 
 That the peasant folk-lore of modern Europe still displays 
 
 ' " The 8un" said Gaugler, " speeds at snch for he shall one day overtake and devour her." 
 
 a rate as if she feared that some one was pur- (Scandinavian Prose Edda. See Mallet's 
 
 suing her for hordestrnction." " And well she Northern Antiquities, p. 407). Tliis Wolf if, 
 
 may," replied Har, " for he that seeks her is as we have said, a personification of Niqht and 
 
 not far behind, and she has no way to escape Clmuls. we therefore have the almost universal 
 
 but to run before him." "And who is he," practice amontr savage nations of making noises 
 
 asked fr'awf/fcr, "that causes her this anxiety f" at the time of eclipse.^?, to frighten away the 
 
 " It is the Wolf Skull, " answered Har, " who monsters who would otherwise devour the Sua 
 pursues the Sun, and it is he that she fears, ' Aryan Mythology, vol. i. p. 108.
 
 APPENDIX. 5.59 
 
 episodes of nature-myth, may be seen in t).e following story of 
 Vassalissa, the Beautiful. 
 
 Vassalissa's stepmother and two sisters, plotting against her life, 
 send her to get a light at the house of Bd/jci Yagd, the witcb, and 
 her journey contains the following history of the Day, told, as Mr. 
 Tylor says, in truest mythic fashion : 
 
 " Vassalissa goes and wanders, wanders in the forest. She goes, and she 
 shudders. Suddenly before her bouuds a rider, he himself white, and clad in 
 white, and the trappings white. And Day began to dawn. She goes farther, 
 when a second rider bounds forth, himself red, clad in red, and on a red horse. 
 The Sun began to rise. She goes on all day, and towards evening arrives at the 
 witch's house. Suddenly there comes again a rider, himself black, clad in all 
 black, and on a black horse; he bounded to the gates of the Bdba Tagd, and 
 disappeared an if he had sunk through the earth. Night fell. After this, when 
 Vas.salissa asks the witch, ' Who was the white rider ?' she answered, ' That is 
 my cle-AT Day ;' 'Who was the red rider?' 'That is my red Sun;' 'Who was 
 the black rider ?' 'That is vay h\a,ds. Night. They are all my trusty friends.'"' 
 
 We have another illustration of allegorical mythology in the 
 Grecian story of Hephfestos splitting open with his axe the head of 
 Zeus, and Athene springing from it, full armed ; for we perceive 
 behind this savage imagery Zeus as the bright Sliij, his forehead the 
 Ead, Hesphsestos as the young, not yet risen Sun, and Athene as 
 the Daiim, the daughter of the Sky, stepping forth from the foun- 
 tain-head of light, — with eyes like an owl, piire as a virgin ; the 
 golden ; lighting up the tops of the mountains, and her own glorious 
 Parthenon in her own favorite town of Athens ; whirling the shafts 
 of light ; the genial warmth of the morning ; the foremost cham- 
 pion in the battle between night and day ; in full armor, in her 
 panoply of light, driving away the darkness of night, and awaken- 
 ing men to a bright life, to bright thoughts, to bright endeavors.' 
 
 Another story of the same sort is that of Kronos. Every one 
 is familiar with the story of Kronos, who devoured his own children. 
 Now, Kronos is a mere creation from the older and misunderstood 
 epithet Kronides or Kronion, the ancient of days. When these 
 days or time had come to be regarded as a person the myth would 
 certainly follow that he devoured his own children, as Time is the 
 devourer of the Dawns.' Saturn, who devours his own children, is 
 the same power whom the Greeks called Kronos (Time), which may 
 truly be said to destroy whatever it has brought into existence. 
 
 The idea of a Heaven, the "Elysian fields," is also born of the 
 eky. 
 
 The " Elysian plain" is far away in the West, where the sun 
 
 ' Tylor : Primitive CnUnre, vol. i. p. 308. ' Miiller : The Science of Beligion, p. 65. 
 
 * Cox : Aryan Mytbology, vol. ii. p. 1.
 
 560 APPENDIX. 
 
 goes down beyond tlie bonds of tbe earth, when Eos gladdens the 
 close of day as she sheds her violet tints over the sky. The 
 "Abodes of the Blessed" are golden islands sailing in a sea of blue, 
 — the burnished clouds floating in the pure ether. Grief and sorrow 
 cannot approach them ; plague and sickness cannot touch them. 
 The blissful company gathered together in that far Western land in- 
 herits a tearless eternity. 
 
 Of the other details in the picture the greater number would be 
 suggested directly by these images drawn from the plienomena of 
 sunset and twilight. What spot or stain can be seen on the deep 
 blue ocean in which the "Islands of the Blessed" repose forever ? 
 What unseemly forms can mar the beauty of that golden home, 
 lighted by the radiance of a Sim which can never set ? Who then 
 but the pure in heart, the truthful and the generous, can be suffered 
 to tread tlie violet iields ? And how sliall they be tested save by 
 judges who can weigh the thoughts and the interests of the heart ? 
 Thus every soul, as it di-ew near that joyous land, was brought be- 
 fore the august tribunal of Minos, Khadamanthys, and Aiakos ; and 
 they whose faith was in truth a quickening power, might draw from 
 the ordeals those golden lessons which Plato has put into the mouth 
 of Socrates, and some unknown persons into the mouths of Buddha 
 and Jesus. The belief of earlier ages pictured to itself the meetings 
 in that blissful land, the forgiveness of old wrongs, and the recon- 
 ciliation of deadly feuds,' just as the belief of the present day 
 pictures these things to itself. 
 
 The story of a War in Heaven, which was known to all nations 
 of antiquity, is allegorical, and refers to the battle between light 
 and darkness, sunshine and storm cloud." 
 
 As examples of the prevalence of the legend relating to the 
 struggle between the co-ordinate powers of good and evil, light and 
 darkness, the Sun and the clouds, we have that of Phoibos and 
 Python, Indra and Vritra, Sigurd and Fafuir, Achilleus and Paris, 
 Oidipous and the Sphinx, Ormuzd and Ahriman, and from the 
 character of the struggle between Indra and Vritra, and again be- 
 
 1 As tbe hand of Hector is clasped in the tion ; and it is nnneceasary to eay that the 
 
 hand of the hero who slew him. There, as the human mind, having advanced thus far, must 
 
 story ran, the lovely Helen " pardoned and make its way still farther. (Cox : Aryan My- 
 
 puiifled," became the bride of tbe short-lived, thology, vol. ii. p. 322.) 
 
 yet long-suffering Achilleus, even as lole com- "^ Tbe black storm-cloud, with the flames of 
 
 forted the dying Hei-cnles on earth, and Hebe lightning issuing from it. was the original of 
 
 became his solace in Olympus. But wiiat is the dragon with tongues of fire. Even as late as 
 
 the meeting of Helen and Achilleus, of loIe a.u. IGOO. a German writer would illustrat** a 
 
 and Hebe and Hercules, but the return of the thunder-storm destroying a crop of corn b,* a 
 
 violet tints to greet the Sun in the We»i, which picture of a dragon devouring the produce • 
 
 had greeted him in the East in the morning ? tiie field with hie flaming tongue and iron tevA 
 
 The idea was purely physical, yet it suggested (Baring-Gould : Cnrioue Myths, p. 342.) 
 the thoughts of trial, atonement, and purifica-
 
 APPENDIX. 561 
 
 tween Ormuzd and Ahriman, we infer that a myth, purely physical, 
 in the land of the Five Streams, assumed a moral and spiritual 
 meaning in Persia, and the fight between the co-ordinate powers of 
 good and evil, gave lirth to the dualism which from that time to the 
 presenthas exercised io mighty an influence through the East and West. 
 The Apocalypse exhibits Satan with the physical attributes of 
 Ahriman ; he is called the "dragon," the "old serpent," who fights 
 against God and his angels. The Vedic myth, transformed and ex- 
 aggerated in the Iranian hooks, finds its way thmtgh this channel 
 into Christianity. The idea thus introduced was that of the struggle 
 between Satan and Michael, which ended in the overthrow of the 
 former, and the casting forth of all his hosts out of heaven, but it 
 coincides too nearly with a myth spread in countries held by all the 
 Aryan nations to avoid further modification. Local tradition sub- 
 stituted St. George or St. Theodore for Jupiter, Apollo, Hercules, 
 or Perseus. It is under this disguise that the Vedic myth has come 
 down to our own times, and has still its festivals and its monu- 
 ments. Art has consecrated it in a thousand ways. St. Michael, 
 lance in hand, treading on the dragon, is an image as familiar now 
 as, thirty centuries ago, that of Indra treading under foot the 
 demon Vritra could possibly have been to the Hindoo.' 
 
 The very ancient doctrine of a Trinity, three gods in one, can 
 be explained, rationally, by allegory only. We have seen that the 
 Sun, in early times, was believed to be the Creator, and became the 
 first object of adoration. After some time it would be observed 
 that this powerful and beneficent agent, the solar fire, was the most 
 potent Destroyer, and hence would arise the first idea of a Creator 
 and Destroyer united in the same person. But much time would 
 not elapse before it must have been observed, that the destruction 
 caused by this powerful being was destruction only in appearance, 
 that destruction was only rejiroduction In another form — regenera- 
 tion; that if he appeared sometimes to destroy, he constantly re- 
 paired the injury which he seemed to occasion — and that, without 
 his light and heat, everything would dwindle away into a cold, 
 inert, unprolific mass. Thus, at once, in the same being, became 
 concentrated, the creating, the preserving, and the destroying 
 powers — the latter of the three Joeing at the same time both the 
 Destroyer and Regenerator. Hence, by a very natural and obvious 
 train of reasoning, arose the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer 
 — in India Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva; in Persia Oroma-Hdes, 
 Mifhra, and Arinumius; in Egypt Osiris, Horus, and Typhon : in 
 each case Three Persons and one God. And thus undoubtedly 
 -arose the Tkijiurti, or the celebrated Trinity. 
 
 ' M, Breal, and 0. W. Cox.
 
 662 APPENDIX. 
 
 Traces of a similar refinement may be found in the Greek my- 
 thology, in tlie Orphic Phanes, Ericapeus and Metis, who were all 
 identified with the Sun, and yet embraced in the first person, 
 Phanes, or Protogones, the Creator and Generator.' The invo- 
 cation to the Sun, in the Mysteries, according to Macrobius, was as 
 follows: "0 all-ruling Sun! Spirit of the world! Power of the 
 world ! Light of the world ! '" 
 
 We have seen in Chap. XXXV, that the Peruvian Triad was rep- 
 resented by three statues, called, respectively, " Apuinti, Churiinti, 
 and Intihoaoque," which is, "Lord and Father Sun; Son Sun; 
 and Air or Spirit, Brother Sun.'" 
 
 Mr. Faber, in his "Origin of Pagan Idolatry," says : 
 
 "The peculiar mode in which the Hindoos identify their three great gods with 
 the solar orb, is a curious specimen of the physical refinements of ancient mythol- 
 ogy. At night, in the west, the Sun is Vishnu ; he is Brahma, in the east and 
 in the morning; and from noon to evening he is Siva."* 
 
 Mr. Moor, in his "Hindu Pantheon," says : 
 
 "Most, if not all, of the gods of the Hindoo Pantheon will, on close investiga- 
 tion, resolve themselves into the three potoers (Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva), and 
 those powers into one Deity, Brahm, typified by the 8un."^ 
 
 Mr. Squire, in his " Serpent Symbol," observes : 
 
 "It is highly probable that the triple divinity of the Hindoos was originally 
 no more than a personification of the Sun, whom they called Three-bodied, in the 
 triple capacity of producing forms by his general liMtt, presening them by his 
 light, or destroying them by the counteracting force of his igneous matter. Brah- 
 ma, the Creator, was indicated by the /leat of the Sun ; Vishnu, the Preserver, by 
 the light of t/ie Sun, and Siva, the Reproducer, by the orb of the Sun. In the 
 morning the Sun was Brahma, at noon Vishnu, at evening Siva."^ 
 
 "He is at once," says Mr. Cox, in speaking of the Sun, "the 
 ' Comforter' and 'Healer,' the ' Saviour ' and ' Destroyer,' who can 
 slay and make alive at will, and from whose piercing glance no 
 secret can be kept hid.'" 
 
 Sir William Jones was also of the opinion that the whole Triad 
 of the Hindoos were identical with the Sun, expressed under the 
 mythical term 0. M. 
 
 The idea of a Tri-murti, or triple personification, was de- 
 veloped gradually, and as it grew, received numerous accretions. 
 It was first dimly shadowed forth and vaguely expressed in the Rig- 
 Veda, where a triad of principal gods, Agni, Indra, and Surya is 
 recognized. And these three gods are One, the Sun.' 
 
 ' Sqoire : Serpent Symbol, p. 59. » p. 6. 
 
 3 Ibid. • Sqnire : Serpent Symbol, p. 38. 
 
 • Ibid. p. 181. ' Aiyan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 33. 
 
 * Book iv ch. i. in Anac, vol. i. p. 137. • Williams' Hinduism, p. 88.
 
 APPENDIX. 663 
 
 We see then that the religious myths of antiquity aud the fire- 
 side legeuds of iincient and modern times, have a common root in 
 the mental habits of primeval humanity, and that they are the 
 earliest recorded utterances of men concerning the visible phe- 
 nomena of the world into which they were born. At first, tho- 
 roughly understood, the meaning in time became unknown. How 
 stories originally told of the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, &c., became 
 believed in as facts, is plainly illustrated in the following story told 
 by Mrs. Jameson in her '• History of Our Lord in Art :" " I once 
 tried to explain," says she, " to a good old woman, the meaning of 
 the Vford parable, and that the story of the Prodigal Son was not a 
 fact ; she was scandalized — she was quite sure that Jesus would 
 never have told anything to his disciples that was not true. Thus 
 she settled the matter in her own mind, and I thought it best to 
 leave it there undisturbed." 
 
 Prof. Max Muller, in speaking of " the comparison of the dif- 
 ferent forms of Aryan religion and mythology in India, Persia, 
 Gi-eece, Italy and Germany," clearly illustrates how such legends 
 are transformed from intelligible into unintelligible myths. He 
 says : 
 
 "In each of these nations there was a tendency to change the 
 original conception of divine powers, to misunderstand the many 
 names given to these powers, and to misinterpret the praises ad- 
 dressed to them. In this manner some of the divine names were 
 changed into half-divine, half-human heroes, aud at last the myths 
 which were true and intelligible as told originally of the Sun, or the 
 Daivn, or the Storms, were turned into legends or fables too mar- 
 velous to be believed of common mortals. This process can be 
 ■watched in India, in Greece, and in Germany. The same story, or 
 nearly the same, is told of gods, of heroes, and of men. The divine 
 myth became an heroic legend, and the heroic legend fades away 
 into a nursery tale. Our nursery tales have well been called the 
 modern ^a^ois of the ancient mythology of the Aryan race."' 
 
 In the words of this learned author, " we never lose, we always 
 gain, when we discover the most ancient intention of sacred tradi- 
 tions, instead of being satisfied with their later aspect, and their 
 modern misinterpretations." 
 
 1 MlUler's Chips, vol. ii. p. 280.
 
 564 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPEN"DIX D. 
 
 We maintain tliat not so much as one single passage purporting 
 to be written, as history, within the first hundred years of the 
 Christian era, can be produced to show the existence at or before 
 that time of such a person as Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ, or 
 of such a set of men as could be accounted his disciples or followers. 
 Those who would be likely to refer to Jesus or his disciples, but who 
 have not done so, wrote about : 
 
 A.. D. 40 Philo.' 
 
 40 Josephus. 
 
 79 C. Pliuius Second, the Elder.' ) 
 
 69 L. Ann. Seneca. > Philosophers. 
 
 79 Diogenes Laertius. ) 
 
 79 Pausanias. ) ^ •, 
 
 79 Pompon Mela. } Geographers. 
 
 79 Q. Curtius Ruf. ~ 
 
 79 Luc. Flor. 
 110 Cornel Tacitus. 
 123 Appianus. 
 
 140 Justinus. 
 
 141 ^lianus. 
 
