THE ORI G6IN
OF ALL
R ELIGI OU S WT ORS -l I P.
T][~A~SIATED) JFI~O.  TIl E: FRE;CII
OF
DE OF CRI,                  THE 
WMEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF JNSCRIPTIONS AND OF THE NATIONAL JNSTITUTE OF TRANCE DURING THE FIRST
7RENCH fEPUBLIC.
CONTAINING ALSO
A DESCRIPTION OF THE ZODIAC OF DENDERAIH.
7.      2....O.L-, _
1872.




ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1871,
BY C. C. W. MULLER,
IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON.




C 0 N T F N1 rjp T  -
PAGE.
PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR.............................     1
PREE ACE OF THE TRANSLATOR........................... 4
MEMOIR ON THrF, LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS...........  6
CHAPTER    I. Of the God-Universe and his Worship.   15
II. Evidences of History and of Political and
Religious Monuments of the Universality of the Woirship of Nature....  23
III.  Of the Animated and Intelligent Universe.................  41
IV. Of the Great Divisions of Nature into
Active and Passive Causes, and into
Principles of Light and Darkness...  63
V. An Explanation of the Heracleid, or of the
Poem on the Twelve Months and on
t1ie Sun, -worshipped Lunder the Name
of Hercules....................    86
VI. An Explanation of the Travels of Isis or
the Moon, Worshipped in Egypt under that Name.............. 99
VII. An Explanation of the Dionysiacs, or the
Poem of Nonnus on the Sun, Worshipped under the Name of Bacchus. 112
VIII. Argonautics....1..........    174
cc   ~IX. An Explanation of the Fable, in which
the Sun is the Object of Worship undei the Name of Christ..........   215
it     X. Of Worship and Religious Opinions, considered in their Affinities with the
Duties and Wants of Man........ 300
XI. Of the Mysteries.................... 341
XII. An Abridged Explanation of an Apocalyptic Work of the Initiates into the
Mysteries of the Light and of the Sun,
Worshipped under the Srymbol of the
Vernal Lam or the Celestial Ram...  408
A DESCRIPTION OF THE CIRCULAR ZODIAC OF DENDERAH...... 427








PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR.
Many persons having desired, that I should give to the public an abridgment of my larger work on the origin of religious
Worship, I have concluded not to delay any longer their expectations. I have therefore condensed the work in such a
manner as to present the substance of the principles on
which my theory- is established, and to give an extract of its
most important results, without dwelling much on particulars, which may always be found in the larger edition.
This synopsis will be found useful even by those who
should possess the first, because it will serve as a guide in the
study of many volumes, which on account of the nature of
the work, places the ordinary reader beyond the circle of
learning usually required, in order to read with profit, and
without great effort, a work of erudition.  They will find
there a succinct result of their studies and precisely that
which is desirable to be retained in the mind of those who
do not wish to give themselves up entirely to the profound
study of antiquity, and yet still desire to become acquainted
with its religious spirit. As for those who have not access
to the larger edition, they will find in this abridgment an
extract of the principles of the new system of explanations
and a sufficiently detailed account of the discoveries to which
it has led, as also an idea of those more remote consequences
which may result to those, who shall pursue still further the
study of antiquity on this newly opened route.
It will thus offer to both new ideas, which are not in the
larger work. I have divested it, as much as the subject
allowed, of that learned matter, which would involve an unusual erudition, in order to place it within the reach of the
greatest number of readers possible, because the instruction
and the happiness of my fellow men has been and shall always
be the object of my labors,




PREFACE OF THE TRANSLATOR.
In presenting this translation of the philosophical work of
Dupuis, to an intelligent American Public, the translator,
while doubting the adequacy of his labors, still hopes, that
the difficulties inherent in such a task, will be properly appreciated, in as much as elegance of style and conciseness are
apt to suffer, when a strict adherence to the sense of the author
is aimed at.
F'or the proper understatnding of certain chapters in this
work, a somewhat classical education will be required. Its
pages were destined for the lover of wisdom, for the friend of
humanity and truth. Written during the stormy times of the
first French Revolution, its object was evidently to expose the
corrupting tendencies of Catholicism in France. The attentive reader will admire the prophetic words of the author, with
regard to its future state of society; his profound erudition
and his exuberant store of historical knowledge of antiquity,
exhibited in his explanations of all religious systems, but
especially of that of the Christian dogma in the shape of
Catholicity. Stripping it of all its ancient drapery and finery,
he fearlessly plants the torchlight of reason and history into
the midst of the Dome of St. Peter, and from its glare all the
phantoms of superstition and traditional imposition seem to
vanish like the shades of night before the rising sun. If the
foundations of the whole edifice of this dogma are thereby
materially impaired, it is that science and truth are no respector of creeds or persons, and like the sun will shine on the
just and the unjust.
The learned author's novel and peculiar system of explanations leads the attentive reader imperceptibly to startling
revelations, which, while instructive and replete with interesting details, are undoubtedly coming into conflict with old
established ideas and preconceived notions. In this the im



PREFACE OF THE TRANSLATOR.                5
partial reader must be his own judge. We, however, fully
agree with the author, when he exclaims, as it were'in despair: "That it would appear, almost an act of folly, in pretending to uproot that ancient Upas-tree of religious superstition,
under the poisonous shade of which mankind has been for ages
accustomed to repose and the roots of which are so wide-spread
and profound."
In this age of refined hypocrisy, how can such a work be
expected to please? There will be many, unable to shake of
their ancient prejudices, their fetters of anti-natural education,
and others, who, while fully concurring in their hearts with
the voice of Reason and Nature, yet cannot divest themselves
of the idea, that some sort of deceit is necessary, in order to
maintain the standard of morality in society. Unfortunately,
there seems to be some reason for it, as long as Fiction, Supernaturalismn and Deceit shall be made the basis of moral
education instead of Truth and Nature. There cannot be any
doubt, with a thorough reform of all educational systems on
that basis, an improved  standard of morality would  be
the natural consequence.




MEMOIR
ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS; EXTRACTED AND TRANSLATED
FROM THE c" BIOGRAPHIE DES CONTEMPORAINS."
Dupuis (Charles Francois) was born at Trie-le-CChateau, near
C7haurzont, in the Department of Oise, in France, on the 16th
October, 1742, of honest, but poor parents.  He was taught
mathematics and surveying by his father, who was a teacher,
and at the early age of six he already wrote a very good hand,
so much so, that it could serve as a model. His parents having removed to La Roche Guyoln, in the Department of Seine
and Oise, he was occupied one day on the shore of the Seine
to take with a graphometer the height of the steeple of that
town. Dauring that occupation the young Geometrician, who
was then not more than twelve years old, was observed by
the Duke de la Rochefoucault who seemed to be destined to
become'the protector and friend of the men of merit and
talent of his time, and to whose friendship or favor we owe
perhaps the accession to science of the celebrated Dolomiieu.
The Duke accosted the youth, and being highly pleased with
his answers to his questions, he placed him with the authorisation of his parents, at the college of Harcourt, where he
endowed him  with a scholarship. The illustrious protector
was very soon recompensed for his benevolence by the rapid
progress of his prote'ge, who at the age of twenty-four was
installed as professor of Rhetoric at the college of Lisieux.
During the leisure hours left hinm by the dlities of his office,
Dupuis studied law, and was received as an advocate in 1770




MEMOIr ON THE LIfE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.    7
at the Parliament of Paris. At about that time he quitted
the ecclesiastical dress, which he had worn until then, and
married. In 1775 he was charged with the composition of
the latin oration for the distribution of the prizes of the University. The Parliament of Paris had been reestablished after
the death of Louis XV, and that illustrious body rendered
that ceremony still more imposing and solemn by its presence
on that occasion. The young orator skilfully availed himself
of a political circumstance, which allowed him to treat his
subject in a new light, and his speech was much applauded;
it made him a great many friends amongst the Magistrates.
An other opportunity offered some years after, to justify the
trust of the first educational body of the State, and to obtain a
new literary success, when he was charged in the year 1780 to
pronounce in the name of the University, the funeral oration
of the Empress Maria Theresa. His talent seemed to have
acquired more strength and maturity.: Dupuis was acknowledged to be an eminent scholar, well versed in the humanities of literature, and an ornament to the Republic of letters.
The Mathematics, which he had mastered with great facility,
soon claimed his whole attention; attending, however, at the
same time, the lectures on Astronomy of Lalande, whose
friend he became, as he was already that of the Duke de la
Rochefoucault, of the Abbotts Barthelemy and Leblond, and
of the most distinguished men of that epoch. His daily
labors and his intimate relations gave him the idea of that
great work, l'Origine de tous les Cultes (The Origin of all Religious Worship), which has established his reputation. He
began with publishing several fragments of it in the Journal
des Savants, (editions of June, October and December, 1777,
and February, 1781,) and made a present of it to the Academy
of Inscriptions.  He united these scattered materials and
procured their republication in the Astronomy of Lalande, issuing
them separately in one volume in 4to. 1781, under the title of
"Memoires sur l'Origine des Constellations et sur l'Explica



8        MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.
"tion de la Fable par l'Astronomie." (Memoirs on the Origin of
the Constellations and on the Explanation of the Fable by
Astronomy.)  The system of Dupuis, the result of a superior
genius and an immense erudition, was new and well calculated to excite the curiosity of Savans and of the Laity; besides he opened a new route for the meditations of the men
of learning, and soon obtained universal notice; he was applauded with enthusiasm and criticised with bitterness; however, the author was never calumniated; in our days he would
doubtless not have escaped that honor. Bailly undertook to
refute this system in his history of Astronomy (5th volume).
Dupuis continued nevertheless to perfect it, and in 1794 published his work (3 volumes in 4to. and Atlas, and 12 volumes
in 8vo.) with the title of " Origine de tous les Cultes ou la Reli" gion universelle."  The appearance of this work produced
an extraordinary sensation. To some it appeared paradoxical
and calculated to undermine the foundations of the Christian
Religion. Others, and those were in the majority, acknowledged it to be a singular but strong conception of the greatest
interest, which was the product of learning, of wise investigation, of meditation and long experience. They thought
that this work was not to be judged lightly or precipitately,
nor by superficial minds; they considered it finally as one
of those monuments erected by human genius as a mark of
its passage through Time, and which it bequeaths to posterity for
the meditation of men of science of all times and all nations, of
men, whose enlightened minds and judgment are independent of
religious and political revolutions. The work of Dupuis has
neither destroyed nor shaken any creed. Altar and Throne had
already been overthrown, when it made its appearance, and
when reestablished a few years after its publication, they were
not injured by it, because Religion is a sentiment and not a
calculation, and because the heart yields to its inspiration,
when the spirit discusses and judges.
Dupuis published an abridgment of this work in one volume




MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DIPUIS.     9
in 80 (1798, or in the 6th year of the Republic), which has
received several editions either in that form or in 180 in one
or two volumes. The Count de Tracy has made a species of
compendium  of the work of Dupuis, under the title of
Analyse raisonnee de l'Origine de tous les cultes. (Rational
Analysis of the Origin of All Religious Worship.)  (Paris in
80 1804.)  The same work of the Origin of All Religious
MWorship was commented upon by the learned Peter Brunet,
of the old house of St. Lazare, in his compilation of the parallel of Religions (5 Vol. in 40.) M. Dulaure has given a real
introduction to the Origin of All Religious Worship by the
publication of his book, under the title: "Des Cultes qui onut
"precC d6 et amen6 l'dcolatrie et l'adoration des figures hu"mnaines." (Paris in 80 1805.) Of the various modes of
Religious Worship, which preceded and brought on Idolatry
and the Worship of human figures.)
Dupuis himself has left among his MIanuscripts, Inquiries
upon the Cosmogonies and Theogonies, which might serve as evidence in vindication of the system, which he has developed in
his work. Chenier, in his Introduction ant tableau de la litterature where he frequently characterizes with one word the most
beautiful creations of genius, says: "With Dupuis rational
erudition inquires into the common origin of the various religious traditions."
Dupuis was fond of occupation and retirement, and had
made Belleville his residence during the summer months. In
1778 he built on the house, where he lived, with the aid of
Letellier a Telegraph, the idea of which he had conceived in
Guillaume Amontons, a geometer and French mechanician, who
had been eulogized by Fontenelle. Aided by a telescope, Fortin, a friend of Dupuis corrlesp neded with him fromn Bagneux,
where he lived, collecting thus the signals, which were made to
him from Belleville, and answering them the same way. At
the commencement of the Revolution, Dupuis destroyed his
2




10       MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.
machine, fearing that it might render him suspected to the
Government. This discovery, which was at a later epoch universally adopted, and particularly in France, was despised at the
time of its invention. It was only when the Messrs.'Chappe
Brothers had succeeded in perfecting and establishing it for
the use of the Government, that its importance was acknowledged.
Dupuis had been nominated as Professor of Latin eloquence
at the College of France; in 1778 he became a member of the
Academy of Inscriptions, replacing R.ochefort, author of a
translation in rhyme of Homer's Iliad. On that occasion he
received the customary visits of the Duke de LaRochefoucault
and of the Abbott Barthelemy. A short time afterwards he
was nominated by the Department of Paris as one of the four
Commissioners of public instruction; but when the Revolution broke out he withdrew from the Capital and retired to
Evreux; he was still domiciled in that city, when he was elected
by the Department of Seine and Oise as aDeputy to the National Convention, where amidst the greatest storms of political
agitation he was conspicuous for his moderation. In the trial
of the King he voted for detention as a measure of general security, and after his condemnation he declared himself for respite. When he gave his vote, he spoke to the following effect:
"I desire that the opinion, which shall obtain the majority of
"the suffrages, may effect the happiness of all my fellow citi" zens, and that will be the case, when it can sustain the severe
"criticism of Europe and of posterity, which shall judge the:' King and his judges."  It was only on account of the little
confidence, which his colleagues placed in his enlightened
views, that Dupuis owed the impunity of so daring a speech.
Without that circumstance, he would have been perhaps one
of those, to whom those tigers said in threatening tones, with
a terrible allusion to the head of Louis XVI: Either His or
Thine! He was nominated Secretary of the Convention, a




MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.   11
place, which he was not allowed to decline. Some time after
that he made a motion of order on the occasion of discussing
the qualifications of the Terrorists and the Jacobins, he
complained against arbitrary disarmaments, and wished measures to be taken, in order to regulate the process of denunciation. He presented his views on political Economy, and finally
submitted the project of a decree, the object of which was, to
cause all the agents of the Republic to render an account of
their agency. He dedicated to the Assembly his work of the
Origin of All Religious Worship, and the Assembly made honorable mention of it. Lalande gave an account of this work in
the Moniteur. It had been expected for some time and the
printing of it had been done under the supervision of the Abbott Leblond on the express invitation of the Club'des Cordeliers, (Club of the gray Friars.) Dupuis, who feared to incite
the religious community against him, wanted to burn the manuscript, but his wife took possession of it, and kept it from
his sight, so long as she feared the loss of the work, the fruit
of so many nights study.
After the conventional session, Dupuis was nominated to
the council of the Five hundred, where he made a report on
the establishment of central schools,-presented his views on
public instruction, seconded the proposition of Louvet on the
liberty of the press, and claimed publicity of discussion on the
finances. In the year seven of the Republic he was placed on
the list of candidat s for the executive Directory; and was
balloted for thrice with General Moulin, who was finally elected; he became a nernber of the National Institute, which he
contributed to reorganize, and also a member of the Legislative
body, over which he presided after the 18th of Brurnaire in the
8th year of the Republic (9th November 1799). By this latter Body and also by the Tribunate he was proposed as a member of the Conservative Senate. A short time after, the decoration of the Legion of Honor was conferred on him. When




12       MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.
relieved from all political office, he returned again to his favorite occupations, and divided his time with his family, his
friends and his books. He resided at a small country house in
Burgundy, when he was seized with putrid fever, of which he
died on the 29th September 1809 in the sixty-seventh year of
his age.
Dupuis has also published the following works: 10) Memnoirs on the Pelasgi, inserted in the collection of the Institute,
class of ancient literature. The object of the author was to
prove by all the authorities, which he could collect from monuments and from history, that the Pelasgi came originally from
Ethiopia, and were a powerful nation, spread over all parts of
the ancient World, and to which Greece, Italy and Spain owed
their civilization. ( 20)  Memoir on the Zodiac  of Tentyra
(Dendra or Denderah). This monument of the sacred and
astronomical science of the Egyptians, which had been the object of a particular study of the Savans of the French
expedition to Egypt, was brought to Paris in the year
1822, owing to the zeal of two Frenchmen, amateurs of
the fine arts.  (Messrs. Saulnier, son of the Deputy of that
namne, and Le Lorrain.)  It has furnished  to Dupuis the
subject of a learned comparison with the Zodiacs of the
Greeks, of the Chinese, the Persians, Arabians, &c. As
the Memoir was written in the same spirit, which presided
over the composition of the Origin of All Religious Worship, it
forms  as it were its corollary  and comnpletement.-30)
M1emoirs on the Phoaeix (which was read at the Institute, and
which belongs, as well as the Refutation of Larcher, to the
collection of Memoirs of that body). This fabulous bird
was in the opinion of Dupuis, the symbol of the great
year, composed of 1461 indefinite years, in other words the
canicular period, because the canicule or dog days opened and
closed its course. 40) Dupuis has published in the New Al-:manac of tie uMses of 1.805 a fragment of verses of the as



MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.    13
tronomical poem of Nonnus, which he intended to translate
entirely. He left in manuscript, besides the one we have
mentioned before, a very extensive work on the Egyptian
Hieroglyphs, letters on Mythology addressed to his niece and
a translation of selected orations of Cicero. It has before
been remarked that the works of Dupuis were the cause of the
appearance of several important literary productions, even
amongst those, where they had pretended to refute him.
That, which is not less worthy of remark, is, that it was after
a conversation with Dupuis, that the late Count de Volney
composed his excellent work of "the Ruins, or Meditations on
the Revolutions of Empires."  The death of Dupuis was
universally regretted. His erudition and learning was of the
highest order and merit; he was a man of a mild character,
of pure manners, and of agreeable society.
M. Dacier, his colleague at the Institute has pronounced
his eulogy. Mrs. Dupuis has published a Memoir of the Life
and Writings of her husband, and all the authors of Biographies have rendered homage to his personal qualities.
The continuers of the Dictionary of the Abbott Feller, who by
a singular inadvertence attribute to him the work of M. Dulaure: Of the various Modes of Religious Worship, which have
preceded Idolatry, &c., thus express themselves: Dupuis was
considered a learned and honest man, but it would have been desirable also, if he had chosen less abstract subjects, and had not
frequented the society of philosophers, in order to be more estimable and less irreligious. This praise, even thus modified is not
the less flattering for the author of the Origin of All Religious
Worship, to whom, —-notwithstanding a very bitter censure of
his works, whic-h rigunrously construed,.could pass for a violent
diatribe,-the authors of the Universal Biography render however this justice: That he died withoutfortune, leaving to his
aidow for all inheritance the reputation of an honest man: When




14        MEMOIR ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DUPUIS.
our talents divide our judges, how gratifying is it, to reconcile
them by our moral qualities.
NOTE. This Memoir has been extracted from the Biographie nouvelle des
Contemporains (the new Biography of Contemporaries)-by M, M. Arnault, ancient member of the Institute; A. Jay of the French Academy;
I. Norvins and other men of learning.




THE ORIGIN
OF ALL
RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.
CHAPTER  I.
OF THE GOD-UNIVERSE AND HIS WORSHIP.
The word God seems intended to express the idea of a power
universal and eternally active, which gives impulse to the
movements of all Nature, following the laws of a harmony alike
constant and wonderful, and developing itself in various forms,
which organized matter can take, which blends itself with and
animates everything and which seems to constitute One, and
only to belong to itself, in its infinite variety of modifications.
Such is the vital force, which comprehends in itself the Universe, or that systematic combination of all the bodies, which
one eternal chain binds amongst themselves and which a perpetual movement rolls majestically through the bosom of space
and Time without end. When man began toreason upon the
causes of his existence and preservation, also upon those of
the multiplied effects, which are born and die around him,
where else but in this vast and admirable Whole could he have
placed at first that sovereignly powerful cause, which brings
forth everything, and in the bosom of which all reenters, in




16           TEE ORtGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [C hap. i.
order to issue again by a succession of new generations and
under different forms. This power being that of the World
itself, it was therefore the World, which was considered as
God, or as the supreme and universal cause of all the effects
produced by it, of which mankind forms a part. This is that
great God, the first or rather the only God, who has manifested himself to man through the veil of the m atter which he
animates and which forms the immensity of the Deity. This
is also the sense of that sublime inscription of the temple of
Sais: lam all that has been, all that is, and all that shall be, and
no mortal has lifted yet the veil, that covers me.
Although this God was everywhere and was all, which bears a
character of grandeur and perpetuity in this eternal World, yet
did man prefer to look for him in those elevated regions, where
that mighty and radiant luminary seems to travel through space,
overflowing the Universe with the waves of its light, and
through which the most beautiful as well as the most beneficient action of the Deity is enacted on Earth. It would seemn
as if the Almnighty had established his throne above that
splendid azure vault, sown with brilliant lights, that from the
summit of the heavens he held the reins of the World, that he
directed the movements of its vast body, and contemplated
himself in forms as varied as they are admirable, wherein he
modifies himself incessantly. " The World, says Pliny, or what
C" we otherwise call Heaven, which comprises in its imnmensity the
" whole creation, is an eternal, an infinite God, which has never been
" created, and which shall never come to an end. To looklfor some"thing else beyond it, is useless labor for man, and out (f his reach.
"Behold that truly sacred Being, eternal and immense, which in" eludes within itself everything; it is All in All, or rather itself is
"All. It is the work of Nature, and itself is Nature."
Thus spoke the greatest philosopher as well as the wisest of
ancient naturalists.  He believed that the World and Heaven
ought to be called the supreme cause and God. According




Chap. 1.]    THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      17
to his theory, the World is eternally working within itself and
upon itself, it is at the same time the maker and the work. It
is the universal cause of all the effects, which it contains.
Nothing exists outside of it, it is all that has been, all that is,
and all that shall be, in other words: Nature itself or God,
because by the name of God we mean the eternal infinite and
sacred Being, which as cause, contains within itself all that is
produced. This is the character, which Pliny attributes to the
World, which he calls the great God, beyond whom we shall
seek in vain for another.
This doctrine is traced up to the highest antiquity with the
Egyptians and the East Indians. The former had their great
Pan, who combined in himself all the characters of universal Nature, and who was originally merely a symbolical expression of her fruitful power.
The latter Ilave their God Vishnu, whom they confound frequently with the World, although they make of him sometimes
only a fraction of that treble force, of which the universal
power is composed. They say, that the Universe is nothing
else but the form of Vishnu; that he carries it within his
bosom; that all that has been, all that is, and all that shall be,
is in him; that he is the beginning and the end of all things;
that he is All, that he is a Being alone and supreme, who
shows himself right before our eyes, in a thousand forms. He
is an infinite: Being, adds the Bagawadam, inseparable from
the Universe, which essentially is one with him, because say
the Indians. Vishnu is All, and All is in him; which is entirely a similar expression as the one used by Pliny, in order to
characterize the God-Universe, or the World, the supreme
cause of all the effects produced.
In the opinion of the Brahmins, as well as that of Pliny, the
great-maker or the great Derniurgos is not separated or distinguished from his work. The WVorldis not a machine foreign
to the Divinity, which is created and moved by it and outside
3




18          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. I.
of it; it is the developement of the divine substance; it is one
of the forms under which God shows himself before our eyes.
The essence of the World is one and indivisible with that of
Bramnah, who organizes it. He, who sees the WVorld, sees God,
so far as men can see him; as he, who sees the body of a man
and his movements, sees man, so much as can be seen of him,
altho' the principle of his movements, of his life and of his
mind, remain concealed under the envelope, which the hand
touches and the eyes perceives. It is the same with the
sacred body of the Deity or of the God-Universe. Nothing
exists but in him and through him; outside of him all is nonentity or abstraction. His power is that of the Divinity itself.
His movements are those of the great Being, principle of all
the others; and his wonderful order is the organization of his
visible substance and of that portion of himself, which God
shows to man. In this magnificent spectacle, which the Deity
presents to us of itself, were conceived the first ideas of God
and the supreme cause; on him were fixed the eyes of all
those, who have investigated the source of life of all creatures.
The first men worshipped the various members of this sacred
body of the WVorld, and not feeble mortals, who are carried
away in the current of the torrent of ages. And where
is indeed the man, who could have maintained the parallel,
which might have been drawn between him and Nature?
If it is alleged, that it is to Force, to which altars were first
erected, where is that mortal, whose strength could have been
compared to that immeasurable, incalculable one, which is
scattered all over the World and developed under so many
forms and through so many different degrees, producing such
wonderful effects; which holds the Sun in equilibrium in the
centre of the-planetary system; which propels the planets, and
yet, retains them in their orbits; which unchains the winds,
heaves up the seas or calms the storm; which darts the lightning, displaces and overthrows mountains by volcanic erup



Chap. I]   THE ORIGON OF ALL RELIGIOUS wonSHIP.       19
tions, and holds the whole Universe in eternal activity? Can
it be believed, that the admiration, which this force even to
this day produces on our minds, did not equally affect the first
mortals, who contemplated in silence the spectacle of the
World, and who tried to divine the almighty cause, which set
so many different springs in motion? Instead of supposing
that the son of Alcmena had replaced the God-Universe and
brought him into oblivion, is it not more simple to assume, that
man, not being able to paint or represent the power of Nature,
except by images as feeble as himself, endeavored to find in
that of the lion or in that of a robust man the figurative expression, with which he designed to awaken the idea of the
force of the World? It was not the man or Hercules, who
had raised himself to the rank of the Deity, it was the Deity which
was lowered and abased to the level of nman, who lacked the means
to paint or represent it. Therefore, it was not the apotheosis of
man, but rather the degradation of the Deity by symbols and
images, which has seemed to displace all in the worship rendered to the supreme cause and its parts, and in the feasts designed to celebrate its greatest operations. If it is to the gratitude of mankind for benefits received, that the institution of religious ceremonies and the most august mysteries of antiquity,
must be attributed, can it be believed, that mortals, whether
Ceres or Bacchus, had higher merits in the eyes of men, than
that Earth, which from its fruitful bosom brings forth the
crops and fruits, which Heaven feeds with its waters, and
which the Sun warms and matures with its fire? that Nature,
showering upon us its bountiful treasures, should have been
forgotten, and that only some mortals should have been
remembered, who had given instructions how to use it? To
suppose such a thing, would be to acknowledge our ignorance
of the power, which Nature always exercised over man, whose
attention is ceaselessly claimed by her, on account of his absolute dependence on her, and of his wants. True it is, that




20          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. L.
sometimes audacious mortals wanted to contend with the veritable gods for their incense and to share it with them, but
such an extorted worship lasted only so long, as flattery and
fear had an interest in its continuation. Domitian was nothing but a monster under Trajan. Augustus himnself was soon
forgotten, but Jupiter remained master of the Capitol. Old
Saturn was always held in veneration amongst the ancient
communities of Italy, where he was worshipped as the God of
time, the same as Janus, or the Genius who opens to him the
course of the seasons. Pomona and Flora preserved their altars, and the various constellations continued to be the heralds
of the feasts of the sacred calendar, because they were those
of Nature.
The reason, why the worship of ma}; has always met with
obstacles in its establishment and maintenance amongst its
equals, is to be found in man himself, when compared with the
great Being, which we call the Universe. In man all is weakness, while in the Universe all is grand, all is strength, all is
power. Man is born, grows and dies, and scarcely shares for
an instant the eternal duration of the World, of which he occupies such an infinitesimal point. Being the issue of dust,
he very soon returns to it entirely, while Nature alone remains
with its formations and its power, and from the remains of
mortal beings is reconstructing new ones. It knows no old
age, nor alteration of its strength. Our fathers did not see it
come into existence, nor shall our great grand children see it
come to an end. When we shall descend into the grave, we
shall leave it behind just as young, as when we first sprung
into life from its bosom. The farthest posterity shall see the
Sun rise as brilliant, as we see it now, and as our fathers saw
it. To be born to grow, to get old and to die, express ideas,
which do not belong to universal Nature, they being only the
attributes of mankind and of the other effects produced by the
former. "The Universe, says Ocellus of Lucania, when con



Chap. /.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     21'"sidered in its totality, gives us no indication whatsoever,
" which would betray an origin or portend a destruction, no"body has seen it spring into existence, nor grow or improve,
"it is always the same in the same manner, always uniform
"and like itself." Thus spoke one of the oldest philosophers,
whose writings have come down to us, and since then our observations have made no additions to our knowledge. The
Universe seems to us the same, as it appeared to him. Is not
this character of perpetuity belonging to the Deity, or to the
supreme cause? What would then God be, If he was not all
that, which to us seems to be Nature and the internal power
which moves it? Shall we search beyond this World for that
eternal uncreated Being, of which there is no proof of existence? Is it in the class of produced effects, that we shall
place that immense cause, beyond which we see nothing but
phantoms, thll creatures of our own imagination? I know,
that the mind of man, whose reveries are uncontrollable, has
gone beyond that, which the eye perceives, and has overleaped
the barrier, which Nature has placed before its sanctuary. It
has substituted for the cause it saw in action, an other cause,
which it did not see, as beyond and superior to it, without in
the least troubling itself about the means to prove its reality.
Mlan asked, who had made the World, just as if it had been
proved, that the World had been made; nor did he at all enquire, who had made this God, foreign to the World, entirely
convinced, that one could exist, without having been made;
all of which the philosophers have really thought of the World,
or of the universal and visible cause. Because man is only an
effect, he wanted also the World to be one, and in the delirium
of his metaphysics, he imagined an abstract Being called God,
separated from the World and from the cause of the World,
placed above the immense sphere, which circumscribes the
system of the Universe, and it was only himself alone the
guarantee of the existence of this new cause; and thus did




22          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. I.
man create Go-d. But this audacious conjecture is not his
first step. The ascendancy, which the visible cause exercises
over him is too strong for conceiving the idea of shaking it off
so soon. He believed for a long while in the evidence of his
own eyes, before he indulged in the illusions of his own imagination, and lost himself in the unknown regions of an invisible World. He saw God, or the great cause in the Universe, before he searched for him  beyond it, and he circullscribed his'Worship to the sphere of the World, which he saw,
before he imagined a God in a World, which he did not see.
This abuse of the mind, this refinement of metaphysics is of a
very recent date in the history of religious opinions, and may
be considered as an exception of the universal religion, which
had for its object the visible Nature, and the active and spiritual force, which seems to spread through all its parts, as it
may be easily ascertained by the testimony of historians, and
by the political and religious monuments of the ancients.




CHAPTER II.
EVIDENCES OF HISTORY AND OF POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS.
OF THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE WORSHIP OF NATURE.
Henceforth we shall not be satisfied with mere arguments,
in order to prove that the Universe and its members, considered as so many parts of the great cause or of the Great
Being, must have attracted the attention and the homage of
mortals. We shall be able to demonstrate by facts, and by a
summary of the religious history of all nations, that that,
which ought to'have come to pass, has really happened, and
that all men of all countries, since the highest antiquity, have
had no other Gods, but those of Nature, in other words, the
World and it most active and most luminous parts, Heaven,
Earth, the Sun and the Moon, the Planets, the fixed Stars, the
Elements and in general all, which bears a character of cause
and perpetuity in Nature. To portray and to praise in songs
the WVorld and its operations, was in olden times the same, as
portraying and glorifying the Deity.
In whatever direction we may look on the ancient as well as
on the new continent, Nature and its principal agents have had
everywhere their altars. Its august body and its sacred members were the object of veneration of all nations. "Chseremon 9" and the wisest priests of Egypt believed with Pliny, that
nothing but the World and the visible cause should be admitted, and'they supported their opinion by that of the oldest
Egyptians," who, they say, "' did only acknowledge as Gods,
"the Sun, the Moon, the Planets, the Stars composing the Zodi"ac, and all those decades which by their rising and setting mark
"the divisions of the signs, their subdivisions into decans, the
"horoscope and the stars which preside there, and which are




24'THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOTS WORSHIP.  [Chap. it.
"called the mighty rulers of Heaven. They aver, that the
" Egyptians-who looked upon the Sun as a great God, archi"tect and moderator of the Universe-explained not only the
"fable of Osiris, but also all their religious fables generally
"by the Stars and by the action of their movements, by their
"apparition and by their disappearance, by the phases of the
" Moon, by the increase or the diminution of its light, by the' progressive march of the Sun, by the divisions of the Heavens
"and of time into two great parts, one of which was assigned
"to the Day, and the other to the Night; by the Nile and
"finally by the action of physical causes. Those are-they
"say —the Gods, sovereign arbiters of destiny, which our
". fathers have honored by sacrifices and to which they have
erected images." Indeed, we have shown in our larger work,
that even the animals, which were consecrated in the temples
of Egypt and honored by worship, represented the various
functions of the great cause and had reference to Heaven, to
the Sun and the Moon, and to the different constellations, as
it has been well observed by Lucian. For instance, that
beautiful star Sirius, or the dog star, was worshipped under
the name of Anubis, and under the form of a sacred dog was
fed in the temples. The hawk represented the Sun, the bird
Ibis, the Moon, and astronomy was the soul of the whole religious system of the Egyptians. They ascribed the government of the World to the Sun and the Moon, which were worshipped under the name of Osiris and Isis, as the two primary
and eternal Divinities, from which depended all that great
work of generation and vegetation in this sublunary World.
In honor of that luminary, which dispenses the light, they
built the city of the Sun or Heliopolis, and a temple in which
they placed the statue of that God. It was gilded and represented a young beardless man, whose arm was raised and who
held in one hand a whip, in the attitude of a charioteer. In
his left hand was the lightning and a bundle of ears of corn.




Chap. II.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     25
They represented thus the power and at the same time the
beneficence of that God, who darts the lightning and makes
the crops grow and ripen.
The river Nile, which in its periodical overflow fertilizes tile
fields of Egypt with its mud, was also honored as a God, or as
one of the beneficent causes of Nature. It had its altars and
temples at Nilopolis or at the city of the Nile. Near the
cataracts, above Elephantis, there was a college of priests, appointed for its worship. The most magnificent feasts were
given in its honor, principally at the moment, when it commences to overflow the plain, which was thereby feftilized
every year. They carried its statue around the fields with
great ceremonies; afterwards the people went to the theatre
and assisted at public feasts; they celebrated dances aind
chanted hymns similar to those, with which they addressed
Jupiter, whose functions devolved on the soil of Egypt upon
the Nile. All the other active parts of Nature received the
respectful homage of the Egyptians. There was an inscription on an ancient column in honor of the immortal Gods, and
the Gods which are mentioned there, are the Breath or the
Air, hIeaven, Earth, the Sun and the Moon, Night and Day.
Finally, in the Egyptian system, the World was looked upon
as a great Divinity, composed of the assemblage of a  lmultitude of Gods or partial causes, which represented only the
several rnembe.rs of that great body, called the Whorld or tlhe
Good Universe.
The Phoenicians, who with the Egyptians, have mostly inflnenced the religion of other nations, and have spread over
the globe their theogonies, attributed Divinity to the Sun and
Moon and the Stars, and regarded them as the only causes of
the production and destruction of all beings. The sun was
their great Divinity under the name of Hercules.
The Ethiopians, the fathers of the Egyptians, living in a burning climate, worshipped nevertheless the divinity of the Sun,
4




26         PTHE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. I.
but above all that of the Moon, which presided over the nights,
the sweet coolness of which, made them forget the heat of the
day. All the Africans offered sacrifices to these great Divinities. It was in Ethiopia, where the famous table of the Sun
was found. Those Ethiopians, who lived above 5Mer6o, acknowledged eternal Gods of an incorruptible nature, according
to Diodorus, such as the Sun and the Moon, and all the lUniverse or the World. The same as the Incas of Peru, they
called themselves the children of the Sun, which they regarded
as their first progenitor: Persina was the priestess of the
Moon, and the King her consort was priest of the Sun.
The Troglodytes Lad a fountain, dedicated to the Star of
Day. In the neighborhood of the temple of Ammon, there
was a rock, sacred to the south-wind, and a fountain of the
Sun.
The Blemmyes, situated on the confines of Egypt and Ethiopia, immolated human victims to the Sun. The rock of Bagia
and the island of Nasala, situated beyond the territory of the
Ichthyophagi, were dedicated to the same luminary. No man
dared to approach the island, and frightful stories'deterred the
most daring mortals to put a profane foot on it.
There was also a rock in ancient Cyrenaica, on which no
one dared to lay a hand, without committing a crime, because
it was dedicated to the east wind.
The divinities, which were invoked as witnesses in the treaty
of the Carthaginians with Philip, the son of Demetrius, were the
Sun, the Mloon, the Earth, the Rivers, the Prairies, and the
Water. Massinissa, in thanking the G-ods on. the arrival of
Scipio in his empire, addresses himself to the Sun.
The natives of the island of Socotora and the Hottentots
preserve to this day the ancient veneration, which the Africans had always for the Moon, which they regard as the prin.ciple of sublunary vegetation; they applied to her, when they
wanted rain, sunshine or good crops. She is to them a kind




Chap. II.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      27
and beneficent Divinity, such as was Isis with the Egyptians.
All the Africans, who inhabit the coast of Angola and of
Congo, worship the Sun and the Moon. The natives of the
island of Tenerif worshipped them also, as well as the planets
and other stars, on the arrival of the Spaniards.
The Moon was the great Divinity of the Arabs. The Sarazens gave her the epithet of Cabar or the Great; her Crescent
adorns to this day the religious monuments of the Turks.
HIer elevation under the sign of the Bull, constituted one of
tlie principal feasts of the Saracens and of the sabean Arabs.
Each Arab tribe was under the invocation of a constellation,
The tribe Hamiaz was consecrated to the Sun; the tribe Cemah
to the Moon; the tribe Miza was under the protection of the
Star Aldebaran; the tribe Tai under that of Canopus; the
tribe Ka'is under that of Sirius; the tribes Lachamus and
Idamus worshipped the planet Jupiter; the tribe Asad that of
Mercury, and so forth the others. Each one worshipped one
of the celestial bodies as its tutelar genius. Atra, a city in
Arabia, was consecrated to the Sun and was in possession of
rich offerings, which had been deposited in her temple. The
ancient Arabs gave sometimes to their children the title of
servants to the Sun.
The Caabah of the Arabs was before the time of Mahomet,
a temple dedicated to the Moon. The black stone which the
Musulmans kiss with so much devotion to this day, is, as it is
pretended, an ancient statue of Saturmus. The walls of the
great mosque of Kufah, built on the foundation of an ancient
Pyrea or temple of the fire, are filled with figures of planets
artistically engraved. The ancient worship of the Arabs was
the Sabismus, a religion universally spread all over the Orient.
Heaven and the Stars were the first objects thereof.
This religion was that of the ancient Chaldeans, and the
Orientals pretend that their Ibrahim or Abraham was brought
up in that doctrine. There is still to be seen at Hella, over




28          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. TI.
the ruins of the ancient Babylon, a mosque calle-eMesched
Eschams, or the mosque of the Sun. It was in this city, that
the ancient temple of Bel or the Sun, the great Divinity of the
Babylonians, existed, it is the same God, to whom the Persians
erected temples and consecrated images under the name of
Mithras. They worshipped also the Heavens under the name
of Jupiter, the Moon and Venus, Fire, Earth, Air or the Wind,
WVater, and they acknowledge no other Gods since the remotest antiquity. In reading the sacred books of the ancient Persians, which are contained in the collection of the books of Zend,
we find on every page invocations addressed to Mithras to the
X/b[oon, to the stars, to the elements, to mountains, to trees and
to all parts of Nature. The fire Ether, which circulates in the
whole Universe and of which the Sun is the most apparent
centre, was represented in the Pyreas or fire temples by the
sacred fire, which was kept burning by the 3Magi.
Each planet, which contains a portion of it, had its Pyrea or
particular temple, where' incense was burned in its honor;
people went to the chapel of the Sun, in order to worship that
luminary and to celebrate its feast, to that of Mars and Jupiter &c. to adore Mars and Jupiter and so of the other planets.
Darius, King of the Persians, invoked the Sun, Mars and the
eternal Fire, before giving battle to Alexander. Above his tent
there was an image of this luminary, enclosed in crystal, reflecting far off its rays. Amongst the ruins of Persepolis, there
may be seen the figure of. a King, kneeling before the image
of the Sun; near it, is the sacred fire preserved by the Magi,
and which Perseus, as they say, had formerly brought down
from Heaven to the Earth.
The Parsees, or the descendants of Zoroaster, still address
their prayers to the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, and principally to the Fire, as the most subtle and the purest of all the
elements. They preserved this fire especially in Aderbighian,
where the great Pyrea or fire temple of the Persians was, and




Chap. II.   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     29
at Asaa6;idn.the country of the Parthians. The Guebres, established at Surat, preserve carefully in a temple, remarkable
for its simplicity, the sacred fire, with the worship of which
their fathers had been intrusted by Zoroaster. Niebuhr has
seen one of these hearths, where as they pretend, the fire was
preserved for over two hundred years, without ever having
been extinguished.
Talarsaces built a temple at Armavir in the ancient Phasiah
on the shores of the Araxes and consecrated there a statue to
the Sun and the Mloon, Divinities, which were worshipped formerly by the Iberians, the Albanians and the Colchians. The
latter planet was principally worshipped in all that part of
Asia, in Armenia and Capadocia, also the God Month, which
the Moon engendered by its revolution. All Asia minor,
Phrygia, Jonia were covered with temples, dedicated to these
two great fiambeaux of Nature. The Moon, under the name
of Diana, had a magnificent temple at Ephesus. The God.M2onth had also his own near Laodicea, and in Phrygia; the
Sun was worshipped at Thymbra in Troas, under the name of
Apollo.
The island of Rhodes was consecrated to the Sun, to which
a collossal statue was erected, known by the name of the Colossus of IRhodes.
The Turks in the North of Asia, established near the Caucasus, held the Fire in great veneration, also Water and Earth,
which they celebrated in their sacred hymns.
The Abasges or Abascians, inhabiting the extreme end of
the Black Sea, worshipped still in the time of Justinian, woods
and forests, and their principal Divinities were trees.
All those Scythian nations, which led a nomatic life in those
imlmelnse countries in the North of Europe and of Asia, had for
their principal Divinity the Earth, from which they drew their:nourishment, for themselves and their herds;-they made her
the wife of Jupiter or of Heaven, by the rain of which, she is fe



30         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IL.
cundated. The Tartars, established at the East of Imaiis,
worship the Sun, the Light, the Fire, the. Earth, and they
offer to those Divinities the premices of their food, chiefly in
the morning.
The ancient Massagetes had for their sole Divinity the Sun,
to which they immolated horses.
The Derbices, a people of Hyrcania, worshipped the Earth.
All the Tartars in general have the greatest veneration for
the Sun, which they regard as the father of the Moon, which
borrows its light from it. They make libations in honor of the
Elements, and principally of Fire and Water.
The Votiacs of the government of Orenburg adore the Divinity of the Earth, which they call Mon-Kalzin; the God of the
Water, which they call Vu-Imnar, they adore also the Sun, as
the seat of their great Divinity.
The Tartar mountaineers of the territory of Udiusk (Oudiusk) worship Heaven and the Sun.
The Moskanians sacrificed to a Supreme Being, which they
called Schkai, being the name, which they give to Heaven.
When they made their prayers, they turned towards the East,
like all the nations of Tchudic origin.
The Tchuvaches counted the Sun and the iMoon amongst the
number of their Divinities; they sacrificed to the Sun at the
commencement of spring, at their seed time and to the Moon
on each renewal.
The Tunguses worship the Sun and make it their principal
Divinity; they represent it under the emblem of Fire.
The Huns worshipped Heaven and Earth, and their leader
took the title of Tanjan or the son of Heaven.
The Chinese, located at the eastern confines of Asia, worship Heaven under the name of the great Tien, and his name
signifies according to some, the spirit of Heaven, and according to others the material Heaven. This is the Uranus of the
Phoenicians, of the Atlantes and of the Greeks. The supreme




Uhap. II1   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIIP.    31
Being is denoted in the Chu-King, by the name of Tien or
Heaven and of Chang- Tien, the supreme Heaven. The Chinese
say of this Heaven, that it penetrates all and comprises all.
In China there are temples of the Sun and the Moon and
of the North stars. Thait-T9urn may be seen to go to Miac, in
order to offer a burnt offering to Heaven and Earth. Similar
sacrifices are made also to the mountain and river Gods.
Augustha makes libations to the august Heaven and to the
queen Earth.
The Chinese erected a temple to the Great Being, the effect
of the union of Heaven, Earth and the Elements, a being which
answers to our World and which they call Tay-Kai: it is at the
epoch of the two solstices, when the Chinese are worshipping
Heaven.
The Japanese adore the stars and they suppose, that they
are animated by Spirits or by Gods. They have their temple
of the splendor of the Sun, and they celebrate the feast of the
Moon on the seventh of September. The people passes the
night in rejoicings at the light of that luminary.
The inhabitants of the land of Yeco worship Heaven.
It is not yet 900 years ago, that the inhabitants of the island
of Formosa acknowledged no other Gods but the Sun and the
Moon, which they regarded as two Divinities, or supreme
causes, an idea absolutely similar to that, which the Egyptians
and the Phcoenicians had of these two luminaries.
The Aracanese have built a temple to the Light, in the island
of Munay, known by the name of temple of the atoms of the
Sun.
The inhabitants of Tuncquin worshipped seven heavenly
idols, which represent the seven planets, and five terrestrial
ones, consecrated to the elements. The Sun and the Moon
have their worshippers in the island of Ceylon, the Taprobane
of the Ancients; the other planets are also worshipped there.
The two firstmnentioned luminaries are the only Divinities of




32          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. 11;
the natives of the island of the Sunatra; the same Gods are revered in the islands of Java, of Celebes and of Sonde, also at
the Moluccas and the Philippine islands.
The Talapoins, or the religionists of Siam  profess the
greatest veneration for all the elements and for all parts of the
sacred body of Nature.
The Hindoos have a superstitious veneration for the water
of the river Ganges; they believe in its divinity, as the Egyptians believed in that of the Nile. The Sun has been one of the
great Divinities of the East Indians, if we may believe Clement
of Alexandria. The Indians and even the spiritualists worship the two great luminaries of Nature, the Sun and the
Moon, which they call the two eyes of the Divinity. They celebrate every year on the 9th of January a feast in honor of the
Sun. They admit five elements, to which they have erected
five pagods.
The seven planets are adored to this day under various
names in the kingdom of Nepal; tney sacrifice to them every
day.
Lucian avers, that the Indians, when worshipping the Sun,
turn their faces towards the East, and that amidst of a profound silence, they executed a kind of a dance in imlitation of
the movements of that luminary. In one of their tetmples tcey
had the God of Light represented, as mounted on a clbariot
drawn by four horses.
The ancient Indians had also their sacred fire, which they
drew  from the rays of the Sun on the summit of a very high
mountain, which they regarded as the central point of Indila.
The Brahmins preserve up to this day on the mount,-in Tirunamaly a fire, which they hold in the greatest veneration.
At sunrise they go to draw water from a pond, and they throw
some of it towards that luminary as a testimonial of their respect and gratitude for having again reappeared and dissipated
the darkness of night. On the altar of the Sun, they lighted




Chap. II.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    33
the flambeaux, which they had to carry before Phaotes, their
newly made King, whom they desired to receive.
The author of the Bagawadanm acknowledges, that several
Indian tribes address iheir l rayers to the fixed stars and to
the planets. Thus, the worship of the Sun, the Stars and the
Elements formed the basis of the religion of the whole of Asia,
in other words, of countries peopled by the greatest, the oldest
and wisest of nations, by those, which influenced the religion
of the nations of the West and in general those of Europe.
So, that when we look on this last portion of the old World,
we find the sabismus and the worship of the Sun, the Moon
and the Stars equally extended, although often disguised under
other names and under other forms so skillfully drawn up, that
they were sometimes not recognized even by their own worshippers.
The ancient Greeks, if we may believe Plato, had no other
Gods but those which the Barbarians of that time worshipped,
when that philosopher lived, and those Gods were the Sun,
the Moon, the Stars, Heaven and Earth.
Epicharmis, a disciple of Pythagoras, speaks of the Sun andm
and Moon and the Stars, the Earth, Water and Fire as Gods.
Orpheus considered the Sun as the greatest of all the Gods,
and ascending before daybreak an elevated place, he awaited
there the reappearance of that luminary, in order to render
homage to it. Agamemnon, according to Homer, sacrificed
to the Sun and to the Earth.
The chorus in the Oedipus of Sophocles, invokes the Sun as
the first of all the God's and as their Chief.
The Earth was worshipped in the island of Cos; it had a
temple at Athens and at Sparta, also its altar and oracle at
Olympia. That of Delphi was originally consecrated to it. In
reading Pausanias, to whom we owe a description of Greece
and of her religious monuments, we find everywhere traces of
the worship of Nature; there are altars, temples and statues
5




34         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. II.
consecrated to the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, to the Pleiads,
the celestial Charioteer, the Goat, the Bear or Callisto, to the
Night, Rivers, &c.
There were to be seen in Laconia seven columns erected in
honor of the seven planets. The Sun had its statue, and the
Moon its sacred fountain at Thalma, in the same country;.
The people of Megalopolis sacrificed to the wind Boreas, and
had a sacred grove planted in his honor.
The Macedonians worshipped Estia or the Fire, and addressed their prayers to Bedy or to the element of Water; Alexander, King of Macedonia, sacrificed to the Sun, the Moon
and to the Earth.
The oracle of Dodona required in all its answers, a sacrifice
to the river Acheloius; Horner gives the epithet of sacred to the
waters of Alpheus; Nestor and the Pylians sacrificed a bull to
that river. Achilles let his hair grow in honor- of Sperchius,
he invokes also the wind Boreas and Zephyr.
The rivers reputed sacred and divine, as much on account
of the perpetuity of their course, as because they kept up vegetation, watered plants and beasts, and because Water is one of
the first principals of Nature, and one of the most powerful
agents of the universal power of the Great Being.
In Thessaly they fed sacred ravens in honor of the Sun.
The same bird is found on the monuments of Mithras in
Persia.
The temples of ancient Byzantium were consecrated to the
Sun, the Moon and to Venus. Those three luminaries, also
Areturus or the beautiful star of the herdsman Bootes, and
the twelve signs of the zodiac had their idols there. Rome
and Italy preserved also a great many lmonuments of the
worship of Nature and of her principal agents. T'atius, when he
came to Rome to share the scepter of Romulus, erected temples
to the Sun, the Moon and Saturnus, to the Light and to the
Fire. The eternal fire or Vesta was the most ancient object of




Chap. II.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIIP.   35
worship of the Romians; virgins were intrusted with its preservation in the temple of that Goddess, like the Magi in Asia in
their Pyreas; because it was the same worship as that of the
Persians. It was, as Jornandes says, an image of the eternal
fires, which shine in the Heavens.
Every one knows the famous temples of Tellus or of the Earth,
in which very often the meetings of the Senate were held.
The Earth took the name of mother, and was regarded as a
Divinity with the 3Manes.*
A fountain was discovered in Latium, called the fountain of
the Sun, in the vicinity of which two altars had been erected,
on which 2Eneas, on his arrival in Italy, had offered a sacrifice. Romulus instituted the games of the circus, in honor of
that Luminary, which measures the year in its career, and the
four elements, which it modifies by its mighty action. Aurelianus erected at Rome the temple of the Star of Day, which he
enriched with gold and precious stones. Augustus before him
imported from Egypt the images of the Sun and the Moon,
which adorned his triumph over Antonius and Cleopatra.
The Moon had its temple on the Mornte Aventino.
If we pass over into Sicily, we see three oxen consecrated to
the Sun. That island itself was called the island of the Sun.
The oxen which were eaten by the companions of Ulysses,
when they arrived there, were consecrated to that luminary.
The inhabitents of Assora worshipped the river Chrysas,
which ran along their walls, and which supplied them with
water. They had erected to it a temple and a statue. At
Engyum the mother Goddesses were worshipped, which were
the same Divinities as were adored at Creta, in other words,
the great and the little Bear.
In Spain, the people of the province of Betica had built a
temple in honor of the morning star and the twilight. The
Accitanians had erected a statue by the name of Mars to the
* Gods of the lower World.




36          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. II.
Sun, the radiant head of which expressed the nature of that
Divinity. This same God was worshipped at Cadiz under the
name of Hercules since the highest antiquity.
All the nations of the North of Europe, known under the
general denomination of the Celtic nations, rendered religious
worship to Fire, Water, Air, Earth, to the Sun, the Moon and
the Stars, to the vault of Heaven, to the Trees, Rivers, Fountains, &c.
Julius Coesar, the conqueror of the Gauls, affirms, that the
ancient Germans worshipped only the visible cause and its
principal agents, the Gods only, of which they could see and
feel the influence, the Sun the Moon, the Fire or Vulcan, the
Earth under the name of Hertha.
A temple was found in the province of Narbone in ancient
Gaul, -erected to the wind Circius, which purifies the air.
There was also a temple of the Sun at Toulouse., In the district
of the Gevaudcan there was a lake called Helanus, to which re1 igious honors were rendered.
Charlemain in his capitulars, forbid the old custom of placing
lighted candles near the trees and fountains, for the purpose
of a superstitious worship.
Canute, King of England, prohibited in his realm the worship of the Sun, the Moon and the Fire of the running Water,
of Fountains and Forests, &c.
The Francs, who entered Italy under the leadership of Theodibert, immolated the women and children of the Goths, and
made an offering of then to the river P6, as the first fruits of
the war. Also the Alemanni, according to Agathias, sacrificed
horses to the rivers; and the Trojans to the Scamnander, by
throwing these animals alive into its waves.
The natives of the island of Thule, and all the Scandinavians
placed their Divinities in the Firmament, in the Earth, in the
Sea, into running Water, &c.
It will be seen from this abridged statement of the religious




Chap. II.   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     37
history of the ancient continent, that there is not a point in
the three parts of the ancient World, where the worship of
Nature and of her principal agents may not be found establishe l, and that civilized nations, as well as those that were not,
have all acknowledged the power or dominion of the universal
visible cause, or of the World and its most active parts over
man.
If we pass over to America, a new scene is presented to us
there everywhere, as much in the physical, as in the moral and
political order. Everything is new, plants, quadrupeds, trees,
fruits, reptiles, birds, customs and habits. Religion alone is
still the same as in the old World, it is always the Sun, the
Moon, Heaven, the Stars, Earth and the Elements which are
worshipped there.
The Incas of Peru called themselves the sons of the Sun;
they erected temples and altars to that luminary and instituted
feasts in its honor; it was looked upon, the same as in Egypt
and Phoenicia, as the fountain of all the blessings of Nature.
In this worship, the Moon had also its share, as she was regarded as the mother of all sublunary productions, and was
honored as the wife and sister of the Sun. Venus, the most
brilliant planet after the Sun, had also its altars there, like the
meteors, lightning, thunder, and chiefly the beautiful Iris or
the rainbow. Virgins, like the Vestals at Rome, had charge
of the perpetual maintainance of the sacred fire.
The same worship was established at Mexico with all the
splendour, rihich an intelligent people can give to its religion.
The Mexicans contemplated the Heavens and gave it the
name of Creator and of Admirable; there was not the least apparent part of the Universe, which was not worshipped by'
them, and had its altars.
The natives of the Isthmus of Panama and of all that country, known by the name of Terra firma. believe in a God in
Heaven, and that God was the Sun, the husband of the Moon;




38         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. II.
they worshipped these two luminaries, as the two supreme
causes, which govern the World. It was the same with the
natives of Brazil, of the Caribbee islands, of Florida, and with
the Indians of the coast of Cumana, of Virginia, of Canada and
of Hudson's bay.
The Iroquois call Heaven Garonthia; the Hurons, Sironhiata,
and both worship it as the great spirit, the good Lord, the
father of life, they also give to the Sun the title of the Supreme Being.
The savages of North-America never make a treaty, without
taking the Sun as a witness and as a guarantee, the same as was
done by Agamemnon in Homer and by the Carthaginians in
Polybius. They make their allies smoke the calumet, or the
pipe of peace, and they blow the smoke towards that luminary. According to the traditions of the Pawnees, savages
living on the shores of the Missouri, they received the calumet
from the Sun.
The natives of Cayenne worshipped also the Sun, the
Heavens and the Stars. In one word, everywhere in America,
where traces of worship were discovered, it was observed, that
it had for object some of the parts of the great All, or the
World.
The worship of Nature must therefore be considered as the
primitive and universal religion of the two hemispheres. To
these evidences, which are drawn from the history of the nations
of the two continents, are added others, which are taken from
their religious and political monuments, from the divisions and
distributions of the sacred and of the social order, from their
feasts, from their hymns and from their religious cantos and
from the opinions of their philosophers.
From the time, when men ceased to assemble on the summit
of high mountains, in order to contemplate and to worship
Heaven, the Sun, the Moon and the other Stars, which were
the first Divinities, and that they gathered in temples, they




Chap. II.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    39
wanted to find again within those narrow precincts the images
of their Gods and a regular representation of that astonishing
Whole, known by the name of World or the great All, which
they worshipped.
Thus the famous labyrinth of Egypt represented the twelve
houses of the Sun, to which it was consecrated by twelve
palaces, which communicated with each other, and which
formed the mass of the temple of that luminary, which engenders the year and the seasons in circulating in the twelve
signs of the Zodiac. In the temple of HIeliopolis or of the city
of the Sun, were found twelve columns covered with symbols,
relative to the twelve signs and the Elements.
Those enormous masses of stone, consecrated to the Star of
Day, had a pyramidal configuration, as the most appropriate
to represent the solar rays and the form under which the
flame ascends.
The statue of Apollo Agyeus was a columu which ended in a
point, and Apollo was the Sun.
The care of modeling the figures of the images and statues
of the Gods of Egypt was not left to common artists. The
priests gave the designs, and it was upon spheres, or in other
words, after the inspection of the HIeavens, and its astronomical images, that they determined upon the forms. Thus we
find, that in all religions the numbers seven and twelve, of which
the former applies to the seven planets and the other to that
of the twelve signs, are sacred numbers, which are reproduced
in all kind and sorts of forms. For instance, such. are the
twelve, great Gods, the twelve apostles, the twelve sons of Jacob
or the twelve tribes; the twelve altars of Janus; the twelve
labors of Hercules or of the Sun; the twelve shields of Mars;
the twelve brothers Arvaux; the twelve Gods Consentes; the
twelve governors in the Manichean system; the adeetyas of the
East Indians; the twelve asses of the Scandinavians; the city of
the twelve gates in the Apocalypse; the twelve wards of the




40          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  LChap. 11.
city, of which Plato conceived the plan;'the four tribes of
Athens, subdivided into three "fratries " according to the division made by Cecrops; the twelve sacred cushions, on which
the Creator sits in the cosmogony of the Japanese; the twelve
precious stones of the rational or the ornament worn by the highpriest of the Jews, ranged three and three, as the seasons; the
twelve cantons of the Etruscan league and their twelve " lucumons" or chiefs of the canton; the confederation of the twelve
cities of Jonia; that of the twelve cities of Eolia; the twelve
Teheu, into which Chun divided China; the twelve regions into
which the natives of Corea divided the World; the twelve officers, whose duty it is to draw the sarcophagus in the obsequies
of the King of Tunquin; the twelve led-horses; the twelve
elephants, &c., which were conducted in that ceremony.
It was the same case with the number seven. For instance
the candlestick with seven branches, which represented the
planetary system in the temple of Jerusalem; the seven enclosures of the temple; those of the city of Ecbatana likewise
of the number of seven and dyed in the colors that were assigned to the planets; the seven doors of the cave of Mithras
or the Sun; the seven stories of the tower of Babylon, surmounted by the eight, which represented Heaven, and which
served as a temple to Jupiter, the seven gates of Thebes, each
of which had the name of a planet; the flute of seven pipes
put into the hands of the God Pan, who represented the great,All or Nature; the lyre of seven strings, touched by Apollo, or
by the God of the Sun; the book of Fate, composed of seven
books; the seven prophetic rings of the Brahmins, on each of
which the name of a planet was engraved; the seven stones
consecrated to the same planets in Laconia, the division into
seven casts adopted by the Egyptians and by the Indians since
the highest antiquity; the seven idols, which the Bonzes carry
every year with great ceremony into seven different temples;
the seven mystic vowels, which formed the sacred formula, ut



ha6p. I.3]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    41
tered in the temples of the planets; the seven Pyreas or altars
of the monument of Mithras; the seven Amchaspands or great
spirits invoked by the Persianrs; the seven archangels of the
Chaldeans and of the Jews; the seven ringing towers of ancient
Byzantium; the weeek of every nation, or the period of the
seven days, each one being consecrated to a planet; the period
of seven times seven years of the Jews; the seven sacraments
of the Christians, &c. We find chiefly in that astrological and
cabalistical book, known by the name of the Apocalypse of
John the number twelve and seven repeated on every page.
The first one is repeated fourteen times, and the second twenty-four times.
The number three hundred and sixty, which is that of the
days of the year, without including the epagomenes or epact.s,
was also described by the 360 Gods, which the theology of Orpheus admitted; by the 360 cups of water of the Nile, which
the Egyptian priests poured out, one each day, into a sacred
cask in the city of Achante; by the 360 Eons or gnostic Genii;
by the 360 idols placed in the palace of the Dairi of Japan;
by the 360 small statues surrounding that of Hobal or of
the God Sun, Bel, worshipped by the ancient Arabs; by the
360 chapels built around the splended mosque of Balk, erected
by the exertions of the chief of the family of the Barmecides; by the 360 Genii, who take possession of the soul after
death, according to the doctrine of the Christians of St. John;
by the 360 temples built on. the mountain of Lowham in China;
by the wall of 360 stades, with which Semiramis surrounded
the city of Belus or of the Sun, the famous Babylon. All these
monuments give us a description of the same division of the
World, and of the circle divided into degrees, which the Sun
travels over. Finally the division of the zodiac into twentyseven parts, which signify the stations of the Moon, and into
thirty-six, which is that of the decaris, were in like manner the
object of the political and religious distributions.
6




42          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS wORSHIP.  [Chap. IL
Not only the divisions of Heaven, but the constellations
themselves were represented in the temples, and their images
were consecrated amongst the monuments of worship and on
the medals of the cities. The beautiful star of the Capricorn,
which is placed in the heavens in the constellation of the
charioteer, had its statue in gilded bronze in the public square
of the Phliassians. The Charioteer himself had his temples,
his statues, his tomb, his mysteries in Greece, and was worshipped under the name of Myrtillus, IEippolytus, Spherocus,
Cillas, Erechtheus, &c.
The statues and the tombs of the Atlantides, or of the
Pleiads, Sterope, Phcedr,, &c., were also to be seen there.
Near Argos the hill or mount was shown, which covered the
head of the famous Medusa, the type of which is in the heavens
at the feet of Perseus.
The Moon or the Diana of Ephesus, wore on her breast the
figure of the Cancer, which is one of the twelve signs and is
the abode of that planet. The celestial Bear, worshipped by
the name of Calisto, and the Herdsman (Bootes) under that
of Areas, had their tombs in Arcadia, near the Altars of the
Sun.
The same herdsman Bootes had his statue in ancient Byzantium, also Orion, the famous Nilnbrod (Nimrod) of the Assyrians: the last mentioned had his tomb at Tanagra in Bceotia.
The Syrians had the image of the Fishes, one of the celestial signs, consecrated in their temple.
The constellation of Nesra or the Eagle, of Aiyuk or the
Capricorn, of Yagutho or the Pleiads, and of Suwaha or Alhauwnha, the Serpentarius, had their statues with the ancient
Sabeans. These names may still be fou-nd in the commentary of Hyde on Ulug-Beigh.
The religious system of the Egyptians was entirely sketched
upon the Heavens, if we believe Lucian, andc as it is easy to
demonstrate.
In general it may be said, that the whole starred Heaven




Chap. It.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORS-IP.       43
had come down on the soil of Greecie and Egypt, in order to
be painted there and to be embodied in the images of the
Gods, be they living or inanimate.
Most of these cities were built under the inspection and
under the protection of a celestial sign. Their horoscope was
drawn; hence the impression of the images of the constellations on their medals. Those of Antiochia on the Orontes represent the Ram with the crescent of the Moon; those of Mamertina that of the Bull; that of the Kings of Comagena the
type of the Scorpion; those of Zeugma and of Anazarba that
of the Capricorn. Almost all the celestial signs are found on
the medals of Antoninus; the star Hesperus was the public
seal of the Locrians, of the Ozoles and of the Opuntians.
It is also remarklable, that the ancient feasts are connected
with the great epochs of Nature and with the celestial system.
Everywhere are to be found the solsticial and equinoctial festivals. The winter solstice is above all distinguished; it is
then, that the Sun begins to rise again, and to take anew its
route towards our climes; and that of the solstice of spring,
when it brings back the long clays to our hemisphere with the
active and genial heat, which sets vegetation again in motion,
which develops all the germs and ripens all the products of
the Earth. Christmas and Easter of the Christians, those worshippers of the Sun under the name of Christ, which was.substituted for that of Mithras, whatever the allusion, which ignorance and bad faith may try to make itself,-are yet an existing proof amongst us. All nations have had their feasts of
Ember-week or of the four seasons. They may be found even
with the Chinese. One of their most ancient emperors, Fohi,
established sacrifices, the celebration of which were fixed at the
two equinoxes and at the two solstices. Four pavilions were
erected to the Moons of the four Seasons.
The ancient Chinese, says Confucius, established a solefmn
sacrifice in honor of Chang-Ty, at the time of the winter sol



44          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. II.
stice. because it was then, that the Sun, after having passed
through the twelve palaces, recommences again its career, in
order to distribute anew the blessings of its light.
They instituted a second sacrifice in the season of spring,
as a particular thansgiving day, of the gifts to mankind by
means of the Earth. These two sacrifices could only be offered by the emperor of China, the son of Heaven.
The Greeks and the lRomans did the same thing, for about
the same reasons.
The Persians have their Neuruz or feasts of the Sun in its
transit across the Ramn, or of the sign of the equinox, of spring,
and the Jews have their feast of the passage under the Lamb.
The Neuruz is one of the greatest festivities of Persia. The
Persians celebrated formerly the entrance ofXthe Sun into each
sign with the noise of musical instruments.
The ancient Egyptians walked the sacred cow seven times
around the temple at the winter solstice. At the equinox of
spring they celebrated the happy epoch, when the celestial
Fire warmed Nature again every year. That festival of the
Fire and the triumphant light, of which our sacred Fire on
holy Saturday, and our paschal wax taper are still the true
image, existed in the city of the Sun in Assyria, under the
name of the feast of the Pyres.
The feasts which were celebrated by the ancient Sabeans in
honor of the planets, were fixed under the sign of their elevation, sometimes under that of their abode, as that of Saturnus
of the ancient Romans was established in December under the
Capricorne, the abode of that planet. All the feasts of the
ancient calendar of the pontifs are connected with the rising
and setting of some constellation or some star, as we can ascertain, by reading the fastes (or Calendars) of Ovid.
It is chiefly in the games of the Circus, instituted in honor
of the God, who dispenses the light, that the religious genius
of the REomans and the connection of their feasts with Nature,




Chap. II.]  THE ORIGON OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      45
are manifested. The Sun, the Moon, the Planets, the Elements,
the Universe and its most conspicuous parts, all was represented by emblems, which were analogous to their nature.
The Sun had its horses, which on the race course or Hippodrom, imitated the career of that luminary in the Heavens.
The Olympic fields were represented by a vast amphitheatre
or arena, which was consecrated to the Sun. In the midst of
it there stood the temple of that God which was surmounted
by his image. The East and the West, as the limits of the
course of the Sun were traced and marked by boundaries, and
placed towards the remotest part of the circus.
The races took place from East to West, until seven rounds
were made, on account of the seven planets.
The Sun and the 3Mloon had their chariots, the same as Jupiter and Venus; the charioteers were dressed in clothes, the
color of which was analogous to the hue of the different elements. The chariot of the Sun was drawn by four horses, and
that of the MIoon by two.
The Zodiac was represented in the circus by twelve gates;
there was also traced the movement of the circumpolar stars
or of the two Bears.
Everything was personified in those feasts; the Sea or Neptune, the Earth or Ceres, and so on the other elements.
They were represented by actors, contending for the prizes.
These contests were instituted, they say, in order to illustrate the harmony of the Universe,' of Heaven, of the Earth
and of the Sea.
The institution of these games was attributed to Romulus by
the Romans, and I believe that they were an imitation of the
races of the hippodrom of the Arcadians and of the games of
Elis.
The phases of the Moon were also the object of feasts and
chiefly of the neomenia or the new light, with which this planet
is invested at the commencement of each month, because the




46          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. I1.
God Month had his temples, his statues and his mysteries.
The whole ceremonial of the procession of Isis, described in
Apuleius, has reference to Nature and delineates its various
parts.
The sacred hymns of the Ancients had the same object, if
we may judge by those which have come down to us, and
which are attributed to Orpheus, but whosoever may be their
author, it is evident, that he only sings Nature.
Chun, one of the most ancient Emperors of China, ordered
a great number of hymns to be composed, which were addressed
to Heaven, to the Sun, to the Moon, the Stars, &c. The same
is the case with almost all the prayers of the Persians, which
are contained in the book of Zend. The poetical songs of the
ancient authors, from whom we have the theogonies, such as
Orpheus, Linus, Hesiod, &c., have reference to Nature and its
agents. Sing, says Hesiod to the Muses,-sing the immortal
Gods, children of the Earth and of the starred Heaven, Gods,
which were born from the womb of Night and nourished by
the Ocean; the brilliant Stars, the immense vault of the Heavens, and the Gods which were born of it, the Sea, the Rivers,
&c.
The- songs of Iopas, in the banquet given by Dido to the
Trojans, contain the sublime lessons of the sage Atlas, on the
course of the Moon and of the Sun, on the origin of the human race, of the animals, &c. In the pastorals of Virgil, old
Silenus sings the chaos and the organiza'ion of the WVorld.
Orpheus does the same in the Argonaitics of Appollonius; the
cosmogony of Sanchoniaton or that of the Phcenicians hides
under the veil of allegory the great secrets of Nature, which
were taught to the neophytes. The philosophers, the successors
of the poets, who had preceeded them in the career of philosophy, deified all parts of the Universe, and searched for the
Gods only in the members of that great God, or in that
great All, called the World; so much had the idea of its Di




Chap. II.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     47
vinity struck all those, who wanted to reason on the causes of
our organization and of our destiny.
Pythagoras thought, that the celestial bodies were immor_
tal and divine; that the Sun, the Moon and all the Stars were
as many Gods, which contained superabundant heat, which is
the principle of life. He placed the substance of the Divinity
in the Fire Ether, of which the Sun is the principal center.
Parmenides imagined a crown of light, which enveloped the'World, and he also made of it the substance of the Divinity,
of which the Stars participated the Nature. Alcmeon of Croton made the Gods reside in the Sun, the Moon and in the
Stars. Anthistenes acknowledges only one Divinity, namely
Nature. Plato attributes Divinity to the World, to Heaven,
the Stars and to the Earth. Xenocrates admitted eight great
Gods, the Heaven of the fixed Stars and the seven Planets.
Heraclidof Pontus professed the same doctrine. Teophrastus gives the title of first causes to the Stars and to the celestial signs. Zeno called God also the Ether, the Stars, Time
and its parts. Cleanthes admitted the dogma of the Divinity
of the Universe and chiefly of the Fire Ether, which envelopes
and penetrates the spheres. The entire Divinity, according to
this philosopher, was distributed in the Stars, the depositaries
of as many portions of that divine Fire. Diogenes, the Babylonian., traces the whole mythology back to Nature or to physiology. Chrysipps recognizes tkc World as God. He made
the divine substance reside in the Fire Ether, in the Sun, the
Moo1n, the Stars and finally in Nature and its principal parts
Anaximander regarded the Stars as so many Gods; Anaximenes gave that name to Ether and Air; Zeno gave it to the
World in general and to Heaven in particular.
We shall no further proceed in our researches about the
dogmas of the ancient philosophers in. order to prove, that
they agree with the most ancient poets, with the theologians,
who composed the first theogonies, with the legislators, who




48          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IT.
regulated the religious and political order, and with the artists
who erected the first temples and statues of the Gods.
According to these explanations, it would appear clearly demonstrated, that the Universe and its parts, or in other words
Nature and its principal agents must not only have been worshipped as Gods, but that this was actually so, from which
there is resulting this necessary consequence, namely: "that
"it is through Nature and her members, and through the per"formance of the physical causes, that the theological system
"of all the ancient nations ought to be explained."  That we
must look to Heaven, to the Sun, the Moon, the Stars and the
_Elements, if we wish to find the Gods of all nations, and to
discover them under the veil, which allegory and mysticism
have often thrown over them, be it in order to stimulate our
curiosity, or to inspire us with more awe. This worship having been the first, and the most universally employed, is that,
which bears entirely on the performance "(jeu)" of the physical
causes and on the mecanism of the organization of the World.
All that, which shall receive a reasonable construction, considered in that point of view; all that, which in the ancient
poems on the Gods and on the sacred legends of the different
nations, shall contain an ingenious picture of Nature and
her operations, must be considered as appertaining to that religion, which may be called the universal religion. All that,
which can be explained without difficulty by the physical and
astronomical system, must be considered as part of the fictitious adventures, which allegory has introduced into the songs
on Nature. On this basis rests the whole system of explanations, which has been adopted in the present work. We have
said, that nothing was worshipped, that nothing was sung but
Nature; she alone was portrayed, therefore everything must be
explained through her: the conclusion is inevitable.




CHAPTER III.
OF THE ANIMATED AND INTELLIGENT UNIVERSE.
Before entering upon the explanation of our system and the
results, which are its consequence, it will be well to consider
in the Universe all' the relations, under which the Ancients contemplated it.
It would be a mistaken idea to believe, that they considered
the World merely as a machine, without life and intelligence,
moved by a blind and necessary force. By far the greater and
soundest part of the philosophers have been of the opinion,
that the Universe contained in an eminent degree the principle of life and of movement, with which Nature had endowed
them, and which was in them only, because of its eternal existence in her, as in an abundant and teeming source, from which
the brooks vivified and animated all that had life and intelligence. Man was not yet vain enough to imagine himself
more perfect than the World, and to admit in an infinitesimal
portion of the great All that, which he himself refused to that
great All; and in tbat transient being, that which he did
not grant to the always subsisting Being.
As the World seemed animated by a principle of life, which
circulates in all its parts, holding it in eternal activity, it was
believed that the Universe lived  s man did and the other animals, or rather that these lived only. because the Universe,
being essentially animated, communicated them for a few instants an infinitesimal portion of its immortal life, which it
infused into the coarse and inert matter of sublunary bodies.
Was it restored back to itself? man and beast died and the
Universe alone, always alive, circulated around the remains
7




50          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. III.
of their bodies by its perpetual motion, and organized new
Beings. The active Fire or the subtile substance, which animated it, by incorporating itself in its immense mass, was the
universal soul of it. This is the doctrine, which is embodied
in the system of the Chinese, on Yang and Yn, one of which is
the celestial matter, moveable and luminous, and the other the
terrestrial one, inert and gloomy, of which all bodies are composed. This is the dogma of Pythagoras, contained in those
beautiful verses in the sixteenth book of the Afneid, where
Auchises reveals to his son the origin of the souls and their
fate after death.
-" You must know, my son, he said, that Heaven and Earth,
"the Sea, the luminous globe of the Moon and all the Stars,
"are moved by a principle of eternal life, which perpetuates
"their existence; that there is a great intelligent Spirit ex"tended in all the parts of the vast body of the Universe,
"which, while mixing itself in All, is agitating it by an eternal
" motion. It is this soul, which is the source of life of man,
"of the beasts, of the birds and all the monsters living within
"the bosom of the Ocean. The vital force, which animates
"them, emanates from that eternal Fire, which shines in the
" Heavens, and which while it is held captive in the raw mat" ter of the bodies, is only developed as much, as the various
"mortal organizations permit it, which subdue its power and
"activity. At the death of each creature, these germs of a
"particular life, these portions of an universal breath, return
"to their principle and to their source of life, which circulates
"in the starred sphere."
Timanus (Timee) of Locris, and after him Plato and Proclus
made a treatise on the universal spirit or soul, called the soul
of the World, which under the name of Jupiter undergoes so
many metamorphoses in ancient mythology and which is represented under so many forms, which were borrowed from
animals and plants in the system of the Egyptians. The Uni



Uhap. III.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       51
verse was therefore considered as a living creature, communicating its life to all Beings engendered through its eternal
fecundity.
It was not only reputed to be, as if it were in a state of life,
but also as highly intelligent and peopled with a crowd of particular spirits, scattered over entire Nature, the source of
which was in its' supreme and immortal spirit.
The World, says Timrnus, includes all; it is animated and
gifted with reason; this made so many philosophers say, that
the World was a living and intelligent Being.
Cleanthes, who regarded the Universe as -God, or as the
universal and uncreated cause of all effects, attributed'to the,
World a soul and a spirit, and that the Divinity properly belonged to this intellectual soul. God according to him, established his principal seat or residence in the ethereal substance, in that subtle and luminous element; which circulates
so abundantly around the firmament and thence is extending
to all the Stars, which thus participate its divine nature.
In the second book of Cicero, on the nature of -Gods, one of
the interlocutors tries to prove by many arguments, that the
Universe is necessarily gifted with intelligence and wisdom.
One of the principal reasons, which he adduces, is, that it is
not very likely, that man who is merely an infintesimrally
small portion  of the great All should  have sense and
intelligence, while  the  whole of an  infinitely  superior
nature, than that of man, should be deprived of it.  "One and
" the same kind of souls, says Marcus Aurelius, has been dis"tributed to all creatures not endowed with reason, and an
"intelligent spirit to all reasonable beings.  As all terrestrial
"bodies are formed out of the same clay, and all that lives and
"all that breathes sees only one light, inhale and emits only' the same air, for the same reason there is only one soul, al"though it is distributed in an infinity of organized bodies;
"there is only one mind, although seemingly partaken with




52          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. 111.
"others. For instance, the light of the Sun is only one, al6' though it is seen extending over walls, mountains and over
"thousand different objects."
The result of these philosophical principles is, that the matter of particular bodies is embodied in one universal matter, of
which the body of the World is composed; that the souls and
the particular spirits are imbodied in one soul and in one universal spirit, which moves and rules this immense mass of matter, forming the body of the World. Thus the Universe is a
vast body, moved by one soul, governed and directed by one
spirit, which have the same extent and which are acting within
all its parts, or in other words, within all that exists, because
nothing exists outside the Universe, which is the congregation
of all things. ]Reciprocally, in the same manner that universal matter is divided in an innumerable quantity of particular
bodies under changed forms; so also the life or the universal
soul, as well as the mind or the spirit, divide themselves into
the bodies and take there a character of life and particular intelligence in the infinite multiLnde of vases, which receive
them; snch for instance as the immense body of water, known
by the name of Ocean, furnishes through evaporation the
various kinds of waters, distributed in lakes and fountains, in
rivers and in plants, in all vegetables and animals, where the
fluids circulate under forms and with particular qualities, only
to reenter afterwards into the basin of the seas, where they
commingle into one single mass of homogeneous quality. This
was the idea, which the Ancients had of the soul or of life and
of the universal mind, which is the source of life and
of the spirits, dlstributed  amongst all particular beings,
with whom  they communicate by a thousand channels.
From this fruitful source sprang those innumerable spirits,
which were placed in Heaven, in the Sun, the Moon, and in all
the Stars, in the Elements, in the Earth and the Waters and
generally in every place, where the universal cause seems to




Chap. III.-  THE -ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   53
have fixed the seat of some particular action and some of the
ageLts of the great work of Nature. Thus was composed the
court of the Gods, which inhabit the Olympus; also that of
the Divinities of the Air, the Sea and of the Earth; thus the
general system of the administration of the World was organized, the care of which was confided to spirits of different orders and different denominations, may they be Gods, or Genii,
Angels or celestial Spirits, Heroes, Izeds, Azes, &c.
Henceforth, there was nothing in the World, which was accomplished by physical means, by the force alone of matter and
by the laws of motion; everything depended upon the will and
from the orders of spiritual agents. The council of the Gods
regulated the destiny of mankind and decided of the fate of
entire Nature, subordinate to their laws and directed by their
wisdom. It is under this form, that theology shows itself with
all those nations, which possessed a regular worship and
rational theogonies. The savage, up to this very day locates
life everywhere he finds movement and intelligence in all those
causes, of which he ignores the mecanism, in other words in
the whole of Nature; hence the opinion that the Stars are animated and ruled by spirits; this opinion was common with the
Chaldeans, the Persians, the Greeks, the Jews and the Christians, because the latter placed angels in every Star, which had
the care of conducting the celestial bodies and of regulating
the movement of the spheres.
The Persians have also their angel Chur, who directs the
course of the Sun; and the Greeks had their Apollo, who had
his seat in that luminary. The theological books of the Persians speak of seven great spirits under the name of Amshaspands, which form the court of the God of light, and which
are only the Genii of the seven planets. The Jews made of it
their seven Archangels, which were always in the presence of
the Lord. These are the seven great powers, which Avenar
tells us, were set over the World by God,'or the seven angels




54         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS woRSHIP.  [Chap. IlI.
charged with the care of conducting the seven planets; they
correspond to the seven Usiarks, which according to the doctrine of Trismegistes govern the seven spheres. They have
been preserved by the Arabs, the Mahometans and by the
Copthes. Thus with the Persians, each planet is superintended by a Genius placed in a fixed Star. The Star Taschter has
charge of the planet Tir or Mercury, who has become the Angel Tiriel, and which the Cabalists call the spirit of Mereury;
Hafrorang is the Star charged with the planet Behram or
Mars, &c. The name of these Stars are to-day the names of
as many Angels with the modern Persians.
To the number seven of the planetary spheres, there has been
added the sphere of the fixed Stars and the circle of the Earth
and thus was produced the system of the nine spheres. The
Groeks appropriated thereto nine intelligen ces, under the
name of Muses, who by their songs formed the universal harmony of the World. The Chaldeans and the Jews placed
there other intelligences, under the name of Cherubims and
Seraphims, &c., to the number of nine choirs, which rejoiced
the Eternal with their concerts.
The Hebrews and the Christians admit four angels, charged
with keeping watch on the four corners of the World. Astrology had conferred this care to four Planets; the Persians
to four great Stars, which are placed at the four cardinal
points of Heaven.
The Indians have also their Genii, which are set over the
various regions of the World. The astrological system had
subjected each climate, and each city to the influence of a
Star. For this an Angel was substituted, or the spirit which
was presumed to preside over that Star and to be its soul.
Thus the sacred books of the Jews admit a tutelar Angel of
Persia, as a tutelar Angel of the Jews.
The number twelve, or that of the signs, gave the origin to
the idea of the twelve great guardian Angels of the World, of




Chap. III.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    55
which Hyde has preserved the names. Each of the divisions
of the time into twelve months had its Angel, as well as the
Elements. There are also Angels, who are set over the thirty
days of each month. All things of this World, according to
the Persians, are administered by Angels, and this doctrine is
traced with them up to the highest antiquity.
The Busilidians had their 360 Angels, who were set over
360 Heavens, which they had imagined. These are the 360
iEons of the Gnostics.
The administration of the Universe was divided between
this multitude of spirits, which were either Angels or Izeds,
Gods or Heroes, Genii or Gines, &c., each one of them had
charge of a certain department, or of a particular function; the
cold, the heat, the rain, the drought, the production of the
fruits of the earth, the increase of the herds, the arts, the agricultural operations, &c., all were under the superintendence
of an Angel.
Bad, with the Persians, is the name of an Angel, who is set
over the winds. Mordad, is the Angel of death. Aniran is
set over the nuptials. Fervardin is the name of the Angel of
air and of water. Curdat is called the Angel of the Earth and
its fruits. This theology was transferred to the Christians.
Origines speaks of the Angel of vocation of the Gentiles, of the
Angel of grace. Tertullian mentions the Angel of prayer, the
Angel of baptism, the Angel of marriage, the Angel presiding
over the formation of the fetus. Chrysostom and Basil celebrate the Angel of peace. It will be seen that the Fathers of
the Church have thus copied the hierarchical system of the
Persians and Chaldeans.
In the theology of the Greels, it was supposed, that the
Gods had divided amongst them  the different parts of the
Universe, the different arts, the various works. Jupiter presided in Heaven, Neptune over the Water, Pluto over the subterranean world, Vulcan over the Fire, Diana over the chase,




THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS wORSHIP.  [Chap. 1II.
Ceres over the Earth and the crops, Bacchus over the vintage,
Mlinerva over the arts and architecture. The mountains had
their Oreads, the fountains their Naiadsj the forests their
Driads and Hamadriads. It is the same dogma under other
names, and Origines of the Christians shares the same opinion,
when he says: "I have no hesitation whatsoever in saying,
"that there are celestial virtues, who have the government of
"this' World; one presides over the earth, another over the
"plants; such a one over rivers and fountains; such another
"over the rain, overxthe winds."  Astrology placed a part of
these powers in the Stars; thus the Hyads were set over the
rain, Orion over the storms, Sirius over the hot season (dog
days) the Ram over the flocks, &c. The system of the Angels
and of the Gods, amongst which are distributed the various
parts of the WVorld and the different operations of the great
work of Nature, is nothing else but the ancient astrological
system, in which the Stars exercised the same functions, which
their Angels and their Genii have since filled.
Proclus makes a Pleiad preside over each sphere; Celeno is
set over the sphere of Saturn, Stenope over that of Jupiter, &c.
In the Apocalypse these same Pleiads are called the seven Angels, which smite the World with the seven last plagues.
The natives of the isle of Thule worshipped celestial, Trial
and terrestrial Genii; they also placed some in the water, in
the rivers and fountains.
The Sindovistas of Japan worship Divinities distributed in
the Stars, and spirits, which are set over the elements, over the
plants, over the animals, over the various events of life.
They have their Udsigami, which are the tutelar Divinities
of a province, of a city, of a village, &c.
The Chinese worship the Genii, which are placed in the Sun
and in the Moon, in the Planets, in the Elements, and those
which preside over the Sea and the Rivers, over the Fountains, woods and Mountains, corresponding precisely to the




Chap. II.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      57
Naiads, the Dryads and other Nymphs of the theogony of the
Greeks. All those Genii, according to the learned, are the
emanation of the great All, or in other words of Heaven and
of the universal soul, which moves it.
The Chen of the Chinese of the sect of Tao, are an administration of spirits or intelligences, which are ranged in different
classes and charged with the different fnnctions of Nature.
Some are inspectors of the Sun, others of the Moon, those of
the Stars, those of the Winds, others of the Weather, of the
Seasons, of the Days, of the Nights, of the Hours.
The Siamese like the Persians, acknowledge Angels which
are set over the four corners of the World; they place several
classes of/Angels over the seven Heavens; the stars, the winds,
the rain, the earth, the mountains, the cities are ander the inspection of Angels or Intelligences. They make a distinction
between males and females; thus the guardian Angel of the
Earth is a femlale.
In consequence of the fundamental dogma, which places
God in.the universal soul of the World, says Dow, a soul pervading all parts of Nature, the East Indians worship the Elements and all the great parts of the body of the Universe, as
they believe that they contain a portion of the Divinity. This
is the cause, which has originIated amongst the people, the
worship of subaltern Divinities; because the Indians in their
vedam, make the Divinity or the universal soul pervade all
parts of matter. Thus they admit, besides their trinity or
treble power, a multitude of Intermediate Divinities, Angels,
Genii, Patriarchs, &c. They worship Vayu, the God of the
wind; this is the AEolus of the Greeks; Agny the God of the
Fire; Varug the God of the Orean; Sasanko, the God of the
Moon; Prajapatee, the God of Nations; Cubera is set over
wealth, &c.
In the religious system  of the East Indians, the Sun the
Moon and the Stars are so many Dewatas or Genii. The World
8




58          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. 111.
has seven degrees, each of which is surrounded by its Sea and
by its Genius; the perfection of each Genius is gratuated like
that of stories or degrees. This is the system of the ancient
Chaldeans, about the great Sea or firmament, and about the
various Heavens, peopled by Angels of a different nature and
composing a gratuated hierarchy.
The God Indra, who as the Indians believe, is set over the
air and the wind, is presiding also over the inferior Heaven
and over the subaltern  Divinities, the number of which
amounts to three hundred and thirty-two millions; these subaittern Gods are subdivided into different classes. The superior Heaven has also its Divinities; Adytya is conducting the
Sun; Nishagara the Moon, &c.
(The Chingaleese give lieutenants to the Divinity: all the islandof Ceylon is filled with tutelar idols of cities and provinces. The prayers of these islanders are not addressed
directly to the supreme Being, but to his lieutenants and to
the inferior Gods, as the depositaries of a portion of his power.
The Molucchians have their Nitos, which are under the command of a superior chief, called Lanthila. Each city, town
andl hamlet has its Nitos, or its tutelar Divinity; they give to
the Genius of the Air the name of Lanitho.
At the Philippine islands, the worship of the Sun, the Moon
and the Stars is accompanied with that of subaltern spirits,
some of which are superintending the seeds, others the fisheries, these the cities and those the mountains, &c.
The natives of the island of Formosa, who looked upon the
Sun and the Mioon as two superior Divinities, believed that
the Stars were Demi Gods or inferior Divinities.
The Parsees subordinate to the supreme God seven ministers, under which are ranged twenty-six others, amongst which
the government of the W orld is divided. They pray to them
to intercede in their behalf for their wants, as being the mediators between man and the supreme God.




