-
Articles/Ads
Article ON THE MYSTERIES OF THE EARLY AGES AS CO... ← Page 2 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Mysteries Of The Early Ages As Co...
with the source of light and heat , and thus was an object of veneration . In after ages Zoroaster , supposed to have been a king of Bactria , about 3 , 000 years B . C ., admitted fire to be alone the proper emblem of a Supreme JBeing , and thus the worship of Mithras extended in the eastern hemisphere .
It is thought to have been introduced at . Home by Numa ( 714 years B . C . ) in the ceremonies instituted by him in honour of Vesta , as the virgins dedicated to that goddess were held responsible for the sacred fire never being extinguished . If such an event took place , the republic was supposed to be threatened with sudden calamity ;
the virgin whose negligence was in fault was severely punished , and the flame was rekindled by the rays of the sun . The temples of Yesta ( one of which still exists at Some ) were always built in a circular form , with reference , as has been conjectured , to the figure of the earth ; and the statue of the goddess herself represented a female robed and veiled , with a lamp in her hand .
The inscriptions on the altars of the male deity were , " Deo soli MithrsB , " or " Soli Deoinvicto Mithrse , " and he himself is personified by the figure of a young man with a turban or cap similar to that worn in Persia . He supports his knee upon a bull lying on the ground , one of whose horns he holds in the left hand , while with the
other he plunges a dagger into the animal ' s neck . The adoration of the sun is here by some means evidently connected with the Egyptian mythology of Isis and Osiris , and the image may have some allusion to the force of the sun on his entering the zodiacal sign of the Bull .
All this goes a great way to prove how religious adoration , once introduced , may be perpetuated through ages ; and as the mysteries of Eleusis ( a town in Attica ) , dating from 1 , 356 years B . C ., existed 1 , 800 years , until finally abolished by Theodosius the Great , A . D . 395 , we may refer to them in drawing a comparison with our
own Order , more particularly as many details are to be found in classical authors on this subject . "We shall therefore limit our inquiry to this point , and to the system of the Druids , who flourished amongst ourselves as a branch of the Celtic family before the introduction of Christianity into England .
All religious mysteries have two observances common to every sect , viz .- —first , initiation ; and secondly , the obligations belonging to each degree . By initiation , the candidate is required to pass through a state of probation , so as to give evidence that he is fitted for admission or enrolment . This precaution was also adopted in the earliest times
of Christianity , as the catechumens were not permitted to partake of the Eucharist , nor even to be present at this sacred rite , till after they had undergone a strict trial . This may probably have originated from the necessity of concealment at the time when the early Christians were obliged by persecution to occupy the catacombs at
* See the " Tranacaiicaaia / by the Baron von Haxthauscn ; and the Il'istoiro pittoresque tie la Franc-Maeoimcrie / ' par F . T . I > . Olavcl .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Mysteries Of The Early Ages As Co...
with the source of light and heat , and thus was an object of veneration . In after ages Zoroaster , supposed to have been a king of Bactria , about 3 , 000 years B . C ., admitted fire to be alone the proper emblem of a Supreme JBeing , and thus the worship of Mithras extended in the eastern hemisphere .
It is thought to have been introduced at . Home by Numa ( 714 years B . C . ) in the ceremonies instituted by him in honour of Vesta , as the virgins dedicated to that goddess were held responsible for the sacred fire never being extinguished . If such an event took place , the republic was supposed to be threatened with sudden calamity ;
the virgin whose negligence was in fault was severely punished , and the flame was rekindled by the rays of the sun . The temples of Yesta ( one of which still exists at Some ) were always built in a circular form , with reference , as has been conjectured , to the figure of the earth ; and the statue of the goddess herself represented a female robed and veiled , with a lamp in her hand .
The inscriptions on the altars of the male deity were , " Deo soli MithrsB , " or " Soli Deoinvicto Mithrse , " and he himself is personified by the figure of a young man with a turban or cap similar to that worn in Persia . He supports his knee upon a bull lying on the ground , one of whose horns he holds in the left hand , while with the
other he plunges a dagger into the animal ' s neck . The adoration of the sun is here by some means evidently connected with the Egyptian mythology of Isis and Osiris , and the image may have some allusion to the force of the sun on his entering the zodiacal sign of the Bull .
All this goes a great way to prove how religious adoration , once introduced , may be perpetuated through ages ; and as the mysteries of Eleusis ( a town in Attica ) , dating from 1 , 356 years B . C ., existed 1 , 800 years , until finally abolished by Theodosius the Great , A . D . 395 , we may refer to them in drawing a comparison with our
own Order , more particularly as many details are to be found in classical authors on this subject . "We shall therefore limit our inquiry to this point , and to the system of the Druids , who flourished amongst ourselves as a branch of the Celtic family before the introduction of Christianity into England .
All religious mysteries have two observances common to every sect , viz .- —first , initiation ; and secondly , the obligations belonging to each degree . By initiation , the candidate is required to pass through a state of probation , so as to give evidence that he is fitted for admission or enrolment . This precaution was also adopted in the earliest times
of Christianity , as the catechumens were not permitted to partake of the Eucharist , nor even to be present at this sacred rite , till after they had undergone a strict trial . This may probably have originated from the necessity of concealment at the time when the early Christians were obliged by persecution to occupy the catacombs at
* See the " Tranacaiicaaia / by the Baron von Haxthauscn ; and the Il'istoiro pittoresque tie la Franc-Maeoimcrie / ' par F . T . I > . Olavcl .