-
Articles/Ads
Article THE " GOLDEN ASS" OF APULEIUS. ← Page 4 of 9 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The " Golden Ass" Of Apuleius.
ness to acknoAA'ledge that there is a providence that ever rides over the xvorld . That proxidence is Isis , the goddess Avorshipped under many names , and mistress of so many various prerogatives . Cheered by the hope of once more returning to himself , he rises briskly , and laves his body , according to the precepts of
Pythagoras , seven times * in the sea : he addresses the goddess under her various titles of Ceres , goddess of fruits , and patroness of the cit y of mysteries , Eleusis ; as the heavenly Venus : as the guardian spirit to Avomen in the pangs of childbirth ; ancl as Proserpine , or Hecate , her ofthe triple face , goddess ofthe shades beneath . Having besought the favour of this goddess in terms
of remorse and anguish , he is again overpoxvered by sleep . " I had not closed mine eyes long , " he continues , " when a divine face , bearing a countenance to be reverenced even among the gods , raised itself from the midst of the sea . Then by degrees the shining figure , shaking off the waves , seemed to stand before me in its full stature . Its wondrous form I will attempt to describe to you , if the poverty of hxxman speech shah grant me the and if peradventure the divinity herself
power , shall vouchsafe me the all-abundant plenty of her fluent eloquence . First , then , her abundant , long , and slightly-curled tresses hung softly down , scattered negligently over her divine shoulders . A crown of varied form surrounded her sublime head with all kinds of flowers , in the centre of which was a flat orb , like unto a looking-glass , Avhose glittering light denoted the moon . On either side this was fastened to her head by a coil of snalcesfi beneath which hung down some ears of com . "
Those skilled m symbolism Avill readily perceive the antiquity of many emblems AA'hich enter into more modern systems of Masonry . Not that I Avould , for one moment , be thought to urge anything further than the existence of coincidences sufficient to show the antiquity of symbolism throughout all ages of the Avorldand its systematic application to purposes
, requiring secresy . After an enumeration of her various titles , Isis , xvho , be it remembered is , in Egyptian mythology , the incarnation of knowledge , and AA'ho , in this very speech , dwells particularly on her worshi p among the Egyptians " rich in ancient lore , " t pro-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The " Golden Ass" Of Apuleius.
ness to acknoAA'ledge that there is a providence that ever rides over the xvorld . That proxidence is Isis , the goddess Avorshipped under many names , and mistress of so many various prerogatives . Cheered by the hope of once more returning to himself , he rises briskly , and laves his body , according to the precepts of
Pythagoras , seven times * in the sea : he addresses the goddess under her various titles of Ceres , goddess of fruits , and patroness of the cit y of mysteries , Eleusis ; as the heavenly Venus : as the guardian spirit to Avomen in the pangs of childbirth ; ancl as Proserpine , or Hecate , her ofthe triple face , goddess ofthe shades beneath . Having besought the favour of this goddess in terms
of remorse and anguish , he is again overpoxvered by sleep . " I had not closed mine eyes long , " he continues , " when a divine face , bearing a countenance to be reverenced even among the gods , raised itself from the midst of the sea . Then by degrees the shining figure , shaking off the waves , seemed to stand before me in its full stature . Its wondrous form I will attempt to describe to you , if the poverty of hxxman speech shah grant me the and if peradventure the divinity herself
power , shall vouchsafe me the all-abundant plenty of her fluent eloquence . First , then , her abundant , long , and slightly-curled tresses hung softly down , scattered negligently over her divine shoulders . A crown of varied form surrounded her sublime head with all kinds of flowers , in the centre of which was a flat orb , like unto a looking-glass , Avhose glittering light denoted the moon . On either side this was fastened to her head by a coil of snalcesfi beneath which hung down some ears of com . "
Those skilled m symbolism Avill readily perceive the antiquity of many emblems AA'hich enter into more modern systems of Masonry . Not that I Avould , for one moment , be thought to urge anything further than the existence of coincidences sufficient to show the antiquity of symbolism throughout all ages of the Avorldand its systematic application to purposes
, requiring secresy . After an enumeration of her various titles , Isis , xvho , be it remembered is , in Egyptian mythology , the incarnation of knowledge , and AA'ho , in this very speech , dwells particularly on her worshi p among the Egyptians " rich in ancient lore , " t pro-