YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DISSERTATION ELEUSINIAN and BACCHIC MYSTERIES. Ec raig TEAETAIE Kxdapo'eig yyovvTat Kat mtptpp.evqg le xj ctxctSccfiJou (< eig otSov dTTioiio'i.g, x\ l^?1e o-%eo~etg av, x^ 11 fag fptoSovg airo tuv ovtriuv Xj tuv (lege " Xa xccja tuv) nujplKUV §EO~l/.UV TSXfJtaipO- ** fievog. a. Sij Iqg o'VfiCoXtxvjg airuvja §tu- *' ptocg egi fiefa, x) tuv irapct']otg Trottjjeus *' SpvXXovptevuv uvoSuv^e x^ xc&oSuv, tuv " 7£ Siovvtriaxuv trvv^fftiOiTuv, x) tuv titu- ** cixwc ufJt.ot,plvifA.ix,Tuv Xeyofaevuv, JtJ 7W" " ec «Ji»u TptoSuv, Xj ^g .cc xeeT vvcnav 7r^uBv^.av^.s*o^ «Aty- Xlt"> lt "Xtt,T\ 1ov1si$ aiiluli ta hoyu jiatrcptvulai, oils aw1» lo aytzSoK »«* tpno-u, ithtai tov ovlu; i^otlx, oi/li aAAo aya9o» ovoev ; aAA' a tin iliwAou livo; ti. aTepTTitj^u vu fSaSv}, tv§x TVtpXog ev aSov pievuv, k, evTavSa xaxei cxtatg o-vvegt. And what ftill far ther confirms our expofition is, that matter was confidered by the Egyp tians as a certain mire or mud. " The " Egyptians," fays Simplicius, in Arift. Phyf. p. 50, " called matter, " (which they fymbolically denomi- " nated water,) the dregs or fedi- " ment ofthe firft life; matter being, " as it were, a certain mire or mud." A/o x^ AtyVTrJioi tijv Tv\g TTpujyjg ^u^q, vjv vSup crvpiCoXixug exaXovv, VTTogaSpivjv ti_v vXijv eXeyov, otov iXw^iva ovtrav. So that. from all that has been faid we may fafely conclude with Ficinus, whofe words are as exprefs to our purpofe as [ 14 ] poflible. " Laftly," fays he, " that 1 may comprehend the opinion of the antient theologifts, on the ftate of the foul after death, in a few words : they confidered, as we have elfewhere aflerted, things divine as the only realities, and that all others were only the images and (hadows of truth. Hence they aflerted that prudent men, who earneftly em ployed themfelves in divine con cerns, were above all others in a vigilant ftate. But that imprudent men, who purfued objects of a diffe rent nature, being laid afleep, as it were, were only engaged in the delufions of dreams : and that if they happened to die in this fleep, before they were roufed, they would be afflicted with fimilar and ftill (harper virions in a future ftate. And that as he who in this life pur fued realities, would, after death, C '5 ] enjoy the higheft truth, fo he who was converfant with fallacies, would hereafter be tormented with falla cies and delufions in the extreme : as the one would be delighted with true objects of enjoyment, fo the other would be tormented with de- lufive femblances of reality." — Denique ut prifcorum theologorum fententiam de ftatu animae poft mor tem paucis comprehendam : fola di- vina (ut alias diximus) arbitrantur res veras exiftere, reliqua efle rerum verarum imagines , atque umbras. Ideo prudentes homines, quidivinis incumbunt, prze ceteris vigilare. Imprudentes autem qui fectantur alia, infomniis omnino quafi dor- mientes illudi, ac fi in hoc fomno ' priufquam expergefadti fuerint mo- riantur fimilibus poft difceffum et acrioribus vifconibus angi. Et ficut [ «6 ] " eum qui in vita veris incubuit, poft '* mortem fumma veritate potiri, fie " eum qui falfa fedtatus eft, fallacia *' extrema torqueri, ut ille rebus veris " obledtetur, hie falfis vexetur fimu- " lachris." Ficin. de immortal anim. lib. 18, p. 411. But notwithftanding this important truth was obfcurely fhewn by the lefler myfteries, we muft not fuppofe that it was generally known even to the initiated themfelves : for as people of almoft all defcriptions were admit ted to thefe rites, it would have been a ridiculous proftitution to difclofe to the multitude a theory fo abftradted and fublime. It was fufEcient to in- ftrudt thefe in the dodtrine of a future ftate of rewards and punifhments, and in the means of returning to the prin ciples from which they originally fell : [ '7 ] for this laft piece of information was, according to Plato in the Phaedo, the ultimate defign of the myfteries ; and the former is neceflarily inferred from the prefent difcourfe. Hence the rea fon why it was obvious to none but the Pythagoric and Platonic philofo- phers, who derived their theology from Orpheus himfelf, the original founder of thefe facred inftitutions ; and why we meet with no information in this particular in any writer prior to Plo tinus ; as he was the firft who, hav ing penetrated the profound wifdom of antiquity, delivered it to pofterity without the concealments of myftic fymbols and fabulous narrations. Hence too, I think, we may infer, with the greateft probability, that this recondite meaning of the myfteries was not known even to Virgil himfelf^ [ «8 ] who has fo. elegantly defcribed their external form ; for notwithstanding the traces of Platonifm which are to be found in the ^Eneid, nothing of any