Chap. III.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    59
The Sabeans placed Angels, which they called mediators
between them and the supreme God, whom they qualified the
~Lord of Lords.
The islanders of the isle of Madagascar admit, besides the
sovereign God, Spirits, the duty of which is that of moving
and governing the celestial spheres, others, which have the department of the air, of the meteors, some that of the waters:
while others are watching over mankind.
The natives of Loango have a great many idols for Divinities, who divide amongst themselves the empire of the World.
Amongst those Gods or Genii there are some, wnich preside
over the winds, others over the lightning, others over the
crops; some have command over the fishes of the sea and of
tho rivers; others over the forests, &c.
The nations of Celtica admitted Spirits, which the first Being had spread in all parts of matter in order to animate and
to conduct it. They added Genii to the worship of the different parts of Nature and of the Elements, which were presumed to reside there and to conduct it. They supposed says
Peloutier, that each part of the visible World was united with
an invisible Spirit, which was the soul of it. The same opinion
was held by the Scandinavians. "According to the belief of
"those people, says Mallet, it would appear, that from the su"preme Deity, which is the animated and spiritual World,
"an infinity of subaltern Divinities and of Genii had emanated,
"which had for their seat and temple each part of the World:
"there resided not only Spirits, but they also directed its op" erations. Each Element had its Spirit or its proper Divini"ty. There were some of it in the Earth, others in the
"Water, in the Fire, in the Air, in the Sun, in the Moon and
"in the Stars. The trees, the forests, the rivers, the mountains,
"the rocks, the winds, the lightning, the storm, contained
"them also, and deserved on this account religious worship."
The Sclavonians had Kupalu, who was set over the produc



60          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. III.
tions of the Earth; and Bog, the God of Water. Lado or Lada
presided over love.
The Burkans of the Kalmucks, reside in the World, which
they adopt, and in the Planets; others occupy the celestial
regions. Sakji-Muni resides on Earth; Erlik-Kan in Hell,,where he reigns over the souls.
The Kalmucks are convinced that the Air is filled with
Genii; they give to these serial Spirits the name of Tengri;
soml'e are beneficent and others are malevolent.
The natives of Thibet have their Lahes, which are Genii,
that emanated from the divine substance.
In America, the savages from the island of St. Domingo
recognized under a sovereign God, other Divinities by the
name of Zemes, to which, ii each hut, idols were consecrated.
The Mexicans, the Virginians supposed tlso, that the supreme
God had left the Government of the World, to a class of subaltern Gods. It is with this invisible World or this compound
of Spirits, which were hidden in every part of Nature, that the
priests had established a commerce, which has caused all the
misfortunes and the shame of mankind. According to the
foregoing enumeration of the religious opinions of the different
nations of the World it appears demonstrated, that the Universe and its parts lhave been worshipped, not only as causes,
but also as living, animated and intelligent causes, and that
this dogma is not traced to one or two nations only, but that
it is a dogma, which is universally spread over the whole Earth.
It hasbeen equally shown, whathas been the source of this opinion: that it originated from the dogma of an only and universal
soul, or of a soul of the World, eminently intelligent, disseminated over all the points of matter, where Nature exercises as
cause so.me important function, or produces some regular effect, be it eternal or constantly reproduced. The single great
cause, or the God-Universe was therefore decomposed into a
number of partial causes, which were subordinate to its unity,




Chap. II.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.          61
and which were considered as so many living and spiritual
causes of the nature of the supreme cause, of which they are
either parts or emanations. The Universe was therefore an
only God, composed of the assemblage of a multitude of Gods,
which concurred as partial causes to the action of the whole,
which it exercised itself in itself and on itself.  Thus arose this
great administration, one in its wisdom and in its primitive
force, but infinitely multiplied in its secondary agents, called.
Gods, Angels, Genii, &c., which, it was believed, could be
treated with, as people treated the ministers and agents of human administrations.
It is hera that worship commences; because we address our
wishes and prayers only to Beings, which are capable of hearing and executing our wishes. Thus said Agamemnon in Homer, while addressing the Sun.  Oh Sun! which sees all and
hears all. This is not here a mere poetical figure or metaphor;
it is a dogma constantly reeeived, and the first philosopher,
who dared to proclaim, that the Sun was nothing but a mass
of fire, was regarded as an impious man. It will be observed,
how prejudicial must have been such opinions to the progress of
natural philosophy, when all the phenomena of Nature could be
explained through the will of spiritual causes, which resided in
the place, where the actions of the cause was manifested. But
while this threw great obstacles in the way of the study of
natural philosophy, that of Poetry found there great resources
for fiction.  All was animated in it, as all seemed to be so in
Nature.
Ce n'est plus la vapeur qui produit le tonnerre,
C'est Jupiter arme pour effrayer la Terre;
Un orage terrible aux yeux des matelots,
C'est Neptune en courroux qui gourmante les flots.
Echo n'est plus un son qui dans lair retentisse,
C'est une Nymphe en pleurs, qui se plaint de Narcisse.
(Boileau, Art Poet. L. III.)
Such was the language of poetry since the highest antiquity;
and in conformity with these data, we shall proceed with the




62          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. II.
explanation of mythalogy and of religious poems, of which it
contains the remains. As the poets were the first theologians,
so we shall analyse also according to the same method all the
traditions and sacred legends, under whatsoever name that the
agents of Nature shall find themselves disguised in the religious allegories, be it that Spirits were supposed united to
visible bodies, which they animated, or that they had been
separated by abstraction, and that a World of Spirits had
been created, which were placed outside the visible World,
but the outlines of which had always been sketched in accordance with it and upon its divisions.




CHAPTER IV.
OF THE GREAT DIVISIONS OF NATURE INTO ACTIVE AND
PASSIVE CAUSES, AND INTO PRINCIPLES OF LIGHT AND
DARKNESS!
The thus animated and spiritual Universe, or the great cause,
being subdivided into a number of partial and likewise intelligent causes, was also divided into two great masses or parts,
one called the active, and the other the passive cause, or the
male and female part, which composed the great Androgynus,
the two sexes of which were presumed to unite, in order to
produce everything, in other words, the World acting in itself and upon itself. Here we have one of the great mysteries of
ancient theology. Heaven contained the first part; the Earth
and Elements up to the Moon comprised the second.
Two things have always struck mankind in the Universe
and in the forms of the bodies which it contains: namely
that, which seems to remain there always, and that which is
merely transient; the causes, the effects, the places which are
assigned them, otherwise, the places where one part acts, and
those where the other part reproduces itself. Heaven and
Earth represent the imag3 of this remarkable contrast of the
eternal Being and of the transient Being. In the Heavens,
nothing seems to be born, nothing to grow, to get old and to
die, when we rise above the sphere of the Moon. The latter
alone seems to show some'trace of alteration, destruction and
reproduction of forms in the changes of her phases, when at
the same time on the other hand, she offers an image of perpetuity in her proper substance, in her motion, and in the
periodical and invariable succession of these same phases. She
is like the most elevated limit of the sphere of beings, subject




64          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. I-V.
to alteration. Above her everyting moves in constant and
regular order, and is preserving eternal forms. All celestial
bodies show themselves perpetually the same, in their size, in
their colors, in their same diameters, in their respective distances, if we except the planets and other movable stars: their
number never grows nor diminishes.  Uranus neither begets
children, nor does he lose any, All is with him, eternal and immutable, at least to us, all seems to be so.
Such is not the case with the Earth. If on one side she
shares the eternity of Heaven in her mass, in her force and
her own qualities, on the other hand, she carries in her bosom
and on her surface an innumerable number of bodies, which
are extracted from  her substance and from that of the elements surrounding her. These have only a momentary existence and pass successively through all the forms in the various organizations, which terrestial matter experiences: they
have scarcely emerged from her bosom, when they subside
into it immediately. It is to this particular species of matter,
which is successively organized and decomposed, that man has
applied the idea of being transient and of effect, whilst he attributed the prerogative of causes to the Being, which is perpetually existing, whether in Heaven and in the Stars, or on
Earth with her elements, her rivers and mountains.
Here are then two great divisions, which must have been
conspicuous in the Universe, and which separate the existing
bodies throughout Nature by very distinct differences. On the
surface of the Earth, matter is seen undergoing a thousand
different forms, according to the different contextures of the
germs, which she contains, and the various configurations of
the moulds) which receive them, and where they are developed.
Here she creeps under the forms of a flexible shrub; there she
elevates herself majestically in that of a robust oak; elsewhere
she is bristling with thorns, blooming in roses, variegated in
flowers, ripening in fruits, stretching herself in roots, or is




Chap. IV]  TEE ORIGON OF ALL RELIGIOUJS WORSHIP.         65
rounding in a bushy mass, and covers with its dense shade the
green turf, in which she nourishes the cattle, which is also
herself, put into action in a 1m-ore perfect organization, and
moved by the fire, that principle, which gives life to animated
bodies. In this new state she has again her germs, her developement, her growth, her perfection or maturity; her youth,
her age, her death, leaving rubbish behind, which is destined
to recompose new bodies. Under this animated form  she
may be seen alike creeping in insect and reptile, elevating herself in the bold eagle, spiking herself with the darts of the
porcupine, covering herself with down, with hair, with plumage of various colors, fastening herself to rocks by the roots
of the polypus, crawling as a turtle, skipping as a stag, or a
nimble deer, or crushing the earth with its ponderous mlass, as
in the elephant, roaring as a lion, bellowing as a bull, singing
under the form  of a bird, finally articulating sounds under
that of man, combining ideas, knowing and imitating herself, creating the arts and reasoning over all his operations,
and over those of Nature. This is the known boundary of
perfection of organized matter on the surface of the Earth.
Next to man are those extremes, which form the greatest
contrast with animated matter in those bodies, which are organized in the midst of water, and which live in shells. Here
the fire of intellect, sense and life are almost entirely extinct,
and a light shade separates there the animated being from
that, which only vegetates.  Nature takes there still more
variegated forms, than on land: the masses there are enormous and the figures still more mnollnturous; but the matter, which
is annimatedl by the fire Ether is always there distingulishable.
The-reptile creeps here in the slime, while the fish is cutting
the body of the water, aided by fins, over the tortuous eel, developing its fold towards the bottom of the fluid. The enorlmous whale shows here a mass of living matter, which has no
equal amongst the dwellers on the Earth, and in the Air, al9




66          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IV.
though each of the three elements may have animals, which
may offer very often parallels. A common character is distinguishable in all; it is the instinct of reproduction, which brings
them together to that effect, and another not so gentle an instinct, which inclines them, to pursue each other for food, and.
which also is coherent with the want of perpetuating the transformation of the same matter under a thousand forms, and to
make it revive by turns in the various elements, which serve
as habitations to organized bodies. This is the Protheus of
Homer according to some allegorists.
Nothing of the kind is offered for the contemplation of man
beyond the elementary sphere, which is believed to extend to
the last strata of the atmosphere, and even up to the orbit of
the Moon. There the bodies take another character; that of
constancy and perpetuity, which distinguishes them  essentially from the effect. The Earth conceals therefore, in *her
fruitful womb the cause or germs of beings, which she brings
forth, but she is not the sole cause. The rains, which fertilize her, seem to come from  IHeaven or from the abode of the
clouds, which the eye locates there. The heat comes from
the Sun; and the vicissitudes of the seasons are connected
with the movements of the luminaries, which seem to bring
them  back. Heaven was therefore as much cause as the
Earth, but an active cause, producing all the changes, without
itself experiencing any, and producing them in another, unlike itself.
Ocellus of Lucania was therefore right, when he says:
"that the existence of generation and cause of geneneration
"in the Universe had been observed, and that generation was
"placed, where there was a change and dislocation of the
"parts, and the cause, where there was stability of Nature.
"As the World, adds this philosopher, is ungenerated and in"destructible, that it has no beginning, and that it shall have
"no end; it is therefore necessary, that the principle, which




C1hap. Ir.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     67
"operates the generation in another, unlike itself, and the
"one, which operates in itself, had existed.
"The principle, which operates in another unlike itself, is
"all that, which is above the Moon, and principally the Sun,
"which, by its going and returning, constantly changes the
"air, as far as cold and heat are concerned, from which result
"the changes on Earth, and of everything, which pertains to
"the Earth. The zodiac, in which the Sun moves is still an"other cause, which concurs to the generation: in one word,
"'the composition of the World includes the active and passive
" cause; the one, which generates outside of it,. and the other,
"' which begets in it.  The first is the WTorld above the Moon;
"the second is the sublunary'World, of these two parties: one
"'divine and always constant, the. other mortal and always
"changing, is composed what is called the World, of which
"one of the principles is always moving and governing, and
"the other is always moved and governed."
This is a summary of ancient philosophy, which has passed
in the theologies and cosmogonies of the different nations.
This distinction of the two-fold manner, in which the great
cause acts in the generation of beings, which are produced by
her and within her, must have originated comparisons with
the generations here below, where two causes concur in the
formation of the animal, the one actively, the other passively;
one as male the other as female, one as the father, the other
as the mother. The Earth must have been regarded as the
womb of Nature; as the receptacle of the germs, and as the
nurse of the beings, which are produced in her bosom; Heaven, as the principle of the seed and of fecundity. They
must have stood towards each other in the relation of male
and female, or rather as husband and wife, and their conjunction must have appeared like the image of marriage, wherefrom all beings take their origin. These comparisons have
actually been made.  Heaven, says Plutarch, appeared to




68          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. IV
mankind, as if it was exercising the functions of father, and
the Earth that of mother.  " Heaven was the father, because
"it poured out its seed in the shape of rain into the womb of
"the Earth; the Earth, while receiving it, became fruitful and
"I brought forth, seemed to be the mother."  Love presided,
according to Hesiod, at the clearing away of the chaos. This
is then the chaste marriage of Nature with herself, which
Virgil has sung in those beautiful verses of the second book
of the "Georgics."  "The Earth, says the poet, expands in
"spring, in order to ask of Heaven the germ of fecundity.
"Ether, that mighty God, descends then in order to join his
" wife, which is gladdened by his presence. At the moment,
" when he pours out his seed in the form of rain, by which
"she is moistened, the union of both their immense bodies
-"ives life and nourishment to all beings." It is also in
spring and on the 25th of March, when the sacred fictions of
the Christians suppose, that the Etefrial communicates with
their Virgin-Goddess, in order to redeem the calamities of
Nature and to regenerate the Universe.
Columella in his treatise on Agriculture, has also sung the
courtship of Nature, or the marriage of Heaven and Earth,
which is consummated every year in spring. He portrays the
eternal Spirit, source of the life or of the soul, which animates
the World, as overcome with Love and fired with all the passion of Venus, which unites with Nature or with itself, because she forms a part of it, and which fills her own bosom
with new productions. It is the Union of the Universe with
itself, or that mutual action of its two sexes, which he calls
the great secrets of Nature, her sacred orgies, her mysteries,
which have been portrayed by the ancient Initiations with innumerable emblems. From this are derived the Ithyphallic
feasts and the consecration of Phallus and Cteis, or the sexual
organs of man and woman in the ancient sanctuaries.
Snch is also the origin of the worship of Lingam with the




Chap. IV.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     69
East Indians, which is nothing else but the union of the organs of generation of the two sexes, which those nations
kept exposed in the temples of Nature, because of their being
the always subsisting emblem of universal fecundity. The
East Indians hold this symbol in the greatest veneration, and
its worship is traced with them up to the highest antiquity.
Under this form, they worship their great God Isuren, the
same as the Greecian Bacchus, in honor of whom that people
raised the Phallus.
The candlestick of seven branches, designed to represent
the planetary system, through which the great work of sublunary generations is consummated, is placed before the Lingam,
and the Brahmins light it, when they are paying homage to
that emblem of the double force of Nature.
It is the duty of the Gurus ("Gourous"), to adorn the Lirigam
with flowers, almost exactly as the Greeks adorned the Phallus.
The Taly, which the Braiima consecrates, and which the new
husband hangs on the neck of his wife, to be worn byher all her
lifetime, is frequently a Lingam, or the emblem of the union
of the two sexes.
The Egyptians had also consecrated the Phallus in the mysteries of Isis and Osiris. According to Kirker, the Phallus
was even found to be honored  in  America.  If this
should be the case, then this worship has had the same universality as that of Nature, or of that Being, which unites in
itself that double power. We learn from Diodorus, that the
Egyptians were not the only nation,,which had. consecrated
that emblem; that the  Assyrians, the Persians and the
Greeks had it as well as the Romans, and in fact the
whole of Italy.
Everywhere it was held sacred as an image of the organs of
generation of all animated beings, according to Diodorus, or
as a symbol designed to represent the natural and spermatic
force of the Stars, according to Ptolomly.




70          TIE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IV.
The Chritian doctors, quite as ignorant as they were
wicked, and always at work to decry and to pervert the theological ideas, ceremonies, statues and sacred fables of the arncients, were therefore wrong to inveigh against the feasts and
the images, which had the worship of universal fecundity for
objects. Those images and symbolical expressions of the two
great forces of the God-Universe, were as simple as they
were ingenious; they had been imagined in those ages, when
the organs of generation and their union had not yet been
blemished by the ridiculous prejudice of mysticism, or dishonored by the abuse of lewdness. The operations of Nature
and of her agents were held as sacred as herself: our religious errors and vices have only profaned her.
The double sex of Nature, or its distinction into active and
passive cause, was also represented with the Egytians by an
androgynal Divinity, or by the God Ctneph, which vomits from
its mouth the symbolical egg, designed to represent the
WNorld. The Brahbmins of India expressed the same cosmogonical idea by a statue, which was imitative of the World and
~ which represented the two sexes: The male bore the image
of the Sun, as being the center of the active principle; the
female represented that of the Moon, which fixes the beginning and the first lying in of passive Nature, as we have seen
in the passage of Ocellus of Lucania.
From the reciprocal union of the two sexes of the World or
of Nature, as universal cause, have originated the fictions,
which are found at the head of all theogonies. Uranus married Ghea, or Heaven had the Earth for wife. These are the
two physical beings, of which Sanchoniaton, the author of the
theogony of the Phoenicians, speaks, when he says that Uranus and Ghea were two spouses, which gave their names, the
one to Heaven, the other to Earth, from  which marriage the
God Time or Saturn was born. The author of the theogony
of the Cretans, of the Atlantes, Hesiod, Apollodorus, Proclus,




hap. IV.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        71
and all those, who wrote the genealogy of the' Gods or causes,
place Heaven and Earth at the head of it. These are the two
great causes, from which all things have emanated. The
name of king and queen, given to them by certain theogonies,
belonging to the allegorical style of anticquity, and ought not
to be an obstacle to recognize there the two first causes of
Nature. We shall also discover in their marriage the union
of the active and passive causes, which is one of those cosmogonical ideas, which all religions have endeavorod to portray.
We shall therefore take off Uranus and Ghea of the number
of the first princes, which have reigned over the Universe, and
the epoch of their reigns shall be stricken from the chronologicalrecords. The same will be the case with Prince Saturn and Prince Jupiter, with Prince Helios or the Sun and
with the Princess Selena or the Moon, &c. The fate of the
fathers shall decide that of their children. and nephews, in
other words, that the sub-divisions of the two primary great
causes shall not be of a different nature, than the causes themselves, of which they are a part.
To this first division of the Universe into active and passive
cause, a second one is added, which is that of the principles,
one of which is the principle of Light and of goodness, and the
other the principle *of Darkness and of evil.  This dogma
forms the basis of all theogonies, as has been Nell remarked
by Plutarch.  "WTe must. not be under the impression, says'"that philosopher, that the principles of the Universe are in"animate bodies, as Dbemocritus and Epicurus have imagined,
"nor that unqualified matter is organized and ordained by
"one single mind or Providence, mistress of all things, as the
"Stoics have said; because it is impossible, that a single
"being-be it good or bad, should be the cause of all, as God
"cannot be the cause of any evil."
"The harmony of this World is a combination of contraries,
"like the chords of a lyre or the string of a bow, which bend




72          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHI.  [Chap. 1 -F.
"and unbend.  Never, as the poet Euripides said, is the good
"separated from the evil: there must be a mixture of the one
" and the other."
"This opinion of the two principles, continues Plutarch, is
"of the highest antiquity; it has passed from the theologians
"and the legislators, to the poets and philosophers. The anu"thor is unknown, but the opinion itself is proved by the tradi"tions of the human family;. it is consecrated by the mysteries
"and the sacrifices of the Greeks and of the Barbarians. The
"Dogma of the principles, which are opposed to each other in
"Nature, and which by their contrarieties produce a mixture of
" good and of evil, is there recognized. It cannot therefore
" be said, that there is a sole dispenser, who is drawing off the
" events, like liquor from two casks, in order to mix them to" gether, and to give us that mixture to drink; because Nature
" produces nothing here below, which might be without that
" mixture. But there are two contrary causes, which must be
" acknowledged, two antagonistic powers, of which one car" ries to the right, the other to the left, and thus govern our
"life and all this sublunary World, which for that very reason
"is subject to so many changes and irregularities of our
"species, because nothing can exist withoat a cause; and if
" Good cannot be the cause of Evil, it is therefore abso"lutely necessary, that there is a cause for Evil, as well as
"there is one for Good."
It should seem  from this last phrase ~of Plutarch, that the
real origin of the dogma of the two principles, proceeds from
the dificulty, under which mankind has ever labored, to explain by one and the same cause, the good and the evil of
Nature, and to make virtue and crime, light and darkness,
issue from one common source. Two such antagonistic effects
appeared to them to require two causes equally antagonistic
in their nature and in their action. This dogma, adds Plutarch, has been generally recieved by most nations, and chiefly




Chap. IV.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       73
by those, which were most celebrated for their wisdom. They
have all acknowledged two Gods, of different occupations, if
I may be allowed this expressionl, one of which was the author " of good, and the other of the evil, which is found in the
" World. They gave to the first the title of God the mlost
" high, and to the other that of Demon."
Indeed, iwe see in the Cosmogony or the Genesis of the
HI-ebrews two principles, one called God, who does good, and
who after the termination of each of his works exclaims:
that he saw, what he had  made, was good; and after him
there comes another principle, called Demon, or IDevil, and
Satan, who destroys the good, which the first has made, and
"who introduces the evil, death and sin into the Universe."
This cosmogony, as we shall see elsewhere, was copied from
the ancient cosmogony of the Persians, and its dogmas were
copied from the books of Zoroaster, who also admits two principles, according to Plutarch, one called Oromaze and the other
Ahriman.  " The Persians said of the first, that he was of the
" nature of Light, and of the other, that he was of that of Dark"ness. The Egyptians called the first, Osiris, and the second
"Typhon, who was the eternal enemy of the first."
All the sacred books of the Persians and Egyptians contain
the marvellous and allegorical story of the various battles,
which were given by Ahriman and his Angels to Oromaze,
and which were given by Typhon to Osiris.  These fables
have been repeated by the Greeks in the war of the Titans
and Giants with feet, in the shape of serpents, against Jupiter
or against the principle of Goadless and of Light; because in
their theology, as it is well observed by Plutarch, Jupiter corresponded to the Oromaze of the Persians and to the Osiris of
the Egyptians.
To the examples quoted by Plutarch, which are takenl from
the theogony of the Persians, Egyptians, Grecians and the
Chaldeans, I shall add some others, which shall corroborate
10




74          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IV.
what he asserts, and which shall finally prove, that this dogma was universally spread all over the World, and that it belongs to all theologies.
The natives of the Kingdom of Pegu admit two principles,
one  the aathor of Good and the other of Evil. They
attempt chiefly to lower the latter. Thus it happens, that the
natives of the island of Java, who acknowledge a supreme
ruler, of the Universe, address also their oblations and their
prayers to the evil spirit, in order that he might not do them
any harm. The same is the case with the Molucchians and
with all the savages of the Phillipine islands. The natives of
the island of Formosa have their good God, Ishy, and their
devils, Chouy; they offer sacrifices to the evil Genius and
rarely to the good one. The Negroes of the Gold Coast admlit also two Gods, one of which is good and the other bad;
one is white, and the other is black and wicked. They trouble
themselves very little with the first one, whom they call the
good man, but they fear principally the second one, to wlhom
the Portuguese have given the name of Denmon; it is him,
whom they try to propitiate.
The Hottentots call the good principle, the Captain above,
and the bad principle, the Captain below. The Ancients also
thought, that the source of all evil was in the gloomy matter
of the Earth.  The  Giants  and Typhon were  children
of the Earth. The Hottentots say, that it is better to let the
good principle alone; that it is not necessary to pray to it,
that it will always do good; but that it is necessary to address
prayers to the bad one, that he mlay not do any mischief.
They call their bad Divinity Tuquoa, and they represent it as
of small size, crooked and of bad temper, enemy of the
Hottentots, and they say that it is the source of all the evils,
which afflict the World, but beyond that its power ceases.
The natives of Madagascar acknowledge also the two principles; they give to the bad one, the attributes of the serpent,




Chap. IV.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     75
which the cosmogonies of the Persians, Egyptians, the Jews
and the Greeks also attributed to it; they call the good principle Jadhar, or the great almighty God; and the bad one
Angat. To the first one they erect no temples, neither do
they address to him their prayers, bceause he is good, just as
if fear alone, more than gratitude had made the Gods. Thus
the Mingrelians honor above all that of their idols, which is
in repute of being the most cruel.
The inhabitants of the island of Tenerif acknowledge a supreme God, to whom they give the name of Achguaya-Xerac,
which means the greatest, the most sublime, the preserver of
all things. They also believe in a bad Genius, which they call
Guayotta.
The Scandinavians have their God Locke, who makes war
to the Gods and chiefly to Thor; he slanders the Gods, says
the Edda,, and is the great artificer of frauds. He has a
wicked spirit; of him are born three monsters, the wolf
Feuris, the serpent Midgard, and  Hela or Death.  He,
like Typhon produces tlie Earthquakes.
The Tehuvaches and the Mforduans acknowledge a supreme
Being, from whom mankind derives all the good i, enjoys.
They admit also malevolent Genii, whose occupation is to persecute mankind.
The Tartars of Katzchinzi address their prayers to a beneficent God, while turning their faces towards the East, or towards the source of light; but they stand more in fear of a
malevolent Divinity, which they worship in order, that it might
not do them any harm. They consecrated to it in Spring a
black stallion; they called this malevolent Divinity Touis.
The Ostiaks and the Voguls call it Kul, the Samoyedes,
Sjudibe; the Motores, Huala; the Kargassians Sedkyr.
The natives of Thibet also admit malevolent Genii, which
they place above the air.
The religion of the Bonzes supposes likewise two principles.




76          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IV.
The Siamese sacrifice to a principle of evil, which they consider as the author of all the evil, which happens to mankind,
and it is chiefly in their afflictions that they apply to it for
relief.
The East Indians have their Ganga and their Gurnatha,
which are- Genii, that have the power to do evil, and which
they try to appease by prayers, sacrifices and processions.
The inhabitants of Tolgoni in India, admit two principles,
which govern the Universe; a good one, which is the Light; and
the other bad, which is Darkness. The ancient Assyrians
shared the opinion of the Persians on the two principles, and
they worshipped, says Augustin, two Gods. one good and the
other bad, as it is easy to be convinced of it by their books.
The Chaldeans had their good and bad Stars, to which they
joined Spirits, which shared their nature, whether good
or bad.
We find again also in the new World this same dogmna,
which had been generally received by the old one, on the distinction of the two principles, and of tile beneficent and malevolent Genii.
The Peruvians worshipped Pacha- Carnac, the God, author of
Good, to whoml they opposed Cupai the Genius author of
Evil.
The Caraibes admitted two kinds of Spirits; some of which
were good, which had their abode in Heaven, and of which
every one of us has his own, which is his guide on Earth: these
are our Guardian Angels; others were malevolent Spirits, which
hover in the air and take pleasure to annoy the mortals.
The natives of Terra firma thought that there was a God in
Heaven, that this God was the Sun. They admitted besides, a
bad principle, the author of all the evils, which we suffer; and
and in order to propitiate his good will, they offer him flowers,
fruit, corn and perfumes. These were the Gods, of which the
sings had some reason to say, that they themselves were their




Chap. ITV.]'THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     77
representatives and images on Earth. The more they are
feared, the'more they are flattered, the more homage is showered upon them.
This is the reason, why the Gods have always been treated
like Kings and like men of influence, of whom we either are in
fear or expect something. All the prayers and all the wishes,
which the Christians address to their God and to their Saints
are always selfish. Religion is merely a commerce of barter.
That Tenebrious Being, which is so venerated by the Savages,
appears to them very often, as their priests say, who are at the
same time legislators, physicians and ministers of war; because
the priests everywhere have taken possession  of all the
branches of power, which force or imposture exercise over the
credulous mortals.
The Tabuyes in America, situated in about the same latitude
as the Madegassians in Africa, have also nearly the same opinion with regard to the two principles.
The natives of Brazil acknowledge a bad Genius, which they
call Aguyan; they have their conjurers, who pretend to stand
in connection with this Spirit..
The Aborigines of Louisiana admitted two principles, one
is the cause of Good and the other of Evil; the latter according to their notions, governs the whole World.
Those of Florida worshipped,the Sun, the Moon and the
Stars, and acknowledged also a Genius of evil by the name of
Toia, which they try to conciliate, by the celebration of feasts
in his honor.
The Canadians and the Savages in the neighborhood of Hudson's Bay, worship the Sun, the Moon and the Thunder. The
Divinities to which they address most frequently their wishes,
are the malevolent Spirits, of which they stand greatly in fear,
as they believe them to be all powerful to do evil.
The Esquimaux have a God; which is exclusively good,
called Ukuma, and another called Ouikam, which is the author




78          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IV.
of all their evils. He is the originator of the storms, which
upset their boats and causes their labor to be of no account;
because it is always a Genius, who does everywhere the good
or the evil, which befall mankind.
The savages, who have their location near Davis' Straits admit certain good and bad Genii, and that is nearly all, of which
their religion consists.
It would be unneccessary to continue any further the enumeration of the various nations, ancient as well as modern in
the two hemispheres, which admitted the distinction of the
two principles, that of a God and Genii, which were the
sources of Goodness and of Light, and that of a God and Genii,
which were the sources of Evil and of Darkness. The reason
why this opinion has been so universally extended was, because
all those, who have reasoned upon the causes of the opposite
effects in Nature, have never been able to reconcile their explanations with the existence of one sole cause. As there
were good and bad men, it was believed that there might also
exist good and bad Gods; some of' which were the dispensers
of good and others the authors of the evils, to which mankind
is heir, because as has already been mentioned, man has always represented the Gods, as he is himself, and the court of
the immortals was the image of that of Kings and of all those,
who govern tyrannically.
The picture, which we have drawn, is a complete proof of
the assertion of Plutarch, that the dogma of the two principles had been generally received by all nations, that it runs
back to the highest antiquity, and that it is to be found with
the Barbarians as well as with the Greeks. This philosopher
adds, that it had received its largest development with those
nations, which were most renowned for their wisdom. We
shall see indeed, that it forms the principal basis of the theology of the Egyptians and Persians, two nations, which have
greatly influenced the religious opinions of others, and chiefly




Chap. IV.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      79
those of the Jews and the Christians, which have the same
system of the two principles, or very nearly so. They have also
their Devil and their bad Angels, constantly at war with God,
the author of all goodness. The Devil is ithe counsellor of
crime with them, and bears the name of tempter of manakind.
This truth will be better understood by the explanation, which
we shall give of the first two chapters of the Genesis and of
the Apocalypse of John. The Devil, or the principle of evil
under the form of serpent and dragon, plays'there a most
conspicuous figure, and counteracts the good, which the good
God wants to do for man. In this sense we may say with
Plutarch, that the dogma of the two principles had been consecrated by mysteries and sacrifices with all nations, which
have had an organized religious system.
The two principles were not left alone or isolate. Each of
them had their family Genii, their Angels, their Izets, their
Dews, &c. Under the standcards of each of them as chieftains,
there were ranged numbers of Spirits or Intelligences, which
had affinity with their nature, in other words, with that of
Goodness and of Light, or with that of Evil and Darkness; because Light had always been regarded as pertaining to the essence of the principle of goodness, and as the primary beneficient Divinity, of which the Sun was the principal agent.
To it we owe the enjoyment of the brilliant spectacle of the
Universe, of which we are deprived by darkness, which plunges Nature into a species of nonentity.
In the midst of the shades of an intensely dark night, when
Heaven is charged with thick and heavy clouds, when all the
bodies have disappeared before our eyes, when we seem to live
alone with ourselves and with the black shades surrounding
us, what is then the measure of our existence?  How little
does it differ from  complete nonentity, especially when not
surrounded in memory and thought with the image of the objects, which broad daylight has shown us?  All is dead for us,




80           THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. 1V.
and in some respect, we ourselves are dead to Nature. Who
can give us life again and draw  our soul fromn that mortal
lethargy, which' chains its activity to the shades of chaos?  A
single ray of light can restore us to ourselves and to entire
Nature, which seems as if it had withdrawn from us. Here is
the principle of our veritable existence, without which our life
would be only a sensation of continued weariness.  It is the
want of light in its creative energy, which has been felt by all
men, who have not seen anything more dreadful, than its absence. Here is then the first Divinity, the fiery splendour of
which, spouting out from the midst of Cbaos, caused man and the
whole Universe to spring into esissence according to the principles of the theology of Orpheus and Moses. This is that God Bel
of the Chaldeans, the Oromaze of the Persians, whom they invoke as the source of all the blessings of Nature, whilst the
origin of all the evil is placed in darkness and in Ahriman its
Chief. They hold therefore Light in great veneration and
stand in dread of Darkness.  Light is the life 6f the Universe,
the friend of man and his most agreeable companion; with it
he never feels lonesome; he looks for it as soon as missed, unless in order to rest his tired limbs, he should desire to withdraw from the spectacle of the World and seek repose in sleep.
But how much is he annoyed, when he awaikes before daylight and is forced. to await its reappearance.  How glad is he,
as soon as he has a glimpse of its first rays, and when Aurora,
whitening the horizon, restores again to his sight all those
pictures, which had disappeared in the shades of night.  He
sees again those children of the Earth, stretching out their
gigantic forms high into the air, those lofty mo0untains, crowning with their ridges his horizon, and forming the circular
barrier, which terminate the course of the Stars.  The earth
slopes down towards their feet and spreads out in vast plains,
intersected by rivers, and covered with meadows, woodland
and crops, the aspect of which was hidden from his view a,




chap. IF.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       81
little while ago by that gloomy veil, which Aurora with beneficent hand is now tearing away. All Nature appears again
entirely at the command of the Divinity which sheds the light,
but the God of Day is hiding himself yet from the sight of
man, in order that his eye might imperceptibly be accustomed
to support the brilliant splendour of the rays of the God,
whom Aurora comes to usher into the temple of the Universe,
of which he is the father and the soul. The gate, by whicl he
has to make his entrance, is already shaded with a thousand
colors, and vermillion roses seem to be sown under his footsteps; the gold, mixing its splendour with the azure, forms the
triumphal arch, under which the conqueror of night and darkness shall pass. Before himl  has disappeared the troop of
Stars, and left him free passage through the fields of Olympus,
of which he alone shall hold the scepter. Entire Nature
awaits himl; the birds celebrate his approach with their warbling,
and the sound of their concerts reecho in the plains of the
air, over which his chariot shall move, and which is already
agitated by the sweet breath of his coursers; the tops of the
trees are gently rocked by the fresh breeze, which rises in the
East; the animals, which are not afraid of the proximity of
man and which live under his roof, awaken with him and receive from Day and Aurora the signal, that they can seek
again their food in the meadows and fields, the grass, plants
and flowers of which are wet with a gentle dew.
At last this beneficent God makes his appearance, surrounded with all his glory. His empire shall extend over the whole
Earth, and His rays shall light up.His altars. His majestic
disk spreads in large waves the light and the heat, of which he
is the great center. By degrees, as he advances in his career,
Shadow his eternal rival, like Typhon and Ahriman, clinging
to coarse matter and bodies which produced it, flies before
him, always in the opposite direction, decreasing by degrlees as
he rises and awaiting his retreat, in order to reunite with
1 1




82          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IV.
the gloomy night, in which the Earth is plunged  again
at the moment, when she sees no more the God, the father
of Day and Nature. With a Giant's stride he has overcome
the interval, which separates the East from the West, and he
descends below the horizon as -majestic as when he ascended.
The trace of his step is still lit up by the light, which he
leaves on the clouds, shaded with a thousand colors, and in the
air, which he whitens and where the rays, which he sheds in
the atmosphere some hours after his retreat, are broken manifoldly and in various ways, in order to accustom us to his absence and to spare us the terror of a sudden night  But finally
the latter.arrives imperceptibly, and already is her black pall
spread over the Earth, which grieves for the loss of a beneficent
father.
This is the God, which has been worshipped by all men,
which poets have praised and sung, and which has been portrayed and represented under various emblems and under
many different names by painters and sculptors, who have embellished the temples, erected to the Great Cause, or to Nature. Thus the Chinese have their famous Ming-Tang or
temple of Light; the Persians the monuments of their Mithras, and the Egyptians the temples of Osiris, which is the
same God as the Mithras of the Persians.
The natives of the isle of Munay had also erected a temple
to the Light; the day which emanates therefrom  had its
mysteries, and Hesiod gives the epithet of sacred to the Light,
which comes in the morning in order to dissipate the shades of
night. All the great feasts of the Ancients are connected with
its return towards our regions and with its triumph over the
long nights of winter. It will therefore cause no surprise at
all, when we trace most of the ancient Divinities back to the
Light, be it that, which glitters in the Sun, or that which is reflected by the Moon and the Planets, or shines in the fixed
Stars, but chiefly in that of the Sun, the principal center of




Chap. I Fj  THE ORIGIN O11 ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    83
universal light, and that we find in Darkness the enemy of
its reign. It is between these two powers that Time and the
government of the World is divided.
This division of the two great powers, which rule the destinies of the Universe, and pour into it the Good and the Evil,
which is blended throughout all Nature, is expressed in the theology of the Magi by the ingenious emblem of a mysterious egg,
representing the spherical form of the World. The Persians
say, that Oromaze born of the purest light, and Ahrimuan born
of darkness, art in eternal war; "that the first has engendered
"six Gods, which are Benevolence, Truth, good Order, Wis-' dom, W7ealth and virtuous Mirth:" these are so many
emanations of the principles of Good, and so many blessings, which are vouchafed to us. They add, " that the second
"also begot six Gods, which are antagonistic with the first in
"their operations, that Oromare afterwards made himself
"' thrice as great as he was, and that he is raised above the
" Sun, as much as the Sun is higher than the Earth; that he em"bellished the Heavens with Stars, one of which, called Sirius,' was appointed as a sentinel or as an outer guard of the Stars;
"'that besides, he has made twenty-four other Gods, which
"' were put into an egg; that those which were begotten by Ah"riman, also to the number of twenty-four, pierced the egg,
"and thus the evils with the blessings became mixed."
Oromaze, born from the pure substance of light, is therefore the good principle and his productions are appropriate to
his nature. It matters very little, whether he is called Oromaze, Osiris, Jupiter, the good God, the white God, &c. Ah-:riman, born from darkness, is consequently the bad principle,
and his works are conformable to his nature. It is also of very
little consequence to us, whether he is called, Ahriman, Typhon, the chief of the Titans, the Devil, Satan, the God of
Night. These are the various expressions of the same theological idea, through which each religion has tried the combina



81          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS wAORSHIP.  [ Chp. I5T
tion of good and of evil in this World, which is described here
under the emblem of an egg, the same as that, which the God
Cneph vomited from his mouth, and like the one, which the
Greeks had consecrated in the mysteries of Bacchus. The
egg is divided into twelve p:tarts, whichnumber is equal to the
divisions of the Zodiac, and to the annual revolution, which contains all the periodical effects of Nature, be they good or bad.
Six belong to the God of Lighlit, dwelling in the upper regions
of the World; and six to the God of Darkness, who inhabits
the lower ones, where the mnixture of good and of evil is
carried on. The reign of day and its triumph over the long
nights, lasts in reality six months or during six signs, from the
equinox of spring to that of autumn. The heat of the Sun,
which proceeds from the principle of Goodlness, strews flowers
upon the Earth, and enriches it with crops and fruits. During the other six n.onths, the Sun seems to lose its fructifying
power; the Earth casts off its embellishments; the long nights
resume their full sway, and the Government of the World is
abandoned to the principle of evil: that is the main point of
the enigma, or the sense of the symbolic egg, subordinate to
twelve chiefs, six of which produce the good, and the other six
evil. The forty-eight other Gods, which are equal in number
to that of the constellations known to the Ancients, and which
are grouped into two bands of twenty-four, each one under its
leader, are'the good and the bad Stars, the influence of which
is combined with the Sun and the Planets, in order to regulate
the destinies of mankind. Sirius, one of the most brilliant
fixed Stars, is their chief.
This subdivision of the action of the two principles into six
periods each, is rendered allegorically under the millesimal
expression in other places of the theology of the Magi; because
they subordinate to eternity or to time without end, a period
of twelve thousand years, which Ormuzd and Ahriman share
amongst themselves, and during which each one of the two




Chaap. IV 1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      85
principles, produces effects, which are analogous to its nature,
and gives battle to the other, which end with the triumph of
Ormuzd. or of the principle of Good. This theory will be of
service chiefly, in order to explain the first chapters of the
Genesis, the triumph of Christ, the fight of the Dragon with
the Lamb, followed by the victory of the latter in the Apocalypse.
Having thus presented the great totality of Nature or of
the Universe, that eternal and almighty cause, such as the
Ancients have considered and distributed it in its great bodies,
nothing more remains but to proceed with the explanation of
their sacred fables in accordance with the basis, which we
have laid down, in order to arrive at the results, which the
new system shall bring about.  This we intend to do in the,
succeeding pages.




CHAPTER V.
AN EXPLANATION OF THE HERACLEID ORt OF THE SACRED
POEM ON THE TWELVE MONTHtS AND ON THE SUN, WORSHIPPED UNDER THE NAME OF HERCULES.
As soon as man had attributed a soul to the World, with
life and intelligence to each of its parts, when he had placed
Angels, Genii, Gods in every Element, in each Star and especially in that beneficent luminary, which vivifies entire Nature,
engenders the seasons and dispenses to the Earth that active
heat, which brings forth all the blessings from its bosom and sets
aside the evils, which the principle of darkness pours into matter, there remained only one step more to make, in order to put
into action in sacred poems all the intelligences or spirits scattered over the Universe, giving them character and habits analogous to their nature, and creating as many personages, each
of which played his part in those poetical fictions and religious
songs, as if they had played them upon the brilliant stage of
the World, Thence originated the poems on the Sun, which
was described under the name of Hercules, Bacchus, Osiris,
Theseus,.Jason, &c., such as the Heracleid, the Dionysiacs,
the Theseid, the Argonautics,.poems, of which some have
reached us complete, others only in part.
There is not one of the heroes of these various poems, who
had not reference to the Sun, nor is there one of these songs,
which was not a part of the songs on Nature, on the cycles, on
the seasons and on the Luminary, which engenders them.
Such is the nature of the poem on the twelve months, known
by the name of songs on the twelve labors of Hercules or of
the solstitigl Sun,




Chap. V.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      87
Whatever may have been the opinions about Hercules, he
was surely not a petty Grecian Prince, renowned for his romantic adventures, invested with all the charms of poetry, and
sung from age to age by men, who had succeeded the heroic
ages. It is the mighty luminary, which animates and fructifies the Universe, the Divinity of which has been honored
everywhere by the erection of temples and altars, and consecrated in religious songs by all nations. From  Meroe in
Ethiopia, and Thebes in upper Egypt, to the British isles and
to the snows of Scythia; from ancient Taprobane and Palibothra in the Indies to Cadiz and the shores of the Atlantic
Ocean; from the forests of Germany, to the burning sands of
Lybia, wherever the blessings of the Sun were experienced,
there the worship of Hercules is found established; there are
sung the glorious deeds of this invincible God, who showed
himself to man only, in order to deliver himt from his evils, to
purge the Earth of monsters and chiefly of tyrants, who may
be classed amongst the greatest scourges, of which our weakness has to stand in fear. Many centuries before the epoch,
which is assigned to the son of Alemena or to the supposed
hero of Tirynthia,,s the time, when they made him live, Egypt
Phoenicia, which surely did not borrow their Gods from and
Greece, had erected temples to the Sun, under the name of
Hercules, and had carried its worship to the island of Thasus
and to Cadiz, where they had also consecrated a temple to the
Year and to the Month, which dividedit into twelve parts, or in
other words, to the twelve labors, or twelve victories, which
conducted Hercules to immortality.
It is under the name of Hercules Astrochyton, or of the God
clad in a mantle of Stars, that the poet Nonnus designates
this Sun-God, worshipped by the Tyrians. The titles of the
King of Fire, of Lord of the World and of the Planets-of
nourisher of mankind, of the God, whose glowing orb, revolves eternally around the Earth, and who while followed in his




i388       THE ORIGIN OE ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  - Chap. a.
track by the Year, the daughter of Time and mother of the
twelve Months, draws along in regular succession the seasons,
which renew and reproduce themselves,-  are so many traits
of the Sun, that we should recognize them, even if the poet
had not givern to his Hercules the name of Helios or the Sun.
" It is, says he, the same God, which is worshipped by many
"nations under different names: as Belus, on the shores of the
"Euphrates, as Ammon in Lybia, as Apis at Memphis, as Sa"turn in Arabia, as Jupiter in Assyria, as Serapis in Egypt, as
"Helios at Babylon, as Apollo at Delphi, as AE sculapius
throughout Greece, &c. Martianus Capella, in his magnificent
hymn on the Sun, also the poet Ausonius and Macrobius confirm this multiplicity of names, which were given by differeut
nations to this luminary.
The Egyptians, says Plutarch thought that Hercules had
his seat in the Sun, and that he traveled with it around the
World.
The author of the hymns, which are attributed to Orpheus,
describes in the most precise manner, the affinity or rather the
identity of Hercules with the Sun. Indeed, he calls Hercules
"the God generator of Time, of which the forms change; the
"father of all things, and who destroys them all. He is the
" God, who brings back in regular succession Aurora and the
"black Night, and who from  East to West travels over'"his career of the twelve labors; a valiant Titan, a
"a strong, invincible and almighty God, who dispels sickness,
"and who delivers mankind from the evils, with which it is
"afflicted."  Can there be any mistake, when we recognize in
these traits, under the name of Hercules, the Sun, that beneficent
luminary, which vivifies Nature, and which engenders the
Year, composed of the twelve months and expressed by the
career of the twelve labors?  The Phcenicians have consequently preserved the tradition, that Hercules was the SunGod, and that his twelve labors represented the journey of this




Chap. V.]    THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      89
luminary through the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Porphyrius,
born in Phoenicia, affirms that the name of Hercules was
given there to the Sun, and that the fable of the twelve labors
expressed the transit of that luminary through the twelve
signs of the Zodiac. Tlhe scholiast of Hesiod tells us also,
"that the Zodiac, in which the Sun accomplishes its annual
"course, is the real career, which Hercules travels over in the
"fable of the twelve labors, and that by his marriage with
" Hebe the Goddess of youth, after the achievement of his ca"reer, we must understand the year, which renews itself at
"the end of each revolution."
It is evident, that if Hercules is the Sun, as we have shown
by the above cited authorities, that the fable of the twelve labors is a solar fable, which can have reference only to the
twelve months and to the twelve signs, of which the Sun
travels over one in each month. This inference shall become
a demonstration by the comparison, which we shall make of
each of the labors with each one of the months, or with the
signs andeconstellations, which mark the division of time in
the Heavens, during each of the months of the annual revolution.
Amongst the different epochs, at which formerly the year
began, that of the summer solstice was one of the most remarkable. It was on the return of the Sun to this point, that
the Greeks fixed the celebration of their Olympic feasts, the
establishment of which was attributed to Hercules: this was
the origin of the most ancient era of the Greeks. We shall therefore fix the departure of the Sun Hercules there, in its annual
route.  The sign of the Lion, domlicil of that Star, which furnishes it with its attributes, having formerly occupied that
point, his first labor shall be his victory over the Lion; and it
is indeed the one, which has been placed at the head of all
the others.
But before we shall compare month for month the series of
12




90           THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. V.
the twelve labours with that of the Stars, which determine and
mark the annual route of the Sun, it is well to observe, that
the Ancients, in order to regulate their sacred and rural Calendars, employed not only the signs of the Zodiac, but more
frequently also remarkable Stars, placed outside of the Zodiac,
and the various constellations, which by their rising and setting indicated the place of the Sun in each sign.  The proof
of this will be found in the Fastes of Ovid, in Columella, and
chiefly in the Ancient Calendars, which we have published as a
sequel to our larger work.  It is in conformity, with this known
fact, that we shall draw  the picture of the  subjects of the
twelve songs, compared with the constellations, which presided over the twelve months, in order to convince the reader,
that the poem of the twelve labors is only a sacred calendar,
embellished with all the charms, of which allegory and poetry
made use of in these remote ages, in order to give soul and
life to their fictions.
CALENDAR.                          POEM.
TITLE OF THE FIRST CANTO OR OF
FIRST MONTH.                 THE FIRST LABOR.
Passage of the Sun under the  Victory of Hercules over the Nesign of the celestial Lion, called the mean Lion.
Lion of Nemea, fixed by the setting
in the morning of the Ingeniculus, or
the constellation of the celestial Hercules.
SECOND MONTH.                   SECOND LABOR.
The Sun enters the sign of the Vir-  Hercules slays the Lernean Hygin, marked by the total setting of dra, the heads of which grew again,
the celestial Hydra, called the Ler- whilst he is is cramped in his labor
nean Hydra, the head of which rises by a crawfish or Cancer.
again in the morning with the Cancer.
THIRD MONTH.                   THIRD LABOR.
Passage of the Sun at the com-" A Centaur gives hospitality to Hermencement of autumn to the sign of cules; his fight with the Centaurs for
the Balance, fixed by the rising of a cask of wine; victory of Hercules




Chap. 1.]    THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.               91
the celestial Centaur, the same, over them; he slays a terrible wild
whose hospitality Hercules enjoyed. Boar, which devastated the fields of
This constellation is replesented in Erymanthia.
the Heavens, with a leather bottle,
filled with wine, and a Thyrsus
adorned with vine leaves and grapes,
image of the season's product. Then
rises in the evening the celestial
Bear, called by others the Boar and
the animal of Erymanthia.
FOURTH MONTH.                    FOURTH [LABOR.
The Sun enters the sign of the Scor-  Triumph of Hercules over a Hind
pion, fixed by the setting of Cassi- with golden horns and feet of brass,
ope, a constellation, which was for- which Hercules took on the  Sea
merly represented by a Hind.     shore, where it was reposing.
FIFTH MONTH.                     FIFTH LABOB.
The Sun enters the sign of the   Hercules gives chase near Stymthe Sagittarius, consecrated to the phalia to theBirds of the StymphaGoddess Diana, whose temple was at lian lake, which are represented in
Stymphalia, in which the Stympha- number three in the medals of Perinlian Birds were to be seen. This thus.
passage is fixed by the rising of three
birds, the Vulture, the Swan and the
Eagle, pierced by the arrow of Hercules.
SIXTH MONTH.                     SIXTH LABOR.
Passage of the Sun to the sign of  Hercules cleans the Stables of
the Goat or the Capricorn, the son Augias, the son of the Sun, or accordof Neptune according to some, and ing to others the son of Neptune.
grandson to the Sun, according to He makes the river Peneus  run
others. This passage is marked by through it.
the setting of the River of the Aquarius, which flows under the stable of
the Capricorn, and the source of
which is in the hands of Aristeus,
son of the river Peneus.
SEVENTH MONTH.                   SEVENTH LABOR.
The Sun enters the sign of Water-  Hercules arrives at Elis; He was
man or Aquarius, and at the place in mounted on the horse  Arion; he
the Heavens, where the full Moon drags along with him  the Bull of
was found every year, which served to Creta, beloved by Pasiphae, which
denote the epoch for the celebration afterwards ravaged the plains of
of the Olympic games. This passage Marathon. He institutes the celevas marked by the Vulture, placed bration of the  Olympic  Games,




92            THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    LChap. V.
in the Heavens alongside the con- where he is the first to enter the
stellation called Prometheus, at the lists; he kills the Vulture of Promesame time that the celestial Bull theus.
called the Bull of Pariphae and of
Marathon culminated in the meridian, at the setting of the Horse Arion or Pegasus.
EIGHTH AMONTH.                    EIGHTH LABOR.
Passage of the Sun to the sign of  Hercules makes the conquest of
the Fishes, fixed by the rising in the the Horses of Diomedes, the son of
morning of the celestial Horse, the Cyrene.
head of which is bearing on Aristeus,
or on the Aquarius the son of C)yrene.
NINTH MONTH.                     NINTH LABOR.
The Sun enters the sign of the   Hercules embarks on board the
Ram, consecrated  to  Malrs, and ship Arlgo, in order tomakethe conwhich is also called the tRam  of quest of the Ram. of the Golden
the Golden Fleece.  This passage Fleece; he  fights with  martial
is'marked by the rising of the ship women, daughters of Mars, from
Argo, by the setting of Andromeda, whom he takes a magnificent girdle
or of the celestial Woman and of her and liberates a Maiden exposed to a
Girdle; by that of the Whale; by the Whale or a Sea-monster, like the
rising of Medusa, and by the setting one to which Anhdromeda, the daughof the Queen Cassiope.          ter of Cassiope was exposed.
TENTH IMONTH.                    TENTH LABOR.
The Sun leaves the Ram of Phrix-  Hercules after his voyage with the
us and enters the sign of the Bull. Argonauts in order to conquer- the
This transit'is marked by the-setting Ram, returns to I-Iesperia, to make
of Orion, who was in love with the At- the conquest of the Oxen of Geryon;
lantides, or with the Pleiades; by that he also kills a tyranical Prince, who
of Bootes, the Driver of the Oxen of persecuted the Atlantides, and arIcarus; by that of the River Erida- rives in Italy at the house of Faunus; by the rising of the Atlanticles nus at the rising of the Pleiades.
and by that of the Goat, the wife of
Faunus.
ELEVENTttH MIONTH.               ELEVENTH LABOR.
The Sun enters the sign of the   Hercules conquers a terrible Dog,
Twins, which transit is indicated by the tail of which was a Serpent, and
the setting of the Dog Procyon; by the head of which was bristling with
the cosmical rising of the great Dog, serpents; he defeats also Cygnus, or
followed by the stretching out of the the Prince Swan, at the  time in
Hydra and by the rising in the which the Dog-star sc'orches the
evening of the celestial Swan.   Earth with its fire,




Chap. El1    THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.            93
TWELFTH MONTH.                 TWELFTH LABOR.
The Sun enters the sign of the  Hercules travels in Hesperia, in
Cancer, which corresponds with the order to gather Golden  Apples,
last month, indicated by the setting guarded by a Dragon, which, in our
of the Stream of the Waterman, and spheres, is near the pole, according
of the Centaur, by the rising of the to others, in order to carry off sheep
Shepherd and his Sheep, at the time with a Golden Fleece. Be is prewhen the constellation of the Hercu- paring to make a sacrifice and puts
les Ingeniculus is descending to- on a robe dyed in the blood of a
wards th6 occidental regions, called Centaur, whom he had slain at the
Hesperia, followed by the Polar Dra- passage of a river. By this robe he
gon, the guardian of the Apples is consumed with fire; he dies and
growing in the gai den of th'e Hespe- ends thus his mortal career, in orrides; which Dragon he puts under der to resume his youth in Heaven
his feet, as marked in the sphere, and to enjoy there immortality.
and which falls near him towards the
setting.
This is the comparitive picture of the cantos of the poem of
the twelve labors and of the celestial aspects during the twelve
months of the annual revolution, achieved by the Sun under
the!nlame of the indefatigable Hercules.  The reader may
judge of the relation, which may exist between the poem  and
the calendar, and to observe up to what point they may agree.
It is sufficient for us to say, that we have in no way introverted the series of the twelve labors; that it is just so, as described by Diodorus of Sicily.  WVith regard to the celestial
pictures, any body may verify them  with a sphere, by making
the colures of the solstices pass through the Lion and the
Waterman, and those of the equinoxes through *the Bull and
the Scorpion, which was then the position of the spheres at
that epoch, when the Lion opened the solsticial year, about
two thousand four hundred years before our era.
Even if the Ancients had not told us, that Hercules was the
Sun; even if the universality  of its worship did not show
plainly, that a petty Grecian  Prince  could never have had
such an astonishing good lack in the religious World, and
that such a high destiny did not belong to a mortal, but alone
to that God, whose blessings are felt over the whole Universe,




94          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. V.
it would be sufficient to understand thoroughly all'he relations of this double picture, in order to come with the greatest verisimilitude to the conclusion, that the hero of the
poem is the God, who measures the time, who conducts the
year, who regulates the seasons and the months, and who distributes the light, heat and life throughout Nature. When
the adventures of a man or a prince are there looked for, it
becomes a monstrous storyv, which never agrees with any
chronology at all: but when we discover in it the God, who
fecundates the Universe, then it becomes at once a grand and
ingenious poem. All is motion, all is life there. The solsticial Sun is there represented with all the attributes of power, which it has acquired at that epoch, and which contains in
him the depositary of the universal power of the World; he
is clothed with the skin of the Lion and armed with tble club.
Boldly he strides onward in the career, which he is by Nature's eternal law obliged to travel. It is not the sign of the
Lion through which he moves, but it is a terrible lion, that
ravages the country which he has to fight; he attacks it, he
struggles with and smothers it in his arms and he adorns himself with the skin of the vanquished animal; then he goes
on to accomplish a second victory. The celestial Hydra is
the second monster, which is thrown as obstacle in the way of
the hero. Poetry represents it as a serpent with a hundred
heads, which ceaselessly grow out again, when cut off. Hercules burns them with his mighty fires. The ravages caused
by this frightful animal; the terror among the inhabitants of
the country near the marshes, where the monster lives; the
horrible hissing of its hundred heads; on the other hand, the
air of perfect self-possession of the conqueror of the Lion of
Nemea; his perplexity afterwards, when he sees the heads,
which he had cut off, grow out again, all is painted in about
the same colors, as the victory of this same hero over the
monster Cacus is described by Viigil. All the celestial ani



Champ. T]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       95
mals, which are put on the stage in this poem, appear there
in a character, which is entirely outside the ordinary limits
of Nature: the horses of Diomnedes devour' men; the women
rise above the timidity of their sex and  are redoubtable
heroines' in battle; the apples are of gold; the hind has feet
of brass; the dog Cerberus bristles with serpents: everything,
even the crawfish is terrible there; because all is grand in Nature, alike as in the sacred symbols, which express its various
powers.
WNe feel what expansion a poet was able to give to all these
physical and astronomical ideas, to which others must have
been associated, which were borrowed either from agriculture,
geography, politics or morals, because all the particular objects entered into the general system of the first poets-philosophers, who have praised the Gods in Songs, and who have introduced man into the sanctuary of Nature, which seemed to
have revealed them its secrets. How many episodic pieces of
poetry must have been lost to us, which were connected with
the principal subject of each canto of the poem, and in which
the allegorical and poetical genius- was free to soar, to dare
and to imagine everything! Because to the omnipotence of
the Gods nothing is impossible: to them alone belongs the
privilege to astonish mankind by the magical machinery of
their power. What aglorious career was here opened to genius by Nature, which placed before his eyes the most brilliant pictures, in order to imitate them in their Songs. There
was then really the' golden age of Poetry, daughter of Heaven
and of the Gods. Since those times of antiquity it has remained much below that sublime elevation, which it had attained
in its lofty soarings, when it was supported by alll the forces,
which genius may draw from  the contemplation of the Universe, or of that great God, whose first oracles and first
priests were the poets. W5hat an immense field for our conjectures on the antiquity of the World and its civilization is




96          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSIIP.   [Ohap. V.
here offered, when we reflect, that the position of the Heavens,
given  by these poems, where the constellations act such a
grand part, do not permit us to bring those authors nearer
to our era, than two thousand five hundred years. Is it really
over the ruins of a World, scarcely emerged from the waters
of a deluge, that the arts of genius soared so high?
There is still another inference to be drawn from this comparative picture, which has demonstrated, that Hercules was
not a mortal, who was raised to the rank of the Gods on account of his courage and of the benefits, which he had conferred
on mankind, nor that the events of his pretended life were historical facts, but that they were simply astronomical realities.
That conclusion is, that the testimony of many centuries and
of many nations in favor of the existence, as mortals, of the
heroes of the different religions, whose memory is consecrated
by worship, and by poems and legends, is not always a sure
guarantee of their historical reality.  The example of Hercules puts this inference in its full evidence.  The Greeks very
generally believed in the existence of Hercules as a Prince,
who was born, and had liXecd and died amongst them, after
having travelled all over the Universe.
They gave him several wives and children, and made him
the head of a family of Heraclides, or of Princes, who pretended to have descended from Hercules, the same as the Incas
of Peru said, that they were the descendants of the Sun.
Evidences of the existence of Hercules were shown everywheret even in his foot-prints, which betrayed his colossean
size. A description of his form had been preserved, the same
as the Christians have of the holy face of their God Sun,
Christ. He was lean, muscular, tawny; he had an aquiline nose,
curled hair and was of robust health.
In Italy, Greece and in various other places on the Earth,
there were shown cities,which he had -founded, canals which lie
had dug, rocks, which he had rent asunder, columns which he




Chap. V.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        97
had erected, stones, which Jupiter had thrown from Heaven, in
order to supply his deficient missiles in his fight against the
Ligurians. Temples, statues, altars, feasts, solemn games,
hymns, sacred traditions, scattered over different countries,
reminded the Greeks of the sublime deeds of the hero of
Tirynthia, of the renowned son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and
also of the blessings, which he had bestowed on the Universe
in general, and on the Greeks in particular; yet, notwithstanding all this, we have just seen, that" the great Hercules, the
hero of the twelve labors, the very same to whom the Greeks
attributed so many marvelous deeds, whom they honored under the forms of a hero, clothed with a lion's skin and armed
with a club, is the great God of all nations; that strong and
fecundating Sun, which engenders the Seasons and measures
time in the annual circle of the zodiac, divided into twelve
sections, which designate and to which are united the various
animals, representing the constellations, the only monsters,
which the hero of the poem had fought.
WVhat matter for reflection ought it be for those, who are
drawing a great a gument from the evidence of one or several
nations, and of several centuries, in order to establish a historical fact, chiefly in matter of religion, where the very first
duty is to'believe without examination. The philosophy of a
single individual in this case is better than the opinion of
many thousands of men, and of malny centuries of credulity.
Those reflections will find their application in the solar fable,
invented on the chief of the twelve apostles, or in other words
on the hero of the legend of the Christians, and eighteen
centuries of imposture and ignorance will not destroy the
striking likeness, which this fable has with the other sacred
romances, which have been made on the Sun, called by Plato
the only son of God. The universal benefactor of the Worlciwhen he quitted the skin of the solstitial Lion, in order to
take that of the equinoctial Lamb of Spring-shall not escape
13




98          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. V.
our researches under this new disguise, and the Lion of the
tribe of Judah shall still be the Sun, which has its domicile in
the sign of the celestial Lion and its exaltation in that of the
Lamb or the vernal Ram. But let us not anticipate the time,
when the Christians will be obliged to recognize their God in
that luminary, which regenerates Nature each year at the tinle,
when they celebrate their Easter. Let us proceed on to the
sacred fictions invented on the Moon.




CHAPTER VI.
AN EXPLANATION OF THE TRAVELS OF ISIS OR THE MOON,
WORSHIPPED IN EGYPT UNDER THAT NAME.
The ancient Egyptians associated the Moon in the universal administration of the World, with the Sun, and it is the former, which plays the part of Isis in the sacred fable knowIl by
the title of the history of Osiris and Isis.  We are irformed
by Diodoras of Sicily, that the first inhabitants of Egypt,
while admiring the spectacle of the Heavens and the wonderful order of the World, thought to perceive in Heaven two
principal and eternal causes, or two grand Divinities, and one
of them they called Osiris or the Sun, and the other Isis or
the Moon. The denomination of Isis, which was given to the
Moon, is confirmed by Porphirius and by other authors:
from which we draw a necessary inference, which is, that the
career of Isis is merely the career of the Moon, and as the
fields of Olympus are the scene of her travels in her monthly
revolution, it is there, that we shall place the scenes of her adventures, and over which we shall'make her [perform her
journey. This conclusion is justified by the passage in Chaeremnon, whom we have cited before, in which this learned Egyptian tells us, that the Egyptians explained the fable of Osiris
and Isis, as well as the sacred fables, by the celestial signs, by
the phases of the Moon, by the increase and diminution of its
light, by the divisions of the time and of Heaven into two
parts, by the paranatellons or the rising and setting of the
Stars in aspect with the signs. In conformity with this principle
we have explained the poem of the twelve labors: the same principles we shall follow in the explanation of the legend of Isis, of




100         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap.  VI
which we shall also offer the comparative picture with those,
which the Heavens present from tile time when the Sun has
quitted our hemispher3, and left to the AMoon, then full, the
reign of the long nights, until the time when it repasses to our
climes.
Let us therefore take up Isis at the epoch of the death of
her husband, and let us follow her steps from the time she is
deprived of, until that, when she is again restored to him  on
his return from the infernal regions, or in order to speak
without metaphor, from the time, when the Sun has passed in
the austrl or lower regions of the World, until he repasses
as conqueror in the boreal regions or to the upper hemisphere.
Plutarch supposes, that after his return from his travels to
Egypt, Osiris ~was invited by Typhon, his brother and rival, to
a banquet. He was put to death by the latter and his body
thrown into the Nile. The Sun, says, Plutarch, occupied
then the sign of the Scorpion, and the Moon. was full; the latter was therefore in the sign opposite to the Scorpion, in
other words in the Bull, which lent' its forms to the equinoctial vernal Sun, or to Osiris; because at that remote period,
the Bull was the sign, which corresponded to the equinox of
Spring. As soon as Isis had information of the death of the
unfortunate Osiris, which all the ancients said to be the same
God as the Sun, and was advised, that the Genius of darkness had shut him  up in a coffin, she went in search of'his body.' Uncertain about the route she had to take, uneasy,
excited, her heart rent with grief, dressed in mourning, she interrogates all those she meets with. She is informed by children, that the coffin, containing the body of her husband, had
been carried by the flood down to the Sea, and thence to Byblos, where it stopped, that it rested quietly on a plant, which
all at once had budded and put forth a splendid suem. The
coffin was so completely enveloped by it, that it seemed to
form on onone anid the same body. The King of the country,




Ghap. VI..]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   101
astonished at the beauty of the tree, had it cut down and
made out of it a column for his palace, without perceiving the
coffin, which had united and incorporated itself with the
trunk. Isis, informed by Fame, and impelled as it were by
divine instinct, arrives at Byblos. Bathed in tears, she sits
down near a fountain, where she remains with a heavy heart,
without speaking to anybody, until she sees the women of the
queen arrive. She salutes them respectfully and dresses their
hair, so as to emit with their bodies the fragrance of an exquisite perfume. The Queen, having been informed by these
wom1nn, of what had happened, and smelling the delightful
fragrance of Ambrosia, desired to see the stranger. She invites Isis to her palace, and to become one of her attendants;
she makes her the nurse of her son. Isis, instead of the nipple of her breast puts her finger into the mouth of this child,
and during the night burns all the mortal parts of his body.
At the same time she metamorphoses herself in a swallow;
she flutters around the column, and fills the air with her
plaintiff cries, until the Queen, who had observed her, shrieks
with horror at the sight of her son in flames. This scream
breaks the charm, which would have given immortality to the
infant. The Goddess then made herself known and requested, that the precious column should be given up to her. She
took easily from it the body of her husband, by disengaging
the coffin from the wood which covered it: she veiled it with
a light tissue, which she perfumed with essences; afterwards
she restored to the King and to the Queen this envelope of
foreign wood, which was deposited in the temple of Isis at
Byblos. The Goddess then approached the coffin, bathing it
with her tears, and uttered such a terrific scream, that the
youngest son of the King died of terror. Isis took the oldest
one with her and embarked on board of a vessel, taking with her
the precious coffin; but towards morning a somewhat strong
wind having risen on the river Phmdrus, it made her stop




102         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. VI.
suddenly. She retires aside, and supposing herself alone, she
opens the coffin, and pressing her lips on those of her husband,
she kisses and bedews him with her tears. The young Prince,
whom she had brought along with her, approached her stealthily from behind with as little noise as possible, and spied her
movements. The Goddess perceived it and turning around
suddenly, she gives him such a terrible look, that he dies
of terror. She embarks again and returns to Egypt near her
son Orus, who was brought up at Butos, and she deposits the
corpse in a retired place. Typhon, having gone hunting at
night, discovers the coffin and having recognized - the corpse,
he cuts it into fourteen pieces, which he throws about in all
directions. The Goddess having seen it, goes to collect these
scattered pieces; she buries each one in the place where she
had found it. However, of all the parts of the body of Osiris,
the only one, which she could not find, was that of generation.
In place of it she substitutes the Phallus, which was its image
and which was consecrated in the mysteries.
Some time afterwards, Osiris returned from the infernal regions to the rescue of his son Orus, and placed him in a condition to revenge him. He mounted him, some say on horse,
others on a wolf. Typhon was vanquished: Isis lets him escape. Orus felt indignant on that account, and took from
his mother her diadem; but Mercurius gave her in its place a
helmet in the shape of a Bull's head.
This is a summary of the Egyptian legend of Isis, which
has come down to us only in a mutillated form, and which
must have been part of a sacred poem on Osiris, Isis and Typhon their enemy. Notwithstanding the immense gaps,
which are found in this allegorical story, there will be no dificulty for us in recognizing a perfect correspondence between
the principal traits, which remain of this ancient sacred fable,
and the appearance, which the Heavens offer at various epochs
of the movement of the two great luminaries, which regulate




Chap. I.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.             103
the course of. the seasons, the periodical course of vegetation
and time, and the succession of the days and nights.  We
shall now, as in the poem on Hercules, proceed to reconcile
by comparison those different pictures presented by the Fable,
with the aspects offered by Heaven.  We shall fix their number at twelve.
COMPARATIVE PICTURES.
FIRST CELESTIAL ASPECT.          FIRST PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The Scorpion being the sign,which   Osiris is put to death by his rival
the Sun occupies at the time of the Typhon, the Genius inimical to
death of Osiris, has for paranatel- light. This event takes place under
ions, or Stars which rise and set in'the Scorpion. Typhon associates to
aspect with it, the Serpents, which his conspiracy a Queen of Ethiopia.
furnish to Typhon his attributes. which, as Plutarch says, denotesvioTo this celestial position corres- lent winds.
ponds, by her setting, Cassiope,
Queen of Ethiopia, which announces
impetuous winds in Autumn.
SECOND CELESTIAL ASPECT.   SECOND PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The Sun unites then with the   Osiris descends to the tomb ori; to
Serpentarius, who, according to all the infernal regions. According to
authors, is the same as IEsculapius, Plutarch he becomes then Serapis,
who lends his form to that luminary which is the same God as Pluto or
in its passage to the inferior signs, 2Esculapius.
where he becomes Serapis and Pluto.
THIRD CELESTIAL ASPECT.    THIRD PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
At the time, when the Sun de-  On the same day Isis mourns the
scends to the inferior signs, where it death of her ihunband, and in the
corresponds with the seventeenth lugubrious ceremony, which repredegree of the Scorpion, which is the sented that tragic event every year,
epoch at which they fixed the death a gilded ox was led about in procesof Osiris;the Moon is then full in sion, covered with a black crape and
the celestial Bull. This is the sign, they said, that this ox was the imin which the latter joins the Sun of age of Osiris, in other words Apis,
Spring, when the Earth receives its the symbol of the celestial Bull, acfecundity from  Heaven, and when cording to Lucian. The mourning of
Day resumes its sway over the long Nature was thereby expressed, which
Nights. The Bull, being opposite to was deprived by the retreat of the
the place of the Sun, enters into the Sun of its ornaments, also of the




] 04         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Ghap. VtI
cone of shadow, which the Earth beauty of Day, going to yield its
projects, and which forms the night, place to the God of Darkness or the
with which the Bull rises and sets, long nights. Plutarch adds, that
covering it with its veil during the people lamented the retreat of the
whole of its sojourn above the hori- water of the Nile and  the loss
zon.                            of all the blessings of Spring and
Summer.
FOURTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.  FOURTH PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
Henceforth it is the Moon, which   On the first day following this
shall regulate the order of Nature. death, the Egyptians went to the
Every month her full and round seashore during the night.  There
disk represents in each of the supe- they made with earth and water an
rior signs an image of the Sun,which image of the Moon, which they
she does not find there any more, adorned, exclaiming, that they had
and the place of which she occupies found Osiris. They said that the
during night, but' without possess- Earth and Water, out of which they
ing either the light, or the fecunda- had made that image,, represented
ting heat of the former. She is full these two Divinities, Osiris and Isis,
in the first month of Autumn in the or the Sun and the Moon; allusion
sign, in which, at the equinox of is doubtless made here to the nature
Spring, Osiris had placed, the seat of the Elements, which presided over
of his fecundity, a sign, which was the signs, which these two luminaconsecrated to the Earth, while the ries then occupied.
Sun occupies the Scorpion, a sign
which is consecrated to the element
of Water.
FIFTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.    FIFTH  PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The Bull, where the cone of the   The coffin, which encloses Osiris,
shadow of the Earth falls, described is thrown into the Nile. The Pans
under the emblem of a tenebrous and Satyrs, inhabiting the environs
coffin, and occupied by the full of Chemmis, were the first who
Moon, had beneath it the river Ori- noted this death; they announced
on, called the Nile, and  above it by their lamentations, and they
Perseus, the God of Chemmis, also spread grief and terror everywhere.
the constellation of the Driver,
bearing the Goat and its Kids. This
Goat is called the wife of Pan, and
it furnished to that God its attributes.
SIXTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.    SIXTH  PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The next full Moon arrives in the   Isis, having been informed of the
sign of the Twins, where two chil- death of her husband, travels in




Chap. VI.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.              105
dren are represented, which preside search of the coffin, which encloses
over the oracles of Didyme, one of his remains.  At first she meets
which is called Apollo the God of children, who had'seen the coffin;
Divination.                      she interrogates them and obtains
some information; she bestows on
them the gift of Divination.
SEVENTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.  SEVENTH PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The full Moon which  follows   Isis  is  informed, that  Osiris
takes place in the sign of the through mistake had slept with his
Cancer, which is the domicil of that sister. The proof of it she finds in
planet. The constellations, which a crown, which he had  left with
are in aspect with this sign, and her. A child was born of it, and
which are setting when it rises, are with the aid of her dogs is in search
the crown of Ariadne, that Princess, of it; she finds it, brings it up and
with whom Bacchus, the Egyptian adopts it; this is Anubis her faithful
Osiris, had slept; the Dog Procyon, guardian.
and the great Dog, of which one star
is called the Star of Isis. The great
Dog itself was worshippped in Egppt
under the name of Anubis.
EIGHTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.   EIGHTH PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
In the following month the Moon   Isis travels to Byblos, and stais full in the sign of the Lion, which tions herself near a' fountain, where
is the domicil of the Sun or of Ado- she is met by the women of the
nis, a God worshipped at Byblos. King's Court. The Queen and the
The Stars in aspect with this sign King desire to see her, she is introare the River of the Aquarius, and duced at the Court, and they propose
Cepheus, King of Ethiopia, called to her the office of nurse of the
Regulus or simply the King. In King's son. Isis accepts the place.
his train rises Cassiope his wife and
Queen Ethiopia, Andromeda her
daughter'and Perseus her son-inlaw.
NINTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.    NINTH  PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The succeeding Moon is full in   Isis having become a nurse, suck.l
the sign of the Virgin, clled also les the child during the night; she
Isis by Eratosthenes. They painted burns:;all the mortal nature of his
it as a Woman suckling an infant. body, and she is after this metanmorIn aspect with this sign we find the phosed into a Swallow. She is seen
Mast-head of the celestial Vessel and flying away and to place herself near
the Fish with a Swallow's head.  a large columin, which had been
suddenly formled out of a very small
stalk, to which  the coffin held,
which contained the remains of her
14                          husband.




106           THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. VI.
TENTH CELESTIAL ASPECT.    TENTH PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
When the Moon leaves the sign of  Isis, having found the coffin,which
the Virgin, there are placed over the contains the corpse of her husband,
divisions, which separate that sign leaves Byblos;she embarks on board
from that of the Balance where she of a Vessel with the eldest son of
is to become full-the Vessel and the King, and takes the route toBootes, who, itis said, had brought wards Boutos, where the  fosterup Orus. The son or the son-in-law father of Orus was. In'the mornof the King of Ethiopia,'Perseus, ing she dries up a river, from which
also the river Orion are setting. a too strong wind had risen. She
The other Stars in aspect with the deposes'the precious coffin apart;
Balance and which are rising in suc- but it is discovered by Typhon, who
cession, are the Boar of Erymanthis had gone hunting at the light of the
or the celestial Bear, called the Dog full Moon and was in'pursuit of a
of Typhon; the polar Dragon, the hog or a wild boar. He recognizes
famous Python, which furnishes to the corpse of his rival and cuts him
Typhon his attributes. Here we have in as many pieces, as days had
the train, with which the full Moon elapsed since this full Moon until
of the Balance, or the last of the su- the new one. This circumstance,
perior signs, is surrounded: she is says Plutarch, makes allusion to the
preceding  the  Neomenia  (new  successive diminution of the Lunar
moon) of Spring, which takes place light duringt the fortnight, which
in the' Bull, in which the Sun or follows the full Moon.
Osiris shall unite again with the
Moon, or with Isis his spouse.
ELEVENTH CELESTIAL ASPECT. ELEVENTH PICTURE OF THE
LEGEND.
The Moon arrives at the, Bull at  Isis gathers the fourteen piecesof
the end of a fortnight and unites her husband's corpse; she gives
with the Sun, the fire of which she them  burial, and consecrates the
will collect on her disk during the Phallus, which was carried about in
next fortnight. She finds herself procession on the occasion of the
then in conjunction with it every Spring festivities, klnown by the
month in the superior part of the name of Taamyhes. This happensigns, or in other words, in the ed at that epoch, when they celehemisphere,'where the Sun, as the brated the entry of Osiris in the
conqueror of Darkness and of Win- Moon. Osiris then had come back
ter, restores Light, Order and Har- from hell'to the rescue of his son
mony. She borrows of the Sun the Orus and of his wife Isis, with
power, which  shall destroy  the whom he united his forces against
germs of Evil, which Typhon, dur- Typhon the chief of Darkness: the
ing the absence of Osiris, or during form under which he appears, is acWinter, has introduced into thebo- cording to some the Wolf, and acreal region of the Earth. This pas- cording to others the Horse.
siige of the Sun in the Bull, when




6Chap. VI.1   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.            107
it returns from the infernal regions
or from the inferior hemisphere, is
markeclby the rising in the evening of
the Horse, of the Centaur and of the
Wolf, and by the setting of Orion, called the Star of Orus. The
latter is found, during all the consecutive days, united with the Sunt of
Spring, in its triumph over Darkness and over Typhon, the originator of it.
TWELFTH CELESTIAL ASPECT. TWELFTH  PICTURE  OF THE
LEGEND.
The equinoctial year ends at, the   Isis had overtaken the terrible
time, when the Sun and the Moon Typhon, during the absence of her
find themselves reunited again with husband, when she deposed the
Orion or with the Star Orus, a con- coffin in the place, where her enestellation, which is placed under the my was.  Hltving  finally found
Bull, and which unites with the again Osiris at the time, when he
Neomenia of Spring.  The new prepared for the fight with Typhon,
Moon renews herself in the sign of she was deprived by her son of her
the Bull, and after a few days she ancient diadenm; however, she reappears under the form of the Cres- ceieves through Mercury a helmet
cent in the next sign, or in the in the shape of a Bull's head. Orus,
Twins, the domicil of Mercury. under the form and in the attitude
Orion, united with the Sun, then of a terrible warrior, such as Orion
precipitates the Scorpion his rival or the Star of Orus is represented,
into the depth of night; because it then fights and defeats his enemy,
sets each time when Orion rises on who had assaulted his father under
the horizon. Day prolongs its du- the form of the polar Dragon or the
ration, and the seeds of Evil are by famous Python. It is thus in Ovid,
degrees destroyed. This is the pic- that Apollo defeats the same Pyture, which the poet Nonplus gives thou, at the time when Jo, who beus of Typhon after being vanquish- came Isis afterwards, receives the
ed at last at the end of Winter, favors of Jupiter, who places her
when the Sun arrives at the sign of afterwards in the sign of the cethe Bull, and Orion ascends to lestial Bull. All these fables cohere
Heaven  with it; for those  are together, and have the same object.
his expressions.
A correspondence so complete, which has so many points of
resemblance between the pictures of this allegory and those of
Heaven, which is connected from begining to end, mutilated as
this legend or sacred history may seem to be, leaves no doubt,
that the priest-astronomer, who composed it, had merely de



108         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. VT.
scribed the course of the Moon in the Hoavens, under the title
of the career of Isis, especially when we know, that Isis is the
name, which was given to the Moon in Egypt. Indeed, it
would be necessary to assert, that Isis was not the Moon, which
cannot be said; or to pretend, that Isis being the Moon, the
career of Isis was not that of the Moon, which would imply a
contradiction; or finally to follow somewhere else than in
Heaven and amongst the constellations, the course of that luminary. In.our explanation we have only made use of the
method, which is shown to us by Chmremon, in order to unriddle the sacred fables, and particularly that of Osiris and
Isis, which he says refers to the increase and decrease of the
light of the Moon, in the superior and inferior hemisphere, and
to the stars in aspect with the signs, otherwise called paranatellon.s. We have merely followed the route traced by the sages
of Egypt, in our explanations. Now her - we have an ancient
Queen of Egypt, and an ancient King, whose fictitious adventures have been described in the form of history, and who
nevertheless, like the Hercules of the Greeks, are mere physical beings and the two principal agents of Nature. From these
examples we may judge of the allegorical character of antiquity
and how Bmuch we ought to be on our guard against traditions, which place physical beings in the number of' historical
beings.
It is important, not to lose sight of the fact, that in ancient
times thev wrote the history of Heaven and chiefly that of the
Sun, under the form of a history of men, and. that the people almost everywhere accepted it for history and its hero for a real
man. It was so'much easier to accredit this error, in as much
as the priests in general did all they could, to make the people
believe, that the Gods, which it worshipped, had been mortals,
and had been Princes, Legislators or virtuous men, who had
well deserved of mankind, be it, that by doing so, they wanted
to give lessons to the rulers of the people, instructing them,




Chap. VT.i]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    109
that, they could aspire to the same glory only by imitating the
ancient leaders of society; or that their object was, to encourage the people to be virtuous, by persuading them, that
in ancient times the scepter was the price of services rendered
to the country, and not the patrimony of some families.
Tombs of the Gods were shown, as if they had really existed;
they celebrated feasts, the object of which seemed to be to renew every year the mourning, occasioned by their loss. Such
was the tomb of Osiris, hidden under those enormous masses,
known by the name of Pyramids, erected by the Egyptions in
honor of that luminary, which distributes the light. One of
them has its four faces regarding the four cardinal points of
the World. Each one of these faces has one hundred and ten
fathoms at the base, and the four together form as many lateral triangles. The perpendicular height is seventy-seven fathoms, according to the measurement of Chazelles of the Academy
of Sciences. From the dimensions and from the latitude under
which this pyramid had been constructed, it followed, that a
fortnight before the equinox of spring, which is the exact
epoch, at which the Persians celebrated the renewal of Nature,
it had to cease to throw  shadow  at noon, and that it
continued so, until a fortnight after the equinox of autumn.
Therefore the day, when the Sun found itself in the parallel or
in the circle of austral declension, corresponds to five degrees
and fifteen minutes; this happened twice a year, once before the
equinox of spring and the other after that of autumn. This
luminary made its appearance exactly at noon, over the summit of the pyramid. Then its majestic disk seemed some instants as if placed over this immense pedestal and as if reposing there, while its worshippers with bended knees at its foot,
and prolonging their sight along the inclined plan of the boreal
face of the pyramid, contemplated the great Osiris, either descending into the shades of the tomb, or ascending out of it
triumphantly. The same thing may be said of th1e full Moon
of the equinoxes, when it happened in those latitudes.