 Historians. 
 
 Out of this number it has been claimed that one (Josei^hus) spoke 
 of Jesus, and another (Tacitus) of the Christians. Of the former it is 
 almost needless to speak, as that has been given up by Christian 
 divines many years ago. However, for the sake of those who still 
 cling to it we shall state the following : 
 
 Dr. Lardner, who wrote about a.d. 1760, says : 
 
 1. It was never quoted by any of our Christian ancestors before EsueUua. 
 
 2. Josephus has nowhere else mentioned the name or word Christ, in any of 
 his works, except the testimony above mentioned/ and the passage concerning 
 James, the Lord's brother.'' 
 
 3. It interrupts the narrative. 
 
 4. The hmguage is quite Christian. 
 
 5. It is not quoted by Chrysostom,' though he often refers to Josephus, and 
 could not have omitted quoting it. had it been t?ien, in the text. 
 
 * The Rev. Dr. Giles says : " Great ia our The Rev. Dr. assumes thai these " wonder- 
 disappointment at finding nothing in the works ful events " really took place, but, if they did 
 of piiilo about the Christians, their doctrines, or not take place, of course Philo's silence on the 
 their sacred books. About the doois indeed we subject is accounted for. 
 
 need not espect any notice of these works, but ^ Both these philosophers were living;, and 
 
 about the Christians and their doctrines his must have experienced the immediate effects, 
 
 silence is more remarkahle, seeing that he was or received the earliest information of the ex- 
 
 about sixty years old at the time of the crnci- istence of Christ Jesus, had such a person as 
 
 Cxion, and living mostly in Alexandria, so the Gospels make him out to be ever existed, 
 
 closely connected with Judea, and the Jews, Their ignorance or their willful silence on the 
 
 could hardly have failed to know something of the subject, is not less than improbable. 
 
 the wonderful events that had taken place in = Antiquities, bk. xviii. ch. iii. 3. 
 
 the city of Jerusalem." (Hebrew and Chris- * Ibid. bk. xx. ch. ix. 1. 
 
 tiau Records, vol. il. p. 61.) • John, Bishop of Constantinople, who died
 
 APPENDIX. 565 
 
 6. It is not quoted by Photius, though he has thite articles concerning Jose- 
 phus. 
 
 7. Under the article Justus of Tiberius, this author (Photius) expressly states 
 that this historian (Josephus), being a Jew, Iiaa not taken the least notice of Christ. 
 
 8. Neither Justin, in his dialogue with Tj-pho the Jew, nor Clemens Alesan- 
 drinus, who made so many extracts from ancient authors, nor Origen against 
 Celsus, have eun mentioiud this testimony. 
 
 9. But, on the contrary, Origen openly alEnns (ch. xxxv., bk. i., against 
 Celsus), that Josephus, who had mentioned John the Baptist, did not acknowl- 
 edge Christ.^ 
 
 In the "Bible for Learners," we read as follows : 
 
 " Flavius Josephus. the well-known historian of the Jewish people, was bom 
 in A. D. 37, only two years after the death of Jesus; but though his work is of 
 inestimable value as our chief authority for the circumstances of the times in 
 which Jesus and his Apostles came forward, yet he does not seem to have ever 
 mentioned Jesus himself. At any rate, the passage in his ' Jewish Antiquities ' that 
 refers to him is certainly spurious, and was inserted by a later and a Christian 
 hand. The Talmud compresses the history of Jesus into a single sentence, and 
 later Jewish writers concoct mere slanderous anecdotes. The ecclesiastical 
 fathers mention a few sayings or events, the knowledge of which they drew 
 from oral tradition or from writings that have since been lost. The Latin and 
 Greek historians just mention his name. This meager harvest is all we reap 
 from sources outside the Gospels."* 
 
 Canon Farrar, who finds himself compelled to admit that this 
 passage in Josephus is an interpolation, consoles himself by saying : 
 
 "The single passage in which he (.Josephus) alludes to Him (Christ) is inter- 
 polated, if not wholly spurious, and no one can doubt that his silence on the 
 subject of Christianity was as deliberate as it was dishonest."' 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Giles, after commenting on this subject, concludes 
 by saying : 
 
 " Euiebius is the first who quotes the passage, and our reliance on the judg- 
 ment, or even the honesty, of this writer is not so great as to allow of our consider- 
 ing everything found in his works as undoubtedly genuine."* 
 
 Eusebius, then, is the first person who refers to these passages.' 
 Eusebius, " whose honesty is not so great as to allow of our consider- 
 ing everything found in his tuorhs as undoubtedly genuine." Euse- 
 bius, who says that it is laioful to lie and cheat for the cause of 
 Christ.'^ This Eusebius is the sheet-anchor of reliance for most we 
 know of the first three centuries of the Christian history. What 
 then must we think of the history of the first three centuries of the 
 Christian era ? 
 
 1 Lardner ; vol. vi. ch. iii. proper to nee falBCtood as a medium for [he 
 
 ' Bible for Learnere, vol. iii. p. 27. benefit of thote who require to be deceived ;" 
 
 ' Life of Christ, vol. I. p. 63. and he closes hie work with these words : " I 
 
 ' Hebrew and Christ. Hec. vol. ii. p. 63. have repeated whatever may rebound to the 
 
 5 In his Eccl. Hist. lib. 2. ch. xii. glory, and suppressed all that could tend to tile 
 
 • Ch. 31. bk. xii. of Eusebius PrcE paratio disgrace of our religion." 
 Evangelku is entitled : " Uow far it may be
 
 566 APPENDIX. 
 
 The celebrated passage in Tacitus whicli Christian divines — and 
 even some liberal writers — attempt to support, is to be found in his 
 Annals. In this work he is made to speak of Cliristians, who 
 " had their denomination from Ghristus, who, in the reign of 
 Tiberius, was put to death as a criminal by the procurator Pontius 
 Pilate." 
 
 In answer to this we have the following : 
 
 1. This passage, which would have served the purpose of Chris- 
 tian quotation better than any other in all the writings of Tacitus, 
 or of any Pagan writer whatever, is not quoted by any of the Chris- 
 tian Fathers. 
 
 2. It is not quoted by Tertullian, though he had read and 
 largely quotes the works of Tacitus. 
 
 3. And though his argument immediately called for the use of 
 this quotation with so loud a voice (Apol. ch. v.), that his omission 
 of it, if it had really existed, amounts to a violent improbalility. 
 
 4. This Father has spoken of Tacitus in a way that it is absolutely 
 impossible that he should have spoken of him, had Iiis writings con- 
 tained such a passage. 
 
 5. It is not quoted by Clemens Alexandrinus, who set himself 
 entirely to the ivorlc of adducing and bringing together all the admis- 
 sions and recognitions ivhich Pagan authors had made of the exist- 
 ence of Christ Jesus or Christians before his time. 
 
 6. It has been nowhere stumbled upon by the laborious and all- 
 seeking Eusebius, who could by no possibility have overlooked it, 
 and whom it would have saved from the labor of forging the jias- 
 sage in Josephus ; of adducing the correspondence of Christ Jesus 
 and Abgarus, and the Sibylline verses ; of forging a divine revela- 
 tion from the god Apollo, in attestation of Christ Jesus' ascension 
 into heaven ; and innumerable other of his pious and holy cheats. 
 
 7. Tacitus has in no other part of his writings made the least 
 allusion to " Christ" or " Christians." 
 
 8. The use of this passage as part of the evidences of the 
 Christian religion, is absolutely modern. 
 
 9. There is no vestige nor trace of its existence anywhere in the 
 world before the 15th century.' 
 
 1 The original MSS. containing tlie *■ Annals of the chief writers of antiquity, on aconnt of 
 of Tacitus" were "discovered" in the the Popes, in their efforts to revive learning, 
 fifteenth century. Their existence fannot be giving money rewards and indiilgencet^ to tliose 
 traced back further than that time. And as it who should procure MS. copies of any of the 
 was an age of imposture, some persona are ancient Greek or Roman authors. Man- 
 disposed to believe that not only portions of nscripts turned up as if by magic, in every 
 the Annals, but the whole work, was forged at direction ; from libraries of monasteries, 
 that time. Mr. J. W. Ross, in an c]ut)orate obscure as well as famous ; the most out-of- 
 work published in London some years ago, the-way places, — the bottom of exhausted wells, 
 contended that the An?tals were forged by besmeared by snails, as the History of Velleius 
 Poggio Bracciolini, their professed discoverer. Paterculus. or from garrets, where they had 
 At the time of Bracciolini the temptation was been contending with cobwebs and dust, as the 
 great to palm off literary forgeries, especially poems of Catullus.
 
 APPENDIX. 567 
 
 10. No reference whatever is made to this passage by any writer 
 or historian, monkish or otherwise, before that time,' which, to say 
 the least, is very singular, considering tliat after that time it is 
 quoted, or referred to, in an endless list of works, which by itself is 
 all but conclusive that it was not in existence till the fifteenth cen- 
 tury ; which was an age of imposture and of credulity so immoderate 
 that people were easily imposed upon, believing, as they did, without 
 sufi&cient evidence, whatever was foisted upon them. 
 
 11. The interpolator of the passage makes Tacitus speak of 
 " Christ," not of Jesus tlie Christ, showing that — like the passage 
 in Josephus — it is, comparatively, a modern interpolation, for 
 
 13. The word " Clirisi" is not a name, but a title ;^ it being 
 simply the Greek for the Hebrew word "Messiah." Therefore, 
 
 13. When Tacitus is made to speak of Jesus as "Christ," it is 
 equivalent to my speaking of Tacitus as " Historian," of George 
 "Washington as "General," or of any individual as "Mister," with- 
 out adding a name by which either could be distinguished. And 
 therefore, 
 
 14. It has no sense or meaning as he is said to have used it. 
 
 15. Tacitus is also made to say that the Christians had their 
 denomination from Clirist, which would apply to any other of the 
 so-called Christs who were put to death in Judea, as well as to 
 Christ Jesus. And 
 
 16. " The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch " (Acts 
 xi. 26), not because they were followers of a certain Jesus who 
 claimed to be the Christ, but because " Christian" or " Chrestian," 
 was a name applied, at that time, to any good man.' And, 
 
 • A portion of the passage— that relating to (Abbott aud Conant; Die. of Relig. Knowledge, 
 
 the manner in which the Chrietians were put art. "Jesus Christ.") 
 
 to death— is found in the Historia Sacra of In the oldest Gospel extant, that attributed 
 
 Snlpicins Severus, a Christian Father, who to Matthew, we read that Jesns said unto his 
 
 died A. c. "ICO ; but it is evident that this disciples, " Whom say ye that I am ?" where- 
 
 writer did not take it from the Annals. On the upon Simon Peter answers and says : " Thou 
 
 ■contrary, the passage was taken — as Mr. Ross art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 
 
 ehows- from the Historia Sacra, and bears . . . Then charged he his disciples that they 
 
 traces of having been so appropriated. (See should tell no man that he was Jesus thb 
 
 Tacitus &, Bracciolini, the Annals forged in the Clirist." (Matt. xvi. 15-20.) 
 
 XVth century, hy J. W. Ross.) This clearly shows that " the Christ " was 
 
 2 " Christ 16 a name having no spiritual simply a (i^/« applied to the man Jesus, there- 
 signification, and importing nollitng more than fore, if a title, it cannot be a name. All pas- 
 an ordinary surname." (IJr. Giles : Hebrew sages in the New Testament which speak of 
 And Christian Records, vol. ii. p. 04.) Christ as a name, betray their modem date. 
 
 " The name of .Jesus and Christ was both a " This name (Christian) occurs but three 
 
 known and honored among the ancients." times in the New Testament, and is never 
 
 (Eusebias : Eccl. Hist., lib. 1, ch. iv.) used by Christians of themselves. only as spoken 
 
 " The name Jesujs is of Hebrew origin, and by or coming from those without the Church, 
 signifies Deliverer, and Savior. It is the The general names by which the early Chris- 
 same as that translated in the Old Testament tians called themselves were ' brethren,' * disci- 
 Joshua. The word Christ, of Greek origin, pies," believers,' and 'saints.' The presumption 
 is properly not a name but a title signifying is that the name (7/in,rfi(3;i was originated by the 
 The Anointed. The whole name is therefore. Heathen." (Abbott and Conant : Die. of Relig. 
 Jemis the Anointed or Jesus the MefSioA." Knowledge, art. " Christian.")
 
 568 APPENDIX. 
 
 17. The worshipers of the Sun-god, Serapis, were also called 
 " Christians," and his disciples *' Bishops of Christ."' 
 So much, then, for the celebrated passage in Tacitus. 
 
 '*We are called ChriPtians {not^ we call the whole human race participates. All those 
 
 onrselves Christians). So, then, we are the who haop lived conformably io a right reason^ 
 
 bett of men (ChrestianB), and it can never be havebeen Christians, notwithstanriing tlmtthey 
 
 just to hate what is (ChrSet) good and kind ; " have always been looked upon as Atheists." 
 
 [or, "therefore to hate wliat is Chreslian is (Justin Martyr : ApoL I. c. xlvi.) 
 nnjnst."] (Justin Martyr : ApoL 1. c. iv.) Lucian makes a person called Triephon, 
 
 *'Someof the ancient writers of the Church answer the question, whether the affairs of 
 
 have not scrupled expressly to call the Athe- the Christians were recorded in heaven. "All 
 
 nian SocrateSy and some others of the best of nations are there recorded, since Chrestue 
 
 the heathen moralists, by the name of Chris- exists even among the Gentiles." 
 iiajis.''^ (Clark : Evidences of Revealed Relig., i " Egypt, which you commended to me, my 
 
 p, 284. Quoted in Ibid. p. 41.) dearest 8ervianus, I have found to be wholly 
 
 "Those who lived according to the Logos, fickle and inconsistent, and continually wafted 
 
 (i.tf.,the Ptatomsts), were really Christians/^ about by every breath of fame. The worshipers 
 
 (Clemens Alexandrinus. in Ibid.) of Serapis (Tiere) are called Christians, and 
 
 " Undoubtedly we are called Chi^tians, those who are devoted to the god Serapis (I 
 
 for this reasou, and none otiicr, than because find), call themselves ^iiVto/Js of Christ:' (The 
 
 we are anointed with the oil of God:' (The- Emperor Adrian to Servianus, written a.i>. 
 
 ophilus of Antiocb, in Ibid. p. 399.) 134. Quoted by Dr. Giles, vol. ii. p. 8G.) 
 