great depth occurs throughout the whole, except what a fuperficial read ing of Plato and the fhews of the myfteries might eafily alford. But this is not perceived by the moderns, who, entirely unfkilled themfelves in. Platonifm, and fafcinated by the charms of his poetry, imagine him to be deeply knowing in a fubjedt with which he was moft likely but flightly acquainted. This opinion is ftill far ther ftrengthened, by confidering that the doctrine delivered in his Eclogues is perfectly Epicurean, which was the fafhionable philofophy of the Auguf- tan age ; and that there is no trace of Platonifin in any other part of his works but the prefent book, which, [ 19 ] in confequence of its containing a re- prefentation of the myfteries, was ne- ceflarily obliged to difplay fome of the principal tenets of this philofophy, fo far as they illuftrated and made a part of thefe myftic exhibitions. How ever, on the fuppofition that this book prefents us with a faithful view of fome part of thefe facred rites, and this accompanied with the utmoft ele gance, harmony, and purity of verfi- ficatiori, it ought; to be confidered as an invaluable relic of antiquity, and a precious monument of venerable myf- ticifm, recondite wifdom, and theo logical information. This will be fuf- ficiently evident from what has been already "delivered, by confidering fome of the beautiful defcriptions of this book in their natural order ; at the fame time that the defcriptions them- felves will corroborate the prefent elu cidations. C 2 [ 20 ] In the firft place, then, when he fays, facilis defcenfus Averno. Nodes atque dies patet atra janua ditis : Sed revocare gradum, fuperafque evadere ad auras, Hoc opus, hie labor eft. Pauci quos aequus amavit Jupiter, aut ardens evexit ad asthera virtus, Dis geniti potuere. Tenent media omnia filvse, Cocytufque finu labens, circumvenit atro. Is it not obvious, from the preceding explanation, that by Avernus, in this place, and the dark gates of Pluto, we muft underftand a corporeal nature, the defcent into which is indeed at all times obvious and eafy, but to recall our fteps, and afcend into the upper regions, or, in other words, to fepa- rate the foul from body by the cathar tic virtues, is indeed a mighty work, and a laborious tafk ? For a few only, the favourites of heaven, that is, born with the true philofophic genius, and whom ardent virtue has elevated to C 21 1 divine contemplations, have been en abled to accomplifh the arduous defign. But when he fays that all the middle regions are covered with woods, this too plainly intimates a material nature; the word filva, as is well known, being ufed by antient writers to fignify matter, and implies nothing more. than that the paflage leading to the bara thrum of body, /. e. into profound darknefs and oblivion, is through the medium of a material nature : and this medium is furrounded by the black bofom of Cocytus, that is, by bitter weeping and lamentations, the necef- fary confequence of the foul's union with a nature entirely foreign to her own. So that the poet in this parti cular perfectly correfponds with Empe- docles in the line we have cited above, where he exclaims, alluding to this union, [ 22 .] For this I tueep, for this indulge my « Aetfcwn* Tt Kj o-Kolo, »Aoso-)!oyo-|». / * This and the other citations from Empedocles are to be found in Hierocles in Aur. Carm. p. 1 86. C 29 ] And hence he juftly fays of fuch a foul, that " She flies from deity and heav'nly light, •* To ferve mad difcord in the realrris of night." iti)5, Nsixii' fiunoy.tvif •ria-vto... Where too you may obferve that the difcordia demens of Virgil is an exadt tranflation of the jietxei' (jtatvopievu of Empedocles. In the lines too which immediately fucceed, the for rows and mournful mi- feries attending the foul's union with a material nature, are beautifully de fcribed. Hinc via, Tartarei quae fert Acheroniis ad undsis •. Turbidus hie csno vaftaque voragine gurges Aeftuat, atque omnem Cocjto eruftat arenam. And when Charon calls out to ./Eneas to defift from entering any farther, and tells him, [ 3° ] " Here to refide delufive (hades delight ; " For nought dwells here but fleep and drowfy night." Umbrarum hie locus eft, Somni Noftifque foporae. Nothing can more aptly exprefs the condition of the dark regions of body, into which the foul, when defcending, meets with nothing but fhadows and drowfy night : and by perfifting in her ruinous courfe, is at length lulled into profound fleep, and becomes a true inhabitant of the phantom abodes of the dead. ^Eneas having now paffed over the Stygian lake, meets with the three- headed monfter Cerberus, the guar dian of thefe infernal abodes : Tandem trans fluvium incolumis vatemque virumque Informi limo glaucaque exponit in ulva. Cerberus haec