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diff --git a/40206-0.txt b/40206-0.txt index b341764..29bafc2 100644 --- a/40206-0.txt +++ b/40206-0.txt @@ -1,24 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Studies, by Joseph M. Wheeler - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Bible Studies - Essays On Phallic Worship And Other Curious Rites And Customs - -Author: Joseph M. Wheeler - -Release Date: July 11, 2012 [EBook #40206] - -Language: English - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE STUDIES *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40206 *** Produced by David Widger @@ -3694,358 +3674,4 @@ knew only of seven planets and measured their time by the moon. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Studies, by Joseph M. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Bible Studies - Essays On Phallic Worship And Other Curious Rites And Customs - -Author: Joseph M. Wheeler - -Release Date: July 11, 2012 [EBook #40206] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE STUDIES *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - - -BIBLE STUDIES - -ESSAYS ON PHALLIC WORSHIP AND OTHER CURIOUS RITES AND CUSTOMS - -By J. M. Wheeler - - - "There is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that - esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean." - --Paul (Romans xiv. 14). - - -1892. - -Printed and Published By G. W. Foote - - - - -PREFACE. - -My old friend Mr. Wheeler asks me to launch this little craft, and I do -so with great pleasure. She is not a thunderous ironclad, nor a gigantic -ocean liner; but she is stoutly built, well fitted, and calculated to -weather all the storms of criticism. My only fear is that she will not -encounter them. - -During the sixteen years of my friend's collaboration with me in -many enterprises for the spread of Freethought and the destruction of -Superstition, he has written a vast variety of articles, all possessing -distinctive merit, and some extremely valuable. From these he and I have -made the following selection. The articles included deal with the Bible -from a special standpoint; the standpoint of an Evolutionist, who reads -the Jewish Scriptures in the light of anthropology, and finds infinite -illustrations in them of the savage origin of religion. - -Literary and scientific criticism of the Old Testament have their -numerous votaries. Mr. Wheeler's mind is given to a different study -of the older half of the Bible. He is bent on showing what it really -contains; what religious ideas, rites, and customs prevailed among the -ancient Jews and find expression in their Scriptures. This is a fruitful -method, especially in _our_ country, if it be true, as Dr. Tylor -observes, that "the English mind, not readily swayed by rhetoric, moves -freely under the pressure of facts." - -Careful readers of this little book will find it full of precious -information. Mr. Wheeler has a peculiarly wide acquaintance with the -literature of these subjects. He has gathered from far and wide, like -the summer bee, and what he yields is not an undigested mass of facts, -but the pure honey of truth. - -Many readers will be astonished at what Mr. Wheeler tells them. We -have read the Bible, they will say, and never saw these things. That is -because they read it without knowledge, or without attention. Reading -is not done with the eyes only, but also with the brain; and the same -sentences will make various impressions, according as the brain is rich -or poor in facts and principles. Even the great, strong mind of Darwin -had to be plentifully stored with biological knowledge before he could -see the meaning of certain simple facts, and discover the wonderful law -of Natural Selection. - -Those who have studied the works of Spencer, Tylor, Lubbock, Frazer, and -such authors, will _not_ be astonished at the contents of this volume. -But they will probably find some points they had overlooked; some -familiar points presented with new force; and some fresh views, whose -novelty is not their only virtue: for Mr. Wheeler is not a slavish -follower of even the greatest teachers, he thinks for himself, and shows -others what he has seen with his own eyes. - -I hope this little volume will find many readers. Its doing so will -please the author, for every writer wishes to be read; why else, indeed, -should he write? Only less will be the pleasure of his friend who pens -this Preface. I am sure the book will be instructive to most of those -into whose hands it falls; to the rest, the few who really study and -reflect, it will be stimulating and suggestive. Greater praise the -author would not desire; so much praise cannot often be given with -sincerity. - -G. W. Foote. - - - - -PHALLIC WORSHIP AMONG THE JEWS. - - "The hatred of indecency, which appears to us so natural as - to be thought innate, and which is so valuable an aid to - chastity, is a modern virtue, appertaining exclusively, as - Sir G. Staunton remarks, to civilised life. This is shown by - the ancient religious rites of various nations, by the - drawings on the walls of Pompeii, and by the practices of - many savages."--C. Darwin, "Descent of Man" pt. 1, chap. - iv., vol. i., p. 182; 1888. - -The study of religions is a department of anthropology, and nowhere is -it more important to remember the maxim of the pagan Terence, _Homo sum, -nihil humani a me alienum puto_. It is impossible to dive deep into any -ancient faiths without coming across a deal of mud. Man has often been -defined as a religious animal. He might as justly be termed a dirty and -foolish animal. His religions have been growths of earth, not gifts from -heaven, and they usually bear strong marks of their clayey origin.* - - * The Contemporary Review for June 1888, says (p. 804) "when - Lord Dalhousie passed an Act intended to repress obscenity - (in India), a special clause in it exempted all temples and - religious emblems from its operation." - -I am not one of those who find in phallicism the key to all the -mysteries of mythology. All the striking phenomena of nature--the -alternations of light and darkness, sun and moon, the terrors of the -thunderstorm, and of pain, disease and death, together with his -own dreams and imaginations--contributed to evoke the wonder and -superstition of early man. But investigation of early religion shows it -often nucleated around the phenomena of generation. The first and final -problem of religion concerns the production of things. Man's own body -was always nearer to him than sun, moon, and stars; and early man, -thinking not in words but in things, had to express the very idea of -creation or production in terms of his own body. It was so in Egypt, -where the symbol, from being the sign of production, became also -the sign of life, and of regeneration and resurrection. It was so in -Babylonia and Assyria, as in ancient Greece and Troy, and is so till -this day in India. - -Montaigne says: - -"Fifty severall deities were in times past allotted to this office. And -there hath beene a nation found which to allay and coole the lustful -concupiscence of such as came for devotion, kept wenches of purpose in -their temples to be used; for it was a point of religion to deale -with them before one went to prayers. _Nimirum propter continentiam -incontinentia neces-saria est, incendium ignibus extinguitur_: 'Belike -we must be incontinent that we may be continent, burning is quenched by -fire.' In most places of the world that part of our body was deified. -In that same province some flead it to offer, and consecrated a peece -thereof; others offered and consecrated their seed." - -It is in India that this early worship maybe best studied at the present -day. The worshippers of Siva identify their great god, Maha Deva, with -the linga, and wear on their left arm a bracelet containing the linga -and yoni. The rival sect of followers of Vishnu have also a phallic -significance in their symbolism. The linga yoni (fig. 1) is indeed one -of the commonest of religious symbols in India. Its use extends from the -Himalayas to Cape Comorin. Major-General Forlong says the ordinary Maha -Deva of Northern India is the simple arrangement shown in fig. 2, in -which we see "what was I suspect the first Delphic tripod supporting a -vase of water over the Linga in Yona. Such may be counted by scores in -a day's march over Northern India, and especially at ghats or river -ferries, or crossings of any streams or roads; for are they not Hermę?" -The Linga Purana tells us that the linga was a pillar of fire in which -Siva was present. This reminds one of Jahveh appearing as a pillar of -cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.--The Hindu Maha Deva, or Linga-Yoni] - -So astounded have been many writers at the phenomena presented by -phallic worship that they have sought to explain it, not only by the -story of the fall and the belief in original sin, but by the direct -agency of devils.* Yet it may be wrong to associate the origin of -phallic worship with obscenity. Early man was rather unmoral than -immoral. Obliged to think in things, it was to him no perversion to -mentally associate with his own person the awe of the mysterious power -of production. The sense of pleasure and the desire for progeny of -course contributed. The worship was indeed both natural and inevitable -in the evolution of man from savagery. When, however, phallic worship -was established, it naturally led to practices such as those which -Herodotus, Diodorus, and Lucian tell us took place in the Egyptian, -Babylonian, and Syrian religions. - - * See Gougenot des Mousseaux's curious work Dieu et les - Dieux, Paris, 1854. When the Luxor monument was erected in - Rome, Pope Sixtus V. deliberately exorcised the devils out - of possession of it. - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Rural Hindu Lingam.] - -Hume's observation that polytheism invariably preceded monotheism has -been confirmed by all subsequent investigation. The belief in one god or -supreme spirit springs out of the belief in many gods or spirits. That -this was so with the Jews there is sufficient evidence in the Bible, -despite the fact that the documents so called have been frequently -"redacted," that is corrected, and the evidence in large part erased. -An instance of this falsification may be found in Judges xviii. 30 (see -Revised Version), where "Manasseh" has been piously substituted for -Moses, in order to conceal the fact that the direct descendants of Moses -were image worshippers down till the time of the captivity. The Rabbis -gave what Milton calls "this insulse rule out of their Talmud; 'That all -words, which in the Law are written obscenely, must be changed to more -civil words.' Fools who would teach men to read more decently than God -thought good to write."* Instances of euphemisms may be traced in the -case of the "feet" (Judges iii. 24, Song v. 3, Isaiah vii* 20); "thigh" -(Num. v. 24); "heel" (Gen, iii. 15); "heels" (Jer. xiii. 22); and "hand" -(Isaiah lvii. 7). This last verse is translated by Dr. Cheyne, "and -behind the door and the post hast thou placed thy memorial, for apart -from me thou hast uncovered and gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and -obtained a contract from them (?); thou hast loved their bed; thou hast -beheld the phallus." In his note Dr. Cheyne gives the view of the Targum -and Jerome "that 'memorial' = idol (or rather idolatrous symbol--the -phallus)." - - * "Apology for Smectymnus," Works, p.84. - -The priests, whose policy it was to keep the nation isolated, did their -best to destroy the evidence that the Jews shared in the idolatrous -beliefs and practices of the nations around them. In particular the cult -of Baal and Asherah, which we shall see was a form of phallic worship, -became obnoxious, and the evidence of its existence was sought to be -obliterated. The worship, moreover, became an esoteric one, known only -to the priestly caste, as it still is among Roman Catholic initiates, -and the priestly caste were naturally desirous that the ordinary -worshipper should not become "as one of us." - -It is unquestionable that in the earliest times the Hebrews worshipped -Baal. In proof there is the direct assertion of Jahveh himself (Hosea -ii. 16) that "thou shalt call me _Ishi_ [my husband] and shalt call -me no more _Baali_." The evidence of names, too, is decisive. Gideon's -other name, Jerubbaal (Jud. vi. 32, and 1 Sam. xii. 11), was -evidently the true one, for in 2 Sam. xi. 21, the name Jerubbesheth is -substituted. Eshbaal (1 Chron. viii. 33) is called Ishbosheth (2 Sam. -ii. 8, 10). Meribbaal (1 Chron. viii. 34) is Mephibosheth (2 Sam. iv. -4).* Now _bosheth_ means v "shame," or "shameful thing," and as Dr. -Donaldson points out, in especial, "sexual shame," as in Gen. ii. 25. -In the Septuagint version of 1 Kings xviii. 25, the prophets of Baal -are called "the prophets of that shame." Hosea ix. 10 says "they went -to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to Bosheth and became abominable -like that they loved." Micah i. 11 "having thy Bosheth naked." Jeremiah -xi. 5, "For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O -Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye -set up altars to Bosheth, altars to burn incense unto Baal." - - * So Baaljadah [1 Chron. xiv. 7] is Eliada [2 Sam. v. 161.] - In 1 Chron. xii. 6, we have the curious combination, - Baaljah, i.e. Baal is Jah, as the name of one of David's - heroes. - -The place where the ark stood, known afterwards as Kirjath-jearim, was -formerly named Baalah, or place of Baal (I Chron. xiii. 6). The change -of name took place after David's time, since the writer of 2 Sam. vi. 2 -says merely that David went with the ark from "Baale of Judah."* Colenso -notices that when the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal are said -to have been destroyed by Elijah, nothing is said of the four hundred -prophets of the Asherah. "Also these same '400 prophets,' apparently, -are called together by Ahab as prophets of JHVH, and they reply in the -name of JHVH, 1 Kings xxii. 5-6." - -That phallicism was an important element in Baal and Asherah worship is -well known to scholars, and will be made clear to discerning readers. -The frequent allusion to "groves" in the Authorised Version must have -puzzled many a simple student. The natural but erroneous suggestion of -"tree worship" does not fit in very well with the important statement (2 -Kings xxiii. 6) that Josiah "brought out the grove from the house of -the Lord."** A reference to the Revised Version will show that this -misleading word is intended to conceal the real nature of the worship of -Asherah. The door of life, the conventional form of the Asherah with its -thirteen flowers or measurements of time, is given in fig. 3. - - * The "Baal" was afterwards taken out of all such names of - places, and instead of Baal Peor, Baal Meon, Baal Tamar, - Baal Shalisha, etc., we find Beth Peor, Beth Meon, Beth - Tamar, etc. - - ** Verse vii. says, "he brake down the houses of the - sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the - women wove hangings for the grove." A reference to the Revised - Version shows that it was "in the house of the Lord, where - the women wove hangings [or tents] for the Asherah." See - also Ezek. xvi. 16. - -This worship certainly lasted from the earliest historic times until -the seventeenth year of Josiah, B.C. 624. We read how in the days of the -Judges they "served Baalim and the groves" (R.V., "the Asheroth"; Judges -iii, 7; see ii. 12, "Baal and Ash-taroth.) We find that Solomon himself -"went after Ashtoreth (1 Kings xi. 5) and that he builded the mount of -corruption (margin, i.e., the mount of Olives) for that "abomination -of the Zidonians" (2 Kings xxiii. 13). All the distinctive features -of Solomon's Temple were Phoenician in character. What the Phoenician -temples were like Lucian tells us in his treatise on the goddess -of Syria. The great pillars Jachin, "the establisher," and Boaz, -"strength"; the ornamentation of palm trees, pomegranates, and lotus -work; are all Phoenician and all phallic. The bells and pomegranates -on the priests' garment were emblematic of the paps and full womb. -The palm-tree, which appears both in Solomon's temple and in Ezekiel's -vision, was symbolical, as may be seen in the Assyrian monument (fig. -4), and which finds a place in Eastern Christian symbolism, with the -mystic alpha and omega (fig. 5). - -The worship of Astoreth, the Assyrian Ishtar, and Greek Astarte, was -widespread. The Phoenicians took it with them to Cyprus and Carthage. In -the days of Abraham there was a town called after her (Gen. xiv. 5), and -to this day her name is preserved in Esther. - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Asherah.] - -It is she who is called the Queen of Heaven, to whom the women made -moon-shaped cakes and poured libations (Jer. vii. 18, xliv. 17.) Baal -represented the generative, Astoreth the productive power. The pillars -and asherah, so often alluded to in the Bible, were the palm-tree, with -male and female animals frolicking around the tree of life, the female -near the fleur de lis and the male near the yoni. Tall and straight -trees, especially the palm, were reverenced as symbols. Palm branches -carried in procession were signs of fruitfulness and joy. - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.--From Layard, Culte de Venus, plate I, fig. 20, -depicts the mystic signs of their worship, and Dr. Oort* says of the -name Ashera, "This word expressed originally a pillar on, or near--not -only the altars of Baal--but also the altars of JHVH."] - -Bishop Colenso in his notes to Dr. Oort's work remarks, "It seems plain -that the Ashera (from _ashar_, be straight, erect) was in reality a -phallus, like the _Linga_ or _Lingam_ of the Hindoos, the sign of the -male organ of generation."** - - * The Worship of Baalim and Israel, p. 46. - - ** Asher was the tutelary god of Assyria. His emblem was the - winged circle. - -[Illustration: Fig. 5.--The Eastern Christian palm, on which is placed -the cross and banners with the Alpha and Omega.] - -There can be little doubt on the matter in the mind of anyone acquainted -with ancient faiths and the inevitable phases of human evolution, We -read (1 Kings xv. 13, Revised Version), that Maachah, the queen mother -of Asa, "made an abominable image for an Asherah." This the Vulgate -translates "Priape" and Movers _pudendum_. Jeremiah, who alludes to the -same thing (x. 5), tells that the people said, "to a stock, Thou art my -father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth" (ii. 27), that they -"defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and with stocks" -(iii. 9), playing the harlot "under every green tree" (ii. 20, iii. 6, -13; see also Hosea iv. 13). Isaiah xvii. 8, alludes to the Asherim as -existing in his own days, and alludes to these religions in plain terms -(lvii. 5--8). Micah also prophesies against the "pillars" and "Asherim" -(v. 13, 14). Ezekiel xvi. 17, says "Thou hast also taken thy fair -jewels, of my gold and of silver, which I have given thee, and madest to -thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them." The margin -more properly reads images "Heb. of a male" [tsalmi zachar], a male -here being an euphemism. As Gesenius says of the metaphor in Numbers -xxiv. 7 these things are "ex nostra sensu obscoena, sed Orientalibus -familiaria." - -These images are alluded to and prohibited in Deut. iv. 16. It is thus -evident that some form of phallic worship lasted among the Jews-from the -earliest times until their captivity in Babylon. - -It is a most significant fact that the Jews used one and the same word -to signify both "harlot" and "holy." "There shall be no _kedeshah_ of -the daughters of Israel" (Deut. xxiii. 17) means no female consecrated -to the temple worship. Kuenen says "it is natural to assume that this -impurity was practised in the worship of Jahveh, however much soever the -lawgiver abhors it." It must be noticed, too, that there is no absolute -prohibition. It only insists that the slaves of desire shall not be of -the house of Israel, and stipulates that the money so obtained shall -not be dedicated to Jahveh. That this was the custom both in Samaria and -Jerusalem, as in Babylon, may be gathered from Micah i. 7, and Hosea iv. -14. - -Dr. Kalisch, by birth a Jew and one of the most fair-minded of biblical -scholars, says in his note on Leviticus xix. 29: "The unchaste worship -of Ashtarte, known also as Beltis and Tanais, Ishtar, Mylitta, and -Anaitis, Asherah and Ashtaroth, flourished among the Hebrews at -all times, both in the kingdom of Judah and Israel; it consisted in -presenting to the goddess, who was revered as the female principle -of conception and birth, the virginity of maidens as a first-fruit -offering; and it was associated with the utmost licentiousness. -This-degrading service took such deep root, that in the Assyrian period -it was even extended by the adoption of new rites borrowed from Eastern -Asia, and described by the name of 'Tents of the Maidens' (Succoth -Benoth); and it left its mark in the Hebrew language itself, which -ordinarily expressed the notion courtesan by 'a consecrated woman' -(Kadeshah), and that of sodomite by 'consecrated man' (Kadesh)." - -The Succoth Benoth in 2 Kings xvii. 30, may be freely rendered -Tabernacles of Venus. Venus is plausibly derived from Benoth, whose -worship was at an early time disseminated from Carthage and other parts -of Africa to the shores of Italy. The merriest festival among the Jews -was the Feast of Tabernacles. Plutarch (who suggests that the pig was -originally worshipped by the Jews, a position endorsed by Mr. J. G. -Frazer, in his _Golden Bough_, vol. ii., pp. 52, 53) says the Jewish -feast of Tabernacles "is exactly agreeable to the holy rites of -Bacchus."* He adds, "What they do within I know not, but it is very -probable that they perform the rites of Bacchus." - - * Symposiacs, bk. iv., queat. 6, p. 310, vol. iii., - Plutarch's Morals, 1870. - -Dr. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on 2 Kings xvii. 30, gives the -following:--"Succoth-benoth maybe literally translated, _The Tabernacle -of the Daughters, or Young Women_; or if _Benoth_ be taken as the name -of a female idol, from birth, _to build up, procreate, children_, then -the words will express the tabernacles sacred to the productive powers -feminine. And, agreeably to this latter exposition, the rabbins say that -the emblem was a hen and chickens. But however this may be, there is -no room to doubt that these _succoth_ were _tabernacles_, wherein young -women exposed themselves to prostitution in honor of the Babylon goddess -Melitta." Herodotus (lib. i., c. 199; Rawlinson) says: "Every woman born -in the country must once in her life go and sit down in the precinct of -Venus, and there consort with a stranger. Many of the wealthier sort, -who are too proud to mix with the others, drive in covered carriages to -the precinct, followed by a goodly train of attendants, and there take -their station. But the larger number seat themselves within the holy -enclosure with wreaths of string about their heads; and here there is -always a great crowd, some coming and others going; lines of cord mark -out paths in all directions among the women, and the strangers pass -along them to make their choice. A woman who has once taken her seat -is not allowed to return home till one of the strangers throws a silver -coin into her lap, and takes her with him beyond the holy ground. When -he throws the coin he says these words--'The goddess Mylitta prosper -thee" (Venus is called Mylitta by the Assyrians). The silver coin may -be of any size; it cannot be refused, for that is forbidden by the law, -since once thrown it is sacred. The woman goes with the first man who -throws her money, and rejects no one. When she has gone with him, and -so satisfied the goddess, she returns home, and from that time forth -no gift, however great, will prevail with her. Such of the women as are -tall and beautiful are soon released, but others who are ugly have to -stay a long time before they can fulfil the law. Some have waited three -or four years in the precinct. A custom very much like this is also -found in certain parts of the island of Cyprus." This custom is alluded -to in the Apocryphal Epistle of Jeremy (Barch vi. 43): "The women also -with cords about them sitting in the ways, burnt bran for perfume; -but if any of them, drawn by some that passeth by, lie with him, she -reproacheth her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, -nor her cord broken." The Commentary published by the S. P. C. K. says, -"Women with cords about them," the token that they were devotees -of Mylitta, the Babylonian Venus, called in 2 Kings xvii. 30, -'Succoth-benoth,' the ropes denoting the obligation of the vow which -they had taken upon themselves." Valerius Maximus speaks of a temple -of Sicca Venus in Africa, where a similar custom obtained. Strabo also -mentions the custom (lib. xvi., c. i., 20), and says, "The money is -considered as consecrated to Venus." In book xi., c. xiv., 16, Strabo -says the Armenians pay particular reverence to Anaļtes. "They dedicate -there to her service male and female slaves; in this there is nothing -remarkable, but it is surprising that persons of the highest rank in the -nation consecrate their virgin daughters to the goddess. It is customary -for these women, after being prostituted a long period at the temple of -Anaites, to be disposed of in marriage, no one disdaining a connection -with such persons. Herodotus mentions something similar respecting the -Lydian women, all of whom prostitute themselves." Of the temple of Venus -at Corinth, Strabo says "it had more than a thousand women consecrated -to the service of the goddess, courtesans, whom men and women had -dedicated as offerings to the goddess"; and of Comana, in Cappadocia, he -has a similar relation (bk. xii., c. iii., 36). - -Dr. Kalisch also says Baal Peor "was probably the principle of -generation _par excellence_, and at his festivals virgins were -accustomed to yield themselves in his honor. To this disgraceful -idolatry the Hebrews were addicted from very early times; they are -related to have already been smitten on account of it by a fearful -plague which destroyed 24,000 worshippers, and they seem to have clung -to its shameful practices in later periods."* Jerome says plainly that -Baal-Peor was Priapus, which some derive from Peor Apis. Hosea says (ix. -10, Revised Version) "they came to Baal-Peor and consecrated themselves -unto the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they -loved"; see, too, Num. xxvi. 1, 3. Amos (ii. 7,8) says a son and a -father go in unto the same maid in the house of God to profane Jahveh's -holy name, so that it appears this "maid" was regarded as in the service -of Jahveh. Maimonides says it was known that the worship of Baal-Peor -was by uncovering of the nakedness; and this he makes the reason why God -commanded the priests to make themselves breeches to wear at the time of -service, and why they might not go up to the altar by steps that their -nakedness might not be discovered.** Jules Soury says*** "The tents of -the sacred prostitutes were generally erected on the high places." - - * Leviticus, p. 364. - - ** That even more shameful practices were once common is - evident from the narratives in Genesis xix. and Judges xix. - - *** Religion of Israel chap. ix., p. 71. - - **** Leviticus, part i., p. 383. Kork, Die Gotter Syrian, p. - 103, says the pillars and Asherah stood in the adytum, that - is the holy of holies, which represented the genetrix. - -In the temple at Jerusalem the women wove hangings for the Asherah (2 -Kings xxiii. 7), that is for concealment in the worship of the genetrix, -and in the same precincts were the houses of prostitute priests (see -also 1 Kings xiv. 24; xv. 12; xxii. 46. Luther translates "_Hurer_"). -Although Josiah destroyed these, B.C. 624, Kalisch says "The image of -Ashtarte was probably erected again in the inner court (Jer. xxxii. 34; -Ezek. viii. 6)." Ezekiel says (xvi. 16), "And of thy garments thou didst -take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colors and playedst -the harlot thereupon," and (v. 24) "Thou hast also built unto thee an -eminent place, and hast made thee a high place in every street," which -is plainly translated in the Roman Catholic Douay version "Thou didst -also build thee a common stew and madest thee a brothel house in every -street." The "strange woman," against whom the Proverbs warns, practised -her profession under cover of religion (see Prov. vii. 14). The "peace -offerings" there alluded to were religious sacrifices. - -Together with their other functions the Kadeshah, like the eastern -nautch girls and bayaderes, devoted themselves to dancing and music (see -Isaiah xxiii. 16). Dancing was an important part of ancient religious -worship, as may be noticed in the case of King David, who danced before -the ark, clad only in a linen ephod, probably a symbolic emblem (see -Judges viii. 27), to the scandal of his wife, whom he had purchased by -a trophy of two hundred foreskins from the uncircumcised Philistines (1 -Sam. xviii. 27; 2 Sam. vi. 14-16). When the Israelites worshipped the -golden calf they danced naked (Exodus xxxii. 19, 25). They sat down to -eat and to drink, and rose up to _play_, the word being the same as that -used in Gen. xxvi. 8. The word _chag_ is frequently translated "feast," -and means "dance." In the wide prevalence of sacred prostitution -Sir John Lubbock sees a corroboration of his hypothesis of communal -marriage. Mr. Wake, however, refers it to the custom of sexual -hospitality, a practice widely spread among all savage races, the rite -like that of blood covenanting being associated with ideas of kinship -and friendliness. - -We have seen that the early Jews shared in the phallic worship of the -nations around them. Despite the war against Baal and Asherah worship -by the prophets of Jahveh, it was common in the time of the Judges (iii. -7). Solomon himself was a worshipper of Ashtoreth, a faith doubtless -after the heart of the sensual sultan (1 Kings xi. 5). The people of -Judah "built them high places and phalli and ashera on every high hill -and under every green tree. And there were also Sodomites in the land" -(1 Kings xiv. 23, 24). The mother of Asa made "an abominable image for -an Asherah" (1 Kings xv. 13).* The images of Asherah were kept in the -house of Jahveh till the time of Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 6). Dr. Kuenen -says (_Religion of Israel_, vol. i., p. 80), "the images, pillars and -asheras were not considered by those who worshipped them as antagonistic -to the acknowledgment of Jahveh as the God of Israel." The same writer -contends that Jeroboam exhibiting the calves or young bulls could truly -say "These be thy gods, O Israel." Remembering, too, that every Jew -bears in his own body the mark of a special covenant with the Lord, the -reader may take up his Bible and find much over which pious preachers -and commentators have woven a pretty close veil. I will briefly notice -a few particulars. - - * Larousse, in his Grande Dictionnaire Universelle, says: - "Le phallos hébraique fut pedant neuf cent ans le rival - souvent victorieux de Jéhovah." - -Without going into the question of the translation of Genesis i. 2, it -is evident from v. 27 that God is hermaphrodite. "So God created man -in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female -(zakar and nekaba) created he them." - -It is not difficult to find traces of phallicism in the allegory of -the Garden of Eden. This has been noticed from the earliest times. The -rabbis classed the first chapters of Genesis with the Song of Solomon -and certain portions of Ezekiel as not to be read by anyone under -thirty. The Manichęans and other early Christians held the phallic view. -Clement of Alexandria (Strom iii.) admits the sin of Adam consists in -a premature indulgence of the sexual appetite. This view explains why -knowledge was prohibited and why the first effect of the fall was the -perception of nakedness. Basilides contended that we should reverence -the serpent because it induced Eve to share the caresses of Adam, -without which the human race would never have existed. Many modern -writers, notably Beverland and Dr. Donaldson, have sustained the phallic -interpretation. Archbishop Whately is also said to have advocated a -similar opinion in an anonymous Latin work published in Germany. Dr. -Donaldson, who was renowned as a scholar, makes some curious versions -of the Hebrew. His translation of the alleged "Messianic promise" -in Genesis iii. 15, his adversary, Dr. Perowne, the present Dean of -Peterborough, says, is "so gross that it will not bear rendering into -English." A good Hebraist, a Jew by birth, who had never heard of Dr. -Donaldson's _Jashar_, gave me an exactly similar rendering of this -verse--which makes it a representation of coition--and instanced the -phrase "the serpent was more subtle than the other beasts of the field," -as an illustration of early Jewish humor. - -The French physician, Parise, eloquently says: "This sublime gift of -transmitting life--fatal perogative, which man continually forfeits--at -once the mainstay of morality by means of family ties, and the powerful -cause of depravity--the energetic spring of life and health--the -ceaseless source of disease and infirmity--this faculty involves -almost all that man can attain of earthly happiness or misfortune, of -earthly pleasure or of pain; and the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, -is the symbol of it, as true as it is expressive." - -Dr. Adam Clarke was so impressed by the difficulty of the serpent having -originally gone erect, that he thinks that _nachash_ means "a creature -of the ape or ourang-outang kind." Yet it has been suggested that a -key to the word may be found in Ezekiel xvi. 36, where it is translated -"filthiness." There is nothing whatever in the story to show that the -serpent is the Devil. This was an after idea when the Devil had become -the symbol of passion and the instigator of lust. De Gubernatis, in his -_Zoological Mythology_ (vol. ii., p. 399), says "The phallical serpent -is the cause of the fall of the first man." Many other difficulties in -the story become less obscure when it is viewed as a remnant in which a -phallic element is embodied. - -Some have detected a phallic signification in the story of the ark and -the deluge, a legend capable of many interpretations. The phallic view -is represented in the symbols in fig. 6, taken from Jacob Bryant's -Mythology, vol. iv., p. 286, in which the rainbow overshadows the mystic -ark, which carries the life across the restless flood of time, which -drowns everything that has life, and promises that seed-time and harvest -shall endure, and the Ruach broods over the waters. Gerald Massey -devotes a section of his _Natural Genesis_ to the typology of the -Ark and the Deluge. M. Clermont-Ganneau holds that the Ruach was the -feminine companion of Elohim, and that this idea was continued under the -name of Kodesh the Euach Kodesh or Holy Ghost, which with the Jews and -early Nazarene Christians was feminine. - -[Illustration: Fig. 6.--The Mystic Ark.] - -Another point to be briefly noticed is Jacob's anointing of the stone -which he slept on, and then erected and called Beth El, or "house of -God," the residence of the creative spirit. This was a phallic rite. -Exactly the same anointing of the linga is performed in India till this -day. It is evident that Jacob's worship of the pillar was orthodox at -the time the narrative was written, for God sends him back to the pillar -to perform his vow (see Gen. xxxv.), and again he goes through phallic -rites (v. 14). When Paul says, "Flee fornication. Know ye not that your -body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" he elevates and spiritualises the -conception which lay in the word Bethel. According to Philo Byblius, the -huge stones common in Syria, as in so many lands, were called Baetylia. -Kalisch says it is not extravagant to suppose that the words are -identical. From this custom of anointing comes the conception of the -Messiah, or Christ the Anointed. Kissing the stone or god appears also -to have been a religious rite. Thus we read of kissing Baal (1 Kings -xix. 18) and kissing the "calves" (Hos. xiii. 2). Epi-phanius said that -the Ophites kissed the serpent which this wretched people called the -Eucharist. They concluded the ceremonies by singing a hymn through him -to the Supreme Father. (See Fergusson's _Tree and Serpent Worship_, p. -9.) The kissing of the Mohammedan saint's member and of the Pope's toe -are probably connected. Amalarius, who lived in the age of Charlemagne, -says that on Friday (_Dies Veneris_) the Pope and cardinals crawl on all -fours along the aisles of St. Peter's to a cross before an altar which -they salute and kiss. - -Mr. Grant Allen, in an article on Sacred Stones in the _Fortnightly -Review_, Jan., 1890, says: - -"Samuel judged Israel every year at Bethel, the place of Jacob's sacred -pillar; at Gilgal, the place where Joshua's twelve stones were set -up; and at Mizpeh, where stood the cairn surmounted by the pillars of -Laban's servant. He, himself, 'took a stone and set it up between Mizpeh -and Shen'; and its very name, Ebenezer, 'the stone of help,' shows that -it was originally worshipped before proceeding on an expedition, though -the Jehovistic gloss, 'saying Hitherto the Lord hath helped us,' does -its best, of course, to obscure the real meaning. It was to the stone -circle of Gilgal that Samuel directed Saul to go down, saying; 'I -will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice -sacrifices of peace offerings.' It was at the cairn of Mizpeh that Saul -was chosen king; and after the victory over the Ammonites, Saul went -once more to the great Stonehenge at Gilgal to 'review the kingdom,' -and 'There they made Saul king before Jahveh in Gilgal; and there they -sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before Jahyeh.'" - -This last passage, as Mr. Allen points out, is very instructive, as -showing that in the opinion of the writer, Jahveh was then domiciled at -Gilgal. - -M. Soury, in his note to chap. ii. of his _Religion of Israel_, says: -"It is needful to point out, with M. Schrader, that the most ancient -Babylonian inscriptions in the Accadian tongues, those of Urukh and -of Ur Kasdim, preserved in the British Museum, were engraved on clay -phalii. We have here the origin of the usages and customs of religion -so long followed among the Oanaanites and Hebrews (Y. Movers, _Die -Phonizer_, I., 591, _et passim_)." - -In the old hymn embodied in Deut. xxxii., God is frequently called -_Tsur_, "The Rock which begat thee," etc. Major-General Forlong believes -"that the Jews had a Phallus or phallic symbol in their 'Ark of the -Testimony' or Ark of the Eduth, a word which I hold tries to veil the -real objects" (_Rivers of Life_, vol. i., p. 149). He does not scruple -to say this was "the real God of the Jews; that God of the Ark or the -Testimony, but surely not of Europe" (vol. i., p. 169). This contention -is forcibly suggested by the picture of the Egyptian Ark found in Dr. -Smith's _Bible Dictionary_, art. - -"Ark of the Covenant." The Ark of the Testimony, or significant thing, -the tabernacle of the testimony and the veil of the testimony alluded to -in Exodus are never mentioned in Deuteronomy. The Rev. T. Wilson, in his -_Archaeological Dictionary_, art. "Sanctum," observes that "the Ark of -the Covenant, which was the greatest ornament of the first temple, was -wanting in the second, but a stone of three inches thick, it is said, -supplied its place, which they [the Jews] further assert is still in -the Mahommedan mosque called _the temple of the Stone_, which is erected -where the Temple of Jerusalem stood." This forcibly suggests that the -nature of the "God in the box" which the Jews carried about with them -was similar to that carried in the processions of Osiris and Dionysos. -According to 1 Kings viii. 9 the Ark contained two stones, but the much -later writer of Heb. ix. 4 makes it contain the golden pot with manna, -Aaron's rod, and the tables of the covenant. - -Mr. Sellon, in the papers of the Anthropological Society of London, -1863-4, p. 327, argues: "There would also now appear good ground for -believing that the ark of the covenant, held so sacred by the Jews, -contained nothing more nor less than a phallus, the ark being the -type of the Argha or Yoni (Linga worship) of India." Hargrave Jennings -(_Phallicism_, p. 67) says: "We know from the Jewish records that the -ark contained a table of stone.... That stone was phallic, and yet -identical with the sacred name Jehovah, which, written in unpointed -Hebrew with four letters, is JEVE, or JHVH (the H being merely an -aspirate and the same as E). This process leaves us the two letters I -and V (in another form, U); then, if we place the I in the V, we have -the 'Holy of Holies'; we also have the Linga and Yoni and Argha of the -Hindus, the Isvara and 'Supreme Lord'; and here we have the whole secret -of its mystic and arc-celestial import confirmed in itself by being -identical with the Ling-yoni of the Ark of the Covenant." - -In Hosea, who finds it quite natural that the Lord should tell him "Go -take unto thee a wife of whoredoms," we find the Lord called his _zakar_ -(translated memorial, xii. 5). In the same prophet we read that Jahveh -declares thou shalt call me _Ishi_ (my husband); and shalt no more -call me Baali (ii. 16). Again he says to his people "I am your husband" -(Hosea iii. 14); "Thy maker is thine husband; Jahveh Sabaoth is his -name" (Isaiah liv. 5). I was an husband to them, saith Jahveh (Jer. -xxxi. 32. See also Jer. iii. 20 and Ezek. xvi. 32). God even does not -scruple to represent himself in Ezekiel xxiii. as the husband of two -adulterous sisters. Taking to other deities is continually called -whoring and adultery. See Exod. xxxiv. 15, 16; Lev. xx. 5; Num. xxv. -1-3; Deut. xxxi. 16; xxxii. 16-21; Jud. ii. 17; viii. 27; 1 Chron. -v. 25; Ps. lxxiii. 27; cvi. 39; Jer. iii. 1, 2, 6; Ezek. xvi. 15, 17; -xxiii. 3; Hos. i. 2; ii. 4, 5; iv. 13, 15; v. 3, 4; ix. 7. In the -Wisdom of Solomon (xiv. 12), we read: "For the devising of idols was -the beginning of _spiritual_ fornication, and the invention of them the -corruption of life." Here the word "spiritual" is deliberately inserted -to pervert the meaning. Let any one reflect how such coarse expressions -could continually be used unless the writers were used to phallic -worship. Further consider the narrative in Numbers xxxi., where the -Lord takes a maiden tribute out of 32,000 girls, who must all have been -examined. Vestal virgins and nuns are all consecrated like the kadeshim -to the god, and the god is personified by the priest. In this sense -phallicism is the key of all the creeds. - -[Illustration: Fig. 7. Fig. 8] - -That some remnants of phallicism may be traced even in Christianity, -will be evident to the readers of _Anacalypsis_, by Godfrey Higgins; -_Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names_, by Dr. Thomas Inman, and -_Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Exposed and Explained_, -by the same author; the valuable _Rivers of Life_, by Major-General -Forlong; a little book on _Idolomania_, by "Investigator Abhorrens"; -and another on _The Masculine Cross_, by Sha Rocco (New York, 1874). The -sign of the cross, certainly long pre-Christian in the Egyptian sign for -life, is specially dealt with in the last two works. In fig. 7 we see -the connection of the Egyptian tau with the Hermę. Of fig. 8 General -Forlong (_Rivers of Life_, vol i., p 65) says: "The Samaritan cross, -which they stamped on their coins, was No. 1, but the Norseman preferred -No. 2 (the circle and four stout arms of equal size and weight), and -called it Tor's hammer. It is somewhat like No. 3, which the Greek -Christians early adopted, though this is more decidedly phallic, and -shows clearly the meaning so much insisted on by some writers as to all -meeting in the centre." - -The custom of eating fish on Friday (_Dies Veneris_) is considered a -survival of the days when a peculiar sexual signification was given to -the fish, which has such a prominent place in Christian symbolism. Fig. -9 illustrates the origin of the bishop's mitre. - -The _vescica piscis_, or fish's bladder (fig. 10), is a well-known -ecclesiastical emblem of the virgin, often used in church windows, -seals, etc. The symbol is equally known in India. Its real nature -is shown in fig. 11, discovered by Layard at Nineveh, depicting its -worshipper seated on a lotus. The vescica piscis is conspicuously -displayed in fig. 12, copied from a Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, -printed at Venice 1582, with the license from the Inquisition, in which -the Holy Dove darts his ray, fecundating the Holy Virgin. Many instances -of Christ in an elliptical aureole may be seen in Didron's _Christian -Iconography_, fig. 71, p. 281, vol. i. strikingly resembles our figure. - -[Illustration: Fig. 9.; Fig. 10.; Fig. 11.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 12.] - - - - -CIRCUMCISION. - -Among the many traces that the Jews were once savages I place the -distinguishing mark of their race, circumcision. Many explanations have -been given of this curious custom. The account, in Genesis xvii. that -God commanded it to Abraham, at the ripe age of 99, critics agree was -written after the exile--that is, thirteen hundred years after the death -of the patriarch. Now, there is evidence from the Egyptian monuments -that circumcision was known long before Abraham's time. This constrains -Dr. Kitto to say, "God might have selected a practice already in use -among other nations." If so, God must have had a curious taste and an -uninventive mind. Why, having made people as they are, he should order -his chosen race to be mutilated, must be a puzzle to the orthodox. Some -writers have absurdly argued that the Egyptians borrowed from the Jews, -whom they despised (see Genesis xliii. 32). Apart from the evidence of -Herodotus and of monuments and mummies to the contrary, this view is -never suggested in the Bible, but the testimony of the book of Joshua -(v. 9) implies the reverse. - -The narrative of the Lord's attempted assassination of Moses (Exodus iv. -24-26), which we shall shortly examine, has the most archaic complexion -of any of the biblical references to circumcision, and from it Dr. T. K. -Cheyne argues that the rite is of Arabian origin.* If instituted in the -time of Abraham under the penalty of death, it is curious that Moses -never circumcised his own son, nor saw to its performance in the -wilderness for forty years, so that Joshua had personally to circumcise -over a million males at Gilgal. - -Let us now look at the various theories of the origin and purpose of -circumcision. Rationalising Jews say it is of a sanatory character. This -view, though found in Philo, may be dismissed as an after theory to -meet a religious difficulty. Most Asiatic nations are uncircumcised. The -Philistines did not practice the rite, nor did the Syrians in the time -of Josephus. Even if in a few cases it might possibly be beneficial, -that would be no sufficient reason for imposing it on a whole nation -under penalty of death. The fact is, the rite is a religious one. -Indeed, upon its retention the early controversy between Jews and -Christians largely turned. - -The view that it is an imposed mutilation of a subject race is suggested -in Dr. Remondino's _History of Circumcision_, and has the high authority -of Herbert Spencer. He instances the trophy of foreskins taken by David -as a dowry for Saul's daughter (1 Sam. xviii. 27), and that Hyrcanus -having subdued the Idumeans, made them submit to circumcision. This, -however, may have been a part of the policy of making them one with the -Jewish race in being tributary to Jahveh. It is not easy to see how a -mutilation imposed from without should ever become a part of the pride -of race and be enjoined when all other mutilations were forbidden. - - * Encyclopaedia Britannica, article "Circumcision." - -I incline to a view which, although in accord with early sociological -conditions, I have never yet seen stated. It was suggested to me by the -passage where Tacitus alludes to this custom among the Jews. It is that -circumcision is of the nature of savage totem and tattoo marks--a device -to distinguish the tribal division from other tribes, and to indicate -those with whom the tribe might marry.* If, as has been suggested, the -meaning of Genesis xxxiv. 14 is "one who is uncircumcised is as a woman -to us," this view is confirmed. The Jewish abhorrence to mixed marriages -and "the bed of the uncircumcised" is well known. - - * What Tacitus says is, "They do not eat with strangers or - make marriages with them, and this nation, otherwise most - prone to debauchery, abstains from all strange women. They - have introduced circumcision in order to distinguish - themselves thereby." - -The Hebrew distinguishing term for male--_zachar_, which also means -record or _memorial_--will agree with this view, as also with that -of Dr. Trumbull, which associates circumcision with that of -blood-covenanting. It seems evident from the narrative in Exodus iv., -where Zipporah, after circumcising her son, says--not as generally -understood to Moses--"A bloody husband art thou to me," but to -Jahveh, "Thou art a _Kathan_ of blood"--i.e., one made akin by -circumcision--that this idea of a blood-covenant became interwoven with -the rite. It is to be noticed that in the covenant between God and the -Jews women had no share. - -Dr. Kuenen holds that circumcision is of the nature of a substitute -for human sacrifice. No doubt the Jews had such sacrifices, and were -familiar with the idea of substitution; but with this I rather connect -the Passover observance. If a sacrifice, it was doubtless phallic--an -offering to the god on whom the fruit of the womb depended; possibly a -substitution for the barbarous rites by which the priests of Cybele -were instituted for office. Ptolemy's Tetrabibles, speaking of the -neighboring nations, says: "Many of them devote their genitals to their -divinities." According to Gerald Massey, "it was a dedication of the -first-fruits of the male at the shrine of the virgin mother and child, -which was one way of passing the seed through the fire to Moloch." - -Westrop and Wake (_Phallicism in Ancient Religion_, p. 37) say -"Circumcision, in its inception, is a purely phallic rite, having for -its aim the marking of that which from its associations is viewed with -peculiar veneration, and it converts the two phases of this superstition -which have for their object respectively the _instrument_ of generation -and the _agent_." - -General Forlong, who maintains the phallic view, also holds that "truth -compels us to attach an Aphrodisiacal character to the mutilations of -this highly sensual Jewish race." This view will not be hastily rejected -by those who know of the many strange devices resorted to by barbarous -peoples. Some have believed that circumcision enhances fecundity. - -With the exception of the two first views, which I dismiss as not -explaining the religious and permanent character of the rite, all these -views imply a special regard being paid to the emblem of generation. -This is further confirmed by the manner of oath-taking customary among -the ancient Jews. When Abraham swore his servant, he said, "Put, I pray -thee, thy hand under my thigh" (Gen. xxiv. 2). The same euphemism -is used in the account of Jacob swearing Joseph (xlvii. 29), and the -custom, which has lasted among Arabs until modern days, is also alluded -to in the Hebrew of 1 Chronicles xxix. 24. The Latin testiculi seems -to point to a similar custom. In the law that no uncircumcised or -sexually-imperfect person might appear before the shrine of the Lord, we -may see yet further evidence that Jewish worship was akin to the phallic -rites of the nations around them. - - - - -MOSES AT THE INN - -And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the lord met him, and -sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the -foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, - - Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. - So he let him go: then she said, - A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. - --Exodus iv. 24-26. - -Anyone who wishes to note the various shifts to which orthodox people -will resort in their attempts to pass off the barbarous records of the -Jews as God's holy word, should demand an explanation of the attempted -assassination of Moses by Jehovah, as recorded in the above verses. Some -commentators say that by the Lord is meant "the angel of the Lord," as -if Jehovah was incapable of personally conducting so nefarious a piece -of business. Bishop Patrick says "The Schechinah, I suppose, appeared -to him--appeared with a drawn sword, perhaps, as he did to Balaam and -David." Some say it was Moses's firstborn the Lord sought to kill. Some -say it was at the child's feet the foreskin was cast, others at those of -Moses, but the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem more properly represent -that it was at the feet of God, in order to pacify him. - -The story certainly presents some difficulties. Moses had just had one -of his numerous interviews with Jehovah, who had told him to go back to -Egypt, for all those are dead who sought his life. He is to tell Pharaoh -that Israel is the Lord's firstborn, and that if Pharaoh will not let -the Israelites go he will slay Pharaoh's firstborn. Then immediately -follows this passage. Why this sudden change of conduct towards Moses, -whose life Jehovah was apparently so anxious to save? - -Adam Clarke says the meaning is that the son of Moses had not been -circumcised, and therefore Jehovah was about to have slain the child -because not in covenant with him by circumcision, and thus he intended -[after his usual brutal fashion] to punish the disobedience of the -father by the death of the son. Zip-porah getting acquainted with the -nature of the case, and the danger to which her firstborn was exposed, -took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son. By this act -the displeasure of the Lord was turned aside, and Zipporah considered -herself as now allied to God because of this circumcision. Old Adam -tries to gloss over the attempted assassination of Moses by pretending -it was only a child's life that was in danger. But we beg the reader -to notice that no _child_ is mentioned, but only a son whose age is -unspecified. Dr. Clarke can hardly have read the treatise of John -Frischl, _De Circumcisione Zipporo_, or he would surely have admitted -that the person menaced with death was Moses, and not his son. - -Other commentators say that Zipporah did not like the snipping business -(although she seems to have understood it at once), and therefore -addressed her husband opprobriously. Circumcision, we may remark, was -anciently performed with stone. The Septuagint version records how the -flints with which Joshua circumcised the people at Gilgal were buried in -his grave. - -A nice specimen of the modern Christian method of semi-rationalising may -be found in Dr. Smith's _Bible Dictionary_, to which the clergy usually -turn for help in regard to any difficulties in connection with the -sacred fetish they call the word of God. Smith says: - -"The most probable explanation seems to be, that at the caravanserai -either Moses or Gershom was struck with what seemed to be a mortal -illness. In some way, not apparent to us, this illness was connected -by Zipporah with the fact that her son had not been circumcised. She -instantly performed the rite, and threw the sharp instrument, stained -with the fresh blood, at the feet of her husband, exclaiming in the -agony of a mother's anxiety for the life of her child, 'A bloody husband -thou art, to cause the death of my son.' Then when the recovery from the -illness took place (whether of Moses or Gershom), she exclaims again, 'A -bloody husband still thou art, but not so as to cause the child's death, -but only to bring about his circumcision.'" - -We have no hesitation in saying that this most approved explanation is -the worst. In seeking to make the story rational, it utterly ignores the -primitive ideas and customs by which alone this ancient fragment can be -interpreted. One little fact is sufficient to refute it. The Jews never -use the word _Khathan_, improperly translated "husband," after marriage. -The word may be interpreted spouse, betrothed or bridegroom, but -not husband. The Revised Version, which always follows as closely as -possible the Authorised Version, translates "a bridegroom of blood." But -this makes it evident that Moses was not addressed, for no woman having -a son calls her husband "bridegroom." We may now see the true meaning -of the incident--that by the blood covenant of circumcision, Zipporah -entered into kinship with Jehovah and thereby claimed his friendship -instead of enmity. In ancient times only the good-will of those who -recognise the family bond or ties of blood could be relied on. Herbert -Spencer, in his _Ceremonial Institutions_, contends that bloody -sacrifices arise "from the practice of establishing a sacred bond -between living persons by partaking of each other's blood: the derived -conception, being that those who give some of their blood to the ghost -of a man just dead and lingering near, effect with it a union which on -the one side implies submission, and on the other side friendliness." - -Dr. T. K. Oheyne, in his article on Circumcision in the _Encyclopaedia -Britannica_, takes the story of Moses at the inn as a proof that -circumcision was of Arabic origin. He says; "Khathan meant originally -not 'husband,' but 'a newly admitted member of the family.' So that 'a -khathan of blood' meant one who has become a _khathan_, not by marriage, -but by circumcision," a meaning confirmed by the derived sense of the -Arabic _khatana_, "to circumcise"--circumcision being performed in -Arabia at the age of puberty. - -The English of the Catholic Douay version is not so good as the -Authorised Version, but it brings us nearer the real meaning of the -story. It runs thus: - -"And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him and -would have killed him. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and -circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A -bloody spouse art thou to me. And he let him go after she had said: A -bloody spouse art thou unto me, because of the circumcision." - -Here it is evidently the feet of the Lord that are touched, as was the -ancient practice in rendering tribute, and we see that the foreskin was -a propitiatory offering. - -Dr. Trumbull in his interesting book on the Blood Covenant, says: -"The Hebrew word _Khathan_ has as its root idea, the binding -through severing, the covenanting by blood; an idea that is in the -marriage-rite, as the Orientals view it, and that is in the rite of -circumcision also." Dr. Trumbull omits to say that the term is not used -after marriage, and consequently that it must be taken as applied to the -Lord. Zipporah, being already married, did not need to enter into the -blood covenant with Moses, but with Jehovah, so that to her and hers the -Lord might henceforth be friendly. - -We do not make much of the inn. There were no public-houses between -Midian and Egypt. Probably the reference is only to a resting-place or -caravanserai. We would, therefore, render the passage thus: - -The Lord met him [Moses] at a halting place and sought to kill him. Then -Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it -at [made it touch] his [the Lord's] feet, and she said: Surely a kinsman -of blood [one newly bound through blood] art thou to me. So he [the -Lord] let him [Moses] alone. - -Kuenen considers the passage, in connection with the place where it -is inserted, indicated that circumcision was a substitute for child -sacrifice. Any way, it may safely be said that the mark which every Jew -bears on his own body is a sign that his ancestry worshipped a deity who -sought to assassinate Moses, and was only to be appeased by an offering -of blood. - - - - -THE BRAZEN SERPENT, AND SALVATION BY SIMILARS. - -Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy, is usually credited with the -introduction of the medical maxim, _similta similibus ourantur_--like -things are cured by like. Those who would dispute his originality need -not refer to the ancient saying familiar to all topers, of "taking -a hair of the dog that bit you"; they may find the origin of the -homoeopathic doctrine in the great source of all inspiration--the holy -Bible. - -The book of Numbers contains several recipes which would be invaluable -if divine grace would enable us to re-discover and correctly employ -them. There is, for instance, the holy water described in chap. v., the -effects of which will enable any jealous husband to discover if his wife -has been faithful to him or not, and in the case of her guilt enable him -to dispense with the services of Sir James Hannen. - -But perhaps the most curious prescription in the book is that recorded -in the twenty-first chapter. The Israelites wandering about for forty -years, without travelling forty miles, got tired of the heavenly manna -with which the "universal provider" supplied them. They looked back on -the fried fish, which they "did eat in Egypt freely," the cucumbers, -melons, leeks, onions and garlic, wherein the Jewish stomach delighteth, -and they longed for a change of diet. Upon remonstrating with Moses, -and stating their preference for Egyptian lentils rather than celestial -mushrooms, the Lord of his tender mercy sent "fiery serpents" (the word -is properly translated "seraphim"), and they bit the people; and much -people of Israel died. Then the people prayed Moses to intercede for -them, saying, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and -against thee;" and Jahveh, in direct opposition to his own commandment, -directed Moses to "make a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it -shall come to pass that every one that is bitten when he looketh upon it -shall live." Moses accordingly made a serpent of brass, we presume from -some of that stolen from the Egyptians, which had the desired effect. -Instead of being but one monster more, the sight immediately cured the -wounds, and these seraphim sent by the Lord, ashamed of being beaten by -their brazen brother, skedaddled. Of course it may be contended that a -seraph is neither in the likeness of anything in heaven above, in -earth beneath, or in the water, or fire, under the earth, and that -consequently Moses in no wise infringed the Decalogue. - -Commentators have been puzzled to account for this evident relic of -serpent worship in a religion so abhorrent of idolatry as that of -the Jews. These gentry usually shut their eyes very close to the many -evidences that the god-guided people were always falling into the -idolatries of the surrounding nations. Now we know that the Babylonians, -in common with all the great nations of antiquity, worshipped the -serpent. It has been thought, indeed, that the name Baal is an -abbreviation of Ob-el, "the serpent god." In the Apocryphal book of Bel -and the Dragon, to be found in every Catholic Bible, it says (v. 23): -"And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon -worshipped. And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this -is of brass? Lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh, thou canst not say -that he is no living god; therefore worship him." Serpent worship is -indeed so widely spread, and of such great antiquity, that it has -been conjectured to have sprung from the antipathy between our monkey -ancestors and snakes. In this legend the brazen serpent is benevolent, -but more usually that reptile represents the evil principle. Thus -a story in the Zendavesta (which is clearly allied to, and may have -suggested that in Genesis) says that Ahriman assumed a serpent's form -in order to destroy the first of the human race, whom he accordingly -poisoned. In the Saddu we read: "When you kill serpents you shall repeat -the Zendavesta, whereby you will obtain great merit; for it is the same -as if you had killed so many devils." It is curious that the serpent -which is the evil genius of Genesis is the good genius in Numbers, and -that Jesus himself is represented as comparing himself to it (John iii. -14). An early Christian sect, the Ophites, found serpent worshipping -quite consistent with their Christianity. - -It seems likely that this story of the brazen serpent having been made -by Moses, was a priestly invention to account for its being an object -of idolatry among the Jews, as we know from 2 Kings xviii. 4, it was -worshipped down to the time of Hezekiah, that is 700 years after the -time of Moses. Hezekiah, we are told, broke the brazen serpent in -pieces, but it must have been miraculously joined again, for the -identical article is still to be seen, for a consideration, in the -Church of St. Ambrose at Milan. Some learned rabbis regard the brazen -serpent as a talisman which Moses was enabled to prepare from his -knowledge of astrology. Others say it was a form of amulet to be copied -and worn as a charm against disease. Others again declare it was only -set up _in terrorem_, as a man who has chastised his son hangs up the -rod against the wall as a warning. Rationalising commentators have -pretended that it was but an emblem of healing by the medical art, a -sort of sign-post to a camp hospital, like the red cross flag over an -ambulance. These altogether pervert the text, and miss the meaning of -the passage. The resemblance of the object set up was of the essence of -the cure, as may be seen in 1 Sam. vi. 5. In truth, the doctrine of -like curing like, instead of being a modern discovery is a very ancient -superstition. The old medical books are full of prescriptions, or rather -charms, founded on this notion.* It is, indeed, one of the recognised -principles in savage magic and medicine that things like each other, -however superficially, affect each other in a mystic way, and possess -identical properties. Thus in Melanesia, according to Mr. Codrington,** -"a stone in the shape of a pig, of a bread fruit, of a yam, was a most -valuable find," because it made pigs prolific, and fertilised bread, -fruit trees, and yam plots. - - * See Myths in Medicine and Old Time Doctors, by Alfred C. - Garratt, M.D. - - ** Journal Anthropological Institute, February, 1881. - -In Scotland, too, "stones were called by the names of the limbs they -resembled, as 'eye-stanes, head-stane.'" A patient washed the affected -part of his body, and rubbed it well with the stone corresponding. In -precisely the same way the mandrake* root, being thought to resemble -the human body, was supposed to be of wondrous medical efficacy, and was -credited with human and super-human powers.** The method of cure, when -the Philistines were smitten with emerods and mice, was to make -images of the same (1 Sam. vi. 5), and the same idea was found in the -well-known superstition of sorcerers making "a waxen man" to represent -an enemy, injuries to the waxen figure being supposed to affect the -person represented. - - * Gregor, Folk-lore of North-East Counties, p. 40. - - ** See the paper on "Moly and Mandragora," in A. Lang's - Custom and Myth; 1884. - -Many curious customs and superstitions may be traced to this belief. In -old medical works one may still read that to eat of a lion's heart is -a specific to ensure courage, while other organs and certain bulbous -plants are a remedy for sterility. The virtue of all the ancient -aphrodisiacs resided in their shape. This notion, which largely affected -the early history of medicine, is known as the doctrine of signatures. - -Certain plants and other natural objects were believed to be so marked -or stamped that they presented visibly the indications of the diseases, -or diseased organs, for which they were specifics; these were their -signatures. Hence a large portion of the ancient art of medicine -consisted in ascertaining what plants were analogous to the symptoms of -disease, or to the organ diseased. To this doctrine we owe some popular -names of plants, such as eye-bright, liver-wort, spleen-wort, etc. The -mandrake, from its supposed resemblance to the human form, was credited -with marvellous powers, and anyone who will take the trouble to inquire -into the folk-lore concerning plants and disease will find that much -depends upon the appearance of the remedy. - -One of the most curious peculiarities of Christianity is its doctrine of -a God crucified for sinners. So strange, so repugnant to reason as such -a doctrine is, it was quite consonant to the thoughts of those who held -the belief in salvation by similars. If Paul said, since by man came -death by man came also the resurrection of the dead, the development of -the doctrine necessitated that if it is God who damns it is also God who -saves. Any casual reader of Paul must have been struck by the antithesis -which he constantly draws between the law and the Gospel, works and -faith, the fall of man, and the redemption through "the second Adam." -The very phrase "second Adam" implies this doctrine, which is summed -up in the statement that "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the -law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. iii. 13). - -God, in order to redeem man, had to take on sinful flesh and be himself -the curse in order to be the cure. Hence we read in the _Teaching of the -Twelve Apostles_, chap. xvi., that "they who endure in their faith shall -be saved by the very curse." Thus may we understand that which modern -Christians find so difficult of explanation, viz., that the whole -Christian world for the first thousand years from St. Justin to St. -Anselm believed that Christ paid the ransom for sinners to the Devil, -their natural owner. Christ in order to become the Savior had to become -the curse, had to die and had to descend to hell, though of course, -being God, he could not stay there. Hence his being likened to the -brazen serpent, that remnant of early Jewish fetichism which was smashed -by Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 4). John makes Jesus himself teach that "as -Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [as a cure for serpent -bites] even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever -believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." - -So Irenęus says (bk. iv., chap. 2), "men can be saved in no other way -from the old wound of the serpent than by believing in him, who in the -likeness of sinful flesh, is lifted up from the earth on the tree of -martyrdom, and draws all things to himself and vivified the dead." That -is, Christ was made sinful flesh to be the curse itself, just as the -innocent brass appeared a serpent, because the form of the curse was -necessary to the cure. Paul dwells on the passage of the law "Cursed is -he that hangeth on a tree," with the very object of showing that Christ, -cursed under the law, was a blessing under his glad tidings. The Fathers -were never tired of saying that man was lost by a tree (in Eden) and -saved by a tree (on Calvary), that as the curse came in child-birth* and -thorns, so the world was saved by the birth of Christ and his crown of -thorns. Justin says, "As the curse came by a Virgin, so by a Virgin the -salvation," and this antithesis between Eve and Mary has been carried on -by Catholic writers down to our own day. - - * Notice too 1 Tim. 15, where women are said to be saved by - child birth, their curse. - -As the Christian doctrine of salvation through the blood of Christ has -certainly no more foundation in fact than the efficacy of liver-wort -in liver diseases, we suggest it may have no better foundation than the -ancient superstition of salvation by similars. - - - - -RELIGION AND MAGIC. - -"New Presbyter," says Milton, "is but old priest writ large." Old -priest, it may be said, is but older sorcerer in disguise. In early -times religion and magic were intimately associated; indeed, it may be -said they were one and the same. The earliest religion being the -belief in spirits, the earliest worship is an attempt to influence or -propitiate them by means that can only be described as magical; the -belief in spirits and in magic both being founded on dreams. Medicine -men and sorcerers were the first priests. Herbert Spencer says -(_Principles of Sociology_, sec. 589): "A satisfactory distinction -between priests and medicine men is difficult to find. Both are -concerned with supernatural agents, which in their original form are -ghosts; and their ways of dealing with these supernatural agents are -so variously mingled, that at the outset no clear classification can be -made." Among the Patagonians the same men officiate in the "threefold -capacity of priests, magicians and doctors"; and among the North -American Indians the functions of "sorcerer, prophet, physician, -exorciser, priest, and rain doctor" are united. - -Everywhere we find the priests are magicians. Their authority rests on -imagined and dreaded power. - -They are supposed by their spells and incantations to have power over -nature, or rather the spirits supposed to preside over it. Hence they -became the rulers of the people. The modern priest, who is supposed by -muttering a formula to change the nature of consecrated elements or by -his prayers to bring blessings on the people, betrays his lineal descent -from the primitive rain-makers and sorcerers of savagery. - -The Bible is full of magic and sorcery. Its heroes are magicians, from -Jahveh Elohim, who puts Adam into a sleep and then makes woman from his -rib, to Jesus who casts out devils and cures blindness with clay and -spittle, and whose followers perform similar works by the power of his -name. The most esteemed persons among the Jews were magicians. Pious -Jacob cheats his uncle by a species of magic with peeled rods. Joseph -not only tells fortunes by interpreting dreams but has a divining cup -(Gen. xliv. 5), doubtless similar to the magic bowls used to the present -day in Egypt, in which, as described by Lane in his _Modern Egyptians_, -a boy looks and pretends to see images of the future in water. - -The fourth chapter of Exodus gives the initiation of Moses into the -magician's art by Jahveh, the great adept, who changes the rod of -Moses into a serpent and back again into a rod; suddenly makes his hand -leprous, and as suddenly restores it. Moses and Aaron show themselves -superior magicians to those at the court of Pharaoh, who, when Aaron -cast down his magic rod and it became a serpent, did in like manner with -their rods, which also became serpents, though Aaron's rod swallowed up -their rods (Exodus vii. 11,12). Upon this passage the learned Methodist -commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, writing at an age when the belief in -witchcraft was almost extinct, after remarking that such feats evidently -required something more than jugglery, observes: "How much more rational -at once to allow that these magicians had familiar spirits who could -assume all shapes, change the appearance of the subjects on which they -operated, or suddenly convey one thing away and substitute another in -its place." - -Aaron also used his rod to change _all_ the water into blood, a feat -which the Egyptian magicians also contrived to perform--we presume with -the aid of spirits. If you believe in spirits, there is no end to the -supposition of what they might do. The magic rod of Moses is used to -divide the water of the Red Sea, so that the children went through the -midst of the sea on dry ground (Ex. xiv. 16), and to draw water from -a rock (Num. xx. 8). Aaron's rod blossoms miraculously to show the -superiority of the tribe of Levi (Num. xvii. 8). - -The Urim and Thummin of Aaron's breastplate were also magical articles -used in divination (see Num. xxviii. 21; 1 Sam. xxiii. 9, and xxx. 7, -8). Casting lots was another method of divination often referred to in -the Bible. Prov. xvi. 31, says "The lot is cast into the lap, but the -whole disposing thereof is with the Lord." It was because "when Saul -inquired of Jahveh, Jahveh answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by -Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam. xxviii. 6), that he resorted to the witch -of Endor. The ephod and holy plate (Ex. xxviii.), and the phylacteries -worn as frontlets between the eyes (Deut. vi. 8), were magical amulets. -Modern Arabs wear scraps of the Koran in a similar way. The holy oil -(Ex. xxx.) and the water of jealousy (Num. v.) were magical, as was -also the brazen serpent, adored down to the days of Hezekiah. The great -Wizard's ark was also endowed with magical powers, bringing with it -victory and punishing those who infringed its tabu; it was taken -into battle. His sanctuary was also called an oracle where the priest -"inquired of the Lord" (2 Sam. xvi. 23; 1 Kings vi. 16). - -The teraphim were also magical, as we learn from Ezek. xxi. 21, where -the word is translated "images." The prophet Hosea, one of the very -earliest of the Old Testament writers (about 740), announced as a -misfortune that "the children of Israel shall abide many days without -a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an -image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim." Laban, although a -believer in Elohim, calls the teraphim "his gods" (Genesis xxxi. 29, -30), and so does Micah (Judges xviii. 18-24). The latter chapter shows -that the teraphim were worshipped and served by the descendants of Moses -down to the time of David (see Revised Version). David's wife Michal -kept one in the house (1 Sam. xix. 13). It was evidently a fetish -in human shape. How comes it, then, one may ask, that divination and -sorcery are denounced in Deuteronomy xviii.? The answer is simple. The -Deutoronomic law was first found in the time of Josiah, B.C. 641 (see -2 Kings xxii. 8-11), and there is abundant evidence it was not known -before that time. Josiah, as we learn from 2 Kings xxiii. 24, put away -"the familiar spirits, and the wizards and the teraphim and the idols," -as Hezekiah (b.c. 726) had destroyed the brazen serpent. Not only had -Jezebel practised witchcraft (2 Kings ix. 22), but Manasseh, the son -of Hezekiah, "dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards" (2 Chron. -xxxiii. 6). These, it may be said, were wicked persons. - -Yet another piece of evidence is derived from the fact that _Nashon_, -the chief of the tribe of Judah and one of the ancestry of the blessed -Savior, signifies "enchanter." Zechariah (b.c. 580) shows the great -advance made from the time of Hosea by declaring that "the teraphim have -spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false -dreams" (x. 2). - -Samuel, like other early priests, was ruler and weather doctor, Elijah -was a corpse restorer and rain com-peller. Elisha not only inherited -his mantle, but also raised the dead and multiplied food. His very -bones proved magical. Jesus Christ was a great wonderworker or magician, -casting out devils, turning water into wine, healing diseases even by -the touch of his magical robe, and finally levitating from earth. - -The charge brought against Jesus by the Jews was that he had stolen -the sacred Word and by it wrought miracles. We read in the Gospels that -Jesus "cast out spirits with his word" (Matt. viii. 16). Jesus promised -that in his _name_ his disciples should cast out devils, and Peter -declared that his name healed the lame (Acts iii. 16). When the Jews -asked, "By what power, or by what name have we done this" (Acts iv. 7), -Peter answered, "By the name of Jesus Christ." Paul says, "God hath... -given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus -every knee should bow in heaven and in earth and under the earth" -(Philip ii. 9, 10). - -Any careful reader of the Bible must have been struck with the frequency -with which "the name of the Lord" is mentioned, and the care not to -profane that name. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in -vain" is the second commandment, and Christians still speak of God "in -a bondsman's key with bated breath and whispering humbleness," for no -better reason than this old superstition. In Leviticus xxiv. 11 and -16, the word translated by us "blasphemeth" was by the Jews rendered -"pronounces," so that the son of the Israelitish woman was stoned to -death for pronouncing the ineffable name of J.H.V.H. The Talmud say "He -who attempts to pronounce it shall have no part in the world to come." -Once a year only, on the day of Atonement, was the high priest allowed -to whisper the word, even as at the present day "the word" is whispered -in Masonic lodges. The Hebrew Jehovah dates only from the Massoretic -invention of points. When the Rabbis began to insert the vowel-points -they had lost the true pronunciation of the sacred name. To the letters -J. H. V. H. they put the vowels of Edonai or Adonai, _lord_ or _master_, -the name which in their prayers they substitute for Jahveh. Moses wanted -to know the name of the god of the burning bush. He was put off with the -formula I am that I am. Jahveh having lost his name has become "I was -but am not." When Jacob wrestled with the god, angel, or ghost, he -demanded his name. The wary angel did not comply (Gen. xxxii. 