 "Christ is the Sovereign Reason of wbom 
 
 Note.— Tacitus says— according to the passage attributed to him— that "those who con- 
 fessed [to be Christians] were first seized, and then on their evidence a huge 7}inltitnde {higens- 
 Multitudo) were convicted, not so much on the charge of incendiarism as for their hatred to 
 mankind:'' Although M. Renan may say [Hi^jbert Lectures, p. 70) that the authenticity of this 
 paspa;;e " cannot be disputed," yet the absurdity of " a huge multitude " of Christians being 
 in Rome, in the days of Nero, A'. D. 64 — about thirty year? after the tmie assigned for the cruci- 
 fixion of Jesus— has not escaped the eye of thoughtful scliolara. Gibbon—who saw how ridicu- 
 lous the statement is— attempts to reconcile it with common sense by supposing that TacitU3 
 knew so little about the Christians that he confounded them with the Jews, and that the hatred 
 nniver^aliy felt for the latter fell upon the former. In this way he believes Tacitus gets bis 
 " huge multitudo." as the Jews established themselves in Rome as early as 60 years B. C, where 
 they muitipiied rapidly, living together in the Traslevere- the most abject portion of the city, 
 ■where all kinds of rubbish was put to rot— where they became "' old clothes " men, the porters and 
 hucksters, bartering tapers for broken glass, hated by the mass and pitied by the few. Other 
 scholars, among whom may be niL-ntioued Schwegler {Nachap Zeit., ii. 229); KOstlin (Johann- 
 Lehrbeqr., 472); and Baur {Firf^t Three Centu?-ies, i. 133); also being struck with the absurdity of 
 the statement made by some of the early Christian writers conccniing the whok-sale prosecu- 
 tion of Christians, said to have happened at that time, suppose it must have taken place during 
 the persecution of Trajan, A. D. 101. It is strange we hear of no Jewish martyrdoms or Jewish 
 persecutions till we come to the times of the Jewish war, and then chiefly in Palestine ! But 
 fables must be made realities, so we have the lidieiiloLi^ ^itory of a " huge multitude" of Chris- 
 tians being put to death in Rome, in A. D. lA, cvuiently for tlie purpose of bringing Peter there, 
 making him tlie first Pope, and having him crucified head downwards. This absurd story ia 
 made more evident when we find that it was not until about A. D. TiO— only 14 years before the 
 alleged persecution— that the first Christiuns- a mere handful— entered the capitol of th& 
 Empire. (See Renan's Hibbert Lectu?'€S, p. 55.) They were a poor dlriy set, without manners, 
 clad in filthy gaberdines, and sraclliug strong of garlic. From these, then, with others ^vho came 
 from Syria, we get our " huge multitude " lu the space of 14 years. The statement attributed 
 to Tacitus is, however, outdone by Orosius, who asserts that the persecution extenaed ■"through 
 all the provinces," (Orosius. ii. 11.) That it wns a very easy matter for some Christian writer 
 to interpolate or alter a passage in the A/uial'i of Tacitus may be seen from the fact that the ms. 
 was not known to the world before the 15th century, ana from information which is to be 
 derived from reading Daille On the Right I'.-ie of the Fat/ters, who yhows that tht-y were accus- 
 tomed to doing suchTjusiness, and that these writings are, to a large extent, unreliable.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abraham,, story of, 38; Hindoo parallel, 
 39; other parallels, 39, 40; the foun- 
 dation of, 103 ; his birth announced 
 by a star, 144; supposed to have had 
 the same soul as Adam, David, and 
 the Messiah, 504. 
 
 Absolution from sin by sacrifice of 
 ancient origin, 181; by baptism, 316; 
 refused to Constantine by Pagan 
 priests, 444. 
 
 Abury, the temple at, 180. 
 
 Achilleus, a personification of the Sun, 
 485. 
 
 Adam, was reproduced in Noah, 
 Elijah, and other Bible celebrities, 
 44 ; no trace of the story of the fall 
 of, in the Hebrew Canon, after the 
 Genesis account, 99. 
 
 Aditi, "Mother of the Gods," 475; a 
 personification of the Dawn, 475; is 
 identified with Devaki, 475. 
 
 Adonis, is born of a Virgin, 191; has 
 title of " Saviour," 191, 217; is slain, 
 191; rises from the dead, 218; is 
 creator of the world, 249; his temple 
 at Bethlehem, 220; his birth on 
 December 25th, 364; a personification 
 of the Sun, 484; in Hebrew "My 
 Lord," 485. 
 
 ^olis, son of Jupiter, 125. 
 
 ^on, Christ Jesus an, 427; there have 
 been several, 427; the Gnostics be- 
 lieved Christ Jesus to have been an, 
 511 ; the Essenes believed in the doc- 
 trine of an, 515. 
 
 ^schylus' Prometheus Bound, 192. 
 
 ^sculapius, a son of Jove, 128, wor- 
 shiped as a God, 128; is called the 
 "Saviour," 194; the "Logos," 374; 
 Death and Resurrection of, 217. 
 
 Agni, represented with seven arms, 32; 
 a Hindoo God, 32; the Cross a sym- 
 bol of, 340. 
 
 Agnus Dei, the, succeeded the Bulla, 
 405; worn by children, 405. 
 
 Agony, the, on Good Friday, is the 
 weeping for Tammuz, the fair 
 Adonis. 226. 
 
 Akiba, Rabbi, believed Bar-Cochaba to 
 be the Messiah, 433. 
 
 Alcmena, mother of Hercules, 124. 
 
 Alexander, divides the Pamphylian 
 Sea, 61 ; believed to be a divine in- 
 carnation, 127; visits the temple of 
 Jupiter Amnion, 127; and styles him- 
 self "Son of Jupiter Amnion," 127. 
 
 Alexandria, the library of, 438; the 
 great intellectual centre, 440; and 
 the cradle of Christianity, 219, 442. 
 
 Allegorical, the, interpretation of the 
 Scriptures practiced by Rabbis, 100; 
 the historical theory succeeded by, 
 406, 552, 563. 
 
 Allegory, the story of the "Fall of 
 Man " an, 100, 
 
 All-father, the, of all nations, a personi- 
 fication of the Sky, 478. 
 
 Alpha and Omega, Jesus believed to be, 
 250; Crishna, 250; Buddha, 250; Lao- 
 Kiun, 250; Ormuzd, 251; Zeus, 251; 
 Bacchus, 251. 
 
 Ambrose, tit., affirms that the Apostles 
 made a creed, 385. 
 
 [5691
 
 570 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 America, populated from Asia, 540; 
 was at one time joined to Asia, 541. 
 American Trinity, llie, 378. 
 Americans, tljeir connection with tlie 
 
 old world, 533. 
 Amnion, Jupiter, liis temple visited by 
 
 Alexander, 127. 
 Amp/lion, son of Jove, 124. 
 Amuteis and Charms, worn by the 
 Christians, 405; are relics of Pagan- 
 ism, 405. 
 Ananda, and the Matangi Girl, 294. 
 Andrew's, SI., Cross, of Pagan origin, 
 
 339. 
 Angel Messiah, Buddha an, 116; Crish- 
 na an, 196; Christ an, 196; the Es- 
 senes applied the legend of, to Jesus, 
 442. 
 Angela, the fallen, 386; believed in by 
 
 all nations of antiquity, 386-388. 
 Animals, none sacrificed in early 
 
 times, 183. 
 Antiquity, the, of Pagan religions, 
 
 compared with Christianity, 451. 
 AiHs, or the Bull, worshiped by the 
 children of Israel, 107; symbolized 
 the productive power in Nature, 
 476, note 5. 
 Apollo, a lawgiver, 61 ; son of Jove, 
 125; has the title of "Saviour," 194; 
 is put to death, 191 ; resurrection of, 
 218; a type of Christ, 500; is a per- 
 sonification of the Sun, 500-506. 
 Apostles, the, 500. 
 Apostles' Creed, the, not written by 
 
 them, 385. 
 Apotheosis, the, of Pagans, 126. 
 Apollonius, considered divine, 126; 
 cured diseases, 261 ; raised a dead 
 maiden to life, 202; his life written 
 by Flavins Philostratus, 264. 
 Arabia, "wise men" came from, 150, 
 
 note 1. 
 Arabs, the, anciently worshiped Saturn, 
 393; celebrated the birth of the Sun 
 on December 25th, with offerings of 
 gold, frankincense and myrrh, 480. 
 Ararat, Mount, Noah's ark landed on, 
 
 21. 
 Areas, a son of Jove, 125. 
 Architeclure, the, of India same as 
 
 Mexico, 538. 
 Aries, the sign of a symbol of Christ, 
 
 503; personified and called the 
 "Lamb of God," 504; the worship 
 of, the worship of the Sun, 504. 
 Arimanes, the evil spirit, according to 
 
 Persian legend, 3. 
 Arion, a Corinthian harper, 78. 
 Arjoon or Arjuna, the cousin and be- 
 loved disciple of Crishna, 247. 
 Ark, the, of Noah, 20; and others, 22- 
 
 27. 
 Armenian, the, tradition of "Confu- 
 sion of Tongues," 35. 
 Aroclus, son of Jove, 125. 
 
 Artem/>n, denied the divinity of Jesus, 
 135. 
 
 Ascension, of Jesus, 215; of Crishna, 
 215; of Rama, 216; of Buddha, 216; 
 of Lao-Kiun, 216; of Zoroaster; of 
 ^sculapius, 217 ; of Osiris, 223 ; 
 Atys, 332; Mithras, 222. 
 
 Asceticism, as practiced among the 
 Christians, of great antiquity, 400. 
 
 Ashera, the, or upright emblem, stood 
 in the Temple at Jerusalem, 47. 
 
 Asia, the continent of, at one time 
 joined to America, 541; America in- 
 habited from, 454, 533. 
 
 Asia Minor, the people persecuted in 
 by orders of Constantius, 448. 
 
 Asita, the holy Rishi, visits Buddha at 
 his birth, 151. 
 
 Asoka, the council of, 303. 
 
 Assyrian Dove, the, a symbol of the 
 Holy Ghost, 400. 
 
 Assyrians, the, worshiped a sun-god 
 called Sandon, 74; had an accoimt 
 of a war in Heaven, 388; kept the 
 seventh day holy, 393. 
 
 Astaroth, the goddess, saved the life of 
 a Grecian maiden, 39. 
 
 Astarte, or Mylitta, worshiped by the 
 Hebrews, 108. 
 
 Astrology, practiced by the ancients, 
 141, 142. 
 
 Astronomers, the ancient Egyptians 
 great, 547. 
 
 Astronomy, understood by the ancient 
 Chinese, 544. 
 
 Athanasian Greed, the, 381. 
 
 Athens, the Parthenon of, 333. 
 
 Atlas, a personification of the sun, 83. 
 
 Atonement, the doctrine of taught be- 
 fore the time of Christ Jesus, 181.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 571 
 
 Atya, the Crucified, 190; is called the 
 "Only-begotten Son," and "Sa- 
 viour," 190; rose from the dead. 223. 
 
 Augustine, St., saw men and women 
 without heads. 437. 
 
 Aurora plackla. made into St. Aura 
 and St. Placida, 399. 
 
 Avatar, Jesus considered an. 111 : a star 
 at birth of every, 143, 479: an "Angel- 
 Messiah." a "Christ," 196; an, ex- 
 pected about every 600 years, 426. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baal, and Moloch, worshiped by the 
 children of Israel, 108. 
 
 Baal-peor, the Priapos of the Jews, 47. 
 
 Babel, the tower of, 33; literally "the 
 Gate of God," 34; built at Babylon, 
 34; a parallel to in other countries, 35 ; 
 built for astronomical purposes, 35. 
 
 Babylonian Captivity, the, put au end 
 to Israel's idolatry, 108. 
 
 Ba,cab, the Son, in the Mexican Trinity, 
 378. 
 
 Bacchus, performed miracles, 50; pass- 
 ed through the Red Sea dry-shod, 51 : 
 divided the waters of the rivers 
 Orontes and Hydaspus, 51; drew 
 water from a rock, 51 ; was a law- 
 giver, 53; the son of Jupiter, 124; 
 was born in a cave, 156; torn to 
 pieces, 193. 209; was called the " Sa- 
 viour," 193; "Only-begotten Son," 
 193; "Redeemer." 193; the sim dark- 
 ened at his death, 208; ascended into 
 heaven, 208; rose from the dead, 228; 
 a personification of the sun, 493. 
 
 Baga, the, of the cuneiform inscrip- 
 tions a name of the Supreme Being, 
 391 ; is in English associated with an 
 ugly fiend, 391. 
 
 Balaam, his ass speaks, 91 ; parallels to 
 in Egypt, Chaldea and Greece, 91. 
 
 Bala-ra?na, the brother of Crishna, 74; 
 the Indian Hercules. 74. 
 
 Baldur, called "The Good," 129; "The 
 Beneficent Saviour," 129; Son of the 
 Supreme God Odin, 129; is put to 
 death and rises again, 224; a personi- 
 fication of the sun, 479. 
 
 Bambino, the, at Rome is black, 336. 
 
 Baptism, a heathen rite adopted by the 
 Christians, 317; practiced in Mongo- 
 
 lia and Thibet, 317; by the Brah- 
 mins, 317; by the followers of Zoro- 
 aster, 318; administered in the Mith- 
 raic mysteries, 319 ; performed by 
 the ancient Egyptians, 319. 
 
 Baptismal fonts, used by the Pagans, 
 406. 
 
 Bar-Cochba, the " Son of a Star," 144; 
 believed to be the Messiah, 433. 
 
 Deads (see Rosar3'). 
 
 Beatitudes, the, the prophet of, 537. 
 
 Belief, or faith, salvation by, existed in 
 the e.irliest times. 184. 
 
 Bellerophon, a mighty Grecian hero, 75. 
 
 Belus, the tower of, 34. 
 
 Benares, the Hindoo Jerusalem, 296. 
 
 Berosus, on the flood, 22. 
 
 Bible, the Egyptian, the oldest in the 
 world, 24. 
 
 Birth, the Miraculous, of Jesus, 111; 
 Crishna, 113; Buddha, 115; Codom, 
 118; Fuh-he, 119; LaoKiun, 120; 
 Yu, Hau-Ki, 120; Confucius, 131; 
 Horus, 133 ; Zoroaster, 123 ; and 
 others, 123-131. 
 
 Birth-day, the, of the gods, on Decem- 
 ber 25th, 364. 
 
 Birth-place, the, of Christ Jesus, in a 
 cave, 154; the, of other saviours, in 
 a cave, 155-158. 
 
 Black 0ml, the, crucified, 201, 
 
 Black Mother, the, and child, 336. 
 
 Bochia, of the Persians, performed mir- 
 acles, 256. 
 
 Bochica, a god of the Muyscas, 130. 
 
 Bodhisatwa, a name of Buddha, 115. 
 
 Boolcs, sacred, among heathen nations, 
 61. 
 
 Brahma, the first person in Hindoo 
 Trinity, 369. 
 
 Brahmins, the, perform the rite of bap- 
 tism, 317. 
 
 Bread and Wine, a sacrifice with, cele- 
 brated by the Grand Lama of Thibet. 
 306; by the Essenes, 306; by Mel- 
 chizedek, 307; by those who were 
 initiated into the mysteries of Mith- 
 ras, 307. 
 
 Blind Man, cured by Jesus, 368; by 
 the Emperor Vespasian at Alexan- 
 dria, 368. 
 
 Brechin, the fire tower of, 199; a cruci- 
 fix cut upon, 198.
 
 672 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Buddha, born of the Virgin Maya, 11 J; 
 his birth announced by a star, 143; 
 demonatrations of deliglit at his 
 birth, 147; is visited by Asita, 151; 
 was of royal descent, 163; a danger- 
 ous child, 1G8 ; tempted by the devil. 
 176; fasted, 176; died and rose again 
 to life, 216; ascended into heaven, 
 216; compared with Jesus, 28!). 
 
 Buddhism, the established religion of 
 Burmah, Siam, Laos, Pega, Cambo- 
 dia, Thibet, Japan, Tartary, Ceylon, 
 and Loo-Choo, 297. 
 
 Buddhist religi/)n, the, compared with 
 Christianity, 302. 
 
 Buddhists, the monastic system among, 
 401. 
 
 Bull, the, an emblem of the sun, 476. 
 
 Bulla, the, worn by Roman children, 
 405; and now a lamb, the Agnus 
 Dei, 405. 
 
 C 
 
 Cabala, the, bad its Trinity, 376. 
 
 Cadiz, the gates of, 70. 
 
 CcBsar (Augustus), was believed to be 
 divine, 126r 
 
 Casar (Julius), was likened to the di- 
 vine, 126. 
 
 Calahrian Sliepherds, the, a few weeks 
 before Winter solstice, came into 
 Rome to play on the pipes. 363. 
 
 Cam-Deo, the God of Love, 216. 
 
 Capricorn, when the planets met in, the 
 world was deluged with water, 102. 
 
 Cardinals, the, of Home, wear the robes 
 once worn bj' Roman senators, 400. 
 
 Carmelites, the, and Bssenes the same, 
 422. 
 
 Canon, the, of the Kew Testament, 
 when settled, 463. 
 
 Carne-vak, a fai-ewell to animal food, 
 227. 
 
 Carnutes. the, of Gaul, 198, the Lamb 
 of, 199. 
 
 Castles, Lord, a ring found on his es- 
 tate, 199. 
 
 Catholic rites and ceremonies are imita- 
 tions of those of the Pagans, 384. 
 
 Catholic theory, the, of the fall of the 
 angels, 386. 
 