ingens latratu regna trifauci Perfonat, adverfo recubans immanis in antro. Where by Cerberus we muft under- ftand the difcriminative part of the [ 3* ] foul, of which a dog, on account of its fagacity, is an emblem ; and the three heads fignify the triple diftinc- tion of this part, into the intellective, cogitative, and opinionative powers. — With refpedt to the three kinds of perfons defcribed as fituated on the borders of the infernal realms, the poet doubtlefs intended by this enu meration to reprefent -to us the three moft remarkable characters, who, though not apparently deferving of punifhment, are yet each of them fimilarly merged in matter, and con- fequently require a fimilar degree of purification. The perfons defcribed are, as is well known, firft, the fouls of infants fnatched away by untimely ends; fecondly, fuch as are condemn ed to death unjuftly ; and> thirdly, thofe who, weary of their lives, be come guilty of filicide. And with refpedt to the firft of thefe, or infants, [ 32 ] their connection with a material nature is obvious. The fecond fort, too, who are condemned to death unjuftly, muft be fuppofed to reprefent the fouls of men who, though innocent of one crime for which they were wrongfully punifhed, have, notwithftanding, been guilty of many crimes, for which they are receiving proper chaftifement in Hades, /. e. through a profound union with a material nature. And the third fort, or fviicides, though apparently feparated from body, have only ex changed one place for another of a fimilar nature ; fince a conduct of this kind, according to the arcana of divine philofophy, inftead of feparating the foul from body, only reftores it to a condition perfectly correfpondent to its former inclinations and habits, la mentations and woes. But if we ex amine this affair more profoundly, we lhall find that thefe three characters [ 33 ] are juftly placed in the fame fituation, becaufe the reafon of punifhment is in each equally obfcure. For is it not a juft matter of doubt, why the fouls of infants fhould be punifhed ? And is it not equally dubious and wonderful why thofe. who have . been unjuftly condemned to death in one period of exiftence fhould be punifhed in ano ther ? And as to fuicides, Plato in his Phaedo fays, that the prohibition of this crime in the atroppr^a is a profound doctrine, and not eafy to bemnder- ftood. Indeed the true caufe why the two firft of thefe charadtrs are in Ha des, can only be obtained from regard ing a prior ftate. of exiftence, in fur- veying which, the latent juftice of punifhment will be manifeftly reveal ed ; the apparent inconfiftencies in the adminiftration of providence fully re conciled ; and the doubts concerning the wifdom of its proceedings entirely [ 34 ] diflblved. And as to the laft of thefe, or fuicides, fince the reafon of their punifhment, and why an action of this kind is in general highly attro- cious, is extremely myftical and ob fcure, the following folution of this difficulty will, no doubt, be gratefully received by the Platonic reader, as the whole of it is no where elfe to be found but in manufcript. Olympio- dous, then, a moft learned and excel lent commentator on Plato, in his commentary on that part of the Phae do where Plato (peaks of the prohi bition of fuicide in the amopp-fta, ob ferves as follows : ** The argument," fays he, " which Plato employs in this place againft fuicide is derived from the Orphic mythology, in which four, kingdoms are celebra ted : the firft of Heaven, whom Saturn affaulted, cutting off the genitals of his father. But after I 35 J " Saturn, Jupiter fucceeded to the " government of the world, having " hurled his father into Tartarus. " And after Jupiter, Bacchus rofe to " light, who, according to report, " was, through the ftratagems of Ju- " no, torn in pieces by the Titans, by " whom he was furrounded, and who " afterwards tafted his flefh : but Ju- ** piter enraged at the deed, hurled ** his thunder at the guilty offenders " andconfumedthemtoafh.es. Hence *' a certain matter being formed from " the vapour of the fmoke afcending "from their burning bodies, out of " this mankind were produced. It is " unlawful therefore to deftroy our- " felves, not as the words of Plato lt feem to import, becaufe we are in " body, as in a prifon, fecured by a " guard ; (for this is evident, and " Plato would not have called fuch " an aflertion arcane) but becaufe our D 2 [ 36 ] " body is Dionyfiacal, or the property " of Bacchus : for we are a part of " this god, fince we are com po fed " from the vapours of the Titans who " tafted .his fleih. Socrates, there- " fore, fearful of difclofing the arcane " part of this narration, adds nothing " mote of the fable but that we are *' placed as in a certain prifon fecured " by a guard: but the interpreters " relate the fable openly." Kai egi lo pivStxov emxetpyfAAa toivJov. Tlupa tu Optpet Teo-trapeg fiatrtXeiat icapaS.Sov\at. \~lpu\v\ piev, i\ tov Ovpavov, up o Kpovog SteSe^ajo, exjeptuv "]a atSota tov nta\pog. Meja St] "]ov Kpovov, o Zevg e@aariXevo~ev xa\a\ap\apua-ag tov Trccjepa. EtTa "]ov Ata SteSe£a)o o Aio- WTog, ov tpatri xaf e7riCovXi.v t^j Hp ag Tovg nrepi av\ov Tijavag o-mupa-fletv, x) "]uv crap? xuv avTov airoyeveoSai. Kat "jovlovg opyttr- Seig o Zev; exepavvutre, x) ex lyg u&uX'ng tuv aTptuv tuv avaSoSevjuv e£ avTUv, vXyg yevopevyg yeveoSoti Tovg uv^puorovg. Ov Sit [ 37 ] ovv e%ayuyeiv yptag eavjovg, ov% oji 6i? Soxei Xeyeiv y Xefctg, Sioji ev "jivt [Secptu etrptev "ju trupta/i' \ovjo yap SvjXov egi, x. ovx av'jovjo UTroppvilov eXeye, aXX* oji ov Set efcayayeiv vjptag eavjovg ug'jov crupt,ajog yjptuv Siovva-ta" xov ovjog- ptepog yap avjov etrpiev, eiye ex lyg uftaXyg "]uv Tijavuv &vyxetpt,e§a yevtrapte- vuv "juv a-apxuv "jovjov. O piev ovv o-uxpa\ii\g epyu "jo airopp^jov Seixvvg, "jov pivSov ovSev •nXeov nrpoQ-T&y\Q-i ~\ov ug ev "jivi (ppovpa ecr- ptev. Oi Se e^yy-flat "jov pivSov irpoo^j&e- aariv e%u$ev. After this he beautifully obferves, " That thefe four govern- " ments obfcurely fignify the different " gradations of virtues, according to " which our foul contains the fym- *' bols of all the virtues, both theo- " retical and cathartical, political and *' ethical ; for it either energizes ac- *' cording to the theoretic virtues, the " paradigm of which is the govern- " ment of heaven, that we may begin ** from on high ; and on this account [ 3« ]¦ " heaven receives its denomination " •srupx'jou'ja avu opav, from beholding " the things above: — or it lives ca- " thartically, the exemplar of which " is the Saturnian kingdom; and on " this account Saturn is denominated, " from being a pure intellect, through " a furvey of himfelf; and hence he *' is faid to devour his own offspring, " fgnifying the converfion of himfelf ** to himfelf: — or it energizes ac- " cording to the politic virtues, the " fymbol of which is the govern- " ment of Jupiter; and hence Jupi- " ter is the Demiurgus, fo called " from operating about fecondary na- " tures: — or the foul energizes ac- *' cording to both the ethical and " phyfical virtues, the fymbol of " which is the kingdom of Bacchus ; *' and on this account he is fabled to '* be torn in pieces by the Titans, " becaufe the virtues do not follow [ 39 ] " but are feparated from each other." Atvvrjovjat (lege aiviTJovjai} Se "jovg Statpe- oovg QaSptovg *juv apejuv xaS ag v\ vjpiejepa t|/u%ij o~upiGoXa e%ovo~a irao-up tuv apeTuv, tuv 'je Seuptjjixuv, x, xa^aojixuv, x> nroXi- _ixuv, it, vfiixuv. H yap xoija "jag Seupij- 'jtxag evepyei uv TrapaSeiypta i\ 'jov ovpavov GaciXeta, iva avu§ev apz.otpie$a, Sio x^ ov- (>uvog eipfjai trapa "jov "]a avu opav. H xx- Sapjixug fy, v\g napaSeiypia jj xpoveia £a- (riXeia, Sio x). xgovog eipvjlai oiov o xopovovg "jig uv Sia"jo eavjov opav. Aio x* xajanrivetv 'ja oixeia yevvripiocja Xeyejai, ug avjog mpog eavjov eTTigpetpuv. H xaja'jag moXijixag uv cvpt&oXov i. "jov Siog CatriXeia^ Sio xj Svipti- ovoyog o £evg, ug irepi "ja Sevjepa evepyuv. H xujx lag vftmag k, fradtory, and, as it were, rebound- i ing condition of his life. And, ' laftly, he faw Tantalus extended ' by the fide of a lake, and that there ' was a tree before him, with abun- ' dance of fruit on its branches, ' which he defired to gather, but it ' vanifhed from his view ; and this ' indeed indicates, that he lived un- ' der the dominion of the phantafy ; ' but his hanging over the lake, and ' in vain attempting to drink, implies ' the elufive, humid, and rapidly- * gliding condition of fuch a life." O OSvtro~evg xajeX$uv eig aSov, owe "jov trvtri- s ] But that this tradition was accom panied with a vifion of the caufes from which the foul defcended, is evi dent from the exprefs teftimony, in the firft place, of Apuleius, who thus defcribes his initiation into the myfte ries. " Accefli confinium mortis ; et " calcato Proferpinae limine, per om- *' nia vedtus elementa remeavi. Nodte ** media vidi folem candido corufcan- " tem lumine, deos inferos, et deos fu- ** per os. Accefli coram, et adora vi de " proximo**" That is, l( Iapproach- " ed the confines of death ; and tread- " ing on the threfhold of Proferpine, " and being carried through all the *' elements, I came back again to my ** priftine fituation. In the depths of '* midnight I faw the fun glittering " with a fplendid light, together with " the infernal and fupernal gods : and * Apul. Metamorph, lib. u. prope finem. [ 66 ] *• to thefe divinities approaching near, " I paid the tribute of devout adora- " tion." And this is no lefs evidently implied by Plato in the Phaedrus, who thus defcribes the felicity of the virtu ous foul prior to its defcent, in a beau tiful allufion to the arcane vifions of the myfteries. KaXXog Se 'joje i\v tSeiv Xap- irpov, oje (rvv evSaipovt x°Pa paxapiotv o\\iv "je xj $tav err'opevoi peja pev Stog tjpeig, aX Xot Se pej' aXXov §euv, eiSov "je xj ejeXovvja reXeTuv inv Septg Xeyeiv paxapiujajnv i\v op- yiafypev oXoxXijpot pev avjot ovjeg, x). aita- Seig xaxuv otra i\pxg ev ygepu %povu virepe- vev. OXoxXijpa Se x) utrXa it, ajpepy it, evSatpova (paa-pxju pvovpevot "je k, enroTtjev- ovjeg ev avyn xx^apa xaSapoi ovjeg k) uo~ij- pavjoi tovtou o vvv Sy) o~upa irepttpepovjeg ovopafypev ogpeov Tpowov SeSetrpev pevoi.