29.) So -the father of Samson begs the angel to say what is his name. "And the -angel of the Lord said unto him, why asketh thou thus after my name -seeing it is _secret_" (Judges xiii. 18). All this superstition can be -traced to the belief that to know the names of persons was to acquire -power over them. - -In process of time the priest displaces the sorcerer, while still -retaining certain of his functions. The gods of a displaced religion are -regarded as devils and their worship as sorcery. Much of the persecution -of witchcraft which went on in the ages when Christianity was dominant -was really the extirpation of the surviving rites of Paganism. It is -curious that it is always the more savage races that are believed to -have the greatest magical powers. Dr. E. B. Tylor says: "In the Middle -Ages the name of Finn was, as it still remains among seafaring men, -equivalent to that of sorcerer, while Lapland witches had a European -celebrity as practitioners of the black art. Ages after the Finns -had risen in the social scale, the Lapps retained much of their old -half-savage habit of life, and with it naturally their witchcraft, so -that even the magic-gifted Finns revered the occult powers of a people -more barbarous than themselves." - -The same writer continues*: "Among the early Christians, sorcery was -recognised as illegal miracle; and magic arts, such as turning men into -beasts, calling up familiar demons, raising storms, etc., are mentioned, -not in a sceptical spirit, but with reprobation. In the changed -relations of the state to the church under Constantine, the laws against -magic served the new purpose of proscribing the rites of the Greek and -Roman religion, whose oracles, sacrifices and auguries, once carried on -under the highest public sanction, were put under the same ban with the -low arts of the necromancer and the witch. As Christianity extended its -sway over Europe, the same antagonism continued, the church striving -with considerable success to put down at once the old local religions, -and the even older practices of witchcraft; condemning Thor and Woden -as demons, they punished their rites in common with those of the -sorceresses who bewitched their neighbors and turned themselves into -wolves or cats. Thus gradually arose the legal persecution of witches -which went on through the Middle Ages under ecclesiastical sanction both -Catholic and Protestant." - - * Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Magic." - -But the religion of Christendom contained scarcely less elements of -magical practices than that of Paganism. In the early Christian Church -a considerable section of its ministry was devoted to the casting out of -devils. Regulations concerning the same were contained in the canons -of the Church of England. The magical power of giving absolution and -remission of sins is still claimed in our national Church. Throughout -the course of Christianity, indeed, magical effects have been ascribed -to religious rites and consecrated objects. - -Viktor Rydberg, the Swedish author of an interesting work on _The Magic -of the Middle Ages_, says (p. 85): "Every monastery has its master -magician, who sells _agni Dei_, conception billets, magic incense, -salt and tapers which have been consecrated on Candlemas Day, palms -consecrated on Palm Sunday, flowers besprinkled with holy water on -Ascension Day, and many other appliances belonging to the great magical -apparatus of the Church." - -Bells are consecrated to this day, because they were supposed to have a -magical effect in warding off demons. Their efficacy for this purpose is -specifically asserted by St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest doctor of the -Church, who lays it down that the changeableness of the weather is owing -to the constant conflict between good and bad spirits. - -Baptism is another magical process. There are people still in England -who think harm will come to a child if it is not christened. In -Christian baptism we have the magical invocation of certain names, those -of the ever-blessed Trinity. The names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, -were used as spells to ward off demons. The process is supposed to have -a magical efficacy, and is as much in the nature of a charm as making -the sign of the cross with holy water, or the unction with holy oil, as -a preparation for death. So important was it considered that the saving -water should prevent demoniac power, that holy squirts were used to -bring magical liquid in contact with the child before it saw the light! - -The doctrine of salvation through blood is nothing but a survival of the -faith in magic. Volumes might be written on the belief in the magical -efficacy of blood as a sacrifice, a cementer of kinship, and a means of -evoking protecting spirits. Blood baths for the cure of certain diseases -were used in Egypt and medięval Europe. Longfellow alludes to this -superstition in his _Golden Legend_: - - The only remedy that remains - Is the blood that flows from a maiden's veins, - Who of her own free will shall die, - And give her life as the price of yours! - This is the strangest of all cures, - And one I think, you will never try. - -The changing of the bread and wine of the Christian sacrament into the -body and blood of God is evidently a piece of magic, dependent on the -priestly magical formula. The affinities of the Christian communion with -savage superstition are so many that they deserve to be treated in a -separate article. Meanwhile let it be noticed that priests lay much -stress upon the Blessed Sacrament, for it is this which invests them -with magical functions and the awe and reverence consequent upon belief -therein. - -Formulated prayers are of the nature of magical spells or invocations. -A prayer-book is a collection of spells for fine weather, rain, or other -blessings. The Catholic soldier takes care to be armed with a blessed -scapular to guard off stray bullets, or, in the event of the worst -coming, to waft his soul into heaven. The Protestant smiles at this -superstition, but mutters a prayer for the self-same purpose. In essence -the procedure is the same. The earliest known Egyptian and Chaldean -psalms and hymns are spells against sorcery or the influence of evil -spirits, just as the invocation taught to Christian children-- - - Matthew, Mark, Luke And John - Bless The Bed That I Lie On. - -The belief in magic, though it shows a survival in Theosophy, as ghost -belief does in Spiritism, is dying slowly; and with it, in the long run, -must die those religious doctrines and practices founded upon it. No -magic can endure scientific scrutiny. Almost expelled from the physical -world, it takes refuge in the domain of psychology; but there, too, it -is being gradually ousted, though it still affords a profitable area for -charlantanry. - -Lucian has a story how Pancrates, wanting a servant, took a door-bar -and pronounced over it magical words, whereon he stood up, brought him -water, turned a spit, and did all the other tasks of a slave. What -is this, asks Emerson, but a prophecy of the progress of art? Moses -striking water from the rock was inferior to Sir Hugh Middleton bringing -a water supply to London. - -Jesus walking on the water was nothing to crossing the Atlantic by -steam. The only true magic is that of science, which is a conquest of -the human mind, and not a phantasy of superstition. - - - - -TABOOS. - -Viscount Amberley, in his able _Analysis of Religious Belief_ points -out that everywhere the religious instinct leads to the consecration of -certain actions, places, and things. If this instinct is analysed, it is -found at bottom to spring from fear. Certain places are to be dreaded as -the abode of evil spirits; certain actions are calculated to propitiate -them, and certain things are dangerous, and are therefore tabooed. - -From Polynesia was derived the word _taboo_ or _tapu_, and the first -conception of its importance as an element lying at the bottom of many -of our religious and social conventions; though this is not as yet by -any means sufficiently recognised. - -The term _taboo_ implies something sacred, reserved, prohibited by -supernatural agents, the breaking of which prohibition will be visited -by supernatural punishment. This notion is one of the most widely -extended features of early religion. Holy places, holy persons, and holy -things are all founded on this conception. Prof. W. Robertson Smith,* -says: "Rules of holiness in the sense just explained, i.e., a system of -restrictions on man's arbitrary use of natural things enforced by the -dread of supernatural penalties, are found among all primitive peoples." - - * Religion of the Semites, p. 142. - -The holy ark of the North American Indians was deemed "so sacred and -dangerous to be touched" that no one except the war chief and his -attendant will touch it "under the penalty of incurring great evil. Nor -would the most inveterate enemy touch it in the woods for the very same -reason."* - - * Adair, History of the American Indians, p. 162. - -In Numbers iv. 15 we read of the Jewish ark, "The sons of Kohath shall -come to bear it; but they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die." -In 2 Sam. vi. 6, 7, we are told how the Lord smote Uzzah so that he -died, simply for putting his hand on the ark to steady it. So the Lord -punished the Philistines for keeping his ark, and smote fifty thousand -and seventy men of Bethshemesh, "because they had looked into the ark of -the Lord" (1 Sam. v. 6). - -Disease and death were so constantly thought of as the penalties of -breaking taboo that cases are on record of those who, having unwittingly -done this, have died of terror upon recognising their error. Mr. Frazer, -in his _Golden Bough_, instances a New Zealand chief, who left the -remains of his dinner by the way side. A slave ate it up without asking -questions. Hardly had he finished when he was told the food was the -chief's, and taboo. "No sooner did he hear the fatal news than he was -seized by the most extraordinary convulsions and cramp in the stomach, -which never ceased till he died, about sundown the same day." - -All the old temples had an adytum, sanctuary, or holy of holies--a place -not open to the profane, but protected by rigid taboos. This was the -case with the Jews. It was death to enter the holy places, or even to -make the holy oil of the priests. Even the name of the Lord was taboo, -and to this day cannot be pronounced. - -Take off your sandals, says God to Moses, for the place whereon you -stand is taboo. The whole of Mount Horeb was taboo, and we continually -read of the holy mountain. The ideas of taboo and of holiness are -admitted by Prof. Robertson Smith to be at bottom identical. - -Some taboos are simply artful, as the prohibition of boats to -South Pacific women, lest they should escape to other islands. When -Tamehameha, the King of the Sandwich Islands, heard that diamonds had -been found in the mountains near Honolulu, he at once declared the -mountains taboo, in order that he might be the sole possessor. - -In Hawai the flesh of hogs, fowls, turtle, and several kinds of fish, -cocoa-nuts, and nearly everything offered in sacrifice, were reserved -for gods and men, and could not, except in special cases, be consumed -by women* Some taboos of animals being used for food seem to have been -dictated by dread or aversion, but others had a foundation of prudence -and forethought. Thus there is little doubt that the prohibition of the -sacred cow in India has been the means of preserving that animal from -extermination in times of famine. - -Various reasons have been assigned for the taboos upon certain kinds of -food found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As we have these laws they seem -to represent a rough attempt at classifying animals it was beneficial -or hurtful to eat. Some ridiculous mistakes were made by the divine -tabooist. The hare, a rodent, was declared to "chew the cud" (Lev. xi. -6, Deut. xiv. 7). The camel was excluded because it does not divide the -hoof; yet in reality it has cloven feet. But doubtless it was seen it -might be disastrous to kill the camel for food. Mr. Frazer is of opinion -that the pig was originally a sacred animal among the Jews. - -The cause of the custom of tabooing certain kinds of food, which was -in existence long before the Levitical laws were written, perhaps arose -partly from reverence, partly from aversion. It may, too, have been -connected with the totemism of early tribes. No less than one hundred -and eighty Bible names have a zoological signification. Caleb, the dog -tribe; Doeg, the fish tribe; may be instanced as specimens. - -Touching the carcass of a dead animal was taboo, and the taboo was -contagious. In Lev. xi. 21--25 we find rigorous laws on the subject. -Whoever carries the carcass of an unclean animal must wash his garments. -The objects upon which a carcass accidentally falls, must be washed, and -left in water till the evening, and if of earthenware the defilement is -supposed to enter into the pores, and the vessel, oven, or stove-range -must be broken. - -Touching a corpse was taboo among the Greeks,* Romans,** Hindoos,*** -Parsees,**** and Phoenicians.(v) If a Jew touched a dead body--even a -dead animal (Lev. xi. 89)--he became unclean, and if he purified not -himself, "that soul shall be cut off from Israel" (Num. xix. 13). So -"those who have defiled themselves by touching a dead body are regarded -by the Maoris as in a very dangerous state, and are sedulously shunned -and isolated."(v*) Doubtless it was felt that death was something which -could communicate itself, as disease was seen to do. - - * Eurip. Alcest, 100. - - ** Virgil Ęn., vi. 221; Tacit. Annal., 162. - - *** Manu, y. 59, 62, 74-79. - - **** Vendid iii. 25-27. - - (v) Lucian Dea Syr., 523 - - (v*) J. Gk Frazer, Golden Bough, vol. i., p. 169. - -When iron was first discovered it was invested with mystery and held as -a charm. It was tabooed. The Jews would use no iron tools in building -the temple or making an altar (Ex. xx. 25, 1 Kings vi. 7). Roman and -Sabine priests might not be shaved with iron but only with bronze, as -stone knives were used in circumcision (Ex. iv. 25, Josh. v. 2). To -this day a Hottentot priest never uses an iron knife, but always a sharp -splint of quartz in sacrificing an animal or circumcising a boy. In the -boys' game of touch iron we may see a remnant of the old belief in its -charm. When Scotch fishermen were at sea and one of them happened to -take the name of God in vain, the first man who heard him called out -"Cauld airn," at which every man of the crew grasped the nearest bit of -iron and held it between his hand for a while.* - - * E. B. Guthrie, Old Scottish Customs, p. 149. Charles - Rogers, Social Life in Scotland, iii. 218. - -Women were especially tabooed after childbirth and during menstruation -(Lev. xii. and xv.) Among the Indians of North America, women at this -time are forbidden to touch men's utensils, which would be so defiled by -their touch that their subsequent use would be attended with misfortune. -They walk round the fields at night dragging their garments, this being -considered a protection against vermin. Among the Eskimo, of Alaska, no -one will eat or drink from the same cup or dishes used by a woman at her -confinement until it has been purified by certain incantations. - -In the Church of England Service, what is now called the "Thanksgiving -of Women after Childbirth, commonly called the Churching of Women," was -formerly known as _The Order of the Purification of Women_, and was -read at the church door before the "unclean" creatures were permitted to -enter the "holy" building. This should be known by all women who think -it their duty to be "churched" after fulfilling the sacred office of -motherhood. - -In Hebrew the same word signifies at once a holy person, a harlot and a -sodomite--sacred prostitution having been common in ancient times. Mr. -Frazer, noticing that the rules of ceremonial purity observed by divine -kings, priests, homicides, women in child-births, and so on, are in some -respects alike, says: "To us these different classes of persons appear -to differ totally in character and condition; some of them we should -call holy, others we might pronounce unclean and polluted. But the -savages make no such moral distinction between them; the conceptions of -holiness and pollution are not yet differentiated in his mind. To him -the common feature of all these persons is that they are dangerous and -in danger, and the danger in which they stand and to which they expose -others is what we should call spiritual or supernatural--that is, -imaginary."* - -Few would suspect it, but it is likely that the custom of wearing Sunday -clothes comes from certain garments being tabooed in the holy places. -Among the Maoris "A slave or other person would not enter a _wahi tapu_, -or sacred place, without having first stripped off his clothes; for the -clothes, having become sacred the instant they entered the precincts -of the _wahi tapu_, would ever after be useless to him in the ordinary -business of life."** According to the Rabbins, the handling of -the scriptures defiles the hands--that is, entails a washing of -purification. This because the notions of holiness and uncleanness -are alike merged in the earlier conception of taboo. Blood, the great -defilement, is also the most holy thing. Just as with the Hindus to this -day, the excrements of the cow are the great means of purification. - - * Golden Bough, vol. i., p. 171. - - ** Shortland's Southern Districts of New Zealand, p. 293. - -Dr. Kalisch says, "Next to sacrifices purifications were the most -important of Hebrew rituals."* The purpose was to remove the stain -of contact either with the holy or unclean taboos. A holy, or taboo -water--or, as it is called in the Authorised Version, "water of -separation"--was prepared. First, an unblemished red heifer was slain by -the son of the high priest outside the camp, then burnt, and as the ash -mingled with spring water, which was supposed to have a magical effect -in removing impurities when the tabooed person was sprinkled with it on -the third and again on the seventh day. It was called a "purification -for sin" (Num. xix. 9), and was doubtless good as the blood of the Lamb, -if not equal to Pear's soap. - - * Leviticus, pt. ii., p. 187. - -In the ninth edition of the _Encylopedia Britannica_, Mr. J. G. Frazer -says: "Amongst the Jews the vow of the Nazarite (Num. vi. 1--21) -presents the closest resemblance to the Polynesian taboo. The meaning -of the word Nazarite is 'one separated or consecrated,' and this is -precisely the meaning of taboo. It is the head of the Nazarite that is -especially consecrated, and so it was in the taboo. The Nazarite might -not partake of certain meats and drinks, nor shave his head, nor touch a -dead body--all rules of taboo." Mr. Frazer points out other particulars -in the mode of terminating the vow. Secondly that some of the rules of -Sabbath observance are identical with the rules of strict taboo; such -are the prohibitions to do any work, to kindle a fire in the house, to -cook food and to go out of doors. - -We still have some remnant of the Sabbath taboo, and many a child's -life is made miserable by being checked for doing what is tabooed on the -Lord's Day. Other taboos abound. We must not, for instance, question -the sacred books, the sacred character of Jesus, or the existence of the -divine being. These subjects are tabooed. For reverence is a virtue much -esteemed by solemn humbugs. - - - - -BLOOD RITES. - - "Without shedding of blood is no remission," - --Heb. ix. 22. - - There is a fountain filled with blood - Drawn from Immanuel's veins, - And sinners plunged beneath that flood - Lose all their guilty stains. - -Judaism was a religion of blood and thunder. The Lord God of Israel -delighted in blood. His worshippers praised him as a god of battles -and a man of war. All his favorites were men of blood. The Lord God -was likewise very fond of roast meat, and the smell thereof was a sweet -savor unto his nostrils. He had respect to Abel and his bloody offering, -but not to Cain and his vegetables. He ordered that in his holy temple -a bullock and a lamb should be killed and hacked to pieces every morning -for dinner, and a lamb for supper in the evening. To flavor the repast -he had twelve flour cakes, olive oil, salt and spice; and to wash it -down he had the fourth part of a hin of wine (over a quart) with a lamb -twice a day, the third part of a hin with a ram, and half a hin with a -bullock (Exodus xxix. 40, Numbers xv. 5-11, xxviii. 7). But his great -delight was blood, and from every victim that was slaughtered the blood -was caught by the priest in a bason and offered to him upon his altar, -which daily reeked with the sanguine stream from slaughtered animals. -The interior of his temple was like shambles, and a drain had to be made -to the brook Oedron to carry off the refuse.* Incense had to be used to -take away the smell of putrifying blood. - - * Smith's Bible Dictionary, article "Blood." - -[Illustration: The Altar of Jehovah.] - -The most characteristic customs of the Jews, circumcision and the -Passover, alike show the sanguinary character of their deity. Because -Moses did not mutilate his child, the Lord met him at an inn and sought -to kill him (Exodus iv. 25). The Passover, according to the Jews' own -account, commemorated the Lord's slaying all the first-born of Egypt, -and sparing those of the Jews upon recognising the blood sprinkled upon -the lintels and sideposts of the doors; more probably it was a survival -of human sacrifice. God's worshippers were interdicted from tasting, -though not from shedding, the sacred fluid; yet we read of Saul's -army that "the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and -calves, and slew them on the ground, and the people did eat them with -the blood" (1 Sam, xiv. 32), much as the Abyssinians cut off living -steaks to this day. - -Christianity is a modified gospel of gore. The great theme of the -Epistle to the Hebrews is that the blood and sacrifice of Christ is so -much better than that of animals. The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus -Christ is the great inspiration of emotional religion. Revivalists revel -in "the blood, the precious blood": - - Just as I am, without one plea, - But that thy blood was shed for me, - And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, - Oh! Lamb of God, I come, I come! - - Chorus--Jesus paid it all, - All to him I owe; - Sin had left a crimson stain; - He washed it white as snow. - -Jesus Christ says, "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood -dwelleth in me, and I in him," and the most holy sacrament of the -Christian Church consists in this cannabalistic communion. - -To understand this fundamental rite of communion, or, indeed, the -essence of any other part of the Christian religion, we must go back to -those savage ideas out of which it has evolved. It is easy to account -for savage superstitions in connection with blood. The life of the -savage being largely spent in warfare, either with animals or his fellow -men, the connection between blood and life is strongly impressed upon -his mind. He sees, moreover, the child formed from the mother, the flow -of whose blood is arrested. Hence the children of one mother are termed -"of the same blood." In a state of continual warfare the only safe -alliances were with those who recognised the family bond. Those who -would be friends must be sharers in the same blood. Hence we find all -oyer the savage world rites of blood-covenanting, of drinking together -from the same blood, thereby symbolising community of nature. Like -eating and drinking together, it was a sign of communion and the -substitution of bread and wine for flesh and blood is a sun-worshipping -refinement upon more primitive and cannibalistic communion. - -Dr. Trumbull, in his work on _The Blood Covenant_, has given many -instances of shedding blood in celebrating covenants and "blood -brotherhood." The idea of substitution is widespread in all early -religions. One of the most curious was the sacrament of the natives of -Central America, thus noticed by Dr. Trumbull: - -"Cakes of the maize sprinkled with their own blood, drawn from 'under -the girdle,' during the religions worship, were 'distributed and eaten -as blessed bread.' Moreover an image of their god, made with certain -seeds from the first fruits of their temple gardens, with a certain -gum, and with the blood of human sacrifices, were partaken of by them -reverently, under the name, 'Food of our Soul.'" - -Here we have, no doubt, a link between the rude cannibal theory of -sacrifice and the Christian doctrine of communion. - -Millington, in his _Testimony of the Heathen_, cites as illustration of -Exodus xxii. 8, the most telling passages from Herodotus in regard to -the Lydians and Arabians confirming alliances in this fashions. The -well-known case of Cataline and his fellow conspirators who drank from -goblets of wine mixed with blood is of course not forgotten, but Dr. -Trumbull overlooks the passage in Plutarch's "Life of Publicola," in -which he narrates that "the conspirators (against Brutus) agreed to -take a great and horrible oath, by drinking together of the blood, and -tasting the entrails of a man sacrificed for that purpose." Mr. Wake -also in his _Evolution of Morality_, has drawn attention to the -subject, and, what is more, to its important place in the history of -the evolution of society. Herbert Spencer points out in his "Ceremonial -Institutions," that blood offerings over the dead may be explained as -arising in some cases "from the practice of establishing a sacred bond -between living persons by partaking of each other's blood: the derived -conception being that those who give some of their blood to the ghost of -a man just dead and lingering near, effect with it a union which on the -one side implies submission, and on the other side, friendliness." - -The widespread custom of blood-covenanting illustrates most clearly, as -Dr. Tylor points out, "the great principle of old-world morals, that man -owes friendship, not to mankind at large, but only to his own kin; so -that to entitle a stranger to kindness and good faith he must become a -kinsman by blood."* That any sane man seated at a table ever said, "Take -eat, this is my body," and "Drink, this is my blood," is ridiculous. The -bread and wine are the fruits of the the Sun. Justin Martyr, one of the -earliest of the Christian fathers, informs us that this eucharist was -partaken in the mysteries of Mithra. The Christian doctrine of partaking -of the blood of Christ is a mingling of the rites of sun-worshippers -with the early savage ceremony of the blood covenant. - - * The origin of the mystery of the Rosy Gross may have been - in the savage rite of initiation by baptism with arms - outstretched in a cruciform pool of blood. See Nimrod, vol. - ii. - - - - -SCAPEGOATS. - -In the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is found a description of the -rites ordained for the most solemn Day of Atonement. Of these, the -principal was the selection of two goats. "And Aaron shall cast -lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord and the other for the -scapegoat"--(Heb. _Azazel_). The goat on whom Jahveh's lot fell was -sacrificed as a sin offering, but all the iniquities of the children of -Israel were put on the head of Azazel's goat, and it was sent into the -wilderness. The parallelism makes it clear that Azazel was a separate -evil spirit or demon, opposed to Jahveh, and supposed to dwell in the -wilderness. The purification necessary after touching the goat upon -whose head the sins of Israel were put corroborates this.* Yet how often -has Azazel been instanced as a type of the blessed Savior! And indeed -the chief purpose to which Jesus is put by orthodox Christians at the -present day is that of being their scapegoat, the substitute for their -sins. - - * Azazel appears to mean the goat god. The goat, like some - other animals, seems to have had a sacred character among - the Jews. (See Ex. xxiii. 19, Lev. ix. 3-15, x. 16, xvii. - 17, Jud. vi. 19, xiii. 15, 1 Sam. xix 18-16, 2 Chron. xi. 15.) - -The doctrine of the transference of sin was by no means peculiar to the -Jews. Both Herodotus and Plutarch tells us how the Egyptians cursed the -head of the sacrifice and then threw it into the river. It seems likely -that the expression "Your blood be on your own head" refers to this -belief. (See Lev. xx. 9-11, Psalms vii. 16, Acts xviii. 6.) - -At the cleansing of a leper and of a house suspected of being tainted -with leprosy, the Jews had a peculiar ceremony. Two birds were taken, -one killed in an earthern vessel over running water, and the living bird -after being dipped in the blood of the killed bird let loose into the -open air (Lev. xiv. 7 and 53). The idea evidently was that the bird by -sympathy took away the plague. The Battas of Sumatra have a rite -they call "making the curse to fly away." When a woman is childless -a sacrifice is offered and a swallow set free, with a prayer that -the curse may fall on the bird and fly away with it. The doctrine -of substitution found among all savages flows from the belief in -sympathetic magic. It arises, as Mr. Frazer says, from an obvious -confusion between the physical and the mental. Because a load of stones -may be transferred from one back to another, the savage fancies it -equally possible to transfer the burden of his pains and sorrows to -another who will suffer then in his stead. Many instances could be given -from peasant folk-lore. "A cure current in Sunderland for a cough is -to shave the patient's head and hang the hair on a bush. When the -birds carry the hair to the nests, they will carry the cough with it. A -Northamptonshire and Devonshire cure is to put a hair of the patient's -head between two slices of buttered bread and give it to a dog. The dog -will get the cough and the patient will lose it." - -Mr. Frazer, after showing that the custom of killing the god had been -practised by peoples in the hunting, pastoral, and agricultural stages -of society, says (vol. ii., p. 148): "One aspect of the custom still -remains to be noticed. The accumulated misfortunes and sins of the whole -people are sometimes laid upon the dying god, who is supposed to bear -them away for ever, leaving the people innocent and happy." He gives -many instances of scapegoats, of sending away diseases in boats, and of -the annual expulsion of evils, of which, I conjecture, our ringing-out -of the old year may, perhaps, be a survival. Of the divine scapegoat, he -says: - -"If we ask why a dying god should be selected to take upon himself and -carry away the sins and sorrow of the people, it may be suggested -that in the practice of using the divinity as a scapegoat, we have -a combination of two customs which were at one time distinct and -independent. On the one hand we have seen that it has been customary to -kill the human or animal god in order to save his divine life from being -weakened by the inroads of age. On the other hand we have seen that it -has been customary to have a general expulsion of evils and sins once -a year. Now, if it occurred to people to combine these two customs, the -result would be the employment of the dying god as scapegoat. He was -killed not originally to take away sin, but to save the divine life from -the degeneracy of old age; but, since he had to be killed at any rate, -people may have thought that they might as well seize the opportunity to -lay upon him the burden of their sufferings and sins, in order that he -might bear it away with him to the unknown world beyond the grave."* - - * Golden Bough, vol. ii., p. 206. - -The early Christians believed that diseases were the work of devils, and -that cures could be effected by casting out the devils by the spell of -a name (see Mark ix. 25-38, etc.) They believed in the transference of -devils to swine. We need not wonder, then, that they explained the death -of their hero as the satisfaction for their own sins. The doctrine of -the substitutionary atonement, like that of the divinity of Christ, -appears to have been an after-growth of Christianity, the foundations -of both being laid in pre-Christian Paganism. Both doctrines are alike -remnants of savagery. - - - - -A BIBLE BARBARITY. - -The fifth chapter of the Book of Numbers (11--31) exhibits as gross a -specimen of superstition as can be culled from the customs of any -known race of savages. The divine "law of jealousy," to which I allude, -provides that a man who is jealous of his wife may, simply to satisfy -his own suspicions, and without having the slightest evidence against -her, bring her before the priest, who shall take "holy water," and -charge her by an oath of cursing to declare if she has been unfaithful -to her husband. The priest writes out the curse and blots it into the -water, which he then administers to the woman. The description of the -effects of the water is more suitable to the pages of the holy Bible -than to those of a modern book. Sufficient to say, if faithful, the holy -water has only a beneficial effect on the lady, but if unfaithful, -its operation is such as to dispense with the necessity of her husband -writing out a bill of divorcement. - -The absurdity and atrocity of this divine law only finds its parallel in -the customs of the worst barbarians, and in the ecclesiastical laws of -the Dark Ages, that is of the days when Christianity was predominant and -the Bible was considered as the guide in legislation. - -A curious approach to the Jewish custom is that which found place among -the savages at Cape Breton. At a marriage feast two dishes of meat were -brought to the bride and bridegroom, and the priest addressed himself to -the bride thus: - -"Thou that art upon the point of entering the marriage state, know that -the nourishment thou art going to take forebodes the greatest calamities -to thee if thy heart is capable of harboring any ill design against thy -husband or against thy nation; should thou ever be led astray by the -caresses of a stranger; or shouldst thou betray thy husband or thy -country, the victuals in this vessel will have the effect of a slow -poison, with which thou wilt be tainted from this very instant. If, on -the other hand, thou art faithful to thy husband and thy country, thou -wilt find the nourishment agreeable and wholesome."* - - * Genuine Letters and Memoirs Relating to the Isle of Cape - Breton. By T. Pichon. 1760. - -This custom manifestly was, like the Christian doctrine of hell, -designed to restrain crime by operating upon superstitious fear. It was -devoid of the worst feature of the Jewish law--the opportunity for crime -disguised under the mask of justice. For this we must go to the tribes -of Africa. - -Dr. Kitto, in his _Bible Encyclopedia_ (article Adultery), alludes thus -to the trial by red water among African savages, which, he says, is so -much dreaded that innocent persons often confess themselves guilty in -order to avoid it. - -"The person who drinks the red water invokes the Fetish to destroy him -if he is really guilty of the offence of which he is charged. The drink -is made by an infusion in water of pieces of a certain tree or of herbs. -It is highly poisonous in itself; and if rightly prepared, the only -chance of escape is the rejection of it by the stomach, in which case -the party is deemed innocent, as he also is if, being retained, it has -no sensible effect, which can only be the case when the priests, -who have the management of the matters, are influenced by private -considerations, or by reference to the probabilities of the case, to -prepare the draught with a view to acquittal."* - - * In like manner Maimonides, the great Jewish commentator, - said that innocent women would give all they had to escape - it, and reckoned death preferable (Moreh Nevochim, pt. iii., - ch. xlix.) - -Dr. Livingstone says the practice of ordeal is common among all the -negro natives north of the Zambesi: - -"When a man suspects that any of his wives have bewitched him, he sends -for the witch-doctor, and all the wives go forth into the field, and -remain fasting till the person has made an infusion of the plant called -'go ho.' They all drink it, each one holding up her hand to heaven -in attestation of her innocence. Those who vomit it are considered -innocent, while those whom it purges are pronounced guilty, and are put -to death by burning." - -In this case, be it noticed, there is no provision for the woman who -thinks her husband has bewitched her, as in the holy Bible there is -no law for the woman who conceives she has cause for jealousy; nor, -although she is supernaturally punished, is there any indication of any -punishment falling on the male culprit who has perhaps seduced her from -her allegiance to her lord and master. - -Throughout Europe, when under the sway of Christian priests, trials by -ordeal were quite common. It was held as a general maxim that God would -judge as to the righteousness or unrighteousness of a cause. The chief -modes of the Judicium Dei, as it was called, was by walking on or -handling hot iron; by chewing consecrated bread, with the wish that the -morsel might be the last; by plunging the arm in boiling water, or by -being thrown into cold water, to swim being considered a proof of guilt, -and to sink the demonstration of innocence. Pope Eugenius had the -honor of inventing this last ordeal, which became famous as a trial for -witches. - -Dr. E. B. Tylor, whose information on all such matters is only equalled -by his philosophical insight, says of ordeals: - -"As is well known, they have always been engines of political power in -the hands of unscrupulous priests and chiefs. Often it was unnecessary -even to cheat, when the arbiter had it at his pleasure to administer -either a harmless ordeal, like drinking cursed water, or a deadly -ordeal, by a dose of aconite or physostigma. When it comes to sheer -cheating, nothing can be more atrocious than this poison ordeal. In West -Africa, where the Oalabar bean is used, the administers can give the -accused a dose which will make him sick, and so prove his innocence; or -they can give him enough to prove him guilty, and murder him in the -very act of proof. When we consider that over a great part of that great -continent this and similar drugs usually determine the destiny of -people inconvenient to the Fetish man and the chief--the constituted -authorities of Church and State--we see before us one efficient cause of -the unprogressive character of African society." - -Trial by ordeal was in all countries, whether Pagan or Christian, under -the management of the priesthood. That it originated in ignorance -and superstition, and was maintained by fraud, is unquestionable. -Christians, when reading of ordeals among savages, deplore the ignorance -and barbarity of the unenlightened heathen among whom such customs -prevail, quite unmindful that in their own sacred book, headed with -the words "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying," occurs as gross an -instance of superstitious ordeal as can be found among the records of -any people. - - - - -BIBLE WITCHCRAFT. - - "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. xxii. 18). - - "If there had been no witches, such a law as this had never - been made. The existence of the law, given under the - direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of the - thing... that witches, wizards, those who dwelt with - familiar spirits, etc., are represented in the sacred - writing as actually possessing a power to evoke the dead, to - perform supernatural operations, and to discover hidden or - secret things by spells, charms, incantations, etc., is - evident to every unprejudiced reader of the Bible."--_Dr. - Adam Clarice_, Commentary on the above passage. - -Thus wrote the great Methodist theologian. His master, John Wesley, -had previously declared, "It is true that the English in general, and, -indeed, most of the men of learning in Europe have given up all accounts -of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for -it, and I willingly take this opportunity of entering my solemn protest -against this violent compliment which so many that believe the Bible pay -to those who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. They well -know (whether Christians know it or not) that the giving up witchcraft -is in effect giving up the Bible."* - - * Journal, May 25, 1768, p. 308? vol. iii., Works, 1856. The - earlier volumes of the Methodist Magazine abound with tales - of diabolical possession. - -That Wesley was right is a fact patent to all who have eyes. From the -Egyptian magicians, who performed like unto Moses and Aaron with their -enchantments, to the demoniacs of the Gospels and the "sorcerers" of the -fifteenth verse of the last chapter of Revelation, the Bible abounds in -references to this superstition. - -Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, writing upon our text, at a -time when the statutes against witchcraft were still in force, said: "By -our law, consulting, covenanting with, invoking, or employing, any evil -spirit to any intent whatsoever, and exercising any enchantment, charm, -or sorcery, whereby hurt shall be done to any person whatsoever, is made -felony without benefit of clergy; also, pretending to tell where goods -lost or stolen may be found, or the like, is an iniquity punishable by -the judge, and the second offence with death. The justice of our law -herein is supported by the law of God here." - -The number of innocent, helpless women who have been legally tortured -and murdered by this law of God is beyond computation. - -In Suffolk alone sixty persons were hung in a single year. The learned -Dr. Zachary Grey states that between three and four thousand persons -suffered death for witchcraft from the year 1640 to 1660.* - - * Note on Butler's Hudibras, part ii., canto 8, line 143. - -In Scotland the Bible-supported superstition raged worse than in -England. The clergy there had, as part of their duty, to question their -parishioners as to their knowledge of witches. Boxes were placed in the -churches to receive the accusations, and when a woman had fallen under -suspicion the minister from the pulpit denounced her by name, exhorted -his parishioners to give evidence against her, and prohibited any one -from sheltering her.* A traveller casually notices having seen nine -women burning together in Leith, in 1664. - -"Scotch witchcraft," says Lecky, "was but the result of Scotch -Puritanism, and it faithfully reflected the character of its parent."** - -On the Continent it was as bad. Catholics and Protestants could unite -in one thing--the extirpation of witches and infidels. Papal bulls were -issued against witchcraft as well as heresy. Luther said: "I would have -no compassion on these witches--I would burn them all."*** In Catholic -Italy a thousand persons were executed in a single year in the province -of Como. - - * See The Darker Superstitions of Scotland, by Sir John - Graham Dalyell, chap. xviii. Glasgow, 1835. - - ** History of the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in - Europe, vol. i., p. 144. - - *** Colloquia de Fascinationibus. - -In one province of Protestant Sweden 2,500 witches were burnt in 1670. -Stories of the horrid tortures which accompanied witch-finding, stories -that will fill the eyes with tears and the heart with raging fire -against the brutal superstition which provoked such \ barbarities, may -be found in Dalyell, Lecky, Michelet, and the voluminous literature of -the subject. And all these tortures and executions were sanctioned and -defended from the Bible. The more pious the people the more firm their -conviction of the reality of witchcraft. Sir Matthew Hale, in hanging -two men in 1664, took the opportunity of declaring that the reality of -witchcraft was unquestionable; "for first, the Scripture had affirmed so -much; and, secondly, the wisdom of all nations had provided laws against -such persons." - -Witch belief and witch persecutions have existed from the most savage -times down to the rise and spread of medical science, but nothing is -more striking in history than the fact of the great European outburst -against witchcraft following upon the Reformation and the translations -of God's Holy Word, This was no mere coincidence, but a necessary -consequence. "It was not until after the Reformation that there was any -systematic hunting out of witches," says J. R. Lowell.* - - * Among my Books, p. 128. Macmillan, 1870. - -If the Bible teaches not witchcraft, then it teaches nothing. - -Science and scepticism having made Christians ashamed of this biblical -doctrine, as usual they have sought a new interpretation. They say it is -a mistranslation; that _poisoners_ are meant, and not _witches_. Now, in -the first place, poisoners were really dealt with by the command, "Thou -shalt not kill." In the second place, not a single Hebrew scholar -of repute would venture to so render the word of our text. Its root, -translated "witch," is given by Gesenius as "to use enchantment." -Fuerst, Parkhurst, Frey, Newman, Buxtorf, in short, all Hebrew -lexicographers, agree. Not one suggests that "poisoner" could be -considered an equivalent. The derivatives of this word are translated -with this meaning wherever they occur. Thus Exodus vii. 11, "the wise -men and the sorcerers." Deuteronomy xviii., 10,11, "There shalt not be -found among you anyone that useth divination, or an observer of times, -or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with -familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer." 2 Kings ix. 22, "her -witchcrafts." 2 Chronicles xxxiii. 6, Manesseh "used enchantments, and -used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards." -Isaiah xlvii. 9 and 12, "thy sorceries." Jeremiah xxvii. 9, "your -sorcerers." Daniel ii. 2, "the magicians, and the astrologers, and -the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans." Micah v. 12, "And I will cut -off witchcrafts, and thou shalt have no soothsayers." Nahum iii. 4, -"witchcrafts." Malachi iii. 5, "I will be a swift witness against the -sorcerers." The only pretence for this rendering of _poisoner_ is the -fact that Josephus (_Antiquities_, bk. iv., ch. viii., sec. 34) gives a -law against keeping poisons. As there is no such law in the Pentateuch, -Whiston tried to kill two difficulties with one note, by saying that -what we render a _witch_ meant a poisoner. The Septuagint has also been -appealed to, but Sir Charles Lee Brenton, in his translation of the -Septuagint, has not thought proper to render our text other than, "Ye -shall not save the lives of sorcerers." - -But apart from texts (of which I have only given those in which occurs -one word out of the many implying the belief), the _thing_ itself -is woven into the structure of the Bible. Not only do the Egyptian -enchanters work miracles and the witch of Endor raise Samuel, but the -power of evil spirits over men is the occasion of most of the miracles -of Jesus. The very doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible, so -cherished by Protestant Christians, is but a part of that doctrine of -men being possessed by spirits, good and evil, which is the substratum -of belief in witchcraft. - -Even yet this belief is not entirely extinct in England; and Dr. Buckley -says that in America a majority of the citizens believe in witchcraft. -The modern Roman Catholic priest is cautioned in the rubric concerning -the examination of a possessed patient "not to believe the demon if -he profess to be the soul of some saint or deceased person, or a good -angel." As late as 1773 the divines of the Associated Presbytery passed -a resolution declaring their belief in witchcraft, and deploring the -scepticism that was general. In the Church Catechism, explained by the -Rev. John Lewis, minister of Margate in Kent--a work which went through -many editions, and received the sanction of the Society for Promoting -Christian Knowledge--a copy of which lies before me, published in -1813, reads (p. 18): "Q. What is meant by renouncing the Devil?--A. -The refusing of all familiarity and contracts with the Devil, whereof -witches, conjurors, and such as resort to them are guilty." - -Let it never be forgotten that this belief which has not only been the -cause of the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent women, but has -sent far more into the worst convulsions of madness and despair, is the -evident and unmistakable teaching of the Bible. - - - - -SAUL'S SPIRITUALIST STANCE AT ENDOR. - -"Our own time has revived a group of beliefs and practices which -have their roots deep in the very stratum of early philosophy, where -witchcraft makes its first appearance. This group of beliefs and -practices constitutes what is now commonly known as Spiritualism."--Dr. -E. B. Tylor, "Primitive Culture" vol. i., p. 128. - -The oldest portion of the Old Testament scriptures are imbedded in the -Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel. Few indeed of these narratives -throw more light on the early belief of the Jews than the story of Saul -and the witch of Endor. It is hardly necessary to recount the story, -which is told with a vigor and simplicity showing its antiquity and -genuineness. Saul, who had incurred Samuel's enmity by refusing to slay -the king Agag, after the death of the prophet, found troubles come -upon him. Alarmed at the strength of his enemies, the Philistines, he -"inquired of the Lord." But the Lord was not at home. At any rate, he -"answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." -The legitimate modes of learning one's fortune being thus shut up, Saul -sought in disguise and by night a woman who had an _ob_. or familiar -spirit. Now Saul had done his best to suppress witchcraft, having "put -away those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land." -So when he said to the witch, "I pray thee divine unto me by the -familiar spirit and bring him up whom I shall name unto thee," the woman -was afraid, and asked if he laid a snare for her. Saul swore hard and -fast he would not hurt her, and it is evident from his question he -believed in her powers of necromancy by the aid of the familiar spirit. -This alone shows that the Jews, like all uncivilised people, and many -who call themselves civilised, believed in ghosts and the possibility of -their return, but, as we shall see, it does not imply that they -believed in future rewards and punishments. Saul's expectations were -not disappointed. He asked to see Samuel, and _up_ Samuel came. He asked -what she saw, and she said _Elohirn_, or as we have it, "gods ascending -out of the earth." In this fact that the same word in Hebrew is used -for _ghosts_ and for _gods_, we have the most important light upon the -origin of all theology. - -The modern Christian of course believes that Samuel as a holy prophet -dwells in heaven above, and may wonder, if he thinks of the narrative at -all, why he should be recalled from his abode of bliss and placed under -the magic control of this weird, not to say scandalous, female. But -Samuel came up, not down from heaven, in accordance, of course, with the -old belief that Sheol, or the underworld, was beneath the earth. - -Christian commentators have resorted to a deal of shuffling and -wriggling to escape the difficulties of this story, and its endorsement -of the superstition of witchcraft. The _Speakers' Commentary_ suggests -that the Witch of Endor was a female ventriloquist, but, disingenuously, -does not explain that ventriloquists in ancient times were really -supposed to have a spirit rumbling or talking inside their bodies. -As Dr. E. B. Tylor says in that great storehouse of savage beliefs, -_Primitive Culture_, "To this day in China one may get an oracular -response from a spirit apparently talking out of a medium's stomach, for -a fee of about twopence-halfpenny." - -Some make out, because Saul at first asked the woman what she saw, that, -as at many modern seances, it was only the medium, who saw the ghost, -and Saul only knew who it was through her, else why should he have asked -her what form Samuel had?--which elicited the not very detailed reply -of "an old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle"--that is, -we suppose, with the ghost of a mantle. She did the seeing and he the -hearing. But it says "Saul perceived it was Samuel," and prostrated -himself, which he would hardly have done at a description. Indeed, the -whole narrative is inconsistent with the modern theory of imposture on -the part of the witch. Had this been the explanation, the writer should -have said so plainly. He should have said her terror was pretended, that -the apparition was unreal, and that Saul trembled at the woman's words, -whereas it is plainly declared that "he was sore afraid because of the -words of Samuel." Moreover, and this is decisive, the spirit utters -a prophecy--not an encouraging, but a gloomy one--which was exactly -fulfilled. - -All this shows the writer was saturated in supernaturalism. He never -uses an expression indicating a shadow of a ghost of a doubt of the -ghost. He might easily have said the whole thing was deceit. He does -not, for he believed in witchcraft like the priests who ordered "Thou -shalt not suffer a witch to live." One little circumstance shows his -sympathy. Samuel says: "Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?" -This is quite in consonance with savage belief that spirits should not -be disturbed. Here was Samuel quietly buried in Ramah, some fifty miles -off, taking his comfortable nap, may be for millenniums in Sheol, when -the old woman's incantations bustle him out of his grave and transport -him to Endor. No wonder he felt disquieted and prophesied vengeance to -Saul and to his sons, "because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord -nor executedest his fierce wrath upon Amalek." - -Matthew Henry and other commentators think that the person who presented -himself to Saul was not Samuel, but Satan assuming his appearance. Those -who believe in Satan, and that he can transform himself into an angel of -light (2 Cor. xi. 14), cannot refuse to credit the possibility of this. -Folks with that comfortable belief can credit anything. To sensible -people it is scarcely necessary to say there is nothing about Satan in -the narrative, nor any conceivable reason why he should be credited -with a true prophecy. The words uttered are declared to be the words of -Samuel.* - - * The seventeenth verse stupidly reads, "The Lord hath done - to him as he spake by me." The LXX and Vulgate more sensibly - reads to thee. - -Much is said of Saul's wickedness, but the only wickedness attributed to -him is his mercy in not executing God's fierce wrath. If it was wicked -to seek the old woman, it is curious God should grant the object he was -seeking, by raising up one of his own holy servants. Why did the Lord -employ such an agency? It looks very much like sanctioning necromancy. -And further, if a spirit returned from the dead to tell Saul he should -die and go to Sheol--where Samuel was, for he says "to-morrow shalt thou -and thy sons be _with me_"--why should not spirits now return to tell -us we are immortal? If the witch of Endor could raise spirits, why not -Lottie Fowler or Mr. Eglinton? Such are the arguments of the spiritists. -We venture to think they cannot be answered by the orthodox. To -us, however, the fact that the beliefs of the spiritists find their -countenance in the beliefs of savages like the early Jews is their -sufficient refutation. Spiritism, as Dr. Tylor says, is but a revival of -old savage animism. - - - - -SACRIFICES. - - No sacrifice to heaven, no help from heaven; - That runs through all the faiths of all the world. - --Tennyson--Harold. - -The origin and meaning of sacrifices constitute a central problem -of ancient religion. It links indeed the stronghold of orthodox -Christianity--its doctrine of the Atonement--with the most barbarous -customs of primitive savages. When we hear of the Lamb slain for -sinners, the very phrase takes us back to the time when sins were -formally placed upon the heads of unconscious animals that they might -be held accursed instead of man; and to the yet older notion of human -sacrifice as a most acceptable offering to the gods. - -Sacrifices were primarily meals offered to the spirits of the dead. It -is not hard to understand how they arose. The Hindoos who placed upon -the grave of an English officer the brandy and cheroots which he loved -in life in order to propitiate his spirit illustrated a prominent -aspect. Just as men were appeased with gifts, usually of substances -which minister to life, so were spirits supposed to be, and the general -form which the offering took was something in the shape of what the -Americans call a square meal. The Romans never sat down to eat without -placing a portion aside for the Lares and Penates. Professor Smith, in -his _Lectures on the Religion of the Semites_, gives abundant evidence -that the early sacrifices of the Semitic people were animals offered -at a meal partaken by the worshippers. The sacrifice, he holds, was -originally a nourishing of the common life of the kindred and their -god by a common meal. The primary communion with deity was communion of -food. This may not be very poetical, but it is natural and true. Eating -and drinking together were primarily signs of fraternity. Only to his -own kin did early man own duty, and his god was always of his own kin. -Jehovah was, as we are often told, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. -He was their father and their king. When Ruth said to Naomi, "Thy people -shall be my people, and thy God my God," the exclamation showed that -taking up new kindred involved a change of worship. Professor Smith -says: "It cannot be too strongly insisted on that the idea of kinship -between gods and men was originally taken in a purely physical sense." -The modern Christian's explanations of biblical anthropomorphisms may be -dismissed as unfounded assumptions. The story in Genesis of the sons -of God going with the daughters of men is one of the remnants of early -myths unexplained by later editors. - -The Bible God, as any careful reader will perceive, was very partial to -roast meat. One of the earliest items recorded of him is that he had -no respect for Cain and his offering of vegetables, while to Abel who -brought him the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, he -had respect. He much prefered mutton to turnips. When Noah offered a -sacrifice, we are told "He smelt a sweet savor" (Gen. vii. 21). But -the Lord was by no means content with the smell. On his altars huge -hecatombs of animals were continually being slaughtered, and the -choicest portions set aside as the Lord's. The Lord God seems to have -been extremely fond of fat, especially that about the rump. As the -richest part of the animal, it was reserved with "the two kidneys and -the fat that is upon them" especially for the Lord (Lev. iii. 9-11). Let -it be noticed that the Lord God required no sacrifices except of eatable -animals, oxen, rams, goats, lambs, and kids. Fishes he had no regard -for, and of birds only turtle doves and pigeons were his favorite -dishes. Wine and oil he took to wash them down, but never mentioned -water. Like his ministers, he lived on the fat of the land,* claiming as -his own the firstlings of the flock. From his claim to the first born, -it appears that Jahveh was originally given to "long pig," but in -the case of Abraham's son, he took a ram instead. He was, however, -so partial to blood that he interdicted the sacred fluid to his -worshippers, but demanded that it should be poured out upon his altar -(Deut. xii.) Even the early Christians made it a fundamental rule of -the Church that disciples should abstain from blood, and from things -strangled (Acts xv. 20). The blood was supposed to be especially the -Lord's. - - * To "eat the fat" seems, as in Neh. viii. 10, to have been - a biblical expression for good living. - -Let not the serious reader suppose we are jesting. Hear what Prof. -Robertson Smith says. - -"All sacrifices laid upon the altar were taken by the ancients as -being literally the food of the gods. The Homeric deities 'feast on -hecatombs,' nay particular Greek gods have special epithets designating -them as the goat-eater, the ram-eater, the bull-eater, even 'cannibal,' -with allusion to human sacrifices. Among the Hebrews the conception that -Jehovah eats the flesh of bulls and drinks the blood of goats, against -which the author of Psalm 1. protests so strongly, was never eliminated -from the ancient technical language of the priestly ritual, in which the -sacrifices are called _lechem Elohim_, 'the food of the deity.'"* - - * Religion of the Semites, p. 207. - -Our translators of the passages where this phrase occurs (Lev. xxi. 8, -17, 21, 22; Num. xxviii. 2) have done their best to conceal the meaning, -but like the phrase "wine which cheereth God and man" (Judges ix. 13), -it takes us back to the time when gods were supposed, like men, to eat, -drink, and be refreshed. - -It was a fundamental rule of the Jewish faith that no one should appear -before the Lord empty handed (Exodus xxiii. 15.) Not to take him an -offering was as improper as in the East it still is to approach a chief -or great man without some present. A sacrifice was as imperative as it -now is to put something in the church plate. When God made a call on -Abraham, with Eastern hospitality the patriarch procured water to wash -his feet and killed a calf for the entertainment of his visitor. The -Lord God was not a vegetarian but a stout kreophagist. In Numbers (xxix. -13) he orders as a sacrifice "of a sweet savor unto the Lord, thirteen -young bullocks, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year." - -From the frequent mention of the "sweet savor," it seems likely that the -original idea of the god partaking of the food, developed into that of -his taking only the essence of the food. As God got less anthropomorphic -he lost his teeth and had, poor spirit, to be content with the smell of -the good things offered up to him. We gather from Lev. vii. 6 that the -kidneys, fat and other delicacies really fell to the lot of the priests, -and some people have found a sufficient reason for the sacrifices to God -in the fact that the priests liked mutton. - -In 1 Samuel ii. 13-16 we are told how it was the custom of the priests -that when any man offered sacrifice, "the priest's servant came, while -the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand. -And he struck it into the pan or kettle, or caldron or pot; all that the -fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself." - -In the time of David the Lord had a table of shew-bread set before -him--that is, a table spread with food in the temple, where he was -supposed to come and take it when he desired, just as Africans place -meal and liquor in their fetish houses. Such tables were set in the -great temple of Bel at Babylon, and the story of Bel and the Dragon in -the Apocrypha explains how the priests and their women and children -came in by a secret door and ate up the things which were supposed to be -consumed by the God. - -While the Lord and the priests were certainly not vegetarians, neither -did they insist on a vegetable diet for their people. The Lord's table -of fare is set out in Leviticus xi., and a very curious _menu_ it is. -The hare is expressly excluded "because he cheweth the cud," although -he does nothing of the kind; but "the locust after his kind, the -bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the -grasshopper after his kind," are freely permitted. Another divine -regulation, and one which throws much light on the divine methods, is -recorded in Deut. xvi. 21--"Thou shalt not eat of anything that dieth -of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates -that he may eat it, or thou mayest sell it unto an alien." To this day -the Jews are particular in observing this godly method of disposing of -diseased meat. - -To arrive at the truth in regard to the question whether human sacrifice -was at one time a portion of the Jewish religion, or whether it was, -as the orthodox generally assert, simply a corruption copied from the -surrounding heathen nations, it is necessary to bear in mind that every -portion of the Jewish law is of later date than the prophets. The book -of the law was only found in the time of King Josiah, who opposed this -very practice (2 Kings xxiii. 10), and there is no evidence of its -existence before that date. There is reason to believe that the priestly -code of Leviticus is later still, dating only from the time of Ezra. -Instead of reflecting the ideas of the age of Moses, it reflects those -of almost a thousand years later. It is therefore only in the historical -books that we can expect to find traces of what the actual religion -of Israel was. There is ample evidence that human sacrifice formed a -conspicuous element. Ahaz, King of Judah, "burnt his children in the -fire" (2 Chron. xxviii. 3); Mannasseh, King of Judah, was guilty of the -same atrocity (2 Chron. xxxiii. 6); Jeremiah denounces the children of -Judah for having "built the high place of Tophet, which is in the valley -of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the -fire" (vii. 31); Micah remonstrates against both animal and human -sacrifice--"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams; shall I -give my first-born for my transgression; the fruit of my body for the -sin of my soul?" (vi. 7). In the well-known story of Abraham and -Isaac, as in the Greek story of Iphigenia, and the Roman one of Valeria -Luperca, we have an account of the transition to a less barbarous stage -in the substitution of animal for human sacrifice. It was natural -that this legend should be ascribed to the time of the father of the -faithful, but there is, as we have seen, abundant evidence of the -practice existing long subsequent to the time of Abraham, who was by no -means surprised at and in no way demurred to the divine command, "Take -now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee unto -the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of -the mountains which I will tell thee of" (Genesis xxii. 2). Anyone -who at the present day should exhibit a faith like unto that of the -patriarchal saint would be in jeopardy of finding himself within the -walls of a criminal lunatic asylum. - -That human sacrifices lasted long after the time of Abraham we have an -instance in the case of Jephthah, who vowed that if Jahveh would deliver -the children of Ammon into his hand, he would offer up for a burnt -offering whosoever came forth from his house to meet him upon his return -from his expedition (Judges xi. 30, 31). In order to tone this down the -Authorised Version reads "whatsoever" instead of "whosoever," which -is supplied in the margin of the Revised Version. Despite the emphatic -statement that Jephthah did with her according to his vow, it has been -alleged that because his daughter petitioned to be allowed to bewail her -virginity for two months, she was only condemned to a life of celibacy. -This is preposterous. Jahveh, unlike Jesus, had no partiality for -the unmarried state. He liked a real sacrifice of blood. To lament -childlessness was a common ancient custom, and even the Greek and Latin -poets have represented their heroines who were similarly doomed to an -early death, such as Antigone, Polyxena, and Iphigenia, as actually -lamenting in a very similar manner their virginity or unmarried -condition. There is no single instance in the Old Testament of a woman -being set apart as a virgin, though, as we have seen, there are numerous -indications of human sacrifices. - -Even in the Levitical law sanction is given to human sacrifice. "None -devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be ransomed; he shall -surely be put to death" (Lev. xxvii. 29). Jahveh insisted on the -sacrifice being completed. David sent seven sons of Saul to be hung -before the Lord to stay a famine. - -That a party remained in Israel who considered human sacrifice a part of -their religion is evident also from Jeremiah, who says: "They have built -also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt -offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came -it into my mind" (xix. 5). These strong asseverations were evidently -called forth by assertions made by persons addicted to such practices, -and those persons had the support of Ezekiel, who, in contradiction -to the statements of Jeremiah, contended that Jahveh gave them up to -pollution, even as he hardened the heart of Pharaoh that they might know -that he was the Lord (Ezek. xx. 25-26). - - - - -THE PASSOVER. - - "_Christ our passover is sacrificed for us_." - --Paul (1 Cor. v. 7.) - -The Passover is the most important and impressive festival of the Jews, -instituted, it is said, by God himself, and a type of the sacrifice of -his only son. Its observance was most rigorously enjoined under penalty -of death, and although the circumstances of the Jews have prevented -their carrying out the sacrificial details, they still, in the custom of -each head of the family assuming _pro tem_, the _rōle_ of high priest, -preserve the most primitive type of priesthood known. - -The Bible account of the institution of the Passover is utterly -incredible. After afflicting the Egyptians with nine plagues, God still -hardens Pharaoh's heart (Exodus x. 27), and tells Moses that "about -midnight" he will go into the midst of Egypt and slay all the firstborn. -But in order that he shall make no mistake in carrying out his atrocious -design, he orders that each family of the children of Israel shall take -a lamb and kill it in the evening, and smear the doorposts of the -house with blood, "and when I see the blood I will pass over you." The -omniscient needed this sign, that he might not make a mistake and slay -the very people he meant to deliver. One cannot help wondering what -would have been the result if some Egyptian, like Morgiana in "The -Forty Thieves," had wiped off the blood from the Israelite doorposts and -sprinkled the doorposts of the Egyptians. Moses received this command on -the very day at the close of which the paschal lambs were to be killed. -This was very short notice for communicating with the head of each -family about to start on a hurried flight. As the people were two -million in number and the lambs had to be all males, without blemish, of -one year old, this supposes, on the most moderate computation, a flock -of sheep as numerous as the people. Who can credit this monstrous libel -on the character of God and on the intelligence of those to whom such a -story is proffered? - -What, then, is the correct version of the origin of the Passover? Dr. -Hardwicke, in his _Popular Faith Unveiled_, following Sir Wm. Drummond -and Godfrey Higgins, says it meant "nothing more or less than the -pass-over of the sun across the equator, into the constellation Aries, -when the astronomical lamb was consequently obliterated or sacrificed by -the superior effulgence of the sun." It is noticeable that the principal -festivals of the Jews, as of other nations, were in spring and autumn, -at the time of lambing and sowing and when the harvest ripened. But -while allowing that this may have determined the time of the festival, I -cannot think it covers the ground of its significance. The story relates -that when Moses first asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, it -was that they might celebrate a feast in the wilderness which was -accompanied by a sacrifice (see Exodus v. i. and iii. 19). This may be -taken as indicating that there was known to be a festival at this season -prior to the days of Pharaoh. And at the festival of the spring increase -of flocks the god must of course have his share. - -Epiphanius declares that the Egyptians marked their sheep with red, -because of the general conflagration which once raged at the time when -the sun passed over into the sign of Aries, thereby to symbolise the -fiery death of those animals who were not actually offered up. Von -Bohlen says the ancient Peruvians marked with blood the doors of the -temples, royal residences, and private dwellings, to symbolise the -triumph of the sun over the winter. - -The suggestion that owing to peculiarities of diet or of constitution -some pestilence afflicted the Egyptians which passed over and spared the -Jews, is a very plausible one, and deserves more attention than it -has yet received, since it would account for many features in the -institution. But there remains another signification, which seems -indicated in the thirteenth chapter of Exodus in connection with the -institution of the Passover. There we read the order, "Thou shalt set -apart [the margin more properly reads "cause to pass over"] unto the -Lord, all that openeth the matrix" (verse 12). "And every firstling of -an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou will not redeem it, -then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy -children shalt thou redeem."* Professor Huxley asks upon this passage: -"Is it possible to avoid the conclusion that immolation of their -firstborn sons would have been incumbent on the worshippers of Jahveh, -had they not been thus specially excused?"** In one of the oldest -portions of the Pentateuch (Exodus xxii. 29) the command stands simply, -"the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me." In Exodus xii. 27, -xxiii. 18, xxxiv. 25; and Numbers ix. 13, the Passover is spoken of as -particularly the Lord's own sacrifice. - - * Why is the ass only mentioned besides man? One cannot but - suspect that his introduction is an interpolation by the - reformed Jews, who had outgrown the custom of human - sacrifice, betrayed by the phrase "thou shalt break his - neck." - - ** Nineteenth Century, April, 1886. - -The law proceeds to enjoin that the father shall tell his son as the -reason for the festival, how the Lord "slew all the firstborn in the -land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beasts: -therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix being -males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem." Evidently here is -the notion of a substitutionary offering, although the reason given is -not the true reason. In Exodus xxxiv. 18-20, the festival is brought -into the same connection with immediate reference to the redemption of -the firstborn. In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have the same idea. -God commands the patriarch to offer up his only son as a burnt sacrifice -(Gen. xxii. 2), an order which he receives without astonishment, and -proceeds to execute as if it were the most ordinary business imaginable, -without the slightest sign of reluctance. A messenger from Jahveh, -however, intervenes and a ram is substituted.* I do not doubt that this -story, like similar ones found in Hindu and Greek mythology, indicates -an era when animal sacrifices were substituted for human ones.** - - * Observe that Elohim, the old gods, claim the sacrifice and - Jahveh, the new Lord, prevents it. - - ** It may help us to understand how the sacrifice of an - animal may atone for human life, if we notice how in South - Africa a Zulu will redeem a lost child from the finder by a - bullock. - -The legend is of course far older than the record of it which reaches -us. In a notable passage in Ezekiel xx. 25, 26, the Lord declares that -he had given his people "statutes that were not good, and judgments -whereby they should not live." And he continues, "I polluted them in -their own gifts in that they cause to pass through _the fire_ all that -openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they -might know that I am the Lord." The fact that the very same words are -used in Ezekiel which are found in Exodus xiii. 12, at once suggests -that originally the passover was a human sacrifice, and that of the most -abominable kind--the offering of the firstborn--and that the story of -the Lord slaying the firstborn of Egypt was an invention to account for -the relics of the custom. We know that such sacrifices did remain as -part of the Jewish religion. Ezekiel himself says that when they had -slain their children to their idols, they came the same day in the -sanctuary to profane it (xxiii. 39). Micah argues against the barbarous -practice: "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of -my body for the sin of my soul?" (vi. 6). Two kings of Judah, Ahaz -and Manasseh, are recorded to have offered up their children as burnt -offerings (2 Chron. xxviii. 3, xxxiii. 6), as upon one occasion did the -king of Moab (2 Kings iii. 27). 2 Chron. xxx., in relating how Hezekiah -commanded all Israel to keep the Passover, says that "they had not done -it of a long time in such sort as it was written," and relates how the -Levites were ashamed and many yet did eat the Passover otherwise than -it was written. And in the account of how Josiah broke down the altars -which had been set up by Ahaz and Manasseh one reads "surely there was -not held such a Passover from the days of the judges." In other words, -it had never been kept in the same fashion within human memory. The -keeping of the Passover had been different before this reformation, just -as until the age of Hezekiah the Jews worshipped a brazen serpent, which -they afterwards accounted for by ascribing it to Moses, the law-giver -who had prohibited all idolatry. On the eve of the Passover, to the -present day, the firstborn son among the Jews, who is of full age--i.e., -thirteen--fasts. This we take to be a rudimentary survival. - -If then we interpret the offering of the paschal lamb as being -substituted for a human sacrifice, we shall understand how it is at -once a thank-offering and yet eaten with "the bread of affliction," the -motzahs, or unleavened cakes, and bitter herbs, which are the remaining -features of the festival, and this may help to explain the accusation -which in all ages has been brought against the Jews, viz., that once in -seven years at least they required their Passover to be celebrated with -human blood. It is true the accusation has been often brought without -evidence, but the Jews themselves profess astonishment at the unanimity -with which their opponents have fixed upon this charge. Further, we -shall see that in adopting the paschal lamb as the type of Christ, -the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, the Christians were simply -reverting to the early savage notion that deities are only to be -appeased with blood, and to this degraded belief they have added the -absurdity that Christ himself was God, thus making God sacrifice himself -in order to appease himself! - - - - -THE EVOLUTION OF JAHVEH. - -In the beginning when men created gods they made them in their own -image, cruel, unrestrained and vacillating, All the early religions give -evidence of the savage nature of ancient man. The departed gods, viewed -in the light of modern ideals, were all ugly devils. The boasted God of -the Jews is no exception. Although the books of the Old Testament do -not give us the earliest and doubtless still more savage beliefs of the -Israelites, the oldest portions, such as the legends embodied in Genesis -and the historical books, sufficiently betray that Jahveh was no better -than his compeers. It is evident that originally he was only one of many -gods. He is always spoken of as a family deity--the God of Abraham, of -Isaac and of Jacob. Human sacrifices were at one time offered to him -(see Genesis xxii., Leviticus xxvii. 29, Numbers xxv. 4, Judges xi. -31-39,1 Samuel xv. 23, Micah vi. 6,7). He is anthropomorphic, yet -anything but a gentleman. In his decalogue he describes himself as "a -jealous god, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children -until the third and fourth generation." He delights in blood and -sacrifice. He is entitled "a god of battles," "Lord of hosts," and "a -man of war." He has the form, the movements, and the imperfections of a -human being. Man is said to be made in his image and after his likeness. -It is plain these words must be taken in their literal significance, -since, a little further on, Adam is described, in the same language, as -having begotten Seth "in his own likeness and after his image" (Genesis -v. 3). - -Jahveh walks in the garden in the cool of the day. He has come down to -see the tower of Babel (Gen. xi. 5). He covers Moses with "his hand" so -that he should not see "his face"; and while Moses stands in a clift of -the rock Jahveh shows him "his back parts" (Exodus xxxiii. 23). He makes -clothes for Adam and Eve, and writes his laws with his own finger. After -six days' work we are told that "on the seventh day he rested and was -refreshed" (Exodus xxxi. 17). When Noah sacrificed we are told that -"Jahveh smelled a sweet savor" (Gen. vii. 21). He creates mankind and -then regrets their creation--"It repented Jahveh that he had made man -on the earth and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis vi. 6). He puts -a bow in the clouds in order to remember his vow, and again and again he -repents of the evil which he thought to do unto his people (see Exodus -xxxii. 