 Cane, Jesus born in a, 154 ; Crishna 
 born in a, 156 ; Abraham born in a, 
 
 j 156 ; Apollo born in a, 156 ; Mithras 
 I born in a, 156 ; Hermes born in a, 
 156. 
 Canes, all the oldest temples were in, 
 
 286. 
 Celibacy, among Pagan priests, 400-404. 
 Celts, the. Legend of the Deluge found 
 
 among, 27. 
 Cerinthus, denied the divinity of Jesus, 
 
 136. 
 Ceylon, never believed to have been the 
 
 Paradise, 13. 
 Chaldean, the, account of the Deluge, 
 
 22. 
 Chaldeans, the. Legend of the Deluge 
 borrowed from, 101; worshiped the 
 Sun, 480. 
 Champlain period, the, 28. 
 Clumdragupta, a dangerous child, 171. 
 ClMstity, among Mexican priests, 404. 
 Cliarlemugne, the Messiah of medieval 
 
 Teutondom, 239. 
 Cherokees, the, had a priest and law- 
 giver called Wasi, 130. 
 Cherubim, the, of Genesis, a dragon, 14. 
 Child, the dangerous, 165. 
 Chilias!/!, the thousand years when Sa- 
 tan is bound, 242. 
 Chimalman, the Mexican virgin, 334. 
 Chinese, the, have their Age of Virtue, 
 14; have a legend of a deluge. 25; 
 worship a Virgin-born God, 119 ; 
 worship a " Queen of Heaven," 327; 
 worship a Trinity, 371; have "Fes- 
 tivals of gratitude to Tien," 393; 
 have monasteries for priests, friars 
 and nuns, 401; identified with the 
 American race, 539. 
 Cholula, the tower of, 86. 
 Christ, the, 568. 
 
 Christ (Buddha), compared with Je- 
 sus, 289. 
 Christ (Crishna), compared with Jesus, 
 
 278. 
 Christ (.Jesus), born of a Virgin, 111; a 
 star heralds his birth, 140; is visited 
 by shepherds and wise men. 150; is 
 born ill a cave, 154; is of royal de- 
 scent, 160; is tempted by the devil, 
 175; fasts for forty days, 175; is put 
 to death, 181; no early representa- 
 tions of, on the cross, 201 ; descends 
 into hell, 211 ; rises from the dead, 215;
 
 INDEX. 
 
 67a 
 
 ascends into heaven, 215; will come 
 again, 233; will be judge of the dead, 
 245; as creator, 246; performs mira- 
 cles, 252; coinpiux'd with Crisbna, 
 278; compared with Buddha, 289; 
 his birthday not known, iioO; a per- 
 souificatiou of the Sun, 498; not 
 identical with the historical Jesus, 
 500 
 
 Clmdian, the name, originated by Hea- 
 thens, 567, note 3. 
 
 Christianity, identical with Paganism, 
 384; why it prospered, 419. 
 
 Christians, the disciples first called, at 
 Antioch, 5(i7; the worshipers of Se- 
 rapis called, 568; heathen moralists 
 called by the name of, 508. 
 
 Christian Symbols, of Pagan origin, 339. 
 
 CJiristening. a Pagan rite, 320. 
 
 Circumcision, the universal practice of, 
 85. 
 
 Claudius, Roman Emperor, 126, con- 
 sidered divine, 126. 
 
 Cobra, the, or hooded snake, held sa- 
 cred in India, 199. 
 
 Codom, the Siamese Virgin-born Sav- 
 iour, 118. The legend of. contained 
 in the Pali books, 316 B. C, 451. 
 
 Comets, superstitions concerning, 144, 
 210. 
 
 Coming, the second, of Christ Jesus, 
 233: of Vishnu, 206; of Buddha, 237; 
 of Bacchus, 238; of Arthur, 238; of 
 Charlemagne, 239; of Quetzalcoatle, 
 239. 
 
 Commandments, the ten, of Moses, and 
 of Buddha, 59. 
 
 Conception, the immaculate, of Jesus, 
 111; of Crishna, 113; of Buddha, 
 115; of Codom, 118; of Salivahana, 
 119; of Fuh-he, 119; of Fo hi. 119; 
 of Xaca, 119; of Lao-kiun, 120; of 
 Tu. 120; of llau-ki, 120; of Confu- 
 cius, 121; of Horus, 122; of Raam- 
 ses, 123; of Zoroaster, 123; of Her- 
 cules, 124; of Bacchus, 125; of Per- 
 seus, 125; of Mercury, 126; Apollo, 
 126; of Quetzalcoatle, 129. 
 
 Confession, tlie, of sins, of Pagan ori- 
 gin, 403. 
 
 Confirmation, the, of children, of Pa- 
 gan origin, 319. 
 
 Confucius, was of supernatural origin, 
 
 121; had seventy-two disciples, 131; 
 author of the "Golden Rule," 415. 
 
 Confusion of Tongues, the " Scripture " 
 account of, 3:!; the Armenian tradi- 
 tion, 35; the Hindoo legend of, 35; 
 the Mexican legend of, 36. 
 
 Constantine (Saint), the first Roman 
 emperor to check free thought, 444; 
 accepts the Christian faith, 444; 
 commits murders, 444; baptized on 
 his death-bed, 445; the first Roman 
 emperor who embraced the Christian 
 faith, 440; his edicts again.st heretics, 
 446; his effigies engraved on Roman 
 coins, 446; conferred dignities on the 
 Christians, 446. 
 
 Coronis, the mother of ^sculapius, 138 
 impregnated by a god, 128. 
 
 Creation, the, Hebrew legend of, 1 
 two different and contradictory ac 
 counts of, 5; Bi-shop Colenso on, 5 
 Persian legend of, 7; Etruscan legend 
 of, 7; Hebrew legend of, borrowed 
 from Chaldeans, 98. 
 
 Creator, the, Jesus considered, 347; 
 Crishna, according to the Hindoos, 
 247; Lauther, according to the Chi- 
 nese, 248; lao, according to the Chal- 
 deans, 248; Orniuzd, according to 
 the Persians, 249; Narduk, accord- 
 ing to the Assyrians, 249; Adonis 
 and Prometheus believed to be, 249. 
 
 Creed, the Apostles', 385; compared 
 with the Pagan, 385; not known be- 
 fore the fourth ccnturj-, 385; addi- 
 tions to since A. D. 600, 385. 
 
 Crescent, the, an emblem of the female 
 generative principle, 338. 
 
 Crestos, the, was the Logos, 487. 
 
 Crishna, born of the Virgin Devaki, 
 113; the greatest of all the xVvatars, 
 113; is "Vishnu himself in human 
 form'," 113; his birth announced in 
 the heavens by a star, 278; spoke to 
 his motlier shortly after birth, 279: 
 adored by cowherds, 279; presented 
 with gifts, 379; was of royal descent, 
 280 ; performed miracles, 281 ; was 
 crucitied, 280; descended into hell, 
 282 ; rose from the dead. 282 ; a per- 
 sonification of the sun, 483. 
 
 Cross, the, used as a religious sj'mbol 
 before the Christian era, 338; adored
 
 574 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 in India, 340; adored by the Budd- 
 hists of Thibet, 340; found on Egyp- 
 tian monuments, 343; found uuder 
 the temple of Serapls, 342; uulver- 
 sally adored before the Christian era, 
 339-347. 
 
 Crucifixes, the earliest Christian, de- 
 scribed, 203-205. 
 
 Crucifixion, the, of Jesus, 180; of " Sa- 
 viours " before the Christian era, 181- 
 193; of all the gods, explained, 484, 
 485. 
 
 Crux Ansata, the, of Egypt, 341. 
 
 Cuneiform Inscriptions, the, of Babylo- 
 nians, relate the legends of creation 
 and fall of man, 9, 98. 
 
 Cybele, the goddess, called "Mother of 
 God," 333. 
 
 Cyril, St., caused the death of Hj^ia- 
 tia, 440. 
 
 Cyrus, king of Persia, 127; considered 
 divine, 127; called the "Christ," 127, 
 196; believed to be the Messiah, 433; 
 sun myth added to the history of, 
 506. 
 
 Dag, a, Hercules swallowed up by, 78. 
 
 Dagon, a fish-god of the Philistines, 82; 
 identical with the Indian fish Avatar 
 of Vishnu, 82. 
 
 Danae, a "Virgin Mother," 124. 
 
 Dangerous Child, the, myth of, 165. 
 
 Daphne, a personification of the morn- 
 ing, 469. 
 
 Darkness, at crucifixion of Jesus, 206; 
 parallels to, 206-210; the, explained, 
 494. 
 
 David, killed Goliath, 90; compared 
 with Thor, 91. 
 
 Dawn, the, personified, and called Adi- 
 ti, the "Mother of the Gods," 475. 
 
 Day, the, swallowed up by night, 79. 
 
 December 25th, birth-day of the gods, 
 359. 
 
 Delphi, Apollo's tomb at, 510. 
 
 Deluge, the, Hebrew legend of, 19; par- 
 allels to, 20-30. 
 
 Demi-gods, the, of antiquity not real 
 personages, 467. 
 
 Demons, cast out, by Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, 269. 
 
 Denis, St., is Dionysus, 399. 
 
 Deo Soli, pictures of the Virgin in- 
 scribed with the words, 338. 
 
 Dercito, the goddess, represented as a 
 mermaid, 83. 
 
 Deucalion, the legend of, 26; derived 
 from Chaldeau sources, 101. 
 
 Detiiki, a virgin mother, 326. 
 
 Devil, the, counterfeits the religion of 
 Christ, 124; formerly a name of the 
 Supreme Being, 391. 
 
 Diana, called "Mother," yet famed for 
 her virginity, 333. 
 
 Dionysus, a name of Bacchus, 51. 
 
 Divine incarnation, the idea of redemp- 
 tion by a, was general and popular 
 among the Heathen, 183. 
 
 Divine incarnations, common before the 
 time of Jesus, 112. 
 
 Divine Love, crucified, 484; the sun, 
 487. 
 
 Divas, the title of, given to Roman em- 
 perors, 125. 
 
 Docetcs, Asiatic Christians who in- 
 vented the phantastic system, 136. 
 
 Dove, the, a symbol of the Holy Ghost 
 among all nations of antiquity, 357; 
 the, crucified, 485. 
 
 Dragon, a, protected the garden of the 
 Hesperides, 11; the cherub of Gene- 
 sis, 14. 
 
 Drama of Life, the, 29. 
 
 Druids, the, of Gaul, worshiped the 
 Virgo-Paritura as the Mother of 
 God, 333. 
 
 Durga, a fish deity among the Hin- 
 doos, 82. 
 
 Dyaus, the Heavenly Father, 478; a 
 personification of the sky, 478. 
 
 E 
 
 East, turning to in worship, practiced 
 
 by Christians, 503. 
 Easter, origin of, 226; observed in Chi- 
 na, 227; controversies about, 227; 
 
 dyed eggs on, of Pagan origin, 228; 
 
 the primitive was celebrated on 
 
 March 25th, 335. 
 Ealing, the forbidden fruit, the story 
 
 of, figurative, 101. 
 Ebionttes, the first Christians called, 
 
 134. 
 Ecclesiastics, the Essenes called, 424
 
 INDEX. 
 
 675 
 
 Eclectics, the Essenes called, 424. 
 
 Eclipse, an, of the Sun. occurred at the 
 de.ith of Jesus, 206; of Homulus, 
 207; of Julius Ccesar 207; of .^scu- 
 lapius, 208; of Hercules, 208 ; of 
 Quirinius, 208. 
 
 Edda, the, of the Scandinavians speaks 
 of the ■' Golden" Age, 15; describes 
 the deluge, 27. 
 
 Egypt, legend of the Deluge not known 
 in, 23; the Exodus from, 48; cir- 
 cumcision practiced in, 85; virgin- 
 born gods worshiped in, 122; kings 
 of considered gods, 123; Virgin Mo- 
 ther worshiped in, 339, 330; the cross 
 adored in, 341. 
 
 Egyptian, faith, hardly an idea in the 
 Christian system which has not its 
 analogy in the, 414. 
 
 Egyptian kings considered gods, 123. 
 
 Egyptians, the, had a legend of the 
 "Tree of Life," 12; received their 
 laws direct from God, 60; practiced 
 circumcision at au early period, 85; 
 were great astrologers, 142; were fa- 
 miliar with the war in heaven, 
 387. 
 
 El, the Phenician deity, 484; called the 
 "Saviour," 484. 
 
 Elephant, the, a symbol of power and 
 wisdom, 117; cut on the fire tower at 
 Brechin, in Scotland, 198; in Amer- 
 ica, 537. 
 
 Eleusinian, the. Mysteries, 310. 
 
 EleuMs, the ceremonies at, 310. 
 
 Elijah ascends to heaven, 90; its par- 
 allel, 90. 
 
 Elohistic, the, narrative of the Creation 
 and Deluge differs from the Jehovis- 
 tic, 93. 
 
 Elysium, the, of the Greeks, 11 ; mean- 
 ing of, 101. 
 
 Emperors, the, of Rome considered di- 
 vine, 126. 
 
 Eocene period, the, 29. 
 
 Eostre, or Oster, the Saxon Goddess, 
 226, 227. 
 
 Epimetheus, the first man, brother of 
 Prometheus, 10. 
 
 Equinox, at the Spring, most nations 
 set apart a day to implore the bless- 
 ings of their gods, 492. 
 
 Eedras, the apocryphal book of, 95. 
 
 Essenes, the, and the Therapeute the 
 same, 419; the origin of not known, 
 419; compared with the primitive 
 Ch;istians, 420; tliuir principal rites 
 connected with the East, 42o ; the 
 " Scriptures " of, 443. 
 
 Etruscan, baptism, 320; Goddess, 330. 
 
 Etruscans, the, had a legend of crea- 
 tion simdar to Hebrew, 75 ; per- 
 formed the rite of baptism, 320; wor- 
 shiped a " Virgin Mother," 330. 
 
 Eucharist, the, or Lord's Supper, 305; 
 instituted before the Christian era, 
 305; performed by various ancient 
 nations, 30.5-312. 
 
 Eudes, the, of California, worshiped a 
 mediating deity, 131. 
 
 Eusebius, speaks of the Ebionites, 134; 
 of Easter, 226; of Simon Magus, 265; 
 of Menander the "Wonder Work- 
 er," 266; of an "ancient custom" 
 among the Christians, 316; the birth 
 of Jesus, 361 ; calls the Essenes Chris- 
 tians, 422. 
 
 Eve, the first woman, 3, 
 
 Evil, origin of, 4. 
 
 Exorcism, practiced by the Jews before 
 the time of Jesus, 268. 
 
 Explanation, the, of the Universal My- 
 thos, 466. 
 Ezra, added to the Pentateuch, 94. 
 
 Faith, salvation by, taught before the 
 Christian era, 184. 
 
 Fall of Man, the, Hebrew account of, 
 4; parallels to, 7-16; hardly allu- 
 ded to outside of Genesis, 99; allego- 
 rical meaning of, 101. 
 
 Fall of the Angels, the, 386. 
 
 Fasting, for forty days, a common oc- 
 currence, 179 ; at certain periods, 
 practiced by the ancients, 177, 392. 
 
 Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the, of Pa- 
 gan origin, 369. 
 
 Females, the, of the Orinoco tribes, 
 fasted forty days before marriage, 
 179; 
 
 Festivals, held by the Hindoos, the Chi- 
 nese, the Eg}^ptians, and others, 392. 
 
 Fifty, Jesus said to have lived to the 
 age of, 515.
 
 676 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Fig-tree, the, sacred, 13. 
 
 Fijians, Ibe, practiced circumcision, 86. 
 
 Fire, worshiped by the Mexicans and 
 Peruvians, 532. 
 
 Fire Tower, the, of Brechin, 199. 
 
 Firmicius (Julius), says the Devil has 
 his Christs, 183. 
 
 Fisft, the, a symbol of Christ Jesus, 
 355 ; meaning of, 504. 
 
 Fleur de Lis, or Lotus, a sacred plant, 
 329. 
 