— That is, " But it was then lawful '• to furvey the moft fplendid beauty, " when we obtained, together "with " that blefled choir, this happy vifion [ 67 ] " and contemplation. And we in- " deed enjoyed this bleffed fpedlacle " together with Jupiter ; but others ** in conjunction with fome other " god ; at the fame time being initi- " ated in thofe myfteries, which it is " lawful to call the moft bleffed of all " myfteries. And thefe divine Orgies " were celebrated by us, while we " pofl'efled the proper integrity of our '* nature, and were freed from the ** moleftations of evil which awaited " us in a fucceedmg period of time. " Likewife, in confequence of this " divine initiation, we became fpec- '* tators of entire, fimple, immove- '* able, and bleffed vifions, refident '* in a pure light ; and were our- *' felves pure and immaculate, and ** liberated from this furrounding veft- *' ment, which we denominate body, " and to which we are now bound *' like an oyfter to its fhell." Upon F 2 [ 68 .] this beautiful paflage Prpelue .obferves, in Theol. Plat, lib. 4, p. 193, «* That " initiation and infpefflion are fymbols ft of ineffable filenqe., and of union "' with myftical natures, through in- " telligible yifions." Kai yap 1. pvy atoio allot lOTiWeuoiwiii -t a.7.yavtrtoXoyta, x^ irap EXXvjo-i ^ BapCapoig, Xoyog inv (pvtrixog eyxexaXyppevog pv^otg, Ta iroXXa Si aiviypxjuv x^ virovoiuv eirtxpvtpog, jt; pvginpiuSing QeoXoytx. Ta "je XaXovpeva tuv triyupevuv iv paXiga Stecrirappevijv trvvexetav, o§ev X) TiTavixov to ;, k. vouyna, xajtveaiyvta Mnh* ti %fuo'e« Hccka, itaf Bamficiait hxyvlpmut. [ 154 ] That is, A wheel, a pine-nut, and the wanton plays, Which move and bend the limbs in various ways : With thefe th' Hefperian golden-fruit combine, Which beauteous nymphs defend of voice divine. To all which Clemens adds ta-oifjpov, a mirror, iroxog, a fleece of wool, and agpayaXog, the ankle-bone. In the firft place, then, with refpedt to the wheel, fince Dionyfius, as we have already explained, is the mundane intellect, and intellect is of a redudtorial, or con- vertive nature, nothing can be a more apt fymbol of intellectual energy than a wheel or fphere : befides, as the la ceration of Dionyfius fignifies the pro ceffion of intellectual illumination into matter, and its converfion at the fame time to its fource, this too will be aptly fymbolized by a wheel. In the ' fecond place, a pine-nut, from its co nical fhape, is a perfpicuous fymbol of [ *55 ] the manner in which intellectual illu mination proceeds from its principle into a material nature. " For the " foul," fays Macrobius*, " pro- " ceeding from a round figure, which *' is the only divine form, is produced «' into a cone by its defluxion." And the fame is true fymbolically of intel* ledt. And as to the wanton fports which bend the limbs, this evidently alludes to the Titannic arts, by which Dionyfius was allured, and occultly fignifies the energies of the mundane intellect, confidered as fubfifting ac cording to an apparent and divifible condition. But the Hefperian golden- apples, fignify the pure and incorrup tible nature of that intellect, or Dio nyfius, which is participated by the world ; for a golden apple, according to the philofopher Salluft, is a fymbol * In fom. Scip. cap. 12. [ '56 ] of the world ; and this doubtlefs, both on account of its external figure, and the incorruptible intellect which it contains, and with the illuminations of which it is externally adorned ; fince gold, on account of its never being fubjedt to ruft, aptly denotes an incorruptible and immaterial nature. The mirror, which is the next fym bol, we have already explained. And as to the fleece of wool, this is a fym bol ofthe laceration, or diftribution of intellect, or Dionyfius, into matter ; for the verb cnrapaJTu, dilanio, which is ufed in the relation of the Bacchic difcerption, fignifies to tear in pieces like wool : and hence Ifidorus derives the Latin word lana, wool, from lani- ando, as vellus a vellendo. Nor muft it pafs unobferved, that Xyvog, in Greek, fignifies wool, and Xyvog, a wine-prefs. And, indeed, the prefling of grapes is