14; Numbers xiv.; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; Jonah iii. 10; etc.) - -Jacob wrestles with him; and when things do not go as they wish, Moses, -Joshua, David and Job no more hesitate to remonstrate with their deity -than the African hesitates to chide the fetish that does not answer his -prayers. - -In the early books Jahveh is irascible and unjust. His temper is soon -up, and his vengeance usually falls on the wrong parties. Eve eats the -forbidden fruit and all her female descendants are condemned to pains -at childbirth. Pharaoh refuses to let the Hebrews go and the firstborn -child of every Egyptian family is slain, and other dreadful afflictions -are poured on the innocent people. David, like a wise king, takes -a census of his nation, and Jahveh punishes him by slaying seventy -thousand of the people by a pestilence (1 Chron. xxi. 1--17). He -slaughters fifty thousand inhabitants of the village of Bethshemesh -for innocently looking into his travelling-trunk on its return from -captivity (1 Samuel vi. 19). He smites Uzzah for putting his hand to -save the ark from falling (2 Samuel vi. 6, 7), and withers Jeroboam's -hand for venturing to put it upon the altar (1 Kings xiii. 4). He sends -bears to kill forty-two little children for calling Elisha "bald-head" -(2 Kings ii. 23, 24), and his general conduct is that of a barbarous, -bloodthirsty and irresponsible tyrant. We say nothing here of the -character of his favorite people. "Man paints himself in his gods," said -Schiller. - -The captivity of the Jews and their consequent contact with other -nations led to their own refinement and an enlarged ideal of their -divinity. He improves much in his character, tastes and propensities. -Nehemiah addressed Jahveh in the elevated tone the Persians addressed -Ahura-Mazda. Whereas in the old days Jahveh ordered whole hecatombs of -sheep and oxen to be sacrificed to him, doubtless because his priests -liked beef and mutton (they had the meat and he had the smell)--the -prophet Isaiah in his first chapter writes, "To what purpose is the -multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" saith Jahveh. "Wash you, make you -clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do -evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge -the fatherless, plead for the widow." Similarly, Micah gives worship an -ethical instead of a ceremonial character: "Will Jahveh be pleased with -thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my -firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my -soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jahveh -require of thee but to do justly and love mercy, and to walk humbly with -thy God." Ezekiel bluntly contradicts Moses, and declares that "the son -shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear -the iniquity of the son" (xviii. 20). - -The second Isaiah even looks forward to the time when Gentiles will -acknowledge the Jewish Jahveh, and Zechariah declares "Thus saith Jahveh -of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass that the ten men shall -take hold of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the -skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have -heard that God is with you" (viii. 23). - -Jewish vanity did not permit tolerance to extend beyond this. Even in -the New Testament God only offers salvation to those who believe, and -mercilessly damns all the rest. "An honest God is the noblest work of -man," and theists of all kinds have found great difficulty in supplying -the article. - -Herbert Spencer, in a paper on "Religion" in the _Nineteenth Century_* -well says: "If we contrast the Hebrew God described in primitive -tradition, manlike in appearance, appetites and emotions, with the -Hebrew Gods as characterised by the prophets, there is shown a widening -range of power along with a nature increasingly remote from that of man. -And on passing to the conceptions of him which are now entertained, -we are made aware of an extreme transfiguration. By a convenient -obliviousness, a deity who in early times is represented as hardening -men's hearts so that they may commit punishable acts, and as employing -a lying spirit to deceive them, comes to be mostly thought of as an -embodiment of virtues transcending the highest we can imagine." And so -the idea of God developes - - "Till by broad spreading it disperse to nought." - - * January, 1884. - -For the process is not simply from the savage to the civilised--it is -from the definite to the dim. As man advances God retires. With each -increase of our knowledge of nature the sphere of the supernatural is -lessened till all deities and devils are seen to be but reflections of -man's imagination and symbols of his ignorance. - - - - -JOSHUA AND THE SUN. - -Savages fail to recognise the limits of their power over nature. Things -which the experience of the race shows us to be obviously impossible -are not only attempted but believed to be performed by persons in a low -stage of culture. Miracles always accompany ignorance. No better proof -of the barbarous and unintelligent state whence we have emerged could be -given than the stories of the supernatural which are found embodied in -all religions, and also in the customs of savages and the folk-lore of -peasantry. - -Primitive man thinks of all phenomena as caused by spirits. Hence to -control the spirits is to control the phenomena. Herodotus (iv., 173) -tells a curious tale how once in the land of Psylii, the modern Tripoli, -the wind blowing from the Sahara dried up all the water-tanks. So the -people took counsel and marched in a body to make war on the south wind. -But when they entered the desert, the simoon swept down on them and -buried them. It is still said of the Bedouins of Eastern Africa that "no -whirlwind ever sweeps across the path without being pursued by a dozen -savages with drawn creeses, who stab into the centre of the dusty -column, in order to drive away the evil spirit that is believed to be -riding on the blast." The Chinese beat gongs and make other noises at an -eclipse, to drive away the dragon of darkness. At an eclipse, too, the -Ojibbeways used to think the sun was being extinguished, so they shot -fire-tipped arrows in the air, hoping thus to re-kindle his expiring -light. At the present day Theosophists seek to compass magical powers -which in early times were supposed to be generally possessed by -sorcerers. - -Rain-making was one of the most common of these supposed powers. -Instances are found in the Bible. Samuel says: "I will call unto the -Lord and he shall send thunder and rain," and he does so (1 Sam. xii. -17, 18). So Elijah, by prayer (which in early times meant a magical -spell), obtained rain. Jesus controls the winds and the waves, walks on -the water, and levitates through the air. - -Mr. J. G. Frazer, in his splendid work _The Golden Bough_ gives many -instances of savages making sunshine and staying the sun. Thus "the -Melanesians make sunshine by means of a mock sun. A round stone is wound -about with red braid and stuck with owl's feathers to represent rays; it -is then hung on a high tree." "In a pass of the Peruvian Andes stand two -ruined towers on opposite hills. Iron hooks are clamped into their walls -for the purpose of stretching a net from one tower to another. The net -is intended to catch the sun." Numerous other methods are resorted to by -different tribes. Jerome, of Prague, travelling among the Lithuanians, -who early in the fifteenth century were still Pagans, found a tribe who -worshipped the sun and venerated a large iron hammer. "The priests told -him at once the sun had been invisible for several months because a -powerful king had shut it up in a strong tower; but the signs of the -zodiac had broken open the tower with this very hammer and released the -sun. Therefore they adored the hammer."* Mr. Frazer gives reasons for -thinking that the fire festivals solemnised at Midsummer in ancient -times were really sun-charms. - -The phenomena of nature were supposed to be at the service of the pious. -The thunderbolts of Zeus fell upon the heads of perjurers. Some people -still wonder the earth does not open when a man announces himself an -Atheist. Jahveh just before stopping the sun, pelted the enemies of -Israel with hailstones (Joshua x. 11). So Diodorus Siculus (xi. 1) -relates how the Persians when on their way to spoil the temple at -Delphi, were deterred by "a sudden and incredible tempest of wind and -hail, with dreadful thunder and lightning, by which great rocks were -rent to pieces and cast upon the heads of the Persians, destroying them -in heaps." Herodotus too (ii. 142) tells how "The Egyptians asserted -that the sun had four times deviated from his ordinary course." -Clergymen cite this as a corroboration of the fact that all ancient -peoples have similar absurd legends displaying their ignorance of nature -and consequent superstition. The power of arresting the stars in their -courses, and lengthening the days and nights was imputed to witches. -Thus Tibullus says of a sorceress (i. eleg. 2)-- - - I've seen her tear the planets from the sky, - Seen lightning backward at her bidding fly. - -And Lucan in his Pharsalia (vi. 462)-- - - Whene'er the proud enchantress gives command, - Eternal motion stops her active hand; - No more Heav'n's rapid circles joarney on, - But universal nature stands foredone; - The lazy God of day forgets to rise, - And everlasting night pollutes the skies. - - * The Golden Bough, vol. i., pp. 24, 25. - -No modern poet would think of saying like Statius that the sun stood -still at the unnatural murder of Atreus. Such an idea found its way into -poetry because it had previously been conceived as a fact. - -Hence we find numerous similar stories to that of Joshua. Thus it is -related of Bacchus in the Orphic hymns that he arrested the course of -the sun and the moon. Mr. Spence Hardy in his _Legends and Theories -of Buddhists_, shows that arresting the course of the sun was a common -thing among the disciples of Buddha. We need not be surprised to find -that men were once believed to be able to control the sun when we -reflect that to this day the majority of people fancy there is some -magnified non-natural man, they call God, who is able to do the same. -Seeing the legend of Joshua in its true form as one of numerous similar -instances illustrating the barbarity and ignorance of the past, we see -also that the whole merit and instruction of the story is taken away by -those modern Christians, who speak of it as poetry, or who endeavor to -reconcile it with the conclusions of science. These explanations were -never sought for while miracles were generally credible. Josephus speaks -of the miracle as a literal one, and the author of Ecclesiasticus xlvi. -5 says the Lord "stopped the sun in his anger and made one day as two." - -"Rationalistic" explanations of miracles are often the most irrational, -because they fail to take into account the vast difference between the -state of mind which gave rise to the stories, and that which seeks to -rationalise them. - - - - -THE HEBREW PROPHETS. - -Anyone who has read an account of the mystery men among savages, will -have the clue to the original nature and functions of the inspired -prophets of Jahveh. These persons occupied a rōle somewhat similar to -that of Brian the hermit, the highland seer described by Sir Walter -Scott in his "Lady of the Lake." They were a sort of cross between the -bard and the fortuneteller. Divination, though forbidden by the law of -Moses, was continually resorted to by the superstitious Jews. - -The mysterious Urim and Thummim clearly represented some method of -divination. In 1 Kings vi. 16 and Psalms xxviii. 2, the adytum of the -temple is called the "oracle." Numerous references are to be found in -the Bible to the practice of casting lots, the disposing of which is -said to be "of the Lord" (see Num. xxvi. 55, Joshua xiii. 6, 1 Sam. xiv. -41, Prov. xiv. 33, xviii. 18, and Esther iii. 7), and also to "inquiring -of God," which was equivalent to divination. Thus in Judges xviii. 5 -five Danites ask the Levite, who became Micah's priest, to "ask counsel -of God" whether they shall prosper on their way. - -The ninth chapter of the first book of Samuel gives an instructive -glimpse into the nature of the prophets. Saul, sent to recover his -father's asses, and, unable to find them, is told by his servant that -there is in the city a man of God, and all what he saith cometh surely -to pass. Saul, perhaps guessing the lucre-loving propensities of men of -God, complains that he has no present to offer. The servant, however, -had the fourth part of a shekel of silver (about 8d.) wherewith to cross -the seer's palms; and Saul, seeking for asses, is made king over Israel -by the prophet Samuel. The custom of making a present to the prophet is -also alluded to in 1 Kings xiv. 3. Jereboam, when his son falls sick, -sends his wife to Ahijah the prophet with ten loaves and cracknels and a -cruse of honey, to inquire his fate. Later on, Micah (iii. 11) complains -that "the prophets divine for money." See also Nehe-miah vi. 12. As with -the oracles of ancient Greece and Rome (the inspiration of which was -believed by the early Christian fathers, with the proviso that they were -inspired not by deities, but by devils), the prophets were especially -consulted in times of war. Thus, in 1 Kings xxii., Ahab consults 400 -prophets about going to battle against Ramoth-Gilead. He is told to go -and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand. Micaiah -the prophet, however, explains that he had seen the Lord in counsel with -all the host of heaven, and the Lord sent a lying spirit to the prophets -in order to persuade Ahab to go to his destruction. This is quite in -accordance with the declaration in Ezekiel xiv. 9, that "if the prophet -be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord hath deceived that -prophet." David on one occasion (1 Sam. xxiii. 9) "took counsel of God," -as this divination was called, by means of the ephod, probably connected -with the Urim and Thummim. He sought to know if he would be safe from -his enemy, Saul, if he stayed at Keilah. On receiving an unfavorable -response David decamped. Inquiring of the Lord on another occasion, -David got more particular instructions than were usually imparted by -oracles. He was told not to go up against the Philistines, but to fetch -a compass behind them and come on them over against the mulberry trees -(2 Sam. v. 23). - -We read, 1 Sam. xxviii. 6, that "when Saul inquired of the Lord, the -Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." -This, presumably, was because (verse 3) "Saul had put away those that -had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land." He therefore had -to seek out the witch of Endor to raise the spirit of Samuel. - -The Lord is said to have declared through Moses, "If there be a prophet -among you I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and -will speak unto him in a dream" (Num. xii. 6). This method of divine -revelation is alluded to in Job xxxiii. 14-16, "For God speaketh once, -yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the -night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; -then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth his instruction." God came -to Abimelech in a dream by night and threatened him for taking Abraham's -wife (Gen. xx. 3). So he revealed himself and his angels to his favorite -Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 12). "God came to Laban, the Syrian, in a dream -by night" (Gen. xxxi. 24) to warn him against touching juggling Jacob. -Joseph dreams of his own future advancement and of the famine in Egypt, -and interprets the dreams of others. Gideon was visited by the Lord in -the night, and encouraged by some other person's dream (Judges vii.) -Jahveh appeared also to his servant, Sultan Solomon, "in a dream -by night" (1 Kings iii. 5). Daniel, too, was a dreamer and dream -interpreter (Dan. ii. 19, vii. 1). God promises through Joel that he -will pour his spirit upon all flesh, "and your sons and your daughters -shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall -see visions" (chap. ii. 28). - -The original meaning of the Hebrew word _cohen_ or priest is said to be -"diviner." It is, I believe, still so in Arabic. Prophets and dreamers -are frequently classed together in the Bible, as in Deut. xiii. 1: "If -there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams." Jer. xxvii. 9: -"Therefore hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to -your dreamers." Zech. x. 2: "The diviners have seen a lie, and have told -false dreams." When religion is organised the dreamers and interpreters -of dreams, who are an irresponsible class, fall into the background -before the priests. - -No one can read the account of Balaam's falling, and lying prostrate -with his eyes open while prophesying (Numbers xxiv.); and of Saul when, -after an evil spirit from God had come upon him (1 Sam. xviii. 10), "he -stripped off his clothes also and prophesied in like manner, and lay -down naked all that day and all that night; wherefore they say, Is Saul -also among the prophets" (1 Sam. xix. 24), without calling to mind -the exhibitions of ecstatic mania among semi-savages. The Shamans -of Siberia, for instance, work themselves up into fury, supposing or -pretending that in this condition they are inspired by the spirit in -whose name they speak, and through whose inspiration they are enabled -to answer questions as well as to foretell the future. The root of the -Hebrew word for prophet--_Nabi_, said to mean a bubbling up--confirms -this view. The vehement gestures and gushing current of speech which -accompanied their improvisations suggested a fountain bubbling up. -Insanity and inspiration are closely allied. Various methods were -resorted to among the ancients to attain the state of ecstacy, when the -excited nerves found significance in all around. The Brahmans used the -intoxicating Soma. At Delphi the Pythia inhaled an incense until she -fell into a state of delirious intoxication; and the sounds she uttered -in this state were believed to contain the revelations of Apollo. In -David dancing with all his might and scantily clad before the ark of -Jahveh, we are forcibly reminded of the dervishes and other religious -dancers. From the mention of music in connection with prophesying (1 -Sam. x. 5, xvi. 23, 2 Kings iii. 5), it has been conjectured the Jewish -prophets anticipated the Salvationists in this means of producing or -relieving excitement. In the Mysteries of Isis, in Orphic Cory-bantian -revels, music was employed to work the worshippers into a state of -orgiastic frenzy. - -The passage about Saul suggests the nudity or scanty costume of the -prophets. Isaiah the elder--for the poet who wrote from chap. xl. to -lxvi. must be distinguished from his predecessor--alleges a commandment -from Jahveh to walk naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah xx. 3). -Apollos, or whoever wrote the epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 37), speaks -of them wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins. A girdle of leather -seems to have been the sole costume of Elijah (2 Kings i. 8). Micah (i. -8) says "I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked." Zechariah -speaks of the prophets who "wear a rough garment to deceive," and "say -I am no prophet I am an husbandman" (Zech. xiii. 45), which is like what -Amos (vii. 14) says: "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; -but I was an herdman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit." - -Isaiah (xxviii. 7) says, "the priest and the prophet have erred through -strong drink; they are swallowed up of wine." Jahveh tells Jeremiah -"The prophets prophesy lies in my name, I sent them not, neither have I -commanded them, neither spake unto them; they prophesy unto you a false -vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their -heart" (xiv. 14). Further on he says, "O Lord thou hast deceived me and -I was deceived" (xx. 7). The prophets of Jerusalem, Jeremiah declares, -"commit adultery and walk in lies" (xxiii. 14). Ezekiel too, prophesies -against the prophets and their lying divination (xiii. 2-7). Hosea (ix. -7) says, "the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad."* - - * See too Isaiah lvi. 11-12; Jer. xxvii. 10-15, xxix. 8-9; - Micah iii 5-7. - -Some of the prophets can only be described as silly. Such are the two -in 1 Kings xiii. 5 the prophet who asks to be smitten (1 Kings xii.); -Zedekiah, who makes himself horns of iron; and Micaiah, who opposes him -when a lying sprit comes from the Lord (1 Kings xxii.) To these may be -added the man of God (2 Chron. xxv. 7), who made Amaziah dismiss his -"hundred thousand mighty men of valor," who in consequence fell upon the -cities of Judah and took much spoil. - -The student of comparative religion in reading of the Hebrew prophets, -is forcibly reminded of the Hindu sunnyasis and Mussulman fakirs. In the -east insanity is confounded with inspiration, and Dr. Maudsley, in his -_Responsibility in Mental Disease_, has given his opinion that several -of the Hebrew prophets were insane. The dread and respect in which they -were held is evinced in the legend of the forty-two children who -were slain by bears for calling Elisha bald-head. Their arrogance and -ferocity were exhibited by Samuel, who made Saul king till he found a -more serviceable tool in David, and "hewed Agag in pieces before the -Lord" (1 Sam. xv. 30); and by Elijah, who destroyed 102 men for obeying -the order of their king (2 Kings ii. 9-13), and at another time slew -850 for a difference of opinion (1 Kings xviii. 19--40). Elisha was -unscrupulous enough to send Hazael to his master saying he should -certainly recover; though at the time he knew he would certainly die (2 -Kings viii. 10). Judging by such examples we may congratulate ourselves -that the race of prophets is almost extinct. - -It must in fairness be said that some of the prophets used their -influence in protecting the people against their priests and rulers, and -that the greater prophets like Isaiah did much to elevate the religion -of Israel, which in its modern form is largely their creation. - - - - -OLD TESTAMENT MARRIAGE. - -"Marriage," says Goethe, "is the beginning and end of all culture." -Too often the end of all culture, the cynic may say. It may safely be -affirmed that marriage is the chief cause and product of civilisation. -Like other institutions, it has passed through various stages of growth -among all nations, the Jews included. It has been said "Motherhood is -a matter of observation, fatherhood a matter of opinion." Certain it is -that in early society kinship was reckoned through mothers only. Of this -we have some evidence in the Bible. Abraham, the father of the faithful, -married Sarah, "the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my -mother" (Gen. xx. 12). His brother Nahor took the daughter of his other -brother, Haran, to wife (Gen. ix. 27-29). Such marriages could not have -occurred except when relationship through males was not sufficiently -acknowledged for a bar to marriage to have been raised upon it. Jacob -had two sisters to wife at once. Amram, the father of Moses, married his -own aunt (Exodus ii. 1 and 1 Chron. vii. 3). Even in the time of pious -King David marriage with half-sisters was not considered improper, for -when Ammon wished to force his sister Tamar, she said unto him, "Speak -unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee" (2 Samuel xiii. -13). Brothers by the same mother are specially distinguished (Deut. -xiii. 6, Judges viii. 19). The child, moreover, in early times, was -thought rather to belong to the mother than the father. Thus we find -that Ishmael was turned adrift with Hagar, and Hannah, one of the wives -of Elkanah the Levite, had the right of presenting or devoting her son -Samuel to Jahveh. - -A survival of consanguine marriage is found in Deut. xxv., where it is -expressly ordered that when a brother's widow is left childless "her -husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife"; and -in the event of his refusing to do so he has to have his shoe loosed and -his face spat upon. Of the antiquity of this usage we have evidence in -Genesis xxxviii. When Er, Judah's firstborn, died, the father commanded -his second son, "Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise -up seed to thy brother." The second son refusing, the thing which he did -displeased the Lord, wherefore he slew him. Judah now putting Tamar -off from taking his next son, she disguised herself and made her -father-in-law do his son's duty, he acknowledging "she hath been more -righteous than I." The custom is also referred to in the story of Ruth. -Ewald amends Ruth iv. 5: "Thou must buy also Ruth the Moabitess." The -Bible reader will remember that the disgusting story of the patriarch -Lot and his daughters is related without the slightest token of -disapproval. The daughters justified themselves by the plea that they -would "preserve seed of our father." To understand these narratives, -the reader must remember that in the early history of the family it was -desirable, in the struggle for existence, that its numbers should not be -diminished. Many instances are found in the Bible of the blessing of a -large family. "Happy is the man who has his quiver full." The blessing -on the typical servant of Jahveh is that "he shall see his seed," It -was the duty of the next of kin to see that the family stock did not -diminish. We find at the beginning of Genesis that, when Abel was -slain, God gave Seth "instead." In patriarchal life, as exhibited by the -Bedouins, the "next of kin," the _goel_, is a most important personage. -To him the tribe looks to avenge or redeem a kinsman's death or -misfortune. On him the widow and fatherless depend for support. He is, -above all, the blood-balancer, who sees that the house is kept in its -normal strength, and who seeks to recruit it as far as possible from -the same blood--a state of things implying feud with surrounding tribes. -Job, in his anguish, can find no stronger consolation this--"I know -that my _goel_ liveth." According to the morality of that time, not only -Tamar, but the family was grossly wronged by Onan. By refusing to allow -Shelah to take the duties of _goel_, on the ground of his youth, Judah -himself incurred the responsibilities of that office. It was his duty to -see that seed was raised. Tamar resorted to cunning, the weapon of the -weak, and Judah's confession is the real moral of what, to a modern, -must be considered the very disgusting story in Genesis xxxviii. - -All the Old Testament heroes, from Lamech downwards, were polygamists. -Indeed, both polygamy and concubinage were practised by those Hebrew -saints who were most distinguished by their piety, faith, and communion -with Jahveh. Abraham not only took Hagar as a secondary wife, but -turned her adrift in the wilderness when it suited his own goodwill and -pleasure. Jacob, who lived under the special guidance of God, married -two sisters at the same time, and each of them presented him with -concubines. David, the man after God's own heart, had many wives and -concubines (2 Samuel iii. 2-5, v. 13), while Solomon, who was wiser than -all men, boasted of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines -(1 Kings xi. 5). Jahveh, while denouncing intermarriage with women of -foreign races, never says a word against either polygamy or concubinage. -On the contrary, both are sanctioned and regulated by the Mosaic law -(Deut. xxi. 10-15). More than this, God himself is said to have married -two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah (Ezekiel xxiii.), and although this -is figurative, the figure would never have been used had the fact been -considered sinful. - -A Hebrew father might sell his daughter to be a wife, concubine, or -maid-servant to an Israelite, and her master might put her away if she -pleased him not (Exodus xxi. 7-11). Women taken captives in war might be -used as wives and dismissed at pleasure (Deut. xxi. 10-14). In the case -of the Midianites only virgins were preserved. Moses indignantly asked, -Have ye saved all the women alive? "Now therefore kill every male among -the little ones and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with -him. But all the women children, that hath not known man by lying with -him, keep alive for yourselves." And the Lord took shares in this maiden -tribute (Numb, xxxi.) - -Woman in the Bible is treated as merchandise. In Jacob's time she was -bought by seven years' service, but in the time of the prophet Hosea she -was valued only at fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of -barley. In the Decalogue it is prohibited to covet a man's wife on the -same ground as his man slave, his maid slave, his ox, or his ass, or -anything that is his. Her lord and master could say with Petruchio: - - She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, - My household stuff, my field, my barn, - My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything. - -By God's law a man was permitted to dismiss a wife when she found "no -favor in his eyes," by simply writing out a bill of divorcement. There -is no mention of the woman having any similar power of getting quit of -her lord and master. If he suspected her fidelity he could compel her to -go through an ordeal in which the priest administered to her the water -of jealousy, which if guilty would cause her to rot, but which was -harmless if she was innocent. No doubt this was a potent means in -securing wifely devotion and a ready remedy for any hated spouse. In -the hands of a friendly priest the concoction would be little likely -to fail, and even should it prove innocuous there was the expedient of -writing a bill of divorcement. - -It is usually said that God "winked at" (Acts xvii. 30) these -proceedings, because of the hardness of the old Jews' hearts, and that -from the beginning it was not so. In proof of this is cited the passage -in Genesis which says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his -mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." -The proper interpretation of this passage illustrates a very early form -of marriage still found in some tribes, and known in Ceylon as beenah -marriage. Mr. McLennan, one of the highest authorities on primitive -marriage, says: - -"In beenah marriage the young husband leaves the family of his birth and -passes into the family of his wife, and to that he belongs as long as -the marriage subsists. The children born to him belong, not to him, but -to the family of their mother. Living with, he works for, the family -of his wife; and he commonly gains his footing in it by service. His -marriage involves usually a change of village; nearly always (where the -tribal system is in force) a change of tribe, but always a change of -family. So that, as used to happen in New Zealand, he may be bound even -to take part in war against those of his father's house. The man -leaves father and mother as completely as with the Patriarchal Family -prevailing, a bride would do; and he leaves them to live with his wife -and her family. That this accords with the passage in Genesis will not -be disputed.* - -"Marriage by purchase of the bride and her issue can hardly be thought -to have been primeval practice. When we find beenah marriage and -marriage by purchase as alternatives, therefore it is not difficult to -believe that the former is the older of the two, and it was once in sole -possession of the field."** - - * The Patriarchal Theory, p. 43; 1885. - - ** Ibid, p. 45. - -It was a beenah marriage which Jacob made into the family of Laban, and -we find from Genesis xxiv. 1-8 that it was thought not improbable that -Isaac might do the same. In beenah marriage the children belong to the -mother's clan, and we thus find that Laban says: "These daughters are my -daughters, and these children my children." It was exactly against such -a marriage as that of Jacob, viz., with two women at one time that the -text (Lev. xvii. 18) was directed which is so much squabbled about by -both opponents of and advocates for marriage with a deceased wife's -sister. The custom of the Levirate mentioned in Deut. xxv. possibly -indicates pre-existent polyandry. Lewis, in his _Hebrew Republic_, -says: "In the earliest ages the Levir had no alternative but to take the -widow; indeed, she was his wife without any form of marriage." - -Casting off a shoe, it may be said, is a symbol of foregoing a right; -thus the relatives of a bride still "throw slippers." The Arabs have -preserved the ceremony intact. A proverb among them, when a young man -foregoes his prescriptive right to marry his first cousin, is, "She was -my slipper; I have cast her off" (Burckhardt, Bedouins and Wahabys, i. -113). Among the Caribs of Venezuela and in Equatorial West Africa, the -eldest son inherits all the wives of his deceased father with the sole -exception of his own mother. Schweinfurth relates that the same custom -obtains in Central Africa. On the Gold Coast the throne is occupied by -the prince, who gains possession of the paternal harem before his other -brothers. Thus Absalom took David's harem in the sight of all Israel -before the old man had gone to glory, as a proof he wished his reign -to be considered over; and when Adonijah asks his brother Solomon for -Abishag, the comforter of David's old age, the wise Solomon kills him, -as thus betraying designs on the throne. In the custom that widows -passed to the heir with other property, and hence that marriage with the -widow grew to be a sign of a claim to the deceased person's possessions, -we have a reasonable explanation of what must otherwise appear -irrational crime. The custom of inheriting widows is adverted to in the -Koran; and Bendhawi, in his commentary, gives the whole ceremony, which -consists in the relative of the deceased throwing his cloak over the -widow and saying, "I claim her." The Mormons always defended their -plurality of wives from the divine book, and polygamy has been defended -by various Christian ministers, from the Lutheran divine, Joannes Lyser, -author of _Discoursus Politicus de Polygamia_, and the Rev. Martin -Madan, author of _Thelyphthora_ to the Rev. Mercer Davies, author of -_Hangar_, and Ap Richard, M.A., who urges a biblical plea for polygamy -under the title of _Marriage and Divorce_. Such works have done little -to bring into favor the divine ordinance of polygamy, but they have done -much to show how unsuited is the morality of "the word of God" to -the requirements of modern civilisation. Surely it is time that the -Christians were ashamed of appealing to polygamous Jews for any laws to -regulate social institutions. - - - - -THE SONG OF SOLOMON. - -Although there is no book with which students of divinity are better -acquainted than with the "Song of Songs," there is also none of the same -dimensions over which theologians have expressed so much diversity -of opinion. Its authorship has been ascribed to Solomon for no better -reason than because that sensual sultan is one of the subjects of its -story. It is true it is one of the oldest books of the Old Testament, -and begins by calling itself "the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's"; -but the book of Ecclesiastes, which is one of the latest in the Hebrew -collection, is also ascribed to Solomon, and possibly with as much -reason. It has been credited with unfolding the sublime mysteries of -the relation of Christ to his Church. It has been called an epithalamium -upon the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh. According to -a distinguished commentator, De Lyra, the first portion describes the -history of Israel from the time of the Exodus to the birth of Christ, -while from chapter vii. to the end gives the history of the Christian -Church to Constantine. The Roman Catholic theologian, Hug, makes it -treat of the ten tribes and Hezekiah. Cocceius, in accordance with his -principle that holy scripture meant whatever it could be made to mean, -found in the Canticle the history of the Church from its origin to its -final judgment. Hahn sees in it a prediction of the victory obtained -over the heathen, by the love of Israel, and finds the conversion of the -negro in the passage which says, "We have a little sister, and she -hath no breasts." In short, nearly every possible explanation has -been offered of this portion of the Word of God except the obvious and -natural one, that it is an erotic poem. That there is any allegory in -the piece is a pure assumption. The theory was unknown before the time -of the Talmud. The Canticles are never referred to in the New Testament. -There is not the slightest indication in the work itself that there is -any such object. Not the most delicate hint, save in the headings of the -chapters made by King James's bishops, that by the secret charms of the -young lady we are to understand the mysterious graces of the Christian -Church. In all allegories it is necessary the subject should be in -some way indicated. The parables of Jesus often proved puzzles to his -disciples, but they had no doubt they were parables. Moreover, the -allegory--if it is one--is absurd or blasphemous. Why should the Church -say of God: "His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy -and black as a raven"? or compare his legs to pillars of marble, -or celebrate other parts of his divine person which are not usually -mentioned in polite society? Nor is it easy to see why Christ should say -to the Church: "Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, -which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none -is barren among them"; or why he should declare, "Thy neck is as a tower -of ivory; thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of -Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the Tower of Lebanon, which looketh towards -Damascus." Of course, to parody a phrase of Voltaire's, the Holy Ghost -was not bound to write like Alfred Tennyson, but, if intended for human -guidance, one would think the divine meaning should be a little more -apparent. - -The truth of the matter is, an allegorical interpretation has been -forced into the Song of Solomon in order to relieve the Holy Ghost from -a charge of indecency. Grotius ventured to call the Song of Songs a -libertine work. Even the orthodox Methodist commentator, Adam Clarke, -earnestly exhorted young ministers not to found their sermons on its -doubtful phrases. He knew how apt religious people are to mix up carnal -desire and appetite with love to their blessed Savior, and was perhaps -aware that a number of Christian hymns might appropriately have been -addressed to Priapus.* - - * See Rimini's History of the Moravians and Southey's Life - of Wesley* vol. i. pp. 188, 387. - -In the Jewish Church no one under the age of thirty was permitted to -read the Song of Songs, a prohibition which may have assisted to give it -its sacred character. It is, nevertheless, not more indelicate than many -other portions of God's Holy Word, and viewed in its proper light as -an Oriental dramatic love poem, although it cannot be acquitted of -outraging modern notions of decency, it is not, I think, so much, -as some other portions of the Bible, open to the charge of teaching -immorality. On the contrary, its purpose is commendable. An attentive -reading of the Revised Version, which is without the misleading -headlines, and is divided to indicate the different speakers in the love -drama, will make this apparent, and show this little scrap of the Jewish -national literature to possess a certain natural beauty which has been -utterly obscured by the orthodox commentators who, from the time of the -early fathers to Hengstenberg and Keil, have sought to associate it with -Christ and his Church. - -Sir William Jones, in his essay on the mystical poetry of Persia -and India, called attention to the sensuous images in which Oriental -religious poetry expresses itself. This connection will surprise no -one who has discovered from the history of religion that women and wine -formed important features in ancient worship. The readiness with which -ungratified sexual passion runs into religious emotion has frequently -been marked by physicians, and finds much corroboration in the -devotional works of monks and nuns. But the Song of Songs has nothing -religious about it. Even the personages are not religious, as in the -Hindu erotic _Gita Govinda_, by Jayadeva, which tells of the loves of -Badha and the god Krishna in the guise of a shepherd. Christ and his -Church only appear in the headings given to the chapters. - -Though to be classed among erotic poems, the Song of Songs cannot fairly -be called immoral or obscene. The character of the interlocutors and -the division of the scenes is a little uncertain. It is, for instance, -dubious whether the first speaker is Solomon or the Shulamite. If we -take the version of M. Réville, the piece opens with the yearnings of -the heroine, whom "the king hath brought into his chambers," for her -absent lover. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy -love is better than wine." She is black but comely; swarthy, because -having to tend the vineyards she has been scorched by the sun. She is a -Shulammite, or native of Shulam, now Solma, near Carmel--a part renowned -for the beauty of its women. It was Abishag, a Shulamite, who was chosen -when they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel -to warm the bed of old King David. Solomon had seen the fair maid of -Shulam, and, when she went down into the garden of nuts "to see the -green plants of the valley," or ever she was aware, she was abducted. In -vain, however, does the monarch offer her the best place in his harem. -Amid the glories of the court she sighs for the shepherd lover from whom -she is separated. She tells how early one spring morning her beloved -engaged her to go out with him. "For, lo, the winter is past, the rain -is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the -singing of birds is come. And the voice of the turtle is heard in our -land and now, although she seeks and finds him not," she declares -"my beloved is mine and I am his." Her constant burden to her harem -companions is, "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and -by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up nor awaken love until -it please."* Love must be spontaneous, she declares, and she refuses to -yield to the wishes of the libidinous monarch. When Solomon praises her -she replies with praises of her beloved peasant swain. She longs for -him by day and seeks him in dreams by night. Solomon offers to place -her above his "threescore queens and fourscore concubines and virgins -without number"; but she is home-sick, and prefers the embraces of her -lover to those of the lascivious king. Her humble vineyard is more to -her than all the king's riches. The moral is, "Many waters cannot quench -love, neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give all the -substance of his house for love he would utterly be condemned." And a -far better one too than most morals to be drawn from the pages of the -Old Testament. - - * Revised Version. The Authorised Version changes the whole - purpose of the piece by reading "that ye stir not up nor - awaken my love till he please." - -The Song of Songs, which is _not_ Solomon's, is a valuable relic of -antiquity, both because it utterly refutes the orthodox notion of -biblical inspiration, and because it deals with the old old story of -human passion which surges alike in peasants and in princes, and which -animated the hearts of men and maidens two thousand years ago even as it -does to-day. - - - - -SACRED SEVEN. - -It was natural that in the early ages of human intelligence man should -attach a superstitious reverence to numbers. The mystery attached to the -number seven has been variously accounted for. Some have explained it by -the figures of the square and triangle, others by the stars of the Great -Bear nightly seen overhead. Gerald Massey says: "The Constellation of -the Seven Great Stars (Ursa Major) was probably the primordial figure of -Seven. Seven was often called the perfect number. Its name as Hept (Eg.) -is also the name for Plenty--a heap of food and good luck. The Seven -were the great heap or cluster of stars, an image of plenty, or a lot -that revolved together."* My own opinion is that the superstition arose -in connection first with the menstrual period, and then with the phases -of the moon as a measurer of time. Its period of twenty-eight days could -be twice divided until the week of seven days was reached, and -then further division was impossible. Hence we everywhere find the -superstition linked to the days of the week and the seven planets -supposed to preside over these days. - - * Natural Genesis, ii., 219. - -The Egyptians worshipped the seven planets, and Herodotus tells us of -their seven castes. So with the Babylonians. From them was derived the -Jewish week. Hesiod, according to Eusebius, said "The seventh is the -sacred day." What he says in his _Works and Days_ is, "On the seventh -day Latona brought forth Apollo"; and Ęschylus, in his _Seven Against -Thebes_, says the number Seven was sacred to Apollo. The moon periods -were sacred as measuring time and also in connection with female -periodicity. Man discovered the month before the year. Hence the moon -was widely worshipped. The worship of the queen of heaven in Palestine -is alluded to in Jer. vii. 18 and xliv. 17. The superstition of the -new moon bringing luck has descended to our own time. When the year was -reckoned by thirteen moons of twenty-eight days, thirteen was the lucky -number; but when this was changed for the twelve months of solar time, -thirteen became one too many. The Parsee Bundahisli, according to Gerald -Massey, exhibits seven races of men--(1) the earth-men, (2) water-men, -(3) breast-eared men, (4) breast-eyed men, (5) one-legged men, (6) -batwinged men, (7) men with tails. - -Section 7 of the Kabbalistic Sepher Yezirah* says, "The seven planets -in the world are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. Seven -days in the year are the seven days of the week; seven gates in man, -male and female, are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth." -Again, section 15 says, "By the seven double consonants were also -designed seven worlds, seven heavens, seven lands, seven seas, seven -rivers, seven deserts, seven days a week, seven weeks from Passover to -Pentecost, there is a cycle of seven years, the seventh is the release -year, and after seven release years is jubilee. Hence God loves the -number seven under the whole heaven." - - * Trans, by Dr. I. Kalisch, pp. 27 and 81. - -The Bible, it has been remarked, begins in Genesis with a seven, and -ends in the Apocalypse with a series of sevens. God himself took a rest -on the seventh day and was refreshed, or, as the Hebrew reads, took -breath. The Passover and other festivals lasted seven days; Jacob -bowed seven times; Solomon's temple was seven years in building; the -tabernacle had seven lamps, a candlestick with seven arms, etc. In a -variety of passages it seems, like 40, to have been a sort of round -number--as people sometimes say a dozen for an indeterminate quantity. -Thus in Daniel iii. 19 the fiery furnace was to be heated seven times -more than it was wont to be heated. In Proverbs (xxiv. 16) we are told -a just man falleth seven times and rises up again. One of the Psalmists -says (cix. 164), "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy -righteous judgments" (see too Lev. xxvi. 18, 28; Dent, xxviii. 7, 35; -Job ix; Psalm xii. 6, lxxix. 12; Isaiah iv. 1, xi. 15, xxx. 26; Jer. xv. -9, Matt. xii. 45). The week induced reckoning by sevens, and led to -such enactments as that the Jews on the seventh day of the seventh month -should feast seven days and remain seven days in tents. - -The root idea of the number is that of religious periodicity. We find -it not only in the Sabbath, but in all other sacred periods. Thus the -seventh month is ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalised by -the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and Yom Kippur. Seven weeks -is the interval between Passover and Pentecost. The seventh is the -Sabbatical year, when bondsmen were to be released and debts go free. -With this custom is connected the binding of youths for seven years -apprenticeship, and of punishing incorrigible offenders for 7, 14, or -21 years. The year succeeding seven times seven is the Jubilee. The -earliest form, that of the menstrual period, is shown in the duration of -various kinds of legal uncleanness, as after childbirth, after contact -with a corpse, etc. So we have the sprinkling of the house seven times -with the water of purification (Lev. xiv. 51), the command of Elisha -to Naaman to wash in Jordan seven times (2 Kings v. 10). Hezekiah, in -cleansing the temple, offered seven bullocks, seven rams, and seven -he-goats for a sin offering. Septuple actions and agents abound. Thus -the blood of sacrifices were sprinkled seven times (Lev. iv. 6, 17; xiv. -7, 16, 27; xvi. 14, 15). So Jacob bowed to his brother Esau seven times -(Gen. xxxiii. 3). Balak built for Balaam seven altars, and prepares -seven oxen and seven rams (Num. xxiii. 1, 4, 14, 29), and Abraham -employed seven victims for sacrifice (Gen. xxi. 28, 30). We are reminded -of the lines in Virgil's Ęneid (vi. 58). - - Seven bullocks, yet unyoked, for Phoebus choose, - And for Diana, seven unspotted ewes. - -The Hebrew verb _Shaba_, to swear, is evidently derived from _Sheba_ -seven, and denoted a sevenfold affirmation. Herodotus (xiii. 8), tells -us the manner of swearing among the ancient Arabians included smearing -seven stones with blood. Sheba is allied to the Egyptian Seb-ti (5-2), -the Zend Hapta, Greek Epta, Latin septem. The Pythagoreans said that -Heptad came from the Greek _Sebo_ to venerate, but Egyptian and other -African dialects suffice to prove it is far earlier. - -The writer of the Apocalypse had the mystic number on the brain. Dr. -Milligan has explained the 666 number of the beast, as a fall below the -sacred seven John of Patmos gives us seven golden candlesticks, (i. 1), -seven stars (i. 20), seven spirits and churches (iii. 1), seven seals -(v. 1), trumpets (viii. 2), thunders (x. 34), vials (xvi. 1), and seven -angels with seven plagues (xvi.) The beast has seven heads, horns and -crowns (xii. 3, xiii. 1, xvii. 7). The Lamb with seven horns and seven -eyes (v. 1 ). There are seven spirits before the throne of God (Rev. i. -4, etc.) like the seven Dhyani Chohans emanating from Parabrahm in Hindu -Theosophy. - -So Christians have kept up legends of seven wise men, seven wonders of -the world, seven champions of Christendom, seven cardinal virtues, seven -deadly sins, seven devils in Mary Magdalene, etc. Of course there is no -better reason why there should be seven than the old idea of mystery and -completion attached to the number. - -Modern Theosophists, too, go in largely for the number seven. There are -seven planets, seven rounds on each planet and seven races. Every ego -is composed of seven principles--Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Kamarupa, Linga -Sharira, Prana, and Sthula Sharira. It may seem strange that a lady of -Madame Blavatsky's undoubted powers of imagination should run in the old -rut. But the well-worn superstitions work the easiest, although to every -instructed person this one carries the mind back to the days when men -knew only of seven planets and measured their time by the moon. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Studies, by Joseph M. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/40206-8.zip b/old/40206-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ffbca84..0000000 --- a/old/40206-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/40206-h.zip b/old/40206-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bf386eb..0000000 --- a/old/40206-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/40206-h/40206-h.htm b/old/40206-h/40206-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 9668f91..0000000 --- a/old/40206-h/40206-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4671 +0,0 @@ - <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html lang="en"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" - content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> -<meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" - name="linkgenerator"> -<title> - Bible Studies, - by J. M. Wheeler -</title> - - -<style type="text/css"> - <!-- - body { margin:5%; text-align:justify} - P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } - H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } - hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} - .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } - blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} - .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} - .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} - .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} - div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } - div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } - .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} - .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} - .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; - margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; - text-align: right;} - pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} - --> -</style> - - - -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Studies, by Joseph M. Wheeler - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Bible Studies - Essays On Phallic Worship And Other Curious Rites And Customs - -Author: Joseph M. Wheeler - -Release Date: July 11, 2012 [EBook #40206] -Last Updated: January 26, 2013 - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE STUDIES *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div style="height: 8em;"><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h1> - BIBLE STUDIES -</h1> -<h3> -ESSAYS ON PHALLIC WORSHIP<br> AND OTHER CURIOUS RITES AND CUSTOMS -</h3><br> - -<h2> -By J. M. Wheeler -</h2><br> -<blockquote> - "There is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that - esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."<br> - —Paul (Romans xiv. 14). -</blockquote> -<h3> -1892. -</h3> -<center> -Printed and Published By G. W. Foote -</center> - - -<br /> -<center> -<div class="fig" style="width:80%;"><img alt="titlepage (38K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="100%" /><br /></div> -</center> -<br /> - - -<br> -<br> -<hr> -<br> -<br> - - -<p class="toc"><big><b>CONTENTS</b></big></p><br /> - - -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_PREF"> -PREFACE. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0002"> -PHALLIC WORSHIP AMONG THE JEWS. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0003"> -CIRCUMCISION. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0004"> -MOSES AT THE INN -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0005"> -THE BRAZEN SERPENT, AND SALVATION BY SIMILARS. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0006"> -RELIGION AND MAGIC. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0007"> -TABOOS. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0008"> -BLOOD RITES. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0009"> -SCAPEGOATS. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0010"> -A BIBLE BARBARITY. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0011"> -BIBLE WITCHCRAFT. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0012"> -SAUL'S SPIRITUALIST STANCE AT ENDOR. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0013"> -SACRIFICES. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0014"> -THE PASSOVER. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0015"> -THE EVOLUTION OF JAHVEH. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0016"> -JOSHUA AND THE SUN. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0017"> -THE HEBREW PROPHETS. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0018"> -OLD TESTAMENT MARRIAGE. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0019"> -THE SONG OF SOLOMON. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#link2H_4_0020"> -SACRED SEVEN. -</a></p> - - -<br> -<br> -<hr> -<br> -<br> - -<p class="toc"><big><b>List of Illustrations</b></big></p><br /> - -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0001"> -Fig. 1.—the Hindu Maha Deva, Or Linga-yoni -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0002"> -Fig. 2.—rural Hindu Lingam. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0003"> -Fig. 3.—asherah. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0004"> -Fig. 4.—from Layard, Culte de Venus, Plate I, Fig. 20, -Depicts the Mystic Signs of Their Worship, and Dr. Oort* Says Of The -Name Ashera, "this Word Expressed Originally a Pillar On, Or Near—not -Only the Altars of Baal—but Also The Altars Of Jhvh." -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0005"> -Fig. 5.—the Eastern Christian Palm, on Which is Placed -The Cross and Banners With the Alpha And Omega. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0006"> -Fig. 6.—the Mystic Ark. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0007"> -Fig. 7. Fig. 8 -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0008"> -Fig. 9.; Fig. 10.; Fig. 11. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0009"> -Fig. 12. -</a></p> -<p class="toc"><a href="#linkimage-0010"> -The Altar of Jehovah. -</a></p> - -<br> -<br> -<hr> -<br> -<br> - - - -<a name="link2H_PREF"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - PREFACE. -</h2> -<p> -My old friend Mr. Wheeler asks me to launch this little craft, and I do -so with great pleasure. She is not a thunderous ironclad, nor a gigantic -ocean liner; but she is stoutly built, well fitted, and calculated to -weather all the storms of criticism. My only fear is that she will not -encounter them. -</p> -<p> -During the sixteen years of my friend's collaboration with me in -many enterprises for the spread of Freethought and the destruction of -Superstition, he has written a vast variety of articles, all possessing -distinctive merit, and some extremely valuable. From these he and I have -made the following selection. The articles included deal with the Bible -from a special standpoint; the standpoint of an Evolutionist, who reads -the Jewish Scriptures in the light of anthropology, and finds infinite -illustrations in them of the savage origin of religion. -</p> -<p> -Literary and scientific criticism of the Old Testament have their -numerous votaries. Mr. Wheeler's mind is given to a different study -of the older half of the Bible. He is bent on showing what it really -contains; what religious ideas, rites, and customs prevailed among the -ancient Jews and find expression in their Scriptures. This is a fruitful -method, especially in <i>our</i> country, if it be true, as Dr. Tylor -observes, that "the English mind, not readily swayed by rhetoric, moves -freely under the pressure of facts." -</p> -<p> -Careful readers of this little book will find it full of precious -information. Mr. Wheeler has a peculiarly wide acquaintance with the -literature of these subjects. He has gathered from far and wide, like -the summer bee, and what he yields is not an undigested mass of facts, -but the pure honey of truth. -</p> -<p> -Many readers will be astonished at what Mr. Wheeler tells them. We -have read the Bible, they will say, and never saw these things. That is -because they read it without knowledge, or without attention. Reading -is not done with the eyes only, but also with the brain; and the same -sentences will make various impressions, according as the brain is rich -or poor in facts and principles. Even the great, strong mind of Darwin -had to be plentifully stored with biological knowledge before he could -see the meaning of certain simple facts, and discover the wonderful law -of Natural Selection. -</p> -<p> -Those who have studied the works of Spencer, Tylor, Lubbock, Frazer, and -such authors, will <i>not</i> be astonished at the contents of this volume. -But they will probably find some points they had overlooked; some -familiar points presented with new force; and some fresh views, whose -novelty is not their only virtue: for Mr. Wheeler is not a slavish -follower of even the greatest teachers, he thinks for himself, and shows -others what he has seen with his own eyes. -</p> -<p> -I hope this little volume will find many readers. Its doing so will -please the author, for every writer wishes to be read; why else, indeed, -should he write? Only less will be the pleasure of his friend who pens -this Preface. I am sure the book will be instructive to most of those -into whose hands it falls; to the rest, the few who really study and -reflect, it will be stimulating and suggestive. Greater praise the -author would not desire; so much praise cannot often be given with -sincerity. -</p> -<p> -G. W. Foote. -</p> - - -<br> -<br> -<hr> -<br> -<br> - -<a name="link2H_4_0002"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> -<h2> - PHALLIC WORSHIP AMONG THE JEWS. -</h2> -<pre> - "The hatred of indecency, which appears to us so natural as - to be thought innate, and which is so valuable an aid to - chastity, is a modern virtue, appertaining exclusively, as - Sir G. Staunton remarks, to civilised life. This is shown by - the ancient religious rites of various nations, by the - drawings on the walls of Pompeii, and by the practices of - many savages."—C. Darwin, "Descent of Man" pt. 1, chap. - iv., vol. i., p. 182; 1888. -</pre> -<p> -The study of religions is a department of anthropology, and nowhere is -it more important to remember the maxim of the pagan Terence, <i>Homo sum, -nihil humani a me alienum puto</i>. It is impossible to dive deep into any -ancient faiths without coming across a deal of mud. Man has often been -defined as a religious animal. He might as justly be termed a dirty and -foolish animal. His religions have been growths of earth, not gifts from -heaven, and they usually bear strong marks of their clayey origin.* -</p> -<pre> - * The Contemporary Review for June 1888, says (p. 804) "when - Lord Dalhousie passed an Act intended to repress obscenity - (in India), a special clause in it exempted all temples and - religious emblems from its operation." -</pre> -<p> -I am not one of those who find in phallicism the key to all the -mysteries of mythology. All the striking phenomena of nature—the -alternations of light and darkness, sun and moon, the terrors of the -thunderstorm, and of pain, disease and death, together with his -own dreams and imaginations—contributed to evoke the wonder and -superstition of early man. But investigation of early religion shows it -often nucleated around the phenomena of generation. The first and final -problem of religion concerns the production of things. Man's own body -was always nearer to him than sun, moon, and stars; and early man, -thinking not in words but in things, had to express the very idea of -creation or production in terms of his own body. It was so in Egypt, -where the symbol, from being the sign of production, became also -the sign of life, and of regeneration and resurrection. It was so in -Babylonia and Assyria, as in ancient Greece and Troy, and is so till -this day in India. -</p> -<p> -Montaigne says: -</p> -<p> -"Fifty severall deities were in times past allotted to this office. And -there hath beene a nation found which to allay and coole the lustful -concupiscence of such as came for devotion, kept wenches of purpose in -their temples to be used; for it was a point of religion to deale -with them before one went to prayers. <i>Nimirum propter continentiam -incontinentia neces-saria est, incendium ignibus extinguitur</i>: 'Belike -we must be incontinent that we may be continent, burning is quenched by -fire.' In most places of the world that part of our body was deified. -In that same province some flead it to offer, and consecrated a peece -thereof; others offered and consecrated their seed." -</p> -<p> -It is in India that this early worship maybe best studied at the present -day. The worshippers of Siva identify their great god, Maha Deva, with -the linga, and wear on their left arm a bracelet containing the linga -and yoni. The rival sect of followers of Vishnu have also a phallic -significance in their symbolism. The linga yoni (fig. 1) is indeed one -of the commonest of religious symbols in India. Its use extends from the -Himalayas to Cape Comorin. Major-General Forlong says the ordinary Maha -Deva of Northern India is the simple arrangement shown in fig. 2, in -which we see "what was I suspect the first Delphic tripod supporting a -vase of water over the Linga in Yona. Such may be counted by scores in -a day's march over Northern India, and especially at ghats or river -ferries, or crossings of any streams or roads; for are they not Hermę?" -The Linga Purana tells us that the linga was a pillar of fire in which -Siva was present. This reminds one of Jahveh appearing as a pillar of -cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. -</p> -<a name="linkimage-0001"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.1.jpg" height="56%" width="30%" -alt="Fig. 1.--the Hindu Maha Deva, Or Linga-yoni -"> -</center> - -<p> -So astounded have been many writers at the phenomena presented by -phallic worship that they have sought to explain it, not only by the -story of the fall and the belief in original sin, but by the direct -agency of devils.* Yet it may be wrong to associate the origin of -phallic worship with obscenity. Early man was rather unmoral than -immoral. Obliged to think in things, it was to him no perversion to -mentally associate with his own person the awe of the mysterious power -of production. The sense of pleasure and the desire for progeny of -course contributed. The worship was indeed both natural and inevitable -in the evolution of man from savagery. When, however, phallic worship -was established, it naturally led to practices such as those which -Herodotus, Diodorus, and Lucian tell us took place in the Egyptian, -Babylonian, and Syrian religions. -</p> -<pre> - * See Gougenot des Mousseaux's curious work Dieu et les - Dieux, Paris, 1854. When the Luxor monument was erected in - Rome, Pope Sixtus V. deliberately exorcised the devils out - of possession of it. -</pre> -<a name="linkimage-0002"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.2.jpg" height="56%" width="51%" -alt="Fig. 2.--rural Hindu Lingam. -"> -</center> - -<p> -Hume's observation that polytheism invariably preceded monotheism has -been confirmed by all subsequent investigation. The belief in one god or -supreme spirit springs out of the belief in many gods or spirits. That -this was so with the Jews there is sufficient evidence in the Bible, -despite the fact that the documents so called have been frequently -"redacted," that is corrected, and the evidence in large part erased. -An instance of this falsification may be found in Judges xviii. 30 (see -Revised Version), where "Manasseh" has been piously substituted for -Moses, in order to conceal the fact that the direct descendants of Moses -were image worshippers down till the time of the captivity. The Rabbis -gave what Milton calls "this insulse rule out of their Talmud; 'That all -words, which in the Law are written obscenely, must be changed to more -civil words.' Fools who would teach men to read more decently than God -thought good to write."* Instances of euphemisms may be traced in the -case of the "feet" (Judges iii. 24, Song v. 3, Isaiah vii* 20); "thigh" -(Num. v. 24); "heel" (Gen, iii. 15); "heels" (Jer. xiii. 22); and "hand" -(Isaiah lvii. 7). This last verse is translated by Dr. Cheyne, "and -behind the door and the post hast thou placed thy memorial, for apart -from me thou hast uncovered and gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and -obtained a contract from them (?); thou hast loved their bed; thou hast -beheld the phallus." In his note Dr. Cheyne gives the view of the Targum -and Jerome "that 'memorial' = idol (or rather idolatrous symbol—the -phallus)." -</p> -<pre> - * "Apology for Smectymnus," Works, p.84. -</pre> -<p> -The priests, whose policy it was to keep the nation isolated, did their -best to destroy the evidence that the Jews shared in the idolatrous -beliefs and practices of the nations around them. In particular the cult -of Baal and Asherah, which we shall see was a form of phallic worship, -became obnoxious, and the evidence of its existence was sought to be -obliterated. The worship, moreover, became an esoteric one, known only -to the priestly caste, as it still is among Roman Catholic initiates, -and the priestly caste were naturally desirous that the ordinary -worshipper should not become "as one of us." -</p> -<p> -It is unquestionable that in the earliest times the Hebrews worshipped -Baal. In proof there is the direct assertion of Jahveh himself (Hosea -ii. 16) that "thou shalt call me <i>Ishi</i> [my husband] and shalt call -me no more <i>Baali</i>." The evidence of names, too, is decisive. Gideon's -other name, Jerubbaal (Jud. vi. 32, and 1 Sam. xii. 11), was -evidently the true one, for in 2 Sam. xi. 21, the name Jerubbesheth is -substituted. Eshbaal (1 Chron. viii. 33) is called Ishbosheth (2 Sam. -ii. 8, 10). Meribbaal (1 Chron. viii. 34) is Mephibosheth (2 Sam. iv. -4).* Now <i>bosheth</i> means v "shame," or "shameful thing," and as Dr. -Donaldson points out, in especial, "sexual shame," as in Gen. ii. 25. -In the Septuagint version of 1 Kings xviii. 25, the prophets of Baal -are called "the prophets of that shame." Hosea ix. 10 says "they went -to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to Bosheth and became abominable -like that they loved." Micah i. 11 "having thy Bosheth naked." Jeremiah -xi. 5, "For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O -Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye -set up altars to Bosheth, altars to burn incense unto Baal." -</p> -<pre> - * So Baaljadah [1 Chron. xiv. 7] is Eliada [2 Sam. v. 161.] - In 1 Chron. xii. 6, we have the curious combination, - Baaljah, i.e. Baal is Jah, as the name of one of David's - heroes. -</pre> -<p> -The place where the ark stood, known afterwards as Kirjath-jearim, was -formerly named Baalah, or place of Baal (I Chron. xiii. 6). The change -of name took place after David's time, since the writer of 2 Sam. vi. 2 -says merely that David went with the ark from "Baale of Judah."* Colenso -notices that when the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal are said -to have been destroyed by Elijah, nothing is said of the four hundred -prophets of the Asherah. "Also these same '400 prophets,' apparently, -are called together by Ahab as prophets of JHVH, and they reply in the -name of JHVH, 1 Kings xxii. 5-6." -</p> -<p> -That phallicism was an important element in Baal and Asherah worship is -well known to scholars, and will be made clear to discerning readers. -The frequent allusion to "groves" in the Authorised Version must have -puzzled many a simple student. The natural but erroneous suggestion of -"tree worship" does not fit in very well with the important statement (2 -Kings xxiii. 6) that Josiah "brought out the grove from the house of -the Lord."** A reference to the Revised Version will show that this -misleading word is intended to conceal the real nature of the worship of -Asherah. The door of life, the conventional form of the Asherah with its -thirteen flowers or measurements of time, is given in fig. 3. -</p> -<pre> - * The "Baal" was afterwards taken out of all such names of - places, and instead of Baal Peor, Baal Meon, Baal Tamar, - Baal Shalisha, etc., we find Beth Peor, Beth Meon, Beth - Tamar, etc. - - ** Verse vii. says, "he brake down the houses of the - sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the - women wove hangings for the grove." A reference to the Revised - Version shows that it was "in the house of the Lord, where - the women wove hangings [or tents] for the Asherah." See - also Ezek. xvi. 16. -</pre> -<p> -This worship certainly lasted from the earliest historic times until -the seventeenth year of Josiah, B.C. 624. We read how in the days of the -Judges they "served Baalim and the groves" (R.V., "the Asheroth"; Judges -iii, 7; see ii. 12, "Baal and Ash-taroth.) We find that Solomon himself -"went after Ashtoreth (1 Kings xi. 5) and that he builded the mount of -corruption (margin, i.e., the mount of Olives) for that "abomination -of the Zidonians" (2 Kings xxiii. 13). All the distinctive features -of Solomon's Temple were Phoenician in character. What the Phoenician -temples were like Lucian tells us in his treatise on the goddess -of Syria. The great pillars Jachin, "the establisher," and Boaz, -"strength"; the ornamentation of palm trees, pomegranates, and lotus -work; are all Phoenician and all phallic. The bells and pomegranates -on the priests' garment were emblematic of the paps and full womb. -The palm-tree, which appears both in Solomon's temple and in Ezekiel's -vision, was symbolical, as may be seen in the Assyrian monument (fig. -4), and which finds a place in Eastern Christian symbolism, with the -mystic alpha and omega (fig. 5). -</p> -<p> -The worship of Astoreth, the Assyrian Ishtar, and Greek Astarte, was -widespread. The Phoenicians took it with them to Cyprus and Carthage. In -the days of Abraham there was a town called after her (Gen. xiv. 5), and -to this day her name is preserved in Esther. -</p> -<a name="linkimage-0003"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.3.jpg" height="60%" width="30%" -alt="Fig. 3.--asherah. -"> -</center> - -<p> -It is she who is called the Queen of Heaven, to whom the women made -moon-shaped cakes and poured libations (Jer. vii. 18, xliv. 17.) Baal -represented the generative, Astoreth the productive power. The pillars -and asherah, so often alluded to in the Bible, were the palm-tree, with -male and female animals frolicking around the tree of life, the female -near the fleur de lis and the male near the yoni. Tall and straight -trees, especially the palm, were reverenced as symbols. Palm branches -carried in procession were signs of fruitfulness and joy. -</p> -<a name="linkimage-0004"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.4.jpg" height="69%" width="70%" -alt="Fig. 4.--from Layard, Culte de Venus, Plate I, Fig. 20, -Depicts the Mystic Signs of Their Worship, and Dr. Oort* Says Of The -Name Ashera, 'this Word Expressed Originally a Pillar On, Or Near--not -Only the Altars of Baal--but Also The Altars Of Jhvh.' -"> -</center> - -<p> -Bishop Colenso in his notes to Dr. Oort's work remarks, "It seems plain -that the Ashera (from <i>ashar</i>, be straight, erect) was in reality a -phallus, like the <i>Linga</i> or <i>Lingam</i> of the Hindoos, the sign of the -male organ of generation."** -</p> -<pre> - * The Worship of Baalim and Israel, p. 46. - - ** Asher was the tutelary god of Assyria. His emblem was the - winged circle. -</pre> -<a name="linkimage-0005"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.5.jpg" height="85%" width="90%" -alt="Fig. 5.--the Eastern Christian Palm, on Which is Placed -The Cross and Banners With the Alpha And Omega. -"> -</center> - -<p> -There can be little doubt on the matter in the mind of anyone acquainted -with ancient faiths and the inevitable phases of human evolution, We -read (1 Kings xv. 13, Revised Version), that Maachah, the queen mother -of Asa, "made an abominable image for an Asherah." This the Vulgate -translates "Priape" and Movers <i>pudendum</i>. Jeremiah, who alludes to the -same thing (x. 5), tells that the people said, "to a stock, Thou art my -father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth" (ii. 27), that they -"defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and with stocks" -(iii. 9), playing the harlot "under every green tree" (ii. 20, iii. 6, -13; see also Hosea iv. 13). Isaiah xvii. 8, alludes to the Asherim as -existing in his own days, and alludes to these religions in plain terms -(lvii. 5—8). Micah also prophesies against the "pillars" and "Asherim" -(v. 13, 14). Ezekiel xvi. 17, says "Thou hast also taken thy fair -jewels, of my gold and of silver, which I have given thee, and madest to -thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them." The margin -more properly reads images "Heb. of a male" [tsalmi zachar], a male -here being an euphemism. As Gesenius says of the metaphor in Numbers -xxiv. 7 these things are "ex nostra sensu obscoena, sed Orientalibus -familiaria." -</p> -<p> -These images are alluded to and prohibited in Deut. iv. 16. It is thus -evident that some form of phallic worship lasted among the Jews-from the -earliest times until their captivity in Babylon. -</p> -<p> -It is a most significant fact that the Jews used one and the same word -to signify both "harlot" and "holy." "There shall be no <i>kedeshah</i> of -the daughters of Israel" (Deut. xxiii. 17) means no female consecrated -to the temple worship. Kuenen says "it is natural to assume that this -impurity was practised in the worship of Jahveh, however much soever the -lawgiver abhors it." It must be noticed, too, that there is no absolute -prohibition. It only insists that the slaves of desire shall not be of -the house of Israel, and stipulates that the money so obtained shall -not be dedicated to Jahveh. That this was the custom both in Samaria and -Jerusalem, as in Babylon, may be gathered from Micah i. 7, and Hosea iv. -14. -</p> -<p> -Dr. Kalisch, by birth a Jew and one of the most fair-minded of biblical -scholars, says in his note on Leviticus xix. 29: "The unchaste worship -of Ashtarte, known also as Beltis and Tanais, Ishtar, Mylitta, and -Anaitis, Asherah and Ashtaroth, flourished among the Hebrews at -all times, both in the kingdom of Judah and Israel; it consisted in -presenting to the goddess, who was revered as the female principle -of conception and birth, the virginity of maidens as a first-fruit -offering; and it was associated with the utmost licentiousness. -This-degrading service took such deep root, that in the Assyrian period -it was even extended by the adoption of new rites borrowed from Eastern -Asia, and described by the name of 'Tents of the Maidens' (Succoth -Benoth); and it left its mark in the Hebrew language itself, which -ordinarily expressed the notion courtesan by 'a consecrated woman' -(Kadeshah), and that of sodomite by 'consecrated man' (Kadesh)." -</p> -<p> -The Succoth Benoth in 2 Kings xvii. 30, may be freely rendered -Tabernacles of Venus. Venus is plausibly derived from Benoth, whose -worship was at an early time disseminated from Carthage and other parts -of Africa to the shores of Italy. The merriest festival among the Jews -was the Feast of Tabernacles. Plutarch (who suggests that the pig was -originally worshipped by the Jews, a position endorsed by Mr. J. G. -Frazer, in his <i>Golden Bough</i>, vol. ii., pp. 52, 53) says the Jewish -feast of Tabernacles "is exactly agreeable to the holy rites of -Bacchus."* He adds, "What they do within I know not, but it is very -probable that they perform the rites of Bacchus." -</p> -<pre> - * Symposiacs, bk. iv., queat. 6, p. 310, vol. iii., - Plutarch's Morals, 1870. -</pre> -<p> -Dr. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on 2 Kings xvii. 30, gives the -following:—"Succoth-benoth maybe literally translated, <i>The Tabernacle -of the Daughters, or Young Women</i>; or if <i>Benoth</i> be taken as the name -of a female idol, from birth, <i>to build up, procreate, children</i>, then -the words will express the tabernacles sacred to the productive powers -feminine. And, agreeably to this latter exposition, the rabbins say that -the emblem was a hen and chickens. But however this may be, there is -no room to doubt that these <i>succoth</i> were <i>tabernacles</i>, wherein young -women exposed themselves to prostitution in honor of the Babylon goddess -Melitta." Herodotus (lib. i., c. 199; Rawlinson) says: "Every woman born -in the country must once in her life go and sit down in the precinct of -Venus, and there consort with a stranger. Many of the wealthier sort, -who are too proud to mix with the others, drive in covered carriages to -the precinct, followed by a goodly train of attendants, and there take -their station. But the larger number seat themselves within the holy -enclosure with wreaths of string about their heads; and here there is -always a great crowd, some coming and others going; lines of cord mark -out paths in all directions among the women, and the strangers pass -along them to make their choice. A woman who has once taken her seat -is not allowed to return home till one of the strangers throws a silver -coin into her lap, and takes her with him beyond the holy ground. When -he throws the coin he says these words—'The goddess Mylitta prosper -thee" (Venus is called Mylitta by the Assyrians). The silver coin may -be of any size; it cannot be refused, for that is forbidden by the law, -since once thrown it is sacred. The woman goes with the first man who -throws her money, and rejects no one. When she has gone with him, and -so satisfied the goddess, she returns home, and from that time forth -no gift, however great, will prevail with her. Such of the women as are -tall and beautiful are soon released, but others who are ugly have to -stay a long time before they can fulfil the law. Some have waited three -or four years in the precinct. A custom very much like this is also -found in certain parts of the island of Cyprus." This custom is alluded -to in the Apocryphal Epistle of Jeremy (Barch vi. 43): "The women also -with cords about them sitting in the ways, burnt bran for perfume; -but if any of them, drawn by some that passeth by, lie with him, she -reproacheth her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, -nor her cord broken." The Commentary published by the S. P. C. K. says, -"Women with cords about them," the token that they were devotees -of Mylitta, the Babylonian Venus, called in 2 Kings xvii. 30, -'Succoth-benoth,' the ropes denoting the obligation of the vow which -they had taken upon themselves." Valerius Maximus speaks of a temple -of Sicca Venus in Africa, where a similar custom obtained. Strabo also -mentions the custom (lib. xvi., c. i., 20), and says, "The money is -considered as consecrated to Venus." In book xi., c. xiv., 16, Strabo -says the Armenians pay particular reverence to Anaļtes. "They dedicate -there to her service male and female slaves; in this there is nothing -remarkable, but it is surprising that persons of the highest rank in the -nation consecrate their virgin daughters to the goddess. It is customary -for these women, after being prostituted a long period at the temple of -Anaites, to be disposed of in marriage, no one disdaining a connection -with such persons. Herodotus mentions something similar respecting the -Lydian women, all of whom prostitute themselves." Of the temple of Venus -at Corinth, Strabo says "it had more than a thousand women consecrated -to the service of the goddess, courtesans, whom men and women had -dedicated as offerings to the goddess"; and of Comana, in Cappadocia, he -has a similar relation (bk. xii., c. iii., 36). -</p> -<p> -Dr. Kalisch also says Baal Peor "was probably the principle of -generation <i>par excellence</i>, and at his festivals virgins were -accustomed to yield themselves in his honor. To this disgraceful -idolatry the Hebrews were addicted from very early times; they are -related to have already been smitten on account of it by a fearful -plague which destroyed 24,000 worshippers, and they seem to have clung -to its shameful practices in later periods."