110         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. V._
It should seem as if the Egyptians, always grand in their
conceptions, had executed the boldest project ever imagined:
that of giving a pedestal to the Sun and the Moon, or to Osiris and Isis, at noon for the former and at midnight for the
latter, when they arrived in that part of the Heaven, near
which the lipe passes; which separates -the boreal from the
auLstral -hemisphere,.the reign of Goodness from thatt of Evil,
that of Light from that of Darkness. They wanted the shadow
to disappear at noon from all the faces of the pyramid, during
all the time, that the Sun would remain in the luminous
hemisphere, and that the boreal face should be covered with
shadow, when night should begin to resume its sway in our
hemisphere, in other words, at the time when Osiris would
descend to the tomb and to the infernal regions. The tomb
of Osiris was covered with shadow for nearly six months; afterwards light invested it enrtirely at noon, as soon as Osiris
on his return from Hell, resumed his reign by passing into the
luminous hemisphere. Then he was restored to Isis and to
the God of Spring Or1US, who had finally conquctered the Genius
of Darkness and of Winter. NVhat a sublime idea! In the
centre of the pyramid there is a little vault, said to be
the tomb  of an ancient King. This King is the husband of Isis the famous Osiris, that beneficient King
whom  the people believed to have reigned  in  ancient
times over Egypt, while the priests and the philosophers
saw  in it the mighty Luminary, the ruler of the World,
which enriches it with its blessings. Indeed, would the people have gone to these great expenses, if this mausoleum
should not have been in repute, to preserve the precious remains of Osiris, which his wife had gathered, and which they
said, she had entrusted to the priests, in order to have them
interred at the same time, when they should decree him divine
honors?  Can it be supposed, that its object might have been
a differenthbne, with a people, which spared no expense, in or



Chap. VL.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     111
der to invest worship with pomp and magnificence, and whose
greatest luxury was religious splendour?  Thus the Babylonians, who worshipped the Sun under the name of Belus, built
him also a tomb, hidden under an immense pyramid; because,
as soon as the mighty Luminary, which animates Nature, had
been personified, and in the sacred fictions was made to be
born, to die and to resuscitate, the irmitative worship, which
endeavored to describe its adventures, placed tombs alongside
its temples. Thus was shown that of Jupiter at Crete, that of
the Sun Christ in Palestine, of Mithras in Persia; of Hercules
at Cadiz, those of the Charioteer, of the celestial Bear, of Medusa, of the Pleiades in Greece. All these various tombs
prove absolutely nothing in favor of the historic existence of
these imaginary personages, to whom  the mystical spirit of
the Ancients had dedicated them. The place, where Hercules
was consumed by the flames was also shown, and yet we have
demonstrated, that Herculs was nothing else but the Sun personified in the sacred allegories; the same, as we have shown,
that the adventures of the Queen Isis had reference to the
M0ioon, which was praised in songs by its worshippers.  There
are still other examples of the allegorical genius of the Ancients
which we shall furnish, in which the Sun is personified and
praised in songs under the name of a beneficient hero. Such
is the famous Bacchus of the Greeks, or the Egyptian Osiris.




CHAPTER VII.
AN EXPLAFATION OF THE DIONYSIACS, OR THE POEM OF
NONNUS ON THE SUN, WORSHIPPED UNDER THE NAME
OF BACCHUS.
In our explanations of the labors of Herculus, we mainly
considered the Sun as the mighty luminary, the depositary of
the whole force of Nature, which engenders and measures
time by its course in the Heavens, which, while departing from
the summer solstice or from the most elevated point in its
route, travels over its carreer of the twelve signs, in which the
celestial bodies circulate, and with them, the various periods
or revolutions of the Stars.'Under its name of Osiris or Bacchus we shall review the beneficent luminary, which by its
gentle heat in spring calls everything to reproduction, which
regulates the growth of plants and of trees, -which ripens the
fruits and pours in all the germs that active sap, which is the
soul of vegetation; because that is the tr-e character of the
Egyptian Osiris and the Grecian Bacchus. It is especially in
spring, when that generating humidity is developed and circulates in all nascent productions; and it is the Sun, which by
its heat, impels the movement and gives Fecundity to it.
Two points are actually distinguished in Heaven, which
limit the duration of the creative action of the Sun, and these
two points are those, where night and day are of equal length.
All the great work of vegetation in a large portion of the
northern climes seems to be included between those two limits,
and its progressive march is found to be in harmony with that
of light and heat. Scarcely has the Sun in its annual route
attained one of these points, when an active and fecundating
force seems to emanate from its rays, and to impel life and




Chap. VI1.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      113
movement into all sublunary bodies, which it brings to light
by a new organization. It is then, when the resurrection of
the great God takes place, and with his own, that of entire Nature. As soon as it arrives at the opposite point, this virtue
seems to abandon it and Nature to feel its decline. This is
Atys, whose mutilation is deplored by Coybele; this is Adonis
wounded in his sexual organs, the loss of which causes the
regret of Venus; this is Osiris, put to death by Typhon, and
whose organs of generation  distressed Isis is unable to find.
What spectacle indeed could be more afflicting, than that of
Earth, when through the absence of the Sun, it is divested of
its ornaments, of its green, of its leaves, and that we behold
merely the remains of withered plants, or already in decomposition, of stripped trunks of trees, of fields full of weeds and
without culture, or covered with snow, of overflown rivers, or
chained in -their beds by a crust of ice, or of furious storms,
carrying destruction,  on land, on water and in the ai', and in
every part of this sublumary World!   TWhat has become of
that genial temperature, which the Earth enjoyed in spring and
in summer, of that harmnony of the Elements, in accord with
that of the Heavens?  Of that wealth, of that beauty of our
fields covered with rich crops and fruits, or enameled with
flowers, whose fragrance perfumed the air and the various
colors of which presented such a charming spectacle?, All has
disappeared, and happiness has forsaken man with the God,
who by his presence beautified our climes; through his retiremnent the Earth has been clothed in mourning and his return
alone can save it from that state. lie -was therefore the creator of all. those blessings, because with him they also glide
away; he was the soul of vegetation, because it languishes and
is arrested as soon as he quits us. WVhat shall be the term of
his flight and of his descent from the Heavens, from which
Apollo, like him, exiled himself?  Is he going to plunge Nature again into the eternal darkness of Chaos, from which his
15




114         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORsHIP. [ Chap. VII.
presence had drawn it? Such were the perplexities of those
ancient nations, who feared, when they saw the Sun retiring
from their climats, that one day it would really abandon them
entirely: hence those feasts of hope, which they celebrated at
the winter-solstice, when man saw this luminary stop in its
retrograte march, and take the back track, in order to return
again towards them. But if men were so accessible to the
hope of a near return, what must have been the joy, which they
experienced, when the Sun, already risen again towards the
midst of Heaven, had chased darkness before it, which encroached on Day, and had usurped a part of its empire! The
equilibium of day and night was at once reestablished and
with it the order of Nature. A new order of things, as beautiful as the first one rec'ommences, and the Earth, fecundated
by the heat of the Sun, which has resumed the vigor of its
youth, beautifies herself again under the rays of her husband.
It is not'more the God of Day, sung by the birds, no, it is the
God of Love, whose heavenly fire is-kindled in the veins of all,
that breathes the air, which has become purer and full of the
principle of life. Already have the provident mothers chosen
the tree, where to suspend their nest, which shall receive the
fruit of their love, and which the nascent leaves shall shade,
because Nature has again put on her adornments; the prairies
their verdure, the woods their new headdresses, and the gardens their flowers. Earth is smiling again, and man forgets
the sadness and the mourning, with which winter had covered
it. It is Venus, who has found again her lost Adonis, and who
while shining with beauty and new charms, is smiling at her
lover, the conqueror of winter and of the shadows of night,
who has finally risen from his tomb. The noisy winds have
made room for the gentle Zephyrs, whose soft breath respects
the tender leaves, which drink yet the dew, and which play
gracefully over the cradle of the children of Spring; the
rivers, while retiring to their beds, have resumed again their




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     115
tranquil and majestic course. The timid Naiad, comes out
from the grottoes not moireclosed by ice; sheis crowned with
reeds and with flowers of aquatic plants, and leaning over her
urn she lets the silvery wave flow out, which meanders through
the meadows, in the midsts of verdure and flowers, watered and
nourished by it. Earth, while ardent with love, adorns herself with her choicest ornaments, in order to receive her radiant spouse, with whom she consumates the grand act of generation of all beings, which emanate from her bosom. There
is not one of these spectacles of Nature, which the genius of
the anciant poets had not exerted itself with portraying; not
one of the annual phenomena, which had not been described
by the chanters of nature.
It is mainly in the first Canto of the poem of Nonnus on Bacchus or the Sun, where we shall find the contrasting spectacle,
which the Earth presents in winter under the tyranical sway
of Typhon, the genius of %Darklness, and in Spring, when the
God of Light resumes his imperial power, and develops that
active and fecuntating force, which is manifested every year,
when Nature awakes, and which, under the name of Bacchus
causes to sprout from their germs and buds the delicious
fruits, which autumn shall ripen.
Before we shall commence the analysis of the poem, in order
to show its connectioh with the course of the Sun through the
signs, we shall endeavor to eradicate the error of those, who
might fancy, that Bacchus, the son of Semele, born at Thebes,
is an ancient hero, whose glorious conquests in the East were
the cause of his having been put in the rank of the Gods.
There will be no difficulty to prove that he is, like Hercules,
also born at Thebes, nothing else but a physical being, the
most powerful as well as the most beautiful agent of Nature,
in other words the Sun, the soul of universal vegetation. This
truth, which is established by many ancient authorities, will
appear hereafter in a new light by the explanation of the poem,




116         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. Vi.
the principal features of which have reference to the beneficent
action of the luminary, which regulates the seasons, and which
is invoked by Virgil under the name of Bacchus at the commencement of his poem. on agriculture.  WTe attach so much
more importance to the fact of proving, that Bacchus and
Hercules were the God Sun, worshipped by all nations under
many different names, as there will result from it an extremely
precious inference; namely: that the history of Nature and its
phenomena was writt en in ancient times, as we would write
now that of men, and that the Sun especially, was the principal hero of the marvelous romances, about which ignorant
posterity has been grossly deceived. Should the reader be
well convinced of this truth, he will then easily admit our explanation of the solar legend, knoxwn by the Christians under
the title  of the life of Christ, which is only one of the
thousand names of the God Sun, whatever may be the opinion
of his worshippers about his existence as a man, because it
will not prove anymore than that of the worshippers of Bacchus, who made of himn a conqueror and a hero. Let us therefore first establish as an acknowledged fact, that the Bacchus,
of the Greeks was merely a copy of the Osiris of the Egyptians,
and that Osiris the husband of Isis, and worshipped in Egypt
was the Sun. It has been sufficiently proved by the explanation, which we have given of the career of Isis, that she was
the Moon and that thehusband, she was in search of, was the
Sun. The passage in Chmeremlon, which we shall always recall
to the mind of the reader, on account of its forming the basis
of our whole system of'explanations, supposes, that the fable
of Isis and Osiris is a luoni-solar fable. The testimonies of Diodorus of Sicily, of Jamblicus, of Plutarch, of Diogenes-Lmrtins, of Suidas, of Macrobins, &c., agree in order to prove, that
it was a generally acknowledged fact by all the Ancients, that
it was the Sun, which the Egyptians worshipped under the
name of Osiris, although in the pooems and in the sacred le



Chap.  IIr.] THE-I ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOTS WORSHIP.  117
gends they made a King of him and a conqueror, who had formerly reigned in Egypt with the Queen Isis, his consort.
Furthermore it is an established truth, recognized as such by
all sages, that the Bacchus of the Greeks was the same as the
Egyptian Osiris, and consequently the same God as the Sun.
For that reason Antonius assumed the title of Osiris and Bacchus, and wanted that Cleopatra should be called Isis or the
Moon. In our larger work will be found the explanation of
the life of Osiris, which is made to correspond with the career
of the Sun, so as not to leave the slightest doubt abent the nature-of this pretended history, which is proved to be entirely
astronomical, and to represent the opposite course of the two
great principles Light and Darkness, which under the name of
Osiris or the Sun, and that of Typhon his enemy, were contending with each other in the World.
It is this sacred story of the Egyptians, which has passed
into Greece under the name of the adventures of Bacchus,
where some changes were made in it, which however left the
traces of its filiation clearly perceptible. Herodotus, who
was considered by the Greeks as the father of history, who,
while traveling in Egypt, had collected carefully the sacred
traditions of that country, which he often compares with those
of the Greeks, assures us, that the Osiris of the Egyptians is
the same divinity as that, which the Greeks adored under the
name of Bacchus, and this was in conformity with the avowal
of the Egyptians themselves, from whom the Greeks had borrowed most of their Gods. Herodotus expatiates largely on
this filiation of worship, thro' the afflnity of the ceremonial of
the Phallephores, or feasts of the generation, which were celebrated in Egypt in honor of Osiris and in Greece in honor of
Bacchus, He repeats it several times, that Osiris and Bacchus
are one and the same God. Plutarch in his treatise on Isis,
comes to the same conclusion. Amongst the many names,




118         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chalp. VII.
which Martianus Capella and Ausonius give to the Sun, those
of Osiris and Bacchus are enumerated.
Diodorus of Sicily alleges, that the Egyptians treated the
Greeks as imposters, on account of their assertion, that Bacchus, the same as Osiris, had been born at Thebes in Eceotia,
from the amours of Jupiter and Semele. This was, according
to them, an officious falsehood of Orpheus, who, whilst he had
been initiated into the mysteries of this God in Egypt, introduced this worship into Bceotia, and in order to flatter the
Thebans, made them believe, that Bacchus or Osiris was born
there. The people, which is easily deceived everywhere,.and
besides being jealous of the fame, that the new God was a
Greek, received with eagerness his initiations.
The mythologists and the poets supported this tradition,
accredited it on the stage, and ended with cheating posterity
to such a degree, that it had no more the slightest doubt
about the certainty of this forged story. That is the way, by
which the Greeks, according to the Egyptians, had appropriated to themselves the Gods, which were worshipped in Egypt
many centuries before. It is thus that they made Hercules
to be born amongst them, although Hercules was an Egyptian
Divinity, the worship of which had been established at Thebes
in Egypt many centuries before the epoch, at which the birth
of the pretended son of Alcmene had been fixed; they likewise
appropriated to themselves Perseus, whose name had been in
olden times famous in Egypt.
Without stopping here in order to examine, how and at
what epoch the worship of the Egyptian Divinities had passed
into Greece, we shall limit ourselves to state as a fact, acknowledged by all the ancients, that the beneficent Osiris of
the-Egyptians is the same as the Bacchus of the Greeks, and
finally to come to the conlusion, that in as much as Osiris is
the Sun, that Bacchus is also the Sun; which is sufficient for
the purpose, we have taken in hand. The explanation of the




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      119
poem of the Dionysiaes shall be the final evidence to prove this
truth.
ANALYSIS OF THE POEM OF NONNUS, CONSIDERED IN ITS AFFINITIES WITH
THE COURSE OF NATURE IN GENERAL, AND IN PARTICUILAR WTVITH
THAT OF THE SUN.
CANTO I.
The poet oommences with an invocation of the Muse, which
shall inspire him, and invites her to sing the flashing thunderbolt, which caused Semele to be delivered amidst fire and
lightning, filling the child-bed of this indiscreet mistress with
a brilliant light, also the birth of Bacchus, who was born
twice.
After the invocation, the poet directs the mind of the reader to that part of Heaven, whence the Sun starts at the time,
when he commences his poem. That place is the equinoctial
point of Spring, occupied by the image of the famous Bull,
which plays a conspicuous figure in the charming fiction of
the amours of Jupiter and Europa, the sister of Cadmus or of
the Serpentarius, which then rises in the evening in aspect
with the Bull. He directs it also to the celestial Charioteer,
carrying the Goat and the Kids, he who furnishes his attributes to the God Pan, and who then preceded in the morning
the chariot of the Sun and opened the gate to the Day, as the
Serpentarius opened it to the Night, at the epoch, when the
Sun or Jupiter was in conjunction with the Bull of Europa,
and made the famous passage which separated the empire of
the God of Light from that of Darkness.  The poet fixes thus
in a precise manner the starting point of his poem, signalizing
the  Stars, which inside and outside the zodiac, determine
the epoch of the time, which he prepares to sing. Let us see,
how the genius of the poet undertook to embellish the simple
basis, which astronomy furnished. Nonnus entered into the
matter by describing with all its cirtrculmstances the rape of




120         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VII.
Europa by Jupiter in the disguise of a Bull and the course of
the Serpentarius or Cadmus, who was ordered by his father to
go in search of his sister across the seas. The whole of this
astronomical adventure is poetically described. Jupiter is
seen as a Bull on the shores of Tyre, his head adorned with
magnificent horns, which he is proudly agitating, while he
fills the air with his amorous lowing. The imprudent Europa
presents him fiowers; she adorns his head with it; she dares
to sit on the back of the God, subjugated to her by Love, and
who instantly carries her away in the midst of the waves.
Europa grows pale; and terrified she raises her hands to
Heaven; yot nevertheless her dress is not even wet by the
waves. She might have been taken for Thetis, for Galathea,
for the wife of Neptune, and even for Astarte or Venus carried on the back of some Triton. Neptune is astonished at
the sight of the immortal Bull, swimming in his empire, and
one of the marine Gods, recognizing Jupiter under that disguise, takes his shell and blows the hymenial chants. Meanwhile the new spouse of the master of Olympus, holding on to
the horns of the divine Bull, was navigating in the midst of the
foaming waves not without fear, although under the auspices
of Love, serving her as pilot, while a soft breeze filled the lappets of her flowing dress. On his arrival at Crete, Jupiter
divests himself of his alarming forms of a Bull, and takes the
figure of the God of Spring or of a beautiful young man,
who has all the graces and vigor of that age. Under this
form he lavishes his caresses upon his confused and weeping mistress; he plucks the first fruits of the flowers, of which
Love is jealous, and she became the mother of twins.
Her lover leaves her in the hands of Asterion, and places
the Bull, the forms of which he had taken in his metamorposis, amongst the Stars. This is that Bull, says Nonnus, which
shines in Olympus beneath the feet of the charioteer and
which serves as a conveyance to the Sun of Spring.




Chap. VIf7.1 THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         121
Meanwhile Cadmus had followed the track of the ravisher
of his sister, who hacd disappeared with her amidst the waves.
And actually, after the setting of the Sun in conjunction with
the celestial Bull, the Serpentarius Cadmus is seen rising in
the East, having traveled all night over the vault of Heaven,
and descending in the morning into the samone sea, where. the
Bull with the Sun had set in the evening.
The supposition is, that after having journieyed for some
time, lie had arrived near the dark cavern, where Jupiter had
deposited his thunderbolt, when he wanted to crea te Tantalus.
This last namle is that,' under which the same Serpentarius is
represented in another fable, and his risincg in Autumnllu, at the
time when the thunderceases to be heard, gave the idea tv
the poets to feign, that Jupiter had quit his thunderbolt, in
order to call him into life. - In our larger work, at the article
Serpentarius, may be seen, how the fable of Tantalus is explained through him.
This place was called Ahrimes, where Typhoeus or Typhon,,son of the dark region, discovered it, informed as he was by the
smoke rising fronm the cavern, where the scarcely extinguished thunderbolt, was laying.  He seizes it, and proud of being
the possessor of the mighty weapon of the King of Olympus,
he makes all the surrounding echos resound with the terrible
roar of his voice.   Immediately all the Dragons, his brethren,
under the most hideous formns, join him in order to makle wa.1'
on the God, who maintains the harmony of the World m.,; w~
showers upon us all the blessings, of which Lio-ht i:l, t[' -i: ia'.;
cipal one.
The Giant shakes with his thousand arms vehemently the
pole and the Bears, which defend it; lie dealt heavy and terrible
blows to Bootes, the herdsman and gulardian of the Bears.
The Morning Star, Aurora, the Hours, all are rudely assaulted; the light of Day is obscured by the d(ense shadow   projected by the horrible heads of hair of the Giants, which is
16




122         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VI1.
formed of black serpents. The full Moon, as in the passion
of Christ, finds itself placed in the neighborhood of the Sun,
and the reign of the two luminaries is blended. One of the
serpents coils itself round the pole, and mixes its nodes with
those of the celestial Dragon, the guardian of the apples of
the Hesperides. The poet expatiates at large on this picture,
where he describes the Prince of Darknless, who makes several
assaults on the different Stars, on the Sun and the Moon, liko
the dragon in the Apocalypse, which tears away a portion of
the Stars of Heaven with its tail.  All that. section of the
poem contains merely the poetical development of the wars
of Ahrirnan against Ormuzd, of the Titans against Jupiter, of
the rebel Angels and their leader -against God and his Angels.
The original foundation of all those fictions is to be found in
the Cosmogony of the Persians, and in the mythological tale of
the battle of their God, the principle of Good and of Light
against the Prince of Evil and of Darkness. These theological ideas, as we have already observed are, according to Plutarch, to be found w. ith all nations, and are consecrated in
their theological romances, also in their mysteries. Thus we
see in the Cosmogony of the Persians, the'Prince of Darkness,
unlder the name of Ahriman, penetrating the Heavens in the
form of the Dragon,. Heaven itself in resisting him, finds in
the Stars as many warriors, ready to fight in commnon against
the enemy of Goodness and of Light. There may also be seen
the Dews or the evil Genii, the companions of Ahrimnan,
which, like the monsters here, the brothers of Typhon, assail
the fixed Stars, the Elements, the Earth, the Water, and the
Mountains.
After his fight with Heaven, Typhon descends to the Earth
and destroys its products; le also assails the Mountains, the
Seas, and the Rivers; he tears off whole islands, and flings the
fragments violently against Heaven. A new Jupiter he also
tries to hurl the thunderbolt, which remains harmless and




C0hap. 1VIi] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   123
without noise in his impotent hlmnds. His arms have not the
necessary nerve to sustain its weight, and the fires of thunder
are extinguished, the mloment that they are not lmore upheld
by the divine power, which darts them.
The poet, after this description, which is here given in an
abridged form, paints Cadmus as arriving near the habitations
of Typhon, and where Jupiter had left his thunderbolt exposed
to surprise. There he is met by the lover of Europa, accompanied by Pan. It will be recollected that Panll represents
here the Charioteer Goat carrier, which rises in the morning
with the Sun of the Bull at the entry of Sring, at the time,
when Jupiter wanted to let the sound of his thunderbolt to be
heard again, after having been silenced by Winter. This is
the foundation of the fiction.
Jupiter invites Cadmus to disguise himself in order to deceive Typhon, and to retake fronm  him  his thunderbolt, in
other words and without metaphor, that the Serpentarius
Cadmus and the Charioteer Pan are to form a conjuntiou by
their aspect with the equinoctial Bull, in order to announce
the return of Spring and the periodical victory, which the God
of Light and of the long Days obtains every year at that
epoch, over the Prince of Darkness and of the long Nights, or
of Jupiter AEgiochus alias Jupiter Goat carrier, over the great
Dragon, which the Serpentarius in the Heavens presses with
his hands, and which  brought back every year Darkness and
Winter.
Jupiter proposes to Cadmus to take the dress of Pan, his
flute and his goat, and to build himself a hut, into which he
would attract Typhon by the harmonious sounds of his flute.
"Sing, said he, dear Cadmus, &c., and you shall restore to
"the Heavens their primary serenity. Typhon has stolen my
"thunderbolt. Nothing is left to ine but my IEgis; but of
"what avail can it be to me, against the mighty fires of the
"thunder?. Be shepherd for one day, and let thy flute be the




121         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WOnRSHIP. [Chiap. TI11.
"means to restore to the eternal shepherd of the World his
" empire.  Your services sha.ll! not remlain without recom"pense; you shall be the Redeemer of the harmony of the
"UTniverse, and the beutiful Harmony, the daughter of Mars
"and' of the Goddess of Spring, shall be thy wife."  Thus
spoke Jupiter, and goes in the direction of the sunmnit of
Mount Taurus.  Cadmus, disguised as a shepherd, and leaning against an oak in an easy position, nmakes the surrounding
forests reecho with the harmonious sounds of his flute.  Typhon is beguiled by the charm; he approaches the place,
where he hears these seductive sounds, andc leaves the thunderbolt in the cave, where he had found it, and hides it there. At
the lmoment, that Cadmus perceives him drawing, nearer to the
forest, he feigns to be afraidc and as if he wanted to flee. The
Giant reassures him and invites himi to continue his melodies,
by making him the most magnificent promises.  Cadmus continues to play, and flatters Typhon with the hope of still more
wonderful melodies, if he would give himn the sinews of Jupiter, which had fallen during the fight of this God with Typlion, and which the latter had kept. His request is granted,
and the shepherd stores themlr away, as if to adapt them for the
future to his lyre, but with the intention of restoring them to
Jupiter after the defeat of *the Giants.  Cadmus softens still
imore the sounds of his Ilmagic flute aald chalrns th e alrs of
Ty phon, who listens with an attention, which nothing can disturb.
CANTO II.
In that moment when all the senses of the Giant were as ii
held in chains by these harmonious strains, Jupiter approaches
stealthily the cave, the hiding place of his thlnderbolt, and
under cover of a dense cloud, overspreading the grotto and
Cadmus, in order to conceal him from  the vengeance of the
Giant, he repossessess himself of it. Cadmus ceases to play




Ghalp.'I/.] THE ORIGIN OS ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   125
and disappears from the sight of Typhon, who fearing to have
been duped, runs to the cave in order to look for the thunderbolt, which he finds to have disappeared. Then he is made
aware, but a little too late, of the stratagem, which has been
played by Jupiter and Cadmus. In his rage he wants to make
a rush on Olympus. The convulsive movements of his fury
make the Universe tremble. He shakes the foundations of the
~mountains; he agitates by violent shocks the shores; he makes
forests and caverns reecho with a horrible uproar and carries
devastation in all the countries adjoining his dwelling place.
The Nymphs in tears seek refuge at the bottomn of their dried
up rivers and hide themselves amongst the reeds. The terrified shepherds are wandering in confusion about the fields,
throwing away their flutes. The ploughman leaves his oxen in
the midst of the furrow; the uprooted trees cover with their
fragments the devastated country.
Meanwhile Phteton had conducted his tired team to the
western shore, and Night had covered Earth and Heaven with
her gloomy veil, The Gods were then wandering about on
the shores of the Nile, while Jupiter on the summit of mount
Taurus, was awaiting the return of Aurora. It was night, and
the sentinels were posted at the gates of Olympus.
Old Bootes, always with his eyes open, and having near him
the celestial Dragon, was watching the nocturnal attacks,
which might be attempted by Typhon, the father of this
Dragon.
I shall here observe, that the poet describes exactly the position of the sphere at the setting in of the night, which precedes the day of the triumph of the vernal Sun. In the West,
PhPeton or the Charioteer may be seen, whose name is also
one of the titles of the Sun; and in the East, Bootes or the
herdsman and the Dragon.
The whole Universe represented then the image of an immense camp, in which each part of personified Nature was fil



1 26        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap2. VI/I
ling some office and executed some of those things, which are
carried on at night in the fields. The stars and meteors were
the lights which illuminated it.
The Goddess of Victory, under the configuration of the
mother of the Sun and the Moon, finally comes to the succor
of Jupiter, bringing arms to the father of the immortals. She
demonstrates to him the dangers, with which all parts of his
empire are menaced and exhorts him to fight his rival. Night
had suspended in that moment the attacks of the enemy; Typhon, sinking overwhelmed with sleep, covered an immense
extent of ground with his enormous body. Jupiter alone, in
Nature, did not sleep. Aurora however soon returns with day
and with it new dangers arise. At sunrise Typhon opens his
large mouth and utters such an awful roar, that all the echoes
resound. He challenges the Chief of the Gods to the fight;
he threatens and vomrits forth the imost abusive laaguage
against him and against the inmmortals.  He meditates the
senseless project of erecting upon the ruins of the'v Drld a
new Heaven, infinitely more beautiful than that, which Jupiter inhabits, and to have forged more formidable thunderbolts
than his. He would, he says, people the Olympus with a
new race of Gods, and he would force the Virgin to become
mother.
Jupiter, escorted by Victory, hears these threats and audacious challenge with a contemptuous smile. They prepare for
the fight, the price of which was the empire of the Heavens.
Here follows a long description of that terrible battle fought
between the Chiefs of Light and of Darkness under the names
of Jupiter and Typhon. At the moment of the crisis, which
shall secure the triumph of the first over the second, Typhon
heaps up mountains and uproots trees, which he hurls at Jupiter. One spark from the thunderbolt of the King of the
Gods reduces everything to dust. The Universe is shaken in
its innermost by this terrible struggle.  Terror and Fear fight




Chap. VITf]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       127
alongside with Jupiter, and armn themselves with the lightning,
which preceeds the thunderbolt. Typhon looses a hand in the
battle: it falls without letting go its hold of a whole quarter of
a rock, whilch be vwas in the act of throwing.  The Giant, with
the hollow of his otler hand, draws water froil the rivers, with
the intention of putting out the fires of the thunler'boit, but
it is of no avail. He obstructs Jupiter with enorm:lous rocks,
who upsets them with his breath. Attackled on all sides and
burnt with the fire of the thunderbolt, Typhon finally succumbs, and covers the soil with his enormous body, vomiting
forth flames from his thunder stricken breast.  J'upiter triumphs over his defeat insultingly by a speechl replete with
bitter sarcasm.  The echoes of Taurus proclaim the victory.
The effect of this triumph was to render peace, order andc
serenity to the Heavens and to restore the harmony of Nature.
The Lord of thunder returns to Heaven, carried in his chariot;
Victory is guiding hlis coursers; the Hours open to him the
gat,s of Olympus; and Themis in order to terrify Earth, which
had given birth to Typhon, suspends in the vaults of Heaven
the thunderstri.ken Giant.  Such is the summnary of the two
first Cantos of the poem.
The theological and astronollical foundation is tle followi ng. Each victory presupposes aeontest, as every resurrection
presupposes a death: hence the deduction, that the ancient
theologians and poets, who celebrated in soings the passage of
the Sun to the equinoctial point, and the triumph of the long
dlays over the winter nights, be it under the name of the triumiph of Jupiter and of Ormuzd, or' under that of the resurrection of Osiris and Adonis, preceded it always either by a
conflict, from which the God of Liglht came out victorions, or
by a death and a tomb, from which he escaped by reassumning a
new life. The astronomical forms, wllich were taken by the
God of Lighlt and by the Prince of Darkness, namely tilhe Bull
and afterwards the Lamb on one side, and the Serpent and the




128         TTHE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap.  II,
Dragon on the other, formed the attributes of the opposing
Chiefs in this contest. The constellations placed outside of
the Zodiac, which were connected with this. ceslestial position,
and which defined this important epoch, were also personified
and put on the stage. Such are here the Charioteer or Pan,
who also accompanies Osiris in his conquests, and Cadmrus or
the Serpentariaus. The two Cantos, which we have been analysing, contain therefore nothing else but a poetical description' of the contest between the two principles, which it is presumed to precede the time, when the Sun at the exquinox of
spring, or at Easter, under the nanes of Jupiter, of Ornluzd,
of Christ, &c., triumphs over the God of Winter and regenerates whole Nature. The g 3nius of the poet has invented the
rest: hence the variety of poems and legends,' in which this
physical fact has been sung..Nonnus supposes here, that the God of Light had no more
thunder bolts during the winter; they were in possession of
the Chief of Darkness, who himself could not use them. But
during the time, that Jupiter, is deprived of it, his enemy
destroys and disorganizes everything in Nature, confounds the
Elements, and covers the Eal th. with mourning, darkness and
death, until the Charioteer and the Goat rises in the morning
and the Serpentarius in the evening; this happens at the time
when the Sun reaches the celestial Bull, of which Jupiter took
the disguise, in order to deceive Europa, the sister of Cadmus.
Then the God of Day reenters again into all his rights, and
reestablishes the harmony of Nature, which the Genius of
Darkness had destroyed. This is the idea which naturally
ushers in the triumph of Jupiter, and is presented to us by the
poet in commencing the third Canto of his poem on the Seasons or the Dionysiacs.




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       129
CANTO III.
FIRST OF THE SEASONS, OR SPR1ING'.
The contest, says Nlonnus, ends with winter: the Bull and
Orion rise and shine on an azure sky; no'lornger rolls the Massagettes his ambulatory cabin on the ice of the Danube;.already sings the returned srwallow the arrival of Sprinlg, and
interrupts in the morning the sleep of the husbandcnan under
his hospitable roof, the chalice of the nascent flowers opelns to
the nourishing juices of the dew, which falls during the happy
season of the Zephyrs. These are in substance the contents
of the first fifteen verses of the Canto, which follows imnmediately the defeat of the Prince of Darkness and of Winter.
Meanwhile Cadnius embarks and goes to the palace ef Electra, one of the Pleiades or of the Stars, which rise before the
Sun, at the entrance of Spring; it is there where young Harmony was brought up, whom  Jupiter had destined him for
wife. Emathion or the Day, the son of Electr a, a young
Prince of charming exterior came to visit his nother.  The
Goddess of Persuasion, the first of the inaids of honor of
Harmony, introduces Cadlmus at the palace o  Electra, under
the auspices of the Goddess of Sprirg or of Venus. Cadmus
is favorably received by Electra, who had a magnificent dinner
prepared for him, and inquires about the object of his voyage.
The stranger gives satisfactory answers. AMea-nwhile MIercury
had been despatched by Jupiter to Electra. in order to notify
her of his wishes on the subject of the imarriage of Cadmus
with Harmony, the daughter of lMars and of Yenus, whose
education had beeii entrusted to her by the Hours and the
Seasons. The salutation, with which Mercury adOdresses the
mother of the Priince of Day or of Emnathion, has a great resemblance to that, with wvhich Gabriel, in the solar fable of the
Christians, addresses the mother of the God of Light.
17




130         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VIi
This is the summary of the astronomical basis, on which
rests the whole of this third Canto. Winter has ended, and
the Sun rises, in the morning carried on the Bull, preceeded
by the Pleiads and followed by Orion. In the West, the Serpentarius or Cadmus descends into the bosom of the waves,
after having traveled all night over.the space of Heaven,
which separates the oriental from the occidental border.  He
finds himself then in aspect with the Pleiads and with Electra,
which rise in the Orient with Day, described here under the
emblem of a charming youth, brought up with Harmony at the
epoch of the annual revolution, when the harmony of the Seasons in reestablished in our climes. Such is the basis of the
poetical fiction.
CANTO IV.
Having thus executed his message, Mercury reascends the
Olympus. Electra calls Harmony aside, and communicates
to her the will of Jupiter. At first the young Princess refuses
to give her hand to a stranger, whom she thinks to be an adventurer. Her refusal is accompanied by tears, flowing from
her beautiful eyes, which still more enhances the splendor of
her beauty. But Venus, her mother, under the disguise of
Persuasion, triumps over her resistance and influences her to
follow Cadmus anywhere he might conduct her. Harmony
obeys, and embarks on board the vessel of Cadmus, which is
waiting for him  on the seashore. The vernal winds gently
swell the sails and carry the two lovers to the shores of
Greece.
One of the first cares of Cadmus on his landing, is to consult the oracle of Delphi: he is informed that the Bull, which
had carried off his sister, was not a terrestrial animal, but
that it is the Bull of Olynmpus; that it would be useless for
him, to go in search of it any longer on Earth. The God in



Chap. Vl1.]  THE ORIGIN OF, ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    131
vites him, to give up his enquiries, and to settle in Greece,
where he should build a city, which should bear the name of
the Thebes of Egypt his country; he adds, that the place,
where he shall lay its foundations, would be indicated to him
by a divine cow, which would repose there. Scarcely had Cadmus left the temple, when he perceived  the sacred animal
which becomes his guide, and which conducts him to the
place, where Orion perished from  the sting of a scorpion:
there the cow laid down to rest. This, it will be observed, is
a manifest allusion to the setting of the celestial sign, where
some paint a Bull and others a Cow, and under which and
with which Orion sets, at the rising of the celestial scorpion, a
sign which is in opposition to him. This is the celestial phenomenon, which the poet has sung ill this fable.  As the
scorpion has also placed t he SeLrpentarius above it, ascending
with it at the setting of the Bull, the fable supposes, that
Cadmus is going to immolate the latter. But he wants water
for his sacrifice; he goes in search of some att a fountain, defended by a monstrous dragon, a son of Mars or of the God,
who presides over the sign on which Cadmus is. This is a
manifest allusion to the polar Dragon, placed above Cadmus,
who ascends with him, and which is called in astronomy the
Dragon of Cadmus: this is the Dragon of the Hesperides in
the fable, where the Serpentarius is taken for Hercules; this
is Python in the fable of Apollo; it is the same, which is
killed by Jason in the fable of Jason, which we are soon
going to explain. The monster devours several of the companions of  cadmus. Minerva comes to the rescue of the
hero; she commands him to kill'the Dragon, and to sow
its teeth; the same as Jason does. Cadmus kills the Dragon,
and from the teeth which he sowed, Giants spring up, who
very soon kill each other. It will be here observed, that in
all the solar fictions, the design of which is to paint, under a
great many different names, the triumph of the God of Spring




132         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS AWORSHIP. [Chaap. TVIH.
over the Genius of Winter and of Darkness, there is always
at this epoch a defeat of the great Dragon, which is the
enemy of the triumphant hero, and it is always by the polar
Dragon, or by that, which each year announces Autumn and
Winter, that every one of these fables are explained.  We
shall have occasion to remind the reader of this observation,
in our explanation of the Apocalypse.
CANTO Y.
Cadilus, after this victory, mnakes his sacrifice, in which le
immolates the animal, which had served hinm as a guide, the
same as Bacchus in other fables imlnolates to HI-ammon the
Ramn, which had also served him as a guide, and which is in the
Heavens next to the Bull. Afterwards, he lays the foundafions of a city, which retraces on a small scale the universal
harmony of the World; this is the Thebes of Bcetia, bearing the
same namlle as that, which Osiris had foanded in Egypt, and
where he had built a temple to Jupiter Hainlon, or to the
God of Light, which was worshipped under the figure of the
celestial Rami, and which was the father of Batcchus. In the
fables on' Hercules or on the Sun, it is alleged, that it was
that hero, who was the builder of Thebes, after having defeated a tyrant;, who, like Orion, persecuted the Pleiades.
These remarks are made with the object of reconciling these
ancient solar fables, and to demonstrate their connection with
that part of Heaven, where the Bull, the Hlam, the Pleiades
and Orion is to be found opposite to the Serpentarius, Hercules, Cadmus, &c., which by his rising in the evening announced every year the re-establishment of the harmony of
the World, which is designated here under the emblem of a
large city; this is the holy city of the Apocalypse. Cadmus
built his city in a circular form, like a sphere. It was crossed




Chap. VYI.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOTS WORSHIP.     133
by streets in the direction of the four cardinal points of the
World, or of the East, the West, the South and the North; it
had as many gates as there were planetary spheres. Each
one of these gates was consecrated to a planet. The Jerusalem of the Apocalypse, a fiction of the same style, had twelve,
which number is equal to that of the signs; it was built after
the defeat of the great Dragon.
This distribution in the new city, (which was built, unlike
that of the Apocalypse under the auspices of the Lamb, but
under those of the equinoctial Bull, which preceded the Lamb
at the point of the departure of the spheres and of Spring,
and which represented the WTorld with its principal divisions
and the whole system of the universal harmony,) originated
the fiction, which supposes, that Thebes had been built at the
sound of the Lyre of Amphion and of Zethes, placed in the
sign which is setting after the Bull. It was in this city, where
Cadmus celebrated his nuptials with the beautiful Harmony:
all the Gods were there present' and bestowed gifts on the
newly married couple. These gifts are those, with which
Heaven adorns the Earth at this important epoch of the regeneration of the World and of the periodical vegetation,
which is the fruit of the re-established harmony by the God of
Spring in all parts of Nature. From this. hymen, Semele was
born, the mother of that beneficent God, who during Summer
is spreading his precious gifts over our whole hemisphere, and
who shall give us those delicious fruits, which Autumn ripens;
in conclusion of that Bacchus, tle father of Mirth, of Games
and of Enjoyments.
CANTO VI.
As each revolution brings about a new order of things, replacing the former, the poet relates in this canto the unfortunate adventures of the ancient Bacchus,who was torn to pieces




134         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. {Chap. FIT.
by the Titans and the Giants, and whose death had been
avenged by Jupiter by the destrudtion of the ancient World
and by the deluge. After a full description of this great catastrophe, so famous in all the sacred legends, and which only
existed in the imagination of the poets and of the priests, who
have drawn from it great advantages, Nonnus announces the
birth of the God, who shall teach to men the cultivation of
the vine. This discovery is attributed in the Jewish fables to
Noah, who like Bacchus, made a present of it to mankind
after the deluge; and in the Thessalian fables to a Highland
Prince, or to Orestes, the son of Deucalion, whose name indicates an allusion to those hills, on which this precious shrub
grows.
Here begins the tale of the courtship of Jupiter with the
daughter of Cadmus, the mother of the second Bacchus, who
himself shall bring about afterwards the birth of a third one,
which shall be born to him by the beautiful Aura or Zephyr.
CANTO VII.
In commencing this canto, the poet presents us Love, as
occupied in repairing the ruins of the World: mankind had
been until then the prey of gnawing cares. The wine, which
dissipates the gloomy thoughts and troubles of the mind, had
not yet been presented to man; it was only after the deluge,
that Bacchus was born, or that God, who is the father of that
joyfulness, which wine inspires. Prometheus ravished merely
the fire from the Gods: he ought to have stolen from them the
nectar in preference; he would have thereby softened the sensation of the evils, which the fatal box of Pandora had
spread over the Earth. These reflections are presented to Jupiter by the God of Time, who, while holding the keys of ages,
is begging the Lord of the Gods, to come to the relief of mankind. Jupiter lends a willing [ear to him, and wishes that




Chap.'Vi.] THE oRIGiN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    i3
his son should be the redeemer of the misfortunes of the
World, the Bacchus Savior. He promises to the Earth a liberator and he already announces his high destiny. The Universe shall worship him and shall praise in songs his blessings. After having brought solace to the misfortunes of mankind, notwithstanding the resistance, which he shall experience
from it, he shall afterwards ascend to Heaven, in order to sit
at the side of his father.
In order to execute his promise, Jupiter makes love to a
young maiden, the beautiful Semele, whom be deceives, by
making her the mother of the new liberator. Semele, the
daughter of Cadmus was taking her bath in the waters of the
Asopus, Jupiter smitten with her beautiful forms, insinuates
himself into her good graces and engenders Bacchus. He
soon makes himself known to his love, he consoles her and
gives her hopes that at a future day she shall take her place in
the Heavens.
CANTO VIII.
Jupiter re-ascends to the Olympus, and leaves the daughter
of Cadmus enceinte at the palace of her father. But Envy,
under the disguise of Mars, provokes the spouse of Jupiter
against her: the jealous Juno only thinks of vengeance against
her rival. She interests the Goddess of Cunning in her
schemes, and she requests her services. Armed with the
girdle of Juno, the former introduces herself into the apartment of Semele, under the disguise of the old nurse of Cadmns. She feigns the greatest sympathy and concern for the
fate of the young Princess, whose reputation is publicly assailed; she asks her, if it was true, that her honor had been
ravished, who the mortal or the God was, who had obtained
her first favors; she insinuates, that if she had been deceived
under the form of Jupiter, she could not do better in order to




136         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [YChap. VID.
assure herself, if that God was really her lover, than to invite
him to visit her in all his majesty and armed with the thunderbolt; that in these traits she could not fail to recognize
him. Young Semele, deceived by this perfidious speech, and
blinded by indiscreet ambition, asked her lover to grant her
this transcendent mark of his love for her. I have not yet
seen, she says, the majestic splendor of the God, who casts
the thunderbolt. I wish in our love more dignity and more
splendor. Jupiter is greatly afflicted by this request, the consequences of which are well known to him. He remonstrates
to her the dangers, to which she would expose herself, if he
should condescend to gratify her desire; but all is useless: he
is forced to accede to her request. WThile the unlucky Semele,
drunk with pride and joy, wants to touch the thunderbolt of
the Lord of the Gods, she drops down consumed by its fire.
Her son is saved from the combustion, which consumes the
mother. Mercury is careful to save him from the devouring
element and restores him to Jupiter, who places his unfortunate mistress'in the Heavens.
CANTO IX.
In the meantime the Lord of the Gods deposit s y oung Bacchus in his thigh, until the fcetus had arrived at maturity; and
then he draws him out into daylight. At the moment of his
birth the Hours and the Seasons are ready to receive him, and
they place on his head a crown of ivy. Mercury bears him in
his arms across the air, and intrusts him to the Water nymphs,
doubtless to the Hyads, which are placed at the head of the
equinoctial Bull, and which were, as it is said, the nurses of
Bacchus. But Juno, whose hatred against the children of
Jupiter has no bounds, renders these Nymphs insane: Mercury is obliged to take the child from them, and to intrust it
to Jno, the daughter of Cadmus and sister of Semele, who




chap. VII.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     137
brings him up with Palemon her son. This new nurse is
again the object of the hatred of Juno, andc  Mercury takes
Bacchus again away, in order to place him under the protection of the mistress of Atys or of Cybele, who has to take care
of his education. The solar fable on the God of the Christirans
presumes likewise, that he is persecuted fronm the time of 1his
birth.
All the rest of this canto contains an episodical treatise, in
which the poet describes the terrible effect of the vengeance of
Juno against the unhappy Jno, vwho had received Bacchus,
and who with all her famnily becamle tfle v-;ictinm of it. Thin,
episodical fragment extends over a portion of the following
canto.
CANTO X.
After that long episode, we are brought back by the poeto to
Lydia, in order to witness the education, which young B3aCchus receives there.  WVe see him play here with the Satyrs
and bathing himself in the waters of the Pactolus-thlie green
shores of which are enameled with filowers.  Here, while playing on the hills of Phrygia, he becomes acquainted with a
young Satyr, called tAmpelus or the Vine. The poet gives us
a picture of this charming child and his nascent gracef ulness,
which inspires Bacchus with the liveliest interest.  It is
necessary to remind the reader of the allegory, prevailinog
throughout this part of the canto, about the coqueteries of the
God of Vintage with the vine, which is personified helre under
the name of young Amrpelus, who played with Bacchus on the
hillocks of Phrygia, teeming with grapes. Bacchus accosts him,
and is told the most flattering things; he questions himn about
his birth, and ends by saying, that he knows himl, and that he
is informed, that he is the son of the Sun and of the Moon, or
of the two luminaries, which regulate vegetation. B3acchus falls
in love with hillm. He is cont;ent only, when he is in his comi18




138         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. VIL.
pany and feels unhappy when he is absent. The love of the
Vine is everything with him: he requests Jupiter to unite him
to his fate. Here the poet describes their sports and amusements. Bacchus takes pleasure in permitting to be vanquished
in his exercises. Ampelus is always victorious, be it in wrestling or in running. In the latter exercise young Press and
young Ivy enter the lists with young Vine, and it is the latter
who obtains the victory over his competitors.
Nonnus has expressed here in a poetical allegory, what
Diodorus says more simply and without ornaments, when he
speaks of Bacchus, that he discovered amidst the sports of
childhood the precious shrub, which bears the grape and the
delicious fruit, from wdhich he expressed the first juice. This
custom  of treating poetically an idea, in itself very simple,
and to give it a large development in a series of allegories,
was peculiar to the genius of the ancient priests and poets,
who composed sacred songs, in which everything was personified. This single trait reveals to us at once the original character of the whole of ancient mythology. Such was its style.
CANTO XI.
The poet, in this eleventh Canto, continues his description
of the sports and of the different exercises, with which young
Bacchus and his friends fill their leisure hours. The third
exercise is that of swimming.  Bacchus and his young favorite plunge into the waters of the Pactolus. Ampelus or the
Vine is victorious. The young victor, encouraged by these
successes, has the imprudence of evincing a desire, to compete
with the animals of the forest. Bacchus warns him of. the
risks he runs, and advises him to avoid, above all, the horns
of the bull; but these remonstrances are useless. A malig'nant
Goddess, plotting his ruin, invites him to mount a bull, which
had come from the mountains, in order to quench his thirst




Chap. TTI.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      139
in the river. With youthful fool-hardiness he attempts to
mount and conduct this animal, which is rendered furious by
the sting of an ox fly. Ampelus is soon thrown down, and
dies of his fall. All the details of this unfortunate event are
interestingly described by Nonnus. Bacchus is inconsolate
and bedews with tears the corpse of his friend; he covers it
with roses and lilies, and pours into its wounds the juice of
ambrosia, which had been given him by Rhea, and which, since
the metamorphosis of Ampelus in the Vine, has been the
means o: giving to its fruit a delicious flavor. Even in death,
the youthful friend of Bacchus is still of ravishing beauty.
Bacchus cannot satiate his eyes to look on it, and gives utterance to his grief in heart-rending accents.
Love, disguised as Silenus, with the tyrus in hand comes to
console the God of the Vintage, and exhorts him  to court
again a new sweetheart, which shall make him forget the lost
friend. He tells him' on this occasion a very pretty fable,
containing a physical allegory on the stem of the wheat and
on the fruit, which are there personified under the names of
Calamus and of Carpus; however, nothing can calm the grief
of Bacchus. Meanwhile the Seasons, daughters of the Year,
go to pay a visit at the palace of the Sun, of which the poet
gives a brilliant description.
CANTO XII.
The Seasons lay their requests before Jupiter, and one of
them, Autumn, prays, that she may not be left alone without
a function and to be charged with the care of ripening the
new fruit, which the vine shall produce. The God gives her
hopes and points with the finger to the tablets of Harmony,
containing the destinies of the World. There she sees, that
Destiny had granted the vine and the grapes to Bacchus, as
it had granted the ears of corn to Ceres, the olive tree to Minerva and the laurel to Apollo.




14:0        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VIL
iMeanwhile Fate, in order to console Bacchus, informs him,
that his dear Ainpelus was not entirely dead; that he should
not pass the black Acheron, and that he would become for the
mortals the source of a delicious liquor, which shall be the
consolation of mankind, and which shall be on earth the image of that nectar, which is the beverage of the Gods. Scarcely had the Goddess finished speaking, when a surprising miracle happened before the eyes of Bacchus. A sudden metamorphosis changed the corps of his friend into a flexible
shrub, which bears the grape. The new shrub, which he calls
by the namne of his friend, is covered with a black fruit, which
Bacchus squeezes between his fingers and the juice of which
he causes to flow into an Ox-horn, which serves him  as a
drilnking cup. During this interval young Cissus or Ivy is
also metamorphosed in another shrub, which clings to his
&riend by embracing with its long folds the Vine, into which
Ainpelus had been changed.  Bacchus tasted the new liquor
and rejoices over his discovery; he apostrophises the manes
of his friend, whose death has prepared the felicity of mankind. The wine, says he, shall be hereafter the sovereign
remedy atgainst all the sorrows of the mortals. This is the allegorical origin, which the poet gives to the Vine, which he represents to us as the result of the mnetamorphosis of a child, the
favorite of Bacchus. It is to be presumed, that nobody will
be tempted to take this tale for real history.
After the discovery of the Vine by Bacchus, nothing else rermained, in order to maintain the character of a beneficent
God, which the Sun takes under the names of Osiris and
Bacchus, but to carry this precious present over the whole
Univeirse. Here therefore, commences the tale of the travels
of Bacchus, who like the Sun in its annual movement, shall
direct his course from Occident to Orient, or like the Seasons
against the order of the signs. All that which preceded must
therefore be taken merely as an introduction to the story of




Champ. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     141
that great action, which forms the sole subject of the poem.
So far we did not go out of the limits of the equinox of
Spring, where Bacchus takes the form of the Bull, or of that,
which was then the first of the signs. Here he remained surrounded by Pan and Satyrs, or of Genii, which borrow their
attributes from the Goat, placed over the Bull; it is at that
epoch, when the shrub grows, which shall give in autumn the
fruits of Ampelus or of the Vine, and the delicious liquor, of
which Bacchus is the father.
CANTO XIII.
Jupiter sends Isis to the place of Cybele, where Bacchus
was brought up, in order to intimate to him  the order of
marching against the Indians and to fight the Prince of Strife
or Deriacles their King', who would oppose the progress of his
power, and of the blessings, which he was bringing to all men,
Iris executed the will of the Lord of the Gods, and after she
has tasted the new liquor, which Bacchus presents to her, she
re-ascends to the Heavens. Cybele sends immediately for
the leader of her choirs and dances in order to gather the
army, which shall march under the command of Bacchus.
Amongst the leaders or Captains, who join the banners of the
God of grapes, many heroes are conspicuous, who are met
with again in the poem on the Argonauts, and there is principally remarked the ordinary court retinue of Cybele, which
resembles a great deal to that of the mysteries of Bacchus.
Ernathion, or the Prince of Day, brings him his warriors from
Samothracia. The rest of the song contains the enumeration,
of the different nations of Asia minor, which range themselves
under the banners of Bacchus.
CANTO XIV.
In this canto the poet proceeds to give us the enumeration
of the Heroes, the Demi-Gods and the Genii, sent by Cybele




142         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. Chap. VII.]
to accompany the son of Semele, such as the Cabiri, the Dactyli, the Corybantes, the Centaurs, the Telchines, the Satyrs,
the sons of the Hyades, his nurses, &c., moreover the Oread
Nymphs, the Bacchantes. Afterwards he gives us a description of the armor of Bacchus and of his raiments, which represent the image of Heaven and its Stars. Our hero quits the
abode of Cybele, and marches towards the places, occupied by
the Indians. The report of the thunderbolt is already heard,
portending his victory.
SECOND SEASON OR SlUMMER.
We are carried by the poet to the Summer solstice and to
the moAt elevated point of the course of the Sun, which corresponds with the sign of the Lion, the rise of which is preceded by that of the Cancer, which the Sun crosses before it
reaches the Lion, the place of its domicil and the seat of its
great power. The name of the Cancer is Astacos: the poet
changes it to that of a river in Asia, the Astacus, which actually flows in Bythinia. As the solstice is the place, where the
Star of Day obtains its greatest triumph, the poat supposes,
that he has made there the conquest of a young Nymph
called Victory, who had a Lion at her feet; and because the
solsticeis the limit of the ascending movements of the Sun, he
imagines that from the courtship of Bacchus with the Nymph
Victory a child is born called Term or End. Bnt the passage
of the Cancer or of the Astacus is resisted by the people of
India, or by that, which is placed under the tropic. It is
necessary to give battle to the Chief of the people, called Astrais, whos3 name contains an allusion to the stars. It is after
the defeat of the latter, that Bacchus finally finds the Nymnph
Victory, with whom he is united. The allegory is perceptible
in all parts of this episode. In continuance, Nonnus gives us
a picture of the audacious Indian ranging his forces in battle
array on the shores of the Astacus, and on the opposite shore




C6hap. VII] THE ORIGIN OP ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      143
the defiant attitude of the warriors under the leadership of
Bacchus. The latter finally crosses the river, the water of
which is changed into wine. One part of the Indian army is
destroyed or put to flight; the other part, astonished of its
defeat, drinks of the water of the river, which it takes for
Nectar.
CANTO  XVo
The fifteenth canto presents to us at first the spectacle of
the Indian army making a rush for the shores of the river and
of getting intoxicated from drinking freely of its waters. The
poet gives us a minute description of all the effects of this intoxication, of the delirium and the sleep, which are its results,
also the advantage which Bacchus reaps from it, by surprising
a great number of them, whom he puts in irons. All the cantos which follow up to the fortieth, in which Prince Strife or
Deriades is killed, contain the details of the various battles
fought in this war, which alone occupies twenty-five cantos of
the poem, of which it is the principal knot: because Deriades
is the principle of resistance, which is opposed to the benificent action of Bacchus: it is the Chief of the black people,
who makes a terrible war against the God, the source of
Goodness and of Light.
Bacchus, after having defeated the Indians on the shores of
the Astacus and crossed the river, or, without figure, this sign,
approaches a neighboring forest, where dwelt a young nymph
called Nic6 or Victory. This was a youthful huntress, who
like Diana wished to preserve her virginity. She lived on a
very steep rock, with a lion at her feet, which lowered before
her in a respectful manner its terrible mane. Close by there
lived also a young herdsman called Hymnus, who had fallen
in love with her. Nice has no inclination to favor his wishes
and repels his advances by shooting him with an arrow and
killing this unhappy lover.  The Nymphs bewail him and




144         TlAE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS woRSHIP. [ Chap. VI,
Love swears to revenge him by subjecting this wild beauty to
Bacchus: all Nature is afflicted by the untimely end of the unfortunate Hymnus. Here we recognize again an allegorical
personage. The name of Hy mnus or Song; the lover of Victory, indicates significantly the songs, which accompanied in
olden times the triumph of the Sun and its arrival at the
point of the Summer solstice.
CANTO. XVI.
The death of young HyImnus did not remain unpunished.
Love shoots an arrow at Bacehus, who sees young Nice while
bathing, and falls in love with her. He follows her everywhere and searches for her in the midst of the forests by
means of his faithful dog, which Pan had given him, to whom
he promised a place in the Heavens next to Syrius, or the
celestial dog placed under the Lion, which announces the
summer-solstice or the epoch of the victory of the Sun over
the Lion. The youthful Nymph, tired of the chase, burnt
from the heat of the Sun and thirsty, goes to the river in order
to quench her thirst. Ignorant of the change, which had
taken place with the waters, she drinks of it, becomes intoxicated and falls asleep. Love informs Bacchus of it, who profits of this lucky moment, in order to commit a rape, of which
Pan himself is jealous. The Nymph awakes, and utters loud
reproaches against Bacchus and against Venus. She deplores
the loss of her virginity and goes in search of the ravisher in
order to pierce him  with her arrows; sle wants even to kill
herself. She is finally forced to quit her ancient forests, fearing to mepet with Diana and to have to endure her reproaches.
She gives birth to a daughter called Teletea; and Bacchus
built in that place the city of Nicea or Victory.




Chap. VIJ.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS'WvORSHIP.          145
CANTO XVII.
Bacchus contin-ues his mnarch against the Indians and pursues his victories in Orient, with the equiplment rather of a
leader of feasts and ga-mes, thin with that of a warrior.' e
arrives at the placid shores of the Eudis, where he is received
by the shepherd Bronchus oi Gullet, to whom he gives a plant
of the vine in order to cultivate it.  Iffe man.rehes afterwards
against Orontes, an IndiaLn General, who was in:formed by Astrais of the trick played by Bacchus on the Indians, who defncnded the shores of the Astacus.  Orontes was the father-inlaw of the martial Deriades.  Orontes aninates his warriolrs
by his example.  He attacks Bacchus in person(i, but is re.
puls:_d with vigor.  The despezrate Inldian piereesl hilnself with
his own sword, and falls into the riverl, which is naL ed alfter
him.  The Nyymphrs bewa"il this unfortunatale soVn of Hydaspes.
Bacchus makes a terrible slaugh     ter   a:molngst, the indians.
Pan sings his victory, and Bleinys, the leader of the LIndians
presents himself with an O!ive-branch, a!sking for peace.  The
Sun approac!les the end of the summli'ine  anid of the season,
which ripens the grapes.  The poet, icnre truently is remind-.
ing us of this grand effect producecl by3 Nat lre, thurough   the
arrival of Bacehus at tthe court of King Gripe, whlo reignle(
in Asyria.  All the names used in this poeticeal dtlde'wil! clearly
indicate an allegorical feast, which has the vintagee for olbject.
CANTO XTTII.
Fame had already spread in all Assyria, the report of the
achievements of Bacchus.  King Staphylrls or GXape'reigned
over those countries. I-  had for Son Prince B]uncli of G-rapes,
for wife Mlethe or Inebriation, alnd for  [tajo1'dord:to.:0 Pit[hos or
Cask.  In tihis Can:to, NT0onnus pres3ents-, u.s the K7; in g ann his
son, mounted on a chiariot, in. order to welcome 1Bacchus, and
19




146         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. C[hap. Vi.
to invite him to accept their hospitality, which he does. The
poet describes here the magnificent reception given to Bacchus by the King of Assyria, who parades *before him all his
wealth, and gives him a sumptuous dinner in his palace, a
pompous description of which is also to be found there. Bacchus imparts to him his discovery of the new liquor: Queen
Methe gets inebriated the first time she tastes it, also her husband
Grape, her son Bunch of Grapes, and Cask their old domestic.
All beogin to dance.
Here the poem assumes a comical character, badly agreeing
with the nobleness of the first Cantos, which had Astronomy
and the systeml of the two principles for basis. Itis no longer the
Sun or the Chief of Light in his equinoctial triumph, which is'here depicted: the poet has descended here from the Heavens,
in order to follow on Earth the progress of vegetation, which
is kept up by the powerful heat of the Sun.
All lay down to sleep. Bacchus is suddenly awakened from
his sleep by a dream; he arms himself and calls the Satyrs to
his assistance.  King Grape, Prince Bunch and old faithful
Cask are awakened by the noise; but Queen Methe or Inebriation continues to sleep. Staphylus, or King Grape escorts
Bacchus; he makes him a present of a cup, and exhorts him to
pursue the course of his victories, reminding him those of Jupiter over the Giants, and those of Perseus over the monster,
to which Andromeda had been exposed.
Bacchus sends a herald to the Chief of the Indians, in order
to propose Jo him, either to accept his presents or a fight.
Here King Grape dies, regretted by the whole Covrt of AssyPia, which Bacchus on his return, finds in the deepest mourning. He iniforms himself of the cause of their grief, of which
he seems to have already a presentiment.
CANTO XIX.
In the nineteenth Canto Queen Methe or Inebriation is




Chap. VII] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORlSHIP.      147
shown in deep affliction on account of the death of her
husband  King  Grape, and telling  Bacchus  the  cause
of her grief. In order to console herself she requests the
God to give her some of his delicious liquor. She consents
not to grieve any more for her husband, provided she has a
full cup. She offers to join her fate henceforth with that of
Bacchus, to whom  she recommends her son, or Bunch  of
Grapes and her old servant Pythos or Cask. Bacchus cheers
her up by the promise of admitting them all to his feasts. He
metamorphoses Staphylus in Grape, and his son Botrys in
Bunch of Grapes. The rest of the Canto contains a description of the games, which Bacchus orders to be celebrated near
the tomb of King Grape. (Eagrus of Thracia contends with
Erectheus of Athens for the price of song: victory remains
with the former. This exercise is followed by that of pantomime: Silenus and Maron dance; the second is declared the
victor.
CANTO XX.
After the termination of these games, at the commencement
of this Canto, Bacchus seems to be busy with consoling Methe
and the whole house of King Staphylus. Night sets in andd
people retire to rest. The couch of Bacchus is prepared by
Eupetale or Pretty Leave, the nurse of Bacchus. Discord,
under the disguise of Cybele, appears to Bacchus while asleep,
in order to reproach him his idleness, and exhorts him to fight
Deriades. Bacchus awakes and makes his preparations for
marching. Prince Bunch of Grapes and Cash join the band
of Satyrs and Bacchantes for an expedition, which it would be
somewhat difficult to range amongst the number of historical events, although until the present time the reality of the
conquests of Bacchus has been generally credited..
This God takes his route via Tyre and Byblos, along the
shores of the river Adonis and the fertile hills of Nysa in Ara



148          THE ORIGCIN OF A.LL RELIGCIOUS WORSHIP. [ 6hap. -TII.
bia. In those places there reigzned Lyecurgus, a descendant of
Mars: he was a fierce despot; who nailed at the gates of his
palace the heads of the unhappy victims, which he had killed:
his father was Dryas or thb  Oak, King of Arabia.  Juno sends
Iris to this Prince, in order to malke him take up a'ms against
Bacchus.  The perfidious messen.ger takes the form of Mlars
and makes a speech to Lycutrgus, in which she promises him
the victory.  After that she goes to Bacchus under the disguise of MIVercury and persuades hirn to treat the King of Arabia as a frieiid, and to present himself before him unarmed.
Bacchus, seduced by these wily intinuatUions, arrives unarmed
at the pala:ce of this, ferocious Prince, who receives him  with
scoffing smniles, thlen he threatens him, pursues the Hyads his
nurses, and forces hinm, in older to save himself, to plunge
into the Sea, where he is received by Thetis and consoled by
old Nereus.  The poet here ma1kes the tyrant holdc an insolent
and threatening speech, scolding the sea for having received
Bacchus in her bosom.
THIRD SEASON.
We have arrived. at the ept)och, wheno the Sun mnakes the
transit towards the inferior signs, to the autumnal equinox,
near whichl is the celestial Volf, an animal consecrated to
Mars, and host of the forests.  This is the sign which is here
designated under the name of a ferocious IPrince, the son of Oak,
a descendant of Mars, and -whose name is composed of the
word lycos or wolf. At that time, the celestial Bull, opposite
the Wolf, and accompanied by the Lyads his nurses, descends
in the morning into the bosom  of the waves at the rising of
the Wolf. This is that Bull which lends its attributes to the
Sun of Spring, or its horns to Bacchus. lHere we have the
phenomenon, which renews itself every year, at the close of
the vintage, and which the poet has sung in his allegory of
the war of Lycurgos against Bacchus, who throws himself intoc




Chap. VE.L] THE ORIGIN OF ALL REIIGIOUS WORSHIP.     149
the deep, and against the nurses of the latter, which are assailed by the tyrant.
CANTO XXI.
The twenty-first Canto represents the sequel of this adventure and the fight between Ambrosia, one of the Hyads, and
Lycurgos, who takes her prisoner; but Earth comes to her
rescue, and metamorphoses her in vine. Under this new
form, she intwines her conqueror in her tortuous folds.
Vainly he tries to clear himself of it. Neptune upheaves
the Sea, unchains the storms, and shakes the Earth; but
nothing can intimitate the savage King, who defies the efforts
of the Bacchantes and the power of the Gods, the protectors of
Bacchus. He orders all vines to be cut down and threatens
Nereus and Bacchus. Jupiter stfrikes the tyrant with blindness, who is no longer able to see his way.
Meanwhile the Nereids and the Nymphs of the red Sea
lavish their cares on Bacchus, and are eager to entertain him
with feasts, while the Pans and the Satyrs are disconsolate
on' account of his absence, and search for him  all over the
Earth. This circumstance is to be noticed: because in the
fable of Osiris or the Egyptian Bacchus, they supposed that
he was thrown into the Nrile by Typhon, the Genius of Darkness and of 3Winter, and{ that the Satyrs wept and searched
for him everywhere. But very soon one of their companions,
Scelmus or the Lean arrives with the cheering news of the
return of their leader. They are filled with joy on account of
these happy news. Bacchus on his return puts himself at
the head of his army and marches against the Indian General,
who had treated his herald with contempt and had sent him
back.
CANTO XXII.
Encouraged by the presence of the hero its commander,




150         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VII.
restored to it by the Gods, the army of Bacchus arrives on the
shores of the Hydaspes. While his soldiers are given up to
revelry, and celebrate his return by feasts, the Indians make
preparations to attack them. But a Hamadryad reveals their
plan to the soldiers of Bacchus, who secretly arm themselves.
The Indians come out from their retrenchments and make a
charge. The army of Bacchus feigns a flight, in order to draw
them into the plain, where they make a terrible slaughter of
them. The water of the Hydaspes is reddenced with their
blood. We shall not enter into a more detailed description of
the battle, of which all the traits are drawn from the imagination of the poet, and which make up a tableau resembling that
of all battles.
CANTO XXIII.
In the twenty-third Canto the poet continues his narrative
of the battle fought on. the shores of the Hydaspes, in the
waters of whbich most of the Indians are precipitated. Juno,
who is always inimical to Bacchus, instigates the Hydaspes, to
declare war against the victor, which makes his preparations
for crossing it. Scarcely had Bacchus advanced in the rivers
when the Hydaspes enlists EAolus, in order to make its waters
rise by nnchaining the tempests. Here follows a pretty long
description of the confusion caused by this event in the army
of Bacchus. This God threatens the river, which only becomes the more furious. Bacchus burns it in its bed. The
ocean is irritated about it, and menaces Bacchus and Heaven.
CANTO XXIV.
Jupiter calms the fury of the Ocean, and the Hydaspas asks
Bacchus for peace, who finally yields. Very soon, says the
poet, is the rain brought back by the winds, raised by the Bear
and by winter, refilling again the rivers with water. Deriades
arms his Indians against Bacchus. Jupiter, in company with




Chap. VL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      151
the other Gods of the Olympus, is rendering assistance to his
Son and his companions. Apollo takes Aristeus under his protection; Mercury does the same with Pan, and Viilcan with
his Cabiri. At the head of his army marches Bacchus, and
Jupiter under the form of an eagle is their guide. Meanwhile
Deriades is informed by Thureus, who had escaped fromn the
slaughter, of the defeat of the Indiaas on the river Hydaspes.
These news cause mourning and consternation in his camp,
while the army of Bacchus rejoices over its success, which the
victors celebrate by songs, and after the enjoyment of the
pleasures of the table, they retire to rest.
CANTO XXV.
The poet commences his twenty-fifth Canto, or the second
moiety of his poem by an invocation of the Muse,'whom he
invites to' sing the subject of the war in India, which is
to last seven years. After a prolific invocation, Nonnus coming.finally to the point, depicts the fears of the inhabitants of the
Ganges and the despair of Deriades, who learns that the
waters of the Hydaspes had been changed into wine, like those
of the Astacus; that the smell of this delicious liquor was felt
by the Indians, and was alreacl.y portending the victory of Bacchus. The latter felt ashamed of the rest, in which he languished, and is indignant on account of the obstacles laid by
Juno in the way of his triumphs. Atis, the lover of Cybele,
is sent by that Goddess to console Bacchus and brings him an
armor forged by Vulcan. The poet gives us here a description of the splendid shield, which he receives. The whole
celestial system and the most interesting subjects of mythology were engraved thereon. In the meantime night sets in,
and while spreading her gloomy veil over the Earth, she brings
sleep back again to the mortals.




152         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VIL.
CANTO XXVI.
Minerva, under the form of Orontes, appears to Deriades in
a dream, and artfully stirs him up, to go and fight the mighty
son of Jupiter. Thou sleepest, O Deriades, she exclaims!  A
King, charged to watch over the defense of numerous nations,
how  can he sleep, when the enemy is at the gates?  The
murderers of Orontes, thy Son-in-Law, are still living, and
he is not yet avenged! Look at that breast, where there is
still that gaping wound, inflicted by the thyrsus of thy enemy.
Oh, that the redoubtable son of Mars, Lycurgus was here.
Thou wouldst see very soon Bacchus save himself at the bottom of the deep. Was he a God, this Bacchus, when he could
be put t. flight by a mortal?  Minerva, after having thus
spoken, returns to Heaven, where she resumes her divine form.
Deriades hereupon assembles immediately his warriors, whom
he calls from all parts of the Orient. Here follows a long
enumeration of the nations and of the various Princes; coming
from all the countries of India in order to range themselves
under his banners. This Canto contains curious details about
the manners, customs and the natural history of all these
countries.
CANTO XXYII.
Aurora, says the poet, had already opened the gates of
Orient; already had the light of the rising Saun, of which the
Ganges reflected the rays, banished the shadows spread over
the Earth, when a rain of blood came foreboding to the Indians their certain defeat. Notwithstanding and in the fualness of a proud self reliance, Deriades places his battalions in
battle-array against the son of Semenle, whose front is arnmed
with horns, and addressed his soldiers in a speech replete w.vth
contempt for his enemy. Then follows a description of the




Chap. VI.j  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      153
army of the Indians, of their position, their dresses and their
armor. Bacchus also is seen, dividing his army into four
corps, disposed in the direction of the four cardinal points of
the World, and haranguing his warriors.
Meanwhile Jupiter convokes the assembly of the immortals, and invites many Divinities, to -take an interest in the
sort of his Son. The Gods divide: Pallas, Apollo, Vulcan and
Minerva side with the wishes of Jupiter: Juno in opposition
forms a combination against him with Mars, Hydaspes andl
the jealous Ceres, who were to oppose that hero in his undertakings.
CANTO XXTIII.
In the beginning of this Canto Nonnus presents us with the
spectacle of the two armies advancing in battle array, ready
for the fray. Amongst the heroes in the train of Bacchus,
there may be distinguished Faun, Aristeus and M(acus, who
march in the front ranks against the Indians.
Phalenus engages in deadly conflict with Deriadces, and is
killed. Coryritbasus, one of the most valiant captains in the
Indian army, distinguishes himself by the number of victims
immolated by his sword, and perishes in his turn pierced by a
thousand arrows. A trait of valor of an Athenian is particularly admired on account of the fearless exposure of his person, notwithstanding the loss of both his arms, until he meets
death.
After the battles of the infantry, the poet then gives a description of those of the various troops of horse: Argilippus
seizes inflamed torches, kills several Indians, aind wounds
Deriades himself by throwing a stone at him. The rest of the
Canto is taken up by a description of various flights in which
the Corybantes and the Cyclops are distinguished.
20




154        THE ORIGIN OV ALL RELIGIOUs WORSHIP. Chap. VII.]
CANTO XXIX.
Juno, having been informed of the flight of several battalions of the Indians, goes to reanimate the courage and impetuosity of Deriades their leader, who rallies his forces and
begins again the battle with renewed vigor. 5Morrheus breaks
the line of the Satyrs. Hymensaus, the favorite of Bacchus,
resists a powerful onset, animated by the exhortations of this
God; however he is wounded on the thigh. Cured very soon
by Bacchus, he wounds his enemy in his turn. Then follows
the description of the battles fought by Aristeus and the Cabyri, also that by the Bacchantes. Caliceus or the Cup is at
the side of Bacchus: the battle revives again. Bacchus challenges Deriades. Night, which sets in, separates the combatants. Mars falls asleep and is troubled by a dream. At
daybreak he arises. Terror and Fear put horses to his chariot.
He flies to Paphos and to Lemnos and thence returns to
Heaven.
CANTO XXX.
Bacchus takes advantage of the absence of Mars; he
attacks the Indians and makes war on the black people.
Aristeus fights on the left wing. Morrheus wounds Eurymedon, who is succored by his brother Alcon. Eurymledon inyokes Yulcan, their father, who envelops Morrheus with his
fire. But the Hydaspes, father of Deriades, puts it out. Vulcan heals his son: Morheus kills Phlogius, and triumphs over
his defeat. The famous Tectaphus, whose daughter had
nourished him with her milk, when he was in prison, carries
confusion into the ranks of the Satyrs, and finally perishes
under the blows of Eurymedon. The poet describes here the
grief of his daughter Meroe, and enumerates the other victims,
immolated by Morrheus. Juno supports Deriades, rendering
him formidable in the eyes of Bacchus, who takes to flight.




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     155
Minerva recalls him to the combat, reproaching him  for his
cowardice. The courage of Bacchus is revived and he returns
to the charge, killing a great many Indians. HIe wounds especially iVielanion, or the Black, who, while hidden behind a
tree, had killed a great many people.
CANTO XXXI.
Juno looks for new expedients to injure the son of her rival:
she descends into Hell in order to see Proserpine, whom she
wants to interest in her vengeance, and to rouse the Furies against Bacchus. Proserpine consents to her request.,
and lends her Megcera. Juno departs with her; she makes
three paces and at the fourth she arrives on the shores of the
Ganges. Here she shows to Meglera the heaps of the dead, the
pitiful wreck of the Indian army. The:Fury retires into a
cave, where she leaves her hideous figure and her serpents,
and changes herself into a night bird, while she is awaiting
the information of Juno, when Jupiter would be asleep.
Iris goes in search of Morpheus and persuades that God to
pour his poppy over the eyes of the lord of the thunderbolt,
in order to favor the wrath of Juno. The God of sleep obeys,
and Iris goes to the Olympus tot render an account to Juno of
her message. The latter has already some other snares in
preparation, in order to make sure of Jupiter, and to beguile
him: she pays a visit to Venus on the Lebanon, and explains
to her the subject of her vexation; she begs her assistance, in
order that she may be enabled to arouse again the love of
Jupiter for her, and that she might aid the Indians during his
sleep.
CANTO XXXII.
Venus complies with the desire of Juno, who is immediately
soaring up to the Olympus, where she is going to make her




156         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VII.
toilet. After that she makes her appearance before Jupiter,
who falls in love with her. While they give themselves up to
the pleasures of the most delicious enjoyment, and afterwards
fall asleep, the Fury, being informed of it, takes up arms
against Bacchus, and under the form'of a furious lion makes a
spring at him, and infects him with the distemper. In vain
Diana wishes to cure him; Juno opposes it. Here follows a
description of the terrible effects of that madness, which
makes the friends of Bacchus fly from him. Deriades takes
advantage of this momentary disorder and makes an attack
on the Bacchantes. Mars under the figure of Morrheus, is
stirring up the carnage and combats for the Indians. Here
follows the catalogue of the dead. A large number of the
companions of Bacchus take to their heels and save themselves in forests and caverns. The Naiads hide themselves at
the bottom of their fountains, and the Hermadryads in the
trees of their forests.
CANTO XXXIII.
While the son of Semele is a prey to the fits of madness,
like a furious Bull, Grace, the daughter of Bacchus and Venus
interests her mother in behalf of the fate of her umihappy
father. Venus sends for Cupid and informs him of her resolution and of her fears about Bacchus: she induces him to inspire Morrheus, the leader of the Indians, with a vehement
love for the beautiful Calchomuedia, one of the Bacchantes,
serving in the army of Bacchus. Love, in obedience to the
order of his mother, shoots a burning arrow  at the Indian
hero, who falls passionately in love with the beautiful Bacchante.  iforrheus thinks no longer of battles. Subjugated
by love, he would willingly consent to wear the chains of Bacchus. He follows the Nymph, who avoids his courtship, and
who would sooner throw herself into the Sea, than marrv him.
Thetis, under the figure of a Bacchante, dissuades her from this




Ch/ap. VIi.L] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    157
project, she advises her, to deceive the proud Indian by apparently consenting, she tells her, that it is the only means to
save the army of the Bacchantes.
CANTO XXXIV.
Thetis returns to the watery abode of Nereus, while Morrheus is agitated by the most lively apprehensions about the
fate of his courtship. He makes his slave a confidant of his
flame and[ asks him for a remedy against his passion, which
takes away all his courage, and makes the arms fall from  his
hands at the mere sight of his sweetheart.  He retires to his
apartment and falls asleep.  A deceitful dream  represents
him the object of his love at his side, refusing nothing to his
desires. But the return of Aurora puts an end to his felicity.
Mars however is arming the battalions of the Indians. The
Bacchantes  are overwhelmed with grief, and the whole
army of Bacchus is discouraged.  MAorrheus takes many Bacchantes prisoners, and makes a present of them to Deriades
his father-in-law, who makes them appear in his triumph and
to perish by various tortures. Morrheus continues to pursue
the army of Bacchus, when he perceives Calchomedia richly
dressed: she feigns to fall in love with the Indian Chieftain,
who shows himself more a lover than a warrior and an enemy,
and who rather sighs for her, than dare to fight with.
CANTO  XXXV.
While many Bacchantes are either killed or wounded in the
city, Calchomedia awaits Morrheus on the ramparts, who as
soon as he perceives her, is full of eagerness to meet her.
She promises him her favors; provided that he should consent to come to see her unarmed, and after having washed
himself in the  river. Morrheus  consents to  everything.
Venus smiles at her triumph and teases Mars, the protector of
the Indians.