as evident a fymbol of difperfion as [ *S7 ] the tearing of wool ; and this circum- ftance was doubtlefs one principal rea fon why grapes were confecrated to Bacchus : for a grape, previous to its preflure, aptly reprefents that which is colledted into one ; and when it is prefled into juice, it no lefs aptly re prefents the diffufion of that which was before collected and entire. And laftly, the agpayaXog, or ankle-bone, as it is principally fubfervient to the pro- greflive motion of animals, fo it be longs, with great propriety, to the myftic fymbols of Bacchus ; fince it doubtlefs fignifies the progreffions of that deity into the regions of nature : for nature, or that divifible life which fubfifts about body, and which is pro ductive of feeds, immediately depends on Bacchus. And hence we are in formed by Proclus, in Tim. p. 184, that the genital parts of this god are denominated by theologifts, Diana, [ '53 ] who, fays he, prefides over the whole of the generation in nature, leads forth into light all natural reafons, and ex tends a prolific power from on high even to the fubterranean realms. And hence we may perceive the reafon why, in the Orphic hymn to Nature, that goddefs is defcribed as, " turning " round filent traces with the ankle- " bones of her feet." And it is highly worthy our obferva- tion that in this verfe of the hymn Nature is celebrated as Fortune, ac cording to that defcription ofthe god defs in which fhe is reprefented as ftanding with her feet on a wheel, which fhe continually turns round with a progreflive motion ; as the following verfe from the fame hymn abundantly confirms : Aiwmi rf oipaXiy^i 9oo» g vli±% iinvovcra. [ '59 ] The fenfe of which is, " moving ' with rapid motion on an eternal ' wheel." Nor ought it to feem won- ' derful that Nature fhould be cele- * brated as Fortune; for Fortune in ' the Orphic hymn to that deity is * invoked as Diana : and the moon, ' as we have obferved in the prece- ' ding fedtion, is the avToirjov ayaXpa ' (pva-eug, the felf-confpicuous image of 1 Nature ; and indeed the apparent ' inconftancy of Fortune, has an ' evident agreement with the fludtu- ' ating condition in which the do- ' minions of nature are perpetually * involved." It only now remains that we ex plain the fecret meaning of the facred drefs with which the initiated in the Dionyfiacal myfteries were invefted, in order to the 6povio~pog taking place ; or fitting in a folemn manner on a [ '60 ] throne, about which it was cuftomary for the other myftics to dance. But the particulars of this habit are thus defcribed in the Orphic verfes preferv ed by Macrobius in the firft book of his Saturnalia, cap. 1 8. Tavla ys iru.Hu, ri\ti> iipct o-xym) irvxua-utlcc, AAUifxa. Ssa l.hu..,iw ipiuwyov. r,aMoio. UfUTU, -ui agyvfyeui. (raAiyxio» Kxlinaati Ilea-Aoi' tpowlxepot (lege foitixiot) irvfMiMv u.ppa(. Apo-ito§vj/,i' tptpao-m' fitycco-5.y.,' o£pi//.oWlup *, KixXtiSv ci^tvco 0 vja.ov tv^lpoH irolvict Svfiw H Aioj»a{. Kai ^9o»iur Safi.uo-a.aa. t,iULi,u%» ipuAa yiycular. H KpaSiTir iaa.waa', apivp tevrov \ ayxxioi AiS.-po; « yuaAoiai f«pi£op«£vou Wols Gttx^ou TiTavvv two X'.'1' ,rDf'? ^' E ""alp' (ptpovaot. Oppa »eo; fHovimo-i, air «fpij%wi tomios, Ex o-titi\vj. irtpt xoo-fA.ov ctyrtQ-riari Swvo-o-os. H; irtAixis § 9»pi w» rafmut itpa§ihv\i.ia xapwa 11a,h(xriv$ ««a%; waSem 5j»uul yEn5A»>" H Xf«TO? I)f*{ CtfMOt lyifUl QfOTWt UflTCtUl' H ftolon «oiT/*»o"i«{ °*0' ToXueiJi« 1.X'*.,, Ai/xiot^yixtu otpw || iJ/t/jjeMo-i (3«AA«ii). ¦f Lege 9ioi7EC£ia;. J Lege aftws-i *«>1e». § Lege irefaxv.. || Lege Og^nir. [ '7* ] KAuSi (jliv jj tpctof ctytov uituTpuiriov a)\uoj/.in» irip' yutUt. Ao; i^v^ ?"'0S «y»o» «7r* iuifpwB ceo fJ.vi.at' K«* ffopi*)*' kj EpJltt* jLtEyog J i[i.7ntvaov ipult. Too-ffUiiov, X7 1oioy, oo-oc p^doviuv «?ro xo?>iruv A-vJ/ipm* wpoi; oAuf/.wo» t; »Sfa irulpo; tola, Ei Je li; u[j.irXuKtJifji.s X xux-n Cioloio au/iuc^u. IA«9i ^«iAi^olo'.tiAs" aaoL&pc\f fti) JifteaoTIS J Piyioatuts irowuiaiv eAwp kJ xvp^tpc ysmo-ffu, Kei(xe«o» ev $uir.$Mo-it, oli leos cvp£Of*si Eiiai- KiJ ej*' tumi. [" l73 1 To MINERVA. DAUGHTER of aegis-bearing Jove, divine, Propitious to thy vot'ries prayer incline ; From thy great father's fount fupremely bright, Like fire refounding, leaping into light. Shield-bearing goddefs, hear, to whom belong A manly mind, and power to tame the ftrong! Oh, fprung from matchlefs might, with joyful mind Accept this hymn ; benevolent and kind ! The holy gates of wifdom, by thy hand Are wide unfolded ; and the daring band Of earth-born giants, that in impious fight Strove with thy fire, were vanquifhed by thy might. Once by thy care, as facred poets ling, The heart of Bacchus, fwiftly-flaughter'd king, Was fav'd in aether, when, with fury fir'd, The Titans fell againft his life confpir'd ; And