* Jerome says plainly that -Baal-Peor was Priapus, which some derive from Peor Apis. Hosea says (ix. -10, Revised Version) "they came to Baal-Peor and consecrated themselves -unto the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they -loved"; see, too, Num. xxvi. 1, 3. Amos (ii. 7,8) says a son and a -father go in unto the same maid in the house of God to profane Jahveh's -holy name, so that it appears this "maid" was regarded as in the service -of Jahveh. Maimonides says it was known that the worship of Baal-Peor -was by uncovering of the nakedness; and this he makes the reason why God -commanded the priests to make themselves breeches to wear at the time of -service, and why they might not go up to the altar by steps that their -nakedness might not be discovered.** Jules Soury says*** "The tents of -the sacred prostitutes were generally erected on the high places." -</p> -<pre> - * Leviticus, p. 364. - - ** That even more shameful practices were once common is - evident from the narratives in Genesis xix. and Judges xix. - - *** Religion of Israel chap. ix., p. 71. - - **** Leviticus, part i., p. 383. Kork, Die Gotter Syrian, p. - 103, says the pillars and Asherah stood in the adytum, that - is the holy of holies, which represented the genetrix. -</pre> -<p> -In the temple at Jerusalem the women wove hangings for the Asherah (2 -Kings xxiii. 7), that is for concealment in the worship of the genetrix, -and in the same precincts were the houses of prostitute priests (see -also 1 Kings xiv. 24; xv. 12; xxii. 46. Luther translates "<i>Hurer</i>"). -Although Josiah destroyed these, B.C. 624, Kalisch says "The image of -Ashtarte was probably erected again in the inner court (Jer. xxxii. 34; -Ezek. viii. 6)." Ezekiel says (xvi. 16), "And of thy garments thou didst -take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colors and playedst -the harlot thereupon," and (v. 24) "Thou hast also built unto thee an -eminent place, and hast made thee a high place in every street," which -is plainly translated in the Roman Catholic Douay version "Thou didst -also build thee a common stew and madest thee a brothel house in every -street." The "strange woman," against whom the Proverbs warns, practised -her profession under cover of religion (see Prov. vii. 14). The "peace -offerings" there alluded to were religious sacrifices. -</p> -<p> -Together with their other functions the Kadeshah, like the eastern -nautch girls and bayaderes, devoted themselves to dancing and music (see -Isaiah xxiii. 16). Dancing was an important part of ancient religious -worship, as may be noticed in the case of King David, who danced before -the ark, clad only in a linen ephod, probably a symbolic emblem (see -Judges viii. 27), to the scandal of his wife, whom he had purchased by -a trophy of two hundred foreskins from the uncircumcised Philistines (1 -Sam. xviii. 27; 2 Sam. vi. 14-16). When the Israelites worshipped the -golden calf they danced naked (Exodus xxxii. 19, 25). They sat down to -eat and to drink, and rose up to <i>play</i>, the word being the same as that -used in Gen. xxvi. 8. The word <i>chag</i> is frequently translated "feast," -and means "dance." In the wide prevalence of sacred prostitution -Sir John Lubbock sees a corroboration of his hypothesis of communal -marriage. Mr. Wake, however, refers it to the custom of sexual -hospitality, a practice widely spread among all savage races, the rite -like that of blood covenanting being associated with ideas of kinship -and friendliness. -</p> -<p> -We have seen that the early Jews shared in the phallic worship of the -nations around them. Despite the war against Baal and Asherah worship -by the prophets of Jahveh, it was common in the time of the Judges (iii. -7). Solomon himself was a worshipper of Ashtoreth, a faith doubtless -after the heart of the sensual sultan (1 Kings xi. 5). The people of -Judah "built them high places and phalli and ashera on every high hill -and under every green tree. And there were also Sodomites in the land" -(1 Kings xiv. 23, 24). The mother of Asa made "an abominable image for -an Asherah" (1 Kings xv. 13).* The images of Asherah were kept in the -house of Jahveh till the time of Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 6). Dr. Kuenen -says (<i>Religion of Israel</i>, vol. i., p. 80), "the images, pillars and -asheras were not considered by those who worshipped them as antagonistic -to the acknowledgment of Jahveh as the God of Israel." The same writer -contends that Jeroboam exhibiting the calves or young bulls could truly -say "These be thy gods, O Israel." Remembering, too, that every Jew -bears in his own body the mark of a special covenant with the Lord, the -reader may take up his Bible and find much over which pious preachers -and commentators have woven a pretty close veil. I will briefly notice -a few particulars. -</p> -<pre> - * Larousse, in his Grande Dictionnaire Universelle, says: - "Le phallos hébraique fut pedant neuf cent ans le rival - souvent victorieux de Jéhovah." -</pre> -<p> -Without going into the question of the translation of Genesis i. 2, it -is evident from v. 27 that God is hermaphrodite. "So God created man -in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female -(zakar and nekaba) created he them." -</p> -<p> -It is not difficult to find traces of phallicism in the allegory of -the Garden of Eden. This has been noticed from the earliest times. The -rabbis classed the first chapters of Genesis with the Song of Solomon -and certain portions of Ezekiel as not to be read by anyone under -thirty. The Manichęans and other early Christians held the phallic view. -Clement of Alexandria (Strom iii.) admits the sin of Adam consists in -a premature indulgence of the sexual appetite. This view explains why -knowledge was prohibited and why the first effect of the fall was the -perception of nakedness. Basilides contended that we should reverence -the serpent because it induced Eve to share the caresses of Adam, -without which the human race would never have existed. Many modern -writers, notably Beverland and Dr. Donaldson, have sustained the phallic -interpretation. Archbishop Whately is also said to have advocated a -similar opinion in an anonymous Latin work published in Germany. Dr. -Donaldson, who was renowned as a scholar, makes some curious versions -of the Hebrew. His translation of the alleged "Messianic promise" -in Genesis iii. 15, his adversary, Dr. Perowne, the present Dean of -Peterborough, says, is "so gross that it will not bear rendering into -English." A good Hebraist, a Jew by birth, who had never heard of Dr. -Donaldson's <i>Jashar</i>, gave me an exactly similar rendering of this -verse—which makes it a representation of coition—and instanced the -phrase "the serpent was more subtle than the other beasts of the field," -as an illustration of early Jewish humor. -</p> -<p> -The French physician, Parise, eloquently says: "This sublime gift of -transmitting life—fatal perogative, which man continually forfeits—at -once the mainstay of morality by means of family ties, and the powerful -cause of depravity—the energetic spring of life and health—the -ceaseless source of disease and infirmity—this faculty involves -almost all that man can attain of earthly happiness or misfortune, of -earthly pleasure or of pain; and the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, -is the symbol of it, as true as it is expressive." -</p> -<p> -Dr. Adam Clarke was so impressed by the difficulty of the serpent having -originally gone erect, that he thinks that <i>nachash</i> means "a creature -of the ape or ourang-outang kind." Yet it has been suggested that a -key to the word may be found in Ezekiel xvi. 36, where it is translated -"filthiness." There is nothing whatever in the story to show that the -serpent is the Devil. This was an after idea when the Devil had become -the symbol of passion and the instigator of lust. De Gubernatis, in his -<i>Zoological Mythology</i> (vol. ii., p. 399), says "The phallical serpent -is the cause of the fall of the first man." Many other difficulties in -the story become less obscure when it is viewed as a remnant in which a -phallic element is embodied. -</p> -<p> -Some have detected a phallic signification in the story of the ark and -the deluge, a legend capable of many interpretations. The phallic view -is represented in the symbols in fig. 6, taken from Jacob Bryant's -Mythology, vol. iv., p. 286, in which the rainbow overshadows the mystic -ark, which carries the life across the restless flood of time, which -drowns everything that has life, and promises that seed-time and harvest -shall endure, and the Ruach broods over the waters. Gerald Massey -devotes a section of his <i>Natural Genesis</i> to the typology of the -Ark and the Deluge. M. Clermont-Ganneau holds that the Ruach was the -feminine companion of Elohim, and that this idea was continued under the -name of Kodesh the Euach Kodesh or Holy Ghost, which with the Jews and -early Nazarene Christians was feminine. -</p> -<a name="linkimage-0006"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.6.jpg" height="74%" width="80%" -alt="Fig. 6.--the Mystic Ark. -"> -</center> - -<p> -Another point to be briefly noticed is Jacob's anointing of the stone -which he slept on, and then erected and called Beth El, or "house of -God," the residence of the creative spirit. This was a phallic rite. -Exactly the same anointing of the linga is performed in India till this -day. It is evident that Jacob's worship of the pillar was orthodox at -the time the narrative was written, for God sends him back to the pillar -to perform his vow (see Gen. xxxv.), and again he goes through phallic -rites (v. 14). When Paul says, "Flee fornication. Know ye not that your -body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" he elevates and spiritualises the -conception which lay in the word Bethel. According to Philo Byblius, the -huge stones common in Syria, as in so many lands, were called Baetylia. -Kalisch says it is not extravagant to suppose that the words are -identical. From this custom of anointing comes the conception of the -Messiah, or Christ the Anointed. Kissing the stone or god appears also -to have been a religious rite. Thus we read of kissing Baal (1 Kings -xix. 18) and kissing the "calves" (Hos. xiii. 2). Epi-phanius said that -the Ophites kissed the serpent which this wretched people called the -Eucharist. They concluded the ceremonies by singing a hymn through him -to the Supreme Father. (See Fergusson's <i>Tree and Serpent Worship</i>, p. -9.) The kissing of the Mohammedan saint's member and of the Pope's toe -are probably connected. Amalarius, who lived in the age of Charlemagne, -says that on Friday (<i>Dies Veneris</i>) the Pope and cardinals crawl on all -fours along the aisles of St. Peter's to a cross before an altar which -they salute and kiss. -</p> -<p> -Mr. Grant Allen, in an article on Sacred Stones in the <i>Fortnightly -Review</i>, Jan., 1890, says: -</p> -<p> -"Samuel judged Israel every year at Bethel, the place of Jacob's sacred -pillar; at Gilgal, the place where Joshua's twelve stones were set -up; and at Mizpeh, where stood the cairn surmounted by the pillars of -Laban's servant. He, himself, 'took a stone and set it up between Mizpeh -and Shen'; and its very name, Ebenezer, 'the stone of help,' shows that -it was originally worshipped before proceeding on an expedition, though -the Jehovistic gloss, 'saying Hitherto the Lord hath helped us,' does -its best, of course, to obscure the real meaning. It was to the stone -circle of Gilgal that Samuel directed Saul to go down, saying; 'I -will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice -sacrifices of peace offerings.' It was at the cairn of Mizpeh that Saul -was chosen king; and after the victory over the Ammonites, Saul went -once more to the great Stonehenge at Gilgal to 'review the kingdom,' -and 'There they made Saul king before Jahveh in Gilgal; and there they -sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before Jahyeh.'" -</p> -<p> -This last passage, as Mr. Allen points out, is very instructive, as -showing that in the opinion of the writer, Jahveh was then domiciled at -Gilgal. -</p> -<p> -M. Soury, in his note to chap. ii. of his <i>Religion of Israel</i>, says: -"It is needful to point out, with M. Schrader, that the most ancient -Babylonian inscriptions in the Accadian tongues, those of Urukh and -of Ur Kasdim, preserved in the British Museum, were engraved on clay -phalii. We have here the origin of the usages and customs of religion -so long followed among the Oanaanites and Hebrews (Y. Movers, <i>Die -Phonizer</i>, I., 591, <i>et passim</i>)." -</p> -<p> -In the old hymn embodied in Deut. xxxii., God is frequently called -<i>Tsur</i>, "The Rock which begat thee," etc. Major-General Forlong believes -"that the Jews had a Phallus or phallic symbol in their 'Ark of the -Testimony' or Ark of the Eduth, a word which I hold tries to veil the -real objects" (<i>Rivers of Life</i>, vol. i., p. 149). He does not scruple -to say this was "the real God of the Jews; that God of the Ark or the -Testimony, but surely not of Europe" (vol. i., p. 169). This contention -is forcibly suggested by the picture of the Egyptian Ark found in Dr. -Smith's <i>Bible Dictionary</i>, art. -</p> -<p> -"Ark of the Covenant." The Ark of the Testimony, or significant thing, -the tabernacle of the testimony and the veil of the testimony alluded to -in Exodus are never mentioned in Deuteronomy. The Rev. T. Wilson, in his -<i>Archaeological Dictionary</i>, art. "Sanctum," observes that "the Ark of -the Covenant, which was the greatest ornament of the first temple, was -wanting in the second, but a stone of three inches thick, it is said, -supplied its place, which they [the Jews] further assert is still in -the Mahommedan mosque called <i>the temple of the Stone</i>, which is erected -where the Temple of Jerusalem stood." This forcibly suggests that the -nature of the "God in the box" which the Jews carried about with them -was similar to that carried in the processions of Osiris and Dionysos. -According to 1 Kings viii. 9 the Ark contained two stones, but the much -later writer of Heb. ix. 4 makes it contain the golden pot with manna, -Aaron's rod, and the tables of the covenant. -</p> -<p> -Mr. Sellon, in the papers of the Anthropological Society of London, -1863-4, p. 327, argues: "There would also now appear good ground for -believing that the ark of the covenant, held so sacred by the Jews, -contained nothing more nor less than a phallus, the ark being the -type of the Argha or Yoni (Linga worship) of India." Hargrave Jennings -(<i>Phallicism</i>, p. 67) says: "We know from the Jewish records that the -ark contained a table of stone.... That stone was phallic, and yet -identical with the sacred name Jehovah, which, written in unpointed -Hebrew with four letters, is JEVE, or JHVH (the H being merely an -aspirate and the same as E). This process leaves us the two letters I -and V (in another form, U); then, if we place the I in the V, we have -the 'Holy of Holies'; we also have the Linga and Yoni and Argha of the -Hindus, the Isvara and 'Supreme Lord'; and here we have the whole secret -of its mystic and arc-celestial import confirmed in itself by being -identical with the Ling-yoni of the Ark of the Covenant." -</p> -<p> -In Hosea, who finds it quite natural that the Lord should tell him "Go -take unto thee a wife of whoredoms," we find the Lord called his <i>zakar</i> -(translated memorial, xii. 5). In the same prophet we read that Jahveh -declares thou shalt call me <i>Ishi</i> (my husband); and shalt no more -call me Baali (ii. 16). Again he says to his people "I am your husband" -(Hosea iii. 14); "Thy maker is thine husband; Jahveh Sabaoth is his -name" (Isaiah liv. 5). I was an husband to them, saith Jahveh (Jer. -xxxi. 32. See also Jer. iii. 20 and Ezek. xvi. 32). God even does not -scruple to represent himself in Ezekiel xxiii. as the husband of two -adulterous sisters. Taking to other deities is continually called -whoring and adultery. See Exod. xxxiv. 15, 16; Lev. xx. 5; Num. xxv. -1-3; Deut. xxxi. 16; xxxii. 16-21; Jud. ii. 17; viii. 27; 1 Chron. -v. 25; Ps. lxxiii. 27; cvi. 39; Jer. iii. 1, 2, 6; Ezek. xvi. 15, 17; -xxiii. 3; Hos. i. 2; ii. 4, 5; iv. 13, 15; v. 3, 4; ix. 7. In the -Wisdom of Solomon (xiv. 12), we read: "For the devising of idols was -the beginning of <i>spiritual</i> fornication, and the invention of them the -corruption of life." Here the word "spiritual" is deliberately inserted -to pervert the meaning. Let any one reflect how such coarse expressions -could continually be used unless the writers were used to phallic -worship. Further consider the narrative in Numbers xxxi., where the -Lord takes a maiden tribute out of 32,000 girls, who must all have been -examined. Vestal virgins and nuns are all consecrated like the kadeshim -to the god, and the god is personified by the priest. In this sense -phallicism is the key of all the creeds. -</p> -<a name="linkimage-0007"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig,.7-8.jpg" height="41%" width="60%" -alt="Fig. 7. Fig. 8 -"> -</center> - -<p> -That some remnants of phallicism may be traced even in Christianity, -will be evident to the readers of <i>Anacalypsis</i>, by Godfrey Higgins; -<i>Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names</i>, by Dr. Thomas Inman, and -<i>Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Exposed and Explained</i>, -by the same author; the valuable <i>Rivers of Life</i>, by Major-General -Forlong; a little book on <i>Idolomania</i>, by "Investigator Abhorrens"; -and another on <i>The Masculine Cross</i>, by Sha Rocco (New York, 1874). The -sign of the cross, certainly long pre-Christian in the Egyptian sign for -life, is specially dealt with in the last two works. In fig. 7 we see -the connection of the Egyptian tau with the Hermę. Of fig. 8 General -Forlong (<i>Rivers of Life</i>, vol i., p 65) says: "The Samaritan cross, -which they stamped on their coins, was No. 1, but the Norseman preferred -No. 2 (the circle and four stout arms of equal size and weight), and -called it Tor's hammer. It is somewhat like No. 3, which the Greek -Christians early adopted, though this is more decidedly phallic, and -shows clearly the meaning so much insisted on by some writers as to all -meeting in the centre." -</p> -<p> -The custom of eating fish on Friday (<i>Dies Veneris</i>) is considered a -survival of the days when a peculiar sexual signification was given to -the fish, which has such a prominent place in Christian symbolism. Fig. -9 illustrates the origin of the bishop's mitre. -</p> -<p> -The <i>vescica piscis</i>, or fish's bladder (fig. 10), is a well-known -ecclesiastical emblem of the virgin, often used in church windows, -seals, etc. The symbol is equally known in India. Its real nature -is shown in fig. 11, discovered by Layard at Nineveh, depicting its -worshipper seated on a lotus. The vescica piscis is conspicuously -displayed in fig. 12, copied from a Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, -printed at Venice 1582, with the license from the Inquisition, in which -the Holy Dove darts his ray, fecundating the Holy Virgin. Many instances -of Christ in an elliptical aureole may be seen in Didron's <i>Christian -Iconography</i>, fig. 71, p. 281, vol. i. strikingly resembles our figure. -</p> -<a name="linkimage-0008"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.9-10-11.jpg" height="56%" width="70%" -alt="Fig. 9.; Fig. 10.; Fig. 11. -"> -</center> - -<a name="linkimage-0009"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/Fig.12.jpg" height="96%" width="50%" -alt="Fig. 12. -"> -</center> - -<a name="link2H_4_0003"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - CIRCUMCISION. -</h2> -<p> -Among the many traces that the Jews were once savages I place the -distinguishing mark of their race, circumcision. Many explanations have -been given of this curious custom. The account, in Genesis xvii. that -God commanded it to Abraham, at the ripe age of 99, critics agree was -written after the exile—that is, thirteen hundred years after the death -of the patriarch. Now, there is evidence from the Egyptian monuments -that circumcision was known long before Abraham's time. This constrains -Dr. Kitto to say, "God might have selected a practice already in use -among other nations." If so, God must have had a curious taste and an -uninventive mind. Why, having made people as they are, he should order -his chosen race to be mutilated, must be a puzzle to the orthodox. Some -writers have absurdly argued that the Egyptians borrowed from the Jews, -whom they despised (see Genesis xliii. 32). Apart from the evidence of -Herodotus and of monuments and mummies to the contrary, this view is -never suggested in the Bible, but the testimony of the book of Joshua -(v. 9) implies the reverse. -</p> -<p> -The narrative of the Lord's attempted assassination of Moses (Exodus iv. -24-26), which we shall shortly examine, has the most archaic complexion -of any of the biblical references to circumcision, and from it Dr. T. K. -Cheyne argues that the rite is of Arabian origin.* If instituted in the -time of Abraham under the penalty of death, it is curious that Moses -never circumcised his own son, nor saw to its performance in the -wilderness for forty years, so that Joshua had personally to circumcise -over a million males at Gilgal. -</p> -<p> -Let us now look at the various theories of the origin and purpose of -circumcision. Rationalising Jews say it is of a sanatory character. This -view, though found in Philo, may be dismissed as an after theory to -meet a religious difficulty. Most Asiatic nations are uncircumcised. The -Philistines did not practice the rite, nor did the Syrians in the time -of Josephus. Even if in a few cases it might possibly be beneficial, -that would be no sufficient reason for imposing it on a whole nation -under penalty of death. The fact is, the rite is a religious one. -Indeed, upon its retention the early controversy between Jews and -Christians largely turned. -</p> -<p> -The view that it is an imposed mutilation of a subject race is suggested -in Dr. Remondino's <i>History of Circumcision</i>, and has the high authority -of Herbert Spencer. He instances the trophy of foreskins taken by David -as a dowry for Saul's daughter (1 Sam. xviii. 27), and that Hyrcanus -having subdued the Idumeans, made them submit to circumcision. This, -however, may have been a part of the policy of making them one with the -Jewish race in being tributary to Jahveh. It is not easy to see how a -mutilation imposed from without should ever become a part of the pride -of race and be enjoined when all other mutilations were forbidden. -</p> -<pre> - * Encyclopaedia Britannica, article "Circumcision." -</pre> -<p> -I incline to a view which, although in accord with early sociological -conditions, I have never yet seen stated. It was suggested to me by the -passage where Tacitus alludes to this custom among the Jews. It is that -circumcision is of the nature of savage totem and tattoo marks—a device -to distinguish the tribal division from other tribes, and to indicate -those with whom the tribe might marry.* If, as has been suggested, the -meaning of Genesis xxxiv. 14 is "one who is uncircumcised is as a woman -to us," this view is confirmed. The Jewish abhorrence to mixed marriages -and "the bed of the uncircumcised" is well known. -</p> -<pre> - * What Tacitus says is, "They do not eat with strangers or - make marriages with them, and this nation, otherwise most - prone to debauchery, abstains from all strange women. They - have introduced circumcision in order to distinguish - themselves thereby." -</pre> -<p> -The Hebrew distinguishing term for male—<i>zachar</i>, which also means -record or <i>memorial</i>—will agree with this view, as also with that -of Dr. Trumbull, which associates circumcision with that of -blood-covenanting. It seems evident from the narrative in Exodus iv., -where Zipporah, after circumcising her son, says—not as generally -understood to Moses—"A bloody husband art thou to me," but to -Jahveh, "Thou art a <i>Kathan</i> of blood"—i.e., one made akin by -circumcision—that this idea of a blood-covenant became interwoven with -the rite. It is to be noticed that in the covenant between God and the -Jews women had no share. -</p> -<p> -Dr. Kuenen holds that circumcision is of the nature of a substitute -for human sacrifice. No doubt the Jews had such sacrifices, and were -familiar with the idea of substitution; but with this I rather connect -the Passover observance. If a sacrifice, it was doubtless phallic—an -offering to the god on whom the fruit of the womb depended; possibly a -substitution for the barbarous rites by which the priests of Cybele -were instituted for office. Ptolemy's Tetrabibles, speaking of the -neighboring nations, says: "Many of them devote their genitals to their -divinities." According to Gerald Massey, "it was a dedication of the -first-fruits of the male at the shrine of the virgin mother and child, -which was one way of passing the seed through the fire to Moloch." -</p> -<p> -Westrop and Wake (<i>Phallicism in Ancient Religion</i>, p. 37) say -"Circumcision, in its inception, is a purely phallic rite, having for -its aim the marking of that which from its associations is viewed with -peculiar veneration, and it converts the two phases of this superstition -which have for their object respectively the <i>instrument</i> of generation -and the <i>agent</i>." -</p> -<p> -General Forlong, who maintains the phallic view, also holds that "truth -compels us to attach an Aphrodisiacal character to the mutilations of -this highly sensual Jewish race." This view will not be hastily rejected -by those who know of the many strange devices resorted to by barbarous -peoples. Some have believed that circumcision enhances fecundity. -</p> -<p> -With the exception of the two first views, which I dismiss as not -explaining the religious and permanent character of the rite, all these -views imply a special regard being paid to the emblem of generation. -This is further confirmed by the manner of oath-taking customary among -the ancient Jews. When Abraham swore his servant, he said, "Put, I pray -thee, thy hand under my thigh" (Gen. xxiv. 2). The same euphemism -is used in the account of Jacob swearing Joseph (xlvii. 29), and the -custom, which has lasted among Arabs until modern days, is also alluded -to in the Hebrew of 1 Chronicles xxix. 24. The Latin testiculi seems -to point to a similar custom. In the law that no uncircumcised or -sexually-imperfect person might appear before the shrine of the Lord, we -may see yet further evidence that Jewish worship was akin to the phallic -rites of the nations around them. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0004"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - MOSES AT THE INN -</h2> -<p> -And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the lord met him, and -sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the -foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, -</p> -<pre> - Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. - So he let him go: then she said, - A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. - —Exodus iv. 24-26. -</pre> -<p> -Anyone who wishes to note the various shifts to which orthodox people -will resort in their attempts to pass off the barbarous records of the -Jews as God's holy word, should demand an explanation of the attempted -assassination of Moses by Jehovah, as recorded in the above verses. Some -commentators say that by the Lord is meant "the angel of the Lord," as -if Jehovah was incapable of personally conducting so nefarious a piece -of business. Bishop Patrick says "The Schechinah, I suppose, appeared -to him—appeared with a drawn sword, perhaps, as he did to Balaam and -David." Some say it was Moses's firstborn the Lord sought to kill. Some -say it was at the child's feet the foreskin was cast, others at those of -Moses, but the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem more properly represent -that it was at the feet of God, in order to pacify him. -</p> -<p> -The story certainly presents some difficulties. Moses had just had one -of his numerous interviews with Jehovah, who had told him to go back to -Egypt, for all those are dead who sought his life. He is to tell Pharaoh -that Israel is the Lord's firstborn, and that if Pharaoh will not let -the Israelites go he will slay Pharaoh's firstborn. Then immediately -follows this passage. Why this sudden change of conduct towards Moses, -whose life Jehovah was apparently so anxious to save? -</p> -<p> -Adam Clarke says the meaning is that the son of Moses had not been -circumcised, and therefore Jehovah was about to have slain the child -because not in covenant with him by circumcision, and thus he intended -[after his usual brutal fashion] to punish the disobedience of the -father by the death of the son. Zip-porah getting acquainted with the -nature of the case, and the danger to which her firstborn was exposed, -took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son. By this act -the displeasure of the Lord was turned aside, and Zipporah considered -herself as now allied to God because of this circumcision. Old Adam -tries to gloss over the attempted assassination of Moses by pretending -it was only a child's life that was in danger. But we beg the reader -to notice that no <i>child</i> is mentioned, but only a son whose age is -unspecified. Dr. Clarke can hardly have read the treatise of John -Frischl, <i>De Circumcisione Zipporo</i>, or he would surely have admitted -that the person menaced with death was Moses, and not his son. -</p> -<p> -Other commentators say that Zipporah did not like the snipping business -(although she seems to have understood it at once), and therefore -addressed her husband opprobriously. Circumcision, we may remark, was -anciently performed with stone. The Septuagint version records how the -flints with which Joshua circumcised the people at Gilgal were buried in -his grave. -</p> -<p> -A nice specimen of the modern Christian method of semi-rationalising may -be found in Dr. Smith's <i>Bible Dictionary</i>, to which the clergy usually -turn for help in regard to any difficulties in connection with the -sacred fetish they call the word of God. Smith says: -</p> -<p> -"The most probable explanation seems to be, that at the caravanserai -either Moses or Gershom was struck with what seemed to be a mortal -illness. In some way, not apparent to us, this illness was connected -by Zipporah with the fact that her son had not been circumcised. She -instantly performed the rite, and threw the sharp instrument, stained -with the fresh blood, at the feet of her husband, exclaiming in the -agony of a mother's anxiety for the life of her child, 'A bloody husband -thou art, to cause the death of my son.' Then when the recovery from the -illness took place (whether of Moses or Gershom), she exclaims again, 'A -bloody husband still thou art, but not so as to cause the child's death, -but only to bring about his circumcision.'" -</p> -<p> -We have no hesitation in saying that this most approved explanation is -the worst. In seeking to make the story rational, it utterly ignores the -primitive ideas and customs by which alone this ancient fragment can be -interpreted. One little fact is sufficient to refute it. The Jews never -use the word <i>Khathan</i>, improperly translated "husband," after marriage. -The word may be interpreted spouse, betrothed or bridegroom, but -not husband. The Revised Version, which always follows as closely as -possible the Authorised Version, translates "a bridegroom of blood." But -this makes it evident that Moses was not addressed, for no woman having -a son calls her husband "bridegroom." We may now see the true meaning -of the incident—that by the blood covenant of circumcision, Zipporah -entered into kinship with Jehovah and thereby claimed his friendship -instead of enmity. In ancient times only the good-will of those who -recognise the family bond or ties of blood could be relied on. Herbert -Spencer, in his <i>Ceremonial Institutions</i>, contends that bloody -sacrifices arise "from the practice of establishing a sacred bond -between living persons by partaking of each other's blood: the derived -conception, being that those who give some of their blood to the ghost -of a man just dead and lingering near, effect with it a union which on -the one side implies submission, and on the other side friendliness." -</p> -<p> -Dr. T. K. Oheyne, in his article on Circumcision in the <i>Encyclopaedia -Britannica</i>, takes the story of Moses at the inn as a proof that -circumcision was of Arabic origin. He says; "Khathan meant originally -not 'husband,' but 'a newly admitted member of the family.' So that 'a -khathan of blood' meant one who has become a <i>khathan</i>, not by marriage, -but by circumcision," a meaning confirmed by the derived sense of the -Arabic <i>khatana</i>, "to circumcise"—circumcision being performed in -Arabia at the age of puberty. -</p> -<p> -The English of the Catholic Douay version is not so good as the -Authorised Version, but it brings us nearer the real meaning of the -story. It runs thus: -</p> -<p> -"And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him and -would have killed him. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and -circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A -bloody spouse art thou to me. And he let him go after she had said: A -bloody spouse art thou unto me, because of the circumcision." -</p> -<p> -Here it is evidently the feet of the Lord that are touched, as was the -ancient practice in rendering tribute, and we see that the foreskin was -a propitiatory offering. -</p> -<p> -Dr. Trumbull in his interesting book on the Blood Covenant, says: -"The Hebrew word <i>Khathan</i> has as its root idea, the binding -through severing, the covenanting by blood; an idea that is in the -marriage-rite, as the Orientals view it, and that is in the rite of -circumcision also." Dr. Trumbull omits to say that the term is not used -after marriage, and consequently that it must be taken as applied to the -Lord. Zipporah, being already married, did not need to enter into the -blood covenant with Moses, but with Jehovah, so that to her and hers the -Lord might henceforth be friendly. -</p> -<p> -We do not make much of the inn. There were no public-houses between -Midian and Egypt. Probably the reference is only to a resting-place or -caravanserai. We would, therefore, render the passage thus: -</p> -<p> -The Lord met him [Moses] at a halting place and sought to kill him. Then -Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it -at [made it touch] his [the Lord's] feet, and she said: Surely a kinsman -of blood [one newly bound through blood] art thou to me. So he [the -Lord] let him [Moses] alone. -</p> -<p> -Kuenen considers the passage, in connection with the place where it -is inserted, indicated that circumcision was a substitute for child -sacrifice. Any way, it may safely be said that the mark which every Jew -bears on his own body is a sign that his ancestry worshipped a deity who -sought to assassinate Moses, and was only to be appeased by an offering -of blood. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0005"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - THE BRAZEN SERPENT, AND SALVATION BY SIMILARS. -</h2> -<p> -Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy, is usually credited with the -introduction of the medical maxim, <i>similta similibus ourantur</i>—like -things are cured by like. Those who would dispute his originality need -not refer to the ancient saying familiar to all topers, of "taking -a hair of the dog that bit you"; they may find the origin of the -homoeopathic doctrine in the great source of all inspiration—the holy -Bible. -</p> -<p> -The book of Numbers contains several recipes which would be invaluable -if divine grace would enable us to re-discover and correctly employ -them. There is, for instance, the holy water described in chap. v., the -effects of which will enable any jealous husband to discover if his wife -has been faithful to him or not, and in the case of her guilt enable him -to dispense with the services of Sir James Hannen. -</p> -<p> -But perhaps the most curious prescription in the book is that recorded -in the twenty-first chapter. The Israelites wandering about for forty -years, without travelling forty miles, got tired of the heavenly manna -with which the "universal provider" supplied them. They looked back on -the fried fish, which they "did eat in Egypt freely," the cucumbers, -melons, leeks, onions and garlic, wherein the Jewish stomach delighteth, -and they longed for a change of diet. Upon remonstrating with Moses, -and stating their preference for Egyptian lentils rather than celestial -mushrooms, the Lord of his tender mercy sent "fiery serpents" (the word -is properly translated "seraphim"), and they bit the people; and much -people of Israel died. Then the people prayed Moses to intercede for -them, saying, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and -against thee;" and Jahveh, in direct opposition to his own commandment, -directed Moses to "make a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it -shall come to pass that every one that is bitten when he looketh upon it -shall live." Moses accordingly made a serpent of brass, we presume from -some of that stolen from the Egyptians, which had the desired effect. -Instead of being but one monster more, the sight immediately cured the -wounds, and these seraphim sent by the Lord, ashamed of being beaten by -their brazen brother, skedaddled. Of course it may be contended that a -seraph is neither in the likeness of anything in heaven above, in -earth beneath, or in the water, or fire, under the earth, and that -consequently Moses in no wise infringed the Decalogue. -</p> -<p> -Commentators have been puzzled to account for this evident relic of -serpent worship in a religion so abhorrent of idolatry as that of -the Jews. These gentry usually shut their eyes very close to the many -evidences that the god-guided people were always falling into the -idolatries of the surrounding nations. Now we know that the Babylonians, -in common with all the great nations of antiquity, worshipped the -serpent. It has been thought, indeed, that the name Baal is an -abbreviation of Ob-el, "the serpent god." In the Apocryphal book of Bel -and the Dragon, to be found in every Catholic Bible, it says (v. 23): -"And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon -worshipped. And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this -is of brass? Lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh, thou canst not say -that he is no living god; therefore worship him." Serpent worship is -indeed so widely spread, and of such great antiquity, that it has -been conjectured to have sprung from the antipathy between our monkey -ancestors and snakes. In this legend the brazen serpent is benevolent, -but more usually that reptile represents the evil principle. Thus -a story in the Zendavesta (which is clearly allied to, and may have -suggested that in Genesis) says that Ahriman assumed a serpent's form -in order to destroy the first of the human race, whom he accordingly -poisoned. In the Saddu we read: "When you kill serpents you shall repeat -the Zendavesta, whereby you will obtain great merit; for it is the same -as if you had killed so many devils." It is curious that the serpent -which is the evil genius of Genesis is the good genius in Numbers, and -that Jesus himself is represented as comparing himself to it (John iii. -14). An early Christian sect, the Ophites, found serpent worshipping -quite consistent with their Christianity. -</p> -<p> -It seems likely that this story of the brazen serpent having been made -by Moses, was a priestly invention to account for its being an object -of idolatry among the Jews, as we know from 2 Kings xviii. 4, it was -worshipped down to the time of Hezekiah, that is 700 years after the -time of Moses. Hezekiah, we are told, broke the brazen serpent in -pieces, but it must have been miraculously joined again, for the -identical article is still to be seen, for a consideration, in the -Church of St. Ambrose at Milan. Some learned rabbis regard the brazen -serpent as a talisman which Moses was enabled to prepare from his -knowledge of astrology. Others say it was a form of amulet to be copied -and worn as a charm against disease. Others again declare it was only -set up <i>in terrorem</i>, as a man who has chastised his son hangs up the -rod against the wall as a warning. Rationalising commentators have -pretended that it was but an emblem of healing by the medical art, a -sort of sign-post to a camp hospital, like the red cross flag over an -ambulance. These altogether pervert the text, and miss the meaning of -the passage. The resemblance of the object set up was of the essence of -the cure, as may be seen in 1 Sam. vi. 5. In truth, the doctrine of -like curing like, instead of being a modern discovery is a very ancient -superstition. The old medical books are full of prescriptions, or rather -charms, founded on this notion.* It is, indeed, one of the recognised -principles in savage magic and medicine that things like each other, -however superficially, affect each other in a mystic way, and possess -identical properties. Thus in Melanesia, according to Mr. Codrington,** -"a stone in the shape of a pig, of a bread fruit, of a yam, was a most -valuable find," because it made pigs prolific, and fertilised bread, -fruit trees, and yam plots. -</p> -<pre> - * See Myths in Medicine and Old Time Doctors, by Alfred C. - Garratt, M.D. - - ** Journal Anthropological Institute, February, 1881. -</pre> -<p> -In Scotland, too, "stones were called by the names of the limbs they -resembled, as 'eye-stanes, head-stane.'" A patient washed the affected -part of his body, and rubbed it well with the stone corresponding. In -precisely the same way the mandrake* root, being thought to resemble -the human body, was supposed to be of wondrous medical efficacy, and was -credited with human and super-human powers.** The method of cure, when -the Philistines were smitten with emerods and mice, was to make -images of the same (1 Sam. vi. 5), and the same idea was found in the -well-known superstition of sorcerers making "a waxen man" to represent -an enemy, injuries to the waxen figure being supposed to affect the -person represented. -</p> -<pre> - * Gregor, Folk-lore of North-East Counties, p. 40. - - ** See the paper on "Moly and Mandragora," in A. Lang's - Custom and Myth; 1884. -</pre> -<p> -Many curious customs and superstitions may be traced to this belief. In -old medical works one may still read that to eat of a lion's heart is -a specific to ensure courage, while other organs and certain bulbous -plants are a remedy for sterility. The virtue of all the ancient -aphrodisiacs resided in their shape. This notion, which largely affected -the early history of medicine, is known as the doctrine of signatures. -</p> -<p> -Certain plants and other natural objects were believed to be so marked -or stamped that they presented visibly the indications of the diseases, -or diseased organs, for which they were specifics; these were their -signatures. Hence a large portion of the ancient art of medicine -consisted in ascertaining what plants were analogous to the symptoms of -disease, or to the organ diseased. To this doctrine we owe some popular -names of plants, such as eye-bright, liver-wort, spleen-wort, etc. The -mandrake, from its supposed resemblance to the human form, was credited -with marvellous powers, and anyone who will take the trouble to inquire -into the folk-lore concerning plants and disease will find that much -depends upon the appearance of the remedy. -</p> -<p> -One of the most curious peculiarities of Christianity is its doctrine of -a God crucified for sinners. So strange, so repugnant to reason as such -a doctrine is, it was quite consonant to the thoughts of those who held -the belief in salvation by similars. If Paul said, since by man came -death by man came also the resurrection of the dead, the development of -the doctrine necessitated that if it is God who damns it is also God who -saves. Any casual reader of Paul must have been struck by the antithesis -which he constantly draws between the law and the Gospel, works and -faith, the fall of man, and the redemption through "the second Adam." -The very phrase "second Adam" implies this doctrine, which is summed -up in the statement that "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the -law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. iii. 13). -</p> -<p> -God, in order to redeem man, had to take on sinful flesh and be himself -the curse in order to be the cure. Hence we read in the <i>Teaching of the -Twelve Apostles</i>, chap. xvi., that "they who endure in their faith shall -be saved by the very curse." Thus may we understand that which modern -Christians find so difficult of explanation, viz., that the whole -Christian world for the first thousand years from St. Justin to St. -Anselm believed that Christ paid the ransom for sinners to the Devil, -their natural owner. Christ in order to become the Savior had to become -the curse, had to die and had to descend to hell, though of course, -being God, he could not stay there. Hence his being likened to the -brazen serpent, that remnant of early Jewish fetichism which was smashed -by Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 4). John makes Jesus himself teach that "as -Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [as a cure for serpent -bites] even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever -believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." -</p> -<p> -So Irenęus says (bk. iv., chap. 2), "men can be saved in no other way -from the old wound of the serpent than by believing in him, who in the -likeness of sinful flesh, is lifted up from the earth on the tree of -martyrdom, and draws all things to himself and vivified the dead." That -is, Christ was made sinful flesh to be the curse itself, just as the -innocent brass appeared a serpent, because the form of the curse was -necessary to the cure. Paul dwells on the passage of the law "Cursed is -he that hangeth on a tree," with the very object of showing that Christ, -cursed under the law, was a blessing under his glad tidings. The Fathers -were never tired of saying that man was lost by a tree (in Eden) and -saved by a tree (on Calvary), that as the curse came in child-birth* and -thorns, so the world was saved by the birth of Christ and his crown of -thorns. Justin says, "As the curse came by a Virgin, so by a Virgin the -salvation," and this antithesis between Eve and Mary has been carried on -by Catholic writers down to our own day. -</p> -<pre> - * Notice too 1 Tim. 15, where women are said to be saved by - child birth, their curse. -</pre> -<p> -As the Christian doctrine of salvation through the blood of Christ has -certainly no more foundation in fact than the efficacy of liver-wort -in liver diseases, we suggest it may have no better foundation than the -ancient superstition of salvation by similars. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0006"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - RELIGION AND MAGIC. -</h2> -<p> -"New Presbyter," says Milton, "is but old priest writ large." Old -priest, it may be said, is but older sorcerer in disguise. In early -times religion and magic were intimately associated; indeed, it may be -said they were one and the same. The earliest religion being the -belief in spirits, the earliest worship is an attempt to influence or -propitiate them by means that can only be described as magical; the -belief in spirits and in magic both being founded on dreams. Medicine -men and sorcerers were the first priests. Herbert Spencer says -(<i>Principles of Sociology</i>, sec. 589): "A satisfactory distinction -between priests and medicine men is difficult to find. Both are -concerned with supernatural agents, which in their original form are -ghosts; and their ways of dealing with these supernatural agents are -so variously mingled, that at the outset no clear classification can be -made." Among the Patagonians the same men officiate in the "threefold -capacity of priests, magicians and doctors"; and among the North -American Indians the functions of "sorcerer, prophet, physician, -exorciser, priest, and rain doctor" are united. -</p> -<p> -Everywhere we find the priests are magicians. Their authority rests on -imagined and dreaded power. -</p> -<p> -They are supposed by their spells and incantations to have power over -nature, or rather the spirits supposed to preside over it. Hence they -became the rulers of the people. The modern priest, who is supposed by -muttering a formula to change the nature of consecrated elements or by -his prayers to bring blessings on the people, betrays his lineal descent -from the primitive rain-makers and sorcerers of savagery. -</p> -<p> -The Bible is full of magic and sorcery. Its heroes are magicians, from -Jahveh Elohim, who puts Adam into a sleep and then makes woman from his -rib, to Jesus who casts out devils and cures blindness with clay and -spittle, and whose followers perform similar works by the power of his -name. The most esteemed persons among the Jews were magicians. Pious -Jacob cheats his uncle by a species of magic with peeled rods. Joseph -not only tells fortunes by interpreting dreams but has a divining cup -(Gen. xliv. 5), doubtless similar to the magic bowls used to the present -day in Egypt, in which, as described by Lane in his <i>Modern Egyptians</i>, -a boy looks and pretends to see images of the future in water. -</p> -<p> -The fourth chapter of Exodus gives the initiation of Moses into the -magician's art by Jahveh, the great adept, who changes the rod of -Moses into a serpent and back again into a rod; suddenly makes his hand -leprous, and as suddenly restores it. Moses and Aaron show themselves -superior magicians to those at the court of Pharaoh, who, when Aaron -cast down his magic rod and it became a serpent, did in like manner with -their rods, which also became serpents, though Aaron's rod swallowed up -their rods (Exodus vii. 11,12). Upon this passage the learned Methodist -commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, writing at an age when the belief in -witchcraft was almost extinct, after remarking that such feats evidently -required something more than jugglery, observes: "How much more rational -at once to allow that these magicians had familiar spirits who could -assume all shapes, change the appearance of the subjects on which they -operated, or suddenly convey one thing away and substitute another in -its place." -</p> -<p> -Aaron also used his rod to change <i>all</i> the water into blood, a feat -which the Egyptian magicians also contrived to perform—we presume with -the aid of spirits. If you believe in spirits, there is no end to the -supposition of what they might do. The magic rod of Moses is used to -divide the water of the Red Sea, so that the children went through the -midst of the sea on dry ground (Ex. xiv. 16), and to draw water from -a rock (Num. xx. 8). Aaron's rod blossoms miraculously to show the -superiority of the tribe of Levi (Num. xvii. 8). -</p> -<p> -The Urim and Thummin of Aaron's breastplate were also magical articles -used in divination (see Num. xxviii. 21; 1 Sam. xxiii. 9, and xxx. 7, -8). Casting lots was another method of divination often referred to in -the Bible. Prov. xvi. 31, says "The lot is cast into the lap, but the -whole disposing thereof is with the Lord." It was because "when Saul -inquired of Jahveh, Jahveh answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by -Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam. xxviii. 6), that he resorted to the witch -of Endor. The ephod and holy plate (Ex. xxviii.), and the phylacteries -worn as frontlets between the eyes (Deut. vi. 8), were magical amulets. -Modern Arabs wear scraps of the Koran in a similar way. The holy oil -(Ex. xxx.) and the water of jealousy (Num. v.) were magical, as was -also the brazen serpent, adored down to the days of Hezekiah. The great -Wizard's ark was also endowed with magical powers, bringing with it -victory and punishing those who infringed its tabu; it was taken -into battle. His sanctuary was also called an oracle where the priest -"inquired of the Lord" (2 Sam. xvi. 23; 1 Kings vi. 16). -</p> -<p> -The teraphim were also magical, as we learn from Ezek. xxi. 21, where -the word is translated "images." The prophet Hosea, one of the very -earliest of the Old Testament writers (about 740), announced as a -misfortune that "the children of Israel shall abide many days without -a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an -image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim." Laban, although a -believer in Elohim, calls the teraphim "his gods" (Genesis xxxi. 29, -30), and so does Micah (Judges xviii. 18-24). The latter chapter shows -that the teraphim were worshipped and served by the descendants of Moses -down to the time of David (see Revised Version). David's wife Michal -kept one in the house (1 Sam. xix. 13). It was evidently a fetish -in human shape. How comes it, then, one may ask, that divination and -sorcery are denounced in Deuteronomy xviii.? The answer is simple. The -Deutoronomic law was first found in the time of Josiah, B.C. 641 (see -2 Kings xxii. 8-11), and there is abundant evidence it was not known -before that time. Josiah, as we learn from 2 Kings xxiii. 24, put away -"the familiar spirits, and the wizards and the teraphim and the idols," -as Hezekiah (b.c. 726) had destroyed the brazen serpent. Not only had -Jezebel practised witchcraft (2 Kings ix. 22), but Manasseh, the son -of Hezekiah, "dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards" (2 Chron. -xxxiii. 6). These, it may be said, were wicked persons. -</p> -<p> -Yet another piece of evidence is derived from the fact that <i>Nashon</i>, -the chief of the tribe of Judah and one of the ancestry of the blessed -Savior, signifies "enchanter." Zechariah (b.c. 580) shows the great -advance made from the time of Hosea by declaring that "the teraphim have -spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false -dreams" (x. 2). -</p> -<p> -Samuel, like other early priests, was ruler and weather doctor, Elijah -was a corpse restorer and rain com-peller. Elisha not only inherited -his mantle, but also raised the dead and multiplied food. His very -bones proved magical. Jesus Christ was a great wonderworker or magician, -casting out devils, turning water into wine, healing diseases even by -the touch of his magical robe, and finally levitating from earth. -</p> -<p> -The charge brought against Jesus by the Jews was that he had stolen -the sacred Word and by it wrought miracles. We read in the Gospels that -Jesus "cast out spirits with his word" (Matt. viii. 16). Jesus promised -that in his <i>name</i> his disciples should cast out devils, and Peter -declared that his name healed the lame (Acts iii. 16). When the Jews -asked, "By what power, or by what name have we done this" (Acts iv. 7), -Peter answered, "By the name of Jesus Christ." Paul says, "God hath... -given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus -every knee should bow in heaven and in earth and under the earth" -(Philip ii. 9, 10). -</p> -<p> -Any careful reader of the Bible must have been struck with the frequency -with which "the name of the Lord" is mentioned, and the care not to -profane that name. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in -vain" is the second commandment, and Christians still speak of God "in -a bondsman's key with bated breath and whispering humbleness," for no -better reason than this old superstition. In Leviticus xxiv. 11 and -16, the word translated by us "blasphemeth" was by the Jews rendered -"pronounces," so that the son of the Israelitish woman was stoned to -death for pronouncing the ineffable name of J.H.V.H. The Talmud say "He -who attempts to pronounce it shall have no part in the world to come." -Once a year only, on the day of Atonement, was the high priest allowed -to whisper the word, even as at the present day "the word" is whispered -in Masonic lodges. The Hebrew Jehovah dates only from the Massoretic -invention of points. When the Rabbis began to insert the vowel-points -they had lost the true pronunciation of the sacred name. To the letters -J. H. V. H. they put the vowels of Edonai or Adonai, <i>lord</i> or <i>master</i>, -the name which in their prayers they substitute for Jahveh. Moses wanted -to know the name of the god of the burning bush. He was put off with the -formula I am that I am. Jahveh having lost his name has become "I was -but am not." When Jacob wrestled with the god, angel, or ghost, he -demanded his name. The wary angel did not comply (Gen. xxxii. 29.) So -the father of Samson begs the angel to say what is his name. "And the -angel of the Lord said unto him, why asketh thou thus after my name -seeing it is <i>secret</i>" (Judges xiii. 18). All this superstition can be -traced to the belief that to know the names of persons was to acquire -power over them. -</p> -<p> -In process of time the priest displaces the sorcerer, while still -retaining certain of his functions. The gods of a displaced religion are -regarded as devils and their worship as sorcery. Much of the persecution -of witchcraft which went on in the ages when Christianity was dominant -was really the extirpation of the surviving rites of Paganism. It is -curious that it is always the more savage races that are believed to -have the greatest magical powers. Dr. E. B. Tylor says: "In the Middle -Ages the name of Finn was, as it still remains among seafaring men, -equivalent to that of sorcerer, while Lapland witches had a European -celebrity as practitioners of the black art. Ages after the Finns -had risen in the social scale, the Lapps retained much of their old -half-savage habit of life, and with it naturally their witchcraft, so -that even the magic-gifted Finns revered the occult powers of a people -more barbarous than themselves." -</p> -<p> -The same writer continues*: "Among the early Christians, sorcery was -recognised as illegal miracle; and magic arts, such as turning men into -beasts, calling up familiar demons, raising storms, etc., are mentioned, -not in a sceptical spirit, but with reprobation. In the changed -relations of the state to the church under Constantine, the laws against -magic served the new purpose of proscribing the rites of the Greek and -Roman religion, whose oracles, sacrifices and auguries, once carried on -under the highest public sanction, were put under the same ban with the -low arts of the necromancer and the witch. As Christianity extended its -sway over Europe, the same antagonism continued, the church striving -with considerable success to put down at once the old local religions, -and the even older practices of witchcraft; condemning Thor and Woden -as demons, they punished their rites in common with those of the -sorceresses who bewitched their neighbors and turned themselves into -wolves or cats. Thus gradually arose the legal persecution of witches -which went on through the Middle Ages under ecclesiastical sanction both -Catholic and Protestant." -</p> -<pre> - * Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Magic." -</pre> -<p> -But the religion of Christendom contained scarcely less elements of -magical practices than that of Paganism. In the early Christian Church -a considerable section of its ministry was devoted to the casting out of -devils. Regulations concerning the same were contained in the canons -of the Church of England. The magical power of giving absolution and -remission of sins is still claimed in our national Church. Throughout -the course of Christianity, indeed, magical effects have been ascribed -to religious rites and consecrated objects. -</p> -<p> -Viktor Rydberg, the Swedish author of an interesting work on <i>The Magic -of the Middle Ages</i>, says (p. 85): "Every monastery has its master -magician, who sells <i>agni Dei</i>, conception billets, magic incense, -salt and tapers which have been consecrated on Candlemas Day, palms -consecrated on Palm Sunday, flowers besprinkled with holy water on -Ascension Day, and many other appliances belonging to the great magical -apparatus of the Church." -</p> -<p> -Bells are consecrated to this day, because they were supposed to have a -magical effect in warding off demons. Their efficacy for this purpose is -specifically asserted by St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest doctor of the -Church, who lays it down that the changeableness of the weather is owing -to the constant conflict between good and bad spirits. -</p> -<p> -Baptism is another magical process. There are people still in England -who think harm will come to a child if it is not christened. In -Christian baptism we have the magical invocation of certain names, those -of the ever-blessed Trinity. The names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, -were used as spells to ward off demons. The process is supposed to have -a magical efficacy, and is as much in the nature of a charm as making -the sign of the cross with holy water, or the unction with holy oil, as -a preparation for death. So important was it considered that the saving -water should prevent demoniac power, that holy squirts were used to -bring magical liquid in contact with the child before it saw the light! -</p> -<p> -The doctrine of salvation through blood is nothing but a survival of the -faith in magic. Volumes might be written on the belief in the magical -efficacy of blood as a sacrifice, a cementer of kinship, and a means of -evoking protecting spirits. Blood baths for the cure of certain diseases -were used in Egypt and medięval Europe. Longfellow alludes to this -superstition in his <i>Golden Legend</i>: -</p> -<pre> - The only remedy that remains - Is the blood that flows from a maiden's veins, - Who of her own free will shall die, - And give her life as the price of yours! - This is the strangest of all cures, - And one I think, you will never try. -</pre> -<p> -The changing of the bread and wine of the Christian sacrament into the -body and blood of God is evidently a piece of magic, dependent on the -priestly magical formula. The affinities of the Christian communion with -savage superstition are so many that they deserve to be treated in a -separate article. Meanwhile let it be noticed that priests lay much -stress upon the Blessed Sacrament, for it is this which invests them -with magical functions and the awe and reverence consequent upon belief -therein. -</p> -<p> -Formulated prayers are of the nature of magical spells or invocations. -A prayer-book is a collection of spells for fine weather, rain, or other -blessings. The Catholic soldier takes care to be armed with a blessed -scapular to guard off stray bullets, or, in the event of the worst -coming, to waft his soul into heaven. The Protestant smiles at this -superstition, but mutters a prayer for the self-same purpose. In essence -the procedure is the same. The earliest known Egyptian and Chaldean -psalms and hymns are spells against sorcery or the influence of evil -spirits, just as the invocation taught to Christian children— -</p> -<pre> - Matthew, Mark, Luke And John - Bless The Bed That I Lie On. -</pre> -<p> -The belief in magic, though it shows a survival in Theosophy, as ghost -belief does in Spiritism, is dying slowly; and with it, in the long run, -must die those religious doctrines and practices founded upon it. No -magic can endure scientific scrutiny. Almost expelled from the physical -world, it takes refuge in the domain of psychology; but there, too, it -is being gradually ousted, though it still affords a profitable area for -charlantanry. -</p> -<p> -Lucian has a story how Pancrates, wanting a servant, took a door-bar -and pronounced over it magical words, whereon he stood up, brought him -water, turned a spit, and did all the other tasks of a slave. What -is this, asks Emerson, but a prophecy of the progress of art? Moses -striking water from the rock was inferior to Sir Hugh Middleton bringing -a water supply to London. -</p> -<p> -Jesus walking on the water was nothing to crossing the Atlantic by -steam. The only true magic is that of science, which is a conquest of -the human mind, and not a phantasy of superstition. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0007"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - TABOOS. -</h2> -<p> -Viscount Amberley, in his able <i>Analysis of Religious Belief</i> points -out that everywhere the religious instinct leads to the consecration of -certain actions, places, and things. If this instinct is analysed, it is -found at bottom to spring from fear. Certain places are to be dreaded as -the abode of evil spirits; certain actions are calculated to propitiate -them, and certain things are dangerous, and are therefore tabooed. -</p> -<p> -From Polynesia was derived the word <i>taboo</i> or <i>tapu</i>, and the first -conception of its importance as an element lying at the bottom of many -of our religious and social conventions; though this is not as yet by -any means sufficiently recognised. -</p> -<p> -The term <i>taboo</i> implies something sacred, reserved, prohibited by -supernatural agents, the breaking of which prohibition will be visited -by supernatural punishment. This notion is one of the most widely -extended features of early religion. Holy places, holy persons, and holy -things are all founded on this conception. Prof. W. Robertson Smith,* -says: "Rules of holiness in the sense just explained, i.e., a system of -restrictions on man's arbitrary use of natural things enforced by the -dread of supernatural penalties, are found among all primitive peoples." -</p> -<pre> - * Religion of the Semites, p. 142. -</pre> -<p> -The holy ark of the North American Indians was deemed "so sacred and -dangerous to be touched" that no one except the war chief and his -attendant will touch it "under the penalty of incurring great evil. Nor -would the most inveterate enemy touch it in the woods for the very same -reason."* -</p> -<pre> - * Adair, History of the American Indians, p. 162. -</pre> -<p> -In Numbers iv. 15 we read of the Jewish ark, "The sons of Kohath shall -come to bear it; but they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die." -In 2 Sam. vi. 6, 7, we are told how the Lord smote Uzzah so that he -died, simply for putting his hand on the ark to steady it. So the Lord -punished the Philistines for keeping his ark, and smote fifty thousand -and seventy men of Bethshemesh, "because they had looked into the ark of -the Lord" (1 Sam. v. 6). -</p> -<p> -Disease and death were so constantly thought of as the penalties of -breaking taboo that cases are on record of those who, having unwittingly -done this, have died of terror upon recognising their error. Mr. Frazer, -in his <i>Golden Bough</i>, instances a New Zealand chief, who left the -remains of his dinner by the way side. A slave ate it up without asking -questions. Hardly had he finished when he was told the food was the -chief's, and taboo. "No sooner did he hear the fatal news than he was -seized by the most extraordinary convulsions and cramp in the stomach, -which never ceased till he died, about sundown the same day." -</p> -<p> -All the old temples had an adytum, sanctuary, or holy of holies—a place -not open to the profane, but protected by rigid taboos. This was the -case with the Jews. It was death to enter the holy places, or even to -make the holy oil of the priests. Even the name of the Lord was taboo, -and to this day cannot be pronounced. -</p> -<p> -Take off your sandals, says God to Moses, for the place whereon you -stand is taboo. The whole of Mount Horeb was taboo, and we continually -read of the holy mountain. The ideas of taboo and of holiness are -admitted by Prof. Robertson Smith to be at bottom identical. -</p> -<p> -Some taboos are simply artful, as the prohibition of boats to -South Pacific women, lest they should escape to other islands. When -Tamehameha, the King of the Sandwich Islands, heard that diamonds had -been found in the mountains near Honolulu, he at once declared the -mountains taboo, in order that he might be the sole possessor. -</p> -<p> -In Hawai the flesh of hogs, fowls, turtle, and several kinds of fish, -cocoa-nuts, and nearly everything offered in sacrifice, were reserved -for gods and men, and could not, except in special cases, be consumed -by women* Some taboos of animals being used for food seem to have been -dictated by dread or aversion, but others had a foundation of prudence -and forethought. Thus there is little doubt that the prohibition of the -sacred cow in India has been the means of preserving that animal from -extermination in times of famine. -</p> -<p> -Various reasons have been assigned for the taboos upon certain kinds of -food found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As we have these laws they seem -to represent a rough attempt at classifying animals it was beneficial -or hurtful to eat. Some ridiculous mistakes were made by the divine -tabooist. The hare, a rodent, was declared to "chew the cud" (Lev. xi. -6, Deut. xiv. 7). The camel was excluded because it does not divide the -hoof; yet in reality it has cloven feet. But doubtless it was seen it -might be disastrous to kill the camel for food. Mr. Frazer is of opinion -that the pig was originally a sacred animal among the Jews. -</p> -<p> -The cause of the custom of tabooing certain kinds of food, which was -in existence long before the Levitical laws were written, perhaps arose -partly from reverence, partly from aversion. It may, too, have been -connected with the totemism of early tribes. No less than one hundred -and eighty Bible names have a zoological signification. Caleb, the dog -tribe; Doeg, the fish tribe; may be instanced as specimens. -</p> -<p> -Touching the carcass of a dead animal was taboo, and the taboo was -contagious. In Lev. xi. 21—25 we find rigorous laws on the subject. -Whoever carries the carcass of an unclean animal must wash his garments. -The objects upon which a carcass accidentally falls, must be washed, and -left in water till the evening, and if of earthenware the defilement is -supposed to enter into the pores, and the vessel, oven, or stove-range -must be broken. -</p> -<p> -Touching a corpse was taboo among the Greeks,* Romans,** Hindoos,*** -Parsees,**** and Phoenicians.(v) If a Jew touched a dead body—even a -dead animal (Lev. xi. 89)—he became unclean, and if he purified not -himself, "that soul shall be cut off from Israel" (Num. xix. 13). So -"those who have defiled themselves by touching a dead body are regarded -by the Maoris as in a very dangerous state, and are sedulously shunned -and isolated."(v*) Doubtless it was felt that death was something which -could communicate itself, as disease was seen to do. -</p> -<pre> - * Eurip. Alcest, 100. - - ** Virgil Ęn., vi. 221; Tacit. Annal., 162. - - *** Manu, y. 59, 62, 74-79. - - **** Vendid iii. 25-27. - - (v) Lucian Dea Syr., 523 - - (v*) J. Gk Frazer, Golden Bough, vol. i., p. 169. -</pre> -<p> -When iron was first discovered it was invested with mystery and held as -a charm. It was tabooed. The Jews would use no iron tools in building -the temple or making an altar (Ex. xx. 25, 1 Kings vi. 7). Roman and -Sabine priests might not be shaved with iron but only with bronze, as -stone knives were used in circumcision (Ex. iv. 25, Josh. v. 2). To -this day a Hottentot priest never uses an iron knife, but always a sharp -splint of quartz in sacrificing an animal or circumcising a boy. In the -boys' game of touch iron we may see a remnant of the old belief in its -charm. When Scotch fishermen were at sea and one of them happened to -take the name of God in vain, the first man who heard him called out -"Cauld airn," at which every man of the crew grasped the nearest bit of -iron and held it between his hand for a while.* -</p> -<pre> - * E. B. Guthrie, Old Scottish Customs, p. 149. Charles - Rogers, Social Life in Scotland, iii. 218. -</pre> -<p> -Women were especially tabooed after childbirth and during menstruation -(Lev. xii. and xv.) Among the Indians of North America, women at this -time are forbidden to touch men's utensils, which would be so defiled by -their touch that their subsequent use would be attended with misfortune. -They walk round the fields at night dragging their garments, this being -considered a protection against vermin. Among the Eskimo, of Alaska, no -one will eat or drink from the same cup or dishes used by a woman at her -confinement until it has been purified by certain incantations. -</p> -<p> -In the Church of England Service, what is now called the "Thanksgiving -of Women after Childbirth, commonly called the Churching of Women," was -formerly known as <i>The Order of the Purification of Women</i>, and was -read at the church door before the "unclean" creatures were permitted to -enter the "holy" building. This should be known by all women who think -it their duty to be "churched" after fulfilling the sacred office of -motherhood. -</p> -<p> -In Hebrew the same word signifies at once a holy person, a harlot and a -sodomite—sacred prostitution having been common in ancient times. Mr. -Frazer, noticing that the rules of ceremonial purity observed by divine -kings, priests, homicides, women in child-births, and so on, are in some -respects alike, says: "To us these different classes of persons appear -to differ totally in character and condition; some of them we should -call holy, others we might pronounce unclean and polluted. But the -savages make no such moral distinction between them; the conceptions of -holiness and pollution are not yet differentiated in his mind. To him -the common feature of all these persons is that they are dangerous and -in danger, and the danger in which they stand and to which they expose -others is what we should call spiritual or supernatural—that is, -imaginary."* -</p> -<p> -Few would suspect it, but it is likely that the custom of wearing Sunday -clothes comes from certain garments being tabooed in the holy places. -Among the Maoris "A slave or other person would not enter a <i>wahi tapu</i>, -or sacred place, without having first stripped off his clothes; for the -clothes, having become sacred the instant they entered the precincts -of the <i>wahi tapu</i>, would ever after be useless to him in the ordinary -business of life."** According to the Rabbins, the handling of -the scriptures defiles the hands—that is, entails a washing of -purification. This because the notions of holiness and uncleanness -are alike merged in the earlier conception of taboo. Blood, the great -defilement, is also the most holy thing. Just as with the Hindus to this -day, the excrements of the cow are the great means of purification. -</p> -<pre> - * Golden Bough, vol. i., p. 171. - - ** Shortland's Southern Districts of New Zealand, p. 293. -</pre> -<p> -Dr. Kalisch says, "Next to sacrifices purifications were the most -important of Hebrew rituals."* The purpose was to remove the stain -of contact either with the holy or unclean taboos. A holy, or taboo -water—or, as it is called in the Authorised Version, "water of -separation"—was prepared. First, an unblemished red heifer was slain by -the son of the high priest outside the camp, then burnt, and as the ash -mingled with spring water, which was supposed to have a magical effect -in removing impurities when the tabooed person was sprinkled with it on -the third and again on the seventh day. It was called a "purification -for sin" (Num. xix. 9), and was doubtless good as the blood of the Lamb, -if not equal to Pear's soap. -</p> -<pre> - * Leviticus, pt. ii., p. 187. -</pre> -<p> -In the ninth edition of the <i>Encylopedia Britannica</i>, Mr. J. G. Frazer -says: "Amongst the Jews the vow of the Nazarite (Num. vi. 1—21) -presents the closest resemblance to the Polynesian taboo. The meaning -of the word Nazarite is 'one separated or consecrated,' and this is -precisely the meaning of taboo. It is the head of the Nazarite that is -especially consecrated, and so it was in the taboo. The Nazarite might -not partake of certain meats and drinks, nor shave his head, nor touch a -dead body—all rules of taboo." Mr. Frazer points out other particulars -in the mode of terminating the vow. Secondly that some of the rules of -Sabbath observance are identical with the rules of strict taboo; such -are the prohibitions to do any work, to kindle a fire in the house, to -cook food and to go out of doors. -</p> -<p> -We still have some remnant of the Sabbath taboo, and many a child's -life is made miserable by being checked for doing what is tabooed on the -Lord's Day. Other taboos abound. We must not, for instance, question -the sacred books, the sacred character of Jesus, or the existence of the -divine being. These subjects are tabooed. For reverence is a virtue much -esteemed by solemn humbugs. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0008"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - BLOOD RITES. -</h2> -<pre> - "Without shedding of blood is no remission," - —Heb. ix. 22. - - There is a fountain filled with blood - Drawn from Immanuel's veins, - And sinners plunged beneath that flood - Lose all their guilty stains. -</pre> -<p> -Judaism was a religion of blood and thunder. The Lord God of Israel -delighted in blood. His worshippers praised him as a god of battles -and a man of war. All his favorites were men of blood. The Lord God -was likewise very fond of roast meat, and the smell thereof was a sweet -savor unto his nostrils. He had respect to Abel and his bloody offering, -but not to Cain and his vegetables. He ordered that in his holy temple -a bullock and a lamb should be killed and hacked to pieces every morning -for dinner, and a lamb for supper in the evening. To flavor the repast -he had twelve flour cakes, olive oil, salt and spice; and to wash it -down he had the fourth part of a hin of wine (over a quart) with a lamb -twice a day, the third part of a hin with a ram, and half a hin with a -bullock (Exodus xxix. 40, Numbers xv. 5-11, xxviii. 7). But his great -delight was blood, and from every victim that was slaughtered the blood -was caught by the priest in a bason and offered to him upon his altar, -which daily reeked with the sanguine stream from slaughtered animals. -The interior of his temple was like shambles, and a drain had to be made -to the brook Oedron to carry off the refuse.* Incense had to be used to -take away the smell of putrifying blood. -</p> -<pre> - * Smith's Bible Dictionary, article "Blood." -</pre> -<a name="linkimage-0010"><!