 Flood, the, Hebrew legend of, 19 ; par- 
 allels to, 22-27, 
 
 Flower, Jesus called a, 487. 
 
 Fo-hi, of China, born of a Virgin, 119. 
 
 Forty, a sacred number, 179 
 
 Fraud, practiced by the early Chris- 
 tians, 434. 
 
 Frey, the deity of the Sun, 488; killed 
 at the time of the winter solstice, 488. 
 
 Freyga, the goddess, of the Scandina- 
 vians, transformed into the Virgin 
 Mary, 399; a personification of the 
 earth. 479. 
 
 Friday, fish day, why, 354. 
 
 Frigga (see Freyga). 
 
 Fuh-he, Chinese sage, 119; considered 
 divine, 119. 
 
 FtUurc Life, the doctrine of, taught by 
 nearly all nations of antiquity, 388. 
 
 G. 
 
 Oabriel, the angel, salutes the Virgin 
 
 Mary, 111. 
 Galaxy, the, souls dwell in, 45. 
 Galilee, Jesus a native of, 520; the in- 
 surgent district of the country, 520; 
 
 the Messiahs all started out from, 
 
 521. 
 Oalli, the, now sung in Christian 
 
 churches, was once sung by the 
 
 priests of Cybele, 333. 
 Oanesa, the Indian God of Wisdom, 
 
 117. 
 Ganges, the, a sacred river, 318. 
 Garden, the, of Eden, 2; of the Hes- 
 
 perides, 11; identical, 11; hardly 
 
 alluded to outside of Genesis, 99. 
 Gaul, the worship of the Virgo-Pari- 
 
 tura in, 334. 
 Gautama, a name of Buddha, 297. 
 ixeetas, the, antiquity of, 451. 
 Genealogy, the, of Jesus, 160; of 
 
 Crishna, 163; of Buddha, 163; of 
 Rama, 163; of Po-hi, 163; of Confu- 
 cius, 163; of Horus, 163; of Hercules, 
 lG3;of Biicchus, 164. 
 
 Genesis, two contradictory accounts of 
 the Creation in, 2. 
 
 Gentiles, the, religion of, adopted by 
 Christians, 384; celeljrate the birth 
 of god Sol oil December 25th, 363. 
 
 Germans, the ancient, worshiped a 
 Virgin-goddess under the name of 
 Hertha, 334^77. 
 
 Germany, the practice of baptism 
 found in, by Boniface, 322. 
 
 Oliost, the Holy, impregnates the Vir- 
 gin Mary, 111 ; and the Virgin Maya, 
 117; is one with the Father and the 
 Son, 368; is symbolized by the Dove 
 among Heathen and Christian na- 
 tions, 357. 
 
 Giants, fossil remains of animals sup- 
 posed to have been those of, 19; the 
 Rakshasijs of the Hindoos the origin 
 of all, 19. 
 
 Glacial period, the, 24. 
 
 Gnostic, the, heresy, 135. 
 
 Gnostics, the, maintained that Jesus 
 was a mere man, 135; the Essenes 
 the same as, 422; their doctrine, 511. 
 
 God, a, believed in by nearly all nations 
 of antiquity, 384. 
 
 God/tead, the, a belief in the Trinitarian 
 nature of, before the Christian era, 
 368. 
 
 God of Israel, the, same as the Gentiles, 
 87-88. 
 
 Gods, the, created the heaven and 
 earth, 4, 7u>te 1; descended from 
 heaven and were made incarnate in 
 men, 112. 
 
 God's jirst-fjor-n, applied to Heathen 
 Virgin-born gods, 195. 
 
 God the Father, the, of all nations, a 
 personification of the sky, 478. 
 
 Golden Age. the, of the past, believed 
 in by all nations of antiquity, 8-16. 
 
 Goliath, killed by David, 90. 
 
 Good Friday, the, "Agonie" at Rome 
 on, same as the weeping for Adonis, 
 226. 
 
 Gospel, the, of the Egyptians, 443. 
 
 Gospels, the, were not written by the 
 persons whose names they bear, 454;
 
 INDEX. 
 
 G77 
 
 full of interpolations and errors, 
 454. 
 
 Oreax, the gods and goddesses of, per- 
 sonifications of natural objects, 467. 
 
 Greeks, the ancient, boasted of their 
 "Golden Age," 10; had a tradition 
 of the " Isl inds of the Blessed," and 
 the "Garden of the Hesperides," 11; 
 had records of a Deluge, 26; consid- 
 ered that the births of great men 
 were announced by celestial signs, 
 207; had the rite of baptism, 330; 
 worshiped the virijiu mother, and 
 child, 343; adored the cross, 344; 
 celebrated the birth of their gods on 
 December 25th, 364; worshiped a 
 trinity, 374. 
 
 " Grooe," the, of the Old Testament, is 
 the " Ashera " of the Pagans, 47. 
 
 Oruter (inscriptions of), 397. 
 
 Gymnosophigis, the, and the Essenes, 
 the same, 423. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hair, long, attributes of the sun, 71; 
 worn by all sun-gods, 71, 73. 
 
 Han-Ki, Chinese sage, of supernatural 
 origin, 130. 
 
 Heathen, the, the religion of, same as 
 Christian, 384. 
 
 Heaven, all nations believed in a, 389; 
 is born of the sky, Z\)l, 550. 
 
 Heanenly Iwsl, the, sang praises at the 
 birth of Jesus, 146; parallels to, 146- 
 149. 
 
 Hebrew peaple, the, history of, com- 
 mences with the Exodus, 52-55. 
 
 Hebrews, the gospel of the, 455. 
 
 Hell, Christ Jesus descended into, 211; 
 Crishua descended into, 213; Zoro- 
 aster descended into, 213; Osiris, 
 Horus, Adonis, Bacchus, Hercules, 
 Mercury, all descended into, 213; 
 built by priests, 391. 
 
 Hercules, compared with Samson, 66- 
 73; a personilication of the Sun, 73, 
 485; all nations had their, 76; was 
 the son of Jupiter, 134; was exposed 
 when an infant, 170; was called the 
 "Saviour," 193; the "Only begot- 
 ten," 193; is put to death, 485; is 
 comforted by lole, 493. 
 
 Heretics, the first, 134; denied the cru- 
 cifixion of "the Christ," 511; denied 
 that " the Christ" ever came in the 
 flesh, 513. 
 
 Heri, means " Saviour," 113; Crishna 
 so called, 113. 
 
 Hermes, or Mercury, the son of Jupiter 
 and a mortal mother, 125; is born in 
 a cave, 156; was called the " Sav- 
 iour," 195; the " Logos " and "Mes- 
 senger of God," 195. 
 
 Herod, orders all the children in Beth- 
 lehem to be slain, 166; the Hindoo 
 parallel to, 166-167; a personification 
 of Night, 481. 
 
 Herodotus^ speaks of Hercules, 69; 
 speaks of circumcision, 86; relates a 
 wonderful miracle, 361. 
 
 Hesione, rescueti from the sea monster, 
 78. 
 
 Hesperides, the apples of, the tree of 
 knowledge, 11-13. 
 
 Hieroglyphics, the Mexican, describe 
 the crucifixion of Quetzalcoatle, 
 199. 
 
 HHkiah, claimed to have found the 
 " Book of the Law," 94. 
 
 Himalayas, the, the Hindoo ark rested 
 on, 37. 
 
 Hindoos, the, had no legend of the 
 creation similar to the Hebrew, 13; 
 believe Iilount Meru to have been the 
 Paradise, 13; had a legend of the 
 Deluge, 34; had a legend of the 
 "Confusion of Tongues," 35; had 
 their Samson or Strong Man, 73; 
 worshiped a virgin-born god, 113; 
 adored a triiuty, 371; have believed 
 in a soul from time immemorial, 
 388. 
 
 Historical theory, the, succeeded by the 
 allegorical, 466. 
 
 Histories, the, of the gods are fabu- 
 lous, 466. 
 
 Holy Ghost, the, impregnates the Vir- 
 gin Mary, 111 ; and the Virgin Maya, 
 117; is one with the Father and the 
 Son, 308; is symbolized by the dove 
 among Heathen nations, 357. 
 
 Holy One, the, of the Chinese, 190. 
 
 Holy Trinity, the, of the Christians, 
 the same as that of the Pagans, 370. 
 
 HoiTM, or Haoma, a god of the Hia-
 
 578 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 doos, called the " Benefactor of the 
 "World," 306. 
 
 Horus, the Egyptian Saviour, 133; born 
 of the Virgin Isis, 132; is put to 
 death, 190; descended into hell, 3)3; 
 rose from the dead, 233; performed 
 miracles, SoO; raised the dead to lite, 
 356 ; is represented as an infant on 
 the lap of his virgin mother, 337; is 
 born on December 35th, 363; a per- 
 sonificatioa of the sun, 476; cruci- 
 fied in the heavens, 484. 
 
 Eydmpus, the river, divided by Bac- 
 chus, 51. 
 
 Hypatia, put to death by a Christian 
 mob, 440. 
 
 lamos, left to die among the bushes 
 and violets, 170; received from Zeus 
 the gift of prophecy, 171. 
 
 Jao, a name sacred in Egypt, 49; prob- 
 ably the same as Jehovah, 49; the 
 crucified, 484. 
 
 Ida, the earth, 481. 
 
 Idolatry, practiced by the Hebrews, 
 107; adopted by the Christians, 384. 
 
 Idols, the worship of, among Chris- 
 tians, 397. 
 
 I. H. S., formerly a monogram of the 
 god Bacchus, and now the mono- 
 gram of Christ Jesus, 351. 
 
 Images, the worship of, among Chris- 
 tians. 397. 
 
 Immaculate Conception, the, of Jesus, 
 111; Crishna, 113; Buddha, 115; Co- 
 dom, 118; Fo-hi, 119; and others, 
 119-130. 
 
 Immortality of the Soul, the, believed in 
 by all nations of antiquity, 385. 
 
 Incas, the, of Peru, married their own 
 sisters, 537. 
 
 India, a virgin-born god worshiped in, 
 113; the story of Herod and the in- 
 fants of Bethlehem from, 166; the 
 crucified god in, 186; the Trinity in, 
 370; our religion and nursery tales 
 from, 544. 
 
 Indians, the, no strangers to the doc- 
 trine of original sin, 189; they be- 
 lieve man to be a fallen being, 189. 
 
 Indra, worshiped as a crucified god in 
 
 Nepaul, 187; his festival days in 
 August, 187; is identical with Crish- 
 na, 484; a personification of the sun, 
 484. 
 
 Infant Baptism, practiced by the Per. 
 sians, 318; by the Etruscans, 330; 
 by the Greeks and Romans, 331 ; by 
 the Scandinavians, 331; by the New 
 Zealanders, 333; by the Mexicans, 
 333; by the Christians, 333; all iden- 
 tical, 333. 
 
 Innocents, the, slain at the time of 
 birth of Jesus, 165; at the birtli of 
 Crishna, 166; at the birth of Abra- 
 ham, 169. 
 
 Inscriptions, formerly in Pagan tem- 
 ples, and inscriptions in Christian 
 churches compared, 397. 
 
 Incense, burned before idols or images 
 in Pagan temples, 406. 
 
 lona, or Yoni, an emblem of the fe- 
 male generative powers, 199. 
 
 lonah, or Juna, suspended in space. 
 486. 
 
 IrevMus, the fourth gospel not known 
 until the time of, 458; reasons given 
 by, for there being four gospels, 458. 
 
 Iroquois, the, worshiped a god-man 
 called Tarengawagan, 131. 
 
 Isaac, offered as a .'sacrifice by Abra 
 ham, 38; parallels to, 39-41. 
 
 Isis, mother of Horus, 133; a virgin 
 mother, 337; represented on Egyp- 
 tian monuments with an infant ii. 
 her arms, 337; she is styled "Oui 
 Lady," "Queen of Heaven," "Moth- 
 er of God,"«fec., 337. 
 
 Islands of the Blessed, 11 ; meaning of, 
 101, 559, 560. 
 
 Islands of the Sea, Western countries 
 called the, by the Hebrews, 103. 
 
 Israel, the religion of, same as the Hea- 
 then, 107, 108. 
 
 Italy, efhgies of a black crucified man, 
 in, 197 ; the cross adored in, before 
 Christian era, 345. 
 
 Ixion, bound on the wheel, is the cru- 
 cified Sun, 484. 
 
 Izdubar, the Lion-killer of the Babylo- 
 nians, 74 ; the foundation for the 
 Samson and the Hercules myths, 105; 
 the cuneiform inscaptions speak of, 
 105.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 579 
 
 J. 
 
 Jacob, his vision of the ladder, 43; ex- 
 plained, 42, 104. 
 
 Janus, tlie lieys of, transferred to Pe- 
 ter, u'o'd. 
 
 Japanese, the American race descended 
 
 from the same stock us tUe, 538. 
 Jason, a dangerous cliild, 171; brouglit 
 
 up by Clieii'on, 171 ; tlie same name 
 
 as Jesus, 196. 
 Jeliovah, the name, esteemed sacred 
 
 among the Egyptians, 48; the same 
 
 as Yha-ho, 48 ; well known to the 
 
 Heathens, 49. 
 Jelumstic writer, the, of the Pentateuch, 
 
 93. 
 Jemshid, devoured by a great monster, 
 
 18. 
 Jerusalem, Jews taken at the Ebionite 
 
 sack ot, were sold to the Grecians, 
 
 loy. 
 
 Jesuits, the, in China, appalled at find- 
 ing, in that country, a counterpart to 
 the Virgin of Judea, 119. 
 
 Jesus, not born of a Virgin according 
 to the Ebionites or Nazarenes, 134; 
 the day, month or year of his birth 
 not known, 309; was an historical 
 personage, 506 ; no clearly defined 
 traces of, in history, 517; his person 
 indistinct, 517; assumed the charac- 
 ter of " Alessiah," 530 ; a native of 
 Galilee, 520; a zealot, 523; is put to 
 death by the Romans. 533; not cru- 
 cified by the Jews, 534; the martyr- 
 dom of, has been gratefully acknowl- 
 edged, 527; nothing original in the 
 teachings of, 529. 
 
 Jews, the, where their history begins, 
 54; driven out of E^ypt, 53; wor- 
 shiped Baal and Moloch, 108; their 
 religion the same as other nations, 
 108; did not crucify Jesus. 524. 
 
 John, the same name as Jonah, 83; the 
 gospel according to, 457 ; Irenseus 
 the author of, 458, 
 
 Jolin the Baptist, his birth-day is on the 
 day of tlie Stunner Solstice, 499. 
 
 Jonah, swallowed by a big fish, 77; pa- 
 rallels to, 78, 79; the meaning of, 79; 
 the Sun called, 80 ; identified with 
 Dagon and Oannes, 83, 83; the same 
 
 as John, 84; the myth of, explained. 
 105. 
 
 Jordan, the river, considered sacred, 
 318. 
 
 Jvsephus, does not speak of Jesus, 564 ; 
 
 Joshua, arrests the course of the Sun, 
 91; parallel to, 91. 
 
 Jove, the Sons of, numSrous, 125; the 
 Supreme God, 125. 
 
 Judea, the Yivg'm of. 111; a counter- 
 part to, found by the first Christian 
 missionaries in China, 119. 
 
 Judaism, its doctrine and precepts, by 
 I. M. Wise, referred to, 527. 
 
 Judr/e of the Bead, Jesus, 244; Sous of 
 God, 244; Buddha, 244; Crishna, 
 245; Osiris, 245; .iEeacus, 245; no ex- 
 amples of Jesus as, in early Christian 
 art, 34G. 
 
 Julias CcBsar (see Caesar). 
 
 Juno, the "Queen of Heaven," 333; 
 was represented standing on the cres- 
 cent moon, 333; considered the pro- 
 tectress of woman, 333; often repre- 
 sented with a dove on her head, 357; 
 suspended in space, 486. 
 
 Jupiter, the Supreme God of the Pa- 
 gans, 135; a statue of, in St. Peter's, 
 Rome, 397. 
 