with relentlefs rage and third for gore, Their hands his members into fragments tore : But ever watchful of thy father's will, Thy pow'rpreferv'd him from fucceeding ill, Till from the fecret counfels of his fire, And born from Semele through heav'nly fire, Great Dionyfius to the world at length Again appear'd with renovated ftrength. Once, too, thy warlike axe, with matchlefs fway, Lopp'd from their favagc necks the heads away [ '74 3 Of furious beafts, and thus the pefts deftroy'd Which long all-feeing Hecate annoy'd. By thee benevolent great Juno's might Was rous'd, to furnifh mortals with delight. And thro' life's wide and various range, 'tis thine Each part to beautify with arts divine : Invigorated hence by thee, we find A demiurgic impulfe in the mind. Towers proudly rais'd, and for protection ftrong, To thee dread guardian deity belong, As proper fymbols of th' exalted height Thy feries claims amidft the courts of light. Lands are belov'd by thee, to learning prone, And Athens, O Athena, is thy own ! Great goddefs, hear ! and on my dark'ned mind Pour thy pure light in meafure unconfin'd ; — That facred light, O all-protecting queen, Which beams eternal from thy face ferene. My foul, while wand'ring on the earth, infpire With thy own bleffed and impulfive fire : And from thy fables, myftic and divine, Give all her powers with holy light to thine. Give love, give wifdom, and a power to love, Inceffant tending to the realms above ; Such as unconfcious of bafe earth's controul < Gently attracts the vice fubduing foul : From night's dark region aids her to retire, And once more gain the palace of her fire. O all-propitious to my prayer incline ! Nor let thofe horrid punifhments be mine Which guilty fouls in Tartarus confine, J \ [ *75 ] With fetters faft'ned to its brazen floors, And lock'd by hell's tremendous iron doors. Hear me, and fave (for power is all thine own) A foul defirous to be thine alone *. It is very remarkable in this hymn, that the exploits of Minerva relative to her cutting off the heads of wild beaft with an axe, &c., is mentioned by no writer whatever ; nor can I find the leaft trace of a circumftance either iu the hiftory of Minerva or Hecate to which it alludes. And from hence, I think, we may reafonably conclude that it belonged to the arcane Orphic narrations concerning thefe goddefles, which were confequently but rarely mentioned, and this but by * If I fhould ever be able to publifh a fecond edi tion of my tranflation of the hymns of Orpheus, I fhall add to it a tranflation of all thofe hymns of Pro clus, which are fortunately extant ; but which are no thing more than the wreck of a great multitude which he compofed. [ '76 ] a few, whofe works, which might afford us fome clearer information, are unfortunately loft. [ *77 1 APPENDIX. oINCE my writing the above DifTer- tation, I have met with a curious Greek MS. of Pfellus, on Damons, according to the opinion of the Greeks : rov fyeXXov tivx irepi Sxipovuv So%x£ovo-iv EXXyveg: in the courfe of which he de- fcribes the machinery of the Eleu finian myfteries as follows : — A Se ye pvginpix tovtuv, oiov avTixa Ta eXevtrivia, tov pvStxov viroxpiveTai Sia piyvvpevov t*j Svjoi, 57 Tin Sinprijepi, xai Tin QvyaTepet Tav- Ting o hvg Sixag airoTivvvg Ting Stag Tin Sypiflept repayov (lege Tpxyov) opx^'S airorepuv, tu xoXiru TavTing xareSeTO, uo~irep Si) xai eavTov. Eiri iracrtv at tov Stovvcrov Ttpat, xai n xvgig, xai tx iroXvoptpaXa iroiravat xai oi tu craGafyu TeXovpevoi, xXySoveg ts xai pipaXuveg, xai Tig •,xcav A££>?? Qetrirpu- Teiog xai SuSuyatav x,aXxeiov, xon xopvQag aXXog xai xovpi\g erepog, Saipovuv ptpinpaf Ta. E(p' otg *i QaQuTovg (lege in. GavGu Tovg) pypovg avaarvpopevin, xat o yvvaixog xreig, ovtu yap ovopa£ovtrt Tinv atSu ai- o~x\>vopevoi. Ka< ovjug ev afO'xp^ Ttju TeXe-> Ti\v xaTaXvovo-tv. i. e. " The myfteries " of thefe daemons," (for Pfellus be ing a Chriftian, confidered the gods of the antients as nothing more than evil daemons,) " fuch as the Eleufinian " myfteries, confifted in reprefenting " the fabulous narration of Jupiter " mingling with Ceres and her daugh- i *79 ] ter Proferpine. But as , venereal connections take place along with the initiation *, a marine Venus is reprefented rifing from certain fic titious genital parts : afterwards the celebrated marriage of Proferpine (with Pluto) takes place ; and thofe who are initiated fing, I have eat Out of the drum, I have drank out of the cymbal, I have bome the myftic cup, I have entered into the bed. But the pregnant throws like- wife ' of Ceres are reprefented : hence the Amplications of Ceres are exhibited ; her drinking of bile, and the pains of her heart. After this, an image with the thighs of a goat makes its appearance, and which at the fame time fuffers ve hemently about the tefticles : be caufe Jupiter, in order to expiate the crime of the violence which he Offered to Ceres, is reprefented as * ;. e. a reprefentation of them. [ i8p ] *' cutting off the tefticlcs of a goat, " and placing them on the bofom of " Ceres, as likewife on his own bo- " fom. But after all this, the ho- " nours of Bacchus fucceed ; the " Cifta, and the cakes with many " bofles, like thofe of a fhield. Like- " wife the myfteries of Sabazius, di- " vitiations, and the prieftefles of Bac- " chus; a certain found of the Thef- *' protian kettle; the Dodonaean brafs ; ?