--IMG--></a> -<center> -<img src="images/AlterJehovah.jpg" height="70%" width="60%" -alt="The Altar of Jehovah. -"> -</center> - -<p> -The most characteristic customs of the Jews, circumcision and the -Passover, alike show the sanguinary character of their deity. Because -Moses did not mutilate his child, the Lord met him at an inn and sought -to kill him (Exodus iv. 25). The Passover, according to the Jews' own -account, commemorated the Lord's slaying all the first-born of Egypt, -and sparing those of the Jews upon recognising the blood sprinkled upon -the lintels and sideposts of the doors; more probably it was a survival -of human sacrifice. God's worshippers were interdicted from tasting, -though not from shedding, the sacred fluid; yet we read of Saul's -army that "the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and -calves, and slew them on the ground, and the people did eat them with -the blood" (1 Sam, xiv. 32), much as the Abyssinians cut off living -steaks to this day. -</p> -<p> -Christianity is a modified gospel of gore. The great theme of the -Epistle to the Hebrews is that the blood and sacrifice of Christ is so -much better than that of animals. The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus -Christ is the great inspiration of emotional religion. Revivalists revel -in "the blood, the precious blood": -</p> -<pre> - Just as I am, without one plea, - But that thy blood was shed for me, - And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, - Oh! Lamb of God, I come, I come! - - Chorus—Jesus paid it all, - All to him I owe; - Sin had left a crimson stain; - He washed it white as snow. -</pre> -<p> -Jesus Christ says, "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood -dwelleth in me, and I in him," and the most holy sacrament of the -Christian Church consists in this cannabalistic communion. -</p> -<p> -To understand this fundamental rite of communion, or, indeed, the -essence of any other part of the Christian religion, we must go back to -those savage ideas out of which it has evolved. It is easy to account -for savage superstitions in connection with blood. The life of the -savage being largely spent in warfare, either with animals or his fellow -men, the connection between blood and life is strongly impressed upon -his mind. He sees, moreover, the child formed from the mother, the flow -of whose blood is arrested. Hence the children of one mother are termed -"of the same blood." In a state of continual warfare the only safe -alliances were with those who recognised the family bond. Those who -would be friends must be sharers in the same blood. Hence we find all -oyer the savage world rites of blood-covenanting, of drinking together -from the same blood, thereby symbolising community of nature. Like -eating and drinking together, it was a sign of communion and the -substitution of bread and wine for flesh and blood is a sun-worshipping -refinement upon more primitive and cannibalistic communion. -</p> -<p> -Dr. Trumbull, in his work on <i>The Blood Covenant</i>, has given many -instances of shedding blood in celebrating covenants and "blood -brotherhood." The idea of substitution is widespread in all early -religions. One of the most curious was the sacrament of the natives of -Central America, thus noticed by Dr. Trumbull: -</p> -<p> -"Cakes of the maize sprinkled with their own blood, drawn from 'under -the girdle,' during the religions worship, were 'distributed and eaten -as blessed bread.' Moreover an image of their god, made with certain -seeds from the first fruits of their temple gardens, with a certain -gum, and with the blood of human sacrifices, were partaken of by them -reverently, under the name, 'Food of our Soul.'" -</p> -<p> -Here we have, no doubt, a link between the rude cannibal theory of -sacrifice and the Christian doctrine of communion. -</p> -<p> -Millington, in his <i>Testimony of the Heathen</i>, cites as illustration of -Exodus xxii. 8, the most telling passages from Herodotus in regard to -the Lydians and Arabians confirming alliances in this fashions. The -well-known case of Cataline and his fellow conspirators who drank from -goblets of wine mixed with blood is of course not forgotten, but Dr. -Trumbull overlooks the passage in Plutarch's "Life of Publicola," in -which he narrates that "the conspirators (against Brutus) agreed to -take a great and horrible oath, by drinking together of the blood, and -tasting the entrails of a man sacrificed for that purpose." Mr. Wake -also in his <i>Evolution of Morality</i>, has drawn attention to the -subject, and, what is more, to its important place in the history of -the evolution of society. Herbert Spencer points out in his "Ceremonial -Institutions," that blood offerings over the dead may be explained as -arising in some cases "from the practice of establishing a sacred bond -between living persons by partaking of each other's blood: the derived -conception being that those who give some of their blood to the ghost of -a man just dead and lingering near, effect with it a union which on the -one side implies submission, and on the other side, friendliness." -</p> -<p> -The widespread custom of blood-covenanting illustrates most clearly, as -Dr. Tylor points out, "the great principle of old-world morals, that man -owes friendship, not to mankind at large, but only to his own kin; so -that to entitle a stranger to kindness and good faith he must become a -kinsman by blood."* That any sane man seated at a table ever said, "Take -eat, this is my body," and "Drink, this is my blood," is ridiculous. The -bread and wine are the fruits of the the Sun. Justin Martyr, one of the -earliest of the Christian fathers, informs us that this eucharist was -partaken in the mysteries of Mithra. The Christian doctrine of partaking -of the blood of Christ is a mingling of the rites of sun-worshippers -with the early savage ceremony of the blood covenant. -</p> -<pre> - * The origin of the mystery of the Rosy Gross may have been - in the savage rite of initiation by baptism with arms - outstretched in a cruciform pool of blood. See Nimrod, vol. - ii. -</pre> -<a name="link2H_4_0009"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - SCAPEGOATS. -</h2> -<p> -In the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is found a description of the -rites ordained for the most solemn Day of Atonement. Of these, the -principal was the selection of two goats. "And Aaron shall cast -lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord and the other for the -scapegoat"—(Heb. <i>Azazel</i>). The goat on whom Jahveh's lot fell was -sacrificed as a sin offering, but all the iniquities of the children of -Israel were put on the head of Azazel's goat, and it was sent into the -wilderness. The parallelism makes it clear that Azazel was a separate -evil spirit or demon, opposed to Jahveh, and supposed to dwell in the -wilderness. The purification necessary after touching the goat upon -whose head the sins of Israel were put corroborates this.* Yet how often -has Azazel been instanced as a type of the blessed Savior! And indeed -the chief purpose to which Jesus is put by orthodox Christians at the -present day is that of being their scapegoat, the substitute for their -sins. -</p> -<pre> - * Azazel appears to mean the goat god. The goat, like some - other animals, seems to have had a sacred character among - the Jews. (See Ex. xxiii. 19, Lev. ix. 3-15, x. 16, xvii. - 17, Jud. vi. 19, xiii. 15, 1 Sam. xix 18-16, 2 Chron. xi. 15.) -</pre> -<p> -The doctrine of the transference of sin was by no means peculiar to the -Jews. Both Herodotus and Plutarch tells us how the Egyptians cursed the -head of the sacrifice and then threw it into the river. It seems likely -that the expression "Your blood be on your own head" refers to this -belief. (See Lev. xx. 9-11, Psalms vii. 16, Acts xviii. 6.) -</p> -<p> -At the cleansing of a leper and of a house suspected of being tainted -with leprosy, the Jews had a peculiar ceremony. Two birds were taken, -one killed in an earthern vessel over running water, and the living bird -after being dipped in the blood of the killed bird let loose into the -open air (Lev. xiv. 7 and 53). The idea evidently was that the bird by -sympathy took away the plague. The Battas of Sumatra have a rite -they call "making the curse to fly away." When a woman is childless -a sacrifice is offered and a swallow set free, with a prayer that -the curse may fall on the bird and fly away with it. The doctrine -of substitution found among all savages flows from the belief in -sympathetic magic. It arises, as Mr. Frazer says, from an obvious -confusion between the physical and the mental. Because a load of stones -may be transferred from one back to another, the savage fancies it -equally possible to transfer the burden of his pains and sorrows to -another who will suffer then in his stead. Many instances could be given -from peasant folk-lore. "A cure current in Sunderland for a cough is -to shave the patient's head and hang the hair on a bush. When the -birds carry the hair to the nests, they will carry the cough with it. A -Northamptonshire and Devonshire cure is to put a hair of the patient's -head between two slices of buttered bread and give it to a dog. The dog -will get the cough and the patient will lose it." -</p> -<p> -Mr. Frazer, after showing that the custom of killing the god had been -practised by peoples in the hunting, pastoral, and agricultural stages -of society, says (vol. ii., p. 148): "One aspect of the custom still -remains to be noticed. The accumulated misfortunes and sins of the whole -people are sometimes laid upon the dying god, who is supposed to bear -them away for ever, leaving the people innocent and happy." He gives -many instances of scapegoats, of sending away diseases in boats, and of -the annual expulsion of evils, of which, I conjecture, our ringing-out -of the old year may, perhaps, be a survival. Of the divine scapegoat, he -says: -</p> -<p> -"If we ask why a dying god should be selected to take upon himself and -carry away the sins and sorrow of the people, it may be suggested -that in the practice of using the divinity as a scapegoat, we have -a combination of two customs which were at one time distinct and -independent. On the one hand we have seen that it has been customary to -kill the human or animal god in order to save his divine life from being -weakened by the inroads of age. On the other hand we have seen that it -has been customary to have a general expulsion of evils and sins once -a year. Now, if it occurred to people to combine these two customs, the -result would be the employment of the dying god as scapegoat. He was -killed not originally to take away sin, but to save the divine life from -the degeneracy of old age; but, since he had to be killed at any rate, -people may have thought that they might as well seize the opportunity to -lay upon him the burden of their sufferings and sins, in order that he -might bear it away with him to the unknown world beyond the grave."* -</p> -<pre> - * Golden Bough, vol. ii., p. 206. -</pre> -<p> -The early Christians believed that diseases were the work of devils, and -that cures could be effected by casting out the devils by the spell of -a name (see Mark ix. 25-38, etc.) They believed in the transference of -devils to swine. We need not wonder, then, that they explained the death -of their hero as the satisfaction for their own sins. The doctrine of -the substitutionary atonement, like that of the divinity of Christ, -appears to have been an after-growth of Christianity, the foundations -of both being laid in pre-Christian Paganism. Both doctrines are alike -remnants of savagery. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0010"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - A BIBLE BARBARITY. -</h2> -<p> -The fifth chapter of the Book of Numbers (11—31) exhibits as gross a -specimen of superstition as can be culled from the customs of any -known race of savages. The divine "law of jealousy," to which I allude, -provides that a man who is jealous of his wife may, simply to satisfy -his own suspicions, and without having the slightest evidence against -her, bring her before the priest, who shall take "holy water," and -charge her by an oath of cursing to declare if she has been unfaithful -to her husband. The priest writes out the curse and blots it into the -water, which he then administers to the woman. The description of the -effects of the water is more suitable to the pages of the holy Bible -than to those of a modern book. Sufficient to say, if faithful, the holy -water has only a beneficial effect on the lady, but if unfaithful, -its operation is such as to dispense with the necessity of her husband -writing out a bill of divorcement. -</p> -<p> -The absurdity and atrocity of this divine law only finds its parallel in -the customs of the worst barbarians, and in the ecclesiastical laws of -the Dark Ages, that is of the days when Christianity was predominant and -the Bible was considered as the guide in legislation. -</p> -<p> -A curious approach to the Jewish custom is that which found place among -the savages at Cape Breton. At a marriage feast two dishes of meat were -brought to the bride and bridegroom, and the priest addressed himself to -the bride thus: -</p> -<p> -"Thou that art upon the point of entering the marriage state, know that -the nourishment thou art going to take forebodes the greatest calamities -to thee if thy heart is capable of harboring any ill design against thy -husband or against thy nation; should thou ever be led astray by the -caresses of a stranger; or shouldst thou betray thy husband or thy -country, the victuals in this vessel will have the effect of a slow -poison, with which thou wilt be tainted from this very instant. If, on -the other hand, thou art faithful to thy husband and thy country, thou -wilt find the nourishment agreeable and wholesome."* -</p> -<pre> - * Genuine Letters and Memoirs Relating to the Isle of Cape - Breton. By T. Pichon. 1760. -</pre> -<p> -This custom manifestly was, like the Christian doctrine of hell, -designed to restrain crime by operating upon superstitious fear. It was -devoid of the worst feature of the Jewish law—the opportunity for crime -disguised under the mask of justice. For this we must go to the tribes -of Africa. -</p> -<p> -Dr. Kitto, in his <i>Bible Encyclopedia</i> (article Adultery), alludes thus -to the trial by red water among African savages, which, he says, is so -much dreaded that innocent persons often confess themselves guilty in -order to avoid it. -</p> -<p> -"The person who drinks the red water invokes the Fetish to destroy him -if he is really guilty of the offence of which he is charged. The drink -is made by an infusion in water of pieces of a certain tree or of herbs. -It is highly poisonous in itself; and if rightly prepared, the only -chance of escape is the rejection of it by the stomach, in which case -the party is deemed innocent, as he also is if, being retained, it has -no sensible effect, which can only be the case when the priests, -who have the management of the matters, are influenced by private -considerations, or by reference to the probabilities of the case, to -prepare the draught with a view to acquittal."* -</p> -<pre> - * In like manner Maimonides, the great Jewish commentator, - said that innocent women would give all they had to escape - it, and reckoned death preferable (Moreh Nevochim, pt. iii., - ch. xlix.) -</pre> -<p> -Dr. Livingstone says the practice of ordeal is common among all the -negro natives north of the Zambesi: -</p> -<p> -"When a man suspects that any of his wives have bewitched him, he sends -for the witch-doctor, and all the wives go forth into the field, and -remain fasting till the person has made an infusion of the plant called -'go ho.' They all drink it, each one holding up her hand to heaven -in attestation of her innocence. Those who vomit it are considered -innocent, while those whom it purges are pronounced guilty, and are put -to death by burning." -</p> -<p> -In this case, be it noticed, there is no provision for the woman who -thinks her husband has bewitched her, as in the holy Bible there is -no law for the woman who conceives she has cause for jealousy; nor, -although she is supernaturally punished, is there any indication of any -punishment falling on the male culprit who has perhaps seduced her from -her allegiance to her lord and master. -</p> -<p> -Throughout Europe, when under the sway of Christian priests, trials by -ordeal were quite common. It was held as a general maxim that God would -judge as to the righteousness or unrighteousness of a cause. The chief -modes of the Judicium Dei, as it was called, was by walking on or -handling hot iron; by chewing consecrated bread, with the wish that the -morsel might be the last; by plunging the arm in boiling water, or by -being thrown into cold water, to swim being considered a proof of guilt, -and to sink the demonstration of innocence. Pope Eugenius had the -honor of inventing this last ordeal, which became famous as a trial for -witches. -</p> -<p> -Dr. E. B. Tylor, whose information on all such matters is only equalled -by his philosophical insight, says of ordeals: -</p> -<p> -"As is well known, they have always been engines of political power in -the hands of unscrupulous priests and chiefs. Often it was unnecessary -even to cheat, when the arbiter had it at his pleasure to administer -either a harmless ordeal, like drinking cursed water, or a deadly -ordeal, by a dose of aconite or physostigma. When it comes to sheer -cheating, nothing can be more atrocious than this poison ordeal. In West -Africa, where the Oalabar bean is used, the administers can give the -accused a dose which will make him sick, and so prove his innocence; or -they can give him enough to prove him guilty, and murder him in the -very act of proof. When we consider that over a great part of that great -continent this and similar drugs usually determine the destiny of -people inconvenient to the Fetish man and the chief—the constituted -authorities of Church and State—we see before us one efficient cause of -the unprogressive character of African society." -</p> -<p> -Trial by ordeal was in all countries, whether Pagan or Christian, under -the management of the priesthood. That it originated in ignorance -and superstition, and was maintained by fraud, is unquestionable. -Christians, when reading of ordeals among savages, deplore the ignorance -and barbarity of the unenlightened heathen among whom such customs -prevail, quite unmindful that in their own sacred book, headed with -the words "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying," occurs as gross an -instance of superstitious ordeal as can be found among the records of -any people. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0011"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - BIBLE WITCHCRAFT. -</h2> -<pre> - "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. xxii. 18). - - "If there had been no witches, such a law as this had never - been made. The existence of the law, given under the - direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of the - thing... that witches, wizards, those who dwelt with - familiar spirits, etc., are represented in the sacred - writing as actually possessing a power to evoke the dead, to - perform supernatural operations, and to discover hidden or - secret things by spells, charms, incantations, etc., is - evident to every unprejudiced reader of the Bible."—<i>Dr. - Adam Clarice</i>, Commentary on the above passage. -</pre> -<p> -Thus wrote the great Methodist theologian. His master, John Wesley, -had previously declared, "It is true that the English in general, and, -indeed, most of the men of learning in Europe have given up all accounts -of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for -it, and I willingly take this opportunity of entering my solemn protest -against this violent compliment which so many that believe the Bible pay -to those who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. They well -know (whether Christians know it or not) that the giving up witchcraft -is in effect giving up the Bible."* -</p> -<pre> - * Journal, May 25, 1768, p. 308? vol. iii., Works, 1856. The - earlier volumes of the Methodist Magazine abound with tales - of diabolical possession. -</pre> -<p> -That Wesley was right is a fact patent to all who have eyes. From the -Egyptian magicians, who performed like unto Moses and Aaron with their -enchantments, to the demoniacs of the Gospels and the "sorcerers" of the -fifteenth verse of the last chapter of Revelation, the Bible abounds in -references to this superstition. -</p> -<p> -Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, writing upon our text, at a -time when the statutes against witchcraft were still in force, said: "By -our law, consulting, covenanting with, invoking, or employing, any evil -spirit to any intent whatsoever, and exercising any enchantment, charm, -or sorcery, whereby hurt shall be done to any person whatsoever, is made -felony without benefit of clergy; also, pretending to tell where goods -lost or stolen may be found, or the like, is an iniquity punishable by -the judge, and the second offence with death. The justice of our law -herein is supported by the law of God here." -</p> -<p> -The number of innocent, helpless women who have been legally tortured -and murdered by this law of God is beyond computation. -</p> -<p> -In Suffolk alone sixty persons were hung in a single year. The learned -Dr. Zachary Grey states that between three and four thousand persons -suffered death for witchcraft from the year 1640 to 1660.* -</p> -<pre> - * Note on Butler's Hudibras, part ii., canto 8, line 143. -</pre> -<p> -In Scotland the Bible-supported superstition raged worse than in -England. The clergy there had, as part of their duty, to question their -parishioners as to their knowledge of witches. Boxes were placed in the -churches to receive the accusations, and when a woman had fallen under -suspicion the minister from the pulpit denounced her by name, exhorted -his parishioners to give evidence against her, and prohibited any one -from sheltering her.* A traveller casually notices having seen nine -women burning together in Leith, in 1664. -</p> -<p> -"Scotch witchcraft," says Lecky, "was but the result of Scotch -Puritanism, and it faithfully reflected the character of its parent."** -</p> -<p> -On the Continent it was as bad. Catholics and Protestants could unite -in one thing—the extirpation of witches and infidels. Papal bulls were -issued against witchcraft as well as heresy. Luther said: "I would have -no compassion on these witches—I would burn them all."*** In Catholic -Italy a thousand persons were executed in a single year in the province -of Como. -</p> -<pre> - * See The Darker Superstitions of Scotland, by Sir John - Graham Dalyell, chap. xviii. Glasgow, 1835. - - ** History of the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in - Europe, vol. i., p. 144. - - *** Colloquia de Fascinationibus. -</pre> -<p> -In one province of Protestant Sweden 2,500 witches were burnt in 1670. -Stories of the horrid tortures which accompanied witch-finding, stories -that will fill the eyes with tears and the heart with raging fire -against the brutal superstition which provoked such \ barbarities, may -be found in Dalyell, Lecky, Michelet, and the voluminous literature of -the subject. And all these tortures and executions were sanctioned and -defended from the Bible. The more pious the people the more firm their -conviction of the reality of witchcraft. Sir Matthew Hale, in hanging -two men in 1664, took the opportunity of declaring that the reality of -witchcraft was unquestionable; "for first, the Scripture had affirmed so -much; and, secondly, the wisdom of all nations had provided laws against -such persons." -</p> -<p> -Witch belief and witch persecutions have existed from the most savage -times down to the rise and spread of medical science, but nothing is -more striking in history than the fact of the great European outburst -against witchcraft following upon the Reformation and the translations -of God's Holy Word, This was no mere coincidence, but a necessary -consequence. "It was not until after the Reformation that there was any -systematic hunting out of witches," says J. R. Lowell.* -</p> -<pre> - * Among my Books, p. 128. Macmillan, 1870. -</pre> -<p> -If the Bible teaches not witchcraft, then it teaches nothing. -</p> -<p> -Science and scepticism having made Christians ashamed of this biblical -doctrine, as usual they have sought a new interpretation. They say it is -a mistranslation; that <i>poisoners</i> are meant, and not <i>witches</i>. Now, in -the first place, poisoners were really dealt with by the command, "Thou -shalt not kill." In the second place, not a single Hebrew scholar -of repute would venture to so render the word of our text. Its root, -translated "witch," is given by Gesenius as "to use enchantment." -Fuerst, Parkhurst, Frey, Newman, Buxtorf, in short, all Hebrew -lexicographers, agree. Not one suggests that "poisoner" could be -considered an equivalent. The derivatives of this word are translated -with this meaning wherever they occur. Thus Exodus vii. 11, "the wise -men and the sorcerers." Deuteronomy xviii., 10,11, "There shalt not be -found among you anyone that useth divination, or an observer of times, -or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with -familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer." 2 Kings ix. 22, "her -witchcrafts." 2 Chronicles xxxiii. 6, Manesseh "used enchantments, and -used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards." -Isaiah xlvii. 9 and 12, "thy sorceries." Jeremiah xxvii. 9, "your -sorcerers." Daniel ii. 2, "the magicians, and the astrologers, and -the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans." Micah v. 12, "And I will cut -off witchcrafts, and thou shalt have no soothsayers." Nahum iii. 4, -"witchcrafts." Malachi iii. 5, "I will be a swift witness against the -sorcerers." The only pretence for this rendering of <i>poisoner</i> is the -fact that Josephus (<i>Antiquities</i>, bk. iv., ch. viii., sec. 34) gives a -law against keeping poisons. As there is no such law in the Pentateuch, -Whiston tried to kill two difficulties with one note, by saying that -what we render a <i>witch</i> meant a poisoner. The Septuagint has also been -appealed to, but Sir Charles Lee Brenton, in his translation of the -Septuagint, has not thought proper to render our text other than, "Ye -shall not save the lives of sorcerers." -</p> -<p> -But apart from texts (of which I have only given those in which occurs -one word out of the many implying the belief), the <i>thing</i> itself -is woven into the structure of the Bible. Not only do the Egyptian -enchanters work miracles and the witch of Endor raise Samuel, but the -power of evil spirits over men is the occasion of most of the miracles -of Jesus. The very doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible, so -cherished by Protestant Christians, is but a part of that doctrine of -men being possessed by spirits, good and evil, which is the substratum -of belief in witchcraft. -</p> -<p> -Even yet this belief is not entirely extinct in England; and Dr. Buckley -says that in America a majority of the citizens believe in witchcraft. -The modern Roman Catholic priest is cautioned in the rubric concerning -the examination of a possessed patient "not to believe the demon if -he profess to be the soul of some saint or deceased person, or a good -angel." As late as 1773 the divines of the Associated Presbytery passed -a resolution declaring their belief in witchcraft, and deploring the -scepticism that was general. In the Church Catechism, explained by the -Rev. John Lewis, minister of Margate in Kent—a work which went through -many editions, and received the sanction of the Society for Promoting -Christian Knowledge—a copy of which lies before me, published in -1813, reads (p. 18): "Q. What is meant by renouncing the Devil?—A. -The refusing of all familiarity and contracts with the Devil, whereof -witches, conjurors, and such as resort to them are guilty." -</p> -<p> -Let it never be forgotten that this belief which has not only been the -cause of the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent women, but has -sent far more into the worst convulsions of madness and despair, is the -evident and unmistakable teaching of the Bible. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0012"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - SAUL'S SPIRITUALIST STANCE AT ENDOR. -</h2> -<p> -"Our own time has revived a group of beliefs and practices which -have their roots deep in the very stratum of early philosophy, where -witchcraft makes its first appearance. This group of beliefs and -practices constitutes what is now commonly known as Spiritualism."—Dr. -E. B. Tylor, "Primitive Culture" vol. i., p. 128. -</p> -<p> -The oldest portion of the Old Testament scriptures are imbedded in the -Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel. Few indeed of these narratives -throw more light on the early belief of the Jews than the story of Saul -and the witch of Endor. It is hardly necessary to recount the story, -which is told with a vigor and simplicity showing its antiquity and -genuineness. Saul, who had incurred Samuel's enmity by refusing to slay -the king Agag, after the death of the prophet, found troubles come -upon him. Alarmed at the strength of his enemies, the Philistines, he -"inquired of the Lord." But the Lord was not at home. At any rate, he -"answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." -The legitimate modes of learning one's fortune being thus shut up, Saul -sought in disguise and by night a woman who had an <i>ob</i>. or familiar -spirit. Now Saul had done his best to suppress witchcraft, having "put -away those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land." -So when he said to the witch, "I pray thee divine unto me by the -familiar spirit and bring him up whom I shall name unto thee," the woman -was afraid, and asked if he laid a snare for her. Saul swore hard and -fast he would not hurt her, and it is evident from his question he -believed in her powers of necromancy by the aid of the familiar spirit. -This alone shows that the Jews, like all uncivilised people, and many -who call themselves civilised, believed in ghosts and the possibility of -their return, but, as we shall see, it does not imply that they -believed in future rewards and punishments. Saul's expectations were -not disappointed. He asked to see Samuel, and <i>up</i> Samuel came. He asked -what she saw, and she said <i>Elohirn</i>, or as we have it, "gods ascending -out of the earth." In this fact that the same word in Hebrew is used -for <i>ghosts</i> and for <i>gods</i>, we have the most important light upon the -origin of all theology. -</p> -<p> -The modern Christian of course believes that Samuel as a holy prophet -dwells in heaven above, and may wonder, if he thinks of the narrative at -all, why he should be recalled from his abode of bliss and placed under -the magic control of this weird, not to say scandalous, female. But -Samuel came up, not down from heaven, in accordance, of course, with the -old belief that Sheol, or the underworld, was beneath the earth. -</p> -<p> -Christian commentators have resorted to a deal of shuffling and -wriggling to escape the difficulties of this story, and its endorsement -of the superstition of witchcraft. The <i>Speakers' Commentary</i> suggests -that the Witch of Endor was a female ventriloquist, but, disingenuously, -does not explain that ventriloquists in ancient times were really -supposed to have a spirit rumbling or talking inside their bodies. -As Dr. E. B. Tylor says in that great storehouse of savage beliefs, -<i>Primitive Culture</i>, "To this day in China one may get an oracular -response from a spirit apparently talking out of a medium's stomach, for -a fee of about twopence-halfpenny." -</p> -<p> -Some make out, because Saul at first asked the woman what she saw, that, -as at many modern seances, it was only the medium, who saw the ghost, -and Saul only knew who it was through her, else why should he have asked -her what form Samuel had?—which elicited the not very detailed reply -of "an old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle"—that is, -we suppose, with the ghost of a mantle. She did the seeing and he the -hearing. But it says "Saul perceived it was Samuel," and prostrated -himself, which he would hardly have done at a description. Indeed, the -whole narrative is inconsistent with the modern theory of imposture on -the part of the witch. Had this been the explanation, the writer should -have said so plainly. He should have said her terror was pretended, that -the apparition was unreal, and that Saul trembled at the woman's words, -whereas it is plainly declared that "he was sore afraid because of the -words of Samuel." Moreover, and this is decisive, the spirit utters -a prophecy—not an encouraging, but a gloomy one—which was exactly -fulfilled. -</p> -<p> -All this shows the writer was saturated in supernaturalism. He never -uses an expression indicating a shadow of a ghost of a doubt of the -ghost. He might easily have said the whole thing was deceit. He does -not, for he believed in witchcraft like the priests who ordered "Thou -shalt not suffer a witch to live." One little circumstance shows his -sympathy. Samuel says: "Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?" -This is quite in consonance with savage belief that spirits should not -be disturbed. Here was Samuel quietly buried in Ramah, some fifty miles -off, taking his comfortable nap, may be for millenniums in Sheol, when -the old woman's incantations bustle him out of his grave and transport -him to Endor. No wonder he felt disquieted and prophesied vengeance to -Saul and to his sons, "because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord -nor executedest his fierce wrath upon Amalek." -</p> -<p> -Matthew Henry and other commentators think that the person who presented -himself to Saul was not Samuel, but Satan assuming his appearance. Those -who believe in Satan, and that he can transform himself into an angel of -light (2 Cor. xi. 14), cannot refuse to credit the possibility of this. -Folks with that comfortable belief can credit anything. To sensible -people it is scarcely necessary to say there is nothing about Satan in -the narrative, nor any conceivable reason why he should be credited -with a true prophecy. The words uttered are declared to be the words of -Samuel.* -</p> -<pre> - * The seventeenth verse stupidly reads, "The Lord hath done - to him as he spake by me." The LXX and Vulgate more sensibly - reads to thee. -</pre> -<p> -Much is said of Saul's wickedness, but the only wickedness attributed to -him is his mercy in not executing God's fierce wrath. If it was wicked -to seek the old woman, it is curious God should grant the object he was -seeking, by raising up one of his own holy servants. Why did the Lord -employ such an agency? It looks very much like sanctioning necromancy. -And further, if a spirit returned from the dead to tell Saul he should -die and go to Sheol—where Samuel was, for he says "to-morrow shalt thou -and thy sons be <i>with me</i>"—why should not spirits now return to tell -us we are immortal? If the witch of Endor could raise spirits, why not -Lottie Fowler or Mr. Eglinton? Such are the arguments of the spiritists. -We venture to think they cannot be answered by the orthodox. To -us, however, the fact that the beliefs of the spiritists find their -countenance in the beliefs of savages like the early Jews is their -sufficient refutation. Spiritism, as Dr. Tylor says, is but a revival of -old savage animism. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0013"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - SACRIFICES. -</h2> -<pre> - No sacrifice to heaven, no help from heaven; - That runs through all the faiths of all the world. - —Tennyson—Harold. -</pre> -<p> -The origin and meaning of sacrifices constitute a central problem -of ancient religion. It links indeed the stronghold of orthodox -Christianity—its doctrine of the Atonement—with the most barbarous -customs of primitive savages. When we hear of the Lamb slain for -sinners, the very phrase takes us back to the time when sins were -formally placed upon the heads of unconscious animals that they might -be held accursed instead of man; and to the yet older notion of human -sacrifice as a most acceptable offering to the gods. -</p> -<p> -Sacrifices were primarily meals offered to the spirits of the dead. It -is not hard to understand how they arose. The Hindoos who placed upon -the grave of an English officer the brandy and cheroots which he loved -in life in order to propitiate his spirit illustrated a prominent -aspect. Just as men were appeased with gifts, usually of substances -which minister to life, so were spirits supposed to be, and the general -form which the offering took was something in the shape of what the -Americans call a square meal. The Romans never sat down to eat without -placing a portion aside for the Lares and Penates. Professor Smith, in -his <i>Lectures on the Religion of the Semites</i>, gives abundant evidence -that the early sacrifices of the Semitic people were animals offered -at a meal partaken by the worshippers. The sacrifice, he holds, was -originally a nourishing of the common life of the kindred and their -god by a common meal. The primary communion with deity was communion of -food. This may not be very poetical, but it is natural and true. Eating -and drinking together were primarily signs of fraternity. Only to his -own kin did early man own duty, and his god was always of his own kin. -Jehovah was, as we are often told, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. -He was their father and their king. When Ruth said to Naomi, "Thy people -shall be my people, and thy God my God," the exclamation showed that -taking up new kindred involved a change of worship. Professor Smith -says: "It cannot be too strongly insisted on that the idea of kinship -between gods and men was originally taken in a purely physical sense." -The modern Christian's explanations of biblical anthropomorphisms may be -dismissed as unfounded assumptions. The story in Genesis of the sons -of God going with the daughters of men is one of the remnants of early -myths unexplained by later editors. -</p> -<p> -The Bible God, as any careful reader will perceive, was very partial to -roast meat. One of the earliest items recorded of him is that he had -no respect for Cain and his offering of vegetables, while to Abel who -brought him the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, he -had respect. He much prefered mutton to turnips. When Noah offered a -sacrifice, we are told "He smelt a sweet savor" (Gen. vii. 21). But -the Lord was by no means content with the smell. On his altars huge -hecatombs of animals were continually being slaughtered, and the -choicest portions set aside as the Lord's. The Lord God seems to have -been extremely fond of fat, especially that about the rump. As the -richest part of the animal, it was reserved with "the two kidneys and -the fat that is upon them" especially for the Lord (Lev. iii. 9-11). Let -it be noticed that the Lord God required no sacrifices except of eatable -animals, oxen, rams, goats, lambs, and kids. Fishes he had no regard -for, and of birds only turtle doves and pigeons were his favorite -dishes. Wine and oil he took to wash them down, but never mentioned -water. Like his ministers, he lived on the fat of the land,* claiming as -his own the firstlings of the flock. From his claim to the first born, -it appears that Jahveh was originally given to "long pig," but in -the case of Abraham's son, he took a ram instead. He was, however, -so partial to blood that he interdicted the sacred fluid to his -worshippers, but demanded that it should be poured out upon his altar -(Deut. xii.) Even the early Christians made it a fundamental rule of -the Church that disciples should abstain from blood, and from things -strangled (Acts xv. 20). The blood was supposed to be especially the -Lord's. -</p> -<pre> - * To "eat the fat" seems, as in Neh. viii. 10, to have been - a biblical expression for good living. -</pre> -<p> -Let not the serious reader suppose we are jesting. Hear what Prof. -Robertson Smith says. -</p> -<p> -"All sacrifices laid upon the altar were taken by the ancients as -being literally the food of the gods. The Homeric deities 'feast on -hecatombs,' nay particular Greek gods have special epithets designating -them as the goat-eater, the ram-eater, the bull-eater, even 'cannibal,' -with allusion to human sacrifices. Among the Hebrews the conception that -Jehovah eats the flesh of bulls and drinks the blood of goats, against -which the author of Psalm 1. protests so strongly, was never eliminated -from the ancient technical language of the priestly ritual, in which the -sacrifices are called <i>lechem Elohim</i>, 'the food of the deity.'"* -</p> -<pre> - * Religion of the Semites, p. 207. -</pre> -<p> -Our translators of the passages where this phrase occurs (Lev. xxi. 8, -17, 21, 22; Num. xxviii. 2) have done their best to conceal the meaning, -but like the phrase "wine which cheereth God and man" (Judges ix. 13), -it takes us back to the time when gods were supposed, like men, to eat, -drink, and be refreshed. -</p> -<p> -It was a fundamental rule of the Jewish faith that no one should appear -before the Lord empty handed (Exodus xxiii. 15.) Not to take him an -offering was as improper as in the East it still is to approach a chief -or great man without some present. A sacrifice was as imperative as it -now is to put something in the church plate. When God made a call on -Abraham, with Eastern hospitality the patriarch procured water to wash -his feet and killed a calf for the entertainment of his visitor. The -Lord God was not a vegetarian but a stout kreophagist. In Numbers (xxix. -13) he orders as a sacrifice "of a sweet savor unto the Lord, thirteen -young bullocks, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year." -</p> -<p> -From the frequent mention of the "sweet savor," it seems likely that the -original idea of the god partaking of the food, developed into that of -his taking only the essence of the food. As God got less anthropomorphic -he lost his teeth and had, poor spirit, to be content with the smell of -the good things offered up to him. We gather from Lev. vii. 6 that the -kidneys, fat and other delicacies really fell to the lot of the priests, -and some people have found a sufficient reason for the sacrifices to God -in the fact that the priests liked mutton. -</p> -<p> -In 1 Samuel ii. 13-16 we are told how it was the custom of the priests -that when any man offered sacrifice, "the priest's servant came, while -the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand. -And he struck it into the pan or kettle, or caldron or pot; all that the -fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself." -</p> -<p> -In the time of David the Lord had a table of shew-bread set before -him—that is, a table spread with food in the temple, where he was -supposed to come and take it when he desired, just as Africans place -meal and liquor in their fetish houses. Such tables were set in the -great temple of Bel at Babylon, and the story of Bel and the Dragon in -the Apocrypha explains how the priests and their women and children -came in by a secret door and ate up the things which were supposed to be -consumed by the God. -</p> -<p> -While the Lord and the priests were certainly not vegetarians, neither -did they insist on a vegetable diet for their people. The Lord's table -of fare is set out in Leviticus xi., and a very curious <i>menu</i> it is. -The hare is expressly excluded "because he cheweth the cud," although -he does nothing of the kind; but "the locust after his kind, the -bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the -grasshopper after his kind," are freely permitted. Another divine -regulation, and one which throws much light on the divine methods, is -recorded in Deut. xvi. 21—"Thou shalt not eat of anything that dieth -of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates -that he may eat it, or thou mayest sell it unto an alien." To this day -the Jews are particular in observing this godly method of disposing of -diseased meat. -</p> -<p> -To arrive at the truth in regard to the question whether human sacrifice -was at one time a portion of the Jewish religion, or whether it was, -as the orthodox generally assert, simply a corruption copied from the -surrounding heathen nations, it is necessary to bear in mind that every -portion of the Jewish law is of later date than the prophets. The book -of the law was only found in the time of King Josiah, who opposed this -very practice (2 Kings xxiii. 10), and there is no evidence of its -existence before that date. There is reason to believe that the priestly -code of Leviticus is later still, dating only from the time of Ezra. -Instead of reflecting the ideas of the age of Moses, it reflects those -of almost a thousand years later. It is therefore only in the historical -books that we can expect to find traces of what the actual religion -of Israel was. There is ample evidence that human sacrifice formed a -conspicuous element. Ahaz, King of Judah, "burnt his children in the -fire" (2 Chron. xxviii. 3); Mannasseh, King of Judah, was guilty of the -same atrocity (2 Chron. xxxiii. 6); Jeremiah denounces the children of -Judah for having "built the high place of Tophet, which is in the valley -of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the -fire" (vii. 31); Micah remonstrates against both animal and human -sacrifice—"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams; shall I -give my first-born for my transgression; the fruit of my body for the -sin of my soul?" (vi. 7). In the well-known story of Abraham and -Isaac, as in the Greek story of Iphigenia, and the Roman one of Valeria -Luperca, we have an account of the transition to a less barbarous stage -in the substitution of animal for human sacrifice. It was natural -that this legend should be ascribed to the time of the father of the -faithful, but there is, as we have seen, abundant evidence of the -practice existing long subsequent to the time of Abraham, who was by no -means surprised at and in no way demurred to the divine command, "Take -now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee unto -the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of -the mountains which I will tell thee of" (Genesis xxii. 2). Anyone -who at the present day should exhibit a faith like unto that of the -patriarchal saint would be in jeopardy of finding himself within the -walls of a criminal lunatic asylum. -</p> -<p> -That human sacrifices lasted long after the time of Abraham we have an -instance in the case of Jephthah, who vowed that if Jahveh would deliver -the children of Ammon into his hand, he would offer up for a burnt -offering whosoever came forth from his house to meet him upon his return -from his expedition (Judges xi. 30, 31). In order to tone this down the -Authorised Version reads "whatsoever" instead of "whosoever," which -is supplied in the margin of the Revised Version. Despite the emphatic -statement that Jephthah did with her according to his vow, it has been -alleged that because his daughter petitioned to be allowed to bewail her -virginity for two months, she was only condemned to a life of celibacy. -This is preposterous. Jahveh, unlike Jesus, had no partiality for -the unmarried state. He liked a real sacrifice of blood. To lament -childlessness was a common ancient custom, and even the Greek and Latin -poets have represented their heroines who were similarly doomed to an -early death, such as Antigone, Polyxena, and Iphigenia, as actually -lamenting in a very similar manner their virginity or unmarried -condition. There is no single instance in the Old Testament of a woman -being set apart as a virgin, though, as we have seen, there are numerous -indications of human sacrifices. -</p> -<p> -Even in the Levitical law sanction is given to human sacrifice. "None -devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be ransomed; he shall -surely be put to death" (Lev. xxvii. 29). Jahveh insisted on the -sacrifice being completed. David sent seven sons of Saul to be hung -before the Lord to stay a famine. -</p> -<p> -That a party remained in Israel who considered human sacrifice a part of -their religion is evident also from Jeremiah, who says: "They have built -also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt -offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came -it into my mind" (xix. 5). These strong asseverations were evidently -called forth by assertions made by persons addicted to such practices, -and those persons had the support of Ezekiel, who, in contradiction -to the statements of Jeremiah, contended that Jahveh gave them up to -pollution, even as he hardened the heart of Pharaoh that they might know -that he was the Lord (Ezek. xx. 25-26). -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0014"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - THE PASSOVER. -</h2> -<pre> - "<i>Christ our passover is sacrificed for us</i>." - —Paul (1 Cor. v. 7.) -</pre> -<p> -The Passover is the most important and impressive festival of the Jews, -instituted, it is said, by God himself, and a type of the sacrifice of -his only son. Its observance was most rigorously enjoined under penalty -of death, and although the circumstances of the Jews have prevented -their carrying out the sacrificial details, they still, in the custom of -each head of the family assuming <i>pro tem</i>, the <i>rōle</i> of high priest, -preserve the most primitive type of priesthood known. -</p> -<p> -The Bible account of the institution of the Passover is utterly -incredible. After afflicting the Egyptians with nine plagues, God still -hardens Pharaoh's heart (Exodus x. 27), and tells Moses that "about -midnight" he will go into the midst of Egypt and slay all the firstborn. -But in order that he shall make no mistake in carrying out his atrocious -design, he orders that each family of the children of Israel shall take -a lamb and kill it in the evening, and smear the doorposts of the -house with blood, "and when I see the blood I will pass over you." The -omniscient needed this sign, that he might not make a mistake and slay -the very people he meant to deliver. One cannot help wondering what -would have been the result if some Egyptian, like Morgiana in "The -Forty Thieves," had wiped off the blood from the Israelite doorposts and -sprinkled the doorposts of the Egyptians. Moses received this command on -the very day at the close of which the paschal lambs were to be killed. -This was very short notice for communicating with the head of each -family about to start on a hurried flight. As the people were two -million in number and the lambs had to be all males, without blemish, of -one year old, this supposes, on the most moderate computation, a flock -of sheep as numerous as the people. Who can credit this monstrous libel -on the character of God and on the intelligence of those to whom such a -story is proffered? -</p> -<p> -What, then, is the correct version of the origin of the Passover? Dr. -Hardwicke, in his <i>Popular Faith Unveiled</i>, following Sir Wm. Drummond -and Godfrey Higgins, says it meant "nothing more or less than the -pass-over of the sun across the equator, into the constellation Aries, -when the astronomical lamb was consequently obliterated or sacrificed by -the superior effulgence of the sun." It is noticeable that the principal -festivals of the Jews, as of other nations, were in spring and autumn, -at the time of lambing and sowing and when the harvest ripened. But -while allowing that this may have determined the time of the festival, I -cannot think it covers the ground of its significance. The story relates -that when Moses first asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, it -was that they might celebrate a feast in the wilderness which was -accompanied by a sacrifice (see Exodus v. i. and iii. 19). This may be -taken as indicating that there was known to be a festival at this season -prior to the days of Pharaoh. And at the festival of the spring increase -of flocks the god must of course have his share. -</p> -<p> -Epiphanius declares that the Egyptians marked their sheep with red, -because of the general conflagration which once raged at the time when -the sun passed over into the sign of Aries, thereby to symbolise the -fiery death of those animals who were not actually offered up. Von -Bohlen says the ancient Peruvians marked with blood the doors of the -temples, royal residences, and private dwellings, to symbolise the -triumph of the sun over the winter. -</p> -<p> -The suggestion that owing to peculiarities of diet or of constitution -some pestilence afflicted the Egyptians which passed over and spared the -Jews, is a very plausible one, and deserves more attention than it -has yet received, since it would account for many features in the -institution. But there remains another signification, which seems -indicated in the thirteenth chapter of Exodus in connection with the -institution of the Passover. There we read the order, "Thou shalt set -apart [the margin more properly reads "cause to pass over"] unto the -Lord, all that openeth the matrix" (verse 12). "And every firstling of -an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou will not redeem it, -then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy -children shalt thou redeem."* Professor Huxley asks upon this passage: -"Is it possible to avoid the conclusion that immolation of their -firstborn sons would have been incumbent on the worshippers of Jahveh, -had they not been thus specially excused?"** In one of the oldest -portions of the Pentateuch (Exodus xxii. 29) the command stands simply, -"the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me." In Exodus xii. 27, -xxiii. 18, xxxiv. 25; and Numbers ix. 13, the Passover is spoken of as -particularly the Lord's own sacrifice. -</p> -<pre> - * Why is the ass only mentioned besides man? One cannot but - suspect that his introduction is an interpolation by the - reformed Jews, who had outgrown the custom of human - sacrifice, betrayed by the phrase "thou shalt break his - neck." - - ** Nineteenth Century, April, 1886. -</pre> -<p> -The law proceeds to enjoin that the father shall tell his son as the -reason for the festival, how the Lord "slew all the firstborn in the -land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beasts: -therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix being -males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem." Evidently here is -the notion of a substitutionary offering, although the reason given is -not the true reason. In Exodus xxxiv. 18-20, the festival is brought -into the same connection with immediate reference to the redemption of -the firstborn. In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have the same idea. -God commands the patriarch to offer up his only son as a burnt sacrifice -(Gen. xxii. 2), an order which he receives without astonishment, and -proceeds to execute as if it were the most ordinary business imaginable, -without the slightest sign of reluctance. A messenger from Jahveh, -however, intervenes and a ram is substituted.* I do not doubt that this -story, like similar ones found in Hindu and Greek mythology, indicates -an era when animal sacrifices were substituted for human ones.** -</p> -<pre> - * Observe that Elohim, the old gods, claim the sacrifice and - Jahveh, the new Lord, prevents it. - - ** It may help us to understand how the sacrifice of an - animal may atone for human life, if we notice how in South - Africa a Zulu will redeem a lost child from the finder by a - bullock. -</pre> -<p> -The legend is of course far older than the record of it which reaches -us. In a notable passage in Ezekiel xx. 25, 26, the Lord declares that -he had given his people "statutes that were not good, and judgments -whereby they should not live." And he continues, "I polluted them in -their own gifts in that they cause to pass through <i>the fire</i> all that -openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they -might know that I am the Lord." The fact that the very same words are -used in Ezekiel which are found in Exodus xiii. 12, at once suggests -that originally the passover was a human sacrifice, and that of the most -abominable kind—the offering of the firstborn—and that the story of -the Lord slaying the firstborn of Egypt was an invention to account for -the relics of the custom. We know that such sacrifices did remain as -part of the Jewish religion. Ezekiel himself says that when they had -slain their children to their idols, they came the same day in the -sanctuary to profane it (xxiii. 39). Micah argues against the barbarous -practice: "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of -my body for the sin of my soul?" (vi. 6). Two kings of Judah, Ahaz -and Manasseh, are recorded to have offered up their children as burnt -offerings (2 Chron. xxviii. 3, xxxiii. 6), as upon one occasion did the -king of Moab (2 Kings iii. 27). 2 Chron. xxx., in relating how Hezekiah -commanded all Israel to keep the Passover, says that "they had not done -it of a long time in such sort as it was written," and relates how the -Levites were ashamed and many yet did eat the Passover otherwise than -it was written. And in the account of how Josiah broke down the altars -which had been set up by Ahaz and Manasseh one reads "surely there was -not held such a Passover from the days of the judges." In other words, -it had never been kept in the same fashion within human memory. The -keeping of the Passover had been different before this reformation, just -as until the age of Hezekiah the Jews worshipped a brazen serpent, which -they afterwards accounted for by ascribing it to Moses, the law-giver -who had prohibited all idolatry. On the eve of the Passover, to the -present day, the firstborn son among the Jews, who is of full age—i.e., -thirteen—fasts. This we take to be a rudimentary survival. -</p> -<p> -If then we interpret the offering of the paschal lamb as being -substituted for a human sacrifice, we shall understand how it is at -once a thank-offering and yet eaten with "the bread of affliction," the -motzahs, or unleavened cakes, and bitter herbs, which are the remaining -features of the festival, and this may help to explain the accusation -which in all ages has been brought against the Jews, viz., that once in -seven years at least they required their Passover to be celebrated with -human blood. It is true the accusation has been often brought without -evidence, but the Jews themselves profess astonishment at the unanimity -with which their opponents have fixed upon this charge. Further, we -shall see that in adopting the paschal lamb as the type of Christ, -the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, the Christians were simply -reverting to the early savage notion that deities are only to be -appeased with blood, and to this degraded belief they have added the -absurdity that Christ himself was God, thus making God sacrifice himself -in order to appease himself! -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0015"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - THE EVOLUTION OF JAHVEH. -</h2> -<p> -In the beginning when men created gods they made them in their own -image, cruel, unrestrained and vacillating, All the early religions give -evidence of the savage nature of ancient man. The departed gods, viewed -in the light of modern ideals, were all ugly devils. The boasted God of -the Jews is no exception. Although the books of the Old Testament do -not give us the earliest and doubtless still more savage beliefs of the -Israelites, the oldest portions, such as the legends embodied in Genesis -and the historical books, sufficiently betray that Jahveh was no better -than his compeers. It is evident that originally he was only one of many -gods. He is always spoken of as a family deity—the God of Abraham, of -Isaac and of Jacob. Human sacrifices were at one time offered to him -(see Genesis xxii., Leviticus xxvii. 29, Numbers xxv. 4, Judges xi. -31-39,1 Samuel xv. 23, Micah vi. 6,7). He is anthropomorphic, yet -anything but a gentleman. In his decalogue he describes himself as "a -jealous god, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children -until the third and fourth generation." He delights in blood and -sacrifice. He is entitled "a god of battles," "Lord of hosts," and "a -man of war." He has the form, the movements, and the imperfections of a -human being. Man is said to be made in his image and after his likeness. -It is plain these words must be taken in their literal significance, -since, a little further on, Adam is described, in the same language, as -having begotten Seth "in his own likeness and after his image" (Genesis -v. 3). -</p> -<p> -Jahveh walks in the garden in the cool of the day. He has come down to -see the tower of Babel (Gen. xi. 5). He covers Moses with "his hand" so -that he should not see "his face"; and while Moses stands in a clift of -the rock Jahveh shows him "his back parts" (Exodus xxxiii. 23). He makes -clothes for Adam and Eve, and writes his laws with his own finger. After -six days' work we are told that "on the seventh day he rested and was -refreshed" (Exodus xxxi. 17). When Noah sacrificed we are told that -"Jahveh smelled a sweet savor" (Gen. vii. 21). He creates mankind and -then regrets their creation—"It repented Jahveh that he had made man -on the earth and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis vi. 6). He puts -a bow in the clouds in order to remember his vow, and again and again he -repents of the evil which he thought to do unto his people (see Exodus -xxxii. 14; Numbers xiv.; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; Jonah iii. 10; etc.) -</p> -<p> -Jacob wrestles with him; and when things do not go as they wish, Moses, -Joshua, David and Job no more hesitate to remonstrate with their deity -than the African hesitates to chide the fetish that does not answer his -prayers. -</p> -<p> -In the early books Jahveh is irascible and unjust. His temper is soon -up, and his vengeance usually falls on the wrong parties. Eve eats the -forbidden fruit and all her female descendants are condemned to pains -at childbirth. Pharaoh refuses to let the Hebrews go and the firstborn -child of every Egyptian family is slain, and other dreadful afflictions -are poured on the innocent people. David, like a wise king, takes -a census of his nation, and Jahveh punishes him by slaying seventy -thousand of the people by a pestilence (1 Chron. xxi. 1—17). He -slaughters fifty thousand inhabitants of the village of Bethshemesh -for innocently looking into his travelling-trunk on its return from -captivity (1 Samuel vi. 19). He smites Uzzah for putting his hand to -save the ark from falling (2 Samuel vi. 6, 7), and withers Jeroboam's -hand for venturing to put it upon the altar (1 Kings xiii. 4). He sends -bears to kill forty-two little children for calling Elisha "bald-head" -(2 Kings ii. 23, 24), and his general conduct is that of a barbarous, -bloodthirsty and irresponsible tyrant. We say nothing here of the -character of his favorite people. "Man paints himself in his gods," said -Schiller. -</p> -<p> -The captivity of the Jews and their consequent contact with other -nations led to their own refinement and an enlarged ideal of their -divinity. He improves much in his character, tastes and propensities. -Nehemiah addressed Jahveh in the elevated tone the Persians addressed -Ahura-Mazda. Whereas in the old days Jahveh ordered whole hecatombs of -sheep and oxen to be sacrificed to him, doubtless because his priests -liked beef and mutton (they had the meat and he had the smell)—the -prophet Isaiah in his first chapter writes, "To what purpose is the -multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" saith Jahveh. "Wash you, make you -clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do -evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge -the fatherless, plead for the widow." Similarly, Micah gives worship an -ethical instead of a ceremonial character: "Will Jahveh be pleased with -thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my -firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my -soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jahveh -require of thee but to do justly and love mercy, and to walk humbly with -thy God." Ezekiel bluntly contradicts Moses, and declares that "the son -shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear -the iniquity of the son" (xviii. 20). -</p> -<p> -The second Isaiah even looks forward to the time when Gentiles will -acknowledge the Jewish Jahveh, and Zechariah declares "Thus saith Jahveh -of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass that the ten men shall -take hold of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the -skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have -heard that God is with you" (viii. 23). -</p> -<p> -Jewish vanity did not permit tolerance to extend beyond this. Even in -the New Testament God only offers salvation to those who believe, and -mercilessly damns all the rest. "An honest God is the noblest work of -man," and theists of all kinds have found great difficulty in supplying -the article. -</p> -<p> -Herbert Spencer, in a paper on "Religion" in the <i>Nineteenth Century</i>* -well says: "If we contrast the Hebrew God described in primitive -tradition, manlike in appearance, appetites and emotions, with the -Hebrew Gods as characterised by the prophets, there is shown a widening -range of power along with a nature increasingly remote from that of man. -And on passing to the conceptions of him which are now entertained, -we are made aware of an extreme transfiguration. By a convenient -obliviousness, a deity who in early times is represented as hardening -men's hearts so that they may commit punishable acts, and as employing -a lying spirit to deceive them, comes to be mostly thought of as an -embodiment of virtues transcending the highest we can imagine." And so -the idea of God developes -</p> -<pre> - "Till by broad spreading it disperse to nought." - - * January, 1884. -</pre> -<p> -For the process is not simply from the savage to the civilised—it is -from the definite to the dim. As man advances God retires. With each -increase of our knowledge of nature the sphere of the supernatural is -lessened till all deities and devils are seen to be but reflections of -man's imagination and symbols of his ignorance. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0016"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - JOSHUA AND THE SUN. -</h2> -<p> -Savages fail to recognise the limits of their power over nature. Things -which the experience of the race shows us to be obviously impossible -are not only attempted but believed to be performed by persons in a low -stage of culture. Miracles always accompany ignorance. No better proof -of the barbarous and unintelligent state whence we have emerged could be -given than the stories of the supernatural which are found embodied in -all religions, and also in the customs of savages and the folk-lore of -peasantry. -</p> -<p> -Primitive man thinks of all phenomena as caused by spirits. Hence to -control the spirits is to control the phenomena. Herodotus (iv., 173) -tells a curious tale how once in the land of Psylii, the modern Tripoli, -the wind blowing from the Sahara dried up all the water-tanks. So the -people took counsel and marched in a body to make war on the south wind. -But when they entered the desert, the simoon swept down on them and -buried them. It is still said of the Bedouins of Eastern Africa that "no -whirlwind ever sweeps across the path without being pursued by a dozen -savages with drawn creeses, who stab into the centre of the dusty -column, in order to drive away the evil spirit that is believed to be -riding on the blast." The Chinese beat gongs and make other noises at an -eclipse, to drive away the dragon of darkness. At an eclipse, too, the -Ojibbeways used to think the sun was being extinguished, so they shot -fire-tipped arrows in the air, hoping thus to re-kindle his expiring -light. At the present day Theosophists seek to compass magical powers -which in early times were supposed to be generally possessed by -sorcerers. -</p> -<p> -Rain-making was one of the most common of these supposed powers. -Instances are found in the Bible. Samuel says: "I will call unto the -Lord and he shall send thunder and rain," and he does so (1 Sam. xii. -17, 18). So Elijah, by prayer (which in early times meant a magical -spell), obtained rain. Jesus controls the winds and the waves, walks on -the water, and levitates through the air. -</p> -<p> -Mr. J. G. Frazer, in his splendid work <i>The Golden Bough</i> gives many -instances of savages making sunshine and staying the sun. Thus "the -Melanesians make sunshine by means of a mock sun. A round stone is wound -about with red braid and stuck with owl's feathers to represent rays; it -is then hung on a high tree." "In a pass of the Peruvian Andes stand two -ruined towers on opposite hills. Iron hooks are clamped into their walls -for the purpose of stretching a net from one tower to another. The net -is intended to catch the sun." Numerous other methods are resorted to by -different tribes. Jerome, of Prague, travelling among the Lithuanians, -who early in the fifteenth century were still Pagans, found a tribe who -worshipped the sun and venerated a large iron hammer. "The priests told -him at once the sun had been invisible for several months because a -powerful king had shut it up in a strong tower; but the signs of the -zodiac had broken open the tower with this very hammer and released the -sun. Therefore they adored the hammer."* Mr. Frazer gives reasons for -thinking that the fire festivals solemnised at Midsummer in ancient -times were really sun-charms. -</p> -<p> -The phenomena of nature were supposed to be at the service of the pious. -The thunderbolts of Zeus fell upon the heads of perjurers. Some people -still wonder the earth does not open when a man announces himself an -Atheist. Jahveh just before stopping the sun, pelted the enemies of -Israel with hailstones (Joshua x. 11). So Diodorus Siculus (xi. 1) -relates how the Persians when on their way to spoil the temple at -Delphi, were deterred by "a sudden and incredible tempest of wind and -hail, with dreadful thunder and lightning, by which great rocks were -rent to pieces and cast upon the heads of the Persians, destroying them -in heaps." Herodotus too (ii. 142) tells how "The Egyptians asserted -that the sun had four times deviated from his ordinary course." -Clergymen cite this as a corroboration of the fact that all ancient -peoples have similar absurd legends displaying their ignorance of nature -and consequent superstition. The power of arresting the stars in their -courses, and lengthening the days and nights was imputed to witches. -Thus Tibullus says of a sorceress (i. eleg. 2)— -</p> -<pre> - I've seen her tear the planets from the sky, - Seen lightning backward at her bidding fly. -</pre> -<p> -And Lucan in his Pharsalia (vi. 462)— -</p> -<pre> - Whene'er the proud enchantress gives command, - Eternal motion stops her active hand; - No more Heav'n's rapid circles joarney on, - But universal nature stands foredone; - The lazy God of day forgets to rise, - And everlasting night pollutes the skies. - - * The Golden Bough, vol. i., pp. 24, 25. -</pre> -<p> -No modern poet would think of saying like Statius that the sun stood -still at the unnatural murder of Atreus. Such an idea found its way into -poetry because it had previously been conceived as a fact. -</p> -<p> -Hence we find numerous similar stories to that of Joshua. Thus it is -related of Bacchus in the Orphic hymns that he arrested the course of -the sun and the moon. Mr. Spence Hardy in his <i>Legends and Theories -of Buddhists</i>, shows that arresting the course of the sun was a common -thing among the disciples of Buddha. We need not be surprised to find -that men were once believed to be able to control the sun when we -reflect that to this day the majority of people fancy there is some -magnified non-natural man, they call God, who is able to do the same. -Seeing the legend of Joshua in its true form as one of numerous similar -instances illustrating the barbarity and ignorance of the past, we see -also that the whole merit and instruction of the story is taken away by -those modern Christians, who speak of it as poetry, or who endeavor to -reconcile it with the conclusions of science. These explanations were -never sought for while miracles were generally credible. Josephus speaks -of the miracle as a literal one, and the author of Ecclesiasticus xlvi. -5 says the Lord "stopped the sun in his anger and made one day as two." -</p> -<p> -"Rationalistic" explanations of miracles are often the most irrational, -because they fail to take into account the vast difference between the -state of mind which gave rise to the stories, and that which seeks to -rationalise them. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0017"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - THE HEBREW PROPHETS. -</h2> -<p> -Anyone who has read an account of the mystery men among savages, will -have the clue to the original nature and functions of the inspired -prophets of Jahveh. These persons occupied a rōle somewhat similar to -that of Brian the hermit, the highland seer described by Sir Walter -Scott in his "Lady of the Lake." They were a sort of cross between the -bard and the fortuneteller. Divination, though forbidden by the law of -Moses, was continually resorted to by the superstitious Jews. -</p> -<p> -The mysterious Urim and Thummim clearly represented some method of -divination. In 1 Kings vi. 16 and Psalms xxviii. 2, the adytum of the -temple is called the "oracle." Numerous references are to be found in -the Bible to the practice of casting lots, the disposing of which is -said to be "of the Lord" (see Num. xxvi. 55, Joshua xiii. 6, 1 Sam. xiv. -41, Prov. xiv. 33, xviii. 18, and Esther iii. 7), and also to "inquiring -of God," which was equivalent to divination. Thus in Judges xviii. 5 -five Danites ask the Levite, who became Micah's priest, to "ask counsel -of God" whether they shall prosper on their way. -</p> -<p> -The ninth chapter of the first book of Samuel gives an instructive -glimpse into the nature of the prophets. Saul, sent to recover his -father's asses, and, unable to find them, is told by his servant that -there is in the city a man of God, and all what he saith cometh surely -to pass. Saul, perhaps guessing the lucre-loving propensities of men of -God, complains that he has no present to offer. The servant, however, -had the fourth part of a shekel of silver (about 8d.) wherewith to cross -the seer's palms; and Saul, seeking for asses, is made king over Israel -by the prophet Samuel. The custom of making a present to the prophet is -also alluded to in 1 Kings xiv. 3. Jereboam, when his son falls sick, -sends his wife to Ahijah the prophet with ten loaves and cracknels and a -cruse of honey, to inquire his fate. Later on, Micah (iii. 11) complains -that "the prophets divine for money." See also Nehe-miah vi. 12. As with -the oracles of ancient Greece and Rome (the inspiration of which was -believed by the early Christian fathers, with the proviso that they were -inspired not by deities, but by devils), the prophets were especially -consulted in times of war. Thus, in 1 Kings xxii., Ahab consults 400 -prophets about going to battle against Ramoth-Gilead. He is told to go -and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand. Micaiah -the prophet, however, explains that he had seen the Lord in counsel with -all the host of heaven, and the Lord sent a lying spirit to the prophets -in order to persuade Ahab to go to his destruction. This is quite in -accordance with the declaration in Ezekiel xiv. 9, that "if the prophet -be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord hath deceived that -prophet." David on one occasion (1 Sam. xxiii. 9) "took counsel of God," -as this divination was called, by means of the ephod, probably connected -with the Urim and Thummim. He sought to know if he would be safe from -his enemy, Saul, if he stayed at Keilah. On receiving an unfavorable -response David decamped. Inquiring of the Lord on another occasion, -David got more particular instructions than were usually imparted by -oracles. He was told not to go up against the Philistines, but to fetch -a compass behind them and come on them over against the mulberry trees -(2 Sam. v. 23). -</p> -<p> -We read, 1 Sam. xxviii. 6, that "when Saul inquired of the Lord, the -Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." -This, presumably, was because (verse 3) "Saul had put away those that -had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land." He therefore had -to seek out the witch of Endor to raise the spirit of Samuel. -</p> -<p> -The Lord is said to have declared through Moses, "If there be a prophet -among you I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and -will speak unto him in a dream" (Num. xii. 6). This method of divine -revelation is alluded to in Job xxxiii. 14-16, "For God speaketh once, -yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the -night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; -then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth his instruction." God came -to Abimelech in a dream by night and threatened him for taking Abraham's -wife (Gen. xx. 3). So he revealed himself and his angels to his favorite -Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 12). "God came to Laban, the Syrian, in a dream -by night" (Gen. xxxi. 24) to warn him against touching juggling Jacob. -Joseph dreams of his own future advancement and of the famine in Egypt, -and interprets the dreams of others. Gideon was visited by the Lord in -the night, and encouraged by some other person's dream (Judges vii.) -Jahveh appeared also to his servant, Sultan Solomon, "in a dream -by night" (1 Kings iii. 5). Daniel, too, was a dreamer and dream -interpreter (Dan. ii. 19, vii. 1). God promises through Joel that he -will pour his spirit upon all flesh, "and your sons and your daughters -shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall -see visions" (chap. ii. 28). -</p> -<p> -The original meaning of the Hebrew word <i>cohen</i> or priest is said to be -"diviner." It is, I believe, still so in Arabic. Prophets and dreamers -are frequently classed together in the Bible, as in Deut. xiii. 1: "If -there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams." Jer. xxvii. 9: -"Therefore hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to -your dreamers." Zech. x. 2: "The diviners have seen a lie, and have told -false dreams." When religion is organised the dreamers and interpreters -of dreams, who are an irresponsible class, fall into the background -before the priests. -</p> -<p> -No one can read the account of Balaam's falling, and lying prostrate -with his eyes open while prophesying (Numbers xxiv.); and of Saul when, -after an evil spirit from God had come upon him (1 Sam. xviii. 10), "he -stripped off his clothes also and prophesied in like manner, and lay -down naked all that day and all that night; wherefore they say, Is Saul -also among the prophets" (1 Sam. xix. 24), without calling to mind -the exhibitions of ecstatic mania among semi-savages. The Shamans -of Siberia, for instance, work themselves up into fury, supposing or -pretending that in this condition they are inspired by the spirit in -whose name they speak, and through whose inspiration they are enabled -to answer questions as well as to foretell the future. The root of the -Hebrew word for prophet—<i>Nabi</i>, said to mean a bubbling up—confirms -this view. The vehement gestures and gushing current of speech which -accompanied their improvisations suggested a fountain bubbling up. -Insanity and inspiration are closely allied. Various methods were -resorted to among the ancients to attain the state of ecstacy, when the -excited nerves found significance in all around. The Brahmans used the -intoxicating Soma. At Delphi the Pythia inhaled an incense until she -fell into a state of delirious intoxication; and the sounds she uttered -in this state were believed to contain the revelations of Apollo. In -David dancing with all his might and scantily clad before the ark of -Jahveh, we are forcibly reminded of the dervishes and other religious -dancers. From the mention of music in connection with prophesying (1 -Sam. x. 5, xvi. 23, 2 Kings iii. 5), it has been conjectured the Jewish -prophets anticipated the Salvationists in this means of producing or -relieving excitement. In the Mysteries of Isis, in Orphic Cory-bantian -revels, music was employed to work the worshippers into a state of -orgiastic frenzy. -</p> -<p> -The passage about Saul suggests the nudity or scanty costume of the -prophets. Isaiah the elder—for the poet who wrote from chap. xl. to -lxvi. must be distinguished from his predecessor—alleges a commandment -from Jahveh to walk naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah xx. 3). -Apollos, or whoever wrote the epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 37), speaks -of them wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins. A girdle of leather -seems to have been the sole costume of Elijah (2 Kings i. 8). Micah (i. -8) says "I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked." Zechariah -speaks of the prophets who "wear a rough garment to deceive," and "say -I am no prophet I am an husbandman" (Zech. xiii. 45), which is like what -Amos (vii. 14) says: "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; -but I was an herdman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit." -</p> -<p> -Isaiah (xxviii. 7) says, "the priest and the prophet have erred through -strong drink; they are swallowed up of wine." Jahveh tells Jeremiah -"The prophets prophesy lies in my name, I sent them not, neither have I -commanded them, neither spake unto them; they prophesy unto you a false -vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their -heart" (xiv. 14). Further on he says, "O Lord thou hast deceived me and -I was deceived" (xx. 7). The prophets of Jerusalem, Jeremiah declares, -"commit adultery and walk in lies" (xxiii. 14). Ezekiel too, prophesies -against the prophets and their lying divination (xiii. 2-7). Hosea (ix. -7) says, "the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad."* -</p> -<pre> - * See too Isaiah lvi. 11-12; Jer. xxvii. 10-15, xxix. 8-9; - Micah iii 5-7. -</pre> -<p> -Some of the prophets can only be described as silly. Such are the two -in 1 Kings xiii. 5 the prophet who asks to be smitten (1 Kings xii.); -Zedekiah, who makes himself horns of iron; and Micaiah, who opposes him -when a lying sprit comes from the Lord (1 Kings xxii.) To these may be -added the man of God (2 Chron. xxv. 7), who made Amaziah dismiss his -"hundred thousand mighty men of valor," who in consequence fell upon the -cities of Judah and took much spoil. -</p> -<p> -The student of comparative religion in reading of the Hebrew prophets, -is forcibly reminded of the Hindu sunnyasis and Mussulman fakirs. In the -east insanity is confounded with inspiration, and Dr. Maudsley, in his -<i>Responsibility in Mental Disease</i>, has given his opinion that several -of the Hebrew prophets were insane. The dread and respect in which they -were held is evinced in the legend of the forty-two children who -were slain by bears for calling Elisha bald-head. Their arrogance and -ferocity were exhibited by Samuel, who made Saul king till he found a -more serviceable tool in David, and "hewed Agag in pieces before the -Lord" (1 Sam. xv. 30); and by Elijah, who destroyed 102 men for obeying -the order of their king (2 Kings ii. 9-13), and at another time slew -850 for a difference of opinion (1 Kings xviii. 