158         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VIZ
At the moment when Morrheus wants to obtain the price
of his submission, a dragon, the faithful guardian of the chastity of the Bacchante, rushes from her bosom and opposes his
fruition. The Indian is frightened and meanwhile the Bacchantes under the leadership of -Mercury, who takes the form
of Bacchus, escape from the city and from Deriades, who pursues them.
Jupiter however, aroused from his sleep and excited by the
disorder of the army of Bacchus and by the disease of his son,
reproaches Juno, whom he forces, to give to Bacchus some of
her milk, in order that he might recover his reason and health.
Bacchus is cured and soon appears again at the head of his
army, to which his presence alone is a presage of vitosy. He
grieves for the fate of the warriors, who had been killed during
his absence and makes arrangements in order to avenge them.
CANTO XXXYI.
The Gods take  sides between  Deriades and  Bacchus.
Mars combats  against  rMinerva; Diana  against Juno,
who wounds her and triumphs over her defeat. Apollo takes
her out of the fray and engages in personal combat with Neptune. Mercury finally reconciles the Gods andl re-establishes
peace once more in Olympus. Deriades is again preparing
for a fight, and by infusing new courage into his soldiers, they
determined to give a decisive battle. Bacchus on his part,
is also preparing for another battle; and already is heard the
hissing of the serpents of the Bacchantes.  Tartarus is opening its gates in order to receive the dead. Then follows a
description of the fray and of the carnage.
Bacchus engages into deadly combat with Deriades and
in order to beat him, he takes various forms like Proteus: he
is wounded under that of a panther. Like the soul of the
World he metamorphoses himself into fire, into water, into a




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      159
plant, into a tree, into a lion &c. Deriades in vain combats
the phantom which escapes him, and ineffectually contends
against Bacchus, who makes a vine grow, the branches of
which entangle the wheel of the chariot of Deriades and wind
themselves around him; he is forced to implore the clemency
of Bacclhus, who clears him of his fetters. But the proud Indian is not subdued and constantly attempts to make this' God
his slave.
Bacchus not being able to overcome the Indians by land,
makes the Rhadamanes build vessels for him. He recollects
the prediction of Rhea, who had told him, that the war would
not end, until-he should construct vessels against his enemies.
This war had already lasted six years, when Deriades caused
his black subjects to assemble.  IMorrheus harangues them,
and reminds them of his former achievements. H-e informs
them, that the Rhadamanes were building vessels for Bacchus,
and he relieves their apprehensions about this new mode of
warfare. Meanwhile a truce is made of three months, in order to bury the dead.
CANTO XXXVII.
This truce occupies the whole of the following book, which
contains a description of the various funeral obsequies. Trees
are cut in the forest, destined to erect the funeral piles, to be
set on fire. Bacchus institutes the celebration of games on
the occasion of these obsequies, and proposes various prizes.
The course of the chariots, the foot-race, the wrestling, the
combat of the cestus, the disk and various other exercises
form this interesting spectacle.
CANTO XXXVIII.
The truce expires, and the seventh year of the war commences. Several phenomena presage its issue. Amongst
others an eclipse of the Sun is remarkable, the application of




160         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. fIi.
which to the present events is made by an astrologer, which
is wholly favorable to Bacchus. Mercury himself conies to
confirm the meaning, which had been given to it, and the
happy omens, which he draws from it: he corupares the momentaneous obscurity of the eclipse and the returning light
of the Sun, which finally triumphs over it, with that which
shall happen to Bacchus in his coumbat against the leader of
the black people. Mercury is led into the episodial narrative
of the marvelous story of the fall of Phmeton, to whom the Sun
of old had once confided the reins of its chariot. As soon as
the tale is ended, Mercury returns to Heaven.
CANTO XXXIX.
At the commencement of the following Canto we are given
the spectacle of the fleet under the leadership of the Rhadamanes and of Lycus. At that sight Deriades becomes furious,
and makes a speech replete with insolent pride.
Bacchus on his part encourages his soldiers, and with his
fleet is hemming in the Indians. A horrible carnage is made
on both sides: the seashore is covered with the dead. Morrheus having been wounded by Bacchus is healed by the Brahmins. Jupiter finally makes the scales incline in favor of
Bacchus. The Indian fleet is burned and Deriades saves himself on shore.
CANTO XL.
Minerva appears, at the commencement of the following
book, to Deriades under the form of Morrheus, and bitterly
reproaches him his cowardly flight. He returns to the fight
and again defies Bacchus, who finally kills him. His corpse is
floated along by the waves of the Hydaspes. The Bacchantes
applaud with cheers the victory of their leader, and the Gods,
who had been witnesses of a defeat, which ends the war of
Bacchus against the Indians, return with Jupiter to the




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     161
Heavens. The rest of the Canto is taken up by a description
of the consequences of this great* event, of the grief of the
whole family of Deriades, and of the obsequies of the dead.
The poet gives us also a picture of the rejoicings of the Bacchantes: they celebrate by songs and dances the victory of
Bacchus over the Chief of the Black people, who had so long
resisted the onward course of the beneficent God, who made
the circuit of the world, in order to enrich it with his gifts.
Deriades plays here in the poem of Bacchus a similar role of
opposition, as Typhon plays in the sacred fables of Osiris.
This principle of resistance of the Chief of the Blacks having
been overcome by the God, the principle of Light and the
source of all blessings, there is now nothing more to do for
Bacchus, but to proceed on his route, and to return to the
point, whence he had set out. This point is the equinox
of Spring, or the sign of. the Bull, where he shall return, after
having dispelled the gloom, spread by Winter over the World,
and which under the name of Pentheus or Mourning, is unable
to hold out longer before the God, who by his return to our
climes, restores to us Light and Gladness. The war has
ended in the seventh year or in the seventh sign.
FOURTH SEASON.
Nonnus therefore supposes, that Bacchus leaves Asia,
in order to return to Greece or towards the North of the W~orld.
He makes him take his route through Arabia and Phoenicia;
all of which furnishes him with matter for sundry episodic
Cantos, havino reference to the countries, through which he
makes him pass. His eye is principally fixed on Tyre and
Berytes, of which he narrates the origin, all of which comprises the end of this Canto and the three consecutive ones,
which may be regarde.d as absolutely episodical.
21




162         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. ViI.
CANTO XLI.
Bacchus is here seen on his route through Phcenicia and all
the neighboring places of the Lebannon, where he plants the
vine on those hills, which had acquired celebrity by the courtship of Venus and Adonis. Here was the superb city of Berytes of which the poet makes an enconiumn and gives a pompous description of it. It is the most ancient city that ever
had existed. This is the first land, where Venus landed, when
she came out from the waves of the Sea at the moment of her
birth. Bacchus and Neptune are contending for the hand of
the Nymph, who shall give it its name.
CANTO XLII.
This Canto is filled by a description of the effects, which is
produced on the heart of Bacchus at the sight of the youthful
Nymph, whose hand he solicits. He reveals his passion to her,
and tries to disgust her with the God of Waters; but the
Nymph is deaf to this seductive language. Neptune in his
turn makes his appearance on the stage, but meets with no
more favorable reception. Venus declares that the fate. of the
combat should decide, who of the two rivals shall have the
preference.
CANTO XLIII.
The poet give us a description of the armor of the two rivals;
also the disposition of their forces. Amongst the Captains of
the army of Bacchus, the Winy, the Wine Drinker, the Bunch
of Grapes and other allegorical personages are conspicuous.
This God animates the courage of his warriors and bids contemptuous defiance to the soldiers of Neptune, who likewise
animates his armly by a speech, in which Bacchus meets with
no better treatment. A Triton is sounding the charge on one




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    163
side and Pan on the other. The famous Proteus, followed by
old Nereus and by a great many marine Divinities make their
appearance. The army of the Bacchantes is marching in good
order against them. The battle conmmences: Silenus is fighting against Paletmon, Pan against Nereus; the elephants are
facing the sea-calves. The Nymph Psamathea, standing on
the sands of the sea shore, implores Jupiter to favor Neptune,
on whom finally the Lord of the Gods bestows the Nymph
Beroe. Love is consoling Bacchus by the promise of the hand
of the beautiful Ariadne.
CANTO XLIV.
The long episode, which has the foundation of Tyre and
Berytes for object, being ended, the poet exhibits to our view
Bacchus on his return to Greece. H1is arrival there is marked
by festivals: whole Nature welcomes his return. The only one,
who is afflicted is Pentheus, or Mourning personified.
For the better understanding of the sense of the allegory,
predominant throughout this Canto of the poem, it will be
necessary to remember, that we are here at the winter solstice,
or at the epoch, when the Sun, after its seeming withdrawal
from us, is again taking its route towards our climes and is,
restoring to us that light, which seemed to desert us. It was
just at the same epoch, when the ancient Egyptians celebrated
their festivals, the object of which was this return, and the
announcement, that they had no longer to stand in fear of that
mourning, with which Nature was menaced by the absencee of
the Sun, and which they apprehended, would recede irom
them  forever. Mourning therefore vanishes with the first
rays of hope, which the people of our climates would conceive,
when observing the return of the Sun towards them, which,
with the restoration of Light and Heat, shall render them all
the blessings, of which the Star of Day is the fruitful source.
Mourning or Pentheus, filled with apprehensions by this




164         THIE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ COap. VII.
return, arms his soldiers against Bacchus, and denies him admission into the city of Cadmus. But awful prodigies already
prognosticate, his fate and the disasters impending over his
whole house. Nevertheless he persists in his project, which
has the ruin of Bacchns for object.
That God invokes the Moon, which promises him her support. As a warranty of his future success, she points to the
victories, which he had already achieved, and amongst others,
to the defeat of the Tuscan pirates, who wanted to put him
in irons.  This last adventure finds here of course its place,
because it is that of the winter solstice. In our larger work
will be found a detailed explanation.
Meanwhile Proserpine, the mother of the first Bacchus stirs
up the Furies, which are going to spread confusion in the
palace of Pentheus, and to pour out their phials of black poison into the house of Agave. Bacchus under the form of a
Bull makes a speech to Antince, the wife of Aristeus, and
informs her, that her son Acteon is not dead, and that
he is hunting with Diana and Bacchus.
CA NTO XLV.
Deceived by this false information, the unfortunate Antinoe
takes immediately to the forests, followed by Agave, the
mother of Pentheus, who is already filled with all the fury of
the Bacchantes.
Tiresias makes a sacrifice for Pentheus, whom he advises
not to attempt a combat with Bacchus, the chances of which
would be unequal. But nothing can intimitate Pentheus, who
causes researches to be made in the forests after Bacchus and
wants to put him in irons. The Bacchantes are imprisoned,
and escape from it by working miracles. Bacchus sets the
palace of Pentheus on fire, who in vain tries to extinguish
it. Amongst the different miracles of Bacchus and of his Bacchantes, there are prodigies very similar to those, which are




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      165
attributed to Moses and to Christ; for instance such as the
sources of water, whicb the former caused to spout from the
innermost of the rocks, and the fiery tongues, which as it is said,
filled the appartments, where the disciples of Christ used to
meet.
CANTO XLVI.
The forty-sixth Canto commences with a speech of Pentheus against Bacchus, contesting his divine origin. Ba3cchus
refutes him and afterwards allures him to disguise himself as
a woman, in order to witness hilself, what happens in his
orgies. Pentheus lets himself be persuaded, and under that
disguise approaches the Bacchantes, whose dilirium and movements he imitates. Hie appears in the eyes of his mother
under the form of a ferocious lion, as if going to attack Bacchus. She joins the Bacchantes in order to kill it, and when
at the point of death, he tries to dissipate the error of his
mother by saying, that he, whom she believes to be a lion, is
her son. Yet nothing can undeceive Agave and her companions: they cut the unlucky Pentheus or the Prince of
Mourning to pieces. The unfortunate mother had the head of
her son cut off, and wants it to be hung up at the palace of
Cadmus, always under the belief, that it was a lion, which they
had killed.
Cadmus undeceives and reproaches her the cruel effects of
her ravings. Then she is made aware of her crime; she falls
into a swoon, and when recovering from it, she gives vent to
imprecations against Bacchus. That God allays her grief
with a drink and consoles her.
CANTO XLVIIL
In order to understand well the following Cantos, it should
be remembered, that there are still remaining three months
for the Sun, to arrive at the point, whence it started primi



166         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VI.
tively. To these three months there correspond a series of
constellations, which rise in succession in the evening on the
horizon, and which develop themselves each month in' the
East at the commencement of night, in proportion as the Sun
draws near the signs of the Waterman, the Fishes and the
Ram, to which those constellations are opposed. Amongst
the most remarkable are the Herdsman and the celestial Virgin, followed by the crown of Ariadne and by the polar Dragon, which lends its attributes to the Giants. The Herdsman
is known by the name of Icarus, a husbandman of Attica, who
had a daughter called Erigone, which is the name of the celestial Virgin. Those are the celestial aspects, which mark the
course of time of the succession of the months, from the winter
solstice, when Bacchus kills Mourning or Pentheus, up to the
time of his return to the first of the signs. This will form
also the basis of the fictions of the poems in the following
Cantos.
Bacchus leaves Thebes and approaches Athens, where they
rejoice over his arrival.  He takes lodgings with Icarus, who
receives him with open arms; his daughter Erigone takes all
possible care, to make him comfortable. BGacchus grateful for
this service, makes them a present of a cup filled with wine, a
drink until then unknown. Icarus tastes it and is finally intoxicated. It willbe here observed, that the Herdsman or Icarus is
the star of the vintage, also the Virgin, of which constellation one
star bears the name of the Vintageress.  She has above her
the celestial Cup, which is called in Astronomy the Cup of
Bacchus and of Iearus. This is the whole foundation of this
allegory.
Bacchus teaches Icarus the art of cultivating the shrub, yielding this delicious juice. This discovery is communicated by
the latter to others. Very soon all the country people in the
neighborhood become intoxicated. In their delirium, they get
hold of him, who had given them this in its effects so astonish



Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      167
ing beverage. They kill him and they bury his body in an out
of the way place. His shade appears to Erigone in a dream
and requests her to avenge his death. Filled with terror she
runs over mountains and through forests in search of her
father's corpse. She finds it, and his faithful dog expires out
of grief, over the tomb of his master. Erigone in despair
hangs herself. Jupiter, moved by their misfortunes, places
them  in the Heavens. Icarus becomes the celestial Herdsman; Erigone the Virgin of the signs and their dog becomes
the celestial Dog, which rises before them. In consequence of
this event Bacchus leaves for the isle of Naxos, where he perceives Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus during her sleep. Bacchus finds her still asleep; he admires her charms and falls in
love with her. The unhappy Princess awakens, and becomes
aware that she is forsaken.  WTith tears in her eyes she pronounces the name of Theseus and regrets the illusions of sleep,
which made her see her lover in a dream.  She makes the
whole Island resound with her lamentations and expressions of
sorrow. Bacchus listens attentively and very soon recognizes
the sweetl-eart of Theseus. He approaches her and tries to
console her. He offers her his true love, and promnises to place
her in the IHeavens with a crown of stars, which shall perpetuate the memory of her love for Bacchus. It will be observed that this constellation rises in the morning with the
Sun at the time of the vintage, and that is the reason why they
made of it one of the mistresses of Bacchus.
This speech and the promises of the God calm the grief of
ALiadclne and make her forget her base ravisher. All the
Nymphs are eager to celebrate her union with the God of
Grapes.
Bacchus leaves the island in order to pay Argos a visit.
The Argives took measures to repel the two spouses from a
country, which was consecrated to Juno, the enemy of Bacchus. Pressedcbv the wrath of Bacchus, the Argive women are




168         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ CGap. tJf.
disposed to sacrifice rather their own children. The reason of
their refasal was, that inasmuch they had already Perseus for
God, they did not want Bacchus. It will be here observed, that
about this epoch, when the *Sun is nearly approaching the
signs of Spring, Perseus is appearing in the morning with the
Sun. This occasions a combat between Perseus and Bacchus, ending in a reconciliation between these two heroes.
This Canto ends with a description of the festivities, which the
Argives celebrate in honor of the new God.
CANTO XLVIII AND LAST.
Bacchns leaves Argos and procee As on his way to Thracia.
There, Juno in her implacable hatred, makes the Giants rise
against him, who borrow their form as we have seen, from the
celeetial Serpent or from the Dragon, which rises next to the
crown of Ariadne. The poet gives here a description of the
various arms, seized by the monsters, in order to give battle to
Bacchus, who finally overthrows themn. These are the same
Serpents, which furnished to Typhon his attributes, and
formed his retinue in the first Canto of this poem. This is an
evident proof, that the annual revolution is ended, because the
same celestial aspects are reproduced. Here we have a new
confirmation of our theory and also an evidence, that the
course of Bacchus is circular like that of theSun, because by
following the course of that luminary in the Heavens, and by
comparing it with that of the hero of the poem, we are.
brought back to the equinoctial point, whence we set out.
Theu the breath of Zephyr or the gentle breeze, which anr
nounces the return of Spring, is felt again. The poet personifies it under the name of the Nymph Aura, with whom Bacchus falls in love; this furnishes him with matter for a charnming allegory, with which his poem ends.
He supposes, that Bacchus in the mountains of Phrygia,
where he had been raised, meets with a young huntress called




Cthap. VI.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         169
Aura, a grand daughter of the Ocean.  She was as fleet as the
wind.
Tired from the chase, she had fallen asleep towards noon
and a dream  prognosticated to her, that B3acchus would fall
in love with h'lr.  It seemed to her as if shle saw Love hunting,
and presenting to his mlother the animals he had killed. Aura
dreamt that she was t.aking up his quiver. ]love was joking about
her taste for vir(ginity.  She awakes and is an.gry (against both
Love and Sleep.  She is proud of her virginity and asserts,
that she is not inferior to Diana.  That Goddess hears it and
is provoked  by such a comparison; she complains to Nemesis,
who promises her, that she would punish thbIat proud Nymph
with the loss of that,which she so highly prizes.  Immediately
she arms Love against her, who causes Bacchus tjo fall passionately in love with her.  That God is sighing a long while,
and without hope.  He dares not confess his passion to this
wild Nymph. Here follow-s a passionate soliloquiy of the unhappy lover, complaining of the severity of her, who is the object
of his love.  While Bacchus, who in the midst of meadows,
enameled with flowers, is giving vent to his amorous laments,
a  IHamadryad  Nynlmphll advises   him  to  surprise  Aura,
and to rob her of the treasure, which she was guarding so
carefully.
Bacchus recollects the artifice, to which he resorted, in order to enjoy the favors of Nice, near the shores of the Astacus.
Chance conducted Aira% also in those places, and consumed
by thirst, she was in search of a fountain, in order to quench
it.  Profiting by this chance thus offered, Bacchus strikes the
rock with his tyrsus, and makes a source of wine spout out
therefrom, meandring between  flowers, which the  season
brings forth.  Zephyrs breathe softly over it an-ld agitate the
air, which the nifghtingale and other birds mnake resonant with
their harmonious concerts.
In this charm-ing' spot the young Nymph arri-ves in order to
22




170          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   Chap. VIL.
refresh herself.  She drinks, without suspecting anything, the
delicious liquor, which Bacchus causes to flow for her.  She
is enchanted by its sweetness, and in a short tinme feels its astonishing effects.  She is conscious, that her eyelids are
heavy, that her head turns, that her feet are tottering.  She
lays down and falls a sleep.  Love observes her, advices Bacchus of it, and talkes its flight towards the Olympus, after having written on the vernal leaves these words "Lover, crown
thy work, while she is asleep.  Softly, no noise, for fear she
might awake."
Following this advice, Bacchus approaches stealthily the
couch of green sod, where the Nymph reposes.  -Ie takes
away her quiver, without awakling her, anld hides it in a grotto
near by.  He puts fetters rou-nd hel and plucks the firstiflower of her virtue.  He, leaves a sweet kiss on her vermnilion lips;
he unfetters her and returns l!e]: quiver.
S      v:,,rceiy hl;  G th,  G  i, left, when thea Njymphi aroulses from her
sleep, which lad served her lover so well: she is astonished at
the.disor,-fer, ia which shie finds herseilf, and of which the poet
gives a delightful picture.  She perceives, that an amorous
larceny had been comnlmitted, which had robbed her of her
most precious treasure.  She becomes fulious acnd vents her
rage on everything she enco.-inters; she smYlites the statues of
Venus and Cupid.  She is igno'ant of who thle audlacious ravisher is, who hadcilaken advantage of her sleep;  but soon she
discovers, that she is to become.mother, and in her despair she
wants to. decStrov the fruit she bears in her bosomn and herself.
Then Diana abuses her fallen prido, by reminding her of
the circumstances of an adventure, the unequivocal signs of
which already betray the mystery.  She asks her several malicious questions, and finally discloses to her, tha-t Baccbius was
the author of the larceny.
Having thus tasted the pleas-res of velngea1nce, Diana, retires, leaving the unhappy Aura wanderiong, about rocks and
tires)       - ""^'rJ ^~~  """~" 0~"




Chap. TVi..] TrHE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     171
in the solitude, which resound with her plaintive g'roans.
Finally she becomes the mother of twins,whonom  she exposes on
a rock, so that, they might become the prey of wild beasts.  A
female panther conmes to tlhe spot and suckles them.  The
rmother, furious, that they should thus be preserved, kills one.of them. T1he other is taken away by Diana and saved from.
her rage, by giving it to ilinerva, who had the child educated
at Athens.  This is the new Bacchus or the child of the mysteries.
Having thus ended his labors and terminated his mortal career, Bacchus is received in the Olympus, where he takes his
seat near the son of 2Maia or the Plheiad, which. opens the
new revolutiom-.
It will be observed, that Nonnus, while ending his poem,
brings hit hero back to the equinoctial point of Spring, whence
he set out, or in other words, that the poem  ends with the
annual revolution. The poet has given the various apects,
which Heaven presents in an allegorical poem, by personifying the physical beings, which, in the Elements and on Earth
are connected with the periodical progress of time and with
the celestial power, which preserves vegetation.
The forty-eight cantos of the poem  comlprehend the whole
circle of the year and that of tile effects, which it produces on
the Earth.  It is a canto on Nature and on the beneficent
power of the Sun.
The Heaceleid and the Dionysiacs have therefore the same
hero for object. These two poems suppose the same position
in the equinoxes and the solstices, which have reference to the
same centuries. In one of thetm or in the poem on Hercules,
the Sun starts fromn the summer solstice; and in the other
from the equinox of Spring.  In the, one case, it is the power;
in the other the beneficence of that luminary, which is sung:
in both, it is the principle of goodness which triumphs as a
last result over all obstacles opposed by its enemies. In the




172          THE OIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VIL.
saclrcr f;ble of the Christictans we shall also see the Goc  Sun
under the form  of the ]Lanmb, and represented with the attributes of the sign, which tool the place of the Bull at the equinox of Sipring, triuml1phan[it at Easter over tile opposition,
which his enemies made against the exercise of his beneficence, and going on Ascension day to resume his place in the
Heavens, like Bacchus.
It would be difficult to persuade  anybody, that the hero of
the Dionysijacs had been a mortal, whoml his conquests and
the gratitude of mankind had raised to the rank of the mortals, although a great many persons had  asserted it.  The
allegorical featnures of the poem  are visible in all its parts.
His course corresponds exactly with that of the Sun in Heaven, and wituh that of the seasons, so Ilmulch so, that it must be
evident to anybody, who shall pay the least attention to it,
that Bacchus is zere  7 t-he  Star o'  Day, and represents that
solar power, which alccordingI to Euseblius developes itself in
the vegetation of the  lits, whicll are offered by Autumnn. All
the chara cters have bDeel pre: rIved in various hymuns, addressed by Orpheus to Bacchus.
H-le is represented there sometimes as a G-od, inhabiting the
gloomy Tartarus, at other times as a D ivinity reigning in
Olympus, thennce superintending the maturing of the fruits,
which the Earth brings forth from her bosom.  He takes all
sorts of forms; he  preserves everySthing; he produces the
freshness of vegetlation, the same as the sacered PBull does,
which the Persians invoke in their hymns.
He sees byturns his flatnbeatu 1indled and extinlguised in the
periodical cycle of the seasons.  It is he, who makes thile fruit
grow.  There is not one of these traits, which would not be
appropriated to thle Sun, and the analysis, which we have
made of the po~:o, of which he is the hero, proves by consecutive comparison with the progress of the year, that Bacchus,
as already observed, is thle beneficent Luminary, which ani



U'hap. YV.j TIHE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        173
mates everything on Earth at each annual revolution.
Behold here once more a' hero, famous in all antiquity by
his travels and conquest in the East, who is found never to
have existed as a mortal, notwithstanding all that Cicero may
have said about him, and who only exists in the Sun, licke
Hercules and Osiris.  His history is reduced to an. alle-o:rical
poem-:1 o0n the year, on the vegetation and on the.1]il:,inary,
which is the cause of it, and the fecundafting action of which
commences to dev-elop itself at the equinox of Spring.  The
King Grape, tlhe Queen Inebriation, the Priince Bunch of.trapes, old Pithos or the Cask are merely seconadary beings
personified in an aliegory, which has the God of the vintacge
for object.  it is t-e samna case with young Ampelus or the
Vine, the friend  of 3Bacchus; with the Nymph Aura, or the
gentle Breeze, with whom he is in. love, and with all the other
physical or moral beings, which are ptlaying a conspicuous part
in this poemi, the foundation, as well as the accesssories of which,
beloing to allegoRry, with which history hals nothing whatever
to do.  But, if history loses thereby a hero, poetic antiquity is
gainingo by it, and discloses one of the most beautiful monuments of its genius.  T'_his poemn is instructive in forlming a
judgment of its origi.L.al llharacier, arid gJives us an. idea, to
what highth poetry m-ight soar.  It may also be seen here,
how, oin such a siimple canvas as a calendar, they know to embroicier the most iugelnius fictions, in which ev:rything is
personified, and where everything has a soul, life and feeling.
ThO poet:t; p  cf m-: el:5'1s may'se- from these examples, from
what elminence they have fallen, but it is our province to
judje of the ce-rtainty or trath of ancient stories, and chiefly
of those, of which the personages play a prominent figure ii
the heroic tages and in religious legends.




CHAPTER VIIIJ
The fable of Jason, the conqueror of the  tamn of the golden
fleece, or of the celestial sign, which, by its disengagement
from the solar rays in the morning, announces the arrival of
the Star of Day at the equinoctial Bull of spring, is alike famrous in mythology, as the fiction of the twelve labors of the
Sun under the namle of Hercules, and that of its travels under
that of Bacchus. This is again an allegorical poenm, which belongs to another people, and which has been comlposed. by
other priests, whose great Divinity Nwas the Sun. It'would
seem to be the work of the Pelasgi of Thessaly, as the poem
on Bacchus was that of, or had its origin with the people of
Boeotia. Each nation, while worshipping the same God Sun
under different names, hadl its priests and poets, who did not
want to copy each other in their sacred camntos. The Jews celebrated this saam  equinoctial epoch, under the name of feast
of the Lamb and of the triumph of the cherished people of
God over the hostile people. It was also at that epoch, that
the Hebrews, when delivered from oppression, passed into the
promised land, into the abode of delight, the gate of which
was opened to them by the sacrlifice of the Larumb. The worshippers of Bacchus said of this Raim, or of this equinoctial
Lamb, that it was the same, which in the desert in the midst
of the Sands, caused the discovery of spring water, in order to
refresh the armlny of Bacchus, as also l\ oses withi- a stroke of his
wacnd, made to spout out in the cesert, in order to qlench the
thirst of his army. All these astronomical fa'l-es have a point
of contact in the celestial sphere, and the horns of lM[oses resemble very much those of Anmmon and of Bacchus.
We have already observed in the explanation we have given




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     175
of the poem  on Herceules, that this pretended hero, whose
history explains itself entirely by Heaven, belonged to the expedition of the Argonauts, which is indicative enough of the
character of this last fable: it is therefore still in Heaven, that
we must follow the actors of this new poem, because one of
the most distinguished heroes amongst them is in the Heavens, and that it is there, where the scene of all his adventures
lays, that his image is located there as well as that of Jason,
the leader of this wholly astronomical expedition. Amongst the
constellations may also be found the vessel, on which the Argonauts had embarked, and which is still called the ship Argo; the
famous Ram with the golden fleece, which is the first of the
signs, lmay also be seen there; likewise the Drag'on and the
Bull, which guarded the fleece; the Twins C-astor and Po1Iux,
which were the priblnipal heroes of this expedition; the same
as Cepheus and the Centaur Chiron. The celestial images and
the personages of the poem have such an affinity amongst
each other, that the celebrated Newton thought, that he could
draw from it an argument in order to prove, that the sphere
had been composed since the expedition of the Argonauts,
because most of its heroes, who are mentioned in that song,
find themselves located in the Heavens. We shall not at all
deny this perfect correspondence, not more than that, which
is to bie found between the Heavens and the pictures of the
poem on Hertcules and on Bacch-us, but we shall draw from it
only one consequence, which is, that t-te celestial figures were
the common foundation, on which the poets worked, who
gave them  differeni; names, under which they made them
figure in their poems.
There is not more reason to say, thAt these images were
consecrated in the Heavens on the occasion of the expedition
of the Argonautts, than it would be to assert, that they were
so on the Occasion of the labors of Hercules, because the subjects of these two poems are -to be found there likewise, and if




176         THE ORIGIIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VII.
they were put there for one of these fables, they could not
have been so'for the other, as the place would have been already occupied; because they are the same group of stars,
but every one has sung them after his own fashion: hence the
reason why they suit all these poems.
The conclusion of Newton could be only in so far of any
force, as there should exist any certainty about the expedition
of the Argonauts being a historical fact, and not a fiction
similar to those, having Hercules, Bacchus, or Osyris and Isis
and their travels for object, and we are very far from having
that assurance. At the contrary, all is concurring to range it
in the class of sacred fictions, because it is found intermingled
with them  in the depot of the ancient mythology of the
Greeks, and that it has heroes and characters in common with
those of the-se poems, which we have explained by astronomy.
We shall therefore nmake'use of the same key, in order to arnalyse this solar poem.
The poem on Jason does not comprehend the entire annual
revolution of the Sun, like those of the Heracleid and of the
Dionysiacs, which we have explained; but has only for object
one of those epochs, in truth a very famous one, whTen this luminary, after overcoming winter, reaches the equinYoctial point
of spring, and enriches our hemisphere with all the blessings
of the periodical vegetation.  That is the time, when Jupiter,
metamorphosed into a golden rain, created Perseus, whose
image is placed over the celestial Ram, called the Ram with
the golden fleece, the rich conqu-iest of which was attributed to
the Sun, the conqueror of Darkness and the redeeuner of
Nature.
It is this astrononmical fact, this single annual phenomrenon,
which has been sung in the poem  called  " Argonauties."  It
is on that account, that this fact enter only partinally in the
solar poem upon Hercules, and forms. an episodical piece of
the ninth labor, or of that, which corresponds to the celestial




Chap. VIIL.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     177
Ram. In the Argonautics on the contrary, it is a whole poem,
which has one single subject. It is this poem, which we are
going to analyse, and the relations of which with the Heavens
we shall show, if not in detail, at least so far as the main
point is concerned, which the genius of each poet has amplified and ornamented after his own fashion. The fable of Jason
and of the Argonauts has been treated by several poets, by
Epimenides, Orpheus, Apollonius of Rhodes and by Valerius
Flacus. We possess only the poems of the last three, and we
shall analyse here only that of Apollonius, which is written in
four cantos. All are supported by the same astronomical
basis, which is reduced to very few elements.
WVe will recollect that Hercules in the labor corresponding
to the Ra-m, before he arrives at the equinoctial Bull, is supposed as having embarked for the purpose of going to Colchis,
in quest of the golden fleece. At the same epoch he freed a
maiden exposed to a sea monster, as Andromeda was placed
near the same Ram. He went then on board the ship Argo,
one of the constellations, which establishes this same passage
of the Sun to the Ram of the signs. Here we have therefore
the given position of the Heavens for the epoch of this astronomical expedition. Such is the state of the sphere to be supposed at the time, when the poet sings the Sun under the
name of Jason, and his conquests of the famous Raiam. This
supposition is confirmed, by what Theocritus tells us: that it
was at the rising of the Pleiades and in the Spring, when the
Arganouts embarked. Now, the Pleiade rise, when the Sun
arives towards the end of the Stars of the Ran, and when it
enters the Bull, which is the signn, that corresponded in those
remote periods to the equinox. This fact being established,
let us examine what constellations in the morning and evening
hours fixed tfil s ihmportant epoch.
We find in the evening at the eastern rim the celestial vessel,
called by the Ancients the ship of the Argonauts. It is followed
23




178         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VII.
in its rise by the Serpentarius called Jason: between them is
the Centaur Chiron, who educated Jason, and above Jason is
the Lyre of Orpheus, preceeded by the celestial Hercules, one
of the Argonauts.
At the West, we see the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, the
leaders of this expedition with Jason. On the next day in the
morning we perceive at the Eastern rim of the horizon, the
celestial Ram, disengaging itself from the rays of the Sun with
the Pleiades, Perseus, Medusa and the charioteer or Absyrtus,
while at the West, the Serpentarius Jason and his serpent
descend into the bosom of the waves after the celestial Virgin.
In the East Medusa is rising, who plays here the role of
Medea, and who being placed above the Ram, seems to give up
its rich fleece to Jason while the Sun eclipses with its rays
the Bull which follows the Ram, and the Sea Dragon placed
below, who seems to guard this precious deposit. Those are,
or very nearly so, the principal celestial aspects, which are
offered to our views: we have sketched them on one of the
planispheres of our larger work, destined to facilitate the understanding of our explanations. The reader ought to recollect above all, these various aspects,. in order to recognize them
under the allegorical veil, with which. the poet is covering
them, by mixing continually geographical descriptions and
astronomical positions, whi"ch have a foundation of truthi,
with stories, which are entirely feigned. Almost all the details
of the poem are the fruits of the imagination of the poet.
ARGONAUTICS.
CANTO I.
Apollonius commences with an invocation of the God himself, which he is going to sing, or of the Sun, the Chief of the
Muses, and the tutelar Divinity of the poets. At the first
verses or in the proposition, he establishes the object of the




Chap. VIII. ] TEE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    179
sole action of his poem. He is going, he says, to celebrate the
glory of ancient heroes, who by the order of KWing Pelias, had
embarked on board the ship Argo, the very same, of which the
image is in the Heavens, and who have gone in quest of the
golden fleece of a Ranl, which is likewise amongst the constellations. It is throunh the Cyarnaean rocks and by the
entrance of the Pontus, that he marks the route of these
intrepid travelers.
An oracle had informed Pelias, that he would perish by the
hands of a man, whom he had ascertained since to be Jason.
In order to avoid the effects of this sad prediction, he proposed to the latter a perilous expedition, from which he hoped,
he would never be able'to return. The proposition was, to go
to Colchis to make the conquest of a golden fleece, which was'in possession of JEites, a son of the Sun and King of that
country. The poet begins his subject by enumerating the
names of the various heroes, the followers of Jason in the expedition. Amongst them Orpheus is noted; his society and example having been recommnented to Jason by Chiron his tutor.
The harmony of his songs would be useful, in order to soften
the tediousness of his toilsome task. It will be observed that
the Lyre of Orpheus is in the Heavens over the Serpentarius
Jason, near a constellation, which is also called Orpheus.
~These three celestial images, Jason, Orpheus and the Lyre,
rise together at, the setting in of Night and at the departure
of Jason for his adventure. Such is the allegorical basis,
which associates Orpheus with Jason.
Next to Orpheus comes Astcrion, Typhys, the son of Phorbas, the pilot of the vessel; Hercules, Castor and Pollux,
Augias, the son of the Sun and a great many other heroes,
whose names we shall not mention here. Several of them are
those of the constellations.
Behold those brave warriors on their way to the seashore
in the midst of an immense concourse of people, praying




180         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORShIP. [ ghap. VIII.
Heaven for the success of their voyage, and already predicting
the fall of AEetes, should he be obstinate enough to refuse to
them the rich fleece, which they are inquest of in those remote
regions. The women especially are in tears on account of
their departure, and they commiserate the fate of old _TEson,
the father of Jason and of Alcimede, his mother.
The poet stops here, in order to draw a picture of the touching scene of this separation, and of the firmness of Jason, endeavoring to console those, who are dear to him. There is his
mother, who while bathed in tears, embraces hinm fondly with
tender expressions of her sorrows and fears. The women of
her suite share her affliction; and the slaves carrying the armor of her son observe a gloomy silence and das, not raise'
their eyes. We feel, that all these descriptioals and those
which follow, have one single idea for basis, which ir the departure of Jason, and his parting with his family. Since
the Genius, charged with the guidance of the chariot of the
Sun, has been personified, all the details of the action have
emanated from the imagination of the poet, excepting those,
which have in small numbers, some astronomical positions for
basis, which the poet knew, how to invest with the charms of
poetry and with the marvels of fiction.
Jason always firmly resolved, begs his mother to remember
the flattering hopes, given to him by the oracle, and those
which he himself has in the strength and courage of his heroic
companions. He entreats her, to dry her tears, which might
be taken by his companions as a sinister omen. Thus speaking he slips from her embraces, and soon he makes his appearance in the midst of a great crowd of people, like Apollo,
when he marches along the shores of the Xanthus, in the
midst of the sacred choirs. The multitude makes the air resound with loud exclamations, which are a good augury of
success. Iphis, the old priestess of Diana conservatfix, takes
him by the hand, which she kisses; but she is prevented from




Chap. VIII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   181
enjoying the. happiness to talk to him, so great is the crowd
which presses around him.
Our hero has already arrived at the port of Pagasus, Where
the ship Argo was at anchor, and where his companions were
waiting for him. iHe sumnons a meeting and makes an allocution, in which he proposes, before any other thing, the election
of a leader. Everybody has his eye upon Hercules, who however declines that honor, and declares that he wqald be opposed to anybody else's accepting the command, except him,
who had brought them here together; that to him alone was
due the honor. Hercules plays here a secondary roll, because
the question here is not about the Sun, but about the Hercu-:les constellation, which is his image, placed in the Heavens
near the pole.
All approve this generous advice and Jason rises, in order to
acknowledge his gratitude to the asseumbly; he announces
that nothing shlall now delay their departure. He invites
them  to make a sacrifice to the Divinity of the Sun or to
Apollo under whose auspices they are going to embark, and
in whose honor he causes an altar to be erected.
The poet enters then into some details about the preparations for the embarkation. They draw lots for the seats of
tile rowers. Hercules has that of the middle, and Tiphys
takes his place at the helm.
The sacrifice then takes place, and Jason addresses a prayer to the Sun his grandfather, a Divinity, which is worshipped
in the port, whence he starts. They immolate in its honor
two Bulls, which fall under the blows of Hercules and of
Ancaeus.
Meanwhile the Day star had nearly reached its journey's end
and touched at the moment, when Night was going to spread
her gloomy veil over the country. The navigators sit down
on the shore, where they are treated to supper and wine: they
enliven their banquet with merry discourses. Jason alone




182         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WoRSHIP. [ Chap. VIII
appears to be thoughtful and profoundly occupied with the
important cares, with which he is charged. Idas makes some
insulting remarks to him with the approbation of the whole
crowd. A dispute is at the point of breaking out, when Orpheus calms again the spirits by his harmonious songs on
Nature and on the clearing up of chaos. They offer'libations
to the Gods and afterwards resign themselves to sleep.
Scarcely had the first rays of Day gilded the summit of
mount Pelion, and the fresh breeze of morning commenced
to agitate the surface of the waters, when Tiphys, the pilot of
the vessel, awakens the crew, and urges it to go on board:
they obey. Each one takes the place which chance had assigned him. Hercules is amidships, the weight of his body,
when coming on board, made the vessel sink deeper into the
water. They weigh anchor, andc Jason takes once more a
parting look of his country. The rowers play their oars in
measure with the sounds of the Lyre of Orpheus, who byr his
songs keeps up their efforts. The wave, white with foam, is
murmuring under the edge of the oar, and bubbles up under'the keel of the vessel, leaving a long furrow behind. Thus
far, only a departure is described with those circumstances,
which are its usual acccomlpaniment, and which'depend upon
the imagination of the poet.
The Gods had however that dayfixed their eyes on the
sea and on the vessel, which carried the flower of the heroes
of their age; who were associates of the labors and the glory
of Jason. The Nymphs of Pelion contemplated with astonishment the vessel constructed by the wise Minerva. Chiron,
whose image is in the Heavens near the Sepentarius Jason,
is descending to the seashorle, where the foaming billow
breaks, which comes to wet his feet. He encourages the navigators, and offers them his best wishes for their happy return.
By that time the Argonauts had passed beyond Cape Tissa,
and the coasts of Thesssaly were lost in shadowy distance be



Chap. fII7;1 THE ORIGMI OF ALL BELIGIOUTS WORSHIP.  183
hind them. The poet gives a description of the Islands and
Capes, near which they are passing, or which they discover, until
they had approached the isle of Lemnos, where the Pleiad Hypsipyle reigned. He profits of the occasion, to narrate the famous adventure of the Lemniades, who had killed all the men
of their island, with the exception of old Thoas, who had been
saved by his daughter Hypsipyle, who became queen of the
whole country. Compelled to cultivate their fields and to defend themselves with their own weapons, these women gave
themselves up to agriculture and to the hard labor of warriors;
they were able to repel the assaults of their neighbors; and
they kept especially a good look out against the Thracians,
whose vengeance they apprehended.
When they perceived the vessel Argo approaching their island, they rushed from the city in great haste to the seashore,
in order to repel those strangers by force of arms, as they
were taking them first for Thracians: in front of them marched the daughter of Thoas, covered with her father's aimor.
The Argonauts dispatched a herald to them in order to obtain
admission into their island. They discussed the question in
an assemply, which was convoked by the queen. She advised
them, to send to these strangers all kinds of assistance in
provisions, of which they might be in want, but on no account
to receive them  into their city. Polixo, another Pleiad, of
which the poet makes here the nurse of Hypsipyle, opposes in
part the opinion of the queen. She also wants to grant refreshments to these strangers; but moreover she requests,
against the advice of the queen, that they be received into the
city. She supports her proposition with this principal argumernt, that they could not any longer go on without men; she
says, that for their own defense they were in want of them,
and in order to repaii' the losses, which their population was
undergoing every day. This speech is received with the loudest acclamations, and the assent is so general, as not to leave




184        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHiIP. [ Chap. VIIL
the slightest doubt, that every woman was in favor of it. It
may be remarked here, that the intervention of two Pleiades,
just at the very moment of the departure of Jason, contains an
allusion to the conjunction of the stars of spring with the
Sun, and which are in aspect with the Serpentarius Jason,
which rises at their setting and sets when they are rising.
As Hypsipyle could no longer ignore the intention of the
assembly, she dispatches Iphino6 to the Argonauts, in order
to invite their Chief on her part to come to her palace, and to
induce all his companions to accept lands and establishments
in their island, Jason accepts the invitation, and in order to
appear before the princess, he puts on a magnificent cloak, a
gift of Minerva, which she had embroidered herself. There
were delineated on it a long series of mythological subjects,
amongst others the adventures of Phryxus and his Ramn. Our
hero takes in his hand also the lance, which Atalanta had
made him  a present of, when she received him on mount
Menale.
Thus arrayed, Jason proceeds to the city, where the Pleiad
held her court. Arrived at the gates, he found a crowd of the
most distinguished women in attendance, in the midst of
whom he advances with modest mien and cast down eyes, until he is introduced in the palace to the Princess. lie is placed
on a seat in front of the queen, who looks at him blushingly
and addresses him in affectionate language. But she conceals the actual reason of the want of men in her island; she
feigns, that they had gone on an expedition to Thracia, and
that, seduced by their captives, they had finally become tired
of their spouses; that they had in consequence shut their
gates upon them, and resolved on separation forever. Therefore, she added, there is no obstacle whatever existing against
the establishment of you and your companions amongst us,
and that you become the successors to the estates of Thoas




Chap. PI1L]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      185
my father.  Go and report to the heroes, which accompany
you my offers and let them enter our walls.
Jason thanks the Princess, and accepts one part of her
proposals, namely the supply of provisions, which she promised: with regard to the scepter of Thoas, he begs her to keep
it, not because he disdains it, but because an important expidition calls him somewhere else.
Meanwhile loaded carts bring the presents of the queen to
the vessel, where her good intentions towards the Argonauts
are already known through the reports of Jason.  The allurements of pleasure keep the Argonauts back on the island, and
endear theim to this charming country; but stern Hercules,
who had remained on board with the better portion of his
friends, calls them  back to their duty and the glory, which
awaits them on the shores of Colchis. His reproof is listened
to by the company without murmur, and preparations for departure are made. The poet gives here a description of the
distress of the women at the time of that separation, and of
their best wishes for the success and happy return of these
intrepid navigators.  Hypsipyle is bathing -with her tears the
hands of Jason, and bids him a tender farewell.  Wherever
thou mayst dwell, she tells him, remember klypsipyle, and before departing, tell me, what- I shall do, if a child is born to
me, the cherlshed fruit of our short-lived union.
Jason requests her, that in case she should be delivered of
a son, to send him  to Iolehos, near his father and mother, to
whom he woul. d be a source of consolation during2 his absence.
Thus speaking, he forthwith leaps on board of his vessel,
placing himself at the head of all his companions, who eagerly
seize their oars.  Thev cut the cable and the vessel is soon farl
away, with the isle of Lemnos in the distance. The A rgonauts
arrive at Samlothracia, at the same place, where Caduins, the
same as the Serpentarius bad landed under another namre: it
is that, which he tlakes in the Dionysiacs. There reigned
24




186         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VII.
Electra, an other Pleiad: so we have now already three Pleiades
put on the stage by the poet. Jason lets himself to be initiated
into the mysteries of this island and proceeds on his route.
We must now follow the Argonauts more on the Earth than
in the Heavens. The poet having supposed, that it was in the
East, and at the extremity of the Black Sea, that the celestial
Ram rose at the time of the Sun's rising on the day of the
equinox, he marks the route, which all vessels were presumed
to follow, in order to arrive at those distant shores. It is
therefore more a geographical, than an astronomical map,
which has to serve us here as a guide.
In consequence of this supposition, we see the Argonauts
pass between Thracia and the island of Imbros, sailing before the wind towards the Black Gulf, or the Gulf of Mlelas.
They enter the Hellespont, leaving at their right mount Ida
and the fields of Troas; they hug the shores of Abydos, of
Percote, of Abarnis and of Lampsacus.
The neighboring plain of the Isthmus was inhabited by the
Doliones, whose Chief was Cysicus, the founder of. their city.
He was of Thessalian origin, and received therefore the Argonauts favorably, in as much as they were Greeks and their
leader also a Thessalian. This host unfortunately perished
afterwards in a night attack, in which the Argonauts and the
Doliones by mistake engaged, when the former after their departure, were carried back by adverse winds. They made
splendid funeral obsequies to this unfortunate Prince, and
erected a tomb to him.
After having muade a sacrifice to Cybele, the Argonauts quit
again the harbor. They approach the Gulf of Cyanea and
mount Arganthonium.
The Mysians, inhabiting these shores and placing entire
confidence into the good behavior of the Argonauts, gave thern
a friendly reception and furnished them with everything they
wanted. While the whole crew is only intent on the pleasures




Chap. VIII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   187
of the banquet, Hercules leaves the vessel and goes into a
neighboring forest in order to cut there an oar, which might
suit his hand better, because his own had been broken by the
violence of the waves. After having searched for a long'time,
he discovers finally a fir tree, which he shakes by blows with
his club, he then pulls it up and makes himself an oar out of it.
Young HIylas, who had accompanied him, had meanwhiJ.e
penetrated somewhat far into the forest, in order to go in
search of a fountain, for the purpose of procuring water for
the hero, which he might want on his return.
The poet narrates on this occasion the well known story of
this child, which is drowned in the fountain, where he was
thrown by a Nymph, who had fallen in love with him, he gives
also a description of the grief of HIerculs, who from that time
abandoned all idea of returning on board of the vessel.
Meanwhile the i oining Star appeared on the summit of the
neighboring mountains, and a fresh breeze began to rise, when
Tiphys admonished the Argonauts to reembark, and to take
advantage of the favorable wind.
They heave up the anchor, and are already coasting along
Cape Posideon, when they are made aware of the absence of
Hercules.
They were discussing the question of returning to Mysia,
when Glaucus, a Marine Deity, raised his muddy head above
the waves and addressed the Argonauts in order to calm
their apprehensions. He tells them  that it would be of
no avail, to attempt, against the will of Jupiter, to carry Hercules to Colchis, as he had yet to accomplish his laborious
career of the twelve labors; that therefore they ought to cease
busying their minds any longer about him. He informs them
of the fate of young Hylas, who had married a Water Nymph.
Having ended his speech, the Marine God dives again to the
bottom of the Sea, and leaves the Argonauts to proceed on
their route.. They land the next day on a shore in the vicinity.
Hiere ends the first Canto,




188         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VIII,
CANTO 11o
The navigators had landed in the country of the Bebrycians,
where Amycus a son of -Teptune, reigned. This ferocious
Prince defied all strangers to the combat'of the Cestus, and
had already killed many of his neighbors. It will be observed
that the poet, as soon as he makes the Argonauts arrive in a
country, never fails to mention all the mythological traditions,
belonging to the cities and to the people, of which he has
occasion to speak; this forms a series of particular actions,
which are allied with the principal or rather only action of the
poem, which is the arrival at Colchis, and. the conquest of the
famous golden fleece.
Amycus goes to meet the companions of Jason, he makes
enquiries on the subject of their voyages, and addresses them in
a threatening allocution. He proposes to thein the combat of
the Cestus, wherein he had made,imself so redoubtable. He tells
them, that they had to make a choice of the bravest amongst
them, in order to put him up against him. Poliux, one of the
Dioscuri accepts his insolent challenge. The poet gives us a
very interesting description of this combat, in which the King
of the Bebrycians is slain. The Bebrycians want to avenge
his death and are routed.
The Sun was already lighting up the gates of Orient, and
seemed to invite the shepherd and his flock to the pasture
grounds, when the Argonauts, after having loaded their vessel
with the-booty, which they had made of the Bebrycians, reemnbarked and set sail towards the Bosphorus. The Sea was getting high; the waves were engrossing like enormous mountsins, threatening to ingulf the vessel, but the art of the pilot
averts the effect. After some dangers they land on the coast,
where Phineus, famous on account of his misfortunes, reigned.
The poet narrates here the famous adventures of Phineus
who had been struck with blindness, and who was persecuted




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      189
by the Harpies. Apollo had granted him the art of devination.
VWhen the unhappy Phineus learnt the arrival of these travelers, he leaves his dwelling, directing and assuring his tottering steps with a staff. He speaks to theml, as if he was already
informed about the subject of their voyage, he draws a picture  of his misfortunes, and implores their assistance
against the ravenous birds, which give him so much trouble,
and that it was reserved only to the sons of Boreus to
exterminata them. Those sons of Boreus belonged to the
party of heroes, who were on board of the vessel of Jason.
One of the mi, Zethus, with te ars in his eyes, takes the old man
by the hand and speaks to him, trying to console him, by giving him the most flattering hopes. Accordingly a dinner was
prepared for Phineus, which the Harpies as usual wanted to
carry off. They begin soiling th ttables, but it is for the last
time, and in flying' away, they leave an infectious stench behind. However they are pursued by the sons of Boreus sword
in hand, and would have been killed, but for the intervention
of the Gods, who dispatched Isis through the air, in order to
prevent them froom doing so. At all events the sons of Boreus
exact from them the promise, of never again -troubling the
repose of Phineus, and they return afterwards on board of
their vessel.
In the meantime the Argonauts prepare a dinner, to which
they invite Phineis, and where he eats with the best appetite.
Seated before his hearth, this old man traces for them the
route, which they had to take, and points out to them the obstacles which they would have to surmount. As a soothsayer,
he discloses to them. all the secrets, which it was possible for
him to reveal, without displeasing the Gods, who had already
punished him for his indiscretion. He informs them, that on
leaving his states, they would have to pass through the Cyanman, rocks, which are-not approached without impunity. He
gives them a short description of these rocks, and also useful




190         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. Chap. VIII.
advise how to escape the dangers. Hie recommends them to,
consult the dispositions of the Gods in their respect, by letting
loose a dove. "He tells them, that if she should make the
"passage safely, not to hesitate a moment to follow her, and
"force this terrible passage by plying their oars steacily; be"cause the efforts, which we make f r our safety, are worth' as much at least, as the prayers -we address to the Gods.
"But should the bird perish, then return at once: because,
"that will be a proof, that the Gods are opposed to your pass"ing through it."  He traces afterwards a map of the whole
coast, along which they would have to sail: he reveals to
them chiefly the terrible secret of the dangers, to which Jason
would be exposed on the shores of the Phasis, if he wanted to
carry off the precious deposit, which was guarded by a terrible dragon, laying at the foot of the sacred beech tree, on
which the golden fleece was suspended. The picture, which he
draws of it, fills.the Argonauts with appprehensions, but
Jason bids the old man to proceed with his narration, and
above all to tell him, whether they might flatter themselves to
return in safety to Greece.
Old. Phineus answers, that he would find guides, who would
conduct him where he wanted to go; that Venus would favor
his enterprise, but that he was not allowed, to say more about
it. He had just finished speaking, when the sons of Boreus
returned, announcing that their chase of the.Harpies was
ended forever, and that they had been banished to Crete,
whence they would never get out. These happy news fills
the whole assembly with joy.
After having erected twelve altars to the twelve great Deities,
the Argonauts reembarked, taking with them a dove, which
should serve them as a guide. Minerva, taking an interest in
the success of their enterprise, had already stationed herself
near those terrible rocks, in order to facilitate their passage.
It will be observed here, that it is wisdom personified under




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    191
the name of Minerva, who would make them avoid those dangerous rocks, which border these straits on all sides. Such
was the language of ancient poetry.
The poet describes here the amazement and the terror of
the Argonauts at the momen-t, when they approach these terrible rocks, in the midst of which the foaming surgt is boiling.
Their ears are stunned by the awful noise of these clashing
rocks, and by the impeduous roar of the foaming surges
breaking on the shore. The pilot Tiphys is manceuvering
with the helm, while the rowers assist him  with all their
might.
Euphemus had taken his stand on the prow of the vessel
and lets the dove fly, the fight of which is followed by every
eye: she flies through the rocks, which are hurled against each
other, nevertheless without touching them. She looses merely
the extremity of her tail. Meanwhile the raging billows make
the vessel whirl about: the rowtrs shriek; but the pilot reproves and orders them to keep steady, and to ply the oars
with all their might, in order to escape from the torrent, which
carries them along; they are brought back by the waves into
the midst of the rockls. Their terror is extreme and death
seems suspended over their heads. The veseel, carried to the
top of the waves, rises even higher than the rocks, only to be
precipitated the next moment into the abyss of the waters.
At that moment Minerva pushes the vessel with her right,
while supporting herself with the left hand against one of the
rocks, and makes it fly on the deep with the rapidity of aln
arrow; scarcely had it suffered the slightest damage.
The Goddess gratified of having saved the vessel, returns to
the Olympus,, and the rocks settle down, comformably with
the dictates of Destiny. The Argonauts, being thus once
more in the enjoyment of an open sea, thought that they had
been, so to say, drawn out from. the abyss of Hell. On this
occasion Tiphys makes a speech, in which he explains them all




192         THE ORIGIN or' ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VIII.
what they owed to the skill of their manceuvers, or figuratively
speaking, to the protection of Minerva, and tells them to remember, that it is the same Goddess, under whose direction
their vessel had been constructed, which on that account was
imperishable. The passage of the Cyanpean rocks was much
dreaded by navigators; and it is still so up to this day. Much
skill and prudence was wanted in order to make this passage.
Here is the foundation of those frightful tales, which were repeated by all the poets. It was the same with the straits of-Sicily.'It is thus that poetry has sown everywhere the'charm of the
marvelous, and has covered Nature's phenomena with the
veil of allegory.
Plying their oars without relaxation, the Argonauts had
meanwhile already passed the rmouth of the impetuous Rhebas; also that of Phyllis, where Phryxus had in olden times
immolated his Rainm. At twilight they arrive near a deserted
island, called Thynias. where they effect a landing. There,
Apollo appeared to them. That God had left Lycia, and proceeded towards the North, which happens at the passage of
the Sun to the vernal equinox, or when the Sun is going to
conquer the famous Rlam of the constellations.
After having made a sacrifice to Apollo, the Argonauts quit
the island and pass in sight of the mouth of the river Sagaris,
Lycus, and of the lake Anthemuis. They arrive at the peninsula of Acherusia, which prolongs itself into the sea of Bithynia. There is a valley, where is to be found, in the midst of
a forest, the cavern of Pluto and the mouth of. the Acheran.
They are favorably received by the King of the country,
being an enemy of Amycus, the King of the Bebrycians, whom
they had killed. This Prince and the M ariandynians his subjects, thought they saw in Pollux a beneficent Genius and a
God. Lyeus, which was the name of this Prince, listens with
pleasure to the narrative of their adventures; he orders all
kinds of provisions to be brought on boardc of their vessel, and




Chap. VIfI.] THE ORIGIN or ALL RELIGIOUS wORStHIP.        193
gives them his son, in order to accomlpany them in their expedition:  Idmon the soothsayer and Tiphys the pilot, both died
here.  The latter is replaced  by Ancteus, who takes the
management of the vessel.
They reembark and takirng advantage of a favorable wind,
the navigators arrive soon at the nmouth of the river Callirhce,
where Bacchus in olden timles, on his return fromn India, celebrated feasts, accompanied by dances.  They made in this
place, libationrs over the tomb of Sthenelaus, and afterwards
reembarked.
After several days the Argonauts arrive at Sinope, where
they found some of the companions of Hercules, who had
settled in that countwry. They double afterwards the Cape of the
Amazons and pass in front of the Thermodon.  They finally
arrive near the island of ZFfetias, where they are attacked by
formidabl0 birds, which infested the island.  They give them
chase and put them to flight.
Here they found the solns of Phr'yxus, who had left Colehis
for Greece, and who had been driven by shipwreck on this
deserted island.. These unfortunalee tmen ipimplore thle Cassis_
tance of Jason, to whoim they mntke known their birthll and the
object of their vogage to Greece.
The Argonauts are overjoyed at their sig'1ht, and congiratulate themselves with such a lucky accideinicl meeting. Really,
they were nothing less thian the gransdsons of _IEetes, the
owner of the rich fleece, and the sons of Phryxus, who had
been carried on the back of the famous Raim.  Jason makes
himself kinown as their kinsmanl, being' the grandsdn of
Cretheus, the brother of Atlhamas their grandfather. He tells
them, that he was on his way to see 1Z]etes, without however
informing them of the object of his journey.  However not
long after that, he communicinicates it to theni, inviting them at
the sanme time to cofmfe on board of his vessel andl to be his
guides.
25




194          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VIII.
The sons of Phryxus do not conceal from him  the dangers
of such an undertaking, and they make principally a frightful
picture of that dragon, which sleeps neither day or night,
watching the rich treasure, which they desire to carry off.
This information  fills the Argonauts with apprehensions,
except brave Peleus, who vows vengence against _Eetes, if he
should refuse their request.  The sons of Phryxus are received
on board, and the vessel, impelled by a favorable wind, arrives
in a few days at the mouth of tile river Phasis, which traverses
Colchis.  They lower their sails, and with the aid of their oars
they ascend the river.  The son of 7A~eson, while holding in
his hand a golden cup, makes libations of wine to the waters
of the Phasis, he invokes the Earthl, the tutelar Divinities of
Colchis, alnd the Ma[tnes of the heroes, who had formerly inhabited it. After thLis ceremony, Jason, encouraged by the
advice cf Argus one of the s5,ns of Plhryxus, orders to co.me
to anchor, while ix aiting for the return of day.  Here ends the
second Canto.
CANTO II.
So far everything has passed in preparations, which were
necessary, in order to bring about the principal action of the
poem. The treasure,which it was the purposes to conquer, was
at the outermost conltines of tbe East.  It was necessary to
arrive there, before making an attempt to obtain the precious
fleece -ither by persuasion or artifice, or by force.  The poet
was ther3fore obliged to describe such a long voyage, with all
the circumstances, which are supposed to have accompanied
it.  Thus Virgil makes his hero travel seven years; before he
arrives' at Latium, to form there the projected establishment,
which is the sole object of the poem. It is only at the seventh
book, that the principal action commences: on this account
he invokes again [Erato or the Muse, which shall obtain for




Chap. VilI.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         195'
his hero the hand of Lavinia, the daughter of the King of the
Latins, where he wishes him to settle.  Apollonius, after having conducted his hero to the shores of the Phasis, as Virgil
conducts  Eneas to those of the Tiber, invokes here likewise Erato or the Muse presiding over Love.  He invites her
to relate, how Jason succeeded to get finallypossession of this
rich fleece with the assistance of MIedea, the daughter of
2Eetes, who fell in love with hiim. He first presents us with
the spectacle of three Goddesses, Juno, Minerva and Venus,
who take an interest in the success of the son of ZEson. The
two first go to the palace of Venus, a description of which is
given by the poet.  Juno communicates to V7enus her fears
about the fate of Jason, whom  she has taken under her protection against the perfidious Pelias, who had even insulted
her.  She makes the eulogy of Jason, with whom she is extremely well satisfied.  Venus replies, that she is ready to do
all that the spouse of the great Jupiter mnight request.  Juno
persuades Venus to requiest her son, of inspiring the daughter
of'_et-s with a passionate love for Jason, because it this hero
could draw the youngo Pritcess into his interest, he would be
sure to be successful in his enterprise.  The Goddess of Cythera promises to induce her son to comply with the wishes
of the two Goddesses, and without losing time, she goes in
search of Cupid all over Olympus, and finds him in an orchard
playing with young Ganymnedes, who had been recently adnmitted in the Heavens.- His mother takes him  by surprise
and kisses him tenderly; she informs him at the same time of
the wishes of the Goddesses,' and explains the service, Which
is exp-:cted of him.
Tlhe child, seduced by the caresses of Venus and by her
prounses, quits his play, takes his quiver, laying at the foot of
a tree, and arms himself with his, bow.  He leaves the Heavens, by the gates of Olympus, traverses the air and descends
to the Earth.




196          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSIHIP. L Chap. VIII.
lMeanwhile the Argonaats lay still concealed in the shade of
thickets along the shore of the river.  Jason makes to them
an allocution.  He comnuiuneates his projects, inviting all at
the. same time, to give him the benefit of their opinions.  He
exhorts thern, to stay on board, while he would be gone to the
palace of Eetes, accotrlp;asnied onlyby the solns of Phryxus and
Chalciope, with two other companions.  He tells them, that
his plan is, to employ at first suavity of manners and solicitations in order to obtain from the King' the famious fleece. He
departs with the.' caducers" in his hand and proceeds to the
city of i3etes, where le arrives at the palace of that Prince.
The poet gives here a description of this magnificent edifice,
near which two high towers are observable. One of them was
inhabited by the  -ing and his splouse; and the other by his
son Absyrtus, Wh oml tile Colchians called Phieton.  It will
be observed here, that Phseton is the name of the celestial
Charioteer, placed on tie equinoctial point of spring, and who
experienced tLle tragic fate of Absyrtus, under the names of
Phmton, Myrtilus, HEyppolyte, &c.; he follows Perseus and
Medusa in the Heavens.
In the other apartnments resided Chalciope, the wife of
Phryxus and mother of the two new  companions of Jason,
and her sister  Xedea. The latter performed the office of
priestess of Hecate, who, according to'traditions, had Perseus
for father.  Chaleiope, when perceiving her sollns, runs to meet
them  and receives them  with open arms. ]dedea utters a
cry at the sight of the Argonauts.  2Eetes, accompanied by his
wife leaves the palace.  The whiiole court is agitated.  MI~eanwhile Love, withoutbeing observed, had traversed the air: he
stopped under the vestibule, in order to bend his' ow; then
he stepped over the threshold of the door and hid himself behipd Jason.  Thence he shoots an arrow into the heart of
Medea, who stands there lmute and perplexed. Soon the fire is
lighted in her heart and makes progress burning in all her veins;




Chap. VIIL] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      197
her eyes sparkle with a vivid flame and are fixed on Jason.
H-Tr heart utters a sigh: a- light flutter agitates her bosom;
her respiration is quick; paleness and blushes succeed each
other on her cheekls. The poet goes then on to narrate the receptiol, which IEetes gives to his grandsons, whose unexpected
return surprises him. He reminds the sons of Phryxus the
advice, which he had given them before their departure, in
order to  disuade them  from  an  enterprise, of the dangers of which they were well aware. He interrogates them
about the strangers, who accompany him. Argus, answering
in the name of both, gives a description of the storm, which
had driven them on a deserted island, consecrated to Mars,
from which they had been rescued solely by the succor of
these nlavigators. At the same'time he reveals to his grandfather the object of their voyage, and the terrible orders of
Pelias. He is not concealing the lively interest, which Minerva takes in the success of this enterprise: she it was, who had
supervised the construction of their vessel, the superiority of.
which he extols, and on board of which the flower of the heroes of Greece had embarked. He introduces to him Jason,
who with his companions comes to request the famous fleece.
This address renders the King furious: he is filled with indignation against the sons of Phryxus, that they could take
upon themselves, to deliver such a message. As he was thus
flying into passion, and imenacing his grandsons as well as the
Argonauts, the fiery Telamon wished to answer him in the
same violent strain. But Jason checks him, and in a modest
and siooth tone of voice explained to the King the motives
of his voyage, with which ambition had nothing whatever to
do, and which he had undertaken solely in obedience to the
co1mmands of Pelias. He promnises, that should he extend to
them his favors, he would on his return to Greece, publish his
glory, and even give him  assistance in his wars, which he
might be engaged in with the Sarnmatians and other neighboring nations.




198         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VII.
mEetes was at first doubtful, which side hle should take, respecting them, but finally resolves upon promising them, what
they ask for, but under one condition, which he imposes, and
the execution of which would be a sure test of their courage.
He tells Jason, that he has two Bulls with feet of brass, and
blowing fire from their nostrils; that he would put them to a
plough, and plough up a field, consecrated to Mars, and that
instead of wheat he would sow  there serpents' teeth, from
which suddenly warriors would rise; that he would then reap
them with the point of his lance, and that all this would be
executed between sunrise and sunset. He proposes to Jason
to do all this likewise and promises him, that should he be
successful, he would hand him over the rich deposit, which he
demands. Without that theie was no hope for him; because,
says he, it would be unworthy of mlyself, to give up such a
treasure to one less courageous than myself.
At this proposition Jason remains dumbfounded, not knowing what to answeJr, so daring seems to him this undertaking.
Notwithstanding he concludes finally to accept the condition.
The Argonauts leave the palace, followed by Argus alone,
who makes signs to his brothers to remain. Medea, who hadc
perceived them, remarks above all Jason, distinguished from
the rest of his companions by his youth and gracefulness.
Chalciope, fearing to displease her father, retires with her
children to her apartments, while her sister still follows with
her eyes the hero, whose form h'ad seduced her. When she
had lost sight of him, his image remains still engraved in her
memory. His speeches, his gestures, his gait and principally
his reckless air, are ever present to her agitated mind. She is
afraid, lest he should lose his life; she already fancies, that he
would be the victim  of such a dating enterprise. Tears escape her beautiful eyes; she complains bittesly about it and
her best wishes for the success of this young hero accompany
him. She invokes for him  the succor of the Goddess, of
which she is the priestess.




C/lqp. VIIi.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     199
The Argonauts traverse the city and take the same route,
which they had followed when coming. Argus then addresses
Jason, reminding him again of the magical art of Medea and
that it would be of the utmost importance to draw her into
his interest. He offers to take the necessary steps in regard
to it, and to sound the dispositions of his mother. Jason
thanlks him for his proposals, which he accepts; he returns
then  to his vessel'  His sight fills them  with joy, soon
to be followed by dejection, when he informs his companions of the conditions, which had been imposed upon him.
Argus however tries to calm their apprehensions. HIe speaks
to them of Medea and of her magic art, of which he narrates
its wonderful effects. He takes it upon himself to obtain her
assistance.
Jason, after consultation with his companions, sends Argus
to the palace of his mother, while the Argonauts effect a landing on the shores of the river, where they make preparations
for a fight if necessary..MEetes meanwhile has assemnbled his Coichidians, in order
to contrive somle treacherous project against Jason and his
warriors, whom he represents to his subjects as a horde of
robbers, who calme to spread over their country. I-e orders
therefore his soldiers to go and attack the Argonauts, and to
burn their vessel.
As soon as Argus had arrived at the apartment of his
mother, he requests her to solicit the assistance of Medea in
favor of Jason and his comnpanions.  The latter had already,
of her own accord, taken an interest in the fate of those heroes, but she was afraid of the wrath of her father.  A dream
which she had and of which the poet gives a detailed account,
compels her to break silence. She has already made a few
steps, in order to visit her sister, when all at once she returns
to her apartment, where she throws herself upon her bed,
abandoning herself to the utmost grief and uttering protract



200          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. FVII.
ed groans.  Chalciope, having heard of it, flies immediately
to the assistance of her sister.  She finds her bathed in tears
and in her despair bruising her face.  She asks her for the.
motives of her violent agitation; and supposing it to be the
effect of the repro blches of her father, of which she complains
herself, she declares her desire to ecape with her children far
from this palace.
Medea blushes and is ashamed at first to answer; filally
she breaks silence, and giving way to the dominion of love,
which subjugates her, she expresses her fears about the fate of
the sons of Phryxus, which her grandfather AEetes lenaces
with death, together witb those strangers.  She discloses to
her the dream, which seems to presage this misfortune.  Medea made those remarks, in order to sound the disposition of
her sister and to see, whether she would not request her to
assist her son. And actually Chalciope opens her heart to her;
but before confiding her her secret, makes her take an oath,
that she would keep it faithfully, and would do all, which
should depend on her, in order to serve and protect her children.  Speaking these words and melting in tears, she presses
the-knees of Medea in the attitude of a suppliant.  The poet
draws here a picture of the grief of both these Princesses.
Medea loudly attests by all the Gods, that she is disposed to
do allwhat her sister would ask her to do. Chalciope ventures
then to speak of those strangers and particularly of Jason, in
whom her children had taken so lively an interest.  She confesses that her son Argus caine to induce her, to solicit for
them the assistance of Medea in this perilous enterprise.  At
these words the heart of iViedea is in rtaptures: her beautiful
face is colored with a modest blush.  She consents to do for
them all, which would be asked for by a sister, to whom she
has nothing to refuse, and who had been almost a mothei to
her.  She recommends her the profoundest secrecy.  She tells
her, that at the break of day she would have the necessary




Chap. VII.] THIE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       201
drugs be brought into the temple of ieceate, in order to make
the terrible Bulls drowsy. Chalciope leaves her in order to inforrn her son of the promises of her sister. Medea, being thus
left alone in her apartment, gave herself up in the interval to
those reflections, which were the natural consequences of such
a project.
It was already late, and Night was spreading her gloomy
veil over the earth and the sea.  A profoundl silence reigned
in all Nature.  The heart of Medea alone was not quiet, and
sleep did not close her eyelids. Uneasy about the fate of Jason,
she dreaded on his acconnt those terrible bulls, which he had
to put to the plough, and. with which hoe was obliged to plow
the field consecrated to Mars.
These fears and thlese emotions are well described by the
poet, who employs about the same comparisons as Virgil does,
when he depicts the perplexity of either _?Eeneas or Dido. He
lets the young Pr:incess hold a soliloquy, which gives us a picture of the anxiety agitating her soul, and the irresolutions of
her mind. She holds on her knees the precious box, containing her magical treasure;  she is bathing it with her tears,
whilst assailed with the gloomiest reflections.  She awaits the
return of Aurora, which finally arrives and is driviing away
the shades of Night. 1Mean-while AIrgus had left his brothers
in order to await the e fIeel of the promises of lMedee~, and had
returned to the ship.
Daylight hadc again returned, and the young Princess, occupied with the cares of her toilet, had somewhat forgotten
her sorrows.  She had repaired the disorder of her hair, perfumed her person with essences, and hacd attached a white veil
to her head dress.  She gives orders to her miaids, twelve in
number and all virgins, to put the mules into harrness, which
had to draw her chariot to the temple of -Hecate.  ]DuringT the
interval she employs the time with preparing the poison,
which she -had extyracted froni the sinmples of the Caucasus,
26




202         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. FIIi.
grown from the blood of Prometheus.  She mixes therewith a
blackish liquor, which had been thrown up by the eagle,
which had picked the liver of that famous criminel. She rubs
with it the girdle, which encircles her bosom. She mounts
her chariot with two maidens, one on each side, and she traverses the city, holding the reins and the whip, in order to
guide the mules. Her maidens follow her, forming a cortege
like that of the Nymphs of Diana, when they are ranged
around the chariot of that Goddess.
The walls of the city are soon passed. When drawing near
the temple, she descended from  the chariot. She cormmunicated her project to her maidens, exacting at the same time
the greatest secresy, she bids them to pluck flowers and orders them to retire, as soon as they would see the stranger
make his appearance, whose plans she wishes to support.
Meanwhile the son of 2Eson, guided by Argus and accompanied by the soothsayer Miopsus proceeds towards the tem —
ple, where he- knl-w that Medea Would go at the break of day,
Juno herself had taken care to make her charming, and by
surrounding her with a shining light. The success of his
undertaking is already announced by happy omens, interpreted by Mopsus.  He advices Jason to see Medea alone and to
converse with her, while he and Argus would wait for him.
Medea in her impatience to see the hero arrive, turned her
restless looks in that direction, whence Jason had to come.
Finally he appears before her, like the luminary, which announces the heat of summer at the momlent, when it emerges
from the bosom of the waves. Here the poet gives us a description of the impressioIn, which that sight producedl on the
Princess. Her eyes are clouded, her cheeks are blushing, her
knees tremble, and her maidens, witness of her embarrassment,
have already retired. The two lovers remain for sonme time
dumb and confounded in  each others presence. Finally
Jason, being the first to find words, tries to reassure her




Chlap. VIII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    203
alarmed modesty, and begs her to open her heart to him, particularly in a place, imposing on him a religious respect for her.
He tells her, that he is already informed of her good intentions in his behalf, and of the assistance which she was kind
enough to promise him. He entreats her in the name of
Hecate, and of Jupiter, who protects strangers and supplicants, to interest herself in the fate of a man, who appears
before her in this double quality. He assures her before hand
of his entire gratitude and that of his companions, who would
publish the glory of her name throughout Greece. He adds,
that she alone could fulfil the wishes of their mothers and
wives, who expect them., and whose eyes are fixed upon the
sea, whence they had to return to their country. He mentions the example of Ariatdne, who interested herself in the
success of Theseus, and who, after having secured the victory
of that hero, embarked herself with him and left her country.
In acknowledgement of this service, continued Jason, her
crown has been placed in the Heavens. The glory, which
awaits you, shall not'be inferior, if you restore this band of
heroes to the wish of Greece.
Medea, who had listened to him with down cast eyes, smiles
sweatly at these words; she looks at him and wishes to answer
him, without knowing where to commence her speech; her
thoughts come on and confound themselves: she draws from
her girdle the powerful drug, which she had concealed there.
Jason takes it with extreme satisfaetion: she would have given
him her whole soul, if he had asked for it, so much was she
smitten with the beauty of this young hero, of whom the poet
has drawn here a most charming picture. Both alternately
cast their eyes down or are looking at each other. Finally IMIedea
finds, words in order to give him useful advice, which would
secure him the success of his enterprise; she recommends him,
that after receiving from her father ZEetes the dragon's teeth,
which he should sow into the furrows, to wait the precise hour




204          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VII.
of midnight, in order to make himself alone a sacrifice, after
having washed himself in the river.
She prescribes all the requisite ceremonies, in order to render' this sacrifice agreeable to the awful Goddess:  She instructs himn how to use the drug, which she had given him, and
with which he had to rub his weapons and his body in order
to become invulnerable; she points ouf to him the means to
destroy the warriors, which should grow from the teeth, which
he should sow. Thus, adds Medea, you shall succeed to carry
off the rich fleece and to bring it to Greece, if it is really true,
that it is your intention to incur again the dangers of the sea.
While the Princess utters these words, tears are flowing
down her cheeks, at the idea of a separation from this hero,
should he carry out his project of returning to distant regions.
Casting down her eyes she remains silent for a short time;
then she takes his hand, which she presses while saying: At
least, when yout shall have returned to your country, you will
renmember Medea, the same as she shall rememnber Jason, and
tell me, before you part, where you intent to go. Jason moved
by her tears, and pierced already by tlhe arrows of Love,
swmars to her, that he shall never forget her, in case ]:e should
have the good fortune to arrive in Greece and that _getes
should not suscitcate new obstacles.  He ends by giving her
some details about Thessaly, and speaks of Ariadne, in answer
to some enquiries of MAedea about her; he manifests his desire
of being as fortunate as Theseus was. He invites her to accompany him to Greece, whlere she would enjoy add the consideration, which she merited; he makes her the offer of his
hand, and swears to her eternal faithfulness.
This speech of Jason flatters and soothes the heart of Medea,
even when she could not dissemble the misfortunes, with which
she was menaced, if she should resolve to follow him.
Meanwhile she is expected by her maidens with impatience,
and the hour had arrived, when the Princess had to return to




Chap. VIII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     205
her mother's palace: she did not perceive the moments, which
floaded away by far more rapidly than she desired, had not
Jason prudently advised her to retire, before night should
surprise them, and that somebody might. suspect her meeting.
They make an appointment for some other time, and they
separate. Jason returns to his ship, and Medea rejoins
her maidens, which she does not notice, so muach was her
mind occupied with other ideas: she remounts again the
chariot and returns to the Kings palace. She is questioned
by her sister Chalciope about the fate of her ciildren, she
hears nothing and answers nothing; she sits down on a chair
near the bed, and there immersed in the profoulldest grief,
she resigns herself to the gloomiest reflections.
Jason on his return on board, informs his companions of
the success of his interview, and shows themn the powversul antidlote, with which he is provided. The night passes, and the
next morning at daybreak the Argonauts send to the King, in
order to demand the dragon's teeth. They are handed over
to them, and they give theml to Jason, who on tl- s occasion
plays absolutely the part of Cadmus. This confirmls the identity of these two heroes, whose name is that of the Serpentarius, or of the constellation, which rises in the evening,
when the Sun enters the sign of the Bull, and the Ramn with
thle goldcen fleece precedes its chariot. aieanwhile the brilliant
Star of Day had. dived into the bosomn of the waves and Night
had put her black coursers to her chariot. The sky was
serene and the air was calnl. In the silence of the night Jason offers a sacrifice to the Goddess, who there presides. Hecate hears him with favor and appears to him under the form
of a terrible spectre. Jason is astonished but not discouraged,
and soon after rejoins his companions.
The summits of Causasus, whitened with eternal snow were
now shown by Aurora. King fEletes, invested with the formidable armor, which had been givel to him by the God of




206         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. FIII.
battles, was now preparing to depart for the field of iIars.
His head was covered with a helmet, the dazzling splendor of
which offered the image of the disk of the Sun at the moment,
when it rises from the bosom' of Thetis. Before him he held
an enormous shield, formed of several hides, and inl his hand
he balanced such a formidable spear, that none of the Argonauts could have resisted it, except HIercules; but that hero
was no more with them. At his side was his son Phmeton; he
held the coursers, which had been put to the chariot, to be
mounted by his father. He now takes the reins, and advances through the city, followed by a multitucle of people.
Jason on his part, following the counsel given him  by
Medea, rubs his weapons with the drug received from her,
which was to strengghthen their temper. He rubs also his body
with it, which acquires new vigor and a force, which nothing
could resist. He wiel is proudly his weapons, displaying his
muscular arms. He proceeds to the field of M1iars, where 2Eetes
and his Colchians are already waiting for him. Jason was the
first to leap from his vessel, all accoutred and armed, ready
for the combat: he might have been taken for the God Mars
himself. With complete self-possession he takes a view of
the field, which he has to plough; he sees the brazen yoke,
to which he must put the terrible bulls, and the rough ploughshare, with which he has to plough the field. He approaches,
and thrusts his lance into the ground; he fixes his helmet and
advances merely armed with his shield, in order to look for
the bulls with the fiery breath  They rush at once out from
their gloomy den, covered by a dense smoke. Fire is darting
from their large nostrils with an impetuous noise. The Argonauts are frightened at that sight, but the intrepid Jason
holds his shield before him and awaits them with firmness,
like an immovable rock would present its sides to the foaming wave. The impetuous bulls make a thrust at him with
their horns, without being able to make him stagger. The




Chap. VIIi.1 THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   207
air resounds with their awful lowing. The flames gushing out
from  their nostrils, resemble to that vortex of fire, which a
fiery furnace is blazing out, and which successfully enters and
breaks out again with renewed violence. Very soon is the activily of the flame'weakened by the magical force of the drug,
with which the body of the hero had been rubbed. The invulnerable Jason takes one of the bulls by the horns and with
his brawny arm  puts it under the yoke, while throwing it
down; he does the same with the other, and thus he conquers
them both.
Such is Theseus or the Sun under another name, who on
the field of Marathon overcomes that same Bull, which was
placed afterwards in the Heavens, and which figures here in
the fable of Jason, or of the conquering star of winter, triumphing over the equinoctial Bull. This is that Bull which
has been subjugated also by Mithras.
MEetes remains confounded at the sight of such an unexpected victory. Already is Jason, after havirng put the bulls
to the yoke, driving thenm on with the point of his lance; and
making the plough go ahead: he has already ploughed up
several furrows notwithstanding the hardness of the ground,
which scarcely yields to the plough and breaks up with noise.
He sows the dragon's teeth, unyokes the bulls and returns to
his vessel. But Giants, which had sprung fromn the furrows,
which he had ploughed, covered the field all armed. As soon
as Jason had returned, he attacked them, and throws an
enormous rock in the midst of their serried ranks; many are
crushed by it; others kill each other, while contending among
themselves about the rock, which had been thrown amongst
them. Jason takes advantage of their disorder in order to
charge them sword in hand, and the steel of the hero makes
an ample harvest of them. They fall one above the other,
and the earth, which had brought them forth, receives their
corpses in her bosom.  ZEetes. remains spell-bound and is




208         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [ Chap. VII1,
grieved by this spectacle. He returns to the city lost in meeditation and planning new snares for the ruin of Jason and his
companions. The setting in of Night ends this combat.
CA NTO IV.
2EAetes is uneasy and suspects his daughters, of combining
with the Argonauts.  ll~edea perceives it, and is alarmed on
that account. In her despair she was going to the last extremities, when Juno suggests her the plan to escapa with the
sons of Phryxus.  She is re-animated by this idea. Hiding
in her bosom the treasures contained in her magie box and
the mighty herbs, she kisses her bed and the doors of her
apartment and cutting off a ringlet of her hair, leaves it as a
remembrance to her mother.  She gives utterance to her profound grief and addresses to all a last and sad farewell. Shedding floods of tears, she escapes furtively from the palace, the
gates of which open by her enchantmlents.  She was barefoot;
with her left-hand she supported the extremity of a light veil
falling from her forehead, while she lifted up the folds of her
dress with her right. Medea traverses thus the city with
nimble foot, by taking by-streets, and is soon outside the city
walls, without being discovered by the sentinels. She continues
her flight in the direction of the temple, the roads of which
she is well acquainted with, having often been in the habit of
gathering herbs, growing among the tombs in its neighborhood. Her heart beats quicker for fear of a surprise. The
Moon, which looks down upon her, remembers her love with
Endymion, of which that of Medea and Jason appears to her to
be the image.  On that occasion, the po-et makes that Goddess
address Medea, while she is fleeing across the plain, into the
arms of her lover. Her steps are along the shores of the
river in the direction of.the cainap-fires of the Argonauts. Her
voice is heard amidst the shades of Night.  She calls for
Phrontis, the yongest of the sons of Phr yxus, who recognizes




Chap. VII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      209
instantly with his brothers and Jason, the voice of the Princess: the rest of the Argonauts are surprisedL  She calls
thrice, and thrice she is answered by Phrontis.  The Argonauts row towards the shore, on which her lover is the first to
leap, in order to receive her. He is quickly followed by the
two sons of Phryxus, Phrontis and Argus. M31edea falls on her
knees exclaiming: friends, save me, save yourselves, we are
lost, all is discovered. Let us quickly go on board, before the
king has harnessed his coursers. I shall deliver into your
hands the fleece, after having put to sleep the terrible D ragon,
which keeps watch. over it. And thou, O Jason, remember the
oaths, which thou has made to me; and if I leave my country
and my parents, that you will take care of my reputation and
of my honor. Thou hast promised it to me, and the Gods are
my witnesses.
Medea's address showed heartfelt grief: Jason at the contrary rejoiced, and his heart was filled with gladness.  He
raises her from her kneeling position, he embraces her tenderly, and restores her courage. He calls the Gods, Jupiter and
Juno to witness his oath, to make her his wife at the instant
when he should return to his country.  At the same time he
takes her by the hand in sign of their union. Medea advises
the Argonauts, to push their vessel quickly oniward to the sacred grove, where the precious fleece lay concealed,iin order to carry it off under cover of the night, and unknown to
Aietes. Her commands are executed and she goes herself on
board the vessel, which has already distanced the shore. The
wave foams rustling under the edge of the oar. Once more
Medea turns her looks towards the land, and extends to it her
arms. Jason consoles her by his exhortations and  raises
again her courage. It was at that momeni of the night, which
precedes the return of Aurora, of which the hunter takes advantage. Ja.son and Medea land in a meadow, where formerly
rested  the Ram, which carried Phryxus to Colchis. They
27




210         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. [Chap. VISI.
perceive the altar, raised by the son of Athamas, and on which
he had made a sacrifice of this Ram to Jupiter. The two lovers proceed alone to the wood, in order to find the sacred
beech tree, on which the fleece was suspended. At the foot of
the tree they perceived an enormnous Dragon already unrolling its tortuous folds, ready to pounce upon them, and the
horrible hisses of which carry terror far and near. The young
Princess advances towards it, after having invoked the God of
Sleep and the dreadful Hecate. Jason follows her although
seized with fear. Already overcome by the enchantments of
Medea, the monster stretched out on the ground the thousand folds of his immense body: nevertheless his head was
still raised, menacing our hero and the Princess. Medea
shakes over his eyes a branch steeped in a suporific water.
The Dragon thus made drowsy, drops down and falls asleep.
Jason immediately seizes the fleece and carrying it off, returns
with it and with Medea quicklv on board the vessel, where he
was expected. Already has he cut with his sword the cable,
which fastened it to the shore and taken his place near the
pilot Ancaeus along with Medea, while the vessel, propelled
by vigorous pulls of the oars, strives tQ gain the high sea.
Meanwhile the Colchians headed by their King, were hurrying in crowds to the shore, which they made reecho with
threatening shouts; butthe ship Argo was already rowing in
the open sea. In his despair the King invokes the vengeance
of the Gods, and gives orders to his subjects to pursue the
foreigners, who had robbed the precious deposit and had
ravished his daughter. His orders are obeyed; they embark,
and go in pursuit of the Argonauts.
The latter propelled by a favorable wind, arrive at the end
of three days at the mouth of the river Halys. They land on
the coast, and by the advice of Medea they offer a sacrifice to
Hecate. There they hold council, in order to decide on the
route, which they had to take in returning to their country.




Chap. VIII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   211
They resolve to gain the mouth of the Danube and to ascend
that river.
During that time their enemies had divided into two parties:
one of which had taken the way of the straits and of the Cyanmean rocks, while the other was taking also the route of the
Danube. Absyrtus or Phmton, the brother of Medea, was at
the head of the latter. The Colchians enter by one pass of
the river; the Argonauts by the other. They land on an
island consecrated to Diana, and there they deliberated,
whether they should not make a compromise with their enemies, by consenting to give up MWedea, provided they should be
permitted to carry off the Golden fleece. It is here that
Absyrtus perished by the hand of Jason, drawn into a snare,
which had been laid for him by his sister. The Colchians
without a leader are soon defeated. Escaped from this danger, the Argonauts ascended the river and reach Illyricum and
afterwards the sources of the Eridanus. Then they enter the
Mediterranean Sea, and sailing along the coast of Etruria,
they land on the island of Circe, daughter of the Sun, in order
to be purified of the murder of Absyrtus: thence they sailed
before the wind towards Sicily. They perceive the isles of the
Sirens and the rocks of Charybdis and of Scylla, from which
they escape. Finally they arrive at the island of Phmacia,
where Alcinous reigned, who received them favorably. Their
happiness is however soon disturbed by the arrival of the fleet
of the Colchians. which had pursued them by the way of the
Bosphorus. Alcinous saves them from this new danger, and
Jason marries M[edea in that island. At the end of seven
days, the Argonauts reembark; they are however thrown by a
violent storm on the coasts of Lybia, in the vicinity of the
redoubtable Syrtes; they traverse the sands, carrying their
vessel on their shoulders during twelve days; they arrive at
the garden of the Hesperides, and launching into the Sea
again, they land at night time at Crete; afterwards they reach




212         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELICGIOmUS VOaRSoHIP. [ Chap. VIII.
the island. of ZEginLLa and finally the port of Pagasus, whence
they had set out on their voyage.
We have abridged the narrative of their return, as well as
their voyage, because both are merely the accessory parts of
the poem, the sole action of which is the conquest of the golden fleece, after the defeat of the Bulls and of the terrible Dragon. That is the really astronomical part and as it were the
center, in which all the other fictions of the poem come to end.
The poet had to sing an important epoch of the solar revolution, thiat inl which the Star of Day, the conqueror of Winter
and of Darkness,.brought on by the polar Dragon, arrives at
the celestial sign of the Bull, and brings Spring along in the
train of its chariot, which is preceded by the celestial Ram, or
the sign preceding the Bull.
This happened e-very year in March, at the rise in the evening of the Serpentarius Jason, and at the rising in the morning of M[edusa and of Phmoton, the son of the Sun. It was in
the East, that the people of Greece saw the famous Ramn arise,
which seemed to be born in th.e climates, where they located
Colchis, or in other words at the eastern extremity of the
Black Sea. In the evening they perceived in the same places
the Serpentarius, who in the morning at the rising of the
Ram', was seemingly descending into the waves of the western
Seas. This is the simple canvass, on which this whole fable
had been embroidered. It is this singular phenomenon,
which furnishes the matter for those poems, which were called
by the Ancients: Arganautics, or the expedition of Jason and
the Argonauts. The great navigatior is the Sun: his vessel is
also a constellation, and the IRam, which he is going to conquer, is likewise one of the twelve signs, namely the one,
which in those remote ages, announoed the happy return of
Spring.
We shall very soon meet again with the same Dragon at the
foot of a tree, beariLng apples, which cannot be gathered with



Chap. VIII.] THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    213
out rendering unhappy those, who had the imprudence to
pluck them. We shall also see the same Ram under the name
of Lamb, to be the object of veneration of the Initiates, who
under its auspices, enter the Holy City, where the gold shines
on all sides, and all that, after the defeat of the redoubtable
Dragon. F'inally we are going to see Jesus, conqueror of the
Dragon, attired with the spoils of the Lamb or of the Ram,
reconduct his faithful companions to the celestial land, like
Jason: this is, what is shown, under other names, by the
fables of Eve and of the Serpent, by that of the triumph of
Christ Lamb over the ancient Drago-n, and by that of the
Apocalypse. The astronomical foundation and the epoch of
the time are absolutely the same.