 Justin Martyr, on the work of the Devil, 
 134, 265. 
 
 Kadmus, king of Thebes, 124. 
 Kaffirs, the, practice circumcision, 86. 
 Kansa, attempts the life of Crishna, 
 
 166; is a personification of Night, 
 
 481. 
 Ke-lin, the, appeared at the birth of 
 
 Confucius. 131. 
 Key, the, which imlocks the door to 
 
 the mystery, 441. 
 Kniehalian, the Supreme God of the 
 
 Mayas of Yucatan, 130. 
 Kings, the, of Egypt considered divine, 
 
 122. 
 Kronos, the myth of, explained, 559. 
 Kung-foo-tsze (see Confucius). 
 
 L. 
 
 Ldbarum, the, of Constantine, in- 
 scribed with the monogram of 
 Osiris, 350.
 
 680 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ladder, the, of Jacob, 43; explained, 
 
 42-47. 
 
 Lama, the, of Thibet, considered di- 
 vine, 118; the high priest of tlie Tar- 
 tars, 118; the Pope of Buddhism, 
 118. 
 
 Lamb, the, of God, a personification of 
 the Sun, 492. 
 
 Lamb, the oldest representation of 
 Christ Jesus was the figure of a, 
 203, 503. 
 
 Lamps, feast of, 393. 
 
 Lanthu, born of a pure spotless Vir- 
 gin, 248; the creator of the world, 
 348. 
 
 Lao-Elun, born of a Virgin, 130; be- 
 lieved in one God, 120; formed the 
 Tao-tsze, or sect of reason, 120. 
 
 Lao-tse (see LaoKiun). 
 
 Latona, the mother of Apollo, 135. 
 
 Law-giver, Jloses a, 59; Bacchus a, 
 59; Zoroaster a, 59; Minos a, 60; 
 Thoth a, 60; Lycurgus a, 01; Apollo 
 a, 61. 
 
 Lazarus, raised from the grave, 273. 
 
 Leto, a personification of darkness, 
 477. 
 
 Libations, common among all nations 
 of antiquity, 317. 
 
 Libi-ary, the, of Alexandria, 438. 
 
 Lights, are kept burning before images 
 in Pagan temples, 400. 
 
 Lily, the, or Lotus, sacred among all 
 Eastern nations, 539; put into the 
 hands of all " Virgin Mothers," 329. 
 
 Linga, the, and Yoni, adored by the 
 Jews, 47; the symbol under which 
 the sun was worsliiped, 47, 406. 
 
 Logos, the, an Egyptian feature, 373; 
 Apollo called, 373; Marduk of the 
 Assyrians, called, 374; the, of PhOo, 
 374; the, of John, 374; identical, 374. 
 
 Loretto, the Virgin of, 338; black as an 
 Ethiopian, 238. 
 
 Lotus, the, or Lily, sacred among all 
 
 Eastern nations, 329. 
 Luke, the Gospel ' accordng" to, 456. 
 LyeophroH, says that Hercules was 
 three nights in the belly of a fish, 
 
 78. 
 
 M. 
 
 Madonna, the, and child, worshiped 
 by all nations of Antiquity, 336. 
 
 Magi, the religion of, adopted y the 
 Jews, 109. 
 
 Magic, Jesus learned, in Egypt, 372. 
 
 Magician, Jesus accused of being a, 
 273. 
 
 Mahabharata, the, quotations from, 
 415-417. 
 
 Malwmet, the miracles of, 269. 
 
 Maia, the mother of Mercury, 125; the 
 same name as Mary, 332. 
 
 Man, the Fall of, 4; "parallels to, 4-10; 
 the antiquity of, 29. 
 
 Manco Capac, a god of the Peruvians, 
 130. 
 
 Manes, believed himself to be the 
 "Christ," 429: the word, has the 
 meaning of '•Comforter" or "Sav- 
 iour," 439. 
 
 Manetho, an Egyptian priest, gives an 
 account of the sojourn of the Israel- 
 ites in Egypt, 53. 
 
 Manicheans, the, transferred pure souls 
 to the Gala.xy, 45; their doctrine of 
 the divinity of Christ Jesus, 511. 
 
 Mann, quotations from, 415. 
 
 March 35th, the primitive Easter sol- 
 emnized on, 335, 495; celebrated 
 throughout the ancient world in 
 honor of the "Mother of God," 335; 
 appointed to the honor of the Chris- 
 tain Virgin, 335. 
 
 Maria, the name, same as Mary, 333. 
 
 Mark, the Gospel according to, 456. 
 
 Matangi girl, the, and Ananda, the 
 disciple of Buddha, 394. 
 
 Martianui Capella, his ode to the Sim, 
 
 507. 
 Martyr ( Justin), compares Christianity 
 
 with Paganism, 134. 
 Mary, the mother of Jesus, 111: same 
 name as Maya. Maria, &o., 333; 
 called the " 3Iother of God," 398. 
 Masons' Marks, conspicuous among 
 
 Christian symbols, 358. 
 Mass, the, of Good Friday, of Pagan 
 
 origin, 326. 
 Mastodon, the remains of, found in 
 
 America, 19. 
 Mathura, the birth-place of Crishna, 
 
 113. 
 MattJiew, the "Gospel according to," 
 
 455. 
 May, the month of, dedicated to the
 
 INDEX. 
 
 581 
 
 Heathen Virgih tfothers, 335; is now I 
 the month of Maiy, 335. 
 
 Maya, the same name as Mary, 332. 
 
 Mayus, the, of Yucatan, worship a 
 Virgin-born god, 130. 
 
 May-pole, the, of moderns, is the "Ash- 
 era " of the ancients, 47: an emblem 
 of the male organ of generation, 47; 
 the Linga of the Hindoos, 47. 
 
 Jlicca, the Mohammedans' Jerusalem, 
 296. 
 
 Mediator, the title of, applied to Virgin- 
 born gods before the time of Jesus, 
 195. 
 
 Mdchizedek, the ienite King of Right- 
 eousness, brougnt out hreadamX win£ 
 as a sign or symbol of worship, 307. 
 
 Menaruler, called the " Wonder Work- 
 er," performed miracles, 266; be- 
 lieved himself to be i;ie Christ, 429. 
 
 Mendicants, among the Buddhists in 
 China, 400-403. 
 
 Menes, the first king of Egypt, 122; 
 considered divine, 122. 
 
 Menu, Satyavrata the Seventh, 25. 
 
 Mercury, the Sou of Jupiter and a mor- 
 tal mother, 125; called " God's Mes- 
 senger," 195. 
 
 Mera (Mount), the Hindoo Paradise, 
 out of which went four rivers, 13. 
 
 Messiahs, many, before the time of Je- 
 sus, 196; 519, 521, 522. 
 
 MetempsycJwsis, or transmigration of 
 souls, 42; the doctrine taught by all 
 the Heathen nations of antiquity, 43; 
 by the Jews and Christians, 43. 
 
 Mexicans, the, had their semi-tish gods, 
 83; practiced circumcision, 86; com- 
 pared with the inhabitants of the old 
 world, 533. 
 
 Mexico, the architecture of, compared 
 with that of the old world, 538. 
 
 Michabou, a god of the Algonquins, 131. 
 
 Michael, the angel, the story of, bor- 
 rowed from Chaldean sources, 109; 
 fought with his angels against the 
 dragon, 386. 
 
 Miletus, the crucified god of, 191. 
 
 MiHennimn, doctrine of the, 239. 
 
 Mirtvx, the Lawgiver of the Cretans, 60; 
 receives the Laws from Zeus, 60. 
 
 Minutius Felix, on the crucified man, 
 197. 
 
 Miracles, the, of Jesus, 252; of Crishna, 
 253; of Buddha, 254, 255; of Zoro- 
 aster, 2.58; Bochia, 256; Horns, 256; 
 Osiris, 236; Serapis, 257; Marduk, 
 257; Bacchus, 257; jEsculapius, 257; 
 Apollonius, 261; Simon Magus, 264; 
 Menander, 266; Vespasian, 268. 
 
 Miraculous Conception, the. of, Jesus, 
 111; parallels to, 112-131. 
 
 Mithras, a " Mediator between God and 
 Man," 194; called the "Saviour," 
 and the "Logos," 194; is put to 
 death, and rises again to life. 223; a 
 personification of the Sun, 507. 
 
 Muhamvud (see Mahomet). 
 
 Mulech, the god, worshiped by the Hea- 
 then nations, and the children of Is- 
 rael. 108. 
 
 Monad, a, in the Egyptian Trinity, 373. 
 
 Monasteries, among Heathen nations, 
 400. 
 
 Monasticism, a vast and powerful insti- 
 tution in Buddhist countries. 403. 
 
 Monks, were common among Heathen 
 nations before the Cliristian era, 4(X>- 
 404. 
 
 Montana, believed himself an Angel- 
 Messiah, 428. 
 
 Months, the twelve, compared with the 
 Apostles, 500. 
 
 Moon, the, was personified among an- 
 cient nations, and called the " Queen 
 of Heaven," 478. 
 
 Moral Sentiments, the, of the New Tes- 
 tament, compared with those from 
 Heathen Bibles, 415. 
 
 Mosaic history, the so-called, a myth, 
 17. 
 
 Moses, divides the Red Sea, 50 ; is 
 thrown into the Nile, 89. 
 
 Mollier, the, of God, worshiped among 
 the ancients, 326. 
 
 Mother Night, the 24th of December 
 called, 365, 
 
 Mother of the Gods, the, Aditi called, 
 475. 
 
 Mount Meru, the Hindoo paradise on, 
 13. 
 
 Mummy, a cross on the breast of an 
 Egyptian, in the British Museum, 
 341. 
 
 Muscovites, the, worshiped a virgin and 
 child, 333; worshiped a Trinity, 378.
 
 582 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mylitta, the goddess, worshiped by the 
 
 Hebrews, 108. 
 Myrrha, the mother of Bacchus, 333; 
 
 same as Mary, 333. 
 Myth, a, the theology of Christendom 
 
 built upon, 17. 
 Mythology, all religions founded upon, 
 
 563. 
 Mytlws, the universal, 505. 
 
 N. 
 
 Ngami, the Africans of Lake, had a 
 similar story to the " Confusion of 
 Tongues," 36. 
 
 Nakshatias, the, of the Indian Zodiac, 
 are regarded as deities, 143. 
 
 Nanda, the foster-father of Crishna, 
 158. 
 
 Na/red, a great prophet and astrologer, 
 143 ; pointed out Crishna's stars, 143. 
 
 Nazarenes, the, saw in Jesus nothing 
 more than a mere man, 135. 
 
 Nebuchadonazar, repaired the tower of 
 Babel, 35. 
 
 Necromancer, Jesus represented as a, 
 373. 
 
 Nehush-tan, the Sun worshiped under 
 the name of, 491. 
 
 Neith, the mother of Osiris, 364; 
 called the "Holy Virgin," 304; tlie 
 "Mother of the Gods," and 
 "Mother of the Sun," 476; a per- 
 sonification of the dawn, 476. 
 
 Nepaul, the crucified God found in, 
 187. 
 
 Nicaragua, the inhabitants of, called 
 their principal God Thomathoyo, 
 130. 
 
 Nice, the Council of, 381; anathemat- 
 ized those who say that there was a 
 time when the Son of God was not, 
 381. 
 
 Nile, the temples on the north bank of 
 the river dedicated to the kings of 
 Egypt, 133; a sacred river, 318. 
 
 Nimrod, built the tower of Bubel, 34. 
 
 Ninevah, Jonah goes to, 81 ; c\ linders 
 discovered on the site of, contained 
 the legend of the flood, 101. 
 
 Niparaga, the Supreme Creator of the 
 Endes of California, 131. 
 
 Nisaii, the angel, borrowed from the 
 Chaldeans, 109. 
 
 Noah, the ark of, 119 
 Noel, Christmas in French called, 365. 
 Nut, a personification of Heaven, 477. 
 Nuter Nutra, the, of the Eg>-ptians, 
 
 corresponds to the Hebrew El- 
 
 Shaddai, 49. 
 
 Oanms, Chaldean flsh-god, 83; the 
 same as Jonah, 83. 
 
 Odin, the Supreme God of the Scan- 
 dinavians, 479; a personification of 
 the Heavens, 479. 
 
 (Edipiis, the history of, resembles that 
 of Samson and Hercules, 73; tears 
 out his eyes, 73; is a dangerous 
 child, 170; cheered in his last hours 
 by Antigona, 493; a personification 
 of the Sun, 493. 
 
 Offerings (Votive) made to the Heathen 
 deities, 359. 
 
 Olympus, the, of the Pagans, restored, 
 398. 
 
 0. M., or A. U. if. ,a sacred name 
 among the Hindoos, 373; an emblem 
 of the Trinity, 353. 
 
 Omphale, the amours of Hercules with, 
 7J. 
 
 One, the myths of the crucified gods 
 melt into, 493. 
 
 One Ood, worshiped by the ancestors of 
 our race, 384. 
 
 Only Begotten Sons, common before the 
 Christian era, 193. 
 
 Ooj't, Prof., on the sacred laws of 
 ancient nations, 61. 
 
 Ophites, the, worshiped serpents as 
 emblems of Christ, 355. 
 
 Orders, religious, among all nations of 
 antiquity, 400-404. 
 
 Origen, declared the story of creation 
 and fall of man to be allegorical, 
 100. 
 
 Original Sin, the doctrine of, of great 
 antiquity, 184; the Indians no stran- 
 gers to, 189. 
 
 Ormmd, the Supreme God of the Per- 
 sians, 7; divided the work of crea- 
 tion into six parts, 7. 
 
 Oronies, the river, divided by Bacchus, 
 51. 
 
 Osiris, confined in a chest and thrown 
 into the Nile, 90; a Virgiii-born
 
 INDEX. 
 
 583 
 
 God, 190; suffers death, 190; rose 
 from the dead, 223; the judse of the 
 dead, 245; performed miracles, 250; 
 the worship of, of great antiquity, 
 452; a personiflcation of the Suu, 
 484. 
 
 (hide, the crucified God Bal-li wor- 
 shiped at, 188. 
 
 Ovid, describes the doctrine of Me- 
 tempsychosis, 43. 
 
 P. 
 
 Pagan Retiyion, the, adopted by the 
 Christians, 384; was typical of Chris- 
 tianity, 501. 
 
 Pan, had a flute of seven pipes, 31. 
 
 Pandora, the first woman, in Grecian 
 mythology, 10. 
 
 Pantheon, the, a niche always ready 
 in, of the ancients, for a new divin- 
 ity, 123. 
 
 Paraclete, Simon Magus claimed to be 
 the, 164. 
 
 Paradise, all nations believed in a, 389, 
 390. 
 
 Parsees, the, direct descendants of the 
 Persians, 25 ; say that man was once 
 destroyed by a deluge, 25. 
 
 Pa,rnassus, Mount, the ark of Deuca- 
 lion rested on, 26. 
 
 Parthenon, the, at Atheas, sacred to 
 Minerva, 333. 
 
 Passover, the, celebrated by the Jews 
 on the same day that the Heathens 
 celebrated the resurrections of their 
 Gods, 226 ; the Jews used eggs in the 
 feast of, 228. 
 
 Patriarchs, the, all stories of, unhis- 
 torical, 54. 
 
 Paul, St., a minister of the Gospel 
 which had been preached to every 
 creature under heaven, 514. 
 
 Pentateuch, the, never ascribed to 
 Moses in the inscriptions of Hebrew 
 manuscripts, 92; ascribed to Moses 
 after the Babylonian captivity, 93; 
 origin of, 93, 96. 
 
 Perictione, a Virgin mother, 127. 
 
 Perseus, shut up in a chest, and cast 
 into the sea, 89; the son of Jupiter 
 by the Virgin Danae, 124; a temple 
 
 erected to him in Athens, 124; a 
 dangerous child, 16J. 
 
 Persia, pre-Christian crosses found in, 
 343, 344. 
 
 Persians, the, denominate the first man 
 Adama, 7; had a legend of creation 
 corresponding with the Hebrew, 8; 
 had a legend of the war in heaven, 
 387. 
 