19—40). Elisha was -unscrupulous enough to send Hazael to his master saying he should -certainly recover; though at the time he knew he would certainly die (2 -Kings viii. 10). Judging by such examples we may congratulate ourselves -that the race of prophets is almost extinct. -</p> -<p> -It must in fairness be said that some of the prophets used their -influence in protecting the people against their priests and rulers, and -that the greater prophets like Isaiah did much to elevate the religion -of Israel, which in its modern form is largely their creation. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0018"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - OLD TESTAMENT MARRIAGE. -</h2> -<p> -"Marriage," says Goethe, "is the beginning and end of all culture." -Too often the end of all culture, the cynic may say. It may safely be -affirmed that marriage is the chief cause and product of civilisation. -Like other institutions, it has passed through various stages of growth -among all nations, the Jews included. It has been said "Motherhood is -a matter of observation, fatherhood a matter of opinion." Certain it is -that in early society kinship was reckoned through mothers only. Of this -we have some evidence in the Bible. Abraham, the father of the faithful, -married Sarah, "the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my -mother" (Gen. xx. 12). His brother Nahor took the daughter of his other -brother, Haran, to wife (Gen. ix. 27-29). Such marriages could not have -occurred except when relationship through males was not sufficiently -acknowledged for a bar to marriage to have been raised upon it. Jacob -had two sisters to wife at once. Amram, the father of Moses, married his -own aunt (Exodus ii. 1 and 1 Chron. vii. 3). Even in the time of pious -King David marriage with half-sisters was not considered improper, for -when Ammon wished to force his sister Tamar, she said unto him, "Speak -unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee" (2 Samuel xiii. -13). Brothers by the same mother are specially distinguished (Deut. -xiii. 6, Judges viii. 19). The child, moreover, in early times, was -thought rather to belong to the mother than the father. Thus we find -that Ishmael was turned adrift with Hagar, and Hannah, one of the wives -of Elkanah the Levite, had the right of presenting or devoting her son -Samuel to Jahveh. -</p> -<p> -A survival of consanguine marriage is found in Deut. xxv., where it is -expressly ordered that when a brother's widow is left childless "her -husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife"; and -in the event of his refusing to do so he has to have his shoe loosed and -his face spat upon. Of the antiquity of this usage we have evidence in -Genesis xxxviii. When Er, Judah's firstborn, died, the father commanded -his second son, "Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise -up seed to thy brother." The second son refusing, the thing which he did -displeased the Lord, wherefore he slew him. Judah now putting Tamar -off from taking his next son, she disguised herself and made her -father-in-law do his son's duty, he acknowledging "she hath been more -righteous than I." The custom is also referred to in the story of Ruth. -Ewald amends Ruth iv. 5: "Thou must buy also Ruth the Moabitess." The -Bible reader will remember that the disgusting story of the patriarch -Lot and his daughters is related without the slightest token of -disapproval. The daughters justified themselves by the plea that they -would "preserve seed of our father." To understand these narratives, -the reader must remember that in the early history of the family it was -desirable, in the struggle for existence, that its numbers should not be -diminished. Many instances are found in the Bible of the blessing of a -large family. "Happy is the man who has his quiver full." The blessing -on the typical servant of Jahveh is that "he shall see his seed," It -was the duty of the next of kin to see that the family stock did not -diminish. We find at the beginning of Genesis that, when Abel was -slain, God gave Seth "instead." In patriarchal life, as exhibited by the -Bedouins, the "next of kin," the <i>goel</i>, is a most important personage. -To him the tribe looks to avenge or redeem a kinsman's death or -misfortune. On him the widow and fatherless depend for support. He is, -above all, the blood-balancer, who sees that the house is kept in its -normal strength, and who seeks to recruit it as far as possible from -the same blood—a state of things implying feud with surrounding tribes. -Job, in his anguish, can find no stronger consolation this—"I know -that my <i>goel</i> liveth." According to the morality of that time, not only -Tamar, but the family was grossly wronged by Onan. By refusing to allow -Shelah to take the duties of <i>goel</i>, on the ground of his youth, Judah -himself incurred the responsibilities of that office. It was his duty to -see that seed was raised. Tamar resorted to cunning, the weapon of the -weak, and Judah's confession is the real moral of what, to a modern, -must be considered the very disgusting story in Genesis xxxviii. -</p> -<p> -All the Old Testament heroes, from Lamech downwards, were polygamists. -Indeed, both polygamy and concubinage were practised by those Hebrew -saints who were most distinguished by their piety, faith, and communion -with Jahveh. Abraham not only took Hagar as a secondary wife, but -turned her adrift in the wilderness when it suited his own goodwill and -pleasure. Jacob, who lived under the special guidance of God, married -two sisters at the same time, and each of them presented him with -concubines. David, the man after God's own heart, had many wives and -concubines (2 Samuel iii. 2-5, v. 13), while Solomon, who was wiser than -all men, boasted of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines -(1 Kings xi. 5). Jahveh, while denouncing intermarriage with women of -foreign races, never says a word against either polygamy or concubinage. -On the contrary, both are sanctioned and regulated by the Mosaic law -(Deut. xxi. 10-15). More than this, God himself is said to have married -two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah (Ezekiel xxiii.), and although this -is figurative, the figure would never have been used had the fact been -considered sinful. -</p> -<p> -A Hebrew father might sell his daughter to be a wife, concubine, or -maid-servant to an Israelite, and her master might put her away if she -pleased him not (Exodus xxi. 7-11). Women taken captives in war might be -used as wives and dismissed at pleasure (Deut. xxi. 10-14). In the case -of the Midianites only virgins were preserved. Moses indignantly asked, -Have ye saved all the women alive? "Now therefore kill every male among -the little ones and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with -him. But all the women children, that hath not known man by lying with -him, keep alive for yourselves." And the Lord took shares in this maiden -tribute (Numb, xxxi.) -</p> -<p> -Woman in the Bible is treated as merchandise. In Jacob's time she was -bought by seven years' service, but in the time of the prophet Hosea she -was valued only at fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of -barley. In the Decalogue it is prohibited to covet a man's wife on the -same ground as his man slave, his maid slave, his ox, or his ass, or -anything that is his. Her lord and master could say with Petruchio: -</p> -<pre> - She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, - My household stuff, my field, my barn, - My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything. -</pre> -<p> -By God's law a man was permitted to dismiss a wife when she found "no -favor in his eyes," by simply writing out a bill of divorcement. There -is no mention of the woman having any similar power of getting quit of -her lord and master. If he suspected her fidelity he could compel her to -go through an ordeal in which the priest administered to her the water -of jealousy, which if guilty would cause her to rot, but which was -harmless if she was innocent. No doubt this was a potent means in -securing wifely devotion and a ready remedy for any hated spouse. In -the hands of a friendly priest the concoction would be little likely -to fail, and even should it prove innocuous there was the expedient of -writing a bill of divorcement. -</p> -<p> -It is usually said that God "winked at" (Acts xvii. 30) these -proceedings, because of the hardness of the old Jews' hearts, and that -from the beginning it was not so. In proof of this is cited the passage -in Genesis which says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his -mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." -The proper interpretation of this passage illustrates a very early form -of marriage still found in some tribes, and known in Ceylon as beenah -marriage. Mr. McLennan, one of the highest authorities on primitive -marriage, says: -</p> -<p> -"In beenah marriage the young husband leaves the family of his birth and -passes into the family of his wife, and to that he belongs as long as -the marriage subsists. The children born to him belong, not to him, but -to the family of their mother. Living with, he works for, the family -of his wife; and he commonly gains his footing in it by service. His -marriage involves usually a change of village; nearly always (where the -tribal system is in force) a change of tribe, but always a change of -family. So that, as used to happen in New Zealand, he may be bound even -to take part in war against those of his father's house. The man -leaves father and mother as completely as with the Patriarchal Family -prevailing, a bride would do; and he leaves them to live with his wife -and her family. That this accords with the passage in Genesis will not -be disputed.* -</p> -<p> -"Marriage by purchase of the bride and her issue can hardly be thought -to have been primeval practice. When we find beenah marriage and -marriage by purchase as alternatives, therefore it is not difficult to -believe that the former is the older of the two, and it was once in sole -possession of the field."** -</p> -<pre> - * The Patriarchal Theory, p. 43; 1885. - - ** Ibid, p. 45. -</pre> -<p> -It was a beenah marriage which Jacob made into the family of Laban, and -we find from Genesis xxiv. 1-8 that it was thought not improbable that -Isaac might do the same. In beenah marriage the children belong to the -mother's clan, and we thus find that Laban says: "These daughters are my -daughters, and these children my children." It was exactly against such -a marriage as that of Jacob, viz., with two women at one time that the -text (Lev. xvii. 18) was directed which is so much squabbled about by -both opponents of and advocates for marriage with a deceased wife's -sister. The custom of the Levirate mentioned in Deut. xxv. possibly -indicates pre-existent polyandry. Lewis, in his <i>Hebrew Republic</i>, -says: "In the earliest ages the Levir had no alternative but to take the -widow; indeed, she was his wife without any form of marriage." -</p> -<p> -Casting off a shoe, it may be said, is a symbol of foregoing a right; -thus the relatives of a bride still "throw slippers." The Arabs have -preserved the ceremony intact. A proverb among them, when a young man -foregoes his prescriptive right to marry his first cousin, is, "She was -my slipper; I have cast her off" (Burckhardt, Bedouins and Wahabys, i. -113). Among the Caribs of Venezuela and in Equatorial West Africa, the -eldest son inherits all the wives of his deceased father with the sole -exception of his own mother. Schweinfurth relates that the same custom -obtains in Central Africa. On the Gold Coast the throne is occupied by -the prince, who gains possession of the paternal harem before his other -brothers. Thus Absalom took David's harem in the sight of all Israel -before the old man had gone to glory, as a proof he wished his reign -to be considered over; and when Adonijah asks his brother Solomon for -Abishag, the comforter of David's old age, the wise Solomon kills him, -as thus betraying designs on the throne. In the custom that widows -passed to the heir with other property, and hence that marriage with the -widow grew to be a sign of a claim to the deceased person's possessions, -we have a reasonable explanation of what must otherwise appear -irrational crime. The custom of inheriting widows is adverted to in the -Koran; and Bendhawi, in his commentary, gives the whole ceremony, which -consists in the relative of the deceased throwing his cloak over the -widow and saying, "I claim her." The Mormons always defended their -plurality of wives from the divine book, and polygamy has been defended -by various Christian ministers, from the Lutheran divine, Joannes Lyser, -author of <i>Discoursus Politicus de Polygamia</i>, and the Rev. Martin -Madan, author of <i>Thelyphthora</i> to the Rev. Mercer Davies, author of -<i>Hangar</i>, and Ap Richard, M.A., who urges a biblical plea for polygamy -under the title of <i>Marriage and Divorce</i>. Such works have done little -to bring into favor the divine ordinance of polygamy, but they have done -much to show how unsuited is the morality of "the word of God" to -the requirements of modern civilisation. Surely it is time that the -Christians were ashamed of appealing to polygamous Jews for any laws to -regulate social institutions. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0019"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - THE SONG OF SOLOMON. -</h2> -<p> -Although there is no book with which students of divinity are better -acquainted than with the "Song of Songs," there is also none of the same -dimensions over which theologians have expressed so much diversity -of opinion. Its authorship has been ascribed to Solomon for no better -reason than because that sensual sultan is one of the subjects of its -story. It is true it is one of the oldest books of the Old Testament, -and begins by calling itself "the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's"; -but the book of Ecclesiastes, which is one of the latest in the Hebrew -collection, is also ascribed to Solomon, and possibly with as much -reason. It has been credited with unfolding the sublime mysteries of -the relation of Christ to his Church. It has been called an epithalamium -upon the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh. According to -a distinguished commentator, De Lyra, the first portion describes the -history of Israel from the time of the Exodus to the birth of Christ, -while from chapter vii. to the end gives the history of the Christian -Church to Constantine. The Roman Catholic theologian, Hug, makes it -treat of the ten tribes and Hezekiah. Cocceius, in accordance with his -principle that holy scripture meant whatever it could be made to mean, -found in the Canticle the history of the Church from its origin to its -final judgment. Hahn sees in it a prediction of the victory obtained -over the heathen, by the love of Israel, and finds the conversion of the -negro in the passage which says, "We have a little sister, and she -hath no breasts." In short, nearly every possible explanation has -been offered of this portion of the Word of God except the obvious and -natural one, that it is an erotic poem. That there is any allegory in -the piece is a pure assumption. The theory was unknown before the time -of the Talmud. The Canticles are never referred to in the New Testament. -There is not the slightest indication in the work itself that there is -any such object. Not the most delicate hint, save in the headings of the -chapters made by King James's bishops, that by the secret charms of the -young lady we are to understand the mysterious graces of the Christian -Church. In all allegories it is necessary the subject should be in -some way indicated. The parables of Jesus often proved puzzles to his -disciples, but they had no doubt they were parables. Moreover, the -allegory—if it is one—is absurd or blasphemous. Why should the Church -say of God: "His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy -and black as a raven"? or compare his legs to pillars of marble, -or celebrate other parts of his divine person which are not usually -mentioned in polite society? Nor is it easy to see why Christ should say -to the Church: "Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, -which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none -is barren among them"; or why he should declare, "Thy neck is as a tower -of ivory; thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of -Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the Tower of Lebanon, which looketh towards -Damascus." Of course, to parody a phrase of Voltaire's, the Holy Ghost -was not bound to write like Alfred Tennyson, but, if intended for human -guidance, one would think the divine meaning should be a little more -apparent. -</p> -<p> -The truth of the matter is, an allegorical interpretation has been -forced into the Song of Solomon in order to relieve the Holy Ghost from -a charge of indecency. Grotius ventured to call the Song of Songs a -libertine work. Even the orthodox Methodist commentator, Adam Clarke, -earnestly exhorted young ministers not to found their sermons on its -doubtful phrases. He knew how apt religious people are to mix up carnal -desire and appetite with love to their blessed Savior, and was perhaps -aware that a number of Christian hymns might appropriately have been -addressed to Priapus.* -</p> -<pre> - * See Rimini's History of the Moravians and Southey's Life - of Wesley* vol. i. pp. 188, 387. -</pre> -<p> -In the Jewish Church no one under the age of thirty was permitted to -read the Song of Songs, a prohibition which may have assisted to give it -its sacred character. It is, nevertheless, not more indelicate than many -other portions of God's Holy Word, and viewed in its proper light as -an Oriental dramatic love poem, although it cannot be acquitted of -outraging modern notions of decency, it is not, I think, so much, -as some other portions of the Bible, open to the charge of teaching -immorality. On the contrary, its purpose is commendable. An attentive -reading of the Revised Version, which is without the misleading -headlines, and is divided to indicate the different speakers in the love -drama, will make this apparent, and show this little scrap of the Jewish -national literature to possess a certain natural beauty which has been -utterly obscured by the orthodox commentators who, from the time of the -early fathers to Hengstenberg and Keil, have sought to associate it with -Christ and his Church. -</p> -<p> -Sir William Jones, in his essay on the mystical poetry of Persia -and India, called attention to the sensuous images in which Oriental -religious poetry expresses itself. This connection will surprise no -one who has discovered from the history of religion that women and wine -formed important features in ancient worship. The readiness with which -ungratified sexual passion runs into religious emotion has frequently -been marked by physicians, and finds much corroboration in the -devotional works of monks and nuns. But the Song of Songs has nothing -religious about it. Even the personages are not religious, as in the -Hindu erotic <i>Gita Govinda</i>, by Jayadeva, which tells of the loves of -Badha and the god Krishna in the guise of a shepherd. Christ and his -Church only appear in the headings given to the chapters. -</p> -<p> -Though to be classed among erotic poems, the Song of Songs cannot fairly -be called immoral or obscene. The character of the interlocutors and -the division of the scenes is a little uncertain. It is, for instance, -dubious whether the first speaker is Solomon or the Shulamite. If we -take the version of M. Réville, the piece opens with the yearnings of -the heroine, whom "the king hath brought into his chambers," for her -absent lover. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy -love is better than wine." She is black but comely; swarthy, because -having to tend the vineyards she has been scorched by the sun. She is a -Shulammite, or native of Shulam, now Solma, near Carmel—a part renowned -for the beauty of its women. It was Abishag, a Shulamite, who was chosen -when they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel -to warm the bed of old King David. Solomon had seen the fair maid of -Shulam, and, when she went down into the garden of nuts "to see the -green plants of the valley," or ever she was aware, she was abducted. In -vain, however, does the monarch offer her the best place in his harem. -Amid the glories of the court she sighs for the shepherd lover from whom -she is separated. She tells how early one spring morning her beloved -engaged her to go out with him. "For, lo, the winter is past, the rain -is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the -singing of birds is come. And the voice of the turtle is heard in our -land and now, although she seeks and finds him not," she declares -"my beloved is mine and I am his." Her constant burden to her harem -companions is, "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and -by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up nor awaken love until -it please."* Love must be spontaneous, she declares, and she refuses to -yield to the wishes of the libidinous monarch. When Solomon praises her -she replies with praises of her beloved peasant swain. She longs for -him by day and seeks him in dreams by night. Solomon offers to place -her above his "threescore queens and fourscore concubines and virgins -without number"; but she is home-sick, and prefers the embraces of her -lover to those of the lascivious king. Her humble vineyard is more to -her than all the king's riches. The moral is, "Many waters cannot quench -love, neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give all the -substance of his house for love he would utterly be condemned." And a -far better one too than most morals to be drawn from the pages of the -Old Testament. -</p> -<pre> - * Revised Version. The Authorised Version changes the whole - purpose of the piece by reading "that ye stir not up nor - awaken my love till he please." -</pre> -<p> -The Song of Songs, which is <i>not</i> Solomon's, is a valuable relic of -antiquity, both because it utterly refutes the orthodox notion of -biblical inspiration, and because it deals with the old old story of -human passion which surges alike in peasants and in princes, and which -animated the hearts of men and maidens two thousand years ago even as it -does to-day. -</p> -<a name="link2H_4_0020"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> - -<div style="height: 4em;"><br><br><br><br></div> - -<h2> - SACRED SEVEN. -</h2> -<p> -It was natural that in the early ages of human intelligence man should -attach a superstitious reverence to numbers. The mystery attached to the -number seven has been variously accounted for. Some have explained it by -the figures of the square and triangle, others by the stars of the Great -Bear nightly seen overhead. Gerald Massey says: "The Constellation of -the Seven Great Stars (Ursa Major) was probably the primordial figure of -Seven. Seven was often called the perfect number. Its name as Hept (Eg.) -is also the name for Plenty—a heap of food and good luck. The Seven -were the great heap or cluster of stars, an image of plenty, or a lot -that revolved together."* My own opinion is that the superstition arose -in connection first with the menstrual period, and then with the phases -of the moon as a measurer of time. Its period of twenty-eight days could -be twice divided until the week of seven days was reached, and -then further division was impossible. Hence we everywhere find the -superstition linked to the days of the week and the seven planets -supposed to preside over these days. -</p> -<pre> - * Natural Genesis, ii., 219. -</pre> -<p> -The Egyptians worshipped the seven planets, and Herodotus tells us of -their seven castes. So with the Babylonians. From them was derived the -Jewish week. Hesiod, according to Eusebius, said "The seventh is the -sacred day." What he says in his <i>Works and Days</i> is, "On the seventh -day Latona brought forth Apollo"; and Ęschylus, in his <i>Seven Against -Thebes</i>, says the number Seven was sacred to Apollo. The moon periods -were sacred as measuring time and also in connection with female -periodicity. Man discovered the month before the year. Hence the moon -was widely worshipped. The worship of the queen of heaven in Palestine -is alluded to in Jer. vii. 18 and xliv. 17. The superstition of the -new moon bringing luck has descended to our own time. When the year was -reckoned by thirteen moons of twenty-eight days, thirteen was the lucky -number; but when this was changed for the twelve months of solar time, -thirteen became one too many. The Parsee Bundahisli, according to Gerald -Massey, exhibits seven races of men—(1) the earth-men, (2) water-men, -(3) breast-eared men, (4) breast-eyed men, (5) one-legged men, (6) -batwinged men, (7) men with tails. -</p> - -<p>Section 7 of the Kabbalistic Sepher Yezirah* says, "The seven planets -in the world are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. Seven -days in the year are the seven days of the week; seven gates in man, -male and female, are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth." -Again, section 15 says, "By the seven double consonants were also -designed seven worlds, seven heavens, seven lands, seven seas, seven -rivers, seven deserts, seven days a week, seven weeks from Passover to -Pentecost, there is a cycle of seven years, the seventh is the release -year, and after seven release years is jubilee. Hence God loves the -number seven under the whole heaven." -</p> -<pre> - * Trans, by Dr. I. Kalisch, pp. 27 and 81. -</pre> -<p> -The Bible, it has been remarked, begins in Genesis with a seven, and -ends in the Apocalypse with a series of sevens. God himself took a rest -on the seventh day and was refreshed, or, as the Hebrew reads, took -breath. The Passover and other festivals lasted seven days; Jacob -bowed seven times; Solomon's temple was seven years in building; the -tabernacle had seven lamps, a candlestick with seven arms, etc. In a -variety of passages it seems, like 40, to have been a sort of round -number—as people sometimes say a dozen for an indeterminate quantity. -Thus in Daniel iii. 19 the fiery furnace was to be heated seven times -more than it was wont to be heated. In Proverbs (xxiv. 16) we are told -a just man falleth seven times and rises up again. One of the Psalmists -says (cix. 164), "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy -righteous judgments" (see too Lev. xxvi. 18, 28; Dent, xxviii. 7, 35; -Job ix; Psalm xii. 6, lxxix. 12; Isaiah iv. 1, xi. 15, xxx. 26; Jer. xv. -9, Matt. xii. 45). The week induced reckoning by sevens, and led to -such enactments as that the Jews on the seventh day of the seventh month -should feast seven days and remain seven days in tents. -</p> -<p> -The root idea of the number is that of religious periodicity. We find -it not only in the Sabbath, but in all other sacred periods. Thus the -seventh month is ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalised by -the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and Yom Kippur. Seven weeks -is the interval between Passover and Pentecost. The seventh is the -Sabbatical year, when bondsmen were to be released and debts go free. -With this custom is connected the binding of youths for seven years -apprenticeship, and of punishing incorrigible offenders for 7, 14, or -21 years. The year succeeding seven times seven is the Jubilee. The -earliest form, that of the menstrual period, is shown in the duration of -various kinds of legal uncleanness, as after childbirth, after contact -with a corpse, etc. So we have the sprinkling of the house seven times -with the water of purification (Lev. xiv. 51), the command of Elisha -to Naaman to wash in Jordan seven times (2 Kings v. 10). Hezekiah, in -cleansing the temple, offered seven bullocks, seven rams, and seven -he-goats for a sin offering. Septuple actions and agents abound. Thus -the blood of sacrifices were sprinkled seven times (Lev. iv. 6, 17; xiv. -7, 16, 27; xvi. 14, 15). So Jacob bowed to his brother Esau seven times -(Gen. xxxiii. 3). Balak built for Balaam seven altars, and prepares -seven oxen and seven rams (Num. xxiii. 1, 4, 14, 29), and Abraham -employed seven victims for sacrifice (Gen. xxi. 28, 30). We are reminded -of the lines in Virgil's Ęneid (vi. 58). -</p> -<pre> - Seven bullocks, yet unyoked, for Phoebus choose, - And for Diana, seven unspotted ewes. -</pre> -<p> -The Hebrew verb <i>Shaba</i>, to swear, is evidently derived from <i>Sheba</i> -seven, and denoted a sevenfold affirmation. Herodotus (xiii. 8), tells -us the manner of swearing among the ancient Arabians included smearing -seven stones with blood. Sheba is allied to the Egyptian Seb-ti (5-2), -the Zend Hapta, Greek Epta, Latin septem. The Pythagoreans said that -Heptad came from the Greek <i>Sebo</i> to venerate, but Egyptian and other -African dialects suffice to prove it is far earlier. -</p> -<p> -The writer of the Apocalypse had the mystic number on the brain. Dr. -Milligan has explained the 666 number of the beast, as a fall below the -sacred seven John of Patmos gives us seven golden candlesticks, (i. 1), -seven stars (i. 20), seven spirits and churches (iii. 1), seven seals -(v. 1), trumpets (viii. 2), thunders (x. 34), vials (xvi. 1), and seven -angels with seven plagues (xvi.) The beast has seven heads, horns and -crowns (xii. 3, xiii. 1, xvii. 7). The Lamb with seven horns and seven -eyes (v. 1 ). There are seven spirits before the throne of God (Rev. i. -4, etc.) like the seven Dhyani Chohans emanating from Parabrahm in Hindu -Theosophy. -</p> -<p> -So Christians have kept up legends of seven wise men, seven wonders of -the world, seven champions of Christendom, seven cardinal virtues, seven -deadly sins, seven devils in Mary Magdalene, etc. Of course there is no -better reason why there should be seven than the old idea of mystery and -completion attached to the number. -</p> -<p> -Modern Theosophists, too, go in largely for the number seven. There are -seven planets, seven rounds on each planet and seven races. Every ego -is composed of seven principles—Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Kamarupa, Linga -Sharira, Prana, and Sthula Sharira. It may seem strange that a lady of -Madame Blavatsky's undoubted powers of imagination should run in the old -rut. But the well-worn superstitions work the easiest, although to every -instructed person this one carries the mind back to the days when men -knew only of seven planets and measured their time by the moon. -</p> - - -<div style="height: 6em;"><br><br><br><br><br><br></div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Studies, by Joseph M. Wheeler - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE STUDIES *** - -***** This file should be named 40206-h.htm or 40206-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/2/0/40206/ - -Produced by David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Wheeler - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Bible Studies - Essays On Phallic Worship And Other Curious Rites And Customs - -Author: Joseph M. Wheeler - -Release Date: July 11, 2012 [EBook #40206] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIBLE STUDIES *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - - -BIBLE STUDIES - -ESSAYS ON PHALLIC WORSHIP AND OTHER CURIOUS RITES AND CUSTOMS - -By J. M. Wheeler - - - "There is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that - esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean." - --Paul (Romans xiv. 14). - - -1892. - -Printed and Published By G. W. Foote - - - - -PREFACE. - -My old friend Mr. Wheeler asks me to launch this little craft, and I do -so with great pleasure. She is not a thunderous ironclad, nor a gigantic -ocean liner; but she is stoutly built, well fitted, and calculated to -weather all the storms of criticism. My only fear is that she will not -encounter them. - -During the sixteen years of my friend's collaboration with me in -many enterprises for the spread of Freethought and the destruction of -Superstition, he has written a vast variety of articles, all possessing -distinctive merit, and some extremely valuable. From these he and I have -made the following selection. The articles included deal with the Bible -from a special standpoint; the standpoint of an Evolutionist, who reads -the Jewish Scriptures in the light of anthropology, and finds infinite -illustrations in them of the savage origin of religion. - -Literary and scientific criticism of the Old Testament have their -numerous votaries. Mr. Wheeler's mind is given to a different study -of the older half of the Bible. He is bent on showing what it really -contains; what religious ideas, rites, and customs prevailed among the -ancient Jews and find expression in their Scriptures. This is a fruitful -method, especially in _our_ country, if it be true, as Dr. Tylor -observes, that "the English mind, not readily swayed by rhetoric, moves -freely under the pressure of facts." - -Careful readers of this little book will find it full of precious -information. Mr. Wheeler has a peculiarly wide acquaintance with the -literature of these subjects. He has gathered from far and wide, like -the summer bee, and what he yields is not an undigested mass of facts, -but the pure honey of truth. - -Many readers will be astonished at what Mr. Wheeler tells them. We -have read the Bible, they will say, and never saw these things. That is -because they read it without knowledge, or without attention. Reading -is not done with the eyes only, but also with the brain; and the same -sentences will make various impressions, according as the brain is rich -or poor in facts and principles. Even the great, strong mind of Darwin -had to be plentifully stored with biological knowledge before he could -see the meaning of certain simple facts, and discover the wonderful law -of Natural Selection. - -Those who have studied the works of Spencer, Tylor, Lubbock, Frazer, and -such authors, will _not_ be astonished at the contents of this volume. -But they will probably find some points they had overlooked; some -familiar points presented with new force; and some fresh views, whose -novelty is not their only virtue: for Mr. Wheeler is not a slavish -follower of even the greatest teachers, he thinks for himself, and shows -others what he has seen with his own eyes. - -I hope this little volume will find many readers. Its doing so will -please the author, for every writer wishes to be read; why else, indeed, -should he write? Only less will be the pleasure of his friend who pens -this Preface. I am sure the book will be instructive to most of those -into whose hands it falls; to the rest, the few who really study and -reflect, it will be stimulating and suggestive. Greater praise the -author would not desire; so much praise cannot often be given with -sincerity. - -G. W. Foote. - - - - -PHALLIC WORSHIP AMONG THE JEWS. - - "The hatred of indecency, which appears to us so natural as - to be thought innate, and which is so valuable an aid to - chastity, is a modern virtue, appertaining exclusively, as - Sir G. Staunton remarks, to civilised life. This is shown by - the ancient religious rites of various nations, by the - drawings on the walls of Pompeii, and by the practices of - many savages."--C. Darwin, "Descent of Man" pt. 1, chap. - iv., vol. i., p. 182; 1888. - -The study of religions is a department of anthropology, and nowhere is -it more important to remember the maxim of the pagan Terence, _Homo sum, -nihil humani a me alienum puto_. It is impossible to dive deep into any -ancient faiths without coming across a deal of mud. Man has often been -defined as a religious animal. He might as justly be termed a dirty and -foolish animal. His religions have been growths of earth, not gifts from -heaven, and they usually bear strong marks of their clayey origin.* - - * The Contemporary Review for June 1888, says (p. 804) "when - Lord Dalhousie passed an Act intended to repress obscenity - (in India), a special clause in it exempted all temples and - religious emblems from its operation." - -I am not one of those who find in phallicism the key to all the -mysteries of mythology. All the striking phenomena of nature--the -alternations of light and darkness, sun and moon, the terrors of the -thunderstorm, and of pain, disease and death, together with his -own dreams and imaginations--contributed to evoke the wonder and -superstition of early man. But investigation of early religion shows it -often nucleated around the phenomena of generation. The first and final -problem of religion concerns the production of things. Man's own body -was always nearer to him than sun, moon, and stars; and early man, -thinking not in words but in things, had to express the very idea of -creation or production in terms of his own body. It was so in Egypt, -where the symbol, from being the sign of production, became also -the sign of life, and of regeneration and resurrection. It was so in -Babylonia and Assyria, as in ancient Greece and Troy, and is so till -this day in India. - -Montaigne says: - -"Fifty severall deities were in times past allotted to this office. And -there hath beene a nation found which to allay and coole the lustful -concupiscence of such as came for devotion, kept wenches of purpose in -their temples to be used; for it was a point of religion to deale -with them before one went to prayers. _Nimirum propter continentiam -incontinentia neces-saria est, incendium ignibus extinguitur_: 'Belike -we must be incontinent that we may be continent, burning is quenched by -fire.' In most places of the world that part of our body was deified. -In that same province some flead it to offer, and consecrated a peece -thereof; others offered and consecrated their seed." - -It is in India that this early worship maybe best studied at the present -day. The worshippers of Siva identify their great god, Maha Deva, with -the linga, and wear on their left arm a bracelet containing the linga -and yoni. The rival sect of followers of Vishnu have also a phallic -significance in their symbolism. The linga yoni (fig. 1) is indeed one -of the commonest of religious symbols in India. Its use extends from the -Himalayas to Cape Comorin. Major-General Forlong says the ordinary Maha -Deva of Northern India is the simple arrangement shown in fig. 2, in -which we see "what was I suspect the first Delphic tripod supporting a -vase of water over the Linga in Yona. Such may be counted by scores in -a day's march over Northern India, and especially at ghats or river -ferries, or crossings of any streams or roads; for are they not Hermae?" -The Linga Purana tells us that the linga was a pillar of fire in which -Siva was present. This reminds one of Jahveh appearing as a pillar of -cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. - -[Illustration: Fig. 1.--The Hindu Maha Deva, or Linga-Yoni] - -So astounded have been many writers at the phenomena presented by -phallic worship that they have sought to explain it, not only by the -story of the fall and the belief in original sin, but by the direct -agency of devils.* Yet it may be wrong to associate the origin of -phallic worship with obscenity. Early man was rather unmoral than -immoral. Obliged to think in things, it was to him no perversion to -mentally associate with his own person the awe of the mysterious power -of production. The sense of pleasure and the desire for progeny of -course contributed. The worship was indeed both natural and inevitable -in the evolution of man from savagery. When, however, phallic worship -was established, it naturally led to practices such as those which -Herodotus, Diodorus, and Lucian tell us took place in the Egyptian, -Babylonian, and Syrian religions. - - * See Gougenot des Mousseaux's curious work Dieu et les - Dieux, Paris, 1854. When the Luxor monument was erected in - Rome, Pope Sixtus V. deliberately exorcised the devils out - of possession of it. - -[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Rural Hindu Lingam.] - -Hume's observation that polytheism invariably preceded monotheism has -been confirmed by all subsequent investigation. The belief in one god or -supreme spirit springs out of the belief in many gods or spirits. That -this was so with the Jews there is sufficient evidence in the Bible, -despite the fact that the documents so called have been frequently -"redacted," that is corrected, and the evidence in large part erased. -An instance of this falsification may be found in Judges xviii. 30 (see -Revised Version), where "Manasseh" has been piously substituted for -Moses, in order to conceal the fact that the direct descendants of Moses -were image worshippers down till the time of the captivity. The Rabbis -gave what Milton calls "this insulse rule out of their Talmud; 'That all -words, which in the Law are written obscenely, must be changed to more -civil words.' Fools who would teach men to read more decently than God -thought good to write."* Instances of euphemisms may be traced in the -case of the "feet" (Judges iii. 24, Song v. 3, Isaiah vii* 20); "thigh" -(Num. v. 24); "heel" (Gen, iii. 15); "heels" (Jer. xiii. 22); and "hand" -(Isaiah lvii. 7). This last verse is translated by Dr. Cheyne, "and -behind the door and the post hast thou placed thy memorial, for apart -from me thou hast uncovered and gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and -obtained a contract from them (?); thou hast loved their bed; thou hast -beheld the phallus." In his note Dr. Cheyne gives the view of the Targum -and Jerome "that 'memorial' = idol (or rather idolatrous symbol--the -phallus)." - - * "Apology for Smectymnus," Works, p.84. - -The priests, whose policy it was to keep the nation isolated, did their -best to destroy the evidence that the Jews shared in the idolatrous -beliefs and practices of the nations around them. In particular the cult -of Baal and Asherah, which we shall see was a form of phallic worship, -became obnoxious, and the evidence of its existence was sought to be -obliterated. The worship, moreover, became an esoteric one, known only -to the priestly caste, as it still is among Roman Catholic initiates, -and the priestly caste were naturally desirous that the ordinary -worshipper should not become "as one of us." - -It is unquestionable that in the earliest times the Hebrews worshipped -Baal. In proof there is the direct assertion of Jahveh himself (Hosea -ii. 16) that "thou shalt call me _Ishi_ [my husband] and shalt call -me no more _Baali_." The evidence of names, too, is decisive. Gideon's -other name, Jerubbaal (Jud. vi. 32, and 1 Sam. xii. 11), was -evidently the true one, for in 2 Sam. xi. 21, the name Jerubbesheth is -substituted. Eshbaal (1 Chron. viii. 33) is called Ishbosheth (2 Sam. -ii. 8, 10). Meribbaal (1 Chron. viii. 34) is Mephibosheth (2 Sam. iv. -4).* Now _bosheth_ means v "shame," or "shameful thing," and as Dr. -Donaldson points out, in especial, "sexual shame," as in Gen. ii. 25. -In the Septuagint version of 1 Kings xviii. 25, the prophets of Baal -are called "the prophets of that shame." Hosea ix. 10 says "they went -to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to Bosheth and became abominable -like that they loved." Micah i. 11 "having thy Bosheth naked." Jeremiah -xi. 5, "For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O -Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye -set up altars to Bosheth, altars to burn incense unto Baal." - - * So Baaljadah [1 Chron. xiv. 7] is Eliada [2 Sam. v. 161.] - In 1 Chron. xii. 6, we have the curious combination, - Baaljah, i.e. Baal is Jah, as the name of one of David's - heroes. - -The place where the ark stood, known afterwards as Kirjath-jearim, was -formerly named Baalah, or place of Baal (I Chron. xiii. 6). The change -of name took place after David's time, since the writer of 2 Sam. vi. 2 -says merely that David went with the ark from "Baale of Judah."* Colenso -notices that when the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal are said -to have been destroyed by Elijah, nothing is said of the four hundred -prophets of the Asherah. "Also these same '400 prophets,' apparently, -are called together by Ahab as prophets of JHVH, and they reply in the -name of JHVH, 1 Kings xxii. 5-6." - -That phallicism was an important element in Baal and Asherah worship is -well known to scholars, and will be made clear to discerning readers. -The frequent allusion to "groves" in the Authorised Version must have -puzzled many a simple student. The natural but erroneous suggestion of -"tree worship" does not fit in very well with the important statement (2 -Kings xxiii. 6) that Josiah "brought out the grove from the house of -the Lord."** A reference to the Revised Version will show that this -misleading word is intended to conceal the real nature of the worship of -Asherah. The door of life, the conventional form of the Asherah with its -thirteen flowers or measurements of time, is given in fig. 3. - - * The "Baal" was afterwards taken out of all such names of - places, and instead of Baal Peor, Baal Meon, Baal Tamar, - Baal Shalisha, etc., we find Beth Peor, Beth Meon, Beth - Tamar, etc. - - ** Verse vii. says, "he brake down the houses of the - sodomites that were by the house of the Lord, where the - women wove hangings for the grove." A reference to the Revised - Version shows that it was "in the house of the Lord, where - the women wove hangings [or tents] for the Asherah." See - also Ezek. xvi. 16. - -This worship certainly lasted from the earliest historic times until -the seventeenth year of Josiah, B.C. 624. We read how in the days of the -Judges they "served Baalim and the groves" (R.V., "the Asheroth"; Judges -iii, 7; see ii. 12, "Baal and Ash-taroth.) We find that Solomon himself -"went after Ashtoreth (1 Kings xi. 5) and that he builded the mount of -corruption (margin, i.e., the mount of Olives) for that "abomination -of the Zidonians" (2 Kings xxiii. 13). All the distinctive features -of Solomon's Temple were Phoenician in character. What the Phoenician -temples were like Lucian tells us in his treatise on the goddess -of Syria. The great pillars Jachin, "the establisher," and Boaz, -"strength"; the ornamentation of palm trees, pomegranates, and lotus -work; are all Phoenician and all phallic. The bells and pomegranates -on the priests' garment were emblematic of the paps and full womb. -The palm-tree, which appears both in Solomon's temple and in Ezekiel's -vision, was symbolical, as may be seen in the Assyrian monument (fig. -4), and which finds a place in Eastern Christian symbolism, with the -mystic alpha and omega (fig. 5). - -The worship of Astoreth, the Assyrian Ishtar, and Greek Astarte, was -widespread. The Phoenicians took it with them to Cyprus and Carthage. In -the days of Abraham there was a town called after her (Gen. xiv. 5), and -to this day her name is preserved in Esther. - -[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Asherah.] - -It is she who is called the Queen of Heaven, to whom the women made -moon-shaped cakes and poured libations (Jer. vii. 18, xliv. 17.) Baal -represented the generative, Astoreth the productive power. The pillars -and asherah, so often alluded to in the Bible, were the palm-tree, with -male and female animals frolicking around the tree of life, the female -near the fleur de lis and the male near the yoni. Tall and straight -trees, especially the palm, were reverenced as symbols. Palm branches -carried in procession were signs of fruitfulness and joy. - -[Illustration: Fig. 4.--From Layard, Culte de Venus, plate I, fig. 20, -depicts the mystic signs of their worship, and Dr. Oort* says of the -name Ashera, "This word expressed originally a pillar on, or near--not -only the altars of Baal--but also the altars of JHVH."] - -Bishop Colenso in his notes to Dr. Oort's work remarks, "It seems plain -that the Ashera (from _ashar_, be straight, erect) was in reality a -phallus, like the _Linga_ or _Lingam_ of the Hindoos, the sign of the -male organ of generation."** - - * The Worship of Baalim and Israel, p. 46. - - ** Asher was the tutelary god of Assyria. His emblem was the - winged circle. - -[Illustration: Fig. 5.--The Eastern Christian palm, on which is placed -the cross and banners with the Alpha and Omega.] - -There can be little doubt on the matter in the mind of anyone acquainted -with ancient faiths and the inevitable phases of human evolution, We -read (1 Kings xv. 13, Revised Version), that Maachah, the queen mother -of Asa, "made an abominable image for an Asherah." This the Vulgate -translates "Priape" and Movers _pudendum_. Jeremiah, who alludes to the -same thing (x. 5), tells that the people said, "to a stock, Thou art my -father, and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth" (ii. 27), that they -"defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and with stocks" -(iii. 9), playing the harlot "under every green tree" (ii. 20, iii. 6, -13; see also Hosea iv. 13). Isaiah xvii. 8, alludes to the Asherim as -existing in his own days, and alludes to these religions in plain terms -(lvii. 5--8). Micah also prophesies against the "pillars" and "Asherim" -(v. 13, 14). Ezekiel xvi. 17, says "Thou hast also taken thy fair -jewels, of my gold and of silver, which I have given thee, and madest to -thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them." The margin -more properly reads images "Heb. of a male" [tsalmi zachar], a male -here being an euphemism. As Gesenius says of the metaphor in Numbers -xxiv. 7 these things are "ex nostra sensu obscoena, sed Orientalibus -familiaria." - -These images are alluded to and prohibited in Deut. iv. 16. It is thus -evident that some form of phallic worship lasted among the Jews-from the -earliest times until their captivity in Babylon. - -It is a most significant fact that the Jews used one and the same word -to signify both "harlot" and "holy." "There shall be no _kedeshah_ of -the daughters of Israel" (Deut. xxiii. 17) means no female consecrated -to the temple worship. Kuenen says "it is natural to assume that this -impurity was practised in the worship of Jahveh, however much soever the -lawgiver abhors it." It must be noticed, too, that there is no absolute -prohibition. It only insists that the slaves of desire shall not be of -the house of Israel, and stipulates that the money so obtained shall -not be dedicated to Jahveh. That this was the custom both in Samaria and -Jerusalem, as in Babylon, may be gathered from Micah i. 7, and Hosea iv. -14. - -Dr. Kalisch, by birth a Jew and one of the most fair-minded of biblical -scholars, says in his note on Leviticus xix. 29: "The unchaste worship -of Ashtarte, known also as Beltis and Tanais, Ishtar, Mylitta, and -Anaitis, Asherah and Ashtaroth, flourished among the Hebrews at -all times, both in the kingdom of Judah and Israel; it consisted in -presenting to the goddess, who was revered as the female principle -of conception and birth, the virginity of maidens as a first-fruit -offering; and it was associated with the utmost licentiousness. -This-degrading service took such deep root, that in the Assyrian period -it was even extended by the adoption of new rites borrowed from Eastern -Asia, and described by the name of 'Tents of the Maidens' (Succoth -Benoth); and it left its mark in the Hebrew language itself, which -ordinarily expressed the notion courtesan by 'a consecrated woman' -(Kadeshah), and that of sodomite by 'consecrated man' (Kadesh)." - -The Succoth Benoth in 2 Kings xvii. 30, may be freely rendered -Tabernacles of Venus. Venus is plausibly derived from Benoth, whose -worship was at an early time disseminated from Carthage and other parts -of Africa to the shores of Italy. The merriest festival among the Jews -was the Feast of Tabernacles. Plutarch (who suggests that the pig was -originally worshipped by the Jews, a position endorsed by Mr. J. G. -Frazer, in his _Golden Bough_, vol. ii., pp. 52, 53) says the Jewish -feast of Tabernacles "is exactly agreeable to the holy rites of -Bacchus."* He adds, "What they do within I know not, but it is very -probable that they perform the rites of Bacchus." - - * Symposiacs, bk. iv., queat. 6, p. 310, vol. iii., - Plutarch's Morals, 1870. - -Dr. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on 2 Kings xvii. 30, gives the -following:--"Succoth-benoth maybe literally translated, _The Tabernacle -of the Daughters, or Young Women_; or if _Benoth_ be taken as the name -of a female idol, from birth, _to build up, procreate, children_, then -the words will express the tabernacles sacred to the productive powers -feminine. And, agreeably to this latter exposition, the rabbins say that -the emblem was a hen and chickens. But however this may be, there is -no room to doubt that these _succoth_ were _tabernacles_, wherein young -women exposed themselves to prostitution in honor of the Babylon goddess -Melitta." Herodotus (lib. i., c. 199; Rawlinson) says: "Every woman born -in the country must once in her life go and sit down in the precinct of -Venus, and there consort with a stranger. Many of the wealthier sort, -who are too proud to mix with the others, drive in covered carriages to -the precinct, followed by a goodly train of attendants, and there take -their station. But the larger number seat themselves within the holy -enclosure with wreaths of string about their heads; and here there is -always a great crowd, some coming and others going; lines of cord mark -out paths in all directions among the women, and the strangers pass -along them to make their choice. A woman who has once taken her seat -is not allowed to return home till one of the strangers throws a silver -coin into her lap, and takes her with him beyond the holy ground. When -he throws the coin he says these words--'The goddess Mylitta prosper -thee" (Venus is called Mylitta by the Assyrians). The silver coin may -be of any size; it cannot be refused, for that is forbidden by the law, -since once thrown it is sacred. The woman goes with the first man who -throws her money, and rejects no one. When she has gone with him, and -so satisfied the goddess, she returns home, and from that time forth -no gift, however great, will prevail with her. Such of the women as are -tall and beautiful are soon released, but others who are ugly have to -stay a long time before they can fulfil the law. Some have waited three -or four years in the precinct. A custom very much like this is also -found in certain parts of the island of Cyprus." This custom is alluded -to in the Apocryphal Epistle of Jeremy (Barch vi. 43): "The women also -with cords about them sitting in the ways, burnt bran for perfume; -but if any of them, drawn by some that passeth by, lie with him, she -reproacheth her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, -nor her cord broken." The Commentary published by the S. P. C. K. says, -"Women with cords about them," the token that they were devotees -of Mylitta, the Babylonian Venus, called in 2 Kings xvii. 30, -'Succoth-benoth,' the ropes denoting the obligation of the vow which -they had taken upon themselves." Valerius Maximus speaks of a temple -of Sicca Venus in Africa, where a similar custom obtained. Strabo also -mentions the custom (lib. xvi., c. i., 20), and says, "The money is -considered as consecrated to Venus." In book xi., c. xiv., 16, Strabo -says the Armenians pay particular reverence to Anaites. "They dedicate -there to her service male and female slaves; in this there is nothing -remarkable, but it is surprising that persons of the highest rank in the -nation consecrate their virgin daughters to the goddess. It is customary -for these women, after being prostituted a long period at the temple of -Anaites, to be disposed of in marriage, no one disdaining a connection -with such persons. Herodotus mentions something similar respecting the -Lydian women, all of whom prostitute themselves." Of the temple of Venus -at Corinth, Strabo says "it had more than a thousand women consecrated -to the service of the goddess, courtesans, whom men and women had -dedicated as offerings to the goddess"; and of Comana, in Cappadocia, he -has a similar relation (bk. xii., c. iii., 36). - -Dr. Kalisch also says Baal Peor "was probably the principle of -generation _par excellence_, and at his festivals virgins were -accustomed to yield themselves in his honor. To this disgraceful -idolatry the Hebrews were addicted from very early times; they are -related to have already been smitten on account of it by a fearful -plague which destroyed 24,000 worshippers, and they seem to have clung -to its shameful practices in later periods."* Jerome says plainly that -Baal-Peor was Priapus, which some derive from Peor Apis. Hosea says (ix. -10, Revised Version) "they came to Baal-Peor and consecrated themselves -unto the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they -loved"; see, too, Num. xxvi. 1, 3. Amos (ii. 7,8) says a son and a -father go in unto the same maid in the house of God to profane Jahveh's -holy name, so that it appears this "maid" was regarded as in the service -of Jahveh. Maimonides says it was known that the worship of Baal-Peor -was by uncovering of the nakedness; and this he makes the reason why God -commanded the priests to make themselves breeches to wear at the time of -service, and why they might not go up to the altar by steps that their -nakedness might not be discovered.** Jules Soury says*** "The tents of -the sacred prostitutes were generally erected on the high places." - - * Leviticus, p. 364. - - ** That even more shameful practices were once common is - evident from the narratives in Genesis xix. and Judges xix. - - *** Religion of Israel chap. ix., p. 71. - - **** Leviticus, part i., p. 383. Kork, Die Gotter Syrian, p. - 103, says the pillars and Asherah stood in the adytum, that - is the holy of holies, which represented the genetrix. - -In the temple at Jerusalem the women wove hangings for the Asherah (2 -Kings xxiii. 7), that is for concealment in the worship of the genetrix, -and in the same precincts were the houses of prostitute priests (see -also 1 Kings xiv. 24; xv. 12; xxii. 46. Luther translates "_Hurer_"). -Although Josiah destroyed these, B.C. 624, Kalisch says "The image of -Ashtarte was probably erected again in the inner court (Jer. xxxii. 34; -Ezek. viii. 6)." Ezekiel says (xvi. 16), "And of thy garments thou didst -take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colors and playedst -the harlot thereupon," and (v. 24) "Thou hast also built unto thee an -eminent place, and hast made thee a high place in every street," which -is plainly translated in the Roman Catholic Douay version "Thou didst -also build thee a common stew and madest thee a brothel house in every -street." The "strange woman," against whom the Proverbs warns, practised -her profession under cover of religion (see Prov. vii. 14). The "peace -offerings" there alluded to were religious sacrifices. - -Together with their other functions the Kadeshah, like the eastern -nautch girls and bayaderes, devoted themselves to dancing and music (see -Isaiah xxiii. 16). Dancing was an important part of ancient religious -worship, as may be noticed in the case of King David, who danced before -the ark, clad only in a linen ephod, probably a symbolic emblem (see -Judges viii. 27), to the scandal of his wife, whom he had purchased by -a trophy of two hundred foreskins from the uncircumcised Philistines (1 -Sam. xviii. 27; 2 Sam. vi. 14-16). When the Israelites worshipped the -golden calf they danced naked (Exodus xxxii. 19, 25). They sat down to -eat and to drink, and rose up to _play_, the word being the same as that -used in Gen. xxvi. 8. The word _chag_ is frequently translated "feast," -and means "dance." In the wide prevalence of sacred prostitution -Sir John Lubbock sees a corroboration of his hypothesis of communal -marriage. Mr. Wake, however, refers it to the custom of sexual -hospitality, a practice widely spread among all savage races, the rite -like that of blood covenanting being associated with ideas of kinship -and friendliness. - -We have seen that the early Jews shared in the phallic worship of the -nations around them. Despite the war against Baal and Asherah worship -by the prophets of Jahveh, it was common in the time of the Judges (iii. -7). Solomon himself was a worshipper of Ashtoreth, a faith doubtless -after the heart of the sensual sultan (1 Kings xi. 5). The people of -Judah "built them high places and phalli and ashera on every high hill -and under every green tree. And there were also Sodomites in the land" -(1 Kings xiv. 23, 24). The mother of Asa made "an abominable image for -an Asherah" (1 Kings xv. 13).* The images of Asherah were kept in the -house of Jahveh till the time of Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 6). Dr. Kuenen -says (_Religion of Israel_, vol. i., p. 80), "the images, pillars and -asheras were not considered by those who worshipped them as antagonistic -to the acknowledgment of Jahveh as the God of Israel." The same writer -contends that Jeroboam exhibiting the calves or young bulls could truly -say "These be thy gods, O Israel." Remembering, too, that every Jew -bears in his own body the mark of a special covenant with the Lord, the -reader may take up his Bible and find much over which pious preachers -and commentators have woven a pretty close veil. I will briefly notice -a few particulars. - - * Larousse, in his Grande Dictionnaire Universelle, says: - "Le phallos hebraique fut pedant neuf cent ans le rival - souvent victorieux de Jehovah." - -Without going into the question of the translation of Genesis i. 2, it -is evident from v. 27 that God is hermaphrodite. "So God created man -in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female -(zakar and nekaba) created he them." - -It is not difficult to find traces of phallicism in the allegory of -the Garden of Eden. This has been noticed from the earliest times. The -rabbis classed the first chapters of Genesis with the Song of Solomon -and certain portions of Ezekiel as not to be read by anyone under -thirty. The Manichaeans and other early Christians held the phallic view. -Clement of Alexandria (Strom iii.) admits the sin of Adam consists in -a premature indulgence of the sexual appetite. This view explains why -knowledge was prohibited and why the first effect of the fall was the -perception of nakedness. Basilides contended that we should reverence -the serpent because it induced Eve to share the caresses of Adam, -without which the human race would never have existed. Many modern -writers, notably Beverland and Dr. Donaldson, have sustained the phallic -interpretation. Archbishop Whately is also said to have advocated a -similar opinion in an anonymous Latin work published in Germany. Dr. -Donaldson, who was renowned as a scholar, makes some curious versions -of the Hebrew. His translation of the alleged "Messianic promise" -in Genesis iii. 15, his adversary, Dr. Perowne, the present Dean of -Peterborough, says, is "so gross that it will not bear rendering into -English." A good Hebraist, a Jew by birth, who had never heard of Dr. -Donaldson's _Jashar_, gave me an exactly similar rendering of this -verse--which makes it a representation of coition--and instanced the -phrase "the serpent was more subtle than the other beasts of the field," -as an illustration of early Jewish humor. - -The French physician, Parise, eloquently says: "This sublime gift of -transmitting life--fatal perogative, which man continually forfeits--at -once the mainstay of morality by means of family ties, and the powerful -cause of depravity--the energetic spring of life and health--the -ceaseless source of disease and infirmity--this faculty involves -almost all that man can attain of earthly happiness or misfortune, of -earthly pleasure or of pain; and the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, -is the symbol of it, as true as it is expressive." - -Dr. Adam Clarke was so impressed by the difficulty of the serpent having -originally gone erect, that he thinks that _nachash_ means "a creature -of the ape or ourang-outang kind." Yet it has been suggested that a -key to the word may be found in Ezekiel xvi. 36, where it is translated -"filthiness." There is nothing whatever in the story to show that the -serpent is the Devil. This was an after idea when the Devil had become -the symbol of passion and the instigator of lust. De Gubernatis, in his -_Zoological Mythology_ (vol. ii., p. 399), says "The phallical serpent -is the cause of the fall of the first man." Many other difficulties in -the story become less obscure when it is viewed as a remnant in which a -phallic element is embodied. - -Some have detected a phallic signification in the story of the ark and -the deluge, a legend capable of many interpretations. The phallic view -is represented in the symbols in fig. 6, taken from Jacob Bryant's -Mythology, vol. iv., p. 286, in which the rainbow overshadows the mystic -ark, which carries the life across the restless flood of time, which -drowns everything that has life, and promises that seed-time and harvest -shall endure, and the Ruach broods over the waters. Gerald Massey -devotes a section of his _Natural Genesis_ to the typology of the -Ark and the Deluge. M. Clermont-Ganneau holds that the Ruach was the -feminine companion of Elohim, and that this idea was continued under the -name of Kodesh the Euach Kodesh or Holy Ghost, which with the Jews and -early Nazarene Christians was feminine. - -[Illustration: Fig. 6.--The Mystic Ark.] - -Another point to be briefly noticed is Jacob's anointing of the stone -which he slept on, and then erected and called Beth El, or "house of -God," the residence of the creative spirit. This was a phallic rite. -Exactly the same anointing of the linga is performed in India till this -day. It is evident that Jacob's worship of the pillar was orthodox at -the time the narrative was written, for God sends him back to the pillar -to perform his vow (see Gen. xxxv.), and again he goes through phallic -rites (v. 14). When Paul says, "Flee fornication. Know ye not that your -body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" he elevates and spiritualises the -conception which lay in the word Bethel. According to Philo Byblius, the -huge stones common in Syria, as in so many lands, were called Baetylia. -Kalisch says it is not extravagant to suppose that the words are -identical. From this custom of anointing comes the conception of the -Messiah, or Christ the Anointed. Kissing the stone or god appears also -to have been a religious rite. Thus we read of kissing Baal (1 Kings -xix. 18) and kissing the "calves" (Hos. xiii. 2). Epi-phanius said that -the Ophites kissed the serpent which this wretched people called the -Eucharist. They concluded the ceremonies by singing a hymn through him -to the Supreme Father. (See Fergusson's _Tree and Serpent Worship_, p. -9.) The kissing of the Mohammedan saint's member and of the Pope's toe -are probably connected. Amalarius, who lived in the age of Charlemagne, -says that on Friday (_Dies Veneris_) the Pope and cardinals crawl on all -fours along the aisles of St. Peter's to a cross before an altar which -they salute and kiss. - -Mr. Grant Allen, in an article on Sacred Stones in the _Fortnightly -Review_, Jan., 1890, says: - -"Samuel judged Israel every year at Bethel, the place of Jacob's sacred -pillar; at Gilgal, the place where Joshua's twelve stones were set -up; and at Mizpeh, where stood the cairn surmounted by the pillars of -Laban's servant. He, himself, 'took a stone and set it up between Mizpeh -and Shen'; and its very name, Ebenezer, 'the stone of help,' shows that -it was originally worshipped before proceeding on an expedition, though -the Jehovistic gloss, 'saying Hitherto the Lord hath helped us,' does -its best, of course, to obscure the real meaning. It was to the stone -circle of Gilgal that Samuel directed Saul to go down, saying; 'I -will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice -sacrifices of peace offerings.' It was at the cairn of Mizpeh that Saul -was chosen king; and after the victory over the Ammonites, Saul went -once more to the great Stonehenge at Gilgal to 'review the kingdom,' -and 'There they made Saul king before Jahveh in Gilgal; and there they -sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before Jahyeh.'" - -This last passage, as Mr. Allen points out, is very instructive, as -showing that in the opinion of the writer, Jahveh was then domiciled at -Gilgal. - -M. Soury, in his note to chap. ii. of his _Religion of Israel_, says: -"It is needful to point out, with M. Schrader, that the most ancient -Babylonian inscriptions in the Accadian tongues, those of Urukh and -of Ur Kasdim, preserved in the British Museum, were engraved on clay -phalii. We have here the origin of the usages and customs of religion -so long followed among the Oanaanites and Hebrews (Y. Movers, _Die -Phonizer_, I., 591, _et passim_)." - -In the old hymn embodied in Deut. xxxii., God is frequently called -_Tsur_, "The Rock which begat thee," etc. Major-General Forlong believes -"that the Jews had a Phallus or phallic symbol in their 'Ark of the -Testimony' or Ark of the Eduth, a word which I hold tries to veil the -real objects" (_Rivers of Life_, vol. i., p. 149). He does not scruple -to say this was "the real God of the Jews; that God of the Ark or the -Testimony, but surely not of Europe" (vol. i., p. 169). This contention -is forcibly suggested by the picture of the Egyptian Ark found in Dr. -Smith's _Bible Dictionary_, art. - -"Ark of the Covenant." The Ark of the Testimony, or significant thing, -the tabernacle of the testimony and the veil of the testimony alluded to -in Exodus are never mentioned in Deuteronomy. The Rev. T. Wilson, in his -_Archaeological Dictionary_, art. "Sanctum," observes that "the Ark of -the Covenant, which was the greatest ornament of the first temple, was -wanting in the second, but a stone of three inches thick, it is said, -supplied its place, which they [the Jews] further assert is still in -the Mahommedan mosque called _the temple of the Stone_, which is erected -where the Temple of Jerusalem stood." This forcibly suggests that the -nature of the "God in the box" which the Jews carried about with them -was similar to that carried in the processions of Osiris and Dionysos. -According to 1 Kings viii. 9 the Ark contained two stones, but the much -later writer of Heb. ix. 4 makes it contain the golden pot with manna, -Aaron's rod, and the tables of the covenant. - -Mr. Sellon, in the papers of the Anthropological Society of London, -1863-4, p. 327, argues: "There would also now appear good ground for -believing that the ark of the covenant, held so sacred by the Jews, -contained nothing more nor less than a phallus, the ark being the -type of the Argha or Yoni (Linga worship) of India." Hargrave Jennings -(_Phallicism_, p. 67) says: "We know from the Jewish records that the -ark contained a table of stone.... That stone was phallic, and yet -identical with the sacred name Jehovah, which, written in unpointed -Hebrew with four letters, is JEVE, or JHVH (the H being merely an -aspirate and the same as E). This process leaves us the two letters I -and V (in another form, U); then, if we place the I in the V, we have -the 'Holy of Holies'; we also have the Linga and Yoni and Argha of the -Hindus, the Isvara and 'Supreme Lord'; and here we have the whole secret -of its mystic and arc-celestial import confirmed in itself by being -identical with the Ling-yoni of the Ark of the Covenant." - -In Hosea, who finds it quite natural that the Lord should tell him "Go -take unto thee a wife of whoredoms," we find the Lord called his _zakar_ -(translated memorial, xii. 5). In the same prophet we read that Jahveh -declares thou shalt call me _Ishi_ (my husband); and shalt no more -call me Baali (ii. 16). Again he says to his people "I am your husband" -(Hosea iii. 14); "Thy maker is thine husband; Jahveh Sabaoth is his -name" (Isaiah liv. 5). I was an husband to them, saith Jahveh (Jer. -xxxi. 32. See also Jer. iii. 20 and Ezek. xvi. 32). God even does not -scruple to represent himself in Ezekiel xxiii. as the husband of two -adulterous sisters. Taking to other deities is continually called -whoring and adultery. See Exod. xxxiv. 15, 16; Lev. xx. 5; Num. xxv. -1-3; Deut. xxxi. 16; xxxii. 16-21; Jud. ii. 17; viii. 27; 1 Chron. -v. 25; Ps. lxxiii. 27; cvi. 39; Jer. iii. 1, 2, 6; Ezek. xvi. 15, 17; -xxiii. 3; Hos. i. 2; ii. 4, 5; iv. 13, 15; v. 3, 4; ix. 7. In the -Wisdom of Solomon (xiv. 12), we read: "For the devising of idols was -the beginning of _spiritual_ fornication, and the invention of them the -corruption of life." Here the word "spiritual" is deliberately inserted -to pervert the meaning. Let any one reflect how such coarse expressions -could continually be used unless the writers were used to phallic -worship. Further consider the narrative in Numbers xxxi., where the -Lord takes a maiden tribute out of 32,000 girls, who must all have been -examined. Vestal virgins and nuns are all consecrated like the kadeshim -to the god, and the god is personified by the priest. In this sense -phallicism is the key of all the creeds. - -[Illustration: Fig. 7. Fig. 8] - -That some remnants of phallicism may be traced even in Christianity, -will be evident to the readers of _Anacalypsis_, by Godfrey Higgins; -_Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names_, by Dr. Thomas Inman, and -_Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Exposed and Explained_, -by the same author; the valuable _Rivers of Life_, by Major-General -Forlong; a little book on _Idolomania_, by "Investigator Abhorrens"; -and another on _The Masculine Cross_, by Sha Rocco (New York, 1874). The -sign of the cross, certainly long pre-Christian in the Egyptian sign for -life, is specially dealt with in the last two works. In fig. 7 we see -the connection of the Egyptian tau with the Hermae. Of fig. 8 General -Forlong (_Rivers of Life_, vol i., p 65) says: "The Samaritan cross, -which they stamped on their coins, was No. 1, but the Norseman preferred -No. 2 (the circle and four stout arms of equal size and weight), and -called it Tor's hammer. It is somewhat like No. 3, which the Greek -Christians early adopted, though this is more decidedly phallic, and -shows clearly the meaning so much insisted on by some writers as to all -meeting in the centre." - -The custom of eating fish on Friday (_Dies Veneris_) is considered a -survival of the days when a peculiar sexual signification was given to -the fish, which has such a prominent place in Christian symbolism. Fig. -9 illustrates the origin of the bishop's mitre. - -The _vescica piscis_, or fish's bladder (fig. 10), is a well-known -ecclesiastical emblem of the virgin, often used in church windows, -seals, etc. The symbol is equally known in India. Its real nature -is shown in fig. 11, discovered by Layard at Nineveh, depicting its -worshipper seated on a lotus. The vescica piscis is conspicuously -displayed in fig. 12, copied from a Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, -printed at Venice 1582, with the license from the Inquisition, in which -the Holy Dove darts his ray, fecundating the Holy Virgin. Many instances -of Christ in an elliptical aureole may be seen in Didron's _Christian -Iconography_, fig. 71, p. 281, vol. i. strikingly resembles our figure. - -[Illustration: Fig. 9.; Fig. 10.; Fig. 11.] - -[Illustration: Fig. 12.] - - - - -CIRCUMCISION. - -Among the many traces that the Jews were once savages I place the -distinguishing mark of their race, circumcision. Many explanations have -been given of this curious custom. The account, in Genesis xvii. that -God commanded it to Abraham, at the ripe age of 99, critics agree was -written after the exile--that is, thirteen hundred years after the death -of the patriarch. Now, there is evidence from the Egyptian monuments -that circumcision was known long before Abraham's time. This constrains -Dr. Kitto to say, "God might have selected a practice already in use -among other nations." If so, God must have had a curious taste and an -uninventive mind. Why, having made people as they are, he should order -his chosen race to be mutilated, must be a puzzle to the orthodox. Some -writers have absurdly argued that the Egyptians borrowed from the Jews, -whom they despised (see Genesis xliii. 32). Apart from the evidence of -Herodotus and of monuments and mummies to the contrary, this view is -never suggested in the Bible, but the testimony of the book of Joshua -(v. 9) implies the reverse. - -The narrative of the Lord's attempted assassination of Moses (Exodus iv. -24-26), which we shall shortly examine, has the most archaic complexion -of any of the biblical references to circumcision, and from it Dr. T. K. -Cheyne argues that the rite is of Arabian origin.* If instituted in the -time of Abraham under the penalty of death, it is curious that Moses -never circumcised his own son, nor saw to its performance in the -wilderness for forty years, so that Joshua had personally to circumcise -over a million males at Gilgal. - -Let us now look at the various theories of the origin and purpose of -circumcision. Rationalising Jews say it is of a sanatory character. This -view, though found in Philo, may be dismissed as an after theory to -meet a religious difficulty. Most Asiatic nations are uncircumcised. The -Philistines did not practice the rite, nor did the Syrians in the time -of Josephus. Even if in a few cases it might possibly be beneficial, -that would be no sufficient reason for imposing it on a whole nation -under penalty of death. The fact is, the rite is a religious one. -Indeed, upon its retention the early controversy between Jews and -Christians largely turned. - -The view that it is an imposed mutilation of a subject race is suggested -in Dr. Remondino's _History of Circumcision_, and has the high authority -of Herbert Spencer. He instances the trophy of foreskins taken by David -as a dowry for Saul's daughter (1 Sam. xviii. 27), and that Hyrcanus -having subdued the Idumeans, made them submit to circumcision. This, -however, may have been a part of the policy of making them one with the -Jewish race in being tributary to Jahveh. It is not easy to see how a -mutilation imposed from without should ever become a part of the pride -of race and be enjoined when all other mutilations were forbidden. - - * Encyclopaedia Britannica, article "Circumcision." - -I incline to a view which, although in accord with early sociological -conditions, I have never yet seen stated. It was suggested to me by the -passage where Tacitus alludes to this custom among the Jews. It is that -circumcision is of the nature of savage totem and tattoo marks--a device -to distinguish the tribal division from other tribes, and to indicate -those with whom the tribe might marry.* If, as has been suggested, the -meaning of Genesis xxxiv. 14 is "one who is uncircumcised is as a woman -to us," this view is confirmed. The Jewish abhorrence to mixed marriages -and "the bed of the uncircumcised" is well known. - - * What Tacitus says is, "They do not eat with strangers or - make marriages with them, and this nation, otherwise most - prone to debauchery, abstains from all strange women. They - have introduced circumcision in order to distinguish - themselves thereby." - -The Hebrew distinguishing term for male--_zachar_, which also means -record or _memorial_--will agree with this view, as also with that -of Dr. Trumbull, which associates circumcision with that of -blood-covenanting. It seems evident from the narrative in Exodus iv., -where Zipporah, after circumcising her son, says--not as generally -understood to Moses--"A bloody husband art thou to me," but to -Jahveh, "Thou art a _Kathan_ of blood"--i.e., one made akin by -circumcision--that this idea of a blood-covenant became interwoven with -the rite. It is to be noticed that in the covenant between God and the -Jews women had no share. - -Dr. Kuenen holds that circumcision is of the nature of a substitute -for human sacrifice. No doubt the Jews had such sacrifices, and were -familiar with the idea of substitution; but with this I rather connect -the Passover observance. If a sacrifice, it was doubtless phallic--an -offering to the god on whom the fruit of the womb depended; possibly a -substitution for the barbarous rites by which the priests of Cybele -were instituted for office. Ptolemy's Tetrabibles, speaking of the -neighboring nations, says: "Many of them devote their genitals to their -divinities." According to Gerald Massey, "it was a dedication of the -first-fruits of the male at the shrine of the virgin mother and child, -which was one way of passing the seed through the fire to Moloch." - -Westrop and Wake (_Phallicism in Ancient Religion_, p. 37) say -"Circumcision, in its inception, is a purely phallic rite, having for -its aim the marking of that which from its associations is viewed with -peculiar veneration, and it converts the two phases of this superstition -which have for their object respectively the _instrument_ of generation -and the _agent_." - -General Forlong, who maintains the phallic view, also holds that "truth -compels us to attach an Aphrodisiacal character to the mutilations of -this highly sensual Jewish race." This view will not be hastily rejected -by those who know of the many strange devices resorted to by barbarous -peoples. Some have believed that circumcision enhances fecundity. - -With the exception of the two first views, which I dismiss as not -explaining the religious and permanent character of the rite, all these -views imply a special regard being paid to the emblem of generation. -This is further confirmed by the manner of oath-taking customary among -the ancient Jews. When Abraham swore his servant, he said, "Put, I pray -thee, thy hand under my thigh" (Gen. xxiv. 2). The same euphemism -is used in the account of Jacob swearing Joseph (xlvii. 