CHAPTER IX.
AN EXPLANATION OF THE FABLE, IN WHICH THE SUN IS
WORSHIPPED UNDER THE NAME OF CHRIST.
If there is one fable, which would seem entitled to escape
the analysis, which we have undertaken of religious poems
and sacred legends, by the laws of physical and astronomical science, it is doubtless that of Christ, or the legend,
which under that name is really dedicated to the worship of
the Sun. The hatred, which the sectarians of that religion,jealous to make their form of worship dominant over all
others,-have shown against those, who worshipped Nature,
the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, against the IRoman Deities,
whose temp.les and altars they have upset,-would suscitate the idea, that their worship did not form a part of that
otherwise universal religion. Bult the error of a people about
the true object of its worship has never proved anything else
but its own ignorance.  Because, if in the opinion of the
Greeks, Hercules and Bacchus were men, who had been
raised to the ranks of Gods; and if in the opinion of the people of Egypt, Isis was a benevolent Queen, who had formerly
reigned over Egypt, the worship of Bacchus, of Hercules and
of Isis would be nevertheless the worship of the Sun and the
Moon.
The Romans ridiculed the Deities, which were worshipped
on the shores of the Nile; they proscribed Annubis, Isis and
Serapis, and yet they worshipped themselves  Mercury,
Diana, Ceres and Pluto, in other words, absolutely the same
Gods under other names and under different forms; so much
is the ignorant vulgar swayed by names. Pluto said, that the




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    215
Greeks had worshipped since the remotest antiquity, the Sun,
the Moon and the Stars, and yet the same Pluto was not aware,
that they had still preserved at his time the same Gods under
the names of Hercules and Bacchnus, of Apollo, Diana and
XEsculapius, &c., as we have shown in our larger work. Convinced of this truth, that the opinions, which a nation has of
the character of its religion, proves nothing else but its faith,
and does not change its nature, we shall carry our investigations even- into the very sanctuaries of modern Rome, and we
shall find that the God Lamb, which they worship there, is
the ancient Jupiter of the Romans, who frequently takes the
same forms under the name of Ammuon, in other words, those
of the "Ram" or of the " vernal Lamb;" that the conqueror
of the Prince of Darkness at Easter, is the same God, who
triumphs in the poem of the Dionysiacs over Typhon at the
same epoch, who redeems the evil, which the Chief of Darkness had introduced into the World under the form of a serpent, with which form Typhon was invested. WVe shall also
recognize there under the name of Peter, old Janus with his
keys and his bark, at the head of the twelve Deities of the
twelve months, the altars of which are at his feet. WTe feel,
that we shall have to overcome a great many prejudices, and
that those, who agree with us, that Bacchus and Hercules are
nothing else, but the Sun, will not easily agree, that the worship of Christ is nothing more, than the worship of the Sun.
But let theim reflect, that the Greeks and the Romans would
have willingly yielded their opinion on the evidences, which
we shall produce, when they would not have so easily consented to the point, of not recognizing in Hercules and Bacchus
Heroes and Princes, who had merited by their achievements,
to be raised to the rank of the Gods. Every one takes good
care, to guard against anything, which might destroy the illusion of an ancient prejudice, which education, example and
the habit of believing have fortified. Thus, notwithstanding




216         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
the clearest evidence, with which we shall support our assertions, we only hope to convince the wise man, who reflects;
the sincere friend of truth, disposed to sacrifice to it his prejudices, whenever it shall become evident to him. It is but
too true, that we write only for him; the rest is devoted to
ignorance and to the priests, who live at the expense of the
credulity of the people, which they lead like a vile drove.
We shall therefore not investigate, whether the Christian
religion is a revealed religion. None but dunces will believe
in revealed ideas and in ghosts. The philosophy of our days
has made too much progress, in order to be obliged to enter
into a'dissertation on the communications of the Deity with
man, excepting those, which are made by the light of reason
and by the contemplation of Nature. WVe shall not even begin with a disquisition, whether there ever existed a philosopher or an impostor, called Christ, who might have established
the religion, known by the name of Christianism; because,
supposing even, that we should give up this last point, the
Christians would not be satisfied with it, if we did not go so
far, as to acknowledge in Christ an inspired man, a son of
God, a God himself, crucified for our sins; yes indeed, it is a
God, which they want, a God, who in times of yore should have
taken his dinner on Earth, and whom  they eat now a-days.
Now we have not the remotest idea of carrying our condescensions so far as that. With regard to those, who would be
satisfied, if we should make of him simply a philosopher or a
man, without attributing to him a divine character, we invite
them to examine that question, when we shall have analysed
the worship of the Christians independently of him or of
those, who may have established it, that this institution is
due either to one or more men, or that its origin dates from
the reign of Augustus or Tibtrius, as the modern legend
would seem to indicate, and as it is commonly believed; or
that it is traced up to a higher antiquity, and that it takes its




C(hap. iXr.]  THE OlIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         217
source in the Mitlhraie worship, as established in Persia, in
Armenia, in Capadcocia and even at RoIle, as we believe it
has been the case.  The illmportant point, is to understand
thoroughly the nature of the worship of the Christians, who —
soever may be its author.  NSow it will not be very difficult to
prove, that it is again the worship of Nlatuire and of the Sun,
her first and most brilliant agent; tat that he hero of the legends
known by the name of the Gospel, is tlhe same hero, who has
been sung, only with far more genius, in the poems on. BiLacchus, on Osyris, oil Hercules,  on Adoni, o Sc.
-Whein we shall have shbown, —thilat the pretended history of
a God,'born of a Virgin at the winter solstice., who resusitates
at Easter or at the ecluinox of spring, after having descended
into hell; of a God, who has -twelve apostles in. his train,
whose leader has all the attributes of Janus; of a Gcl-conqueror of the Prince of Darlkness, who ~restores to malnini  d
the domlinioll of Light, alcd who redeems the evils of Natureis merely a solar fable, lilke all those, which we have anaItlysed,
it will be quite as indifferent, or' of as little eonsequeence to
examine, whether there ever existed a nman by the nam1)e of
Christ, as it would be to enquire, whether some Prince was
called Hercules, provided it wi!ll be con.clusively demonstrated,
that the being', consecrated by worship nndei -the naname of
Christ, is the Sun, andlc that the mlarvelousiness of the legend
or of the same poem, has that luminary for its object; because
it would seem then to be proved, that the Christians are mlere
worshippers of the Sun, and that their priests have the same
religion as those of Peru, wholm  they have craused to be
put to death.  Let us then examine the founidations, on which
the dogmas of this religion rest.
The first basis is the existence of a great disorder having
been introduced into the World by a Serpent, which had
tempted a woman, to pluck forbidden fruits; a trespass, which
had for conseqence, the knrowlege of evil, untlil then unknow.
28




218         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  LChap. JX.
to man, and which could only be redeemed by a God conqueror of death and of the Prince of Darkness. This is the fundamental dogma of the Christian religion; because in the opinion
of the Christians, the incarnation of Christ had become necessary, merely, because he had to redeem the Evil introduced into the Universe byv the Serpent, which had seduced the first
woman and the first iman. These two dogmas cannot be separated from each other: if there is no sin, there is no atonement; if there is no tresspasser, then no redeemer is required.
Now this fall of the first'man, or this supposition of the
double state of man, who had been created first by the principle of Good, enjoying all the benefits, with which the World
is filled by it, and afterwards passing under the dominion of
the principle of Evil, into a state of unhappiness and degradation, from which he could not be saved except by the principle of Good and of Light,-is a cosmogonic fable, of the nature of those, which were made by the Magi on Ormuzd and
Ahriman, or rather it is merely a "copy" of them. Let us consult their books.'We have already seen in the IV Chapter of
this work, how the Magi had represented the World under the
emblem of an egg, divided into twelve parts, six of which
belonged to Ormuzd or the God authorof Good and of Light,
and the six others to Ahrirnan, author of Evil and of Darkness;
and how the good and the evil in Nature was the result of the
combined action of these two principles. We have likewise
observed, that the six portions of the reign of the good principle, included the six mouths, which follow the equinox of
spring, up to that of autumn, and that the six portions of the
reign of the bad principle comprised the six nmontlhs of autumn
and winter. In this manner was the time of the annual revolution distributed betweeu these two Chiefs, one of which
organized the animal creation, ripened the fruits; and the
other destroyed the effects, which had been produced by the
first, and disturbed the harmlony, of which Heaven and Earth




OChap. ]X.J  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     219
offered the spectacle during the six months of spring and
summer. This cosinogonical idea has also been expressed by
the Magi in another manner. They suppose, that from time
without end or from eternity, a limited period had been created, which incessantly renews itself. They divide this period
into twelve thousand small parts, which they call years in allegorical style. Six thousand of these fractions belong to the
principle of Good, and the other six to that of Evil; and that
there may be no mistake, they make each one of these millesimal
divisions, or each one thousand, correspond to one of the signs,
through which the Sun makes the transit during each one of
the twelve months. The first one thousand, they say, corresponds to the " Lamb," the second to the Bull, the third to the
Twins, &c. Under these first six signs, or under the signs of
the first six months of the equinoctial year, they place the
reign and the beneficent action of the principle of Light, and
under the other six signs, they place the action of the principle
of Evil. It is at the seventh  sign, corresponding to the
Balance, or at the first of the signs of autumn, of the season of
fruits and of winter, that they place the commencement of the
reign of Darkness and of Evil. This reign lasts until the return of the Sun to the sign of the Lamb, which corresponds to
the month of SMarch and to Easter. This is the foundation of
their theological system about the distribution of the opposing forces of the two principles, to the action of which, man
is subject, during each solar revolution; this is the tree of
Good anrd of Evil, near which Nature has placed him. Let us
hear their own statements.
Time, says the author of the "Boundesh,"is composed of
twelve thousand years: the thousands belonging to God, inelude the Lamb, the Bull, the Twins, the Cancer, the Lion
and the Ear of Corn or the Virgin, which makes six thousand
years.. If we substitute for the word "year," that of the fractions, or small periods of time, and for the name of the signs,




220         L''-IE ORIGIN OF ALT RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Clhap. IX.
those of the moniths, and we shall hlave March, April, June,
July and August, in other words: the beautiful months of periodical vegetation.  After those thousands of God comes the
Balance.  Then began tlhe career of Ahriman in the World.
After that cones the Bowman  or the Sagittarius, andcl "Afrasiab" commnitted the  Evil, &C.
If we substitute for the names of the signs, or of the Balallce, the Scorpion, the Sagittarius and the Capricorn, the
Waterman and the Fishes, those of the months of September,
October, Noveniber, December, January and February, we
shall have the six times affected by the principal of Evil and
its effects, which. are the hoary frosts, the snow, the winds,
and excessive railis.  It will be observed, that the evil Genius
begins to exercise his fatal influence in September or in the
season of fruits and of apples, by the introduction of cold
weather, by the destruction of plants, &c. It is then, that
man becomes a-ware of the evils, which lie ignored  in spring
and sumnmer in the beautiful climates of the northern hemisphere.
This is f-he ide a, which tle author of the Genesis wanted to
express in the fable of the woman, who, being seduced by a serpent, plucks the fatal apple, which, like Panthora's box, was.
the source of evil to mankind.' Thel supreme God, says the author of'Miodimel el Tawa"Lil:k,' created first 3Man and the Bull in an elevated place,
" anld they remained therle three thousand years, without ex" periencing any evil. These three thousand years include the
"Lamib, the [Bull and the Twins.  Afterwards they remain on
"Earth, other three thousiand years, -without trouble or adver-'" sity, and these three thousand years coJ rrespoud to the Cancer, the Lion, the Ear of Corn or the Yirgin."  Here are
thenl the above mentioned. six thousand urnlder the Jl.aine of the
six thousands of God, and the signs assigned to th;e reign of
the prillnciple of Good.




Chap). IX.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     221
"After that, with the seventh thousand, corresponding to
"the Balance, or in other words to September, according to
"our mode of counting,-the Evil made its appearance, and
"man began to till the ground."
In ailother place of *this cosmogony, it is said: "that the
"whole duration of the World, froim the beginniing to the end,
"had been fixed at twelve thousand years; that nman remain"ed in the upper part, in other words in the boreal and upper
"hemisphere three thousand years without evil. He remain"ed still other three tnousand years in the same condition,
"when'Ahriman' showed himlself afterwards, engendering
" evils and strife in the seventh thousand, in other words, un"1 der the sign of the Balance, over which the celestial Serpent
"' is placed. It was then, when the Good and the Evil com"mingled."
IHfere then, where the boundaries of the diminion of the two
principles touched each other, there was the point of contact
of Good and of Evil, where, to speak in the allegorical language
of the Genesis-the tree of knowledge of Good and of Evil
was planted, which man could not touch, without comingil immediately under the dominion of the principle of Evil, to
which belong the signs of autuin and of winter. Until that
time he had been Heaven's favorite. Ormuzd had lavished all
his blessings on hirml; but this God of Goodness had a rival
and an. enemly in Ahriinan, who Vwould pOison his most precious gifts, and man became his victilmi at the moment, -when
the God of Day retreated towards tlhe southern climates.
Then would the nights resunme their dominion, and Ahllriman's
deadly blast, under the form and under the ascendant of the
Serpent of the constellations, would lay waste the beautiful
gardens, where -man had been placed by Ormiuzd. Here is the
theological idea, which the author of the Genesis took from
the cosmogony of the Persians, ornamenting it after his own
fashion. Zoroaster, or the author of the Genesis of the Magi,




222         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
expresses himself as follows, when describing the consecutive
action of the two principles.
Ormuzd, he says, the God of Light and of the good principle, informs Zoroaster, that he had given to man a place of
delight and abundance.  "If I had not given him this place
"of delight, no other being would have done so. This place
"was called'Eiren,' which at the beginning was more beauti"ful than all the World, which my power has called into ex"istence. Nothing could equal the beauty of this delightful
"place, which I had granted. I was the first, who acted, and
" afterwards Petiare (which is Ahriman, or the bad principle):
"this Petiare Ahriman, full of death and corruption, made in
"the river the great'Adder,' the mother of winter, which con" gealed the water, the earth and the trees."
According to the formal expressions used in this cosmogony, it follows, that the evil introduced into the World, is the
winter. Who shall beits redeemer'? The God of spring or the
Sun in its passage nnder the sign of the Lamb the forms of
which are taken by the Christ of the Christianls, because he is
"the Lamb, that taketh away the sins of the World," and under this emiblem is he represented in the monuments of the
first Christians.
It is evident, that the question here is only of the physical
and periodical evil, which the Earth experiences annually by
the retreat of the Sun, which is the source of life and of light
for all that lives on the surface of our globe. This cosmogony
contains therefore only an allegorical picture of the phenomena of Nature and of the influence of the celestial signs; because the Serpent, or the great Adder, which ushers winter
into the World, is, like the Balance, one of the constellations
placed on the boundaries, which separate the dominion of the
two principles, or in other words, in the present instance, on
the equinox of autumn. This therefore is the true Serpent,
the forms of which are taken by Ahrimlan in the fable of the




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RFLIGIOUS WORSHIP.    223
Magi, as also in that of the Jews, in order to introduce the
Evil into the World; for this reason call the Persians this
malevolent Genius the Star Serpent and the celestial Serpent,
the  Serpent of Eve.  It is in Heaven, that they make
Ahriman creep along, under the form  of a Serpent. The
Boundesh, or the Genesis of the Persians holds the following
language: " Ahriman, or the principle of Evil and of Darkness,
"he from whom all the Evil in this World is proceeding,
"'penetrated into Heaven under the form of a Serpent, accom"panied by Dews or bad Genii, whose only business is to des"troy."  And in an other place he says: "WIhen the bad
"Genii desolated the World, and when the Star Serpent made
" itself a road between Heaven aud Earth, or in other words:
"when it rose on the horizon, &c."
Now, at what epoch of the annual revolution rises the celestial Serpent, united to the Sun, on the horizon with that
uminalry?  When the Sun has arrived at the Balance, over
which the constellation of the Serpent is extended, in other
words, at the seventh sign, counting from the Lamb, or at the
sign under which, as we have seen above, the Magi had fixed
the commencement of the reign of the evil principle and the
introduction of the Evil into the Universe.
The cosmogony of the Jews introduces the Serpent with a
man and a woman. In it the Serpent is made to speak; but
one feels, that all this is peculiar to the oriental genius and
belongs to the character of the allegory. The foundation of
the theological idea is absolutely the same, It is quite true,
there is no mention made by the Jews about the Serpent
having introduced winter, which destroyed all the blessings of
Nature; but it is said there, that man felt the necessity of
covering himself, and that he was compelled to till the ground,
an operation, which is performed in and which corresponds to
autumn. It is not said, that it was at the seventh thousand
or under the seventh sign, when the change happened in the




224         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS woRSHIP.  [Olhap. IX.
situation of man; but the action of the good principle is there
divided into six times, and it is on the seventh, that its rest or
the cessation of its energy is placed, as well as the fall of man
in the season of fruits and the introduction of the Evil by the
Serpent, the forms of which was taken by the bad principle,
or the Devil, in order to ternlpt the first mortals.  They fix
the locality of the scene in the same countries, which are comprised under the namue of Eiren or Iran, and towards the
sources of the great rivers Euphrates, Tigris, Phison or of the
Araxes; only instead of Eiren, the Hebrew copyists have put
Eden, as the two letters, "r" and "' d," in that language, have
a remarkable ressemblance.  In the Hebrew Genesis the millesimal expression, which is employed in that of the Persians,
is not used; but the Genesis of the ancient Tuscans, conceived
for the remainder in the same terms, as that of the Hebrews,
has preserved this allegorical denomination of the divisions of
time, during which the all-powerful action of thle Sun, the
soul of Nature is exercised. Its expressions on this point, are
as follows:
"The God architect of the Universe has employed and con" secrated twelve thousand years to the works, which lihe has
"produced, and he has divided them  into twelve times, dis" tributed in the twelve signs, or houses of the Sun.
" At the first thousand, he made Heaven and Earth.
" At the second, the Firmament, which he called Heaven.
" At the third, he made the Sea and tihe waters which flow
"upon the Earth (dans la terre).
" At the fourth, he made the two great flamnbeaux of Nature.
"At the fifth, he made the spirit (azme) of the birds, of the
"reptiles, of the animals, which live in the air, on land and
"in the waters.
" At the sixth thousand, lie mlade mlan.
"It should seell," adds the author, "'that the first six
"' thousand years having preceded the formation of man, the




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS wORSIIIP.         225
"human species must subsist during the six other thousand
"years, so that the whole time for the construction of this
" great work, must have been within a period of twelve thous"and years."  We have seen, that this period was a fundament~al clognma in the theology of the Persians, and that it was
divided into equal portions between  the  two  principles.
These expressions of " thousands " were replaced by days in
the Genesis of the HIebrews; but the number six has always
been preserved, as in that of the Tuscans and of the Persians.
Thus the ancient Persians, according to Chardin, took the
months of the year for the six days of the week, which God
employed in the creation: from which it follows, that in the
allegorical and mystical style, the expression of thousand
years, days, ghaaambars, denote simply months, because they
were made to correspond to the signs of the zodiac, which are
the natural measure of it.  Besides the  Hebrew  Genesis
imakes use of the same expressions as that of the Tuscans,
and moreover the former has, what is wanting in the latter,
the distinction of the two principles and the Serpent, which
plays such a great figure in the Genesis of the Persians ullnder
the name of Ahllrinan and of the Star Serpent.  The one,
which unites the features, collo0ll to the two coslnogoonies, to
wit, that of thle Persians, anid whiich gives the key to the two
others, seems to be the original cosmogony.  We shall see
therefore throughout the whole of this work, that it is primcipally the religion of the Magi, froml which that of thle Christians is derived.
We shall no - look therefore for anything else in the Genesis
of the Hebrews, whiich we shall. not find ill that of thle -iagi,,ndcld we shall see in those lmarvelous tales, certainly'not the
history of the first; men, but onlly the allegorical fabl Iade e y the
Persians on1 thle state of Inailkindl, subiiject. Cas it is, hlere below
to the empire of the two principles, in other words, the great
mystery of thbe uniiversal. admin;i. stration Sf) th.e World., which
29




226         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
is consecrated in the theology of all nations, and delineated in
all manner of forms in the ancient Initiations, as taught by
legislators, by philosophers, by poets and theologians, according to the information given by Plutarch.  Allegory was then
the veil with which sacred science enveloped itself, in order to
inspire more respect to the Initiates or Neophites, if we may
believe Sanchoniaton on the subject.
The Hebrew Doctors themselves, as well as the Christian
Doctors agree, that the books, which we attributed to Moses,
were written ill the allegorical style, that they frequently
represent quite a different meaning, thanthe literal sense
would indicate, and that it would lead to false and absurd
notions of the Deity, if we should hold on to the rind, which
covers sacred science. It is principally the first and second
chapters of the Genesis, that they have acknowledged to contain a hidden and allegorical sense, of which they say we must
carefully abstain from giving the interpretation to the vulgar.
The following we quote from "'f "Maimonides," the wisest -of
the Rabbies:
"' We must not understand or take in a literal sense, what
"is written in the book on the creation, noyr form of it the
" same ideas, which are participated by the generality of man"kind, otherwise our ancient sages would not have so much
"recolnlended to tis, to hide the real lleaning of it, and not
" to lift the allegorical veil, which covers the truth contained
"'therein.  WAThen taken in its literal sense, that work gives
"the most absurd and most extravagant ideas of the Deity.
"Whosoever should divine its true nmeaning, ought to take' great care in not divulging it. This is a maxim, repeated to
"us by all our sages, principally concerning the understanding
"of the work of the six days. It is possible, that somebody,
"either through himself, or by means of thve light obtained
"from others, may succeed to divine its meaning; then let
"him be silent, or if  he speaks of it, let it be done only in as




Chap..ZX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       227
" veiled a manner as I do, leaving the remainder to be
"guessed, by those who can hear me."  Maimonides adds,
that the enigmatical talent was not peculiar to Moses or to
the Jewish Doctors, but that they held it in common with all
the wise men of antiquity; and he is right in that, at least in so
far as the Orientals were concerned.
Philon, a Jewish writer, held the same opinion of the character of the sacred Books of the Hebrews.  Ile has made two
particular treatises, bearing the title: "of the Allegories,"
and he traces back to the allegorical sense, the tree of life, the
rivers of Paradise, and the other fictions of the Genesis.  Although he has not been very felicitous in his explanations, yet he
has nevertheless discovered, that it would be absurd, to take
these tales in a literal sense. It is acknowledged by all, who
have some knowledge of the Scriptures, says Origenes,  that
everything there is wrapped up under the veil of enigma and
parable.  This Doctor and all his disciples regarded, in particular the whole story of Adam and Eve, and the fable of the
terrestrial Paradise, as ani allegory.
Augustin, In his " City of God," acknowledges, that many
people saw in the incident of Eve and the Serpent, as well as
in the terrestrial Paradise, only an allegorical fiction. This
Doctor, after quoting several explanations, which had been
given of it, and which were drawn from morality, adds, that
there might be found still better ones; that he was not opposed to it, provided always, says he, that a real history may
be found in it also.
How Augustin could reconcile Fable with History, an allegorical fiction with a real fact, I am unable to comprehend.
If he holds on to this reality at the risk of being illogical, it
is because he has fallen into a still greater contradiction, to
wit: the acknowledgement of the real mission of Christ as the
redeemer of the Sin of the first man, and to see in the two
first chapters of the Genesis nothing but a simple allegory.




228          THIE OI(:lN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ CYtap. IX.
As he wanted the redeimption of the Evil (or Sin) through
Christ to be a historical fact, it was  of course  necessary that
the event of AdaIm  and'Eve and the Serpent should  be
equally historical.; because one is inseparably connected with
the other. 23at, oL thile other side. the very -und1ilkelihood of
this romaulnce, allures hli  into a precious confession: that of
the necessity of having' recourse to the allegorical explanation,
in order to escape froil so many absurdities.  One can say
evenl with Belausobre, that Augustin abandoned in some inlea —
sure the Old Testament to the Maianicheaiis, who do not believe in the three -first chapters of the G-ene-sis, and. that he confesses, that it was impossible to lpreserve its liter'al sense,
without otffending piety lid  without attributing to God unworthy things; that it is absolutely necessary, for the honor
of Moses and his history, to have recourse to allegory.  Indeed, " says Origenes," what man of colmmon sense could ever
persuade himself, that there had been a first, a second, a third
day, and that each of those days had their evening and their
morning, without there having been yet either Sun or Moon
or Stars?  IWhat man could be silly enough to believe, that
God, assuming the character of a gardener, had planted a
garden in the East?  That the tree of life was a real, a physical tree, the fruit of which had the power to preserve life?
&c. This Doctor continues and compares the fable of the
temptation of A-damn to that of the birth of Love, which had
Porus or abundance for father and poverty for mother.  He
asserts, that there are many stories in the Old Testament,
which had not occurred in the way as reported by the sacred
author, and that they are nothing but fictions, hiding some
secret truth.
If the Christian Doctors, if the fathers of the Church, who
have been nothing less than philosophers, could not-in spite
of their invincible propensity to believe everything-digest so
many absurdities, and. have felt the necessity of recurring to




Chap. I_.]   THE ORIGIN OF ArLL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      229
the allegorical Key, in order to find out the sense of these
sacred enigmas, we, that live in an age, where the want of
reasoning is more felt, than thlat of believing, might as well be
perimitted to suppose, that these marvelous stories have the
salne character as that, which all antiquity has given to religious dogmas, and to lift the veil, which covers then. Indeed, everything in this roimantic narrative is shocking to the
common sense, if it is obstinately taken as a. history of facts,
which did really happen during the first days, which shone on
this World.  The idea of a God, or in other words, of the su1-)reie cause, takingl body just for the pleasure of taliing a
walk in a garden; of a woman, conversing with a serpent,
listeningl to it, and receivingo its advice; of a man and a woiman, organized for reproduction, and yet destined to be imnlmortall, and to provide at infinitrn other beings like themselves, who are also reproductive, and who shall live on the
fruits of a gartden, wh}ich shalll hold them  all during eternity;
anl apple plucked from a tree, which shall cause death, and fix
the hereditary  stair. of a crime on so many generations of
men, who have had no hand in the theft, a-crime, which shall
not be forgiven so long as men shall not have committed one
infinitely greater, a deicide, if it were possible, that such a
crime could exist; the woman, since that epoch, condemned
to bring forth with pain, as if the pains of delivery uwere not
pertaining to her organization, and were not comlon to her
with all other animals, which did not taste of the fatal apple;
of the serpent, forced henceforth to creep, as if a reptile
without feet could move otherwise: so many absurd and foolish ideas, collected in one or two chapters of this marvelous
book, cannot be admitted as historical facts by any man, who
has not entirely extinguished the sacred flambean of reason in
the mire of prejudice. If there should be one amongst our
readers, whose courageous credulity should be capable of digesting them, we would frankly request him, to desist from




230         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
reading us, and to return to the lecture of the tales of the
Ass's skin, of Blue Beard, of Torn Thumb, of the Gospel, of
the life of the Saints and of the oracles of the Ass of Balaam.
Philosophy is only for men; tales are for children. With regard to those, who consent in recognizing in Christ a God
Redeemer, and who notwithstanding cannot resolve upon admitting the story about Adam and Eve and the Serpent, and
the fall, which made redemption necessary, we shall invite
them, to exculpate themselves of the reproach of inconsistency.
Indeed, if the fall is not real, what becomes of redemption?
Or if the facts have happened otherwise, than the text of the
Genesis would make us believe, what confidence can we place
in an a-uthor, who begins with dec;eiving at the very first
pages, and whose work, notwithstanding, forms the basis of
the Christian religion? If finally reduced to confess, that
there is a hidden sense in it, then it is a virtual consent, that
we must have recourse to allegory, and that is just the thing
we are doing. Nothing remains but the examination, whether
our allegorical explanation is a good one, and then let our
work be judged; this is all we ask, because we are very far
from requiring, that people should have also faith, when the
question is raised of admitting our opinions. We are quoting
texts, we give celestial positions; let them be verified; we
draw from  it deductions, let theni be appreciated for what
they are worth. The following is an abridged recapitulation
of our explanation:
According to the principles of the cosmogony, or of the
Genesis of the l\IMagi, —with which Lhat of the Jews has the
greatest affinity, because both put man into a delightful garden, where a Serpent introduced the Evil —there is born from
the womb of time without end, or from eternity a finite period,
divided into twelve parts, six of which belong to Light, and six
to Darkness, six to creative action, and six to destructive action, six to the good and six to the evil of Nature. This pe



Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      231
riod is the annual revolution of Heaven or of the World,
which the Magi represent by a mystical egg, divided into
twelve parts, six of which belong to the Lord of Goodness and
of Light and six to the Chief of Evil and of Darkness; here it
is by a tree, which gives the knowledge of good and of evil,
and which has twelve fruits; for it is thus described in the
Gospel of Eve; there it is by twelve thousand years, six of
which are called the thousands of God, and six the thousands
of the Devil. These are as many emblems of the year, during
which man passes successively from the dominion of light to
that of darkness, from that of the long days to that of the
long nights, amid experiences the physical good and evil,
which follow each other in quick succession, or commingle,
according to the Sun's approach to, or retreat from our hemisphere, conformably as it organizes sublunary matter through
vegetation, or as it abandons it to  its principle of inertia, -from whic(h follow the disorganization of bodies and the
disorder, which winter produces in all elements, and on the
surface of the Earth, until Spring restores the harmony again.
It is then, when fecundated by the immortal andcl spiritual
(intelligent) action of the fire Ether, and by the heat of the
Sun of the equinoctial Lamb —that Earth becomes a delightful abode for man. But when the Star of day, reaching the
Balance and the'celestial Serpent, or the signs of autumn,
passes into the other hemisphere, then it consigns our regions
by its retreat to the hardships of winter, to the impetuous
winds, and to all the devastations, which the destructive
Genius of Darkness commits in the World. There is no more
hope for man, except the return of the Sun to the sign of
Spring or to the Lamb, being the first of the signs. This is
the Redeemer which he expects.
Now let us see, whether really the God of the Christians, he
whom John calls the Light, "(which lighteth every man that
conmeth into the WVorld," has the character of the God Sun,




232         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ hap.  X.
worshipped by all nations under a great manay names and with
different attributes; and whether his fable has the same foundation, as all the other solar fables, which we have analysed.
Two principal epochs of the solar movement, as we have already observed, have attracted the attention of all men. The
first is that of the winter solstice, when the Sun, after seemingly abandoning us, res-umes again its route towards our regions, and when the clay, in its infancy, is successively increased. The second is that of the equinox of springwhen this
mighty luminary spreads its fecundating heat over the whole
of Nature, after its transit of the equinoctial line, which separates the reign of light from that of darkness, the abode of
Ormuzd from that of Ahriman. To these two epochs have the
worshippers of the Star, which dispenses light and life to the
World, attached their principal feasts.
The Sun is neither born nor dies in reality: it is always as
luminous as it is majestic; but in the relation, which the days,
engendered by it, have with the nights, there is in this World
a progressive gradation of increase and decrease, which has
originated some very ingenious fictions amongst the ancient
theologians. They have assimilated this generation, this periodical increase and decrease of the day, to that of man, who
after having been born, grown up and reached manhood, degenerates and decreases, until he has finmally arrived at the
term of the career, allotted to him by Nature to travel over.
The God of Day, personified in the sacred allegories, had
therefore to submit to the whole destiny of maln; he had his
cradle and his tomb, under the names either of Hercules or of
Bacchus, of Osiris or of Christ. Hie was a child at the winter
solstice, at the mloment, when the days begin to grow: under
this form they exposed his image in the ancient temples, in
order to receive the homage of his worshippers, " because,.
"says Macrobius, the day being then the shortest, this God.
" seems to be yet a feeble child. This is the child of the rays



Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.          233
"teries, he, whose image was brought out from the recesses of' their sanctuaries by the Egyptians every year on a certain
"day."
This is the child, of which the Goddess of Sais claimed to
be the mother in that famious inscription, where these words
could be read: "The fruit, which I have brought forth is the
"Sun."  This is the feeble child, born in the midst of the
darkest night, of which this virgin of Sais Tas deliverd about
the winter solstice, according to Plutarch.
This God had his mysteries and his altars and statues, representing him in the four ages of the human life.
The Egyptians are not the only people, who celebrated at
the winter solstice the birth of the God Sun, or of that luminous orb, which redeems Nature every year.  The Rhomans also
fixed at that epoch the great festival of the new Sun and the
celebration of the solar games, known by the name of games
of the circus.  They had fixed it at the eighth day before the
Calends of January, to-wit: at the same day, which corresponds to our 25th of Decemllber, or on the birth-day of the
Sun, worshipped under the namle of AMitbras and ChrisLt. This
indication is to be found in a calendar which has been printed
in the "Uranology ". of father Petati and after the publication.
of our larger work, wlhere it reads: "'On the eighth before
"the calends of Januvary,'natalis invictis,' birt.h of the invinci"ble.  This invincible was l~ithras or the Sun.'We celebrate
" says Julian, the philosoper, sonle days before the new year's
" day, the magnificent gaunes in honor of the Sun, to which we
"give the'title of the Invincible. Oh! could I be so happy,
"as to celebrate them for a long time to conle; oh Sun, king
of the Universe, thou, who from all eternity wavs engendered
"by the first God, of his pure substance, &(Co"  This is a Platonic expression, because Plato called the Sun the son. of God.
The title of Invincible;, is that, w1ich all thle monuments of the
Maithraic religion g'iv: to  itllhrl,A    or thle Sun, tohe greSat )i30




234         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
vinity of the Persians.  "To the God Sun, the invincible Mi"thras."
Thus Mithras and Christ were born on the same day, and
that day was the birth-day of the Sun. They said of 3Mithras,
that he was the same God as the Sun, " that he was the Light,
"that lighteth every man, that cometh into the world."  The
birth-place of Mithras was placed in a grotto, that of Bacchus
and of Jupiter in a cavern, and that of Christ in a stable. It
is a parallel, which was drawn by St. Justinus himself. According to tradition, it was in a grotto that Christ was laying, when the Magi came to worship him. But who were the
Magi?  The worshippers of Mithras or the Sun. WVhat presents did they bring to the new-born God?  Three sorts of
pr3senits, consecrated to the Sun by the worship of the Arabs,
the Chaldeans and other Orientals. By whom  are they informed of this birth?  By astrology their favorite science.
What were their dogmas?  They believed, says Chardin, in
the eternity of a first Being, which is the Light. What are
they presumed to do in the fable?  To fulfill the first precept
of their religion, which commands them to worship the newborn Sun. What name do the prophets give to Christ?  That
of Orient. Orient they say is hlis narme.  It is at the Orient
and not in Orient, that they see his image in the Heavens.
And indeed, the sphere of the Magi and of the Chaldeans
painted in the Heavens a new-born babe, called Christ or Jesus; it was placed in the aimns of the celestial Virgin, or the
Virgin of the signs, the very same one, to which Eratosthenes
gives the name of Isis, the mother of Horts.  To which point
of Heaven corresponded this Virgin of the spheres and her
child?  To the hour of mid-night on the twenty-fifth December, at the same moment, when the birth of the God of the
year, the new Sun or Christ is said to take place at, the eastern border, at the same point, whence the Sun of the first day
r'ose.




Chaap. 1X.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      235
It is a fact, which is independent of all hypothesis, independent of all the consequences, which I shall draw from it,
that at the precise hour of midnight on the 25th December,
in the centuries, when Christianity made its appearance, the
celestial sign, which rose at the horizon, tand the ascendant of
which presided at the opening of the new solar revolution,
was the Virgin of the constellations.  It is another fact, that
the God Sun, born at the winter solstice, is re-umited with
her and surrounds her with his lustre at the time of our feast
of the Assumption, or the re-union of mother and son. And
still another fact is that, when she comes out heliacally from
the solar rays at the moment, when we celebrate her appearance in the Wtorld, or her Nativity. I shall not examine the
motive, which caused these feasts to be fixed on these days: it
is sufficient for me to say, that those are three facts, which no
reasoning can destroy, and out of which an attentive observer,
who is well acquainted with tle genius of the ancient mystagogues, may draw great consequences, unless people prefer to
see in it a mere sport of the hazard; but this, it will be difficult to pursuad those, who are on their guard of anything,
which might mislead their reasoning faculties and perpetuate
their prejudices.  At all events it is certain, that this same
Virgin, the only one who can become mother without ceasing
to be a virgin, fills the three great functions of the Virgin,
the mother of Christ, be it in the birth of her son, or in that
of her own, or in her conjunction with- him in the Heavens.
It is chiefly her function as mother, which we shall examine
here. It is but natural to suppose, that those who personified the Sun, and who made it pass through the various ages
of the human life, who imagined for it a series of wonderful
adventures, sung either in poems or narrated in legends, did
not fail) to draw its horoscope, the same as horoscopes were
drawn for other children at the precise moment of their birth.
This was especially the custom  of the Chaldeans and of the




236          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RIELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    Chap. IX.
Magi.  Afterwards this feast was celebrated under the name
of " dies natalis" or the feast of the birth-day. Now, the celestial Virgin,who presided at the birth of the God Day personified,
was presrumed to be his xot]her, and thus fulfill the brophecy
of the astrologer, who had said: "A Virgin shall conceive and
"'bring' forth," in other words, that' she shall give birth to
the G(od Sun, like thie Yir'in of Sais: from  this idea are
derived  the pictures,, whieh  are delinated  in the sphere
of the MaNgi, of whichl Abuhiazasr has given us a d.escription,  and of whilch Kirker,  Selden, the famuls Pic, Roger
Bacon, Albert the Great,   3n, Stofiler and a great many
others have spolken.   -e  tre  extcracting  here the passage
from  Abulmazar.  "'W e s  eeg, sa-s Abuhnl azar, in the  first
" decan, or in the te:n fir'-t degrees of the sign of the Virgin,
according to the trfiaditions of tho ancient IPersians, Chaldeans, Egyptica, of Herime  and of /Esculapiis, a young
"maiden, called in the c':Persla  laugtuagn e'Seclenidos de ])ar"zanma,' a name, wlen traLnslated itio PArabianl by that of
"'Adrenedefa,' si':'niies a  cbaste, pure  and  inmmalculate
C"virgin, of a handsome  11get-te, agreeable countenance, long
"hair andl mlodesWt miel.  Sdhe holds in her hancd two ears of
"C corn; she sits on a throne; she no-urishes, and suckles a babe,
"'which some call Jesus, and the Greeks call Christ."  The
Persian sphere, published by Scaliger as a sequel of his notes,
on MIanilius, gives about the samne description of the celestial'
Virgin; but there is no nmention made of the child, which she
suckles.  It places alongside of her a man, which can only be
Bootes, called the foster-father of the son of the Virgin Isis,
or of Horus.
In the national library there is an Arabian manuscript, containing the twelve signs, delineated and colored, and there is
also to be seen a young child alongside of the celestial Virgin,
being represented in about the same style as our Virgins, and
like an Egyptian Isis with her son.. It is more than probable,




IChap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     237
that the ancient astrologers have placed in the Heavens the
infantile image of the new Sun, in the constellation, which
presided over its new birth and at that of the year in the winter solstice, and that froml this have originated the fictions of
the God Day, conceived in the chaste womb of a virgin, because that constellation was really the Virgin. This conclusion is far more natural, than the opinion of those, who obstinately believe, that there had existed a woman, who had
become mother, wilhout ceasing to be virgin, and that the
fruit engendered by her, is that Eternal Being, which moves
and governs -whole Nature. Thus the Greeks saicd, that their
God with the forms of MqanI or Lamb, the famous Ammon or
Jupiter, was brought up by Tenemis, which is also one of the
names of the Virgin of the constellations; she is also called
Ceres,'to whom the title of "Holy Virgin-" was given, and who
was the mother of young Bacchus or of the Sunl, the image of
which was exposed in the sanctuaries at the winter solstice,
in the shape of an infant, according to Macrobius. His testimony is confirmed by the author of the Chronicle of Alexandria, who expresses himself in the following words: "The
"Egyptians- have consecrated up to this day the child-birth of
a virgin and the nativity of her son, who is exposed in a''crib' to the adoration of the people. King Ptolemy, having
" asked the reason of this custom, he was answered that it was
"a mystery, taught by a respectable prophet to their fathers."
It is well known, that with them a prophet meant one of the
Chiefs of the Initiation.
It is alleged, I do not know on what authority, that the ancient Druids paid also homa'o to a virgin, with this inscription: " Virgina paritura;" and that her statue was in the territory of Chartres. At all events it is certain, that in the
monuments of Mithras, or of the Sun, the worship of which
was established in ancient times in Great Britain, there is to
be seen a woman, which suckles an infant, and which can be




!238        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
only the mother of the God Day. The English author, who
has written a dissertation on this monument, gives the particulars of all the features, which can establish the relationship, which existed between the festivities of the birth of
Christ and those of the birth of Mithras. This author, being
more pious, than a philosopher, sees there festivities imagined, in  conformity with the prophetic notions on the
future birth of Christ. He very properly remarks, that the
Mithraic worship was spread over the whole Roman Empire,
and especially in Gaul and in Great Britain. He also quotes
the testimony of St. Hieronymus, who complains, that the
Heathens celebrated the feasts of the new-born Sun or of Adonis, also of Mithras in the same place at Bethlehem, where it
was said, that Christ was born; which in our opinion, was
merely the same worshipunder a different name, as we have
shown in the fable of Adonis, dead and resuscitated like Christ.
After having demonstrated, on what astronomical foundation was reposing the fable of the incarnation of the Sun, under th ~ name of Christ, in the womb of a virgin, we shall now
examine the origin of that, which makes himn die and afterwards resuscitate at the vernal equinox under the form of the
Paschal Lamnb.
The Sun, being the only redeemer of the evils, which winter
produces, and presumed in the sacerdotal fictions to be born
at the solstice, must remain yet three months more in the inferior signs, in the regions affected by evil and darkness, and
there be subject to their ruler, before it makes the famous passage of the vernal equinox, which assures its triumph over
Night, and which renews the face of the Earth. They must
therefore make him live, during all that time, exposed to all
the infirmities of mortal life, until he had resumed the rights
of Divinity in his triumph. The allegorical genius of the mystagogues shall then soon compose a life for him, and Which is
convenient for the end, which the Initiation proposes to ac



Chap. JX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      239
complish. Thus we see IEesopus, —when he wanted to describe
the strong and unjust man, oppressing the feeble, —making
use figuratively of animals to perform those parts, to whom he
gave opposite characters, and imagined an action, proper to
attain the moral aim of his apologue. Thus did the Egyptians invent the fable of Osiris or the beneficent Sun, who
travels over the Univ,rse, in order to spread over it the conntless blessings, of which he is the source, and set up in opposition to him, Typhon, the Prince of Darkness, who counteracts
his actions and finally kills him. On such a simple idea as
this, did they invent the fable of Osiris and Typhon, in which,
one is represented as a legitimate king, and the other as the
tyrant of Egypt. Besides the fragments of these ancient sacerdotal fictions, which have been transmitted to us by Diodorus and Plutarch, we have a life of Osiris and of Typhon,
composed by bishop Sinesius, because in those times the
bishops manufactured legends. In the one here mentioned,
the adventures, the characters and the portraits of the'two
principles of Egyptian theology, were drawn from imagination, yet still after the idea of the character, which each of
them had to play, in order to express in a fable the opposite
action of the principles, which counteract and contend with
each other in Nature. The Persians had also their history of
Ormuzd and Ahriman,'which contained the account of their
battles, and of the victory of the good over the bad principle.
The Greeks had a life of Hercules and of Bacchus, which contained the history of their glorious exploits and of the blessings, which they had spread over the whole Earth; and those
narrations were ingenius poems, the production of learned
men. The history of Christ on the contrary, is nothing but a
tiresome legend, having the same character of sadness and
dryness, which is the attribute of the legends of the Indians,
in which we find only bigots, penitents and Brahmins, living
in holy meditation,.  Their God Vishnu, who became man




240         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [CGhap. JX.
(or flesh) in Chrisnu, has a great many traits in common with
Christ. There are certain vagaries to be met with little
Chrisnu, very similar to those, which are attributed to the
childhood of Christ in the gospel: when grown he rises from
the dead like Christ.
The Magi had also a legend of the Chief of their religion;
prodigies had announced his birth. Hie was exposed to dangers from the time of his infancy, and was obliged to fly into
Persia, like Christ into Egypt; like him he was persecuted by
a king, his enemy, who wanted to get rid of him..A n Angel
transported him into Heaven, whence he returned with the
book of his law. Like Christ he wmas tempted by the Devil,
who made him magnificent promises, in order to induce him,
to become his servant and to be dependent of him. He was
calumniated and persecuted by the priests, as Christ was by the
Pharisees. He opposed them with miracles, in order to confirm his divine mission and the dogmas, which his book contained. By this parallel we can easily understand, that the
authors of the legend of Christ, who make the Magi come to
his cradle, guided by the famous star, which people said was
predicted by Zoroaster, the Chief of their religion, — would not
have failed to introduce in this legend a great many traits,
which belonged to the leader of the religion of the Persians,
of which Christianisun is merely a branch, and with which it
has the greatest resemblance, as we shall have occasion to remark, when we shall speak of the Mithraic religion, or of the
Sun Mithras, the great Divinity of the Persians.
The authors of that legend had neither knowledge nor genius
enough to compose such poems as the cantos on Hercules,
Theseus, Jason, Bacchus, &c. Besides the thread of the astronomical science had been lost, and they limited themselves
to compose legends with the fragnments of the ancient fictions,
which were no longer understood. Let us add to all this,
that the aim of the leaders of the Initiation into the mysteries




Uhaap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         241
of'Christ, was a purely moral aim, and that they endeavored
to represent, not so much the conquering hero of the Giants
and of all kind of evils, with which Nature is afflicted, as the
meek, the patient, the charitable man, who had come on
Earth to teach by his example the virtues, the practice of
which they wished to inculcate upon the Initiates into his
mysteries, which  were  those of the eternal Light.  They
made him therefore act in this sense, an, preach and command the austere practices of the Essenians, which resembled
much those of the Brahmins and the devotees of the Indies.
He had his disciples, like the Somnlmona-Kodonl of the Siamese, a God also born of a virgin by the action of the Sun;
and the number of his Apostles described the great duodeeiinal division, which is found in all the religions, of which the
Sun is the hero; only his legend was more marveious thaln
amusing, an(d is showing there a little the ear of thle creculous and ignorant Jew.  As the author of the sacred fable
made him be born amlongst the Hebrews, he hadl to subject
lim and his mother to the religious rites of that people. Like
all Jewish children he had to be  ircumreised on the eighth
day: his mother was obliged, like other Jewish women, to present herself at the Temple, in order to be there purified. One
feels, that all this is a necessary sequence of the fi:st idea, or
of that, which cnused him to be born to preach and to die, in
order to resuscitate afterwards: because there cannot be a resurection without a previous death. Since they had made of it,
a man, they had to make him  pass through all the stages of
adolescence and of youth, and he seemed to advance rapidly in.
knowleclge and understanding to such perfection, that at the
age of twelve years he astonished all the Doctors.  The mlorals,
which they  wished to inculcate, were put in lessons in his
sermons, or in examaple in hiis actions.  They imagined -miracles with whicll to support it, and fanatics were employed,
who alleged to have been witnesses: for, who is not capable of
3-1




242         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
making miracles anywhere, where willing minds are found
ready to believe them? Did they not see them,'or believe to
have seen them at the tomb of the blessed Paris in so enlightened an age as ours, and in the midst of a population, which
could furnish more than one critic, but infinitely more enthusiasts and rogues? All leaders of religion have the reputation of having made miracles:  "Fo," amongst the Chinese
made miracles and forty thousand disciples publish everywhere, that they did see them. Odin, amongst the Scandinavians has made them also; he resuscitated dead persons, he
also descended into Hell, and he gave to new-born infants a
species of baptism. Miracles are the great resort of all re.ligions: nothing is so stoutly believed, as that which is incredible. Bishop Sinesius has saidcl —and he knew something
about it-that the people wanted miracles at any price, and
that it was impossible to conduct it otherwise. The whole
life of Christ was therefore composed in this sense. Those
who have "fabricated " it, have added thereto fictitious events,
not only at known places, as all the ancient poets have done
in the fables of Hercules, Bacehus, Osiris, &c., but also at an
epoch with well known names, such as the age of Augustus,
of Tiberius, of Pontius Pilate, &c.; which does not prove the
real existence of Christ, but only that the sacerdotal fiction is
posterior to that epoch; and of this we have no doubt. There
have been made even several of them, because they count
about sixty Gospels or lives of Christ, and so many stories
have been told about him, that immense volumes could scarcely contain thenl, according to the expression used by one of
the authors of these legends. The genius of the mystagogues
has launched forth into a vast career, but all have agreed on
two fundamental points: on the incarnation, which we have
explained, and on the death and the resurrection, which'we
are going to prove as having only reference to the Sun, and
that it is merely the repetition of a tragic event, described in




Chap. IX.]  TUE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      243
all the mysteries, in all the songs, and in all the legends of
the worshippers of the Sun, under a great many different
names.
Let us well bear in mind here, what we have proved in another place, that Christ has all the characteristics of the God
Sun in his birth, or in his incarnation in the womb of a virgin,
and that this birth arrives just at the same moment, when the
ancients celebrated that of the Sun or of Mithras, and that it
happens beneath tlhe ascendant of a constellation, which, in
the sphere of the Magi, carries a babe called Jesus. The actual question now is, to show, that he has also the characteristics of the God Sun in his resurrection, either on account of
the epoch, at which this event is presumed to have happened,
or on account of the form under which Christ shows himself
in his triumph.
In concluding our explanation of the pretended fall of man
and of the fable, in which the Serpent introduces the Evil into
the World, we observed, that this evil was of a nature; which
could only be repaired by the Sun of spring, and that it could
be effected by it only. The [Redemption of Christ, if he is the
God Sun, must necessarily take place at that epoch.
Now it is precisely at the vernal equinox, that, Christ triuumphs, and that he redeems the misfortunes of mankind in
the sacerdotal fable of the Christians, called the life of Christ.
Just at that annual epoch those festivities take place, the object of which is the celebration of this great event, because the
Easter of the Christians, like that of the Jews is necessarily
fixed at the full moon of the vernal equinox, to-wit: at that
moment of the year when the Sun conquers and overcomes
that famous passage which separates the dominion of the God
of Light, from  that of the Prince of Darkness, and where in
our climes that Luminary re-appears, which gives light and
life to all Nature. The Jews and the Christians call it the
feast of the Pass-oyr, because at that time the God Sun or




244L        THE ORIGIN o' ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
the Lord of Nature passes towards, or approaches -us, in order
to shower over us his blessings, of which the Serpent of darkness end of autumn-m had deprived us during all winter. This
is the handsome Apollo in the fulness of all vigor of youth,
who triumphs over the Serpent Python. This is the feast of
the Lord, because this title of respect was given to the Sun;'because Adonis and Adonai styled this Luminary, Lord of the
WVorld, in the orien-tal fable of Adonis, the God Sun, who, like
Christ calne out victorious from the tomnb, after his death had
been lamented. In the consecration of the seven days of
the week to the seven planets, the day of the Sun is called the
day of the Lord. It precedes Monday or the day of the Moon,
and follows Saturday or the day of Saturn, two planets, which
occupy the extremes of the nmusical scale, of which the Sun is
the center and forms the quart. Therefore the title of" Lord"
is under all circunmstances a very proper one for the Sun.
This'feast of the Pass-over of the Lord was origilnall:y fixed
on the 25th of AMarch, to wit: three months, day for day, after
the feast of his birth, which is also that of the nativity of the
Sun. It was then, that this Luminary, while recovering its
creative power and all its fecundating activity,'was presumed
to renovate Nature, to re-establish a new order of things, to
create so to say a new Universe on the wreck of the old World,
and to make mankind enter through the miediation of the
equinoctial Lamb, the realhn of Light and blessedness, which
its presence brought back.
All these mystical ideas are to be found compiled in this
passage of " Cedrenus."  "The first day of the first mounth,"
"says this historian, "is the first of the mbnth'Nisan;' it
"corresponds to the 25th of March of the Romans, and the
"'Phamenot' of the Egytians. On that day Gabriel saluted
"Mary, in order to make her conceive the'Savior.' I observe,
" that it is the same mohth Phamenot, that Osiris gave fecun"dity to the Moon, according to the Egyptia:n theology. On




Chap. [X.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      245
"'the very same day, adds Cedrenus, our God, Savior, after
"the termination of his career, arose from  the dead; that is,
"what our forefathers called the Pass-over, or the passage of
"the Lord. It is on the same day, that our ancient theologians
"have fixedr also his return, or his second advent, as the new
" Era had to count fromn that epoch, because on the same day
"the Universe had commenced."  All this agrees very well
with the last chapter of the Apocalypse, which imakes the
throne of the equinoetial Lamb the' starting point of the new
Era, which shall regula;te the destinies of the World of Light,
and of the friends of Ormuzd.
The same Cedrenus makes Christ die on the 23d of March
and resuscitate on the 25th, from  which, says he, originates
the custom of the Church, to celebrate Easter on The 25th of
March, to-wit: on the 8th day before the Calends of April, or
three months after the eighth of the Calends of January, at
which epoch happened the nativity of the Sun. This eighth
of the Calends, whether in January or in April, was the same
davy, on which the ancient Romans had fixed the arrival ot the
Sun at the winter solstice and at the vernal equinox. If the
eighth of the Calends of January was a holiday in the religion
of the worshippers of the Sun, as we have shown above, the
eighth of the Calends of April or the 25th of March was one
equally so with them. The great mysteries were then celebrated, which symbolized the triumph of the Sun at that epoch
every year over the long nights of winter.
In the sacred legends that Luminary was personified: they
lamented its supposed death for several days, and they celebrated in songs its resurrection on the 25th of March, or on
the eighth of the Calends of April. Of this we are informed
by Macrobius, the same Macrobius, who has told us, that at
the winter solstice, or on the eighth day before the Calends of
January, this same God Sun was represented under the form
of a new-born infant, and on that of spring under the emblem




246         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. iX.
of a strong vigorous young man. He adds, that these feasts of
the Passion, or of the death and resurrection of the God Day,
which had been fixed at Sthe equinox of spring, were to be
found in all sects of the religion of the Sun. With the Egyptians, it was the death and resurrection of Osiris, with the Phcenicians it was the death and resurrection of Adonis, and with
t;he Phrygians it represented the tragical adventures of Atys,
&c., therefore the God Sun experiences in all religions the
same misfortunes as Christ, that like him he triumps over
death, and that this happens just at the same epochs of its annual revolution. It is on those, who persist, to mnake of Christ
another being than the Sun, that the duty devolves, to give us
their reasons for such a singular coincidence. As far as we
are concerned, who do not believe in these sports of the hazard, we shall simply observe, that the Passion and the Resurrection of Christ, celebrated at Easter, partake of the mysteries of the ancient solar religion or of the worship of universal
Nature.
It is chiefly in the religion of Mithras or the God Sun, worshipped under that nanme by the Magi, that we find mostly
those features of analogy with the death and resurrection of
Christ and with the mysteries of the Christians. Mithras, who
was also born on the 25th 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 Phcenician Adonis. These funeral ceremonies,
like those on good Friday, were accompanied with funeral
dirges and the groans of his priests; after having spent some
time with these expressions of feigned grief; after having
lighted the sacred flambeau or their Paschal candle and
anointed the image with Chrism  or perfumnes, one of them
camre forward and pronounced with the gravest mien these
words: "Be of good cheer, sacred band of Initiates ("initi6s,")




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      247
" your God has risen from the dead; his pains and his suffer"ings shall be your salvation."  Why, exclaims the Christian
writer, from whom we have all these details-why do you exhort these unhappy people to rejoice?  Why do you deceive
them with false promises? The death of your God is known:
but there is no proof of his new life. There is no oracle,
which warrants his resurrection; he did not show himself to
the people after his death, in order that they might believe in
his Divinity. It is an idol, which you bury; it is an idol over
which you shed tears; it is an idol, which you are drawing
from the tomb; and after your sorrows, you are now rejoicing.
It is yourself, who deliver your God, &c. I ask you, continued
Firmicus, who has seen your  God with ox-horns, whose
death afflicts you so much? And I shall ask Firmiuens and his
credulous Christians: and you, who are so much afflicted
about the death of the Lamb, slaughtered in order to wash
out with his blood the sins of she World,-who has seen your
God in the forms of a Lamb, of which you celeJbrate the triumph
and the resurrection?
Do you ignore, that two thousand years before the Christian era, to which epoch the religion of the Persians and the
Mithraic worship, or the Bull of Mithras is traced, —the Sun
made the transit of the equinox under the sign of the Bull,
and that it is merely through the effect of the precession of
the equinoxes, that this passage in our days is under the sign
of the Lamb; that there is nothing changed but the celestial
forms and the name?  That the worship is absolutely the
same? And it would really seem, in this instance, as if Firmicus, in his onset on the ancient religions, had set his heart
on it, to collect all the traits of analogy, which their mysteries
had with those of the Christians.  He clings chiefly to the Mithraic Initiation, of which he draws a pretty uniform parallel
with that of.Christ, and to which it has so much resemblance,
merely because it is one and the same sect. It is true, he ex



248         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  Chap. IX.]
plains all this conformity, which exists between these two religions, by asserting, as Tertullian and St. Justin did, that a
long time before there were Christians in existence, the Devil had
taken pleasure to have their future mysteries and ceremonies
copied by his worshippers.  This may be an excellent reason
for certain Christians, such as there are plenty in our days, but
an extremely paltry one for men of common sense. As far as
we are concerned, we, who do not believe in the Devil, and
who are not, like them, in his secrets, we shall simply observe,
that the religion of Christ, foilnded like all the others on the
worship of the Sun, has preserved the same dogmas, the same
practices, the same mysteries or very neally so; that everything
has been in common; because the God wtac the same; that there
were only the accessories, which could differ, but'that the basis
was absolutely the same. The oldest apologists of the Christian
religion agree, that the Mithraic religion had its sacraments,
its baptism, its penitence, its Eucharist and its consecration
by, mystical words; that the catechumlens of that religion had
preparatory trials, more rigorous than those of the Christians;
that the Initiates or the faithful marked  their foreheads
with a sacred sign; that they admitted also the dogma of the
resurrection; that they were presented with the crown, which
ornamented the forehead of the martyrs; that their sovereign
Pontiff was not allowed to nmarry several times; that they had
their virgins and their laws of continence; finally, that they
had everything, which has since been practiced by the Christians.  Of course, Tertullian calls again the Devil to his assistance, in order to explain away so complete a resemblance.
But as there is not the slighest difficulty, without the intervention of the Devil, to perceive, that whenever two religions resemble each other so completely, the oldest must be the
mother and the youngest the daughter, we shall conclude,
that since the worship of Mlithras is infinitely older than that of
Christ. and its ceremonies a great deal anterior to those of the




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN O1 ALL RELIGIOUS WOTSHIP.          249
Christians, that therefore the Christians are incontestably
either sectarians or plagiarists of the religion of the Miagi.
I shall add with the learned " Hyde," that concerning the
Angels, the theory of the Persians was imore complete, than
that of the Jews and of the Christians; that they ackliowledged the distinction of the Angels into Angels of Light and Angels of Darkness; that they knew the narratives of their battles, and the nanmes of the Angels, which have been admitted
into our relioion; that they baptised their'children and gave
them  a name; that they had the fiction of Paradise and of
Hell, which is likewise found with the Greeks and the Romans,
and with several other nations; that they possessed a hierarchical order, and the whole ecclesiastical constitution of the
Clhristians, which, according to Hyde, dates back with them
Ymore than three thousland years.  But I shall not say with
him, tlhat we should see in this resemblance the work of Providence, which has willed, that the Persians shouvll do in anticipation, wheat the Christians should do at some fulture day. If
Hyde, (who was born ill an island, whlere superstition is almost
always to be fond:c alongside of philosophy, formhing with it?
monstrous alliance)-was not deterred through fear of shocking the prejudices of his time and of his coun-try, to di;gnise
in this wav:y the opinion, which such a striking resemblance
nmust necessarily awaken. in him,-then we ttmust confess, that
wisdom is not always conmmon sense, and is by no means i::
equal.  I shall therefore agree with Hyde, that the tw(.:
ligions mare similar in almost all poinrts; but I shall com -;;<
the conclusion, that they fornm. only one, or at all evenlts, l!"t-!.:;
they are only two sects of the an,lcient religion of the Orienti;a].?,
worshippers of the Sun, and that their institutions, as well,
their principal dogmas had-  at, least as far as thei:r bas', i,:
concerned, one common origin.  It is still'the Sun, whici:-'-:
the God of their religion, may he be called Christ or gtithr:ba;
Osiris or Bacchus, A.donis or Atys, &c..Let us now pasI t0
32




250         THER ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap/. IX.
the forms, which characterize the God Sun of the Christians
in his triumph.
These forms are very naturally taken from the celestial sign,
thro' which the Star of Day passed at the time, when it restored to our hemisphere the long days and heat. At the epoch,
when Christianism  came to be known in the West, aind more
than fifteen centuries before, this sign was the Ram, which the
Persians in their cosmogony call the Lamb, as we have shown
before. This was the sign of the exaltation of the Stun in the
system of the astrologers, and the ancient Sabismus had fixed
there its grandest feast. It was therefore the Sun's return to the
celestial Lamb, which annually regenerated Nature. This then is
the form, which this majestic Luminary, this beneficent God,
this savior of mankind, took in its triumph. And this is,-to
speak in mystical style, "the Lamb, which redeemeth the sins
"of the World."
The same as Ahriman, or the ruler of darkness. had assumed the forms of the constellation, which in autumn brought
back the long nights and winter, so also had the God of
Light, his conqueror, to take in sprin.g the formrfs of the celestial sign, under which his triumph was accomplished. This
is the wholly natural consequence, which follows from the principles, which we have adopted in the explanation of the fable
about the introduction of the Evil by the Serpent. We know besides, that it was peculiar to the genius of the worshippers of
the Sun, to paint that Luminary under the formns and with the
attributes of the celestial signs, with which it was in conjunction each month: this was the origin of the various metamorphoses of Jupiter with the Greeks, and those of Vishnu with
the East Indians. For instance, they painted a young man
leading a ram, or who carried a rain on his shoulders, or who
had his front armed with the horns of a ram. Jupiter Ammon
was represented under this last form. Christ also, took the
name and the forms of a lamb, and this animal was the sym



MChap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     251
bolical expression, under which he was designated. People
did not say the Sun of the Lamb, but simply the Lamb, as the
Sun of the Lion, or Hercules, was frequently called the Lion.
These are merely the various exsiressions of the same idea, and
a varied -usage of the same celestial animal in the pictures
made of the Sun of Spring.
This denomination of the Lamb, which was given in preferencc to Christ or the God of Light in his equinoctial triumph,
is to be found every where in the sacred books of the Christians, but especially so in their book of Initiation, known by
the name of the Apocalypse. The faithful or those, who had
been initiated are there qualified as disciples of the Lamb. The
slaughtered Lamb is there represented in the midst of four
animals, which are also found in the constellations, and which
are placed at the four cardinal points of the sphere. It is before the Lamb, that the Genii of the  twenty-four hours,
designated under the emblem of old men, prostrate themselves.
It is the slaughtered Lamb, according to the phrase, which is
worthy to receive all power, divinity, wisdom, strength, honor,
glory and benediction; it is the Lamb, which opens the book
of fate, designated under the emblem  of a book, closed with
seven seals.
All the nations of the Universe are placing themselves before the throne and before the Lamb. They are dressed in
white; they have palms in their hands, and sing with a loud
voice: Glory to our God, who is sitting on the throne!  It
will be remembered that the celestial Lamb or the Ra n is the
sign of the exaltation'of the God Sun, and this victorious luminary seems to be carried on it in its triumph. The Lamb is
surrounded by the duodecimal court or retinue, of which it is
the leader in the celestial signs. It appears to be standing on
the mountain, and the twelve tribes surround it, and are appointed to follow it, wherever it goes.




252          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Ohap. IX.
The conquerors of the Dragon are to be. seen there, singing
the canticle of the Lamzb.  It would be superfluous to multiply here the passages, in. which this mysterious name is repeated.  ]Everywhere we see, that the God of Liglht uLder the
nlamie of the Lamb, was the great Divinity, which was the
great object of devotion in the Initiations of the Christians.
The mysteries of Christ -are therefore nmerely the mysteries of
the God Sun in its equinoctial triulllph, whell it assumes the
forms of the first sigrn, or those of the celestial Lamb: consequently the figure of the Lamb was the emblem or the seal,
with which in those times the Neophytes of this sect were
marked.  It was there "tessera," alnd the'symbolica] attribute,
by which the brethlren of this religious fraternity or freeiasonry  macde themnselves lknown to each other..  The Christians
of that time, milade their children wlear around their necks the
symbolical image of the Lamb.'Everybocly knows the famous' Aglnus Dei."
The oldest representation of tle God of thle Christians was
a figure of a Lamnb, to which soml-etinles a vase was added, into which his blood flowed, and at other timhes couched at the
foot of a cross.  This custol  subsisted up to the byeaar 680,
andcl  nltil the pontificate of Agathon, during tile reigIl of Consta_-tine Pogonat.  By th:ie sixth synod of Constantinople,
(cannon 82) it was ordained, that instead of the ancient symbol, which had been the Lamb, the fi"gire of a mlan fasten ed
to a cross shlould be represented; all this was  lonfirmeied by
Pope Adrian I. This symbol mafy still be seen on the tabernacle or on the little shrine, in which our priests shut up the
Sun. of gold or of silver, consisting of the circular image of
their God, as also in front of their altars.  The Lamb is there
frequently represented in a couching position, somletimes on a
cross, ancl at other tilmes on the book of Fate, closed with seven
seals.  This nunlber seven is that of the seven spheres, of
which the Sun is the Soul, and the rmovemlent or revolution of




Chap. IX.]  THE OIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       253
which is counted from -the point of Aries, or the equenoctial
Lamb.
This is that Lamb, which the Christians say, had been imolated since the origin, of the World. "Agnus occisus ab ori"gine mundi."  It furnishes matter of an antithesis to an author of the prose of Easter, "victimae paschali" &c., "Agnus
"'redemit oeves," &c. All the hymns of that festivity, which
correspond to'the "hilaries" of the atncient worshippers of the
Sun, festivals, which were celebrated then at the same epoch,
give us a description of the victory of the Lamb over the
Prince of darkness.,The candle, known by the name of the
Paschal candle, was lighted, in order to represent the triumph
of Light. The priests are dressed in white, a color peculiar
to Ormuzd or to the God of Light. The new fire is consecrated, also the lustral or holy water; everything is renovated
in the temples, as in Nature. The ancient Romans did the
same thing in the month of March, and substituted new
laurels in the houses of their "fiamines," (archpriests) and in
the places dedicated to hold their meetings. Thus the Persians in their feasts of 1Neuruz, or of the entry of the Sun into
the sign of the Lamb of spring, celebrate in songs the renovation of all things, and the new day, of the new month, of
the new year, of the new  time, which shall renew all, which
is the offspring of time. They have also their feast of the
cross a few days before; it is followed a few days after by that
of victoiy.
It was at that epoch, that their ancient Perseus, a Genius
placed at the equinoctial point, was presumed of having
drawn from  Heaven the eternal fire, and consecrated it in
their Pyras, where it was kept up by the Magi; the same fire,
which the Vestals preserved at Rome, and from which was
drawn every year in spring, that which they burned in the temples. The same ceremony was practiced in Egypt, as may be
seen in an ancient monument of the Egyptian religion. A




254          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. 1X.
wood-pile is there remarlked, being formed of three piles of
wood of ten pieces each, a number equal to that of the
"decans," * and of the divisions of the signs from. ten degrees to ten degrees.  Ihere are therefore thirty pieces of
wood, as many degrees as alre counted to the sign.  Over each
of these three piles is couched a Lamb or Ranm, and above it
there is an immense image of the Sun, the rays of which are
prolonged down to the earth.  The priests touch these rays
wit the tip of the finger, and draw  from it the sacred fire,
which is to kindle the funeral pile of the Lamb, and to inflame
the Universe.  This picture makes us remember the equinoctial feast of spring, celebrated in Egypt under Aries or under
the Lamb, commemorative of the fire of Heaven, typifying the
conflagration of the World. In that feast everything was marked red or of the color of fire, as in the Pass-over of the Jews
or in their feast of the Lamb.  This resurrection of the saicred
eternal fire, which is boiling in the Sun, and which every year
in spring restores Nature to life in our hemisphere, was the
true and genuine resurrection of the Sun Christ.  It is with a
view of rendering practically this idea, that the bishop of Jerusalelm shuts himself up every year in a little vault, called
the sepulchre of Christ.  He is provided with some packages
of small candles; with a steel he strikes fire and lights them;
at the same time a burst of light takes place, similar to our
pyrotechnical fires at the Opera, in order to made the people
believe, that the sacred fire had fallen frotm  Heaven to the
Earth.  After that, the bishop comes out from- the vault, exclaiming:  The Heavenly firle has descended and the sacred
candle has been lighted. The credulous people flock there in
crowds, in order to buy these candles, because the people
everywhere are the dupes of the priests.
The name of the Lamb was given to Christ, and }}e was in
*Decan, a name given by the ancient astronomers to the arc of the Zodiac, compris.
ing ten degrees, or on-third of each sianl of the Zodiac.




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     255
ancient times represented under that emblem only, because
Christ is the Sun, and because the triumph of the Sun happens every year under the celestial sign of the Lamb, or under
the sign, which was at that time the first of the twelve, and in
which the vernal equinox took place. The Trojans had the
white Lamb consecrated for a victim to the Sun, and their
country was famous on account of the mysteries of Atys, in
which the equinoctial Lamb played a great figure.
Like the Christians, who suppose that their God Sun Christ
had been fastened to a wooden cross, so have the Phrygians,
being worshippers of the Sun under the name of Atys, represented him in his passion by a young man tied to a tree,
which was cut down with great ceremony. At the foot of the'
tree, there was a Lamb or the equinoctial Ram of Spring.
These mysteries of A.tys lasted three days. These days
were days of mourning, followed immediately by the feast of
the Hilaries. or days of rejoicing, on which, as we have observed elsewhere, the happy epoch was celebrated, when the
Sun Atys reassumed its dominion over the long nights.
This festival was that of the 25th March, or of the eighth
day before the Calends of April, in other words, it fell on the
same day, when Easter and the triumph of Christ was originally solemnized, and when Hallelujah, a real glee of the
Hilaries, and Haec dies &c. was sung. This is the day made
by our Lord; let it be for us a day of rejoicing and cheerfulness. The famous prose: O filii et filiae, &c. was also sung.
The only difference in these two festivals, was the name of the
hero of the tragedy, who in both fables is found to be the
same God. Hence it was in Phrygia, where the famous book
of the Initiation into the mysteries of the Lamb, called the
Apocalypse, had its origin. The Emperor Julian investigated
the reasons, why the equinox of Spring was chosen for that
solemnity, and he tells us, that it was on account of the Sun
passing over the line, which separated it from our climes, and




256         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
because it is prolonging the duration of the days in our hemisphere, which happens, he adds, when the King Sun passes
under the sign of the Ram or the Lamb. At his approach, we
celebrate in the mysteries the presence of the God Savior and
Redeemer.
The reason why the Ram or the Lamb is playing now with
the Christians so important a figure, is because it fills the
part, which in ancient times was occupied by the Bull in the
mysteries of Bacchus and AMithras. Osiris and Bacchus were
both represented with the forms of the ancient equinoctial
Bull, and died and resuscitated like Christ: the mysteries of
their passion were represented in their sanctuaries, as were
those of Atys and of Christ, with the Phrygians and with the
Christians.
The fathers of the Church and the writers of the Christian
sect speak frequently of these feasts, celebrated in honor of
Osiris, who died and arose from the dead, and they draw a
parallel with the adventures of their God. Athanasius, Augustin, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Minutius Felix, Lactantius,
Firmicus, as also the ancient authors, who have spoken of
Osiris or of the God Sun, worshipped under that name in
Egypt, all agree in the description of the universal mourning
of the Egyptians at that festival, when the commemoration of
that death took place, the same as we do with the Sun Christ
every good Friday. They describe the ceremonies, which
were practised 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.  He had descended into the
lower regions or Hell, and afterwards caIme out of it again, in
order to make his conjunction with Horus, the God of spring,
and to triumph over the Prince of darkness, or Typhon his
enerny, who had put him  to death. These mysteries, in
which the spectacle of his passion was given, were called the




OChap. I-X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.          257
mysteries of the night.  These ceremonies had the same object in view, as those of the worship of i Atys, according to
Macrobius, andll had reference to the Sun, the conqueror of
darkness, which was represented by tbe Serpent, of which
Typhon took the formsin autumn, diu-ring t1he passage of that
Luminary unde.r the Scorpion.
The same may be said about Bacchus, who, as a-11 the Ancients agree, was the same as -the Egyptian Osiris and as the
God Sun, the infantile imlnage of which  -as exhibitedc for the
adoration of the people during the winteri sostice.  Bacchus
was put t;o deatih, descendecl intto "11ei a.id -reasuscitated, and
the mysteries of his passion were celet.edl every year; those
feasts were called: " Titanic" and feas tis of the " perfect".
night.  It was sumposed, that this -od  h Iad been  cut into
pieces by the Giants, bult -that his mother Celes Ileunited his
memnlbe s, and tha;t lhe reappe:rlred > young and  strong. Ini
order to represent his passiinil;j, btill w 1 as 6lsile(, the fldes-  of
which was eaten in a raws  ts, tees-. se _ rtac.tJ.  oI t01e G-ocd
Sun, painlted with the forlts of the Bull, had bee- torn  to
pieces by the'itTan.    n              W - a,n o  the rlei:' -:sL ttltiOl
of the slaughterddid Labll), iit w-s trhat  of the Ox torn into
pieces, which was,<i-vein in lthose rmysteries.  R.In ]finu-grelia it
was a roasted lalnb, wh'iceh  the Prince tears intto pieces with
his own hands, and which he distrlbu.tes among' his courtiers
at the feast of lfEast-eL'.
Julius VFiricus, fromn  who whom e have the Cretan legend on
the life and death of Bacchus, and who persists in making' a
manl of hinm, the samne as hle did with Christ, acknowledoges
however,,that the Heathens explained these fictions through
Nature; and that they regarded these tales as so many solar
fables.  It is also true, thart he objects to all'these reasons, as
there will. be also many people, who will not acdnit our cxplanations, either througrh ignoran ce, or being inclined, to
slander what they do not comprehend, as all. thoe Fa~tlhers of
33




258         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  C[hap. IX.
the Church used to do in their criticisms on Paganism. Firmicus goes even so-far as to defend the Sun, which seemed to
him to have been outraged by these fictions, and he makes it
hold an allocution, in which the God of Day complains of
these attempts to dishonor him by these irmpertinent fables,
by which he is sometimes drowned in the Nile under the
names of Osiris and Horus, at other times mutilated under
those of Atys and Adonis, or boiled in a caldron or roasted
on a spit like Bacchus; he might also have added: by which
at another time he is crucified under the name of Christ. At
all events according to Firmicus, it would seem pretty evident
that the tradition has been preserved with the H-eathens, that
all these tragical adventures were merely mystical fictions on
the Sun. This is what we prove even now' by our explanations of the fable of Christ, put to death and resuscitated at
the vernal equinox.
They gave to Bacchus, the same as to Christ, the title of
c; Savior," also to Jupiter or to the God with horns of a ram,
who had his statue in the temple of the Yirgin, Minerva
Polias, at Athens.
Besides the idea of a God, who had come down on Earth in
order to save mankind, is neither new nor peculiar to the
Christians. The Ancients believed, that the supreme God had
sent at various epochs his sons or his granldsons, in order to
occupy themselves with the happiness of mankind. In this
numb.r, they placed Hercules:lnd Bacchus, in other words,
the God Sun, whom they praised in songs under these different denominations.
The same as Christ, so did Bacchus perform'  miracles: he
has healed the sick and has predicted the future.  Since his
childhood he was threatened with the loss of his life, just like
Christ, whom Herod wanted to put to death. The miracle of
the three pitchers, which were filled again with wine in his
temple, certainly equals that of the wedding at Cana. On




Chap. 1X. 3  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      259
the 6th of January the commemorative festival of this hero of
the Christian religion takes place: and at the " nones" of the
same month a similar miracle was enacted at the island of
Andros.  Every year was to be seen there running a spring,
the liquor of which tasted like wine. It would seem that the
author of the legend of Christ had made a collection of
various marvelous fictions, which were current among the
worshippers of the Sun under different names. Bacchus was
called, as Christ, God, Son of God, and his Spirit, which
united with matter or with the body. Like Christ, Bacchus
has established Initiations or Mysteries, in which the famous
Serpent, which has since played such a conspicuous figure in
the fable of the Lamb, was put in scene, the same as the apples of the iesperides.  The Initiations.were an engagement
to virtue. ]Its disciples expected also his second advent; they
hoped that he would assume at some future day the government of'the Iluiverse, and that he would restore to man his
primary felicity.  They were often persecuted, like the wore
shippers of Christ, and as those of Serapis, or as the worshippers of the Sun, adored under those two names. To those
who held meetings in order to celebrale th se mysteries, many
erimes were imputed, the same as they were to the first Christians, and in general to all, who celebrate secret and new
mysteries. In certain legends they gave him  Ceres, or the
celestial Virgin, as mother. In more ancient legends, it was
the daughter of Ceres, or Proserpine, who had conceived him
in her amours with the supreme God, metamorphosed into a
Serpent.  This Serpent is the famous Serpent of.Zsculapins,
which healed all kinds of sickness, like that, which Moses
brought up in the desert, and to which Christ compares himself. A Bacchus, with bull's borns was born thereof, because
in reality, each time when the Sun made its conjunction with
this Serpent of autumn, the Bull of Spring was then in the
ascendant, giving thus its forms to Bacchus, and carrying his




260           T:HE ()RIGIN OF ALL BELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [ Choap). JX.
nurses the Hyades.  In the centuries which followed, he had
to takle -the forms (of tile Lamb, and it wvas then, when Ceres,
or the celestial Virgin, became his [other, in this sense, that
she presided at his birth; because, as already stated, he was
represented under the emblem  of a new-born infant at the
winlter solsti.ce, in order to represent a kind of ilnf-ancy of the
God Sun or Day, worshipped ulnder the name of Bacehus in
Greece, in Thracia, in Asia Minor, in Indclia. and Arabia; Lunder
that of Osiris in Egyl-t, of Mithras in Persia and of Adonis
in Plhcenicia; becaiLuse Adonis is tthe same Las Osiris and Bacc1h-s, as acknlowledgedl by acieInt authtor's.  But under this latter nana:e,  his le^;'and  di:f:ers f5rom that of O:siris and Bacchus;
it is less pompous.  It is not tle history of a conqueror nor of
a king; it is simply that of a you1nig man of imatchless beauty,
sunch as tlhe Sun was portrayed at spring time.  The Goddess,
who presides over the generation of beings fell desperately in
love with hiun.  He is sna-itcthed awaly by death; an1 e(nor01ous
wild boar, iln the lhuntilng season, wound-s him  at the very
source of fecunudity.  Thle unfortunate lover of Venus dies;
he descends to the lower regionls or to Hell.  They mourn for
him on Earth.  IHe visits the Goddess of tihe lower regions,
th-1 nmotlher of Bacchus, anId is kept there by ler for six
montIths.  B3ut at the end of six months he is again restored
to life alIdl to his love  1ho  enjoys his presence for other six
months, onl1  to lose him  and findcl  ill im afterwards again.  Thl
saime mourninng and tle satlle rejoicilngs succeeded each other
and were renewed eachl year.  All tIhe aulthors, who have menz
tioned this sacred fable, have agreed to see in Adonis the Suln;
in his deatll, its departulire from our climes; in Ilis stay in the
lower regions-tbhe six Ilontlis which it spenilds in the lower
hemnisphere, abode of the long nights; in his returnl to lighLt,
its transit to the upper hemisphere, where it remlains also six
monthots, while thle ecrtlh is smailing and adorns herself with all
the graces  which vegethfion and the Goddes%, presiding over
the generati.on of all bei-ngs, can bestow.




'Chap. iX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       261
This is the explanation given to this fable by Macrobiuls, as
he understood it, and it wants only to be completed by astronomical positions, which we have given in our larger work at
the article of Adonis and Venus. Besides, this philosopher
perceived very well, that this fiction, like that of Osiris and
Atys, to which he assimilates it, has no other object but the
Sun and its progressive course in the zodiac, compared with
the state of the Earth in the two great epochs of the movement of this Luminary, be it with that, which brings it nearer
to our climes, or with that, when it withdraws from it. This
annual phenomenon was the subject of mournful ditties and
of joyful songs in sucuession, and of religious ceremonies, in
which the denth of the God Sun, Adonis was deplored, and
afterwards his return to life or his resurrection was hailed
with joyful hymns.  A magnificent couch was dressed up for
him alongside the Goddess of generation and of spring, of
the mother of Love and of the Graces.  Baskets of flowers,
of perfumes, of pastry, of fruits were prepared as offerings,
in other words, the first fruits of all the blessings which the
Sun brings forth.  He was invited by songs to yield to the
wishes of the mortals.  But before singing his return to life,
there were mournful rites celebrated in honor of his suffering
and of his death.  He had his disciples, who went to weep
at his tomb, and who shared the grief of Venus, and afterwards her rejoicing.  The feast of his resurrection was fixed
at the 25th of March, according to Corsini, or at thea eight
before the Calends of April.
The obsequies of Adonis were celebrated at Alexandria
with the utmost display; his image was carried with great
solemnity to a tomb, which served the purpose of rendering
him the last honors.  They were also celebrated at Athens.
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 fleet set sail for its unlucky expedition to




262         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   Chap. IX.
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 ilmmense train of women, crying
and beating their breasts, and imitating in every particular the
lugubrious pomp of interments.  Sinister omens were drawn
from it, which were only too miTch realized by subsequent
events. The women of Argos-because women are everywhere the sulpport of superstition-went like Martha and
Mary to weep over the dead Adonis, and this lugubrious ceremony took place in a chapel of the God' Savior," or of the
God Lamb or Rain, Jipiter, being invoked under the name of
Savior.
Procopius and St. Cyril speak of these mournful anniversaries, celebrated in honor of the death of Adonis, and of the
festivities and rejoicings, which followed at the occasion of
his resurrection. People shed tears over the lover of Venus,
the large wound he had received was shown, just as the
wound was shown, which was made to Christ by the thrust of
the spear. Aided by these fictions and by the pomp displayed in the annual representation of the unhappy adventures of Adonis, they tried to make the people believe its
reality; because people became finally accustomed to the belief, that supposed adventures are real facts, when a great
many stories and monuments would seem  to attest their
existence. Nevertheless, in spite of all these sacred legends,
notwithstanding the illusion created by these ceremonies, the
tendency of which was to make people believe that Adonis
had been a rman, who had really existed, just as our Ch.ristian
Doctors also want to make us believe the sarme of the Sun
Christ, the Heathens, if I may be permitted to use this word,
having comparatively little instruction in their religion, have
not been taken in so easily like ourselves. For instance, they
have always seen in Adonis the Sun personified, and they believed, that all the marvelous events of the lover of Venus,




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     263
dead and resuscitated, had to be explained by natural philosophy, and by the annual phenomena of the revolution of that
Luminary. The poems of Orpheus and of Theocritus on
Adonis showed clearly enough, that the only theme treated in
this fiction was about the God, who introduces the Year and
the Seasons. These poets invite him, to come with the new
year, in order to fill Nature with joy and happiness and to
call forth all the blessings from the bosom of mother Earth.
To the Hours and to the Seasons devolved the duty of bring-.
ing him back and ushering him in again at the twelfth month.
Orpheus calls Adonis the God of a thousand names, the fosterer of Nature, the God, whose light is extinguished and kindled again by the revolution of the Hours, and who now descends to the Tartarus, and then again ascends the Olympus,
in'order to dispense that heat, which sets vegetation into
activity.
The Sun, under the name of Horus, son of the virgin Isis,
experienced similar misfortunes. He was persecuted by black,
Typhon, who took the forms of a Serpent. Before his triumph over him, he was torn to pieces like Bacchus, but afterwards he was recalled into life by the Goddess his mother,
who granted him immortality. WTe find the principal features
of this sacred romance in the Christian authors, and in the
writings of the Fathers of the Church. They give us a description of the grief of Isis at the death of her son, and of
the feasts, which she instituted on that occasion; which at
first were mournful, but which very soon changed into festivities and joyous hymns, when sh.e had found him again. But
Horus, as acknowledged by all the Ancients, is the same as
Apollo, and Apollo is the God Sun; whence it follows, that
that the mournful ceremonies, succeeded by the joyous festivities in honor of Horus, dead and resuscitated, had still the
Sun for object. It was therefore a fundamental point of the
religion of the Sun, to make it die and resuscitate, and to re



264         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. IX.
present this double event by analogous religious ceremonies
and sacred legends: hence those tombs erected everywhere to
the Divinity of the Sun under various names. Hercules had
his tomb at Cadiz, where his bones weree shown. Jupiter had
his tomb in Greece; Bacchus had his also; Osiris had a great
many in Egypt. They exhibited at Delphi that of Apollo,
where he was deposited, after having been put to death by
the Serpent Python.. Three women came to weep at his
tomb, just like those three women who came to weep at the
tomb of Christ. Apollo triumphed afterwards over his enemy
the terrible Python, and this victory was solemnized every
year in spring by games, of the most solemn character.  The
Hyperboreans, whose grand Divinity was Apollo, celebrated
also every year at the equinox of spring the return of the
Sun to the sign of the Lamb, and these ceremonies were prolonged until the rising of the Pleiades.  Apollo took also the
title of Savior.  This was the name given to himu by the people of Amlbracia.  At Athens and Sparta they celebrated in
his honor festivities at the full moon of spring, in other words:
at that full moon, at Nwhlich had been established the feast of
the Lamlb or the Passover of the Jews, and the Easter of the
Christians.
The Tchuvaches, a northern people, made sacrifices to the
Sun at the beginning of spring. The mlost solemn feast of
the Tartars is the Joun or that of spring. That of the Kcalmucks takes place at the first fullmoon in April: they call this
first equinoctial day and this feast, the white day. In all the
isles of Greece, they celebrated feasts in honor of the lovely
God of spring, the conqueror of winter and of the Serpent
Python, and these feasts were called feasts of congratulation,
in rejoicing over the salvation, says Eusthates.
It would be useless, to multiply further the examples of
similar festivities, which were celebrated all over our hemlisphere, commemorative of the famous transit of the Sun in




Ohap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         265
his approach towards our regions and as a testimonial of joy
over the blessings, whichll his presence is spreacing.
We have produced sufficient proof to show, that almost
everywhere these festivities and rejoicings w ere preceded by
several days of mourning, during which people wept over the
death of the personified Sun, before they sang H[-allelujahs in
honor of its return, or allegorically speaking, of his resurrection and triumlph over the Prince of Darkness and over the
Genius of Winter.  The Phrygians called these festivities, the
feasts of the revival of the Sun, w-hich they imagined as
sleeping during the six mnonths of autumn and winter.  The
Paphlagonians supposed it to be in chains in winter, and they
sung in spring the happy event of its delivery from captivity.
By far the greatest number made it resuscitate, after having
given the spectacle of the tragical events of its pretended
death.  As we have shown, all these niystical fictions had no
other object in view, balt to represent the alternation of the
victories of Night over Day and of Day over Night, a-ld that
succession of activity and rest of the Earth, influenced by the
action of the Sun.  These annual phenomena were described
in allegorical style under the tragical forms of death, crucifixion, tearing into pieces, always followed by a resurrection,
The fable of Christ, born at the winter solstice like the Sun,
and triumphing at the equinox of spring, under the forms of
the equinoctial Lamb, has therefore all the traits of the ancient solar fables, with which we have conmpared it.  The
feasts of the religion of the Christians, like all solar religions,
are essentially connected  with the principal epochs of the
alnnual movement of the Star of Day; from which we shall
conclude, that if Christ had been a.man, it was a man who resernbled the personified Sun in an extraordinary degree; that
his mnysteries have all the characteristics of those of the worshippers of th,3 Sun, or rather to be plain and speak without
circumlocuti:-!, that the Christian religion, in its legends as
3i




266         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
weli as in its mysteries, has only for its object, the worship of
the eternal Light, as manifested to man through the Sun.
\We are not the only ones, nor the first, who have this idea
of the religion of the Christians.  Their apologist, Tertullian,
agrees, that from the earliest days of the introduction of this
religion in tne West, the more enlightened men, who had examined into it, pronounced it te be merely a sect of the Mithraic religion, and that the God of the Christians like that of
the Persi-ans, was the Sun.  In Christianism  there were
sundry practices remarked, which betrayed that origin; the
Christians never said their prayers, without facing the East, or
that part of the World, whence the sun rises.  All their termples, or all their religious meeting houses were anciently
facing the rising Sun. Their holy day in e ac.h week had
reference to the day of the Sun, called Sunday, or the day of
the Lord Siln.  The ancient Franks called Sunday the day
of the Stn.  All these praclices d; rived their origin from the
very nature of their religion.
The ~anicheans,* whose religion was a compound of Christianism and Mlagiism, always faced in their prayers, that part
where the Sun was. Zoroaster gave to his disciples the sa me
precept.  The Manicheans, who had not entirely lost the
thread of the religious opinions of the Persians on the two
principles and on the Sun 5Mithras, of which Christ is a copy,
said therefore, that Christ was the Sun, or that Christ resided
in the Sun, where the Ancients had also placed Apollo and
Hercules. This fact is attested by Theodoret, St. Cyril and
St. Leon. It was in consequence of this opinion, that the
other Christians, who styled themselves "the better believers,"
doubtless because they were more ignorant, did not admit
them into their communion, except by making them  abjure
the heresy, or the dogma of their religion, which consisted in
the belief that Christ and the Sun was only one and the same
Followers of Manes, a Persian.