 Peru, crosses found in, 349; worship of 
 a Trinity found in, 378. 
 
 Peruvians, the, adored the cross, 349; 
 worshiped a Trinity, 378. 
 
 Peter, St.. has the keys of Janus, 399. 
 
 Phallic tree, the, is introduced into the 
 narrative in Genesis, 47. 
 
 Phallic worship, the story of Jacob set- 
 ting up a pillar alludes to, 46; prac- 
 ticed by the nations of antiquity, 46, 
 47. 
 
 Phaliie Emblems, in Christian churches, 
 358. 
 
 Phallus, the, a ' ' Hermes, " set up on the 
 road-side, was the symbol of, 46. 
 
 Pamphylian Sea, the, divided by Alex- 
 ander, 55. 
 
 Pharaoh, his dreams, 88; parallel to, 
 89. 
 
 Plienician deity, the principal, was El, 
 484. 
 
 Philo, considered the fictions of Gene- 
 sis allegories, 100; says nothing about 
 Jesus, or the Christians, 564. 
 
 Philosophei-s, the, of ancient Greece, 
 called Christians, 409. 
 
 Philosophy, the Christian religion called 
 a, 567. 
 
 PluBdrus, the river, dried up by Isis, 55. 
 
 PJimnicians, the, offered the fairest of 
 their children to the gods, 41. 
 
 Pha;nix, the, lived 600 years, 426. 
 
 Phi-yifians, the, worshiped the god 
 Atys, 190. 
 
 Pilate, pillaged the temple treasury, 
 521; crucified Jesus, 536. 
 
 Pillars of Hercules, the, 79. 
 
 Pious Frauds, 231. 
 
 Pisces, the sign of, applied to Christ Je- 
 sus, 355-504. 
 
 Plato, believed to have been the son of 
 a pure virgin, 137. 
 
 Plaionists, the, believed in a Trinity, 
 375.
 
 584 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Poh, or Pillar, a, worshiped by the an- 
 cients. 46, 47. 
 Polynesian Mythology, in, a fish is em- 
 blematic of the earth, 80. 
 Pontius Pilate (see Pilate). 
 Poo-ia-la, the name of a Buddhist mo 
 
 nasteiy found in China. 401. 
 Pope, the, thrusts out his foot to be 
 Icissed as the Roman Emperors were 
 in the habit of doing. 400. 
 Portuguese, the, call the mountain in 
 
 Ceylon, Peco d' Adama, 13. 
 Porus, the troops of, carried on their 
 
 standards the figure of a man, 198. 
 Prayers, for the dead, made by Budd- 
 hist priests, 401. 
 Priests, the Buddhist, have fasting, 
 prayers for the dead, holy water, ro- 
 saries of beads, the worship of relics, 
 and a monastic habit resembling the 
 Franciscans, 401. 
 Pi-iestesses, among the ancients, similar 
 
 to the modern nuns, 403, 404. 
 Primeval male, the, offered himself a 
 
 sacrifice for the gods, 181. 
 Prithin, the Earth worshiped under 
 
 the name of, by the Hindoos, 477. 
 Prometlicus, a deity who united the di- 
 vine and human nature in one per- 
 son, 124; a crucified Saviour, 192; 
 an earthquake happened at the time 
 of the death of, 207 ; the story of the 
 crucifixion of, allegorical, 484; a title 
 of the Sun, 484. 
 Prophet, the, of the Beatitudes, does 
 but repeat the words of others, 526. 
 Protogenia, mother of .lEthlius, 125. 
 Ptolemy (Soter), believed to have been 
 
 of divine origin, 137. 
 Puranas, the, 451. 
 
 Purgatory, the doctrine of, of pre- 
 Christian origin, 389. 
 Purim, the feast of, 44; the book of 
 Esther written for the purpose of de- 
 scribing, 44. 
 Pyrrha, the wife of Deucalion, 26; was 
 saved from the Deluge by entering 
 an ark with her husband, 26. 
 Pythagoras, taught that souls dwelt in 
 the Gala.\y, 4.'); had divine honors 
 paid to him, 128; his mother impreg- 
 nated through a spectre, 128. 
 
 Q- 
 
 Quetzalcoaile, the Virgin-born Saviour, 
 129; was tempted and fasted, 178; 
 was crucified, 199; rose from the 
 dead, 225; will come again, 239; is a 
 personification of the Sun, 489. 
 
 Queen of Heaven, the, was worshiped 
 by all nations of antiquity before 
 the Christian era, 326-336. 
 
 Quiriiiius, a name of Romulus, 12G; 
 educ.ited among shepherds, 208; torn 
 to pieces at his death, 208; ascended 
 into heaven, 208; the Sun darkened 
 at his death, 208. 
 
 R. 
 
 Ed, the Egyptian God, bom from the 
 
 side of his mothe., 122. 
 Baam-sees, king of Egypt, 123; means 
 "Son of the Sun," 123. 
 
 Rabbis, the, taught the allegorical in- 
 terpretation of Scripture, 100; per- 
 formed miracles, 2G7; taught the 
 mj'stcry of the Trinity, 376. 
 
 Rakshasas, the, of our Aryan ancestors, 
 the originals of all giants, ogres or 
 demons, 19; are personifications of 
 the dark clouds, 19; fought despe- 
 rate battles with Iiidrea, and his 
 spirits of light, 387. 
 
 Ram or Lamb, the, used as a symbol of 
 Christ Jesus, 202; a sjTnbol of the 
 Sun, .:o3, 504. 
 
 Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, 143; 
 a star at his birth, 143; is hailed by 
 aged saints, 1.52. 
 
 Rayme, a Me.xican festival held in the 
 mouth of, answering to our Christ- 
 mas celebration, 360. 
 
 Rays of glory, surround the heads of 
 all the Gods, 505. 
 
 Real Presence, the, in the Eucharist, 
 borrowed from Paganism, 305-312. 
 
 Red-Riding-Hood, the story of, ex- 
 plained, 80. 
 
 Red Sea, the, divided by Moses, 50; 
 divided by Bacchus, 51. 
 
 Religion, the, of Paganism, compared 
 with Christianity, 384. 
 
 Religions, the, of all nations, formerly 
 a worship of the sun, moon, stars 
 and elements, 544.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 585 
 
 Besurrectioii, the, of Jesus, 215; paral- 
 lels to, 316, 336. 
 
 Bhea-Sj/l'^ia, the Virgin mother of 
 Romulus, 126. 
 
 Rivers, divided by the command of 
 Bacchus, 51. 
 
 Rivers (sacred), 318. 
 
 Romans, the, deified their emperors, 
 125. 
 
 Rome, the Pantheon of, dedicated to 
 "Jove and all the Gods," and recon- 
 secrated to " the Mother of God and 
 all the Saints," 396. 
 
 Bomului<, son of the Virgin RheaSyl- 
 via, 126; called Quiiinius, 126; a 
 dangerous child, 172 ; put to death, 
 208; the sun darkened at time of his 
 death, 308. 
 
 Rosary, the Buddhist priests count 
 their praj'ers with a, 401 ; found on 
 an ancient medal of the Phenician.-!, 
 504. 
 
 Rose, the, of Sharon, Jesus called, 487. 
 
 Rosi-crucians, the, jewel of, a crucified 
 rose, 487. 
 
 Ruffimis, the "Apostles' creed" first 
 known in the days of, 385. 
 
 Russia, adherents of the old religion of, 
 persecuted, 444. 
 
 a 
 
 Sabbath, the, kept holy by the ancients, 
 
 393, 393. 
 Sacrament, the, of the Lord's Supper 
 
 instituted many centuries before the 
 
 Christian era, 305-313. 
 Sacred Books, among heathen nations, 
 
 61. 
 Sacred Heart, the, a great mystery 
 
 among the ancients, 404. 
 Sacrifices, or offerings to the Gods, at 
 
 one lime, almost universal, 40, 41; 
 
 human, for atonement, was general, 
 
 183. 
 Saints, the. of the Christians, are 
 
 Pagan Gods worshiped under other 
 
 names, 398, 399. 
 Sais, the "Feast of Lamps," held at, 
 
 392. 
 Saktideva, swallowed by a fish and 
 
 came out unhurt. 77 
 SakyorMuni, a name of Buddha, 300. 
 
 Saiitaliana, the ancient inhabitants of 
 Cape Comorin worshiped a Virgin- 
 born Saviour called, 118, 119. 
 
 Saltation, from tlie death of another, 
 of great antiquity, 181; by faith, ex- 
 isted among the Hindoos, 184. 
 
 Saminael, the proper name of Satan ac- 
 cording to the Talmud, 386. 
 
 Samothracian mysteries, in the. Heav- 
 en and Earth were worshiped, 479. 
 
 Samson, his exploits, 62-66; compared 
 with Hercules, 66-76; a solar god, 
 71-73. 
 
 Satan, the proper name of, is Sammael, 
 386 ; a personification of storm-clouds 
 and darkness, 483. 
 
 Saturday, or the seventh day, kept 
 holy by the ancients, 393. 
 
 Saturn, worshiped by the ancients, 393, 
 
 Saturnalia, the, of the ancient Romans. 
 365. 
 
 Satyavrata, saved from the deluge in 
 an aik, according to the Hindoo leg- 
 end, 24,25. 
 
 Scaiidinaoians, the, worshiped a "Be- 
 nilicent Saviour," called Baldur, 129; 
 the heaven of, described, 390; con- 
 secrated one day in the week to Odin, 
 393; worshiped Frey, the deity of the 
 Sun, 483. 
 
 Scriptures, the, of the Essenes, the 
 giound-work of tbe gospels, 443-460. 
 
 Seb, a personilication of the Earth, 477. 
 
 Second Coming, the, of Jesus, 233 ; 
 of Vishnu, 236; of Buddha. 237; of 
 Bacchus, 238; of Kaleu ipeog, 238; 
 of Arthur, 238; of Quetzalcoatle, 239. 
 
 Seed of the Woman, the, bruised the 
 head of the Serpent, according to the 
 mythology of all nations, 483. 
 
 Semele, the mother of Bacchus, 134. 
 
 Semi-ramis, the Supreme Dove cruci- 
 fied, 486. 
 
 Senators, the Cardinals of Roman Chris- 
 tianity wear the robes once worn by 
 Romans, 400. 
 
 Sei-apis, the god, worshiped in Alexan- 
 dria in Egj'pt, 343; a cross found in 
 the temple of, 342. 
 
 Serpent, the, seduced the first woman, 
 3; in Eden, an Aryan story, 99; an 
 emblem of Christ Jesus, 355; iloses 
 set up, as an object of worship, 355;
 
 586 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 worshiped by the ChriEtians, 355; 
 
 symbolized the Sun. 490; called the 
 
 Word, or Divine AVisdom, 490. 
 Seven, the number, sacred among all 
 
 nations of antiquity, 31. 
 Seventh-da!/, the, kept sacred by the 
 
 ancients, 392, 393. 
 Seventy-two, Confucius had, disciples, 
 
 121. 
 "S7i/i7ns-on," tlie Sun in Arabic, 73. 
 SJtaron, the Rose of, Jesus called, 486. 
 Shepherd.i, the infant Jesus worshiped 
 
 by, 150. 
 Slioo-king, the, a sacred book of the 
 
 Chinese, 25; speaks of the deluge, 25. 
 Siamese, the, had a virgin-born god, 
 
 118. 
 Sinw7i Magus, believed lo be a god, 129; 
 
 his picture placed among the gods 
 
 in Rome, 129; professed to be the 
 
 "Word of God;" the "Paraclete," 
 
 or "Comforter," 164; performed 
 
 great miracles, 125. 
 Sin-Bearer, the, Bacchus called, 198. 
 Sin, Original, the doctrine of, believed 
 
 in by Heathen nations, 181, 184. 
 Siva, the third god in the Hindoo Trin- 
 ity, 369; the Hindoos held a festival 
 
 in honor of, 392. 
 Skylla delivers Kisos into the power of 
 
 his enemies, 72; a Solar Myth, 72. 
 Slaughter, the, of the innocents at the 
 
 time of Jesus, 165; parallels to, 166- 
 
 172. 
 Sochiqueizal, mother of Quetzalcoatle, 
 
 129; a Virgin Mother, 129; called the 
 
 "Queen of Heaven," 129. 
 Socrates, visited at his birth by Wise 
 
 Men, and presented with gifts, 152. 
 Sol, crucified in the heavens, 484. 
 Soma, a god of the Hindoos, 306; gave 
 
 his body and blood to mau, 306. 
 Sommona Codom (see Codom). 
 Son of a Star (see Bar-Cochba). 
 Son of God, the Heathen worshiped a 
 
 mediating deity who had the title of, 
 
 111-129. 
 So7i of the Sun, the name Baam-ses 
 
 means, 123. 
 "So7u of Heaven," the virgin-born men 
 
 of China called, 122. 
 Bong, the, of the Heavenly Host, 147; 
 
 parallels to, 148-150. 
 
 Soul, the, immortality of, believed in 
 by nations of antiquity, 385. 
 
 Sosiotih, the virgin-born Messiah, 140; 
 yet to come, 146. 
 
 Space, crucifixion in, 488. 
 
 Spanish 7no>i/,'s. the first, who went to 
 Mexico were surprised to find the 
 crucifix there, 199. 
 
 Spirit, the Hebrew word for, of femi- 
 nine gender, 134. 
 
 Sta)ida7-ds, the, of the ancient Romans, 
 were crosses gilt and beautiful, 345. 
 
 Star, the, of Bethlehem, 140; parallels 
 to, 142-145. 
 
 Staurobates, the King by whom Semi- 
 ramis was overpowered, 486. 
 
 Stone pillars, set up by the Hebrews 
 were emblems of the Phallus, 46. 
 
 "Strong Rama," the, of the Hindoos, a 
 counterpart of Samson, 73. 
 
 Suddhodana, the dreams of, compared 
 with Pharaoh's two dreams, 88. 
 
 Sun, the, nearly all the Pagan deities 
 were personifications of, 467; Christ 
 Jesus said to have been born on the 
 birth-day of, 473; Christ Jesus a per- 
 sonification of, 500; universally wor- 
 shiped, 507. 
 
 Sun-day, a pagan holiday adopted by 
 the Christians, 394-396. 
 
 Sun-gods, Samson and Hercules are, 
 71-73. 
 
 Sun-myth, the, added to the histories of 
 Jesus of Nazareth, Buddha, Cjtus, 
 Alexandria and others, 506. 
 
 Sweden, the famous temple at Upsal in, 
 dedicated to a triune deity, 377. 
 
 Symbolical, the history of the gods, 466. 
 
 Synoptic Gospels, the discrepancies be- 
 tween the fourth and the, numerous, 
 457. 
 
 Tacitus, the allusion to Jesus in, a for- 
 gery. 
 
 Tables of Stone, the, of Moses, 58; of 
 Bacchus, 59. 
 
 Tali7iud, the books containing Jewish 
 tradition, 95; in the, Jesus is called 
 the "hanged one," 516. 
 
 Tammuz, the Sa\'iour, after being put 
 to death, rose from the dead, 317;
 
 INDEX. 
 
 587 
 
 worshiped in the temple of the Lord 
 at Jerusalem, 232. 
 
 Tanga-tanga. the "Three in One, and 
 One in Three," or the Trinity of the 
 ancient Peruvians, 378. 
 
 Tao, the "one god" supreme, wor- 
 shiped by Lao-Kiun, the Chinese 
 sage, 120. 
 
 Taotse, the, or "Sect of Reason," 
 formed by Lao-Kuin, 120. 
 
 Tau, the cross, worshiped by the Egyp- 
 tians, 341. 
 
 Thnples, all the oldest, were in caves, 
 286. 
 
 Temptation, the. of Jesus. 175; of Budd- 
 ha, 176; of Zoroaster, 177; of Quet- 
 zalcoatle, 177; meaning of, 482. 
 
 Temples, Pagan, changed into Christian 
 churches, 396, 397. 
 
 Ten Commandments, the, of 3Ioses, 59; 
 of Buddha, 59. 
 