29), and the -custom, which has lasted among Arabs until modern days, is also alluded -to in the Hebrew of 1 Chronicles xxix. 24. The Latin testiculi seems -to point to a similar custom. In the law that no uncircumcised or -sexually-imperfect person might appear before the shrine of the Lord, we -may see yet further evidence that Jewish worship was akin to the phallic -rites of the nations around them. - - - - -MOSES AT THE INN - -And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the lord met him, and -sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the -foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, - - Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. - So he let him go: then she said, - A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. - --Exodus iv. 24-26. - -Anyone who wishes to note the various shifts to which orthodox people -will resort in their attempts to pass off the barbarous records of the -Jews as God's holy word, should demand an explanation of the attempted -assassination of Moses by Jehovah, as recorded in the above verses. Some -commentators say that by the Lord is meant "the angel of the Lord," as -if Jehovah was incapable of personally conducting so nefarious a piece -of business. Bishop Patrick says "The Schechinah, I suppose, appeared -to him--appeared with a drawn sword, perhaps, as he did to Balaam and -David." Some say it was Moses's firstborn the Lord sought to kill. Some -say it was at the child's feet the foreskin was cast, others at those of -Moses, but the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem more properly represent -that it was at the feet of God, in order to pacify him. - -The story certainly presents some difficulties. Moses had just had one -of his numerous interviews with Jehovah, who had told him to go back to -Egypt, for all those are dead who sought his life. He is to tell Pharaoh -that Israel is the Lord's firstborn, and that if Pharaoh will not let -the Israelites go he will slay Pharaoh's firstborn. Then immediately -follows this passage. Why this sudden change of conduct towards Moses, -whose life Jehovah was apparently so anxious to save? - -Adam Clarke says the meaning is that the son of Moses had not been -circumcised, and therefore Jehovah was about to have slain the child -because not in covenant with him by circumcision, and thus he intended -[after his usual brutal fashion] to punish the disobedience of the -father by the death of the son. Zip-porah getting acquainted with the -nature of the case, and the danger to which her firstborn was exposed, -took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son. By this act -the displeasure of the Lord was turned aside, and Zipporah considered -herself as now allied to God because of this circumcision. Old Adam -tries to gloss over the attempted assassination of Moses by pretending -it was only a child's life that was in danger. But we beg the reader -to notice that no _child_ is mentioned, but only a son whose age is -unspecified. Dr. Clarke can hardly have read the treatise of John -Frischl, _De Circumcisione Zipporo_, or he would surely have admitted -that the person menaced with death was Moses, and not his son. - -Other commentators say that Zipporah did not like the snipping business -(although she seems to have understood it at once), and therefore -addressed her husband opprobriously. Circumcision, we may remark, was -anciently performed with stone. The Septuagint version records how the -flints with which Joshua circumcised the people at Gilgal were buried in -his grave. - -A nice specimen of the modern Christian method of semi-rationalising may -be found in Dr. Smith's _Bible Dictionary_, to which the clergy usually -turn for help in regard to any difficulties in connection with the -sacred fetish they call the word of God. Smith says: - -"The most probable explanation seems to be, that at the caravanserai -either Moses or Gershom was struck with what seemed to be a mortal -illness. In some way, not apparent to us, this illness was connected -by Zipporah with the fact that her son had not been circumcised. She -instantly performed the rite, and threw the sharp instrument, stained -with the fresh blood, at the feet of her husband, exclaiming in the -agony of a mother's anxiety for the life of her child, 'A bloody husband -thou art, to cause the death of my son.' Then when the recovery from the -illness took place (whether of Moses or Gershom), she exclaims again, 'A -bloody husband still thou art, but not so as to cause the child's death, -but only to bring about his circumcision.'" - -We have no hesitation in saying that this most approved explanation is -the worst. In seeking to make the story rational, it utterly ignores the -primitive ideas and customs by which alone this ancient fragment can be -interpreted. One little fact is sufficient to refute it. The Jews never -use the word _Khathan_, improperly translated "husband," after marriage. -The word may be interpreted spouse, betrothed or bridegroom, but -not husband. The Revised Version, which always follows as closely as -possible the Authorised Version, translates "a bridegroom of blood." But -this makes it evident that Moses was not addressed, for no woman having -a son calls her husband "bridegroom." We may now see the true meaning -of the incident--that by the blood covenant of circumcision, Zipporah -entered into kinship with Jehovah and thereby claimed his friendship -instead of enmity. In ancient times only the good-will of those who -recognise the family bond or ties of blood could be relied on. Herbert -Spencer, in his _Ceremonial Institutions_, contends that bloody -sacrifices arise "from the practice of establishing a sacred bond -between living persons by partaking of each other's blood: the derived -conception, being that those who give some of their blood to the ghost -of a man just dead and lingering near, effect with it a union which on -the one side implies submission, and on the other side friendliness." - -Dr. T. K. Oheyne, in his article on Circumcision in the _Encyclopaedia -Britannica_, takes the story of Moses at the inn as a proof that -circumcision was of Arabic origin. He says; "Khathan meant originally -not 'husband,' but 'a newly admitted member of the family.' So that 'a -khathan of blood' meant one who has become a _khathan_, not by marriage, -but by circumcision," a meaning confirmed by the derived sense of the -Arabic _khatana_, "to circumcise"--circumcision being performed in -Arabia at the age of puberty. - -The English of the Catholic Douay version is not so good as the -Authorised Version, but it brings us nearer the real meaning of the -story. It runs thus: - -"And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him and -would have killed him. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and -circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A -bloody spouse art thou to me. And he let him go after she had said: A -bloody spouse art thou unto me, because of the circumcision." - -Here it is evidently the feet of the Lord that are touched, as was the -ancient practice in rendering tribute, and we see that the foreskin was -a propitiatory offering. - -Dr. Trumbull in his interesting book on the Blood Covenant, says: -"The Hebrew word _Khathan_ has as its root idea, the binding -through severing, the covenanting by blood; an idea that is in the -marriage-rite, as the Orientals view it, and that is in the rite of -circumcision also." Dr. Trumbull omits to say that the term is not used -after marriage, and consequently that it must be taken as applied to the -Lord. Zipporah, being already married, did not need to enter into the -blood covenant with Moses, but with Jehovah, so that to her and hers the -Lord might henceforth be friendly. - -We do not make much of the inn. There were no public-houses between -Midian and Egypt. Probably the reference is only to a resting-place or -caravanserai. We would, therefore, render the passage thus: - -The Lord met him [Moses] at a halting place and sought to kill him. Then -Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it -at [made it touch] his [the Lord's] feet, and she said: Surely a kinsman -of blood [one newly bound through blood] art thou to me. So he [the -Lord] let him [Moses] alone. - -Kuenen considers the passage, in connection with the place where it -is inserted, indicated that circumcision was a substitute for child -sacrifice. Any way, it may safely be said that the mark which every Jew -bears on his own body is a sign that his ancestry worshipped a deity who -sought to assassinate Moses, and was only to be appeased by an offering -of blood. - - - - -THE BRAZEN SERPENT, AND SALVATION BY SIMILARS. - -Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy, is usually credited with the -introduction of the medical maxim, _similta similibus ourantur_--like -things are cured by like. Those who would dispute his originality need -not refer to the ancient saying familiar to all topers, of "taking -a hair of the dog that bit you"; they may find the origin of the -homoeopathic doctrine in the great source of all inspiration--the holy -Bible. - -The book of Numbers contains several recipes which would be invaluable -if divine grace would enable us to re-discover and correctly employ -them. There is, for instance, the holy water described in chap. v., the -effects of which will enable any jealous husband to discover if his wife -has been faithful to him or not, and in the case of her guilt enable him -to dispense with the services of Sir James Hannen. - -But perhaps the most curious prescription in the book is that recorded -in the twenty-first chapter. The Israelites wandering about for forty -years, without travelling forty miles, got tired of the heavenly manna -with which the "universal provider" supplied them. They looked back on -the fried fish, which they "did eat in Egypt freely," the cucumbers, -melons, leeks, onions and garlic, wherein the Jewish stomach delighteth, -and they longed for a change of diet. Upon remonstrating with Moses, -and stating their preference for Egyptian lentils rather than celestial -mushrooms, the Lord of his tender mercy sent "fiery serpents" (the word -is properly translated "seraphim"), and they bit the people; and much -people of Israel died. Then the people prayed Moses to intercede for -them, saying, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and -against thee;" and Jahveh, in direct opposition to his own commandment, -directed Moses to "make a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it -shall come to pass that every one that is bitten when he looketh upon it -shall live." Moses accordingly made a serpent of brass, we presume from -some of that stolen from the Egyptians, which had the desired effect. -Instead of being but one monster more, the sight immediately cured the -wounds, and these seraphim sent by the Lord, ashamed of being beaten by -their brazen brother, skedaddled. Of course it may be contended that a -seraph is neither in the likeness of anything in heaven above, in -earth beneath, or in the water, or fire, under the earth, and that -consequently Moses in no wise infringed the Decalogue. - -Commentators have been puzzled to account for this evident relic of -serpent worship in a religion so abhorrent of idolatry as that of -the Jews. These gentry usually shut their eyes very close to the many -evidences that the god-guided people were always falling into the -idolatries of the surrounding nations. Now we know that the Babylonians, -in common with all the great nations of antiquity, worshipped the -serpent. It has been thought, indeed, that the name Baal is an -abbreviation of Ob-el, "the serpent god." In the Apocryphal book of Bel -and the Dragon, to be found in every Catholic Bible, it says (v. 23): -"And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon -worshipped. And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this -is of brass? Lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh, thou canst not say -that he is no living god; therefore worship him." Serpent worship is -indeed so widely spread, and of such great antiquity, that it has -been conjectured to have sprung from the antipathy between our monkey -ancestors and snakes. In this legend the brazen serpent is benevolent, -but more usually that reptile represents the evil principle. Thus -a story in the Zendavesta (which is clearly allied to, and may have -suggested that in Genesis) says that Ahriman assumed a serpent's form -in order to destroy the first of the human race, whom he accordingly -poisoned. In the Saddu we read: "When you kill serpents you shall repeat -the Zendavesta, whereby you will obtain great merit; for it is the same -as if you had killed so many devils." It is curious that the serpent -which is the evil genius of Genesis is the good genius in Numbers, and -that Jesus himself is represented as comparing himself to it (John iii. -14). An early Christian sect, the Ophites, found serpent worshipping -quite consistent with their Christianity. - -It seems likely that this story of the brazen serpent having been made -by Moses, was a priestly invention to account for its being an object -of idolatry among the Jews, as we know from 2 Kings xviii. 4, it was -worshipped down to the time of Hezekiah, that is 700 years after the -time of Moses. Hezekiah, we are told, broke the brazen serpent in -pieces, but it must have been miraculously joined again, for the -identical article is still to be seen, for a consideration, in the -Church of St. Ambrose at Milan. Some learned rabbis regard the brazen -serpent as a talisman which Moses was enabled to prepare from his -knowledge of astrology. Others say it was a form of amulet to be copied -and worn as a charm against disease. Others again declare it was only -set up _in terrorem_, as a man who has chastised his son hangs up the -rod against the wall as a warning. Rationalising commentators have -pretended that it was but an emblem of healing by the medical art, a -sort of sign-post to a camp hospital, like the red cross flag over an -ambulance. These altogether pervert the text, and miss the meaning of -the passage. The resemblance of the object set up was of the essence of -the cure, as may be seen in 1 Sam. vi. 5. In truth, the doctrine of -like curing like, instead of being a modern discovery is a very ancient -superstition. The old medical books are full of prescriptions, or rather -charms, founded on this notion.* It is, indeed, one of the recognised -principles in savage magic and medicine that things like each other, -however superficially, affect each other in a mystic way, and possess -identical properties. Thus in Melanesia, according to Mr. Codrington,** -"a stone in the shape of a pig, of a bread fruit, of a yam, was a most -valuable find," because it made pigs prolific, and fertilised bread, -fruit trees, and yam plots. - - * See Myths in Medicine and Old Time Doctors, by Alfred C. - Garratt, M.D. - - ** Journal Anthropological Institute, February, 1881. - -In Scotland, too, "stones were called by the names of the limbs they -resembled, as 'eye-stanes, head-stane.'" A patient washed the affected -part of his body, and rubbed it well with the stone corresponding. In -precisely the same way the mandrake* root, being thought to resemble -the human body, was supposed to be of wondrous medical efficacy, and was -credited with human and super-human powers.** The method of cure, when -the Philistines were smitten with emerods and mice, was to make -images of the same (1 Sam. vi. 5), and the same idea was found in the -well-known superstition of sorcerers making "a waxen man" to represent -an enemy, injuries to the waxen figure being supposed to affect the -person represented. - - * Gregor, Folk-lore of North-East Counties, p. 40. - - ** See the paper on "Moly and Mandragora," in A. Lang's - Custom and Myth; 1884. - -Many curious customs and superstitions may be traced to this belief. In -old medical works one may still read that to eat of a lion's heart is -a specific to ensure courage, while other organs and certain bulbous -plants are a remedy for sterility. The virtue of all the ancient -aphrodisiacs resided in their shape. This notion, which largely affected -the early history of medicine, is known as the doctrine of signatures. - -Certain plants and other natural objects were believed to be so marked -or stamped that they presented visibly the indications of the diseases, -or diseased organs, for which they were specifics; these were their -signatures. Hence a large portion of the ancient art of medicine -consisted in ascertaining what plants were analogous to the symptoms of -disease, or to the organ diseased. To this doctrine we owe some popular -names of plants, such as eye-bright, liver-wort, spleen-wort, etc. The -mandrake, from its supposed resemblance to the human form, was credited -with marvellous powers, and anyone who will take the trouble to inquire -into the folk-lore concerning plants and disease will find that much -depends upon the appearance of the remedy. - -One of the most curious peculiarities of Christianity is its doctrine of -a God crucified for sinners. So strange, so repugnant to reason as such -a doctrine is, it was quite consonant to the thoughts of those who held -the belief in salvation by similars. If Paul said, since by man came -death by man came also the resurrection of the dead, the development of -the doctrine necessitated that if it is God who damns it is also God who -saves. Any casual reader of Paul must have been struck by the antithesis -which he constantly draws between the law and the Gospel, works and -faith, the fall of man, and the redemption through "the second Adam." -The very phrase "second Adam" implies this doctrine, which is summed -up in the statement that "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the -law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. iii. 13). - -God, in order to redeem man, had to take on sinful flesh and be himself -the curse in order to be the cure. Hence we read in the _Teaching of the -Twelve Apostles_, chap. xvi., that "they who endure in their faith shall -be saved by the very curse." Thus may we understand that which modern -Christians find so difficult of explanation, viz., that the whole -Christian world for the first thousand years from St. Justin to St. -Anselm believed that Christ paid the ransom for sinners to the Devil, -their natural owner. Christ in order to become the Savior had to become -the curse, had to die and had to descend to hell, though of course, -being God, he could not stay there. Hence his being likened to the -brazen serpent, that remnant of early Jewish fetichism which was smashed -by Hezekiah (2 Kings xviii. 4). John makes Jesus himself teach that "as -Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness [as a cure for serpent -bites] even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever -believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life." - -So Irenaeus says (bk. iv., chap. 2), "men can be saved in no other way -from the old wound of the serpent than by believing in him, who in the -likeness of sinful flesh, is lifted up from the earth on the tree of -martyrdom, and draws all things to himself and vivified the dead." That -is, Christ was made sinful flesh to be the curse itself, just as the -innocent brass appeared a serpent, because the form of the curse was -necessary to the cure. Paul dwells on the passage of the law "Cursed is -he that hangeth on a tree," with the very object of showing that Christ, -cursed under the law, was a blessing under his glad tidings. The Fathers -were never tired of saying that man was lost by a tree (in Eden) and -saved by a tree (on Calvary), that as the curse came in child-birth* and -thorns, so the world was saved by the birth of Christ and his crown of -thorns. Justin says, "As the curse came by a Virgin, so by a Virgin the -salvation," and this antithesis between Eve and Mary has been carried on -by Catholic writers down to our own day. - - * Notice too 1 Tim. 15, where women are said to be saved by - child birth, their curse. - -As the Christian doctrine of salvation through the blood of Christ has -certainly no more foundation in fact than the efficacy of liver-wort -in liver diseases, we suggest it may have no better foundation than the -ancient superstition of salvation by similars. - - - - -RELIGION AND MAGIC. - -"New Presbyter," says Milton, "is but old priest writ large." Old -priest, it may be said, is but older sorcerer in disguise. In early -times religion and magic were intimately associated; indeed, it may be -said they were one and the same. The earliest religion being the -belief in spirits, the earliest worship is an attempt to influence or -propitiate them by means that can only be described as magical; the -belief in spirits and in magic both being founded on dreams. Medicine -men and sorcerers were the first priests. Herbert Spencer says -(_Principles of Sociology_, sec. 589): "A satisfactory distinction -between priests and medicine men is difficult to find. Both are -concerned with supernatural agents, which in their original form are -ghosts; and their ways of dealing with these supernatural agents are -so variously mingled, that at the outset no clear classification can be -made." Among the Patagonians the same men officiate in the "threefold -capacity of priests, magicians and doctors"; and among the North -American Indians the functions of "sorcerer, prophet, physician, -exorciser, priest, and rain doctor" are united. - -Everywhere we find the priests are magicians. Their authority rests on -imagined and dreaded power. - -They are supposed by their spells and incantations to have power over -nature, or rather the spirits supposed to preside over it. Hence they -became the rulers of the people. The modern priest, who is supposed by -muttering a formula to change the nature of consecrated elements or by -his prayers to bring blessings on the people, betrays his lineal descent -from the primitive rain-makers and sorcerers of savagery. - -The Bible is full of magic and sorcery. Its heroes are magicians, from -Jahveh Elohim, who puts Adam into a sleep and then makes woman from his -rib, to Jesus who casts out devils and cures blindness with clay and -spittle, and whose followers perform similar works by the power of his -name. The most esteemed persons among the Jews were magicians. Pious -Jacob cheats his uncle by a species of magic with peeled rods. Joseph -not only tells fortunes by interpreting dreams but has a divining cup -(Gen. xliv. 5), doubtless similar to the magic bowls used to the present -day in Egypt, in which, as described by Lane in his _Modern Egyptians_, -a boy looks and pretends to see images of the future in water. - -The fourth chapter of Exodus gives the initiation of Moses into the -magician's art by Jahveh, the great adept, who changes the rod of -Moses into a serpent and back again into a rod; suddenly makes his hand -leprous, and as suddenly restores it. Moses and Aaron show themselves -superior magicians to those at the court of Pharaoh, who, when Aaron -cast down his magic rod and it became a serpent, did in like manner with -their rods, which also became serpents, though Aaron's rod swallowed up -their rods (Exodus vii. 11,12). Upon this passage the learned Methodist -commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, writing at an age when the belief in -witchcraft was almost extinct, after remarking that such feats evidently -required something more than jugglery, observes: "How much more rational -at once to allow that these magicians had familiar spirits who could -assume all shapes, change the appearance of the subjects on which they -operated, or suddenly convey one thing away and substitute another in -its place." - -Aaron also used his rod to change _all_ the water into blood, a feat -which the Egyptian magicians also contrived to perform--we presume with -the aid of spirits. If you believe in spirits, there is no end to the -supposition of what they might do. The magic rod of Moses is used to -divide the water of the Red Sea, so that the children went through the -midst of the sea on dry ground (Ex. xiv. 16), and to draw water from -a rock (Num. xx. 8). Aaron's rod blossoms miraculously to show the -superiority of the tribe of Levi (Num. xvii. 8). - -The Urim and Thummin of Aaron's breastplate were also magical articles -used in divination (see Num. xxviii. 21; 1 Sam. xxiii. 9, and xxx. 7, -8). Casting lots was another method of divination often referred to in -the Bible. Prov. xvi. 31, says "The lot is cast into the lap, but the -whole disposing thereof is with the Lord." It was because "when Saul -inquired of Jahveh, Jahveh answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by -Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam. xxviii. 6), that he resorted to the witch -of Endor. The ephod and holy plate (Ex. xxviii.), and the phylacteries -worn as frontlets between the eyes (Deut. vi. 8), were magical amulets. -Modern Arabs wear scraps of the Koran in a similar way. The holy oil -(Ex. xxx.) and the water of jealousy (Num. v.) were magical, as was -also the brazen serpent, adored down to the days of Hezekiah. The great -Wizard's ark was also endowed with magical powers, bringing with it -victory and punishing those who infringed its tabu; it was taken -into battle. His sanctuary was also called an oracle where the priest -"inquired of the Lord" (2 Sam. xvi. 23; 1 Kings vi. 16). - -The teraphim were also magical, as we learn from Ezek. xxi. 21, where -the word is translated "images." The prophet Hosea, one of the very -earliest of the Old Testament writers (about 740), announced as a -misfortune that "the children of Israel shall abide many days without -a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an -image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim." Laban, although a -believer in Elohim, calls the teraphim "his gods" (Genesis xxxi. 29, -30), and so does Micah (Judges xviii. 18-24). The latter chapter shows -that the teraphim were worshipped and served by the descendants of Moses -down to the time of David (see Revised Version). David's wife Michal -kept one in the house (1 Sam. xix. 13). It was evidently a fetish -in human shape. How comes it, then, one may ask, that divination and -sorcery are denounced in Deuteronomy xviii.? The answer is simple. The -Deutoronomic law was first found in the time of Josiah, B.C. 641 (see -2 Kings xxii. 8-11), and there is abundant evidence it was not known -before that time. Josiah, as we learn from 2 Kings xxiii. 24, put away -"the familiar spirits, and the wizards and the teraphim and the idols," -as Hezekiah (b.c. 726) had destroyed the brazen serpent. Not only had -Jezebel practised witchcraft (2 Kings ix. 22), but Manasseh, the son -of Hezekiah, "dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards" (2 Chron. -xxxiii. 6). These, it may be said, were wicked persons. - -Yet another piece of evidence is derived from the fact that _Nashon_, -the chief of the tribe of Judah and one of the ancestry of the blessed -Savior, signifies "enchanter." Zechariah (b.c. 580) shows the great -advance made from the time of Hosea by declaring that "the teraphim have -spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false -dreams" (x. 2). - -Samuel, like other early priests, was ruler and weather doctor, Elijah -was a corpse restorer and rain com-peller. Elisha not only inherited -his mantle, but also raised the dead and multiplied food. His very -bones proved magical. Jesus Christ was a great wonderworker or magician, -casting out devils, turning water into wine, healing diseases even by -the touch of his magical robe, and finally levitating from earth. - -The charge brought against Jesus by the Jews was that he had stolen -the sacred Word and by it wrought miracles. We read in the Gospels that -Jesus "cast out spirits with his word" (Matt. viii. 16). Jesus promised -that in his _name_ his disciples should cast out devils, and Peter -declared that his name healed the lame (Acts iii. 16). When the Jews -asked, "By what power, or by what name have we done this" (Acts iv. 7), -Peter answered, "By the name of Jesus Christ." Paul says, "God hath... -given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus -every knee should bow in heaven and in earth and under the earth" -(Philip ii. 9, 10). - -Any careful reader of the Bible must have been struck with the frequency -with which "the name of the Lord" is mentioned, and the care not to -profane that name. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in -vain" is the second commandment, and Christians still speak of God "in -a bondsman's key with bated breath and whispering humbleness," for no -better reason than this old superstition. In Leviticus xxiv. 11 and -16, the word translated by us "blasphemeth" was by the Jews rendered -"pronounces," so that the son of the Israelitish woman was stoned to -death for pronouncing the ineffable name of J.H.V.H. The Talmud say "He -who attempts to pronounce it shall have no part in the world to come." -Once a year only, on the day of Atonement, was the high priest allowed -to whisper the word, even as at the present day "the word" is whispered -in Masonic lodges. The Hebrew Jehovah dates only from the Massoretic -invention of points. When the Rabbis began to insert the vowel-points -they had lost the true pronunciation of the sacred name. To the letters -J. H. V. H. they put the vowels of Edonai or Adonai, _lord_ or _master_, -the name which in their prayers they substitute for Jahveh. Moses wanted -to know the name of the god of the burning bush. He was put off with the -formula I am that I am. Jahveh having lost his name has become "I was -but am not." When Jacob wrestled with the god, angel, or ghost, he -demanded his name. The wary angel did not comply (Gen. xxxii. 29.) So -the father of Samson begs the angel to say what is his name. "And the -angel of the Lord said unto him, why asketh thou thus after my name -seeing it is _secret_" (Judges xiii. 18). All this superstition can be -traced to the belief that to know the names of persons was to acquire -power over them. - -In process of time the priest displaces the sorcerer, while still -retaining certain of his functions. The gods of a displaced religion are -regarded as devils and their worship as sorcery. Much of the persecution -of witchcraft which went on in the ages when Christianity was dominant -was really the extirpation of the surviving rites of Paganism. It is -curious that it is always the more savage races that are believed to -have the greatest magical powers. Dr. E. B. Tylor says: "In the Middle -Ages the name of Finn was, as it still remains among seafaring men, -equivalent to that of sorcerer, while Lapland witches had a European -celebrity as practitioners of the black art. Ages after the Finns -had risen in the social scale, the Lapps retained much of their old -half-savage habit of life, and with it naturally their witchcraft, so -that even the magic-gifted Finns revered the occult powers of a people -more barbarous than themselves." - -The same writer continues*: "Among the early Christians, sorcery was -recognised as illegal miracle; and magic arts, such as turning men into -beasts, calling up familiar demons, raising storms, etc., are mentioned, -not in a sceptical spirit, but with reprobation. In the changed -relations of the state to the church under Constantine, the laws against -magic served the new purpose of proscribing the rites of the Greek and -Roman religion, whose oracles, sacrifices and auguries, once carried on -under the highest public sanction, were put under the same ban with the -low arts of the necromancer and the witch. As Christianity extended its -sway over Europe, the same antagonism continued, the church striving -with considerable success to put down at once the old local religions, -and the even older practices of witchcraft; condemning Thor and Woden -as demons, they punished their rites in common with those of the -sorceresses who bewitched their neighbors and turned themselves into -wolves or cats. Thus gradually arose the legal persecution of witches -which went on through the Middle Ages under ecclesiastical sanction both -Catholic and Protestant." - - * Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Magic." - -But the religion of Christendom contained scarcely less elements of -magical practices than that of Paganism. In the early Christian Church -a considerable section of its ministry was devoted to the casting out of -devils. Regulations concerning the same were contained in the canons -of the Church of England. The magical power of giving absolution and -remission of sins is still claimed in our national Church. Throughout -the course of Christianity, indeed, magical effects have been ascribed -to religious rites and consecrated objects. - -Viktor Rydberg, the Swedish author of an interesting work on _The Magic -of the Middle Ages_, says (p. 85): "Every monastery has its master -magician, who sells _agni Dei_, conception billets, magic incense, -salt and tapers which have been consecrated on Candlemas Day, palms -consecrated on Palm Sunday, flowers besprinkled with holy water on -Ascension Day, and many other appliances belonging to the great magical -apparatus of the Church." - -Bells are consecrated to this day, because they were supposed to have a -magical effect in warding off demons. Their efficacy for this purpose is -specifically asserted by St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest doctor of the -Church, who lays it down that the changeableness of the weather is owing -to the constant conflict between good and bad spirits. - -Baptism is another magical process. There are people still in England -who think harm will come to a child if it is not christened. In -Christian baptism we have the magical invocation of certain names, those -of the ever-blessed Trinity. The names of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, -were used as spells to ward off demons. The process is supposed to have -a magical efficacy, and is as much in the nature of a charm as making -the sign of the cross with holy water, or the unction with holy oil, as -a preparation for death. So important was it considered that the saving -water should prevent demoniac power, that holy squirts were used to -bring magical liquid in contact with the child before it saw the light! - -The doctrine of salvation through blood is nothing but a survival of the -faith in magic. Volumes might be written on the belief in the magical -efficacy of blood as a sacrifice, a cementer of kinship, and a means of -evoking protecting spirits. Blood baths for the cure of certain diseases -were used in Egypt and mediaeval Europe. Longfellow alludes to this -superstition in his _Golden Legend_: - - The only remedy that remains - Is the blood that flows from a maiden's veins, - Who of her own free will shall die, - And give her life as the price of yours! - This is the strangest of all cures, - And one I think, you will never try. - -The changing of the bread and wine of the Christian sacrament into the -body and blood of God is evidently a piece of magic, dependent on the -priestly magical formula. The affinities of the Christian communion with -savage superstition are so many that they deserve to be treated in a -separate article. Meanwhile let it be noticed that priests lay much -stress upon the Blessed Sacrament, for it is this which invests them -with magical functions and the awe and reverence consequent upon belief -therein. - -Formulated prayers are of the nature of magical spells or invocations. -A prayer-book is a collection of spells for fine weather, rain, or other -blessings. The Catholic soldier takes care to be armed with a blessed -scapular to guard off stray bullets, or, in the event of the worst -coming, to waft his soul into heaven. The Protestant smiles at this -superstition, but mutters a prayer for the self-same purpose. In essence -the procedure is the same. The earliest known Egyptian and Chaldean -psalms and hymns are spells against sorcery or the influence of evil -spirits, just as the invocation taught to Christian children-- - - Matthew, Mark, Luke And John - Bless The Bed That I Lie On. - -The belief in magic, though it shows a survival in Theosophy, as ghost -belief does in Spiritism, is dying slowly; and with it, in the long run, -must die those religious doctrines and practices founded upon it. No -magic can endure scientific scrutiny. Almost expelled from the physical -world, it takes refuge in the domain of psychology; but there, too, it -is being gradually ousted, though it still affords a profitable area for -charlantanry. - -Lucian has a story how Pancrates, wanting a servant, took a door-bar -and pronounced over it magical words, whereon he stood up, brought him -water, turned a spit, and did all the other tasks of a slave. What -is this, asks Emerson, but a prophecy of the progress of art? Moses -striking water from the rock was inferior to Sir Hugh Middleton bringing -a water supply to London. - -Jesus walking on the water was nothing to crossing the Atlantic by -steam. The only true magic is that of science, which is a conquest of -the human mind, and not a phantasy of superstition. - - - - -TABOOS. - -Viscount Amberley, in his able _Analysis of Religious Belief_ points -out that everywhere the religious instinct leads to the consecration of -certain actions, places, and things. If this instinct is analysed, it is -found at bottom to spring from fear. Certain places are to be dreaded as -the abode of evil spirits; certain actions are calculated to propitiate -them, and certain things are dangerous, and are therefore tabooed. - -From Polynesia was derived the word _taboo_ or _tapu_, and the first -conception of its importance as an element lying at the bottom of many -of our religious and social conventions; though this is not as yet by -any means sufficiently recognised. - -The term _taboo_ implies something sacred, reserved, prohibited by -supernatural agents, the breaking of which prohibition will be visited -by supernatural punishment. This notion is one of the most widely -extended features of early religion. Holy places, holy persons, and holy -things are all founded on this conception. Prof. W. Robertson Smith,* -says: "Rules of holiness in the sense just explained, i.e., a system of -restrictions on man's arbitrary use of natural things enforced by the -dread of supernatural penalties, are found among all primitive peoples." - - * Religion of the Semites, p. 142. - -The holy ark of the North American Indians was deemed "so sacred and -dangerous to be touched" that no one except the war chief and his -attendant will touch it "under the penalty of incurring great evil. Nor -would the most inveterate enemy touch it in the woods for the very same -reason."* - - * Adair, History of the American Indians, p. 162. - -In Numbers iv. 15 we read of the Jewish ark, "The sons of Kohath shall -come to bear it; but they shall not touch any holy thing lest they die." -In 2 Sam. vi. 6, 7, we are told how the Lord smote Uzzah so that he -died, simply for putting his hand on the ark to steady it. So the Lord -punished the Philistines for keeping his ark, and smote fifty thousand -and seventy men of Bethshemesh, "because they had looked into the ark of -the Lord" (1 Sam. v. 6). - -Disease and death were so constantly thought of as the penalties of -breaking taboo that cases are on record of those who, having unwittingly -done this, have died of terror upon recognising their error. Mr. Frazer, -in his _Golden Bough_, instances a New Zealand chief, who left the -remains of his dinner by the way side. A slave ate it up without asking -questions. Hardly had he finished when he was told the food was the -chief's, and taboo. "No sooner did he hear the fatal news than he was -seized by the most extraordinary convulsions and cramp in the stomach, -which never ceased till he died, about sundown the same day." - -All the old temples had an adytum, sanctuary, or holy of holies--a place -not open to the profane, but protected by rigid taboos. This was the -case with the Jews. It was death to enter the holy places, or even to -make the holy oil of the priests. Even the name of the Lord was taboo, -and to this day cannot be pronounced. - -Take off your sandals, says God to Moses, for the place whereon you -stand is taboo. The whole of Mount Horeb was taboo, and we continually -read of the holy mountain. The ideas of taboo and of holiness are -admitted by Prof. Robertson Smith to be at bottom identical. - -Some taboos are simply artful, as the prohibition of boats to -South Pacific women, lest they should escape to other islands. When -Tamehameha, the King of the Sandwich Islands, heard that diamonds had -been found in the mountains near Honolulu, he at once declared the -mountains taboo, in order that he might be the sole possessor. - -In Hawai the flesh of hogs, fowls, turtle, and several kinds of fish, -cocoa-nuts, and nearly everything offered in sacrifice, were reserved -for gods and men, and could not, except in special cases, be consumed -by women* Some taboos of animals being used for food seem to have been -dictated by dread or aversion, but others had a foundation of prudence -and forethought. Thus there is little doubt that the prohibition of the -sacred cow in India has been the means of preserving that animal from -extermination in times of famine. - -Various reasons have been assigned for the taboos upon certain kinds of -food found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As we have these laws they seem -to represent a rough attempt at classifying animals it was beneficial -or hurtful to eat. Some ridiculous mistakes were made by the divine -tabooist. The hare, a rodent, was declared to "chew the cud" (Lev. xi. -6, Deut. xiv. 7). The camel was excluded because it does not divide the -hoof; yet in reality it has cloven feet. But doubtless it was seen it -might be disastrous to kill the camel for food. Mr. Frazer is of opinion -that the pig was originally a sacred animal among the Jews. - -The cause of the custom of tabooing certain kinds of food, which was -in existence long before the Levitical laws were written, perhaps arose -partly from reverence, partly from aversion. It may, too, have been -connected with the totemism of early tribes. No less than one hundred -and eighty Bible names have a zoological signification. Caleb, the dog -tribe; Doeg, the fish tribe; may be instanced as specimens. - -Touching the carcass of a dead animal was taboo, and the taboo was -contagious. In Lev. xi. 21--25 we find rigorous laws on the subject. -Whoever carries the carcass of an unclean animal must wash his garments. -The objects upon which a carcass accidentally falls, must be washed, and -left in water till the evening, and if of earthenware the defilement is -supposed to enter into the pores, and the vessel, oven, or stove-range -must be broken. - -Touching a corpse was taboo among the Greeks,* Romans,** Hindoos,*** -Parsees,**** and Phoenicians.(v) If a Jew touched a dead body--even a -dead animal (Lev. xi. 89)--he became unclean, and if he purified not -himself, "that soul shall be cut off from Israel" (Num. xix. 13). So -"those who have defiled themselves by touching a dead body are regarded -by the Maoris as in a very dangerous state, and are sedulously shunned -and isolated."(v*) Doubtless it was felt that death was something which -could communicate itself, as disease was seen to do. - - * Eurip. Alcest, 100. - - ** Virgil AEn., vi. 221; Tacit. Annal., 162. - - *** Manu, y. 59, 62, 74-79. - - **** Vendid iii. 25-27. - - (v) Lucian Dea Syr., 523 - - (v*) J. Gk Frazer, Golden Bough, vol. i., p. 169. - -When iron was first discovered it was invested with mystery and held as -a charm. It was tabooed. The Jews would use no iron tools in building -the temple or making an altar (Ex. xx. 25, 1 Kings vi. 7). Roman and -Sabine priests might not be shaved with iron but only with bronze, as -stone knives were used in circumcision (Ex. iv. 25, Josh. v. 2). To -this day a Hottentot priest never uses an iron knife, but always a sharp -splint of quartz in sacrificing an animal or circumcising a boy. In the -boys' game of touch iron we may see a remnant of the old belief in its -charm. When Scotch fishermen were at sea and one of them happened to -take the name of God in vain, the first man who heard him called out -"Cauld airn," at which every man of the crew grasped the nearest bit of -iron and held it between his hand for a while.* - - * E. B. Guthrie, Old Scottish Customs, p. 149. Charles - Rogers, Social Life in Scotland, iii. 218. - -Women were especially tabooed after childbirth and during menstruation -(Lev. xii. and xv.) Among the Indians of North America, women at this -time are forbidden to touch men's utensils, which would be so defiled by -their touch that their subsequent use would be attended with misfortune. -They walk round the fields at night dragging their garments, this being -considered a protection against vermin. Among the Eskimo, of Alaska, no -one will eat or drink from the same cup or dishes used by a woman at her -confinement until it has been purified by certain incantations. - -In the Church of England Service, what is now called the "Thanksgiving -of Women after Childbirth, commonly called the Churching of Women," was -formerly known as _The Order of the Purification of Women_, and was -read at the church door before the "unclean" creatures were permitted to -enter the "holy" building. This should be known by all women who think -it their duty to be "churched" after fulfilling the sacred office of -motherhood. - -In Hebrew the same word signifies at once a holy person, a harlot and a -sodomite--sacred prostitution having been common in ancient times. Mr. -Frazer, noticing that the rules of ceremonial purity observed by divine -kings, priests, homicides, women in child-births, and so on, are in some -respects alike, says: "To us these different classes of persons appear -to differ totally in character and condition; some of them we should -call holy, others we might pronounce unclean and polluted. But the -savages make no such moral distinction between them; the conceptions of -holiness and pollution are not yet differentiated in his mind. To him -the common feature of all these persons is that they are dangerous and -in danger, and the danger in which they stand and to which they expose -others is what we should call spiritual or supernatural--that is, -imaginary."* - -Few would suspect it, but it is likely that the custom of wearing Sunday -clothes comes from certain garments being tabooed in the holy places. -Among the Maoris "A slave or other person would not enter a _wahi tapu_, -or sacred place, without having first stripped off his clothes; for the -clothes, having become sacred the instant they entered the precincts -of the _wahi tapu_, would ever after be useless to him in the ordinary -business of life."** According to the Rabbins, the handling of -the scriptures defiles the hands--that is, entails a washing of -purification. This because the notions of holiness and uncleanness -are alike merged in the earlier conception of taboo. Blood, the great -defilement, is also the most holy thing. Just as with the Hindus to this -day, the excrements of the cow are the great means of purification. - - * Golden Bough, vol. i., p. 171. - - ** Shortland's Southern Districts of New Zealand, p. 293. - -Dr. Kalisch says, "Next to sacrifices purifications were the most -important of Hebrew rituals."* The purpose was to remove the stain -of contact either with the holy or unclean taboos. A holy, or taboo -water--or, as it is called in the Authorised Version, "water of -separation"--was prepared. First, an unblemished red heifer was slain by -the son of the high priest outside the camp, then burnt, and as the ash -mingled with spring water, which was supposed to have a magical effect -in removing impurities when the tabooed person was sprinkled with it on -the third and again on the seventh day. It was called a "purification -for sin" (Num. xix. 9), and was doubtless good as the blood of the Lamb, -if not equal to Pear's soap. - - * Leviticus, pt. ii., p. 187. - -In the ninth edition of the _Encylopedia Britannica_, Mr. J. G. Frazer -says: "Amongst the Jews the vow of the Nazarite (Num. vi. 1--21) -presents the closest resemblance to the Polynesian taboo. The meaning -of the word Nazarite is 'one separated or consecrated,' and this is -precisely the meaning of taboo. It is the head of the Nazarite that is -especially consecrated, and so it was in the taboo. The Nazarite might -not partake of certain meats and drinks, nor shave his head, nor touch a -dead body--all rules of taboo." Mr. Frazer points out other particulars -in the mode of terminating the vow. Secondly that some of the rules of -Sabbath observance are identical with the rules of strict taboo; such -are the prohibitions to do any work, to kindle a fire in the house, to -cook food and to go out of doors. - -We still have some remnant of the Sabbath taboo, and many a child's -life is made miserable by being checked for doing what is tabooed on the -Lord's Day. Other taboos abound. We must not, for instance, question -the sacred books, the sacred character of Jesus, or the existence of the -divine being. These subjects are tabooed. For reverence is a virtue much -esteemed by solemn humbugs. - - - - -BLOOD RITES. - - "Without shedding of blood is no remission," - --Heb. ix. 22. - - There is a fountain filled with blood - Drawn from Immanuel's veins, - And sinners plunged beneath that flood - Lose all their guilty stains. - -Judaism was a religion of blood and thunder. The Lord God of Israel -delighted in blood. His worshippers praised him as a god of battles -and a man of war. All his favorites were men of blood. The Lord God -was likewise very fond of roast meat, and the smell thereof was a sweet -savor unto his nostrils. He had respect to Abel and his bloody offering, -but not to Cain and his vegetables. He ordered that in his holy temple -a bullock and a lamb should be killed and hacked to pieces every morning -for dinner, and a lamb for supper in the evening. To flavor the repast -he had twelve flour cakes, olive oil, salt and spice; and to wash it -down he had the fourth part of a hin of wine (over a quart) with a lamb -twice a day, the third part of a hin with a ram, and half a hin with a -bullock (Exodus xxix. 40, Numbers xv. 5-11, xxviii. 7). But his great -delight was blood, and from every victim that was slaughtered the blood -was caught by the priest in a bason and offered to him upon his altar, -which daily reeked with the sanguine stream from slaughtered animals. -The interior of his temple was like shambles, and a drain had to be made -to the brook Oedron to carry off the refuse.* Incense had to be used to -take away the smell of putrifying blood. - - * Smith's Bible Dictionary, article "Blood." - -[Illustration: The Altar of Jehovah.] - -The most characteristic customs of the Jews, circumcision and the -Passover, alike show the sanguinary character of their deity. Because -Moses did not mutilate his child, the Lord met him at an inn and sought -to kill him (Exodus iv. 25). The Passover, according to the Jews' own -account, commemorated the Lord's slaying all the first-born of Egypt, -and sparing those of the Jews upon recognising the blood sprinkled upon -the lintels and sideposts of the doors; more probably it was a survival -of human sacrifice. God's worshippers were interdicted from tasting, -though not from shedding, the sacred fluid; yet we read of Saul's -army that "the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and -calves, and slew them on the ground, and the people did eat them with -the blood" (1 Sam, xiv. 32), much as the Abyssinians cut off living -steaks to this day. - -Christianity is a modified gospel of gore. The great theme of the -Epistle to the Hebrews is that the blood and sacrifice of Christ is so -much better than that of animals. The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus -Christ is the great inspiration of emotional religion. Revivalists revel -in "the blood, the precious blood": - - Just as I am, without one plea, - But that thy blood was shed for me, - And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, - Oh! Lamb of God, I come, I come! - - Chorus--Jesus paid it all, - All to him I owe; - Sin had left a crimson stain; - He washed it white as snow. - -Jesus Christ says, "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood -dwelleth in me, and I in him," and the most holy sacrament of the -Christian Church consists in this cannabalistic communion. - -To understand this fundamental rite of communion, or, indeed, the -essence of any other part of the Christian religion, we must go back to -those savage ideas out of which it has evolved. It is easy to account -for savage superstitions in connection with blood. The life of the -savage being largely spent in warfare, either with animals or his fellow -men, the connection between blood and life is strongly impressed upon -his mind. He sees, moreover, the child formed from the mother, the flow -of whose blood is arrested. Hence the children of one mother are termed -"of the same blood." In a state of continual warfare the only safe -alliances were with those who recognised the family bond. Those who -would be friends must be sharers in the same blood. Hence we find all -oyer the savage world rites of blood-covenanting, of drinking together -from the same blood, thereby symbolising community of nature. Like -eating and drinking together, it was a sign of communion and the -substitution of bread and wine for flesh and blood is a sun-worshipping -refinement upon more primitive and cannibalistic communion. - -Dr. Trumbull, in his work on _The Blood Covenant_, has given many -instances of shedding blood in celebrating covenants and "blood -brotherhood." The idea of substitution is widespread in all early -religions. One of the most curious was the sacrament of the natives of -Central America, thus noticed by Dr. Trumbull: - -"Cakes of the maize sprinkled with their own blood, drawn from 'under -the girdle,' during the religions worship, were 'distributed and eaten -as blessed bread.' Moreover an image of their god, made with certain -seeds from the first fruits of their temple gardens, with a certain -gum, and with the blood of human sacrifices, were partaken of by them -reverently, under the name, 'Food of our Soul.'" - -Here we have, no doubt, a link between the rude cannibal theory of -sacrifice and the Christian doctrine of communion. - -Millington, in his _Testimony of the Heathen_, cites as illustration of -Exodus xxii. 8, the most telling passages from Herodotus in regard to -the Lydians and Arabians confirming alliances in this fashions. The -well-known case of Cataline and his fellow conspirators who drank from -goblets of wine mixed with blood is of course not forgotten, but Dr. -Trumbull overlooks the passage in Plutarch's "Life of Publicola," in -which he narrates that "the conspirators (against Brutus) agreed to -take a great and horrible oath, by drinking together of the blood, and -tasting the entrails of a man sacrificed for that purpose." Mr. Wake -also in his _Evolution of Morality_, has drawn attention to the -subject, and, what is more, to its important place in the history of -the evolution of society. Herbert Spencer points out in his "Ceremonial -Institutions," that blood offerings over the dead may be explained as -arising in some cases "from the practice of establishing a sacred bond -between living persons by partaking of each other's blood: the derived -conception being that those who give some of their blood to the ghost of -a man just dead and lingering near, effect with it a union which on the -one side implies submission, and on the other side, friendliness." - -The widespread custom of blood-covenanting illustrates most clearly, as -Dr. Tylor points out, "the great principle of old-world morals, that man -owes friendship, not to mankind at large, but only to his own kin; so -that to entitle a stranger to kindness and good faith he must become a -kinsman by blood."* That any sane man seated at a table ever said, "Take -eat, this is my body," and "Drink, this is my blood," is ridiculous. The -bread and wine are the fruits of the the Sun. Justin Martyr, one of the -earliest of the Christian fathers, informs us that this eucharist was -partaken in the mysteries of Mithra. The Christian doctrine of partaking -of the blood of Christ is a mingling of the rites of sun-worshippers -with the early savage ceremony of the blood covenant. - - * The origin of the mystery of the Rosy Gross may have been - in the savage rite of initiation by baptism with arms - outstretched in a cruciform pool of blood. See Nimrod, vol. - ii. - - - - -SCAPEGOATS. - -In the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is found a description of the -rites ordained for the most solemn Day of Atonement. Of these, the -principal was the selection of two goats. "And Aaron shall cast -lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord and the other for the -scapegoat"--(Heb. _Azazel_). The goat on whom Jahveh's lot fell was -sacrificed as a sin offering, but all the iniquities of the children of -Israel were put on the head of Azazel's goat, and it was sent into the -wilderness. The parallelism makes it clear that Azazel was a separate -evil spirit or demon, opposed to Jahveh, and supposed to dwell in the -wilderness. The purification necessary after touching the goat upon -whose head the sins of Israel were put corroborates this.* Yet how often -has Azazel been instanced as a type of the blessed Savior! And indeed -the chief purpose to which Jesus is put by orthodox Christians at the -present day is that of being their scapegoat, the substitute for their -sins. - - * Azazel appears to mean the goat god. The goat, like some - other animals, seems to have had a sacred character among - the Jews. (See Ex. xxiii. 19, Lev. ix. 3-15, x. 16, xvii. - 17, Jud. vi. 19, xiii. 15, 1 Sam. xix 18-16, 2 Chron. xi. 15.) - -The doctrine of the transference of sin was by no means peculiar to the -Jews. Both Herodotus and Plutarch tells us how the Egyptians cursed the -head of the sacrifice and then threw it into the river. It seems likely -that the expression "Your blood be on your own head" refers to this -belief. (See Lev. xx. 9-11, Psalms vii. 16, Acts xviii. 6.) - -At the cleansing of a leper and of a house suspected of being tainted -with leprosy, the Jews had a peculiar ceremony. Two birds were taken, -one killed in an earthern vessel over running water, and the living bird -after being dipped in the blood of the killed bird let loose into the -open air (Lev. xiv. 7 and 53). The idea evidently was that the bird by -sympathy took away the plague. The Battas of Sumatra have a rite -they call "making the curse to fly away." When a woman is childless -a sacrifice is offered and a swallow set free, with a prayer that -the curse may fall on the bird and fly away with it. The doctrine -of substitution found among all savages flows from the belief in -sympathetic magic. It arises, as Mr. Frazer says, from an obvious -confusion between the physical and the mental. Because a load of stones -may be transferred from one back to another, the savage fancies it -equally possible to transfer the burden of his pains and sorrows to -another who will suffer then in his stead. Many instances could be given -from peasant folk-lore. "A cure current in Sunderland for a cough is -to shave the patient's head and hang the hair on a bush. When the -birds carry the hair to the nests, they will carry the cough with it. A -Northamptonshire and Devonshire cure is to put a hair of the patient's -head between two slices of buttered bread and give it to a dog. The dog -will get the cough and the patient will lose it." - -Mr. Frazer, after showing that the custom of killing the god had been -practised by peoples in the hunting, pastoral, and agricultural stages -of society, says (vol. ii., p. 148): "One aspect of the custom still -remains to be noticed. The accumulated misfortunes and sins of the whole -people are sometimes laid upon the dying god, who is supposed to bear -them away for ever, leaving the people innocent and happy." He gives -many instances of scapegoats, of sending away diseases in boats, and of -the annual expulsion of evils, of which, I conjecture, our ringing-out -of the old year may, perhaps, be a survival. Of the divine scapegoat, he -says: - -"If we ask why a dying god should be selected to take upon himself and -carry away the sins and sorrow of the people, it may be suggested -that in the practice of using the divinity as a scapegoat, we have -a combination of two customs which were at one time distinct and -independent. On the one hand we have seen that it has been customary to -kill the human or animal god in order to save his divine life from being -weakened by the inroads of age. On the other hand we have seen that it -has been customary to have a general expulsion of evils and sins once -a year. Now, if it occurred to people to combine these two customs, the -result would be the employment of the dying god as scapegoat. He was -killed not originally to take away sin, but to save the divine life from -the degeneracy of old age; but, since he had to be killed at any rate, -people may have thought that they might as well seize the opportunity to -lay upon him the burden of their sufferings and sins, in order that he -might bear it away with him to the unknown world beyond the grave."* - - * Golden Bough, vol. ii., p. 206. - -The early Christians believed that diseases were the work of devils, and -that cures could be effected by casting out the devils by the spell of -a name (see Mark ix. 25-38, etc.) They believed in the transference of -devils to swine. We need not wonder, then, that they explained the death -of their hero as the satisfaction for their own sins. The doctrine of -the substitutionary atonement, like that of the divinity of Christ, -appears to have been an after-growth of Christianity, the foundations -of both being laid in pre-Christian Paganism. Both doctrines are alike -remnants of savagery. - - - - -A BIBLE BARBARITY. - -The fifth chapter of the Book of Numbers (11--31) exhibits as gross a -specimen of superstition as can be culled from the customs of any -known race of savages. The divine "law of jealousy," to which I allude, -provides that a man who is jealous of his wife may, simply to satisfy -his own suspicions, and without having the slightest evidence against -her, bring her before the priest, who shall take "holy water," and -charge her by an oath of cursing to declare if she has been unfaithful -to her husband. The priest writes out the curse and blots it into the -water, which he then administers to the woman. The description of the -effects of the water is more suitable to the pages of the holy Bible -than to those of a modern book. Sufficient to say, if faithful, the holy -water has only a beneficial effect on the lady, but if unfaithful, -its operation is such as to dispense with the necessity of her husband -writing out a bill of divorcement. - -The absurdity and atrocity of this divine law only finds its parallel in -the customs of the worst barbarians, and in the ecclesiastical laws of -the Dark Ages, that is of the days when Christianity was predominant and -the Bible was considered as the guide in legislation. - -A curious approach to the Jewish custom is that which found place among -the savages at Cape Breton. At a marriage feast two dishes of meat were -brought to the bride and bridegroom, and the priest addressed himself to -the bride thus: - -"Thou that art upon the point of entering the marriage state, know that -the nourishment thou art going to take forebodes the greatest calamities -to thee if thy heart is capable of harboring any ill design against thy -husband or against thy nation; should thou ever be led astray by the -caresses of a stranger; or shouldst thou betray thy husband or thy -country, the victuals in this vessel will have the effect of a slow -poison, with which thou wilt be tainted from this very instant. If, on -the other hand, thou art faithful to thy husband and thy country, thou -wilt find the nourishment agreeable and wholesome."* - - * Genuine Letters and Memoirs Relating to the Isle of Cape - Breton. By T. Pichon. 1760. - -This custom manifestly was, like the Christian doctrine of hell, -designed to restrain crime by operating upon superstitious fear. It was -devoid of the worst feature of the Jewish law--the opportunity for crime -disguised under the mask of justice. For this we must go to the tribes -of Africa. - -Dr. Kitto, in his _Bible Encyclopedia_ (article Adultery), alludes thus -to the trial by red water among African savages, which, he says, is so -much dreaded that innocent persons often confess themselves guilty in -order to avoid it. - -"The person who drinks the red water invokes the Fetish to destroy him -if he is really guilty of the offence of which he is charged. The drink -is made by an infusion in water of pieces of a certain tree or of herbs. -It is highly poisonous in itself; and if rightly prepared, the only -chance of escape is the rejection of it by the stomach, in which case -the party is deemed innocent, as he also is if, being retained, it has -no sensible effect, which can only be the case when the priests, -who have the management of the matters, are influenced by private -considerations, or by reference to the probabilities of the case, to -prepare the draught with a view to acquittal."* - - * In like manner Maimonides, the great Jewish commentator, - said that innocent women would give all they had to escape - it, and reckoned death preferable (Moreh Nevochim, pt. iii., - ch. xlix.) - -Dr. Livingstone says the practice of ordeal is common among all the -negro natives north of the Zambesi: - -"When a man suspects that any of his wives have bewitched him, he sends -for the witch-doctor, and all the wives go forth into the field, and -remain fasting till the person has made an infusion of the plant called -'go ho.' They all drink it, each one holding up her hand to heaven -in attestation of her innocence. Those who vomit it are considered -innocent, while those whom it purges are pronounced guilty, and are put -to death by burning." - -In this case, be it noticed, there is no provision for the woman who -thinks her husband has bewitched her, as in the holy Bible there is -no law for the woman who conceives she has cause for jealousy; nor, -although she is supernaturally punished, is there any indication of any -punishment falling on the male culprit who has perhaps seduced her from -her allegiance to her lord and master. - -Throughout Europe, when under the sway of Christian priests, trials by -ordeal were quite common. It was held as a general maxim that God would -judge as to the righteousness or unrighteousness of a cause. The chief -modes of the Judicium Dei, as it was called, was by walking on or -handling hot iron; by chewing consecrated bread, with the wish that the -morsel might be the last; by plunging the arm in boiling water, or by -being thrown into cold water, to swim being considered a proof of guilt, -and to sink the demonstration of innocence. Pope Eugenius had the -honor of inventing this last ordeal, which became famous as a trial for -witches. - -Dr. E. B. Tylor, whose information on all such matters is only equalled -by his philosophical insight, says of ordeals: - -"As is well known, they have always been engines of political power in -the hands of unscrupulous priests and chiefs. Often it was unnecessary -even to cheat, when the arbiter had it at his pleasure to administer -either a harmless ordeal, like drinking cursed water, or a deadly -ordeal, by a dose of aconite or physostigma. When it comes to sheer -cheating, nothing can be more atrocious than this poison ordeal. In West -Africa, where the Oalabar bean is used, the administers can give the -accused a dose which will make him sick, and so prove his innocence; or -they can give him enough to prove him guilty, and murder him in the -very act of proof. When we consider that over a great part of that great -continent this and similar drugs usually determine the destiny of -people inconvenient to the Fetish man and the chief--the constituted -authorities of Church and State--we see before us one efficient cause of -the unprogressive character of African society." - -Trial by ordeal was in all countries, whether Pagan or Christian, under -the management of the priesthood. That it originated in ignorance -and superstition, and was maintained by fraud, is unquestionable. -Christians, when reading of ordeals among savages, deplore the ignorance -and barbarity of the unenlightened heathen among whom such customs -prevail, quite unmindful that in their own sacred book, headed with -the words "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying," occurs as gross an -instance of superstitious ordeal as can be found among the records of -any people. - - - - -BIBLE WITCHCRAFT. - - "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. xxii. 18). - - "If there had been no witches, such a law as this had never - been made. The existence of the law, given under the - direction of the Spirit of God, proves the existence of the - thing... that witches, wizards, those who dwelt with - familiar spirits, etc., are represented in the sacred - writing as actually possessing a power to evoke the dead, to - perform supernatural operations, and to discover hidden or - secret things by spells, charms, incantations, etc., is - evident to every unprejudiced reader of the Bible."--_Dr. - Adam Clarice_, Commentary on the above passage. - -Thus wrote the great Methodist theologian. His master, John Wesley, -had previously declared, "It is true that the English in general, and, -indeed, most of the men of learning in Europe have given up all accounts -of witches and apparitions as mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for -it, and I willingly take this opportunity of entering my solemn protest -against this violent compliment which so many that believe the Bible pay -to those who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. They well -know (whether Christians know it or not) that the giving up witchcraft -is in effect giving up the Bible."* - - * Journal, May 25, 1768, p. 308? vol. iii., Works, 1856. The - earlier volumes of the Methodist Magazine abound with tales - of diabolical possession. - -That Wesley was right is a fact patent to all who have eyes. From the -Egyptian magicians, who performed like unto Moses and Aaron with their -enchantments, to the demoniacs of the Gospels and the "sorcerers" of the -fifteenth verse of the last chapter of Revelation, the Bible abounds in -references to this superstition. - -Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, writing upon our text, at a -time when the statutes against witchcraft were still in force, said: "By -our law, consulting, covenanting with, invoking, or employing, any evil -spirit to any intent whatsoever, and exercising any enchantment, charm, -or sorcery, whereby hurt shall be done to any person whatsoever, is made -felony without benefit of clergy; also, pretending to tell where goods -lost or stolen may be found, or the like, is an iniquity punishable by -the judge, and the second offence with death. The justice of our law -herein is supported by the law of God here." - -The number of innocent, helpless women who have been legally tortured -and murdered by this law of God is beyond computation. - -In Suffolk alone sixty persons were hung in a single year. The learned -Dr. Zachary Grey states that between three and four thousand persons -suffered death for witchcraft from the year 1640 to 1660.* - - * Note on Butler's Hudibras, part ii., canto 8, line 143. - -In Scotland the Bible-supported superstition raged worse than in -England. The clergy there had, as part of their duty, to question their -parishioners as to their knowledge of witches. Boxes were placed in the -churches to receive the accusations, and when a woman had fallen under -suspicion the minister from the pulpit denounced her by name, exhorted -his parishioners to give evidence against her, and prohibited any one -from sheltering her.* A traveller casually notices having seen nine -women burning together in Leith, in 1664. - -"Scotch witchcraft," says Lecky, "was but the result of Scotch -Puritanism, and it faithfully reflected the character of its parent."** - -On the Continent it was as bad. Catholics and Protestants could unite -in one thing--the extirpation of witches and infidels. Papal bulls were -issued against witchcraft as well as heresy. Luther said: "I would have -no compassion on these witches--I would burn them all."*** In Catholic -Italy a thousand persons were executed in a single year in the province -of Como. - - * See The Darker Superstitions of Scotland, by Sir John - Graham Dalyell, chap. xviii. Glasgow, 1835. - - ** History of the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in - Europe, vol. i., p. 144. - - *** Colloquia de Fascinationibus. - -In one province of Protestant Sweden 2,500 witches were burnt in 1670. -Stories of the horrid tortures which accompanied witch-finding, stories -that will fill the eyes with tears and the heart with raging fire -against the brutal superstition which provoked such \ barbarities, may -be found in Dalyell, Lecky, Michelet, and the voluminous literature of -the subject. And all these tortures and executions were sanctioned and -defended from the Bible. The more pious the people the more firm their -conviction of the reality of witchcraft. Sir Matthew Hale, in hanging -two men in 1664, took the opportunity of declaring that the reality of -witchcraft was unquestionable; "for first, the Scripture had affirmed so -much; and, secondly, the wisdom of all nations had provided laws against -such persons." - -Witch belief and witch persecutions have existed from the most savage -times down to the rise and spread of medical science, but nothing is -more striking in history than the fact of the great European outburst -against witchcraft following upon the Reformation and the translations -of God's Holy Word, This was no mere coincidence, but a necessary -consequence. "It was not until after the Reformation that there was any -systematic hunting out of witches," says J. R. Lowell.* - - * Among my Books, p. 128. Macmillan, 1870. - -If the Bible teaches not witchcraft, then it teaches nothing. - -Science and scepticism having made Christians ashamed of this biblical -doctrine, as usual they have sought a new interpretation. They say it is -a mistranslation; that _poisoners_ are meant, and not _witches_. Now, in -the first place, poisoners were really dealt with by the command, "Thou -shalt not kill." In the second place, not a single Hebrew scholar -of repute would venture to so render the word of our text. Its root, -translated "witch," is given by Gesenius as "to use enchantment." -Fuerst, Parkhurst, Frey, Newman, Buxtorf, in short, all Hebrew -lexicographers, agree. Not one suggests that "poisoner" could be -considered an equivalent. The derivatives of this word are translated -with this meaning wherever they occur. Thus Exodus vii. 11, "the wise -men and the sorcerers." Deuteronomy xviii., 10,11, "There shalt not be -found among you anyone that useth divination, or an observer of times, -or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with -familiar spirits, or a wizard or a necromancer." 2 Kings ix. 22, "her -witchcrafts." 2 Chronicles xxxiii. 6, Manesseh "used enchantments, and -used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards." -Isaiah xlvii. 9 and 12, "thy sorceries." Jeremiah xxvii. 9, "your -sorcerers." Daniel ii. 2, "the magicians, and the astrologers, and -the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans." Micah v. 12, "And I will cut -off witchcrafts, and thou shalt have no soothsayers." Nahum iii. 4, -"witchcrafts." Malachi iii. 5, "I will be a swift witness against the -sorcerers." The only pretence for this rendering of _poisoner_ is the -fact that Josephus (_Antiquities_, bk. iv., ch. viii., sec. 34) gives a -law against keeping poisons. As there is no such law in the Pentateuch, -Whiston tried to kill two difficulties with one note, by saying that -what we render a _witch_ meant a poisoner. The Septuagint has also been -appealed to, but Sir Charles Lee Brenton, in his translation of the -Septuagint, has not thought proper to render our text other than, "Ye -shall not save the lives of sorcerers." - -But apart from texts (of which I have only given those in which occurs -one word out of the many implying the belief), the _thing_ itself -is woven into the structure of the Bible. Not only do the Egyptian -enchanters work miracles and the witch of Endor raise Samuel, but the -power of evil spirits over men is the occasion of most of the miracles -of Jesus. The very doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible, so -cherished by Protestant Christians, is but a part of that doctrine of -men being possessed by spirits, good and evil, which is the substratum -of belief in witchcraft. - -Even yet this belief is not entirely extinct in England; and Dr. Buckley -says that in America a majority of the citizens believe in witchcraft. -The modern Roman Catholic priest is cautioned in the rubric concerning -the examination of a possessed patient "not to believe the demon if -he profess to be the soul of some saint or deceased person, or a good -angel." As late as 1773 the divines of the Associated Presbytery passed -a resolution declaring their belief in witchcraft, and deploring the -scepticism that was general. In the Church Catechism, explained by the -Rev. John Lewis, minister of Margate in Kent--a work which went through -many editions, and received the sanction of the Society for Promoting -Christian Knowledge--a copy of which lies before me, published in -1813, reads (p. 18): "Q. What is meant by renouncing the Devil?--A. -The refusing of all familiarity and contracts with the Devil, whereof -witches, conjurors, and such as resort to them are guilty." - -Let it never be forgotten that this belief which has not only been the -cause of the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent women, but has -sent far more into the worst convulsions of madness and despair, is the -evident and unmistakable teaching of the Bible. - - - - -SAUL'S SPIRITUALIST STANCE AT ENDOR. - -"Our own time has revived a group of beliefs and practices which -have their roots deep in the very stratum of early philosophy, where -witchcraft makes its first appearance. This group of beliefs and -practices constitutes what is now commonly known as Spiritualism."--Dr. -E. B. Tylor, "Primitive Culture" vol. i., p. 128. - -The oldest portion of the Old Testament scriptures are imbedded in the -Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel. Few indeed of these narratives -throw more light on the early belief of the Jews than the story of Saul -and the witch of Endor. It is hardly necessary to recount the story, -which is told with a vigor and simplicity showing its antiquity and -genuineness. Saul, who had incurred Samuel's enmity by refusing to slay -the king Agag, after the death of the prophet, found troubles come -upon him. Alarmed at the strength of his enemies, the Philistines, he -"inquired of the Lord." But the Lord was not at home. At any rate, he -"answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." -The legitimate modes of learning one's fortune being thus shut up, Saul -sought in disguise and by night a woman who had an _ob_. or familiar -spirit. Now Saul had done his best to suppress witchcraft, having "put -away those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land." -So when he said to the witch, "I pray thee divine unto me by the -familiar spirit and bring him up whom I shall name unto thee," the woman -was afraid, and asked if he laid a snare for her. Saul swore hard and -fast he would not hurt her, and it is evident from his question he -believed in her powers of necromancy by the aid of the familiar spirit. -This alone shows that the Jews, like all uncivilised people, and many -who call themselves civilised, believed in ghosts and the possibility of -their return, but, as we shall see, it does not imply that they -believed in future rewards and punishments. Saul's expectations were -not disappointed. He asked to see Samuel, and _up_ Samuel came. He asked -what she saw, and she said _Elohirn_, or as we have it, "gods ascending -out of the earth." In this fact that the same word in Hebrew is used -for _ghosts_ and for _gods_, we have the most important light upon the -origin of all theology. - -The modern Christian of course believes that Samuel as a holy prophet -dwells in heaven above, and may wonder, if he thinks of the narrative at -all, why he should be recalled from his abode of bliss and placed under -the magic control of this weird, not to say scandalous, female. But -Samuel came up, not down from heaven, in accordance, of course, with the -old belief that Sheol, or the underworld, was beneath the earth. - -Christian commentators have resorted to a deal of shuffling and -wriggling to escape the difficulties of this story, and its endorsement -of the superstition of witchcraft. The _Speakers' Commentary_ suggests -that the Witch of Endor was a female ventriloquist, but, disingenuously, -does not explain that ventriloquists in ancient times were really -supposed to have a spirit rumbling or talking inside their bodies. -As Dr. E. B. Tylor says in that great storehouse of savage beliefs, -_Primitive Culture_, "To this day in China one may get an oracular -response from a spirit apparently talking out of a medium's stomach, for -a fee of about twopence-halfpenny." - -Some make out, because Saul at first asked the woman what she saw, that, -as at many modern seances, it was only the medium, who saw the ghost, -and Saul only knew who it was through her, else why should he have asked -her what form Samuel had?