* another Corybas, and another Pro- " ferpine, who are refemblances of " Daemons. After thefe fucceed the " uncovering the thighs of Baubo, " and a woman's comb; for thus, «' through fhame, they denominate " the privities of a woman. And " thus, in the indecent,' they finifh " the initiation." From this curious paflage, it appears that the Eleufinian myfteries compre-! hended thofe of almoft all the gods ; [ i»i ] and this account will not only throw light on the relation of the myfteries given by Clemens Alexandrinus, but likewife be elucidated by it in feveral particulars. I would willingly unfold to the reader the myftic meaning of the whole of this machinery, but this cannot be accomplifhed by any one, without at leaft the pofleflion of all the Platonic manufcripts which are extant. This acquifition, which I fhould infinitely prize above the wealth of the Indies, will, 1 hope, fpeedily and fortunately be mine, and then I fhall be no lefs anxious to communi cate this arcane information, than the liberal reader will be to receive it. I fhall only therefore obferve, that the mutual communication of energies among the gods was called by antient theologifts tepog yapog, a facred mar riage ; concerning which Proclus, in the fecond book of his MS. Commen tary on the Parmenides, admirably re- [ '82 ] marks as follows : Tavryv Se th\v koivu- viav, iroTe ytev ev Toig o~vgoix°'S opucrt §eoig (oi SeoXoyot) xat xaXovcri yapov inpag xai Siog, ovpavov xat ying, xpovov xai pexg' itots Se tuv xxTaSeegepuv irpog Ta xperfju, xat xaXovtri yapov Siog xxi Si.pi.Tpag' irore Se xat epiraXiv tuv xpet-fjuvuv irpog Ta vtpeipe- va, xat Xeyovtri Siog xat xopv^g yapov. EiretSin tuv 6euv aXXai pev eiciv at irpog tx (rvgoix<* xoivuviai, aXXai Se at irpog Ta irpo avTUV aXXai Se at irpog Ta pera Tavra, Kat Set Tinv exaging iSiOTinTa xaTavoeiv xai peTayeiv airo tuv 9euv eiri Ta etSin ti\v toi- avTijv SiairXoxviv. i. e. " Theologifts at " one time confidered this communion " of the gods in divinities co-ordinate " with each other; and then they *' called it the marriage of Jupiter " and Juno, of Heaven and Earth, " of Saturn and Rhea: but at another " time, they confidered it as fubfift- " ing between fubordinate and fupe- " rior divinities; and then they called " it the marriage of Jupiter and Ce- [ '83 ] res : but at another time, on the contrary, they beheld it as fubfift ing between fuperior and fubordi- nate divinities ; and then they called it the marriage of Jupiter and Pro ferpine. For in the gods there is one kind of communion between fuch as are of a co-ordinate nature ; another between the fubordinate and fupreme ; and another again between the fupreme and fubordi nate. And it is neceffary to under ftand the idiom of each, and to transfer a conjunction of this kind from the gods to the' communion of ideas with each other." And in lib I. in Tim. p. 16, he obferves: xat to rtjv avTtjv (fupple Seal/) erepoig ij tov avrov Seov irXetocrt (rv£evyvvoSai, Xadoig av ex tuv pvgixuv XoyuV, xai tuv ev aTroppvj- TOig Xeyopevuv tepuv yxpuv. t. e. " And " that fhe fame goddefs is conjoined " with other gods, or the fame god " with many goddefles, may be col- [ 1 84 ] " lected from the myftic difcourfes, and " thofe marriages which are called in *' the myfteries Sacred Marriages." — Thus far the divine Proclus; from the firft of which paflages the reader may perceive how adultery and rapes, as reprefented in the machinery of the myfteries, are to be underftood when applied to the gods ; and that they mean nothing more than a communi cation of divine energies, either be tween a fuperior and fubordinate, or fubordhiate and fuperior,. divinity. I only add, that the apparent indecency of thefe exhibitions was, as 1 have already obferved, exclufive of its myf tic meaning, defigned as a remedy for the paflions of the foul : and hence myftic ceremonies were very properly called axea, medicines, by the obfcure and noble Heraclitus *. ' * Vid. Jamblich. de Myfteriis, p. 22. THE END. This preservation photocopy was made at BookLab, Inc. in compliance with copyright law. The paper is Weyerhaeuser Cougar Opaque Natural, which exceeds ANSI Standard Z39. 48-1984.1992 3 9002 00456 0935