The Origin And References Of The Hermesian Spurious Freemasonry.

symbol of christian prudence . The psalmist compares the slyness of the wicked to the serpent Avhich refuses to lie charmed . Aristole Avrites that this animal is very crafty ; but if Ave enquire into authors concerning the wisdom of this creature

, nothing occurs satisfactory ; in truth it is figurative and symbolical ; meaning the charms of rhetoric and oratory , takenfrom its divided tongue , and more especially regarding the preachers of evangelical truths . All these put togetherI take to

, be good reasons for the extraordinary veneration paid to this creature from all antiquity . Our oldest heathen Avriter , Sanchoniathos says , the Phoenicians called it Agathodcemon , the good angel . E pies the Phcenicianin Ensebius it

, , pronounces a most divine animal . Maximus of Tyre , before quoted , Avrites , that the serpent was the great symbol of the deity in most nations , even among the Indians . " *

fhe origin of that divinity which was ascribed to the serpent , may be safely dated from the fall of man , and his expulsion from Paradise and happiness ; which evil Avas effected by means of a serpent . And Avhen mankind had so far submitted

to the delusions of the devil , as to throw off their allegiance to the true God , he further incited them to worshi p him , under the very forces by which he had effected man ' s ruin both body and soul . The Phoenicians and Egyptians were the

first to set the example of his heterodox and profane worshi p ; and Ensebius ascribes its origin to HERMES , whether truly or not is uncertain . This worship at length became so general that serpents were placed , not only in temples , but in private houses , as emblems of safety and protection . Thus Persius says :

— hie , veto quisquain facit oletum ; Pinge duos angues ; pueri , sacer est locus , extra Meute . " In process of time the Egyptians converted the serpent into a symbol of

consecration ; and hence the frequent recurrence of this reptile amongst the hieroglyphics of that people ; Avhich may probably account for the symbolization of Wisdom by it ; for as the temptations of the devil induced them to give him divine honours ,

: under the very form Avhich he himself had chosen to seduce the first man , it Avould be easy for him to persuade them that the serpent was the author of the knoAvledge of good and evil , and that he

possessed unbounded wisdom . From hence Ave may derive the origin of the use of serpents in divination , and the universal belief that they Avere oracular , and knew all things , past , present , and to come . Cueph , or divine goodness , Avas

represented by a snake not venomous ; his power by a viper , the figure of Avhich the Egyptian priests Avore upon their bonnets of ceremony ; and is was frequetly found upon the foreheads of their deities ; and Alian says that it was so placed as an

emblem of justice , in the punishment of the wicked . The Serpent Avas the acknowledged emblem of Hermes ; and Avhen standing erect upon its tail as an object of adoration , its common aspect on the monuments , it represented the Hermetic letter Zeta which signified , like the cross of the same deity—LIFE . AS the author of life , therefore , symbolized by the annual

renewal of its skin , the serpent was venerated by the Egyptians ; and depicted on their coins Avith his head surrounded by a nimbus , and inscribed Agathodcemon . Maurice , hoAvever , thinks that the serpent Avas more probably a symbol of the Eaka- ' dtemonor evil genius ; and those Avhose

, fears led them to adore , by Avay of pacifying the evil demon , erected the serpent on the first altar . The winged serpent was sacred to Isis or Ceres , and her chariot was borne through the air b y means of its agency . *

Wings Avere an emblem of swiftness , taken from the velocity Avith Avhich a bird moves in the air . The swiftness of the swalloAv is remarkable ; for it is asserted that one of these birds will make his supper of insects in England at the setting

of the sun , and take his afternoon ' s repast on the ensuing day upon the ephemera that sport under the meridian sun in the latitudes of Africa . Whilst the mail coach is going from London to Liverrool , the swallow will have accomplished its journey

of nearly four thousand miles . Here , then , Ave have a very satisfactory reason why Avings were considered a symbol of swiftness . Our pictures of