 Ten, the. Zodiac gods of the Chaldeans, 
 102. 
 
 Tenth, the, Xisuthrus, King of the 
 Chaldeans, 33; Noah, patriarch, 23. 
 
 TezcatUpoca, the Supreme God of the 
 Mexicans, 60. 
 
 Teitajnent, the New, written many 
 years later than generally supposed, 
 454. 
 
 Therapeut<B, the, and Essenes the same, 
 423. 
 
 Thor, a Scandinavian god, 75; consid- 
 ered the "Defender" and "Avenger," 
 75; the Hercules of the Northern na- 
 tions, 76; the Sun personified, 76; 
 compared with David, 90, 91; the 
 son of Odin, 129. 
 
 Thoth, the deity itself, speaks and re- 
 veals to his elect among men the will 
 of God, 60. 
 
 Thibet, the religion of, similar to Chris- 
 tianity, 400. 
 
 Three, a sacred number among all na- 
 tions of antiquity, 368-378. 
 
 Thursday, sacred to the Scandinavian 
 god, Thor, 32. 
 
 T^et. the religion of, similar to Roman 
 Christianity, 400. 
 
 Tien the name of the Supreme Power 
 among the Chinese, 476. 
 
 IXtuTis, the, struggled against Jupiter, 
 388. 
 
 Tombs, the, of persons who never lived 
 in the flesh were to be seen at differ- 
 ent places, 510. 
 
 Tower, the, of Babel, 33 ; parallels to, 
 35-37; story of. borrowed from Chal- 
 dean sources, 103 ; nowhere alluded 
 to outside of Genesis, 103. 
 
 Transmigration of Souk, the, represent- 
 ed on Egyptian sculptures, 45 ; taught 
 by all nations of antiquity, 43-45. 
 
 Transmstantialion, the Heathen doc- 
 trine of, became a tenet of the Chris- 
 tian faith, 313, 314. 
 
 Tree, the, of Knowledge, 2, 3; parallels 
 to, 3-16; a Phallic tree, 101; Zoroas- 
 ter hung upon the. 195. 
 
 Trefoil, the, a sacred plant among the 
 Druids of Britain, 353. 
 
 Trimurti, the, of the Hindoos, 369; the 
 same as the Christian Trinitv, 369. 
 370. 
 
 Trinity, the, doctrine of, the most mys- 
 terious of the Christian church, 368: 
 adored by the Brahmins of India. 
 309; the Inhabitants of China and 
 Japan, 371; the Egyptians, 373; and 
 many other nations of antiquity. 373- 
 3T8; can be explained by allegory 
 only, 561. 
 
 Ticehc, the number which applies to 
 the twelve signs of the Zodiac, to be 
 found in all religions of antiquity, 
 498. 
 
 Twins, the Mexican Eve the mother of, 
 15. 
 
 Types of Christ Jesus, Crishna, Budd- 
 ha, Bacchus, Hercules, Adonis, Osi- 
 ris, Horns, Ac, all of them were, 
 408 ; all the sun-gods of Paganism 
 were, 500. 
 
 Typhon, the destroying principle in the 
 Egyptian Trinity, corresponding to 
 the Siva of the Hindoos, 561. 
 
 U. 
 
 Upright Emblem, the, or the "Ashera," 
 stood in the temple at Jerusalem, 47. 
 
 Uriel, the angel, borrowed from Chal- 
 dean sources. 109. 
 
 Ushns, the flame-red chariot of, com- 
 pared to the fiery chariot of Elijah, 
 90. 
 
 Utsthala. the island of, 78.
 
 688 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Valentine, St., formerly the Scandina- 
 vian god Vila. 399. 
 
 Valhalla, the Scandinavian Paradise, 
 390. 
 
 Vasudeva, a name of Crishna, 114. 
 
 Vedaa, the, antiquity of, 450. 
 
 Vedie Poems, the, show the origin and 
 growth of Greek and Teutonic my- 
 thology, 468. 
 
 Venus, the Dove was sacred to the god- 
 dess, 357. 
 
 Vernal equinox, the, festivals held at the 
 time of, by the nations of autiqnity, 
 392. 
 
 Vespasian, the Miracles of, 368, 269. 
 
 Vestal Virgins, the, were bound by a 
 solemn vow to preserve their chasti- 
 ty for a sp.'^ce of thirty years, 403. 
 
 Vicar of God on Earth, the Grand La- 
 ma of the Tartars considered to be 
 the, 118. 
 
 Viki, the god, of the Scandinavians, 
 changed to St. Valentine, 399. 
 
 Virgin, the worship of a, before the 
 Christian era, 326. 
 
 Virgo, the, of the Zodiac personified as 
 a Virgin Mother. 
 
 Vishnu, appeared as a flsh, at the time 
 of the Deluge, 25; the mediating or 
 preserving God in the Hindoo Trini- 
 ty, 369. 
 
 Voian, of Guatemala, 130. 
 
 Votive offerings, given by the Heathen 
 to their gods, and now practiced by 
 the Christians, 258, 259. 
 
 Voios of Chtistiiy, taken by the males 
 and females who entered Pagan mo- 
 nasteries, 402, 403. 
 
 W. 
 
 War in Heaven, the, believed in by the 
 principal nations of antiquity, 368. 
 
 Wasi. the priest and law-giver of the 
 Cherokces, 130. 
 
 Water, purification from sin by, a Pa- 
 gan ceremony, 317-323. 
 
 Wednesday, Woden's or Odin's day, 
 393. 
 
 Welsh, the, as late as the seventeenth 
 century, during eclipses, ran about 
 beating kettles and pans, 536. 
 
 West, the sun-gods die in the, 493. 
 
 Wisdom, Ganesa the god of, 117. 
 
 Wise Men, worshiped the infant Jesus, 
 150; worshiped the infant Crishna, 
 151; worshiped the infant Buddha, 
 151; and others, 151, 152. 
 
 Wittoba, the god, crucified, 185. 
 
 Wodin, or Odin, the supreme god of 
 the Scandinavians, 393. 
 
 Wolf, the, an emblem of the Destroy- 
 ing power, 80. 
 
 Word, or Logos, the, of John's Gospel. 
 of Pagan origin, 374. 
 
 World, the, destroy by a deluge, when- 
 ever all the planets met in the sign 
 of Capricorn, 103. 
 
 Xa^a, born of a Virgin, 119. 
 
 Xelhua, one of the seven giants rescued 
 from the flood, 37. 
 
 Xerxes, the god of, is the devil of to- 
 day, 391 ; the Zend-avesta older than 
 the inscriptions of, 452. 
 
 Xisuthrus. the deluge happened in the 
 days of, 22; was the tenth King of 
 the Chaldeans, 23; had three sons, 
 23; was translated to heaven, 90. 
 
 X-P, the, was foimerly a monogram of 
 the Egyptian Saviour Osiris, but now 
 the monogram of Christ Jesus, 350. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Tadu, Vishna became incarnate in the 
 House of, 113. 
 
 Too, or Jao, a sacred name, 49. 
 
 Ja7i-hwuy, the favorite disciples of 
 Confucius, 121. 
 
 Yar, the angel, borrowed from Chal 
 dean sources, 109. 
 
 Ten-she, the mother of Confucius, 121. 
 
 T-ha-ho, a name esteemed sacred among 
 the Egyptians, 48; the same as Jeho- 
 vah, 48. 
 
 Tezua, the name Jesus is pronounced 
 in Hebrew, 196. 
 
 Yoni, the, attached to the head of the 
 crucified Crishna, 185; symbolized 
 nature, 496. 
 
 Tosir, the term (Creator) first brought 
 into use by the prophets of the Cap- 
 tivity, 99.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 689 
 
 Tu, a virgiu-bom Chinrae sage, 130. 
 Yucatan, the Mayas of, worshiped a 
 
 virgin-born god, 130; crosses found 
 
 in, 201. 
 Tule, the old name for Christmas, 3G5. 
 Tumna, the river, divided by Crishna, 
 
 57. 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zama, the only-begotton Son of the Su- 
 preme God, according to the Mayas 
 of Yucatan, 130. 
 
 Zarathrustra (see Zoroaster). 
 
 Zend-Avesta, the sacred writings of the 
 Parsees, 7; signifies the "Living 
 Word;" 59; older than the cuneiform 
 inscriptions of Cyrus, 453. 
 
 Zephyrinus, the truth corrupted by, 
 135. 
 
 Zeru-akerene, the Supreme God of the 
 Persians, 245. 
 
 Zei-u-hahel, supposed to be the Messiah, 
 432. 
 
 Zeu-pater, the Dyans-pilar of Asia, be- 
 came the. of the Greelis, 477. 
 
 Zeus, the Supreme God of the Greeks, 
 477; visited Danae in a golden show- 
 er, 481. 
 
 Zo7ne, a supernatural being worshiped 
 in Brazil, 130. 
 
 Zoroaster, the Law-giver of the Per- 
 sians, 59; receives the "Book of the 
 Law " from Ormuzd, 59; the Son of 
 Ormuzd, 123 ; a dangerous child, 
 169; a " Divine Messenger," 194; the 
 "First-born of the Eternal One," 
 195; performed miracles, 256; the 
 religion of the Persians established 
 by, 451.
 
 SUPERNATURALRELIGION, 
 
 Complete in 1 toI , from the latest London edition. 
 8to, 1,115pp., Cloth, ?4 ; Leather, 5. [Former price, ^12.50 ] 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 INTEODUCTIOX. 
 
 The Duty of Adequate Inquiry Admitteil and Neglected. 
 
 DiiEcuIty of Investigating Religious Truth. 
 
 Prevalent Characteristic of Popular Theology in England. 
 
 Illogical Treatment. 
 
 Importance of the Question : Is Christianity a Supernatural Divine 
 
 Revelation or Not? 
 Its Present Urgency. 
 Character of the Investigation Required. 
 The Two Classes of Orthodox Christians. 
 Their Conflicting Views Enforce the Necessity of Inquiry. 
 The Spirit in wMch this Inquiry Should be Undertaken. 
 
 PAET I.— MIRACLES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MIRACLES IN RELATION TO CnBISTIANITT. 
 
 Christianity Professes to be Supernatural in Form and Essence. 
 Claim to be a Divine Revelation Common to Other Religions. 
 Necessity of iliraculous Evidence. 
 Miracles Inseparable from Christianity. 
 The Reality of Miracles the Vital Question. 
 Representation of Miracles in the Bible. 
 Miracles Divine and Satanic. 
 The Origin of Miracles Avowedly Doubtful. 
 Dilemma Arising from their Dual Character. 
 Mutual Dependence of Doctrine and Miracles. 
 Doctrine Made the Criterion of Miracles. 
 The Doctrines are Beyond the Criterion of Reason. 
 Miracles Incompetent to Perform their Evidential Function. 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MLEACLES IN' RELATION TO THE ORDER OF NATURE. 
 
 English and German Critics. 
 
 Analysis of Miracles. 
 
 Unknown Law. 
 
 Higher Law. 
 
 Instance of an Efficient Cause. 
 
 Progressive Succession of Laws. 
 
 The Efficient Cause Subject to Laws. 
 
 Antecedent Incredibility. 
 
 Invariability of Law. 
 
 The Divine Design of Revelation. 
 
 Such a Design Excluded by the Order of Nature. 
 
 The Law of Progress. 
 
 Miraculous and Incredible are Convertible Terms.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EEASON IS RELATION TO THE OEDEE OF NATUEB. 
 
 The Argument from Experience. 
 Assumption of a Personal Deity. 
 Anthropomorphic Divinity. 
 Antecedent Incredibility of Miracles. 
 Dr. Farrar's Misconception of the Argument. 
 Mill's Criticism on Hume. 
 Paley's Argument against Hume. 
 
 Nature of the Evidence for 3Iiracles which is Requisite. 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE AGE OF WIKACLES. 
 
 The Miracles of Brief Periods Alone Believed to be Genuine. 
 
 Competency of the Witnesses. 
 
 Superstitious Character of the Jews. 
 
 The Septuagint Version. 
 
 The Book of Tobit. 
 
 The Book of Enoch. 
 
 Angelology of the Jews. 
 
 Demonology of the Jews. 
 
 Sorcery and Magic. 
 
 E.xorcism of Demons. 
 
 Preternatural Portents. 
 
 Cosmical Theories of the Fathers. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PERMANENT STREAM OF MIEACTII.0tJS PRETENSION. 
 
 The Witnesses of Miracles Incompetent. 
 
 The Writers of the New Testament Shared the Popular Superstition 
 
 of the Jews. 
 Demoniacal Possession. 
 Witchcraft Denounced in the Bible. 
 Witchcraft Proscribed by Church and State. 
 Belief in Witchcraft Dispelled. 
 Application of the Argument to Miracles. 
 Christian and Pagan Miracles. 
 The Claim of Speciality for Christian Miracles. 
 The Continuance of Miraculous Power. 
 Ecclesiastical Jliracles. 
 Miracles Recorded by St. Augustine. 
 
 The Comparative Evidence for these and Scripture Miracles. 
 The Miracles of the Saints. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MIRACLES IN RELATION TO IGNORANCE AND BUPKE8TITION. 
 
 The Classification of Miracles. 
 
 Absence of Distinctive Character in Gospel Miracles. 
 
 Comparison of Evidence. 
 
 The Testimony of Jlartyrdora. 
 
 Gospel Jliracles Sink in the Stream of Miraculous Pretension. 
 
 Tue Eicrly and Later Christian Ages. 
 
 The Test of l\jiowlcdge. 
 
 Tue Cessation of Miracles. 
 
 Hereditary Belief. 
 
 The Narrative of Miracles the Point Really Discussed. 
 
 Nature of the Evidence Required.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 PABT n.— THE SY50PTIC GOSPELS. 
 
 DJTBODCCTION. 
 
 Nature of the Examination to Bo Undertaken. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Clement of Rome, The Epistle of Barnabas. 
 
 The Pastor of Hermas. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 The Epistles of Ignatius. The Epistle of Polycarp. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Justin Martyr. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Hegesippus. Papias of Hierapolis. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 The Clementines The Epistle to Diognetus. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Basilides. Valentinus. 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 Marcion. 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 Tatian. Dionysius of Corinth. 
 
 CHAPTER rS. 
 Melito of Sardis. Claudius Apollinaris. 
 
 Athenagoras. The Epistle of Vienne and Lyons. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 PtolemcEus and Heracleon. Celsus. 
 
 The Canon of Huratori. Results: 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. 11. 
 
 PART in.— THE FOURTH GOSPEL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The External KviJence. 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 The authorship and Character ot the Fourth Gospel. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Conclusions. 
 
 PART rV.— THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 The External Evidence. 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 Evidence Regarding the Authorship. 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 Historical Value ol the Vv'ork. Design and Composition.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Historical Value of the Work, continued. Primitive Christianity. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Historical Value of the Work, continued. Stephen the Martyr. 
 
 CHi\PTER VI. 
 Historical Value of the Work, continued. Philip in Samaria. Peter 
 and Cornelius. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Historical Value of the Work, continued. Paul the Apostle of the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 PART v.— THE DIRECT EVIDENCE FOR MIRACLES. 
 
 CILAPTER I. 
 The Epistles and the Apocalypse. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Eviaence of Paul. 
 
 PARI YI.— THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Relation of Evidence to Its Subject. 
 
 chapter" II. 
 
 The Evidence cf the Gospels. 
 
 chapter III. 
 The Evidence of Paul. 
 
 THE ORDER OF CREATION. 
 
 THE CONFLICT BETI^TIEN GENESIS AND GEOLOGY. 
 
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 IV. Proem to Genesis : A Plea for a Fair Trial. By Hon. W. E. Glad- 
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 V. Dawn ot Creation. An Answer to Jlr. Gladstone. By Albert Reville, 
 D.D. 
 
 VI. Mr. Gladstone and Genesis. By Prof. T. H. Huxley. 
 
 VII. A Protest and a Flea. By Mrs. E. Lynn Linton. 
 
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 REIGN OF THE STOICS. 
 
 Their History^ Religion, Philosophy, 
 
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