--which elicited the not very detailed reply -of "an old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle"--that is, -we suppose, with the ghost of a mantle. She did the seeing and he the -hearing. But it says "Saul perceived it was Samuel," and prostrated -himself, which he would hardly have done at a description. Indeed, the -whole narrative is inconsistent with the modern theory of imposture on -the part of the witch. Had this been the explanation, the writer should -have said so plainly. He should have said her terror was pretended, that -the apparition was unreal, and that Saul trembled at the woman's words, -whereas it is plainly declared that "he was sore afraid because of the -words of Samuel." Moreover, and this is decisive, the spirit utters -a prophecy--not an encouraging, but a gloomy one--which was exactly -fulfilled. - -All this shows the writer was saturated in supernaturalism. He never -uses an expression indicating a shadow of a ghost of a doubt of the -ghost. He might easily have said the whole thing was deceit. He does -not, for he believed in witchcraft like the priests who ordered "Thou -shalt not suffer a witch to live." One little circumstance shows his -sympathy. Samuel says: "Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?" -This is quite in consonance with savage belief that spirits should not -be disturbed. Here was Samuel quietly buried in Ramah, some fifty miles -off, taking his comfortable nap, may be for millenniums in Sheol, when -the old woman's incantations bustle him out of his grave and transport -him to Endor. No wonder he felt disquieted and prophesied vengeance to -Saul and to his sons, "because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord -nor executedest his fierce wrath upon Amalek." - -Matthew Henry and other commentators think that the person who presented -himself to Saul was not Samuel, but Satan assuming his appearance. Those -who believe in Satan, and that he can transform himself into an angel of -light (2 Cor. xi. 14), cannot refuse to credit the possibility of this. -Folks with that comfortable belief can credit anything. To sensible -people it is scarcely necessary to say there is nothing about Satan in -the narrative, nor any conceivable reason why he should be credited -with a true prophecy. The words uttered are declared to be the words of -Samuel.* - - * The seventeenth verse stupidly reads, "The Lord hath done - to him as he spake by me." The LXX and Vulgate more sensibly - reads to thee. - -Much is said of Saul's wickedness, but the only wickedness attributed to -him is his mercy in not executing God's fierce wrath. If it was wicked -to seek the old woman, it is curious God should grant the object he was -seeking, by raising up one of his own holy servants. Why did the Lord -employ such an agency? It looks very much like sanctioning necromancy. -And further, if a spirit returned from the dead to tell Saul he should -die and go to Sheol--where Samuel was, for he says "to-morrow shalt thou -and thy sons be _with me_"--why should not spirits now return to tell -us we are immortal? If the witch of Endor could raise spirits, why not -Lottie Fowler or Mr. Eglinton? Such are the arguments of the spiritists. -We venture to think they cannot be answered by the orthodox. To -us, however, the fact that the beliefs of the spiritists find their -countenance in the beliefs of savages like the early Jews is their -sufficient refutation. Spiritism, as Dr. Tylor says, is but a revival of -old savage animism. - - - - -SACRIFICES. - - No sacrifice to heaven, no help from heaven; - That runs through all the faiths of all the world. - --Tennyson--Harold. - -The origin and meaning of sacrifices constitute a central problem -of ancient religion. It links indeed the stronghold of orthodox -Christianity--its doctrine of the Atonement--with the most barbarous -customs of primitive savages. When we hear of the Lamb slain for -sinners, the very phrase takes us back to the time when sins were -formally placed upon the heads of unconscious animals that they might -be held accursed instead of man; and to the yet older notion of human -sacrifice as a most acceptable offering to the gods. - -Sacrifices were primarily meals offered to the spirits of the dead. It -is not hard to understand how they arose. The Hindoos who placed upon -the grave of an English officer the brandy and cheroots which he loved -in life in order to propitiate his spirit illustrated a prominent -aspect. Just as men were appeased with gifts, usually of substances -which minister to life, so were spirits supposed to be, and the general -form which the offering took was something in the shape of what the -Americans call a square meal. The Romans never sat down to eat without -placing a portion aside for the Lares and Penates. Professor Smith, in -his _Lectures on the Religion of the Semites_, gives abundant evidence -that the early sacrifices of the Semitic people were animals offered -at a meal partaken by the worshippers. The sacrifice, he holds, was -originally a nourishing of the common life of the kindred and their -god by a common meal. The primary communion with deity was communion of -food. This may not be very poetical, but it is natural and true. Eating -and drinking together were primarily signs of fraternity. Only to his -own kin did early man own duty, and his god was always of his own kin. -Jehovah was, as we are often told, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. -He was their father and their king. When Ruth said to Naomi, "Thy people -shall be my people, and thy God my God," the exclamation showed that -taking up new kindred involved a change of worship. Professor Smith -says: "It cannot be too strongly insisted on that the idea of kinship -between gods and men was originally taken in a purely physical sense." -The modern Christian's explanations of biblical anthropomorphisms may be -dismissed as unfounded assumptions. The story in Genesis of the sons -of God going with the daughters of men is one of the remnants of early -myths unexplained by later editors. - -The Bible God, as any careful reader will perceive, was very partial to -roast meat. One of the earliest items recorded of him is that he had -no respect for Cain and his offering of vegetables, while to Abel who -brought him the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, he -had respect. He much prefered mutton to turnips. When Noah offered a -sacrifice, we are told "He smelt a sweet savor" (Gen. vii. 21). But -the Lord was by no means content with the smell. On his altars huge -hecatombs of animals were continually being slaughtered, and the -choicest portions set aside as the Lord's. The Lord God seems to have -been extremely fond of fat, especially that about the rump. As the -richest part of the animal, it was reserved with "the two kidneys and -the fat that is upon them" especially for the Lord (Lev. iii. 9-11). Let -it be noticed that the Lord God required no sacrifices except of eatable -animals, oxen, rams, goats, lambs, and kids. Fishes he had no regard -for, and of birds only turtle doves and pigeons were his favorite -dishes. Wine and oil he took to wash them down, but never mentioned -water. Like his ministers, he lived on the fat of the land,* claiming as -his own the firstlings of the flock. From his claim to the first born, -it appears that Jahveh was originally given to "long pig," but in -the case of Abraham's son, he took a ram instead. He was, however, -so partial to blood that he interdicted the sacred fluid to his -worshippers, but demanded that it should be poured out upon his altar -(Deut. xii.) Even the early Christians made it a fundamental rule of -the Church that disciples should abstain from blood, and from things -strangled (Acts xv. 20). The blood was supposed to be especially the -Lord's. - - * To "eat the fat" seems, as in Neh. viii. 10, to have been - a biblical expression for good living. - -Let not the serious reader suppose we are jesting. Hear what Prof. -Robertson Smith says. - -"All sacrifices laid upon the altar were taken by the ancients as -being literally the food of the gods. The Homeric deities 'feast on -hecatombs,' nay particular Greek gods have special epithets designating -them as the goat-eater, the ram-eater, the bull-eater, even 'cannibal,' -with allusion to human sacrifices. Among the Hebrews the conception that -Jehovah eats the flesh of bulls and drinks the blood of goats, against -which the author of Psalm 1. protests so strongly, was never eliminated -from the ancient technical language of the priestly ritual, in which the -sacrifices are called _lechem Elohim_, 'the food of the deity.'"* - - * Religion of the Semites, p. 207. - -Our translators of the passages where this phrase occurs (Lev. xxi. 8, -17, 21, 22; Num. xxviii. 2) have done their best to conceal the meaning, -but like the phrase "wine which cheereth God and man" (Judges ix. 13), -it takes us back to the time when gods were supposed, like men, to eat, -drink, and be refreshed. - -It was a fundamental rule of the Jewish faith that no one should appear -before the Lord empty handed (Exodus xxiii. 15.) Not to take him an -offering was as improper as in the East it still is to approach a chief -or great man without some present. A sacrifice was as imperative as it -now is to put something in the church plate. When God made a call on -Abraham, with Eastern hospitality the patriarch procured water to wash -his feet and killed a calf for the entertainment of his visitor. The -Lord God was not a vegetarian but a stout kreophagist. In Numbers (xxix. -13) he orders as a sacrifice "of a sweet savor unto the Lord, thirteen -young bullocks, two rams and fourteen lambs of the first year." - -From the frequent mention of the "sweet savor," it seems likely that the -original idea of the god partaking of the food, developed into that of -his taking only the essence of the food. As God got less anthropomorphic -he lost his teeth and had, poor spirit, to be content with the smell of -the good things offered up to him. We gather from Lev. vii. 6 that the -kidneys, fat and other delicacies really fell to the lot of the priests, -and some people have found a sufficient reason for the sacrifices to God -in the fact that the priests liked mutton. - -In 1 Samuel ii. 13-16 we are told how it was the custom of the priests -that when any man offered sacrifice, "the priest's servant came, while -the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand. -And he struck it into the pan or kettle, or caldron or pot; all that the -fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself." - -In the time of David the Lord had a table of shew-bread set before -him--that is, a table spread with food in the temple, where he was -supposed to come and take it when he desired, just as Africans place -meal and liquor in their fetish houses. Such tables were set in the -great temple of Bel at Babylon, and the story of Bel and the Dragon in -the Apocrypha explains how the priests and their women and children -came in by a secret door and ate up the things which were supposed to be -consumed by the God. - -While the Lord and the priests were certainly not vegetarians, neither -did they insist on a vegetable diet for their people. The Lord's table -of fare is set out in Leviticus xi., and a very curious _menu_ it is. -The hare is expressly excluded "because he cheweth the cud," although -he does nothing of the kind; but "the locust after his kind, the -bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the -grasshopper after his kind," are freely permitted. Another divine -regulation, and one which throws much light on the divine methods, is -recorded in Deut. xvi. 21--"Thou shalt not eat of anything that dieth -of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is within thy gates -that he may eat it, or thou mayest sell it unto an alien." To this day -the Jews are particular in observing this godly method of disposing of -diseased meat. - -To arrive at the truth in regard to the question whether human sacrifice -was at one time a portion of the Jewish religion, or whether it was, -as the orthodox generally assert, simply a corruption copied from the -surrounding heathen nations, it is necessary to bear in mind that every -portion of the Jewish law is of later date than the prophets. The book -of the law was only found in the time of King Josiah, who opposed this -very practice (2 Kings xxiii. 10), and there is no evidence of its -existence before that date. There is reason to believe that the priestly -code of Leviticus is later still, dating only from the time of Ezra. -Instead of reflecting the ideas of the age of Moses, it reflects those -of almost a thousand years later. It is therefore only in the historical -books that we can expect to find traces of what the actual religion -of Israel was. There is ample evidence that human sacrifice formed a -conspicuous element. Ahaz, King of Judah, "burnt his children in the -fire" (2 Chron. xxviii. 3); Mannasseh, King of Judah, was guilty of the -same atrocity (2 Chron. xxxiii. 6); Jeremiah denounces the children of -Judah for having "built the high place of Tophet, which is in the valley -of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the -fire" (vii. 31); Micah remonstrates against both animal and human -sacrifice--"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams; shall I -give my first-born for my transgression; the fruit of my body for the -sin of my soul?" (vi. 7). In the well-known story of Abraham and -Isaac, as in the Greek story of Iphigenia, and the Roman one of Valeria -Luperca, we have an account of the transition to a less barbarous stage -in the substitution of animal for human sacrifice. It was natural -that this legend should be ascribed to the time of the father of the -faithful, but there is, as we have seen, abundant evidence of the -practice existing long subsequent to the time of Abraham, who was by no -means surprised at and in no way demurred to the divine command, "Take -now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee unto -the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of -the mountains which I will tell thee of" (Genesis xxii. 2). Anyone -who at the present day should exhibit a faith like unto that of the -patriarchal saint would be in jeopardy of finding himself within the -walls of a criminal lunatic asylum. - -That human sacrifices lasted long after the time of Abraham we have an -instance in the case of Jephthah, who vowed that if Jahveh would deliver -the children of Ammon into his hand, he would offer up for a burnt -offering whosoever came forth from his house to meet him upon his return -from his expedition (Judges xi. 30, 31). In order to tone this down the -Authorised Version reads "whatsoever" instead of "whosoever," which -is supplied in the margin of the Revised Version. Despite the emphatic -statement that Jephthah did with her according to his vow, it has been -alleged that because his daughter petitioned to be allowed to bewail her -virginity for two months, she was only condemned to a life of celibacy. -This is preposterous. Jahveh, unlike Jesus, had no partiality for -the unmarried state. He liked a real sacrifice of blood. To lament -childlessness was a common ancient custom, and even the Greek and Latin -poets have represented their heroines who were similarly doomed to an -early death, such as Antigone, Polyxena, and Iphigenia, as actually -lamenting in a very similar manner their virginity or unmarried -condition. There is no single instance in the Old Testament of a woman -being set apart as a virgin, though, as we have seen, there are numerous -indications of human sacrifices. - -Even in the Levitical law sanction is given to human sacrifice. "None -devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be ransomed; he shall -surely be put to death" (Lev. xxvii. 29). Jahveh insisted on the -sacrifice being completed. David sent seven sons of Saul to be hung -before the Lord to stay a famine. - -That a party remained in Israel who considered human sacrifice a part of -their religion is evident also from Jeremiah, who says: "They have built -also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt -offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came -it into my mind" (xix. 5). These strong asseverations were evidently -called forth by assertions made by persons addicted to such practices, -and those persons had the support of Ezekiel, who, in contradiction -to the statements of Jeremiah, contended that Jahveh gave them up to -pollution, even as he hardened the heart of Pharaoh that they might know -that he was the Lord (Ezek. xx. 25-26). - - - - -THE PASSOVER. - - "_Christ our passover is sacrificed for us_." - --Paul (1 Cor. v. 7.) - -The Passover is the most important and impressive festival of the Jews, -instituted, it is said, by God himself, and a type of the sacrifice of -his only son. Its observance was most rigorously enjoined under penalty -of death, and although the circumstances of the Jews have prevented -their carrying out the sacrificial details, they still, in the custom of -each head of the family assuming _pro tem_, the _role_ of high priest, -preserve the most primitive type of priesthood known. - -The Bible account of the institution of the Passover is utterly -incredible. After afflicting the Egyptians with nine plagues, God still -hardens Pharaoh's heart (Exodus x. 27), and tells Moses that "about -midnight" he will go into the midst of Egypt and slay all the firstborn. -But in order that he shall make no mistake in carrying out his atrocious -design, he orders that each family of the children of Israel shall take -a lamb and kill it in the evening, and smear the doorposts of the -house with blood, "and when I see the blood I will pass over you." The -omniscient needed this sign, that he might not make a mistake and slay -the very people he meant to deliver. One cannot help wondering what -would have been the result if some Egyptian, like Morgiana in "The -Forty Thieves," had wiped off the blood from the Israelite doorposts and -sprinkled the doorposts of the Egyptians. Moses received this command on -the very day at the close of which the paschal lambs were to be killed. -This was very short notice for communicating with the head of each -family about to start on a hurried flight. As the people were two -million in number and the lambs had to be all males, without blemish, of -one year old, this supposes, on the most moderate computation, a flock -of sheep as numerous as the people. Who can credit this monstrous libel -on the character of God and on the intelligence of those to whom such a -story is proffered? - -What, then, is the correct version of the origin of the Passover? Dr. -Hardwicke, in his _Popular Faith Unveiled_, following Sir Wm. Drummond -and Godfrey Higgins, says it meant "nothing more or less than the -pass-over of the sun across the equator, into the constellation Aries, -when the astronomical lamb was consequently obliterated or sacrificed by -the superior effulgence of the sun." It is noticeable that the principal -festivals of the Jews, as of other nations, were in spring and autumn, -at the time of lambing and sowing and when the harvest ripened. But -while allowing that this may have determined the time of the festival, I -cannot think it covers the ground of its significance. The story relates -that when Moses first asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, it -was that they might celebrate a feast in the wilderness which was -accompanied by a sacrifice (see Exodus v. i. and iii. 19). This may be -taken as indicating that there was known to be a festival at this season -prior to the days of Pharaoh. And at the festival of the spring increase -of flocks the god must of course have his share. - -Epiphanius declares that the Egyptians marked their sheep with red, -because of the general conflagration which once raged at the time when -the sun passed over into the sign of Aries, thereby to symbolise the -fiery death of those animals who were not actually offered up. Von -Bohlen says the ancient Peruvians marked with blood the doors of the -temples, royal residences, and private dwellings, to symbolise the -triumph of the sun over the winter. - -The suggestion that owing to peculiarities of diet or of constitution -some pestilence afflicted the Egyptians which passed over and spared the -Jews, is a very plausible one, and deserves more attention than it -has yet received, since it would account for many features in the -institution. But there remains another signification, which seems -indicated in the thirteenth chapter of Exodus in connection with the -institution of the Passover. There we read the order, "Thou shalt set -apart [the margin more properly reads "cause to pass over"] unto the -Lord, all that openeth the matrix" (verse 12). "And every firstling of -an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou will not redeem it, -then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy -children shalt thou redeem."* Professor Huxley asks upon this passage: -"Is it possible to avoid the conclusion that immolation of their -firstborn sons would have been incumbent on the worshippers of Jahveh, -had they not been thus specially excused?"** In one of the oldest -portions of the Pentateuch (Exodus xxii. 29) the command stands simply, -"the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me." In Exodus xii. 27, -xxiii. 18, xxxiv. 25; and Numbers ix. 13, the Passover is spoken of as -particularly the Lord's own sacrifice. - - * Why is the ass only mentioned besides man? One cannot but - suspect that his introduction is an interpolation by the - reformed Jews, who had outgrown the custom of human - sacrifice, betrayed by the phrase "thou shalt break his - neck." - - ** Nineteenth Century, April, 1886. - -The law proceeds to enjoin that the father shall tell his son as the -reason for the festival, how the Lord "slew all the firstborn in the -land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beasts: -therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix being -males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem." Evidently here is -the notion of a substitutionary offering, although the reason given is -not the true reason. In Exodus xxxiv. 18-20, the festival is brought -into the same connection with immediate reference to the redemption of -the firstborn. In the story of Abraham and Isaac we have the same idea. -God commands the patriarch to offer up his only son as a burnt sacrifice -(Gen. xxii. 2), an order which he receives without astonishment, and -proceeds to execute as if it were the most ordinary business imaginable, -without the slightest sign of reluctance. A messenger from Jahveh, -however, intervenes and a ram is substituted.* I do not doubt that this -story, like similar ones found in Hindu and Greek mythology, indicates -an era when animal sacrifices were substituted for human ones.** - - * Observe that Elohim, the old gods, claim the sacrifice and - Jahveh, the new Lord, prevents it. - - ** It may help us to understand how the sacrifice of an - animal may atone for human life, if we notice how in South - Africa a Zulu will redeem a lost child from the finder by a - bullock. - -The legend is of course far older than the record of it which reaches -us. In a notable passage in Ezekiel xx. 25, 26, the Lord declares that -he had given his people "statutes that were not good, and judgments -whereby they should not live." And he continues, "I polluted them in -their own gifts in that they cause to pass through _the fire_ all that -openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they -might know that I am the Lord." The fact that the very same words are -used in Ezekiel which are found in Exodus xiii. 12, at once suggests -that originally the passover was a human sacrifice, and that of the most -abominable kind--the offering of the firstborn--and that the story of -the Lord slaying the firstborn of Egypt was an invention to account for -the relics of the custom. We know that such sacrifices did remain as -part of the Jewish religion. Ezekiel himself says that when they had -slain their children to their idols, they came the same day in the -sanctuary to profane it (xxiii. 39). Micah argues against the barbarous -practice: "Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of -my body for the sin of my soul?" (vi. 6). Two kings of Judah, Ahaz -and Manasseh, are recorded to have offered up their children as burnt -offerings (2 Chron. xxviii. 3, xxxiii. 6), as upon one occasion did the -king of Moab (2 Kings iii. 27). 2 Chron. xxx., in relating how Hezekiah -commanded all Israel to keep the Passover, says that "they had not done -it of a long time in such sort as it was written," and relates how the -Levites were ashamed and many yet did eat the Passover otherwise than -it was written. And in the account of how Josiah broke down the altars -which had been set up by Ahaz and Manasseh one reads "surely there was -not held such a Passover from the days of the judges." In other words, -it had never been kept in the same fashion within human memory. The -keeping of the Passover had been different before this reformation, just -as until the age of Hezekiah the Jews worshipped a brazen serpent, which -they afterwards accounted for by ascribing it to Moses, the law-giver -who had prohibited all idolatry. On the eve of the Passover, to the -present day, the firstborn son among the Jews, who is of full age--i.e., -thirteen--fasts. This we take to be a rudimentary survival. - -If then we interpret the offering of the paschal lamb as being -substituted for a human sacrifice, we shall understand how it is at -once a thank-offering and yet eaten with "the bread of affliction," the -motzahs, or unleavened cakes, and bitter herbs, which are the remaining -features of the festival, and this may help to explain the accusation -which in all ages has been brought against the Jews, viz., that once in -seven years at least they required their Passover to be celebrated with -human blood. It is true the accusation has been often brought without -evidence, but the Jews themselves profess astonishment at the unanimity -with which their opponents have fixed upon this charge. Further, we -shall see that in adopting the paschal lamb as the type of Christ, -the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, the Christians were simply -reverting to the early savage notion that deities are only to be -appeased with blood, and to this degraded belief they have added the -absurdity that Christ himself was God, thus making God sacrifice himself -in order to appease himself! - - - - -THE EVOLUTION OF JAHVEH. - -In the beginning when men created gods they made them in their own -image, cruel, unrestrained and vacillating, All the early religions give -evidence of the savage nature of ancient man. The departed gods, viewed -in the light of modern ideals, were all ugly devils. The boasted God of -the Jews is no exception. Although the books of the Old Testament do -not give us the earliest and doubtless still more savage beliefs of the -Israelites, the oldest portions, such as the legends embodied in Genesis -and the historical books, sufficiently betray that Jahveh was no better -than his compeers. It is evident that originally he was only one of many -gods. He is always spoken of as a family deity--the God of Abraham, of -Isaac and of Jacob. Human sacrifices were at one time offered to him -(see Genesis xxii., Leviticus xxvii. 29, Numbers xxv. 4, Judges xi. -31-39,1 Samuel xv. 23, Micah vi. 6,7). He is anthropomorphic, yet -anything but a gentleman. In his decalogue he describes himself as "a -jealous god, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children -until the third and fourth generation." He delights in blood and -sacrifice. He is entitled "a god of battles," "Lord of hosts," and "a -man of war." He has the form, the movements, and the imperfections of a -human being. Man is said to be made in his image and after his likeness. -It is plain these words must be taken in their literal significance, -since, a little further on, Adam is described, in the same language, as -having begotten Seth "in his own likeness and after his image" (Genesis -v. 3). - -Jahveh walks in the garden in the cool of the day. He has come down to -see the tower of Babel (Gen. xi. 5). He covers Moses with "his hand" so -that he should not see "his face"; and while Moses stands in a clift of -the rock Jahveh shows him "his back parts" (Exodus xxxiii. 23). He makes -clothes for Adam and Eve, and writes his laws with his own finger. After -six days' work we are told that "on the seventh day he rested and was -refreshed" (Exodus xxxi. 17). When Noah sacrificed we are told that -"Jahveh smelled a sweet savor" (Gen. vii. 21). He creates mankind and -then regrets their creation--"It repented Jahveh that he had made man -on the earth and it grieved him at his heart" (Genesis vi. 6). He puts -a bow in the clouds in order to remember his vow, and again and again he -repents of the evil which he thought to do unto his people (see Exodus -xxxii. 14; Numbers xiv.; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; Jonah iii. 10; etc.) - -Jacob wrestles with him; and when things do not go as they wish, Moses, -Joshua, David and Job no more hesitate to remonstrate with their deity -than the African hesitates to chide the fetish that does not answer his -prayers. - -In the early books Jahveh is irascible and unjust. His temper is soon -up, and his vengeance usually falls on the wrong parties. Eve eats the -forbidden fruit and all her female descendants are condemned to pains -at childbirth. Pharaoh refuses to let the Hebrews go and the firstborn -child of every Egyptian family is slain, and other dreadful afflictions -are poured on the innocent people. David, like a wise king, takes -a census of his nation, and Jahveh punishes him by slaying seventy -thousand of the people by a pestilence (1 Chron. xxi. 1--17). He -slaughters fifty thousand inhabitants of the village of Bethshemesh -for innocently looking into his travelling-trunk on its return from -captivity (1 Samuel vi. 19). He smites Uzzah for putting his hand to -save the ark from falling (2 Samuel vi. 6, 7), and withers Jeroboam's -hand for venturing to put it upon the altar (1 Kings xiii. 4). He sends -bears to kill forty-two little children for calling Elisha "bald-head" -(2 Kings ii. 23, 24), and his general conduct is that of a barbarous, -bloodthirsty and irresponsible tyrant. We say nothing here of the -character of his favorite people. "Man paints himself in his gods," said -Schiller. - -The captivity of the Jews and their consequent contact with other -nations led to their own refinement and an enlarged ideal of their -divinity. He improves much in his character, tastes and propensities. -Nehemiah addressed Jahveh in the elevated tone the Persians addressed -Ahura-Mazda. Whereas in the old days Jahveh ordered whole hecatombs of -sheep and oxen to be sacrificed to him, doubtless because his priests -liked beef and mutton (they had the meat and he had the smell)--the -prophet Isaiah in his first chapter writes, "To what purpose is the -multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" saith Jahveh. "Wash you, make you -clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do -evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge -the fatherless, plead for the widow." Similarly, Micah gives worship an -ethical instead of a ceremonial character: "Will Jahveh be pleased with -thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my -firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my -soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jahveh -require of thee but to do justly and love mercy, and to walk humbly with -thy God." Ezekiel bluntly contradicts Moses, and declares that "the son -shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear -the iniquity of the son" (xviii. 20). - -The second Isaiah even looks forward to the time when Gentiles will -acknowledge the Jewish Jahveh, and Zechariah declares "Thus saith Jahveh -of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass that the ten men shall -take hold of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the -skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have -heard that God is with you" (viii. 23). - -Jewish vanity did not permit tolerance to extend beyond this. Even in -the New Testament God only offers salvation to those who believe, and -mercilessly damns all the rest. "An honest God is the noblest work of -man," and theists of all kinds have found great difficulty in supplying -the article. - -Herbert Spencer, in a paper on "Religion" in the _Nineteenth Century_* -well says: "If we contrast the Hebrew God described in primitive -tradition, manlike in appearance, appetites and emotions, with the -Hebrew Gods as characterised by the prophets, there is shown a widening -range of power along with a nature increasingly remote from that of man. -And on passing to the conceptions of him which are now entertained, -we are made aware of an extreme transfiguration. By a convenient -obliviousness, a deity who in early times is represented as hardening -men's hearts so that they may commit punishable acts, and as employing -a lying spirit to deceive them, comes to be mostly thought of as an -embodiment of virtues transcending the highest we can imagine." And so -the idea of God developes - - "Till by broad spreading it disperse to nought." - - * January, 1884. - -For the process is not simply from the savage to the civilised--it is -from the definite to the dim. As man advances God retires. With each -increase of our knowledge of nature the sphere of the supernatural is -lessened till all deities and devils are seen to be but reflections of -man's imagination and symbols of his ignorance. - - - - -JOSHUA AND THE SUN. - -Savages fail to recognise the limits of their power over nature. Things -which the experience of the race shows us to be obviously impossible -are not only attempted but believed to be performed by persons in a low -stage of culture. Miracles always accompany ignorance. No better proof -of the barbarous and unintelligent state whence we have emerged could be -given than the stories of the supernatural which are found embodied in -all religions, and also in the customs of savages and the folk-lore of -peasantry. - -Primitive man thinks of all phenomena as caused by spirits. Hence to -control the spirits is to control the phenomena. Herodotus (iv., 173) -tells a curious tale how once in the land of Psylii, the modern Tripoli, -the wind blowing from the Sahara dried up all the water-tanks. So the -people took counsel and marched in a body to make war on the south wind. -But when they entered the desert, the simoon swept down on them and -buried them. It is still said of the Bedouins of Eastern Africa that "no -whirlwind ever sweeps across the path without being pursued by a dozen -savages with drawn creeses, who stab into the centre of the dusty -column, in order to drive away the evil spirit that is believed to be -riding on the blast." The Chinese beat gongs and make other noises at an -eclipse, to drive away the dragon of darkness. At an eclipse, too, the -Ojibbeways used to think the sun was being extinguished, so they shot -fire-tipped arrows in the air, hoping thus to re-kindle his expiring -light. At the present day Theosophists seek to compass magical powers -which in early times were supposed to be generally possessed by -sorcerers. - -Rain-making was one of the most common of these supposed powers. -Instances are found in the Bible. Samuel says: "I will call unto the -Lord and he shall send thunder and rain," and he does so (1 Sam. xii. -17, 18). So Elijah, by prayer (which in early times meant a magical -spell), obtained rain. Jesus controls the winds and the waves, walks on -the water, and levitates through the air. - -Mr. J. G. Frazer, in his splendid work _The Golden Bough_ gives many -instances of savages making sunshine and staying the sun. Thus "the -Melanesians make sunshine by means of a mock sun. A round stone is wound -about with red braid and stuck with owl's feathers to represent rays; it -is then hung on a high tree." "In a pass of the Peruvian Andes stand two -ruined towers on opposite hills. Iron hooks are clamped into their walls -for the purpose of stretching a net from one tower to another. The net -is intended to catch the sun." Numerous other methods are resorted to by -different tribes. Jerome, of Prague, travelling among the Lithuanians, -who early in the fifteenth century were still Pagans, found a tribe who -worshipped the sun and venerated a large iron hammer. "The priests told -him at once the sun had been invisible for several months because a -powerful king had shut it up in a strong tower; but the signs of the -zodiac had broken open the tower with this very hammer and released the -sun. Therefore they adored the hammer."* Mr. Frazer gives reasons for -thinking that the fire festivals solemnised at Midsummer in ancient -times were really sun-charms. - -The phenomena of nature were supposed to be at the service of the pious. -The thunderbolts of Zeus fell upon the heads of perjurers. Some people -still wonder the earth does not open when a man announces himself an -Atheist. Jahveh just before stopping the sun, pelted the enemies of -Israel with hailstones (Joshua x. 11). So Diodorus Siculus (xi. 1) -relates how the Persians when on their way to spoil the temple at -Delphi, were deterred by "a sudden and incredible tempest of wind and -hail, with dreadful thunder and lightning, by which great rocks were -rent to pieces and cast upon the heads of the Persians, destroying them -in heaps." Herodotus too (ii. 142) tells how "The Egyptians asserted -that the sun had four times deviated from his ordinary course." -Clergymen cite this as a corroboration of the fact that all ancient -peoples have similar absurd legends displaying their ignorance of nature -and consequent superstition. The power of arresting the stars in their -courses, and lengthening the days and nights was imputed to witches. -Thus Tibullus says of a sorceress (i. eleg. 2)-- - - I've seen her tear the planets from the sky, - Seen lightning backward at her bidding fly. - -And Lucan in his Pharsalia (vi. 462)-- - - Whene'er the proud enchantress gives command, - Eternal motion stops her active hand; - No more Heav'n's rapid circles joarney on, - But universal nature stands foredone; - The lazy God of day forgets to rise, - And everlasting night pollutes the skies. - - * The Golden Bough, vol. i., pp. 24, 25. - -No modern poet would think of saying like Statius that the sun stood -still at the unnatural murder of Atreus. Such an idea found its way into -poetry because it had previously been conceived as a fact. - -Hence we find numerous similar stories to that of Joshua. Thus it is -related of Bacchus in the Orphic hymns that he arrested the course of -the sun and the moon. Mr. Spence Hardy in his _Legends and Theories -of Buddhists_, shows that arresting the course of the sun was a common -thing among the disciples of Buddha. We need not be surprised to find -that men were once believed to be able to control the sun when we -reflect that to this day the majority of people fancy there is some -magnified non-natural man, they call God, who is able to do the same. -Seeing the legend of Joshua in its true form as one of numerous similar -instances illustrating the barbarity and ignorance of the past, we see -also that the whole merit and instruction of the story is taken away by -those modern Christians, who speak of it as poetry, or who endeavor to -reconcile it with the conclusions of science. These explanations were -never sought for while miracles were generally credible. Josephus speaks -of the miracle as a literal one, and the author of Ecclesiasticus xlvi. -5 says the Lord "stopped the sun in his anger and made one day as two." - -"Rationalistic" explanations of miracles are often the most irrational, -because they fail to take into account the vast difference between the -state of mind which gave rise to the stories, and that which seeks to -rationalise them. - - - - -THE HEBREW PROPHETS. - -Anyone who has read an account of the mystery men among savages, will -have the clue to the original nature and functions of the inspired -prophets of Jahveh. These persons occupied a role somewhat similar to -that of Brian the hermit, the highland seer described by Sir Walter -Scott in his "Lady of the Lake." They were a sort of cross between the -bard and the fortuneteller. Divination, though forbidden by the law of -Moses, was continually resorted to by the superstitious Jews. - -The mysterious Urim and Thummim clearly represented some method of -divination. In 1 Kings vi. 16 and Psalms xxviii. 2, the adytum of the -temple is called the "oracle." Numerous references are to be found in -the Bible to the practice of casting lots, the disposing of which is -said to be "of the Lord" (see Num. xxvi. 55, Joshua xiii. 6, 1 Sam. xiv. -41, Prov. xiv. 33, xviii. 18, and Esther iii. 7), and also to "inquiring -of God," which was equivalent to divination. Thus in Judges xviii. 5 -five Danites ask the Levite, who became Micah's priest, to "ask counsel -of God" whether they shall prosper on their way. - -The ninth chapter of the first book of Samuel gives an instructive -glimpse into the nature of the prophets. Saul, sent to recover his -father's asses, and, unable to find them, is told by his servant that -there is in the city a man of God, and all what he saith cometh surely -to pass. Saul, perhaps guessing the lucre-loving propensities of men of -God, complains that he has no present to offer. The servant, however, -had the fourth part of a shekel of silver (about 8d.) wherewith to cross -the seer's palms; and Saul, seeking for asses, is made king over Israel -by the prophet Samuel. The custom of making a present to the prophet is -also alluded to in 1 Kings xiv. 3. Jereboam, when his son falls sick, -sends his wife to Ahijah the prophet with ten loaves and cracknels and a -cruse of honey, to inquire his fate. Later on, Micah (iii. 11) complains -that "the prophets divine for money." See also Nehe-miah vi. 12. As with -the oracles of ancient Greece and Rome (the inspiration of which was -believed by the early Christian fathers, with the proviso that they were -inspired not by deities, but by devils), the prophets were especially -consulted in times of war. Thus, in 1 Kings xxii., Ahab consults 400 -prophets about going to battle against Ramoth-Gilead. He is told to go -and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hand. Micaiah -the prophet, however, explains that he had seen the Lord in counsel with -all the host of heaven, and the Lord sent a lying spirit to the prophets -in order to persuade Ahab to go to his destruction. This is quite in -accordance with the declaration in Ezekiel xiv. 9, that "if the prophet -be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord hath deceived that -prophet." David on one occasion (1 Sam. xxiii. 9) "took counsel of God," -as this divination was called, by means of the ephod, probably connected -with the Urim and Thummim. He sought to know if he would be safe from -his enemy, Saul, if he stayed at Keilah. On receiving an unfavorable -response David decamped. Inquiring of the Lord on another occasion, -David got more particular instructions than were usually imparted by -oracles. He was told not to go up against the Philistines, but to fetch -a compass behind them and come on them over against the mulberry trees -(2 Sam. v. 23). - -We read, 1 Sam. xxviii. 6, that "when Saul inquired of the Lord, the -Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." -This, presumably, was because (verse 3) "Saul had put away those that -had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land." He therefore had -to seek out the witch of Endor to raise the spirit of Samuel. - -The Lord is said to have declared through Moses, "If there be a prophet -among you I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and -will speak unto him in a dream" (Num. xii. 6). This method of divine -revelation is alluded to in Job xxxiii. 14-16, "For God speaketh once, -yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the -night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; -then he openeth the ears of men and sealeth his instruction." God came -to Abimelech in a dream by night and threatened him for taking Abraham's -wife (Gen. xx. 3). So he revealed himself and his angels to his favorite -Jacob (Gen. xxviii. 12). "God came to Laban, the Syrian, in a dream -by night" (Gen. xxxi. 24) to warn him against touching juggling Jacob. -Joseph dreams of his own future advancement and of the famine in Egypt, -and interprets the dreams of others. Gideon was visited by the Lord in -the night, and encouraged by some other person's dream (Judges vii.) -Jahveh appeared also to his servant, Sultan Solomon, "in a dream -by night" (1 Kings iii. 5). Daniel, too, was a dreamer and dream -interpreter (Dan. ii. 19, vii. 1). God promises through Joel that he -will pour his spirit upon all flesh, "and your sons and your daughters -shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall -see visions" (chap. ii. 28). - -The original meaning of the Hebrew word _cohen_ or priest is said to be -"diviner." It is, I believe, still so in Arabic. Prophets and dreamers -are frequently classed together in the Bible, as in Deut. xiii. 1: "If -there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams." Jer. xxvii. 9: -"Therefore hearken ye not to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to -your dreamers." Zech. x. 2: "The diviners have seen a lie, and have told -false dreams." When religion is organised the dreamers and interpreters -of dreams, who are an irresponsible class, fall into the background -before the priests. - -No one can read the account of Balaam's falling, and lying prostrate -with his eyes open while prophesying (Numbers xxiv.); and of Saul when, -after an evil spirit from God had come upon him (1 Sam. xviii. 10), "he -stripped off his clothes also and prophesied in like manner, and lay -down naked all that day and all that night; wherefore they say, Is Saul -also among the prophets" (1 Sam. xix. 24), without calling to mind -the exhibitions of ecstatic mania among semi-savages. The Shamans -of Siberia, for instance, work themselves up into fury, supposing or -pretending that in this condition they are inspired by the spirit in -whose name they speak, and through whose inspiration they are enabled -to answer questions as well as to foretell the future. The root of the -Hebrew word for prophet--_Nabi_, said to mean a bubbling up--confirms -this view. The vehement gestures and gushing current of speech which -accompanied their improvisations suggested a fountain bubbling up. -Insanity and inspiration are closely allied. Various methods were -resorted to among the ancients to attain the state of ecstacy, when the -excited nerves found significance in all around. The Brahmans used the -intoxicating Soma. At Delphi the Pythia inhaled an incense until she -fell into a state of delirious intoxication; and the sounds she uttered -in this state were believed to contain the revelations of Apollo. In -David dancing with all his might and scantily clad before the ark of -Jahveh, we are forcibly reminded of the dervishes and other religious -dancers. From the mention of music in connection with prophesying (1 -Sam. x. 5, xvi. 23, 2 Kings iii. 5), it has been conjectured the Jewish -prophets anticipated the Salvationists in this means of producing or -relieving excitement. In the Mysteries of Isis, in Orphic Cory-bantian -revels, music was employed to work the worshippers into a state of -orgiastic frenzy. - -The passage about Saul suggests the nudity or scanty costume of the -prophets. Isaiah the elder--for the poet who wrote from chap. xl. to -lxvi. must be distinguished from his predecessor--alleges a commandment -from Jahveh to walk naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah xx. 3). -Apollos, or whoever wrote the epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 37), speaks -of them wandering about in sheepskins and goatskins. A girdle of leather -seems to have been the sole costume of Elijah (2 Kings i. 8). Micah (i. -8) says "I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked." Zechariah -speaks of the prophets who "wear a rough garment to deceive," and "say -I am no prophet I am an husbandman" (Zech. xiii. 45), which is like what -Amos (vii. 14) says: "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; -but I was an herdman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit." - -Isaiah (xxviii. 7) says, "the priest and the prophet have erred through -strong drink; they are swallowed up of wine." Jahveh tells Jeremiah -"The prophets prophesy lies in my name, I sent them not, neither have I -commanded them, neither spake unto them; they prophesy unto you a false -vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their -heart" (xiv. 14). Further on he says, "O Lord thou hast deceived me and -I was deceived" (xx. 7). The prophets of Jerusalem, Jeremiah declares, -"commit adultery and walk in lies" (xxiii. 14). Ezekiel too, prophesies -against the prophets and their lying divination (xiii. 2-7). Hosea (ix. -7) says, "the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad."* - - * See too Isaiah lvi. 11-12; Jer. xxvii. 10-15, xxix. 8-9; - Micah iii 5-7. - -Some of the prophets can only be described as silly. Such are the two -in 1 Kings xiii. 5 the prophet who asks to be smitten (1 Kings xii.); -Zedekiah, who makes himself horns of iron; and Micaiah, who opposes him -when a lying sprit comes from the Lord (1 Kings xxii.) To these may be -added the man of God (2 Chron. xxv. 7), who made Amaziah dismiss his -"hundred thousand mighty men of valor," who in consequence fell upon the -cities of Judah and took much spoil. - -The student of comparative religion in reading of the Hebrew prophets, -is forcibly reminded of the Hindu sunnyasis and Mussulman fakirs. In the -east insanity is confounded with inspiration, and Dr. Maudsley, in his -_Responsibility in Mental Disease_, has given his opinion that several -of the Hebrew prophets were insane. The dread and respect in which they -were held is evinced in the legend of the forty-two children who -were slain by bears for calling Elisha bald-head. Their arrogance and -ferocity were exhibited by Samuel, who made Saul king till he found a -more serviceable tool in David, and "hewed Agag in pieces before the -Lord" (1 Sam. xv. 30); and by Elijah, who destroyed 102 men for obeying -the order of their king (2 Kings ii. 9-13), and at another time slew -850 for a difference of opinion (1 Kings xviii. 19--40). Elisha was -unscrupulous enough to send Hazael to his master saying he should -certainly recover; though at the time he knew he would certainly die (2 -Kings viii. 10). Judging by such examples we may congratulate ourselves -that the race of prophets is almost extinct. - -It must in fairness be said that some of the prophets used their -influence in protecting the people against their priests and rulers, and -that the greater prophets like Isaiah did much to elevate the religion -of Israel, which in its modern form is largely their creation. - - - - -OLD TESTAMENT MARRIAGE. - -"Marriage," says Goethe, "is the beginning and end of all culture." -Too often the end of all culture, the cynic may say. It may safely be -affirmed that marriage is the chief cause and product of civilisation. -Like other institutions, it has passed through various stages of growth -among all nations, the Jews included. It has been said "Motherhood is -a matter of observation, fatherhood a matter of opinion." Certain it is -that in early society kinship was reckoned through mothers only. Of this -we have some evidence in the Bible. Abraham, the father of the faithful, -married Sarah, "the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my -mother" (Gen. xx. 12). His brother Nahor took the daughter of his other -brother, Haran, to wife (Gen. ix. 27-29). Such marriages could not have -occurred except when relationship through males was not sufficiently -acknowledged for a bar to marriage to have been raised upon it. Jacob -had two sisters to wife at once. Amram, the father of Moses, married his -own aunt (Exodus ii. 1 and 1 Chron. vii. 3). Even in the time of pious -King David marriage with half-sisters was not considered improper, for -when Ammon wished to force his sister Tamar, she said unto him, "Speak -unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee" (2 Samuel xiii. -13). Brothers by the same mother are specially distinguished (Deut. -xiii. 6, Judges viii. 19). The child, moreover, in early times, was -thought rather to belong to the mother than the father. Thus we find -that Ishmael was turned adrift with Hagar, and Hannah, one of the wives -of Elkanah the Levite, had the right of presenting or devoting her son -Samuel to Jahveh. - -A survival of consanguine marriage is found in Deut. xxv., where it is -expressly ordered that when a brother's widow is left childless "her -husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife"; and -in the event of his refusing to do so he has to have his shoe loosed and -his face spat upon. Of the antiquity of this usage we have evidence in -Genesis xxxviii. When Er, Judah's firstborn, died, the father commanded -his second son, "Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise -up seed to thy brother." The second son refusing, the thing which he did -displeased the Lord, wherefore he slew him. Judah now putting Tamar -off from taking his next son, she disguised herself and made her -father-in-law do his son's duty, he acknowledging "she hath been more -righteous than I." The custom is also referred to in the story of Ruth. -Ewald amends Ruth iv. 5: "Thou must buy also Ruth the Moabitess." The -Bible reader will remember that the disgusting story of the patriarch -Lot and his daughters is related without the slightest token of -disapproval. The daughters justified themselves by the plea that they -would "preserve seed of our father." To understand these narratives, -the reader must remember that in the early history of the family it was -desirable, in the struggle for existence, that its numbers should not be -diminished. Many instances are found in the Bible of the blessing of a -large family. "Happy is the man who has his quiver full." The blessing -on the typical servant of Jahveh is that "he shall see his seed," It -was the duty of the next of kin to see that the family stock did not -diminish. We find at the beginning of Genesis that, when Abel was -slain, God gave Seth "instead." In patriarchal life, as exhibited by the -Bedouins, the "next of kin," the _goel_, is a most important personage. -To him the tribe looks to avenge or redeem a kinsman's death or -misfortune. On him the widow and fatherless depend for support. He is, -above all, the blood-balancer, who sees that the house is kept in its -normal strength, and who seeks to recruit it as far as possible from -the same blood--a state of things implying feud with surrounding tribes. -Job, in his anguish, can find no stronger consolation this--"I know -that my _goel_ liveth." According to the morality of that time, not only -Tamar, but the family was grossly wronged by Onan. By refusing to allow -Shelah to take the duties of _goel_, on the ground of his youth, Judah -himself incurred the responsibilities of that office. It was his duty to -see that seed was raised. Tamar resorted to cunning, the weapon of the -weak, and Judah's confession is the real moral of what, to a modern, -must be considered the very disgusting story in Genesis xxxviii. - -All the Old Testament heroes, from Lamech downwards, were polygamists. -Indeed, both polygamy and concubinage were practised by those Hebrew -saints who were most distinguished by their piety, faith, and communion -with Jahveh. Abraham not only took Hagar as a secondary wife, but -turned her adrift in the wilderness when it suited his own goodwill and -pleasure. Jacob, who lived under the special guidance of God, married -two sisters at the same time, and each of them presented him with -concubines. David, the man after God's own heart, had many wives and -concubines (2 Samuel iii. 2-5, v. 13), while Solomon, who was wiser than -all men, boasted of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines -(1 Kings xi. 5). Jahveh, while denouncing intermarriage with women of -foreign races, never says a word against either polygamy or concubinage. -On the contrary, both are sanctioned and regulated by the Mosaic law -(Deut. xxi. 10-15). More than this, God himself is said to have married -two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah (Ezekiel xxiii.), and although this -is figurative, the figure would never have been used had the fact been -considered sinful. - -A Hebrew father might sell his daughter to be a wife, concubine, or -maid-servant to an Israelite, and her master might put her away if she -pleased him not (Exodus xxi. 7-11). Women taken captives in war might be -used as wives and dismissed at pleasure (Deut. xxi. 10-14). In the case -of the Midianites only virgins were preserved. Moses indignantly asked, -Have ye saved all the women alive? "Now therefore kill every male among -the little ones and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with -him. But all the women children, that hath not known man by lying with -him, keep alive for yourselves." And the Lord took shares in this maiden -tribute (Numb, xxxi.) - -Woman in the Bible is treated as merchandise. In Jacob's time she was -bought by seven years' service, but in the time of the prophet Hosea she -was valued only at fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of -barley. In the Decalogue it is prohibited to covet a man's wife on the -same ground as his man slave, his maid slave, his ox, or his ass, or -anything that is his. Her lord and master could say with Petruchio: - - She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, - My household stuff, my field, my barn, - My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything. - -By God's law a man was permitted to dismiss a wife when she found "no -favor in his eyes," by simply writing out a bill of divorcement. There -is no mention of the woman having any similar power of getting quit of -her lord and master. If he suspected her fidelity he could compel her to -go through an ordeal in which the priest administered to her the water -of jealousy, which if guilty would cause her to rot, but which was -harmless if she was innocent. No doubt this was a potent means in -securing wifely devotion and a ready remedy for any hated spouse. In -the hands of a friendly priest the concoction would be little likely -to fail, and even should it prove innocuous there was the expedient of -writing a bill of divorcement. - -It is usually said that God "winked at" (Acts xvii. 30) these -proceedings, because of the hardness of the old Jews' hearts, and that -from the beginning it was not so. In proof of this is cited the passage -in Genesis which says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his -mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." -The proper interpretation of this passage illustrates a very early form -of marriage still found in some tribes, and known in Ceylon as beenah -marriage. Mr. McLennan, one of the highest authorities on primitive -marriage, says: - -"In beenah marriage the young husband leaves the family of his birth and -passes into the family of his wife, and to that he belongs as long as -the marriage subsists. The children born to him belong, not to him, but -to the family of their mother. Living with, he works for, the family -of his wife; and he commonly gains his footing in it by service. His -marriage involves usually a change of village; nearly always (where the -tribal system is in force) a change of tribe, but always a change of -family. So that, as used to happen in New Zealand, he may be bound even -to take part in war against those of his father's house. The man -leaves father and mother as completely as with the Patriarchal Family -prevailing, a bride would do; and he leaves them to live with his wife -and her family. That this accords with the passage in Genesis will not -be disputed.* - -"Marriage by purchase of the bride and her issue can hardly be thought -to have been primeval practice. When we find beenah marriage and -marriage by purchase as alternatives, therefore it is not difficult to -believe that the former is the older of the two, and it was once in sole -possession of the field."** - - * The Patriarchal Theory, p. 43; 1885. - - ** Ibid, p. 45. - -It was a beenah marriage which Jacob made into the family of Laban, and -we find from Genesis xxiv. 1-8 that it was thought not improbable that -Isaac might do the same. In beenah marriage the children belong to the -mother's clan, and we thus find that Laban says: "These daughters are my -daughters, and these children my children." It was exactly against such -a marriage as that of Jacob, viz., with two women at one time that the -text (Lev. xvii. 18) was directed which is so much squabbled about by -both opponents of and advocates for marriage with a deceased wife's -sister. The custom of the Levirate mentioned in Deut. xxv. possibly -indicates pre-existent polyandry. Lewis, in his _Hebrew Republic_, -says: "In the earliest ages the Levir had no alternative but to take the -widow; indeed, she was his wife without any form of marriage." - -Casting off a shoe, it may be said, is a symbol of foregoing a right; -thus the relatives of a bride still "throw slippers." The Arabs have -preserved the ceremony intact. A proverb among them, when a young man -foregoes his prescriptive right to marry his first cousin, is, "She was -my slipper; I have cast her off" (Burckhardt, Bedouins and Wahabys, i. -113). Among the Caribs of Venezuela and in Equatorial West Africa, the -eldest son inherits all the wives of his deceased father with the sole -exception of his own mother. Schweinfurth relates that the same custom -obtains in Central Africa. On the Gold Coast the throne is occupied by -the prince, who gains possession of the paternal harem before his other -brothers. Thus Absalom took David's harem in the sight of all Israel -before the old man had gone to glory, as a proof he wished his reign -to be considered over; and when Adonijah asks his brother Solomon for -Abishag, the comforter of David's old age, the wise Solomon kills him, -as thus betraying designs on the throne. In the custom that widows -passed to the heir with other property, and hence that marriage with the -widow grew to be a sign of a claim to the deceased person's possessions, -we have a reasonable explanation of what must otherwise appear -irrational crime. The custom of inheriting widows is adverted to in the -Koran; and Bendhawi, in his commentary, gives the whole ceremony, which -consists in the relative of the deceased throwing his cloak over the -widow and saying, "I claim her." The Mormons always defended their -plurality of wives from the divine book, and polygamy has been defended -by various Christian ministers, from the Lutheran divine, Joannes Lyser, -author of _Discoursus Politicus de Polygamia_, and the Rev. Martin -Madan, author of _Thelyphthora_ to the Rev. Mercer Davies, author of -_Hangar_, and Ap Richard, M.A., who urges a biblical plea for polygamy -under the title of _Marriage and Divorce_. Such works have done little -to bring into favor the divine ordinance of polygamy, but they have done -much to show how unsuited is the morality of "the word of God" to -the requirements of modern civilisation. Surely it is time that the -Christians were ashamed of appealing to polygamous Jews for any laws to -regulate social institutions. - - - - -THE SONG OF SOLOMON. - -Although there is no book with which students of divinity are better -acquainted than with the "Song of Songs," there is also none of the same -dimensions over which theologians have expressed so much diversity -of opinion. Its authorship has been ascribed to Solomon for no better -reason than because that sensual sultan is one of the subjects of its -story. It is true it is one of the oldest books of the Old Testament, -and begins by calling itself "the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's"; -but the book of Ecclesiastes, which is one of the latest in the Hebrew -collection, is also ascribed to Solomon, and possibly with as much -reason. It has been credited with unfolding the sublime mysteries of -the relation of Christ to his Church. It has been called an epithalamium -upon the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh. According to -a distinguished commentator, De Lyra, the first portion describes the -history of Israel from the time of the Exodus to the birth of Christ, -while from chapter vii. to the end gives the history of the Christian -Church to Constantine. The Roman Catholic theologian, Hug, makes it -treat of the ten tribes and Hezekiah. Cocceius, in accordance with his -principle that holy scripture meant whatever it could be made to mean, -found in the Canticle the history of the Church from its origin to its -final judgment. Hahn sees in it a prediction of the victory obtained -over the heathen, by the love of Israel, and finds the conversion of the -negro in the passage which says, "We have a little sister, and she -hath no breasts." In short, nearly every possible explanation has -been offered of this portion of the Word of God except the obvious and -natural one, that it is an erotic poem. That there is any allegory in -the piece is a pure assumption. The theory was unknown before the time -of the Talmud. The Canticles are never referred to in the New Testament. -There is not the slightest indication in the work itself that there is -any such object. Not the most delicate hint, save in the headings of the -chapters made by King James's bishops, that by the secret charms of the -young lady we are to understand the mysterious graces of the Christian -Church. In all allegories it is necessary the subject should be in -some way indicated. The parables of Jesus often proved puzzles to his -disciples, but they had no doubt they were parables. Moreover, the -allegory--if it is one--is absurd or blasphemous. Why should the Church -say of God: "His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy -and black as a raven"? or compare his legs to pillars of marble, -or celebrate other parts of his divine person which are not usually -mentioned in polite society? Nor is it easy to see why Christ should say -to the Church: "Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, -which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none -is barren among them"; or why he should declare, "Thy neck is as a tower -of ivory; thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of -Bath-rabbim; thy nose is as the Tower of Lebanon, which looketh towards -Damascus." Of course, to parody a phrase of Voltaire's, the Holy Ghost -was not bound to write like Alfred Tennyson, but, if intended for human -guidance, one would think the divine meaning should be a little more -apparent. - -The truth of the matter is, an allegorical interpretation has been -forced into the Song of Solomon in order to relieve the Holy Ghost from -a charge of indecency. Grotius ventured to call the Song of Songs a -libertine work. Even the orthodox Methodist commentator, Adam Clarke, -earnestly exhorted young ministers not to found their sermons on its -doubtful phrases. He knew how apt religious people are to mix up carnal -desire and appetite with love to their blessed Savior, and was perhaps -aware that a number of Christian hymns might appropriately have been -addressed to Priapus.* - - * See Rimini's History of the Moravians and Southey's Life - of Wesley* vol. i. pp. 188, 387. - -In the Jewish Church no one under the age of thirty was permitted to -read the Song of Songs, a prohibition which may have assisted to give it -its sacred character. It is, nevertheless, not more indelicate than many -other portions of God's Holy Word, and viewed in its proper light as -an Oriental dramatic love poem, although it cannot be acquitted of -outraging modern notions of decency, it is not, I think, so much, -as some other portions of the Bible, open to the charge of teaching -immorality. On the contrary, its purpose is commendable. An attentive -reading of the Revised Version, which is without the misleading -headlines, and is divided to indicate the different speakers in the love -drama, will make this apparent, and show this little scrap of the Jewish -national literature to possess a certain natural beauty which has been -utterly obscured by the orthodox commentators who, from the time of the -early fathers to Hengstenberg and Keil, have sought to associate it with -Christ and his Church. - -Sir William Jones, in his essay on the mystical poetry of Persia -and India, called attention to the sensuous images in which Oriental -religious poetry expresses itself. This connection will surprise no -one who has discovered from the history of religion that women and wine -formed important features in ancient worship. The readiness with which -ungratified sexual passion runs into religious emotion has frequently -been marked by physicians, and finds much corroboration in the -devotional works of monks and nuns. But the Song of Songs has nothing -religious about it. Even the personages are not religious, as in the -Hindu erotic _Gita Govinda_, by Jayadeva, which tells of the loves of -Badha and the god Krishna in the guise of a shepherd. Christ and his -Church only appear in the headings given to the chapters. - -Though to be classed among erotic poems, the Song of Songs cannot fairly -be called immoral or obscene. The character of the interlocutors and -the division of the scenes is a little uncertain. It is, for instance, -dubious whether the first speaker is Solomon or the Shulamite. If we -take the version of M. Reville, the piece opens with the yearnings of -the heroine, whom "the king hath brought into his chambers," for her -absent lover. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy -love is better than wine." She is black but comely; swarthy, because -having to tend the vineyards she has been scorched by the sun. She is a -Shulammite, or native of Shulam, now Solma, near Carmel--a part renowned -for the beauty of its women. It was Abishag, a Shulamite, who was chosen -when they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel -to warm the bed of old King David. Solomon had seen the fair maid of -Shulam, and, when she went down into the garden of nuts "to see the -green plants of the valley," or ever she was aware, she was abducted. In -vain, however, does the monarch offer her the best place in his harem. -Amid the glories of the court she sighs for the shepherd lover from whom -she is separated. She tells how early one spring morning her beloved -engaged her to go out with him. "For, lo, the winter is past, the rain -is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the -singing of birds is come. And the voice of the turtle is heard in our -land and now, although she seeks and finds him not," she declares -"my beloved is mine and I am his." Her constant burden to her harem -companions is, "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and -by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up nor awaken love until -it please."* Love must be spontaneous, she declares, and she refuses to -yield to the wishes of the libidinous monarch. When Solomon praises her -she replies with praises of her beloved peasant swain. She longs for -him by day and seeks him in dreams by night. Solomon offers to place -her above his "threescore queens and fourscore concubines and virgins -without number"; but she is home-sick, and prefers the embraces of her -lover to those of the lascivious king. Her humble vineyard is more to -her than all the king's riches. The moral is, "Many waters cannot quench -love, neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give all the -substance of his house for love he would utterly be condemned." And a -far better one too than most morals to be drawn from the pages of the -Old Testament. - - * Revised Version. The Authorised Version changes the whole - purpose of the piece by reading "that ye stir not up nor - awaken my love till he please." - -The Song of Songs, which is _not_ Solomon's, is a valuable relic of -antiquity, both because it utterly refutes the orthodox notion of -biblical inspiration, and because it deals with the old old story of -human passion which surges alike in peasants and in princes, and which -animated the hearts of men and maidens two thousand years ago even as it -does to-day. - - - - -SACRED SEVEN. - -It was natural that in the early ages of human intelligence man should -attach a superstitious reverence to numbers. The mystery attached to the -number seven has been variously accounted for. Some have explained it by -the figures of the square and triangle, others by the stars of the Great -Bear nightly seen overhead. Gerald Massey says: "The Constellation of -the Seven Great Stars (Ursa Major) was probably the primordial figure of -Seven. Seven was often called the perfect number. Its name as Hept (Eg.) -is also the name for Plenty--a heap of food and good luck. The Seven -were the great heap or cluster of stars, an image of plenty, or a lot -that revolved together."* My own opinion is that the superstition arose -in connection first with the menstrual period, and then with the phases -of the moon as a measurer of time. Its period of twenty-eight days could -be twice divided until the week of seven days was reached, and -then further division was impossible. Hence we everywhere find the -superstition linked to the days of the week and the seven planets -supposed to preside over these days. - - * Natural Genesis, ii., 219. - -The Egyptians worshipped the seven planets, and Herodotus tells us of -their seven castes. So with the Babylonians. From them was derived the -Jewish week. Hesiod, according to Eusebius, said "The seventh is the -sacred day." What he says in his _Works and Days_ is, "On the seventh -day Latona brought forth Apollo"; and AEschylus, in his _Seven Against -Thebes_, says the number Seven was sacred to Apollo. The moon periods -were sacred as measuring time and also in connection with female -periodicity. Man discovered the month before the year. Hence the moon -was widely worshipped. The worship of the queen of heaven in Palestine -is alluded to in Jer. vii. 18 and xliv. 17. The superstition of the -new moon bringing luck has descended to our own time. When the year was -reckoned by thirteen moons of twenty-eight days, thirteen was the lucky -number; but when this was changed for the twelve months of solar time, -thirteen became one too many. The Parsee Bundahisli, according to Gerald -Massey, exhibits seven races of men--(1) the earth-men, (2) water-men, -(3) breast-eared men, (4) breast-eyed men, (5) one-legged men, (6) -batwinged men, (7) men with tails. - -Section 7 of the Kabbalistic Sepher Yezirah* says, "The seven planets -in the world are Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. Seven -days in the year are the seven days of the week; seven gates in man, -male and female, are two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth." -Again, section 15 says, "By the seven double consonants were also -designed seven worlds, seven heavens, seven lands, seven seas, seven -rivers, seven deserts, seven days a week, seven weeks from Passover to -Pentecost, there is a cycle of seven years, the seventh is the release -year, and after seven release years is jubilee. Hence God loves the -number seven under the whole heaven." - - * Trans, by Dr. I. Kalisch, pp. 27 and 81. - -The Bible, it has been remarked, begins in Genesis with a seven, and -ends in the Apocalypse with a series of sevens. God himself took a rest -on the seventh day and was refreshed, or, as the Hebrew reads, took -breath. The Passover and other festivals lasted seven days; Jacob -bowed seven times; Solomon's temple was seven years in building; the -tabernacle had seven lamps, a candlestick with seven arms, etc. In a -variety of passages it seems, like 40, to have been a sort of round -number--as people sometimes say a dozen for an indeterminate quantity. -Thus in Daniel iii. 19 the fiery furnace was to be heated seven times -more than it was wont to be heated. In Proverbs (xxiv. 16) we are told -a just man falleth seven times and rises up again. One of the Psalmists -says (cix. 164), "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy -righteous judgments" (see too Lev. xxvi. 18, 28; Dent, xxviii. 7, 35; -Job ix; Psalm xii. 6, lxxix. 12; Isaiah iv. 1, xi. 15, xxx. 26; Jer. xv. -9, Matt. xii. 45). The week induced reckoning by sevens, and led to -such enactments as that the Jews on the seventh day of the seventh month -should feast seven days and remain seven days in tents. - -The root idea of the number is that of religious periodicity. We find -it not only in the Sabbath, but in all other sacred periods. Thus the -seventh month is ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalised by -the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and Yom Kippur. Seven weeks -is the interval between Passover and Pentecost. The seventh is the -Sabbatical year, when bondsmen were to be released and debts go free. -With this custom is connected the binding of youths for seven years -apprenticeship, and of punishing incorrigible offenders for 7, 14, or -21 years. The year succeeding seven times seven is the Jubilee. The -earliest form, that of the menstrual period, is shown in the duration of -various kinds of legal uncleanness, as after childbirth, after contact -with a corpse, etc. So we have the sprinkling of the house seven times -with the water of purification (Lev. xiv. 51), the command of Elisha -to Naaman to wash in Jordan seven times (2 Kings v. 10). Hezekiah, in -cleansing the temple, offered seven bullocks, seven rams, and seven -he-goats for a sin offering. Septuple actions and agents abound. Thus -the blood of sacrifices were sprinkled seven times (Lev. iv. 6, 17; xiv. -7, 16, 27; xvi. 14, 15). So Jacob bowed to his brother Esau seven times -(Gen. xxxiii. 3). Balak built for Balaam seven altars, and prepares -seven oxen and seven rams (Num. xxiii. 1, 4, 14, 29), and Abraham -employed seven victims for sacrifice (Gen. xxi. 28, 30). We are reminded -of the lines in Virgil's AEneid (vi. 58). - - Seven bullocks, yet unyoked, for Phoebus choose, - And for Diana, seven unspotted ewes. - -The Hebrew verb _Shaba_, to swear, is evidently derived from _Sheba_ -seven, and denoted a sevenfold affirmation. Herodotus (xiii. 8), tells -us the manner of swearing among the ancient Arabians included smearing -seven stones with blood. Sheba is allied to the Egyptian Seb-ti (5-2), -the Zend Hapta, Greek Epta, Latin septem. The Pythagoreans said that -Heptad came from the Greek _Sebo_ to venerate, but Egyptian and other -African dialects suffice to prove it is far earlier. - -The writer of the Apocalypse had the mystic number on the brain. Dr. -Milligan has explained the 666 number of the beast, as a fall below the -sacred seven John of Patmos gives us seven golden candlesticks, (i. 1), -seven stars (i. 20), seven spirits and churches (iii. 1), seven seals -(v. 1), trumpets (viii. 2), thunders (x. 34), vials (xvi. 1), and seven -angels with seven plagues (xvi.) The beast has seven heads, horns and -crowns (xii. 3, xiii. 1, xvii. 7). The Lamb with seven horns and seven -eyes (v. 1 ). There are seven spirits before the throne of God (Rev. i. -4, etc.) like the seven Dhyani Chohans emanating from Parabrahm in Hindu -Theosophy. - -So Christians have kept up legends of seven wise men, seven wonders of -the world, seven champions of Christendom, seven cardinal virtues, seven -deadly sins, seven devils in Mary Magdalene, etc. Of course there is no -better reason why there should be seven than the old idea of mystery and -completion attached to the number. - -Modern Theosophists, too, go in largely for the number seven. There are -seven planets, seven rounds on each planet and seven races. Every ego -is composed of seven principles--Atma, Buddhi, Manas, Kamarupa, Linga -Sharira, Prana, and Sthula Sharira. It may seem strange that a lady of -Madame Blavatsky's undoubted powers of imagination should run in the old -rut. But the well-worn superstitions work the easiest, although to every -instructed person this one carries the mind back to the days when men -knew only of seven planets and measured their time by the moon. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bible Studies, by Joseph M. 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