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        267
thing. There are still two Christian sects in the East, who
are regarded as worshippers of the Sun. The Gnostics and
the Basilidians,-being the most learned Sectarians, which this
religion has had, and at the same time almost the oldest, —have
preserved many of the characteristics which betrayed the origin of this solar worship. They gave to their Christ the
name of "Iao," which the oracle of. Claros, in Maecrobius,
gives to the Sun.  They had their 365 Eons (Cons) or Genii,
being an equal number of that of the 865 days, engendered
by the Sun, and their Ogdoad, representative of the spheres.
Finally Christianism has so much conformity with the worship of the Sun, that the Emperor Adrian called the Christians
the worshippers of Serapis, in other words, the Sun; because
Serapis was the same as Osiris, and the ancient medals, with
the impress of Serapis, have thislegend: " Sun Serapis."  We
are therefore, neither the first nor the only ones, who have
ranked the Christians in the class of worshippers of the Sun:
and if our assertion should seem a paradox, it is at least not
a new one.
Having explained the fables, which constitute the marvelous
part of Christianismn and its dogmas, we shall now enter into
the examination of its metaphysical part, and into its most
abstract theology, which is known by the name of the Holy
Trinity.  We shall follow the same track, which we have pursued so far, and we shall show even to the end, that the Christians have absolutely nlothing, which they might call their
own. They are a set of ignorant Plagiarists, which we shall
strip of their masks; nothing belongs to them, except the
crimes of their priests.
In order to explain the fable of the death and of the resurrection of Christ, we have collected the legends of the different religions, which hatd their origin in the East and were
propagated in the West, nearly during the same centuries as
that of the Christians, and we have furthermore shown, that




268          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WO SEIIP.  Chap. IX.]
they hold all the cosmiccal allegories of their religioni in common with the Maithraics, the Isiacs, the mysteries of Atys,
]Bacchus, Adonis, &c.  We  shall now  equally show, that
their  theology  has the  same  foundation, on  the  same
basis, as that of the G-recians, the  Egyptians, the  East
Indians, &c., that it includles the same abstract ideas, which
are found in the writings of the philoso hers of those times,
and that it has borrowed chiefly many dogmas from  the Plhtonists; finally, that the Christian religion, in its theological
part, as well as in its sacred legend, and in the tragical adventures of its God, has nothing, which is not to be found in
all the other religions many years before the esiablishment of
Christianism.    Tieir writers and their Doctors shall furnish
us here with the very authorities, which shall convict them  of
Plagiarism.
The dognma of the unity of God, which is the first theologieal tenet of the Christians is not at all peculiar to their sect.
It has been admitt,ed by all Lhe ancient, philosophers, and the
religion, which was even popular with the Heathens, in the
midst of an apparent Polytheism, always acknowledged a
superior, a priimary ruler, to whoim the others were subordinate, be it under the namres of Gods or Genii or of Angels or
Izeds, &c., just as our Angels and our Saints are to the
supreme God.  Such was the great Jupiter of the Greeks and
of the Romans, that Jupiter, father of the Gods and of mankind, who filled the Universe with his substance.  He was thle
sovereign Monarch of Nature, and the names of the Gods
taken by the other Divinities, were an association rather in
the title, thanl in the power, of the prinmary God, sovereign
andl absolute master of all the others.  Scripture itself gives
the  name of Gods to  beings, which are subordinate to
the primary God, without prejudice to the Unity of the Chief
or of the primary cause.  The same was the case with the
Jupiter of the Greeks: they repeat incessantly the title of




Chap. 1X.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     269
One or of the only One, which they give to their Jupiter.
Jupiter is one, they say. The oracle of Apollo admits also a
God uncreated, born of himself, dwelling in the midst of the
fire Ether, a God placed at the head of all the hierarchy.
In the mysteries of the religion of the Greeks, a hymn was
sung, which expressed clearly that unity. The grand priest
addressing the Neophyte, said to him: " Behold the Lord of
"the Universe; He is One; He exists everywhere."
It is a truth acknowledged by Eusebius, Augustin, Lactantius, Justin, Athenagoras and a great many other writers, who
were the apologists of  hristianism, that the dogma of the
unity of God, was received by the philosophers of old, and
that it formed the basis of the religion of Orpheus and of all
the mysteries of the Greeks.
I know, that the Christians will reply, that the ancient philosophers, who existed many centuries before the establishment
of Christianism, got these dogmas from  the revelation made
to the first men. But, besides the revelation being an absurdity, I answer, that there is not the slightest necessity of having recourse to this supernatural machinery, when the series
of philosophical abstractions is known, which had led the Ancients to the acknowledgment of the unity of a first principle,
and when they themselves give us the motives, which had determined hem, to admit the " Monad or the primary Unity.'s
TL.ese motives are simple; they spring from the very nature
of the operation of our mind and from the form, under which
the universal action of the Great All is presented to us.
The correspondence or relation between all parts of the'World, and their tendency towards a common center of moven3ent and of life, which seems to maintain its harmony and to
produce its concord, have led men —who looked upon the
great All as an immense God —to admit his unity, not conceiving anything outside the assemblage or collection of all the
beings, or outside of the whole. It was the same case with




270         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
those, who looked upon the Universe as a grand effect. The
union of all the parts of the work, and the regular working of
the whole system of the World, made them also admit an only
cause for a single effect, so that the unity of God became a
principle in the mind of those, who confounded God with the
World, and who did not distinguish the Maker from the Work,
like Plinius and all the most ancient philosophers.  "All
" things, says Marcus Aurelius, are connected with each other
"by a sacred concatenation, and there is not one, which is a
" stranger to the other; because all beings have been linked to"' gether, in order to form a Whole, from which depends the
" beauty of the Universe. There is only one World, which in" eludes All, an only God, who is ubiquitous, a sole eternal
"Matter, an only Law, which is Reason, common to all be"ings."
The dogma of the Unity of God will be seen here in those
few words of the Emperor philosopher, which dogma was
acknowledged as a consequence of the Uni y of the World, or
in other words, the philosophical opinion and the motive,
which gave it birth. The fathers of the Church have inferred
the unity of God, from the unity of the World; in other
words, the unity of Cause from  the unity of Effect; because
with them the Effect is distinguished from the Cause, or that
God is " separate" from the Worl I; in other words, they admit an abstract Cause, instead of a real Being, which is the
World. One amongst them, Athanasius, expresses himIself
about it in the following manner: "As there is but one Na" ture and only one order for all things, we must conclude,
" that there is only one God, architect and (!isposer, and in"fer from the unity of the work that of the maker."
It will be observed from this, that the Christians deduce the
unity of God from the unity of the World, exactly the same
thing, as all the Heathen Philosophers dild before them. In
all this, the natural march of the human mind wil! be recog



Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    271
nized, and we do not feel at all the necessity to make the Deity
intervene by the absurd supposition of a revelation.
All the Platonists admitted the unity of the Archetype or of
the model, upon which God had created the World, also the
unity of the Demiurgos, or of the God artificer ("Dieu artiste ") by a succession of the same philosophic principles, or
in other words: by the very unity of the work, as may be
seen in Proclus and in all the Platonists.
Those, who like Pythagoras, employed the theory of numbers, in order to explain the theological verities, gave also to
the Monad the title of Cause and principle. They expressed
through the number One, or through unity the first Cause,
and inferred the unity of God conformlably to mathematical
abstractions. The unity is reproduced everywhere in numbers:
everything proceeds from unity. It was the same with the
divine 5Monad. Subordinate to this unity were sundry Triads,
which expressed faculties emanating therefrom and from secondary Intelligences.
Others, while observing the form of human administrations,
and especially that of the governments in the East, where at
all timles monarchy has been the only admrinistration known,
believed, that it was the same with the Government of the
Universe, in which all the partial forces seemed to be united
under the direction and under the authority of a single ruler
or Chief, in order to produce this perfect concord, from which
results the system of the World. Despotism itself favored
this opinion, which represented mionarchy as the image of the
government of the Gods, because all despotism has a tendency
to concentrate power in unity, and to confound legislation and
execution.
The picture of the social organization, the mathematics and
the reasonings of philosophy have thus led the Ancients, by
different, but all very human routes, to prefer the unity to
multiplicity in a primary and supreme Cause, or in the Prin



272         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. IX.
ciple of the Principles, according to the expressions of Simuplicius. "The primary Principle, says this philosopher, being
"the center of all the others, includes theml all in one single
"union; it is before everything, it is the Cause of the causes,
"the Principle of the principles, the God of the Gods. Prin"ciples may therefore be called simply certain particnlar prin" ciples, and Principle of the principles, that general Principle
"or Cause of the beings, which are placedc above all other
"things."
It is thus, that the Universe, or the universal Cause, containing within itself all the other causes, which are parts of it, was
thought to be the Principle of the principles, and the Supreme
Unity, from  which everything emanated. Those who had
creased an abstract or an ideal AWorld, and a God equally abstract and separate from  the World, who had created the
World after a sempiternal model, reasoned in the same way
of the God, cause of the Universe, because the material World
has always furnished the type of the intellectual World, and
it is always after that, what man sees, that he forms his opinions of that, which he does not see. The dogma of the Unity
of God, even with the Christians, has therefore its origin in
the purely human reasonings, which had been made many centuries before Christians were thought of, which may be seen
in Pythagoras, in Plato and their disciples. It is the same
with their Triad or Trinity; in other words, with the subdivision of the primary Cause in intelligence or divine wisdom and
in spirit or universal life of the World.
It is proper here to recollect, what was said in our fourth
Chapter about the Soul or the life of the World, and its intelligence or spiritualism; it is from this philosophical dogma,
that the Trinity of the Christians had its origin. Man was
compared to the Universe, and the Universe to Man, and as
Man was called the Microscosmos or little World, they made of
the World an immense Giant, including on a grand scale, and




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        273
as it were in its source, that, which constituted Man on a small
scale and by emanation.  It was remarked, that there existed
in Man a principle of motion and of life, which he heldcin
common with the other animals.  This principle manifested
itself by the breath, in latin Spiritus or the Spirit.  Besides
this first principle, there existed a second one, that, by which
Man, in reasoning and combining ideas, reaches wisdom; this
is the intelligence, which is found within him in a far more
eminent degree than with the other animals.  This faculty of
the human Soul is called in the Grecian language "logos,"
which is translated in Latin by " Ratio and Verbum."  That
Greek word expresses two distinct ideas, rendered by two different words in Latin,-and in French, by (" raison ") reason,
"verbe" or word. The second is merely the image of the first;
because the word is tbe mirror of the thought: it is the tbhoughLt,
which is rendered intelligible to others, and which takets body,
as it were, in the air, modified by the organs of speech. These
two principles in Man, do not make of him two distinct beings:
still two distinct beings may be made of it, by personifying
them, but it is always the living and thinking Man, in whose
unity all his faculties commingle, as it were, in their source.
It was the same in the Universee  God immiense and alone, including all in Himself.  His life or His " spiritus," like His
intelligence or "logos," eternal, immense like Himself, are
blended in his primary or radical unity, called fa;ther, because
from  it these two faculties emanated.  The God-Universe
could not be conceived otherwise, than living of the universal
life, and intelligent of an equally universal intelligence.  Life
was not intelligence, but ooth were the life or the " Spiritus,"
and the intelligence, or the divine wisdom, which essentially
belonged to the Divinity of the World, and which formerd a
portion of its only substance; because nothing existed, which
was not one of its parts.  All these distinctions belong to the,
Platonic and Pythagorean philosophy, and suppose not yet a
35




274         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
revelation. No expression was more. familiar to the ancient
philosophers, than the following: "The Universe is one great
" animated being, which includes within itself all the princi"pies of life and intelligence, possessed by particular beings.
" This great Being-eminently animated, and eminently intel"ligent, is God itself, in other words, God, Word or Reason,
"Spirit or universal life."
The universal Soul, designed under the name of Spiritus,
and compared to the spirit of life, which animates all Nature,
was chiefly distributed in the seven celestial spheres, the combined action of which was presumed to regulate the destinies
of Man, and to spread the germs of life, in all which is born
here below. The Ancients, represented this " unique breath,"
which the harmony of the spheres produce, by a flute of seven
pipes, which they placed in the hands of Pan, or the image
designed to represent universal Nature; whence the opinion
is also derived, that the soul of the World was included in the
number seven; an idea, which the Christians have borrowed
from the Platonists, and which they have expressed by the
"sacrum  septuarium" or by the, seven gifts of the Holy
Ghost. Like the breath of Pan, so was that of the Holy
Ghost, according to St. Justin, divided into seven spirits. The
unction of the proselytes was accompanied by an invocation of
the Holy Ghost; it was called the mother of the seven houses;
signifying, according to Beausabre, mother of the seven Heavens: the word " spiritus" being in the Hebrew language of
the feminine gender.
The Mussulmans and the oriental Christians give to the
third person of the Trinity, as an essential attribute "the
Life:" this is, according to the former, one of the attributes
of the Divinity, which the Christians call "person."  The
Syrians call it "Mehaia," vivifying.  The "Ciedo" of the
Christians gives it the epithet of "vivificandnm."  There is
therefore in their theology the principle of life, which ani



Chap. lX. 1    THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  275
mates Nature or that universal soul, principle of motion of
the World and of all beings, which have life. This is that
vivifiying and divine power, which emanated from God, who,
according to Varron, governs the world by motion and. reason;
because it is the Spiritus, which gives life and motion to the
World; and it is reason or wisdom which give it direction
and which regulata its effects. This "Spiritus" was God,
according to the system  of the ancient philosophers, who
wrote on the universal soul or on the " spiritus mundi."  It is,
according to Virgil, the nourishing power of the World:
"spiritus intus alit."  The Divinity, which emanated from the
primary Monad, extended as far as the Soul of the World,
according to Plato and Porphyrius, or up to the third God, in
order to use their expressions. Thus the "Spiritus" was
God, or rather a faculty of the universal Divinity.
Besides the principle of life and motion, those same philosophers admitted a principle of mind or intelligence and wisdom; under the names of "nous" and of "logos," or of
reason and word of God. They made it reside principally in
the luminous substnace.  The word "Light" means also the
intelligence and the physical light; because the intelligence
or the mind is to the soul, what the ligbht is to the eye. It is
therefore not at all surprising to observe the Christians to say
of Christ, that he is the Light, "which lighteth every man
that cometh into the World," (St. John, chap. I, ver. 9) and
to make him the Son of the Father of all Light, which is true
in the metaphysical, as well as in the physical sense; Christ
being the luminous part of the divine essence, rendered sensible to man through the Sun, in which it is incorporated or is
of the same body.  Under this last form, it is susceptible of
augmentation and diminution, and therefore could have been
the subject of sacred fictions, such as were made on the birth
and death of the God Sun, Christ.




276         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
The Stoics placed the mind of Jupiter, or the all-wise intelligence, which governs the woild, in the luminous substance
of the fire Ether, which they regarded as the source of the
human mind. This opinion on the nature of intelligence,
makes it a little material; but len lhave reasoned on matter,
which they saw and which struck their senses, before they
dreamt of the imnmaterial Being, which they have created by
abstraction. The more or less subtilty in matter does not
prevent of its being matter; and the soul with the Ancients,
was merely an emanation of the subtile matter, which they
believed to be endowed with the faculty of thinking. Just as
wo say, the breath of life, we say also the fire of genius, and
the light of the spirit; and that, which this day passes merely
as a metaphor, was in olden times a proper and natural expression, in order to designate the principle of life and of the
mind.
Pythagoras has charact;erized that qualification of the Deity
by the word lucid or luminous, calling God not only the active
and subtile substance, which circulates in every part of the'World, but distinguished it still further with the epithet "luminous," in order to indicate the intelligence, as he had designated the principle of life by the active and vivifying power,
which moves and animates the World. By this last attribute
M[an partook of the nature of animals; by the first he was
related to the natural Gods or to the planets formed of the
ethereal substance: on that account even the stars ("les
astres") were supposed to have intelligence and to be gifted
with reason
According to St. Augustin, the creation of celestial Intelligences is contained in that of the substance of the Light.
They participate of this eternal Light, which constitutes the
wisdom of God, and which we call-says he-his only Son.
This opinion is very much like that of Yarron and of the
Stoics on the stars, which were believed to be intelligent, and




Chap. IX.J  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   277
to live in the bosom of the light of the Ether, which is the
substance of the Deity.
Zoroaster taught that when God organized the matter of
the Universe, ho sent his "Will" under the form of a most
brilliant light; it appeared under the form of man.
The Valentinians, in their allegorical generation of the
various attributes of the Deity, make the Word, or the Reason and the Life, spring from the divine intelligence or spirit.
This is evidently, says Beausobre, the soul of the Universe,
the two properties of which are Life and Reason.
The Phcenicians located in the substance of the Light, the
intelligent part of the Universe, and that of our souls, being
an emanation of it.
The Egyptian theology, the principles of which are consigned in the pages of the Pimander, whoever may be the
author of that work —made the Logos or the Word, in other
words, the intelligence and the universal wisdom of the Divinity reside in the luminous substance. Instead of two
persons being added to the first Being, he gives it two sexes,
the Light and the Life. The soul of man is born from the
Life, and the pure spirit from  the Light. Jamblicus also
regarded the Light to be the intelligent part, or the intellect
of the universal soul.
The oracles of the Chaldeans and the dogmas of Zoroaster,
preserved by Phleton and Psellus, mention frequently this
intelligent fire, the source of our intelligence.
The Maguseans believed, that matter had perception and
sentiment, and that which it wanted was the intelligence, a
perfection, which belongs to the Light.
The " Guebres" worship still in, our days in Light, the most
beautiful attribute of the Deity. "Fire, they say, produces
Light, and Light is God." This fire, is the fire Ether, in
which the ancient theology placed the substance of the Divinity,
and the universal soul of the World, whence emanate Light




278         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
and Life, or to use the expressions of the Christians, the
"Logos " or the Word, "which lighteth every man that cometh into the World," and the Spiritus or the Holy Ghost, that
vivifies all.
Manes calls God "an eternally intelligent Light, emine-itly
"pure, not being mixed up with any darkness whatsoever.
" He says, that Christ is the son of the eternal Light."  Thus
Plato called the Sun the only son of' God, and the Manicheans located Christ in that luminary, as we have already observed.
It was also the  opinion of the Valentinians.  "Man,
"says Beausobre, not being able to conceive anything more
"beautiful, purer, nor mnore incorruptible than Light, easily
"imagined, that the most eminent nature, could only be a
"most perfect Light.  We find this idea promulugated amongst
"all the nations, which are renowned  for their wisdom.
" Holy Writ itself is not; denying this opinion. In all the
"apparitions of the Deity, it is always seen surrounded by fire
"and light. It is from the midst of a fiery bush, that the
"Eternal speaks to tMoses.  Mount Tabor is supposed to be
" surrounded by light, when the father of all Light spoke to
"his son. The famous controversy of the nonks of Mount
"Athos, on the nature of this uncreated and eternal Light,
" which was the Deity itself, is well known.
The best informed fathers of the Church, and the orthodox
writers say continually: "that God is a light, a light most sub"lime, that all the lights, whatever. their brilliancy may be,
"are merely a small emanation, a feeble ray of that light;
"that the son is a light without beginling; that God is an
"inaccessible Light, shining for ever and never disappearing;
" that all the virtues, surrounding the Deity, are lights of a
"secondary order, rays of the primary Light."
This is in general the style of the Fathers before and after
the council of Nicea.  "The Word, they say, is the Light,




Chap. iX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      279
"which has come into the World; it springs from the inner"most of t' at Light, which exists by itself: it is God born
"front God; it is a Light, which emanates from  a Light.
"The soul itself is luminous, because it is the breath of the
"eteTrnal life, &c."
The theology of Orpheus teaches likewise, that the Light,
being the most ancient of all beings, and the most sublime,
is God, that inaccessible God, which envelops all in its substance. and which is called', Council, Light and Life." These
theological ideas have been copied by the Evangelist John,
when be says: " That the Life was the Light, and that the
"Light was the Life, and that the Light was the Word or the
"council and divine wisdom."
This Light was not an abstract and metaphysical Light, as
Beausobre has very judiciously observed, but a real Light,
which the immortal spirits contemplated in Heaven: at all
events many Fathers have beli6ved it so, as it is proved by
the same Beausobre.
There cannot be any doubt about it, according to the authorities, which we have cited, that it was a dogma, which was
received in the most ancient theologies, that God was a luminous substance, and that the Light constituted properly the
intelligent part of the universal soul of the World, or of the
God Universe.  From this, it follows, that the Sun, which is
its greatest center, must have been regarded as the intelligence, the mind itself of the World, or at least as its principal seat: hence the epithet " mens mundi " or the mind of the
World, the eye of Jupiter, as the ancient theologians called
it, like that of the primary production of the Father, or his
first born son.
All those ideas have passed into the theology of the worshippers of the Sun, under the name of Christ, which make of
it the Son of the Father, or of the primary God; his first
emanation, consubstantial God or Being formed of the same




280         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. IX.
luminous substance. The God Sun is therefore likewise the
"Logos," the Word or the mind of the great Being or of the
great God-Universe; in other words, that he happens to possess all the characters, which the Christians give to the Redeemer, which in their religion, when well analysed, is nothing
but the Sun. I know, that the Christians, who are profoundly
ignorant of the origin of their ieligion,-repudiate all the
materialism of this theory, and that they have, in imitation of
the Platonists, spiritualized all the ideas of ancient theology.
Yet, it is nevertheless true, that the system of the spiritualists
is entirely chalked out after that of the materialists; that it
was born after the latter, and that it borrowed from it all the
divisions, in order to create the chimera of a God and of a
WVorld purely intellectual. Men have contemplated the visible
Light, they have worshipped the Sun, which struck their
eyes, before they created by abstraction a spiritual Sun; they
have admitted a World, an only God, before they placed the
Deity in the Unity itself of the great Being, which includes
all within him. But since then, people have reasoned on this
factitious World in the same manner, as the Ancients did on
the real World, and the intellectual God had also his principle
of intelligence or mind, and his principle of Life equally intellectual, whence they made emanate'the life and the spirit,
manifesting itself in the visible World. There was also a
intellectual Sun, of which the visible Sun was merely the image;
an incorporeal Light, of which the Light of this World was a
wholly a corporeal emanation; finally an incorporeal Word, and
a Word invested with a body, and rendered perceptible to
man. This body was the corporeal substance of the Sun,
above which they placed the uncreated and intellectual Light,
or the spiritual " Logos."  This refinement of Platonic philosophy has furnished the author of the Gospel of St. John,
with the only theological piece, which is found in the Gospel.
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      281
"beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father."  (St. John, I, ver. 14.)
That last Word, or that Light, which is incorporated in the
disk of the Sun, to which alone it was incumbent to see its
Father, as Martianus Capella says in his hymln, which he addressed to that Luminary-was subordinate to time and connected with its periodical revolution. That alone experienced
alterations in its Light, which seemed to be born, to grow, to
decrease and to end, to succumb by turns undier the efforts of
the Prince of Darkness and to triumph over him, whilst the
spiritual Sun, always radiant in the bosom of its Father, or of
its primary unity, ignored change or diminution, and shone
with eternal splendor, inseparable from its principle.
All these distinctions of the spiritual and of the corporeal
Sun are to be found in the splendid allocution of the Emlperor Julian addressed to the Sun, and which contains the theological principle of that age. In this way will be explained
the two natures of Christ and his incarnation, which originated the fable, which has been made on Christ, invested with a
body, born in the womb of a Virgin, dead ani resuscitated.
Proclu-, in his commentary on the " Republic of Plato," considers the Sun under two relations or aspects, as God uncreated,
and as Gud engendered. With regard to the luminous principle,
which illuminates all, it is sacre(l, and it is not, when considered as body.  When taken in the sense of being uncreated,
it rules all visible bodies; when taken in that of being created,
then it forms a part of the beings, vwhich are ruled and governed. In this Platonic subtilty may be seen the distinction
of the two natures of the Sun, and consequently of Christ,
who, as we have shown in another place, is nothiug but the
Sun.  Such was the character of the philosophy in thl~ most
renowned schools, when the Christians cormposed their logical
code: the authors of those works, the Fathers, spoke the language of the philosophy of their times. Thus St. Justin, one
36




282'HE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  LChap. IX.
of the most zealous defenders of the Christian dogma tells us,
that there are two natures to be distinguished in the Sun; the
nature of the Light; and that of the boldy of the Sun, into
which it is incorporated. It is the sa.me, adds this Father —with the two natures of Christ: " Woid or Logos," when he
is understood, as united to his Father, and Man, or " Word
incarnate," when he dwells amongst us. We shall not say,
like Justin: "that it is the same with the two natures of
Christ; but that we have here the two natures of Christ or of
the Sun, which are worshippl d under that name.
The Light, supposed to be incorporeal and invisible in the
system of the spiritualists, to which Christianism belongs, is
that "pure Logos" of the Deity, which resides in the spiritual
World, and'in the bosom  of the primary God.  But [he
Light, becoming perceptible to man, when it is united in the
radiant disk of that divine body called "Sun," is the uncreated
Light, which takes body (flesh) and comes to dwell amongst
us. This is that "logos" incorporate or incarnate, which descended into this visible World, and which had to be the
Redeemer of the misfortunes of the World. If he had
always remained in the bosom of the invisible Being, its light
and heat, which alone could redeem  the disorder, which the
Serpent of winter had introduced on Earth,-would have
been lost to us, and through their absence, there would have
been no remedy for our evil. But the principle of Light,
while uniting itself with the Sun, and communicating itself
through that organ to the sensible Universe, disssipated darkness and the long winter nights, by its light, and by its heat
banished the cold, which had beld in chains the fructifying
power, which spring, every year, imprints to all the elements.
Here is the Redeemer expected by the whole Earth, and it is
under the form or under the sign of the Lamrb at Easter, that
he consummates this great work of the regeneration of mankind.




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      283
Even here we see, that the Christians possess nothing in
their theology, which they might call their own, and all the
subtilties of metaphysics th,y have borrowed from the ancient
philosophers and chiefly from the Platonists. Their opinion
on the " Spiritus," or on the soul of the World, and on the
universal intelligence or mind, known by the name of Word
or Wisdom of God, was a dogma of Pythagoras and of Plato.
Macrobius has given us a piece of ancient theology or of
Platonism, which includes a veritable "Trinity," of which
that of the Christians is a mere copy. He says, that the
World has been formed by the universal Soul: this Soul corresponds with our Spiritlis, or Spirit. The Christians, when
they invoke their "' Holy Ghost," call it also the creator:
"Veni, creator Spiritus, &c."
He adds, that from this Spirit or this Soul proceeds that
intelligence, which he calls "mens" (mind.)  This is, what
we have shown above, the universal intelligence or mind, of
which the Christians have made their "Logos or Word," Wisdom of God; and that intelligence or mind which he makes
originate with the primary or the supreme God. Is this not
then the Father, the Sonl or the wisdom, and the Spirit which
creates and vivifies all? There is nothing, no-not even the
expresion " to proceed," which has not been held in -common
by the two theologies in the filiation of the three primary
Beings.
AIacrobius goes still farther: he traces the three principles
back to a primary unity, which is the sovereign God. Having
thus established the basis of his theory on that trinity, he
adds: " You see, how the Unity or the original Monad of the
"primary Cause is wholly and indivisibly preserved, even up
"to the soul or the Spiritus which animates the World."  To
these dogmas of Heathen theology, which have passed into
that of the Christians, may be attributed the origin not only
of the dogma of the three principles, but also that of their




284         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
reunion in a primary unity. From  this primary unity those
principles emanate; they resided primitively in the unity of
the World "intelligent and living," or of the World animated
by the breath of the universal Soul aud governed by the spirit
or mind, both of which were confounded in the unity of ihe
great God called World, or in the idea of the Universe, an
only God, the source of mind and of life of all the other
beings.
All that, which was material in this ancient theology, was
spiritualized by the modern Platonists and by the Christians,
who have created a Trinity wholly of abstractions, which was
personified, or to adopt their language, of which they have
made as many persons, who partook in common the primary
and only Divinity of the primary and universal Cause.
It will thus be seen, that the dogma of the Trinity, or of
the unity of a primary principle, into a principle of intelligence or mind, and into a principle of universal life, including
within itself the unique Being, which reunites all the partial
causes-is a mere theological fiction, and one of those abstractions, which separate mnomentally, through the mlind, that
which is itself essentially indivisible and inseparable, and
which isolate (in order to personify them) the constituent attributes of a Being, which necessarily is only One.
Thus have the East Indians, while personifying the sovereign power of God, given him  three Sons: one signifies the
power to create, the second that to preserve, and the third
that to destroy. Such is the origin of the famous Trinity of
the Indians, for the Christians are not the only ones who have
a Trinity. The Indians had their's also many centuries before
Christianism. They had in like manner the incarnation of
the second person of that Trinity, known by the name of
Vishnu. In one of these incarnations he takes the name of
Chrisnu. They make the Sun the depositary of this triple
power, and they give it twelve forms and twelve names, one




Chap. I-X.]  TEE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    285
for each month, just as we give to Christ twelve apostles. It
is in the month of March or under the sign of the Lamb, that
he takes the name of Vishnu. The threefold power in their
theology represents only the Unity.
The Chinese have likewise a kind of mysterious Trinity.
The first Being engenders a second, and those two a third
one. With us the Holy Ghost proceeds also from the Father
and from the Son. These Three have made everything. The
great Ternion or the grand Unity, the Chinese say, comprehends three; one is three, and three are one. The Jesuit
Kirker, in his dissertations on the Unity and Trinity of the
first principles, traces all these metaphysical subtilties up to
Pythagoras and to the Egyptian Mercuries. Augustin himself alleges, that opinions of the Deity very much like those
professed by the Christians, were to be found nearly with all
the nations of the World, that the Pythagoreans, the Platonists and many other philosphers, Atlantes, Libyans, Egyptians, Persians, Calldeans, Scythians, Gauls and Spanish, had
many dogmas in common with them on the God of Light and
Goodness, He ought to have added, that all these philosophers had existed before the Christians were thought of, and
to come with us finally to the conclusion that the Christians
had borrowed from them their theological dogmas, at least in
those points, which they hold in common.
From all we have said in this chapter it follows, that Christianism, which is of modern origin, at least in the West, has
borrowed everything from the ancient religions; that the fable
of the terrestrial Paradise and of the introduction of the
Evil by the Serpent, which serves as the basis of the dogma of
the incarnation of Christ and of his title of Redeemer, has
been borrowed from the books of Zoroaster, and is merely an
allegory of the physical good and evil, which commingle in
equal degree with the operations of Nature at each solar revolution; that the Redeemer from the evil, and the conqueror of




286         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  Chap. IX.]
darkness is the Sun of Easter or the equinoctial Lamb; that
the legend of Christ, dead and resuscitated, resembles, as far
as genius is concerned, all the legends and ancient poems on
the Star of Day personified, and'that the mysteries of his
death and resurrection are those of the death and resurrection of Osiris, of Bacchus, of Adonis, but principally of Mithras, or the Sun worshipped under a great many different
names with different nations; that the dogmas of their theology and especially that of the three principles, belong to
many theologies much older than that of the Christians, and
are found also with the Platonists, in Plotin, in Macrobius
and other writers, foreign to Christianism and imbued with
the principles professed by Plato, many centuries before Christianism was known, and afterwards by their sectarians, in the
times, when the first Christian Doctors wrote; finally, that the
Christians possess absolutely nothing, which might be called
their own work, much less that of the Deity.
Having, I presume, demonstrated, that the incarnation of
Christ is that of the Sun, that his death and resurrection has
~likewise the Sun for object, and finally that the Christians are
indeed nothing else but worshippers of the Sun, like the Peruvians, whom they caused to be murdered,-I now come to
the great question to know: whether Christ has ever existed,
Yes or No?" If it is intended by this question to ask, whether
Christ, the object of the worship of the Christians, is a real
being or an ideal one; he is evidently a real being, because we
have shown him to be the Sun.. There cannot be any doubt
about, that anything -is more real than the luminary, which
"lighteth every man that cometh into the World." It has existed, is still existing and shall exist yet for a long while to
come.  If it is asked: whether there ever existed a man,
charlatan or philosopher, who called himself Christ, and who
had established under that name the ancient Mysteries of
Mithras, of Adonis, &c., it is of very little importance to our




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     287
work, whether he may have existed or not. Nevertheless we
believe, that he did not, and we think, that in the same manner, as the worshippers of Hercules believed, that a Hercules,
author of the twelve labors, had actually existed, and that
they were mistaken, because the hero of that poem was the
Sun, so also the worshippers of the Sun-Christ are mistaken, by
giving a human existence to the personified Sun in their legen'd; because ultimately, what guarantee have we of the existence of such a man?  The general belief of the Christians
since the origin of that sect, or at least since the time that
these sectarians wrote. But evidently those admit only a
Christ. who had been born in the womb of a Virgin, who had
died, descended into Hell and resuscitated; the one whom
they call the Lamb, which has redeemed the sins of the World,
and who is the hero of the legend. We have however proved,
that this salme one is the Sun, and not at all a man, let himbe
philosopher or charlatan; and yet such is their ignorance,
that they would no more agree, that it is a philosopher, whom
they worship as God, than they would consent to recognize
the Sun in their Christ.
Shall we look for testimony of the existence of Christ, as
philosopher or imposter, in the writings of heathen authors?
But not one of them, at least of those, whose works have
come down to us, has treated this question "ex professo," or
has given us his history. Hardly near a hundred years after
the epoch, in which his legend makes him live, are to be found
some historians, who say a word about it; besides, it is not so
much of him, than of the so-called Christians, that they speak.
If that word escapes Tacitus, it is in order to give the ethynmology of the Christian name, which, aspeople said, came from
the name of a certain Christ, put to death under Pilate, in
other words, Tacitus says, what the legend narrates, and we
have shown that this legend was a solar fiction.
If Tacitus had spoken of the Brahmins, he would have also




288         THIE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  C hap. JX.
said, that they took their name from a certain Brahma, who
had lived in the Indies, because they had also made his legend;
and nevertheless Brahma would not have more existed for
that as man, because Brahma is merely the name of one of the
three attributes of the personified Deity. Tacitus, having occasion to speak in his history, of Nero and of the Christian
sect, gave the received ethymology of this -name, without
troubling himself about investigating, whether Christ had
really existed, or whether it was the name of the hero of a
sacred legend. Such an examination was absolutely foreign
to his work.
Thus Suetonins, in *speaking  of the Jews, supposes,
that they caused a great deal of commotion at Rome under Claudius, and that they were stirred up to it by a
certain Christ, a turbulent man, and who was the cause
of their being driven from  Rome by that Emperor.  To
whom of these two historians shall we believe, to Tacitus
or to Suetonius, who agree so little about the place and
the time, in which that pretended Christ had lived? The
Christians Will prefer Tacitus. whose statement seems to be
more in accordance with the solar legend. As far as we are
concerned, we shall merely remark, that these two historians
have spoken of Christ only upon vague rumors, without attaching thereto the slightest importance, and that, on that
point, their testimony cannot offer a sufficient guarantee of
the existence of Christ as a man, either as legislator, or impostor. If that existence had been so unquestionable, we should
not have seen in the times of Tertullian, authors-who had
more seriously discussed the question and examined the origin
of Christianism-assert, that the worship of the Christians
was that of the Sun, and had not for object a man, who had
formerly existed. Let us acknowledge in good faith, that
those, who make of Christ a legislator or imposter, do so only,
because they have not sufficient faith to makle a God of him,




Chap..IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       289
nor have they sufficiently compared his fable with the solar
fables, in order to discover only th.e hero of a " sacerdotal
" fable."  Those who cannot admit the achievements of Hercules as real facts, nor see in Hercules a God, have just in the
same way been reduced to make a great Prince of him, whose
history had been embellished by marvelous stories.  I know,
that this manner of explaining everything is very simple indeed, and does not require any great effort; but for that very
reason it does not give us a true result, and Hercules is, nevertheless the personified Sunl sung in a poem. I know that the
times, in which they make Christ live, approach nearer to our
century, than that of Hercules.  But when an error is once
established, and the Doctors place an enlightened criticism
amongst the number- of crimes, when they manufacture books,
or alter or burn them, there is no remedy for retracing our
step, particularly after such a long lapse of time.
If there are ages of light for philosophers, in other words
for a very small number of men, all ages are ages of darkness
for the multitude, particularly with regard to religion.  We
may judge of the credulity of the nations in those times, by
the impudence of the authors of the first legends. If they
are to be believed, they not merely have heard say, but they
have seen, what they relate.  WVhat! Absurd things, extravagant, through their very marvelousness, and acknowledged
to be impossible by every man, who has sufficient knowledge
of the process of Nature.  It is said, that those were plain
men, who wrote.  The legend certainly is dull enough; but
men so stupid as to believe everything, or to say, that they
saw, what they could not have seen, do not offer us any historical guarantee wlhatsoever.  Besides they were far from being simply men, withoat education and enlightenment, who
have left us the Gospel. The trace of imposture is still there
discernable.  One amongst therm, after having written very
nearly the same, which is contained in the three others, says -
37




290         THE ORIGIN OF.ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. IX.
" that the hero of his legend has made many other things, the
" which, if they should be written every one, he supposes, that
" even the World itself could not contain the books that should
"be written.' (St. John, xxI. v. 24.)  The hyperbole is a little strong, but finally how comes it, that of all these miracles,
not one should have reached us, and that the four Evangelists
shut themselves up very nearly within a circle of the same
facts? Has there not some skill been displayed by those, who
have transmitted to us those writings? and have they not
tried to come to a proper understanding amongst themselves,
so as to establish a verisimilitude in the narratives of men,
who are presumed, as not to have concerted amongst themselves?  What! There are a thousand remarkable events in the
life of Christ, and nevertheless the four authors of his life
agree to speak only of the same things i These events are
concealed by all the disciples of Christ; the tradition and the
sacred writers are all dumb on the subject. The Gascon author of the legend, known by the name of St. John, has doubtless counted upon the eventuality, that he would have for
readers only fervent believers, in other words, dunces. Finally, to admit the testimony of those books as a proof of the
existence of Chist, wouldc be an engagement to believe anything; because if they are right when they say, that Chris  did
live amongst themr, what reason co:l:] we have, not to believe,
that he had lived as  they  tell us, and that his life
was marked by the miraculous events, which they  deal
out ("qu'ils debitent?")  Consequently good Christians
believe them, and if they are silly, they are at least
consistent enough.  I know, that it could be possible,
that they might have either deceived us, or that they might
have been mistaken themselves about the particulars of the
life of Christ, without this same error being prejudicial to his
existence. But again, even with regard to the existence, what
confidence or trust can we have in authors, who deceive, or




Chap. IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      291
who are mistaken in all the rest, especially when it is known,
that there is a sacred legend, of which the Sun,.under the
name of Christ, is the hero? Is it not very natural, to be induced to believe, that the worshippers of the Sun-Christ may
have given him a historical existence, just as the worshippers
of that same Sun gave hinm one under the names of Adonis,
Bacchus, Hercules and Osiris, although the enlightened leaders of these religions knew very well, that Bacchus, Osiris,
Hercules and Adonis had never existed as men, and that they
were merely the God-Sun personified?  Besides, nobody was
more ignorant and more credulous than the first Christians,
with whonl there was no trouble at all, to make them adopt an
Oriental legend on Mithras or on the Sun, without the Doctors
tbemselves,-who had received it fromn other and more ancient
priests,-suspecting in the least, that their new worship was
still the Sun. It is an old fable, which has been renewed by
illiterate men, whose only object was, to unite with it the elements of morality, under the niame of Doctrine of Christ, Son
God, whom they lmade speak, and whose mysteries were celebrated many centuries before in the obscurity of the sanctuaries under the names of Mithras and of Adonis. They might
just as well have been placed in the mouth of the latter, if his
gallant and too notorious love affairs had permitted it. A
mystical and less known name of the Sun was therefore
chosen, and the authors of the legend approached its events
to the age in which they lived, without fearing in the least the
criticism of a sect, where credulity is a sacred duty.
The impudence, in the way of imposture can hardly be carried farther, than it was done by the first Christian writers,
who were either fanatics or who made fanatics. A letter of
St. Denis, the Areopagite, is quoted, attesting, that he and
the sophist Apollophanes were at Heliopolis, or at the city of
the Sun, when the pretended eclipse of the Sun took place,
which contrary to all laws of Nature happened with the full




292         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIIOUS WORSHIP.  [GChap. IX.
moon at the death of the Sun or of Christ; therefore, it is a
miracle. He affirms, that they saw distinctly the  Moon placing herself under the Sun, rermcaining there fully Sthree hours,
and afterwards returninug to the East, to the point opposite,
where she ought to'be found only a fortnight after. When
such shameless falsifiers are found, in order to manufacture
such pieces in the hope of being believed, it is a proof, that
there are always a great number of dunces on hand, ready to
believe all, and that one might. venture almost anything.
There are in Phlegon a great many marvelous stories, which
attest the shameful credulity of that age. The history of
Dion Cassius is not less replete with all kinds of prodigies,
showing plainly the taciliiy, with which people believed -in
those days in miracles. The alleged prodigies operated by
Simon, the Magician, and the faith, which people seemed to
put in such a tissue of falsehoods, indicate the prevalent disposition of the people to believe in everything, and it was
amongst such a class of people, that Christianismn originated
and was propagated. If the martyrology of the three first
centuries, and the history of the mIliracles of Christianism. is
attentively read, we shall blush for the human race, which has
been so strangely dishonored by imposture on one side and
by credulity on the other, and that on such a basis it is
claimed to sustain the history and the existence of a God or
a Godlike man, of whom no person of sense, nor any writer
foreign to his sect has ever spoken, even at the times, when
he ought to have astonished the Universe by his miracles.
They are reduced to look, nearly a hundred years after, for a passage in Tacitus, giving the etymology of the word Christian,
in order to prove the existence of Christ, or to interpolate, by
a pious fraud, a passage in Josephus. If the latter author
had known Christ, he would not have neglected to expatiate
on him in his history, especially having to speak about a
man, who had played such  a prominent figure in his country.




Chap. IX.]  THl:E ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    293
When people are obliged to have recourse to such pitiful
means, they show sufficiently their embarrassment to persuade
men, who desire to have an explanation of what they are
asked to believe. If there had really existed a man in Judea,
remarkable either as a great legislator or philosopher, or as a
notorious impostor, would Tacitus have limited himself with
saying, merely of Christ, that he had died in Judea?  What
reflections to a philosophic writer, such as he was, would not
have furnished an extraordinary man thus put to death? The
evidence is plain, that Tacitus did not attach- to it any importance whatever, and that for him Christ was merely a word,
which gave the etymology of the name of Christians, Sectarians but recently known at Rome, and who were much decried and hated in the beginning.  He therefore did merely
say, what he had heard say, in accordance with the testimony
of credulous Christians, and nothing more. It is therefore
neither Tacitus nor Suetonius, but still the Christians, who
are our guarantees. I know, that much stress will be laid on
the universal faith of the worshippers of Christ, who have
attested his existence and his miracles from century to century, just as they have attested those of many Martyrs and
Saints, yet in whose miracles nobody believes more. But
I have already observed in another place, when speaking of
Hercules, that the belief of many generations in matters of
religion, did absolutely prove nothing more, than the credulity of those, who believed it, and that Hercules was nevertheless the Sun, whatever the Greeks may have believed or said
about it. A great error is more easily propagated, than a
great truth, because it is easier to believe, than to reason, and
because people prefer the marvels of romances to the simplicity of history. If this rule of criticism should be adopted,
people would oppose to that argument of the Christians, the
firm belief, which every nation has had and still has in the
miracles and oracles of their religion, in order to prove the




294         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. fIX.
truth of it, and I doubt that -the Christians would admit that
proof.  We shall therefore do the same thing, when the question is about their's. I know, that they will say, that truth is
alone on their side; but the others will say as much. Who
shall be the judge?  Common sense and not faith nor received opinion, however general they may be. They say, that
it would us set all the foundations of history, not to believe in
the existence of Christ and in the truth of the narrative of
his apostles an i of the sacred writers. The brother of Cicero
said also: "It would be upsetting all the foundations of history, in denying the truth of the oracles of Delphi." I shall
ask the Christians whether they believe in the upsetting of
the foundations of history, when they attack these pretended
oraclies, and whether the Romanl orator would have also believed in the upsetting of the foundations of history, in denying the truth of their prophecies, supposing that he should
have known them. Everybody defends his chimera and not
history.
Nothing attracted such universal attention, and was longer
believed in, than astrology, while nothing has a frailer basis,
nor has given more fallacious results. Astrology has put its
seal on all the nonumnents of antiquity; nothing was wanting
to its predictions bnt truth; and yet the Universe has believed
and still believes in it. Cicero himself wanted to prove the
reality of divination by a great many facts, which he states in
support of his assertion, and chiefly by the universal belief in
it: he adds, that this art may be.traced back to the highest
antiquity; that there existed no nation, which has not had its
oracles, its conjurors, its augurs, its prophets; which has not
believed in dreams, in fate, &c. This is all very true; but
what can we conclude from all this? That credulity is a malady of mankind of very ancient date, nay an inveterate epidemic, which has spread all over the earth, and that the
World may be divided into two classes, in rogues who lead,




Chap. -IX.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     295
and in fools, who let themselves be led, The reality of ghosts
might thus likewise be proved by the antiquity and the universality of this opinion, and the miracles of St. Roch and of
fEsculapius by the " ex voto" deposed in their temples. Human reason has very narrow limits. Credulity is a bottomless
pit, swallowing up everything, which is thrown into it, and
which rejects nothing. I shall therefore not believe in the
certitude of the augural science, because I am  told that
Accius Navius, in order to prove the infallibility of the science, invited Tarquinius to imagine something, which he
should do, and that the latter having thought, that he would
cut a flint stone with a razor, the augur forthwith executed
the thing. A statue erected in the public square, perpetuated
the memory of this prodigy, and attested to all the Romans,
that the augurial art was infallible. The swaddling clothes of
Christ and the wood from his cross do nlot prove any more
his existence, than the foot prints of Hercules confirm  the
existence of that hero, and that the columns erected in the
plains of St. Denis will assuredly not convince me, that St.
Denis had passed by those places in carrying there his head. I
shall see in St. Denis or Dyonysius, the ancient Grecian Bacchus, and the Egyptian Osiris, whose head traveled every
year from ths shores of the Nile to Biblos, like that of Orpheus on the waters of the Hebrus; and here the occasion
presents itself to show, up to what point people are led by
imposture and ignorance, when once the priest has made himself rmaster of its mind.
The Greeks worshipped Bacchus under the name of Dionysius or Denis; he was regarded as the Chief and first author
of their mysteries, the same as Elenther. This last name was
also an epithet which they had given him, and which the
Latins have translated by the word " Liber:" they celebrated
in his honor two principal feasts, one in spring, and the other
in the season of the vintage. This latter was a rural festivity




296         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
and was celebrated in the country or in the fields: it was the
opposite.of the feasts of spring, which were called feasts of
the city or "urbana." A day was added thereto, in honor of
Demetrius, King of Macedonia, who held his court at Pella,
near the gulf of Thessalonica. Bacchus was the Oriental
name of the same God. The feasts of Bacchus had therefore
to be announced in the Heathen calendar by these words:
"Festum Dionysii, Eleutherii, Rustici."  Our good forefathers
have made three Saints out of it: Saint Denis, Saint Eleuther and Sain' Rustic, his companions. On the preceding
day they read: Feast of Demetrius. They have fixed on the
eve of St. Denis, the feast of St. Demetrius, of whom they
made a martyr of Thessalonica. They add, that it was Maximian, who put him to death in consequence of his despair on
account of the death of "Lyaeus;" and "Lyaeas" is one of
the names of Bacchus as well as " Demetrius."  They placed
on the day before the eve, the feast; of St. Bacchus, of whom
they made a martyr of the Orient. Therefore those, who
should wish to take the trouble and read the Latin calendar,
or the brief, which serves as a guide to our priests in the
commemoration of the Saints, and in the celebration of the
feasts, would see there on the 7th October, Festum  Sancti
Bacchi, on the 8th, Festum Sancti Demetrii, and on the 9th,
Festum  Sanctorum  Dionysii, Elentherii, et Rustici. Thus,
they have made Saints out of several epithets, or out of different denominations of the same God, Bacchus, Dyonysius
or Denis, Liber or Eleutheros. Those epithets became as
many companions. We have seen in our explanation of tho
poem of Nonnus, that Baccus married Zephyr, or the gentle
breeze, nnder the name of the nymph Aura. Now! two days
before the feast of Denis or Bacchus, they celebrated that of
Aura Placida or of the Zephyr, under the name of Saint
Aura and Saint Placida.
Thus it happpened, that the formula of wishing " perpetual




Chap. 1X.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      297
felicitas," or everlasting felicity, gavb birth to two Saints, Perpetuity and Felicity or perpetual felicity, which are not separated in the invocation; that to pray and to give, or "rogare
et donare" became St. Rogatian, and St. Donatian which are
not more separated than St. Felicity and St. Perpetuity.
Saint Flora and Saint Lucy, or light and flower were made
both together a holy-day.  Saint Bibiana had her holy-day
at the epoch, when the Greeks celebrated the opening of the
casks or the ceremony of the Pithoegies; Saint Apollinaria
some days after the celebration of the Apollinarian games by
the IRomans. They have not even left the "ides" of the
month, without making a Saint of it, under the name of Saint
Ides. The true face or the image of Christ, " vera eicon or
iconin" became Saint Veronica.
The beautiful star of the crown, "Margarita," placed over
the serpent " Ophiuchus " was changed into Saint Margaret,
under whose feet a Serpent or a Dragon is painted, and her
feast was celebrated a few clays after the setting of that star.
Saint Hippolyte, dragged by his horses, had his holy-day,
the same as the lover of Phamdra or the son of Theseus. It
is said, that the remains or the bones of the latter were
brought from the island of Scyros to Athens by Uimon. To
these pretended relics sacrifices were offered, as if it had been
Theseus himself, who hld returned to the city. Every year
this solemnity was repeated. on the 8th of November:  Our
calendar fixes at the same time the feast of Saint Relics.
It will be seen by this, that the Heathen calendar, and the
physical or moral beings, which were thus personified, mostly
entered into the Christian calendar, without meeting with
many obstacles.
I shall not pursue these reflections further, because my object in this work wats not that of pointing out all the mistakes
of ignorance, and the impudence of imposture, but to trace
the Christian religion back to its true origin; to show its filia38




298         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. IX.
tion, to explain the bond, which unites it to all the others,
and to prove, that it is also included within the circle of the
universal religion or of the worship rendered to Nature and
to the Sun as its principal agent. M\y object shall have been
attained, if I have succeeded ill convincing a small number of
my readers (becanuse the many I abandon to the priests) and
that it should seem to them  proved, that Christ is merely the
Sun, that the Mysteries of the Christian religion have the
Light for object, like those of the Persians and of Mithras, of
Osiris, Adonis, &c., aud that this religion differs only in the
names from the ancienlt religions; that the foundation is absolutely the same; and that finally a good Christian is also a
worshipper of that luminary, which is the source of all light.
After that, it will be of very little consequence, when people
will persist in believing in the existence of Christ, who is not
more that of the legend, nor that of the Mysteries.  We (lo
not feel the want of this second Christ, because he would be
absolutely foreign to the hero of the Christian religion, in
other words, to the one, whose nature we take an especial interest in determining thoroughly. So far as we are concerned, we think, that this second Christ has never existed,
and we believe, that there will be more than one judicious
reader, who will be of our opinion), and who will acknowledge,
that Christ was no more a real nman, than. the  Hercules of the
twelve labors.
We shall not conceal that many others will be found,.who,
while admitting our explanations on. the basis of the mysteries
of Christianism, shall persist to make of Christ either a legislator or an impostor, because before reading our work, they
had already formed that idea of him, and because it is very
difficult to discard first formed opinions. In as much as their
philosophy cannot go any further, we shall not go to the
trouble of longer arguments, in order to show  them  the
non existence of real historical proofs, which might justify
the belief, that Christ had existed as a man.




Chap. IX.   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     299
Finally, there are a great many men so badly organized,
that they believe everything, except that, which is dictated by
common sense and sound reason, and who are as much afraid
of philosophy as the hydrophobist is of water; those will not
read our pages, and we shall not care much about it: we repeat, that we didc not write for them. Their mind is the pasture of priests, the same as corpses are that of worlms. We
only write for tne friends of humanity and  reason. The rest
belongs to another World; and truly their God said to them,
that his kingdom was not of this NW~orld or in other words, of
the World, where people will reason, and that blessed are
those, who are poor in spirit, because the kingdom of Heaven
belongs to them. Let them have their chimeras, and let us
not envy the priest for such a conquest. Let us pursue our
way without stopping to count the more or less suffrages,
which may be obtained by thus offending credulity, and after
having laid bare the sanctuary, wherein the priest shuts himself up, let us not expect, that he will invite those, whom he
cheats, to read our work. It is sufficient for us to know, that
a glorious revolution, which must have taken place entirely
for the benefit of reason, as it originated it, makes them
powerless for doing harm, or to draw from writers by force
the shameful retractions of Buffon.




CHAPTER X.
OF WORSHIP AND RELIGIOUS OPINIONS, CONSIDERED IN
THEIR AFFINITIES WITH THE DUTIES AND WANTS OF
MAN.
We have shown in the preceding pages, what have been the
real objects of the religious worship of all nations; we have
analysed their sacred fables, embodied in poems and legends,
and have demonstrated, that Nature and its visible agents, as
well as the invisible spirits, which were presumned to hover in
every part of the World and to direct its movements, have been
and formed the subject of all the I-ymrns to the Deity, and the
basis of the religious system of all the nations of the Universe.
Yet this is not enough for our purpose. It is the worship itself,
which shall furnish the matter for our serious examination.
The evils, which religious opinions have caused on Earth, are
of such magnitude, as to authorize the enquiry, whether it is
better, either to preserve or to proscribe, the institution of a
religion. Its influence on the policy and morality, on the welfare and the misfortanes of mankind in particular, and of society in general, is too marked and universal, that the right to
govern man, to modify at pleasure his inclination, his tastes
and his modes of living, and above all to degrade his reason,
should be lightly abandoned to the priests. Religion interferes with everything; it lays hold of man at the moment,
when he issues from the wolmb of his mother; it presides over
his education; it puts its seal on the most important engagements, which he may contract during his life; it surrounds
the bed of the dCying; it conducts him  to the grave, and it
follows him still beyond that, by the illusion of hope and fear.
I am aware, that the mere proposition to examnine, whether
a religion is necessary or not, will revolt many minds, and
that religions have struck too extended and too profound




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      301
roots all over the Earth, that it would be a; kind of folly, to
pretend to day, to uproot the ancient tree of superstition, under the shade of which almost all men believed it to be necessary to repose. Therefore it is not at all my intention to attempt it; because it is the same with religion as with those
diseases, of which the germ is transmitted by the fathers to
their progeny for a series of ages, and against which art has
no remedy to offer. It is an evil the more incurable, as it
nmakes us even fear the remedies, which might cure it. He,
who should deliver humanity forever from the scourge of the
small-pox, would be entitled to the thanks of mankind: but the
man would never be forgiven, who should attempt to free it
from that of religions, which have caused infinitely more injury
to humanity, forming as they do, a shameful leprosy, infecting reason and causing it to wither. Although there is very
little hope of curing our species of this general delirium, the
philosopher may nevertheless be permitted, to examine the
nature and character of this epidemic, and if he has no flattering prospects before him, to preserve the great mass of men
from its influence, he shall at least feel but too happy, if he
succeeds to subtract from it a small number of wise men.
In a controversy against religions, it would be taking too
much advantage, to collect in one and the same work all the
crimes and all the superstitions, with which the priests of
every nation and in all ages have surrounded them. A philosophic history of the various kinds of worships and religious
ceremonies, and of the reign of the priests in the different societies, would offer the most frightful picture to man of his misfortunes and of his delirium. I shall spare him that humiliation; I shall merely trace a light sketch of it, and I shall only
bring into relief the shame of his weakness, so far as the necessity of the question, which is here treated of, shall oblige me
to hold before his eyes the too faithful' mirror of his stupid
credulity. I shall therefore adhere to the method of examin



302         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
ing the fundamental basis of all worship, without dwelling on
the details of absurd practices and rediculous or criminal
ceremonies, which religions have frequently ordained.
Religions have a three-fold object: the Deity, Mankind and
the Social Order: the Deity, to which'homage is rendered;
MIankind, receiving its succor; and Society, which it is believed to need that bond. Let us examine, what solidity there is
in these three bases of every religious worship: whether God;
or Mankind or Society are in want of those institutions.
Nature, or the unknown power which moves it, whatever be
the name, which may be applied to it, seems to me too grand
and sublime, to require the humiliation of man, in order to
become more majestic, and to be too rich, to be in want of
his presents. WVhat is it to the Deity, whether he is bending
his front low and respectfully to the ground, or elevating his
head and eyes towards Heaven; whether his hands are folded
and raised, or his knees are bended; whether he sings, or
meditates in silence? Let him be an honest man: that is the
only homage, which the Deity expects of him. WVhat need
has God of the blood of goats and bulls?  And indeed, what
can man do for hin, who makes everything?  W~hat can he
give to him, who gives all?  Man, they sa'y, acknowledges
thereby his dependence. What! Does he want this exterior
sign, in order to be informed, that man is entirely dependent of
Nature?  Is he thereby less subject to that resistless power,
which rules over all, whether he confesses or disavows it?
This slave can he possibly escape his master? Is it not evident, that man, while painting his Gods in the image of mortals and attributing them  often his inclinations, nay, even
his vices, has imagined also, that they possessed that pride,
which makes the tyrant enjoy the humiliation of a subject,
which he obliges to crouch servilely at his feet?  Oriental
Despots and their ministers are approached only tremblingly:
people are admitted to their court only, when they bring




chap. X.J  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      303
presents. People imagined therefore, that the altars and
temples of their Gods could only be approached by oblations.
Man has treated the Deity in the sanme style, as a man of influence and power would be approached, who compells us to
acknowledge his superiority over us, and who exacts homage,
because he wants to stifle in the heart of his fellow creatures
the idea of equality, which disparages him. But can such a
sentiment and such a want be supposed to exist in the Deity?
Has it to fear rivals? Finally if worship, considered as homage and as a pure act of gratitude, was not superfluous, perhaps ought it to subsist amongst men, whenever it would be
limited to the simple expression of admiration and of profound respect, impressed on their mind by the picture of the
Universe and the amazing spectacle of effects around them,
the produce of a cause alike unknown as it is marvelous, which
is called God. But man -did not stop there; and even if he
would, the priest would never permit it. It is the priest who
envenoms the incense, which is offered to the Gods, and who
teaches man to honor them  by crimes. If the Savage contented himself sometimes to puff the smoke of tobacco towards the Luminary, which he adored; if the Arab burned on
the altar of the Sun the delicious perfumes, which grew on
his sands; the Druid in his forests slaughtered men in order to
please the Gods; the Carthagenian immolated children to Saturn, and the Cananite burnt human victims in the statue of
his God Moloch. Is it such a worship, which men or the
Gods stand in need of? Since the duties, which Religion imposes, are sacred, if that Religion is absurd or atrocious, then
the most ridiculous superstitions and the most horrible crimes
become duties. The Mexicans had Idols, kneaded with the
blood of infants, widows and virgins, who had been sacrificed,
and their hearts been presented to the God Vitzliputzli:
in his temple there were seen several trunks of large trees,
which sustained poles, on which the skulls of these unhappy




304         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
victims of superstition were poled, and which were always immolated in great numbers in their solemnities.
On the occasion of these barbarous festivities six sacrificators
were charged with the horrid function, to sacrifice thousands
of captives to the Gods.
Each victim, 6ne after the other, was stretched out on a
rough stone: one of the priests held it by the throat by means
of a wooden collar put on it. Four others held the feet and
hands; the sixth, armed with a very large and very sharp
knife, leaned with his left arm on its stomach, and while he
opened its breast with the right hand, he tore out the heart,
which he presented to the Sun, in order to offer it the first
steam exhaling therefrom. A single sacrifice at Mexico sometimes costed the lives of twenty thousand prisoners.
They had also a feast, at which several captives were slaughtered by the priests, who dressed as many subaltern ministers
with the skins of those victims, visiting all the wards of the
city, dancing and singing. People were obliged to make
them some presents, and thus became this horrible ceremony
a source of revenue to the priests.
The Antis in Peru, sacrificed to their God, with a great deal
of solemnity those, whom they judged worthy of this fatal
honor. After having stripped the victim, they bound it closely to a stake, and slashed the body with sharp flint-stones;
afterwards they cut of slices of its flesh from the calves of the
legs, from the thighs, from the back, &c., which men, wromeln
and children devoured with avidity, after having painted their
faces with the blood, which trickled from  the wounds. The
women rubbed the nipples of their breasts with it, and gave
them  afterwards to their nurselings to suck. The Antis called
these horrible butcheries, sacrifices.
I shall not further prolong the details of the religious assassinations, which have been perpetrated by various nations,
under the pretext of rendering homage to the Deity and to




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        305
honor it by worship. It suffices, that these horrors had been
committed only once, and that they might again be reproduced
in the course of ages, in order to feel all the dreadful consequences, which might arise from the establishment of a worship, when there is no power to stop its abuses; because man
believes, that he is pelmitted to do anything, whenwthe glory
of God is concerned.
I am perfectly aware, that our modern religions are not so
horrid in their sacrifices, but what is the difference, whether
it is on the altar of the Druids, or in the fields of the Vendee,
that men are murdered in honor of the Deity, when instigated
thereto by religion? whether they are burnt in the statue of
Moloch, or on the funeral piles of the inquisition?  The crime
is always the same, anld the religions which lead to it, are
none the less fatal institutions to society: it would be an outrage to God, to suppose him jealous of such homage. But if
he abhors a worship, costing so much blood to humanity, can
it be believed, that he should like one, which degrades our
reason, and which makles himself descend as by encllhantiment
into a piece of wafer at the will of the impostor, who invokes
him?  He, who gave lmaln lieason as the most beautiful gift
he could bestow on him, does he require him  to disgrace it
by the most stupid credulity and by a blind confidence in the
bsurcld fables, which are dealt out to himY in the name of the
Deity?  If God had willed another worshlip than that, which
is endered to himiu by virtue, he would have engraved himself
the rules of it in our hearts; and for a certainty, that worship
would have beeln neither absurd nor atrocious, as almost all
worships are.
But it is by n5 means the Deity, which has ordered main to
establish a, worship: it is man himself, who has conceived the
idea for his own benefit; and Desire and Fear, more than
Respect and. Gratitude have given birth to all religions.  If
the Gods, or the priests in their name, would not promi
39




306         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [OChap. X.
anything, the temples would soon be empty. Religions in
general, have a common character, which is that: to establish
a correspondence between man and the invisible beings called
Gods; Angels, Genii, &c., or in other words, between beings,
of man's own creation, in order to explain the phenomena of
Nature. The object of this correspondence is, to interest
these various beings in his fate, and to obtain assistance from.
them in his wants. The agents of this correspondence are
subtle and astute men, called priests, magicians and other impostors, who pretend to be the intimate confidants or trustees
and the organs of the supreme will of invisible beings. This
is the foundation of all worship and of every religion, which
is putting man in relation with the Gods, and Earth with the
Heavens, in other words, that all organized worship, which is
practised by the priests, has for its basis an ideal order of invisible beings, whose business is, to grant a chimerical succor
through the intercession of sha:trpers. This is about in general, what religious worship with all nations amounts to; and I
now ask, what States, Communities or individuals can possibly gain, by perimitting such errors, and protecting such impositions?
Let us examine what were the foundations, on which people have endeavored to establish so universal a prejudice,
which supposes, that there is another correspondence between
Heaven and Earth, besides the action of the physical causes,
independent of man, and which places the Gods at the disposal of the priests and those who pray. Each system  of
worship is founded on the opinion of a Providence, which
intermeddles either directly, or by means of Genii and secondary agents, with all the details of the Worlds',administration, and human affairs, which we can direct just as we may
think to be most beneficial to us, by giving it notice of our
wants, by invoking it in case of danger, and by informing it of
our wishes. Man regarded himself as the central point, in




Chap; X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      307
which all the designs of Nature centered, on account of a
mistake very similar to that, which made himn believe, that the
Earth was the center of the Universe. The system of Copernicus has demolished this last prejudice, but the first one
remains and serves as basis to religious worship. Man has
believed and believes still, that all, which does not contribute
to his happiness, or is opposed to it, is an irregularity of
Nature, or that Providence is asleep, which may be reawakened by hymns and prayers and interested by gifts and oblations. If man had put himself in his proper place, and had
not disowned that, for his pride somewhat humiliating truth:
that he is classed with the animals, the necessities of which
are provided for by Nature through general and invariable
laws, and that he has over them  no other advantage, than
that given by genius, which creates the arts and relieves his
wants, which averts or repairs the evils, which he may fear or
which he experiences,-he would never have sought in invisible Beings a support, which he could only find in himself, in
the exercise of his intellectual faculties and in the aid of his
fellow creatures. To his own weakness and to his ignorance
with regard to his true resources may be attributed his surirender to imposture, which has promised him assistance, of
which he has no other guarantee, than his own most shameful
credulity. Hence it is that women and children, old people
and the' sick, in other words, the most feeble beings, are tlie
most religious, because reason decreases with them in proportion to the feebleness or the infirmity of the body. Man in
his wants, seizes eagerly every glimmer or sign of hope, which
is presented to him; it is the sick main, who tries all the remedies, which quackery may offer himl; it is the unfortunate
seaman, who in shipwreck seizes the smallest piece of board
afloat, and looks for support to everything within his reach,
who clings to the flexible switch and the frail root growing
alongshore,. Astute men knew, howr fo take advantage of this




308         THE ORIGIN Of ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP..   [ Chap. X.
feeling, originating in our weakness, in order to make their
power and influence felt in society. They have, digested,
under the names of rites and worship, the code of imposture,
which contained, as they scaid, infallible and efficaceous means
to obtain the assistance of the Gods, whose organs and ministers they pretended to be. Such was the origin of Magicians, of Priests, mediators between man and the Deity, of
Augur's and of organs of communication interpreting its
secrets and generally of all those, who in the nsame of the
Gods made it a trade to cheat men, in order to live at their
expense. It is one of the most lucrative inventions to the
priests of all nations, and many centuries will elapse, before
they will abandon this branch of commerce, of which Credulity pays' all the expenses and Imposture collects all the
profits. Ever so high as we may ascend to the origin of
time, ever so far as we may cast our looks over the Earth,
everywhere we see Man expecting from  his prayers, or from
those of his magicians or priests, from his sacrifices and oblations, or from his mysterious ceremonies, assistance and succor, which he never receives, yet always solicits and expects,
such is the power, which the reign of illusion and imposture
exercises over him. The most barbarous nations, which are
not rich enough to pay for priests and to provide for the luxury
of a religious worship, have their magicians, who pretend on
the strength of their enchantuments, to cure diseases, to attract the rain to their fields, to make the wind blow  from
whatever direction they are asked for, and to force Nature' to
change her laws at the option of their wishes. They have
established themselves as the mediators between Man and the
invisible powers, which govern the Vorld. In o0ther places,
the priests have taken charge of the same functions and have
originated formulas of prayers and of invocation, processions
and ceremonies, having the same object in view, and which
operate,.if they are to be believed, the same miracles; because




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        309
our priests, who, on account of jealousy or rivalry of trade,
excommunicated the magicians, make the same promises in
the name of their God, and have formulas of prayers against
drought, against rain, against epidemics,* and say masses in
order that things may be found again, which have been lost.
The credulity of the people is a rich mine, which everybody
is contending for. This error was so much more easily established,-in as much as life and intelligence were attributed to all
active parts of Nature, and that they had been peopled with
Genii, having charge of the World's administration, that it was
not at all difficult to persuade people, that these Genii were
accessible to love and hatred, -and animated with all the passions, which could be excited and calmed according to wants,
and finally, that they could be treated with, in the same way,
as people treat with men in office, and with the ministers and
depositaries of a great power. Such was the origin of worship and of ceremonies, the object of which was, to make the
Gods come to the succor of men, to appease them  and to
make them incline in their favor.  "When the husbandman,
" says Plutarch, has exhausted all means in his power, in or"der to remedy the disadvantages of  drought, of cold or
" heat, then lie turns to the Gods in order to obtain that
"relief, which is not in the power of Man to give, such for
"instance as a gentle dew, an agreeable temperature, a mod" erate breeze, &c."  The same custom  prevailed in order to
divert hurricanes and hailstorms, the destroyers of harvests;
to conjure the storms, which upheave the seas, and to arrest
great scourges, such as epidemics, &c., which afflict mankind.
As the causes of all these calamitous effects, were in Nature,
people applied for aid to her or to the Genii, charged with
her administration, in order to obtain the desired deliverance
from it, and as the magicians and the priests pretended to be
*We once saw the form of a prayer placarded in. a Mexican city, which was said to
have been very effi acious in cases of Cholera.




310         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
the trustees of her secrets, people had recourse to them, as
the organs and visible ministers of the will of the Gods. The
priest wts all that Nature was. He placed himself between
Man and the Gods, and sonmetimes he put himself in the place
of the latter, and  crushed man with the weight of his
monstrous powver.  Thus, for instance, do the Gangas or
priests of Angola and Congo, pretend to be the Gods on
Earth, the fruits of which are considered as the gift of their
sovereign Pontiff; hence the Negroes offer him the first fruits.
They persuade the people, that if the Pontificate ceased to be
filled, the Earth would become sterile, and the World would
come to an end.
From  the Pope, who makes the people reverentially kiss
his big toe, from the Lama, who makes them reverence his excrements, down to the last juggler, all the agents of religious
imposture have held Man in the most shameful dependence of
their power, and have amused him with the most chimerical
hopes. There is not a spot upon Earth, where he could have
securely enough hid himself, in order to escape the illusions
and the prestiges, with which these impostors surround all
those, who lent a willing ear to their lying promises. I shall
mixs often the priests with the augurs, with the oracles and
with the mnagicians, because all of them  exercise their sway
in the name of the Gods and the invisible powers. The natives of the island of St. Domingo have their Butios, who are
alleged to be the confidants of the Gods, the depositaries and
the trustees of their secrets and the diviners of the future.
They consulted publicly the Zemes or idols of the subordinate Deities, authorized to give rain and to grant to the people all the blessings, which it might ask for. There was a
long tube, one extremity of which was ill the Statue, and the
other end was hid away amongst the thick surrounding foliage, which served as a conductor for the answers, which the
Caziques made the Zemres give, in order to hold their subjects




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      311
in subjection and nimake them  pay tribute. The Butio received the oblations, which were presented to the Zemes, and
kept them for himself, but he did not guarantee on that
account the promises which he made through the organs of
Zemes. I now ask, is it such a religion like that, meant by it,
when it is asserted, that a religion is necessary. to the people?
My question is so much the more well founded, that'almost
all religions are alike in this respect or very nearly so, excepting some forms; all nations have their Butios under other
names.
The Caraibes have their Boyes, who make their idols speak
just as they please, and they invoke those idols, in order to
get cured of their diseases, also to induce them to be interested in the success of their projects and in their revenges
against their enemies; because'everywhere people endeavored
to make their Gods the accomplices of the crimes and follies
of men, by interesting them in the concerns of their worshippers by prayers and offerings. The priest Chryses, in Homer,
prays his God to revenge him, and an epidemic ravages the
camp of the Greeks. In obedience to the commands of
Joshua, the God of the Jews makes the Sun stand still in its
course, in order to prolong the duration of a massacre, for
which light was needed. The Sie-yen-tho are silly enough
to believe, that their sacrifices have the power to make the
snow fall from Heaven, when they want to destroy their enemies. All tho nations of Europe have made public prayers
for the success of their arms in their wars against French
liberty, and the French, who did not pray, won the battles.
The Canadian Indians have their jugglers, a species of
quacks, who pretend to be in relation with the spirits, from
whom they got the art of healing the sick. When a savage is
wounded, he prepares a feast and sends for a juggler. He
arrives, examines the wounded man, and promises to drive
out from. his body, the Spirit which is the cause of the disease.




312         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [ Chap. X.
Do we not have also our exorcisers, who drive out from the
body of the possessed the evil Spirit, and are not these religious farces repeated every year on Thursday, called Holy
(Maundy) Thursday in the Holy chapel of Paris? At all
events it will. not be denied, that the function of exorciser
forms part of the orders, which are called Minors, and which
are conferred on our Catholic jugglers. This with us, is not
in repute of superstition, but is considered a very religious
act. Is this also perhaps the religion we are in want of?
The Canadian juggler, after having paraded his medicines,
invokes the God of Heaven and Earth, the Spirits of the Air
and of Hell, and then he begins to dance with all his might,
after which he applies his remedy. This belongs to magic, it
is true, but is not also any religion, which makes assistance
descend from Heaven on Earth, by means of the,priests, a
branch of the magic art?  What else is the worship with all
its pomp and ceremonies, but jugglery on a grand scale?  Be
it a priest of Samothracia, a Bonze of China, a Magician of
Scandinavia selling winds to seafaring nmen, or Calchas promising it to the Greeks, are they not all impostors, who promise
in the name of the Gods, that which is not in their power to
bestow? The Virginians had their priests, to whom they applied in order to obtain the rain, which they wanted, also to
find again things they had lost. They possessed the art, to
make the Divinities, presiding over the winds and the seamons,
favorably disposed.
The Florida Indians had their Jonas's, who requested the
Sun, that it might please him, to bless the productions of the.Earth, and to preserve its fecundity. They had visions
and intimate relations with the Deity. The Jonas was
consulted by the Parustis, whenever lhe wanted to forum
some military enterprise, and who gave him  the answer
of the Gods. Had not Greece also her oracle of Delphos
and the Jews their prophets?  Did not the Romans have




Chap. X.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS wORSHIP.       313
their Aruspices, their Augurs, the interpreters of the will
of the Gods?
The Emperor Tchoan-Hong' of the Chinese had a Bonze
near him, who boasted that he could command the winds and
the rain, because Kiings have associated with priests for the
purpose of deceiving lmen, in ornler to keep them  the better
in subjection. Thus have the Kings of France made miracles, in spite of their vices, and scarcely had they been
anointed with the Holy oil, when they cured the king's evil.
The King of Loang'o is in repute of having the power to
make it rain. He shoots an arrow towards Heaven in a ceremony, in which all the people assist. If it rains that day, the
whole nation is transported with joy even to delirium.'With
us, people make processions and prayers of forty hours for
the very same object, and they take good care to wait until
the weather changes, in order to help the miracle, and this is
still called worship. If this is superstition, then I ask, who
is going to draw the line of demarcation, which separates it from
what is properly called religion; because it is in the temples and
by the priests, that all this is done, and in the name of God.
The sacrifices, says the too famous Empress "Ouche,'"
which are offered to Heaven, to the Earth and to the Spirits,
have no. other object, but to attr act prosperity and to avert
misfortunes. Take this power away from the Gods and that
virtue from the sacrifices, which makes tho Gods propitious,
and what becomes then of worship?.Kublai-Kan sacrifices to the Gods, in order to request of
them a long life for himself, for his wife and children and also
for his cattle: a very important wish in a country, where all
the wealth consists in herds.
An Emlperor of China has written ta wAork on ag'riculture, in
which he employs three chapters to inform  his subjects what
they must do, in order to avert those calamities from Heaven,
which mash up and beat the crops into the ground.
40




314         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
Virgil, in his Georgics, advises the sacrifice of a goat to
Bacchus, and the celebration of feasts in honor of that God,
in order to secure a prosperous vintage. HIe also prescribes
sacrifices in honor of Ceres and prescribes to the husbandman,
to walk the victim three times around the fields, in order to
obtain the protection of that Goddess for his crops. The
three days of rogation, ordained by our:Catholics, have they
not the same object?  Do they not also pray for the fruits of
the Earth in our Ember-week, which we find to have been
customary almost everywhere in antiquity?  The Chinese
have their sacrifices of Ember-week, which formerly were
offered on four mountains, situated towards the four cardinal
points of the World. In spring time they went to sacrifice
on the mountain of the East, in order to pray Heaven to
take care of the seeds, that had been confided to the Earth; at
the summer solstice they went to that of the South, in order
to obtain a gentle moderate heat; in autumn *to that of the
~West, for the destruction of the insects; and in winter to
that of the North, in order to thank Heaven for the blessings
conferred and to pray for new ones for the next year; because
the gratitude of man wears always a selfish character. I
thank you, in order that you may give again.
The chief of the Tartars, Tchen-Yu, assembled his people
in the vicinity of a thicket, and there they sacrificed to the
tutelar God of the fields and of grain, by making a tour
around the thicket. Tcham.-Tsum makes sacrifices in order to
procure rain after a long drought.  The Greeks and the Romans invoked Jupiter Pluvius.
The Manchoo Tartars sacrifice to Heaven at the least sign
of an epidemic menacing to befall their horses. At the sacrifices made by Kublai-Kan to the Gods, he poured vases, filled
with mare's milk on the ground, with the idea, that the Gods
would corme to drink it, and that tile oblation would induce
them, to take care of their herds. It will be said, that those




GChap. X.]   THE'ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       315
customs are superstitious.  But is there a single religion
which has not superstitions very nearly equivalent to it, and
which are not by its instrumentality chiefly, maintained in the
mind of the people? Is it not a supersition, which makes
millions of people believe, that the Deity passes into a wafer,
after pronouncing over it some mysterious words?  That
which -a philosopher calls superstition, the priest calls a religious act, and makes it the basis of his worship. Is it not
the priest, who keeps up all the most absurd superstitions,
because they are lucrative and keep the people under his dependence, by mlaking his agency almost a necessary one in
almost all the instances of our life? Because, it is not morals
and virtues, which the people ask from the priest, but benedictions, prayers and assistance for various wants, and the
priest has a remedy for everything.  To be convinced of this,.it suffices to read the ritual of our priests, when it will be
seen, that the most impudent magician does not muake bolder
promises, and that there is not a more diversified formulary
of prayers to alleviate our evils, than there is contained in
their ritual.
A religion, which should not procure or promise some suecor or assistance to man  would make' but little fortune.' Give us our daily bread and deliver us from evil," say the
Christians to their God. In its last analysis all worship is
reduced to it.
It is the Issinois, who is washing himself daily in the rivar,
and after throwing water and sand on his head, prayed to
his God, exclaiming: " My God, give me to-day rice and ignames; give me slaves and riches, give me health."  He has
also Fetishes, whom he invokes in his various wants. It is on
the altar of the Fetish, that he deposes empty pots, when he
asks for rain, that he places a sword or a dagger in order to
be victorious, or a little chisel, when he wanted wine of the
palr tree. If the idol. was deaf, then he had recourse to the




316         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   Chap. X.]
conjuror in order to make the " tokke," a ceremony, by which
everything was obtained from the Gods.
The Negroes of Juida have also their Fetishes. They apply to certain big trees, in order to recover from  their sickness, and they make therefore oblations of millet, corn and
rice paste; because every worship is a regular barter between
Man and the Gods, whose mediator is the priest. During
the prevalence of storms, the Savages make presents to
the sea and ordain the sacrifice of an ox; they throw into it al
golden ring, as far as is possible. The Greeks sacrificed a
bull to Neptune, the God of the Sea, and a sheep to the
storm.
The serpent Fetish is invoked, when it rains continuously
and in extreme droughts, in order to get plenteous crops and
to make cattle diseases disappear. The Romans in times of
pest, did they not send for the serpent of Epidaurus?  They
built a temple for it in the island of the Tiber.
The sovereign Pontiff, who was appointed for this grand
Fetish, required continual sacrifices for his Serpent, and
whenever they did not come up to his expectations, he threatened the country with the destruction of the crops. Then
the people deprived themselves of the necessaries of life, in
order to appease the wrath of the God Serpent.  Here we
have a very useful religion, but to whom?  Undoubtedly to
the priest, but in no ways to the people.
The natives of Loango have a great many " Mokissos" or
idols of Divinities, which are in repute of having the government of the World distributed among themselves.  Some are
attending to the preservation of the crops, others to protect
the cattle; many busy themselves with the health of the people, with the preservation of their inheritance and fortunes,
and to conduct business to a successful issue. They worship
those various idols, in order to obtoiaJn those benefits, which
each of them was enabled to grant.




