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Article ¦ .. «¦¦' THE ANCIENT M:tS:TElIlS. ¦ ' ← Page 2 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
¦ .. «¦¦' The Ancient M:Ts:Telils. ¦ '
A French Writer gives an account of these tests , the following abstract of which we present to our readers . The novice , before setting out on his lonely and dangerous journey was warned that if curiosity was the motive which induced him to undertake it all his efforts would be unavailing . A blameless life
was the first indispensable requisite , and a sincere desire of know * ledge the only motive which could secure to the candidate the attainment of his wishes . The first object which presented itself to the eyes of the novice , as lamp in hand he started on his route in the subterranean caverns which were to be the scene of his adventures , was an inscription couchedin these
terms" He who will pursue this path alone , without turning back or even looking behind him , shall be purified by fire , by water , and by air ; and if he is able to overcome the fear of death , he shall erne from the bosom of the earth , he shall again see the light of heaven , and shall be entitled to prepare his soul for the revelation of the mysteries of the great goddess isis . " ' . ¦ :
The novice was then left to wander for a length of time and without a conductor in the thick darkness by which he was environed , having only the dim light of his lamp to guide him , till at length he found his way as best he might to an iron door guarded by three armed men , one of whom , accosting him with sternness , gave him
this warning" We are not placed , here to hinder your passage , continue your journey if the gods have given you courage to do so ; may you not be so unhappy as to retrace your steps , for then we shall oppose you . Even now , you may
return , but observe , that from this moment , if you proceed , your only means of egress from this place is by unflinchingly pressing on to the end you propose to yourself to reach : think only of your own power to succeed , and of forcing a way before you , without even turning a look behind , or thinking of retreat . " If the novice after this warning still had courage to persevere , the
armed men allowed him to pass the iron door . He had after this scarcely proceeded fifty yards on his road before he saw a very vivid light , which grew brighter as he advanced . He now found himself at the entrance of a vault more than a hundred feet in length and breadth , the first view of which gave him the idea of a furnace of fire which he had to pass . This furnace consisted of light brushwood , very inflammable , of " pitch , of branches of trees , and of grass , arranged in the form of a wood , with a crooked angular path , about
eight or nine feet wide , through its centre . This was the first test by fire , The second test by fire which the novice had to encounter , consisted in walking over the spaces in a lattice-work of red hot iron , of lozengeshaped pattern , the divisions of which were only just large enough to place the foot in . This lattice-work was about twenty feet in length by eight in breadth ; it began at the end of the burning wood abovementioned , and terminated at the side of a canal about fifty feet wide ,
whose water , which ' came from the Nile , entered at one side of the cavern and rushed out on the other side with alarming noise and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
¦ .. «¦¦' The Ancient M:Ts:Telils. ¦ '
A French Writer gives an account of these tests , the following abstract of which we present to our readers . The novice , before setting out on his lonely and dangerous journey was warned that if curiosity was the motive which induced him to undertake it all his efforts would be unavailing . A blameless life
was the first indispensable requisite , and a sincere desire of know * ledge the only motive which could secure to the candidate the attainment of his wishes . The first object which presented itself to the eyes of the novice , as lamp in hand he started on his route in the subterranean caverns which were to be the scene of his adventures , was an inscription couchedin these
terms" He who will pursue this path alone , without turning back or even looking behind him , shall be purified by fire , by water , and by air ; and if he is able to overcome the fear of death , he shall erne from the bosom of the earth , he shall again see the light of heaven , and shall be entitled to prepare his soul for the revelation of the mysteries of the great goddess isis . " ' . ¦ :
The novice was then left to wander for a length of time and without a conductor in the thick darkness by which he was environed , having only the dim light of his lamp to guide him , till at length he found his way as best he might to an iron door guarded by three armed men , one of whom , accosting him with sternness , gave him
this warning" We are not placed , here to hinder your passage , continue your journey if the gods have given you courage to do so ; may you not be so unhappy as to retrace your steps , for then we shall oppose you . Even now , you may
return , but observe , that from this moment , if you proceed , your only means of egress from this place is by unflinchingly pressing on to the end you propose to yourself to reach : think only of your own power to succeed , and of forcing a way before you , without even turning a look behind , or thinking of retreat . " If the novice after this warning still had courage to persevere , the
armed men allowed him to pass the iron door . He had after this scarcely proceeded fifty yards on his road before he saw a very vivid light , which grew brighter as he advanced . He now found himself at the entrance of a vault more than a hundred feet in length and breadth , the first view of which gave him the idea of a furnace of fire which he had to pass . This furnace consisted of light brushwood , very inflammable , of " pitch , of branches of trees , and of grass , arranged in the form of a wood , with a crooked angular path , about
eight or nine feet wide , through its centre . This was the first test by fire , The second test by fire which the novice had to encounter , consisted in walking over the spaces in a lattice-work of red hot iron , of lozengeshaped pattern , the divisions of which were only just large enough to place the foot in . This lattice-work was about twenty feet in length by eight in breadth ; it began at the end of the burning wood abovementioned , and terminated at the side of a canal about fifty feet wide ,
whose water , which ' came from the Nile , entered at one side of the cavern and rushed out on the other side with alarming noise and