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      317
Have we not also our Saints, every one of which has his
virtue and particular attributes, which the people invoke in
their various wants?  The prayers of the liturgy of the Persians are addressed to the angel of each month and of each
day of the month, which people invoke in order to obtain
those benefits, of which he is the dispenser.
The islanders of Socotora invoke the Moon in order to secure a good crop and rain in time of drought. The Egyptians addressed their prayers to Isis, and invited the Nile to
overflow their fields. The Fornosians have Gods, of whom
sorne protected the warriors, others took care of the seeds in
the ground; there were those, who had power over health and
sickness; and  again others, who protected their hunting
grounds, the crops, &c. The Savages also have their Gods,
whom they invoke, in order to obtain a good draught of
fishes; because each art, each want, each passionr had its God.
The Jambos of Japan drive out the evil spirits. They promise also to heal the sick with a piece of paper, on which they
delineate some characters; they place it on the altar, which is
before their Idol.
The sectarians of the religion of Fo, worshipped a finger of
that pretended God: it was exposed as a relic every thirty
years, and then it was publicly announced, that the year had
been one of the mlost abundant. Are not all the sacred relics
in the temples of the Catholics, exposed to the veneration of
the people, supposed to be gifted with some kind of virtue?
And do not people go on pilgrimage there, to pray to it, in
order to recover from'some disease, or to receive from it a
favor of some kind? The shrine of St. Genevieve was let
down with great ceremnony, in times of calamity and during
the sickness of Kings. Corpulent and well-fed monks made
their living by this charlatanism, and by selling small cakes
to be given to the sick, in order to get well. What a concourse of people was there attracted by it in her temple with




318         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
such an enlightened nation as ours. The people went there
in procession, in order to obtain rain or sunshine, just as they
wanted it. Have we not seen all the people of Paris go there,
in order to thank her for the taking of the' Bastille," of
which she had been entirely innocent, and which brought on
the Revolution, one of the effects of which was the destruction
of her worship, and the burning of her bones in the square of
"Greve."  I cannot see, that civilized people differ a great
deal in point of religion from a savage one. The only difference there, is in the forms; but the object remains always the
same, in other words: to engage Nature and the Genii, which
are presumed to preside over her operations, to be at the disposal of all the wishes of mankind. This is the object of all
worship. Take Hope and Fear away from the people, and its
religion vanishes:
MIen are never more' pious, than when they are poor, sick
and unhappy. Want, far miore than gratitude, erected temples
to the Gods.'It is through Plutus, or the God of Wealth,
" that Jupiter reigns, says Chremyles in Aristophanes; all the
sacrifices are made on his acoount."  Hence, since Plutus has
made wealthy such a numnber of men, Mercury complails,
that the Gods. do not receive more oblations, and that no
mnore prayers are addressed to them. In the same comedy a
priest observes, that formerly, when people were'poor, the
temples were filled with worshippers and presents. But nowadays, he says, nobody is seen in the temple, except some
scoundrels, who, when they are passing by, commit nuisances.
Therefore, says the priest, I shall bid good-bye to Jupiter.
Here we have the secret of the priests of all countries; they care
about the service of their altars only so long as they are filled
with gifts, and so long as people believe to be in want of their
mediation, in order to obtain assistance from Heaven. Take
away the credulity, which the people have in their promises,
and there will be an end to altars, to priests and consequently




fChap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     319
to worship. The religious system of all nations rests on this
basis. Hence, worship being founded on this false and completely absurd opinion, to-wit: that Nature, or the invisible
Beings, which they put in its place, can be influenced in our
favor by vows and oblations, therefore worship is not necessary. What can be more absurd andi false, than to believe
that the Deity is placed there as a kind of sentinel, in order
to listen to all the follies, with which the ~heads of all those
are filled, who pray to it, and whose wishes, for the most part,
express only senseless desires, dictated by particular interest,
which is always isolated froml the general one, towards which
universal providence is tending.
What an absurdity is it not, to admit that a God of infinite
goodness, who however does good only so far as he is urged
to do it, should be solicited and determined to it by prayers
and offerings! How much more I prefer those nations, which
address no prayers at all to a God of goodness, because they
suppose his nature to be such, that he will do all the good he
can, without any solicitation on our part being required!
What a contradiction, to admit a God, who sees and knows
everything, and who notwithstandiug wants to be notified and
enlightened by AMan about his necessities!  A God, whose decrees are framed by eternal wisdom, and who yet mndifies and
changes them every instant, according to the interests of him
who prays.  All those suppositions enter necessarily into each
system of worship, which has for object, to induce the Deiuy to
do whatever a mortal wishes, and to interest it in his fate by
other ways and means than those, which the universal admlinistration of the World offers, about which God will certainly
not take the advise of mortals.  God or Nature' provides for
the subsistance of all animals by a general administration: it
would be folly to expect, that he should change it in our favor.
The nmachine moves and goes on in accordance with inmmutable and eternal laws, and AMan, whether he will or not, is car




320         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
ried along in its motion. Whosoever holds to him a different
language than that, is an impostor, who deceives him. Man,
who is merely a transitory being, has to submit, like all other
animals to- the imperious laws of the eternal and immutable
Being called God. This is the secret, which we should not
stand in fear of revealing. to him.
Besides, that this opinion is the only true one, it has also
the advantage of being far more in conformity with the divine
Majesty, and to put God and Man, each in his proper place.
Nevertheless, it was for the purpose of honoring the Deity,
that all this providence of details had been created, without
caring about the ridiculous figure, with which they had invested it. It is Minerva, who is picking up the whip of a hero
of Homer. It is thus, that God becomes the trustee or confidant of all the most extravagant wishes, and the minister of
all the aspirations and passions of men; le must very often
find himself perplexed to content them all; because, one asks
sometimes a thing, which must necessarily damage another.
There is a field of a dry and arrid s6il, which is frequently
in want of rain; but this would be rather injurious to the
neighboring field: which one of the two proprietors shall
Heaven favor? One would feel ashamed to be God, in contemplating the fantastical picture, which the various nations
have made of him, and the acticns and passions, which they
put amongst his attributes.
I feel, that I should mnake myself ridiculous, if I should proceed further with these reflections on the absurdity of a systemn, which places the Deity so to say at the orders of a mortal, creating as many Gods as man has passions and wants,
even unto imagining a God Crepitus. Certainly, then it would
be Man and not the Deity, who would govern the World, because in such a case the latter would be at the disposal of
Marn. This idea has only to be demonstrated, in order to Be
comprehended by the man of common sense; as for the others




Chap. XA.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     321
nothing can withdraw them from  the tyrannic sway of the
priests. I am speaking, just now, only to those, who like myself are convinced, that the prayers and wishes of mortals
can neither change nor modify anything in the eternal ahd
constant movement of the laws of Nature; that all is carried
along in this rapid current, which nothing can suspend or interrupt, and to the force of which, Man is-willingly or unwillingly-constrained to obev, without the smallest chance
or hope, that God will stop it for his sake.. I now ask them,
what is, in this supposition, the effects of a religion, the tendency of which is to make Heaven a docile instrument of
Man, and to get all the assistance he wants from the universal
Cause or from the World, which I call God?  If it is true
what Cicero says, that every religion has for its support solely
the opinion entertained by Man, that the Deity takes care of
him, and that it is quite ready to come to his assistance in
the various wants of his life, what would become of religion,
when it should be proved by the simplest reflection and by
experience, that the prayers and offerings of mortals will
never change the course of Nature? That the gifts spent in
the temples profit only the priests, and the prayers addressed
to the Gods, only to those, who are paid for, and who are
richly endowed in order to pray. I know, that I am trying to
destroy a great illusion; but why shall we always feed Man
with chimeras? Is truth then so heavy a load to carry?
Should its light be more dreaded than the darkness of error?
Let us cease, to deceive ourselves about our true position
with regard to NIat, ure. It is for her to command, and for us
to abide by her laws. If we are siclk, it is not in temples, nor
at the foot of altars, nor in the forms of prayers composed by
priests, that we nmust look for assistance; it belongs to the
science of physic to impart it to us. If the physicians are
powerless, the priests are likely to be much more so. The
confidence, which people have in the succor, which religion
41




322          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [ Chap. X.
offers through prayers and offerings, besides degrading our
reason, has yet this inconvenience, that it mlakes us ].ess active
in our researches for remedies, which science colld procure;
that it throws us into a fatal security, and that the hope in
the assistance from Heaven, deprives us very often of those,
which Earth offers.
Many 1a imariner has perished in the waves, who might have
escaped shipwreclk, if he had worked his ship, instead of
plraying, atnd if lhe had tried to save himself by his nautical
skill ancld by plo erc diligence, instead of trusting to the grace
of God  and of invoking the Yir-gin or St. Nicholas.'How
many "ex voto" hung up in the temples, were due rather to
good luck or a fortunate hazard, tban to the Saint, to whom.
they were offered, and which prove less his power, than the
stupid credulity of those, who invoked him. Nature has
placed within the reach of Mltn, in his stlrength, in his pr'Udence and in the use of all his faculties, the mleans of his
preservation and of his happiness, which are granted to him.
Out of this sphere, all is illusion: hence the religion, whlich
has essentially for object, to procure us assistance from above,
to imlake Heaven subservient to our wishes, and bind the fate
of Man to fhe action of invisible Genii, which may be conciliated by prayers and donations, is a nmonstrosity, a chimera,
which ought to be extirpated by all the means, which commnon seinse should furnish, in order to confound the works of
imposture.  It is the duty of the philosopher, of the friend of
humanity, and above all, of a wise legoislation; because society
is degraded, when Man loses the pre-eminence, which he had
over the other animals, and he loses it, as soon as he permits
his reason to be tainted.  Let us tell him, if he is uneasy
about his crops, about the preservation of his fortune and of
his health, that it is not by the sacrifice of his reason, that
the Deity wanted him to be rich and happy, but rather by the
good. employment he should make of it; that the Sun shall




Chap. _X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        323
not lose its heat and its light; that Heaven shall not cease to
pour out fr:uitful raiins in spring'; thbat suilmler shall not fail to
ripen his crops, and autulmn his fruits, although he should no
more addrcess his pra-yers ann:d wishes to the Eternal, and no
more endow those, who pretend to be his organs ankd ministers.  The French revolution has put this truth in all its light
before the people.  Let us banish from society all those, who
should wish, to.bring it hbck to the contrary opinion, in order to subjugate it agaiin.  For Man, there is only one worship, which could satisfy him and please the Deity: it is that,
which is rendered to God by beneficence and by the cultivation of virtue, and  this worship is not in want of mediators
between the supreme Being and Alan.  Every on3 ought to be
here his own priest, and carry in his own heart the altar, on
which he sacrifices every moment to that great Being, which
includes in his imnmensity all the others.  Let us trust in him,
that he will provide for our necessities.  Should MaTn still believe, that other altars ought to be erected, then let them be
built by gratitude, r,-ather, than by interest; but let it be
known to him, that God is noet in want of incense nor of the
fat of bulls. Let M{an contemlplate lature in silent admiration, but let hiTm discard the flattering idea, that she will ever
change her laws for hiim; and nevertheless, this is just the
thing, which is promised  to him by those, who persuade him,
that by vows and prayers he shall obtain those blessings,'which he may desire, and avert the evils, which he should
stand in fear of.  This is the great wrong, which those have
been guilty of against society, who were the first to spread
this false doctrine, and who by religious and political institutions have sanctioned   it to such a degree, that to- lay it is
neither easy nor safe to undeceive mlankind.  Every day it is
repeatedly said, that a religion is necessary to the people, and
by religion is meant that one, which has priests, ministers,
temples, altars, forimulas of prayers, a.nd which lulls Ian into




324         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
falacious hopes, by persuading him, that the Deity hears him,
and that she is ever ready to fly to his assistance, if he only
knows, how to say his prayers. This is that religion, which
they say consoles Man in his misfortunes and keeps up his
hope; that it is barbarous to deprive him  of a consolation,
which the priest tenders him in all his evils, and to leave him
alone, without other support than himself and his fellow creatures, with Nature, which has made and masters him. Well!
what is the use, whether he prays or sleeps? Nature will accomplish her work. The priest alone will lose, if he is not more
employed. The farmer must make use of the plow and apply
manures, if he wants rich harvests. In this consisted all the
magic of that peasant, whom they accused of witchcraft, on
account of fertilizing his fields. Any opinion, which is contrary to this, rests on a false basis; and in no case whatsoever
has any mortal a right to deceive his fellow-man; otherwise
the Deity would then be in want of a system of imposture, in
order to secure the respect due to her by mankind; an idea,
which is utterly revolting, because it is outraging her. Hence,
in this respect, religion is an institution not only useless, but
absurd. I know, that I shall be answered, that if the Deity
does not want the worship of mortals, in order to make Mtan
as happy, as he can be expected to be, yet that society is in
want of it, and that religions were invented for mankind and
not for the Deity, over which prayers have no effect at all,
having everything arranged, everything willed, without consulting us; that morals and legislation can only be sustained
in so far as they rest on the basis of a religion; that legislators
and philosophers cannot well govern mankind unless they
make common cause with the priesthood. Here is imposture
covering itself with a more specious veil. It is not more the
fields, which are pretended to be fertilized, by invoking the
Heavens, it is society itself, which is to be maintained and
perfected by the intervention of the Gods. I could answer in




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      325
the first instance, that the first idea could very well be separated from the second,; that a filiation can and ought to be
established between the laws of society and those of Nature,
between human justice and that, which is called divine, and
which is only the eternal principle, without there being any
necessity for a Jupiter giving rain, when he is asked for it;
for an 2Esculapius, who cures the sick, when they sleep in his
temple; for a God Pan, who tends to the preservation of the
herds; for a St. Genevieve, granting rain or sunshine. And
yet, here we have for the people not merely the abuse, but the
body itself of religion; here we have the most important part
of it; because people do not see any religion at all, where
there is no worship, and no worship is imaginable, if it does
not bind Earth and Heaven by the commerce of prayers and
of succor. This is the foundation of all religions. This is
"'that" religion, which is reproduced everywhere, and which I
nmaintain to be at least useless to Man; it is the same, which
has procured inriense wealth and such an enormous power
to the priests of all countries; which has covered the globe
with temples and altars, and which has originated all the
superstitions, which dishonor mankind. It is that same religion, which not even in our days a philosopher can make
the subject of his philosophical researches, much less oppose
it, without passing for a man bereft of probity and morals,
and without having to dread proscription.  But far from
separating the two ideas, in other words: the religion, which
gives succor, from that, which,teaches morals, they have tolerated and even strengthened the first with all its superstitions, afraid to destroy the opinion of the existence of a God,
who punishes and recompenses, and also that of his guardianship over all human actions. They not only wanted God to
occupy himself with all we were in need of, but also to watch
all our proceedings and to recompense and punish all acts of
our own will, accordingly, as they would be either conformable




826          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
or contrary to the plan of legislation, which each legislator
should have conceived: the consequence of which was, that
the Deity found itself charged often with the punishment of
actions, which seemed to be dictated by connmmon sense, and
to be only a consequence of the laws of Nature, or to chastise
here, what she recompenlsed elsewhere, because each legislator made God the guarantee of his dogmas and the natural
avenger of the infraction of his laws, let themn  be ever so
absurd and ferocious.  Robespierre  had also  his Eternal,
whose altars were the scaffolds, and whose executioners were
the priebts.  He also declaimed in his last speeches, against
philosophy, and felt the necessity to look to a religion for
support.  In order to consolidate his monstrous power, he
caused the immortality of the soul to be proclaimed, and to
decree the existance of a God.
Moses, Zoroaster, Numa.n, Minos, &c., all have given laws in
the name of the Deity, and no matter how unlike they were,
God was everywhere their author, and of course had to be
their support and their avenger.  Thus has religion become
truly a great political instrumilent, which each legislator made
subservient to his plans and designs. This is, what made
several philosophers say, according to Cicero, that all religious
dogmas had been. the invention of ancient sages, in order to
rule those, who could not be refrained  by reason; in other
words, that they believed, that people could not well be governed, without this factitious expedient, or because they were
then convinced, as nowadays, thuat a religion is necessary for
tlhe people.  This avowal is for us, one of no small iimportance, inasmuch as it acknowlecldges, that religion in its oj:igin,
or at least in the use, which it was believed should be madle of
it, must be ranged in the number of other political institutions.  All we have now actually to examine is, if they had a
right, to have recourse to illusion, in order to establish the
reign of justice and of truth; whether there has been much




GCaap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      327
gained by it, and what have been the means employed, in order to arrive at it; and it will not be difficult for us to prove,
that religion cannot be any more useful to morals and legislation, than that it call give us rail or sunshine; alnd that
consequently there is no necessity for it.
I am  of opinion, and have already said so-although my
assertion may be considered a paradox by those, who think that
the morality of a statesman cannot always be that of a philosopher,-that no mortal has a right to deceive his fellow men,
whatever might be the benefit, which he might derive from
it, and much less, to establish a general system  of imposture
for all generations.  Numa is in my opinion but a contemzptible juggler, when he feigns to hold secret conversations with
the Nymp Egeria, and when, in order to mould the Roman
character to servitude, he established Pontiffs, Augurs, and
all that variegy of priesthood, which has kept the Roman people in dependence of the Patricians or of the men of rank,
who alone for a long time, could be admitted to those functions.
I say as much of the legislator of the Jews, who held conversations with the Eternal.  His people has become the fable of
all other nations, on acc,(onnt of its stolid credulity; because
this legislator tried from the begimning to make all his social
organization  depend on the decrees of the Deity, whom  he
made speak, just as he pleased; because he had established
his morality on prestige, on legal purifications, and that he
accistomed the Jew to believe anything: so much so, that a
Jew and a credulous man are synonomous words. Truth is a
blessing, to which all men have an equal right by the laws of
Nature.  To deprive his fellow men of it, is a crlime, which
can only find its apology in the perversity of the heart of the
manl, who deceives. If this maxim holds good between indi-,
viduals, how much the more must it be for the leaders of society, charged with the mission, to lay the. foundations of public morality.




328         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [COhap. X.
Establishing as a principle of social organization, that a
religion is necessary, or which comes to the same thing, that
the people must be deceived under that name by sacred fictions and the marvelousness, which accompanies them, in
order the better to govern it, is authorizing imposture, when
it becomes useful; and I now ask the authors of such a doctrine, where they calculate to stop; I also ask them, if there is
for the leaders of society a different morality, drawn from
other sources than those of the simple citizens, and.if they
are not afraid to have imitators in the particular contracts,
when the public contract is infected with such a vice.  With
such maxims one may go very far.  Hence, Kings were
accustomed to have a morality of their own, which was very
different from that of their subjects, and priests also to follow
other rules in their conduct, than those, which they prescribed
to the people. If religion is a truth and a duty, then it ought
not to be put in the number of purely political instruments;
this is a sacred duty, which is imposed on all men. All must
participate in it, and not merely the people alone. If it is
merely a political institution, as it is here supposed, modified
according to the wants of society, then it ought not to be presented to the people in a different light, It must be as with
all laws, the product of its reason, or of that of its representatives, if there are any. But then illusion vanishes, it is no
more religion; because every religion binds us to an order of
things superior to man. They are simply laws of morality,
which do not want to be surrounded by miracles, in order to
be received. They must draw all their force from their innate
wisdom and utility, from  the energy of the power, which
commands their execution, and from  the good education,
which prepares the citizen for it.
Nature had given to Man  before there were books or
priests-the germ  of the virtues, which render him  sociable;'
there were men of integrity, before they had imagined a Hell;




Chap. X.J   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        329
and there wi.1l be some yet, when people shall have ceased to
believe in it. It is from  the weakness of Man, that Nature
made arise the feeling of dependence on his fellow men and
the respect due to the ties of contract, which unites him  to
the others. Calling for the intervention of Heaven in the
great work of civilization, is to deceive men, and when they
are deceived, people ought to be afraid to provoke him, in the
the name of whom they are deceived. To say, that society
can be governed without the assistance of priests and without
religion, would doubtless seem to be a paradox, as would
have been of old the pretention of winning battles, without the
aid of the Oriflarlmme of St. Denis and the Cope of St. Martin. But, should it even be conceded to the leaders of society to have the horrid privilege of poisoning the reason of so
many millions of people by religious errors-it would be still
wrong to say, that this expedient had contributed to the happiness of society, and far more still, that it was a necessary
bond. It would suffice, to unroll the list of crimes perpetrated in all ages and with all nations in the name of religion,
to convince even the Lmo: t zealous partisan of this political
institution, or rather invention, that the sum of all the evils,
of whlch it has been the cause, surpasses by far the little
good it could do, if it has dlone any; because such is the fate,
such is the nature of goodness, that it can only originate
from  the pure sources of truth and philosophy.  Without
mentioning here the barbarous sacrifices, commanded by the
religion of the Druids, those of the Carthaginians and of the
worshippers of Moloch, nor the religious wars of the ancient
Egyptians for an Ibis, for a cat or a dog, of the Siamese for a
white elephant; wi'hout describing here all the crimes of the
so-called Christian courts of the successors of Constantine;
without stirring up the cinders of the funeral piles of the inquisition; without surroncding us with the mournful shadows
of so many thousand Frenchmen, murdered at the Saint Bar42




330          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
tholomew and at the time of the Royal dragonnades*, what
heartrending  pictures of assassinations committed in the
name of religion have not been spread before our eyes during
the French revolution.  I take you as witnesses, ye smoking
ruins of the Vendee, where priests consummated the sacrifice
of their God of peace over heaps of bloody corpses, preached
murder and carnage with crucifix in hand, and quenched their
thirst in the blood of those brave Frenchmen, who died in the
defence of their country and its laws.
When the population of those beautiful provinces has been
almost entirely destroyed (1793) when the traveller meets
only the bones of dead bodies, and cinders and ruins, to
whom  else can those misfortunes be imputed, but to the
priesthood, which never separates its cause from  that of relic
gion, and which would sooner upset thei Universe, in. order to
preserve its wealth and power.
Can -we noL, after so many crimes,  place religions in the
number of the greatest curses, with which the world has been
afflicted, because they serve at least as a pretext to the priest
to commit and to ordain massacres?  I shall be told, that
those are the abuses of religion.  Well! of what importance
is it to me, when everything is abuse in a political institution, or
when the abuses are a necessary consequence of its existence?
It will be said, again, that it is the priests, Aho do all the amise
chief.  Yes, but you do not want religion without priests.
Therefore you want all the evils, which the' ministers of worship cause to society, which they fanaticize.
Hence the assertion is false, that it is more useful to deceive
people than to instruct it, that religion is a blessing, and that
philosophy, which is only enlightened reason, is an evil. It is
doubtless dangerous for those who deceive and who live from
the fruits of imposture, that the people should be enlightened; but it is never so for the people, otherwise truth and
*.Dragonnades, so called from the quartering of Di agoons on Protestants by LOuis XIv.




CGhap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    331
reason would be fatal gifts, while Sages have always placed
them in the number of the greatest blessings.  What misfortunes has it not caused to humanity, that old maxim adopted
by the leaders of society, and which is still up to this day perpetuated: that a religion is necessary for the people, or what
amounts to the same thing, that it is dangerous to enlighten
the people; that there are certain truths, which it would be
highly imprudent to reveal them  to it; that it must be deprived of reason, in order to prevent it from  acts, which
might damage our interests! Have those, who hold a similar
language forgotten, that the people is composed of men, who
are all equals in the eyes of Nature, and who ought only acquire a superiority over each other, by the use of their reason,
and by the development of their intellectual faculties and by
virtue?  It is not the instruction of the people, which is to
be feared: (only tyrants dread it,) but rather, and much more,
its ignorance, because it consigns it to all the vices and
hands it over to the first oppressor, who enslaves it. Morality
has much more to gain, when surrounded by all the light of
reason, than when enveloped in the darkness of faith. Nature
has engraved on the heart of man himself, the catalogue of
his duties. Let him descend into that sanctuary, let him hear
in silence the voice of the Deity; it is there, where she proclaims her oracles. Her most beautiful altar is in the heart
of an honest man, and he, who deceives his fellow men, has
no claim to that title.
If religion would bestow morality, the nations; who practice
it the most, the devotees, would be the most honest and the
most moral people in the World; but this is far from being
the case, because everything pertaining to illusion and prestige can only alter the pure sentiment of virtue, but not
fortify it. Imposture has no right to lent its false colors to
the sacred dogmas of natural morality, which alone has its.source in the very bosom of eternal reason, which governs




332         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
the World, which alone ought to be listened to and followed.
Everything, which may be super-added thereto, can only
corrupt it. Any association with maximLs foreign to it, and
drawn from a supernatural order, can only weaken the ties,
for the simple reason, that they are not those, which are acknowledlged by Nature and reason. How little do I count
upon the probity of him, who is all honest man, only in so far
as he is deceived, and that he believes in Hell! In proportion
as the people becomes instructed —and sooner or later this
will take place-it loses very soon its fictitious virtues; and
when once the charm is broken, it will be difficult, to bring it
back again to its duties, when it had not learned, that its
principles were engraved in its heart when born, and when
the root of it had been looked for in an ideal World, in which
it believes no more. Henceforth the people will take heed of
imposture, of which it will know to have been the sport, and
even of philosophy, which it had always been told to mistrust.
It will come to the conclusion, that the basis of the virtues
is a false one, because that, on which they had been made to
rest, were so indeed.  It will have nlo more morals, when it
has no more religion, since morality was made entirely dependent of religion, and it ceases to have religion, when it
ceases to have any faith in the absurd stories, which have
been told to it under that name, because it would seem that
absurdity and miracles are the distinctive characteristics of
all religions, and that it is the general belief, that a man cannot be honest, without being a fool.
When that revolution in  the opinions  of a  people,
which had never learned to separate morality from  dogmas,
in which it no more believes, shall take place, what a deluge
of evils shall then inundate society, which shall see thus suddenly rend assunder those old and worn out ties, with which
it was intended to unite the whole social system. If during
this terrible transitition, the new government should not




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        333
show in its action great moral capacity; if good faith and the
severest justice should not preside over its operations; if the
new institutions shall not uphold the new edifice, it is to be
feared, that a people grown old under priests and Kings, shall
change its liberty into license, its credulity into an universal
incredulity, that it shall be totally demoralized by that same
revolution, which ought to have regenerated it, anc that by being enlightened, it shall not become better.* And then it
shall be still the crime of its Kings and priests, who have conspired against its reason, in order the better to subject it.
It is surely not the fault of philosophy, which restores to it the
light of a flamibeau, which priests and despots had made
every effort to extinguish; because if reason and philosophy
had been from the be;inning the foundation of its virtues, so
much the more would its mind have been enlightened and its
virtues strengthened, becaiuse it would have found in itself
the principle and the rule of its duti s. The truth of principles is eternal and indestructible; the illusion of imposture is
never very solid and lasting.  I know  the common remark,
that all men are not equally susceptible of being enlightened;
that a nation of philosophers is a chimera: undoubtedly so,
when by being enlightened is meant, to search and fathom
the principle of the sciences; to possess several branches of
hunian learning, or to reason like Cicero on the nature of
duties. But here the meaning of being enlightened is that,
of not being deceived nor amused with false ideas in the
name of religion, and to find in the plain ideas of common
sense, and in the sentiment of an upright heart-such as Nature has given to a great many men, and oftener rather
to the tillers of the ground, and to the dweller in the lowly
cottage, than to those, who reside in cities and palaces,-the
reasons for doing good, and the ideas of justice and injustice,
which exist independently of religions, which have existed be*Compare the present state of France in 1871 to the above prediction made in 1797.




334         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. X.
fore them, and which shall even remain with him, who has renounced his religion.
In a great many religions there are certain ideas of morality to be mnet with, which properly belong to none, and those
religions are judged to be good only so long, as they contain
them in their primitive purity: they belonged to natural
morality, before religious morality took possession of it, and
very seldom they were benefitted by that adoption. It is in
this sense, that the people will be enlightened, when instead
of this false glimmer, this faint light, which religious illusion
lents to these verities-the light of reason is made to shine in
all its brightness, without mixing uith it the shades of mystery. When errors are entirely ignored, the soul remains in
all its freshness and purity, such as it came from the hands of
Nature, and in this state it is far more able to reason about
its duties, than when it is already corrupted by education and
a false science. Alas! how few men have been so happy as
to be able to destroy the prejudices of their first education,
fortified by example and by custom, and who with the aid of
philosophy have succeeded to efface the remembrance of what
they had learned at great expense. The people will be enlightened in this respect, when it shall not be told anything,
of which it shall not find the reason in its own heart. In this
way the edifice of a simple education may be erected on a
new foundation, based on the natural notions of right and
wrong, and even on personal interest, which, as it is well
known, binds Man to his fellow-men and to his country, and
which teaches him, that the injustice he is committing to-day,
he may experience himself tomorrow, antd that it is highly
important for him: "not to do unto others, what he should
" not wish, should be done to him."  All these ideas may be
developed, without having recourse to the intervention of
Heaven; education will then be a good one, because the verities it will teach, will be eternal, and will be at all times ac



Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      335
knowledged.by reason. This is less science than common
sense, and sometimes the people possesses more of it, than
those who boast of philosophy. Nature has placed science at
a distance from us: the roads which lead to it, are beset with
difficulties; it is therefore useless to the majority: virtue however is necessary to all men, and Nature has engraved its first
principles into our hearts. It belongs to a wise and careful
education, of which we are unhappily deficient, and which we
shall be in want of yet for a long time to come, to good laws,
to public institutions-to favor its development.  We are
wrong in despairing of the success of reason; we are wrong
also in regarding it as an insufficient means for the guidance
of men, and all this, before we have tried this only remedy.
It should seem, that the matter is well worth to make the
trial, before coming so boldly to the conclusion, that reason
has so little influence or power over the people, that the privilege to govern it well, belongs to illusion and to prestige. The
great evils produced by these dangerous remedies, and which
will be the case yet for a long while to come, ought to make
us a great de(tl more circumspect in. our decisions.'Imposture
and error have often been fatal to humanity, while reason has
never been it to those, who have taken it for a rule in their
judgments and in their conduct. The ancient lawgivers, and
all those, who like them, wanted, that morals and legislation
should depend for support on the fantastical phantom of religion, have strangely slandered the Deity and committed a
grave attempt against society, when they did establish this
dangerous error as a political maxim, that the Deity, while
endowing MIan with reason, had given him only a very insufficient, guide for his government, and that society stood in
need of other bonds; that it was important to make also the
Gods speak, and to make them  hold the language, which it
should please the lawgivers to lend them.  At the contrary,
they ought to have instructed the men most susceptible'to




336         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
education and philosophy, and by their example reform the
manners of the coarsest men. A generation thus instructed
would have given birth to another still more instructed, and
the torchlight of reason, acquiring new splendor in the course
of ages, would never have, been extinguished. Legislators
would have had nothing more to do, in order to improve our
species, and they would have reached the last limit of civilization and morality, up to which man could elevate himself, instead of which they have remained very far behind, and they
have placed us on a rapid declivity towards'the degradation
of morals, which the revolution will be the means to precipitate, if care is not taken. Everything is now to be reconstructed in politics and morals, because there are still nothing
but ruins. Nothing but force was wanted in order to destroy,
but to rebuild we want now wisdom, and we are deprived of
it. The erbarassment in which we find ourseles, comes from
this, that they had placed up to this day in the number -of
means to govern, the imposture of the leaders and the ignorance of the people, with the art of corrupting and degrading
nen, which is the great secret of all those who govern. It is
thus, that reason or the mind of society has seen its light extinguished in the obscurity of the sanctuaries, where everything had been prepared, in order to destroy it and to establish
on its ruins, the reign of illusions and of sacred phantoms.
Such was the origin and the object of the religious legends,
and of the sacerdotal fictions on the grand catastrophes, which
shall overthrow the World, on Paradise and on Hell, of the
judgment of the Gods, and of all the other fables, which were
made to frighten the people, and which they tried to accredit
with all the means, that were in the power of legislation, by
the charms of poetry, often even through philosophical romances, but chiefly through the  imposing ceremonial of the
mysteries.




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       337
Nothing has been spared, in order to corrupt our mind or
reason, under the specious pretext to fortify the laws and
morality. With the aid of great institutions, the object was
finally attained to degrade man through  the servitude of
opinions, more humiliating than that,.which ties him down to
the glebe.  We must regenerate him by contrary institutions.
It is worthy of a great nation like ours, to attempt also this
revolution in the political and legislative system of the World.
But how far are we still, from  taking the route, which could
lead us to such happy results! Everything seems to us at the
contrary, to portend an early return to servitude, towards
which our vices shall drag us, and before which a great number of people is already prostrating itself, if we do not promptly oppose to the torrent, which carries us rapidly along, a
good education and great examples of morality, independent
of religious deception or prestige. France has no lack of
warriors, or of men of learning, but she expects real republican virtues, which can only germinate under the protection
of wise institutions. If morals and justice shall not form the
basis of our Republic, it will merely pass away, and leave
behind it great but terrible recollections, like those scourges,
which from time to time are devastating the World.*  There
is traffic in everything, and intrigue prevails everywhere, the
spirit of stock-jobbing is corrupting all: the passion for gold
and office has already succeeded that enthusiasm, by which so
many men were carried along towards liberty, and the revolution shall perhaps make us lose even those virtues, which
had assisted us to make it. Let us reflect, that we have reorganized the social body with the rubbish of the most corrupt
Monarchy; and although the new laws should be wise, they
will be of no avail to us, if the people are not good and virtuous;
and this they are not: to make them such, should be the work of
political institutions, of which we are bereft yet. We have
*The attention of the reader is again called to these prophetic words.
43




338         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
banished the Kings, but the vices of the court have remained
behind and seem to reclaim each day their native soil. They
grow in the shade of thrones and altars; Kings and priests are
therefore united against republican governments, the fate of
which seems to be, either to crush vices, or to be crushed by
them, whilst religions and monarhies find their support in
them. Priests are the fit instruments for training up men to
slavery, and to corrupt the germs of liberty even in their very
sources: this is the reason, why they are so jealous to preserve still in their hands the education of our youth, and to
inoculate in the rising generation the love of servitude with
the dogmas of religious morality. This is' the great secret of
that struggle, which is going on in the whole Republic between the priests and our new institutions, which they assail
with so much the more advantage, as they have on their side
the power of custom, and the illusion of a superstitious respect, and besides, that we have not always wisdom on our
side. If there is no interest taken in ojur civic festivities, it is
because the plan is not only badly conceived and the details
meanly organized, but also because the priests in concert
with the friends of the Kings, dissuade the people everywhere
from attending them. Their temples are filled, and the altars
of the country are deserted. They still possess enough influence with the people, to make it cease to work on those
days, which superstition has consecrated, and the government has not power enough  to make them  observe the
Republican festivities. And then, people say, that the priests
are not to be feared! that they do not secretly undermine the
new edifice, which we are endeavoring to raise over the ruins
of Royalty and fanaticism! All the impurities, which remain
of the old government, all the prejudices, all the vices, all the
enemies of liberty, rally around them, in order to break down
all the institutions, which might fortify the Republic. And is
this that religion which it is pretended to be necessary to our




Chap. X.]   THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      339
happiness, and without which there are neither morals nor
laws, nor a wise government to be expected?
The struggle of the priesthood against everything, which
might be conducive to our regeneration through liepublican
virtues, by substituting the empire of reason, for that of deceit,-is it not a scourge, from  which France ought to be
preserved at any rate-? Because, who can depend on the
liberties of one's country, as long as there is a priest in it?
What do I say? when the sacerdotal spirit controls and still
directs all the education of the rising generation? When the
catechism is the only code of wisdom  and morals, whi&h is
placed into the hands of the great majority of children, and
when the Republican schools are publicly called schools of
the Devil? Hence they are deserted, while the schools of
fanaticism of Royalty are frequented by crowds of scholars,
and the government is asleep in the midst of dangers, which
are surrounding on all sides the cradle of the generation,
which shall succeed us. I am far from  wanting to make an
appeal for the persecution of the priests, but what I want is,
that they be entirely deprived of that influence on morals,
which they wield. Morality can only be adulterated in such
impure channels and by the admixture of dogmas as absurd
as those which they teach. Freedom  and reason could never
be ailied with their -maxims: like the Harpies, they stain
everything, which they touch.. I do not ask for their deportation, but to take out of the hands of these impostors the
hope of the country; do not permit them  anymore, to wither
with their breath the first flowers of reason in our youth,
under the pretext of preparing them for their first communion.
The more we have given license to religions in tolerating
them all, instead of proscribing those, which are in opposition
with our laws and an outrage to reason, the more we ought
to exert ourselves to correct this.malign influence by wise
institutions, which should guarantee to us and to our posterity




340         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   [Chap. X.
the conquest of liberty over tyranny, and th-at of reason over
superstition. Let us do at least for the preservation of this
sacred trust, as much as the priests did, in order to corrupt
and ravish it. The examination, which we are now going to
make, of the means they have employed in concert with law
makers, in order to enslave mankind, shall teach us, how
much has to be accomplished in order to make it free.




CHAPTER XL.
OF THE MYSTERIES.
Truth ignores mysteries; they are the attributes only of
error and imposture, and the offspring of a necessity to deceive, if such a necessity could possibly be admitted to exist.
It is therefore beyond the limits of reason and truth, that we
must look for their origin.  Hence their dogmas have always
been surrounded by darkness and secrecy. Children of the
night, they are afraid of light. We shall however attempt, to
carry it into their gloomy recesses. Egypt had her Initiations,
known'under the name of mysteries of Osiris and Isis, of
which those of Bacchus and of Ceres were mostly a copy.
The comparison, which anybody can make of the career and
the adventures of the Ceres of the Greeks, with that of the
Egyptian Isis, offers too many traits of resemblance, as to
leave any doubts about the filiation of the two fables. The
poems on Bacchus and the history of Osiris, the ceremonies,
which were practised in honor of these two Divinities, and
the identity of the one and the other, which has been acknowledged by all the Ancients, do not permit us to doubt, that
the mysteries of the first, were the origin of those of the
second.  Cybele and Atys, had also their Initiations, the same
as the Cabires; but we shall not give here the history of the
ceremonies peculiar to each of these different Divinities, nor
thd enumeration of the places, where these mysteries were
established. All these details will be found in our larger
work, to which the reader is referred. We shall confine ourselves, to the thorough examination of the general character
and aim of these kinds of institutions, to present the whole of
those traits, which are common to all, and to give an idea of




342         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. XI.
the means which have been employed, in order to derive the
best possible benefit from this politico-religious engine.
The object of the mysteries of Eleusis and of all the
mysteries in general was the improvement of our species, the
perfection of manners, and the restraint of men by stronger
ties, than those, which were devised by laws. If the 1mleanls
employed do not appeai to be good, on account of partaking
of illu-ion and prestige, it cannot be denied that the aim in this
respect was commendable.  The Roman orator put therefore
the mysteries of Eleusis amongst the number of establishments, the most useful to hulmanity, the effect of which, he
says, has been to civilize society, to soften the savage and
ferocious manners of the first men, and to impart a knowledge
of the true principles of morality, which initiate man to a
mode of life, which is alone worthy of him. Thus it was said
of Orpheus, who brought the mysteries of Bacchus to Greece,
that he had tamed ferocious tigers and lions and affected even
trees and rocks with the harmonious soLunds of his lyre. The
scope of the mysteries was, to establish the reign of justice
and of religion, in the system of those, who thought, that the
one should be supported by the other. This twofold object is
embodied in these lines of Virgil: " Learn from me, to honor
justice and the Gods; this was a great lesson, which the
iHierophant gave to the Initiates -or Neophytes. They. came
to learn in the sanctuaries, what they owed to men, and what
were the duties they believed were due to the Gods. In this
way, Heaven was contributing, to establish order and harmony on Earth. In order to imprint on legislation this
supernatural character, everything was put in operation. The
imposing picture of the Universe and the marvels of mythological poetry furnished to the legislators the subject of scenes
as surprising as they were varied, and the spectacle of which
was given in the temples of Egypt, of Asia and of Greece.
All, which can produce illusion, all the resources of mechan



Chap. XL..]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOJS WORSHIP.     343
ism and Mlagic, which were merely the secret knowledge of
the effects of Nature and the art to imitate them, the brilliant
pomp of the feasts, the variety and richness of the decorations
and of the habiliments, the majesty of the ceremonial, the
enchanting power of Music, the choirs, the songs, the dances,
the noisy sounds of the cymbals, for the purpose of exciting
enthusiasm and delirium, more favorable to produce religious
raptures, than the calm  of reason, everything was employed
in order to allure and attract the people to the celebration of
these mysteries.  Under the allurement of pleasure, of joy
and festivities, there lay often concealed the design of giving
useful lessons, and the people was treated like a child, which
is never better instructed, than when people have the air of
not thinking of anything else but to amuse it. With the aid
of great institutions, they  endeavored  to  mould public
morality, and numerous relvions seemed proper to attain this
end. Nothing could be imagined more pompous, than the
procession of the Initiates in the act of moving towards the
temple of Eleusis.  Its whole progress was enlivened by
dances, by sacred songs, and was noted by an expression of
holy joy. A vast temple received then; its interior must
have been immense, if we are to judge from  the nunmber of
Initiates assembled in the fields of Thriase, when Xerxes
entered Attica; they numbered over thirty thousand. The
interior ornaments, which decorated it, and the mysterious
pictures, hung around in the circumference of the sanctuary,
were most proper to excite curiosity, and to fill the soul with
holy respect. All that was seen, all that was there spokell,
was marvelous and had a tendency to fill the mind of the
Neophyte with wonder and astonishlent. Eye and Ear were
equally struck with all that could excite the iimagination of
man, so as to believe himself transported beyond the sphere
of his mortality.
Not only was the Universe as a whole exposed to the view




344         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
of the Neophyte, under the emblem  of an egg, but they
endeavored even to delineate its principal divisions, be it those
of the active and passive cause, or those of the two principles,
of Light and Darkness, of which we have spoken in the
fourth chapter of this work. Varron tells us, that the grand
Divinities, which were worshipped  at Samothrace, were
Heaven and Earth, one of which was considered the active
and the other the?passive principle of generations. In other
mysteries the same idea was expressed by the exhibition of
Phalus and Cteis, in other words, of the organs of generation
of the two sexes. This is the Lingaam of the East Indians.
The same was the case with the division of the World in its
two principles, Light and Darkness. Plntarch informs us,
that this religious dogma had been consecrated in the Initiations and thoe mrysteries of a.ll nations; and the example,
which he cites, drawn from  the theology of the lMigi and
fromi the symbolical egg, produeed by the two principles, is a
proof of it. There were seenes'of darlkness and of light,
which were made to pass in succession right before the eyes
of the Neophyte, who was introduced into the temple of Eleusis, and which represented the conflict in this world. between'these two inimical chiefs.
In the cave (" antre") of t.he God Sun, Mithras, amongst
the mysterious pictures of. the Initiaition:t, there was also
exposed to the view, the descent of the souls to the Earth,
and their return *to Heaven through the seven planetary
spheres.  There were also the phantoms of the invisible
powers made to appear, who chained them  to the body, or
freed them  of their fetters. Many millions of people were
witnesses of these various spectacles, of which it was not
permitted to express an opinion, and 6f which the poets, the
historians and the orators have given us some idea in their
description of the adventures of Ceres and of her daughter.
There was to be seen' the chariot of the Goddess drawn by




Chap. XL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        345
dragons; it seemed to hover over Earth and Sea; it was really
a religious opera. They amused the people by,the variety of
the scenery, by the pomp of the decorations, and by the performance of the machinery.  They inspired respect through
the grave deportment of the actors, and through the majesty
of the ceremonial; they excited by turns, fear and hope, grief
and joy. But it was the same with this opera as it is with
ours; it was of very little benefit to the spectators, and
resulted entirely to the profit of the directors.
The Hierophiants, who as profound scholars knew to perfection the geniius of the people and the art of governing it,
took a, dvantage of everything in order to make it subservient
to their purpose and to enhance the fame of their spectacle.
Theey wanited night to cover with its veil their.mysteries, as
they thenmselves covered them with the veil of secrecy.  Obscur ity is favorable to prestige' and  illusion; hence their
makitlg use of it. The fifthl day of'the mysteries of. Eleusis
was famous oa account of the splendid torchlight procession,
where the Initiates, each one holding a lighted torcll, were
marching in double file.
The E gyptians were celebrating the mysteries of the passion
of Osiris at night tilne in the mniddle of a lake: hence the
origin of designating these kind of nocturnal sacrifices, by
the name of vigils and holy nights. The night of Easter is
one of these sacred vigils. Obscurity was sometimes obtained
by celebrating them in dark corners, or under cover of dense
woods, the shade of which filled the mind with religious awe.
These ceremonies were mnade'use of as a proper means to
excite the curiosity of 1)manl who gets provoked in proportion
of the obstacles, which oppose him. The lawmakers quickened the action of this desire: by the rigorous rule of secrecy,
which they imposed on the Neophyte, in order to make those,
who were not yet initiated, more desirous of being admitted
to the knowleclge of thinlgs, which seemed to themn so  uluch
44




346         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
the more important, the less readiness there was shown to
impart them.  A specious pretext was given to this spirit of
mystery, to wit: that it was proper to imitate the Divinity,
which veils itself merely in order that man should search for
it, and which has made a great secret of the working of
Nature, which only by great study and efforts could- be penetrated. Those, to whom this secret was confided, e.ngaged
themselves by the most terrible oaths not to divulge it. It
was not permitted to converse about it with any body else,
than those, who had been initiated, and the penalty of death
awaited him, who should have betrayed it by an indiscretion,
or who should have entered the temple, where these mysteries
were celebrated, without having been first initiated.
Aristotle was accused of impiety by the Hierophant "Eurymedon" for having sacrificed to the Manes of his wife
according to the customary rite of the worship of Ceres.
This philosopher was obliged to leave for Chalcis; and in
order to clean his memory of this stain, he ordered in his
testament to erect a statue to Ceres; because sooner or later the
wise man finally surrenders to the prejudices of fools. Socrates dying, vows a cock to Esculapius, in order to exculpate
himself froim the reproach of Atheism, and Buffon confesses
to a Capuchin friar, that he may be interred with great pomp;
with the greatest men, this is the heel of Achilles. People
are afraid of persecution, and they kneel before the tyrants of
the mind. Voltaire died a greater man, hence free France has
put him in the Pantheon, and Buflon, who had been carried
to St. Medard, left it only in order to be interred on his
estate, where he will remain.  ZEschylus was denounced for
having put the umysteries on the stage, and he could not be
absolved, until he proved that he had never been initiated.
A price was offered for the head of Diagoras, for hlaving
divulged the secret of the mysteries; his philosophy came
very near costing him his life. Alas! where indeed is the




Chap. Xa.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     347
man, who can be a philosopher with impunity in the midst of
men "seized" with religious delirium? There is as much danger in contradicting such men as there is in irritating tigers.
Hence the saying of Bishop Synesius: "I shall be a philosopher only for myself and I shall always be a Bishop for the
people."  With such maxims one ceases to be a philosopher,
and remains an impostor.
The Christians or their Doctors had still their secret doctrine in the fourteenth century. According to them, the
sacred-mysteries of theology should not be confided to the
ears of the people.
"' Withdraw, ye profanes," said the deacon formerly at the
moment, when the Christians went to celebrate their mysteries. "Let the Catechumens, and those, which have not
yet been admitted, withdraw."
They had borrowed this formula of the ancient Heathens,
as they did all the rest. Indeed, at the commencement of
the celebration of the ancient mysteries, the herald never
failed to proclaim the terrible prohibition: "Away with every
profane 1" or in other words, all those who had not been initiated. Admittance into the temple of Ceres, and the participation in the mysteries, were interdicted to all those, who
were not freemen, and whose birth had not yet been recognized by law; to women of bad life, to philosophers, who
denied a providence, such as the Epicureans, and to the
Christians, whose exclusive doctrine, proscribed the other
Initiations. This interdiction or excommunication was considered a great punishmnent, because man was deprived
thereby of all the benefits of Initiation, and of all the high
promises, with which the Initiates were entertained, as much
for this life as for the other.
A member of the Initiation belonged to a privileged class of
men, and becamle the favorite of the Gods: it is the same
with the Christians. For him alone did Heaven open its




348          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELICIOTJS WORSHITP   [ Chap X
treasnres.  Happy during his life., thioumgh his viltue ancd the
favors of the immortals, he could hlope even beyond the grave
for everlasting felicity.
The priests of Sa iothrace made their Initiation renowned,
by promising fair winds and  a h~appy se;t v()y;te to those w1ho
should jo)in their Initiation.  Those, who were initialtecl into
thle mysteries of Orpheus, were presumeed to hbe free from the
influence and power of evil, and admitted  inito a state of life,
which gave them the happiest expectations.  "I have avoided
the evil arid have found the gooi," said the Neol:h te as soon
as lie became purified.
One of the most precious benefits arisiig fro)m  Ilnittiion,
was a communication with the Gods, even during this life,
and  always after death.  Those were the rarfle privileges,
which the Orpheotolites sold to the fools, who were weak
enough to buy them, and always, the saiLne as with us, without
any other guarantee, than credulity,  The Initiates of the
mysteries of Eleusis were convinced, that the Sun shone alone
for theni with a pure effulgence.  T1hey flattered thc(-mslves
that the Goddesses inspired them, and gave them good advice,
as may be seen by Pericles.
The Iinitiation dissipated errors, averted 1isfortunes, and
after having filled the heart of man -with ballpiness durin;g
his lifetime, gave him  the sweetest hope at the nmoment of
death, according to the testirIony of Cicero, of Isocrates and
of the orator Aristides;-he went to inhabit meadows blessed
with the purest light.  Old age left there its wrinkles and
resumed asgain all the vigor and agility of youth.  Grief was
banished from that mansion; Iotljirg' Lut blo;yming gIoves
and fields covered with roses were there to be miet with. Only
reality was wanting to these chlarming pictures.  But it is the
same with men as with that fool of Argos, who like to live on
illusions, and who never pardon the philosopher, who with a
stroke of his wand, dispels all this theatrical decoration, with




Chlap. XL]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.         349
which the priests surround the tomb.  People wish to be
consoled, or in other words deceived, and of course impostors
are not wlanting. These magnificent promisqes m;lde Theon say,
that the participation in the mysteries was a wonderful thing,
and  for ius a source of the greatest blessings.  Indeed,
this beatitude was not limited  to the present life, as it
appears; death was not annihilation to man, as to the other
animals; it was the passage to a life infinitely more happy,
which the Initiation im:igined, in order to console us for the
loss of tt.:e one here below; bwecause imposture did not believe
itself strong enough, in order to promise in this World a life
without old age, and exempt, from thet law, common to everything that breathes.  The artifice wouldl hbave been too clumsy,
it was necessary, to l.-unch into u'nllknown regions, 1an(] to
engage the attention of Ian, with whalt shall become of him,
when lhe is no more.  A vast fiel(l was here opened to impostnre, and there was. no fear, that a dead man would conme
back again on E trth to accuse those, who had deceived him.
Ever-ything coulnd be feigned, for the reason that everything
was ignored.  It is lithe child, which cries, when it- is weaned
from its mother, and which is soothed by saying, that she will
soon return. The crafty legislator knew how to take advanm
tage of this disposition of man, to believe all, when he sees
notiing, to grasp at all the branches of hope, when everytlling else fails, —in order to establish the dogmaa of a future
life, and the opinion of the immortality of the soul, a-dogma,
which supposinga it to be true, rests absolutely on nothing else
but on the necessity, in which the legislators believed to be,
to imnag'ine it.
Everything mniy be uttered or said about a country, of which
nobody knows anything, andl fron- which nobody had ever
returned, in order to convict the impostors of falsehllod.  It is
this absolute ignorance, which has made and constitutes the
power of the priesthood.  I shall not here examine, what the




350         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XL
soul is; if it is distinguished from the matter, which enters into
the composition of the body, if man is twofold more than all
the animals, in which only simple bodies are acknowledged
to exist, organized in order to produce all the movoments,
which they execute, and to receive all the sensations, which
they feel. Neither shall I examine, whether the sentiment or
the thought produced within us, and the action of which is
developed or weakened conformably as our organs are developed or altered, survives the body, with which their exercise
seems intimately connected, and fronm the organization of
which, put in harmony with the World, they seem  to be
merely an effect; finally, whether after death, man thinks and
feels any more, than he did before he was born. This would
be the same, as looking after what becomes of the harmonious
principle of a musical instrument, when that, instrument is
broken. I shall merely examine the motive, which has determined the ancient lawmakers to imagine and to give currency
to this opinion, and the basis, on which they have established it.
The leaders of communities and the authors of the Initiations, which were designed for their improvement, were well
aware, that religion could not be useful to legislation, unless
the justice of the Gods should be brought to support that of
man. They attributed therefore the cause of public calamities to the crimes Of mankind.  N hen the tliunder growled
in the Heavens, it was Jupiter, who was incensed against the
Earth; drought, too much rain, diseases, which befel men and
beasts, sterility of the fields and other scourges, were not the
result of the temperature of the air, of the Sun's action on the
elements, and of physical effeets, but they were the non-equivocal signs, of the wrath of the Gods. Such was the language of the oracles. Sacerdotal imposture did everything in
its power, in order to propagate these errors, which it believed useful to the maintenance of communities and proper to




Chap. XI.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      351
govern the people by fear; the illusion however was not complete. Sometimes the most. culpable communities were not
unhappy: when just and virtuous nations were often afflicted
or destroyed. The same happened in the lives of individuals,
and the poor was very seldom the most corrupt. People asked of
the Gods, like Callimacus, virtue and a little fortune, without
which virtue has very little attraction, and fortune was mostly
the accompaniment of audacity and crime. It was therefore
necessary to justify the Gods, and to absolve their justice from
reproach. In order to explain this irregularity they imagined
either an original sin or an anterior life, but more generally
a future life, where the Deity reserved to itself, to put everything in its place, to punish vice, which should have escaped
punishment on Earth, and to crown virtue, which might have
remained forgotten, disgraced and without recompense. Thus
the French convention declared the immortality of the soul,
without the possibility of an agreement on this question:
What is the soul?  Is it all distinct from  the body?  Is it
matter?  Is there anything else existing besides matter? Can
matter think?  A single decree has solved all these problems
and difficulties, because it was believed to be useful to morals
and legislation even under Robespierre, who' also wanted
morality, just as our cruel priests want it.  This dogma
seems to be the bond of the whole social order, and to justify
divine Providence, which, intrenched in a future life, is there
awaiting thel dead. Tlie Ancients, in order to give to this Fice
tion a semblance of truth, endeavored first, to establish as a
fact, that there existed in man, besides the mortal body, a
thinking principle, which was immortal; that this principle
called soul, survived the body, although nothing, of the kind
has ever been proved. This dogma of the immortality of the
soul, was the child of the wants of legislation, and had its
foundation on its mnateriality and on the eternity of matter.
We have already shown in our third Chapter, that the An



352          THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
cients gave to the World a great soul and an immense intelligence, from  which all souls ancd particular intelligences emanated.  This soul was entirely a material one, because it was
formed of the pure substance of Ether, or of the subtile
element universally distributed in all animated parts of Nature, which is the source of the mnovement of the spheres and
the life of the stars, as well as of the terrestrial animals.  This
is the drop of water, which is not destroyed, whether it is divided by evaporation, or by its elevation into the air, or by its
condensation and fall in the shape of rain and its being
carried into the basin of the seas, by confouuding itself with
the immense aqueous mass. Such was the fate of the soul in
the opinion of the Ancients and principally of the Pythagoreans.
All the animals, according to Servins, the commentator of
Virgil,-borrowed their flesh from the earth, the humors from
the water, the respiration from the air, and their il.stinet from
the breath of the Divinty. Thu.s the bees hlave a sitll portion
of the Divinity.  It is thus also by his breath, that the God of
the Jews animates man, or the clay of which his body is
formed, and this breath is the breath of life; it is from God
and from  his breath-Servius proceeds-that all animals,
when born, draw their life. That life, when dead ensues, is
dissolved and re-enters into the soul of the great All, and the
remains of their bodies in the terrestj ial matter.
That, which we call death is not annihlilation, according to
Virgil, but merely a separation of the two species of matter,
one of which relnains heret below, and the other goes to unite
again with'the sacred fire of the stars, as soon as the matter
of the soul has regained all the simplicity and purity of the
subtile matter, from  whiclh it emanated; "aurae simplicis
ignem;" because, says Servius, nothing is lost in the great
whole and in this simple fire, which composes the substance
of the soul. It is eternal like God, or rather, it is Divinity




Chap. XI.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        353
itself; and the soul, which emanates therefrom, is associated
with its eternity, because a part follows the nature of the
Whole. Virgil says of the souls: "Iguteus est ollis vigor, et
"coelestis orioo; " that they are formed of that active fire,
which shines in the Heavens, and that'they return to it, after
its separation from the body. The same doctrine is to be met
with in the dream of. Scipio, Thence, says Scipio, in speaking of the sp,here of the fixed stars, the souls have descended,
and thereat they will return: they have emanated from those
eternal fires, which are called luminaries or stars.  That,
which you call death is me:elv the return to the veritable life:
the body is only a prison, in which the soul is mimentally
shut up. Death breaks its fetters and restores it to liberty
and to its veritable existence.  The souls are therefore immortal according. to the principles of this theology, because
they are a portion of that intellectual fire, which the Ancients
called the soul of the World, which is distributed in all parts
of Nature, and principally in the stars, formed of the Ethereal substance, which was also that of our souls. Thence
they had descended by generation, and thereat they will return by death.  This opinion was the foundation of the
chimeras of predestination and of the fictions of the "Metempsych{ sis," of Paradise, of Purgatory and of Hell.
The great fiction of the Metempsychosis, which hald spread
all over the Orient, partakes of the dogma of the universal
soul and of the homogeneousness of the souls, differing only
apparently amongst themselves, and by the nature of the
bodies, which unite with the fire-principle, of which their substance is composed; because the souls of all kinds of animals,
according to Virgil are an efusion of the fire Ether, and the
difference of the operations, which they perform here below,
proceeds only from that of the vases or from the organized
bodies, which receive this substance; or as Servius says, the
more or less perfection in their performances depends on the
45




354         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSEIP.  [Chap. XI.
quality of the body. The East Indians with whom the dogma of
the Metempsychosis is chiefly accredited, believe also, that
the soul of man is absolutely of the same nature as that of the
other animals. They say, that manl has no preeminence over
them, as far as the soul is concerned, but merely on account
of the body, the organization of which is more perfect, and
more adapted to receive the action of the great Being or of
the Universe. They support their argument by the example,
which children and old people offer, the organs of which are
still too feeble or already so much enfeebled, that their senses
cannot exert the activity of manhood.
In as much as the soul, in the exercise of its actions, is
necessarily subject to the nature of the body, which it animates, and that all the souls issue fromz that immense reservoir, called the universal soul, which is the -common source of
life of all beings, it follows, that this portion of the fire Ether,
which animates a man, can' animate also an ox, a lion, an
eagle, a whale or any other animal. The order of fate wanted
it to be a man and such a man, but when the soul shall be
disenthralled from this first body, and shall have returned to
its principle, it can pass into the body of another animal, and
its activity shall have no other exercise than that, which the
new organization shall determine.
All the great work of Nature being reduced to successive organizations and destructions, in which the same matter is
employed a thousand fold under a thousaud different forms,the subtile matter of the soul, carried off in this current, gives
life to all the moulds, which may present themselves to it.
Thus the same water, emerging from  the same reservoir,
flows through various channels, which may be opened to it,
and is poured out in the form of a spout, or it flows over in a
cascade conformably to the routes in its course, in order to
commingle further on in one common basin, only to evaporate
afterwards, forming clouds, which, driven by the winds into




Chap. XI.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     355
various countries, shall pour it into the Seine or Loire or the
Garonne, or else into the Amazon or Mississippi, in order
to unite again in the Ocean, from which evaporation shall
draw it again for the purpose of flowing the course of a rivulet or of mounting in the sap of a tree and of distilling in the
shape of an agreeable liquor. The same ws the case with
the fluid of the soul, which is dispersed. into various channels
of animal organization. It is detached from  the luminous
mass, of which the ethereal substance is formed, thence
brought down to the Earth by the generating power, which is
distributed amongst all the animals; it is ceaselessly mounting and descending in the Universe and is circulating in new
bodies, which are diversely organized. Such was the foundation of the Metempsychosis, which became one of the great
instruments of the policy of the ancient legislators, and of the
mystagogues. It was not only a consequence of the philosophical opinion, which constituted the soul a portion of the
matter of fire, circulating eternally in the World; it was in its
application, one of the great springs, which are employed in
order to rule men by superstition.
Armongst the various means mentioned by Timaeus of
7Locris in order to govern those, who are unable to raise themselves by the force of reason and education to the truth of
principles, on which Nature has laid down the bases of justice
and morality, "he points out the fables on Elysium and Tar"' tarus and on all those strange dogmas, teaching, that the
"souls of weak and timid men pass into the body of women,
"who on account of their weakness are exposed to injury;
"that of murderers into the body of wild beasts; those of
"lewed men into wild hogs or swine; those of fickleminded
"and inconstant m'en into the body of birds; those of loafers,
"' ignorants and fools into that of fishes. It is a just Nemesis,
"which regulates these punishments in the life hereafter,' with the consent of the terrestrial Gods, the avengers of the




356         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ (Chap. X.T.
"crimes, of which they were witnesses. To them has the
"God arbit'er of all things intrusted the administration of this
"inferior World."
These strange dogmas are.those, which in Egypt, Persia and
India were known by the name of Metemlpsychosis. Their
mystagogical object is well marked in that passage of Timaeus, who consents to employ everything, even imposture
and delusion in order to rule over men. This precept has unfortunately too much been followed.
This doctrine was imported by Pythagoras from the East
into Italy and Greece. This philosopher and afterwards Plato, taught, that the souls of those, who had lived a bad life,
passed after their death into animals of the brute creation, in
order to make them suffer under various forms the punishment of faults, which they had committed, until they were reintegrated again into their first state. Thus was the Meternpsychosis made a punishment by the Gods.
Manes, true to the principle of this oriental doctrine, is not
satisfied with establishing merely the t.ransmigration of the
soul of one man into another man; he pretends also, that
the soul of great sinners was sent into the bodies of more or
less vile, of more or less miserable animals, and that this was
done in proportion to their vices and virtues. I have not the
slightest doubt, that if this sectarian Lad lived in our days, he
would have made the souls of our commendatory abbots, of
our prebendaries, and our corpulent monks to transmigrate
into the soul of swine, with which their mode of living had so
much affinity, and he would have regarded our Church, as she
was before the revolution, in the light of a veritable Circe.
But our Doctors took good care to proscribe the Metempsychosis. They have kindly dispensed with this fable, and were
satisfied with roasting us after death. Bishop Sinesius was
not quite so generous; because he pretended, that those, who
had neglected to make  their peace with  God, would  by




Chap. XL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     357
the law'of fate be obliged to recommence a new mode of
life, the opposite of the preceding one, until they were repentant of their sins. This bishop held still fast to the dogmas of that theology, which Timaeus calls strange and barbarous. The Sirnonians, the Valentinians, the Basilidians, the
Marcionites and in general all the Gnostics, did also profess
the same opinion on the INT temrpsychosis.
This doctrine, says Burnet, was of so old an origin and
so universally spread all over the East, that it would seem
almost of having descended from Heaven, as no trace of
either father or mother or genealogy of any kind can be
found. Herodotus found it established with the Egyptians
and this, since the highest antiquity. It formed also the basis
of the theology of the East Indians, and the subject of the
metamorphoses and famous incarnations in their legends.
In Japan, the Metempsychosis is almost everywhere received: hence the nations of that country live only on vegetables, according to Koempfer. It is also a dogma of the
Talapoins or of the religionists of Siam, and of the Tao-See
of China. It is to be found with the KEalmucks and Mogols.
The Thibetans make the souls pass even into plants, trees and
roots; however it is only under the form of men, that they
can merit and pass through happier revolutions, up to the
primitive light, where they shall be returned. The Manicheans had also their metamorphoses into gourds and melons.
It is thus that a too subtile metaphysic and a refinement of
mysticism has led men to delirium. The object of this doctrine was to accustom  nman to free himself from the coarse
matter, to which he is bound here below, and to make him
desirous for a speedy return to the place, whence the souls
primitively had descended. They scared the man, who had
given himself over to inordinate passions, and they made him
apprehensive, that he would have to pass some day or other
through these humiliating and painful metamorphoses, just as




358         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
they are frightening us with the caldrons of Hell. On this
account people were instructed in the belief, that the souls of
the wicked would pass into vile and miserable bodies; that
they would be assailed by painful diseases, in order to chastise and to correct them; that those, who should not be converted, after a certain number of revolutions, would be handed
over to the Furies and to the evil Genii, in order to torment
them, after which they were sent back again into the World,
as it were into a new school, and obliged to run a new career.
Thus it will be seen, that the whole system of the Metempsychosis rests on the necessary obligation, which it was believed
to exist, to restrain the people during this life, by the fear of
what would happen to it after death, in other words, by a
great political and religious imposition. Time has liberated
us from that error. The basis, on which it is built, or the
dogma of immortality will have the same fate, when people
shall become sufficiently enlightened to discredit the necessity
of this fiction in order to repress mankind. The dogma of
the Tartarus and of the Elisium originated in the same necessity; for this reason were they joined together in Timaeus,
and pointed out as one of the surest means of governing man
for his own benefit. It is true, that Timaeus does not counsel this remedy except in desperate cases, and that he compares it to the use of poisons in medicines. Unfortunately
for our species, they preferred to lavish the poison rather
than administer the remedies, which a judicious education,
founded on the principles of eternal reason, would supply us
with.
" As for him, who is unrully and rebellious to the voice of
"wisdom, says Timaeus, let the punishments, threatened by
"the laws, fall upon him." Nothing can be objected to this.
But Timaeus adds: "Let him be frightened even with the re"ligious terrors,which those tracts impress on the mind,where
"they paint in lively colors the vengeance of the Celestial




Chap. Xi.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     359
"Gods and the inevitable punishments, which await the guilty
"in Hell as well as other fictions gathered by Homer in con"formity with the ancient sacred opinions; because as some" times the body is cured by poisons, when the evil cannot be
"removed by more healthful remedies, so are the minds
" equally controlled by falsehood, when truth fails to refrain
"them." Here is a philosopher, who ingeniously tells us his
secret, which is that of all the ancient lawmakers and priests:
those differing with him only so far as they are less frank and
sincere. I confess, that my profound respect for truth and
for my fellow-men prevents me from being of their opinion,
which is nevertheless that of all those, who say, that a Hell is
necessary for the people, or in other words, that it is necessary to have a religion and a belief in the future punishments
and in the immortality of the soul. In as much as all the
sages of antiquity, who wanted to govern mankind as all the
leaders of society and of religions, have fallen into the same
great'error, from which we are not exempt in our days, let us
examine, where it has led them, and what means they have
employed, in order to propagate it.
As soon as this great political fiction had been invented by
the philosophers and legislators, than the poets aud the mystagogues took hold of it and tried to impress it on the popular
mind, some by consecrating it in their songs, others by the
celebration of their mysteries. They invested them with all
the charms of poetry and had them surrounded with the magic
spectacle of illusions. All leagued together in order to deceive
the people under the specious pretext, to make them  better,
and to rule them more easily.
The widest field was opened to fictions, and the genius of
the poets, like that of the priests was never exhausted, when
they had to describe either the joys of the virtuous man after
death, or the horrors of frightful prisons, destined for the
punishment of crime. Each one made a picture after his




360         THE ORIGIN OE ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
own fashion, and every one wanted to excel the descriptions,
which had already been made before him, of those unknown
countries, of that newly created World, which poetical imagination peopled with shadows, with chimeras and phantoms,
with a view to frighten the people; because it was believed,
that the popular mind would familiarize itself very little with
the abstract notions of morality and metaphysics. They preferred the Elysium and the Tartarus as more effectual; they
made therefore succeed darkness after light right before the
eyes of the Neophyte. The darkest night, accompanied with
frightful apparitions, was replaced by a brilliant light; the
effulgenca of which surrounded the statue of the Divinity.
The sanctuary,-whe-re every preparation had been made, in
order to give the spectacle of Tartarus and Elysium-was
only approached  tremblingly.  When the Neophyte was
finally introduced into this last abode, he perceived a picture
of charming meadows before him, lighted up with a clear and
cloudless sky; there he listened to harmonious voices, and to
the majestic chants of sacred choirs. Then, when he had
become entirely free, and been liberated from all evils, he
joined the crowd of the Initiates; and with a crown of flowers
on his head, celebrated with them the holy orgies.
In this manner represented the Ancients here below, in
their Initiations, that, which would happen, as they said, one
day to the souls, when they were freed from the body, and
taken out of the obscure prison, where they had been kept in
chains by Fate, while uniting them  with terrestrial matter.
In the mysteries of Isis, of which Apuleius has given us some
details, they made the Neophyte pass through the tenebrious
region of the empire of the dead; thence into another
enclosure, representing the elements, and finally he was
admitted into the luminous region,;where the most brilliant
sun made the darkness of night vanish, in. other words, he
was introduced into three worlds, the Terrestrial, the Elementary, and the Celestial.




Chap. XI]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      361
"I have approached the boundaries of death, said the Neo" phyte, when I trod the ground of Proserpine; then I have
"returned, passing through all the elements. Then I saw a
"brilliant light, and I found myself in the presence of the
"Gods."  That was the autopsy of it, and the Apocalypse of
John is an example.
What mystagogy exhibited as a spectacle in its sanctuaries,
poetry and even philosophy taught publicly to the people;
hence those descriptions of Elysium and the Tartarus, which
are found in Homer, Virgil and Plato, and those given by all
theologies, each in its own fashion.
There never was so complete a description of the Earth and
its inhabitants, as that, which the Ancients have left us of
those countries of new creation, known by the name of Hell,
of Tartarus and of Elysium, and those same men, whose geographical knowledge was extremely limited,; entered into the
most circumstantial description of the abode, which the souls
would inhabit after death; of the government of each of these
two empires, amongst which the land of the shadows is
divided; of the customs, the mode of living, about the punishments and pleasures, even of the manner of dressing of
the dwellers of both these regions. The same poetical imagination, which had created this new World, made its distribution with the same facility and traced arbitrarily its plan.
Socrates, in the Phaedon of Plato,-a work designed to
establish the dogma of the immortality of the soul and the
necessity of practising virtue, speaks of the place, where the
souls go after death. He imagines a species of ethereal land,
superior to that,. which we inhabit and located in an entirely
luminous region: that is what the Christians call Heaven; and
which the author of the Apocalypse describes as the heavenly
Jerusalem. Our Eartlh produces nothing which could be
compared to the marvels of this sublime abode; the colors
there are more lively and of far more brightness; the vegetation
46




362         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORsHIP.  [Chap. XI.
is infinitely more active, the trees, the flowers, the fruits have
a degree of perfection far superior to that here below. The
precious stones, the jaspers, the sardonyxes have infinitely
more brilliancy than ours, which are merely the sediment and
the coarsest portion, which has been detached from it. These
places are strewn with pearls of the purest water; everywhere
gold and silver dazzle the eyes and the spectacle presented by
this country charms the eye of its happy inhabitants. It has
its animals, which are far handsomer and of a more perfect
organization than ours. The element of the air is its sea, and
the ethereal fluid of Ether replaces the air. The seasons are
of -so happy a temperature, thatr there is never any sickness.
The temples are the habitations of the Gods themselves.
People converse and get acquainted with them. The inhabitants of this delicious mansion, are the only ones who see the
Sun, the Moon and the Stars just as they are, and without
any alteration in th6 purity of their light. It will be observed,
that Fairyism has created this Elysium in order to amuse the
big children, and to inspire them  with a desire to inhabit
them some day or other: but it is virtue alone, which shall
give access to it.
Those, therefore, who shall have been distinguished by
piety and by the exact fulfillment of their duties in social life,
shall enter these mansions, when they are freed by death
from the fetters of the body and taken away from the gloomy
world, into which their souls were thrown by generation.
There shall go also all those, who shall have been freed from
terrestIial affections by phlosophy, and purged from  the
stains, which' the soul contracts by its union with matter.
Hence there is a reason, concludes Socrates, why we should
bestow all our attention here below, to the study of wisdom
and to the practice of all the virtues. The hopes, which here
are held out to us, are large enough, in order to run the risk
of this opinion, and not to break its charm. Behold here the




Chap. X/.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      363
scope of this fiction well defined; there is the secret of the
legislators and the charlatanism of the most renowned philosophers.
It was the same case with the'fable of the Tartarus, the
object of which was to terrify crime by the image of the
punishments in the life hereafter. It is supposed, that this
unknown land is not exhibiting everywhere the same spectacle, and that all its parts. are not of the same nature, because
it has pits and abysses infinitely more profound, than those
we know  of here. These caverns communicate with each
other in the bowels of the Earth by vast and tenebrious sinuosities and by subterranean  canals, in some of which is
flowing cold, and in others hot water; or torrents of fire,
which fall into it, or a thick slime, gliding slowly along. The
largest of these openings is what is called the Tartarus; it is
in the immense bottomless pit that all these rivers are engulfed, which afterwvards reissue through a kind of flux and
reflux, resembling that of the air, which our lungs inspire and
exhale. One of them is the Acheron, forming an immense
swamp under the Earth, in which the souls of the dead are to
meet. Another, which is the Pyriphlegeton, is rolling along
its torrents of sulphur on fire. There is the Cocytus, and
farther on the Styx. In this horrid abode is divine justice
tormenting the guilty with all sorts of corporeal punishments.
At the entrance there is found the horrid Tisiphone, covered
with a bloody robe,'watching day and night at the gate of
Tartarus. This gate is also defended by an enormous tower,
surrounded by a, treble wall, which is encircled by the Pyriphlegeton with its burning waves, and rolling in it with great
noise enormous rocks on fire. When approaching this horrible place, the sound of the lashes is heard, which beat the
bodies of the unhappy wretches: their plaintive groans are
confounded with the rattle of chains, which they drag along.
There is that frightful Hydra, with its hundred heads, always




364         THIE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
ready to devour new victims. Here a ravenous vulture is
feeding upon The continually growing liver of a famous Criminal; there are others, whose task it is to fix an enormous
rock, which they can roll only with the greatest difficulty, to
the summit of a high mountain. But scarcely is it approaching the assigned limit, when it is rolling down again with a
great noise to the bottom of the valley, and those unhappy
wretches are obliged to renew their ever useless labor. There
another malefactor is tied to a continually turning wheel, in
vain hoping for rest in his torment. Further on there is an
unhappy mortal condemned to hunger and thirst, with which
he is eternally consumed, althdhigh he is located in the midst
of water and beneath trees loaded with fruits. At the moment, when he is stooping to drink, the fugitive element escapes his lips, and he finds thereon nothing but parched earth
or a muddy slime. Should he extend his hand to reach a
fruit, when the perfidious branch will rise upwards, only to
descend again as soon as he has it withdrawn, in order to irritate his hunger. Further on there are fifty wicked women,
condemned to fill a cask pierced with a thousanc  holes, and
from whioh the water is escaping on all sides. There is no
sort of punishments, which the fruitful brain of the mystagogues had not invented, in order to intimidate the people,
under the pretext to restrain them or rather of subduing and
handing them over to the despotism of the Governments; because these fictions were not restricted to the class of ordinary
romances; unfortunately they united them with morals and,policy. These frightful pictures were painted on the walls of
the temple of Delphi. These tales formed part of the education, which nurses and credulous mothers gave to their children; they talked to them of Hell, just as they speak to them
of ghosts and bugbears. Their minds were rendered timid
and feeble; because it is well known, how strong and durable
first impressions are, and above all, when the general opinion,




Chap. XI.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      365
the example of credulity in others, the authority of great
philosophers such as Plato, of celebrated poets like Homer
and Virgil, when a respectable Hierophant, pompous ceremonies, august mysteries, celebrated in the silence of the sanctuaries; when monuments of arts, statues, pictures, finally when
all is uniting, to instill through all the senses a great error,
decorated with the imposing title of sacred truth, revealed by
the Gods themselves, and destined to constitute the happiness
of -mankind.
A solemn and terrible judgment decided the fate of the
souls, and the code, which served as norm  for it, was framed
and digested-by legislators and priests, according to the ideas
of justice and injustice, which they had conceived, and in conformity with the wants of society and especially of that, which
they governed. It was not mere chance, says Virgil, which
assigned to the souls their various abodes, which they had to
occupy in Hell. An always just sentence decided their fate.
After death the souls went to a cross-way, from which two
roads set out, one to the right, and the other to the left; the
first led to Elysium, and the second to the Tartarus. Those,
whose sentence was favorable, went to the right and the
guilty to the left. This fiction about the Right and the Left,
has been copied by the Christians in their fable of the last
judgment, over which Christ shall preside at the end of the
World. He says to the Blessed to go to the right and to the
Damned to go to the left; and assuredly it was not Plato, who
has copied the legend of Christ, unless they should make him
also a Prophet.  This fiction about the Right and the Left
holds of the system of the two principles. The Right was
attributed to the good principle, and the Left to the bad one.
This distinction of the Right and the Left is also in Virgil.
There may be seen likewise the famous cross-way of the two
roads, of which one, which is that of the right, leads to the
Elysium, and the other, orthat of the left, to the place of




366         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  L Chap. XI.
punishment or to the Tartarus. This remark is made for
those, who believe, that the Gospel is an inspired work, if so
much can be expected, that men of such a stamp should dare
to read me.
It was to this cross-way, that the souls of the dead went, in
order to appear before the Chief justice. At the end of time,
the terrible trumpet made itself heard and announced the
passage of the Universe to a new ori-rer of things. But there
was also a judgment at the death of each man. Minos was
sitting in the lower regions and moved the fatal urn. On his
side were placed the Furies avengeresses, also the band of
malignant Genii, charged with the execution of his terrible
decrees. Two other judges, mEacus and Rhadamanthus, were
associate judges with Minos, and sometimes Triptolemus was
added, famous in the mysteries of Ceres, where the doctrine
of recompenses and punishments was taught.
The East Indianis have their Zomo, or according to others,
Jamen, who'has also the functions of judge in Hell. The
Japanese, sectarians of Budha, acknowledge him  likewise as
judge of the dead. The Lamas have Erlik Kan, as sovereign
despot of Hell and as judge of the souls.
A vast meadow occupied the middle of this crossway, where
Minos sat in judgment and where the de- d met. The Magi,
who had imagined a similar field, said that it was strewn with
asphodels. The Jews had their valley of Jehosaphat. Every
one made his fable, but all forgot, that one truth enveloped in
a thousand falsehoods, loses soon its force, and that even if the
doctrine of recompenses and punishments were true, its miraculousness would make it incredible.
The dead were brought by their Angel before this redoubtable tribunal; for the theory of guardian Angels is not
a new one; it is found with the Persians and with the Chaldeans, It was the familiar Genius, who took the place of
it with the Greeks. This guardian Angel, having watched.




Chap. Xi.1  T~HE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     367
their whole conduct, allowed them only, to take with them
their good and their bad  actions.  That divine place,
where the souls met, in order to receive judgment, was called
"The Field of Truth," doubtless because every truth was there
revealed, and no crime was allowed to escape the knowledge
and the justice of the Chief Justice. There is nothing in this.
fiction, which has not been copied by the Christians, whose
Doctors were mostly Platonists. John gives the title of faithful and true to the Grand Judge in his Apocalypse. There it
is impossible to utter a falsehood, as Plato says. Virgil avers
likewise, that hihadamanthus compels the guilty, to confess
the crimes, which they had committed on' Earth, and the
knowledge of which they had flattered themselves to conceal
from the mortals. This is what the Christians say inl other
terms when they teach, that all consciences shall be unveiled
on the day of judgment, and that everything will be made as
clear as day. This was it precisely, what happened to those,
who appeared before the tribunal, which had been established
in the Field of Truth.
Mankind may be divided into three classes: some have a
refined virtue and a soul freed from the tyranny of passions;
this is the smallest number. -Those are the elected, because
many are called, but few are chosen.  Others have their souls
stained with the blackest crimes: this number is fortunately
not yet the largest. There are others, and this is the greatest
number, who have vulgar habits: half virtuous, half vicious,
they are neither worthy of the brilliant recompense of the
Elysium, nor of the horri t punishments of the Tartarus.
This treble division, representing the social order according to
Nature, is given by Plato, in his Phaedon, where he distin.guishes three species of (lead, which  appear before thei
redoubtable tribunal of the lower regions. It is also to be
found in Plutarch, who is treating the same subject, and who
expatiates on the state of the souls after death, in his answer




368         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
to the Epicureans. From this the Christians, who, as already
observed, have invented nothing, borrowed their Paradise,
their Hell, and their Purgatory, which holds the mniddle
ground between the two first, and which is for those, whose
conduct occupies also a kind of middle ground, between that
of the highly virtuous and that of the highly criminal men.
Here there is no necessity. yet for revelation. Indeed, as the
conduct of men may be naturally distinguished into three degrees, and as between the greatest crimes and the most sublime virtues, there are vulgar manners, where vice and virtue
are intermixed without either the one or the other possessing
anything very remarkable; so has divine justice been obliged,
in order to give to each one his due, to imake the same distinction between these different ways of treating those, who
appeared before its tribunal and these different places, where
it sent the dead, over which it had pronounced judgment.
There again the Christians appear as plagiarists.
"When the dead, says Plato, have arrived at the place,
"where the familiar Genius of each has conducted them,
"judgment begins first with those, whose life was conformably
"to the rules of honesty and justice; then with those who
"have deviated entirely from'it, and finally with those
"who hold a kind of middle ground between both."  The
Jews suppose, that God has three books, which he opens in
order to jndge mankind: the book of life for the just, the
book of death for the wicked, and the book of men, who hold
the middle ground. After the most rigid examination of the
virtues and vices, the judge gave sentence and he put a seai
on the forehead of him, whom he had judged. This platonic
fiction is still to be found in the work of the Initiation into
the mysteries of the Lamb with the Christians, in the Apocalypse, It is remarked in fact, that amongst the crowd of the
dead, there are some, and those are the "damned," who wear
the seal of the infernal beast or of the Genius of darkness on




C(hap. XI.  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      369
their forehead, and that the others are marked on their front
with the sign of the Lamb, or of the Genius of Light.
The judgments were mostly regulated in conformity with
the social code; and in doing so, the fiction had a truly political aim. The Chief Justice recompensed the virtues, which
society has an interest to encourage, and punished the vices,
which lay in its interest to proscribe.  If Religions had
stopped there, they would not have degraded the human
mind so much as thev did, and they might almost be pardoned the artifice in favor of the utility of the object. We
are grateful to iEgsop for his fables, on account of their moral
aim, and he cannot be accused of deception, because not even
the children can be deceived by it; but the fables on the
Elysium and the Tartarus are literally believed in by many
men, Nwho are held through it in eternal infancy.
With the Greeks and the Rolnans, the object of this grand
sacerdotal fable was the maintenance of the laws, the encouragement of patriotism  and of talents useful to humanity
through the hope of the recompenses, which awaited them in
Elysium, and to avert the crimes and the vices from  society,
through the fear of the punishments of the Tartarus. It
may be said, that especially with them it ought to have produced good effects, although the illusion was not very durable,
because in the times of Cicero, even old women refused
already to believe in it.
A11 those, who had not endeavored to suppress a conspiracy
in its bud, and who at the contrary had fomented it, were
excluded from the Elisiulin. Our genteel people, who constantly clamor for the religion of their fathers, in other words
for their ancient privileges, and our priests of to-day, would
be excluded from it; they, who are found heading all the conspiracies against thleir country, who consign their fellowcitizens to the steel of the enemies outside and to the dagger
of the traitors within, and who league themselves with the
47




370         TEE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
whole of Europe in conspiring against their own country.
These constitute crimes with all nations: but with them they
are virtues, worthy of the rewards of the Grand Judge: Every
citizen, who had been accessible to corruption, who had surrendered a place to the enemy; who had provided him with
vessels, rigging and money, &c.; those, who had consigned
their fellow-citizens to servitude, or had given them a masterall those were excluded from Elisium. This last dogma had
been invented by free States, and was certainly not originated
by the priests, who wanted only slaves and masters in society.
Philosophy subsequently endeavored to find in those fictions a check against that despotism itself, which had invented them  in primitive times. Plato places the ferocious
Tyrants in the Tartarus, such as Ardiaeus of Pamphylia, who
had slain his own father, a venerable old man, then an elder
brother, and was stained with a great many other crimes.'Constantine, covered with similar crimes, was better treated
by the Christians, whose sect he protected. The soul preserved after death all the stains of the crimes it had committed, and conformably to these stains the Grand Judge
pronounced sentence. Plato observes rightly, that the souls
covered with most stains were almost always those of Kings
and of all the depositories of irresponsible power. Tantalus,
Tityus, Sisiphus had been Kings on Earth and in Hell, they
were the first criminals, and were there punished by the most
awful tortures. The Kings however were never the dupes of
these fictions; they formed no impediment whatever for them
to tyranise the nations, nor a restraint to the Popes to be
vicious, or to the deceptions of the priesthood, although imposture and falsehood were to be severely punished in Hell;
because impostors, perjurors, villains, profaners, &c., were
banished from Elysium. Virgil gives us the enumeration of
the crimes, subject to divine vengeance. Here may be seen a
brother, -who with unnatural hatred had fought against his




Chap. XL]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      371
own brother; a son, who had maltreated his father; a patron,
who had wronged his client; a miser, an egotist, which last
ones form the greatest number. Further on there is an infamous adulterer, an unfaithful slave, a citizen, who had
fought against his own countrymen. This one had sold his
country for money, that one had accepted payment to make
laws pass or report. In an other place, there is an incestuous
father, inhuman spouses, who had killed their husbands, and
everywhere, men, who had defied justice and the Gods met
their punishment there. It is remarkable, that in general the
authors of these fictions pronounced penalties at first only
against crimes, which were shocking to humanity and a
nuisance to society, the perfection and welfare of which weire
the great object of the Initiation. Minos punished in the
lower regions the same crimes, which he would have punished
formerly on Earth conformably to the wise laws of the Cretans, in supposing, that he had ever governed that people.
If the crimes against religion were also punished, it was for
the reason, that religion was considered as a duty and as the
principal bond of the social order in the system of those
legislators, and therefore irreligion had necessarily to be put
in the number of the greatest crimes, which had to be avenged
by the Gods. Thus the people was instructed, that the great
crimes of many of those famous criminals was that, of having
shown disrespect for the mysteries of Eleusis; that of Salmoneus was, of wishing to imitate the thunderbolts of Jupiter;
that of Ision. of Orion, aud Tityus was their desire to do violence to some Goddesses; for the Gods, like other people, did
not permit any rivals.
The fiction of the Elysium had with that of the Tartarus the
same moral and political object. Virgil places in the Elysium
the brave defenders of their country, who died while fighting
for it, those, whose death is actually instigated to-day by our
priests, so much have they perverted the spirit of the ancient




372         TaHE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  r Chap. XI.
Initiations. Alongside of them are to be found the inventors
of arts, the authors of useful discoveries, and in general all
those, who had benefitted mankind and therelby acquired a
right to the gratitude and the remembrance of their fellowcitizens. And in order to strengthen this idea, the Apotheosis was invented, which subsequently was so much abused by
flattery; it was for this reason, that they taught in the mysteries, that Hercules and Bacchus and the Dioscuri were
mortals, who by their virtues and by their services had arrived at the mansions of immortality. Scipio was placed
there by the gratitude of the Roman people, and their free
descendants might give a place there also to the Scipio of the
French.
Virgil as a poet, gave also a prominent place there to those,
who were inspired by Apollo, in whose name they rendered the
oracles of morality, as well as those of divination. Cicero,
as a statesman, who passionately loved his country, assigned
also one to those, who should be distinguished by their patriotisms, by the wisdom with which they had governed States, or
by the courage they had shown, in saving them, to the friends
of justice, to the good sons, to good parents and chiefly to
good citizens. The care, says the Roman orator, which a
citizen takes of his country, facilitates the return of his soul
to the Gods and to Heaven, his true country. Here is an
institution and dogmas, well calculated to encourage patriotism and all the tallents useful to humanity. It is the man,
who is useful to society, who is recompensed, and not the idle
friar, who lives isolated from it, and who becomes its burden
and shame.
Charity and justice were recompensed in the Elysium of
Plato. Aristides the just may be seen there: he is one of the
small number of those, who altho' invested with great power,
have never abused it, and who have administered with scrupulous integrity all the offices, with which they had been in



Chap. X1.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     373
trusted. Piety and above all the love of truth and its investigations had there the surest and the most sacred rights,
Plato has given nevertheless too much latitude to this idea,
which may be regarded as the germ of all the abuses, which
Mysticism  has introduced into the ancient fiction on the
Elysium. He assigns, indeed, a prominent place to him, who
lives for himself, and does not intermeddle with public affairs,
who is only occupied in purifying his soul from passions and is
sighing for the knowledge of truth, who frees himself of those
errors, which are blinding other men, who despises the wealth,
which they so highly prize, and who makes it his whole study
of training his soul to virtue. This opinion, which the Ancients had of the preeminence of philosophy, and the need in
which man stood, of purifying his soul, in order to contemplate the truth and to enter into communion with the Gods,
is much anterior to Plato: it was borrowed by Pythagoras
from oriental mysticism and subsequently by Plato. Weak
brains, abusing this doctrine under the pretext of rendering
themselves more perfect, have isolated themselves from society, believing that by an idle contemplation they would
merit Elysium, which until then had been promised only
to useful talents, and to the practice of social virtues. Such
was the origin of the error, which substituted ridiculous customs for virtues, and the egotism  of the hermit for the
patriotism of the citizen. The Initiation did not go so far as
that: this was the work of a refined philosophy.
This perpetual study of the philosopher of separating his
soul from the contagion of his body, and to free himself of
his passions, in order to be freer and lighter at the moment
of his departure for the other World, has degenerated into
abstractions of the contemplative life, and engendered all
those chimerical virtues, known by the name of celibacy, abstinence, fasts, the objects of which was to weaken the body
in order to reduce its action on the soul.




374         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XL.
This pretended perfection, falsely taken for virtue, made
the latter evanescent, and put ridiculous practices in its place,
to which the most brilliant favors of the Elysium  were
granted. The Christian and Indian religions furnish the
most complete proofs of this abuse.
When judgment had once been rendered, after having compared the conduct of each of the dead with the sacred code
of Minos, the virtuous souls went to the right, under the guidance of their guardian-Angel or the familiar Genius; they
kept the route, which led to the Elysium and to the happy
islands; the souls guilty of great crimes were dragged along
by the evil Genius, whbich had counseled them to do evil; they
passed to the left and took the route to the Tartarus, carrying on their backs the sentence containing the enumeration
of their crimes. Finally those, whose vices were not incurable, went to a trnsient purgatory, and their punishment
turned to their profit. This was the only means, to expiate
their faults. The others at the contrary, given up  to
eternal tortures, were destined to serve as examples: and
that was the only advantage, which resulted from'their
punishments.
Amongst those who are punished, says Plato, there are'those who are reputed incurable, on account of the enormity
of their crimes, such as the sacrilegious, the assassins, and all
those, who are blackened by atrocities committed. Those are,
as they deserve, precipitated into the Tartarus, from which
they will never emerge. But those, who shall have been
found to have committed sins, great indeed, but still deserving pardon (here are our venial sins) are also sent to the
prison of Tartarus, but only for one year; after which time,
the floods reject them, some by the Cocytus, others by the
Pyriphlegeton. When once arrived near the marsh of Acheron, they solicit with loud cries their pardon from those,
whom they offended, in order to obtain from them-the per



Chap. XL]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      375
mission to land in the marsh, and to be received there.  If
they are successful, they get out and there end their tortures;
otherwise they are again thrown back into Tartarus and
thence rejected into the rivers: this kind of punishment will
only end with them, when they have succeeded to appease
those, whom they had outraged: such is the sentence pronounced against them by the redoubtable judge.
Virgil also speaks of expiatory pains, to which those were
subjected, who were not good enough to enter the Elysium.
These purifications were painful to the Manes and were veritable punishments. He supposes, that the souls, when leaving the body, were rarely enough purified, in order to be
reunited with the fire Ether, from which they had emanated.
Their contact with terrestrial matter had obliged them to
absorb some heterogeneous parts, of which they had to be
depurated before they could be dissolved into their primitive
element. All the means of purification were therefore employed, Water, Air and Fire. Some were exposed to the action of the wind, which agitated them, others were immersed
into deep basins, in order to wash off their stains; again
others passed through the purificatory process of fire. Everybody had-to undergo in his manes a kind of punishment,
until lie became worthy of admission into the brilliant fields
of Elysium. Behold here exactly a purgatory for the souls,
which had not been thrown into Tartarus, and who could
hope to enter some day or other the mansions of light and
beatitude: there again the Christians are convicted of plagiarism from the ancient philosophers and heathen theologians.
It will have been observed in the passage of plato, that the
duration of these preparatory punishments could be abridged
by prayers calculated to appease. those, who had been wronged. In the system of the Christians, the first,;who has been
affronted, was God: it was therefore necessary to try to pro



376         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XL.
pitiate him; and the priests, as the acknowledged mediators
with the Deity, took charge of this commission, by exacting
payment for it. Behold the secret of the Church, the source
of its immense wealth. Hence the frequent admonition of
their God: Beware of coming into my presence emptyhanded.
It is in this way, that the priests and the churches have accumulated great wealth by pious donations; the monastical
institutions were multiplied at the expense of families, despoiled through the religious imbecility of a parent, and
through the knavish tricks of priests and friars. The monastic idleness fattened everywhere on the substance of the
people, and the Church, as poor as it was in the beginning,
cultivated with so much profit the domain of Purgatory, as to
have nothing whatever to fear from the indigence of the first
centuries, and to insult even by its luxury the mediocrity of
the laborious mechanic. Happily for us, the.Revolution has
been effecting a kind of redemption: the Nation has retaken
from the priests and friars those immense possessions, the
fruits of so many centuries of usurpation, leaving them only
the celestial benefits, which they do not seem, to care much
about, although they belong to them under 6he title of inventions. Howsoever just this redemption should seem to be, the
tyrants of our mind did not so easily give up their ancient
spoliations. In order to maintain themselves in possession of
their usurpations, they have whetted again the daggers of the
Saint Bartolomew; they have lit in their country the fires of
civil war and carried everywhere the torches of the Furies
under the name of flambeaux of religion. All those who
rioted in abuses and iniquities were ranged around their banner. The proud and ferocious Nobility placed their privileges
under the guardianship of the altars, as it were in the last
entrenchment of crime. The counter-revolutionary atheist
became a devotee; the prostitute of Courts wanted to hear




Chap. X.]  THEI ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    377
the mass of the priest, a rebel to the laws of his country; the
courtezan, who lived at the theatre from the fruits of her
debauchery, complained of God, that the Revolution had bereaved her of her bishops and rich abbots; the Pope and the
leader of the Antipopists made an alliance to carry on the
war; the Incas became good Christians; Turcaret has become Tartuffe; all the devotees of hypocrisy and villainy
marched under the banner of the Cross; because all crimes'
are available to the priests, and the priests are capable of all
crimes. It was the priest, who blessed the daggers of the
Vendeans and of the Chouans; it is he, who has covered
Switzerland with the corpses of its valiant children, whom he
has deceived. This is that Christian religion, worthy of the
protection of a Constantine, the Nero of the age in which he
lived, and to have had for leaders Popes, who were guilty of
incest and assassination, such as the murderer of IBassville
and the brave Duphot. Would philosophy ever have caused
so many misdeeds and evils?
Here is the proper place to examine into and to strike a
balance between the advantages and the disadvantages of
these sacred fictions of religious institutions in general, and of
that of the Christians in particular, and to see, whether communities or the priest are the largest gainers by it. We have
already agreed, that the object of the Initiations in general
was a good one, and that the imposition, which invented the
fables of Paradise and Hell for fools, if it had been possible
that it could have been always under the direction of wise
and virtuous men, as much as an impostor can be it, instead
of having always been managed by rogues, greedy for power
and wealth, might to a certain point be tolerated by those,
who against my opinion believe, that deceit maybe practiced as
long as it is useful. Thus for instance an affectionate mother
is somestimes pardoned, when in order to preserve her child
from real danger, she fills his mind with chimerical fears and




378         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS "woSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
threatens it with the wolf, so as to render it more docile to
her lessons and to prevent it from  harming itself, although
after all it would have been by far better, to -iiave kept her
eye upon it, to have rewarded or punished it, than to fill its
mind with panic fears, which render it afterwards timid and
credulous. Those who admit future punishments and rewards, rely upon the principle: that in as much as God is
just, he  ought to reward  virtue and punish crime, and
leave it to  the priests, to decide what is  virtue, and
what constitutes crime. It is therefore the morality of the
priesthood, which God is charged with to maintain, and it is
well known, how absurd and atrocious that morality is. If
God has merely to punish and to reward, that which is contrary or in conformity with natural morality, then natural
religion ought to be sufficient for man, or in other words,
that morality, which is founded on reason and common sense.
Therefore, it is not exactly religion, which we want, but
morality, and thereupon we agree. Let us have no more of
that so-called religious morality; no more' of those abominable
priests; and yet people will have them! But the fable of the
Elysium and the Tartarus was not always confined to tbe
circle of the morality acknowledged by all nations and to the
well known interest of all comnlmunities. The spirit of mysticism and the religious doctrine took hold of it in orde~ to
promote the establishment of their chimeras by this great
motive power. Thus alongside the dogmas of morality, which
are to be found with all the ancient philosophers, the Christians have placed a quantity of precepts and rules of conduct,
which have a tendency to degrade the mind, to disgrace our
reason, and to which notwithstandiing the most distinguished
rewards of Elysium were granted.
What spectacle indeed can be more humiliating for humanity, than that of a strong and vigorous man, who by reason of
religious principle lives on, alms rather,, than of the fruits of




Chap. XI.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      379
his labor, who,-if employed in the arts and in commerce,
could lead an active life, useful to himself and to his fellowcitizens,-is preferring to be rather a contemplative ninny,
because the most brilliant rewards are promised by religion
to this kind of social uselessness.  Let it not be said, that
this is one of the abuses of Christian morality; it is on the
contrary its perfection, and the priest teaches, that every one
of us ought to have perfection for his aim. A Carthusian
friar, a senseless Trappist, like the other fools, condemned
themselves to* live always shut up, without communication
with the rest of society, occupied in as sad, as useless and
chimerical meditations, getting ematiated by hard living and
exhausting Saint-like all the forces of the body and spirit, in
order to be agreeable to the eternal, -those were not at all
in the eyes of religion, as they are in the eyes of reason, mad
men, for whom the islands of Anticyra could not furnish
enough of hellebore, but they were considered as Holy men,
raised by grace to perfection, and to whom was reserved by
the Deity a place in Heaven, so much the more distinguished
as this kind of life was the most sublime. Simpleminded and
credulous maidens, ridiculously muffled up, singing at night,
not beautiful songs, but senseless hymns, which fortunately
they did not understand, in honor of a being, which did not
listen to them; praying and meditating in their  retreat,
sometimes scourging thenmselves, keeping - their virginity
guarded by iron gratings and bolts, which only opened to the
lubricity of a director,-were not in the eyes of the priests
soft-brained heads, struck with habitual delirium, which excluded them from  society, like the other insane of our Asylums-but they were Holy maidens, who had consecrated their
virginity to God, and who by a great many fasts and privations, and chiefly through idleness had arrived to a state of
perfection. This placed them  above the rank, which they
would have occupied in Heaven, if they had complied with




380         THE ORIGIN oF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
the laws of Nature and should have become mothers, raising
children for the defence of their country.
They had renounced the tenderest affections, which are the
bond of union amongst men, and in conformity with the
Christian doctrine, they had left father and mother, brothers
and sisters, relations and friends, in order to follow their
spiritual bridegroom  or Christ, burying themselves alive, in
order to resuscitate with him at some future day, and join
the choir of the holy Virgins, which people Paradise. That is
what was called privileged souls, and the crime of our Revolution is to have destroyed also these privileges, and restored
to society these unfortunate victims of the imposture of the
priesthood. Not a word is said against those villains, who had
thrown them into these horrid dungeons, but there is a hue
and cry raised against the humane legislator, who has liberated them and brought the light of liberty into those tombs,
where the sensitive but feebly enlightened soul was kept in
chains by the superstition, which had seduced it. Behold the
spirit of this religion, and the perfection or rather the
degradation, to which it reduces our species; because, I repeat it, this is not an abuse, but a legitimate consequence of
its dogmas. Hence it is, that the author of the legend of
Christ makes his hero hold the following language (St. Mark
chap. x, verse 29): "Verily I say unto you, no man shall for"esake for my sake and the Gospel, his house, brethren or
"sisters or father or mother, or wife or child or lands, but that
"presently and in the world to come he shall receive a hun"dredfold as much for it."  How many unfortunate beings
has this false morality conducted into solitude and into the
cloister.
Wedlock is represented in the Gospel, as a state of imperfection and almost like a toleration of weak minds. One of
the desciples of Christ, frightened by this kind of morality,
makes this observation to him, that it would not be therefore




Chap. Xi.]  TEE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       381
advantageous to marry, if this state was beset with so many
difficulties. The pretended Doctor answers him, that all men
were not capable of appreciating this high wisdom, which renounces the state of marriage, and that it was only those, to
whom Heaven had granted this precious privilege.  Behold
therefore celibacy, that antisocial vice, placed amongst the
virtues, and acknowledged as the state of perfection, which is
not given to all men to arrive at.
Let us acknowledge in good faith, that if the first communities should thus have been organized by the ancient
legislators, and that they should have succeeded with inculeating such a doctrine into the minds of a great number of
men, those communities would not have subsisted very long.
Good luck would have it, that the contagion of this perfect
life did not reach the whole Universe. Nevertheless it has
done a great deal of mischief, the consequences of which we
are still experiencing.
Thus it happened, that the effects of the primitive Initiations were destroyed by the refinements of oriental mysticism.
The former were enabled to form the first ties of society; the
latter could only destroy them. The savages, who were living
digspersed in their forests with their wives and children, on the
fruits of the oak or of the chase, were still men, ere they were
civilized. The hermits of the Thebaid, when degraded by
mysticism, had ceased to be men; and the dweller of the forests of Germany is more respectable in my eyes, than that of
the city Oxyrinchus,* composed entirely of a population of
monks and nuns. I know that "kind Rollin" in his antiphilosophic history, calls the population of that city one of
miracles of grace and the honor of Christianity. That may
be so, but the Christianity of that time was the shame of
humanity. By introducing into society Celibacy and Idleness,
*Oxyrinchus, a town of Egypt, on the western shore of the Nile, the capital of a
" nome" or province of that name.




382         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. X1.
the two greatest scourges it has to fear, communities were not
only not perfected, but actually destroyed. There is a great
resemblance between the Paradise of the Christians and the
city of Oxyrinchus.
Instead of great men, builders of cities, founders of Empires, or their defenders at the price of their blood, instead of
men 6f genius, who by their sublime wisdom, or by the invention of arts and other useful discoveries had risen above
the level of the age in which they lived; instead of the
chiefs of populous commullitios, civilized by manners and by
laws; instead of the Orpheus, the Linus, placed by Virgil in
his Elysium, I see arrive in the Elysium of the Christians,
corpulent monks in all descriptions of gowns; founders or
chiefs of monastic orders, whose proud humility claims the
first places in Paradise. Following in their track I see Capuchin friars, with long beards and dirty feet make their appearance, wearing a filthy brown cloak and carrying above all the
heavy beggar wallet of the Metagyrtes, well filled with the
alms of the poor; pious sharpers under the guise of indigence,
who have promised Paradise for a few onions, and who came
there to take a seat as a reward of their degradation, which
they call Christian humility. I see alongside of them  the
ignorantine brotherhood, whose whole merit consists, in
knowing nothing at all, because they were told, that science is
the mother of pride, and that Paradise is for those, who are
poor in spirit. What morality!  Orpheus and Linus, would
you ever have believed, that the genius which created the
Elysium, in which Virgil has given you the first place, would
be one day a title of exclusion, and that the flight of the
imagination and of the mind, which you have tried to exalt
by appropriate fictions, in order to encourage great talents,
should be rated as pride?  Thus have we seen Voltaire in our
days descend to the Tartarus and St. Lubre ascend to the
Elysium. And you, philosophers, you who attempted to per



Chap. X.]1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      383
feet the human mind, by associating religion with philosophy,
would you ever have suspected or dreamed, that the first sacrifice exacted was that of reason itself snd that of the whole
and entire mind? This is however precisely what has happened, and what the future generations will see yet for a long
while, He, who shall believe —so the Christian religion tells
us, he alone shall be saved; therefore he who shall not believe, shall be damned and handed over to the Furies. Now a
philosopher does not at all believe, but he judges and reasons,
and yet he who reasons is not deserving eternal punishments,
otherwise the Deity would be guilty of having set a trap for
unsuspecting nian, by giving him  reason and to have concealed from him the truth in the dreams of delirium, andi in
that miraculousness, which common sense rejects. But no,
all that kills reason or degrades it, is a crime in the eye of the
Divinity, besause it is the voice of God itself. With regard to
those lawmakers, who have thought to find in religion the means
of tightening the bonds of social life, and to reelaim mankind
to the sacred duties of kindred and humanity, I could ask
them, if they ever expected, that there would be an Initiation,
whose leader should say to his disciples: " Suppose ye, that I
"am come to give peace on Earth?  I tell you Nay, but ra"ther division; for from henceforth there shall be five in one
" house divided, three against two and two against three. Tho
"father shall be divided against tl..e son, and the son against
"the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daugh"ter against the mother, the mother in law against her daugh"ter in law, and the dclaughetr in law against her mother in
"law."  (St. Luke, chtap xii, ver. 51-53)  This horrible doctrine has unfortunately been taught by our priests during the
Revolution. They carried division into all families, and they
have interested in their cause, or rather to satisfy their vengeance, all those, who by their writings, by their credit, their
money or their arms could serve them. They have detached




384         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSIP.  [ Chap. XI.
from our country and from the cause of liberty all those, who
were weak enough to listen to their seditious speeches. They
have often made their lying pulpits re-echo with those terrible
imprecations of their master: " If any man come to me, and
"hate not his father and mothers and wife and children, and
"brothers and sisters, yea, and his own life, he cannot be my
"disciple." (St. Luke, xiv., 26.) To how many crimes does
not a similar doctrine open the door? The Church was during the revolution the arsenal of all crimnes, and religion itself
had prepared its germs, in its exclusive and intolerant doctrine.  When it is established as the fundamental maxim  of
an institntion, that all, which is offered by Nature and by society as the dearest object of our life, should be sacrificed to
it, families and social ties are at once dissolved, as soon as the
interest of the priest, which is always confounded with that
of the Gods, command it. Of all moralities, public morality
is the most sacred, and the lawmakers have only imagined
religious morality in order to fortify the former. The only
excuse for the invention of religions is, that they are, as they
say, necessary to the maintenance of society: hence, that religion, which raises itself above it, which is rebellious against
its laws, such a  religion  is a destructive scourge of the
social order; the Earth ought to be purged from it. Catholicism is in this case, and the head of this sect considers those,
who bear arms against their conntry, as: his most faithful
agents. Those are his beloved ministers; well! they ought to
be sent back to him, like the pest to its source. The blind
obedience to a Chief of enemies, although bearing the name
of "Head of the Church," is high treason against the nation;
and this is the obedience, which religion commards. A thorough examination of the series of the revolts of the Roman
Catholic priests against the national authority, would easily
convince the people, that it is not merely abuse, but a necessary consequence of the hierachical organization of that re



Chap. XL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     385
ligion. If it is bad, then it ought to be changed or destroyed.
Let us be indulgent with the deluded people, but let us have
no pity wirth those, who deceived it; the trade of the impostor
ought to be outlawed fromn a free soil. Let the evils be remembered, which this religion has been the cause of through
its ministers and Pontiffs, and the disorders, which it has introduced into various countries through the resistance of its
priests to the legitimate authorities, and it will be seen, that
what happens in our days, is not a transient departure from
rule, and the abuse of some men, but that it is the spirit of the
Church, which wishes to domineer everywhere, and which
finds in the doctrine of its Gospel the foundation of its ambition alonside the maxims of humility. It is there in St.
Mathews xvi. 19, that we meet these remarkable words: "And
"whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth, shall be bound in
"Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth shall
"be loosed in Heaven."  Heaven obeys therefore the will of
the priest, and the priest has his ambition, because he is a
man, who has all the passions of other men. We may judge
from this of the extent of his pretensions, and of the dominion,
which he claims here below. Hence it was the priest, who
placed the crown on the head of the Kings, and who absolved
the nations from their oath of allegiance. Our ancient Druids
did the same thing. It is the loss of this colossean power,
which they regret to-day, and which they claim in the name
of religion, even if it were possible to reestablish it only on
the smoking cinders of the Universe. However it is to be
hoped, that this power shall come to an end, like all other
scourges, which last only for a while, and like the lightning
will leave a fetid smell behind.
I shall not speak of dogmas, which merely contain an absurdity in morals, like the precept of Christian humility. No
doubt, pride is a vice and a folly, but the abandonment of
self-respect is surely not a virtue. WThere is the man of
49




386         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
genius, who for humility's sake can believe himself to be a
dunce, and who shall mlake efforts, for its greater perfection,
to convince others of it? Where is the honest man, who
shall conceive of himself the same opinion, as we ought to
have of a rogue, and always for the sake of humility?  The
precept is in itself an absurd one, on the account of the im,
possibility of carrying illusion so far as that. It is the will of
Nature, that the conscience of the honest man, should be the
first recompense of his virtue, and that of the wicked, the first
penalty of his crimes. Nevertheless, it is to this hmnilty, to
which Elysium is promised; to that huimility, which contracts
genius, and which nips in the bud the germ of great talents;
which, while concealing from man his veritable forces, renders
him incapable of those generous efforts, which make him undertake glorious deeds for himself and that of the country he
is defending or governing. How would you tell the hero, the
conqueror of the Kings, leagued against France, that he
would be greater in the eyes of the Deity, if he should persuade himself, that he was inferior to the Generals he had
vanquished?  He will possess doubtless the modesty, which
is the characteristic of great talents, but he will not have that
humility of a Capuchin friar, which the Christian religion
preaches, the only Initiation, where they invented the Apotheosis of pusillanimity, which is an impediment for man, of
knowing his own worth, and which degrades him in his own
eyes; because Christian humility, if it is not modesty, is
merely an absurdity; and if is only modesty, then it belongs
to the class of virtues, the practice of which have been recommended by all the ancient philosophers.
The same is the case with the precept of self-denial, so
much recommended by this religion; a precept, the import of
which I am still at a loss to divine. Is it meant, that man
shall renounc3 his own opinion, when it is a wise one, his wellbeing, his natural and legitimate desires, his affections, his




Chap. X.1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       387
tastes, all that may contribute, to make him happy here below
through honest enjoyments, in order to humble himself in religious apathy? or is it rather an advice to man, to renounce
the use of all his intellectual faculties, in order to pursue
blindly chimerical virtues, to give himself up to the trance of
contemplation and to the exercises of a religious life, as laborious for us, as it is fruitless for others?  We may well leave
to the doctos of that sect the care to explain this precept of
such an enigmatical morality. Let us examine in those dogmas, not that, which is simply absurd, but that which is,extremely dangerous in its consequences and fatal to society.
Is there a more detestable dogma than that, which constitutes each citizen a bitter censor of the conduct of his
neighbor, and which commands him to consider the latter as a
publican, in other words, as a man deserving the execration
of others, whenever he does not listen to the advice, which
sometimes the most mistaken Christian charity shall give
him? And yet this is precisely the precept inculcated by
those marvelous books called the Gospel, where it is enjoined,
at first, to chide our brother alone and without witnesses;
and should he not pay attention to you, to denounce him to
the Church, in other words, to the priest; and should he not
listen to the Church, then to treat him as a Heathen and as a
publican.  How  many times was not this advice cruelly
abused in' those secret or public persecutions, which were
exercised in the name of religion and Christian charity against
those, who were guilty of some weakness, or yet more frequents
ly against those, who had enough philosophy to rise above
the popular prejudices? It is thus, that the passion for religion and a mistaken proselytism, make the religious man
subservient to act as spy on the defects of other people; under
the pretext of groaning over the wealnesses of others, they
are published, exaggerated, and people become slanderers
and calumniators for charity's sake; and. often are imputed as




388         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
crimes to others, which are merely acts of wisdom and reason,
being disfigured under the most odious names.  How much
I prefer that dogma of Fo, which recommends to his disciples, not to trouble themselves about the faults of others!
That precept supports social tolerance, without which, men
cannot live happily together. The Christian, at the contrary,
is intolerant by principle of religion, and from this, I might
almost say constitutional intolerance in the organization of
this Sect, have flown all the evils, which have been caused to
society by Christianism. The history of the Church, from its
origin to our days, is nothing else but a bloody picture of
crimes committed against humanity in the name of God, and
both hemispheres have been and will be yet for a long while
tormented by the fits of that religious rage, which has its
origin in the dogma, of the Gospel, which exacts, that he who
refuses to enter the Church, shall be forced to it: thence proceeded the massacre of the St. Bartholomew, and those of the
natives of the New World; thence was flung the torch, which
lighted the funeral piles of the inquisitions In order to prove
the abominable character of this sect, it will be sufficient to
paint it in its true colors, such as it has always shown itself
since Constantine, when it became powerful enough to persecute, until the frightful war of the Tendee, the sparks of
which would break out again in flames, if the victories of the
Republicans and their love of humanity would not keep down
this fire, which is concealed under the cloak of the priest.
Without the measures, which were taken against them by
the Republican government, oure priests would have cast into
the shades of oblivion the bloody effects of the "rabbia
papale," which in the schism of the Occident in the fourthteenth century, caused the butchery of fifty thousand victims;
the massacres of the war of the Hussites, which have cost
humanity over One hundred and fifty thousand lives; those
of America, where many millions of natives were killed, for no




Chap. X.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORStHIP.     389
other reason then that they were only human beings, but not
Christians, they would have made forget the St. Bartholemew
and the horrid Vendee, because they wished to surpass themselves in villany. From the mountains of Switzerland, whence
they issued like so many wild beasts, they had spread already
over France, in order to carry there desolation and death
in the nameof the God of peace. But the genius of liberty
arose again and repulsed these monsters back to their dens,
wherethey meditate new crimes and always for the greater
glory of God and of'holy religion, which strikes down with
sentence of death, all that does not kneel down before their
haughty power. He, who is not with me, says the lawmaker,
is against me, and every tree, which does not bear good fruit,
ought to be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Behold here the effects of those morals, which some are
pleased to call divine, as if their existed any other morality
than that of Nature. I shall say with their Gospel: "by their
"fruits ye shall know them."  Doubtless, their sacred books
contain, as already observed, many principles of morality
which must be acknowledged by sound philosophy. But
these principles are not their property; they are anterior to
their Sect, and are found in all the philosophical and religious morals of other nations. That, which belongs to them
exclusively are many maxims, which are either absurd or dangerous in their consequences; and I do not believe, that
people will be tempted to envy them such a morali'y. I attach great importance to combat here a generally received
notion, namely: that if the dogmas of Christianity are absurd,
the moral is good; which I deny in toto, and which is false,
if by Christian morality is understood, that which exclusively
belongs to the Christians, and that this denomination is not
given to that morality, which bas been known without them,
and before them, and which they have only adopted or rather
disfigured, by mixing it up with ridiculous precepts and ex



390         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI
travagant dogmas. I repeat it, that all which is good, does
not belong to them, and that everything, which is bad or
ridiculous in their doctrine is their own, and that is the only
morality, which may properly be said, to be peculiar to the
Christians; perhaps its source or its parallel might be found
also in that of the Fakirs of India.
One of the great inconveniences of religions is, to confound all
natural notions of justice and injustice, of virtues and crimes, by
introducing into morals, under the name of religion, virtues
and vices unknown to the code of Nature. Thus the Formosians, who put in the number of crimes deserving the Tartarus,
theft, murder, and lies, placed also there such a one, who failed
to go naked at stated times; the Catholic puts there any man,
who should do so even only once. In Turkey it is a crime to
drinfk wine; in Persia it was a sin to defile the fire. It is one
for a Bokharian to say, that God is in Heaven. The Christians have introduced this confusion into their morality, by
the creation of vices and virtues, which exist only in their
religious system, and to which they have attached eternal
pains and recompenses. Their Doctors have multiplied
crimes ad infinitum, and they opened to the soul a thousand
routes to Tartarus. With them, every sin reputed mortal,
kills the soul, and consigns it to the eternal vengeance of a
merciless Deity; and we know how  large the number of
mortal sins is, which their penal code of consciences contains.
The child which is born is devoted to the Tartarus, if water is
not sprinkled on his head. There is scarcely an action, a desire,
a thought concerning love, which is not rated as a mortal sin.
There is no practice ordained by the Church, the neglect of
which is not a sin deserving the Tartarus; so that death is surrounding our soul on all sides, if we should have ever so
little temperament and reason; and  that is the religion,
which it is said, consoles man? He who should take the
liberty to eat meat on the days consecrated to Venus and




Chap. XL]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      391
Saturn in each planetary week,-because the Christians retain still the worship of the Planets, so ignorant are they-he,
who eats it during the forty days preceding the full moon
after the vernal equinox, is condemned to the tortures of
Hell. He who fails repeatedly on the day dedicated to the
Sun or Sundays in succession to hear Mass, is also killing his
soul. He who follows the imperious laws of Nature, which
aims at reproduction, is precipitated into the Tartarus, if he does
not obtain the permission of the priest, who has renounced
legitimate marriage in order to live in concubinage, and who
even to-day calls down Anathema on marriage, which the law
allows, when the seal of religion or rather of rebellion has not
been  affixed thereto by the priest, who is refractory to the
laws of his country. This is what is called in our days religious morality, indispensable to the maintenance of society,-because a religion is necessary.
Not to be punctual in eating God in his metamorphosis in a
sacred wafer, at least once a year, or to laugh at the fools,
who receive kneeling and open mouthed from the hands of a
charlatan the " God-Bread," destined soon to become " GodSterculus," who shall descend into the nether places of Earth;
not to go and confide one's love-pranks to a priest used up
with debauch, and who is laying traps for chastity and innocence, these are crimes, which in the system of the Catholics
are deserving eternal death, and Tartarus has not punishments enough for such marked contempt for all religion:
those are, what are called misdeeds in the religious system;
this is, what is punished in Hell, in other words, that man is
punished there, who had common sense enough, to laugh at
the follies of others; and while credulity and imposture lead
straight to the Elysium, we are precipitated by wisdom and
reason into Hell. And let it be here remarked, that here
is not the question about simple evangelical counsel or advices,
given to privileged souls, no, this is the common law, which




392         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
is the rigorous rule for all the faithful. This is, what is
called the religion of our fathers, in which we wish to live
and die, and without which, there is no more order and
happiness for society to be expected. The great crime of the
Revolution was its purpose to overthrow this great structure
of imposture, under the shade of which, all the abuses and all
the vices have quietly reigned. This is what armed fanaticism
against Republican liberty; this is the primary source of all
our misfortunes; and finally this is the religion of those
honest people, namely of those, who never had any, and
who merely see in that name a rallying cry for all sorts of
crimes.
The same spirit, which has abused the denomination of
crime, by applying it to the simplest and most innocent
actions, did also create chimerical virtues, which were placed
in Ihe same category as real virtues, aud which have frequently obtained a preference over the latter, as we have already
observed before: hence a confusion of everything was the
result, which has perverted the true morality, substituting for
it a fictitious one, under the name of Christian morality.
Very soon people believed, that acts of devotion were virtues,
or which could take their place; social virtues were dispensed
with, as soon as they believed, that religious virtues sufficed;
thus was natural morality destroyed by religious morality.
The Chinese attribute to their Bonzes the degradation of
their ancient morality. These Bonzes substituted superstitious practices for the fulfilment of real duties. The people
trusted to. these imposters, who promised them  all sorts of
happines in this World and in that to come. They confided
in their fascinations, the Chinese say, and they believed that
all their duties had been fulfilled by it. How many people
there are amongst us, who believe, that because  they are
very punctual in hearing Mass, they are freed from the performance of duties, which public morals and social life impose.




Chap. XL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      393
How many there are, who think themselves absolved from
allegiance to their country, from the respect due to its magistrates, because they adhere to the priesthood, which would
charge them  with committing a crime, if they should obey
the laws of their country; so easy is it, to perveit morality in
the name of religion! It will still be said, that this is merely
an abuse of religion with the people, and which happens only
with the least instructed class. This may be so, bat this class
is the most numerous, and it is for this same class, that it is
said, a religion is necessary, and consequently that it is the
one, which abuses it. But not so, because it is not only the
people, which takes religious acts for virtues, but the leaders
of society have done the same thing. The bishops of Mingrelia have daily a feast, and pass their lifetime in debauchery; but in order to be even; they abstain from eating meat on
certain days and they believe themselves thereby absolved or
rather authorized to clispense with all virtues. They think,
that when they offer gold and silver to their image, their sins
will thereby be forgiven. The last but one of our kings and
the most debauched of all, was by nature religious and was
very strict in hearing mass. Louis XI committed all sorts of
crimes under the protection of a little image of the Virgin.
The Christians of Armenia concenter all their religion in
fasting. Our peasants get drunk, when coming from hearing
mass, and Sunday is kept only on account of immorality and
of the reunions of debauch and pleasures. The Persians consider legal purity or cleanliness, as the most important part
of their worship. They always repeat this maxim. of their
prophet: lieligion has cleanliness for foundation, and onehalf of Religion consists in being very clean. In the religion
of the Turks, one is considered a true believer when he keeps
his clothes and his body clean, when he says punctually five
times a day his prayers, when he fasts during the Ramazan
and when he makes a voyage to AIecca.
50




394         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
Mallet in his history of Denmark, observes with reason,
that in general men regard morality as the accessory of religions. In the religion of the Christians the absurd distinction between human and religious virtues was introduced,
and it is always to the latter, which are only chimerical virtues, that is given the preference.
The Scipios, the Catos, the Socrates had merely human
virtues, and the great men of Christianity had religious
virtues. And who are those great men, those heroes of
Christianity, which are proposed to us as models?  There is
not one amongsts them, who is commendable for truly social
virtues, and for his devotion to the commonwealth, for useful
discoveries, for those private qualities, which characterise a
good father, a good husband, a good son, a good brother, a
good friend, a good citizen; or if by chance he had one of
those virtues, they are merely the accessory of his merit.
That which is lauded in him, are his austerities, his abstinences, his mortifications, his pious or rather superstitious
practices; a great zeal for the propagation of his foolish doctrine, and a forgetfulness of everything, in-order to follow his
chimera. That is what is called the Saints or the perfect men
of that sect. A glance at the life of these pretended Saints is
sufficient in order to be convinced of this truth  Who are
they in fact, the greater part of them? Enthusiasts," fanatics,
imbeciles, who by dint of religion have abjured common
sense, and who like the Fakirs of India, whose disciples they
were, have imposed on the people by bodily tricks, such for
instance as Simon the Stylite, who stood erect on one leg, and
remained in this position perched on the top of a column for
twenty years, and who by this means thought to arrive the
sooner in Heaven. I should blush, were I to mention a great
number of examples of those sublime virtues, of which the
Christians have made the Apotheosis. I invite those, who
should have the curiosity and the leisure to run over the
pages of the legends of those heroes of Christianism, to pro



Ghap. Xl.J  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     395
vide themselves with patience, and I defy them to cite one or
two, whose pretended virtues could stand the criticism, I will
not say of a philosopher, but of a man of common sense.
Thus it happened, that everything in morality was put in
the wrong place, and that ridiculous and the most extravagant
actions usurped the place of real virtues; while the most innocent actions were transformed into misdeeds; hence what a
confusion in the ideas of good and bad morals! If he, who
engenders a human being, without first having obtained the
priest's permission, who himself asks for none, taking counsel
only from necessity,-becomes as guilty as he, who destroys life
by fire and poison, then love and homicide are equal crimes in
the eyes of Nature, of human reason and divine justice! If
the man, who has eaten meat, or who has not even fasted on
the day, dedicated to Venus, which precedes the equinoctial
feast of the Sun of spring, is condemned to suffer eternally in
Tartarus, alongside of a parricide, therefore to eat certain
viands on certain days, is it as great a crime as parricide? Because the one like the other is a sin, which is death to the
soul and which deserves eternal punishments. Is it not evident, that this odd association of the ridiculous and of virtues
and enjoyments, which Nature permits and of crimes, which
it proscribes, turns necessarily to the detriment of morality,
and most frequently exposes the religious man to take the
change, when things, which are so distinct in their nature, are
presented to him, confounded nnder the same colors?  At
that moment a false conscience is formed, which is conceiving
scruples, as great for the infraction of an absurd pretext, as
when nothing less is the matter than the infringement of the
most inviolable and most sacred law for every upright and
virtuous man.
From the dogma or from  the belief in the rewards and
punishments in the future life, there could only result one
consequence, namely the necessity of leading a virtuous life,




396         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XL-.
but people were not satisfied with it: they imagined, that
they could evade the punishments and merit the recompenses
of a future life, by religious practices, by pilgrimages, by ailgrimages, by usterities, which certainly are by no means virtues: hence it
happens, that people attach as much importance to superstitious and puerile practices, as they should to real virtues and
social qualities. Besides,lthe multiplicity of duties imposed on
manweakens the obligation of it and leceives him. If he is not
enlightened, he is almost always mistaken, ar ( he measures
things by the apparent degree of importance attached to it;
above all it is to be feared, that the people (because it is the people which is religious) when it has once passed the line of duties,
which it considers as sacred, will not extend its contempt for
an unjust and ridiculous prohibition, to another, which is not,
and that it will not confound in the same infraction the laws,
the observance of which were commanded by the lawmaker
under the same penalties, and that it will not believe itself
authorized to dispense altogether with virtues, called human,
in other words veritable virtues, because it had abandoned
religious virtues, which had a sacred character or in other
words veritable chimeras. There is doubtless room enough
for reflection, and the thought would seem quite natural, that
he who has interdicted to the people as a crime, that which
the imperious want of Nature commands and would seem  to
legitimate, might. not have equally deceived it by the prohibition of that, which natural morality condemns; and that when
the passion of love is not a misdeed, that of anger should not.
be equally innocent in its effects, because temper kindles them
both. It is to be feared, that when man was prohibited to
deprive others of their bread at all time, even when pressed
by want, that it should not seem to him  as contrary to the
rights, which were given him  by Nature, which had abandoned to all'men theEarth and its products; that the interdiction, to eat on certain days that bread, which was earned




Chap. XL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     397
by him, although hunger should compel him  to do so, was
contrary to common sense and often to health. He will perhaps come to the conclusion, that the threats of Hell, which
were made against the first crime are not more real than
those, which had for object the second, in as much as the lawmaker and the priest, who have deceived on one point, can
also deceive on the other. As he was not permitted to reason
onethe legitimacy of the interdictions, under which he was
laid and on the nature of the duties which were imposed upon
him, and that he has no other rule but blind faith, from  the
moment he ceases to be credulous, he almost always ceases to
be virtuous; because he had never made use of the light of
reason, in order to enlighten his path and conduct, and that
he was trained to look for the. sources of justice and morality
anywhere else but in his own heart. From the moment, that
people ceases to believe in Hell, it no more believes in'the
morality, which had that fear for basis, and it ceases to believe
in it, when every innocent and the most natural action is represented as' a crime. As it shall be eternally damned, for
having violated the ridiculous precepts of the priests, it is of
very little importance, to observe the other duties, which the
legislator imposes, because sentence of death has already been
pronounced, and that Hell awaits the prey which cannot
escape it.
I know I shall be answered, that this sentence is not irrevocable, that religion has placed hope in the repentance, in the
confession of the crime and in the divine clemency, which in.obedienee to the voice of the priest, absolves the guilty and
liberates him from remorse. I must acknowledge, that this is
a remedy, which has been invented against despair by the ancient mystagogues; but I maintain, that the remedy is worse
than the evil, and that the little good, which Initiation could
produce, has been destroyed by these new specifics, which
have been accredited by religious charlatanism.




398         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
Those expiatory ceremonies, designed to make the Gods
forget the crimes of men, made the guilty themselves socn
forget them, and the remedy, being so near at hand to the
evil, dispensed with the care to avoid it. The gown of innocence was readily stained, when the lustral water, which
would purify it, was )vithin reach, and when the soul, in coming out from the sacred baths, appeared again in all its primitive purity. Baptism and penitence, which with the Christians is a second baptism, produce this marvelous effect.
Hence so many Christians are to be seen, permitting themselves to  do anything, because they  believe themselves
acquitted by going to the confessional and by swallowing
afterwards the holy wafer. When they have obtained from
the priest their absolution, they believe, that they can claim
that noble confidence, which characterizes the man without
blemish.
The Madegassians believe, that in order to obtain pardon for
their faults, it suffices to plunge a piece of gold into a vase
filled with water, and to swallow the water afterwards. Religion has thus under the pretext of perfecting man, furnished
him with the means of smothering the remorse, which Nature
has attached to crime, and has encouraged him in his deviations, by leaving hirm the hope of re-entering in its bosom,
whenever it would suit him, and to retrieve those flattering
hopes it gives, provided he fulfills certain religious formalities.
Socrates, the wise, was aware of this, when he painted the
unjust man, who reassures himself against the apprehension
of the punishment awaiting him  in Tartarus, by saying that'
there was an infallible means of escape from it, in the Initiation. They frighten us, says the apologist of injustice, by the
fear of punishments in Hell. But who ignores the remedy
against that fear, which we find in the Initiations? What a
marvelous resource they are for us, as they teach, that there
are Gods, which free us from  the penalties due to crime?




Chap. XL].  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     399
Doubtless, we have committed great wrongs, but they have
procured us money. They tell us, that there are Gods, who
may be overcome by prayers, sacrifices and offerings. Very
well! The fruits of our robberies will furnish us the means
necessary to appease them. How  many religious establishments! how many temples owed their foundation, in the times
of our fathers, to such an opinion! How many sacred edidifices owed their origin to great crimes, for the purpose of
effacing the latter, from  the instant, that decorated or enriched felons thought themselves quit with the Deity, by sharing the spoils of their victims withits priests! It is thus, that
they thought to wipe out, and make even lose the remembrance of their crimes amongst men by pious donations,
which they believed, would even the Gods themselves make
forget therm, who ought to be their avengers. He is then no
more a highwayman with the Christians.
" Si l'on vient chercher pour quel secret mystbre,
" Alidor, a ses frais, batit un monastere,
" Cest un homme d'honneur, de piete profonde,
" Et qui veut rendre a Dieu ce qu'il a pris au monde."
(Boileau, Sat. 9, ver. 163.)
Some curious people often put the query,
In what mysterious manner Alidor,
Built at his own expense a Monastery,
Complete, dome, chapel, cell and corridor.
The banner of his merits wide unfurlecd,
Blazon his honor and his faith abroad.
He plunders millions from a sinful World,
And gives them to their lawful owner-God!
Our first Kings founded a great many churches and monasteries, in order to obliterate their crimes; because it was the
general belief that Christian justice consisted in building
temples and feeding monks, so says the Abbot Velly.




400         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
All religions have had their lustrations or purifications,
their expiations, and their indulgences, which it was pretended, made the Gods forget the crimes of mortals and con.
sequently  encouraged the latter to commit new  ones, by
weakening the apprehension of incurring those penalties,
which might be inspired by the fiction of the Tartarus.
Orpheus, who had taken hold of every branch of religious
charlatanry, in order to govern more effectually the people
had invented remedies for the soul and for the body, of which
one had about the same efficacy as the other; because the
physicians of the body, and those of the soul could then be
placed in the same category, Orpheus and JEsculapius. Ablutions, expiatory  ceremonies, indulgences, confessions and
Agnus Dei, &c., are in morality the same, what talismans are
in physics. These two specifics, coming out of the same
manufactory, impose now merely on fools: faith alone can
give it currency.  Orpheus was considered  amongst the
Greeks as the inventor of Initiations, of expiations for - great
crimes, and as the discoverer of the secret of averting the
effects of the wrath of the Gods, and of curing the sick.
Greece was flooded with a multitude of rituals, which were
attributed to him, also to Musaeus, and which prescribed the
form of these expiations. Unfortunately for humanity, not
only individuals, but whole cities were drawn into the belief,
that it was possible to be purified of crimes and absolved from
the punishments, with which the Deity threatened the guilty,
by expiatory sacrifices, by feasts and Initiations; that these
remedies were offered by religion to the living and the dead
in what were called "teletes " or mysteries; hence came the
custom of the priests of Cybele, of Isis, of the Orpheotolites,
just like our Capuchin friars and religious beggars, of being
scattered broadcast amongst the people, in order to extort
money, under the pretrext of initiating and saving it from the
fatal slough, because the people has always been the pasturage
of the priests and its credulity their richest patrimony.




Chap. XL.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      401
We see in Demosthenes, that the mother of ZEsehines got
her living by this trade, and that she added its small profits to
those of her prostitutions.  Theophrastes, in his picture of
the character of the superstitious man, represents him just
like one of our scrupulous devotees, who frequents the confessional. He tells us, that he is very punctual in visiting
the priests of Orpheus at the end of each month, who initiate
him in their mysteries, and that he brings' there also his wife
and children.
At the gate of the mosque of Aly at Maesched-Aly, there are
Dervises, offering their prayers to pilgrims for a small sum of
money. They try to find out above all, the poor credulous
and superstitious gall, in order to empty his purse in the
name of the Deity: our Gospel tellers do the same. In
Orient they recite the Gospel over the head of the sick Miussullan, provided he pays them; because the Orientals, when
they are sick, apply to the saints of every religion.
With the Chinese, the invocation of O-myto is sufficient for
purifying the greatest crimes: hence the continual exclamation of the Chinese of the sect of Fo: "O-myto-Fo!" by
means of which they can buy up all their sins; afterwards
they abandon themselves to all their passions, because they
are sure of wiping out all their stains at the same price. I
am somewhat surprised, that the Jesuit missionary, who relates these facts, has not made the remark at the same time,
that the "O good. Jesus" and the good " peceavi" had with us
the same effect. But Jupiter, says good Lafontaine, has created us all beggars (" besaciers").
The Indians are satisfied in the same way, that when a
dying person has the name of God in his month, and repeats
it up to the last breath of life, he goes directly to Heaven,
especially when he holds the tail of a cow.'The Brahmins do not fail to read every morning the wonderful story of " Gosgendre-Mootsjam," and they believe, that
51




402         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
he who reads this tale every day, receives forgiveness for all his
sins. It must be acknowledged, that a villain is thus absolved
at very little cost. They have certain places, which are of
reputed sanctity, which procure the same remission to those,
who die there, as to those, who go there in pilgrimage.. They
have also certain waters, which have the virtue of purifying
all the stains of the soul: such as the Ganges. Don't we
have also our Jordan and our baptismal fonts?
"Biache," one of the interlocutors of Athe "Ezurvedam,"
says, that there is in the land called Magnodechan, a sacred
place, where it suffices to make any kind of oblation in order
to get one's ancestors out of Hell.
The Indians have the most extravagant notions about a
little shrub, called Tuluschi; it is enough to see it, in order to
be purified from all kind of stains.
All these opinions and practices, established by the various
religions and accredited by the priesthood, have -under the
appearance of helping the guilty, perverted natural morality,
which alone is true, and destroyed the effect, which was expected from religious institutions, and principally from  the
fable of Tartarus and Elysium; because it is weakening morals by allaying the imperious voice of conscience; and this
reproach must be made above all to Confession and the virtues attached thereto.. Nature has engraved in the heart of
man, certain sacred laws, which he cannot infringe, without
being punished by remorse; this is the secret avenger which
follows the track of the guilty. Religion smothers this gnawing worm, when it makes man believe that the Deity has forgotten his crime, and that a confession, made on bended knees
before a priestly impostor, shall reconcile him with Heaven,
which he has outraged. Where is the guilty lman, who shall
fear his conscience, when even God absolves him?
The facility of reconciliation is not the surest bond of
friendship, and people never fear to render themselves culpable,




Chap. XL]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.      403
when they are sure of pardon. The Arabian poet Abu-Naovas, said to' God: " We have indulged, O Lord, in committing
"faults, because we have seen, that pardon followed ever
" after." Indeed, the remedy, which always follows the evil,
prevents its apprehension, and becomes itself a great evil.
We have a striking example in the people, who habitually
frequent the confessional, without becoming better. They forget their faults as soon as they come from the sentry-box of
the pretended watchman of consciences. In depositing at the
feet of the priest his bundle of remorses, which would have
been for him a heavy load to carry perhaps during his lifetime, he enjoys very soon the serenity of the honest man
and he frees himself from the only pain, which can punish
the secret crime. What misdeeds were not engendered by the
fatal hope of a good " peccavi," which has to terminate a life,
stained with crimes, and to secure to him the blessed immortality!  The idea of the clemency of God has always counterbalanced the fear of his justice in the mind of the guilty, and
death is the term, at which he fixes his return to virtue, in
other words, that he renounces crime at the moment, when it
shall be forever out of his power to commit new  ones, and
when the absolution of a priest, is in his opinion about to deliver him from all chastisements due to his former misdeeds.
This institution is therefore a great evil, because it removes
a real restraint, which Nature has put on crime, in order to
substitute a factitious one for it, which itself destroys the
whole effect.
It is the conscience of the honest man, which shall recompense his virtues, and that of the guilty, which shall punish
his misdeeds. This is the true Elysium, the veritable Tartarus, created by careful Nature itself. It is outraging her in
attempting to make an addition to her work, and still more in
pretending to absolve the Guilty and to liberate him from the
torment, which she inflicts secretly by the perpetuity of remorse.




404         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XL
The ancient Initiations had also their tribunals of penitence, where a priest called Koes, heard the confession of the
faults, which had to be expiated. One of these unlucky impostors, when confessing the famous Lyvsander pressed him
with impudent questions. Lysander asked him, if he spoke
in his own name or in that of the Deity. The Koes answered
that it was in the namle of the Deity. Very well! said Lysander, retire and leave me alone; if she shall ask me about it, I
will tell.her the truth. That is the answer, which every wise
eman should give to our modern Koes, or confessors, who call
themselves the organs of the divine clemency and justice, if it
were possible that a wise man could present himself before
those spies of conscience, who make use of religion, in order
the better to abuse our weakness, to tyranize our reason, to
intermneddle in our private domestic affairs, to seduce our wives
and daughters, to find out the secret of families, and often to
sow division amongst them in order to become their masters
or to despoil them.
Moreover, the Ancieuts went never so far as ourselves in the
abuse of these kinds, of remedies: there were certain crimes,
which they deprived of the benefit of expiation,, and which
they abandoned to remorse and to the eternal vengeance of
their Gods.
Nothing was more common indeed, than to see the Ancients
give to some crimes the epithet of unpardonable, which nothing could expiate. The homicides, the flagitious, the traitors
to their country and all those, who were stained with great
misdeeds, were excluded from the sanctuaries of Eleusis; the
consequence of which was, that they were also excluded from
Elysiumn, and were plunged into the black slough of the infernal regions. Purifications for the homicide were established,
but they were for the involuntary or necessary homicide.
The ancient heroes, when they had committed a murder, had
recourse to expiation: after the requisi..te sacrifices, water, in



Chap. X.]j  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.        405
tended to purify, was thrown on the guilty hand, and from
that moment they reentered society and were ready for new
encounters.  Hercules was purified after the murder of the
Centaurs. But these kind of expiations did not clear away
every kind of stains.  Great criminals had to dread all their
life time the horrors of the Tartarus, or they could only
repair their crimes by a greut many virtues and praiseworthy
actions. The legal purifications had not the propriety of rendering to all the flattering hopes, which innocence enjoys.
Nero did not dare to present himself at the temple of Eleusis;
his crimes interdicted his entrance for ever. 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.
Tie was answered, that amongst the various kind of expiations, there was none, which could expiate so many crimes,
and that no religion whatsoever could offer efficient protection
against the justice of the Gods; and Constantine was Emperor. One of the courtiers of the palace, who witnessed the
trouble and agitation of his mind, torn by remorse, which
nothing could appease, informs him, that the evil he was suffering, was not without a remedy; that there existed in the
religion of the Christians certain purifications, which expiated
every kind of misdeeds, of whatever nature and in whatsoever
number 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 ever be, could hope, that his crimes
were immediately forgotten.  From  that inmoment, 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. If some authors are to be believed, he waited until
the end of his mortal career to be baptised, in order to secure




406         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.
on the threshold of the tomb, the means, which should wipe
out all the stains of a life entirely branded with crimes.
Thus Eleusis shut its portals to Nero: but the Christians
would have received him with open arlms, if he had declared
himself for them. They claimed Tiberius amongst the number of their protectors, and it is astonishing that Nero was
not also. What a horrid religion, which includes amlongt its
communicants the most cruel tyrants, and which absolves
them of their crimes. Why! if Nero had been a Christian
and had protected the Church, they would have made a Saint
of him! And why not? Constantine, who was as culpable
as he, is one. His name was recited at Rome, in the celebration of the mysteries of the Christians, in the ninth century.
There were many churches in England bearing his name.
This is the same Constantine, who built a house of prostitution in Constantinople, in which he had provided for the
debauchees all the means of enjoyment. Those are the Saints
honored by the Christian religion, when crime, clothed with
power, offered it its support; reason and Nature would
never have absolved Nero, but the Christian religion would
have absolved him, if he had let himself be baptized: because
it is well known, that baptism obliterates all misdeeds, and
restores the mantle of innocence to him, who receives the
former. Sophocles. in OEdipus, pretends that all the water of
the Danube and of the Phassus would not have been sufficient
to cleanse the crimes of the family of Laius; a, drop of baptismal water would have done it. What a horrible institution!
There are monsters, which must be abandoned to remorse
and to the terror, which a guilty conscience inspires. The
religion, which calms the terrors of great criminals, is an encouragement to crime, and is the greatest of scourges in
Morals, as well as Politics; the Earth ought to be purged of
it. Was there any necessity for making the expens3 of an
Initiation, which has cost so many tears and so much blood to




Chap. XI]  THE ORIGIN OP ALL RELIGIOVS WORSHIP.       407
the World, in order to teach the Initiates, that a God died on
purpose, that man be absolved of every crime, and in order
to prepare for him remedies against the just terrors, with
which Nature surrounds the heart of great criminals?  Because, after all, and as a last analysis, this is the object and
the fruit of the death of the pretended hero of that sect. It
must be acknowledged, that if there existed a Tartarus, it
ought to be reserved for such doctors.




CHAPTER  XII.
AN ABRIDGED EXPLANATION OF AN APOCALYPTIC' WORK OF
THE INITIATES INTO THE MYSTERIES OF THE LIGHT
AND OF THE SUN, WORSHIPPED UNDER THE SYMBOLa
OF TI-IE VERNAL LAMB OR OF THE CELESTIAL RAM.
The book known by the name of the Apocalypse, has
seemed to be until now unintelligible, merely because people
persisted to see in it a real prediction of the future, which
every one has explained after his own fashion, and in which
they have always found what they wanted, namely anything
but that, what the book contained. Newton and Bossuet
stood in need of that great glory, they had already acquired,
in order that their fruitless efforts, to give us anr explanation
of it, should not be taxed with folly. Both started from a
false hypothesis, na-mely, that it was an inspired book. Today, when it is acknowledged by all enlightened minds, that
there are no inspired books, and that all books carry with
them the character either of wisdom or of human folly, we
shall analyze that of the "Apocalypse" according to the principles of the sacred science, and in conformity with the wellknown genius of lMystagogy of the Orientals, of which this
work is a production.
The disciples of Zoroaster, or the Magi, of whom the Jews
and the Christians have borrowed their principal dogmas, as
we have shown in our chapter on the Christian religionhave taught that the two principles, Orolnaze and Ahriman,
of which one was the ruler of Light and Goodness, and the
other of Darkness and of Evil, warred against each other in
this World, each destroying the other's works; each commanding his own secondary Genii or Angels, and having his
partisans or favored people; that finally however the people
of Ahriman would be overcome, and that the God of Light




Chap. XIi.  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   409
and his people would triumph. Then the Good and the Evil
would have to return to their principle, and each one of the
two rulers would dwell with his people, one in the primary
Light and the other in the primary darkness, from  which
they both had issued. There would comle a time, which was
marked by Fate, as Theopompus says, where Ahriman, after
having brought pestilence and famine, would be entirely destroyed. Then the Earth, without inequality would be the
abode of happy men, living under the same laws and invested
with transparent bodies; there they would enjoy an unalterable happiness under the reign of Ormuzd, or the God of
Light.
Let the Apocalypse be read and the convictiou will be the
result, that this is the theological idea, which forms the basis
of that production. All the mysterious details, by which it
is surrounded, are only the scaffolding of that singular dogma, which, like a spectacle, was put in action in the Sanctuaries of the Initiates into the mysteries of Light or of
Ormuzd. All this theatrical and wonderful decoration is bore
rowed from the images of Heaven, or from tlh-.:i:he ~icl I.iols,
which control the revolutions of Time, and Mwhich aLdor:v
the visible World, from the ruins of which the wand of the
priest shall bring out the luminous World, or the Holy Land
and the Celestial Jerusalem, into which the Initiates shall
enter. In the midst of night, says the Neophyte in the mysteries of Isis, the Sun seemed to me to shine with a brilliant
light; and after having trod the threshold of Proserpine, and
having traversed the elements, I have found myself in the
presence of the Gods.
In the mysteries of Eleusis, an anticipated enjoyment of
that future bliss, and an idea of the state, into which the Initiation elevated the soul after death, was given to the Neophyte. After the profound darkness, in which he was held
for some time, and which was an image of that of this life,
52




410!THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  LChap. XII.
they made to follow a brilliant light, which all at once invested him with its radiance, and which revealed to him the
statue of the God, into whose mysteries he became initiated.
Here it is the Lamb, which is the great Divinity, the image of
which is reproduced throughout the whole of the Apocalyptic
production.
It is placed at the head of the Celestial city, which has
twelve divisions like the zodiac, of which "Aries" or the Lamb
is also the leader. This is about the whole substance of the
Apocalypse. In order to compare its features with those of
the sphere and to analyze in detail the various pictures,
which it offers, nothing less would be required, than the explanation, which we have given in our larger work and the
planisphere thereto annexed. Nevertheless we shall trace
here a summary of that work, which will be sufficient for the
reader, to give him an idea of the correspondence, which exists between the tableaux of the Apocalypse and those of
Heaven and its divisions.
T,wo things strike at first every reader: which is the frequent repetition that is made by the author in his book of
the numbers "Seven" and " Twelve," they being sacred numbers in all theologies, because they express two grand divisions of the World, that of the planetary system and that of
the zodiac; or of the signs, the two great instruments of fatality or predestination, and the two bases of the astrological
science which has presided at the composition of that work.
The number seven is repeated there, twenty-four times; and
the number "Twelve" fourteen times.
The planetary system is there represented, without.any
kind of equivocation, by a candlestick of seven branches, or
by seven candlesticks and seven stars held in the hand of a
luminous Genius, similar to the God principle of Light, or to
Ormuzd adored by the Persians. Under this emblem they
expressed the seven Celestial bodies, into which the uncreated




Chap. XIL]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.    411
Light is distributed, and in the center of which shines the
Sun as its perpetual focus. It is the Angel of the Sun, which
under the form of a Genius, resplendent with light, appears
to John, and unveils the mysteries, which he shall reveal to
the Neophytes. Jewish and Christian writers are furnishing
us themselves the explanation, which we give of the seven
candlesticks, which expresses here merely the same cosmogonic idea, indicated by the symbol of the candlestick with
seven branches, placed in the temple of Jerusalem. Clemens, bishop of Alexandria, alleges that the candlestick with
seven branches, which was in the middle of the altar of perfumes, represented the seven planets. On each side spread
three branches, each surmounted by a lamp. In the middle
there was the lamp of the Sun, in the center of the six other
branches, because this luminary, placed in the midst of the
planetary system, communicates its light to the planets beneath in accordance with the laws of its divine and harmon
nious action. Josephus and Philon, two Jewish writers, give
the same explanation.
The seven inclosures of the temple represented the same
thing. There are also the seven eyes of the Lord, denoted
by the spirits, resting on the rod, which rises from  the
root of Jesse, as Clemens of Alexandria continues to remark.
It will be observed, that the Wauthor of the Apocalypse also
says, that the seven horns of the Lamb are the seven spirits
of God, and consequently that they represent the planetary
system, which receives its impulsion from "Aries" or the Lamb
the first of the signs.
In the monument of the religion of the Persians or of
Mithras, seven stars are likewise to be found, designed to represent the planetary system, and near each one of them  is
the characteristic attribute of the planet to be seen, which
the star represents. Therefore nothing else was done here by
the author of the Apocalypse, than to employ an admitted




412        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XII.
emblem, in order to represent the harmonious system of the
Universe, into the sanctuary of which man was introduced by
the Initiation, as may be seen in our chapter on the Mysteries.
We may be still- more convinced of this truth, by the reflection that this same emblem represented seven churches,
of which the firstone was that of Ephesus, where the first of
the seven planets or the Moon was worshipped under the
name of Diana.
After the planetary system, the mystagogue presents us
with the tableau of the Heaven of the fixed Stars, and with
the four Celestial figures, which were placed at the four corners of Heaven, according to the astrological system.
These four fignures were the Lion, the Bull, the Waterman
and the Eagle, which divided the whole zodiac into four parts,
or from three signs to three signs, in the points of the sphere
called fixed and solid. The stars, which corresponded to it,
were called the four royal stars.
In the mysteries of Mithras, besides the seven gates, designed to represent the seven planets, there was an eighth
one, which corresponded to the Heaven of the fixed stars.
Hence the expression of the author of the Apocalypse, that
he saw a gate open in Heaven, and that he was invited to
ascend there, in order to see the things, which should come to
pass in future. From this it follows, taking the principles
of Astrology or the science revealing the secrets of the future
as a starting point, that the author, after showing us the planetary system under the emblem of the seven candlesticks,
wished to fix our eyes on the eighth Heaven and on the zodiac, with which the planets are concurring to reveal the pretended secrets of divination. The mystagogue has done here
merely that which an astrologer should do, who announces
himself as a revealer of the destinies of the World, and to
foretell the evils, with which the Barth. was threatened, and




Chap. XIL1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     413
which were the forerunners of its destruction. He established the sphere on the four cardinal points of the astrological " determinations," and he shows the four figures, which
divided the circle of fatality into four equal parts. These
figures were distributed at equal distances around the throne
of God: namely the firmament above which the Deity was
placed. The twenty-four parts of the time, which divide the
revolution of Heaven, are called the twenty-four Elders, as
Time itself or Saturnus has always been called.
These hours, taken six by six, are also called " Wings," and
it is well known, that they were always given to time. This
is the reason why the Celestial animals, dividing the zodiac
from six to six hours, were presumed to have each six wings.
These figures of animals, which we find in the Heaven of the
fixed Stars, and which are distributed in the same order as
they are named in the Apocalypse, are figures of Cherubims,
the same as we see in Ezeehiel. Now, the Chaldeans and the
Syrians called the Heaven of the fixed Stars, the Heaven of
the Cherubimns, above which they placed the great Sea or the
upper waters and the Heaven of Crystal.  Consequently the
author of the Apocalypse employs absolutely the same language, as the oriental Astrology.
The Christian writers justify here again our. explanations.
Clemens of Alexandclri,, amongst others, says expressly that
the -wings i toht  Cherubims signified the Time, which circulates in the zodiac: therefore the figures of the zodiac, corresponding exactly to the four divisions given by the wings, can
only be the Cherubims, to which those wings are attached,
because they are absolutely the same figures of animals.
Why should we look for them in an ideal Heaven, when we
can find them in the real Heaven, the only one, where figures
of animals, commonly called Celestial animals, are to be seen?
The author repeatedly says: "Isaw  in Heaven;" very well,
let us examine with him the Heavens.




414        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XIL
These same figures are those of the four animals dedicated
to the Evangelists. They are also those of the four Angels,
who, aceording to the Persians are to sound the trumpet,
when the end of the World has come. The ancient Persians
adored four principal stars, keeping watch over the four corners of the World, and these four stars corresponded to the
four Celestial animals, which have the same figures as those
of the Apocalypse. These four stars are also to be found
with the Chinese, where they serve to designate the four seasons, which in the times of "Iao" corresponded to these
points of Heaven.
The astrologer, who has composed the Apocalypse has
therefore merely reiterated what is found in all the ancient
books of oriental astrology.
After having thus established his sphere upon these cardinal points, he opens the book of Destiny of the World, called
here allegorically the book sealed with seven seals, and the
opening of which is intrusted to the first of the signs, Aries
or the Lamb.
Nonnus, in his Dionysiacs, makes use of nearly a similar
expression, in order to designate the book of Fate; he calls it
the book of the seven tablets, in wich the destinies were written. Each tablet bore-the name of a planet. It is thus easy
to recognize in the book of seven seals, the book of Fate,
which is consulted by him, who takes upon himself to announce here, what shall come to pass in the World. Hence
it is, that the chapters VI up to the XI inclusive, contain all
the predictions, which include the series of evils, with which
the Universe is threatened, such as war, famine, pestilence,
&c. The features of all these tableaux are arbitrary enough
and are the fruit of an exalted imagination.
It would be perhaps as difficult to analyze them, agreeable
to the principles of science, as to render an account of the
dreams of a sick person in delirium. Moreover, the doctrine




Chap. X'I.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   415
of the Magi taught, that before Ahriman would be destroyed,
pestilence, famine and other scourges would desolate the
Earth. The Tuscan conjurors announced also, that when the
Universe would be destroyed, in order to put on a new face,
the sound of the trumpet would be heard, and that signs
would make their appearance in Heaven and on Earth. It
should seem, that those dogmas of the theology of the Persians and the Tuscans have furnished the matter for the exaggerated representation of the priest author of the Apocalypse: behold the canvas, which he has embroidered in those
six Chapters after his own fashion.
In the twelfth chapter the author turns his eyes again towards the Heaven of the fixed stars, and towards that part of
the firmament, where the vessel called the Ark is to be found,
towards the Virgin, followed by the Dragon, upon the Whale,
which sets, when the latter rises, upon the beast with the
horns of a Lamb, or'upon Medusa rising at the former's
setting: those are the various tableaux, which he puts upon
the scene, and which he enchases in a marvelous and altogether allegorical frame. After reviewing that part of the
constellations, which determine the Epoch, in which Nature
renews herself every year, when the Sun reaches the sign of
the Lamb, the author of the Apocalypse describes a succcession of events, in which the predictions, which he had drawn
from the book of Fate, may be seen finally realized. Everything is executed in the same order, as above he had predicted.
Subsequently to these scourges the grand judgment arrives;
a fiction, which is to be found in Plato, and which is peculiar
to the oriental mystagogy. Since rewards and punishments
had been invented, what could be more natural than to suppose, that justice should preside over this distribution, and
that the Supreme Justice should treat every one according to
his actions. Thus the Greeks believed in the judgment of




416        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RtELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XIL
Minos. Thus far the Christians have invented nothing; they
have copied the dogmas of the ancient leaders of Initiation.
The effect of this judgment was the separation of the people of Ormuzd from that of Ahriman, and to make each one
of the two follow the banners of its leader, these toward Tartarus, those towards Elysium or the abode of Ormuzd. This
forms the subject of the last chapters, beginning with the
seventeenth. The principle of Evil appears here, as in the
theology of the Persians, under the form of a monstrous Serpent, which is the form taken by Ahriman in that theology.
He gives battle to the principle of Good and of Light and to
its people; but he is finally overcome and precipitated with
his partisans into the horrible abode of darkness, whence he
issued; it is Jupiter, who in Nonnus, is fulminating Typhon
or Typheus, before he had reestablished the harmony of the
Heavens.
The God of Light, as conqueror, brings afterwards his people and his elected into the mansion of Light and Eternal
Bliss, a new land, from which Evil and Darkness, reigning in
this World, shall be eternally excluded. But this new World
is still preserving tfie divisions of the old one, and the duodecimal number, which divided the first Heaven, is adhering
to the divisions of the new Universe: the Lamb or "Aries'" is
there equally presiding.
It is particularly in this latter part of the work, that astro-,
logy is recognized. The ancient astrologers had indeed subjected all the productions of Nature to the influence of the
Celestial signs, and had classed the plants, the trees, the animals, the precious stones, thle elementary qualities, the colors,
&c., &c., with the twelve animals of the zodiac, on account of
the analogy, which they thought to discover with the nature
of the sign.
We have published in our larger work the systematic tableau of the influences, which represents the relation of the




Chap. XIJ-.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   417
Celestial causes with the sublunary effects in the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdom. There are remarked twelve
precious stones, being absolutely the same as those in the
Apocalypse, ranged in the same order and each appropriated
to a sign. Thus it happened, that the Celestial signs were
represented by as many precious stones, and as in the distribution of the months the signs are grouped three by three,
in order to mark the four Seasons, so are in the Apocalypse
the precious stones equally grouped three by three in the City
of the twelve gates and of the twelve foundations. Each one
of the faces of the sacred City looked towards one of the cardinal points of the World, according to the astrological division, which appropriated three signs to each of these points,
on account of the winds, which blow from the various parts
of the horizon, which was divided into twelve or as many
parts as the signs. The three signs of the East corresponded
to spring, those of the West to autumn, those of the South
to summer, and those of the North to winter.
There are, says an astrologer, twelve winds, on account of
the twelve gates of the Sun, through which these winds issue,
and which proceed from the Sun. It is for this reason, that
Homer gives to A/olus, or to the God of winds, twelve children. With regard to the twelve gates of the Sun, they are
those, which are designated here under the name of the
twelve gates of the Holy City of the God of Light. At each
of the gates the author places an Angel or a Genius, he who
was set over each wind in particular. A pyramid may be
seen in*Constantinople, overtopped by a figure, which by its
movements indicated the twelve winds, represented by twelve
Genii or twelve images. Angels are also set in the Apocalypse
over the breath of the winds. There may be seen there four,
which have charge of the four winds, issuing fromn the four
corners of the horizon. The horizon is here divided into
twelve winds, which is the reason, why twelve Angels were
53




418        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XII.
placed there. In all this, there is nothing but astrology, colmbined with a system of Angels and Genii, adopted by the
Chaldeans and the Persians, from whom the Hebrews and the
Christians have borrowed this theory.
The names of the twelve tribes, written on the twelve gates,
remind us again of the astrological system  of the Hebrews,
who had assigned to each of their tribes one of the Celestial
signs, and in the prediction of Jacob may be seen indeed, that
the characteristic traits of each of his sons agree with that of
the signs, under which the Hebrews placed the tribe, of which
he is the chief.
Simon Joachites, after making the enumeration of the intelligences or Spirits, which he distributes according *to the
relations, which they should have with the four cardinal points,
has placed in the center a Holy temple sustaining the whole.
It has twelve gates, upon each of which is sculptured a sign
of the zodiac; on the first one is the sign of Aries or of the
Lamb. Those are, proceeds this Rabbi, the twelve leaders or
moderators, which have been ranged in conformity with the
plan of distribution. of a city or a calmp; those are the twelve
Angels, which are set over the year and over the twelve boundaries or divisions of the Universe.
Psellns, in his book of the Genii or of the Angels, which
have the superintendence of the'World, is grouping them
also three by three, so as to face the four corners of the
World.
But let us hear the Christian doctors and the Jews thenselves. The learned bishop of Alexandria tells us of the
Rational, which ornaments the breast of the High Priest of
the Jews, that it is an image of Heaven, that the twelve precious stones, of which it is composed, and which are ranged
three by three on a quadrilateral, designate the zodiac and
the four seasons, fromn three to three montls. Now  these
stones, being disposed like those of the Apocalypse, are also




Chap. XIT.]  THE ORIGIN o' ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     419
the same, or very nearly so. Philon and Josephus, give a
similar explanation. On each of the stones, says Josephus,
there was engraved the name of one of the twelve sons of
Jacob, the chief of the tribes, and these stones represented
"the months or the twelve signs, which figure in the zodiac."
Philon adds, that this distribution of three by three, clearly
indicated  the seasons, which "under each  of the three
months, correspond to three signs."
After these testimonies, we are not permitted to doubt,
that the same astrological genius, which presided over the
composition of the Rational, has also projected the plan of
the Holy City, resplendent with light, and into which are admitted the elect, and the faithful disciples of Ormuzd.
In Lucian, there will also be found. a similar city, destined to
receive the Blessed, into which the gold and precious stones,
which adorned the city of the Apocalypse are to be seen in their
refulgence. There is no difference whatsoever between these two
fictions, if it is not this, that in Lucian there is the division by
seven, on the planetary system, which is there represented; and
that in the Apocalypse the division by twelve has been preferred,
being that of the zodiac, through which the people passed, in
order to return to the luminous World. The Manicheans, in
their sacred fictions on the return of the souls " to the perfect
air and to the pillar of light," represented these same signs by
twelve vases attached to a wheel, which in its circular motion
elevated the souls of thile Blessed towards the center of eternal Light. The mystagogical genius has altered the emblems
by which the Worldand the zodiac were designated: this great
wheel is the zodiac, called by the Hebrews the wheel of the;signs. Those are the wheels, which Ezechiel had seen moving
in the Heavens; because the Orientals, as Beausobre judiciously remarks, are very mystical, and express their thoughts
only by symbols and figures. To take them  literally, would
be taking the sjbadow for reality. So for instance, the Maho



420        THE 01110IN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [ Chap. XI1.
inetans describe the Universe by a city, which has twelve thousand "Parasangs" of circumference, and in which there are
twelve thousand porticos, in other, words, they employ the
millesimal division, of which the Persians make use of in their
fable of the creation, in order to represent the time or the
famouns period, which the two principles divide amongst
themselves. These fables are to be found everywhere.
The nations of the North speak also of twelve Governors,
who were charged with the organization of all that concerns
the administration of the Celestial city. They hold their
meetings in the plain called Ida, which is in the midst of the
Divine residence. They sit in a -Hall, where there are twelve
thrones, besides the one which is occupied by the universal
Father. This Hall is the largest and the most magnificent in
the World. Nothing is to be seen there but gold outside and
inside: it is called the mansion of Bliss. At the extremity
of Heaven there is the most beautiful of all cities: it is
called Gimle; it is more brilliant' even than the Sun. This city
shall remain in existence even after the destruction of Heaven
and Earth; the good and the upright people shall dwell there
for all ages to come.
It will be observed, that there is in the sacred fables of these
people, just as in the Apocalypse, a conflagration of the actual
WVorld, and apassage of mankind into another World, where
they shall live. After many prodigies, which accompany this
grand catastrophe, there appear many habitations, some of
which are agreeable and others horrible. The best of all is
Gimle. The "Edda" speaks, as the Apocalypse, of a new
Heaven and a new Earth.  " It says, that there shall issue
"from the sea, another beautiful and agreeable Earth, covyered with verdure and with fields, where grain grows spon"taneously and without culture. Evils shall be banished,'from the World."  In the Voluspa, a poem of the Scandinavians, there is also to be seen the great Dragon of the Apoca



Chap. X.l.   T']JHE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  421
lypse, which is attacked and killed by the son of Oclin or the
God Thor. " Then the Sun shall go out, the Earth shall be
" dissolved in the Sea; the devouring flame shall reach all the
"bounds of Creation, and shoot up towards Heaven. But
"from the bosom of the waves, says the prophetess, I see
"surging a new Earth, clothed with verdure. There are to be
"seen ripe crops, which had never been sown: the Evil dis-'*appears. At Ginle, I see a mansion, covered with gold and
"more brilliant than the Sun; there, the virtuous people shall
"dwell, and there shall be no end to their bliss."  I do not
think, that people will be tempted to believe, that this Scandinavian prophetess was inspired by God. Why then should
the author of the prophecy of the Christians of Phrygia, or
of the revelation of the prophet John, be regarded in preference as inspired?  Because there are absolutely the same
mystagogical ideas, which we have seen consecrated in the
theology of the Magi, of which Theopompus has given us a
summary, long time before ever any Christians existed.
We have a precicus piece of that theology in the twentyfourth allocution of Dion Chrysoston, wherein the system  of
the conflagration of the World and of the reorganization is
described, under the veil of an allegory. There will be observed the dogma of Zeno and of Heraclites, on the transfusion or on the metamorphosis of the elements one into the
other, until the element of fire succeeds in converting the
whole into its nature. This system is that of the Indians, who
believe that Vichnu makes everything reenter -into his substance, in order to create from it a new World. In all this,
there is nothing very surprising or inspired, but simply a
philosophical opinion, like so many others. Why should it be
regarded with us, as a revealed truth? Is it because it is
found in a book, which is reputed as sacred?  This fiction in
Dion Chrysostom, is adorned with images as wonderful as
those in the Apocalypse. Each one of the elements is repre



422         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. Xl.
sented by a horse, bearing the name of the horse of the God,
who is set over the element. The first horse belongs to the
element of the Fire Ether, called Jupiter; it is superior to
the three others, as the Fire, which occupies the highest place
in the order.of the elements. This horse has wings and is
the fleetest of all; it describes the largest circle, which encompasses all the others; it shines of the purest light, and on
its body are the images of the Sun and the Moon and of the
Stars which are situate in the ethereal regions. This horse is
the handsomest of all, andl is singularly beloved by Jupiter.
The Apocalypse has also its horses, each of which is distinguished by its color.
There is a second one, which comes immediately after that,
and which almost touches it. It is that of Juno, or in other
words, that of the Air, because Juno is very often taken for
the Air, over which that Goddess presides. It is inferior in
force and swiftness to the first, and describes an interior and
narrower circle; its color is naturally black, but that part,
which is exposed to the Sun, becomes luminous, while the
other, which is in the shade preserves its natural color.  Who
does not recognize in these traits the Air, which is luminous
during the day and dark in the night.
The third horse is consecrated to Neptune, the God of the
Sea. It is still heavier in its gait, than the second.
The fourth is immoveable.  It is called the horse of Vesta.
It remains in its place, biting its bit. The two nearest lean
against and incline on it. The fastest circulates around it as
around its post. It will be sufficient to remark here, that
Vesta is the name, which Plato gives to the Earth and to the
central fire, which it contains. He also represents it as immovable in the midst of the World. Thus three concentric
strata of elements are raised above the Earth, which is placed
in the center, the velocity of which is in inverse ratio to their
density. The most subtile, as the quickest, is the element of




Chap. XI].  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIPI.    4
Fire, represented by the first horse: the heaviest is the Earth,
stable and fixed in the center of the World, and expressed by
an immovable horse, around which the three others turn in
distances and in velocity, which increase in proportion to
their distance from the center. These four horses, in spite of
the difference in their temperature, live harmoniously together, which is a figurative expression of the well-known principle of the philosophers, that the World is preserved by the
concord and harmony of its elements.
However, after many and many turns, the vigorous and
heated breath of the first horse, falls upon the others and
particularly upon the last; it burns its mane and all its
finery, of which it seemed so proud. This is the event, as the
Magi say, which the Greeks have sung in the fable of Phaeton; we have explained it in our larger work,
Many years after, the horse of Neptune, by over exertion,
was covered with sweat, which overflowed the immovable
horse near it. This is the Deluge of Deucalion, which we
have also explained.
These two fictions express a philosophical dogma of the
Ancients, who predicted the conflagration of the World, when
the principle of Fire would domineer, and the deluge, when
the principle of Water became paramount. These disasters
nevertheless did not bring along with them the total destruction of the World.
There would be a still more terrible catastrophe, which
would cause the universal destruction of all things; it would
be that, which would result from the metamorphosis, or from
the transmutation of the four horses into each other, or to
speak without figure, from  the transfusion of the elements
among themselves, until they were fused into one single nab
ture, by yielding to the victorious action of the strongest.
The Magi siill compare this last movement to a set of horses
harnessed to chariots.  The horse of Jupiter, being the




424        TMiE ORIGIN Or ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XII.
strongest, consumes the others, which are, compared to it, as it,
were of wax, and it absorbs in itself all their substance, being itself of an infinitely better nature. After this only sub'stance had expanded and rarefied, so as to acquire anew all
the purity of its primitive nature, it is tending then to reorganize itself, and to reproduce the three other natures or
elements, from which a new World of an agreeable form shall
be composed, and which shall have all the beauty and freshness of a new work. This is the summary of that Cosmogony, of which we have given a detailed explanation in our
manuscript of "comparative Cosmogonies," which has long
been ready for the press. It is therefore not surprising to see
the philosophical dogma of a destroyed and renewed World,
and replaced by a better order of things,-reproduced in
other forms, amongst the various religious sects. This is that
dogma, which forms the basis of the fourth Eclogue (Idyl) of
Virgil, and of the fictions of the Indians on the return of the
golden age. It is also to be found in the third book of the
natural questions of Seneca.
In the theology of the East Indians, which is written absolutEly in the same style as this piece of the theology of the Magi,
they presume, that after the total destruction of the Universe,
God, who remained as a flame, or even as a light, willed, that
the World should assume again its primitive condition, and
forthwith he proceeded with the reproduction of beings. We
shallnot further pursue the parallel of all these philosophical
opinions, which each of the mystagogues has rendered
after his own fashion. We shall content ourselves with
this example, which suffices to give us an idea of the allegorical genius of the ancient sages of the East, and to
justify the use we have made of the philosophical dogmas,
with which we are acquainted, in order to find out the meaning of those monstrous fictions of Oriental mystagogy. This
way of instructing the people, or rather to impose upon it




(hap. XII. TJ    E ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.   425
under the pretext of instruction, is as far from the habits and
manners of the present day, as the hieroglyphical writing is
different from ours, and as.the style of the sacred science is
from that of the philosophy of our days. But such was the
language, which was used towards the Initiates, says the author of the Phcenician Cosmogony, in order to excite through
it the astonishment and the admiration of the mortals. It is
the same genius, that presided over the compilation of the
first chapters of the Genesis, and which has created the fable
of the tree of the two principles, or the tree of the knowledge
of Good and of Evil, and that of the famous Serpent, which
introduces into the World an Evil, which can only be redeemed
by the Lamb.
The object of the apocalyptical fiction was not only to excite the astonishment of the Neophyte initiated into the mysteries of the Lamb, but also to strike terror into the heart of
all those, who should not remain faithful to the laws of Initiation; because all the great sacerdotal fables, of the Tartarus,
of the deluge, of the end of the World, &c., have, had the
satme object. The priests wanted to rule the World by fear.
All nature was put in arms against muan; no phenomenon
could happen, but it was a sign of an effect of the wrath of
the Gods. Hail, thunder, a great fire, pestilence, &c., all the
scourges, with which poor humanity is afflicted, have been regarded as so many blows of the divine vengeance, falling on
guilty generations. The destruction of Sodom by fire, is held
up as a punishment for the misdeeds of its inhabitants. There
are certain tribes amongst the Arabs, which are called "the
lost ones," because they did not obey the voice of the prophet. The famous "Atlantis," perhaps only existing in the
imagination of the priests of Egypt, was submerged merely
because the Gods wished to punish the sins of those'islanders.  The Japanese have also the fiction of their island.Maury, which was likewise submerged  in consequence of
54




426        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XIL.
divine vengeance. But it was particularly the philosophical
dogma on the transmatation of the elements, which has been
the most abused under the name of the end of the World;
because everything, wherewith to frighten mankind and to
hold it in their dependence, seemed good enough to the
priests. Although this threat should never be realized, yet
it was always feared, and that was enough. It is true, that
on that account men did not change for the better. If by
chance they dared to fix the epoch of that catastrophe, they
got rid of it, by putting it off for another ftir:  and the people were nevertheless duped; because such will always be its
fate, as long as it shall put trust in priests; hence those perpetual fears, in which it was kept during the first centuries of
the Church, and those fatal apprehensions of the end of the
World, which was always believed to be near at hand: afterwards it was put off to the eleventh century or to the year.one thousand of the Christian era.  This chimera, which
frightens now nobody, not even under the formls of a comet,
which new mountebanks have given it, had been revived in
these latter centuries. It belongs to philosophy, aided by
learning, to lift the veil, which covers the origin of those
fables, to analyze those marvelous tales, and above all to
point out its object. This is, what we have dAone in this work.




A DESCRIPTION
OF THE CIRCULAR ZODIAC OF DENDERAH.
The circular Zodiac, which is now in Paris, had been sculptured on the ceiling of a small apartment, built on the platform of the great temple of Isis at Denderah (th6 ancient
Tentyris of the Egyptians); another astronomical subject
formed an appendant of the zodiac, and between the two tableaux there was a large female figure in bass relief, with the
feet turned towards the entrance of the temple and the head.
towards the sanctuary. The frontispiece of the temple itself
facing the North and the Nile, which in that part of its course
is from East to West. IDenderah is situated about 12 French
leagues or 36 miles to the North of the ruins of Thebes, in
latitude 26 8 34.
The apartment which contained the circular zodiac, is composed of three pieces, of which the first one is open; it is that
of the middle, which had the zodiac on its ceiling; this latter
having been removed, the second piece is now uncovered like
the first, so much so, that the tableau, which made an appendage of the zodiac, and the large female statue are exposed to the waste of the elenments; it wouldbe very desirable
to transport them also to Europe. The three saloons spoken
of, particularly the first, are covered with splendid bass reliefs, which mnay be classed amongst the best sculptures of the
Egyptian style.
The angle which is made by the axis of the temple and also
by that of the zodiacal tableau with the meridian of the place
is 17W'<East.
This tableau is composed of two principal parts; one is a
kind of circular plateau, which is a little jutting out from the
ground; the other is the space, which separates it fromn the




428         THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XI.:urrounding square; finally, at each side (at the South and at
the North side, see plate at a. and at b.) there was a large
space covered with zigzags, which it was not believed necessary to carry also to Paris. The second space is mostly filled up
by twelve large figures, supporting with their hands the circular
plateau, and keeping a position towards the center, as almost
all the personages of the tableau; four among them, occupying the angles, are females in a standing position: the other
eight, which are kneeling, are of the masculine gender, bearing the mlask of the sparrowhawk, a bird consecrated to
Osiris.
The side of the square, which encloses the zodiac is about
2.42 meters (or about 8 feet English), and the diameter of
the circular plateau 1.52 meters (about 5 feet English).  The
total length of the room is 6.46 meters (nearly 21 feet English), and its width 3.53 meters (or about 11.58 feet English).
The interior of the circular plateau munst, be examined with
some attention, in order to distinguish the figures of the zodiac.  Taking a position at the North side and looking towards
the nave of the temple, we recognize first above our head and
a little to the right, the Lion. (1)*  It is followed by the Virgin, holding a large ear of corn; thea by the Balance, the
Scorpion, the Sagittarius and the Capricorn; the other half
of the circle includes the WTatermlan, the Fishes with  their
node, the Ramn, the Bull, the Twins and the Cancer, all twelve
turnilng in the samue direction, with the exception of the last
one.  These figures following each other in succession, form
nearly a circular bend, eccentric with the circle of the plateau;
this position appears more irreluLlar by the transposition of
the Cancer, which instead of being before the Lion, is above
its head, as if it had been the object, to mark on the circumference an initial point; on account of this double motive, the
eSee plate at No. 1; Virgin is indicated by No. 2, ant so forth, one after the other.




Chap. X1I]1  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     429
Cancer is far nearer the center, than the Capricorn.  The
Twins are also a little ascending towards the center, which
makes the curve of the twelve signs' resemble a spiral of a
single revolution.
With regard to the analogy between the figures of the
zodiac of Denderah and those which have been transmitted
to us in the Grecian and.Roiman zodiacs, M. Dupuis observes, that it is not so exact as M. Visconti and M.
de Lalande thought to have discovered: "Aries or the
" Ram in the Grecian sphere has its tail turned. towards the
"Bull; in the zodiac of Denderah it is turned towards the
"Fishes. In the Grecian zodiac the Bull is in a couching po" sition; in the monunent of Denderah at the contrary, it is
"salient, like a furious Bull, which is a very different attitude.
"The Twins of the zodiac of Denderah are far different fron' those of the Grecian zodiac. The Virgin has no wings in
"the Egyptian monunme  t, but it has in all the Grecian
"zodiacs. In the monument of Denderah the Sagittarius has
"two faces, its horse has wings; the Grecian Sagittarius has
" only one face and no wings. The Waterman of the Grecian
"zodiac represents a man having a vase or an urn on his
"' thigh, from which escapes a stream  of water. The mounn-'; ment of Denderah at the contrary shows a man in a stand"ing position, holding  two small vases, one in each hand,
"firom which he pours the water. The pretended analogy
"between the zodiacs was asserted, it would seem with a view
*'to make this Egyptian imonumlent appear of Grecian origin
"according to M. Visconti, and to disparage thereby the in" contestable antiquity of the zodiac of DI)enderah, ascending
"to about 2500 years before our era," according to several
opinions.
After having noted the twelve signs, our attention is directed to some other extra-zodiacal figures. The center of
the plateau is occupied by an animal resembling a Fox or




430        THE[E ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.  [Chap. XII.
rather a Jackal (c), surrounded by various emblematic figures
which seem to correspond to some circumpolar constellations,
The precise point of the center of the plateau is situated un-.
der the anterior right paw of the Jackal (cd).
Not only is the series of the twelve principal figures in conformity with that of the twelve signs, but there is also much
analogy between the space, which both occupy relatively
either in the tableau or in the Heavens. Thus the Cancer,
the Twins, the Waterman, which occupy the least space in the
celestial vault, are represented by figures in the zodiac, filling
the least room; and at the contrary the Virgin (with the interval separating it from the two next figures) the Lion and
the Fishes, occupy also a larger space either in the Heavens
or in thei sculptured zodiac.
It is obvious, that there was an intention to designate some
extra-zodiacal constellations; indeed, if we look on a celestial
globe, after having ascertained the position of the twelve
signs, to find, which are those which are sensibly corresponding to them, be they Northern or Southern, we recognize
easily under the Lion the figure of the Hydra (e); a little furl
ther on the RIaven (f) perfectly distinct; between the Virgin
and the Balance, Bootes (g) easily distinguishable by his oxhead; on the line separating the Bull f.mo the Twins, the
giant Orion (h) armed with his club, and in a lively attitude
of lmarching; on his left, the Cow with the star of Isis or
Sirius (i) laying down in a boat; the Swan (k) placed between
the Capricorn and the Sagittarius; finally near the center, the
little Bear, also known by the.name of Fox (c); there are
many more which might be found, but these indications would
be too conjectural.
Proceeding in our review, we observe the circumference of
the plateau occupied by thirty-six to thirty-seven figures or
emblematic groups, looking towards the center; almost all accomipanied by some hieroglyphics, and by one or more stars,




Chap. XII.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.     431
one, two, three, six, nine, twelve and up to fifteen, symmetrically disposed; but this nmmber of thirty-six is too considerable in order to belong to so many constellations; these figures are in very unequal distances from each other; they seem
to act the same part as those, which in the large zodiac of the
portico of Denderah, ar3 placed three by three, under the
twelve signs, each in a boat.
The empty space, which remains between the plateau and
the sides of the square, is occupied as before stated by twelve
large figures, and besides by a zone, ornamented with hieroglyphics, which are divided into eight equal bands (1. 1. ) and
by four other hieroglyphic inscriptions, of three, four or five
columns each.
Nothing remains, in order to finish' the description of the
monument, but to remark: (1) two smaller inscriptions (m n)
placed at the two ends of a diameter, passing through the
Cancer, between the above describsd zone and the circular
plateau; (2) two hieroglyphic groups or complex signs (o p)
also situated at the two extremities of a diameter, traversing
the Bull and the Scorpion. These two groups have one form,
which is common to them; both are accompanied from  one
side of the axis to the other, by two half circles or hemispheres, and the only difference between them is the emblem
with which they are crowned. There is also within the same
space a little disc (q) before the mouth of one of the four
large standing figures, which is placed in the prolongation of
the radius passing through the Cancer.
It might be possible to draw several consequences from the
form  and positions of some emblematic figures, which are
distributed in the interior of the plateau, from  the center to
the zodiacal bend or curve, six of which are accompanied by
a star, but it will suffice to observe (1) that the initial point of
the twelve signs, is between the Lion and the Cancer; (2) that
the twelve figures of the Egyptian circular zodiac differ some



432        THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORsHIP.  [CltaZp. X11.
what from that of the Greeks, while solme analogy exists, as
for instance the Fox and the Scorpion and the Seacalf, which
is threatened by a man with a spear near the Capricorn.
These two constellations are not in the Grecian sphere. (3)
That this tableau represents with enl6ugh accuracy, although
not with mathematical precision, the situation of the principal
constellations in the Heavens. It may be added, as being
very probable, that the large figurles, which support the tablean, denote the twelve months corresponding to each of the
twelve signs, and that the first month of each season is represented by a standing figure, and the two others in a kneeling
position: indeed, each of these four principal signs has before
it, either a particular hieroglyphic inscription, or one of those
complex signs, of which we have spoken; and in all likelihood, two of these inscriptions have reference to the summer
and winter solstice, and the two others to the autumnal and
vernial equinoxes,
With regard to the astronomical or chronological epoch,
represented by this monument, we shall not hazard an opinIon, this being a scientific question absolutely foreign to this
description, requiring very difficult researches, and which cannot be treated with success, except by those, who should
possess a profound knowledge of the Egyptian symbols.
Many conjectures have been made about it; all give to the
zodiac of Denderah an origin of many thousand years anterior to the Adamite period, as established by the priests;
everything induces the belief, that the least probable of these
conjectures will come nearer the truth than the theological
calculations. Mr. Dupuis says in this respect: "Up to this' date, we only know one thing, which is, that the equinoctial
" and the solsticial points at the epoch at which this zodiac
"was composed, corresponded to the constellations of the
"the Ram, the Balance, the Cancer and the Capricorn; but
"they have corresponded to it during 2160 years, to-wit, since




Chap. XIZ.]  THE ORIGIN OF ALL RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.       433
" the year 2548 up to the year 318 before the coi mmencement
"of the vulgar era.  Within those limits is included the
"epoch, indicated by this monument.  We know, that the
"equinoctial nole by its retrograde movement, travels over
"one degree in about 72 years.  If we suppose that the
"" colures" traverse these constellations in their midst, as in
"the Zodiac, of which a copy was brought by, Eudoxis from
"Eg'ypt into Greece, and we shall have the mean term, which
"fixes the epoch of this zodiac at 1468 years before our era,
"to-wit: at the reign of Sesostris, or at about 46 years before
"the renewal of the Sothic period, which happened under
" his reign, as we have shown in our essay on the Phoenix.
" It would seemi difficult to bring that epoch nearer."
General Dessaix was its first discoverer, and 3M[. Denon, one
of the savants who accompanied the French expedition into
Egypt, made the first drawing of it; since then the Government of France has bought it front the Pasha of Egypt for
the price of 150),000 francs, and it was transported to Paris
in 1822 through the care of Messrs. Saulnier and Lorrain.
THE END.
NOTE.-For the proper understanding of the Celestial positions given in this Work,
the Reader is referred to Burritt's Celestial Maps.








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